Abstract: A nanopore reactive adsorbent composite material, which may be a porous adsorbent comprising a chemically surface face modified gel, has a composition and micro structure, which integrals ion exchange components such as hydroxy apatite.

Abstract: A nanopore reactive adsorbent composite material, which may be a porous adsorbent, has a composition and microstructure, which integrates adsorbency, reactivity and catalysis. Integration may be achieved by modifying nanopore surfaces with dense ligand groups and by embedding at least one reactant phase effective to accomplish a sequence of reactions of which at least one reaction may be catalyzed by the surface ligand groups. The solid reactant phase may include reactive metal particles, such as, Mg, Sn, Al, Fe, or Zn, or mixtures thereof, and may be effective as in-situ reducing agent. A macroporous adsorbent, may be formed from the composite material. Recovery of mercury from a contaminated liquid is described. A second reactive phase, which may comprise a sulfur polymer or another metal effective to immobilize liquid mercury in-situ, may be included in or with the composite.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for determining the cure state of thermosetting concrete using time domain reflectometry. A miniature capacitor is constructed at the end of a coaxial transmission line which is immersed in the curing concrete so that the concrete is the dielectric of the capacitor, and step function voltage pulses are fed to the transmission line, while the reflected signal from the line is monitored. The amplitude at several points of the reflected pulses, which are related to the free water and bound water in the concrete and indicate the degree of cure, are fed to a computer for interpretation and display.