Search results for: hydrogen injection

Authors: Fossarello Maurizio, Mattana Giorgio, Tatti Filippo.

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The most widely performed surgical procedure in Open-Angle Glaucoma (OAG) is trabeculectomy. Although this filtering procedure is extremely effective, surgical failure and postoperative complications are reported. Due to the its invasive nature and possible complications, trabeculectomy is usually reserved, in practice, for patients who are refractory to medical and laser therapy. Recently, a number of micro-invasive surgical techniques (MIGS: Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery), have been introduced in clinical practice. They meet the criteria of micro-incisional approach, minimal tissue damage, short surgical time, reliable IOP reduction, extremely high safety profile and rapid post-operative recovery. Xen45 Gel Implant (Allergan, Dublin, Ireland) is one of the MIGS alternatives, and consists in a porcine gelatin tube designed to create an aqueous flow from the anterior chamber to the subconjunctival space, bypassing the resistance of the trabecular meshwork. In this study we report the results of this technique as a favorable option in the treatment of OAG for its benefits in term of efficacy and safety, either alone or in combination with cataract surgery. This is a retrospective, single-center study conducted in consecutive OAG patients, who underwent Xen45 Gel Stent implantation alone or in combination with phacoemulsification, from October 2018 to June 2019. The primary endpoint of the study was to evaluate the reduction of both IOP and number of antiglaucoma medications at 12 months. The secondary endpoint was to correlate filtering bleb morphology evaluated by means of anterior segment OCT with efficacy in IOP lowering and eventual further procedures requirement. Data were recorded on Microsoft Excel and study analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS (IBM). Mean values with standard deviations were calculated for IOPs and number of antiglaucoma medications at all points. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that IOP followed a normal distribution at all time, therefore the paired Student’s T test was used to compare baseline and postoperative mean IOP. Correlation between postoperative Day 1 IOP and Month 12 IOP was evaluated using Pearson coefficient. Thirty-six eyes of 36 patients were evaluated. As compared to baseline, mean IOP and the mean number of antiglaucoma medications significantly decreased from 27,33 ± 7,67 mmHg to 16,3 ± 2,89 mmHg (38,8% reduction) and from 2,64 ± 1,39 to 0,42 ± 0,8 (84% reduction), respectively, at 12 months after surgery (both p < 0,001). According to bleb morphology, eyes were divided in uniform group (n=8, 22,2%), subconjunctival separation group (n=5, 13,9%), microcystic multiform group (n=9, 25%) and multiple internal layer group (n=14, 38,9%). Comparing to baseline, there was no significative difference in IOP between the 4 groups at month 12 follow-up visit. Adverse events included bleb function decrease (n=14, 38,9%), hypotony (n=8, 22,2%) and choroidal detachment (n=2, 5,6%). All eyes presenting bleb flattening underwent needling and MMC injection. The higher percentage of patients that required secondary needling was in the uniform group (75%), with a significant difference between the groups (p=0,03). Xen45 gel stent, either alone or in combination with phacoemulsification, provided a significant lowering in both IOP and medical antiglaucoma treatment and an elevated safety profile.

Keywords: anterior segment OCT, bleb morphology, micro-invasive glaucoma surgery, open angle glaucoma, Xen45 gel implant

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Authors: H. K. Esfahani, B. Datta

