Chemical abstracts

Inulin is a fructan biosynthesized mainly in plants of the Asteraceae family. It is also found in edible vegetables and fruits such as onion, garlic, leek, and banana. For the industrial production of inulin, chicory and Jerusalem artichoke are the main raw material. Inulin is used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic as well biotechnological industries. It has a GRAS status and exhibits prebiotic properties. Inulin can be used as a wall material in the encapsulation process of drugs and other bioactive compounds and the development of their delivery systems. In the review, the use of inulin for the encapsulation of probiotics, essential and fatty oils, antioxidant compounds, natural colorant and other bioactive compounds is presented. The encapsulation techniques, materials and the properties of final products suitable for the delivery into food are discussed. Research limitations are also highlighted.

The post-pandemic economic rebound has accelerated power demand. However, in a power generation system dominated thermal power plants, implementing the carbon peak strategy induces a contradiction between power supply and demand. This gives rise to the issues of the rational power allocation. To address this issue, based on enterprise micro-data, this study develops a model that allows power allocation across industrial enterprises to maximise their output. The ladder price is used for power redistribution seeking to ensure efficiency and fairness of the power allocation. Then, the utility theory is used to explore the effects of changes in the power use under different ladder prices. The paper relies on the unique dataset for Chinese enterprises. The results show that the proposed model renders power re-allocation among the enterprises (31 % of enterprises should reduce their power use, 32 % whereas should increase their power use by more than 50 %). By including the power cost in the model, significant differences were discovered between the optimal power use of three ladder price levels. This study provides recommendations for power allocation and the use of the ladder prices.

The efficiency of a semi-continuous three-stage bioreactor and application possibilities of a chicken manure substrate with birch wood biochar additive (10% by a dry mass) were investigated in this work to evaluate a possible increase in biogas yield, CH(4)concentration and to reduce CO(2)and H2S concentrations. A biogas purification filter-adsorber has been investigated in order to efficiently purify biogas from H2S and CO2. A chicken manure substrate with an organic load of 100.0 g VS/L was used for testing. Studies have shown that the application of the birch wood biochar additive increases the yield of biogas by 12.4%, the concentration of CH(4)by 5.8%, and reduces the concentration of CO(2)and H2S by 4.0% and 17.5%, respectively. The intermediate chamber of the bioreactor, used for the optimization of the substrate, reduces the dissolved oxygen by 80.5%. Homogeneous mixing of the substrate with a modified complex mixer increases the yield of biogas by 42.3%, CH(4)concentration by 14.3%, reduces CO(2)and H2S concentrations by 25.5% and 45.6%, respectively. The efficiency of the biogas purification filter-adsorber was determined (99.2% for purifying biogas from H2S and 19.2% for purifying biogas from CO2).

The United Nations presented a global action plan of an integrated nature for sustainable development, and the role of cities is seen as central in efforts to implement these goals. Integrating city performance evaluation methods containing sustainability indicators is becoming increasingly popular. The United Nations and other international organizations and researchers analyze urban sustainability in the context of different countries. However, holistic assessment methods that can show if and to what extent a city is sustainable, measure its progress, and provide information for policy development are only just emerging. Our Synergies and Trade-offs Recommendation Method for Sustainable Cities and Communities (the STRICT method) proposes that country and city metrics are connected in multifaceted ways through tradeoffs and synergies. As a result of this analysis, city models and maps were created, and digital evidence-based recommendations were provided to urban and national policymakers based on the findings of the analysis. A 1% improvement in country success individual metrics led to a synergistic effect in 189 out of 219 city indicators (86.3%). The STRICT method suggests a notable impact of a country’s social, cultural, and political success on the city indicators.

Fucoidan is an anionic sulphated polysaccharide found in brown seaweed. Due to its various biological activities, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, the application of fucoidan is increasing in various fields. The research was aimed to use fucoidan for nisin encapsulation. Nisin-loaded fucoidan particles were prepared by the complexation method in the pH range of 4.0–7.0. The interaction of nisin and fucoidan was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering method, thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The stability of the particles was analysed under storage at 4 °C. After one month of storage, the hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of particles changed insignificantly. Encapsulated nisin preserved its biological activity. The antimicrobial activity was tested against Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Listeria innocua, and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Nisin-loaded-fucoidan particles exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria B. subtilis and L. innocua comparable to free nisin. The application of fucoidan for the encapsulation of nisin is promising. A new nisin formulation could be used in the food industry for biopreservation.

