Removal of hydrogen sulfide from methane using commercial polyphenylene oxide and Cardo-type polyimide hollow fiber membranes

The performance of commercially available poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and Cardotype polyimide (PI) hollow fiber membranes was investigated in removing hydrogen sulfide from methane in a series of bench-scale experiments. It was observed that in the concentration range of hydrogen sulfide in methane from 101 to 401 ppm, the methane permeability decreased in the presence of hydrogen sulfide for Cardo-type polyimide hollow fiber membranes, whereas the PPO membrane performance was not affected. The separation coefficients of hydrogen sulfide/methane were 6 and 4 for PI and PPO membranes, respectively. Effects of temperature on the performance of PI and PPO membranes were investigated. It was observed that the permeabilities of both components of the mixture increased by increasing temperature, whereas the selectivities remained constant.     

Structural phase transitions of methane+ethane mixed-gas hydrate induced by 1,1-dimethylcyclohexane

Methane+ethane+1,1-dimethylcyclohexane+water system was investigated by using Raman spectroscopy and isothermal phase equilibrium measurements under four-phase (gas+aqueous+large guest species+hydrate phases) equilibrium conditions at 288.15 K. The results suggest that three kinds of hydrate structures emerge at 288.15 K in the methane+ethane+1,1-dimethylcyclohexane+water system. The hydrate structure for this system changed from structure-H to structure-I via structure-II with increase in the mole ratio of ethane to methane.     

Synthesis of novel organocobalt poly(arylene-vinylene)s containing (cyclobutadiene)cobalt moieties in the main chain

Summary Organocobalt poly(arylene-vinylene)s composed of 1,2- or 1,3- linkage at their cyclobutadiene moieties (3 and 4, respectively) were prepared by the Heck reaction of p-divinylbenzene with (cyclobutadiene)cobalt-containing monomers having two aryl bromide moieties (1 and 2, respectively). The number average molecular weights (M _n) of the obtained organocobalt poly(arylene-vinylene)s (3 and 4) were 4,100 and 4,000, respectively (GPC, on the basis of polystyrene). UV-vis spectra of 3 and 4 exhibited main π-π^* absorption peaks at 362 and 397 nm, respectively, which were ca. 60 nm bathochromically shifted from those of the corresponding monomeric units. Both polymers were found to show thermotropic liquid crystallinity in the range of room temperature to ca. 80 °C by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the optical measurement using crossed polarizers. Received: 2 July 1999/Accepted: 29 July 1999     

Solid-state characterization of polyethylene reactor powders and their structural changes upon annealing

Polyethylene reactor powders prepared under different conditions were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray diffraction techniques. The molecular weight of the polyethylene reactor powders was around 1 × 10⁵. A unique domain morphology, quite different from the usual melt- or solution-crystallized lamellar structure, was observed, independent of polymerization temperature (T_poly). Annealing of reactor powders caused the aggregation of these crystalline domains, due to the significant molecular motion of the amorphous chains, before melting. The critical temperature was 20 °C higher than each T_poly, and corresponded to the temperature at the active catalyst site producing the chain growth. The morphologies of powders prepared at the lower T_poly contained smaller crystals that exhibited a constrained monoclinic form. In contrast, only usual orthorhombic crystals of larger size were found within the powder prepared at the higher T_poly. These results suggest that the competitive processes of chain propagation and crystal growth upon polymerization may lead to unique variations of the crystalline and amorphous phases, but with similar intermediate components in the phase that connects them.     

Plasma surface modification and characterization of collagen‐based artificial cornea for enhanced epithelialization

Argon plasma treatment enhanced the attachment of epithelial cells to a collagen‐based artificial cornea crosslinked using glutaraldehyde (GA) and glutaraldehyde‐polyethylene oxide dialdehyde (GA‐PEODA) systems. The epithelialization of untreated and treated surfaces was evaluated by the seeding and growth of human corneal epithelial cells. Characterization of polymer surface properties such as surface hydrophilicity and roughness was also made by contact angle measurement and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Contact angle analysis revealed that the surface hydrophilicity significantly increased after the treatment. In addition, AFM characterization showed an increase in surface roughness through argon plasma treatment. Based on the biological and surface analysis, argon plasma treatment displays promising potential for biocompatibility enhancement of collagen‐based artificial corneas. It was also found that the cell attachment to artificial cornea surfaces was influenced by the combined effects of surface chemistry (i.e., surface energy), polymer surface morphology (i.e., surface roughness), and polar interactions between functional groups at the polymer surface and cell membrane proteins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Development of Y‐branch joint for 275‐kV XLPE and fluid‐filled cable

When a new UHV substation is built in an urban region, generally, an existing underground transmission line will be diverted and drawn into the new substation. Compared with the latter construction method, enormous cost reduction of switching facilities and cable construction is expected when applying a Y‐branch joint (YJ) which is able to serve as a three‐way joint. The YJ has already been applied for 154‐kV‐class circuit, but it has not been investigated for 275‐kV‐class circuit. Since both XLPE and oil‐filled cable are presently used in 275‐kV‐class underground cable line, a universal design YJ for both cables has been investigated. The YJ was applied in a compact design which was based on our sophisticated electrical stress control technology for 500‐kV prefabricated‐type joint. Furthermore, the design was based on its prefabricated assembling technology. The YJ was verified as to its electrical and mechanical performance as 275‐kV cable joint by completion of its assembling test and a long‐term electrical test. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 164(2): 18–24, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20514     

Phonon emission from a discrete sine-Gordon breather

Phonon emission from a large-amplitude discrete sine-Gordon breather was studied numerically for a small degree of discreteness. In contrast to the case of highly discrete system investigated by Boesch and Peyrard (Phys. Rev. B 43 (1991) 8491), it was found that the resonance between the breather's oscillation and the phonons of the lower phonon band edge (κ=0) takes place for a small degree of discreteness.     

A time integration method for analysis of dynamic systems using domain decomposition technique

This paper presents a precise and stable time integration method for dynamic analysis of vibration or multibody systems A total system is divided into several subsystems and then responses are calculated separately, while the coupling effect is treated equivalently as constant force during time steps By using iterative procedure to improve equivalent coupling forces, a precise and stable solution is obtained Some examples such as a seismic response and multibody analyses were carried out to demonstrate its usefulness

     

Spatial correlation coefficients of rainfall intensity inferred from statistics of rainfall intensity and rain attenuation

On the basis of the reliable statistics of rainfall rate and rainfall attenuation for 8 localities in Europe, the spatial correlation coefficient of point rainfall intensity was inferred for each locality from the cumulative distributions of attenuation and rainfall intensity by inversely applying the modified Morita and Higuti rainfall attenuation prediction method. It was found that for European regions the spatial correlation coefficient with an exponential dependence on the horizontal distance is more appropriate for the prediction of rainfall attenuation than that proposed by Morita and Higuti for the Japanese climate. It was also found that although the spatial correlation characteristic varies significantly from one locality to another its variance is not so significant within a particular ccir rainfall climatic zone. This suggests that in predicting the rainfall attenuation it is desirable to employ the spatial correlation coefficient appropriate for the locality to be estimated.