The potential for short term deployment of carbon dioxide utiltisation technology in the European steel industry

The following EngD thesis presents research on the potential for short term deployment of carbon dioxide utilisation technologies within the context of the European steel industry, in collaboration with Tata Steel Europe. The aim of the project was to identify options for short term utilisation of CO2 directly from steelmaking process exhausts and then evaluate them in terms of their technical feasibility, CO2 reduction potential and economic sustainability. An initial review of steel production processes and CDU routes resulted in the selection of two potentially promising processes for further investigation; production of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) from steelmaking wastes, and combined biomass production and steelmaking wastewater remediation using microalgae. Each technology was investigated experimentally to determine its technical feasibility, and then via a techno-economic evaluation in order to estimate the scale of potential CO2 mitigation and economic viability. Although both technologies were deemed to be technically feasible, when techno-economic evaluations were performed it became clear that neither technology is likely to be able to achieve significant CO2 emissions reductions (reduction is limited to less than 1% of typical integrated site emissions). Despite this, economic estimates for a scaled up PCC production process were promising; a moderate payback on capital expenditure of around 5.51 years was estimated under baseline conditions, with a significant additional revenue potential if the process were credited under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. In contrast, the microalgae based process was found to be highly uneconomical when using technology which is currently available at a commercial scale, and the CO2 mitigation potential was determined to be limited by the indirect CO2 emissions from very high electricity demands as the process is scaled up

Glider observations of thermohaline staircases in the tropical North Atlantic using an automated classifier

Thermohaline staircases are stepped structures of alternating thick mixed layers and thin high-gradient interfaces. These structures can be up to several tens of metres thick and are associated with double-diffusive mixing. Thermohaline staircases occur across broad swathes of the Arctic and tropical and subtropical oceans and can increase rates of diapycnal mixing by up to 5 times the background rate, driving substantial nutrient fluxes to the upper ocean. In this study, we present an improved classification algorithm to detect thermohaline staircases in ocean glider profiles. We use a dataset of 1162 glider profiles from the tropical North Atlantic collected in early 2020 at the edge of a known thermohaline staircase region. The algorithm identifies thermohaline staircases in 97.7 % of profiles that extend deeper than 300 m. We validate our algorithm against previous results obtained from algorithmic classification of Argo float profiles. Using fine-resolution temperature data from a fast-response thermistor on one of the gliders, we explore the effect of varying vertical bin sizes on detected thermohaline staircases. Our algorithm builds on previous work by adding improved flexibility and the ability to classify staircases from profiles with noisy salinity data. Using our results, we propose that the incidence of thermohaline staircases is limited by strong background vertical gradients in conservative temperature and absolute salinity.</p

Glider Observations of Thermohaline Staircases in the Tropical North Atlantic Using an Automated Classifier

Thermohaline staircases are stepped structures of alternating thick mixed layers and thin high gradient interfaces. These structures can be up to several tens of metres thick and are associated with double-diffusive mixing. Thermohaline staircases occur across broad swathes of the Arctic and tropical/subtropical oceans and can increase rates of diapycnal mixing by up to five times the background rate, driving substantial nutrient fluxes to the upper ocean. In this study, we present an improved classification algorithm to detect thermohaline staircases in ocean glider profiles. We use a dataset of 1162 glider profiles from the tropical North Atlantic collected in early 2020 at the edge of a known thermohaline staircase region. The algorithm identifies thermohaline staircases in 97.7 % of profiles that extend deeper than 300 m. We validate our algorithm against previous results obtained from algorithmic classification of Argo float profiles. Using fine resolution temperature data from a fast-response thermistor on one of the gliders, we explore the effect of varying vertical bin sizes on detected thermohaline staircases. Our algorithm builds on previous work with improved flexibility and the ability to classify staircases from profiles with poor salinity data. Using our results, we propose that the incidence of thermohaline staircases is limited by strong background vertical gradients in conservative temperature and absolute salinity

Glider Observations of the Northwestern Iberian Margin During an Exceptional Summer Upwelling Season

Glider observations from the Northwestern Iberian Margin during the exceptionally strong 2010 summer upwelling season resolved the evolution of physical and biogeochemical variables during two upwelling events. Upwelling brought low-oxygen Eastern North Atlantic Central Water from 190 m depth onto the shelf up to a depth of 50 m. During the two observed periods of upwelling, a poleward jet developed over the shelf break. The persistent upwelling favorable winds maintained equatorward flow on the outer shelf for 2 months with no reversals during relaxation periods, a phenomenon not previously observed. During upwelling, near-surface chlorophyll a concentration increased by more than 6 mg m −3. Oxygen supersaturation in the near surface increased by more than 20%, 6 days after the chlorophyll a maximum

Understanding workplace collaboration in professional rugby coaching: A dramaturgical analysis

This ethnography examined the occupational teamwork of a Head Coach and his colleagues (assistants) in the rarely accessed world of professional rugby union. Extensive field notes and participant interviews were subject to emic and etic interpretations. The heuristic framework comprised the work of both classic and contemporary dramaturgical theorists. Our analysis generated novel findings regarding the everyday strategies and tactics that underpinned the collaborative production of this team’s workplace performances. These included how a team identity was constructed and how the Head Coach pursued co-operation, envisioned and advocated for collective missions, and sustained team ventures in their rhythmical doing of organisational life. This study is among the first to provide situated insights into how team performance was productively managed, negotiated, and co-ordinated in the context of a high-performance sport workplace. The insights provided hold significance for researchers, practitioners, educators, and other stakeholders concerned with the dramaturgical demands of organisational life, and with the coherent doing of sports work by managers (head coaches) and their colleagues

