Solubilities of hydrofluorocarbons in ionic liquids: experimental and modelling study

In this work, experimental data on the gas solubility of hydrofluorocarbons (CHF3, CH2F2 and CH3F) in four room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) were determined within the temperature range 288 K to 308 K and at atmospheric pressure. The RTILs used were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide([C2mim][NTf2]), (trihexyl)tetradecyl-phosphoniumbis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide ([P6,6,6,14][NTf2]), and N-methyl-2-hydroxyethylammoniumpropionate ([m-2-HEA][Pr]) and pentanoate ([m-2-HEA][P]). Two modelling approaches, which we denote as predictive and correlative, were compared. In the former, the cubic plus association equation of state (CPA EoS) is used as a predictive model to estimate the solubilities using only pure components physical properties. In the latter, the regular-solution theory is the basis to build an empirical model whose parameters are obtained through least-squares fitting of experimental values

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved