Microbial desulphurization of lignites by a thermophilic bacterium

As a possible means of abatement of air pollution the use of thermophilic thiobacilli in lignite desulphurization has been investigated in lab-scale batch experiments and 50% organic sulphur 58% total sulphur removal has been achieved in 10% lignite slurries at 50 °C.     

Separation and enrichment of gold(III) from environmental samples prior to its flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination

A simple and accurate method was developed for separation and enrichment of trace levels of gold in environmental samples. The method is based on the adsorption of Au(III)-diethyldithiocarbamate complex on Amberlite XAD-2000 resin prior to the analysis of gold by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after elution with 1 molL(-1) HNO3 in acetone. Some parameters including nitric acid concentration, eluent type, matrix ions, sample volume, sample flow rate and adsorption capacity were investigated on the recovery of gold(III). The recovery values for gold(III) and detection limit of gold were greater than 95% and 16.6 microgL(-1), respectively. The preconcentration factor was 200. The relative standard deviation of the method was <6%. The adsorption capacity of the resin was 12.3 mg g(-1). The validation of the presented procedure was checked by the analysis of CRM-SA-C Sandy Soil certified reference material. The presented procedure was applied to the determination of gold in some environmental samples.     

Biosorption of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution by pine bark (Pinus brutia Ten.)

The biosorption potential of pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) bark in a batch system for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. The biosorption characteristics of Pb(II) ions on the pine bark was investigated with respect to well-established effective parameters including the effects of solution pH, initial Pb(II) concentration, mass of bark, temperature, and interfering ions present, reusability, and desorption. Initial solution pH and contact time were optimized to 4.0 and 4 h, respectively. The Langmuir and Freundlich equilibrium adsorption models were studied and observed to fit well. The maximum adsorption capacity of the bark for Pb(II) was found to be 76.8 mg g⁻¹ by Langmuir isotherms (mass of bark: 1.0 g L⁻¹). The kinetic data fitted the pseudo-second-order model with correlation coefficient greater than 0.99. The thermodynamic parameters Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°) changes were also calculated, and the values indicated that the biosorption process was spontaneous. Reutilization of the biosorbent was feasible with a 90.7% desorption efficiency using 0.5 M HCl. It was concluded that pine bark can be used as an effective, low cost, and environmentally friendly biosorbent for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution.     

Reductive leaching of pyrolusite ore by using sawdust for production of manganese sulfate

Manganese compounds, such as manganese sulfate, can be obtained from pyrolusite, a manganese ore. Low-grade manganese ores is usually treated by hydrometallurgical methods. In this study, the leaching and recovery of manganese from pyrolusite ore in sulfuric acid solutions containing sawdust as reducing agent was investigated. The effects of experimental parameters, such as sulfuric acid concentration, sawdust amount, solid-to-liquid ratio, stirring speed, particle size, reaction temperature, and leaching time, on the manganese extraction from ore were examined. The results showed that the leaching rate of pyrolusite ore increased with an increasing sulfuric acid concentration, sawdust amount, stirring speed, reaction temperature and leaching time, and decreasing in solid to liquid ratio and particle size. The kinetic analysis of leaching process was carried out, and it was determined that the reaction rate was controlled by diffusion through the product layer under the experimental conditions in this work. The activation energy was found to be 22.35 kJ mol^?1. Manganese can be recovered as manganese sulfate by the evaporative crystallization of the purified leach liquor.     

Free vibration analysis of cylindrical liquid storage tanks

The circular cylindrical tank, built on grade and usually constructed in steel, aluminum or prestressed concrete, is one of the most common forms of liquid storage vessels. This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive, computer based, numerical investigation of lateral free vibration of cylindrical liquid storage tanks. An analytical procedure which accurately predicts the fundamental frequencies (corresponding to axial wave number and circumferential wave number both equal to one) of a wide range of cylindrical storage tanks is developed. The procedure is applicable to tanks both completely full and partially full with liquid. Several numerical examples are presented which illustrate application of the procedure and verify its accuracy.     

An Insight into the Stages of Ion Leakage during Red Blood Cell Storage

Packed red blood cells (pRBCs), the most commonly transfused blood product, are exposed to environmental disruptions during storage in blood banks. In this study, temporal sequence of changes in the ion exchange in pRBCs was analyzed. Standard techniques commonly used in electrolyte measurements were implemented. The relationship between ion exchange and red blood cells (RBCs) morphology was assessed with use of atomic force microscopy with reference to morphological parameters. Variations observed in the Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, H⁺, HCO₃⁻, and lactate ions concentration show a complete picture of singly-charged ion changes in pRBCs during storage. Correlation between the rate of ion changes and blood group type, regarding the limitations of our research, suggested, that group 0 is the most sensitive to the time-dependent ionic changes. Additionally, the impact of irreversible changes in ion exchange on the RBCs membrane was observed in nanoscale. Results demonstrate that the level of ion leakage that leads to destructive alterations in biochemical and morphological properties of pRBCs depend on the storage timepoint.     

A new nano-TiO2 immobilized biodegradable polymer with self-cleaning properties

This study concentrated on the direct immobilization of anatase nano titanium dioxide particles (TiO(2), 10nm particle size) into or onto a biodegradable polymer, polycaprolactone, by solvent-cast processes. The self-cleaning, namely photocatalytic properties of the produced materials were tested by photocatalytic removal of methylene blue as model compound and antimicrobial properties were investigated using Candida albicans as model microorganism. Produced TiO(2) immobilized polymer successfully removed methylene blue (MB, 1 × 10(-5)M) from aqueous solution without additional pH arrangement employing a UV-A light (365 nm) source. Almost 83.2% of dye was removed or decomposed by 5 wt% TiO(2) immobilized into PCL (0.08 g) and removal percentage reached to 94.2% with 5 wt% TiO(2) immobilized onto PCL after a 150 min exposure period. Although removal percentage decrease with increased ionic strength and usage of a visible light source, produced materials were still effective. TiO(2) immobilized onto PCL (5 wt%) was quite effective killing almost 54% of C. albicans (2 × 10(6)CFU/mL) after only 60 min exposure with a near visible light source. Control experiments employing PCL alone in the presence and absence of light were ineffective under the same condition.     

Polystyrene negative resist for high-resolution electron beam lithography

We studied the exposure behavior of low molecular weight polystyrene as a negative tone electron beam lithography (EBL) resist, with the goal of finding the ultimate achievable resolution. It demonstrated fairly well-defined patterning of a 20-nm period line array and a 15-nm period dot array, which are the densest patterns ever achieved using organic EBL resists. Such dense patterns can be achieved both at 20 and 5 keV beam energies using different developers. In addition to its ultra-high resolution capability, polystyrene is a simple and low-cost resist with easy process control and practically unlimited shelf life. It is also considerably more resistant to dry etching than PMMA. With a low sensitivity, it would find applications where negative resist is desired and throughput is not a major concern.     

Optimal energy production from wind and hydroelectric power plants

All countries attach great importance to renewable energy investments with concern that future fossil-fueled energy resources could be exhausted. Thus, a very large renewable energy production potential may be predicted in not a very distant future. This study is about optimal energy production from wind and hydroelectric power plants at a small scale settlement center. A water resources system with multiple reservoirs in which wind power plants are located around the basin is described in this study. The system has three scenarios, in which wind and hydroelectric power plants are integrated, separated and no wind turbines. In the integrated scenario, by the energy generated in the wind power plants, the released flows from the reservoirs are sent to the reservoirs as a use again. In models of every scenario, optimal operational models for long-term planning are established on the system. The technique of dynamic programming with successive approximations is used in these models. The models are applied to a water resources system with multiple reservoirs presented successively on the main line of the Ceyhan River in the Ceyhan Basin. The results obtained here are evaluated in terms of three scenarios developed for energy production. As a result, it has been seen that the systems of the integrated and separated scenario are similar to energy productions and system without wind turbines produces more little energy production to other scenarios.