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Abstract A small reverse osmoisis (RO) plant supplied by a photovoltaic (PV) power supply has been installed at the island of Gran Canaria. On behalf of this system the feasibility of small PV-RO systems (1 m3/d) is investigated. The RO-plant is described in detail concerning its technical specifications, its operation constraints and its energy demand. Furthermore the photovoltaic power supply is described in detail. With simulations it is shown how the system is designed to guarantee a reliability of more than 96% in the water supply. A brief economic analysis shows that the water production costs are still high (about 16 $/m3) but can be lowered in future.

It is well known that colloid-chemical aspects, such as agglomeration processes, wetting and adsorption phenomena, have a decisive influence on the separation behaviour and coating quality of a composite plating. The following processing steps for electrocodeposition have to be considered: preparation of a stable dispersion of the particles in the electrolytic bath, transportation of the particles to the metal surface, adhesion of the particles onto the surface, incorporation of the particles in the metal matrix. Celis [1,2] and Hyashi [3] could show that ion adsorption onto the particle surface is very important for electrophoretic mobility and layer quality. On the other site, Fransaer and others [2,4] showed that surface free energy plays an important role for incorporation of particles in a metal matrix. They could demonstrate that hydrophilic particles do not make contact with the electrode, probably due to repulsive hydration forces. Hydrophobic particles make contact with the electrode, due to an attractive hydrophobic force. Hence it is important to have a method for estimating the hydrophilic/ hydrophobic surface properties of such particles to select a suitable surface modification strategy. A direct way to measure the surface free energy of solid particles is not available so far. Therefore, it is generally accepted to use the phenomenon of capillary penetration of liquids into porous media to determine the wetting properties of particles by measuring the penetration velocity of well-defined liquids in a powder packing. The kinetics of penetration correlates mainly to the geometric structure of the powder packing and the wettability of the particles. By using the equation-of-state approach for solid-liquid interfacial tensions the solid surface free energy of the particles can be determined [5]. In this paper, we show the usefulness of capillary penetration experiments and discuss some parameters that should be considered for the interpretation of the data. Ion adsorption processes, on the other hand, can be described by electrokinetic measurements [6,7].

AbstractThe mutant M301A of the acetylcholinesterase B from Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (NbAChE) was produced in a high‐cell‐density fermentation of a recombinant methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Dissolved oxygen (DO) spikes were used as an indicator for feeding the carbon source. Wet cell weight (WCW) reached after 8 days a maximum value of 316 g/L and the OD600 at this time was 280. The acetylcholinesterase activity increased up to 6,600 U/mL corresponding to an expression rate of 2 g of NbAChE per liter supernatant. The specific activity of the mutant NbAChE was determined after purification as 3,300 U/mg. Active site titration with chlorpyrifos, a strong AChE inhibitor, yielded in a specific activity of 3,400 U/mg. The enzyme was secreted by Pichia pastoris. Therefore, it could be concentrated from culture broth by cross‐flow‐filtration (50 kDa cut‐off membrane). It was further purified in one‐step anion‐exchange chromatography, using a XK 50/20 column filled with 125 mL Q Sepharose HP. Mutant NbAChE was purified 1.9‐fold up to a purity of 97% and a yield of 87%. The isolated enzyme was nearly homogenous, as seen on the silver stained SDS–PAGE as well as by a single peak after gel filtration. This extraordinary high expression rate and the ease of purification is an important prerequisite for their practical application, for example in biosensors for the detection of neurotoxic insecticides. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

AbstractThis paper presents a numerical model, which quantitatively demonstrates that ablation and partial recondensation of the dopant precursor layer are some of the dominating physical processes in laser doping (LD) of crystalline silicon. Our pulsed LD process uses a line focused laser beam, enabling the creation of solar cell emitters without the generation of dislocations, if the width w of the short axis of the line focus is w < 10 μm. The concentration profiles of the dopant atoms strongly depend on the pulse energy density Ep, the pulse to pulse separation Δx and the number of laser scans Ns. By comparing measured with modeled concentration profiles, we are able to evaluate the ablation width as well as the amount of the ablated precursor layer. In case of a sputtered phosphorus precursor layer, the ablation width wa is wa = 6 μm, whereas the width of the molten silicon layer wm is wm = 5 μm. The model also explains the dependence of experimental dopant concentration profiles on the number of subsequent laser scans Ns and pulse to pulse separation Δx. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Six corrosion protection systems for offshore wind power constructions have been subjected to offshore conditions on a test site in the North Sea in three different exposure zones, namely splash zone, intermediate zone, and underwater zone. The systems included single- and multiple-layered organic coatings, metal-spray coatings, and duplex coatings. Special testing specimens were designed and manufactured and exposed to an offshore environment for three years in order to characterize particular constructive details for different corrosivity zones. The following target parameters were investigated: intensity of fouling, anti-corrosive effect, coating adhesion, coating integrity, flange corrosion, coating performance over welds, and condition of screw connections. Fouling was an issue in the underwater zone and in the intermediate zone, but it did not affect the coating corrosion protection capacity. It was found that duplex systems, consisting of Zn/Al spray metallization, intermediate particle-reinforced epoxy coating, and polyurethane top layer, provided the highest anti-corrosive effect. Mechanical damage to the coatings initiated coating delamination and substrate corrosion. Effective coating systems should be either very resistant to impact or able to compensate for corrosion of the steel. Flange connections were found to be critical structural parts in the splash zone in terms of corrosion. Notable crevice corrosion was observed at places. Except for one coating system, welds have been protected well. Welds, however, affected the corrosion of the steel inside the uncoated internal sections in the underwater samples. Coating integrity on difficult-to-coat structural parts was satisfactory for all systems.

