Bioconversion and biodegradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1034-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Lindley

Aliphatic hydrocarbons represent a substantial energy reserve but also constitute a useful feedstock for the biotechnological production of various alkane-derived commodity chemicals. In addition, the biodegradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons continues to pose problems for fuel stocks with associated corrosion and eventual motor filter blocking. A relatively high number of yeasts and filamentous fungi have been described that degrade n-alkanes, but relatively few have received thorough investigation. Early work exploiting hydrocarbons as a potential substrate for unicellular protein production, though never commercially successful, enabled high-performance fermentation strategies to be developed that overcame many of the inherent problems caused by the use of high energy content insoluble liquid substrates. The biochemical pathways and physiological characteristics have been sufficiently established, as have the subcellular localization of the alkane-specific pathways, though many of the regulatory phenomena remain obscure. Currently, interest lies in the exploitation of such species, or their enzymes, in bioconversion processes and the unicellular yeasts, whose amenability to rational genetic engineering strategies exceeds that of filamentous species, are currently attracting renewed research interest. In view of this, the existing knowledge and potential for alkane-based biotechnology will be reviewed. Key words: alkane metabolism, bioconversion, biotechnology, aliphatic hydrocarbons, yeasts, filamentous fungi.

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (41) ◽  
pp. 14483-14490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinchao Ma ◽  
Guangbin Cheng ◽  
Xuehai Ju ◽  
Zhenxin Yi ◽  
Shunguan Zhu ◽  
...  

Amino-nitramino functionalized triazolotriazines with high-energy content and low sensitivity are reported, presenting a potential design concept for high-performance insensitive energetic materials.


Author(s):  
E M Goodger

The jet engine group comprises aero turbines, ramjets and rockets, their level of performance increasing in that order, with fuel requirements showing both similarities and differences. The conventional fuel for aero turbine engines, for example, is aviation kerosine, several variants of which exist for specific applications. Aviation fuel specifications are invariably stringent, and variations with density are shown for typical properties. The dwindling availability of optimal crudes over the last 25 years has resulted in a general degradation in the quality of aviation kerosine, with adverse effects on combustion performance, emissions and engine life except where hardware solutions emerged in parallel. In fact, the reduction of emissions is seen to be more a matter of engine design than fuel technology. In the near term, supplies of kerosine may be supplemented from sources other than crude oil, whereas in the longer term, kerosine may be substituted by liquid methane and/or liquid hydrogen. In comparison with kerosine, liquid hydrogen produces more nitrogen in its combustion products on a fuel mass basis, but less on an energy basis, although the flame temperature is higher giving possibilities of more NOx. The fuel requirements of high energy content and storage stability apply across the board, but additional parameters of concern are heat capacity in the case of ramjets, and combustion-product chemistry with rockets, which demand a range of candidate high-performance fuels.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-Yang Zhang ◽  
Tao LI

Solar energy and ambient heat are two inexhaustible energy sources for addressing the global challenge of energy and sustainability. Solar thermal battery based on molecular switches that can store solar energy and release it as heat has recently attracted great interest, but its development is severely limited by both low energy density and short storage stability. On the other hand, the efficient recovery and upgrading of low-grade heat, especially that of the ambient heat, has been a great challenge. Here we report that solar energy and ambient heat can be simultaneously harvested and stored, which is enabled by room-temperature photochemical crystal-to-liquid transitions of small-molecule photoswitches. The two forms of energy are released together to produce high-temperature heat during the reverse photochemical phase change. This strategy, combined with molecular design, provides high energy density of 320-370 J/g and long-term storage stability (half-life of about 3 months). On this basis, we fabricate high-performance, flexible film devices of solar thermal battery, which can be readily recharged at room temperature with good cycling ability, show fast rate of heat release, and produce high-temperature heat that is >20<sup> o</sup>C higher than the ambient temperature. Our work opens up a new avenue to harvest ambient heat, and demonstrate a feasible strategy to develop high-performance solar thermal battery.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-Yang Zhang ◽  
Tao LI

