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  • Journal article
    Gray CE, Figueroa D, Hudson LN, Ma A, Perkins D, Woodward Get al., 2015,

    Joining the dots: an automated method for constructing food webs from compendia of published interactions

    , Food Webs, Vol: 5, Pages: 11-20, ISSN: 2352-2496

    Food webs are important tools for understanding how complex natural communities are structured and how they respond to environmental change. However their full potential has yet to be realised because of the huge amount of resources required to construct them de novo. Consequently, the current catalogue of networks that are suitable for rigorous and comparative analyses and theoretical development still suffers from a lack of standardisation and replication.Here, we present a novel R function, WebBuilder, which automates the construction of food webs from taxonomic lists, and a dataset of trophic interactions. This function works by matching species against those within a dataset of trophic interactions, and ‘filling in’ missing trophic interactions based on these matches. We also present a dataset of over 20,000 freshwater trophic interactions, and use this and four well-characterised freshwater food webs to test the method.The WebBuilder function facilitates the generation of food webs of comparable quality to the most detailed published food webs, but at a fraction of the research effort or cost. Furthermore, it matched and often outperformed a selection of predictive models, which are currently among the best, in terms of capturing key properties of empirical food webs. The method is simple to use, systematic and, perhaps most importantly, reproducible, which will facilitate (re-) analysis and data sharing. Although developed and tested on a sample of freshwater food webs, this method could easily be extended to cover other types of ecological interactions (such as mutualistic interactions).
  • Journal article
    Wang LP, Ochoa-Rodriguez S, Onof C, Willems Pet al., 2015,

    Singularity-sensitive gauge-based radar rainfall adjustment methods for urban hydrological applications

    , Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol: 19, Pages: 4001-4021, ISSN: 1027-5606

    Gauge-based radar rainfall adjustment techniques have been widely used to improve the applicability of radar rainfall estimates to large-scale hydrological modelling. However, their use for urban hydrological applications is limited as they were mostly developed based upon Gaussian approximations and therefore tend to smooth off so-called "singularities" (features of a non-Gaussian field) that can be observed in the fine-scale rainfall structure. Overlooking the singularities could be critical, given that their distribution is highly consistent with that of local extreme magnitudes. This deficiency may cause large errors in the subsequent urban hydrological modelling. To address this limitation and improve the applicability of adjustment techniques at urban scales, a method is proposed herein which incorporates a local singularity analysis into existing adjustment techniques and allows the preservation of the singularity structures throughout the adjustment process. In this paper the proposed singularity analysis is incorporated into the Bayesian merging technique and the performance of the resulting singularity-sensitive method is compared with that of the original Bayesian (non singularity-sensitive) technique and the commonly used mean field bias adjustment. This test is conducted using as case study four storm events observed in the Portobello catchment (53 km2) (Edinburgh, UK) during 2011 and for which radar estimates, dense rain gauge and sewer flow records, as well as a recently calibrated urban drainage model were available. The results suggest that, in general, the proposed singularity-sensitive method can effectively preserve the non-normality in local rainfall structure, while retaining the ability of the original adjustment techniques to generate nearly unbiased estimates. Moreover, the ability of the singularity-sensitive technique to preserve the non-normality in rainfall estimates often leads to better reproduction of the urban drainage syst
  • Journal article
    Gray CE, Thompson M, Bankier C, Bell T, Dumbrell A, Ledger M, Lehmann K, McKew B, Sayer C, Shelley F, Trimmer M, Warren S, Woodward Get al., 2015,

    Gene-to-ecosystem impacts of a catastrophic pesticide spill: testing a multilevel bioassessment approach in a river ecosystem

    , Freshwater Biology, Vol: 61, Pages: 2037-2050, ISSN: 1365-2427

    1.Pesticides can have strong deleterious impacts in fresh waters, but understanding how these effects cascade through natural ecosystems, from microbes to apex predators, is limited because research that spans multiple levels of biological organisation is rare.2.We report how an accidental insecticide spill altered the structure and functioning of a river across levels ranging from genes to ecosystems. We quantified the impacts on assemblages of microbes, diatoms, macroinvertebrates and fish and measured leaf-litter decomposition rates and microbial functional potential at upstream control and downstream impacted sites 2 months after the spill.3.Both direct and indirect impacts were evident across multiple levels of organisation and taxa, from the base of the food web to higher trophic levels. At the molecular level, differences in functional gene abundance within the impacted sites reflected a combination of direct and indirect effects of the pesticide, via elevated abundances of microbial populations capable of using chlorpyrifos as a resource (i.e. direct effect) and oxidising ammonia released by decaying macroinvertebrate carcasses (i.e. indirect effect).4.At the base of the food chains, diatom taxa found only in the impacted sites were an order-of-magnitude larger in cell size than the largest comparable taxa in control communities, following the near extirpation of their consumers. Population biomass of the key detritivore Gammarus pulex was markedly lower, as was the rate of litter decomposition in the impacted sites. This was partially compensated for, however, by elevated microbial breakdown, suggesting another indirect food-web effect of the toxic spill.5.Although many species exhibited population crashes or local extirpation, total macroinvertebrate biomass and abundance were largely unaffected due to a compensatory elevation in small tolerant taxa such as oligochaetes, and/or taxa which were in their adult aerial life stage at the time of the spill (e.g.
  • Report
    Balcombe P, Anderson K, Speirs J, Brandon N, Hawkes Aet al., 2015,

    Methane and CO2 emissions from the natural gas supply chain: an evidence assessment

    , Publisher: Sustainable Gas Institute
  • Journal article
    Prado R, Brandt A, Erdocia X, Hallet J, Welton T, Labidi Jet al., 2015,

    Lignin oxidation and depolymerisation in ionic liquids

    , Green Chemistry, Vol: 18, Pages: 834-841, ISSN: 1463-9262

    The depolymerisation of lignin directly in the black liquor was studied, comparing two ionic liquids as extracting solvents (butylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate and triethylammonium hydrogen sulphate), under oxidising conditions. H2O2 was chosen as the oxidant agent. It was observed that lignins derived from butylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate were more susceptible to degradation. The main degradation products found in the extracted oils were aromatic acids, such as vanillic acid, benzoic acid and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid.
  • Journal article
    Barraclough TG, Bell T, Scheuerl T, 2015,

    Saturating effects of species diversity on life-history evolution in bacteria

    , Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, Vol: 282, ISSN: 0080-4649

    Species interactions can play a major role in shaping evolution in new environments. In theory, species interactions can either stimulate evolution by promoting coevolution or inhibit evolution by constraining ecological opportunity. The relative strength of these effects should vary as species richness increases, and yet there has been little evidence for evolution of component species in communities. We evolved bacterial microcosms containing between 1 and 12 species in three different environments. Growth rates and yields of isolates that evolved in communities were lower than those that evolved in monocultures, consistent with recent theory that competition constrains species to specialize on narrower sets of resources. This effect saturated or reversed at higher levels of richness, consistent with theory that directional effects of species interactions should weaken in more diverse communities. Species varied considerably, however, in their responses to both environment and richness levels. Mechanistic models and experiments are now needed to understand and predict joint evolutionary dynamics of species in diverse communities.
  • Journal article
    Zhu Y, Romain C, Williams CK, 2015,

    Selective polymerization catalysis: controlling the metal chain end group to prepare block copolyesters

    , Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol: 137, Pages: 12179-12182, ISSN: 1520-5126

    Selective catalysis is used to prepare block copolyesters by combining ring-opening polymerization of lactones and ring-opening copolymerization of epoxides/anhydrides. By using a dizinc complex with mixtures of up to three different monomers and controlling the chemistry of the Zn–O(polymer chain) it is possible to select for a particular polymerization route and thereby control the composition of block copolyesters.
  • Conference paper
    Alonso Alvarez D, Lackner D, Philipps SP, Bett AW, Ekins-Daukes NJet al., 2015,

    Photoluminescence-Based Current-Voltage Characterisation of Individual Subcells in Multi-Junction Devices

    , 31st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Publisher: European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Pages: 1509-1513

