batterydata/paper-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Increasing energy consumption, shortages of fossil fuels, and concerns about the environmental impact of energy use, especially emissions of carbon dioxide, give fresh impetus to the development of renewable energy sources. With the advent of renewable energy, it is now indispensable that efficient energy storage systems have to be developed. One of the most promising storage systems to be employed in stationary energy storage applications are lithium-based batteries (LIB), mainly due to their high energy density, high power, and nearly 100 % efficiency. Within the scope of this paper, we carry out a patent search using the patent database PatBase® to assess the development status of LIB technology. The analysis of the generated patent sample reveals disproportionately high growth rates in LIB patent applications over the last years compared to other selected energy-related technologies. Breaking down patent application growth by the different components of LIB shows the principal drivers of growth. The purpose of this paper is to provide current research trends and prospects for the main LIB materials and designs.
A highly porous polymer membrane with high affinity for electrolyte solution is prepared and characterized. In preparing this membrane, a blend of P(VdF-co-HFP) and PAN is used as a matrix polymer in order to attain high ionic conductivity and good mechanical strength. Gel polymer electrolytes are prepared by soaking the porous membranes in an electrolyte solution, and their electrochemical characteristics are investigated. A lithium-ion polymer cell is assembled with the gel polymer electrolyte prepared in the porous membrane and the charge–discharge cycling performance is evaluated.
The paper examines the weakly nonlinear behavior of a 5-layer beam-like piezoelectric transformer operating near resonance, where the main structure of the device consists of properly poled and electroded flexible piezoceramic four-layers separated by a central metallic layer. Nonlinear effects of the large deflection to induce the incidental in-plane extension near resonance are considered, which is shown that on one side of the resonant frequency the output-input relation becomes nonlinear, and the other side output voltage experiences jumps.
Effective recovery of heavy-duty vehicle waste heat is a key solution toward meeting the increasingly stringent fuel economy and CO2 emission standards. Different from previous publications, this paper presents a preliminary introduction of organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery (ORC-WHR) in heavy-duty diesel (HDD) vehicle applications in the past decade. It presents a wide range of topics in the HDD vehicle ORC-WHR system development, including system architecture evaluation, heat exchanger selection, expander selection, working fluid selection, power optimization, control strategy evaluation, simulation and experimental work overview, and limiting factors. In the system architecture selection, the tradeoff between fuel savings and system complexity dominates. In the heat exchanger design, besides the heat exchanger efficiency, transient evaporator response is critical factor for the system control and performance. The expander type and configuration is closely coupled to the expander power output type (i.e. electricity or mechanical power). WHR power production is most sensitive to working fluid mass flow rate, with less sensitivities to expander speed and condenser coolant mass flow rate. The integration of ORC-WHR control with engine control shows potential to improve the waste heat recovery system performance. The simulation studies predict higher power recovery levels than that in experimental work (0–60 kW vs. 0–14 kW), which could result from the large number of heat resources, optimistic expander and pump efficiencies and neglected heat losses in the simulations.
Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONs) having silica (SiMION) and gold-silica (AuSiMION) nanoshells, methods of their preparation, and their use in cancer imaging and therapy applications are disclosed by John Hopkins researchers (WO2015070036 (A1)).
Electrode-electrolyte interface, where the electrochemical reaction happened, played an important role in the electrochemical mechanism investigation. The traditional electrochemical techniques paid more attention on the electron transfer process on the electrode but provided limited information of the electrochemical evolution at molecular level. Realizing the in-situ monitoring of the intermediates at the electrode-electrolyte interface during the redox reaction was essential for the study of electrochemical mechanism. In this work, electrochemical reaction of coenzyme Q0 (CoQ0) on gold electrode was investigated by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). A high vacuum compatible microfluidic electrochemical cell was fabricated for the electrochemical study of CoQ0, which realized the in-situ detection of the electrode-electrolyte interface in high vacuum environment (10−5 Pa). The variations of CoQ0, CoQ0H2 and related intermediate at different voltages agreed well with the electrochemical reaction of CoQ0 in aqueous solution. The direct monitoring of electrode-electrolyte interface by pre-confined ToF-SIMS could reveal the electrochemical evolution on the electrode at molecular level, which was of great potential for the detailed understanding of the electrochemical reaction mechanism.
