Rare earth elements（REEs） are critical materials and provide significant values to national security,energy production, environmental protection and economic growth. The supply of REEs in U.S. solely relies on impor...Rare earth elements（REEs） are critical materials and provide significant values to national security,energy production, environmental protection and economic growth. The supply of REEs in U.S. solely relies on import as domestic production of REEs was ceased because of the environmental concerns during mining and lack of competitiveness. Nonetheless, unconventional REEs-containing resources,including produced water. acid mine drainage, and coal and coal byproducts（C＆CBs） contain significant amounts of REEs. However, the concentrations of REEs in these resources are several orders of magnitude lower than that of REEs ores. Thus, extraction of REEs from these materials is challenging. Here we report REEs extraction with environmentally friendly method that successfully concentrated REEs from312 ppm in fly ash to 99.4% in the final product. Especially, the five critically important REEs（Dy, Eu, Nd.Tb. and Y） account for up to ～63% of the total weight of all REEs in the final 99.4%-purity product. Coal fly ash is one of the major solid coal utilization byproducts, representing great potential resources for REEs extraction. Extraction of REEs from these unconventional resources could be the way to secure domestic supply of these critical materials.展开更多
One of the pathways for achieving the goal of increasing the efficiency of coal-fired power plants and reducing the emission of pollutants and CO_2 is by improving the steam temperature and pressure.But the increase o...One of the pathways for achieving the goal of increasing the efficiency of coal-fired power plants and reducing the emission of pollutants and CO_2 is by improving the steam temperature and pressure.But the increase of steam parameters depend on the development of new high-temperature metal materials.This paper presented the constructive suggestions on critical materials selection for China's new generation of 700℃clean and high-efficiency coal-fired boiler by summarizing the research and development situation of critical materials for coal-fired boilers operating at 700℃/35 MPa of the Europe,Japan and USA.展开更多
The achievement of a carbon-neutral energy economy is nowadays mandatory to face global warming and the current energy crisis.To mitigate the present and future environmental issues,replacing fossil feedstocks with re...The achievement of a carbon-neutral energy economy is nowadays mandatory to face global warming and the current energy crisis.To mitigate the present and future environmental issues,replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable sources is of primary importance,aiming to meet future generations'demands for energy and commodities.In light of this,the revamp of the ammonia synthesis,which today consumes almost 2%of the energy globally produced,gained increasing interest.The ammonia generation by reacting air and water and using sunlight as an inexhaustible source of energy is the closest approach to the ideal situation for zerocarbon energy and chemical production.To promote solar-to-ammonia production,the photocatalyst plays a crucial role.However,for large-scale implementation and long-term utilization,the selection of noncritical raw materials in catalyst preparation is central aiming at resource security.In this context,herein are reviewed different strategies developed to improve the photocatalytic performances of carbon-based materials.The introduction of vacancies and surface doping are discussed as valuable approaches to enhance the photocatalytic activity in the nitrogen fixation reactions,as well as the construction of heterojunctions to finely tune the electronic properties of carbon-based materials.展开更多
Influence of the gassing materials, such as PA6, PMMA, and POM on the dielectric properties of air are investigated. In this work, the fundamental electron collision cross section data were carefully selected and vali...Influence of the gassing materials, such as PA6, PMMA, and POM on the dielectric properties of air are investigated. In this work, the fundamental electron collision cross section data were carefully selected and validated. Then the species compositions of the air–organic vapor mixtures were calculated based on the Gibbs free energy minimization. Finally, the Townsend ionization coefficient, the Townsend electron attachment coefficient and the critical reduced electric field strength were derived from the calculated electron energy distribution function by solving the Boltzmann transport equation. The calculation results indicated that H;O with large attachment cross sections has a great impact on the critical reduced electric field strength of the air–organic vapor mixtures. On the other hand, the vaporization of gassing materials can help to increase the dielectric properties of air circuit breakers to some degree.展开更多
Knee osteoarthritis(KOA),characterized by heterogeneous arthritic manifestations and complex peripheral joint disorder,is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide,which has become a high burden due to the mul...Knee osteoarthritis(KOA),characterized by heterogeneous arthritic manifestations and complex peripheral joint disorder,is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide,which has become a high burden due to the multifactorial nature and the deficiency of available disease-modifying treatments.The application of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells(MSCs)as therapeutic drugs has provided novel treatment options for diverse degenerative and chronic diseases including KOA.However,the complexity and specificity of the“live”cells have posed challenges for MSC-based drug development and the concomitant scale-up preparation from laboratory to