Publications by authors named "P E Thoresen"
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are excellent antimicrobial agents and promising candidates for preventing or treating bacterial infections caused by antibiotic resistant strains. However, their increasing use in commercial products raises concerns about their environmental impact. In addition, traditional physicochemical approaches often involve harmful agents and excessive energy consumption, resulting in AgNPs with short-term colloidal stability and silver ion leaching.
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- The study explores using spruce bark, a largely untapped resource, to produce bio-oil, a renewable energy source, as a response to rising global temperatures and petroleum waste issues.
- It utilizes a process called hydrothermal liquefaction, enhancing bio-oil quality by extracting polysaccharides and converting them into lipids with the help of specific microorganisms.
- Results showed that pre-extracting tannins and modifying the heating rates in the production process improved the energy content and yield of the bio-oil while reducing its oxygen content.
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- Marine fouling challenges the performance and lifespan of marine engineering equipment, making effective antifouling coatings essential for economic, environmental, and safety considerations in offshore operations.
- This study developed an innovative, environmentally friendly antifouling coating using lignin, which is renewable, biodegradable, and reduces the need for petroleum-based materials, improving water contact angle and hydrophobicity by 14.5%.
- The lignin-based coating demonstrated a 200% increase in mechanical strength and an 85% reduction in friction coefficient, enhancing durability and preventing organism adhesion, thereby promoting greener antifouling solutions in marine engineering.
Metal nanoparticle synthesis via environmentally friendly methods is gaining interest for their potential advantages over conventional physico-chemical approaches. Herein, we propose a robust green synthesis route for lignin-modified silver nanoparticles, utilizing the recovery of lignin as a renewable raw material and exploring its application in valuable areas. Through a systematic approach combining UV-Vis spectroscopy with AAS and DLS, we identified repeatable and scalable reaction conditions in an aqueous solution at pH 11 for homogeneous silver nanoparticles with high uniformity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeech sawdust was treated with a ternary solvent system based on binary aqueous ethanol with partial substitution of ethanol by acetone at four different water contents (60, 50, 40, and 30%v/v). In addition to standard, i.e.
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