Near Infrared Light Heating of Soft Tissue Phantoms Containing Nanoparticles

International audienceThe objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of the addition of nanoparticles to soft tissue phantoms, aiming at the enhancement of photothermal therapy for cancer. The phantoms were made of Polyvinyl chloride-plastisol (PVC-P), with two different nanoparticles, namely, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) and silica nanoparticles (SiO2). A phantom without nanoparticles and a phantom containing a thermal paste were also manufactured for comparison purposes. The PVC-P phantom is transparent to the near infrared laser light, whereas the addition of titanium dioxide nanoparticles modified the optical properties enhancing the local heating, as demonstrated through experiments with a laser-diode and an infrared camera

Mammalian deltavirus without hepadnavirus coinfection in the neotropical rodent Proechimys semispinosus.

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a human hepatitis-causing RNA virus, unrelated to any other taxonomic group of RNA viruses. Its occurrence as a satellite virus of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a singular case in animal virology for which no consensus evolutionary explanation exists. Here we present a mammalian deltavirus that does not occur in humans, identified in the neotropical rodent species Proechimys semispinosus The rodent deltavirus is highly distinct, showing a common ancestor with a recently described deltavirus in snakes. Reverse genetics based on a tandem minus-strand complementary DNA genome copy under the control of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter confirms autonomous genome replication in transfected cells, with initiation of replication from the upstream genome copy. In contrast to HDV, a large delta antigen is not expressed and the farnesylation motif critical for HBV interaction is absent from a genome region that might correspond to a hypothetical rodent large delta antigen. Correspondingly, there is no evidence for coinfection with an HBV-related hepadnavirus based on virus detection and serology in any deltavirus-positive animal. No other coinfecting viruses were detected by RNA sequencing studies of 120 wild-caught animals that could serve as a potential helper virus. The presence of virus in blood and pronounced detection in reproductively active males suggest horizontal transmission linked to competitive behavior. Our study establishes a nonhuman, mammalian deltavirus that occurs as a horizontally transmitted infection, is potentially cleared by immune response, is not focused in the liver, and possibly does not require helper virus coinfection

Flash Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass : is it possible to catalyse deoxygenation reactions during primary or secondary mechanisms ?

La pyrolyse flash est un procédé attrayant pour convertir la biomasse lignocellulosique en bio-huiles, intermédiaires énergétiques potentiellement valorisables en biocarburants et/ou intermédiaires chimiques. L’émergence d’une telle filière requiert la mise au point d’une stratégie catalytique efficace et innovante qui permette de diminuer la teneur en oxygène des bio-huiles. Les mécanismes de pyrolyse ont lieu à la fois au sein de la biomasse - mécanismes primaires - et en phase gazeuse - mécanismes secondaires-. Par conséquent, notre démarche a consisté à tester si l’imprégnation d’un précurseur catalytique dans la biomasse permet d’agir sur les mécanismes primaires afin de favoriser la désoxygénation. Puis, nous avons cherché à favoriser le craquage catalytique des vapeurs de pyrolyse en utilisant un catalyseur hétérogène.Nos travaux montrent que la pyrolyse de biomasse imprégnée avec des sels de nitrates - Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn et Ce - favorise principalement la dépolymérisation de la cellulose aux dépens de sa fragmentation. En outre, la présence d’anions nitrate catalyse la formation d’anhydrosaccharides déshydratés, employés pour synthétiser des molécules complexes. Après pyrolyse, un support carboné contenant des nanoparticules métalliques est obtenu et peut être valorisé pour catalyser la désoxygénation de molécules modèles en phase vapeur. Néanmoins, l’activité catalytique de ces charbons est limitée par leur faible surface spécifique, comme le montre la comparaison avec un charbon actif commercial contenant des nanoparticules métalliques. Parmi les métaux testés, le catalyseur à base de cérine s’avère très efficace pour réduire l’acidité des bio-huiles et catalyser la formation de dérivés phénoliques. De plus, ce catalyseur de craquage catalytique permet de réduire la teneur en oxygène de l’huile de pyrolyse et d’augmenter sa densité énergétique. Ce résultat encourageant suggère que le craquage catalytique pourrait être mis en œuvre en complément de l’hydrodésoxygénation dans une filière de production de biocarburants. Cette alternative permet de réduire le coût de l’hydrodésoxygénation et notamment la consommation de dihydrogène.Flash pyrolysis of biomass is seen as a new way to produce bio-oils which can be converted to biofuels and chemicals. However, development of such pyrolysis processes requires implementation of an efficient and innovative catalytic strategy to deoxygenate bio-oils. Pyrolysis mechanisms involve both biomass degradation reactions - primary mechanisms - and gas phase reactions - secondary mechanisms -. As a consequence, our work has been directed along two research lines. First, we tested whether impregnating a catalyst precursor in the biomass can act on the primary pyrolysis mechanisms in order to promote deoxygenation. Then we sought to enhance the catalytic cracking of pyrolysis vapours using a heterogeneous catalyst.Pyrolysis experiments of impregnated biomass show that metal nitrate salts - Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Ce – mainly enhance cellulose depolymerisation at the expense of its fragmentation. Moreover, nitrate anions inserted in biomass promote the production of dehydrated anhydrosugars which can be used to synthesize value-added molecules. Pyrolysis of impregnated biomass also results in the formation of a catalytically active charcoal containing metal nanoparticles. Those charcoals were successfully employed to catalyse the deoxygenation of model vapour phase compounds. However, it was found that the catalytic activity of these charcoals was limited by their low specific surface area, in comparison with the measured performance measured for commercially available activated charcoal containing metal nanoparticles. Among the tested metals, the ceria-based catalyst was found both to efficiently reduce bio-oil acidity and to enhance phenol yields. Additionally, this catalytic cracking catalyst reduces the oxygen content in the pyrolysis bio-oil and increases its heating value. This encouraging result suggests that catalytic vapour cracking could be integrated in a hydrodeoxygenation-based process to produce biofuels. This option should reduce the cost of hydrodeoxygenation and in particular the hydrogen consumption

