Direct reduction of SO2 to elemental sulfur by the coupling of cold plasma and catalyst (I)

The direct reduction of SO2 to elemental sulfur in flue gas by the coupling of cold plasma and catalyst, being a new approach for SO2 reduction, was studied. In this process, CO2 can be disassembled to form CO, which acts as the reductant under the cold plasma. With the coupling of the cold plasma and the catalyst, sulfur dioxide was selectively reduced by CO to elemental sulfur with a byproduct of metal sulfate, e.g., FeSO4. In the present work, Fe2O3/gamma-Al2O3 was employed as the catalyst. The extent of desulfurization was more than 80%, and the selectivity of elemental sulfur is about 55%. The effects of water vapor, temperature, and the components of simulated flue gas were investigated. At the same time, the coupling of thermogravimetry and infrared method and a chemical analysis method were employed to evaluate the used catalyst. In this paper, we will focus on the discussion of the catalyst. The discussions of the detail of plasma will be introduced in another paper.

Comparison of the shape parameters of DNA-cationic lipid complexes and model polyelectrolyte-lipid complexes

In this study, we used a rheological method to study the shape of DNA-cationic lipid complexes and model polyelectrolyte-lipid complexes. We introduced two kinds of anionic polyelectrolytes, sodium polygalacturonate (PGU) and sodium dextran sulfate (DSS), of varying size, as models for DNA. The prepared complexes were incubated under laminar flow conditions. The results show the same quantitative relation between the shape parameter of lipoplexes and the length of anionic polyelectrolytes, including DNA. The rheological behavior of PGU and DSS were similar to that of DNA. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Separation of peptides on mixed mode of reversed-phase and ion-exchange capillary electrochromatography with a monolithic column

The mixed mode of reversed phase (RP) and strong canon-exchange (SCX) capillary electrochromatography (CEC) based on a monolithic capillary column has been developed. The capillary monolithic column was prepared by in situ copolymerization of 2-(sulfooxy)ethyl methacrylate (SEMA) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) in the presence of porogens. The sulfate group provided by the monomer SEMA on the monolithic bed is used for the generation of the electroosmotic flow (EOF) from the anode to the cathode, but at the same time serves as a SCX stationary phase. A mixed-mode (RP/SCX) mechanism for separation of peptides was observed in the monolithic column, comprising hydrophobic and electrostatic interaction as well as electrophoretic migration at a low pH value of mobile phase. A column efficiency of more than 280000 plates/m for the unretained compound has been obtained on the prepared monoliths. The relative standard deviations observed for to and retention factors of peptides were about 0.32% and less than 0.71% for ten consecutive runs, respectively. Effects of mobile phase compositions on the EOF of the monolithic column and on the separation of peptides were investigated. The selectivity on separation of peptides in the monolithic capillary column could be easily manipulated by varying the mobile phase composition.

Improvement of Pt catalyst for soot oxidation using mixed oxide as a support

Catalytic activity of Pt catalysts for soot oxidation was studied using temperature programmed reactions. The activity of Pt loaded over TiO2-SiO2 (Pt/TiO2-SiO2) showed higher activity than other Pt/MOx systems (MOx = TiO2, ZrO2, SiO2, Al2O3. TiO2-ZrO2. TiO2-Al2O3, ZrO2-SiO2, ZrO2-Al2O3, SiO2-Al2O3). The activity was highest when the molar ratio of TiO2/(TiO2 + SiO2) ranged from 0.4 to 0.7. The effect of pretreatment with a gas containing low SO2 concentrations on the activity was compared for Pt/SiO2, Pt/TiO2 and Pt/TiO2-SiO2. In the case of Pt/TiO2-SiO2, the activity was markedly promoted by the pretreatment whereas no variation in the activity was observed for Pt/SiO2. The difference in the behavior towards the SO, pretreatment was attributed to property difference in the supports for sulfate accumulation. The high activity of Pt/TiO2-SiO2 was also confirmed under practical conditions with a diesel engine exhaust using a catalyst-supported diesel particulate filter (DPF). (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Capillary electrophoresis of urinary normal and modified nucleosides of cancer patients

This paper gives a capillary electrophoretic method for the separation of 15 urinary normal and modified nucleosides from cancer patients in less than 40 min. A 500 mmx50 mu m uncoated capillary column (437.5 mm to window) was used. The effects of the voltage and the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration in the buffer on the separation were studied. With reproducibilities of migration times better than 1.2% (R.S.D.) and determined concentrations better than 5-25%, depending on the concentrations of nucleosides in the urine, the analytical characteristics of the method were food. Using this developed method, the concentrations of 13 normal and modified nucleosides, extracted on a phenyl boronic acid affinity chromatography column, in 25 urines from patients of 14 kinds of cancer were determined. The levels (nmol/mol creatinine) of modified nucleosides in urines from cancer patients were increased as compared with those in normal urines. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

