Thermal studies on kraft black liquor

Kraft black liquor and lignin from the same batch were subjected to thermal analysis (DTA and TGA) under an inert atmosphere and also in an oxidising atmosphere to simulate conditions which might be encountered in the recovery furnace. Gasification studies were carried out by rapidly heating the sample under helium. Results showed that the thermal decomposition of black liquor can be divided into four characteristic steps: drying up to 200°C, pyrolysis between 200 and 550°C, inorganic sodium salt formation between 550 and 800°C and salt fusion between 800 and 1000°C. Gases evolved during gasification of black liquor are rich in flammable compounds while those from the lignin sample are rich in CO₂.     

STUDY OF EXTRACTION METHODS FOR HIGH-ASH COAL USING LOW-BOILING EXTRACTING AGENTS. 2.MECHANICAL STIRRING METHODS

The quality, as well as the quantity of coal-derived liquids are Investigated using low-boiling extracting agents and mechanical stirring. A broad range of solvents with different boiling point and polarities are studied in order to generate the desired coal-derived material. Several experimental conditions are shown to be critical: the nature of solvent, solvent-to- coal ratio and the volume of washing solvent. The method is shown to be reliable for generating coal-derived products, since it is performed under mild experimental conditions and generates amounts of material comparable to Soxhlet extraction procedures in much less time. In addition, it is cheap, easy to perform, fast and reproducible.     

Evaluation of the underground soil thermal storage properties in Libya

Experimental investigation was conducted of temperature distribution through the underground soil of Tripoli (Capital of Libya). The aim of the experiment is to monitor the temperature variation of the underground soil under a depth of 4 m and around the year, in order to know the thermal capacity ability of the soil to be used as a seasonal thermal storage. The measurements covered two types of systems: the first one is dry soil and the second is dry soil covered by a glass sheet. The measurements indicate that, at a depth of 4 m, the average temperatures for the dry and dry-glass covered systems are 21, 46 °C, with maximum temperatures of 21.5 and 47 °C during December and January, and the minimum temperatures occurred in May and June, are reached values of 19, 44 °C, respectively. The temperatures for the two systems were almost constant through the year and fluctuating with a monthly period of 2π/12. Results show that, the underground thermal capacity can be used as a source of heating and cooling of buildings leading to reduce the energy consumption in this application. Furthermore, for industrial and domestic heating processes, one can utilize the dry-glass covered system to cover a significant part of the heating load. Anyhow, the experimental study may not applicable everywhere, so an analytical presentation for the system will be necessary to save money and efforts. The first step to put the analytical model in reality is to get the thermal properties of the underground soil, and this is the aim of the present study.The paper described the followed procedure during theoretical-heat transfer approach. The thermal properties were presented as a function of the ground depth, furthermore, the paper presented the measured temperatures of the two systems for Tripoli underground soil.     

Feasibility of Ni/Ti and Ni/GF cathodes in microbial electrolysis cells for hydrogen production from fermentation effluent: A step toward real application

The low cost, low over-potential loss, good catalytic properties for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), high corrosion stability, commercially available, and could be applied in pH-neutral solution and ambient temperature are important properties for the cathode materials when it is applied in microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) technology. This study has two-pronged objectives: the first is to investigate the feasibility of titanium (Ti) and graphite felt (GF) coated with nickel (Ni), and the second is to generate hydrogen from the fermentation effluent (FE). The electrodeposition (ED) method was used to deposit Ni catalyst onto Ti (Ni/Ti) and GF (Ni/GF) surfaces. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to characterize the cathode morphology and element composition. The catalytic properties of Ni/Ti and Ni/GF could be evaluated using the linear sweep voltammetry tests. The maximum volumetric H₂ production rates of MEC using Ni/Ti and Ni/GF cathodes were obtained at 0.39 ± 0.01 and 0.33 ± 0.03 m³ H₂ m⁻³ d⁻¹ respectively. The Ni/Ti and Ni/GF cathodes could be used as alternative cathodes while producing hydrogen from FE.     

