TY - CONF A1 - Abilio, André T1 - Expert System for Screening Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion asInternal Failure Cause in Oil and Gas Upstream Pipelines N2 - The analysis of pipeline failures due to Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) is challenging due to the complex interaction of many influencing parameters including pipeline operation conditions, fluid chemistry and microbiology, as well as the analysis of corrosion features and products. To help address this challenge, an expert system was developed to assist non-specialists in screening internal pipeline corrosion failures due to MIC related threats. To accomplish this, 15 MIC subject matter experts (with a total of 355 man-years of accumulated MIC based experience) were recruited to evaluate a total of 65 MIC failure cases based on real-life scenarios. These case study parameters and the expert elicited results were input into an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to create a model system which can screen whether a given failure scenario is one of three outcomes: a) failure is likely due to MIC, b) failure is likely not due to MIC, or c) the conclusion is inconclusive (analysis needs more data/information). The model system had an overall accuracy of 74.8%and it showcases that knowledge from subject matter experts can be captured in a reasonably effective way to screen for possible MIC failures. Based on that, this presentation will provide details of the model development process and key results to date. Important considerations regarding the level of confidence of the diagnoses and variation between expert opinion will also be discussed alongside with ideas on how to improve the model for field applicability. T2 - ISMOS 9 CY - Edinburgh, United Kingdom DA - 27.06.2023 KW - Expert System KW - Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) KW - Oil and Gas Upstream KW - Artificial neural networks (ANNs) KW - Failure analysis PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-64602 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Abram, Sarah-Luise T1 - Monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles as reference material candidate for particle size measurements N2 - In order to utilize and rationally design materials at the nanoscale the reliable characterization of their physico-chemical properties is highly important, especially with respect to the assessment of their environmental or biological impact. Furthermore, the European Commission’s REACH Regulations require the registration of nanomaterials traded in quantities of at least 1 ton. Powders or dispersions where 50% (number distribution) of the constituent particles have sizes ≤ 100 nm in at least one dimension are defined as nanomaterials. This creates a need for industrial manufacturers and research or analytical service facilities to reliably characterize potential nanomaterials. Currently, BAM is developing reference nanoparticles, which shall expand the scarce list of worldwide available nano reference materials certified for particle size distribution and will also target other key parameters like shape, structure, porosity or functional properties. In this respect, materials like iron oxide or titanium dioxide are considered as candidates to complement the already available silica, Au, Ag, and polystyrene reference nanoparticles. The thermal decomposition of iron oleate precursors in high boiling organic solvents can provide large quantities of iron oxide nanoparticles that can be varied in size and shape.[1, 2] The presence of oleic acid or other hydrophobic ligands as capping agents ensures stable dispersion in nonpolar solvents. Such monodisperse, spherical particles were synthesized at BAM and pre-characterized by electron microscopy (TEM, SEM including the transmission mode STEM-in-SEM) and dynamic light scattering comparing cumulants analysis and frequency power spectrum. 1. REACH regulations and nanosafety concerns create a strong need for nano reference materials with diverse properties. 2. Iron oxide nanoparticles are under development as new candidate reference material at BAM. 3. Narrow particle size distribution confirmed by light scattering and electron microscopy. T2 - Nanosafety 2020 CY - Online meeting DA - 05.10.2020 KW - Iron oxide nanoparticles KW - Reference material KW - Particle size KW - Electron microscopy KW - Nanoplattform PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-52774 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Phosphorus recovery in Germany – recent developments N2 - The recent developments of phosphorus recovery in Germany were presented. The funding program RePhoR was introduced with focus on the demonstration project R-Rhenania that is coordinated by BAM. T2 - Green Deal 2020 conference CY - Online-Meeting DA - 14.12.2020 KW - Phopshorus recovery KW - Waste water treatment KW - Recycling fertiliser PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51837 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Adam, Christian T1 - Cloop - Closing the global nutrient loop N2 - Recycled fertilizers produced using processes for the recovery of phosphate from residual materials such as wastewater, sewage sludge and sewage sludge ashes show very good bioavailability, but it is still a product largely unknown to the market. The aim of CLOOP is therefore to document the properties and effects of such fertilizers through chemical, mineralogical and ecological analyses as well as analytical method development and pot and field plant growth trials. Outotec focused on 3 points in CLOOP: Experimental campaigns, process simulations as well as economic analyses with focus on the AshDec process, respectively the design of a large-scale AshDec plant for phosphorus recovery. The laboratory scale trials as well as the semi-industrial scale campaign provided valuable insights into the operating parameters of the process and the plant. As a result, for example, the temperature range could be significantly lowered, and the additive addition reduced by approx. 20 %. They have further shown that the AshDec process is not susceptible to operating fluctuations and that the product can be consistently produced at high quality. With the selection of suitable operating parameters, heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, (Zn)) can be removed. Within the campaign, about 1.5 t of fertilizer for the plant trials in CLOOP could be produced. An AshDec plant process was digitally created in simulation software, allowing valuable process parameters to be simulated at various operating parameters. On this basis, a full-scale plant was designed. The data obtained in the project were used for a detailed economic analysis including a sensitivity analysis. It was possible to show under which conditions this plant can be operated economically. At BAM, the AshDec fertilizer was synthesized with different additives and then applied to plant experiments at Uni Bonn. The goal hereby was to check differences in plant uptake. Because of the promising results of AshDec synthesized with sodium-carbonate and because this AshDec version does not require special off gas treatment for sulfur recovery (compared to AshDec synthesized with sodium-sulfate), all project partners agreed on continuing working with this AshDec variation. It was then used as a raw P-source for formulating it into NPK-fertilizers, by granulation with ammonium-sulfate and straw ash as potassium source. These recycling fertilizers were applied to plant- and field experiments by project partners in Brazil (University of Sao Paulo) and Australia (University of Queensland). Furthermore, in leaching experiments, the solubility of phosphorus in AshDec was compared to triple super phosphate. The experiments were carried out on soils with a varying phosphorus buffering index. Results show, that the phosphorus form in AshDec is way less soluble in water. This indicates that AshDec has the potential for a so-called next generation fertilizer – a fertilizer which’s nutrients remain in the soil and supply the plant according to its needs. At the moment, this behavior gets examined more in depth in lysimeter experiments in cooperation with University of Technology Berlin. The focus of KWB is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of different NextGen fertilizers to evaluate the entire process chain from recovery to fertilizer application. The NextGen fertilizer is credited by the amount of plant available nutrients in the product, which replace nutrients from conventional fertilizer. The LCA covers N-struvite precipitation from municipal wastewater, K-struvite precipitation from industrial wastewater and the AshDec-product from sewage sludge. The LCA task is almost complete. It could be shown that struvite precipitation has comprehensive environmental benefits, mainly since positive side effects occur in sewage sludge treatment (e.g. reduced sludge volume). In principle, the energetic and ecological profile of the AshDec process compared to direct use of sewage sludge ash cannot be assessed as being generally beneficial or negative. Regarding the global warming potential, the Ashdec process shows that the expenses (e.g. energy, chemicals) cannot be covered by the P fertilizer credit. In contrast, the impact categories “terrestrial acidification potential”, and “freshwater eutrophication potential” show positive results as the credits for conventional fertilizer are higher than the burdens for the process. At University Bonn, the standardized pot experiments were conducted with several AshDec variations, using ryegrass, soybean, and spinach on a slightly acidic sandy soil and an organic-free standard substrate. P-uptake and biomass production of different AshDec variations were generally like those of triple super phosphate and struvite, and clearly outperformed untreated sewage sludge ash and rock phosphate. Field trials in Australia and Brazil with sugarcane on acidic soils are still ongoing and results are expected by the end of 2021. T2 - PLANT 2030 Status Seminar 2021 (BMBF) CY - Online meeting DA - 10.03.2021 KW - Recycling fertiliser KW - Phosphorus recovery PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52251 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - An, Biwen Annie T1 - Standardization of MIC laboratory testing: with a special focus on corrosive methanogens N2 - Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a highly unpredictable process involving a complex group of microorganisms, including sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogens. Standard laboratory MIC testing using static serum bottle enrichments is an easy but limited method, offering poor resolution on the biomineralization process of corrosion products. An example of this is the presumed corrosion product siderite by corrosive methanogens (Mi-MIC). Previous publications reported siderite was the sole corrosion product of M. maripaludis using metal coupons incubated under stationary conditions. However, the formation of siderite is closely related to the surrounding environmental conditions, i.e. pH, CO2 concentration, flow and temperature. Thus, siderite as the sole corrosion product of Mi-MIC remain inconclusive and questionable. To study Mi-MIC effectively, a novel versatile multiport flow-column corrosion monitoring system (MFC) was developed. MFC allows sectional corrosion rate determination under flow conditions using different types of material, inoculum and packing material. MFC offers great flexibility, ease of operation and accurate corrosion measurements that can be combined with many other techniques. Using MFC, we studied multiple strains of methanogens and compared it with sulfate-reducing bacteria under neutral and low pH conditions. It was revealed by MFC that corrosive methanogens have equally high corrosion potential as sulfate-reducing bacteria. Additionally, siderite is not the dominant nor sole corrosion product of Mi-MIC. Thus, effective corrosion monitoring and establishing standard laboratory practices, i.e. incorporating MFC as part of regular testing process, will provide deeper understanding of MIC. This will allow further microbial electrophysiology understandings, contributing to effective mitigation strategy development. T2 - EUROPEAN MIC NETWORK WEBINAR CY - Online meeting DA - 19.05.2020 KW - MIC KW - Methanogen KW - FIB/SEM KW - Corrosion products KW - Microbiologically influenced corrosion KW - Flow Model KW - Modelling KW - Korrosion PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51554 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Aumont, Cédric T1 - Genomic innovations underlying the evolution of termite social behaviour N2 - The phylogeny of the Blattodea boasts a wide degree of sociality spanning from solitary cockroaches to advanced ecosystem-dominating higher termite societies. The emergence of sociality in the termites was associated with the acquisition of a diverse range of social structures and differential expression of specific gene network. Previous work has found evidence for a caste-specific social defence system in termites leading to an immune system that may favour group over individual defence. While preliminary work suggests a correlation between social transitions and a reduction of immune gene family diversity, the lack of available high-quality termite genomes hampers complete knowledge of the true diversity of immune gene evolution across termite phylogeny. Here, we report on the sequencing and assembly of 50 high-quality long-read-based genomes and 180 caste- and sex-specific brain transcriptomes across major termite and cockroach sister-branch lineage. We investigate the diversity and evolutionary history of immune genes across genomes, and the potential gene networks that have evolved with the emergence of termite sociality and some aspect of immune related behaviours. T2 - Invited talk at University Paris 13 CY - Villetaneuse, France DA - 27.02.2023 KW - Immune gene family KW - Gene network KW - Eusociality KW - Termite phylogeny KW - Group defence PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58300 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Aumont, Cédric T1 - Harnessing near-chromosome level quality genomes to explore the evolution of termite immunity N2 - The phylogeny of the Blattodea boasts a wide degree of sociality spanning from solitary cockroaches to advanced ecosystem-dominating higher termite societies. The emergence of sociality in termites was associated with the acquisition of a diverse range of social structures. Previous work has found evidence for a caste-specific social defence system in termites leading to an immune system that may favour group over individual defence. While preliminary work suggests a correlation between social transitions and a reduction of immune gene family diversity, the lack of available high-quality termite genomes hampers complete knowledge of the true diversity of immune gene evolution across termite phylogeny. Here, we report on the sequencing and near-chromosome level assembly of 48 high-quality long-read-based genomes across major termite and cockroach