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Cancer progression is associated with metabolic reprogramming and causes significant intracellular stress; however, the mechanisms that link cellular stress and growth signalling are not fully understood. Here, we identified a mechanism that couples the mitochondrial stress response (MSR) with tumour progression. We demonstrated that the MSR is activated in a significant proportion of human thyroid cancers via the upregulation of heat shock protein D family members and the mitokine, growth differentiation factor 15. Our study also revealed that MSR triggered AKT/S6K signalling by activating mTORC2 via activating transcription factor 4/sestrin 2 activation whilst promoting leucine transporter and nutrient-induced mTORC1 activation. Importantly, we found that an increase insupmt/supDNA played an essential role in MSR-induced mTOR activation and that crosstalk between MYC and MSR potentiated mTOR activation. Together, these findings suggest that the MSR could be a predictive marker for aggressive human thyroid cancer as well as a useful therapeutic target.

PDF file, 1016KB, Supplementary Figure 1. Immunohistochemical staining shows L1CAM is expressed in the invasive areas of ATC. Cases 1 through 3 have L1CAM expression in the invasive islands (red arrowhead). Cases 7 and 8 express L1CAM in the invasive fronts of ATC (black arrowhead). Supplementary Figure 2. Aberrant L1CAM expression is observed in recurrent ATC. Case 4 has negative L1CAM expression at the PTC tumor (left). Black arrowhead indicates the internal positive control at the peripheral nerve bundles that has normal L1CAM expression. However, the recurred ATC tumor exhibits positive L1CAM expression in Case 4 (right). Supplementary Figure 3. Immunohistochemical staining of cyclin D1 and p53 in ATC (Original magnification: �200). Supplementary Figure 4. L1CAM expression in primary cultured follicular cells (PCFC), primary cultured PTC (PCPTC), PTC cell lines (TPC1 and BCPAP), and ATC cell lines (FRO and 8505C). The ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3 is used as a positive control. Thyroglobulin is a marker of thyroid-derived cells.

Supplementary Data from L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule Is a Novel Independent Poor Prognostic Factor of Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Purpose: Cholangiocarcinomas (CC) are associated with poor survival, but diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets have not yet been elucidated. We previously found aberrant expression of L1 cell adhesion molecule in intrahepatic CC and a role for L1 in the progression of intrahepatic CC. Here, we analyzed L1 expression in extrahepatic CC (ECC) and evaluated its prognostic significance.Experimental Design: We examined L1 expression in tumors from 75 ECC patients by immunohistochemistry. We analyzed the correlations between L1 expression and clinicopathologic factors as well as patient survival.Results: L1 was not expressed in normal extrahepatic bile duct epithelium but was aberrantly expressed in 42.7% of ECC tumors. High expression of L1 was detected at the invasive front of tumors and was significantly associated with perineural invasion (P < 0.01). Univariate analysis indicated that various prognostic factors such as histologic grade 3, advanced pathologic T stage and clinical stage, perineural invasion, nodal metastasis, and high expression of L1 were risk factors predicting patient survival. Multivariate analyses done by Cox's proportional hazards model showed that high expression of L1 (hazard ratio, 2.171; 95% confidence interval, 1.162-4.055; P = 0.015) and nodal metastasis (hazard ratio, 2.088; 95% confidence interval, 1.159-3.764; P = 0.014) were independent risk factors for patient death.Conclusions: L1 was highly expressed in 42.7% of ECC and its expression was significantly associated with perineural invasion. High expression of L1 and nodal metastasis were independent poor prognostic factors predicting overall survival in patients with ECC. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(23):7345–51)

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Ruthenium is one of the most active catalysts for ammonia dehydrogenation and is essential for the use of ammonia as a hydrogen storage material. The B

A compact ethanol fuel processor with an all-in-one design of the auto-thermal reforming (ATR) and water-gas-shift (WGS) reactors was developed. The fuel processor has unique features, such as the ...

