Nanotechnology and nanomaterial toxicity

34-42Nanotechnology, a field of research and innovation concerned with building 'things' - generally, materials and devices - on the scale of atoms and molecules. Nanotechnology is hailed as having the potential to increase the efficiency of energy consumption, help clean the environment, and solve major health problems. It is said to be able to massively increase manufacturing production at significantly reduced cost. The new and unique applications offered by nanotechnology in diverse areas have made it so popular that it is being applied today in almost all aspects of daily life. Although the small size and subsequent larger surface area of nanoparticles endow them with some highly useful and specific properties, it also renders them more active leading to unexpected and unanticipated consequences on interaction with biological systems. The biokinetics of nanoparticles are different from larger particles. When inhaled, they are efficiently deposited in all regions of the respiratory tract; they evade specific defence mechanisms; and they can translocate out of the respiratory tract via different pathways and mechanisms (endocytosis and transcytosis). Some of these nanoparticles not only possess inflammatory and pro-oxidant potential for biological systems, but also have antioxidant activity, which can explain early findings showing mixed results in terms of toxicity of nanoparticles to environmentally relevant species. Manufactured nanomaterials are likely to enter the environment for several reasons. Some are and others will be produced in tons, and any material produced in such mass quantities is likely to reach the environment from manufacturing effluent or from spillage during shipping and handling. They are being used in personal-care products such as cosmetics and sunscreens and can therefore enter the environment on a continual basis from washing off of consumer products. They are being used in electronics, tires, fuel cells, and many other products and it is still unknown whether some of these materials may leak out or be worn off over the period of use. They are also being used in disposable materials such as filters and electronics and may therefore reach the environment through landfills and other methods of disposal. The fate of nanomaterials in aqueous environment is controlled by many biotic/abiotic processes such as solubility, interactions between the nanomaterials and natural/anthropogenic chemicals in the ecosystem. Although humans have been exposed to airborne nanosized particles throughout their evolutionary stages but such exposure has increased dramatically over the last century due to anthropogenic sources. The rapidly developing field of nanotechnology is likely to become yet another source of toxicity through inhalation, ingestion, skin uptake, and injection of engineered nano-materials. Information about ecological risk, safety and potential hazards is urgently needed. Additional considerations for assessing safety of engineered nanoparticles include careful selections of appropriate and relevant doses/concentrations, the likelihood of increased effects in a compromised organism, and also the benefits of possible desirable effects. Before unknowingly dumping a huge amount of dangerous nanomaterials into the environment, we need to investigate the solubility and degradability of engineered NPs in soils and waters, to establish baseline information on their safety

Chromatin accessibility reveals insights into androgen receptor activation and transcriptional specificity

Abstract Background Epigenetic mechanisms such as chromatin accessibility impact transcription factor binding to DNA and transcriptional specificity. The androgen receptor (AR), a master regulator of the male phenotype and prostate cancer pathogenesis, acts primarily through ligand-activated transcription of target genes. Although several determinants of AR transcriptional specificity have been elucidated, our understanding of the interplay between chromatin accessibility and AR function remains incomplete. Results We used deep sequencing to assess chromatin structure via DNase I hypersensitivity and mRNA abundance, and paired these datasets with three independent AR ChIP-seq datasets. Our analysis revealed qualitative and quantitative differences in chromatin accessibility that corresponded to both AR binding and an enrichment of motifs for potential collaborating factors, one of which was identified as SP1. These quantitative differences were significantly associated with AR-regulated mRNA transcription across the genome. Base-pair resolution of the DNase I cleavage profile revealed three distinct footprinting patterns associated with the AR-DNA interaction, suggesting multiple modes of AR interaction with the genome. Conclusions In contrast with other DNA-binding factors, AR binding to the genome does not only target regions that are accessible to DNase I cleavage prior to hormone induction. AR binding is invariably associated with an increase in chromatin accessibility and, consequently, changes in gene expression. Furthermore, we present the first in vivo evidence that a significant fraction of AR binds only to half of the full AR DNA motif. These findings indicate a dynamic quantitative relationship between chromatin structure and AR-DNA binding that impacts AR transcriptional specificity

