Mixed Micelles of Surface Active Ionic Liquid (SAIL)–Octylphenol Ethoxylate: A Novel Reaction Medium for Selective Oxidation of Toluene to Benzaldehyde

Ionic liquids have been found to be suitable alternatives to volatile organic solvents in chemical transformation. Through a proper choice of cations and anions, the properties of an ionic liquid can be tuned so that it resembles an amphiphile. Such specially designed molecules are known as surface-active ionic liquids (SAIL). Like conventional surfactants, SAIL also form aggregates in an aqueous medium. Studies show that the mixing of SAIL with conventional surfactants leads to synergistic micellization. However, very few reports are available on the application of such systems as reaction media. Present study focuses on the application of mixed micelles of 1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazol-1-ium bromide, ([C₁₄mim]Br) with nonionic surfactant, Octylphenol ethoxylate with 10 moles of ethylene oxide (OPE-10). Enhanced solubilization and selective catalytic oxidation of toluene using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant and tungstic acid as a catalyst have been studied in detail using this system.     

Lichtenstein herniotomy

All standard methods of hernia repair involve suturing together tissues which are not normally in apposition. This violates the basic surgical principle that tissue must never be approximated under tension and accounts for an unacceptable number of failures. Total reinforcement of the inguinal floor with a sheet of suitable biomaterial and employment of a "tension-free" technique is a more effective approach. Since June 1984, 3250 primary inguinal hernias have been repaired at the Lichtenstein Hernia Institute by the open tension-free technique using Marlex mesh. All operations were performed under local anesthesia. Patients were discharged from the hospital within two or four hours after the operation. The patients were followed from one to 8 years by physician examination. The follow-up rate was 87%. There were four recurrences. The causes of recurrence and how to avoid them are discussed.     

Global optimization of laminated cylindrical panels based on fundamental natural frequency

This investigation presents an optimization of laminated cylindrical panels based on fundamental natural frequency. Also, trends of change in optimum stacking sequence while the proportions of structures vary, are studied which can be insightful for design purposes. A displacement based finite element model is used, in order to extract fundamental natural frequencies of T300/5208 Carbon/Epoxy cylindrical panels. To obtain optimum designs, the Globalized Bounded Nelder–Mead (GBNM) algorithm is employed. Predictions are compared with the results of Genetic Algorithm (GA) method and show faster and more accurate convergence to the global optimum, while variables are continuous in GBNM and discrete in GA. Moreover, verification of novel convergence criteria to ameliorate local searcher in GBNM is examined.     

Mass‐transfer enhancement in single drop extraction in the presence of magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic field

Magnetite nanoparticles with an average particle size of 28.8 nm were synthesized, coated with oleic acid, and characterized using various techniques such as DLS, FT‐IR, SEM, XRD, VSM, and UV‐Vis analysis. A nanofluid consisting of synthesized nanoparticles and 5 wt % acetic acid in toluene as the dispersed phase was prepared and used in the chemical test system, Toluene‐Acetic Acid‐Water, for the single drop extraction in the presence and absence of an external oscillating magnetic field. Influences of various operating and design parameters such as nanoparticle concentration, drop diameter, and the applied current and frequency on the overall mass‐transfer coefficients for the mass‐transfer direction from d→c were investigated carefully. The obtained results were used to propose a general correlation for the mass‐transfer enhancement. It was found that the maximum mass‐transfer enhancement compared with that obtained in the absence of nanoparticles and the oscillating magnetic field is about 259%. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 4466–4479, 2016     

Elasticity solution for static analysis of laminated cylindrical panel using differential quadrature method

The three-dimensional (3D) solution for static analysis of cross-ply cylindrical panel is presented using differential quadrature method (DQM) and Fourier series approach. The panel is assumed to be simply-supported at one pair of opposite edges and arbitrary conditions at the other pair. Applying the DQM to the governing differential equations and to the boundary conditions along the axial or circumferential directions, new state equations about state variables at discrete points are derived. Displacement and stress fields according to the various kinds of edges conditions are obtained by solving these state equations. The method is validated by comparing numerical results for the simply-supported edges with that available in the literature.     

