Methods for determining the in-service life of polymer water pipes

A key requirement for polymer pipes, in having the ability to achieve a long in service life, is the retention by the polymeric material of its anti-oxidants. In dry air and other favourable environmental conditions the life-span of the polymer material can be many decades. However, when polymer pipes are transporting water and the pipes need to be installed in all kinds of ground conditions then the loss of anti-oxidant from the polymer can become more of a problem. To maintain integrity of water distribution networks, companies aim to plan for replacement of water pipes before they are likely to fail. This paper presents ways in which small scale evaluations of aged pipe material can be employed to assess remaining in-service life of water pipes. Small-scale chemical and physical evaluations have been devised to provide indicators of the ageing process with associated loss of mechanical properties. The presented studies were performed using MDPE and PE80 pipe materials. These materials were evaluated before and after ageing to identify which chemical and physical evaluations were the most appropriate to assess the remaining life of in service polymer pipes.     

Absorption of hydrophobic compounds into the poly(dimethylsiloxane) coating of solid-phase microextraction fibers: high partition coefficients and fluorescence microscopy images

The use of solid-phase microextraction with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-coated glass fibers for the extraction and analysis of hydrophobic organic analytes is increasing. The literature on this topic is characterized by large discrepancies in partition coefficients and an uncertainty of whether highly hydrophobic analytes are retained by absorption into the fiber coating or by adsorption to the fiber surface. We applied a new method, which minimizes the impact of experimental artifacts, to determine PDMS water partition coefficients of 17 hydrophobic analytes including chlorinated benzenes, PCBs, PAHs, and p,p'-DDE. These partition coefficients are several orders of magnitude higher than some reported values. Two observations strongly suggest that the retention of hydrophobic organic substances is governed by partitioning into the PDMS coating. (1) The partition coefficients are proportional with octanol/water partition coefficients. (2) The fluorescence of fluoranthene was observed to be homogeneously distributed within the polymer coating when studied by means of fluorescence microscopy. Implications of these findings for the application of solid-phase microextraction with respect to potential detection limits, with respect to biomimetic extraction, and with respect to measurements in multicompartment systems are discussed.     

Probing the micro-phase separation of thermo-responsive amphiphilic polymer in water/ethanol solution

The temperature-induced coil-globule transition (micro-phase separation) in water/ethanol solutions of poly(vinyl methyl ether) was studied using NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy and dynamic light scattering. NMR sequence based on spin-echo was introduced in order to determine lower critical solution temperature with high accuracy. Variation in DSC profiles and enthalpy increments depending on ethanol concentration in a water/ethanol mixture was found. Evolution of morphology pattern during heating-cooling cycle was observed using optical microscopy. At lower PVME concentration the globule size distribution was determined using digital image processing. Relative number and relative mass size distributions of globules in a dilute sample were measured by differential scanning calorimetry and subsequently compared with those obtained by optical microscopy.     

Partition coefficients of ionizable compounds in o-nitrophenyl octyl ether/water measured by the potentiometric method

The objective of this study was to investigate the reliability of potentiometric measurements of partition coefficients (log P) in the o-NPOE/water system, o-nitrophenyl octyl ether being an organic solvent widely used for the voltammetric determination of the partition coefficient of ions. Three sets of ionizable model compounds were explored in this study. The results showed that the potentiometric technique gave precise and reliable log P(npoe) values in the explored range of 0.1-4.3.     

Frame-theory-based approach for determining the time-frequency distribution characterizing a dense group of reflecting objects

An inverse-scattering problem concerning the determination of a time-frequency spreading function is addressed. Such a function characterizes a dense group of reflecting objects at different ranges and moving with different velocities. The problem, arising in radar and other remote-sensing techniques, is a classical inverse problem. The aim is to reconstruct a function of two variables by means of signals (of one variable) reflected from the environment being observed. The proposed approach is developed by recourse to the frame theory in order to provide a reconstruction formula that asymptotically converges to a unique spreading function. The realistic situation with respect to the transmission of a finite number of signals is further considered. In this case the reconstruction formula is shown to yield the orthogonal projection of the spreading function onto a subspace generated by the outgoing signals.     

The effect of surfactants on the distribution of organic compounds in the soil solid/water system

The efficiency of soil remediation by surfactant washing was evaluated via the measured distribution coefficients of a number of nonpolar compounds in several soil-water mixtures. The studied compounds (contaminants) are BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene) and three chlorinated pesticides (lindane, alpha-BHC, and heptachlor epoxide), which span several orders of magnitude in water solubility (S(w)). A peat, and two natural soils were used that comprise a wide range in soil organic matter (SOM) content. The surfactants tested included cationic, anionic and nonionic types, with concentrations up to five to six times the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The K(d)(*)/K(d), values were used to evaluate the remediation efficiency under various operation conditions. For relatively water soluble BTEX compounds, the surfactant adsorption on the soil surface is the deciding factor on contaminant desorption from soil. For the less-soluble pesticides, surfactant micelles in solution influence the contaminant desorption more. The contaminants partitioning to SOM or adsorbed surfactants lowers the desorption efficiency. Anionic surfactants are found to be a better choice on soil remediation because they do not form admicelle on soil surface that enhances the SOM content. Cationic surfactant, which adsorb onto soil surfaces, leads to poor remediation efficiency. An improper selection of surfactant would result in inefficiency in soil remediation by surfactant washing.     

Novel approach for the synthesis of hybrid clay-based nanopigments and their application as coloring agents

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The nature of interactions of a toxic dye, thioflavin T (TFT), with pristine clay (bentonite (Bet)), clay minerals (montmorillonite (Mnt) and...     

Fluorinated matrix approach for the characterization of hydrophobic perfluoropolyethers by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS

Characterization of fluorinated polymers in MALDI is often unsuccessful because commonly used matrixes, such as 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, Indole acrylic acid, alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, etc., do not desorb/ionize fluorinated polymers efficiently. This could be in part attributed to the unfavorable interaction between the matrix molecules and fluorinated oligomers due to differences in their hydrophobicities. Moreover, the relative cation affinity between the matrix molecules and the fluorinated oligomers may not favor the gas-phase cationization process of the fluorinated oligomers. To overcome these limitations, fluorinated derivates of benzoic acid (pentafluorobenzoic acid) and cinnamic acid (Pentafluoro cinnamic acid) were employed for the desorption/ionization of perfluoropolyethers. Presence of fluorine atoms in the matrix might improve the interaction between the matrix and perfluoroether during the crystallization or ionization step. With a pentafluorobenzoic acid matrix, intact silver cationized oligomers were desorbed, whereas with a pentafluorocinnamic acid matrix, loss of end group was observed. This loss could be rationalized by the dissociation of the silver cationized oligomers via an ion-dipole mechanism. This work shows the possibility of characterizing yet another important class of fluorinated polymer by MALDI-TOFMS.     

Integrated low-carbon distribution system for the demand side of a product distribution supply chain: a DoE-guided MOPSO optimiser-based solution approach

This article contributes to distribution system literature on three inter-linked aspects viz. formulation of a novel integrated low-carbon/green distribution system for the demand side of a Supply Chain (SC) with a single product and multiple consumers, i.e. drop-off points, a novel and robust solution approach through a Design of Experiment (DoE)-guided Multiple-Objective Particle Swarm Optimisation (MOPSO) optimiser and exhaustive analysis of the solutions (i.e. prioritisation, ranking and scenario analysis). The total costs, CO₂ emission and the traversed distances of the vehicles during transportation are optimised. The optimisation model for the strategic decision-making is formulated by effectively integrating the 0–1 mixed-integer programming with a green constraint based on Analytic Hierarchy Process. Due to the computationally NP-hard characteristic of the model, a systematic and technically robust DoE-guided solution approach is designed using a commercial solver – modeFRONTIER^®. DoE guides the solution through the MOPSO optimiser in order to eliminate the un-realistic set of feasible and optimal solution sets. A popular multi-attribute decision-making approach, TOPSIS, evaluates the solutions found from the Pareto optimal solution space of the solver. Finally, decision-makers’ preferences are analysed for monitoring the changes in the controlling parameters with respect to the changes in the decisions. A scenario analysis of the events by considering alternative possible outcomes is also conducted. It is found that the implemented methodology successfully routes the vehicles with optimal costs and low-carbon emission thus contributing to greening the environment on the demand side of a SC network.     

