Fabrication of a pilot scale module of thin film composite hollow fiber membrane for osmotic pressure‐driven processes

Polyamide thin film composite hollow fiber membranes have advantages in their unique structure compared to flat sheet membranes. This study examined interfacial polymerization methods for fabricating pilot scale hollow fiber membranes (membrane area: 1.2 m², number of hollow fiber strands: 1200). For use in osmotic pressure‐driven processes, a one‐pot hydrophilic interfacial polymerization procedure was developed simultaneously to modify the surface property and synthesize polyamide thin film. With the procedure, a pilot scale module has a water flux of 13 LMH using a draw solution of 0.6M NaCl and a feed solution of distilled water through the design of the module configuration. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46110.     

Correlation between the Izumiyama porcelain ceramics and the red-overglaze enamels of the Kakiemon-style porcelains

The Kakiemon-style porcelains made from 17th century at Arita are famous Japanese porcelains, characterized mainly by their colored underglaze and overglaze and by their original design of coloring spatial patterns in the porcelain surface. Raw materials of the red-overglaze enamels have been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectra using synchrotron radiations. It is found that Izumiyama porcelain ceramics of yellow color can produce the Kakiemon red-overglaze enamels by thermal treatment and water-washing, where Izumiyama is a collecting place of the raw porcelain ceramic at Arita. The brightness of the red-overglaze enamels is related on the local structure around Fe ions and the electronic band states of Fe ions near a Fermi level in α-Fe₂O₃, in addition to the spatial density of the α-Fe₂O₃ fine particles. The structural and electronic properties are slightly affected by an electron-hybridization between Fe ions of α-Fe₂O₃ and oxygen ions of the (SiO₂–Al₂O₃) complexes in the red overglaze.     

Vapor barrier properties of polycaprolactone montmorillonite nanocomposites: effect of clay dispersion

Different compositions of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and (organo-modified) montmorillonite were prepared by melt blending or catalyzed ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone. Microphase composites were obtained by direct melt blending of PCL and sodium montmorillonite (MMT-Na⁺). Exfoliated nanocomposites were obtained by in situ ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone with an organo-modified montmorillonite (MMT-(OH)₂) by using dibutyltin dimethoxide as an initiator/catalyst. Intercalated nanocomposites were formed either by melt blending with organo-modified montmorillonite or in situ polymerization within sodium montmorillonite. The barrier properties were studied for water vapor and dichloromethane as an organic solvent. The sorption (S) and the zero concentration diffusion coefficient (D₀) were evaluated for both vapors. The water sorption increases with increasing the MMT content, particularly for the microcomposites containing the unmodified MMT-Na⁺. The thermodynamic diffusion parameters, D₀, were compared to the value of the parent PCL: both microcomposites and intercalated nanocomposites show diffusion parameters very near to PCL. At variance exfoliated nanocomposites show much lower values, even for small montmorillonite content. In the case of the organic vapor, the value of sorption at low relative pressure is mainly dominated by the amorphous fraction present in the samples, not showing any preferential adsorption on the inorganic component. At high relative pressure the isotherms showed an exponential increase of sorption, due to plasticization of the polyester matrix. The D₀ parameters were also compared to those of the unfilled PCL; in this case, both the exfoliated and the intercalated samples showed lower values, due to a more tortuous path for the penetrant molecules.     

Liver lipids of the polar bear,Thalarctos maritimus

The distribution of total and free fatty acids as well as the acids from the glycerides, sterol esters and phospholipids of polar bear liver lipids was ascertained and found to contain somewhat higher levels of unsaturated components as compared to those of such mammals as the pig. Saponification of the liver lipids yielded the hydrocarbons, alcohols and sterols which were analyzed by GLC. The hydrocarbons occurred at an overall level of 55 mg/kg liver or 57.9 mg/100 g total lipids, of which pristane and other saturated hydrocarbons, mainly normal homologs, comprised 2.6 and 5.3 mg/100 g, respectively; the remainder contained squalene (37.7 mg/100 g) and other unsaturated types (12.3 mg/100 g). As based on the total lipids, the levels of fatty alcohols, sterol and glyceryl ethers amounted to 1.65%, 5.9% and 0.03%, respectively. The fatty alcohols displayed about 31 peaks of C₁₂ to C₃₀, of which the hexadecanol and a branched C₂₀ component were prominent.     

Bimetallic Zn/Ag doped polyurethane spider net composite nanofibers: A novel multipurpose electrospun mat

The objective of this study was to develop a new class of bimetallic ZnO/Ag embedded polyurethane multi-functional nanocomposite by a straightforward approach. Bimetallic nanomaterials, composed of two unlike metal elements, are of greater interest than the monometallic materials because of their improved characteristics. In the present study the bimetallic composite was prepared using sol–gel via the facile electrospinning technique. The utilized sol–gel was composed of zinc oxide, silver and poly(urethane). The physicochemical properties of as-spun composite mats were determined by X-ray diffraction pattern, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The antibacterial activity was tested using Escherichia coli as model organism. The antibacterial test showed that ZnO:Ag/polyurethane composite possesses superior antimicrobial activity than pristine PU and ZnO/PU hybrids. Furthermore, our results illustrate that the synergistic effect of ZnO and Ag resulted in the advanced antimicrobial action of bimetallic ZnO/Ag composite mat. The viability and proliferation properties of NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells on the ZnO:Ag/polyurethane composite nanofibers were analyzed by in vitro cell compatibility test. Our results indicated the non-cytotoxic behavior of bimetallic ZnO:Ag/polyurethane nanofibers towards the fibroblast cell culture. In summary, novel ZnO:Ag/polyurethane composite nanofibers which possess large surface to volume ratio with excellent antimicrobial activity were fabricated. The unique combination of ZnO and Ag nanoparticles displayed potent bactericidal effect due to a synergism. Hence the electrospun bimetallic composite indicates the huge potential in water filtration, clinical and biomedical applications.     

Probability distributions of gas hydrate formation

Induction time distributions for gas hydrate formation were measured for gas mixtures of methane + propane at pressures up to 11.3 MPa using a high‐pressure automated lag time apparatus (HP‐ALTA). Measurements were made at subcooling temperatures between 4.3 and 13.5 K and, while isothermal induction times between 0 and 15,000 s were observed, the median isothermal induction times for the distributions ranged from 100 to 4000 s. A hyperbolic relationship between median induction time and subcooling was used to correlate the data. A graphical interpretation is presented that relates the two types of data that can be acquired by using the HP‐ALTA in one of two modes to study hydrate formation: induction time distributions at constant subcooling and formation temperature distributions observed during linear cooling ramps. The equivalence of these two modes provides a robust method for studying the variation of formation phenomena in different hydrate systems. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2640–2646, 2013     

Solvent screening for non‐aqueous extraction of Alberta oil sands

Non‐aqueous extraction of bitumen from oil sands has the potential to reduce fresh water demand of the extraction process and eliminate tailings ponds. In this study, different light hydrocarbon solvents, including aromatics, cycloalkanes, biologically derived solvents and mixtures of solvents were compared for extraction of bitumen from Alberta oil sands at room temperature and ambient pressure. The solvents are compared based on bitumen recovery, the amount of residual solvent in the extracted oil sands tailings and the content of fine solids in the extracted bitumen. The extraction experiments were carried out in a multistage process with agitation in rotary mixers and vibration sieving. The oil sands tailings were dried under ambient conditions, and their residual solvent contents were measured by a purge and trap system followed by gas chromatography. The elemental compositions of the extraction tailings were measured to calculate bitumen recovery. Supernatants from the extraction tests were centrifuged to separate and measure the contents of fine solid particles. Except for limonene and isoprene, the tested solvents showed good bitumen recoveries of around 95%. The solvent drying rates and residual solvent contents in the extracted oil sands tailings correlated to solvent vapour pressure. The contents of fine solids in the extracted bitumen (supernatant) were below 2.9% for all solvents except n‐heptane‐rich ones. Based on these findings, cyclohexane is the best candidate solvent for bitumen extraction, with 94.4% bitumen recovery, 5 mg of residual solvent per kilogram of extraction tailings and 1.4 wt% fine solids in the recovered bitumen. © 2012 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

One-Dimensional Coordination Polymer Assembled by Tetraaza Macrocyclic Nickel(II) Complex and trans-1,4-Cyclohexanedicarboxylate ligand

The reaction of [Ni(L)]Cl₂·2H₂O (L = 3.14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0^1.18,0^7.12]docosane) with trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (H₂chdc) generates a 1D coordination and 2D hydrogen-bonded polymer {[Ni(L)(chdc)₂]·2H₂O}_n (1). The polymer complex was characterized by X-ray crystallography, spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility. Each nickel(II) ion has a distorted octahedral coordination environment with the four secondary amines of the macrocycle in which two trans carboxylate anions of the chdc²⁻ ligand have assembled around each nickel center. The electronic spectrum of 1 in the solid state exhibits a high-spin octahedral environment. The magnetic behavior of 1 reveals a weak intramolecular antiferromagnetic interaction with J values of −1.15(2) cm⁻¹.     

Agricultural residue-derived lignin as the filler of polylactic acid composites and the effect of lignin purity on the composite performance

In this study, corn stover lignin with different purities was used as filler in polylactic acid (PLA) matrix. It was found that the impurity metals present in unpurified lignin can significantly affect the performance of the composites in terms of their thermal stability, rheological behavior, mechanical properties, and hydrophobicity. Among the PLA composites, the ones fabricated with the lignin containing 4% of impurities overall had the best thermal stability and tensile strength. From melt rheology analysis, it was also found that the presence of the impurity metals decreases the complex viscosity of the composites. It is suggested that the impurity metals acted as catalysts to promote the interaction between lignin and PLA, resulting in an improved compatibility between PLA and the filler. In the present study, mechanical properties and hydrophobicity of the composites were further improved by acetylating the lignin with the optimum content of impurities. Tensile strength of the composite with the acetylated lignin was comparable to that of pure PLA, whereas the modulus increased to as high as 2.75 GPa. Overall, the study showed that unpurified lignin could be used as filler to achieve similar or better performance than the composites made with highly purified lignin fillers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47915.     

High performance and moisture stable humidity sensors based on polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers by improving electric conductivity

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)‐based nanofiber was successfully produced for a high performance and stable humidity sensor via a solution‐blowing spinning method. The performances of the manufactured sensors, including the impedance change with relative humidity (RH), moisture stability, and response and recovery times, were investigated. To improve charge carrier transfer, which is the main mechanism of humidity sensing, especially under low RH conditions, lithium chloride was used and displayed the best linearity in the impedance change with RH. Fast response and recovery times of 1.7 and 16.1 s were, respectively, achieved with zinc oxide nanoparticles. Furthermore, the sensors showed excellent moisture stability, owing to the hydrophobicity of PVDF, and this was demonstrated via repeatability testing and scanning electron microscopy. The humidity sensing mechanism was discussed using complex impedance spectra. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:304–310, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers