Experimental study and numerical modeling of mixing by air injection in yield stress fluids using the OpenFOAM software

Mixing by gas injection is an operation used in industrial processes such as wastewater treatment, metallurgy, or methanization in which pressurized gas is injected into a fluid in order to reduce concentrations and temperatures gradients. This study demonstrates how the CFD toolbox OpenFOAM can be used to simulate such flows. Experimental measurements and observations have been performed on a pilot-scale reactor where pressurized air is injected in a yield stress fluid. The volume of fluid method and an adaptive mesh with refinement at the interface have been used to track the gas inclusions. The numerical model accuracy has been assessed by comparing experimental and numerical results related to the bubble's frequency, dimensions, and rising velocities as well as the fluid recirculation, yielded, and unyielded regions in the tank. The influence of injection parameters such as the injection flow rate and the fluid rheological parameters has been quantified.     

Taylor Bubble Study of the Influence of Fluid Dynamics on Yield and Selectivity in Fast Gas-Liquid Reactions

A consecutive competitive gas-liquid reaction is investigated using a Taylor bubble setup regarding the influence of fluid mixing in the bubble wake on yield and selectivity. The concentration fields behind a Taylor bubble are visualized and measured quantitatively with a novel time-resolved absorption imaging technique based on Beer Lamberts law and an integral selectivity is derived. In addition, the calculation of the local selectivity, often used in numerical approaches, is discussed and the existing experimental limits for its derivation are pointed out. Finally, an increase in selectivity of a competitive consecutive reaction for enhanced mixing is experimentally confirmed.     

Piezoelectric properties of PVDF-conjugated polymer nanofibers

This study presents the development and characterization of PVDF-conjugated polymer nanofiber-based systems. Five different conducting polymers (CPs) were synthesized successfully and used to create the nanofiber systems. The CPs used are polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPY), polyindole (PIN), polyanthranilic acid (PANA), and polycarbazole (PCZ). Nanofiber systems were produced utilizing the Forcespinning® technique. The nanofiber systems were developed by mechanical stretching. No electrical field or post-process poling was used in the nanofiber systems. The morphology, structure, electrochemical and piezoelectric performance was characterized. All of the nanofiber PVDF/CP systems displayed higher piezoelectric performance than the fine fiber PVDF systems. The PVDF/PPY nanofiber system displays the highest piezoelectric performance of 15.56 V. The piezoelectric performance of the PVDF/CP nanofiber systems favors potential for an attractive source of energy where highly flexible membranes could be used in power actuators, sensors and portable, and wireless devices to mention some.     

Sulfonylguanidine Derivatives as Potential Antimelanoma Agents

Sulfonylguanidines are interesting bioactive compounds with a broad range of applications in the treatment of different pathologies. 2-Aminobenzazole-based structures are well employed in the development of new anticancer drugs. Two series of novel N-benzazol-2-yl-N′-sulfonyl guanidine derivatives were synthesized with the sulfonylguanidine in either an extra- or intracyclic frame. They were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against malignant melanoma tumor cells, thus allowing structure-activity relationships to be defined. Additionally, NCI-60 screening was performed for the best analogue to study its efficiency against a panel of other cancer cell lines. The stability profile of this promising compound was then validated. During the synthetic process, an unexpected new deamidination of the sulfonylguanidine towards sulfonamide function was also identified.     

Formulating Pantone colors by unused base inks,formulation software,and a spectrophotometer

Unused base inks that are not going to be used for printing production are considered to be hazardous materials. Their disposal is expensive, and strict environmental regulations should be followed for their disposal. As an alternative, this article describes how spectral data of unused base inks can be gathered and mixed to generate new colors to incorporate them back to print production for small‐volume jobs. In this study, 30 different Pantone colors were selected as target colors. The CIE L*a*b* spectral data of Pantone colors and unused base inks were gathered via a spectrophotometer. A commercial formulation software, based on multiflux theory and CIE L*a*b* color space, was used to formulate ink recipes that contained the base inks. To quantify the performance of ink recipes, they were mixed and printed using an offset printability tester. The CIELAB ΔE*_ab metric, developed by CIE, was used to detect the visual differences between the target Pantone Color and printed colors.     

On chemical and diffusional interactions between PCBN and superalloy Inconel 718: Imitational experiments

During a metal cutting process, chemical wear can become the dominant mechanism of tool degradation under the high temperatures and contact pressures that arise between the tool and the metal workpiece. This study focuses on the chemical and diffusional interactions between superalloy Inconel 718 and cubic boron nitride (cBN) tool material with and without TiC binder. It covers thermodynamic modeling and experimental tests in the pressure range of 0.1 Pa to 2.5 GPa at temperatures up to 1600 °C. The methods used include diffusion couples under both vacuum and high pressure, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and in-situ synchrotron observations. It is shown that cBN is prone to diffusional dissolution in the metal and to reactions with niobium, molybdenum, and chromium from Inconel 718. Adding TiC binder changes the overall degradation process because it is less susceptible to these interaction mechanisms.     

Quaternäre Metall/Metalloxid‐Katalysatoren als Wandkatalysatoren in Mikroreaktoren für Power‐to‐Gas‐Applikationen mittels kombinatorischer Hochdurchsatzmethoden

Catalysts of quaternary composition have been prepared and tested for the Sabatier process. For catalyst syntheses the following techniques have been used: sol‐gel methods, wet impregnation and incipient wetness impregnation. The Sabatier reaction was carried out at temperatures between 520 K and 670 K, pressures of 15 bar and 30 bar using a mixture H₂:CO₂ of 4:1. Activity screening of the microscale wall catalysts was performed by a custom‐built 10‐fold parallel gas‐flow microreactor setup in sequential operating mode. To analyze the gas phase compositions GC‐FID was used.     

Synthesis of Long-Chain β-Lactones and Their Antibacterial Activities against Pathogenic Mycobacteria

In the quest for new antibacterial agents, a series of novel long- and medium-chain mono- and disubstituted β-lactones was developed. Their activity against three pathogenic mycobacteria—M. abscessus, M. marinum, and M. tuberculosis—was assessed by the resazurin microtiter assay (REMA). Among the 16 β-lactones synthesized, only 3-hexadecyloxetan-2-one (VM005) exhibited promising activity against M. abscessus, whereas most of the β-lactones showed interesting activities against M. marinum, similar to that of the classical antibiotic, isoniazid. Regarding M. tuberculosis, six compounds were found to be active against this mycobacterium, with β-lactone VM008 [trans-(Z)-3-(hexadec-7-en-1-yl)-4-propyloxetan-2-one] being the best growth inhibitor. The promising antibacterial activities of the best compounds in this series suggest that these molecules may serve as leads for the development of much more efficient antimycobacterial agents.