A Composite Cooling Powder and Its Thixotropic Hydrogel

Due to large volume and high hardness of thermal insulation materials mostly used in high temperature fields, a composite cooling powder and its thixotropic hydrogel for thermal protection are presented. The core of composite cooling material powder is super absorbent polymer, composing with metal salt, polysaccharide hydrosol and inorganic particles and other modifiers through a series of composite process, which can be easily stored for a long time. When needed, the powder can be mixed with water to obtain a kind of thixotropic hydrogel in a very short time. Experimental results show this thermal protection technology with thixotropic ability has excellent thermal protection performance, meanwhile flexible, adhesive and low cost, which exerts instantaneous cooling, efficient thermal protection and long-lasting flame-retardant protection.

Research Progress on the Separation of Alkaloids from Chinese Medicines by Column Chromatography

Alkaloids have a variety of bioactivities and great development value in the fields of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and health food. Column chromatography is a common method for preparing alkaloids. In this paper, the research status of the separation and purification of alkaloids from Chinese medicines by column chromatography is reviewed, and the factors that influence the refining of alkaloids via a macroporous adsorption resin, ion exchange resin and silica gel are summarized. The thermodynamic and kinetic modeling methods for the static adsorption of adsorbents are also reviewed in this paper. It is suggested that the modeling method of the column chromatography process be deeply studied to establish a more stringent quality control method for sampling liquid and to strengthen the online detection of the chromatography process to improve the refining effect of alkaloids.

Sinomenine Purification by Continuous Liquid-Liquid Extraction Process with Centrifugal Extractors

Continuous manufacturing is considered as one of the future trends of pharmaceutical engineering. In this work, continuous liquid-liquid extraction for sinomenine purification was realized with the usage of centrifugal extractors. Chloroform was used as the extractant because of the high distribution coefficient (>100). Higher extraction ratio can be obtained when using the centrifugal extractor of Model CWL50-N. The extraction ratio of the second-stage extraction was higher than that of the first-stage extraction. The extraction ratio of the second-stage countercurrent extraction was higher than that of second-stage cross-flow extraction. When chloroform phase was recycled for liquid-liquid extraction, the extraction ratio was also higher than 95%. This work can also be an example of continuous liquid-liquid extraction for the separation of other Chinese medicine components.

The Effects of Oxidation States, Spin States and Solvents on Molecular Structure, Stability and Spectroscopic Properties of Fe-Catechol Complexes: A Theoretical Study

In this study, in order to explain the solvent and spin state effects on the molecular structure of catechol-Fe complex [Fe(cat)3]n﹣?where n = 2 and 3, Hartree Fock (HF)-Density Functional Theory (DFT) hybrid calculations are performed at the B3LYP/6-311g(d,p) level of theory. The binding energies of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in high-spin state are higher than intermediate and low-spin states which show that the complex formation in a high spin state is more favorable. The calculated binding energies at different solvents indicate that the binding energies in polar solvents are lower than non-polar solvents. Furthermore, spectroscopic studies including FTIR and Raman spectrum in various solvents reveal that the formation of intermolecular bonds between the oxygen atom of carbonyl group and the hydrogen atom of solvent causes a spectral red shift. The calculated FTIR and geometry parameters are in good agreement with previous experimental data. Donor-acceptor interaction energies are evaluated due to the importance of the charge transfer in the complex formation. It is observed that the free electrons of oxygen atom interact with the antibonding orbitals of the iron. Finally, some correlations between the quantum chemical reactivity indices of the complexes and solvent polarity are considered. The study indicates a linear correlation between chemical hardness and binding energies of [Fe(cat)3]3﹣?complex.

