The report focu ses on the modification of the optical properties of ice crystals due to atmospheric black car bon (BC) contamination : the objective is to advance the predictive capabilities of climate models through an improved understanding of the radiative properties of compound particles . The shape of the ice crystal (as commonly found in cirrus clouds and cont rails) , the volume fraction of the BC inclusion , and its location inside the crystal are the three factors examined in this study. In the multiscale description of this problem, where a small absorbing inclusion modifies the optical properties of a much la rger non - absorbing particle, state - of - the - art discretization techniques are combined to provide the best compromise of flexibility and accuracy over a broad range of sizes .
The viability of thermochemically-derived biofuels can be greatly enhanced by reducing the process parasitic energy loads. Integrating renewable power into biofuels production is one method by which these efficiency drains can be eliminated. There are a variety of such potentially viable "hybrid-renewable" approaches; one is to integrate concentrated solar power (CSP) to power biomass-to-liquid fuels (BTL) processes. Barriers to CSP integration into BTL processes are predominantly the lack of fundamental kinetic and mass transport data to enable appropriate systems analysis and reactor design. A novel design for the reactor has been created that can allow biomass particles to be suspended in a flow gas, and be irradiated with a simulated solar flux. Pyrolysis conditions were investigated and a comparison between solar and non-solar biomass pyrolysis was conducted in terms of product distributions and pyrolysis oil quality. A novel method was developed to analyse pyrolysis products, and investigate their stability.