Technical, economic and environmental analysis of solar thermochemical production of drop-in fuels.

This study analyzes the technical performance, costs and life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the production of various fuels using air-captured water and CO2, and concentrated solar energy as the source of high-temperature process heat. The solar thermochemical fuel production pathway utilizes a ceria-based redox cycle for splitting water and CO2 to syngas - a tailored mixture of H2 and CO - which in turn is further converted to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The cycle is driven by concentrated solar heat and supplemented by a high-temperature thermal energy storage for round-the-clock continuous operation. The study examines three locations with high direct normal irradiation using a baseline heliostat field reflective area of 1 km2 for the production of six fuels, i.e. jet fuel and diesel via Fischer-Tropsch, methanol, gasoline via methanol, dimethyl ether, and hydrogen. Two scenarios are considered: near-term future by the year 2030 and long-term future beyond 2030. In the near-term future in Sierra Gorda (Chile), the minimum fuel selling price is estimated at around 76 €/GJ (2.5 €/L) for jet fuel and diesel, 65 €/GJ for methanol, gasoline (via methanol) and dimethyl ether (DME), and 42 €/GJ for hydrogen (excluding liquefaction). In the long-term future, with advancements in solar receiver, redox reactor, high-temperature heat recovery and direct air capture technologies, the industrial-scale plant could achieve a solar-to-fuel efficiency up to 13-19 %, depending on the target fuel, resulting in a minimum fuel selling price of 16-38 €/GJ (0.6-1.3 €/L) for jet fuel and diesel, and 14-32 €/GJ for methanol, gasoline, and DME, making these fuels synthesized from sunlight and air cost-competitive vis-à-vis e-fuels. To produce the same fuels in Tabernas (Spain) and Ouarzazate (Morocco) as in Sierra Gorda, the production cost would increase by 22-33 %. Greenhouse gas savings can be over 80 % already in the near-term future.

Reflecting on the environmental impact of the captured carbon feedstock.

Climate change mitigation potentials of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) closely depend on the energy and chemicals used to capture the chemically inert CO2. The potential environmental benefits of CCU are typically assessed using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Although LCA is a standardized method, modelling CO2 as a carbon feedstock instead of an emission introduces an ambiguous "multifunctionality issue". Inconsistent multifunctionality practices have been applied to deal with this methodological complexity in LCAs of CCU technologies. Using one method instead of another can lead to highly positive or negative carbon footprints for the same carbon source and CO2 capture process. A comprehensive guideline to clarify the best practices to conduct LCAs of CCU technologies was published in 2020 (and updated in March 2022) in a collaborative process involving over 40 experts. In this guideline and linked scientific articles from experts involved in its development, a so-called "substitution method" is recommended to avoid suboptimal choices of CO2 sources, improve comparability and harmonize decision-making. This article critically reviews the methodological formulation of the recommended method and suggests corrections to possible inaccuracies in a future update of the guideline. Furthermore, various illustrative examples of common CO2 feedstocks were used to illustrate the meaning of adopting such a method in practice. Economic-based benchmarking of the environmental impacts of CO2 feedstocks calculated with such a method was also broadly illustrated.

Attributional and consequential LCAs of a novel bio-jet fuel from Dutch potato by-products.

To mitigate the climate change impact of aviation, jet fuels from bio-based by-products are considered a promising alternative to conventional jet fuels. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a commonly applied tool to determine the environmental impacts of bio-jet fuels. This article presents both attributional and consequential LCA models to assess an innovative bio-jet fuel produced from potato by-products in the Netherlands. The two models led to opposite conclusions regarding the overall environmental performance of this bio-jet fuel. The attributional LCA showed that this bio-jet fuel could offer about a 60% GHG emissions reduction compared to conventional jet fuel. In comparison, the consequential LCA estimated either a much lower climate change benefit (5-40%) if the potato by-products taken from the animal feed market are replaced with European animal feed or a 70% increase in GHG emissions if also imported soybean meals are used to replace the feed. Contrasting conclusions were also obtained for photochemical ozone formation. Conversely, the attributional and consequential LCAs agree on acidification, terrestrial eutrophication and depletion of fossil fuels. Although the consequential LCA was affected by higher uncertainties related to the determination of the actual product displaced, it allowed understanding the consequence of additional animal feed production. This process was not included in the system boundaries of the attributional LCA.