Micron-sized Ni–Al alloy powders (Ni–x wt.%Al, x = 40, 50, 60) were synthesized using the low-temperature chemical alloying (LTCA) at 500 °C. The three different as-prepared Ni–Al alloy powders were composed of Ni2Al3 and/or NiAl3 phases while achieving thermodynamic equilibrium compositions (Ni–40 wt%Al, Ni2Al3; Ni–50 wt%Al, the coexistence of Ni2Al3 and NiAl3; Ni–60 wt%Al, NiAl3). The LTCA method demonstrates that it is capable of producing Al-rich Ni–Al alloy powders while maintaining a particle size similar to that of the starting Ni particles. The three Ni–Al alloy powders were used as precursor materials to fabricate porous nickel catalysts through a selective aluminum leaching process, followed by the enlargement of the surface area. Alteration of the material characteristics with respect to the leaching time was investigated using XRD, FESEM-EDS, TEM, XPS, TPR, BET, and particle size analysis. The nickel skeletal catalysts with the increased BET-surface areas (50–111 m2/g) displayed high reactivity toward ammonia decomposition.

Formate received a significant attention as storing H2 in chemical bonds to the concept of H2 carriers. In this report, hydrogen generation from formate was optimized systematically by varying reac...

In this study, aqueous phase reforming (APR) of xylose was conducted over highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles supported on a γ-Al2O3 support (Pt-SNP). Formation of small Pt nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, which revealed that most of the particles ranged between 0.8 and 1.6 nm in size and the average particle size was 1.3 nm. Temperature-programmed reduction analysis indicated that these small Pt nanoparticles were highly reducible under the reducing environment compared to the commercial Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalysts (Pt-commercial). The catalytic activities of both Pt-SNP and Pt-commercial catalysts were examined in a semi-batch autoclave reactor system for the APR of xylose. It was found that Pt-SNP showed higher carbon to gas conversion with high hydrogen selectivity than Pt-commercial. This was likely due to the increased density of edge sites in the Pt-SNP catalyst that facilitated the cleavage of the C–C bonds rather than the C–O bonds, leading to greater hydrogen production. Furthermore, the Pt-SNP catalyst showed better carbon deposit resistance as compared to Pt-commercial. The amount of carbon deposition on the Pt-SNP catalyst surface and the organic carbon species dissolved in the post-reaction xylose solution were significantly lower compared to that of Pt-commercial. Finally, high purity hydrogen production was achieved using a continuous fixed-bed hybrid reactor including an aqueous phase reformer and a home-made Pd/Ta dense metallic composite membrane. A stable hydrogen gas production (99.999%) was obtained over the Pt-SNP catalyst, which demonstrated the success of a potentially commercial APR reactor system that continuously converted the aqueous xylose solution to hydrogen with high purity.

Hydrogen storage in Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) systems is appealing for the safe storage and distribution of excess renewable energy via existing gasoline infrastructures to end-users. We present the eutectic mixture of biphenyl and diphenyl ether of its first use as a LOHC material. The material is hydrogenated with 99% selectivity without the cleavage of C O bond, with commercial heterogeneous catalysts, which is confirmed by nuclear magnetic spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Equilibrium concentration, dehydrogenation enthalpy, and thermo-neutral temperature are calculated using a density functional theory. The results indicate that O-atom-containing material exhibits more favorable dehydrogenation thermodynamics than that of the hydrocarbon analogue. The H2-rich material contains 6.8 wt% of gravimetric hydrogen storage capacity. A preliminary study of catalytic dehydrogenation on a continuous reactor is presented to demonstrate a reversibility of this material.

Notch signaling is a druggable target in high-grade serous ovarian cancers; however, its complexity is not clearly understood. Recent revelations of the biological roles of lncRNAs have led to an increased interest in the oncogenic action of lncRNAs in various cancers. In this study, we performed in silico analyses using The Cancer Genome Atlas data to discover novel Notch-related lncRNAs and validated our transcriptome data via NOTCH1/3 silencing in serous ovarian cancer cells. The expression of novel Notch-related lncRNAs was down-regulated by a Notch inhibitor and was upregulated in high-grade serous ovarian cancers, compared to benign or borderline ovarian tumors. Functionally, Notch-related lncRNAs were tightly linked to Notch-related changes in diverse gene expressions. Notably, genes related to DNA repair and spermatogenesis showed specific correlations with Notch-related lncRNAs. Master transcription factors, including EGR1, CTCF, GABPα, and E2F4 might orchestrate the upregulation of Notch-related lncRNAs, along with the associated genes. The discovery of Notch-related lncRNAs significantly contributes to our understanding of the complex crosstalk of Notch signaling with other oncogenic pathways at the transcriptional level.

