Preparation of chitosan beads and membranes for industrial applications [abstract]

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tushar K. Gosh, Nuclear Science and Engineering Instite (NSEI)Abstract only availableIndustrial waste water contains a variety of toxic chemicals including toxic heavy metals that must be removed before discharging to the environment. A number of methods have been investigated to remove these heavy metals. The use of chitosan for removal of some of these toxic metals appears to be very promising. Chitosan is a natural product derived from chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of shellfish like shrimp or crabs. The term Chitosan does not refers to a uniquely defined compound; it merely refers to a family of copolymers with various fractions of acetylated units. Chitosan in its natural form is not suitable for industrial application. In this study, chitosan was modified and prepared as beads so that it can be easily used for various applications. Chitosan Beads were prepared under various conditions. Commercially available chitosan flakes were dissolved in either acetic acid or oxalic acid and a homogeneous mixture was prepared. The spherical beads were obtained by drop wise addition of the acidic mixture into a NaOH bath. The beads were washed with distilled water until the pH was neutral or 7. Beads were then dried either in a vacuum oven or by freeze drying. Theses beads can be used to remove metals and other contaminants from the ground and waste waters. Attempts were also made to prepare chitosan membrane that can have application in Fuel Cells. The beads were characterized by scanning electron microscope and were also evaluated for chromium (III) adsorption

A Research Program on Very High Temperature Reactors

Track I: Power GenerationIncludes audio file (27 min.)Prismatic and pebble bed very high-temperature reactors (VHTRs) are very attractive both from a thermodynamic efficiency viewpoint and hydrogen-production capability. This project addresses numerous challenges associated with the fuel cycle, materials, and complex fluid dynamics and heat transfer. The objectives of the project are to: i. Conduct physical experiments for fission product transport phenomena in the overcoating and compact structural graphite and transport through TRISO coating layers; ii. Develop improved sorption measurement techniques to measure the accumulation of condensable radionuclides (“plateout”) in the VHTR primary coolant circuit and obtain representative data; iii. Develop advanced computations of charged, radioactive dust (aerosol) transport in the VHTR coolant circuit and confinement by exploring direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) techniques for deposition and resuspension and conduct experiments to verify computational predictions; iv. Develop a program to measure emissivity for various VHTR component materials, both bare and oxidized, and obtain extensive data; v. Develop an experimental program to characterize gas, fission product, and particle flows in the complex geometries of pebble bed modular reactors (PBMRs) and help improve computational approaches and computer programs through experimental understandings. This project is leading to research training of about a dozen Ph D students at the participating universities. Upon graduation, these students will be able to contribute even more effectively to the future challenges in the global deployment of nuclear power generation and hydrogen technologies. We will discuss the VHTR technology and research challenges. We also describe progress on the project by the three Consortium participants

Integral isobaric heat of vaporization of benzene-1,2-dichloroethane system

Abstract is not available