Superimposed images acquired by XRF with coded aperture optics can be recovered successfully iteratively.

In this paper, we present a constant temperature mashing procedure where grist made of Pilsner malt is mashed-in directly in the temperature regime of alpha-amylase activity, thus omitting all conventional steps, followed by constant temperature mashing at 72 °C. The aim was to investigate an alternative mashing procedure for the production of alcohol-reduced beers. The mashing proceeds with a rapid buildup of sugars and is completed after 120 min at the latest, giving an iodine normal and clear wort. However, the distribution of the different sugars in the worts is strongly altered, in comparison to a more classical mashing procedure. The free amino nitrogen (FAN) concentration is sufficient for vivid fermentation with the bottom fermenting yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus TUM 34/70. The lag phase and initial fermentation performance of this yeast strain are comparable for conventionally and isothermally (72 °C) mashed wort. Under the given conditions the fermentation of the isothermally (72 °C) made wort is finished after 6 days whereas a conventional wort needs 4–5 days more to be completed. The alcohol concentration is remarkably reduced by isothermal mashing leading to roughly 3.4 vol.-% with an original gravity of 11°P whereas with a conventional mashing procedure 4.4 vol.-% are obtained for the same original gravity. In both cases the concentrations of the fermentation by-products are comparable. A preliminary comparison of taste and foam stability did not show striking differences. Constant temperature mashing at 72 °C is a simple way to reduce the alcohol content of beer enriching it at the same time with non-fermentable sugars.

Due to the increasing demand for electromobility, the recovery of technologically relevant elements from spent Li-ion batteries is becoming increasingly important. Pyrometallurgical processing can deal with a broad range of input materials. Unfortunately, ignoble elements such as Li and Mn enter the slag. A novel approach to facilitate this processing is the Engineered Artificial Minerals (EnAM) strategy for the recovery of critical elements. The aim of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to stabilize Li in Li-manganates as the first crystallizate. For this purpose, synthetic oxide slags (Li, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Mn) of varying compositions were made. The constituting compounds were identified using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption near-edge structure analysis, and electron probe microanalysis. These results provide an understanding of the solidification process and the behavior of the elements of concern. Lithium-manganate(III) (LiMnO₂) crystallized first, next to hausmannite (Mn²⁺Mn³⁺₂O₄) in a matrix consisting of wollastonite (CaSiO₃) and larnite (Ca₂SiO₄). Within the structure of LiMnO₂, Li and Mn can replace each other in certain proportions. By adding Al and Mg spinel, solid solutions between Mn²⁺Mn³⁺₂O₄, MnAl₂O₄, MgAl₂O₄ and LiMnO₂ are expected and described by the stoichiometry formula: (Li_(2x),Mg_(1x),Mn_(2+(1–x)))_1+x(Al_(2–z),Mn³⁺_(z))₂O₄.

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is described, which simultaneously determines resonance frequency and bandwidth on four different overtones. The time resolution is 10 milliseconds. This fast, multi-overtone QCM is based on multi-frequency lockin amplification. Synchronous interrogation of overtones is needed, when the sample changes quickly and when information on the sample is to be extracted from the comparison between overtones. The application example is thermal inkjet-printing. At impact, the resonance frequencies change over a time shorter than 10 milliseconds. There is a further increase in the contact area, evidenced by an increasing common prefactor to the shifts in frequency, Δf, and half-bandwidth, ΔΓ. The ratio ΔΓ/(−Δf), which quantifies the energy dissipated per time and unit area, decreases with time. Often, there is a fast initial decrease, lasting for about 100 milliseconds, followed by a slower decrease, persisting over the entire drying time (a few seconds). Fitting the overtone dependence of Δf(n) and ΔΓ(n) with power laws, one finds power-law exponents of about 1/2, characteristic of semi-infinite Newtonian liquids. The power-law exponents corresponding to Δf(n) slightly increase with time. The decrease of ΔΓ/(−Δf) and the increase of the exponents are explained by evaporation and formation of a solid film at the resonator surface.

Engineered artificial minerals (EnAMs) are the core of a new concept of designing scavenger compounds for the recovery of critical elements from slags. It requires a fundamental understanding of solidification from complex oxide melts. Ion diffusivity and viscosity play vital roles in this process. In the melt, phase separations and ion transport give rise to gradients/increments in composition and, with it, to ion diffusivity, temperature, and viscosity. Due to this complexity, solidification phenomena are yet not well understood. If the melt is understood as increments of simple composition on a microscopic level, then the properties of these are more easily accessible from models and experiments. Here, we obtain these data for three stoichiometric lithium aluminum oxides. LiAlO2 is a promising EnAM for the recovery of lithium from lithium-ion battery pyrometallurgical processing. It is obtained through the addition of aluminum to the recycling slag melt. The high temperature properties spanning from below to above the liquidus temperature of three stoichiometric Li-Al-Oxides: Li5AlO4, LiAlO2, and LiAl5O8 are determined using molecular dynamic simulations. The compounds are also synthesized via the sol-gel route. The Li+ ion exhibits the largest diffusivity. They are quite mobile already below the liquidus temperature, i.e., for LiAlO2 at T = 1700 K, the diffusion coefficient of the lithium ion equals D = 3.0 x 10(-9) m(2) s(-1). The other ions Al3+ and O2- do not move considerably at that temperature. The diffusivity of Li+ is largest in the lithium-rich compound Li5AlO4 with D = 32 x 10(-9) m(2) s(-1) at 2500 K. The lower the viscosity, the higher the lithium content. The Li5AlO4 exhibits a viscosity of eta = 2.2 mPa s at 1328 K which matches well with the experimentally determined 2.5 mPa s at this temperature. The viscosity of LiAlO2 at 1800 K is more than two times higher. These data sets can help to describe the melts on a microscopic level and understand how the melt properties will change due to gradients in the Li/Al concentration.