Flammability Tests and Investigations of Properties of Lignin-Containing Polymer Composites Based on Acrylates

In this paper flammability tests and detailed investigations of lignin-containing polymer composites’ properties are presented. Composites were obtained using bisphenol A glycerolate (1 glycerol/phenol) diacrylate (BPA.GDA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and kraft lignin (lignin alkali, L) during UV curing. In order to evaluate the influence of lignin modification and the addition of flame retardant compounds on the thermal resistance of the obtained biocomposites, flammability tests have been conducted. After the modification with phosphoric acid (V) lignin, as well as diethyl vinylphosphonate, were used as flame retardant additives. The changes in the chemical structures (ATR-FTIR), as well as the influence of the different additives on the hardness, thermal (TG) and mechanical properties were discussed in detail. The samples after the flammability test were also studied to assess their thermal destruction.     

Effects of kaolin on the thermal stability and flame retardancy of polypropylene composite

Kaolin clay was introduced into an intumescent flame retardant (IFR) system containing ammonium polyphosphate as an acid source and pentaerythritol as a carbonization agent in order to improve the thermal stability and flame retardancy of polypropylene (PP) composite. The flame retardancy and smoke suppression was evaluated by the limiting oxygen index, vertical burning UL‐94, and cone calorimeter (CONE) tests. The limiting oxygen index value was increased from 30 to 33 at the presence of 2 phr kaolin. The peak heat release rate value decreased from 1002 kW/m² of neat PP to 318 kW/m² of PP/40 phr IFR and then to 222 kW/m² of PP/38 phr IFR/2 phr kaolin. The time of the peak heat release rate was significantly prolonged after the introduction of kaolin. The morphology of char after combustion was characterized by a scanning electron microscope, and it revealed more compact char structure that was obtained at the presence of kaolin. The mechanism of kaolin on improving the retardancy and smoke suppression of PP/IFR composite was proposed on the basis of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

离子色谱法测定纺织浆料中痕量N-(2-羟乙基)乙二胺

应用离子色谱法测定了纺织浆料中痕量的N-(2-羟乙基)乙二胺(HEEDA)。样品(1.0g)加水定容至25mL并超声分散40min,离心分离,取上清液,经过滤后再通过OnGuard RP柱除去其中的芳香染料等大分子有机物后,进样25μL,经Ionpac CS17阳离子交换柱,并用8mmol·L-1硫酸溶液作为流动相进行分离。用抑制电导检测器检测。HEEDA的质量浓度在0.1~100mg·L-1范围内与其峰面积值呈线性关系,检出限(3S/N)为0.025mg·L-1。按试验方法对50mg·L-1 HEEDA标准溶液重复5次测定,测定值的相对标准偏差为0.71%。以两个阳性样品作基体,用标准加入法进行回收试验,测得回收率在95.4%~104%之间。     

Bifurcation Phenomena for an Oxidation Reaction in a Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor I. Adiabatic Operation

We investigate the steady-state multiplicity exhibited by the reaction of a fuel/air mixture in a continuously stirred tank reactor. The chemical mechanism used is a modification of a scheme due to Sal'nikov. We consider four cases; corresponding to the choice of fuel fraction, inflow temperature, inflow pressure, or precursor decay rate as the primary bifurcation parameter. From the perspective of fire-retardancy, the case when the fuel fraction is varied is the most important. In this case the steady-state diagrams provide a basis for a systematic investigation into the effectiveness of gas-phase active fire retardants.     

Laundry process intensification by ultrasound

In domestic textile laundering processes, mass transfer and mass transport are often rate limiting. Therefore, these processes require a long processing time, large amounts of water and chemicals, and they are energy consuming. In most of these processes, diffusion and convection in the inter-yarn and intra-yarn pores of the fabric are limiting mass transport mechanisms. Intensification of mass transport, preferentially in the intra-yarn pores, is the key in the improvement of the efficiency of wet textile processes. Conventional methods of intensification of mass transport (e.g. operation at elevated temperatures) are not always feasible due to the undesired side effects such as fabric damage. Increasing the flow rate does not deliver the desired effect due to the multi-porous complex structure of textile materials. Van der Donck et al. [Tenside Surf. Det. 35 (1998) 119; 36 (1999) 222] reported that the deformation of yarns by placing a fabric in a pulsating flow or repeated mechanical elongation of the yarns improved mass transport. However, the additional mass transport caused by deformation is limited in practice. Power ultrasound is a promising technique to accelerate mass transport in textile materials. Several papers appeared in this field, which report an improvement in energy efficiency and processing time of the wet textile processes in the presence of ultrasound. In this paper, the different time and length scales are discussed in the intensification of the mass transport in laundry processes in the presence of ultrasound and compared with more conventional processes. It has been concluded that the characteristic mass transport rates in textiles can be increased by a factor of 6 applying ultrasound.     

