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In this paper, the catalytic behaviour of carbonaceous system (Ccs) functionalized with –SO3H groups were studied in the etherification of refined (Gly) and crude glycerol (GlyC), with benzyl alcohol (BA). This Ccs was obtained by a synthetic method with low energetic cost in only 24 h. Its catalytic activity and selectivity were studied varying the catalyst percentage (2.5, 5 and 10 wt.%), the initial reactant molar ratio and temperature (between 80 and 120 °C). A very good catalytic performance was achieved (97 % conversion after 360 min of reaction), at 120 °C, Gly:BA = 3:1 and 10 wt.% of Ccs. The high activity can be attributed to high acid site density (6.4 mmol H+/g), that also allowed us to working at lower reaction temperature (100 °C) and with less catalyst concentration (2.5 wt.%), without observing significant loss in BA conversion. Monoether (ME1) was the major product of the reaction with 72 % selectivity. The material can be reused and still gives a notable conversion of BA (about 43 %) after three successive reuses. Finally, the Ccs was active and selective to the desired products in the etherification of crude glycerol (GlyC) derived of biodiesel industry. An important BA conversion (45 %) was obtained only reducing the water content of GlyC and without carrying out any other purification and/or neutralization treatment.

Zinc aluminate (ZnAl) was used as support to obtain a series of rhodium-modified Co-ZnAl catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of propane and naphthalene. The catalysts were characterized by various techniques including N2 adsorption (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), to correlate chemical and physical characteristics with catalytic properties. TPR and XPS techniques show the presence of segregated cobalt compounds, as well as cobalt species interacting with the support. Segregated cobalt species are considered responsible for the catalytic activity, due to their high reducibility. The addition of Rh promotes the reducibility of the cobalt compounds yielding to an increase in the surface content of Co2+. For propane oxidation, the best activity shown by the Rh(0.5)Co(5)-ZnAl sample could be associated with a synergic effect between rhodium and cobalt species. No specific effects were revealed due to the addition rhodium for the naphthalene oxidation.

This work presents the synthesis of platinum and silver nanoparticles obtained on a support composed of the S-layer protein (SLP) isolated from Lactobacillus kefiri and polyurethane particles (PU). The support was obtained by adsorption of the protein on the polymer particles in aqueous dispersion. After combining the support with the platinum or silver salts and subsequently reducing with hydrogen, noble metal-based heterogeneous bionanocatalysts were obtained. Platinum or silver nanoparticles with diameters dn = 4.9 nm (ds = 4.9 nm; dv/dn = 1.05) or dn = 8.0 nm (ds = 10.6 nm; dv/dn = 1.63), respectively, were observed by TEM on the surface of the protein/polymer supports. Both nanocatalysts showed excellent catalytic activity in the reduction of p-nitrophenol with NaBH4 at room temperature, with conversions of 100% and 97% for platinum and silver bionanocatalysts, respectively. Noteworthy, both bionanocatalysts maintain their activity until 4 reuse cycles, being the platinum-based system the one showing the best performance. These results demonstrated that the developed bionanocatalysts are promising and emerging alternatives in the field of supported noble metal nanoparticle-based heterogeneous catalysts.

Catalytic pyrolysis has been used to upgrading the quality of pyrolytic liquids. Herein, we report a comprehensive study on the catalytic pyrolysis of waste tires using Ni/SiO2 as catalysts. The analyses were carried out by combining thermogravimetry (TGA), TGA interfaced to a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (TGA–FTIR), and pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (Py–GC/MS) techniques. During waste tire decomposition, the main functional groups detected in the FTIR were alkenes, aromatics, and heteroatoms-containing groups such as nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Meanwhile, by Py–GC/MS were identified mainly D,L-limonene, isoprene, benzene, toluene, xylenes (BTX), and p-cymene. The Py–GC/MS experiments at three different temperatures (350, 400, and 450 °C) suggested an effect of the catalyst on product distribution. The Ni catalyst promoted cyclization reactions and subsequently aromatization, leading to an improved vapors composition. The use of iso-conversional kinetic models along with master plots allows proposing a multiple-step reaction mechanism, which was well described by the Avrami–Erofeev, Random Scission, and truncated Sestak–Berggren models. The values of activation energies show differences for the catalyzed and uncatalyzed pyrolysis (111.0 kJ mol−1 and 168.4 kJ mol−1), validating the effectivity of Ni/SiO2. Finally, the thermal Biot (> 1) and PyI and PyII numbers (10–3

It is known that the excess of oxyanions such as NO⁻₃ and BrO⁻₃ in drinking water affects its quality. In this work, three adsorbents (montmorillonite (Mt), silica (Si), and diatomaceous earth) loaded with hexadecyl- (H) and octadecyl-trimethylammonium (O) were used to remove these oxyanions from aqueous solutions by adsorption. In batch systems, the highest NO⁻₃ removal was obtained with Mt modified with H and O (Mt-H and Mt-O), attaining 33% and 50%, respectively, while for BrO⁻₃ removal Si modified with H and O, Si-H and Si-O samples, reached 38% and 42%, respectively. A direct relationship between the adsorption capacity of NO⁻₃ and BrO⁻₃ and the mass of the adsorbent was found in column filtration tests with Mt-O and Mt-H samples in standard solution and real groundwater samples. The adsorption capacity of the column, in the groundwater sample, remained constant after two reuses.The results obtained are promising for the development of a continuous oxyanion removal system containing the low-cost clay Mt modified with either H or O., Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas, Facultad de Ingeniería

Catalysts prepared on ZrO2, Al2O3 and ZrO2–Al2O3 (ZrAl-10) supported with Anderson heteropolyanion (RhMo6) as active phase were investigated for the elimination of NO3 − from water. Raman character...

