VITO

The present invention is related to a process for reduction of carbon oxides and to materials and devices for performing the said process. In particular, the present invention is related etched electrochemically active particles and a method of production thereof, an electrode comprising the etched electrochemically active particles, a method of production of the electrode, a flow cell electrolyzer including the electrode and the process for reduction of carbon oxides using the flow cell electrolyzer.

The present invention is related to the field of membrane electrode assembly manufacture. It provides a method for true zero-gap membrane electrode assembly, comprising casting an electrode slurry onto an electrode separator slurry or an electrode separator to form a combination (100), followed by a phase inversion step that induces the formation of the membrane electrode assembly in situ (102). The electrode separator can be a polymeric, polymer-inorganic composite, cation exchange, anion exchange, bipolar or amphoteric membrane. The electrode slurry may include an anode or cathode slurry, and can contain a catalyst, binder, or conductive material. The phase inversion step involves exposing the combination to a non-solvent, such as water or alcohols, at temperatures ranging from about -10 °C to about 100 °C.

The present invention relates to a method for producing a carbonatable binder composition comprising a mixed Ca-Mg silicate, comprising heating a reactive mixture to a temperature between 800 °C and 1400 °C. The reactive mixture comprises between 40 and 90 % by weight of a mineral source material comprising a Mg-comprising silicate, and between 60 and 10 % by weight of a Ca-comprising compound, wherein the percentage by weight of each component of the reactive mixture is based on the total weight of the reactive mixture, wherein the molar ratio of elemental Mg to elemental Si in the mineral source material is between 5:1 and 1:5, wherein the Ca-comprising compound is capable of reacting with the Mg-comprising silicate, and wherein the mineral source material comprises equal to or lower than 10 % by weight of Al, based on the total weight of the mineral source material, wherein the amount of AI is expressed as AI oxide in the mineral source material. The invention further relates to a carbonatable binder composition comprising at least 15 % by weight of akermanite.

The present disclosure relates to a system and computer-implemented method for thermal characterization of buildings to assist in thermal assessment and/or control. A novel approach combining black-box and grey-box modeling techniques is integrated. Initially, a black-box fit is employed to generate model parameters based on training data specific to a building. These parameters are then used to establish initial parameters for a grey-box model through a parameter mapping process, which translates black-box model parameters into an equivalent set of grey-box model parameters while employing predefined equations and constraints to align the grey-box model with outcomes from the black-box model. The grey-box model parameters are further refined iteratively by fitting them against observed data using optimization techniques. This refinement aims to minimize discrepancies between model predictions and actual observations, with constraints imposed on the black-box model parameters to restrict the solution space during modeling.

A method for depolymerizing rigid polymeric polyurethane (PUR) or polyisocyanurate (PIR) foams involves grinding the foams to form a powder, adding the powder to liquid aliphatic amines to obtain a reaction mixture, and performing an aminolysis reaction on the reaction mixture under an inert atmosphere at elevated temperatures and extended incubation times. The process allows for the recovery of polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDA) in high purity and high yields from the depolymerized foams. The method also includes recovering PMDA by precipitation and using it as a precursor to obtain polymeric methylene diisocyanate (PMDI) for the synthesis of PUR and PIR foams.

The present invention generally relates to the field of metal catalyzed depolymerization, and in particular provides a method for reductive depolymerization of polymer compositions containing polycarbonate in the presence of a heterogeneous metal catalyst. The present invention also provides a heterogeneous nickel catalyst suitable for reductive depolymerization of polymers, a method to prepare the catalyst, as well as use of the catalyst in reductive depolymerization methods.

A method and system for identifying parameters of an electrochemical model for characterization and/or operational management of batteries. Battery performance data is collected under various conditions, applying an electrochemical model to simulate battery chemistry and degradation. The model parameters are segmented into subsets related to specific conditions and aging effects. An optimization framework then estimates each subset of parameters by resolving individual optimization problems based on the performance data. These estimated parameters are used to refine the electrochemical model, which is subsequently employed for further characterization and management of batteries.

The present invention relates to a method for removing lithium from a lithium comprising solution comprising contacting a lithium comprising solution with an adsorbent comprising an ion-exchange material comprising one or more of Ti, Mn and Zr, thereby obtaining a lithium comprising adsorbent and a lithium depleted solution, and contacting the lithium comprising adsorbent with an elution solution comprising a pH buffer solution configured to buffer the pH of the elution solution at a value between 1.5 and 7, thereby eluting the lithium from the lithium comprising adsorbent into the elution solution, thereby obtaining a lithium comprising elution solution and the adsorbent.

The present invention relates to a reactor for carbonating particles of a granular mineral material comprising: a gas supply and a carbonatable material supply configured to supply a COz-comprising gas and particles of a granular mineral material, respectively, to a reaction chamber having a rounded cross-section and comprising a first and a second inlet fluidly connected to the carbonatable material supply and the gas supply, respectively; a first outlet configured to remove carbonated particles having a first size from the reaction chamber; and vortex inducing means configured to, in use, induce a vortex-shaped flow to the CO<2>-comprising gas and to entrain particles having a first size from the first inlet towards the first outlet. The invention further relates to a method for carbonating particles of a granular mineral material.

The present invention relates to a method for applying a protective layer to a surface of a substrate, the surface comprising a metallic element or an alloy thereof, in particular wherein the metallic element is an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. The present invention is further related to an article comprising such a substrate and a protective layer arranged on or covering at least part of the substrate. The invention is further related to an electrode comprising the article, in particular an anode, and to a battery (cell) comprising the electrode.