Grafted Lactic Acid Oligomers on Lignocellulosic Filler towards Biocomposites

Lactic acid oligomers (OLAs) were in situ synthesized from lactic acid (LAc) and grafted onto chokeberry pomace (CP) particleboards by direct condensation. Biocomposites of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and modified/unmodified CP particles containing different size fractions were obtained using a mini-extruder. To confirm the results of the grafting process, the FTIR spectra of filler particles were obtained. Performing 1HNMR spectroscopy allowed us to determine the chemical structure of synthesized OLAs. The thermal degradation of modified CP and biocomposites were studied using TGA, and the thermal characteristics of biocomposites were investigated using DSC. In order to analyse the adhesion between filler particles and PLA in biocomposites, SEM images of brittle fracture surfaces were registered. The mechanical properties of biocomposites were studied using a tensile testing machine. FTIR and 1HNMR analysis confirmed the successful grafting process of OLAs. The modified filler particles exhibited a better connection with hydrophobic PLA matrix alongside improved mechanical properties than the biocomposites with unmodified filler particles. Moreover, a DSC analysis of the biocomposites with modified CP showed a reduction in glass temperature on average by 9 °C compared to neat PLA. It confirms the plasticizing effect of grafted and ungrafted OLAs. The results are promising, and can contribute to increasing the use of agri-food lignocellulosic residue in manufacturing biodegradable packaging.

Modification of Poly(lactic acid) by the Plasticization for Application in the Packaging Industry

Plastic products, especially in the packaging industry, have become the main commodities penetrating virtually every aspect of our lives. Unfortunately, their omnipresence is not neutral to the natural environment. Pollution in the form of microplastics is a global problem. Therefore, green technologies that enter into the circular economy become an important topic. As part of the research work, the modification of poly(lactic acid) has been studied for use in the packaging industry. Due to its intrinsic rigidity, plasticizing substances had to be introduced in PLA in order to improve its plastic deformability. Both high-molecular compounds such as ethoxylated lauryl alcohol, block copolymer of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, and ethoxylated stearic acid as well as low-molecular compounds such as di-2-ethylhexyl adipate, di-2-ethylhexyl sebacate, and triethyl citrate were used. The samples extruded from plasticized polymers were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis, and mechanical properties including Young’s modulus. The melt flow rate (MFR) and molar mass distribution were determined. For all modified samples the glass transition temperature, depending on the plasticizer used, was shifted towards lower values compared to the base polymer. The best result was obtained for di-2-ethylhexyl adipate (ADO) and di-2-ethylhexyl sebacate (SDO). The elongation at break increased significantly for ADO at about 21%. The highest elongation was obtained for SDO (about 35%), although it obtained a higher glass temperature. The degradation of the polymer was not observed for both plasticizers. For these plasticizers (ADO and SDO) it also lowered Young’s module by about 26%, and at the infrared spectrum deformation of peaks were observed, which may indicate the interaction of the ester carbonyl group of PLA with plasticizers. Therefore it can be concluded that they are good modifiers. The selected plasticizers that are used in the production of food contact materials, in particular in the production of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) food films, also exhibited great potential to be applied to PLA food films, and exhibit better properties than the citrate, which are indicated in many publications as PLA plasticizers.

Amorphous alloys and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

A remarkable number of scientific papers are available in the literature about the bulk amorphous alloys and metallic glasses. Today, DSC is an essential tool for amorphous alloys research and development, and of course for quality assurance. In many cases, users seek to examine the determination of only one or two properties, although much more information can be obtained from the measurements. The research involved structural relaxation, Curie temperature, glass temperature, crystallization, phase separation, nanocrystalline volume fraction, melting point and liquidus temperature determination subjects and kinetics of microstructural transformations induced by thermal treatment. We collected and present the information that can be obtained with this technique and draws the reader’s attention to some potential problems related to data interpretation.

