Physico-chemical properties of ceramic pigments for high-temperature application

Heat resistant coatings are required primarily for stacks, exhaust pipes, reactors, space crafts and similar equipments that are permanently or occasionally exposed to elevated temperatures. High-temperature coatings are generally based on silicone resin with ceramic and metallic pigments. In this study, iron oxide, cobalt oxide (thermo chromic compound) and aluminum oxide are used for the preparation of four new types of coloured pigments. The thermal resistant characteristics of these ceramic pigments were studied by differential thermal analysis, thermo gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetric analysis. These ceramic pigments are found to be thermally stable up to 400 °C.     

Selective Transport of Bismuth Ions through Supported Liquid Membrane

A new supported liquid membrane (SLM) system was prepared for the selective transport of bismuth ions from the aqueous feed into the aqueous permeate phase. The support of the SLM was a thin porous polypropylene or polyvinylidene fluoride membrane impregnated with diisooctyldithiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 301) as mobile carrier in 4‐chloroacetophenon as organic solvent. Cyanex 301 acts as a highly selective carrier for the uphill transport of bismuth ions through the SLM. In the presence of HNO₃ as a metal ion acceptor in the strip solution, the transport of bismuth ions into the strip side reached 70 % of the initial feed concentration after 3.5 hours. The selectivity and efficiency of bismuth transport from aqueous solutions containing different mixtures of cations were investigated. In the presence of P₂O₇^2– ions as suitable masking agent in the feed solution, the interfering effects of other cations were completely eliminated. The selective transport of bismuth through SLM is superior to liquid‐liquid extraction or through bulk liquid membranes. This is due to the high efficiency. The SLM reduces the solvent requirements, combines extraction and stripping operations in a single process and allows the use of highly selective extractants. The system may be applied to samples containing very low bismuth concentrations.     

Gasification of Biogenic Solid Fuels

As a result of shrinking fossil fuels, biomass as a regenerative energy source gains importance. To realize biomass projects it is essential to investigate in convenient thermal procedures. On this evidence an analysis and evaluation of diverse gasification technologies with different boundary conditions and diverse biomasses are indispensable. Form and kind of the biomass as well as the type of the gasification plant cause different compositions of the product gas. The gasifiers show advantages and disadvantages concerning the biomass and the produced gas quality, depending on reactor type, kind of heat supply, gasification medium, and the pressure ratio in the reactor. As the ideal gasifier for different biomass is presently not available, it will be shown, which biomass is suitable for fixed bed or fluidized bed gasifiers.     

CFD Prediction of Flow and Homogenization in a Stirred Vessel: Part I Vessel with One and Two Impellers

A simulation of flow field and tracer homogenization was performed using the commercial CFD software FLUENT 6.1. The aim is to investigate the potential of CFD software to predict concentration distribution of added tracer in cylindrical vessels. The calculated results – dimensionless velocity profiles, power and pumping numbers, dimensionless concentration curves, and mixing times – were compared with experiments in stirred vessels. In Part I, the study was performed for vessels agitated by one or two impellers on a centric shaft. Two different impellers were used – a 6‐bladed 45° pitched blade turbine and a standard Rushton turbine. The standard k‐? turbulence model and multiple reference frames method were used for the simulations. The influence of the grid type was also investigated; three types of grid – a structured, unstructured and a special user‐defined grid – were studied.     

GELYMAC: a Macintosh application for calculating DNA fragment size from gel electrophoresis migration data

A program called GELYMAC takes data on the distances migrated by DNA fragments in a one-dimensional electrophoretic gel and, using a cubic-spline best-fit of marker fragment distance migrated versus molecular size, calculates the molecular sizes of the fragments. Written in the Rascal (Real-time Pascal) programming language, the program runs on the Macintosh family of microcomputers. Rapid entry of marker and experimental fragment migration data is afforded using a scroll bar system adjacent to a graphic representation of a gel. Output includes tabular listing of the data, graphic cartoons of the gel, and the fragment locations and molecular sizes for individual gel lanes, and the calibration curve used in data computations.