Investigation of electrostatic charge distribution within the reactor wall fouling and bulk regions of a gas–solid fluidized bed

The distribution of charge within the wall fouling region and bulk of a fluidized bed reactor was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a 0.1 m in diameter carbon steel fluidization column under atmospheric conditions. Polyethylene particles were fluidized with extra dry air at 1.5 the minimum fluidization velocity (bubbling flow regime) for 1 h. Using an online Faraday cup measurement technique, the net charge-to-mass ratio (q/m), as well as the size distribution of all particles adhered to the column wall and those in the bulk of the bed was determined. The wall particles were found to be predominantly negatively charged while those which did not adhere to the wall were predominantly positively charged. The charge distribution within each region was then investigated by a custom made charged particle separator that separated the particles according to their charge magnitude and polarity. It was determined that although the net charge of the wall layer particles was negative, a significant amount of positively charged particles existed within each sample and therefore the entire wall particle layer. This suggests that the wall layer was formed through layering between positively and negatively charged particles. Particles in the bulk of the bed also consisted of bipolarly charged particles.     

Experimental study of V–I characteristics of wire–plate electrostatic precipitators under clean air conditions

In this paper a laboratory-scale model for prediction of the voltage–current characteristics of wire–plate electrostatic precipitators under clean air conditions is presented and experimentally validated. The model investigates the effect of electrode configurations, wire diameter, spacing between wire electrodes, number of discharge wires and distance between collecting plates that on voltage–current characteristic of wire–plate electrostatic precipitators. Also, this paper presents a simulation model, based on the Finite Difference Method (FDM), to simulate electric conditions of wire–plate electrostatic precipitators under clean air conditions. The experimental results of some models are compared with those obtained from the simulation models.     

Graft copolymerization of hydroxyethyl cellulose with solketal acrylate: Preparation and characterization for moisture absorption application

In this work, we reported the preparation of a novel biomaterial, by graft-polymerization of 2-2-dimethyl-1-3-dioxolan-4-yl methyl acrylate (solketalacrylate, DMDMA) on hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) using KPS as initiator. Several experiments were performed to found the optimum conditions for the preparation of this biopolymer, by varying the time of the reaction as well as the initiator and the monomer ratio. Results showed that the highest grafting yield was 25%, obtained after 72?minutes at 65?°C, using THF as solvent. The structure of the grafted copolymer was confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns which showed, besides the characteristic peaks of HEC at 2θ?=?31.74° and 44.63° a new peak at 2θ?=?30.72° related to an organized structure of the grafted polymer on the HEC backbone. The DSC analysis showed a single glass transition temperature Tg, intermediate between the corresponding values for HEC and neat poly(solketal acrylate). Moreover, the grafted biomaterial presented two-fold more moisture absorption ability by comparison with HEC, making this new synthetic biomaterial highly promising for dryness applications. In our knowledge, the synthesized monomer: 2-2-dimethyl-1-3-dioxolan-4-yl methyl acrylate, (solketal acrylate, DMDMA), has never been grafted on the HEC backbones before that is what makes the novelty of the present work.     

Facile electrodeposition of ZnO on graphitic substrate for photocatalytic application: degradation of antibiotics in a continuous stirred-tank reactor

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - This work discusses the possibility of obtaining ZnO film on graphite, which can be widely used for photocatalysis, photocells, photodetectors, etc. The...     

Surface Polymers on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Selective Extraction and Electrochemical Determination of Rhodamine B in Food Samples

In this study, we combine magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE), with the screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified by a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) for sensitive and selective extraction and electrochemical determination of Rhodamine B in food samples. A magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) was carried out using magnetic poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) synthetized on the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). An MIP was prepared on the surface of MWCNTs in the presence of titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) modifying the SPCE for the rapid electrochemical detection of Rhodamine B. The MIPs synthesis was optimized by varying the activated titanium oxide (TiO₂) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) amounts. The MSPE and electrochemical detection conditions were optimized as well. The present method exhibited good selectivity, high sensitivity, and good reproducibility towards the determination of Rhodamine B, making it a suitable method for the determination of Rhodamine B in food samples.     

