Chao Jin

Bio: Chao Jin is an academic researcher from Tianjin University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Diesel fuel & Lycium chinense. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 58 publications receiving 1422 citations.

Progress in the production and application of n-butanol as a biofuel

Abstract: Butanol is a very competitive renewable biofuel for use in internal combustion engines given its many advantages. In this review, the properties of butanol are compared with the conventional gasoline, diesel fuel, and some widely used biofuels, i.e. methanol, ethanol, biodiesel. The comparison of fuel properties indicates that n-butanol has the potential to overcome the drawbacks brought by low-carbon alcohols or biodiesel. Then, the development of butanol production is reviewed and various methods for increasing fermentative butanol production are introduced in detailed, i.e. metabolic engineering of the Clostridia, advanced fermentation technique. The most costive part of the fermentation is the substrate, so methods involved in renewed substrates are also mentioned. Next, the applications of butanol as a biofuel are summarized from three aspects: (1) fundamental combustion experiments in some well-defined burning reactors; (2) a substitute for gasoline in spark ignition engine; (3) a substitute for diesel fuel in compression ignition engine. These studies demonstrate that butanol, as a potential second generation biofuel, is a better alternative for the gasoline or diesel fuel, from the viewpoints of combustion characteristics, engine performance, and exhaust emissions. However, butanol has not been intensively studied when compared to ethanol or biodiesel, for which considerable numbers of reports are available. Finally, some challenges and future research directions are outlined in the last section of this review.

Ethylene Response Factors: A Key Regulatory Hub in Hormone and Stress Signaling

Abstract: Ethylene is essential for many developmental processes and a key mediator of biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. The ethylene signaling and response pathway includes Ethylene Response Factors (ERFs), which belong to the transcription factor family APETALA2/ERF. It is well known that ERFs regulate molecular response to pathogen attack by binding to sequences containing AGCCGCC motifs (the GCC box), a cis-acting element. However, recent studies suggest that several ERFs also bind to dehydration-responsive elements and act as a key regulatory hub in plant responses to abiotic stresses. Here, we review some of the recent advances in our understanding of the ethylene signaling and response pathway, with emphasis on ERFs and their role in hormone cross talk and redox signaling under abiotic stresses. We conclude that ERFs act as a key regulatory hub, integrating ethylene, abscisic acid, jasmonate, and redox signaling in the plant response to a number of abiotic stresses.

Use of higher alcohol biofuels in diesel engines: A review

Abstract: Biofuels have grabbed the attention of engine researchers ever since the oil-crisis and escalating costs of petro-chemicals cropped up in the ׳70s. Ethanol and methanol were the most widely researched alcohols in IC engines. However, the last decade has witnessed significant amount of research in higher alcohols due to the development of modern fermentation processes using engineered micro-organisms that improved yield. Higher alcohols are attractive second/third generation biofuels that can be produced from sugary, starchy and ligno-cellulosic biomass feedstocks using sustainable pathways. The present work reviews the current literature concerning the effects of using higher alcohols ranging from 3-carbon propanol to 20-carbon phytol on combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a wide range of diesel engines under various test conditions. The literature is abound with evidence that higher alcohols reduce carcinogenic particulate emissions that are prevalent in diesel engines. NOx emissions either increased or decreased based on the domination of either cetane number or heat of evaporation. Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the engine usually suffered due to low energy content of alcohols. A notable feature is that the combination of higher alcohols (like butanol or pentanol), high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates and late injection timing enabled low temperature combustion (LTC) in diesel engines that can simultaneously reduce smoke and NOx emissions with improved engine efficiency. It can be concluded that higher alcohols reduce smoke emissions with their fuel-borne oxygen; enhance air/fuel mixing by offering long ignition delay and eventually replace fossil diesel (partially or wholly) to enable a clean and efficient combustion in compression-ignition engines. The chief thrust areas include developing mutant strains with higher yield, higher tolerance to toxic inhibition and low-cost substrates for fermentation. Further work is required in stipulating optimum blend-fuel characteristics and ensuring the long-term durability of the engines using these fuels.

Advances in diesel–alcohol blends and their effects on the performance and emissions of diesel engines

Abstract: The increasing energy demand, surging oil prices, depleting oil reserves and environmental pollution problems associated with the use of fossil fuels have sparked renewed interest to find out clean alternative fuels. Alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and butanol are competitive alternative fuels due to their liquid nature, high oxygen contents, high octane number and their production from renewable biomass. In this review, the fuel properties of these alcohols are compared with conventional gasoline and diesel fuel. The comparison of fuel properties represents that butanol has the potential to overcome the problems associated with the use of methanol and ethanol. Progresses of their production from different sources are also introduced. Further, several techniques such as alcohol–diesel fuel blends and alcohol–diesel fuel emulsions are discussed, especially for lower alcohols, in order to use them in diesel engines. The effects of diesel–alcohol blends on the combustion, performance and emissions of diesel engines are also analyzed. It is examined that blending of alcohols, along with some CN improver, to diesel fuels can reduce diesel engine emissions without adverse impacts on the performance of diesel engines. These studies also reveal that butanol is a better alternative for diesel fuel due to its superior fuel properties and miscibility with diesel fuel than those of methanol and ethanol. Finally, some critical conclusions and future research directions are highlighted.

The journal of genetics

Abstract: This is the oldest English language journal in genetics. Founded by W. Bateson and R. C. Punnett in 1910, the Journal of Genetics was later edited by J. B. S. Haldane; later, Haldane and his wife, Helen Spurway brought the journal with them to India. After his death in 1964, Mrs. Haldane continued publication of the journal, with Madhav Gadgil and H. Sharat Chandra (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore) and Suresh Jayakar (Laboratorio de Genetica Biochimica ed Evoluzionistica, Pavia) as editors, until her own death in 1977. In 1985, with the permission of Haldane’s heirs, the Indian Academy of Sciences resumed publication of the journal. The journal retains its traditional interest in evolutionary research that is of relevance to geneticists, even if not explicitly genetic in nature.