Laboratory simulated slipstream testing of novel sulfur removal processes for gasification application

The Wabash River Integrated Methanol and Power Production from Clean Coal Technologies (IMPPCCT) project is investigating an Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) concept to evaluate integrated electrical power generation and methanol production from coal and other carbonaceous feedstocks. Research, development and testing (RD&T) that is currently being conducted under the project is evaluating cost effective process systems for removing contaminants, particularly sulfur species, from the generated gas which contains mainly synthesis gas (syngas), CO₂ and steam at concentrations acceptable for the methanol synthesis catalyst. The RD&T includes laboratory testing followed by bench-scale and field testing at the SG Solutions Gasification Plant located in West Terre Haute, Indiana. Actual synthesis gas produced by the plant was utilized at system pressure and temperature for bench-scale field testing.     

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor worsens the outcome of experimental Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia through direct interaction with the bacteria

Besides its well-established effects on granulocytopoiesis, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to have direct effects on the recruitment and bactericidal ability of neutrophils, resulting in improved survival of experimentally infected animals. We studied the effect of G-CSF on the course of experimental pneumonia induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae, an important gram-negative bacillary pulmonary pathogen. Using a highly reproducible murine model, we here show the paradoxical finding that mortality from infection was significantly increased when animals received G-CSF before induction of pneumonia. Administration of G-CSF promoted replication of bacteria in the liver and spleen, thus indicating an impairment rather than an enhancement of antibacterial mechanisms. By contrast, a monoclonal antibody against Klebsiella K2 capsule significantly reduced bacterial multiplication in the lung, liver, and spleen, and abrogated the increased mortality caused by G-CSF. In vitro studies showed a direct effect of G-CSF on K pneumoniae resulting in increased capsular polysaccharide (CPS) production. When bacteria were coincubated with therapeutically achievable concentrations of G-CSF, phagocytic uptake and killing by neutrophils was impaired. Western blot analysis showed three binding sites of G-CSF to K pneumoniae. Binding of 125I-G-CSF to K pneumoniae was displaced by an excess of unlabeled G-CSF, whereas an unrelated cytokine, interleukin-1alpha, did not compete with G-CSF binding to the bacteria. Thus, in this model, the direct effect of G-CSF on a bacterial virulence factor, CPS production, outweighed any beneficial effect of G-CSF on recruitment and stimulation of leukocytes.     

Evidence for the Microwave Effect During the Annealing of Zinc Oxide

A microwave/conventional hybrid furnace has been used to anneal virtually fully dense zinc oxide ceramics under pure conventional and a microwave/conventional hybrid heating regime with a view to obtaining evidence for the "microwave effect" during the resulting grain growth. In each case it was ensured that each sample within a series had an identical thermal history in terms of its temperature/time profile. The results showed that grain growth was enhanced during hybrid heating compared with pure conventional heating; the greatest enhancement, a factor of ∼3 increase in average grain size, was observed in the range 1100°–1150°C. The grain growth exponent decreased from 3 during conventional heating to 1.4 during hybrid heating in this temperature range, suggesting an acceleration of the diffusional processes involved. Temperature gradients within the samples were found to be too small to explain the results. This suggests that clear evidence has been found to support the existence of a genuine "microwave effect."     

A vapor collection and thermal desorption method to measure semiochemical release rates from controlled release formulations

Chemicals (bp 270–490 °C/1 atm) evaporated from a controlled-release formulation dispenser were carried by an airflow to a collector packed with a polymeric adsorbent. After a set time, the chemicals were recovered by thermally desorbing them onto a gas-liquid chromatograpic column. They were then separated and quantified. The apparatus is described, and the requirements for its successful use are discussed. The soundness of the thermal desorption technique was confirmed by comparison with another technique: solvent elution from the collector. The advantages of the former technique are discussed.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product in this paper does not constitute an endorsement of that product by the USDA.     

Apparatus and procedure for measuring release rates from formulations of lepidopteran semiochemicals

An apparatus was developed wherein a vacuum source was used to pull air across a controlled-release-formulation dispenser or a planchet containing a known quantity of a semiochemical and into a collector filled with a polymeric adsorbent. After a set time, the semiochemical was eluted with solvent and was quantified by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). High percentages of known quantities of the lepidopteran semiochemicals (Z)-7-dodecen-l -ol acetate (Z7DDA), boiling point (bp) 275 ° C/1 atm, (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol formate (Z9TDF), bp 289 °C/1 atm, and (Z,Z)-3,13-octadecadien-1-ol acetate (ZZODDA), bp 490 °C/1 atm, were recovered. The semiochemicals did not oxidize and were recovered quantitatively from the adsorbent. The release rates of Z9TDF from a controlled-release dispenser were found to be directly proportional to the airflow rates. Release rate measurements on the Z9TDF dispensers were made for the purpose of estimating the method's precision. The method was shown to give internally consistent results by measurements on another Z9TDF formulation. The accuracy of the method is discussed.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product in this paper does not constitute an endorsement by the USDA.     

Barium Metaplumbate Ceramic Electrodes for Ceramic Capacitors

A novel approach to reduce electrode costs in ceramic capacitors is presented. Barium metaplumbate (BaPbO₃) was fired onto sintered commercial (Ba, Sr)TiO₃ disk capacitors as external electrodes. Samples were compared to disk capacitors of the same composition with electrodes made of sputtered gold and air-dried silver. The ceramic electrode led to substantial changes in the insulation resistance and dc breakdown strengths, but other properties remained the same. The feasibility of using BaPbO₃ electrodes strongly depends on chemical reactions between the electrode and dielectric.     

An algorithm for polygonal approximation of a digital object

A fast and simple heuristic algorithm for polygonal approximation is presented. The algorithm is based on a mark and sweep technique. Results of computer implementation with various images are reported.     

Characteristics of pork products from Swine Fed a high monounsaturated fat diet: Part 1-Whole muscle products

Twelve percent of high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) was incorporated into a swine diet to replace substantial amounts of saturated fatty acids (S) in pork by monounsaturated fatty acids (M). Pork loin chops (longissimus dorsi), cooked to 74°C, and eye of round roasts (semitendinosus), cooked to 77°C, from animals on the HOSO diet were 49% and 66%, respectively, higher in the M/S ratio as compared to their counterparts from animals on the control diet. Cooking had little effect on relative differences in the M/S ratio between HOSO and control samples. Cooking loss and sensory properties were not adversely affected by the changes in fatty acid composition. However, cooked chops and roasts from the HOSO group had lower thiobarbituric acid values during storage at 4°C.     

Thermodynamic Theory of Single-Crystal Lead Titanate with Consideration of Elastic Boundary Conditions

A phenomenological free-energy function including the effects of elastic boundary conditions was presented and used to investigate the single-domain, single-crystal properties of the ferroelectric perovskite, PbTiO₃. In particular, the effects of tensile and compressive hydrostatic stress on the spontaneous polarization, Curie point, dielectric susceptibility, and piezoelectric property coefficients were examined. The calculated shift of the Curie point with hydrostatic stress, along with the entropy and enthalpy of the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition, was found to be in good agreement with experimental measurements. The isothermal variation of the relative dielectric susceptibility and piezoelectric coefficients with hydrostatic stress exhibited the expected behavior near the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition.