Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces.

This study presents the application of a novel approach, using thermal and optical techniques, to identify the causes of poor burnout performance of Colombian stoker furnaces in the Cauca Valley State. The four coals used in these furnaces were characterized to obtain particle size distribution, particle and tapped density, elemental and proximate composition, mineral composition, and maceral content. Up to 80% incomplete combustion was noted in macro-TGA tests compared to complete combustion in a micro-TGA.

Upgrading of Low-Grade Colombian Coals via Low-Cost and Sustainable Calcium Nitrate Dense Media Separation.

Wet coal beneficiation in Colombia is prohibitive due to the high cost and scarcity of commonly used dense media. The practical value of this study is that it demonstrates for the first time that a common fertilizer, calcium nitrate, can be used in the beneficiation of low-grade Colombian coals. Three high-ash low-grade Colombian coals (Valle, Cundinamarca, and Antioquia) commonly used in Colombian sugar mill stoker furnaces were tested.

Multidisciplinary investigations of the diets of two post-medieval populations from London using stable isotopes and microdebris analysis.

This paper presents the first multi-tissue study of diet in post-medieval London using both the stable light isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and analysis of microdebris in dental calculus. Dietary intake was explored over short and long timescales. Bulk bone collagen was analysed from humans from the Queen's Chapel of the Savoy (QCS) ( = 66) and the St Barnabas/St Mary Abbots (SB) ( = 25).

Characterization of medium chain length (R)-3-hydroxycarboxylic acids produced by Streptomyces sp. JM3 and the evaluation of their antimicrobial properties.

(R)-3-Hydroxycarboxylic acids, chiral enantiomers of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), may be valuable synthons for the production of numerous industrial materials such as β-lactams, fungicides, flavors, pheromones and vitamins. In this study, (R)-3-hydroxycarboxylic acid [(R)-3HAs)] synthons were produced by Streptomyces sp. JM3 (JN166713) under batch fermentation.