Study on the hydrothermal drying technology of sewage sludge

Drying of sewage sludge is an effective way for treatment and utilization of sewage sludge,where reduction of energy consumption is one of the major technical challenges.So we experimentally investigated the possibility of the hydrothermal treatment.We have found that treatment of sewage sludge by saturated steam with the temperature of 190°C and pressure of 20 bar can dramatically improve the dehydration performance of the slurry like product.And the water content can be reduced down to about 55% by a mech...     

Methanol decomposition to synthesis gas over supported Pd catalysts prepared from synthetic anionic clays

Supported Pd or Rh catalysts were prepared by the solid-phase crystallization method starting from hydrotalcite anionic clay minerals based on [Mg₆Al₂(OH)₁₆CO ₂ ²⁻ ]·4H₂O as the precursors. The precursors were prepared by a coprecipitation method from the raw materials containing Pd²⁺ and various trivalent metal ions which can replace each site of Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺ in the hydrotalcite. Rh³⁺ was also used for preparing the catalyst as comparison. The precursors were then thermally decomposed and reduced to form supported Pd or Rh catalysts and used for the methanol decomposition to synthesis gas. Among the precursors tested, use of Mg–Cr hydrotalcite containing Pd²⁺ resulted in the formation of efficient Pd supported catalysts for the production of synthesis gas by selective decomposition of methanol at low temperature. Although Pd²⁺ cannot well replace the Mg²⁺ site in the hydrotalcite, the Pd supported catalyst (Pd/Mg–Cr) prepared by the solid-phase crystallization method formed highly dispersed Pd metal particles and showed much higher activity than that prepared by the conventional impregnation method. When the precursor was prepared under mild conditions, more fine particles of Pd metal were formed over the catalyst, resulting in high activity. It is likely that the high activity may be due to the highly dispersed and stable Pd metal particles assisted by the role of Cr as the co-catalyst. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geology and fluid chemistry of the Fushime geothermal field, Kyushu, Japan

The Fushime geothermal field is located in a depression close to the coast line. The system is characterized by very high reservoir temperature (>350°C), and a high salinity production fluid. Geological analysis shows that the main reservoir in this field occurs in a fractured zone developed around a dacite intrusion located in the center of the field. High permeability zones recognized by drilling data are found to be associated with fault zones. One of these zones is clearly associated with a NW–SE trending andesite dike swarm which was encountered in some wells.Alteration in the system can be divided into four zones, in order of increasing temperature, based on calcium–magnesium aluminosilicate mineral assemblages: i.e., the smectite, transition, chlorite and epidote zones. The feed zone is located in the chlorite and epidote zones, which can be further divided into three sub-zones according to their potassium or sodium aluminosilicate mineralogy, from the center of the discharge zone: K-feldspar–quartz, sericite–quartz, and albite–chlorite zones.Chloride concentration of the sea-water is 19,800 mg/l, and Br/Cl mole ratio is 1.55. Based on geochemical information, the reservoir chloride concentration of this field ranges from 11,600 to 22,000 mg/kg. The Clres (Cl in reservoir), Br/Cl ratios and stable isotope data indicate that the Fushime geothermal fluid originated from sea-water and is diluted by ground water during its ascent. Some fluids produced from geothermal wells show low pH (about 4). It is thought that sulfide mineral (PbS, ZnS) precipitation during production produces this acidic fluid.     

A 128-kb FeRAM macro for contact/contactless smart-card microcontrollers

This paper describes a 128-kb FeRAM macro for smart-card microcontrollers. This macro, which was designed and fabricated using a 0.35-/spl mu/m three-metal CMOS and a Capacitor-on-Metal/Via-stacked-Plug (CMVP) process technology, is ideally suited for recent system LSIs such as smart-card microcontrollers. It has a flexible memory size ranging from 32 to 128 kb, a low consumption current of 0.3 mA, and endurance of more than 10/sup 8/ write/read cycles under a wide range of supply voltages, from 2.7 to 5.5 V. These characteristics, which are required of not only contact-type smart-card microcontrollers but also contactless-type ones, were achieved by using four newly developed circuit technologies: 1) a three-metal CMVP memory cell; 2) a voltage-regulating architecture; 3) a main/sub bitline and wordline structure; and 4) a dynamic-type offset sense amplifier.     