    We demonstrate a photoluminescence based, contactless method to determine the current-voltage characteristics of the individual subcells in a multi-junction solar cell. The method, furthers known results for single junction devices and relies upon the reciprocity relation between the absorption and emission properties on a solar cell. Laser light with a suitable energy is used to excite carriers selectively in one junction and the internal voltages are deduced from the intensity of the resulting luminescence. The IV curves obtained this way on 1J, 2J and 6J devices are compared to those obtained using electroluminescence. Good agreement is obtained at high injection conditions while discrepancies at low injection are attributed to in-plane carrier transport.
  • Journal article
    Grist JP, Josey SA, Jacobs ZL, Marsh R, Sinha B, Van Sebille Eet al., 2015,

    Extreme air–sea interaction over the North Atlantic subpolar gyre during the winter of 2013–2014 and its sub-surface legacy

    , Climate Dynamics, Vol: 46, Pages: 4027-4045, ISSN: 1432-0894

    Exceptionally low North American temperaturesand record-breaking precipitation over the BritishIsles during winter 2013–2014 were interconnectedby anomalous ocean evaporation over the North Atlanticsubpolar gyre region (SPG). This evaporation (or oceaniclatent heat release) was accompanied by strong sensibleheat loss to the atmosphere. The enhanced heat loss overthe SPG was caused by a combination of surface westerlywinds from the North American continent and northerlywinds from the Nordic Seas region that were colder,drier and stronger than normal. A distinctive feature of the air–sea exchange was that the enhanced heat loss spannedthe entire width of the SPG, with evaporation anomaliesintensifying in the east while sensible heat flux anomalieswere slightly stronger upstream in the west. The immediateimpact of the strong air–sea fluxes on the ocean–atmospheresystem included a reduction in ocean heat content ofthe SPG and a shift in basin-scale pathways of ocean heatand atmospheric freshwater transport. Atmospheric reanalysisdata and the EN4 ocean data set indicate that a longertermlegacy of the winter has been the enhanced formationof a particularly dense mode of Subpolar Mode Water(SPMW)—one of the precursors of North Atlantic DeepWater and thus an important component of the AtlanticMeridional Overturning Circulation. Using particle trajectoryanalysis, the likely dispersal of newly-formed SPMWis evaluated, providing evidence for the re-emergence ofanomalously cold SPMW in early winter 2014/2015.
  • Journal article
    Minas K, Karunakaran E, Bond T, Gandy C, Honsbein A, Madsen M, Amezaga J, Amtmann A, Templeton MR, Biggs CA, Lawton Let al., 2015,

    Biodesalination: an emerging technology for targeted removal of Na<sup>+</sup>and Cl<sup>−</sup>from seawater by cyanobacteria

    , Desalination and Water Treatment, Vol: 55, Pages: 2647-2668, ISSN: 1944-3994
  • Journal article
    Winter K, Woodward J, Ross N, Dunning SA, Bingham RG, Corr HFJ, Siegert MJet al., 2015,

    Airborne radar evidence for tributary flow switching in Institute Ice Stream, West Antarctica: Implications for ice sheet configuration and dynamics

    , Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol: 120, Pages: 1611-1625, ISSN: 2169-9011

    Despite the importance of ice streaming to the evaluation of West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) stability we know little about mid- to long-term dynamic changes within the Institute Ice Stream (IIS) catchment. Here we use airborne radio echo sounding to investigate the subglacial topography, internal stratigraphy, and Holocene flow regime of the upper IIS catchment near the Ellsworth Mountains. Internal layer buckling within three discrete, topographically confined tributaries, through Ellsworth, Independence, and Horseshoe Valley Troughs, provides evidence for former enhanced ice sheet flow. We suggest that enhanced ice flow through Independence and Ellsworth Troughs, during the mid-Holocene to late Holocene, was the source of ice streaming over the region now occupied by the slow-flowing Bungenstock Ice Rise. Although buckled layers also exist within the slow-flowing ice of Horseshoe Valley Trough, a thicker sequence of surface-conformable layers in the upper ice column suggests slowdown more than ~4000 years ago, so we do not attribute enhanced flow switch-off here, to the late Holocene ice-flow reorganization. Intensely buckled englacial layers within Horseshoe Valley and Independence Troughs cannot be accounted for under present-day flow speeds. The dynamic nature of ice flow in IIS and its tributaries suggests that recent ice stream switching and mass changes in the Siple Coast and Amundsen Sea sectors are not unique to these sectors, that they may have been regular during the Holocene and may characterize the decline of the WAIS.
  • Journal article
    Raum S, Potter C, 2015,