Reliability Evaluation of an Open‐Cathode PEMFC at Operating State and Longtime Vibration by Mechanical Loads

Reliability and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are one of the most complex issues in real applications' environment. Especially, when it subjects to the various mechanical loads and vibrations. This topic requires more attention for research and experimental works. In this study, the effect of mechanical loads was investigated on an open‐cathode PEMFC in operating state. Several long time vibration tests have been applied on non‐operating PEMFC, and the performance of the fuel cell was evaluated during the test. Hydrogen leakage as a key parameter was investigated in performance monitoring instead of measuring torque on compression bolts. The vibration tests were consisted of sine, shock and random for X, Y and Z axes in operating state and random vibration in non‐operating state of PEMFC. The experimental results in operating state were indicated that the fuel cell performance has not been affected by the proposed vibrations. Furthermore, the test results of non‐operating state have been shown that the performance of PEMFC reduces about 0.6% in each four‐hour step of the vibration test. In addition, the experiments reveal that if the mechanical loads and vibrations cause physical damage on the fuel cell components, they can change the performance and reliability of the fuel cell.     

Vibration Modeling of PEM Fuel Cell for Prediction of Cell Number Effects by Experimental Data

One of the most important challenges in increasing the performance, reliability and lifetime of fuel cells is the mechanical load effects that occur on real applications. Therefore, the vibration model of fuel cell that predicts the behavior of various fuel cell layouts is very useful. The fuel cell is made up of different adjacent layers that may have semi opposite mechanical properties. This special structure leads to occurrence of non‐linear behavior of fuel cell under dynamic mechanical vibrations and so, a black box method is selected for modeling of its vibration behavior. In this study, the mechanical load experiments in various shape and axes were applied on five layouts of proposed fuel cell and the vibration of its body measure by some accelerometers. The NNARXM neural network is created and trained with the experimental data of three layouts of the fuel cell. Then, the prediction error of this neural network, validated with the two other experimental data of fuel cell layouts, by correlation coefficients and histogram of prediction errors. Neural network validation shows the well prediction of both untrained layout and suitable estimation for any desired layout.     

Bioavailability Prediction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Field-Contaminated Sediment by Mild Extractions

Assessing the bioavailability of a group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) coexisting in a field-aged contaminated sediment was examined using mild extractions by isopropanol- and ethanol-water solutions at concentrations of 5–100%, using extraction durations from 1?h?to?7?days. At a given solvent concentration, an initial rapid phase of PAH desorption was generally observed during the first 12?h, followed by a subsequent slower phase of desorption. A similar biphasic desorption was evident with increases in solvent concentration. PAH removal by various mild extractions was compared with PAH biodegradation by indigenous microorganisms. The removal of individual PAHs using 1-day 70% ethanol extraction was closely correlated to corresponding PAH removal via biodegradation, suggesting the possibility of using alcohol-water solution to simultaneously predict the bioavailability of multiple PAHs in aged sediments to indigenous microorganisms.     

Stable repeated-batch production of recombinant dye-decolorizing peroxidase (rDyP) from Aspergillus oryzae

Recombinant Aspergillus oryzae expressing a dye-decolorizing peroxidase gene (dyp) was cultivated for repeated-batch production of recombinant dye-decolorizing peroxidase (rDyP) using maltose as a carbon source. High-level rDyP activity in limitation of carbon and nitrogen sources was maintained stably for 26 cycles of repeated 1-d batches of A. oryzae pellets without any additional pH control. Cultures maintained at 4 degrees C for 20 d resumed rDyP production following a single day of incubation. One liter filtrated crude rDyP containing 4600 U rDyP decolorized 5.07 g RBBR at the apparent decolorization rate of 17.7 mg l(-1) min(-1).