50 research outputs found
What Happens to MnO2 When It Comes in Contact with Zn2+? An Electrochemical Study in Aid of Zn/MnO2-Based Rechargeable Batteries
In the science and technology of electrochemical energy storage, different allotropes of MnO2, fabricated with a variety of methods, are assembled into electrodes, playing the role of cathode or oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst.
Often, MnO2-based cathodes are combined with Zn anodes into different types of batteries, resulting in contact between MnO2 and its electrochemical reaction products, and Zn2+. Awareness is growing that this interaction adversely affects the functional performance of MnO2, but no definitive understanding has been reached for this issue. This study contributes, through electrochemical measurements accompanied by microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, to a better understanding of the way the electrochemical behavior of two technologically representative types of manganese dioxide - hydrothermally grown α-MnO2 and electrodeposited γ-MnO2 (EDM) - is degraded when these materials are exposed to neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions, containing Zn2+. Specifically, we highlighted different types of
irreversible changes in electrochemical response, which can be interpreted with phase-formation processes. Such changes result in the deactivation of α-MnO2 as ORR electrocatalyst, and of both α-MnO2 and EDM as zinc-ion battery (ZIB) cathodes. The electroactivity of EDM for ZIB operation can be restored if Mn2+ is added to the neutral electrolyte, because a phase, active in discharge, is electrodeposited during charging
Combining the effects of process design and pH for improved xylose conversion in high solid ethanol production from Arundo donax
Techno-economic evaluation of integrated first- and second-generation ethanol production from grain and straw
From wheat straw to bioethanol: integrative analysis of a separate hydrolysis and co-fermentation process with implemented enzyme production
Pretreatment and enzymatic process modification strategies to improve efficiency of sugar production from sugarcane bagasse
Techno-economic analysis and climate change impacts of sugarcane biorefineries considering different time horizons
Evaluation of lime and hydrothermal pretreatments for efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of raw sugarcane bagasse
PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE HARDNESS AND FOR THE SELECTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Method for measuring the hardness of agricultural products comprising the operations of: - implementing a test program suitable for identifying and selecting one or more indices (S3, S4) which can be measured with a non-destructive test on a respective product/fruit, correlated with the hardness (Du) of the same product/fruit, measured by a respective penetration test; - calculating the coefficients that define the straight line representative of the linear correlation between said indices and the hardness for the respective product. The method is implemented with the operations of: - applying on the product a dynamic force, preferably of impulsive type; - detecting the mechanical reaction through at least a piezoelectric transducer capable of generating an electric signal based on the application or transmission of said dynamic force through the respective kiwi fruit; - analyzing said electric signal relative to the fruit, and measuring the crossing time of said dynamic force through the same kiwi fruit; - calculating the value of the index S4 of said dynamic force through the fruit. It was found that the S4 index has a very significant correlation with the hardness of the respective kiwi fruit, and that the coefficients of the relative correlation straight line are respectively a = -1.5084, and b = 0.0072