Aryl and heteroaryl azo dyes derived from 6, 8‐dichloro‐4‐hydroxyquinolin‐2 (1H)‐one: synthesis,characterisation, solvatochromism and spectroscopic properties

In this research study, 6, 8‐dichloro‐4‐hydroxyquinolin‐2(1H)‐one was prepared by the thermal cyclocondensation of 2‐(2, 4‐dichlorophenylcarbamoyl) acetic acid or N, N?‐bis(2,4‐dichlorophenyl)malonamide at 140‐150°C in polyphosphoric acid, resulting in a yield of 48%. This compound was then coupled with a series of diazonium salts derived from aromatic and heteroaromatic amines for synthesis of the corresponding azo dyes. The structures of the compounds were confirmed using elemental analysis as well as ultraviolet‐visible, Fourier Transform‐infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The effects of organic solvents with different polarities, pH values and substituents of the diazotising components on the maximum absorption wavelength of the colorants were discussed and evaluated in detail. The acidity constants (pK_a) of the dyes were also determined using the spectrophotometric method in an ethanol‐water mixture (80:20, v/v) at 20‐23°C.     

Dynamic output feedback stabilization of deterministic finite automata via the semi-tensor product of matrices approach

This paper deals with the dynamic output feedback stabilization problem of deterministic finite automata (DFA).The static form of this problem is defined and so...     

Effects of halloysite nanotubes on the morphology and CO2/CH4 separation performance of Pebax/polyetherimide thin-film composite membranes

Enhancing the performance of gas separation membranes is one of the major concerns of membrane researchers. Thus, in this study, poly(ether-block-amide) (Pebax)/polyetherimide (PEI) thin-film composite membranes were prepared and their CO₂/CH₄ gas separation performance was investigated by means of pure and mixed gases permeation tests. To improve the properties of these membranes, halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were added to Pebax layer at different loadings of 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 wt % to form Pebax-HNT/PEI membranes. Scanning electron microscopy, gas sorption, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared, and differential scanning calorimetry tests were also performed to investigate the impact of HNT on structure and properties of prepared membranes. Results showed that both CO₂/CH₄ selectivity and CO₂ permeance increased by adding HNT to Pebax layer up to 2 wt %. By increasing HNT loading to 5 wt %, the CO₂/CH₄ selectivity decreased from 32 to 18, while CO₂ permeance increased from 3.25 to 4.2 GPU. Pebax/PEI and Pebax-HNT/PEI membranes containing 2 wt % of HNT were tested using CO₂/CH₄ gas mixtures at different feed CO₂ concentrations and feed pressure of 4 bar. The results showed that with increasing CO₂ concentration from 20 to 80 vol %, CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of Pebax/PEI composite membranes increased by 19%, while, in Pebax-HNT/PEI membrane, CO₂/CH₄ selectivity decreased by 40%. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48860.     

EBSD and DTA Characterization of A356 Alloy Deformed by ECAP During Reheating and Partial Re-melting

Recrystallization and partial re-melting processes have been developed for producing semi-solid feedstock in a solid state in which a globular microstructure is obtained by plastic deformation followed by reheating. In this research, to induce strain, a cast- and solution-treated Aluminum A356 (7 wt pct Si) alloy was subjected to a repetitive equal channel angular pressing process using a 90 deg die, up to a total accumulated strain of approximately 8 in route A (increasing strain through a sequence of passes with no rotation of the sample after each pass) at ambient temperature. The microstructural evolutions of deformed and reheated materials were studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron back-scattered diffraction analysis. In addition, the influences of pre-deformation on the recrystallization mechanism and liquid formation of A356 alloy were presented and discussed. The results are also supported by differential thermal analysis experiments. Evaluation of the observations indicated that the average cell boundary misorientation increased with increasing strain, so this increased misorientation accelerated the mobility of boundaries and recrystallization kinetics. Therefore, the recrystallization mechanism and kinetics affected by deformation, reheating condition, and intrinsic material properties determined the particle size in the semi-solid state.     

