Treatment of wastewater from red and tropical fruit wine production by zeolite anaerobic fluidized bed reactor

A study of the anaerobic treatment of wastewaters derived from red (RWWW) and tropical fruit wine (TFWWW) production was carried out in four laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactors with natural zeolite as bacterial support. These reactors operated at mesophilic temperature (35°C). Reactors R1 and R2 contained Chilean natural zeolite, while reactors R3 and R4 used Cuban natural zeolite as microorganism support. In addition, reactors R1 and R3 processed RWWW, while reactors R2 and R4 used TFWWW as substrate. The biomass concentration attached to zeolites in the four reactors studied was found to be in the range of 44–46 g volatile solids (VS)/L after 90 days of operation time. Both types of zeolites can be used indistinctly in the fluidized bed reactors achieving more than 80%–86% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals for organic loading rates (OLR) of up to at least 20 g COD/L d. pH values remained within the optimal range for anaerobic microorganisms for OLR values of up to 20 and 22 g COD/L d for RWWW and TFWWW, respectively. Toxicity and inhibition levels were observed at an OLR of 20 g COD/L d in reactors R1 and R3 while processing RWWW, whereas the aforementioned inhibitory phenomena were not observed at an OLR of 24 g COD/L d in R2 and R4, treating TFWWW as a consequence of the lower phenolic compound content present in this substrate. The volatile fatty acid (VFA) levels were always lower in reactors processing TFWWW (R2 and R4) and these values (< 400 mg/L, as acetic acid) were lower than the suggested limits for digester failure. The specific methanogenic activity (SMA) was twice as high in reactors R2 and R4 than in R1 and R3 after 120 days of operation when all reactors operated at an OLR of 20 g COD/L d.     

Nitrogen Compounds other than NO in Automobile Exhaust Gas

Recent studies of organic pyrolyses in the presence of nitric oxide have shown that various nitogen compounds, such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and aceto-nitrile (CH₃CN) are formed. This suggests the possibility that such compounds will be found in internal combustion processes, and may be present in automobile exhaust gases. The present paper describes some gas-chromatographic and wet analyses of exhaust gases. It is concluded that the amounts of hydrogen cyanide are less than 1 ppm, but that various organic nitrogen compounds may reach a level of about 100 ppm. The significance of these results is discussed.     

Prediction of thermal hazards from fireballs

Various models of fireball diameter have been evaluated by statistical techniques. The model of Gayle for fireball diameter estimation showed good agreement between the predicted and experimental data. The models relating to fireball duration, transmissivity and view factor have been selected based on their relative merits. A user interactive computer program has been developed to predict thermal hazards from fireballs in chemical process industries.