Kraft lignin as a bio-based ingredient for Dutch asphalts: An attributional LCA.

In the last decade, lignin has received much attention as a feedstock to produce bio-based products. This study investigates the potential benefits of using lignin to mitigate the environmental impact of the road construction sector. An environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of various top-layer bio-based asphalts using kraft lignin was conducted. From a cradle-to-grave perspective, lignin-based asphalts were compared with conventional asphalts. The results of the LCA revealed that the climate change impact of lignin-based asphalts could be 30-75% lower than conventional asphalts. For the other ten impact categories, trade-offs were observed. Overall, two key factors to make the environmental impact of lignin-based asphalts lower than conventional asphalts are 1) increasing the amount of bitumen-substituted and 2) using low-grade biomass fuels for process steam in the pulp mill. The substitution of weak filler with lignin was beneficial only for climate change and could lead to a worse overall environmental performance than conventional asphalts. Similarly, higher environmental impacts for lignin-based asphalts could be obtained if the pulp mill consumed natural gas to complete the energy balance to replace the part of the black liquor from which lignin is extracted. This study also includes an in-depth discussion on methodological choices such as the allocation methods for lignin, functional units, and asphalt layers considered. We believe that such a methodological discussion could be helpful to support future Product Category Rules for asphalt mixtures.

Comparative cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of bio-based and petrochemical PET bottles.

This article presents a life cycle assessment of bio-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with a cradle to grave scope and provides a comparison with petrochemical PET bottles for 13 environmental impact categories. Besides the baseline bio-based PET bottles, which are produced from Brazilian sugarcane reflecting status-quo, two alternative hypothetical bio-based product systems were considered: European wheat straw and European crops market mix composed of maize, wheat and sugar beet. The land-use change (LUC) impacts were assessed based on a deterministic model. The end-of-life impact was assessed using the EASETECH model. Baseline bio-based PET bottles performed overall worse than conventional petrochemical PET bottles, offering only better performance (about 10%) in abiotic depletion (fossil fuels). Comparable performance is observed for climate change (2% difference without the LUC, and 7% with LUC impacts). Using European crops for ethanol production (alternative 1) instead of Brazilian sugarcane resulted in a worse environmental performance, due to lower yields attained compared to Brazilian sugarcane. When wheat straw was considered as biomass feedstock for ethanol production (alternative 2), similar environmental performance with petrochemical PET bottles was seen.

Review of life cycle assessments of lignin and derived products: Lessons learned.

In the last decade, the use of lignin as a bio-based alternative for fossil-based products has attracted significant attention, and the first LCAs of lignin and derived products have been conducted. Assessing side-stream products like lignin and potential benefits compared to their fossil counterparts presents complex methodological issues. This article provides a critical review of forty-two peer-reviewed LCAs regarding lignin and derived products. Methodological issues and their influence on the LCA results include the choice of the modeling approach and system boundaries, functional unit definition, impact categories considered, type of data used, handling multifunctionality and biogenic carbon modeling. The review focused on climate change impacts, as this is also the main impact category considered in most studies. Other impact categories in the comparison between lignin-based products and counterparts were also discussed with examples from the studies. Based on ten lessons learned, recommendations were provided for LCA practitioners to increase future consistency of environmental claims made about lignin and lignin-based products. The finding suggest that the environmental performance of lignin-based products is significantly affected by both 1) LCA methodological problems such as allocation practices and biogenic carbon modeling and 2) technical aspects such as the percentage of lignin in the composition of products and the selection of the fuel to replace lignin in internal energy uses. Beyond this, the reviewed LCAs showed that often lignin-based products offer better environmental performances than fossil-based products, especially for climate change.

Efecto de los factores de riesgo psicosociales relacionados al trabajo en el desarrollo de enfermedades cardiovasculares / The impact of work-related psychosocial risk factors on the development of cardiovascular diseases

