Leaching behavior of chromium in chrome shaving generated in tanning process and its stabilization

In this study, leaching properties and pollution potential of chromium in chrome shaving (CS), which is a solid residue of leather industry, containing 2.27% Cr were investigated and thermal stabilization procedure was applied to the CS for chromium immobilization. For this purpose, firstly, effects of the liquid/solid ratio, contact time, pH and sequential extraction on the leaching behavior of chromium in the CS were studied. It was determined that the CS-caused chromium pollution is a hazardous material for environment. Thermal stabilization procedure was applied to the CS in the temperature range of 250-500 degrees C for the chromium immobilization. Effective stabilization of chromium in the CS was achieved by heating of CS at 350 degrees C under CO(2) atmosphere. Leaching experiments were also carried out with the samples obtained from the stabilization process and the results compared with that of the CS. Also, TCLP test method was applied to the samples to determine pollution potentials and discharge situations of the CS and its stabilization products. While the chromium concentrations in the test solutions of all samples stabilized thermally at above 350 degrees C were below the USEPA regulatory limit of 5 mg/l, the concentration of chromium leached out from the CS was 30-fold bigger than the USEPA regulatory limit.     

Electrically driven phase transition in magnetite nanostructures

Magnetite (Fe3O4), an archetypal transition-metal oxide, has been used for thousands of years, from lodestones in primitive compasses to a candidate material for magnetoelectronic devices. In 1939, Verwey found that bulk magnetite undergoes a transition at TV approximately 120 K from a high-temperature 'bad metal' conducting phase to a low-temperature insulating phase. He suggested that high-temperature conduction is through the fluctuating and correlated valences of the octahedral iron atoms, and that the transition is the onset of charge ordering on cooling. The Verwey transition mechanism and the question of charge ordering remain highly controversial. Here, we show that magnetite nanocrystals and single-crystal thin films exhibit an electrically driven phase transition below the Verwey temperature. The signature of this transition is the onset of sharp conductance switching in high electric fields, hysteretic in voltage. We demonstrate that this transition is not due to local heating, but instead is due to the breakdown of the correlated insulating state when driven out of equilibrium by electrical bias. We anticipate that further studies of this newly observed transition and its low-temperature conducting phase will shed light on how charge ordering and vibrational degrees of freedom determine the ground state of this important compound.     

Penalized-likelihood estimators and noise analysis forrandoms-precorrected PET transmission scans

This paper analyzes and compares image reconstruction methods based on practical approximations to the exact log likelihood of randoms-precorrected positron emission tomography (PET) measurements. The methods apply to both emission and transmission tomography, however, in this paper we focus on transmission tomography. The results of experimental PET transmission scans and variance approximations demonstrate that the shifted Poisson (SP) method avoids the systematic bias of the conventional data-weighted least squares (WLS) method and leads to significantly lower variance than conventional statistical methods based on the log likelihood of the ordinary Poisson (OP) model. We develop covariance approximations to analyze the propagation of noise from attenuation maps into emission images via the attenuation correction factors (ACF's). Empirical pixel and region variances from real transmission data agree closely with the analytical predictions. Both the approximations and the empirical results show that the performance differences between the OP model and SP model are even larger, when considering noise propagation from the transmission images into the final emission images, than the differences in the attenuation maps themselves.     

Effect of acid passivation and H2 sputtering pretreatments on the adhesive strength of sol–gel derived Hydroxyapatite coating on titanium surface

In this study, in order to increase the adhesive strength of a Hydroxyapatite (HA) coating, deposited on the surface of commercially pure titanium, acid passivation and hydrogen sputtering pretreatments were used. The pure titanium surfaces were passivized by acid solution and treated by hydrogen sputtering, at a temperature of 300 °C for 1 h. Ca(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and NH₄H₂PO₄ were chosen as starting precursors for Ca and P sources. HA coatings on the titanium surface were deposited using the sol–gel method and sintered in air at the temperatures of 750^oC-900 °C for 1 h. XRD, SEM, EDS and AFM analysis techniques were used for structural and morphological characterization. Scratch test was performed for determining the adhesion of HA coatings. The experimental results indicated that compact and crack free HA coating, which has a Ca/P ratio of 1:6, was formed on pure Titanium (Ti) surface. The adhesive strength values of the HA coating, pretreated with H₂ sputtering and acid passivation were found to be 72.84 MPa and 55.83 MPa at temperature of 900 °C, respectively. It was observed that H₂ plasma sputtering pretreatment, improved the adhesive strength of the HA coatings compared to pretreatment with acid passivation.     

Nonporous monosize polymeric sorbents: Dye and metal chelate affinity separation of lysozyme

Lysozyme adsorption onto dye‐attached nonporous monosize poly(2‐hydroxyethyl‐methacrylate‐methylmethacrylate) [poly(HEMA‐MMA)] microspheres was investigated. Poly(HEMA‐MMA) microspheres were prepared by dispersion polymerization. The monochloro‐triazine dye, Cibacron Blue F3GA, was immobilized covalently as dye–ligand. These dye‐affinity microspheres were used in the lysozyme adsorption–desorption studies. The effect of initial concentration of lysozyme and medium pH on the adsorption efficiency of dye‐attached and metal‐chelated microspheres were studied in a batch reactor. Effect of Cu(II) chelation on lysozyme adsorption was also studied. The nonspecific adsorption of lysozyme on the poly(HEMA‐MMA) microspheres was 3.6 mg/g. Cibacron Blue F3GA attachment significantly increased the lysozyme adsorption up to 247.8 mg/g. Lysozyme adsorption capacity of the Cu(II) incorporated microspheres (318.9 mg/g) was greater than that of the Cibacron Blue F3GA‐attached microspheres. Significant amount of the adsorbed lysozyme (up to 97%) was desorbed in 1 h in the desorption medium containing 1.0M NaSCN at pH 8.0 and 25 mM EDTA at pH 4.9. In order to examine the effects of separation conditions on possible conformational changes of lysozyme structure, fluorescence spectrophotometry was employed. We conclude that dye‐ and metal‐chelate affinity chromatography with poly(HEMA‐MMA) microspheres can be applied for lysozyme separation without causing any significant changes and denaturation. Repeated adsorption/desorption processes showed that these novel dye‐attached monosize microspheres are suitable for lysozyme adsorption. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 76: 115–124, 2000     

Technical demand response potentials of the integrated steelmaking site of Tata Steel in IJmuiden

Power generation from intermittent renewable energy sources in northwest Europe is expected to increase significantly in the next 20 years. This reduces the predictability of electricity generation and increases the need for flexibility in electricity demand. Data on demand response (DR) capacities of electricity-intensive consumers is limited for most countries. In this paper, we evaluate the DR potential that can be provided to the Dutch national grid by the integrated steelmaking site of Tata Steel in IJmuiden (TSIJ). TSIJ generates electricity from its works arising gases (WAGs). The DR potentials are evaluated by using a linear optimisation model that calculates the optimal allocation of WAGs of TSIJ in case of a call for DR by the transmission system operator. The optimisation is done subject to the technical constraints of the WAG distribution network, WAG storage capacities, the on-site demand for WAGs and the ramp-up rate of the power plant that runs on WAGs. Results show that TSIJ can supply 10 MW for two programme time units (equal to 15-min period in the Netherlands) of positive DR capacity (demand reduction) with an availability rate of 97%. This is not sufficient for participating in the current emergency capacity programs in the Netherlands, which require at least 20 MW for longer than one programme time unit. Tata Steel can provide 20 MW DR capacity with an availability rate of 65%. The negative DR capacity (demand increase) of Tata Steel in IJmuiden is found to be 20 MW supplied for three programme time units and four programme time units with doubling of blast furnace gas storage capacities.     

Ligand exchange based paraoxon imprınted QCM sensor

In the present work, a paraoxon imprinted QCM sensor has been developed for the determination of paraoxon based on the modification of paraoxon imprinted film onto a quartz crystal combining the advantages of high selectivity of the piezoelectric microgravimetry using MIP film technique and high sensitivity of QCM detection. The paraoxon selective memories have formed on QCM electrode surface by using a new metal–chelate interaction based on pre-organized monomer and the paraoxon recognition activity of these molecular memories was investigated. Molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) film for the detection of paraoxon was developed and the analytical performance of paraoxon imprinted sensor was studied. The molecular imprinted polymer were characterized by FTIR measurements. Paraoxon imprinted sensor was characterized with AFM and ellipsometer. The study also includes the measurement of binding interaction of paraoxon imprinted quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor, selectivity experiments and analytical performance of QCM electrode. The detection limit and the affinity constant (K_affinity) were found to be 0.06 μM and 2.25 × 10⁴ M^? 1 for paraoxon [MAAP–Cu(II)–paraoxon] based thin film, respectively. Also, it has been observed that the selectivity of the prepared paraoxon imprinted sensor is high compared to a similar chemical structure which is parathion.     

Iterated beam search for the combined car sequencing and level scheduling problem

The level scheduling problem is concerned with the final stage of a multi-stage just-in-time production system so that different models of a product are evenly distributed in a discrete production sequence, thereby making the problem practically an unconstrained optimisation problem. The car sequencing problem, on the other hand, is a constraint satisfaction problem based on a number of options constricting the final assembly schedule. The combined car sequencing and level scheduling problem aims to find the optimal production schedule that evenly distributes different models over the planning horizon and satisfies all option constraints. This paper proposes a parametric iterated beam search algorithm for the combined problem that can be used either as a heuristic or as an exact optimisation method. The paper includes a computational study based on a 54-instance test bed that proves the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.