The present paper reviews and analyses different models that could be used to describe the adsorption equilibrium of pure gases. The adsorption equilibrium of hydrogen, nitrogen and methane is characterised and modelled. Several thermodynamic conceptions have been selected and tested for the calculation of physico-chemical parameters. The model of Dubinin has been selected to estimate the pseudo-saturation vapour pressure. The best results for the molar volume of the adsorbate have been obtained by using Do’s equation. Eight models, namely Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, Toth, Jovanovic, UNILAN, OBMR and Potential Theory, describing the adsorption equilibrium of pure gases, have been tested and compared with experimental data obtained from the literature at three different temperatures (283 K, 298 K and 313 K). In order to determine the best fit, the correlation coefficient and the standard errors for each parameter have been used to evaluate the data. All the models used in this study, except for Freundlich’s equation in the case of nitrogen or methane adsorption, are in good agreement between experiment and modelling for the adsorption isotherms.

The filamentous fungus Podospora anserina is a good model to study the breakdown of lignocellulose, owing to its ease of culture and genetical analysis. Here, we show that the fungus is able to use a wide range of lignocellulosic materials as food sources. Using color assays, spectroscopy and pyrolysis–gas chromatography mass spectrometry, we confirm that this ascomycete is able to degrade lignin, primarily by hydrolyzing β–O-4 linkages, which facilitates its nutrient uptake. We show that the limited weight loss that is promoted when attacking Miscanthus giganteus is due to a developmental blockage rather than an inefficiency of its enzymes. Finally, we show that lignin, and, more generally, phenolics, including degradation products of lignin, greatly stimulate the growth and fertility of the fungus in liquid cultures. Analyses of the CAT^ΔΔΔΔΔ mutant lacking all its catalases, pro-oxidants and antioxidants indicate that improved growth and fertility of the fungus is likely caused by augmented reactive oxygen species levels triggered by the presence of phenolics.

A new procedure for quantitative characterization of different types of solid materials is proposed. The technique is based on the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis results of porous materials and their processing by the software ^ImageJ. Several types of porous adsorbents AX21, AC35, GAC250, ACENO and IRH3 activated carbons were investigated. Based on SEM analysis, different characteristics of the samples such as porosity, pore size distribution, bed particles porosity can be obtained. In this study, the particle size, the average macropore size and pore size distributions (PSD) of samples were determined with a new procedure for SEM analysis treatment using ^ImageJ software. Three distribution functions (Gamma, Weibull and Lognormal) were selected to describe the experimental results. The Lognormal distribution fitted more accurately the experimental data.