Catalytic effect of metal nitrate salts during pyrolysis of impregnated biomass

International audienceCatalytic pyrolysis is a promising way to improve bio-oil product quality. In this study, metal salts were directly impregnated in biomass to generate in-situ catalysts and investigate their impact on pyrolysis products. Seven metals – Ce, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn - were selected and impregnated in eucalyptus using nitrate salts. A fixed-bed reactor, pre-heated at 500°C and inerted with N2 flow, was used for pyrolysis. Both gas and bio-oil compositions were analysed, paying particular attention to the production of anhydrosugars. The anhydrosugar yields were found to be strongly influenced by the presence of metal salt catalysts. In particular, both Zn and Co salts yielded more anhydrosugars in comparison with catalyst-free sample. Moreover, LAC (1-hydroxy,(1R)-3,6-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-2-one) was produced in higher amounts than levoglucosan which is commonly produced without any catalyst. Metals were found to remain in all chars and tended to form metal-based nanoparticles (e.g. Cu0, Ni0, ZnO) able to act as in-situ catalysts during the pyrolysis process. It seems that those metal nanoparticles are closely related to LAC production. In parallel to metal cations, nitrates were also suspected to play a significant role during pyrolysis. The suspected impact of anions on levoglucosenone production is discussed. Concerning gas yields, the impregnated nitrate salts were found to strongly affect CO2 production

Catalytic deoxygenation of model compounds from flash pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass over activated charcoal-based catalysts

International audienceCatalytic deoxygenation of pyrolytic vapors represents a great challenge to produce biofuels by flash pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. A wide variety of catalysts, particularly zeolites, have been investigated for this purpose, however, quick deactivation was often reported. Although they are cheap and can have a hierarchical pore structure, activated charcoal-based catalysts have received only little attention. This paper presents an innovative method to synthesize activated charcoal based catalysts doped with CeO2 , Fe2O3 or Mn3O4 nanoparticles. We investigated the performances of those catalysts to deoxygenate two biomass pyrolytic model compounds − acetic acid and guaiacol − on a fixed-bed reactor between 350° C and 450° C. Ceria-based catalyst was highly active and remarkably stable to enhance ketonic decarboxylation of acetic acid, leading to the formation of acetone. Huge amounts of produced phenol attest for the partial deoxygenation of guaiacol, particularly when using iron-based catalyst. This study demonstrates the potential of activated charcoal-based catalysts to produce weak-acidic and partially deoxygenated bio-oils

Near Infrared Light Heating of Soft Tissue Phantoms Containing Nanoparticles

International audienceThe objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of the addition of nanoparticles to soft tissue phantoms, aiming at the enhancement of photothermal therapy for cancer. The phantoms were made of Polyvinyl chloride-plastisol (PVC-P), with two different nanoparticles, namely, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) and silica nanoparticles (SiO2). A phantom without nanoparticles and a phantom containing a thermal paste were also manufactured for comparison purposes. The PVC-P phantom is transparent to the near infrared laser light, whereas the addition of titanium dioxide nanoparticles modified the optical properties enhancing the local heating, as demonstrated through experiments with a laser-diode and an infrared camera

Monte Carlo method to solve the heat equation in a complex media

International audiencePorous or fibrous complex medias are widely used for energy applications such as heat storage, thermal insulation, solar absorbers, heat exchangers... There is a need to develop methods that are relevant to solve the heat equation in those complex medias. Monte Carlo method can be used to solve parabolic partial differential equations such as heat equation in complex geometries or porous media. It relies on reformulating the thermal model first as an integral and then as an expected value introducing a probability density function. An important point is that this method does not require a volumic mesh which makes it relevant for complex geometries. Randomly generated paths carry information (known temperature or flux on a boundary, volumetric heat source...) in their weights. The observable - local temperature, mean temperature on a given surface - is then evaluated by computing the arithmetic mean of the weights, based on the Law of Large Numbers. It is noticeable that Monte Carlo method does not evaluate a temperature field but only the observable. Therefore, it reduces the amount of data to handle for post-treatment. The Monte Carlo algorithm can easily be parallelized since each path is independently computed on a single processor.Based on the Central Limit Theorem, the result is always given with its variance and then with the associated uncertainty. In this work, we solve the thermal model in a diphasic complex porous media. Geometry has been obtained through tomography technique and is composed of 8 x10^6 triangles. This sample has been chosen for its complexity: large range of spatial scales, hollow fibres... Computations have been performed with the free and open-source software Stardis (https://www.meso-star.com/projects/stardis/stardis.html) which is suitable to take conduction, convection and radiation transfers into account. Based on recent work of Tregan, Stardis has been extended to non-linear cases to take the radiative term - difference of temperatures to the power four - into account without linearization which is crucial when the difference of temperatures is high. In the present work, the thermal model has been successfully solved to determine the apparent conductivity tensor with and without radiative transfers.Further work is required to investigate how to solve other advection-diffusion equations with this Monte-Carlo method