Bio-Conversion of TiO2/UV System Pretreated Rice Straw to Ethanol
1. Purpose of the research :\r One of the greatest challenges for 21st century society is to meet the growing energy demand for transportation, heating and industrial processes. U.S. and Brazil are currently converting corn starch and sugarcane juice into ethanol; however, these are edible products. To stop global warming and poverty, we tried to determine to develop new pretreatment method to produce biofuel using non-edible parts of agricultural products.\r 2. Procedures :\r For our research purpose, we conducted ‘Preparation of Rice straw - Powder’, ‘Pretreatment Method of Rice Straw and Statistical Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology’, ‘Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Saccharification of Pre-treated Rice Straw’, ‘Analyses of Pretreatment Efficiency and Production of Glucose and Xylose Using HPLC & TLC’, ‘Ethanol Fermentation and Recovery’, ‘Strain Improvement for Pichia’.\r 3. Data :\r For the first time, rice straw was pretreated in a novel manner using hypochlorite-hydrogen peroxide (Ox-B) solution. The optimum pretreatment condition was analyzed by response surface methodology and the pretreated rice straw was hydrolyzed using two kinds of enzymes. Following hydrolysis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis were inoculated for ethanol production. The optimum condition was 60 min pretreatment using Ox-B solution containing 0.6% hypochlorite and 25% hydrogen peroxide for 1 g rice straw in 240 ml total reaction volume. The Ox-B solution treatment was an essential step for efficient hemicelluloase hydrolysis. Under these conditions, 406.8 mg glucose and 224.0 mg xylose were obtained from 1 g rice straw. The structural change of rice straw after pretreatment and enzyme hydrolysis was examined by scanning electron microscopy. With the 10% initial sugar concentration, the final ethanol concentration was about 3.46%, which is 90.5 % of stoichiometric and fermentation efficiency yield.\r 4. Conclusions :\r Rice straw was pretreated in a novel mean by using an Ox-B solution broadly used in potable water treatment. Pretreatment modified the structures of lignocelluloses. The Ox-B solution treatment was an essential step for efficient hemicelluloase hydrolysis. Pretreatment modified the structures of cell wall. Further optimization studies of the fermentation process and strain improvement research (for derepressed mutant) are in progress. In the future, I hope to see cultivators to move by the ethanol produced from rice straw and agricultural wastes.
Nonlinear Time Series Analysis of Electroencephalogram Tracings of Children with Autism
Methods of nonlinear time series analysis were compiled for use in the analysis of Electroencephalogram (EEG) tracings of children aged three to seven with varying degrees of autism in order to provide a quantitative means of diagnosing autism and determining its severity in a child. After determining the EEG leads to be used for analysis, the identified methods were coded and saved as functions on Scilab. To test the compiled program, a minimum of five EEG readings per cluster of children diagnosed with mild, moderate, severe and no autism will be obtained. The project was able to identify the mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis and other higher order moments, the autocorrelation function, and the Fourier Series as the time-resolved statistical methods to be used for time series analysis. The nonlinear analysis methods identified include the use of the correlation integral, time-delay embedding and the Lorenz equations. One-way ANOVA testing will then be used on the numerical data obtained from the analysis to determine if a significant numerical differentiation has been obtained between the different clusters of EEG. This will provide a definitive way to medically diagnose autism, pinpointing children afflicted with the disorder and giving them proper treatment.\r Two copies of the "Abstract of Exhibit" (in English) should be sent to the National Taiwan Science Education Center or email to fung@mail.ntsec.gov.tw or yuonne@mail.ntsec.gov.tw before December 31, 2009.
The Use of Simulated Annealing in Predicting Solar Flare Activity
A program based on the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm was developed to allow for a longer-term prediction of the occurrence of solar flares, thus reducing the risks they may pose to astronauts, satellites, and ultimately the planet Earth. Sunspot data such as the solar cycle, the appearance of sunspots, the sun's magnetic field, the occurrence of solar flares and other factors that concern the sun were considered in the development of the algorithm. The program, coded in C++, included providing for an initial random state that pertained to the sun's state at a specified time. A neighborhood function was designed based on how sunspots are formed and how they disappear, and the probability function was designed using previous solar cycles to show relationships between the number of sunspots and the time it takes for the sun to reach solar maxima. Finally, the cooling function was designed as a representation of the time. Recorded sunspot counts obtained from the US National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) during the solar cycle 22 from 1986 to 1996 was used as test data. The output was compared to the actual recorded solar events or the period. The program was found to be 66.7% accurate in predicting solar flares when compared on a smoothed trendline, while it exhibited a 50.5% accuracy when comparing day-to-day data. Since solar flare acitivty is predicted in terms of the trend of activity and intensity, improving daily data accuracy is superfluous. Smoothed trendline prediction accuracy may however be improved by altering the importance of each factor in predicting solar flare activity and by devising a different sunspot classification scheme for intensity and activity.
The Titanium Dioxide Toilet Disinfectant
This project aims to improve the quality of toilet hygiene. The product designed should fulfill the requirements of being an environmentally friendly, user friendly and economical toilet seat system which guarantees the safety and hygiene of the toilet. This project also aims to discover the efficiency of the toilet seat system in eliminating pathogens through conducting various experiments.\r In this project, the photocatalytic property of titanium dioxide is applied. When titanium dioxide is under exposure to ultraviolet radiation, they generate free radicals, which are efficient oxidizers of organic substances. Also, research has shown that the safest ultraviolet light used will be UVA. Thus, by using titanium dioxide paint under exposure to ultraviolet light to oxidize pathogens and toxins, the aims will be achieved. Other than that, experiments will be conducted to explore the efficiency of titanium dioxide under exposure to UV radiation in eliminating pathogens by counting the number of bacteria on the toilet seat system after different time intervals the seat system has been turned on.\r The procedure of constructing the product includes drafting the product, purchasing the appropriate apparatus and materials, constructing the prototype, and checking if the product fits the goals set. Lastly, improving the design based on the flaws found during the checking procedure, as well as checking the product to see if it fits the original goals set.\r The procedure of the experiments aimed to explore the efficiency of titanium dioxide under exposure to UV radiation in eliminating pathogens conducted includes\r counting the number of bacteria on the toilet seat system after different time intervals by inoculation of bacteria on the agar plates.\r Test results showed that the number of bacteria had a steady and notable decline after different time intervals. Results also showed that bacteria would be thoroughly terminated after the system had been turned on for at most one hour. The information was then used to set the delay timer to restrict the amount of time the ultraviolet lamp was turned on to save energy.\r Moreover, the toilet seat system has also been improved so that it will complete the automatic cleaning procedure even without the user lowering the toilet seat. This improvement was made so that the product could be more convenient to toilet users.\r The system also deodorizes the toilet as the oxidization of bacteria and organic substances reduces the putrid odor released by them when they carry out chemical reactions.\r In conclusion, the project succeeds in accomplishing the goals set and is capable of improving the quality of toilet hygiene, especially in common households. The project is also successful in finding out that the toilet seat system is efficient in eliminating pathogens.