Mixed oxide supported hydrodesulfurization catalysts—a review

Support effects form important aspect of hydrodesulfurization (HDS) studies and mixed oxide supports received maximum attention in the last two decades. This review will focus attention on studies on mixed oxide supported Mo and W catalysts. For convenience of discussion, these are divided into Al₂O₃ containing mixed oxide supports, TiO₂ containing mixed oxide supports, ZrO₂ containing mixed oxide supports and other mixed oxide supports containing all the rest. TiO₂ containing mixed oxides received maximum attention, especially TiO₂–Al₂O₃ supported catalysts. A brief discussion about their prospects for application to ultradeep desulfurization is also included. An overview of the available literature with emphasis on research carried out in our laboratory form the contents of this publication.     

Analysis of spring softening effect on the collapse voltage of capacitive MEMS ultrasonic transducers

Microsystem Technologies - This paper explained the dependency of collapse voltage on semiconductor device structural features (membrane diameter, membrane thickness and the vertical distance...     

Cooperative adsorption behavior of fatty acid methyl esters from hexadecane <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> coefficient of friction measurements

The frictional behaviors of methyl oleate (MO), methyl palmitate (MP), methyl laurate (ML), and methyl stearate (MSt) as additives in hexadecane have been examined in a boundary lubrication test regime using steel contacts. It was found that the transient attributes of coefficient of friction (COF)-time spectra are a sensitive measure of adsorption equilibria. Critical additive concentrations were defined and used to perform novel and simple Langmuir analyses that provide an order of adsoprtion energies: MSt>MP>MO≥ML. Application of Langmuir, Temkin, and Frumkin-Fowler-Guggenheim adsorption models via nonlinear fitting of a general cooperative model demonstrates the necessary inclusion of cooperative effects in the applied model. In agreement with the qualitative features of steady-state COF-concentration plots, MSt modeling requires minimal cooperative interaction terms. However, MO, MP, and ML data require large attractive interaction terms to be adequately fitted. Primary adsorption energies calculated via the cooperative model are necessarily decreased, whereas total adsorption energies correlate well with values obtained via critical concentration analyses. These results and comparisons with previous adsorption studies of MO and MSt suggest that primary (ester-surface) and secondary (alkyl-surface) adsorbate-adsorbent, adsorbate-adsorbare, and (free-additive) adsorpt-adsorpt interactions collectively determine both the calculated primary and the cooperative interaction energies.     

Grafting vinyl monomers into nylon-6. II. Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto nylon-6 by hexavalent chromium ion

The feasibility of chromium(VI) to induce graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto nylon-6 was investigated in the presence of nitrogen. The rate of grafting was determined by varying monomer concentration, chromium(VI) concentration, temperature, acidity of the medium, solvents, inorganic salts, and redox system. The graft yield increases significantly by increasing the monomer concentration. The graft yield increases with increase of [Cr(VI)] up to 0.025 mole/liter. With further increase of [Cr(VI)], the graft yield decreases. The increase of acid concentration up to 0.395 mole/liter results the increase in graft yield. Beyond this concentration the graft yield decreases. The graft yield increases with increase in temperature up to 55°C and thereafter it decreases. The graft yield is medium dependent. The graft yield increases with increasing thiourea concentration upto 0.0025 mole/liter but beyond this concentration, the percentage graft yield decreases. A suitable kinetic scheme has been proposed and the rate equation has been evaluated.     

Influence of Distributed Particle Size on the Determination of the Parabolic Rate Constant for Oxidation by the Powder Method

The established analysis for the study of oxidation using powder specimens is based on the assumption of monosized particles. The experiments, however, are conducted on powders with a distributed particle size. Here we present a statistical approach for the calculation of the rate constant for oxidation. The results of the analysis are applied to new data on oxidation studies of dense powders of silicon carbonitride amorphous ceramics. The monosized model requires a wide range of values for the rate constant to fit the short term and the long-term data, leading to considerable ambiguity in the estimate of the parabolic rate constant, k _p, for oxidation. In contrast the statistical model fits over the entire range of data, yielding a much more reliable value for k _p. For example, the monosized approach gave a value in the range 19.7 × 10⁻¹⁸ < k _p < 2.7 × 10⁻¹⁸ m²/s. In contrast, the statistical model yields a specific value of 4.5 × 10⁻¹⁸ m²/s.     

