Emissions and environmental implications of mercury from artisanal gold mining in North Sulawesi,Indonesia

In artisanal gold mining practiced in North Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, gold is separated from ore by the use of mercury, which forms an amalgam with gold. All related processes are undertaken with a low level of technical knowledge and skills, no regulation, and with disregard for the safety of human and environment health. The situation is generating serious potential health and environmental risks in the area. As part of an ongoing monitoring program, total mercury concentrations were examined in water, bottom sediment and fish samples from three main rivers in Talawaan Watershed, which receives drainage from gold mining practices. Monitoring began in May-June 2000, almost 2 years after artisanal gold mining had begun. At that time, the mercury concentration in the sediment was generally low, except in places close to the gold processing plants. In the present study, a more systematic sampling and analysis was conducted in May-June 2001. Bottom surface sediments, water, and fish samples were collected at 12 sites along the three main rivers in the watershed. In addition, one site outside the watershed was sampled to serve as a control. Sample collections were conducted in three phases in duplicate, with two-week intervals between each phase. The mercury concentration observed in this study indicated that an increase took place along the three main rivers in the watershed. Solutions to this problem must be formulated as soon as possible in order to avoid a major health, economic, and ecological disaster arising from the continuing discharge of Hg. The present study proposes that mercury dispersion occur downstream of the mining.     

Precision dilatometer analysis of neutron-irradiated nuclear graphite recovery process up to 1673 K

Specimens of two kinds of isotropic nuclear graphite, IG-110U and ETP-10, were neutron-irradiated at fluence of 1.92 × 10²⁴ n/m² (E > 1.0 MeV) at 473 K. The recoveries of the macroscopic lengths of these specimens during isothermal and isochronal annealing at temperatures of up to 1673 K were investigated in a step-wise manner by using a precision dilatometer. The macroscopic lengths after isochronal annealing for 6 h at each temperature decreased gradually as the temperature was increased to 1673 K. The recovery trends of the c-axis and a-axis lattice parameters differed from one another, and from the macroscopic length recovery trends. For the IG-110U specimen, the activation energies (E_a) of macroscopic volume recovery corresponding to annealing at 523–773, 773–923, 923–1073, and 1073–1173 K were found to be 0.15, 0.34, 0.73, and 2.59 eV, respectively. For the ETP-10 specimen, the E_a corresponding to 523–923, 923–1223, and 1223–1373 K were determined to be 0.15, 0.46, and 2.19 eV, respectively. These results indicate that both graphite specimens underwent three or four stages of macroscopic length recovery between 523 K and the annealing temperatures at which their initial lengths were recovered. It is suggested that during the first stage recovery proceeded via the migration of single interstitials along the basal plane and the resulting V-I recombination. In the middle stages, recovery occurred due to the migration of interstitial groups such as C₂ along the basal plane, while in the last stage, it proceeded via through-layer migration of interstitials or migration of single vacancies.     

Radiation-induced polymerization of ethylene in pilot plant. III. Heavy-phase recycling process

Radiation-induced polymerization of ethylene using aqueous tert-butyl alcohol as medium was carried out in a large-scale pilot plant with a 50-liter central source-type reactor at a pressure of 105 to 395 kg/cm², temperature of 30° to 80°C, mean dose rate of 4.5 × 10⁴ to 1.9 × 10⁵ rads/hr, ethylene feed rate of 5.5 to 23.5 kg/hr, and medium feed rate of 21 to 102 l./hr. The space–time yield and molecular weight of the polymer were in the range of 4.7 to 16.8 g/l.-hr and 1.3 × 10⁴ to 8.9 × 10⁴, respectively. The space–time yield and molecular weight increased with mean residence time at 30°C, whereas at 80°C they became almost independent of the time. The space–time yield increased with pressure and dose rate, slightly decreased with temperature, and was maximum at ethylene molar fraction of 0.5. The polymer molecular weight increased with pressure and ethylene molar fraction, and decreased with dose rate and temperature. The total amount of deposited polymer on the reactor wall, source case wall, and scraping blades was usually less than 1 kg, which was negligibly small for the analysis of polymerization. Continuous discharge of the polymer slurry and production of fine-powder polyethylene were successfully carried out. In the central source-type reactor, a dose rate of 1.9 × 10⁵ rads/hr was obtained with a ⁶⁰Co source of ca. 12 kCi.     

Functionalized Bilayer Membranes as Artificial Transaminase: Modification of the Active Site and Its Consequence in Catalytic Efficiency

The transamination reaction of l-phenylalanine with pyruvate as catalyzed by the artificial transaminase formed with synthetic bilayer aggregates was examined in aqueous media under mild kinetic conditions. Each catalyst system was constructed with a combination of a synthetic peptide lipid, a hydrophobic vitamin B₆ derivative, and metal ions. Modification of the active site in the present artificial transaminase was performed by changing a combination of molecular components constituting the catalytic system. While the catalytic activity was scarcely influenced by differences in aggregate structure, single- or multi-walled bilayer, and in copper-(II) concentration, molecular structures of the hydrophobic vitamin B₆ and an amino acid residue of the peptide lipid had significant effects on the reactivity.     

