Effect of solvent type on preparation of ethyl cellulose microparticles by solvent evaporation method with double emulsion system using focused beam reflectance measurement

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of solvent type on the solidification rate of ethyl cellulose (EC) microparticles and particle size/distribution of emulsion droplets/hardened microparticles during the solvent evaporation process using focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM). EC microparticles were prepared with a water‐in‐oil‐in‐water solvent evaporation method using various solvents, including dichloromethane, dichloromethane–methanol (1:1), ethyl acetate and chloroform. The particle size/distribution of the emulsion droplets/hardened microparticles was monitored using FBRM. The morphology of EC microparticles was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The transformation of the emulsion droplets into solid microparticles for all solvents occurred within the first 10–90 min. The square weighted mean chord length of EC microparticles prepared using chloroform was smallest, but the chord count was not the highest. The chord length distribution (CLD) measured by FBRM showed that a larger mean particle size gave longer CLD and a lower peak of particle number. SEM data revealed that the morphology of microparticles was influenced by the type of solvent. FBRM can be employed for online monitoring of the shift in the microparticle CLD and detect transformation of emulsion droplets into solid microparticles during the solvent evaporation process. The microparticle CLD and transformation process were strongly influenced by solvent type. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

Lie group analysis for the effects of temperature-dependent fluid viscosity and chemical reaction on MHD free convective heat and mass transfer with variable stream conditions

This paper concerns with a steady two-dimensional flow of an electrically conducting incompressible fluid over a vertical stretching surface. The flow is permeated by a uniform transverse magnetic field. The fluid viscosity is assumed to vary as a linear function of temperature. A scaling group of transformations is applied to the governing equations. The system remains invariant due to some relations among the parameters of the transformations. After finding three absolute invariants a third-order ordinary differential equation corresponding to the momentum equation and two second-order ordinary differential equation corresponding to energy and diffusion equations are derived. The equations along with the boundary conditions are solved numerically. It is found that the decrease in the temperature-dependent fluid viscosity makes the velocity to decrease with the increasing distance of the stretching sheet. At a particular point of the sheet the fluid velocity decreases with the decreasing viscosity but the temperature increases in this case. It is found that with the increase of magnetic field intensity the fluid velocity decreases but the temperature increases at a particular point of the heated stretching surface. Impact of chemical reaction in the presence of thermal radiation plays an important role on the concentration boundary layer. The results thus obtained are presented graphically and discussed.     

Homotopy analysis method for chemical reaction and thermophoresis effects on heat and mass transfer for mhd hiemenz flow over a porous wedge in the presence of heat radiation

An analytical technique, namely, the homotopy analysis method, is applied to analyze the effect of chemical reaction and thermophoresis particle deposition on the MHD mixed convective heat and mass transfer for a Hiemenz flow over a porous wedge in the presence of heat radiation. The fluid is assumed to be viscous and incompressible. Analytical and numerical calculations are carried out for different values of dimensionless parameters, and an analysis of the results obtained shows that the flow field is influenced appreciably by the buoyancy ratio as well as by the thermal diffusion and suction/injection parameters. The effects of these parameters on the process characteristics are investigated methodically, and typical results are illustrated. An explicit, totally analytical, and uniformly valid solution is derived which agrees well with numerical results.     

Thermophoresis and chemical reaction effects on non-Darcy MHD mixed convective heat and mass transfer past a porous wedge in the presence of variable stream condition

An analysis is presented to investigate the effect of thermophoresis particle deposition and variable viscosity on non-Darcy MHD mixed convective heat and mass transfer of a viscous, incompressible and electrically conducting fluid past a porous wedge in the presence of chemical reaction. The wall of the wedge is embedded in a uniform non-Darcian porous medium in order to allow for possible fluid wall suction or injection. The governing partial differential equations of the problem, subjected to their boundary conditions, are solved numerically by applying an efficient solution scheme for local nonsimilarity boundary layer analysis. Numerical calculations are carried out for different values of dimensionless parameter in the problem and an analysis of the results obtained show that the flow field is influenced appreciably by the applied magnetic field. The results are compared with those known from the literature and excellent agreement between the results is obtained.     

