The effect of melt flow index, melt flow rate, and particle size on the thermal degradation of commercial high density polyethylene powder

The powder of EX5 grade of high density polyethylene—without any additives—manufactured by Amirkabir petrochemical company was separated by shaker equipment. The separated powder of average diameter ~25, ~62.5, ~87.5, ~112.5, ~137.5, ~175 and the particles >200 μm was tested by a thermogravimetric (TG) analysis instrument in nitrogen atmosphere and heating rates of 10, 20, and 30 °C min^?1. In addition, the separated powders were analyzed by a melt flow index (MFI) instrument, and the viscosity average molecular mass (M _v) of the powders was tested by a viscometer. Kinetic evaluations were performed by Friedman and Kissinger analysis methods and apparent activation energy for the overall degradation of the powders was determined. The effects of molecular mass, MFI, MFR, and particle size on the degradation TG curve, derivative thermogravimetry curve breadth, and activation energy of thermal degradation were considered. The results showed that the M _v of EX5 pipe grade produced by two serial reactors is increased by increasing of the particle size and, MFI is decreased with a little deviation by particle size increasing. The particle size has no obvious effect on the melt flow rate (MFR), and MFR as function of molecular mass distribution does not change very much. The results showed that the powder with bigger particles and higher molecular mass moderately increases the activation energy and shifts the degradation curve to the higher temperatures.     

Darstellung und Eigenschaften von tetragonalen α-Di(phthalocyaninato(1−))-praseodym(III)-polyhalogeniden; Kristallstruktur von α-[Pr(Pc−)2]Br1,5

Preparation and Properties of Tetragonal α-Di(phthalocyaninato(1?))praseodymium(III)-polyhalides; Crystal Structure of α-[Pr(Pc^?)₂]Br_1.5 Brown red di(phthalocyaninato(1?))-praseodym(III)-polyhalides [Pr(Pc^?)₂]X_y (X = Br, I) of variable composition (1 ≤ y ≤ 2.5) are formed by (electro)chemical oxidation of [Pr(Pc^2?)₂]^?. The thermical decomposition of these polyhalides at 250°C yields partially oxidized, green α-[PrPc^?Pc^2?]. Due to strong spin–spin coupling of the phthalocyanin-π-radicals only Pr^III contributes to the magnetic moment of ca. 3.0 B.M. for all complexes. Green metallic prisms of [Pr(Pc^?)₂]Br_1.5 crystallize in the tetragonal α-modification: space group P4/nnc with a = 19.634(5) Å, c = 6.485(2) Å; Z = 2. In the sandwich complex Pr^III is eightfold coordinated by the isoindoline N-atoms of the two staggered (41°), nearly planar Pc^?- ligands. The quasi-onedimensional character of the structure along [001] is due to the infinite columns of Pc^? ligands. The superperiod along [001] is a consequence of the distribution of the Pr atoms onto two incompletely filled crystallographic positions at a distance of c/2 and the disordered chains of the bromine atoms extending in the same direction. Powder diffractograms of Pr(Pc )₂Br2, [Pr(Pc^?)₂]I₂ und [PrPc Pc^2?] confirm the tetragonal α-modification of these complexes, too. The content of tribromide correlates with the population of the Pr(2)-site. In the UV-VIS-NTR absorption spectrum of a thin film of Pr(Pc )₂Br, the intense bands at 13.9 and 19.5 kK are assigned to the B and Q transition, respectively. The D band at 9. kK is characteristic for isolated dimeric Pc^?-π-radicals. Due to increasing electron delocalisation as a result of the growing columns the D band is shifted to lower energy appearing successively at 6.05 and 3.3 kK. The mir and resonance Raman (RR) spectra of α-[Pr(Pr^?)₂]X_y, (X = Br, I) show the well known diagnostic bands for Pc^?-π-radicals. Thc RR spectrum of the polyiodide is dominated by the overtone progression of the totally symmetric (I-I) stretching vibration of the triiodide at 108cm^?1. The FT-Raman spectra are also marked by the totally symmetric stretching vibration of the polyhalides (Br₃ : 145cm ¹; 1₃^?:105cm^?1; I₅^? 151 cm^?1).     

