Effect of corn stover concentration on rheological characteristics

Corn stover, a well-known example of lignocellulosic biomass, is a potential renewable feed for bioethanol production. Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment removes hemicellulose and makes the cellulose more susceptible to bacterial digestion. The rheologic properties of corn stover pretreated in such a manner were studied. The Power Law parameters were sensitive to corn stover suspension concentration becoming more non-Newtonian with slope n, ranging from 0.92 to 0.05 between 5 and 30% solids. The Casson and the Power Law models described the experimental data with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.90 to 0.99 and 0.85 to 0.99, respectively. The yield stress predicted by direct data extrapolation and by the Herschel-Bulkley model was similar for each concentration of corn stover tested.     

Synthesis of nectriapyrone

A totally synthetic route to the antibacterial fungal metabolite nectriapyrone ( 1 ) has been achieved by condensation of methylmalonyl dichloride with ethyl trans-4-methyl-3-oxo-4-hexenoate followed by hydrolysis, decarboxylation, and methylation of the resulting 3-methyl-4-hydroxy-5-carbethoxy-6-(trans-1-methyl-1-propenyl)-2-pyrone. Exploration of an alternate scheme involving the dehydrogenation of 6-substituted-4-methoxy-5,6-dihydro-2-pyrones, prepared by Reformatsky reaction of ethyl γ-bromo-β-methoxycrotonate with various aldehydes, was abandoned since it did not appear to have general applicability to the preparation of nectriapyrone and its analogs.     

7.87 eV laser desorption postionization mass spectrometry of adsorbed and covalently bound bisphenol a diglycidyl methacrylate

Bisphenol A diglycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA) was adsorbed onto or covalently bound to a porous silicon oxide surface. Laser desorption 10.5 eV postionization mass spectrometry (LDPI-MS) was previously demonstrated for surface analysis of adsorbed and surface bound Bis-GMA, but signal to noise levels were low and ion fragmentation was extensive. 7.87 eV postionization using the fluorine laser was demonstrated here for Bis-GMA. However, signal levels remained low for LDPI-MS of Bis-GMA as its ionization potential (IP) was only approximately 7.8 eV, near threshold for single photon ionization by the 7.87 eV fluorine laser. It is known that aromatic tagging of molecular analytes can lower the overall IP of the tagged molecular complex, allowing 7.87 eV single photon ionization. Therefore, Bis-GMA was also derivatized with several tags whose IPs were either below or above 7.87 eV: the tag with an IP below 7.87 eV enhanced single photon ionization while the tags with higher IPs did not. However, signal intensities were enhanced by resonant laser desorption for two of the derivatized Bis-GMAs. Intact ions of Bis-GMA and its derivatives were generally observed by 7.87 eV LDPI-MS, consistent with the formation of ions with relatively little internal energy upon threshold single photon ionization.     

Lead Sulfide Nanocrystal-Polymer Composites for Optoelectronic Applications

Summary: Nanocomposite films were prepared by two methods in which lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals were contained in an organic matrix. One method used a wet chemical synthesis of the nanocrystals in the direct presence of a polymer, where the polymer controlled nanocrystal growth. The second method was gaseous deposition of nanocrystals into the organic phase. The two methods were similar in that the nanocrystals in the composites were free from surfactant capping layers that otherwise would add an interfacial region between the nanocrystal and the organic matrix. The gaseous deposition technique had several advantages over the wet chemical synthesis in that it allowed direct control over nanocrystal size and density, improved flexibility in the choice of organic phase, and was compatible with lithographic methods.     

Nanosize effects in titania based photocatalyst materials

A review is given of recent work in the authors' laboratory on the characterization of different forms of nanostructured titania. It is shown that nanocrystalline anatase powders and nanocrystalline anatase thin films differ significantly in their optical properties, due primarily to differences in sintering behaviour on drying. It is argued that the electronic properties of these systems are determined by surface phenomena rather than quantum size effects. The novel titanosilicate zeolite ETS-10 which contains one dimensional “quantum wires” of titania provides an alternative system for studying quantum size effects which has considerable potential for photocatalysis.     

Aggregation in Quenched Systems Interacting through a Short-Range Attractive,Long-Range Repulsive Potential

The morphology and structure factor of a 2D system of particles interacting through a Lennard-Jones potential, modified to include a long-range repulsive component, are described. Of particular interest are those systems quenched from a stabilized colloidal state to temperatures that, in the pure Lennard-Jones system, correspond to the solid-vapor coexistence region. We find that competition between the short-range attractive forces—which cause aggregation—and the long-range repulsion—which acts to keep the particles apart—encourages the formation of space-filling networks. A characteristic peak in the structure factor is observed which moves toward lower wavevectors as the simulation evolves. However, unlike the pure Lennard-Jones system, which when given enough time will completely phase separate, this peak stops moving once a network has formed. The similarities between our simulations and gel formation are discussed.     

Optimizing system resilience: A facility protection model with recovery time

Optimizing system resilience is concerned with the development of strategies to restore a system to normal operations as quickly and efficiently as possible following potential disruption. To this end, we present in this article a bilevel mixed integer linear program for protecting an uncapacitated median type facility network against worst-case losses, taking into account the role of facility recovery time on system performance and the possibility of multiple disruptions over time. The model differs from previous types of facility protection models in that protection is not necessarily assumed to prevent facility failure altogether, but more precisely to speed up recovery time following a potential disruption. Three different decomposition approaches are devised to optimally solve medium to large problem instances. Computational results provide a cross comparison of the efficiency of each algorithm. Additionally, we present an analysis to estimate cost-efficient levels of investments in protection resources.     

The bulk viscosity of a fluid: the inverse power potential

The bulk viscosity coefficient of a moderately dense gas has been evaluated numerically for an inverse power potential. The calculation, to order density squared, is based on the microscopic theory of Snider et al. The results are compared to those from the corresponding expression of the modified Enskog theory. Agreement between the sets of values is within 1%.     

Analysis of the viscosity and second virial coefficients of non-polar polyatomic gases using the m-6-8 potential

Measurements of the catalytic activities of a series of organic radicals regarding the conversion of parahydrogen made it desirable to generalize a model based on a magnetic point dipole which had been proposed by Wigner for ions. The result is that a bilinear form of the spin density of the radical coupled by a geometric expression replaces the square of the dipole strength of the ion. If the sum of the yields of a set of representative collisions is evaluated, a magnitude results which should correspond to the catalytic activity of the radical.

It appears that it is possible to reproduce the relations among the rate constants of the radicals measured experimentally if one uses a spin density built from Hückel orbitals including geometric effects and spin polarization.