Raman scattering and water structure in nonionic amphiphile solutions.
The structure of water in aqueous solutions of polyoxyethylene nonionic amphiphiles ${\mathrm{C}}_{10}$${\mathrm{E}}_{5}$, where ${\mathrm{E}}_{5}$ denotes ${\mathrm{H}}_{21}$(${\mathrm{OCH}}_{2}$${\mathrm{CH}}_{2}$${)}_{5}$OH, is studied by Raman scattering along an isothermal path crossing the isotropic one-phase region from 0 to 1 amphiphile volume fraction \ensuremath{\varphi}. The isotropic OH stretching-vibration spectrum points out a water behavior that depends on the amphiphile concentration. The data analysis is performed using the bond-percolation model developed for water. The interpretation of scattering data leads to the following structural picture for the water in the systems: for \ensuremath{\varphi} lower than 0.75, water is partially bound to the oxyethylene groups of the amphiphile; above \ensuremath{\varphi}=0.75 all water present in the system is bound. Analogously to the behavior of water in confined geometries, the structure of bound water presents a local fourfold-coordinated environment.
Water partitioning in "dry" poly(ethylene oxide) alcohol (CmEn) nonionic surfactant--a proton NMR study.
A proton NMR titration study is presented where in small increments quantities of water were added to "dry" CmEn nonionic surfactant. For a particular range of compositions, two resonances for the water/hydroxyl protons were observed that display large chemical shift increases as water content is increased indicating that water must partition between two chemical environments with a surprisingly slow chemical exchange rate. A detailed mechanism of how the increasing amounts of water are incorporated into the surfactant medium is presented accounting for all observed spectral changes.
Air scrubbing techniques for ammonia and odor reduction at livestock operations : review of on-farm research in the Netherlands
Acid scrubbers and biotrickling filters have been developed for ammonia (NH3) removal at pig and poultry houses 
in The Netherlands over the last 20 years to prevent acidification and eutrophication of soils. Because of growing 
suburbanization, odor removal is increasingly considered important as well. In this review, we report the results of the on-farm 
research on full-scale operated scrubbers for treatment of exhaust air from animal houses with regard to NH3 and odor 
removal in The Netherlands. The NH3 removal of acid scrubbers ranged from 40% to 100% with an overall average of 96%. 
The NH3 removal of biotrickling filters ranged from -8% to +100% with an overall average of 70%. Minimum empty bed air 
residence times (EBRTs) were 0.4 to 1.1 s. For acid scrubbers, process control with pH measurement and automatic water 
discharge is sufficient to guarantee sufficient NH3 removal. For biotrickling filters, however, improvement of process control 
is necessary to guarantee sufficient NH3 removal. The odor removal of acid scrubbers ranged from 3% to 51% with an overall 
average of 27%. The odor removal of biotrickling filters ranged from -29% to +87% with an overall average of 51%. 
Minimum EBRTs were 0.5 to 2.3 s. Further research is necessary to explain this variation and to improve the odor removal 
efficiency of both acid scrubbers and biotrickling filters.