Bio-based ionic liquids and poly(ionic liquid)s for CO2 capture

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Il sogno intermediale

Marco e Locarno. Marco e Urbino. Marco e Roma e Parigi e il «mosaico Europa». Marco e il «mondo grande, terribile e complicato». In un perenne viaggiare, immaginare, progettare, scrivere, agire, entro i quali l’esercizio della ragione e del sentimento e la creatività artistica sono stati intimamente assunti in permanente dialogo con i destini individuali e generali dell’umano, come del vivente tutto. Con e attraverso le immagini, i suoni, le tecniche, i dispositivi, il giusto tempo e il giusto spazio per le riverberazioni interiori. Sono queste le prime localizzazioni materiali, mentali ed emozionali che affiorano pensando a Marco Maria Gazzano scomparso, a 68 anni, all’alba del 7 giugno scorso

Capture and Separation, the First Step toward Circular Economy; a Regenerable, Bio-Based, Polymerized, Ionic Liquid Membranes

Air can be considered as a source of CO2, with concentrations of approximately 408 ppm reported in 2018 and predicted levels expected to reach 600−1550 ppm in 2030. Direct air capture (DAC) from the atmosphere is considered as a CO2 separation technology that can be realized and a source of CO2 exploitable as building block for utilization. The use of solid amines for CO2 adsorption following a two-steps process: the adsorption of CO2 from the direct air and the separation of CO2 from the sorbent. The separation of CO2 from amines is relatively easier than from strong liquid bases as it requires less energy due to the weaker bonds between CO2 and the solid sorbent. The benefit of the DAC technology is that it can be implemented anywhere because of the fast mixing of CO2 in the air. However this technique rely on the preparation of amine sorbed on solid inorganic substrate such as silica substrate and even if durable are quite difficult to regenerate once spent. Our substrate is based on polymerized ionic liquid that use as functional amino acid anions as active sorbent. Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts that melts below 100°C been studied as innovative material for CO2 capture. Polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) merge ILs and macromolecules peculiarities resulting in a novel class of material that features high tunability and ionic exchange ability as well as easier handling, processability typical of polymer. PILs have been studied for gas separation and demonstrated, higher CO2 loading than common ILs, as well as faster absorption/desorption rate. However, despite the chemical absorption of CO2 in ILs is a well-established concept divided as capture by chemisorption or by physisorption in PILs the majority of the studies focus on material without CO2 reactive species and no explicit reference to chemical nor physical sorption materials. Different PILs with amino acid anions were developed and tested for CO2 absorption in solid phase. The research on PILs aimed to explore different AA anions as well as different polymeric structures. Ionic exchange procedures were tuned depending on the solubility property of the starting PIL with several AA. All synthetic procedures aimed to avoid toxic and hazardou chemicals. Obtained PILs were identified and were tested for CO2 and water absorption and desorption

Social relationships and HRQL: A cross-sectional survey among older Italian adults

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between social relationships and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) among the elderly in Italy. METHODS: A sample of 33,744 Italian residents, representing the non-institutionalised population aged 60 years and over was extracted from the national ISTAT cross-sectional survey during 1999-2000. HRQL was measured with the SF-12, from which the Physical Component Score (PCS) and Mental Component Score (MCS) were obtained. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression models with adjustment for the main confounders. RESULTS: Our analysis shows a gradient in PCS and MCS among the terziles in seeing/meeting "friends" and "family" and, for PCS, a North-South gradient among the Italian regions. Females, the elderly who reported a lower household income, those who spent less time in recreational and religious activities, who lived too far from their relatives and had few relationships with friends and relatives, were significantly less likely to have an MCS above the median value. For PCS, an increase in HRQL was likely to be associated with a higher educational level, while lower PCS scores were associated with: age 75+, inadequate household income, unmarried status, infrequency of seeing/meeting friends, too high a mean distance from own home to relatives' homes, lack of leisure time spent in recreational activities, living in the Centre-South of Italy, chronic diseases, reduced autonomy, and use of drugs during the previous two days. Significant interactions between suffering from one chronic disease and the use of drugs were also found for both MCS and PCS. CONCLUSION: Some dimensions of social relationships were significantly associated with HRQL. These findings are crucial for devising welfare strategies at both the regional and the European level, i.e. in countries such as Italy where the primacy of family support of the elderly has declined in recent year

