Water bamboo husk reinforced poly(lactic acid) green composites

The water bamboo husk is one of major agricultural wastes in Taiwan. In this study, the powder obtained from the water bamboo husk was added to poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to form novel reinforced biodegradable composites. Morphologies, mechanical properties, and heat resistance of these water bamboo powder reinforced composites were investigated. The results indicate that the char yields were increased as plant powder was incorporated to PLA. In addition, the mechanical properties were also enhanced due to the addition of powders. The increments of storage moduli of PLA were about 50–200%. Moreover, the increments of loss moduli of PLA were about 70–200%. On the other hand, the T_g of PLA was slightly decreased by the addition of powder, and this may improve the brittle characteristics of PLA. Furthermore, this type of reinforced PLA would be more environmental friendly than the artificial additive‐reinforced one. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Oil yield and compressibility modeling during microscale expression: Criteria for linseed breeding

Seven linseed varieties were harvested at seven times before complete maturity. Microscale oilseed expressions were subsequently carried out on it. A pressure of 10 MPa was applied for 1 h under uniaxial stress. The results were characterized in terms of oil, water and mucilage content, harvest date and oil yield. The piston displacement versus time (creep curves) was described by a four‐Kelvin‐Voigt elements viscoelastic model. Parameters were derived from the model, such as the mechanical properties of seeds (compressibility moduli), showing that the viscoelastic model fits well the experimental data (R² ≈ 0.999). The modeling parameters were combined with some biochemical data in order to predict the kinetics of oil extraction.     

Introducing fuzziness in object models and database interfaces through aspects

Imperfection in information can be considered a crosscutting concern that manifests itself in diverse kinds of imprecision, uncertainty, or inconsistency in the data models of a software system. The extension of existing programming and querying interfaces for the different aspects of information imperfection requires a proper modularization of the different concerns of numerical imprecision handling, so that the extensions do not interfere with existing programming practices and do not obscure the original design. Aspect‐oriented design (AOD) enables such a form of nonintrusive extensions to be added to existing software libraries, clearly separating fuzziness or other imperfections in data as a differentiated concern that can be considered from the early phases of development. In this article, a general framework for aspect‐based extension of data models and fuzzy databases is described, and some design and implementation issues of such AOD‐based extensions on OJB database libraries are described as a case study. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 1199–1216, 2006.     

Aerobic degradation by white‐rot fungi of trichloroethylene (TCE) and mixtures of TCE and perchloroethylene (PCE)

BACKGROUND: Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) are considered among the most important groundwater pollutants around the world. These compounds are usually found together in polluted environments but little is known about the ability of microorganisms to simultaneously degrade TCE and PCE. RESULTS: Data showed that several species of white‐rot fungi, including Trametes versicolor, Ganoderma lucidum, and Irpex lacteus, degrade substantial levels of TCE in pure culture. T. versicolor was chosen for further study since it degraded higher levels of TCE than the other organisms. Initial glucose concentration and reoxygenation of samples increased the amount of TCE dechlorination, but no significant difference in percentage TCE degradation was observed. T. versicolor was able to degrade 34.1 and 47.7% of PCE and TCE added as mixtures (containing 5 and 10 mg L⁻¹, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The degradation ability of TCE was extended to other species of white‐rot fungi. Percentage degradation as well as chloride release from mixtures of TCE and PCE showed that T. versicolor degrades mixtures of TCE and PCE almost as well as its ability to degrade individually added TCE or PCE. The results suggest the potential promise of T. versicolor for bioremediation of TCE and PCE in the environment. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Characterization of Thai limestone for desulphurization in a fluidized bed combustor

The objective of this study is to determine the chemical kinetics of desulphurization of Thai limestone in an atmospheric fluidized bed combustor (AFBC). The experiments, which employed the batch technique using the limestone samples from six major sources in Thailand, were performed in a laboratory‐scale AFBC. The results obtained were analysed and correlated in the form of apparent reaction rate and deactivation rate constants as a function of operating conditions of the furnace and their properties, respectively. The formulae derived from these correlations were kept as general as possible in order that they could be used as input parameters for the selected mathematical model of desulphurization in an AFBC that is suitable for practical use. The predicted results were in good agreement with the experimental data reported in the literature. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.