Reductive Catalytic Fractionation of Lignocellulosic Biomass: The Impact of Impurities in Catalyst.

Catalytic fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass is a promising technology for obtaining different fractions and the valorization of lignin. Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) is one of these technologies in which catalysts play an essential role. In this work, the impact of impurities in catalysts on the output of RCF is investigated.

Wetting Behaviors and Mechanisms of Coal Modified by Different Types of Surfactants under Intervention Using KCl.

The fracturing fluid with an added surfactant is conducive to backflow, and it is gaining more and more popularity in coal seam hydraulic fracturing projects. At the same time, the types and concentrations of mineral ions in the solution have an important impact on the backflow of the fracturing fluid. With K and Cl as representative ions of the mineralization degree of water solutions, understanding the mechanism of K and Cl on the wettability of surfactant-modified coal can provide a scientific theoretical basis for the backflow of the fracturing fluid.

From garden to grid: harnessing yard waste into carbon electrode with an insight into life cycle assessment.

As the world grapples with increasing energy demands, transitioning away from fossil fuels is imperative for a sustainable future. Biomass-derived hard carbon materials, particularly from waste sources, offer a promising solution for energy storage applications. This study explores the potential of pyrolyzed yard waste hydrochar (pyrohydrochar) as an eco-friendly electrode material for supercapacitor.

Impact of economic growth patterns on carbon quota allocation by industry in China: extensive or intensive.

Economic growth is closely related to carbon emissions, and determining the appropriate emission reduction targets for various sectors under different economic models has always been a challenge. This paper utilizes an Energy-Economic-Environment CGE model to simulate two types of economic growth models: extensive and intensive. Four economic growth scenarios are defined, and initial carbon quota allocations for various sectors are obtained for China at two key points: the peak year (2029) and the post-peak year (2035).

Volumetric lattice Boltzmann method for thermal particulate flows with conjugate heat transfer.

A volumetric lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is developed for the particle-resolved direct numerical simulation of thermal particulate flows with conjugate heat transfer. This method is devised as a single-domain approach by applying the volumetric interpretation of the LB equation and introducing a solid fraction field to represent the particle. The volumetric LB scheme is employed to enforce the nonslip velocity condition in the solid domain, and a specialized momentum exchange scheme is proposed to calculate the hydrodynamic force and torque acting on the particle.

Synergistic Dual-Polar-Functionalized Metal-Organic Framework-Modified Separator for Stable and High-Performance Sodium Metal Batteries.

Sodium metal, regarded as an ideal anode material for high-energy-density rechargeable sodium metal batteries (SMBs), faces critical challenges, such as sluggish Na transport kinetics and uncontrolled dendritic growth, which severely hinder its cycling stability and practical applications. Herein, the well-designed, multifunctional separator, UFS2@GF, constructed using metal-organic frameworks functionalized with fluorinated (-F) and sulfonic acid (-SOH) groups, synergistically provides more nucleation sites for Na deposition, thereby reducing the nucleation overpotential and achieving uniform deposition. The inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase induced by UFS2 facilitates a uniform Na flux and enhances charge transfer efficiency.

Optimizing energy levels in perovskite solar cells with dual-hole and dual-electron transport layers.

To address the interface carrier recombination and band mismatch associated with the single transport layer design in conventional perovskite solar cells, a dual-electron transport layer (ETL: ZnO/CDS) and a dual-hole transport layer (HTL: Se-Te: CuO/NiO) were proposed. Numerical simulations based on Poisson and carrier continuity equations were employed to systematically investigate the conduction band offset (CBO), valence band offset (VBO), and carrier dynamics. The achievement of optimized energy band alignment and charge transport pathways led to remarkable performance enhancements: the fill factor (FF) increased to 84.

General Oxygen Vacancy Engineering by Molten Zinc to Regulate Anode Redox for Durable Aqueous Zinc-Iodine Batteries.

Oxygen vacancy engineering plays a crucial role in regulating surface chemistry for managing redox behaviors. However, controllable implantation of oxygen vacancy and safe and cost-effective production remain challenging. Herein, we report a general molten zinc reduction technology to prepare oxygen-deficient oxides with tunable vacancy content, synthetic universality, and industrial compatibility under mildly elevated temperature.

Prenatal stress increases learning and memory deficits in offspring: A toxicological study on hippocampal neuronal damage in rats.

Background: Recent epidemiological studies have observed that prenatal stress induced learning and memory deficits in children, but the toxicological mechanisms remain unclear.

Objectives: We conducted a systematic study to explore the toxicological mechanisms of prenatal stress on learning and memory in offspring.

Methods: We established a prenatal stress model by corticosterone (CORT) administration at different dose levels (0, 10, 40 mg/kg) from gestational days 14-21.

Deformation, failure, and crack propagation characteristics of fissured red sandstone under uniaxial compression condition.

Fissures are the main controlling factor of rock strength and crack propagation. To study the deformation, failure characteristics, and crack evolution in fissured red sandstone, uniaxial compression experiments were carried out on pre-fissured samples with different dip angles. The acoustic emission (AE) characteristics and complete stress-strain curves were obtained during the experiment, from which several valuable conclusions were drawn.

Preparation of ultramicroporous carbon for gas adsorption through oxygen-rich precursor-enhanced chemical activation.

The creation of ultramicroporous carbon with highly developed pore structures for CO adsorption is a promising approach to addressing the challenges posed by CO emissions. However, traditional activation methods often struggle with controlling pore development, making it difficult for porous carbon to achieve both high ultramicroporosity and a substantial specific surface area (S), simultaneously. Herein, we introduce a scalable strategy that utilizes oxygen-rich precursors to enhance chemical activation, allowing for precise regulation of ultramicropores while ensuring sufficient pore development.

The short-term economic influence analysis of government regulation on railway freight transport in continuous time.

Regulatory impact analysis, a crucial aspect of the development of railway transportation in China, has faced increasing challenges due to the complex nature of the transportation system and various influencing factors. This study proposes an improved comparative static model (ICSM) that intelligently integrates recursive principles and the Laplace transform to estimate the impact of macroeconomic policy reforms on the economic variables of China Railway Corporation (CRC). The ICSM integrates recursive principles and Laplace transform to solve complex conditions of eigenvalues as multiple roots and a coefficient matrix unable to diagonalize in the ICSM.

Reductive Catalytic Fractionation of Lignocellulose Toward Propyl- or Propenyl-Substituted Monomers and Mechanistic Understanding.

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) is a promising technology that can selectively extract lignin in biomass and depolymerize it. Here, we prepared one low Ru loading catalyst (Ru/C) for RCF of biomass to selectively produce different lignin oils (both monomers and oligomers) under different reaction atmospheres. The yield of phenolic monomers reached 46.

Study on the Promotion of Gas Hydrate Generation by Three Different Electric Field Waveform Signals in Synergy with Surfactants.

The rapid development of the natural gas hydrate industry has put forward higher requirements for hydrate promotion technology. The exploration of methods that can simultaneously enhance both the hydrate formation rate and the final gas and water conversion efficiency has become a critical research focus. This study systematically investigated the synergistic effects of electric field (EF) signals, including three distinct waveforms (square, sine, ramp wave) at six different voltage levels, combined with four concentration gradients of the cationic surfactant called hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on the CH hydrate formation process.

Quantitative characterization of damage characteristics of coal using evaluation parameters considering the spatial structural characteristics of fractures.

Stable underground tunnels and gas drainage boreholes are important guarantees for safe and efficient coal mining. The stability of these structures is closely related to the mechanical properties of coal and rock damage. Accurate quantification of coal and rock damage factors is a prerequisite for objective evaluation of damage mechanics.

Activity screening of Pt-CeO gradient films prepared by bipolar electrochemistry for electrooxidation reactions.

Glassy carbon electrodes were modified with a CeO film and Pt nanoparticles (Pt-CeO) for electrocatalysis. Interestingly, the oxidation of benzyl alcohol was significantly enhanced when Pt-CeO films were prepared by the simultaneous electrodeposition of the two materials, indicating a significant synergistic electrocatalytic activity. Subsequently, bipolar electrochemistry was employed to prepare Pt-CeO gradient films.

Modulating Activity of Lattice Oxygen of ABO Perovskite Oxides in Redox Reactions: A Review.