An Animal Model of MYC-Driven Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Patients whose tumors exhibit overexpression or amplification of the MYC oncogene (c-MYC) usually have an extremely poor prognosis, but there are no animal models of this subtype of the disease. Here we show that cerebellar stem cells expressing Myc and mutant Trp53 (p53) generate aggressive tumors following orthotopic transplantation. These tumors consist of large, pleiomorphic cells and resemble human MYC-driven MB at a molecular level. Notably, antagonists of PI3K/mTOR signaling, but not Hedgehog signaling, inhibit growth of tumor cells. These findings suggest that cerebellar stem cells can give rise to MYC-driven MB, and identify a novel model that can be used to test therapies for this devastating disease

Extensive Evolutionary Changes in Regulatory Element Activity during Human Origins Are Associated with Altered Gene Expression and Positive Selection

Understanding the molecular basis for phenotypic differences between humans and other primates remains an outstanding challenge. Mutations in non-coding regulatory DNA that alter gene expression have been hypothesized as a key driver of these phenotypic differences. This has been supported by differential gene expression analyses in general, but not by the identification of specific regulatory elements responsible for changes in transcription and phenotype. To identify the genetic source of regulatory differences, we mapped DNaseI hypersensitive (DHS) sites, which mark all types of active gene regulatory elements, genome-wide in the same cell type isolated from human, chimpanzee, and macaque. Most DHS sites were conserved among all three species, as expected based on their central role in regulating transcription. However, we found evidence that several hundred DHS sites were gained or lost on the lineages leading to modern human and chimpanzee. Species-specific DHS site gains are enriched near differentially expressed genes, are positively correlated with increased transcription, show evidence of branch-specific positive selection, and overlap with active chromatin marks. Species-specific sequence differences in transcription factor motifs found within these DHS sites are linked with species-specific changes in chromatin accessibility. Together, these indicate that the regulatory elements identified here are genetic contributors to transcriptional and phenotypic differences among primate species

Servitization in the era of industry 4.0-A realist review to identify enablers of servitization for business-to-business models in the manufacturing industry globally

