Search results for "Osmotic"
showing 10 items of 156 documents
Evaluation of the Economic and Environmental Performance of Low-Temperature Heat to Power Conversion using a Reverse Electrodialysis – Multi-Effect D…
2019
In the examined heat engine, reverse electrodialysis (RED) is used to generate electricity from the salinity difference between two artificial solutions. The salinity gradient is restored through a multi-effect distillation system (MED) powered by low-temperature waste heat at 100 °C. The current work presents the first comprehensive economic and environmental analysis of this advanced concept, when varying the number of MED effects, the system sizing, the salt of the solutions, and other key parameters. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) has been calculated, showing that competitive solutions can be reached only when the system is at least medium to large scale. The lowest LCOE, at a…
Analysis and simulation of scale-up potentials in reverse electrodialysis
2015
The Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) process has been widely accepted as a viable and promising technology to produce electric energy from salinity difference (salinity gradient power - e.g. using river water/seawater, or seawater and concentrated brines). Recent R&D efforts demonstrated how an appropriate design of the RED unit and a suitable selection of process conditions may crucially enhance the process performance. With this regard, a process simulator was developed and validated with experimental data collected on a lab-scale unit, providing a new modelling tool for process optimisation. In this work, performed within the REAPower project (www.reapower.eu), a process simulator previousl…
A simulation tool for analysis and design of reverse electrodialysis using concentrated brines
2015
Abstract Reverse electrodialysis (SGP-RE or RED) represents a viable technology for the conversion of the salinity gradient power into electric power. A comprehensive model is proposed for the RED process using sea or brackish water and concentrated brine as feed solutions. The goals were (i) reliably describing the physical phenomena involved in the process and (ii) providing information for optimal equipment design. For such purposes, the model has been developed at two different scales of description: a lower scale for the repeating unit of the system (cell pair), and a higher scale for the entire equipment (stack). The model was implemented in a process simulator, validated against orig…
Reverse electrodialysis performed at pilot plant scale: Evaluation of redox processes and simultaneous generation of electric energy and treatment of…
2017
Abstract This paper describes the experimental campaign carried out with a reverse electrodialysis (RED) demonstration plant (Marsala, Italy) with the main aims of: (i) evaluating the effect of various operating parameters, including the redox processes, on the system performances; (ii) using the plant for the simultaneous generation of electric energy and treatment of wastewater. The prototype (44 × 44 cm2, 500 cell pairs) was tested using both real (brackish water and brine) and artificial solutions. Tests with two different electrode rinse solutions (with or without iron redox couples) were performed. In agreement with the data obtained in the laboratory, the presence of iron ions contri…
Reverse electrodialysis heat engine with multi-effect distillation: Exergy analysis and perspectives
2019
Abstract The increasing worldwide energy demand is rising the interest on alternative power production technologies based on renewable and emission-free energy sources. In this regard, the closed-loop reverse electrodialysis heat engine is a promising technology with the potential to convert low-grade heat into electric power. The reverse electrodialysis technology has been under investigation in the last years to explore the real potentials for energy generation from natural and artificial solutions, and recent works have been addressing also the potential of its coupling with regeneration strategies, looking at medium and large energy supply purposes. In this work, for the first time, a c…
Stress-controlled transcription factors, stress-induced genes and stress tolerance in budding yeast.
2000
The transcriptional response to environmental changes is a major topic in both basic and applied research. From a basic point of view, to understand this response includes unravelling how the stress signal is sensed and transduced to the nucleus, to identify which genes are induced under each stress condition and, finally, to establish the phenotypic consequences of this induction in stress tolerance. The possibility of using genetic approaches has made the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae a compelling model to study stress response at a molecular level. Moreover, this information can be used to isolate and characterise stress-related proteins in higher eukaryotes and to design strategies to …
Effect of hypoosmotic stress by low salinity acclimation of Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis on biological parameters used for polluti…
2008
In the present study, we investigated the progressive acclimation of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to different reduced seawater (SW) salinities and its effect on several biochemical markers and biotests. Mussels were purchased from a local mariculture facility during summer (SW temperature 27 degrees C, salinity 37.5 psu) and winter (13 degrees C, 37 psu) seasons, and transferred to the laboratory for acclimation to reduced SW salinities (37, 28, 18.5 and 11 psu). At the beginning and at the end of acclimation processes tests of mussel survival in air were provided. After 14 days of acclimation the DNA integrity, p38-MAPK activation, metallothionein induction, oxygen consumption rat…
Enhanced enzymatic activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the cryophilic Saccharomyces kudriavzevii
2014
During the evolution of the different species classified within the Saccharomyces genus, each one has adapted to live in different environments. One of the most important parameters that have influenced the evolution of Saccharomyces species is the temperature. Here we have focused on the study of the ability of certain species as Saccharomyces kudriavzevii to grow at low temperatures, in contrast to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We observed that S. kudriavzevii strains isolated from several regions are able to synthesize higher amounts of glycerol, a molecule that has been shown to accumulate in response to freeze and cold stress. To explain this observation at the molecular level we studied t…
High osmolarity glycerol (HOG) signalling in Magnaporthe oryzae: Identification of MoYPD1 and its role in osmoregulation, fungicide action, and patho…
2015
AbstractThis study comprises a first functional analysis of an YPD1-homologue in filamentous phytopathogenic fungi and its role in the HOG signalling pathway. We generated a gene deletion mutant of the gene MoYPD1 in Magnaporthe oryzae and characterized the resulting mutant strain. We have shown that MoYpd1p is a component of the phosphorelay system acting in the HOG pathway due to its Y2H protein interaction with the HKs MoHik1p and MoSln1p as well as with the response regulator MoSsk1p. Fungicidal activity of fludioxonil was reported to be based on the inhibition of MoHik1p resulting in hyperactivation of the HOG signalling pathway and lethality. Western analysis proved that both, osmotic…
Rapid adaptation of signaling networks in the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae
2019
Abstract Background One fundamental question in biology is how the evolution of eukaryotic signaling networks has taken place. “Loss of function” (lof) mutants from components of the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) signaling pathway in the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae are viable, but impaired in osmoregulation. Results After long-term cultivation upon high osmolarity, stable individuals with reestablished osmoregulation capacity arise independently from each of the mutants with inactivated HOG pathway. This phenomenon is extremely reproducible and occurs only in osmosensitive mutants related to the HOG pathway – not in other osmosensitive Magnaporthe mutants. The major compatible so…