A coupled photocatalytic-biological process for degradation of 1-amino-8-naphthol-3, 6-disulfonic acid (H-acid)

 There has been growing emphasis on the development of coupled treatment systems (e.g., advanced oxidation–biological) for treating poorly biodegradable wastewater. An attempt has been made in the present study to couple photocatalytic (TiO₂/UV) pretreatment with conventional activated sludge process to achieve improvement in the biodegradation of H-acid. The combination of titanium dioxide and UV light has been known to generate strong oxidants that degrade several organic pollutants into carbon dioxide via the formation of some intermediates. The intermediates formed may undergo biodegradation readily. Accordingly, photodegradation experiments were carried out initially at an optimized TiO₂ dose and the minimum pretreatment time required for transforming H-acid was identified. For this purpose, UV–vis spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were extensively used. Subsequently, it was attempted to biodegrade untreated and pretreated H-acid using activated sludge from the textile industry acclimatized to H-acid. It was found that photocatalytic pretreatment of H-acid for 30 min, during which period approximately 8–10% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal occurred, can be coupled to second-stage biological treatment for achieving enhanced biodegradation of H-acid.     

Integrated energy system for industrial complexes. Part I: A linear programming approach

A personal-computer based model of an Integrated Energy System for Industrial Estates (IESIE) has been developed as a pre-feasibility tool: it addresses the total energy concept by combining a set of CHP plant(s), boilers, vapor-compression and absorption chillers, national grid and utility transportation system. The core of the general model is the linear programming (LP) model which takes into account the changing demand-pattern of various loads and their tariffs, standby charge of electricity, unit fuel price, equipment costs, land cost, depreciation, O & M expenses, interest rate, taxes, etc. The output of the LP model yields the minimum total operating cost, optimal sizes of the equipment and their respective operational schedules. The hot utility and cold utility transportation model estimates the economic-minimum pipe size, considering installation cost, heat loss/gain cost and pumping cost. The heat balance model finds the thermal cycle equipment sizes as well as the variation of the heat-to-power ratio with load. Finally the economic model does the cash-flow analysis to determing whether the project will yield a required rate-of-return to be economically viable.

Simulations have been done using the model considering a number of sample load patterns with the prevailing cost factors in India. An after tax IRR of 20% was found for sites having load factors greater than 0·6, and up to 10 km utility transportation distance.     

Mechanical,thermal and dynamic‐mechanical behavior of banana fiber reinforced polypropylene nanocomposites

Natural fiber‐reinforced nanocomposites based on polypropylene/nanoclay/banana fibers were fabricated by melt mixing in a twin‐screw extruder followed by compression molding in this current study. Maleic anhydride polypropylene copolymer (MA‐g‐PP) was used as a compatibilizer to increase the compatibility between the PP matrix, clay, and banana fiber to enhance exfoliation of organoclay and dispersion of fibers into the polymer matrix. Variation in mechanical, thermal, and physico‐mechanical properties with the addition of banana fiber into the PP nanocomposites was investigated. It was observed that 3 wt% of nanoclay and 5 wt% of MA‐g‐PP within PP matrix resulted in an increase in tensile and flexural strength by 41.3% and 45.6% as compared with virgin PP. Further, incorporation of 30 wt% banana fiber in PP nanocomposites system increases the tensile and flexural strength to the tune of 27.1% and 15.8%, respectively. The morphology of fiber reinforced PP nanocomposites has been examined by using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Significant enhancement in the thermal stability of nanocomposites was also observed due to the presence of nanoclay under thermogravimetric analysis. Dynamic mechanical analysis tests revealed an increase in storage modulus (E′) and damping factor (tan δ), conforming the strong interaction between nanoclay/banana fiberand MA‐g‐PP in the fiber‐reinforced nanocomposites systems. POLYM. COMPOS., © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Combined quality loss (CQL) concept in WPCA-based Taguchi philosophy for optimization of multiple surface quality characteristics of UNS C34000 brass in cylindrical grinding

The present study highlights a multi-objective optimization problem by applying Weighted Principal Component Analysis (WPCA) coupled with Taguchi method through a case study in cylindrical grinding of UNS C34000 Medium Leaded Brass. The study aimed at evaluating the best process environment which could simultaneously satisfy multiple requirements of surface quality. In view of the fact that traditional Taguchi method fails to solve a multi-objective optimization problem, to overcome this limitation, WPCA has been coupled with Taguchi method. Furthermore, to follow the basic assumption of Taguchi method, i.e., quality attributes should be uncorrelated or independent; which is not always satisfied in practical situation; the study applied WPCA to eliminate response correlation and to evaluate independent or uncorrelated quality indices called principal components which were aggregated by WPCA to compute overall quality index denoted as Multi-Response Performance Index. A combined quality loss was then estimated which was optimized (minimized) finally. The study combined WPCA and Taguchi method for predicting optimal setting. Optimal result was verified through confirmatory test. This indicates application feasibility of the aforesaid methodology proposed for multi-response optimization and off-line control of correlated multiple surface quality characteristics in cylindrical grinding.     

