Citric acid wastewater as electron donor for biological sulfate reduction

Citrate-containing wastewater is used as electron donor for sulfate reduction in a biological treatment plant for the removal of sulfate. The pathway of citrate conversion coupled to sulfate reduction and the microorganisms involved were investigated. Citrate was not a direct electron donor for the sulfate-reducing bacteria. Instead, citrate was fermented to mainly acetate and formate. These fermentation products served as electron donors for the sulfate-reducing bacteria. Sulfate reduction activities of the reactor biomass with acetate and formate were sufficiently high to explain the sulfate reduction rates that are required for the process. Two citrate-fermenting bacteria were isolated. Strain R210 was closest related to Trichococcus pasteurii (99.5% ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence similarity). The closest relative of strain S101 was Veillonella montepellierensis with an rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.7%. Both strains had a complementary substrate range

Control of sulphide during anaerobic treatment of S-containing wastewaters by adding limited amounts of oxygen or nitrate

Sulphide generated during anaerobic treatment of S-containing wastewaters represents an environmental problem. Adding limited amounts of oxygen or nitrate (or nitrite) to biologically (or chemically) oxidise sulphide forms a simple process level strategy to control this problem. This short review evaluates the feasibility and limitations of this strategy on the basis of the results of bioreactor studies.Sulphide generated during anaerobic treatment of S-containing wastewaters represents an environmental problem. Adding limited amounts of oxygen or nitrate (or nitrite) to biologically (or chemically) oxidise sulphide forms a simple process level strategy to control this problem. This short review evaluates the feasibility and limitations of this strategy on the basis of the results of bioreactor studies.Spanish Ministry of Education and Science; AEA Technology Environment; Nova Energie; The Swedish Gas Centre; University of Southern Denmark

LABORATORY CHARACTERIZATION OF AN IMAGING REFLECTOMETER SYSTEM

While microwave reflectometry has proven to be a sensitive tool for measuring electron density fluctuations in many circumstances, it has also been shown to have limited viability for core measurements and/or conditions of strong turbulence. To this end, a new instrument based on two-dimensional imaging reflectometry has been developed to measure density fluctuations over an extended plasma region in the TEXTOR tokamak. Laboratory characterization of this instrument has been performed using corrugated reflecting targets as an approximation to plasma reflections including two-dimensional turbulent fluctuations of various magnitude and poloidal wavenumber. Within this approximation, the imaging reflectometer can recover the spectral and spatial characteristics of the reflection layer lost to or otherwise inaccessible to conventional techniques.X1128sciescopu

OBSERVATION OF HIGH-FIELD-SIDE CRASH AND HEAT TRANSFER DURING SAWTOOTH OSCILLATION IN MAGNETICALLY CONFINED PLASMAS

High resolution (temporal and spatial), two-dimensional images of electron temperature fluctuations during sawtooth oscillations were employed to study the crash process and heat transfer in magnetically confined toroidal plasmas. The combination of kink and local pressure driven instabilities leads to a small poloidally localized puncture in the magnetic surface at both the low and the high field sides of the poloidal plane. This observation closely resembles the "fingering event" of the ballooning mode model with the high-m mode only predicted at the low field side.open1180Nsciescopu

COMPARISON STUDY OF 2D IMAGES OF TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS DURING SAWTOOTH OSCILLATION WITH THEORETICAL MODELS

High temporal and spatial resolution two-dimensional (2D) images of electron temperature fluctuations were employed to study the sawtooth oscillation in the Toroidal Experiment for Technically Oriented Research tokamak plasmas. The 2D images are directly compared with the expected 2D patterns of the plasma pressure (or electron temperature) from various theoretical models. The observed experimental 2D images are only partially in agreement with the expected patterns from each model: The image of the initial reconnection process is similar to that of the ballooning mode model. The intermediate and final stages of the reconnection process resemble those of the full reconnection model. The time evolution of the images of the hot spot or island is partially consistent to those from the full reconnection model but is not consistent with those from the quasi-interchange model.open1159Nsciescopu

Effect of heating on the suppression of tearing modes in tokamaks

The suppression of (neoclassical) tearing modes is of great importance for the success of future fusion reactors like ITER. Electron cyclotron waves can suppress islands, both by driving noninductive current in the island region and by heating the island, causing a perturbation to the Ohmic plasma current. This Letter reports on experiments on the TEXTOR tokamak, investigating the effect of heating, which is usually neglected. The unique set of tools available on TEXTOR, notably the dynamic ergodic divertor to create islands with a fully known driving term, and the electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic to provide detailed 2D electron temperature information, enables a detailed study of the suppression process and a comparison with theory.open1159Nsciescopu

SELF-ORGANIZED T-E REDISTRIBUTION DURING DRIVEN RECONNECTION PROCESSES IN HIGH-TEMPERATURE PLASMAS

Two-dimensional (2D) images of electron temperature fluctuations with high temporal and spatial resolution were employed to study the sawtooth oscillation in Toroidal EXperiment for Technology Oriented Research [S. S. Abdallaev et al., Nucl. Fusion 43, 299 (2003)] tokamak plasmas. The new findings are: (1) 2D images revealed that the reconnection is localized and permitted the determination of the physical dimensions of the reconnection zone in the poloidal and toroidal planes. (2) The combination of a pressure bulge due to finite pressure effects or a kink instability accompanied with a sharp pressure point leads to an "X-point" reconnection process. (3) Reconnection can take place anywhere along the q similar to 1 rational magnetic surface (both high- and low-field sides). (4) Heat flow from the core to the outside of the inversion radius during the reconnection time is through the finite opening on the poloidal and toroidal planes and the flow is highly collective. These new findings are compared with the characteristics of various theoretical models and experimental results for the study of the sawtooth oscillation in tokamak plasmas. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.open112121sciescopu

2-D IMAGING OF ELECTRON TEMPERATURE IN TOKAMAK PLASMAS

By taking advantage of recent developments in millimeter wave imaging technology, an electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) instrument, capable of simultaneously measuring 128 channels of localized electron temperature over a two-dimensional (2-D) map in the poloidal plane, has been developed for the TEXTOR tokamak. Data from the new instrument, detailing the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity associated with a sawtooth crash, is presented.X11sciescopu

MICROWAVE IMAGING REFLECTOMETER FOR TEXTOR (INVITED)

Understanding the behavior of fluctuations in magnetically confined plasmas is essential to the. advancement of turbulence-based transport physics. Though microwave reflectometry has proven to be an extremely useful and sensitive tool for measuring small density fluctuations in some circumstances, this technique has been shown to have limited viability for large amplitude, high k(theta) fluctuations and/or core measurements. To this end, a new instrument based on two-dimensional imaging reflectometry has been developed to measure density fluctuations over an extended plasma region in the TEXTOR tokamak. This technique is made possible by collecting an extended spectrum of reflected waves with large-aperture imaging optics. Details of the imaging reflectometry concept, as well as technical details of the TEXTOR instrument, are presented. Data from proof-of-principle experiments on TEXTOR using a prototype system is presented, as well as results from a systematic off-line study of the advantages and limitations of the imaging reflectometer. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.open114547sciescopu

SIMULTANEOUS MICROWAVE IMAGING SYSTEM FOR DENSITY AND TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATION MEASUREMENTS ON TEXTOR (INVITED)

Diagnostic systems for fluctuation measurements in plasmas are, of necessity, evolving from simple one-dimensional (1D) systems to multidimensional systems due to the complexity of the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and turbulence physics of plasmas as illustrated by advanced numerical simulations. Using the recent significant advancements in millimeter wave imaging technology, microwave imaging reflectometry (MIR) and electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI), simultaneously measuring density and temperature fluctuations, have been developed for Toroidal EXperiment for Technology Oriented Research (TEXTOR). The MIR system was installed on Textor and the experiment was performed in September, 2003. Subsequent MIR campaigns have yielded poloidally resolved spectra and assessments of poloidal velocity. The 2D ECE imaging system (with a total of 128 channels), installed on TEXTOR in December, 2003, successfully captured the first true 2D images of T-e fluctuations of m=1 oscillations ("sawteeth") near the qsimilar to1 surface. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.open115964sciescopu