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Age dependent variation of the magnetic fabric of dike swarms and implications for the volcanic structure of ocean islands: the example of the Maio Island, Cabo Verde archipelago
Publication . Moreira, Mário; Mata, João; Madeira, José; Represas, Patricia; Martins, Sofia
ABSTRACT: Magnetic fabric analysis of dikes is a powerful technique when assessing magma transfer processes. This study presents an integrated analysis combining magnetic susceptibility and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, magnetic mineralogy, geochemistry and new 40Ar/39 Ar dating of dikes intruding formations ranging from the Lower Cretaceous to the Miocene on the island of Maio, in the Cabo Verde archipelago. We show that the dikes, dated at ≈9.2 Ma, intruding the younger Miocene Casas Velhas formation, display a Ti-rich titanomagnetite composition, higher whole-rock TiO2 content and very high magnetic anisotropy. They are clearly distinguished from the dikes, ranging in age from ≈9.3 to 11.3 Ma, intruding older formations, which show a predominantly Ti-poor titanomagnetite composition with multiple magnetic phases, lower whole-rock TiO2 concentration, higher range of magnetic susceptibilities and very low anisotropy. Magnetic fabric is predominantly normal with no significant imbrication relative to the dike margins. Numerical analysis of fabric shows a dominant coaxiality between the magnetic lineation and the preferred orientation of opaques and phenocrystals suggesting that magnetic lineation is, therefore, the proxy of the magmatic flow axis orientation. Based on the orientation of the magnetic fabric, we infer that magmatic flow within the studied dikes is predominantly vertical. The differences observed between the younger dikes and all other dikes may be related to magma sourced from distinct magma chambers. One, probably shallow, underneath the Casas Velhas fm in the southwest of the island, which would explain the very high values of magnetic anisotropy and the inferred vertical flow, and another located in a central position in the island, responsible for the dikes intruding the older formations. The location of such magma reservoirs and the dikes ages suggest a hypothetical migration with age of the magmatic sources that fed the dikes from the central part of the island to the southwest region. The magnetic and mineralogical heterogeneities of the dikes intruding older Lower Cretaceous formations may also be a result of a wider age range of the intrusions.
Monitoring C. vulgaris Cultivations Grown on Winery Wastewater Using Flow Cytometry
Publication . Lopes da Silva, Teresa; Silva, Thiago; França, Bruna Thomazinho; Ribeiro, Belina; Reis, Alberto
ABSTRACT: Winery wastewater (WWW), if released untreated, poses a serious environmental threat due to its high organic load. In this study, Chlorella vulgaris was cultivated in diluted WWW to assess its suitability as a culture medium. Two outdoor cultivation systems-a 270 L raceway and a 40 L bubble column-were operated over 33 days using synthetic medium (control) and WWW. A flow cytometry (FC) protocol was implemented to monitor key physiological parameters in near-real time, including cell concentration, membrane integrity, chlorophyll content, cell size, and internal complexity. At the end of cultivation, the bubble column yielded the highest cell concentrations: 2.85 x 106 cells/mL (control) and 2.30 x 106 cells/mL (WWW), though with lower proportions of intact cells (25% and 31%, respectively). Raceway cultures showed lower cell concentrations: 1.64 x 106 (control) and 1.54 x 106 cells/mL (WWW), but higher membrane integrity (76% and 36% for control and WWW cultures, respectively). On average, cells grown in the bubble column had a 22% larger radius than those in the raceway, favouring sedimentation. Heterotrophic cells were more abundant in WWW cultures, due to the presence of organic carbon, indicating its potential for use as animal feed. This study demonstrates that FC is a powerful, real-time tool for monitoring microalgae physiology and optimising cultivation in complex effluents like WWW.
New Modified SPEEK-Based Proton Exchange Membranes
Publication . Teixeira, Fatima; Teixeira, António Paulo Silva; Rangel, Carmen M.
