6,797 research outputs found
Effects of cracks on chloride‐induced corrosion initiation and propagation of carbon and stainless steel rebar
No full textCurrent durability design models for reinforced concrete structures in chloride-contaminated environments do not consider the effects of cracks, which in practice are almost inevitable. Literature reports controversial results on corrosion propagation time of carbon steel (CS) in cracked concrete, while fewer information can be found on stainless steel (SS) rebar, which can be employed as additional protection strategy. In this experimental study, corrosion initiation and propagation of CS and SS rebar in uncracked and cracked concrete are presented. Prismatic specimens, reinforced with CS and 304L SS bars were subjected to a loading procedure to induce longitudinal micro-cracks and exposed to a 3.5% NaCl solution for more than 2 years. Corrosion was monitored with electrochemical techniques and at the end of exposure corrosive attacks were observed. Results demonstrate the fundamental contribution of micro-cracks in accelerating corrosion phenomena for CS, while SS is still in passive conditions also in cracked concrete
Multi-step fractionation as a tool for enhanced valorization of technical lignins
No full textThe valorisation of lignin obtained as a by-product of the pulping and biofuel industries is one of the most promising topics in the bioresource field. Despite its potential value as the only massively available aromatic biopolymer feedstock, technical lignin is nowadays mostly burnt as low cost energy source because of its chemical recalcitrance. The high heterogeneity of this material, largely dependent on the different vegetal sources and the specific biomass recovery methods, restricts its direct use and hinders also the optimization of depolymerisation approaches. The development of effective technical lignin fractionation strategies is therefore today one of the most challenging topic in the green chemistry field.
In this study, the fractionation of two industrial commercial lignins was performed by a three step procedure set-up either in aqueous or in environmentally friendly organic solvents in order to obtain sustainable and scalable processes. The first step consisted in a microfiltration or a Soxhlet extraction in function of the solvent used. Then a cascade membrane ultrafiltration allowed to obtain at the end three refined lignin fractions (see Figure below) which were fully characterized, presenting better defined physico-chemical properties compared to the starting raw material.
The availability of technical lignin fractions with tailored and reproducible characteristics allows the set-up of enhanced lignin valorization strategies for the development of bio-based polymers and preparation of key platform chemicals, thereby paving the way for an effective exploitation and valorization of this remarkable resource.
Allegretti, A.; Fontanay, S.; Krauke, Y.; Luebbert, M.; Strini, A.; Troquet, J.; Turri, S.; Griffini, G.; D’Arrigo, P. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 9056-9064.
Acknoledgements: ValorPlus Project (grant agreement no FP7-KBBE-2013-7-613802)
[Poesia] Três poemas de Alberto Secama
No full textThree poems by Alberto Secama. About the author: Alberto Secama is an Angolan poet who has poems published on many websites and on facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Xungurra/abouthttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-rio-kwanza-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-zong-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/coluna-africa-em-verso-o-sol-la-fora-por-alberto-secamaTres poemas de Alberto Secama. Sobre el autor: Alberto Secama es un poeta angoleño que tiene poemas publicados en varios sitios y en el facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Xungurra/abouthttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-rio-kwanza-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-zong-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/coluna-africa-em-verso-o-sol-la-fora-por-alberto-secamaTrês poemas de Alberto Secama. Sobre o autor: Alberto Secama é um poeta angolano que possui poemas publicados em vários sites e no facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Xungurra/abouthttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-rio-kwanza-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-zong-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/coluna-africa-em-verso-o-sol-la-fora-por-alberto-secam
LIGNIN VALORIZATION: FROM MOLECULES TO MATERIALS
No full textLIGNIN VALORIZATION: FROM MOLECULES TO MATERIALS
Chiara Allegretti1*, Gianmarco Griffini1, Arno Cordes2, Simon Fontanay3, Alberto Strini4, Julien Troquet3, Stefano Turri1, Paola D’Arrigo1,5
1Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico of Milano,
p.zza L. da Vinci 32, Milano, Italy
2ASA Spezialenzyme GmbH Am Exer 19 C, Wolfenbüttel, Germany
3Biobasic Environnement, Biopôle Clermont Limagne, Saint-Beauzire, France
4Construction Technologies Institute - National Research Council of Italy (ITC-CNR), San Giuliano Mil., Italy
5The Protein Factory Research Center, via Mancinelli 7, Milano, Italy
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Lignin is a highly complex phenolic matrix that acts as a binder in plants conferring them structural integrity and strength, and is one of the three major subcomponents of lignocellulosic biomass. Although burning lignin is still considered a valuable contribution in saving fossil sources, the exploitation of this extremely abundant natural polymer in terms of higher value-added applications is very appealing as it represents the only viable source to produce aromatic compounds as fossil fuels alternative. Due to the very broad composition in terms of molecular weight of the raw material, a pretreatment strategy becomes necessary for an efficient lignin valorization as macromolecular building block for polymeric materials or as precursor for aromatic small molecules.
