Aladdin's Magic Lamp: Developing Methods for Calibration and Geolocation Accuracy Assessment of the DMSP OLS

Nighttime satellite imagery from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) has a unique capability to observe nocturnal light emissions from sources including cities, wild fires, and gas flares. Data from the DMSP OLS is used in a wide range of studies including mapping urban areas, estimating informal economies, and estimating urban populations. Given the extensive and increasing list of applications a repeatable method for assessing geolocation accuracy, performing inter-calibration, and defining the minimum detectable brightness would be beneficial. An array of portable lights was designed and taken to multiple field sites known to have no other light sources. The lights were operated during nighttime overpasses by the DMSP OLS and observed in the imagery. A first estimate of the minimum detectable brightness is presented based on the field experiments conducted. An assessment of the geolocation accuracy was performed by measuring the distance between the GPS measured location of the lights and the observed location in the imagery. A systematic shift was observed and the mean distance was measured at 2.9km. A method for in situ radiance calibration of the DMSP OLS using a ground based light source as an active target is presented. The wattage of light used by the active target strongly correlates with the signal measured by the DMSP OLS. This approach can be used to enhance our ability to make inter-temporal and inter-satellite comparisons of DMSP OLS imagery. Exploring the possibility of establishing a permanent active target for the calibration of nocturnal imaging systems is recommended. The methods used to assess the minimum detectable brightness, assess the geolocation accuracy, and build inter-calibration models lay the ground work for assessing the energy expended on light emitted into the sky at night. An estimate of the total energy consumed to light the night sky globally is presented.

Estudo de catalisadores de Ni/ZnO promovidos com CeO2 aplicados em reações de reforma a vapor do etanol e acetona

A produção de energia é um dos grandes desafios deste século, principalmente com a necessidade no desenvolvimento de processos que utilizem preferencialmente fontes renováveis. Nesse contexto, é claro o interesse por pesquisas baseada no hidrogênio. Porém, os ganhos ambientais efetivos estão associados também à matéria-prima usada no processo de geração do hidrogênio, senso assim mais significativo quando do uso de fontes renováveis. No presente trabalho foi estudado o efeito da adição de diferentes teores de CeO2 em catalisadores de NiZnO, preparados pelo método da co-precipitação. Os catalisadores foram estudados frente à reação de reforma a vapor do etanol (RVE) para produção de H2, e no decorrer do trabalho foi pertinente incluir o estudo da reforma a vapor da acetona (RVA), como complemento dos estudos da RVE. Além disso, esta é uma molécula modelo para reforma a vapor do bio-óleo. Nos sistemas catalíticos sintetizados houve a formação da liga NiZn3, o que aparenta proporcionar um efeito sinérgico entre esses elementos. Observou-se um efeito altamente promotor do CeO2 com relação a diminuição do coque formado, devido a uma menor da formação da acetona, durante as etapas de reforma do etanol. O que consequentemente interferiu na produção de H2. O catalisador contendo 20% de CeO2 denominado NiZn20Ce apresentou um desempenho altamente promissor, pois de acordo com as análises de DRIFT, a presença do CeO2 levou a formação de espécies de formiato, o que consequentemente interferiu em uma menor formação de coque e maior produção de H2. Foi comprovado também que a natureza dos depósitos carbonáceos depende tanto do substrato utilizado quanto das etapas precursoras inicias que levarão a formação desse coque, sendo o ponto chave para um melhor desempenho do catalisador.

