Development and screening of selective catalysts for the synthesis of clean liquid fuels

This article is a compilation of the research carried out under EEC contract EN3V-0400-D at the Institut für Energieverfahrenstechnik in Jülich and at the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Materials Science, Delft, concerning the development and screening of copper/cobalt-based catalysts for the synthesis of alcohol mixtures from syngas. Analogous work, based on copper/zinc oxide/alumina catalysts, has been performed at the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Twente University at Enschede. This work is described in a companion paper. Comparative tests of several catalysts in a pressure micropulse reactor and in a plug flow tubular reactor, carried out at the Institut für Technische Chemie, TU Braunschweig, are presented in a second companion paper. \ud In the discussion section of the present article the results obtained by the joint groups are compared with the initial objectives of the programme

Connecting your Mobile Shopping Cart to the Internet-of-Things

International audienceOnline shopping has reached an unforeseen success during the last decade thanks to the explosion of the Internet and the development of dedicated websites. Nonetheless, the wide diversity of e-commerce websites does not really foster the sales, but rather leaves the customer in the middle of dense jungle. In particular, finding the best offer for a specific product might require to spend hours browsing the Internet without being sure of finding the best deal in the end. While some websites are providing comparators to help the customer in finding the best offer meeting her/his requirements, the objectivity of these websites remains questionable, the comparison criteria are statically defined, while the nature of products they support is restricted to specific categories (e.g., electronic devices). In this paper, we introduce MACCHIATO as a user-centered platform leveraging online shopping. MACCHIATO implements the principles of the Internet-of-Things by adopting the REST architectural style and semantic web standards to navigate product databases exposed on the Internet. By doing so, customers keep the control of their shopping process by selecting the stores and comparing the offers according to their own preferences

Electromagnetic Couplings of Nucleon Resonances

An effective Lagrangian calculation of pion photoproduction including all nucleon resonances up to $\sqrt s = 1.7$ GeV is presented. We compare our results to recent calculations and show the influence of different width parametrizations and offshell cutoffs on the photoproduction multipoles. We determine the electromagnetic couplings of the resonances from a new fit to the multipole data.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 6 figures. Misprints corrected, text & 3 figures adde

Influence of atmospheric electric fields on radio emission from air showers

We show that atmospheric electric fields as exist in thunderclouds can strongly affect the radio emission from cosmic air showers. We also show, using data from LOFAR, that from the measured radio footprint of cosmic-ray air showers, i.e. intensity, linear and circular polarization at various distances from the shower core, one can determine the direction and strength of the electric field as function of height along the path of the cosmic ray. This method can be regarded as tomography of thundercloud electric fields using cosmic rays as probes. We will present an analysis of selected events measured during thunderstorm conditions in the period from December 2011 till August 2014. The fields we extract are consistent with the generally accepted charge structure in thunderclouds consisting out of three charge layers

Himalayan treeline soil and foliar C:N:P stoichiometry indicate nutrient shortage with elevation

Only a few studies have addressed the soil and foliar carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) stoichiometry in alpine treeline ecotones. Moreover, information on the soil nutrient availability (primarily N, P) in such ecosystems is rare. To fill these gaps, we performed a multiple data sampling in a near-natural alpine treeline ecotone in Rolwaling Himal, Nepal. Our results show strongly varying soil C:N:P ratios and nutrient availabilitywith soil depth. Caused by high monsoon precipitation and coarse-grained soils with low water-holding capacities, a vertical transport of nutrients and potentially mineralizable soil organic matter (SOM) in soils occurs, which is a general problem in the study area impeding growing conditions for trees. Soil N and P availability, and soil C:P and N:P ratios decrease significantly as elevation increases, especially at the transition from krummholz (dominated by rhododendron campanulatum) to the alpine tundra (dwarf scrub heath). Soil C:N ratios increase significantly with elevation, most notably from the subalpine forest to krummholz and the alpine tundra. These altitudinal trends indicate increasing nutrient (N, P) shortage especially in the alpine tundra. LowNand P availability in alpine tundra soils are likely caused by a lower litter input from dwarf shrub vegetation, and a decline in litter mineralization in this altitudinal zone resulting in small accumulation of SOM. Nutrient availability in the entire study area is generally limited by low soil pH (from 2.5 to 4). In total six investigated tree species show diverse relationships between foliar and soil stoichiometric ratios, and soil nutrient availability. Significantly increasing foliar C:N and C:P ratios with elevation due to significantly decreasing foliar N and P concentrations suggest a limitation in N and P. Foliar N:P ratios indicate N rather than P limitation. Contrary to previous studies from different alpine treeline ecotones, we do not consider the Rolwaling treeline ecotone as an area of nutrient accumulation. We conclude that altitudinal variations in stand structures themselves govern nutrient cycling through the input of C, N, and P into soils by differences in leaf fall

Rising Precipitation Extremes across Nepal

As a mountainous country, Nepal is most susceptible to precipitation extremes and related hazards, including severe floods, landslides and droughts that cause huge losses of life and property, impact the Himalayan environment, and hinder the socioeconomic development of the country. Given that the countrywide assessment of such extremes is still lacking, we present a comprehensive picture of prevailing precipitation extremes observed across Nepal. First, we present the spatial distribution of daily extreme precipitation indices as defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection, Monitoring and Indices (ETCCDMI) from 210 stations over the period of 1981–2010. Then, we analyze the temporal changes in the computed extremes from 76 stations, featuring long-term continuous records for the period of 1970–2012, by applying a non-parametric Mann−Kendall test to identify the existence of a trend and Sen’s slope method to calculate the true magnitude of this trend. Further, the local trends in precipitation extremes have been tested for their field significance over the distinct physio-geographical regions of Nepal, such as the lowlands, middle mountains and hills and high mountains in the west (WL, WM and WH, respectively), and likewise, in central (CL, CM and CH) and eastern (EL, EM and EH) Nepal. Our results suggest that the spatial patterns of high-intensity precipitation extremes are quite different to that of annual or monsoonal precipitation. Lowlands (Terai and Siwaliks) that feature relatively low precipitation and less wet days (rainy days) are exposed to high-intensity precipitation extremes. Our trend analysis suggests that the pre-monsoonal precipitation is significantly increasing over the lowlands and CH, while monsoonal precipitation is increasing in WM and CH and decreasing in CM, CL and EL. On the other hand, post-monsoonal precipitation is significantly decreasing across all of Nepal while winter precipitation is decreasing only over the WM region. Both high-intensity precipitation extremes and annual precipitation trends feature east−west contrast, suggesting significant increase over the WM and CH region but decrease over the EM and CM regions. Further, a significant positive trend in the number of consecutive dry days but significant negative trend in the number of wet (rainy) days are observed over the whole of Nepal, implying the prolongation of the dry spell across the country. Overall, the intensification of different precipitation indices over distinct parts of the country indicates region-specific risks of floods, landslides and droughts. The presented findings, in combination with population and environmental pressures, can support in devising the adequate region-specific adaptation strategies for different sectors and in improving the livelihood of the rural communities in Nepal

Rising mean and extreme near-surface air temperature across Nepal

Owing to unique topographic and ecological diversity, central Himalayan state of Nepal is exposed to adverse impacts of climate change and associated disasters. However, countrywide historical assessment of mean and extreme temperature changes, a prerequisite for devising adequate adaptation strategies, is still lacking. Here, we present a comprehensive picture of mean and extreme temperature trends across Nepal over the 1980–2016 period, based on high-quality daily temperature observations from 46 stations. Our results suggest that besides winter cooling in southern lowlands, the country features a widespread warming, which is higher for maximum temperature (~0.04°C⋅year−1) than for minimum temperature (~0.02°C⋅year−1), over the mountainous region than in valleys and lowlands and during the pre-monsoon season than for the rest of the year. Consistently, we found a higher increasing trend for warm days (13 days⋅decade−1) than for warm nights (4 days⋅decade−1), whereas the rates of decrease for cold days and cold nights are the same (6 days⋅decade−1). Further investigations reveal that pronounced warming in maximum temperature over mountain regions can be attributed to less cloud cover and snowfall in recent decades during non-monsoon seasons as a result of positive geopotential height anomalies and strengthening of anticyclonic circulations in the mid-to-upper troposphere. Similarly, increased stability of lower atmosphere during winter and post-monsoon seasons caused prolonged and frequent periods of fog over lowlands, resulting in significant winter cooling there. © 2019 The Authors. International Journal of Climatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Royal Meteorological Society

Determining atmospheric electric fields through radio emmission from air showers

During thunderstorm conditions the radio footprint (intensity as well as polarization) of cosmic ray showers deviates strongly from those measured during fair weather. We have been able to interpret this pattern in terms of atmospheric electric fields. We see that even when there is no thunderstorm activity within 100 km distance within an hour of the event, the radio footprint may be strongly affected

Prediction of lightning inception by large ice particles and extensive air showers

We derive that lightning can start if the electric field is 15% of the breakdown field, and if elongated ice particles of 6 cm length and 100 free electrons per cm3 are present. This is one particular example set from a parameter range that we discuss as well. Our simulations include the permittivity ε(ω) of ice. 100 free electrons per cm3 exist at 5.5 km altitude in air showers created by cosmic particles of at least 5×1015  eV. If the electric field zone is 3 m high and 0.2  km2 in the horizontal direction, at least one discharge per minute can be triggered. The size distribution of the ice particles is crucial for our argument; more detailed measurements would be desirable