Advanced Surface of Fibrous Activated Carbon Immobilized with FeO/TiO2 for Photocatalytic Evolution of Hydrogen under Visible Light

FeO-doped TiO₂ nanoparticle photocatalysts were immobilized onto the surface of fibrous activated carbon (ACF) via a sol-gel process. As an adsorbent and photocatalyst, FeO-TiO₂ on immobilized ACFs (FeO-TiO₂/ACF) greatly improved the photocatalysis rate of hydrogen production as compared with pure TiO₂ and ACF-TiO₂ under UV irradiation and visible light. The addition of ACFs surface significantly reduced the photogenerated pairs of electrons-hole recombination, thereby promoting the photocatalysis action of doped photo-metal oxides of FeO-TiO₂. Co-doping of FeO onto the lattice of the TiO₂ approach can improve the absorption activity of visible light through photo-metal oxide of TiO₂ and further enhance hydrogen production under visible light. The photocatalytic fabrics (FeO-TiO₂/ACF) were effortlessly split out from the experimental solution for re-utilization and exhibited high stability even after five complete regeneration cycles.     

A Convenient Synthesis of Some Coumarin Derivatives Using SnCl2 · 2H2O as Catalyst

Some substituted coumarins have been synthesized by von-Pechmann condensation using SnCl₂ · 2H₂O (10 mol %) as catalyst in ethanolic medium. The reactions are simple, easy in handling and environmentally benign.     

Lean philosophy: implementation in a forging company

This research addresses the implementation of lean philosophy in a forging company with a focus on radial forging production flow lines. Here, the prime motive is to evolve and test several strategies to eliminate waste on the shop floor. In this research, a systematic approach is suggested for the implementation of lean principles. This paper describes an application of value stream mapping (VSM). Consequently, the present and future states of value stream maps are constructed to improve the production process by identifying waste and its sources. Furthermore, Taguchi’s method of design of experiments is pursued here to minimize the forging defects produced due to imperfect operating conditions. A noticeable reduction in set-up time and work-in-process (WIP) inventory level is substantiated. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of managerial implications and the future scope of research.     

Stability analysis of double-diffusive solar ponds with non-constant temperature and salinity gradients

In this communication, the stability of the double-diffusive solar ponds with non-uniform temperature and salinity gradients has been investigated. This is a further generalization of our approach to this problem initiated in Ref. [7]. Using a stochastic approach, the linearized system of basic equations of motion is reduced to a single integro-differential equation. For convective motion, this equation reduces to a time-independent Schrödinger equation for a particle moving in a potential field ƒ(Z) characterized by the non-uniform temperature and salinity gradients. This equation can, in general, be solved (exactly or approximately depending on the form of the gradient profile) by methods commonly used in quantum mechanics.

In the Appendix, we show that, for a quadratic gradient profile, the above equation has an analytical solution similar to that obtained by Zangrando using numerical computations.     

Estimation of wood char size at the end of devolatilization in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor

Two processes, namely shrinkage and primary fragmentation are known to be the major causes of size reduction of wood during its devolatilization in a fluidized bed combustor. A simple phenomenological model incorporating these effects to compute the average char size at the end of devolatilization is proposed. Experiments are conducted in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor using wood having three different shapes namely, cylinder, cuboid and sphere, to measure the average char size at the end of devolatilization. The model prediction of average char size agrees with the measured values within a deviation of 15%. An experimental correlation is derived to determine the number of fragments and is used to estimate the mean char size.     

Modelling and experimental investigation of devolatilizing wood in a fluidized bed combustor

A two-dimensional model is developed for the determination of devolatilization time and char yield of cylindrical wood particles in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor. By using the concept of shape factor, the model is extended to particles of cuboid shape. The model prediction of the devolatilization time agrees with the measured data (present and those reported in the literature) for cylindrical and cuboidal shaped particles within ±20% while the char yield is predicted within ±17%. Influence of some important parameters namely, thermal diffusivity, external heat transfer coefficient and shrinkage, on the devolatilization time and char yield are studied. Thermal diffusivity shows noticeable influence on devolatilization time. The external heat transfer coefficient shows little influence beyond a value of 300 W/(m² K). However particle shrinkage shows negligible effect on the devolatilization time but has a significant influence on the char yield.     

Degradable Superhydrophilic Iron-Pillared Bentonite Doped with Polybutylene Adipate/Terephthalate Open-Cell Foam: Its Application in Dye Degradation,Removal of Heavy Metal Ions,and Oil–Water Separation

Development of industrialization has brought convenience to people's lives; however, it has also brought serious harm to the environment, where, water pollution is the most obvious. Here, a polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) open-cell foam doped with iron-pillared bentonite (IPB) is prepared by using sugar as a pore-forming agent and solution phase separation, and then combined with a solution dipping method to coat the foam surface with a polyacrylamide/SiO₂, which makes the PBAT foam superhydrophilic. The static adsorption effect of superhydrophilic IPB-doped PBAT open-cell foam on methylene blue (MB) and Cu²⁺ is studied. The adsorption isotherm fitting shows that the adsorption conforms to the Langmuir model and it has biased toward monolayer adsorption. The adsorption kinetics fitting confirms that the adsorption process is in line with the pseudo-second-order adsorption model, which is dominated by chemical adsorption. The modified PBAT open-cell foam has an adsorption effect on Cu²⁺; however, it has weak cyclic adsorption capacity. It shows a good cyclic adsorption ability for the cationic dye MB and it has >95% photodegradation efficiency of the MB after five time's cyclic adsorption. The superhydrophilicity makes the foam to have better applications in oil–water separation.     

A Scenario Based Impact Assessment of Trace Metals on Ecosystem of River Ganges Using Multivariate Analysis Coupled with Fuzzy Decision-Making Approach

The growing consciousness about the health risks associated with environmental pollutants has brought a major shift in global concern towards prevention of hazardous/trace metals discharge in water bodies. Majority of these trace metals gets accumulated in the body of aquatic lives, which are considered as potential indicators of hazardous content. This results in an ecological imbalance in the form of poisoning, diseases and even death of fish and other aquatic lives, and ultimately affect humans through food chain. Trace metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn originated from various industrial operations containing metallic solutions and agricultural practices, have been contributing significantly to cause aquatic pollution. The present study develops a novel approach of expressing sustainability of river’s ecosystem based on health of the fish by coupling fuzzy sensitivity analysis into multivariate analysis. A systematic methodology has been developed by generating monoplot, two dimensional biplot and rotated component matrix (using ‘Analyze it’ and ‘SPSS’ software), which can simultaneously identify critical trace metals and their industrial sources, critical sampling stations, and adversely affected fish species along with their interrelationships. A case study of assessing the impact of trace metals on the aquatic life of river Ganges, India has also been presented to demonstrate effectiveness of the model. The clusters pertaining to various water quality parameters have been identified using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine actual sources of pollutants and their impact on aquatic life. The fuzzy sensitivity analysis reveals the cause-effect relationship of these critical parameters. The study suggests pollution control agencies to enforce appropriate regulations on the wastewater dischargers responsible for polluting river streams with a particular kind of trace metal(s).