Use of coal liquefaction catalysts for coal/oil coprocessing and heavy oil upgrading

The catalytic hydrogenation of coal and model solvents using dispersed or supported catalysts at different pressures has been the focus of several recent studies at PETC. The effectiveness of these catalysts has been studied in coal liquefaction and coal-oil coprocessing. Coal-oil coprocessing involves the co-reaction of coal and petroleum-derived oil or resid. The results of these studies have indicated that both dispersed and supported catalysts are effective in these systems at elevated H{sub 2} pressures ({approximately}2,500 psig). Attempts to reduce pressure indicated that a combination of catalyst concentration and solvent quality could be used to compensate for reductions in H{sub 2} pressure. Comparison of the coal and coprocessing systems reveals many similarities in the catalytic requirements for both systems. Both hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis activities are required and the reactive environments are similar. Also, the use of catalysts in the two systems shares problems with similar types of inhibitors and poisons. The logical extension of this is that it may be reasonable to expect similar trends in catalyst activity for both systems. In fact, many of the catalysts selected for coal liquefaction were selected based on their effectiveness in petroleum systems. This study investigates the use of supported and dispersed coal liquefaction catalysts in coal-oil coprocessing and petroleum-only systems. The focus of the study was delineating the effects of coal concentration, pressure, and catalyst type

Preliminary analysis of the genetic variability of two natural beds of the Scallop Euvola ziczac (Linnaeus, 1758) in Brazil

Euvola ziczac (formerly Pecten ziczac), a simultaneous hermaphroditic scallop was heavily fished in Brazil between 1972 and 1980. The production peaked in 1980 with 8,800 tons and was followed by the total collapse of the resource. In order to investigate the possible loss of genetic variability of the stock associated to overfishing and self-fertilization, the polymorphism of phosphoglucomutase (PGM) and glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) was analyzed by electrophoresis of the adductor muscle of scallops from São Francisco (26° 20.583S; 48° 16.507W) and Bom Abrigo (25° 28.735S; 47° 37.621W) beds; the southern and northern extremes of the scallop fishing ground, respectively. Animals from São Francisco showed a strong deficiency of heterozygosity for GPI and PGM. In addition, PGM showed *exclusive alleles for each bed. Such results coupled with other information about the species suggested the following hypothesis: a) the stock was a metapopulation with at least two populations; b) some reproductive isolation might be occurring which might be influenced by conditions of larval transport and by the extremely low densities of scallops; c) presently, the stock seemed to be mostly maintained through self-fertilization; d) São Francisco could constitute a source-area, contributing with larvae and recruits to Bom Abrigo and other areas; e) both beds were suffering a genetic homogenization more evident in São Francisco. Such hypothesis needed to be investigated in order to furnish guidelines for future programs of recovery and management of the resource.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hydrogen Separation Membranes Annual Report for FY 2006.

The objective of this work is to develop dense ceramic membranes for separating hydrogen from other gaseous components in a nongalvanic mode, i.e., without using an external power supply or electrical circuitry. This goal of this project is to develop two types of dense ceramic membrane for producing hydrogen nongalvanically, i.e., without electrodes or external power supply, at commercially significant fluxes under industrially relevant operating conditions. The first type of membrane, hydrogen transport membranes (HTMs), will be used to separate hydrogen from gas mixtures such as the product streams from coal gasification, methane partial oxidation, and water-gas shift reactions. Potential ancillary uses of HTMs include dehydrogenation and olefin production, as well as hydrogen recovery in petroleum refineries and ammonia synthesis plants, the largest current users of deliberately produced hydrogen. The second type of membrane, oxygen transport membranes (OTMs), will produce hydrogen by nongalvanically removing oxygen that is generated when water dissociates at elevated temperatures. This report describes progress that was made during FY 2006 on the development of OTM and HTM materials

A controlled study on batted ball speed and available pitcher reaction time in slowpitch softball

Objectives: To investigate safety risks in slowpitch softball by conducting laboratory and experimental studies on the performance of high tech softball bats with polyurethane softballs. To compare the results with the recommended safety standards. Methods: ASTM standard compression testing of seven softball models was conducted. Using these seven softball models, bat/ball impact testing was performed using seven adult male softball players and six high tech softball bat models to determine mean batted ball speeds. Over 500 bat/ball impact measurements were recorded and analysed. Available pitcher reaction time was calculated from the mean batted ball speed measurements. Results: According to the United States Specialty Sports Association and the Amateur Softball Association, the maximum initial batted ball speed should be 137.2 km/h, which corresponds to a minimum pitcher reaction time of 0.420 second. These experiments produced mean batted ball speeds of 134.0–159.7 km/h, which correspond to available pitcher reaction times of 0.409–0.361 second. Conclusion: The use of high tech softball bats with polyurethane softballs can result in batted ball speeds that exceed the recommended safety limits, which correspond to decreased available pitcher reaction times

Short communication. Biological fixation of nitrogen and N balance in soybean crops in the pampas region

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is of key importance in the N balance of soybean (Glycine max) crops. A number of authors have suggested that a negative balance may occur under high yield conditions. Few studies have measured the contribution of BNF to soil N in the pampas region. The aims of the present study were to compare three BNF determination methods – two isotopic methods using sorghum or a non-nodulating soybean isoline as a reference crop, and one involving the calculation of the difference in N content between the nodulating and non-nodulating soybean isolines – and to estimate the N balance in soybean crops raised under conventional tillage and no tillage practices. The study was performed in 2004-2005; a complete randomised block design was used with three replicates (plot dimensions 3 × 7 m). The different methodologies estimated BNF to account for 45-58% of total plant N, equivalent to 94 to 123 kg N ha-1. Depending on the methodology for estimating the BNF the soil N balance varied between –7 and 22 kg N ha-1. With an average grain yield of 1,618 kg ha-1 and a BNF accounting for approximately 50% of total plant N (i.e.,115 kg N ha-1), the soil N balance was slightly positive (14 kg ha-1) and independent of the tillage practice. The tillage systems had no effect (P < 0.05) on the mass or number of nodules, shoot biomass production at the R1 or R6 growth stages, the N content, BNF, or grain yield. Since the present results were obtained using non-commercial soybean isolines, further research is required to determine the soil N balance when high yielding soybean crops are raised