Durante los últimos años, las enfermedades cardiovasculares (en adelante ECVs) en Chile se han situado como la primera causa de muerte y discapacidad. Frente a esta situación, el Ministerio de Salud ha generado programas de control de los factores de riesgo comunes para el desarrollo de enfermedades cardiovasculares. Sin embargo, no se ha considerado los factores de riesgo psicosociales relacionados con el trabajo, los que según la tendencia internacional se han validado como parte de los factores causantes de enfermedades cardiovasculares. Este documento tiene por objetivo evidenciar la importancia que tienen los factores de riesgos psicosociales laborales (en adelante FRPSL) para el desarrollo de ECVs, reflexionando sobre la experiencia en otros países y comparando esas realidades con la mirada actual en el control de las enfermedades cardiovasculares en Chile. Las experiencias revisadas validan a los factores de riesgo comunes como los principales para el desarrollo de enfermedades cardiovasculares, pero avalan que los factores de riesgo psicosociales de origen laboral mantienen una relación tanto directa como indirecta con el desarrollo y/o agravamiento de estas patologías, pese a que en Chile esto aún no se reconozca en términos legales. (AU)

In Chile, in recent years, cardiovascular diseases (hereinafter CVD) have been the leading cause of death and disability. Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Health has developed programs to control the common risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, however, the work-related psychosocial risk factors have not been considered, which according to the international trend, have been validated as part of the causative factors of cardiovascular diseases.This study aims to highlight the importance of work-related psychosocial risk factors (hereinaf-ter PWF) for the development of CVD, reflecting on the experience in other countries, com-paring these realities with the current perspective in the control of cardiovascular diseases in Chile.The evidence confirms common risk factors as the key to the development of cardiovascular diseases. However, it guarantees that work-related psychosocial risk factors maintaining a relationship both directly and indirectly with the manifestation of these diseases, in despite of this is not recognized legally in Chile yet. (AU)

Herbal medicine in the Marquesas Islands.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: This manuscript reports data on medicinal plants used in Marquesas Islands traditional medicine. The subject is interesting due to the extreme geographical isolation of this archipelago and the scarcity of data on this subject. The hypothesis of the authors was that traditional knowledge in this area should be consequently largely preserved. The usual ethnobotanical collection of use/symptom was completed by an additional quantitative ethnobotany analysis providing two indices: the relative frequency of plant uses for a given affliction (RF) and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our ethnopharmacological study was carried out between 2009 and 2012 in several parts of the archipelago by collecting the accurate names of the medicinal plants, their uses, the methods of preparation of the remedies and the associated traditional nosology. Two methods were applied: ex situ focus groups with scientists and local association partners, using fresh plant specimens, dried specimens, and photographs, guided by an outline of simple questions, and in situ semi-structured interviews of informants during walk in the woods or homegarden sampling. RESULTS: 96 plant species were pointed out as medicine for which we collected 1774 use reports; 77 of these species cited by more than 1 informant are listed with their frequency of use. Three species account for one-third of use reports: Cocos nucifera (coconut), Gardenia taitensis (tiare Tahiti) and Microsorum grossum. Native species (either indigenous or endemic) represent only one quarter of all used species. The Polynesian introductions (plants introduced during Polynesian migrations) represent 42% of the Marquesan medicinal plants. On the other hand, one-third are modern introductions, introduced, for most of them, less than 200 years ago. Diseases are analyzed according to Marquesan concepts. In the present study, a special attention was focused on the descriptions of the local diseases. Their translation in French was discussed and verified in focus groups involving both scientists and Marquesan language specialists from the "Académie des Marquises". 40 plant species showed a high frequency of citation for a given affliction (RF>20). Despite the complex nosology the ICF to Marquesan traditional illness categories showed generally high ICF values, suggesting their strong coherence. CONCLUSIONS: An overview of the Marquesan pharmacopoeia, linked with ethnomedicinal practices, is presented in this paper. Marquesan traditional medicine survived until now despite the culture shock faced by the Marquesan population switching to numerous introduced plants commonly found in their close environment and easily gathered. Marquesan herbal medicine appears to draw its inspiration from a common Polynesian root. However further investigations on Marquesan nosologies are necessary to appreciate the originality of the Marquesan pharmacopoeia. Finally, the crossing of ICF and RF indices shows that 36 species have at least one significant use (frequencies>20%) with high ICF value (>0.5). This suggests that some key phytochemical ingredients may be present in these plants which require further phytopharmacological studies to a better knowledge of their medicinal properties.

Oleodaphnoic acid and coriaceol, two new natural products from the stem bark of Wikstroemia coriacea.

