On the origin of the blue/green color of blast‐furnace slag‐based materials: Sulfur K‐edge XANES investigation

Slag‐based materials including mortars, concretes, Ca‐geopolymers, etc., are known to display a fascinating blue/green color upon hydration. This specific color is of particular concern in applications where visual esthetics are important. Yet only limited studies have been devoted to this phenomenon so far and its origin remains unexplained. It has sometimes been attributed, without any experimental evidence, to the presence of polysulfur species in the slag. To address the origin of this coloration, sulfur K‐edge X‐ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was used to investigate the evolution of the speciation of sulfur during slag hydration. Three methods of slag activation were considered: thermal, portland cement, and sodium silicate. The impact of the activation method on the sulfur K‐edge XANES spectrum was examined first. Then, a comparison was made between the XANES of blue and white samples or zones with or without the blue color within the same sample. Independently of the activation route, the blue color was found to be unambiguously related to the presence of a prepeak in the corresponding XANES spectrum. This feature was absent for white samples or white zones. The prepeak, which was located at lower energy than the peak corresponding to the most common reduced sulfur species, was attributed to the presence of the trisulfur radical anion S₃^?. This blue chromophore is known to be at the origin of the deep blue color of the stone lapis lazuli or the ultramarine pigment (derived from lazurite).     

Relationship between cell morphology and impact strength of microcellular foamed high‐density polyethylene/polypropylene blends

Polymer blends, such as those resulting from recycling postconsumer plastics, often have poor mechanical properties. Microcellular foams have been shown to have the potential to improve properties, and permit higher‐value uses of mixed polymer streams. In this study, the effects of microcellular batch processing conditions (foaming time and temperature) and HDPE/PP blend compositions on the cell morphology (the average cell size and cell‐population density) and impact strength were studied. Optical microscopy was used to investigate the miscibility and crystalline morphology of the HDPE/PP blends. Pure HDPE and PP did not foam well at any processing conditions. Blending facilitated the formation of microcellular structures in polyolefins because of the poorly bonded interfaces of immiscible HDPE/PP blends, which favored cell nucleation. The experimental results indicated that well‐developed microcellular structures are produced in HDPE/PP blends at ratios of 50:50 and 30:70. The cell morphology had a strong relationship with the impact strength of foamed samples. Improvement in impact strength was associated with well‐developed microcellular morphology. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:1551–1560, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Experimental investigation of solid particles flow in a conical spouted bed using radioactive particle tracking

Solid particles flow in a conical spouted bed is characterized by radioactive particle tracking. The influence of operating conditions on key parameters of this flow is evaluated and discussed: the morphology of the solid bed is not strongly influenced by the forces exerted by the gas on the solid particles, but rather by geometrical considerations; the particles spend approximately 8% of their time in the spout in all experiments; it is the force exerted on the solid particles by the gas that directly controls the volumetric flow rate between adjacent regions, and not the amount of particles in the bed; as U/U_ms increases, the volume of solid particles in the annulus decreases, the volume of solid particles in the fountain increases and the volume of solid particles in the spout remains constant. Correlations to predict key flow parameters as functions of operating conditions are also established and discussed. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 26–37, 2016     

Effect of surface resistance on cyclohexane uptake curves in Silicalite-1 crystals

Adsorption kinetics of cyclohexane in a variety of Silicalite-1 samples were measured by gravimetric uptake experiments. The kinetic appears as dependent upon the history of the crystals. Samples stored for several months before calcination (with their micropores full of template) exhibit a kinetic drop by almost an order of magnitude. Surprisingly, physico-chemicals analysis do not show any differences between these samples (no modification of their crystallinity or morphology, and no residual carbon is detected in the pore network). The kinetic drop is therefore attributed to a modification of the crystals surface, induced by a long-time contact with the template or cyclohexane molecules.Aged and as-synthesized (non-calcined) samples were etched by an HF solution, so as to “purify” the surface of the crystals. After a few minutes of treatment, the aged samples recover their initial adsorption kinetic, confirming that the kinetic drop is induced by the partial blocking of the entrance of the pores. Moreover, some of the as-synthesized crystals also show a rise of their adsorption kinetic, showing that surface resistance can be present ab initio, depending on the synthesis conditions.In an attempt to produce an accelerated aging effect, hydrothermal treatments were performed on non-calcined crystals. However, the treatments conditions are too severe, and induce variations in the crystal structure.     

Effects of urban coarse particles inhalation on oxidative and inflammatory parameters in the mouse lung and colon

Background

Air pollution is a recognized aggravating factor for pulmonary diseases and has notably deleterious effects on asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. Recent studies suggest that air pollution may also cause adverse effects in the gastrointestinal tract. Accumulating experimental evidence shows that immune responses in the pulmonary and intestinal mucosae are closely interrelated, and that gut-lung crosstalk controls pathophysiological processes such as responses to cigarette smoke and influenza virus infection. Our first aim was to collect urban coarse particulate matter (PM) and to characterize them for elemental content, gastric bioaccessibility, and oxidative potential; our second aim was to determine the short-term effects of urban coarse PM inhalation on pulmonary and colonic mucosae in mice, and to test the hypothesis that the well-known antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) reverses the effects of PM inhalation.

Results

The collected PM had classical features of urban particles and possessed oxidative potential partly attributable to their metal fraction. Bioaccessibility study confirmed the high solubility of some metals at the gastric level. Male mice were exposed to urban coarse PM in a ventilated inhalation chamber for 15 days at a concentration relevant to episodic elevation peak of air pollution. Coarse PM inhalation induced systemic oxidative stress, recruited immune cells to the lung, and increased cytokine levels in the lung and colon. Concomitant oral administration of NAC reversed all the observed effects relative to the inhalation of coarse PM.

Conclusions

Coarse PM-induced low-grade inflammation in the lung and colon is mediated by oxidative stress and deserves more investigation as potentiating factor for inflammatory diseases.

     

Extrusion blown films of poly(lactic acid) chain‐extended with food grade multifunctional epoxies

The effectiveness and efficiency of two food grade multifunctional epoxies with low and high epoxy equivalent weights in chain extending/branching poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were studied in a torque rheometer. Processing PLA and chain extender (CE) at 200°C for 300 s not only chain‐extended PLA effectively as indicated by a significant increase in the mixing torque as well as PLA's melt viscosity and molecular weight, but also branched it leading to its reduced crystallinity. Chain extension occurred through the ring opening reaction of epoxy groups in the CE with PLA's hydroxyl and/or carboxyl groups. CE with lower epoxy equivalent weight was more efficient due to its higher reactivity. Secondly, the processabilities of PLA films chain‐extended and branched with various amounts of the most efficient CE were assessed. Like in torque rheometer, chain extension and branching also occurred during film production as indicated by PLA's increased molecular weight and decreased crystallinity when blended with CE. However, film manufacture was feasible only for blends with up to 0.5% CE, becoming unprocessable above this content due to chain entanglement leading to increased viscosity. Chain extension/branching of PLA was beneficial in overcoming film's brittleness since its impact strength increased almost linearly with the CE content. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:2211–2219, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Impact of experimental conditions on material response during forming of steel in semi-solid state

Semi-solid forming is an effective near-net-shape forming process to produce components with complex geometry and in fewer forming steps. It benefits from the complex thixotropic behaviour of semi-solids. However, the consequences of such behaviour on the flow during thixoforming, is still neither completely characterized and nor fully understood, especially for high melting point alloys. The study described in this paper investigates thixoextrusion for C38 low carbon steel material using dies at temperatures much lower than the slug temperature. Four different process parameters were studied: the initial slug temperature, the die temperature, the ram speed and the presence of a ceramic layer at the tool/material interface. The extruded parts were found to have an exact shape and a good surface state only if the temperature was below a certain value. This critical temperature is not an intrinsic material property since its value depends on die temperature and the presence of the Ceraspray© layer. Two kinds of flow were highlighted: a homogeneous flow controlled by the behaviour of the solid skeleton characterized by a positive strain rate sensitivity, and a non homogeneous flow (macro liquid/solid phase separation) dominated by the flow of the free liquid. With decreasing ram speed, heat losses increase so that the overall consistency of the material improves, leading to apparent negative strain rate sensitivity. Finally, some ways to optimise thixoforming are proposed.     

Carbon footprint as environmental performance indicator for the manufacturing industry

With the current focus on our climate change impacts, the embodied CO₂ emission or “Carbon footprint” is often used as an environmental performance indicator for our products or production activities. The ability of carbon footprint to represent other types of impact like human toxicity, and hence the overall environmental impact is investigated based on life cycle assessments of several materials of major relevance to manufacturing industries. The dependence of the carbon footprint on the assumed scenarios for generation of thermal and electrical energy in the life cycle of the materials is analyzed, and the appropriateness of carbon footprint as an overall indicator of the environmental performance is discussed.     

A correlation between crystal structure and catalytic activity in the solid solutions CdMoxW1−xO4

Two CdMo_xW_1−xO₄ solid solutions with the scheelite and the wolframite structures were synthesised via different techniques and their structures were determined from powder refinements. The limit of the reciprocal solubility of Mo in CdWO₄ has been checked. Several compositions of the solid solutions have been tested in the catalytic mild oxidation of propane or propene and relations between the structures and the catalytic activity are proposed.     

Foaming of PS/wood fiber composites using moisture as a blowing agent

This paper presents an experimental study on foam processing of polystyrene (PS) and high‐impact polystyrene HIPS/wood‐fiber composites in extrusion using moisture as a blowing agent. Wood‐fiber inherently contains moisture that can potentially be used as a blowing agent. Undried wood‐fiber was processed together with PS and HIPS materials in extrusion and wood‐fiber composite foams were produced. The cellular morphology and volume expansion ratios of the foamed composites were characterized. Because of the high stiffness of styrenic materials, moisture condensation during cooling after expansion at high temperature did not cause much contraction of the foamed composite and a high volume expansion ratio up to 20 was successfully obtained. The experimental results showed that the expansion ratio could be controlled by varying the processing temperature and the moisture content in the wood fiber. The effects of a small amount of a chemical blowing agent and mineral oil on the cell morphologies of plastic/wood‐fiber composite foams were also investigated.