sister-branch lineages. We investigate the diversity and evolutionary history of immune genes across genomes, focusing particular attention on correlations between immune gene evolution and transitions in sociality over termite phylogeny. T2 - Royal Entomological Society Annual Meeting - Ento23 CY - University of Exeter, Falmouth, UK DA - 05.09.2023 KW - Immune gene family KW - Termite phylogeny KW - Eusociality KW - Group defence PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58296 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Aumont, Cédric T1 - Immune gene family diversity across insects and Blattodea N2 - Insecta is one of the most diverse phyla in the animal kingdom, with species living in all types of habitats encountering an even greater diversity of pathogens and parasites. Defence strategies against such harmful threats led to a variety of molecular mechanisms, ecological shifts, and genetic innovations. Gene families underlying the molecular basis of the immune responses have evolved within the boundaries given by the species ecology. Here, we explore the evolution of some emblematic immune gene families throughout the Insecta phylum shedding light on remarkable genetic events such as gene duplication or gene loss. We followed a workflow based on the Hidden Markov model to search for immune genes in 55 high-quality genomes of insects. We highlight the emergence of group defence in social species as an ecological shift that released selection pressure on immune gene families notably in Blattodea. Further, we draw attention to certain gene families and the link between their diversity and the specificities of the species’ microbiota. Overall, we report data on immune gene diversity in insects. T2 - International Conference for Blattodea Research CY - Münster, Germany DA - 03.04.2023 KW - Immune gene family KW - Genomics KW - Blattodea PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58298 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Aumont, Cédric T1 - Exploring the evolution of termite immunity across phylogeny, sociality and foraging behaviour N2 - The phylogeny of the Blattodea boasts a wide degree of sociality spanning from solitary cockroaches to advanced ecosystem-dominating termite societies. The emergence of sociality in termites was associated with the acquisition of a diverse range of social structures and caste-specific behaviours. From wood-dwelling to fungus-growing and cooperative scouting, termite foraging strategies require different immune defences to confront the diverse pathogens found in the foraging environment. Previous work has found evidence for a caste-specific social defence system in termites leading to an immune system that may favour group over individual defence. While preliminary work suggests a correlation between social transitions and a reduction of immune gene family diversity, the lack of available high-quality termite genomes hampers complete knowledge of the true diversity of immune gene evolution across termite phylogeny. Here, we report on the sequencing and near-chromosome level assembly of 47 high-quality long-read-based genomes across major termite and cockroach sister-branch lineages. We investigate the diversity and evolutionary history of immune genes across genomes, focusing on correlations between immune gene evolution, transitions in sociality and foraging behaviour diversity over termite phylogeny. T2 - ASAB Spring Meeting CY - Exeter, UK DA - 23.04.2024 KW - Termite KW - Immunity PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61695 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Aumont, Cédric T1 - The social brain of termites: investigating gene co-expression network in the Blattodea N2 - The transition to eusociality in termites arose from the sub-social and solitary cockroaches. With it, a more complex ontogeny derived from an ancestral linear developmental pathway common to all cockroaches and a wide array of morphologically distinct castes carrying out the division of labour emerged. We sought to underpine the complexity of this evolutionary transition at the transcriptomic level. We present the gene co-expression network analysis of 305 RNA-seq samples from the brains of 15 species of cockroaches and termites from different instars and castes. With this dataset, we investigate how the network of gene evolved between solitary cockroaches, sub-social cockroach and eusocial termites. Moreover, we investigate the emergence of the two most striking evolutionary innovations in termites, the appearance of the soldier caste, common in nearly all termites and thought to have evolved once and subsequently lost in some species, and the true worker caste, the sterile workforce of the colony thought to have derived from the totipotent false worker caste in four different lineages of termites independently. T2 - International Congress of Entomology CY - Kyoto, Japan DA - 25.08.2024 KW - Termite KW - Genetics PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61696 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -