Lonsdaleite diamond growth on reconstructed Si (100) by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD)

In this paper, the growth of Lonsdaleite diamond using hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) on flashed and reconstructed Si (100) is reported. Surface morphology studies using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that the film is composed of decahedron and icosahedron diamond particles. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern has a strongest peak at 47° and a peak at 41°, which is indicative of Lonsdaleite nature of the grown diamond film. The Raman spectrum of the film shows a broadened diamond peak at wave number of 1,329 cm⁻¹, which has shifted towards the peak position corresponding to Lonsdaleite nature of the diamond (1,326 cm⁻¹).     

Transport of cobalt(II) through a hollow fiber supported liquid membrane containing di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the carrier

This work presents experimental, modeling and simulation studies for Co²⁺ ion extraction using hollow fiber supported liquid membrane (HFSLM) operated in a recycling mode. Extractant di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) diluted with kerosene has been used as the membrane phase. The Co²⁺ ion concentration in the aqueous feed phase was varied in the range of 1–3 mM. Also, D2EHPA concentration was varied in the range of 10–30% (v/v). A mass transfer model has been developed considering the complexation and de-complexation reactions to be fast and at equilibrium. Equations for extractant mass balance and counter-ion (H⁺) transport have also been incorporated in the model. Extraction equilibrium constant (K_ex) for cobalt–D2EHPA system has been estimated from equilibration experiments and found to be 3.48 × 10⁻⁶. It was observed that the model results are in good agreement with the experimental data when diffusivity of metal-complex (D_m) through the membrane phase is 1.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s. Feed phase pH and strip phase acidity had negligible effect on the extraction profiles of Co²⁺ ions. An increase in D2EHPA concentration increased extraction rates of Co²⁺ ions. The membrane phase diffusion step was found to be the controlling resistance to mass transfer.     

A triptycene derived hypercrosslinked polymer for gas capture and separation applications

This work describes facile synthesis of a porous polymeric material ( T-HCP ) using readily available reagents. Specifically, T-HCP is a thermally stable and hypercrosslinked polymer (HCP) that is essentially microporous with a high BET specific surface area (940 m² g^?1). Triptycene based polymers are known to feature internal free volume. Thus, the incorporation of triptycene units and extensive crosslinking by an external cross-linker in T-HCP makes it a promising adsorbent for small gas capture applications. Experimental results show that T-HCP demonstrated good CO₂ capture capacity of 132 mg g^?1 (273 K, 1 bar). Molecular hydrogen storage capacity of T-HCP is estimated to be 17.7 mg g^?1 (77 K, 1 bar). T-HCP revealed high CO₂/N₂ selectivity (up to 63) as well as promising CO₂/CH₄ (up to 9.1) selectivity suggesting its potential applicability for CO₂ separation from flue and natural gases.     

Application of polyaniline nanolayer composite for removal of tartrazine dye from aqueous solutions

In this research, polyaniline was synthesized chemically onto the surface of sawdust as a thin layer (termed as PAni/SD) and was then used for removal of tartrazine dye (a typical anionic azo dye) from aqueous solutions. Ammonium peroxodisulphate was used as chemical oxidant for polymerization of polyaniline directly on the surface of sawdust. The procedure involves sorption experiments were performed on both batch and column systems. The effects of some important parameters such as pH, initial concentration, sorbent dosage, exposure time and temperature on uptake of tartrazine dye were investigated. Adsorption studies have shown that pH of the tartrazine solution has influence on the dye removal capacity of PAni/SD. It was found that effective dye removal is occurred under neutral or acidic conditions. The treatments of the data were carried out using both Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms. Sorption/desorption studies showed that PAni/SD was fast, simple, inexpensive, highly efficient and potential re-usable adsorbent to remove tartrazine from aqueous solutions. Based on our kinetics and thermodynamic studies, it was found that sorption process was endothermic (ΔH > 0) and the experimental data fitted very well with pseudo second-order kinetic model.     

A Systematic Study of Mixed Surfactant Solutions of a Cationic Ester-Bonded Dimeric Surfactant with Cationic, Anionic and Nonionic Monomeric Surfactants in Aqueous Media

A novel cationic biodegradable dimeric (gemini) surfactant, ethane-1,2-diyl bis(N,N-dimethyl-N-hexadecylammoniumacetoxy) dichloride (16-E2-16), containing an ester-linked spacer was synthesized. Its pure and mixed micellization properties with monomeric surfactants cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, cetyl pyridinium chloride, sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, cetyl alcohol ethoxylate (20EO) and tert-octylphenol ethoxylate (9.5EO) were investigated by surface tension measurements at 30 °C. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 16-E2-16 is well below that of cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride containing the same number of carbon atoms in the hydrophobic tail per polar head. At different mole fractions of the gemini surfactant, the CMCs of the gemini-conventional binary mixtures were determined and were found to be less than the ideal CMC values in all the cases indicating synergistic interactions. Aggregation number and Stern–Volmer constant, obtained by the fluorescence quenching technique, also support the synergistic behavior of the surfactant systems.     

