No description available.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect that water quality, pipe material, pipe size, flow conditions and the use of corrosion inhibitors would have on the rate of free chlorine and chloramine decay in distribution systems. Empirical models were developed to predict the disinfectant residual concentration with time based on the parameters that affected it. Different water treatment processes were used to treat groundwater and surface water to obtain 7 types of finished waters with a wide range of water quality characteristics. The groundwater was treated either by conventional treatment by aeration (G1) or softening (G2) or high pressure reverse osmosis (RO) and the surface water was treated either by enhanced coagulation, ozonation and GAC filtration (CSF-O3-GAC or S1) or an integrated membrane system (CSF-NF or S2). The remaining two water types were obtained by treating a blend of G1, S1 and RO by softening (S2) and nanofiltration (G4). A pilot distribution systems (PDS) consisting of eighteen (18) lines was built using old pipes obtained from existing distribution system. The pipe materials used were polyvinyl chloride (PVC), lined cast iron (LCI), unlined cast iron (UCI) and galvanized steel (G). During the first stage of the study, the 7 types of water were blended and fed to the PDS to study the effect of feed water quality changes on PDS effluent water quality, and specifically disinfectant residual. Both free chlorine and chloramines were used as disinfectant and the PDSs were operated at hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 2 and 5 days. The PDSs were periodically tested for free and combined chlorine, organic content, temperature, pH, turbidity and color. The data obtained were used to develop separate models for free chlorine and chloramines. The best fit model was a first-order kinetic model with respect to initial disinfectant concentration that is dependent on the pipe material, pipe diameter and the organic content and temperature of the water. Turbidity, color and pH were found to be not significant for the range of values observed. The models contain two decay constants, the first constant (KB) accounts for the decay due to reaction in the bulk liquid and is affected by the organics and temperature while the second constant, KW, represents the reactions at the pipe wall and is affected by the temperature of the water and the pipe material and diameter. The rate of free chlorine and chloramine decay was found to be highly affected by the pipe material, the decay was faster in unlined metallic pipes (UCI and G) and slower in the synthetic (PVC) and lined pipes (LCI). The models showed that the rate of disinfectant residual loss increases with the increase of temperature or the organics in the water irrespective of pipe material. During the second part of the study, corrosion control inhibitors were added to a blend of S1, G1 and RO that fed all the hybrid PDSs. The inhibitors used were: orthophosphate, blended ortho-polyphosphate, zinc orthophosphate and sodium silicate. Three PDSs were used for each inhibitor type, for a total of 12 PDSs, to study the effect of low, medium and high dose on water quality. Two PDSs were used as control, fed with the blend without any inhibitor addition. The control PDSs were used to observe the effect of pH control on water quality and compare to the inhibitor use. One of the control PDSs (called PDS 13) had the pH adjusted to be equal to the saturation pH in relation to calcium carbonate precipitation (pHs) while the pH of the other control PDS (PDS 14) was adjusted to be 0.3 pH units above the pHs. The disinfectant used for this part of the study was chloramine and the flow rates were set to obtain a HRT of 2 days. The chloramine demand was the same for PDS 14 and all the PDSs receiving inhibitors. PDS 13 had a chloramine demand greater than any other PDS. The lowest chloramine demand was observed in PDS 12, which received silicate inhibitor at a dose of 12 mg/L, and presented the highest pH. The elevation of pH of the water seems to reduce the rate of decay of chloramines while the use of corrosion inhibitors did not have any effect. on the rate of chloramine decay. The PDS were monitored for chloramine residual, temperature, pH, phosphate, reactive silica, and organic content. Empirical models were developed for the dissipation of chloramine in the pilot distribution systems as a function of time, pipe material, pipe diameter and water quality. Terms accounting for the effect of pH and the type and dose of corrosion inhibitor were included in the model. The use of phosphate-based or silica-based corrosion inhibitors was found to have no effect on the rate of chloramine dissipation in any of the pipe materials. Only the increase of pH was found to decrease the rate of chloramine decay. The model to best describe the decay of chloramine in the pilot distribution systems was a first-order kinetic model containing separate rate constants for the bulk reactions, pH effect and the pipe wall reactions. The rate of chloramine decay was dependent on the material and diameter of the pipe, and the temperature, pH and organic content of the water. The rate of chloramine decay was low for PVC and LCI, and more elevated in UCI and G pipes. Small diameter pipes and higher temperatures increase the rate of chlorine decay irrespective of pipe material. Additional experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of flow velocity on chloramine decay in a pilot distribution system (PDS) for different pipe materials and water qualities. The experiments were done using the single material lines and the flow velocity of the water was varied to obtain Reynolds' numbers from 50 to 8000. A subset of experiments included the addition of blended orthophosphate corrosion inhibitor (BOP) at a dose of 1.0 mg/L as P to evaluate the effect of the inhibitor on chloramine decay. The effect of Reynolds' number on the overall chloramine decay rate (K) and the wall decay rate constant (W) was assessed for PVC, LCI, UCI, and G pipes. PVC and LCI showed no change on the rate of chloramine decay at any flow velocity. UCI and G pipes showed a rapid increase on the wall decay rate under laminar conditions (Re ≤ 500) followed by a more gradual increase under fully turbulent flow conditions (Re ≥ 2000). The use of the BOP inhibitor did not have an effect on the rate of chloramine decay for any of the pipe materials studied. Linear correlations were developed to adjust the rate of chloramine decay at the pipe wall for UCI and G depending on the Reynolds' number.

No description available.

Chlorine (Cl₂(sq»' chlorine dioxide (ClO₂ ) and potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) were evaluated as oxidants for the removal of grassy and cucumber odors associated with the pure compounds, cis-3-hexenol and trans-2, cis-6-nonadienal, respectively, and for the removal of fishy odors associated with a culture of an alga, Synura petersenii. The effects of the oxidants on the pure compounds were assessed both by Flavor Profile Analysis (FPA) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The effects of the oxidants on the algae culture were evaluated by FPA only. In addition, an unoxidized sample of Synura petersenii was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for possible identification of fishy-smelling compounds. Chlorine (1-6 mg/L) and KMn04 (0.25-4 mg/L) markedly reduced grassy and cucumber odors associated with the two compounds. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry confirmed that these compounds were reduced to below method detection limits. Levels of Cl₂(&q) required (up to 6 mg/L) to reduce the grassy odors associated with cis-3-hexenol were higher than those of KMnO₄ â ¢ The high Cl₂(&q) doses may have contributed to the formation of chemical odors observed by panelists. Two isomers of chlorohexenol were confidently identified as byproducts of cis-3-hexenol chlorination and may have contributed to the chemical odors that developed after CI2(aq) treatment. Chlorine and KMnO₄ (both at 10 mg/L) either reduced or destroyed the fishy odor associated with the culture of Synura petersenii; however, oxidation caused either the development or unmasking of fruity, cucumber, melon and grassy odors. Chlorine dioxide (3 mg/L) did not reduce the grassy and cucumber odors associated with cis-3-hexenol and trans-2, cis-6-nonadienal , respectively. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry confirmed that concentrations of these compounds were not reduced to below method detection limits. Furthermore, at a concentration of 10 mg/L, Cl₂ did not effectively reduce either the fishy or other objectionable odors associated with Synura petersenii culture. Hexanal, with an odor described as "green" or "like lettuce heart," and trans-2, cis-6-nonadienal (cucumber odor) were confirmed as algal products in a two-week-old culture of Synura petersenii. In addition, decatrienal was confidently identified as a product of Synura and may have contributed to the fishy odor associated with this alga. / Master of Science

The removal of microbial populations from potable water has been a practice with great importance towards public health, as it has resulted in the reduction of literally millions of cases of infectious disease. In the United States, pathogenic organisms are most commonly removed from drinking water through the application of chlorine. Ninety-nine per cent of all U.S. potable water treatment facilities that disinfect, rely on chlorine as their sole or primary disinfectant, and over 175,000,000 Americans regularly consume chlorinated water. In 1974, Rook and Bellar et al. published studies which indicated that chlorine reacted with organic matter in water during treatment to produce a wide-range of halogenated by-products. Since that time, numerous analyses have been performed to isolate and identify the by-products of chlorination. Toxicologic and epidemiologic studies have been performed, some of which suggest that the use of chlorine as a disinfectant may be contributing to the incidence of chronic disease in the United States. Because of the concern that the use of chlorine for potable water disinfection may be contributing to chronic disease, Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) have been promulgated which strictly regulate disinfectants and disinfection by-products. Future disinfectant and disinfectant by-product regulations (1992) will have a major impact on the purveyors of potable water in the U.S.. Probably the largest challenge U.S. water treatment utilities now face is in the attempt to control for disinfectants and disinfectant by-products while maintaining the microbiological integrity of the water supply. The SDWA Amendments and their supporting regulations will result in major changes in the way water quality parameters are measured, and the way disinfection and treatment strategies are practiced. This thesis looks closely at the role of chlorine as a disinfectant, the by-products arising from chlorine reacting with organic matter, as well as the rationale behind the disinfectant and disinfectant by-product regulations. After examining the chemical, toxicologic and epidemiologic evidence which fueled the new SDWA regulations, available treatment strategies for meeting the new regulations will be detailed and examined. A water treatment strategy which best appears to maximize the reduction of waterborne disease and minimize the risk of chronic disease will then be offered. / Graduation date: 1992

<p>Bronchiolitis Obliterans (BO) is a major cause of chronic airway dysfunction after toxic chemical inhalation. The pathophysiology of BO is not well understood, but epithelial cell injury has been closely associated with the development of fibrotic lesions in human studies and in animal models of both toxin- and transplant-induced BO. However, while almost all cases and models of BO include epithelial injury, not all instances of epithelial injury result in BO, suggesting that epithelial damage per se is not the critical event leading to the development of BO. In this dissertation, we describe a model of chlorine (Cl2)-induced BO in which mice develop tracheal and large airway obliterative lesions within 10 days of exposure to high (350 ppm), but not low (200 ppm), concentrations of Cl2 gas. Lesions develop in a series of well-demarcated pathological changes that include epithelial denudation, inflammatory cell infiltration by day 2 after exposure, fibroblast infiltration and collagen deposition by day 5, and in-growth of blood vessels by day 7, ultimately leading to lethal airway obstruction by days 9-12. Using this model, we were able to test our hypothesis that loss of epithelial progenitor cells is a critical factor leading to the development of obliterative airway lesions after chemical inhalation. Indeed, these lesions arise only under conditions and in areas in which basal cells, the resident progenitor cells for large airway epithelium, are eliminated by Cl2 exposure. </p><p>The molecular pathways contributing to BO development are not well understood. Mechanisms of epithelial injury differ across BO models, but we hypothesized that after the inciting injury, BO models share common pathways. We compared microarray analysis from day 5 non-BO- and BO-inducing chemical injuries and subsequently identified biological pathways that may contribute to BO pathogenesis. Our findings add support to pathways previously implicated in BO development and more importantly, suggest potential new pathways and molecular mediators of BO. Furthermore, we evaluated the efficacy of therapeutic inhibition of neovascularization or inflammation to prevent Cl2-induced BO. To date, our therapeutic interventions were ineffective. Nonetheless, our findings suggest that in the context of Cl2-induced BO, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (a mediator of neovascularization) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (a mediator of inflammation) are not critical in BO pathogenesis.</p><p>In sum, our work introduces and characterizes a novel Cl2-induced murine model of BO. Using this model we demonstrated that in the absence of basal cells, epithelial regeneration does not occur and regions of epithelial denudation persist from which an aberrant repair process is initiated, leading to obliterative airway lesions. Our findings suggest that, irrespective of the cause, loss of epithelial progenitor cells may be a critical factor leading to the development of BO. Furthermore, our gene expression analysis implicates novel mediators and signaling pathways in the development of BO. Our analysis lays the foundation for more rigorous exploration of these targets in the pathogenesis of BO.</p> / Dissertation

Applications of in situ cosmogenic nuclides to problems in Quaternary geology require increasingly accurate and precise knowledge of nuclide production rates. Production rates depend on the terrestrial cosmic-ray intensity, which is a function of the elevation and geomagnetic coordinates of a sample site and the geomagnetic field intensity. The main goal of this dissertation is to improve the accuracy of cosmogenic dating by providing better constraints on the spatial variability of production rates.In this dissertation I develop a new scaling model that incorporates the best available cosmic-ray data into a framework that better describes the effects of elevation and geomagnetic shielding on production rates. This model is based on extensive measurements of energetic nucleon fluxes from neutron monitor surveys and on more limited data from low-energy neutron surveys. A major finding of this work is that neutron monitors yield scaling factors different from unshielded proportional counters. To verify that the difference is real I conducted an airborne survey of low-energy neutron fluxes at Hawaii (19.7° N 155.5° W) to compare with a nearby benchmark neutron monitor survey. Our data confirm that the attenuation length is energy dependent and suggest that the scaling factor for energetic nucleons is 10% higher between sea level and 4000 m than for low-energy neutrons at this location. An altitude profile of cosmogenic 36Cl production from lava flows on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, support the use of neutron flux measurements to scale production rates but these data do not have enough precision to confirm or reject the hypothesis of energy-dependent scaling factors.

No description available.

Torefikacija yra perspektyvi biomasės apdirbimo technologija, leidžianti pagerinti biomasės fizikines savybes, kartu sumažinti išlaidas skirtas biomasės smulkinimui. Torefikuota biomasė gali būti panaudojama esamose anglimi kūrenamose elektrinėse, ją santykine dalimi maišant su įprastomis anglimis, taip sumažinant CO2 kiekį išsiskiriantį deginant iškastinį kurą (Kioto protokolas). Šiuo metu trūksta mokslinių tyrimų ir duomenų apie torefikacijos panaudojimą agrokultūrų atliekoms (šiaudams) apdirbti, pagaminant naują energetiškai patrauklų kurą pasižymintį unikaliomis savybėmis. Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas buvo ištirti ir įvertinti iš skirtingų biomasės rūšių pagaminto torefikuoto kuro savybes ir torefikacijos proceso sąlygas. Tam būtina sąlyga: bandomojo torefikacijos reaktoriaus sukūrimas. Sauso kuro aukštutinė degimo šiluma nustatymo (HHV), anglies, vandenilio, azoto, sieros, chloro, lakiųjų organinių junginių kiekio, peleningumo ir pelenų lydumo, masės išeigos, energijos našumo, energetinio tankumo, reaktoriaus patikimumo lyginant su TGA, lakiųjų organinių junginių sudėties ir hidrofobiškumo testai – tai pagrindiniai parametrai kurie buvo nustatinėjami atliekant šį darbą. Torefikacijos procesas buvo atliekamas azotinėje aplinkoje, prie skirtingų temperatūrų (250 °C, 280 °C, 300 °C), bandinį reaktoriuje išlaikant 30 minučių, plius papildomas išlaikymas 10 minučių naudojant 300 °C. Gauti rezultatai leidžia teigti, kad po torefikacijos proceso medžiaga turi didesnę sausojo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Torrefaction is a promising fuel pre-treatment technology for biomass, as it improves the physical characteristics, reduces the energy consumption for grinding, improves the co-firing process due to more stable characteristics of this fuel. However, there is still lack of data on torrefaction of agricultural waste which have more unequal composition. The aim of this work was to create fixed bed reactor for torrefaction process and investigate the dependence of properties of formed torrefied products on various biomass materials and process conditions. HHV, amounts of C, H, N, S, Cl, VOC, ash content and ash melting behavior, mass and energy yields, energy density, reactor reliability comparing with TGA results and composition of VOC analysed with TGA-GC/MS, hydrophobicity test were studied as the main factors for comparison. Torrefaction was carried out in the nitrogen environment at variuos temperatures (250°C, 280°C, 300°C) for 30 min and for 10 min at 300 °C too. HHV of woody and agricultural waste after torefaction was increased as energy density too (which allows cheaper logistics), also was found that torrefied material has better hydrophobic properties, biodegradation slows down, material is easy to grind. Determining energy yield for each type of biofuel, assess to find most suitable conditions for torrefied biofuel production. It was found that torrefaction solves one of the major straw as biofuel problems: it’s large amount of sulfur and chlorine levels. Torrefied... [to full text]

During the Fukushima Daiichi power plant incident sea water was used in an attempt to cool reactor Unit 3. Since sea water contains an excessive amount of chloride, 36Cl has likely been formed and spread in the environment. Because of the long residence time and the presumed high mobility in water there is an increased interest to learn more about the biogeochemical cycle of chlorine from a radiation risk assessment perspective. Chlorine occurs in inorganic form as chloride (Clin) or bound to organic matter as organic chlorine (Clorg) and is commonly found in the environment due to both anthropogenic and natural processes. Though there are still uncertainties regarding all of the components of the chlorine cycle in soil, the chlorination of organic matter has been exemplified by research. The reverse process, Clorg mineralizing into Clin, has however not been thoroughly investigated. For this study the objective was to observe at what rate Clorg mineralizes into Clin, this by using 36Cl as a tracer in forest soil. 36Cl was added to the soil and 36Clorg was formed over a period of approximately 100 days. After chlorination the samples were incubated in different conditions and the amount of 36Clorg was observed over a period of time (180 days). The result showed no evident dechlorination during the experiment period which indicates that Clorg can be stable in the organic horizon in forest soil.