Effluent quality variation from multicomponent substrates in the activated sludge process

The objectives of this investigation were: (1) to examine the overall substrate removal of a three component mixture by an acclimated seed using total organic carbon measurements, (2) to observe the rates of removal of each of the three components in the mixture at four different food-to-microorganism ratios (F/M), (3) to show the effects of the composition of the substrate with varying degradability on effluent quality, and (4) to observe the effects of sludge age on total substrate removal.To accomplish these objectives, sludge from a municipal sewage treatment plant was acclimated as seed in a continuous flow, completely mixed laboratory reactor. A multicomponent substrate consisting of a mixture of glucose, phenol and sulfanilic acid, was fed at different F/M ratios. The removal rate was determined as total organic carbon and specific analytical measurements for each substrate in the influent and effluent samples were also made. Various combinations of glucose, phenol and sulfanilic acid were used as a substrate in three runs. This made it possible to observe the removal rate of each substrate in the mixture as related to their individual biodegradability as well as their influent concentrations.The results showed that for the three substrates employed in this study, the overall removal rate, in terms of total organic carbon in a mixed acclimated culture, is the sum of the individual specific removal rates. The effluent quality in terms of soluble TOC was related to the F/M or to the sludge age using Eckenfelder's kinetic model.     

The TEI: History, goals, and future

This paper traces the history of the Text Encoding Initiative, through the Vassar Conference and the Poughkeepsie Principles to the publication, in May 1994, of theGuidelines for the Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange. The authors explain the types of questions that were raised, the attempts made to resolve them, the TEI project's aims, the general organization of the TEI committees, and they discuss the project's future.Nancy Ide is Associate Professor and chair of Computer Science at Vassar College, and Visiting Researcher at CNRS. She is president of the Association for Computers and the Humanities and chair of the Steering Committee of the Text Encoding Initiative. C. M. Sperberg-McQueen is a Senior Research Programmer at the academic computer center of the University of Illinois at Chicago; his interests include medieval Germanic languages and literatures and the theory of electronic text markup. Since 1988 he has been editor in chief of the ACH/ACL/ALLC Text Encoding Initiative.     

Phosphate inhibition on thermophilic acetoclastic methanogens: a warning.

The inhibitory effect of phosphate on acetoclastic-methanogens was investigated for three different thermophilic (55 degrees C) anaerobic consortia. When 70 mM of phosphate was tested, acetoclastic methanogens was completely inhibited in "Eerbeek" sludge which is dominated by Methanosaeta-like methanogens. For the "Hoogezand" sludge the specific methanogenic activity dropped by 79%, indicating that any of the acetate-consuming methanogens present in the sludge was more resistant to the phosphate applied. The results demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of phosphate may affect both methane production rate and final methane concentration and might also be time dependent. This study indicates that the degree of inhibition is species-dependent, and even more resistant species may be affected during long-term experiments. Such inhibition is a matter of concern for researchers since misleading conclusions might be taken from growth and specific methanogenic activity tests when considerable concentrations of phosphate buffer are used and no interference is expected.     

Abnormal activation of lipoprotein lipase by non-equilibrating apoC-II: further evidence for the presence of non-equilibrating pools of apolipoproteins C-II and C-III in plasma lipoproteins

Using artificial triglyceride emulsions, we have demonstrated the presence of non-equilibrating pools of apolipoproteins C-II and C-III in human plasma lipoproteins. As the concentrations of acceptor triglycerides were increased, a greater fraction of both apoC-II and apoC-III shifted away from the native plasma lipoproteins to the artificial lipid emulsions. All of the apoC-II and apoC-III in very low density and high density lipoproteins (VLDL and HDL), however, could not be removed from native plasma lipoproteins. The percent of total plasma apoC-II and apoC-III that could be recovered in the VLDL and HDL density fractions varied when plasma from different individuals was used. When plasma samples from normotriglyceridemic subjects were used, HDL was the primary donor of apoCs. The percent of total plasma apoCs associated with HDL decreased from 60% to 25% for apoC-II and from 65% to 15% for apoC-III. When plasma samples from hypertriglyceridemic subjects were incubated with artificial lipid emulsions, VLDL was the primary donor of apoCs. HDL from hypertriglyceridemic subjects only accounted for 5-10% of total fasting plasma apoCs and did not contribute significantly to the final apoC contents of the artificial triglyceride emulsions. To evaluate the significance of the depletion of exchangeable apoCs from plasma HDL, we also examined the ability of control and apoC-depleted HDL to serve as activator for bovine milk lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in vitro. When HDL depleted of exchangeable apoCs were used as the source of plasma apolipoproteins for the activation of LPL in vitro, only 5-10% of the maximal activity obtained with native HDL was demonstrated. In fact, in the presence of comparable concentrations of HDL apoC-II, activation of LPL was the least with HDL which lacked exchangeable apoCs. Our data thus indicated that the presence of exchangeable apoC-II on HDL is necessary for the activation of LPL in vitro. This finding is consistent with our data that suggest that HDL from hypertriglyceridemic subjects do not stimulate LPL as well as HDL from normolipidemic subjects.     

Flow characteristics of a small moving bed downcomer with an orifice under negative pressure gradient

Behaviour of gas-solid mixtures in a small moving bed downcomer operating under negative pressure gradient has been investigated experimentally, because flow characteristics in a downcomer are important factors in powder handling processes, such as a multi-stage spouted bed or a circulating fluidized bed. In this study, a small downcomer in which the moving bed height could be controlled was employed with the intention of using a downcomer as a connecting tube in a multi-stage spouted bed. Based on experimental observation, the moving bed flow changed from smooth flow (Region(I)) to slip-stick flow (Region(II)) and then changed from slip-stick flow to intermittent flow (Regime(III)), as the gas pressure gradient in the downcomer was increased. In this study, the critical point for steady-state (Region(I)) operation was also examined experimentally and theoretically, by using eight kinds of solid particles (Geldart B, D and A powders) and six different orifice sizes which were used to restrict solids flow at the base of the downcomer. As a result, a correlation of solids flow rate in the stable moving bed downcomer under negative pressure gradient was derived and the critical point between stable and unstable flow was explained by the proposed model.     

Monolayer and bilayer conducting polymer coatings for corrosion protection of steel in 1 M H2SO4 solution

In this study, monolayer polypyrrole (PPY), polyaniline (PANI), and bilayer PPY/PANI, PANI/PPY coatings were deposited onto steel electrodes by electropolymerization in 0.1 M monomer and 0.3 M oxalic acid solution. Such corrosion parameters of these electrodes, as corrosion potentials, anodic Tafel constants and corrosion current densities were determined by means of current–potential curves as a function of time in 1 M H₂SO₄ solution. These findings were compared to the corrosion parameters of a bare steel electrode in the same acid solution. The monolayer and bilayer polymer coatings were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and SEM. Bilayer coatings displayed better corrosion inhibition efficiencies than monolayer coatings. Furthermore, the PPY/PANI coatings offered superior corrosion protection than the PANI/PPY coatings.