Accelerator Analysis of Tributyltin Adsorbed onto the Surface of a Tributyltin Resistant Marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. Cell

Tributyltin (TBT) released into seawater from ship hulls is a stable marine pollutant and obviously remains in marine environments. We isolated a TBT resistant marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. TBT1 from sediment of a ship’s ballast water. The isolate (10^{9.3 ± 0.2} colony-forming units mL⁻¹) adsorbed TBT in proportion to the concentrations of TBTCl externally added up to 3 mM, where the number of TBT adsorbed by a single cell was estimated to be 10^8.2. The value was reduced to about one-fifth when the lysozyme-treated cells were used. The surface of ethanol treated cells became rough, but the capacity of TBT adsorption was the same as that for native cells. These results indicate that the function of the cell surface, rather than that structure, plays an important role to the adsorption of TBT. The adsorption state of TBT seems to be multi-layer when the number of more than 10^6.8 TBT molecules is adsorbed by a single cell.     

Numerical characterization of a microscale solid-oxide fuel cell

In this study, a single unit of planar micro-solid-oxide fuel cell (μSOFC) is investigated numerically to evaluate the influences of flow channel design, oxygen composition, and thermal operating conditions on cell performance. Four flow channel designs are examined under the co-flow configuration: serpentine, double serpentine, rod bundle, and oblique rib. For all designs, the contacts areas of interconnect to electrodes are kept consistent to maintain the ohmic losses at the same level. To characterize the mass transport effects, there are three different compositions, 100% O₂, 50% O₂/50% N₂ and air, fed to the cathode inlet. Different thermal conditions, adiabatic and isothermal, are applied to the outer boundary of the μSOFC and the results are compared. The outcomes suggest that both thermal conditions and oxidant composition show remarkable influences on μSOFC performance. Under adiabatic conditions, the rise of cell temperature causes a decrease in reversible voltage, deteriorating the overall cell competence. When oxygen is diluted with nitrogen, local gas diffusion becomes dominant to the cathode reaction. Bulk flow, on the other hand, plays a minor role in cell performance since there is little deviation in the polarization curves for all flow channel designs, even at high current densities. For comparison, the flow visualization technique is employed to observe the transport phenomena in various flow channel designs. The flow patterns are found to resemble the concentration distribution, providing a useful tool to design μSOFCs.     

Performance of a Yeast-mediated Biological Fuel Cell

Saccharomyces cerevisiae present in common Baker’s yeast was used in a microbial fuel cell in which glucose was the carbon source. Methylene blue was used as the electronophore in the anode compartment, while potassium ferricyanide and methylene blue were tested as electron acceptors in the cathode compartment. Microbes in a mediator-free environment were used as the control. The experiment was performed in both open and closed circuit configurations under different loads ranging from 100 kΩ to 400Ω. The eukaryotic S. cerevisiae-based fuel cell showed improved performance when methylene blue and ferricyanide were used as electron mediators, rendering a maximum power generation of 146.71±7.7 mW/m³. The fuel cell generated a maximum open circuit voltage of 383.6±1.5 mV and recorded a maximum efficiency of 28±1.8 % under 100 kΩ of external load.     

On modeling the design of cellular manufacturing systems

A new optimization model is discussed for the design of cellular manufacturing systems. It is based on an integer programming formulation that updates some other models by eliminating redundant machine assignment and cost coefficients dependent on cell configuration. To reduce computational burdens, a simplified integer programming model and a decomposition algorithm are proposed. Several computer solutions were performed to evaluate the performance of the new model. The computational results are discussed.     

A new alloy design concept for austenitic stainless steel with tungsten modification for bipolar plate application in PEMFC

The feasibility of a new alloy design concept utilizing the principle of ‘tungsten bronze effect’ is critically evaluated for the development of metallic bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). An austenitic stainless steel (ASS) is modified with W and La to improve the stability of the passive film in an acidic environment as well as to reduce the contact resistance by the tungsten bronze effect. The experimental ASS containing W and La was evaluated in a simulated PEMFC environment of H₃PO₄ and H₂SO₄ solutions at 80 °C, and the electrical property was evaluated by performing a contact resistance test. The test results show that the ASS modified with W and La has good passive film stability for corrosion resistance and low contact resistance. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis clearly suggests the possibility of the tungsten bronze effect from the change in valency state of W⁶⁺ to W⁵⁺ in the passive film formed on the modified ASS. The feasibility of a new alloy design concept utilizing the ‘tungsten bronze effect’ is well demonstrated; however, more study is highly required for the development of metallic bipolar plates of PEMFC.     

3种高电流密度离子膜电解槽的性能对比与介绍

目前离子膜电解槽的发展方向为复极、自然循环、高电流密度、低电耗，伍德诺拉公司BM2．7-Ⅲ型槽、美国西方化学公司ExL^B-65槽、日本氯工程公司BiTAC-858槽即具有这些先进性能。对这3种槽进行了介绍与对比。     

Transformation of β-Ni(OH)2 to NiO nano-sheets via surface nanocrystalline zirconia coating: Shape and size retention

Shape and size of the synthesized NiO nano-sheets were retained during transformation of sheet-like β-Ni(OH)₂ to NiO at elevated temperatures via nano-sized zirconia coating on the surface of β-Ni(OH)₂. The average grain size was 6.42 nm after 600 °C treatment and slightly increased to 10 nm after 1000 °C treatment, showing effective sintering retardation between NiO nano-sheets. The excellent thermal stability revealed potential application at elevated temperatures, especially for high temperature catalysts and solid-state electrochemical devices.     

Lithium/V6O13 cells using silica nanoparticle-based composite electrolyte

The electrochemical behavior of Li/V₆O₁₃ cells is investigated at room temperature (22 °C) both in liquid electrolyte consisting of oligomeric poly(ethyleneglycol)dimethylether+lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonylimide) and composite electrolytes formed by blending the liquid electrolyte with silica nanoparticles (fumed silica). The addition of fumed silica yields a gel-like electrolyte that demonstrates the desirable property of suppressing lithium dendrite growth due to the rigidity and immobility of the electrolyte structure. The lithium/electrolyte interfacial resistance for composite gel electrolytes is less than that for the corresponding base-liquid electrolyte, and the charge-discharge cycle performance and electrochemical efficiency for the Li/V₆O₁₃ cell is significantly improved. The effect of fumed silica surface group on the electrochemical performance is discussed; the native hydrophilic silanol surface group appears better than fumed silica that is modified with a hydrophobic octyl surface moiety.     

Preparation of micro-patterned surfaces of Si-N-O films and their influence on adhesion behavior of endothelial cells

Microgrooves were prepared on Si(100) surface by photolithography and wet etching.Subsequently,Si-N-O films were deposited on the microgrooves by unbalanced magnetron sputtering(UBMS) and micro-patterned surfaces of Si-N-O films were obtained.The size of the micropatterns was measured by surface profilometer.The chemical composition of Si-N-O films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry(XPS) and the wettability of the micropatterned surfaces was evaluated by contact angle measurement.The beh...     

米曲霉在牛乳中最适生长条件的研究

利用米曲霉对牛乳进行发酵,通过单因子及正交试验以菌丝体干重为指标对其在牛乳中的生长进行了研究．结果表明：接种量为4％,装液量为30mL,摇床转速为180r／min时菌丝体干重可达到最大．此外测得最大菌丝体干重时的蛋白质分解率可达35．6％．