Characterization and Mechanism of a New Superhydrophobic Deicing Coating Used for Road Pavement

Owing to its high efficiency and low environmental impact, superhydrophobic deicing coating material has a bright future for application on road pavements. In this paper, a heterogeneous nucleation ice crystal growth model is proposed, with particular focus on the effect of surface roughness and the contact angle. The ice suppression mechanism of superhydrophobic materials is determined by this model and experimentally verified. The experimental results of the water contact angle and anti-skid tests illustrated that the prepared TiO2–octadecanoic acid coating material has a contact angle greater than 150° and good skid resistance. The freezing test confirms that the applied coating on the surface can effectively delay the crystallization of water droplets and maintain the waterdrop’s semi-spherical shape after freezing. The microstructure observation demonstrates the TiO2–octadecanoic acid material has a good micro-nano mastoid structure. Consequently, the proposed coating materials could possibly be utilized for effectively enhancing the deicing performance of pavements.

Analysis of Mechanical Properties and Mechanism of Natural Rubber Waterstop after Aging in Low-Temperature Environment

In order to elucidate the aging performance and aging mechanism of a rubber waterstop in low-temperature environments, the rubber waterstops were placed in the freezing test chamber to accelerate aging, and then we tested its tensile strength, elongation, tear strength, compression permanent deformation and hardness at different times. Additionally, the damaged specimens were tested by scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. The results showed that with the growth of aging time, the mechanical properties of the rubber waterstop are reduced. At the same time, many protrusions appeared on the surface of the rubber waterstop, the C element gradually decreased, and the O element gradually increased. During the period of 72–90 days, the content of the C element in the low-temperature air environment significantly decreased compared with that in low-temperature water, while the content of O element increased significantly.

Experimental Study of the Space–Time Effect of a Double-Pipe Frozen Curtain Formation with Different Groundwater Velocities

Groundwater velocity has significant effects on the formation of a frozen curtain during freezing. In order to study the influence of the velocity on a frozen curtain, a large physical model test platform was established for double-pipe freezing. Based on this platform, freezing tests for different velocities were carried out. Quartz sand was selected as a similar material. The freezing temperature of the saturated sand layer was found by analyzing the results of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Based on the study of the thermal physical properties of the sand layer, the freezing test results were analyzed, and the results showed that the flow led to the differential development of the temperature between the upstream and downstream sections of the freezing pipes. Moreover, the larger the velocity, the greater the difference. The flow prolonged the overlapping time of the frozen curtains. Additionally, the flow slowed down the development of the frozen curtain area and the frozen curtain thickness. The larger the flow velocity, the greater the inhibition of the flow on the development of the frozen curtain. The test results can provide more references for the design and construction of freezing engineering with flowing groundwater.

Freezing Method for Rock Cross-Cut Coal Uncovering: Aging Characteristic of Effective Freezing Distance on Injecting Liquid Nitrogen into Coal Seam

Based on artificial freezing engineering practice, the comprehensive technology is suggested to realize safe and fast rock cross-cut coal uncovering, which mainly includes four steps of drilling, water injection wetting coal, gas drainage, and injection liquid nitrogen into coal seam. Freezing test of liquid nitrogen injection into coal is carried out to obtain the cooling curves, and comparing the test results, the numerical inverse method is applied to determine the thermal conductivity of coal seam. Then, the model of injecting liquid nitrogen into coal seam is established to simulate and analyze the aging characteristic of effective freezing radius. The results show that the thermal conductivity of wetting coal increases linearly with temperature decreasing. The periodic method with 8h intervals can be adopted to inject liquid nitrogen into coal seam, and the freezing wall is formed around the injection hole. With the increase of freezing time, the effective freezing radius (below 273.15 K) increases by power exponent, and the freezing speed in coal seam decreases gradually. This result will provide a theoretical basis for layout optimization of injection holes in rock cross-cut coal uncovering.

Ice-nucleating particles in precipitation samples from the Texas Panhandle

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) influence the formation of ice crystals in clouds and many types of precipitation. This study reports unique properties of INPs collected from 42 precipitation samples in the Texas Panhandle region from June 2018 to July 2019. We used a cold stage instrument called the West Texas Cryogenic Refrigerator Applied to Freezing Test system to estimate INP concentrations per unit volume of air (nINP) through immersion freezing in our precipitation samples with our detection capability of > 0.006 INP L−1. A disdrometer was used for two purposes: (1) to characterize the ground-level precipitation type and (2) to measure the precipitation intensity as well as size of precipitating particles at the ground level during each precipitation event. While no clear seasonal variations of nINP values were apparent, the analysis of yearlong ground-level precipitation observation as well as INPs in the precipitation samples showed some INP variations, e.g., the highest and lowest nINP values at −25 ∘C both in the summer for hail-involved severe thunderstorm samples (3.0 to 1130 INP L−1), followed by the second lowest at the same temperature from one of our snow samples collected during the winter (3.2 INP L−1). Furthermore, we conducted bacteria community analyses using a subset of our precipitation samples to examine the presence of known biological INPs. In parallel, we also performed metagenomics characterization of the bacterial microbiome in suspended ambient dust samples collected at commercial open-lot livestock facilities (cattle feedyards hereafter) in the Texas Panhandle (i.e., the northernmost counties of Texas, also known as “West Texas”) to ascertain whether local cattle feedyards can act as a source of bioaerosol particles and/or INPs found in the precipitation samples. Some key bacterial phyla present in cattle feedyard samples appeared in precipitation samples. However, no known ice nucleation active species were detected in our samples. Overall, our results showed that cumulative nINP in our precipitation samples below −20 ∘C could be high in the samples collected while observing > 10 mm h−1 precipitation with notably large hydrometeor sizes and an implication of cattle feedyard bacteria inclusion.

Development of Geopolymers as Substitutes for Traditional Ceramics for Bricks with Chamotte and Biomass Bottom Ash

The greater environmental awareness, new environmental regulations and the optimization of resources make possible the development of sustainable materials as substitutes for the traditional materials used in construction. In this work, geopolymers were developed as substitutes to traditional ceramics for brick manufacture, using as raw materials: chamotte, as a source of aluminosilicate, and biomass bottom ashes from the combustion of almond shell and alpeorujo (by-product produced in the extraction of olive oil composed of solid parts of the olive and vegetable fats), as the alkaline activator. For the feasibility study, samples were made of all possible combinations of both residues from 100% chamotte to 100% biomass bottom ash. The tests carried out on these sample families were the usual physical tests for ceramic materials, notably the compression strength test, as well as colorimetric tests. The freezing test was also carried out to study the in-service behavior of the different sample groups. The families with acceptable results were subjected to Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The results of the previous tests showed that the geopolymer was indeed created for the final families and that acceptable mechanical and aging properties were obtained according to European standards. Therefore, the possibility of creating geopolymers with chamotte and biomass bottom ashes as substitutes for conventional ceramics was confirmed, developing an economical, sustainable material, without major changes in equipment and of similar quality to those traditionally used for bricks.

Ice-nucleating particles impact the severity of precipitations in West Texas

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) influence the formation of ice crystals in clouds and many types of precipitation. However, our knowledge of the relationship between INPs and precipitation is still insufficient. This study was conducted to fill this gap by assessing precipitation properties and INP concentrations (nINP) from a total of 42 precipitation events observed in the Texas Panhandle region from June 2018 to July 2019. We used a cold-stage instrument called the West Texas Cryogenic Refrigerator Applied to Freezing Test system to estimate nINP through immersion freezing in our precipitation samples. A disdrometer was used to measure the precipitation intensity and size of precipitating particles during each precipitation event. The analysis of yearlong precipitation properties as well as INPs for the samples shed a light on the seasonal variation of the nINP values in West Texas. Furthermore, we characterized the bacteria speciation of the storm and ambient dust samples collected at a commercial feedlot in West Texas to identify potential biological sources of INPs in our precipitation samples. Overall, our results showed a positive correlation between nINP and intensity of precipitation with notably large hydrometeor sizes in storm precipitations. Amongst all observed precipitation types, the highest INPs were found in the snow samples, and hail/thunderstorm samples have the highest INPs at high temperature −5°C.

Bioethanol from Guinea Grass (Panicum Maximum) and Ragi Tempeh as Fermentation Starter using Bioreactor and Shaker

This study was investigating the production of bioethanol from the mixture of guinea grass (Panicum maximum) and using ragi tempeh through fermentation. The acid pretreatment process was carried out using 15% v/v sulphuric acid. The fermentation was carried out in anaerobic condition using bioreactor and shaker at 37°C and different pH of 5,6,7, and 8. Freezing test and Tollens’ test result showed very ethanol concentration in the sample product is very low, and aldehyde compounds are present in the product sample. The aldehyde is released due to degradation of lignocellulosic feedstock by acid hydrolysis. HPLC is carried out for getting a more accurate result. The best result is chromatogram of sample 5, obtained by fermentation using shaker with pH 8. It shows normal chromatogram with ethanol yield of 7.89%.