Application of silica gel/polyaniline composite for adsorption of ascorbic acid from aqueous solutions

Silica gel and a chemically modified silica gel with polyaniline (PAN) were used for adsorption of ascorbic acid (AA) from aqueous solutions. The surface morphology of the adsorbents was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Adsorption experiments were carried out using both batch and columnar systems. In batch system, the effects of some important parameters such as sorbent dose, contact time, initial concentration and temperature of the adsorbate were studied. Based on regression analysis, the sorption data obtained for SiO₂ were best represented by Freundlich isotherm and for the PAN/SiO₂ composite, the equilibrium sorption data were fitted better by Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of AA on both sorbents follows pseudo second-order kinetics which implies a chemisorption mechanism and according to diffusion model, intra-particle diffusion is the rate-controlling step. The thermodynamic studies also showed that PAN/SiO₂ is a more effective adsorbent to adsorb AA than an unmodified SiO₂. In columnar mode, the effects of salt on breakthrough curve were investigated. Two kinetic models, Thomas and Adams–Bohart, were applied to experimental data to predict the breakthrough curves using linear regression and determine the characteristic parameters of the column. Error analysis was carried out to investigate the adequacy and accuracy of the model equations. Desorption study showed that the adsorbed ascorbic acid is readily eluted from the column using dilute solution of NaOH. PAN/SiO₂ was found to be a promising solid phase adsorbent to preconcentrate ascorbic acid from aqueous solutions and subsequent analysis.     

Optimization of a continuous ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process of diesel using response surface methodology (RSM) considering operating cost

A continuous-flow ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization(UAOD) of partially hydro-treated diesel has been investigated using hydrogen peroxide-formic acid as simple and easy to apply oxidation system. The effects of different operating parameters of oxidation stage including residence time(2–24 min), formic acid to sulfur molar ratio(10–150), and oxidant to sulfur molar ratio(5–35) on the sulfur removal have been studied using response surface methodology(RSM) based on Box–Behnken design. Considering the operating costs of the continuous-flow oxidation stage including chemical and electrical energy consumption, the appropriate values of operating parameters were selected as follows: residence time of 16 min, the formic acid to sulfur molar ratio of 54.47, and the oxidant to sulfur molar ratio of 8.24. In these conditions, the sulfur removal and the volume ratio of the hydrocarbon phase to the aqueous phase were 86.90% and 4.34, respectively. By drastic reduction in the chemical consumption in the oxidation stage, the volume ratio of the hydrocarbon phase to the aqueous phase was increased up to 10. Therefore, the formic acid to sulfur molar ratio and the oxidant to sulfur molar ratio were obtained 23.64 and 3.58, respectively, which lead to sulfur removal of 84.38% with considerable improvements on the operating cost of oxidation stage in comparison with the previous works.     

Comparative evaluation of extraction of tetra- and hexa-valent neptunium ions by CMPO in a room temperature ionic liquid

ABSTRACT

Solvent extraction studies were performed to understand the extraction behavior of Np⁴⁺ and NpO₂ ²⁺ from acidic feeds with CMPO (octyl (phenyl)-N,N-diisobutyl carbamoyl methyl phosphine oxide) dissolved in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide, a water immiscible ionic liquid. Slope analyses on the distribution data revealed the extraction of ML₂ type species, where M = Np⁴⁺ or NpO₂ ²⁺, and L = CMPO. Studies were also carried out with Pu⁴⁺ and UO₂ ²⁺ under identical conditions. The nature of the extracted species was found to vary with the nature of the ionic species.     

Chemical hydrodynamics of a downward microbubble flow for intensification of gas‐fed bioreactors

Bioreactors are of interest for value‐upgrading of stranded or waste industrial gases. Reactor intensification requires development of low cost bioreactors with fast gas–liquid mass transfer rate. Here we assess published reactor technology in comparison with a novel downward bubble flow created by a micro‐jet array. Compared to known technology, the advanced design achieves higher volumetric gas transfer efficiency (k_La per power density) and can operate at higher k_La. We measure the effect of four reactor heights (height‐to‐diameter ratios of 12, 9, 6, and 3) on the gas transfer coefficient k_L, total interfacial area a, liquid residence time distribution, energy consumption, and turbulent hydrodynamics. Leading models for predicting k_L and a are appraised with experimental data. The results show k_L is governed by “entrance effects” due to Higbie penetration dominate at short distances below the micro‐jet array, while turbulence dominates at intermediate distances, and finally terminal rise velocity dominates at large distances. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1399–1411, 2018