Thermodynamic analysis and experimental investigation of a unique photoelectrochemical hydrogen production system

In this study, we thermodynamically analyze and experimentally investigate a continuous type hybrid photoelectrochemical H₂ generation reactor. This system enhances solar spectrum use by employing photocatalysis and PV/T. Additionally, by replacing electron donors with electrodes to drive the photocatalysis, the potential of pollutant emissions are minimized. In this study, the present reactor is tested under electrolysis operation during which the present reactor is investigated under three different inlet mass flow rates (0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 g/s) and four different operating temperatures (20, 40, 60, and 80 °C). Some parametric studies are run by varying the environmental temperature between 0 and 40 °C. In addition, the impact of coating the membrane electrode assembly of the reactor with Cu₂O is investigated. The present results show that the highest energy and exergy efficiencies occur at the environmental temperature of 20 °C which is about 60% and 50%, respectively. The Cu₂O coated membrane gives a lot higher current readings, meaning that the coating makes the membrane more conductive and increases H₂ production by permitting ions at a higher rate.     

Highly surfaced polypyrrole nano-networks and nano-fibers

Polypyrrole (PPy) nano-networks and nano-fibers were synthesized using interfacial and template polymerization techniques, respectively. The morphology of the PPy nano-networks showed that a homogeneous, three-dimensionally grown nano-fibers were produced. Dodecyl sulfonate was used as surfactant in the interfacial polymerization. Bulk conductivity of PPy nano-networks were in a range of 10⁻¹–10⁻⁴ S/cm with a surface area of ca. 480 m²/g. Template synthesis produced one-directional alignment of conducting nano-arrays for the purpose of possible applications of these materials in charge storage devices (i.e., supercapacitors) as electrode materials. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical investigations showed that these materials are promising for device applications.     

Tensile Bond Strength of a Highly Cross-Linked Denture Tooth to the Compression-Molded and Injection-Molded Denture Base Polymers

This study compared tensile bond strengths between conventional compression-molded heat (HC)-, auto (AP)-, and microwave-polymerized (MC) poly(methyl methacrylate)-based denture resins and a relatively new injection-molded, microwave-polymerized polyurethane based resin (MI) bonded to a highly cross-linked denture tooth. In the first part of the experiments, denture teeth were used as received. In the second part, they were treated with dichloromethane to see its effect on bonding of conventional denture bases (HCS and APS). Bond strength was tested in tension according to ADA specification No.15. The results showed that the HC group failed cohesively because of higher interface bonding (49.95 MPa) compared with those of the others (AP: 25.41 MPa; MC: 22.06 MPa; MI: 20.02 MPa). The application of dichloromethane improved bond strengths of HCS and APS groups (60.61 and 32.03 MPa, respectively). It was suggested that dichloromethane could be applied on the denture teeth ridge lap area prior to denture base processing to enhance adhesion between the tooth/resin.     

Computational analysis on cymbal transducer

Finite Element Analysis in collaboration with experimental studies was conducted to investigate the effects of dimensional parameters on the performance of the cymbal transducer. ANSYS 5.5 FEM code was used for computational analysis. Cymbal transducers were fabricated with steel and brass endcap materials and piezoelectric ceramic, PZT-5A, as driving elements. Admittance spectrum was measured by using HP4194A Impedance/Gain phase analyzer. Displacement and generative force characteristics of the transducers were tested by using a LVDT sensor. Experimental and calculated results matched quite well. Device diameter and cavity diameter has strong effect on cymbal transducer characteristic. Adjusting the dimensional parameters can extend potential application areas of cymbal transducer.     

Hydrogen diffusivity enhancement in alumina pellets due to impregnated palladium

Single-pellet moment technique was used for the evaluation of effective diffusivities and adsorption equilibrium constants of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and helium in pure alumina and palladium-impregnated alumina pellets. It was found that hydrogen was strongly adsorbed on palladium of Pd-alumina pellets, and significant enhancement of hydrogen diffusivity was observed due to impregnated palladium at 40°C. On the other hand, for carbon dioxide and helium, effective diffusivities obtained in Pd-alumina pellets were smaller than the corresponding values in pure alumina due to higher tortuosity factor values of Pd-alumina pellets.     

HYDRODYNAMICS AND STABILITY OF SLOT-RECTANGULAR SPOUTED BEDS PART II: INCREASING BED THICKNESS

Tests were carried out with rectangular spouted bed columns of different thickness, i.e., front-to-back dimension, while holding the column width and air-entry slot width constant, to investigate the effects on spoul stability and bed hydrodynamics. For the three sizes of glass beads and one size of polyethylene beads examined, increasing the column thickness led to three-dimensional effects, such as formation of multiple spouts, and affected such hydrodynamics variables as the minimum spouting velocity, maximum spoutable bed depth and maximum pressure drop.     

Investigation of polymerization parameters affecting dopamine selectivity of a polymeric membrane

Summary By means of electrochemical oxidative polymerization, poly (1,3-phenylenediamine) films on a gold electrode were prepared at a potential of 0.8 V. The permeation properties of polymeric films at the different thickness were investigated by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry techniques. Voltammetric studies showed that polymeric film at the 1.2 mC thickness exhibited selective permeation for dopamine while rejecting ascorbic acid. Then, all the polymerization parameters affecting the permselective characteristics were systematically investigated and the optimal values were determined. Moreover, stability of polymeric membrane was examined. The results showed that polymeric membrane, owing to permselective character, could be used as a dopamine selective membrane. Received: 10 December 1999/Revised version: 12 March 2000/Accepted: 27 March 2000     

Enhancement of anaerobic hydrogen production by iron and nickel

The effects of iron and nickel on hydrogen (H₂) production were investigated in a glucose-fed anaerobic Continuous Flow Stirred Tank Reactor (ACSTR). Both iron and nickel improved the reactor performance and H₂ production was enhanced by 71% with the sole iron or nickel supplementation. In all cases, H₂ production yield was increased by lowering both ethanol and total metabolites production and increasing butyrate production. Furthermore, iron and nickel slightly increased biomass production while glucose degradation decreased with the supplementation of nickel. Dynamic changes in bacterial composition as analyzed by 16S rRNA gene-targeted denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed that hydrogen was produced mainly by Clostridium butyricum strains and that nickel addition decreased the microbial diversity.     

Electrophoretic deposition of nano-sized BaTiO3

In this study, a non-aqueous method in a simple one pot reaction process was employed to synthesize nano-sized BaTiO₃ particles and then electrophoretic deposition technique was employed for thin film coatings. In the first step of the preparation, metallic barium is directly dissolved in benzyl alcohol at slightly elevated temperatures. Then titanium isopropoxide was added following by a solvothermal treatment. At the end of the reaction, nearly spherical BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were obtained typically 5 nm in diameter. After establishing the stability of the BaTiO₃ suspension in ethanol, electrophoretic deposition process was performed without any additional operation. Alumina with platinum plating was used as substrate. To achieve the optimal process parameters, various voltages were applied by altering the cathode to anode distance as well as deposition time. High voltages application was possible without causing hydrolysis, because of the non-aqueous ethanol medium with higher surface charge of the nanoparticles. The deposited surface coatings were dried in air and sintered at various temperatures. SEM, EDX and XRD analysis were employed for the investigation of the coating.