This study describes the hydrothermal synthesis of a novel carbon/palmitic acid (PA) microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM). The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images confirm that spherical capsules of uniform size were formed with a mean diameter of 6.42 μm. The melting and freezing temperature were found to be slightly lower than those of pure PA with little undercooling. The composite retained 75% of the latent heat of pure PA. Thermal stability of the MEPCM was found to be better than that of pure PA. The thermal conductivity of MEPCM was increased by as much as 41% at 30°C. Due to its good thermal properties and chemical and mechanical stability, the carbon/PA MEPCM displays a good potential for thermal energy storage systems.
In this work, crude oil biodegradation has been optimized in a solid-liquid two phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB) by applying a response surface methodology based d-optimal design. Three key factors including phase ratio, substrate concentration in solid organic phase, and sodium chloride concentration in aqueous phase were taken as independent variables, while the efficiency of the biodegradation of absorbed crude oil on polymer beads was considered to be the dependent variable. Commercial thermoplastic polyurethane (Desmopan®) was used as the solid phase in the TPPB. The designed experiments were carried out batch wise using a mixed acclimatized bacterial consortium. Optimum combinations of key factors with a statistically significant cubic model were used to maximize biodegradation in the TPPB. The validity of the model was successfully verified by the good agreement between the model-predicted and experimental results. When applying the optimum parameters, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed a significant reduction in n-alkanes and low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This consequently highlights the practical applicability of TPPB in crude oil biodegradation.
Through atomistic molecular dynamic simulations using a GROMOS53a6 force field for the carbohydrate, we studied the lyotropic reverse hexagonal phase HII from a glycolipid, namely the Guerbet branched-chain β-d-glucoside, at 14% and 22% water concentrations. Our simulations showed that at low water concentration (14%) the sugar head group overlapped extensively and protruded into the water channel. In contrast, in the 22% concentration system a water column free from the sugar headgroup ('free' water) was formed as expected for the system close to the limit of maximum hydration. In both concentrations, we found anomalous water diffusion in the xy-plane, i.e. the two-dimensional space confined by the surface of the cylinder. On the other hand, along the z-axis, the water diffusion obeyed the Einstein relation for the 22% system, while for the 14% system it was slightly anomalous. For the 22% system, the diffusion along the z-axis of the 'free' water obeyed the Einstein relation, while that of the 'bound' water is slightly anomalous. The xy-plane displacement of the 'bound' water was higher than that for the 'free' water at times longer than 200 ps, as a consequence of the exchange of water molecules between the two regions. Based on our findings, we proposed an alternative explanation to the observed spatial heterogeneity in the HII phase from probe diffusion by Penaloza et al. (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14(15), 5247-5250). We found the extent of contact with water was different at different oxygen atoms within the sugar ring. Generally, a higher probability of hydrogen bonding but a shorter lifetime was found in 22% water compared to the case of 14% water. Finally, we examined the extension and compression of the alkyl chain of a columnar.
The catalytic activity of free laccase and a novel sol-gel laccase (SOLAC) in ionic liquids and organic solvents was demonstrated by using 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP) as a substrate. The enhancement of the catalytic activity of the SOLAC was observed and compared to the free laccase in both media. The oxidative biodegradation of o-chlorophenol as a model of phenolic environmental pollutants in organic media shows that the degradation was observed only when using water pre-saturated organic solvents or reverse micelle system. The SOLAC gave higher biodegradation rate in either aqueous or organic solvents, in which the optimum temperature was observed at 40 °C for the reverse micelle system as a reaction medium. All results demonstrated the potential use of the SOLAC for biodegradation of phenolic environmental pollutants in non-conventional media.
The purpose of this study was to select appropriate surfactants or blends of surfactants to study the ternary phase diagram behavior of newly introduced palm kernel oil esters.
