Improvement of enzymatic xylooligosaccharides production by the co-utilization of xylans from different origins

This study aimed to improve XOs production by enzymatic hydrolysis of xylans from various lignocellulosic waste biomasses namely corn cob, cotton and sunflower stalks, rice hull, wheat straw by using two commercial xylanase preparations, Shearzyme 500L and Veron 191. Shearzyme 500L showed better xylan hydrolysis capacity with high amount of xylose liberation. Xylobiose was the main hydrolysis product in each case. Even though the enzymatic hydrolyses using Shearzyme 500L resulted higher reducing sugar production compared to those of Veron 191, the hydrolysis of complex xylan structures was improved and the production of undesirable xylose was lowered by the co-utilization of xylanase preparations. By the co-utilization of xylanase preparations, the reducing sugar production from wheat straw, corn cob and sunflower stalk originated xylans was increased by 36%, 33% and 13%, respectively, compared to the expected reducing sugar yields. The highest reducing sugar production was obtained from complex corn cob xylan. The depolymerization of cotton and sunflower stalk xylan was poorest even though they have simple structures. Poor utilization of these xylans might be related to their high residual lignin content which might hinder the accessibility of xylan by the xylanases. However, the utilization of sunflower and cotton stalk xylan was improved when they were hydrolyzed within a xylan mixture containing equal amounts of each of five different xylans. In short, XOs production efficiency from agricultural waste materials was improved by the co-utilization of suitable xylanase and/or xylan mixtures considering the heterogeneous structures of xylan and different substrate specificities of xylanases.     

Ozonation of Spent Reactive Dye-Baths: Effect of HCO3?/CO32? Alkalinity

The effect of carbonate and bicarbonate alkalinity (soda ash buffer as 5,180 mg/L HCO3? alkalinity at pH 7 and as 5,100 mg/L CO32? alkalinity at pH 12) on the ozonation of reactive vinylsulphone dyestuffs in a simulated spent dye-bath has been studied at varying pHs. Adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) formation due to the high chloride content of the effluent and detoxification, which was evaluated in terms of the relative toxicity index Itox determined from the ED50 values for the marine photobacteria Vibrio fischeri, were also evaluated. Highest total organic carbon (56%), chemical oxygen demand (44%), and UV254 (77%) removals were achieved at pH 7 in the presence of HCO3? alkalinity. The fastest decolorization was observed for the case pH 2, the first order decolorization rate constant found as k620 = 0.16?min?1, closely followed by the pH 12 case with soda ash (k620 = 0.12?min?1) case. No positive correlation was evident between AOX, whose maximum value (=1.3 mg/L) appeared after 40 min ozonation at pH 7 and decreased to 0.54 mg/L after 120 min treatment, and Itox, which decreased to 0.16 at t = 50?min and increased rapidly thereafter. The Itox values were more related to color abatement kinetics. The maximum relative toxicity index of Itox = 0.83 occurred after 120 min. It was also established that the presence of alkalinity in the spent reactive dye-bath had no negative impact on the oxidation rates. In contrast, its absence seriously inhibited treatment efficiency. It is speculated that, with added soda ash, the carbonate radicals HCO3? and CO3??, which are more stable and selective than OH?, were produced and promoted the oxidation process.     

Electrorheological properties of kaolinite,polyindole, and polyindole/kaolinite composite suspensions

In this study, polyindole (PIN) and polyindole/kaolinite (PIN/KAO) composite were synthesized by free radical polymerization using FeCl₃ as an initiator. Average particle sizes (d₅₀) of PIN and PIN/KAO composite were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) as 7.2 and 6.2 μm, respectively. The samples were characterized by FTIR, elemental analysis, DSC/TGA and SEM measurements. Suspensions of KAO, PIN, and PIN/KAO composite were prepared in silicone oil (SO) and the sedimentation stabilities were determined. Electrorheological (ER) properties of these suspensions were studied as a function of dispersed phase concentration, shear rate, shear stress, and temperature; and yield stresses and excess shear stresses determined. Further, dielectric properties of KAO, PIN, and PIN/KAO composite were investigated. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Effects of growth rate and temperature gradient on the microstructure parameters in the directionally solidified succinonitrile–7.5 wt.% carbon tetrabromide alloy

Succinonitrile (SCN)–7.5 wt.% carbon tetrabromide (CTB) alloy was unidirectionally solidified with a constant growth rate (V = 33 μm/s) at five different temperature gradients (G = 4.1–7.6 K/mm) and with a constant temperature gradient (G = 7.6 K/mm) at five different growth rates (V = 7.2–116.7 μm/s). The primary dendrite arm spacings, secondary dendrite arm spacings, dendrite tip radius and mushy zone depths were measured. Theoretical models for the microstructure parameters have been compared with the experimental observations, and a comparison of our results with the current theoretical models and previous experimental results have also been made.     

Equalization for discrete multitone transceivers to maximize bitrate

In a discrete multitone receiver, a time-domain equalizer (TEQ) reduces the intersymbol interference (ISI) by shortening the effective duration of the channel impulse response. Current TEQ design methods such as the minimum mean-squared error (MMSE), maximum shortening SNR (MSSNR), and maximum geometric SNR (MGSNR) do not directly maximize bit rate. We develop two TEQ design methods to maximize the bit rate. First, we partition an equalized multicarrier channel into its equivalent signal, noise, and ISI paths to develop a new subchannel SNR definition. Then, we derive a nonlinear function of TEQ taps that measures the bit rate, which the proposed maximum bit rate (MBR) method optimizes. We also propose a minimum-ISI method that generalizes the MSSNR method by weighting the ISI in the frequency domain to obtain higher performance. The minimum-ISI method is amenable to real-time implementation on a fixed-point digital signal processor. Based on simulations using eight different carrier-serving-area loop channels, (1) the proposed methods yield higher bit rates than MMSE, MGSNR, and MSSNR methods; (2) the proposed methods give three-tap TEQs with higher bit rates than 17-tap MMSE, MGSNR, and MSSNR TEQs; (3) the proposed MBR method achieves the channel capacity (as computed by the matched filter bound using the proposed subchannel SNR model) with a five-tap TEQ; and (4) the proposed minimum-ISI method achieves the bit rate of the optimal MBR method     

A bis-selenophene substituted alkoxy benzene derivative as a highly stable novel electrochromic polymer

Up to date there are few studies reporting the use of selenophene derivatives as electrochromic polymers. This report highlights the synthesis of a selenophene containing multi-ring aromatic polymer which possesses reasonable optical contrasts at both visible and near-IR regions. Electrochemical synthesis of a conducting polymer from a multi-ring aromatic monomer, 2-(2,5-bis(hexyloxy)-4-(selenophen-2-yl)phenyl)selenophene (BSB(OC₆H₁₃)₂), was achieved at a lower potential than its corresponding parent, selenophene. The strong absorption band for the undoped polymer was 474 nm and the onset energy for the π–π^* transition (Eg) was 1.9 eV (645 nm).A novel dual-polymer electrochromic device was constructed in sandwich configuration where poly(BSB(OC₆H₁₃)₂) was used as the anodically coloring material. It is the first electrochromic device where a selenophene-containing polymer was used as an active layer. The device switches between a rose-colored state and a blue-colored state with a fast response time (less than 1 s).     

The effect of different exposure conditions on the biofilm/copper interface

The effects of the different exposure conditions on the electrochemical behavior of copper were evaluated in a growth medium containing Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Impedance spectra were recorded at the corrosion potential (E_corr) in three different cells for one week of exposure followed by cyclic voltammetry. A second time constant was observed in the impedance spectra of copper that was partially immersed in the test cell, where the electrode was in contact with an air/liquid interface (cell B). These spectra resembled those usually observed for metals covered with a polymer coating. Complete immersion of copper in the electrolyte (no air/liquid interface) or deaeration of cell B resulted in one-time-constant spectra that are typical of those found for passive metals. Excellent corrosion protection was provided by MR-1 regardless of exposure condition. E_corr increased with time for the partially immersed Cu electrode exposed to the aerated solution in cell B, while it decreased for the other two exposure conditions. Cathodic polarization curves recorded after exposure for 7 days showed two reduction peaks for copper tested in cell B, while no reduction peaks were observed for the other cases. Similar results were obtained using cyclic voltammetry.