industrialization.For instance,despite the considerable progress in ex vivo cell culture technology for fulfilling the robust development of drug conversion and clinical trials,yet significant challenges remain in obtaining regulatory approvals.Thus,there’s an urgent need for the research and development of MSC drugs for KOA.In this review,we provide alternative solution strategies for the preparation of MSC drugs on the basis of the principle of quality by design,including designing the cell production processes,quality control,and clinical applications.In detail,we mainly focus on the quality by design method for MSC manufacturing in standard cell-culturing factories for the treatment of KOA by using the Quality Target Product Profile as a starting point to determine potential critical quality attributes and to establish relationships between critical material attributes and critical process parameters.Collectively,this review aims to meet product performance and robust process design,and should help to reduce the gap between compliant products and the production of compliant good manufacturing practice.展开更多
Thermosensitive polymers show an entropy-driven transition from a well-solvated to a poorly solvated polymer chain, resulting in a more compact globular conformation. The transition at the lower critical solution temp...Thermosensitive polymers show an entropy-driven transition from a well-solvated to a poorly solvated polymer chain, resulting in a more compact globular conformation. The transition at the lower critical solution temperature（LCST） is often sharp, which allows for a wide range of smart material applications.At the LCST, oligo（ethylene glycol）-substituted polyisocyanides（PICs） form soft hydrogels, composed of polymer bundles similar to biological gels, such as actin, fibrin and intermediate filaments. Here, we show that the LCST of PICs strongly depends linearly on the length of the ethylene glycol（EG） tails; every EG group increases the LCSTand thus the gelation temperature by nearly 30 ℃. Using a copolymerisation approach, we demonstrate that we can precisely tailor the gelation temperature between 10 ℃ and 60 ℃and, consequently, tune the mechanical properties of the PIC gels.展开更多
Lithium-ion battery(LIB)is the key technology for climate change mitigation.The sustainability of LIB supply chain has caused widespread concern since the material utilization efficiency of LIB supply chain has not be...Lithium-ion battery(LIB)is the key technology for climate change mitigation.The sustainability of LIB supply chain has caused widespread concern since the material utilization efficiency of LIB supply chain has not been well investigated.This study aims to fill this research gap by conducting a dynamic material flow analysis of lithium in China from 2015 to 2021.Results indicate that within the temporal boundary,lithium flow and in-use stock grew significantly in China due to the rapid development of the EV market,with lithium flow in domestic production of basic chemicals increasing by 614%to 100 kt,end-use consumption increasing by 160%to 35 kt,and in-use stock increasing by 62%to 195 kt.China has been a net importer of lithium,of which cumulative imports and exports were 343 kt and 169 kt,respectively.In addition,103 kt of lithium was converted to inventories or was lost during the processing from 2015 to 2021.By optimizing inventory and processing,developing substitutes for lithium for non-battery applications,and improving lithium recycling,China's net import dependency of lithium could be reduced from 27%-86%to 0%-16%.Our study demonstrates that it is urgent to improve material utilization efficiency so that the lithium resource supply can be secured.展开更多
Foreign investments are essential in deepening economic relations between the EU and Latin America.As Latin America is fortunate enough to have deposits of metals that have become particularly desirable due to the gre...Foreign investments are essential in deepening economic relations between the EU and Latin America.As Latin America is fortunate enough to have deposits of metals that have become particularly desirable due to the green industrial revolution,it remains one of the dominant directions of exploration and investment in the mining sector.To intensify cooperation within the mining industries based on their complementarity,common goals,and shared values,the EU-Latin America Mineral Development Network Platform was established for all entities relevant to the mining sector,not only authorities but also businesses(including SMEs)and scientific and research units.To create a common European understanding of best practices in the processing and mining of raw materials in terms of social,environmental,and economic performance,voluntary EU principles for sustainable raw materials have been developed.Moreover,many EU countries working on updating or implementing(Poland)mineral policies,and more and more EU and Polish mining companies have been reporting non-financial aspects and impacts on local development,also in foreign countries.At the end of 2022,the European Commission proposed a Critical Raw Materials Act:securing the new gas&oil at the heart of our economy initiative to enhance the diversification and supply of critical raw materials to Europe.So far,the largest Polish foreign investment is a copper mine in Sierra Gorda in Chile,owned by KGHM Polska Mied´z SA together with the Japanese Sumitomo Group(from February 2022,Australian mining group South32).Even according to KGHM CEO,Marcin Chludzi´nski,the Sierra Gorda mine had needed restructuring and now is a demanding but very satisfying project.KGHM reported that the revised EBITDA for 2021 was the highest and achieved PLN 10.3 billion(ca EUR 2.3 billion)year on year(+56%)and for the first time,Sierra Gorda began to pay off its liabilities towards the owners.Moreover,the mine received an award in the category of large producers awarded by the State Mining Association in Chile(SONAMI).In addition to mining activities in the field of exploration and exploitation of deposits,Poland is developing cooperation in technology(mining machinery)and education.To ensure sustainable extraction of raw materials additional skills are required,in particular in the area of management and social sciences.The aim of the paper is to analyze and identify factors and best practices enhancing international cooperation and the environmental sustainability of minerals in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on the example of Polish investments in Chile.The analyzed case studies in a broader context,including the EU and Polish mineral policy,allow for the development of certain recommendations and tools for the promotion of foreign investments in the mining industry.展开更多