Precise disturbance modeling for improvement of positioning performance

This paper presents a modeling methodology for unknown disturbances in mechatronics systems, based on disturbance estimation using an iterative learning process. In disturbance modeling, nonlinear frictions are specially handled as disturbances in the mechanisms, which mainly degrade trajectory control performance. Friction can be mathematically modeled by using learned estimation data as a function of the displacement, velocity. acceleration, and jerk of the actuator. This model has the distinctive feature that friction compensation can be achieved with a generalization capability for different conditions. The proposed positioning control approach with disturbance modeling and compensation has been verified by experiments using a table drive system on a machine stand. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 171(2): 31–39, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www. interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20928     

A new modeling approach for circuit‐field‐coupled time‐stepping electromagnetic analysis of saturated interior permanent magnet synchronous motors

This paper proposes a new modeling approach for circuit‐field‐coupled time‐stepping electromagnetic analysis of a saturated interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM). To predict the drive performance quickly, the proposed approach consists of a dynamic simulator based on a new analytical model of the d‐ and q‐axis magnetization characteristics (λ‐i_d‐i_q‐θ). The model can take into account not only cross‐saturation but also the harmonics of the inductance distributions and EMF waveforms. The validity of the model is verified from suitable simulation results for the instantaneous current and torque waveforms of the IPMSM. The proposed analysis leads to a dramatic reduction in the computation time compared to circuit‐field‐coupled time‐stepping FEA, while maintaining analytical accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed method is experimentally verified using a 10‐kW, 15,000‐rpm concentrated‐winding IPM motor. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 174(1): 49–58, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21024     

Application of conventional activated carbon loaded with dispersed Pt to PEFC catalyst layer

Improvement of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) requires development of highly active electrodes of low cost to facilitate its widespread use. In the present study, the possibility of applying conventional activated carbon particles loaded with Pt to the electrode catalyst layer was tested because the particles were promising in dispersion of Pt and preparation cost. The catalyst layer was formed from the particles and Nafion® and was supported as a thin film on a rotating glassy carbon disk electrode (GC RDE). Activity for oxygen reduction was evaluated by the hydrodynamic voltammetry in perchloric acid to give a current free of the influence of mass transfer in the solution. Compared with a conventional catalyst layer formed from carbon black loaded with Pt, the new catalyst layer exhibited a significant, approximately 6-fold increase in current in the high potential region corresponding to a 100 mV increase in electrode potential. Activity, however, was retarded in the low potential region. This disadvantage was overcome by mixing a conductive agent into the layer and covering it with another layer containing carbon black loaded with Pt. This double catalyst layer exhibited increased activity across all potential regions, indicating the availability of the activated carbon in the electrodes.     

Effect of poly(vinyl acetate/vinyl alcohol) copolymer with a thiol end group as a steric stabilizer on dispersion polymerization of styrene

In dispersion polymerization of styrene in ethanol, effects of a reactive steric stabilizer, poly(vinyl acetate/vinyl alcohol) copolymer with a thiol end group (P(VAc/VA)-SH), were investigated. In the absence of the thiol end group, the dispersion coagulated at the middle stage of the polymerization, while in the presence of the thiol end group, the polymerization proceeded successfully to result in close to monodisperse particles. The reactive thiol group acts as a site of formation of the block copolymer, that is, polystyrene-b-P(VAc/VA), which is utilized as an effective dispersant. From the measurement on molecular weights during the course of polymerization, two polymerization loci were realized. Addition of butyl methacrylate to styrene affected markedly not only rate of polymerization but also particle size. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dielectric Dispersion of Polycrystalline Aluminum Nitride at Microwave Frequencies

Complex permittivity of polycrystalline AlN was measured over the frequency range 100 MHz to 13 GHz using reflection coefficient and cavity resonator methods. Dielectric relaxation peaks of loss tangent were observed in the frequency range 200 MHz to 3 GHz. The maximum value of loss tangent was ∼200 × 10⁻⁴. Relative permittivities decreased by ∼4% with increased frequency at the region of relaxation peaks. It was shown that these dispersion frequencies were inversely proportional to the grain sizes of AlN and independent of purities and processes. Model calculations for elastic vibration of a single-crystal grain of AlN were performed to investigate the origin of the dielectric dispersion due to piezoelectric effect. The calculated results of elastic sphere and 14-faced-polyhedron models showed a good quantitative agreement with the observed dispersion frequencies, which suggested that the dispersion was due to a piezoelectric vibration of a single grain of AlN ceramics at microwave frequencies.     

Pore structure of carbons coated on ceramic particles

Pore structure of carbon coated on ceramic particles by carbonization of precursor in a powder mixture at 900 °C was studied by focusing on the effects of substrate ceramics (MgO, TiO₂ and various phases of Al₂O₃) and of carbon precursor (poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and hydroxyl propyl cellulose (HPC)). By dissolving substrate MgO particles, carbon coated was found to have a high BET surface area, more than 1000 m²/g, which was almost the same as the value estimated from apparent surface area measured on carbon-coated MgO particles under the assumption of zero surface area of the substrate. The carbon separated was found to be rich in micropores from the analyses by DFT method and α_s plot. The dependence of the BET surface area on the amount of carbon coated on TiO₂ with a high surface area was the same for three carbon precursors, although the carbon yields from the precursors were slightly different. Porous Al₂O₃ substrates, γ-Al₂O₃as-received and that formed from Al(OH)₃ during carbonization, gave a high BET surface area, but dense Al₂O₃, α-Al₂O₃, gave a low surface area.