Monte Carlo-based technique for uncertainty calculations and its applications

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Effect of phosphorous groups on the stabilization and activation of low-cost lignin fibers prepared by electrospinning

The feasible wider use of carbon fibers in many of their current and potential applications demands a reduction of their manufacturing costs. In this sense, the use of lignin as an abundant, renewable and low-cost carbonaceous precursor and a simple and versatile production technique, such as the electrospinning, represents an advantageous and promising approach [1-3]. Particularly, the devIlopment of high-value co-products from lignocellulosic biomass-derived industries, such as biorefineries and pulp and paper mills, could suppose a significant opportunity to reduce their associated costs and environmental impacts. However, the use of lignin itself in the production of carbon fibers requires of successive stabilization and carbonization steps that currently slow down, raises the price and, therefore, limits their commercialization and industrial application. In this work, a new method to produce novel sub-micrometer carbon fibers by electrospinning of phosphorous-containing lignin solutions is proposed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Efecto del H3PO4 en la preparación de fibras de carbono a partir de lignina. Mejoras en el proceso de estabilización y propiedades finales

El presente trabajo propone un nuevo método de preparación de fibras de carbono mediante electrohilado de mezclas de lignina/H3PO4, en el que se obtienen resultados que aceleran el proceso de preparación de estos materiales así como sus propiedades físico-químicas en una sola etapa de preparación. Será objeto de estudio la temperatura, tiempo y velocidad de calentamiento en la etapa de estabilización así como la atmósfera (inerte u oxidante) de estabilización y carbonización.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Novel lignin-based fibrous carbon materials

Lignin is (and will be) an important co-product in many lignocellulosic biomass-derived industries, such as pulp and paper mills (and the future biorefineries, when the concept of bio-economy be developed). The development of high-value products from lignin could mean a significant opportunity to reduce the associated costs and the environmental impacts of these industries [1]. In this sense, a new method to produce novel sub-micrometer carbon fibers and interconnected fibrous carbon webs materials (FCMs), showing unique advanced properties for different applications, by electrospinning [2] of phosphorous-containing lignin solutions is studied in this work. The different FCMs were prepared by electrospinning of Alcell lignin solutions with and without P–containing compounds, followed by stabilization and carbonization at different temperatures. For comparison purposes, equivalent lignin-based powdery carbon materials (PCMs) were also prepared from lignin powder without the electrospinning step. The different samples were characterized by N2 and CO2 adsorption, SEM, TEM, XRD, Raman, XPS, TPD and TG analysis. In the absence of P-containing groups, electrospun carbon fibers are continuous and linear (Fig 1.a), and show a specific surface area of 700 m2/g, much higher than that of carbon prepared in powdery shape (70 m2/g). The presence of P precursors in the lignin solution re-markably affects the electrospinning, sta-bilization and carbo-nization processes. By a suitable control of the stabilization heating rate, continuous and curly carbon fibers (Fig 1.b) or interconnected carbon fibrous webs (Fig 1.c) can be produced. In addition, the presence of 30wt% of P-containing compound in the lignin solution increases the specific surface area up to 1500 m2/g and enhances the oxidation resistance of the FCMs at high temperatures, what have been found very interesting for different applications, such as catalysis, adsorption and energy storage and conversion. These properties cannot be obtained in lignin-based carbon powders, even by using an 80wt% of P-containing compound for their chemical activation (1100 m2/g).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Andalucía Tech

Electrochemical behavior of pt- a d pd-supported activated carbons with different functionalities

Due to their relatively low price, high surface area and versatile physic-chemical properties, conductive carbon materials are considered among the most promising supports of electroactive species and/or catalysts for different electrochemical devices, like supercapacitors, fuel cells, batteries, sensors, etc. [1]. However, in these applications, carbon supports are usually subjected to oxidation and/or corrosion processes, which can be promoted by the supported electroactive species and/or catalysts [2]. In this sense, although the surface functionalities of carbons seem to play a key role on their electrochemical response and stability, their influence in the presence of electroactive catalysts is still controversial. Particularly, the effect of phosphorous groups has been never reported. In this work, the influence of different oxygen and phosphorous functionalities on the electrochemical behavior of Pt- and Pd-supported activated carbons (ACs) has been studied. Various ACs showing similar surface areas (ca. 1400-1500 m2/g) and a rich variety of surface chemistry, with oxygen and phosphorous-like surface groups, were obtained by physical (CO2) (HAG800 support) or chemical (H3PO4) (HA3500 support) activation of olive stone. The ACs were used as support of Pd, Pt and Pd/Pt catalysts (Fig 1a), with nominal loadings of 0.5-1.0 wt%, by using the incipient-wetting impregnation method. The samples were characterized by N2 and CO2 adsorption, TEM, XRD, XPS, TPD experiments and different electrochemical techniques. Although the supported metals promote carbon electroxidation and/or corrosion (see the higher oxidation currents for the metalloaded sample – Fig 1b), the presence of surface phosphorous groups (HA3500-M samples) results in lower oxidation currents than in the case of P-free samples (HAG800-M samples) (Fig. 1.b). These results are in agreement with the oxidation resistance induced by phosphorous groups in oxidizing gas phase at high temperatures [3], and may support the statement that these phosphorous groups could enhance the durability of carbon-supported metal electrocatalysts for different electrochemical applications.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Andalucía Tech

Satellite-derived UV climatology at Escudero station, Antarctic Peninsula

We have used data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite over the period 2004-11 to describe the characteristics of surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance at Escudero Station (62°12′S, 58°57′W). The station is located on King George Island (northern Antarctic Peninsula). Temperatures in summer are frequently above 0°C, and the surrounding ocean is typically ice-free. We found that the UV irradiance at Escudero is driven by the Antarctic ozone hole (which annually in spring leads to significant variations in the ozone) and by clouds (which are more frequent and have a larger optical depth compared with other Antarctic sites). The combined effect of ozone and clouds led to significant variations in the surface UV. The variability (taken as the standard deviation of the UV estimates retrieved from OMI) is typically greater than 30% at Escudero, but may reach values greater than 50% in spring. The consistency of OMI-derived data was checked by using ground-based spectral measurements carried out under controlled conditions in January 2011. © 2013 Antarctic Science Ltd

The world's highest levels of surface UV

Chile's northern Atacama Desert has been pointed out as one of the places on earth where the world's highest surface ultraviolet (UV) may occur. This area is characterized by its high altitude, prevalent cloudless conditions and relatively low total ozone column. Aimed at detecting those peak UV levels, we carried out in January 2013 ground-based spectral measurements on the Chajnantor Plateau (5100 m altitude, 23°00′S, 67°45′W) and at the Paranal Observatory (2635 m altitude, 24°37′S, 70°24′W). The UV index computed from our spectral measurements peaked at 20 on the Chajnantor Plateau (under broken cloud conditions) and at 16 at the Paranal Observatory (under cloudless conditions). Spectral measurements carried out in June 2005 at the Izaña Observatory (2367 m altitude, 28°18′N, 16°30′W) were used for further comparisons. Due to the differences in sun-earth separation, total ozone column, altitude, albedo, aerosols and clouds, peak UV levels are expected to be significantly higher at southern hemisphere sites than at their northern hemisphere counterparts. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry and Owner Societies

Generación de un grafo de conocimiento de periódicos antiguos del Ecuador a través de procesos OCR.

La historia nos revela la existencia de una multitud de eventos que se desarrollan en el mundo día a día, dejando una huella en el tiempo. Antiguamente, la transmisión de ese conocimiento se realizaba de manera oral y se mantenía vivo a través de generaciones. No obstante, el avance de la tecnología ha revolucionado la forma en que accedemos a la información y nos ha permitido explorar registros históricos en una escala sin precedentes. En este contexto, surge un desafío, gran parte de esa información yace dormida en periódicos antiguos, los cuales se encuentran en un estado de deterioro y son difíciles de tratar. Estos periódicos contienen relatos de eventos de la historia del Ecuador en los siglos XIX y XX, pero acceder a esa información de manera rápida y eficiente es un desafío. Para abordar este problema, en este trabajo de titulación, se propone una solución basada en la digitalización de texto, el procesamiento texto y las tecnologías de la web semántica. El objetivo principal es extraer la información de los periódicos antiguos, organizarla de manera estructurada y generar un grafo de conocimiento que represente los eventos ocurridos en Ecuador durante ese período histórico. La solución propuesta implica la automatización de cada uno de los pasos del proceso. Para lograrlo, se han construido varios widgets en Orange, que permite realizar tareas específicas en cada etapa del proceso. Estos widgets trabajan en conjunto para extraer la información, identificar entidades y relaciones, obtener Word Embendings y generar un grafo de conocimiento.History reveals to us the existence of a multitude of events that unfold in the world day by day, leaving a footprint in time. In the past, the transmission of this knowledge was done orally and kept alive through generations. However, the advancement of technology has revolutionized the way we access information and has allowed us to explore historical records on an unprecedented scale. In this context, a challenge arises: a large portion of this valuable information lies dormant in old newspapers, which are in a state of deterioration and are difficult to handle. These newspapers contain detailed accounts of events that marked Ecuador’s history in the 19th and 20th centuries, but accessing that information quickly and efficiently has become a challenge. To address this problem, this thesis proposes a solution based on text digitization, text processing, and semantic web technologies. The main objective is to extract information from old newspapers, organize it in a structured manner, and generate a knowledge graph that represents the events that occurred in Ecuador during that historical period. As part of this solution, a prototype search engine has also been developed that utilizes the generated knowledge graph. This search engine is one of the many ways to exploit the graph and allows users to make specific queries and searches related to historical events, people, places, and topics in the context of old newspapers. The proposed solution involves the automation of each step of the process. To achieve this, several widgets have been built in Orange, a visual data analysis platform, that allows for specific tasks to be performed at each stage of the process. These widgets include text digitization tools, text processing techniques, and semantic web algorithms that work together to extract relevant information, identify entities and relationships, obtain Word Embeddings, and generate a knowledge graph enriched with historical events.0000-0002-2438-922

Phase transition and dynamics of defects in the molecular piezoelectric TMCM-MnCl3 and the effect of partial substitutions of Mn

We present dielectric and anelastic spectroscopy measurements of the molecular piezoelectric TMCM-MnCl3 and TMCM-Mn0.95M0.05Cl3 (M = Cu, Fe, Ni; TMCM = trimethylchlorometylammonium), whose powders were pressed into discs and bars and deposited as films on Si by Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE). As in other molecular ferroelectrics, the dielectric permittivity e0 drops at the structural transition temperature TC, below which the number of directions that the polar TMCM molecules visit is reduced, with the formation of ferroelectric domains. Concomitantly, the Young’s modulus E starts increasing and the elastic energy loss has a step-like increase, attributable to the motion of the domain walls. Both the dielectric and elastic anomalies indicate the improper character of the ferroelectric transition, where the ordering of the molecular orientations is not driven by the cooperative interaction of their electric dipoles. Below room temperature, at least two thermally activated relaxation processes appear both in the dielectric and anelastic spectra, whose real and imaginary parts measured at several frequencies can be fit with the Havriliak–Negami formula. The microscopic parameters so-obtained indicate that they are due to point defects, and it is argued that they are Cl vacancies and their complexes with TMCM vacancies. The considerable width of these relaxation maxima is explained by the geometry of the hexagonal perovskite structure. The partial substitution of Mn with 5% Ni has little effect on the anelastic and dielectric spectra, while Cu and, especially, Fe cause a large enhancement of the losses attributed to domain wall relaxation, with substantial contributions also above TC. The condensation of water from the humidity in the powders compacted by cold pressing was observed and discussed. The piezoelectric activity of the films was assessed by PFM