Biodegradation and effect of formaldehyde and phenol on the denitrification process

Formaldehyde and phenol biodegradation during the denitrification process was studied at lab-scale, first in anoxic batch assays and then in a continuous anoxic reactor. The biodegradation of formaldehyde (260 mgl(-1)) as single carbon source and at phenol concentrations ranging from 30 to 580 mgl(-1) was investigated in batch assays, obtaining an initial biodegradation rate around 0.5g CH(2)OgVSS(-1)d(-1). With regard to phenol, its complete biodegradation was only observed at initial concentrations of 30 and 180 mgl(-1). The denitrification process was inhibited at phenol concentrations higher than 360 mgl(-1). Studies were also done using a continuous anoxic upflow sludge blanket reactor in which formaldehyde removal efficiencies above 99.5% were obtained at all the applied formaldehyde loading rates, between 0.89 and 0.14g COD (CH(2)O)l(-1)d(-1). The phenol loading rate was increased from 0.03 to 1.3g COD (C(6)H(6)O)l(-1)d(-1). Phenol removal efficiencies above 90.6% were obtained at phenol concentrations in the influent between 27 and 755 mgl(-1). However, when the phenol concentration was increased to 1010 mgl(-1), its removal efficiency decreased. Denitrification percentages around 98.4% were obtained with phenol concentrations in the influent up to 755 mgl(-1). After increasing phenol concentration to 1010 mgl(-1), the denitrification percentage decreased because of the inhibition caused by phenol.     

Methylene blue adsorption by algal biomass based materials: biosorbents characterization and process behaviour

Dead algal biomass is a natural material that serves as a basis for developing a new family of sorbent materials potentially suitable for many industrial applications. In this work an algal industrial waste from agar extraction process, algae Gelidium and a composite material obtained by immobilization of the algal waste with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were physical characterized and used as biosorbents for dyes removal using methylene blue as model. The apparent and real densities and the porosity of biosorbents particles were determined by mercury porosimetry and helium picnometry. The methylene blue adsorption in the liquid phase was the method chosen to calculate the specific surface area of biosorbent particles as it seems to reproduce better the surface area accessible to metal ions in the biosorption process than the N2 adsorption-desorption dry method. The porous texture of the biosorbents particles was also studied. Equilibrium isotherms are well described by the Langmuir equation, giving maximum uptake capacities of 171, 104 and 74 mg g(-1), respectively for algae, algal waste and composite material. Kinetic experiments at different initial methylene blue concentrations were performed to evaluate the equilibrium time and the importance of the driving force to overcome mass transfer resistances. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models adequately describe the kinetic data. The biosorbents used in this work proved to be promising materials for removing methylene blue from aqueous solutions.     

Microstructure and anti-oxidation behavior of laser clad Ni-20Cr coating on molybdenum surface

A Ni-20Cr coating was deposited on a molybdenum substrate by laser cladding. The observation of the microstructure by SEM demonstrates that the coating is free of cracks and pores, and metallurgically bonded to the substrate. XRD and EDS analysis results show that some dilution occurs at the coating/substrate interface and that Mo combines with Ni-20Cr, to form a Ni-Cr-Mo alloy coating with slight oxidation. The oxidation behavior of the coating indicates that the laser clad Ni-20Cr coating can effectively prevent oxidation of molybdenum at 600 °C in air. The oxide scale formed on the coating surface by oxidation in air is composed of NiO, Cr₂O₃ and NiMoO₄.     

Bootstrap in semi-functional partial linear regression under dependence

This paper deals with the semi-functional partial linear regression model \(Y={{\varvec{X}}}^\mathrm{T}{\varvec{\beta }}+m({\varvec{\chi }})+\varepsilon \) under \(\alpha \)-mixing conditions. \({\varvec{\beta }} \in \mathbb {R}^{p}\) and \(m(\cdot )\) denote an unknown vector and an unknown smooth real-valued operator, respectively. The covariates \({{\varvec{X}}}\) and \({\varvec{\chi }}\) are valued in \(\mathbb {R}^{p}\) and some infinite-dimensional space, respectively, and the random error \(\varepsilon \) verifies \(\mathbb {E}(\varepsilon |{{\varvec{X}}},{\varvec{\chi }})=0\). Naïve and wild bootstrap procedures are proposed to approximate the distribution of kernel-based estimators of \({\varvec{\beta }}\) and \(m(\chi )\), and their asymptotic validities are obtained. A simulation study shows the behavior (on finite sample sizes) of the proposed bootstrap methodology when applied to construct confidence intervals, while an application to real data concerning electricity market illustrates its usefulness in practice.     