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Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources in many parts of the world; however it is widely polluted due to human activities. Currently, effective and reliable groundwater management and remediation strategies are obtained using characterization of groundwater pollution sources, where the measured data in monitoring locations are utilized to estimate the unknown pollutant source location and magnitude. However, accurately identifying characteristics of contaminant sources is a challenging task due to uncertainties in terms of predicting source flux injection, hydro-geological and geo-chemical parameters, and the concentration field measurement. Reactive transport of chemical species in contaminated groundwater systems, especially with multiple species, is a complex and highly non-linear geochemical process. Although sufficient concentration measurement data is essential to accurately identify sources characteristics, available data are often sparse and limited in quantity. Therefore, this inverse problem-solving method for characterizing unknown groundwater pollution sources is often considered ill-posed, complex and non- unique. Different methods have been utilized to identify pollution sources; however, the linked simulation-optimization approach is one effective method to obtain acceptable results under uncertainties in complex real life scenarios. With this approach, the numerical flow and contaminant transport simulation models are externally linked to an optimization algorithm, with the objective of minimizing the difference between measured concentration and estimated pollutant concentration at observation locations. Concentration measurement data are very important to accurately estimate pollution source properties; therefore, optimal design of the monitoring network is essential to gather adequate measured data at desired times and locations. Due to budget and physical restrictions, an efficient and effective approach for groundwater pollutant source characterization is to design an optimal monitoring network, especially when only inadequate and arbitrary concentration measurement data are initially available. In this approach, preliminary concentration observation data are utilized for preliminary source location, magnitude and duration of source activity identification, and these results are utilized for monitoring network design. Further, feedback information from the monitoring network is used as inputs for sequential monitoring network design, to improve the identification of unknown source characteristics. To design an effective monitoring network of observation wells, optimization and interpolation techniques are used. A simulation model should be utilized to accurately describe the aquifer properties in terms of hydro-geochemical parameters and boundary conditions. However, the simulation of the transport processes becomes complex when the pollutants are chemically reactive. Three dimensional transient flow and reactive contaminant transport process is considered. The proposed methodology uses HYDROGEOCHEM 5.0 (HGCH) as the simulation model for flow and transport processes with chemically multiple reactive species. Adaptive Simulated Annealing (ASA) is used as optimization algorithm in linked simulation-optimization methodology to identify the unknown source characteristics. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to develop a methodology to optimally design an effective monitoring network for pollution source characterization with reactive species in polluted aquifers. The performance of the developed methodology will be evaluated for an illustrative polluted aquifer sites, for example an abandoned mine site in Queensland, Australia.

Keywords: monitoring network design, source characterization, chemical reactive transport process, contaminated mine site

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Authors: Thembelihle Portia Lubisi, Malusi Ntandoyenkosi Mkhize, Jonas Kalebe Johakimu

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Fertilizers play an important role in maintaining the productivity and quality of plants. Inorganic fertilizers (containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) are largely used in South Africa as they are considered inexpensive and highly productive. When applied, a portion of the excess fertilizer will be retained in the soil, a portion enters water streams due to surface runoff or the irrigation system adopted. Excess nutrient from the fertilizers entering the water stream eventually results harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater systems, which not only disrupt wildlife but can also produce toxins harmful to humans. Use of agro-chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides has been associated with increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans as the plants are consumed by humans. This resistance of bacterial poses a threat as it prevents the Health sector from being able to treat infectious disease. Archaeological studies have found that pyrolysis liquids were already used in the time of the Neanderthal as a biocide and plant protection product. Pyrolysis is thermal degradation process of plant biomass or organic material under anaerobic conditions leading to production of char, bio-oils and syn gases. Bio-oil constituents can be categorized as water soluble (wood vinegar) and water insoluble fractions (tar and light oils). Wood vinegar (pyro-ligneous acid) is said to contain contains highly oxygenated compounds including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, phenols, esters, furans, and other multifunctional compounds with various molecular weights and compositions depending on the biomass material derived from and pyrolysis operating conditions. Various researchers have found the wood vinegar to be efficient in the eradication of termites, effective in plant protection and plant growth, has antibacterial characteristics and was found effective in inhibiting the micro-organisms such as candida yeast, E-coli, etc. This study investigated characterisation of South African forestry product processing waste with intention of evaluating the potential of using the respective biomass waste as feedstock for boil oil production via pyrolysis process. Ability to use biomass waste materials in production of wood-vinegar has advantages that it does not only allows for reduction of environmental pollution and landfill requirement, but it also does not negatively affect food security. The biomass wastes investigated were from the popular tree types in KZN, which are, pine saw dust (PSD), pine bark (PB), eucalyptus saw dust (ESD) and eucalyptus bark (EB). Furthermore, the research investigates the possibility of mixing the different wastes with an aim to lessen the cost of raw material separation prior to feeding into pyrolysis process and mixing also increases the amount of biomass material available for beneficiation. A 50/50 mixture of PSD and ESD (EPSD) and mixture containing pine saw dust; eucalyptus saw dust, pine bark and eucalyptus bark (EPSDB). Characterisation of the biomass waste will look at analysis such as proximate (volatiles, ash, fixed carbon), ultimate (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur), high heating value, structural (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) and thermogravimetric analysis.