Catalisadores Ni/MgO-SiO2 aplicados na reação de reforma a vapor de glicerol

Catalisadores de Ni (10% em massa) suportado em matrizes mistas MgO-SiO2 foram aplicados na reação de reforma a vapor de glicerol. Os efeitos do teor de MgO como aditivo e do método de preparação foram avaliados frente às propriedades físico-químicas e texturais dos materiais; assim como à atividade, seletividade, estabilidade e formação de carbono na reforma a vapor do glicerol. Os catalisadores foram preparados com diferentes teores mássicos de MgO (10%, 30% e 50%) sobre SiO2 comercial, utilizando processo via seca (mistura física) e via úmida (impregnação sequencial com diferentes solventes: água, etanol e acetona). Foram utilizadas as técnicas de caracterização de espectroscopia de energia dispersiva de raios X, fisissorção de nitrogênio, difratometria de raios X, termogravimetria, difratometria de raios X in situ com O2, redução a temperatura programada com H2, difratometria de raios X in situ com H2, dessorção a temperatura programada com H2 e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Foi observado que o Ni(II) interage de forma variada com os suportes com diferentes teores de MgO, e que a polaridade do solvente de impregnação utilizado no processo de preparação influencia as propriedades dos catalisadores. A fim de verificar a atividade, seletividade e deposição de carbono; os catalisadores foram testados na reação de reforma a vapor de glicerol a 600oC, por um período de 5h e razão molar água:glicerol de 12:1. Após as reações, os catalisadores foram novamente submetidos às análises de termogravimetria, difratometria de raios X e microscopia eletrônica de varredura, visando a caracterização dos depósitos de carbono obtidos durante o processo catalítico. Os catalisadores de matrizes mistas se mostraram ativos e apresentaram seletividades similares para os produtos gasosos CH4, CO e CO2, além de um alto rendimento em H2. Observou-se que a adição de MgO no suporte, aumentou a dispersão do Ni(II) no material, que por sua vez, influenciou na quantidade de carbono depositado ao longo da reação. A polaridade do solvente de impregnação também teve influência na dispersão metálica, sendo que, quanto menor a polaridade do solvente, maior foi a dispersão obtida no catalisador, e menor a deposição de carbono na reação. O material que apresentou o melhor desempenho catalítico frente ao rendimento de H2 e à deposição de carbono, foi o catalisador preparado com 30% de MgO com etanol como solvente de impregnação.

Feasibility of Soil Vapor Extraction Systems in Low Permeability Soils

Soil vapor extraction (SVE)systems can be used to remediate enviornmental sites that have been contaminated with petroleum products. However, SVE systems rely on pore space in soils to draw the vapors through the soil, creating a vacuum. Therefore, SVE systems are not as effective when used in low permeability soils. This study aims to determine whether SVE systems can be used on low permeability soils in conjunction with companion technologies. The results indicate that SVE systems can be utilized in low permeability soils if used in conjunction with companion technologies that increase soil permeability and cantaminant volatilization. The promising companion technology is six-phase soil heating, based on contamination removal rate and cost estimates.

Fish Consumption and Prenatal Mercury Exposure

Methyl mercury levels in fish tissues have recently become a health issue. Does this toxin adversely affect humans to the point that fish consumption should be severely limited? Health effects of high levels of mercury exposure to human adults are fairly well known, however the effects of lower levels of exposure on human fetal development are less understood. Recent guidelines issued by the United States Food and Drug Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency recommended that pregnant women should refrain from consuming some types of fish, and limit consumption to certain levels, but results of health studies used to develop recommendations were inconclusive when low levels of in-utero methyl mercury exposure were compared. Other studies demonstrated health benefits of fish consumption to developing fetuses. These health benefits may be an over-riding factor, and my interpretation of various studies concludes that restricted consumption of some fish species may be premature at this time due to a need to balance potential health benefits against mercury toxicity hazard.

Vapor-liquid equilibria using the Gibbs energy and the common tangent plane criterion

Phase thermodynamics is often perceived as a difficult subject that many students never become fully comfortable with. The Gibbsian geometrical framework can help students to gain a better understanding of phase equilibria. An exercise to interpret the vapor-liquid equilibrium of a binary azeotropic mixture, using the equilibrium condition based on the common tangent plane criterion (the Gibbs stability test), is presented in this paper. From a T-composition phase diagram for the mixture, the temperature is set at different values: above, intermediate to, and below the boiling temperatures of the pure components, to intersect different regions of the system. Students prepare an Excel spreadsheet where the Gibbs energy of mixing of the vapor and liquid mixtures are calculated and represented over the whole range of compositions and then, apply the Gibbs stability test to ascertain the aggregation state of the system and to calculate the VL phase equilibrium compositions. Finally, Matlab is used to generate the 3D Gibbs energy of mixing surfaces for both phases over the whole range of temperatures which facilitates the geometrical interpretation of the vapor-liquid equilibrium.

