•Torrefaction of tomato peels was studied.•Temperature results more significant than residence time.•Up to 30% of the mass was lost with an energy densification increment of about 20%.•Torrefaction ...produces high carbon content fuel-like material.•Results suggest the application of a mild torrefaction.
The standardization is an important aspect for fuel products. Some residual biomass are highly heterogeneous making their energy use rather difficult. Torrefaction can represent an interesting process to improve the standardization and quality of the lignocellulosic biomass. In the present research torrefaction has been applied on tomato peels, an important Italian industry residue. Different residence times and torrefaction temperatures have been employed in a bench top torrefaction reactor. Proximate, ultimate, thermogravimetric and infrared analyses of raw and torrefied material have been performed to evaluate the influence of the process. From the mildest condition studied to the most severe one, mass yield, energy yield and energy densification vary in the ranges of 94.7–69.9%, 98.0–86.0% and 1.04–1.23 respectively. According to mass and energy yields, ultimate analysis and thermogravimetric profiles, temperature parameter results more significant than residence time. Torrefaction makes the material increasingly hydrophobic as torrefaction temperature increases. This results in a more biologically stable and standardized material suitable to be employed as fuel for energy application. The results of this paper provide useful indications and suggest a mild torrefaction.
The impact of a challenge with moderately pathogenic Escherichia coli O128:C6 on the digestive physiology and gut bacterial community of growing rabbits under two feeding programmes was analysed. ...Upon weaning (28 d old), 180 rabbits were allocated to four groups (9 cages of 5 rabbits per group) for two weeks: group C100 was non-inoculated and fed ad libitum; C70 was non-inoculated and feed intake was limited to 70% of C100; I100 and I70 were inoculated and fed ad libitum or restricted to 70%, respectively. At the age of 31 d (D0), rabbits were orally inoculated with E. coli (2.2×108 colony forming units/rabbit). The effects of inoculation spiked on D4, with a 28% lower growth rate for I100 than for C100. Limited feed intake reinforced the inoculation’s effects on growth: I70 had a 66% lower growth rate than C70. The morbidity rate peaked at 42% between D4 and D7 for inoculated groups, without significant effect of the feed intake level. E. coli concentration peaked on D5/D6 in the caecum of the I100 and I70 groups. Inoculation reduced by 30% (P<0.05) the villus height/crypt depth and villus/crypt area ratios in the ileum, with no significant effect of the intake level. Inoculation was associated with a tenfold increase in serum haptoglobin (P<0.001) for both ad libitum and restricted rabbits. On D5, the inoculation modified the structure of the ileal bacterial community (P<0.05), but not that of the caecum. The feed intake level did not affect either the structure or diversity of the bacterial community, both in the ileum and caecum.
New results on silicon microstrip detectors of CMS tracker Demaria, N.; Albergo, S.; Angarano, M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
06/2000, Letnik:
447, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Interstrip and backplane capacitances on silicon microstrip detectors with p
+ strip on n substrate of
320
μm
thickness were measured for pitches between 60 and
240
μm
and width over pitch ratios ...between 0.13 and 0.5. Parametrisations of capacitance w.r.t. pitch and width were compared with data. The detectors were measured before and after being irradiated to a fluence of
4×10
14
protons/
cm
2
of
24
GeV/c
momentum. The effect of the crystal orientation of the silicon has been found to have a relevant influence on the surface radiation damage, favouring the choice of a
〈1
0
0〉
substrate. Working at high bias (up to 500 V in CMS) might be critical for the stability of detector, for a small width over pitch ratio. The influence of having a metal strip larger than the p
+ implant has been studied and found to enhance the stability.
Silicon microstrip detectors on 6″ technology Bolla, G; Bortoletto, D; Guenther, M ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/1999, Letnik:
435, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The fabrication of microstrip detectors on 4″ high-resistivity wafers that allow for a maximum workable area of about
42
cm
2
has been well established. Using 6″ wafers the workable area increases up ...to
100
cm
2
(more than twice the area of a 4″ wafer) allowing a larger number of detectors to be processed at the same time on the same wafer resulting in a sizable reduction of cost. After a prototyping stage, the CDF silicon tracker upgrade is now receiving final production sensors from Micron Semiconductor Ltd. The performance of double-sided single-metal small stereo angle sensors for the CDF SVXII and ISL detectors has been studied. Results include probe station measurements and test beam results. The problems encountered from prototyping to the final devices are described. A brief overview of the response of the sensors to irradiation with γ-rays and p
+ up to a dose of 0.5 Mrad (well above the doses expected during Run II of the Tevatron) is included.
The argument of whether early immunization against infections promotes allergy or protects from it is presently under debate. The relationship between childhood immunization and the development of ...atopic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema) was examined in a population‐based sample of 718 adolescents by taking individual data drawn from personal paediatric records on the schedule and the type of vaccination into account. Atopic diseases were determined using a standardized questionnaire. After adjustment for sex, age, father's socioeconomic status and active smoking, adolescents having been vaccinated (n = 694) had a significant lower risk to suffer from asthma or atopic diseases than non‐vaccinated adolescents did (n = 24) odds ratio (OR) = 0.30; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.92. The relationship did not depend on the disease against which the vaccine was used as prophylaxis, the observance of the vaccination schedule or the number of inoculations. A higher protection was observed in the case of live attenuated vaccines (oral poliomyelitis and bacilli Camille‐Guerin; OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.83). These results, in agreement with previous ecological data, support the hypothesis that early vaccines could promote Th1 proliferation in response to the infectious agent contained in it, which inhibits the enhancement of atopic manifestations. Further studies are needed to confirm the phenomenon.
Optimization of the silicon sensors for the CMS tracker Albergo, S.; Angarano, M.; Azzi, P. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
07/2001, Letnik:
466, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The CMS experiment at the LHC will comprise a large silicon strip tracker. This article highlights some of the results obtained in the R&D studies for the optimization of its silicon sensors. ...Measurements of the capacitances and of the high voltage stability of the devices are presented before and after irradiation to the dose expected after the full lifetime of the tracker.
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