Update on the role of diet in recurrent nephrolithiasis

The role of nutritional factors in the pathogenesis of recidivating nephrolithiasis is reviewed. The ingestion of liquid calcium and citrates is inversely associated with the risk of developing stones, while the ingestion of proteins, sodium, uric, and oxalates have a direct relationship. One should not restrict the ingestion of calcium in the diet, but rather one should recommended a normal or high ingestion of some 850 mg/day, and rather, one should restrict the ingestion of proteins, oxalate, and sodium, as well as keeping up a diuresis greater than 1500 cc/day.     

Spectral analysis of 49 years of rainfall rate and relation to fadedynamics

The nature of the rainfall rate R(t) as a transient random process is presented in the context of microwave attenuation and fade dynamics. Using 49 years of data recorded in Barcelona, the spectral densities of energy and power and the autocorrelation function are presented, together with their analytical model. Examples for specific rain events are also presented. Several regimes covering a wide range of intensities have been investigated, and it is found that the spectral densities all exhibit a similar form which is independent of the average regime of R considered. This leads to a mean frequency and a spectral width which appear to be universal constants and independent of the regime. Similar features are found for the autocorrelation function. The mathematical models and numerical values found are compared to the Maseng-Bakken model (1981) proposed in earlier work of fade dynamics, and the agreement is good. The method is proposed for modeling the denormalized autocorrelation, and hence the spectrum, using only the measured average rainfall rate during a period of interest. Finally, the average number of crossings per unit of time is modeled and compared to the experimental results, and the agreement is satisfactory     

The joint effects of an evaporation duct and high k-factor conditions on a microwave transhorizon path over the sea

The simultaneous presence of an evaporation duct and high k-factor conditions in a 156 km multi-link path over the English Channel (La Manche) are investigated using the solutions from the parabolic equation. The two propagation conditions with various levels of relative importance are analysed in detail and shown to explain well the signal levels observed beyond the horizon. The study complements and extends conventional duct leakage explanation.     

X-band transhorizon measurements of CW transmissions over thesea-Part I: path loss, duration of events, and their modelling

This article presents measurements, analysis, and modelling of path loss and duration of events obtained in a transhorizon experiment over the English Channel (La Manche, operated from 1987 to 1991, totalling 3708 valid data days and using five paths with three radiofrequencies at X-band. An overview of the equipment, operation and data acquisition, and processing is first given. The study reveals that the decibel path loss is normally distributed but exhibits three distinct regions of normality: path losses with probability of occurrence greater than about 1% reflect propagation dominated by several propagation mechanism. The second region, which can be clearly identified with probabilities of path loss below about 1%, reflects the various anomalous propagation mechanisms, and these are identified and discussed. The experimental median is compared with the value derived using several prediction methods, one of which is found to agree well with only a few decibels of difference. On the other hand, the existing CCIR prediction for small time percentages under values the strongest enhancements found. The continuous reduction of path loss below a given threshold L (decibels) constitutes an event with some duration. The analysis has shown that the conditional distribution Prob (D'⩾D/L'⩽L) that events last longer than D minutes is log-normal, is very skewed, and is the same for all types of propagation conditions. It is found that the signal level can rise from the troposcatter median to above the free space value and stay there continuously for periods of time which can range from a few minutes to well over one hour. The data base and modelling of L and D are given in detail     

Simultaneous analysis of downlink beacon dynamics and skybrightness temperature. Part II. Extraction of amplitude scintillations

This paper addresses the long-standing problem of separating the tropospheric amplitude scintillations from the dominant trend of atmospheric attenuation in a satellite downlink. Following extensive theoretical and experimental work, it is shown how the use of a radiometer coaxial with the communications beacon receiver constitutes an excellent tool for an optimum separation regardless of the meteorological conditions along the propagation path and avoids the use of the long-traditional high-pass filter approach. The experimental and theoretical work has revealed that the angular resolution of the radiometer together with the dynamics of rain attenuation and tropospheric scintillations determine the success of the extraction. This is because fast fadings require large radiometer antennas in order to resolve the sky temperature fluctuations. The dynamic behavior of rain attenuation has been reanalyzed and adapted for this study with special focus on the Maseng-Bakken (MB) model and the impact of the slant path on attenuation dynamics. The importance of the antenna pattern in the time response of the radiometer is studied in detail and permits to derive the maximum Fourier component observable for a given antenna size. The theoretical work has been verified by means of extensive experimental results obtained using a dual radiometer system and a beacon receiver tracking the ITALSAT 39.5 GHz F40 beacon. Finally, because of its importance and direct relevance to future communication systems benefiting from fade countermeasure strategies, the minimum size of the radiometer antenna for a successful extraction of amplitude scintillations is determined as a function of the elevation angle and carrier frequency