Effect of electrolyte characteristics on electrowinning of copper powder

This paper is concerned with studying the effect of electrolyte characteristics on the production process of electrolytic copper powder from partially depleted Cu containing synthetic electrolytes by electrowinning technique. The main electrolyte characteristics are temperature, circulation rate, Cu and H₂SO₄ concentrations, residence time in the cell, and utilization of organic bath additives. The process is positively affected by increasing the values of all of the studied parameters except for the addition of organic bath additives, which causes a negative effect. However addition of organic bath additives remarkably increases the degree of refinement of the produced powders. In most cases pure and fine copper powders were obtained with a dendritic shape, as indicated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis.     

Fabrication of protective-coated SiC reinforced tungsten matrix composites with reduced reaction phases by spark plasma sintering

SiC reinforced tungsten matrix composites were fabricated via the spark plasma sintering process. In order to prevent an interfacial reaction between the SiC and tungsten during sintering, TiOx coated SiC particles were synthesized by a solution-based process. TiOx layer coated SiC particles were treated in high temperature nitriding conditions or annealed in a high temperature vacuum to form TiN or TiC coated SiC particles, respectively. The TiC layers coated on SiC particles successfully prevented tungsten from reacting with SiC; hence the proposed process resulted in successful fabrication of the SiC/W composites. The mechanical properties such as compressive strength and flexural strength of the composites were measured. Additionally, the effect of SiC on the high temperature oxidative ablation of tungsten was also investigated. The addition of SiC resulted in an improved oxidative ablation resistance of the tungsten-based composites.     

Batch kinetics and modelling of ethanolic fermentation of whey

The fermentation of whey by Kluyveromyces marxianus strain MTCC 1288 was studied using varying lactose concentrations at constant temperature and pH. The increase in substrate concentration up to a certain limit was accompanied by an increase in ethanol formation, for example, at a substrate concentration of 10 g L^?1, the production of ethanol was 0.618 g L^?1 whereas at 50 g L^?1 it was 3.98 g L^?1. However, an increase in lactose concentration to 100 g L^?1 led to a drastic decrease in product formation and substrate utilization. The maximum ethanol yield was obtained with an initial lactose concentration of 50 g L^?1. A method of batch kinetics was utilized to formulate a mathematical model using substrate and product inhibition constants. The model successfully simulated the batch kinetics observed at S₀ = 10 and 50 g L^?1 but failed in case of S₀ = 100 g L^?1 because of strong substrate inhibition.     

Tracking free volume changes in bisphenol-a based polycarbonate sheets after treatment with liquid acetone

Free volume properties, size and distribution, in the bisphenol-a based polycarbonate (PC) sheets were investigated as a function of the treatment duration by liquid acetone using the positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy. Along with increasing the PC treatment duration, the free volume sizes decreased and the holes-distribution broadened, which in turns led to the polymer crystallization induction. From the PAL and WAXD data, it has been confirmed that the crystallization capability of the amorphous PC tremendously enhanced, with a rapid increase of the PC crystallinity along with increasing the treatment duration by liquid acetone. These findings were further confirmed by the surface chemistry and topography characterization techniques which revealed the formation of crystalline structure after liquid acetone treatment. The solvent-induced crystallization of PC sheets promoted restrictions to the infrared induced molecular vibrations the surface functional groups which was reflected as drop in peaks intensities and shift of the carbonyl peak of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum.     

Analyzing Diversity,Strength and Centrality of Cities Using Networks of Multinational Firms

Networks and Spatial Economics - Cities play an important role in the regional, national and continental development of economies, as well as global trade and infrastructure. Most of this...