Performance of a compact submerged membrane sequencing batch reactor (SM-SBR) for greywater treatment

A long-term study was carried out to evaluate the performance of submerged membrane sequencing batch reactors (SM-SBR) for greywater treatment. Three pilot plants were operated in three different countries with distinct wastewaters to prove that treated greywater can be used for reuse purposes.In all plants the permeate quality fulfilled in most cases the high mandatory values of different European directives. Membrane permeability declined significantly within a period of three to four months so that recovery cleanings were necessary 3 to 4 times a year. In general, the treated greywater from an SM-SBR can be reused for irrigation or cleaning purposes. SM-SBR for greywater treatment are especially interesting in cases of space limitations where the small footprint of the system can outweigh inconveniences like frequent chemical cleanings.     

User Experiences with Ozone,Electrolytic Water (Active Water) and UV-C Light (Ventafresh Technology) in Production Processes and for Hygiene Maintenance in a Swiss Sushi Factory

In a sushi production factory in Vuadens, Switzerland, ozone, ultrasound, electrolyzed water, and UV (185 and 254 nm) radiation are employed to sanitize all production equipment and factory space, including incoming and cooled air, as well as to sanitize the sushi products themselves. Fish, vegetables and rice all are washed with electrolyzed water as ultrasound is applied. Sushi itself is disinfected prior to packaging by fumigation with ozone and UV radiation in a special UV Disinfection Tunnel. Packaging materials (film and trays) are disinfected with gaseous ozone and UV radiation. After sealing of the sushi packages with Modified Atmosphere Packaging (including additional oxygen), UV radiation again is applied in another, longer UV Disinfection Tunnel. This transforms about 12–14% of the oxygen remaining inside the packed tray to ozone, creating an ozone-containing atmosphere. By this Ventafresh technology, the shelf-life of sushi products increases from three to seven days. Plant ambient temperature is maintained at 3°C at all times during processing to provide additional improvement in microorganism control. Cost savings at Sushi are significant, but secondary – only one failure and the plant is shut down. Ventafresh is, at the very least, a technological insurance policy that allows the plant manager to sleep at night.     

Electrokinetic remediation of a soil contaminated by the pyritic sludge spill of Aznalcollar (SW, Spain)

The electrokinetic remediation (EKR) of a soil sample contaminated with a sludge spill of pyritic mining origin is studied. The initial total metal content of the soil indicates that there is a very large concentration of Fe (about 100 g/kg), whereas other metals of environmental relevance are Zn (2390 mg/kg), Pb (1740 mg/kg), Cu (459 mg/kg) and Cd (7 mg/kg). A speciation procedure is performed for each of these metals, indicating that their mobility is quite different. Results indicate that EKR allows only the remediation of those fractions of the contaminants which are associated to the exchangeable and weak acid soluble fractions. These speciation results were used to obtain the values of the parameters that were introduced in a newly developed mathematical model which allows the prediction of the extent of the removal, the rate of recovery, and chemicals requirements. The experiments performed indicate that reversed electroosmosis (towards the anode) occurs and decreases the system performance.     

Oscillations in the NO-CO Reaction on Pt(100): NO Decomposition on Island Boundaries

A novel catalyst, Ni/Ce-ZrO₂/-Al₂O₃ has been designed and examined in carbon dioxide reforming of methane. It gives synthesis gas with CH₄ conversion more than 97% at 800 °C and the activity was maintained during the reaction for longer than 40 h. The high stability of the catalyst is mainly ascribed to the beneficial precoating effect of Ce-ZrO₂ resulting in the existence of stable NiO_x species, a strong interaction between Ni and the support, and an abundance of mobile oxygen species in itself. From TPR results, it has been confirmed that NiO_x formation is more favorable than NiO or NiAl₂O₄ formation, resulting in strong interaction between Ni and the support.     

Dynamics of macronutrients during the first stages of litter decomposition from forest species in a temperate area (Galicia,NW Spain)

The decomposition and dynamics of nutrient elements was studied for leaves and twigs from Quercus robur, Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus nitens in soils developed from granodiorite, slate and limestone in Galicia, NW Spain. Two 1-ha plots were selected for each material-vegetation combination, making a total of 18 plots. Litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics during the first six months were investigated using litterbags. Mass loss was higher for leaves than twigs and not significantly different for different tree species. Mass loss correlated significantly with carbon loss (r = 0.96 for leaves, r = 0.90 for twigs). As a general trend, nutrient release from leaves and twigs was greater for the broadleaved species (eucalyptus and oak). K and S were rapidly released from all litters, while Ca and Mg showed the highest tendency to be immobilised. N and P behave similarly, with a final balance of net release. Soil parent material did not significantly influence decomposition or nutrient dynamics.     

Evidence for a sex pheromone in the hide beetle,Dermestes maculatus (De Geer) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Adults of the hide beetle,Dermestes maculatus (De Geer), were shown to have a female-produced sex pheromone which excited males. Male response was positively correlated with increasing age, but females produced a higher level of pheromone at 6–8 days of age than at younger or older ages. Extractable female pheromone and male response varied over the photophase with peak values that occurred during the latter hours. Quantitative bioassay indicated that the 50% male response level (RD₅₀) would be elicited by a pheromone exposure of 0.01 female equivalents (FE). Females extracted 24 hr after mating had a lower level of extractable pheromone than did virgin females of the same age.Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Evidence for a change in valence state for tellurium adsorbed on a Pt(111) electrode

Information about structure and chemical composition of irreversibly deposited tellurium on Pt(111) in sulphuric acid solution has been gathered ex-situ by LEED and XPS as a function of emersion potential. From the chemical shift of the Te 3d_5/2 level, a change in the valence state from Te(0) to Te(IV) with positive-going electrode potential is deduced, the total amount of Te on the surface remaining constant. XP spectra also reveal the presence of Te(II) on the surface, which may be a consequence of partial double layer collapse in the emersed state. The maximum coverage of Te(0) is around 0.4 ML, as derived by XPS and LEED. The coadsorption of anions accompanying the valence transition from Te(0) to Te(IV) has also been studied. It is demonstrated that the very first potential cycle in the region of the surface redox peak, i.e. between +0.65 and +0.45 V versus Ag/AgCl, brings about drastic changes in the adlayer properties. Although XPS has provided strong evidence for a change in the valence state of adsorbed Te on Pt(111), this system has demonstrated the limitations of the ex-situ approach to obtain electrochemical information.     

N,N''''-双(4-氯苯基)脲合成新工艺的研究

提出了一种从对氯苯基异氰酸酯部分水解一步合成N,N'-双(4-氯苯基)脲的新工艺.在对氯苯基异氰酸酯部分水解反应合成N,N'-双(4-氯苯基)脲时,首先把对氯苯基异氰酸酯用丙酮溶解,然后在搅拌下滴加适量水,回流下反应 1 h,然后过滤,用丙酮洗涤,干燥,得N,N'-双(4-氯苯基)脲白色晶体,产率为93%.     

Preliminary results on a new polymer electrolyte,poly(ethyleneoxide)-Hg(CIO4)2

A new solid polymer electrolyte, poly(ethylene oxide)-Hg(ClO₄)₂, has been prepared with the ratio of ethylene oxide units to mercury ions ranging from 4 to 20. The variation of conductivity with temperature does not follow a simple Arrhenius law. At high salt concentrations the films are entirely amorphous.     

关于用R134a制冷剂替代R12制冷剂的应用研究

介绍了国家关于对大气臭氧层有破坏性物质的替代计划,阐述了用Ｒ１３４ａ制冷剂替代Ｒ１２制冷剂的可能性。     

Mechanical properties in torsion for poly(butylene terephthalate) and a poly(ether ester) based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(butylene terephthalate)

The torsional behavior of poly(ether ester) (PEE) thermoplastic elastomer, based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) was studied and compared with that of PBT itself. Two types of experiments were performed: (1) stress relaxation in torsion, and (2) measurement of intermittent couple-twist responses. It was shown that the relaxation of the torsional couple M could be represented as a sum of several exponential terms in the time, rather than as a simple exponential function. This sum might be called a Prony series on the analogy of the usual stress relaxation which occurs after stretching a sample to a certain deformation and holding it constant. The intermittent couple-twist experiments were carried out by analogy with similar experiments in elongation. For PEE the couple rises steadily with the twist, whereas for PBT it rises abruptly and remains constant within the experimental error for high twists. The residual twist, however, showed a similar trend for both PEE and PBT. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 495–502, 1998     

Isolation and Characterization of Nine Microsatellite Loci for a Parasitoid Wasp,Encarsia smithi (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

The parasitoid wasp Encarsia smithi is an important agent in the classical biological control of two species of invasive spiny whiteflies, Aleurocanthus spiniferus and Aleurocanthus camelliae. To evaluate the performance of parasitism indexed by genetic diversity, a highly polymorphic genetic marker is required. In this report, nine microsatellite loci are described for E. smithi. The microsatellite loci were obtained through the construction of an enriched library and exhibited polymorphisms (2–6 alleles per locus) and high levels of expected heterozygosities (0.203–0.780, average 0.537). Linkage disequilibrium and null alleles were not detected in these microsatellite loci. The isolated microsatellite markers may be useful to estimate the genetic diversity of E. smithi.     

Design of a hairpin polyamide, ZT65B, for targeting the inverted CCAAT box (ICB) site in the multidrug resistant (MDR1) gene

A novel hairpin polyamide, ZT65B, containing a 3-methylpicolinate moiety was designed to target the inverted CCAAT box (ICB) of the human multidrug resistance 1 gene (MDR1) promoter. Binding of nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) to the ICB site upregulates MDR1 gene expression and is, therefore, a good target for anticancer therapeutic agents. However, it is important to distinguish amongst different promoter ICB sites so that only specific genes will be affected. All ICB sites have the same sequence but they differ in the sequence of the flanking base pairs, which can be exploited in the design of sequence-specific polyamides. To test this hypothesis, ten ICB-containing DNA hairpins were designed with different flanking base pairs; the sequences ICBa and ICBb were similar to the 3'-ICB site of MDR1 (TGGCT). Thermal-denaturation studies showed that ZT65B effectively targeted ICBa and ICBb (DeltaTM=6.5 and 7.0 degrees C) in preference to the other DNA hairpins (<3.5 degrees C), with the exception of ICBc (5.0 degrees C). DNase I-footprinting assays were carried out with the topoisomerase IIalpha-promoter sequence, which contains five ICB sites; of these, ICB1 and ICB5 are similar to the ICB site of MDR1. ZT65B was found to selectively bind ICB1 and ICB5; footprints were not observed with ICB2, ICB3, or ICB4. A strong, positive induced ligand band at 325 nm in CD studies confirmed that ZT65B binds in the DNA minor groove. The selectivity of ZT65B binding to hairpins that contained the MDR1 ICB site compared to one that did not (ICBd) was confirmed by surface-plasmon studies, and equilibrium constants of 5x10(6)-1x10(7) and 4.6x10(5) M-1 were obtained with ICB1, ICB5,and ICB2 respectively. ZT65B and the previously published JH37 (J. A. Henry, et al. Biochemistry 2004, 43, 12 249-12 257) serve as prototypes for the design of novel polyamides. These can be used to specifically target the subset of ubiquitous gene elements known as ICBs, and thereby affect the expression of one or a few proteins.     

Survey on transport properties of liquids,vapors, and gases in biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)

The transport properties of carbon dioxide, water, and different organic solvents in bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) at 30°C were investigated. CO₂ sorption was measured by the gravimetric method using a recording microbalance at subatmospheric pressures. Results were adequately interpreted in terms of Henry's law. Organic solvent and water permeabilities for both vapors and liquid were measured using a gravimetric cell. The data were interpreted in different terms depending on the units in which permeability was measured. Most of the solvent-polymer systems showed the typical time-lag plot, but in liquid permeation experiments, some anomalous behaviors were observed, with a transient period of rapid permeation at the beginning of the experiment before reaching the steady state. The transport properties of PHB were compared with those of other polymers, either from synthetic or biodegradable origin. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1849–1859, 1997     

Evidence for a cation intermediate during methanol dehydration on Pt(110)

NiB amorphous alloy and Ni catalysts supported on HMCM-22, HZSM-5, HY, -Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ were prepared, respectively, by the chemical reduction method and the standard incipient wetness impregnation method. These catalysts were examined for catalytic performance in the two-step conversion of CH₄ to produce hydrogen and higher hydrocarbons. All catalysts give similar methane conversion and yields of hydrogen and H-deficient carbon-containing species in step I. In the subsequent hydrogenation step (step II), they have similar carbon conversion, however, the yield of C₂ and C₃ hydrocarbons depends greatly on the nature of the metal particles and support acidity. Supported NiB amorphous alloy catalysts offer higher yield of C₂ and C₃ hydrocarbons than the corresponding Ni catalysts, due to their unique properties: nanoscale size, long-range disorder in structure, and electron-deficiency. Of the zeolite supported catalysts, HMCM-22 and HZSM-5 supported catalysts produce higher yield of C₂ and C₃ hydrocarbons than the zeolite HY supported catalyst because of stronger acidity of the supports. A NiB/HMCM-22 catalyst shows a rather slow deactivation during a multiple reaction cycles test. High temperature favors CH₄ decomposition and H₂ production in step I, but makes the subsequent hydrogenation of carbon formed from CH₄ decomposition difficult. The nature of the carbons formed from CH₄ decomposition was also studied by XPS and TEM combined with H₂-TPSR.     

Study on a green synthetic method of TRPPMCl (M = Fe, Mn, Co)

A green synthetic method using mixted solvents of di-methyl formamide (DMF) and acids instead of single DMF to synthesize metalloporphyrins (TRPPMCl) from TRPPH₂ and MCl₂ metallization was proposed in this paper. A series of TRPPMCl (M = Fe, Mn, Co) were synthesized through this innovative synthetic method, and these complexes were characterized with various spectroscopic techniques, including IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results showed that the metallization time was markedly reduced from about 10 h to 0.5 h in contrast with the conventional synthetic methods.     

(1R,3S)-樟脑酸制备(1S,3R)-樟脑酸酐过程中构型翻转的研究

(1S,3R)-樟脑酸酐由(1R,3S)-樟脑酸制得并经过元素分析、红外光谱、比旋光度和X-射线单晶衍射表征。通过晶体结构和量子化学计算的结果对该化合物中两个手性碳原子同时发生构型翻转进行了讨论。(1S,3R)-樟脑酸酐的晶体学数据:正交晶系,空间群为P2(1)2(1)2(1),a=0 64872(15)nm,b=1 1190(3)nm,c=1 3010(3)nm,V=0 9444(4)nm3,Z=4,Dc=1 282Mg·m-3,Rint=0 0555,S=1 001,I>2σ(I)data:R1=0 0454,wR2=0 0927,alldata:R1=0 0588,wR2=0 0959。     

Effectiveness of Annealing on the Structural,Electrical, and Optical Properties of Erbium(III)-tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato) Films for Possible Use in OLEDs

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - In this study, Erbium tris-8-hydroxyquinoline (Erq3) thin films were deposited on a cleaned glass substrate using the thermal...     

Action of far-ultraviolet radiation (185 nm) on poly(ethylene terephthalate) films: a method for controlled dry-etching

Far-ultraviolet light (185 nm) rapidly etches poly(ethylene terephthalate) films without any subsequent processing. Both non-oxidative and oxidative mechanisms are operative.     

Mixing in a multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM) for flash nano-precipitation

Rapid precipitation of both organic and inorganic compounds at high supersaturation requires homogenous mixing to control the particle size distribution. We present the design and characterization of a new multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM). The four-stream MIVM allows control of both the supersaturation and the final solvent quality by varying stream velocities. The design also enables the separation of reactive components prior to mixing. Finally, the design enables mixing of streams of unequal volumetric flows, which is not possible with alternate confined impinging jet mixing geometries. We characterize the mixing performance of the MIVM using competitive fast reactions (the so-called “Bourne reactions”). Adequate micromixing is obtained with a suitably defined Reynolds number when Re>1600. The experimental results are compared to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the fluid mechanics and parallel reactions in the MIVM. Excellent correspondence is found between the simulation and the experimental results with no adjustable parameters. The CFD simulations provide a powerful tool for the optimization of these complex mixing geometries.