Pulsed Nanoelectrospray Ionization Boosts Ion Signal in Whole Protein Mass Spectrometry

Electrospray ionisation (ESI) is renowned for its ability to ionise intact proteins for sensitive detection by mass spectrometry (MS). However, the use of a conventional direct current ESI voltage can result in the formation of relatively large initial droplet sizes, which can limit efficient ion desolvation and sensitivity. Here, pulsed nanoESI (nESI) MS using nanoscale emitters with inner diameters of ~250 nm is reported. In this approach, the nESI voltage is rapidly pulsed from 0 to ~1.5 kV with sub-nanosecond rise times, duty cycles from 10 to 90%, and repetition rates of 10 to 350 kHz. Using pulsed nESI, the performance of MS for the detection of intact proteins can be improved in terms of increased ion abundances and decreased noise. The absolute ion abundances and signal-to-noise levels of protonated ubiquitin, cytochrome C, myoglobin, and carbonic anhydrase II formed from standard denaturing solutions can be increased by up to 82% and 154% using an optimal repetition rate of ~200 kHz compared to conventional nESI-MS. Applying pulsed nESI-MS to a mixture of four proteins resulted in the signal for each protein increasing by up to 184% compared to the more conventional nESI-MS. For smaller ions (≤1032 m/z), the signal can also be increased by the use of high repetition rates (200–250 kHz), which is consistent with the enhanced performance depending more on general factors associated with the ESI process (e.g., smaller initial droplet sizes and reduced Coulombic repulsion in the spray plume) rather than analyte-specific effects (e.g., electrophoretic mobility). The enhanced sensitivity of pulsed nESI is anticipated to be beneficial for many different types of tandem mass spectrometry measurements.

Coalescence of Binary Droplets in the Transformer Oil Based on Small Amounts of Polymer: Effects of Initial Droplet Diameter and Collision Parameter

In engineering applications, the coalescence of droplets in the oil phase dominates the efficiency of water-oil separation. To improve the efficiency of water-oil separation, many studies have been devoted to exploring the process of water droplets colliding in the oil phase. In this paper, the volume of fluid (VOF) method is employed to simulate the coalescence of water droplets in the transformer oil based on small amounts of polymer. The influences of the initial diameter and collision parameter of two equal droplets on droplet deformation and coalescence time are investigated. The time evolution curves of the dimensionless maximum deformation diameter of the droplets indicate that the larger the droplet diameter, the more obvious the deformation from central collisions. As the collision parameter increases, the contact area of the two droplets, as well as the kinetic energy that is converted into surface energy, decreases, resulting in an increase in droplet deformation. Furthermore, the effects of the initial droplet diameter and collision parameter on coalescence time are also investigated and discussed. The results reveal that as the initial droplet diameter and collision parameter increase, the droplet coalescence time increases.

Initial droplet conditions in numerical spray painting by electrostatic rotary bell sprayers

In computational fluid dynamics, the modeling of paint application processes by electrostatic rotary bell sprayer is mostly performed using an Euler–Lagrange approach. The initial conditions of the discrete phase—position, velocity, size, and charge—have an essential influence on the resulting film thickness distribution and the total charge transferred to the object. Typically, so-called injection models are used to specify these initial conditions, whereby the determination of the injection model coefficients is crucial. In this paper, a framework is proposed that combines experimental input data, an injection model, and a metamodel-based optimization. The painting tests for the generation of input and validation data were carried out in a technical center in the industrial standard. The simulations were performed using ANSYSFluent. Initial droplet conditions could efficiently be determined via the framework so that the painting-specific objectives were achieved with reasonable accuracy. In addition to the framework, a turbulence study of the strongly swirled shaping air of this atomizer was carried out, whereby a substantial underestimation of the axial air velocity was found in the turbulence models being investigated. The initial droplet conditions were also used in this study to draw conclusions about the accuracy of the airflow simulation. The proposed framework can be adapted to other solvers and efficiently finds injection model coefficients for other paint applicators.

Droplet Characteristics of Rotating Packed Bed in H2S Absorption: A Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis

Rotating packed bed (RPB) has been demonstrated as a significant and emerging technology to be applied in natural gas desulfurization. However, droplet characteristics and principle in H2S selective absorption with N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) solution have seldom been fully investigated by experimental method. Therefore, a 3D Eulerian–Lagrangian approach has been established to investigate the droplet characteristics. The discrete phase model (DPM) is implemented to track the behavior of droplets, meanwhile the collision model and breakup model are employed to describe the coalescence and breakup of droplets. The simulation results indicate that rotating speed and radial position have a dominant impact on droplet velocity, average residence time and average diameter rather than initial droplet velocity. A short residence time of 0.039–0.085 s is credited in this study for faster mass transfer and reaction rate in RPB. The average droplet diameter decreases when the initial droplet velocity and rotating speed enhances. Restriction of minimum droplet diameter for it to be broken and an appropriate rotating speed have also been elaborated. Additional correlations on droplet velocity and diameter have been obtained mainly considering the rotating speed and radial position in RPB. This proposed formula leads to a much better understanding of droplet characteristics in RPB.

Synthesis of Submicrocontainers with “Green” Biocide and Study of Their Antimicrobial Activity

The synthesis and properties of submicrocontainers with a shell of nanoparticles of silicon dioxide and a core of polymerized 3-(Trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate loaded with 5-Dichloro-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (DCOIT) are considered. The resulting containers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy SEM, laser correlation spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The obtained submicrocontainers show low polydispersity with a small increase in size in comparison with the initial droplet size of the Pickering emulsion. The Zeta potential of the final containers was sufficiently negative at pH7 to be stable. The maximum release of encapsulated biocide was observed over approximately 24–27 h with a lease of about 78% of the encapsulated biocide during 3.5 h. The effectiveness of the encapsulated biocide by the Pickering emulsion technique was studied by tests on the growth rate of a microfungi colony (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus awamori) and the growth rate of the bacteria Bacillus cereus. The test shows that the submicrocontainers of DCOIT facilitate a growth inhibition of 70% against 52% for the free biocide after 5 days; this is due to the fact that free biocide loses its activity promptly, while the encapsulated biocide is released gradually, and thus retains its effectivity for a longer time.

Activation of the Fuels with Low Reactivity Using the High-Power Laser Pulses

In this paper we have proposed the simple and effective approach to activation of the low reactivity industrial fuel which can be used immediately inside the furnace. The high-power laser pulses initiates partial gasification of the fuel together with its ultra-fine atomization. The gas-aerosol cloud surrounding the initial coal-water slurry droplet can consist of approximately 10% (after absorption of hundred pulses) of the initial droplet weight. The ratio of the syngas and aerosol weights is like 1:2 when pulse intensity is higher than 8 J/cm 2 . The size and velocity distributions of the ultra-fine aerosol particles were analysed using the original realization of the particle tracking velocimetry technique.

CFD model-supported design of monodisperse co-current spray dryers

In this study the operation of spray drying chambers fitted by the multi-stream monodisperse atomizer was simulated by the previously developed CFD model of skim milk spray drying. A series of CFD simulations of skim milk monodisperse spray drying were performed. The influence of different nozzle positions, initial droplet diameters (180 μm and 167 μm) and the way of air introduction (vertical or swirling with 30° or 60° angle) on the drying process were checked. Parameters like drying air and particle residence time, wall deposition, inter-particle collisions, protein thermal deactivation, air velocity and temperature profiles were compared for each case. Keywords: CFD, spray drying, skim milk, monodisperse atomizers, optimization.

Autoignition Behavior of an Ethanol-Methylcellulose Gel Droplet in a Hot Environment

Autoignition of an ethanol-based gel droplet was experimentally investigated by adding 10 wt % of methylcellulose as gellant to liquid ethanol. Experimental studies of the ignition behavior of the gel droplet were found to be quite rare. The initial droplet diameter was 1.17 ± 0.23 mm. The gel droplet was suspended on a K-type thermocouple and its evaporation, ignition and combustion characteristics were evaluated and compared with pure ethanol at an ambient temperature of 600, 700, and 800 °C under atmospheric pressure conditions. The gel droplet exhibited swelling and vapor jetting phenomena. Before ignition, a linear decrease in droplet diameter followed by a sudden increase was repeatedly observed, which was caused by evaporation and swelling processes, respectively. Major droplet swelling was detected just before the onset of ignition at all temperatures. But no further swelling was detected after ignition. For the gel droplet, the ignition delay accounted for 93% of the droplet lifetime at 600 °C, and 88% at 700 °C, but only 31% at 800 °C. Its average burning rate was also evaluated for all temperatures. At 800 °C, the gellant layer no longer exerts any influence on the combustion of the gel droplet.