RELATION BETWEEN SWELLING OF LIGNITES AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SWELLING AGENTS

Abstract

Relation between swelling ratio of lignites and lignite and solvent characteristics was developed using a third level factorial design with three variables; percent carbon content, particle size of the lignite and electron donor number of the solvent. The results indicate that particle size of the lignite does not affect the swelling ratio. While swelling ratio of the lignites decreases slightly with increasing carbon content of the lignites electron donor number of the solvent has a noticeable effect on the swelling ratio.     

Stability and Activity of (Pr1‐xNdx)2NiO4 as Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: I. Quantification of Phase Evolution in Pr2NiO4

Praseodymium nickelate (Pr₂NiO₄) is an active oxygen electrode for solid oxide fuel cells, but undergoes phase transition at elevated temperatures (e.g., 750°C). Quantification of this phase evolution in an operating single cell is challenging because of the overlap of X‐ray diffraction (XRD) peaks between the cathode and oxide current collector. In this work, we replace the oxide current collector with a gold metal grid, circumventing these challenges by allowing the exposure of the cathode to the X‐ray beam, while eliminating peak overlap. Quantification of the phase evolution was performed by a least‐squares fitting of the linear combination of XRD standards against the experimental patterns. Energy‐dispersive spectroscopy analysis on long‐term operated cells showed the absence of reactions between the gold grids and the cathodes. Additionally, the grids exhibited excellent mechanical stability under operating conditions and enabled similar cell performance as an oxide current collector.     

Acetylsalicylic acid loading and release studies of the PMMA‐g‐polymeric oils/oily acids micro and nanospheres

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and PMMA copolymers derived from plant oils (Polylinseed oil‐g‐PMMA, Polysoybean oil‐g‐PMMA, Polylinoleic acid‐g‐PMMA (PLina‐g‐PMMA) and Polyhydroxy alkanoate‐ sy‐g‐Polylinoleic acid‐g‐PMMA (PHA‐g‐PLina‐g‐PMMA)) as hydrophobic polymers, a series of hydrophobic microsphere or nanosphere dispersions, were prepared by the emulsion/solvent evaporation method. The diameters of the nanospheres and microspheres were measured by dynamic light scattering with a zetasizer, optically and by scanning electron microscopy. The magnetic quality of the microspheres was determined by the electron spin resonance technique. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin, ASA) was used as a model drug and loaded into the microspheres during the preparation process. The effect of the stirring rate over the size and size distribution of the micro/nanospheres was evaluated, and the effects of copolymer types derived from plant oil/oily acids and the copolymer/drug ratios were evaluated. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis and characterization of acrylamide-based copolymeric hydrogel–silver composites: Antimicrobial activities and inhibition kinetics against E. coli

A series of acrylamide (AAm)-based hydrogels containing acrylic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS), and vinyl imidazole (VI) comonomers were prepared by free radical polymerization. Silver nanoparticles were loaded to hydrogel systems through in situ reduction of silver nitrate in the presence of sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. The synthesized hydrogels and their composites were characterized using FTIR, scanning electron microscopy, EDX, and EDX-mapping. The antimicrobial activity of hydrogel–silver composite was determined using well agar and broth dilution tests. In the first stage, four different hydrogel–silver composites were evaluated against six different microorganisms using the well agar technique. The most effective hydrogel–silver composite among all tested was poly(AAm-co-VI-co-AMPS)-Ag, while the most sensitive and resistant microorganisms among all tested were Staphylococcus cerevisiae and S. aureus, respectively. Poly(AAm-co-VI-co-AMPS)-Ag composite was used in modeling the inhibition kinetic of Escherichia coli. The present study displays that hydrogel–silver composite has considerable antimicrobial activity, which deserves further investigation for use in clinic application and industrial processing.     

