Matrix-Material Fabrication Technique and Thermogravimetric Analysis of Banana Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

From the environmental consideration,it would be very interesting to use natural fibers such as banana,jute or coir as reinforcement materials instead of artificial fibers or any kind of synthetic materials.Natural fibers have many advantages over synthetic ones.Polypropylene banana fiber composites(PPBC)are prepared using untreated and alkali-treated banana fibers at 10-25%by weight of the fiber loading.The thermal properties of polypropylene natural fiber composites are very important for technological uses.Thermogravimetric measurements show that the incorporation of banana fiber into PP enhances the thermal stability of composites containing treated fibers,in comparison with untreated fibers.A composite of biodegradable polypropylene(PP)reinforced with short banana natural fibers was prepared by melt blending followed by a hot press molding system.The thermal properties of matrix materials were studied using thermogravimetric analyzers TGA units.It is observed that the introduction of short banana fibers slightly improved the thermo oxidative stability of PP-banana composites.Physical and chemical changes occurred through dehydration,phase transition,molecular orientation,crystallinity disruption,oxidation and decomposition,and incorporation of several functional groups.Systematic investigations of the thermal behavior of polymers in gas,vacuum or inert atmosphere give the knowledge of how change takes place in polymers.To understand such changes thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)and thermal analysis(TG)were performed.It is observed reinforcement of short banana fiber leads to little improvement in the thermooxidative stability of PPBC.Due to the enhancement of thermo-mechanical properties,such composites may be used as building materials namely roof materials,selling materials and many other engineering applications.

Spontaneous combustion liability between coal seams: A thermogravimetric study

The spontaneous combustion liability of coal can be determined by using different experimental techniques.These techniques are well-known in their application,but no certain test method has become a standard to prove the reliability of all of them.A general characterisation which included proximate and ultimate analyses,petrographic properties and spontaneous combustion tests(thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)and the Wits-Ehac tests)were conducted on fourteen coal and four coal-shale samples.The spontaneous combustion liability of these samples collected between coal seams(above and below)were predicted using the TGA and the Wits-Ehac tests.Six different heating rates(3,6,9,15,20 and 25
C/min)were selected based on the deviation coefficient to obtain different derivative slopes and a liability index termed the TGspc index.This study found that coal and coal-shale undergo spontaneous combustion between coal seams when exposed to oxygen in the air.Their intrinsic properties and proneness towards spontaneous combustion differ considerably from one seam to the other.The Wits-Ehac test results agreed with the TGspc results to a certain extent and revealed the incidents of spontaneous combustion in the coal mines.

Phosphogypsum:Part Ⅰ:Mineralogical,Thermogravimetric,Chemical and Infrared Characterization

Phosphogypsum (PG) derived from the dissolution of phosphate ore in H2SO4 has been characterized by using chemical and thermogravimetric analyses, X-ray difFraction and infrared spectrum to give an idea about the future utifization of this waste material. The PG under the investigation was free from the radioactive elements and Cd and contained about 141 × 10-6 rare earth elements in total, which favours the utilization of this material. PG was formed mainIy of gypsum, little anhydrite and quartz and rare kaolinite. It exhibited two large endothermic peaks corresponding to the dehydration of the sample and a small one which may be attributed to the Iiberation of the residual water that may be found in the soluble anhydrite. Also, an exothermic peak was observed which may be related to the transformation of soluble (γ-anhydrite) to insoluble β-anhydrite. PG exhibited the same absorption bands as that observed for chemical CaSO4.2H2O and natural gypsum samples besides the appearance of a weak band at 840 cm-1 which characterizes the vibration of H2PO4- group

Thermogravimetric Analysis of Swine Manure Solids Obtained from Farrowing, and Growing-Finishing Farms

The modern trend of increasing the number of pigs at production sites led to a noticeable surplus of manure. Separation of manure solids provides an avenue of their utility via thermochemical conversion techniques. Therefore, the goal of this paper was to assess the physical and thermal properties of solid separated swine manure obtained from two different farms, i.e., farrowing, and growing-finishing, and to determine their pyrolysis kinetic parameters. Swine manure solids were dried and milled prior to assessing their properties. Differential and integral isoconversional methods (Friedman, and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa) were used to determine the apparent activation energy as a function of the conversion ratio. Significant differences were observed in the proximate, ultimate composition between both manure types. The higher heating value (HHV) for the manure solids from farrowing, and growing-finishing farms reached 16.6 MJ/kg and 19.4 MJ/kg, respectively. The apparent activation energy computed using Friedman and FWO methods increased with the increase in the degree of conversion. Between 10% and 40% degrees of conversion, the average activation energies, using Friedman method, were103 and 116 kJ/mol for the farrowing and growing-finishing manure solids, respectively. On the other hand, the same activation energies, calculated from FWO method, were 98 and 104 kJ/mol, for solid manure obtained from farrowing and growing-finishing farms, respectively. The findings in this study will assist in the effort to optimize thermochemical conversion processes to accommodate swine waste. This could, in turn, minimize swine production impacts on the surrounding ecologies and provide sustainable energy and biochar streams.

