Filled Fibrous Sorbents Modified with Transition Metal Ferro- and Ferricyanides for Recovery of Americium and Rare-Earth Metals

Filled fibrous sorbents modified with transition metal ferro- and ferricyanides capable to recover americium(III) and rare-earth metals(III) from nitric acid solutions were prepared. The most complete and rapid recovery is attained on complex-forming and cation-exchange sorbents (as filled fibrous materials) saturated with nickel ions. The sorbents are characterized by good kinetic properties and can be used for recovery of the above metals.     

Ring‐opening polymerization of D,L‐lactide by rare earth 2,6‐dimethylaryloxide

Ring‐opening polymerization of D,L ‐lactide (LA) has been successfully carried out by using rare earth 2,6‐dimethylaryloxide (Ln(ODMP)₃) as single component catalyst or initiator for the first time. The effects of different rare earth elements, solvents, monomers and catalyst concentration as well as polymerization temperature and time on the polymerization were investigated. The results show that La(ODMP)₃ exhibits higher activity to prepare poly(D,L ‐lactide) (PLA) with a viscosity molecular weight of 4.5 × 10⁴ g mol^?1 and the conversion of 97 % at 100 °C in 45 min. The catalytic activity of Ln(ODMP)₃ has following sequence: La > Nd > Sm > Gd > Er > Y. A kinetic study has indicated that the polymerization is first order with respect to both monomer and catalyst concentration. The apparent activation energy of the polymerization of LA with La(ODMP)₃ is 69.6 kJ mol^?1. The analyses of polymer ends indicate that the LA polymerization proceeds according to ‘coordination–insertion’ mechanism with selective cleavage of the acyl–oxygen bond of the monomer. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

An Experimental Investigation into the Feed Rate Capacity of Rotary Valve and Blow Tank Feeders

Industry widely uses rotary valves and blow tanks for the pneumatic conveying of products, each having their pros and cons depending on the specific application. This article shows the differing results obtained when low-velocity conveying a product through a common pipeline using both a drop-through rotary valve and a bottom-discharge blow tank feeder. A number of issues arise in the rotary valve system, the main one being rotary valve air leakage. A blow tank system, on the other hand, does not leak, as it is an enclosed system. The experimental results show dramatic differences in product throughput. Further exploration leads to a novel modification being made to the rotary valve system in an attempt to increase its capacity. The result of this modification shows a slight increase in output tonnage, but still significantly less than that obtained from the blow tank.     

Unsteady effects and heat-transfer when starting up power plant

The results of experimental study of unsteady effects on local heat transfer coefficients caused by abruptly increasing of the gas flow temperature in the inlet section of a cylindrical channel are presented.     

Neural-Net Analysis of the Plasticity of ÉP-450 Ferrite–Martensite Steel with Different Alloying Element Concentrations

The results of a computational experiment with a neural-net model simulating the effect of the chemical composition on the plastic properties of ÉP-450 steel are presented. It is shown that computer-aided development of reactor steel with prescribed properties is, in principle, possible.     

Electrophoretic deposition of electrolyte materials for solid oxide fuel cells

Electrophoretic deposition of electrolyte materials for solid oxide fuel cells, including La_0.8Sr_0.2Ga_0.875Mg_0.125O_3–x , yttria stabilized zirconia and (Ce_0.8Gd_0.2)O_1.9, was studied under various experimental conditions. The use of phosphate ester as a dispersant and poly (vinyl butyral) as a binder enabled high deposition rate and formation of crack-free, adherent deposits. Electrodeposition rates were quantified in experiments performed at constant current and constant voltage modes from suspensions in ethanol, isopropanol and mixed ethanol—isopropanol solvents. The microstructure of as prepared and sintered deposits was studied by electron microscopy. The bath composition was optimized to enable formation of dense deposits.     

Relaxor Behavior of Ge-Doped TlInS2

The dielectric and pyroelectric properties of Ge-doped (0.1 mol %) TlInS₂ crystals are studied. The results demonstrate that TlInS₂ is a ferroelectric relaxor. The experimental data are used to evaluate, using the Vogel–Fulcher relation, the activation energy (0.045 eV), preexponential factor (f ₀ = 2 × 10¹³ Hz), and the dipole-freezing temperature (T _F = 142 K) and to determine the temperature range of the stable relaxor (nanodomain) state and the temperature of the transition to the ferroelectric (macrodomain) state, accompanied by an anomaly in the temperature-dependent pyroelectric coefficient.