Dioxin emisions from coal combustion in domestic stove: formation in the chimney and coal chlorine content influence

Combustion experiments conducted in domestic stove burning hard coal demonstrated a predominant influence of the coal chlorine content on the PCDD/F emissions, together with a pronounced effect of the flue gas temperature. PCDD/F concentrations of over 100 ng TEQ/m3, three orders of magnitude higher than in a modern waste incinerator, were measured in the flue gases of a domestic stove when combusting high chlorine coal (0.31 %). The PCDD/F concentrations in the flue gases dropped below 0,5 ng TEQ/m3, when low chlorine coal (0.07 %) was used. When low chlorine coal was impregnated with NaCl to obtain 0.38 % chlorine content, the emission of the PCDD/Fs increased by two orders of magnitude. Pronounced nonlinearity of the PCDD/F concentrations related to chlorine content in the coal was observed. The combustion of the high chlorine coal yielded PCDD/F concentrations in flue gases one order of magnitude lower in a fan cooled chimney when compared to an insulated one, thus indicating formation in the chimney. The influence of flue gas temperature on the PCDD/F emissions was less pronounced when burning low chlorine coal. The predominant pathway of the PCDD/F emissions is via flue gases, 99 % of the TEQ in the case of the high chlorine coal for insulated chimney.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Bioactivity Comparison of Electrospun PCL Mats and Liver Extracellular Matrix as Scaffolds for HepG2 Cells

Cells grown on bioactive matrices have immensely advanced many aspects of biomedical research related to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Our main objective was to perform simple evaluation of the structural and biotic qualities of cell scaffolds made of affordable biomaterials for liver cell line (HepG2) cultivation in vitro. In this work the electrospun matrix made of synthetic polyester poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was compared with the natural protein-based extracellular matrix isolated from porcine liver (ECM). Mechanical and structural analysis showed that ECM was about 12 times less resistant to tensile stress while it had significantly larger pore size and twice smaller water contact angle than PCL. Bioactivity assessment included comparison of cell growth and transfection efficiency on cell-seeded scaffolds. Despite the differences in composition and structure between the two respective matrices, the rate of cell spreading and the percentage of transfected cells on both scaffolds were fairly comparable. These results suggest that in an attempt to produce simple, cell carrying structures that adequately simulate the natural scaffold, one can rely on PCL electrospun mats

Bioactivity Comparison of Electrospun PCL Mats and Liver Extracellular Matrix as Scaffolds for HepG2 Cells

Cells grown on bioactive matrices have immensely advanced many aspects of biomedical research related to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Our main objective was to perform simple evaluation of the structural and biotic qualities of cell scaffolds made of affordable biomaterials for liver cell line (HepG2) cultivation in vitro. In this work the electrospun matrix made of synthetic polyester poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was compared with the natural protein-based extracellular matrix isolated from porcine liver (ECM). Mechanical and structural analysis showed that ECM was about 12 times less resistant to tensile stress while it had significantly larger pore size and twice smaller water contact angle than PCL. Bioactivity assessment included comparison of cell growth and transfection efficiency on cell-seeded scaffolds. Despite the differences in composition and structure between the two respective matrices, the rate of cell spreading and the percentage of transfected cells on both scaffolds were fairly comparable. These results suggest that in an attempt to produce simple, cell carrying structures that adequately simulate the natural scaffold, one can rely on PCL electrospun mats