Preparation of 3-D porous PVDF/TPU composite foam with superoleophilic/hydrophobicity for the efficient separation of oils and organics from water

Nowadays, oils and organics pollutions have become more serious, which causes great threats both to the ecological environment and human life. To solve this problem, development of absorbent materials with high absorption capacity and good recyclability for large-scale oils and organics separation from water still remains large challenge. In this work, we propose a facile and low-cost method to prepare 3-D PVDF/TPU composite foam with superoleophilicity (0°) and hydrophobicity (143°) by combining vacuum-assisted solution casting and particle leaching techniques. The proposed PVDF/TPU composite foam shows high absorption capacity toward different of oils and organics, and its maximum absorption capacity can achieve 55 g/g for dichloromethane, which is attributed to its high porosity (95%) and excellent interconnectivity. The absorbed oils and organics can be readily removed by simply squeezing the PVDF/TPU composite foam due to its outstanding elasticity, suggesting that it has prominent recyclability. More importantly, the composite foam can quickly and continuously separate oils and organics from water through a peristaltic pump and has a high separation efficiency of 98.5% even after 10 cycles, which indicating a promising prospect for cleaning the large-scale oils and organics pollutions. Furthermore, the composite foam also can be applied to separate surfactant-stabilized oils and organics in-water emulsion. These results showed that the PVDF/TPU composite foam has the potential to be widely applied in practice for oils and organics separation.

     

Novel approach for the selective dispersion of MWCNTs in the Nylon/SAN blend system

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were coated with TiO₂ by sol gel process. The coating was confirmed by TEM, XPS and XRD. TEM analysis showed that rough coating was formed on the MWCNTs. These modified MWCNTs and pristine MWCNTs were dispersed in the blend of nylon 66 and SAN by melt blending. FESEM images showed that pristine MWCNTs were preferably dispersed in the nylon phase whereas TiO₂ modified MWCNTs confined to the SAN phase. The selective dispersion was explained on the basis of migration and stabilization of these high aspect ratio nanotubes in the Nylon/SAN blend system. The hydrogen bonding interaction between the CN group of SAN and surface hydroxyl group of TiO₂ coated MWCNTs has restricted the migration of modified MWCNTs from SAN to nylon phase.     

壳聚糖/碳纳米管杂化膜的制备及其乙醇/水体系的渗透汽化分离

多壁碳纳米管(MWNT)经硫酸/硝酸混酸处理后,获得的羧基化多壁碳纳米管通过溶液共混制备羧基化多壁碳纳米管/壳聚糖( MWNT- COOH/CS)杂化膜,用于乙醇/水体系的渗透汽化脱水.用FTIR、TEM等表征混酸处理前后的多壁碳纳米管及杂化膜的结构,实验测定杂化膜在乙醇/水溶液中的溶胀吸附行为及其对乙醇/水体系的渗透...     

Synthesis of CuS and PbS nanocrystals on the basis of PE/NBR polymer/elastomeric composites for their applications

In this research work, we have presented a chemical method to elaborate the PbS, CuS nanocrystals embedded in a polymer composites matrix. We have used polyethylene and nitrile butadiene rubber PE/NBR as a support for synthesis of lead sulfide (PbS) and copper sulfide (CuS) nanocrystals. The size control and morphology of these (PbS and CuS) nanoparticles have been applied by the method of “layer by layer”. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to determine simple optical responses, getting the biggest transmittances of CuS and PbS nanoparticles. Measured size of CuS nanoparticles is approximately 5.5–90 nm in different dose. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study confirmed the formation of cubic phase of PbS nanocrystals into the composite matrix. The size of PbS was estimated ∼9 nm. The surface morphology and crystallite sizes were determined by Atomic Force Microscopy measurements.     

MS/MS approach for characterization of the fatty acid distribution on mycobacterial phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosides

Phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosides (PIM) are not only important structural components of the mycobacterial envelope but also are major non-peptidic antigens of the host innate and acquired immune responses. Indeed, they are ligands of TLR-2 and they activate CD1-restricted T lymphocytes. In addition, PIM constitute the basic structure of the lipidic anchor of two lipoglycans, lipomannans and lipoarabinomannans, which are important immunomodulators in the course of tuberculosis. The fatty acyl substituents present on PIM molecules play a crucial role for both their physical properties and biological activities. PIM contain four acylation sites, two on the glycerol, one on a mannose, and one on the myo-inositol units. We propose here an analytical procedure, based on mass spectrometry, to determine the structure of the fatty acids present on each of these different acylation sites. We show that the nature of the fatty acids located on both positions of glycerol can be deduced from IRMPD analysis of negative precursor ions from native PIM species, while the fatty acids located on myo-inositol and mannose units can be identified by MALDI-TOF CID MS of protonated and cationized molecular ions. Thus, the combination of MS/MS data obtained from positive and negative pseudomolecular ions generated by ESI or MALDI appears as a powerful approach for the structural characterization of the PIM acyl form structure.     

Novel solution phase metathetic pathway for the synthesis of MnV2O6·H2O

A novel solution-based approach for the metathetic synthesis of hydrated MnV₂O₆ driven by microwave energy has been successfully demonstrated. The metathetic pathway of synthesizing this technologically important material is confirmed by the presence of high lattice energy by-product NaCl as per the reaction.

     

Mixture of fuels approach for the solution combustion synthesis of Al2O3-ZrO2 nanocomposite

A modified solution combustion approach was used for the first time in the preparation of nanosize zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) composite. ZTA-1 with an average particle size of ∼37 nm was prepared using corresponding metal nitrates and urea. ZTA-2 with an average particle size of <10 nm was prepared by using mixture of fuels such as ammonium acetate, urea and glycine. The products formed were characterised by powder X-ray diffractometry, Transmission electron microscopy and BET surface area analysis. By using mixture of fuels, the energetics of the combustion reaction and eventually the properties of the combustion product have been changed. A series of combustion reactions were carried out to optimise the fuel ratio combinations required to obtain <10 nm ZTA particles. The microstructure of ZTA consisted of crystallites of Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ both of which were nanocrystalline as evident from TEM.     

Experimental boiling heat transfer coefficients in the high temperature generator of a double effect absorption machine for the lithium bromide/water mixture

The aim of this work is to determine the boiling heat transfer coefficients in the high temperature desorber (HTD) of an air-cooled double effect lithium bromide/water absorption prototype. The HTD is a plate heat exchanger (PHE) with thermal oil on one side, and a lithium bromide solution on the other side. Several experiments were performed with this PHE while the prototype was working with an outdoor dry bulb temperature around 42 °C and condensation temperature around 55 °C. The registered data allowed to calculate the global heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer coefficient for the LiBr/water mixture in forced convective boiling. The pressure drop produced by the boiling of the refrigerant has been calculated as well. It has been verified that the largest part of the heat supplied in the generator is required for desorbing the refrigerant (except for the maximum solution mass flow), while the sensible heat varies from 10% to 50% of the total heat supplied.     

Novel concept for the aggregation structure of fatty acid monolayers on the water surface and direct observation of molecular arrangements in their monolayers

The aggregation structure of fatty acid monolayers on water subphases of different pH’s was investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. Fatty acid monolayers exhibited the phase transition from an amorphous state to a crystalline one by surface compression in the case of a highly dissociated state of hydrophilic groups, whereas they did not show the phase transition in the case of a slightly dissociated state. The aggregation structure of monolayers on the water surface was systematically classified into “the crystalline monolayer”, “the amorphous monolayer” and “the compressing crystallized monolayer” with respect to thermal and chemical (intermolecular repulsive) factors. Molecular-resolution images of fatty acid molecules in the monolayers on mica substrate were successfully observed with an atomic force microscope (AFM) for the first time. The AFM image of a lignoceric acid monolayer prepared at a surface pressure of 5mNm⁻¹ showed a two-dimensional periodic structure with locally disordered molecular arrangements. Also, the nondestructive AFM image observation was successful for a stearic acid monolayer which was prepared by a multistep creep method, indicating that a high mechanical stability of the monolayer is inevitably required for the nondestructive AFM observation.     

Design and evaluation of a new thermospray liquid/liquid extractor for the extraction of semivolatile and nonvolatile organic compounds from water

The recovery of several semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) using a new thermospray liquid/liquid extractor (TSLLE) was investigated. The base system includes a 300 mL multiport extraction vessel, jacketed in a 500 mL cooling flask, a dual-stage condenser for progressive cooling, several thermospray probes, and solvent/sample delivery systems. Aqueous mixtures of SVOCs were used to evaluate the TSLLE. For most compounds, recovery values of 80-100% were obtained during a single cycle in <1 h. The design, evaluation, and extraction capability of the TSLLE are discussed.     

Dynamic programming approach to the numerical solution of optimal control with paradigm by a mathematical model for drug therapies of HIV/AIDS

In this paper, we present a new numerical algorithm to find the optimal control for the general nonlinear lumped systems without state constraints. The dynamic programming-viscosity solution (DPVS) approach is developed and the numerical solutions of both approximate optimal control and trajectory are produced. To show the effectiveness and efficiency of new algorithm, we apply it to an optimal control problem of two types of drug therapies for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The quality of the obtained optimal control and the trajectory pair is checked through comparison with the costs under the arbitrarily selected different controls. The results illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.