Methylmercury (MeHg) production is magnified in the natural environment by geochemical influxes and an active sulfate reducing bacteria community. It has been found that the presence of sulfides, excess nutrients, and the type of depositional environment (normal marine or euxinic) greatly influences MeHg production and degree of pyritization (DOP). The aim of this research is to investigate a possible connection between MeHg accumulation and the DOP in Weeks Bay sediment. Collected sediment samples have confirmed a significant presence of total reduced sulfides, inorganic mercury, reactive iron, and total organic carbon. Pyritization results indicate a normal marine environment and, of the three measured elements (S, Fe, and C,) carbon and sulfur are the dominant limiting factors to the DOP in Weeks Bay. Current geochemical and pH/redox conditions favor MeHg and pyrite production. The quantified pyrite greatly exceeds that of MeHg indicating DOP inhibits MeHg precipitation.

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To clarify the role of charge in protein movement across the pulmonary endothelial barrier, we simultaneously measured the permeability-surface area product (PS) for native [isoelectric point (pI) 4.4-5.1] and cationic (pI 7.2-8.0) albumin in isolated rabbit lungs perfused with and without protamine sulfate. We focused our measurement on the initial (endothelial) barrier by using a technique that is based on the very rapid (3 min) uptake of tracer. This allowed us to distinguish the charge properties of the endothelium separate from other barriers. In control studies, PS was greater for cationic than for native albumin (8.67 ± 0.93 vs. 2.55 ± 0.20 x 10-2 ml · min-1 · g dry lung-1). In the presence of 1 mg/ml protamine sulfate, cationic albumin permeability was not different from control (7.34 ± 0.49 x 10-2 ml · min-1 · g dry lung-1), whereas PS for anionic albumin increased to 8.82 ± 1.32 x 10-2 ml · min-1 · g dry lung-1. Thus the protamine sulfate eliminated the difference between native and cationic albumin PS. This selective increase in anionic albumin permeability is presumably due to the cation, protamine sulfate, binding to the anionic charges on the endothelium and reducing the anionic charge-charge repulsion. If protamine sulfate had produced a general endothelial injury, the PS for both albumins would have increased. Our results suggest that the normal pulmonary endothelium is an anionic charge barrier restricting the transcapillary movement of negatively charged molecules.

This study-investigated the use of cationic polymers, and a surfactant, EHDABr, in the color removal treatment of Kraft pulp and paper wastewater. Four polymers were evaluated for their color removal performance by jar test procedures. The polymers removed between 77 and 87% of the wastewater color. The affect of pH upon polymer performance varied with the polymer tested. Powdered activated carbon addition improved the performance of the polymers. The color removal ability of EHDABr was evaluated by jar test, and by continuous-flow foam flotation.. EHDABr removed 77% of the wastewater color by jar test and was relatively unaffected by pH variation. The addition of powdered activated carbon improved EHDABr performance in jar tests. EHDABr removed 90% of the wastewater color by continuous-flow, foam flotation. Color bodies were precipitated in the foaming system before being removed by flotation. Total suspended solids removal improved with increasing column detention time. / Master of Science

<p> The temperature dependences of the deuteron spin-lattice relaxation times, T1, in ferroelectric ammonium sulfate, (ND4)2SO4 , and ammonium fluoroberyllate, (ND4)2BeF4, have been studied by transient methods over the range 80 to 47S°K. The ability to resolve the individual correlations of the two independent ND4 groups in the deuteron experiment has thrown new light on the reorientation of the ammonium groups and their behaviour in the phase transition. It has been proposed that the mechanism of the phase transition in ammonium sulfate is a disordering, with respect to the a b plane in the paraelectric phase, of the ND4 dipoles which also make the dominant contribution to the spontaneous polarization. The present N.M.R. results show that in (ND4)2so4 ,T1 at both non-equivalent ND4 groups is affected at the phase transition, whereas in (ND4)2BeF4 , it is affected at only one ND4 group. This suggests that the phase transitions in these two materials are rather different and that in ammonium sulfate both types of ammonium ions are involved whereas in ammonium fluoroberyllate only one type is involved in the transition. Such a conclusion is supported by evidence from measurements of thermal and dielectric properties. An earlier study of the proton spectrum in (NH4)2so4 reported a value of 33 gauss^2 for the second moment at 20°K. This is considerably smaller than the expected rigid lattice value of 5O gauss^2 and it was concluded that while some of the NH4+ groups are effectively rigid at 20°K others are still reorienting. Our new results for the proton second moment confirm the low value down to 4.2°K but our results for T1 indicate that the proton line is not motionally narrowed. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The traditional paradigm declares tetravalent uranium to be immobile under reducing conditions – an assumption widely employed for nuclear waste management strategies. In contrast, experiments presented here demonstrate this assumption, although valid for low temperatures, can be erroneous for high temperature natural systems. This project focuses on the ability of sulfate-bearing solutions to transport uranium at reduced conditions and elevated temperatures, identifies the new species U(OH)2SO4, derives thermodynamic constants necessary for modeling, and expands the quantifiable range of U4+ mobility to more neutral pH conditions. The data obtained enable more accurate assessment of uranium mobility by updating the existing uranium thermodynamic databases and is applicable to uranium fluid transport in oreorming systems and nuclear waste repositories.