Spectroscopic Elucidation of the Links between Char Morphology and Chemical Structure of Coals of Different Ranks

In this investigation, SAXS and XRD were used to investigate both the physical and chemical changes in six coals of different ranks subjected to heat treatment. The specific surface area which gives an indication of the reactivity of the coal (measures surface area available for reaction) was determined to be in the range of 70.04 - 260.40 m2/cm3 particle volume for lignite from 450°C - 700°C. The specific surface area was determined to be in the range of 51.58 - 239.00 m2/cm3 particle volume for sub-bituminous;440.60 - 241.70 m2/cm3 particle volume for light volatile bituminous;452.71 - 247.73 m2/cm3 particle volume for high volatile bituminous;349.11 - 347.52 m2/cm3 particle volume for semi-anthracite and 333.60 - 125.34 m2/cm3 particle volume for anthracite respectively. On the other hand, the aromaticity was determined in the range of 0.66 - 0.76 for lignite;0.67 to 0.80 for sub-bituminous;0.91 - 0.97 for light volatile bituminous;0.93 - 0.99 for high volatile bituminous;0.96 - 1.00 for semi-anthracite and 0.96 to 0.99 for anthracite respectively. The porosity, pore size distribution associated with SAXS and the other crystallite parameters identified with XRD were also determined. Links between the physical and chemical parameters were established.

Use of Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA) to Enhance Properties of Paper Based on Recycled Pulp

Nowadays, recycled paper is broadly used due to environmental reasons. Furthermore, the addition of starch as a dry strength additive improves the properties of recycled paper. Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA), a product from bio-refinery process, has recently been shown to act as a promising strength additive that could be used in combination with starch to further improve the strength of paper. In this study, the use of PLA of three molecular weights (MW) in combination with four different starches was investigated. Three recycled pulps from different origins, with the kappa number of 27.9 to 66 were used. Paper handsheets were made, and selected paper properties were tested. The results indicate that handsheets properties were influenced by the MW of PLAs, the type of starch used, and the lignin content of the pulp. The paper handsheets made from lignin-rich pulp (pulp A, kappa number 66), combined with 0.1% medium MW PLA (PLA_1) and 0.9% cationic starch containing 0.43% N gave the highest improvement for tensile strength, wet tensile strength, air and water resistance. This result verifies that a higher kappa number pulp has better attraction to the hydrophobic PLA. Moreover, the higher charge cationic starch led to higher tensile strength due to the increase of affinity to the anionic fiber surface. Interestingly, results show that amphoteric starch is a promising substitute for high cationic charge starch when combined with the medium MW PLA to improve tensile strength of paper. This study demonstrated that a starch-PLA blend represents a promising approach in improving properties of recycled paper.

Odour Removal in Leather Tannery

Toxic odour causes pollution to environment. Removal of odour from wet processing sections of leather tanneries is important to preserve safety and occupational health. Such odour causing gases are identified in nature and are identified mostly as ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide and Volatile organic compounds. These gases, evolving from tanning drums, were experimentally quantified and analysed. Techniques for the abatement of odorous gases are designed using chemical methods. Scrubbing towers based on absorption of gases by liquid are designed and fabricated to evaluate the performance of the system in laboratory scale. Those gases were reduced in the concentration by absorbing through the packed bed vapour phase absorption using the activated carbon as the adsorbent. Results are helpful to conclude that the absorption technique presented here to reduce these toxic emission loads, seems to be simpler and economically cheaper.

Production and Evaluation of the Nutritional and Functional Qualities of “Adakwa” Enriched with Waste Biomass of Traditional Brewer’s Spent Grain as a Functional Staple Food

Brewers’ spent grains constitute a nutrient-rich valuable and highly under-utilized by-product of the beer industry produced in large amounts all through the year. This bio-resource is a very good candidate for valorization, due to environmental and economic concerns, using biotechnological processing, particularly for food enrichment. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of fortification of Adakwa with traditional brewers’ spent grains (TBSG) on its physicochemical and nutritional properties as well as its acceptability using an experimental design. Four (4) samples of Adakwa were produced with TBSG incorporated rates of 0% (control sample), 10%, 20%, and 30% and evaluated. Using an experimental design, the effect of process parameters, including the TBSG incorporation rate, cooking time, and cooking temperatures on the physicochemical and nutritional properties of the Adakwa were evaluated while the 9-point hedonic scale was used to evaluate the sensory properties and its overall acceptability: carbohydrate, protein, crude fibre, cellulose, polyphenol, antioxidant activity (FRAP and DPPH). The water absorption activity values were 81.2 ± 0.04, 4.55 ± 0.05, 9.73 ± 0.23, 3.31 ± 0.05, 6.73 ± 0.23, 1.60 ± 0.09, 28.85 ± 0.8 and 117 ± 3.54 respectively for 0% TBSG (control);86.8 ± 0.01, 1.81± 0.20, 16.22 ± 0.16, 5.54 ± 0.69, 6.01 ± 0.16, 6.59 ± 0.03, 25.89 ± 0.94 and 475.0 ± 21.21 respectively for 30% TBSG. The sample with a high nutrient content was further produced using a central composite design and the factors studied were temperature and time, with responses, crude fiber, and FRAP content. The optimum production condition was: % TBSG: 47.06%;temperature: 123.17℃;Time: 30.34 mins. The sample with 47% TBSG had the best overall acceptability after sensory evaluation with sensory scores of: 5.45 ± 0.76, 7.9 ± 0.79, 8.0 ± 1.0, 7.10 ± 0.16, 8.5 ± 1.6, 7.6 ± 0.98 for color, taste, aroma, mouthfeel, texture and overall acceptability respectively. Thus TBSG can be used to improve the physicochemical and nutritional properties of adakwa.

