Blends,hydrogen bonds,and orientation: Understanding the role of interactions

A review of past and present studies on orientation, rheology, and FTIR investigations on a hydrogen bond–forming polymer, poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh), and its blends with polyethylene oxide (PEO), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) is presented. Orientation is analyzed on the basis of deformation‐induced orientation and relaxation. For deformation, it is proposed from recent molecular modeling studies that orientation is similar for flexible backbone polymers of the types studied. To investigate relaxation, dynamical rheology analysis was performed previously on PVPh/PEO blends and global molecular weight between entanglement, M_e, and chain friction ζ were estimated. M_e remained close to that of the polymer forming the dominant network, a discontinuity being observed near 50 mole percent. Friction coefficient exhibited a maximum near that of the orientation function of this system. Near‐infrared measurements also showed a maximum in the number of interchain hydrogen bonds at this concentration, although broader than that of orientation or of the friction coefficient. For strongly interacting blends, it is proposed that a break in orientation behavior would be associated with the dominant network present, and therefore to M_e, whereas ζ will dictate whether orientation decreases or increases in a given network domain.     

Compatibilisation of PPE/SAN blends by triblock terpolymers: Correlation between block terpolymer composition, morphology and properties

Immiscible blends of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether) (PPE) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) with a weight composition of 60/40 were compatibilised by polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) triblock terpolymers (SBM) using a two-stage melt-processing approach. In order to investigate the influence of the SBM composition on the compatibilisation efficiency, the block lengths of the triblock terpolymers were systematically varied. The resulting morphological features of the blend systems as function of SBM composition and processing parameters are correlated with the resulting thermal and thermo-mechanical properties. In the ideal case, SBM should be located at the interface as PS is miscible with PPE while PMMA is miscible with SAN. The elastomeric middle block as an immiscible component should remain at the interface. This particular morphological arrangement is known as the ‘raspberry morphology’. A detailed TEM analysis of the blend morphologies following initial extrusion-compounding revealed a high compatibilisation efficiency of the SBM types with equal lengths of the end blocks and, furthermore, the desired raspberry morphology was achieved. In contrast, high PS contents in comparison to the other blocks led to a pronounced micelle formation in the PPE phase. Further evaluation of the blend structures following injection-moulding indicated that the morphologies remain relatively stable during this second melt-processing step. A detailed thermal analysis of all blend systems supports the interpretation of the observed morphological features. The fundamental correlation between SBM composition and blend morphology established in this study opens the door for the controlled development of interfacial properties of such compatibilised PPE/SAN blends during melt-processing.     

Influence of the preparation conditions on the properties of gold catalysts for the oxidation of glucose

In this work, two deposition–precipitation methods for the preparation of gold catalysts for glucose oxidation were investigated. Thus far, gold colloids immobilized on carbon have been used for catalytic glucose oxidation, but the long-term stability of these systems was not sufficient. To improve the long-term stability we used the deposition–precipitation methods using NaOH (DP NaOH) or urea (DP urea) as precipitation agents as they were described by Haruta and Dekkers, respectively, using alumina as a support material. With these methods, it was possible to prepare highly active and selective catalysts which showed an excellent long-term stability. DP urea was found to be the preferred method, because in contrast to DP NaOH, no losses of gold occurred during the preparation, and it was possible to adjust various gold contents up to 10 wt% Au.     

煤质劣化对锅炉热量分配影响的机理分析

受能源供应紧张影响电厂经常燃用劣质煤,其主要特点是灰分、水分大而发热量低,以此特征为基础建立一种煤质劣化模型。利用炉内传热相似理论求解方法,以一300 MW燃煤机组炉膛结构设计为例分析了不同劣化程度的煤质对锅炉主要设计参数造成的影响。计算结果表明:随煤中水分和灰分增加单位辐射热量降低,并且水分的影响大于灰分;随煤灰分增加单位辐射热量与单位对流热量之比升高,但随水分增加而降低。高负荷时,随煤中水分和灰分增加炉膛出口烟温略微降低;低负荷时,随煤中灰分增加炉膛出口烟温略微降低,而随煤中水分增加略微升高。     

Formation of CuS pineal microspheres via a pyridine-solvothermal process

CuS pineal microspheres congregated from interleaving nanoflakes with thickness of 40 to 200 nm were synthesized by a pyridine-solvothermal process via the reaction between cupric chloride(CuCl2·2H2O) and thioacetamide(TAA,CH3CSNH2).The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.UV-Vis absorption spectrum,excitation and photoluminescence spectra of CuS pineal microspheres were obtained at room temperature to investigate their optical properties.A possible growth mechanism on the formation of CuS pineal microspheres is proposed.The factors influencing the evolution of morphologies of CuS crystals including the dosage of the reactants,surfactant,and sulphur-source were also analyzed.     

Air impingement and intermittent drying: Application to apple and to mango

An original drying process combining air impingement and intermittent drying was studied on apple slices and mango cubes. The influence of four operating parameters (air velocity, drying/tempering periods, upper height, and air temperature) on the drying time and on the drying rate was evaluated. Continuous and intermittent drying were compared. The intermittency α = 1/7 (τ_on = 10 seconds and τ_off = 60 seconds) gave the best results. A time savings of 54% for apple and 67% for mango was reached. In continuous drying, a time savings of 4620 seconds was observed by increasing the air velocity from 6 to 40 m s^?1 for apple. Air temperatures of 328 K for apple and of 328 K or 338 K for mango were determined as optimum to prevent case‐hardening. Experimental results were fitted with the analytical solution of Fick's second law and the modified Page equation (average values R² = 0.985 and 0.961, for apple and mango, respectively). For both products, the apparent moisture diffusivity D_app, the drying constant k, the drying coefficient n, and the activation energy E_a, were identified. Activation energies calculated from the analytical solution were 30.3 and 36.8 kJ mol^?1 and were 25.4 and 30.0 kJ mol^?1 using the modified Page equation for apple and mango, respectively. Mango has an increased temperature sensitivity and thus will need less energy for drying than apple.     

Recovery of Phosphoric Acid from Spent Petrochemical Catalysts

Petrochemical catalysts are widely used in the industry. For the production of cumene, zeolite-based catalysts containing phosphoric acid are applied. Over the time, coking deactivates the surface, and the catalyst has to be exchanged and disposed of. Different process approaches for recycling the phosphoric acid-containing catalysts were investigated. Related preliminary investigations have shown that calcination of the used catalyst is necessary prior to reprocessing. By digesting the catalyst with hydrofluoric acid, ∼96 % phosphate was recovered. However, this process is very costly in terms of process technology. More promising is digestion by basic or acidic routes. Several options are possible here, and digestion with H₃PO₄ proved to be particularly suitable. Here, phosphate yields reached up to 98.8 %, with a positive balance of economic efficiency at the same time. The catalyst can be produced and recycled in the same plant with the same reagents, what constitutes a major breakthrough towards sustainability in industrial catalysis.     

Influence of the Workpiece Stiffness on the Electromagnetic Sheet Metal Forming Process into Dies

Electromagnetic sheet metal forming is a high speed forming process using pulsed magnetic fields to form metals with high electrical conductivity such as aluminum. Thereby, workpiece velocities of more than 300 m/s are achievable, which can cause difficulties when forming into a die. The kinetic energy, which is related to the workpiece velocity, must be dissipated in a short time slot when the workpiece hits the die; otherwise undesired effects, for example rebound can occur. One possibility to handle this shortcoming is to locally increase the stiffness of the workpiece. A modal analysis is carried out in order to determine the stiffness of specific regions of the workpiece so that an estimation concerning the feasibility of the desired geometry is possible in advance without doing cost and time consuming experiments. Thereby, the desired geometry of the workpiece will be fractionized in significant sectors. This approach has to define the internal force variables acting on the cutting edge, which are required to constrain the numerical model. Finally, a method will be developed with the objective of calculating the stiffness of each sector. The numerical results will be verified by experiments. This article was presented at Materials Science & Technology 2006, Innovations in Metal Forming symposium held in Cincinnati, OH, October 15-19, 2006.     

Enhanced Oxygen Diffusion Along Internal Oxide–Metal Matrix Interfaces in Ni–Al Alloys During Internal Oxidation

A study of the internal oxidation of dilute Ni–Al alloys in an NiO/Ni Rhines pack was performed at 800, 1000, and 1100°C. Considerable deviations from the classical internal oxidation model have been observed. The rate of internal oxidation depends not only on the concentration of the alloying element but also on its nature, which contributes to determining the size, shape, orientation and distribution of the internal oxide precipitates. For instance, the precipitates in the Ni–Al alloys are continuous rods, arranged in a cone-shaped configuration that extends from the surface to the internal oxide front. The observed depths of internal oxidation for the various concentrations of aluminum are discussed and related to the morphologies of the internal oxide precipitates. The apparent N^(s) _oD_o values determined from internal oxide penetrations increase with increasing solute content in the alloy. It is postulated that diffusivity of oxygen is enhanced along the internal oxide–metal matrix interface compared with that in the metal matrix.