This study examined commercially available salts' taste properties. The salts were used in preparation of four dishes: asazuke of cucumber, asazuke of Chinese cabbage, clear soup, and green soybean rice. The respective tastes of the salts in those prepared foods differed from those of the salts alone. We evaluated the salt taste in those dishes using sensory evaluations and a taste sensor. Sensory evaluations assessed four taste parameters: saltiness, mildness, unpleasantness, and palatability. Differences of the salt samples affected the perception of saltiness. Results of taste sensor analyses showed that monosodium glutamate (MSG) affected response patterns toward the salt solution.

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Generally, in the case of agricultural products, some difficulties, resulting from the broad peak intensity and extensive overlapping of NIR absorption bands derived from complex chemical components that exist in the sample, arise in relation to specific functionalities of those spectra. This study is intended to specify the NIR spectra of rice bran depending on different percentages of rice polishing. Sample sets were prepared by polishing and grinding away 5% increments of the original mass of grains to leave 95%-45% of the kernels in successive sets. These samples showed a stepwise increase or decrease of localized chemical constituents: moisture, protein, carbohydrates, etc. Using this approach on a rice bran sample set, basic vibrational information was elucidated for the assignment of absorption bands of rice bran.

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The outdoor exposure test of the porous concrete plate and beam used lightweight and high absorption lapilli produced in north of Akita Prefecture was carried out. Lapilli is one of the porous and light stone formed by volcanic activity. The temperature in the center of the cross section of the plate and the relative dynamic modulus of elasticity of the beam were measured. As the results of former measurement, the temperature in the center of cross section of the porous concrete plate was 4 degrees lower than atmospheric temperature at the maximum but that of the ordinary concrete plate was higher than the temperature during 2 months in summer. It was clarified that the porous concrete had temperature reduction effect due to vaporization latent heat of water by heat balance calculation. The control of temperature change in summer night and day, the reduction of the freezing and thawing cycle number and the rise of the minimum temperature in winter were observed when the porous concrete plate was covered on the ordinary concrete plate surface. It is considered that these results lead to the deterioration control effects. The relative dynamic modulus of elasticity of the porous concrete beam in the outdoor exposure condition did not decrease for one and half years in spite of its low strength characteristics.

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The rice-bran carbon-material (RB carbon) is developed for a useful utilization of the rice bran, which is one of the agricultural wastes in Japan. The RB carbon has some unique mechanical properties such as low Young's modulus, low friction coefficient and high abrasion resistance. Therefore, the RB carbon is expectedto use as a sliding element in linear guides and linear sliders. The RB carbon is made from the defatted rice bran, which is impregnated with a resol-type phenol resin and then carbonized at high temperature under nitrogen gas atmosphere. However, since the defatted rice bran and the impregnated resol-type phenol resininclude some inorganic components, it is anticipated that the water-soluble and absorbency inorganic compounds are produced during the carbonizing process. The inorganic components are considered to decrease the mechanical strength and hygroscopic expansion under the aqueous environments. In this study, the improvement of water resistance of the RB carbon was examined, especially some manufacturing processes were examined to reduce the amounts of inorganic components. The modified manufacturing processes sufficiently achieved the high water resistance in the RB carbon.

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The authors have investigated a new utilization of rice-hull from a viewpoint of the recycling. The rice-hull carbon-material (RHS carbon) is manufactured by mixing the rice-hull particles with a phenol resin, pressure forming, drying, and then carbonizing in the temperature range from 1173K to 1773K. Since the most of the inorganic component is Si in the rice hull, the most of the produced inorganic component in the RHS carbon is Si02, which is stable under wet or water-ret conditions. Therefore, the RHS carbon is expected to be a high water-resistant material.
In this study, the authors measure the compressive strength of the RHS carbon after water immersing and hygroscopic expansion in a deionized water. The compressive strength did not decrease after the water immersing. Moreover, the hygroscopic expansion of the RHS carbon was considerably low. These results clearly showed the advantage of the RHS carbon, comparing to the similar porous carbon materials made from rice bran.

