Sodium molybdate—a possible alternate additive for sodium dichromate in the electrolytic production of sodium chlorate

Sodium dichromate is commonly used in sodium chlorate production to maintain high current efficiency; however, it is also a well documented carcinogen. To reduce the environmental impact, identification of a suitable alternative with similar buffering characteristics to dichromate and without adverse effect on the electrolytic performance of sodium chlorate production is important; sodium molybdate is a good candidate. Molybdate ion and its conjugated acid work as a buffer pair at pH 5–6, a lower and slightly narrower pH window than the typical buffer region of dichromate. Nonetheless, the molybdate buffer works effectively during the electrolytic process by maintaining pH at 5.9. Although the use of molybdate buffer will lower the overpotential of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by 100 mV, the average off-gas oxygen content is noticeably compromised at 3.6–4.6%, measured using a pilot cell operated at 3 kA m⁻²and 80 °C during a 3-day trial. The resulting current efficiency of 91 92% is significantly lower than when dichromate is employed as the process additive (> 96%). Mixtures of different dichromate and molybdate ratio were also investigated in terms of the resulting cathode surface potential.     

Developmental variations in plasma leptin,leptin soluble receptor and their molar ratio in healthy infants

Background  

Leptin and its soluble receptor (sOB-R) are important to regulation of body composition but there are no data on the developmental variations in these plasma variables and their relationship with body composition measurements,     

Diffusion of organic penetrants through low density polyethylene (LDPE) films: Effect of size and shape of the penetrant molecules

The diffusion coefficient at zero penetrant concentration D₀ of dichloromethane, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, cyclohexane, benzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, and p-xylene, and n-hexane in LDPE were measured at 25°C, using the desorption method. The D₀ values obtained in this way are correlated with the size, shape, and chemical nature of the penetrant molecules. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients of toluene and n-hexane in LDPE are also reported in the limited temperature range of 25–45°C. It indicates that, in spite of a size larger than that of toluene, n-hexane has a lower activation energy of diffusion.     

Recycling of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) waste. III. Processability of EPDM rubber compound containing ground EPDM vulcanizates

The rheological behavior of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) compounds containing ground EPDM waste (W‐EPDM) of known composition was studied by using a Monsanto processability tester in a temperature range of 90–110°C and a shear rate range of 306.7–1533.24 s^?1. It is found that the shear viscosity decreases slightly with increasing W‐EPDM loading because of wall slip that results from the migration of lubricants from the W‐EPDM. The addition of W‐EPDM to raw EPDM results in a decreased die swell at all temperatures and shear rates. SEM photomicrographs of the EPDM extrudate surface show improved surface smoothness and reduced extrudate distortion when EPDM is blended with W‐EPDM. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2204–2215, 2003     

Modèles Hydrodynamiques pour la Séparation des Courants dans un Décanteur Pilote

Despite of its general use in industry, particle sedimentation is still a not well understood unit operation. Hydrodynamics is complex in essence, mainly because the possible volumes are depending on the operating conditions, which in turn has consequences on the stability of the equipment in unsteady state conditions.     

Influence of maize kernel hardness on flour hydration and cooking properties

Knowledge of the association between cooking properties and endosperm hardness may help nutritionist and processors to select raw materials for preparing maize based food products, particularly those eaten as cooked dispersions. Seven commercial maize cultivars differing in hardness were selected to evaluate endosperm hardness on the kernels and some characteristics such as composition and hydration and cooking properties on the grits obtained from those maizes. Results show that the differences in endosperm hardness (directly related to grits protein content) can explain the differences in swelling and amylographic consistencies values. Cultivars with the hardest endosperm show the lowest values at high temperature. They also show the lowest amylographic consistencies. On the other hand softer endosperms present the highest swelling power and the highest amylographic consistencies. These differences are attributed to the restriction for starch swelling caused by the protein matrix. Endosperm hardness measurements and swelling power at 95 degrees C, can be useful to select cultivars that are going to be used to prepare maize based foods like atoles, polenta, etc.     

Spinning and drawing properties of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene fibers prepared at varying concentrations and temperatures

The concentrations and temperatures of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) gel solutions exhibited a significant influence on their rheological and spinning properties. The shear viscosities of UHMWPE solutions increased consistently with increasing concentrations at a constant temperature above 80°C. Tremendously high shear viscosities of UHMWPE gel solutions were found as the temperatures reached 120–140°C, at which their shear viscosity values approached the maximum. The spinnable solutions are those gel solutions with optimum shear viscosities and relatively good homogeneity in nature. Moreover, the gel solution concentrations and spinning temperatures exhibited a significant influence on the drawability and microstructure of the as‐spun fibers. At each spinning temperature, the achievable draw ratios obtained for as‐spun fibers prepared near the optimum concentration are significantly higher than those of as‐spun fibers prepared at other concentrations. The critical draw ratio of the as‐spun fiber prepared at the optimum concentration approached a maximum value, as the spinning temperature reached the optimum value of 150°C. Further investigations indicated that the best orientation of the precursors of shish‐kebab‐like entities, birefringence, crystallinity, thermal and tensile properties were always accompanied with the as‐spun fiber prepared at the optimum concentration and temperature. Similar to those found for the as‐spun fibers, the birefringence and tensile properties of the draw fibers prepared at the optimum condition were always higher than those of drawn fibers prepared at other conditions but stretched to the same draw ratio. Possible mechanisms accounting for these interesting phenomena are proposed.     

Thermally induced crosslinking between polyacrylic acid and epoxidized natural rubber. III. Effect of carbon black filler and mixer rotor speed

High-temperature molding of Brabender-mixed blend of polyacrylic acid (PAA) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) causes thermally induced crosslinking between PAA and ENR. Studies on Monsanto rheometry of the blend and physical properties, solvent swelling, and dynamic mechanical properties of the molded blend show that both mixer rotor speed and carbon black filler influence the crosslinking between the component polymers. For example, the extent of crosslinking for the 50–50 PAA–ENR blend was found maximum when the component polymers were mixed at 40 rpm, but the same blend filled with 30 phr HAF carbon black filler showed maximum crosslinking when mixing was carried out at 120 rpm. The results have been explained on the basis of formation of network on the filler surface, which in turn depends on two competing factors: increase in bound rubber formation with increase in filler loading at a fixed rotor speed and enhanced degradation of ENR at higher mixer rotor speed at a fixed filler loading. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Measurement of O2-N2 binary sorption on 5A zeolite by isotope tracer and perturbation chromatography

Isotope tracer chromatography allows to extract simply and quickly multi component adsorption data and is demonstrated for single component and binary adsorption equilibria for O₂ and N₂ on 5A zeolite as an example. In this modification of conventional tracer chromatography, a small pulse of an isotope tracer is injected in an adsorbable carrier gas (pure or multicomponent mixture) flowing through a column filled with adsorbent and is designed to operate at almost uniform pressure. Isotherm parameters are readily extracted by fitting measurements of residence times at various pressures and carrier composition. The isotherms were in excellent agreement with volumetric measurements. Isotope tracer chromatography is shown to be superior to perturbation chromatography since the influence of the injection volume on the carrier gas composition is substantially smaller for tracer experiments. Unfortunately, this new improved gas chromatographic technique requires rather expensive isotopes. The strength of this new approach lies in the advantage of working with small adsorbent samples (1 g) making a rapid screening of newly developed materials possible.Nomenclature K _exp,tr,i experimental tracer adsorption constant (mol/kg pure adsorbent/Pa) - K _i Henry adsorption equilibrium constant (mol/kg pure adsorbent/Pa) - K _i,part partition coefficient - K _pert composite Henry constant (mol/kg pure adsorbent/Pa) - L column length (m) - L _i Langmuir adsorption constant (1/Pa) - n _i amount adsorbed on the solid (mol/kg adsorbent) - N _i adsorbent loading (Pa) - p total pressure (Pa) - p _i partial pressure of component i (Pa) - p _in column inlet pressure (Pa) - p _out column outlet pressure (Pa) - q _i amount of component i in the micropores (Pa) - R gas constant (J/mol/K) - t time (s) - T temperature (K) - v _f superficial velocity in adsorbent column (m/s) - v _out velocity at the outlet of the column (m/s) - V _inlet volumetric flow rate at inlet conditions (ml/s) - x molar fraction of tracer - y molar fraction of component i in the carrier gas - z axial coordinate (m) Greek letters _ext bed voidage, external porosity - _macr macropore porosity [_macr= _p (1–_ext)] - _micr micropore porosity - _tot total porosity - _p pellet porosity - volume fraction of binder material - _d dead time (s) - _tracer tracer residence time (s) - _pert perturbation residence time (s) - _crys crystal density (kg/m³)     

Recycling of silicone rubber waste: Effect of ground silicone rubber vulcanizate powder on the properties of silicone rubber

The silicone rubber vulcanizate powder (SVP) obtained from silicone rubber by mechanical grinding exists in a highly aggregated state. The particle size distribution of SVP is broad, ranging from 2 µm to 110 µm with an average particle size of 33 µm. X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy studies show that there is no chemical change on the rubber surface following mechanical grinding of the heat‐aged (200°C/10 days) silicone rubber vulcanizate. Addition of SVP in silicone rubber increases the Mooney viscosity, Mooney scorch time, shear viscosity and activation energy for viscous flow. Measurement of curing characteristics reveals that incorporation of SVP into the virgin silicone rubber causes an increase in minimum torque, but marginal decrease in maximum torque and rate constant of curing. However, the activation energy of curing shows an increasing trend with increasing loading of SVP. Expectedly, incorporation of SVP does not alter the glass‐rubber transition and cold crystallization temperatures of silicone rubber, as observed in the dynamic mechanical spectra. It is further observed that on incorporation of even a high loading of SVP (i.e., 60 phr), the tensile and tear strength of the silicone rubber are decreased by only about 20%, and modulus dropped by 15%, while the hardness, tension set and hysteresis loss undergo marginal changes and compression stress‐relaxation is not significantly changed. Atomic Force Microscopy studies reveal that incorporation of SVP into silicone rubber does not cause significant changes in the surface morphology.