Репродуктивний потенціал деяких представників роду Rhododendron L.

Results of study of flowering features of 16 Rhododendron L. taxa and seed productivity of 8 species introduced to Botanical Garden of Ivan Franko L’viv National University are given. The results indicate on successful adaptation of the plants to new growing conditions.Наведено результати вивчення біологічних особливостей цвітіння 16 таксонів роду Rhododendron L. і насіннєвої продуктивності рослин 8 видів, інтродукованих у Ботанічному саду Львівського національного університету імені Івана Франка, які свідчать про успішну адаптацію рослин до нових умов зростання

Hydrotreatment of Lignin into Green Fuels and Chemicals

Concerns about declining non-renewable fossil resources, energy security, climate change and sustainability are increasing worldwide. This has resulted in an increased interest in the development of alternatives to fossil resources not only for energy, but particularly for chemical production on a global level. There are a number of promising alternatives to fossil resources, however, lignocellulosic biomass such as forestry residues and wood waste (limbs, bark, sawdust, etc.) seem to be the most promising. They are widely available, renewable and a non-food resource. Therefore woody biomass holds the promise of being a sustainable resources for both energy and chemical production. The lignin component of woody biomass is of particular interest as it comprises the world\u27s largest natural source of aromatic compounds and is produced in large quantities as a by-product of pulp and paper processing. The main challenge in lignin utilization for fuels and chemicals is that it is composed of very large molecules with lower heating values (due to high oxygen content) and decreased reactivity. Accordingly, the overall objective of this work is the production of chemicals and fuels by the catalytic hydrotreatment of lignin and lignin-derived bio-oils aiming to reduce its molecular weights and oxygen contents. This work investigated the catalytic hydrotreatment of a number of different lignins and degraded lignins for the production of fuels and chemicals. Several supported metal hydrogenation catalysts were investigated for the depolymerization, deoxygenation and de-sulfurization of Kraft lignin (KL) and organosolv lignin (OL) under hydrogen atmospheres to produce degraded lignins in a 500 mL autoclave reactor. All of the catalysts tested were effective in depolymerizing the lignin feedstocks, however, the alumina-supported catalysts and the carbon-supported Ni catalyst did not perform as well as the carbon-supported Ru catalyst and FHUDS-2 (an industrial HDS catalyst). The molecular weights of the degraded lignins using these last two catalysts at 300 °C were markedly lower than the KL feed (~1,000 vs. 2,500 and 10,000 g/mol). In addition, the sulfur contents of the degraded Kraft lignins were drastically reduced. Targeting the development of effective and inexpensive catalysts for hydrotreatment of lignin and lignin-derived bio-oils to produce chemicals and fuels, screening of catalysts was performed using guaiacol as model compound. The most effective catalyst under the conditions tested was found to be 1 wt.% Mo-doped 5 wt.% Ru supported on activated charcoal (Mo0.01Ru0.05/AC). The selected catalyst proved to be very effective for hydrotreatment of organosolv lignin (MW ≈ 2,600 g/mol) into a liquid product comprising \u3e85% phenolic compounds with a MW of 460 g/mol at ~70% yield at 340°C. This catalyst was also employed in the hydrotreatment of hydrolysis lignin (HL) and depolymerized hydrolysis lignin (DHL)

Біологічні особливості проростання насіння рододендронів (Rhododendron L.) в умовах інтродукції

Laboratory germination as well as its energy by 53 taxons of Rhododendron L. were studied. The best conditions of seeds germination were estimated. The conclusion, that the Rhododendron seeds, introduced in Botanical Garden of Lviv National University, has got high sewing peculiarities and does not need special for-sewing preparations, was made.Досліджено лабораторну схожість та енергію проростання 53 таксонів роду Rhododendron L. Визначено оптимальні умови проростання насіння. Зроблено висновок, що насіння рододендронів, інтродукованих у Ботанічному саду Львівського національного університету імені Івана Франка, має високі посівні якості

