Reversible robust data hiding based on wavelet filters modification

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In this paper, a new robust reversible data hiding method is proposed. The method is designed based on wavelet modifications which result in a scalable data...     

A novel microbial fuel cell stack for continuous production of clean energy

Production of sustainable and clean energy through oxidation of biodegradable materials was carried out in a novel stack of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an active biocatalyst was used for power generation. The novel stack of MFCs consist of four units was fabricated and operated in continuous mode. Pure glucose as substrate was used with concentration of 30 g l⁻¹ along with 200 μmol l⁻¹ of natural red (NR) as a mediator in the anode and 400 μmol l⁻¹ of potassium permanganate as oxidizing agent in the cathode. Polarimetry technique was employed to analyze the single cell as well as stack electrical performance. Performance of the MFCs stack was evaluated with respect to amount of electricity generation. Maximum current and power generation in the stack of MFC were 6447 mA.m⁻² and 2003 mW.m⁻², respectively. Columbic efficiency of 22 percent was achieved at parallel connection. At the end of process, image of the outer surface of graphite electrode was taken by Atomic Force Microscope at magnification of 5000. The high electrical performance of MFCs was attributed to the uniform growth of microorganism on the graphite surface which was confirmed by the obtained images.     

The evaluation of autothermal methane reforming for hydrogen production over Ni/CeO2 catalysts

Nanocrystalline Ni/CeO₂ catalysts with various loadings of Ni (10, 15, 20, and 25%) were synthesised by a facile solvent deficient precipitation method for methane autothermal reforming process. The characterisation techniques such as XRD, BET, TPH, H₂-TPR were carried out on fresh and spent samples to investigate the catalytic properties of the Ni/CeO₂. On the basis of characterisation results, the 20% Ni/CeO₂ performs the best activity among the catalysts with different Ni contents. The optimal reaction conditions for autothermal methane reforming has been investigated by evaluating the effect of reaction parameters including the reactivity temperature, the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and H₂O/CH₄ (S/C) and O₂/CH₄ (O/C) molar ratios. The stability of 20 wt% Ni/CeO₂ catalyst at 700 °C is examined for 20 h on-stream reaction. It reveals that the methane conversion starts a graduate decrease trend from the second 10 h, which is found to be because of the sintering of Ni nanoparticles by TPH and BET analysis.     

Batch and fixed‐bed column adsorption of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solution onto functionalised SBA‐15 mesoporous silica

Functionalised SBA‐15 mesoporous silica with polyamidoamine groups (PAMAM‐SBA‐15) was successfully prepared with the structure characterised by X‐ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectra and thermogravimetric analysis. PAMAM‐SBA‐15 was applied as adsorbent for Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions removal from aqueous solution. The effects of the solution pH, adsorbent dosage and metal ion concentration were studied under the batch mode. The Langmuir model was fitted favourably to the experimental data. The maximum sorptive capacities were determined to be 1.74 mmol g^?1 for Cu(II), 1.16 mmol g^?1 for Pb(II) and 0.97 mmol g^?1 for Cd(II). The overall sorption process was fast and its kinetics was fitted well to a pseudo‐first‐order kinetic model. The mean free energy of sorption, calculated from the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm, indicated that the sorption of lead and copper, with E > 16 kJ mol^?1, followed the sorption mechanism by particle diffusion. The adsorbent could be regenerated three times without significant varying its sorption capacity. A series of column tests were performed to determine the breakthrough curves with varying bed heights and flow rates. The breakthrough data gave a good fit to the Thomas model. Maximum sorption capacity of 1.6, 1.3 and 1.0 mmol g^?1 were found for Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II), respectively, at flow rate of 0.4 mL min^?1 and bed height of 8 cm, which corresponds to 83%, 75% and 73% of metallic ion removal, respectively, which very close to the value determined in the batch process. Bed depth service time model could describe the breakthrough data from the column experiments properly. © 2012 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

Prediction of water saturation in a tight gas sandstone reservoir by using four intelligent methods: a comparative study

Neural Computing and Applications - Reservoir water saturation is an important property of tight gas reservoirs. Improper calculation of water saturation leads to remarkable errors in following...     

Parametric study of novel types of dielectric resonator antennas based on fractal geometry

Dielectric resonator antennas with fractal cross sectional areas have been investigated. Two main configurations of these novel types of dielectric resonator antennas have been examined. Analyses of these proposed dielectric resonator antennas are performed numerically using the finite element method and verified by the finite integration technique. Agreement between the methods is excellent. The effects of antenna parameters, such as fractal iteration level and tapering rate of dielectric resonator, are investigated. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2007.     

