On-line Measurement for Ohmic Resistance in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell by Current Interruption Method

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is widely used in fuel cell impedance analysis. However, for ohmic resistance (R Ω), EIS has some disadvantages such as long test period and complex data analysis with equivalent circuits. Therefore, the current interruption method is explored to measure the value of RΩ in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) at different temperatures and current densities. It is found that RΩ decreases as temperature increase, and decreases initially and then increases as current density increases. These results are consistent with those measured by the EIS technique. In most cases, the ohmic resistances with current interruption (R iR ) are larger than those with EIS (R EIS ), but the difference is small, in the range from –0.848% to 5.337%. The errors of R iR at high current densities are less than those of R EIS . Our results show that the R iR data are reliable and easy to obtain in the measurement of ohmic resistance in DMFC.

Purification,characterization and application of dual coagulants containing chitosan and different Al species in coagulation and ultrafiltration process

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different Al species and chitosan（CS） dosages on coagulation performance,floc characteristics（floc sizes,strength and regrowth ability and fractal dimension） and membrane resistance in a coagulation-ultrafiltration hybrid process.Results showed that different Al species combined with humic acid in diverse ways.A1_a had better removal efficiency,as determined by UV_（254） and dissolved organic carbon,which could be further improved by the addition of CS.In addition,the optimal dosage of different Al species was determined to be 4.0 mg/L with the CS concentration of 1.0 mg/L,by orthogonal coagulation experiments.Combining Al_a/A1_b/A1_c,with CS resulted in larger flocs,higher recovery,and higher fractal dimension values corresponding to denser flocs;in particular,the floc size at the steady state stage was four times larger than that obtained with Al species coagulants alone.The results of ultrafiltration experiments indicated that the external fouling percentage was significantly higher than that of internal fouling,at around 85%and 15%,respectively.In addition,the total membrane resistance was significantly decreased due to CS addition.

Removal of Ni（ll） ions from wastewater by micellar enhanced ultrafiltration using mixed surfactants

Ni（II） ions were removed from aqueous waste using micellar enhanced ultrafiltration （MEUF） with a mixture of surfactants. The surfactant mixture was the nonionic surfactant Tween 80 （TW80） mixed with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS） in different molar ratios ranging from 0.1-1.5. The opera- tional variables of the MEUF process such as pH, applied pressure, surfactant to metal ion ratio and nonionic to ionic surfactant molar ratio （α） were evaluated. Rejection of Ni and TW80 was 99% and 98% respectively whereas that for SDS was 65%. The flux and all resistances （fouling resistance, resistance due to concentration polarization） were measured and calculated for entire range of α respectively. A calculated flux was found to be declined with time, which was mainly attributed to concentration polarization rather than resistance from membrane fouling.

Fouling mechanisms in the early stage of an enhanced coagulation-ultrafiltration process

We investigated the fouling performances of ultrafiltration （UF） membrane for treating in-line coagulated water in an enhanced coagulation-UF hybrid process. Then we analyzed the fouling mechanisms in the early stage of UF using mathematical models and microscopy observation methods. Finally, we discussed the impact of aeration on membrane fouling in this paper. The results showed that a two-stage of trans-membrane pressure （-TMP） profile during the operation of enhanced coagulation-UF membrane was observed, and the relationship between permeability and operation time fitted well with a logarithmic curve. Membrane pores blocking and cake filtration were confirmed as main membrane fouling mechanisms using the mathematical models. The two stages of membrane fouling mechanisms were further deduced, namely, the membrane pore narrowing followed by the formation of cake layer. Membrane autopsy analysis using scanning electron microscopy （SEM） images of the membrane surface sampled from different filtration cycles also confirmed the mechanisms of pores blocking and cake filtration. Moreover, according to the variations of the permeability and membrane fouling resistance, aeration was able to mitigate and control the membrane fouling to a certain extent, but the optimization of aeration conditions still needs to be studied.

Chitosan-DNA microparticles as mucosal delivery system: synthesis, characterization and release in vitro

Background Mucosal immunity is important to defense against dental caries. To enhance mucosal immunity, a DNA vaccine mucosal delivery system was prepared by encapsulating anticaries DNA vaccine (plasmid pGJA-P/VAX) in chitosan under optimal conditions and the characteristics of the microparticles was investigated. Furthermore, the release properties and protective action of microparticles for plasmid were studied in vitro.Methods Plasmid loaded chitosan microparticles were prepared by complex coacervation. Three factors, concentration of DNA, sodium sulfate, and the chitosan/DNA ratios in complexes [better expressed as N/P ratio: the number of poly nitrogen (N) per DNA phosphate (P)] influencing preparation were optimized by orthogonal test. The characteristics of microparticles were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). DNA release rate of microparticles in similar gastro fluid (SGF) or similar intestinal fluid (SIF) at 37℃ was determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry.Results High encapsulation efficiency (96.8%) was obtained with chitosan microparticles made under optimal conditions of 50 mmol/L Na2SO4, 200 μg/ml DNA and N/P ratio of 4. The size of particles was about 4 to 6 μm. The encapsulation process did not destroy the integrity of DNA. When incubated with SIL, after a release of about 10% in the first 60 minutes, no further DNA was released during the following 180 minutes. When incubated with SGL, the microparticles released a small burst (about 11%) in the first 60 minutes, and then slowly released at a constant, but different rate.Conclusions These chitosan microparticles showed suitable characteristics in vitro for mucosal vaccination and are therefore a promising carrier system for DNA vaccine mucosal delivery.