FTIR and Thermogravimetric Analysis of Three Kinds of Nutshells

The main components and pyrolysis characteristics of Camellia oleifera Abel hells, Castanea mollissima Blume shells, and Castanea mollissima Blume shells were analyzed by using FTIR and thermogravimetric methods. The experimental results indicated that the main components of the three kinds of raw materials consisted of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The highest contents of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin were in Camellia oleiferaAbel shells (49.34% ± 0.07%), Castanea mollissima Blume shells (27.34% ± 0.01%), and Carya cathayensis Sarg shells (49.78% ± 0.01%), respectively. The pyrolysis processes of three kinds of shells generally included three stages, namely dehydration, pyrolysis, and carbonization. The peak values and the appearance times of their pyrolysis rates were closely related to their compositions.

Evaluation of oxygen uncoupling characteristics of oxygen carrier using micro-fluidized bed thermogravimetric analysis

Oxygen uncoupling characteristics of a natural manganese ore and a perovskitetype oxide CaMn_(0.5)Ti0_(37)5Fe_(0.125)O_(3)were studied by using a microfluidized bed thermogravimetric analysis(MFBTGA)technology which is based on a realtime mass measurement of fluidizing particles inside a bubbling bed reactor.The chemical stability,kinetics of the oxygen release and uptake reactions and fluidization property were investigated and the experimental data measured by MFBTGA were compared with the results in a regular TGA instrument(TGA Q500).The regular TGA Q500 results show the reactivity of both the manganese ore and perovskite oxide are stable for multi cycles,and the oxygen uncoupling capacity of the manganese ore is~1.2%(mass)which is~2 times higher than that of the perovskite oxide.However,the experimental results from the MFBTGA indicated that there is a serious agglomeration for the manganese ore.A very important finding is that the reaction rate of oxygen release and oxygen uptake of the perovskite oxide measured by the MFBTGA are~2 and~4 times faster than that of testedby the TGA Q500.We can conclude that MFBTGA is a very useful tool to measure the reactivity stability and kinetics of oxygen carriers in highthroughput analysis instead of the regular TGA.

Comparative Evaluation of Thermogravimetric and Refractive Index Techniques in Determining Biodiesel Yield

Biodiesel is a clean and renewable resource that consists of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acid, which could be obtained from the transesterification reaction of vegetable oils and animal fats with alcohols and catalysts. Biodiesel yield has typically been determined using expensive and laborious techniques. The attempt of this study was to examine the potential of quantifying the biodiesel conversion in real time using refractive index in transesterification process of canola oil with methanol and KOH. Biodiesel yields at five different mixing intensities and reaction times were measured using a refractometer. The measured results were then compared with analytical data obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) technique over a temperature range of 25℃ - 600℃. Experimental results indicated that the FAME conversions at different mixing intensity and reaction time measured from refractometer correlated well to the relative weight losses from TGA method with R2 = 0.93 (p ≤ 0.05);however, the refractometer may over-estimate the biodiesel yield when the reaction rate was too low. Overall, the refractometer technique is cheaper and easier to manage and could provide a reliable prediction of biodiesel yield in real time.

Use of Thermogravimetric Analysis for Moisture Determination in Difficult Lyophilized Biological Samples

Residual moisture is a key quality control parameter for lyophilized biologicals, as high moisture can correlate with poor stability. Coulometric Karl Fischer titration is the most widely used technology to determine residual water content;some chemicals are known to cause problems with Karl Fischer titration, but these chemicals do not usually occur in biologics. Three biological samples, of fibrinogen, heparin and Haemophilus influenza b polysaccharide, have caused particular issue in our hands by routine Karl Fischer analysis, illustrating different limitations with this method. The use of thermogravimetric analysis, with evolved gas mass spectrometric monitoring, is described here as a successful alternative for moisture analysis in these materials.

