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| 2. |
- Martinsson, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of delta C-13 in Carbonaceous Aerosol Source Apportionment at a Rural Measurement Site
- 2017
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Ingår i: Aerosol and Air Quality Research. - : Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research. - 1680-8584 .- 2071-1409. ; 17:8, s. 2081-2094
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The stable isotope of carbon, C-13, has been used in several studies for source characterization of carbonaceous aerosol since there are specific signatures for different sources. In rural areas, the influence of different sources is complex and the application of delta C-13 for source characterization of the total carbonaceous aerosol (TC) can therefore be difficult, especially the separation between biomass burning and biogenic sources. We measured delta C-13 from 25 filter samples collected during one year at a rural background site in southern Sweden. Throughout the year, the measured delta C-13 showed low variability (-26.73 to -25.64%). We found that the measured delta C-13 did not correlate with other commonly used source apportionment tracers (C-14, levoglucosan). delta C-13 values showed lower variability during the cold months compared to the summer, and this narrowing of the delta C-13 values together with elevated levoglucosan concentrations may indicate contribution from sources with lower delta C-13 variation, such as biomass or fossil fuel combustion. Comparison of two Monte Carlo based source apportionment models showed no significant difference in results when delta C-13 was incorporated in the model. The insignificant change of redistributed fraction of carbon between the sources was mainly a consequence of relatively narrow range of delta C-13 values and was complicated by an unaccounted kinetic isotopic effect and overlapping delta C-13 end-member values for biomass burning and biogenic sources.
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| 3. |
- Azeem, Hafiz Abdul, et al.
(författare)
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Towards the isolation and estimation of elemental carbon in atmospheric aerosols using supercritical fluid extraction and thermo-optical analysis
- 2017
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Ingår i: Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1618-2642 .- 1618-2650. ; 409:17, s. 4293-4300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Air-starved combustion of biomass and fossil fuels releases aerosols, including airborne carbonaceous particles, causing negative climatic and health effects. Radiocarbon analysis of the elemental carbon (EC) fraction can help apportion sources of its emission, which is greatly constrained by the challenges in isolation of EC from organic compounds in atmospheric aerosols. The isolation of EC using thermo-optical analysis is however biased by the presence of interfering compounds that undergo pyrolysis during the analysis. EC is considered insoluble in all acidic, basic, and organic solvents. Based on the property of insolubility, a sample preparation method using supercritical CO2 and methanol as co-solvent was developed to remove interfering organic compounds. The efficiency of the method was studied by varying the density of supercritical carbon dioxide by means of temperature and pressure and by varying the methanol content. Supercritical CO2 with 10% methanol by volume at a temperature of 60 °C, a pressure of 350 bar and 20 min static mode extraction were found to be the most suitable conditions for the removal of 59 ± 3% organic carbon, including compounds responsible for pyrolysis with 78 ± 16% EC recovery. The results indicate that the method has potential for the estimation and isolation of EC from OC for subsequent analysis methods and source apportionment studies.
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| 4. |
- Bernhardsson, Katarina, et al.
(författare)
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Litteraturens möjligheter
- 2013
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Ingår i: Kroppen i humanioraperspektiv. - 1100-7095. - 9789170611346 ; 9, s. 179-193
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 5. |
- Birgersson, Simon, et al.
(författare)
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Flexibility and Function of Distal Substrate-Binding Tryptophans in the Blue Mussel β-Mannanase MeMan5A and Their Role in Hydrolysis and Transglycosylation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Catalysts. - 2073-4344. ; 13:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- β-Mannanases hydrolyze β-mannans, important components of plant and microalgae cell walls. Retaining β-mannanases can also catalyze transglycosylation, forming new β-mannosidic bonds that are applicable for synthesis. This study focused on the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) GH5_10 β-mannanase MeMan5A, which contains two semi-conserved tryptophans (W240 and W281) in the distal subsite +2 of its active site cleft. Variants of MeMan5A were generated by replacing one or both tryptophans with alanines. The substitutions reduced the enzyme’s catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km using galactomannan) by three-fold (W281A), five-fold (W240A), or 20-fold (W240A/W281A). Productive binding modes were analyzed by 18O labeling of hydrolysis products and mass spectrometry. Results show that the substitution of both tryptophans was required to shift away from the dominant binding mode of mannopentaose (spanning subsites −3 to +2), suggesting that both tryptophans contribute to glycan binding. NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to analyze protein flexibility and glycan binding. We suggest that W240 is rigid and contributes to +2 subsite mannosyl specificity, while W281 is flexible, which enables stacking interactions in the +2 subsite by loop movement to facilitate binding. The substitutions significantly reduced or eliminated transglycosylation with saccharides as glycosyl acceptors but had no significant effect on reactions with alcohols.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson Stenström, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying radiologically important ESS-specific radionuclides and relevant detection methods
- 2020
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Bok (refereegranskat)abstract
