Bioactive polymers

Summary The immobilization of invertase on carboxymethyl cellulose acid chloride and the factors influencing the reaction (enzyme/support ratio, duration and pH) are studied. The activity of both coupled and free enzymes varies with temperature and pH of the incubation reaction. The values of the Michaelis-Menten constant are higher for the immobilized enzyme.     

Unsteady heat transfer from an oblate/prolate spheroid

Numerical methods are used to investigate the transient heat transfer from an oblate/prolate spheroid to a steady stream of viscous, incompressible fluid. The temperature of the spheroid is considered spatially uniform but not constant in time. The momentum and heat balance equations were solved numerically in oblate/prolate spheroidal coordinates system. The solutions span the parameter ranges 10 ? Re ? 100 (for the oblate spheroid), 10 ? Re ? 200 (for the prolate spheroid), Pr = 1, 10 and axis ratio ε, 0.1 ? ε ? 0.9. The computations were focused on the influence of the axis ratio and volume heat capacity ratio on the heat transfer rate.     

Fluorescent solar concentrators. Experimental results

A physical characterization is presented for classes of selected fluorescent substances, with special emphasis on their concentration in the support. The influence of climatic factors was analyzed from two points of view: spectral and structural. Two types of geometrical models of fluorescent solar concentrators have been obtained : plates and cylinders.     

Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient and Multigrid Methods for Numerical Solution of Multicomponent Mass Transfer Equations I. Diffusion-Reaction Equations

In a series of two papers, we analyze the numerical performances of the preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithms (BICGSTAB and GMRES) and multigrid method in solving two-dimensional multicomponent mass transfer equations. The present test problems are steady-state, linear and nonlinear diffusion-reaction equations. The nonlinear algorithm used in connection with the preconditioned conjugate gradient methods is the modified Picard iteration. Theoretical results about the preconditioning are presented. The multigrid algorithm used is the Full Approximation Storage algorithm. The finite difference method was used to discretize the mathematical model equations. The numerical results obtained show good numerical performances.     

Synthesis and hydrogen adsorption properties of a new iron based porous metal-organic framework

A new metal-organic framework [Fe₃O(OOC-C₆H₄-COO)₃(H₂O)₃]Cl·(H₂O)_x was synthesized with a specific surface area of 2823 m²/g and a lattice parameter of 88.61 Å. Isostructural with MIL-101, this compound exhibits similar hydrogen adsorption properties, with maximum adsorption capacity of 5.1wt.% H at 77 K. The adsorption enthalpy of hydrogen for MIL-101 and ITIM-1 (MIL-101Fe) at zero coverage was calculated for a wide temperature range of 77 K ÷ 324 K, considering corrections for the variation of hydrogen gas entropy with the temperature. The resulted adsorption enthalpy is 9.4 kJ/mol for MIL-101, in excellent agreement with the value reported in literature from microcalorimetric measurements, and a value of 10.4 kJ/mol at zero coverage was obtained for ITIM-1 (MIL-101Fe).     

Problems of village electrification based on PV systems in Romania: Individual solar home systems for settlements in the Cerna Valley

The autonomous PV systems cover a wide area of the applications that can be developed in the country, in places far from the national grid and with a low demand of electric power. The electrification of homes and farms in rural areas by using PV systems would contribute to improving the inhabitants' social, economic and cultural standard.In Romania, it is estimated that there are about 10,000 homes, farms and schools located in more than 500 settlements which could be electrified by using PV systems. The individual solar home systems would allow each user to adjust his own electricity consumption according to weather variations. A major problem in the development of these systems is the identification of the optimum technical and economic solutions as well as of the main financing sources. The paper aims to present the technical, economic and social problems involved by the implementation of such a project of PV-based electrification in Romania, presenting the particular case of two settlements (Scarisoara and Prisacina) located in the Cerna Valley - the Banat Mountains.     

Bifunctional initiators: synthesis of phenylazo-formamidoethyl 4-t-butylazo-4-cyanovalerate

Summary The paper deals with the synthesis of the phenylazo-formamidoethyl 4-t-butylazo-4-cyanovalerate, a product which — by its two azo groups having different thermal stabilities — may be used in initiating processes of stepwise radicalic polymerization. The preparation is based on the condensation of the 4-t-butylazo-4-cyanovaleric acid chloride with N-hydroxy ethyl-phenylazoformamide (HEPF) in anhydrous chloroform, in the presence of pyridine. The initiator purification involves its passing over an alumina column, on using methylene chloride as eluent. HEPF is a new intermediate obtained by the reaction of the ethyl phenylazocarboxylate with ethanolamine. Both the HEPF structure and that of the bis-azo initiator is confirmed by elemental analysis and spectroscopic measurements (IR and H-NMR spectra), as well.     

Chemical transformation of PVC by phase transfer catalysis

Summary Suspension type PVC was reacted with sodium phenoxide in presence of different quaternary ammonium halides in THF or THF/water mixtures. The competition elimination vs. substitution of chlorine atoms depends on the homogeneity of the system, i.e. the more homogeneous the reaction mixture the less substituted the polymer.Dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Prof. Otto Vogl