Cálculo del equilibrio líquido-vapor. Diagramas de equilibrio

Diagramas y cálculo del equilibrio líquido vapor.

Sampling scarab beetles in tropical forests: the effect of light source and night sampling periods

Light traps have been used widely to sample insect abundance and diversity, but their performance for sampling scarab beetles in tropical forests based on light source type and sampling hours throughout the night has not been evaluated. The efficiency of mercury-vapour lamps, cool white light and ultraviolet light sources in attracting Dynastinae, Melolonthinae and Rutelinae scarab beetles, and the most adequate period of the night to carry out the sampling was tested in different forest areas of Costa Rica. Our results showed that light source wavelengths and hours of sampling influenced scarab beetle catches. No significant differences were observed in trap performance between the ultraviolet light and mercury-vapour traps, whereas these two methods caught significantly more species richness and abundance than cool white light traps. Species composition also varied between methods. Large differences appear between catches in the sampling period, with the first five hours of the night being more effective than the last five hours. Because of their high efficiency and logistic advantages, we recommend ultraviolet light traps deployed during the first hours of the night as the best sampling method for biodiversity studies of those scarab beetles in tropical forests.

A new technique for recovering energy in thermally coupled distillation using vapor recompression cycles

Even though it has been proved that a fully thermally coupled distillation (TCD) system minimizes the energy used by a sequence of columns, it is well-known that vapor/liquid transfers between different sections produce an unavoidable excess of vapor (liquid) in some of them, increasing both the investment and operating costs. It is proposed here to take advantage of this situation by extracting the extra vapor/liquid and subjecting it to a direct/reverse vapor compression cycle. This new arrangement restores the optimal operating conditions of some of the affected sections with energy savings of around 20–30% compared with conventional TCD columns. Various examples, including the direct and reverse vapor recompression cycles, are presented. Furthermore, in each example, all possible modes of distillation (direct, indirect and Petlyuk distillation) with and without vapor recompression cycles (VRC) are compared to ensure that this approach delivers the best results.

Mapping Binary Liquid-Vapor or Liquid-Liquid-Vapor Equilibria Regions, including the Different Azeotropic Behaviours, as a Function of the NRTL Binary Parameters

13th Mediterranean Congress of Chemical Engineering (Sociedad Española de Química Industrial e Ingeniería Química, Fira Barcelona, Expoquimia), Barcelona, September 30-October 3, 2014

Screen-printed electrode based electrochemical detector coupled with ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and microvolume back-extraction for determination of mercury in water samples

A novel approach is presented, whereby gold nanostructured screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCnAuEs) are combined with in-situ ionic liquid formation dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (in-situ IL-DLLME) and microvolume back-extraction for the determination of mercury in water samples. In-situ IL-DLLME is based on a simple metathesis reaction between a water-miscible IL and a salt to form a water-immiscible IL into sample solution. Mercury complex with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate is extracted from sample solution into the water-immiscible IL formed in-situ. Then, an ultrasound-assisted procedure is employed to back-extract the mercury into 10 µL of a 4 M HCl aqueous solution, which is finally analyzed using SPCnAuEs. Sample preparation methodology was optimized using a multivariate optimization strategy. Under optimized conditions, a linear range between 0.5 and 10 µg L−1 was obtained with a correlation coefficient of 0.997 for six calibration points. The limit of detection obtained was 0.2 µg L−1, which is lower than the threshold value established by the Environmental Protection Agency and European Union (i.e., 2 µg L−1 and 1 µg L−1, respectively). The repeatability of the proposed method was evaluated at two different spiking levels (3 and 10 µg L−1) and a coefficient of variation of 13% was obtained in both cases. The performance of the proposed methodology was evaluated in real-world water samples including tap water, bottled water, river water and industrial wastewater. Relative recoveries between 95% and 108% were obtained.