A class of split-step balanced methods for stiff stochastic differential equations

In this paper we design a class of general split-step balanced methods for solving It? stochastic differential systems with m-dimensional multiplicative noise, in which the drift or deterministic increment function can be taken from any chosen one-step ODE solver. We then give an analysis of their order of strong convergence in a general setting, but for the mean-square stability analysis, we confine our investigation to a special case in which the drift increment function of the methods is replaced by the one from the well known Rosenbrock method. The resulting class of stochastic differential equation (SDE) solvers will have more appropriate and useful mean-square stability properties for SDEs with stiffness in their drift and diffusion parts, compared to some other already reported split-step balanced methods. Finally, numerical results show the effectiveness of these methods.     

Rapid kinetic determination of silver (I), using in-cuvette mixing and computerized data acquisition

 The determination of silver(I) based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of indigo carmine with hexacyanoferrate(III) is described. The reaction is monitored spectrophotometrically by means of a home-made rapid system with computer data acquisition. The decrease in absorbance of indigo carmine at 612 nm, pH 6 and at a fixed concentration of hexacyanoferrate(III) and indigo carmine is proportional to the concentration of Ag(I). The acquired data based on the initial rate and fixed time are processed. Up to 100.0 μg/ml of silver are determined. The limit of detection and average relative standard deviation are 0.13 μg/ml and 1.9%, respectively. The effect of foreign ions on the determination of silver is also discussed. The proposed method is applied to the determination of Ag(I) in expired photographic film. Received: 17 June 1996 / Revised: 26 July 1996 / Accepted: 2 August 1996     

Proton density water fraction as a biomarker of bone marrow cellularity: Validation in ex vivo spine specimens

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for quantifying the proton density water fraction (PDWF) as a biomarker of bone marrow cellularity. Thirty-six human bone marrow specimens from 18 donors were excised and subjected to different measurements of tissue composition: PDWF quantification using a multiple gradient echo MRI technique, three biochemical assays (triglyceride, total lipid and water content) and a histological assessment of cellularity. Results showed a strong correlation between PDWF and bone marrow cellularity from histology (r = 0.72). A strong correlation was also found between PDWF and the biochemical assay of water content (r = 0.76). These results suggest the PDWF is a predictor of bone marrow cellularity in tissues and can provide a non-invasive assessment of bone marrow changes in clinical patients undergoing radiotherapy.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence analysis of phenolic compounds using the NCS-luminol system

A flow injection system coupled with two simple and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) methods is described for the determination of some phenolic compounds. The methods are based on the inhibition effects of the investigated phenols on the CL signal intensities of N-chlorosuccinimide-KI-luminol (NCS-KI-luminol) and NCS-luminol systems. The influences of the chemical and hydrodynamic parameters on the decrease in CL signal intensities of NCS-KI-luminol and NCS-luminol systems for hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol, serving as the model compounds of analyte, were studied in the flow injection mode of analysis. Under the selected conditions, the proposed CL systems were used for the determination of some phenolic compound and analytical characteristics of the systems including calibration equation, correlation coefficient, linear dynamic range, limit of detection, and sample throughput. The limits of detection for hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol were 0.002, 0.01, and 0.3 μM using the NCS-KI-luminol system; for the NCS-luminol system these were 0.01, 0.17, and 1.6 μM, respectively. The relative standard deviation for 10 repeated measurements of 0.04, 0.06, and 1 μM of hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol were 1.9, 1.4, and 2.0%, respectively, with the NCS-KI-luminol system; for 0.2, 0.5, and 4 μM of hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol these were 2.6, 2.2, and 3.7%, respectively, using the NCS-luminol system. The method was applied to the determination of catechol in known environmental water samples with a relative error of less than 6%. A possible reaction mechanism of the proposed CL system is discussed briefly.