Surface properties of surfactants derived from natural products. Part 1: Syntheses and structure/property relationships—Solubility and emulsification

Several novel and some previously known, mostly sugar-based, surfactants have been synthesized and some of their surface properties have been characterized and compared with those of commercial nonylphenol ethoxylates. The surfactant solubility in water, ethanol, and dodecane was studied. The properties of these compounds as emulsification agents in systems composed of the surfactant with water/isopropyl myristate, water/rapeseed oil, and water/dodecane are presented. The aqueous solubility of the surfactants follows the general trend expected from their hydrophilic-lipophilic balance according to Griffin (HLBG), but it is also clear that the nature of the headgroup and the structure of the nonpolar part affect the solubility in a manner not aptured in the standard HLBG concept. An ester or amine group as the connecting unit between the hydrophile and the hydrophobe produces a more water-soluble surfactant than the corresponding amide derivative. Some effective emulsifiers were found. For instance, the surfactants with a dehydroabietic nonpolar group appear to be promosing emulsifiers. Most sugar-based surfactants were able to form macroemulsions of up to around 2 wt/vol% of oil. The stability of many of these amulsions was very high, extending for months.     

Expectations and Experiences With MyLabourParty: From Right to Know to Right to Participate?

Social media are often argued to change political communication, decreasing the distance between politicians and citizens, and increasing citizens' influence on policymaking. This paper presents findings from a study of how the Norwegian Labour Party uses social media, focusing on the community platform MyLabourParty. Interviews with politicians and a survey with citizens as respondents were conducted to examine the experiences of online political discussions. Findings show that citizens and politicians expect MyLabourParty to strengthen citizen participation. Yet, citizens still experience communication asymmetry and politicians may find it challenging to participate to the extent citizens expect. Means for bridging the gap between expectations and experiences are called for, in particular redefinition of the offering, changes of user‐practices, and system improvements.     

DMTO – a method for Discrete Material and Thickness Optimization of laminated composite structures

This paper presents a gradient based topology optimization method for Discrete Material and Thickness Optimization of laminated composite structures, labelled the DMTO method. The capabilities of the proposed method are demonstrated on mass minimization, subject to constraints on the structural criteria; buckling load factors, eigenfrequencies, and limited displacements. Furthermore, common design guidelines or rules, referred to as manufacturing constraints, are included explicitly in the optimization problem as series of linear inequalities. The material selection and thickness variation are optimized simultaneously through interpolation functions with penalization. Numerical results for several parameterizations of a finite element model of a generic main spar from a wind turbine blade are presented. The different parameterizations represent different levels of complexity with respect to manufacturability. The results will thus give insight into the relation between potential weight saving and design complexity. The results show that the DMTO method is capable of solving the problems robustly with only few intermediate valued design variables.     

A simple chromatographic method for purification of egg lecithin

Egg lecithin was purified from the CdCl₂-lecithin complex by column chromatography on Alumina. The yield from 5 eggs was 2.8 g. The purified lecithin had correct chemical values for pure lecithin and a fatty acid composition similar to lecithin prepared by other methods. The method probably can be adapted for purification of other lipids containing the phosphocholine moiety and for purification of synthetic lecithin.     

Constrained regression in chemical engineering practice

Absolute equality constraints in multiple regression are shown to introduce only minor modifications in the normal equations by a subset of the regression parameters. It is essential that these are ordered such that the subset is observable through the constraints. The constraints are shown to give greater residuals about the regression, but the precision in the parameter estimation is improved.In general power function curve fitting, a quadratically convergent iterative computation of the optimal exponents uses the normal equations as equality constraints. The correlations between the coefficients and the exponents in a sum of power functions become very high, when the number of terms increases such that their individual observability is being greatly reduced. The effect is shown to be a very poor precision in the parameter estimation and a heavy oscillation in the coefficients.The algorithms suggested are illustrated by curve fitting of some binary equilibrium data, where the relative volatility model gives a superior fit to the data.     

Defining anchor lengths of steel and CFRP plates bonded to concrete

At Luleå University of Technology, research is taking place in the area of plate bonding, i.e. when concrete members are strengthened by bonding steel or fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) plates to their surface. The research work started in 1988. Both comprehensive experimental work and theoretical work have been performed. This paper presents the results of tests performed on concrete prisms onto which steel or carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) plates have been bonded. The criteria for the necessary anchor lengths for both the materials are presented as well as the critical strain level in the concrete at failure. Tests are compared with the Volkerson theory for lap joints. The results from the tests show that there is a specific anchor length for each material used. The tests also show that the strain limit in the concrete is the governing factor for failure. Furthermore, a compression between test and theory shows that the derived elastic theory can be used for moderate levels of load.     