The increasing need for sustainable energy and the transition from a linear to a circular economy pose great challenges to the materials science community.In this view,the chance of producing efficient nanocatalysts f...The increasing need for sustainable energy and the transition from a linear to a circular economy pose great challenges to the materials science community.In this view,the chance of producing efficient nanocatalysts for water splitting using industrial waste as starting material is attractive.Here,we report low-cost processes to convert Mo-based industrial waste powder into efficient catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).pH controlled hydrothermal processing of Mo-based industrial waste powder leads to pure orthorhombic MoO_(3) nanobelts(50–200 nm wide,10µm long)with promising OER performances at 10 mA·cm^(−2) with an overpotential of 324 mV and Tafel slope of 45 mV·dec^(−1) in alkaline electrolyte.Indeed,MoS_(2)/MoO_(3) nanostructures were obtained after sulfurization during hydrothermal processes of the MoO_(3) nanobelts.HER tests in acidic environment show a promising overpotential of 208 mV at 10 mA·cm^(−2) and a Tafel slope of 94 mV·dec^(−1).OER and HER performances of nanocatalysts obtained from Mo industrial waste powder are comparable or better than Mo-based nanocatalysts obtained from pure commercial Mo reagent.This work shows the great potential of reusing industrial waste for energy applications,opening a promising road to join waste management and efficient and sustainable nanocatalysts for water splitting.展开更多
基金Project supported by the Department of Energy through"Rare Earth Elements From Coal and Coal By-Products"program(DE-FE00027069)
文摘Rare earth elements（REEs） are critical materials and provide significant values to national security,energy production, environmental protection and economic growth. The supply of REEs in U.S. solely relies on import as domestic production of REEs was ceased because of the environmental concerns during mining and lack of competitiveness. Nonetheless, unconventional REEs-containing resources,including produced water. acid mine drainage, and coal and coal byproducts（C＆CBs） contain significant amounts of REEs. However, the concentrations of REEs in these resources are several orders of magnitude lower than that of REEs ores. Thus, extraction of REEs from these materials is challenging. Here we report REEs extraction with environmentally friendly method that successfully concentrated REEs from312 ppm in fly ash to 99.4% in the final product. Especially, the five critically important REEs（Dy, Eu, Nd.Tb. and Y） account for up to ～63% of the total weight of all REEs in the final 99.4%-purity product. Coal fly ash is one of the major solid coal utilization byproducts, representing great potential resources for REEs extraction. Extraction of REEs from these unconventional resources could be the way to secure domestic supply of these critical materials.
文摘One of the pathways for achieving the goal of increasing the efficiency of coal-fired power plants and reducing the emission of pollutants and CO_2 is by improving the steam temperature and pressure.But the increase of steam parameters depend on the development of new high-temperature metal materials.This paper presented the constructive suggestions on critical materials selection for China's new generation of 700℃clean and high-efficiency coal-fired boiler by summarizing the research and development situation of critical materials for coal-fired boilers operating at 700℃/35 MPa of the Europe,Japan and USA.
基金European Union—NextGenerationEUItalian Ministry of University and Research(MUR)National Innovation Ecosystem Grant ECS00000041—VITALITY。
文摘The achievement of a carbon-neutral energy economy is nowadays mandatory to face global warming and the current energy crisis.To mitigate the present and future environmental issues,replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable sources is of primary importance,aiming to meet future generations'demands for energy and commodities.In light of this,the revamp of the ammonia synthesis,which today consumes almost 2%of the energy globally produced,gained increasing interest.The ammonia generation by reacting air and water and using sunlight as an inexhaustible source of energy is the closest approach to the ideal situation for zerocarbon energy and chemical production.To promote solar-to-ammonia production,the photocatalyst plays a crucial role.However,for large-scale implementation and long-term utilization,the selection of noncritical raw materials in catalyst preparation is central aiming at resource security.In this context,herein are reviewed different strategies developed to improve the photocatalytic performances of carbon-based materials.The introduction of vacancies and surface doping are discussed as valuable approaches to enhance the photocatalytic activity in the nitrogen fixation reactions,as well as the construction of heterojunctions to finely tune the electronic properties of carbon-based materials.