Effects of Number of Atoms, Shell Thickness, and Temperature on the Structure of Fe Nanoparticles Amorphous by Molecular Dynamics Method

This study aims to study the effect of several structural factors, such as number of atoms (N), shell thickness (d), and temperature (T), on the structure of amorphous iron nanoparticle (amorphous nano-Fe) by using the molecular dynamics (MD) method with Sutton–Chen (SC) dip interaction and free boundary conditions. The structural parameters of amorphous nano-Fe include their size (D), energy (E), radial distribution function (RDF), coordination number (CN), and coordination number density (CNd). The results show that the glass temperature ( T g ) and the first peak position (r) of radial distribution function (RDF) have the values of T g = 900 K and r = 2.55 Å, respectively. Furthermore, the values of parameters D and E are always proportional to N−1/3 and N−1, respectively. Regarding the effect of number of atoms, shell thickness, and the temperature on the structure of amorphous nano-Fe, we found that the increase in atoms number leads to decrease in the RDF height and increase in the coordination number (CN). However, increasing temperature leads to decreasing the shell thickness of amorphous nano-Fe.

Method of research for solar cookers performance characteristics- analysis and comparison

Cooking is one of the most common activity in day-to-day life of every woman. In rural areas the transportation of fuel is major problem and the increasing demand of energy for cooking applications is gaining importance and various investigations are being carried out for performance enhancement of the solar cooker. The box-type solar cooker has a complex thermal analysis due to the transient heat transfer phenomenon involved in three dimensions. A comparison of the standard correlation available are analysed for accuracy of predicted results with experimental data. The investigation involves the experimental determination of the parameters viz. wind heat transfer coefficient, side and bottom loss coefficient, inner and outer glass temperature. The extensive data is analysed with that of standard correlations and the significance of the experimental data is checked. Analysis found to have deviation of 3%-20% in experimental and correlation data, which indicates that for accuracy of performance analysis the studied parameters should be determined experimentally.

Experimental Study of Solar Energy Based Water Purifier (SEBWP) of Single Slope Type by Incorporating N Similar Evacuated Tubular Collectors (ETCs) having Series Connection

This research paper deals with the experimental investigation of solar energy based water purifier (SEBWP) of single slope type by incorporating N similar evacuated tubular collectors (ETCs) having series connection. Experimental investigation has been done for a year from August 2018 to July 2019. MATLAB has been used for evaluating performance parameters of the system followed by the validation of these results with their experimental values. A fair agreement has been found between theoretical and experimental values. Values of correlation coefficients for condensing glass temperature, water temperature and water yield have been found to be 0.9932, 0.9928 and 0.9951 respectively. Further, energy metrics, productivity, cost of producing one kg of fresh water, exergoeconomic and enviroeconomic parameters have been evaluated. Values of energy payback time, per kg cost of producing fresh water and exergy loss per unit Rs. have been evaluated to be 1.72 years, Rs. 0.95/kg and 0.128 kWh/Rs. respectively.

Microscopic-Phenomenological Model of Glass Transition and Temperature Dependence of Viscosity—Part I: Foundations of the Model

The glass transition is described as a time- and history-independent singular event, which takes place in an interval dependent on the distribution width of molecular vibration amplitudes. The intrinsic glass transition is not seen as a relaxation phenomenon, but is characterized by a fixed volumetric state at the glass temperature Tg0. The relaxation behavior of the transport properties depends on the distance to Tg0. Free volume is redefined and its generation is the result of the fluctuating transfer of thermal energy into condensed matter and the resulting combined interactions between the vibration elements. This creates vacancies between the elements which are larger than the cross-section of an adjacent element or parts thereof. Possible shifts of molecules or molecular parts through such apertures depend on the size and axis orientation and do not require further energetic activation. After a displacement, additional volume is created by delays in occupying abandoned positions and restoring the energetic equilibrium. The different possibilities of axis orientation in space result in the different diffusive behavior of simple molecules and chain molecules, silicate network formers, and associated liquids. Glass transformation takes place at a critical volume Vg0 when the cross-section of apertures becomes smaller than the cross-section of the smallest molecular parts. The glass transition temperature Tg0 is assigned to Vg0 and is therefore independent of molecular relaxation processes. Tg0 is well above the Kauzmann and Vogel temperatures, usually just a few degrees below the conventionally measured glass temperature Tg(qT). The specific volume at the two temperatures mentioned above cannot be achieved by a glass with an unordered structure but only with aligned molecular axes, i.e. in a crystalline state. Simple liquids consisting of non-spherical molecules additionally alter their behavior above Vg0 at Vglwhere the biggest gaps are as small as the largest molecular diameter. Tgl is located in the region of the crystalline melting point Tm. Both regions, above and below Tm, belong to different physical states and have to be treated separately. In the region close to Vg0 respectively Tg0, the distribution of vibration amplitudes has to be taken into account. The limiting volume Vg0 and the formation of apertures larger than the cross-section of the vibrating elements or parts thereof, in conjunction with the distribution width of molecular vibrations as Vg0 is approached, and the spatial orientation of the molecular axes is key to understanding the glass transition.

