Use of residual soapstock from the refining of edible vegetable oils to make biodiesel.

Se estudia un procedimiento para la obtención de Biodiesel a partir de las “Oleínas”. Biodiesel es un producto capaz de sustituir al combustible Diesel ordinario que se obtiene del petróleo y que consiste en una mezcla de ésteres metílicos de ácidos grasos. Las oleínas son unos residuos que resultan del proceso de refina- do de aceites vegetales para su uso alimentario y se componen de una mezcla de triglicéridos y ácidos grasos libres, con un con- tenido de estos últimos componentes superior al 50% . El merca- do de oleinas es fluctuante, con lo que en ocasiones surge el problema de su eliminación. Como resultado del trabajo efectua- do se define un proceso de obtención que consta de las siguien- tes etapas: 1. Esterificación de los ácidos libres de la Oleína con meta- nol, aplicando catálisis ácida, centrifugando el producto obtenido y separándolo de la fase metanol-ácido. En ésta etapa se obtiene un producto que contiene alrededor de un 70% de metil- esteres. 2. Transesterificación de los triglicéridos presentes en el producto esterificado con metanol, aplicando catálisis alcalina. El producto obtenido, previamente separado de la fase metanol- agua, contiene alrededor de un 90% de metil-esteres. 3. Purificación del producto resultante de las etapas 1 y 2 , por rectificación a vacío. El producto destilado tiene un contenido en metil-esteres superior al 98%.A procedure to obtain Biodiesel from “Oleinas” is studied. Biodiesel is a suitable product to replace diesel oil currently used to power the Diesel engines. It consists of a mixture of methyl esters of the fatty acids presents as triglycerides in vegetables oils (olive, sunflower, soya, rape oils). As a result of the refining of these oils for their use as food, a waste product is formed, the “oleinas” (acidulated soapstock). The oleinas consist of a mixture of triglycerides and free fatty acids, the latter amounting to 50% or more of the mixture and are subject to a fluctuating market, therefore it exist at times a problem for their disposal. In our research work we have tried to obtain biodiesel from oleinas. The process resulting from our experimental work is as follows: 1. Sterification of the free fatty acids with methanol, by acid catalysis, centrifuging the reaction product and removal of the acid-methanol phase. Drying of the latter. At this stage we have a product containing about 70% of methyl esters. 2. Transesterification of the triglycerides present in the sterified product with methanol by alkaline catalysis, washing the reaction product with a water methanol solution. Centrifuging and removal of the water-methanol phase. At this stage a biodiesel product is obtained containing about 90% of methyl esters. 3. Fractional vacuum distillation of the 90% biodiesel gives a final product with a methyl esters content higher than 98%

Optically Induced Modulation of a Laser Beam in Nematic Liquid Crystals Structures

In this paper we report the experimental results obtained when an He-Ne laser beam crosses an MBBA homeotropic sandwich structure and is modulated by the influence of another laser beam, in our case an Ar+ laser, crossing through the same region. We extend some results previously reported by us1 2 concerning the influence of the ratio of the diameters of the laser beams on the modulation characteristics. A theoretical model, based on the one reported in Ref6 , shows good agreement with the experimental results. If the Ar+ laser is intensity chopped, the resulting He-Ne diffracted image is also intensity modulated. The highest frequency observed has been 500 p. p. s

Electrohydrodynamic behavior in twisted-wedge nematic structures

A new type of domain for nematic liquid crystals with a twisted-wedge structure is presented. This new type of domain appears from the low frequency range to 10 kHz. This behavior was observed for square and pulsed excitations. The liquid crystal was N-(p-methoxybenzylidene)-p'-butylaniline) (MBBA) used at room temperature. These domains offer a higher degree of complexity than conventional Williams domains. The corresponding stability chart is presented

Modular multilevel matrix converter as solid state transformer for medium and high voltage substations

The use of power converters as solid state transformer is an attractive solution to modernize the power network, but this solution has not been fully addressed for MV and HV substations. This paper presents a customized and simple control for the Modular Multilevel Matrix Converter (M3C), specially conceived for its operation on synchronous ports, which is the case of AC substations. The control allows to transfer bidirectional active power, generate/absorb reactive power and provide ancillary services. The converter is compared to the back-to-back Modular Multilevel Converter (B2B-MMC) where the key performance indicators to carry out the comparison are power efficiency, number of semiconductor devices, passive components required, footprint, voltage cell balance, fault blocking capability and stress of components. The simulation results show the features, performance and attractiveness of the M3C topology in a 33/11 kV, 16 MW substation under different operating conditions, including grid faults and dynamic operation. The M3C presents similar efficiency and performance than the B2B-MMC, but it uses less semiconductor devices, passive components and total cell capacitor energy than the B2B-MMC, reducing cost and footprint. The experimental results show the performance of the M3C under less ideal conditions including a substation transformer saturation and power step response