Many portable devices such as soldier carrying devices are powered by low-weight but high-capacity lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. An effective battery thermal management (BTM) system is required to keep the batteries operating within a desirable temperature range with minimal variations, and thus to guarantee their high efficiency, long lifetime and great safety. However, the rigorous constraints imposed by the budgets in weight and volume for this specific application eliminate the possible consideration of many existing classical cooling approaches and make the development of BTM system very challenging in this field. In this paper, a flexible hydrogel-based BTM system is developed to address this challenge. The proposed BTM system is based on cost-effective sodium polyacrylate and can be arbitrarily shaped and conveniently packed to accommodate any Li-ion stacks. This BTM system is tested through a series of high-intensity discharge and abnormal heat release processes, and its performance is compared with three classical BTM systems. The test results demonstrate that the proposed low-cost, space-saving, and contour-adaptable BTM system is a very economic and efficient approach in handling the thermal surge of Li-ion batteries.
This paper presents an algorithm for optimal management of aggregated power demand of a group of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) units. The algorithm provides an advanced direct load control mechanism for HVACs that leverages the availability of smart thermostats, which are remotely programmable and controllable. The paper provides a theoretical basis and an optimal solution to the problem of cycling a large number of HVAC units while respecting customer-chosen temperature limits for the purpose of maximum load reduction. The problem is presented in a new light by transforming it into a job scheduling problem and is solved using a combination of a novel greedy algorithm and a binary search algorithm. By leveraging widespread availability of smart internet-based (also referred to as IoT-based) thermostats in today’s environment, the proposed approach can be readily applied to residential buildings without additional electrical/IT infrastructure changes.
In today's world, there is a continuous global need for more energy which, at the same time, has to be cleaner than the energy produced from the traditional generation technologies. This need has facilitated the increasing penetration of distributed generation (DG) technologies and primarily of renewable energy sources (RES). The extensive use of such energy sources in today's electricity networks can indisputably minimize the threat of global warming and climate change. However, the power output of these energy sources is not as reliable and as easy to adjust to changing demand cycles as the output from the traditional power sources. This disadvantage can only be effectively overcome by the storing of the excess power produced by DG-RES. Therefore, in order for these new sources to become completely reliable as primary sources of energy, energy storage is a crucial factor. In this work, an overview of the current and future energy storage technologies used for electric power applications is carried out. Most of the technologies are in use today while others are still under intensive research and development. A comparison between the various technologies is presented in terms of the most important technological characteristics of each technology. The comparison shows that each storage technology is different in terms of its ideal network application environment and energy storage scale. This means that in order to achieve optimum results, the unique network environment and the specifications of the storage device have to be studied thoroughly, before a decision for the ideal storage technology to be selected is taken.
Despite the higher energy density than the conventional Li-ion cells at a lower cost, commercialization of LiS batteries is hindered by the insulating nature of sulfur and the dissolution of intermediate polysulfides (Li2SX, 4 < X ≤ 8) into the electrolyte. We demonstrate here hydroxylated N-doped carbon nanotubes (H-NCNT) as sulfur containers in lithium-sulfur batteries to reduce polysulfide shuttling through an interaction between polysulfides and nitrogen and hydroxyl groups in the H-NCNT. This sulfur-carbon composite electrode with 2.2 mg cm−2 sulfur displays excellent performance with high rate capability (initial capacity of 1341 mAh g−1 at C/5 rate and 849 mAh g−1 at 5C rate), rate stability until 500 cycles (a decay of 0.06% per cycle). Furthermore, a stable reversible capacity of as high as ∼1081 mAh g−1 is realized with a higher sulfur loading of 5.1 mg cm−2.
This paper focuses on a particular group of food commodities, associated with the wider turn to ‘alternative food networks’, that are described as ‘naturally embedded food products’ (NEFPs). These are commodities (specifically meats and cheeses) that utilise grassland biodiversity as an input into production to positively influence, in various ways, the final qualities of the commodity. Building on the geographical literature on commodity circuits and analysing data derived from NEFP promotional materials and focus groups with urban and rural residents in the UK, the paper interrogates the geographical knowledges that are deployed by producers in the promotion of NEFPs and how these knowledges are accommodated and contested by consumers as they bring their own geographical knowledges to the interpretation of these commodities. The paper undertakes this task in order to problematise the extent to which alternative food networks in general and NEFPs in particular are bringing about a reconnection of producers and consumers and, concomitantly, a defetishisation of food, as is claimed for them by many of their policy and academic proponents. In the process the paper reveals how the food commodities associated with alternative food networks entail the creation of new and rival fetishes paradoxically as a result of efforts to ‘thicken connections’ between the production and consumption of food.