Investigation of temperature sensitivity behaviors of water soluble polyacrylamides

Temperature sensitive polymers with a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) are used in a variety of industries such as the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and paint. These polymers are generally of the poly(N‐alkylacrylamide) type, of which poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) is the most commonly used. More novel poly(N‐alkylacrylamide)s have also been the subject of much attention recently. In this study, N‐alkylacrylamides containing different alkyl groups were synthesized by nucleophylic substitution reactions of various amines with acryloyl chloride. They were polymerized using the solution polymerization method, and the temperature sensitivities of the polymers were investigated. For this purpose, three monomers, N,N‐diethylacrylamide, N‐cyclopropylacrylamide, and 4‐piperidineethanolacrylamide, were synthesized using diethylamine, cyclopropylamine, and 4‐piperidineethanol, as the amines, respectively. The obtained polymers, poly(N,N‐diethylacrylamide) (PDEA), poly(N‐cyclopropylacrylamide) (PCPA), and poly(4‐piperidineethanolacrylamide) (PPEA), were found to be thermoresponsive, particularly PPEA is a potential novel material that can be utilized as an alternative to the common temperature sensitive polymers. The effects of several conditions on the LCST and the critical flocculation temperature (CFT) of the polymers were also investigated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Silan based paraoxon memories onto QCM electrodes

In this study, a novel quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) based on the modification of paraoxon-imprinted polymer onto a QCM with a high selectivity and sensitivity has been developed for the determination of paraoxon. The QCM sensor has characterized using AFM and ellipsometer. The performance of the QCM sensor has evaluated and presented good reproducibility, shorter response time (20 min), wider linear range (0.02–10 μM) and low detection limit (0.02 μM). The results have shown that the selectivity of QCM sensor has found as being very high in the presence of parathion which is similar in structure with paraoxon.     

Prediction of Biomass Pyrolysis Mechanisms and Kinetics: Application of the Kalman Filter

In order to predict the pyrolysis mechanisms of four different biomasses (Asbos (Psilocaulon utile), Kraalbos (Galenia africane), Scholtzbos (Pteronia pallens), and palm shell), a novel method called Kalman filter was investigated and the results were compared by regression analysis. Both analyses were applied to five different generalized biomass pyrolysis models consisting of parallel and serial irreversible-reversible reaction steps. The models consisting of reversible reactions in addition to parallel pyrolysis steps demonstrated a better fit with the experimental results. The pyrolysis step from biomass to bio-oil has the highest reaction rates compared with the other pyrolysis steps defined in the models. The Kalman filter is thus defined as a promising filtering and prediction method for the estimation of detailed pyrolysis mechanisms and model parameters, using minimum experimental data.     

Characterization of polyaniline via pyrolysis mass spectrometry

In this work, direct insertion probe pyrolysis mass spectrometry technique was applied to investigate the thermal and the structural characteristics of electrochemically prepared HCl and HNO₃‐doped polyaniline (PANI) films. It has been determined that the thermal degradation of both samples showed three main thermal degradation stages. The first stage around 50–60°C was associated with evolution of solvent and low‐molecular‐weight species adsorbed on the polymer, the second stage just above 150°C was attributed to evolution of dopant‐based products, and the final degradation stage at moderate and elevated temperatures was associated with evolution of degradation products of the polymer. Chlorination and nitrolysis of aniline during the electrochemical polymerization were detected. Extent of substitution increased as the electrolysis period was increased. Furthermore, for the HNO₃‐doped PANI, the evolution of CO₂ at elevated temperatures confirmed oxidation of the polymer film during electrolysis. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Enrichment and detection of rare proteins with aptamer-conjugated gold nanorods

Rare protein enrichment and sensitive detection hold great potential in biomedical studies and clinical practice. This work describes the use of aptamer-conjugated gold nanorods for the efficient enrichment of rare proteins from buffer solutions and human plasma. Gold nanorod (AuNR) surfaces were modified with a long PEG chain and a 15-mer thrombin aptamer for protein enrichment and detection. Studies of the effect of surface modification on enrichment efficiency of thrombin showed that a change of only one EG(6) linker unit, i.e., from 2EG(6) to 3EG(6), could increase thrombin protein capture efficiency by up to 47%. Furthermore, a 1 ppm sample of thrombin in buffer could be enriched with around 90% efficiency using a low concentration (0.19 nM) of gold nanorod probe modified with 3EG(6) spacer, and with the same probe, effective capture was achieved down to 10 ppb (1 ng) thrombin in plasma samples. In addition to α-thrombin enrichment, prothrombin was also efficiently captured from plasma samples via gold nanorods conjugated with 15-mer thrombin aptamer. Our work demonstrates efficient enrichment of rare proteins using aptamer-modified nanomaterials, which can be used in biomarker discovery studies.     

Modelling of Meteo-Droughts

Water Resources Management - A simple stochastic model of meteorological droughts (meteo-droughts) is presented. All its components are analyzed and described, along with their probabilistic...