Denitrogenation of carbazole by a novel strain Bacillus Clausii BS1 isolated from Egyptian Coke

In this study, an effective enrichment technique was applied to isolate different bacterial strains with capabilities to denitrogenate carbazole (CAR), as a model compound for nitrogenous polyaromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs). Twenty-four different CAR-denitrogenating bacterial strains were isolated from mineral coke samples. From all, a Gram +ve bacterial isolate designated BS1 showed a higher biodenitrogenation (BDN) efficiency relevant to the well-known biodenitrogenating bacterium strain Pseudomonas resinovorans CA10, recording 77.15 and 60.66% removal of 1000 ppm CAR with the production of 119.79 and 102.43 ppm anthranilic acid, and 121.19 and 90.33 ppm catechol, as by-products, respectively. BS1 was identified by 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis to be Bacillus clausii BS1 (NCBI GenBank Accession no. KF985981) with a similarity of 99.14%. The CAR-BDN pathway was also elucidated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis (GC/MS), which proved further metabolism of catechol to muconic acid.     

Constant Stress Accelerated Life Test: Different Methods of Estimation Under the Exponentiated Power Lindley Distribution

Strength of Materials - Accelerated life testing has been used frequently in several fields as it provides an economical way for obtaining failure time data rapidly or in a shorter time as compared...     

CO2 sorption and diffusion in polymethyl methacrylate–clay nanocomposites

This study reports the glass transition temperature (T_g), and sorption and diffusion of subcritical CO₂ gas in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanocomposites containing organically modified smectite clay, Cloisite 20A (C20A). A range of methods for preparing the PMMA‐clay nanocomposites was investigated and a solution coprecipitation method was selected as the most appropriate. Using this method, PMMA nanocomposite containing 2, 4, 6, and 10 wt% nanoclay loadings were prepared. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the 2 wt% nanocomposite materials had a well‐dispersed intercalated clay structure. The T_g for PMMA‐C20A nanocomposites, as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), was found to be independent of the clay loading. CO₂ solubility studies from 0 to 65°C and pressures up to 5.5 MPa using an in situ gravimetric technique were performed on compression‐molded films. The organoclay was found to have no effect on the solubility of CO₂ in PMMA, and therefore the solubility of CO₂ in the nanocomposite can be determined from the solubility of CO₂ in the matrix polymer alone. Diffusion coefficients were determined using the appropriate transport models for these test conditions and the diffusion coefficients for CO₂ in PMMA‐C20A composites were found to increase with organoclay loading. It is believed that the processing path taken to prepare the nanocomposites may have resulted in the agglomeration of the C20A organoclay, thereby preventing the polymer chains from fully wetting and intercalating a large number of clay particles. These agglomerations are responsible for the formation of large‐scale holes within the glassy nanocomposite, which behave as low resistance pathways for gas transport within the PMMA matrix. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:904–914, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

A probe antenna for in situ measurement of the complex dielectricconstant of materials

A new probe for the in situ measurement of the complex dielectric constant of materials in the microwave frequency region is described. The probe uses two stub antennas mounted on a cylinder. The cylinder is inserted in the material and the transmission coefficient between the two antennas is measured. By comparing this signal with that predicted from a numerical model of the probe obtained by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method we can determine the dielectric constant of the material. The measurement setup and numerical model of the probe are described and several measurement examples in natural and artificial media are presented     

Lignocellulosic polymer composite IV

Palm leaves as a woody lignocellulose, together with polystyrene, were used to produce composites. Chemithermal mechanical pulps (CTMP) were obtained from palm leaves under alkaline or acidic conditions. Appropriate bending strength was obtained from palm leaves and their CTMP pulps prepared under neutral or acidic conditions. The bulky fibers resulted from the alkaline pulps lead to composites of low bending strength. Thus, the cooking conditions of the palm leaves to obtain CTMP pulp play an important role on the properties of the composites. The nonbulky fibers lead to the formation of trapped pockets air as the number of the hydrogen bond are few. The presence of these air pockets allows the polystyrene solution to enter forming bonding between the interfaces. It is also found that the lower the density of the composites, the lower the internal bond strengths. The chemical constituents of the CTMP pulps, as well as the yields of the pulps, may influence the properties of the composites. Increasing the percentage of polystyrene in the composites, the mechanical properties increased. The water uptake and the swellability decreased until 20% polystyrene concentration and then levelled off. The thickness and density behaved the same. However, the type of substrate of the composite and the weight fraction are the important factors in determining the properties of the composites. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 845–855, 1998