The effect of Al content on the wettability between liquid iron and MgOAl2O3 binary substrate

In the present study, the wettability between liquid iron with two different Al contents and MgOAl₂O₃ binary substrates was studied in reducing atmosphere. The contact angles between liquid iron with 18?ppm Al and MgO, MgO·Al₂O₃, Al₂O₃ were 133.5°, 113.7°, 126.9° respectively. With the variation of the substrate composition, the contact angles for the intermediate binary phases of the three components (MgO, MgO·Al₂O₃, Al₂O₃) obeyed the Cassie theory. In the experiment using iron with 370?ppm Al, all the contact angles were higher than that using low Al-containing iron. The surface of the iron drop was covered with an oxide layer, which mainly consisted of many small particles. With the variation of the substrate gradually from MgO to Al₂O₃, the composition of the oxide layer changed from MgO·Al₂O₃ to CaOAl₂O₃. The formation of the oxide layer prevented the spreading of liquid iron, leading to the increase of the contact angle.     

Perfectly Wetting Mixtures of Surfactants from Renewable Resources: The Interaction and Synergistic Effects on Adsorption and Micellization

This paper presents a study of the surface properties of mixtures of surfactants originating from renewable sources, i.e., alkylpolyglucoside (APG), ethoxylated fatty alcohol (AE), and sodium soap (Na soap). The main objective was to optimize the surfactant ratio which produces the highest wetting properties during the analysis of the solution of the individual surfactants, two- and three-component mixtures, and at different pH values. The results showed the existence of a synergistic effect in lowering the interfacial tension, critical micelle concentration and the formation of mixed micelles in selected solutions. We found that best wetting properties were measured for the binary AE:APG mixtures. It has been demonstrated that slightly lower contact angles values were observed on Teflon and glass surfaces for the AE:APG:soap mixtures but the results were obtained for higher concentration of the components. In addition, all studied solutions have very good surface properties in acidic, basic and neural media. However, the AE:soap (molar ratio of 1:2), AE:APG (2:1) and AE:APG:soap (1:1:1) compositions improved their wetting power at pH 7 on the aluminium and glass surfaces, as compared to solutions at other pH values tested (selected Θ values close to zero—perfectly wetting liquids). All described effects detected would allow less surfactant to be used to achieve the maximum capacity of washing, wetting or solubilizing while minimizing costs and demonstrating environmental care.     

The effect of airflow pattern on filter breakthrough in physical adsorption

The Wheeler-Jonas (WJ) model for prediction of the protection capacity of organic vapor filters under a fixed airflow was extended to breathing-simulation, pulsating flow. Breakthrough curves of dimethyl-methyl phosphonate (DMMP) and decane were measured under fixed flow and sinusoidal flow. A linear dependence of ln(C_X/C₀) on the breakthrough time (t_B) was observed in all the experiments, indicating that the concepts of critical bed weight (W_C) and dynamic adsorption capacity (W_E) as defined by the WJ model are applicable to pulsating flow as well. W_E was found to be almost unchanged by the flow pattern, whereas W_C was considerably larger (by 7-44%) at pulsating flow compared to fixed flow with the same average rate. Thus, shifting from fixed flow to pulsating flow may shorten t_B significantly. The effect of the flow type on t_B increases with the ratio of the critical weight to the total bed weight. For a high protection level (C₀/C_X=60?000), the protection capacity of personal NBC canisters was reduced by up to 15% upon shifting from fixed to pulsating flow.     

The effect of sulfur on the dissociative adsorption of methane on nickel

The dissociative adsorption of methane was carried out on a Ni(100) surface covered with various amounts of sulfur under the high incident flux conditions of 1 Torr methane. Auger electron spectroscopy was used to measure the rate of carbon buildup and thus to determine the initial methane decomposition rates on the surface. It was shown that the sulfur atoms poison this reaction by a simple site-blocking process. These results are consistent with the activated dissociative adsorption of methane on Ni(100) occurring via a direct adsorption process.     

The effect of protein binding on ibuprofen adsorption to activated carbons

The potential of a range of polymer-based activated carbons to remove a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen from protein containing and protein-free solutions was studied. The adsorption capacity of five activated carbons produced from phenol-formaldehyde resin precursors (MAST Carbon Ltd) was compared to a cellulose coated activated carbon Norit RBX used in a commercial Adsorba^®300C haemoperfusion column (Gambro).Ibuprofen adsorption was studied in batch experiments over 24 h at pH=7.6 and 25 °C and adsorption equilibrium data were correlated with the Langmuir and Freundlich equations.Results showed that uncoated mesoporous MAST carbons can remove ibuprofen from model solutions both in the presence and absence of serum albumin. Ibuprofen is a highly protein-bound drug and the presence of serum albumin significantly affects the adsorption of ibuprofen by cellulose-coated microporous carbon used in Adsorba^®300C column.     

Mechanistic study of adsorption of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide on high purity iron using contact angle, polarization resistance and XPS

The mechanism of inhibition of carbon dioxide (CO₂) corrosion of high purity iron by cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was investigated by contact angle, polarization resistance and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The wetting properties, corrosion inhibitor performance and the adsorption of the inhibitor on a high purity iron surface were investigated. Test conditions during corrosion testing were 25 °C, 3 wt% NaCl brine, initial pH 3.9 and 1 bar CO₂ partial pressure. The samples were precorroded for 5 h before inhibitor was added.The inhibitor performance data showed that addition of CTAB significantly reduced the corrosion rate of high purity iron. The decreased corrosion rate seems to be caused by a blocking effect, where the CTAB forms a surface structure on the iron surface. Chemisorption of the CTAB molecules, which could lead to gradually increasing inhibitor efficiency, might be the reason for the slowly decreasing corrosion rate. The XPS data confirmed a gradual accumulation of inhibitor on the surface but did not show any distinct change between different mechanisms at different exposure times. The contact angle measurements showed that the iron was water wet, with a contact angle higher than 160°, at all CTAB concentrations.     

The effect of activated carbon surface moisture on low temperature mercury adsorption

Experiments with elemental mercury (Hg⁰) adsorption by activated carbons were performed using a bench-scale fixed-bed reactor at room temperature (27°C) to determine the role of surface moisture in capturing Hg⁰. A bituminous-coal-based activated carbon (BPL) and an activated carbon fiber (ACN) were tested for Hg⁰ adsorption capacity. About 75-85% reduction in Hg⁰ adsorption was observed when both carbon samples’ moisture (∼2 wt.% as received) was removed by heating at 110°C prior to the Hg⁰ adsorption experiments. These observations strongly suggest that the moisture contained in activated carbons plays a critical role in retaining Hg⁰ under these conditions. The common effect of moisture on Hg⁰ adsorption was observed for both carbons, despite extreme differences in their ash contents. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments performed on the two carbons after adsorption indicated that chemisorption of Hg⁰ is a dominant process over physisorption for the moisture-containing samples. The nature of the mercury bonding on carbon surface was examined by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. XAFS results provide evidence that mercury bonding on the carbon surface was associated with oxygen. The results of this study suggest that surface oxygen complexes provide the active sites for mercury bonding. The adsorbed H₂O is closely associated with surface oxygen complexes and the removal of the H₂O from the carbon surface by low-temperature heat treatment reduces the number of active sites that can chemically bond Hg⁰ or eliminates the reactive surface conditions that favor Hg⁰ adsorption.     

Influence of different pore-forming agents on wollastonite microstructures and adsorption capacities

