Synthesis of Biodiesel from Canola Oil Using Heterogeneous Base Catalyst

A series of alkali metal (Li, Na, K) promoted alkali earth oxides (CaO, BaO, MgO), as well as K₂CO₃ supported on alumina (Al₂O₃), were prepared and used as catalysts for transesterification of canola oil with methanol. Four catalysts such as K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃ and alkali metal (Li, Na, K) promoted BaO were effective for transesterification with >85 wt% of methyl esters. ICP-MS analysis revealed that leaching of barium in ester phase was too high (~1,000 ppm) when BaO based catalysts were used. As barium is highly toxic, these catalysts were not used further for transesterification of canola oil. Optimization of reaction conditions such as molar ratio of alcohol to oil (6:1–12:1), reaction temperature (40–60 °C) and catalyst loading (1–3 wt%) was performed for most efficient and environmentally friendly K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃ catalyst to maximize ester yield using response surface methodology (RSM). The RSM suggested that a molar ratio of alcohol to oil 11.48:1, a reaction temperature of 60 °C, and catalyst loading 3.16 wt% were optimum for the production of ester from canola oil. The predicted value of ester yield was 96.3 wt% in 2 h, which was in agreement with the experimental results within 1.28%.     

Catalytic Vicinal Diacylation of Epoxidized Triglycerides in Canola Oil

The epoxy ring opening and vicinal diacylation of fatty acids in vegetable oils was found to be promising reaction to synthesize stable biolubricants and bioplasticizers. The current research investigation is emphasized on the synthesis of a value added product vicinally diacylated canola oil by sulfated‐ZrO₂. The two‐step research approach employed includes: (i) epoxidation, and (ii) epoxy ring opening and vicinal diacylation of epoxidized triglycerides in the canola oil. Sulfated‐ZrO₂ was prepared and characterized to measure the physico‐chemical properties required for the effective catalysis. The Taguchi (L16 orthogonal array) statistical design method was employed to optimize the process conditions for the maximum formation of diacylated canola oil. Sulfated‐ZrO₂ demonstrated promising activity for the epoxy ring opening and vicinal diacylation of canola oil, and 99 % conversion was achieved at the optimum process conditions of temperature 130 °C, epoxy to acetic anhydride molar ratio (1:1.25), 16 wt% of catalyst loading and reaction time of 1 h which were inferred from the Taguchi analyses. The products were characterized and confirmed with FT‐IR, ¹H NMR and sodium spray mass spectroscopy. Spectroscopic analysis also confirmed the absence of intermediate products. The statistical analyses was undertaken to determine the order, rank and interactions among the process variables. The reaction followed Langmuir–Hinshelwood–Hougen–Watson type mechanism and the kinetic data was fitted in overall second order equation. Calculated apparent activation energy was 23.1 kcal/mol.     

Recovery,characterization and conceptual modelling of Non-Bituminous organic materials from oil sands

The hot water process has recovered approximately 90% of the bitumen in oil sands, but the remaining 10% of bitumen and naphtha has been lost to the tailings pond. Recovery of bitumen and non-bituminous combustibles (NBC) from centrifuge, scroll and final tailings has been considered. The effects of four sequestering agents, and of chemical additives such as CaCl₂ and FeCl₃ on the flotation behavior of bitumen, NBC and minerals in these tailings have been investigated. A simple method of isolating NBC materials has been developed. The flotation of both bitumen and NBC was enhanced by phosphate treatment and depressed by EDTA. NBC was characterized by its physical properties, energy content, functionality and chemical analysis. A conceptual model explains the interactions between the bitumen, minerals and NBC fractions present in tailings slurries.     

CTA高盐度苦咸水脱盐中空纤维反渗透膜

本文介绍高盐度苦咸水反渗透中空纤维膜的研制，主要涉及某些重要参数对纤维成型和膜性能的影响。     

3D Coordination Network of Ag(I) Ions with μ 3 -Bridging Melamine Ligands

Abstract  

A new 3D silver complex [Ag(mela)(H₂O)(NO₃)]_n (1) (mela = melamine or 2,4,6-triaminotriazine) is synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, IR, and elemental analysis. The structural characterization shows that the compound crystallizes in space group C c, a = 8.181(2), b = 10.269(3) c = 11.347(3) ?, β = 105.88(2)°, Z = 4. Out of several structurally characterized transition metal compounds comprising melamine, the titled complex represents a rare example of μ ₃ -melamine coordination mode realized through the heterocycle nitrogen donors. The fluorescent property of complex 1 was investigated and the mechanism was validated by means of a density functional theory (DFT) calculation.     

低成本高频电路用覆铜板的研制

本文介绍了国内外高频电路用覆铜板的技术进步,着重研究了一种环氧改性异氰酸酯类粘合剂,结果表明采用该粘合剂／E型玻璃纤维布制备的层压板产品具有成本低,介电性能良好等特点。     

The effects of tungsten doping on the mechanical properties of Bi2O2Se

In this study, we systemically investigate the effects of tungsten doping on the structural, electronic, and mechanical properties of Bi₂O₂Se by using the first-principles method. It is found that tungsten doping significantly influences the electronic structure and mechanical properties of Bi₂O₂Se. The electrons are distributed on the Fermi level, and the doped Bi₂O₂Se exhibits metallic-like character. Meanwhile, tungsten doping improves the ductility and toughness of Bi₂O₂Se and reduces its lattice thermal conductivity. This study demonstrates that tungsten doping is an effective method to engineer the physical properties of Bi₂O₂Se.     

Improved Photoluminescence Property of YBO3:Eu3+ Phosphor by Structure Tailoring

YBO₃:Eu³⁺ microspheres were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Size and surface morphology of the spheres were tailored by ion‐adding. Phase identification, morphology observation, and photoluminescence (PL) performance of the YBO₃:Eu³⁺ microspheres were characterized byX‐ray diffraction (XRD), field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and PL spectrophotometer, respectively. Moderate particles with enlarged size and perfect surface were achieved by adding Li⁺ ion or/and Mg²⁺ ion. PL emissions of such YBO₃:Eu³⁺ phosphors were enhanced. Significantly improved PL intensity was achieved when 1% Li⁺ ion and 5% Mg²⁺ ion were added, which was nearly doubled compared with the reference sample.     

Radiation effects on LDPE/EVA blends

Radiation effects of low‐density polyethylene/ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer (LDPE/EVA) blends were discussed. EVA content in the LDPE/EVA blends was an enhancement effect on radiation crosslinking of LDPE/EVA blends, and the highest radiation crosslinking was obtained when the EVA content was reached at 30% when irradiated by γ‐ray in air. The phenomenon was discussed with the compatibility, morphology, and thermal properties of LDPE/EVA blends and found that the enhanced radiation crosslinking of the LDPE/EVA blends was proportional to the good compatibility, the increasing degree of the amorphous region's content of the LDPE/EVA blends, and the vinyl acetate content of EVA. We also found that the vinyl acetate of EVA in the blends is easily oxidized by γ‐ray irradiation in air. The possible radiation crosslinking and degradation mechanism of LDPE/EVA blends was discussed quantitatively with a novel method “step‐analysis” process of irradiated LDPE/EVA blends in the thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) technique. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1296–1302, 2002     

Distributed Privacy-Preserving Fusion Estimation Using Homomorphic Encryption

The privacy-preserving problem for distributed fusion estimation scheme is concerned in this paper. When legitimate user wants to obtain consistent information from multiple sensors, it always employs a fusion center (FC) to gather local data and compute distributed fusion estimates (DFEs). Due to the existence of potential eavesdropper, the data exchanged among sensors, FC and user imperatively require privacy preservation. Hence, we propose a distributed confidentiality fusion structure against eavesdropper by using Paillier homomorphic encryption approach. In this case, FC cannot acquire real values of local state estimates, while it only helps calculate encrypted DFEs. Then, the legitimate user can successfully obtain the true values of DFEs according to the encrypted information and secret keys, which is based on the homomorphism of encryption. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.