Influence of sodium chloride on wine yeast fermentation performance

This paper concerns research into the influence of salt (sodium chloride) on growth, viability and fermentation performance in a winemaking strain of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Experimental fermentations were conducted in both laboratory-scale and industrial-scale experiments. Preculturing yeasts in elevated levels of sodium chloride, or salt “preconditioning” led to improved fermentation performance. This was manifest by preconditioned yeasts having an improved capability to ferment high-sugar containing media with increased cell viability and with elevated levels of produced ethanol. Salt-preconditioning most likely influenced the stress-tolerance of yeasts by inducing the synthesis of key metabolites such as trehalose and glycerol. These compounds may act to improve cells’ ability to withstand osmostress and ethanol toxicity during fermentations of grape must. Industrial-scale trials using salt-preconditioned yeasts verified the benefit of this novel physiological cell engineering approach to practical winemaking fermentations

Thermal modeling of industrial-scale vanadium redox flow batteries in high-current operations

A cell-resolved model that simulates the dynamic thermal behavior of a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery during charge and discharge is presented. It takes into account, at a cell level, the reversible entropic heat of the electrochemical reactions, irreversible heat due to overpotentials, self-discharge reactions due to ion crossover, and shunt current losses. The model accounts for the heat transfer between cells and toward the environment, the pump hydraulic losses and the heat transfer of piping and tanks. It provides the electrolyte temperature in each cell, at the stack inlet and outlet, along the piping and in the tanks. Validation has been carried out against the charge/discharge measurements from a 9kW/27kWh VRFB test facility. The model has been applied to study a VRFB with the same stack but a much larger capacity, operating at \uf0b1400 A for 8 h, in order to identify critical thermal conditions which may occur in next-generation industrial VRFB stacks capable to operating at high current density. The most critical condition has been found at the end a long discharge, when temperatures above 50\ub0C appeared, possibly resulting in \u3016VO\u3017_2^+ precipitation and battery faults. These results call for heat exchangers tailored to assist high-power VRFB systems

An industrial scale process for the enzymatic removal of steryl glucosides from biodiesel

Background: Biodiesels produced from transesterification of vegetable oils have a major quality problem due to thepresence of precipitates, which need to be removed to avoid clogging of filters and engine failures. These precipitateshave been reported to be mostly composed of steryl glucosides (SGs), but so far industrial cost-effective methods toremove these compounds are not available. Here we describe a novel method for the efficient removal of SGs frombiodiesel, based on the hydrolytic activity of a thermostable β-glycosidase obtained from Thermococcus litoralis.Results: A steryl glucosidase (SGase) enzyme from T. litoralis was produced and purified from Escherichia coli culturesexpressing a synthetic gene, and used to treat soybean-derived biodiesel. Several optimization steps allowed for theselection of optimal reaction conditions to finally provide a simple and efficient process for the removal of SGs fromcrude biodiesel. The resulting biodiesel displayed filterability properties similar to distilled biodiesel according to thetotal contamination (TC), the cold soak filtration test (CSFT), filter blocking tendency (FBT), and cold soak filter blockingtendency (CSFBT) tests. The process was successfully scaled up to a 20 ton reactor, confirming its adaptability toindustrial settings.Conclusions: The results presented in this work provide a novel path for the removal of steryl glucosides from biodieselusing a cost-effective, environmentally friendly and scalable enzymatic process, contributing to the adoption ofthis renewable fuel.Fil: Peirú, Salvador. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas; Argentina. Keclon; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Aguirre, Andres. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas; Argentina. Keclon; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Eberhardt, Maria Florencia. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Braia, Mauricio Javier. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Rodolfo Ariel. Unitec Bio; ArgentinaFil: Menzella, Hugo Gabriel. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas; Argentina. Keclon; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Enabling industrial scale simulation / emulation models

OLE Process Control (OPC) is an industry standard that facilitates the communication between PCs and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). This communication allows for the testing of control systems with an emulation model. When models require faster and higher volume communications, limitations within OPC prevent this. In this paper an interface is developed to allow high speed and high volume communications between a PC and PLC enabling the emulation of larger and more complex control systems and their models. By switching control of elements within the model between the model engine and the control system it is possible to use the model to validate the system design, test the real world control systems and visualise real world operation. <br /

Small industrial-scale producer gas units

The on-site generation of fuel gas from coal is one of the currently available technologies that may facilitate the reintroduction of indirect coal firing in industrial practice. In the present article the attention will be restricted to gasifiers with comparatively small unit capacities, producing low heating-value gas by gasification of coal with air. The article is intended to provide the reader with a broad review of the available technology, the implications of using coal-derived fuel gas a substitute for conventional fuels, and the economic viability of on-site fuel gas generation.\ud \ud On the basis of cost estimates, framed within the Western European situation, the competitiveness of low heating-value gas are discussed. A comparison is made between low and medium heating-value gas, natural gas and direct coal firing. Potential markets for low heating-value fuel gas are identified and discussed

First principles study of Bi dopen CdTe thin film solar cells: electronic and optical properties

Nowadays, efficiency improvement of solar cells is one of the most important issues in photovoltaic systems and CdTe is one of the most promising thin film photovoltaic materials we can found. CdTe reported efficiencies in solar energy conversion have been as good as that found in polycrystalline Si thin film cell [1], besides CdTe can be easily produced at industrial scale

Radiation hardness qualification of PbWO_4 scintillation crystals for the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

Ensuring the radiation hardness of PbWO_4 crystals was one of the main priorities during the construction of the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at CERN. The production on an industrial scale of radiation hard crystals and their certification over a period of several years represented a difficult challenge both for CMS and for the crystal suppliers. The present article reviews the related scientific and technological problems encountered