Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PAHs”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

pi-Extended Porphyrins: The Impact of Aromatic Heterocycles on the Properties of the Largely pi-Extended Structures (Final Report_UNT_SC0016766)

Largely π-extended carbon-rich materials represent fascinating yet challenging frontiers in chemistry and materials science as it offers numerous opportunities in molecular electronics. pi-Extended porphyrins possess unique set of electronic and photophysical properties and are very attractive for a wide range of applications. However, the synthesis and functionalization of pi-extended porphyrins had been very challenging. To explore and expand this intriguing research field, it is essential to develop synthetic tools to make them accessible. Funded by the Department of Energy Basic Energy Science, my laboratory addressed these synthetic challenges by developing concise and versatile methods for pi-extended porphyrins. Significant progress has been made in multiple directions, including fusing Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), aromatic heterocycles, antiaromatic component, and cross-conjugated component to porphyrins as well as push-pull porphyrins. The availability of these methods has made it possible to rationally design and synthesize functionalized pi-extended porphyrins. Unprecedented electronic and photophysical properties have been discovered for these pi-extended porphyrins.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Geochemistry and metagenomics analyses of bacterial community structure in selected waste dumpsites in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Dumpsites are reservoirs of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals (HMs), constituting environmental hazards to humanity. Autochthonous microorganisms in dumpsites exhibit various degrees of responses to contaminants. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information on the types and concentration of pollutants and the array of microorganisms in these dumpsites which may play important roles in the metabolism of such pollutants or other community processes. Therefore, determining the microbial community structure in such contaminated sites across a municipality is essential for profiling the taxa that would serve as consensus degraders of the pollutants. In this study, soil samples from three dumpsites (Cele, CS; Solous, SS; and Computer Village, CVS) were characterized for geochemical properties using GC-MS, MP-AES, and other analytical protocols, while the dynamics of bacterial communities were evaluated based on their 16S rRNA gene barcodes. A significant difference in the bacterial communities was observed among the dumpsites in relation to the extent of pollution caused by POPs and HMs. CVS, with the highest HM contamination, was rich in Actinobacteria (41.7%) and Acidobacteria (10.2%), in contrast to CS and SS. Proteobacteria (34.1%) and Firmicutes (20%) were the dominant phyla in CS (highest POP contamination), while Bacteroidetes (45.5%) and Proteobacteria (39.9%) were dominant in SS soil.Bacilluswas the dominant genus in the most polluted dumpsite. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and HMs shaped the structure of the bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the most polluted dumpsite. Out of a total of 706 OTUs, 628 OTUs exhibited a significant correlation (>50%) with benzo(b)fluoranthene, azobenzene, dibenzofurans, pyrene, dibenzo(a,l)pyrene, Cu, and Zn. In particular, Proteobacteria (Achromobactersp. andSerratiasp.), Bacteroidetes (Zhouiasp.), and Firmicutes (Bacillussp.) were suggested to be pivotal to the ecophysiology of dumpsite soils contaminated with POPs and HMs. The results generally underscored the importance of metagenomic and physicochemical analyses of polluted systems in enabling correlations for useful prediction of drivers of such ecosystems. This will further improve our understanding of the metabolic potential and adaptation of organisms in such systems.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗
DOE OSTI2023

Developmental exposure to corn grown on Lake Erie dredged material: a preliminary analysis

While corn is considered to be a healthy food option, common agricultural practices, such as the application of soil amendments, might be introducing contaminants of concern (COC) into corn plants. The use of dredged material, which contain contaminants such as heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as a soil amendment is increasing. Contaminants from these amendments can accumulate in corn kernels harvested from plants grown on these sediments and potentially biomagnify in organisms that consume them. The extent to which secondary exposure to such contaminants in corn affect the mammalian central nervous system has been virtually unexplored. In this preliminary study, we examine the effects of exposure to corn grown in dredge amended soil or a commercially available feed corn on behavior and hippocampal volume in male and female rats. Perinatal exposure to dredge-amended corn altered behavior in the open-field and object recognition tasks in adulthood. Additionally, dredge-amended corn led to a reduction in hippocampal volume in male but not female adult rats. These results suggest the need for future studies examining how dredge-amended crops and/or commercially available feed corn may be exposing animals to COC that can alter neurodevelopment in a sex-specific manner. This future work will provide insight into the potential long-term consequences of soil amendment practices on the brain and behavior.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

LES and RANS Spray Combustion Analysis of OME 3-5 and n-Dodecane

Clean-burning oxygenated and synthetic fuels derived from renewable power, so-called e-fuels, are a promising pathway to decarbonize compression–ignition engines. Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODEs or OMEs) are one candidate of such fuels with good prospects. Their lack of carbon-to-carbon bonds and high concentration of chemically bound oxygen effectively negate the emergence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and even their precursors like acetylene (C 2 H 2 ), enabling soot-free combustion without the soot-NO x trade-off common for diesel engines. The differences in the spray combustion process for OMEs and diesel-like reference fuels like n-dodecane and their potential implications on engine applications include discrepancies in the observed ignition delay, the stabilized flame lift-off location, and significant deviations in high-temperature flame morphology. For CFD simulations, the accurate modeling and prediction of these differences between OMEs and n-dodecane proved challenging. This study investigates the spray combustion process of an OME 3 − 5 mixture and n-dodecane with advanced optical diagnostics, Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS), and Large-Eddy Simulations (LESs) within a constant-volume vessel. Cool-flame and high-temperature combustion were measured simultaneously via high-speed (50 kHz) imaging with formaldehyde (CH 2 O) planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) representing the former and line-of-sight OH* chemiluminescence the latter. Both RANS and LES simulations accurately describe the cool-flame development process with the formation of CH 2 O. However, CH 2 O consumption and the onset of high-temperature reactions, signaled by the rise of OH* levels, show significant deviations between RANS, LES, and experiments as well as between n-dodecane and OME. A focus is set on the quality of the simulated results compared to the experimentally observed spatial distribution of OH*, especially in OME fuel-rich regions. The influence of the turbulence modeling is investigated for the two distinct ambient temperatures of 900 K and 1200 K within the Engine Combustion Network Spray A setup. The capabilities and limitations of the RANS simulations are demonstrated with the initial cool-flame propagation and periodic oscillations of CH 2 O formation/consumption during the quasi-steady combustion period captured by the LES.

CFD↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Optical and Infrared Are Connected

Galaxies are often modeled as composites of separable components with distinct spectral signatures, implying that different wavelength ranges are only weakly correlated. They are not. We present a data-driven model that exploits subtle correlations between physical processes to accurately predict infrared (IR) Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) photometry from a neural summary of optical Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra. The model achieves accuracies of $χ^{2}_{N} ≈ 1$ for all photometric bands in WISE, as well as good colors. We are able to tightly constrain typically IR-derived properties, e.g., the bolometric luminosities of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and dust parameters such as q PAH . We also test whether current spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting methods reproduce such panchromatic relations, but find their predictions biased and overconfident, likely due to model misspecification, with correlated biases in star-formation rates (SFRs) and AGN luminosities being most evident. To help improve SED models, we determine which features of the optical spectrum are responsible for our improved predictions, and identify several lines (Ca II , Sr II , Fe I , [O II ], and Hα), which point to the complex chronology of star formation and chemical enrichment being incorrectly modeled.

Jespersen, Christian Kragh [Princeton Univ., NJ (U↗
DOE OSTI2023

Potential bioavailability of representative pyrogenic organic matter compounds in comparison to natural dissolved organic matter pools

Abstract. Pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) from wildfires impacts river corridors globally and is widely regarded as resistant to biological degradation. Though recent work suggests PyOM may be more bioavailable than historically perceived, estimating bioavailability across its chemical spectrum remains elusive. To address this knowledge gap, we assessed potential bioavailability of representative PyOM compounds relative to ubiquitous dissolved organic matter (DOM) with a substrate-explicit model. The range of potential bioavailability of PyOM was greater than natural DOM; however, the predicted thermodynamics, metabolic rates, and carbon use efficiencies (CUEs) overlapped significantly between all OM pools. Compound type (e.g., natural versus PyOM) had approximately 6-fold less impact on predicted respiration rates than simulated carbon and oxygen limitations. Within PyOM, the metabolism of specific chemistries differed strongly between unlimited and oxygen-limited conditions – degradations of anhydrosugars, phenols, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were more favorable under oxygen limitation than other molecules. Notably, amino sugar-like, protein-like, and lignin-like PyOM had lower carbon use efficiencies relative to natural DOM of the same classes, indicating potential impacts in process-based model representations. Overall, our work illustrates how similar PyOM bioavailability may be to that of natural DOM in the river corridor, furthering our understanding of how PyOM may influence riverine biogeochemical cycling.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1977