In this study, porous macro- and micro-cellular wollastonite-based ceramics was synthesized. A ceramic precursor, methylhydrocyclosiloxane, together with micro-sized CaCO₃, was used as a starting material. After 20 min of ultrasound treatment, and calcination at 250 °C for 30 min, different pore-forming agents were added to the as-obtained powders. Differential thermal analysis was used to determine characteristic temperatures of processes occurring within powders during heating. Based on the obtained results, the sintering regime was set up. The prepared mixtures were pressed into pallets and sintered at 900 °C. During the sintering regime, porous wollastonite-based ceramics was obtained. The phase composition of the sintered samples, as well as the microstructures, were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction and SEM. A two-phase system was detected in all samples, CaSiO₃ wollastonite and Ca₂SiO₄ larnite, and their ratio varied with each pore-forming agent. It was observed that the addition of different pore-forming agents resulted in significantly different microstructures. In a batch test, the influence of pH, the contact time and the initial ion concentration on the adsorption efficiency of As⁺⁵, Cr⁺⁶and phosphate ions on the synthesized adsorbents were studied. Time-dependent adsorption is best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Weber-Morris model, which predict intra-particle diffusion as a rate-controlling step of the overall process. High adsorption capacities, 21.93, 23.88, and 27.29 mg g^–1, were obtained for the CaCO₃-siloxane-nanocellulose sorbent, and similar/lower capacities were obtained for the CaCO₃-siloxane-PMMA and CaCO₃-siloxane-cotton wool adsorbents.     

Filtration of nanosized particles with different shape on oil coated fibres

In our previous work it has been shown that perfectly spherical polystyrene latex (PSL) particles have higher filtration efficiency compared to cubic magnesium oxide (MgO) particles of the same electrical mobility as PSL particles. This disparity was ascribed to the different nature of motion of the spherical and cubic particles along the fibre surface, following the initial collision. After touching the fibre surface and before coming to rest, the spherical particles could either slide or roll compared to the cubic ones, which could slide or tumble. During tumbling, the area of contact between the particle and the fibre changes significantly, thus affecting the bounce probability, whilst for the spheres, the area of contact remains the same for any point of particle trajectory. In this project, the polypropylene filter was coated with a thin layer of mineral oil that was used to absorb the energy and, respectively, to minimize particle motion along the fibre after collision. The filtration efficiency of spherical PSL, and cubic MgO particles was measured in the size range of 50–300 nm, for filtration velocity of 10 and 20 cm/s. It was found that, regardless of shape, both particle types have very similar filtration efficiency. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with our experimental results. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that the oil coating minimizes the amount of particle motion along the fibre after initial collision, making results for all particle shapes similar.     

Enhancement of the rheological properties of magnetorheological elastomer via polystyrene-grafted carbonyl iron particles

In this work, carbonyl iron particles (CIP) was grafted with polystyrene coating on its surface via polymerization method, and the coated-CIPs were then embedded into a silicone rubber with the ratio of 70:30 of CIP to silicone rubber in order to enhance the rheological properties of magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) in terms of lower initial storage modulus and higher MR effect. By using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) that is equipped with the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for elemental analysis, it was observed that elements of C, N, O, Si, Fe, Br, Cu, and Sn were detected, confirming that the coating layer has been successfully developed on the CIP. Additionally, the investigation of the rheological characteristics was conducted at 25°C with three different sweep conditions using rheometer MCR 302. Firstly the strain amplitude was swept from 0.001% to 10% strain with 1 Hz frequency. Then, the frequency was varied from 1 Hz to 100 Hz under 0.01% strain at an applied current of 0–5 A. Lastly, the current was swept from 0 to 5 A under 0.01% strain amplitude and 1 Hz excitation frequency. It was discovered that the storage modulus of the polystyrene-coated CIP MRE is lower than that of uncoated-CIP MRE in all three sweep profiles. Advantageously, the magnetorheological (MR) effect of the coated-CIP MRE sample is higher than that of the uncoated-CIP MRE by 28.04%. Moreover, it was found that the coated-CIP MRE exhibited higher damping behavior with more than 0.14 loss factor than 0.12 loss factor of the uncoated sample. The dimensional stability of polystyrene coating on the CIP was an attributing factor to this enhanced damping behavior of the coated-CIP MRE. Thus, it became clear that the polystyrene-coated CIP embedment in MRE is more desirable than that of MRE with uncoated CIP.     

