Gasification applicability study of polyurethane solid refuse fuel fabricated from electric waste by measuring syngas and nitrogenous pollutant gases

To recycle polyurethane foam waste generated from electric appliance recycling centers for use as fuel in a gasification process, polyurethane solid refuse fuel fabricated as pellets was analyzed for the characteristics of elemental composition, proximate analysis, heating value, and thermo-gravimetric testing. It has a high heating value of 29.06 MJ/kg with a high content of combustibles, which could be feasibly used in any thermal process. However, the nitrogen content, of up to 7 %, was comparably higher than for other fuels such as coal, biomass, and refuse-derived fuel, and may result in the emission of nitrogenous pollutant gases of HCN and NH₃. By conducting gasification experiments on polyurethane solid refuse fuel in a fixed-bed reactor, a syngas with a heating value of 9.76 kJ/m³ and high content of both H₂ and CO were produced with good gasification efficiency; carbon conversion 54 %, and cold gas efficiency 60 %. The nitrogenous pollutant gases in syngas were measured at the concentrations of 160 ppm hydrogen cyanide and 40 ppm ammonia, which may have to be reduced using proper cleaning technologies prior to the commercialization of gasification technology for polyurethane waste.     

Religious harassment in the workplace: An examination of observer intervention

Religious harassment claims in the United States have risen sharply over the past decade. However, victims of religious harassment may not always report harassment, and true rates may be higher. Hence, actions taken by third parties present (observers) are important in combating harassment in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to extend a previous model of observer intervention and related research by testing it empirically in the context of religious harassment and identify factors that influence observers' decision to intervene (intervention), when they intervene (level of immediacy), and how much they intervene (level of involvement). Across two studies, we find evidence that verbal harassment, ambiguity of intent, relationship to target/harasser, recurrence belief, religious commitment, pro‐social orientation, and the interactive effect of shared religion and religious commitment predict intervention. Furthermore, individuals show higher levels of involvement and immediacy in intervention when costs are low and emotional reactions are high. Implications of these findings for engaging observers in combatting harassment are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A parametric model of child body shape in seated postures

Objective: The shape of the current physical and computational surrogates of children used for restraint system assessments is based largely on standard anthropometric dimensions. These scalar dimensions provide valuable information on the overall size of the individual but do not provide good guidance on shape or posture. This study introduced the development of a parametric model that statistically predicts individual child body shapes in seated postures with a few given parameters.

Methods: Surface geometry data from a laser scanner of children ages 3 to 11 (n = 135) were standardized by a 2-level fitting method using intermediate templates. The standardized data were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) to efficiently describe the body shape variance. Parameters such as stature, body mass index, erect sitting height, and 2 posture variables related to torso recline and lumbar spine flexion were associated with the PCA model using regression.

Results: When the original scan data were compared with the predictions of the model using the given subject dimensions, the average root mean square error for the torso was 9.5 mm, and the 95th percentile error was 17.35 mm.

Conclusions: For the first time, a statistical model of child body shapes in seated postures is available. This parametric model allows the generation of an infinite number of virtual children spanning a wide range of body sizes and postures. The results have broad applicability in product design and safety analysis. Future work is needed to improve the representation of hands and feet and to extend the age range of the model. The model presented in this article is publicly available online through HumanShape.org.     

Combined steam-dry reforming of toluene in syngas over CaNiRu/Al2O3 catalysts

Cracking, steam reforming, dry reforming, and combined steam and dry reforming of toluene in model syngas were performed using catalysts to simulate tar removal produced during biomass gasification. The catalysts were prepared by adding Ru, Ca, and Mn to Ni-based catalysts, and their properties were measured using BET, pulse CO chemisorption, XRD and TG. In steam and dry reforming of toluene, a high toluene conversion was observed with increasing Ca content in the catalyst and catalysts containing Ca showed a higher activity than those containing Mn. In combined steam-dry reforming with syngas, 1%CaNiRu/Al₂O₃ indicated a conversion of 93.9% at 800°C.     

Mercury leaching characteristics of waste treatment residues generated from various sources in Korea

In this study, mercury (Hg) leaching characteristics of the waste treatment residues (fly ash, bottom ash, sludge, and phosphor powder) generated from various sources (municipal, industrial, medical waste incinerators, sewage sludge incinerator, oil refinery, coal-fired power plant, steel manufacturing plant, fluorescent lamp recycler, and cement kiln) in Korea were investigated. First, both Hg content analysis and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) testing was conducted for 31 collected residue samples. The Hg content analysis showed that fly ash from waste incinerators contained more Hg than the other residue samples. However, the TCLP values of fly ash samples with similar Hg content varied widely based on the residue type. Fly ash samples with low and high Hg leaching ratios (R_L) were further analyzed to identify the major factors that influence the Hg leaching potential. Buffering capacity of the low-R_L fly ash was higher than that of the high-R_L fly ash. The Hg speciation results suggest that the low-R_L fly ashes consisted primarily of low-solubility Hg compounds (Hg₂Cl₂, Hg⁰ or HgS), whereas the high-R_L fly ashes contain more than 20% high-solubility Hg compounds (HgCl₂ or HgSO₄).     

Assessment of Young Dong tributary and Imgok Creek impacted by Young Dong coal mine,South Korea

An initial reclamation of the Young Dong coal mine site, located in northeastern South Korea, was completed in 1995. Despite the filling of the adit with limestone, acid rock drainage (ARD) enters Young Dong tributary and is then discharged to Imgok Creek. This ARD carries an average of 500 mg CaCO₃/l of mineral acidity, primarily as Fe(II) and Al. Before spring runoff, the flow of Imgok Creek is 3.3–4 times greater than that of the tributary and has an alkalinity of 100 mg CaCO₃/l, which is sufficient to eliminate the mineral acidity and raise the pH to about 6.5. From April through September 2008, there were at least two periods of high surface flow that affects the flow of ARD from the adit. Flow of ARD reaches 2.8 m³/min during spring runoff. This raised the concentrations of Fe and Al in the confluence with Imgok Creek. However, by 2 km downstream the pH of the Imgok Creek is 6.5 and only dissolved Fe is above the Korean drinking water criteria (0.30 mg/l). This suggests only a minor impact of Young Dong Creek water on Imgok Creek. Acid digestion of the sediments in Imgok Creek and Young Dong Tributary reveals considerable abundances of heavy metals, which could have a long-term impact on water quality. However, several water-based leaching tests, which better simulate the bioavailable metals pool, released only Al, Fe, Mn, and Zn at concentrations exceeding the criteria for drinking water or aquatic life.

     

Analysis of the association between air pollution and allergic diseases exposure from nearby sources of ambient air pollution within elementary school zones in four Korean cities

The objectives of this study were to survey elementary school students regarding the environmental conditions of their elementary schools and to assess the relationship between air pollution and allergic disease using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. Therefore, this study was designed as a cross-sectional study. In this study, seven elementary schools were selected and they were classified into three categories. The selection included one school with no traffic-related or other pollutants, three with traffic-related pollutants, and three with traffic-related and other pollutants from industrial and filling station sources. The ISAAC questionnaire survey was given to all of the students except to those in the 1st grade who were presumed to be less likely to be exposed to the school environment than the remainder of the students attending those seven schools. The assessment of allergic disease was conducted on a total of 4,545 students. Three school zones with critical exposure were selected within each school and they were evaluated based on the levels of black carbon (BC), PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃. There was a significant increase in the risks based on the odds ratios of treatment experiences (within 1 year) for allergy-related diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis (a) in the school group with traffic-related pollutants and the school group with complex pollutants were 2.12 (1.41–3.19) and 1.59 (1.06–2.37), respectively, in comparison to the school groups with no exposure to pollutants. This was determined based on the odds ratio of symptoms and treatment experiences for allergy-related diseases by group based on the home town zone as a reference. Also, in the case of atopic dermatitis, the odds ratio of treatment experiences (within 1 year) was 1.42 (1.02–1.97), which indicated elevated risks compared to the students in the S1 school. A regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the substances and the symptomatic experiences within the last year. There were significant increases in the odds ratio of the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis and the BC and SO₂ in the complex pollution areas. The results of the assessment of the relationship between atopic dermatitis-associated symptoms and O3 showed that the odds ratio increased with statistical significance.     

Product quality-based eco-efficiency applied to digital cameras

When calculating eco-efficiency, there are considerable confusion and controversy about what the product value is and how it should be quantified. We have proposed here a quantification method for eco-efficiency that derives the ratio of the multiplication value of the product quality and the life span of a product to its whole environmental impact based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In this study, product quality was used as the product value and quantified by the following three steps: (1) normalization based on a value function, (2) determination of the subjective weighting factors of the attributes, and (3) calculation of product quality of the chosen products. The applicability of the proposed method to an actual product was evaluated using digital cameras. The results show that the eco-efficiency values of products equipped with rechargeable batteries were higher than those products that use alkaline batteries, because of higher quality values and lower environmental impacts. The sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed method was superior to the existing methods, because it enables to identify the quality level of the chosen products by considering all products that have the same functions in the market and because, when adding a new product, the calculated quality values in the proposed method do not have to be changed.     

Comparison of fenton and photo-fenton processes for livestock wastewater treatment

In this study, the photochemical degradation of livestock wastewater was carried out by the Fenton and Photo-Fenton processes. The effects of pH, reaction time, the molar ratio of Fe(2 +)/H(2)O(2), and the Fe(2 +) dose were studied. The optimal conditions for the Fenton and Photo-Fenton processes were found to be at a pH of 4 and 5, an Fe(2 +) dose of 0.066 M and 0.01 M, a concentration of hydrogen peroxide of 0.2 M and 0.1 M, and a molar ratio (Fe(2 +)/H(2)O(2)) of 0.33 and 0.1, respectively. The optimal reaction times in the Fenton and Photo-Fenton processes were 60 min and 80 min, respectively. Under the optimal conditions of the Fenton and Photo-Fenton processes, the chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and fecal coliform removal efficiencies were approximately 70--79, 70--85 and 96.0--99.4%, respectively.