Evaluating Esters Derived from Mustard Oil (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sinapis alba</Emphasis>) as Potential Diesel Additives

Biodiesel was produced from mustard oil utilizing transesterification with methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol to evaluate the characteristics of mustard biodiesel as an additive to regular diesel. Mustard oil was transesterified with alcohol at 6:1 alcohol to oil molar ratio, using KOH as a catalyst at 1 wt%. The maximum ester content achieved by this method was only 66%. Distillation was then used to purify the ester, raising the ester content to 99.8%. Alternatively, mustard oil methyl ester (MME) can be mixed with esters derived from canola oil or soybean oil to achieve an ASTM quality biodiesel. Biodiesel derived from mustard showed great potential as lubricity additive for regular diesel fuel. With an addition of 1% MME, lubricity of diesel fuel was improved by 43.7%. It is also found that methyl ester is the best lubricity additive among all esters (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butyl-ester). MME can be used at −16 °C without freezing whereas monounsaturated compounds (oleic, eicosenoic, and erucic esters) largely present in esters derived from mustard oil can tolerate −42 to −58 °C. Monounsaturated esters derived from higher alcohols such as butyl alcohol demonstrated a superior low temperature tolerance (−58 °C) as compared to that derived from lower alcohol such as methyl alcohol (−42 °C).     

Kinetics study on cnt‐supported RuKCo FTS catalyst in a fixed bed reactor

The rate of syngas (H₂/CO) consumption over a RuKCo/CNT Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalyst was measured in a fixed bed microreactor at 210–225°C, 2–3.5 MPa, H₂/CO feed molar ratios of 1–2.5, and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) range of 2700–3600 h^?1. The data have been used to model the kinetics of the FTS reactions within the range of the studied conditions. One empirical power law model and four semi‐empirical kinetic models based on Langmuir–Hinshelwood‐type equation have been evaluated. The best fitting was obtained with the equation: similar to that proposed by Brötz et al. The estimated activation energy (E = 80–85 kJ/mol) is lower than that is reported in the literature. The validity of these results are restricted to fixed beds with the given catalyst in the tested conversion regime.     

Utilization of green seed canola oil for in situ epoxidation

Green seed canola oil is underutilized for edible purposes due to its high chlorophyll content, which makes it more susceptible to photo‐oxidation and ultimately reduces the oxidation stability. The present work is an attempt to compare the kinetics of epoxidation of crude green seed canola oil (CGSCO) and treated green seed canola oil (TGSCO) with peroxyacids generated in situ in presence of an Amberlite IR‐120 acidic ion exchange resin (AIER) as catalyst. Among the two oxygen carrier studied, acetic acid was found to be a better carrier than the formic acid, as it gives 8% more conversion of double bond than the formic acid. A detailed process developmental study was then performed with the acetic acid/AIER combination. For the oils under investigation parameters optimized were temperature (55°C), hydrogen peroxide to double bond molar ratio (2.0), acetic acid to double bond molar ratio (0.5), and AIER loading (15%). An iodine conversion of 90.33, 90.20%, and a relative epoxide yield of 90, 88.8% were obtained at the optimum reaction conditions for CGSCO and TGSCO, respectively. The formation of the epoxide product of CGSCO and TGSCO was confirmed by Fourier Transform IR Spectroscopy (FTIR) and NMR (1H NMR) spectral analysis.     

Dynamic mechanical properties and hysteresis loss of epoxidized natural rubber chemically bonded to the silica surface

High‐temperature (180°C) molding of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) filled with precipitated silica leads to chemical bond formation between epoxy groups of ENR and silanol groups of silica. The extent of chemical bond formation is further enhanced in the presence of the silane coupling agent N‐3‐N‐(vinyl benzyl amino)ethyl‐γ‐amino‐propyl trimethoxy silane mono hydrogen chloride (trade name Z‐6032). The results of hysteresis loss measurements show that hysteresis loss increases with increase in coupling agent loading as a result of the higher modulus of the compounds compared to that of the ENR–silica mix. The dynamic mechanical property measurements show that the addition of coupling agent increases the glass‐transition temperature. Whereas strain‐dependent dynamic mechanical properties show that filler structure breakdown increases with increasing loading of coupling agent. Sulfur‐cured systems show higher filler structure breakdown compared to that of nonsulfur systems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2171–2177, 2002     

An Aqueous Phase Equilibrium Calculation Algorithm

A multiphase chemical equilibrium algorithm is developed which can be used with aqueous systems. The algorithm uses an average chemical potential for each species as a reference chemical potential. Incipient phases can be identified and their proximity to appearance can be determined through their tangent plane distance. Illustrative examples include the calculation of CaSO₄ solubility and the calculation of vapour pressures above an SO₂‐NaCl‐H₂O system, including the prediction of a three‐phase equilibrium. The algorithm proved robust and versatile. The appearance of incipient phases was easily tracked. Future work needs to be done to optimize damping/acceleration coefficients in the calculations.     