The goal of this study was to examine the ability of friendship to moderate the association between behavioral risk and peer victimization for girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 140) and comparison girls (n = 88) in a 5-week naturalistic summer camp setting. Participants were an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse group of girls ages 6–12. Parents and teachers reported on pre-summer internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior, and social competence. Participants reported on friendships and peer victimization through a peer report measure at the summer camps; friendship was scored via mutual nominations. Pre-summer externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, and low social competence predicted peer victimization at the summer camps. Friendship moderated the association between behavioral risk and victimization for the entire sample, such that the presence of at least one friend reduced the risk of victimization. Additional analyses suggested that girls with ADHD were no more or less protected by the presence of a friendship than were comparison girls. Finally, preliminary analyses suggested that girls having only friends with ADHD were not significantly less protected than girls with at least one comparison friend. Future directions and implications for intervention are discussed.
Hydrogen (H2) is the most promising green energy resources to replace conventional fossil fuels due to the high mass energy density and renewability. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) are two reactions that play key roles in electrochemical energy storage and conversion with the sustainable H2 as a medium. To date, the most efficient catalysts for production and conversion of hydrogen are based on noble metals. Therefore, the development of non-noble metal catalysts with high efficiency and low cost is of significant importance for the practical application of H2 in different electrochemical energy technologies. In this review, we recapitulate the recent progress of developing non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts for HER and HOR and provide insights into the origins of catalytic performance enhancement. Fundamental understanding of the synthesis-structure-activity correlations, focusing on the HER/HOR mechanisms in acidic/alkaline media on studied non-noble metal catalysts are also discussed.
The development of high energy Li-ion batteries with improved durability and increased safety mostly relies on the use of newly developed electrolytes. A detailed appraisal of fire-induced thermal and chemical threats on LiPF6- and LiFSI-based electrolytes by means of the so-called “fire propagation apparatus” had highlighted that the salt anion was responsible for the emission of a non negligible content of irritant gas as HF (PF6 −) or HF and SO2 (FSI−). A more thorough comparative investigation of the toxicity threat in the case of larger-size 0.4 kWh Li-ion modules was thus undertaken. A modeling approach that consists in extrapolating the experimental data obtained from 1.3Ah LiFePO4/graphite pouch cells under fire conditions and in using the state-of-the-art fire safety international standards for the evaluation of fire toxicity was applied under two different real-scale simulating scenarios. The obtained results reveal that critical thresholds are highly dependent on the nature of the salt, LiPF6 or LiFSI, and on the cells state of charge. Hence, this approach can help define appropriate fire safety engineering measures for a given technology (different chemistry) or application (fully charged backup batteries or batteries subjected to deep discharge).
Spinel lithium manganese oxide, LiMn2O4 and its derivatives are prepared by the sol–gel method. The lattice constant of the pure material is calculated as 8.23Å. Different transition metal cations of chromium, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc (0.05 and 0.15M) are doped in place of manganese in the LiMn2O4. X-ray powder diffraction data show that the spinel framework preserved its integrity upon doping. Formation of a single phase and the purity of the samples are confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The crystallite size of the samples is calculated by use of the Scherrer formula and is found to be within a range of 43–66nm. The electrical conductivity of the samples is determined over a temperature range of 200–300K by means of four-point probe method. An increasing trend of conductivity with increase in temperature is noted for all the samples. The parent compound LiMn2O4 has a conductivity value of 3.47×10−4 ohm−1 cm−1 at room temperature. This value increases on doping with the above-mentioned transition metal cations.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) employing proton conducting membranes are promising power sources for automotive applications. Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer represents the state-of-the-art polymer used in both the membrane and catalyst layer to facilitate the transport of protons. However, PFSA ionomer is recognized as having significant drawbacks for large-scale commercialization, which include the high cost of synthesis and use of fluorine-based chemistry. According to published research much effort has been directed to the synthesis and study of non-PFSA electrolyte membranes, commonly referred to as hydrocarbon membranes, which has led to optimism that the less expensive proton conducting membranes will be available in the not-so-distant future. Equally important, however, is the replacement of PFSA ionomer in the catalyst layer, but in contrast to membranes, studies of catalyst layers that incorporate a hydrocarbon polyelectrolyte are relatively sparse and have not been reviewed in the open literature; despite the knowledge that hydrocarbon polyelectrolytes in the catalyst layer generally lead to a decrease in electrochemical fuel cell kinetics and mass transport. This review highlights the role of the solid polymer electrolyte in catalyst layers on pertinent parameters associated with fuel cell performance, and focuses on the effect of replacing perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer with hydrocarbon polyelectrolytes. Collectively, this review aims to provide a better understanding of factors that have hindered the transition from PFSA to non-PFSA based catalyst layers.