Fractionation of the chloroform extract of Wikstroemia coriacea led to the isolation of two new compounds, oleodaphnoic acid (1), a guaiane-type sesquiterpenoid, and coriaceol (2), an 1,5-diphenyl-1-pentanone analogue, together with nine known compounds. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic data analysis. The known compounds were oleodaphnal (3), indicanone (4), (5R,8R,8aR)-3,8-dimethyl-4,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydro-5-(1-methylethenyl)-2(1H)-azulenone, (5), 1,5 diphenyl-1-pentanone (6), (+)-3-hydroxy-1,5-diphenyl-1-pentanone (7), umbelliferone (8), daphnoretin (9), ß-sitostenone (10) and (-)-hinokinin (11).

Larvicidal activity of isoflavonoids from Muellera frutescens extracts against Aedes aegypti.

The biological activity of extracts from the leaves, bark and roots of Muellera frutescens, an Amazonian ichtyotoxic plant, were evaluated to find new environmentally safe insecticides. The n-hexane extracts of bark, leaf, and root showed a strong toxic activity against Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. Bioguided fractionation of the bark extract led to the isolation of seven isoflavonoids (12a-hydroxyelliptone, elliptone, (-)-variabilin, rotenone, rotenolone, tephrosin and deguelin). Rotenone and deguelin are responsible for the larvicidal activity of the plant. M frutescens leaves contain up to 0.6%, w/w, deguelin. These results justify the traditional ichtyotoxic use of M frutescens. The leaves contain a relatively high proportion of deguelin and, therefore, can be considered as a renewable source of this environmentally friendly insecticidal isoflavonoid.

Triterpene saponins from Antonia ovata leaves.

Six pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins, named antoniosides E-J along with two known alkaloids, were isolated from the leaves of Antonia ovata. Their structures were determined by the extensive use of 1D and 2D-NMR experiments along with HRESIMS analysis and acid hydrolysis. All isolated saponins contained the same pentasaccharide chain: 3-O-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)]-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl(1→6)]-ß-D-glucopyranoside, linked at C-3 of esterified derivatives of polyhydroxyoleanene triterpenoids (theasapogenol A and 15α-hydroxy-theasapogenol A). Isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against KB cell line by a WST-1 assay, and the IC(50) values ranged from 3.3 to 5.3 µM.

Antiplasmodial benzophenone derivatives from the root barks of Symphonia globulifera (Clusiaceae).

In an effort to find antimalarial drugs, a systematic in vitro evaluation on a chloroquine-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum (FcB1) was undertaken on sixty plant extracts collected in French Guiana. The ethyl acetate extract obtained from the root barks of Symphonia globulifera exhibited a strong antiplasmodial activity (97% at 10 microg/ml). The phytochemical investigation of this extract led to the isolation of nine polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (PPAPs) compounds and two oxidized derivatives. All compounds showed antiplasmodial activity with IC(50)s ranged from 2.1 to 10.1 microM. A LC/ESI-MS(n) study performed on polyprenylated benzophenones previously isolated from Moronobea coccinea provided a reliable method for their detection in the extract and structural elucidation.

Cytotoxic triterpenoid saponins from the stem bark of Antonia ovata.

Phytochemical investigation of the MeOH extract of the stem bark of Antonia ovata led to the isolation of four triterpenoid saponins, along with eleven known compounds. Their structures were established by extensive 1D and 2D NMR, as well as HR-MS analysis and acid hydrolysis. All isolated saponins contained the same tetrasaccharide chain O-beta-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)-O-[beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-beta-d-glucuropyranoside linked to C-3 of esterified derivatives of R(1)-barrigenol, A(1)-barrigenol, barringtogenol C, or camelliagenin. Biological evaluation of the compounds against KB cell line revealed a potent cytotoxic activity with IC(50) values ranging from 3.1 to 6.6microM. The known compounds were found to be inactive at 10microg/ml concentration.

Antiplasmodial benzophenones from the trunk latex of Moronobea coccinea (Clusiaceae).

In an effort to find antimalarial drugs, a systematic in vitro evaluation on a chloroquine-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum (FcB1) was undertaken on sixty plant extracts collected in French Guiana. The methanol extract obtained from the latex of Moronobea coccinea exhibited a strong antiplasmodial activity (95% at 10microg/ml). The phytochemical investigation of this extract led to the isolation of eleven polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), from which eight showed potent antiplasmodial activity with IC50 ranged from 3.3microM to 37.2microM.

Phenolic glycosides from the stem bark of Caryocar villosum and C. glabrum.

Mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity of methanol extracts and polar fractions of the stem bark of Caryocar villosum and C. glabrum has been assessed. Seven new phenolic glycosides (1-7) were isolated from the most active fractions, along with 15 known compounds (8-22). The structures of these compounds were established on the basis of spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR analysis, HRESIMS, and comparison with literature experimental data for known compounds.

Dihydroisocoumarin glucosides from stem bark of Caryocar glabrum.

Two dihydroisocoumarin glucosides have been isolated from the stem bark of Caryocar glabrum (Aubl.) Pers. Their structures and absolute stereochemistry were established on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR, HRESIMS, and CD studies. These compounds represent the first members of a new biogenetic pathway for the isocoumarins nucleus involving shikimate derived A-ring coupling with a phenyl propanoid derivative.

Triterpenoid saponins from the stem bark of Caryocar villosum.

Five triterpenoid saponins, caryocarosides II-22 (3), III-22 (4), II-23 (5), III-23 (6), and II-24 (7), have been isolated from the methanol extract of the stem bark of Caryocar villosum, along with two known saponins (1-2). The seven saponins are glucuronides of hederagenin (II) or bayogenin (III). Caryocaroside II-24 (7) is an unusual galloyl ester saponin acylated on the sugar chain attached to C-28, the 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->3)-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl hederagenin-28-O-[2-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester. The structures of the saponins were established on the basis of extensive NMR ((13)C, (1)H, COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC and ROESY) and ESI-MS studies. The cytotoxic activity of saponins 2 and 3 was evaluated in vitro against human keratinocytes. The DOPA-oxidase inhibition and the lipolytic activities were evaluated ex vivo using an explant of human adipose tissue.

Triterpenoid saponins from the fruits of Caryocar villosum.

Fourteen new triterpenoid saponins (1-14) were isolated from the methanol extract of the fruits of Caryocar villosum along with 10 known saponins. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive NMR (1H, 13C, COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, HSQC, and HMBC) and ESIMS studies. The toxicity of the methanolic extracts of the peel and the pulp of fruits and the crude saponin fraction of the peel was assessed using the Artemia salina test. The antimicrobial activities of caryocarosides IV-21 (14), II-1 (16), III-1 (17), and IV-9 (20) and of saponin 23 were also studied in vitro on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium smegmatis, and Enterococcus faecalis bacteria.

Triterpenoid saponins from the fruits of Caryocar glabrum.

Twenty-one new triterpenoid saponins, named caryocarosides (1-21), glycosides of 2beta-hydroxyoleanolic acid, hederagenin, bayogenin, and gypsogenic acid, have been isolated from the fruits of Caryocar glabrum along with nine known triterpenoid saponins (22-30) that are described for the first time from a plant in the Caryocaraceae. Their structures were established by 1D and 2D NMR techniques ((13)C, COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC, and ROESY experiments), ESIMS, and acid hydrolysis. The isolated compounds could be classified into two series: glucosides (1-8, 22, 27, and 30) derived from the 3-O-monoglucoside and glucuronides (9-21, 23-26, 28, and 29) derived from the 3-O-monoglucuronide. In 22 of the saponins (1-8, 12-22, and 24-26), a galactose moiety was linked to C-3 of a glucuronic acid or a glucose moiety. The galactose was substituted in position 3 by a second galactose unit (6, 7, 20, and 21) or by a xylose unit (8). Seven saponins (4, 5, 16-19, and 26) were found to be bidesmosides with one glucose unit linked to C-28 of the aglycon. The hemolytic activity of the major saponins (2, 3, 5, 12-15, 17, 24, and 28) was measured on sheep erythrocytes in order to establish structure-activity relationships based on the type of sugar attached to the aglycon and on the structure of this aglycon.

Identification of 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (bufotenine) in takini (Brosimumacutifolium Huber subsp. acutifolium C.C. Berg, Moraceae), a shamanic potion used in the Guiana Plateau.

This paper is the first thorough analysis of takini, a hallucinogen used by the shamans of several peoples in Suriname, French Guiana, and the region east of the Para in Brazil. The drug is contained in the latex of the Brosimum acutifolium tree, and until now, its psychotropic properties appeared inconsistent with the more general medicinal uses of the tree in the surrounding region. Our chemical and botanical studies reveal that the active ingredient of takini is bufotenine; and that this compound is only contained in the subspecies Brosimum acutifolium Huber subsp. acutifolium C.C. Berg that is found in the same area of the eastern Guianas.