Structural Studies and Valence Band Splitting Parameters in Ordered Vacancy Compound AgGa7Se12

The threefold absorption in the fundamental absorption region of the ternary chalcopyrite AgGa₇Se₁₂, an ordered defect compound of AgGaSe₂, is analyzed to elucidate the three closely spaced band gaps in its valence band due to the lifting of degeneracy of the Γ₁₅ level. Hopfield’s quasi cubic model is employed to extract the crystal-field and spin–orbit splitting parameters and the linear hybridisation of orbitals model for evaluating the percentage contribution of Ag d-orbital and Ga and Se p-orbitals to the p–d hybridization of orbitals. The observed optical properties are correlated with the structural parameters like deformation parameter, anion displacement and anion–cation bond lengths that are deduced from X-ray diffraction data. The compound films for the studies are prepared by a modified form of Gunther’s three temperature technique and the compositional analysis was done by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the compound formation while atomic force microscopic technique was used for surface morphological analysis. The electrical resistivity of these n-type semi-conducting films is assessed to be ~5 Ωm and the films are found to be photosensitive.     

Metal ion adsorption behavior of lignocellulosic fiber–ethylene vinyl acetate composites

This study describes the applicability of lignocellulosic fiber dispersed in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) to adsorb Pb(II), Cr(III), and Cr(VI) ions in aqueous solutions. Water absorption studies revealed that metal‐ion uptake does not only take place on the surface of the adsorbent but ions can also diffuse into the composite. The adsorption of the metal ions under different experimental conditions was studied. Solute concentration, pH, and contact time were used to assess the adsorption capacity and efficiency. The amount of metal adsorbed increased to 7 mg/g with an increase in solute concentration but compromising the efficiency. Adsorption equilibrium was reached after 3 h, when the maximum lead adsorption was above 80%. The optimum pH for the adsorption of Pb(II) and Cr(III) was 6.5, and pH 2.5 was used for the adsorption of Cr(VI). Competitive adsorption revealed the order of adsorption to be: Pb(II) > Cr(VI) > Cr(III). POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Sustainable conducting polymer composites: study of mechanical and tribological properties of natural fiber reinforced PVA composites with carbon nanofillers

ABSTRACT

Ball milled jute fiber (JF) was added to Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)/20 wt.% multi-layer graphene (MLG) composites in various proportions (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.%) to prepare sustainable and biodegradable conducting polymer composites. Also, PVA/17.5wt.%MLG/2.5wt.%MWCNT/20wt.% JF composite was prepared for comparison purpose. A dynamic mechanical analysis of the composites was conducted to analyze their viscoelastic nature. The electrical conductivity of the composites was measured to study their suitability for various applications. Jute reinforcement increased the electrical conductivity of PVA/MLG nanocomposites. The PVA/20wt.%JF/17.5wt.%MLG/2.5wt.%MWCNT hybrid composite had the highest electrical conductivity of 3.64 × 10^?4 S/cm among all the composites prepared. Multilayered structures of the hybrid composite films were made by hot-pressing, and their effectiveness in electromagnetic interference shielding was tested. The shielding effectiveness of the composites decreased with jute addition. The wear resistance of PVA/MLG/JF composites increased with an increase in the jute content up to an optimum value of 10 wt.%, and then it started deteriorating.     

Electrical conductivity of poly(vinyl alcohol)/carbon nanotube multilayer thin films: Influence of sodium polystyrene sulfonate mediated carbon nanotube dispersion

This investigation was aimed to enhance the dispersibility of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) using sodium polystyrene sulfonate (Na-PSS) polyelectrolyte. Subsequently, electrically conducting, multi-layer thin films are prepared utilizing layer by layer assembly method with poly(vinyl alcohol) as a host matrix. The highest extent of MWCNT dispersion was observed in MWCNT:Na-PSS ratio of 1:9 (wt/wt), which was estimated from UV-Vis spectroscopic analysis. Zeta potential measurements of Na-PSS modified MWCNT dispersion showed large negative potentials ranging from −52 to −64 mV in the most stable pH range of 4 to 10, suggesting the colloidal stability is due to the long-range repulsive nature of electrostatic interactions from negatively charged sulfonate groups. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations showed that adsorption of Na-PSS imparts a large negative potential to the carbon nanotube surface, which increases with an increase in Na-PSS concentration. The multi-layer thin film of (1:9) MWCNT:Na-PSS exhibited a DC electrical conductivity of 2.96 × 10² S/m.     

Modeling of the sheet‐molding process for poly(methyl methacrylate)

The sheet‐molding process for the production of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) involves an isothermal batch reactor followed by polymerization in a mold (the latter is referred to as a “sheet reactor”). The temperature at the outer walls of the mold varies with time. In addition, due to finite rates of heat transfer in the viscous reaction mass, spatial temperature gradients are present inside the mold. Further, the volume of the reaction mass also decreases with polymerization. These several physicochemical phenomena are incorporated into the model developed for this process. It was found that the monomer conversion attains high values of near‐unity in most of the inner region in the mold. This is because of the high temperatures there, since the heat generated due to the exothermicity of the polymerization cannot be removed fast enough. However, the temperature of the mold walls has to be increased in the later stages of polymerization so that the material near the outer edges can also attain high conversions of about 98%. This would give PMMA sheets having excellent mechanical strength. The effects of important operating (decision) variables were studied and it was observed that the heat‐transfer resistance in the mold influences the spatial distribution of the temperature, which, in turn, influences the various properties (e.g., monomer conversion, number‐average molecular weight, and polydispersity index) of the product significantly. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 1951–1971, 2001