A study of fucoidan from the brown seaweed Chorda filum

Fucoidan fractions from the brown seaweed Chorda filum were studied using solvolytic desulfation.Methylation analysis and NMR spectroscopy were applied for native and desulfated polysaccharides.Homefucan sulfate from C.filum was shown to contain poly-a-(1-3)-fucopyranoside backbone with a high degree of branching,mainly of a-(1-2)-linked single units.Some fucopyranose residues are sulfated at O-4(mainly) and O-2 positions.Some a-(1-3)-linked fucose residues were shown by NMR to be 2-O-acetylated.The 1H and 13C NMR spectra of desulfated,deaceylated fucan were complerely assigned.THe spectral data obtained correspond to a quasiregular polysaccharide structure with a branched hexasaccharide repeating unit.Other fucoidan frations from C.filum have more complex carbohydrate composition and give rather complex methvlation patterns.

A fucoidan fraction from Ascophyllum nodosum

A fucoidan fraction was purified from the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum. The polysaccharide contained -fucose and sulfate as the only constituents. Combination of methylation analysis, Smith degradation, FTIR and NMR spectroscopy on the native and the de-sulfated polymers demonstrated that the fucoidan consisted of a highly branched core region with primarily α-(1→3)-linked fucosyl residues and a few α-(1→4) linkages. Branch points were at position 2 of the →3-linked internal residues. The side chains consisted of single and multi-unit fucosyl residues. The combined analytical data suggested also a complex sulfation pattern with substitution principally at position 2 and/or position 4. Such diversity in the structural features of this fucoidan may be of importance for its various biological properties.

Profiling of Complex Microbial Populations by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Analysis of Polymerase Chain Reaction-Amplified Genes Coding for 16S rRNA

We describe a new molecular approach to analyzing the genetic diversity of complex microbial populations. This technique is based on the separation of polymerase chain reaction-amplified fragments of genes coding for 16S rRNA, all the same length, by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). DGGE analysis of different microbial communities demonstrated the presence of up to 10 distinguishable bands in the separation pattern, which were most likely derived from as many different species constituting these populations, and thereby generated a DGGE profile of the populations. We showed that it is possible to identify constituents which represent only 1% of the total population. With an oligonucleotide probe specific for the V3 region of 16S rRNA of sulfate-reducing bacteria, particular DNA fragments from some of the microbial populations could be identified by hybridization analysis. Analysis of the genomic DNA from a bacterial biofilm grown under aerobic conditions suggests that sulfate-reducing bacteria, despite their anaerobicity, were present in this environment. The results we obtained demonstrate that this technique will contribute to our understanding of the genetic diversity of uncharacterized microbial populations.

The Early Diagenetic Formation of Organic Sulfur in the Sediments of Mangrove Lake, Bermuda

Due to a low mineral content, the sapropelic sediments depositing in Mangrove Lake, Bermuda, provide an excellent opportunity to explore for possible additions of sulfur to organic matter during the early stages of diagenesis. We evaluated early diagenetic organic sulfur transformations by monitoring the concentrations and stable isotopic compositions of a number of inorganic and organic sulfur pools, thereby accounting for all of the sulfur in the sediments. We have identified and quantified the following sulfur pools: porewater sulfate, porewater sulfide, elemental sulfur, pyrite sulfur, hydrolyzable organic sulfur (HYOS), chromium-reducible organic sulfur (CROS), and nonchromium-reducible organic sulfur (Non-CROS). Of the organic sulfur pools, the Non-CROS pool is by far the largest, followed by CROS, and finally HYOS. By 60 cm depth these pools contribute, respectively, to 85, 7.9, and 3.6% of the total solid phase sulfur. The HYOS pool is probably of biological origin and shows no interaction with the sulfur compounds produced during diagenesis. By contrast, CROS is produced, most likely, from the diagenetic addition of polysulfides to functionalized lipids in the upper, H2S-poor, elemental sulfur-rich, region of the sediment. A portion of this sulfur pool is unstable and decomposes on contact with the H2S-rich porewaters. The portion of CROS that remains in the sulfidic waters appears to readily exchange sulfur isotopes with H2S. While some of the Non-CROS pool is of biological origin, some is also formed by the diagenetic addition of sulfur to organic compounds in the upper H2S-poor region of the sediment. By contrast with CROS, Non-CROS is not diagenetically active in the H2S-rich porewaters. Overall, somewhere between 27 and 53 % of the organic sulfur buried in Mangrove Lake sediments is of diagenetic origin, with the remaining organic sulfur derived from biosynthesis. We extrapolate our Mangrove Lake results and calculate that in typical coastal marine sediments between 11 and 29 μmol g−1 of organic sulfur will form during early diagenesis, of which 2–5 μmol g−1 will be chromium reducible.

