In past decades, carbon–carbon composites composed of multidirectional carbon fiber reinforcement embedded in carbon matrix have been significantly explored due to its excellent mechanical and physical properties. Carbon-carbon composites have light weight, high strength at high temperature in non-oxidizing atmospheres, low coefficient of thermal expansion, high electrical conductivity and high...

As an extension of chemical looping combustion, chemical looping steam reforming (CLSR) has been developed for H2 production. During CLSR, a steam reforming (SR) process occurs following the reduction of catalysts by the reforming feedstock itself (termed “auto-reduction”), as opposed to a separate, dedicated reducing agent like H2. This paper studied SR performances of four common bio-compound...

In the present work, we demonstrate a facile way to study the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) with strong bactericidal properties using an aqueous extract of Scrophularia striata Boiss. The bio-reduction of Ag+ ions resulted in FCC cubic structures of Ag-NPs with spherical shapes of about 16 nm. As a main aim of the present work, the antibacterial activity of the bio-synthesized A...

The performance and microbial community structure of a novel bio-cord carrier during treatment of a polluted river at the laboratory scale was investigated. The bio-cord exhibited good filtration performance, with 87.2% SS removal and an 84.9% reduction in turbidity in 120 min, as well as 19.4-34.4%, 55.2-74.0%, 46.2-55.9% and 13.1-18.5% reductions in the COD, NH3-N, TN and TP, respectively, un...

The presence of excess nitrate in natural water resources is determined worldwide and therefore the methods for reduction and prevention of water pollution are still being investigated. The main objective of the present study was the use of natural zeolite that was interacted with bacterial cells to obtain biozeolite particles (Bio-ZPs). The resulting Bio-ZPs were applied for nitrate removal fr...

The biofuel mix in transport in the UK must be increased from currently exploited 3.33% to the EU target mix of 10% by 2020. Under the face of this huge challenge, the most viable way forward is to process infrastructure-compatible intermediate, such as bio-oil from fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, into biofuels. New facilities may integrate multiple distributed pyrolysis units produc...

Wnt/β-catenin signalling plays a prominent role in maintaining self-renewal and pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). microRNAs (miRNAs) have critical roles in maintaining pluripotency and directing reprogramming. To investigate the effect of GSK3 inhibitors on miRNA expression, we analysed the miRNA expression profile of J1 mESCs in the absence or presence of CHIR99021 (CHIR) or ...