Keywords: characterisation, biomass waste, saw dust, wood waste

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Authors: Yung-Chih Kuo, Che-Yu Lin, Jay-Shake Li, Yung-I Lou

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Curcumin (CRM) and nerve growth factor (NGF) were entrapped in liposomes (LIP) with cardiolipin (CL) to downregulate the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) management. AD belongs to neurodegenerative disorder with a gradual loss of memory, yielding irreversible dementia. CL-conjugated LIP loaded with CRM (CRM-CL/LIP) and that with NGF (NGF-CL/LIP) were applied to AD models of SK-N-MC cells and Wistar rats with an insult of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ). Lipids comprising 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine (Avanti Polar Lipids, Alabaster, AL), 1',3'-bis[1,2- dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho]-sn-glycerol (CL; Avanti Polar Lipids), 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N- [methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (Avanti Polar Lipids), 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[carboxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (Avanti Polar Lipids) and CRM (Sigma–Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) were dissolved in chloroform (J. T. Baker, Phillipsburg, NJ) and condensed using a rotary evaporator (Panchum, Kaohsiung, Taiwan). Human β-NGF (Alomone Lab, Jerusalem, Israel) was added in the aqueous phase. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA; Medicago AB, Uppsala, Sweden) was grafted on LIP loaded with CRM for (WGA-CRM-LIP) and CL-conjugated LIP loaded with CRM (WGA-CRM-CL/LIP) using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (Sigma–Aldrich) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (Alfa Aesar, Ward Hill, MA). The protein samples of SK-N-MC cells (American Type Tissue Collection, Rockville, MD) were used for sodium dodecyl sulfate (Sigma–Aldrich) polyacrylamide gel (Sigma–Aldrich) electrophoresis. In animal study, the LIP formulations were administered by intravenous injection via a tail vein of male Wistar rats (250–280 g, 8 weeks, BioLasco, Taipei, Taiwan), which were housed in the Animal Laboratory of National Chung Cheng University in accordance with the institutional guidelines and the guidelines of Animal Protection Committee under the Council of Agriculture of the Republic of China. We found that CRM-CL/LIP could inhibit the expressions of phosphorylated p38 (p-p38), p-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), and p-tau protein at serine 202 (p-Ser202) to retard the neuronal apoptosis. Free CRM and released CRM from CRM-LIP and CRM-CL/LIP were not in a straightforward manner to effectively inhibit the expression of p-p38 and p-JNK in the cytoplasm. In addition, NGF-CL/LIP enhanced the quantities of p-neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 1 (p-TrkA) and p-extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 5 (p-ERK5), preventing the Aβ-induced degeneration of neurons. The membrane fusion of NGF-LIP activated the ERK5 pathway and the targeting capacity of NGF-CL/LIP enhanced the possibility of released NGF to affect the TrkA level. Moreover, WGA-CRM-LIP improved the permeation of CRM across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and significantly reduced the Aβ plaque deposition and malondialdehyde level and increased the percentage of normal neurons and cholinergic function in the hippocampus of AD rats. This was mainly because the encapsulated CRM was protected by LIP against a rapid degradation in the blood. Furthermore, WGA on LIP could target N-acetylglucosamine on endothelia and increased the quantity of CRM transported across the BBB. In addition, WGA-CRM-CL/LIP could be effective in suppressing the synthesis of acetylcholinesterase and reduced the decomposition of acetylcholine for better neurotransmission. Based on the in vitro and in vivo evidences, WGA-CRM-CL/LIP can rescue neurons from apoptosis in the brain and can be a promising drug delivery system for clinical AD therapy.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, β-amyloid, liposome, mitogen-activated protein kinase

