Rice husk silica as a sustainable filler in the tire industry

In this paper, we studied commercially available precipitated rice husk silica (RHS) with conventional precipitated silica, which has nearly the same surface area, and replaced part of the carbon black with RHS and conventional silica in a basic tread formulation. All formulations were mixed with the same amount of filler during the study. Silica was used at 15, 30 and 50 phr loading, and part of the carbon black was replaced by silica. Compound curing characteristics, physical properties, rebound resilience, heat generation, abrasion loss, dynamic properties and morphology were analyzed. The results indicated that RHS demonstrated compound properties comparable to those of conventional silica. As part of the carbon black was replaced with conventional silica, a slower cure rate, higher rebound resilience, lower heat generation, lower abrasion loss, and lower tan delta were observed with no significant change in physical properties, but some changes in physical properties were observed using one way ANOVA analysis. We found the same trend when replacing part of the carbon black with RHS, such as a slower cure rate, higher rebound resilience, lower heat generation, lower abrasion loss, and lower tan delta with no significant change in physical properties, but some changes in physical properties were observed using one way ANOVA. This sustainable material could be used to replace conventional silica in tire compounding, as well as to replace a portion of carbon black with RHS for improved heat build-up, rolling resistance, and abrasion loss.     

RICE CONDITION NUMBERS OF CERTAIN CHARACTERISTIC SUBSPACES

This paper proposes the Rice condition numbers for invariant subspace, singular sub-spaces of a matrix and deflating subspaces of a regular matrix pair. The first-order perturbation estimations for these subspaces are derived by applying perturbation expansions of orthogonal projection operators.     

流动注射原子吸收光谱法测定富硒天麻、葡萄及大米中的硒

建立了流动注射氢化物发生-原子吸收光谱法测定富硒天麻、葡萄及大米中硒的方法。测定硒的线性范围为0．33μg/L-50μg/L，相对标准偏差小于3％，加标回收率为93％-106％。方法已广泛应用于实际样品中微量硒的测定。     

Synthesis of ultrafine SiC from rice hulls (husks): A plasma process

Heat-treated rice hulls have been used as precursor material for synthesis of ultrafne SiC in a RF plasma reactor. Rice hulls containing finely distributed silica and active carbon act as a source for SiC formation. The plasma-synthesized powder contained ultrafnc -SiC with excess carbon and some unreacted silica. Post-treatment processes such as oxidation and acid (HF) treatment appear to be effective in removing the excess carbon and silica.     

Use of modified rice husks as a natural solid adsorbent of trace metals: characterisation and development of an on-line preconcentration system for cadmium and lead determination by FAAS

The use of rice husks as an alternative adsorbent in an on-line preconcentration system for Cd (II) and Pb (II) determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) is described. The potential of rice husks as a natural adsorbent was evaluated as a material modified with 0.75 mol l⁻¹ NaOH solution and in the unmodified form. For this task, several techniques such as spectroscopy and thermogravimetry were used for elucidation of possible functional groups responsible for the uptake of Cd (II) and Pb (II). Furthermore, based on adsorption studies and adsorption isotherms applied to the Langmüir model, it was possible to verify that modified rice husks present a higher adsorption capacity for both metals. After establishing this material as a promising natural adsorbent, it was used for on-line preconcentration of Cd (II) and Pb (II) metals. The multivariate optimisation of chemical and flow variables was performed by using a full factorial design (2⁴) including the following factors: preconcentration time, preconcentration flow rate, concentration and volume of eluent. The optimum pH values used for on-line preconcentration were taken from prior univariate experiments. Under optimised conditions for Cd (II) determination (4 min of preconcentration at a 6 ml min⁻¹ preconcentration flow rate, in which comprises 24 ml of preconcentration volume, 200 μl elution volume and 1.0 mol l⁻¹ HNO₃ solution as eluent), the system achieved a detection limit of 1.14 μg l⁻¹ and an enrichment factor of 72.4. Similar conditions were used for Pb (II) determination (4 min of preconcentration, 6 ml min⁻¹ preconcentration flow rate, 300 μl elution volume and 1.0 mol l⁻¹ HNO₃ solution as eluent) from which a detection limit of 14.1 μg l⁻¹ and enrichment factor of 46.0 were achieved. Also, rice husks have been shown to be a homogeneous and stable adsorbent in which more than 100 preconcentration/elution cycles provide a relative standard deviation (RSD) of less than 6.0% on the analytical signal. The satisfactory accuracy of the method developed was obtained by using spiked water samples (mineral water and lake water) and spiked red wine samples. These values were confirmed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The certified reference material [pig kidney (CRM 186)] and the reference material [beech leaves (CRM 100)] were also used.     

