Post-refining removal of organic nitrogen compounds from diesel fuels to improve environmental quality.

The purpose of this investigation was to remove the organic nitrogen compounds from petroleum-derived diesel fuels. These nitrogen compounds can cause environmental problems, as well as fuel instability problems that can degrade fuels and affect engine performance. Fuels were treated with two different filtering media, activated clay and silica tel.

Field evaluation of the effects of water table fluctuations on soil radon gas emanations.

Measurements of the depth of the water table and the concentration of soil gas radon at water wells in Virginia and Maryland show that at each well site, there is no correlation between the depths of the water table and the radon concentration. However, when comparing nearby water wells, there is a relationship between depth of the water table and the concentration of soil gas radon. Wells with a shallower water table tend to have less soil gas radon emanation.

Soybean-derived biofuels and home heating fuels.

It is environmentally enticing to consider replacing or blending petroleum derived heating fuels with biofuels for many reasons. Major considerations include the soaring worldwide price of petroleum products, especially home heating oil, the toxicity of the petroleum-derived fuels and the environmental damage that leaking petroleum tanks afford. For these reasons, it has been suggested that domestic renewable energy sources be considered as replacements, or at the least, as blending stocks for home heating fuels.

Correlation test between indoor radon and surficial gamma radiation in Northern Virginia.

In northern Virginia, significant indoor radon differences occur due to soil chemistry, home heating system and precipitation. Homes constructed on soil over some geological units had indoor radon that exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Concentration Level of 4 picoCuries/liter for home buyers. Seasons with more precipitation tend to have higher average indoor radon.

Capillary electrophoresis screening of poisonous anions extracted from biological samples.

A method was developed for screening human biological samples for poisonous anions using capillary electrophoresis (CE) employing indirect UV detection. The run buffer consisted of 2.25 mM pyromellitic acid, 1.