Effective sludge solubilization treatment by simultaneous use of ultrasonic and electrochemical processes.

Sludge disintegration treatment by using simultaneously ultrasonic irradiation and electrolysis was investigated experimentally. A lab-scale diaphragm cell irradiated with ultrasound at a constant oscillating frequency of 20 kHz was used as a reactor. The batch experiments were carried out under different conditions of electric outputs of the ultrasonic generator, electric current for the electrolysis and different initial SS concentrations. A simultaneous treatment in the cathodic compartment without any chemical doses considerably facilitated the sludge solubilization, compared to the sonication alone. An increase in the electric current up to 400 mA under a constant ultrasonic density decreased the specific energy by 55% within the experimental range. The specific energy consumption was also reduced when the initial SS concentration increased. In addition, before carrying out the simultaneous treatment, a brief electrolysis was effective for further reduction of the specific energy and the acceleration of soluble COD generation.     

Equilibrium and crystallographic measurements of the binary tetrahydrofuran and helium clathrate hydrates

Clathrate compounds are crystalline materials formed by a physical interaction between host and relatively light guest molecules. Various types of nano-sized cages surrounded by host frameworks exist in the highly unique crystalline structures and free guest molecules are entrapped in an open host-guest network. Recently, we reported two peculiar phenomena, swapping and tuning, naturally occurring in the hydrate cages. Helium, one of the smallest light guest molecules, must be the challengeable material in the sense of physics and moreover possesses versatile applications in the field of superconductivity technology and thermonuclear industry. In this regard, we attempted for the first time to synthesize helium hydrates at moderate temperature and pressure conditions. According to inclusion phenomena, helium itself normally cannot form clathrate hydrates due to being too small molecularly without the help of hydrate former molecules (sI, sII, and sH formers). In this study, the hydrate equilibria of the binary clathrate hydrate containing tetrahydrofuran, helium, and water were determined at 2, 3, 5.56 THF mol%. Direct volumetric measurements were also carried out to confirm the exact amount of helium captured in the hydrate cages. Finally, the crystalline structure of the formed mixed hydrates was identified by powder X-ray diffraction, resulting in structure II.     

Surface characterization of PET nonwoven fabric treated by He/O2 atmospheric pressure plasma

The surface of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric was modified by He/O₂ atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, varying plasma exposure time. The plasma treated PET surfaces have been analyzed to investigate the chemical nature and morphology of surface by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The change of wettability was measured depending on plasma exposure time. XPS results indicated the presence of oxygen‐based functional groups on the PET nonwoven fabric surface after plasma treatment and oxygen content increased as exposure time increased. The mean roughness increased after 30 s exposure and further increase in exposure to 60 s led to decrease of the roughness and then again increase. The root mean square roughness followed the similar trend to mean roughness. The average difference in height, Rz, increased after plasma exposure for 30 s, while it slightly decreased after 60 s exposure. Despite of redeposition, the Rz of 90 s exposed sample increased more than two times compared with those of 30 and 60 s exposed. Wettability increased progressively up to 10 times after 90 s exposure compared with the untreated. It is attributed to the increases of hydrophilicity and surface roughness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Development and experimental evaluation of aerodynamic lens as an aerosol inlet of single particle mass spectrometry

This study described a development and an experimental evaluation of an efficient aerodynamic lens inlet of the single particle mass spectrometry. Several key designing parameters and systematic factors were investigated for the whole lens system through a full numerical simulation. From many tests for various designs of the system, we showed that Mach number was not an independent parameter but interrelated well with flow Reynolds numbers and pressures upstream of the orifices. By manipulating the parameters, we showed for the first time a possibility that there exist a universal correlation between optimal Stokes number and a new factor incorporating the other dimensionless variables and a design parameter. The universality was confirmed by the full simulation results. We demonstrated that the new design of the system was capable of focusing ultrafine aerosols in the size range of 30–700 nm. At two different operating conditions, the formations of sub-millimeter beams of 30–300 nm NaCl aerosols are verified by light scattering imaging as well as microprobe observation of deposited aerosol beams. Finally, the measured sizes of aerosol beams agree reasonably well with those from the simulations as a function of particle size.     

Structure and processability of iodinated poly(vinyl alcohol). IV. Drawability of the films iodinated at solution before casting

The drawability of iodinated at solution before casting (IBC) polyvinyl alcohol films prepared by casting aqueous solutions of 10 wt % PVA containing 15.2, 39.8, 83.2, 117.0, and 140.1% was examined with a tensile tester at 20–60°C. The tensile behavior of IBC films showed that the yield and breaking loads were much lower, and the breaking elongation was even higher than those of the unoriented iodinated after casting (IAC) films as well as the untreated PVA films. The maximum draw ratios of the films with the weight gain of 15.2, 39.8, 83.2, 117, and 140.1% were 4.5, 5.5, 8.5, 8.0, and 7.5, respectively, which were achieved at 20°C in all. The crystallinity of all films increased by the maximum draw, regardless of crystallinity before drawing. The crystalline structure was recovered to the original PVA crystalline lattice by deiodination. Amorphous orientation and initial moduli increased with the maximum draw ratio, while the orientation of crystals was constant. The orientation and moduli increased up to the weight gain of 83.2%, whose highest draw ratio and initial modulus were 8.5 and of 7.1 GPa, respectively, and then decreased. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Polysaccharide‐based artificial extracellular matrix: Preparation and characterization of three‐dimensional,macroporous chitosan,and heparin composite scaffold

Scaffold‐guided tissue engineering based on synthetic and natural occurring polymers has gained many interests in recent year. In this study, the development of a chitosan‐heparin artificial extracellular matrix (AECM) is reported. Three‐dimensional, macroporous composite AECMs composed of heparin (Hep) and chitosan (Chito) were prepared by an interpolyelectrolyte complex/lyophilization method. The Chito‐Hep composite AECMs were, respectively, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde, as well as cocrosslinked with N,N‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)‐N′‐ethyl carbodiimide (EDC/NHS) and N‐hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The crosslinking reactions were examined by FT‐IR analysis. In physiological buffer solution (PBS), the EDC/NHS‐crosslinked Chito‐Hep composite AECM showed a relative lower water retention ratio than its glutaraldehyde‐crosslinked counterparts. The EDC/NHS‐crosslinked Chito‐Hep composite AECMs showed excellent biocompatibility, according to the results of the in vitro cytotoxic test. This result suggested that the EDC/NHS‐crosslinked Chito‐Hep composite AECMs might be a potential biomaterial for scaffold‐guided tissue engineering applications. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Thermal Stability of the Pigments Hydroxysafflor Yellow A, Safflor Yellow B, and Precarthamin from Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

ABSTRACT Three major yellow pigments were isolated from safflower petals ( Carthamus tinctorius ) and characterized as hydroxysafflor yellow A (1), safflor yellow B (2), and precarthamin (3) by ¹H-NMR, ¹H-¹H COSY, ¹³C-NMR, HMQC, and HMBC spectral analysis. Thermal degradation reactions of 3 yellow pigments 1 to 3 at temperatures of 70 to 90 °C were carried out at different pH levels within the range of 3.0 to 10.0 by UV-vis spectral measurements. First-order reaction kinetics was observed for the degradation of safflower yellow pigments (1 to 3) at pH 3.0 and 5.0. Activation energies of thermal degradation of 1-3 at pH 5.0 were calculated as 17.0, 15.4, and 20.1 kcal/mol, respectively. At neutral and alkaline conditions, yellow pigments 1-3 did not follow simple first-order kinetics.     

安积伸：从设计“协奏”到设计“独奏”

从安积伸（Shin Azumi）第一次到英国算起，他和英国、和伦敦已经有了近15年的情结。安积伸早已成了各类媒体报道和机构介绍里频繁出现的名字，就连英国设计节的创始人之一约翰·索瑞（John Sorrell）在《Creative Island（创意之岛）》一书中也将其作为对英国创意产业有所影响的驻岛设计师予以了收录。安积伸目前依然在伦敦经营着自己“astudio”．一个从事产品、家具和空间设计的工作室。[第一段]