An Examination of Celtic Craft and the Creative Consciousness as a Contribution to Marketing Creativity

Examination of the Celtic craft sector identifies a creative form of marketing which has its foundations in imagination, intuition and innovation, rather than the linear prescriptions of formal marketing frameworks and language which still dominate contemporary marketing management texts. The creative marketing competencies identified in the sector are also grounded within a wider creative marketing paradigm where experimental forms of marketing are encouraged, postmodern ideals are embraced and artistic philosophy and practice encouraged. The controlled Saxon influenced Marketing Establishment is challenged by the freer, more creative fringe of Celtic marketing as the avant garde

Effect of Nickel Nanocatalyst Loading on Supercritical Water Gasification of Coconut Shell

Impregnation of metal catalysts into biomass before thermochemical conversion may provide benefits of increased selective reactivity to obtain desirable products. In this work, coconut shells impregnated with increasing loadings of nickel were successfully prepared using a room-temperature impregnation method using a nickel salt solution at 1 and 2 molar (M) concentrations. The physicochemical characterization of the 2 M impregnated sample revealed the presence of 5.6 wt% of nickel with a particle size of 13.5 nm. The nickel-impregnated samples’ supercritical water gasification (SCWG) was conducted with biomass loading ranging from 20 wt% to 30 wt%, at temperatures between 400 °C and 500 °C, and residence times from 20 to 60 min. Higher nickel loading, higher temperatures and longer reaction times promoted the production of H2 and CO2 up to 15 and 79 mol%. Higher nickel loading also led to an increased Hydrogen Gasification Efficiency value of up to 133%. The analysis of hydrochars suggested that increasing nickel loading enhanced the reduction in nickel ions to the Ni0 nanoparticles, leading to higher H2. Additionally, the chemical composition of the liquid product showed the significant ability of nickel to promote lignin decomposition into phenol, facilitating the phenol hydrogenation reaction and subsequent gas production

Roadmap for a sustainable circular economy in lithium-ion and future battery technologies

The market dynamics, and their impact on a future circular economy for lithium-ion batteries (LIB), are presented in this roadmap, with safety as an integral consideration throughout the life cycle. At the point of end-of-life (EOL), there is a range of potential options—remanufacturing, reuse and recycling. Diagnostics play a significant role in evaluating the state-of-health and condition of batteries, and improvements to diagnostic techniques are evaluated. At present, manual disassembly dominates EOL disposal, however, given the volumes of future batteries that are to be anticipated, automated approaches to the dismantling of EOL battery packs will be key. The first stage in recycling after the removal of the cells is the initial cell-breaking or opening step. Approaches to this are reviewed, contrasting shredding and cell disassembly as two alternative approaches. Design for recycling is one approach that could assist in easier disassembly of cells, and new approaches to cell design that could enable the circular economy of LIBs are reviewed. After disassembly, subsequent separation of the black mass is performed before further concentration of components. There are a plethora of alternative approaches for recovering materials; this roadmap sets out the future directions for a range of approaches including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, short-loop, direct, and the biological recovery of LIB materials. Furthermore, anode, lithium, electrolyte, binder and plastics recovery are considered in order to maximise the proportion of materials recovered, minimise waste and point the way towards zero-waste recycling. The life-cycle implications of a circular economy are discussed considering the overall system of LIB recycling, and also directly investigating the different recycling methods. The legal and regulatory perspectives are also considered. Finally, with a view to the future, approaches for next-generation battery chemistries and recycling are evaluated, identifying gaps for research. This review takes the form of a series of short reviews, with each section written independently by a diverse international authorship of experts on the topic. Collectively, these reviews form a comprehensive picture of the current state of the art in LIB recycling, and how these technologies are expected to develop in the future

Crystallisation control of paracetamol from ionic liquids

The use of ionic liquids as a novel media for crystallisation and potential suitability for particle habit manipulation of paracetamol.</p

Riboceine rescues auranofin-induced craniofacial defects in zebrafish

Craniofacial abnormalities are a common group of congenital developmental disorders that can require intensive oral surgery as part of their treatment. Neural crest cells (NCCs) contribute to the facial structures; however, they are extremely sensitive to high levels of oxidative stress, which result in craniofacial abnormalities under perturbed developmental environments. The oxidative stress-inducing compound auranofin (AFN) disrupts craniofacial development in wildtype zebrafish embryos. Here, we tested whether the antioxidant Riboceine (RBC) rescues craniofacial defects arising from exposure to AFN. RBC rescued AFN-induced cellular apoptosis and distinct defects of the cranial cartilage in zebrafish larvae. Zebrafish embryos exposed to AFN have higher expression of antioxidant genes gstp1 and prxd1, with RBC treatment partially rescuing these gene expression profiles. Our data suggest that antioxidants may have utility in preventing defects in the craniofacial cartilage owing to environmental or genetic risk, perhaps by enhancing cell survival

Lumped kinetic modelling of polyolefin pyrolysis: A non-isothermal method to estimate rate constants

The measurement of kinetic parameters in the pyrolysis of polyolefins requires the use of a lumped kinetic model for predicting the product distribution of wax, oil and gas yields. A non-isothermal method was established, in which a sample is heated in a tube reactor to a desired temperature at a constant rate of temperature rise. This method avoided the error present in the heating up stage which is inherent in any practical isothermal method in which reaction proceeds to a significant extent before the operating temperatures of polyolefin pyrolysis are reached, which results in challenges when defining the reaction time. The non-isothermal measurements were conducted between 450 and 550°C for polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE) and the temperature and lump yields are non-linearly regressed to achieve the kinetic parameters. The measured kinetic rate constants have the same trend as those reported in the literature using the isothermal method, but are higher than the values reported above 450°C and similar to the values for lower temperatures of 350°C and 370°C. The kinetic parameters derived are then validated by using isothermal experimental data. The calculated data using the measured kinetic parameters are generally in agreement with the experimental data. The non-isothermal method established in this work proves to be a much faster method for the measurement of intrinsic rate constants at high temperatures

Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective

Funder: C-THRU: Carbon clarity of the global petrochemical supply chain University of Sheffield startup fundAbstractWind power supply chains are evolving as markets expand to reach climate goals. With the largest installed wind power capacity globally, China must deal with increasing composite turbine waste and anticipate its associated costs. Here we predict the quantity and composition of wind turbine blade waste based on historic deployment. A high-resolution database containing 14 turbine capacities (150–5500 kilowatts) was compiled based on 104 turbine models. The environmental and financial costs of waste treatment options were evaluated using a bottom-up approach. Based on current installations and future projections, 7.7 to 23.1 million tonnes of blade waste will be generated in China by 2050. Technologies exist to recycle glass fibre from blade waste, but these solutions vary in level of maturity and are not always commercially available, cost-competitive, or environmentally sustainable. Our findings can inform decision-makers in governments and industry on the pathways to carbon neutrality.</jats:p