Corrosion Behaviour of Manganese-Containing. Stainless steels. I. Galvanostatic measurements in H2SO4 solutions

The results of galvanostatic polarization experiments on four 17.3% Cr / 5.3% Ni stainless steels containing increasing amounts of Mn (upto 13.9%) are compared with those of an 18/8 stainless steel. All alloyes exhibit an initial step for the dissolution of Fe. A second arrest is recorded in dilute acid solutions and/or when applying high currents, and is related to the oxidation of the Cr. With an alloy containing traces of N₂, a third arrest is observed in dilute acid solutions; it is attributed to the oxidation of Cr₂N. The incorporation of Mn in CrNi steels is detrimental to their anti-corrosion characteristics. The content of this metal should be kept as low as feasible.     

Adaptive nonuniform polar quantization application to high quality speech compression

The logarithmic companding technique has shown to be extremely useful in speech quantization with rate of 8 bits/sample. However, for lower bit rates it is not the ideal solution for high quality speech coding. Because of that, in this paper we establish source coding scheme which enables better spectrum efficiency for input that has a large dynamic range. Since our wish is also to improve signal quality in comparison with quality defined with standards G.711 and G.712, we opt for adaptive technique application to the speech coding. Our research shows that proper design of forward gain-adaptive polar quantization can enable compression of about 1 bit/sample as well as significantly better quality than in case of using coder designed according to standard G.711. Furthermore, performances can be sustained over the whole speech dynamic range. Also, if the requisite speech quality is not supposed to be lower than G.712 standard quality, the achieved compression can be almost 1.5 bits/sample. Besides, we propose knew simple encoding rule which can additionally reduce bit rate for 0.1 bit/sample.     

Adsorption of cationic polyacrylamide onto sepiolite

The adsorption of PAM onto sepiolite from aqueous solutions has been investigated systematically as a function of some parameters such as calcination temperature of sepiolite, pH, ionic strength and temperature. The adsorption of cationic polyacrylamide (PAM) increases with pH from 5.50 to 11.00, temperature from 25 to 55 degrees C and ionic strength from 0 to 0.1molL(-1). The sepiolite sample calcined at 200 degrees C has a higher adsorption capacity than the other calcined samples. Adsorption isotherms of PAM onto sepiolite have been determined and correlated with common isotherm equations such as Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The Langmuir isotherm model appeared to fit the isotherm data better than the Freundlich isotherm model. The physical properties of this adsorbent are consistent with the parameters obtained from the isotherm equations. The zeta potentials of sepiolite suspensions have been measured in aqueous solutions of NaCl and different PAM concentrations and pH. From the experimental results: (i) pH strongly alters the zeta potential of sepiolite, (ii) sepiolite has an isoelectric point at about pH 6.6 in water and about pH 8 in 250mgL(-1) PAM concentration, (iii) PAM changes the interface charge from negative to positive for sepiolite. Effect of temperature on adsorption has been quantified by calculating various thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy. The dimensionless separation factor (R(L)) has shown that sepiolite can be used for adsorption of PAM from aqueous solutions.     

Technological,Regulatory, and Ethical Aspects of In Vitro Meat: A Future Slaughter‐Free Harvest

Defined as meat cultured in a laboratory within a bioreactor under controlled artificial conditions, in vitro meat is a relatively recent area that has opened a whole universe of possibilities and opportunities for the meat sector. With improved chemical and microbial safety and varied options, in vitro meat has been proposed as a green, healthy, environmentally friendly, and nutritionally better product that is free from animal suffering and death. Cell culture and tissue culture are the most probable technologies for the development of this futuristic muscle product. However, there are many challenges in the production of a suitable product at an industrial scale under a sustainable production system and a great body of research is required to fill the gaps in our knowledge. Many materials used in the product development are novel and untested within the food industry and demand urgent regulatory and safety assessment systems capable of managing any risks associated with the development of cultured meat. The future of this product will depend on the actions of governments and regulatory agencies. This article highlights emerging biotechnological options for the development of cultured meat and suggests ways to integrate these emerging technologies into meat research. It considers the problems and possibilities of developing cultured meat, opportunities, ethical issues as well as emerging safety and regulatory issues in this area.     

Device Performance Optimization of Organic Thin-Film Transistors at Short-Channel Lengths Using Vertical Channel Engineering Techniques

Semiconductors - This paper presents a finite-element-based two-dimensional numerical simulation study of the vertical channel engineering approaches for controlling the short-channel effects...     

Design and Analysis of Single-Bit Ternary Matched Filter

Wireless Personal Communications - Matched filtering has found its way in many diverse applications such as communication, signal processing and more. The emphasis of this paper is on the design...     

Synthesis,characterization and adsorption studies of h-BN crystal for efficient removal of Cd2+ from aqueous solution

In the present study, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was synthesized from boric acid and melamine by thermal annealing method in a nitrogen atmosphere. The pure h-BN was used as an efficient sorbent for the uptake of Cd²⁺ ions from the solution phase. The kinetics and sorption studies of metal ions onto the h-BN were carried out in batch adsorption experiments at different temperature, time, pH, sorbent dosage, and concentration of metal ions. The optimum pH for the removal of the Cd²⁺ ions was found to be pH 7. The effect of temperature showed that the process of Cd²⁺ sorption remained endothermic in the range of 298 K–328 K. The Lagergren's first and Ho's second kinetic models were tested to interpret the adsorption kinetic data, however the present data was explained well by Ho's model for kinetics. The thermodynamic perameters ΔG, ΔS and ΔH were determined using the available adsorption data at different temperatures. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized product were also characterized before and after adsorption by different analytical techniques like FT-IR, TGA, XRD and Point of Zero Charge (PZC). The morphology of the surface was analyzed with the help of Scanning Electron Microscopy. The h-BN proved to be an efficient adsorbent for the uptake of the Cd²⁺ ions from aqueous media.     

Using next generation nuclear power reactors for development of a techno‐economic model for hydrogen production

Nuclear and hydrogen are considered to be the most promising alternatives energy sources in terms of meeting future demand and providing a CO?‐free environment, and interest in the development of more cost‐effective hydrogen production plants is increasing—and nuclear‐powered hydrogen generation plants may be a viable alternative. This paper is a report on investigating the application of new generation nuclear power plants to hydrogen production and development of an associated techno‐economic model. In this paper, theoretical and computational assessments of generations II, III+, and IV nuclear power plants for hydrogen generation scenarios have been reported. Technical analyses were conducted on each reactor type—in terms of the design standard, fuel specification, overnight capital cost, and hydrogen generation. In addition, a theoretical model was developed for calculating various hydrogen generation parameters, and it was then extended to include an economic assessment of nuclear power plant‐based hydrogen generation. The Hydrogen Economic Evaluation Program originally developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency was used for calculating various parameters, including hydrogen production and storage costs, as well as equity, operation and maintenance (O&M), and capital costs. The results from each nuclear reactor type were compared against reactor parameters, and the ideal candidate reactor was identified. The simulation results also verified theoretically proven results. The main objective of the research was to conduct a prequalification assessment for a cogeneration plant, by developing a model that could be used for technical and economic analysis of nuclear hydrogen plant options. It was assessed that high‐temperature gas‐cooled reactors (HTGR‐PM and PBR200) represented the most economical and viable plant options for hydrogen production. This research has helped identify the way forward for the development of a commercially viable, nuclear power‐driven, hydrogen generation plant.