International audience; Recent global-scale environmental issues from climate change to biodiversity loss are generating an intense social pressure on the scientific community [...]

Datos disponibles en https://github.com/fmsabatini/sPlotOpen_Code, EU H2020 project BACI, Grant No. 640176 (...), Sabatini, F.M., Lenoir, J., Hattab, T., Arnst, E.A., Chytrý, M., Dengler, J., De Ruffray, P., Hennekens, S.M., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Kattge, J., Levesley, A., Pillar, V.D., Purschke, O., Sandel, B., Sultana, F., Aavik, T., Aćić, S., Acosta, A.T.R., Agrillo, E., Alvarez, M., Apostolova, I., Arfin Khan, M.A.S., Arroyo, L., Attorre, F., Aubin, I., Banerjee, A., Bauters, M., Bergeron, Y., Bergmeier, E., Biurrun, I., Bjorkman, A.D., Bonari, G., Bondareva, V., Brunet, J., Čarni, A., Casella, L., Cayuela, L., Černý, T., Chepinoga, V., Csiky, J., Ćušterevska, R., De Bie, E., de Gasper, A.L., De Sanctis, M., Dimopoulos, P., Dolezal, J., Dziuba, T., El-Sheikh, M.A.E.-R.M., Enquist, B., Ewald, J., Fazayeli, F., Field, R., Finckh, M., Gachet, S., Galán-de-Mera, A., Garbolino, E., Gholizadeh, H., Giorgis, M., Golub, V., Alsos, I.G., Grytnes, J.-A., Guerin, G.R., Gutiérrez, A.G., Haider, S., Hatim, M.Z., Hérault, B., Hinojos Mendoza, G., Hölzel, N., Homeier, J., Hubau, W., Indreica, A., Janssen, J.A.M., Jedrzejek, B., Jentsch, A., Jürgens, N., Kącki, Z., Kapfer, J., Karger, D.N., Kavgacı, A., Kearsley, E., Kessler, M., Khanina, L., Killeen, T., Korolyuk, A., Kreft, H., Kühl, H.S., Kuzemko, A., Landucci, F., Lengyel, A., Lens, F., Lingner, D.V., Liu, H., Lysenko, T., Mahecha, M.D., Marcenò, C., Martynenko, V., Moeslund, J.E., Monteagudo Mendoza, A., Mucina, L., Müller, J.V., Munzinger, J., Naqinezhad, A., Noroozi, J., Nowak, A., Onyshchenko, V., Overbeck, G.E., Pärtel, M., Pauchard, A., Peet, R.K., Peñuelas, J., Pérez-Haase, A., Peterka, T., Petřík, P., Peyre, G., Phillips, O.L., Prokhorov, V., Rašomavičius, V., Revermann, R., Rivas-Torres, G., Rodwell, J.S., Ruprecht, E., Rūsiņa, S., Samimi, C., Schmidt, M., Schrodt, F., Shan, H., Shirokikh, P., Šibík, J., Šilc, U., Sklenář, P., Škvorc, Ž., Sparrow, B., Sperandii, M.G., Stančić, Z., Svenning, J.-C., Tang, Z., Tang, C.Q., Tsiripidis, I., Vanselow, K.A., Vásquez Martínez, R., Vassilev, K., Vélez-Martin, E., Venanzoni, R., Vibrans, A.C., Violle, C., Virtanen, R., von Wehrden, H., Wagner, V., Walker, D.A., Waller, D.M., Wang, H.-F., Wesche, K., Whitfeld, T.J.S., Willner, W., Wiser, S.K., Wohlgemuth, T., Yamalov, S., Zobel, M., Bruelheide, H.

This work presents the synthesis of platinum nanoparticles supported on S-layer protein/polymeric particle systems, obtained by combining proteins isolated from Lactobacillus kefiri and an aqueous dispersion of acrylic particles. FTIR spectra of the protein/polymer supports did not show changes in the Amide I band of the proteins, suggesting that proteins maintained their conformation after adsorption. The SAXS spectra and DLS results are consistent with the formation of a protein corona around the polymer particles. After combining the supports with the platinum complex and subsequently reducing the combination with hydrogen at mild conditions, we obtained colloidal nanocomposite materials. In these, platinum nanoparticles with diameters around 3 nm located on the surface of the protein/polymer supports were observed by TEM. The obtained nanosystems showed catalytic activity in the reduction of p-nitrophenol with NaBH4 at room temperature with conversions of 100% for reaction times of 50 to 70 min.

Palladium-modified Co-ZnAland Cu-ZnAl materials were used and found active for the catalytic oxidation of propene and propane. According to the results obtained by XRD, TPR and XPS, the zinc aluminate-supported phases are oxide phases, Co3O4, CuO and PdOx for Co-ZnAl, Cu-ZnAl and Pd-ZnAl catalysts, respectively. These reducible oxide species present good catalytic activity for the oxidation reactions. The addition of palladium to Co-ZnAl or Cu-ZnAl samples promoted the reducibility of the system and, consequently, produced a synergic effect which enhanced the activity for the propene oxidation. The PdCo-ZnAl sample was the most active and exhibited highly dispersed PdOx particles and surface structural defects. In addition, it exhibited good catalytic stability. The H2 pre-treated PdCu-ZnAl, PdCo-ZnAl and Pd-ZnAl samples showed higher activity than the original oxide catalysts, evidencing the important role of the oxidation state of the species, mainly of the palladium species, on the catalytic activity for the propene combustion. The synergic effect between metal transition oxides and PdOx could not be observed for the propane oxidation.

