Utilization of Glycerol from Biodiesel Industry By-Product into Several Higher Value Product

Since the 1980s the energy demand has been increasing steadily, including diesel fuel. On the other hand the oil reserve in the world was increasingly limited because of being the product that could not be renewed. Therefore, effort was carried out to look for the alternative fuel that could be renewed and environment friendly. The alternative energy from new renewable energy is a solution to reduce the dependence of fossil energy. The renewable energy consists of the energy of water, wind, biomass or biofuels, solar energy, ocean energy, and geothermal energy. One of the biofuels is biodiesel. Biodiesel is diesel fuel which is made from vegetable oil by transesterification. The abundance of glycerol will result in declining sales value of glycerol as a by-product of the biodiesel plant. It should be anticipated to improve the usefulness of glycerol both in terms of quantity and its variants. The increasing usefulness of glycerol will result in the higher price of glycerol that will increase the profitability of biodiesel plants. Among the usefulness of glycerol investigated is as an ingredient in pharmaceutical products, polyether, emulsifiers, fabric softener, stabilizers, preservatives in bread, ice cream, cosmetic ingredients, a propellant binder, and others. This chapter explains the utilization of glycerol to produce triacetin as bioadditive and polyglycidyl nitrate (PGN) as a propellant binder. Triacetin is used to increase octane number of fuel and improve the biodiesel’s performance. Propellant binder consists of two kinds of non-energetic polymers and polymer energetic. The most energetic polymer is PGN. The focus of this chapter is to determine each step of reactions, operating conditions of process and the results of products

Preparation for high-acuity clinical placement: confidence levels of final-year nursing students

Joanne Porter, Julia Morphet, Karen Missen, Anita Raymond School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Churchill, VIC, Australia Aim: To measure final-year nursing students’ preparation for high-acuity placement with emphasis on clinical skill performance confidence. Background: Self-confidence has been reported as being a key component for effective clinical performance, and confident students are more likely to be more effective nurses. Clinical skill performance is reported to be the most influential source of self-confidence. Student preparation and skill acquisition are therefore important aspects in ensuring students have successful clinical placements, especially in areas of high acuity. Curriculum development should aim to assist students with their theoretical and clinical preparedness for the clinical environment. Method: A modified pretest/posttest survey design was used to measure the confidence of third-year undergraduate nursing students (n = 318) for placement into a high-acuity clinical setting. The survey comprised four questions related to clinical placement and prospect of participating in a cardiac arrest scenario, and confidence rating levels of skills related to practice in a high-acuity setting. Content and face validity were established by an expert panel (α = 0.90) and reliability was established by the pilot study in 2009. Comparisons were made between confidence levels at the beginning and end of semester. Results: Student confidence to perform individual clinical skills increased over the semester; however their feelings of preparedness for high-acuity clinical placement decreased over the same time period. Reported confidence levels improved with further exposure to clinical placement. Conclusion: There may be many external factors that influence students’ perceptions of confidence and preparedness for practice. Further research is recommended to identify causes of poor self-confidence in final-year nursing students. Keywords: high acuity, clinical placement, confidenc

Apportionment of Sulfur Oxides at Canyonlands During the Winter of 1990--I. Study Design and Particulate Chemical Composition

Spherical aluminosilicate (SAS) particles, total fluoride and particulate trace elements are potential endemic tracers for determining and quantifying the presence of coal-fired power plant and other sulfur oxide source emissions at far downwind distances. These endemic tracers, and sulfate and SO2 were collected at Canyonlands National Park, at seven ambient sampling sites located in air mass transport paths to Canyonlands and from the stacks of coal-fired power plants in central Utah during January-March of 1990 for use in source apportionment analyses. These data have been combined with results obtained in concurrent studies by the National Park Service (EPIC study) and Salt River Project to provide a complete data set for the characterization of the regional and point sources that can influence air quality in the Canyonlands area. This paper gives details on the study design and on the chemical composition of fine particulate matter in the study area. While concentrations of SOx(SO2(g) plus particulate sulfate) were in good agreement among the various studies, accurate concentrations for sulfate and SO2 were only obtained using a diffusion denuder sampling system because of the absorption of SO2(g) by particles in all filter pack sampling systems. Concentrations of FTTotal (HF(g) plus particulate fluoride), and particulate Se, As, and Pb determined by multiple techniques were generally in good agreement. Sulfate (assumed present as ammonium sulfate) and nitrate (assumed present as ammonium nitrate) accounted for an average of 19 and 4%, respectively, of the fine particulate mass collected at Canyonlands and 8 and 2% of the fine particulate mass at Green River, Utah. Data were available at the Edge of the Cedars, Utah, sampling site to estimate the complete chemical composition of the fine particles. The average concentration of fine particles at Edge of the Cedars was 15 μg m−3. Sulfate (as the ammonium salt) averaged 15% of the fine particulate mass, comparable to Canyonlands. Nonsulfate inorganic compounds averaged 58% of the mass. The majority of these inorganic species are background desert particles. The remainder of the mass, 27%, is presumably water, and organic and elemental carbon