Aloe vera gel: a new thickening agent for pigment printing

An attempt was made to print cotton fabric with pigments using a new thickening agent based on Aloe vera gel in combination with sodium alginate. The results were compared with the standard conventional printing recipe containing synthetic thickener, and a favourable effect of Aloe vera introduction was achieved. The results show that the properties of the printed fabric (sharpness, colour yield, overall fastness properties, softness, and water vapour transmission) are dependent on the percentage of Aloe vera gel in the thickener combination, the concentration of printing auxiliaries, and the curing conditions. Optimal printing properties were achieved by using a printing paste containing 80% Aloe vera/20% sodium alginate (700 g kg^?1), pigment (50 g kg^?1), binder (145 g kg^?1), fixer (10 g kg^?1), and ammonium sulfate (5 g kg^?1), followed by drying at 85 °C for 5 min and curing at 150 °C for 3 min. The sample printed with the new recipe showed superior rubbing fastness and handle properties, with a slightly lower colour yield, when compared with the sample printed with synthetic thickener. Finally, economic issues arising from synthetic thickener substitution are highlighted.     

Synthesis of a terpolymer and a tetrapolymer using monomers of diallylamine salts and SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and their application as antiscalants

An aqueous solution of diallylammonium salts (CH₂ = CHCH₂)₂NH⁺(CH₂)₃A^? having A^? as: CO₂ ^? (I), PO₃H₂ Cl^? (II) and SO₃ ^? (III) in 1:1:1 mol ratio underwent ammonium persulfate-initiated ter cyclopolymerization to yield pH-responsive zwitterionic polymer IV with random placements of the monomers in the same ratio. During dialysis, PO₃H₂Cl^? of the incorporated monomer units of II upon depletion of HCl became PO₃H^?. Likewise, azobisisobutyronitrile-initiated cyclopolymerization of I, II, III, and SO₂ in a mole ratio of 1:1:1:3 provided pH-responsive tetrapolymer V in over 90 % yield with random and alternative placements of I–III and SO₂ units, respectively, in the same ratio as the feed. Polyzwitterions (PZs) IV and V were insoluble in salt-free water but soluble in the presence of salts. The critical salt concentrations required to promote water solubility of PZ IV were determined to be 0.356 M NaCl, 0.237 M NaBr and 0.128 M NaI, whereas for PZ V the corresponding values were found to be 2.25, 1.26 and 0.862 M, respectively. PZs IV and V were converted into anionic polyelectrolytes VI and VII upon basification with NaOH. The viscosity and antiscalant behaviors of VI and VII were examined. The polymers demonstrated remarkable scale inhibition efficacies; at a dose of 10 ppm, both IV (+NaOH) and V (+NaOH) delayed the precipitation of CaSO₄ from its supersaturated solution up to 920 and over 4000 min, respectively. For a small concentration of 5 ppm of polymer V, a scale inhibition of 100 % over 100 min verified it to be a potential effective antiscalant additive in reverse osmosis plants.     

Thermally Resistive Electrospun Composite Membranes for Low‐Grade Thermal Energy Harvesting

In this work, thermally insulating composite mats of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) blends are used as the separator membranes. The membranes improve the thermal‐to‐electrical energy conversion efficiency of a thermally driven electrochemical cell (i.e., thermocell) up to 95%. The justification of the improved performance is an intricate relationship between the porosity, electrolyte uptake, electrolyte uptake rate of the electrospun fibrous mat, and the actual temperature gradient at the electrode surface. When the porosity is too high (87%) in PAN membranes, the electrolyte uptake and electrolyte uptake rate are significantly high as 950% and 0.53 µL s^?1, respectively. In such a case, the convective heat flow within the cell is high and the power density is limited to 32.7 mW m^?2. When the porosity is lesser (up to 81%) in PVDF membranes, the electrolyte uptake and uptake rate are relatively low as 434% and 0.13 µL s^?1, respectively. In this case, the convective flow shall be low, however, the maximum power density of 63.5 mW m^?2 is obtained with PVDF/PAN composites as the aforementioned parameters are optimized. Furthermore, multilayered membrane structures are also investigated for which a bilayered architecture produces highest power density of 102.7 mW m^?2.     

