New derivatives of phenylamine as novel building blocks of conducting polymers

A novel phenylamine substituted derivatives possessing different photochromic groups were investigated. Using the electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurements the electrochemical activity of the monomers and polymers have been studied. The results indicate good film forming properties most of the monomers and stability of the forming films. The polymeric films include diphenylamine or triphenylamine unit and five member heterocycle ring moieties.     

Studies on the effect of humic acids and phenol on adsorption-ultrafiltration process performance

Application of pressure-driven membrane processes, such as ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) for surface water treatment have become very popular during last decades. Membrane fouling by humic substances (HS) is one of the major limiting factors in these processes. In order to alleviate the unfavorable effects of the presence of HS in the feed on the process performance UF and MF are often combined with adsorption on powdered activated carbon (PAC). The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of humic acid (HA) on membrane fouling during UF. Moreover, the effect of PAC addition to the feed on UF process, especially on flux decline was determined. The applicability of the adsorption-ultrafiltration (PAC/UF) system to purification of water containing low (phenol) and high molecular (HA) was also investigated. Three different polymer UF membranes, prepared from polysulfone (PSF), cellulose acetate (CA) or polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were applied. It was found that the membranes prepared from PSF and CA are very susceptible to fouling caused by HA. The permeate flux decreased for ca. 50% during UF of HA solution through the PSF membrane and for ca. 45%-through the CA membrane. In the case of the PAN membrane, a negligible effect of HA on the flux was observed. On the basis of the FTIR spectra it was found that the drop in the permeate flux through these membranes may result from interactions between the negatively charged functional groups present on the membrane surface, such as carboxyl groups (CA) and sulfone groups (PSF) with HA, which results in coating of the membrane surface with HA. When PAC was added to the feed containing HA, the permeate flux through the CA and PAN membranes was maintained on a practically unchanged level. However, in case of the PSF membrane, a 50% drop in the permeate flux in comparison with the flux value, when process was conducted without PAC addition was observed. That was supposed to be due to attractive forces among hydrophobic PAC particles, HA molecules and PSF membrane surface. The performed studies showed that the application of PAC/UF system was very effective in the removal of organic substances having both, low and high molecular weights. The role of PAC suspended in a feed in the PAC/UF system is the adsorption of low molecular organic compounds, which cannot be removed by UF alone.     

Application of new oligomeric plasticizers based on waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) for poly(vinyl chloride) compositions

In this study, chemical recycling products of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) with oligoesters were used as new plasticizers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The preparation conditions of the dry blend mixtures of the suspension PVC containing synthesised plasticizers were similar to the conditions of the preparing mixtures with commercial plasticizers. The plasticization efficiency of PVC plasticizers was then examined by analysis of the mechanical, physical and chemical properties, as well as the thermal resistance and migration of plasticizer molecules from polymer matrix. Test results proved that compositions with synthesised oligomeric plasticizers possessed similar or better properties than those containing commercial oligomeric plasticizers and much better properties than those having monomeric plasticizers. Thermal stabilities of the proposed plasticizers were higher than those of the commercial plasticizers either monomeric (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate) or oligomeric, despite the fact that the synthesised oligoesters did not contain any antioxidant. The best properties, especially low volatility, very good mechanical properties, low migration were resulted of the transesterification of the waste PET with oligoesters based on adipic acid, triethylene glycol and 2-ethylhexanol which were selected as plasticizers synthesised on the technical scale. The tested plasticized PVC compositions possessed very good tear resistance, tensile strength, decrease of weight loss after 168 h at 80 °C and low migration. Processing properties of PVC compositions containing these synthesised plasticizers confirmed their effectiveness in these compositions for extrusion process.     

Determination of Iron Species in Samples of Iron-Fortified Food

The paper presents the determination of iron forms in food products. The procedure of sample extraction was developed and optimized, preserving the content of particular forms of iron. The colorimetric method using 2,2′-bipirydyl (measurements at 520 nm) was applied in Fe(II) determinations, while in Fe(III) determinations, the colorimetric method with potassium thiocyanate (measurements at 470 nm) was applied. The total content of iron was determined by the technique of atomic absorption spectrometry, which allowed for the determination of iron content in organic and inorganic complex compounds. Detection limits of 1 mg kg^?1 were obtained for all determined iron forms, with the precision ranging between 0.7 % and 1.5 % for 10 mg kg^?1 concentration. The optimized analytical procedure was applied in the determinations of iron forms in iron-fortified food products.