Fluidized Bed Membrane Reactor for Steam Reforming of Higher Hydrocarbons: Model Sensitivity

A fluidized bed membrane reactor (FBMR) was built and operated at temperatures \u3c600°C to reform higher hydrocarbons like propane and heptane. A two-phase reactor model is utilized to simulate the FBMR with hydrogen withdrawn from both phases. The superficial gas velocities in the reactor change because of variations in molar flow due to reaction and hydrogen withdrawal through the membranes, as well as variations in temperature, pressure and cross-sectional area. Sensitivity studies show that the FBMR performance is primarily controlled by chemical equilibrium and hydrogen permeation through the membranes, while being insensitive to errors in accurately characterizing the chemical kinetics and hydrodynamics

Coupling of bipolar membrane electrodialysis and ammonia stripping for direct treatment of wastewaters containing ammonium nitrate

International audienceSplitting of ammonium nitrate to nitric acid and ammonia was achieved by a coupled process including bipolar membrane electrodialysis and in situ ammonia stripping. The effect of homopolar ion-exchange membranes on current efficiency led to the selection of AW (Solvay) and CMB (Tokuyama Soda) membranes. The main parameters influencing the current efficiency were acid and ammonia concentrations. Proton leakage through the anion-exchange membrane is proportional to acid concentration. Ammonia diffuses through the membranes independently of the current. Higher current efficiency was obtained at higher current density. Batch and continuous processing were compared

Flood vulnerability, local perception and gender role judgment using multivariate analysis: A problem-based âparticipatory action to Future Skill Managementâ to cope with flood impacts

Flood impacts and social vulnerability are substantial threats for the sustainable development of the developing world. This study focuses on some particular points of flood impacts and the local concept towards existing management capacity. Additionally, significant focus was given to gender roles and how they may impact measures that aim towards reducing flood risks. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were applied during the research, in order to understand the perception of the char-land communities on natural hazards, social crisis, resource accessibility, climatic uncertainty and the gender role to cope with flood consequences. Concurrently the questionnaire survey and focus group discussion (FGD) was performed among the local people. This study revealed that majority of the people was directly threatened by the destructive consequences of flood hazards, which in turn, badly influenced the household economies, alongside its education, security and infrastructural prospects. Some decades ago, the application of indigenous techniques was deemed successful as the communities managed to effectively reduce the risk involved with potential floods. However, now the solution is no longer clear as it is disturbed by external climate components. Results showed the vulnerability of the local communities in terms of knowledge, resource access, communication system, proper information dissemination, health, and livelihood. The gender variability is believed to have significant value in terms of flood disaster risk reduction, household development, and family caring activities. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) has clearly identified the gender role in the char-land community. The women's activities are profoundly focused in terms of the flood risk management, and the families generally do not properly appreciate the value of women and their role. However, the problem-based âParticipatory Action to Future Skill Management (PFM)â for flood risk reduction in the char-land area can ensure to knowledge empowerment and capacity builds up, to achieve community resilience and sustainability in adverse climate conditions. The government should take appropriate actions in order to figure out the basic problem, and should issue focused policy practices among the char-land communities to bring them in sustainable trends. Keywords: Flood vulnerability, Char-land, Local perception, Gender participation, Resource accessibility and problem-based PF

Significant pathway and biomarker identification of pancreatic cancer associated lung cancer

Pancreatic Cancer (PC) is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and one of the deadliest malignant neoplasms. It is difficult to diagnose at an early stage. Lung Cancer (LC) is the second most common cancer and a malignant tumor which spreads into nearby tissues through metastasis. One of the major common risk factors between PC and LC is smoking. Since both PC and LC are malignant they may be associated with one another. The main purpose of this research was to find genetic linkage and association between PC and LC through a bioinformatics approach. We analyzed both gene expression datasets and compared the significant genetic markers to find shared genes between the two cancers. We identified 1686 common significant genes between PC and LC, which is 33.2% of both gene datasets. The enrichment analysis disclosed the biological roles of the selected common genes and revealed the pathways that were mostly associated with the common biomarkers. Using the common genes of both cancers we constructed a PPI network and identified 10 significant hub genes (TP53, AKT1, EGFR, TNF, IL6, ALB, EGF, MYC, VEGFA, and GAPDH) based on their connectivity and degree values. In drug target analysis, a drug compound ‘Capsaicin CTD 00005570’ was identified to be associated with all significant hub genes. This drug compound could be useful for treatment of the patient who suffers simultaneously from both cancers. Thus this study identified genetic linkage and elemental functional association between PC and LC, and may help in the development of future medications for patients with both PC and LC