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The amount of automobile shredder residue (ASR) reaches 0.6-0.7 million tons per year in Japan, approximately. One of the effective processes to reduce the amount of ASR was the incineration process, generally carried out in smelting and refining plant. During the process, however, large amounts of ASR fly ash containing chloride (C1) compounds and some valuable metals (e.g. copper, zinc) were produced. In this contribution, the recycling of copper, zinc and C_a/N_a chloride compounds from ASR fly ash was investigated by using a process consisting of cementation, sulfide precipitation and distillation. The experimental results showed that high-grade copper (metal and oxide) and zinc (sulfide) were separated with recovery rate >97% from the HC1 washing solution of ASR fly ash by cementation and precipitation. C_aCl₂·9H₂0 and NaCl were obtained from the washing solution of ASR fly ash by vacuum distillation.

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It is well known that p-tert-butylthiacalixarenes can make host-guest complexation with organic guest molecules and metal cations. In order to study crystal structural properties of the host molecule with organic compounds, we tried to make a new crystal of the p-tert-butylthiacalix [6] arene with benzylamine. Treatment of thiacalix [6] arene with excess of benzylamine afforded the complex of thiacalix [6] arene with 8 molecules of benzylamine as crystals, which shows highly-extensive hydrogen bonded between host and guests to give rise to supramolecular assembly. The structure of thiacalix [6] arene as a host is 1, 2, 3-alternate with 4 molecules benzylamine as inner guests and the other 4 molecules of benzylamine locate outside of thiacalix [6] arene.

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Global warming is one of the most important environmental problems facing the world and considered to be caused by an atmospheric greenhouse effect. The contribution of CO₂ to this greenhouse effect is estimated to equate approximately 50% of the effect of all greenhouse gases together, therefore the reduction of CO₂ emission is becoming extremely important. One of innovative technologies for CO₂ reduction in the atmosphere is CO₂ sequestration. In Japan, a six-years project on CO₂ sequestration in Japanese coal seams was started in 2002. This project involves several R&D items including a field test. A micro pilot test has been conducted in the Ishikari coal field since 2003. CO₂ was actually injected into coal seam in 2004 for the first time in Japan. A larger volume of CO₂ was injected in 2005. This paper investigates these field tests and discusses important results obtained through the history matching of these CO₂ sequestration field tests. It is concluded that CO₂ was sequestrated in coal seams and at the same time, the recovery of coalbed methane was enhanced.

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In the present work, recycling of bottom ash from both industrial waste and municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) was investigated. In order to recycle bottom ash as raw materials for cement production, it is necessary to remove chloride, which causes metal erosion in reinforced concrete. Therefore, experiments for removing chloride were carried out by washing bottom ash in order to obtain efficient washing conditions. The following conditions were investigated: pH, type of solution, particle size, bubbling and temperature. Although pH is the most effective parameter for reducing Cl content in ash, using acid to lower pH is not an environmental friendly treatment considering wastewater treatment. It was found that CO₂, bubbling in the form of microbubble is a proper treatment to decompose insoluble chloride as an environmental friendly treatment.

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The mechanical and dielectric breakdown properties of polylactic acid (PLA) and PET copolymer, which are biodegradable plastics, were examined, and physicochemical analysis were performed. At room temperature, the Young's modulus of PLA and PET copolymer were about 3.6 GPa and about 3.9 GPa, respectively. Moreover, the temperature to which Young's modulus of PLA and PET copolymer begins to decrease was about 60°C and about 55°C, respectively. The dielectric breakdown strength (E_B) of PLA and PET copolymer at room temperature were about 6.2 MV/cm and about 4.8 MV/cm, respectively. The E_B of PLA increased with an increase in temperature, and was about 6.9 MV/cm at 60°C (∂E_B/∂T≥0). The E_B of PET copolymer was hardly dependent on temperature in the domain of 70°C or less (∂E_B/∂T≅0). In contrast with it, when it became a high temperature region, EB of PLA and PET copolymer decreased with the rise of temperature (∂E_B/∂T<0)

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This study investigated the extraction efficiency of a couple of different extraction solvents for Certified Reference Materials of soil and sediment that include Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Dibenzofurans and Coplanar Polychlorinated Biphenyls using Soxhlet and Pressurized Liquid extraction (PLE) n-Hexane, toluene, acetone, acetone/n-hexane and acetone/toluene (1: 1, v/v) as solvents were examined. Unsatisfactory results for Soxhlet extraction were obtained using n-hexane alone. For PLE, satisfactory results were obtained using all solvents used for this study. The obtained results for PLE were the same or even higher than those for Soxhlet extraction. We also examined relationship between solubility of 2, 3, 7, 8-TetraCDD/CDF in the solvent (X_DXN) and the estimated solubility (X_s). The results indicated that a linear relation was found between X_DXN and X_S for Soxhlet extraction, but no linear relation was found in those for PLE. The result suggests that choice of extraction solvent for PLE requires consideration for the analyte solubility in extraction solvent at the temperature and pressureabove boiling points of solvents.