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)2015CB251002National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 51521065,51577145+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central UniversitiesShaanxi Province Natural Science Foundation 2013JM-7010
文摘Influence of the gassing materials, such as PA6, PMMA, and POM on the dielectric properties of air are investigated. In this work, the fundamental electron collision cross section data were carefully selected and validated. Then the species compositions of the air–organic vapor mixtures were calculated based on the Gibbs free energy minimization. Finally, the Townsend ionization coefficient, the Townsend electron attachment coefficient and the critical reduced electric field strength were derived from the calculated electron energy distribution function by solving the Boltzmann transport equation. The calculation results indicated that H;O with large attachment cross sections has a great impact on the critical reduced electric field strength of the air–organic vapor mixtures. On the other hand, the vaporization of gassing materials can help to increase the dielectric properties of air circuit breakers to some degree.
基金Supported by Taishan Scholar Special Funding,No.tsqnz20240858Medical and Health Technology Project of Shandong Province,No.202402050122+4 种基金Science and Technology Development Plan of Jinan Municipal Health Commission,No.2024301008Clinical Medical Science and Technology Innovation Program of Jinan Science and Technology Bureau,No.202430055Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province,No.20224BAB206077Gansu Provincial Hospital Intra-Hospital Research Fund Project,No.22GSSYB-6and the 2022 Master/Doctor/Postdoctoral Program of National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Therapy of Gastrointestinal Tumor,No.NHCDP2022004 and No.NHCDP2022008.
文摘Knee osteoarthritis(KOA),characterized by heterogeneous arthritic manifestations and complex peripheral joint disorder,is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide,which has become a high burden due to the multifactorial nature and the deficiency of available disease-modifying treatments.The application of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells(MSCs)as therapeutic drugs has provided novel treatment options for diverse degenerative and chronic diseases including KOA.However,the complexity and specificity of the“live”cells have posed challenges for MSC-based drug development and the concomitant scale-up preparation from laboratory to industrialization.For instance,despite the considerable progress in ex vivo cell culture technology for fulfilling the robust development of drug conversion and clinical trials,yet significant challenges remain in obtaining regulatory approvals.Thus,there’s an urgent need for the research and development of MSC drugs for KOA.In this review,we provide alternative solution strategies for the preparation of MSC drugs on the basis of the principle of quality by design,including designing the cell production processes,quality control,and clinical applications.In detail,we mainly focus on the quality by design method for MSC manufacturing in standard cell-culturing factories for the treatment of KOA by using the Quality Target Product Profile as a starting point to determine potential critical quality attributes and to establish relationships between critical material attributes and critical process parameters.Collectively,this review aims to meet product performance and robust process design,and should help to reduce the gap between compliant products and the production of compliant good manufacturing practice.
基金the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)for providing and supporting beam time at the DutchBelgium beamline(DUBBLE) for SAXS experiments(No. BM26-02773)financial support from NWO (VENI grant No. 680-47-437)+2 种基金the Euopean Union's 2020 ResearchInnovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 642687project Biogel
文摘Thermosensitive polymers show an entropy-driven transition from a well-solvated to a poorly solvated polymer chain, resulting in a more compact globular conformation. The transition at the lower critical solution temperature（LCST） is often sharp, which allows for a wide range of smart material applications.At the LCST, oligo（ethylene glycol）-substituted polyisocyanides（PICs） form soft hydrogels, composed of polymer bundles similar to biological gels, such as actin, fibrin and intermediate filaments. Here, we show that the LCST of PICs strongly depends linearly on the length of the ethylene glycol（EG） tails; every EG group increases the LCSTand thus the gelation temperature by nearly 30 ℃. Using a copolymerisation approach, we demonstrate that we can precisely tailor the gelation temperature between 10 ℃ and 60 ℃and, consequently, tune the mechanical properties of the PIC gels.
基金This study is sponsored by the National Key R&D Program of China(2019YFC1908501)National Natural Science Foundation of China(72122010,71774100,72088101,71810107001).
文摘Lithium-ion battery(LIB)is the key technology for climate change mitigation.The sustainability of LIB supply chain has caused widespread concern since the material utilization efficiency of LIB supply chain has not been well investigated.This study aims to fill this research gap by conducting a dynamic material flow analysis of lithium in China from 2015 to 2021.Results indicate that within the temporal boundary,lithium flow and in-use stock grew significantly in China due to the rapid development of the EV market,with lithium flow in domestic production of basic chemicals increasing by 614%to 100 kt,end-use consumption increasing by 160%to 35 kt,and in-use stock increasing by 62%to 195 kt.China has been a net importer of lithium,of which cumulative imports and exports were 343 kt and 169 kt,respectively.In addition,103 kt of lithium was converted to inventories or was lost during the processing from 2015 to 2021.By optimizing inventory and processing,developing substitutes for lithium for non-battery applications,and improving lithium recycling,China's net import dependency of lithium could be reduced from 27%-86%to 0%-16%.Our study demonstrates that it is urgent to improve material utilization efficiency so that the lithium resource supply can be secured.
文摘Foreign investments are essential in deepening economic relations between the EU and Latin America.As Latin America is fortunate enough to have deposits of metals that have become particularly desirable due to the green industrial revolution,it remains one of the dominant directions of exploration and investment in the mining sector.To intensify cooperation within the mining industries based on their complementarity,common goals,and shared values,the EU-Latin America Mineral Development Network Platform was established for all entities relevant to the mining sector,not only authorities but also businesses(including SMEs)and scientific and research units.To create a common European understanding of best practices in the processing and mining of raw materials in terms of social,environmental,and economic performance,voluntary EU principles for sustainable raw materials have been developed.Moreover,many EU countries working on updating or implementing(Poland)mineral policies,and more and more EU and Polish mining companies have been reporting non-financial aspects and impacts on local development,also in foreign countries.At the end of 2022,the European Commission proposed a Critical Raw Materials Act:securing the new gas&oil at the heart of our economy initiative to enhance the diversification and supply of critical raw materials to Europe.So far,the largest Polish foreign investment is a copper mine in Sierra Gorda in Chile,owned by KGHM Polska Mied´z SA together with the Japanese Sumitomo Group(from February 2022,Australian mining group South32).Even according to KGHM CEO,Marcin Chludzi´nski,the Sierra Gorda mine had needed restructuring and now is a demanding but very satisfying project.KGHM reported that the revised EBITDA for 2021 was the highest and achieved PLN 10.3 billion(ca EUR 2.3 billion)year on year(+56%)and for the first time,Sierra Gorda began to pay off its liabilities towards the owners.Moreover,the mine received an award in the category of large producers awarded by the State Mining Association in Chile(SONAMI).In addition to mining activities in the field of exploration and exploitation of deposits,Poland is developing cooperation in technology(mining machinery)and education.To ensure sustainable extraction of raw materials additional skills are required,in particular in the area of management and social sciences.The aim of the paper is to analyze and identify factors and best practices enhancing international cooperation and the environmental sustainability of minerals in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on the example of Polish investments in Chile.The analyzed case studies in a broader context,including the EU and Polish mineral policy,allow for the development of certain recommendations and tools for the promotion of foreign investments in the mining industry.
基金Funding note:Open access funding provided by the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
文摘The increasing need for sustainable energy and the transition from a linear to a circular economy pose great challenges to the materials science community.In this view,the chance of producing efficient nanocatalysts for water splitting using industrial waste as starting material is attractive.Here,we report low-cost processes to convert Mo-based industrial waste powder into efficient catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).pH controlled hydrothermal processing of Mo-based industrial waste powder leads to pure orthorhombic MoO_(3) nanobelts(50–200 nm wide,10µm long)with promising OER performances at 10 mA·cm^(−2) with an overpotential of 324 mV and Tafel slope of 45 mV·dec^(−1) in alkaline electrolyte.Indeed,MoS_(2)/MoO_(3) nanostructures were obtained after sulfurization during hydrothermal processes of the MoO_(3) nanobelts.HER tests in acidic environment show a promising overpotential of 208 mV at 10 mA·cm^(−2) and a Tafel slope of 94 mV·dec^(−1).OER and HER performances of nanocatalysts obtained from Mo industrial waste powder are comparable or better than Mo-based nanocatalysts obtained from pure commercial Mo reagent.This work shows the great potential of reusing industrial waste for energy applications,opening a promising road to join waste management and efficient and sustainable nanocatalysts for water splitting.
