Determination of Percentage of Polyethylene in Paper

The purpose of this this thesis was the development of a quantitative test for polyethylene in paper. A review of the literature discloses that no published method exists; however valuable information was obtained, which directed the planning of the experimental work. A method was developed for the determination of polyethylene in paper. This method involves the extraction of paper in a Soxhlet extractor with CCl4. The extract is evaporated to near dryness. The residue, containing polyethylene and waxes, is than extracted with diethyl ether to remove the waxes. The results of this method show that it is accurate on high molecular weight polyethylenes; however, its accuracy declines with lower molecular weights

Understanding the management of doctoral studies in Australia as risk management

This paper discusses and analyses theoretical explanations of risk and risk management in terms of the management of doctoral studies. It deals with the ways in which Government policy, together with contemporary approaches to the bureaucratisation of risk management and the development and imposition of rationalities of risk, are shaping the practices of universities concerning the selection, supervision, support and assessment of doctoral candidates. In particular, the impact of the Research Training Scheme on doctoral studies is discussed as a particular context in which the institutionalisation of risk management occurs.<br /

Community Needs-Based Planning for Rural Library Success

I am a librarian from rural southern Oregon, and my community is a stereotype. NPR correspondent Jeff Brady visited our town during the summer of 2017 for a story highlighting rural communities in decline (Brady, 2017). We were a convenient case study. Our natural resource industry has been dying a slow and loud death for decades, our voters have notoriously voted down numerous tax levies, and Jeff Brady just happened to grow up here. Brady being a national business correspondent from Philadelphia, we were the perfect stereotype for a piece that closed with his grim statement: “Overall, the economic prospects for my hometown of Gold Beach, Oregon, look dim. Fortunately there’s always the beautiful beach, the river, and the forests to console those who still live here.” Despite the inevitable feeling of this conclusion, Brady could have asked much different questions and listened to different voices that would have resulted in a story about much more than malaise. In fact, when presented with innovative changes taking place, Brady commented to our library staff that a storyline of innovative change in its early stages would not help NPR make the point their audience wanted to hear. I start with this story because librarians are extremely susceptible to the very mistake made by this NPR correspondent. We see what we want to see, and the decisions that follow (particularly in small rural communities) are more often than not rejected by the community because they do not truly address immediate needs. As for that Southern Oregon stereotype, our voters certainly fit the stereotype of being skeptical of paying taxes, but few taxpayers I have encountered are unwilling to pay taxes when the government entity in question has proven to be successful in addressing what they perceive as community needs. Working with this model, I believe Gold Beach is in the early phases of a renaissance rooted in the library’s community needs-based planning. Here is our story

Intercept Surveys: Productivity in Collecting Truck Trip Data, A Case Study of Portland, Oregon

This study examines and contrasts the use of intercept surveys at different locations (a highway roadside, a port and a warehouse) to generate details useful to states’ modeling and freight planning needs for truck movements, particularly at the sub-county level. Data collected at roadside locations provides complete trip detail for all inter-regional movements (highway locations) and also trip detail for almost all intra-regional freight movements (warehouse/distribution center locations). Interviews at the warehouse/distribution center and interstate highway weigh station provide the highest commodity type response rates, while the preponderance of container traffic at the port facility yields limited responses on payload information. Different locations yielded differing question response rates

Centrifugal ironmaking.

A process for producing liquid iron from iron ore is being developed on the pilot plant scale that avoids the use of high grade metallurgical coal and the agglomeration of iron ore concentrates. The use of a centrifuge furnace provides the maximum surface area for reaction between layers of molten iron oxide and solid carbon. The iron product is centrifuged to the walls of the reactor where it provides a protective barrier between the highly corrosive liquid slag and the refractory walls. Carbon monoxide, released from the reduction reaction, combusts with oxygen in the central gas core and the heat produced is radiated back to the reacting species.To help understand the interaction of the various physical and chemical reactions occurring inside the reactor, a mathematical model had been written describing the process. Laboratory scale studies were carried out to examine and test the validity of some of the assumptions used in the model, and where necessary modify these assumptions. Two such investigations were the reaction between solid carbon and liquid iron bearing slags at temperatures up to 2 135 K, and the determination of heat and mass transfer coefficients from the central gas core to the rotating bed using a naphthalene sublimation technique.To widen the basis on which the predictions from the model could be compared with actual pilot plant operating data, a series of experiments were carried out on the plant covering a broad range of input conditions. These experiments were carried out in the batch mode i.e. the raw materials were charged into the furnace until its capacity was reached, after which the entire contents were discharged, analysed, and compared with the predictions from the mathematical model. A systematic empiricalcampaign was then carried out to determine more realistic values for the parameters used in the model. Sufficient information was obtained from this study to provide the optimum conditions for attempting continuous ironmaking operations on the pilot plant.Three continuous ironmaking experiments were carried out, with the maximum length of continuous operation in any one experiment being of ten hours duration. Improvements in operation and measurement techniques enabled process data to be collected at regular intervals which allowed the process efficiency to be determined on a continuous basis.The iron ore input rate was held constant at kg/h and high conversionefficiencies of iron from iron ore of up to 80% were obtained

Management characteristics of beef cattle production in the Northern Plains and Midwest regions of the United States

A comprehensive life cycle assessment of United States beef will provide benchmarks and identify opportunities for improvement. On-going region-specific data collection is characterizing cattle production practices for a more accurate assessment. This study reports production information obtained via online surveys and on-site visits from 2 of 7 regions: the Northern Plains (Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) and Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin). Ranch responses (n = 512) represented 1.6% of beef cows maintained in both regions with operation sizes varying from 1 to 12,500 cows. Feedlot responses (n = 120) represented 9.6 and 3.7% of cattle finished in the Northern Plains and Midwest, respectively. Ranch herd sizes increased and stocking rates decreased moving westward. Average animal BW increased from south to north. Also recorded were bull and replacement heifer numbers; housing facilities; feed production and use; and machinery, energy, and labor use. Feedlot characteristics including entering and final BW, background and finish feeding periods, crop area per animal, and labor were similar across the regions, but the Northern Plains reported larger feedlots than the Midwest. Diets were similar across regions except that slightly more distillers grain and less corn were fed in the Northern Plains. Ninety-three percent of feedlots produced most of their feed (corn grain, corn silage, and alfalfa). Cropland producing feed received most of the manure produced, but a few large feedlots reported composting and export. Information gathered provides production system characteristics and inventory for conducting a comprehensive United States beef life cycle assessment