Polyurethane foams produced from pyrolysis oil - Production and possible application

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Rigid polyurethane (PU) foams are widely used for instance in building insulation. Two component systems comprising of a polyol as component A and a diisocyanate as component B are generally applied. Both components are produced from fossil oil resources. The liquid products from fast pyrolysis of biomass contain a large variety of organic compounds with -OH functional groups. This gives rise to the idea to substitute the polyol component in PU foams with such biomass based intermediates. Pyrolysis condensates derived from woody and herbaceous biomass were dried and samples of PU foams were produced with varying amounts of condensate substituting the polyol component. Especially the foams made from condensates produced from straw showed good insulation properties, which were expressed as low thermal conductivity. Here, with a substitution degree of 80% a thermal conductivity of 0.0283 Wm−1K−1was achieved, which was 8% lower than for the foams produced from commercial components (0.0308 Wm−1K−1). Preliminary results for the measurement of compressive strength indicated that the required value of 150 kPa can easily be achieved, especially with a high degree of substitution. These results show a high potential for the application of bio-based intermediates in the building sector. Further research on other properties is necessary, but the main requirements for thermal conductivity are already met without optimization of the catalyst/stabilizer system

High rates of genome rearrangements and pathogenicity of Shigella spp.

Shigella are pathogens originating within the Escherichia lineage but frequently classified as a separate genus. Shigella genomes contain numerous insertion sequences (ISs) that lead to pseudogenisation of affected genes and an increase of non-homologous recombination. Here, we study 414 genomes of E. coli and Shigella strains to assess the contribution of genomic rearrangements to Shigella evolution. We found that Shigella experienced exceptionally high rates of intragenomic rearrangements and had a decreased rate of homologous recombination compared to pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli. The high rearrangement rate resulted in independent disruption of syntenic regions and parallel rearrangements in different Shigella lineages. Specifically, we identified two types of chromosomally encoded E3 ubiquitin-protein ligases acquired independently by all Shigella strains that also showed a high level of sequence conservation in the promoter and further in the 5′-intergenic region. In the only available enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) strain, which is a pathogenic E. coli with a phenotype intermediate between Shigella and non-pathogenic E. coli, we found a rate of genome rearrangements comparable to those in other E. coli and no functional copies of the two Shigella-specific E3 ubiquitin ligases. These data indicate that the accumulation of ISs influenced many aspects of genome evolution and played an important role in the evolution of intracellular pathogens. Our research demonstrates the power of comparative genomics-based on synteny block composition and an important role of non-coding regions in the evolution of genomic islands

Pyrolysis of Fresh and Deposited Sewage Sludge and Investigation of the Products

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. The article presents results of studies of pyrolysis of fresh and deposited sewage sludge (DSS) in two regimes of heat input: conductive heating at a rate of 40 °C/s and convective heating at a rate of 10 °C/min. It was determined that the fresh sewage sludge (FSS) had the higher yield of organic liquid and gas, and the lower char yield. The higher heating rate led to a decrease in the char yield and an increase in the liquid yield. The investigation of liquid products showed that those of the FSS had greater proportions of alcohols, organic acids, and nitrogen-containing compounds, including heterocyclics. The liquid products of the DSS had the greater content of carbohydrates, esters, and unidentified compounds, which were probably condensed compounds

Joint Thermal Treatment of Heavy Oil and Liquid Products of Fast Wood Pyrolysis for Producing Fuels and Chemicals

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Joint thermal treatment of heavy oil and liquid products of fast wood pyrolysis is investigated. Thermal analysis shows that the coke yield does not increase if the liquid products are added up to 20 mass%. The liquid wood-pyrolysis products decompose much earlier than heavy oil. However, the decomposition of the blends is essentially the same as pure-oil decomposition

Thermal analysis and calorimetric study of the combustion of hydrolytic wood lignin and products of its pyrolysis

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York. Thermal decomposition of hydrolyzed lignin is studied in the 300-700°C range in an inert gas atmosphere. The yields of solid, liquid, and gaseous decomposition products are determined. It is demonstrated by combustion calorimetry that the carbonaceous residue of lignin pyrolysis has the highest calorific value. The calorific value of the carbonaceous residue of pyrolysis resin is higher than that of the original lignin. It is shown by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry with mass spectrometric detection of gases that lignin and its thermal decomposition products could undergo thermolysis with formation of various volatile compounds. Thermal decomposition starts at roughly the same temperature and is 320°C. The loss of sample mass increases in the following sequence: carbonaceous residue < lignin < liquid fraction

Polyurethane foams produced from pyrolysis oil - Production and possible application

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Rigid polyurethane (PU) foams are widely used for instance in building insulation. Two component systems comprising of a polyol as component A and a diisocyanate as component B are generally applied. Both components are produced from fossil oil resources. The liquid products from fast pyrolysis of biomass contain a large variety of organic compounds with -OH functional groups. This gives rise to the idea to substitute the polyol component in PU foams with such biomass based intermediates. Pyrolysis condensates derived from woody and herbaceous biomass were dried and samples of PU foams were produced with varying amounts of condensate substituting the polyol component. Especially the foams made from condensates produced from straw showed good insulation properties, which were expressed as low thermal conductivity. Here, with a substitution degree of 80% a thermal conductivity of 0.0283 Wm−1K−1was achieved, which was 8% lower than for the foams produced from commercial components (0.0308 Wm−1K−1). Preliminary results for the measurement of compressive strength indicated that the required value of 150 kPa can easily be achieved, especially with a high degree of substitution. These results show a high potential for the application of bio-based intermediates in the building sector. Further research on other properties is necessary, but the main requirements for thermal conductivity are already met without optimization of the catalyst/stabilizer system

Application of the water-insoluble pyrolysis oil fraction as an organic binder

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Wood fast pyrolysis oil could potentially be applied as an additive to an organic binder for use in road construction. The aim of this work was to investigate the properties of a composite binder made of bitumen and the water-insoluble fraction of wood pyrolysis oil. Pyrolysis oil was made from birch wood by fast ablative pyrolysis. Separation of the pyrolysis oil was conducted with recovery of the water-insoluble fraction of wood pyrolysis oil. A composite binder consisting of bitumen and the water-insoluble fraction of pyrolysis oil was produced. Modified asphalt concrete was made with the composite binder. The properties of the composite binder and the modified asphalt concrete were investigated. It can be concluded that the water-insoluble fraction of pyrolysis oil can be used as a component of composite bitumen binder. The best properties are exhibited by the binder supplemented with 10-15% of the water-insoluble fraction of pyrolysis oil

Pyrolysis of Fresh and Deposited Sewage Sludge and Investigation of the Products

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. The article presents results of studies of pyrolysis of fresh and deposited sewage sludge (DSS) in two regimes of heat input: conductive heating at a rate of 40 °C/s and convective heating at a rate of 10 °C/min. It was determined that the fresh sewage sludge (FSS) had the higher yield of organic liquid and gas, and the lower char yield. The higher heating rate led to a decrease in the char yield and an increase in the liquid yield. The investigation of liquid products showed that those of the FSS had greater proportions of alcohols, organic acids, and nitrogen-containing compounds, including heterocyclics. The liquid products of the DSS had the greater content of carbohydrates, esters, and unidentified compounds, which were probably condensed compounds

Joint Thermal Treatment of Heavy Oil and Liquid Products of Fast Wood Pyrolysis for Producing Fuels and Chemicals

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Joint thermal treatment of heavy oil and liquid products of fast wood pyrolysis is investigated. Thermal analysis shows that the coke yield does not increase if the liquid products are added up to 20 mass%. The liquid wood-pyrolysis products decompose much earlier than heavy oil. However, the decomposition of the blends is essentially the same as pure-oil decomposition

Joint Thermal Treatment of Heavy Oil and Liquid Products of Fast Wood Pyrolysis for Producing Fuels and Chemicals

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Joint thermal treatment of heavy oil and liquid products of fast wood pyrolysis is investigated. Thermal analysis shows that the coke yield does not increase if the liquid products are added up to 20 mass%. The liquid wood-pyrolysis products decompose much earlier than heavy oil. However, the decomposition of the blends is essentially the same as pure-oil decomposition