Cutting the cost of carbon capture: a case for carbon capture and utilization

A significant part of the cost for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is related to the compression of the captured CO2 to its supercritical state, at 150 bar and typically 99% purity. These stringent conditions may however not always be necessary for specific cases of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU). In this manuscript, we investigate how much the parasitic energy of an adsorbent-based carbon capture process may be lowered by utilizing CO2 at 1 bar and adapting the final purity requirement for CO2 from 99% to 70% or 50%. We compare different CO2 sources: the flue gases of coal-fired or natural gas-fired power plants and ambient air. We evaluate the carbon capture performance of over 60 nanoporous materials and determine the influence of the initial and final purity on the parasitic energy of the carbon capture process. Moreover, we demonstrate the underlying principles of the parasitic energy minimization in more detail using the commercially available NaX zeolite. Finally, the calculated utilization cost of CO2 is compared with reported prices for CO2 and published costs for CCS

Monte Carlo simulations to understand 'breathing' phenomenon of metal organic frameworks

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a new class of porous materials synthesized from metal clusters connected by organic linkers. One of the promising applications of MOFs is carbon capture from fuel gasses, where CO2 is adsorbed in the pores of the material. In this presentation, we explore framework flexibility as a possible mechanism for selective and reversible CO2 adsorption by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Most MOFs are fairly rigid structures, in the sense that they undergo small changes in volume when external stress is applied. Typical volume changes are of the order of a few percent only. Nevertheless, some MOF materials have an unexpectedly high flexibility and impressively shrink or swell under pressure, temperature or adsorption changes. A well-known example is MIL-53, a structure that shows volume changes of over 40%. In an adsorption experiment, the gas pressure is gradually increased while the amount of adsorbed material in the pores is measured. For MIL-53, the measured adsorption isotherm shows interesting features: when MIL-53 is brought into contact with a gas at increasing pressure, the framework's pores constrict, while at even higher pressures, the pores return to their original geometry. The process, referred to as "breathing", is reversible and shows hysteresis. Based on Monte Carlo runs, we have constructed a mean-field model to gain insight in the thermodynamics of the breathing. The model shows that the behavior is the result of the different factors at play in a (Nmof,μ,P,T) ensemble (constant amount of MOF material, constant gas chemical potential, constant gas pressure, constant temperature), i.e. the entropy, the pressure and the resistance given by the adsorbed particles. We further investigate how the MOFs' flexibility could be exploited to design an efficient pressure swing setup

Dairy product consumption in french children in 2010

Dairy food consumption is important for children as it contributes to the intake of key nutrients, especially calcium. The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of dairy products consumption for French children, according to age, sex and type of dairy products. Adequacy of dairy and calcium intakes in line with French national guidelines "3 portions of dairy products per day" were also evaluated. Data were extracted and analyzed from the CCAF-Comportementet Consommations Alimentairesen France-study. Seven-day questionnaires were administered to free-living individuals from autumn 2009 to summer 2010. Subjects were children (n=1171) aged 3-17 years. Dairy products contributed substantially to the intake of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin B2 and vitamin B12. A general decrease in DP consumption has been observed since 2003. This is most notably due to a lower milk intake which is not compensated by increased cheese or fresh dairy products. Most of children (67%), and up to 73% of adolescents (15 - 17 y), did not reach the recommended "3 servings of dairy products per day". Twenty percent of children from the age of 6 and nearly 2/3 of female adolescents did not reach their estimated average requirement for calcium. The overview of French dairy food consumption during childhood, of particular Public Health concern, emphasizes the need to encourage dairy consumption and particularly milk consumption at breakfast in order to maintain a nutrient adequacy in children and adolescents

Exploring new frontiers in modeling complex zeolite-catalyzed reactions using advanced molecular dynamics techniques

We show the potential of advanced molecular dynamics techniques to obtain insight into the complex MTO process by thoroughly studying proton mobility and mapping free energy surfaces of reaction steps at high temperature. The applied methodology can be used to unravel any complex zeolitic process at the nanometer scale level

PHF2 regulates homology-directed DNA repair by controlling the resection of DNA double strand breaks

Post-translational histone modifications and chromatin remodelling play a critical role controlling the integrity of the genome. Here, we identify histone lysine demethylase PHF2 as a novel regulator of the DNA damage response by regulating DNA damage-induced focus formation of 53BP1 and BRCA1, critical factors in the pathway choice for DNA double strand break repair. PHF2 knockdown leads to impaired BRCA1 focus formation and delays the resolution of 53BP1 foci. Moreover, irradiation-induced RPA phosphorylation and focus formation, as well as localization of CtIP, required for DNA end resection, to sites of DNA lesions are affected by depletion of PHF2. These results are indicative of a defective resection of double strand breaks and thereby an impaired homologous recombination upon PHF2 depletion. In accordance with these data, Rad51 focus formation and homology-directed double strand break repair is inhibited in cells depleted for PHF2. Importantly, we demonstrate that PHF2 knockdown decreases CtIP and BRCA1 protein and mRNA levels, an effect that is dependent on the demethylase activity of PHF2. Furthermore, PHF2-depleted cells display genome instability and are mildly sensitive to the inhibition of PARP. Together these results demonstrate that PHF2 promotes DNA repair by homologous recombination by controlling CtIP-dependent resection of double strand breaks.España Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion SAF2016-80626-REspaña, Fundación Canaria Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Canarias (FIISC) [PIFUN16/18

Using atomic interference to probe atom-surface interaction

We show that atomic interference in the reflection from two suitably polarized evanescent waves is sensitive to retardation effects in the atom-surface interaction for specific experimental parameters. We study the limit of short and long atomic de Broglie wavelength. The former case is analyzed in the semiclassical approximation (Landau-Zener model). The latter represents a quantum regime and is analyzed by solving numerically the associated coupled Schroedinger equations. We consider a specific experimental scheme and show the results for rubidium (short wavelength) and the much lighter meta-stable helium atom (long wavelength). The merits of each case are then discussed.Comment: 11 pages, including 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. A, RevTeX sourc

Інноваційна діяльність через впровадження технопарків

Досвід усього світу показує, що економічне зростання країн вже давно базується на використанні сфери знань і високих технологій, а їх ефективне поєднання гарантує прогресивний розвиток нації та людства. Однією з найбільш вдалих форм такої інтеграції є технопарки. Саме тому розвитку технопарків на сьогоднішній день приділяють увагу вчені та економісти. Основною метою статті є інноваційна діяльність через впровадження технологічних парків, їх призначення та вплив на розвиток країни

Sexual life and dysfunction after maternal morbidity: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Because there is a lack of knowledge on the long-term consequences of maternal morbidity/near miss episodes on women's sexual life and function we conducted a systematic review with the purpose of identifying the available evidence on any sexual impairment associated with complications from pregnancy and childbirth. METHODS: Systematic review on aspects of women sexual life after any maternal morbidity and/or maternal near miss, during different time periods after delivery. The search was carried out until May 22(nd), 2015 including studies published from 1995 to 2015. No language or study design restrictions were applied. Maternal morbidity as exposure was split into general or severe/near miss. Female sexual outcomes evaluated were dyspareunia, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) scores and time to resume sexual activity after childbirth. Qualitative syntheses for outcomes were provided whenever possible. RESULTS: A total of 2,573 studies were initially identified, and 14 were included for analysis after standard selection procedures for systematic review. General morbidity was mainly related to major perineal injury (3(rd) or 4(th) degree laceration, 12 studies). A clear pattern for severity evaluation of maternal morbidity could not be distinguished, unless when a maternal near miss concept was used. Women experiencing maternal morbidity had more frequently dyspareunia and resumed sexual activity later, when compared to women without morbidity. There were no differences in FSFI scores between groups. Meta-analysis could not be performed, since included studies were too heterogeneous regarding study design, evaluation of exposure and/or outcome and time span. CONCLUSION: Investigation of long-term repercussions on women's sexual life aspects after maternal morbidity has been scarcely performed, however indicating worse outcomes for those experiencing morbidity. Further standardized evaluation of these conditions among maternal morbidity survivors may provide relevant information for clinical follow-up and reproductive planning for women