Effects of Oxygen Enrichment in Air Oxidants on Biomass Gasification Efficiency and the Reduction of Tar Emissions

This study applied oxygen-enrichment conditions to remove tar (the main problem in biomass gasification) and increase gasification efficiency. Experiments on oxygen-enrichment conditions were conducted at oxygen concentrations of 21%, 25%, 30%, and 35% in oxidants. This was expected to increase the partial oxidation reaction in gasification reactions, thus leading to thermal decomposition of tar in producer gas. The decomposed tar was expected to be converted into syngas or combustible gases in the producer gas. The results were as follows: Tar-reduction efficiency was 72.46% at 30% oxygen enrichment compared to the standard 21% enrichment condition. In addition, the concentrations of syngas and combustible gases in the producer gas tended to increase. Therefore, the 30% oxygen-enrichment condition was optimal, resulting in 78.00% for cold gas efficiency and 80.24% for carbon conversion efficiency. The application of oxygen enrichment into the lab-scale gasification system clearly reduced the concentration of tar and tended to increase some indexes of gasification efficiency, thus suggesting the usefulness of this technique in large-scale biomass gasification operations.

Enrichment and Detection of Dichlorvos and Methamidophos on Carbon Nanotubes

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were used as solid phase extraction materials. Organophosphorus pesticide aqueous solution in a given concentration was enriched by carbon nanotubes and then eluted with eluant. The content of organo phosphorus pesticide in the eluent was evalutated with gas chromatograph and calculates recovery. At room temperature, the best enrichment condition was determined according to the enrichment time. By using ethyl acetate as eluent, elution condilions for higher recovery were determined according to the eluting temperture and time under neutral conditions. The results showed that carbon nanombes for dichlorvos enrichment approached 100% in weight after 3 hours,but only had limited influence on the enrichment of methamidophos. Under neutral conditions of 60°C and elution for 3 hours, dichlorvos recovery rate reached 75.9%. Therefore, carbon nanotubes can be used for dichlorvos extraction and analysis in actual water samples.

The Enrichment Condition of γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Shelled Buckwheat by Soaking

The effects of temperature, time, pH, calcium concentration and the ratio of shelling buckwheat and sodium glutamate were studied while using dipping treatment to accumulate γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in north-shaanxi shelled buckwheat. The results were as follows: Glutamate decarboxylase activity is 3.694u/g. The yield of GABA achieves in the largest respectively under the following conditions: Soaking temperature at 40°C, time of 10h, pH6.0, calcium concentration at 0.3mmol/L, the ratio of shelled buckwheat and sodium glutamate at 1800g/mol.

Environmental enrichment reduces aggression of pearl cichlid, Geophagus brasiliensis, during resident-intruder interactions

Among fishes, when residents and intruders fight, residents usually win, most likely because they value the residence more than intruders. We hypothesized that enriched environments increase the value of an area in dispute, causing a resident to more fiercely defend a resource-rich environment than a poor one. However, in the present study, intruder-resident tests with the pearl cichlid, Geophagus brasiliensis, showed environmental enrichment actually reduces aggression and can even lead to co-habitation without fighting. Additionally, in our experiments, the prior residence effect occurred irrespective of enrichment condition. Decreased visibility from increased habitat complexity reduces interactions between fish and consequently might explain the lower aggression observed herein.

Recovery of biodegradable plastics from activated sludge process

In this research, PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) production system by activated sludge was studied. PHA behaves as carbon and energy storage material in bacteria. And PHA is a biodegradable plastic when extracted from bacteria. In this paper, the investigations from 3 aspects were reported; control of PHA composition, PHA production under coexistence of nitrogenous compounds, and influence of enrichment condition on PHA productivity. As results, it was possible to regulate PHA composition by utilizing acetate and propionate as carbon source and by regulating its composition. Nitrogenous compounds did not depress PHA productivities in the case of activated sludge, while nitrogenous compounds usually depress in general. PHA contents of MLSS were achieved up to 57% by using anaerobic-aerobic activated sludge. But microaerophilic-aerobic process could supply stably the activated sludge which accumulated PHA with high efficiency.

Effects of Enrichment Medium and Incubation Temperature on Recovery of Yersinia enterocolitica from Cooked Sausage

Enrichment media and incubation temperatures were studied for the recovery of Yersinia enterocolitica from cooked sausage. The best enrichment condition for this purpose was phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.6, incubated at 25°C for 24–48 h. Incubation at 4°C appeared to present an additional stress factor and more nutritive media interfered with the isolation of Y. enterocolitica from cooked sausage.

ICMSF methods studies. VI. The influence of selective enrichment media and incubation temperatures on the detection of Salmonella in dried foods and feeds

Recovery of Salmonella from low-moisture foods was studied using selective enrichment in tetrathionate brilliant green and selenite-cystine broths at 35C and 43C. A total of 1375 samples of dried dairy, soya, and rendered animal by-products were analyzed. All samples were preenriched before selective enrichment. No significant difference in recovery was detected between tetrathionate brilliant green and selenite cystine at either temperature, which is in contrast to our earlier findings with red meats. Pairing of enrichment conditions resulted in the detection of more positive samples than the use of any single enrichment condition.

Isolated Rearing and Hebb-Williams Maze Performance

48 male hooded rats were reared from weaning to adulthood either individually in small opaque-walled cages or together in larger, open cages containing various objects. Following rearing, Ss' “emotionality” and their efficiency at solving maze problems were measured. Consonant with other studies, Ss reared in isolation were more “emotional.” Unlike previous reports, Ss of the isolated rearing condition were as efficient at solving maze problems as Ss of the “enrichment” condition. It is concluded that the problem-solving efficiency of the two groups was equalized by reducing the effects of the emotionality by harsh deprivation for the incentive, by greater pretraining habituation, and by reducing the possibility for direct positive transfer from the training of enrichment to maze solving.