Removal of structurally different dyes in submerged membrane fungi reactor—Biosorption/PAC-adsorption,membrane retention and biodegradation

The long-term performance of a submerged membrane fungi reactor was observed while a synthetic textile wastewater containing either or both of the two structurally different azo dyes was continuously fed. Compared to the Acid Orange II dye (simpler structure), higher biosorption but slower biodegradation of the polymeric dye (Poly S119) was observed in sterile batch tests. In the membrane bioreactor (MBR), although a relative abundance of fungi (66%) without any specific control of bacterial contamination could be maintained, unlike in pure fungus culture, enzymatic activity was below detection limit. Nevertheless, >99% removal of Poly S119 was consistently achieved under a dye loading of 0.1 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ (HRT = 1 d). Comparison of the reactor-supernatant (SQ) and the membrane-permeate (PQ) qualities (31% improvement) revealed the significant contribution of the membrane to the overall removal (biosorption, cake layer filtration, biodegradation) of Poly S119. Contrary to the faster removal of Orange II in batch test, membrane-permeate quality revealed 93% removal of the dye in MBR (corresponding SQ = 82%). However, excellent (>99%) stable removal of Orange II or of both the dyes together, as well as stable enzymatic activity was observed following addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) in the MBR. In accordance with real textile wastewater, dye contributed only 5% of the TOC loading (0.944 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹) in this study. In contrast to low TOC removal by fungi alone, the MBR containing mixed microbial community steadily achieved >98% removal, which improved further to >99% after PAC addition.     

Bioactive textiles by sol–gel immobilised natural active agents

The sol–gel immobilisation and controlled release of various bioactive liquids (BL) from within modified silica coatings were investigated, in order to evaluate the suitability of functionalised textiles for the following applications: (1) skin-friendly textiles with antimicrobial and antiallergic effects due to immobilised natural oils such as evening primrose and perilla oil; (2) textiles for therapeutic treatment of the respiratory tract by means of immobilised mixtures of high volatility natural agents such as eucalyptol, camphor and menthol. Results indicating the antimicrobial properties, washfastness and medical activity of the bioactive textiles are presented. Of note is the transdermal resorption of the BL from the sol–gel coated textiles, determined by the time-dependent concentration of cineol, camphor and menthol in the air exhaled by test subjects after the application of coated textiles. When compared to the application of an ointment, not only does the use of coated textiles offer a more continuous and prolonged release of the embedded BL, but it is also more convenient.     

Measurement uncertainty in testing for antimicrobial activity on textile materials

Measurement uncertainty is widely recognized among physicists and chemists, but is a relatively new concept to many microbiologists. Generally, available documents about measurement uncertainty in microbiological testing are applicable to food and water microbiology. Two quantitative methods for evaluation of antimicrobial activity of textile materials are used commonly in textile laboratories. Methodology and expression of results for the two methods are similar; thus, calculation and expression of measurement uncertainty for results obtained by these test methods are also similar. This contribution describes the way in which measurement uncetainty for these methods can be evaluated and reported.     

Treatment of oxidized cellulose fabric with chitosan and its surface activity towards anionic reactive dyes

The surface modification of cellulose fabric with chitosan was achieved through an oxidation of the fabric with KIO₄ followed by reductive ammination with chitosan. The chitosan content in the fabric determined by Kjeldahl nitrogen analysis technique was 1.69%. The scanning electron micrograph revealed submicron particles of chitosan attached on the fabric surface. Dyeing of the modified fabrics with mono-chloro-triazine and vinyl sulfone anionic reactive dyes, showed vastly improved exhaustion and color yield (K/S) indicating that this method of surface modification is effective for changing surface activity of the fabric. The enhancement of the dye uptake brought about an improved dyeing process in which the dye and salt used could be reduced by half and 14%, respectively. A Significant drop in burst strength upon the oxidation but no discernable adverse color fastness property was observed for the chitosan-modified fabric.     

Interpretation of relaxation and swelling phenomena in lyocell regenerated cellulosic fibres and textiles associated with the uptake of solutions of sodium hydroxide

The uptake of solutions of sodium hydroxide by lyocell fibre results in a phenomenon in textiles described as swelling–shrinkage. The response of woven fabrics in a tensile stress–relaxation experiment shows two time-dependent processes, corresponding to different mechanisms of pressure development. Rapid diffusion has been assigned to osmotic swelling through the interconnected pore structure of the fibre (D = 6–15 × 10⁻¹² m²/s), which is influenced by the extent of ionization of hydroxyl groups at the pore surfaces. A ratio for the cellulose and water dissociation constants (K_cell/K_w) of 70 provides best agreement with experimental data. A second slower diffusion process (D = 2–10 × 10⁻¹⁴ m²/s) is assigned to transport through the cellulose polymer structure, associated with the Na-cellulose transition. This can be modeled assuming an ion-exchange equilibrium, where the cellulose gel converts reversibly between compact hydrogen and expanded sodium forms, with K = 1.04 × 10¹⁴, in favour of the hydrogen form. The model successfully predicts the concentration dependence of the transition and the movement to higher concentration with external constraint. The slow diffusion process only becomes apparent at high alkali concentrations, as the pores in the fibre collapse due to the expansion of the gel. Continued gel-diffusion is only possible through the polymer phase, which then dominates over fast pore-diffusion.