Efficient in-situ end-functionalization of polydienes by isothiocyanate via neodymium mediated coordinative chain transfer polymerization system

End-functionalization of polydiene rubbers can not only improve its compatibility with inorganic fillers,but also enhance the overall mechanical properties.Nevertheless,for traditional neodymium(Nd)diene polymerization systems,it is highly challenging to achieve such end-functionalizations,because most of polydienyl chains are capped withη3-allyl-Nd moiety during the end of polymerization,which shows very poor reactivity with nucleophile compounds.We launched a new diene polymerization strategy calling coordinative chain transfer polymerization(CCTP)[1].In such a system,all the polydienyl chains are capped withη1-allyl-Al moieties,which reveal greater reactivity with cyclic esters and epoxide compounds,providing an effective manner to prepare polydiene-polyester amphiphilic block copolymers.Inspired by such findings,we now show herein how such types of chain-ends react with isot-hiocyanate to demonstrate an efficient in-situ manner to access end-functionalized polydienes by using CCTP.

Characteristics of Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen in Rubber Plantations Soil at Different Age Stages in the Western Region of Hainan Island

[Objective]The aim was to study on the characteristics of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in rubber （Hevea brasiliensis Muell-Arg） plantations at different age stages in the western region of Hainan Island,so as to evaluate the ecological benefits of rubber plantations and provide basic data for studying the effect of tropical land utilization/cover change on the global carbon and nitrogen cycle. [Method]The situs was in Danzhou city,western region of Hainan Island,and the samples were four kinds of rubber plantations soil at different ages and one kind of control check （pepper,Piper nigrum L.） soil. In this research,four quadrats were set up in each sample,and the size of each was 20 cm×20 cm. Four specimens were gathered from four layers of 0-15,15-30,30-45,45-60,and the average of them was the last analysis result of each sample. Soil density was measured by cutting ring method,soil containing and hygroscopic water was detected by oven drying method,soil organic carbon （SOC） was measured by low temperature heated outside potassium dichromate oxidation-colorimetry method,and soil total nitrogen （STN） was detected by semimicro Kjeldahl method. [Result]SOC contents of different layers in rubber plantations soil at different age stages （including the CK pepper soil,the same as below） varied little,and the content of SOC in surface layer （0-15 cm） was higher,while the underlayer （45-60 cm） was lower than the average value; there was significant difference in SOC content among different kinds of soil,and the content was of 6.03-7.78 g/kg,tapping young trees （7 years） CK pepper mature age trees （30 years） prophase of young trees （2 years） tapping trees （16 years）; there was no significant difference in SOC storage among different kinds of soil,and the storage was of 61.33-74.29 t/hm2,mature age trees （30 years） tapping young trees （7 years） prophase of young trees （2 years） CK pepper tapping trees （16 years）; there was significant difference in STN content among rubber plantations soil at different age stages,the content was of 410.86-664.14 mg/kg2,CK pepper tapping young trees （7 years） prophase of young trees （2 years） mature age trees （30 years） tapping trees （16 years）,and STN content of tapping trees （16 years） soil was extremely lowest; there was significant difference in C/N ratio among different kinds of soil,the ratio was of 10.94-14.47,and the ratio of tapping trees （16 years） mature age trees （30 years） tapping young trees （7 years） CK pepper prophase of young trees （2 years）. [Conclusion]There wasn＇t unhealthy effect of rubber trees planted in tropical area on the content and storage of SOC,the content of STN and the ratio of C/N. there was no significant difference between rubber plantations and CK pepper soil,and the effects of rubber plantation on soil carbon-nitrogen was similar to that of other tropical crops （such as pepper）.

换填概要

由地基换填的地层强度弱硬不一的特点决定了换填实施过程中将会碰到软下卧层与上高压实度的反差问题,橡皮土问题等等,通过研究及实验,不断总结理论经验,使换填技术方面的理论及实际使用遂成体系、有理有据。

Soil Organic Carbon Pool and Its Influencing Factors in Rubber Planted Forest Ecosystem at Different Ages in West Hainan Province

In this research,the contents of organic carbon in soil profiles in rubber forests in west of Hainan were measured and storage quantity of oganic carbon was estimated.The results indicated that contents of organic carbon in soils of ecosystem of rubber forests at different ages were 6.20-14.36 g/kg;organic carbon in soils of rubber forests reduced upon soil depth;the contents differed signigicantly in soils at 0-60 cm in rubber forest at 33 a,but differed little in soils in rubber forests at other ages;the contents were of significant differences in soils in rubber forests at different ages;organic carbon concentrated in soils at 0-30 cm;the storage quantities of organic carbon in rubber forests at 5,10,19 and 33 a were 76.85,74.48,81.74 and 85.31 t/hm^2.Climate,soil property,accumualtion and decomposition of fallen materials,forest age and management are dominant factors influencing accumulation of organic carbon in soils of rubber forest.

Microbial Biomass Carbon and Total Organic Carbon of Soils as Affected by Rubber Cultivation

Soil samples were collected from different rubber fields in twenty-five plotsselected randomly in the Experimental Farm of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Scienceslocated in Hainan, China, to analyse the ecological effect of rubber cultivation. The results showedthat in the tropical rubber farm, soil microbial biomass C (MBC) and total organic C (TOC) wererelatively low in the content but highly correlated with each other. After rubber tapping, soil MBCof mature rubber fields decreased significantly, by 55.5 percent. compared with immature rubberfields. Soil TOC also decreased but the difference was not significant. Ratios of MBC to TOCdecreased significantly. The decreasing trend of MBC stopped at about ten years of rubbercultivation. After this period, soil MBC increased relatively while soil TOC still kept indecreasing. Soil MBC changes could be measured to predict the tendency of soil organic matterchanges due to management practices in a tropical rubber farm several years before the changes insoil TOC become detectable.

Sustainable Land Management Practices for Rubber Plantations in Mountainous Area of Hainan

This research was designed to help solve existing sustainable use problems such as soil nutrient loss and soil fertility decline in natural rubber plantations located in the hilly land of the south central mountainous area of Hainan Island, China. Two different land management practices, sustainable and traditional, were adopted in a four-year experiment. Contour terraced fields and deep ditches for green manure were built in a sustainable way with a balanced, need-based application of complex fertilizer. R…

Properties of Nanokaolin and Its Rubber Composites

A kind of nanokaolin powder with a thickness of 20-50nm and an average diameter of 300nm is produced through combined procedure of purification, delamination, surface modification and pulverization. The application experiments in butadiene rubber (BR), ethylene-propylene diene methylene (EPDM), and natural rubber (NR) indicates that this nano-kaolin powder material is much better than precipitated silica in reinforcement, while in styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) it is close to precipitated silica. Nanokaolin is of superiority in elasticity, elongation at break, anti-flexure property.

Improving the Combined State of Rubber-Clay CompositeInterface by Applying Coupling Agent

The surface modification of clay fines was carried out by using silanecoupling agent. By means of IR spectra etc, a study was made on the combined state ofcoupling agent and clay. A rubber--clay composite material with excellent performancehas been prepared.

Experimental Survey on Dry Asphalt Rubber Concrete for Sub-ballast Layers

This paper presents the results of an experimental survey on the potential application of DARC （dry asphalt rubber concrete） in rail superstructure, within sub-ballast layers by measuring its damping and mechanical properties. Based on the environmental friendly point of view the DARC has the significant advantage as the backfill material of sub-ballast layer because the rubber comes from the waste tires of truck and its usage can results a significant recycling of non-biodegradable wastes. After a preliminary mix-design of several DARCs, with different rubber content that confirmed by using the Marshall test, the stiffness modulus and damping ratio both of a standard bituminous mixture and of dry asphalt rubber concrete with a rubber content equal to 1.5% were determined using the four points bending device. The experimental results were compared and a numerical analysis by means of a 2D lumped mass model was developed in order to evaluate the different performance within the rail superstructure in terms both of the deflection and of the pressure on sub-grade. Both the results on the mechanical and dissipative properties of the DARC and the mechanical behavior of the correlate rail superstructure encourage the authors to continue the research on the application of such material for sub-ballast layers.

Waste Tire Rubber Particles using to Improve the Properties of Local Asphalt Concrete

The research considered urgent ecological reasons linked to environment such as worn tires, the waste tire rubber＇s powder was collected from the tire cars repair shops （passed from the sieve No 18 μm）, and used to improve the asphalt concrete properties. Raw materials used were prepared and tested. Varies of asphalt concrete mixtures were prepared with different ratios of bitumen （5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7% % of concrete weight）. The Marshall mix design method was used to determine optimum conditions for bitumen in asphalt concrete with specific weight, stability and flow Test, the optimum amount of bitumen was 6.1% of whole asphalt concrete. The different percentages of waste tire rubber powder （0.0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15% of bitumen weight） were added in optimum bitumen of asphalt concretes, then specific weight and Marshall test were evaluated. These asphalt-rubber mixtures were found to act quite differently from traditional, unmodified asphalt mixtures. However, these results indicate that improved pavement performance can be achieved with asphalt-rubber binder.

Effects of the conversion of natural tropical rainforest to monoculture rubber plantations on soil hydrological processes

Rubber plantations have increased signifcantly under unprecedented economic growth in tropical areas,which leads to soil degradation and thereby alters soil hydrological processes.However,our understanding of how forest conversion affects soil hydrological processes remains unclear.Here,we collected soil samples from secondary forests(SF)and rubber plantations(RP)to determine the soil hydrological characteristics.We found the topsoil(0-20 cm)water retention in SF was higher than that of RP but displayed the contrast pattern in a deeper soil layer(20-60 cm).Meanwhile,the soil infltration rates among the two vegetation types decreased signifcantly with infltration time,with higher stable soil infltration rates in SF than those in RP.Moreover,soil properties were also impacted by the forest conversion,such as the topsoil capillary porosity(CP)and total porosity(TP)in SF were higher than those of RP but contrasted in a deep soil layer.In comparison,the topsoil bulk density(BD)in SF was lower than that of RP,but contrasted in the deep soil layer and reached a signifcant level in the 0-10 and 40-50 cm(P<0.05).Overall,the soil water retention was mainly determined by the CP,which could explain 31.56%of the total variance in soil water retention,followed by TP(26.57%)and soil BD(26.47%),whereas soil texture exerts a weak effect on soil water retention.Therefore,we can conclude that the conversion of tropical rainforest into rubber plantations may accelerate soil erosion owing to its lower topsoil water retention and soil infltration rates.

Influence of stress anisotropy on the cylindrical cavity expansion in undrained elastic-perfectly plastic soil

This work presents an analysis of the influence of stress anisotropy on cylindrical cavity expansions in an undrained elastic-perfectly plastic soil. This problem was formulated by assuming a large strain in both the elastic and plastic zones around the cavity and a plain strain condition during the cavity expansion process. The solutions for the limit pressure, stress, and excess pore pressure were obtained by introducing the anisotropic initial stress coefficient K_0 into the conventional cylindrical cavity expansion method.The proposed solutions were then used to interpret the piezocone penetration test, and the suitability of the solutions was verified by comparing the prediction with the piezocone penetration test data. Subsequently, parametric studies were carried out to investigate the influence of stress anisotropy on the stress, excess pores pressure distributions around an expanding cylindrical cavity, and limit pressure. The results show that the proposed cylindrical cavity expansion method under stress anisotropy is suitable and can be used to investigate the piezocone cone test. The present work improves upon the conventional theoretical framework of cavity expansion and can be applied to the determination of the stresses around axially loaded piles and around in-situ testing devices such as penetrometers.

Sampling Size Requirements to Delineate Spatial Variability of Soil Properties for Site-Specific Nutrient Management in Rubber Tree Plantations

Site-specific nutrient management is an important strategy to promote sustainable production of rubber trees in order to obtain high yields of natural rubber. Making effective nutrient management decisions for rubber trees depend on knowing the spatial variations of soil fertility properties in advance. In this study the Kriging geostatistical method was used to examine the spatial variability of soil total nitrogen(TN), organic matter(OM), available phosphorus(AP) and available potassium(AK) in a typical hilly rubber tree plantation in Hainan, China. The spatial variability of the soils was small for the TN and OM and had medium variability for the AP and AK variables. Anisotropic semivariograms of all soil properties revealed that elevation and building contour ledge can profoundly affect the spatial variability of soil properties in the plantation, except for the AK variable. Soil samples had to be collected in alignment with the direction of elevation and perpendicular to the direction of building contour ledges, which was needed to obtain more reliable information within the study area in the rubber tree plantation. In formulating a sample scheme for AK, the distribution features of the soil’s parent material should be considered as the influence factor in the study field. The Kriging method used to guide the soil sampling for spatial variability dertermination of soil properties was about 2-5 times more efficient than the classic statistical method.