Study of the deactivation of a commercial catalyst for ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to styrene

The catalytic performance and characteristics of an industrial catalyst, fresh and spent, i.e. downloaded from an industrial reactor after a normal lifetime cycle, were compared. Some different causes of catalyst deactivation, such as loss or redistribution of promoters, active phase modification, Fe 3+ reduction, coke deposition on catalyst surface and physical modifications, were evidenced by means of several techniques. All the mentioned causes of deactivation showed strictly interconnected and concurred to the decrease of conversion. However, the key factors leading to irreversible deactivation showed potassium migration towards the inner part of the extrudate particle, its agglomeration into concentrated spots and its volatilisation from the surface, together with the progressive Fe3+ reduction to Fe 2+. These modifications led to the enhancement of coking activity and to the loss of mechanical properties, so making deactivation irreversible

Magnetic ground state and 2D behavior in pseudo-Kagome layered system Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2Br

Anisotropic magnetic properties of a layered kagome-like system Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2Br have been studied by bulk magnetization and magnetic susceptibility measurements as well as powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction. At T_N = 27.4 K the system develops an alternating antiferromagnetic order of (ab) layers, which individually exhibit canted ferrimagnetic moment arrangement, resulting from the competing ferro- and antiferro-magnetic intralayer exchange interactions. A magnetic field B_C ~ 0.8 T applied along the c axis (perpendicular to the layers) triggers a metamagnetic transition, when every second layer flips, i.e., resulting in a ferrimagnetic structure. Significantly higher fields are required to rotate the ferromagnetic component towards the b axis (~7 T) or towards the a axis (~15 T). The estimates of the exchange coupling constants and features indicative of an XY character of this quasi-2D system are presented.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, final versio

Current Management of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: From Demolitive Surgery to Observation

Incidental diagnosis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) greatly increased in the last years. In particular, more frequent diagnosis of small PanNETs leads to many challenging clinical decisions. These tumors are mostly indolent, although a percentage (up to 39%) may reveal an aggressive behaviour despite the small size. Therefore, there is still no unanimity about the best management of tumor smaller than 2 cm. The risks of under/overtreatment should be carefully evaluated with the patient and balanced with the potential morbidities related to surgery. The importance of the Ki-67 index as a prognostic factor is still debated as well. Whenever technically feasible, parenchyma-sparing surgeries lead to the best chance of organ preservation. Lymphadenectomy seems to be another important prognostic issue and, according to recent findings, should be performed in noninsulinoma patients. In the case of enucleation of the lesion, a lymph nodal sampling should always be considered. The relatively recent introduction of minimally invasive techniques (robotic) is a valuable option to deal with these tumors. The current management of PanNETs is analysed throughout the many available published guidelines and evidences with the aim of helping clinicians in the difficult decision-making process

Development of the self-modulation instability of a relativistic proton bunch in plasma

Self-modulation is a beam-plasma instability that is useful to drive large-amplitude wakefields with bunches much longer than the plasma skin depth. We present experimental results showing that, when increasing the ratio between the initial transverse size of the bunch and the plasma skin depth, the instability occurs later along the bunch, or not at all, over a fixed plasma length, because the amplitude of the initial wakefields decreases. We show cases for which self-modulation does not develop and we introduce a simple model discussing the conditions for which it would not occur after any plasma length. Changing bunch size and plasma electron density also changes the growth rate of the instability. We discuss the impact of these results on the design of a particle accelerator based on the self-modulation instability seeded by a relativistic ionization front, such as the future upgrade of the AWAKE experiment

Many-spin effects in inelastic neutron scattering and electron paramagnetic resonance of molecular nanomagnets

Many molecular magnetic clusters, such as single-molecule magnets, are characterized by spin ground states with defined total spin S exhibiting zero-field-splittings. In this work, the spectroscopic intensities of the transitions within the ground-state multiplet are analyzed. In particular, the effects of a mixing with higher-lying spin multiplets, which is produced by anisotropic interactions and is neglected in the standard single-spin description, are investigated systematically for the two experimental techniques of inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), with emphasis on the former technique. The spectroscopic transition intensities are calculated analytically by constructing corresponding effective spin operators perturbationally up to second order and consequently using irreducible tensor operator techniques. Three main effects of spin mixing are observed. Firstly, a pronounced dependence of the INS intensities on the momentum transfer Q, with a typical oscillatory behavior, emerges in first order, signaling the many-spin nature of the wave functions in exchange-coupled clusters. Secondly, as compared to the results of a first-order calculation, the intensities of the transitions within the spin multiplet are affected differently by spin mixing. This allows one, thirdly, to differentiate the higher-order contributions to the cluster magnetic anisotropy which come from the single-ion ligand-field terms and spin mixing, respectively. The analytical results are illustrated by means of the three examples of an antiferromagnetic heteronuclear dimer, the Mn-[3 x 3] grid molecule, and the single-molecule magnet Mn12.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, REVTEX4, to appear in PR

Field dependent anisotropy change in a supramolecular Mn(II)-[3x3] grid

The magnetic anisotropy of a novel Mn(II)-[3x3] grid complex was investigated by means of high-field torque magnetometry. Torque vs. field curves at low temperatures demonstrate a ground state with S > 0 and exhibit a torque step due to a field induced level-crossing at B* \approx 7.5 T, accompanied by an abrupt change of magnetic anisotropy from easy-axis to hard-axis type. These observations are discussed in terms of a spin Hamiltonian formalism.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Spin-Triplet Excitons in the S=1/2S=1/2 Gapped Antiferromagnet BaCuSi2_2O6_6: Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Studies

BaCuSi$_2$O$_6$, a $S=1/2$ quantum antiferromagnet with a double-layer structure of Cu$^{2+}$ ions in a distorted planar-rectangular coordination and with a dimerized spin singlet ground state, is studied by means of the electron paramagnetic resonance technique. It is argued that multiple absorptions observed at low temperatures are intimately related to a thermally-activated spin-triplet exciton superstructure. Analysis of the angular dependence of exciton modes in BaCuSi$_2$O$_6$ allows us to accurately estimate anisotropy parameters. In addition, the temperature dependence of EPR intensity and linewidth is discussed.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

High-field Electron Spin Resonance of Cu_{1-x}Zn_{x}GeO_{3}

High-Field Electron Spin Resonance measurements were made on powder samples of Cu_{1-x}Zn_{x}GeO_{3} (x=0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.05) at different frequencies (95, 110, 190, 220, 330 and 440 GHz) at low temperatures. The spectra of the doped samples show resonances whose positions are dependent on Zn concentration, frequency and temperature. The analysis of intensity variation of these lines with temperature allows us to identify them as originating in transitions within states situated inside the Spin Peierls gap. A qualitative explanation of the details of the spectra is possible if we assume that these states in the gap are associated with "loose" spins created near the Zn impurities, as recently theoreticaly predicted. A new phenomenon of quenching of the ESR signal across the Dimerized to Incommensurate phase-boundary is observed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 ps figures in the text, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Experimental study of CO2 sequestration by ECBM recovery: the case of Sulcis coal.

An ECBM (Enhanced Coal Bed Methane) feasibility study started for the Sulcis Coal Province (SW Sardinia, Italy) in December 2004: geochemical, structural-geology, stratigraphic and reservoir engineering considerations are discussed. The first newly gathered experimental data are discussed, including: fluid geochemistry (major and minor elements, dissolved gases, C and He isotopic ratios) of the reservoir, coal composition and experimental data on CO2/CH4 adsorption on coal. A MapInfo GIS structure was built up including stratigraphical, geo-structural, hydrogeochemical, coal-compositional and environmental impact information as well as the CO2 sources location and typology. Even if these data could be preliminary with respect to the coal characteritics effectively located at the future injection depth, they highlighted both the challenging positive and negative aspects of the Sulcis Coal Province versus the exploitation of the ECBM technique. The most important objective of this phase I of the project is the selection of the best Sulcis ECBM test-pilot site, which will be followed (Phase II) by the choice of a scaled up site and possibly by a future network (Phase III). These phases are foreseen to be accompanied by the selection of progressively added CO2 industrial sources, to be used within the project economic spreadsheet model, actually in evolution. CO2 geological storage and CH4 production potentials in Sulcis have been grossly evaluated as a whole, in the frame of the Sardinia region CO2 sources, including the coal-fired power plants, both existent and foreseen (hundreds of millions of tonns of CO2 are possible to be stored underground in the next decades). The reservoir estimates, both for the CO2 injection and for the CH4 production are clearly involving to start the test-site phase exploitation, in the frame of an auspicabile international operative project