Investigations of the influence of dolomite powder (formed in the production of dolomite crushed stone) on the properties of fired clay products are presented. To obtain samples, dolomite powder was introduced in amounts 10 – 30% into the molding bodies, the firing temperature of the products was equal to 1000°C, and the isothermal soaking time 1 h. The investigations showed that with the addition of 10 – 30% dolomite powder the density of the fired brick is equal to 1.75 g/cm3, the compressive strength 14 – 28 MPa, water absorption 15.3 – 19.7%, total porosity 31 – 40.4%, and durability (frost resistance) at least 25 cycles.

Different chemical reagents are used for winter road maintenance which are selected according to economic indicators and deicing properties. During the winter season are used high amounts of chemicals, which have a negative impact on soil and plants. Chlorides directly pollute the soil, have negative impact on plant germination and growth. It is well known that road salt (sodium chloride) is dangerous to vegetation, but the effect of other de-icing agent - bischofite on vegetation is poorly investigated. The germination of white clover (Trifolium repens L.), ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and meadow grass (Poa pratensis L.) seeds in soil irrigated with chlorides (1%, 2%) under laboratory and field conditions was tested. It was found that germination of plants under laboratory and field conditions remained similar. It was noticed that germination of ryegrass was the best and germination of meadow grass seeds was the worst under field and laboratory conditions. Herbaceous plants are more resistant to the effect of chlorides under field conditions comparing to laboratory conditions. This suggests that plants respond differently to chloride stress. For that it will be very important to select appropriate plants for growing in soil contaminated with chlorides.

The use of the second-generation biodiesel has become an increasing priority in the modern world, and adding a biobutanol additive further improves the engine's environmental characteristics. As biobutanol degrades lubrication characteristics of a fuel blend, HVO and biobutanol blends were supplemented with up to 5% castor oil in the research to form a three-component fuel blend. This blend increases NOx emissions in proportion to the increase of the biobutanol concentration in the fuel blend. The most widely used method of reducing NOx emissions in modern motorisation is the use of EGR. Therefore, this article analyses not only the impact of different EGR rates on both environmental and energy characteristics of the engine. Using various EGR rates with HVO and biobutanol mixtures, the rate of heat release (ROHR) in premixed combustion phase decreased, but in controlled combustion phase it increased in the convergence of its value to that of conventional diesel. A decrease in BTE values was also observed with HVO and biobutanol mixtures, increasing EGR rate. When increasing EGR rate of HVO and biobutanol, BSFC increased both in terms of volume and mass; Smoke, HC and NOx, CO and CO2 emissions also decrease with HVO and biobutanol mixtures compared with conventional diesel.

Biological concrete combines the advantages of traditional concrete and autonomous crack repair. As the self-healing ability of biological concrete is ensured by bacteria-induced calcium carbonate precipitation, long-term bacterial viability becomes critical. Unfortunately, the viability of bacteria tends to drop drastically within the first several days after their incorporation into biological concrete, complicating the healing process. Bacterial mortality is most often related to either the high pH values of early age concrete or mechanical stress during the mixing and hardening of the concrete. In this paper, we report a detailed analysis of the influence of cement type on bacterial viability. We reveal that a particular cement type used for concrete production is of paramount importance to bacterial viability as it directly correlates with the chemical composition of concrete and, subsequently, the environment that bacteria thrive in. We demonstrate that specific metal oxides present as impurities in cement, namely CuO and ZnO, act as bactericidal agents. To achieve the best healing effect, we suggest that the chemical composition of a given cement type is analyzed, and the inhibitory activity of each detected compound on bacteria is studied before the production of biological concrete.

Simulating total carbon changes in soil and carbon dioxide emissions was carried out using the simulating program DNDC. The assessment covered soils of three different types of land-use (arable, meadow and forest). The aim – simulating of carbon dioxide emissions from arable, meadow and forest soil and total carbon quantity in selected soil evaluating climate change. The assessment used the data received from an analysis of the total carbon quantities in soil of the Neris Regional Park. Data for the assessment of carbon dioxide emission were obtained upon carrying out investigations in autumn in the same locations where the total carbon quantity was determined. The value of total carbon simulated in meadow soil was lower by 3.4%, in arable soil was lower by 4.5%, in forest soil was lower by 1.4% comparing to experimental data. The value of CO2 emission simulated from meadow soil was higher by 24%, from arable soil was higher by 26% and from forest soil was higher by 27% comparing to experimental data.