The aim of the UniProt Knowledgebase is to provide users with a comprehensive, high-quality and freely accessible set of protein sequences annotated with functional information. In this publication we describe enhancements made to our data processing pipeline and to our website to adapt to an ever-increasing information content. The number of sequences in UniProtKB has risen to over 227 million and we are working towards including a reference proteome for each taxonomic group. We continue to extract detailed annotations from the literature to update or create reviewed entries, while unreviewed entries are supplemented with annotations provided by automated systems using a variety of machine-learning techniques. In addition, the scientific community continues their contributions of publications and annotations to UniProt entries of their interest. Finally, we describe our new website (https://www.uniprot.org/), designed to enhance our users’ experience and make our data easily accessible to the research community. This interface includes access to AlphaFold structures for more than 85% of all entries as well as improved visualisations for subcellular localisation of proteins.

This work explores the mineral carbonation of stainless steel slags in search for a technically and economically feasible treatment solution that steers these waste residues away from costly disposal in landfills and into valuable applications. Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) and Continuous Casting (CC) slags prove ideal for mineral carbonation as their powdery morphology forgoes the need for milling and provides sufficient surface area for high reactivity towards direct aqueous carbonation. Experiments were undertaken using two methodologies: unpressurized thin-film carbonation, and pressurized

Treatment and disposal of Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag, a residue of the steel production process characterized by high basicity and propensity for heavy metal leaching, is a costly burden on metallurgical plants; a sustainable valorization route is desired. The stabilization of BOF slag utilizing hot-stage carbonation treatment was investigated; this approach envisions carbonation during the hot-to-cold pathway followed by the material after the molten slag is poured and solidified. Three experimental 2 methodologies were employed: (i) in-situ thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) carbonation was used to assess carbonation reaction kinetics and thermodynamic equilibrium at high temperatures; (ii) pressurized basket reaction carbonation was used to assess the effects of pressurization, steam addition and slag particle size; and (iii) atmospheric furnace carbonation was used to assess the effect of carbonation on the mineralogy, basicity and heavy metal leaching properties of the slag. Free lime was found to be the primary mineral participating in direct carbonation of BOF slag. Initial carbonation kinetics were comparable at temperatures ranging from 500 to 800 o C, but higher temperatures aided in solid state diffusion of CO 2 into the unreacted particle core, thus increasing overall CO 2 uptake. The optimum carbonation temperature of both BOF slag and pure lime lies just below the transition temperature between carbonation stability and carbonate decomposition: 830-850 o C and 750-770 o C at 1 atm and 0.2 atm CO 2 partial pressures, respectively. Pressurization and steam addition contribute marginally to CO 2 uptake. CO 2 uptake progressively decreases with increasing particle size, but basicity reduction is similar independent of particle size. The solubility of some heavy metals reduced after carbonation (barium, cobalt and nickel), but vanadium and chromium leaching increased.

Gas-liquid two-phase flow in a microfluidic T-junction with nearly square microchannels of 113 μm hydraulic diameter was investigated experimentally and numerically. Air and water superficial velocities were 0.018-0.791 m/s and 0.042-0.757 m/s, respectively. Three-dimensional modeling was performed with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software FLUENT and the volume-of-fluid (VOF) model. Slug flow (snapping/breaking/jetting) and stratified flow were observed experimentally. Numerically predicted void fraction followed a linear relationship with the homogeneous void fraction, while experimental values depended on the superficial velocity ratio U G /U L . Higher experimental velocity slip caused by gas inlet pressure build-up and oscillation caused deviation from numerical predictions. Velocity slip was found to depend on the cross-sectional area coverage of the gas slug, the formation of a liquid film and the presence of liquid at the channel corners. Numerical modeling was found to require improvement to treat the contact 2 angle and contact line slip, and could benefit from the use of a dynamic boundary condition to simulate the compressible gas phase inlet reservoir.

Several aspects of ultrasound-assisted mineral carbonation were investigated in this work. The objectives were to intensify the CO 2 sequestration process to improve reaction kinetics and maximal conversion. Stainless steel slags, derived from the Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) and Continuous Casting / Ladle Metallurgy (CC/LM) refining steps, were used for assessing the technical feasibility of this concept, as they are potential carbon sinks and can benefit from reduction in alkalinity (pH) by mineral carbonation. Ultrasound was applied by use of an ultrasound horn into the reaction slurry, where mineral carbonation reaction took place at 50 o C for up to four hours; comparison was made to solely mechanically mixed process. It was found that sonication increases the reaction rate after the initial stage, and permits achieving higher carbonate conversion and lower pH. AOD slag conversion increased from 30% to 49%, and pH decreased from 10.6 to 10.1; CC slag conversion increased from 61% to 73% and pH decreased from 10.8 to 9.9. The enhancement effect of ultrasound was attributed to the removal of passivating layers (precipitated calcium carbonate and depleted silica) that surround the unreacted particle core and inhibit mass transfer. Significant particle size reduction was observed for sonicated powders, compared to particle size growth in the case of stirring only; D[4,3] values increased without sonication by 74% and 50%, and decreased with sonication by 64% and 52%, respectively for AOD and CC slags. Considerations on scale-up of this technology, particularly with regards to energy efficiency, are also discussed.