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Authors: Łukasz Mazur, Kamil Domaradzki, Bartosz Kamecki, Justyna Ignaczak, Sebastian Molin, Aleksander Gil, Tomasz Brylewski

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The rising global power consumption necessitates the development of new energy storage solutions. Prospective technologies include solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs), which convert surplus electrical energy into hydrogen. An electrolyzer cell consists of a porous anode, and cathode, and a dense electrolyte. Power output is increased by connecting cells into stacks using interconnects. Interconnects are currently made from high-chromium ferritic steels – for example, Crofer 22 APU – which exhibit high oxidation resistance and a thermal expansion coefficient that is similar to that of electrode materials. These materials have one disadvantage – their area-specific resistance (ASR) gradually increases due to the formation of a Cr₂O₃ scale on their surface as a result of oxidation. The chromia in the scale also reacts with the water vapor present in the reaction media, forming volatile chromium oxyhydroxides, which in turn react with electrode materials and cause their deterioration. The electrochemical efficiency of SOECs thus decreases. To mitigate this, the interconnect surface can be modified with protective-conducting coatings of spinel or other materials. The high prices of SOEC components -especially the Crofer 22 APU- have prevented their widespread adoption. More inexpensive counterparts, therefore, need to be found, and their properties need to be enhanced to make them viable. Candidates include the Nirosta 4016/1,4016 low-chromium ferritic steel with a chromium content of just 16.3 wt%. This steel's resistance to high-temperature oxidation was improved by depositing Gd₂O₃ nanoparticles on its surface via either dip coating or electrolysis. Modification with CeO₂ or Ce₀.₉Y₀.₁O₂ nanoparticles deposited by means of spray pyrolysis was also tested. These methods were selected because of their low cost and simplicity of application. The aim of this study was to investigate the oxidation kinetics of Nirosta 4016/1,4016 modified using the afore-mentioned methods and to subsequently measure the obtained samples' ASR. The samples were oxidized for 100 h in the air as well as air/H₂O and Ar/H₂/H₂O mixtures at 1073 K. Such conditions reflect those found in the anode and cathode operating space during real-life use of SOECs. Phase and chemical composition and the microstructure of oxidation products were determined using XRD and SEM-EDS. ASR was measured over the range of 623-1073 K using a four-point, two-probe DC technique. The results indicate that the applied nanoparticles improve the oxidation resistance and electrical properties of the studied layered systems. The properties of individual systems varied significantly depending on the applied reaction medium. Gd₂O₃ nanoparticles improved oxidation resistance to a greater degree than either CeO₂ or Ce₀.₉Y₀.₁O₂ nanoparticles. On the other hand, the cerium-containing nanoparticles improved electrical properties regardless of the reaction medium. The ASR values of all surface-modified steel samples were below the 0.1 Ω.cm² threshold set for interconnect materials, which was exceeded in the case of the unmodified reference sample. It can be concluded that the applied modifications increased the oxidation resistance of Nirosta 4016/1.4016 to a level that allows its use as SOEC interconnect material. Acknowledgments: Funding of Research project supported by program "Excellence initiative – research university" for the AGH University of Krakow" is gratefully acknowledged (TB).

Keywords: cerium oxide, ferritic stainless steel, gadolinium oxide, interconnect, SOEC

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Authors: Kumar Satyam Das, Murali Raghunathan

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This note discusses the feasibility of field development of a challenging shallow offshore field in South East Asia and how its learnings can be applied to marginal field development across the world especially developing marginal fields in this low oil price world. The field was found to be economically challenging even during high oil prices and the project was put on hold. Shell started development study with the aim to significantly reduce cost through competitively scoping and revive stranded projects. The proposed strategy to achieve this involved Improve Per platform recovery and Reduction in CAPEX. Methodology: Based on various Benchmarking Tool such as Woodmac for similar projects in the region and economic affordability, a challenging target of 50% reduction in unit development cost (UDC) was set for the project. Technical scope was defined to the minimum as to be a wellhead platform with minimum functionality to ensure production. The evaluation of key project decisions like Well location and number, well design, Artificial lift methods and wellhead platform type under different development concept was carried out through integrated multi-discipline approach. Key elements influencing per platform recovery were Wellhead Platform (WHP) location, Well count, well reach and well productivity. Major Findings: Reservoir being shallow posed challenges in well design (dog-leg severity, casing size and the achievable step-out), choice of artificial lift and sand-control method. Integrated approach amongst relevant disciplines with challenging mind-set enabled to achieve optimized set of development decisions. This led to significant improvement in per platform recovery. It was concluded that platform recovery largely depended on the reach of the well. Choice of slim well design enabled designing of high inclination and better productivity wells. However, there is trade-off between high inclination Gas Lift (GL) wells and low inclination wells in terms of long term value, operational complexity, well reach, recovery and uptime. Well design element like casing size, well completion, artificial lift and sand control were added successively over the minimum technical scope design leading to a value and risk staircase. Logical combinations of options (slim well, GL) were competitively screened to achieve 25% reduction in well cost. Facility cost reduction was achieved through sourcing standardized Low Cost Facilities platform in combination with portfolio execution to maximizing execution efficiency; this approach is expected to reduce facilities cost by ~23% with respect to the development costs. Further cost reductions were achieved by maximizing use of existing facilities nearby; changing reliance on existing water injection wells and utilizing existing water injector (W.I.) platform for new injectors. Conclusion: The study provides a spectrum of technically feasible options. It also made clear that different drivers lead to different development concepts and the cost value trade off staircase made this very visible. Scoping of the project through competitive way has proven to be valuable for decision makers by creating a transparent view of value and associated risks/uncertainty/trade-offs for difficult choices: elements of the projects can be competitive, whilst other parts will struggle, even though contributing to significant volumes. Reduction in UDC through proper scoping of present projects and its benchmarking paves as a learning for the development of marginal fields across the world, especially in this low oil price scenario. This way of developing a field has on average a reduction of 40% of cost for the Shell projects.

Keywords: benchmarking, full field development, CAPEX, feasibility

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Authors: Farid Risheq, M. Zaid Alrisheq, Shuaa Al-Sadoon, Karim Al-Faqih, Mays Abdulazeez