Manufacture of Mesoporous Silicon from Living Plants and Agricultural Waste: An Environmentally Friendly and Scalable Process

We demonstrate a process for realising mesoporous silicon from a range of land-based plants such as common grasses, bamboos, sugarcane and rice. Such plants act as ??natural factories??, converting and concentrating vast quantities of soluble silicon in soil into nanostructured forms of silica in their roots, stems, branches or leaves. This porous biogenic silica is chemically extracted and then thermally reduced to porous silicon using magnesium vapor. Importantly, for larger batch size, an inexpensive thermal moderator such as salt, is added for control of the reaction exotherm and minimization of sintering. Mesoporous silicon of >350?m²/g with 8?nm wide pores has been obtained from a bamboo extract, for example. The same process is applicable to a wide range of ??silicon accumulator plants??. The purity of this ??naturally derived?? porous silicon is likely to be raised to a level acceptable for a wide range of high volume applications outside of electronics and solar cell technology.     

Thermal stability of some flavonoids and phenolic acids in sheep tallow olein

In this study, the thermal stability of some phenolic antioxidants including flavonoids (quercetin and catechin) and phenolic acids (gallic acid, tannic acid, ellagic acid and caffeic acid) in tallow olein was investigated. Tallow olein fractionated from sheep tallow fat was used as a medium to study the antioxidant activity at 120, 140, 160 and 180°C. In order to extract tallow olein, a three‐stage fractionation method was performed on sheep tallow fat at the constant temperatures of 25, 15 and 5°C using acetone as a solvent. The results suggested that quercetin and ellagic acid had the highest thermal stability amongst others, while gallic acid and caffeic acid exhibited the least thermal stability. Practical applications: The sheep tallow fat has been primarily used in soap manufacturing and its application as an edible fat has been limited due to its high content of saturated fatty acids. Extraction of the liquid phase of tallow fat (tallow olein) by fractionation reduces its long‐chain saturated fatty acid content to an acceptable level for edible consumption. The fractionation process, as negatively affects the stability to autoxidation, should be followed by stabilisation with antioxidants. The recent interest in natural antioxidants encouraged the authors to investigate the thermal stability of phenolic antioxidants in tallow olein. It is necessary to determine the thermal stability of antioxidants to predict their appropriateness to be used in high‐temperature applications such as deep frying. Fractionation and stabilisation with appropriate antioxidants are the important steps to utilise tallow olein as an edible oil for different applications in salad formulations, cooking and frying.     

Improved catalytic activity by catalase immobilization using γ‐cyclodextrin and electrospun PCL nanofibers

Nanofibrous structures are promising for biocatalyst immobilization due to their large surface area which facilitates the enzyme attachment, stability, ease of separation, and fine porous structure. There is limited research available on the change in enzyme activity following interaction with cyclodextrin. In this study, catalase enzyme was immobilized into nanofibrous structures by various techniques, with and without γ‐CD addition, and the enzymatic activity of catalase was evaluated. In addition, catalase‐γ‐CD complex containing PEO polymer solution was electrospun in between PCL nanofibrous layers as a newly developed technique. The enzyme immobilized nanofibrous structures were characterized by SEM, XRD, and FT‐IR analysis methods. Among all the activity tests, best enzyme activity was recorded with catalase‐γ‐CD physical mixture encapsulated PCL nanofibrous layers. Moreover, the test results indicated that the use of cyclodextrin in immobilization process considerably improves the catalytic activity of the enzyme. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44404.     

Modeling uranium biosorption by Cystoseira sp. and application studies

The aim of the present work was to determine the applicability of raw and modified brown macroalga Cystoseira sp. as a biosorbent material for the sorption of uranium ions from aqueous solutions. Equilibrium of uranium biosorption was analyzed under isotherm models and thermodynamic parameters of the process. Recovery of uranium from acidic mine wastewater was also applied. The mechanism of biosorption was discussed considering experimental data and theoretical models. The bioremoval efficiency of modified biomass was higher than raw Cystoseira sp. and the theoretical biosorption capacity of modified biosorbent was calculated to be 468.01 mg U/g.     

