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SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY CONCENTRATES

Science d a y films modify electrode surfaces Clay minerals have joined the list of layered materi­als that can be used to modify electrode surfaces. Pushpito K, Ghosh and Allen J. Bard of the Univer­sity of Texas, Austin, have produced thin films of sodium montmorillonite mixed with platinum on several electrode base materials (J. Am. Chem. $oc, 105,5693 (1983)]. The films are about 3 μηχ thick and will adsorb redox couples that remain electroactive in the film. The presence of platinum in the clay improves the quality of the film, but whether it also is involved in its electroactivity is not clear, the researchers say. "Clay and other inorganic layers on electrode surfaces have the advantage of high chemi­cal stability and special structural features/' they say, and suggest that their method may be applicable to other inorganic materials such as zeolites and silicas.

Education Faculty problems with joint ventures studied A three-month study to learn how to deal with the problems for faculty members that may grow out of joint ventures between academia and industry is planned by the American Arbitration Association Center for Mediation in Higher Education, a New York City-based nonprofit group. The $34,650 study, supported by Schering-Plough Foundation, will fo­cus on faculties in disciplines such as biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, and communications. The study will survey managers of collaborative ventures as well as participating faculty members at both the middle and junior levels at about 25 schools to find out "the possible difficulties that today's faculty may have with these new collaborations/' explains Allan S, Kushen, senior vice president of Schering-Plough.

Technology Gays a domestic source of lithium Roasting western clays at high temperatures with a mixture of limestone and gypsum shows promise as a future method of obtaining lithium from a conve­nient domestic source, Bureau of Mines engineer Richard H. Lien of the agency's Salt Lake City Re­search Center told the American Institute of Chemi­cal Engineers at its summer national meeting, held in Denver last week. With domestic sources of lith­ium such as spodumene deposits in North Carolina dwindling, the bureau is looking at nonconventional sources. In its study, clay from volcanic depressions on the Oregon-Nevada border was pelletized in a mixture of five parts clay, three parts limestone, and three parts gypsum. The pellets were roasted at 900 to 950 °C in a rotary kiln. Calcine was water-leached

and the lithium concentrated by evaporation and precipitated by addition of sodium carbonate. Prod­uct filtrate was cooled to precipitate the Glauber's salt and then recycled to the evaporation stage. End yield showed a recovery from the clay of 75% of available lithium. But there are two major costs that must be regulated; concentrating the leach solution and cooling the recycle stream to xemove contaminants.

Methanol-powered car undergoes tests Testing of a liquid methanol-powered 1983 Escort has been started by the Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colo. After a break-in period, the car will be test driven on the EPA city and highway driving cycles to serve also as a baseline for compara­tive testing of SERI's dissociated methanoi/hydrogen Escort, which it has under construction. The main feature of the dissociated methanol engine is a cata­lytic processor in which heat is used to dissociate methanol into hydrogen-rich gases, which have a 22% higher heating value than does methanol The car runs on a blend of 90% methanol/10% gasoline. The methanol engine has a higher compression ratio than a gasoline engine and uses different materials for some components—for example, a nickel-plated carburetor and stainless steel fuel tank—to prevent corrosion from methanol. Researchers will test the car for cold and warm start and driveability, materi­als compatibility and long-term durability, exhaust emissions characteristics, degree of altitude compen­sation, and performance characteristics.

Corrosion data published for coal gasifiers Studies of effects of pressure, temperature, and gas composition on corrosion of alloys used in coal gasifier construction have been completed by Illinois Insti­tute of Technology Research Institute, Chicago. One finding is that pressure and hydrogen sutlfide con­tent independently affect tendencies toward "break­away" (accelerated) corrosion. Chromium content of 25 to 30% in iron and cobalt steels, and greater than 30% in nickel steels, prolongs resistance to break­away corrosion beyond 10,000 hours. The project was supported by the Gas Research Institute and the Metals Properties Council.

NMR sensor improved for bulk imaging A semitoroidal (horseshoe-shaped) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensor coil has been built by physi­cist Eiichi Fukushima and coworkers of Los Alamos National Laboratory, This configuration allows patients' bodies or large geological samples to be placed in the conveniently made cavity while still preserving the instrument's ability to sense composi­tions deep in sample cores. Fukushima wound the coil outward from the center in opposite directions to minimize heating or subjecting of samples to large electrical fields. Los Alamos scientists currently use the sensor to study zeolite strutmtes.

September $, 1963 C&&N 2$ il