Modeling of Airborne Debris around Overplow Deflectors during High-Speed Snowplowing

An engineering model is presented to calculate the trajectory of airborne debris that adversely affects visibility during high-speed snow plowing. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically with turbulence-modeling, particle-tracking, and cutting-edge approximations. Results suggest snow can be divided into splash and snow cloud when engineering treatments to improve visibility for snowplow drivers and following traffic. Calculated results confirm the findings of windtunnel and road tests, specifically that the trap angle of overplow deflectors should be less than 50° to eliminate snow debris blowing over the top of the plow onto the windscreen.     

美国文化遗产保护领域中的税费激励政策

文章介绍了美国文化遗产保护领域中税费激励制度的形成、发展与政策影响力,借此引发我国采用税费制度促进城市文化遗产保护的建议。     

Photocatalytic Removal of Hg from Solid Wastes of Chlor-Alkali Plant

The removal of mercury from hazardous wastes of a chlor-alkali plant was investigated by a combined process of acid attack and photoreduction treatment. The solution obtained by acid attack of the solid wastes was treated with ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of titanium dioxide and an organic agent (citric acid), leading to the selective precipitation of reduced mercury, while the other metal compounds remained in the solution. In spite of the large excess of non-reducible metal ions (100 times or more on a molar basis), more than 99% of the mercury initially present in the solid wastes was removed. Competitive adsorption of the different metal compounds on the titanium dioxide surface led to lower rates of mercury reduction. This combined process can be an efficient alternative method for mercury separation because the final effluents have reached a quality close to that of the standards imposed by international environmental agencies.     

Optimization of Internal Bypass Ratio for Complete Ammonium and Phosphate Removal in a Dephanox-Type Two-Sludge Denitrification System

The capacity of complete simultaneous ammonium and phosphate removal was studied in a laboratory scale Dephanox system in relation to its internal bypass ratio (BPR). In this configuration, most of the ammonium detected in the effluent is ammonium bypassed by the system’s internal settler. Therefore, this research studies the possibility of complete simultaneous ammonium and phosphate removal by means of the balance of bypassed ammonium with ammonium requirement for growth of denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms in the anoxic tank. During these experiments, ammonium removal was governed by internal BPR and limited by sludge settleability. The predominant anaerobic-anoxic sludge developed a high settleability, allowing the application of drastic low BPRs. The system studied under many BPRs proved to achieve almost complete simultaneous ammonium and phosphate removal for BPRs ranging from 0.08 to 0.13 of the influent. A BPR lower than the inferior limit produced extreme accumulation of sludge into the internal settler, interfering in the distribution of sludge and consequently in removal efficiency. A positive effect of the internal settler was the extension of anaerobic contact time and anaerobic solids retention time. The increased phosphorus release suggests that a higher volatile fatty acids production might have occurred when raw wastewater was used as influent.     

Modeling Substrate Interactions during Aerobic Biodegradation of Mixtures of Vinyl Chloride and Ethene

Ethene (ETH) is often associated with vinyl chloride (VC) in contaminated groundwater, as it is formed along with vinyl chloride during reductive dechlorination of higher chloroethenes (e.g., perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene). In the present study the interaction between VC and ETH during their aerobic biodegradation by enrichment cultures was investigated. The cultures were able to use both compounds as growth substrates. In mixture experiments, the degradation rate of one substrate was affected by the presence of the other. A biokinetic model based on competitive inhibition described well the observed substrate interactions over a range of initial VC (0–144 μmol?L?1) and ETH (0–37.5 μmol?L?1) concentrations, using parameters estimated from single-substrate experiments. Notably, half-velocity coefficients could be used as competitive inhibition coefficients. This finding shows the importance of obtaining accurate measurements of half-velocity coefficients in order model competitive inhibition processes. Simulation results showed that when the initial ETH concentration was raised from 0 to 30 μmol?L?1, the apparent half-velocity coefficient for VC (KVCAPP) increased by nearly three times, from 12.9 to 35.4 μmol?L?1. This finding has strong environmental implications because a low half-velocity coefficient for VC is regarded as the major prerequisite for achieving efficient and complete VC degradation. Moreover, the effect of ETH on the efficiency of VC removal is strongly dependent on the KVC/KETH ratio, consequently determination of KETH for VC-degrading microbes is important when biodegradation (or bioaugmentation) is considered for clean up of VC-contaminated sites. Additional model simulations, using the ratio of KVC to KETH for previously characterized VC- and ETH-utilizing microorganisms (values ranged from 0.06 to 1.2) showed that their ability to degrade VC in the presence of ETH may differ significantly.     

Microwave plasma removal of sulphur hexafluoride

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF(6)) gas is a common pollutant emitted during the plasma etching of thin films and plasma cleaning chemical vapor deposition (CVD) production processes used in the semiconductor industry. In this paper a method using microwave (2.45GHz frequency) plasmas sustained at atmospheric pressure for the abatement of SF(6) is investigated experimentally for various gas mixture constituents and operating conditions, with respect to its ability to decompose SF(6) to less harmful molecules. The destruction and removal efficiencies (DRE) of plasma abatement of SF(6) at concentrations between 1.7 and 5% in nitrogen in the presence of water vapor were studied as a function of the total gas flow rate and microwave power. Water vapor proved to be an effective source of free radical species that reacts with the radicals and ions resulting from SF(6) fragmentation in the plasma and also, it proved to reduce the process by-products. It was measured that approximately 25% of the initial SF(6) is converted to SO(2). Destruction and removal efficiencies of SF(6) up to 99.9% have been achieved.     

Effect of deflecting ring on noise generated by outdoor set of a split-unit air conditioner

In order to analyze the influence of the deflecting ring on the noise generated by the outdoor set of a split-unit air conditioner, the flow field in the outdoor set is simulated with the CFD software STAR-CD, the relative turbulent intensities are computed and the influence of the width and contoured duct of the deflecting ring on the noise generated by the outdoor set is analyzed. The results of computation and experiment show that there is an optimal width of the deflecting ring, corresponding to the minimum noise generated by the outdoor set. In addition, the influence of the contoured duct of the deflecting ring on the noise generated by the outdoor set is analyzed and a double contoured duct is designed. The results of computation and experiment verify that the deflecting ring with double contoured duct can improve the aerodynamic performance and reduce the noise generated by the outdoor set.     

Activated Carbon Addition to an Activated Sludge Model Reactor for Color Removal from a Cotton Textile Processing Wastewater

Color removal from cotton textile processing wastewater by addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) into a lab-scale activated sludge system was examined. The activated sludge system was continuously operated in different sludge ages (SRTs) and hydraulic retention times (HRTs). SRT = 30?d and HRT = 1.6?d operation resulted in up to 36% color removal and 94% COD removal. PAC was added 100, 200, and 400 mg/L into the activated sludge system under these operating conditions. The results indicated that 100 mg/L PAC was sufficient to remove the maximum color measured (up to 50 m?1) from the wastewater. The addition of PAC did not affect chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal significantly. Oxygen uptake rate (OUR) tests were also performed to investigate the microbial activities controlling the system performance. The average OUR was 74.1 mg/L/h without PAC addition while it was 70 mg/L/h with PAC addition. Adsorbable organic halogens of the effluent wastewater decreased from 400 to 50 μg/L with the addition of PAC. Toxicity dilution factor decreased from 2 to 1.5 with the PAC addition into the activated sludge system.     

Complicating Factors of Using Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid to Enhance Electrokinetic Remediation of Multiple Heavy Metals in Clayey Soils

Batch and electrokinetic experiments were conducted to investigate the removal of three different heavy metals, chromium(VI), nickel(II), and cadmium(II), from a clayey soil by using ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a complexing agent. The batch experiments revealed that high removal of these heavy metals (62–100%) was possible by using either a 0.1?M or 0.2?M EDTA concentration over a wide range of pH conditions (2–10). However, the results of the electrokinetic experiments using EDTA at the cathode showed low heavy metal removal efficiency. Using EDTA at the cathode along with the pH control at the anode with NaOH increased the pH throughout the soil and achieved high (95%) Cr(VI) removal, but the removal of Ni(II) and Cd(II) was limited due to the precipitation of these metals near the cathode. Apparently, the low mobility of EDTA and its migration direction, which opposed electroosmotic flow, prevented EDTA complexation from occurring. Overall, this study found that many complicating factors affect EDTA-enhanced electrokinetic remediation, and further research is necessary to optimize this process to achieve high contaminant removal efficiency.     

Catalytic Oxidation of Volatile Organic Liquids

Metal oxide and supported-Pt catalysts were developed for complete oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other solvent-derived organic vapors (OVs) in air at relatively low temperatures. The goal for this work is to produce a simple, cost-effective technology for reducing the concentration of organic contaminants in air to acceptable levels before the air is released into the atmosphere or recirculated. Specific applications include ventilated work spaces for spray painting and engine maintenance, indoor air decontamination, dry cleaning, food processing, fume hoods, residential use, and solvent-intensive industrial processes. Catalyst powders and monolith-supported catalysts were screened for conversion of 1-butanol, toluene, and methyl ethyl ketone to carbon dioxide and water. The concentration of OVs in the feedstream was maintained at approximately 100 ppmv, and the space velocity was between 6,000 and 18,000 h?1. Metal oxide catalysts without Pt generated complete conversion of 1-butanol to CO2 at 150°C, 69% conversion at 100°C, and 15% conversion at 80°C. For toluene, complete conversion was achieved at 200°C, and greater than 75% conversion at 150°C. Addition of Pt to the metal oxide compositions typically lowered the temperature for a given OV oxidation rate by at least 20–50°C. Catalysts deposited onto standard commercial cordierite monoliths retained their composition and activity, and were stable in humid air, as well as nitrogen- and chlorine-containing OVs. However, the catalysts quickly deactivated in the presence of sulfur and phosphorus.