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Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide, and a common cause of death among women. Various conventional anatomical imaging tools are utilized for diagnosis, histological assessment and TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastases) staging of breast cancer. Biopsy of sentinel lymph node is becoming an alternative to the axillary lymph node dissection. Advances in 18-Fluoro-Deoxi-Glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (18FDG-PET/CT) imaging have facilitated breast cancer diagnosis utilizing biological trapping of 18FDG inside lesion cells, expressed as Standardized Uptake Value (SUVmax). Objective: To present the utility of 18FDG uptake PET/CT scans in detecting active extra lymph nodes and distant occult metastases for breast cancer staging. Subjects and Methods: Four female patients were presented with initially classified TNM stages of breast cancer based on conventional anatomical diagnostic techniques. 18FDG-PET/CT scans were performed one hour post 18FDG intra-venous injection of (300-370) MBq, and (7-8) bed/130sec. Transverse, sagittal, and coronal views; fused PET/CT and MIP modality were reconstructed for each patient. Results: A total of twenty four lesions in breast, extended lesions to lung, liver, bone and active extra lymph nodes were detected among patients. The initial TNM stage was significantly changed post 18FDG-PET/CT scan for each patient, as follows: Patient-1: Initial TNM-stage: T1N1M0-(stage I). Finding: Two lesions in right breast (3.2cm2, SUVmax=10.2), (1.8cm2, SUVmax=6.7), associated with metastases to two right axillary lymph nodes. Final TNM-stage: T1N2M0-(stage II). Patient-2: Initial TNM-stage: T2N2M0-(stage III). Finding: Right breast lesion (6.1cm2, SUVmax=15.2), associated with metastases to right internal mammary lymph node, two right axillary lymph nodes, and sclerotic lesions in right scapula. Final TNM-stage: T2N3M1-(stage IV). Patient-3: Initial TNM-stage: T2N0M1-(stage III). Finding: Left breast lesion (11.1cm2, SUVmax=18.8), associated with metastases to two lymph nodes in left hilum, and three lesions in both lungs. Final TNM-stage: T2N2M1-(stage IV). Patient-4: Initial TNM-stage: T4N1M1-(stage III). Finding: Four lesions in upper outer quadrant area of right breast (largest: 12.7cm2, SUVmax=18.6), in addition to one lesion in left breast (4.8cm2, SUVmax=7.1), associated with metastases to multiple lesions in liver (largest: 11.4cm2, SUV=8.0), and two bony-lytic lesions in left scapula and cervicle-1. No evidence of regional or distant lymph node involvement. Final TNM-stage: T4N0M2-(stage IV). Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that 18FDG-PET/CT scans had significantly changed the TNM stages of breast cancer patients. While the T factor was unchanged, N and M factors showed significant variations. A single session of PET/CT scan was effective in detecting active extra lymph nodes and distant occult metastases, which were not identified by conventional diagnostic techniques, and might advantageously replace bone scan, and contrast enhanced CT of chest, abdomen and pelvis. Applying 18FDG-PET/CT scan early in the investigation, might shorten diagnosis time, helps deciding adequate treatment protocol, and could improve patients’ quality of life and survival. Trapping of 18FDG in malignant lesion cells, after a PET/CT scan, increases the retention index (RI%) for a considerable time, which might help localize sentinel lymph node for biopsy using a hand held gamma probe detector. Future work is required to demonstrate its utility.

Keywords: axillary lymph nodes, breast cancer staging, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography, lymph nodes

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Authors: Joanna Szymanska, Paulina Wawulska-Marek, Jaroslaw Mizera

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Nowadays, the rapid growth of global energy consumption and uncontrolled depletion of natural resources become a serious problem. Shale rocks are the largest and potential global basins containing hydrocarbons, trapped in closed pores of the shale matrix. Regardless of the shales origin, mining conditions are extremely unfavourable due to high reservoir pressure, great depths, increased clay minerals content and limited permeability (nanoDarcy) of the rocks. Taking into consideration such geomechanical barriers, effective extraction of natural gas from shales with plastic zones demands effective operations. Actually, hydraulic fracturing is the most developed technique based on the injection of pressurized fluid into a wellbore, to initiate fractures propagation. However, a rapid drop of pressure after fluid suction to the ground induces a fracture closure and conductivity reduction. In order to minimize this risk, proppants should be applied. They are solid granules transported with hydraulic fluids to locate inside the rock. Proppants act as a prop for the closing fracture, thus gas migration to a borehole is effective. Quartz sands are commonly applied proppants only at shallow deposits (USA). Whereas, ceramic proppants are designed to meet rigorous downhole conditions to intensify output. Ceramic granules predominate with higher mechanical strength, stability in strong acidic environment, spherical shape and homogeneity as well. Quality of ceramic proppants is conditioned by raw materials selection. Aim of this study was to obtain the proppants from aluminosilicates (the kaolinite subgroup) and mix of minerals with a high alumina content. These loamy minerals contain a tubular and platy morphology that improves mechanical properties and reduces their specific weight. Moreover, they are distinguished by well-developed surface area, high porosity, fine particle size, superb dispersion and nontoxic properties - very crucial for particles consolidation into spherical and crush-resistant granules in mechanical granulation process. The aluminosilicates were mixed with water and natural organic binder to improve liquid-bridges and pores formation between particles. Afterward, the green proppants were subjected to sintering at high temperatures. Evaluation of the minerals utility was based on their particle size distribution (laser diffraction study) and thermal stability (thermogravimetry). Scanning Electron Microscopy was useful for morphology and shape identification combined with specific surface area measurement (BET). Chemical composition was verified by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and X-ray Fluorescence. Moreover, bulk density and specific weight were measured. Such comprehensive characterization of loamy materials confirmed their favourable impact on the proppants granulation. The sintered granules were analyzed by SEM to verify the surface topography and phase transitions after sintering. Pores distribution was identified by X-Ray Tomography. This method enabled also the simulation of proppants settlement in a fracture, while measurement of bulk density was essential to predict their amount to fill a well. Roundness coefficient was also evaluated, whereas impact on mining environment was identified by turbidity and solubility in acid - to indicate risk of the material decay in a well. The obtained outcomes confirmed a positive influence of the loamy minerals on ceramic proppants properties with respect to the strict norms. This research is perspective for higher quality proppants production with costs reduction.

Keywords: aluminosilicates, ceramic proppants, mechanical granulation, shale gas

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Authors: Xu Fei (Philip) WU

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As waste recycling concept been accepted more and more in modern societies, the organic portion of the municipal waste become a sires issue in today’s life. Depend on location and season, the organic waste can bee anywhere between 40-65% of total municipal solid waste. Also composting and anaerobic digestion technologies been applied in this field for years, however both process have difficulties been selected by economical and environmental factors. Beside environmental pollution and risk of virus spread, the compost is not a product been welcomed by people even the waste management has to give up them at no cost. The anaerobic digester has to have 70% of water and keep at 35 degree C or above; base on above conditions, the retention time only can be up to two weeks and remain solid has to be dewater and composting again. The enhancive waste water treatment has to be added after. Because these reasons, the voice of suggesting cancelling recycling program and turning all waste to mass burn incinerations have been raised-A process has already been proved has least energy efficiency and most air pollution problem associated process. A newly developed WXF Bio-energy process employs recently developed and patented pre-designed separation, multi-layer and multi-cavity successive bioreactor landfill technology. It features an improved leachate recycling technology, technologies to maximize the biogas generation rate and a reduced overall turnaround period on the land. A single properly designed and operated site can be used indefinitely. In this process, all collected biogas will be processed to eliminate H2S and other hazardous gases. The methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen will be utilized in a proprietary process to manufacture methanol which can be sold to mitigate operating costs of the landfill. This integration of new processes offers a more advanced alternative to current sanitary landfill, incineration and compost technology. Xu Fei (Philip) Wu Xu Fei Wu is founder and Chief Scientist of W&Y Environmental International Inc. (W & Y), a Canadian environmental and sustainable energy technology company with patented landfill processes and proprietary waste to energy technologies. He has worked in environmental and sustainable energy fields over the last 25 years. Before W&Y, he worked for Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Limited, Microbe Environmental Science and Technology Inc. of Canada and The Ministry of Nuclear Industry and Ministry of Space Flight Industry of China. Xu Fei Wu holds a Master of Engineering Science degree from The University of Western Ontario. I wish present this paper as an oral presentation only Selected Conference Presentations: • “Removal of Phenolic Compounds with Algae” Presented at 25th Canadian Symposium on Water Pollution Research (CAWPRC Conference), Burlington, Ontario Canada. February, 1990 • “Removal of Phenolic Compounds with Algae” Presented at Annual Conference of Pollution Control Association of Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. April, 1990 • “Removal of Organochlorine Compounds in a Flocculated Algae Photo-Bioreactor” Presented at International Symposium on Low Cost and Energy Saving Wastewater Treatment Technologies (IAWPRC Conference), Kiyoto, Japan, August, 1990 • “Maximizing Production and Utilization of Landfill Gas” 2009 Wuhan International Conference on Environment(CAWPRC Conference, sponsored by US EPA) Wuhan, China. October, 2009. • “WXF Bio-Energy-A Green, Sustainable Waste to Energy Process” Presented at 9Th International Conference Cooperation for Waste Issues, Kharkiv, Ukraine March, 2012 • “A Lannfill Site Can Be Recycled Indefinitely” Presented at 28th International Conference on solid Waste Technology and Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. March, 2013. Hosted by The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management.

