Palladium nanoparticles supported on amine-functionalized glass fiber mat for fixed-bed reactors on the effective removal of hexavalent chromium by catalytic reduction

Palladium nanoparticles were deposited on the amine-grafted glass fiber mat （GFM-NH2） catalyst support by a conventional impregnation process followed by the borohydride reduction in aqueous solution at room temperature to create the designed Pd/GFM-NH2 catalyst. By the use of large size glass fiber mat without nano/mesopores as the catalyst support, the internal mass transfer limitations due to the existence of nano/mesopores on the catalyst support were eliminated and the Pd/GFM-NH2 catalyst could be easily separated from treated water due to the large size of the catalyst support. Batch experiments demonstrate its good catalytic reduction performance of Cr（VI） with formic acid as the reducing agent. It also demonstrated an efficient Cr（VI） removal and stability in a lab-prepared, packed fixed-bed tube reactor for the continuous treatment of Cr（VI）-containing water. Thus, it has a good potential for the catalytic reduction of Cr（VI） in the water treatment practice.

Impregnation of thermoplastic resin in jute fiber mat

Impregnation rate of thermoplastic resin(polypropylene)in jute fiber mat and influence of relative factors on impregnation were studied,aiming to develop the continuous melt impregnation technique and to investigate the effect of impregnation rate and temperature on processing conditions and mechanical properties of natural fiber mat-reinforced thermoplastics.Influence of pressure on porosity of fiber mat and effect of melt viscosity on impregnation rate were also investigated.The modified capillary rheometer was used as apparatus and experimental data were analyzed based on the one-dimension Darcy’s law.Results showed that at a given pressure,the impregnation rate is inversely proportional to melt viscosity and jute fiber mat has higher porosity than glass fiber mat.The architecture,compressibility,permeability and fiber diameter of jute fiber mat were compared with those of glass fiber mat and their effects on impregnation were discussed further.It could be seen that the average diameter of jute fiber is much bigger;the porosity of jute fiber mat is significantly higher and inner bundle impregnation does not exist in jute fiber mat.Therefore,it is not difficult to understand why the impregnation rate in jute fiber mat is 3.5 times higher and permeability is 14 times greater.Kozeny constants of jute and glass fiber mats calculated based on the capillary model are 2950 and 442,respectively.