Cholesterol biosensor based on electrochemically prepared polyaniline conducting polymer film in presence of a nonionic surfactant

Cholesterol biosensor has been fabricated by covalently coupling cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) via glutaraldehyde onto electrochemically prepared polyaniline film in presence of TritonX-100 [4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl) phenyl polyethylene glycol], a non-ionic surfactant onto indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass substrate. These ChOx/PANI-TX-100/ITO bioelectrodes have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The results of response measurements carried out on ChOx/PANI-TX-100/ITO bioelectrodes using amperometric and photometric techniques, reveal detection limit as 5 mg/dl, linearity from 5 to 400 mg/dl of cholesterol and sensitivity as 131 μA/(mg/dl cm⁻²). These biosensing electrodes are thermally stable up to 65 °C, can be used about 20 times and have a shelf-life of about 10 weeks when stored at 4 °C. Attempts have also been made to utilize the ChOx/PANI-TX-100/ITO bioelectrodes for estimation of free cholesterol concentration in serum samples.     

Block polymer nonionic surfactants in textiles

Block polymer surfactants have wide acceptance in the textile industry. These products are characterized by low-to-moderate foam, low levels of toxicity, and a variety of other desirable physical properties. This paper reviews their use as lubricants, texturizers, antistats, softeners, dyes, rayon processing agents, emulsifiers, defoamers and bleaching agents.     

Polyacrylamide induced flocculation of a cement suspension

The use of cellulose, instead of asbestos, in the fibre cement composites manufacture, using the Hatschek process, reduces cement retention and makes necessary to use a flocculant which is crucial for the plant productivity. The use of different types and doses of polyacrylamides (PAM) as well as the addition process, have been studied to obtain an in-depth knowledge of floc properties. A real-time methodology has been used to study size, shape, strength and reversibility of formed flocs, based on a focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) system. The results have been corroborated by particle vision and measurement (PVM) analysis. This paper shows that anionic PAM (A-PAM) are the most suitable to induce cement flocculation and to obtain optimal properties of the formed flocs. This is because the flocculation process is enhanced by the interaction of the Ca²⁺ ions, produced by the cement hydration, with the carboxylic groups of the polymer chains. Cations not only increase the stiffness of the chains, improving floc strength, they also enhance the importance of the patching aggregation mechanism when the initial bridges are broken. Higher molecular weight polymers improve initial aggregation but the effect of anionic charge is more important for a stable flocculation with time under variable shear conditions. Results show that the optimal dosage is between 100 and 200 ppm.     

Analysis of the action mechanism of polymer dispersant on dense ethanol alumina suspension using colloidal probe AFM

The action mechanism of a polymer dispersant on dense Al₂O₃ ethanol suspension was investigated using a colloidal probe AFM and branched and linear polyethyleneimines (PEIs). To obtain the minimum viscosity and Newtonian flow property of the dense ethanol suspension, the optimum molecular weights of the branched PEIs were determined over the range from 10,000 to 70,000. The linear PEI with Mw 1400 did not reduce the suspension viscosity compared to the branched PEI with the same molecular weight. The amount of adsorbed PEI did not significantly change regardless of the molecular structure and weight of the PEIs. However, the surface interaction between α-Al₂O₃ solids depended on the molecular structure and weight of the PEIs. The branched chain of the PEI adsorbed on the Al₂O₃ surface facilitated the short-range steric repulsion between particles. Based on the results, the increase in steric repulsive force and the disappearance of the adhesion force by the adsorption of the polymer prompted the dispersion of aggregates in suspension and reduced the viscosity of ethanol dense suspension.     

Investigations on the kinetics and mechanisms of sorptive removal of fluoride from water using alumina cement granules

This paper examines the kinetics of fluoride removal from water by the adsorbent alumina cement granules (ALC), exploring the mechanisms involved. ALC exhibited a biphasic kinetic profile of sorption with an initial rapid uptake phase followed by a slow and gradual phase. The kinetic profile has been modeled using pseudo-first-order model, pseudo-second-order model, intraparticle diffusion model and Elovich model. The kinetic sorption profiles offered excellent fit with pseudo-second-order model with a high R² value of 0.9987. The value of activation energy of the system (17.67 kJ mol⁻¹) indicates the significance of diffusion in the sorption process. The rate-limiting step of sorption was evaluated by analyzing the response of the system to pH, inert electrolyte concentration, and desorption pattern of the adsorbent, instead of assigning it to a single kinetic model. Accordingly, the surface reactions involving the heterogeneity of the surface site bonding energy or other reactions occurring on the surface of ALC were found predominant in defining the rate-limiting step. The dominant mechanism of fluoride removal appeared to be a chemisorptive ligand exchange reaction involving the formation of inner-sphere complexation of fluoride with ALC.     

Stability of alumina suspensions in the presence of Tiron

The stability of alumina suspensions in the presence of Tiron was studied and discussed in the light of surface properties of alumina powder used, ionization chemistry of Tiron, and sedimentation behavior of the suspensions. The point of zero charge of alumina with and without addition of Tiron was determined using a batch equilibration method. The sedimentation of the suspensions was evaluated via screen sedimentation tests as a function of pH and Tiron concentration. The dissociation constant, pK_a1, of the hydroxyl groups of the Tiron molecule was determined by potentiometric titration carried out in water and KNO₃ as a background electrolyte. Tiron was shown to adsorb specifically onto the alumina surface in the examined pH range 4–10, but impart stability to the suspensions only at pH ≥ 6.     

非离子模板剂制备有序介孔氧化铝及表征

以硝酸铝为原料,采用非离子型表面活性剂聚乙二醇为模板剂,磷酸氢二铵为辅助剂,通过沉淀方法合成有序介孔氧化铝。探讨了模板剂的选取、反应终点pH值、反应温度、后处理工艺和辅助剂等条件对合成的有序介孔氧化铝结构影响,采用BET、XRD、TEM等测试技术对样品进行了结构表征,研究结果表明合成的有序介孔氧化铝比表面积大且孔分布窄,形成的蠕虫状孔道具有一定的有序性。     

Solvent free telomerization of butadiene with water into octadienols in the presence of nonionic surfactant: efficient micellar catalysis

Telomerization of butadiene with water into 2,7-octadien-1-ol using a palladiumhydrosoluble phosphine system was investigated. The reaction was carried out without solvent in the presence of carbon dioxide and a nonionic surfactant. Promoted effect of neutral surfactant appeared above the critical micelle concentration and the conversion and the selectivity depended on the structure of nonionic surfactant hydrophilic part. The role of the nonionic surfactant is discussed.     

Enhanced flocculation of colloidal dispersions by polymer mixtures

Bridging flocculation and electrolyte coagulation of negatively charged colloidal dispersions in the presence and absence, respectively, of uncharged polymers and polymer mixtures were studied. The relative coagulation and flocculation rates of particles in the presence of electrolyte and small polymer amounts were measured and the stability ratios have been calculated at various ionic strengths. Also, the structure of polymer layers formed in individual adsorption of polymers and in simultaneous competitive adsorption from binary polymer mixtures at particle/solution interfaces was investigated. The electrophoretic mobility and the diffusion coefficient of particles with and without adsorbed polymer were measured by laser Doppler-electrophoresis and photon correlation spectroscopy, respectively, and the electrophoretic and the hydrodynamic thickness of adsorbed polymer layers have been calculated. It was found that the adsorbed polymers may enhance or diminish the rate of successsful encounters between particles, even at low surface coverages, depending on the magnitude of the interparticle electrostatic repulsion. In addition, competitive adsorption of chemically different polymers for particle surfaces may result in considerable alteration in the conformation of macromolecules in the mixed adsorption layer. Close correlation was found between the effectiveness of polymers as flocculants and the thickness of adsorbed polymer layers formed at optimum polymer dosages on the particle surfaces. Binary mixtures of suitable polymers proved to be very efficient flocculants for the dispersions. The enhanced flocculating effect of some mixtures can be ascribed to extended polymer layers formed in competitive adsorption of chemically different macromolecules at particle/solution interfaces. These findings have relevance in many environmental technologies and offer a way of improving the effectiveness of solid–liquid separation processes.     

非离子表面活性剂存在下纳米氢氧化镁的水热处理

本文研究了在非离子表面活性剂PEG6000存在下纳米氢氧化镁的水热处理规律。产品采用X射线衍射、热重-差热分析、透射电子显微镜等进行了表征。结果表明:由于PEG6000的空间位阻作用以及与晶面的吸附作用,在PEG6000存在下进行氢氧化镁的水热处理,不仅可以改善氢氧化镁的结晶性和分散性,而且可有效地防止粒径的快速增长。当PEG6000的用量为氢氧化镁质量的4.4%,水热温度为180℃,水热时间为5h时,可制得结晶完整、分散性好、平均粒径61nm的六方片状纳米级氢氧化镁。     

Joining partially-sintered alumina ceramics using a mixture slurry of alumina sol and suspension

The joining of advanced ceramics allows the manufacture of components with a range of complex shapes that cannot be achieved in a cost-effective manner using existing techniques, i.e. green state shaping and/or machining. A new technique for joining partially-sintered alumina ceramics was developed by simply using a mixed slurry of Al₂O₃ sol and suspension. The interlayer of the joints had the same composition as the parent bodies, and the mechanical and chemical properties of the joint were comparable to those of the bulk material. This process can be applied to the joining of a variety of advanced ceramics.     

Investigation on flocculation characteristics of polysaccharide-based graft copolymers in coal fines suspension

The article deals with the synthesis of two polysaccharide-based graft copolymers of acrylamide, namely, starch-g-polyacrylamide (St-g-PAM) and amylopectin-g-polyacrylamide (Ap-g-PAM). Intrinsic viscosity of the graft copolymers was determined. A flocculation jar test was carried out with −200# ASTM particles for two coking and two noncoking coal samples from Indian coalfields. It is observed that both the grafted products are very effective flocculants in bringing down the turbidity of supernatant liquid of coking coal fines suspension. Though they are effective flocculants in the case of noncoking coal suspension as well, the supernatant turbidity remains somewhat high. Ap-g-PAM performed better than St-g-PAM, which is distinctly apparent in the case of noncoking coal suspension. This may be ascribed to the presence of longer grafted polyacrylamide chains in case of Ap-g-PAM. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 2619–2625, 1998     

温敏型聚合物在稠油污水中的絮凝作用探讨

稠油污水絮凝剂大都是阳离子聚丙烯酰胺(CPAM),但该絮凝剂在稠油污水中高分子长链的伸展受到高温和高矿化度的影响,絮凝效果大大降低。探讨了一种温敏型絮凝剂PA在不同浓度、温度、及不同浓度无机盐(NaCl和CaCl_2)条件下的絮凝作用并与CPAM进行对比。实验结果表明:温敏絮凝剂PA对稠油污水的乳化油和固相悬浮物的去除率较CPAM高,其主要原因是PA在较高温度下发生相分离使溶液亲水性降低、吸附能力增强;温度和无机盐(NaCl、CaCl_2)能促进温敏絮凝剂PA对稠油污水中乳化油和固相悬浮物的去除效果。     

Solubilisation of water in alkanes using nonionic surfactants

Nonionic surfactants are frequently used as emulsifiers in nonpolar oil + water systems and as solubilisation agents for oil in water, or vice versa. In the latter application the amount of, say, water that can be solubilised in nonpolar oil (to give microemulsion droplets) depends on: (a) the capacity of the micelles to incorporate water; and (b) the fraction of surfactant originally present as micelles. This paper is concerned with the single-phase water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion regions enclosed by the haze and solubilisation boundaries at the oil-rich end of Shinoda-type phase diagrams. The systems studied contain the nonionic surfactant C₁₂H₂₅(OCH₂CH₂)₅OH (C₁₂E₅), normal alkane (heptane, decane or tetradecane) and water. Critical microemulsion concentrations (cμc) and droplet compositions for w/o microemulsions formed from C₁₂E₅ in alkane have been determined at phase boundaries over a range of temperatures. The results show how the maximum extent of water solubilisation is determined jointly by the cμc and the maximum droplet size for a given temperature. It appears that for larger (microemulsion) droplets, the cμc is determined by temperature rather than by droplet size. However, along part of the haze curves, aggregates form with only small amounts of water (less than four molecules per ethyleneoxy group on the surfactant head groups). For a given temperature, in the small range where either micelles or microemulsion droplets can exist, reverse hydrated micelles have much higher critical micelle concentrations (cmc) than the cμc of the larger microemulsion droplets.     

阳离子淀粉复合絮凝剂对高岭土悬浮液的絮凝处理

以玉米淀粉和3-氯-2-羟丙基三甲基氯化铵(CTA)为原料,采用干法合成高取代度阳离子淀粉,并与聚合三氯化铝(PAC)复合来对高岭土悬浮液进行絮凝处理。考察了聚合三氯化铝和阳离子淀粉的质量配比、沉降时间以及pH对絮凝性能的影响。最佳絮凝条件ρ(阳离子淀粉)=5mg/L(高岭土悬浮液),m(PAC)∶m(阳离子淀粉)=10∶1,沉降时间为32min,pH=9。在此条件下,高岭土悬浮液的浊度可降至3.1。     

Modelling PCC flocculation by bridging mechanism using population balances: Effect of polymer characteristics on flocculation

A population balance model for flocculation of PCC particles with polyelectrolytes of very high molecular weight, medium charge density and different degree of branching is presented. The model considers simultaneously aggregation, breakage and flocs restructuring to describe the PCC flocculation by bridging mechanism. The maximum collision efficiency factor, a parameter related with the fragmentation rate and a time constant for flocs restructuring have been taken as fitting parameters. These fitting parameters are optimized to get the best fit between experimental data obtained by LDS in a previous study and the modelled results. The optimized parameters were correlated with flocculant concentration, flocs structure and polymer branching. The correlations obtained show well the effects of flocculant concentration, flocs structure and polymer structure on the flocculation kinetics and flocs restructuring which are translated in the model parameters. Moreover, the flocs break up due to polymer degradation was introduced in the model by decreasing, with time, the maximum collision efficiency factor. It was shown that this effect can be neglected since the improvement in the results is too small relatively to the high increase of the computational time required to perform the simulation.     

The effect of the surfactants on the formulation of UV-curable SLA alumina suspension

Stereolithography (SLA) has been regarded as the most promising rapid prototype (RP) production method for ceramic parts recently because of its better precision in size and site control. The rheological behavior and curing behavior of suspensions are controlling factors for ceramic stereolithography. In this work, oleic acid (OA), stearic acid (SA) and Poly(Acrylate Ammonium) (PAA-NH₄) were studied as the surfactant for HDDA-based suspension formulation. Modified alumina particles exhibit different wettability with HDDA monomer and thus the different rheology behavior and stability between the formulated suspensions. OA shows the best performance among all three dispersants. 40 vol% alumina suspensions with a viscosity ˂3 Pa s at 30 s⁻¹ shear rate were successfully formulated with OA and SA. A sintering density of 95% can be reached for the OA- and SA-modified alumina UV-curable resins.     

水厂格栅反应池絮凝工艺的优化措施

金陵石化烷基苯水厂格栅反应池存在设计参数及格栅布局不合理的现象,造成混凝效果差,混凝剂单位消耗过高,通过对格栅反应池的水力计算分析,提出了工艺改造和参数调整的方案,使格栅反应池的水力条件得到改善,混凝剂单位消耗量大幅下降,为老水厂的格栅反应池改造提供了较好的借鉴。     

Influences of polyacrylic acid adsorption and temperature on the alumina suspension stability

The temperature influence on the alumina (Al₂O₃) suspension stability in the absence and presence of polyacrylic acid (PAA) was studied. The investigated temperature range was 15-35 °C. Stability measurements were carried out by the use of Turbiscan Lab^Expert with a thermostatic system. Additionally, at 25 °C the suspension stability was determined from the spectrophotometric data.The obtained data and calculated values of Turbiscan Stability Indexes (TSI) suggest that for the alumina suspensions without polymer, the values of TSI and the rates of solid particles settling as well as the thickness of sediment were the lowest at all investigated temperatures. Moreover the PAA adsorption causes pronounced decrease of system stability at 15 and 35 °C while at 25 °C polyacrylic acid adsorption slightly improves the alumina stability. The conformational changes of adsorbed polymer macromolecules are responsible for such behaviour of the investigated systems. At all investigated temperatures the solid suspension is not stable in the presence of PAA. In the case of PAA 2 000 the coagulation by charge neutralization takes place, whereas in the case of PAA 240 000 the bridging flocculation is the most probable process. The destabilization of systems by the adsorbed polymer occurs with the lowest effectiveness at 25 °C.