Increasing Ethanol Concentration Research Articles

Solvo-Driven Dimeric Nanoplasmon Coupling Under DNA Direction

Strong coupling is a prerequisite for nanoassemblies to deliver functions and applications unrealizable by noninteracting building units. DNA-Directed metamaterials, albeit highly programmable, oft...

Improving sensing properties of entangled carbon nanotube-based gas sensors by atmospheric plasma surface treatment

Entangled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on polyurethane (PUR) after Ar plasma-treatment and He plasma-treatment have been tested as gas sensors for ethanol sensing. It was found that plasma-treated sensors exhibit higher sensitivity compared to the non-treated samples along with different ethanol concentration. Non-treated sensors exhibit similar sensor response with the increase in ethanol concentration, while Ar plasma-treated sensors displays ~5 times improvement and He plasma-treated sensors show ~3 times improvement with an increase in ethanol concentration. The sensitivity of the plasma-treated sensors is also stable for following two-weeks after the preparation compared to the non-treated sensor. Entangled nanotube network exhibits a significant shift in the baseline resistance after both plasma-treatments. The response time of the sensor was increased after the plasma-treatment, while the recovery was rather quick. Surface analyses revealed that plasma-treatment did not make any significant morphological changes. Thus, the improvements in stability and sensitivity after plasma-treatment are attributed to the plasma-enhanced surface modification and formation of functional bonds on the surface of nanotubes, which are sensitive to the ethanol vapour.

Instrumental characterization of merino wool fibers dyed with Cinnamomum camphora waste/fallen leaves extract: An efficient waste management alternative

The present study describes the use of Cinnamomum camphora waste/fallen leaves as an eco-friendly natural colorant for developing colorful and antibacterial wool fibers in view of growing environmental pollution and increasing needs for biomedical textiles in healthcare sector. Extraction of the natural colorant from C. camphora reddish colored/middle-aged waste/fallen leaves was carried out via simple water bath and ultrasound water bath extraction methods. While optimizing the colorant extraction in an aqueous solvent, ultrasound water bath provided enhanced extraction efficiency at pH 3, temperature of 70 °C, an initial dose level of 1.0 gm/50 ml of H2O, time of 80 min, and ultrasonic frequency of 80 kHz. Phytochemical analysis of extracted dye was successfully carried out using simple qualitative experimental analysis. The extracted colorants from C. camphora waste leaves were used to dye merino wool fibers through exhaustion dyeing technique. The optimal dyeing conditions, dye performances, and the ultrasonic effects were reported effectively. Build-up properties and fastness characteristics were studied in the presence and absence of mordants under corresponding ISO standards. Increasing ethanol concentration, increased discoloration properties of dyed wool fiber. Dyeing kinetics and dyeing rates under both simple water bath and ultrasound water bath conditions were compared. The structural and thermal changes in the dyed fibers under both conditions were analyzed using FT-IR, TG, and SEM analysis. An adequate amount of C. camphora leaves extract on wool fiber exhibited good antibacterial behaviors with high durability to increasing number of washing cycles. Premordanting with Cu2+, Fe2+, and Al3+ salts had a slightly negative effect on the antibacterial activity of dyed wool fibers but showed enhanced durability. Camphor waste leaves will prove great potential for industrial application as a source of natural colorant, as well as a value-adding application (biomedical textile) in addition to its normal usage.

Effects of ethanol content on the properties of silicone rubber foam

Abstract In this study, silicone rubber foam (SF) was prepared through cross-linking and foaming. The effects of ethanol content on the SF were investigated in terms of the physical properties, static cushioning properties, dynamic thermomechanical properties, and dynamic fatigue properties. The cell structure was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and its relationship with the SF properties was analyzed. With increasing ethanol content, the cell diameter increases gradually and its uniformity deteriorates. Moreover, the density, tensile strength, and elongation at breaking of the SF samples gradually decrease. In addition, with the increase of strain and stress, the cushioning coefficient of SF decreases initially and then increases, and the fatigue times worsens with increasing ethanol content. However, fatigue process has little effect on the cushioning performance of SF, which means the SF can be used as reusable packaging materials and thereby reduce environmental pollution.

Electro-Osmotic Behavior of Polymeric Cation-Exchange Membranes in Ethanol-Water Solutions.