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor as Highly Efficient and Reliable Technology for Wastewater Treatment—A Review

In this review paper, Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) is considering as highly efficient and reliable technology for organic material removal from wastewater with no additional energy requirement for aeration. AnMBR is a combination of conventional anaerobic technology and modern membrane system. AnMBR is cost effective alternative technology with pros of anaerobic microbial activity because Methogenic microorganism can convert organic pollutant load of wastewater into renewable energy in the form of methane rich biogas, this conversion is mainly done by transformation of organic matter into energy by high chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS) and pathogens removal. Methane rich biogas can be used as a storable source of supplemental energy for the production of heat or power thus AnMBR technology provides improved effluent quality, reliability, and efficiency over the other traditional technologies. This review paper is included the overview of AnMBR, the advantages over other wastewater treatment technology, operational constraints and the concerned factors that has affected the performances of implemented systems, applications of AnMBR for various types of wastewaters, research and development summary and future perspective for further research.

Computer Aided Design and Performance Analysis of Inverse Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactors with Special Reference to Bioplastic Synthesis

Poly Laevo Lactic Acid (PLLA), in spite of being an excellent bioplastic, has exorbitantly high market price due to the high cost of raw material (lactose, glucose, sucrose). Hence, its manufacture is being attempted starting from waste effluents such as cheese whey and molasses. Earlier studies on the same in fluidized bed and semifluidized bed biofilm reactors yielded encouraging results. The present study therefore involves design and analysis of inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactors for lactic acid synthesis. The performance features of the bioreactor have been studied both mathematically as well as experimentally. The inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor has been found to provide more than 75% conversion of sucrose/lactose even at high capacities (high feed flow rates) exceeding 56,000 L/hr, within a reasonably low reactor volume. The fractional substrate conversion increases, though sluggishly, with increase in feed flow rate due to bed expansion and also with increase in cell mass concentration in biofilm due to enhancement in intrinsic rate of bioconversion. The inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor of proposed design could be safely recommended for the commercial synthesis of polymer grade lactic acid from waste effluents such as cheese whey and molasses. The low operating cost of the bioreactor (due to downflow mode of operation) enhances the economy of the process. This would also help in significantly lowering the market price of the green plastic (PLLA) and shall promote its large scale manufacture and utilisation.

Methodology for Evaluating and Monitoring of Waterworks Performance Efficiency—Part 2: Test of Filterability

The effectiveness of deep-bed filtration with respect to suspension formed during the preceding processes is evaluated by the test of filterability. The properties and concentration of the suspension being filtered are affected by the efficiency of the preceding aggregation and separation processes. The basic principles of the test of filterability are based on the mechanistic model of filtration. The equations in the mathematical model of the mechanistic conception of filtration are derived from the theory of filtration. The arrangement of the pilot filtration plant for the determination of filterability of flocculent suspension is presented in this paper. The test of filterability is carried out with a thin-layer filter element. The design of a filter element arrangement and its installation are also disclosed in this paper. The inter-dependence of the coefficient of filtration efficiency on the specific volume of intercepted suspensions, filter media grain sizes and different filtration velocities are graphically presented. In addition, the effect of the filter bed clogging resulting from the properties of different suspensions on the head loss generated, the length of filtration cycle and quality of filtrate produced are also shown in this paper.

Thermo-Hydrodynamics of Core-Annular Flow of Water, Heavy Oil and Air Using CFX

The transport of heavy and ultra-viscous oil employing the core-flow technique has been increasing recently, because it provides a greater reduction of the pressure drop during the flow. In this context, the effect of temperature and the presence of gas on the thermo-hydrodynamics of a three-phase water-heavy oil-air flow in a horizontal pipe under the influence of gravity and drag forces, using the commercial software ANSYS CFX?, have been evaluated. The standard κ ? ε turbulence model, the mixture model for heavy oil-water system and the particle model for heavy oil-gas and water-gas systems, were adopted. Results of velocity, volume fraction, pressure and temperature fields of the phases present along the pipe are presented and discussed. It has been found that the presence of the air phase and the variation in the temperature affect the behavior of annular flow and pressure drop.

Preliminary Characterization of Xylose Reductase Partially Purified by Reversed Micelles from <i>Candida tropicalis</i>IEC5-ITV, an Indigenous Xylitol-Producing Strain

Xylose reductase (EC 1.1.1.21) of Candida tropicalis IEC5-ITV, an indigenous xylitol-producing strain, was partially purified by reversed micelles and characterized, an 8.1 fold purification factor being obtained. The XR present in the crude extract exhibited its highest specific activity at pH 6.0 and 40℃, while in that obtained by reverse micelles, this occurs at pH 6.0 and 30℃. XR before and after extraction is stable within a range of 30 to 40℃, pH 7 after one hour of incubation under these conditions. After two months’storage at –18℃, the enzyme obtained by reverse micelles lost 76.60% specific activity. The estimated molecular weight by PAGE-SDS was 32.42 kD. KM for xylose was higher for the XR extracted by reverse micelles (0.026 M) than that obtained for the enzyme before extraction (0.0059 M), while KM for cofactor NADPH was lower after than before extraction (1.85 mM to 12.0 mM respectively). There was no activity with NADH as a cofactor. Variations in pH and temperature optima, as well as kinetic parameters before and after partial XR purification by reverse micelles are probably due to an alteration in enzyme molecule structure caused by the solvents used during extraction.

Industrial Progress:New Energy-Efficient Absorbents for the CO_(2) Separation from Natural Gas,Syngas and Flue Gas

The CO2 separation from natural gas, syngas or flue gas represents an important industrial field of applications. An economic and energy-efficient CO2 separation from these gas streams is a prerequisite for sustainable industry contributions to the megatrends resource efficiency and globalization of technologies. One way of reducing operational expenditure for these separation processes is the development of better performing CO2 absorbents. Although a number of absorbents for the separation of CO2 from process gas streams exist, the need for the development of CO2 absorbents with an improved absorption performance, less corrosion and foaming, no nitrosamine formation, lower energy requirement and therefore less operational expenditure remains. Recent industrial activities have led to the development of novel high-performance CO2 scrubbing agents that can be employed in numerous industrial processes such as natural gas treatment, purification of syngas and the scrubbing of flue gas. The objective of this paper is to introduce these new high-performance scrubbing agents and to compare their performance with other state-of-the-art absorbents. It turned out, that the evaluated absorbents offer high cyclic capacities in the range of 2.4 to 2.6 mol CO2/kg absorbent and low absorption enthalpies (–30 kJ/mol) allowing for distinctive savings in the regeneration energy of the absorbent. Calculations with the modified Kremser model resulted in a reduction of the specific reboiler heat duty of 55%. Furthermore, the absorbents are less corrosive than standard amines as indicated by the measured corrosion rates of 0.21 mm/y versus 1.18 mm/y for a piperazine/methyldiethanolamine mixture. Based on new experimental results it is shown how substantial savings in operational and capital expenditure can be realized due to favorable absorbent properties. The novel high-performance CO2 system solutions meet recent industrial absorbent requirements and allow for more efficient or new CO2 separation processes.

Effect of the Number of Donor Atoms in Calix[4]arene Derivatives for Selective Complexation and Extraction of Mercury(II) Cations, Thermodynamics and Extraction Studies

Water pollution due to gold mining activity is increasingly worrying. One way to selectively mitigate it is through the use of complexing agents such as calixarenes, which selectively functionalized with soft donor atoms such as sulphur, can selectively remove this pollutant, for the selective complexation of mercury from contaminated water, which was compared by conductimetry and liquid-liquid extraction studies with results that show that the derivative with the highest sulphur atoms is its structure which presents greater selectivity compared to the derivative with the lowest number of sulphur atoms, in both cases, they present very stable complexes.

Modeling and Simulation of an Isothermal Suspension Polymerization Reactor for PMMA Production Using Python

This paper presents the modeling and simulation of a suspension polymerization for methyl methacrylate in an isothermal reactor to produce poly methyl methacrylate using Python 3.5. The numeral solution to the stiff ordinary differential equations was performed by building a custom module which was used with the inbuilt NumPy and matplotlib modules that come with the Anaconda python distro. Python was used in order to obtain a realistic solution that considers the gel, glass and cage effects that affect the non-linear polymerization kinetics established in literature. The results showed that a maximum monomer conversion of about 92.8% at a minimum batch time of about 2.2 hours could be achieved at the specified conditions to obtain a polydisperse polymer with an index of 27. It is further concluded that Python can be employed to perform similar studies with equal success as any other programming language.

An Introductive Study about CO₂Hydrogenation into Hydrocarbons Using Iron Catalysts

CO2 hydrogenation reaction was performed on precipitated iron catalysts which were promoted by Si, Zn, K and Cu. The optimum SiO2 content in the catalysts is about 15 wt% relative to Fe2O3 mass. With reaction temperature raised, CO2 conversion is increased continually, but CO and CH4 selectivity only fluctuate in a narrow range which is beneficial to the synthesis of C2+ hydrocarbons. Two kinds of catalyst filling constitution were experimentally compared in order to increase the yield of C5+ hydrocarbons.

An Accurate and Computationally Efficient Explicit Friction Factor Model

The implicit Colebrook equation has been the standard for estimating pipe friction factor in a fully developed turbulent regime. Several alternative explicit models to the Colebrook equation have been proposed. To date, most of the accurate explicit models have been those with three logarithmic functions, but they require more computational time than the Colebrook equation. In this study, a new explicit non-linear regression model which has only two logarithmic functions is developed. The new model, when compared with the existing extremely accurate models, gives rise to the least average and maximum relative errors of 0.0025% and 0.0664%, respectively. Moreover, it requires far less computational time than the Colebrook equation. It is therefore concluded that the new explicit model provides a good trade-off between accuracy and relative computational efficiency for pipe friction factor estimation in the fully developed turbulent flow regime.

Fish Swim Bladder-Derived Porous Carbon for Defluoridation at Potable Water pH

The levels of fluoride in various ground water sources in East Africa are above the World Health Organization upper limit of 1.5 mg/L. Research on diverse defluoridation technologies has proven that adsorption stands out as an affordable, efficient, and facile technology. Fish swim bladder-derived porous carbon (FBPC) activated by KOH and surface oxidized by nitric acid was successfully investigated as an adsorbent for defluoridation at portable water pH. The FBPC was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Batch methods were used to study physiochemical parameters viz., initial fluoride concentration, temperature, adsorbate dosage, contact time and pH. Freundlich, Temkin, Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms were plotted and analyzed to understand the adsorption process. Bangham, Weber Morris, pseudo first and second-order models were used to elucidate the kinetics of adsorption. Optimal conditions for fluoride removal were found to be: pH of 6, FBPC adsorbent dose of 5.0 g/L and contact time of 50 min. Flouride adsorption followed pseudo second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm best describes the adsorption process.

Chemical Analysis on Mongolia’s Natural Bitumen

To extract pure bitumen, the bitumen from Bayan-Erkhet, Zuunbayan and Ukhaa was prepared into small particles of 0.2 - 0.5 cm and then it was infused with chloroform in the Soxhlet apparatus [1] [2]. The physical-mechanical properties were identified after the solvent was extracted from the chloroform infused bitumen through the vacuum evaporation method. The characteristics of the debris without bitumen or the remains after the infusion were examined in details. The hydrocarbon content of the bitumen was identified with the device: Agilent 7890-5975c Gas chromatography mass spectrometer.