Business customers of manufacturing organizations globally seek superior customer service from the manufacturer, the practical usage of digital product monitoring services, predictive maintenance for products, and relief from buying capital expenditure products for products as a service. This dissertation aims to identify enablers that leaders within manufacturing firms should consider as they transform from a product-centric to a service-centric business model –a move known as servitization. With the advent of Industry 4.0 and the latest technological evolutions, the concepts and process of servitization implementation profoundly impact the manufacturer's business models by enabling newer revenue streams. Purpose: This dissertation aims to bridge the existing knowledge gap in the available scholarly literature by providing a holistic overview of servitization enablers in the era of industry 4.0. Scope: The research scope is limited to global manufacturing firms operating within the business-to-business domain. Method: This dissertation leverages a realist inquiry using multiple search strategies to retrieve 218 articles from academic, industry, and grey literature leading to 59 quality appraised articles from the last seven years for inclusion in the synthesis. The dynamic capabilities theory and its aspects of sensing, seizing, and transforming guide this research. Findings: The synthesis conducted as part of this dissertation yields four findings and 10sub findings constituting the areas of continuous innovation, customer focus, and organizational transformation as enablers. Limitations: Areas that the literature did not sufficiently address include (a)the correlation between implementing servitization of business and the revenue generated by the manufacturing organization, (b)the correlation between implementing servitization models and the manufacturing industry sectors, and (c)the impact of using newer and advanced technologies on servitization models. Implications: The manufacturing organization leaders should conduct a maturity assessment, review an awareness checklist, and consider investments and partnerships as proposed by this research to support their servitization of business journey. Originality/Value: The results of this dissertation will allow manufacturing organizations to distinguish themselves from the competition and show more significant revenue potential for their shareholders by effectively deploying critical organizational actors in the servitization journey to transform their business into effective service-centric manufacturing organizations.SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING i ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: SERVITIZATION IN THE ERA OF INDUSTRY 4.0 – A REALIST REVIEW TO IDENTIFY ENABLERS OF SERVITIZATION FOR BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MODELS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY GLOBALLY Alok Tewari, Doctor of Management, 2020 Business customers of manufacturing organizations globally seek superior customer service from the manufacturer, the practical usage of digital product monitoring services, predictive maintenance for products, and relief from buying capital expenditure products for products as a service. This dissertation aims to identify enablers that leaders within manufacturing firms should consider as they transform from a product-centric to a service-centric business model – a move known as servitization. With the advent of Industry 4.0 and the latest technological evolutions, the concepts and process of servitization implementation profoundly impact the manufacturer's business models by enabling newer revenue streams. Purpose: This dissertation aims to bridge the existing knowledge gap in the available scholarly literature by providing a holistic overview of servitization enablers in the era of industry 4.0. Scope: The research scope is limited to global manufacturing firms operating within the business-to-business domain. Method: This dissertation leverages a realist inquiry using multiple search strategies to retrieve 218 articles from academic, industry, and grey literature leading to 59 SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING ii quality appraised articles from the last seven years for inclusion in the synthesis. The dynamic capabilities theory and its aspects of sensing, seizing, and transforming guide this research. Findings: The synthesis conducted as part of this dissertation yields four findings and 10 sub findings constituting the areas of continuous innovation, customer focus, and organizational transformation as enablers. Limitations: Areas that the literature did not sufficiently address include (a) the correlation between implementing servitization of business and the revenue generated by the manufacturing organization, (b) the correlation between implementing servitization models and the manufacturing industry sectors, and (c) the impact of using newer and advanced technologies on servitization models. Implications: The manufacturing organization leaders should conduct a maturity assessment, review an awareness checklist, and consider investments and partnerships as proposed by this research to support their servitization of business journey. Originality/Value: The results of this dissertation will allow manufacturing organizations to distinguish themselves from the competition and show more significant revenue potential for their shareholders by effectively deploying critical organizational actors in the servitization journey to transform their business into effective service-centric manufacturing organizations. Keywords: servitization, industry 4.0, industrial IoT, as-a-service, manufacturing, dynamic capabilities SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING iii SERVITIZATION IN THE ERA OF INDUSTRY 4.0 – A REALIST REVIEW TO IDENTIFY ENABLERS OF SERVITIZATION FOR BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MODELS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY GLOBALLY By Alok Tewari Dissertation submitted to the School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Management 2020 © Copyright by [ALOK TEWARI] 2021 SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING iv Preface This dissertation is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Management at the University of Maryland Global Campus. The evidence-based management research described herein was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Deborah Wharff between January 2020 and December 2020. To the best of my knowledge, this work is original except where acknowledgments and references are made to the previous work. Neither this nor any similar dissertation has been submitted for any other degree, diploma, or other qualification at any other university or degree-granting institution. Permission for use has been obtained for all reprinted or adapted figures. Any such figure, not explicitly stating that permission has been granted, did not require permission. The world around us is changing fast in the form of business model disruptions. Business models that did not exist even a decade ago have become an integral part of our lives. With technology at the forefront, creativity and imagination are having a lasting change on humanity. With this dissertation, I aim to contribute to one such domain of the business-to-business manufacturing industry. Alok Tewari December 2020 SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING v Dedication To my wife. She has been and remains my biggest supporter and mentor over the last 18 years. SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING vi Acknowledgments My doctoral journey started with Dr. Deborah Wharff as the professor for my very first academic course in 2017. My doctoral journey ends in December 2020, with Dr. Deborah Wharff as my dissertation advisor and mentor for the past year. I thank Dr. Wharff for keeping me motivated on this journey and getting me through the finish line. With this dissertation process, Dr. Wharff has guided, mentored, and coached me on transforming my learning, writing, and thought process. Dr. Wharff is a perfectionist and works hard to coach and attain the same level of perfection from her students. I will always be grateful to Dr. Wharff for her dedication to the evidence-based management domain and, most importantly, for showing me a path to lifelong learning. I am thankful to the faculty members of the Doctor of Management program at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) for their teachings and for helping me discover myself in the process. Thanks are due to Dr. James Gelatt for being the second reader for this dissertation and providing invaluable feedback and support. I am thankful to the following coursework professors: Dr. Marcia Bouchard, Dr. Joseph Drasin, Dr. Lisa Pearo, Dr. Tacy Holliday, Dr. Laura Witz, and Dr. Walter McCollum. A special thanks to Dr. Walter McCollum for helping me discover myself as a scholar-practitioner. I also want to thank the doctoral program management at UMGC, including Dr. Bryan Booth and Dr. Ravi Mittal, for sharing their insights and keeping me motivated. This doctoral journey was made possible with the administrative support and guidance of Marina Caminis and UMGC doctoral program librarian Cynthia Thomes. The executive summary of this dissertation was shared with academic and industry subject matter experts. My gratitude is due to Professor Tim Baines for his prompt response to my requests and his guidance over the last year. I am thankful to Professor Christian Kowalkowski, for taking the time to provide valuable feedback, including the history of servitization and providing key points that aided my research. I am grateful to Dr. Giuliano SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING vii Marodin for pointing me to Dr. Alejandro Frank to become a subject matter expert for