Efficient and reversible CO2 capture in bio-based ionic liquids solutions

Choline/amino acid-based ionic liquids were synthetized via ionic metathesis and their CO2 absorption performances evaluated by employing different experimental approaches. In order to overcome any viscosity-related problem, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was employed as solvent. IL-DMSO solutions with different IL concentrations were evaluated as absorbents for CO2, also investigating their good cyclability as desirable for real industrial CO2 capture technologies. 1H-NMR and in-situ ATR-IR experiments were the toolbox to study the CO2 chemical fixation mechanism under different experimental conditions, proving the formation of distinct chemical species (carbamic acid and/or ammonium carbamate). In general, these ILs demonstrated molar uptakes higher than classical 0.5 mol CO2/mol IL and the capacity to release CO2 in extremely mild conditions. The possible biological adverse effects were also analyzed, for the first time, in zebrafish (Danio rerio) during the development, by assessing for different toxicological endpoints, proving the non-toxicity and high biocompatibility of these bio-inspired ILs

Influence of diabetes on mortality in acute myocardial infarction: Data from the GISSI-2 study

AbstractObjectives. This study was conducted to determine the role of insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetes in the prognosis of patients after myocardial infarction and treatment with fibrinolytic agents.Background. Several studies have shown that diabetic patients have a high mortality rate after acute myocardial infarction. However, the impact of diabetes on survival in patients treated with fibrinolytic agents is still undefined. It is also not known whether the type of diabetes or gender affects prognosis.Methods. We analyzed prevalence and prognostic significance of a history of diabetes in patients enrolled in the GISSI-2 study, all of whom received fibrinolytic agents. The incidence of deaths in the hospital and at 6 months after study entry was computed for patients without diabetes and for insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetic patients; relative risks were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results. Information on diabetic status was available for 11,667 patients, 94.2% of those randomized in the GISSI-2 study. The prevalence of diabetes was higher in women than in men (8.75% vs. 1.85%, p < 0.01 for insulin-dependent and 23.7% vs. 13.8%, p < 0.01 for noninsulin-dependent diabetic patients). The type of fibrinolytic agent did not affect mortality rates; the increase in in-hospital mortality of diabetic patients was moderate and similar for men with insulin- and noninsulin-dependent diabetes (8.7% and 10.1%, respectively, vs. 5.8% in nondiabetic patients); in women, mortality was markedly higher for insulin-dependent and only slightly higher for noninsulin-dependent diabetic patients (24.0% and 15.8%, respectively, vs. 13.9% for nondiabetic patients). The adjusted relative risks were 1.9 (95% confidence interval 1.2 to 2.9) for insulin-dependent diabetic women and 1.4 (95% confidence interval 1.1 to 1.8) for noninsulin-dependent diabetic men. The mortality rate after discharge showed a similar gender difference, and in insulin-dependent diabetic women, prognosis was ominous even in the absence of left ventricular damage before discharge.Conclusion. A history of diabetes is associated with a worse prognosis after myocardial infarction, even in patients treated with fibrinolytic agents. Gender and type of diabetes appear to be critical in affecting survival. In men, both insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetes are associated with a moderately higher mortality rate; in women, insulin-dependent diabetes is, in itself, a strong risk factor for death after myocardial infarction

The Virtuous CO 2

It is not the first time in human history, nor will it be the last for that matter, that a collective problem calls for a collective response. Climate change fueled by greenhouse emissions affects humankind alike. Despite the disagreement among policymakers and scientists on the severity of the issue, the truth is that the problem remains. A broad look at different technologies being used today in different fields has led to the idea of bringing them together in an attempt to offer a viable solution to reducing anthropogenic CO2.The following paper describes how the nanotechnologies, available or soon to be available, would make CO2 capture, cache, and conversion (coined the three Cs) a valid way for achieving a more sustainable energy society. Authors also set out to highlight with this work how knowledge transfer is instrumental in the development of technology and how methodical assessment of crossovers can expedite research when time plays against us