Search

Disposal of cesium-137 (Cs-137)-loaded chabazite generated from decontaminating cooling water of the damaged reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) has become a crucial concern. The potassium aluminosilicate-based alkali activated material (K-AAM) matrix is one of the candidate encapsulation matrices proposed for encapsulating cesium-137. In this study, chabazite loaded with a low Cs concentration (1 mg/g of Cs), embedded into a K-AAM matrix (K-AAM-C), was analysed to determine its capability to immobilise Cs, which was investigated by batch leaching experiments, field emission-electron probe microscopy analysis (FE-EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The leaching experiments revealed that K-AAM-C efficiently immobilised Cs, with only 3 % of the Cs leached out after 360 days of leaching in deionised water. Characterisation using XRD, TEM, and Raman analysis confirmed that the alkali-activator was responsible for the phase transformation of chabazite. FE-EPMA demonstrated that K entered the chabazite structure. This phenomenon resulted in the breakdown and subsequent reconstruction of the chabazite structure. TEM observation showed that the Cs was concentrated into the aggregates of pre-cipitates, heterogeneously forming a pollucite-like structure in the chabazite after the fabrication process. Thermodynamic calculations indicated that pollucite was preferably stable in an AAM environment. When immersed in water, the amount of nano-pollucite increased over time, leading to the structural re-arrangement of aluminosilicate rings of chabazite according to TEM and Raman analysis. Pollucite is well known as a Cs-bearing natural zeolite, which can encapsulate Cs in its structure. Therefore, Cs retention was achieved in the spent chabazite adsorbent embedded into the K-AAM due to the resultant pollucite structure formed during AAM fabrication.

Titanate adsorbents have been used to remove Sr radioisotopes from contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station site. This process leads to the generation of spent adsorbents, which require stabilization for long term storage and disposal. Geopolymers are candidates for matrices to achieve this consolidation. However, more data are needed to assess the leaching behavior of Sr from the adsorbents embedded in a geopolymer matrix. In this study, leaching experiments and observations of the Sr distribution of spent titanate adsorbent embedded in geopolymers, loaded with Sr at realistic concentrations were conducted. The experimental results illustrate that only 0.75% of the Sr was leached out from a K-geopolymer loaded with 30% (by solid weight) of spent adsorbent after 360 days of immersion in deionized water. From the observations of Sr distributions by electron and isotope microscopy, Sr remained in the titanate adsorbent and did not diffuse into the geopolymer matrix. Leaching of Sr (loaded at a similar concentration) from the K-geopolymer without the adsorbent was also limited, only 0.05% after 360 days of leaching. In conclusion, both titanate adsorbent in K-geopolymer matrix, and the K-geopolymer itself, offer an attractive potential for Sr immobilization.

Machine learning has been applied to the foreign exchange market for algorithmic trading. However, the selection of trading algorithms is a difficult problem. In this work, an approach that combines trading agents is designed. In the proposed approach, an artificial neural network is used to predict the optimum actions of each agent for USD/JPY currency pairs. The agents are trained using a genetic algorithm and are then combined using an ensemble method. We compare the performance of the combined agent to the average performance of many agents. Simulation results show that the total return is better when the combined agent is used.

Zeolite, used to remove Cs from a contaminated water, would be solidified for the safety disposal. Recently, geopolymer is considered as a new binder for disposal. Geopolymer has an advantage that primary phases such as potassium almino silicate hydrate (K-A-S-H) may sorb radioactive nuclides. In this study, Cs adsorption, co-precipitation and desorption experiment were conducted, and C-S-H, which is primary phases of cement, were also employed for experiments for comparison. From these experiments, it is obtained that K-A-S-H has higher adsorption capacity of Cs than C-S-H. Cs adsorption ratio and co-precipitation ratio by C-S-H were almost same. Cs is likely sorbed by C-S-H thoroughly via ion exchanging. The desorption experiment demonstrated that most Cs was desorbed from C-S-H while 90% of Cs remained in K-A-S-H. Therefore, K-A-S-H has a higher retention capacity than that of C-S-H. Consequently, geopolymer is considered to be a better material in terms of Cs storage.

The Bronsted acid-catalyzed synthesis of secondary amides from ketones under mild conditions is described via transoximation and Beckmann rearrangement using O-protected oximes as more stable equivalents of explosive O-protected hydroxylamines. This methodology could be applied to highly rearrangement-selective amide synthesis from α-branched alkyl aryl ketones and performed on a 1-g scale. The presence of water is essential for this reaction, and its role was clarified by isotope-labeling experiments.

1. Scaling relations between weapons and body size depart from linearity in many male beetles. In many previous studies, these males have been divided into major and minor males with a switch point, that is male dimorphism. Major and minor males adopt strikingly different reproductive tactics. 2. We found three size-dependent behaviours, i.e. fighting, dispersing, and sneaking, however, among Librodor japonicus males with dimorphic mandibles. We statistically classified males into large, medium, and small (L-, M-, and S-males) sizes and then compared the dispersal of males from a foraging site, behaviours to gain access to females, and sizes of mandibles, wings, and testes. 3. M-males dispersed earlier than L- and S-males from a territory in a field, but no difference in the frequency of dispersal was observed between L- and S-males. Observations of male–male interactions in the laboratory showed that L-males frequently fought with other males in a fighting arena, while S-males often showed sneaking behaviour without fighting. 4. On the basis of the morphological analysis, we concluded that S-males invested their available resources more in sperm (= testes), M-males more in wings, and L-males more in mandibles in L. japonicus. 5. Even though a morphological male dimorphism was detected, it might be possible to classify the males of the armed beetles into more than two behavioural tactics if we examine their behaviours.