Biosorption of Pb(II) using Gundelia tournefortii: Kinetics,equilibrium, and thermodynamics

In this paper, the feasibility of Gundelia tournefortii was studied as a novel, high-capacity biosorbent for removing lead ions from synthetic wastewater in a batch system. The effects of various parameters such as temperature, initial concentration, initial pH, biosorbent dosage, and contact time were investigated. Based on batch results, the optimum operating conditions were found to be pH 5, biosorbent dosage of 25 mg, and temperature of 20°C in the range of lead initial concentrations from 5 to 100 mg/L. The equilibrium contact time was 60 min. The biosorption mechanism can be well described by the Langmuir isotherm with a monolayer maximum adsorption capacity of 144.928 (mg/g) at 20°C and a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic studies proved that the sorption process was physical, spontaneous, feasible, random, and exothermic. In the second step, the ability of artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the adsorption capacity of Gundelia tournefortii for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution was examined. The model was developed using a three-layer feed-forward back-propagation (BP) network with 5, 12, and 1 neurons in the first, second, and third layers, respectively. The Levenberg–Marquardt BP training algorithm (LMA) was found to be the best BP algorithm with a minimum mean squared error of 0.000867 and a minimum relative squared error of 0.032771. The comparison between the results of ANN and experimental data showed that ANN has a superior performance (R²= of 0.998) in the prediction of the Pb(II) removal process.     

Microphase separation and hard domain assembly in thermoplastic polyurethane/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites

We studied the role of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on microphase separation and hard domain assembly in the thermoplastic polyurethane/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites via combination of rheology and thermal analysis (DSC and DMA). The strong solid‐like response observed at low frequency together with very low rheological percolation threshold (0.15 wt%) shown by the samples at their disordered state temperature revealed great capability of TPU in dispersing MWCNTs. The results of microphase separation kinetics measured for the fast‐cooled samples using the time sweep experiments under isothermal condition together with thermal analysis showed a significant enhancing effect of MWCNTs on accelerating kinetics as well as promoting the extent of hard domain formation. These results could be attributed to increased thermodynamic incompatibility between hard and soft domain of TPU matrix as a result of greater affinity of MWCNTs with hard segments. This allowed the MWCNTs to act as attractive platforms for formation and assembly of hard domains. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2163–2173, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Application of an air‐operated two impinging streams extractor in liquid‐liquid extraction and comparison with other contactor types

Extraction of succinic acid by means of normal butanol from its aqueous solutions (BSW), acetic acid by means of distilled water from kerosene (WAK) and iodine by means of kerosene from its aqueous solution (KIW) have been investigated in an air‐operated two impinging streams extractor (AOTISE) with spray nozzles. The effects of air flow rate, solutions flow rate, extractor length and diameter as well as modes of operation and impinging streams on extraction efficiency have been investigated. These results indicate that AOTISE is an efficient device for extraction processes. In addition, the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficients (K_La) are reported. The latter coefficients are important in design and may be used to compare the performance capability of various kinds of extractors.     

Separation of ethylbenzene from C7+‐cut naphtha

A fractional distillation process for separating ethylbenzene (EB) from a feed mixture C7⁺‐cut naphtha, comprising nonaromatics, BTX, EB, styrene, and C8⁺ fraction, was used. Primarily, 29.63 wt % EB in the bottom was obtained. Redistillation of the bottom component produced 63.98 wt % EB in the 2nd cut; finally, this cut was used as a feed to distillation process and 83.21 wt % EB was obtained in distillate, and this feed was used directly for dehydrogenation process to produce styrene monomer. All of the distilled fractions were analyzed by gas chromatography instrument. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl PolymSci 102: 2795–2798, 2006     

A new approach for free vibration analysis of nonuniform tall building structures with axial force effects

Dynamic analysis of beam‐like structures is significantly important in modeling actual cases such as tall buildings and several other related applications as well. This article studies free vibration analysis of tall buildings with nonuniform cross‐section structures. A novel and simple approach is presented to solve natural frequencies of free vibration of cantilevered tall structures with variable flexural rigidity and mass densities. These systems could be replaced by a cantilever Timoshenko beam with varying cross‐sections. The governing partial differential equation for vibration of a nonuniform Timoshenko beam under variable axial loads is transformed with varying coefficients to its weak form of integral equations. Natural frequencies can be determined by requiring the resulting integral equation, which has a nontrivial solution. The presented method in this study has fast convergence. Including high accuracy for the obtained numerical results as well. Numerical examples including framed tube as well as tube‐in‐tube structures are carried out in the study and compared with available results in the literature, and also with the results obtained from finite element analysis in order to show the accuracy of the proposed method in the study. Obtained results indicate that the presented method in this study is powerful enough for the free vibration analysis of tall buildings.     

Synthesis and spectroscopic and photoconduction characteristics of coaxial poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethylhexyloxy)−1,4‐phenylene vinylene] single‐walled carbon nanotube films with ohmic‐like transport attributes

Highly luminescent, core–shell, single‐walled carbon nanotube–poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethylhexyloxy)?1,4‐phenylene vinylene] (MEH‐PPV) one‐dimensional networks were synthesized by a multicycle unstable micellization method. The current–voltage data indicated that the charge transport within the nanowire network remained Ohmic, with the differential conductance scaling linearly with temperature in the temperature range of about 120 to 300 K. Further analysis based on the comparative study involving photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopic tests pointed to interchain interactions and nanotube–polymer interface as primary factors influencing the electronic characteristics of the processed samples. Likewise, steady‐state photoconduction tests confirmed that the heterointerface played a dominant role behind the increased photoresponse induced by exciton annihilation at a low bias regime. The study helped us identify the underlying physical mechanisms that controlled the optical, electrical, and photoconduction properties of the MEH‐PPV–carbon nanotube heteronetworks. Potentially, this will open a door to the development of next generation, low‐cost, all‐organic nanooptoelectronic devices and systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014 , 131, 40029.     

Effects of ceria nanoparticle concentrations on the morphology and corrosion resistance of cerium–silane hybrid coatings on electro-galvanized steel substrates

This work investigates the effect of the ceria nanoparticle concentration on the morphology and electrochemical behavior of cerium–silane hybrid coatings deposited on electro-galvanized steel substrates. The substrates were pre-treated with 3-glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane and bisphenol A, modified with cerium ion-activated CeO₂ nanoparticles. The morphology of the coating before and after corrosion tests was examined using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate the formation of nanostructured surfaces with relatively uniform thicknesses and nanoparticle distribution. Microscopic observations explain the increased durability of the silane coating doped with the lowest content of activated ceria nanoparticles after short-term corrosion tests (456 h). The corrosion behavior of the sol–gel coatings was also investigated using natural salt spray tests, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic polarization tests. The results show that the concentration of nanoparticles has a significant impact on the barrier properties of the silane films, which are improved for films with lower nanoparticle contents.     

Binary level set method for structural topology optimization with MBO type of projection

In this paper, we use binary level set method and Merriman–Bence–Osher scheme for solving structural shape and topology optimization problems. In the binary level set method, the level set function can only take 1 and –1 values at convergence. Thus, it is related to phasefield methods. There is no need to solve the Hamilton–Jacobi equation so it is free of the CFL condition and the reinitialization scheme. This favorable property leads to the great time advantage of this method. We use additive operator splitting (AOS) and multiplicative operator splitting (MOS) schemes for solving optimization problems under some constraints In this work, we also combine the binary level set method with the Merriman–Bence–Osher scheme. The combined scheme is much more efficient than the conventional binary level set method. Several two‐dimensional examples are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of proposed method. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectrophotometric determination of mercury in water samples after cloud point extraction using nonionic surfactant Triton X-114

A cloud point extraction process using the nonionic surfactant Triton X-114 for extracting mercury from aqueous solutions was investigated. The method is based on the complexation reaction of Hg(II) with Thio-Michler's Ketone (TMK) and micelle-mediated extraction of the complex. The optimal extraction and reaction conditions (e.g., pH, reagent concentration, effect of time) were studied, and the analytical characteristics of the method (e.g., limit of detection, linear range) were obtained. Linearity was obeyed in the range of 5.0-80.0 ng mL(-1) of Hg(II) ion. The detection limit of the method was 0.83 ng mL(-1) of Hg(II) ion. The interference effect of some anions and cations was also tested. The method was applied to the determination of mercury in water samples.     

Identification of a nonlinear joint in an elastic structure using optimum equivalent linear frequency response function

As the main source of local nonlinearities, joints can lead to drastic changes in dynamic behavior of structures in a global scale. Finite element (FE) models often lack these nonlinearities and are incapable of representing nonlinear behavior. Therefore, the identification of nonlinear dynamic mechanical properties of the joint is necessary, in order to develop a faithful FE model of the structure. In the present work, dynamic parameters of a nonlinear joint are identified using an optimum equivalent linear frequency response function of the structure. A test rig, which includes a beam that can produce cubic stiffness spring characteristic as a nonlinear joint, is built, and nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the beam are identified. In addition to hardening behavior related to cubic stiffness, softening effects were also observed in some measured modes in which further investigation attributed that behavior to the presence of a bolt in the test rig.