Syngas Production from Protective Face Masks through Pyrolysis/Steam Gasification

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a heavy expansion of plastic pollution due to the extensive use of personal protective equipment (PPE) worldwide. To avoid problems related to the entrance of these wastes into the environment, proper management of the disposal is required. Here, the steam gasification/pyrolysis technique offers a reliable solution for the utilization of such wastes via chemical recycling into value-added products. The aim was to estimate the effect of thermo-chemical conversion temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio on the distribution of gaseous products obtained during non-catalytic steam gasification of 3-ply face masks and KN95 respirators in a fluidized bed reactor. Experimental results have revealed that the process temperature has a major influence on the composition of gases evolved. The production of syngas was significantly induced by temperature elevation from 700 \ub0C to 800 \ub0C. The highest molar concentration of H2 gases synthesized from both types of face masks was estimated at 800 \ub0C with the steam-to-carbon ratio varying from 0 to 2. A similar trend of production was also determined for CO gases. Therefore, investigated thermochemical conversion process is a feasible route for the conversion of used face masks to valuable a product such as syngas

Influence of heat shock on the interaction, secretion of ligninolytic enzymes and growth of fungi of the Basidiomycota division

Baigiamojo darbo autorius: Ieva Kiminaitė Baigiamojo darbo pavadinimas: Karščio šoko įtaka papėdgrybių (Basidiomycota) skyriaus grybų tarpusavio sąveikai, ligninolitinių fermentų išskyrimui ir augimui. Vadovas: Doc. Dr. Nicola Tiso Puslapių skaičius: 41 Paveikslų skaičius: 13 Lentelių skaičius: 8 Priedų skaičius: 0 Darbas pristatytas: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, Biologijos katedroje Kaunas, 2020-06-18 Šio darbo tikslas yra įvertinti karščio šoko įtaką papėdgrybių (Basidiomycota) skyriaus grybų augimui bei išskiriamam ligninolitinių fermentų kiekiui, grybus auginant po vieną ir konsorciumuose su kitais grybais. Grybų išskiriami ligninolitinių fermentų kiekiai buvo tiriami Petri lėkštelėse biologinio dažo suskaidymo testais, vizualiai vertinant atsirandančios spalvos intensyvumą mitybinėse terpėse, papildytose fermentų oksiduojamais priedais. Tirtas 45 ir 90 minučių trukmės 45 °C temperatūros karščio šokas. Karščio šoku paveiktos ir nepaveiktos šoku Petri lėkštelės buvo lyginamos tarpusavyje, vertinant grybų kultūrų išskiriamus ligninolitinių fermentų kiekius bei augimo greičius. Tuo remiantis buvo daromos išvados apie karščio šoko poveikį minėtiems grybų rodikliams. Gauti rezultatai parodė, kad karščio šokas neigiamai veikia Pleurotus eryngii VMU 001, Pleurotus ostreatus SMR 684 ir Fomitopsis pinicola VMU 005 grybų monokultūrų augimo greitį, tačiau turi teigiamos įtakos Pleurotus ostreatus SMR 684 ir Schizophyllum sp. VMU 002 kultūrų išskiriamam ligninolitinių fermentų kiekiui. Neigiamas karščio šoko poveikis išskiriamam fermentų kiekiui nustatytas Pleurotus sp. genties, o taip pat beveik visuose tirtuose Fomitopsis pinicola VMU 005 konsorciumuose; teigiamas karščio šoko poveikis nustatytas kartu auginant dvi Irpex lacteus VMU 003 ir Schizophyllum sp. VMU 002 kultūras. Karščio šokas neigiamai veikė vidinį ir išorinį radialinį Fomitopsis pinicola VMU 005 kultūrų augimą visuose tirtuose konsorciumuose; kitų kultūrų vidinis bei išorinis radialinis augimas priklausė nuo suformuotos poros tarp skirtingų grybų rūšių.Author of the work: Ieva Kiminaitė Title of the work: Influence of heat shock on the interaction, secretion of ligninolytic enzymes and growth of fungi of the Basidiomycota division. Supervisor: Doc. Dr. Nicola Tiso Number of pages: 41 Number of figures: 13 Number of tables: 8 Number of appendices: 0 Presented at: Vytautas Magnus University, Department of Biology Kaunas, 2020-06-18 The aim of the thesis is to investigate the influence of heat shock on the growth of fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota division and their ligninolytic enzymes secretion. The study is carried out on pure cultures and their consortia. Amounts of secreted ligninolytic enzymes were analysed using dye biodegradation based tests, evaluating colour changes in the growth media supplemented by an oxidizable compound. Heat shock of 45 °C temperature was applied to selected cultures for 45 and 90 minutes. Conditioned with heat shock fungal cultures were compared to corresponding not conditioned cultures, evaluating changes of secreted amount of ligninolytic enzymes and growth rates. Obtained results showed that heat shock has a negative impact on the growth of Pleurotus eryngii VMU 001, Pleurotus ostreatus SMR 684 and Fomitopsis pinicola VMU 005 monocultures. On the other hand, results have revealed that heat shock has a positive effect on ligninolytic enzymes secretion by Pleurotus ostreatus SMR 684 and Schizophyllum sp. VMU 002 monocultures. While investigating fungal consortia, a negative heat shock effect on ligninolytic enzymes secretion was detected for all Pleurotus sp. and almost all Fomitopsis pinicola VMU 005 consortia. A positive effect of heat shock to enzymes secretion was identified for not mixed Irpex lacteus VMU 003 and Schizophyllum sp. VMU 002 consortia. Heat shock also negatively affected both internal and external radial growth rate of Fomitopsis pinicola VMU 005 in all investigated consortia.Gamtos mokslų fakultetasBiologijos katedr

Fabrication and characterization of environmentally friendly biochar anode

Electrical power generation by means of electrochemical systems utilizing wastewaters is a global energy challenge tackling technique for which a creation of novel eco-friendly electrode materials is in high relevance. For this purpose a Rhodophyta algae derived activated biochar anode bound with a flaxseeds mucilage binder (5, 10, 20, 30 wt.%) was formed and characterized by thermogravimetric, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis as well as conductivity and mechanical resistance determination. Activation technique with KOH prior to carbonization at 800 °C of algae was employed to obtain biocarbon with a large surface area. The highest specific surface area of 1298.49 m2/g was obtained with the binder-free sample and had a tendency to decrease with the increase of the binder content. It was estimated that biochar anodes are thermally stable at the temperature of up to 200 °C regardless of binder concentration. The concentration of the binder on the other hand had a significant influence in anodes mechanical resistance and electrical conductance: anode with 30 wt.% of the binder had the highest compressive strength equal to 104 bar; however, the highest conductivity was estimated in anode with 5 wt.% of the binder equal to 58 S/m. It is concluded that anode with 10 wt.% mucilage binder has the optimal properties necessary in MFC utilization