A series of new mesogenic azomethine diols were successfully synthesized by condensation reactions between various chloroalkanols and N,N'-bis(4-hydroxy)-benzylidene-o-toluidine (1). The structures of these compounds were confirmed by CHN, FT-IR, (1)H-NMR, and (13)C-NMR spectrophotometer. Their thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscope (POM). 4,4'-di(4-Hydroxybutoxy)-N-benzylidine-o-tolidine (2a) does not exhibit liquid crystalline properties. A nematic texture was observed for mesogenic diols 2b, and 2d, whereas the diol 2c exhibits a smectic mesophase. The increase of terminal alkyl chain in these mesogenic diols leads to a decrease in the transition temperature.
The yeast strain Candida tropicalis was used for the biodegradation of gaseous toluene. Toluene was effectively treated by a liquid culture of C. tropicalis in a bubble-column bioreactor, and the toluene removal efficiency increased with decreasing gas flow rate. However, toluene mass transfer from the gas-to-liquid phase was a major limitation for the uptake of toluene by C. tropicalis. The toluene removal efficiency was enhanced when granular activated carbon (GAC) was added as a fluidized material. The GAC fluidized bioreactor demonstrated toluene removal efficiencies ranging from 50 to 82% when the inlet toluene loading was varied between 13.1 and 26.9 g/m(3)/h. The yield value of C. tropicalis ranged from 0.11 to 0.21 g-biomass/g-toluene, which was substantially lower than yield values for bacteria reported in the literature. The maximum elimination capacity determined in the GAC fluidized bioreactor was 172 g/m(3)/h at a toluene loading of 291 g/m(3)/h. Transient loading experiments revealed that approximately 50% of the toluene introduced was initially adsorbed onto the GAC during an increased loading period, and then slowly desorbed and became available to the yeast culture. Hence, the fluidized GAC mediated in improving the gas-to-liquid mass transfer of toluene, resulting in a high toluene removal capacity. Consequently, the GAC bubble-column bioreactor using the culture of C. tropicalis can be successfully applied for the removal of gaseous toluene.
We report on a recycling project in which α-Al(2)O(3) was produced from aluminum cans because no such work has been reported in literature. Heated aluminum cans were mixed with 8.0 M of H(2)SO(4) solution to form an Al(2)(SO(4))(3) solution. The Al(2)(SO(4))(3) salt was contained in a white semi-liquid solution with excess H(2)SO(4); some unreacted aluminum pieces were also present. The solution was filtered and mixed with ethanol in a ratio of 2:3, to form a white solid of Al(2)(SO(4))(3)·18H(2)O. The Al(2)(SO(4))(3)·18H(2)O was calcined in an electrical furnace for 3 h at temperatures of 400-1400 °C. The heating and cooling rates were 10 °C /min. XRD was used to investigate the phase changes at different temperatures and XRF was used to determine the elemental composition in the alumina produced. A series of different alumina compositions, made by repeated dehydration and desulfonation of the Al(2)(SO(4))(3)·18H(2)O, is reported. All transitional alumina phases produced at low temperatures were converted to α-Al(2)O(3) at high temperatures. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that the α-Al(2)O(3) phase was realized when the calcination temperature was at 1200 °C or higher.
Raising the thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of dental porcelains is important to match the CTE of the ceramic material with the higher CTE of the metal inlay in dental restorations. The higher thermal expansion of the leucite phase increases the overall thermal expansion coefficient of the dental porcelain. Potassium nitrate (KNO3) additions in controlled percentages to the base dental porcelain formulation help in the formation of a leucite phase. The percentage added was 5,10 and 20 weight percent of leucite, respectively, to the total base frit composition. The change in CTE values was then investigated using a Linseis Dilatometer. A 20wt% KNO3 addition resulted in a CTE of 9.0 microm/m-K compared to the 7.7 microm/m-K CTE of the base composition. The microstructures observed under the scanning electron microscope (SEM) show a multiphase material with the leucite phases dispersed within a glassy matrix. The results suggest that higher CTEs in the dental porcelain are possible by increasing the KNO3- additions within the limits tested.
The molecular dynamics of a synthetic branched chain glycolipid, 2-decyl-tetradecyl-β-d-maltoside (C14-10G2), in the dry assemblage of smectic and columnar liquid crystal phases has been studied by dielectric spectroscopy as a function of frequency and temperature during the cooling process. Strong relaxation modes were observed corresponding to the tilted smectic and columnar phases, respectively. At low frequency (∼900 Hz to 1 kHz) in the smectic phase, Process I* was observed due to the tilted sugar bilayer structure. The process continued in the columnar phase (Process I) with an abrupt dynamic change due to phase transition in the frequency range of ∼1.3 kHz to 22 kHz. An additional process (Process II) was observed in the columnar phase with a broader relaxation in the frequency range of ∼10 Hz to 1 kHz. A bias field dependence study was performed in the columnar phase and we found that the relaxation strength rapidly decreased with increased applied dc bias field. This relaxation originates from a collective motion of polar groups within the columns. The results of dielectric spectroscopy were supported by a molecular dynamics simulation study to identify the origin of the relaxation processes, which could be related to the chirality and hydrogen bonds of the sugar lipid.
Graft copolymerisation of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto Agave angustifolia was conducted with ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as the redox initiator. The maximum grafting efficiency was observed at CAN and MMA concentrations of 0.91 × 10(-3) and 5.63 × 10(-2)M, respectively, at 45°C for 3h reaction time. Four characteristic peaks at 2995, 1738, 1440, and 845 cm(-1), attributed to PMMA, were found in the IR spectrum of grafted cellulose. The crystallinity index dropped from 0.74 to 0.46, while the thermal stability improved upon grafting. The water contact angle increased with grafting yield, indicating increased hydrophobicity of cellulose. SEM images showed the grafted cellulose to be enlarged and rougher. The changes in the physical nature of PMMA-grafted cellulose can be attributed to the PMMA grafting in the amorphous regions of cellulose, causing it to expand at the expense of the crystalline component.
The aim of this study to assess the efficiency of flushing
method of Dental Unit Waterline (DUWL) system in reducing the
number of microorganism. Water samples were taken before and after
two minutes of flushing from air-water syringes system in ten randomly
selected dental units in a Dental Teaching Centre. These samples
were immediately transferred to the microbiology laboratory in the cool
box within 8 hours for the heterotrophic plate count (HPC) test. Paired
t-test was used to analyse number of microbe before and after flushing.
The numbers of colony forming unit (CFU) ranged from 13,000 to
120,000CFU/ml in unflushed samples, and 3,000 to 15,000CFU/ml in
flushed samples. The mean HPC post-flushing was lower than preflushing [8360.00 (4561.48) vs 63300.00 (44587.12) CFU/ml]. The
mean HPC between pre- and post-flushing was significantly different
(P=0.004, 95% CI 22039.52, 87840.48). The coliform count from the
control was 140 CFU/ml. In conclusion, flushing method of DUWL
system significantly reduces the number of microorganisms in the
dental unit. However, the level of microorganisms still does not meet
the standard guideline by Environmental Protection Agency for safe
drinking water, which should be below 500 CFU/ml. In our opinion, the
duration of flushing should be increased and additional chemical
treatments of the dental units should be implemented to ensure the
safety of patients and dental personnel.
Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor with widespread applications, especially in the production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic technique has been developed for the extraction of bisphenol A from water and soft drink. The 1-undecanol has been applied as the extraction solvent because of its low density and melting point and high affinity to the analyte. The technique offered rapid and simple analysis as the 1-undecanol was homogeneously dispersed in the sample solution to speed the extraction and the collection of extraction solvent was simplified by centrifugation, cooling and melting steps.
