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Conversion of biomass in syngas by means of indirect gasification offers the option to improve the economic situation of any fuel cell system due to lower costs for feedstock and higher power revenues in many European countries. The coupling of an indirect gasification of biomass and residues with highly efficient solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems is therefore a promising technology for reaching economic feasibility of small decentralized combined heat and power production (CHP).The predicted efficiency of common high temperature fuel cell systems with integrated gasification of solid feedstock is usually significantly lower than the efficiency of fuel cells operated with hydrogen or methane. Additional system components like the gasifier as well as the gas cleaning reduce this efficiency. Hence common fuel cell systems with integrated gasification of biomass will hardly reach electrical efficiencies above 30%. An extraordinary efficient combination is achieved in case that the fuel cells waste heat is used in an indirect gasification system. A simple combination of a SOFC and an allothermal gasifier enables then electrical efficiencies above 50%. However, this system requires an innovative cooling concept for the fuel cell stack. Another significant question is the influence of impurities on the fuel cell degradation. The European Research Project “BioCellus” focuses on both questions—the influence of the biogenous syngas on the fuel cells and an innovative cooling concept based on liquid metal heat pipes. First experiments showed that, in particular, higher hydrocarbons—the so-called tars—do not have any significant influence on the performance of SOFC membranes. The innovative concept of the TopCycle comprises to heat an indirect gasifier with the exhaust heat of the fuel cell by means of liquid metal heat-pipes. Internal cooling of the stack and the recirculation of waste heat increases the system efficiency significantly. This concept promises electrical efficiencies of above 50% even for small-scale systems without any combined processes.

SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has been found to be the most pathogenic virus among coronaviruses and is associated with endothelial damage resulting in respiratory failure. Determine whether heparanase and heparan sulfate fragments, biomarkers of endothelial function, can assist in the risk stratification and clinical management of critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit. We investigated 53 critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 admitted between March and April 2020 to the University Hospital RWTH Aachen. Heparanase activity and serum levels of both heparanase and heparan sulfate were measured on day one (day of diagnosis) and day three in patients with COVID-19. The patients were classified into four groups according to the severity of ARDS. When compared to baseline data (day one), heparanase activity increased and the heparan sulfate serum levels decreased with increasing severity of ARDS. The heparanase activity significantly correlated with the lactate concentration on day one (r = 0.34, p = 0.024) and on day three (r = 0.43, p = 0.006). Heparanase activity and heparan sulfate levels correlate with COVID-19 disease severity and outcome. Both biomarkers might be helpful in predicting clinical course and outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

Conversion of biomass in syngas by means of indirect gasification offers the option to improve the economic situation of any fuel cell systems due to lower costs for feedstock and higher power revenues in many European countries. The coupling of an indirect gasification of biomass and residues with highly efficient SOFC systems is therefore a promising technology for reaching economic feasibility of small decentralized combined heat and power production (CHP). The predicted efficiency of common high temperature fuel cell systems with integrated gasification of solid feedstock is usually significantly lower than the efficiency of fuel cells operated with hydrogen or methane. Additional system components like the gasifier, as well as the gas cleaning reduce this efficiency. Hence common fuel cell systems with integrated gasification of biomass will hardly reach electrical efficiencies above 30 percent. An extraordinary efficient combination is achieved in case that the fuel cells waste heat is used in an indirect gasification system. A simple combination of a SOFC and an allothermal gasifier enables then electrical efficiencies above 50%. But this systems requires an innovative cooling concept for the fuel cell stack. Another significant question is the influence of impurities on the fuel cells degradation. The European Research Project ‘BioCellus’ focuses on both questions — the influence of the biogenious syngas on the fuel cells and an innovative cooling concept based on liquid metal heat pipes. First experiments showed that in particular higher hydrocarbons — the so-called tars — do not have an significant influence on the performance of SOFC membranes. The innovative concept of the TopCycle comprises to heat an indirect gasifier with the exhaust heat of the fuel cell by means of liquid metal heat pipes. Internal cooling of the stack and the recirculation of waste heat increases the system efficiency significantly. This concept promises electrical efficiencies of above 50 percent even for small-scale systems without any combined processes.