Synthesis and optimization of barium manganate nanofibers by electrospinning

Barium manganate nanofibers were successfully synthesized for the first time after heat treatment of composite nanofibers of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), barium acetate and manganese acetate using electrospinning technique. Different PVP concentrations were used and the results show that PVP concentration had played important role in the formation, uniformity, homogeneity and particularly in the reduction of nanofibers diameter. Crystal structure, microstructure, elemental analysis and surface morphology were studied using X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction results show that at low temperature there is no crystallinity in the fibers sample and at ∼400 °C formations of barium manganate crystalline phase starts and finally at 700 °C all the nanofibers became single phase. The first two high intensity peaks (1 0 1) and (1 1 0) give an average crystallite size of about 20 nm. The scanning electron micrographs show that the morphology of the fibers is smooth and uniform at low temperature and become slightly porous at intermediate temperature and finally at high temperature of 700 °C the fibers become highly porous, shrank and their average diameter reduced from ∼400 nm to about 100 nm. These fibers are made of grains with sizes ranging from 15 to 30 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infra-red results are also in good agreement with XRD and SEM results.     

Epoxide functionalized γ-Al2O3/Fe3O4/SiO2 nanocomposite and comparative adsorption behavior of a model reactive azo dye

In this investigation, magnetic γ-Al₂O₃ nanocomposite polymer particles with epoxide functionality were prepared following a multistep process. The prepared nanocomposite polymer particle was named as γ-Al₂O₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/poly(glycidyl methacrylate (PGMA). The surface property was evaluated by carrying out the adsorption study of Remazol Navy RGB (RN), a model reactive azo dye, on both γ-Al₂O₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ and γ-Al₂O₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/PGMA nanocomposite particles, that is, before and after epoxide functionalization. A contact time, temperature, adsorbent dose, and dye concentration dependent change in adsorption behavior was observed on both nanocomposite particles. The adsorption amount reached equilibrium (q_e) value within 5 minutes at the respective point of zero charge (PZC). The adsorption density of RN per unit specific surface area on epoxide functional γ-Al₂O₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/PGMA nanocomposite polymer particles (1.30 mg/m²) was higher relative to that on γ-Al₂O₃/Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ nanocomposite particles (0.87 mg/m²). The optimum adsorbent dose for obtaining the maximum adsorption density was 0.01 g. Comparatively, Langmuir isotherm model was better to describe the adsorption process and the adsorption process was favorable at low temperature (283 K). Batch kinetic adsorption experiment suggested that a pseudo-second-order rate kinetic model is more appropriate. Nanocomposite polymer particles were used as adsorbent up to third cycle with almost 99% adsorption efficiency.     

Preparation and characterization of LDPE and PP—Wood fiber composites

Natural fiber reinforced composites is an emerging area in polymer science. These natural fibers are low cost fibers with low density and high specific properties. These are biodegradable and nonabrasive. The natural fiber composites offer specific properties comparable to those of conventional fiber composites. However, in development of these composites, the incompatibility of the fibers and poor resistance to moisture often reduce the potential of natural fibers, and these draw backs become critical issue. Wood‐plastic composites (WPC) are a relatively new class of materials and one of the fastest growing sectors in the wood composites industry. Composites of wood in a thermoplastic matrix (wood–plastic composites) are considered a low maintenance solution to using wood in outdoor applications. WPCs are normally made from a mixture of wood fiber, thermoplastic, and small amounts of process and property modifiers through an extrusion process. In this study, Wood–plastic composites (WPC) are produce by adding a maleic anhydride modified low density polyethylene coupling agent to improve interfacial adhesion between the wood fiber and the plastic. Mixing is done with twin screw extruder. Subsequently, tensile strength, the modulus of elasticity, % elongation, hardness, Izod impact strength, melt flow index (MFI), and heat deflection temperature (HDT) are determined. Thermal transition temperatures and microstructure are determined with DSC and SEM, respectively. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009