Determination of gasoline and diesel residues on wool,silk, polyester and cotton materials by SPME–GC–MS

The identification of ignitable liquids is very important and challenging aspect in arson crime investigations. The detection of gasoline and diesel fuel components using solid phase micro-extraction prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for the forensic analysis of fire debris has been carried out. Previous works show that the absorption characteristics of the substrate are one of the most important factors in determining the evaporation rate of the accelerants. In order to determine the presence of the fuel residues, four of the most common substrate materials were tested in this work; wool, cotton, silk and polyester. The obtained results indicate that both gasoline and diesel fuel accelerants persisted longer on wool and silk than on the other selected substrates. Such information illustrates the influence of fuel persistence times after extinguishing and the best materials to be scanned for ignitable liquids at the fire scene.     

Quantification of high-power ultrasound induced damage on potato starch granules using light microscopy

A simple light microscopic technique was developed in order to quantify the damage inflicted by high-power low-frequency ultrasound (0-160 W, 20 kHz) treatment on potato starch granules in aqueous dispersions. The surface properties of the starch granules were modified using ethanol and SDS washing methods, which are known to displace proteins and lipids from the surface of the starch granules. The study showed that in the case of normal and ethanol-washed potato starch dispersions, two linear regions were observed. The number of defects first increased linearly with an increase in ultrasound power up to a threshold level. This was then followed by another linear dependence of the number of defects on the ultrasound power. The power threshold where the change-over occurred was higher for the ethanol-washed potato dispersions compared to non-washed potato dispersions. In the case of SDS-washed potato starch, although the increase in defects was linear with the ultrasound power, the power threshold for a second linear region was not observed. These results are discussed in terms of the different possible mechanisms of cavitation induced-damage (hydrodynamic shear stresses and micro-jetting) and by taking into account the hydrophobicity of the starch granule surface.     

Shear localisation in stirred yoghurt

The shear flow behaviour of stirred yoghurt in the cone-and-plate and cylindrical Couette geometries was studied using diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) velocimetry. Differences between the transmission and backscattering DWS correlations suggest the formation of a high shear rate band near the surface of a moving cone of a cone-and-plate geometry at low shear rates. At higher shear rates, homogeneous shear flow is indicated. NMR velocimetry unambiguously demonstrated that a high shear rate band forms at the moving inner wall of a cylindrical Couette geometry at low shear rates. At intermediate shear rate, a high shear rate band is formed at the stationary outer wall and plug-like flow is observed mid-gap. At higher shear rates, homogeneous shear flow is observed. Slip is seen at both walls. The three flow regimes appear to correlate loosely with transitions in the pseudo-steady-state flow curve and may reflect a break-up of the protein aggregates observed with confocal microscopy.     

Croissance des Solutions des D-Modules algébriques holonomes – (Growth of solutions of holonomic algebraic D-modules)

We show that the cohomology of complexes of solutions of exponantial type associated to holonomic algebraic D-modules is constructible. We also compute the Euler–Poincaré index of such complexes.     

Solid-liquid equilibria and purity determination for binary n-alkane + naphthalene systems

Mixtures of heavy aromatics with high aliphatics are important in the formation of asphaltenes in the oil industry.This work reports binary solid-liquid equilibria for naphtalene + eicosane, +pentacosane, +hexatriacontane mixtures by differential scanning calorimetry. Results are compared with those from modified UNIFAC (Larsen and Gmehling versions) and ideal predictions. Finally, we determine the purity according to van’t Hoff equation. Results are in good agreement with values given by ultraviolet spectrophotometry.     

Compactly supported wavelet and the numerical solution of the vlasov equation

A new scheme for solving the Vlasov equation using a compactly supported wavelets basis is proposed. We use a numerical method which minimizes the numerical diffusion and conserves a reasonable time computing cost. So we introduce a representation in a compactly supported wavelet of the derivative operator. This method makes easy and simple the computation of the coefficients of the matrix representing the operator. This allows us to solve the two equations which result from the splitting technique of the main Vlasov equation. Some numerical results are exposed using different numbers of wavelets.     

Radioanalytical prediction of radiative capture in 99Mo production via transmutation adiabatic resonance crossing by cyclotron

In this study, the transmutation adiabatic resonance crossing (TARC) concept was estimated in ⁹⁹Mo radioisotope production via radiative capture reaction in two designs. The TARC method was composed of moderating neutrons in lead or a composition of lead and water. Additionally, the target was surrounded by a moderator assembly and a graphite reflector district. Produced neutrons were investigated by (p,xn) interactions with 30 MeV and 300 μA proton beam on tungsten, beryllium, and tantalum targets. The ⁹⁹Mo production yield was related to the moderator property, cross section, and sample positioning inside the distinct region of neutron storage as must be proper to achieve gains. Gathered thermal flux of neutrons can contribute to molybdenum isotope production. Moreover, the sample positioning to gain higher production yield was dependent on a greater flux in the length of thermal neutrons and region materials inside the moderator or reflector. When the sample radial distance from Be was 38 cm inside the graphite region using a lead moderator design, the production yield had the greatest value of activity, compared with the other regions, equal to 608.72 MBq/g. Comparison of the two designs using a Be target revealed that the maximum yield occurred inside the graphite region for the first design at 38 cm and inside the lead region for the second design at 10 cm. The results and modeling of the new neutron activator were very encouraging and seem to confirm that the TARC concept can be used for ⁹⁹Mo production in nuclear medicine.     

Activated carbon supported Co1.5PW12O40 as efficient catalyst for the production of 1, 2 cyclohexane diol by oxidation of cyclohexene with H2O2 in the presence of CO2

ABSTRACT

Vicinal diols are important building blocks for chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Currently, they are produced from olefins using solvents and harmful oxidants unfavorable from an environmental and economic point of view. This work lies on the synthesis of 1,2 cyclohexane diol from cyclohexene by a green route. To achieve it, a series of Cobalt Keggin heteropolyanion salt (Co_1.5PW₁₂O₄₀) loaded on activated carbon with different contents was prepared, characterized and tested for the synthesis of diol. The effect of various parameters such as reaction temperature, reaction time and CO₂ pressure on the reaction was studied. The effect of reaction temperature in the range 60-80 °C showed that high temperatures favor diol formation while low temperatures favor cyclohexanone and a segmented concave Arrhenius graph was observed. The results of this work showed that oxidation by H₂O₂ in the presence of CO₂ is an efficient oxidant system for the production of 1.2 cyclohexane diol over carbon activated carbon supported Co_1.5PW₁₂O₄₀. Thanks to CO₂ as a soft oxidizing agent, a conversion of 96.9% and a selectivity in 1, 2 cyclohexane diol of 64.2% was obtained. This simple, safe and environmentally method could be an alternative green route for vicinal diols production from alkenes.     

Effect of sporopollenin microparticle incorporation into the hexyl methacrylate-based monolithic columns for capillary liquid chromatography

Sporopollenin microparticles have been prepared form Lycopodium clavatum spores, defatted and incorporated into a porous methacrylate polymer monolith to enhance liquid chromatographic performance of different sets of small neutral molecules. A stable suspension between sporopollenin microparticles and porogenic solvents composed of 1-propanol and 1,4-butandiol has proved before preparation, and seven compositions with increasing sporopollenin microparticles were prepared inside fused silica tubing. After optimizing of the preparation conditions, the structure of the stationary phase was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, surface area analysis, thermodynamic study, short- and long-term precision, and hydrodynamic properties including mechanical stability, porosity, and permeability. The columns were successfully applied to improve the separation efficiency of different mixtures using capillary liquid chromatography. Addition of very small amount of sporopollenin microparticles to the methacrylate mixture enhanced the column efficiency from 3 to 5 times for ketonic and phenolic compounds and reduced the retention with the corresponding better resolution and peak shapes for all studied compounds.