Effect of storage conditions on lignocellulose biofuels properties.

This article examines the effects of different storage conditions on selected physicochemical properties of three types of agro-biomass pellets: sunflower husks, wheat straw and hemp hurds, and wood pellets. The tests were carried out in a climatic chamber, which allows simulation of real storage conditions, i.e.

Sensitive Metal-Semiconductor Nanothermocouple Fabricated by FIB to Investigate Laser Beams with Nanometer Spatial Resolution.

The focused ion beam (FIB) technique was used to fabricate a nanothermocouple (with a 90 nm wide nanojunction) based on a metal-semiconductor (Pt-Si) structure, which showed a sensitivity up to 10 times larger (with Seebeck coefficient up to 140 µV/K) than typical metal-metal nanothermocouples. In contrast to the fabrication of nanothermocouples which requires a high-tech semiconductor manufacturing line with sophisticated fabrication techniques, environment, and advanced equipment, FIB systems are available in many research laboratories without the need for a high-tech environment, and the described processing is performed relatively quickly by a single operator. The linear response of the manufactured nanothermocouple enabled sensitive measurements even with small changes of temperature when heated with a stream of hot air.

Vacuum-deposited thin film porous ZnO-metal oxide hybrid systems for microsupercapacitor applications with Ir/IrOin ZnO as a new, high-performance electrode.

We fabricate porous nanostructured 1m thick ZnO-metal/metal oxide hybrid material thin films using a unique approach utilizing physical vapor deposition with postdeposition annealing. We study Pt, Pd, Ru, Ir and Sn as the metals and find they all form hybrid structures, however with differing physical and electrochemical properties. We investigate their applicability in microsupercapacitor electrodes in a LiCl aqueous electrolyte and find that the ZnO hybrid with Ir exhibits the highest capacitances.

A Study of Defects in InAs/GaSb Type-II Superlattices Using High-Resolution Reciprocal Space Mapping.

In this paper, the study of defects in InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices using high-resolution an x-ray diffraction method as well as scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy is presented. The investigated superlattices had 200 (#SL200), 300 (#SL300), and 400 (#SL400) periods and were grown using molecular beam epitaxy. The growth conditions differed only in growth temperature, which was 370 °C for #SL400 and #SL200, and 390 °C for #SL300.

Combustion behavior and mechanical properties of pellets derived from blends of animal manure and lignocellulosic biomass.

This paper presents the possibility of valorization of animal manure (camel and cow) by mixing it with agro-industrial biomass (cotton stalk and rapeseed oil cake) to produce pellets for use in power generation processes. Feedstocks were mixed in specific proportions based on certain assumptions concerning the energy and mechanical parameters of pellets. The assessment concerned both the combustion behavior as well as mechanical properties of four types of pellets derived from blends of animal manure and agro-industrial biomass.