Recovery of glass fibers from fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) has been tackled by our novel technology based upon thermally activated semiconductors such as Cr 2 O 3 , NiO, TiO 2 , and -Fe 2 O 3 . This is a scientifically proven technology which utilizes a vast number of thermallygenerated oxidative holes for instantaneous decomposition of filler-free thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers. No shredding or grinding of the scrap FRP is necessary in the present system, nor is the use of organic solvents. FRP plates were simply placed in contact with powdered Cr 2 O 3 and heated at about 350-500 C. As soon as the FRP was sufficiently heated, the polymer matrix began to decompose into H 2 O and CO 2 , leaving behind only glass fibers without any deterioration of their quality. The glass fibers were perfectly recovered, exactly in the original form of ''chopped strand mat''. Our system can recover glass fibers as well as thermal energy.

Chloro-based volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are known to exert noxious effects on the environment, and their destruction by catalytic combustion, for example, accompanies a production of hydrochloric acid (HCl) that damages the catalyst. We have been interested in complete removal of VOCs by our system based on thermally activated oxide semiconductors (i.e., catalysts) such as Cr 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , NiO, -Fe 2 O 3 . In the present investigation, we have fundamentally studied the decomposition process of dichloromethane (CH 2 Cl 2 : DCM) and trichloroethylene (CHCCl 3 ; TCE) on the basis of the mass-and Raman spectra in an attempt to identify the formation temperature of HCl. Then, we found that the decomposition of DCM and TCE starts at about 100 and 200 C, respectively; whereas HCl is abruptly formed at a critical temperature of about 350 C in both compounds. Based on this result, we have optimized the operation temperature below 300 C for Cr 2 O 3 -impregnated honeycomb systems and achieved the complete removal of DCM and TCE that accompanies no formation of HCl.

The extensive use of resin-bonded wood in construction as well as the continued expanding application of formaldehyde-based resins has resulted in formaldehyde (FA) becoming a major indoor contaminant. In this investigation, instantaneous and complete decomposition of FA has been studied by thermally activated semiconductors whose system had previously been developed by us. Complete decomposition has been achieved with Cr 2 O 3 at about 500 C for FA concentrations of 100 and 1200 ppm with a residence time of about 20 ms. Our system is simple in structure and compact; nevertheless, quite efficient.

The title compound, C12H10O4S, is a phenolic color developer used for leuco colorants. The two benzene rings with substituent hydr­oxy groups are nearly perpendicular to each other [dihedral angle = 91.5 (1)°]. There are inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between an OH group of one mol­ecule and a sulfonyl O atom of a neighboring mol­ecule. One mol­ecule is hydrogen bonded to four symmetry-related mol­ecules, forming a two-dimensional hydrogen-bond network.

The electronic spectra of the 1:1 rhodamine B base (RBB: leuco dye) with ethyl gallate (EG: developer) have been studied in solution and in the solid state (i.e., in spin-coated films and in single crystals) on the basis of the crystal structure analysis. There are two crystalline phases in the 1:1 "RBB/EG" colorant at low (93 K) and room temperatures. In solution, the maximum color intensity occurs with the 1:1 molar ratio of RBB with HCl, giving an absorption band at about 556 nm. In the solid state of spin-coated RBB/EG layers, an absorption band appears around 577 nm due to the ring opening caused by the hydrogen bond formation between RBB and EG. However, the color intensity is found to be limited to about 80% of the maximum available value. This has been attributed to a residual fraction of RBB molecules whose lactone ring is still closed due to steric hindrance. In addition, the polarized reflection spectra measured on single crystals of RBB/EG exhibit a drastically different spectrum (i.e., absorption maximum about 480 nm) from that of spin-coated films of the amorphous state. This result suggests that strong excitonic interactions of the H-aggregate type are operative in single crystals of RBB/EG that significantly displace the absorption band toward shorter wavelengths.