Influence of thermal and chemical pretreatment on structural stability of granular sludge for high-rate hydrogen production in an UASB bioreactor

Fermentation of organic waste materials presents an alternate route instead of photosynthetic and chemical routes for hydrogen production. Low yield of biohydrogen production is the major challenge in the fermentative hydrogen-producing technology. Improvement of fermentation process by various sludge pretreatment methods is one of the ways that have been applied to boost hydrogen productivity. This study sheds new light on the impact of thermal and chemical pretreatments on the hydrogen-producing granular sludge morphology and strength as well as up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor performance treating palm oil mill effluent (POME). Thermal pretreatment showed devastating effects on the morphological and structural characteristics of the granules. However, the chemically pretreated granules remained structurally stable and relatively undamaged. The thermal pretreatment increased the cumulative hydrogen production by 40% and 76% over chemical pretreatment and control test (untreated), respectively.     

Computational Fluid Dynamics Characterization of High-Capacity Structured Packing

The novel wire gauze structured packing, PACK-860, was characterized by means of numerical methods. The main features of PACK-860 such as height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) and dry/wet pressure drop were evaluated. The flow structure in this packing was described by numerical simulation. To estimate the amount of HETP and dry/wet pressure drop, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D CFD) modeling with the Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase approach was applied. The average relative errors between the results obtained from CFD simulation and experimental findings for mass transfer efficiency and wet and dry pressure drop were assessed. Numerical observations were found to agree well with the empirical results, proving the reliability of CFD simulations for modeling separation processes.     

Optimal PMU placement for power system observability using binary particle swarm optimization and considering measurement redundancy

This study presents a binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) based methodology for the optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) when using a mixed measurement set. The optimal PMU placement problem is formulated to minimize the number of PMUs installation subject to full network observability and to maximize the measurement redundancy at the power system buses. In order to ensure full network observability in an electric power network the topology-based algorithm is used and Several factors considered; such as the available data from existing conventional measurements, the number and location of zero injection buses, the number and location of installed PMUs and of course, the system topology. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified by the simulation results of IEEE 14-bus, 30-bus, 57-bus-118 bus systems, respectively. The results show that the whole system can be observable with installing PMUs on less than 25% of system buses. For verification of our proposed method, the results are compared with some newly reported methods which show the method as a novel solution to obtain redundant measurement system with the least number of phasor measurement units.     

Dowex50W-X树脂吸附硫酸溶液中的锶

In this study,strontium adsorption from sulfuric acid solution by different Dowex 50W-X ion exchange resins was investigated.Among these resins,Dowex 50W-X8 resin showed the maximum sorption of strontium from the aqueous solutions.The effect of pH,contact time,mass of resin,temperature,and concentration of interfering ions on strontium adsorption were evaluated to determine the optimum conditions of strontium sorption process.The kinetic models of sorption were analyzed using pseudo-first and pseudo-second order models.The results indicated that the pseudo-second order kinetic model was more appropriate than the other one.Moreover,the data obtained in this study were fitted into several sorption isotherm models and it was found that the Langmuir sorption isotherm shows the best fitting to the experimental data.     

Equilibrium calculations for direct synthesis of dimethyl ether from syngas

Thermodynamic analysis of single‐step synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) from syngas over a bi‐functional catalyst (BFC) in a slurry bed reactor has been investigated as a function of temperature (200–240°C), pressure (20–50 bar), and composition feed ratio (H₂/CO: 1–2). The BFC was prepared by physical mixing of CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ as a methanol synthesis catalyst and H‐ZSM‐5 as a methanol dehydration catalyst. The three reactions including methanol synthesis from CO and H₂, methanol dehydration to DME and water–gas shift reaction were chosen as the independent reactions. The equilibrium thermodynamic analysis includes a theoretical model predicting the behaviour and a comparison to experimental results. Theoretical model calculations of thermodynamic equilibrium constants of the reactions and equilibrium composition of all components at different reaction temperature, pressure, and H₂/CO ratio in feed are in good accordance with experimental values.