Flocculation of fine particles in ceramic wastewater using new types of polymeric flocculants

It appears to be quite a few national and international studies were reported regarding flocculation and settling properties of ceramic industry wastewater containing various mineral matters. Cleaning of ceramic industry wastewaters with ever increasing environmental standards needs effective and economical solid–liquid separation processes. In this study, quantity and type of optimum flocculant concentration were investigated for solid–liquid separation of Umpac ceramic plant (located at Usak, Turkey) wastewaters. A new generation of flocculants namely unique molecular architecture (UMA) are used to obtain high settling velocity along with high solid content waste and circulation water with low turbidity values. Zeta potential of the tailings including quartz, feldspar, clorite, and mica was also measured at different pH values. The flocculation tests were performed in the presence of different types of polymers at different polymer dosages. It seems that Magnafloc 5250 shows higher performance than the anionic flocculant SPK 508 and other anionic UMA flocculants Magnafloc 6260 and Magnafloc 3230. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Hydrogen production from the methanolysis of ammonia borane by Pd-Co/Al2O3 coated monolithic catalyst

The aim of this study is to enable high hydrogen production yield from catalytic methanolysis of ammonia borane (AB) in the presence of a cordierite type ceramic monolithic. The monolithic channel surfaces were coated with Al₂O₃ by wash-coating method and then this layer was impregnated with 1 wt%Pd-2 wt%Co bimetallic catalyst. SEM-EDX and multi-point BET analysis were used in order to characterize the catalyst. The experimental studies were conducted in a continuous flow type reactor, which was used for the first time in this study. The reactions were carried on low temperature (40 °C), and with various AB feed concentrations and flow rates. It was found that the highest hydrogen production yield (88.5%) was obtained from AB flow rate of 3.3 mL/min, and AB feed concentration of 0.1 wt%. It was concluded that Pd-Co/Al₂O₃ coated monolithic, which is a stable, active and low-cost catalyst, was a very promising catalyst for on-board hydrogen production from the methanolysis of ammonia borane.     

The impacts of water and ethanolic extracts of propolis on vacuum packaged sardine fillets inoculated with Morganella psychrotolerans during chilly storage

The impacts of water and ethanolic extracts of propolis at a dose of 0.4 or 0.8% on vacuum packaged sardine fillets inoculated with Morganella psychrotolerans DSM 17886 during storage at 3 ± 1°C for 15 days were investigated. All fish groups were inoculated with M. psychrotolerans (10⁸ cfu/ml) at a rate of 1%. Sensory, colorimetric, chemical analysis (total volatile basic nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid, peroxide values, and free fatty acids), pH value, and microbiological analysis (viable mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, coliform, and lactic acid bacteria count) were carried out. An enhance in L* values was found in the group treated with 0.8% ethanolic extracts of propolis on the seventh day of the storage. Application of propolis extract on fish fillets significantly inhibited bacterial growth during storage and extended shelf life of sardine for 4 and 6 days by the use of water extract and for 8 days by the use of ethanolic extract at doses of 0.4 and 0.8%, respectively. The result of the study revealed that application of propolis extracts, mainly ethanolic propolis extracts on sardine fillets resulted in lower lipid oxidation and bacterial growth, therefore, could be natural food additive for preservation of fish fillets.     

PolyHIPE composite based-form stable phase change material for thermal energy storage

A novel shape-stabilized n-hexadecane/polyHIPE composite phase change material (PCM) was designed and thermal energy storage properties were determined. Porous carbon-based frameworks were produced by polymerization of styrene-based high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) in existence of the surface modified montmorillonite nanoclay. The morphological and mechanical properties of the obtained polyHIPEs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy analysis and the compression test, respectively. The polyHIPE composite with the best pore morphology and the highest compression modulus was determined as a framework to prepare the form stable n-hexadecane/polyHIPE composite phase change material using the one-step impregnation method. The chemical structure and morphologic property of composite PCM was investigated by FT-IR and polarized optical microscopy analysis. Thermal stability of the form-stable PCM (FSPCM) was examined by TG analysis. The n-hexadecane fraction engaged into the carbon foam skeleton was found of as 55 wt% from TG curve. differential scanning calorimetry analysis was used for determining melting temperature and latent heat storage capacity of FSPCM and these values were determined as (26.36°C) and (143.41 J/g), respectively. The results indicated that the obtained composite material (FSPCM) has a considerable potential for low temperature (18°C-30°C) thermal energy storage applications with its thermal energy storage capacity, appropriate phase change temperatures and high thermal stability.     

Shelf life and quality of probiotic yogurt produced with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Gobdin

This study evaluated the effect of dry white mulberry and walnut paste (Gobdin, a traditional Turkish food) in probiotic yogurt on the survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus and yogurt properties. Six different yogurts were produced with 0%, 5% and 10% Gobdin using Lactobacillus bulgaricus + Streptococcus thermophilus and with 0%, 5% and 10% Gobdin using L. bulgaricus + S. thermophilus + L. acidophilus. The physical, chemical, microbiological and sensorial properties of the yogurts were evaluated based on storage at 4 ± 1 °C. Probiotic shelf life and the most suitable combinations were determined. The highest L. acidophilus count (8.65 log cfu g^?1) was found in the 5% Gobdin‐supplemented yogurt on the 7th day of storage, while the lowest count (8.11 log cfu g^?1) was found in the probiotic control yogurt on the 21st day. Although the L. acidophilus counts in the probiotic yogurts declined during storage, all values found throughout the 21‐day storage period were >8 log cfu g^?1. This is above the level necessary to provide the desired therapeutic effect in probiotic products (10⁶–10⁷ cfu g^?1). The highest overall acceptability score was obtained on the first day from the yogurt with 5% Gobdin. However, all yogurt samples had general acceptability scores between 7 and 8 points from a 9‐point maximum. Thus, this study determined that a new functional yogurt can be produced using L. acidophilus with 5% Gobdin.     

Effects of structural parameters on compressibility and soiling properties of machine woven carpets

Compressibility performance of the machine woven carpet after a static or dynamic loading expresses the texture deformation tendency of the carpet. This study is an experimental attempt to investigate the effects of pile height and pile density on compressibility and soiling property by dynamic loading, prolonged heavy static loading, compression recovery and artificial soiling tests. In this study, a total of 12 carpet samples with three different pile heights and four different pile densities were tested. As a result of this study, it was seen that higher pile density provides a lower thickness loss and so a lower level of texture deformation. On the other hand, pile height has a preventing effect for texture deformation for static loading and compression recovery tests whereas there is no considerable effect on dynamic loading test. There is no considerable difference between the soiling properties of the samples.