Biohydrogen production in continuous-flow reactor using mixed microbial culture.

The goal of the proposed project was to develop an anaerobic fermentation process that converts negative-value organic wastes into hydrogen-rich gas in a continuous-flow reactor under different operating conditions, such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), heat treatment, pH, and substrates. A series of batch tests were also conducted in parallel to the continuous study to evaluate the hydrogen conversion efficiency of two different organic substrates, namely sucrose and starch. A heat shock (at 90 degrees C for 15 minutes) was applied to the sludge in an external heating chamber known as a sludge activation chamber, as a method to impose a selection pressure to eliminate non-spore-forming, hydrogen-consuming bacteria and to activate spore germination. The experimental results showed that the heat activation of biomass enhanced hydrogen production by selecting for hydrogen-producing, spore-forming bacteria. The batch feeding at a shorter HRT of 20 hours (or higher organic loading rate) favored hydrogen production, whereas, at a longer HRT of 30 hours, methane was detected in the gas phase. The major organic acids of hydrogen fermentation were acetate, butyrate, and propionate. Up to 23.1% of influent chemical oxygen demand was consumed in biomass synthesis. Batch tests showed that the hydrogen-production potential of starch was lower than sucrose, and better conversion efficiency from starch was obtained at a lower pH of 4.5. However, addition of sucrose to starch improved the overall hydrogen-production potential and hydrogen-production rate. This study showed that sustainable biohydrogen production from carbohydrate-rich substrates is possible through heat activation of settled sludge.     

Pattern recognition of the movement tracks of medaka (Oryzias latipes) in response to sub-lethal treatments of an insecticide by using artificial neural networks

Specimens of medaka (Oryzias latipes) were observed continuously through an automatic image recognition system before and after treatments of an anti-cholinesterase insecticide, diazinon (0.1 mg/l), for 4 days in semi-natural conditions (2 days before treatment and 2 days after treatment). The "smooth" pattern was typically shown as a normal movement behavior, while the "shaking" pattern was frequently observed after treatments of diazinon. These smooth and shaking patterns were selected for training with an artificial neural network. Parameters characterizing the movement tracks, such as speed, degree of backward movements, stop duration, turning rate, meander, and maximum distance movements in the y-axis of 1-min duration, were given as input (six nodes) to a multi-layer perceptron with the back propagation algorithm. Binary information for the smooth and shaking patterns was separately given as the matching output (one node), while eight nodes were assigned to a single hidden layer. As new input data were given to the trained network, it was possible to recognize the smooth and shaking patterns of the new input data. Average recognition rates of the smooth pattern decreased significantly while those for the shaking pattern increased to a higher degree after treatments of diazinon. The trained network was able to reveal the difference in the shaking pattern in different light phases before treatments of diazinon. This study demonstrated that artificial neural networks could be useful for detecting the presence of toxic chemicals in the environment by serving as in-situ behavioral monitoring tools.     

Decolorizing of lignin wastewater using the photochemical UV/TiO2 process

Studies on applying the photochemical UV/TiO2 oxidation process to treat the lignin-containing wastewater for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), color and reducing A254 (the absorption at the wavelength of 254 nm) have been carried out. The data obtained in this study demonstrate that the UV/TiO2 process is effective in oxidizing the lignin thus reducing the color and DOC of the wastewater treated. The combined UV/TiO2 treatment can achieve better removal of DOC and color than the UV treatment alone. Color removal, based on American Dye Manufacture Index (ADMI) measurement, is greater than 99% if the pH is maintained at 3.0 with the addition of 1 g l(-1) TiO2. When 10 g l(-1) TiO2 is applied, the oxidation reduction potential (ORP) value is reached to result in an 88% removal of both DOC and color. A model was developed based on the variation of ORP during the photochemical reaction to simulate the decoloring process. The proposed model can be used to predict the color removal efficiency of the UV/TiO2 process.     

Ammonia inhibition on thermophilic anaerobic digestion

This study evaluated both chronic and acute toxicity of ammonia in thermophilic anaerobic digestion of synthetic wastewater over a range of acclimation concentrations. The inhibition effects of ammonia, in terms of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), under various pH values and acclimation conditions on thermophilic aceticlastic methanogens were investigated. Completely mixed thermophilic anaerobic reactors operated at a chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading rate of 4 g/lday and a solid retention time (SRT) of 7 days were subjected to TAN concentrations of 0.40, 1.20, 3.05, 4.92, and 5.77 g/l. The reactor operations presented a case of chronic inhibition and it was observed that TAN concentrations of 4.92 and 5.77 g/l caused a drop in methane production by as much as 39% and 64%, respectively with respect to control. Batch anaerobic toxicity assays (ATA) were also performed to evaluate the acute toxicity effects of TAN and pH on methanogenesis at thermophilic condition. Modeling based on the results of ATA indicated that aceticlastic methanogens acclimated to high concentrations of TAN were less sensitive to increase in TAN and could tolerate wider pH ranges. TAN concentration causing 100% inhibition occurred in the range of 8-13 g/l, depending on acclimation condition and system pH.     