Characterization by Thermogravimetric Analysis of Polymeric Concrete with High Density Polyethylene Mechanically Recycled

This paper presents the results of the characterization by thermogravimetric analysis of a new composite material called polymeric concrete. The polymeric concrete contains micro-particles obtained from High Density Poly-Ethylene (HDPE) mechanically recycled (post-consumer bottles);the official Mexican standard NMX-E-232-SCFI-1999 considers the HDPE as the recyclable plastic material. Thermo-grams based on weight lost were obtained from the raw material (HDPE) and the polymer concrete in order to obtain the glass transition temperature (Tg) and melting temperature (Tf). The analysis conditions were defined from 20°C to 180°C and the heat rate of 1°C/minute. The results show that the glass transition temperature of polymeric concrete is 46°C and the HDPE is 38°C. These results mean that the polymeric concrete is more resistant to decomposition. With respect to the melting temperature, the results show that the 2°C difference between polymeric concrete and HDPE is not significant. The polymeric concrete with HDPE recycled can be considered as composite material thermoplastic. The new material melts when it is heated to 146°C and has the ability to be softened, processed and reprocessed with temperature and pressure changes, which make it possible to obtain molded pieces in the desired shape.

Prediction of high-density polyethylene pyrolysis using kinetic parameters based on thermogravimetric and artificial neural networks

Pyrolysis is considered an attractive option and a promising way to dispose waste plastics.The thermogravimetric experiments of high-density polyethylene(HDPE)were conducted from 105℃ to 900℃ at different heating rates(10℃/min,20℃/min,and 30℃/min)to investigate their thermal pyrolysis behavior.We investigated four methods including three model-free methods and one modelfitting method to estimate dynamic parameters.Additionally,an artificial neural network model was developed by providing the heating rates and temperatures to predict the weight loss(wt.%)of HDPE,and optimized via assessing mean squared error and determination coefficient on the test set.The optimal MSE(2.6297×10^(−2))and R^(2) value(R^(2)>0.999)were obtained.Activation energy and preexponential factor obtained from four different models achieves the acceptable value between experimental and predicted results.The relative error of the model increased from 2.4%to 6.8%when the sampling frequency changed from 50 s to 60 s,but showed no significant difference when the sampling frequency was below 50 s.This result provides a promising approach to simplify the further modelling work and to reduce the required data storage space.This study revealed the possibility of simulating the HDPE pyrolysis process via machine learning with no significant accuracy loss of the kinetic parameters.It is hoped that this work could potentially benefit to the development of pyrolysis process modelling of HDPE and the other plastics.

Evaluating two stages of silicone-containing arylene resin oxidation via experiment and molecular simulation

Silicon-containing aryl acetylene resin(PSA)is a new type of high-temperature resistant resin with excellent oxidation resistance,whereas antioxidant reaction mechanism of PSA resin under ultra-high temperatures still remains unclear.Herein,the oxidation behavior and mechanisms of PSA resin are systematically investigated combining kinetic analysis and Reax FF molecular dynamics(MD)simulations.Thermogravimetric analysis indicates that the oxidation process of PSA resin undergoes two main steps:oxidative mass gain and oxidative degradation.The distributed activation energy model(DAEM)is employed for describing oxidation processes and the best-fit one is obtained using genetic algorithms and differential evolution.DAEM model demonstrates that the oxidative weight gain stage is dominated by two virtual reactants and the oxidative degradation stage consists of three virtual reactants.Correspondingly,the observation of MD reaction pathways indicates that oxygen oxidation of unsaturated structures occurs in the initial stage,which results in the formation of PSA resin oxides.Furthermore,cracked pieces react with O_(2)to generate CO and other chemicals in the second step.The resin matrix's great antioxidation resilience is illustrated by the formation of SiO_(2).The analysis based on MD simulations exhibits an efficient computational proof with the experiments and DAEM methods.Based on the results,a two-stage reaction mechanism is proposed,which provides important theoretical support for the subsequent study of the oxidation behavior of silica-based resins.

