Coking reaction in hydrogenation

Asphaltene prepared from a Japanese coal (Akabira, 81.2 wt% C) and coal tar pitch were heat treated under nitrogen or hydrogen. Under nitrogen the initial thermal decomposition produced radicals which abstracted hydrogen from other molecules to stabilize and to produce smaller molecules and gas. The molecules from which hydrogen was abstracted as well as other radicals polycondensed to produce heavier solvent-insoluble fractions. Under hydrogen the radicals were stabilized by hydrogen gas to produce smaller molecules avoiding the production of a heavier fraction. The higher the hydrogen pressure, the smaller was the yield of heavier fraction and the larger the yield of lighter fraction. Higher temperature accelerated the production of the heavier fraction. Donor solvents could reduce the production of the heavier fraction.     

The Role of Intramolecular Quenching in the Catalytic Fading of Dye Mixtures

The catalytic fading of dye mixtures has been investigated, and the influence of a nickel sulphonate group, an intramolecular singlet oxygen quencher, was examined. Dyes containing the quenching group showed improved resistance to catalytic fading in solution and in the solid state.     

Studies on selective adsorption resins. XXI. Preparation and properties of macroreticular chelating ion exchange resins containing phosphoric acid groups

Macroreticular cation exchange resins containing phosphoric acid groups (RGP) were prepared by the reaction of glycidyl methacrylate–divinylbenzene copolymer [or poly(glycidyl methacrylate)]beads (RG) with phosphoric acid or phosphorous oxychloride, and the adsorption behavior of metal ions on the RGP was investigated. The phosphorylation of the polymer beads could be effectively carried out by treatment of the polymer beads with 85% phosphoric acid at 80°C for 3 h. The RGP obtained from glycidyl methacrylate–divinylbenzene (2 mol %) copolymer beads showed high cation exchange capacity, salt splitting capacity, and adsorption capacity for Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Ag⁺. On the other hand, the RGP obtained from poly(glycidyl methacrylate)beads had high adsorption capacity for Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, and UO₂²⁺. The RGP prepared by treating the RG with phosphoric acid had a higher selective adsorption for Li⁺ than for Na⁺.     

Electrodeposition of metallic molybdenum films in ZnCl2-NaCl-KCl-MoCl3 systems at 250 °C

Molybdenum metal film has been electrodeposited in ZnCl₂-NaCl-KCl (0.60:0.20:0.20, in mole fraction) melt containing MoCl₃ at 250 °C. In this melt, a dense film was obtained by potentiostatic electrolysis at 0.15 V versus Zn(II)/Zn for 3 h. However, the film had a thickness of smaller than 0.5 μm and was not adhesive. On the other hand, addition of 4 mol% of KF to the melt led to larger cathodic current in cyclic voltammogram, and gave a dense, adhesive and thicker metal film of ca. 3 μm thickness in the same electrolysis condition as above. The present process is promising as a new method for molybdenum coating at low temperatures.     

Pressure and temperature effects on the hydrogenation of coal-derived asphaltene

Pressure and temperature effects on hydrogenation reactions were examined using coal-derived asphaltene at 390,420 and 450 °C, under 3 and 10 MPa of hydrogen partial pressure. Higher conversion was obtained at higher reaction temperatures. Benzene-insoluble material (Bl) was formed at higher temperatures especially at low hydrogen pressure, this Bl being one-third of the reaction product at 450 °C. From structural analysis of unreacted asphaltenes and product oils, at 390 °C, it was concluded that smaller molecular components convert to oil initially and the larger molecules remain as unreacted asphaltene. Under higher hydrogen pressure for all temperatures carbon aromaticity (f_a) and number of aromatic ring per structural unit (R_aus) in unreacted asphaltenes were lower than those under lower hydrogen pressure suggesting that hydrogenation of the aromatic nucleus was promoted by higher pressure. At lower hydrogen pressure, R_aus for asphaltenes at higher temperature is larger than that at lower temperature. This suggests that at lower hydrogen pressure, dehydrogenation or condensation reactions occur more easily. A large effect at higher hydrogen pressure was a reduction in the extent of condensation reactions. Higher reaction temperatures contribute to splitting of bridged linkages so reducing molecular size and degree of aromatization.     

Automated identification of partially exposed metal object

This paper describes a method for automated shape and pose (position and orientation) identification of partially exposed metal objects that enables safe and efficient excavation of hazardous materials. The method estimates the object pose by matching a model of the object with the area that is extracted from the range image using the characteristics of metal objects. The paper introduces a method for an initial search area for object matching in order to obtain the accurate shape and pose of the partially exposed objects with reasonable calculation time. The experimental results show feasibility of the shape and pose identification of partially exposed objects.     

Isolation of heterothallic haploid and auxotrophic mutants of Schizosaccharomyces japonicus

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus var. japonicus belong to the genus Schizosaccharomyces, together with Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which has been well studied as a model organism. In contrast, Sz. japonicus is poorly characterized and genetic tools were yet to be developed. We here report the isolation of the heterothallic haploids NIG2017, NIG2025 and NIG2028, which were derivatives of a Sz. japonicus homothallic strain (NIG2008). Based on the genomic sequence of Sz. japonicus, released by the Broad Institute, we found that Sz. japonicus also possesses orthologues of the mating‐type genes of Sz. pombe; two mat‐M (?) and two mat‐P (+) genes. As expected, heterothallic strains were defective in one of the Sz. japonicus mat genes (mat^sj). We confirmed that NIG2017 and NIG2025 strains only expressed mRNA from the mat^sj‐P genes, while homothallic strains expressed both mat^sj‐M and mat^sj‐P. Although the NIG2028 strain expressed both gene products, mat^sj‐P was found mutated, which may have conferred the heterothallic phenotype of the mutant. Thus, we concluded that these were stable heterothallic strains. We designated NIG2017 and NIG2025 as h⁺ and NIG 2028 as h^?, respectively. We also found additional h^? strains (NIG5872 and NIG5873) that arose from the cross between NIG2017 and NIG2028 derivatives. In addition to that, we have constructed a ura4^sj‐deleted strain and an ade6^sj‐mutated strain. We used these heterothallic strains and the auxotroph strains to perform spore dissection analysis to determine the genetic distances between several loci, and found that the mating type loci and ade6^sj locus were linked to centromeres. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient Persistent Room Temperature Phosphorescence in Organic Amorphous Materials under Ambient Conditions

Persistent emission with a long lifetime (>1 s) from organic materials can only be observed at a low temperature, because of the significant nonradiative deactivation pathway that occurs at room‐temperature (RT). If organic materials with persistent RT emission in air could be developed, they could potentially be utilized for a variety of applications. Here, organic host‐guest materials with efficient persistent RT phosphorescence (RTP) are developed by minimizing the nonradiative deactivation pathway of triplet excitons. The nonradiative deactivation pathway is dependent on both nonradiative deactivation of the guest and quenching by diffusional motion of the host. The rigidity and oxygen barrier properties of the steroidal compound used as the host suppressed the quenching, and the aromatic hydrocarbon used as the guest is highly deuterated to minimize nonradiative deactivation of the guest. Red‐green‐blue persistent RTP with a lifetime >1 s and a quantum yield >10% in air is realized for a pure organic material.     

Ammonia accumulation in culture broth by the novel nitrogen-fixing bacterium, Lysobacter sp. E4

This is the first report that Lysobacter fixes nitrogen under free-living conditions, as shown by its ability to grow on nitrogen-free medium and accumulate relatively high amounts of ammonia in the culture broth. Growth of the E4 Lysobacter strain, isolated in a screen for nitrogen-fixing and ammonia-producing bacteria, resulted in higher ammonia accumulation (0.53 mM ammonium ion concentration) in media containing glucose rather than other tested carbon sources. The optimum glucose concentration was 0.30% at an initial medium pH of 7.0 and incubation temperature of 30 °C. From time-course experiments, when the glucose in the culture was exhausted, ammonia began to be accumulated, and maximum ammonia accumulation (∼ 1.60 mM) was reached after 8 days of incubation. Ammonia accumulation by this strain required molybdenum, manganese, and iron.