The aim of this work is to apply linear non-equilibrium thermodynamics to study the electrokinetic properties of three cation-exchange membranes of different structures in ethanol-water electrolyte solutions. To this end, liquid uptake and electro-osmotic permeability were estimated with potassium chloride ethanol-water solutions with different ethanol proportions as solvent. Current–voltage curves were also measured for each membrane system to estimate the energy dissipation due to the Joule effect. Considering the Onsager reciprocity relations, the streaming potential coefficient was discussed in terms of ethanol content of the solutions and the membrane structure. The results showed that more porous heterogeneous membrane presented lower values of liquid uptake and streaming potential coefficient with increasing ethanol content. Denser homogeneous membrane showed higher values for both, solvent uptake and streaming coefficient for intermediate content of ethanol.

Experimental insight into co-combustion characteristics of oxygenated biofuels in modified DICI engine

The co-combustion of fuel has substantial advantages when compared to normal combustion and it requires very little modification. In this perspective, ethanol supplement co-combustion with biodiesel is proposed. The co-combustion characteristics were studied by manifold induction of vaporized ethanol and direct injection of waste cooking oil biodiesel. A vaporizer system was fabricated to produce vaporized ethanol in a volumetric basis (10% and 20%, respectively). It was revealed from the experiments that with co-combustion of oxygenated biofuels, the combustion advanced and peak pressure shifted to TDC. The pressure rise rate decreased with the increase of vaporized ethanol induction and the maximum rate of pressure rise reduction was noted with biodiesel-20% ethanol induction which was 4% lower than biodiesel-10% vaporized ethanol induction. On the other hand, the maximum rate of heat release rate (60.24 J/°CA) was seen in biodiesel with 20% ethanol induction. Furthermore, the co-combustion studies disclosed a two-stage heat release pattern (low temperature and high temperature reactions). It was observed that the increase in ethanol concentration extended low temperature region by 1° crank angle and retarded high temperature region by 3° crank angle.

Synthesis and testing of cobalt leaf-like nanomaterials as an active catalyst for ethanol oxidation

A simple electrodeposition technique has been used to synthesize Co nanoparticles with a 3D leaf-like morphology at room temperature. The prepared Co material has a layered sheet structure of a few nanometers thickness. The surface area of the Co leaf-like structure is three times higher than that of the Co nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles exhibit high activity towards ethanol oxidation in alkaline media with an onset potential of 0 V vs Ag/AgCl, which is one of the lowest reported potentials for a non-precious catalyst. The current density is observed to increase with increasing ethanol concentration from 0.1 M to 2 M, after which it plateaus. Mixing the Co catalyst with Vulcan carbon (20 wt%) resulted in a 50% increase in current discharge at different ethanol concentrations due to the improvement in mass and charge transfer rates as confirmed by EIS measurements. Also, Co deposited in situ on the surface of nickel foam (NF) exhibited a high activity towards ethanol oxidation as a standalone electrode that is 10 times that of bare NF.

Fermentation strategies for the efficient use of olive tree pruning biomass from a flexible biorefinery approach

Olive tree pruning (OTP) represents an attractive biomass feedstock in the Mediterranean countries and worldwide. In this work, OTP has been studied as raw material for the production of advanced biofuels (i.e. bioethanol) within a biorefinery perspective. After pretreatment by water extraction and phosphoric-acid-catalyzed steam explosion, the whole pretreated slurry was completely inhibitory to the tested Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Detoxification of the liquid fraction overcame such inhibition allowing complete fermentation of both glucose and xylose by the recombinant xylose-fermenting S. cerevisiae F12. When reaching sugar depletion, the fermentation broth was fed with the hydrolysate resulting from enzymatic saccharification of the solid fraction at high solid loadings. This process configuration increased ethanol concentrations up to 45 g/L, reaching 80% of the theoretical conversion yields. Overall, about 180 g of ethanol per kg of extracted OTP biomass could be obtained with this process, which increases previous conversion yields by 12.5%. This strategy also enables the use of the extracted fraction for antioxidant production and offers the potential utilization of the xylose-rich fraction to obtain alternative fermentation-based bioproducts (simultaneously obtaining 125–150 g of ethanol per kg of extracted OTP biomass), thus allowing adaptation of the process to the market needs.

Application of Box-Behnken Design and Desirability Function for Green Prospection of Bioactive Compounds from Isochrysis galbana

A microalga, Isochrysis galbana, was chosen in this study for its potent natural antioxidant composition. A broad bioactive compounds spectrum such as carotenoids, fatty acid polyunsaturated (PUFA), and antioxidant activity are described with numerous functional properties. However, most of the optimization of extraction use toxic solvents or consume a lot of it becoming an environmental concern. In this research, a Box-Behnken design with desirability function was used to prospect the bioactive composition by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) after performing the kinetics curve to obtain the optimal extraction time minimizing operational costs in the process. The parameters studied were: pressure (20–40 MPa), temperature (40–60 °C), and co-solvent (0–8% ethanol) with a CO2 flow rate of 7.2 g/min for 120 min. The response variables evaluated in I. galbana were extraction yield, carotenoids content and recovery, total phenols, antioxidant activity (TEAC method, trolox equivalents antioxidant capacity method), and fatty acid profile and content. In general, improvement in all variables was observed using an increase in ethanol concentration used as a co-solvent (8% v/v ethanol) high pressure (40 MPa), and moderately high temperature (50 °C). The fatty acids profile was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) primarily linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3). Therefore, I. galbana extracts obtained by supercritical fluid extraction showed relevant functional ingredients for use in food and nutraceutical industries.

Alcohol Induced Oxidative Stress in neonatal Cardio myocytes

Alcohol Induced Oxidative Stress in neonatal Cardio myocytes

Access schedules mediate the impact of high fat diet on ethanol intake and insulin and glucose function in mice.

Alcoholism and high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity individually promote insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in clinical populations, increasing risk for metabolic diseases. HFD can also stimulate alcohol intake in short-term clinical studies. Unfortunately, there is currently a disconnect between animal models and the clinical findings, as animal studies typically show that HFD decreases ethanol intake while ethanol intake mitigates HFD-induced effects on insulin and glucose dysfunction. However, most previous animal studies utilized forced or continuous HFD and/or ethanol. In three experiments we sought to determine whether HFD (HFD=60% calories from fat) vs. control diet (chow=16% fat) alters voluntary two-bottle choice ethanol intake in male C57Bl/6J mice given differing access schedules for 6-7 weeks, and we assessed the resultant impact on metabolic function via insulin and glucose tolerance tests. Experiment 1: Unlimited Access Ethanol+HFD (UAE+HFD; n=15; 10% ethanol v/v, ad libitum diet and ethanol) or UAE+Chow (n=15). Experiment 2: Limited Access Ethanol+HFD (LAE+HFD; n=15; ethanol=4h/day; 3 days/week, ad libitum diet) or LAE+Chow (n=15) with increasing ethanol concentrations (10%, 15%, 20%). Experiment 3: Intermittent HFD with limited access to ethanol (iHFD-E; HFD=single 24-h session/week; ethanol=4h/day; 4 days/week) (n=10). UAE+HFD mice consumed significantly less ethanol and were insulin-resistant and hyperglycemic compared with UAE+Chow mice. LAE+HFD mice consumed ethanol similarly to LAE+Chow mice, but exhibited hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance. iHFD-E mice displayed binge eating-like behaviors and consumed significantly more ethanol than mice given ad libitum chow or HFD. iHFD-E mice did not have significantly altered body composition, but developed insulin insensitivity and glucose intolerance. These findings suggest that access schedules influence HFD effects on ethanol consumption and resultant metabolic dysfunction, ethanol intake does not improve HFD-induced metabolic dysfunction, and binge eating-like behaviors can transfer to binge drinking behaviors.

Preparation of inverse photonic crystals by ETPTA photopolymerization method and their optical properties

Inverse photonic crystal films were prepared by photopolymerization of ethoxylate trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA) using opal-type templates. Their high quality was proved by investigations of structural and optical properties. The unexpectedly high refractive index, nETPTA ≈ 1.67, of polymerized ETPTA was obtained from a numerical approximation of the spectral positions of the reflectance peak of the films at different incidence angles. Fabricated samples were tested as sensors for water-ethanol mixtures, and a monotonous increase in the stop band shift with an increase in ethanol concentration was established.

Role of ethanol on particle size and morphology during copper oxalate synthesis by Precipitation-Stripping

Copper oxalate particles were synthesized from a copper loaded oil phase using the precipitation-stripping (PS) technique with oxalic acid as the stripping and precipitating agent. The copper source was a spent ammoniacal printed circuit board etch solution and LIX 84I was the metal extractant. The role of ethanol in stripping solution on stripping rates, particle morphology and size was investigated. An increase in ethanol concentration enhanced both rate and extent of stripping. PS with aqueous oxalic acid resulted in cushion shaped particles with a wide size distribution which changed to flat discs with an increase in precipitation time. Changes in the polarity, dielectric strength, coupled with significant reduction in the interfacial tension between oil and aqueous phases due to the presence of ethanol in the stripping solution resulted in spherical submicron particles with a narrow size distribution. This investigation paves way for a process to synthesize submicron oxalate particles.

