Introduction The International Workshop on Plasmas for Energy and Environmental Applications (IWPEEA) was held in Liverpool, UK, between 21st–24th August 2016. The event was organised by the Technological Plasmas Research Group at the University of Liverpool, UK. It included five plenary lectures, four invited lectures, 36 oral and 42 poster presentations. The workshop brought together...

Batteries are present in all areas of life, from electronic devices to electric cars, fork lift trucks and more. But there is a lack of awareness that runs even to the highest levels of the complexities in the battery industry: the chemistries; the applications; the cell sizes; the risks; the legislation. As uptake of batteries grows across many applications there will inevitably be growth...

Introduction “Surgical Tools and Medical Devices” 2nd Edition provides a comprehensive overview containing 23 chapters written by experts in each field. The chapters are not grouped together according to specific topics, but rather each chapter covers a range of aspects of surgical tools, medical device manufacturing and characterisation, surface engineering and interactions between...

Chlorination is necessary to prevent epidemics of waterborne disease however excess chlorination is wasteful, produces harmful disinfection byproducts, exacerbates corrosion and causes deterioration in aesthetic qualities, leading to consumer complaints. Residual chlorine must be continuously monitored to prevent both under- and over-chlorination and factors including pH, temperature and fouling must be considered as these also affect the disinfectant strength of residual chlorine. Standard methods used by water utility companies to determine residual chlorine concentration in drinking water distribution systems are appraised and found to be unsuitable for continuous monitoring. A selection of newly developed methods for residual chlorine analysis are evaluated against performance criteria, to direct research towards the development of chlorine sensors that are suitable for use in water systems. It is found that fouling tolerance in particular is generally not well understood for these selected sensor technologies and that long-term trials in real systems is recommended.

Hydrogen production from methanol oxidation over silver-gold/zinc oxide (AgAu/ZnO) catalysts was investigated. Bimetallic catalysts produced higher hydrogen yield and lower carbon monoxide and water yields than Ag/ZnO catalyst without deactivation during 72 h on stream at 250°C. In addition, the presence of Au in the bimetallic catalyst facilitated the preferential oxidation of CO to CO₂. Structural analysis of bimetallic catalysts indicated that the strong interaction between Ag and Au particles in the nano-range (4.2 nm–7.2 nm) efficiently enhanced the reducibility of non-selective silver oxide (Ag₂O) species. Furthermore dispersion of metal particles in bimetallic AgAu/ZnO catalysts did not significantly change after reaction; however, dispersion of Ag species in Ag/ZnO catalyst was remarkably decreased.

Ruth Carvajal-Ortiz’s current research is centred around innovation in energy storage. She has a special focus on the characterisation of materials, molten salts and their potential applications to several industrial processes, such as metal production and recovery. Currently a research fellow at Coventry University, UK, Ruth is in charge of the molten salts recycling work package of the...