Leaching behavior of chromium in chrome shaving generated in tanning process and its stabilization

In this study, leaching properties and pollution potential of chromium in chrome shaving (CS), which is a solid residue of leather industry, containing 2.27% Cr were investigated and thermal stabilization procedure was applied to the CS for chromium immobilization. For this purpose, firstly, effects of the liquid/solid ratio, contact time, pH and sequential extraction on the leaching behavior of chromium in the CS were studied. It was determined that the CS-caused chromium pollution is a hazardous material for environment. Thermal stabilization procedure was applied to the CS in the temperature range of 250-500 degrees C for the chromium immobilization. Effective stabilization of chromium in the CS was achieved by heating of CS at 350 degrees C under CO(2) atmosphere. Leaching experiments were also carried out with the samples obtained from the stabilization process and the results compared with that of the CS. Also, TCLP test method was applied to the samples to determine pollution potentials and discharge situations of the CS and its stabilization products. While the chromium concentrations in the test solutions of all samples stabilized thermally at above 350 degrees C were below the USEPA regulatory limit of 5 mg/l, the concentration of chromium leached out from the CS was 30-fold bigger than the USEPA regulatory limit.     

Effect of Al2O3 Additions on the Thermal Expansion Behavior of a Li2O-ZnO-SiO2 Glass-Ceramic

The effect of Al₂O₃ substitution on the thermal expansion behavior of a Li₂O-ZnO-SiO₂ glass-ceramic was investigated using differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry, and dilatometry. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the original Al₂O₃-free glass-ceramic measured between 20° and 900°C decreased from 12.4 × 10^-6°C^-1 to 6.3 × 10^-6°C^-1 with Al₂O₃ substitution for ZnO up to 11 wt%. The results were correlated to the changes in the phase assemblage with Al₂O₃ addition.     

Interactions between milk proteins and polyphenols: Binding mechanisms,related changes,and the future trends in the dairy industry

The biological activity and techno-functional properties of phenolic compounds have gained great importance due to the epidemiologically-proved health benefits. Use of polyphenols as fortification agents for functional food production and nanotechnological approaches using natural vehicles for polyphenol delivery have been recently discussed. In this respect, milk proteins and dairy products represent unique characteristics for polyphenol studies. The conflicting results on the functionality of polyphenols interacting with milk proteins either in model systems or in complex dairy matrices reveal the need for future studies.     

Potential of acoustic imaging in the detection of nanometer gaps

The potential of the water-immersion and dry-contact acoustic imaging techniques for detecting nanometer gaps embedded in silicon is studied. The sensitivity for detecting gaps of over 10 nm in height is governed only by the lateral resolution of the imaging and is independent of the height of the gap.     

Analysis of the temperature field near a corner composed of dissimilar metals subjected to a current flow

The 2D electro-thermal problem near a corner composed of two dissimilar materials in an angled metal line is analyzed. The line is assumed to be of uniform width and subjected to a steady direct current flow. We show the development work leading to the formulation of the current density and temperature distributions. The parameters affecting the singularities concerning the electro-thermal problem are also discussed. The electrical potential and current density distributions near a corner in an arbitrary angled line are determined, and the temperature field in a point symmetric line which is commonly met in metal interconnection structures is analyzed. In addition, we show that the temperature field solution is also valid for a symmetric line and a right angled line.     

Analysis of dragline cycle time components

This paper focuses on the breakdown of dragline cycle time. A 15-year old dragline deployed for casting the interburden and extracting the coal seam immediately beneath is monitored for a period of 45 days. The following operational modes are sampled: key-cutting, main-cutting, chopping and coal extraction. Data are handled regarding the parameters which have influence on particular stages of a cycle. It has been revealed that bucket loading is influenced by dimensions and geometry of the excavation face, material diggability, spatial position of ground penetration point and operator preference. Dumping phase appears to be affected by bucket fill factor and operator preference. Loaded and empty swing times are positively correlated with associated swing angles. Angular velocity of draglines is low at swing angles of up to 60 degrees. Loaded swing phases appear to be operator-dependent. Bucket repositioning phase is affected by geometry of the excavation area and the position of bucket penetration point. It is independent from the operator preferences.     

ARMA based approaches for forecasting the tuple of wind speed and direction

Short-term forecasting of wind speed and direction is of great importance to wind turbine operation and efficient energy harvesting. In this study, the forecasting of wind speed and direction tuple is performed. Four approaches based on autoregressive moving average (ARMA) method are employed for this purpose. The first approach features the decomposition of the wind speed into lateral and longitudinal components. Each component is represented by an ARMA model, and the results are combined to obtain the wind direction and speed forecasts. The second approach employs two independent ARMA models – a traditional ARMA model for predicting wind speed and a linked ARMA model for wind direction. The third approach features vector autoregression (VAR) models to forecast the tuple of wind attributes. The fourth approach involves employing a restricted version of the VAR approach to predict the same. By employing these four approaches, the hourly mean wind attributes are forecasted 1-h ahead for two wind observation sites in North Dakota, USA. The results are compared using the mean absolute error (MAE) as a measure for forecasting quality. It is found that the component model is better at predicting the wind direction than the traditional-linked ARMA model, whereas the opposite is observed for wind speed forecasting. Utilizing VAR approaches rather than the univariate counterparts brings modest improvement in wind direction prediction but not in wind speed prediction. Between restricted and unrestricted versions of VAR models, there is little difference in terms of forecasting performance.     

Fuzzy multiple-criteria decision-making: Application to AML project selection

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we present the application of fuzzy multiple-criteria decision-making to the problem of abandoned mine land (AML) project selection. More specifically, the category of multiple-criteria techniques known as fuzzy ranking methods are used to rank projects under conditions where the criteria of selection are imprecisely defined and the project scores for the criteria are subjectively determined.

An experiment was designed in which 14 experts contributed their knowledge of AML project criteria to the fuzzy ranking methods through three questionnaires. The first two questionnaires provided the essential information for the methods to form a fuzzy mathematical ranking relationship. The third questionnaire then provided the experts' scores for each of the chosen criteria for eleven candidate reclamation projects chosen from Pennsylvania's AML project inventory. In addition, the third questionnaire also sought overall project rankings from the experts to compare with the rankings provided by the fuzzy ranking methods.

The results appear to prove that fuzzy rankings methods can satisfactorily rank projects of this type and will generally produce results similar to that produced by the experts. While not necessarily better than human rankings, the rankings of the mathematical methods may increase the objectivity in decision-making even though bias in the original data cannot be eliminated.     

Direct potentiometric determination of diastase activity in honey

A novel method for the determination of diastase activity is reported. The method is based on a direct potentiometric measurement of triiodide ion that is released when a starch-triiodide complex is hydrolysed by honey diastase. The increase of free triiodide ion concentration in a sample is found to be directly proportional to the diastase activity of the sample. A response mechanism of the platinum redox electrode is proposed, allowing a calculation of the diastase activity factor (F). The sensor and analyte parameters, including F, were obtained by least squares fitting of potentiometric data using the optimisation function of the Solver add-in of Microsoft Excel. The values of F obtained by the new direct potentiometric method were compared with those obtained using the standard Phadebas method (DN values), and the two values were found to agree within experimental error. Finally, the diastase activity of nine varieties of honey was determined using the novel method developed here.