Polymer Nanocomposite Hydrogels with Improved Metal Adsorption Capacity and Swelling Behavior: Influence of Spirulina Immobilization onto Montmorillonite Clay

Polacrylamide nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared by in situ free radical polymerization reaction in presence of Spirulina microalgae, which is immobilized in montmorillonite clay (Sp-MMT). The nanocomposite hydrogel having 1 wt.% Sp-MMT clay was found to have desired exfoliated structure, maximum swelling and improved thermal stability. It also showed maximum metal adsorption capacity, which is about 312% higher than that of neat PAAm hydrogel at the highest metal concentration. The presence of Spirulina's porous network structure where all potential binding sites are under receptive position was found to be responsible for the dramatic increase in the metal adsorption and swelling behavior.     

Size optimization of a PV/wind hybrid energy conversion system with battery storage using response surface methodology

This paper aims to show the use of the response surface methodology (RSM) in size optimization of an autonomous PV/wind integrated hybrid energy system with battery storage. RSM is a collection of statistical and mathematical methods which relies on optimization of response surface with design parameters. In this study, the response surface, output performance measure, is the hybrid system cost, and the design parameters are the PV size, wind turbine rotor swept area and the battery capacity. The case study is realized in ARENA 10.0, a commercial simulation software, for satisfaction of electricity consumption of the global system for mobile communications (GSM) base station at Izmir Institute of Technology Campus Area, Urla, Turkey. As a result, the optimum PV area, wind turbine rotor swept area, and battery capacity are obtained to be 3.95 m², 29.4 m², 31.92 kWh, respectively. These results led to $37,033.9 hybrid energy system cost, including auxiliary energy cost. The optimum result obtained by RSM is confirmed using loss of load probability (LLP) and autonomy analysis.     

Investigation of 14–15 MeV (<Emphasis Type="Italic">n,t</Emphasis>) Reaction Cross-sections by Using New Evaluated Empirical and Semi-empirical Systematic Formulas

In the hybrid reactor, tritium self-sufficiency must be maintained for a commercial power plant. For self-sustaining (D-T) fusion driver tritium breeding ratio should be greater than 1.05. Working out the systematics of (n, t) reaction cross-sections are of great importance for the definition of the excitation function character for the given reaction taking place on various nuclei at energies up to 20 MeV. In this study we have investigated asymmetry term effect for the (n, t) reaction cross-sections at 14–15 neutron incident energy. It has been discussed the odd–even effect and the pairing effect considering binding energy systematic of the nuclear shell model for the new experimental data and new cross-sections formulas (n, t) reactions developed by Tel et al. We have determined a different parameter groups by the classification of nuclei into even–even, even–odd and odd–even for (n, t) reactions cross-sections. The obtained empirical and semi-empirical formulas by fitting two parameter for (n, t) reactions were given. All calculated results have been compared with the experimental data and the other semi-empirical formulas.     

Improving the accuracy of contact-type drawbead elements in panel stamping analysis

A finite element modeling technique is proposed to improve the accuracy of contact-type drawbead elements in panel forming analyses, and a performance assessment in terms of part border and thickness predictions is presented in conjunction with panel stamping experiments of two automotive sheets. Inherent model limitations causing incorrect part geometry and thickness predictions are, firstly, evaluated considering blank deformations on a plain–strain section of a stamping die. The influence of omitted drawbead geometry and overestimated drawbead exit thickness are described analytically, and a closed form expression is obtained to correct draw-in model error. Then a sectional deformation model is used to calculate restraint force and drawbead exit thickness for a particular blank and drawbead design. The proposed technique is applied in process modeling of polygon shaped panels made of draw-quality and bake-hardenable steels. Three bead penetrations were investigated in process simulations as well as in stamping experiments. The same blankholder force was applied in all process conditions. Computed draw-in and thickness distributions were compared with on-part measurements using an experimental panel-draw die. It was determined that drawbead models based on force parameters only resulted in remarkably high thickness values at the die entry and mostly overestimated draw-in along panel border lines. An evaluation of thickness distributions computed with proposed technique showed an improved correlation with experiment results of both blank materials and confirmed the use of the drawbead exit thickness as a drawbead modeling parameter. Effects of bead penetration on panel border lines were also simulated in accord with stamping experiments.     

Effect of wastewater composition on archaeal population diversity

Distribution and occurrence of Archaea and methanogenic activity in a laboratory scale, completely mixed anaerobic reactor treating pharmaceutical wastewaters were investigated and associated with reactor performance. The reactor was initially seeded with anaerobic digester sludge from an alcohol distillery wastewater treatment plant and was subjected to a three step feeding strategy. The feeding procedure involved gradual transition from a glucose containing feed to a solvent stripped pharmaceutical wastewater and then raw pharmaceutical wastewater. During the start-up period, over 90% COD removal efficiency at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 6 kg COD m(-3)d(-1) was achieved with glucose feeding, and acetoclastic methanogenic activity was 336 ml CH4 gTVS(-1)d(-1). At the end of the primary loading, when the feed contained solvent stripped pharmaceutical wastewater at full composition, 71% soluble COD removal efficiency was obtained and acetoclastic methanogenic activity decreased to half of the rate under glucose feed (166 ml CH4 gTVS(-1)d(-1)). At the end of secondary loading with 60% (w/v) raw pharmaceutical wastewater, COD removal dropped to zero and acetoclastic methanogenic activity fell to less than 10 ml CH4 gTVS(-1)d(-1). Throughout the course of the experiment, microbial community structure was monitored by DGGE analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments. Five different archaeal taxa were identified and the predominant archaeal sequences belonged to methanogenic Archaea. Two of these showed greatest sequence identity with Methanobacterium formicicum and Methanosaeta concilii. The types of Archaea present changed little in response to changing feed composition but the relative contribution of different organisms identified in the archaeal DGGE profiles did change.     

Adsorption of selenite and selenate ions onto thiourea‐formaldehyde resin

In the present work, thiourea‐formaldehyde (TUF) chelating resin was synthesized and used in the adsorptions of selenite (SeO) and selenate (SeO) ions. The effects of initial acidity and initial selenium concentrations on the adsorptions were examined by batch technique. The synthesized resin was applied to the elemental analysis to determine its composition. FT‐IR spectra and SEM/EDS were also recorded before and after selenite adsorption. It was found that selenite and selenate ions were adsorbed onto TUF resin at strong acidic conditions (3–5M HCl). The adsorption capacities of the resin were calculated as 833.3 mg g^?1 TUF resin for selenite ions and 526.3 mg g^?1 TUF resin for selenate. All the adsorption data obtained for both selenite and selenate ions fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm. It was seen that the adsorption mechanisms in the both adsorptions were governed by the reduction of selenite or selenate to elemental selenium, Se⁰. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.     

Non-Newtonian laminar pulsating heat and fluid flow in plane duct

In the present study, laminar pulsating power-law momentum and heat transfer in a uniformly heated plane duct is studied analytically. Assuming that fully developed conditions exist both hydrodynamically and thermally, a perturbation series method is utilized to derive analytical solutions for the momentum and energy balance equations, and the amplitude is prescribed as the perturbation parameter. For varying values of the power-law index ( $n$), representing pseudoplastic, Newtonian, and dilatant fluids, effects of dimensionless amplitude ( $ϵ$) and frequency ( $F$) on periodic and period-averaged friction factor and Nusselt number are obtained. The results obtained for Newtonian fluid are shown to be in good harmony with the corresponding findings in the open literature.     

Design of systems for hydrogen production based on the Cu-Cl thermochemical water decomposition cycle: Configurations and performance

In this study, we analyze several Cu-Cl cycles by examining various design schemes for an overall system and its components, in order to identify potential performance improvements. The factors that determine the number and effective grouping of steps for new design schemes are analyzed. A thermodynamic analysis and several parametric studies are presented for various configurations. The energy efficiency is found to be 44% for the five-step thermochemical process, 43% for the four-step process and 41% for the three-step process, based on the lower heating value of hydrogen. Also, conclusions regarding implementation of these new configurations are discussed and the potential benefits ascertained.