Microwave heating of polymers: Influence of carbon nanotubes dispersion on the microwave susceptor effectiveness

Carbon nanotubes dispersion within the polymer matrix is a very important factor to take into account when developing new nanocomposites with optimized properties. In this article, dispersion studies have been carried out with polypropylene filled with 1% of multiwall carbon nanotubes. The nanocomposites were obtained by melt compounding in a corotative twin screw extruder. Processing parameters as screw speed, screw configuration and feeding technology were modified to analyse their effect onto carbon nanotubes dispersion. Developed nanocomposites were exposed to microwave heating (5.8 GHz, 700 W, 60 min) and heating temperature was monitored. The relation between dispersion level of carbon nanotubes and heating effectiveness was studied. Microwave heating efficiency of carbon nanotubes was increased as dispersion was improved. Electrical conductivity of nanocomposites was measured and used as indirect variable of microwave heating susceptor of carbon nanotubes nanocomposites. Higher electrical conductivity indicates a better microwave susceptor propertiy of the nanocomposite. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:1321–1329, 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of type and level of roughage offered to sheep and urine addition on compost quality and millet growth and production in the Sahel

A greenhouse trial was carried out at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), at Sadoré (13°15′ N, 2°18′ E), Niger. Experiments were conducted in conjunction with a feeding trial. The feeding trial yielded eight types of compost made from faeces and leftovers with or without urine addition from sheep fed either bush straw or millet stover offered at 60 or 80 g dry matter (DM) kg⁻¹ live weight (LW). In the second trial the agronomic value of composts to a millet crop was evaluated. The level of roughage on offer did not affect compost quality. Urine addition increased N content in composts (P<0.05), but had no effect on P. Millet stover based composts contained 24% more N and 42.5% more P than composts made with bush straw (P<0.05). Urine addition enhanced millet growth between 15 and 60 days after planting (DAP), increased millet aboveground mass by a factor 2.8, and increased the efficiency of N and P use by 100% and 50%, respectively. Millet response (growth, phytomass, N and P uptake, apparent efficiency of N and P use) to urine addition was higher with millet stover based composts than with bush straw based composts (P<0.05). It was concluded that addition of urine during composting of roughage leftovers and faeces from stall-fed animals could significantly improve nutrient recycling and consequently the productivity of mixed farming systems of semi-arid West Africa. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Oxidative Folding in the Mitochondrial Intermembrane Space in Human Health and Disease

Oxidative folding in the mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS) is a key cellular event associated with the folding and import of a large and still undetermined number of proteins. This process is catalyzed by an oxidoreductase, Mia40 that is able to recognize substrates with apparently little or no homology. Following substrate oxidation, Mia40 is reduced and must be reoxidized by Erv1/Alr1 that consequently transfers the electrons to the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Although our understanding of the physiological relevance of this process is still limited, an increasing number of pathologies are being associated with the impairment of this pathway; especially because oxidative folding is fundamental for several of the proteins involved in defense against oxidative stress. Here we review these aspects and discuss recent findings suggesting that oxidative folding in the IMS is modulated by the redox state of the cell.     

A two-scale Weibull approach to the failure of porous ceramic structures made by robocasting: Possibilities and limits

This paper introduces our approach to modeling the mechanical behavior of cellular ceramics, through the example of calcium phosphate scaffolds made by robocasting for bone–tissue engineering. The Weibull theory is used to deal with the scaffolds’ constitutive rods statistical failure, and the Sanchez-Palencia theory of periodic homogenization is used to link the rod- and scaffold-scales. Uniaxial compression of scaffolds and three-point bending of rods were performed to calibrate and validate the model. If calibration based on rod-scale data leads to over-conservative predictions of scaffold's properties (as rods’ successive failures are not taken into account), we show that, for a given rod diameter, calibration based on scaffold-scale data leads to very satisfactory predictions for a wide range of rod spacing, i.e. of scaffold porosity, as well as for different loading conditions. This work establishes the proposed model as a reliable tool for understanding and optimizing cellular ceramics’ mechanical properties.     

Atmospheric plasma spraying coatings from alumina–titania feedstock comprising bimodal particle size distributions

In this work, Al₂O₃–13 wt% TiO₂ submicron-nanostructured powders were deposited using atmospheric plasma spraying. The feedstocks were obtained by spray drying two starting suspensions of different solids content, prepared by adding nanosized TiO₂ and submicron-sized Al₂O₃ powders to water. The spray-dried granules were heat-treated to reduce their porosity and the powders were fully characterised in both untreated and thermally treated state. Comparison with two commercial feedstocks was carried out. Characterisation allowed a temperature for the thermal treatment to be chosen on the basis of the sprayability of the feedstock and the preservation as much as possible of the submicron-sized structure of the unfired agglomerates.Optimisation of the deposition conditions enabled the reconstituted powders to be successfully deposited, yielding coatings that were well bonded to the substrate. The coating microstructure, characterised by SEM, was mostly formed by a matrix of fully molten particles where the presence of semi-molten feedstock agglomerates was also observed.Moreover, microhardness, toughness, adhesion and tribological behaviours were determined, and the impact of the granule characteristics on these properties was studied. It was found that changing the feedstock characteristics allows controlling the coating quality and properties. In general, good mechanical properties were obtained using a feedstock comprising a binary mixture of submicrometric Al₂O₃ and nanometric TiO₂ particles in the spray-dried powder.     

