Polyurethane–poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymer dispersions through polyurethane macroiniferters

Polyurethane macroiniferter/poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymer dispersions with inverse core‐shell morphologies were obtained from 1,1,2,2,‐tetraphenylethane‐1,2‐diol, dimethylol propionic acid, 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate, and poly(propylene glycol) via a living radical mechanism. Molecular weight, particle size and dispersion viscosity, and thermal, mechanical, and dynamic mechanical properties of the dispersion cast films are reported as a function of copolymerization time. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1971–1975, 2003     

Effect of clinoptilolite addition and solids retention time on the extracellular polymeric substances composition and soluble chemical oxygen demands in activated sludge

This study was carried out to compare EPS (Extracellular Polymeric Substances) composition between conventional activated sludge (AS) and activated sludge dosed with clinoptilolite (CAS). Additionally, those were compared with organic removal efficiency in the effluent in conjunction with EPS concentrations. The experiments were conducted at SRT (Solids Retention Time) ranging from 5 to 100 d. For the CAS, proteins were more readily observed for SRT 20 and 100 d compared to that of the AS. Polysaccharide concentration in the sludge was greatly increased for the CAS, but it was significantly diminished when the SRT was extended. The level of EPS concentration observed from the effluent had the same pattern of variation for the two different types of systems. Regardless of type of reactor, the ratio of proteins for sludge versus effluent was independent of SRT, but the ratio of polysaccharides diminished as SRT increased. In the long run, the degree of protein synthesis directly ascribed to concurrent enhancement of SCOD removal efficiency was slightly more in the CAS. It was decided that clinoptilolite added system could be more reliably retrofitted to a conventional activated sludge process.     

Microwave Dielectric Properties of (1−x)(Na1/2Nd1/2)TiO3−xLa(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3 via Ordering and Far IR Reflectivity Spectra

Microwave dielectric properties of (1− x )(Na_1/2Nd_1/2)TiO₃(NNT)− x La(Mg_1/2Ti_1/2)O₃(LMT) system have been investigated with focus on structural ordering and far IR reflectivity spectra. A single perovskite phase was found to exist with various superlattice reflections over the entire compositional range. 1:1 ordering observed in the (111) reflection of X-ray diffraction patterns was found to progress significantly in the specimens above x =0.8. The ordering characteristics that presumably related to B-site Mg/Ti ordering were assumed to affect favorably the quality factor at microwave frequencies. The increase of the quality factor also could be explained in terms of the decrease of lattice anharmonicity with LMT by analysis of far IR reflectivity spectra. As expected from the values of pure NNT and LMT, the dielectric constant and the temperature coefficient of frequency tended to gradually decrease with increasing LMT content.     

Preparation of stable polyurethane-polystyrene copolymer emulsions via RAFT polymerization process

Stable polyurethane-polystyrene (PU-PS) copolymer emulsions were prepared by the polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA)-capped PU macromonomer and styrene, using azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN), a radical initiator, and 4-((benzodithioyl)methyl)benzoic acid, a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agent. As the molar ratio of the RAFT agent to AIBN increased, the zeta potential of the resulting copolymer emulsion increased, but the average size and size distribution of the emulsion droplets decreased. A living polymerization of HEA end-capped PU macromonomer and styrene was characterized by a linear increase in the molecular weight and decrease in the molecular weight distribution with consumption of monomers. The tensile strength, hardness and water-resistance of the copolymer films, prepared from the PU-PS copolymer emulsions, were much greater than those of the films prepared from the pure PU emulsion. The copolymer emulsions, prepared via the RAFT polymerization process, are expected to exhibit better storage stability than those prepared via the conventional free radical polymerization process, due to the presence of carboxyl groups derived from the RAFT agent at the PS block termini.     

Development of modified stokes expression to model the behavior of expanded beds containing polydisperse resins for protein adsorption

Expanded bed behavior was modeled by using the Richardson-Zaki correlation between the superficial velocity of the feed stream and the void fraction of the bed. A polydisperse material, Chelating excellose® (70-210 Μm in diameter, 1.21 g/cm³ in density), which has Ni²⁺ ions for the selective binding of histidine-tagged proteins, was used as the resin. A method to modify the Stokes expression to express the terminal settling velocity of the resins by introducing two empirical parameters, the effective diameter of the resins and an exponent for(ρ _p -ρ)/Μ term, was developed. Combined use of the Richardson-Zaki correlation and the modified Stokes expression was successful in modeling the bed expansion by incorporating physical properties of feed streams and the resins.     

Catalytic characteristics of various rubber-reinforcing carbon blacks in decomposition of methane for hydrogen production

Carbon black has recently been reported to act as an effective catalyst for methane decomposition and to exhibit stable catalytic behavior despite carbon deposition, and thus it can be used for CO₂-free production of hydrogen from natural gas. In this work, various carbon blacks with different primary particle size were investigated with respect to methane decomposition under atmospheric pressure from 1123 to 1223 K. Catalytic characteristics, such as activity, activation energy and reaction order, were investigated and compared. It was observed that with decreasing primary particle size (or increasing specific surface area), the specific activity increased and the activation energy decreased. The reaction orders for various pelletized, rubber-reinforcing carbon blacks were 0.6–0.7, about the same regardless of the primary particle size, while they were near 1 for fluffy carbon blacks. Fluffy carbon black showed higher activity and activation energy than the pelletized carbon black of the same primary particle size. Changes of the surface morphology during carbon deposition were observed by TEM. Variations of the number of active sites were discussed in regard of the primary particle size, carbon deposition and binder. The presence of different types of active sites was also suggested.     

Price-based congestion control and local channel-link assignment for multi-radio wireless mesh networks

In multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks, engineering the network capacity requires a complex cross-layer design. In this paper, in order to make the complex problem implementable in a distributed manner, we make a decoupling approach that breaks down the entire design space into routing and initial channel assignment, and distributed congestion control and local channel reassignment. We propose a unified priced-based framework for distributed congestion control and localized channel-link assignment algorithms. We demonstrate the convergence of the proposed algorithms with respect to different fairness objectives (i.e., proportional fairness and max–min fairness) via simulation on both grid and random topologies. The proposed algorithms achieve faster convergence with less overhead in the control and forwarding plane than previous multi-path based algorithms.     

Removal of formaldehyde at low concentration using various activated carbon fibers

Adsorption of low concentration formaldehyde on pitch‐based, rayon‐based, and PAN‐based activated carbon fibers (ACFs) and an unactivated PAN‐based carbon fiber (PAN‐CF) was investigated by a dynamic method. The pore structure and surface chemistry of these samples were characterized by liquid nitrogen adsorption, elemental analysis, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results revealed that the pore structure, especially surface chemical composition, greatly influence the formaldehyde adsorption. PAN‐based ACFs showed the highest formaldehyde adsorption capacity because there are more abundant nitrogen‐containing groups, especially pyrrolic, pyridonic, pyridinic, and quaternary on the surface. The breakthrough time and formaldehyde adsorption capacity of one kind of PAN‐ACF were 361 min and 0.478 mmol/g, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Microstructural Evidence for Diffusion-Driven Tetragonal-to-Orthorhombic Phase Transformation in Y-Ba-Cu-O Superconductor

Microstructures of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor were observed using a polarized microscope. Orthorhombic and tetragonal phases were easily distinguished by the optical etching with cross-polarized light. In the specimen cooled rapidly in oxygen, it was possible to see the path of oxygen diffusion by observing the variation of the twin concentration. At the boundary between transformed and untransformed materials, evidence for diffusion-driven transformation could be clearly seen.