Thermogravimetric Analysis of Coal Char Combustion Kinetics

Four chars prepared from pulverized coals were subjected to non-isothermal and isothermal combustion tests in a thermogravimetric analysis （TGA） device. Three different test methods, i. e. , non-isothermal single heat- ing rate （A）, non-isothermal multiple heating rate （B）, and isothermal test （C）, were conducted to calculate the ki- netic parameters of combustion of coal char. The results show that the combustion characteristics of bituminous coal char is better than that of anthracite char, and both increase of heating rate and increase of combustion temperature can obviously improve combustion characteristics of coal char. Activation energies of coal char combustion calculated by different methods are different, with activation energies calculated by methods A, B and C in the range of 103.12-- 153.77, 93.87--119.26, and 46.48--76.68 kJ/mol, respectively. By using different methods, activation energy of anthracite char is always higher than that of bituminous coal char. In non-isothermal tests, with increase of combus- tion temperature, the combustion process changed from kinetic control to diffusion control. For isothermal combus- tion, the combustion process was kinetically controlled at temperature lower than 580 ℃ for bituminous coal char and at temperature lower than 630 ℃ for anthracite char.

Combustion Property and Kinetic Modeling of Pulverized Coal Based on Non-isothermal Thermogravimetric Analysis

Non-isothermal combustion kinetics of two kinds of low volatile pulverized coals （HL coal and RU coal） were investigated by thermogravimetrie analysis. The results show that the combustibility of HL coal was better than that of RU coal, and with increasing heating rate, ignition and burnout characteristics of pulverized coal were improved. The volume model （VM）, the random pore model （RPM）, and the new model （NEWM） in which the whole combustion process is considered to be the overlapping process of volatile combustion and coal char combustion, were used to fit with the experimental data. The comparison of these three fitted results indicated that the combustion process of coal could be simulated by the NEWM with highest precision. When calculated by the NEWM, the activation energies of volatile combustion and coal char combustion are 130.5 and 95.7 kJ · mol^-1 for HL coal, respectively, while they are 114.5 and 147.6 kJ ·mol^-1 for RU coal, respectively.

Investigating the co-combustion characteristics of oily sludge and ginkgo leaves through thermogravimetric analysis coupled with an artificial neural network

The co-combustion characteristics of oily sludge and ginkgo leaves(GL) in an oxy-fuel atmosphere are investigated via thermogravimetric analysis coupled with an artificial neural network. The combustion characteristics of blends improve as the GL mass ratio increases. The interaction indices used to evaluate the interaction between the two solid combustibles present a complex nonlinear relationship in different stages. The Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose methods are used to calculate the activation energy of the blends, which increases with an increase in the oxygen concentration, in different atmospheres. Compared with the radial basis function, the backpropagation neural network performs better in predicting the combustion curve of the blends.

Thermogravimetric kinetic analysis of Nannochloropsis oculata combustion in air atmosphere

The thermal behavior of Nannochloropsis oculata combustion in air atmosphere were investigated by performing experiments on STA PT1600 Thermal Analyzer at heating rates of 10℃/min, 40℃/min and 70℃/min and range of temperatures from room tempera- ture to 1200℃. The kinetic parameters were evaluated by using Kissinger and Ozawa methods. The result showed that Nannochloropsis oculata combustion occurred in five stages. Started with initial devolatilization, the main thermal decomposition and combustion process, transition stage, the combustion of char and the last stage was the slow burning reaction of residual char. In line with increasing heating rate, the mass loss rate increased as well, but it delayed the thermal decomposition processes toward higher temperatures. The average activation energy at the main thermal decomposition stage and the stage of char combustion were approximately 251 kJ/mol and 178 kJ/mol, respectively.

Thermogravimetric coupled with Fourier transform infrared analysis study on thermal treatment of monopotassium phosphate residue

In China,safe disposal of hazardous waste is more and more a necessity,urged by rapid economic development.The pyrolysis and combustion characteristics of a residue from producing monopotassium phosphate(monopotassium phosphate residue),considered as a hazardous waste,were studied using a thermogravimetric,coupled with Fourier transform infrared analyzer(TGFTIR).Both pyrolysis and combustion runs can be subdivided into three stages:drying,thermal decomposition,and final devolatilization.The average weight loss rate during fast thermal decomposition stage in pyrolysis is higher than combustion.Acetic acid,methane,pentane,(acetyl)cyclopropane,2,4,6-trichlorophenol,CO,and CO_(2) were distinguished in the pyrolysis process,while CO_(2) was the dominant combustion product.

Understanding the behavior of recycled aggregate concrete by using thermogravimetric analysis

The physio-chemical changes in concrete mixes due to different coarse aggregate(natural coarse aggregate and recycled coarse aggregate(RCA))and mix design methods(conventional method and Particle Packing Method(PPM))are studied using thermogravimetric analysis of the bydrated cement paste.A method is proposed to estimate the degree of hydration(a)from chemically bound water(WB).The PPM mix designed concrete mixes exhibit lower a.Recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)mixes exhibit higher and a after 7 d of curing,contrary to that after 28 and 90 d.The chemically bound water at infinite time(WBo)of RAC mixes are lower than the respective conventional concrete mixes.The lower WBo,Ca(OH)2 bound water,free Ca(OH)2 content and FT-IR analysis substantiate the use of pozzolanic cement in the parent concrete of RCA.The compressive strength of concrete and a cannot be correlated for concrete mixes with different aggregate type and mix design method as the present study confirms that the degree of hydration is not the only parameter which governs the macro-mechanical properties of concrete.In this regard,further study on the influence of interfacial transition zone,voids content and aggregate quality on macro-mechanical properties of concrete is needed.

Thermogravimetric analysis of bamboo-tar under different heating rates based on distributed activation energy model

Carbon fiber is a kind of new polymer material with excellent mechanical properties and being applied widely.The process of carbon fiber prepared by bamboo tar,including extraction,condensation,spinning,oxidation and carbonation,is influenced by the pyrolysis kinetics significantly.In this paper,the thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)of bamboo tar produced in the process of pyrolysis and gasification of the bamboo which is known as Phylostachys sulphurea,was analyzed by the distributed activation energy model(DAEM)to understand the kinetic properties and parameters of bamboo tar.The thermogravimetric analysis of bamboo tar which is used as the raw material of carbon fiber was conducted under 5 different heating rates(i.e.5,10,15,30 and 50℃/min,etc.)in nitrogen atmosphere.The results show that the activation energy of bamboo tar and the exponential factor increased significantly with the increase of the heating rate,and the low heating rate is advantageous to the extraction of bamboo tar solvent and the thermal polycondensation,which can provide scientific reference for the optimization of carbon fiber technology.The thermal weight results show that the temperature range of bamboo tar being decomposed rapidly is 213℃-410℃.The ranges of the activation energy were calculated by DAEM,which have small difference in comparisons with five heating rates when the conversion rate is at 0.1-0.6 and the average value of the activation energy is 119 kJ/mol.The stability range of the activation energy is enlarged when the conversion rate is greater than 0.6 and heating rate increases.

定容弹内柴油/丁醇混合燃料燃烧特性研究

In this paper,the spray and combustion characteristics of diesel/butanol-blended fuels were studied within a high-temperature and high-pressure constant volume chamber equipped with a single-hole injector.Two blends with 80%diesel/20%butanol and 60%diesel/40%butanol mixed by volume were tested in this study.The pure diesel B0 was also tested here as a reference.The spray penetration,flame lift-off length,and soot optical thickness were obtained through high-speed schlieren imaging,OH*chemiluminescence,and diffused back-illumination extinction imaging technique,respectively.The thermogravimetric curves of different fuels were obtained through a thermogravimetric analyzer.The results showed that butanol/diesel blends presented a longer ignition delay(ID)and flame lift-off length compared with pure diesel,and such finding was mainly caused by the lower cetane number and higher latent heat of vaporization of n-butanol.With the increase in the n-butanol ratio,soot production in the combustion process decreased significantly.Given the shorter ID period,the soot distribution of pure diesel reached a steady state earlier than the blends.

Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Polymeric p-Benzoyl-4,4'-Diaminobenzoylaniline

An aromatic polyamide was synthesized by low-temperature poly-condensation reaction from terephthaloyl chloride and 4,4'-diaminobenzanilide (4,4'-DABA). The synthesized polyamide had a characteristic peak of carbon atoms in the amide group at 166 ppm, which was demonstrated by the solid nuclear magnetic resonance carbon spectrum. It was shown to be the stretching vibration absorption peak of the amide N-H bond at 3342 cm−1 by Fourier infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. It was obtained that the energy band near 1100 - 1276 cm−1 belongs to the absorption peak of the para-substituted benzene ring and the band near 2977 cm−1 was the C-H stretching vibration peak of the benzene ring by Raman spectroscopy. The molecular structure of the synthesized polyamide compound was confirmed by FT-IR, Raman, and solid 13C-NMR spectroscopies. It was proved that the polymer is stable up to 300˚C and has a relatively high stability by the thermogravimetric analysis. It was also confirmed by the fluorescence spectrum that it has a strong blue fluorescence near 420 nm. The morphological characteristics of the polymer were further demonstrated by electron scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The properties of polymeric p-benzoyl-4,4'-diaminobenzoyl-aniline were found to emit strong blue fluorescence and have good thermal stability, making it a promising functional material for fluorescence in the blue region with potential for large-scale applications.