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	Author	Faust, V.; Boon, N.; Ganigué, R.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Udert, K.M.
	Title	Optimizing control strategies for urine nitrification : narrow pH control band enhances process stability and reduces nitrous oxide emissions			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2023	Publication	Frontiers in environmental science	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	11	Issue		Pages	1275152-14
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Nitrification is well-suited for urine stabilization. No base dosage is required if the pH is controlled within an appropriate operating range by urine feeding, producing an ammonium-nitrate fertilizer. However, the process is highly dependent on the selected pH set-points and is susceptible to process failures such as nitrite accumulation or the growth of acid-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. To address the need for a robust and reliable process in decentralized applications, two different strategies were tested: operating a two-position pH controller (inflow on/off) with a narrow pH control band at 6.20/6.25 (∆pH = 0.05, narrow-pH) vs. a wider pH control band at 6.00/6.50 (∆pH = 0.50, wide-pH). These variations in pH also cause variations in the chemical speciation of ammonia and nitrite and, as shown, the microbial production of nitrite. It was hypothesized that the higher fluctuations would result in greater microbial diversity and, thus, a more robust process. The diversity of nitrifiers was higher in the wide-pH reactor, while the diversity of the entire microbiome was similar in both systems. However, the wide-pH reactor was more susceptible to tested process disturbances caused by increasing pH or temperature, decreasing dissolved oxygen, or an influent stop. In addition, with an emission factor of 0.47%, the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from the wide-pH reactor were twice as high as the N2O emissions from the narrow-pH reactor, most likely due to the nitrite fluctuations. Based on these results, a narrow control band is recommended for pH control in urine nitrification.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	001087861500001	Publication Date	2023-10-10
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2296-665x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:199585			Serial	8909
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Watson, G.; Kummamuru, N.B.; Verbruggen, S.W.; Perreault, P.; Houlleberghs, M.; Martens, J.; Breynaert, E.; Van Der Voort, P.
	Title	Engineering of hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica nanorods for augmented hydrogen clathrate formation			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2023	Publication	Journal of materials chemistry A : materials for energy and sustainability	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	11	Issue	47	Pages	26265-26276
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Hydrogen (H2) storage, in the form of clathrate hydrates, has emerged as an attractive alternative to classical storage methods like compression or liquefaction. Nevertheless, the sluggish enclathration kinetics along with low gas storage capacities in bulk systems is currently impeding the progress of this technology. To this end, unstirred systems coupled with porous materials have been shown to tackle the aforementioned drawbacks. In line with this approach, the present study explores the use of hydrophobic periodic organosilica nanoparticles, later denoted as hollow ring-PMO (HRPMO), for H2 storage as clathrate hydrates under mild operating conditions (5.56 mol% THF, 7 MPa, and 265–273 K). The surface of the HRPMO nanoparticles was carefully decorated/functionalized with THF-like moieties, which are well-known promoter agents in clathrate formation when applied in classical, homogeneous systems. The study showed that, while the non-functionalized HRPMO can facilitate the formation of binary H2-THF clathrates, the incorporation of surface-bound promotor structures enhances this process. More intriguingly, tuning the concentration of these surface-bound promotor agents on the HRPMO led to a notable effect on solid-state H2 storage capacities. An increase of 3% in H2 storage capacity, equivalent to 0.26 wt%, along with a substantial increase of up to 28% in clathrate growth kinetics, was observed when an optimal loading of 0.14 mmol g−1 of promoter agent was integrated into the HRPMO framework. Overall, the findings from this study highlight that such tuning effects in the solid-state have the potential to significantly boost hydrate formation/growth kinetics and H2 storage capacities, thereby opening new avenues for the ongoing development of H2 clathrates in industrial applications.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	001108752600001	Publication Date	2023-11-24
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2050-7488; 2050-7496	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:201007			Serial	9031
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Claes, N.; Asapu, R.; Blommaerts, N.; Verbruggen, S.W.; Lenaerts, S.; Bals, S.
	Title	Characterization of silver-polymer core–shell nanoparticles using electron microscopy			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	Nanoscale	Abbreviated Journal	Nanoscale
	Volume	10	Issue	10	Pages	9186-9191
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Silver-polymer core–shell nanoparticles show interesting optical properties, making them widely applicable in the field of plasmonics. The uniformity, thickness and homogeneity of the polymer shell will affect the properties of the system which makes a thorough structural characterization of these core–shell silver-polymer nanoparticles of great importance. However, visualizing the shell and the particle simultaneously is far from straightforward due to the sensitivity of the polymer shell towards the electron beam. In this study, we use different 2D and 3D electron microscopy techniques to investigate different structural aspects of the polymer coating.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000437007700028	Publication Date	2018-04-16
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2040-3364	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.367	Times cited	11	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	N. C. and S. B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS) and from the FWO through project funding (G038116N). R. A. and S. L. acknowledge the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for financial support. (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); ECAS_Sara			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.367
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @c:irua:151290UA @ admin @ c:irua:151290			Serial	4959
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	Author	Verbruggen, S.W.; Van Hal, M.; Bosserez, T.; Rongé, J.; Hauchecorne, B.; Martens, J.A.; Lenaerts, S.
	Title	Harvesting hydrogen gas from air pollutants with an un-biased gas phase photo-electrochemical cell			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	Chemsuschem	Abbreviated Journal	Chemsuschem
	Volume	10	Issue	7	Pages	1413-1418
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	The concept of an all-gas-phase photo-electrochemical cell (PEC) producing hydrogen gas from volatile organic contaminated gas and light is presented. Without applying any external bias, organic contaminants are degraded and hydrogen gas is produced in separate electrode compartments. The system works most efficiently with organic pollutants in inert carrier gas. In the presence of oxygen gas, the cell performs less efficiently but still significant photocurrents are generated, showing the cell can be run on organic contaminated air. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate new application opportunities of PEC technology and to encourage further advancement toward photo-electrochemical remediation of air pollution with the attractive feature of simultaneous energy recovery and pollution abatement.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000398838600017	Publication Date	2017-02-08
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1864-5631	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.226	Times cited	6	Open Access
	Notes	; S.W.V. and J.R. acknowledge the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) for a postdoctoral fellowship. T.B. and J.A.M. acknowledge the Flemish government for long-term structural funding (Methusalem). Nicolaas Schewyck is greatly thanked for his experimental work during his master thesis. ;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.226
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:140922			Serial	5955
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Rocha Segundo, I.; Landi Jr., S.; Margaritis, A.; Pipintakos, G.; Freitas, E.; Vuye, C.; Blom, J.; Tytgat, T.; Denys, S.; Carneiro, J.
