Acidogenic fermentation of blended food‐waste in combination with primary sludge for the production of volatile fatty acids

The performance of a laboratory‐scale anaerobic acidogenic fermenter fed with a mixture of blended kitchen food‐waste and primary sludge from a sewage treatment plant was investigated for the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA). The operating variables for acidogenic fermentation were kitchen food‐waste content (10 and 25 wt %), hydraulic retention time (HRT: 1, 3 and 5 days), temperature (ambient: 18 ± 2 °C, and mesophilic: 35 ± 2 °C) and pH (varied from 5.2 to 6.7). The experimental results indicated that effluent VFA concentrations and VFA production rates were higher at ambient temperature than at mesophilic conditions. The net amount of VFA with 10 wt % food‐waste increased up to 920 mg dm^?3 with an increase of HRT, but contrasting results (a decrease of 2610 mg dm^?3) were found due to the conversion of VFA into biogas in the case of 25 wt % food‐waste, which increased significantly at HRT of 3–5 days. In terms of biogas composition (CO₂ and CH₄), the organic matter was converted into CO₂ through the oxidative pathway by facultative species at low temperature while mesophilic temperature and optimum pH (6.3–7.8) played a pivotal role in increasing rate of conversion of VFA into biogas by methanogenesis. Rates of VFA production and their conversion are dependent on the food‐waste content in the mixture. Yet, the higher concentration of food‐waste (25% compared with 10%) did not produce VFA proportionally due to the increased rate of conversion of VFA into gaseous products. The maximum VFA production rate (0.318 g VFA_produced g^?1 VS_fed day^?1) was achieved in the 10 wt % food‐waste at ambient temperature and at a 5‐day HRT. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effects of solid retention time on the performance of submerged anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor.

In this study, four similar bench-scale submerged Anoxic/Oxic Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) were used simultaneously to investigate the effects of solids retention time (SRT) on organic and nitrogen removal in MBR for treating domestic wastewater. COD removal efficiencies in all reactors were consistently above 94% under steady state conditions. Complete conversion of NH(4+)-N to NO(3-)-N was readily achieved over a feed NH(4+)-N concentration range of 30 to 50 mg/L. It was also observed that SRT did not significantly affect the nitrification in the MBR systems investigated. The average denitrification efficiencies for the 3, 5, 10 and 20 days SRT operations were 43.9, 32.6, 47.5 and 66.5%, respectively. In general, the average effluent nitrogen concentrations, which were mainly nitrate, were about 22.2, 27.6, 21.7 and 13.9 mg/L for the 3, 5, 10 and 20 days SRT systems, respectively. The rate of membrane fouling at 3 days SRT operation was more rapid than that observed at 5 days SRT. No fouling was noted in the 10 days and 20 days SRT systems during the entire period of study.     

Effect of shape on the radiation-stimulated deformation of crystals

Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 66, No. 3, pp. 208–209, March, 1989.     

Methods for Estimating Theoretically the Influence of Ion Scattering and Reflection on the Isotopic Sensitivity of Static Magnetic Mass-Spectrometers

For purposes of optimizing ion-optical systems, analyzer construction, and pump placement in static magnetic mass-spectrometers for isotopic analysis of uranium compounds, a comparative analysis is made and a review is given of methods described in the literature for theoretical estimates of the influence of scattering and reflection of ions on the isotopic sensitivity. Conclusions which make it possible to solve the problem are drawn.     

Modeling phosphorus in the upper Etowah River basin: identifying sources under uncertainty.

The Uniform Covering by Probabilistic Rejection (UCPR) algorithm was used, in conjunction with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, to identify P loads from point source and nonpoint source polluters in the upper Etowah River basin (UERB) in Georgia. The key findings of the research are as follows. The mean absolute error was preferred over the root mean square error as a search criterion for the UCPR algorithm when water quality observations are scarce. The undocumented P load from point sources in the UERB was consistently estimated as about 43 kg/d by the proposed method; but the method was not able to identify the broiler litter application rate to the poultry/beef operation pastures. Point sources (both documented and undocumented), poultry/beef operation pastures, and forests are the three major contributors of P. During 1992-1996, on average they accounted for 36.4, 31.7, and 17.2% of P load from the UERB, respectively.     

A comparative study on the effect of VUV radiation in plasma SiOx-coated polyimide and polypropylene films

Wettability of polyimide (PI) and polypropylene (PP) films have been improved using SiO_x-like thin layers deposited from a mixture of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and oxygen in a microwave distributed electron cyclotron resonance plasma reactor. The films wettability evolution behaviors were evaluated through the results of contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The plasma depositions of SiO_x thin layers in presence of VUV radiation induce a contact angle decrease to about 7° and 35° for PI and PP films, respectively. XPS data showed that such difference in wettability is attributed to the increase of hydrophilic group's proportion at the surface of coated PI films due to VUV irradiation. AFM images showed that the PI surface topography remains relatively smooth when coated in presence of VUV radiation. However, in the case of PP films, AFM images revealed the growth of irregular structure due to a substrate etching effect supported by VUV radiation. For polymers coated without VUV irradiation, the deconvolution of the C1s peaks showed a significant decrease of CO bonds for both PI and PP substrates.     

La doping effects on intergrowth Bi2WO6–Bi3TiNbO9 ferroelectrics

La doping effects on intergrowth Bi₂WO₆–Bi₃TiNbO₉ ferroelectric ceramics were studied by X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis and dielectric spectroscopy. It was found that the La³⁺ distribution, ferroelectric phase transition and dielectric relaxation behavior are apparently affected by La doping. With increasing La³⁺ content, the site of dopant ion varies, the grain growth of Bi₅TiNbWO₁₅ is restrained, the Curie temperature is reduced and broadened. Furthermore, two dielectric relaxation loss peaks were observed both in temperature and frequency spectra. The calculated relaxation parameters revealed the oxygen vacancy related to the relaxation process.     

Nucleation of copper on an assembly of carbon microelectrodes

The initial stage of copper electrodeposition on the electrochemically activated assembly of carbon microelectrodes from an acid solution of copper sulfate was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, potentiostatic pulse technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Analysis of the experimental current transients has been carried out using a non-linear fitting procedure according to the model that takes into account spherical diffusion towards a disc-shaped microelectrode. The higher values of diffusion coefficient in comparison with those observed on planar electrodes were explained with an increased diffusion caused by the electrode geometry. Impedance spectra showed two time constants, the high-frequency related to the charge transfer process and the low-frequency corresponded to the deposit morphology.     

Calcium Phosphate Biomaterials: An Update

1Introduction Archaeologicalfindingsdatingbacktothe4thcentury BCshowedthatmissinghumanteethhavebeenreplaced bymaterialswhichincluded:animalteeth,coral,shells,ivory(elephanttusk),wood,andmetals[1].Inmodern times,autografts(boneobtainedfromanothersiteinthe …