An attempt to compare the performance of bioscrubbers and biotrickling filters for degradation of ethyl acetate in gas streams

This study presents a comparison of the efficiency of a bioscrubber and a biotrickling filter (BTF) for the removal of ethyl acetate (EA) vapour from a waste gas stream, under the same operating conditions. The maximum EA elimination capacity achieved in the bioscrubber was 550 g m^?3 h^?1 with removal efficiency higher than 96%. For higher EA loadings the bioscrubber was oxygen limited, which caused incomplete EA biodegradation. When pure oxygen was fed to the bioscrubber at a rate of 0.02 L min^?1, the bioscrubber recovered and could treat higher EA loadings without any oxygen limitation. The BTF achieved EA elimination capacity of 600 g m^?3 h^?1 with removal efficiency higher than 97% and the dissolved oxygen concentration remained substantially higher than in the bioscrubber. However, severe channelling and blockage of the spray nozzle occurred due to the excessive biomass growth. Overall, the bioscrubber system was easier to operate and control than the BTF, while an enhancement of the oxygen mass transfer in the bioscrubber could potentially increase its performance by up to three times. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

An Investigation of Milk Powders Produced by a Laboratory-Scale Spray Dryer

A mini spray dryer has been used to investigate morphological changes that occur to milk particles during the spray drying process. We have found that the mini spray dryer is ideal for such investigations, because phenomena such as skin and vacuole formation in particles can be analyzed without the added complication of particle agglomeration, which only occurs in much larger spray dryers where particle number concentrations are higher. We have confirmed observations made by various researchers that the bulk density of spray-dried milk powder is greatly affected by the drying temperature, due to the strong influence of the latter on the porosity of the particles. In addition, we have attempted to explain observations made by various workers that fat accumulates preferentially at the surface of a particle during drying by postulating that fluid fat is transported towards the surface, via a network of cracks and pores, by the development of a vacuole overpressure which is also responsible for the inflation of the particle. Finally, we have shown that milk powders can be spray dried a second time, by reconstitution with water, with no change to the thermodynamic characteristics of the resultant powder. Thus, milk concentrates for spray drying research can be prepared from already-spray-dried milk powders rather than using the more arduous evaporation method to concentrate unprocessed milk.     

Glauconite Materials from Belarus and Their Application Prospects

An integrated study of glauconite-bearing rocks of the Republic of Belarus has been performed and their main application directions have been identified. The chemical, mineral, and granulometric compositions of these rocks are studied and some of their physicochemical and technological properties are analyzed. __________ Translated from Steklo i Keramika, No. 6, pp. 7 – 9, June, 2005.     

Service specifics of refractory lining in a float tank and tests of new heat-resistant composite materials

To avoid glass defects as a consequence of lining destruction in service and to preserve the operating conditions of a float tank equipment, it is necessary to use high-quality refractory materials which are developed taking into account their service specifics. Researchers at the Saratov Institute of Glass have identified maximum admissible fluctuation parameters for the gaseous atmosphere composition in the metal tank, which influences the destruction of refractory lining. New types of composites, namely, concretes on a refractory chamotte basis produced at the Semiluki Refractory Works, have been tested in the service conditions.     

Rheological properties of polypropylene modified by high‐intensity ultrasonic waves

A new method using high‐intensity ultrasonic waves, instead of peroxide‐aided reactive extrusion, was applied to modify a linear polypropylene into a branched structure. The ultrasonic waves induced chain scission and created reactive macromolecules of polypropylene successfully in the melt state without any peroxide. To enhance and control the recombination reaction during sonication, a multifunctional agent and an antioxidant were used. The rheological property measurements clearly confirmed that the modified polypropylene had a nonlinear branched structure. It showed shear‐thinning behaviors in its viscosities at low frequencies, high elastic behaviors in Cole–Cole plots, and a high rheological polydispersity index in comparison with a linear polypropylene. The degradation or recombination of polypropylene was adequately controlled by an antioxidant, which stabilized the structure during sonication. Also, the use of an antioxidant was quite effective in improving the extrusion processability by delaying the instability of the extrudate to a higher shear rate. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

