Arsenic removal from drinking water by electrocoagulation using iron electrodes

Arsenic removal from drinking water was investigated using electrocoagulation (EC) followed by filtration. A sand filter was used to remove flocs generated in the EC process. Experiments were performed in a batch electrochemical reactor using iron electrodes with monopolar parallel electrode connection mode to assess their efficiency. The effects of several operating parameters on arsenic removal such as current density (1.5–9.0 mA cm^?2), initial arsenic concentration (50–500 μg L^?1), operating time (0–15 min), electrode surface area (266–665 cm²), and sodium chloride concentrations (0.01 and 0.02M) were examined. The EC process was able to decrease the residual arsenic concentration to less than 10 μg L^?1. Optimum operating conditions were determined as an operating time of 5 min and current density of 4.5 mA cm^?2 at pH of 7. The optimum electrode surface area for arsenic removal was found to be 266 cm² taking into consideration cost effectiveness. The residual iron concentration increased with increasing residence time, and maximum residual iron value was measured as 287 μg L^?1 for electrode surface area of 266 cm². The addition of sodium chloride had no significant effect on residual arsenic concentration, but an increase in current density was observed.     

NIR-responsive Fe3O4@PPy nanocomposite for efficient potential use in photothermal therapy

In this work, superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄@PPy nanocomposite with core-shell structure having strong near-infrared (NIR) absorption is synthesized via a facile two-step modified procedure. The prepared nanocomposite samples are characterized by UV–vis, FTIR, SEM, TEM, VSM, and XRD. The effects of laser power density (1.5–2.5 W cm⁻²) and aqueous concentration (0.01–0.2 mg ml⁻¹) of the nanocomposite on the photothermal performance are investigated in the NIR region (808 nm). At 0.1 mg ml⁻¹ concentration, the temperature reaches up to 50.1°C, 64.1°C, and 78.4°C within 10 min, under 1.5 W cm⁻², 2.0 W cm⁻², and 2.5 W cm⁻² NIR laser power density values, respectively. Photothermal conservation efficiency is calculated as 43.9% and the nanocomposite exhibits excellent photothermal stability. In summary, the core-shell Fe₃O₄@PPy nanocomposite is a promising candidate for photothermal therapy and simultaneous magnetic field-guided treatments.     

Utilization of seashells in matte glaze preparation

In this study, the investigation of the optical properties and microstructural development of matte glaze compositions prepared with the addition of seashells was aimed. The seashells obtained from Black Sea beaches of Samsun, Turkey were characterized using XRF, XRD, FTIR, TG-DTA techniques, and heating microscope. The calcite-aragonite polymorphic transition was provided by heat treatment of seashell powders at 700°C for 1 hour and then, aragonite-based seashell powders were incorporated to matte glaze compositions up to 30 wt%. Firstly, four different types of fired body specimens (red clay, chamotte, white, and porcelain) were produced at 800ºC for 7 hour. Secondly, the prepared glazes were applied on surface of all fired bodies and then, all bodies were sintered at 1100ºC for 8 hour. Finally, coloring parameters and microstructural features of seashell added glazes were determined. The addition of seashells to glaze composition by 10 and 20 wt% resulted in higher transparency. The matte glaze was formed with increment of seashell content to 30 wt%. The more reduced fluidity of the glaze caused nonhomogenous matte appearance. As a result, it is possible to produce transparent glazes in eco-friendly and cost-effective way by addition of seashells into glaze composition in 20 wt%.     

Polypropylene/Spray Dried and Silane-Treated Nanofibrillated Cellulose Composites

In this study, the spray dried nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) was modified by a silane coupling agent to be used in polypropylene (PP)-copolymer matrix in the presence of maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-MAH) compatibilizer. The PP/NFC composites were melt compounded and injection molded. In the first stage, the NFC was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was shown that fibrillation in aqueous media through high-pressure homogenization was successfully achieved. The nanofibrils having diameter smaller than 50 nm were obtained. The X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of the silane groups on the NFC surface. Elastic modulus improved by the addition of the high modulus NFC to PP, but the yield strength was not improved. On the other hand, different than many inorganic micron-sized fillers, the elongation-at-break value did not drop much. Differential scanning calorimeter experiments indicated that the NFC acted as a nucleating agent. Rheological investigations exhibited that NFC decreased the viscosity of the PP. The addition of NFC to PP improved the thermal resistance of the PP as can be understood from the TGA experiments. It was demonstrated that renewable nanofiller can be a feasible method to functionalize the existing synthetic polymers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60: 352–361, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

eXtended hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin for incompressible flow problems with unfitted meshes and interfaces

The eXtended hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (X-HDG) method is developed for the solution of Stokes problems with void or material interfaces. X-HDG is a novel method that combines the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) method with an eXtended finite element strategy, resulting in a high-order, unfitted, superconvergent method, with an explicit definition of the interface geometry by means of a level-set function. For elements not cut by the interface, the standard HDG formulation is applied, whereas a modified weak form for the local problem is proposed for cut elements. Heaviside enrichment is considered on cut faces and in cut elements in the case of bimaterial problems. Two-dimensional numerical examples demonstrate that the applicability, accuracy, and superconvergence properties of HDG are inherited in X-HDG, with the freedom of computational meshes that do not fit the interfaces     

Image Based and Hybrid Visual Servo Control of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, scientific, and civilian sectors are increasing drastically in recent years. This study presents algorithms for the visual-servo control of an UAV, in which a quadrotor helicopter has been stabilized with visual information through the control loop. Unlike previous study that use pose estimation approach which is time consuming and subject to various errors, the visual-servo control is more reliable and fast. The method requires a camera on-board the vehicle, which is already available on various UAV systems. The UAV with a camera behaves like an eye-in-hand visual servoing system. In this study the controller was designed by using two different approaches; image based visual servo control method and hybrid visual servo control method. Various simulations are developed on Matlab, in which the quadrotor aerial vehicle has been visual-servo controlled. In order to show the effectiveness of the algorithms, experiments were performed on a model quadrotor UAV, which suggest successful performance.