CO2 Absorption Using Potassium Carbonate as Solvent

One of the main sources of global warming is greenhouse gasses; the most important of which is carbon dioxide. Reducing CO2 emissions, and its utilization or storage, is a global challenge to tackle climate change. In this work, the operating conditions of the pilot CO2 capture unit are studied using the ASPEN PLUS® software. This study describes the methodology of the simulations and the main results. The unit consists of one scrubber and one stripper. For carbon dioxide absorption from gas streams, the aqueous solvent K2CO3 is used. The effect on the absorption of CO2, and regeneration of carbon dioxide and potassium carbonate were studied by varying parameters of pressure, temperature, and concentration of solvent. For each parameter, three values were evaluated with the following ranges: pressure 0.3–1 bar; temperature 80–100 °C; and concentration of potassium carbonate 15–25 wt%. The optimum operating conditions of the pilot unit are pressure of 0.3 bar, stripper temperature of 100 °C, and solvent concentration of 15 wt%. Under these conditions, 99.91% CO2 capture and 85.46% CO2 regeneration were achieved. The present research aims to find the optimal operating parameters of the pilot plant to validate the model with the experimental data. In this way, the model parameterization can be used to design large-scale CO2 capture units

CO₂ Absorption Using Potassium Carbonate as Solvent

One of the main sources of global warming is greenhouse gasses; the most important of which is carbon dioxide. Reducing CO2 emissions, and its utilization or storage, is a global challenge to tackle climate change. In this work, the operating conditions of the pilot CO2 capture unit are studied using the ASPEN PLUS® software. This study describes the methodology of the simulations and the main results. The unit consists of one scrubber and one stripper. For carbon dioxide absorption from gas streams, the aqueous solvent K2CO3 is used. The effect on the absorption of CO2, and regeneration of carbon dioxide and potassium carbonate were studied by varying parameters of pressure, temperature, and concentration of solvent. For each parameter, three values were evaluated with the following ranges: pressure 0.3–1 bar; temperature 80–100 °C; and concentration of potassium carbonate 15–25 wt%. The optimum operating conditions of the pilot unit are pressure of 0.3 bar, stripper temperature of 100 °C, and solvent concentration of 15 wt%. Under these conditions, 99.91% CO2 capture and 85.46% CO2 regeneration were achieved. The present research aims to find the optimal operating parameters of the pilot plant to validate the model with the experimental data. In this way, the model parameterization can be used to design large-scale CO2 capture units

AgriFood Supply Chain Traceability: Data Sharing in a farm-to-fork case

International audienceThis work is supported by the Digital Ecosystem Utilisation (CYSLOP), which has received funding from IoF2020 (http://www.iof2020.eu) with subgrand agreement 2282300206-UC002, while the IoF2020 project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 731884

Microneurotrophin BNN27 Reduces Astrogliosis and Increases Density of Neurons and Implanted Neural Stem Cell-Derived Cells after Spinal Cord Injury

Microneurotrophins, small-molecule mimetics of endogenous neurotrophins, have demonstrated significant therapeutic effects on various animal models of neurological diseases. Nevertheless, their effects on central nervous system injuries remain unknown. Herein, we evaluate the effects of microneurotrophin BNN27, an NGF analog, in the mouse dorsal column crush spinal cord injury (SCI) model. BNN27 was delivered systemically either by itself or combined with neural stem cell (NSC)-seeded collagen-based scaffold grafts, demonstrated recently to improve locomotion performance in the same SCI model. Data validate the ability of NSC-seeded grafts to enhance locomotion recovery, neuronal cell integration with surrounding tissues, axonal elongation and angiogenesis. Our findings also show that systemic administration of BNN27 significantly reduced astrogliosis and increased neuron density in mice SCI lesion sites at 12 weeks post injury. Furthermore, when BNN27 administration was combined with NSC-seeded PCS grafts, BNN27 increased the density of survived implanted NSC-derived cells, possibly addressing a major challenge of NSC-based SCI treatments. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that small-molecule mimetics of endogenous neurotrophins can contribute to effective combinatorial treatments for SCI, by simultaneously regulating key events of SCI and supporting grafted cell therapies in the lesion site

The Interplay between Myocardial Fibrosis, Strain Imaging and Collagen Biomarkers in Adults with Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot

Background: We sought to assess the interplay between right ventricle (RV) fibrosis, biventricular dysfunction based on global longitudinal strain (GLS) analysis, and biomarkers such as Galectin-3 (Gal-3), procollagen type III (PCIII), and NTproBNP. Methods: We studied 35 adult patients with rToF. All patients underwent a cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scan including feature tracking for deformation imaging. Blood biomarkers were measured. Results: LGE RV was detected in all patients, mainly at surgical sites. Patients with the highest RV LGE scoring had greater RV dilatation and dysfunction whereas left ventricular (LV) function was preserved. LV GLS correlated with RV total fibrosis score (p = 0.007). A LV GLS value of −15.9% predicted LGE RV score > 8 (AUC 0.754 (p = 0.02)). Neither RV GLS nor biomarker levels were correlated with the extent of RV fibrosis. A cut-off value for NTproBNP of 145.25 pg/mL predicted LGE RV score > 8 points (AUC 0.729, (p = 0.03)). A cut-off value for Gal-3 of 7.42 ng/mL predicted PR Fraction > 20% [AUC 0.704, (p = 0.05)]. Conclusions: A significant extent of RV fibrosis was mainly detected at surgical sites of RV, affecting RV performance. CMR-FT reveals subtle LV dysfunction in rToF patients, due to decreased performance of the fibrotic RV. Impaired LV function and elevated NTproBNP in rToF reflect a dysfunctional fibrotic RV

Neural stem cell delivery via porous collagen scaffolds promotes neuronal differentiation and locomotion recovery in spinal cord injury

Neural stem cell (NSC) grafts have demonstrated significant effects in animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI), yet their clinical translation remains challenging. Significant evidence suggests that the supporting matrix of NSC grafts has a crucial role in regulating NSC effects. Here we demonstrate that grafts based on porous collagen-based scaffolds (PCSs), similar to biomaterials utilized clinically in induced regeneration, can deliver and protect embryonic NSCs at SCI sites, leading to significant improvement in locomotion recovery in an experimental mouse SCI model, so that 12 weeks post-injury locomotion performance of implanted animals does not statistically differ from that of uninjured control animals. NSC-seeded PCS grafts can modulate key processes required to induce regeneration in SCI lesions including enhancing NSC neuronal differentiation and functional integration in vivo, enabling robust axonal elongation, and reducing astrogliosis. Our findings suggest that the efficacy and translational potential of emerging NSC-based SCI therapies could be enhanced by delivering NSC via scaffolds derived from well-characterized clinically proven PCS