Ionic liquids for coal dissolution,extraction and liquefaction

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel. Direct combustion of low- and medium-rank coals causes alarming environmental impacts. Therefore, it is crucial for coal to undergo pretreatments before its efficient utilization [such as coal to liquid (CTL) processes]. Conventional pretreatment methods suffer from several limitations including the use of volatile organic solvents, environmental hazards, strong reaction conditions (e.g. high temperature and pressure), consumption of large quantities of nonrecoverable chemicals (e.g. bases used in aqueous alkaline digestion), or being only effective for specific coals. On the other hand, coal pretreatment by nonvolatile ionic liquids (ILs) could lead to partial coal dissolution/swelling and structure disruption, which is a critical step before coal liquefaction, hydrogenation, pyrolysis or the inhibition of oxidation/combustion. In addition, ILs are suitable solvents for extracting sulfur compounds from coal, asphaltenes from Direct Coal Liquefaction Residues (DCLR) and phenolic compounds from coal tar. This review will discuss these aspects of coal pretreatments by ILs, and identify how ILs could lead to a cleaner and more efficient utilization of coal resources. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Linking entrepreneurial orientation to project success

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a strategic posture of an organization, and it is related to basic policies and practices for the development of entrepreneurial actions looking for creating competitive advantages. This study develops and tests a model of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and project success in Brazilian context. As quantitative research, a survey was used to collect data. A sample of 100 valid answers from project practitioners was treated through the structural equation modeling method. As research implications, the main result points out the positive correlation between the entrepreneurial orientation and the project success, contributing to the development of this research subject and helping to minimize the gap in the literature that addresses the relationship between project success and EO. In practical terms, understanding that innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness (the dimensions of the EO) can contribute to project success and can also indirectly impact on organizational performance, could help organizations get competitive advantage when developing correlate factors. Finally, the results suggest that practices of project management can be aligned to the firm's entrepreneurial orientation to enable firms to attain better results in their projects and generate a competitive advantage. On other hand, given the proportion of the impact of EO on project success (20.3%) identified in this study, it is critical that project management professionals expand their horizon to recognize other factors that affect project success.     

Influence of chain length of diol on the swelling behavior of citric acid based pH sensitive polymeric hydrogels: A green approach

Synthesis of pH‐sensitive hydrogels of citric acid with varying diol units viz., 1,2 Ethane diol, 1,4 butane diol, and 1,6 hexane diol along with methacrylic acid towards the solventless green approach. The formations of the hydrogels were identified using FTIR spectroscopy. Thermal characterization (thermo gravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis (DTA), and differential scanning calorimetry) and morphology of the synthesized hydrogels have been investigated. Swelling studies of hydrogels in various pH ranging from 4.0 to 10.0 have been investigated. The results of the swelling studies implied that percentage of swelling comparatively higher at neutral pH (7.4) than at acidic and alkaline pH. The inverse relationship was noticed, where ascending the diol units of hydrogel in swelling equilibrium. The hydrogels with the increasing chain length show a noticeable pH sensitivity and which could be considered as smart hydrogel. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41403.     

Curing copolymerization kinetics of styrene with maleated castor oil glycerides obtained from biodiesel‐derived crude glycerol

Kinetics of curing of maleated castor oil glycerides with styrene was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and rheology. The resin was synthesized from biodiesel‐derived crude glycerol. Curing rates were fitted to several empirical models (autocatalytic model, Kamal's model and a model with vitrification). The three models showed a good fitting with experimental data at conversions lower than 0.55 for temperatures ranging from 30 to 50°C. However, the model that includes vitrification showed a better fitting in the entire range of conversions and the same temperatures. At higher temperatures (50–60°C), some deviations were observed for the three models at low and high conversions. Gel times were obtained from rheological studies and the apparent activation energies were calculated thereof. Gel times were 300–2700 s. The values of apparent activation energy obtained for this castor oil‐based copolymer (47.2–52.3 kJ/mol) were within range of commercial unsaturated polyester resins. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41344.     

