Iodine number, BET surface area, taste and odour compound isotherms, and trace capacity number tests were used to rank five different granular activated carbons according to thermodynamic adsorption performance. These tests were compared to expected activated carbon service life and loading results of rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs) run with water from two lake sources spiked with geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). Trace capacity number, used to specifically identify high adsorption energy sites on activated carbon, was hypothesized to be correlated to geosmin/MIB breakthrough and loading performance of different activated carbons. This study found no such clear correlation. However, when only bituminous coal activated carbons were considered, correlations to MIB breakthrough were strengthened. Natural organic matter (NOM) adversely affected adsorption, resulting in decreased RSSCT throughput to breakthrough in surface water with higher total organic carbon (TOC). Methods for improving characterization tests and RSSCTs when NOM is present are discussed.

Biogas, produced from anaerobic digestion of cattle manure, is an attractive alternative energy source as it is rich in methane. However, it is necessary to remove hydrogen sulfide from the biogas before it can be used in engines for electricity generation. Currently, large scale biogas systems employ physical adsorbing solvents to upgrade and purify biogas which is not economically feasible for small scale biogas systems. Activated carbon made from anaerobic digestate proves to be an effective adsorbent of hydrogen sulfide because it has minimal operating costs and essentially zero raw material cost. A model is developed to predict the adsorption capacity, carbon bed life span, and breakthrough time for this carbon material. By analyzing the reaction constant, adsorption constant, and degradation constant, adsorption behavior under different operating conditions were studied. The model can be scaled-up to model adsorption for biogas loading rates for small to large scale cattle farms.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Plants possess integrated signalling networks that mediate the responses to various environmental conditions. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) constitute a highly conserved family of enzymes in eukaryotes, and in plants MAPK-based signal transduction modules regulate a large number of physiological processes, including responses to environmental stresses and phytohormones. Regulated dephosphorylation of active MAPKs is a key component of the control of MAPK signalling cascades, and in mammals, members of the MAPK phosphatase (MKP) sub-class of dual-specificity tyrosine phosphatases have been recognized as key players for inactivating MAPKs. Five MKP homologues are found in Arabidopsis thaliana, but only limited information is available concerning their properties and biological roles. Based on initial data derived from my reverse genetics and protein interaction studies of these five potential MKPs, as well as gene function information in the literature, I chose to focus on two putative Arabidopsis MKPs, AtMKP2 and Indole-3-Butyric Acid-response 5 (IBR5). By using a combination of genetic and biochemical studies, I established that the previously uncharacterized MKP designated AtMKP2, participates in the regulation of cellular homeostasis in ozone-challenged tissue, and can influence the activation state of two MAPKs, MPK3 and MPK6. AtMKP2-suppressed plants displayed significantly prolonged MPK3 and MPK6 activation during ozone treatment, and recombinant AtMKP2 was able to dephosphorylate both phospho-MPK3 and phospho-MPK6 in vitro, providing direct evidence that AtMKP2 may target these oxidant-activated MAPKs. A mutation in IBR5, one of the five potential AtMKPs, was previously reported to confer reduced sensitivity to auxin and ABA in Arabidopsis. My protein interaction studies demonstrated that IBR5 and MPK12 are physically coupled and that the C-terminus of MPK12 is essential for its interaction with IBR5. In vitro dephosphorylation assays indicated that recombinant phosphoMPK12 is efficiently dephosphorylated by IBR5. In transgenic plants with reduced expression of the MPK12 gene, root growth is hypersensitive to exogenous auxins, consistent with the lower auxin sensitivity reported for ibr5 mutants. Taken together, my data demonstrate for the first time that both AtMKP2 and IBR5 are bona fide Arabidopsis MAPK phosphatases and that they serve as important regulators of oxidative stress and auxin signalling, respectively, in Arabidopsis.