Keywords: green fuel, waste management, bio-energy, sustainable development, methanol

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Authors: Mina Naeini, Thomas A. Adams II

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Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) feature high electrical efficiency and generate substantial amounts of waste heat that make them suitable for integrated community energy systems (ICEs). By harvesting and distributing the waste heat through hot water pipelines, SOFCs can meet thermal demand of the communities. Therefore, they can replace traditional gas boilers and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite these advantages of SOFCs over competing power generation units, this technology has not been successfully commercialized in large-scale to replace traditional generators in ICEs. One reason is that SOFC performance deteriorates over long-term operation, which makes it difficult to find the proper sizing of the cells for a particular ICE system. In order to find the optimal sizing and operating conditions of SOFCs in a community, a proper knowledge of degradation mechanisms and effects of operating conditions on SOFCs long-time performance is required. The simplified SOFC models that exist in the current literature usually do not provide realistic results since they usually underestimate rate of performance drop by making too many assumptions or generalizations. In addition, some of these models have been obtained from experimental data by curve-fitting methods. Although these models are valid for the range of operating conditions in which experiments were conducted, they cannot be generalized to other conditions and so have limited use for most ICEs. In the present study, a general, detailed degradation-based model is proposed that predicts the performance of conventional SOFCs over a long period of time at different operating conditions. Conventional SOFCs are composed of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) as electrolyte, Ni-cermet anodes, and LaSr₁₋ₓMnₓO₃ (LSM) cathodes. The following degradation processes are considered in this model: oxidation and coarsening of nickel particles in the Ni-cermet anodes, changes in the pore radius in anode, electrolyte, and anode electrical conductivity degradation, and sulfur poisoning of the anode compartment. This model helps decision makers discover the optimal sizing and operation of the cells for a stable, efficient performance with the fewest assumptions. It is suitable for a wide variety of applications. Sulfur contamination of the anode compartment is an important cause of performance drop in cells supplied with hydrocarbon-based fuel sources. H₂S, which is often added to hydrocarbon fuels as an odorant, can diminish catalytic behavior of Ni-based anodes by lowering their electrochemical activity and hydrocarbon conversion properties. Therefore, the existing models in the literature for H₂-supplied SOFCs cannot be applied to hydrocarbon-fueled SOFCs as they only account for the electrochemical activity reduction. A regression model is developed in the current work for sulfur contamination of the SOFCs fed with hydrocarbon fuel sources. The model is developed as a function of current density and H₂S concentration in the fuel. To the best of authors' knowledge, it is the first model that accounts for impact of current density on sulfur poisoning of cells supplied with hydrocarbon-based fuels. Proposed model has wide validity over a range of parameters and is consistent across multiple studies by different independent groups. Simulations using the degradation-based model illustrated that SOFCs voltage drops significantly in the first 1500 hours of operation. After that, cells exhibit a slower degradation rate. The present analysis allowed us to discover the reason for various degradation rate values reported in literature for conventional SOFCs. In fact, the reason why literature reports very different degradation rates, is that literature is inconsistent in definition of how degradation rate is calculated. In the literature, the degradation rate has been calculated as the slope of voltage versus time plot with the unit of voltage drop percentage per 1000 hours operation. Due to the nonlinear profile of voltage over time, degradation rate magnitude depends on the magnitude of time steps selected to calculate the curve's slope. To avoid this issue, instantaneous rate of performance drop is used in the present work. According to a sensitivity analysis, the current density has the highest impact on degradation rate compared to other operating factors, while temperature and hydrogen partial pressure affect SOFCs performance less. The findings demonstrated that a cell running at lower current density performs better in long-term in terms of total average energy delivered per year, even though initially it generates less power than if it had a higher current density. This is because of the dominant and devastating impact of large current densities on the long-term performance of SOFCs, as explained by the model.

Keywords: degradation rate, long-term performance, optimal operation, solid oxide fuel cells, SOFCs

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