Swelling of cell walls in mature sweet cherry fruit: factors and mechanisms

Main conclusionSwelling of sweet cherry cell walls is a physical process counterbalanced by turgor. Cell turgor prevents swelling in intact cells, whereas loss of turgor allows cell walls to swell.Swelling of epidermal cell walls precedes skin failure in sweet cherry (Prunus avium) cracking. Swollen cell walls lead to diminished cell:cell adhesions. We identify the mechanism of cell wall swelling. Swelling was quantified microscopically on epidermal sections following freeze/thaw treatment or by determining swelling pressure or swelling capacity of cell wall extracts. Releasing turgor by a freeze/thaw treatment increased cell wall thickness 1.6-fold within 2 h. Pressurizing cell wall extracts at > 12 kPa prevented swelling in water, while releasing the pressure increased swelling. The effect was fully reversible. Across cultivars, cell wall thickness before and after turgor release in two subsequent seasons was significantly correlated (before release of turgor: r = 0.71**, n = 14; after release of turgor: r = 0.73**, n = 14) as was the swelling of cell walls upon turgor release (r = 0.71**, n = 14). Close relationships were also identified for cell wall thickness of fruit of the same cultivars grown in the greenhouse and the field (before release of turgor: r = 0.60, n = 10; after release of turgor: r = 0.78**, n = 10). Release of turgor by heating, plasmolysis, incubation in solvents or surfactants resulted in similar swelling (range 2.0–3.1 µm). Cell wall swelling increased from 1.4 to 3.0 µm as pH increased from pH 2.0 to 5.0 but remained nearly constant between pH 5.0 and 8.0. Increasing ethanol concentration decreased swelling. Swelling of sweet cherry cell walls is a physical process counterbalanced by turgor.

Ultra-Pure Hydrogen via Co-Valorization of Olive Mill Wastewater and Bioethanol in Pd-Membrane Reactors

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) presents high environmental impact due to the fact of its elevated organic load and toxicity, especially in Mediterranean countries. Its valorization for simultaneous pollutants degradation and green energy production is receiving great attention, mainly via steam reforming for hydrogen generation. Following previous works, the present research goes into detail about OMW valorization, particularly investigating for the first time the potential benefits of OMW–bioethanol mixtures co-reforming for ultra-pure hydrogen production in Pd-membrane reactors. In this manner, the typical large dilution of OMW and, hence, excess water can be used as a reactant for obtaining additional hydrogen from ethanol. Fresh OMW was previously conditioned by filtration and distillation processes, analyzing later the effect of pressure (1–5 bar), oxidizing conditions (N2 or air as carrier gas), gas hourly space velocity (150–1500 h−1), and alcohol concentration on the co-reforming process (5–10% v/v). In all cases, the exploitation of OMW as a source of environmentally friendly hydrogen was demonstrated, obtaining up to 30 NmL·min−1 of pure H2 at the most favorable experimental conditions. In the membrane reactor, higher pressures up to 5 bar promoted both total H2 production and pure H2 recovery due to the increase in the permeate flux despite the negative effect on reforming thermodynamics. The increase of ethanol concentration also provoked a positive effect, although not in a proportional relation. Thus, a greater effect was obtained for the increase from 5% to 7.5% v/v in comparison to the additional improvement up to 10% v/v. On the contrary, the use of oxidative conditions slightly decreased the hydrogen production rate, while the effect of gas hourly space velocity needs to be carefully analyzed due to the contrary effect on potential total H2 generation and pure H2 recovery.

Ethanol induced the gelation behavior of duck egg whites

In this study, changes in the gel properties, microstructure, and molecular interaction force during the formation of duck egg white (EW) gel induced by ethanol were investigated. Results showed that the viscosity of the EW increased with increasing ethanol concentration and treatment time. The hardness and cohesiveness of the formed gel increased first with prolonged treatment time, then decreased slightly, and finally almost kept stable. The increase in the centrifugal water holding capacity and transformation of immobile and free water into bound water was related to the increasingly compact structure of the gel network. The force that maintained the gel network was mainly ionic bond (~45%) and disulfide bonds (~45%). The hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction were extremely low. SDS-PAGE results showed that the ethanol-treated EW proteins were degraded to some extent, but the bands did not significantly change with time. The negative charge content and surface hydrophobicity of the protein increased continuously. The secondary structure of the EW gel showed that the mutual transformation of β-sheet, random coil, α-helix, and β-turn resulted in the good texture characteristics of the gel. The ethanol treatment promoted the disulfide bond cross-linking of the duck EW proteins, and the network structure of the EW gel became increasingly compact, resulting in a series of changes in the water retention and binding water content of the gel. Protein aggregation also occurred, which enhanced the hardness, springiness, and cohesiveness of the duck EW gel.

Improve biotransformation of crude glycerol to ethanol of Enterobacter aerogenes by two-stage redox potential fed-batch process under microaerobic environment

Ethanol production from crude glycerol under microaerobic condition was optimized. The aeration rate in the reactor was controlled using redox potential (ORP) as to replace a conventional oxygen sensor that became insensitive at low oxygen concentration. The performance of Enterobacter aerogenes TISTR1468 in a batch reactor using a simple medium (crude glycerol and tuna condensate (GT) medium) was evaluated on various aeration strategies: continuous aeration at 0.5 vvm; controlled aeration at −350 mV and −400 mV ORP; and no aeration. The 72-h batch fermentation showed that a more reductive environment (lower aeration and ORP value) increased ethanol concentration and yield, but decreased the ethanol productivity. No-aeration fermentation with the lowest ORP value achieved the highest ethanol production (18.78 g L−1) and yield (0.94 g-ethanol.g-glycerol−1). A more oxidative environment (higher aeration and ORP value) fasten the specific growth rate (μ), but ethanol concentration and yield decreased. The optimum specific ethanol production rate (qp) and glycerol consumption rate occurred at ORP of −400 mV and −350 mV, respectively. When the ORP was very low, the μ decreased following substrate depletion, but this phenomenon was not observed at higher ORP value, an evident that adequate oxygen supply could maintain cell viability.Fed-batch with two-stage aeration strategy (−350 mV and −400 mV ORP) acquired higher ethanol production (30.31 g L−1) than fed-batch with single-stage aeration (25.95 g L−1) and batch process (12.33 g L−1).This study has revived the potential of crude glycerol biotransformation to ethanol and opened up opportunities for optimization of related microaerobic systems other than ethanol.

Ethanol as an accelerator for the formation of advanced glycation end products in glucose-lysine solution

In this study, a glucose-lysine (G-L) model was selected to simulate the dietary system (cooking of alcohol-cured steak) to study the effect of alcohol concentration on the formation of advanced glycosylation products (AGEs) in Maillard reaction. It was first reported that higher alcohol concentrations accelerated the formation of AGEs as well as their intermediates glyoxal (GO) and methylglyoxal (MGO). The contents of GO and MGO increased from 11.74 ± 2.55 to 50.18 ± 0.16 μg/mL and 19.04 ± 1.25 to 58.51 ± 2.56 μg/mL with increasing ethanol concentration, respectively. High-alcohol samples produced higher levels of Nε-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) and Nɛ-carboxyethyl lysine (CEL) detected by U-HPLC-MS/MS. The capacity of catechin to inhibit the formation of AGEs and intermediates were significantly related to the concentration of ethanol, which may be due to ethanol accelerated catechin degradation and weakened the ability of catechin to trap GO and MGO. Our study strongly suggests that although we cannot completely avoid the AGEs produced by the Maillard reaction, in daily life, we try to avoid adding alcohol, especially high-concentration alcohol, when cooking and processing ingredients.

Effect of Ethanol on the Morphology and Textual Properties of ZSM-5 Zeolite

The morphology of ZSM-5 zeolite impacts the adsorption, separation and diffusion of molecules. The morphology and textural properties of ZSM-5 zeolites were adjusted by regulating the content of ethanol in the synthesis gel. When the ratio of ethanol/SiO2 was lower than 2, the obtained crystals were isolated particles. With higher ethanol concentration, the chainlike zeolite was generated due to the condensation of terminal Si-OH groups. The crystals stacked more and more compactly with the increase in ethanol concentration, resulting in decreased specific surface area, total volume and mesoporous volume. The crystal size increased gradually with the increase in the ethanol concentration. Moreover, some other small molecular alcohols could also induce the formation of chainlike morphology of ZSM-5.

Effect of ethanol as molecular crowding agent on the conformational dynamics of α-synuclein

The functions of many proteins have been directly connected to their conformational changes. The macromolecular crowding environment inside the cell is known to have a significant impact on the equilibria and transition rates between different conformations of the protein. Here we demonstrate the effect of ethanol as crowders on the conformational dynamics of α- synuclein protein, a primary component of the fibrillar neuronal inclusions, and known as Lewy bodies that are diagnostic of Parkinson’s disease. We observed the α-synuclein protein to experience stronger crowding effects with an increase in concentration of ethanol, the crowding agent. The findings that we obtained from this simulation study would serve as valuable guides for expected crowding effects on conformational dynamics of α- synuclein.