Pseudomonas aeruginosa inhibits Rhizopus microsporus germination through sequestration of free environmental iron

Rhizopus spp are the most common etiological agents of mucormycosis, causing over 90% mortality in disseminated infection. Key to pathogenesis is the ability of fungal spores to swell, germinate, and penetrate surrounding tissues. Antibiotic treatment in at-risk patients increases the probability of the patient developing mucormycosis, suggesting that bacteria have the potential to control the growth of the fungus. However, research into polymicrobial relationships involving Rhizopus spp has not been extensively explored. Here we show that co-culturing Rhizopus microsporus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa results in the inhibition of spore germination. This inhibition was mediated via the secretion of bacterial siderophores, which induced iron stress on the fungus. Addition of P. aeruginosa siderophores to R. microsporus spores in the zebrafish larval model of infection resulted in inhibition of fungal germination and reduced host mortality. Therefore, during infection antibacterial treatment may relieve bacterial imposed nutrient restriction resulting in secondary fungal infections

Replacement of less-preferred dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents in synthetic organic chemistry with more sustainable alternatives

Dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents comprise just over 40% of all organic solvents utilized in synthetic organic, medicinal, and process chemistry. Unfortunately, many of the common "go-to" solvents are considered to be "less-preferable" for a number of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) reasons such as toxicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, or for practical handling reasons such as flammability and volatility. Recent legislative changes have initiated the implementation of restrictions on the use of many of the commonly employed dipolar aprotic solvents such as dimethylformamide (DMF) and -methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), and for ethers such as 1,4-dioxane. Thus, with growing legislative, EHS, and societal pressures, the need to identify and implement the use of alternative solvents that are greener, safer, and more sustainable has never been greater. Within this review, the ubiquitous nature of dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents is discussed with respect to the physicochemical properties that have made them so appealing to synthetic chemists. An overview of the current legislative restrictions being imposed on the use of dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents is discussed. A variety of alternative, safer, and more sustainable solvents that have garnered attention over the past decade are then examined, and case studies and examples where less-preferable solvents have been successfully replaced with a safer and more sustainable alternative are highlighted. Finally, a general overview and guidance for solvent selection and replacement are included in the Supporting Information of this review

Coaching in the shadows: Critically examining the unintended (non)influence of pedagogical practice

Background Influence is at the very core of physical education and sport pedagogy. Indeed, a large and growing body of work has focused on the (inter)actions of sport pedagogues which are deemed to be influential in terms of shaping the thoughts, feelings and actions of others. In comparison, little attention has been paid to the practices of sport pedagogues that are noninfluential or unintentionally influential. That is, when pedagogues or learners choose not to do something, how they are not influenced/influential, or when practice (unintentionally) influences those who were (or were not) the original target. Paying greater attention to these issues holds strong potential to develop more critical and ethical understandings of influence that can inform the education and development of sport pedagogues. Aims The aims of this study are two-fold. Firstly, we seek to break new ground by providing novel insights into how, when, why, for whom, and under which circumstances pedagogical (inter)action is not influential, and where (inter)actions have had an unintended influence. Secondly, and relatedly, we seek to advance and illustrate methodological perspectives capable of critically understanding this topic. Data collection Data were generated using a bricolage of methods (i.e. participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and stimulated recall interviews) as part of a critical realist ethnography with one representative-level junior cricket squad in the UK. Data were subject to emic and etic readings in response to the aims of the study. In total, 182 h of observational data and 46 h of interview data were generated and analysed using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). Here, the primary sense making devices were provided by Jones and Wallace’s (2005) theorising of orchestration, Elder-Vass’ (2010) causal power of social structures, and Mason’s (2002) concept of noticing. Analysis and discussion A small number of richly detailed and critical coaching (inter)actions are presented to illustrate the emergent meaning-making of different tacticians and targets of (non)influence. Specifically, the analysis introduces incidents that are illustrative of three novel types of (non)influence. The examples all highlight pathos between the coaches’ original intentions for (and reading of) influence, and the actual influence of practice for the athlete(s). Here, the discussion provides accounts of (a) noninfluence on targeted individuals, (b) unintended influence on non-targeted individuals, and (c) unintended influence on targeted individuals. Conclusion Overall, this paper contributes to a growing body of critical pedagogical research, positioning the work of influence less obtrusively. It provides a novel methodological, theoretical, and empirical contribution which practitioners, educators, researchers, and other stakeholders can engage with to critically consider how, when, why, for whom, and under which circumstances (inter)actions are (likely to be) influential or not. Further work could examine what pedagogues and learners decide to do and not do, as well as what they notice and do not notice as a basis to develop more critical and ethical practices

Experimental and computational insights into the mechanism of the copper(I)-catalysed sulfonylative Suzuki-Miyaura reaction

A mechanistic study into the copper(I)-catalysed sulfonylative Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, incorporating sulfur dioxide, is described. Utilising spectroscopic and computational techniques, an exploration into the individual components of the competing catalytic cycles is delineated, including identification of the resting state catalyst, transmetalation of arylboronic acid onto copper(I), the sulfur dioxide insertion process, and the oxidative addition of aryl halide to CuI. Studies also investigated prominent side-reactions which were uncovered, including a competing copper(II)-catalysed mechanism. This led to an additional proposed and connected CuI/CuII/CuIII catalytic cycle to account for by-product formation