The Biosorption of Platinum and Palladium in Chloride Real Leach Solution by Modified Biomass

Modern demands for technological goods have created a global problem of excess electronic wastes (e-wastes). Increasing demands of precious metals to supply factories around the world for these electronic goods may also pose a strain towards current global gold, platinum and palladium reserves. As e-wastes often contain prominent levels of toxic materials along with valuable metals, its recycling must be conducted on an industrial scale to ensure a steady supply of precious metals (PM) for future needs. Current conventional methods of recycling PM including pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes are often costly, environmentally unfriendly and potentially hazardous. Therefore, researchers have turned towards the study of biomass-based adsorbents, also known as biosorbents, for applications in PM recovery and recycling. In the research presented in the thesis herein, wheat straw, canola meal and wood bark nuggets were used and immobilized with dithiooxamide (DTO), ethylenediamine (EN) and primary amine (PA) to create 12 novel biosorbents. These biosorbents were examined for their effectiveness in recovering platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) from real leach solution provided by a PM refining plant in Ontario. From these 12 biosorbents, it was determined that dithiooxamide-immobilized wood bark (DTO-WB) was the most effective. Being able to recover up to 97.4% Pt and 99.8% Pd from diluted leach solution, DTO-WB was selected as the biosorbent of focus for the rest of the research. Characterization analysis including Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Sulfur (CHNS) content analysis confirmed that DTO immobilization was successful on the structure of WB. Further experimentation and data analysis revealed that the rate of adsorption of Pt and Pd on DTO-WB progressed via the pseudo-second order rate model. Adsorption isotherm model studies indicate that the adsorption of Pt and Pd by DTO-WB followed the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm respectively. Calculated energy levels of activation by Pt and Pd suggests that adsorption progresses due to chemisorption. Thermodynamic studies reveal that DTO-WB adsorption of Pt and Pd is endothermic in nature and that adsorption efficiencies may be improved by increasing operating temperatures. Acknowledging that a variety of dissolved metals exists in real leach solution, performed co-adsorption experiments indicated that DTO-WB was efficient in recovering other PM, namely silver and rhodium. Selenium, a potentially toxic element commonly present in drinking water was also adsorbed in significant numbers by DTO-WB, suggesting that the adsorbent may potentially be used in water-treatment research

Cultivation and antioxidative properties of pakuri (Inonotus obliquus) on low productive peatland forests

Abstrakti201

Conference on Non-Timber Forest Products and Bioeconomy, 28–30 November 2017, Rovaniemi, Finland : Abstracts

201

Acquisition and management of technology-based firms in a trading and investment company

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-70).Among several key factors affecting new technology innovation, two important ones that are sometimes disturbed by M&A are long-term p-ans and the commitment of the acquired firm's management team. M&A led by technology companies are most often motivated by their need for certain technology, and most mergers, the strategies to grow the new company are quite clear. However, when M&A are led by financial investors or non-technology-based firms like private equity or trading and investment companies, the post-merger growth strategy to develop and manage the acquired firm's technology is often not well thought out. This is generally related to their lack of capability of managing of technology which can disturb long-term R&D work. However, some M&A carried out by private equity or trading and investment company, have had positive results. This study compares three M&A cases of trading and investment companies, private equity, and technology-based companies of technology-based firms. Comparisons are made based on financial figures, the ability to manage technology, and the success of the post-merger integration process. This study concludes with three suggestions, continuous synergy creation from parent company is essential for sustainable growth, corporate culture and business synergy must be considered carefully during the integration process, and retention of R&D employees and maintaining a technology-oriented corporate culture and environment are very critical for firm's new technology innovation.by Jin Tanaka.M.B.A

Lightweight energy absorbing structures for crashworthy design

PhD ThesisThe application of lightweight composite materials into the rail industry requires a stepwise approach to ensure rail vehicle designs can make optimal use of the inherent properties of each material. Traditionally, materials such as steel and aluminium have been used in railway rolling stock to achieve the energy absorption and structural resistance demanded by European rail standards. Adopting composite materials in primary structural roles requires an innovative design approach which makes the best use of the available space within the rolling stock design such that impact energies and loads are accommodated in a managed and predictable manner. This thesis describes the innovative design of a rail driver’s cab to meet crashworthiness and structural requirements using lightweight, cost-effective composite materials. This takes the application of composite materials in the rail industry beyond the current state-of-the-art and delivers design solutions which are readily applicable across rolling stock categories. An overview of crashworthiness with respect to the rail industry is presented, suitable composite materials for incorporation into rolling stock designs are identified and a methodology to reconfigure and enhance the space available within rail vehicles to meet energy absorption requirements is provided. To realise the application of composite materials, this body of work describes the pioneering application of aluminium honeycomb to deliver unique solutions for rail vehicle energy absorbers, as well as detailing the use of lightweight composite materials to react the structural loads into the cab and carbody. To prove the capability of the design it is supported by finite element analysis and the construction of a full-scale prototype cab which culminated in the successful filing of two patents to protect the intellectual property of the resulting design.The European Commission whose Framework 6 funded project “De-Light” (Contract Number 031483) forms the basis of this work

Special oils for halal and safe cosmetics

Three types of non conventional oils were extracted, analyzed and tested for toxicity. Date palm kernel oil (DPKO), mango kernel oil (MKO) and Ramputan seed oil (RSO). Oil content for tow cultivars of dates Deglect Noor and Moshkan was 9.67% and 7.30%, respectively. The three varieties of mango were found to contain about 10% oil in average. The red yellow types of Ramputan were found to have 11 and 14% oil, respectively. The phenolic compounds in DPKO, MKO and RSO were 0.98, 0.88 and 0.78 mg/ml Gallic acid equivalent, respectively. Oils were analyzed for their fatty acid composition and they are rich in oleic acid C18:1 and showed the presence of (dodecanoic acid) lauric acid C12:0, which reported to appear some antimicrobial activities. All extracted oils, DPKO, MKO and RSO showed no toxic effect using prime shrimp bioassay. Since these oils are stable, melt at skin temperature, have good lubricity and are great source of essential fatty acids; they could be used as highly moisturizing, cleansing and nourishing oils because of high oleic acid content. They are ideal for use in such halal cosmetics such as Science, Engineering and Technology 75 skin care and massage, hair-care, soap and shampoo products