Stellar reaction rate for (22)Mg + p -> (23)Al from the asymptotic normalization coefficient in the mirror nuclear system (22)Ne + n -> (23)Ne

Journals published by the American Physical Society can be found at http://publish.aps.org/The production of (22)Na in ONe novae can be influenced by the (22)Mg(p,gamma)(23)Al reaction. To investigate this reaction rate at stellar energies, we have determined the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) for (22)Mg + p -> (23)Al through measurements of the ANCs in the mirror nuclear system (22)Ne + n -> (23)Ne. The peripheral neutron-transfer reactions (13)C((12)C, (13)C)(12)C and (13)C((22)Ne, (23)Ne)(12)C were studied. The identical entrance and exit channels of the first reaction make it possible to extract independently the ground-state ANC in (13)C. Our experiment gives C(p1/2)(2) ((13)C) = 2.24 +/- 0.11 fm(-1), which agrees with the value obtained from several previous measurements. The weighted average for all the obtained C(p1/2)(2) is 2.31 +/- 0.08 fm(-1). This value is adopted to be used in obtaining the ANCs in 23Ne. The differential cross sections for the reaction (13)C((22)Ne, (23)Ne) (12)C leading to the J(pi) = 5/2(+) and 1/2(+) states in (23)Ne have been measured at 12 MeV/u. Optical model parameters for use in the DWBA calculations were obtained from measurements of the elastic scatterings (22)Ne + (13)C and (22)Ne + (12)C. The extracted ANC for the ground state in (23)Ne, C(d5/2)(2) = 0.86 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.12 fm(-1), is converted to its corresponding value in (23)Al using mirror symmetry to give C(d5/2)(2) ((23)Al) = (4.63 +/- 0.77) x 10(3) fm(-1). The astrophysical S factor S(0) for the (22)Mg(p, gamma) reactionwas determined to be 0.96 +/- 0.11 keVb. The consequences for nuclear astrophysics are discussed

Valorisation of Biowastes for the Production of Green Materials Using Chemical Methods

With crude oil reserves dwindling, the hunt for a sustainable alternative feedstock for fuels and materials for our society continues to expand. The biorefinery concept has enjoyed both a surge in popularity and also vocal opposition to the idea of diverting food-grade land and crops for this purpose. The idea of using the inevitable wastes arising from biomass processing, particularly farming and food production, is, therefore, gaining more attention as the feedstock for the biorefinery. For the three main components of biomass—carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins—there are long-established processes for using some of these by-products. However, the recent advances in chemical technologies are expanding both the feedstocks available for processing and the products that be obtained. Herein, this review presents some of the more recent developments in processing these molecules for green materials, as well as case studies that bring these technologies and materials together into final products for applied usage