ABSTRACT: A decarbonized society demands cleaner and sustainable energy sources based on well-established or emerging technologies with the potential to make a significant contribution to energy storage and conversion, such as batteries, fuel cells and water and/or CO2 electrolyzers. The performance of these electrochemical devices relies on key components such as their separators/ion-exchange membranes. The most common commercial membrane, Nafion (R), has several technological limitations. In this study, it is proposed the incorporation of bisphosphonic acid (BP) dopants into membrane matrices to improve their properties. Following this strategy, we prepared new membranes based on sulfonated poly(etheretherketone) (SPEEK) polymer, a reliable and effective alternative membrane polymer, through the incorporation of the BP dopants, to obtain low-cost membranes with improved properties. These membranes were structural, thermal and morphological, characterized by AT-FTIR, TGA and SEM. Their proton conductivity was evaluated over a temperature range between 30 degrees C and 60 degrees C, using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, and their stability during this process was also observed. The best proton conductivity was observed for the SPEEK membrane doped with BP1 at 2.0 wt% load at 60 degrees C, with a proton conduction of 226 mS cm-1.
Fractionation of macroalgae carbohydrates using hydrothermal and dilute inorganic salt pretreatments to produce oligosaccharides and furans
Publication . Martins, Pedro L.; Andrade, Cristiana; Duarte, Luís; Reis, Alberto; Pereira, Helena; Carvalheiro, Florbela
ABSTRACT: Furans are among the most important compounds derived from biomass, providing conversion pathways for sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and materials. Furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), and 5-methylfurfural (5-MF) are furans that can be obtained by carbohydrate dehydration under acidic conditions at elevated temperature and pressure. One of the mechanisms to produce these compounds from lignocellulosic materials relies on prior fractionation of biomass carbohydrates and further dehydration catalysis. However, this is a costly and technically challenging method and it would be advantageous to develop a one-pot conversion mechanism that facilitates simultaneous biomass fractionation and conversion to furans. Ulva lactuca is an alga that has the advantage of being lignin-free and rich in glucose, rhamnose, and xylose, which are ideal for producing 5-HMF, 5-MF, and furfural, respectively. The high diversity of sugar constituents is also relevant for the production of added-value oligosaccharides. Catalysis with inorganic salts has been reported as a successful tool for biomass upgrading to furans when combined with hydrothermal pretreatments, and could provide a cheap and environmentally friendly one-step methodology for furan production. This study therefore aimed to investigate the effect of hydrothermal and dilute acid pretreatments, as well as treatment with inorganic salt solutions (ferric chloride, ferric nitrate, and aluminium nitrate) on U. lactuca biomass to produce oligosaccharides, monosaccharides, and furans (furfural, 5-HMF, and 5-MF). These methods resulted in a maximum sugar solubilization of 65% in non-salt-assisted hydrothermal pretreatments and 84% in salt-assisted hydrothermal pretreatments, with inorganic salt catalysis also resulting in 100% xylose, 36% glucose, and 46% rhamnose conversion to the respective furans.
Thermochemical performance of ceria coated-macroporous 3D-printed black zirconia structures for solar CO/H2 fuels production
Publication . Oliveira, Fernando; Barreiros, Maria Alexandra; Sardinha, Manuel; Leite, Marco; Fernandes, Jorge; Abanades, Stéphane
ABSTRACT: The use of macroporous structured ceria for the solar thermochemical splitting of CO2 and H2O to produce clean fuels through two-step redox cycles was investigated. The research aimed to assess the reactivity of 3D-printed black zirconia gyroid structures coated with a microporous layer of pure CeO2 for producing CO and H2. Such porous designs are intended to increase both the absorption of solar radiation and the available surface area for the solid-gas reaction. It was observed that the structure degraded more at the top of the reactor cavity, where the formation of CexZr1-xO2 solid solutions occurred at the coating/substrate interface. Besides, the porous ceria structure remained after redox cycles in the samples not directly exposed to solar radiation. Consequently, the solar reactor achieved CO and H2 production rates of up to 5.4 and 1.9 mL min-1 g-1 with fuel yield over 0.2 mmol g-1, and the material maintained its performance over several consecutive cycles without any loss of reactivity. This indicates a strong potential for producing solar fuels at a large facility using custom 3D-printed ceria-coated structures.