| 1. |
- Munthe, Christian, 1962
(författare)
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Precaution and Ethics: Handling risks, uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the regulation of new biotechnologies
- 2017
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This volume outlines and analyses ethical issues actualized by applying a precautionary approach to the regulation of new biotechnologies. It presents a novel way of categorizing and comparing biotechnologies from a precautionary standpoint. Based on this, it addresses underlying philosophical problems regarding the ethical assessment of decision-making under uncertainty and ignorance, and discusses how risks and possible benefits of such technologies should be balanced from an ethical standpoint. It argues on conceptual and ethical grounds for a technology neutral regulation as well as for a regulation that not only checks new technologies but also requires old, inferior ones to be phased out. It demonstrates how difficult ethical issues regarding the extent and ambition of precautionary policies need to be handled by such a regulation, and presents an overarching framework for doing so.
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| 2. |
- Anasontzis, George E, 1980
(författare)
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Biomass modifying enzymes: From discovery to application
- 2012
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Ingår i: Oral presentation at the Chalmers Life Science AoA conference.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- It has now been realized that the road towards the bio-based economy is a one-way street, leaving gradually the oil-based technology and driving slowly towards a more sustainable society. The current non-biodegradable hydrocarbon fuels and plastics will be replaced by new products which will derive from natural and renewable resources. The synthesis of such biofuels and biochemicals is still challenged by the difficulties to cost efficiently degrade lignocellulosic material to fermentable sugars or to isolate the intact polymers. Biomass degrading and modifying enzymes play an integral role both in the separation of the polymers from the wood network, as well as in their subsequent modification, prior to further product development.Our group interests focus on all levels of applied enzyme research of biomass acting enzymes: Discovery, assay development, production and application. Relevant examples will be provided: What is our strategy for discovering novel microorganisms and enzymes from the tropical forests and grasslands of Vietnam? How do we design novel real-world assays for enzyme activity determination? Which are the bottlenecks in the enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis? How enzymes can be used to produce high added value compounds from biomass?
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| 3. |
- Shin, Jae Ho, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular docking and linear interaction energy studies give insight to α, β-reduction of enoate groups in enzymes
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Production of adipic acid from renewable sources has been gaining attention in an attempt to move from an oil-based economy to a biobased economy. Metabolic engineering allows microorganisms to produce useful chemicals using renewable resources as carbon sources. We target a theoretical metabolic pathway that relies on conversion of L-lysine to adipic acid. One of the enzymatic steps in this conversion pathway is an α, β-reduction of an unsaturated bond in an enoate moiety and no aerobic enzymes have been identified to specifically make this conversion on 6-amino-trans-2-hexenoic acid. We evaluated Escherichia coli NemA, and Saccharomyces pastorianus Oye1 (Old Yellow Enzyme 1) for their potenstial capability to carry out the desired α, β-reduction. Here, we build homology models for E. coli NemA and perform molecular docking studies of trans-2-hexenoic acid and trans-2-hexenal to the candidate enzyme models. Ligand-enzyme binding stability is assessed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Additionally, linear energy calculations were used to investigate binding stability in solution environment. Here, we propose that NemA and Oye1, both belonging to the Old yellow enzyme family, have large enough catalytic pocket for accommodating enoate moieties but not enough stability to carry out the α, β-reduction. Protein engineering of both NemA and Oye1 would be necessary for these enzymes to perform the targeted reactions efficiently. The results shown in this study provides a useful insight to α, β-reduction reaction potentially crucial in bio-based production of adipic acid.
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| 4. |
- Jansson, Ronnie, et al.