Solar energy and ambient heat are two inexhaustible energy sources for addressing the global challenge of energy and sustainability. Solar thermal battery based on molecular switches that can store solar energy and release it as heat has recently attracted great interest, but its development is severely limited by both low energy density and short storage stability. On the other hand, the efficient recovery and upgrading of low-grade heat, especially that of the ambient heat, has been a great challenge. Here we report that solar energy and ambient heat can be simultaneously harvested and stored, which is enabled by room-temperature photochemical crystal-to-liquid transitions of small-molecule photoswitches. The two forms of energy are released together to produce high-temperature heat during the reverse photochemical phase change. This strategy, combined with molecular design, provides high energy density of 320-370 J/g and long-term storage stability (half-life of about 3 months). On this basis, we fabricate high-performance, flexible film devices of solar thermal battery, which can be readily recharged at room temperature with good cycling ability, show fast rate of heat release, and produce high-temperature heat that is >20<sup> o</sup>C higher than the ambient temperature. Our work opens up a new avenue to harvest ambient heat, and demonstrate a feasible strategy to develop high-performance solar thermal battery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Özge Balcı ◽  
Merve Buldu ◽  
Ameen Uddin Ammar ◽  
Kamil Kiraz ◽  
Mehmet Somer ◽  
...  

AbstractBoron carbide powders were synthesized by mechanically activated annealing process using anhydrous boron oxide (B2O3) and varying carbon (C) sources such as graphite and activated carbon: The precursors were mechanically activated for different times in a high energy ball mill and reacted in an induction furnace. According to the Raman analyses of the carbon sources, the I(D)/I(G) ratio increased from ~ 0.25 to ~ 0.99, as the carbon material changed from graphite to active carbon, indicating the highly defected and disordered structure of active carbon. Complementary advanced EPR analysis of defect centers in B4C revealed that the intrinsic defects play a major role in the electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor device once they have an electrode component made of bare B4C. Depending on the starting material and synthesis conditions the conductivity, energy, and power density, as well as capacity, can be controlled hence high-performance supercapacitor devices can be produced.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2942
Author(s):  
Bhausaheb V. Tawade ◽  
Ikeoluwa E. Apata ◽  
Nihar Pradhan ◽  
Alamgir Karim ◽  
Dharmaraj Raghavan

The synthesis of polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs) or hairy nanoparticles (HNPs) by tethering of polymer chains to the surface of nanoparticles is an important technique to obtain nanostructured hybrid materials that have been widely used in the formulation of advanced polymer nanocomposites. Ceramic-based polymer nanocomposites integrate key attributes of polymer and ceramic nanomaterial to improve the dielectric properties such as breakdown strength, energy density and dielectric loss. This review describes the ”grafting from” and ”grafting to” approaches commonly adopted to graft polymer chains on NPs pertaining to nano-dielectrics. The article also covers various surface initiated controlled radical polymerization techniques, along with templated approaches for grafting of polymer chains onto SiO2, TiO2, BaTiO3, and Al2O3 nanomaterials. As a look towards applications, an outlook on high-performance polymer nanocomposite capacitors for the design of high energy density pulsed power thin-film capacitors is also presented.


Author(s):  
Haojie Li ◽  
Yihua Song ◽  
Kai Xi ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Sheng Liu ◽  
...  

A sufficient areal capacity is necessary for achieving high-energy lithium sulfur battery, which requires high enough sulfur loading in cathode materials. Therefore, kinetically fast catalytic conversion of polysulfide intermediates is...


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenyan Du ◽  
Kangqi Shen ◽  
Yuruo Qi ◽  
Wei Gao ◽  
Mengli Tao ◽  
...  

AbstractRechargeable room temperature sodium–sulfur (RT Na–S) batteries are seriously limited by low sulfur utilization and sluggish electrochemical reaction activity of polysulfide intermediates. Herein, a 3D “branch-leaf” biomimetic design proposed for high performance Na–S batteries, where the leaves constructed from Co nanoparticles on carbon nanofibers (CNF) are fully to expose the active sites of Co. The CNF network acts as conductive “branches” to ensure adequate electron and electrolyte supply for the Co leaves. As an effective electrocatalytic battery system, the 3D “branch-leaf” conductive network with abundant active sites and voids can effectively trap polysulfides and provide plentiful electron/ions pathways for electrochemical reaction. DFT calculation reveals that the Co nanoparticles can induce the formation of a unique Co–S–Na molecular layer on the Co surface, which can enable a fast reduction reaction of the polysulfides. Therefore, the prepared “branch-leaf” CNF-L@Co/S electrode exhibits a high initial specific capacity of 1201 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and superior rate performance.


Nanoscale ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenxi Gao ◽  
Jiawei Wang ◽  
Yuan Huang ◽  
Zixuan Li ◽  
Jiyan Zhang ◽  
...  

Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted significant attention owing to their high safety, high energy density, and low cost. ZIBs have been studied as a potential energy device for portable and...


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document