The reduction of NO by hydrocarbons was investigated over Cu/Al$_2$O$_3$catalysts using a stainless steel flow reactor under highly oxidising diesel exhaust conditions(up to 15%). Three different Cu loadings(1,5 and 10wt.%) on an $Al_2$O$_3$support were prepared and characterized using spectroscopic techniques. The catalytic activity tests show that different Cu loadings as well as temperature, oxygen, and hydrocarbon concentration levels significantly influence the NO reduction. Increasing Cu loadings up to 5 and 10wt.% decreases the catalytic activities for NO reduction due to the formation of a bulk crystalline CuO phase, as observed from XRD and SEM images. In particular, the visualization of the copper dispersion on the surface using the SEM-BEI technique provides information on the extent of copper saturation, particle size, and the effects on NO reduction. However, the lower Cu loading(1 wt.%) increases the catalytic activity with a temperature window of 720-810K, thereby favoring the formation of well dispersed isolated Cu species, e.g. Cu(sup)2+ ions, which is related to selective NO reduction. The effects of other reaction parameters, such as oxygen, the hydrocarbon level and type, and byproduct emissions are further discussed.

This study on the incineration ash and sintering pellet from sewage sludge was carried out to evaluate the possibility of recycling in sewage sludge disposal. The samples used in this experiment were raw sewage sludge, its incineration ash, and sintering pellet. The characteristics of the three sample types were identified using X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray fluorescence(XRF), atomic absorption spectroscopy(AAS), and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy(ICP). The chemical compositions of all three sample types were similar in their clay component, however, the sewage sludge had a high content of organic materials. From an analysis of the mineral content of the three sample types, the conversion of their compositions was found to be relative to temperature. Accordingly, incineration ash and sintering pellet both have potential for use as a functional construction material.

Pseudomonas sp. EL-G527 was grown to produce a biosurfactant on 2% n-hexadecane as the energy and carbon source. This biosurfactant significantly reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 28 dyne/cm at a critical micelle concentration(CMC) of 140 mg/l at pH 2.0. As the pH value decreased, the reduction in the surface tension due to the biosurfactant increased. The surface activity of the biosurfactant was unaffected when the NaCl concentration was increased to 5% and the calcium ion concentration increased to 100 mM, plus it remained stable at 10$0^{\circ}C$ for 180 min.

Bunker-A oil-degrading microorganisms were isolated from a marine environment using an enrichment culture technique. The isolated strain EL-081K was identified as the genus Acinetobacter based on the results of morphological, culture, and biochemical tests. The optimal temperature and initial pH for bunker-A oil degradation were $25^{\circ}C$ and 7.0, respectively, including aeration. The optimal medium composition for the degradation of bunker-A oil by Acinetobacter sp. EL_O81K was 10 ml/l bunker-A oil as the carbon source and 0.1% (NH$_4$)$_2$SO$_4$as the nitrogen source. Under the above conditions, the biodegradability of bunker-A oil was 38% after 96 hours of incubation. The addition of detergent did not increase the bunker-A oil degradation.

Effects of Jasmonic Acid and Wounding on Polyphenol Oxidase Activity in Senescing Tomato Leaves The effects of jasmonic acid(JA) and wounding on polyphenol oxidase(PPO) during leaf senescence was investigated by measuring the PPO activity in detached tomato(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) leaves of two-week-old seedlings. The PPO activity in the detached senescing leaves increased significantly in the dark. The leaf segments responded to the application of JA with accelerated senescence, as indicated by the loss of chlorophyll and rapid increase in the PPO activity. The senescence-promoting action of JA differed in the light and dark. Wounding the detached senescing leaves by scraping surface segments or making punctures with needles considerably delayed the loss of chlorophyll and had a significant effect on the PPO activity, the amounts of which were roughly proportional to the intensity of the wounding. In the dark, the combination of wounding plus JA resulted in stable levels of chlorophyll and PPO. JA and ABA acted similarly in both unwounded and wounded leaves, however, the amount of chlorophyll and PPO in the wounded segments was always higher than in the respective controls. JA was found to eliminate the senescence-retarding action of benzyladenine. In a histochemical localization test, the PPO activity was found to be localized in the cell walls of the parenchyma tissue, thereby indicating moderate cytoplasmic reactions. In the JA-treated plants, the PPO activity was intense in the cells of the cortex and phloem parenchyma. Accordingly, based on these observations it would appear that PPO is a component of a defense response maker, whereas JA plays an integral role in the intracellular signal transduction involved in inducible defense mechanisms.

This paper reports on an experimental study of the absorption of COS in a secondary amine diethanolamine. The primary objectives were to investigate an analogy between $N_2$O and COS, thereby allowing an estimation of the physical solubility and diffusivity of the sulfur gases in the reacting amine solutions. The solubilities and diffusivities of $N_2$O and COS in 5~25% aqueous polyethylene glycol at $25^{\circ}C$ were measured. The results appeared to verify the use of an $N_2$O-COS analogy for estimating the solubility and diffusivity of COS in aqueous solutions of alkanolamines up to an approximate 25 weight % concentration. The mean deviation of the $N_2$O analogy relative to the measured solubilities was 3.7%, and the mean deviation between the analogy and the measured diffusion coefficients using the experimental values for Hcos/PEG was 14.6%.

Data obtained from a cruise from 4~12 December, 1998 was analyzed to estimate the mixing effects of wind, surface cooling, and tide. A band denoting a mixing area with a temperature difference of less than 1$^{\circ}C$ between the sea surface and the bottom extended 40~60 km from the coast into the open sea, following 125$^{\circ}$ 30\` E in longitude. This band was divided into two areas; a well-mixed area close to the coast and a stratified region in the open sea. The mixing effect due to the wind was only 2%, yet the mixing effect due to the tides was about 68%. This indicates that surface cooling and tides were the major factors involved in the mixing mechanism on the west coast during the cooling season.

Experiments were carried out to measure the corrosion potential and current density variations in the polarization curves of polypropylene. In particular, the results were examined to identify those influences affecting the corrosion potential, such as temperature, pH, salt, and oxygen. The Tafel slope for the anodic dissolution was determined based on the polarization effect under various conditions. Furthermore, the optimum conditions for the most rapid transformation were establish based on a variety of conditions, including temperature, pH, corrosion rate, and resistance of corrosion potential. The second anodic current density peak and maximum passive current density were designated as the critical corrosion sensitivity(I(sub)r/I(sub)f). This I(sub)r/I(sub)f value was then used to measure the critical corrosion sensitivity of polypropylene. The potentiodynamic parameters of corrosion were obtained using a Tafel plot.

To investigate the distribution of air pollutants dispersion in the horizontal wind fields, a chaff release experiment was carried out by an airplane. The temporal and spatial variations of a chaff plume from an elevated point source using the WSR-88D(NEXRAD) radar. The observed profiles of radar reflectivity were compared with the Gaussian diffusion model at slightly unstable atmospheric condition. The present study shows that the distributions of radar reflectivity from chaffs and their concentration by the model are in general agreement with time variation. The dispersion coefficients in downwind($\sigma$(sub)x) and crosswind($\sigma$(sub)y) spread data exceeded what has generally been found at Pasquill and Brigg\`s estimates. As a result, it was clearly shown that horizontal and vertical diffusion coefficients are more accurately determined as compared with theoretical coefficients. At longer diffusion distances(than 10km), a radar observation provided the determination of maximum range and diffusion height more qualitatively, too.