[Hmim][HSO4], a Green and Recyclable Acidic Ionic Liqiud Medium for the One‐Pot Nitration of TADB to HNIW

An efficient and mild procedure for the one‐pot preparation of CL‐20 from TADB in the presence of the Brønsted acidic ionic liquid 1‐methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate [Hmim][HSO₄] as catalyst was developed. The ionic liquid was stable during the reaction process and could also be reused several times with steady activity. In order to optimize the process parameters to obtain higher yield and purity, a study was carried out with variation of the ionic liquids and some parameters like temperature, mole ratio of [Hmim][HSO₄] and nitric acid. This procedure may be a practical alternative to the existing procedures to meet the nees of academics as well as industry.     

Statistical optimization of process conditions for photocatalytic degradation of phenol with immobilization of nano TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on perlite granules

Response surface methodology (RSM) using D-optimal design was applied to optimization of photocatalytic degradation of phenol by new composite nano-catalyst (TiO₂/Perlite). Effects of seven factors (initial pH, initial phenol concentration, reaction temperature, UV irradiation time, UV light intensity, catalyst calcination temperature, and dosage of TiO₂/perlite) on phenol conversion efficiency were studied and optimized by using the statistical software MODDE 8.02. On statistical analysis of the results from the experimental studies, the optimum process conditions were as follows: initial pH, 10.7; initial phenol concentration, 0.5 mM; reaction temperature, 27 °C; UV irradiation time, 6.5 h; UV light intensity, 250 W; catalyst calcination temperature, 600 °C; and TiO₂/perlite dosage, 6 g/L. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high coefficient of determination (R²) of 91.8%.     

Low-temperature synthesis of mesoporous nanocrystalline magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4) spinel with high surface area using a novel modified sol-gel method

A simple, template-free and scalable modified sol-gel route was developed for the synthesis of mesoporous flake-like magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl₂O₄) at low temperature (700 °C) with high surface area (281 m² g^?1). The obtained spinel materials were characterized by means of physicochemical techniques including X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and N₂ adsorption-desorption analysis. The propylene oxide was used as gelation and pore forming agent in the sol-gel process. Different morphologies and sizes of flake were generated by the varied synthesis conditions. The result materials reveal that the textural properties of the MgAl₂O₄ product are strongly associated with the nature and amount of addictive solvent and calcination temperatures. It shows that the BET surface area decrease as the increase of calcination temperature and the optimal temperature of 700 °C result in the pure phase of MgAl₂O₄ spinel. This synthesis strategy offers a feasible approach for scalable fabrication of mixed metal oxides for various catalytic reactions or catalyst supports due to the large surface area.     

Modified carbon paste electrodes for Cu(II) determination

A new Cu²⁺ carbon paste electrode (CPE) using 2,2′-(1E,1′E)-1,1′-(2,2′-azanediylbis (ethane-2,1-diyl)bis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(ethan-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol (ADEZEDP) has been prepared. The influence of variables including sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB), ionophore, and amount of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), CdO nanowires, CdS nanoparticles and palladium nanoparticles loaded on ADEZEDP and Nujol on the electrodes response were studied and optimized. At optimum values of all variables, for each nanomaterial the electrode response was linear in concentration range of 1.0 × 10^? 8 to 1.0 × 10^? 1 mol L^? 1 for ADEZEDP with Nernstian slope. The good performance of electrode viz. Wide applicable pH range (2.0–5.0), fast response time (≈ 6 s), and adequate life time (3 months) indicate the utility of the proposed electrodes for evaluation of Cu²⁺ ion content in various situations. Finally, these electrodes have been successfully applied for the determination of Cu²⁺ ions content in various real samples. The selectivity of proposed electrode was evaluated by separation solution method and fixed interference method.     

Study of the transient release of water vapor from a fuel bed of wet biomass in a reciprocating-grate furnace

The present study investigates how sudden changes in fuel moisture affected the combustion characteristics of the fuel bed in a 4-MW reciprocating-grate furnace. The moisture content of the fuel fed to the furnace was monitored online using a near-infrared spectroscopy device, and the water vapor concentration in the flue gas was measured continuously. To obtain experimental data on fuel-bed conditions, the temperature and gas composition in the bed were measured using a probe. A simplified drying model was developed using the measured gas composition values as inputs. The model was then used to estimate the drying rate and to simulate the extent of the drying zone along the grate. Measurements indicated that a change in the moisture content of the fuel fed to the furnace was detected as a change in water vapor concentration in the flue gas with a delay of about 2 h. The model predicted that a portion of wet fuel would need about 2 h to become dry, in line with the measured time delay of the water vapor concentration change in the flue gas. Overall, there was good alignment between the measured and simulated results, supporting the validity of the model and the assumed mechanisms.     

A novel test method for evaluate asphaltene inhibitor efficiency on damage permeability

Asphaltene deposition has a significant detrimental effect on oilfield production. The key to effective treatment of asphaltene deposition is recognition of the problem. Asphaltene and effective treatment can be identified and quantified using laboratory methods. The most commonly way to asphaltene precipitation reduction is applying an asphaltene inhibitor. Most researchers investigate the effect of asphaltene inhibitors on fluid and precipitation reduction in static tests. This study is a coherent approach to measure effect of asphaltene precipitation on reservoir permeability and survey effect of asphaltene inhibitors on damage permeability.     

Investigation of Removal of Cu(II) Ions by Commercial Activated Carbon: Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Studies

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - The present study deals with the application of activated carbon for the adsorptive removal of Cu(II) from its aqueous solutions. This...     

A model to predict the survivability of cancer comorbidity through ensemble learning approach

Cancer is one of the most common death causes worldwide. Breast and genital cancers in women and prostate cancer in men constitute three of the most common cancers. Detection and prevention of these types of cancers are critical objectives. Recent findings indicate that some patients suffer from cancer comorbidity. The probability of survival among patients with comorbid condition is lower than those with only one type of cancer. The importance of concomitant chronic illnesses during cancer treatment through the SEER data is assessed through many machine‐learning approaches. In order to improve the accuracy of prediction of survival rates in patients with cancer and comorbidity of cancers, the gradient boosting ensemble method is adopted for feature selection and modelling. This proposed method increases the accuracy rate and reduces the error rate, and exhibits a significant predictive improvement of survival rates in comorbid cancer compared with the previous proposed models.     

Efficiency assessment using a multidirectional DDF approach

This paper proposes a new efficiency measure that aims at capturing the overall distance to the efficient frontier and not the distance corresponding to a specific projection, as most oriented and non‐oriented methods compute. The proposed approach uses a grid‐based method to sample all possible improvement directions from a given operating point and for each direction it computes a directional efficiency score solving a directional distance function model. This provides information about the distribution of the distance to the efficient frontier. Therefore, the proposed multidirectional efficiency measure does not provide a single efficiency score but a distribution of efficiency scores. The minimum, the median, the Q1 and Q3 quartiles and the maximum can be singled out as representatives of that distribution. The latter corresponds to the closest among the computed efficient targets. In addition to the efficiency score distribution, the associated efficient targets are also provided. The proposed approach can take into account integer and nondiscretionary variables and a preference structure. An application of the method to assess the efficiency of material recovery facilities is presented.