Corrosion Testing of Ni Alloy HVOF Coatings in High Temperature Environments for Biomass Applications

This paper reports the corrosion behavior of Ni alloy coatings deposited by high velocity oxyfuel spraying, and representative boiler substrate alloys in simulated high temperature biomass combustion conditions. Four commercially available oxidation resistant Ni alloy coating materials were selected: NiCrBSiFe, alloy 718, alloy 625, and alloy C-276. These were sprayed onto P91 substrates using a JP5000 spray system. The corrosion performance of the coatings varied when tested at ~525, 625, and 725 °C in K₂SO₄-KCl mixture and gaseous HCl-H₂O-O₂ containing environments. Alloy 625, NiCrBSiFe, and alloy 718 coatings performed better than alloy C-276 coating at 725 °C, which had very little corrosion resistance resulting in degradation similar to uncoated P91. Alloy 625 coatings provided good protection from corrosion at 725 °C, with the performance being comparable to wrought alloy 625, with significantly less attack of the substrate than uncoated P91. Alloy 625 performs best of these coating materials, with an overall ranking at 725 °C as follows: alloy 625 > NiCrBSiFe > alloy 718 ? alloy C-276. Although alloy C-276 coatings performed poorly in the corrosion test environment at 725 °C, at lower temperatures (i.e., below the eutectic temperature of the salt mixture) it outperformed the other coating types studied.     

African lake management initiatives: The global connection

There is a global dimension to lake management in Africa and elsewhere that will require a concerted action not only from individual riparian states, but also from regional, continental and global communities. The current global lake threats arise from climate change, regional land degradation and semivolatile contaminants, and share the common feature that the atmosphere is the vector that spreads their impacts over large areas and to many lakes. The Great Lakes of Africa (Malawi, Victoria and Tanganyika) are particularly sensitive to these problems because of their enormous surface areas, slow water flushing rates, and the importance of direct rainfall in their water budgets. Their response times might be slow to yield a detectable change and, unfortunately, their recovery times might also be slow. It is possible for atmospheric effects to act antagonistically to the impacts of catchment change, but antagonistic effects could become synergistic in the future. Improved understanding of the physical dynamics of these lakes, and development of models linking their physical and biogeochemical behaviour to regional, mesoscale climate models, will be necessary to guide lake managers.     

Comparison of pulp-mill-integrated hydrogen production from gasified black liquor with stand-alone production from gasified biomass

When gasified black liquor is used for hydrogen production, significant amounts of biomass must be imported. This paper compares two alternative options for producing hydrogen from biomass: (A) pulp-mill-integrated hydrogen production from gasified back liquor; and (B) stand-alone production of hydrogen from gasified biomass. The comparison assumes that the same amount of biomass that is imported in Alternative A is supplied to a stand-alone hydrogen production plant and that the gasified black liquor in Alternative B is used in a black liquor gasification combined cycle (BLGCC) CHP unit. The comparison is based upon equal amounts of black liquor fed to the gasifier, and identical steam and power requirements for the pulp mill. The two systems are compared on the basis of total CO₂ emission consequences, based upon different assumptions for the reference energy system that reflect different societal CO₂ emissions reduction target levels. Ambitions targets are expected to lead to a more CO₂–lean reference energy system, in which case hydrogen production from gasified black liquor (Alternative A) is best from a CO₂ emissions’ perspective, whereas with high CO₂ emissions associated with electricity production, hydrogen from gasified biomass and electricity from gasified black liquor (Alternative B) is preferable.     

Effect of sodium chlorate on Salmonella typhimurium concentrations in the weaned pig gut

Salmonella cause economic losses to the swine industry due to disease and compromised food safety. Since the gut is a major reservoir for Salmonella, strategies are sought to reduce their concentration in pigs immediately before processing. Respiratory nitrate reductase activity possessed by Salmonella also catalyzes the intracellular reduction of chlorate (an analog of nitrate) to chlorite, which is lethal to the microbe. Since most gastrointestinal anaerobes lack respiratory nitrate reductase, we conducted a study to determine if chlorate may selectively kill Salmonella within the pig gut. Weaned pigs orally infected with 8 x 10(7) CFU of a novobiocin- and nalidixic acid-resistant strain of Salmonella Typhimurium were treated 8 and 16 h later via oral gavage (10 ml) with 0 or 100 mM sodium chlorate. Pigs were euthanized at 8-h intervals after receiving the last treatment. Samples collected by necropsy were cultured qualitatively and quantitatively for Salmonella and for most probable numbers of total culturable anaerobes. A significant (P < 0.05) chlorate treatment effect was observed on cecal concentrations of Salmonella, with the largest reductions occurring 16 h after receiving the last chlorate treatment. An observed treatment by time after treatment interaction suggests the chlorate effect was concentration dependent. Chlorate treatment may provide a means to reduce foodborne pathogens immediately before harvest.     

Genotypic variation among arcobacter isolates from a farrow-to-finish swine facility

Arcobacter spp. were isolated from nursing sows and developing pigs on three farms of a farrow-to-finish swine operation and market-age pigs at slaughter. Isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction and genotypic fragment patterns were examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Incidences of Arcobacter-positive samples increased progressively as the pigs aged, resulting in all of the pens at the end of the growth cycle in the finishing barn containing Arcobacter-positive feces. However, only 10 of 350 cecal samples from slaughtered pigs were positive. There was little similarity between genotypic patterns for Arcobacter collected from the three farms. The level of genotypic variation revealed by PFGE suggested that pigs in this farrow-to-finish operation were colonized by multiple Arcobacter parent genotypes that may have undergone genomic rearrangement, common to members of Campylobacteraceae, during successive passages through the animals. Additionally, the level of genotypic diversity seen among Arcobacter isolates from farms of a single farrow-to-finish swine operation suggests an important role for genotypic phenotyping as a source identification and monitoring tool during outbreaks.     

The Great Lakes Cladophora Model: Development,testing, and application to Lake Michigan

A recent review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement has concluded that while controls on phosphorus inputs to Lake Michigan achieved the desired effect in offshore waters, the nearshore region continues to suffer from elevated phosphorus levels. Failure to achieve trophic state goals in the nearshore is manifested in nuisance growth of Cladophora and attendant impacts on property owners, utilities, and the public health and welfare. This study focuses on a site in Lake Michigan near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where nuisance growth of Cladophora and associated beach fouling occur regularly. A mechanistic model simulating Cladophora growth, suitable for guiding nutrient management in the Great Lakes nearshore, is presented. The model represents an update of the Canale and Auer framework, reflecting current understandings of Cladophora ecology and offering a user-friendly interface making the software more widely available to decision makers. This Great Lakes Cladophora Model (GLCM) is first validated for the Auer/Canale data set collected in 1979 at a site on Lake Huron and then for a data set developed in 2006 for a site on Lake Michigan. Model performance under the strikingly different forcing conditions (depth, light, phosphorus levels) characteristic of these two sites affirms the widespread applicability of the tool. The GLCM is then extended to examine the impacts of ecosystem perturbation (dreissenid colonization) on Cladophora growth and to future approaches to monitoring and management.     

Precipitation Procedures For Sodium,Potassium And Chloride Localization In Leaf Cells Of The Halophyte Suaeda Maritima

Attempts have been made to localize sodium and potassium with antimonate and cobaltinitrite reagents in Suaeda leaf segments by rapid aqueous and freeze-substitution precipitation procedures and to localize chloride by freeze-substitution precipitation with silver ions. Substantial sodium losses occurred from the tissue during both types of preparation although potassium and chloride losses were considerably reduced by the use of freeze-substitution when compared with the rapid aqueous procedures. The losses during freeze-substitution resulted from the required use of ethanol as substitution solvent (rather than acetone or diethyl ether, in which the reagents were much less soluble). Analytical electron microscopy showed that silver and cobaltinitrite specifically precipitated chloride and potassium respectively, but antimonate did not specifically precipitate sodium. The vacuoles were important sites of silver and antimonate deposits, although the chloroplasts were the major sites of cobaltinitrite localization. The value of these techniques in ion localization studies is discussed.     

First-Principles Calculation of the Third Virial Coefficient of Helium

Knowledge of the pair and three-body potential-energy surfaces of helium is now sufficient to allow calculation of the third density virial coefficient, C(T), with significantly smaller uncertainty than that of existing experimental data. In this work, we employ the best available pair and three-body potentials for helium and calculate C(T) with path-integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) calculations supplemented by semiclassical calculations. The values of C(T) presented extend from 24.5561 K to 10 000 K. In the important metrological range of temperatures near 273.16 K, our uncertainties are smaller than the best experimental results by approximately an order of magnitude, and the reduction in uncertainty at other temperatures is at least as great. For convenience in calculation of C(T) and its derivatives, a simple correlating equation is presented.     

Effect of phosphate binders on oxidative stress and inflammation markers in hemodialysis patients

It has been suggested that phosphate binders may reduce the inflammatory state of hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, it is not clear whether it has any effect on oxidative stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sevelamer hydrochloride (SH) and calcium acetate (CA) on oxidative stress and inflammation markers in HD patients. Hemodialysis patients were randomly assigned to therapy with SH (n=17) or CA (n=14) for 1 year. Before the initiation of therapy (baseline) and at 12 months, we measured in vitro reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by stimulated and unstimulated polymorphonuclear neutrophils and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-10, C-reactive protein, and albumin. There was a significant reduction of spontaneous ROS production in both groups after 12 months of therapy. There was a significant decrease of Staphylococcus aureus stimulated ROS production in the SH group. There was a significant increase in albumin serum levels only in the SH group. In the SH group, there was also a decrease in the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α and C-reactive protein. Our results suggest that compared with CA treatment, SH may lead to a reduction in oxidative stress and inflammation. Therefore, it is possible that phosphate binders exert pleiotropic effects on oxidative stress and inflammation, which could contribute toward decreasing endothelial injury in patients in HD.     

Incorporating Both Physical and Kinetic Limitations in Quantifying Dissolved Oxygen Flux to Aquatic Sediments

Traditionally, dissolved oxygen (DO) fluxes have been calculated using the thin-film theory with DO microstructure data in systems characterized by fine sediments and low velocities. However, recent experimental evidence of fluctuating DO concentrations near the sediment-water interface suggests that turbulence and coherent motions control the mass transfer, and the surface renewal theory gives a more mechanistic model for quantifying fluxes. Both models involve quantifying the mass transfer coefficient (k) and the relevant concentration difference (ΔC). This study compared several empirical models for quantifying k based on both thin-film and surface renewal theories, as well as presents a new method for quantifying ΔC (dynamic approach) that is consistent with the observed DO concentration fluctuations near the interface. Data were used from a series of flume experiments that includes both physical and kinetic uptake limitations of the flux. Results indicated that methods for quantifying k and ΔC using the surface renewal theory better estimated the DO flux across a range of fluid-flow conditions.