Experimental and CFD investigation of the mixing of MMA emulsion polymerization in a stirred tank reactor

Although significant advances have been achieved in emulsion polymerization in recent decades, the effect of mixing on this type of polymerization has not been fully delineated yet. In fact, mixing plays a significant role in the performance of an emulsion polymerization reaction. For instance, in case of a very low agitation rate, larger droplets are generated and phase separation, which limits the diffusion mechanism, may occur. In contrast, vigorous agitation can result in reduced nucleation of particles. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of mixing parameters (e.g. impeller speed, impeller type, impeller number, and baffles) on the monomer conversion, the polymer average molecular weight, particle size and size distributions, transition glass temperature, and number of particles. To achieve this objective, the emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out in a lab-scale reactor equipped with a top-entry agitator, 4 wall baffles, a U shaped cooling coil, and a temperature controller. To analyze the reactive flow inside the polymerization reactor, a novel computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed. The multiple reference frames (MRF) technique, k-ε model, and mixture model approach were employed to model the impeller rotation, turbulence, and multiphase flow, respectively. The particle number density distribution within the reactor was also estimated by means of the population balance approach, which employs a discrete method to describe the nucleation and growth of the polymer particles. The experimental data and CFD results showed that the installation of the baffles enhanced the particle size and molecular weight but reduced the conversion and particle number. The number density achieved using the Rushton impeller was higher than that for the pitched blade impeller. The results revealed that the effect of the impeller speed on the characteristics of the polymer attained using the pitched-blade turbine was more prominent than that for the Rushton turbine. It was also found that the impact of the impeller speed on the polymer characteristics was much more pronounced for the double pitched-blade turbines rather than for the double Rushton turbines.

Experimental and CFD investigation of the mixing of MMA emulsion polymerization in a stirred tank reactor

Although significant advances have been achieved in emulsion polymerization in recent decades, the effect of mixing on this type of polymerization has not been fully delineated yet. In fact, mixing plays a significant role in the performance of an emulsion polymerization reaction. For instance, in case of a very low agitation rate, larger droplets are generated and phase separation, which limits the diffusion mechanism, may occur. In contrast, vigorous agitation can result in reduced nucleation of particles. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of mixing parameters (e.g. impeller speed, impeller type, impeller number, and baffles) on the monomer conversion, the polymer average molecular weight, particle size and size distributions, transition glass temperature, and number of particles. To achieve this objective, the emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out in a lab-scale reactor equipped with a top-entry agitator, 4 wall baffles, a U shaped cooling coil, and a temperature controller. To analyze the reactive flow inside the polymerization reactor, a novel computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed. The multiple reference frames (MRF) technique, k-ε model, and mixture model approach were employed to model the impeller rotation, turbulence, and multiphase flow, respectively. The particle number density distribution within the reactor was also estimated by means of the population balance approach, which employs a discrete method to describe the nucleation and growth of the polymer particles. The experimental data and CFD results showed that the installation of the baffles enhanced the particle size and molecular weight but reduced the conversion and particle number. The number density achieved using the Rushton impeller was higher than that for the pitched blade impeller. The results revealed that the effect of the impeller speed on the characteristics of the polymer attained using the pitched-blade turbine was more prominent than that for the Rushton turbine. It was also found that the impact of the impeller speed on the polymer characteristics was much more pronounced for the double pitched-blade turbines rather than for the double Rushton turbines.

The Protect Air Film of an Exterior Window

The research paper investigates the impact of a window’s exterior air film on the assembly temperature. The exterior air film constitutes a vital portion of a window’s insulating values. The air film increases the temperature of the window exterior pane to a temperature above ambient temperature. The air film also rises the interior glass temperature and reduces the heat transfer from the interior surface. According to computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the air film is removed in windy conditions, decreasing the window temperature on the outside as well as on the inside. The idea behind the project is to carry out an experimental procedure on three different windows to validate the CFD results, which indicates the effect of various wind speeds. Keyword: Exterior air film, computational fluid dynamics, window assembly, wind speed