Co-pyrolysis of microalgae, sludge and lignocellulosic biomass for aromatic hydrocarbon production

Co-pyrolysis, where a mixture of two or more different biomasses are subjected to pyrolysis, has gained attention over the years. Many studies have revealed that it leads to bio-oil production with desirable properties like reduced moisture content and enhanced caloric value. In the present study, blends of cedar wood (CW), algal biomass (AB), and digested sludge (DS) were subjected to co-pyrolysis in presence and absence of the catalyst ZSM-5. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis was carried out for 18 different combinations of these biomasses to assess the total activation energy (Ea), change in enthalpy (ΔH), and change in Gibb’s free energy (ΔG) for these blends. The lowest value of Ea (87.28 kJ/mol) and ΔH (80.49 kJ/mol) were obtained for the 2:1 wt/wt catalyst to 1:1:1 wt/wt biomass blend of CW: AB: DS with ΔG value of 207.62 kJ/mol.Statistical analysis of the DSC data resulted in significant response surface models (RSM) for Ea and ΔH, but could not model ΔG well. Additionally, it has demonstrated that the catalyst addition to blends reduced the energy requirement for pyrolysis. Therefore, based on the RSM models for Ea and ΔH, 2:1 wt/wt blend of ZSM– 5 to biomass: 57.14 wt % DS, 4.29 wt % AB and 38.57 wt % CW was chosen as the optimum combination (OC). The 2:1 wt/wt ZSM–5: biomass blend containing equal weight fractions of three biomasses produced a bio-oil with the highest aromatic hydrocarbon yield of 89.38 wt %. The aromatic hydrocarbon content of 83.12 wt % was obtained in the bio-oil produced from pyrolysis of OC. Naphthalene, anthracene and their methyl derivatives were the main aromatic hydrocarbons in the bio-oil.ASPEN PLUS simulation of the AB, DS and CW co-pyrolysis system confirmed the findings obtained with the DSC experiments indicating that co-pyrolysis can reduce energy requirement and allowed both mass and energy balance calculations for the process

BURROW ARCHITECTURE OF RED GHOST CRAB OCYPODE MACROCERA (H. MILNE-EDWARDS, 1852) : A CASE STUDY IN INDIAN SUNDARBANS

A study on burrow architecture and burrow morphology of the red ghost crab (Ocypode macrocera) was carried out at the southern proximity of the Sagar island (21°37.973' N, to E 88° 04.195'), western sector of Indian Sundarbans that faces the regular tidal influences of Bay of Bengal. Ocypode macrocera constructs burrows that are highly species specific and used by single individual. Four types of burrow patterns were observed like ‘I’, ‘J’ ‘U’ and ‘semi-U’ type with different sizes as revealed by POP casting. Important physic-chemical parameters like air temperature, temperature and salinity of the water were significantly varied (P < 0.05) throughout seasons in the Ocypode zone. Burrow sand column temperature were also significantly varied from ambient air temperature thus exhibiting preference for cooler subterranean residential compartment. The digging behaviour of Ocypodes enhances oxygenation in the ground soil and facilitates decomposition of organic materials, nutrient recycling, entrapping the sediments and mangrove seedlings and helps the process of bioturbation. As per the preliminary observations it was suggested that burrow shape is directly related to tidal action and metabolic activities of the crab are strongly correlated with burrow microenvironment. They are adapted to the different sediment conditions, tidal fluctuations, varying salinity gradients, air and water temperatures and other environmental fluctuations

Recent US-China Tariff War: Opportunities for Indian Pharmaceutical Exports?

The inception of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 was expected to reduce trade barriers across member countries on one hand and facilitate growth though promotion of international trade in merchandise products and services on the other. The subsequent WTO-led reforms deepened the globalization wave. In recent times however, the world is witnessing a phase of ‘de-globalization’, with rise in trade barriers and inwardness. The recent increase in US tariffs on Chinese exports and countermeasures imposed by China are a case in point. In 2014 India has initiated the Make-in-India scheme for deepening industrialization and facilitating exports. The current paper evaluates the possible opportunities for expanding Indian pharmaceutical exports in the US market, given the increase in tariff against Chinese products with the help of select trade indices. The analysis portrays a modest opportunity for Indian pharmaceutical exports in the US market, based on their past performance. Only six products at HS 6-digit level, based on the six indicators, are found to be enjoying competitiveness in the US market. The paper concludes that facilitating R&D in pharma segment as well as expanding the coverage of mutual recognition of standards in US may be explored as possible steps for enhancing Indian exports

Recent US-China tariff war: Opportunities for Indian pharmaceutical exports?

Abstract. The inception of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 was expected to reduce trade barriers across member countries on one hand and facilitate growth though promotion of international trade in merchandise products and services on the other. The subsequent WTO-led reforms deepened the globalization wave. In recent times however, the world is witnessing a phase of ‘de-globalization’, with rise in trade barriers and inwardness. The recent increase in US tariffs on Chinese exports and countermeasures imposed by China are a case in point. In 2014 India has initiated the Make-in-India scheme for deepening industrialization and facilitating exports. The current paper evaluates the possible opportunities for expanding Indian pharmaceutical exports in the US market, given the increase in tariff against Chinese products with the help of select trade indices. The analysis portrays a modest opportunity for Indian pharmaceutical exports in the US market, based on their past performance. Only six products at HS 6-digit level, based on the six indicators, are found to be enjoying competitiveness in the US market. The paper concludes that facilitating R&amp;D in pharma segment as well as expanding the coverage of mutual recognition of standards in US may be explored as possible steps for enhancing Indian exports.Keywords. India, US, Pharmaceutical trade, Trade indices, Trade policy, Make in India.JEL. F10, F13

Characterization of the John A. Galt telescope for radio holography with CHIME

The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) will measure the 21 cm emission of astrophysical neutral hydrogen to probe large scale structure at redshifts z=0.8-2.5. However, detecting the 21 cm signal beneath substantially brighter foregrounds remains a key challenge. Due to the high dynamic range between 21 cm and foreground emission, an exquisite calibration of instrument systematics, notably the telescope beam, is required to successfully filter out the foregrounds. One technique being used to achieve a high fidelity measurement of the CHIME beam is radio holography, wherein signals from each of CHIME's analog inputs are correlated with the signal from a co-located reference antenna, the 26 m John A. Galt telescope, as the 26 m Galt telescope tracks a bright point source transiting over CHIME. In this work we present an analysis of several of the Galt telescope's properties. We employ driftscan measurements of several bright sources, along with background estimates derived from the 408 MHz Haslam map, to estimate the Galt system temperature. To determine the Galt telescope's beam shape, we perform and analyze a raster scan of the bright radio source Cassiopeia A. Finally, we use early holographic measurements to measure the Galt telescope's geometry with respect to CHIME for the holographic analysis of the CHIME and Galt interferometric data set

A Detection of Cosmological 21 cm Emission from CHIME in Cross-correlation with eBOSS Measurements of the Lyman-α\alpha Forest

We report the detection of 21 cm emission at an average redshift $\bar{z} = 2.3$ in the cross-correlation of data from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) with measurements of the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest from eBOSS. Data collected by CHIME over 88 days in the $400-500$~MHz frequency band ($1.8 < z < 2.5$) are formed into maps of the sky and high-pass delay filtered to suppress the foreground power, corresponding to removing cosmological scales with $k_\parallel \lesssim 0.13\ \text{Mpc}^{-1}$ at the average redshift. Line-of-sight spectra to the eBOSS background quasar locations are extracted from the CHIME maps and combined with the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest flux transmission spectra to estimate the 21 cm-Lyman-$\alpha$ cross-correlation function. Fitting a simulation-derived template function to this measurement results in a $9\sigma$ detection significance. The coherent accumulation of the signal through cross-correlation is sufficient to enable a detection despite excess variance from foreground residuals $\sim6-10$ times brighter than the expected thermal noise level in the correlation function. These results are the highest-redshift measurement of \tcm emission to date, and set the stage for future 21 cm intensity mapping analyses at $z>1.8$