Workplace reform with changing management through the user participation workshop : the case study of Seiyo City Office / Ikumi Egawa

The research explains about workplace reform, aimed at improving productivity of General Affairs and Policy Planning department of Seiyo officeby changing management through the user participation workshop at 4th floor of Seiyo city office and on the changes of workplace reform. The purpose of this research is to find the changes that are worker's behaviour and worker’s awareness of workplace through workplace reform. The researchers surveyed changes, worker's behaviour and worker's awareness of workplace using workplace reform at 4th floor of Seiyo office as case study. In workplace reform, in order to create a place where new work style can be practiced, the researchers conducted the user participation workshops with workers a total of 6 times. Through the workshops, concept of work style and plan of renovation were proposed. In addition, the researchers did a survey using two methods which were a set of questionnaire and 3 observationsthat is before the workplace renovation, 3 months after the renovation, and 1 year and 3 months after the renovation. The findings obtained from the questionnaire in the first three months after the renovation showed that the opinions of the workers were divided between pros and cons against workplace reform. However, the survey of 1 year and three months after the renovation showed that almost all workers are satisfied with the new environment. In addition, the researchers found that a positive correlation exist between participation rate of workshops and the satisfaction level. The findings suggest the worth of workshops for workplace reform. In the Observation Survey, the workers needed to select a place freely where they can work comfortably after the workplace reform. For example, they chose to work in refresh space. In addition, the findings from the survey showed that the floor became livelier when the participation rate increses at that workplace. Additionally, the participants became more conscious of the work style such as features of work style, after workplace renovation; they are able to clearly differentiate between short intermittent works separated by conversation and phone and personal work on concentration

Formation and stability of binary complexes of divalent ecotoxic ions (Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) with biodegradable aminopolycarboxylate chelants (dl-2-(2-carboxymethyl)nitrilotriacetic acid, GLDA, and 3-hydroxy-2,2′- iminodisuccinic acid, HIDS) in aqueous solutions

The protonation and complex formation equilibria of two biodegradable aminopolycarboxylate chelants {dl-2-(2-carboxymethyl)nitrilotriacetic acid (GLDA) and 3-hydroxy-2,2′-iminodisuccinic acid (HIDS)} with Ni 2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb 2+ ions were investigated using the potentiometric method at a constant ionic strength of I = 0.10 mol·dm-3 (KCl) in aqueous solutions at 25 ± 0.1 C. The stability constants of the proton-chelant and metal-chelant species for each metal ion were determined, and the concentration distributions of various complex species in solution were evaluated for each ion. The stability constants (log10 K ML) of the complexes containing Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions followed the identical order of log10 K CuL > log10 K NiL > log10 K PbL > log10 K ZnL > log10 K CdL for either GLDA (13.03 > 12.74 > 11.60 > 11.52 > 10.31) or HIDS (12.63 > 11.30 > 10.21 > 9.76 > 7.58). In each case, the constants obtained for metal-GLDA complexes were larger than the corresponding constants for metal-HIDS complexes. The conditional stability constants (log10 $$K-{\text{ML}}^{\u27}$$) of the metal-chelant complexes containing GLDA and HIDS were calculated in terms of pH, and compared with the stability constants for EDTA and other biodegradable chelants. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Recovery of the Rare Metals from Various Waste Ashes with the Aid of Temperature and Ultrasound Irradiation Using Chelants

The incineration fly ash (IFA), molten fly ash (MFA), thermal power plant fly ash (TPP-FA), and nonferrous metal processing plant ash (MMA) have been screened in terms of the following rare-termed metal contents: B, Ce, Co, Dy, Eu, Ga, Gd, Hf, In, Li, Lu, Mn, Nb, Nd, Ni, Pr, Rb, Sb, Se, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Te, Ti, Tm, V, W, Y, and Yb. The pseudo-potential for recycling of the waste ashes, as compared to the cumulative concentration in the crust (mg kg-1), was determined as follows: MMA > IFA > MFA > TPP-FA. The comparison with the crude ore contents indicates that the MMA is the best resource for reprocessing. The recovery of the target metals using aminopolycarboxylate chelants (APCs) has been attempted at varying experimental conditions and ultrasound-induced environment. A better APC-induced extraction yield can be achieved at 0.10 mol L-1 concentration of chelant, or if the system temperature was maintained between 60 to 80 °C. Nevertheless, the mechanochemical reaction induced by the ultrasound irradiation has been, so far, the better option for rare metal dissolution with chelants as it can be conducted at a minimum chelant concentration (0.01 mol L-1) and at room temperature (25 ± 0.5 °C). © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

