Socioecology Research Today

Highlights• Chlorella species were mutated by 60Co γ irradiation for high CO2 tolerance.• Mutants were domesticated by high concentrations of CO2 for higher growth rate.• Biomass yield of domesticated mutants was 0.5 times higher than original strain.• Enhancing light transmission and culture mixing promoted algae growth rate.• The peak CO2 fixation efficiency of Chlorella PY-ZU1 [...]

Alkaline oxidation pretreatment was developed for spruce, birch and sugar cane bagasse. The reaction was carried out in alkaline water solution under 10 bar oxygen pressure and at mild reaction temperature of 120 – 140 °C. Most of the lignin was solubilised by the alkaline oxidation pretreatment and an easily hydrolysable carbohydrate fraction was obtained. [...]

We present a novel “Lab-on-DVD” system and demonstrate its capability for rapid and low-cost HIV diagnostics by counting CD4+ cells isolated from whole blood. We show that a commercial DVD drive can, with certain modifications, be turned into an improved DVD-based laser scanning microscope (DVD-LSM). The system consists of a multi-layered disposable polymer disc and [...]

The triboelectric effect is known for many centuries and it is the cause of many charging phenomena. However, it has not been utilized for energy harvesting until very recently.(1-5) Here we developed a new principle of triboelectric generator (TEG) based on a fully contacted, sliding electrification process, which lays a fundamentally new mechanism for designing [...]

The ultraviolet irradiated thin film coated spinning disc reactor is a new technology for the intensification of heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions. This reactor has previously been found to have a reaction rate maxima for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue across a spinning disc reactor. The reaction rate maxima occurred at an intermediate flow rate of [...]

The application of nanomaterials in water treatment plants has attracted significant attention recently. This study investigates the possibility of using graphene oxide (GO) as a novel flocculant to remove contaminants with different surface charges from water, including two particulate ones (kaolin and hematite) and two soluble ones (humic acid (HA) and cationic light yellow 7GL [...]

Researchers have developed a method called uTouch that uses a simple sensor and software to turn an ordinary LCD into a touch screen display. The system takes advantage of the low levels of electromagnetic interference produced by many consumer electronics, harnessing it to do things like control video playback with pokes and motions on an [...]

If properly designed, terrestrial structures can passively cool themselves through radiative emission of heat to outer space. For the first time, we present a metal-dielectric photonic structure capable of radiative cooling in daytime outdoor conditions. The structure behaves as a broadband mirror for solar light, while simultaneously emitting strongly in the mid-IR within the atmospheric [...]

The global demand for food could double in another 40 y owing to growth in the population and food consumption per capita. To meet the world’s future food and sustainability needs for biofuels and renewable materials, the production of starch-rich cereals and cellulose-rich bioenergy plants must grow substantially while minimizing agriculture’s environmental footprint and conserving [...]

A spinning disc reactor was investigated as a process intensification technology for photocatalysis and compared with a conventional annular reactor. It was found that the average photonic efficiency achieved in the SDR was three times larger than the maximum photonic efficiency achieved in the annular reactor, 0.19 ±0.08% versus 0.062 ± 0.009%, indicating that the [...]