We use enhanced-sampling simulations with an effective collective variable to study the activation of the β2-adrenergic receptor in the presence of ligands with different efficacy. The free-energy profiles are computed for the ligand-free (apo) receptor and binary (apo-receptor + G-protein α-subunit and receptor + ligand) and ternary complexes. The results are not only compatible with available experiments but also allow unprecedented structural insight into the nature of GPCR conformations along the activation pathway and their role in the activation mechanism. In particular, the simulations reveal an unexpected mode of action of partial agonists such as salmeterol and salbutamol that arises already in the binary complex without the G-protein. Specific differences in the polar interactions with residues in TM5, which are required to stabilize an optimal TM6 conformation that facilitates G-protein binding and receptor activation, play a major role in differentiating them from full agonists.

This paper presents an integrated vehicle model to simulate simultaneously the driver, powertrains, chassis, body, road condition, vehicle dynamics and the Active Suspension (AS) system with/without an energy harvesting module. The developed model is used to investigate the ride comfort and influences of energy harvesting AS system on the total energy consumption of battery Electric Vehicles (EVs) relative to EVs with a passive suspension system. Preliminary simulation results show that compared to EVs with a passive suspension system, the ones with AS system improve ride comfort, up to 31% reduction of the vehicle body acceleration RMS value, with an expense of higher energy consumption. This expense can be reduced to about 2.8% when using an energy harvesting AS system. Simulation results also demonstrate that the available energy for recuperation during the AS system operation is significant in relation to the regenerative braking energy of the propulsion system, up to approx. 70% on bumpy road surfaces.

Abstract The ductile-to-brittle transition of the claddings of PWR and VVER nuclear fuel rods has been investigated in ring compression tests performed at room temperature with Zircaloy-4 and E110 samples oxidised in high temperature steam. These experiments were evaluated on the basis of the form of load–displacement curves. The ductile samples were characterised by a horizontal ductile plateau after the elastic deformation, while in the case of the brittle samples the ductile plateau was missing. The ductility limits of both alloys were expressed in terms of oxidation time and cladding temperature. From this, a numerical procedure was derived for the simulation of Zr cladding embrittlement during loss-of-coolant accidents. The results indicated a faster embrittlement of the E110 alloy than that of the Zircaloy-4 under identical conditions. The new approach is proposed as an alternative of the 17% ECR criterion to evaluate cladding embrittlement in design basis accident (DBA) scenarios.

Abstract In this study, voltage relaxation and impedance spectroscopy are introduced as in-operando methods for detecting lithium plating in commercial lithium-ion cells with graphitic anodes. Voltage relaxation is monitored subsequent to defined charge steps of variable amplitudes, charge throughputs, termination criteria and at different ambient temperatures yielding dependencies over a wide experimental parameter range. An adapted differential voltage analysis is presented to resolve the characteristic mixed potential evolving in case of plating. Impedance spectroscopy is applied in parallel to the relaxation phase to trace a possible alteration of the cell's impedance due to the concurrent depletion of reversibly deposited lithium. The introduced voltage differentials are shown to resolve the mixed potential with restrictions only for little charge throughputs. The comparison of voltage relaxation and already established stripping discharge reveals similarities of the underlying physicochemical processes and allows an estimate of the amount of deposited lithium in case of relaxation. In the evolution of the cell's impedance, a reversible shrinkage of the high frequency intersection resistance and the arc representing the anodic charge transfer process are identified as indicators towards plating. The presented methods solely rely on non-destructive measurement quantities and thus are fully suitable for the application in battery management systems.