FuelCell Energy (Canada)

People do not respond directly to the risks around them, but rather to their perception of those risks. These perceptions can be affected by many factors, including the degree to which people feel protected, and within that context beliefs in guardian angels or spirits can be a significant factor in some cases. In a survey of risk perception, it is shown that this belief does correlate with how people perceive risk, but in a complex way that may increase or decrease risk-taking behavior, with the latter being the more dominant theme.

Due to their high quantum yields of singlet oxygen and excellent light-induction attributes, hypocrellins have recently received much research attention. <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1][2][3]</sup> Hypocrellins, including hypocrellin A (HA) and hypocrellin B (HB), have relatively low absorption in the phototherapeutic window (600–900nm) due to their longest wavelength absorbance band at 584nm. To solve this problem, amino groups are introduced into hypocrellin molecules in order to enhance their absorbance in the visible red band. SL052 is a proprietary HB discovered by Quest PharmaTech Inc. in Edmonton, Canada. SL052 demonstraates an absorbance maximum at 635nm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[4]</sup> due to optimized intra-molecular charge transfers between the amino- and carbonyl groups. <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[5]</sup> We report the use of nanoparticles to make SL052 water soluble while maintaining the intra-molecular charge transfer chemistry.

Abstract Several different direct thermochemical biomass conversion processes are compared based on the results of an experimental program using standard wood and peat feedstocks. The program was part of the International Energy Agency, Biomass Liquefaction Test Facility project. The operating conditions of the processes compared differed greatly. General correlations of the properties of the oils produced from these processes are made based on the severity of the operating conditions. Important parameters in considering process severity are temperature, pressure, time at reaction conditions and added reactants or catalysts.