Optical Nonlinearities at the Interface between Glass and Liquid Crystal

In this paper, the optical behavior of a nonlinear interface is studied. The nonlinear medium has been a nematic liquid crystal, namely MBBA, and the nonlinear one, glasses of different types (F-10 and F-2) depending on the experimental needs. The anchoring forces at the boundary have been found to inhibit the action of the evanescent field in the case of total internal reflection. Most of observed nonlinearities are due to thermal effects. As a consequence, liquid crystals do not seem to be good candidates for total internal reflection optical bistability

Use of Electroencephalography Brain-Computer Interface Systems as a Rehabilitative Approach for Upper Limb Function After a Stroke: A Systematic Review

Background: Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems have been suggested as a promising tool for neurorehabilitation. However, to date, there is a lack of homogeneous findings. Furthermore, no systematic reviews have analyzed the degree of validation of these interventions for upper limb (UL) motor rehabilitation poststroke. Objectives: The study aims were to compile all available studies that assess an UL intervention based on an electroencephalography (EEG) BCI system in stroke; to analyze the methodological quality of the studies retrieved; and to determine the effects of these interventions on the improvement of motor abilities. Type: This was a systematic review. Literature Survey: Searches were conducted in PubMed, PEDro, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial from inception to September 30, 2015. Methodology: This systematic review compiles all available studies that assess UL intervention based on an EEG-BCI system in patients with stroke, analyzing their methodological quality using the Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies, and determining the grade of recommendation of these interventions for improving motor abilities as established by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine. The articles were selected according to the following criteria: studies evaluating an EEG-based BCI intervention; studies including patients with a stroke and hemiplegia, regardless of lesion origin or temporal evolution; interventions using an EEG-based BCI to restore functional abilities of the affected UL, regardless of the interface used or its combination with other therapies; and studies using validated tools to evaluate motor function. Synthesis: After the literature search, 13 articles were included in this review: 4 studies were randomized controlled trials; 1 study was a controlled study; 4 studies were case series studies; and 4 studies were case reports. The methodological quality of the included papers ranged from 6 to 15, and the level of evidence varied from 1b to 5. The articles included in this review involved a total of 141 stroke patients. Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that BCI interventions may be a promising rehabilitation approach in subjects with stroke. Level of Evidence: I

Opto-optical modulation in N-(p-methoxybenzylidene)-p-butylaniline

A method of opto-optical modulation in liquid crystals is reported. An Ar+-laser beam is employed to modulate a second He–Ne laser. The highest frequency achieved was 1.5 × 103 pulses per second with input modulating powers smaller than 10 mW. A homeotropic N-(p-methoxybenzylidene)-p-butylaniline liquid-crystal cell was employed as the nonlinear medium

Importance of Blue Whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) discarded in the diet of Lesser-Spotted Dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) in the Cantabrian sea

Blue whiting is the most important demersal species caught, in landed biomass as well as in discarded biomass, by the trawl fleet in the South part of the Gulf of Biscay. Dogfish' is not commercial by-catch and it is discarded inmediately after sorting. During 1994 were accomplished analysis of 1094 stomach contents of dogfish caught in commercial ships working in a discard sampling program and a cruise research. The results reveal that from 17 cm, this especie depredates on blue whiting along all the year. The length ranges found in the stornach contents (6-31 cm) is similar to the length ranges discarded in the fishery (7-39 cm). The average quantity of blue whiting in stomachs of dogfish between 40 and 60 cm constitutes the 25% of the stomachs volume. The state of digestion in which is found the blue whiting prey, and the comparative analysis of the size distributions of blue whiting of the stomachs and the one of the fishery, presuppose that the blue whiting consumed is dead material originated from discard. Finally it is discussed the importance that this supplementary material can have in dogfish abundance

Event-related desynchronization-based versus bereitchaftspotential-based classfiers in stroke patiens

To compare the most well-known volitional movement-related electrophysiological phenomena for upper-limb movements in stroke patients, as source of movement classifiers.Peer Reviewe

Antimicrobial Potential Of Some Plant Extracts Against Candida Species.

The increase in the resistance to antimicrobial drugs in use has attracted the attention of the scientific community, and medicinal plants have been extensively studied as alternative agents for the prevention of infections. The Candida genus yeast can become an opportunistic pathogen causing disease in immunosuppressive hosts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate dichloromethane and methanol extracts from Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus officinalis, Arrabidaea chica, Tabebuia avellanedae, Punica granatum and Syzygium cumini against Candida species through the analysis of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). Results presented activity of these extracts against Candida species, especially the methanol extract.701065-