Novel Mn4+ doped Ca2GdSbO6 red–emitting phosphor: A potential color converter for light-emitting diodes

As potential color converter towards white/red light–emitting diodes, novel Ca₂GdSbO₆:Mn⁴⁺ phosphors with excellent optical performances were prepared by a conventional solid–state reaction route. The as–prepared phosphors with monoclinic crystal system had abundant [SbO₆] octahedrons for Mn⁴⁺ ions to occupy and stably exist. With an excitation of 356 nm, an intense red emission peaking at 676 nm attributed to ²E_g→⁴A_2g transition of Mn⁴⁺ ions can be observed in the emission spectrum. The critical concentration of Mn⁴⁺ ions was found to be 0.6 mol% and the concentration quenching mechanism was also discussed in detail. Importantly, the Ca₂GdSbO₆:0.6%Mn⁴⁺ phosphors exhibited a high internal quantum efficiency of 38.9%.     

Study of nitric acid leachout characteristics from weak base anion exchanger to maintain a specified pH regime during Gd(NO3)3 removal from moderator system of 540 MWe PHWRs

Nitric acid leachout characteristics from weak base anion exchanger (WBA) have been experimentally evaluated as a function of total nitric acid loading at a given flow velocity. An empirical first order model is used to explain the column outlet behaviour. Based on the experimental evaluation, a column configuration of a strong acid cation exchanger (SAC) topped mixed bed of SAC and WBA followed by a 5% nitric acid loaded WBA as the bottom layer of the column has been used to remove Gd(NO₃)₃ from water while maintaining the column outlet pH in the range of 5.0–5.5.     

Dissolution of waste plastics in biodiesel

The dissolution behavior of polystyrene (PS) and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) in biodiesel was investigated with an eye towards developing methods to dispose waste plastics by burning them with fuel. To complement and guide the experimental investigations, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to calculate solubility parameters, cohesive energy densities, Flory‐Huggins χ parameters and phase diagrams of the target systems. Dissolution kinetics of PS and LDPE in methyl esters was monitored by gravimetry, from which parameters such as dissolution rates, activation energies, and scaling indices were estimated. The shear viscosity of the polymer solutions was measured to ascertain their suitability as fuel mixtures. The dissolution of PS in biodiesel appears to be controlled by the diffusion of polymer chains through a boundary layer adjacent to the polymer/solvent interface. Taken together, the experimental and modeling studies provide a predictive toolbox to design biodiesels of different compositions that will dissolve commodity polymers such as PS and LDPE to be used as fuels in engines. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Combinatorial Virtual Library Screening Study of Transforming Growth Factor-β2–Chondroitin Sulfate System

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), a member of the TGF-β cytokine superfamily, is known to bind to sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), but the nature of this interaction remains unclear. In a recent study, we found that preterm human milk TGF-β2 is sequestered by chondroitin sulfate (CS) in its proteoglycan form. To understand the molecular basis of the TGF-β2–CS interaction, we utilized the computational combinatorial virtual library screening (CVLS) approach in tandem with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. All possible CS oligosaccharides were generated in a combinatorial manner to give 24 di- (CS02), 192 tetra- (CS04), and 1536 hexa- (CS06) saccharides. This library of 1752 CS oligosaccharides was first screened against TGF-β2 using the dual filter CVLS algorithm in which the GOLDScore and root-mean-square-difference (RMSD) between the best bound poses were used as surrogate markers for in silico affinity and in silico specificity. CVLS predicted that both the chain length and level of sulfation are critical for the high affinity and high specificity recognition of TGF-β2. Interestingly, CVLS led to identification of two distinct sites of GAG binding on TGF-β2. CVLS also deduced the preferred composition of the high specificity hexasaccharides, which were further assessed in all-atom explicit solvent MD simulations. The MD results confirmed that both sites of binding form stable GAG–protein complexes. More specifically, the highly selective CS chains were found to engage the TGF-β2 monomer with high affinity. Overall, this work present key principles of recognition with regard to the TGF-β2–CS system. In the process, it led to the generation of the in silico library of all possible CS oligosaccharides, which can be used for advanced studies on other protein–CS systems. Finally, the study led to the identification of unique CS sequences that are predicted to selectively recognize TGF-β2 and may out-compete common natural CS biopolymers.     

Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones of Coastal Groundwater Basin Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making Technique

Delineation of groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) has been performed for a coastal groundwater basin of eastern India. The groundwater potential zone index (GWPZI) map is generated by using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) from different influencing features, e.g., Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC), soil (S), geomorphology (GM), hydrogeology (HG), surface geology (SG), recharge rate (RR), drainage density (DD), rainfall (RF), slope (Sl), surface water bodies (SW), lineament density (LD), and Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI). Recharge rate values are estimated from hydrological water balance model. Overlay weighted sum method is used to integrate all thematic feature maps to generate GWPZ map of the study area. Four zones have been identified for the coastal groundwater basin [very good: 36.39 % (273.53 km², good: 43.57 % (327.47 km²), moderate: 18.27 % (137.30 km²), and poor: 1.77 % (13.27 km²)]. Areas in north to south-west and south-east direction show very good GWPZ due to the presence of low drainage density. GWPZ map and well yield values show good agreement. Sensitivity analysis reveals that exclusion/absence of rainfall and lineament density increases the poor groundwater potential zones. Omission of hydrogeology, soils, surface geology, and NDVI show maximum increase in good GWPZ. Obtained GWPZ map can be utilized effectively for planning of sustainable agriculture. This analysis demonstrates the potential applicability of the methodology for a general coastal groundwater basin.     

Operation method study based on the energy balance of an independent microgrid using solar-powered water electrolyzer and an electric heat pump

A completely energy-independent microgrid (green microgrid) was examined in this work with the aims of abating greenhouse gas emissions by spreading the use of green energy, providing energy backup systems for disaster, and increasing the energy utilization efficiency with the use of exhaust heat. This paper analyzed the energy supply to six houses in a cold region. The green microgrid consisted of photovoltaics, water electrolyzers, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEFCs), and heat pumps. To investigate the operation method and the capacity of each piece of equipment in the arrangement, a distributed system with two or more sets of equipment and a central system with one set of equipment were analyzed by a genetic algorithm. By introducing the prior energy need pattern of a cold region into the proposed system, the operation method and equipment capacity based on the power and heat balance were clarified. By introducing the partial load performance of a water electrolyzer and a PEFC into the analysis program, the operation method of each system was investigated. It was found that the area of a solar cell of a distributed system could be reduced by 12% as compared to a central system.     

Effects of nano size mischmetal and its oxide on improving the hydrogen sorption behaviour of MgH2

This paper reports the catalytic effects of mischmetal (Mm) and mischmetal oxide (Mm-oxide) on improving the dehydrogenation and rehydrogenation behaviour of magnesium hydride (MgH₂). It has been found that 5 wt.% is the optimum catalyst (Mm/Mm-oxide) concentration for MgH₂. The Mm and Mm-oxide catalyzed MgH₂ exhibits hydrogen desorption at significantly lower temperature and also fast rehydrogenation kinetics compared to ball-milled MgH₂ under identical conditions of temperature and pressure. The onset desorption temperature for MgH₂ catalyzed with Mm and Mm-oxide are 323 °C and 305 °C, respectively. Whereas the onset desorption temperature for the ball-milled MgH₂ is 381 °C. Thus, there is a lowering of onset desorption temperature by 58 °C for Mm and by 76 °C for Mm-oxide. The dehydrogenation activation energy of Mm-oxide catalyzed MgH₂ is 66 kJ/mol. It is 35 kJ/mol lower than ball-milled MgH₂. Additionally, the Mm-oxide catalyzed dehydrogenated Mg exhibits faster rehydrogenation kinetics. It has been noticed that in the first 10 min, the Mm-oxide catalyzed Mg (dehydrogenated MgH₂) has absorbed up to 4.75 wt.% H₂ at 315 °C under 15 atmosphere hydrogen pressure. The activation energy determined for the rehydrogenation of Mm-oxide catalyzed Mg is ∼62 kJ/mol, whereas that for the ball-milled Mg alone is ∼91 kJ/mol. Thus, there is a decrease in absorption activation energy by ∼29 kJ/mol for the Mm-oxide catalyzed Mg. In addition, Mm-oxide is the native mixture of CeO₂ and La₂O₃ which makes the duo a better catalyst than CeO₂, which is known to be an effective catalyst for MgH₂. This takes place due to the synergistic effect of CeO₂ and La₂O₃. It can thus be said that Mm-oxide is an effective catalyst for improving the hydrogen sorption behaviour of MgH₂.     

Turbulent natural convection in an enclosure with localized heating from below

This study reports the results of a numerical investigation of turbulent natural convection in a square enclosure with localized heating from below and symmetrical cooling from the vertical side walls. The present study simulates the case of an accidental heat generation due to fire in a typical isolated building of a nuclear reactor or electronic components cabin. The source of fire is considered to be centrally located at the bottom wall with different heated widths, which is assumed to be either isothermal or with isoflux. For the purpose of the analysis, the source length is varied from 20 to 80% of the total width of the bottom wall. The top wall and the unheated portion of the bottom wall are considered to be adiabatic, whereas sidewalls are isothermal. Steady as well as transient forms of two-dimensional Reynolds–Averaged-Navier–Stokes equations and conservation equations of mass and energy, coupled with the Boussinesq approximation, are solved by the control volume based discretisation method employing the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure–velocity coupling. Turbulence is modeled using the standard k–ε model. Rayleigh number, Ra, based on the enclosure height is varied from 10⁸ to 10¹². Stream lines and isotherms are presented for various combinations of Ra and the heated width. A double cell flow pattern is observed with marginal loss in symmetry as Ra increases. The results are reported in the form of local and average Nusselt number on the heated floor. Correlations are developed to predict the heat transfer rates from the enclosure as a function of dimensionless heated width of the bottom wall and Ra, by least square linear regression analysis.     

Multielement analysis in cereals and pulses by k0 instrumental neutron activation analysis

The concentrations of some elements in a few varieties of cereals and pulses are determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis using a single comparator method (k0-standardised NAA method). A total of 15 elements are measured. The method was validated by analysing the Standard Reference Material (SRM-1571) of NIST; the results are within +/-10% of the reported values for the majority of the elements. The measured concentrations of major and minor elements are analysed in terms of the average intake of mineral content and the role of these elements in terms of the nutritional value.     

Biomimetic Multienzyme Complexes Based on Nanoscale Platforms

Inspired by the widely present multienzyme complexes in nature that enable highly cooperative catalytic mechanisms, we designed a biomimetic dual‐functionalized nanoparticle‐based platform for colocalizing multiple enzymes. The use of nanoscale materials together with a novel sequential colocalization approach with two model enzymes [glucose oxidase (GOX) and horseradish peroxidase] resulted in a 100% increase in the overall conversion rate compared to the equivalent amount of free enzymes in solution and a physical mixture of individual immobilized enzymes on nanoparticles. GOX is an important enzyme used in glucose biosensors for diagnostics. Colocalizing GOX with peroxidase allows for colorimetric visualization of the peroxide formed that enables monitoring glucose levels in solution. This platform can be readily applicable to other multienzyme systems as well. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 355–360, 2013