To this end, a physical fractionation has been performed in this work, where Lignin (ProtobindTM1000) in a water/ethanol solution is subjected at first to microfiltration under vacuum in order to eliminate the insoluble residues. The permeate then undergoes a cross-flow filtration process using two subsequent membranes with cut-off of 3 kDa and 1 kDa. All the retentates and permeates have been fully characterized by GPC, GC-MS, ESI-MS, DSC, TGA and FT-IR.
This procedure is an essential tool for a thorough exploitation of the main three different fractions recovered, namely a high, an intermediate and a low molecular weight fraction. The first one is characterized by the presence of high molecular weight polymers and is used without further chemical modification for developing bio-based polymeric materials;[1] the last one can be separated by chromatography into small aromatic molecules for preparative organic chemistry; whereas the middle fraction, characterized by an intermediate molecular weight, is the ideal starting material for oxidative depolymerization assays.[2,3] On this fraction, a new cascade process has been investigated involving at first a chemical/photochemical step aiming at a partial conversion of macromolecules to low molecular weight intermediates followed by a biocatalytic step performed by different classes of O2-dependent laccases (EC 1.10.3.2) in the presence of TEMPO as a mediator. Promising results have been obtained and extensive research is now in progress.
Acknoledgements:
COST Action CM1303 Systems Biocatalysis
ValorPlus Project (grant agreement no FP7-KBBE-2013-7-613802
From Waste to Value: Recent Insights into Producing Vanillin from Lignin
No full textVanillin, one of the most widely used and appreciated flavoring agents worldwide, is the
main constituent of vanilla bean extract, obtained from the seed pods of various members belonging to the Orchidaceae family. Due to the great demand in the food confectionery industry, as well as in the perfume industry, medicine, and more, the majority of vanillin used today is produced synthetically, and only less than one percent of the world’s vanilla flavoring market comes directly from the traditional natural sources. The increasing global demand for vanillin requires alternative and overall
sustainable new production methods, and the recovery from biobased polymers, like lignin, is an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical synthesis. The present review provides firstly an overview of the different types of vanillin, followed by a description of the main differences between natural and synthetic vanillin, their preparation, the market of interest, and the authentication issues and the related analytical techniques. Then, the review explores the real potentialities of lignin for vanillin production, presenting firstly the well-assessed classical methods and moving towards the most recent promising approaches through chemical, biotechnological and photocatalytic methodologies, together with the challenges and the principal issues associated with each technique
Orizzonti mantovani. Spunti e dinamiche paesaggistiche ne L'Illustrissimo di Alberto Cantoni
No full textIn the literary production of Alberto Cantoni, short story writer and novelist between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the novel L'Illustrissimo is highly important both because it is the last publication of the author, from Pomponesco, a small town a few kilometers south of Mantua, both because it summarizes in a single text the different nuances and different directions that his writing has taken over the course of his literary career, also due to a writing and processing time that embraces the entire span of years of his career itself. In the foreground, in addition to the numerous and brilliant characters, one of the protagonists is the Mantuan landscape which, not a simple background, becomes a true literary parameter which in different and significant ways affects the purposes and mechanisms of the novel
Plenary Session: Luis Alberto Urrea
No full texta) Plenary Session: Luis Alberto Urrea, Mexican American Chicago Writer
Luis Alberto Urrea is a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for non-fiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame. He is a prolific and acclaimed writer who has used his dual-culture life border experiences to explore the complex and interconnected Mexican-US American reality. The critically acclaimed and best-selling Mexican-born author of 13 books, Urrea has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays.
Moderator: Dr. Héctor García, Loyola University Chicag
O duplo significado do sentir e do pensar nas obras de Alberto Caeiro e Descartes
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Programa de Pós-Graduação em LiteraturaA pretensão desta dissertação intitulada O duplo significado do sentir e do pensar nas obras de Alberto Caeiro e Descartes é investigar a relação entre o sentir e o puro pensar, usando como referência a poesia O Guardador de Rebanhos, de Alberto Caeiro, que apresenta de forma evidente o tema; e como este assunto é tratado nas Meditações Metafísicas de René Descartes, também de forma claramente visível. Podemos perceber em ambos os autores, uma diplopia, uma espécie de duplo olhar sobre a relação sentir e puro pensar. No primeiro capítulo vou falar sobre a tese do duplo olhar de Descartes, a respeito da relação sentir e puro pensar na leitura de Merleau-Ponty, salientando a visão de natureza. No segundo capítulo, parto da leitura das três primeiras Meditações Metafísicas para caracterizar a tensão que se pode verificar entre Descartes e Alberto Caeiro quando se referem ao puro pensar. O foco principal de Descartes, nas três primeiras Meditações, é o pensar puro, e neste ponto Alberto Caeiro critica o pensar puro. No terceiro capítulo, analisando as três últimas Meditações, percebe-se que há uma virada no pensamento de Descartes, no qual o autor inverte seu ponto de vista, aproximando-se da idéia de Alberto Caeiro. No quarto capítulo, mostrarei a leitura que outros autores fazem acerca do sentir e do pensar na obra de Alberto Caeiro, mostrando que assim como Descartes, este também ostenta uma diplopia, não do sentir, mas do pensar. The pretension of this work entitled O duplo significado do sentir e do pensar nas obras de Alberto Caeiro e Descartes is to investigate the relationship between the feeling and the pure thinking, using as reference the poetry O Guardador de Rebanhos, by Alberto Caeiro, that presents in an evident way this theme; and as this subject is treated in René Descartes' Metaphysical Meditations, also in a clearly visible way. It is possible to notice in both authors, the diplopy, a sort of double look about the relationship between feeling and pure thinking. The thesis about Descartes'double look regarding the relation of feeling and pure thinking, in Merleau-Ponty reading, pointing out the nature vision, will be treated in the first chapter. In the second chapter, I start from the reading of the first three Metaphysical Meditations to characterize the tension that can be verified between Descartes and Alberto Caeiro when they refer to the pure thinking. Descartes' main focus in the first three Meditations is pure thinking and, in this point, Alberto Caeiro criticizes pure thinking. In the third chapter, analyzing the last three Meditations, it is possible to notice that there is an alteration in Descartes' thought, in which the author inverts his point of view, approaching of Alberto Caeiro's idea. In the fourth chapter, I will show the reading that other authors do concerning feeling and thinking in Alberto Caeiro's work, showing that as well as Descartes, this also shows a diplopy, not of feeling, but of thinking
Effect of cracks on the service life of RC structures exposed to chlorides
No full textTo move towards a more sustainable concrete, the enhancement of its durability is strongly encouraged and, dealing in particular with reinforced concrete (RC), this mainly means to prevent the damage due to environmental actions, e.g. due to chloride-induced corrosion. Therefore, there is the need of models aimed at designing durable structures. Usually the service life design models consider concrete in uncracked condition. In real structures, however, several phenomena can generate cracks on concrete surface, leading to an acceleration of the corrosion of steel rebar. A number of studies have been recently carried out in order to evaluate the influence of cracks on reinforced concrete durability in chloride-contaminated environment, however the knowledge of the effect of cracks on the initiation and propagation periods is still lacking. Furthermore, few studies have considered additional protection strategies, such as the use of stainless steel rebar. In this work, experimental results are presented concerning the influence of cracks on the service life of reinforced concrete structures in order to evaluate if cracks lead to an earlier corrosion initiation induced by chlorides. Prismatic specimens, reinforced with carbon steel and 304L stainless steel bars, were longitudinally cracked and exposed to ponding with 3.5% NaCl solution. The monitoring of corrosion behaviour showed that when cracks reached the steel surface corrosion initiated immediately
Lobbying for change as a new theory and practice of active citizenship: author interview with Alberto Alemanno
No full textDo you believe that lobbying is a vehicle for representing the interests of some rather than all, meaning its actors can never be a force for good? Alberto Alemanno, author of Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society, might convince you of the contrary. This interview with Barbara Aubin, LSE Public Affairs, reflects on the importance of engaging with our political representatives, holding them accountable and lobbying for the causes we deeply care about as fundamental elements of a healthy democracy
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