Non-aqueous System Research Articles

아스코빅애씨드 고함량 안정화 수계 조성물 제조 방법

Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) has been widely used in skin care formulations. Due to its remarkable effects on anti-oxidation, collagen biosynthesis and whitening, ascorbic acid is considered as an effectible anti-aging active ingredient. But, the instability problems of ascorbic acid in cosmetic formulation such as oxidation, browning and changes in smell is the difficult issue to be overcome for the application of high concentration of ascorbic acid. We tried to stabilize the ascorbic acid in non-aqueous liquid formulation that contains polyol solvent at first. The non-aqueous system was effectible to reduce oxidation. But, ascorbic acid was crystallized in the non-aqueous formulation at the low temperature below 5℃. We tried to develop way to stabilize the ascorbic acid in aqueous solutions to solve the crystallizing problem. In this study, we search the optimal ratio of antioxidant combination, such as zinc sulfate, glutathione and curcuma longa (turmeric) root extract. Formulations were stored at - 16℃, 5℃, 25℃, 40℃, 50℃ and cycle(5 – 40℃) (in incubator) for a period of eight weeks to investigate their stability. In the stability analysis, the test parameters consisted of color, scent, phase separation and sedimentation. Ascorbic acid stability was checked by HPLC analysis.

Separation application of superhydrophobic Cu gauze to a non-aqueous system: Biodiesel collection from glycerol/FAME two-phase mixture

In this study, a superhydrophobic Cu gauze (SCG) was prepared and used for the phase separation of non-aqueous FAME-glycerol mixtures. The separation of three FAME/glycerol mixing scenarios in biodiesel production, blending, emulsion, and floating FAME, was conducted in batches. Results confirmed glycerol-repellence and FAME-attraction of the obtained SCG. The separation efficiency of FAME/glycerol blending mainly depended on impurities that affected glycerol solubility in FAME. Emulsion separation was determined by the relative size between the dispersed glycerol droplets and SCG mesh. Floating FAME on the glycerol surface was completely collected with a sponge enwrapped by SCG with 99.12% recovery. The continuous separation of FAME/glycerol mixture with SCG produced qualified biodiesel product with 0.0166 wt% glycerol content and phase separation efficiency reached 98.26%. This work broadens the possible application of superhydrophobic surfaces to non-aqueous systems.

Volumetric properties of non-aqueous binary mixture of diethanolamine (DEA) and dimethylformamide (DMF)

This paper reports the volumetric properties such as density, molar volume and isobaric thermal expansion of non-aqueous system of DMF-DEA. The values of volumetric properties were reported for several mole fractions of DMF (x1) and DEA (x2) and temperature from 298.15 to 343.15 K. In order to investigate the significance of temperature and concentration on the each volumetric property and develop regression models, a user-defined method of response surface methodology (RSM) was applied. A predictive equation called Jouyban-Acree model (JAM) was used to predict the volumetric properties of the binary mixture. The accuracy and capability of JAM were compared with regression model. The results revealed that JAM is capable of correlating volumetric properties very well and is an accurate model for prediction of the volumetric properties of the binary mixture. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed that temperature and concentration are highly significant and have the strong influence on the volumetric properties. The investigation of experimental data shows that the density and molar volume values increase with rising in the concentration of DEA in the mixture, while isobaric thermal expansion values decrease. Moreover, there was an increasing trend on the values of molar volume and isobaric thermal expansion as the temperature increased, whereas the density of binary mixture decreased with an increase in temperature.

Investigation of organic media and surfactant sensitization in non-aqueous phase hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of antimony

This work was the expansion and in-depth study based on the previously established non-aqueous phase HG system. Aiming at the determination of antimony by the developed non-aqueous phase HG, the effect of different organic media and the sensitization effect of surfactant on the non-aqueous phase HG reaction were investigated. As an important condition, organic media has an important influence on this method. This study found that the surfactant Triton X-114 had very good sensitization effect for non-aqueous HG reaction. The sensitization effect of surfactant in different organic media was different. Among the investigated media, the comprehensive performance of octanol was the best under the sensitization effect of surfactant. Compared with the analytical performance of not adding surfactant, the sensitization factor of the surfactant was 1.55. The sensitization effect of surfactant Triton X-114 on the HG reaction in the octanol media was very significant, which greatly improved the analytical performance of the non-aqueous HG method. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.04 μg/L. Compared to conventional HG-AFS, the efficiency of non-aqueous phase HG and the analytical performance of the developed method was considerably improved.

Biosynthesis of chiral epichlorohydrin using an immobilized halohydrin dehalogenase in aqueous and non-aqueous phase

Asymmetric synthesis of chiral epichlorohydrin (ECH) from 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP) using halohydrin dehalogenase (HHDH) is of great value due to the 100% theoretical yield and high enantioselectivity. In this study, HheC (P175S/W249P) was immobilized on an A502Ps resin and used for the preparation of (S)-ECH. In aqueous system, the immobilized HheC catalyzed the biosynthesis of (S)-ECH with 83.78% yield and 92.53% enantiomeric excess (ee) at 1,3-DCP concentration of 20 mM. The non-aqueous system was further developed using water saturated ethyl acetate as solvent and reaction phase. The non-aqueous bioconversion system showed higher enantioselectivity (>98% ee) toward (S)-ECH production with modest conversion (52.34%) compared with ever reported aqueous reactions. Batch reactions were performed in a packed-bed bioreactor for 45 batches in aqueous phase and 24 batches in non-aqueous phase. The present work demonstrated the potential of immobilized HheC (P175S/W249P) in aqueous and non-aqueous phase biosynthesis of chiral ECH.

Initial solubility & density evaluation of Non-Aqueous system of amino acid salts for CO2 capture: potassium prolinate blended with ethanol and ethylene glycol

Amine scrubbing is the state of the art technology for CO2 capture, and solvent selection can significantly reduce the capital and energy cost of the process. Higher energy requirement for aqueous amine based CO2 removal process is still a most important downside preventive its industrial deployment. Therefore, in this study, novel non-aqueous based amino acid salt system consisting of potassium prolinate, ethanol and ethylene glycol has been studied. This work presents initial CO2 solubility study and important physical properties i.e. density of the studied solvent system. Previous work showed that non-aqueous system of potassium prolinate and ethanol has good absorption rates and requires lower energy for solvent regeneration. However, during regeneration, solvent loss issues were found due to lower boiling point of the ethanol. Therefore, ethylene glycol was added into current studied system for enhancing the overall boiling point of the system. The good initial CO2 solubility and low density of studied solvent system offers several advantages as compared to conventional amine solutions.

Si Nanoparticles: Its Stability in Aqueous Slurries and the Optimization of Oxide Layer Thickness for Optimal Electrochemical Performance

For the silicon particles used as anode for lithium ion batteries, there is always a native oxide layer on the surface, whose role on electrochemical performance of silicon electrode need to be understood. The actual thickness of the oxide layer may also vary due to the manufacturing processes. As the size of the silicon particle becomes smaller, this oxide layer will play a more important role as it takes up a larger volume and weight percentage. Previous study suggests that the presence of oxide layer harms the initial performance of the silicon anodes in a non-aqueous system. However, the effect of the oxide layer on the long cycling performance of the electrodes has not been well studied. Here we investigated the effect of oxide layer on the electrochemical performance of silicon anodes by growing the oxide layer of Si nanoparticles in a controlled manner. Si nanoparticles with an average size of 80 nm was used. LiPAA and carbon black was used to fabricate the electrodes. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface analysis, transmission electron microscopy as well as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were performed to characterize the silicon nanoparticles. The stability of the silicon nanoparticles with different oxide layer thickness during electrode fabrication process was compared. Electrochemical performance of the silicon electrodes of different thicknesses was also analyzed and compared. Acknowledgement We gratefully acknowledge the support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Vehicle Technologies Office. This work is performed at Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Laboratory operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357

Absorption rates of carbon dioxide in amines in hydrophilic and hydrophobic solvents

The rate of absorption of CO2 into amines in hydrophilic and hydrophobic solvent mixtures was studied in this work using a stopped-flow apparatus and a stirred-tank reactor. Monoethanolamine (MEA, primary amine) and N-methyl benzylamine (NMBZA, aromatic secondary amine) are chosen for this study and diluted in hydrophobic or hydrophilic solvents at different temperatures (295–343 K) and concentrations (0.01–4 kmol.m−3). It was found that the reaction rate between the secondary amine and CO2 in water is faster than the reaction with the linear primary amine (MEA); however, in an ethereal hydrophobic non-aqueous system the NMBZA-CO2 reaction is slower than the reaction of CO2 with MEA. With respect to amine, the reaction orders were found to be 0.9 and 1.2 for hydrophilic systems (MEA + H2O, NMBZA + H2O). For hydrophobic system they were found to be 0.6 and 2.7 (NMBZA + ethereal hydrophobic solvent, NMBZA + MePhOH + ethereal hydrophobic solvent). When amine was mixed with hydrophilic solvent (H2O), the activation energy of amine (NMBZA) to react with CO2 was found to be 27.66 kJ.mol−1 and decreased to 10.37 kJ.mol−1 when mixed with hydrophobic solvent (ethereal hydrophobic solvent). The activation energy of hydrophobic solvent was found to increase by adding an alcohol to the solvent (MePhOH + ethereal hydrophobic solvent). Both the zwitterion and termolecular mechanism were applied to the experimental data. It was found that deprotonation of the zwitterion and deprotonation of the loosely bound complex was the rate limiting step for the zwitterion and termolecular mechanism, respectively.Additionally, activators such as water, piperazine (PZ), and 4-hydroxy piperidinol (HPIP) were added to the ethereal hydrophobic non-aqueous solvent to determine the effect on the reaction rate. It was found that the water- and amine-based activators lead to an increase in the observed reaction rates as the concentration of the activators increased. The reaction of NMBA with CO2 and PZ exhibited a higher reaction rate but the PZ was insoluble in the non-aqueous NMBZA system, whereas HPIP remained soluble and offered a similar reaction rate. The activation energy of ethereal hydrophobic non-aqueous solvent to react with CO2 increased from 27.98 to 32.83 kJ.mol−1 by adding PZ and 33.51 kJ.mol−1 by HPIP and remained by adding H2O (26.78 kJ.mol−1). From this work, it was found that the non-aqueous solvent plays an important role in the reaction rate of CO2 with amines. Activators and solvents can be selected to increase the reaction rate with CO2.

Utilization of multiple lipid sources in the production of biodiesel by using lipase nanoparticles from Candida rugosa in a nonaqueous system

One of the major challenges for the sustainable fatty acid methyl or ethyl ester (FAME/EE, a.k.a biodiesel) production is the smart utilization of low‐cost feedstocks, e.g., waste cooking oil (WCO), brown grease, or algal lipids. Although traditional catalyst systems could be used to transform such feedstocks into biodiesel, some well‐established drawbacks are associated with their use. Alternatively, lipases can convert the FFA‐rich feedstocks into FAME/EE in a manner with less environmental impact. However, low enzyme activity in organic solvents and high cost remain challenging for the industrial application of lipase nanoparticles. In this study, we are addressing these drawbacks of lipase by developing lipase nanoparticles (LNP), cross‐linked lipase nanoparticles (CLNP), and immobilized LNP on iron oxide nanoparticles (IONP). Lipase from Candida rugosa was selected as an economic widely available source and purified to ca. >90%. Different formulations of nanoparticles were formed, and detailed surface and morphological characterizations were performed by using the various microscopy techniques, e.g., scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, dynamic‐light‐scattering, and magnetic properties by the vibrating‐sample magnetometer. For structural characterization, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction were used. Identification of fatty acid esters was done by gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer. The activity of the LNP, CLNP, and LNP‐IONP formulations increased 10‐, 20‐, and 32‐fold in n‐hexane, 18‐, 42‐, and 54‐fold in 1,4 dioxane, and 13‐, 29‐, and 43‐fold in THF, respectively, compared to free lipase. Detailed analysis of fatty acid ester formation was performed using the different combinations of substrates (WCO and brown grease, methanol and ethanol), lipase formulations (free lipase, LNP, CLNP, and LNP‐IONP), and solvent systems (hexane, 1,4 dioxane, THF, and t‐butanol). The nanoparticulate lipase formulations converted a high percentage of fatty acid esters into biodiesel in less time and the overall operational stability of the system improved considerably.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Effect of Processing Parameters on Gelcasting Process for Mo/Cu Powders

Abstract A non-aqueous gelcasting system of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) was adopted to prepare concentrated slurry of Mo/Cu powders. The effects of dispersant dosage, monomer content and solid loading on rheological behavior of slurry were studied. The effects of processing parameters such as monomer content, monomer/cross-linker ratio, initiator dosage, and temperature on the gelation behavior and green bodies' flexural strength were studied. The results show that solid loading influences the viscosity of slurry the most, followed by dispersant dosage and monomer content. The flexural strength of green bodies is increased with the increasing of monomer content and the decreasing of monomer/cross-linker ratio, while the initiator dosage has a slightly effect. On the basis of them, the optimum processing parameters for Mo/Cu non-aqueous gelcasting are as follows: HEMA content is 25 vol%∼30 vol%, monomer/cross-linker ratio is 10:1∼15:1, initiator dosage is 1.5 vol%∼2.5 vol%, and gelation temperature is 60∼80 °C.

Membrane separation for non-aqueous solution

Membrane technology has been widely used in a number of applications competing with conventional technologies in various ways. Despite the enormous applications, they are mainly used for the aqueous system. The use of membrane-based processes in a non-aqueous system is an emerging area. This is because developed membranes are still limited in separations involving aqueous solution which show several drawbacks when implemented in a non-aqueous system. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the current application of membrane processes in non-aqueous solutions, such as mineral oil treatment, vegetable oil processing, and organic solvent recovery. Developments of advanced membrane materials for the non-aqueous solutions such as super-hydrophobic and organic solvent resistant membranes are reviewed. In addition, challenges and future outlook of membrane separation for the non-aqueous solution are discussed.

Bi-functional effects of lengthening aliphatic chain of phthalimide-based negative redox couple and its non-aqueous flow battery performance at stack cell

Effects of lengthening an aliphatic chain of a phthalimide-based negative redox couple for non-aqueous flow batteries are examined. The working voltage and solubility of N-butylphthalimide are 0.1 V lower and four times greater (2.0 M) than those of methyl-substituted phthalimide. These enhanced properties are attributed to a lower packing density. Consequently, the energy density of the proposed redox couple is greatly enhanced from butyl substitution. Furthermore, the results of the stack flow cell test with N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine positive redox couple show advantageous features of this non-aqueous flow battery system: a stable Coulombic efficiency and high working voltage.

Recent Progress in Reverse Osmosis (RO) Science and Technology

While writing a book on reverse osmosis, it was realized that there had been remarkable progress in recent years in reverse osmosis science and technology. This is a brief summary in which many aspects of RO are discussed, including membrane material and membrane fabrication, membrane characterization, membrane transport, RO module, RO system design, economics, membrane fouling, RO applications and RO/NF membranes for nonaqueous system.

Experimental and correlation of viscosity and refractive index of non-aqueous system of diethanolamine (DEA) and dimethylformamide (DMF) for CO2 capture

This paper reports the experimental refractive index and viscosity data of non-aqueous system of diethanolamine (DEA) and dimethylformamide (DMF). The refractive index and viscosity were measured for several mole fractions at atmospheric pressure and in the temperature range from 298.15 to 343.15K with a regular interval of 5K. The experimental refractive index data was used to derive the properties including electronic polarization, molar refraction, and specific refraction. For correlation study, the experimental refractive index was fitted into modified Graber equation and a mathematical equation called Jouyban-Acree model (JAM) and modified Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher (VTF) equation for the viscosity data. The results disclosed that JMA is more accurate for correlation of refractive index of the studied binary mixture. In order to investigate the significance of temperature and concentration on the experimental data, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that both temperature and concentration have a great effect on the properties. The results disclosed that as the mole fraction of DEA in the mixture increases the value of all properties increases. There was a decreasing trend in the value of all properties as the temperature increases excepting molar refraction.

Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation by GaAs Nanowire Arrays Protected with Atomic Layer Deposited NiO x Electrocatalysts

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production makes possible the direct conversion of solar energy into chemical fuel. In this work, PEC photoanodes consisting of GaAs nanowire (NW) arrays were fabricated, characterized, and then demonstrated for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Uniform and periodic GaAs nanowire arrays were grown on a heavily n-doped GaAs substrates by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition selective area growth. The nanowire arrays were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy in a non-aqueous electrochemical system using ferrocene/ferrocenium (Fc/Fc+) as a redox couple, and a maximum oxidation photocurrent of 11.1 mA/cm2 was measured. GaAs NW arrays with a 36 nm layer of nickel oxide (NiO x ) synthesized by atomic layer deposition were then used as photoanodes to drive the OER. In addition to acting as an electrocatalyst, the NiO x layer served to protect the GaAs NWs from oxidative corrosion. Using this strategy, GaAs NW photoanodes were successfully used for the oxygen evolution reaction. This is the first demonstration of GaAs NW arrays for effective OER, and the fabrication and protection strategy developed in this work can be extended to study any other nanostructured semiconductor materials systems for electrochemical solar energy conversion.

Relationship between Ionic Interation and NMR Relaxation Behavior in LiClO4-PC Solution Coexisting with Fumed Metal Oxide

Lithium ion battery (LIBs) is indispensable to various electrochemical devices in practical use such as a cell phone, electric vehicle due to its high energy density, high voltage. Although the extended use of LIBs technology, batteries which have higher capacity and can stand up to high speed charge/discharge than those of LIBs are demanded. Various studies have reported that the liquid phase occurring adjacent to solid particles has an anomalous behavior when compared to bulk solution[1]. Solid-liquid interface is performed as a base in charge-discharge of LIBs, so an elucidation of liquid phase properties of solid-liquid interface in the non-aqueous electrolyte solution system is important for improving the performance of energy storage devices such as LIBs. In addition, properties of the highly-concentrated electrolytes for performance improvement of LIBs are attracted. In this study, NMR spectroscopic behavior of non-aqueous LiClO4 solution mixed with fumed oxide nanoparticles as model system of gel electrolyte for LIBs, and their dynamic properties and influences to solvent molecules from solid phase or Li+ ion by measurement of the spin-spin (T 2) relaxation time and electrochemical measurement. Samples were prepared in Ar glovebox by mixing propylene carbonate(PC) or LiClO4/PC of predetermined concentration (1-3 mol L-1) and fumed silica(FS) (200 ± 20 m2 g-1), amorphous silica nanoparticles with self-cohesive properties, fumed alumina(FA) (130 ± 20 m2 g-1) and fumed titania(FT) (90 ± 20 m2 g-1) in NMR tube. A content of liquid phase were ranged from 90-100 vol% by gravimetry. We measured 1H and 7Li NMR spectroscopy (Varian INOVA 400; 9.39 T) and 1H spin–spin relaxation time; T 2measurements (XiGo Nanotools Acorn area ; 0.3 T). In 1H NMR spectra, a broad signal was confirmed under the existence solid-phase. It was shown that the dynamic property of PC molecules largely decreased in comparison with the case only for liquid phases. In PC/FS and PC/FA system, 1H NMR spectra shifted to higher magnetic field with the decrease of liquid content. For the shielding effect to the 1H nucleus of the PC molecules by the surface charge of fumed silica, a signal continues to shift to highly-magnetic field as a content of solid-phase increases. This result suggested that the apparent charge densities around the proton of PC molecules increased by fumed silica because fumed silica has a negative charge. In alumina dispersion, NMR signal shifted to higher magnetic field than that of fumed silica. From this result, alumina gives more influence on dynamics properties of liquid phase. A similar result was observed in 1-3 mol L-1 LiClO4/PC and solid coexisting system. From the liquid content dependences of the 1H NMR detection ratios of propylene carbonate, almost same amount of PC molecules were detected in PC/FS coexisting system. This result indicated that fumed silica formed network structure but H of PC molecules remained its dynamics. On the other hand, in fumed alumina or fumed titania dispersion, values of PC molecules detected by NMR decreased compared to the theoretical value of detected amount of PC by 1H NMR. It suggests that the mobility of PC molecules in fumed alumina and titania system were restricted than that in silica system. T2 in solid-liquid coexisting system is also shown in Fig. 1. From Fig.1, in all systems, the T2 value decreases because the dynamics of water molecules of the liquid phase decrease. The T2 value decreased in order of PC/FA, PC/FT, PC/FS system. The influence of the solid surface to solvent mobility in fumed alumina dispersion is the least of the three. This result supports a signal of the NMR and the result of 1H qNMR measurement. We will also discuss the NMR relaxation behavior for LiClO4-PC solution coexisting with te same fumed metal oxides. This study was supported by the JST Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST). 【Reference】 [1] M. Mizuhata et al., J. Mol. Liq., 83, 179, (1999). Figure 1

Molybdenum polyoxometalates as active species for energy storage in non-aqueous media

The Keggin-type polyoxometalate Li3PMo12O40 was evaluated for energy storage applications in non-aqueous media. In acetonitrile, using a static H-cell, high coulombic efficiency (∼90%) and stable (>500h) charge and discharge results were obtained. Different separators taking advantage of charge and size-based differentiation were compared for this system. Celgard®2325, Nafion®117 and aramid nanofiber-based membranes (ANF) were examined. Both Li-exchanged Nafion®117 and ANF membranes enabled stable charge/discharge cycles with high coulombic efficiency for this non-aqueous polyoxometalate system. The ANF membrane, which separates based on size, permitted operation at higher current densities than the Nafion®117 ion-exchange membrane.

Investigation of Ionic Conductivity, Uptake and Cation Diffusion of Perfluorsulfonate and Sulfonated Block Copolymer Ion Exchange Membrane in Non-Aqueous Solvents