Aluminum substituted yttrium iron garnet nano particles with compositional variation of Y(3.0-x) A1(x)Fe5O12, where x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 were prepared using sol gel technique. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the best garnet phase appeared when the sintering temperature was 800 degrees C. Nano-crystalline particles with high purity and sizes ranging from 20 to 100 nm were obtained. It was found that the aluminum substitution had resulted in a sharp fall of the d-spacing when x = 2, which we speculated is due to the preference of the aluminum atoms to the smaller tetrahedron and octahedron sites instead of the much larger dodecahedron site. High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and electron diffraction (ED) patterns showed single crystal nanoparticles were obtained from this method. The magnetic measurement gave moderate values of initial permeability; the highest value of 5.3 was shown by sample Y3Fe5O12 at more than 100 MHz which was attributed to the morphology of the microstructure which appeared to be homogeneous. This had resulted in an easy movement of domain walls. The substitution of aluminum for yttrium is speculated to cause a cubic to rhombodedral structural change and had weakened the super-exchange interactions thus a fall of real permeability was observed. This might have created a strain in the sub-lattices and had subsequently caused a shift of resonance frequencies to more than 1.8 GHz when x > 0.5.
The heterocyclic chalcone containing thiophene ring 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(2-thienyl)prop-2-en-1-one, C13H9ClOS was synthesized and investigated using experimental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) at room temperature, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) from room temperature to 500K and Raman scattering at the temperature range 10-413K in order to study its structure and vibrational properties as well as stability and possible phase transition. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to determine the vibrational spectrum viewing to improve the knowledge of the material properties. A reasonable agreement was observed between theoretical and experimental Raman spectrum taken at 10K since anharmonic effects of the molecular motion is reduced at low temperatures, leading to a more comprehensive assignment of the vibrational modes. Increasing the temperature up to 393K, was observed the typical phonon anharmonicity behavior associated to changes in the Raman line intensities, line-widths and red-shift, in special in the external mode region, whereas the internal modes region remains almost unchanged due its strong chemical bonds. Furthermore, C13H9ClOS goes to melting phase transition in the temperature range 393-403K and then sublimates in the temperature range 403-413K. This is denounced by the disappearance of the external modes and the absence of internal modes in the Raman spectra, in accordance with DSC curve. The enthalpy (ΔH) obtained from the integration of the endothermic peak in DSC curve centered at 397K is founded to be 121.5J/g.
In this work, 10 mol% yttrium-doped ceria powders, Ce0.9Y0.1O1.95, were synthesised using a new mechanical technique, mechanochemical reaction, in which both impact action and shearing forces were applied for efficient fine grinding, subsequently leading to higher homogeneity of the resultant powders. Ce0.9Y0.1O1.95 prepared using this new technique was systematically compared with a sample of the same prepared using conventional solid-state methodology. X-ray diffraction analysis showed all prepared samples were single phase with a cubic fluorite structure. Generally, Y2O3-doped CeO2 electrolytes prepared by mechanochemical reactions were stable at a lower temperature (1100 °C) compared with a sample of the same synthesised using the conventional solid-state method. Characterisations using differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed no thermal changes and phase transitions, indicating all materials were thermally stable. The electrical properties of the samples investigated by AC impedance spectroscopy in the temperature range 200–800 ˚C are presented and discussed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the morphology of the materials. Fine-grained powders with uniform grain-size distribution were obtained from the mechanochemical reaction.
The in situ polymorphic forms and thermal transitions of refined, bleached and deodorized palm oil (RBDPO), palm stearin (RBDPS) and palm kernel oil (RBDPKO) were investigated using coupled X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results indicated that the DSC onset crystallisation temperature of RBDPO was at 22.6°C, with a single reflection at 4.2Å started to appear from 23.4 to 17.1°C, and were followed by two prominent exothermic peaks at 20.1°C and 8.5°C respectively. Further cooling to -40°C leads to the further formation of a β'polymorph. Upon heating, a of β'→βtransformation was observed between 32.1 to 40.8°C, before the sample was completely melted at 43.0°C. The crystallization onset temperature of RBDPS was 44.1°C, with the appearance of the α polymorph at the same temperature as the appearance of the first sharp DSC exothermic peak. This quickly changed from α→β´ in the range 25 to 21.7°C, along with the formation of a small β peak at -40°C. Upon heating, a small XRD peak for the β polymorph was observed between 32.2 to 36.0°C, becoming a mixture of (β´+ β) between 44.0 to 52.5°C. Only the β polymorph survived further heating to 59.8°C. For RBDPKO, the crystallization onset temperature was 11.6°C, with the formation of a single sharp exothermic peak at 6.5°C corresponding to the β' polymorphic form until the temperature reached -40°C. No transformation of the polymorphic form was observed during the melting process of RBDPKO, before being completely melted at 33.2°C. This work has demonstrated the detailed dynamics of polymorphic transformations of PKO and PS, two commercially important hardstocks used widely by industry and will contribute to a greater understanding of their crystallization and melting dynamics.
In this work, SrCrxFe12-xO19 (x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5) nanostructures were successfully synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion method, and different aminoacids were used as green reductants. Various analysis results show that SrCrxFe12-xO19 nanoparticles synthesized successfully.The present study shows that SrCrxFe12-xO19 nanoparticle could be used as adsorbent for the desulfurization of liquid fuels. Increasing of nanoparticles concentration was caused to increase the adsorption rate of sulfur contents of fuel. The adsorption rate of sulfur contents of fuel in various concentrations 4.5, 9.5, and 18.5 g. L -1 of SrCrxFe12-xO19 nanoparticles in solution was estimated about 39, 50, and 62% for 30 min, respectively. The results of catalytic tests reveals that SrCrxFe12-xO19 nanoparticles have the potential to be used as a new kind of semiconductor catalysts for the desulfurization of liquid fuels. Magnetic property of the final sample was measured at room temperature by a vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) and shown that the intrinsic coercivity of product is about 6000 Oe and it exhibits characteristics of single magnetic domains (Mr/ Ms = 0.53).
This paper presents the experimental results on the behavior of fly ash geopolymer concrete incorporating bamboo ash on the desired temperature (200 °C to 800 °C). Different amounts of bamboo ash were investigated and fly ash geopolymer concrete was considered as the control sample. The geopolymer was synthesized with sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions. Ultrasonic pulse velocity, weight loss, and residual compressive strength were determined, and all samples were tested with two different cooling approaches i.e., an air-cooling (AC) and water-cooling (WC) regime. Results from these tests show that with the addition of 5% bamboo ash in fly ash, geopolymer exhibited a 5 MPa (53%) and 5.65 MPa (66%) improvement in residual strength, as well as 940 m/s (76%) and 727 m/s (53%) greater ultrasonic pulse velocity in AC and WC, respectively, at 800 °C when compared with control samples. Thus, bamboo ash can be one of the alternatives to geopolymer concrete when it faces exposure to high temperatures.
The composite PCM was prepared by blending polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and myristic acid (MA) in different weight percentages. The MA and PMMA were selected as PCM and supporting material, respectively. As liquid MA may leak out during the phase transition, this study proposes the use of two coatings, namely a polyacrylic coating and a conformal coating to overcome the leakage problem. Both coatings were studied in terms of the leakage test, chemical compatibility, thermal stability, morphology, and reliability. No leakage was found in the PCMs with coatings compared to those without under the same proportions of MA/PMMA, thus justifying the use of coatings in the present study. The chemically compatibility was confirmed by FTIR spectra: the functional groups of PCMs were in accordance with those of coatings. DSC showed that the coatings did not significantly change the melting and freezing temperatures, however, they improved the thermal stability of composite PCMs as seen in TGA analysis. Furthermore, the composite PCMs demonstrated good thermal reliability after 1000 times thermal cycling. The latent heat of melting reduced by only 0.16% and 1.02% for the PCMs coated with conformal coating and polyacrylic coating, respectively. Therefore, the proposed coatings can be considered in preparing fatty acid/PMMA blends attributed to the good stability, compatibility and leakage prevention.