Column breakthrough studies for the removal and recovery of phosphate by lime-iron sludge: Modeling and optimization using artificial neural network and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

Increases in the treatment of water to meet the growing water demand ultimately result in unmanageable quantities of residuals, the handling, and disposal of which is a major environmental issue. Consequently, research into beneficial reuse of water treatment residuals continues unabated. This study investigated the applicability of lime-iron sludge for phosphate adsorption by fixed-bed column adsorption. Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted at varying flow rates and bed depths. Fundamental and empirical models(Thomas, Yan,Bohart-Adams, Yoon-Nelson, and Wolboroska) as well as artificial intelligence techniques(Artificial neural network(ANN) and Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system(ANFIS)) were used to simulate experimental breakthrough curves and predict column dynamics. Increase in flow rate resulted in reduced adsorption capacity.However, adsorption capacity was not affected by bed depth. ANN was superior in predicting breakthrough curves and predicted breakthrough times with high accuracy(R~20.9962). Na OH(0.5 mol·L~(-1)) was successfully used to regenerate the adsorption bed. After nine cyclic adsorption/desorption runs, only a marginal decrease in adsorption and desorption efficiencies of 10% and 8% respectively was observed. The same regenerate Na OH solution was reused for all desorption cycles. After nine cycles the eluent desorbed a total of 1550 mg phosphate exhibiting potential for further reuse.     

Experimental demonstration of meso-scale carbon nanotube self-assembled tube structures

In addition to numerous other properties of interest, carbon nanotubes (CNT) promise to form a basis for new materials of extraordinary strength owing mainly to the very high carbon–carbon bond energies and their unique tubular structure at the molecular scale. In the area of materials development, the guiding concept of bio-inspired hierarchical structures combined with controlled fabrication at multiple scales has the potential to result in substantially improved mechanical performance. Here we show examples of a multiple-scale self-assembled tube structure, which are themselves composed of multi-wall CNTs, while also demonstrating some important aspects of their nucleation and growth. These hierarchical and self-assembled objects strongly indicate the feasibility of controlled synthesis of macroscopic CNT structures and CNT-reinforced materials for use in various engineering applications. These applications could encompass the areas of structures, thermal transfer, electronics, fluid dynamics, and micro-fluidics.     

Point-of-need quantitative detection of trihalomethanes in environmental water samples using a highly sensitive and selective fiber-based preconcentration system

Drinking water—a vital part of our ecosystem—is often exposed to contamination through industrialization. Halogenated compounds, for example, trihalomethanes (THMs), are among the most common contaminants, being by-products of water chlorination/treatment. The carcinogenic and health effects of these compounds have motivated scientists to work on the accurate detection of THMs down to 80 ppb in treated water. Here, a superhydrophobic syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) nanofiber mat is used to preconcentrate THMs in environmental water samples, and subsequently, detect them using a well-known colorimetric reaction chemistry. The reaction chemistry yields a visible red/pink chromophore under visible light absorption. This reaction occurs when the preconcentrated THM becomes trapped in the liquid phase of the reaction chemistry, on the surface of the sPP fibers. This fiber mat is electrospun in a way which results in a large water contact angle >150°—allowing the working sensitivity of the reaction chemistry to be heightened and lowering the detection limit. The resulting color change can be analyzed via a simple quantitative color intensity analysis utilizing widely-available software, measuring the THM content in water as low as 0.8 ppb. This cost-effective and selective method was incorporated into a portable device, enabling on-site users to evaluate the quality of drinking water.     

Mine Closure of Pit Lakes as Terminal Sinks: Best Available Practice When Options are Limited?

In an arid climate, pit lake evaporation rates can exceed influx rates, causing the lake to function as a hydraulic terminal sink, with water levels in the pit remaining below surrounding groundwater levels. We present case studies from Western Australia for two mines nearing closure. At the first site, modelling indicates that waste dump covers for the potentially acid forming (PAF) material would not be successful over the long term (1,000 years or more). The second site is a case study where PAF management is limited by the current waste rock dump location and suitable cover materials. Pit lake water balance modelling using Goldsim software indicated that both pit lakes would function as hydraulic terminal sinks if not backfilled above long-term equilibrium water levels. Poor water quality will likely develop as evapoconcentration increases contaminant concentrations, providing a potential threat to local wildlife. Even so, the best current opportunity to limit the risk of contaminant migration and protect regional groundwater environments may be to limit backfill and intentionally produce a terminal sink pit lake.     

Zero-Knowledge Authentication Scheme with Secret Key Exchange

In this paper we formally define proof systems for functions and develop an example of such a proof with a constant number of rounds, which we modify (at no extra communication cost) into an identification scheme with secret key exchange for subsequent conventional encryption. Implemented on a standard 32-bit chip or similar, the whole protocol, which involves mutual identification of two users, exchange of a random common secret key, and verification of certificates for the public keys (RSA, 512 bits) takes less than 3/4 second. Received 1 July 1989 and revised 15 January 1996     

A comparison of two Fortran dialects for expressing parallel solutions for a problem in linear algebra

Recently, AMT has issued an extended version of Fortran Plus [1] which allows software to be developed without the developer needing to take explicit accout of the grid size of the target processor. Fortran-Plus and its extension, Fortran Plus Enhanced [2], have been developed for use on the AMT DAP 510 array processor. This machine has 1024 processors arranged in a square grid with nearest neighbour and wraparound connections. It is interesting to enquire whether the performance of code generated by the Fortran-Plus Enhanced compiler is, for a particular application, superior to that generated by the Fortran-Plus compiler from a program which recognises and is tailored to fit the characteristic features of the DAP 510. In this paper the performances of two implementations of an algorithm for the eigensolution of real tridiagonal symmetric matrices are compared. The algorithm is characterised by its heavy use of matrix operations, all of which can be efficiently implemented on an array processor. Some of the constituent operations commonly occur in other applications while others are specific to the problem being addressed.     

A local discontinuous Galerkin method for a doubly nonlinear diffusion equation arising in shallow water modeling

In this paper, we study a local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) method to approximate solutions of a doubly nonlinear diffusion equation, known in the literature as the diffusive wave approximation of the shallow water equations (DSW). This equation arises in shallow water flow models when special assumptions are used to simplify the shallow water equations and contains as particular cases: the Porous Medium equation and the parabolic p-Laplacian. Continuous in time a priori error estimates are established between the approximate solutions obtained using the proposed LDG method and weak solutions to the DSW equation under physically consistent assumptions. The results of numerical experiments in 2D are presented to verify the numerical accuracy of the method, and to show the qualitative properties of water flow captured by the DSW equation, when used as a model to simulate an idealized dam break problem with vegetation.