Behavior of cellulose graft copolymer towards persulphate oxidation. III. Poly(acrylonitrile) graft copolymers

Cotton cellulose was graft copolymerized with poly(acrylonitrile) to different levels. The copolymers so obtained together with the nongrafted cellulose were oxidized at different pH's (4–10) and temperatures (50–70°C) with potassium persulphate. The oxidation reaction was studied with respect to oxygen consumption, mass loss, and changes in copper number and carboxyl content of the cellulosic materials. It was found that the rates of oxidation at pH 4 for the copolymers are substantially higher than that of the nongrafted cellulose and the rate of oxidation is higher the higher the level of grafting. The reverse is the case at pH 10. The mass loss increases as the oxygen consumption increases irrespective of the substrate used and the pH employed. The magnitude of the mass loss is substantially lower in the case of grafted cellulose than in the case of nongrafted cellulose. The cellulosic copolymers with higher graft levels show lower mass loss than those having lower graft levels. However, the copper number and carboxyl content of the oxidized grafted cellulose are higher than those of the nongrafted cellulose at the same oxygen consumption. It is believed that the presence of poly(acrylonitrile) graft in the molecular structure of cellulose impedes cellulosic chain scission without necessarily preventing oxidation of cellulose hydroxyls.     

Grafting of nylon 66 with methyl methacrylate using dimethylaniline–benzyl chloride–acetic acid initiating system

Grafting of nylon 66 with methyl methacrylate (MMA) under the initiating influence of dimethylaniline (DMA)–benzyl chloride (BC)–acetic acid (AC) mixture was studied to discover optimal conditions for grafting. Results of this investigation showed that a mixture of water/ethanol at a ratio of 90:10 constitutes the most favorable medium for the grafting reaction. Optimal grafting occurred when a concentration of 0.16 mole/l. DMA plus 0.17 mole/l. BC plus 0.2 mole/l. AC was used. Using lower or higher concentrations of this initiator led to lower grafting. On the other hand, increasing MMA concentration brings about a significant increase in the graft yield. The same holds true for reaction time and temperature, though an induction period was observed at a lower temperature (65°C) and when lower monomer concentration (2%) was used.     

Graft copolymerization of vinyl monomers on modified cottons. VI. Vinyl graft copolymerization initiated by manganese (IV)

The ability of potassium permanganate in the presence of different acids to induce grafting of methyl methacrylate and acrylonitrile onto sodium hydroxide-treated cotton, partially carboxymethylated cotton, partially cyanoethylated cotton, and partially acetylated cotton was investigated. The copolymerization reaction was carried out under a variety of conditions. The graft yields are greatly enhanced by increasing concentration of monomer, reaction time, and temperature. The opposite holds true for initiator at higher concentrations. The effectiveness of the acids was: nitric acid > sulfuric acid > perchloric acid > hydrochloric acid. The change in the physical and/or chemical structure of cellulose by its modification via etherification reaction or esterification reaction had a significant effect on the susceptibility of cellulose toward grafting. While partial carboxymethylation or partial cyanoethylation of cellulose prior to grafting increased the graft yield, partial acetylation caused a decrease.     

Hydrolysis of poly(acrylamide)–starch graft copolymer

Poly(acrylamide)–starch graft copolymer was treated independently with sodium hydroxide and different acid solutions. The different acids include phosphoric, hydrochloric, and sulphuric acid. The treatment was carried out under a variety of conditions including sodium hydroxide concentration, time, and duration of hydrolysis as well as type of acid used. The extent of hydrolysis was assessed by estimating amide and carboxyl content as well as the acrylate and starch content before and after treatment. It was found that the increment in carboxyl content is equal to the decrement in amide on using sodium hydroxide concentration up to 1N, while using higher concentration than 1N leads to a difference in formed carboxyl and decreased amide groups. The magnitude of this difference depends on sodium hydroxide concentration as well as temperature and duration of hydrolysis. The maximum value of carboxyl content obtained was 593 meq/100 g sample. The acidic treatment of the starch copolymer does not affect the conversion of amide groups to carboxyl groups, and the sole effect was hydrolysis of starch component of the copolymer. Evaluation of the alkali-treated copolymer as cation exchanger was carried out. The absorption efficiency % of different cations depends on the associated anions and follow the order: Cu²⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Mg²⁺. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Graft polymerization of methyl methacrylate onto wool using dimethylaniline/copper(II) system

Dimethylaniline (DMA)/Cu^II-induced grafting of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto wool fibres was studied under different conditions. The grafting reaction was found to be influenced by Cu^II, DMA, and MMA concentrations as well as polymerization temperature, reaction time, and polymerization medium. While the graft yield increased by increasing the amount of MMA from 100 to 500 mmol/L, maximum grafting occurred at 0.5 mmol/L CuSO₄, 10 mmol/L DMA. The graft yield increased by increasing the reaction time from 15 to 150 min and by raising the polymerization temperature from 60 to 80°C. Using dimethylformamide/water and ethyl alcohol/water mixture as a medium for grafting decreased the graft yield, while using isopropyl alcohol/water mixtures increased the graft yield as compared to pure aqueous medium.     

γ‐Irradiation effects on the thermal and structural characteristics of modified,grafted polypropylene

The effects of both the degree of grafting and γ irradiation on the thermal stability and structural characteristic of polypropylene‐graft‐polyvinylpyrrolidone and polypropylene‐graft‐polyvinylpyrrolidone modified with α‐cyano‐δ‐(2‐thienyl) crotononitrile were investigated. The employed techniques were thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermogravimetry, and X‐ray diffraction. The thermal stability of various polymeric substrates was investigated through the determination of the degradation temperature and activation energy of degradation. The effects of different parameters on the structural characteristics of different films were investigated through the determination of possible changes in the degree of ordering of the polymeric substrates. The results revealed that the thermal stability of the trunk polymer, grafted polymer, and polymer modified by α‐cyano‐δ‐(2‐thienyl) crotononitrile increased progressively with an increasing degree of grafting. The increase was, however, more pronounced for the sample undergoing the lowest degree of grafting. The activation energy of the thermal degradation process remained almost unchanged, and this indicated that the degradation processes of the different films followed almost the same mechanism. The γ irradiation at a dose of 60 kGy of the sulfur‐treated polymeric films [i.e., the polymeric films treated with α‐cyano‐δ‐(2‐thienyl) crotononitrile] reduced their thermal stability. This conclusion was reached by the consideration of the changes observed in the pre‐exponential factor of the Arrhenius equation due to different chemical and γ‐irradiation treatments. The degree of ordering, evidenced by X‐ray diffraction measurements of the trunk polymer, grafted polymer, and modified polymer, suffered a significant drop. This drop was much more pronounced for the sulfur‐containing polymeric materials. The observed drop in the degree of ordering of the polymeric substrates was taken as a measure of the structure collapse due to a certain treatment (degree of grafting and sulfur inclusion). The γ irradiation of the sulfur‐containing polymeric materials greatly increased their degree of ordering, which reached a value greater than that measured for the trunk polymer. Therefore, it was concluded that the thermal stability increased as the degree of ordering decreased. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 506–515, 2006     

Heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in flash desalination units

The present work investigates the effects of different operating and geometrical parameters on the flashing efficiency of water in a single stage flashing chamber. This chamber uses a submerged rectangular orifice as flow control area. Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of flow rate, liquid level in the flashing chamber, liquid inlet temperature and flashing range, on the flashing efficiency under various design conditions. These comprise flow with baffle placed in the flashing chamber, and wire meshes placed at the orifice to increase the turbulence level.It was found that the efficiency increased with the increase of the turbulence levels, flashing range and liquid inlet temperature; the efficiency deceased with the increase of the flow rate and liquid level in the flashing chamber. The application of numerical procedure to predict flow pattern and heat transfer in the flashing chamber is introduced as a powerful design tool.     

Synthesis and properties of new poly(amide imide)s containing trimellitic rings and hydantoin moieties in the main chain under microwave irradiation

Trimellitic anhydride was reacted with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether in a mixture of acetic acid and pyridine (3 : 2) at room temperature and was refluxed at 90–100°C, and N,N′‐(4,4′‐diphenylether) bistrimellitimide (3) was obtained in a quantitative yield. 3 was converted into N,N′‐(4,4′‐diphenylether) bistrimellitimide diacid chloride (4) by a reaction with thionyl chloride. Then, six new poly(amide imide)s were synthesized under microwave irradiation with a domestic microwave oven through the polycondensation reactions of 4 with six different derivatives of 5,5‐disubstituted hydantoin in the presence of a small amount of a polar organic medium such as o‐cresol. The polycondensation proceeded rapidly and was completed within 7–10 min, producing a series of new poly(amide imide)s in high yields with inherent viscosities of 0.27–0.66 dL/g. The resulting poly(amide imide)s were characterized by elemental analysis, viscosity measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetry, solubility testing, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. All the polymers were soluble at room temperature in polar solvents such as N,N‐dimethylacetamide, N,N‐dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, tetrahydrofuran, and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3447–3453, 2004     

Surface Modification of Ready-to-Use Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Modules for Oil/Water Separation

Reusing wastewater from oil-related industries is becoming increasingly important, especially in water-stressed oil-producing countries. Before oily wastewater can be discharged or reused, it must be properly treated, e.g., by membrane-based processes like ultrafiltration. A major issue of the applied membranes is their high fouling propensity. This paper reports on mitigating fouling inside ready-to-use ultrafiltration hollow-fiber modules used in a polishing step in oil/water separation. For this purpose, in-situ polyzwitterionic hydrogel coating was applied. The membrane performance was tested with oil nano-emulsions using a mini-plant system. The main factors influencing fouling were systematically investigated using statistical design of experiments.     

Collaborative learning in the clouds

Cloud computing has emerged as one of the most highly discussed topics both in the academic community and in the computing industry. While most of the work that has been conducted to explore this field focuses either on establishing the basis for cloud computing or almost exclusively on the issues surrounding security and data privacy, this paper takes the first exploratory step into exploring the actual internal working of cloud computing and demonstrates its viability for organizations, more specifically educational establishments . The paper starts by introducing the most important key clouds computing concepts, including virtualization technologies, Web services and Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), and distributed computing. Light will be then shed on the impact and potential benefits of cloud computing on teaching and learning in educational institutions. The paper closes by describing building a private cloud inside educational institution and highlights its offerings for students, staff and lecturers.