Randomized Comparison of Two Techniques for Titrating Power During Radiofrequency Ablation of Accessory Pathways

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75733/1/j.1540-8167.1996.tb00592.x.pd

Short contact time direct coal liquefaction using a novel batch reactor. Quarterly report, 1996

The objective of this research is to optimize the design and operation of the bench scale batch reactor (SCTBR) for coal liquefaction at short contact times (0.01 to 10 minutes or longer). Additional objectives are to study the kinetics of direct coal liquefaction particularly at short reaction times, and to investigate the role of the organic oxygen components of coal and their reaction pathways during liquefaction. Many of those objectives have already been achieved and others are still in progress. This quarterly report covers further progress toward those objectives. Much of the previous quarterly report was concerned mainly in the retrograde reactions occurring during the liquefaction process. This report is largely devoted to the kinetics and mechanisms of the liquefaction process itself and the influence of the liquefaction solvents

Studies from the Harvard Psychological Laboratory (II).

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Kinetics assisted design of catalysts for coal liquefaction. Final report

The thermal and catalytic reactions of 4-(1-naphthylmethyl)bibenzyl (NBBM), a resid and coal model compound, were examined. Catalytic reaction of NBBM was carried out at 400 C under hydrogen with a series of transition metal-based catalytic materials including Fe(CO){sub 4}PPh{sub 3}, Fe(CO){sub 3}(PPh{sub 3}){sub 2}, Fe(CO){sub 2}(PPh{sub 3}){sub 2}CS{sub 2}, Fe(CO){sub 5}, Mo(CO){sub 6}, Mn{sub 2}(CO){sub 10}, Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and MoS{sub 2}. Experimental findings and derived mechanistic insights were organized into molecular-level reaction models for NBBM pyrolysis and catalysis. Hydropyrolysis and catalysis reaction families occurring during NBBM hydropyrolysis at 420 C were summarized in the form of reaction matrices which, upon exhaustive application to the components of the reacting system, yielded the mechanistic reaction model. Each reaction family also had an associated linear free energy relationship (LFER) which provided an estimate of the rate constant k{sub i} given a structural property of species i or its reaction. Including the catalytic reaction matrices with those for the pyrolysis model provided a comprehensive NBBM catalytic reaction model and allowed regression of fundamental LFER parameters for the catalytic reaction families. The model also allowed specification of the property of an optimal catalyst. Iron, molybdenum and palladium were predicted to be most effective for model compound consumption. Due to the low costs associated with iron and its disposal, it is a good choice for coal liquefaction catalysis and the challenge remains to synthesize small particles able to access the full surface area of the coal macromolecule

Two 'b's in the Beehive: The Discovery of the First Hot Jupiters in an Open Cluster

We present the discovery of two giant planets orbiting stars in Praesepe (also known as the Beehive Cluster). These are the first known hot Jupiters in an open cluster and the only planets known to orbit Sun-like, main-sequence stars in a cluster. The planets are detected from Doppler shifted radial velocities; line bisector spans and activity indices show no correlation with orbital phase, confirming the variations are caused by planetary companions. Pr0201b orbits a V=10.52 late F dwarf with a period of 4.4264 +/- 0.0070 days and has a minimum mass of 0.540 +/- 0.039 Mjup, and Pr0211b orbits a V=12.06 late G dwarf with a period of 2.1451 +/- 0.0012 days and has a minimum mass of 1.844 +/- 0.064 Mjup. The detection of 2 planets among 53 single members surveyed establishes a lower limit on the hot Jupiter frequency of 3.8 (+5.0)(-2.4) % in this metal-rich open cluster. Given the precisely known age of the cluster, this discovery also demonstrates that, in at least 2 cases, giant planet migration occurred within 600 Myr after formation. As we endeavor to learn more about the frequency and formation history of planets, environments with well-determined properties -- such as open clusters like Praesepe -- may provide essential clues to this end.Comment: 5 pages, 3 tables, 2 figures. Published in ApJ Letter

Five Planets Transiting a Ninth Magnitude Star

The Kepler mission has revealed a great diversity of planetary systems and architectures, but most of the planets discovered by Kepler orbit faint stars. Using new data from the K2 mission, we present the discovery of a five planet system transiting a bright (V = 8.9, K = 7.7) star called HIP 41378. HIP 41378 is a slightly metal-poor late F-type star with moderate rotation (v sin(i) = 7 km/s) and lies at a distance of 116 +/- 18 from Earth. We find that HIP 41378 hosts two sub-Neptune sized planets orbiting 3.5% outside a 2:1 period commensurability in 15.6 and 31.7 day orbits. In addition, we detect three planets which each transit once during the 75 days spanned by K2 observations. One planet is Neptune sized in a likely ~160 day orbit, one is sub-Saturn sized likely in a ~130 day orbit, and one is a Jupiter sized planet in a likely ~1 year orbit. We show that these estimates for the orbital periods can be made more precise by taking into account dynamical stability considerations. We also calculate the distribution of stellar reflex velocities expected for this system, and show that it provides a good target for future radial velocity observations. If a precise orbital period can be determined for the outer Jovian planet through future observations, it will be an excellent candidate for follow-up transit observations to study its atmosphere and measure its oblateness.Comment: Accepted by ApJL. 12 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Distillation of liquid fuels by thermogravimetry

In this paper, design and operation of a custom-built thermogravimetric apparatus for the distillation of liquid fuels are reported. Using a sensitive balance with scale of 0.001 g and ASTM distillation glassware, several petroleum and petroleum-derived samples have been analyzed by the thermogravimetric distillation method. When the ASTM distillation glassware is replaced by a micro-scale unit, sample size could be reduced from 100 g to 5-10 g. A computer program has been developed to transfer the data into a distillation plot, e.g. Weight Percent Distilled vs. Boiling Point. It also generates a report on the characteristic distillation parameters, such as, IBP (Initial Boiling Point), FBP (Final Boiling Point), and boiling point at 50 wt% distilled. Comparison of the boiling point distributions determined by TG (thermogravimetry) with those by SimDis GC (Simulated-Distillation Gas Chromatography) on two liquid fuel samples (i.e. a decanted oil and a filtered crude oil) are also discussed in this paper

Applications of the thermogravimetric analysis in the study of fossil fuels

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of coal and resid liquids and coal and resid solid residues, produced in coal liquefaction and coal- derived resid hydroprocessing in SCTBR (short contact time batch reactor), provides a sensitive, rapid, reproducible means of studying kinetics and mechanisms of fossil fuel conversion processes. SimDis TGA and custom built TGA system for distillation provide unique means to characterize liquid fuels for boiling point distribution. TGA provides information about various weight loss processes that can be a reflection of physical and chemical structure of fossil fuel samples. This technique can also yield TG scanning parameters, such as volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash, etc., for monitoring the conversion processes. One example is onset and rate of retrograde reactions during coal liquefaction

A novel smoothing routine for the data processing in thermogravimetric analysis

For a certain short interval of a TG scan, the correlation between mass and time is linear. A smoothing and filtering routine based on use of linear regression and error analysis was developed and successfully applied in the TG data processing. This method provides a filter to smooth the noise fluctuations and, at the same time, to introduce no distortions into the TGA experimental data. The computer program required is quite simple and effective. The method used in the program promises auto-convergence