A study on the wetting behavior of liquid iron on forsterite,mullite, spinel and quasi-corundum substrates

Wetting characteristics of liquid iron on magnesia, alumina and silica mixture substrates were studied by sessile drop experiments. Chromium-free forsterite, mullite, spinel and quasi-corundum phases were selected as alternative refractories in MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂. Morphological changes of molten electrolytic iron on the oxide substrates were investigated via apparent contact angle measurements. The results showed that the wetting behavior was significantly influenced by FeO compounds that were formed via oxidation of the liquid iron. Morphologies of the reacted layer were studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)/EDX analysis. The ternary phases FeO-MgO-SiO₂ and FeO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ improved the wetting of liquid iron on the forsterite and mullite substrates by providing liquid phases at solid (refractory)–liquid (iron) interfaces. However, corrosion by liquid iron was significantly inhibited at spinel phase which did not feature FeO based compounds at the interface. Quasi-corundum (10MgO-25SiO₂-65Al₂O₃) showed a much enhanced resistance to liquid iron compared to forsterite or mullite refractories.     

Hydrophobisation of active carbon surface and effect on the adsorption of water

A technique of surface hydrophobisation has been applied to two microporous carbonaceous adsorbents. A granular active carbon and an activated carbon fibre, both formerly chemically treated in order they preferentially present hydroxyl surface functions, were modified by action of vinyltrimethoxysilane (vtmos) in liquid phase. The resulting samples were characterised using sorption of nitrogen, FTIR, XPS and ²⁹Si MAS-NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Their stability and heat treatment have also been investigated through thermal analysis.The efficiency of the hydrophobisation treatment was evaluated by static adsorption of water vapour and vapours of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs): dichloromethane and trichloroethylene. Grafting of the vtmos and development of a “coating” of polysiloxane onto the adsorbent induced a modification of the carbon surface but also a partial filling of the porosity. These modifications accounted for a decrease of both the amounts of water and VOC adsorbed by the hydrophobised materials. However, water uptakes were found to be much lower than those of the VOCs, evidencing an enhanced selectivity of the hydrophobised adsorbents toward VOCs.     

The effect of added solvents on soy oil lutein adsorption by silicic acid

It has been reported that addition of isopropanol to a soy oil miscella inhibits the binding of soy lutein to added silicic acid by competitive adsorption. It was suggested that the competition was based on the polarity of the miscella constituents. This investigation studied the effects of a homologous series of lower alcohols to competitively inhibit lutein binding to silicic acid from a soy oil hexane miscella. Lutein binding inhibition by molecules of carbon chains with the same lengths, but with different functional groups, was also examined. Minor differences were found between members of a homologous series of alcohols. A similar result was found with short-chain fatty acids. The ability of various functional groups to displace lutein from silicic acid was dependent on the molecules’ ability to form hydrogen bonds, rather than on polarity.     

Adsorption of dodecyl trimethylammonium and hexadecyl trimethylammonium onto kaolinite — Competitive adsorption and chain length effect

Adsorption of dodecyl trimethylammonium (DDTMA) and hexadecyl trimethylammonium (HDTMA) from single and mixed surfactant solutions onto kaolinite was investigated in this study. It was found that the surfactant chain length had minimal effects on the amount of cations desorbed. In contrast, the amounts of surfactant and counterion bromide adsorbed were strongly affected by surfactant chain lengths. Compared to DDTMA, HDTMA and counterion bromide adsorption was much higher. This fact further verified that both cation exchange and hydrophobic interaction played an important role in cationic surfactant adsorption on negatively charge mineral surfaces. The results also indicate that chain length has a minimal influence on surfactant adsorption via cation exchange, but a longer chain length promotes stronger hydrophobic interaction and thus, resulted in a higher surfactant adsorption.     

The effect of Nafion sulfonate surface concentration on cationic polyacrylamide adsorption

Perfluorosulfonate ionomer membranes (PFSIs) were cast from Nafion^® propanol-water solutions of varying equivalent weights (950, 1100, and 1200 Da) and all annealed at 100 °C under vacuum. Sulfonate group surface concentration on the various membranes and its effect on the adsorption of a cationic polyacrylamide were investigated utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The cationic polyacrylamide is employed in the microelectronics industry for electroless printed circuit fabrication and may be used to pattern electrodes directly onto the PFSI surfaces for fuel cell miniaturization. Sulfonate surface concentration was found to be well correlated to the sulfonate bulk concentration obtained from the known equivalent weights of the Nafion^® solutions. Adsorbed cationic polyacrylamide surface coverage was found to be independent of the immersion time in the adsorbate solution. A wide variation in adsorbate coverage (from 0 to 60% of the surface) occurred over a comparatively small variation in the sulfonate repeat unit surface concentration (from 0 to 20% of the total Nafion^® repeat units). Adsorbate coverage goes through a maximum as the sulfonate concentration increases and is consistent with a random, enthalpy-driven adsorption process. Greater sulfonate concentration and lower associated adsorbate coverage was detected on cast membranes than previously found with commercially prepared membranes.     

固体颗粒对油水界面性质及乳状液稳定性的影响

采用界面张力仪、表面粘弹性仪和Zeta电位仪,研究了固体颗粒对胜利原油油水界面性质及乳状液稳定性的影响。结果表明,固体颗粒的存在使得油水界面张力及界面剪切粘度增加,O/W型乳状液的稳定性增加,而且随固体颗粒浓度增加,乳状液稳定性增强;在0.21~500μm范围内,固体颗粒粒径减小,其与原油形成的O/W乳状液稳定性增强,乳状液内部油珠表面Zeta电位负值增加。     

The effect of biomass adsorption on the removal of selected pharmaceutical compounds in an immersed membrane bioreactor system

BACKGROUND: The performance of a pilot membrane bioreactor system (MBR) was tested for the treatment of municipal wastewater, with emphasis on the capability for removal of selected pharmaceuticals RESULTS: The MBR showed excellent performance with regards to conventional pollutants. However, the removal of specific pharmaceuticals was not as high. Carbamazepine and 17 α‐ethinyl estradiol showed the lowest removal, with mean removal rates of around 20%. Clofibric acid showed the highest removal 70%, while for 17β‐estradiol the mean removal was 40%. In order to distinguish between the two basic mechanisms of removal, adsorption on biomass and biodegradation, adsorption studies on inactivated biomass were performed and mass balances were written for the four pharmaceuticals. The immediate removal observed for the three compounds during short hydraulic retention times may have been primarily due to adsorption. CONCLUSIONS: The removal of carbamazepine, 17β‐estradiol and 17α‐ethynil estradiol, as well as half of the removal of chlofibric acid could be attributed to direct adsorption on biomass within the hydraulic residence time of the reactor. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

The factors affecting the performance of activated carbon prepared from oil palm empty fruit bunches for adsorption of phenol

Powdered activated carbons (PACs) were produced from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) by varying the operating parameters of temperatures, CO₂ gas flow rates and activation times using 2-level full factorial experimental design. The EFB samples were first carbonized for 30 min using nitrogen gas followed by physical activation using CO₂ to optimize best production conditions. The optimum conditions for PACs produced were investigated through adsorption tests on aqueous solution of phenol. The results of this study demonstrated that the activation temperature with the range of 800–900 °C had the most significant effect on the adsorption characteristics as well as the yield of the activated carbon produced. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and model equation developed, the optimum production conditions for the EFB PAC were found to be at the activation temperature of 900 °C with CO₂ gas flow rate of 0.1 L/min and activation time of 15 min. Characterization of PAC produced showed that the activation conditions would find good-quality adsorbent with the BTE surface area of 345.1 m²/g and well forming pores distribution.     

The effect of bubble size on oil-water separation efficiency for a novel oil-water separation column

Bubble size is a key factor in froth flotation for oil-water separation. In this paper, the bubble size which impacts on oil removal efficiency for a novel oil-water separation column was researched systematically. The bubble size distribution was researched by using the photographic method and Matlab software. In addition, several operating parameters which impact on the bubble size were investigated, including circulating pressure, aeration rate, and the foaming agent. Based on the results of experimental data and image analysis, the frother consumption and aeration rate has important influence on the bubble size. The bubble size can be controlled by adjusting the operation conditions including the circulating pressure, aeration rate, and the frother consumption. The optimum operating conditions for the oil-water separation column were determined. Furthermore, the mathematical model of oil removal efficiency for the oil-water separation column was established.