Ритм сезонного розвитку північноамериканських видів роду Rhododendron L. в умовах Львова

The paper contains the data on natural growing conditions of North-American Rhododendron L. taxa as well as climatic conditions in their cultivation area. The phenological rhythms of the rhododendrons of North-American origin as well as their flowering features and richness have been examined. High adaptive biorhythmical characteristics of the studied plants provide the reason to recommend them for planting in Western Ukraine.Наведено дані щодо природних умов зростання північноамериканських видів роду Rhododendron L. та кліматичних умов місця їх інтродукції. Досліджено феноритми рододендронів північноамериканського походження, особливості та рясність їхнього цвітіння. Високі адаптивні показники біоритмів досліджуваних інтродуцентів дають підставу рекомендувати їх для використання в зелених насадженнях західного регіону України

The statistical description of the electron system on the liquid helium surface

It is known that homogeneous distribution of particles in Coulomb-like systems can be unstable, and spatially inhomogeneous structures can be formed. A simple method for describing such inhomogeneous systems and obtaining spacial distributions of electron density is proposed and applied to the case of two-dimensional electron systems on surface of liquid helium. A free energy functional for the model in mean field approximation is obtained. Creation of various types of structures, such as long-range periodical modulation and multi-electron dimples, is predicted by minimizing this functional

Wasserstein distance as a new tool for discriminating cosmologies through the topology of large scale structure

In this work we test Wasserstein distance in conjunction with persistent homology, as a tool for discriminating large scale structures of simulated universes with different values of $\sigma_8$ cosmological parameter (present root-mean-square matter fluctuation averaged over a sphere of radius 8 Mpc comoving). The Wasserstein distance (a.k.a. the pair-matching distance) was proposed to measure the difference between two networks in terms of persistent homology. The advantage of this approach consists in its non-parametric way of probing the topology of the Cosmic web, in contrast to graph-theoretical approach depending on linking length. By treating the halos of the Cosmic Web as points in a point cloud we calculate persistent homologies, build persistence (birth-death) diagrams and evaluate Wasserstein distance between them. The latter showed itself as a convenient tool to compare simulated Cosmic webs. We show that one can discern two Cosmic webs (simulated or real) with different $\sigma_8$ parameter. It turns out that Wasserstein distance's discrimination ability depends on redshift $z$, as well as on the dimensionality of considered homology features. We find that the highest discriminating power this tool obtains at $z=2$ snapshots, among the considered $z=2$, $1$, and $0.1$ ones.Comment: submitted to Monthly notices of the royal astronomical societ

Hydrodeoxygenation process for converting glycerol into bio-crude / by Matthew A. Tymchyshyn.

"Bio-energy is a clean (containing negligible sulfur and being near-carbon neutral), renewable and abundant source of energy. Bio-energy can be a potential alternative to fossil fuels for the production of energy and chemicals. Due to the world's increasing energy demands, declining petroleum reserves and growing concerns over the detrimental environmental effects of fossil fuels, there is an increased interest in the production of bio-fuels (bio-ethanol, bio-diesel and bio-oils) from biomass feedstocks. The increased production of bio-diesel by trans-esterification of vegetable oils has resulted in a glut of glycerol as a by-product. Economically beneficial utilization of the glycerol would greatly enhance bio-diesel plant production economics. Part I of this research investigated the effectiveness of various catalysts in the conversion of glycerol into bio-crude at elevated temperature and pressure. The reactions were carried out in an autoclave micro-reactor at a temperature of 300C and an initial pressure of hydrogen of 5 MPa. Gaseous products were collected and analyzed by Micro-GC. The solid products were removed by filtration while the liquid products were separated into water soluble products (unreacted glycerol, acids, alcohols) and water insoluble products (bio-oil/bio-crude) by extraction with water and ethyl acetate. The bio-crude obtained was comprehensively characterized to determine its physical/chemical properties