Experimental investigation of a two-stage solar humidification–dehumidification desalination process

This paper experimentally evaluates a two-stage technique to improve the humidification–dehumidification process in fresh water production from brackish water. According to modeling results of multi-stage process and on the basis of construction cost estimation, using a two-stage process is the most suitable choice that can improve important parameters such as specific energy consumption, productivity and daily production per solar collector area and thus, investment cost. A pilot plant was designed and constructed in an arid area with 80 m² solar collector area to evaluate the two-stage process. This unit was tested on cold and hot days. The effect of main parameters on fresh water production of the unit is studied. Experimental results show that two-stage HD desalination unit can increase heat recovery in condensers and hence, reduce thermal energy consumption and investment cost of the unit. Moreover, productivity can be increased by 20% compared with the single-stage unit.     

An Insight into the Silanization of Montmorillonite Nanoparticles

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of reaction conditions on the silanization of montmorillonite nanoparticles using methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ–MPS) and to establish relationships between the reaction conditions, the grafting percentage, and the silane arrangement on the particles. The silanization reaction was performed in the following conditions: (i) acidic ethanol-water solution with a pH of 5 and (ii) basic cyclohexane with a pH of 9. To characterize the surface of montmorillonite nanoparticles, analytical methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), CHN elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) diffraction were utilized. In addition, the dispersion stability of modified particles suspended in different solvents was investigated using a separation analyzer. The results revealed silane grafting in cyclohexane (pH?=?9) achieved higher silanization efficiency, leading to a larger basal spacing in montmorillonite nanoparticles. A parallel arrangement was also suggested for the silane molecules on the surface of the nanoparticles. The higher hydrophobicity of the modified nanoparticles and the decreased overall density of the grafted particles led to a better dispersion in ethanol and toluene.     

Permeation of binary–liquid mixtures through elastomers

Permeation of binary liquid mixtures through two commercially available elastomers were examined. The four systems studied are benzene–cyclohexane/neoprene, toluene–n-hexane/neoprene, toluene–methanol/nitrile, and toluene–o-xylene/nitrile. Permeation rate–time curves for several mixture compositions were prepared for each system. In the first three systems, the difference in the plasticizing effect of the two liquids on the membrane was very large. The liquid with the smaller plasticizing effect showed a permeation enhancement and the liquid with the larger plasticizing effect experienced a permeation depression. Toluene–o-xylene/nitrile represented a system in which the two liquids plasticized the membrane at almost the same rate. This system showed a permeation depression for both liquids.     

Chitosan hydrogel loaded with Aloe vera gel and tetrasodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as the wound healing material: in vitro and in vivo study

The main aim of the current study was to develop a chitosan hydrogel containing Aloe vera gel and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as the wound healing materials. Chitosan with the concentration of (2% w/v) was prepared in AA (0.5%, v/v) and Tetrasodium EDTA (0.01% w/w) and AV (0.5% v/v) were added to the prepared polymer solution. As prepared solution was cross-linked by β-GP with the weight ratio of 1/6 w/w (1 chitosan and 6 β-GP). The characterization of the hydrogels showed that the hydrogels have porous structures and interconnected pores with the pores size range from 41.5 ± 14 to 48.3 ± 11 μm. The swelling and weight loss measurements of the hydrogels showed that the hydrogels could swell up to 240% of their initial weight during 8 h and loss 79.7 ± 3.5% of the initial weight during 14 days. The antibacterial studies depicted that the prepared Cs/tEDTA/AV hydrogel inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (the minimum inhibition concentration, MIC of 73 ± 4.8) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (the MIC of 40 ± 7.9). Moreover, the prepared hydrogels were hemocompatible (Cs/tEDTA/AV: OD of 0.24 ± 0.30) and biocompatible (Cs/tEDTA/AV: OD of 0.38 ± 0.01). At the final stage, the wound healing assessments in the animal model revealed that the application of the prepared hydrogels effectively enhanced the wound healing process. In conclusion, the results confirmed the efficacy of the prepared hydrogels as the wound healing materials.     

Hydrophilic goethite nanoparticle as a novel antifouling agent in fabrication of nanocomposite polyethersulfone membrane

The goethite nanoparticle was used as a multifunctional additive to fabricate antifouling polyethersulfone (PES) nanofiltration membranes. The goethite/PES membranes were synthesized via the phase inversion method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs showed an increase in pore size and porosity of the prepared membranes with blending of the goethite. The static water contact angle measurements confirmed a hydrophilic modification of the prepared membranes. With increase in the goethite content from 0 to 0.1 wt %, the pure water flux increased up to 12.7 kg/m² h. However, the water permeability decreased using high amount of this nanoparticle. Evaluation of the nanofiltration performance was performed using the retention of Direct Red 16. It was observed that the goethite/PES membranes have higher dye removal capacity (99% rejection) than those obtained from the unfilled PES (89%) and the commercial CSM NE 4040 NF membrane (92%). In addition, the goethite/PES blend membranes showed good selectivity and antifouling properties during long‐term nanofiltration experiments with a protein solution. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43592.     

Transverse vibration of rotary tapered microbeam based on modified couple stress theory and generalized differential quadrature element method

The transverse vibration of a rotary tapered microbeam is studied based on a modified couple stress theory and Euler–Bernoulli beam model. The governing differential equation and boundary conditions are derived according to Hamilton's principle. The generalized differential quadrature element method is then used to solve the governing equation for cantilever and propped cantilever boundary conditions. The effect of the small-scale parameter, beam length, rate of cross-section change, hub radius, and nondimensional angular velocity on the vibration behavior of the microbeam is presented.     

Granular filtration for airborne particles: Correlation between experiments and models

Granular filtration has been widely used for liquid filtration and hot gas filtration, but less is known for the filtration of airborne particles, especially the ultrafine ones, at the room conditions. A cylindrical packed bed was designed and tested for the filtration of particles in the range of about 10 nm to 15 µm in diameter at different configurations and kinetic conditions. Three sizes of uniform glass beads (2, 4, and 6 mm in diameter) were tested as the filtration media each at three media thicknesses (H = 2.5, 7.6, and 12.7 cm), and at two airflow rates (50 and 65 liters per minute). The filtration efficiencies were the lowest for particles between 0.1 and 1 µm in diameter. The particle filtration efficiency decreased with the increase in the granule size and the airflow rate, but a thicker bed corresponded to higher filtration efficiency. The experimental results showed much higher efficiency than existing models can predict, therefore, an empirical model using least square method is reported.     

Low-Temperature Nitriding of Nanocrystalline Stainless Steel and Its Effect on Improving Wear and Corrosion Resistance

In this study, an ultrafine-grained surface layer with the average grain size of about 10 nm was fabricated on a stainless steel plate by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Plasma nitriding of the samples was carried out by a low-frequency pulse-excited plasma unit. Optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, micro-indentation, and pin-on-disk wear and corrosion experiments were performed for characterization before and after plasma nitriding. It is found that the pre-SMATed sample developed a nitrided layer twice as thick as that on the as-received sample under the same nitriding conditions (300 °C for 4 h), which can be mainly attributed to the fast diffusion of nitrogen along grain boundaries in the nanostructured layer induced by means of SMAT. Results showed that nitriding layers of the as-received and pre-SMATed samples up to 300 °C are dominated by S-phase (γ_N), but its peak intensity for the pre-SMATed sample is sharper than that of the as-received one. During 500 °C nitriding treatment, the nitrogen would react with Cr in the steel to form CrN precipitates, which would lead to the depletion of chromium in the solid solution phase of the nitrided layer. Furthermore, the nitrided layer of the pre-SMATed sample exhibited a high hardness, and an excellent wear and corrosion resistance.     

Design Criteria for Oilfield Separators Improved by Computational Fluid Dynamics

Oilfield separator data ranging from light‐oil conditions to heavy‐oil conditions were incorporated into suitable two‐phase and three‐phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to provide improved design criteria for separator design methods. The CFD simulation results revealed that the most important affecting parameters are vapor density and oil viscosity. In contrast with the classic design methods, noticeable residence times were required for liquid droplets to penetrate through the fluid interfaces. Moreover, it was indicated that the Abraham equation should be used instead of the Stokes' law in the liquid‐liquid separation calculations. The velocity constraints caused by re‐entrainment in horizontal separators were also studied and led to novel correlations.     

Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Pilot‐Plant‐Scale Two‐Phase Separators

Two computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling approaches, the discrete phase model (DPM) and the combination of volume of fluid (VOF) and DPM, are developed to simulate the phase separation phenomenon in four pilot‐plant‐scale separators. The incipient vapor phase velocity, at which liquid droplet carryover occurs, and separation efficiency plots are used as criteria for evaluating the developed CFD models. The simulation results indicate that the VOF‐DPM approach is a substantial modification to the DPM approach in terms of the predicted separation efficiency data and diagrams. CFD simulation profiles demonstrate that all the separators are essentially operating at a constant pressure. The CFD results also show that mist eliminators may operate more efficiently in horizontal separators than in vertical separators.