Preparation and characterization of comb-shaped polyesters from 2,2-dioctadecyl-1,3-propanediol and phthalic acids

Summary New types of comb-shaped polyesters have been prepared by transesterification of 2,2-dioctadecyl-1,3-propanediol and the three isomeric diphenyl phthalates. Intrinsic viscosity and SEC analyses allowed determination of DPs (60–89) and molar masses; results compare well with absolute average weight molar masses (56,000–118,000) determined by low-angle laser light scattering. High-resolution ¹³C NMR reveals the characteristic aromatic and glycol polyester patterns; it resolves many side-chain methylene carbons, but shows no evidence of end-groups. All the polyesters are crystalline as shown by X-ray diffractometry and DSC, the crystallinity being exclusively due to the octadecyl side-group crystallization in the hexagonal form. The results indicate that the crystallinity decreases substantially when going from the ortho- to the terephthalate polyester.     

Dietary linoleic acid and the fatty acid profiles in rats fed partially hydrogenated marine oils

The influence of the linoleic acid levels of diets containing partially hydrogenated marine, oils (HMO) rich in isomeric 16∶1, 18∶1, 20∶1 and 22∶1 fatty acids on the fatty acid profiles of lipids from rat liver, heart and adipose tissue was examined. Five groups of rats were fed diets containing 20 wt% fat−16% HMO+4% vegetable oils. In these diets, the linoleic acid contents varied between 1.9% and 14.5% of the dietary fatty acids, whereas the contents oftrans fatty acids were 33% in all groups. A sixth group was fed a partially hydrogenated soybean oil (HSOY) diet containing 8% linoleic acid plus 32%trans fatty acids, mainly 18∶1, and a seventh group, 20% palm oil (PALM), with 10% linoleic acid and notrans fatty acids. As the level of linoleic acid in the HMO diets increased from 1.9% to 8.2%, the contents of (n−6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the phospholipids increased correspondingly. At this dietary level of linoleic acid, a plateau in (n−6) PUFA was reached that was not affected by further increase in dietary 18∶2(n−6) up to 14.5%. Compared with the HSOY- or PALM-fed rats, the plateau value of 20∶4(n−6) were considerably lower and the contents of 18∶2(n−6) higher in liver phosphatidylcholines (PC) and heart PC. Heart phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) on the contrary, had elevated contents of 20∶4(n−6), but decreased 22∶5(n−6) compared with the PALM group. All groups fed HMO had similar contents oftrans fatty acids, mainly 16∶1 and 18∶1, in their phospholipids, irrespective of the dietary 18∶2 levels, and these contents were lower than in the HSOY group. High levels of linoleic acid consistently found in triglycerides of liver, heart and adipose tissue of rats fed HMO indicated that feeding HMO resulted in a reduction of the conversion of linoleic acid into long chain PUFA that could not be overcome by increasing the dietary level of linoleic acid.     

Antioxidative effects of polyamines

The antioxidative effects of spermine, spermidine and putrescine were determined by measurement of primary and secondary oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids, using gas and liquid chromatography as well as spectrophotometric recordings. It was demonstrated that polyamines inhibit the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids,α-tocopherol and carotenoid pigments. Both linear and nonlinear dose/response relationships have been observed. The efficiency of a given polyamine was correlated with the number of amine groups in the molecule. Spermine was, thus, more efficient than spermidine, which in turn had a higher efficiency than putrescine. The relative antioxidative effect was as follows: spermine (100.0), spermidine (61.0), putrescine (23.0), ethoxyquin (27.6), ascorbyl palmitate (18.3), octyl gallate (7.9), tert butylhydroquinone (6.3), butylated hydroxyanisole (3.6) andα-tocopherol (3.4).     

Use of the lower critical solution temperature for the characterization of polymer mixtures and the study of their compatibility: Application to polyethylenes,polypropylene, and their copolymers

The Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and ethylene-propylene block and random copolymers have been measured in heptanes. A thermogram related to the variation of the turbidity of the solution is obtained between 100 and 210°C. The temperature of the onset of the turbidity peak is defined as the LCST of the system. The width and the area of the turbidity peaks are tentatively associated with the polymer polydispersity and the amount of polymer involved in the phase separation. The thermograms of solutions containing both homopolymers show two distinct turbidity peaks situated at a 70°C interval. Correlations of molecular orientations in the concentrated phase, possible in PE systems but not in PP solutions, are at the origin of the lower LCST values for PE solutions. The LCST of copolymers are situated between those of the homopolymers but the dependence of the LCST on the copolymer ethylene content is different for block and random copolymers. Examples of thermograms are also given for mixtures of copolymers with PE and PP. By analysis of their thermograms, some commercial block EP copolymers were also found to contain PK and PP. This method seems well suited for characterizing polymer mixtures.