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Three kinds of fluorescent powders were separated by means of organic liquid-liquid extraction for the recycling purpose. The effect of surfactant concentration on the separation of the fluorescent powders was observed. In this study, the effect was analyzed by observing aggregate structure of the green and blue fluorescent powders using an experimental apparatus, which measured the interactive force between two surfaces of glass hemisphere and flat plate under electric field. The maximum distance between two surfaces is 20μm. The size of aggregates and adsorption state of green and blue fluorescent powders in heptane containing a certain amount of surfactant was measured. This method would be very useful for measuring the size of aggregate and the adsorption state of ultra fine particles dispersed in solution.

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Ammonia is a principal component of foul odors of agricultural and livestock wastes. This study investigated ammonia gas adsorption of rice husk carbonized in vacuum at different temperatures (300-800°C) for 3 h. In an enclosed bag, 1.00 g of the carbonized rice husk was exposed to ammonia gas at 100ppm. Rice husk carbonized at 400°C adsorbed ammonia the fastest. Its performance was much better than those of commercial deodorants. Pore characteristics and chemical characteristics of carbonized rice husk were examined to correlate them with the ammonia adsorption property. Remaining acidic functional groups were inferred to play a beneficial role in improving the ammonia adsorption.

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In this paper, we report micro-structural characteristics of electroplated Cu thin films with the variation of the current density applied during the electroplating process. We evaluated the surface roughness, the crystalline texture, the resistivity, and the grain size of the thin film in a wide range of current density (50-1000A/m²). The surface roughness and the resistivity were increased according to the increment of the current density. The ‹111› textured structure was also pronounced as the current density was increased. The scanning ion microscope (SIM) image of the cross-sectional samples revealed that grain size of the film prepared in a high current density was much smaller (0.05-0.5μm) than that of the thin film in a low current density (1-2μm). These results are different from the film prepared by a sputtering process, where a smooth surface was observed in a small grain-sized (<0.1μm) film.

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Mesostructured inorganic-organic complexes using layered-perovskite K₂NbO₃F and several surfactants as the structure directing agent (SDA) were synthesized and characterized. Only lamellar phase was obtained using alkylamine (C_nA, n=8, 12, 14, 16, 18). 2d-hexagonal phase was obtained using alkyltrimethylammonium chloride (C_nTMACl) for n=12, 14, in addition to lamellar phase for n=14, 16, 18. This result indicates that the SDA affects the mesostructure of the complex. The TEM-EDX measurement revealed that the K/Nb ratio of the complex using C₁₆TMAC1 is less than that using CIA. This result suggests the formation mechanism of the complex using C₁₆TMAC1, which was formed by ion exchange of C₁₆TMA⁺ and K⁺. The d₁₀₀ of complexes increased with increasing alkyl chain length of SDA. This result indicates that the periodicity of the mesostructure can be controlled by selection of the SDA.

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The 3D magnetic field simulations with FEM (finite element method) have been performed to predict and understand the performance of Magnetic Thin Film Inductor (MTFI). Inductor structures of planar electroplated Cu spiral coil, which are sandwiched and underlaid with magnetic thin films, are considered as the simulation models. The inductance increment of 300% compared to air-core inductor was predicted when the sandwiched 5μm thickness magnetic thin film with relative permeability of 600 was adopted. Impedance measurement for the fabricated MTFI showed a good agreement with the simulation result. We also found that the undesirable increment of resistance at high frequency was originated from the eddy current flow through magnetic thin film.

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The orientational order of 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) molecules deposited on silica substrates coated with trans-form azobenzene monolayer was examined during deposition, in-situ, using optical polarized absorption measurements. It was revealed that the orientational order change was induced by monolayer formation, due to the change of adsorption kinetics

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On the concave mirror which has the curvature of the paraboloid, the plane transient wave impinging to the mirror perpendicularly is reflected and wave energy is collected in one focus. Therefore, it is widely used as a mirror for kindling a torch in the Olympics and a parabolic antenna for the radio wave reception. This phenomenon can be easily explained by the ray theory and it can be freely applied for the steady incidence and transient incidence of the wave. But, when not only the concentration point of the wave energy but also the interference response of the reflected waves which spreads in various directions from the specific boundary are examined, the exact analysis of the reflection response is required and it can not be easily grasped. If the position of an energy-minimum point by the complicated interference of reflected transient waves is detected, it becomes engineeringly a very important knowledge from the viewpoint of the material protection. In this study, the interference response of SH reflected transient waves made by the reflection system composed of several micro plane cracks is examined with the exact analysis, and the numerical results are shown using 3-D graphic representations.