Modern H2-based energy storage and conversion devices require a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell–based integrated power system with synergistic heat integration. The key issue in integrated power systems is developing a PEM that can operate at 200–300 °C. However, currently used phosphoric-acid-based high-temperature PEM fuel cells limited stability at higher operating temperatures. Herein, we introduce a cerium hydrogen phosphate (CeHP) PEM that conducts protons above 200 °C through a self-assembled network (SAN). The SAN-CeHP-PBI reached maximum power densities of 2.4 W cm-2 and operate stably for over 7000 minute without any voltage decay at 250 ℃ under H2/O2 and anhydrous conditions. The developed fuel cell can be combined with an external hydrogen generator that uses a liquid hydrogen carrier such as N-ethylcarbazole and methanol as fuel, thus achieving a high energy efficiency. The thermal stability and fuel flexibility of these SAN-CeHP-PBI demonstrate potential for commercial applications.

Recently, the 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) risk stratification and the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control (AJCC/UICC) TNM staging system were released. This study was conducted to assess the clinical value of the lymph node ratio (LNR) as a predictor of recurrence when integrated with these newly released stratification systems, and to compare the predictive accuracy of the modified systems with that of the newly released systems. The optimal LNR threshold value for predicting papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) recurrence was 0.17857 using the Contal and O’Quigley method. The 8th edition of the AJCC/UICC TNM staging system with the LNR and the 2015 ATA risk stratification system with the LNR were significant predictors of recurrence. Furthermore, calculation of the proportion of variance explained (PVE), the Akaike information criterion (AIC), Harrell’s c index, and the incremental area under the curve (iAUC) revealed that the 8th edition of the TNM staging system with the LNR, and the 2015 ATA risk stratification system with the LNR, showed the best predictive performance. Integration of the LNR with the TNM staging and the ATA risk stratification systems should improve prediction of recurrence in patients with PTC.

Objective Tumor location in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) might determine tumor outgrowth from the thyroid gland. However, the clinical implications of tumor location and minimal extrathyroid extension (mETE) have not been well elucidated. We aimed to investigate the relationship between tumor location and mETE to predict the aggressiveness of PTMC. Methods A total of 858 patients with PTMC were grouped according to tumor location on ultrasonography: central (cPTMC) and peripheral PTMC (pPTMC). PTMC without mETE (PTMC-mETE(−)) was divided further according to margin shape: encapsulated (E−) or infiltrative (I−). To understand the molecular biologic characteristics of PTMC presenting with an I-margin and mETE, transcriptome data from TCGA-THCA were analyzed using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Results pPTMC (n = 807, 94.1%) accounted for the majority of cases; mETE was identified only in pPTMC (403/807; 49.9%). pPTMC-mETE(+) showed aggressive clinical characteristics that increased the odds ratio (OR) for lymph node metastasis (LNM). Interestingly, subgroup analysis of PTMC-mETE(−) revealed that the I-margin also increased the OR for LNM, independent of other clinical factors. GSEA of TCGA-THCA data suggested coordinated upregulation of genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in PTC with mETE. Immunohistochemical staining for laminin subunit gamma 2 (LAMC2), CD59, E-cadherin and vimentin showed that these markers of EMT were associated with progressive changes in E-margin PTMC-mETE(−), I-margin PTMC-mETE(−) and pPTMC-mETE(+). Conclusion mETE related to peripheral location of PTMC is an important predictor of tumor invasiveness, as is the I-margin, which presents with EMT features similar to mETE. I-margin PTMC-mETE(−) and pPTMC-mETE(+) might reflect the pattern of invasive PTMC.

Simple Summary FAL1 upregulation has been reported in many types of human cancers. The up-regulatory mechanism was identified in ovarian cancer but was not investigated in other type of cancers. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we identified simultaneous upregulation of FAL1 adjacent to chromosome 1q21.3. Among 53 putative transcription factors for FAL1 and neighbouring genes, we selected c-JUN and JUND as the best candidates. This simultaneous upregulation defines molecular biological features representing RAS-driven PTC-enriched immune-related gene sets. These findings suggest that the simultaneous upregulation might be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for RAS-driven PTC. Abstract We investigated the regulatory mechanism of FAL1 and unravelled the molecular biological features of FAL1 upregulation in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Correlation analyses of FAL1 and neighbouring genes adjacent to chromosome 1q21.3 were performed. Focal amplification was performed using data from copy number alterations in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. To identify putative transcriptional factors, PROMO and the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) were used. To validate c-JUN and JUND as master transcription factors for FAL1 and ECM1, gene set enrichment analysis was performed according to FAL1 and ECM1 expression. Statistical analyses of the molecular biological features of FAL1- and ECM1-upregulated PTCs were conducted. FAL1 expression significantly correlated with that of neighbouring genes. Focal amplification of chromosome 1q21.3 was observed in ovarian cancer but not in thyroid carcinoma. However, PROMO suggested 53 transcription factors as putative common transcriptional factors for FAL1 and ECM1 simultaneously. Among them, we selected c-JUN and JUND as the best candidates based on ENCODE results. The expression of target genes of JUND simultaneously increased in FAL1- and ECM1-upregulated PTCs, especially in young patients. The molecular biological features represented RAS-driven PTC and simultaneously enriched immune-related gene sets. FAL1 and ECM1 expression frequently increased simultaneously and could be operated by JUND. The simultaneous upregulation might be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for RAS-driven PTC.

We report the fabrication and catalytic performance evaluation of highly active and stable nickel (Ni)-based structured catalysts for ammonia dehydrogenation with nearly complete conversion using nonprecious metal catalysts. Low-temperature chemical alloying (LTCA) followed by selective aluminum (Al) dealloying was utilized to synthesize foam-type structured catalysts ready for implementation in commercial-scale catalytic reactors. The crystalline phases of Ni-Al alloy (NiAl

Purpose To investigate whether a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) program developed using the deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) on neck US images can predict the BRAFV600E mutation in thyroid cancer. Methods 469 thyroid cancers in 469 patients were included in this retrospective study. A CAD program recently developed using the deep CNN provided risks of malignancy (0–100%) as well as binary results (cancer or not). Using the CAD program, we calculated the risk of malignancy based on a US image of each thyroid nodule (CAD value). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed including patient demographics, the American College of Radiology (ACR) Thyroid Imaging, Reporting and Data System (TIRADS) categories and risks of malignancy calculated through CAD to identify independent predictive factors for the BRAFV600E mutation in thyroid cancer. The predictive power of the CAD value and final multivariable model for the BRAFV600E mutation in thyroid cancer were measured using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results In this study, 380 (81%) patients were positive and 89 (19%) patients were negative for the BRAFV600E mutation. On multivariate analysis, older age (OR = 1.025, p = 0.018), smaller size (OR = 0.963, p = 0.006), and higher CAD value (OR = 1.016, p = 0.004) were significantly associated with the BRAFV600E mutation. The CAD value yielded an AUC of 0.646 (95% CI: 0.576, 0.716) for predicting the BRAFV600E mutation, while the multivariable model yielded an AUC of 0.706 (95% CI: 0.576, 0.716). The multivariable model showed significantly better performance than the CAD value alone (p = 0.004). Conclusion Deep learning-based CAD for thyroid US can help us predict the BRAFV600E mutation in thyroid cancer. More multi-center studies with more cases are needed to further validate our study results.

Studies have shown that radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT) affects the development of second cancer in thyroid cancer patients. The impact of other factors, such as dyslipidemia are not clear. A retrospective analysis of thyroid cancer patients with a 1,251,913 person-year follow-up was conducted using data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment database in South Korea from January 2008 to December 2018. We investigated factors related to second cancer development using a nested case-control analysis to avoid length bias. The overall risk of developing second cancer was higher in thyroid cancer patients than in the general population [standardized incidence ratio, 3.34; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.30–3.39]. Second cancer incidence was higher in patients who received RAIT than in those who did not [odds ratio (OR) 1.130; 95% CI 1.094–1.169]. Moreover, the risk of second cancer was higher in patients with dyslipidemia than in those without dyslipidemia (OR 1.265; 95% CI 1.223–1.309). After adjustment for RAIT, the incidence of a second cancer was higher in patients with dyslipidemia than in those without dyslipidemia (OR 1.262; 95% CI 1.221–1.306). The risk of second cancer development in patients with thyroid cancer appears to be high. Dyslipidemia may be associated with an increased risk of several types of second cancers.

Objective The characteristics of metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) have been investigated as important predictors of recurrence and progression in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). However, clinically applicable risk stratification systems are limited to the assessment of size and number of MLNs. This study investigated the predictive value of detailed characteristics of MLNs in combination with currently used risk stratification systems. Design and methods We retrospectively characterized 2811 MLNs from 9014 harvested LNs of 286 patients with N1 PTC according to the maximum diameter of MLN (MDLN), maximum diameter of metastatic focus (MDMF), ratio of both diameters (MDMFR), lymph node ratio (LNR, number of MLNs/number of total harvested LNs), presence of extranodal extension (ENE), desmoplastic reaction (DR), cystic component, and psammoma body. Results Factors related to the size and number of MLNs were associated with increased risk of recurrence and progression. Extensive presence of ENE (>40%) and DR (≥50%) increased the risk of recurrence/progression. The combination of MDLN, LNR, ENE, and DR had the highest predictive value among MLN characteristics. Combination of these parameters with ATA risk stratification or 1-year response to therapy improved the predictive power for recurrence/progression from a Harrell’s C-index of 0.781 to 0.936 and 0.867 to 0.960, respectively. Conclusions The combination of currently used risk stratification systems with detailed characterization of MLNs may improve the predictive accuracy for recurrence/progression in N1 PTC patients.

Hydrogen storage in the form of a liquid chemical is an important issue that can bridge the gap between sustainable hydrogen production and utilization with a fuel cell, which is one of the essential sectors in the hydrogen economy. Herein, the application of a potential liquid organic hydrogen carrier, consisting of biphenyl and diphenylmethane, is demonstrated as a safe and economical hydrogen storage material. The presented material is capable of a reversible storage and release of molecular hydrogen with 6.9 wt % and 60 g-H2 L–1 of gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage capacities, respectively, presenting superior properties as a hydrogen carrier. Equilibrium conversion and the required enthalpies of dehydrogenation are calculated using a density functional theory. Experimentally, dehydrogenation conversion of greater than 99% is achieved, producing molecular hydrogen with greater than 99.9% purity, with negligible side reactions; this is further confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrosc...

Conventional hydrogen production from ammonia is both energy and process intensive, requiring high temperature and independent purification units. Here, we present a compact process of energy conversion from NH3 to electricity using a novel membrane reactor, comprised of a dense metallic Pd/Ta composite membrane and Ru/La-Al2O3 pellet catalysts, and a fuel cell unit. The fabricated Pd/Ta composite membrane, having ca. 5 times higher H2 permeability than conventional Pd-Ag membranes, can both lower NH3 dehydrogenation temperature and completely remove an additional hydrogen purification unit. Compared to a packed-bed reactor without membrane, ammonia conversion improves by 75 and 45%, respectively at 425 and 400 °C, and >99.5% of conversion is achieved at 450 °C under pressurized ammonia feed of 6.5 bar. Main barriers of practical application of Pd/Group V metals as a composite hydrogen permeable membrane, embrittlement and durability issues, are overcome owing to pertinent operating temperatures (400–450 °C) of ammonia dehydrogenation coupled with membrane separation. Finally, as-separated hydrogen with

A COX-free 1 kW-class hydrogen power pack fueled by liquid ammonia is presented. For applications in a practical-scale hydrogen production system in conjunction with a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, Ru catalysts supported on La-doped alumina (Ru/La(x)-Al2O3) were pelletized by varying the lanthanum doping content (x mol%) to control catalytic activities. An optimized Ru(1.06 wt%)/La(20)-Al2O3 pellet catalyst presents a >99.7% conversion efficiency at 500 °C under a gas hourly space velocity of 5000 mL gcat−1 h−1. Various materials were screened to remove residual ammonia from the product stream, and the X zeolite was chosen as a highly capable adsorbent. Based on the synthesized catalyst and screened adsorbent, a power pack consisting of a dehydrogenation reactor, an adsorbent tower, and a 1 kW-class polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell was designed and manufactured. The as-integrated system can convert 9 L min−1 of ammonia into 13.4 L min−1 of hydrogen, powering a 1 kW-class fuel-cell continuously for >2 h without any performance degradation. To achieve autothermal and COX-free operations, heat required for ammonia dehydrogenation was provided by unutilized hydrogen from the fuel cell, drastically increasing the overall efficiency of the system to >49% while removing the external heat source, isobutane. Finally, a drone tethered to the system was operated, demonstrating the feasibility of an elongated flight time of >4 h, much longer than 14 min with Li-polymer battery loaded on the drone. The system is expected to meet the United States Department of Energy’s 2020 gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage targets of 4.5 wt% and 30 gH2 L−1 at system weights of 43 kg and 50 kg, respectively.

A novel, liquid-phase hydrogen storage material was produced by mixing biphenyl (C12H10, solid) and diphenylmethane (C13H12, liquid) with a mass ratio (wt%) of 35:65. The eutectic mixture was proved to be liquid at ambient temperature with a viscosity of 3.0 cP at 25 °C and a vapor pressure of 1.4 Pa at 25 °C, which potentially meets the requirements for an efficient hydrogen storage system. A theoretical study using COSMO-RS method further confirms that an optimum composition of biphenyl and diphenylmethane for the formation of eutectic mixture is 37:63 by mass, which is very close to the composition found experimentally. The eutectic mixture exhibited a superior activity for hydrogenation reactions conducted at 120 °C under 50 bar of H2 pressure in the presence of a Ru (5 wt%)/Al2O3 catalyst. Hydrogenation uptake of the eutectic mixture tested was close to full conversion, which corresponds to 6.9 wt% and 60.1 g/L of gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage capacities, respectively.

Group VB metals, as candidates for hydrogen separation metallic membrane, suffer from low surface catalytic activity and mechanical integrity issues due to hydrogen embrittlement, which limited their practical application for mixed gas purification. This study overcomes these problems and successfully demonstrates operation schemes of a Pd/Ta composite membrane, prepared by an electroless deposition of a thin Pd layer on a bulk Ta surface. The fabricated Pd/Ta composite membrane presented higher permeability (4.7 × 10−8 mol m−1 s−1 pa−0.5) than that of Pd-based metallic membranes reported in the previous literatures, and gas chromatography analysis proved a fuel-cell grade high-purity hydrogen (purity of 99.999% and

This study comprehensively investigates hydrogen production from green ammonia reforming, including synthesis of catalysts, reactor development, process integration, and techno-economic analysis. In-house developed Ru/La–Al2O3 pellet catalyst having perovskite structure showed high catalytic activity of 2827 h−1 at 450 °C and stability over 6700 h at 550 °C, exceeding the performance of the majority of powder catalysts reported in the literature. A scalable 12-faceted reactor adopting the as-produced catalyst was designed to enhance heat transfer, producing over 66 L min−1 of hydrogen with state-of-the-art ammonia reforming efficiency of 83.6 %. Near-zero CO2 emission of hydrogen extraction from green ammonia was demonstrated by-product gas recirculation as a combustion heat source. A techno-economic assessment was conducted for system scales from 10 kW to 10 MW, demonstrating the effect of reduced minimum hydrogen selling prices from 7.03 USD kg−1 at small modular scales to 3.98 USD kg−1 at larger industrial scales. Sensitivity analyses indicate that hydrogen selling prices may reduce even further (up to 50 %). The suggested hydrogen production route from green NH3 demonstrates superior CO2 reduction ranging from 78 % to 95 % in kg CO2 (kg H2)−1 compared to biomass gasification and steam methane reforming. These findings can be used as a basis for following economic and policy studies to further validate the effectiveness of the suggested system and process for H2 production from NH3.

Ammonia (NH3) has been proposed as a viable hydrogen (H2) carrier, but high reaction temperature and endothermic nature of NH3 decomposition require an efficient reaction system to maximize useable energy from NH3. Adoption of carbon-free heat sources and efficient heat transfer to the reaction bed are crucial for sustainable H2 release. Herein, the autothermal recirculating reactor (ARR) concept with the fractional utilization of the reformate H2 as a clean combustion fuel is proposed and experimentally investigated. Additionally, BN-coated Cu as a composite reactor material is developed for heat transfer enhancement of high-temperature H2 release reaction in a thermally-coupled NH3 decomposition and H2 combustion system. Coating performance against chemical degradation of Cu has been tested and confirmed. High NH3 conversion of >99.6% and reforming efficiency of 70.95%, even with high fraction of heat loss owing to small scale validation, show feasibility of the as-proposed reformer. Operation of the suggested system is envisaged with self-sustained heat supply for production of 84 W of electrical power. Also, the as-proposed reactor concept and material are suggested to serve in other endothermic H2 release reactions from various H2 carriers (methane, methanol, LOHC, etc) for potential application in power generation as well as high-purity H2 production.

The catalytic activity of the Rh-exsolved Sr0.92Y0.08Ti2O3−δ- perovskite catalyst (SYTRh5) was examined for dry reforming of methane. The exsolution of the Rh nanoparticles over the SYT perovskite oxide surface was carried out under various reducing environments where the extent of Rh exsolution was significantly determined by the reduction time (4, 12, 24 h) and temperature (800, 900, 1,000 °C). STYRh5 catalysts treated at a longer reduction time and a higher reduction temperature revealed formation of larger metallic Rh nanoparticles on the perovskite oxide with higher surface concentration. For dry reforming activity, the SYTRh5 catalysts reduced at 900 and 1,000 °C for 24 h showed significantly higher methane conversion compared to others. The high catalytic performance of the SYTRh5 (900 and 1,000 °C, 24 h) catalysts was attributed to the high coke-resistance of the larger Rh-exsolved nanoparticles and stronger anchoring sites resulted from the exsolution process. Post-analysis TEM images exhibited limited carbon deposition and particle agglomeration of Rh over the SYTRh5 (900 and 1,000 °C, 24 h) catalysts. Lastly, in-situ H2S poisoning was conducted to examine the regeneration ability of SYTRh5. Although catalyst deactivation was observed, the catalytic activity of SYTRh5 (900 and 1,000 °C, 24 h) was completely recovered to the original level once the H2S flow was interrupted, indicating facile desorption of sulfur species from the Rh-exsolved nanoparticles.

Structured cobalt–nickel catalysts were synthesized by roughening the nickel-foam surface and electrodepositing cobalt onto it for application to sodium-borohydride hydrolysis. The catalysts were prepared by incorporating aluminum onto the nickel-foam surface, increasing the nickel-foam surface area by subsequently leaching the aluminum, and electrodepositing cobalt. The cobalt was chronoamperometrically electrodeposited under the optimal condition (−2.0 VAg/AgCl) to prevent local cobalt deposition on the substrate edge. Additionally, the cobalt was uniformly deposited onto the porous nickel foam by pulsed chronoamperometric electrodeposition wherein voltages were alternated from −2.0 to −0.3 VAg/AgCl, to electroplate and dissolve the cobalt, respectively. Although the resulting structured cobalt–nickel catalysts exhibited 1.5 times higher catalytic activity than the porous nickel foam, the cobalt content was only 0.57 wt% of the whole sample. In addition, the structured cobalt–nickel catalyst showed higher stability than the porous nickel foam even after ultrasonication as an accelerated durability test. Therefore, pulsed electroplating is an effective method of increasing both catalyst activity and durability.

The construction of a cost-effective hydrogen infrastructure is needed to perpetuate the deployment of the hydrogen economy. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), generally possessing a hydrogen storage capacity of 6–8 wt%, can store a large volume of hydrogen for an extended period at ambient temperature and pressure. LOHCs are also highly compatible with conventional petroleum production and transport infrastructure. The proper selection among strong LOHC candidates is of paramount importance; hence, benchmarking studies are required for a fair comparison. Herein, the dehydrogenation characteristics of different homocyclic (CxHy-) LOHCs are studied in a high-throughput screening system with continuous fixed-bed reactors. Four homocyclic LOHCs, including methylcyclohexane, hydrogenated biphenyl-based eutectic mixtures, perhydro-monobenzyltoluene, and perhydro-dibenzyltoluene, are dehydrogenated using a 0.5 wt% Pt/Al2O3 heterogeneous catalyst under the identical test protocol for comparative analysis. We further discuss post-mortem analyses on the used catalyst, physicochemical properties of LOHCs, energy analysis, and economic assessment of a maritime transport scenario for each LOHC, suggesting a future strategy to promote the practical use of homocyclic LOHCs.