Improvement of treatment efficiency of thermophilic oxic process for highly concentrated lipid wastes by nutrient supplementation

The biodegradation of highly concentrated lipid wastes was conducted by a thermophilic oxic process (TOP). In order to improve the treatment efficiency of TOP, the stimulatory effect of nutrient supplementation was examined. A model nutrient supplement that satisfied the essential components necessary to promote degradation of lipid wastes was developed. The importance of balanced nutrient supplement consisting of organic and inorganic components was demonstrated. Regardless of the source of either vegetable oil or animal fat, the combination of 1.5 g of yeast extract, 1 g of urea and 60 ml of trace-element solution was effective to stimulate the degradation of 15 g of lipids by TOP. With this combination, degradation efficiencies of 68% and 77% in a 120-h treatment were attained for salad oil and lard, respectively. The conversion ratio of degraded lipid materials to CO2 was 0.91, confirming the advantage of TOP, i.e., very low excess sludge generation. The effectiveness of the model nutrient supplement for stimulating the degradation of lipid materials by TOP was also confirmed when tested on three kinds of actual highly concentrated lipid wastes. A constant degradation efficiency of around 60% in a 120-h treatment was attained for all lipid wastes although further improvement of degradation efficiency was possible by some nutrient addition into the model supplement combination. Based on the model nutrient supplement, the essential components for stimulating oil degradation by TOP and the possible alternative materials for the model nutrient supplement were discussed. The results demonstrated the possibility of employing TOP (stimulated by nutrient supplement) as a new biological treatment strategy for highly concentrated lipid wastes.     

Studies on absorbed water in cellulose by broad-line NMR

Nuclear magnetic resonance absorption spectra of linter cellulose containing various amounts of water were studied to clarify the relation between the amount of absorbed water in cellulose fiber and the molecular motion in such a cellulose–water system. An amorphous cellulose sample was used for the sake of comparison. The changes in line width and second moment of the spectra were measured at various temperatures. From the variation with temperature of the first-derivative curves and the second moments, it has been inferred that the proton movement of absorbed water changes markedly over the approximate range 180°–200°K and that the absorbed water lowers the glass transition temperature of cellulose to room temperature.     

Portable sick house syndrome gas monitoring system based on novel colorimetric reagents for the highly selective and sensitive detection of formaldehyde

Formaldehyde (HCHO) emitted from the furniture and the walls in the rooms injures the eyes, nose, and respiratory organs and causes allergies, which is called sick house syndrome. We designed and synthesized novel colorimetric HCHO-sensing molecules (KD-XA01 and KD-XA02) which possess an enaminone structure and developed a hand-held instrument to monitor indoor HCHO gas with the use of KD-XA01. These sensing molecules produced speedy color changes from colorless to yellow under mild conditions, which was caused by the fact that the enaminone structure in the reagent reacts with HCHO to give a lutidine derivative. This reaction took place not only in the solution phase but also in the solid phase (surface of the cellulose paper). To take advantage of this phenomena, a handy and rapid monitoring system has been developed for detecting indoor HCHO gas using a highly sensitive and selective detection tablet constructed from the porous cellulose paper that contains silica gel as an adsorbent, KD-XA01, and phosphoric acid under optimum conditions. This instrument detected the surface color change of the tablet from white to yellow, which was monitored as a function of the intensity of the reflected light illuminated by an LED (475 nm). The response was proportional to the HCHO concentration at a constant sampling time and flow rate; 0.05 ppm HCHO, which is under the standard value set by the World Health Organization, was able to be detected in 5 min. The detection limit was 0.005 ppm. This monitoring system was not interfered by carbonyl compounds such as acetaldehyde and acetone, alcohols, hydrocarbons, and typical gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, etc., which contributes to the measurement of correct HCHO concentrations. It was possible to monitor the HCHO gas in the room of a new apartment and school using this instrument; the response values were in good agreement with those obtained by the standard DNPH method. This highly sensitive, selective, and handy HCHO gas monitor is widely applicable and convenient for users who are not specialists in this field.     

Effect of Cation Doping on the Superplastic Flow in Yttria-Stabilized Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystals

The superplastic characteristics of various cation-doped yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) were examined. For 1 mol% cation doping the true stress of Y-TZP is very dependent on the ionic radii of the doped cations; for instance, smaller cation radii give rise to lower true stress when compared with the other compositions for the same grain size, strain rate, and testing temperature. The altered true stress level must be due to the change in diffusivity of the accommodation process for grain boundary sliding caused by the addition of cations in ZrO₂. The strain to failure of the doped zirconia is affected by both ionic radius and valence of the dopant cations.     

Effect of Ultrasonication on the Microstructure and Tensile Elongation of Zirconia-Dispersed Alumina Ceramics Prepared by Colloidal Processing

To obtain dense, fine-grained ceramics, fine particles and advanced powder processing, such as colloidal processing, are needed. Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ particles are dispersed in colloidal suspensions by electrosteric repulsion because of polyelectrolyte absorbed on their surfaces. However, additional redispersion treatment such as ultrasonication is required to obtain dispersed suspensions because fine particles tend to agglomerate. The results demonstrate that ultrasonication is effective in improving particle dispersion in suspensions and producing a homogeneous fine microstructure of sintered materials. Superplastic tensile ductility is improved by ultrasonication in preparing suspensions because of the dense and homogeneous fine microstructure.     

Performance Improvement of Current Source Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drives

A high performance variable speed drive system using current source inverter fed induction motor is described. The principle of the drive control is based on the field-orientation method, where the stator current is used as the vector quantity. To improve the system response and to operate smoothly at low speed, a current pulsewidth modulation (PWM) control is provided by means of a feedback loop. This system operates stably and shows a high dynamic performance in a wide range, from zero to rated speed. Dual current source inverter is applied to this drive system which results in a remarkably low copper loss of the motor, even in PWM operation.     

Robot vision robust to changes of lighting conditions using a wide-dynamic-range visual sensor

We have developed a robust vision system for 2D positioning of industrial parts stable to changes of lighting conditions. A wide dynamic range vision sensor that we had developed previously was used to avoid the saturation of object images. Additionally, a gray scale pattern matching technique was employed for robust image processing. Performance of the system with a wide dynamic range vision sensor was investigated experimentally in comparison with that of a system with a conventional video camera. The probability of correct positioning of an object under changing lighting conditions, simulating those in a factory, was 100% for the wide dynamic range vision sensor and 83% for the conventional video camera. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the developed system, revealing that dynamic range expansion of the video cameras is very effective for realizing robust robot vision systems. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 120(2): 34–40, 1997     

Barium Carbonate Phase on the Surfaces of Barium Titanate Particles and in Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Observation of Its Decomposition

A BaCO₃ phase is found on the surfaces of hydrothermally synthesized BaTiO₃ particles; it occurs as aggregates or small protuberances. A small proportion of the phase decomposes to BaO crystallites when heated by a convergent electron beam in a transmission electron microscope. The BaO and BaCO₃ crystallites disappear when they are irradiated successively by the convergent electron beam. The BaO crystallites and the BaCO₃ phase sublimate and/or react with BaTiO₃ crystals whose surface layers are deficient in Ba²⁺ ions.