This work examines the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) taking place on α-PbO2 electrode in methanesulfonic acid (MSA) medium and in sulphuric acid as a comparison, by means of cyclic voltammetry (CVA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), for soluble lead acid flow battery applications. The influence of MSA concentration on OER is studied. EIS measurements highlighted the impact of the hydrated lead dioxide layer upon decreasing MSA or sulphuric acid concentration. The evolution of the Tafel curves plotted from EIS measurements and quasi-stationary currents while varying acid concentration was interpreted in the light of this hydrated layer which could enhance the electrocatalytic activity when it is thin, and on the contrary act as an electronic barrier when growing for low acid concentration. Both EIS and CVA revealed that OER on lead dioxide is less favoured in MSA than in sulphuric acid. It is finally concluded that a high-concentrated MSA electrolyte is better for lead acid flow battery application in terms of oxygen evolution.
Some of the existing natural gas pipelines in Chile are underutilized; thus, these reservoirs could be utilized as Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) systems taking advantages of fluctuations in the price of electricity related to the entrance of renewable energy sources in the electrical market. A thermodynamic and economic-optimization of CAES system using existing gas pipelines under different operating conditions is performed. Substations located in the proximity to existing gas pipelines are assessed as possible CAES locations. Throughout the day, the CAES system compresses air, charges the pipeline by buying energy during low prices, and expands the air, discharging the pipeline by selling energy when prices are high. One of the Northern substations (Taltal) shows the best results where more of the photovoltaic power plant are located; consequently, CAES is more profitable when high difference in marginal cost is present along the day, which happens on grids with high renewable share. Therefore, the daily variations of marginal costs should be a key parameter decision to operate the CAES plant. With higher marginal costs fluctuations throughout the day, CAES systems should become more attractive economically.
While aging studies employing a cross-sectional design have been informative in documenting many age-related alterations in immune function between different age cohorts within a population, longitudinal studies are invaluable for verifying changes at the level of the individual and for defining the precise periods of life during which particular changes occur. In the present study, a battery of immunological parameters were evaluated in a group of Labrador Retrievers as part of a comprehensive longitudinal aging study. Twenty-three dogs (14 females, 9 males; from 4 to 11 years of age) were evaluated annually for total WBC counts, lymphocyte subset distributions, natural killer cell activity and neutrophil phagocytic activity, and biannually for lymphoproliferative activity. An age-related decline in absolute numbers of lymphocytes, T-cells, CD4-cells and CD8-cells was observed in both genders. The distribution of lymphocyte subsets shifted with age, most dramatically in the females; percentages of B-cells declined while those of T-cells increased. Changes in percentages of CD4- and CD8-cells over the 8-year period were not dramatic; in females, percentages of CD8-cells increased significantly in early- to mid-life and then stabilized. Lymphoproliferative responses to mitogens declined over time in both genders. Males demonstrated higher levels of NK cytolytic activity than females; a marginal decline in activity with age was observed. No significant age-related changes in the phagocytic capacity of PMN were observed. These longitudinal findings help to discriminate between those immune parameters which change most dramatically in early-life versus those which either change more dramatically later in life or change gradually over the entire span of life. In addition they identify significant gender differences in several parameters and corroborate our previously published cross-sectional aging data in the same species.
The aim of this study was to identify links between potential long-term environmental exposure to mixed contamination and the neuropsychological performance of a group of adults (> 55 years old) living near an industrial facility. Fifty-eight permanent residents were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) tests. Human biomonitoring involved the measurement of trace elements in fingernails to determine exposure. Only fingernail Hg contents of the Estarreja group are above the mean content found for non-exposed and healthy centenaries populations, although several outlier values were observed for the majority of the elements. From the total of individuals recruited for the study, 29% obtained a 0 score on CDR indicating a normal status, 34% scored 0.5 which is suggestive of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 22% had a cognitive performance indicative of mild dementia, and 14% fall under the categories of moderate and severe dementia. Principal component analysis and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) were combined to identify groups of correlated variables discriminating well the cognitive functions examined by the different neuropsychological tests. The results obtained show that fingernails’ data discriminate well between CDR scores for normal and altered cognitive statuses, and further suggest that elevated levels of Mn and Zn in fingernails of the elderly residents of Estarreja are associated to a condition of severe dementia. The poor discriminating ability of the MDA model for intermediate categories of the cognitive tests (MCI, mild dementia) may be attributed either to a lack of sensitivity of the cognitive tests for the screening of these intermediate conditions or to the similar Zn and Mn contents in fingernail observed in participants falling under such categories.