This thesis is made as it is submitted as a sum of published papers by the candidate. Aluminium hydroxides including gibbsite, boehmite and diaspore, are the major components, while iron hydroxides/oxides and kaolinite are the major impurities in bauxite. The dehydroxylation pathways during thermal activation of bauxite have been debated for decades. Phase transformation during thermal activation or calcination of bauxite to achieve high yields of alumina has been an important goal for the refining industry. This study deals with natural and synthetic aluminium and iron hydroxides using vibrational spectroscopy in conjunction with X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, followed by the characterisation of the phase transformation in activated bauxite. In the Raman spectra, gibbsite shows four bands at 3617, 3522, 3433 and 3364 cm-1, and bayerite shows seven bands at 3664, 3652, 3552, 3542, 3450, 3438 and 3420 cm-1 in the hydroxyl stretching region. Five bands at 3445, 3363, 3226, 3119 and 2936 cm-1 for diaspore and four at 3371, 3220, 3085 and 2989 cm-1 for boehmite are present. The far infrared spectrum of boehmite resembles that of diaspore in the 300-400 cm-1 region. Boehmite has two characteristic bands at 366 and 323 cm-1 while diaspore has five at 354, 331, 250, 199 and 158 cm-1. The far infrared spectrum of gibbsite resembles that of bayerite in the 230-300 cm-1 region. Gibbsite shows three characteristic bands at 371, 279 and 246 cm-1 whereas bayerite shows six at 383, 345, 326, 296, 252 and 62 cm-1. The far infrared spectra are in-harmony with the FT-Raman spectra, allowing the study and differentiation of the stretching of AlO4 units to characterize these four alumina phases. The surface properties of kaolinite and gibbsite are studied using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS). The FTIR-PAS spectra of kaolinite are recorded at mirror velocities of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 cm s-1, and compared to the gibbsite spectra recorded at mirror velocity of 0.2 cm s-1. It is found that the hydroxyl surface spectra are a function of depth. For the FTIR spectroscopy of thermal dehydroxylation of goethite to form hematite, the intensity of hydroxyl stretching and bending vibrations decreased with the extent of dehydroxylation of goethite. Infrared absorption bands clearly show the phase transformation between goethite and hematite, in particular the migration of excess hydroxyl units from goethite to hematite. Data from the band component analysis of FT-IR spectra indicate that the hydroxyl units mainly affect the a- plane in goethite and the equivalent c- plane in hematite. A larger amount of non-stoichiometric hydroxyl unit is found to be associated with a higher aluminium substitution. A shift to a higher wavenumber of bending and hydroxyl stretching vibrations is attributed to the effects of aluminium substitution associated with non-stoichiometric hydroxyl units on the a-b plane relative to the b-c plane of goethite. The dehydroxylation pathways of both the aluminium hydroxides and the impurities are intensively studied. Gibbsite completely decomposed at 250 °C, followed by boehmite and kaolinite at 500 °C. No phase transformations were observed for hematite, anatase, rutile or quartz up to 800 °C. Small amounts of gibbsite transformed to boehmite but the majority transformed to chi (χ) alumina, a disordered transition alumina phase, after dehydroxylation at 250 °C. The dehydroxylation pathways of crystalline gibbsite follow the orders: (a) gibbsite (&lt250 °C) to boehmite (250-450 °C) to gamma alumina (γ) (500-800 °C); or (b) gibbsite (&lt250 °C) to chi alumina (χ) (250-800 °C) to chi (χ) + kappa alumina (κ) (700-800 °C). Boehmite completely altered to gamma alumina (γ), while kaolinite altered to metakaolinite at 500 °C. The vibrational spectroscopy including FT-IR and FT-Raman, is a rapid, accurate and non-destructive technique in characterising both single and mixed mineral phases. In particular, the vibrational spectroscopy has shown its advantages over other techniques in terms of its sensitivity to hydroxyl groups. Future work on the simulation of bauxite dehydroxylation with emphasis on the studies of transition aluminas is proposed. The application of the advanced technique synchrotron x-ray spectroscopy, in addition to those techniques used in the present study, is recommended.

Geopolymers, a class of largely X-ray amorphous aluminosilicate binder materials, have been studied extensively over the past several decades, but largely from an empirical standpoint. The primary aim of this investigation has been to apply a more science-based approach to the study of geopolymers, including introducing a variety of mathematical modelling techniques to the field. The nanostructure of geopolymers is analysed via an extensive literature review, and conclusions regarding the presence and role of crystallinity within the geopolymer structure are drawn. Si/Al ordering within the tetrahedral aluminosilicate gel framework is described by a statistical thermodynamic model, which provides an accurate representation of the distribution of Si and Al sites within the framework as well as physically reasonable values for the energy penalty associated with ordering violation. Framework and extraframework structure within the geopolymer binder are also described by the pair distribution function (PDF) technique, whereby synchrotron X-ray scattering data are converted via a Fourier transform-based method into real-space structural data on an Ångstrom length scale. Real-space Rietveld analysis of geopolymers crystallised at high temperature is used to back-calculate and analyse the original geopolymer structure, and the primary change in very short-range structure from the as-synthesised geopolymer to the high-temperature crystalline product is observed to be a shift in the location of the extraframework charge-balancing cation.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1978. / Bibliography: leaves 122-128.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-133). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-341).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.