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Protecting spacecraft against hypervelocity impacts (HVIs) of space debris, which may cause fatal damage to the spacecraft, has attracted much attention. In this study, we conduct the numerical simulation of HVIs of a projectile on rear walls protected by a debris shield. To numerically simulate the HVIs, an improved smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method with new particle generation and particle merger techniques is used. Through the numerical simulation, we evaluate the total kinetic energy of debris cloud through unit area on the top surface of rear wall, and discuss the ballistic limits of the graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep) and hybrid composite rear walls. Consequently, we provide the data needed for designing the rear walls.

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Correlation of the Diels-Alder reaction rate constants of dilute solution for isoprene-maleic anhydride in the pure solvents such as hexane, ethyl acetate, toluene, monochlorobenzene and nitrobenzene, and the binary mixed solvents obtained by the authors are reviewed. For correlating the reaction rate constants in binary mixed solvents an empirical method based on the Arrhenius equation coupled with a Redlich-Kister type excess function introduced to obtain the excess activation energy in the mixed solvents is proposed. It is shown that the present model can correlate the reaction rate constants with a good agreement for the binary mixed solvents. Further, the applicability for the prediction of the excess activation energy for multicomponent mixed solvents by the addition of those for the constituent binary mixed solvents is presented.

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Lime has been around and serving mankind for centuries. Nowadays, total production of lime worldwide reaches around 120 million tons a year, with steel making, and the construction and building industry being the major users of lime products. In recent years, use of lime for environmental purposes, especially in the field of flue-gas treatment, is experiencing a tremendous growth. Limestone is one of the natural resources available abundantly and with high quality in Japan. Consequently, Japan ranks No.3 among the world's producers of lime. Through incorporating various advanced technologies, using recycled fuels, the certification of ISO and trying to keep the CO₂ emission below the level adopted by the Japanese government according to the Kyoto Protocol, Japanese lime manufacturers have made their commitment to up-keeping the world a cleaner place to live in.

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An enrichment step in a sample treatment is essential for trace analysis to improve the sensitivity and to eliminate the matrix of the sample. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) is one of the widely used enrichment technique. Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is a well-established determination technique for trace elements. The integration of SPE with ETAAS leads to further improvement of sensitivity, an automation of the measurement and the economy in the sample size, amounts of the reagents and time for the sample pretreatment. The integration is achieved by introducing the solid phase used for the enrichment directly into ETAAS for a batch method, or on-line coupling of a SPE column with ETAAS. Fine particles of various materials, including an activated carbon, an ion-exchange resin, a cellulose nitrate resin and biomass materials were used as adsorbents for batch method. A membrane filter was also used. A simultaneous multi-elements extraction and a speciation analysis were accomplished. A microcolumn packed with resin beads or an open tubular column such as a PTFE tube or a silica capillary tube having the chemically modified inner wall were used for the on-line coupling.

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DMFC has a serious technical problem, which is called “crossover”. The crossover CH₃OH, which passes through the polymer electrolyte from the anode to cathode, usually adsorbs on the surface of the cathode catalyst (Pt black) that decreases the DMFC performance. In this study, tetraphenylporphine and tetraphenylporphyrin-metals (metals: Co, Mn and Ru) were thermally decomposed at 673-1173 K for 7.2 ks and the activity of the oxygen reduction of the product was investigated using a rotating disk electrode in order to develop a new cathode catalyst with CH₃OH tolerance. The thermally decomposed TPP-Co and TPP-Ru, which have no activity toward CH₃OH oxidation, are possible materials as the cathode catalyst of the DMFC, thus being a substitute for the Pt black.

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A set of solid solution ceramic synthesizing in (1-x) LiTaO₃-xCaTiO₃, O≤x≤0.2, family made it clear that CaTiO₃ component lowered their Curie temperature at 16°C/mol% up to 17%, where the solution effects were markedly changed. The more the CaTiO₃ concentration came, the more significant the feature of the relaxer like phase transition was. The reciprocal dielectric permittivity depended upon uniaxial pressure, showing their possibility of application for pressure sensors.

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