Calamine and Coal tar ointment

Zinc, both in elemental or in its salt forms, has been used as a therapeutic modality for centuries. Topical preparations like zinc oxide, calamine, or zinc pyrithione have been in use as photoprotecting, soothing agents or as active ingredient of antidandruff shampoos. Its use has expanded manifold over the years for a number of dermatological conditions including infections (leishmaniasis, warts), inflammatory dermatoses (acne vulgaris, rosacea), pigmentary disorders (melasma), and neoplasias (basal cell carcinoma). Although the role of oral zinc is well-established in human zinc deficiency syndromes including acrodermatitis enteropathica, it is only in recent years that importance of zinc as a micronutrient essential for infant growth and development has been recognized. The paper reviews various dermatological uses of zinc.

Abstract licence: CC BY

AbstractMetals and alloys are among the most technologically important materials for our industrialized societies. They are the most common structural materials used in cars, airplanes and buildings, and constitute the technological core of most electronic devices. They allow the transportation of energy over great distances and are exploited in critical parts of renewable energy technologies. Even though primary metal production industries are mature and operate optimized pyrometallurgical processes, they extensively rely on cheap and abundant carbonaceous reactants (fossil fuels, coke), require high power heating units (which are also typically powered by fossil fuels) to calcine, roast, smelt and refine, and they generate many output streams with high residual energy content. Many unit operations also generate hazardous gaseous species on top of large CO2 emissions which require gas-scrubbing and capture strategies for the future. Therefore, there are still many opportunities to lower the environmental footprint of key pyrometallurgical operations. This paper explores the possibility to use greener reactants such as bio-fuels, bio-char, hydrogen and ammonia in different pyrometallurgical units. It also identifies all recycled streams that are available (such as steel and aluminum scraps, electronic waste and Li-ion batteries) as well as the technological challenges associated with their integration in primary metal processes. A complete discussion about the alternatives to carbon-based reduction is constructed around the use of hydrogen, metallo-reduction as well as inert anode electrometallurgy. The review work is completed with an overview of the different approaches to use renewable energies and valorize residual heat in pyrometallurgical units. Finally, strategies to mitigate environmental impacts of pyrometallurgical operations such as CO2 capture utilization and storage as well as gas scrubbing technologies are detailed. This original review paper brings together for the first time all potential strategies and efforts that could be deployed in the future to decrease the environmental footprint of the pyrometallurgical industry. It is primarily intended to favour collaborative work and establish synergies between academia, the pyrometallurgical industry, decision-makers and equipment providers.Graphical abstractHighlightsA more sustainable production of metals using greener reactants, green electricity or carbon capture is possible and sometimes already underway. More investments and pressure are required to hasten change.DiscussionIs there enough pressure on the aluminum and steel industries to meet the set climate targets?The greenhouse gas emissions of existing facilities can often be partly mitigated by retrofitting them with green technologies, should we close plants prematurely to build new plants using greener technologies?Since green or renewable resources presently have limited availability, in which sector should we use them to maximize their benefits?

Abstract licence: CC BY

Topical treatments are essential approaches to skin diseases but are associated with poor adherence. Topical vehicles have the primary purpose of ensuring drug effectiveness (by modulating drug stability and delivery, as well as skin properties) but have a marked impact on treatment outcomes as they influence patient satisfaction and, consequently, adherence to topical treatments. There is also a wide variety of vehicles available for topical formulations, which can complicate the decisions of clinicians regarding the most appropriate treatments for specific skin disorders. One of the possible strategies to improve topical-treatment adherence is the implementation of patient-centric drug-product design. In this process, the patient's needs (e.g., those related to motor impairment), the needs associated with the disease (according to the skin lesions' characteristics), and the patient's preferences are taken into consideration and translated into a target product profile (TPP). Herein, an overview of topical vehicles and their properties is presented, along with a discussion of the patient-centric design of topical dermatological medicines and the proposal of TPPs for some of the most common skin diseases.

Abstract licence: CC BY

As a by-product of coal chemical industry, it is very suitable to be used as carbon precursor to prepare carbon materials because of its rich aromatic hydrocarbons. However, the preparation of carbon materials often uses a lot of metal oxides and strong alkali, which will not only cause corrosion to the equipment, but also produce wastewater. Herein, the mixture of bicarbonate and hydrogen oxalate was used as template and activator to synthesize porous carbon nanosheets, which presents high specific surface area of 784.8 m2 g−1 and multiple ion transport channels. Due to those merits, the PCNS2 cathode displays superior zinc ion storage performance, such as high specific capacity of 210.1 F g−1, excellent energy density and power output of 83.3 Wh kg−1 and 17.2 kW kg−1 and long cycle life with capacity retention of 98.57% after 11,000 cycles. This work provides an avenue to prepare porous carbon nanosheets for energy storage devices.

Abstract licence: CC BY 4.0

AbstractIn this experiment, a fixed bed of pyrolysis was used to conduct pyrolysis with coal and a mixture of coal and catalyst, and the distribution and composition of tar products were studied. The pyrolysis of raw coal was carried out at different temperatures and at different constant temperature times, and the effects of pyrolysis temperature and constant temperature pyrolysis time on tar product formation from raw coal pyrolysis were studied. γ-Al2O3 was used as the carrier, and 4 kinds of alkaline earth metal oxides (MgO, CaO, SrO, BaO), 3 kinds of subgroup metal oxides (Fe2O3, Co2O3, NiO) and 5 kinds of VIII metal oxides (Cr2O3, MnO2, CuO, ZnO, MnO2) were selected as active components. The supported γ-Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by the method of equal volume impregnation and roasting in a muffle furnace. The γ-Al2O3 catalyst was characterized by means of XPS, BET and SEM, and the mechanism of the mixed pyrolysis of coal with different metal oxide supported catalysts to generate tar was studied. The results showed that: (1) under the conditions of 450 °C, 500 °C, 550 °C and 600 °C, the maximum tar yield was 0.32 g at 600 °C, and the tar yield was higher at constant temperature for 15 min than at final temperature of 600 °C, with an increase of 15.63%. (2) Fe2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalyst resulted in the highest tar yield of 0.75 g, which was 134.38% higher than that of coal pyrolysis. (3) From the increase of light oil and phenol oil and the decrease of anthracene oil and asphalt, Co2O3/γ-Al2O3, Fe2O3/γ-Al2O3 and Cr2O3/γ-Al2O3 can improve the tar quality better.

Abstract licence: CC BY 4.0