	Title	Physicochemical and rheological properties of a transparent asphalt binder modified with nano-TiO₂			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2020	Publication	Nanomaterials	Abbreviated Journal	Nanomaterials-Basel
	Volume	10	Issue	11	Pages	2152
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL); Energy and Materials in Infrastructure and Buildings (EMIB)
	Abstract	Transparent binder is used to substitute conventional black asphalt binder and to provide light-colored pavements, whereas nano-TiO2 has the potential to promote photocatalytic and self-cleaning properties. Together, these materials provide multifunction effects and benefits when the pavement is submitted to high solar irradiation. This paper analyzes the physicochemical and rheological properties of a transparent binder modified with 0.5%, 3.0%, 6.0%, and 10.0% nano-TiO2 and compares it to the transparent base binder and conventional and polymer modified binders (PMB) without nano-TiO2. Their penetration, softening point, dynamic viscosity, master curve, black diagram, Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS), Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were obtained. The transparent binders (base and modified) seem to be workable considering their viscosity, and exhibited values between the conventional binder and PMB with respect to rutting resistance, penetration, and softening point. They showed similar behavior to the PMB, demonstrating signs of polymer modification. The addition of TiO2 seemed to reduce fatigue life, except for the 0.5% content. Nevertheless, its addition in high contents increased the rutting resistance. The TiO2 modification seems to have little effect on the chemical functional indices. The best percentage of TiO2 was 0.5%, with respect to fatigue, and 10.0% with respect to permanent deformation.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000593731700001	Publication Date	2020-10-29
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2079-4991	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	5.3	Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 5.3; 2020 IF: 3.553
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:172621			Serial	6580
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Dingenen, F.; Borah, R.; Ninakanti, R.; Verbruggen, S.W.
	Title	Probing oxygen activation on plasmonic photocatalysts			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Frontiers in Chemistry	Abbreviated Journal	Front Chem
	Volume	10	Issue		Pages	988542-10
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	In this work we present an assay to probe the oxygen activation rate on plasmonic nanoparticles under visible light. Using a superoxide-specific XTT molecular probe, the oxygen activation rate on bimetallic gold-silver “rainbow” nanoparticles with a broadband visible light (> 420 nm) response, is determined at different light intensities by measuring its conversion into the colored XTT-formazan derivate. A kinetic model is applied to enable a quantitative estimation of the rate constant, and is shown to match almost perfectly with the experimental data. Next, the broadband visible light driven oxygen activation capacity of this plasmonic rainbow system, supported on nano-sized SiO 2 , is demonstrated towards the oxidation of aniline to azobenzene in DMSO. To conclude, a brief theoretical discussion is devoted to the possible mechanisms behind such plasmon-driven reactions.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000860818400001	Publication Date	2022-09-12
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2296-2646	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record
	Impact Factor	5.5	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 5.5
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:190868			Serial	7197
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	Author	Courtens, E.N.P.; Spieck, E.; Vilchez-Vargas, R.; Bode, S.; Boeckx, P.; Schouten, S.; Jauregui, R.; Pieper, D.H.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Boon, N.
	Title	A robust nitrifying community in a bioreactor at 50 degrees C opens up the path for thermophilic nitrogen removal			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2016	Publication	The ISME journal : multidisciplinary journal of microbial ecology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	10	Issue	9	Pages	2293-2303
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	The increasing production of nitrogen-containing fertilizers is crucial to meet the global food demand, yet high losses of reactive nitrogen associated with the food production/consumption chain progressively deteriorate the natural environment. Currently, mesophilic nitrogen-removing microbes eliminate nitrogen from wastewaters. Although thermophilic nitrifiers have been separately enriched from natural environments, no bioreactors are described that couple these processes for the treatment of nitrogen in hot wastewaters. Samples from composting facilities were used as inoculum for the batch-wise enrichment of thermophilic nitrifiers (350 days). Subsequently, the enrichments were transferred to a bioreactor to obtain a stable, high-rate nitrifying process (560 days). The community contained up to 17% ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOAs) closely related to 'Candidatus Nitrososphaera gargensis', and 25% nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOBs) related to Nitrospira calida. Incorporation of C-13-derived bicarbonate into the respective characteristic membrane lipids during nitrification supported their activity as autotrophs. Specific activities up to 198 +/- 10 and 894 +/- 81 mg N g(-1) VSS per day for AOAs and NOBs were measured, where NOBs were 33% more sensitive to free ammonia. The NOBs were extremely sensitive to free nitrous acid, whereas the AOAs could only be inhibited by high nitrite concentrations, independent of the free nitrous acid concentration. The observed difference in product/substrate inhibition could facilitate the development of NOB inhibition strategies to achieve more cost-effective processes such as deammonification. This study describes the enrichment of autotrophic thermophilic nitrifiers from a nutrient-rich environment and the successful operation of a thermophilic nitrifying bioreactor for the first time, facilitating opportunities for thermophilic nitrogen removal biotechnology.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000386664600019	Publication Date	2016-02-19
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1751-7362	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:138184			Serial	7397
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Boumahdi, M.; El Amrani, C.; Denys, S.
	Title	An innovative air purification method and neural network algorithm applied to urban streets			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	International journal of embedded and real-time communication systems	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	10	Issue	4	Pages	1-19
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	In the present work, multiphysics modeling was used to investigate the feasibility of a photocatalysis-based outdoor air purifying solution that could be used in high polluted streets, especially street canyons. The article focuses on the use of a semi-active photocatalysis in the surfaces of the street as a solution to remove anthropogenic pollutants from the air. The solution is based on lamellae arranged horizontally on the wall of the street, coated with a photocatalyst (TiO2), lightened with UV light, with a dimension of 8 cm × 48 cm × 1 m. Fans were used in the system to create airflow. A high purification percentage was obtained. An artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict the optimal purification method based on previous simulations, to design purification strategies considering the energy cost. The ANN was used to forecast the amount of purified with a feed-forward neural network and a backpropagation algorithm to train the model.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date	2019-09-20
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	978-1-5225-7199-5	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:162595			Serial	8103
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Shi, P.; Liu, M.; Yu, X.; Gielis, J.; Ratkowsky, D.A.
	Title	Proportional relationship between leaf area and the product of leaf length and width of four types of special leaf shapes			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	Forests (19994907)	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	10	Issue	2	Pages	178
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	The leaf area, as an important leaf functional trait, is thought to be related to leaf length and width. Our recent study showed that the Montgomery equation, which assumes that leaf area is proportional to the product of leaf length and width, applied to different leaf shapes, and the coefficient of proportionality (namely the Montgomery parameter) range from 1/2 to π/4. However, no relevant geometrical evidence has previously been provided to support the above findings. Here, four types of representative leaf shapes (the elliptical, sectorial, linear, and triangular shapes) were studied. We derived the range of the estimate of the Montgomery parameter for every type. For the elliptical and triangular leaf shapes, the estimates are π/4 and 1/2, respectively; for the linear leaf shape, especially for the plants of Poaceae that can be described by the simplified Gielis equation, the estimate ranges from 0.6795 to π/4; for the sectorial leaf shape, the estimate ranges from 1/2 to π/4. The estimates based on the observations of actual leaves support the above theoretical results. The results obtained here show that the coefficient of proportionality of leaf area versus the product of leaf length and width only varies in a small range, maintaining the allometric relationship for leaf area and thereby suggesting that the proportional relationship between leaf area and the product of leaf length and width broadly remains stable during leaf evolution.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000460744000102	Publication Date	2019-02-20
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1999-4907	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:157200			Serial	8427
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Vandekerckhove, T.G.L.; Bodé, S.; De Mulder, C.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Boon, N.
	Title	¹³C incorporation as a tool to estimate biomass yields in thermophilic and mesophilic nitrifying communities			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	Frontiers in microbiology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	10	Issue		Pages	192
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Current methods determining biomass yield require sophisticated sensors for in situ measurements or multiple steady-state reactor runs. Determining the yield of specific groups of organisms in mixed cultures in a fast and easy manner remains challenging. This study describes a fast method to estimate the maximum biomass yield (Ymax), based on 13C incorporation during activity measurements. It was applied to mixed cultures containing ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) or archaea (AOA) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB), grown under mesophilic (1528∘C) and thermophilic (50∘C) conditions. Using this method, no distinction could be made between AOB and AOA co-existing in a community. A slight overestimation of the nitrifier biomass due to 13C redirection via SMP to heterotrophs could occur, meaning that this method determines the carbon fixation activity of the autotrophic microorganisms rather than the actual nitrifier biomass yield. Thermophilic AOA yields exceeded mesophilic AOB yields (0.22 vs. 0.060.11 g VSS g-1 N), possibly linked to a more efficient pathway for CO2 incorporation. NOB thermophilically produced less biomass (0.0250.028 vs. 0.0480.051 g VSS g-1 N), conceivably attributed to higher maintenance requirement, rendering less energy available for biomass synthesis. Interestingly, thermophilic nitrification yield was higher than its mesophilic counterpart, due to the dominance of AOA over AOB at higher temperatures. An instant temperature increase impacted the mesophilic AOB yield, corroborating the effect of maintenance requirement on production capacity. Model simulations of two realistic nitrification/denitrification plants were robust toward changing nitrifier yield in predicting effluent ammonium concentrations, whereas sludge composition was impacted. Summarized, a fast, precise and easily executable method was developed determining Ymax of ammonia and nitrite oxidizers in mixed communities.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000458681700001	Publication Date	2019-02-13
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1664-302x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:157126			Serial	8648
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Timmis, K.; de Vos, W.M.; Luis Ramos, J.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Prieto, A.; Danchin, A.; Verstraete, W.; de Lorenzo, V.; Lee, S.Y.; Brussow, H.; Timmis, J.K.; Singh, B.K.
	Title	The contribution of microbial biotechnology to sustainable development goals			Type	Editorial
	Year	2017	Publication	Microbial biotechnology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	10	Issue	5	Pages	984-987
	Keywords	Editorial; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000411491300001	Publication Date	2017-08-25
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1751-7915	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:146778			Serial	8653
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Do, N.H.; Pham, H.H.; Le, T.M.; Lauwaert, J.; Diels, L.; Verberckmoes, A.; Do, N.H.N.; Tran, V.T.; Le, P.K.
	Title	The novel method to reduce the silica content in lignin recovered from black liquor originating from rice straw			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2020	Publication	Scientific Reports	Abbreviated Journal	Sci Rep-Uk
	Volume	10	Issue	1	Pages	21263
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Difficulties in the production of lignin from rice straw because of high silica content in the recovered lignin reduce its recovery yield and applications as bio-fuel and aromatic chemicals. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a novel method to reduce the silica content in lignin from rice straw more effectively and selectively. The method is established by monitoring the precipitation behavior as well as the chemical structure of precipitate by single-stage acidification at different pH values of black liquor collected from the alkaline treatment of rice straw. The result illustrates the significant influence of pH on the physical and chemical properties of the precipitate and the supernatant. The simple two-step acidification of the black liquor at pilot-scale by sulfuric acid 20w/v% is applied to recover lignin at pH 9 and pH 3 and gives a percentage of silica removal as high as 94.38%. Following the developed process, the high-quality lignin could be produced from abundant rice straw at the industrial-scale.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000608856300027	Publication Date	2020-12-04
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2045-2322	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	4.6	Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 4.6; 2020 IF: 4.259
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:176054			Serial	8655
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Verbeelen, T.; Fernandez, C.A.; Nguyen, T.H.; Gupta, S.; Aarts, R.; Tabury, K.; Leroy, B.; Wattiez, R.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Leys, N.; Ganigué, R.; Mastroleo, F.