Effect of phosphorus on activity of hydrotreating catalyst of Maya heavy crude

The effect of phosphorus on physical properties of the catalyst and on activity of hydrotreating of Maya crude was studied in this work. Catalysts were prepared by the co-impregnation method. Alumina-titania binary oxide was used as a support material. The presence of phosphorus in the catalyst decreases the percentage of micropores, and it results in a decrease of specific surface area. Temperature program reduction (TPR) shows that phosphates reduce metal support interaction. It leads to the formation of polymolybdate phases in expense of strongly bonded tetrahedral molybdates. At higher P loading, polymolybdates may be present with quasi crystalline MoO₃. However, the TPR experiment is not sufficiently sensitive to distinguish several phases present on the catalysts used by the authors. A slight increment of HDM activity is observed, but HDS activity is lower in the P containing catalyst compared with the P free catalyst. The changes of physical properties of the spent catalysts are mainly due to the coke formation on the catalyst. The presence of phosphorus on hydrotreating catalysts inhibits coke formation during the hydrotreating reaction.     

Strain and electric field-modulated indirect-to-direct band transition of monolayer GaInS2

Journal of Computational Electronics - The strain- and electric field-dependent electronic and&nbsp;optical properties of monolayer GaInS2&nbsp;have been calculated using density functional...     

Bioconjugated Thymol-Zinc Oxide Nanocomposite as a Selective and Biocompatible Antibacterial Agent against Staphylococcus Species

Owing to the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance among Staphylococcus species, effective and low-risk alternatives to antibiotics are being actively searched. Thymol (THO), the most abundant component of the oil extracted from thyme, can be considered as a natural antibacterial alternative. However, the low antibacterial activity and non-selectivity of THO limit its usage as a universal anti-Staphylococcus agent. Herein, we report the bioconjugation of THO with ZnO nanoparticle (ZO), which resulted in the TZ nanocomposite (NC), as a potent and selective antibacterial agent against Staphylococcus species, particularly S. epidermidis. The cell-free supernatant (CFS) of ATCC 25923 cultures was employed for the production of TZ NC. Successful production of TZ NC was confirmed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) studies. TZ NC had selective efficacy against Staphylococcus species, with MIC values 2–32-fold lower than THO. The antibacterial mechanisms of TZ NC are proposed to involve membrane rupture, suppression of biofilm formation, and modulation of new cell wall and protein-synthesis-associated cellular pathways. Its biocompatibility against HCT116 cells was also checked. Our findings suggest that the TZ nanocomposite could improve the selectivity and bactericidal activity of THO against target species.     

Electrical conductivity of a novel cast 6351 Al–Al4SiC4 in situ composite

In this research work, electrical conductivity of a novel cast 6351 Al–Al₄SiC₄ composite has been studied for varying Al₄SiC₄ particle content (2–7 vol%). Analytical models were developed on the basis of free electron theory and local resistance approach in order to predict electrical conductivity of metal matrix composites. The electrical conductivity of cast 6351 Al–Al₄SiC₄ composite was found to decrease with increasing Al₄SiC₄ content. Overprediction of results and more % deviation of the predicted electrical conductivity from experimental value were observed for local-resistance-approach-based model. However, the model developed on the basis of electron theory considering scattering of electrons at particle–matrix interface accurately predicted the experimental electrical conductivity data.     

Comparative study on the structural make-up and mechanical behavior of silicon and silver doped amorphous carbon films

Silicon - Silicon (Si) and silver (Ag) doped amorphous carbon (a-C) thin film were deposited on chrome nitrided 316 LVM stainless steel using filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition...