Safety-related conclusions for the application of ultrasound in explosive atmospheres

International safety regulations such as EN 1127-1 consider ultrasound to be an ignition source. Currently, applications of ultrasound in explosive atmospheres have to comply with a threshold value of 1 mW/mm². However, it is unclear as to how this intensity has to be measured and, therefore, this threshold value is poorly defined. Moreover, it is based on theoretical estimations in analogy to other ignition sources and there are no publications or significant records on these estimations. Within a research project at PTB, it has now been investigated experimentally in relation to worst-case considerations including airborne ultrasound, focused MHz ultrasound in liquids and acoustic cavitation. On the basis of the results of the research it is now possible to revise the current regulations and to specify measures for safe operation of ultrasonic applications in explosive atmospheres. In this context, for ultrasound coupled directly to gaseous atmospheres a new threshold value of 170 dB (re. 20 μPa) can be suggested, and for ultrasonic applications in liquids, an augmentation can be made to the threshold to 400 mW/mm².     

Attitudes to prenatal screening,diagnosis and research among pregnant women who accept or decline an alpha-fetoprotein test

The aim of the study was to describe the opinion of pregnant women who had accepted or declined an alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test, not only on AFP screening in general, but also on whether every pregnant woman should be offered amniocentesis (AC)/chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and an ultrasound scan for fetal malformations. An additional aim was to describe pregnant women's attitudes concerning continued research in the prenatal field. The study was performed as a questionnaire study in two regions over a 1-year period from 1 October 1988 to 30 September 1989. Results are based on answers from 3331 women who had taken an AFP test and 336 women who had declined the offer of a test. A total of 79 per cent of the women thought that an AFP test, 70 per cent that an ultrasound scan for fetal malformations, and 26 per cent that AC or CVS should be offered to all pregnant women. Fifty-nine per cent of the women were positive towards continued research in the prenatal field. Women who had had an AFP test were generally much more positive towards screening and research than women who had declined, who were generally against. Women who had left school without a high school degree were on average more positive towards the screening issues than women who had this degree. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study strongly suggest that women's attitudes are very dependent on how the prenatal screening programme is already organized in their local area.     

Achondrogenesis type 2 diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasound at 12 weeks' gestation

Ultrasound examination at 12 weeks' gestation revealed severe generalised subcutaneous oedema in a pregnancy at risk for achondrogenesis type II. Transvaginal scanning confirmed the oedema and suggested abnormal limb development. The prenatal diagnosis was confirmed by X-ray examination after transvaginal termination.     

低强度超声波与酸、碱协同对污泥溶胞的影响

在能量密度为0.05W·mL-1和pH范围3.0～12.0条件下,研究了超声波辐射与酸、碱协同对污泥溶胞效果的影响.结果表明,溶解性化学需氧量(SCOD)、溶解性磷(SP)和溶解性糖(SA)含量随pH增大均呈先降后升趋势.当pH为3.0时,污泥溶胞效果不高,随污泥溶液碱性增强,SCOD、SP和SA含量随pH呈指数增长,说明强碱性环境有利于污泥溶胞.超声波辐射可显著提高污泥溶胞率,而且pH越大超声波辐射改善的溶胞效率越高.pH=11.0时超声波辐射60min以内,SCOD、SP和SA含量与时间均呈线性关系,超声波/碱协同污泥溶胞为一级反应.pH大于9.0的碱性条件下,超声波辐射和提高pH均可降低VSS/TSS.依据实验数据,应用非线性优化技术得到SCOD与pH和超声波辐射时间的数学模型,其平均相对误差小于2.6%.     

响应面法优化低频超声协同H2O2降解偶氮染料酸性绿B

以酸性绿B染料废水为研究对象,在单因素试验的基础上,选择染料废水初始pH和H₂O₂投加量及超声功率为自变量,以酸性绿B降解率为响应值,采用响应面分析法研究各自变量及其交互作用对酸性绿B超声降解的影响,并通过回归方程求解和响应曲面分析,得到二次多项式回归方程的预测模型. 结果表明,染料废水初始pH和H₂O₂投加量及超声功率与染料降解率存在显著的相关性. 确定酸性绿B废水超声降解优化条件:初始ρ(酸性绿B)为100 mg/L,初始pH和超声功率分别为4.43和216 W,H₂O₂投加量为1.77 mL. 在该优化条件下,酸性绿B的降解率可达93.34%.经试验验证,实际值与模型预测值拟合性良好,偏差仅为3.48%.      

Enzyme extraction by ultrasound from sludge flocs

Enzymes play essential roles in the biological processes of sludge treatment. In this article, the ultrasound method to extract enzymes from sludge flocs was presented. Results showed that using ultrasound method at 20 kHz could extract more types of enzymes than that ultrasound at 40 kHz and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) methods. The optimum parameters of ultrasound extraction at 20 kHz were duration of 10 min and power of 480 W. Under the condition, ultrasound could break the cells and extract both the extracellular and intercellular enzymes. Ultrasound power was apparently more susceptive to enzyme extraction than duration, suggesting that the control of power during ultrasound extraction was more important than that of duration. The Pearson correlation analysis between enzyme activities and cation contents revealed that the different types of enzymes had distinct cation binding characteristics.