Optimization of process parameters of γ-polyoxymethylene synthesis

Two procedures for γ-polyoxymethylene production are considered: the existing commercial procedure and high-efficiency perspective procedure, differing in the chain-transfer agents and catalysts used. Mathematical models of the dependences of the yield and weight-average particle size of γ-polyoxymethylene on the synthesis process parameters for the commercial and perspective technologies are constructed using the method of optimum experiment design. The mathematical models were used for determining the optimum synthesis parameters allowing preparation of γ-polyoxymethylene with the weight-average particle size d ≤ 14 μm in maximal yields.     

Electrochemical reduction process of bilirubin in dimethylformamide

The electrochemical reduction behavior of bilirubin (BR) at platinum electrode in DMF was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, in situ electron spin resonance spectroscopy and in situ rapid scanning thin layer spectroelectrochemistry. Experimental results revealed that thereduction of BR firstly undergoes an ECE process: BR-+e BR-dimerize (BR)22- +e(BR)23-. The generated (BR)23- can be re-oxidized to BR and then to purpurin (Pu) by a series of oxidation processes:(BR)23- -e (BR)22- -2e 2BR, BR --2e BV --2e Pu. However, the re-reduction reactions of Pu are not the reverse processes. The different reduction mechanisms are discussed in detail.     

Preparation of nanoparticles of oxides by the citrate–nitrate process

This paper reports preparation of nanoparticles of oxides by the citrate–nitrate process and the effect of metal ions on the thermal decomposition characteristics of the corresponding citrate–nitrate gel precursors. In order to understand the effect of metal ions on the thermal decomposition characteristics of the precursors, we have prepared a series of single component oxides such as MO, where M = Zn, MO₂, where M = Sn, Ce, Zr, and M₂O₃ where M = Al, Fe, Bi. In all the cases the citrate to nitrate ratio was fixed at 0.3. In order to ascertain the decomposition characteristics of the gel samples, TG/DTA studies were performed on the dried gel samples. After complete physico-chemical characterization of the precursors and the calcined products, it could be concluded that the nature of decomposition of the precursors depends largely on the nature of the metal ions. Finally, the advantages of the citrate–nitrate process such as its high degree of reproducibility, its potential for large-scale production of nano-crystalline ceramic oxide powders and its lower cost could be established based on a series of experiments and examples.     

Synthesis of spirocyclic β-keto-lactams: copper catalyzed process

In the presence of catalytic amount of copper salt, an efficient and flexible synthetic method towards the synthesis of a structurally new type of spirocyclic lactams was developed.     

Solid-state crystallization process and mechanism of B-Al-ZSM-5 zeolite

Ｉｎｃｏｍｐａｒｉｓｏｎｗｉｔｈｔｈｅａｌｕｍｉｎｕｍａｎａｌｏｇｕｅｓ,ｂｏｒｏｎｃｏｎｔａｉｎｉｎｇＭＦＩｔｙｐｅｚｅｏｌｉｔｅｈａｓｂｅｅｎｅｘｐｅｃｔｅｄｔｏｈａｖｅｍｉｌｄｅｒａｃｉｄｉｃｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｉｅｓａｎｄｓｐｅｃｉｆｉｃｃａｔａｌｙｔｉｃｐｅｒｆｏｒｍａｎｃｅ.Ｕｐｔｏｎｏｗ,ｍｕｃｈｗｏｒｋｈａｓｂｅｅｎｄｏｎｅｉｎｔｈｉｓａｓｐｅｃｔ[1—5],ｉｎｃｌｕｄｉｎｇｓｙｎｔｈｅｓｉｓ,ｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒａｌｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｉｚａｔｉｏｎａｎｄｃａｔａｌｙｓｉｓ,ｅｔｃ.Ｔｈｅｒｅａｒ…     

Formation of binary silver sulfide clusters and sulfur sensitization of photographic process

Formation of silver sulfide binary cluster ions,as well as the effects of silver and sulfur content proportion,the cluster size range,the influence of laser fluence,the UV laser photolysis,etc.,was studied with the laser ablation method and a tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometer.The results show that there exist two different forms of positively charge-bearing cluster ions;[(Ag2S)n Ag] + and [ (Ag2S)n-1 Ag3]+.The most possible forms of the sulfur sensitization centers acting as traps of photoelectrons are [Ag2S] +,[ Ag2S Ag] +,[ Ag2S Ag3]+ and the analogs.     

The miniemulsification process — different form of spontaneous emulsification

The miniemulsification process involves the use of low concentrations of mixed emulsifier combinations of an ionic surfactant (e.g. sodium lauryl sulfate) and a cosurfactant (e.g. long-chain fatty alcohol — cetyl alcohol). The product is an oil-in-water miniemulsion with an average droplet diameter of 100–400 nm, and excellent shelf stability. The dominant presence of liquid crystals in the aqueous mixed emulsifier system, under conditions of the miniemulsification process, was confirmed by consideration of phase diagrams, conductivity and birefringence studies. Unexpectedly, interfacial tension studies showed relatively high values of 5–15 dyn cm⁻¹. In spite of these high interfacial tensions, spontaneous emulsification was found at the oil-water interface, contrary to what is known in the field. Adsorption and electrophoretic mobility studies suggested that the miniemulsification process takes place by unidirectional swelling of the lamellar bilayers in the aqueous mixed emulsifier liquid crystal system as a result of absorption of oil, followed by subdivision of these entities. The stability of miniemulsions formed by this process is influenced by a steric component in the mixed emulsifier complex adsorbed at the oil-water interface.     

Molecular Dynamics Studies of Collapse Stages in the chain folding process of Polyethylene

Althoughtheequilibriumpropertiesofthepolymerhavebeenextensivelystudied,kineticphenomenasuchasthecondensingprocessandcollapsetransitionstillhavemanyunclearaspects,andmucheffortwastakentomakeathoroughinvestigationandstudy.Moleculardynamic(MD)simulationsofthefoldingandcollapseprocessforapolyethylenechainwasrecentlycarriedoutbymanyauthors1'2'3.Itwasreportedthatatwo-stagecollapseprocesswasseenwithouttorsionpotential',andthreestageswerefoundbysimplificationofthecomputationalmodel5.ButthecollaPsesta…     

Effects of the nanoassociation of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane precursors on the sol–gel process

Modifications to the refractive indices of meso-structured organic–inorganic films caused by variations in the mole fraction of precursors in ethanolic solutions were investigated. The refractive indices were dependent on the mole fraction of C₁₆TMS (hexadecyltrimethoxysilane) and of the C₁₆TMS/TMOS (tetramethoxysilane) (1/1) mixture in ethanol. The dependency was determined to be nonlinear, and the phenomenon was attributed to self-assembly caused by the long alkyl groups (C₁₆) on the C₁₆TMS. Changes in the maximum decreasing rate of d_n/d_x values [(d_n/d_x)_max—for d_n/d_x estimation, the curves from Fig. 1 were associated with a polynomial; using a dedicated program, d_n/d_x was calculated; maximum values of d_n/d_x were taken into account and were included in Table 1)] were used to distinguish the behavior of alcoholic precursor mixtures. In the case of using pyrene as a fluorescent probe, the ratio between two peaks from the pyrene emission spectra (I₁/I₃) strongly decreased as hydrophobic micro-surroundings formed due to the self-assembly process. The UV–VIS spectra of a cationic dye solution, R6G, was studied because dilute solutions of the dye in equilibrium form measurable ratios of dimers and monomers. The absorbance was modified as micro-surroundings with different polarities were formed. These three methods demonstrated that nano-structuration was present prior to the occurrence of the sol–gel process. The combination of C₁₆TMS with other alkyltrialkoxysilane precursors having hydrocarbon chain lengths between C₁ and C₈ provided further evidence for a nonlinear dependence of the refractive indice and fluorescence spectra of pyrene. The properties of the final hybrids obtained by the sol–gel process were significantly affected by the precursor hydrocarbon chain lengths. DSC, XRD and FTIR measurements were used to show the plasticizing phenomena of C₁₆ as other alkyltrialkoxysilanes (i.e., C₁–C₈) were added.

EB crosslinking of polyethylene ‘O’ rings: Optimisation of process parameters

Radiation crosslinked LDPE O rings, an inexpensive substitute for PTFE and polysilicone gaskets in high temperature applications, are widely used in the industry. Radiation crosslinking of LDPE O rings, in the finished form was carried out at the 20 kW-2 MeV, ILU — 6 type EB facility installed at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay to establish irradiation technique for large scale production and for an adequate and uniform dose delivery. Two irradiation geometries viz. flat bed and rotating spindle were chosen for batch processing and optimisation of process parameters. The laboratory analysis and thein situ performance showed that a minimum of 65 % gel-content is needed in the irradiated rings and that an absorbed dose of about 200 kGy is adequate to meet the industrial standards. Rotating spindle technique was found to have an edge over flat bed irradiation in terms of dose uniformity and throughput. This paper gives an account of the work carried out to optimise the process parameters for both the geometries.     

Quantitative characterization of membrane formation process of alginate–chitosan microcapsules by GPC

The semi-permeable membrane of alginate–chitosan (AC) microcapsules has been proven important to control the microcapsule stability and selective substance diffusion rate. Therefore, a novel and operable methodology based on gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was established for quantitative characterization of the membrane formation process, so as to provide guidance on performance improvement of AC microcapsules in biomedical applications. Not only the molecular weight (M_w) and its distribution of chitosan can be obtained by GPC, but also the area integral of molecular weight peaks can be linearly correlated to chitosan concentration in certain range. The dynamic membrane formation process was then obtained by quantitatively analyzing reaction amount of chitosan with time, which showed that for chitosan molecules with wide M_w distribution, only parts of molecules bind with alginate to form microcapsule membrane. Moreover, the contribution of chitosan molecules participating in the membrane formation process was also different. These new findings, therefore, are helpful for adjusting and controlling the membrane formation process and properties of microcapsule membrane.     

Additional force field in cooling process of cellular Al alloy

The foaming process of Al alloy is similar to that of Al, but there is a solid-liquid state zone in the solidification process of cellular Al alloy which does not exist in the case of Al. In the unidirectional solidification of cellular Al alloy, the proportion of the solid phase gradually reduces from the solid front to the liquid front. This will introduce a force and result in a serious quick shrinkage. By the mathematic and physical mode, the solidification of the cellular Al alloy is studied. The data measured by experiment are close to the result calculated by the mode. This kind of shrinkage can be solved by suitable cooling method in appropriate growth stage. The compressive strength of the cellular Al alloy made by this way is 40% higher than that of cellular Al.     

Lactic acid based sol–gel process of Ag nanoparticles and crystalline phase control of Ni particles in aqueous sol–gel process

Nickel and silver particles were prepared by using sol–gel auto-combustion method under N₂ atmosphere where lactic acid was applied as chelating agent. The synthesis of nickel particles was carried out at various pH conditions (2–7), resulting in the face-centered-cubic or hexagonal-close-packed crystalline nickel phase. The morphology and structure of synthesized nickel particles and silver nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetric analysis. The results show that the spherical Ag nanoparticles with diameters in the range of 18–27 nm and narrow size distribution can be obtained by this sol–gel process.     

A process for preparation of anticancer drug 9-nitro camptothecin

Camptothecin and some of its semisythetic derivatives such as topotecan, irinotecan and 9-nitrocamptothecin, have exhibited strong antitumor activity against various experimental tumor model. The water insoluble 9-nitrocamptothecin demonstrated very potent antitumor activity against many different types of human cancers and HIV. Literature procedures for preparing 9-nitrocamptothecin are direct nitration of camptothecin using a concentrated nitric/concentrated sulfuric acid system or a combin…     

Use of polyethylene glycol in the process of sol–gel encapsulation of Burkholderia cepacia lipase

Lipases from Burkholderia cepacia were encapsulated using polyethylene glycol (PEG, M _w 1500) at various concentrations (0.5–3.0 %, w/v) as an additive during the sol–gel immobilisation process. Matrixes immobilized in the presence and absences of additives were characterized by thermal analysis [thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)], scanning electron microscopy (SEM), enzymatic activity, and total activity recovery yield (Ya). The addition of PEG increased the activity values, with Ya just above 1.0 % (w/v) in the presence of PEG. The additional of 1.0 % (w/v) PEG increased enzyme activity from 33.98 to 89.91 U g^?1 and the values of recovery yield were 43.0–91.4 %, compared to values of the samples without PEG. PEG enhanced the thermal stability of the matrix structure in the temperature range 50–200 °C, as confirmed by TG and DSC analyses. This was influenced by the presence of water bound to the matrix. The SEM micrographs clearly showed an increase in the number of deposits on the material surface, producing matrices with greater porosity.     

Effect of modification with rubber on properties and process of curing of epoxy–rubber adhesive compositions

The effect of SKN-30KTRA low molecular weight rubber on the elastic and strength properties of adhesive compositions made with epoxy-rubber composition, is shown. The data on the effect of rubber on curing of adhesive compositions are presented.     

Inherent safety evaluation in process plants— a comparison of methodologies

A global population increase and an improved standard of living are generally expected. To meet these demands, an increased production of chemicals will be necessary while protecting human health and the environment. However, most current methods of chemical production are unsustainable. New designs must result in plants that assure process and operator safety, the sustained health of workers and the community, and the protection of the environment. Traditional safety precautions and process controls minimize risk but cannot guarantee the prevention of accidents followed by serious consequences. Therefore, the general approach to environmental and safety problems must be changed from reactive to proactive. One way is to further develop the concept of inherent safety. In this paper some methods for inherent safety evaluations are reviewed. The aim of the study is to analyze the different tools available for inherent safety evaluation and identify the most important criteria in determining the inherent safety of a process plant. A model is proposed to show the interactions of different factors on the inherent safety level of a process and the model is illustrated by a case study.     

901 — Electrode process of glutamate dehydrogenase in differential pulse polarography

The anodic and cathodic responses of sulfhydryl groups in glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) were studied using the d.p.p. method. The current peaks were detected at the potentials U_p,anod and U_p,cath of approx. −1.45 V and −1.50 V, respectively, versus s.c.e. in phosphate buffer, pH 7. Both the cathodic and the anodic responses of GDH showed autoinhibiting diffusion-controlled adsorption effects. Both peak potentials U_p,anod and U_p,cath are shifted positively with increasing pH up to pH 8.5 (U_p,anod by 40 mV/pH, U_p,cath by 60 mV/pH) and then become pH-independent. The preceding chemical reaction (field-induced homolysis) with pH-dependent rate yields the electroactive form, the thiyl radical, through abstraction of the hydrogen atom from the -SH group. The radical could be reduced, yielding the thiol anion after the uptake of one electron. The two-electron anodic oxidation in d.p.p. involves the product of this reduction process and another thiol anion in an adjacent position. The dissociation rate constant of the thiol group near that undergoing homolysis was estimated from the d.p.p. data (log k_d = 2.9 ± 0.2).