Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of fatty acid amide (erucamide) using fatty acid and urea

Ammonolysis of fatty acids to the corresponding fatty acid amides is efficiently catalysed by Candida antartica lipase (Novozym 435). In the present paper lipase-catalysed synthesis of erucamide by ammonolysis of erucic acid and urea in organic solvent medium was studied and optimal conditions for fatty amides synthesis were established. In this process erucic acid gave 88.74 % pure erucamide after 48 hour and 250 rpm at 60 degrees C with 1:4 molar ratio of erucic acid and urea, the organic solvent media is 50 ml tert-butyl alcohol (2-methyl-2-propanol). This process for synthesis is economical as we used urea in place of ammonia or other amidation reactant at atmospheric pressure. The amount of catalyst used is 3 %.     

Development of antimicrobial polypropylene sutures by graft copolymerization. II. Evaluation of physical properties,drug release,and antimicrobial activity

Polypropylene (PP) sutures are prepared by the simultaneous radiation grafting of 1‐vinylimidazole (VIm) onto PP monofilament sutures. The tenacity slightly decreases whereas the elongation increases with the increase in the degree of grafting. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the stability of the sutures is enhanced by the grafting process. The grafted sutures have reasonably good water uptake. They are subsequently immobilized with an antimicrobial drug, ciprofloxacin. The modified suture releases the drug over a period of 4–5 days. The antimicrobial activity of the modified suture is determined against Esherichia coli by the zone of inhibition technique. A clear zone of inhibition is observed around the drug‐containing suture. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3534–3538, 2007     

Microstructure determination and thermal studies of n‐acryloylcarbazole/vinyl acetate copolymers

Copolymers of N‐acryloylcarbazole (A) and vinyl acetate (V) were synthesized by bulk polymerization using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as free‐radical initiator at 65°C in different in‐feed ratios. The composition of the copolymer was determined by ¹H‐NMR spectrum. The comonomer reactivity ratios, determined by Kelen–Tudos (KT) and nonlinear error‐in‐variables (EVM) methods, were r_A= 16.75 ± 1.38, r_V = 0.015 ± 0.002, and r_A = 16.36, r_V = 0.015, respectively. Complete spectral assignments of the ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectra of the copolymers were done by the help of distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) and two‐dimensional NMR techniques such as heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) and total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY). The methine and methylene carbon resonances were found to be compositional as well as configurational sensitive. The signals obtained were broad pertaining to the restricted rotation of bulky carbazole group. The thermal stability and glass‐transition temperatures (T_g) of the copolymers were found to be dependant on polymer composition and characteristic of rotational rigidity of the polymer chain. Variation in the values of T_g with the copolymer composition was found to be in good agreement with theoretical values obtained from Johnston and Barton equations. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2720–2733, 2007     

Effect of DC glow discharge treatment on the surface energy and surface resistivity of thin film of polypropylene

A change in the surface energy and surface resistivity of a thin film of polypropylene (PP) of thickness 100 μm was investigated, using direct current (DC) glow discharge. The thin film of the PP was treated for various discharge powers and treatment time and the modification in the surface energy and the surface resistivity was observed. To investigate the modification in the surface energy after DC glow discharge treatment, contact angle of two test liquids formamide and de‐ionized water over the surface of PP film was measured. By measuring the contact angle the change in surface energy and its two polar and dispersive components have been measured. It was observed that at a given power level of DC glow discharge surface energy and its polar component increases with increase of the treatment time, attains a maximum value, and then becomes almost constant. Correspondingly, with increase in surface energy, a decrease in surface resistivity was observed. Also, a change in surface morphology was observed by atomic force microscopy and by FT‐IR spectra generation of polar groups at the surface of PP film. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 767–772, 2007     

Thermal degradation and ageing behavior of microcomposites of natural rubber,carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber latices,and their blends

The effect of microfillers on the thermal stability of natural rubber (NR), carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber (XSBR) latices, and their 70/30 NR/XSBR blend were studied using thermogravimetric method. Microcomposites of XSBR and their blend were found to be thermally more stable than unfilled samples. The activation energy needed for the degradation of polymer chain was calculated from Coats‐Redfern plot. Activation energy needed for the thermal degradation of filled samples was higher than unfilled system. It indicated the improved thermal stability of the filled samples. The ageing resistance of the micro‐filled samples was evaluated from the mechanical properties of aged samples. The thermal ageing was carried out by keeping the samples in hot air oven for 7 days at 70°C. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, modulus at 300% elongation, and strain at break were computed. As compared to unfilled samples, micron‐sized fillers reinforced systems exhibited higher ageing resistance. Finally, an investigation was made on the influence of ion‐beam irradiation on microcomposites of NR, XSBR latices, and their 70/30 blend systems using ²⁸Si⁸⁺ performed at 100 MeV. The surface changes of the samples after irradiation were analyzed using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results of XPS measurements revealed that the host elements were redistributed without any change in binding energies of C_1s, O_1s, and Si_2p. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Synthesis of ethyl propionate catalyzed by poly(N‐AEAAm‐co‐AAc)‐cl‐MBAm hydrogel‐immobilized lipase of Bacillus coagulans MTCC‐6375

A purified alkaline thermotolerant bacterial lipase of Bacillus coagulans MTCC‐6375 was efficiently immobilized onto poly(N‐AEAAm‐co‐AAc‐cl‐MBAm)‐hydrogel at pH 8.5 and at temperature 55°C in 16 h. The hydrogel‐bound matrix possessed 1.04 U/g (matrix) lipase activity with a specific activity of 1.8 U/mg of protein. The immobilized lipase resulted in formation of 52.5 mM of ethyl propionate (52% conversion) at 55°C in 9 h in n‐nonane. Ethanol and propionic acid when used in a ratio of 300 : 100 mM, respectively, in n‐nonane along with 10 mg of hydrogel‐bound lipase resulted in optimal synthesis of ethyl propionate (82.5 mM). Addition of molecular sieves (3 Å, 0.7 g/reaction volume) further enhanced the conversion rate to 82.4% resulting in 83.5 mM of ethyl propionate. Incubation temperature below or above 55°C had a marked effect on the synthesis of ethyl propionate. However, esterification performed in n‐heptane at 65°C resulted in 87.5 mM of ethyl propionate with a conversation rate of 89.3%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Influence of thermal aging on sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)-influenced corrosion behaviour of 2205 duplex stainless steel

Microbiologically-influenced corrosion behaviour of thermally aged 2205 duplex stainless steel in comparison to the as-received material was studied by exposing the coupons for 40 days in chloride medium containing sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Coupons exposed to the sterile medium were used as control. Electrochemical studies suggest a sharp drop in corrosion potential and increase in the anodic current for the coupons exposed to SRB. The austenite phase was found to be selectively attacked in presence of SRB for as-received material. Even though enhanced selective etching of austenite was noticed for thermally aged material, presence of actively corroding locations adjacent to the σ-phase protect the austenite phase.     

Discretized Markov chain in damage assessment using Rainflow cycle with effects of mean stress on an automobile crankshaft

We studied the effect of mean stress correction factor using the Rainflow counting technique to assess the fatigue damage of an automobile crankshaft under service loading by considering the stochastic process of the Markov chain. The failure of the crankshaft will cause serious damage to the engine and also to other connecting subcomponents. The service loading is computationally generated from the Discrete Markov chain model and the fatigue cycle is counted using the Rainflow counting technique with the consideration of the local minima and maxima load. To quantify the fatigue damage, the strain-life curve using the fatigue mean stresses was used to model the fatigue failure of the material used in for the crankshaft at N _f = 10 ⁶ . The fatigue mean stresses were used to estimate the effects of the mean stress on the fatigue strength of the component under service loading condition. Statistical verification with the boundary condition of the 90% confidence level was performed to observe the difference between the stochastic algorithms when compared towards the fatigue life behavior of the ductile cast iron material. We concluded that for the practical application, the proposed stochastic model provides a highly accurate assessment of fatigue damage prediction for improving the safety and controlling the risk factors in terms of structural health monitoring.     

PREDICTION OF MINIMUM SPOUTING VELOCITY IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLAT BOTTOM SPOUTED BEDS

Spouted beds have been used in industry for operations such as drying, catalytic reactions, and granulation. Conventional cylindrical spouted beds suffer from the disadvantage of scaleup. Two-dimensional beds have been proposed by other authors as a solution for this problem. Minimum spouting velocity has been studied for such two-dimensional beds. A force balance model has been developed to predict the minimum spouting velocity and the maximum pressure drop. Effect of porosity on minimum spouting velocity and maximum pressure drop has been studied using the model. The predictions are in good agreement with the experiments as well as with the experimental results of other investigators.     

Effects of timing of nitrogen and sulphur fertilizers on yield, nitrogen, and sulphur contents of Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter)

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of tef, a major staple crop in Ethiopia, is very low, either caused by untimely use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers or lack of other essential nutrients like sulphur (S). The average grain yield of this crop is low, averaging <0.8 Mg ha⁻¹ in farmer’s fields of the semi-arid conditions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to see the effect of the timing of combined N and S fertilization on the yield, yield components, and N and S concentration in the plant parts of the crop. A factorial combination of three rates of N (0, 70, and 105 kg ha⁻¹) with four rates of S (0, 16, 32, and 48 kg ha⁻¹) was applied in randomized complete blocks in three replications. The experiment was carried out in the 2004 and 2005 cropping seasons in the Cambisols of the semi-arid area of Ethiopia. The crop responded significantly (P < 0.05) to both split (one-third at planting and two-thirds at late tillering) and whole (all at planting) N and S applications and years. Combined N and S fertilization increased the dry matter (DM) and grain yields on average by 1.7 and 0.3 Mg ha⁻¹, compared with the control. Similarly, S fertilization increased the NUE of the tef crop by 36%. Nitrogen concentration of shoots was found to significantly increase with S application (P < 0.05), with strong positive interactions both in the split and whole applications. The sulphur increase in grains was significant with N rates for both applications, with significant interaction effects observed for the split application in both cropping seasons. Split application resulted in 0.9 and 0.3 Mg ha⁻¹ significant increase in DM and grain yields, averaged for both years and treatments compared with the whole application. Similar significant increases were observed for panicle yield, NUE, and shoot and grain N and S concentrations. The average N:S ratio in grains was 10.6:1. Significant (P < 0.05) yearly variations were also observed. Dry matter and grain yields of 2005 were higher on average by 2.10 and 0.32 Mg ha⁻¹ than those of the 2004 cropping season. The percentage of N and S concentrations of grains, averaged for both applications, were higher by 13 and 9% in 2004; even though the N and S uptakes of 2005 were higher on average by 5.0 and 0.5 kg ha⁻¹ than those of the 2004 cropping season. This work showed that the yield response and NUE of the tef crop could be improved with split N and S fertilizer applications, with tef-producing farmers benefitting from the application of S-containing N fertilizers to soils deficient in these nutrients.