Determination of particulate organic carbon in waters by the chemical oxidation method

Particulate organic carbon (POC) in waters was determined by chemical oxidation method which has been widely used for the determination of total organic carbon and/or dissolved organic carbon. In this method, a water sample was filtered through a filter paper and the paper was placed in a glass ampoule, followed by the determination of POC with a total carbon analyzer. This paper discussed the problems of carbon contamination dissolving from filter papers. The selection of filter papers, the carbon blank values resulting from the papers and the pretreatment of the papers were studied. It became clear that the glass-fiber filter paper pretreated at 500°C for 8 h was superior to the filter papers treated under other conditions. The POC's in waters were determined by this method, and the results agreed well with those obtained by an ordinary dry combustion method.     

Neurogenous tumors in head and neck region]

Detoxification of cyclophosphamide is effected, in part, by hepatic class 1 aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH-1)-catalyzed oxidation of aldophosphamide, a pivotal aldehyde intermediate, to the nontoxic metabolite, carboxyphosphamide. This enzyme is found in erythrocytes as well. Detoxification of aldophosphamide may also be effected by enzymes, viz. certain aldo-keto reductases, that catalyze the reduction of aldophosphamide to alcophosphamide. Such enzymes are also found in erythrocytes. Not known at the onset of this investigation was whether the contribution of erythrocyte ALDH-1 and/or aldo-keto reductases to the overall systemic detoxification of circulating aldophosphamide is significant. Thus, NAD-linked oxidation and NADPH-linked reduction of aldophosphamide catalyzed by relevant erythrocyte enzymes were quantified. ALDH-1-catalyzed oxidation of aldophosphamide (160 microM) to carboxyphosphamide occurred at a mean (+/- SD) rate of 5.0 +/- 1.4 atmol/min/rbc (red blood cell). Aldo-keto reductase-catalyzed reduction of aldophosphamide (160 microM) to alcophosphamide occurred at a much slower rate, viz. 0.3 +/- 0.2 atmol/min/rbc. Thus, at a pharmacologically relevant concentration of aldophosphamide, viz. 1 microM, estimated aggregate erythrocyte ALDH-1-catalyzed aldophosphamide oxidation, viz. 2.0 micromol/min, was only about 3% of estimated aggregate hepatic enzyme-catalyzed aldophosphamide oxidation, viz. 72 micromol/min; however, this rate is greater than the estimated flow-limited rate of aldophosphamide delivery to the liver by the blood, viz. 1.5 micromol/min. These observations/considerations suggest an important in vivo role for erythrocyte ALDH-1 in systemic aldophosphamide detoxification. Erythrocyte ALDH-1-effected oxidation of other aldehydes to their corresponding acids, e.g. retinaldehyde to retinoic acid, may also be of pharmacological and/or physiological significance since a wide variety of aldehydes are known to be substrates for ALDH-1.     

Highly Stretchable,Global, and Distributed Local Strain Sensing Line Using GaInSn Electrodes for Wearable Electronics

For identifying human or finger movement, it is necessary to sense subtle movements at multiple points, including the local strain and global deformation simultaneously; however, this has not yet been realized. Therefore, a highly stretchable, global, and distributed local strain sensing electrode made of GaInSn and polydimethylsiloxane is developed for wearable devices. To investigate the electrical properties of multiple sections of the GaInSn electrode when stretching, tensile, cyclic, and three‐point‐bending tests are performed. The results demonstrate that the electrode can withstand a strain up to 50% and has little hysteresis without any delay. Moreover, the distributed local strain and global strain can be simultaneously measured using just a single electrode line. Finally, a prototype of a data glove as an application of the strain sensing line is manufactured, and it is demonstrated that the folding state of fingers could be identified. The proposed technology may allow the creation of a lightweight master hand manipulator or 3D data entry device.     

Numerical Study on Particle Motions in Swirling Flows in a Cyclone Separator

The purpose of this study is to establish the high-accurate prediction method of particle separation in a cyclone separator. Numerical simulation of the swirling flows in a cyclone separator is performed by using a large eddy simulation (LES) based on a Smagorinsky model. The validity of the simulation and the complicated flow characteristics are discussed by comparison with experimental results. Moreover, particle motions are treated by a Lagrangian method and are calculated with a one-way method. A performance for particle separation is predicted from the results of the particle tracing. As results of our investigation, the influences of the inserted height of the outlet pipe on the performance for particle separation of cyclone separator are shown.     

Pulse Combustors - Performance and Control

~nonEmphasising time characterishcs and contIDI, onlyfew workll'v is av'ailable among the numerous reports onPulse combustors. Rare work deals with tWin Pulsecombustorsls] or combined pulse combustor-"dinesystemsl']. Kenffield15] obtained with a combinedconvenhonal Pulse combustor-tulbine system acombushon Pressals gain of 3-7% and a totalPerformance Of the combustor-"dine system for Pulsecombushon 40% higher than that of steady'combushonwhat aught also be due tO the brine characteristics.…