The characterization of perfluorsulfonate and sulfonated block copolymer ion exchange membranes is well established in aqueous systems. While many of these membranes have been proved to have favorable conductivity and stability in multiple applications(1,2), similar studies are hardly found for membranes in non-aqueous systems. Although some characterization results on non-aqueous system have been published(3), a complete understanding how sulfonated ion exchange membranes behave in organic solvents is lacking. The largest range of existing methods is mostly dedicated to probing aqueous systems. In light of emerging applications, especially in nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NARFBs), it is certainly desirable to combine various techniques beyond simply conductivity in hope of elucidating some of the membrane properties in non-aqueous system. A series of protocols is being developed to characterize some fundamental membrane properties. A four-point cell conductivity configuration was adopted to minimize artifacts (4). Swelling behavior was studied to complement conductivity data. In Figure 1, while the 3Mion-825EW membranes in TEA+ form overall showed higher conductivity than the Li+ form membranes. Acetonitrile soaked-TEA form membranes exhibited a 9-fold boost. This is consistent with relatively high performance of NARFBs using this electrolyte. To reveal fundamental aspects of this performance, other means of characterization are certainly necessary to look into cation/membrane/solvent matches. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was utilized to examine membranes exchanged with different cations (li+, Na+, TEA+ ,etc) so the interaction between the cation and membrane, as well as between the solvent and the membrane can be better understood. Measuring the relaxation time (T1) of cations and solvents by NMR has been an effective way to unravel the local diffusion kinetics for cation exchange membranes(5). Cation pulsed gradient diffusion experiments by NMR were carried out to further clarify the long-range transport. These data will help us explicate the correlation between the cation behavior/vibrational bonding and macroscopic properties. On top of indicating good cation/membrane/solvent matches, a more complete and precise understanding of membrane behavior in non-aqueous system is the goal of the study. The behavior of several different membrane types will be discussed. Acknowledgement We gratefully acknowledge the support of this work by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (Dr. Imre Gyuk). We also thank 3M for providing membranes.

Performance of a Non-Aqueous Flow Battery System with a Mushroom-Derived Electrolyte

Recently, a significant emphasis has been placed on non-aqueous electrolytes for use in redox flow batteries due to their wider electrochemical potential windows, offering higher energy and power densities. To date, several non-aqueous electrolytes using organic molecules [1-2] and metal-ligand complexes [3] have been evaluated for use as electrolytes in non-aqueous redox flow battery (NRFB) systems. With these efforts, substantial performance enhancements, including a several-fold increase in energy density and improved operating temperature range, are possible compared to state-of-the- art vanadium/sulfuric acid flow batteries; however, NRFB progress has been hampered by poor electrolyte stability [4]. Thus far, development has been limited to systems with short cycle-life that exhibit capacity-fade and low current density. This underscores a key challenge currently limiting the advancement of these technologies – the stability. We employ a bio-inspired approach to address the problem of redox-couple instability that impedes commercialization of NRFB. Our strategy of molecular design is based on naturally occurring chelating molecules that have evolved to bind metal ions extraordinarily tightly and with high-specificity. With this approach we have targeted Amavadin, a vanadium compound found in mushrooms of the Amanita genus. This molecule, and its analog, calcium vanadium(iv)bis-hydroxyiminodiacetate (CVBH) (Figure 1 inset) are among the most stable vanadium chelates ever elucidated. Initial, static-cell investigations have demonstrated that CVBH is stable to exhaustive, deep redox cycling (Figure 1), making it an excellent candidate for implementation in an NRFB system. In this presentation we will demonstrate the performance of such an NRFB system, using this mushroom-based (CVBH) electrolyte. Results include battery cycling as well as capacity fade and efficiency analyses. The results of these analyses with respect to various operating conditions and flow cell components will also be reported.

Deacidification of acidic books and paper by means of non-aqueous dispersions of alkaline particles: A review focusing on completeness of the reaction

Deacidification refers to chemical treatments meant to slow down the acid hydrolysis and embrittlement of books and paper documents that had been printed on acidic paper. From the early 1800s up to about 1990, papermakers used aluminum sulfate, an acidic compound, in most printing papers. Certain deacidification methods use non-aqueous media to distribute alkaline mineral particles such as MgO within the pages of the treated books. Evidence is considered here as to whether or not the proximity of alkaline particles within such documents is sufficient to neutralize the acidic species present. Because much evidence suggests incomplete neutralization, a second focus concerns what to do next in cases where books already have been treated with a non-aqueous dispersion system. Based on the literature, the neutralization of acidic species within such paper can be completed by partial moistening, by high humidity and pressure, by water condensation, as well as by optional treatments to enhance paper strength and a final drying step.