Hydrothermal carbonization of oil palm shell

Palm shell is one of the most plentiful wastes of the palm oil mill industry. This study identifies the capability of hydrothermal carbonization process (HTC) to convert palm shell into high energy hydrochar. The influence of reaction time and reaction temperature of the HTC process was investigated. The process parameters selected were temperature 200 °C to 240 °C, time 10 to 60min, and water to biomass ratio was fixed at 10 : 1 by weight %. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), elemental, proximate, Burner Emmett and Teller (BET), thermo-gravime tric (TGA) analyses were performed to characterize the product and the feed. The heating value (HHV) was increased from 12.24 MJ/ kg (raw palm shell) to 22.11 MJ/kg (hydrochar produced at 240 °C and 60 min). The hydrochar yield exhibited a higher degree inverse proportionality with temperature and reaction time. Elemental analysis revealed an increase in carbon percentage and a proportional decrease in hydrogen and oxygen contents which caused higher value of HHV. The dehydration and decarboxylation reactions take place at higher temperatures during HTC resulting in the increase of carbon and decrease in oxygen values of hydrochar. The FESEM results reveal that the structure of raw palm shell was decomposed by HTC process. The pores on the surface of hydrochar increased as compared to the raw palm shell

Bio-char Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems – A Review

black carbon, carbon sequestration, charcoal, emissions trading, global warming potential, greenhouse gas emissions, soils, terra preta de indio ,

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically