Platinum nanoparticles supported on highly porous activated carbon could evolve H₂ from decalin efficiently under nucleate boiling conditions, heated at 280°C. Decalin inside the support-carbon nanopores could be superheated, owing to the short-distance attractive force in terms of Lennard–Jones potential. Catalysts immersed with excess decalin, however, lost the abilities of both superheating and dehydrogenation reactivities. Compact hydrogen-liberation system would become designable by adopting proper catalyst solid-substrate liquid ratio as well as volume for contact. On account of merits of decalin, i.e., high H₂ density, sufficient safety and modest economy as liquid organic hydrogen carrier, its addition to methylcyclohexane is proposed. Both H₂-content increase and MCH-volatility decrease are desirable to oversea transportation from renewable-endowed areas.

By electrolyzing sulfuric acid, two types of oxidative active species, peroxomonosulfuric acid and peroxodisulfuric acid, are generated without the addition of hydrogen peroxide. We are developing a technology to decompose only the resin component of waste CFRP into CO2 and water using this highly oxidative liquid obtained by electrolyzing sulfuric acid, allowing for the recycling of carbon fibers as continuous fibers. This technology is referred to as the “Electrolytic Sulfuric Acid Method.” To construct this process, it is necessary to determine the amount and rate of matrix resin decomposition required to extract carbon fibers from the source CFRP pressure tank and to estimate the time needed for this extraction. Despite detailed studies on the generation of oxidative active species by the electrolysis of sulfuric acid, there has been a lack of comprehensive investigation into the decomposition of CFRP matrix resin.Therefore, this paper aims to simulate the amount of matrix resin decomposition necessary for extracting carbon fibers, determine the resin decomposition rate through experiments, and use these results to calculate the extraction speed of carbon fibers. As a result of our study, it was found that by decomposing and removing the matrix resin until the carbon fiber embedding rate in the matrix resin reaches 60%, the carbon fiber can be extracted with minimal force. Additionally, by combining the experimentally determined decomposition rate of the CFRP resin component with the previous simulation results, it was estimated that the continuous extraction speed of carbon fiber from the CFRP pressure tank is 60.94 m/min. This finding provides critical information for designing practical processes. Furthermore, the examination method combining the current simulation and experimental results is widely applicable to practical development, and it is expected to contribute to the future advancement of industrial fields.

Various health functions have been reported for β-cryptoxanthin (BCX), which is abundantly contained in citrus fruits. As BCX is a poorly water-soluble and chemically unstable carotene, formulation techniques for increased dispersibility in digestive fluids and stability is desired to improve oral bioavailability. In this study, an O/W emulsion was prepared using an oil phase containing BCX extracted from tangerine juice residue and an aqueous phase containing sodium caseinate (CasNa) and sucrose fatty acid ester (L-1695). The emulsion was then subjected to membrane emulsification using a Shirasu porous glass (SPG) membrane with a uniform pore size. The resulting emulsion was of monodisperse particle size and was lyophilized to obtain a solid dispersion. For the solid dispersion, the water dispersibility and thermal stability of BCX were significantly improved, and the particle size was also monodisperse. In order to evaluate the oral bioavailability of BCX, cell membrane permeation and accumulation tests for the BCX formulation after pseudo-digestion were performed using Caco-2 cell monolayer membranes. Cell membrane permeation of BCX was not confirmed, however, the amount of BCX accumulated in Caco-2 cells was increased by the formulation.

In this study, we investigated the strength improvement of anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) by applying Yttria-Stabilized Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystals (Y-TZP) to enhance the reliability for scaling up solid oxide cell stacks used in high-efficiency power generation and steam electrolysis. While Y-TZP exhibits high mechanical strength, it is prone to a phase transformation from the tetragonal phase (T-phase) to the monoclinic phase (M-phase) under humid or hydrothermal conditions at relatively low temperatures of 100–400°C, which may lead to mechanical degradation due to volumetric expansion. In this research, we fabricated and tested Ni-3YSZ (3 mol%Y₂O₃–97 mol%ZrO₂) anode-supported sample aiming to find optimal conditions. The results demonstrated that under sintering conditions at 1285 to 1300°C, it was possible to suppress strength degradation due to hydrothermal aging while achieving improved strength compared to conventional methods. Although it requires lowering the sintering temperature, this study suggests the potential application of Ni-3YSZ support for SOFC and SOEC systems.