this dissertation. Dr. Frank very promptly provided me detailed feedback on the executive summary of this dissertation. Dr. Frank’s feedback brought forward many valuable points that have solidified my research and have added tremendous value. From the manufacturing industry perspective, I am incredibly grateful and thankful to Mr. Ron Giuntini for spending time with me in lengthy discussions and advising me on the direction of servitization and the manufacturing industry in general. The white papers, talks, and information shared by Ron have contributed to the practitioner knowledge that has aided my dissertation. Gratitude is also due to Mr. John Stokes, who agreed to become a subject matter expert for this dissertation. I have thoroughly enjoyed the conversations and insights that John has brought forward. His willingness to go above and beyond in helping me is deeply appreciated. I am also thankful to Mr. David Reiling for reviewing the executive summary for this dissertation and providing a relevant industry perspective. David’s promptness and insights were immensely helpful. I am also thankful to my cohort members who provided me the opportunity to learn and refine my thinking abilities by sharing unique and thought-provoking perspectives. This journey would not have been complete without their support. In alphabetical order of first name, they are Bernard Rizkallah, Bill Woody, Darven Mobley, David McCullin, Flore Nadine Storey, Heather Johnson, Hiwot Mengesha, Katherine Kemmerer, Kristen Tarr, Mahasin Abdullah, Maribel Lee, Michael Harrison, Louis Eguzo, and Osama El-Lissy. Lastly, this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and motivation from my wife. She not only convinced me to begin this journey, but she kept me going through both the challenging and good times. SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING viii Table of Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... I PREFACE .......................................................................................................................... IV DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................... VI TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ XIII LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. XVI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEM ......... 1 BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 2 Move to Servitization ............................................................................................................................... 3 Industry 4.0 and Technology .................................................................................................................. 4 Servitization in the Era of Industry 4.0 .................................................................................................. 6 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................... 7 Problem Relevancy ................................................................................................................................. 7 Research Gap .......................................................................................................................................... 9 PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH AND THE RESEARCH QUESTION ......................................................................... 10 Scope of Research .................................................................................................................................. 10 Research Question ................................................................................................................................. 15 Significance of the Research .................................................................................................................. 16 DISCUSSION OF THEMES IDENTIFIED FROM SCOPING REVIEW ........................................................................ 18 DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 21 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION .......................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 2: SCOPING LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAME ................... 24 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .......................................................................................................................... 27 Dynamic Capabilities Theory ................................................................................................................ 27 Servitization in Dynamic Capabilities Theory Context ........................................................................ 29 SCOPING LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 30 SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING ix Information and Communication Technology ..................................................................................... 31 Customer Focus ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Partnerships .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Culture and Organizational Change Management ............................................................................. 38 Risks with Servitization ........................................................................................................................ 40 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 3: METHOD ...................................................................................................... 45 REVIEW DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 45 The Evidence-Based Research Framework .......................................................................................... 45 Systematic Reviews ............................................................................................................................... 46 Systematic Review Process .................................................................................................................... 47 Search Strategy .................................................................................................................................... 50 Method of Quality Appraisal of the Included Studies .......................................................................... 55 PRISMA diagram .................................................................................................................................. 58 ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 59 Method of Synthesis .............................................................................................................................. 60 SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ........................................................................................................................... 61 SME Acquisition Process ....................................................................................................................... 63 SME Questionnaire ............................................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ........................................................................... 66 DESCRIPTION OF THE DATA SET .................................................................................................................... 67 Identification of Academic Literature .................................................................................................. 68 Identification of Snowballed Literature ............................................................................................... 69 Identification of Grey Literature ........................................................................................................... 69 Screening Results .................................................................................................................................. 70 RESULTS OF THE QUALITY APPRAISAL OF THE DATA SET ................................................................................ 70 SERVITIZATION ENABLERS FOR B2B MANUFACTURING x Quality Appraisal Results ...................................................................................................................... 71 Articles selected for Coding and Analysis ............................................................................................. 71 Final PRISMA Details ............................................................................................................................ 72 RESULTS OF THE CODING PROCESS ................................................................................................................ 73 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................... 76 Finding 1: Engaged Leadership, Vision, and Organizational Culture ................................................ 77 Finding 2: Change Management and Organizational Structure ....................................................... 83 Finding 3: Inculcating Customer Focus Across the Entire Organizational Value Chain .................. 89 Finding 4: Investing in Continuous Innovation ................................................................................. 103 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................. 112 Finding 1 and Enablers ........................................................................................................................ 113 Finding 2 and Enablers ....................................................................................................................... 114 Finding 3 and Enablers ....................................................................................................................... 114 Finding 4 and Enablers ........................................................................................................................ 115 REVISED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................... 116 CHAPTER SUMMARY

