Estimation of the concentration of donatable hydrogen in a coal solvent by n.m.r.

¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) spectroscopies have been used to study the changes in composition of a hydrogenated anthracene oil solvent that occur during extraction of a UK bituminous coal. It has been shown that the principal hydrogen donor groups in the solvent are hydroaromatic and naphthenic rings in hydroaromatic species. Good agreement was achieved between the concentration of donatable hydrogen estimated from n.m.r., and the amount of hydrogen transferred from the solvent during exhaustive extraction.     

Providing lubricity in food fat systems

Lubricity, in particular mouthfeel, is an important factor in production of vegetable oil bases for food product formulations. Certain functional characteristics are necessary for good texture at various temperatures. These characteristics are dependent on degree of unsaturation, fatty acid distribution, and degree of geometrical isomerization during processing. Proper selectivity and activity of hydrogenation catalysts used in hardening of the oils are essential. Sufficient solid fat content must be balanced by necessary oxid ative stability. Products discussed include salad oils and their formulations in pourable and spoonable salad dressings, mayonnaises, frying oils, imitation dairy products, margarines and bakery shortenings. Past, present and future industry technology will be evaluated for each type of food fat product. Customer needs have greatly affected the course of research in this area.     

Flexibilized Copolyimide Adhesives

Two copolyimides, LARC-STPI and STPI-LARC-2, with flexible backbones were prepared and characterized as adhesives. The processability and adhesive properties were compared to those of a commercially available form of LARC-TPI.

Lap shear specimens were fabricated using adhesive tape prepared from each of the three polymers. Lap shear tests were performed at room temperature, 177°C, and 204°C before and after exposure to water-boil and to thermal aging at 204°C for up to 1000 hours.

The three adhesive systems possess exceptional lap shear strengths at room temperature and elevated temperatures both before and after thermal exposure. LARC-STPI, because of its high glass transition temperature provided high lap shear strengths up to 260°C. After water-boil, LARC-TPI exhibited the highest lap shear strengths at room temperature and 177°C, whereas the LARC-STPI retained a higher percentage of its original strength when tested at 204°C [68% versus 50% (STPI-LARC-2) and 40% (LARC-TPI)].

These flexible thermoplastic copolyimides show considerable potential as adhesives based on this study and because of the ease of preparation with low cost, commercially available materials.     

Estolides from meadowfoam oil fatty acids and other monounsaturated fatty acids

The formation of estolides was detected during the studies on dimerization of meadowfoam oil fatty acids. By adjusting the reaction conditions, it was possible to produce monoestolides with little dimer or trimer formations. Estolides have potential use in lubricant, cosmetic and ink formulations and in plasticizers. This paper reports the conditions for production of estolides from mixed meadow-foam fatty acids, commercial oleic acid, high-oleic sun-flower oil fatty acids,cis-5,cis-13-docosadienoic acid, petroselinic acid and linoleic acid.     

Filtration in coal liquefaction. Influence of digestion conditions in the filtration of non-hydrogenated coal digests

A series of experiments has been carried out to study the way in which preparation conditions of coal digests influence filtration rate. It was shown that a relation exists between cake resistivity and digestion temperature and time, and therefore good control over digestion conditions is important for rapid filtration. Particular attention must be paid to the design of the reactor to ensure that all the material is given the same heat-treatment. The optimum residence time occurs when repolymerization of the dissolved coal commences.     

Comparative Assay of Antioxidant Packages for Dimer of Estolide Esters

A series of 26 different antioxidants and commercial antioxidant packages designed for petroleum‐based materials, containing both natural and synthetic‐based materials, were evaluated with dimeric coconut‐oleic estolide 2‐ethylhexyl ester (2‐EH), a bio‐based material. The different antioxidants were categorized into different classes of phenolic, aminic, and blended/others materials. The oxidation onset temperatures (OT) using non‐isothermal pressurized differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC) were measured and recorded under previously reported standard conditions. The aminic series gave the best resistance to oxidation as defined by the PDSC method with OT of 246.6 and 244.7 °C for the best two performers, which was a 38 °C improvement over the uninhibited or unformulated dimer estolide material. The phenolic series, containing most of the naturally occurring antioxidants, was the least successful formulation package for the dimer estolide. The blended/other materials, which were specifically designed for petroleum‐based lubricants, did not have the best OT, since the estolides and other bio‐based materials interact differently than their petroleum counterparts. A number of potential antioxidants have been identified as useful additives for the estolides esters. The OT of the estolide and formulated materials correlated well with other bio‐based materials such as biodiesel.     

Correlation Between Phytotoxicity on Annual Ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) and Production Dynamics of Allelochemicals Within Root Exudates of an Allelopathic Wheat

An improved allelopathic correlation between phytotoxicity measured in root growth bioassay upon annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) and the concentrations of a selection of dynamically produced allelochemicals quantified in the root exudates of cv. Khapli wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum (Desf.) Husn.) monitored during the first 15 days of wheat seedling growth in a sterile, agar–water medium, has been established. Changes over the 15-day growth period in the quantities of five exuded benzoxazinones and seven phenolic acids were measured simultaneously using GC/MS/MS. Substantiating pure compound dose–response measurements were conducted over a range of concentrations for the putative allelochemicals within the wheat exudates. One synergism-based proposal using the monitored compounds to explain the observed low-exudate-concentration phytotoxicity was explored, but was found to be experimentally inadequate.     

Exploring barriers and opportunities in adopting crowdsourcing based new product development in manufacturing SMEs

Crowdsourcing is an innovative business practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content or even funds by soliciting contributions from a large group of people(the ‘Crowd'). The potential benefits of utilizing crowdsourcing in product design are well-documented, but little research exists on what are the barriers and opportunities in adopting crowdsourcing in new product development(NPD) of manufacturing SMEs. In order to answer the above questions, a Proof of Market study is carried out on crowdsourcing-based product design under an Innovate UK funded Smart project, which aims at identifying the needs, challenges and future development opportunities associated with adopting crowdsourcing strategies for NPD. The research findings from this study are reported here and can be used to guide future development of crowdsourcing-based collaborative design methods and tools and provide some practical references for industry to adopt this new and emerging collaborative design method in their business.     

An X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of Mo oxidation in Pb at elevated temperatures

The corrosion of fuel cladding and structural materials by lead and lead-bismuth eutectic in the liquid state at elevated temperatures is an issue that must be considered when designing advanced nuclear systems and high-power spallation neutron targets. In this work, lead corrosion studies of molybdenum were performed to investigate the interaction layer as a function of temperature by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. In situ X-ray absorption measurements on a Mo substrate with a 3-6 μm layer of Pb deposited by thermal evaporation were performed at temperatures up to 900 °C and at a 15° angle to the incident X-rays. The changes in the local atomic structure of the corrosion layer are visible in the difference extended X-ray absorption fine structure and the linear combination fitting of the X-ray absorption near-edge structure to as-deposited molybdenum sample and molybdenum oxide (MoO₂ and MoO₃) standards. The data are consistent with the appearance of MoO₃ in an intermediate temperature range (650-800 °C) and the more stable MoO₂ phase dominating at high and low temperatures.