Perovskites, owing to their unique structure, tunable chemical composition, and versatile physicochemical properties, have garnered extensive applications, particularly in redox reactions where the lattice oxygen and/or oxygen vacancies within perovskite are identified as active sites. The modulation of lattice oxygen activity in perovskites is crucial for enhancing the performance of perovskite-type oxides in redox reactions. This review delineates the key factors affecting lattice oxygen activity, including lattice distortions, crystal defects, surface and interface effects, and the migration rate of oxygen ions, and elucidates how these factors synergistically influence the activity of lattice oxygen.

Migration of heavy metals and microbial metabolic regulation mechanisms in the co-fermentation of coal slime and sawdust.

Heavy metals (HMs) significantly affect the anaerobic fermentation of coal slime (CS), while sawdust serves as a promising substrate for methane bioconversion and an effective adsorbent for HMs. To explore the migration of HMs and improve the conversion efficiency of CS and sawdust to biomethane, experiments were conducted on the co-fermentation of CS and sawdust with different mass ratios. FT-IR, ICP-MS, SEM-EDS, and metagenomic sequencing were employed to elucidate the regulation mechanism of microorganisms after adding sawdust in altering the toxicological environment.

Anomalous component-dependent lattice thermal conductivity in MoWTaTiZr refractory high-entropy alloys.

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) have been of great interest due to their excellent mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. However, there are few studies on their thermodynamic properties. Here, we investigate lattice thermal conductivity of MoWTaTiZr RHEAs using the equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) method.

Machine Learning-Assisted Multi-Property Prediction and Sintering Mechanism Exploration of Mullite-Corundum Ceramics.

Mullite-corundum ceramics are pivotal in heat transfer pipelines and thermal energy storage systems due to their excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. Establishing relationships and mechanisms through traditional experiments is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this study, gradient boosting regression (GBR), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed to predict essential properties such as apparent porosity, bulk density, water absorption, and flexural strength of mullite-corundum ceramics.

Analysis of urban subway construction collapse disaster chain and research on chain breaking and disaster reduction.

In recent years, China 's major cities set off a climax of subway construction, but also brought an endless stream of safety accidents. In order to analyze the impact of the evolution process of urban subway construction collapse disaster on residents ' life and social economy, by collecting typical cases of subway construction collapse disaster, combined with disaster chain and complex network theory, the network model of subway construction collapse disaster chain is constructed, and the key node events and key propagation paths are analyzed. Based on this, targeted chain-breaking disaster reduction measures are proposed.

Influence of corn starch acid hydrolysate on reservoir damage: The key role of molecular structure.

Starch has been widely used in water-based drilling fluids (WBDFs). However, potential reservoir damage to starch-based WBDFs has not attracted much attention. To analyze the potential reservoir damage caused by starch, waxy corn starch (WCS) and normal corn starch (NCS) were selected to focus on their acid hydrolysis behavior, the structure of hydrolysates.

Quantitative Evaluation of the Critical Fracture Size for Migration of Mobile Water during Slug Flows in Coalbed Methane Wells.

The distribution of mobile water during slug flows in coalbed methane (CBM) wells directly affects the water pressure propagation path. In this article, the distribution characteristics of gas and water in fractures during slug flow are characterized by gas-liquid microscopic flow experiments. Fluid-structure interaction was adopted to analyze the fracture morphology after deformation under stress.

Life cycle assessment of lithium-ion batteries with carbon-coated silicon-graphite composite anodes: impact of silicon content on cradle-to-gate environmental footprint.

Silicon has garnered increased attention as a potential next-generation anode for lithium-ion batteries due to its abundant availability and remarkable theoretical specific capacity. This study utilizes a life cycle assessment approach to analyze the cradle-to-gate environmental implications of a 1 kWh lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery featuring a carbon-coated silicon-graphite composite anode with varying silicon content ranging from 5 to 100%. The outcomes are compared with those of a 1 kWh graphite-lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery.

Production characteristics and adsorption control mechanism of CO-rich CBG wells.

To investigate the productivity laws of coalbed gas (CBG) wells in carbon dioxide (CO)-rich coalfield, the Haishiwan coal mine in Yaojie coalfield, Gansu Province, China, which is rich in CO of different concentrations in CBG, was selected as the study area. Using numerical simulation technology, the production capacity of CBG wells was simulated, and the thermodynamic factors influencing gas adsorption differences on production capacity were discussed. Numerical simulation indicates that with the increase of CO concentration, the gas breakthrough time is prolonged, and the gas production first increases and then decreases.