Combustion characteristics of spent catalyst and paper sludge in an internally circulating fluidized-bed combustor

Combustion of spent vacuum residue hydrodesulfurization catalyst and incineration of paper sludge were carried out in thermo-gravimetric analyzer and an internally circulating fluidized-bed (ICFB) reactor. From the thermo-gravimetric analyzer-differential thermo-gravimetric curves, the pre-exponential factors and activation energies are determined at the divided temperature regions, and the thermo-gravimetric analysis patterns can be predicted by the kinetic equations. The effects of bed temperature, gas velocity in the draft tube and annulus, solid circulation rate, and waste feed rate on combustion efficiency of the wastes have been determined in an ICFB from the experiments and the model studies. The ICFB combustor exhibits uniform temperature distribution along the bed height with high combustion efficiency (>90%). The combustion efficiency increases with increasing reaction temperature, gas velocity in the annulus region, and solid circulation rate and decreases with increasing waste feed rate and gas velocity in the draft tube. The simulated data from the kinetic equation and the hydrodynamic models predict the experimental data reasonably well.     

Evaluation of the relationship between two different methods for enumeration fecal indicator bacteria： Colony-forming unit and most probable number

Most probable number (MPN) and colony-forming unit (CFU) estimates of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentration are common measures of water quality in aquatic environments. Thus, FIB intensively monitored in Yeongsan Watershed in an attempt to compare two di erent methods and to develop a statistical model to convert from CFU to MPN estimates or vice versa. As a result, the significant di erence was found in the MPN and CFU estimates. The enumerated Escherichia coli concentrations in MPN are greater than those in CFU, except for the measurement in winter. Especially in fall, E. coli concentrations in MPN are one order of magnitude greater than that in CFU. Contrarily, enterococci bacteria in MPN are lower than those in CFU. However, in general, a strongly positive relationship are found between MPN and CFU estimates. Therefore, the statistical models were developed, and showed the reasonable converting FIB concentrations from CFU estimates to MPN estimates. We expect this study will provide preliminary information towards future research on whether di erent analysis methods may result in di erent water quality standard violation frequencies for the same water sample.     

Evaluation on the applicability of dry processed bottom ash as lightweight aggregate for construction fields

Currently, wet bottom ash is not sufficiently utilized due to its content of unburned coal, chloride and moisture. In contrast, bottom ash discharged from the recently introduced dry process spends a longer time on the clinker conveyer in the lower part of the boiler and consequently contains a significantly smaller amount of unburned coal. Consequently, it has high potential for use as a lightweight aggregate for construction material because of properties such as high porosity, low unburned coal content, non-chloride, and non-moisture. However, it is not frequently used for construction because the ash particle has a flat and thin shape, coarse surface and unfavorable structural strength. Against this backdrop, this study has conducted a range of experiments to identify the shapes, structure, density, absorption, percentage of floating particles, unit volume weight, solid volume, characteristics of air bubbles and micro pores, crushing strength of bottom ash, and the following results were observed. Though the dry bottom ash has sharp and angular edges, its flat and thin shapes lead to vulnerable structures. Dry bottom ash of the size of 0.6 mm or larger has 50–60 % of the total pore rate and 30–50 % of the closed pore rate. Considering these qualities, by removing the relatively fragile surface parts and making the particles more globular, dry bottom ash can be used as a lightweight aggregate for construction field having outstanding performance in terms of light weight and insulation.     

Phylogeography of the seaweed Ishige okamurae (Phaeophyceae): evidence for glacial refugia in the northwest Pacific region

Although benthic marine algae are essential components of marine coastal systems that have been influenced profoundly by past and present climate change, our knowledge of seaweed phylogeography is limited. The brown alga Ishige okamurae Yendo occurs in the northwest Pacific, where it occupies a characteristic belt in the exposed intertidal zone. To understand the patterns of genetic diversity and the evolutionary history of this species, we analyzed mitochondrial cox3 from 14 populations (221 individuals) throughout its range. The 17 haplotypes found in this study formed five distinct clades, indicating significant genetic structure. The high differentiation and number of unique (private) haplotypes may result from the recolonization of the species from glacial refugia. Three putative refugia, each with high genetic diversity, were identified: southern Korea (including Jeju Island), northern Taiwan, and central Pacific Japan. Recolonization of I. okamurae was probably determined by ocean currents and changes in sea level during the last glacial period.     

Charge reduction on polypropylene granules and suppression of incendiary electrostatic discharges by using a novel AC electrostatic ionizer

As a method to prevent or mitigate electrostatic charge and/or discharges, we have developed a novel AC electrostatic ionizer. In this study, we evaluated experimentally the practical version of the novel AC electrostatic ionizer with a modeling test system and a pneumatic powder transport facility. In addition, electrostatic discharges generated inside a silo while loading polypropylene (PP, 3 mm) granules were observed visually with/without the novel AC ionizer. The specific charge was clearly decreased with the novel AC electrostatic ionizer. The specific charge obtained with the four arranged AC electrostatic ionizers used was approximately one eighth of that without the AC ionizer. The incendiary bulk surface discharges completely died out inside the silo by using the four arranged ionizers.     

沙尘暴事件中大气颗粒物化学组分的浓度变化和硫酸盐的形成

应用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱、质谱和离子色谱分析了2002年3月28日-4月8日在山东长岛县采集的共11对粗、细大气颗粒物样品的化学组成,探讨4月6-8日沙尘暴事件中大气颗粒物化学组分的变化和硫酸盐的形成.沙尘暴事件应区分前锋和后续部分,前锋与大气中各种污染物相互作用,具有硫富集的特征.后续部分较好地保持了长距离传输风沙尘本身的特征.硫酸盐的形成机理可能是多相氧化而不是简单的酸碱中和.硫酸铵是首先生成的含硫物种,这是细颗粒主导的形成过程.硫酸铵逐渐转化为其他硫酸盐,硫的成分也逐渐向粗颗粒转移.在沙尘暴事件中含硫污染物不但有一个从气相向颗粒物转变的过程,也有一个从细颗粒向粗颗粒转化的过程.