- The European Spallation Source (ESS) is under construction in the outskirts of Lund in southern Sweden. When ESS has entered the operational phase in a few years, an intense beam of high-energy protons will not only produce the desired spallation neutrons from a large target of tungsten, but a substantial number of different radioactive by-products will also be generated. A small part of these will be released to the environment during normal operation. During an accident scenario, a wide range of gases and aerosols may be released from the tungsten target. The palette of radionuclides generated in the ESS target will differ from that of e.g. medical cyclotrons or nuclear power plants, thus presenting new challenges e.g. in the required environmental monitoring to ensure that dose limits to the public are not exceeded. This project (SSM2018-1636), financed by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), aimed to strengthen competence at Lund University for measurement and analysis of ESS-specific radionuclides. First, an extensive literature review, including modelling as well as experimental analyses, of ESS-relevant radionuclides was performed. We found that radionuclide production in particle accelerators is well-known, while experience with tungsten targets is very limited. As a second part of the project, an independent simplified model of the ESS target sector for the calculations of radionuclide production in the ESS tungsten target was developed using the FLUKA code. We conclude that we have a fairly good agreement with results of other authors, except for 148Gd, and that the calculated radionuclide composition is sensitive to the nuclear interaction models used.In the third part of the project, known environmental measurement technologies for various ESS-relevant radionuclides were reviewed, focussing on pure difficult-to-measure alpha- and beta-emitters. Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is a suitable technique e.g. for the important beta emitters 3H, 14C, 35S, 31P and 33P. Several ESS radionuclides of relevance for dose estimates have never been investigated by environmental analytical techniques, due to their absence in the normal environment. Alpha spectrometry seems promising for the analysis of alpha-emitting lanthanides, in particular for 148Gd. Among the many types of mass spectrometry techniques, ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) and AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) seem to be the most suitable for the analysis of long-lived ESS radionuclides in environmental samples (e.g. 243Am and possibly lanthanides for ICP-MS and 10Be, 14C, 32Si, 36Cl, 60Fe and 129I for AMS).Three experimental parts were performed during the project, related to initiation of radioactivity measurements of aerosols at Lund University, mapping of environmental tritium in the Lund area, and establishment of a method to measure tritium in urine followed by a study of tritium in persons presently living or working in Lund. Aerosols were collected at a rural background station (Hyltemossa near Perstorp, northern Skåne) using a high-volume aerosol sampler with automatic filter change (DHA-80, Digitel). Gamma spectrometry measurements of 7Be agreed rather well with results from a nearby air monitoring station (SSM/FOI). Tritium (radioactive hydrogen) is expected to dominate the source term from the ESS target station to the environment. We have performed several investigations to monitor the current situation of tritium in Lund using LSC: the matrices investigated included air humidity, precipitation, pond water, indoor air at one accelerator facility and urine from the general public as well as from persons who may be occupationally exposed to tritium. Environmental tritium was generally very low (<3.4 Bq L-1), with somewhat higher concentration in the springtime than during the rest of the year. Tritium in the vast majority of the 55 urine samples was also very low: only a few exposed workers were found to have up to 11 Bq L-1 in their urine, which still is very low compared to e.g. reactor workers. Suggestions for further actions and work related to measurement and analysis of ESS relevant radionuclides are presented.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Genberg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Development of graphitization of μg-sized samples at Lund University
- 2010
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Ingår i: Radiocarbon. - 0033-8222. ; 52:3, s. 1270-1276
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- To be able to successfully measure radiocarbon with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in atmospheric aerosol samples, graphitization of small sample sizes (< 50 µg carbon) must provide reproducible results. At Lund University, a graphitization line optimized for small samples has been constructed. Attention has been given to minimize the reduction reactor volume and each reactor is equipped with a very small pressure transducer that enables constant monitoring of the reaction. Samples as small as 25 µg of carbon have been successfully analyzed, and the mass detection limit of the system has probably not been reached.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Genberg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Radiocarbon and hydrocarbon analysis of pm sources during whtc tests on a biodiesel-fueled engine
- 2014
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Ingår i: SAE Technical Papers. - 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA, United States : SAE International. - 0148-7191. ; 1
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- PM in diesel exhaust has been given much attention due to its adverse effect on both climate and health. As the PM emission levels are tightened, the portion of particles originating from the lubrication oil is likely to increase. In this study, exhausts from a biodiesel-fueled Euro 5 engine were examined to determine how much of the carbonaceous particles that originated from the fuel and the lubrication oil, respectively. A combination of three methods was used to determine the PM origin: chain length analysis of the hydrocarbons, determination of organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), and the concentration of 14C found in the exhausts. It was found that the standard method for measuring hydrocarbons in PM on a filter (chain length analysis) only accounted for 63 % of the OC, meaning that it did not account for all non-soot carbon in the exhausts. Comparing the chain length method to the 14C-based method showed that the non-extractable organic carbon originated both from the oil and fuel. Elemental carbon (EC), also known as soot, was found to originate mainly from the fuel. However, excessive amounts of oil in the engine cylinders increased the relative contribution from the oil as well as the absolute emissions of EC. This could either be due to the surplus oil forming soot, or to the soot particles being coated by oil and thereby less efficiently oxidized during the late cycle. The results demonstrate the importance of carefully regulating the amount of lubrication oil reaching the cylinder.
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