Warm tachyon inflation and swampland criteria

In this study, the scenario of a two-component warm tachyon inflation is considered, where the tachyon field plays the role of the inflaton by driving the inflation. During inflation, the tachyon scalar field interacts with the other component of the Universe, which is assumed to be photon gas, i.e., radiation. The interacting term contains a dissipation coefficient, and the study is modeled based on two different and familiar choices of the coefficient that were studied in the literature. By employing the latest observational data, the acceptable ranges for the free parameters of the model are obtained. For any choice within the estimated ranges, there is an acceptable concordance between the theoretical predictions and observations. Although the model is established based on several assumptions, it is crucial to verify their validity for the obtained values of the free parameters of the model. It is found that the model is not self-consistent for all values of the ranges, and for some cases, the assumptions are violated. Therefore, to achieve both self-consistency and agreement with the data, the parameters of the model must be constrained. Subsequently, we consider the recently proposed swampland conjecture, which imposes two conditions on the inflationary models. These criteria rule out some inflationary models; however, warm inflation is among those that successfully satisfy the swampland criteria. We conduct a precise investigation, which indicates that the proposed warm tachyon inflation cannot satisfy the swampland criteria for some cases. In fact, for the first case of the dissipation coefficient, in which, there is dependency only on the scalar field, the model agrees with observational data. However, it is in direct tension with the swampland criteria. Nevertheless, for the second case, wherein the dissipation coefficient has a dependency on both the scalar field and temperature, the model exhibits acceptable agreement with observational data, and suitably satisfies the swampland criteria.     

HFIP-Functionalized Co3O4 Micro-Nano-Octahedra/rGO as a Double-Layer Sensing Material for Chemical Warfare Agents

Semiconductor metal oxides (SMO)-based gas-sensing materials suffer from insufficient detection of a specific target gas. Reliable selectivity, high sensitivity, and rapid response–recovery times under various working conditions are the main requirements for optimal gas sensors. Chemical warfare agents (CWA) such as sarin are fatal inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase in the nerve system. So, sensing materials with high sensitivity and selectivity toward CWA are urgently needed. Herein, micro-nano octahedral Co₃O₄ functionalized with hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) were deposited on a layer of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a double-layer sensing materials. The Co₃O₄ micro-nano octahedra were synthesized by direct growth from electrospun fiber templates calcined in ambient air. The double-layer rGO/Co₃O₄-HFIP sensing materials presented high selectivity toward DMMP (sarin agent simulant, dimethyl methyl phosphonate) versus rGO/Co₃O₄ and Co₃O₄ sensors after the exposure to various gases owing to hydrogen bonding between the DMMP molecules and Co₃O₄-HFIP. The rGO/Co₃O₄-HFIP sensors showed high stability with a response signal around 11.8 toward 0.5 ppm DMMP at 125 °C, and more than 75 % of the initial response was maintained under a saturated humid environment (85 % relative humidity). These results prove that these double-layer inorganic–organic composite sensing materials are excellent candidates to serve as optimal gas-sensing materials.     

Redheffer type bounds for Bessel and modified Bessel functions of the first kind

In this paper our aim is to show some new inequalities of the Redheffer type for Bessel and modified Bessel functions of the first kind. The key tools in our proofs are some classical results on the monotonicity of quotients of differentiable functions as well as on the monotonicity of quotients of two power series. We also use some known results on the quotients of Bessel and modified Bessel functions of the first kind, and by using the monotonicity of the Dirichlet eta function we prove a sharp inequality for the tangent function. At the end of the paper a conjecture is stated, which may be of interest for further research.     

Phthalazine-1,4-dione derivatives as non-competitive AMPA receptor antagonists: design,synthesis, anticonvulsant evaluation,ADMET profile and molecular docking

Molecular Diversity - In view of the anticonvulsant activity reported for phthalazine derivatives as non-competitive AMPA receptor antagonists, a new series of phthalazine-1,4-diones (2–12)...