(författare)
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Functionalized silk assembled from a recombinant spider silk fusion protein (Z-4RepCT) produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biotechnology Journal. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 1860-6768 .- 1860-7314. ; 11:5, s. 687-699
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Functional biological materials are a growing research area with potential applicability in medicine and biotechnology. Using genetic engineering, the possibility to introduce additional functions into spider silk-based materials has been realized. Recently, a recombinant spider silk fusion protein, Z-4RepCT, was produced intracellularly in Escherichia coli and could after purification self-assemble into silk-like fibers with ability to bind antibodies via the IgG-binding Z domain. In this study, the use of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris for production of Z-4RepCT has been investigated. Temperature, pH and production time were influencing the amount of soluble Z-4RepCT retrieved from the extracellular fraction. Purification of secreted Z-4RepCT resulted in a mixture of full-length and degraded silk proteins that failed to self-assemble into fibers. A position in the C-terminal domain of 4RepCT was identified as being subjected to proteolytic cleavage by proteases in the Pichia culture supernatant. Moreover, the C-terminal domain was subjected to glycosylation during production in P. pastoris. These observed alterations of the CT domain are suggested to contribute to the failure in fiber assembly. As alternative approach, Z-4RepCT retrieved from the intracellular fraction, which was less degraded, was used and shown to retain ability to assemble into silk-like fibers after enzymatic deglycosylation.
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| 5. |
- Svensson, Sofie, et al.
(författare)
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Fungal textiles : Wet spinning of fungal microfibers to produce monofilament yarns
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainable Materials and Technologies. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-9937. ; 28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The cell wall of a zygomycetes fungus was successfully wet spun into monofilament yarns and demonstrated as a novel resource for production of sustainable textiles. Furthermore, the fungus could be cultivated on bread waste, an abundant food waste with large negative environmental impact if not further utilized. Rhizopus delemar was first cultivated in bread waste in a bubble column bioreactor. The fungal cell wall collected through alkali treatment of fungal biomass contained 36 and 23% glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine representing chitosan and chitin in the cell wall, respectively. The amino groups of chitosan were protonated by utilizing acetic or lactic acid. This resulted in the formation of a uniform hydrogel of fungal microfibers. The obtained hydrogel was wet spun into an ethanol coagulation bath to form an aggregated monofilament, which was finally dried. SEM images confirmed the alignment of fungal microfibers along the monofilament axis. The wet spun monofilaments had tensile strengths up to 69.5 MPa and Young's modulus of 4.97 GPa. This work demonstrates an environmentally benign procedure to fabricate renewable fibers from fungal cell wall cultivated on abundant food waste, which opens a window to creation of sustainable fungal textiles.
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| 6. |
- Gontia, Paul, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of bio-based sodium polyacrylate production from pulp mill side streams: Case study of thermo-mechanical and sulfite pulp mills
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 131, s. 475-484
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sodium polyacrylate (Na-PA) is a super absorbent polymer, which is commonly used in diverse hygiene products. The polymer is currently produced from fossil feedstock and its production consequently leads to adverse environmental impacts. Na-PA production from sugars present in pulp mill side streams can potentially be a successful way to achieve a more sustainable production of this polymer. In order to guide the development of a novel biochemical process for producing Na-PA, a life cycle assessment was done in which Na-PA produced from side streams of thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) and sulfite pulp mills were compared. Furthermore, a comparison was made with Na-PA produced from fossil resources. The results show that the main determinant of the environmental impact of the bio-based Na-PA production is the free sugar content in the side streams. The lowest environmental impact is achieved by the least diluted side streams. More diluted side streams require larger amounts of energy for concentration, and, if the diluted streams are not concentrated, processes such as hydrolysis and detoxification, and fermentation are the environmental hotspots. Furthermore, the higher the yield of the fermentation process, the lower the environmental impact will be. Lastly, the production of bio-based Na-PA led to a lower global warming potential for some of the considered pulp mill side streams, but all of the other impacts considered were higher, when compared to fossil-based Na-PA production. Therefore, in parallel with efforts to develop a high-yield yeast for the fermentation process, technology developers should focus on low energy concentration processes for the side streams.
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| 7. |
- Karlsson, Emma, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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In silico and in vitro studies of the reduction of unsaturated α,β bonds of trans-2-hexenedioic acid and 6-amino-trans-2-hexenoic acid – Important steps towards biobased production of adipic acid
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 13:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The biobased production of adipic acid, a precursor in the production of nylon, is of great interest in order to replace the current petrochemical production route. Glucose-rich lignocel-lulosic raw materials have high potential to replace the petrochemical raw material. A number of metabolic pathways have been proposed for the microbial conversion of glucose to adipic acid, but achieved yields and titers remain to be improved before industrial applications are feasible. One proposed pathway starts with lysine, an essential metabolite industrially produced from glucose by microorganisms. However, the drawback of this pathway is that several reactions are involved where there is no known efficient enzyme. By changing the order of the enzymatic reactions, we were able to identify an alternative pathway with one unknown enzyme less compared to the original pathway. One of the reactions lacking known enzymes is the reduction of the unsaturated α,β bond of 6-amino-trans-2-hexenoic acid and trans-2hexenedioic acid. To identify the necessary enzymes, we selected N-ethylmaleimide reductase from Escherichia coli and Old Yellow Enzyme 1 from Saccharomyces pastorianus. Despite successful in silico docking studies, where both target substrates could fit in the enzyme pockets, and hydrogen bonds with catalytic residues of both enzymes were predicted, no in vitro activity was observed. We hypothesize that the lack of activity is due to a difference in electron withdrawing potential between the naturally reduced aldehyde and the carboxylate groups of our target substrates. Suggestions for protein engineering to induce the reactions are discussed, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the two metabolic pathways from lysine. We have highlighted bottlenecks associated with the lysine pathways, and proposed ways of addressing them.
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| 8. |
- Spetea, Cornelia, 1968
(författare)
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Energy-efficient cultivation of marine microalgae for biomass production : Final rapport: Energimyndigheten P45907-1
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This project has demonstrated the principle of rotational cultivation of marine microalgae and that species adapted to cold climates can provide higher productivity during cold periods. By using marine species, and thus seawater instead of freshwater in cultivation, the environmental impact is reduced. Society faces major challenges to produce sufficient amounts of biomass for energy and material, and microalgae have a great potential to complement sources from forestry and agriculture. At Nordic latitudes year-round microalgae cultivation is debatable due to seasonal variations in productivity. Shall the same species be used throughout the year or shall seasonal-adapted species be used? The aims of the project were to identify suitable algal strains for a potential annual rotation model, where different strains are rotated during three cultivation seasons, and to further develop and optimize an energy-efficient cultivation process for the marine environment. To achieve these aims, a laboratory study was performed where two marine microalgal strains out of 167 were selected for intended cultivation at the west coast of Sweden. One strain belongs to the species Nannochloropsis granulata and the other to Skeletonema marinoi. The strains were cultivated in three simulated growth seasons: summer, winter and spring, and thereafter compared. We show that Nannochloropsis produced more biomass with more incorporated energy in lipids during summer and spring (25 MJ kg-1 compared to about 45 MJ kg-1 for diesel), whereas Skeletonema produced more biomass rich in carbohydrates and proteins during winter. Skeletonema was in general more efficient in taking up phosphate. Based on our results, biomass production as energy feedstock would be energy efficient only during the summer on the Swedish west coast. Nevertheless, species could be rotated for different purposes during the year. Biomass production could be combined with nutrient recycling of wastewater, for example, from fish industry. Our project faces a challenge in boosting the biomass produced in winter, but this could be solved, for example, by optimization of the cultivation medium and temperature increase with heat wastewater or other heat waste. The summer species Nannochloropsis proved to withstand winter by activating different lipid metabolic pathways than the cold-adapted species Skeletonema uses. Enhanced synthesis of proteins, such as enzymes, in Skeletonema during winter may compensate for their reduced activities, promoting growth and biomass production even at low temperatures. More species need to be studied to find those with higher productivity under winter conditions. In practice, the work-related consequences of a rotational cultivation should be weighed against its benefits, relative to a shorter cultivation season in each application. Potential applications mainly include cleaning of air and seawater, production of energy, biomass and biomaterials for the industry.
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| 9. |
- Pajalic, Oleg, 1964
(författare)
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BIOCHEMICALS, BIOMATERIALS, AND BIOINNOVATIONS – WHAT CAN WE GET FROM BIOMASS
- 2015
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Ingår i: 4th SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION Environmental resources, sustainable development and food production OPORPH – 2015 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina November 12-13, 2015.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Environmental changes and oil price has triggered an increased interest in bio-based energy, chemicals and materials in the last decades. Thou the oil price have been dropped recently due to new findings, the transformation towards bio-based economy will continue. EU has pumped hundred millions of EURO in sustainability related research and innovation projects. Sweden has followed the pattern and has been pushed towards the green economy by establishing the vision to create and develop a bio-based economy in the first half of the twenty-first century. Sweden is rich with non-edible bio-mass i.e. forest. Traditionally the forest was used in pulp and paper industry, but digitalization boom requires paradigm shift. Green materials and green chemicals were identified as a big potential. Ambitious research was started supported by Swedish government and industry. Some of the industrial initiatives are:-The new research agenda, NRA 2020, is the collective assessment of Swedish forest-based industries regarding research, development and demonstration, which is necessary for the sector to be able to contribute to achieving. - Chemical cluster in Western Sweden started an initiative called Sustainable Chemistry 2030 with the vision that their business will be based on renewable feedstock and energy and contribute to sustainable society.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Gustafsson, Marcus, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Climate performance of liquefied biomethane with carbon dioxide utilization or storage
- 2024
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Ingår i: Renewable and sustainable energy reviews. - : Elsevier. - 1364-0321 .- 1879-0690. ; 192
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the process of upgrading biogas to biomethane for gas grid injection or use as a vehicle fuel, biogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) is separated and normally emitted to the atmosphere. Meanwhile, there are a number of ways of utilizing CO₂ to reduce the dependency on fossil carbon sources. This article assesses the climate performance of liquefied biomethane for road transport with different options for utilization or storage of CO₂. The analysis is done from a life cycle perspective, covering the required and avoided processes from biogas production to the end use of biomethane and CO₂. The results show that all of the studied options for CO₂ utilization can improve the climate performance of biomethane, in some cases contributing to negative CO₂ emissions. One of the best options, from a climate impact perspective, is to use the CO₂ internally to produce more methane, although continuous supply of hydrogen from renewable sources can be a challenge. Another option that stands out is concrete curing, where CO₂ can both replace conventional steam curing and be stored for a long time in mineral form. Storing CO₂ in geological formations can also lead to negative CO₂ emissions. However, with such long-term storage solutions, opportunities to recycle biogenic CO₂ are lost, together with the possibility of de-fossilizing processes that require carbon, such as chemical production and horticulture.
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| 12. |
- Magnusson, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
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Bioconversion of food waste to biocompatible wet-laid fungal films
- 2022
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Ingår i: Materials & design. - : Elsevier. - 0264-1275 .- 1873-4197. ; 216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The fungus Rhizopus delemar was grown on bread waste in a submerged cultivation process and wet-laid into films. Alkali or enzyme treatments were used to isolate the fungal cell wall. A heat treatment was also applied to deactivate biological activity of the fungus. Homogenization of fungal biomass was done by an iterative ultrafine grinding process. Finally, the biomass was cast into films by a wet-laid process. Ultrafine grinding resulted in densification of the films. Fungal films showed tensile strengths of up to 18.1 MPa, a Young's modulus of 2.3 GPa and a strain at break of 1.4%. Highest tensile strength was achieved using alkali treatment, with SEM analysis showing a dense and highly organized structure. In contrast, less organized structures were obtained using enzymatic or heat treatments. A cell viability assay and fluorescent staining confirmed the biocompatibility of the films. A promising route for food waste valorization to sustainable fungal wet-laid films was established. © 2022 The Authors
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| 13. |
- Moaveni, Raouf, et al.
(författare)
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Production of Polymeric Films from Orange and Ginger Waste for Packaging Application and Investigation of Mechanical and Thermal Characteristics of Biofilms
- 2024
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Ingår i: Applied Sciences. - 2076-3417. ; 14:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Citrus waste has been used as a source of bioplastics for research in different ways. Because the juice industry produces significant amounts of residue each year, it would be advantageous to use the byproducts in the creation of new materials. Researchers have long explored eco-friendly methods to convert citrus and other organic waste into polymers for producing biodegradable films. The goal of this study is to create biofilms from orange waste (OW) and ginger waste (GW) using an ultrafine grinder and study the films’ properties. Since pectin has the ability to gel, and because cellulosic fibers are strong, citrus waste has been studied for its potential to produce biofilms. After being washed, dried, and milled, orange and ginger waste was shaped into films using a casting process. Tensile testing was used to determine the mechanical properties of biofilms, while dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to determine their thermal properties. As the number of grinding cycles increased, the suspension’s viscosity increased from 29 mPa.s to 57 mPa.s for OW and from 217 mPa.s to 376 mPa.s for GW, while the particle size in the suspension significantly decreased. For OW and GW films, the highest tensile strength was 17 MPa and 15 MPa, respectively. The maximum strain obtained among all films was 4.8%. All the tested films were stable up to 150 °C, and maximum degradation occured after 300 °C.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Agar, David, et al.
(författare)
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A systematic study of ring-die pellet production from forest and agricultural biomass
- 2018
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Ingår i: Fuel Processing Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-3820 .- 1873-7188. ; 180, s. 47-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Continuous global growth in the pellet production industry and renewable energy policy targets have driven interest in under-utilised lignocellulosic biomass. In this comprehensive study, pelleting trials were systematically carried out using a pilot-scale ring-die pellet press with eight different biomass feedstock; logging residues, pine bark, wheat straw, reed canary grass, coppiced willow, poplar and beech. A standard spruce/pine sawdust blend was pelleted as a reference material.Pellets were produced from feedstock at four different moisture content levels, through two press channel lengths and three replicate steady-state sampling periods. A total of 192 batches of 8 mm diameter pellets were produced within a press channel length and moisture content range of 30-60 mm and 9-17% respectively. Pellet production had a range of 141-206 kg h(-1) and relatively good pellet quality was achieved for a majority of the studied feedstock. The best pellet batches had a mechanical durability and bulk density range of 91-99% and 532-714 kg m(-3) respectively, corresponding to an energy density range of 8.3-12.5 GJ m(-3) (as received). The extruded pellet temperature ranged between 99 and 131 degrees C and was correlated to pellet bulk density for hardwoods, pine bark and forest residues. The normalised energy (reference value of 1) used in pelleting all materials varied between 0.76 and 1.3 being highest for the hardwoods and lowest for straw and forest residues.
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| 16. |
- Andersson, Johanna, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Stick–slip motion and controlled filling speed by the geometric design of soft micro-channels
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1095-7103 .- 0021-9797. ; 524, s. 139-147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hypothesis Liquid can move by capillary action through interconnected porous materials, as in fabric or paper towels. Today mass transport is controlled by chemical modification. It is, however, possible to direct mass transport by geometrical modifications. It is here proposed that it is possible to tailor capillary flow speed in a model system of micro-channels by the angle, size and position of attached side channels. Experiments A flexible, rapid, and cost-effective method is used to produce micro-channels in gels. It involves 3D-printed moulds in which gels are cast. Open channels of micrometre size with several side channels on either one or two sides are produced with tilting angles of 10 – 170°. On a horizontal plane the meniscus of water driven by surface tension is tracked in the main channel. Findings The presence of side channels on one side slowed down the speed of the meniscus in the main channel least. Channels having side channels on both sides with tilting angles of up to 30° indicated tremendously slower flow, and the liquid exhibited a stick-slip motion. Broader side channels decreased the speed more than thinner ones, as suggested by the hypothesis. Inertial forces are suggested to be important in branched channel systems studied here.
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| 17. |
- De La Fuente, Teresa, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of decentralized mobile production systems for pelletizing logging residues under Nordic conditions
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 201, s. 830-841
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of mobile systems for the decentralized pelletizing of forest-based residual biomass is currently underway. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the environmental impacts of such systems that needs to be developed for correct judgements on the most sustainable developing paths. The objective of this study was to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of a decentralized mobile production system for pelletizing logging residues in Northern Sweden operating at either the forest landing or forest terminal from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective.The results showed that the landing- and terminal-based scenarios showed similar environmental profiles. The pelleting, transportation and drying stages of both scenarios were identified as environmental hotspots. These production stages accounted for 62%, 14% and 14% of the total greenhouse gas emissions, respectively. Key factors influencing the system were the use of electricity at terminals, the increase in pelletizer capacity, and long transportation distances. The use of a Swedish electricity mix instead of diesel based electricity in the terminal-based scenario reduced all of the environmental impacts by between 68% and 83%, with the exception of fresh water eutrophication potential, which increased by 26%.In conclusion, our findings indicate that an electrified mobile pellet production system with high operational efficiency and situated at a terminal close to the harvesting sites could, from an LCA point of view, be an interesting option for pelletizing Nordic logging residues, especially in regions with long transportation distances to industry. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 18. |
- Fjellgaard Mikalsen, Ragni
(författare)
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Fighting flameless fires : Initiating and extinguishing self-sustainedsmoldering fires in wood pellets
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Smoldering fires represent domestic, environmental and industrial hazards. This flameless form of combustion is more easily initiated than flaming, and is also more persistent and difficult to extinguish. The growing demand for non-fossil fuels has increased the use of solid biofuels such as biomass. This represents a safety challenge, as biomass self-ignition can cause smoldering fires, flaming fires or explosions.Smoldering and extinguishment in granular biomass was studied experimentally. The set-up consisted of a cylindrical fuel container of steel with thermally insulated side walls. The container was closed at the bottom, open at the top and heated from below by a hot surface. Two types of wood pellets were used as fuel, with 0.75-1.5 kg samples.Logistic regression was used to determine the transition region between non-smoldering and self-sustained smoldering experiments, and to determine the influence of parameters. Duration of external heating was most important for initiation of smoldering. Sample height was also significant, while the type of wood pellet was near-significant and fuel container height was not.The susceptibility of smoldering to changes in air supply was studied. With a small gap at the bottom of the fuel bed, the increased air flow in the same direction as the initial smoldering front (forward air flow) caused a significantly more intense combustion compared to the normal set-up with opposed air flow.Heat extraction from the combustion was studied using a water-cooled copper pipe. Challenges with direct fuel-water contact (fuel swelling, water channeling and runoff) were thus avoided. Smoldering was extinguished in 7 of 15 cases where heat extraction was in the same range as the heat production from combustion. This is the first experimental proof-of-concept of cooling as an extinguishment method for smoldering fires.Marginal differences in heating and cooling separated smoldering from extinguished cases; the fuel bed was at a heating-cooling balance point. Lower cooling levels did not lead to extinguishment, but cooling caused more predictable smoldering, possibly delaying the most intense combustion. Also observed at the balance point were pulsating temperatures; a form of long-lived (hours), macroscopic synchronization not previously observed in smoldering fires.For practical applications, cooling could be feasible for prevention of temperature escalation from self-heating in industrial storage units. This study provides a first step towards improved fuel storage safety for biomass.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Hao, Nanjing, et al.
(författare)
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Glyconanomaterials for biosensing applications
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biosensors & bioelectronics. - : Elsevier. - 0956-5663 .- 1873-4235. ; 76:15, s. 113-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nanomaterials constitute a class of structures that have unique physiochemical properties and are excellent scaffolds for presenting carbohydrates, important biomolecules that mediate a wide variety of important biological events. The fabrication of carbohydrate-presenting nanomaterials, glyconanomaterials, is of high interest and utility, combining the features of nanoscale objects with biomolecular recognition. The structures can also produce strong multivalent effects, where the nanomaterial scaffold greatly enhances the relatively weak affinities of single carbohydrate ligands to the corresponding receptors, and effectively amplifies the carbohydrate-mediated interactions. Glyconanomaterials are thus an appealing platform for biosensing applications. In this review, we discuss the chemistry for conjugation of carbohydrates to nanomaterials, summarize strategies, and tabulate examples of applying glyconanomaterials in in vitro and in vivo sensing applications of proteins, microbes, and cells. The limitations and future perspectives of these emerging glyconanomaterials sensing systems are furthermore discussed.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Zhang, Emma, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Activation of municipal solid waste incineration ashes for green concrete
- 2020
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Ingår i: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. - : IOP Publishing. - 1755-1307 .- 1755-1315. ; 588:4
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to the variable characteristics of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ashes and the lack of coherent standards and regulations, a majority of MSWI ashes is landfilled currently. It is an urgent issue that the significant amount of residue MSWI ashes need to be better handled and reused as a renewable source. MSWI ashes have great potential to be utilized as a cementitious replacement material in concrete mixing, which is beneficial for both promoting MSWI ash reuse and reducing cement consumption. However, there are major challenges associated with MSWI ash reuse, including the presence of lack of efficient approach to restore the reactivity of MSWI ashes as a binding agent, because such ashes are usually low in reactivity or even inert. This study aims to develop an effective and reliable activation method to enable the pozzolanic and hydraulic properties of MSWI ashes. A novel activation methodology by means of physiochemical treatments, including particle size reduction and high pH activator was proposed to increase the reactivity of such bottom ashes. A rapid test method, namely solution test, was developed to test the potential reactivity after the activation. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and ion chromatography (IC) were employed to evaluate the degree of reactivity. The results showed that the physicochemical treatment can indeed increase the reactivity of MSWI ashes. Compared to the existing test protocols using normal activator the new solution test can more effectively examine the latent pozzolanic activities of MSWI ashes. The successful application of the proposed activation methodology together with the developed solution test could turn those “inert or low reactivity” to-be-landfilled ashes into an active binding agent as a cement replacement material, which would contribute greatly to recycle and reuse of waste materials and reduce CO2 emission.
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| 24. |
- Apelgren, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Chondrocytes and stem cells in 3D-bioprinted structures create human cartilage in vivo.
- 2017
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Ingår i: PloS one. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cartilage repair and replacement is a major challenge in plastic reconstructive surgery. The development of a process capable of creating a patient-specific cartilage framework would be a major breakthrough. Here, we described methods for creating human cartilage in vivo and quantitatively assessing the proliferative capacity and cartilage-formation ability in mono- and co-cultures of human chondrocytes and human mesenchymal stem cells in a three-dimensional (3D)-bioprinted hydrogel scaffold. The 3D-bioprinted constructs (5 × 5 × 1.2 mm) were produced using nanofibrillated cellulose and alginate in combination with human chondrocytes and human mesenchymal stem cells using a 3D-extrusion bioprinter. Immediately following bioprinting, the constructs were implanted subcutaneously on the back of 48 nude mice and explanted after 30 and 60 days, respectively, for morphological and immunohistochemical examination. During explantation, the constructs were easy to handle, and the majority had retained their macroscopic grid appearance. Constructs consisting of human nasal chondrocytes showed good proliferation ability, with 17.2% of the surface areas covered with proliferating chondrocytes after 60 days. In constructs comprising a mixture of chondrocytes and stem cells, an additional proliferative effect was observed involving chondrocyte production of glycosaminoglycans and type 2 collagen. This clinically highly relevant study revealed 3D bioprinting as a promising technology for the creation of human cartilage.
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| 25. |
- Apelgren, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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In Vivo Human Cartilage Formation in Three-Dimensional Bioprinted Constructs with a Novel Bacterial Nanocellulose Bioink
- 2019
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Ingår i: Acs Biomaterials Science & Engineering. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2373-9878. ; 5:5, s. 2482-2490
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a 3D network of nanofibrils exhibiting excellent biocompatibility. Here, we present the aqueous counter collision (ACC) method of BNC disassembly to create bioink with suitable properties for cartilage-specific 3D-bioprinting. BNC was disentangled by ACC, and fibril characteristics were analyzed. Bioink printing fidelity and shear-thinning properties were evaluated. Cell-laden bioprinted grid constructs (5 X 5 X 1 mm(3)) containing human nasal chondrocytes (10 M mL(-1)) were implanted in nude mice and explanted after 30 and 60 days. Both ACC and hydrolysis resulted in significantly reduced fiber lengths, with ACC resulting in longer fibrils and fewer negative charges relative to hydrolysis. Moreover, ACC-BNC bioink showed outstanding printability, postprinting mechanical stability, and structural integrity. In vivo, cell-laden structures were rapidly integrated, maintained structural integrity, and showed chondrocyte proliferation, with 32.8 +/- 13.8 cells per mm(2) observed after 30 days and 85.6 +/- 30.0 cells per mm(2) at day 60 (p = 0.002). Furthermore, a full-thickness skin graft was attached and integrated completely on top of the 3D-bioprinted construct. The novel ACC disentanglement technique makes BNC biomaterial highly suitable for 3D-bioprinting and clinical translation, suggesting cell-laden 3D-bioprinted ACC-BNC as a promising solution for cartilage repair.
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