	Title	Whole transcriptome analysis highlights nutrient limitation of nitrogen cycle bacteria in simulated microgravity			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2024	Publication	NPJ microgravity	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	10	Issue	1	Pages	3-19
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Regenerative life support systems (RLSS) will play a vital role in achieving self-sufficiency during long-distance space travel. Urine conversion into a liquid nitrate-based fertilizer is a key process in most RLSS. This study describes the effects of simulated microgravity (SMG) on Comamonas testosteroni, Nitrosomonas europaea, Nitrobacter winogradskyi and a tripartite culture of the three, in the context of nitrogen recovery for the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA). Rotary cell culture systems (RCCS) and random positioning machines (RPM) were used as SMG analogues. The transcriptional responses of the cultures were elucidated. For CO2-producing C. testosteroni and the tripartite culture, a PermaLifeTM PL-70 cell culture bag mounted on an in-house 3D-printed holder was applied to eliminate air bubble formation during SMG cultivation. Gene expression changes indicated that the fluid dynamics in SMG caused nutrient and O2 limitation. Genes involved in urea hydrolysis and nitrification were minimally affected, while denitrification-related gene expression was increased. The findings highlight potential challenges for nitrogen recovery in space.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	001140007100001	Publication Date	2024-01-10
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2373-8065	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:202285			Serial	9113
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Snoeckx, R.; Heijkers, S.; Van Wesenbeeck, K.; Lenaerts, S.; Bogaerts, A.
	Title	CO₂conversion in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma: N₂in the mix as a helping hand or problematic impurity?			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2016	Publication	Energy & environmental science	Abbreviated Journal	Energ Environ Sci
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	999-1011
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Carbon dioxide conversion and utilization has gained significant interest over the years. A novel gas conversion technique with great potential in this area is plasma technology. A lot of research has already been performed, but mostly on pure gases. In reality, N2 will always be an important impurity in effluent gases. Therefore, we performed an extensive combined experimental and computational study on the effect of N2 in the range of 1–98% on CO2 splitting in dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma. The presence of up to 50% N2 in the mixture barely influences the effective (or overall) CO2 conversion and energy efficiency, because the N2 metastable molecules enhance the absolute CO2 conversion, and this compensates for the lower CO2 fraction in the mixture. Higher N2 fractions, however, cause a drop in the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency. Moreover, in the entire CO2/N2 mixing ratio, several harmful compounds, i.e., N2O and NOx compounds, are produced in the range of several 100 ppm. The reaction pathways for the formation of these compounds are explained based on a kinetic analysis, which allows proposing solutions on how to prevent the formation of these harmful compounds.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000372243600030	Publication Date	2015-12-15
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1754-5692	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	29.518	Times cited	68	Open Access
	Notes	The authors acknowledge financial support from the IAP/7 (Inter-university Attraction Pole) program ‘PSI-Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions’, financially supported by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO), as well as the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO). This work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the University of Antwerp.			Approved	Most recent IF: 29.518
	Call Number	c:irua:133169			Serial	4020
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Asapu, R.; Ciocarlan, R.-G.; Claes, N.; Blommaerts, N.; Minjauw, M.; Ahmad, T.; Dendooven, J.; Cool, P.; Bals, S.; Denys, S.; Detavernier, C.; Lenaerts, S.; Verbruggen, S.W.
	Title	Plasmonic Near-Field Localization of Silver Core–Shell Nanoparticle Assemblies via Wet Chemistry Nanogap Engineering			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	41577-41585
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Silver nanoparticles are widely used in the field of plasmonics because of their unique optical properties. The wavelength-dependent surface plasmon resonance gives rise to a strongly enhanced electromagnetic field, especially at so-called hot spots located in the nanogap in-between metal nanoparticle assemblies. Therefore, the interparticle distance is a decisive factor in plasmonic applications, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). In this study, the aim is to engineer this interparticle distance for silver nanospheres using a convenient wet-chemical approach and to predict and quantify the corresponding enhancement factor using both theoretical and experimental tools. This was done by building a tunable ultrathin polymer shell around the nanoparticles using the layer-by-layer method, in which the polymer shell acts as the separating interparticle spacer layer. Comparison of different theoretical approaches and corroborating the results with SERS analytical experiments using silver and silver−polymer core−shell nanoparticle clusters as SERS substrates was also done. Herewith, an approach is provided to estimate the extent of plasmonic near-field enhancement both theoretically as well as experimentally.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000417005900057	Publication Date	2017-11-29
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	29	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	financial support through a research fellowship. C.D. wishes to thank the Hercules foundation for the financial support (SPINAL). P.C. and R.-G.C. acknowledge financial support by FWO Vlaanderen (project no. G038215N). N.C. and S.B. acknowledge the financial support from the European Research Council (ERC starting grant #335078-COLOURATOM). (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @c:irua:147243			Serial	4804
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Ying, J.; Lenaerts, S.; Symes, M.D.; Yang, X.-Y.
	Title	Hierarchical design in nanoporous metals			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Advanced Science	Abbreviated Journal	Adv Sci
	Volume	9	Issue	27	Pages	2106117-2106120
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Hierarchically porous metals possess intriguing high accessibility of matter molecules and unique continuous metallic frameworks, as well as a high level of exposed active atoms. High rates of diffusion and fast energy transfer have been important and challenging goals of hierarchical design and porosity control with nanostructured metals. This review aims to summarize recent important progress toward the development of hierarchically porous metals, with special emphasis on synthetic strategies, hierarchical design in structure-function and corresponding applications. The current challenges and future prospects in this field are also discussed.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000831201000001	Publication Date	2022-07-28
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2198-3844	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	15.1	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 15.1
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189646			Serial	7170
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	Author	Spacova, I.; Ahannach, S.; Breynaert, A.; Erreygers, I.; Wittouck, S.; Bron, P.A.; Van Beeck, W.; Eilers, T.; Alloul, A.; Blansaer, N.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Hermans, N.; Lebeer, S.