Complex pBAE Nanoparticle Cell Trafficking: Tracking Both Position and Composition Using Super Resolution Microscopy

Nanomedicine emerged some decades ago with the hope to be the solution for most unmet medical needs. However, tracking materials at nanoscale is challenging to their reduced size, below the resolution limit of most conventional techniques. In this context, we propose the use of direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) to study time stability and cell trafficking after transfection of oligopeptide end-modified poly(β-aminoester) (OM-pBAE) nanoparticles. We selected different combinations of cationic end oligopeptides (arginine – R; histidine – H; and lysine – K) among polymer libraries, since the oligopeptide combination demonstrated to be useful for different applications, such as vaccination and gene silencing. We demonstrate that their time evolution as well as their cell uptake and trafficking are dependent on the oligopeptide. This study opens the pave to broad mechanistic studies at nanoscale that could enable a rational selection of specific pBAE nanoparticles composition after determining their stability and cell trafficking.     

Kinetic study for the development of an accelerated oxidative stability test to estimate virgin olive oil potential shelf life

This study proposes an accelerated test performed at mild temperature (40–60 °C) to measure oxidative stability and estimate the potential shelf life of extra‐virgin olive oil (EVOO). The kinetic behavior of normalized oxidation indices (PV, K₂₃₂ and K₂₇₀) and the oxidizing substrate [unsaturated fatty acids (UFA)] during storage of different virgin olive oil samples in darkness and at different temperatures (25–60 °C) is reported for the first time. PV and K₂₃₂ followed an apparent pseudo zero‐order kinetics (R² >0.951) at all the experimental temperatures in all samples, whereas the evolution of K₂₇₀ apparently better fitted a pseudo first‐order kinetics (R² >0.926). The temperature‐dependent kinetics of the oxidation indices and the UFA were well described by the linear Arrhenius equation between 25 and 60 °C (0.960< R² <0.999, p <0.05). The best correlation between loss of PUFA and increase of oxidation product indices was K₂₃₂ (0.581< R² <0.924). The time required to reach the upper limits for PV, K₂₃₂ and K₂₇₀ established for the EVOO category in the current EU legislation correlated well with temperature using a potential equation, making it possible to set up an accelerated stability test at temperatures below 60 °C to estimate the potential shelf life under normal storage temperature conditions.     

Feasibility study of a thermally coupled reactive distillation process for biodiesel production

Biodiesel fuel represents an interesting alternative as a clean and renewable substitute of fossil fuels. A typical biodiesel production process involves the use of a catalyst, which implies high energy consumptions for the separation of the catalyst and the by-products of the reaction, including those of undesirable side reactions (such as the saponification reaction). A recently proposed process involves the use of short-chain alcohols at supercritical conditions, avoiding the use of a catalyst and the occurrence of the saponification reaction. This process requires fewer pieces of equipment than the conventional one, but its high energy requirements and the need of special materials that support the reaction conditions makes the main product, biodiesel fuel, more expensive than petroleum diesel. In this work, a modification of the supercritical process for the production of biodiesel fuel is proposed. Two alternatives are proposed. The process involves the use of either reactive distillation or thermally coupled reactive distillation. Simulations have been carried out by using the Aspen One™ process simulator to demonstrate the feasibility of such alternatives to produce biodiesel with methanol at high pressure conditions. A design method for the thermally coupled system is also proposed. Both systems have been tested and the results indicate favorable energy performance when compared to the original scheme. Furthermore, the thermally coupled system shows lower energy consumptions than the reactive distillation column.     

Effect of hydrothermal ageing on the performance of Ce-promoted PdO/ZrO2 for methane combustion

The performance of different Ce-modified PdO/ZrO₂ catalysts for methane oxidation in lean mixtures (5000 ppm of CH₄) in presence of external water has been studied in this work. Deactivation experiments carried out in presence of 20,000 ppm of external water showed that water reversibly inhibits the reaction. However, it was observed that these catalysts can increase their activity in presence of water at low temperature (350 °C).In order to explain this behaviour, different samples of this catalyst were treated with wet air (20,000 ppm of H₂O for 30 h). After this pre-treatment, their activity and stability for methane combustion were studied by recording light-off curves for the fresh catalysts and the catalyst after 50 h on stream for the oxidation of methane at 500 °C. As general trend, the hydro-ageing at the lowest temperature (300 °C) leaded to a very active catalyst (similar activity than the parent one), but it was more markedly deactivated. Hydro-ageing of the catalyst at higher temperatures enhanced its thermal stability.