Compounds in airborne particulates - Salts and hydrocarbons

Concentrations of 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), the aliphatics as a group, sulfate, nitrate, fluoride, acidity, and carbon in the airborne particulate matter were measured at 16 sites in Cleveland, OH over a 1-year period during 1971 and 1972. Analytical methods used included gas chromatography, colorimetry, and combustion techniques. Uncertainties in the concentrations associated with the sampling procedures, and the analytical methods are evaluated. The data are discussed relative to other studies and source origins. High concentrations downwind of coke ovens for 3,4 benzopyrene are discussed. Hydrocarbon correlation studies indicated no significant relations among compounds studied.

King, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Symposium (International) on Combustion, 19th, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, August 8-13, 1982, Proceedings

Topics discussed are related to elementary reactions, reaction mechanisms and modeling, laminar flames, flame chemistry, turbulent reacting shear flows, turbulent premixed flames, turbulent combustion measurements, continuous combustors, detonation, detonation and explosion, heterogeneous detonation, propellant combustion, fire-ignition and thermal degradation, fire-flame spread and burning, fire-modeling, spray combustion, and droplet combustion. Coal combustion kinetics and mechanisms are considered along with coal combustion mechanisms and pyrolysis, coal combustion techniques, NOx in coal combustion, gaseous pollutants, soot and PAH, soot and inorganic pollutants, I.C. engine combustion, and ignition and extinction. Attention is given to intricate paths and simple steps in chemical kinetics and combustion, the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by combustion, turbulent flame structure and speed in spark ignition engines, and unresolved problems in SOx, NOx, and soot control in combustion.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1986

Interplanetary and interstellar dust

Several processed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) samples were produced to date. The Raman spectra and D/H ratios of these samples will be studied in the near future. A manuscript was sent to Icarus which gives a detailed discussion of the possibility of using solar flare tracks in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) to determine a cometary vs. asteroidal source of the IDPs. The technique looks promising and a program was started to measure the large number of IDP track density necessary to address the issue of the source(s) of the dust. The results could potentially tell a great deal about comets and/or asteroids.

Sandford, S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the diffuse interstellar bands

The profiles, widths and positions of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIB's) are discussed. It is shown that the carriers of the DIB's are molecular rather than impurities in grains. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH's) are attractive candidates for the DIB's, in view of their likely abundance, their extreme stability, and the fact that these molecules, and their corresponding radicals, show visible transitions.

Van Der Zwet, G. P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Interstellar processes; Proceedings of the Symposium, Grand Teton National Park, WY, July 1-7, 1986

The conference presents papers on the Milky Way as a galaxy; observations of components of the interstellar medium; interstellar magnetic properties; interstellar processes on a galactic scale; dynamical processes in interstellar clouds; interstellar dust grains; interstellar chemical processes; and heating, cooling, and radiative processes. Attention is given to H2 in the Galaxy, hot interstellar gas in the Galactic disk and halo, interstellar magnetic fields, cloud formation and destruction, theoretical approaches to interstellar turbulence, and infrared absorption and emission characteristics of interstellar PAHs. Other topics include gas phase chemical processes in molecular clouds, the chemical evolution of galaxies, and the atomic and molecular physics of interstellar heating and cooling.

Hollenbach, David J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Search for polarization of the 3.3 and 11.3-micron interstellar emission features

Results are reported from a search for linear polarization of the 3.3 and 11.3-micron emission features in the Orion ionization front, NGC 7027, HD 44179 (the Red Rectangle), NGC 2023, BD + 30 deg 3639, and Elias 1. Recent theoretical calculations have predicted that if these features are due to PAHs they may be linearly polarized in many astronomical situations. The most sensitive measurements of and upper limits on the feature polarization are 1 percent at 3.3 microns and 3 percent at 11.3 microns.

Sellgren, K.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Infrared limb brightening in the Barnard 5 cloud

IRAS and (C-13)O data are presented for the dark cloud Barnard 5. The 100-micron and (C-13)O emission are well correlated and suggest that the 100-micron emission traces the dust and gas column density through the cloud. The 12-micron emission, on the other hand, is anticorrelated with the overall opacity in the cloud, which is interpreted as limb brightening in the context of a model in which small dust grains, probably PAHs, are transiently excited by the absorption of UV photons in a thin shell around the denser parts of the cloud.

Beichman, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Optical spectroscopy of IRAS sources with infrared emission bands. II - IRAS 04324+5106, 06114+1745, 20319+3958, and 22539+5758

The paper presents long-slit optical spectra and microwave CO spectra of four nebulous counterparts to IRAS sources showing PAH emission features: 04324+5106, 06114+1745, 20319+3958, and 22539+5758. IRAS 22539+5758 is associated with a bipolar nebula. All are allied with B-type stars that suffer appreciable circumstellar extinction, and whose environs show atomic emission lines; three represent mixed reflection/emission nebulosities. Three show spectroscopic evidence for outflows at about 100 km/s. One, 06114+1745, exhibits indications of enhanced diffuse interstellar bands. It is concluded that extinction alone is insufficient to yield enhanced DIBs and that peculiar circumstellar abundances and/or physical conditions must play a role.

Cohen, Martin↗
NASA NTRS1989

Mid-infrared spectra of WC 9 stars - The composition of circumstellar and interstellar dust

Broad emission features at about 7.7 microns and absorption features at about 6 and 10 microns observed from the WC 9 stars AFGL 2104 and Ve 2-45 are analyzed. The 7.7-micron feature is shown to resemble the well-known PAH band attributed to CC stretching modes in carbonaceous materials. The results suggest a low H abundance in the outflow of these objects, and that, given a strong UV source, all C-rich dust-enshrouded objects will show (some of) the IR emission bands. It is noted that at least 6 percent of the C and 4 percent of the O are locked up in C=O groups in interstellar silicates.

Cohen, M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Electronic and molecular structure of carbon grains

Clusters of carbon atoms have been studied with large-scale ab initio calculations. Planar, single-sheet graphite fragments with 6 to 54 atoms were investigated, as well as the spherical C(sub 60) Buckminsterfullerene molecule. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have also been considered. Thermodynamic differences between diamond- and graphite-like grains have been studied in particular. Saturation of the peripheral bonds with hydrogen is found to provide a smooth and uniform convergence of the properties with increasing cluster size. For the graphite-like clusters the convergence to bulk values is much slower than for the three-dimensional complexes.

Almloef, Jan↗
NASA NTRS1990

The IRAS low-resolution spectra of planetary nebulae

This paper presents the low-resolution spectra of 170 planetary nebulae observed by IRAS, most of which were not included in the Atlas of Low-Resolution Spectra. These have been classified into eight groups based upon the spectral morphology, with emphasis on the dust continuum rather than the spectral lines. The Low-Resolution Spectrometer (LRS) spectra are nearly evenly divided between spectra which show only a dust continuum with no lines, and spectra where there are strong lines with a dust continuum appearing longwards of about 15 microns. A study has been made of the strength of the 11.3-micron PAH emission feature as a function of the nebular C/O ratio, combining ground-based and LRS data. The C/O ratio for IC 2621 is derived from IUE spectra and used in this study. The 11.3-micron feature is present with essentially constant strength in all nebulae with C/O above about 1. Only marginal evidence exists for its presence below C/O about 1 and then at a level about 5 times lower than in carbon-rich nebulae.

Volk, Kevin↗
NASA NTRS1989

Interstellar Dust: Contributed Papers

A coherent picture of the dust composition and its physical characteristics in the various phases of the interstellar medium was the central theme. Topics addressed included: dust in diffuse interstellar medium; overidentified infrared emission features; dust in dense clouds; dust in galaxies; optical properties of dust grains; interstellar dust models; interstellar dust and the solar system; dust formation and destruction; UV, visible, and IR observations of interstellar extinction; and quantum-statistical calculations of IR emission from highly vibrationally excited polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules.

Tielens, Alexander G. G. M.↗