All-Optical Vestigial Sideband Generation Using a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

An all-optical setup to generate vestigial sideband signals based on self-phase modulation in a semiconductor optical amplifier is experimentally demonstrated at 10 Gb/s. Sideband suppressions higher than 15 dB are reported with improved eye opening. Wavelength-independent operation over 26 nm is demonstrated. Increased chromatic dispersion tolerance is verified: a receiver sensitivity penalty of 5.3 dB, relative to back-to-back, is obtained after transmission over 2720 ps/nm; whereas conventional double sideband is penalized by 4.0 dB after 1360 ps/nm     

Apparent versus true density for the volume-to-weight transformation in coal blends

This work reviews the procedures involved in the conversion of the petrographic characterization data of blended coals into weight percentages of the single coals in the blends, the selection of the most suitable parameter for describing the density of the coals being critical. First, the fundamentals of the volume-to-weight transformation of the petrographic data were developed by means of mathematical formulae. This part of the procedure highlighted the need to use a density value adapted to the resolving power of the optical microscope. It was found that mercury penetration at 5 MPa, as determined by mercury porosimetry, was best suited for this purpose. A literature survey of published coal density data revealed that the use of correlations between coal density and rank was not an accurate enough procedure to deal with the relatively low corrections involved in the transformation of petrographic data. In the end, three binary blends were prepared from six carefully selected coals and polished particulate blocks of these blends were petrographically analysed to determine their compositions on a volume per cent basis. The best fit of these volume percentages with the weight percentages used in the formulation of the blends was found for a density correction based on mercury penetration at 5 MPa, in agreement with the empirical analysis.     

Anodising potential influence on well-ordered nanostructures formed by anodisation of aluminium in sulphuric acid

High-density structures with relatively well-ordered nanopore arrays have been obtained by the self-ordering growth of nanopores occurring during anodisation of aluminium in sulphuric acid. The resulting array of well-ordered nanopores strongly depends on an applied voltage of anodising, temperature and a procedure of synthesis. Regular arranged hexagonal arrays on aluminium with a relatively uniform pore diameter, interpore distance, and depth of pores exceeding 90 μm, can be formed by the self-ordering two-step anodising at 1 °C. The interpore distance and the pore diameter were evaluated on anodised aluminium layers obtained at different cell potentials ranging from 15 to 25 V. The detailed analyses of their uniformity were performed from SEM images. The analysis of a pore arrangement defects was made from SEM top view images taken on samples anodised at various cell potentials. The defect maps, known as Delaunay triangulations, of the arrangement of about 1000 pores were constructed for different applied anodising potentials. The percentage of pores that are not six-fold coordinated by the neighbouring pores indicates the percentage of defected surface.     

Passive-Based Walking Robot

In this article, we presented our passive-based biped Denise. Using only two foot contact switches as sensors and simple on/off pneumatic muscle action, it walks at 0.4 m/s and can handle floor disturbances up to 6 mm (leg length is 0.7 m). Its simplicity, efficiency, and die natural look of its motions make it a promising lead for the development of commercially viable humanoid robots. The aim of this article is to provide other researchers enough details so that they can reproduce the work or use it as a basis for future research.     

In-Situ and Real-Time Investigation of Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Metallic Alloy

In this article, we present a review of observations during Al-3.5 wt pct Ni alloy solidi.cation experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble. These experiments provide direct access to dynamical phenomena during columnar growth (initial transient and breakdown of a planar solid-liquid interface), and for the first time to the transition from columnar-to-equiaxed microstructure (nucleation ahead of a columnar front and blocking of a columnar front by an equiaxed microstructure) and fully equiaxed growth (propagation of an effective front). Based on these experimental observations, critical parameters such as columnar growth velocity variation during the transition or equiaxed-grain diameter are measured and discussed. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Solidi.cation Modeling and Microstructure Formation: In Honor of Prof. John Hunt,” which occurred March 13–15, 2006, during the TMS Spring Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, under the auspices of the TMS Materials Processing and Manufacturing Division, Solidification Committee.