The effect of radiopacifiers agents on pH,calcium release,radiopacity, and antimicrobial properties of different calcium hydroxide dressings

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, pH level, calcium ion release, and radiopacity of calcium hydroxide pastes associated with three radiopacifying agents (iodoform, zinc oxide, and barium sulfate). For the pH and calcium release tests, 45 acrylic teeth were utilized and immersed in ultrapure water. After 24 h, 72 h, and 7 days the solution was analyzed by using a pH meter and an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Polyethylene tubes filled with the pastes were used to perform the radiopacity test. For the antimicrobial test, 25 dentin specimens were infected intraorally in order to induce the biofilm colonization and treated with the pastes for 7 days. The Live/Dead technique and a confocal microscope were used to obtain the ratio of live cells. Parametric and nonparametric statistical tests were performed to show differences among the groups (P < 0.05). The pH analysis at 7 days showed significant differences (P < 0.05) among the groups. No differences among the pastes were found in the calcium release test on the 7th day (P > 0.05). The calcium hydroxide/iodoform samples had the highest radiopacity and antimicrobial activity against the biofilm‐infected dentin in comparison to the other pastes (P < 0.05). Calcium hydroxide mixed with 17% iodoform and 35% propylene glycol into a paste had the highest pH, calcium ion release, radiopacity, and the greatest antimicrobial action versus similar samples mixed with BaSO4 or ZnO. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:620–625, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How the Influence of Different Salts on Interfacial Properties of Surfactant–Oil–Water Systems at Optimum Formulation Matches the Hofmeister Series Ranking

In this work, we present the effects of salts on sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate micellization and on the interfacial performance of a sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate–heptane–brine system at optimum formulation, i.e., hydrophilic–lipophilic deviation (HLD) = 0. In order to do that, interfacial tension and dilational interfacial rheology properties of surfactant–heptane–water systems at optimum formulation are measured using an interfacial spinning drop tensiometer with an oscillating velocity, which can accurately measure interfacial rheology properties at both low and ultralow interfacial tensions. The brines used contain one of the following salts: MgCl₂, CaCl₂, NaCl, NH₄Cl, NaNO₃, CH₃COONa, or Na₂SO₄. We performed a one-dimensional salinity scan with each of these salts to achieve an optimum formulation. In relation to the Hofmeister series, we found that, at optimum formulation, systems with chaotropic ions (NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻) present interfaces with ultralow interfacial tensions, very low dilational modulus, and a low phase angle, whereas kosmotropic ions (Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, SO₄⁻²) generate high interfacial tension and high rigidity monolayers. Intermediate ions in the Hofmeister series (Na⁺, CH₃COO⁻, Cl⁻) present interfaces with intermediate properties. Furthermore, according to the Hofmeister series, interfaces can be respectively ordered from higher to lower rigidity for surfactant counterions Mg²⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Na⁺ > NH₄⁺ and coions SO₄²⁻ > CH₃COO^– > Cl⁻ > NO₃⁻, which correspond to a salting-out (highest rigidity) and salting-in (lowest rigidity) effect. We observed that counterions have a more significant effect on surfactant–oil–water system properties than those that act as coions.     

Effects of baking conditions on colour,texture and crumb grain characteristics of Chhana Podo

Baking, the key step in the preparation of Chhana Podo, involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer that induces physicochemical and structural changes in the product. The effects of baking conditions on colour, texture and crumb grain development in the product were evaluated. The browning index of baked Podo increased from the initial value of 15.7 to 95, 101 and 112, at baking temperatures of 120, 135 and 150 °C, respectively. Browning kinetics followed the logistic model (R² > 0.98) with an activation energy of 17.81 kJ/mol. In general, crumb grain characteristics such as mean cell area, cell density and cell‐to‐total area ratio increased with increase in baking time and temperature. Textural attributes such as hardness, chewiness and gumminess increased with baking time and temperature while springiness, cohesiveness and resilience increased up to 40 min due to the filling‐up of pores water and liquid by fat and expanding water, but decreased thereafter.