Cane molasses fermentation for continuous ethanol production in an immobilized cells reactor by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Sodium-alginate immobilized yeast was employed to produce ethanol continuously using cane molasses as a carbon source in an immobilized cell reactor (ICR). The immobilization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was performed by entrapment of the cell cultured media harvested at exponential growth phase (16 h) with 3% sodium alginate. During the initial stage of operation, the ICR was loaded with fresh beads of mean diameter of 5.01 mm. The ethanol production was affected by the concentration of the cane molasses (50, 100 and 150 g/l), dilution rates (0.064, 0.096, 0.144 and 0.192 h^?1) and hydraulic retention time (5.21, 6.94, 10.42 and 15.63 h) of the media. The pH of the feed medium was set at 4.5 and the fermentation was carried out at an ambient temperature. The maximum ethanol production, theoretical yield (Y_E/S), volumetric ethanol productivity (Q_P) and total sugar consumption was 19.15 g/l, 46.23%, 2.39 g l^?1 h^?1 and 96%, respectively.     

New,organo‐soluble,thermally stable aromatic polyimides and poly(amide‐imide) based on 2‐[5‐(3,5‐dinitrophenyl)‐1,3, 4‐oxadiazole‐2‐yl]pyridine

New, thermally stable polyimides and a poly(amide‐imide) containing a 1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐pyridyl pendant group based on 2‐[5‐(3,5‐diaminophenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐yl]pyridine were synthesized. The synthesis and characterization of the model compound 2‐{5‐[(3,5‐bistrimellitimido)phenyl]‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐yl}pyridine (DIDA) were also investigated, and DIDA was used in the preparation of the poly(amide‐imide) in an ionic liquid, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bromide, as a polymerization solvent. The polymers were characterized by separating and characterizing the poly(amic acid) intermediates using infrared and elemental analyses. The prepared polymers were soluble in polar and aprotic solvents, such as dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfoxide, N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone and dimethylacetamide. Thermal behaviour of the polymers was studied using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The inherent viscosities of the polyimide and poly(amide‐imide) solutions were in the range 0.34–0.85 dL g^?1 (in concentrated sulfuric acid with a concentration of 0.125 g dL^?1 at 25 ± 0.5 °C). The removal of Co(II) from aqueous solutions was performed using one of the polyimides. It was found that this polymer had a maximum adsorption capacity and efficiency at pH = 10.0. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Removal of Ni(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) from a ternary aqueous solution by amino functionalized mesoporous and nano mesoporous silica

In the present study, the application for the removal of Ni(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution by using mesoporous silica materials, namely, MCM-41, nanoparticle of MCM-41, NH₂-MCM-41 (amino functionalized MCM-41) and nano NH₂-MCM-41 was investigated. Suitable adsorbents preparation techniques were developed in the laboratory. The effects of the solution pH, metal ion concentrations, adsorbent dosages, and contact time were studied. It was found that NH₂-MCM-41 showed the highest uptake for metal ions in aqueous solution. The results indicated that the adsorption of Ni(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions on the surface of the adsorbent was increased with increasing solution pH. The experimental data were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich equations. Correlation coefficients were determined by analyzing each isotherm. It was found that the Langmuir equation showed better correlation with the experimental data than the Freundlich. According to the parameters of the Langmuir isotherm, the maximum adsorption capacity of NH₂-MCM-41 for Ni(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) was found to be 12.36, 18.25 and 57.74 mg/g, respectively. The kinetic data of adsorption reactions and the evaluation of adsorption equilibrium parameters were described by pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations. The synthesized solid sorbents were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen sorption measurements.     

Performance analysis of a continuous bioreactor for ethanol and acetate synthesis from syngas via <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium ljungdahlii</Emphasis> using exergy concept

In this paper, the exergetic performance of a continuous bioreactor for ethanol and acetate synthesis from syngas via a strictly anaerobic autotrophic bacterium Clostridium ljungdahlii was carried out for the first time. The fermentation process was evaluated using both conventional exergy and eco-exergy principles for measuring the productivity and renewability of the process at various liquid media flow rates. The microorganisms successfully upgraded the syngas into invaluable ethanol and acetate through the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway. The exergy efficiency was found to be in the range of 6.5–77.5 and 6.8–77.5 % during the fermentation using conventional exergy and eco-exergy concepts, respectively. The subtle differences observed in the exergetic parameters using the two exergetic concepts were ascribed to the slow growth rate of the microorganisms. Nevertheless, the eco-exergy concept would strongly be recommended for commercial bioreactor containing living organisms due to the inclusion of the information carried by microorganisms in the exergetic calculation. A desired liquid media flow rate of 0.55 mL/min was found according to a newly defined thermodynamic indictor namely exergetic productivity index. More specifically, the maximum exergetic productivity index of the fermentation process was found to be 8.0 using both approaches when the rate of inflow liquid was adjusted at the optimal value. The results of this study revealed that process yield alone cannot be a reliable performance metric for decision making on the productivity of various biofuel production pathways. Finally, the proposed exergetic framework could assist engineers and researchers to link biochemical and physical knowledge more robustly and to quantify and elucidate the general purpose of productivity and renewability.