Rice husk ash as an adsorbent for methylene blue—effect of ashing temperature

Utilization of one waste material to control pollution caused by another is of high significance in the remediation of environmental problems. Rice husk, an abundantly available agricultural waste, can be used as a low cost adsorbent for dyes and heavy metals in effluent streams. The possible utilization of rice husk ash as an adsorbent for methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions has been investigated. Ash samples from husks of two origins were prepared at different temperatures and their physical, chemical spectroscopic and morphological properties were determined. XRD, FTIR and SEM were some of the techniques adopted for the characterization. The samples were also analyzed for bulk density, pH, nitrogen adsorption properties and lime reactivity. Experiments of methylene blue adsorption on the ash samples were conducted using batch technique and a comparative study was made. Results were analyzed using linear, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The values of separation factor indicate that most of the ash samples do adsorb the dye molecules, but in varying quantities. Calcination at 900^∘C reduces the adsorption capacity of the ash to a great extent. Regression analysis shows that the experimental data fits both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms for certain concentration limits. The adsorbate species are most probably transported from the bulk of the solution into the solid phase through intra-particle diffusion process. Kinetics of adsorption was found to follow pseudo second order rate equation with R ²∼ 0.99. The highest adsorption capacity (Q ₀) achieved is found to be ∼690 mg/g, which is even higher than the values reported for activated carbon from rice husk. The adsorption capacity of the ash samples are in good agreement with their surface area and pore volume.     

Fluorometric determination of urea in alcoholic beverages by using an acid urease column-FIA system

An acid urease column was applied to a fluorometric flow-injection analysis (FIA) system as a recognition element for determination of urea in rice wines.

The acid urease has specific properties of showing its catalytic activity in low pH range and tolerance to ethanol in comparison to those of a urease from jack-beans. The enzymes were covalently immobilized onto porous glass beads with controlled pore size and then, packed into a small polymer column. The flow-type of the biosensing system was assembled with a sample injection valve, the immobilized enzyme column, and a flow-through quartz cell attached to a fluorescent spectrophotometer. Citrate buffer (50 mM, pH 5.0) as the carrier solution was continuously pumped through the system. Sample solutions were introduced into the system via a rotary injection valve. A standard urea solution was measured through monitoring variations in fluorescent intensity attributable to fluorescent isoindole derivatives formed by coupling with ammonia molecules released in the enzymatic hydrolysis of urea and orthophthalaldehyde reagents. The fluorescent intensity was measured under the conditions of λ_ex = 415 nm and λ_em = 485 nm. A wide, linear relationship was obtained between the concentration of urea (1.0–100 μM) and the variation in fluorescent intensity. The monitoring did not suffer from ethanol and various amino acids contained in rice wines. Real samples pretreated with ion exchange resins for removal of endogenous ammonia were introduced into the FIA system and urea in the samples was determined. These results were compared with those obtained with use of an F-kit method. The proposed FIA system should present sensitive, selective and convenient analysis of urea in alcoholic beverages.     

Benefits of high resolution IC-ICP-MS for the routine analysis of inorganic and organic arsenic species in food products of marine and terrestrial origin

A recently developed and validated method for simultaneous determination of 17 inorganic and organic arsenic compounds in marine biota has been successfully applied to routine analysis of different food products, including fish, shellfish, edible algae, rice, and other types of grain. During one year, approximately 250 food samples were analyzed, mostly fish and rice. Long-term stability and robustness of the system was observed and reproducible results for certified reference materials were ensured by means of control charts. The separation was performed by ion-pair chromatography on an anion-exchange column to separate anionic, neutral, and cationic arsenic species in one chromatographic run. Hyphenation to ICP–MS allowed element-specific and sensitive detection of the different arsenic species with a detection limit as low as 8 ng As L^–1 in the sample extract, which is equivalent to 2 ng As g^–1 in the original sample. Special emphasis was laid on the analysis of marine algae and rice samples. These food types can contain elevated levels of the very toxic inorganic arsenic species (up to 90% in rice) and therefore are the focus of interest in the food industry. In marine algae, inorganic arsenic was mainly present as arsenate whereas in rice arsenite predominated.     

基于叶绿素荧光光谱分析的稻瘟病害预测模型

为了实现稻瘟病的快速、准确和无损检测,力求构建稻瘟病害预测模型。根据水稻叶片相对病害面积将稻瘟病划分为3个等级,通过激光诱导法采集不同病害等级的活体水稻叶片叶绿素荧光光谱。选取502～830 nm波段激光诱导叶绿素荧光光谱(LICF)作为研究对象,利用Savitzky-Golay平滑法(SG)和一阶导数变换(FDT)对光谱信息进行预处理,通过主成分分析(PCA)方法获取经SG-FDT预处理后光谱的特征向量,根据累积贡献率和方差选取前3个主成分进行分析。将试验样本分为建模样本和检验样本,以稻瘟病害等级为预测指标,利用建模样本的133片叶片的光谱和病害信息分别结合判别分析(DA)、多类逻辑回归分析(MLRA)和多层感知器(MLP)建立稻瘟病的预测模型,利用检验样本的89片叶片的光谱和病害信息对所建模型进行预测检验,完成对PCA-DA、PCA-MLRA和PCA-MLP的对比寻优。结果表明,PCA-DA,PCA-MLRA和PCA-MLP模型均能完成对稻瘟病害的预测,但PCA-MLP模型的平均预测准确率能够达到91.7%,相比PCA-DA和PCA-MLRA模型,在稻瘟病害3个等级上均具有较好的分类和预测能力。     

Rice-husk-supported FeCl3 nano-particles: Introduction of a mild,efficient and reusable catalyst for some of the multi-component reactions

Rice-husk-supported FeCl₃ nano-particles (FeCl₃–RiH) were prepared and used as an environmentally friendly catalyst in the synthesis of β-amino carbonyl compounds, 1,8-dioxo-octahydro xanthenes, and bis-indolyl methanes from simple and readily available precursor molecules.