Accelerated oxidative ageing of polypropylene fibers in aqueous medium under high oxygen pressure as studied by thermal analysis

Stabilised polypropylene fibres of 28 μm diameter have been exposed at 80 °C under 5 MPa oxygen pressure, in dry conditions, in pure water and in alkaline medium. Their residual stability is determined from the temperature T_ox of the onset of the oxidation exotherm, measured by differential scanning calorimetry at 10 K min⁻¹ scanning rate. The time t_ex to reach the characteristics of unstabilised samples (T_ox=175 °C) is of the order of 220 (dry conditions), 160 h (water) and 80 h (alkaline medium), whereas it is of the order of 750 h at 110 °C in classical tests made at atmospheric pressure. This increase of ageing rate is discussed in terms of kinetic effect of O₂ pressure and efficiency of the liquid medium to extract stabilisers.     

Double deprotonation of acetylenic oxiranes: synthesis of allenic ketones through Dilithio Ynenolates

[reaction: see text] The double deprotonation of acetylenic oxiranes gives allenic ketones through the 1,2-H or 1,2-Ar shift on the transient oxiranyl dianion intermediates. The resulting dilithium ynenolates give allenic ketones upon hydrolysis or can be quenched with various electrophiles.     

Effect of the ionic strength of salts on retention and overloading behavior of ionizable compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography II. Symmetry-C18

In a companion paper, we describe the influence of the concentration and the nature of salts dissolved in the mobile phase (methanol:water, 40:60, v/v) on the adsorption behavior of propranolol (R'-NH2+ -R, Cl-) on XTerra-C18. The same experiments were repeated on a Symmetry-C18 column to compare the adsorption mechanisms of this ionic compound on these two very different RPLC systems. Frontal analysis (FA) measurements were first carried out to determine the best isotherm model accounting for the adsorption behavior of propranolol hydrochloride on Symmetry with a mobile phase without salt (and only 25% methanol to compensate for the low retention in the absence of salt). The adsorption data were best modeled by the bi-Moreau model. Large concentration band profiles of propranolol were recorded with mobile phases having increasing KCl concentrations (0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 M) and the best values of the isotherm coefficients were determined by the inverse method (IM) of chromatography. The general effect of a dissociated salt in the mobile phase was the same as the one observed earlier with XTerra-C18. Increasing the salt concentration increases the two saturation capacities of the adsorbent and the adsorption constant on the low-energy sites. The adsorption constant on the high-energy sites decreases and the adsorbate-adsorbate interactions tend to vanish with increasing salt concentration of the mobile phase. The saturation capacities decrease with increasing radius of the monovalent cation (Na+, K+, Cs+, etc.). Using sulfate as a bivalent anion (Na2SO4) affects markedly the adsorption equilibrium: the saturation capacities are drastically reduced, the high-energy sites nearly disappear while the adsorption constant and the adsorbate-adsorbate interactions on the low-energy sites increase strongly. The complexity of the thermodynamics in solution might explain the different influences of these salts on the adsorption behavior.     

Rare event asymptotics for a random walk in the quarter plane

This paper presents a novel technique for deriving asymptotic expressions for the occurrence of rare events for a random walk in the quarter plane. In particular, we study a tandem queue with Poisson arrivals, exponential service times and coupled processors. The service rate for one queue is only a fraction of the global service rate when the other queue is non-empty; when one queue is empty, the other queue has full service rate. The bivariate generating function of the queue lengths gives rise to a functional equation. In order to derive asymptotic expressions for large queue lengths, we combine the kernel method for functional equations with boundary value problems and singularity analysis.     

Study of the competitive isotherm model and the mass transfer kinetics for a BET binary system

The competitive adsorption behavior of the binary mixture of phenetole (ethoxy-benzene) and propyl benzoate in a reversed-phase system was investigated. The adsorption equilibrium data of the single-component systems were acquired by frontal analysis. The same data for binary mixtures were acquired by the perturbation method. For both compounds, the single-component isotherm data fit best to the multilayer BET model. The experimental overloaded band profiles are in excellent agreement with the profiles calculated with either the general rate model or the modified transport-dispersive models. The competitive adsorption data were modeled using the ideal adsorbed solution (IAS) theory. The numerical values of the coefficients were derived by fitting the retention times of the perturbation pulses to those calculated using the IAS theory compiled with the coherence conditions. Finally, the elution profiles of binary mixtures were recorded. They compared very well with those calculated. As a characteristic feature of this case, an unusual retainment effect of the chromatographic band of the more retained component by the less retained one was observed. The combination of the General Rate Model and the adsorption isotherm model allowed an accurate prediction of the band profiles.     

Bulk analysis by IR laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Two laser ablation systems dedicated to bulk analysis were evaluated for steel and PVC samples, using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry detection. These systems were characterized by the use of a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm, the absence of observation device and a large laser spot size. The 1064 nm wavelength was selected to avoid the use of frequency-multiplying optics, and to be less critical to the sampling position. Calibration graphs and limits of detection are given for both types of materials. LODs were in the range 3–120 μg/g for steel, and in the range 0.07–15 μg/g for PVC. In the case of steel samples, similar calibration graph slopes were obtained between polished and unpolished samples.