Metal catalysts based on Ni, Co, and Pd supported on SiO2 were evaluated in the catalytic pyrolysis of waste tires using pyrolysis experiments coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) and thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (TGA–FTIR) techniques. The effect of temperature and the nature of metals on the product distribution and reaction pathways was determined. Catalytic pyrolysis promoted aromatization and cracking reactions at particularly low temperatures ca. 350 °C, leading mainly to the formation of alkenes (isoprene), aromatic terpenes (p-cymene), aliphatic terpenes (d,l-limonene), and other aromatic compounds such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX). The Pd/SiO2 catalyst was the most selective toward aromatic compounds (around 40 %), owing to its well-known hydrogenation/dehydrogenation capacity, while CC bond cleavage reactions, leading to alkenes, were more favored on the Ni/SiO2 and Co/SiO2 catalysts. In all cases, high selectivity to limonene and isoprene was observed at low temperature. Above 400 °C, no significant differences in product distribution were observed between catalyzed and uncatalyzed pyrolysis. Herein, selectivity toward high-value hydrocarbons (i.e., d , l -limonene, isoprene, BTX, and p-cymene) during the catalytic pyrolysis of waste tires was tuned by the nature of the supported transition metals (i.e., Ni, Co, Pd) and the reaction temperature (e.g., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas

Aims: Biodiversity is traditionally studied mostly at the species level, but biogeographical and macroecological studies at higher taxonomic levels can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary processes at large spatial scales. Our aim was to assess the representation of vascular plant families within different vegetation formations across Europe. Location: Europe. Methods: We used a data set of 816,005 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA). For each plot, we calculated the relative species richness of each plant family as the number of species belonging to that family divided by the total number of species. We mapped the relative species richness, averaged across all plots in 50 km × 50 km grid cells, for each family and broad habitat groups: forests, grasslands, scrub and wetlands. We also calculated the absolute species richness and the Shannon diversity index for each family. Results: We produced 522 maps of mean relative species richness for a total of 152 vascular plant families occurring in forests, grasslands, scrub and wetlands. We found distinct spatial patterns for many combinations of families and habitat groups. The resulting series of 522 maps is freely available, both as images and GIS layers. Conclusions: The distinct spatial patterns revealed in the maps suggest that the relative species richness of plant families at the community level reflects the evolutionary history of individual families. We believe that the maps and associated data can inspire further biogeographical and macroecological studies and strengthen the ongoing integration of phylogenetic, functional and taxonomic diversity concepts., MV, IA, JPC, ZL, IK, AJ and MC were funded by the Czech Science Foundation, programme EXPRO (project no. 19-28491X); JDi by the Czech Science Foundation (18-02773S); IB and JAC by the Basque Government (IT936-16); AČ by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS, P1-0236); AK by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (project no. 2020.01/0140); JŠ by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV 16-0431); KV by the National Science Fund (Contract DCOST 01/7/19.10.2018).

Las nuevas exigencias en la educación superior se centran en la mejora del proceso educativo. En tal sentido, la integración de las TIC facilita aspectos relacionados con la mejora del trabajo individual, la autonomía del alumnado, la facilidad para el desarrollo de trabajos en equipo y colaborativos, la posibilidad de modificar y adaptar los métodos de evaluación y la interacción entre el profesorado y el alumnado. El objetivo de este trabajo es relatar cómo ha sido atravesar un proceso acelerado desde lo presencial a lo virtual, y su impacto positivo no sólo en el cuerpo docente sino también en los alumnos. El trabajo será abordado desde tres ejes: la importancia de la plataforma digital, la metodología llevada a cabo en las clases virtuales y la forma de evaluar a los alumnos. Concluimos que la pandemia aceleró un proceso que inexorablemente debía ocurrir y que nos llevó a replantearnos la forma de enseñar, acompañada por el uso de los TIC. En esta nueva modalidad el alumno asume un rol protagónico en el proceso de aprendizaje y el docente necesita disponer de nuevas herramientas para adaptarse. En tal sentido, resulta fundamental el apoyo de las instituciones con herramientas y formación continua., The new demands in higher education focus on improving the educational process. In this sense, the integration of ICT facilitates aspects related to the improvement of individual work, the autonomy of students, the ease of developing team and collaborative work, the possibility of modifying and adapting evaluation methods and the interaction between teachers and students. The objective of this work is to relate what it has been like to go through an accelerated process from the face-to-face to the virtual, and its positive impact not only on the teaching but also on the students. This work will be approached from three axes: the importance of the digital platform, the methodology carried out in the virtual classes and the way to evaluate the students. We conclude that the pandemic accelerated a process that inexorably had to occur and that led us to rethink the way of teaching, accompanied by the use of ICT. In this new modality the student assumes a leading role in the learning process and the teacher needs to have new tools to adapt. In this sense, the support of institutions with tools and continuous training is essential., Facultad de Informática

Palladium-modified Co-ZnAland Cu-ZnAl materials were used and found active for the catalytic oxidation of propene and propane. According to the results obtained by XRD, TPR and XPS, the zinc aluminate-supported phases are oxide phases, Co3O4, CuO and PdOx for Co-ZnAl, Cu-ZnAl and Pd-ZnAl catalysts, respectively. These reducible oxide species present good catalytic activity for the oxidation reactions. The addition of palladium to Co-ZnAl or Cu-ZnAl samples promoted the reducibility of the system and, consequently, produced a synergic effect which enhanced the activity for the propene oxidation. The PdCo-ZnAl sample was the most active and exhibited highly dispersed PdOx particles and surface structural defects. In addition, it exhibited good catalytic stability. The H2 pre-treated PdCu-ZnAl, PdCo-ZnAl and Pd-ZnAl samples showed higher activity than the original oxide catalysts, evidencing the important role of the oxidation state of the species, mainly of the palladium species, on the catalytic activity for the propene combustion. The synergic effect between metal transition oxides and PdOx could not be observed for the propane oxidation., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas

Pouteau, R., et al., [Aim] The number of naturalized (i.e. established) alien species has increased rapidly over recent centuries. Given the differences in environmental tolerances among species, little is known about what factors determine the extent to which the observed size of the naturalized range of a species and hence the extent to which the observed richness of naturalized species of a region approach their full potential. Here, we asked which region- and species-specific characteristics explain differences between observed and expected naturalizations. [Location] Global. [Time period] Present. [Major taxa studied] Vascular plants. [Methods] We determined the observed naturalized distribution outside Europe for 1,485 species endemic to Europe using the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database and their expected distributions outside Europe using species distribution models. First, we investigated which of seven socio-economic factors related to introduction pathways, anthropogenic pressures and inventory effort best explained the differences between observed and expected naturalized European floras. Second, we examined whether distributional features, economic use and functional traits explain the extent to which species have filled their expected ranges outside Europe. Results: In terms of suitable area, more than 95% of expected naturalizations of European plants were not yet observed. Species were naturalized in only 4.2% of their suitable regions outside of Europe (range filling) and in 0.4% of their unsuitable regions (range expansion). Anthropogenic habitat disturbance primarily explained the difference between observed and expected naturalized European floras, as did the number of treaties relevant to invasive species. Species of ornamental and economic value and with large specific leaf area performed better at filling and expanding beyond their expected range. Main conclusions: The naturalization of alien plant species is explained by climate matching but also by the regional level of human development, the introduction pressure associated with the ornamental and economic values of the species and their adaptation to disturbed environments., Robin Pouteau was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 31901176) and Taizhou University (2018YQ001). Carsten Meyer acknowledges funding by the Volkswagen Foundation through a Freigeist Fellowship (A118199), and additional support by iDiv, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG–FZT 118, 202548816). Petr Pyšek and Jan Pergl were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (EXPRO grant 19-28807X) and the Czech Academy of Sciences (long-term research development project RVO 67985939). Idoia Biurrun and Juan Antonio Campos were supported by the Basque Government (IT936-16). Gianmaria Bonari, Milan Chytrý, Ilona Knollová, Anna Kuzemko and Corrado Marcenò were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (19-28491X). Rosario G. Gavilán was supported by Madrid Government project REMEDINAL (P2018/EMT-4338). Jens-Christian Svenning considers this work a contribution to his VILLUM Investigator project ‘Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World’ funded by VILLUM FONDEN (16549). Mark van Kleunen was supported by the German Research Foundation DFG (264740629). The authors appreciate the helpful comments by three anonymous referees and the Handling Editor, Melodie A. McGeoch.

Aim: Ecoinformatics offer new opportunity to test islands as biogeographic and eco- logical models. In this paper we predicted three hypotheses: (1) plot-based data issu- ing from vegetation surveys can be used to predict Island Species-Area Relationships (ISARs) or island similarity; (2) the habitat area is an independent predictor of species richness patterns within island; (3) species richness and composition are more de- pendent on habitat type than island identity in land-bridge islands. Area: Tuscan Archipelago, Italy. Methods: We assembled a database of all the vegetation plots available for the archi- pelago. For the first hypothesis we calculated ISARs, using Arrhenius model, and Beta Diversity, using Jaccard dissimilarity, on both published floras and cumulative plot data. For the second hypothesis, we modelled Habitat Species-Area Relationships (HSARs), using Arrhenius model. For the third hypothesis, we used additive partition- ing of species richness, NMDS and PERMANOVA. Results: Island Species-Area Relationships based on plot data mirrored those on pub- lished floras, but absolute values of c and z parameters were different. Beta diversity based on plot data resembled those of published floras, but was higher. Species rich- ness was significantly related to the habitat area. The total species richness of the archipelago was linked to large scale drivers, such as island identity, while plot species composition was driven by both habitat type and island identity. Conclusions: Data assembled issuing from vegetation surveys are useful to describe biogeographic patterns. Species richness in the archipelago is driven by spatial fac- tors such as the amount of habitats and the differences among islands, while the spe- cies composition of local assemblages is largely driven by habitat filters rather than by island identity, as expected in land-bridge islands.

Research on nanoparticles obtained on biological supports is a topic of growing interest in nanoscience, especially regarding catalytic applications. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been studied due to their low toxicity, but they tend to aggregation, oxidation, and low stability. In this work, we synthesized and characterized AgNPs supported on S-layer proteins (SLPs) as bidimensional regularly arranged biotemplates. By different reduction strategies, six AgNPs of variable sizes were obtained on two different SLPs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that SLPs are mostly decorated by evenly distributed AgNPs, however, a drastic reduction by NaBH4 led to large AgNPs whereas a smooth reduction with H2 or H2/NaBH4 at low concentration leads to smaller AgNPs, regardless of the SLP used as support. All the nanosystems showed conversion values between 75&ndash, 80% of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol, however, the increment in the AgNPs size led to a great decrease in Kapp showing the influence of reduction strategy in the performance of the catalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the adsorption of p-nitrophenolate species through the nitro group is the most favored mechanism, leading to p-aminophenol as the only feasible product of the reaction, which was corroborated experimentally.

Aim The EUNIS Habitat Classification is a widely used reference framework for European habitat types (habitats), but it lacks formal definitions of individual habitats that would enable their unequivocal identification. Our goal was to develop a tool for assigning vegetation-plot records to the habitats of the EUNIS system, use it to classify a European vegetation-plot database, and compile statistically-derived characteristic species combinations and distribution maps for these habitats. Location Europe. Methods We developed the classification expert system EUNIS-ESy, which contains definitions of individual EUNIS habitats based on their species composition and geographic location. Each habitat was formally defined as a formula in a computer language combining algebraic and set-theoretic concepts with formal logical operators. We applied this expert system to classify 1,261,373 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and other databases. Then we determined diagnostic, constant and dominant species for each habitat by calculating species-to-habitat fidelity and constancy (occurrence frequency) in the classified data set. Finally, we mapped the plot locations for each habitat. Results Formal definitions were developed for 199 habitats at Level 3 of the EUNIS hierarchy, including 25 coastal, 18 wetland, 55 grassland, 43 shrubland, 46 forest and 12 man-made habitats. The expert system classified 1,125,121 vegetation plots to these habitat groups and 73,188 to other habitats, while 63,064 plots remained unclassified or were classified to more than one habitat. Data on each habitat were summarized in factsheets containing habitat description, distribution map, corresponding syntaxa and characteristic species combination. Conclusions EUNIS habitats were characterized for the first time in terms of their species composition and distribution, based on a classification of a European database of vegetation plots using the newly developed electronic expert system EUNIS-ESy. The data provided and the expert system have considerable potential for future use in European nature conservation planning, monitoring and assessment. The previous versions of the expert system and related reports were produced within a contract from the European Environment Agency to Wageningen Environmental Research and Masaryk University. The opinions expressed are those of the contractor and do not represent the Agency's official position. EVA data management and preparation of this paper were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project no. 19-28491X to MC, LT, IK, TP, CM, JDa, MH, PN, DZ, GB, AJ, AKu, ZL and DV). IB and JAC were supported by the Basque Government (project no. T936-16). TB, ET, and LK were supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (TB and ET project no. AAAA-A18-118052590019-7; LK project no. AAAA-A19-119012490096-2).

The removal of the acidity produced by the presence of volatile organic acids in bio-oils, such as acetic acid, assisted by heterogeneous catalysts was investigated. For this purpose, CaO and alumina-supported catalysts were prepared, and silver nanoparticles were used as promoter. The prepared catalysts, both fresh and post-reaction, were characterized by several techniques: N2 physisorption (BET), SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, and TPR. All catalysts were tested in the elimination of acetic acid, employing two different reaction systems: batch microreactors and a pressurized batch reactor. An appreciable CH3COOH elimination of ~60%–70% was obtained at low temperature (150–200 °C) using the CaO-Al2O3 system. The addition of silver improved the removal percentage. Silver-supported catalysts were also tested in a pressure-controlled system, achieving an excellent percentage of acetic acid removed (~97.5%). Silver would promote the incipient reactions of catalytic ketonization and aldol condensation.

From the Bronze Age the increase of human pressure such the livestock farming, crops harvesting, forests exploitation and the coming of the widespread urbanization, after the Roman Empire, have intensely transformed the woodlands in the Mediterranean basin. Mediterranean landscapes are profoundly different from the original ones prior to large-scale human degradation. The vast impenetrable forests have mostly been replaced by fragmented patches and by a sparse vegetation. Nevertheless, it remains a biodiverse landscape where waves of colonization left remnants of original forests that can provide clues for restoration of Mediterranean evergreen oak forests.

Background Biogeographical units are widely adopted in ecological research and nature conservation management, even though biogeographical regionalisation is still under scientific debate. The European Environment Agency provided an official map of the European Biogeographical Regions (EBRs), which contains the official boundaries used in the Habitats and Birds Directives. However, these boundaries bisect cells in the official EU 10 km × 10 km grid used for many purposes, including reporting species and habitat data, meaning that 6881 cells overlap two or more regions. Therefore, superimposing the EBRs vector map over the grid creates ambiguities in associating some cells with European Biogeographical Regions. New information To provide an operational tool to unambiguously define the boundaries of the eleven European Biogeographical Regions, we provide a specifically developed raster map of Grid-Based European Biogeographical Regions (GB-EBRs). In this new map, the borders of the EBRs are reshaped to coherently match the standard European 10 km × 10 km grid imposed for reporting tasks by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive and used for many other datasets. We assign each cell to the EBR with the largest area within the cell. publishedVersion

In this paper, the catalytic behaviour of two different carbonaceous systems, commercial carbon (Cc) and synthetic carbon (Cs) functionalized with concentrated sulfuric acid (–SO₃H) and with reduced aryl diazonium salt (–PhSO₃H), was studied in the etherification of glycerol (Gly) with benzyl alcohol (BA). The catalytic activity and selectivity were studied varying the catalyst percentage (5, 10 and 15 wt%) and the initial reactant mass ratio. Taking into account the results obtained, the experimental conditions selected to continue with the catalytic studies were: temperature 393 K, Gly:BA molar ratio 3:1 and a catalyst loading of 10 wt%. Mono- and diethers were the main products. For the Cc-based catalysts, higher conversion (66%) and selectivity (90%) were obtained with the most acidic system, Cc–PhSO₃H. Changing the carbon functionalization method (–PhSO₃H for –SO₃H groups) produced a considerable increase in glycerol conversion (from 23 to 66%) and in selectivity to ME + DE (from 62 to 90%). On the other hand, for both Cs-based systems a great increase in performance was obtained, about 95% conversion after 360 min of reaction. Monoether was the major product of the reaction with a selectivity of 79% for Cs–SO₃H and 87% for Cs–PhSO₃H, which was maintained with reuse. Etherification of glycerol (Gly) with benzyl alcohol (BA) with two carbonaceous systems synthesized in the laboratory and functionalized with –SO₃H and –PhSO₃H., Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas

Annex I habitat types are a key factor for biodiversity conservation in Europe and distribution maps are essential for assessing their conservation status. We aim to increase the responsiveness to habitat knowledge needs and to propose the use of data collected at local scale for assessing a key indicator such as the Area of Occupancy (AOO) of habitats. In this paper, starting from the 4th Report of Habitats Directive data, we present a multi-source approach that allows national habitat distribution maps to be refined and their AOO estimated, by combining certified available information on habitat maps and vegetation databases. For the first time a comprehensive up-to-date knowledge on habitat distribution at national scale is now available; our approach will be an essential tool for the implementation of the Habitats Directive and to achieve the goals of EU biodiversity strategy in Italy.

In the present work, the elimination of NO3-, NO2- and BrO3- in distilled and groundwater samples using H2 as reducing agent is studied. For this purpose, PdCu-based catalysts were prepared on CeO2 pure and modified with 10 % of ZrO2 supports. The prepared catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption, SEM-EDS, XRD, TPR, RAMAN, FTIR and XPS. The results showed that the materials obtained were mesoporous, exposing the cubic CeO2 crystalline phase. Raman and FTIR analysis allow corroborating that both supports have oxygen vacancies, being higher in the ZrCe support, due to the presence of Zr4+ ions in the CeO2 lattice. All the prepared catalysts were active in the elimination of the selected oxyanions, showing high selectivities (>99 %) towards the product of interest (N2 and Br−), especially the catalyst PdCu/10ZrCe. This catalyst presented the highest oxyanion removal rate, which is higher for NO3− elimination (V0,NO3-: 5.6; V0,BrO3-:.0.93). In the reduction stage, Ce4+ is reduced to Ce3+, generating oxygen vacancies at the metal-support interface. It is postulated that the reduction of the anions occurs by interaction of the oxygen atoms of the NO3−, NO2− or BrO3− species with the oxygen-vacant sites generated. The addition of Zr on ceria support increases its ability to activate anions and reduce them. PdCu/10ZrCe catalyst was also tested using groundwater. The conversion results obtained were promising, 60 % for NO2−, 70 % for NO3− and 27 % for BrO3−., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos Aires

Rendiconti Lincei has dedicated a Special Issue to present a number of case studies highlighting the role played by the European Vegetation Survey Working Group established by Sandro Pignatti and his colleagues in support to the implementation of the Habitats Directive. Studies include theoretical analyses as well as researches conducted at different spatial and temporal scales focused on the assessment and monitoring of the conservation status of habitats and target plant species, identification of new habitats and subtypes, and their diagnostic species.

The removal of NO3− from water was performed and compared among four organo-montmorillonites (OMt) with quaternary amine surfactants of different chain lengths [octadecyl trimethyl-(ODTMA), hexadecyl trimethyl-(HDTMA), tetradecyl trimethyl-(TDTMA) and dodecyl trimethyl-ammonium (DDTMA)] and loadings [100%, 200%, 400% of the Mt cation exchange capacity (CEC)]. The maximum adsorption of NO3− was attained by the long chain length surfactants (64 and 100 mg NO3− ions per gram of OMt, for HDTMA and ODTMA, respectively) with initial loading of 400% with respect to the CEC of Mt. The short chain length surfactants (DDTMA and TDTMA) did not show adsorption of NO3− except for TDTMA 400 sample. The NO3− adsorption produced a slight expansion of the interlayer thickness of the OMt samples loaded with long-chain surfactants that was assigned to the entrance of NO3− by a synergic effect with these surfactants. The decrease of the negative zeta potential, found for OMt samples relative to that of Mt sample, was attributed to the surfactant chain length rather than to the actual surfactant loaded amounts, which allowed attaining positive zeta potential values for the OMt loaded with long-chain surfactants. The NO3− adsorption on OMt samples caused a slight decrease in the positive zeta potential values, reflecting the external surface coating by NO3−. For long-chain molecules, this behaviour also indicated the formation of greater interactions such as ion pairs between the positive polar group of the surfactant and NO3− ions., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas, Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica

This work presents the physicochemical characterization and activity of zirconia-supported silver catalysts for the oxidation of pollutants present in diesel engine exhaust (propane, propene, naphthalene and soot). A series of silver-supported catalysts AgxZ (x = 1, 5 and 10 wt.%, Z = zirconia) were prepared, which were studied by various characterization techniques. The results show that silver is mainly found under the form of small metal nanoparticles (&lt, 10 nm) dispersed over the support. The metallic phase coexists with the AgOx oxidic phases. Silver is introduced onto the zirconia, generating Ag&ndash, ZrO2 catalysts with high activity for the oxidation of propene and naphthalene. These catalysts also show some activity for soot combustion. Silver species can contribute with zirconia in the catalytic redox cycle, through a synergistic effect, providing sites that facilitate the migration and availability of oxygen, which is favored by the presence of structural defects. This is a novel application of the AgOx&ndash, Ag/ZrO2 system in the combustion reaction of propene and naphthalene. The results are highly promising, given that the T50 values found for both model molecules are quite low.

This paper focuses on the preparation and characterization of CaO, MgO and ZnO, both bulk and supported on γ-Al2O3 and their catalytic activity in the transesterification of soybean oil and castor oil with methanol and butanol in order to produce biodiesel. XRD, SEM, CO2-adsorption followed by TGA and N2 adsorption have been employed to characterize the prepared catalysts. In supported catalysts, the presence of γ-Al2O3 improves alcohol dissociation on the superficial basic sites. The first step of the reaction mechanism is then favored (hydrogen abstraction). In the transesterification of castor oil with butanol, MgO/γ -Al2O3 and ZnO/γ-Al2O3 catalysts showed high yields to FABE (Fatty Acid Butyl Ester) (97% and 85%, respectively). These last catalysts constitute an efficient alternative for obtaining second-generation biodiesel, taking into account that castor oil is a nonedible source and butanol is an alcohol that can be obtained from biomass., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas

This work reports the synthesis of PtGe chiral catalysts using organogermanium compounds containing (−)-menthyl groups as substituents. Chiral inducers were carefully synthesized and characterized in order to obtain optically pure compounds.PtGe catalysts were prepared through a controlled surface reaction between the supported transition metal and the organometallic compound. This technique leads to reproducible and well defined phases. The catalysts were employed in liquid phase enantioselective hydrogenation of 3,4-hexanedione.The obtained systems were active (95% conversion) and enantioselective (enantiomeric excess of 25% for 4-hydroxy-3-hexanone and 10% for 3,4-hexanediol). These results are very encouraging as they are comparable to those obtained previously by our group with similar PtSn catalysts and those reported for classical Pt/cinchonidine systems.The organogermanium compounds presented here have advantages over their tin analogs, mainly due to their greater stability and nontoxicity. Fil: Vetere, Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Faraoni, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentina Fil: Podestá, Julio Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentina Fil: Casella, Mónica Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina

A detailed study on the preparation of bimetallic PtSn/C catalysts using surfacecontrolled synthesis methods, and on their catalytic performance in the glycerol steam reforming reaction has been carried out. In order to obtain these well-defined bimetallic phases, techniques derived from Surface Organometallic Chemistry of Metals (SOMC/M) were used. The preparation process involved the reaction between an organometallic compound ((C4H9)4Sn) and a supported transition metal (Pt) in a H2 atmosphere. Catalysts with Sn/Pt atomic ratios of 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 were obtained, and characterized using several techniques: ICP, H2 chemisorption, TEM and XPS. These systems were tested in the glycerol steam reforming varying the reaction conditions (glycerol concentration and reaction temperature). The best performance was observed for the catalysts with the lowest tin contents (PtSn0.2/C and PtSn0.3/C). It was observed that the presence of tin increased the catalysts’ stability when working under more severe reaction conditions., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas

The conservation of habitat types has been recognized to be of relevant importance for the conservation of biodiversity and is a major concern in the European Union. With the 92/43/EEC Habitats Directive, the European Commission targeted these habitat types, which conservation must be ensured by Member States. In this context, the Habitat type 9330 “Quercus suber forests” is intended to ensure the conservation of cork oak woodlands in Europe. To support the enhancement of nature conservation policies, in this study we provide a classification of cork oak woodlands in Europe using a large vegetation database. We identify four major groups with clear biogeographic differences and characterize them by lists of indicator species. We also provide distribution maps based on occurrence data and the modelled potential area of distribution as an additional tool for conservation. This study offers a contribution to the comparative description of the European Q. suber woodlands subtypes and to establish a protocol for habitat monitoring and assessment.

International audience; Aim. We investigate whether (1) environmental predictors allow to delineate the distribution of discrete community types at the continental scale and (2) how data completeness influences model generalization in relation to the compositional variation of the modelled entities. Location. Europe. Methods. We used comprehensive datasets of two community types of conservation concern in Europe: acidophilous beech forests and base‐rich fens. We computed community distribution models (CDMs) calibrated with environmental predictors to predict the occurrence of both community types, evaluating geographical transferability, interpolation and extrapolation under different scenarios of sampling bias. We used generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM) to assess the role of geographical and environmental drivers in compositional variation within the predicted distributions. Results. For the two community types, CDMs computed for the whole study area provided good performance when evaluated by random cross‐validation and external validation. Geographical transferability provided lower but relatively good performance, while model extrapolation performed poorly when compared with interpolation. Generalized dissimilarity modelling showed a predominant effect of geographical distance on compositional variation, complemented with the environmental predictors that also influenced habitat suitability. Main conclusions. Correlative approaches typically used for modelling the distribution of individual species are also useful for delineating the potential area of occupancy of community types at the continental scale, when using consistent definitions of the modelled entity and high data completeness. The combination of CDMs with GDM further improves the understanding of diversity patterns of plant communities, providing spatially explicit information for mapping vegetation diversity and related habitat types at large scales.

