Determination of flammability parameters for organic waste resulting from the processing of sunflower seeds

Agricultural waste is found in abundance in the environment, whether it is the plant itself represented by the stem, leaf or seeds that have been peeled or other waste. By drying and crushing the residues from the plants, organic powders will be formed with a variable granulation and humidity. Through the processing of oilseeds such as sunflower seeds, significant amounts of waste from seeds result. Seed shells resulting from technological processes crumble, forming fine powders, whose granulations are different. A certain percentage will be 63μm or smaller and if those fine powders are mixed with air can form clouds with explosive properties. The purpose of this paper was to determine the minimum ignition layer and cloud temperatures. Experimental determination of flammability parameters is particularly important in order to take the proper safety measures so that accidents can be avoided.

Neutron diffraction study of the Ti1-xMoxC alloy

In this work, the crystal structure and (RMSD) root-mean-square displacement of atoms in new cubic refractory interstitial alloys Ti0.74Mo0.26C and Ti0.70Mo0.30C were determined by neutron diffraction. These alloys are obtained by powder metallurgy by sintering fine powders of cubic titanium carbides TiC and molybdenum MoC. The values of the RMSD of atoms in these alloys, obtained by the methods of least squares and full-profile analysis from the neutron diffraction data, turned out to be identical. They turned out to be much larger than in the stoichiometric TiC alloy, which has a similar cubic structure and close geometric parameters of atoms with the Ti0.74Mo0.26C and Ti0.70Mo0.30C alloys. These alloys were explained by the occurrence of large static distortions in the lattice of the Ti0.70Mo0.30C alloy due to the differences in the masses and atomic radii of the titanium and molybdenum elements.

Electron beam sintering of Mn-Zn ferrites using a forevacuum plasma electron source

The article presents the results of electron beam sintering without applying pressure of Mn-Zn ferrites in an oxygen environment. Samples for sintering were made from fine powders and pressed at various pressures into compacts in the form of disks. Measurements of the elemental composition and structure of the sample after sintering are presented. It is shown that the result of sintering depends on the pressing pressure of compacts, time and temperature of sintering.

Photocatalytic Inactivation of Salmonella typhimurium by Floating Carbon-Doped TiO2 Photocatalyst

Photocatalysis application is considered as one of the most highly promising techniques for the reduction in wastewater pollution. However, the majority of highly efficient photocatalyst materials are obtained as fine powders, and this causes a lot of photocatalyst handling and reusability issues. The concept of the floating catalyst proposes the immobilization of a photocatalytic (nano)material on relatively large floating substrates and is considered as an encouraging way to overcome some of the most challenging photocatalysis issues. The purpose of this study is to examine floating photocatalyst application for Salmonella typhimurium bacteria inactivation in polluted water. More specifically, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) beads were used as a photocatalyst support for the immobilization of carbon-doped TiO2 films forming floating photocatalyst structures. Carbon-doped TiO2 films in both amorphous and anatase forms were deposited on HDPE beads using the low-temperature magnetron sputtering technique. Bacteria inactivation, together with cycling experiments, revealed promising results by decomposing more than 95% of Salmonella typhimurium bacteria in five consecutive treatment cycles. Additionally, a thorough analysis of the deposited carbon-doped TiO2 film was performed including morphology, elemental composition and mapping, structure, and depth profiling. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is a suitable technique for the formation of high-quality photocatalytic active films on thermal-sensitive substrates.

Transformation of grains of technological raw materials in the process of obtaining fine powders

Crushing and grinding of materials are the most common processes of sample preparation for subsequent analysis and industrial application. Recently, grinding has become one of the most popular methods for producing nano-sized powders. This study investigates certain features of grain transformation in the process of grinding ores with finely dispersed valuable components in order to liberate them, as well as specifics of grinding metallurgical raw materials, metals and their mixtures for using them as initial components in metallurgical and other technological processes. We identified and examined structural and morphological changes of various powders after ultrafine grinding using the methods of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. It was proved that in order to take into account sample preparation artifacts during analytic studies of solid samples and development of technological processes, fine grinding of heterogeneous materials, especially if they contain metals, requires monitoring of the ground product by methods of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis.

Milling as a route to porous graphitic carbons from biomass

This paper reports a simple way to produce porous graphitic carbons from a wide range of lignocellulosic biomass sources, including nut shells, softwood sawdust, seed husks and bamboo. Biomass precursors are milled and sieved to produce fine powders and are then converted to porous graphitic carbons by iron-catalysed graphitization. Graphitizing the raw (unmilled) biomass creates carbons that are diverse in their porosity and adsorption properties. This is due to the inability of the iron catalyst precursor to penetrate the structure of dense biomass material. Milling enables much more efficient impregnation of the biomass and produces carbons with homogeneous properties. Lignocellulosic biomass (particularly waste biomass) is an attractive precursor to technologically important porous graphitic carbons as it is abundant and renewable. This simple method for preparing the biomass enables a wide range of biomass sources to be used to produce carbons with homogeneous properties. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bio-derived and bioinspired sustainable advanced materials for emerging technologies (part 2)’.

The effect of bacteria and toxins on leukocytosis

More than 30 years ago, Verigo (Izv. Biol. Inet, at Perm. Un., Vol. II, issue 6) established that any introduction into the blood of any bacterial cultures, still alive or dead, and suspended in a liquid of fine powders, causes an extremely rapid decrease in the number of leukocytes in the blood.