A comparative study between Cr(VI)-containing and Cr-free films for coil coating systems

In this work, the protection conferred by Cr(VI)-containing and Cr-free pre-treatments and primers used in hot dip galvanized steel (HDG) coated systems were studied. The EIS results showed a differentiated behaviour for the specimens with Cr(VI) compared to the chromium-free ones. The samples with Cr(VI), both in the pre-treatment and in the primer, presented a better corrosion performance when compared to the Cr-free ones.

Moreover, it can be said that the pre-treated and primed samples without Cr(VI) presented lower resistive properties and higher delamination fractions throughout the immersion time. The amount of Cr in the primer also influenced the coating resistance for shorter periods of immersion, but for long periods the passivating effect of Cr seems to be determinant.

When topcoat was applied, i.e. for a complete system, the Cr-free specimens performed better than the Cr(VI)-containing ones, perhaps due to a better adhesion of the topcoat to the primer in the former case. This leads to the conclusion that there is a risk in assessing the behaviour of a paint scheme on the basis of the individual behaviour of each layer.     

Regime transition in viscous and pseudo viscous systems: A comparative study

A comprehensive quantitative study on the effect of liquid viscosity (1 ≤ µ_L ≤ 1149 mPa‐s) on the local flow phenomena of the gas phase in a small diameter bubble column is performed using ultrafast electron beam X‐ray tomography. The internal dynamic flow structure and the bubble size distribution shows a dual role of the liquid viscosity on the hydrodynamics. Further, the effect of solid concentration (C_s = 0.05, 0.20) on the local flow behavior of the gas phase is studied for the pseudo slurry viscosities similar to the liquid viscosities of the gas–liquid systems. The effects of liquid and pseudo slurry viscosities on flow structure, bubble size distribution, and gas phase distribution are compared. The bubble coalescence is significantly enhanced with the addition of particles as compared to the system without particles for apparently same viscosity. The superficial gas velocity at which transition from homogeneous bubbly to slug flow regime occurs is initiated by the addition of particles as compared to the particle free system for apparently same viscosity. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3079–3090, 2014     

A comparative study of ethylene polymerization by bis(aminotropone) Ti catalysts

A series of titanium aminotropone complexes bearing a pair of chelating [O–N] ligands have been synthesized and used for polymerization of ethylene successfully. Ethylene polymerization reactions were carried out at different conditions using the prepared catalysts. The activities for ethylene polymerization were significantly dependent on the catalyst structure. The polymerization activity increased with increasing of the both monomer pressure and [MAO]:[Ti] ratio. The highest activity of the catalysts was obtained at about 30–40 °C. It was demonstrated that unlike the high performance Ti–FI catalysts, bis(aminotropone) Ti catalysts do not require the presence of steric bulk in close proximity to the oxygen moiety. Introduction of the bulky alkyl substitution next to the oxygen moiety decreased the activity of the catalysts. Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies reveal that the active species derived from these catalysts normally possess higher electrophilicity nature compared with those produced using bis(phenoxy-imine) Ti catalysts (Ti–FI catalysts). Hydrogen was used as the chain transfer agent. The activities of the catalysts were increased with hydrogen concentration to some extent, but the M _v values of the obtained polymers were decreased. Crystallinity and melting point of the obtained polymer were between 42–62% and 102–124 °C, respectively. Higher pressure increased both the crystallinity and the M _v values of the resulting polymers. The catalyst 8a also produced PE with almost narrow polydispersities (1.10–2.55) as is typical for single-site catalysts. However, PDI was broadened by time.     

A comparative study of (Ce) and (Gd) doping influence on the superconducting properties of YBCO ceramics

This work is devoted to investigate the structural and electrical properties of the Ce, Gd-doped YBCO superconductors bulk ceramics. YBa_2-xRE_xCu₃O_7−δ (x = 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1) (RE = Gd, Ce) samples were prepared by means of conventional solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction analysis was carried out to identify the present phases in the as-prepared samples followed by the determination of their lattice parameters. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the functional groups. Furthermore, the morphology and the surface roughness of the studied samples were characterized using Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Vickers Micro-hardness of the as-prepared samples was examined. Besides, the electrical resistivity measurements were achieved to determine the critical transition temperature T_C and the critical current density J_C.The effect of Ce and Gd additions is clearly noticed in the obtained results, where all the prepared samples are superconductors with the presence of Y123 as a major polycrystalline phase. From the XRD patterns, the intensities of the Y123 corresponding peaks decrease with further increasing the Ce and Gd contents. In addition, the variation of the cell parameters was significant after additions of both Ce and Gd, which affect the grain size and the oxygen content of the YBa_2-xRE_xCu₃O_7−δ system. An improvement of the structure and surface roughness is observed on SEM and AFM images. Likewise, Vickers micro-hardness has increased after the Ce and Gd additions. Although, the critical transition temperature T_C was not further increased upon Ce or Gd additions compared to the undoped YBCO samples. Nevertheless, an exception has been recorded with an increase of T_C for YBa_2-xRE_xCu₃O_7−δ with (RE = Gd, x=0.01) to reach 88 K. In contrary, an improvement of the deduced critical current density J_C was achieved for all Ce-doped YBCO samples unlike those of Gd-doped samples.     

A structural and morphological comparative study between chemically synthesized and photopolymerized poly(pyrrole)

Electrochemical and chemical oxidation methods are the two common methods used for the preparation of poly(pyrrole). The two methods have been acknowledged greatly and extensively studied because of their feasibility in manipulating the properties of poly(pyrrole) according to the desired application. However, chemical oxidation method is considered the best method for the preparation of poly(pyrrole) in larger quantities. There are other methods through which poly(pyrrole) can be synthesized such as plasma polymerization and photopolymerization, which have so far received less attention in the literature. For this paper, chemical oxidation was used to prepare poly(pyrrole) by oxidizing pyrrole with CuCl₂ under different emulsifying conditions. The surfactants used were sodium dodecyl sulfate and/or p-toluenesulfonic acid. Additionally, photopolymerization was also exploited to prepare poly(pyrrole) under similar emulsifying conditions. In this method, poly(pyrrole) was synthesized with the oxidizing ability of AgNO₃ under UV radiation. All samples were investigated by Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscope was used to compare the morphological differences, which occurred due to different experimental conditions. The thermal stability was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).     

A comparative study of controlling the externally heat-integrated double distillation columns (EHIDDiC)

The externally heat-integrated double distillation columns (EHIDDiC) is a newly proposed scheme featuring complete heat integration between the rectifying section of a high pressure distillation column (HPDC) and the stripping section of a low pressure distillation column (LPDC). In terms of its structural characteristics, three decentralized control systems are devised, which avoid using the pressure difference between the HPDC and LPDC as a manipulated variable and ease consequently the interaction between the control loops involved. While the first one attempts to control the composition of the blended top products of the HPDC and LPDC, the second one the composition of their blended bottom products, thereby simplifying the control structure from 4 × 4 to 3 × 3 system. The third one focuses on the simplified EHIDDiC with only three heat exchangers between the HPDC and LPDC (S-EHIDDiC) and their heat duties are employed as a combined manipulated variable. These control systems are evaluated in terms of the separation of a binary mixture of benzene and toluene and it is found that they outperform exclusively the conventional control system with the pressure difference as a manipulated variable. Both the top-mixed and bottom-mixed control systems appear to be superior to the one for the S-EHIDDiC and conventional double-effect distillation column, implying the advantages of the simplified design of decentralized control systems. The obtained results are considered to be of general significance and can be used to guide the design and operation of the EHIDDiC (S-EHIDDiC).     

A comparative study of models for molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) processes

The necessity of this work arose from the need for identification of a comprehensive plant model that can be used in the model-based control of the MCFC plant. Various models for molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) processes are presented and evaluated in this paper. Both a rigorous model based on mass and energy balances and implicit models based on operation data were investigated and analyzed. In particular, auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) model, least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM) model, artificial neural network (ANN) model and partial least squares (PLS) model for a MCFC system were developed based on input-output operating data. Among these models, the ARMA model showed the best agreement with plant operation data.     

A comparative study of polypropylene/(chloroprene rubber) and (recycled polypropylene)/(chloroprene rubber) blends

The blends of virgin polypropylene (PP) and recycled polypropylene (RPP) with chloroprene rubber (CR) have been prepared. The effect of different blend ratios on tensile properties, swelling behavior, morphology, and crystallinity of both blends of virgin and RPP was investigated. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of both blends decreased with increasing CR in blend ratios but the elongation at break was increased. It was found that the tensile properties of PP/CR blends were better than the RPP/CR blends. The PP/CR blends showed the lower value of swelling index. The scanning electron micrograph of the tensile fractured surface of PP/CR blends indicates that a higher energy is needed to cause failure compared with RPP/CR blends. The differential scanning calorimery results indicated that the degree of crystallinity of PP/CR blends also was found to be higher than RPP/CR blends. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 21:122–127, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

A comparative simulation study of power generation plants involving chemical looping combustion systems

This work presents a simulation study on both energy and economics of power generation plants with inherent CO₂ capture based on chemical looping combustion technologies. Combustion systems considered include a conventional chemical looping system and two extended three-reactor alternatives (exCLC and CLC3) for simultaneous hydrogen production. The power generation cycles include a combined cycle with steam injected gas turbines, a humid air turbine cycle and a simple steam cycle. Two oxygen carriers are considered in our study, iron and nickel. We further analyze the effect of the pressure reaction and the turbine inlet temperature on the plant efficiency. Results show that plant efficiencies as high as 54% are achieved by the chemical looping based systems with competitive costs. That value is well above the efficiency of 46% obtained by a conventional natural gas combined cycle system under the same conditions and simulation assumptions.     

A comparative study of a direct discretization and an operator-splitting solver for population balance systems

A direct discretization approach and an operator-splitting scheme are applied for the numerical simulation of a population balance system which models the synthesis of urea with a uni-variate population. The problem is formulated in axisymmetric form and the setup is chosen such that a steady state is reached. Both solvers are assessed with respect to the accuracy of the results, where experimental data are used for comparison, and the efficiency of the simulations. Depending on the goal of simulations, to track the evolution of the process accurately or to reach the steady state fast, recommendations for the choice of the solver are given.