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Now showing 1 - 10 of 147
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    Long-time resistivity monitoring of a freshwater/saltwater transition zone using the vertical electrode system SAMOS
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Grinat, Michael; Epping, Dieter; Meyer, Robert; Szymkiewicz, Adam; Sadurski, A.; Jaworska-Szulc, B.
    In September 2009 two newly developed vertical electrode systems were installed in boreholes in the water catchment areas Waterdelle and Ostland at the North Sea island Borkum to monitor possible changes of the transition zone between the freshwater lens and the underlying saltwater. The vertical electrode systems, which were both installed between 44 m and 65 m below ground level, are used for geoelectrical multi-electrode measurements carried out automatically several times per day; the measurements are still ongoing. The whole system consisting of a vertical electrode system in a borehole and the measuring unit at ground level is called SAMOS (Saltwater Monitoring System). At both locations the data show a clear resistivity decrease that indicates the transition zone between freshwater and saltwater. The depth of the transition zone as well as the kind of resistivity decrease is very stable since 2010. Temporal changes are visible if single depths are considered. In 2015 Miriam Ibenthal used a vertical 2D density-dependent groundwater flow model to explain the long-term resistivity measurements and showed that the temporal changes at CLIWAT 2 (Ostland) could be explained by variations of the groundwater level, changing groundwater recharge rates and changing pumping rates of the nearby located drinking water supply wells.
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    Saltwater intrusion under climate change in North-Western Germany - mapping, modelling and management approaches in the projects TOPSOIL and go-CAM
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Wiederhold, Helga; Scheer, Wolfgang; Kirsch, Reinhard; Azizur Rahman, M.; Ronczka, Mathias; Szymkiewicz, Adam; Sadurski, A.; Jaworska-Szulc, B.
    Climate change will result in rising sea level and, at least for the North Sea region, in rising groundwater table. This leads to a new balance at the fresh–saline groundwater boundary and a new distribution of saltwater intrusions with strong regional differentiations. These effects are investigated in several research projects funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Objectives and some results from the projects TOPSOIL and go-CAM are presented in this poster.
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    Time‐Dependent Cation Selectivity of Titanium Carbide MXene in Aqueous Solution
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2022) Wang, Lei; Torkamanzadeh, Mohammad; Majed, Ahmad; Zhang, Yuan; Wang, Qingsong; Breitung, Ben; Feng, Guang; Naguib, Michael; Presser, Volker
    Electrochemical ion separation is a promising technology to recover valuable ionic species from water. Pseudocapacitive materials, especially 2D materials, are up-and-coming electrodes for electrochemical ion separation. For implementation, it is essential to understand the interplay of the intrinsic preference of a specific ion (by charge/size), kinetic ion preference (by mobility), and crystal structure changes. Ti3C2Tz MXene is chosen here to investigate its selective behavior toward alkali and alkaline earth cations. Utilizing an online inductively coupled plasma system, it is found that Ti3C2Tz shows a time-dependent selectivity feature. In the early stage of charging (up to about 50 min), K+ is preferred, while ultimately Ca2+ and Mg2+ uptake dominate; this unique phenomenon is related to dehydration energy barriers and the ion exchange effect between divalent and monovalent cations. Given the wide variety of MXenes, this work opens the door to a new avenue where selective ion-separation with MXene can be further engineered and optimized.
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    Mechanically Stable, Binder‐Free, and Free‐Standing Vanadium Trioxide/Carbon Hybrid Fiber Electrodes for Lithium‐Ion Batteries
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2023) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; Gallei, Markus; Husmann, Samantha; Presser, Volker
    Binder is a crucial component in present-day battery electrodes but commonly contains fluorine and requires coating processing using organic (often toxic) solvents. Preparing binder-free electrodes is an attractive strategy to make battery electrode production and its end-of-use waste greener and safer. Herein, electrospinning is employed to prepare binder-free and self-standing electrodes. Such electrodes often suffer from low flexibility, and the correlation between performance and flexibility is usually overlooked. Processing parameters affect the mechanical properties of the electrodes, and for the first time it is reported that mechanical flexibility directly influences the electrochemical performance of the electrode. The importance is highlighted when processing parameters advantageous to powder materials, such as a higher heat treatment temperature, harm self-standing electrodes due to deterioration of fiber flexibility. Other strategies, such as conductive carbon addition, can be employed to improve the cell performance, but their effect on the mechanical properties of the electrodes must be considered. Rapid heat treatment achieves self-standing V2O3 with a capacity of 250 mAh g−1 at 250 mA g−1 and 390 mAh g−1 at 10 mA g−1
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    Modeling saltwater intrusion scenarios for a coastal aquifer at the German North Sea
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Schneider, A.; Zhao, H.; Wolf, J.; Logashenko, D.; Reiter, S.; Howahr, M.; Eley, M.; Gelleszun, M.; Wiederhold, H.; Szymkiewicz, Adam; Sadurski, A.; Jaworska-Szulc, B.
    A 3d regional density-driven flow model of a heterogeneous aquifer system at the German North Sea Coast is set up within the joint project NAWAK (“Development of sustainable adaption strategies for the water supply and distribution infrastructure on condition of climatic and demographic change”). The development of the freshwater-saltwater interface is simulated for three climate and demographic scenarios. Groundwater flow simulations are performed with the finite volume code d3f++ (distributed density driven flow) that has been developed with a view to the modelling of large, complex, strongly density-influenced aquifer systems over long time periods.
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    Characterization of a regional coastal zone aquifer using an interdisciplinary approach – an example from Weser-Elbe region, Lower Saxony, Germany
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Rahman, Mohammad Azizur; González, Eva; Wiederhold, Helga; Deus, Nico; Elbracht, Jörg; Siemon, Bernhard; Szymkiewicz, Adam; Sadurski, A.; Jaworska-Szulc, B.
    In this study, interdisciplinary approaches are considered to characterize the coastal zone aquifer of the Elbe-Weser region in the North of Lower Saxony, Germany. Geological, hydrogeological, geochemical and geophysical information have been considered to analyze the current status of the aquifers. All the information collectively states that the salinity distribution in the subsurface is heterogeneous both horizontally and vertically. Early age flooding also contributed to this heterogeneity. No general classification of groundwater quality (according to some piper diagrams) could be identified. Helicopter-borne electro-magnetic data clearly show the presence of freshwater reserves below the sea near the west coast. Groundwater recharge largely happens in the moraine ridges (west side of the area) where both the surface elevation and the groundwater level are high. Consequently, submarine groundwater discharge occurs from the same place. All these information will facilitate to develop the planned density driven groundwater flow and transport model for the study area.
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    How activated carbon improves the performance of non-thermal plasma removing methyl ethyl ketone from a gas stream
    ([Amsterdam] : Elsevier B.V., 2021) Schmidt, Michael; Kettlitz, Manfred; Kolb, Juergen F.
    The combination of non-thermal plasma (NTP), operated at room temperature and at atmospheric pressure in air and in combination with activated carbon filters offers a more efficient removal of VOCs from gas streams than each individual method alone. Efficiencies, synergies and mechanisms of this combination were investigated by means of comprehensive quantitative Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Therefore, dry and wet synthetic air containing about 90 ppm of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) were treated with non-thermal plasma (NTP) and an intentionally undersized activated carbon (AC) filter, separately and in combination. As a result, removal of about 50 % was achieved for NTP or AC alone but a removal close to 95 % was found for the combination. Ozone, generated by the NTP, was reduced by 55 % with the AC-filter. For the operation of the NTP with humid air, a decomposition of the pollutant on AC was observed even after the plasma was switched off.
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    Chapter scientists in the IPCC AR5-experience and lessons learned
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2015) Schulte-Uebbing, Lena; Hansen, Gerrit; Hernández, Ariel Macaspac; Winter, Marten
    IPCC Assessment Reports provide timely and accurate information on anthropogenic climate change to policy makers and the public. The reports are written by hundreds of scientists in a voluntary, collaborative effort. Growing amounts of literature and complex procedural and administrative requirements, however, make this effort a substantial management challenge next to a scientific one. During the 5th Assessment Cycle, IPCC Working Groups II and III initiated a program that recruited volunteer scientific assistants who provided technical and logistical support to author teams. In this paper we describe and analyze strengths and weaknesses of this ‘Chapter Scientist program’, based on an extensive survey among Chapter Scientists (CS) and interviews with other stakeholders. We conclude that the program was a useful innovation that that enabled authors to focus more on their core scientific tasks and that contributed to improving the quality of the assessment. We highly recommend similar programs for future scientific assessments. Key criteria for success that we identified are (a) involvement of early-career scientists as CS, (b) close integration of CS in the assessment process, (c) recruitment of CS through an open call to achieve transparency, and (d) provision of funds for such a program to support travel costs and compensation of CS.
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    Carbon materials for stable Li metal anodes: Challenges, solutions, and outlook
    (Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2021) Lu, Q.; Jie, Y.; Meng, X.; Omar, A.; Mikhailova, D.; Cao, R.; Jiao, S.; Lu, Y.; Xu, Y.
    Lithium (Li) metal is regarded as the ultimate anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries due to its highest specific capacity and lowest electrochemical potential. However, the Li metal anode has limitations, including virtually infinite volume change, nonuniform Li deposition, and an unstable electrode–electrolyte interface, which lead to rapid capacity degradation and poor cycling stability, significantly hindering its practical application. To address these issues, intensive efforts have been devoted toward accommodating and guiding Li deposition as well as stabilizing the interface using various carbon materials, which have demonstrated excellent effectiveness, benefiting from their vast variety and excellent tunability of the structure–property relationship. This review is intended as a guide through the fundamental challenges of Li metal anodes to the corresponding solutions utilizing carbon materials. The specific functionalities and mechanisms of carbon materials for stabilizing Li metal anodes in these solutions are discussed in detail. Apart from the stabilization of the Li metal anode in liquid electrolytes, attention has also been paid to the review of anode-free Li metal batteries and solid-state batteries enabled by strategies based on carbon materials. Furthermore, we have reviewed the unresolved challenges and presented our outlook on the implementation of carbon materials for stabilizing Li metal anodes in practical applications.
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    Flexible MXene films for batteries and beyond
    (Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2022) Huang, Yang; Lu, Qiongqiong; Wu, Dianlun; Jiang, Yue; Liu, Zhenjie; Chen, Bin; Zhu, Minshen; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    MXenes add dozens of metallic conductors to the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials. A top-down synthesis approach removing A-layer atoms (e.g., Al, Si, and Ga) in MAX phases to produce 2D flakes attaches various surface terminations to MXenes. With these terminations, MXenes show tunable properties, promising a range of applications from energy storage devices to electronics, including sensors, transistors, and antennas. MXenes are also excellent building blocks to create flexible films used for flexible and wearable devices. This article summarizes the synthesis of MXene flakes and highlights aspects that need attention for flexible devices. Rather than listing the development of energy storage devices in detail, we focus on the main challenges of and solutions for constructing high-performance devices. Moreover, we show the applications of MXene films in electronics to call on designs to construct a complete system based on MXene with good flexibility, which consists of a power source, sensors, transistors, and wireless communications.