Remediation of elemental mercury using in situ thermal desorption (ISTD)

In situ thermal desorption (ISTD) is a soil heating method that simultaneously applies heat and vacuum to the subsurface at temperatures up to 600 degrees C. As the soil is heated, the vapor pressure of the contaminant increases allowing mass transfer to the gas phase and extraction from the soil using vacuum wells. The overall goal of this research is to assess the feasibility of using ISTD to remove elemental mercury from soils. The initial phase of research included design of a laboratory soil column apparatus and preliminary soil column experiments with surrogate nonaqueous phase liquids (perfluorocarbons) to test the apparatus and investigate the effects of air flow rate and temperature on the ISTD process. Following the preliminary experiments, a mercury off-gas treatment system was added and mercury experiments were conducted. Experiments performed using elemental mercury showed greater than 99.8% removal of the mercury from Ottawa sand. These results show that ISTD can remove mercury from soil at temperatures well below its boiling point and that perfluorodecalin can be used as a surrogate for elemental mercury in laboratory experiments. A flow and transport simulator was used to model the results from both the perfluorocarbon and the mercury experiments.     

Aspirin-like molecules that covalently inactivate cyclooxygenase-2

Many of aspirin's therapeutic effects arise from its acetylation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), whereas its antithrombotic and ulcerogenic effects result from its acetylation of COX-1. Here, aspirin-like molecules were designed that preferentially acetylate and irreversibly inactivate COX-2. The most potent of these compounds was o-(acetoxyphenyl)hept-2-ynyl sulfide (APHS). Relative to aspirin, APHS was 60 times as reactive against COX-2 and 100 times as selective for its inhibition; it also inhibited COX-2 in cultured macrophages and colon cancer cells and in the rat air pouch in vivo. Such compounds may lead to the development of aspirin-like drugs for the treatment or prevention of immunological and proliferative diseases without gastrointestinal or hematologic side effects.     

Towards the integration of dark- and photo-fermentative waste treatment. 3. Potato as substrate for sequential dark fermentation and light-driven H2 production

The goal of the study was to characterize H₂ production in an integrated process utilizing potato homogenate (PH) for dark, fermentative H₂ production followed by H₂ photoproduction using purple non-sulfur bacteria. Emphasis was placed on (a) examining potato fermentation effluent (FE) as substrate for H₂ photoproduction, (b) estimating the yield and efficiency of both processes, and (c) elucidating the physiological factors influencing the integrated system as a whole. In the dark stage maximal production of gas (11.5 L L⁻¹ of the culture) and VFA (350 mM) were observed with a PH concentration of 400 g L⁻¹ of medium, but higher yields (0.05 L g⁻¹ PH; 1.9 mmol g⁻¹ PH) were obtained at PH concentrations of 50–100 g L⁻¹. H₂ photoproduction by purple bacteria was inhibited at high FE content. Upon suitable dilution, adequate illumination, and supplementation with Fe/Mg/phosphate nutrients, H₂ photoproduction reached 40 L L⁻¹ of non-diluted FE, with a total H₂ yield of 5.6 mol mol⁻¹ glucose equivalent for the two-stage integrated process.     

Maximizing the hydrogen photoproduction yields in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures: The effect of the H2 partial pressure

Photoproduction of H₂ gas has been examined in sulfur/phosphorus-deprived Chalmydomonas reinhardtii cultures, placed in photobioreactors (PhBRs) with different gas phase to liquid phase ratios (V_g.p./V_l.p.). The results demonstrate that an increase in the ratio stimulates H₂ photoproduction activity in both algal suspension cultures and in algae entrapped in thin alginate films. In suspension cultures, a 4× increase (from ∼0.5 to ∼2) in V_g.p./V_l.p results in a 2× increase (from 10.8 to 23.1 mmol l⁻¹ or 264–565 ml l⁻¹) in the total yield of H₂ gas. Remarkably, 565 ml of H₂ gas per liter of the suspension culture is the highest yield ever reported for a wild-type strain in a time period of less than 190 h. In immobilized algae, where diffusion of H₂ from the medium to the PhBR gas phase is not affected by mixing, the maximum rate and yield of H₂ photoproduction occur in PhBRs with V_g.p./V_l.p above 7 or in a PhBR with smaller headspace, if the H₂ is effectively removed from the medium by continuous flushing of the headspace with argon. These experiments in combination with studies of the direct inhibitory effect of high H₂ concentrations in the PhBR headspace on H₂ photoproduction activity in algal cultures clearly show that H₂ photoproduction in algae depends significantly on the partial pressure of H₂ (not O₂ as previously thought) in the PhBR gas phase.     

Development of fuel-model interfaces: Investigations by XPS, TEM, SEM and AFM

The presented work aims to reproducibly prepare UO₂-Pd thin film model systems for spent nuclear fuel in order to further investigate surface reactions of these films under relevant redox conditions. The sputter co-deposition of U and Pd (fission product) in the presence of O₂ results in the homogenous distribution of Pd in a crystalline UO₂ matrix. Heating the films causes the diffusion of film components. Hereby, the formation of ε-particles has to be clarified. First electrochemical studies show the influence of the nobel metal Pd on the redox behaviour of UO₂. With increasing Pd concentration the matrix dissolution is decreased. However, we could demonstrate that blocked oxidation processes are of temporary nature. The passivation of the Pd reactive sites with increasing number of cycles finally induces the approximation of the mixed system to the redox behaviour of the pure UO₂ system.     

Effects of riboflavin deficiency on the ultrastructure of rat sciatic nerve fibers

Ultrastructural studies indicate that riboflavin deficiency induced by either dietary restrictions alone or with the addition of the antagonist galactoflavin severely affects the structural integrity of myelin lamellae. The degenerative process induced by riboflavin deficiency is time dependent. Nonmyelinated nerve fibers are not affected ultrastructurally by the deficiency. Cellular organelles of both myelinated and nonmyelinated nerve fibers remain intact and presumably functional.