Stabilization of bioethanol recovery with silicone rubber‐coated ethanol‐permselective silicalite membranes by controlling the pH of acidic feed solution

In order to produce highly concentrated bioethanol by pervaporation using an ethanol‐permselective silicalite membrane, techniques to suppress adsorption of succinic acid, which is a chief by‐product of ethanol fermentation and causes the deterioration in pervaporation performance, onto the silicalite crystals was investigated. The amount adsorbed increased as the pH of the aqueous succinic acid solution decreased. The pervaporation performance also decreased with decreasing pH when the ternary mixtures of ethanol/water/succinic acid were separated. Using silicalite membranes individually coated with two types of silicone rubber, pervaporation performance was significantly improved in the pH range of 5 to 7, when compared with that of non‐coated silicalite membranes in ternary mixtures of ethanol/water/succinic acid. Moreover, when using a silicalite membrane double‐coated with the two types of silicone rubber, pervaporation performance was stabilized at lower pH values. In the separation of bioethanol by pervaporation using the double‐coated silicalite membrane, removal of accumulated substances having an ultraviolet absorption maximum at approximately 260 nm from the fermentation broth proved to be vital for efficient pervaporation. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

IBM's Linux watch, the challenge of miniaturization

Nearly four years in development, the IBM Linux watch contains a complete computer system that runs Linux, displays X11 graphics, and has wireless connectivity. The system fits in a case that could pass as a slightly unusual analog timepiece with a somewhat odd shape and an extraordinarily brilliant face. The developers have created two versions of the watch, one with an organic light-emitting diode display and the other with a liquid crystal display. Still considered a research prototype, the watch already runs some personal information management applications, and it can communicate with PCs, PDAs, and other wireless-enabled devices, viewing condensed e-mail and directly receiving pager-like messages. Eventually, users will be able to access various Internet-based services, such as up-to-the-minute information about weather, traffic conditions, the stock market, and sports     

Tetramethylsuccinonitrile in polyvinyl chloride products for food and its release into food-simulating solvents

The content of tetramethylsuccinonitrile (TMSN), the main decomposition product of 2,2'-azobis-isobutyronitrile, in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products used for food packaging, were examined as well as food-simulating solvents. The TMSN concentration in 17 PVC products ranged from below the detection limit, 0.05 mg/kg, up to 523 mg/kg. The release of TMSN from two PVC products into five kinds of food-simulating solvents at 60 degrees C for 30 min was observed, except for 1 +/- 1 micrograms/kg of TMSN in n-heptane from a PVC bottle containing 523 +/- 30.4 mg/kg of TMSN. The detection limit of TMSN in the food-simulating solvents was 1 micrograms/kg. When pieces of the bottle were stored in olive oil at 40 degrees C for 120 days, 5 +/- 1 micrograms/kg of TMSN was detected in the oil. The release of TMSN from the pieces of the bottle into olive oil between 80 and 140 degrees C depended on the formula ln y = 0.08786x-5.696, r = 0.9927, where y is the concentration (microgram/kg) of TMSN in olive oil, x is the temperature (degrees C), and r is the correlation coefficient.     

Performance prediction of a hybrid‐excitation synchronous machine with axially arranged excitation poles and permanent‐magnet poles

This paper presents a method of predicting the steady‐state performance of a new hybrid‐excitation synchronous machine (HESM) theoretically. The field pole of this HESM is axially divided into two parts; one is an excitation part and the other a permanent‐magnet (PM) part. A nonlinear equivalent circuit, which can include the saliency of the rotor and the magnetic saturation due to the iron core, is derived. Based on this equivalent circuit, the steady‐state performance of the HESM is calculated, and the results are confirmed through experiments. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(2): 43–49, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20033     

Elution of copper from vermiculite with environmentally benign reagents

For the purpose of remediation of soils polluted by heavy metals, the use of some strong synthetic chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has been proposed. However, EDTA would not be considered as the preferential choice for the remediation of soil polluted with heavy metals like copper because of its nonbiodegradability and permanent residence in the natural environment. In the present work, some novel environmentally benign chelating agents, glucosamine hydrochloride, chito-oligosaccharide and -asparaginic-N,N-diacetic acid (ASDA) were screened to find alternatives to EDTA by investigating the elution of copper from vermiculite with these reagents and comparing their effectiveness with EDTA. The effects of suspension contact time, reagent concentration and equilibrium pH of the solution on the removal of copper were examined. A stoichiometric amount of EDTA can quantitatively remove copper in both acidic and neutral conditions. Chito-oligosaccharide was a slightly less-effective reagent under acidic conditions compared to EDTA, and an amount well in excess of stoichiometry is required to achieve the maximum removal of copper from vermiculite. Glucosamine hydrochloride shows a relatively weak ability for the liberation of copper. The elution behavior of ASDA was equivalent to EDTA in acidic and neutral media. It was concluded that ASDA is the best substitute for EDTA because of its similar high complexing ability and superior biodegradability.     

Calciothermic reduction of titanium oxide in molten CaCl<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Titanium oxides were reduced to metallic titanium using the liquid calcium floating on the molten CaCl₂. A part of Ca dissolved into CaCl₂ and reacted with TiO₂ settled below CaCl₂. The by-product CaO also dissolved by about 20 mol pct into CaCl₂, which was effective in reducing the oxygen concentration in the obtained Ti particles. The compositional region in the Ca-CaCl₂-CaO system was examined for the less oxygen contamination in Ti and the better handling in leaching. A large amount of the residual calcium oxidized the titanium powder in leaching. The metallic Ti powder less than 1000 mass ppm oxygen could be obtained only for 3.6 ks using 5 to 7 mol pct Ca-CaCl₂ at 1173 K. The powder was slightly sintered like sponge, and contained approximately 1500 ppm Ca. The anatase phae, the intermediate product in the refining process of TiO₂, could be also supplied as raw material as well as rutile.     

State- and time-dependent routing in the NTT network

The purpose of state- and time-dependent routing (STR) is to achieve high performance despite unpredictable real-time traffic fluctuations, with minimum changes to existing switching software and operations systems. STR uses an appropriate combination of the two kinds of control, centralized and distributed. The article gives an overview of STR and its advanced call-level routing, describes the current STR network and the performance of STR with two examples from the NTT network, and addresses a dimensioning method for STR     

The principle and fundamental characteristics of brushless three-phase synchronous induction motor with two stators

Brushless three-phase synchronous motor involving a rotating ac exciter on the same shaft as the motor and with the windings linked through a shaft-mounted rectifier is widely used as medium and large capacity machines. However, the motor needs to fit with damping windings for self-starting outside of the field winding in the rotor and needs to equip discharge resistance with complex electronic device to dispose of electromagnetic force induced in the field winding at starting. Therefore, the rotor structure is very complex, and there are disadvantages, especially for the robust and highly reliable motor that is desired. To solve the problem found in traditional motors, the authors proposed a brushless three-phase synchronous induction motor with two stators and one wound rotor. This problem is solved because the proposed motor is of two-stators structure: the rotor winding operates as a secondary winding of induction motor at starting and as the field winding at synchronous operation. The motor can self-start as a wound-rotor induction motor without external secondary resistance. Therefore, discharge resistance is not necessary; the starting equipment is very simple and the rotor structure is robust. It is possible to start with high torque. In this paper, the basic constitution of the proposed motor and the principles of operation are described in detail. The experimental results at starting and pulling into synchronism are shown for confirming the principles of operation and the experimental and numerical results of the starting characteristics. The load ones and the generating ones are shown and then the practical use of the proposed motor is confirmed.     

Utilization of a direct sandwich ELISA kit for rapid diagnosis of adenovirus hemorrhagic cystitis in a patient with adult T-cell leukemia

We report on a case of adenovirus hemorrhagi cystitis that developed in a 49-year-old woman during intensive chemotherapy for adult T-cell leukemia. Although rapid etiologic diagnosis is essential for the effective management of viral hemorrhagic cystitis, the isolation of adenovirus from urine is often too time-cousuming. We detected the adenovirus antigen in the patient's urine using an Adenoclone direct sandwich ELISA kit (Cambridge Bio Science), which is commonly employed for the diagnosis of adenovirus conjunctivitis. Treatment consisted of intravenous vidarabine and bladder irrigation, which resulted in prompt clinical improvement. The Adenoclone kit was useful for the rapid etiologic diagnosis of adenovirus hemmorrhagic cystitis.     

A broadband power meter calibration system in the frequency rangefrom 10 MHz to 40 GHz using a coaxial calorimeter

A broadband power meter calibration system based on a newly constructed coaxial calorimeter has been developed in the frequency region 10 MHz-40 GHz. The RF power is measured as the difference of DC power supplied to the calorimeter built-in heater in the RF load, when RF is turned off and on, holding an isothermal control between the RF load and a temperature reference. To minimize the error due to the adiabatic coaxial waveguide, we devised a new method utilizing its output port as a test port. The evaluations showed a calibration uncertainty of (0.28-2.2)% expressed by one standard deviation at the 1 mW level in the full band