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At least 865 records · Page 48

A review of sugarcane bagasse for second-generation bioethanol and biopower production: Biorefining Sugar Bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse is a large-volume agriculture residue that is generated on a ~540 million metric tons per year basis globally with the top-three producing countries in Latin America being Brazil (~181 million metric ton yr -1 ), Mexico (15 million metric ton yr -1 ), and Colombia (7 million metric ton yr -1 ), respectively. Furthermore, given sustainability concerns and the need to maximize the utilization of bioresources, the use of sugarcane bagasse is receiving significant attention in biorefining applications, as it is a promising resource for the conversion to biofuels and biopower. Our review provides a comprehensive review of bagasse and its chemical constituents and on-going research into its utilization as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol and electricity generation.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Production of Jet Fuel-Range Hydrocarbons from Hydrodeoxygenation of Lignin over Super Lewis Acid Combined with Metal Catalysts

Super Lewis acids containing the triflate anion (e.g. Hf(OTf)4, Ln(OTf)3, Al(OTf)3) and noble metal catalysts (e.g. Ru/C, Ru/Al2O3) formed efficient catalytic systems to generate saturated hydrocarbons from lignin in high yields. In such catalytic systems, the metal triflates mediated rapid ether bond cleavage via selective bonding to etheric oxygens while the noble metal catalysed subsequent hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reactions. Near theoretical yields of hydrocarbons were produced from lignin model compounds by the combined catalysis of Hf(OTf)4 and ruthenium-based catalysts. When a technical lignin derived from a pilot-scale biorefinery was used, more than 30 wt% of the hydrocarbons produced with this catalytic system were cyclohexane and alkylcyclohexanes in the jet fuel range. Super Lewis acids are postulated to strongly interact with lignin substrates via protonating hydroxyls and ether linkages, forming intermediate species that enhance hydrogenation catalysis by supported noble metal catalysts. Meanwhile, the hydrogenation of aromatic rings by the noble metal catalysts can promote oxygenation reactions catalysed by super Lewis acids.

Wang, Hongliang↗

Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into Wb in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for singly produced vector-like quarks Q , where Q can be either a T quark with charge +2/3 or a Y quark with charge ₋4/3, is performed in proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb ₋1 , recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015 and 2016. The analysis targets Q → Wb decays where the W boson decays leptonically. No crtical deviation from the expected Standard Model background is observed. Upper limits are set on the QWb coupling strength and the mixing between the Standard Model sector and a singlet T quark or a Y quark from a ( B, Y ) doublet or a ( T, B, Y ) triplet, taking into account the interference effects with the Standard Model background. The upper limits set on the mixing angle are as small as |sin θ L | = 0.18 for a singlet T quark of mass 800 GeV, |sin θ R | = 0.17 for a Y quark of mass 800 GeV in a ( B, Y ) doublet model and |sin θL| = 0.16 for a Y quark of mass 800 GeV in a ( T, B, Y ) triplet model. Within a ( B, Y ) doublet model, the limits set on the mixing parameter |sin θ R | are comparable with the exclusion limits from electroweak precision observables in the mass range between about 900 GeV and 1250 GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of dijet production with a veto on additional central jet activity in pp collisions at $ \sqrt {s} = 7 $ TeV using the ATLAS detector

A measurement of jet activity in the rapidity interval bounded by a dijet system is presented. Events are vetoed if a jet with transverse momentum greater than 20 GeV is found between the two boundary jets. The fraction of dijet events that survive the jet veto is presented for boundary jets that are separated by up to six units of rapidity and with mean transverse momentum 50 < p¯ T < 500 GeV. The mean multiplicity of jets above the veto scale in the rapidity interval bounded by the dijet system is also presented as an alternative method for quantifying perturbative QCD emission. The data are compared to a next-to-leading order plus parton shower prediction from the powheg-box, an all-order resummation using the hej calculation and the pythia, herwig++ and alpgen event generators. In conclusion, the measurement was performed using pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV using data recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2010.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Exploratory characterization of a perfluoropolyether oil as a possible viscosity standard at deepwater production conditions of 533 K and 241 MPa

DuPont’s perfluoropolyether oil Krytox ® GPL 102 is a promising candidate for the high-temperature, high-pressure Deepwater viscosity standard (DVS). The preferred DVS is a thermally stable liquid that exhibits a viscosity of roughly 20 mPa ∙ s at 533 K and 241 MPa; a viscosity value representative of light oils found in ultra-deep formations beneath the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, a windowed rolling-ball viscometer designed by our team is used to determine the Krytox ® GPL 102 viscosity at pressures to 245 MPa and temperatures of 311 K, 372 K, and 533 K. At 533 K and 243 MPa, the Krytox ® GPL 102 viscosity is (27.2±1.3)mPa ∙ s. The rolling-ball viscometer viscosity results for Krytox ® GPL 102 are correlated with an empirical 10-parameter surface fitting function that yields an MAPD of 3.9 %. A Couette rheometer is also used to measure the Krytox ® GPL 102 viscosity, yielding a value of (26.2±1)mPa ∙ s at 533 K and 241 MPa. The results of our exploratory study suggest that Krytox ® GPL 102 is a promising candidate for the DVS, primarily because this fluoroether oil is thermally stable and exhibits a viscosity closer to the targeted value of 20 mPa ∙ s at 533 K and 241 MPa than any other fluid reported to date. Nonetheless, further studies must be conducted by other researcher groups using various types of viscometers and rheometers on samples of Krytox GPL ® 102 from the same lot to further establish the properties of Krytox GPL ® 102.

Couette rheometer↗

Production of highly-enriched 134Ba for a reference material for isotope dilution mass spectrometry measurements

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) is an analytical technique capable of providing accurate and precise quantitation of trace isotope abundance and assay providing measurement uncertainties below 1 %. To achieve these low uncertainties, the IDMS method ideally utilizes chemically pure “spike” solutions that consist of a single highly enriched isotope that is well-characterized relating to the abundance of companion isotopes and concentration in solution. To address a current demand for accurate 137Cs/137Ba ratio measurements for “age” determination of radioactive 137Cs sources, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is producing enriched 134Ba isotopes that are tobe used for IDMS spikes to accurately determine 137Ba accumulation from the decay of 137Cs. The final objective of this work it to provide a homogenous set of reference materials that the National Institute of Standards and Technology can certify as standard reference materials used for IDMS. The process that was developed at INL for the separation and isolation of Ba isotopes, chemical purification of the isotopes in solution, and the encapsulation of the materials will be described.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Production of Gas-Phase Uranium Fluoroanions Via Solubilization of Uranium Oxides in the [1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium]{sup +}[F(HF){sub 2.3}]{sup −} Ionic Liquid

A new methodology for gas-phase uranium ion formation is described in which UO{sub 2} is dissolved in neat N-ethyl,N′-methylimidazolium fluorohydrogenate ionic liquid [EMIm{sup +}][F(HF){sub 2.3}{sup −}], yielding a blue-green solution. The solution was diluted with acetonitrile and then analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. UF{sub 6}{sup −} (a U(V) species) was observed at m/z = 352, and other than cluster ions derived from the ionic liquid, nothing else was observed. When the sample was analyzed using infusion desorption chemical ionization, UF{sub 6}{sup −} was the base peak, and it was accompanied by a less intense UF{sub 5}{sup −} that most likely was formed by elimination of a fluorine radical from UF{sub 6}{sup −}. Formation of UF{sub 6}{sup −} required dissolution of UO{sub 2} followed by or concurrent with oxidation of uranium from the + 4 to the + 5 state and finally formation of the fluorouranate. Dissolution of UO{sub 3} produced a bright yellow solution indicative of a U(VI) species; however, electrospray ionization did not produce abundant U-containing ions. The abundant UF{sub 6}{sup −} provides a vehicle for accurate measurement of uranium isotopic abundances free from interference from minor isotopes of other elements and a convenient ion synthesis route that is needed gas-phase structure and reactivity studies like infrared multiphoton dissociation and ion-molecule dissociation and condensation reactions. The reactive fluorohydrogenate ionic liquid may also enable conversion of uranium in oxidic matrices into uranium fluorides that slowly oxidize to uranyl fluoride under ambient conditions, liberating the metal for facile measurement of isotope ratios without extensive chemical separations. .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