Adsorption of Phenol by Nitro and Amino Derivatives of Petroleum Asphaltenes

Chemistry and Technology of Fuels and Oils - The sorption properties of native and modified petroleum asphaltenes with respect to phenol were studied under static conditions. The asphaltenes were...     

Alkylation of phthalic anhydride in a low-temperature methane plasma

The results of the reductive alkylation of phthalic anhydride with a low-temperature methane plasma are reported. The reaction products were identified by mass-selective chromatography (GC/MSD).     

Defect‐Mediated Polarization Switching in Ferroelectrics and Related Materials: From Mesoscopic Mechanisms to Atomistic Control

The plethora of lattice and electronic behaviors in ferroelectric and multiferroic materials and heterostructures opens vistas into novel physical phenomena including magnetoelectric coupling and ferroelectric tunneling. The development of new classes of electronic, energy‐storage, and information‐technology devices depends critically on understanding and controlling field‐induced polarization switching. Polarization reversal is controlled by defects that determine activation energy, critical switching bias, and the selection between thermodynamically equivalent polarization states in multiaxial ferroelectrics. Understanding and controlling defect functionality in ferroelectric materials is as critical to the future of oxide electronics and solid‐state electrochemistry as defects in semiconductors are for semiconductor electronics. Here, recent advances in understanding the defect‐mediated switching mechanisms, enabled by recent advances in electron and scanning probe microscopy, are discussed. The synergy between local probes and structural methods offers a pathway to decipher deterministic polarization switching mechanisms on the level of a single atomically defined defect.     

Effects of some chelating agents on urinary copper excretion by the rat

In order to estimate the potential advantages of new chelating agents which can enhance copper excretion in the chronic copper intoxication arising in Wilson's disease, the relative ability of none chelating agents to induce the urinary excretion of copper was compared with that of D-penicillamine (DPA) and triethylenetetramine.2HCl (TRIEN), all given ip at 1 mmol/kg to male Sprague-Dawley rats. The compounds examined were as follows: tris(2-aminoethyl)-amine.3HCl (TREN), tetraethylenepentamine.5HCl (TETREN), pentaethylenehexamine.6HCl (PENTEN), 1,4,7,11-tetraazaundecane.4HCl (TAUD), 1,5,8,12-tetraazadodecane.4HCl (TADD), 1-N-benzyltriethylenetetramine.4HCl (BzTT), 4,7,10,13-tetraazatridecanoic acid.2H2SO4 (TTPA), 1,10-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazadecane.4HCl (BPTETA), and N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-4-(aminomethyl)benzoic acid (4ABA). Of these, BzTT, TTPA, and 4ABA are new chelating agents not previously reported. The factors by which these chelating agents enhanced copper excretion over control (untreated) levels were as follows: DPA, 7.2; TREN, 1.6; TRIEN, 4.0; TETREN, 10.1; PENTEN, 7.8; TAUD, 7.8; TADD, 2.6; TTPA, 5.6; BzTT, 1.8; and 4ABA, 5.5. The results indicate that it may well be possible to develop additional chelating agents which are equal or superior to those now used in the treatment of Wilson's disease, as well as structural types whose immunological properties may be significantly different from DPA or TRIEN, the compounds currently used in the clinic for this disorder.     

A performance index for semicoherent structures

The index introduced here provides a normalized measure of the effectiveness of any semicoherent structure. We study the mathematical properties of the index and derive different axiomatic characterizations for it. Moreover, close relationships are shown to reliability functions and also to the Birnbaum structural importance measure—for which twice the performance index plays the role of potential function—that give rise to computational procedures. Some numerical examples illustrate the application of the index.     

Influence of the Nature of Metals and Modifying Additives on Changes in the Structure of Heavy Oil in a Catalytic Aquathermolysis System

The direction of catalytic aquathermolysis processes involving high-molecular-weight components of heavy oil has been revealed in model experiments, depending on the metal nature and the conditions of the experiments carried out at 300°C in neutral and carbon dioxide media, using oil-soluble carboxylates of the transition metals nickel, iron, cobalt, and copper as a catalyst. The yield and quality of the products formed in the presence of individual metals and their compositions have been determined. Propanol and tetralin have been studied as modifying additives. The viscosity of heavy oil in a carbon dioxide medium has been significantly reduced by using an iron-, cobalt-, and copper-containing catalyst composition together with the propanol additive, as a result of an increase in the amount of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons and a decrease in the resin content in its composition. An increase in the value of the C₁₃–C₁₇/C₁₈–C₂₂ index can serve as a parameter for monitoring the progress of catalytic aquathermolysis processes.     

Microwave Heating of an Emulsion Drop

The results of numerical modeling of the microwave heating of a water-in-oil emulsion drop in a gravity field with consideration of the empirical temperature dependence of the viscosity of the liquid surrounding the drop are presented. The system of thermal convection equations is considered in the Boussinesq approximation. The solution is obtained by the control volume method with the SIMPLE algorithm and by the VOF method. It is established that the emerging convective structures result in nonuniform heating of the drop predominantly near the surface, which can lead to a local rupture of the armor envelope and the formation of fine-dispersed phase. It is shown that there is an optimal range of power of microwave field in which an intensive deposition of water drops occurs, which leads to water-oil emulsion breakdown.