    Forestry paradigms and policy change: The evolution of forestry policy in Britain in relation to the ecosystem approach

    , Land Use Policy, Vol: 49, Pages: 462-470, ISSN: 1873-5754

    Forestry policy and practice in Britain has been subject to a series of paradigm changes since the establishment of the Forestry Commission in 1919. Drawing on a documentary analysis of legislation, published policy statements, commentaries and scholarly critiques, this paper argues that British forestry policy has undergone three significant paradigm shifts since it was first mooted in the late 19th century. With origins in a largely ad hoc and laissez-faire attitude towards forest expansion and management which dominated up to World War I, a productivist stance based on intensive mono-culture plantations in order to reduce import dependence then held sway until the early 1970s. This has since been overlain with ideas about multi-functionality and sustainability that continue to be important today. The new Ecosystem Approach (and its specific emphasis on the provision of ecosystem services) can arguably be viewed as an emerging new forestry paradigm era in which ideas of resilience and sustainability are to the fore. It is suggested in conclusion that while the policy and practice of forestry in Britain continues to mirror broader shifts in environmental governance within the country, these in turn are increasingly influenced by international debates and obligations.
  • Journal article
    Martynov S, Mac Dowell N, Brown S, Mahgerefteh Het al., 2015,

    Assessment of Integral Thermo-Hydraulic Models for Pipeline Transportation of Dense-Phase and Supercritical CO2

    , INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH, Vol: 54, Pages: 8587-8599, ISSN: 0888-5885
  • Journal article
    Duffy OB, Bell RE, Jackson CA-L, Gawthorpe RL, Whipp PSet al., 2015,

    Fault Growth and Interactions in a Multiphase Rift Fault Network: Horda Platform, Norwegian North Sea

    , Journal of Structural Geology, Vol: 80, Pages: 99-119, ISSN: 0191-8141

    Physical models predict that multiphase rifts that experience a change in extension direction between stretching phases will typically develop non-colinear normal fault sets. Furthermore, multiphase rifts will display a greater frequency and range of styles of fault interactions than single-phase rifts. Although these physical models have yielded useful information on the evolution of fault networks in map view, the true 3D geometry of the faults and associated interactions are poorly understood. Here, we use an integrated 3D seismic reflection and borehole dataset to examine a range of fault interactions that occur in a natural multiphase fault network in the northern Horda Platform, northern North Sea. In particular we aim to: i) determine the range of styles of fault interaction that occur between non-colinear faults; ii) examine the typical geometries and throw patterns associated with each of these different styles; and iii) highlight the differences between single-phase and multiphase rift fault networks. Our study focuses on a ca. 350 km2 region around the >60 km long, N-S-striking Tusse Fault, a normal fault system that was active in the Permian-Triassic and again in the Late Jurassic-to-Early Cretaceous. The Tusse Fault is one of a series of large (>1500 m throw) N-S-striking faults forming part of the northern Horda Platform fault network, which includes numerous smaller (2-10 km long), lower throw (<100 m), predominantly NW-SE-striking faults that were only active during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. We examine how the 2nd-stage NW-SE-striking faults grew, interacted and linked with the N-S-striking Tusse Fault, documenting a range of interaction styles including mechanical and kinematic isolation, abutment, retardation and reactivated relays. Our results demonstrate that: i) isolated, non-interacting and abutting interactions are the most common fault interaction styles in the northern Horda Platform; ii) pre-existing faults can act as
  • Conference paper
    Menke R, Abraham E, Parpas P, Stoianov Iet al., 2015,

    Approximation of System Components for Pump Scheduling Optimisation

    , Proc. 13th Int. Conference on Computing and Control in the Water Industry (CCWI), Publisher: Elsevier, Pages: 1059-1068, ISSN: 1877-7058

    The operation of pump systems in water distribution systems (WDS) is commonly the most expensive task for utilities with upto 70% of the operating cost of a pump system attributed to electricity consumption. Optimisation of pump scheduling could save10-20% by improving efficiency or shifting consumption to periods with low tariffs.Due to the complexity of the optimal control problem, heuristic methods which cannot guarantee optimality are often applied.To facilitate the use of mathematical optimisation this paper investigates formulations of WDS components. We show that linearapproximations outperform non-linear approximations, while maintaining comparable levels of accuracy.
  • Book chapter
    Haigh JD, Matthes K, Hanslmeier A, 2015,

    The Impact of Solar Variability on Climate.

    , Earth’s climate response to a changing Sun, Editors: Lilensten, Dudok de Wit, Matthes, ISBN: 978-2-7598-1733-7
  • Journal article
    Bruce C, Madani K, 2015,

    Successful Collaborative Negotiation over Water Policy: Substance versus Process

    , JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Vol: 141, ISSN: 0733-9496
  • Conference paper
    Wright R, Abraham E, Parpas P, Stoianov Iet al., 2015,

    Optimized Control of Pressure Reducing Valves in Water Distribution Networks With Dynamic Topology

    , Publisher: Procedia Engineering, Elsevier
  • Journal article
    Karpouzoglou T, Zulkafli Z, Grainger S, Dewulf A, Buytaert W, Hannah DMet al., 2015,

    Environmental Virtual Observatories (EVOs): Prospects for knowledge co-creation and resilience in the Information Age

    , Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Vol: 18, Pages: 40-48, ISSN: 1877-3443

    Developments in technologies are shaping information access globally. This presents opportunities and challenges for understanding the role of new technologies in sustainability research. This article focuses on a suite of technologies termed Environmental Virtual Observatories (EVOs) developed for communicating observations and simulation of environmental processes. A strength of EVOs is that they are open and decentralised, thus democratising flow and ownership of information between multiple actors. However, EVOs are discussed rarely beyond their technical aspects. By evaluating the evolution of EVOs, we illustrate why it is timely to engage with policy and societal aspects as well. While first generation EVOs are primed for scientists, second generation EVOs can have broader implications for knowledge co-creation and resilience through their participatory design.
  • Journal article
    Wilcox C, Van Sebille E, Hardesty BD, 2015,

    Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive, and increasing

    , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol: 112, Pages: 11899-11904, ISSN: 1091-6490

    Plastic pollution in the ocean is a global concern; concentrations reach 580,000 pieces per km(2) and production is increasing exponentially. Although a large number of empirical studies provide emerging evidence of impacts to wildlife, there has been little systematic assessment of risk. We performed a spatial risk analysis using predicted debris distributions and ranges for 186 seabird species to model debris exposure. We adjusted the model using published data on plastic ingestion by seabirds. Eighty of 135 (59%) species with studies reported in the literature between 1962 and 2012 had ingested plastic, and, within those studies, on average 29% of individuals had plastic in their gut. Standardizing the data for time and species, we estimate the ingestion rate would reach 90% of individuals if these studies were conducted today. Using these results from the literature, we tuned our risk model and were able to capture 71% of the variation in plastic ingestion based on a model including exposure, time, study method, and body size. We used this tuned model to predict risk across seabird species at the global scale. The highest area of expected impact occurs at the Southern Ocean boundary in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, which contrasts with previous work identifying this area as having low anthropogenic pressures and concentrations of marine debris. We predict that plastics ingestion is increasing in seabirds, that it will reach 99% of all species by 2050, and that effective waste management can reduce this threat.
  • Journal article
    Hamed A, Madani K, Von Holle B, Wright J, Milon JW, Bossick Met al., 2015,

    How much are Floridians willing to pay for protecting sea turtles from sea level rise?

    , Environmental Management, Vol: 57, Pages: 176-188, ISSN: 0364-152X

    Sea level rise (SLR) is posing a great inundationrisk to coastal areas. Some coastal nesting species, includingsea turtle species, have experienced diminished habitat fromSLR. Contingent valuation method (CVM) was used in aneffort to assess the economic loss impacts of SLR on sea turtlenesting habitats for Florida coasts; and to elicit values of willingnessto pay (WTP) of Central Florida residents to implementcertain mitigation strategies, which would protect Florida’s eastcoast sea turtle nesting areas. Using the open-ended anddichotomous choice CVM, we sampled residents of two Floridacommunities: Cocoa Beach and Oviedo. We estimated theWTP of households from these two cities to protect sea turtlehabitat to be between $42 and $57 per year for 5 years. Additionally,we attempted to assess the impact of the both therespondents’ demographics and their perception toward varioussituations on their WTP value. Findings include a negativecorrelation between the age of a respondent and the probabilityof an individual willing to pay the hypothetical WTP amount.We found that WTP of an individual was not dependent onprior knowledge of the effects of SLR on sea turtle habitat. Thegreatest indicators of whether or not an individual was willingto pay to protect sea turtle habitat were the respondents’ perceptionregarding the trustworthiness and efficiency of theparty which will implement the conservation measures andtheir confidence in the conservation methods used. Respondentswho perceive sea turtles having an effect on their life werealso more likely to pay.
  • Journal article
    Wheeler, Deledalle F, Tokmoldin N, Kirchartz T, Nelson J, Durrant Jet al., 2015,

    Influence of Surface Recombination on Charge-Carrier Kinetics in Organic Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells with Nickel Oxide Interlayers

    , Physical review applied, Vol: 4, ISSN: 2331-7019

    The choice of electrode for organic photovoltaics is known to be of importance to both device stability and performance, especially regarding the open-circuit voltage (VOC). Here we show that the work function of a nickel oxide anode, varied using an O2 plasma treatment, has a considerable influence on the open-circuit voltage VOC of an organic solar cell. We probe recombination in the devices using transient photovoltage and charge extraction to determine the lifetime as a function of charge-carrier concentration and compare the experimental results with numerical drift-diffusion simulations. This combination of experiment and simulations allows us to conclude that the variations in VOC are due to a change in surface recombination, localized at the NiO anode, although only a small change in carrier lifetime is observed.
  • Journal article
    Osipov S, Stenchikov G, Brindley H, Banks Jet al., 2015,

    Diurnal cycle of the dust instantaneous direct radiative forcing over the Arabian Peninsula

    , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol: 15, Pages: 9537-9553, ISSN: 1680-7324

    In this study we attempted to better quantify radiative effects of dust over the Arabian Peninsula and their dependence on input parameters. For this purpose we have developed a stand-alone column radiation transport model coupled with the Mie, T-matrix and geometric optics calculations and driven by reanalysis meteorological fields and atmospheric composition. Numerical experiments were carried out for a wide range of aerosol optical depths, including extreme values developed during the dust storm on 18–20 March 2012. Comprehensive ground-based observations and satellite retrievals were used to estimate aerosol optical properties, validate calculations and carry out radiation closure. The broadband surface albedo, fluxes at the bottom and top of the atmosphere as well as instantaneous dust radiative forcing were estimated both from the model and observations. Diurnal cycle of the shortwave instantaneous dust direct radiative forcing was studied for a range of aerosol and surface characteristics representative of the Arabian Peninsula. Mechanisms and parameters responsible for diurnal variability of the radiative forcing were evaluated. We found that intrinsic variability of the surface albedo and its dependence on atmospheric conditions, along with anisotropic aerosol scattering, are mostly responsible for diurnal effects.
  • Conference paper
    Mawhood RK, Gazis E, Hoefnagels R, De Jong S, Slade Ret al., 2015,

    Technological and commercial maturity of aviation biofuels: Emerging options to produce jet from lignocellulosic biomass

    , 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET 2015)

    The aviation sector is responsible for an increasing share of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Wider adoption of aviation biofuels (biojet) is imperative for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions, however it represents a radical departure from the existing technological regime of petroleum-based fuels. Further market deployment will require significant techno-economic breakthroughs, as well as adaptation of the existing supply chains and infrastructure.Although a large number of technologies which have the capability to produce such fuels are being developed, many of these are unlikely to be suitable for EU-based production in the short-term. Biojet production pathways vary considerably in terms of their techno-economic features, with the most highly developed being in the very early stages of commercialisation.In this article, the authors map current development and manufacturing efforts within five emerging biojet technological pathways. The research draws upon a comprehensive review of the international academic and grey literature in order to characterise the pathways according to their technological and commercial maturity, as well as progress towards international certification.By implementing the Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) methodology, the authors provide insights regarding not only the current status of the biojet sector, but also potential opportunities for the short-term development of supply chains in the EU.
  • Journal article
    Baran D, Vezie MS, Gasparini N, Deledalle F, Yao J, Schroeder BC, Bronstein H, Ameri T, Kirchartz T, McCulloch I, Nelson J, Brabec CJet al., 2015,

    Role of Polymer Fractionation in Energetic Losses and Charge Carrier Lifetimes of Polymer: Fullerene Solar Cells

    , JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, Vol: 119, Pages: 19668-19673, ISSN: 1932-7447
  • Journal article
    Moia D, Cappel UB, Leijtens T, Li X, Telford AM, Snaith HJ, O'Regan BC, Nelson J, Barnes PRFet al., 2015,

    The Role of Hole Transport between Dyes in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

    , Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol: 119, Pages: 18975-18985, ISSN: 1932-7447
  • Journal article
    Williams CK, Paul S, Romain C, Shaw Jet al., 2015,

    Sequence selective polymerization catalysis: A new route to ABA block copoly(ester-b-carbonate-b-ester)

    , Macromolecules, Vol: 48, Pages: 6047-6056, ISSN: 0024-9297

    The preparation of ABA type block copoly(ester-b-carbonate-b-ester) from a mixture of ε-caprolactone, cyclohexene oxide, and carbon dioxide monomers and using a single catalyst is presented. By using a dinuclear zinc catalyst, both the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone and the ring-opening copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide and carbon dioxide are achieved. The catalyst shows high selectivity, activity, and control in the ring-opening copolymerization, yielding poly(cyclohexene carbonate) polyols, i.e., α,ω-dihydroxyl end-capped polycarbonates. It also functions efficiently under immortal conditions, and in particular, the addition of various equivalents of water enables the selective preparation of polyols and control over the polymers’ molecular weights and dispersities. The catalyst is also active for the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone but only in the presence of epoxide, generating α,ω-dihydroxyl-terminated polycaprolactones. It is also possible to combine the two polymerization pathways and, by controlling the chemistry of the growing polymer chain-metal end group, to direct a particular polymerization pathway. Thus, in the presence of all three monomers, the selective ring-opening copolymerization occurs to yield poly(cyclohexene carbonate). Upon removal of the carbon dioxide, the polymerization cycle switches to ring-opening polymerization and a triblock copoly(caprolactone-b-cyclohexene carbonate-b-caprolactone) is produced. The ABA type block copolymer is fully characterized, including using various spectroscopic techniques, size exclusion chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry. The copolymers can be solvent cast to give transparent films. The copolymers show controllable glass transition temperatures from −54 to 34 °C, which are dependent on the block compositions.
  • Conference paper
    Wilson DJ, van de Flierdt T, Bridgestock LJ, Paul M, Rehkamper M, Robinson LF, Adkins JFet al., 2015,

    Exploring Pb isotopes in deep-sea corals: measurement by TIMS and application to the deglacial Southern Ocean

    , 25th Annual VM Goldschmidt Conference
  • Journal article
    Chakrabarti MH, Manan NSA, Brandon NP, Maher RC, Mjalli FS, AlNashef IM, Hajimolana SA, Hashim MA, Hussain MA, Nir Det al., 2015,

    One-pot electrochemical gram-scale synthesis of graphene using deep eutectic solvents and acetonitrile

    , CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, Vol: 274, Pages: 213-223, ISSN: 1385-8947
  • Journal article
    Yu W, Xu L, Graham N, Qu Jet al., 2015,

    Contribution of Fe3O4 nanoparticles to the fouling of ultrafiltration with coagulation pre-treatment

    , Scientific Reports, Vol: 5, ISSN: 2045-2322

    A coagulation (FeCl3)-ultrafiltration process was used to treat two different raw waters with/without the presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticle contaminants. The existence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the raw water was found to increase both irreversible and reversible membrane fouling. The trans-membrane pressure (TMP) increase was similar in the early stages of the membrane runs for both raw waters, while it increased rapidly after about 15 days in the raw water with Fe3O4 nanoparticles, suggesting the involvement of biological effects. Enhanced microbial activity with the presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles was evident from the measured concentrations of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and fluorescence intensities. It is speculated that Fe3O4 nanoparticles accumulated in the cake layer and increased bacterial growth. Associated with the bacterial growth is the production of EPS which enhances the bonding with, and between, the coagulant flocs; EPS together with smaller sizes of the nano-scale primary particles of the Fe3O4-CUF cake layer, led to the formation of a lower porosity, more resilient cake layer and membrane pore blockage.

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