Mineral reactions during coke gasification with carbon dioxide

Coke degradation in the blast furnace is influenced by its inherent mineral matter. Coke gasification affects the composition of the inherent mineral matter and would therefore be expected to change its effect on coke degradation. Four cokes prepared in a laboratory oven were exposed to carbon dioxide (100%) at approximately 900 °C for different carbon conversion levels, namely 15% and 75%. The mineralogy of the raw and reacted cokes was qualitatively and quantitatively determined. Gas composition was found to have a more significant effect on mineralogy than temperature; the mineralogy (qualitative and quantitative) being dramatically affected by carbon dioxide, whereas treatment at 900 °C in the absence of carbon dioxide resulted in little change. During gasification the reduced phases underwent transformations due to oxidation by carbon dioxide. Oxidation of the reduced phases enabled their reaction with adjacent minerals. Also, as gasification proceeds, the carbon in contact with the mineral matter is consumed, diminishing the contact surface area between them.     

Geochemistry of Vellayani lake sediments: Indicators of weathering and provenance

The Vellayani lake, located on the west coast, Kerala, South India, is a natural fresh water lake. In order to understand the source and nature of the sediments; thirteen lake floor sediment samples were collected from the Vellayani lake at different intervals along the S-N transects covering the entire surface area of the lake. Textural studies indicate that lake floor sediments are dominant in sand (55.39%) followed by clay (30.57%) and silt (14.04%) fractions. Coarse components are dominant at the inlet ofthe stream into the lake. The geochemical content of the sediments reveals low SiO₂, MnO, CaO, MgO, Na₂O, K₂O, and P₂O₅ content while TiO₂, Fe₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ are high when compared with Post Archean Australian Shale (PAAS) and Upper Continental Crust (UCC) values. SiO₂ is high in coarse fractions while Al₂O₃ is strongly associated with fine sediments. Major oxide contents supported by Rare Earth Element (REE) data reveal a distinct negative Eu anomaly reflecting a dominant cratonic origin of the sediments. Detailed geochemical data indicate a mixed source, predominantly, the lateritic soils, sedimentary and metamorphic bedrocks exposed around the lake and in the catchment area.     

Anisotropic universe with cosmic strings and bulk viscosity in a scalar–tensor theory of gravitation

A spatially homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi type-I cosmological model is obtained in a scalar–tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1986) when the source for energy momentum tensor is a bulk viscous fluid containing one dimensional cosmic strings. Some physical and kinematical properties of the model are discussed. It is observed that the bulk viscosity has a greater role in getting an accelerated expansion of the universe in this theory.     

Study of temporal and spectral characteristics of the X-ray emission from solar flares

Temporal and spectral characteristics of X-ray emission from 60 flares of intensity ≥C class observed by the Solar X-ray Spectrometer(SOXS) during 2003–2011 are presented. We analyze the X-ray emission observed in four and three energy bands by the Si and Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride(CZT)detectors, respectively. The number of peaks in the intensity profile of the flares varies between 1 and 3. We find moderate correlation(R ≈0.2) between the rise time and the peak flux of the first peak of the flare irrespective of energy band, which is indicative of its energy-independent nature. Moreover, the magnetic field complexity of the flaring region is found to be highly anti-correlated(R = 0.61) with the rise time of the flares while positively correlated(R = 0.28) with the peak flux of the flare. The time delay between the peak of the X-ray emission in a given energy band and that in 25–30 keV decreases with increasing energy, suggesting conduction cooling is dominant in the lower energies. Analysis of 340 spectra from 14 flares reveals that the peak of differential emission measure(DEM) evolution is delayed by 60–360 s relative to that of the temperature, and this time delay is inversely proportional to the peak flux of the flare. We conclude that temporal and intensity characteristics of flares are dependent on energy as well as the magnetic field configuration of the active region.     

Locating oceanic Tuna resources in the Eastern Arabian sea using remote sensing

Tuna fishery resources are currently under exploited. The resource potential of tunas in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) beyond 50 m depths is around 2.09 lakh tonnes as estimated by Fishery Survey of India. The distribution and availability of the tuna are governed by environmental factors like temperature, thermocline depth, availability of prey, visibility etc. Remote sensing provides synoptic information on productivity in terms of chlorophyll and Sea Surface Temperature (SST). In the present paper, satellite remote sensing data from Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS- P4 Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) sensor for chlorophyll-a and diffuse attenuation coefficient (K) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor data for sea surface temperature were analysed and correlated within situ catch data of oceanic tunas, Skipjack(Katsuwonus pelamis) and Yellowfin tuna(Thunnus albacares), off Maharashtra coast. Higher catches were found to be associated with moderate to good primary productivity and in the vicinity of thermal fronts. Relationship between Hooking rate and SST has shown that SST of 28–30°C range is optimum for skipjack and 28–31°C for yellowfin tuna. Besides satellite derived chlorophyll and SST for identification of potential tuna fishing zones, role of diffuse attenuation coefficient (K) for visibility factor is also discussed.     

Urban floods in Hyderabad,India, under present and future rainfall scenarios: a case study

Natural Hazards - This study assesses and evaluates the impacts of future extreme rainfall event(s) on conveyance capacity of urban Storm Water Network (SWN) of Hyderabad City, India, along with...     

A dark energy model in a scalar tensor theory of gravitation

LRS Bianchi type-I dark energy model with variable equation of state (EoS) parameter is presented in the scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1986). To get a determinate solution of the field equations we take the help of special law of variation for Hubble’s parameter presented by Bermann (Nuovo Cimento B 74:182, 1983) which yields a cosmological model with negative constant deceleration parameter. Some physical and kinematical properties of the model are also discussed.     

Thermosolutal-convective instability of a composite stellar atmosphere in the presence of a variable magnetic field

The thermosolutal-convective instability of a composite stellar atmosphere is considered in the presence of variable horizontal magnetic field and collisional effects. The criteria for monotonic instability are obtained which generalize the criterion derived for thermal-convective instability in the absence of above effects.