Comments, with reply, on `Modeling of the 1/f noiseovershoot in short-channel MOSFETs locally degraded by hot-carrierinjection' by B. Boukriss et al

It is pointed out that a letter by Boukriss et al. (see ibid., vol.10, p.433-6, 1989) contains no reference to the actual value of the characteristic exponent of the noise spectrum (γ). This omission may result from the assumption that γ is equal to one. Similar measurements by the present author indicate that γ varies strongly following hot-carrier injection near the drain. The change in the characteristic component is caused by the injected carriers present in the oxide near the interface, rather than the increased number of traps. This injected charge has an effect on noise provided the channel is not pinched off. It is argued that to study only the amplitude of the noise and not γ misses critical information, the scaling properties, and that if one is to measure noise amplitude, one should measure the characteristic exponent as well. In a reply, the original authors state that the 1/f noise was studied for a nonhomogeneous MOSFET. The 1/f noise level was investigated from weak to strong inversion     

Modeling the bending of probes used in semiconductor industry

An analytical model for the bending of probes used in the semiconductor industry is presented. It is shown that tip sliding distance is twice as large as was previously believed. This difference is shown to be caused by the beam curvature, which increases the angle between the tip and the vertical and pushes the tip forward. The model uses the probe shape and the material elastic properties to estimate the beam curvature. Tip sliding distance, force, and tip angle variance are calculated as functions of beam dimensions and overdrive. The model is in agreement with sliding distance measured by scanning electron microscopy     

Biochemical model for enhanced biological phosphorus removal

Enhanced biological phosphorus (bio-P) removal from wastewater is a promising technology for which the fundamental mechanisms are still unclear. The purpose of this paper is to present a biochemical model that explains bio-P removal mechanisms occurring under anaerobic, aerobic and anoxic conditions of the process. A bio-P bacterium is referred to as one that can store both polyphosphate and carbon (as poly-β-hydroxybutyrate for example). In this communication, observations from the literature are first reviewed and mechanisms of bacterial bioenergetics and membrane transport are summarized. The model for bio-P metabolism under anaerobic, aerobic and anoxic conditions is then presented. The role of polyphosphate under anaerobic conditions is suggested to be as a source of energy both for the reestablishment of the proton motive force, which would be consumed by substrate transport and for substrate storage. The role of the anaerobic zone is to maximize the storage of organic substrates in bio-P bacteria. For this purpose the supply of readily available substrates should be maximized and the presence of electron acceptors (molecular oxygen or oxidized nitrogen) minimized. Under subsequent aerobic or anoxic conditions, bio-P bacteria will accumulate polyphosphates in response to the availability of electron acceptors (oxygen or oxidized nitrogen) for energy production. Carbon reserves in bio-P bacteria should provide energy for growth and for soluble phosphate accumulation as polyphosphate reserves.     

Enrichment of polyunsaturated fatty acids from sardine cannery effluents by enzymatic selective esterification

The sardine canning industry produces vast quantities of effluents that need expensive reprocessing. Their oily component contains valuable n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely EPA (5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (7,10,13, 16,19-docosahexaenoic acid), up to 10% each. Our aim was to develop a process allowing the recovery of these fatty acids. After removing solid particles, proteins, and peptides from the crude effluent, the obtained oil was hydrolyzed. EPA and DHA were enriched from the recovered free fatty acid fraction by selective enzymatic esterification. Lipases were used as biocatalysts: Lipozyme^TM allowed up to 80% DHA enrichment but gave no EPA enrichment. By immobilizing Candida rugosa lipase on Amberlite IRC50 cation-exchange resin, a 30% EPA enrichment was obtained.     

Effect of loading rate on performance of constructed wetlands treating an anaerobic supernatant.

The effect of organic loading, season and plant species on the treatment of fish farm effluent was tested using three-year old mesocosm wetland systems. During one year, nine 1 m2 mesocosms (horizontal subsurface flow), located in a controlled greenhouse environment, were fed with a reconstituted fish farm effluent containing a high fraction of soluble components (1,600 microS/cm and in mg/L: 230 +/- 80 COD, 179 +/- 60 sCOD, 100 +/- 40 TSS, 37 +/- 7 TKN, 14 +/- 2 TP). Combinations of three hydraulic loading rates (30, 60 and 90 L.m(-2) d(-1)) and two plant species (Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia) and an unplanted control were tested for treatment performance and hydraulic behaviour. Loadings higher than 15 g COD m(-2) d(-1) resulted in a net decrease of hydraulic performances (generation of short circuiting) coupled with low TKN removal. Maximal TKN removal rates (summer: 1.2, winter: 0.6 g.m(-2) d(-1)) were reached in planted units. In all mesocosms, phosphorus was removed during summer (maximal removal rate: 0.3 g TP m(-2) d(-1)) and was released in winter (release rate = approximately half of summer removal rate). This study confirmed that constructed wetlands are susceptible to clogging when treating anaerobic storage tank supernatant rich in highly biodegradable compounds. Contributions of plants to hydraulic efficiency were mainly observed in summer, associated with high evapotranspiration rates. Both plant species gave a similar removal efficiency for all pollutants.     

Influence of gas/liquid injection on two‐phase flow convective boiling of refrigerant mixtures

An analytical study on the influence of gas/liquid injection on heat transfer characteristics of two‐phase flow boiling of some refrigerant mixtures in horizontal enhanced surface tubing is presented. Correlations were proposed to predict the impact of the gas/liquid injection on the heat transfer characteristics such as average heat transfer coefficient of R‐507, R‐404A, R‐410A and R‐407C in two‐phase flow boiling inside enhanced surface tubing. The data also revealed that gas/liquid injection is beneficial at certain gas/liquid injection ratios to the heat transfer coefficient depending upon the Reynolds number and the boiling point. It was also evident that the proposed correlations and the experimental data that the gas/liquid injection has significant impact on the heat transfer coefficient. In addition, the proposed correlations were applicable to the entire heat and mass flux, investigated in the present study under gas/liquid injection conditions. The deviation between the experimental and predicted under gas/liquid injection were less than ±20, for the majority of data. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of liquid injection on two‐phase flow convective boiling of refrigerant mixtures

In this paper, an analytical study on the influence of liquid injection on heat transfer characteristics of two‐phase flow boiling of some refrigerant mixtures in air/refrigerant horizontal enhanced surface tubing is presented. Correlations were proposed to predict the impact of the liquid injection the thermophysical properties of refrigerant mixtures as well as the heat transfer characteristics such as average heat transfer coefficient of R‐507, R‐404A, R‐410A, and R‐407C in two‐phase flow boiling inside enhanced surface tubing. It was also evident that the proposed correlations and the experimental data that the liquid injection has significant impact on the heat transfer coefficient. In addition, the proposed correlations were applicable to the entire heat and mass flux, investigated in the present study under the liquid injection conditions. The deviation between the experimental and predicted under liquid injection were less than ±20, for the majority of data. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ozonation of Primary Sludge and Digested Sludge to Increase Methane Production in a Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment Facility

The purpose of this research was the investigation of the ozonation of sludge as a method to improve anaerobic digestion performance in a chemically enhanced primary treatment facility. Batch tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of ozonation on the physicochemical characteristics of both primary and digested sludge. Then, the performance of semi-continuous anaerobic digesters in combination with ozone treatment was investigated (pre-ozonation and post-ozonation). Ozonation of primary sludge did not increase the soluble COD nor the biodegradable COD, but resulted in the mineralization of a fraction of the organic matter into CO₂. However, the ozonation of anaerobic digested sludge resulted in an increase in soluble COD and biodegradable COD and in a small level of mineralization at the dose of 90 mg O₃/g COD. Pre-ozonation of primary sludge was not effective in enhancing the performance of the anaerobic digester. The coupling of ozonation and anaerobic digestion by means of the post-ozonation of digested sludge was found to be effective in improving methane production (+16%), for COD removal efficiency and for the dewaterability of anaerobic digesters compared to the control digester.     

Dynamic modelling of nitrification in an aerated facultative lagoon

Faced with the need to improve ammonia removal from lagoon wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) operated in Quebec, Canada, mechanistic modelling has been proposed as a tool for explaining the seasonal nitrification phenomenon and to evaluate optimization and upgrade scenarios. A lagoon model that includes a modified activated sludge biokinetic model and that assumes completely mixed conditions in the water column and sediments has been applied to simulate 3 years of consecutive effluent data for a lagoon from the Drummondville WWTP. Successful prediction of results from this plant indicates that the seasonal nitrification is determined by temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the water column and washout driven by a well-mixed water column. Results also indicate that sediments contribute to the ammonia load in the lagoon effluent, particularly in spring and early summer. Sensitivity analyses performed with the model indicate that the nitrification period could be prolonged by increasing DO concentrations in the lagoon and that bioaugmentation would be particularly effective in spring and early summer. Limitations of the model are discussed, as well as ways to improve the hydraulic model.