Thermophoresis and chemical reaction effects on non-Darcy mixed convective heat and mass transfer past a porous wedge with variable viscosity in the presence of suction or injection

The effects of variable viscosity, thermophoresis and non-Darcy mixed convection flow with heat and mass transfer over a porous wedge are presented here, taking into account the homogeneous chemical reaction of first order. The fluid viscosity is assumed to vary as an inverse linear function of temperature. Favorable comparison with previously published work is performed. The governing fundamental equations are approximated by a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations and are solved numerically by using the Runge Kutta Gill and shooting methods. The steady-state velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are shown graphically. It is observed that due to the presence of first-order chemical reaction the concentration decreases with increasing values of the chemical reaction parameter. The results also showed that the particle deposition rates were strongly influenced by thermophoresis and buoyancy force, particularly for opposing flow and hot surfaces. Numerical results for the skin-friction coefficient, wall heat and mass transfer are obtained and reported graphically for various parametric conditions to show interesting aspects of the solution.     

Alterations of neutrophil L-selectin and CD18 expression by tobacco smoke: implications for periodontal diseases

The treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in women represents an unresolved problem. The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether exercise can be useful in this context. Various literature searches identified 21 randomised controlled trials on the subject. These are highly diverse in more than one respect. Collectively, however, the strongly suggest that regular physical exercise can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and delay the physiological decrease of bone mineral density. It is concluded that regular exercise for women of practically all ages is well advised.     

Influence of thermophoresis particle deposition and chemical reaction on unsteady non-Darcy MHD mixed convective flow over a porous wedge in the presence of temperature-dependent viscosity

An analysis is presented to investigate the effect of thermophoresis particle deposition and temperature dependent viscosity on unsteady non-Darcy MHD mixed convective heat and mass transfer of a viscous, incompressible and electrically conducting fluid past a porous wedge in the presence of chemical reaction. The wall of the wedge is embedded in a uniform non-Darcian porous medium in order to allow for possible fluid wall suction or injection. The results are compared with those known from the literature and excellent agreement between the results is obtained. The governing partial differential equations of the problem, subjected to their boundary conditions, are solved numerically by applying an efficient solution scheme for local nonsimilarity boundary layer analysis. Numerical calculations are carried out for different values of dimensionless parameter in the problem and an analysis of the results obtained show that the flow field is influenced appreciably by the applied magnetic field and thermophoresis particle deposition.     

Scaling transformation for the effects of chemical reaction on free convective heat and mass transfer in the presence of variable stream conditions

Natural convective boundary layer flow and heat and mass transfer of a fluid with temperature-dependent fluid viscosity, chemical reaction and thermal radiation over a vertical stretching surface in the presence of suction is investigated by scaling transformation analysis. Fluid viscosity is assumed to vary as a linear function of temperature. The symmetry groups admitted by the corresponding boundary value problem are obtained by using a special form of Lie-group transformations viz. scaling group of transformations. An exact solution is obtained for translation symmetry and numerical solutions for scaling symmetry. Effects of temperature-dependent fluid viscosity, chemical reaction and thermal radiation on the dimensionless velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are shown graphically. Comparison with previously published work is performed and excellent agreement between the results is obtained. The conclusion is drawn that the flow field and temperature and concentration profiles are significantly influenced by these parameters.     

Optimization of fractional crystallization on crude biodiesel purification via response surface methodology

In order to improve separation and purification efficiency of biodiesel, an alternative method has been explored which is fractional crystallization. In this study, glycerol that has a higher melting point was formed as a solid phase while the pure biodiesel was remained in liquid phase during the crystallization process. Response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were employed to search for the optimum operating conditions. The best responses were 0.117 and 46.734% for effective partition constant (K) and concentration efficiency (Eff), respectively, while the optimum operating conditions were coolant temperature at ?9.5°C and stirring rate at 362 rpm.