A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOURCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO INHALABLE PARTICULATE MATTER POLLUTION IN METROPOLITAN BOSTON

In this paper, source apportionment techniques are employed to identify and quantify the major particle pollution source classes affecting a monitoring site in metropolitan Boston, MA. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of paniculate elemental data allows the estimation of mass contributions for five fine mass panicle source classes (soil, motor vehicle, coal related, oil and salt aerosols), and six coarse panicle source classes (soil, motor vehicle, refuse incineration, residual oil, salt and sulfate aerosols). Also derived are the elemental characteristics of those source aerosols and their contributions to the total recorded elemental concentrations (i.e. an elemental mass balance). These are estimated by applying a new approach to apportioning mass among various PCA source components: the calculation of Absolute Principal Component Scores, and the subsequent regression of daily mass and elemental concentrations on these scores.

Distribution of organic and reduced sulfur forms in marsh soils of coastal Louisiana

Soil samples from a Louisiana Barataria Basin brackish marshes were fractionated into acid-volatile sulfides (AVS), HCl-soluble sulfur, elemental sulfur, pyrite sulfur, ester-sulfate sulfur, and carbon-bonded sulfur. Inorganic sulfur composed 13% of total sulfur in brackish marsh soil with HCl-soluble sulfur representing 63–92% of the inorganic sulfur fraction. AVS represented less than 1% of the total sulfur pool. Pyrite sulfur and elemental sulfur together accounted for 8–33% of the inorganic sulfur pool. Organic sulfur, in the forms of ester-sulfate sulfur and carbon-bonded sulfur, was the most dominant pool representing the majority of total sulfur in brackish marsh. Results were compared to values reported for fresh and salt marshes. Reported inorganic sulfur fractions were greater in adjacent marshes, constituting 24% of total sulfur in salt marsh, and 22% in freshwater marshes. Along a salinity gradient, HCl-soluble sulfur represented 78–86% of the inorganic sulfur fraction in fresh, brackish, and salt marsh. Organic sulfur in the forms of ester-sulfate sulfur and carbon-bonded sulfur was the major constituent (76–87%) of total sulfur in all marshes. Reduced sulfur species, except elemental sulfur, increased seaward along the salinity gradient. Accumulation of reduced sulfur forms through sedimentation processes was significant in marsh energy flow in fresh, brackish and salt marshes.

Electrochemical corrosion behavior of cast Mg-Al-RE-Mn Alloys in NaCl solution

The electrochemical corrosion behavior of Mg-6Al-0.4Mn and Mg-6Al-4RE-0.4Mn (RE = Mischmetal) alloys is investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results of corrosion process, polarization behavior, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the alloys reveal that Mg-6Al-4RE-0.4Mn exhibits enhanced corrosion resistance. The addition of RE stabilizes the solid solution and modifies the passive film through a finer microstructure.

Low Cationic Proportion Ampholytic Polymer: Synthesis,Solution Properties and Interaction with Anionic Surfactant

Novel ampholytic terpolymer of N-vinylformamide (NVF), vinylamine (VAm) and sodium acrylate (NA) with low cationic proportion was obtained by hydrolyzing copolymer of NVF and NA (PNVFNA). Solution properties of the polymer were investigated by methods of turbidity and viscosity experiment. The effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on solution viscosity was also investigated. The results showed that the turbidity curves were bimodal, and pH 3.0 was determined as the isoelectric point (IEP).

Separation and detection of narcotic drugs on a microchip using micellar electrokinetic chromatography and electrochemiluminescence

A new approach for fast and sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection of narcotic drugs on a microchip after separation by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is presented, taking the cocaine and its hydrolysate ecgonine as the test analytes. The mixture of hydrophilic BMIMBF4 ionic liquid (IL) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used directly as the buffer of MEKC with less noisy baselines, lower electrophoretic current and satisfactory separation performance.

Self-assembled 3D microflowery In(OH)(3) architecture and its conversion to In2O3

Using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a 3D microflowery indium hydroxide [In(OH)(3)] structure assembled from 2D nanoflakes was fabricated in a large quantity via a hydrothermal approach at relative low temperature. The obtained In(OH)(3) flowers exhibited a narrow size range between 4 and 6 mu m. The properties of these composites were characterized by XRD, EDX, FE-SEM, TEM, SAED, and TGA. In this work, both the use of urea and SDS and the amounts of these components played important roles in the formation of In(OH)3 with different nanostructures.