Paul Scherrer Institute

About: Paul Scherrer Institute is a facility organization based out in Villigen, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Neutron & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 9248 authors who have published 23984 publications receiving 890129 citations. The organization is also known as: PSI.

Thermal and Hydrolytic Decomposition of Urea for Automotive Selective Catalytic Reduction Systems: Thermochemical and Practical Aspects

Abstract: An energetic analysis of the thermal decomposition of solid urea and urea solutions is presented, and the results are discussed in view of urea selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for automotive DeNOx systems. Various types of decomposition reactors are possible which differ in their effectiveness to produce ammonia from urea. For reasons of simplicity, the decomposition is usually performed by atomizing urea solutions directly into the hot exhaust. However, this technique suffers from short residence times, leading to incomplete decomposition into ammonia and isocyanic acid and causing a significant performance loss of the SCR catalyst. The thermal decomposition out of the main exhaust stream allows much increased residence times for the process of urea decomposition. A reactor utilizing a partial stream of the exhaust seems particularly promising, especially if such a reactor includes a hydrolyzing catalyst, leading to ammonia practically free from isocyanic acid.

Near-edge x-ray absorption fine-structure investigation of graphene.

Abstract: We report the near-edge x-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectrum of a single layer of graphite (graphene) obtained by micromechanical cleavage of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite on a SiO2 substrate. We utilized a photoemission electron microscope to separately study single-, double-, and few-layers graphene samples. In single- layer graphene we observe a splitting of the pi* resonance and a clear signature of the predicted interlayer state. The NEXAFS data illustrate the rapid evolution of the electronic structure with the increased number of layers.

Estimating the uptake of traffic-derived NO2 from 15N abundance in Norway spruce needles

Abstract: The 15N ratio of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from vehicles, measured in the air adjacent to a highway in the Swiss Middle Land, was very high [δ15N(NO2) = +5.7‰]. This high 15N abundance was used to estimate long-term NO2 dry deposition into a forest ecosystem by measuring δ15N in the needles and the soil of potted and autochthonous spruce trees [Picea abies (L.) Karst] exposed to NO2 in a transect orthogonal to the highway. δ15N in the current-year needles of potted trees was 2.0‰ higher than that of the control after 4 months of exposure close to the highway, suggesting a 25% contribution to the N-nutrition of these needles. Needle fall into the pots was prevented by grids placed above the soil, while the continuous decomposition of needle litter below the autochthonous trees over previous years has increased δ15N values in the soil, resulting in parallel gradients of δ15N in soil and needles with distance from the highway. Estimates of NO2 uptake into needles obtained from the δ15N data were significantly correlated with the inputs calculated with a shoot gas exchange model based on a parameterisation widely used in deposition modelling. Therefore, we provide an indication of estimated N inputs to forest ecosystems via dry deposition of NO2 at the receptor level under field conditions.

Decreased alveolar oxygen induces lung inflammation.

Abstract: Molecular mechanisms of the inflammatory reaction in hypoxia-induced lung injury are not well defined. Therefore, effects of alveolar hypoxia were studied in rat lungs, exposing rats to 10% oxygen ...