Sustainable DMC production from CO2 and renewable ammonia and methanol

[EN]One of the main goals of the green chemistry is to develop sustainable and less hazardous chemical processes and products. Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is attracting attention due to the wide variety of applications and the possibility of producing it from carbon dioxide. In this work, the DMC production process via urea has been optimized. Two main sections can be distinguished: the synthesis of urea and the production of DMC. An equation based approach is used to model the system. The DMC production from renewable ammonia/methanol/CO2 presents a promising production cost, around 520 €/t. The production of urea alone has also been evaluated in this work. A sensitivity analysis is carried out showing the influence of the methanol price in the DMC cost and the ammonia price in the urea cost. A simplified sustainability index is used to evaluate the environmental performance of urea/DMC production

Monitoring changes of the tibialis anterior during dorsiflexion with electromyography, sonomyography, dynamometry and kinematic signals

Dorsiflexion (DF) of the foot plays an essential role in both controlling balance and human gait. Electromyography and Sonomyography can provide information on several aspects of muscle function. The aim was to describe a new method for real-time monitoring of muscular activity, as measured using EMG, muscular architecture, as measured using SMG, force, as measured using dynamometry, and kinematic parameters, as measured using IS during isometric and isotonic contractions of the foot DF. The present methodology may be clinically relevant because it involves a reproducible procedure which allows the function and structure of the foot DF to be monitored.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Seville; Spain; 25 September 2013 through 28 September 2013; Code 10172

Effect of the nature of exogenous organic matter on pesticide sorption by the soil

A study was carried out on the sorption of two sparingly water-soluble pesticides (diazinon and linuron) by a sandy loam soil modified with different exogenous organic materials (EOMs) containing humic like substances: city refuse compost (CRC), peat (P), commercial humic acid (HA), liquid humic acid (LHA) extracted from leonardite and two (non humic) model compounds (surfactants): tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TDTMA) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) before and after 2 and 8 months incubation periods with the soil. In all cases, the isotherms fitted the Freundlich sorption equation (x/m=KCen), generally with r2 values greater than 0.99. The value of the sorption constant K for the natural soil was 8.81 for diazinon and 2.29 for linuron. These values increased significantly for EOM modified soils with respect to natural soil, with the exception of the samples modified with SDS and LHA, in which cases they decreased, possibly due to the micellar properties of these compounds. Incubation of EOMs with soil increased their sorption capacity: the Koc values were increased proportionally to the incubation time for both pesticides and for all treatments carried out. Accordingly, the sorption capacity of hydrophobic pesticides increases with the degree of evolution in the soil of EOMs with humic type compounds, possibly due, among other causes, to the increase in the EOMs colloidal properties and the modifications occurring in the hydrophobic- hydrophilic characteristics of the soil surfaces. The main conclusion is that application to the soil of solid carbon rich wastes, especially those with a high degree of maturity, may offer an important strategy for reducing pesticide leaching, and for eliminating pesticide residues from soil with the use of liquid humic acids.Peer reviewe

Un nuevo índice para caracterizar el estado de conservación de las praderas de Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile

Se presenta el índice de alteración, un índice que sirve para caracterizar el estado de conservación de las praderas de Posidonia