Spray dryer processed graphene oxide/reduced graphene oxide for high-performance supercapacitor

This study deals with the utility of mini spray dryer process to improve the dispersibility, of graphene oxide(GO) and its application for high-performance supercapacitor. Initially, the neutral solution of GO was obtained using the modified Hummer's method. After this, the prepared GO solution was processed by mini spray dryer to obtain a more purified, lighter, and dispersed form of GO which is named as spray dryer processed GO (SPGO). The SPGO thus obtained showed excellent dispersibility behavior with various solvents, which is not found in case of conventional oven drying. Furthermore, utility of SPGO and its reduced form (r-SPGO) for supercapacitor applications have been investigated. Results obtained from the cyclic voltammetry(CV) analysis, impedance, and charge-discharge behavior of supercapacitor fabricated using r-SPGO shows enhanced features. Therefore, the simple spray dried GO and its reduced form, that is, r-SPGO can be utilized as a potential candidate for the supercapacitor application. Herein, as synthesized SPGO exhibited the specific capacitance of 12.07 and 37.6 F/g with PVA-H₃PO₄ and 1 mol/L H₃PO₄, respectively, at a scan rate of 5 mV/s. On the other hand, reduced form of SPGO, that is, r-SPGO showed the specific capacitance of 27.16 and 230 F/g with PVA-H₃PO₄ and 1 mol/L H₃PO₄, respectively.     

Phase Evolution,Magnetic, Optical,and Dielectric Properties of Zr‐Substituted Bi0.9Gd0.1FeO3 Multiferroics

Polycrystalline BiFeO₃ (BFO) and Bi_0.90Gd_0.10Fe_1?xZr_xO₃ (x = 0.0–0.10; BGFZ_x) ceramics were synthesized by solid‐state reaction method. Rietveld analysis of X‐ray diffraction patterns showed that BFO and BGFZ_x = 0.0 samples are stabilized in rhombohedral structure (space group R3c), whereas a small fraction of orthorhombic phase (space group Pn2₁a) is observed for BGFZ_{x = 0.03–0.10} samples. Suppression and disappearance of some Raman modes indicated a structural phase transition with addition of Zr dopant at Fe site. Magnetic measurements exhibited weak ferromagnetic behavior of BGFZ_x samples with increasing Zr⁺⁴ concentrations. The insertion of Gd⁺³ ions at Bi⁺³ sites and nonmagnetic Zr⁺⁴ ions at Fe⁺³ sites in Fe–O–Fe network suppressed the spin cycloid structure of BFO which in turn enhanced the magnetization of these ceramics. Electron spin resonance spectra revealed the breaking of spin cycloid of BFO due to the development of free spins with addition of Zr⁺⁴ dopants at Fe sites. UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectra showed one d–d crystal field transition and two charge‐transfer (C–T) transitions along with a sharp absorption of light in visible region for all samples. Almost frequency‐independent dielectric constant and dielectric loss along with very low values of dielectric loss indicated greatly improved dielectric properties for BGFZ_{x = 0.03–0.10} samples.     

Influence of fine ceramic aggregates on the residual properties of concrete subjected to elevated temperature

The residual properties of concrete subjected to elevated temperature are of importance to assess the stability of the structure. This paper investigates the performance of concrete containing white ware ceramic sand exposed to elevated temperature. Concrete mixes containing 0%, 50%, and 100% ceramic sand were prepared. The specimen were exposed to elevated temperatures of 200°C, 500°C, and 800°C for a duration of 60 minutes. Their residual mechanical properties (compressive strength, split tensile strength), ultra sonic pulse velocity, and mass change for different cooling regimes were investigated and compared among specimen. The results showed that incorporation of ceramic sand in concrete mixes improved the resistance against elevated temperature of hardened concrete.     

Bio-hydrometallurgical processing of low grade chalcopyrite for the recovery of copper metal

A process flowsheet was developed to recover copper metal from the lean sulfide ore of copper available at Malanjkhand, Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), India. Copper pregnant leach solution (PLS) obtained from bio-heap leaching of chalcopyrite containing 0.3% copper was purified through solvent extraction (SX) and the copper recovered by electrowinning (EW). The copper-free raffinate obtained from SX stripping unit was returned back to the bioleaching circuit. The purity of the electrolytic copper produced at pilot scale was found to be 99.96%. During electrowinning, the effect of flow rate of electrolyte on current efficiency and energy consumption was also studied.     

Vanillin Formation by Electrooxidation of Lignin on Stainless Steel Anode: Kinetics and By-Products

Galvanostatic electrooxidation runs on stainless steel (SS-304) anode were carried out on soda lignins from wheat straw and bagasse obtained from acidification of respective soda black liquors. Vanillin concentration, produced during electrooxidation, is found to increase, attain a maximum, and then decline. Pseudo-first-order specific reaction rate constants for lignin degradation in electrooxidation over SS-304 anode were found to be 0.0308 and 0.0368 h^?1, respectively, for the two lignin samples. Degradation of vanillin during electrooxidation was found to be of second order with respect to vanillin concentration with specific reaction rate constant being 0.0009 L/(mg h). A kinetic model was proposed based on series-parallel multiple reaction scheme using a fourth-order Runge–Kutta iteration to fit the time-dependent vanillin concentration during electrooxidation. It was proposed that a vanillin precursor was formed from the parent lignin macromolecule with a pseudo-first-order specific reaction rate constant of 0.03 h^?1 for wheat straw soda lignin and 0.036 h^?1 for bagasse soda lignin. The vanillin precursor subsequently converted to vanillin with a pseudo-first-order specific reaction rate constant of 0.044 h^?1. In addition to vanillin, 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl ethanone, and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid were detected as major by-products. Interestingly, some aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were also formed.     

Integration of biofuels intermediates production and nutrients recycling in the processing of a marine algae

The cost‐effective production of liquid biofuels from microalgae is limited by several factors such as recovery of the lipid fractions as well as nutrients management. Flash hydrolysis, a rapid hydrothermal process, has been successfully applied to fractionate the microalgal biomass into solid biofuels intermediates while recovering a large amount of the nutrients in the aqueous phase (hydrolyzate) in a continuous flow reactor. The aim of the work is to enhance the quality of a high‐ash containing marine algae Nannochloropsis gaditana as biofuel feedstock while recycling nutrients directly for algae cultivation. Characterization of products demonstrated an increase in extractable lipids from 33.5 to 65.5 wt % (dry basis) while retaining the same fatty acid methyl ester profile, in addition to diminution of more than 70 wt % of ash compared to raw microalgae. Moreover, the hydrolyzate was directly used to grow a microalga of the same genus. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 1494–1502, 2017     

Reactivity of Hydroxamate Ions in Cationic Vesicular Media for the Cleavage of Carboxylate Esters

The hydrolysis of carboxylate esters viz. p‐nitrophenyl acetate (PNPA), p‐nitrophenyl butyrate (PNPB) and p‐nitrophenyl octanoate (PNPO) in the presence of cationic vesicles of the surfactant dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAC) by different hydroxamate ions i.e. acetohydroxamate (AHA^?), benzohydroxamate (BHA^?) and salicylhydroxamate (SHA^?) were studied. The kinetic data was supported by spectrophotometric measurements. The effects of vesicular size on the reaction have been discussed. The differential reactivity under endo‐ and exovesicular conditions has also been evaluated. Critical vesicle concentrations (CVC) of cationic vesicular surfactants were determined from conductometric and fluorimetric measurements at 300 K. Fluorescence probe pyrene and pyrene‐1‐carboxaldehyde have been used for determination of CVC. Further, thermodynamic parameters viz. Standard Gibb's energy (?G°), enthalpy (?H°), and entropy (?S°) of vesicles has also been evaluated within a temperature range of 303.15–328.15 K.     

Sunflower Acid Oil-Based Production of Rhamnolipid Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Its Application in Liquid Detergents

Utilization of industrial waste as substrates for the rhamnolipid synthesis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a worthy alternative for conventionally used vegetable oils and fatty acids to reduce the production cost of rhamnolipid. Sunflower acid oil (SAO), a by-product of the oil industry, contains 70% 18:0 fatty acid, with oleic acid as a major component. In this scope, production and analysis of rhamnolipid was successfully demonstrated using SAO as a new substrate. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced rhamnolipid (a glycolipid biosurfactant) at a maximum concentration of 4.9 g L⁻¹ with 60 g L⁻¹ of SAO in the medium. Structural properties of rhamnolipid biosurfactant are confirmed using thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Further surface-active properties of the crude rhamnolipid were evaluated by measuring surface tension and emulsification properties. The synthesized rhamnolipid reduced the surface tension of water to 30.12 mN m⁻¹ and interfacial tension (against heptane) to 0.52 mN m⁻¹. Moreover, rhamnolipid shows the highest emulsification index (above 80%) for vegetable oils. This study confirms the use of SAO as a potential substrate for rhamnolipid production. The synthesized rhamnolipid was incorporated in liquid detergent formulation along with alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES). The performance properties including foaming and cleaning efficiency of liquid detergent were compared.     

Isothermal crystallization kinetics of anhydrous sodium acetate nucleated poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Studies on the isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nucleated with anhydrous sodium acetate were carried out. The nucleated agent had succeeded in promoting greater rates of crystallization in PET. A study of the melting behavior of the samples revealed that the nucleating agents promoted formation of thinner lamellae. The equilibrium melting temperature (T) of samples was determined using linear and nonlinear Hoffman Weeks procedure. The nonlinear Hoffman Week's procedure was found to be inapplicable in the current study. The Lauritzen‐Hoffman secondary nucleation theory was applied to determine the nucleation parameter (K_g), fold surface energy (σ_e), and work of chain folding (q). σ_e and q decreased on addition of nucleating agent. The approximate and exact form of the Lauritzen Z‐test was used to determine the operating regime. The operating regime was found to be primarily regime II for the range of temperatures studied. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010