The investigation and development of technologies to remediate water contaminated with NO3 − are constantly increasing. An economically and potentially effective alternative is based on the catalytic hydrogenation of NO3 − to N2. With this objective, bimetallic RhMo6 catalysts based on Anderson-type heteropolyanion (RhMo6O24H6)3− were prepared and characteri3ed in order to obtain well-defined bimetallic catalyst. The catalysts were supported on Al2O3 with different textural properties and on silica. The heteropolyanion-support interaction was analysed by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The differences obtained in activity and selectivity to the different products can be assigned to the different interaction between the RhMo6 Anderson phase and the supports. The RhMo6/G, (G: γ-Al2O3) system showed the best catalytic performance. This catalyst exhibited the lowest reduction temperature of Rh and Mo in the TPR assay and a Rh/Mo surface ratio similar to that of the original phase, as observed by XPS analysis. These studies allowed us to verify a synergic effect between Rh and Mo, through which Mo reducibility was promoted by the presence of the noble metal. The catalytic activity was favoured by the active sites generated from the Anderson phase. This fact was confirmed by comparing the activity of RhMo6/Gwith that corresponding to a conventional catalyst prepared through successive impregnation of both Rh (III) and Mo (VI) salts., Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas, Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos Aires

Catalytic reduction of aromatic ketones is an interesting reaction that leads to the obtaining of alcohols. Some of these alcohols are employed as intermediaries to produce chemical fine compounds. The bimetallic catalysts are widely used in the chemoselective hydrogenation. The Surface Organometallic Chemistry on Metals (SOMC/M) is a methodology employed to obtain bimetallic systems. In the present work the hydrogenation of ketones derived from acetophenone has been studied. The aim was observe the effect on activity and selectivity to aromatic alcohols by the presence of substituents in the ring. The chemical characteristics of substituents groups could influence the way aromatic ketones are absorbed on the metallic surface. This fact can be explained by a combination of geometric and electronic effects.

The aqueous phase hydrogenation (APH) of furfural was studied over carbon-supported monometallic Ru and bimetallic RuSn catalysts at 90 °C and 1.25 MPa. Tin was added via Surface Organometallic Chemistry on Metals techniques and its effect was a function of the Sn/Ru atomic ratio. Thus, the addition of Sn in a Sn/Ru ratio of 0.4 promoted the C[dbnd]O hydrogenation reaching a selectivity towards furfuryl alcohol over 85% throughout the course of the reaction. A higher concentration of tin does not improve the situation. It seems to be a compromise between the dilution of Ru sites, active for the hydrogenation reaction, and the promoting effect of Sn. TEM, TPR and XPS characterization indicate the strong interaction between Ru and Sn in all the bimetallic catalysts. Finally, the reuse of the catalyst was analyzed. Fil: Musci, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Merlo, Andrea Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas ; Argentina Fil: Casella, Mónica Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas ; Argentina

In this work, platinum bionanocatalysts using S-layer proteins isolated from two strains of Lactobacillus kefiri as template were obtained. TEM and STEM images evidenced that Pt/CBS8348 shows a P6-array while Pt/CBS83111 does not show any defined array. Noteworthy, nanometric and subnanometric Pt clusters were observed in both Pt/CBS8348 and Pt/CBS83111 catalysts, with an average metal particle size estimated by TEM of 3.62 and 3.88 nm, respectively. Also, Pt/CBS8348 showed a higher number of dispersed Pt single atoms than Pt/CBS83111. Both Pt bionanocatalysts showed an excellent performance in the reduction of p-nitrophenol, reaching conversion values close to 65-70% in 15 min. Besides, both Pt/CBS8348 and Pt/CBS83111 were successfully reused nine times, maintaining conversion values between 75 and 90%. Fil: Bolla, Patricia Araceli. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Sanz, Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Huggias, Sofia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Ruggera, José Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Serradell, María de los Ángeles. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Cátedra de Microbiología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Casella, Mónica Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina

Monometallic Pd and bimetallic Pd?Cu catalysts supported on alumina, zirconia and ZrO2?Al2O3 mixed oxides of different composition were prepared and evaluated in the catalytic denitrification of water. The supports were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX), NH3-adsorption thermogravimetry and specific surface areas measured by the BET method. XRD studies showed that the predominant phase in the ZrO2-modified Al2O3 supports is the metastable tetragonal phase (57%) of zirconia. SEM/EDX results indicated that ZrO2 crystals are distributed homogeneously on the supports. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) experiments carried out on bimetallic PdCu catalysts showed that Pd is well dispersed on the modified supports and that there is a strong interaction between both metals. The modification of Al2O3 by the addition of ZrO2 not only improved the activity but also the selectivity to N2 of the PdCu catalysts. Fil: Jaworski, María Angélica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Lick, Ileana Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Siri, Guillermo Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ingenieria; Argentina Fil: Casella, Monica Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina