Removal of boron from aqueous solution by adsorption on Al2O3 based materials using full factorial design

This paper aims the adsorption of boron from aqueous solution onto Siral 30 and Pural using 2³ full factorial design. The effect of individual variables and their interactional effects for boron adsorption were also determined. From the statistical analysis, it is inferred that as pH and temperature increased boron adsorption from aqueous solution decreased. Siral 30 was found to be more efficient adsorbent than Pural. The unimportant factor affecting boron adsorption from aqueous solution was also verified by using Fisher adequacy test. At the 90% confidence level, the type of adsorbent, temperature and type of adsorbent–temperature interaction was effective on boron adsorption from aqueous solution. The experimental results were fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (DR) equations to find out adsorption capacities. In most cases, the results indicate that Freundlich and DR equations are well described with the sorption data. The adsorption capacity values of Siral 30 calculated from Freundlich and DR equation was greater than that of Pural. The thermodynamic parameters were also estimated and the adsorption process was not spontaneous nature.     

Robust estimation and hypothesis testing under short-tailedness and inliers

Estimation and hypothesis testing based on normal samples censored in the middle are developed and shown to be remarkably efficient and robust to symmetric shorttailed distributions and to inliers in a sample. This negates the perception that sample mean and variance are the best robust estimators in such situations (Tiku, 1980; Dunnett, 1982). Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University, Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University,     

Comparison of OR and AI methods in discrete manufacturing using fuzzy logic

Since 1950s the techniques of Operations Research (OR) and Optimization have been utilized to increase the efficiency of the production systems. With the widespread use of computers, it has even become easier to deal with industrial problems. However the complexity of the problems still reveals the difficulty in providing solutions. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) seems to attract the attention of the researcher to overcome to the difficulties. This has already been realized with several successful applications. In this study, the use of AI and OR techniques is compared using fuzzy logic. The progress of manufacturing systems, characteristics of production processes, system managements and system behavior are taken into account. The study is focussed on only discrete manufacturing.     

Experimental and theoretical study for the determination of thermal conductivity of porous building material made with pumice and tragacanth

In this study, porous solid materials were produced with mixture combinations of materials such as tragacanth, cement, and pumice aggregate. Thermal conductivities of the produced materials were determined using hot wire methodology. The thermal conductivities of the produced samples ranged from 0.433 to 0.177 W/mK, depending on pumice diameter, pumice, tragacanth, and cement rates. A new model was developed to determine the effective thermal conductivities of the produced samples. The thermal conductivities obtained by the measurements were compared to the ones predicted by the model. The predicted values deviated as 1–31% from the measured values. It was finally shown that the experimental results were in good agreement to the predicted results.     

Biosorption of Acid Red P-2BX by lichens as low-cost biosorbents

The aim of this study is to examine the dye biosorption properties of lichen species called Cladonia convoluta and Evernia prunastri. Since lichens are extensively found in the environment, their suitability as a cheap adsorbent has been investigated in this study. The optimal parameters for textile dye biosorption were also determined. The dried lichen biomass showed better dye biosorption capacity than ash lichen biomass. C. convoluta had better dye biosorption capacity than E. prunastri. Dye biosorption rate was found as 71.41% at optimal conditions. This study concluded that C. convoluta was a successful and cheap biosorbent for treatment of water contaminated by Acid Red P-2BX dye.     

Effect of Bicarbonate Salts and Sequential Using of Frying Oil on Acrylamide and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Contents in Coated Fried Chicken Meat

In this research, the effect of different bicarbonate salts (sodium and ammonium) and their doses (0, 1, 2, and 3 g/100 g raw material) in the coating batter formula use and the sequential use of frying oil (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) on 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and acrylamide contents in coated fried chicken meat. The addition of sodium bicarbonate was efficient for reducing acrylamide content, but it increased browning and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural content compared to the control. When increasing the doses of sodium and ammonium bicarbonate from 1 to 3 g/100 g of raw material, the acrylamide content of samples did not change significantly, although adding sodium bicarbonate significantly reduced the acrylamide content as a control. These research results showed that using about 1 g/100 g raw material sodium bicarbonate rather than ammonium bicarbonate and as little frying oil as possible use during the production of coated and fried meat results in lower contents of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and acrylamide.     

Comparison of a new algorithm with the supervised classifications

In this study, a new classification algorithm in which only the selected pixels have been attempted to be classified (selected pixels classification: SPC) has been introduced and compared with the well known supervised classification methods such as maximum likelihood, minimum distance, nearest neighbour and condensed nearest neighbour. To examine the algorithm, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data have been used to classify the crop cover in the selected region. It is clearly demonstrated that the SPC method has the higher accuracy with comparable CPU times.     

Performance evaluation of a submerged membrane bioreactor for the treatment of brackish oil and natural gas field produced water

Produced water, which is co-produced during oil and gas manufacturing, represents one of the largest sources of oily wastewaters. Therefore, treatment of this produced water may improve the economic viability and lead to a new source of water for beneficial use. In this study a submerged hollow fiber membrane bioreactor (MBR) has been studied experimentally for the treatment of brackish oil and natural gas field produced water. This type of wastewater is also characterized with relatively moderate to high amount of salt, oil and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). However, the bacteria which are growing in conventional activated sludge and MBR cannot survive at these strict conditions, therefore acclimation of the bacteria is of vital importance. The performance of the biological system, membrane permeability, the rate and extent of TPH biodegradability have been investigated under different sludge age and F/M ratios. The results obtained by gas chromatography analyses showed that the MBR system could be very effective in the removal of TPH from produced water and a significant improvement in the effluent quality was achieved.