Servitization in the Era of Industry 4.0 – A Realist Review to Identify Enablers of Servitization for Business-To-Business Models in the Manufacturing Industry Globally

Business customers of manufacturing organizations globally seek superior customer service from the manufacturer, the practical usage of digital product monitoring services, predictive maintenance for products, and relief from buying capital expenditure products for products as a service. This dissertation aims to identify enablers that leaders within manufacturing firms should consider as they transform from a product-centric to a service-centric business model – a move known as servitization. With the advent of Industry 4.0 and the latest technological evolutions, the concepts and process of servitization implementation profoundly impact the manufacturer's business models by enabling newer revenue streams. Purpose: This dissertation aims to bridge the existing knowledge gap in the available scholarly literature by providing a holistic overview of servitization enablers in the era of industry 4.0. Scope: The research scope is limited to global manufacturing firms operating within the business-to-business domain. Method: This dissertation leverages a realist inquiry using multiple search strategies to retrieve 218 articles from academic, industry, and grey literature leading to 59 quality appraised articles from the last seven years for inclusion in the synthesis. The dynamic capabilities theory and its aspects of sensing, seizing, and transforming guide this research. Findings: The synthesis conducted as part of this dissertation yields four findings and 10 sub findings constituting the areas of continuous innovation, customer focus, and organizational transformation as enablers. Limitations: Areas that the literature did not sufficiently address include (a) the correlation between implementing servitization of business and the revenue generated by the manufacturing organization, (b) the correlation between implementing servitization models and the manufacturing industry sectors, and (c) the impact of using newer and advanced technologies on servitization models. Implications: The manufacturing organization leaders should conduct a maturity assessment, review an awareness checklist, and consider investments and partnerships as proposed by this research to support their servitization of business journey. Originality/Value: The results of this dissertation will allow manufacturing organizations to distinguish themselves from the competition and show more significant revenue potential for their shareholders by effectively deploying critical organizational actors in the servitization journey to transform their business into effective service-centric manufacturing organizations

Integrated Chromatin Analyses Offer Insights Into Trans-factor Function In Cancer Cell Lines

<p>Understanding the mechanisms whereby the sequence of the human genome is interpreted into diverse cellular phenotypes is a critical endeavor in modern biology. A major determinant of cellular phenotype is the spatial and temporal pattern gene expression, which is regulated in part by epigenomic properties such as histone post-translational modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility and the 3-dimensional architecture of the genome within the nucleus. These properties regulate the dynamic assembly of transcription factors and their co-regulatory proteins upon chromatin. To properly understand the interplay between the epigenomic framework of a cell and transcription factors, integrated analysis of transcription factor-DNA binding, chromatin status, and transcription is required. This work integrates information about chromatin accessibility, as measured by DNaseI hypersensitivity, transcription factor binding, as measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation, and transcription, as measured by microarray or transcriptome sequencing, to further understand the functional role of two important transcription factors, the androgen receptor (AR) and CTCF, in cancer cell line models. Data gathered from a prostate cancer cell line model demonstrate that the AR does not exclusively bind accessible chromatin upon ligand-activation, and induces significant changes in chromatin accessibility upon binding. Regions of quantitative change in chromatin accessibility contain motifs corresponding to potential collaborators for AR function, and are also significantly associated with AR-regulated transcriptional changes. Furthermore, base pair resolution of the DNaseI cleavage profile revealed three distinct patterns of AR-DNA interaction, suggesting multiple modes of AR interacting with the genome. A novel role for the nuclear receptor REV-ERB&#945; in AR-mediated transcription was explored within the same model system. Though preliminary, results thus far indicate that REV-ERB&#945; is required for AR-induced increases in target gene transcription in a manner that is likely dependent on HDAC3. Genetic knockdown of REV-ERB&#945; resulted in notable changes in chromatin accessibility around AR-target genes both before and after AR activation. The function of CTCF was interrogated using stable knockdown in a breast cancer cell line model. CTCF knockdown led to widespread changes in chromatin accessibility that were dependent on DNA sequence. Further analysis suggested that AP-1 and FOXA1 are involved in CTCF function. Together, the work presented in this dissertation offers novel insight into the behavior of two critical transcription factors in cancer cell lines, and describe a framework of analysis that can be extended and applied to any transcription factor within any desired cellular context.</p>Dissertatio

Kinetic Parameters for the Thermal Decomposition of Forest Waste Using Distributed Activation Energy Model (DAEM)

The purview of paper pivoted around the pyrolysis decomposition of forest waste (pine needle litter) by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Experiments were carried out in the presence of Nitrogen atmosphere. The experimental data was compared with those obtained by numerical solution of distributed activation energy model (DAEM). Asymptotic expansion is adopted to evaluate the pre-exponential factor, mean activation energy and variance. The correction factor Bi has been invoked to describe accurately the differential thermogravitmeric curves of thermal decomposition of pine needles

Performance Evaluation of Throatless Gasifier Using Pine Needles as a Feedstock for Power Generation

This paper deals with the performance evaluation of a throatless gasifier TG-SI-10E. Evaluation of the throatless gasifier was done in three streams, which were the thermal, design and economic aspects. It was tested with pine needles, derived from the Himalayan chir pine (Pinus roxburghii). A non-isokinetic sampling technique was used for measuring the tar and dust contents. The carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emission at the exhaust of engine was in the range of 12.8% and 0.1-0.5% respectively. The maximum temperature of producer gas measured at the outlet of the gasifier was 505 °C. The specific biomass consumption rate of pine needles was calculated to be 1.595 kg/kWh (electrical). Specific gasification rate for the given design was found to be 107 kg/m2h. Economic evaluation was based on direct tax incidence

Comparative Analysis of Pine Needles and Coal for Electricity Generation using Carbon Taxation and Emission Reductions

Mitigating global climate change via emission control and taxation is promising for strengthening the economic benefits of bioenergy generation and utilization. This study examines the cost effectiveness of pine needles as an alternative fuel for off-grid electricity generation in India. We first examined the changes of prices in coal for electricity generation due to CO2 emission reductions and taxes using experimental data of gasification plants. The time value of money and depreciation scale were used to find out the real levellized cost of electricity generation of gasification plants. Then, the costs of electricity generation fuelled by pine needles and coal were estimated using the cost analysis method. Our results indicate that pine needles would have more competitive edge than coal if emission had taxed at about an emission tax INR 525.15 Mg-1 of CO2 (US$ 8.4), or higher would be needed for pine needles at a yield of 202.176 dry Mg hm-2 yr. The price of coal used for electricity generation would have significantly increased if global CO2 emission had abridged by 20% or more. However, pine needles were found a much better fuel source with an increasing yield of 5.05 Mg hm-2 yr (with respect to power generation) and 2.335 Mg hm-2 yr (with respect to feedstock production)