Temperature stability of a pure metakaolin based K-geopolymer: Part 2. Variations in the mesoporous network and its rehydration stability

The thermal behavior of a model MK-based K-geopolymer was investigated between room temperature and 1400°C in order to evaluate its potentiality for high-temperature applications. The purpose of our study was to monitor the behavior of a geopolymer during a temperature rise in order to better understand its variations with respect to temperature. The works from the present paper focus only changes in the porous network; it follows a first part devoted to variations in the mineral matrix. The results obtained here show that the geopolymer material preserves its porous integrity up to 800°C, while maintaining the reversibility of water exchanges corresponding to about 25 weight percent. Together with the results of part 1, the findings of this study allow us to affirm that geopolymer materials are only very little affected by temperatures up to 800°C, or even 900°C (keeping its mesoporous amorphous structure).     

Bio-derived sodium silicate for the manufacture of alkali-activated binders: Use of bamboo leaf ash as silicate source

Alkali activated binders are a promising alternative to the use of Portland cement in the manufacture of concrete for curbing CO₂ emissions. Novel sources of silicates have been investigated in recent years for reducing cost and environmental impacts associated with the use of chemical activators. This study describes the production of solid sodium silicate (SS) activating powder from bamboo leaf ash (BLA). Bamboo leaves were calcined at 550–800°C, mixed with NaOH pellets, and heated in an oven at 300°C. The obtained silicate powder was used for activating blended fly ash/slag samples. Mechanical and microstructural properties of BLA-based samples were compared to those of samples made with commercially available chemicals. The strength of BLA-activated mortars matched the commercially-sourced activators, being 25–30 MPa at 7 days and exceeding 40 MPa at 28 days. The microstructural analysis suggested that BLA-based SS showed a lesser degree of dissolution of precursors at 7 days, but the quality of the matrix was higher than that of NaOH-activated samples. These results confirmed that the reactivity of BLA-silicate powder was similar to that of commercial SS solutions, and show the potential valorization of future biomass renewable waste in the production of low carbon, alkali-activated concretes.     

Studies on the stability of the calcium sulfoaluminate hydrates. Part 1: Effect of temperature on the stability of ettringite in pure water

The stability of the ettringite phase in relation to its solubility in pure water has been studied at 30°, 60° and 100° for a time interval of 14 days. Ettringite is stable up to 60° in a solution of a pH value around 11. Its solubility increases with temperature. It converts to the low sulfate form after one hour boiling which decomposes further to gypsum after 14 days. Gypsum appears first when the pH of the solution is lowered to 9 and the aluminium concentration clearly decreases.     

A feasibility study of adaptive Plasma‐Assisted incineration,Part 1: Demonstration on a laboratory model system

The use of a thermal plasma afterburner in hazardous waste incineration could prevent the formation of toxic organochlorine pollutants. The present work demonstrated cost‐optimal adaptive operation of a laboratory model system composed of an induction plasma jet with optical emission diagnostic tools. Input settings (plasma power and oxygen content) were continually adjusted in response to on‐line spectroscopic analysis of the product gas. This adaptive strategy allowed cost‐effective destruction of organic contaminants under a variable feed load. The system was able to reach and maintain a target level of destruction efficiency using optimal combinations of input settings.     

Prediction of the gas solubility in polymers by a radial basis function neural network based on chaotic self‐adaptive particle swarm optimization and a clustering method

A novel model based on a radial basis function neural network (RBF NN), chaos theory, self‐adaptive particle swarm optimization (PSO), and a clustering method is proposed to predict the gas solubility in polymers; this model is hereafter called CSPSO‐C RBF NN. To develop the CSPSO‐C RBF NN, the conventional PSO was modified with chaos theory and a self‐adaptive inertia weight factor to overcome its premature convergence problem. The classical k‐means clustering method was used to tune the hidden centers and radial basis function spreads, and the modified PSO algorithm was used to optimize the RBF NN connection weights. Then, the CSPSO‐C RBF NN was used to investigate the solubility of N₂ in polystyrene (PS) and CO₂ in PS, polypropylene, poly(butylene succinate), and poly(butylene succinate‐co‐adipate). The results obtained in this study indicate that the CSPSO‐C RBF NN was an effective method for predicting the gas solubility in polymers. In addition, compared with conventional RBF NN and PSO neural network, the CSPSO‐C RBF NN showed better performance. The values of the average relative deviation, squared correlation coefficient, and standard deviation were 0.1282, 0.9970, and 0.0115, respectively. The statistical data demonstrated that the CSPSO‐C RBF NN had excellent prediction capabilities with a high accuracy and a good correlation between the predicted values and the experimental data. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3825–3832, 2013     

The role of the vapour phase in fluid coker cyclone fouling: Part 1. Coke yields

The cyclone sections of fluid coking reactors at oil sand upgrading facilities have been observed to undergo severe coke fouling during each operational cycle. This work was conducted to determine if vapour phase deposition mechanisms could be responsible for the formations observed in the cyclones. The effects of vapour phase temperature (from 490°C to 560°C) and residence time (from 0.4 to 4.4 s) were studied. Raising the vapour phase temperature above the temperature at which the vapours were derived was found to significantly increase both the yield and rate of production of vapour phase coke.     

Thermal stability of the Pt bearing sulfate-promoted zirconia in the presence of hydrogen

Molecular hydrogen reduces the sulfate groups of the sulfate-promoted zirconia into volatile species, at a temperature much lower than the temperature of decomposition-oxidation of these groups in inert atmosphere or in air. This reduction effect is enhanced with the incorporation of Pt into the sulfate-promoted zirconia (the so-called Pt-to-sulfate effect), resulting in the loss of the sulfate groups at a significantly lower temperature. Such an enhanced reduction activity of hydrogen can be explained by the well known activation action of Pt on molecular hydrogen at relatively high temperatures. Moreover, this also results in the production of some surface zirconium sulfide.     

Solubility prediction of gases in polymers using fuzzy neural network based on particle swarm optimization algorithm and clustering method

A four‐layer fuzzy neural network (FNN) model combining particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and clustering method is proposed to predict the solubility of gases in polymers, hereafter called the CPSO‐FNN, which combined fuzzy theory's better adaptive ability, neural network's capability of nonlinear and PSO algorithm's global search ability. In this article, the CPSO‐FNN model has been employed to investigate solubility of CO₂ in polystyrene, N₂ in polystyrene, and CO₂ in polypropylene, respectively. Results obtained in this work indicate that the proposed CPSO‐FNN is an effective method for the prediction of gases solubility in polymers. Meanwhile, compared with traditional FNN, this method shows a better performance on predicting gases solubility in polymers. The values of average relative deviation, squared correlation coefficient (R²) and standard deviation are 0.135, 0.9936, and 0.0302, respectively. The statistical data demonstrate that the CPSO‐FNN has an outstanding prediction accuracy and an excellent correlation between prediction values and experimental data. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Influence of nanozirconia on the thermal stability of poly(methyl methacrylate) prepared by in situ bulk polymerization

Nanozirconia (nano‐ZrO₂) was prepared by the sol–gel method and incorporated into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by the in situ bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The structure of the nano‐ZrO₂ was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The structure of the nano‐ZrO₂ nanocomposites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, and scanning electron microscopy, and the results show that there were interactions between the nanoparticles and the polymer. The influence of the nano‐ZrO₂ on the thermal stability of PMMA was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicate that nano‐ZrO₂ enhanced the thermal stability of the PMMA/nano‐ZrO₂ nanocomposites. The effects of the heating rate in dynamic measurements (5–30°C/min) on kinetic parameters such as apparent activation energy (E_a) in TGA both in nitrogen and air were investigated. The Kissinger method was used to determine E_a for the degradation of pure PMMA and the PMMA/nano‐ZrO₂ nanocomposites. The kinetic results show that the values of E_a for the degradation of the nanocomposites were higher than that of pure PMMA in air. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Thermally stimulated shrinkage forces in oriented polymers: 1. Temperature dependence

Temperature dependences of shrinkage forces appearing in oriented polymer samples when heated at constant length were recorded for polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene and polypropylene. The influence of various processing conditions on thermally stimulated shrinkage forces is demonstrated. A four-state model is proposed which qualitatively describes the temperature dependences of shrinkage forces in amorphous polymers.     

Co-current combustion of oil shale - Part 1: Characterization of the solid and gaseous products

Co-current combustion front propagation in a bed of crushed oil shale (OS) leads to the production of liquid oil, of a flue gas and of a solid residue. The objective of this paper was to provide a detailed chemical characterization of Timahdit oil shale and of its smoldering combustion products. The amount of fixed carbon (FC) formed during devolatilization is measured at 4.7% of the initial mass of oil shale whatever the heating rate in the range 50-900 K min⁻¹. The combustion of oil shale was operated using a mix of 75/25 wt. of OS/sand with an air supply of 1460 l min⁻¹ m⁻². In these conditions, not all the FC is oxidized at the passage of the front, but 88% only, with a partitioning of 56.5% into CO and the rest into CO₂. A calorific gas with a lower calorific value of 54 kJ mol⁻¹ is produced. Approximately 52% of the organic matter from OS is recovered as liquid oil. The front decarbonates 83% of carbonates.     

Studies on the inhomogeneous nature of the silent discharge reactor: Part 1. Experimental investigations

Commercial application of the silent discharge reactor is confined to its use for the manufacture of ozone. Free electron concentration in the reaction space is determined by the occurrence of electron avalanches between the dielectrics and generation of transient primary reaction zones (PRZ) where the electron –- molecule collision reactions take place. Experimental studies have been carried out in order to increase the frequency of occurrence of PRZs as well as to enhance the mean electron energy within an individual avalanche. The dielectric surface has been treated with P.T.F.E. to reduce the recombination rate of O-atoms. Results indicated that both methods of modifying the current pulse train have influenced the pattern of utilization of electrical energy. Similarly a P.T.F.E. coated dielectric has been found to be more efficient than an ordinary glass dielectric.     

Part 1: A study on the properties of synthetic hydroxyledgrewite

In this work, for the first time chemical and physical properties of hydroxyledgrewite synthesized under hydrothermal conditions were examined. Hydroxyledgrewite was synthesized in the primary mixture consisted of CaO and amorphous SiO₂·nH₂O, when the molar ratio of CaO/SiO₂ was equal to 2.25. The synthesis has been carried out in unstirred suspensions under saturated steam pressure at 200°C temperature for 48 hours. It was proved that synthetic hydroxyledgrewite is stable till 675°C and at higher temperature recrystallized to γ‐C₂S, ‐C₂S, while upon subsequent cooling transformed into β‐C₂S. In addition to this, it was also determined that the density and specific heat capacity at 25°C are equal to 2.668 ± 5 g/cm³ and 0.928 J/(g·K), respectively. Synthetic hydroxyledgrewite showed disordered aggregates of plate‐like particles, while calculated S_BET value is equal to 13.961 m²/g. According gas adsorption results, it was obtained that hydroxyledgrewite is a mesoporous material. Also, it was obtained that after 72 hours of activated hydroxyledgrewite hydration, the amount of released heat was equal to 74.34 J/g. The product of synthesis and calcination were characterized by XRD, STA, DSC, SEM, TEM, FT‐IR analyses, and BET method.     

New polymer syntheses part: 54 novel conducting polymers and copolymers based on 4‐Teriary butyl‐cyclohexanone moiety in the main chain

A new interesting class of conducting polymer and copolymers based on 4‐teriary butyl‐cyclohexanone in the main chain has been synthesized by solution polycodensation of terephthalaldehyde with 4‐teriary butyl‐cyclohexanone and/or cycloalkanone derivatives. The model compound I was synthesized from the 4‐teriary butyl‐cyclohexanone with benzaldehyde, and its structure was confirmed by elemental and spectral analyses. The resulting polymer and copolymers were characterized by elemental and spectral analyses including Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT‐IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR), beside solubility and viscometry measurements. The thermal properties of those polymer and copolymers were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurements and correlated to their structural units. X‐ray analysis showed that it has some degree of crystallinity in the region 2θ = 5–60°. The UV–visible spectra of some selected polymers were measured in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution and showed absorption bands in the range 253–398 nm, due to n–π* and π–π* transition. The morphological properties of selected examples were tested by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Moreover, the electrical conductivities and the doping with iodine were tested. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Macerals in bituminous coals and the coking process: Part 1: Effect of basic coal properties on the process of thermal degradation

Bituminous coals produced in the Ostrava—Karviná coal basin show considerable variation in their maceral composition and rank. In order to explain the significance of the petrographic composition, structure and chemical parameters in coal degradation processes, a large number of coal samples was investigated. From the relationships obtained, the behaviour of macerals during these processes is discussed. It is found that isometamorphic vitrinites are characterized by a distinctive behaviour affected to a first approximation by the atomic ratios C/H and C/O. Inertinite, despite its occasional significantly higher volatile matter, does not yield an appreciable amount of fused material.     

Synthesis and thermal,optical and morphological characterization of oligomeric polyamides based on thiophene and alkyl/phenyl‐silane moieties. Study of the electrospun deposition process

Polyamides were synthesized from a thiophene‐containing diamine by direct polycondensation with organosilane acyl dichlorides. The obtained polymers had good solubility in common organic solvents and THF, with TDT_10% values upper than 400 °C and T_g between 150 and 180 °C. Combination of these properties reveals that the processability of the polymers was increased with respect to traditional aromatic polyamides. Inherent viscosity values and SEC analysis indicated low molecular weight species. Samples showed high visible transparency and bandgap values associated to insulating materials. Polymer solutions were deposited using electrospun technique and their surface properties were studied by SEM. Spheres were created according to electric field applied during deposition process. Low molecular weight and conductivity prevent charge accumulation in the surface hindering fibers generation. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43702.     

Interstitial polymers based on a polyurethane network: 1. Melting points and fractional crystallinities

The preparation of a series of interstitial polymers based on a polyurethane network is described, the ‘guest’ polymers being poly(methyl acrylate) and poly(methacrylic acid). Differential scanning calorimetry has been used to determine the melting points and heats of fusion of the interstitial polymers, and the latter data being used to calculate fractional crystallinity. Both melting point and crystallinity are reduced as the weight fraction of guest polymer increases, crystallinity disappearing entirely in the case of the poly(methacrylic acid) interstitial. For this latter material, there is evidence for the formation of a complex between the poly(methacrylic acid) and the network chains.     

Part 14. Synthesis and properties of new polyketoamine polymers containing cycloalkanone moieties in the main chain

A new interesting class of polyketoamine polymers based on diarylidenecycloalkanone were synthesized by suspension polycondensation. These polymers were synthesized via polymerization of 2,5‐bis(4‐chloroacetylbenzylidene)cyclopentanone and 2,6‐bis(4‐chloroacetylbenzylidene)cyclohexanone with different aliphatic and aromatic diamines including, p‐phenylenediamine, m‐phenylenediamine, o‐phenylenediamine, 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane, 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylether, 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylsulfone, hydrazine hydrate, 1,2‐diaminoethane, 1,3‐diaminopropane and 1,8‐diaminooctane. Model compounds were prepared by condensation of 2,5‐bis(4‐chloroacetylbenzylidene)cyclopentanone and/or 2,6‐bis(4‐chloroacetylbenzylidene)cyclohexanone with aniline in dry benzene, and their structure was confirmed by elemental analysis and spectroscopy. The structure of the polymers obtained was also confirmed by the same methods. Moreover, the identification of the polymers was carried out by other techniques, eg crystallinity from X‐ray spectroscopy, viscosimetry, thermogravimetric analysis; the morphological properties of selected examples were tested by scanning electron microscopy. The electrical conductivity of selected examples is about 10^?12 ohm cm^?1. The results are in accord with the structure. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enhancing exterior performance of clear coatings through photostabilization of wooden surfaces. Part 1: Treatment and characterization

The aim of this work was to produce a less photodegradation-prone substrate for clear coating by partially delignifying the surface cells of Pinus radiata boards to a depth of 2–3 mm while maintaining the integrity of the wood surface tissues in the delignified zone. To achieve this, several surface oxidative delignification treatments were trialled in the method development process and peracetic acid was chosen as the method for refinement and deployment. The treatment method was optimized to yield a significant degree of delignification compatible with the aim of producing a photostabilized yet intact wooden surface. A preweathering technique was also used as a second delignification method for producing photostabilized boards. Microscopic and chemical techniques were used to characterize the effects of chemical and preweathering treatments, which produced delignified surface envelopes 2–3 mm and 100 μm deep, respectively. Acetyl bromide lignin analyses, infrared spectroscopic analyses, and density changes of 30-μm-thick sections of peracetic-acid-treated samples, as a function of depth from the wood surface, suggested that a partial delignification had occurred that diminished with depth. Light and transmission electron microscopy provided evidence of delignification at the cellular level. In the surface layers of peracetic-acid-treated boards, all cell wall regions were delignified, with the middle lamella being the most severely affected. Lignin appeared to be completely removed from the cell corner middle lamella regions, but tracheids were still joined in other parts of the middle lamella. The S₁, S₂, and S₃ walls were also delignified. In subsurface layers, cell walls were only partially delignified and the tissues held their integrity. In contrast, in the preweathered boards, cell walls in the outermost layers were completely separated at the middle lamella from photodegradation. Preferential lignin removal over that of hemicelluloses was achieved via oxidative treatment of solid wood. The outcome of this was the successful fulfillment of our aim to produce partially delignified wooden surfaces that retained sufficient strength and aesthetic appearance and were suitable for application in wooden structures, provided that the necessary protection measures were carried out. Due to the narrow surface zone produced, machining of such surfaces would not be recommended as the most delignified zone would be removed first. In Part 2 of this series, the photostability of treated boards, which had been clear coated and weathered, will be considered.