Impact of gate-oxide tunneling on mixed-signal design and simulation of a nano-CMOS VCO

Design optimization for performance enhancement in analog and mixed-signal circuits is an active area of research as technology scaling is moving towards the nanometer scale. This paper presents an approach towards the efficient simulation and characterization of mixed-signal circuits, using a 45 nm CMOS voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with frequency divider as a case study. The performance characteristics of the analog and digital blocks in the circuit are simulated and the accuracy issues arising due to separate analog and digital simulation engines are considered. The tremendous impact of gate tunneling current on device performance is quantitatively analyzed with the help of an “effective tunneling capacitance”, which allows accurate modeling and simulation of digital blocks with almost analog accuracy. To meet the design specifications of the analog VCO using digital CMOS technology, we follow a design of experiments (DOE) approach. The functional specifications of the VCO optimized in this design are the center frequency and minimization of overall power consumption as well as minimization of power due to gate-oxide tunneling current leakage, a component that was not important in previous generations of CMOS technologies but is dominant at 45 nm and below. Due to the large number of available design parameter (gate-oxide thickness and transistor sizes), the concurrent achievement of all optimization goals is difficult. A DOE approach is shown to be very effective and a viable alternative to standard design exploration in the nanometer regime.     

Treatment of simulated arsenic contaminated groundwater using GAC‐Cu in batch reactor: Optimization of process parameters

This article deals with the experimental investigation related to the removal of arsenic from a simulated contaminated groundwater by the adsorption onto Cu²⁺ impregnated granular activated carbon (GAC‐Cu) in presence of impurities like Fe and Mn. The effects of adsorbent concentration, pH, and temperature on the percentage removal of total arsenic (As(T)), As(III), and As(V) have been discussed. Under the experimental conditions, the optimum adsorbent concentration for GAC‐Cu has been found to be 6 g/L with an agitation time of 24 h, which reduces the As(T) concentration from 188 to 8.5 µg/L. Maximum removal of As(V) and As(III) has been observed in the pH range of 7–9 and 9–11, respectively. Removal of all the above said arsenic species decreases slightly with increase in temperature. Presence of Fe and Mn increases the adsorption of arsenic species. Under the experimental conditions, at 30°C, maximum % removals of As(T), As(III), As(V), Fe, and Mn are found to be 95.5%, 93%, 98%, 100%, and 40%, respectively. It has also been observed that maximum regeneration (～94%) of spent GAC‐Cu is exhibited by a 5NH₂SO₄ solution.     

Laboratory based approaches for arsenic remediation from contaminated water: recent developments

Arsenic contamination in water has posed severe health problems around the world. In spite of the availability of some conventional techniques for arsenic removal from contaminated water, development of new laboratory based techniques along with enhancement and cost reduction of conventional techniques are essential for the benefit of common people. This paper provides an overview of the arsenic issue in water such as modes of contamination of ground water as well as surface water by arsenic, its metabolism and health impacts, factors influencing arsenic poisoning, fundamentals of arsenic poisoning mechanism and world scenario of arsenic poisoning. It discusses and compares the conventional laboratory based techniques, like precipitation with alum, iron, Fe/Mn, lime softening, reverse osmosis, electro dialysis, ion exchanges, adsorption on activated alumina/carbon, etc., for arsenic removal from contaminated water. It also discusses the best available techniques and mentions the cost comparison among these techniques too. Recent developments in the research on the laboratory based arsenic removal techniques, like improvement of conventional techniques and advances in removal technology along with its scopes and limitations have also been reviewed.     

Detection of Chlorophenolic Compounds in Bleaching Effluents of Chemical Pulps

Laboratory bleaching effluents from the chlorination and caustic extraction stages of mixed wood kraft pulp processing have been analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively for various chlorophenolics by using GC.A number of chlorinated derivaties of phenols,catechols,guaiacols and syringaldehydes have been detected and their concentrations are estimated.The results are compared with that of different agriculture residue / hardwood pulps,which were reported in literature.The concentrations of various compounds detected have also been compared with their reported 96LC50 values.     

Stress relaxation behavior of glass fiber‐reinforced polyester composites prepared by the newly proposed rubber pressure molding

Stress‐relaxation behavior of glass fiber‐reinforced polyester composites, prepared by a recently developed manufacturing method called rubber pressure molding (RPM), is investigated with special reference to the effect of environmental temperature (−70°C to +100°C), fiber volume fraction (30–60%), and initial load level (1–5 kN). It is found that the stress‐relaxation rate decreases with an increase in the applied load of composites and a decrease in temperature. Below glass transition temperature, the rate of stress relaxation increases with an increase in volume fraction of fibers in the composites, whereas above glass transition temperature, it increases with a decrease in the volume fraction of fibers. The experimental results for a given composites are summarized by four values, the slopes of the two straight lines (two separate relaxation processes), and their intercepts upon the stress axis. Both the slopes are dependent upon the applied load, temperature, and volume fraction of fibers in the composites. Relaxation times in both primary and secondary are calculated over the wide range of temperatures, loads, and volume fraction of fibers in the composites. It depends strongly on the temperature, but does not depend strongly on the applied load and volume fraction of fibers. The performances of the composites are also evaluated through conventional compression‐molding process. The rate of stress relaxation is small when the composites are made of newly proposed RPM technique when compared with the conventional process. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers