Search results for "reactors"
showing 10 items of 299 documents
Detection of deuterium retention by LIBS at different background pressures
2017
ITER plans foresee the quantitative diagnostics of fuel retention in reactor walls at near-atmospheric pressures. Using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for this purpose assumes a reliable resolving of Balmer α-lines of hydrogen isotopes in spectra of plasma produced by focused laser radiation onto the target surface. To develop LIBS for quantitative diagnostics of fuel retention during the maintenance breaks of ITER, the effect of background gas pressure on the laser-induced plasma characteristics has been studied. The background pressure limits the expansion rate of plasma and as a result it leads to higher plasma concentrations. At the same time the limiting factor of the reso…
Scandium-44: Benefits of a Long-Lived PET Radionuclide Available from the 44Ti/44Sc Generator System
2011
(44)Ti/(44)Sc radionuclide generators are of interest for molecular imaging. The 3.97 hours half-life of (44)Sc and its high positron branching of 94.27% may stimulate the application of (44)Sc-labeled PET radiopharmaceuticals. This review describes the current status of (44)Ti production, (44)Ti/(44)Sc radionuclide generator development, post-processing of generator eluates towards medical application, identification of ligands adequate to Sc(III) co-ordination chemistry, proof-of-principle labeling of (44)Sc-DOTA-octreotides, investigation of in vitro and in vivo parameters, and initial applications for molecular imaging - both in small animals and humans.
Short and medium effects on the environment of Valencia, Spain, of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident.
1991
As a consequence of the 26 April 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, a large amount of radioactivity was released into the atmosphere. The radioactive plume formed could be detected in practically the whole of the Northern Hemisphere a few days later. The zone most affected by the radioactive cloud over Spain was that of the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands. In this paper, the authors examine the level of the radioactive contamination reached in various receptive media in Valencia, such as air, dry-fallout, water, soil, grass and milk samples collected in Valencia immediately after the accident. The activity levels are compared with those found during 1964 and 1965 due…
Minimizing membrane bioreactor environmental footprint by multiple objective optimization.
2020
This paper presents a modelling study aimed at minimizing the environmental foot print of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment. Specifically, an integrated model for MBR was employed in view of the management optimization of an MBR biological nutrient removal (BNR) pilot plant in terms of operational costs and direct greenhouse gases emissions. The influence of the operational parameters (OPs) on performance indicators (PIs) was investigated by adopting the Extended-FAST sensitivity analysis method. Further, a multi-objective analysis was performed by applying the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The results show-up that the sludge …
Simultaneous sludge minimization, biological phosphorous removal and membrane fouling mitigation in a novel plant layout for MBR.
2020
Abstract The integration of one anaerobic reactor in the mainstream (AMSR) of a pre-denitritication-MBR was evaluated with the aim to achieve simultaneous sludge minimization and phosphorous removal. The excess sludge production was reduced by 64% when the AMSR was operated under 8 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT). The highest nutrients removal performances referred to organic carbon (98%), nitrogen (90%) and phosphorous (97%) were obtained under 8 h of HRT. In contrast, prolonged anaerobic-endogenous conditions were found to be detrimental for all nutrients removal performances. Similarly, the lowest membrane fouling tendency (FR = 0.65∙1011 m−1 d−1) was achieved under 8 h of HRT, where…
Biological minimization of excess sludge in a membrane bioreactor: Effect of plant configuration on sludge production, nutrient removal efficiency an…
2018
Abstract Excess sludge minimization was studied in a MBR with pre-denitrification scheme. Sludge minimization, nitrogen removal performance and membrane fouling tendency were investigated in two configurations, characterized by a different position of the sludge retention reactor (SRR). In particular, the SRR was placed: i) in the return activated sludge line (Anaerobic Side-Stream Reactor – ASSR configuration) and ii) in the mainstream between the anoxic and aerobic reactor (Anaerobic Main-Stream Reactor – AMSR configuration). The achieved results demonstrated that the ASSR enabled a higher excess sludge reduction (74% vs 32%), while achieving lower biological nitrogen removal (BNR) (TN = …
Integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane bioreactors versus membrane bioreactors for nutrient removal: A comprehensive comparison
2018
Abstract This research elucidates the pollutants (nutrients and carbon) removal performance and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions of two pilot plants. Specifically, a University of Cape Town (UCT) Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) plant and an Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS)-UCT-MBR plant were investigated. The plants were fed with real wastewater augmented with acetate and glycerol in order to control the influent carbon nitrogen ratio (C/N). The short-term effect of the inlet C/N ratio variation (C/N = 5 mgCOD/mgN and C/N = 10 mgCOD/mgN) on the behaviour of both plants was investigated. The results showed that the IFAS-UCT-MBR configuration provided the best performance in terms of poll…
Sequential batch membrane bio-reactor for wastewater treatment: The effect of increased salinity
2016
In this work, a sequential batch membrane bioreactor pilot plant is investigated to analyze the effect of a gradual increase in salinity on carbon and nutrient removal, membrane fouling and biomass kinetic parameters. The salinity was increased by 2 g NaCl L-1 per week up to 10 g NaCl L-1. The total COD removal efficiency was quite high (93%) throughout the experiment. A gradual biomass acclimation to the salinity level was observed during the experiment, highlighting the good recovery capabilities of the system. Nitrification was also influenced by the increase in salinity, with a slight decrease in nitrification efficiency (the lowest value was obtained at 10 g NaCl L-1 due to lower nitri…
A Dialysis Photocatalytic Reactor for the Green Production of Vanillin
2020
In the present work, dialysis was used to recover vanillin while being produced by partial photocatalytic oxidation of ferulic acid in an aqueous solution at ambient temperature. The relatively high value of the permeate flux through a dense polyether-block amide membrane allowed continuously extracting vanillin from the reacting solution, thus avoiding its successive oxidation. The rate of vanillin formation was improved, compared to other reactor configurations, because intermediate compounds permeated from the reacting solution and did not hinder the reaction, while ferulic acid permeated in the opposite direction to partially replenish the reactor with the substrate. The photocatalytic …
Isolation and Characterization of Novosphingobium sp. Strain MT1, a Dominant Polychlorophenol-Degrading Strain in a Groundwater Bioremediation System
2002
ABSTRACT A high-rate fluidized-bed bioreactor has been treating polychlorophenol-contaminated groundwater in southern Finland at 5 to 8°C for over 6 years. We examined the microbial diversity of the bioreactor using three 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA)-based methods: denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, length heterogeneity-PCR analysis, and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The molecular study revealed that the process was dependent on a stable bacterial community with low species diversity. The dominant organism, Novosphingobium sp. strain MT1, was isolated and characterized. Novosphingobium sp. strain MT1 degraded the main contaminants of the groundwater, 2,4,6-trichloroph…