Isolation and bioinformatics analysis of the NADC30_Like CJS01 strain of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.

In this study, lung tissue was collected from nursery piglets suspected of being infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in a large­scale pig farm in Sichuan, China. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription quantitative­polymerase chain reaction (RT­qPCR) methods were used to ensure that no other pathogens were present. Virus isolation was also carried out where the presence of PRRSV was determined by indirect immunoinfluscent assay (IFA). Compared with the common PRRSV strain, the isolate did not produce evident Cytopathic effect (CPE) in the early stage of isolation. CPE was found in the late stage, and the titer was 104.17 TCID50/0.1 mL. The strain was named CJS01. Bioinformatics analysis showed that it was a NADC30­Like strain. The virus load was determined by measuring the nucleic acid load during the proliferation of the strain on Marc­145 cells. The strain showed good adaptability on cells, and the virus proliferated on cells for 84 hr when the highest nucleic acid load was achieved. By recombinant analysis of ORF3~7 genes and prediction of its epitope, it was found that CJS01 strain might interfere with the immunesystem of the infected animals.

Dual Alkali Solvent System for CO2 Capture from Flue Gas.

A novel two-aqueous-phase CO2 capture system, namely the dual alkali solvent (DAS) system, has been developed. Unlike traditional solvent-based CO2 capture systems in which the same solvent is used for both CO2 absorption and stripping, the solvent of the DAS system consists of two aqueous phases. The upper phase, which contains an organic alkali 1-(2-hydroxyethyl) piperazine (HEP), is used for CO2 absorption. The lower phase, which consists of a mixture of K2CO3/KHCO3 aqueous solution and KHCO3 precipitate, is used for CO2 stripping. Only a certain kind of amine (such as HEP) is able to ensure the phase separation, satisfactory absorption efficiency, effective CO2 transfer from the upper phase to the lower phase, and regeneration of the upper phase. In the meantime, due to the presence of K2CO3/KHCO3 in the lower phase, HEP in the upper phase is capable of being regenerated from its sulfite/sulfate heat stable salt, which enables the simultaneous absorption of CO2 and SO2/SO3 from the flue gas. Preliminary experiments and simulations indicate that the implementation of the DAS system can lead to 24.0% stripping energy savings compared to the Econamine process, without significantly lowering the CO2 absorption efficiency (∼90%).

Tracking of arsenics during the thermal stabilization of an AsH3 scrubber sludge.

Toxic arsenics in an AsH(3) scrubber sludge were thermally stabilized in the temperature range of 973-1,373 K. To better understand how the high-temperature treatments can stabilize arsenics in the sludge, their synchrotron X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra of arsenics were determined. It is found that the reduced arsenic leachability may be associated with the formation of As(2)O(5) (51-59%) and embedded As(V) within the Ca(3)(PO(4))(2) matrix (41-49%) in the stabilized sludge. In addition, the As-O bond distances in the stabilized As(2)O(5) are much less than that of normal As(2)O(5) by 0.05-0.07 Å. The shorter As-O bond distances accompanied with the higher bonding energy also have a contribution to the thermal stabilization of arsenics.

Nanosize copper encapsulated carbon thin films on a dye-sensitized solar cell cathode.

Deposition of the nanosize copper encapsulated carbon (Cu@C) thin film onto the cathode has been studied to enhance efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the Cu@C are suggestive of existence of metallic copper (Cu) nanoparticles in the thin film. The UV-visible spectrum of the Cu@C coated on indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) shows a red shift (probably due to the longitudinal resonance) as the size of Cu in the Cu@C increases. Moreover, the images observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) indicate that the Cu@C nanoparticles are well dispersed on ITO. By extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, a decrease of the coordination number (CN) of Cu-Cu with decreasing sizes of Cu in the Cu@C is observed. Interestingly, an enhanced efficiency of the DSSC with the Cu@C nanoparticles coated ITO cathode by 50% is found if compared with the relatively expensive Pt electrode. As the size of Cu in the Cu@C on ITO decreases (e.g., 20 --> 7 nm), the efficiency of the DSSC can be increased by 80% approximately.

Pyrolysis of spill oils adsorbed on zeolites with product oils recycling.

Experimentally, a feasibility study for adsorption and catalytic pyrolysis of spill oils on Cu/ZSM-5 for recycling of light oils has been conducted in the present work. The adsorption and pyrolysis of model compounds such as heptane, toluene, and diesel (to stimulate the spill oils) on Cu/ZSM-5 have been investigated on a continuous fixed-bed reactor. By component fitted X-ray absorption near edge structural (XANES) spectroscopy, catalytic active species such as metallic copper (Cu) (77-84%) and Cu(2)O (6-7%) are found in the channels of ZSM-5 during pyrolysis of heptane or toluene. Pyrolysis of diesel effected by Cu/ZSM-5 yields gas (C(1)-C(5)) (32%) and light oil (68%) that can be used as auxiliary fuels.