	Title	Spontaneous riboflavin-overproducing Limosilactobacillus reuteri for biofortification of fermented foods			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Frontiers in Nutrition	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue		Pages	916607-916619
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Riboflavin-producing lactic acid bacteria represent a promising and cost-effective strategy for food biofortification, but production levels are typically insufficient to support daily human requirements. In this study, we describe the novel human isolate Limosilactobacillus reuteri AMBV339 as a strong food biofortification candidate. This strain shows a high natural riboflavin (vitamin B2) overproduction of 18.36 mu g/ml, biomass production up to 6 x 10(10) colony-forming units/ml (in the typical range of model lactobacilli), and pH-lowering capacities to a pH as low as 4.03 in common plant-based (coconut, soy, and oat) and cow milk beverages when cultured up to 72 h at 37 degrees C. These properties were especially pronounced in coconut beverage and butter milk fermentations, and were sustained in co-culture with the model starter Streptococcus thermophilus. Furthermore, L. reuteri AMBV339 grown in laboratory media or in a coconut beverage survived in gastric juice and in a simulated gastrointestinal dialysis model with colon phase (GIDM-colon system) inoculated with fecal material from a healthy volunteer. Passive transport of L. reuteri AMBV339-produced riboflavin occurred in the small intestinal and colon stage of the GIDM system, and active transport via intestinal epithelial Caco-2 monolayers was also demonstrated. L. reuteri AMBV339 did not cause fecal microbiome perturbations in the GIDM-colon system and inhibited enteric bacterial pathogens in vitro. Taken together, our data suggests that L. reuteri AMBV339 represents a promising candidate to provide riboflavin fortification of plant-based and dairy foods, and has a high application potential in the human gastrointestinal tract.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000814856600001	Publication Date	2022-06-09
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2296-861x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	5	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 5
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189011			Serial	7211
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Shi, P.; Ratkowsky, D.A.; Li, Y.; Zhang, L.; Lin, S.; Gielis, J.
	Title	A general leaf area geometric formula exists for plants evidence from the simplified Gielis equation			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	Forests (19994907)	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue	11	Pages	714
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Plant leaves exhibit diverse shapes that enable them to utilize a light resource maximally. If there were a general parametric model that could be used to calculate leaf area for different leaf shapes, it would help to elucidate the adaptive evolutional link among plants with the same or similar leaf shapes. We propose a simplified version of the original Gielis equation (SGE), which was developed to describe a variety of object shapes ranging from a droplet to an arbitrary polygon. We used this equation to fit the leaf profiles of 53 species (among which, 48 bamboo plants, 5 woody plants, and 10 geographical populations of a woody plant), totaling 3310 leaves. A third parameter (namely, the floating ratio c in leaf length) was introduced to account for the case when the theoretical leaf length deviates from the observed leaf length. For most datasets, the estimates of c were greater than zero but less than 10%, indicating that the leaf length predicted by the SGE was usually smaller than the actual length. However, the predicted leaf areas approximated their actual values after considering the floating ratios in leaf length. For most datasets, the mean percent errors of leaf areas were lower than 6%, except for a pooled dataset with 42 bamboo species. For the elliptical, lanceolate, linear, obovate, and ovate shapes, although the SGE did not fit the leaf edge perfectly, after adjusting the parameter c, there were small deviations of the predicted leaf areas from the actual values. This illustrates that leaves with different shapes might have similar functional features for photosynthesis, since the leaf areas can be described by the same equation. The anisotropy expressed as a difference in leaf shape for some plants might be an adaptive response to enable them to adapt to different habitats.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000451310300054	Publication Date	2018-11-21
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1999-4907	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:156324			Serial	7389
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Bia, P.; Caratelli, D.; Mescia, L.; Gielis, J.
	Title	Analysis and synthesis of supershaped dielectric lens antennas			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2015	Publication	IET microwaves, antennas and propagation	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue	14	Pages	1497-1504
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Mass communications; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	A novel class of supershaped dielectric lens antennas, whose geometry is described by the three-dimensional (3D) Gielis formula, is introduced and analysed. To this end, a hybrid modelling approach based on geometrical and physical optics is adopted in order to efficiently analyse the multiple wave reflections occurring within the lens and to evaluate the relevant impact on the radiation properties of the antenna under analysis. The developed modelling procedure has been validated by comparison with numerical results already reported in the literature and, afterwards, applied to the electromagnetic characterisation of Gielis dielectric lens antennas with shaped radiation pattern. Furthermore, a dedicated optimisation algorithm based on quantum particle swarm optimisation has been developed for the synthesis of 3D supershaped lens antennas with single feed, as well as with beamforming capabilities.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000364491200002	Publication Date	2015-08-14
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1751-8725	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:128659			Serial	7441
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Semlali, B.-eddine B.; El Amrani, C.; Denys, S.
	Title	Development of a Java-based application for environmental remote sensing data processing			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue	3	Pages	1978-1986
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Air pollution is one of the most serious problems the world faces today. It is highly necessary to monitor pollutants in real-time to anticipate and reduce damages caused in several fields of activities. Likewise, it is necessary to provide decision makers with useful and updated environmental data. As a solution to a part of the above-mentioned necessities, we developed a Java-based application software to collect, process and visualize several environmental and pollution data, acquired from the Mediterranean Dialog earth Observatory (MDEO) platform [1]. This application will amass data of Morocco area from EUMETSAT satellites, and will decompress, filter and classify the received datasets. Then we will use the processed data to build an interactive environmental real-time map of Morocco. This should help finding out potential correlations between pollutants and emitting sources.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date	2019-04-20
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2088-8708	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:163847			Serial	7799
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Kerckhof, F.-M.; Sakarika, M.; Van Giel, M.; Muys, M.; Vermeir, P.; De Vrieze, J.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Rabaey, K.; Boon, N.
	Title	From biogas and hydrogen to microbial protein through co-cultivation of methane and hydrogen oxidizing bacteria			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2021	Publication	Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue		Pages	733753
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Increasing efforts are directed towards the development of sustainable alternative protein sources among which microbial protein (MP) is one of the most promising. Especially when waste streams are used as substrates, the case for MP could become environmentally favorable. The risks of using organic waste streams for MP production–the presence of pathogens or toxicants–can be mitigated by their anaerobic digestion and subsequent aerobic assimilation of the (filter-sterilized) biogas. Even though methane and hydrogen oxidizing bacteria (MOB and HOB) have been intensively studied for MP production, the potential benefits of their co-cultivation remain elusive. Here, we isolated a diverse group of novel HOB (that were capable of autotrophic metabolism), and co-cultured them with a defined set of MOB, which could be grown on a mixture of biogas and H2/O2. The combination of MOB and HOB, apart from the CH4 and CO2 contained in biogas, can also enable the valorization of the CO2 that results from the oxidation of methane by the MOB. Different MOB and HOB combinations were grown in serum vials to identify the best-performing ones. We observed synergistic effects on growth for several combinations, and in all combinations a co-culture consisting out of both HOB and MOB could be maintained during five days of cultivation. Relative to the axenic growth, five out of the ten co-cultures exhibited 1.1–3.8 times higher protein concentration and two combinations presented 2.4–6.1 times higher essential amino acid content. The MP produced in this study generally contained lower amounts of the essential amino acids histidine, lysine and threonine, compared to tofu and fishmeal. The most promising combination in terms of protein concentration and essential amino acid profile was Methyloparacoccus murrelli LMG 27482 with Cupriavidus necator LMG 1201. Microbial protein from M. murrelli and C. necator requires 27–67% less quantity than chicken, whole egg and tofu, while it only requires 15% more quantity than the amino acid-dense soybean to cover the needs of an average adult. In conclusion, while limitations still exist, the co-cultivation of MOB and HOB creates an alternative route for MP production leveraging safe and sustainably-produced gaseous substrates.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000697897900001	Publication Date	2021-09-06
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2296-4185	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:180591			Serial	7985
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Grunert, O.; Reheul, D.; Van Labeke, M.-C.; Perneel, M.; Hernandez-Sanabria, E.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Boon, N.
	Title	Growing media constituents determine the microbial nitrogen conversions in organic growing media for horticulture			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2016	Publication	Microbial Biotechnology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue	3	Pages	389-399
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Vegetables and fruits are an important part of a healthy food diet, however, the eco-sustainability of the production of these can still be significantly improved. European farmers and consumers spend an estimated Euro15.5 billion per year on inorganic fertilizers and the production of N-fertilizers results in a high carbon footprint. We investigated if fertilizer type and medium constituents determine microbial nitrogen conversions in organic growing media and can be used as a next step towards a more sustainable horticulture. We demonstrated that growing media constituents showed differences in urea hydrolysis, ammonia and nitrite oxidation and in carbon dioxide respiration rate. Interestingly, mixing of the growing media constituents resulted in a stimulation of the function of the microorganisms. The use of organic fertilizer resulted in an increase in amoA gene copy number by factor 100 compared to inorganic fertilizers. Our results support our hypothesis that the activity of the functional microbial community with respect to nitrogen turnover in an organic growing medium can be improved by selecting and mixing the appropriate growing media components with each other. These findings contribute to the understanding of the functional microbial community in growing media and its potential role towards a more responsible horticulture.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000374662600009	Publication Date	2016-03-23
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1751-7907	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:133617			Serial	8013
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Ilgrande, C.; Leroy, B.; Wattiez, R.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Boon, N.; Clauwaert, P.
	Title	Metabolic and proteomic responses to salinity in synthetic nitrifying communities of Nitrosomonas spp. and Nitrobacter spp			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	Frontiers in microbiology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue		Pages	2914
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Typically, nitrification is a two-stage microbial process and is key in wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery from waste streams. Changes in salinity represent a major stress factor that can trigger response mechanisms, impacting the activity and the physiology of bacteria. Despite its pivotal biotechnological role, little information is available on the specific response of nitrifying bacteria to varying levels of salinity. In this study, synthetic communities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB Nitrosomonas europaea and/or Nitrosomonas ureae) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB Nitrobacter winogradskyi and/or Nitrobacter vulgaris) were tested at 5, 10, and 30 mS cm-1 by adding sodium chloride to the mineral medium (0, 40, and 200 mM NaCl, respectively). Ammonia oxidation activity was less affected by salinity than nitrite oxidation. AOB, on their own or in combination with NOB, showed no significant difference in the ammonia oxidation rate among the three conditions. However, N. winogradskyi improved the absolute ammonia oxidation rate of both N. europaea and N. ureae. N. winogradskyis nitrite oxidation rate decreased to 42% residual activity upon exposure to 30 mS cm-1, also showing a similar behavior when tested with Nitrosomonas spp. The nitrite oxidation rate of N. vulgaris, as a single species, was not affected when adding sodium chloride up to 30 mS cm-1, however, its activity was completely inhibited when combined with Nitrosomonas spp. in the presence of ammonium/ammonia. The proteomic analysis of a co-culture of N. europaea and N. winogradskyi revealed the production of osmolytes, regulation of cell permeability and an oxidative stress response in N. europaea and an oxidative stress response in N. winogradskyi, as a result of increasing the salt concentration from 5 to 30 mS cm-1. A specific metabolic response observed in N. europaea suggests the role of carbon metabolism in the production of reducing power, possibly to meet the energy demands of the stress response mechanisms, induced by high salinity. For the first time, metabolic modifications and response mechanisms caused by the exposure to salinity were described, serving as a tool toward controllability and predictability of nitrifying systems exposed to salt fluctuations.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000451903700001	Publication Date	2018-11-30
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1664-302x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:155237			Serial	8217
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Grunert, O.; Robles-Aguilar, A.A.; Hernandez-Sanabria, E.; Schrey, S.D.; Reheul, D.; Van Labeke, M.-C.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Vanderkerckhove, T.G.L.; Mysara, M.; Monsieurs, P.; Temperton, V.M.; Boon, N.; Jablonowski, N.D.
	Title	Tomato plants rather than fertilizers drive microbial community structure in horticultural growing media			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	Scientific reports	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue		Pages	9561
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Synthetic fertilizer production is associated with a high environmental footprint, as compounds typically dissolve rapidly leaching emissions to the atmosphere or surface waters. We tested two recovered nutrients with slower release patterns, as promising alternatives for synthetic fertilizers: struvite and a commercially available organic fertilizer. Using these fertilizers as nitrogen source, we conducted a rhizotron experiment to test their effect on plant performance and nutrient recovery in juvenile tomato plants. Plant performance was significantly improved when organic fertilizer was provided, promoting higher shoot biomass. Since the microbial community influences plant nitrogen availability, we characterized the root-associated microbial community structure and functionality. Analyses revealed distinct root microbial community structure when different fertilizers were supplied. However, plant presence significantly increased the similarity of the microbial community over time, regardless of fertilization. Additionally, the presence of the plant significantly reduced the potential ammonia oxidation rates, implying a possible role of the rhizosheath microbiome or nitrification inhibition by the plant. Our results indicate that nitrifying community members are impacted by the type of fertilizer used, while tomato plants influenced the potential ammonia-oxidizing activity of nitrogen-related rhizospheric microbial communities. These novel insights on interactions between recovered fertilizers, plant and associated microbes can contribute to develop sustainable crop production systems.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000473418000003	Publication Date	2019-07-02
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2045-2322	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:160582			Serial	8674
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Lin, S.; Shao, L.; Hui, C.; Song, Y.; Reddy, G.V.P.; Gielis, J.; Li, F.; Ding, Y.; Wei, Q.; Shi, P.; Reddy, G.V.P.
	Title	Why does not the leaf weight-area allometry of bamboos follow the 3/2-power law?			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	Frontiers in plant science	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue		Pages	583
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	The principle of similarity (Thompson, 1917) states that the weight of an organism follows the 3/2-power law of its surface area and is proportional to its volume on the condition that the density is constant. However, the allometric relationship between leaf weight and leaf area has been reported to greatly deviate from the 3/2-power law, with the irregularity of leaf density largely ignored for explaining this deviation. Here, we choose 11 bamboo species to explore the allometric relationships among leaf area (A), density (ρ), length (L), thickness (T), and weight (W). Because the edge of a bamboo leaf follows a simplified two-parameter Gielis equation, we could show that A ∝ L2 and that A ∝ T2. This then allowed us to derive the density-thickness allometry ρ ∝ Tb and the weight-area allometry W ∝ A(b+3)/2 ≈ A9/8, where b approximates −3/4. Leaf density is strikingly negatively associated with leaf thickness, and it is this inverse relationship that results in the weight-area allometry to deviate from the 3/2-power law. In conclusion, although plants are prone to invest less dry mass and thus produce thinner leaves when the leaf area is sufficient for photosynthesis, such leaf thinning needs to be accompanied with elevated density to ensure structural stability. The findings provide the insights on the evolutionary clue about the biomass investment and output of photosynthetic organs of plants. Because of the importance of leaves, plants could have enhanced the ratio of dry material per unit area of leaf in order to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis, relative the other parts of plants. Although the conclusion is drawn only based on 11 bamboo species, it should also be applicable to the other plants, especially considering previous works on the exponent of the weight-area relationship being less than 3/2 in plants.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000431415100001	Publication Date	2018-05-04
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1664-462x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:150948			Serial	8758
Permanent link to this record



	Author	De Micco, V.; Amitrano, C.; Mastroleo, F.; Aronne, G.; Battistelli, A.; Carnero-Diaz, E.; De Pascale, S.; Detrell, G.; Dussap, C.-G.; Ganigué, R.; Jakobsen, Ø.M.; Poulet, L.; Van Houdt, R.; Verseux, C.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Willaert, R.; Leys, N.
	Title	Plant and microbial science and technology as cornerstones to Bioregenerative Life Support Systems in space			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2023	Publication	NPJ microgravity	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	9	Issue	1	Pages	69-12
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Long-term human space exploration missions require environmental control and closed Life Support Systems (LSS) capable of producing and recycling resources, thus fulfilling all the essential metabolic needs for human survival in harsh space environments, both during travel and on orbital/planetary stations. This will become increasingly necessary as missions reach farther away from Earth, thereby limiting the technical and economic feasibility of resupplying resources from Earth. Further incorporation of biological elements into state-of-the-art (mostly abiotic) LSS, leading to bioregenerative LSS (BLSS), is needed for additional resource recovery, food production, and waste treatment solutions, and to enable more self-sustainable missions to the Moon and Mars. There is a whole suite of functions crucial to sustain human presence in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and successful settlement on Moon or Mars such as environmental control, air regeneration, waste management, water supply, food production, cabin/habitat pressurization, radiation protection, energy supply, and means for transportation, communication, and recreation. In this paper, we focus on air, water and food production, and waste management, and address some aspects of radiation protection and recreation. We briefly discuss existing knowledge, highlight open gaps, and propose possible future experiments in the short-, medium-, and long-term to achieve the targets of crewed space exploration also leading to possible benefits on Earth.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	001093834300001	Publication Date	2023-08-24
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2373-8065	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:199050			Serial	8916
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Liao, T.-W.; Verbruggen, S.; Claes, N.; Yadav, A.; Grandjean, D.; Bals, S.; Lievens, P.
	Title	TiO2 Films Modified with Au Nanoclusters as Self-Cleaning Surfaces under Visible Light			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	Nanomaterials	Abbreviated Journal	Nanomaterials-Basel
	Volume	8	Issue	8	Pages	30
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	In this study, we applied cluster beam deposition (CBD) as a new approach for fabricating efficient plasmon-based photocatalytic materials. Au nanoclusters (AuNCs) produced in the gas phase were deposited on TiO2 P25-coated silicon wafers with coverage ranging from 2 to 8 atomic monolayer (ML) equivalents. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the AuNCs modified TiO2 P25 films show that the surface is uniformly covered by the AuNCs that remain isolated at low coverage (2 ML, 4 ML) and aggregate at higher coverage (8 ML). A clear relationship between AuNCs coverage and photocatalytic activity towards stearic acid photo-oxidation was measured, both under ultraviolet and green light illumination. TiO2 P25 covered with 4 ML AuNCs showed the best stearic acid photo-oxidation performance under green light illumination (Formal Quantum Efficiency 1.6 x 10-6 over a period of 93 h). These results demonstrate the large potential of gas-phase AuNCs beam deposition technology for the fabrication of visible light active plasmonic photocatalysts.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000424131600030	Publication Date	2018-01-08
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2079-4991	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	3.553	Times cited	29	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n 607417 (Catsense). We also thank the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO, Belgium), the Flemish Concerted Action (BOF KU Leuven, Project No. GOA/14/007) research program, and the microscope was partly funded by the Hercules Fund from the Flemish Government for the support. N.C. and S.B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOM). ECAS_Sara (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:can);			Approved	Most recent IF: 3.553
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @c:irua:147898UA @ admin @ c:irua:147898			Serial	4805
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	Author	Balemans, S.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Torfs, E.; Hartog, L.; Zaharova, L.; Rehman, U.; Nopens, I.
	Title	The impact of local hydrodynamics on high-rate activated sludge flocculation in laboratory and full-scale reactors			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2020	Publication	Processes	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	8	Issue	2	Pages	131-18
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	High rate activated sludge (HRAS) processes have a high potential for carbon and energy recovery from sewage, yet they suffer frequently from poor settleability due to flocculation issues. The process of flocculation is generally optimized using jar tests. However, detailed jar hydrodynamics are often unknown, and average quantities are used, which can significantly differ from the local conditions. The presented work combined experimental and numerical data to investigate the impact of local hydrodynamics on HRAS flocculation for two different jar test configurations (i.e., radial vs. axial impellers at different impeller velocities) and compared the hydrodynamics in these jar tests to those in a representative section of a full scale reactor using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The analysis showed that the flocculation performance was highly influenced by the impeller type and its speed. The axial impeller appeared to be more appropriate for floc formation over a range of impeller speeds as it produced a more homogeneous distribution of local velocity gradients compared to the radial impeller. In contrast, the radial impeller generated larger volumes (%) of high velocity gradients in which floc breakage may occur. Comparison to local velocity gradients in a full scale system showed that also here, high velocity gradients occurred in the region around the impeller, which might significantly hamper the HRAS flocculation process. As such, this study showed that a model based approach was necessary to translate lab scale results to full scale. These new insights can help improve future experimental setups and reactor design for improved HRAS flocculation.
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	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000521167900088	Publication Date	2020-01-24
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2227-9717	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes	; This research was funded by Research Foundation Flanders (FWO SB Grant 1.S.705.18N). ;			Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:165420			Serial	6543
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	Author	Broos, W.; Wittner, N.; Geerts, J.; Dries, J.; Vlaeminck, S.E.; Gunde-Cimerman, N.; Richel, A.; Cornet, I.
	Title	Evaluation of lignocellulosic wastewater valorization with the oleaginous yeasts R. kratochvilovae EXF7516 and C. oleaginosum ATCC 20509			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Fermentation	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	8	Issue	5	Pages	204-221
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Pharmacology. Therapy; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL); Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE)
	Abstract	During the conversion of lignocellulose, phenolic wastewaters are generated. Therefore, researchers have investigated wastewater valorization processes in which these pollutants are converted to chemicals, i.e., lipids. However, wastewaters are lean feedstocks, so these valorization processes in research typically require the addition of large quantities of sugars and sterilization, which increase costs. This paper investigates a repeated batch fermentation strategy with Rhodotorula kratochvilovae EXF7516 and Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosum ATCC 20509, without these requirements. The pollutant removal and its conversion to microbial oil were evaluated. Because of the presence of non-monomeric substrates, the ligninolytic enzyme activity was also investigated. The repeated batch fermentation strategy was successful, as more lipids accumulated every cycle, up to a total of 5.4 g/L (23% cell dry weight). In addition, the yeasts consumed up to 87% of monomeric substrates, i.e., sugars, aromatics, and organics acids, and up to 23% of non-monomeric substrates, i.e., partially degraded xylan, lignin, cellulose. Interestingly, lipid production was only observed during the harvest phase of each cycle, as the cells experienced stress, possibly due to oxygen limitation. This work presents the first results on the feasibility of valorizing non-sterilized lignocellulosic wastewater with R. kratochvilovae and C. oleaginosum using a cost-effective repeated batch strategy.
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	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000801796000001	Publication Date	2022-05-01
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2311-5637	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:187883			Serial	7157
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	Author	Mescia, L.; Chiapperino, M.A.; Bia, P.; Lamacchia, C.M.; Gielis, J.; Caratelli, D.
	Title	Design of electroporation process in irregularly shaped multicellular systems			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	Electronics (Basel)	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	8	Issue	1	Pages	37
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Electroporation technique is widely used in biotechnology and medicine for the transport of various molecules through the membranes of biological cells. Different mathematical models of electroporation have been proposed in the literature to study pore formation in plasma and nuclear membranes. These studies are mainly based on models using a single isolated cell with a canonical shape. In this work, a spacetime (x,y,t) multiphysics model based on quasi-static Maxwells equations and nonlinear Smoluchowskis equation has been developed to investigate the electroporation phenomenon induced by pulsed electric field in multicellular systems having irregularly shape. The dielectric dispersion of the cell compartments such as nuclear and plasmatic membranes, cytoplasm, nucleoplasm and external medium have been incorporated into the numerical algorithm, too. Moreover, the irregular cell shapes have been modeled by using the Gielis transformations.
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	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000457142800037	Publication Date	2019-01-03
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2079-9292	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:157203			Serial	7765
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