A Complete and Highly Effective Mothproofing Agent Comprising a Pyrethroid and a Hexahydropyrimidine

Pyrethroids, considered as a general class of compounds, have been shown to provide effective protection from the larvae of the keratin-digesting insects Tineola bisselliella H., Tinea pellionella Linn., Hofmannophila pseudo-spretella Station and Attagenus piceus Oliv. The position regarding the susceptibility of the furniture carpet beetle to pyrethroids is less clear, however. It has been reported that both deltamethrin and permethrin are effective against Anthrenus flavipes Le Conte, whilst permethrin is also reported elsewhere to be effective against the same species. Results obtained in our laboratory, however, have indicated that pyrethroids may offer inadequate protection against Anthrenus vorax Waterh. [1, 2]. This latter species is identical to Anthrenus flavipes var. seminiveus Casey, a colour variety of Anthrenus flavipes Le Conte. The 1,3-disubstituted5-phenylcarbamoyl-2,4,6-trioxo- and 4,6-dioxo-2-thione-hexahydropyrimidine derivatives described in this paper exhibit a surprisingly high and selective toxicity to the Anthrenus species. Thus, a combination of an appropriate hexahydropyrimidine with a suitable pyrethroid, e.g. permethrin, provides complete control of a wide range of commonly encountered textile insect pests. The influence of substituents on the mothproofing activity is discussed.     

Combustion of methane over palladium ZSM-5 and mordenite catalysts

The effect of Pd-loading on Pd-NaZSM-5 and Pd-NaMordenite catalysts prepared by ion exchange was studied for methane combustion with excess oxygen (1% CH₄, 18% O₂, balance N₂) in the temperature range 40–500°C. Fresh and calcined samples (3 h, 450°C) showed methane conversions proportional to Pd-loading on Pd-NaZSM-5 catalysts, while conversions decreased with Pd-loading on calcined Pd-NaMordenite catalysts. TOF (number of methane molecules converted per second per Pd²⁺ ion) for over exchanged Pd-NaZSM5-116 was low as compared to under exchanged Pd-NaZSM5-80 and Pd-NaZSM5-58 samples. Close TOF's were found for the last two samples at 330°C. TOF differences in Pd-NaMordenite catalysts demonstrate the heterogeneity of Pd⁺² sites due to structurally nonidentical locations of cations. TOF's appear to be related to Na/Pd ratios in both catalyst types. Apparent activation energies for Pd-NaZSM-5 materials are higher than those for Pd-NaMordenite catalysts.     

Influence of amorphous silica on the hydration of tricalcium aluminate

Amorphous silica influences tricalcium aluminate (C₃A) hydration both in pastes and in suspensions. Two heat peaks are found by isothermal calorimetry during the paste hydration of C₃A. The addition of amorphous silica causes the second heat peak to shift towards shorter reaction times and become more pronounced. In suspensions, the change in ion concentration in the water phase is not influenced by the presence of amorphous silica except that the change in concentration occurs more quickly. Quantitative X-ray analysis shows that more 3CaO.Al₂O₃.6H₂O is present in suspensions containing amorphous silica than in silica-free suspensions at equal hydration times.     

The combining of sodium chloride and calcium chloride by a number of different hardened cement pastes

A non-destructive method is presented to study the combining properties of a number of hardened cement pastes for NaCl and CaCl₂. Cements hardened with solutions of NaCl and of CaCl₂ are equilibrated in solutions of these electrolytes in a special way. To interpret the results, the equilibrium between the pore solution and the hardened cement is taken as a general solid/solution equilibrium. The equilibrium between the pore solution and the equilibrating solution is considered to be a liquid/liquid equilibrium. That means that the equilibrium concentrations in the equilibrating solution and the pore solution are equaL. Thus it is possible to calculate the dependence of the amount of chloride combined by the cement on the total amount added to the cement.     

Supercritical CO2 impregnation of Radiata pine with organic fungicides: Effect of operating conditions and two-parameters modeling

Supercritical impregnation of Radiata pine with ethyl acetate and decanal using CO₂ as carrier solvent has been studied at pilot plant scale. Radiata pine is one of the most common wood species that is originally from Australia and is widely grown in Spain and Portugal and ethyl acetate and decanal were selected as organic compounds.Some experiences were carried out to obtain the optimal operating conditions for the supercritical impregnation process. Experiments were conducted at pressures of 7–15 MPa, temperatures of 35–50 °C and solvent flow rate between 1.5 and 3.5 kg/h. The results of this study have indicated that the treatment gives much better preservative penetration and retention operating with low pressures (7.5 MPa), low temperatures (close to 35 °C) and moderate CO₂ flow rate (3.5 kg/h) in the selected operating range. Moreover, a simple mathematical model of two adjustable parameters (external mass transfer coefficient and partition coefficient) has demonstrated to fit the experimental impregnation curves with reasonable accuracy (average absolute deviation, 3–10%).     

Variability for oil and fatty acid composition in castorbean varieties

Thirty-six castorbean varieties were surveyed for oil and fatty acid composition, in order to determine variability of these seed compounds. A large variability of seed oil percentage was observed, ranging from 39.6 to 59.5%. Concerning the fatty acids, little variability was observed for ricinoleic acid, which was the most abundant in the oil, ranging from 83.65 to 90.00%. The other fatty acids appeared in small concentrations and showed a small range: 0.87 to 2.35, 0.68 to 1.84, 2.96 to 5.64, 3.19 to 5.98, and 0.34 to 0.91%, for palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid, respectively. Non-significant correlations were observed between fatty acids and seed oil percentage. However, significant correlations were observed among fatty acid concentrations: positive and negative ones. These significant correlations could be associated with the biosynthetic pathways of the fatty acids, which are not fully elucidated. They suggest, however, that selection for a particular fatty acid will tend to increase those positively correlated, and decrease those negative ones. Selection and plant breeding techniques could then be applied to modify the oil content of the castorbean seeds, considering the variability observed. For the fatty acid composition, however, the variability was not large enough to make substantial changes in their concentrations by selection procedures. More varieties should be surveyed to find out if such variability is available.