Water Pollution Threat to the Environment by a Urea Plant

Disposal of untreated industrial effluents is drastically deteriorating the quality of underground water. Research work has been conducted to analyze the effect of disposal of urea plant effluent on the quality of ground water of the District Mianwali Daudkhail, Pakistan. For this purpose the effluent and ground water samples were analyzed for pH, TDS, TSS, Cl, F, COD, BOD, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, Mn, and As. Results obtained were compared with WHO and NEQS standards for drinking and effluent emission limits, respectively. Moreover, effluent samples were also evaluated for irrigation purposes and results compared with criteria recommended for irrigation water. Results showed though the effluents were according to the standards given by National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) for liquid emission and fit for irrigation purposes, the quality of underground water was below standard due to having a higher quantity of total dissolved solids than permissible.     

A phenolate-induced trans influence: crystallographic evidence for unusual asymmetric coordination of an alpha-diimine in ternary complexes of iron(III) possessing biologically relevant hetero-donor N-centered tripodal ligands

Three mononuclear ternary complexes of iron(III) with an alpha-diimine (bipy or phen) and a derivative of N,N-bis(2-hydroxybenzyl)glycinate (L3-) have been synthesized and characterized by magnetic susceptibility measurements, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and electronic absorption spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray structure determinations of the pseudo-octahedral complexes [Fe(bipy)L] x MeCN [L = (3,5-Br2)-L3- or (5,3-Cl,Me)-L3-] revealed a considerable and consistent distortion in the coordination of bipy to iron(III) attributable largely to electronic effects. In both crystal structures, the Fe-N(pyridyl) bond trans to the phenolate oxygen is 0.133 A longer than the other one positioned trans to the tertiary amine nitrogen, a relatively weaker donor. This coordination behavior of bipy is of structural interest and has not been observed previously for iron(III). The electronic and EPR spectra of the compounds [Fe(L'-L')L] x MeCN (L'-L' = bipy or phen) are consistent with the spin state of the central metal atom (S = 5/2). The charge-transfer transitions arising from the strong interactions of the phenolate moieties with the ferric ion have been identified as phenolate (p(pi)) --> iron(III) (d(pi*)) (lambda(max) approximately 500 nm, epsilon approximately 3000 M(-1) cm(-1)) and phenolate (p(pi)) --> iron(III) (d(sigma*) (lambda(max) approximately 320 nm, epsilon approximately 5200 M(-1) cm(-1)). The presence of the phenolate moieties in the quadridentate hetero-donor tripodal ligands, H3L, lends these iron(III) ternary complexes the potential to model the specific metal-coordination, metal-substrate interactions, and physicochemical behaviors of several iron-tyrosinate proteins.     

Scattering experiments on the structure of concentrated dispersions

 In this work the Couette cell is compared with a more recently constructed disk shear cell. There are distinct advantages of the disk over the Couette cell, in particular, when it comes to the determination of the intensity along certain Bragg rods. Received: 12 December 2000 Accepted: 31 January 2001     

Optimization of improved suspension system with inerter device of the quarter-car model in vibration analysis

In this paper, we analyze an improved suspension system with the incorporated inerter device of the quarter-car model to obtain optimal design parameters for maximum comfort level for a driver and passengers. That is achieved by finding the analytical solution for the system of ordinary differential equations, which enables us to generate an optimization problem whose objective function is based on the international standards of admissible acceleration levels (ISO 2631-1, Mechanical Vibration and Shock—Evaluation of Human Exposure to Whole-Body Vibration–Part 1, 1997). The considered approach ensures the highest level of comfort for the driver and passengers due to a favorable reduction in body vibrations. Numerical examples, based on actually measured road profiles, are presented at the end of the paper to prove the validity of the proposed approach and its suitability for the problem at hand.     

Chemical constituents of Jordanian propolis

Seventeen compounds, including a new lanostane triterpenoid, 24(Z)-1β-3β-dihydroxyeupha-7,24-dien-26-oic acid, have been isolated from the methanolic extracts of two samples of Jordanian propolis collected from two different places with different dominant flora. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by spectral methods including IR, UV, MS and 1- and 2-D NMR.     

A simple chemical model for clathrate hydrate inhibition by polyvinylcaprolactam

A dimeric model compound gives structural insight into the mode of interaction of low dosage hydrate inhibitors with water.     

Conjugated Polymers-Based Ternary Hybrid toward Unique Photophysical Properties

The improvement of optical and optoelectronic properties of the individual poly [2-methoxy-5- (2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyl-octyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene]–End capped with Dimethyl phenyl (OC1C10–PPV–DMP), and poly (9,9′-di- n -octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (F8) was revealed by blending them in ternary hybrid with optimal ratio (F8/2 wt.% MEH-PPV/2 wt.% OC1C10–PPV–DMP). All individual and optimal ternary solutions were prepared via the solution-blending method followed by depositing them onto glass and ITO substrates using spin-coating technique. The semi-crystalline phase of the ternary hybrid and the strong mixing between the conjugated polymers were evidenced by observing the X-ray diffraction patterns that related to F8 into the hybrid diffractogram. The optical and optoelectronic properties of all prepared thin films were investigated in terms of absorption and emission spectra, Commission International d′Eclairage (CIE) coordinates, and current–voltage (I-V) characterizations. Emission peaks at the entire range of visible spectrum can be revealed from the ternary hybrid of the three individual conjugated polymers, producing white emission as evidenced from the emission spectrum and CIE coordinates of the hybrid. Among all fabricated organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) devices, the ternary hybrid-based-OLED revealed the best performance in terms of current and turn-on voltage.     

Possible High Power Laser Construction Using a New Discharge Type-Heated Cathode Discharge in the Copper Vapours Continuously Evaporated from the Anode

The possibility to build a high power copper laser using a new type of discharge – heated cathode discharge in the copper vapours continuously evaporated from a melted spot on the anode surface is analysed. From the experimental data on this new discharge type, the equivalent pressure of the copper atoms in the discharge space has been obtained. This pressure can be as high as 1 torr. The density of the power in the discharge volume is evaluated to be more than 1 kW/cm³.