Direct capture of carbon dioxide from air via lime-based sorbents

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Direct air capture (DAC) is a developing technology for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere or from low-CO2-containing...     

Simulation of a 100-MW solar-powered thermo-chemical air separation system combined with an oxy-fuel power plant for bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

The combination of concentrated solar power–chemical looping air separation (CSP-CLAS) with an oxy-fuel combustion process for carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture is a novel system to generate electricity from solar power and biomass while being able to store solar power efficiently. In this study, the computer program Advanced System for Process Engineering Plus (ASPEN Plus) was used to develop models to assess the process performance of such a process with manganese (Mn)-based oxygen carriers on alumina (Al₂O₃) support for a location in the region of Seville in Spain, using real solar beam irradiance and electricity demand data. It was shown that the utilisation of olive tree prunings (Olea europaea) as the fuel—an agricultural residue produced locally—results in negative CO₂ emissions (a net removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere). Furthermore, it was found that the process with an annual average electricity output of 18 MW would utilise 2.43% of Andalusia’s olive tree prunings, thereby capturing 260.5 k-tonnes of CO₂, annually. Drawbacks of the system are its relatively high complexity, a significant energy penalty in the CLAS process associated with the steam requirements for the loop-seal fluidisation, and the gas storage requirements. Nevertheless, the utilisation of agricultural residues is highly promising, and given the large quantities produced globally (~?4 billion tonnes/year), it is suggested that other novel processes tailored to these fuels should be investigated, under consideration of a future price on CO₂ emissions, integration potential with a likely electricity grid system, and based on the local conditions and real data.

     

In vitro studies of the submerged angiospermRuppia maritima: Auxin and cytokinin effects on plant growth and development

Axenic tissue cultures ofRuppia maritima L. were established and propagated clonally in vitro from terminal rhizome segments collected from Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Cultures were maintained in a base medium consisting of synthetic seawater supplemented with half-strength Murashige and Skoog salts and 1% sucrose at pH 5.6. The effects of five cytokins [6-furfurylaminopurine (kinetin), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), 2-isopentyladenine (2iP), 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enylamino) purine (zeatin), andn-phenyl-n-1,2,3-thidiazol-5yl urea (thidiazuron)] and one auxin [napthalene acetic acid (NAA)] on explant growth and development were investigated. Cytokinin additions resulted in a 3- to 4-fold increase in nodal production, branching, and biomass ofR. maritima after 12 wk in culture. Cultures responded in a dose-dependent manner to 2iP but exhibited broad dose-response curves to kinetin, BAP, zeatin, and thidiazuron. NAA addition resulted in increased leaf and internodal lengths, but reduced the number of leaves per node and the rhizome biomass. The addition of NAA almost completely suppressed root growth in media without cytokinins and had an antagonistic effect on nodal production and branching in cytokinin-supplemented media.     

Temperature acclimation of respiration and photosynthesis in the brown algaLaminaria saccharina

Sporophytes of the brown algaLaminaria saccharina (L.) Lamour grown at 15°C contained significantly more chlorophylla (chla) than did similar plants grown at 5°C. The increase in chla in 15°C plants was due to increased numbers of photosystem II reaction centes, and possibly to increased photosynthetic unit size, compared with 5°C plants. These changes were associated with increased values (photosynthetic efficiencies) in 15°C-grownL. saccharina relative to 5°C-grown plants. The changes in together with reduced respiration rates allowed 15°C-grownL. saccharina to achieve net photosynthesis and light-saturated photosynthesis at a lower photon fluence rate (PFR) than 5°C plants when both groups were assayed at the same temperature (15°C). The photon fluence rates necessary to reach the compensation point and achieve light-saturated photosynthesis (I _c andI _k , respectively) increased with increasing incubation temperature inL. saccharina grown at both 5 and 15°C. However, acclimation responses to growth temperature compensated for the short-term effect of temperature onI _c andI _k . Consequently, plants grown at 5 and 15°C were able to achieve similar rates of light-limited photosynthesis, and similarI _c andI _k values at their respective growth temperatures. These responses are undoubtedly important for perennial seaweeds such asL. saccharina, which frequently grow in light-limited habitats and experience pronounced seasonal changes in water temperature.Please address all correspondence and requests for reprints to I.R. Davison     

A comparison of (Pb, Cd and Zn) accumulation in terrestrial slugs maintained in microcosms: evidence for metal tolerance

The relative tissue accumulation of Pb, Cd and Zn were compared in two populations each of two species of slugs (Arion subfuscus and Deroceras reticulatum). One population was resident at a contaminated Pb/Zn mine site, and the other population was from an uncontaminated site and was transferred for 20 days to microcosms established at the mine site. It was found that when the experiment was conducted during late spring (May), but not in late winter (February), that the Pb and Zn concentrations in the tissues of the 'transplants', were significantly higher than in the tissues of 'residents'; the Cd concentrations in the transplants, although significantly higher in the May sample than in February, did not exceed those of their 'resident' counterparts. It was postulated that: (a) Pb and Zn tolerance in slugs is phenotypically expressed by a reduction in metal accumulation; (b) Cd tolerance, if present, may be characterized by enhanced storage capacity; and (c) the presence of local metal-tolerant ecotypes is a biotic variable that may confound the relationship between dry tissue and environmental metal concentrations that forms a basis of pollution biomonitoring.