Reactive phenylbenzimidazole UV absorbers and their application to cellulose textiles

New types of reactive UV absorbers for applications to cellulose textiles have been prepared. These substances are condensation products of sulfobenzimidazolaniline, cyanuric chloride, and aminophenyl‐(2‐sulfethoxy)‐sulfone. They were applied to bleached, unbleached, as well as dyed cellulose textiles with the aim to increase the protection effect of these textiles against UV radiation. All the tested textiles showed a marked increase in the UV protection factor (UPF). The effects of the UV absorbers tested neither interfere with the function of fluorescent brighteners (FBs) nor affect the hue of the used dyestuffs. They exhibit synergistic effect in the protection effectiveness against UV radiation: the UV absorbers used together with dyestuffs and FBs have a higher UPF factor than is the sum of UPF contributions of the individual components. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Influence of Precipitates Size and Distribution on Room Temperature Mechanical Properties and Accelerated Creep of X20CrMoV121

The effect of microstructure on creep resistance of the low carbon chromium steel X20CrMoV121 after 100‐hours of static‐load test at a temperature of 580 °C and constant stress of 170 MPa was investigated. The specimens for the experiments were extracted from steam pipes of a steam power plant and heat treated. The effect of isothermal annealing on the microstructure and hardness as well as the kinetics of the precipitation of the carbide particles were determined.     

Spaceborne Radar Subsurface Imaging in Hyperarid Regions

Imaging data acquired with the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) over the hyperarid region of Egypt/Sudan clearly show surface penetration through the sand cover. Even though absorption does occur in the sand layer, surface refraction leads to a steeper incidence angle at the sand/bedrock interface resulting in a stronger backscatter. A simple backscatter model shows that for a low-loss thin sand layer the presence of the covering layer enhances the capability to image the subsurface interface, particularly at large incidence angles and HH polarization.     

Chiroptical Properties of Phorbol-12, 13, 20-triacetate and Some Other Phorbol Derivatives

The CD spectra of phorbol and of some of its derivatives, such as its 12, 13, 20-triacetate 1, show at least four bands. Three of them (called I, III, and IV) correspond to the R-, K-, and (perhaps) second n → π*-transition, respectively, of the enone system; the fourth band around 260 nm (band II) is of π → π*-origin and could be ascribed to an interaction of the lone pair of electrons on the oxygen atom at C(4) with the C=C-C=O system. The signs of the R-band as well as the K-band Cotton effects are very sensitive to chemical modifications around the chromophoric system in the cyclopentenones investigated. The absolute configuration of phorbol may be derived from the CD spectra of some of its derivatives, and, in particular, from the application of the “dibenzoate rule” to 12, 13-di-O-benzoyl phorbol-20-acetate (4).     

Dynamic tear tests of carbon weldable steels

For determining the crack arrest temperature of structural weldable steels of mass production, it is convenient to use the dynamic tear test because of its simple and low cost application using drop weight testers or pendulum testing machines. The dependence of the dynamic tear energy on temperature can in fact represent the curve of the crack arrest temperatures. The energy/temperature results have to be transformed into the nominal stress vs. temperature coordinates to permit a better review and simpler application. This work describes two methods of making such transformations and shows some results acquired with carbon weldable structural steels.     

Intracellular disintegration by shockwave pretreatment accelerates “dry fermentation”

Dry fermentation refers to the process of anaerobic digestion that does not take place in a mixable liquid environment but in stacks loaded into airtight chambers. Since it is difficult for anaerobic consortia to decompose biomass without operating fluid, the process of dry fermentation is time consuming and considered technically inefficient. However, the construction costs of such biogas plants are significantly lower in comparison to conventional continuous technologies. Shockwave pretreatment is a modern method of intracellular disintegration that occurs purely on the basis of physical forces. It was confirmed for the first time that shockwaves are capable of accelerating methanogenesis, even in technologies that do not utilise a process liquid. This finding opens up new opportunities with regards to the processing of feedstock such as solid biowaste.