Plant fibre reinforced cement components for roofing

Composites of blast furnace slag (BFS) based cement mortar reinforced with vegetable fibres are presented. Roofing components are produced with these composites through a simple and low-energy consuming method, including ordinary vibration and curing in a wet chamber. Composites reinforced with eucalyptus pulp, coir fibres and with a mixture of sisal fibre and eucalyptus pulp gave a suitable performance, with compressive strength higher than 20 MPa and modulus of rupture (MOR) higher than 3 MPa. The performance of tiles made with these composites is in accordance with international requirements, with maximum load higher than 450 N, in wet conditions.     

Obtaining the consensus and inconsistency among a set of assertions on a qualitative attribute

It is well understood how to compute the average or centroid of a set of numeric values, as well as their variance. In this way we handle inconsistent measurements of the same property. We wish to solve the analogous problem on qualitative data: How to compute the “average” or consensus of a set of affirmations on a non-numeric fact, as reported for instance by different Web sites? What is the most likely truth among a set of inconsistent assertions about the same attribute?Given a set (a bag, in fact) of statements about a qualitative feature, this paper provides a method, based in the theory of confusion, to assess the most plausible value or “consensus” value. It is the most likely value to be true, given the information available. We also compute the inconsistency of the bag, which measures how far apart the testimonies in the bag are. All observers are equally credible, so differences arise from perception errors, due to the limited accuracy of the individual findings (the limited information extracted by the examination method from the observed reality).Our approach differs from classical logic, which considers a set of assertions to be either consistent (True, or 1) or inconsistent (False, or 0), and it does not use Fuzzy Logic.     

Comparison of the univariate and multivariate methods in the optimization of experimental conditions for determining Cu, Pb, Ni and Cd in biodiesel by GFAAS

Experimental design was used as a tool to define the optimum pyrolysis and atomization temperatures for four analytes (Cu, Pb, Ni and Cd) in biodiesel samples. Two chemical modifiers (Pd + Mg and W) and two distinct sample preparation procedures (microemulsion and wet digestion in a focused microwave system) were also investigated. The pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were optimized using 2⁴ factorial design for Cu, Pb, Ni and Cd, with 16 assays carried out for each analyte. The results for Cu and Pb indicated that variables of sample preparation for digestion by focused microwave was the most important one for both analytes. The pyrolysis and atomization temperatures applied were 1000 °C and 2200 °C for Cu and 500 °C and 2000 °C for Pb. None of the variables analyzed here were important for Ni, and the pyrolysis and atomization temperatures chosen for this element were 800 °C and 2300 °C. A different factorial design was used for Cd. The variables of medium and modifier were not important for this element, and the lowest temperatures, Tp-500 °C and Ta-1400 °C, were chosen based on this second design. The importance of factorial design in the simultaneous optimization of several variables studied by GFAAS was confirmed, for it involves fewer experiments and hence, lower costs, greater speed and higher efficiency.     

Adaptive Finite Element Analysis of Air Flow Inside Grain Dryers

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a simulation study of air flow inside dryers. An adaptive finite element methodology for two-dimensional problems was developed. This study is the first application of nadaptive techniques to such tupe of problems. The formultion is generic and can be easily extended to three-dimensional analysis. Several dryer configurations were studied in order to verify the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed methodology. Results agreed well with experimental data and show significant imporvements when compared to the conventional finite elements analysis.     

Simultaneous determination of flavor enhancers in stock cube samples by using spectrophotometric data and multivariate calibration

Spectrophotometric data followed by a suitable treatment of chemometric analysis were used for the simultaneous determination of monosodium glutamate (MSG), guanosine 5′-monophosphate (GMP) and inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP) in stock cube samples, without any previous extraction step. By this way, the overlapping of the absorption spectra was resolved using a PLS-1 model. The concentration for experimental calibration matrix were varied between 5.03–34.2 μg mL⁻¹ for IMP and GMP, and 448–1399 μg mL⁻¹ for MSG. The relative errors of prediction (REPCV %) were 1.8, 2.8 and 3.1 for IMP, GMP and MSG, respectively.     

Synthesis and structure of a porous zinc vanadate, Zn3(VO4)2·3H2O

A zinc vanadate with the formula Zn₃(VO₄)₂·3H₂O was synthesized by hydrothermal reaction of a gel of composition [(CH₃CO₂)₂Zn·2H₂O] : 0.5V₂O₅: 0.4 [1,3-diaminepropane] : 1.5 NaOH : 114 H₂O, held at 170°C for 24 hours. The structure was determined ab initio by means of the EXPO direct methods program and refined with GSAS. The pale yellow solid crystallizes in the hexagonal space group P-6 with a= 6.07877(8), c= 7.1827(2) Å. The structure consists of vanadium tetrahedra bonded to distorted octahedral zinc atoms to create one dimensional columnar passageways for molecules. Though occupied by water in the as synthesized form, the passages could host other small molecules.     

Evaluation of polyaromatic hydrocarbon removal from aqueous solutions using activated carbon and hyper‐crosslinked polymer (Macronet MN200)

BACKGROUND: Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on activated carbon and the Macronet polymeric sorbent MN200 was investigated to determine the effectiveness of each sorbent for removal of pollutants from aqueous solution and their possible use as sorbent materials for groundwater. Experiments were carried out to determine the loading capacities of a family of PAHs (acenaphthene, anthracene, fluoranthene, fluorene, naphthalene and pyrene). RESULTS: Activated carbon was the more effective sorbent, with maximum loadings of PAHs between 90 and 230 g kg^?1, while MN200 resin showed values of 25–160 g kg^?1. Loading isotherms based on the Langmuir, Freundlich and Redlich–Peterson models were determined. The hydrophobic character of the pollutants appeared as an important parameter related to the sorption process. Equilibrium and kinetic parameters were used to determine the retardation factors for each PAH. CONCLUSION: The calculated values for the simulation of barrier thickness using both sorbents, taking into account EU requirements for PAHs in groundwater effluent, were perfectly reasonable as a first estimate. The better kinetic properties of MN200 are evident in lower hydraulic residence times and consequently in a lower barrier thickness. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Performance of an industrial biofilter from a composting plant in the removal of ammonia and VOCs after material replacement

BACKGROUND: Biofiltration is a suitable odor reduction technique for the treatment of gaseous emissions from composting processes, but little is known about the start‐up of full‐scale biofilters after material replacement and their performance after several years of operation. RESULTS: Biofilter material (wood chips used previously as bulking agent in a composting process) can effectively remove ammonia and most of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) content, achieving removal efficiencies greater than 70% for VOCs and near 90% for ammonia immediately after material replacement. These removal efficiencies were maintained for several months after material replacement. In the studied full‐scale biofilter no lag phase was observed in the removal of ammonia whereas in the case of VOCs different patterns were detected during biofilter start‐up. For the old biofilter material, after 4 years of operation, a statistically significant decrease of removal efficiency for ammonia in comparison with the new material was detected. No statistically significant differences were found in the case of VOCs. CONCLUSIONS: Data on the emissions of several pollutants from biofilters treating composting exhaust gases have been systematically obtained. The tested filtering media presented adequate properties for biofiltration of gases emitted during the composting process. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mössbauer spectroscopy study on the corrosion inhibition of carbon steel in hydrochloric acid solution

The effect of ammonium polymolybdate (APM) on the corrosion of carbon steel in a solution of 1 M HCl was studied by weight loss and Mössbauer spectrometry. Inhibition efficiencies (P) have been obtained from weight measurement. The inhibition efficiencies increased with increase APM concentration. Mössbauer spectrometry shows that a superficial compound is formed on the electrode surface as a result of corrosion.