asphaltene average showed the best match with experimental data, followed by a SARA-weighted average. This new addition enhances the model predictability and agrees with the general molecular structure of asphaltene molecules.

Shu, R., Li, R., Lin, B., Wang, C., Cheng, Z., Chen, Y., 2020. A review on the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived phenolic compounds and the conversion of raw lignin to hydrocarbon liquid fuels. Biomass and Bioenergy 132, 105432.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953419303812 Petroleum, one of the fossil fuels, is still the main source for liquid fuel production. Lignin derived from renewable biomass has the potential to replace petroleum. The abundance of aromatic units in lignin makes it potential to produce high-value liquid fuel. This review offers a summary of the extensive study that has been devoted to the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived phenolic compounds and the conversion of raw lignin into hydrocarbon liquid fuels. Based on the product classification (cyclohexanes and arenes), different catalytic systems, mainly including catalyst species, solvents and reaction conditions, are analyzed in detail. A model study of lignin-derived compounds (phenolic monomers and dimers) is usually carried out to elaborate on the HDO reaction mechanism. 100% yield of hydrocarbon liquid fuels can be achieved in most tests. With respect to the real lignin-derived bio-oil, however, hydrocarbon yields only reach 16.2% - 62.8% due to the various components and high instability of the substrate. The technical barriers and challenges in this part are highlighted throughout. Moreover, the conversion of raw lignin is also comprehensively summarized, which actually combines the depolymerization of lignin and HDO of lignin-derived bio-oil in one pot, and its hydrocarbon yields are generally lower than those of lignin-derived bio-oil. In light of this, the important features of raw lignin that influence the production of hydrocarbon liquid fuels are adequately addressed. Overall, this paper focuses on the scientific and technological advances of hydrocarbon liquid fuel production from lignin, and the potential strategies to produce renewable fuels from lignin are discussed.

Sieh, K., Herrin, J., Jicha, B., Schonwalder Angel, D., Moore, J.D.P., Banerjee, P., Wiwegwin, W., Sihavong, V., Singer, B., Chualaowanich, T., Charusiri, P., 2020. Australasian impact crater buried under the Bolaven volcanic field, Southern Laos. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, 1346-1353.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1904368116 Significance: A field of black glassy blobs, strewn across about 20% of Earth's Eastern Hemisphere, resulted from the impact of a large meteorite about 790,000 y ago. The large crater from which these tektites originated has eluded discovery for over a century, although evidence has long pointed to a location somewhere within Indochina, near the northern limit of the strewn field. We present stratigraphic, geochemical, geophysical, and ∼ geochronological evidence that the 15-km diameter crater lies buried beneath a large, young volcanic field in Southern Laos. Abstract: The crater and proximal effects of the largest known young meteorite impact on Earth have eluded discovery for nearly a century. We present 4 lines of evidence that the 0.79-Ma impact crater of the Australasian 3 tektites lies buried beneath lavas of a long-lived, 910-km volcanic field in Southern Laos: 1) Tektite geochemistry implies the presence of young, weathered basalts at the site at the time of the impact. 2) Geologic 40 39 mapping and Ar- Ar dates confirm that both pre- and postimpact basaltic lavas exist at the proposed impact site and that postimpact basalts wholly cover it. 3) A gravity anomaly there may also reflect the presence of a ∼ buried 17 × 13-km crater. 4) The nature of an outcrop of thick, crudely layered, bouldery sandstone and mudstone breccia 10 - 20 km from the center of the impact and fractured quartz grains within its boulder clasts support its being part of the proximal ejecta blanket.

Siqueira, J.G.W., Rodrigues, C., Vandenberghe, L.P.d.S., Woiciechowski, A.L., Soccol, C.R., 2020. Current advances in on-site cellulase production and application on lignocellulosic biomass conversion to biofuels: A review. Biomass and Bioenergy 132, 105419.