Chelant-induced reclamation of indium from the spent liquid crystal display panels with the aid of microwave irradiation

Indium is a rare metal that is mostly consumed as indium tin oxide (ITO) in the fabrication process of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. The spent LCD panels, termed as LCD-waste hereafter, is an increasing contributor of electronic waste burden worldwide and can be an impending secondary source of indium. The present work reports a new technique for the reclamation of indium from the unground LCD-waste using aminopolycarboxylate chelants (APCs) as the solvent in a hyperbaric environment and at a high-temperature. Microwave irradiation was used to create the desired system conditions, and a substantial abstraction of indium (≥80%) from the LCD-waste with the APCs (EDTA or NTA) was attained in the acidic pH region (up to pH 5) at the temperature of ≥120. °C and the pressure of ~50. bar. The unique point of the reported process is the almost quantitative recovery of indium from the LCD-waste that ensured via the combination of the reaction facilitatory effect of microwave exposure and the metal extraction capability of APCs. A method for the selective isolation of indium from the extractant solution and recycle of the chelant in solution is also described. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Recovery of indium from end-of-life liquid-crystal display panels using aminopolycarboxylate chelants with the aid of mechanochemical treatment

The metal indium termed as \u27rare\u27 in recent days due to its increasing demand in the formulations of electronic and energy-related gadgets and scarce supply resources. Hence, the attempts to recover indium from the secondary resources, such as recycling of the indium abundant waste materials, received increasing research focus. The major indium consumption happens in the form of indium tin oxide (ITO) that used for the fabrication of liquid-crystal displays (LCD). The end-of-life LCD screens, termed as ITO-glass hereafter, are an emerging contributor to the global e-waste load and can be an impending secondary source of indium. The present work introduces a new technique for the treatment of waste ITO-glass using aminopolycarboxylate chelants (APCs) in combination with a mechanochemical treatment process. APCs are capable of forming stable complexes with the indium deposited on the ITO-glass, whereas the rate of recovery was not substantial. The mechanochemical treatment induces the destruction of crystalline structure with which the ITO fragments are attached and facilitate the increased indium dissolution with the chelants. The increase was more prominent followed by a decrease in the cumulative processing time from 24 to 6. h when the vitrified ITO-glass was simultaneously crushed and washed with the chelants. The extraction of indium was better at the acidic pH condition, and it was further intensified when the operating temperature was raised to ≥ 120°C. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Recovery of toxic metal ions from washing effluent containing excess aminopolycarboxylate chelant in solution

Aminopolycarboxylate chelants (APCs) are extremely useful for a variety of industrial applications, including the treatment of toxic metal-contaminated solid waste materials. Because non-toxic matrix elements compete with toxic metals for the binding sites of APCs, an excess of chelant is commonly added to ensure the adequate sequestration of toxic metal contaminants during waste treatment operations. The major environmental impacts of APCs are related to their ability to solubilize toxic heavy metals. If APCs are not sufficiently eliminated from the effluent, the aqueous transport of metals can occur through the introduction of APCs into the natural environment, increasing the magnitude of associated toxicity. Although several techniques that focus primarily on the degradation of APCs at the pre-release step have been proposed, methods that recycle not only the processed water, but also provide the option to recover and reuse the metals, might be economically feasible, considering the high costs involved due to the chelants used in metal ion sequestration. In this paper, we propose a separation process for the recovery of metals from effluents that contain an excess of APCs. Additionally, the option of recycling the processed water using a solid phase extraction (SPE) system with an ion-selective immobilized macrocyclic material, commonly known as a molecular recognition technology (MRT) gel, is presented. Simulated effluents containing As(V), Cd(II), Cr(III), Pb(II) or Se(IV) in the presence of APCs at molar ratios of 1:50 in H2O were studied with a flow rate of 0.2 mL min-1. The \u27captured\u27 ions in the SPE system were quantitatively eluted with HNO3. The effects of solution pH, metal-chelant stability constants and matrix elements were assessed. Better separation performance for the metals was achieved with the MRT-SPE compared to other SPE materials. Our proposed technique offers the advantage of a non-destructive separation of both metal ions and chelants compared to conventional treatment options for such effluents. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved