Intensified Continuous Flow Process for the Scalable Production of Bio-Based Glycerol Carbonate

A subtle combination of fundamental and applied organic chemistry toward process intensification is demonstrated for the large-scale production of bio-based glycerol carbonate under flow conditions. The direct carbonation of bio-based glycidol with CO2 is successfully carried out under intensified flow conditions, with Barton's base as a potent homogeneous organocatalyst. Process metrics for the CO2 coupling step (for the upstream production, output: 3.6 kg day-1 , Space Time Yield (STY): 2.7 kg h-1  L-1 , Environmental factor (E-factor): 4.7) outclass previous reports. High conversion and selectivity are achieved in less than 30 s of residence time at pilot scale with a stoichiometric amount of CO2 . Supporting DFT computations reveal the unique features of the mechanism in presence of Brønsted bases.

Numerical Modelling of the Heat Source and the Thermal Response of an Additively Manufactured Composite during an Active Thermographic Inspection

This paper deals with the numerical modelling of non-destructive testing of composite parts using active thermography. This method has emerged as a new approach for performing non-destructive testing (NDT) on continuous carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic polymer (CCFRTP) components, particularly in view of detecting porosity or delamination. In this context, our numerical model has been developed around references containing internal defects of various shapes and sizes. The first novelty lies in the fact that the heat source used in the experimental setup is modelled exhaustively to accurately model the radiation emitted by the lamp, as well as the convection and conduction around the bulb. A second novelty concerns the modelling of the CCFRTP making up the benchmark used. Indeed, its thermal properties vary as a function of the sample temperature. Therefore, the actual thermal properties have been experimentally measured and were later used in our model. The latter then captures the material dependency on temperature. The results obtained by our model proved to be in close agreement with the experimental results on real reference points, paving the way for future use of the model to optimise experimental configurations and, in particular, the heating parameters.

Package Design Thermal Optimization for Metal-Oxide Gas Sensors by Finite Element Modeling and Infra-Red Imaging Characterization

We designed a 3D geometrical model of a metal-oxide gas sensor and its custom packaging and used it in finite element modeling (FEM) analysis for obtaining temperature and heat flux distribution. The 3D computer simulation, performed with GetDP software (version 3.5.0, 13 May 2022), accurately predicted the temperature distribution variation across the entire assembly. Knowing the temperature variation and the location of the hot spots allowed us to select the best electrical interconnect method and to choose the optimal materials combination and optimal geometry. The thermal modeling also confirmed the need to use a low thermal conductivity material to insulate the MOX sensor since the latter is heated to its operational temperature of 250 °C. For that purpose, we used the in-house formulated xerogel-epoxy composite of thermal conductivity of 0.108 W m-1 K-1, which is at least 30% less compared to the best-in-class among commercially available materials. Based on the 3D FEM outputs, we designed, assembled, and characterized a fully functional packaged MOX gas sensor in several configurations. We measured the temperature distribution on all parts of the MOX gas sensor assembly using a thermal imaging infrared (IR) microscope. The results of 3D FEM are in good agreement with the temperature distribution obtained by the non-contact IR thermal characterization.

Basic Personal Values and Parental Burnout: A Brief Report

Recent evidence has shown that Western parents are five times more vulnerable to developing parental burnout than parents in other parts of the world. It has also been found that this augmented susceptibility is explained by the group tendency of individualism cultural value that prevails in Western societies. Still, whether this relation observed at the group mean level across countries can be generalized to the association of personal value with parental burnout across individuals has not yet been explored. In order to address this question, the current study collected a sample of 643 Polish parents and assessed their report of value priorities and parental burnout. The results demonstrated that individual-level values indeed predict susceptibility to parental burnout. Specifically, parents are more susceptible to parental burnout when prioritizing values that emphasize power and achievement, whereas prioritizing benevolence protects parents from parental burnout. Associations between parents' gender, personal values, and parental burnout were also examined. Consistent with previous studies, fathers reported fewer parental burnout symptoms compared to mothers. However, gender differences in parental burnout were not mediated by personal values, nor did parents' gender moderate the effect of personal values on burnout. In sum, together with previous results obtained at the society level, our finding points out the role of values in predicting parental burnout. A possible future direction of research was discussed: examining the affective mechanism (e.g. parental regulation of emotions) underlying the relationship between personal values and parental burnout.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

 The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00103-y.