2-Methylfuran: A bio-derived octane booster for spark-ignition engines

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani

2018-04-02

The efficiency of spark-ignition engines is limited by the phenomenon of knock, which is caused by auto-ignition of the fuel-air mixture ahead of the spark-initiated flame front. The resistance of a fuel to knock is quantified by its octane index; therefore, increasing the octane index of a spark-ignition engine fuel increases the efficiency of the respective engine. However, raising the octane index of gasoline increases the refining costs, as well as the energy consumption during production. The use of alternative fuels with synergistic blending effects presents an attractive option for improving octane index. In this work, the octane enhancing potential of 2-methylfuran (2-MF), a next-generation biofuel, has been examined and compared to other high-octane components (i.e., ethanol and toluene). A primary reference fuel with an octane index of 60 (PRF60) was chosen as the base fuel since it closely represents refinery naphtha streams, which are used as gasoline blend stocks. Initial screening of the fuels was done in an ignition quality tester (IQT). The PRF60/2-MF (80/20 v/v%) blend exhibited longer ignition delay times compared to PRF60/ethanol (80/20 v/v%) blend and PRF60/toluene (80/20 v/v%) blend, even though pure 2-MF is more reactive than both ethanol and toluene. The mixtures were also tested in a cooperative fuels research (CFR) engine under research octane number and motor octane number like conditions. The PRF60/2-MF blend again possesses a higher octane index than other blending components. A detailed chemical kinetic analysis was performed to understand the synergetic blending effect of 2-MF, using a well-validated PRF/2-MF kinetic model. Kinetic analysis revealed superior suppression of low-temperature chemistry with the addition of 2-MF. The results from simulations were further confirmed by homogeneous charge compression ignition engine experiments, which established its superior low-temperature heat release (LTHR) suppression compared to ethanol

Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Indirect Liquefaction of Blended Biomass to Produce High Octane Gasoline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cai, Hao [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Canter, Christina E. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Dunn, Jennifer B. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Tan, Eric [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Biddy, Mary [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Talmadge, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hartley, Damon [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Searcy, Erin [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Snowden-Swan, Lesley [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-03-01

This report describes the SCSA of the production of renewable high octane gasoline (HOG) via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of lignocellulosic biomass. This SCSA was developed for both the 2015 SOT (Hartley et al., 2015; ANL, 2016; DOE, 2016) and the 2017 design case for feedstock logistics (INL, 2014) and for both the 2015 SOT (Tan et al., 2015a) and the 2022 target case for HOG production via IDL (Tan et al., 2015b). The design includes advancements that are likely and targeted to be achieved by 2017 for the feedstock logistics and 2022 for the IDL conversion process. In the SCSA, the 2015 SOT case for the conversion process, as modeled in Tan et al. (2015b), uses the 2015 SOT feedstock blend of pulpwood, wood residue, and construction and demolition waste (C&D). Moreover, the 2022 design case for the conversion process, as described in Tan et al. (2015a), uses the 2017 design case blend of pulpwood, wood residue, switchgrass, and C&D. The performance characteristics of this blend are consistent with those of a single woody feedstock (e.g., pine or poplar). We also examined the influence of using a single feedstock type on SCSA results for the design case. These single feedstock scenarios could be viewed as bounding SCSA results given that the different components of the feedstock blend have varying energy and material demands for production and logistics.

Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Indirect Liquefaction of Blended Biomass to Produce High Octane Gasoline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cai, Hao [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Canter, Christina E. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Dunn, Jennifer B. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Tan, Eric [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Biddy, Mary [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Talmadge, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hartley, Damon S. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Snowden-Swan, Lesley [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-09-01

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) aims at developing and deploying technologies to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts and biopower through public and private partnerships (DOE, 2015). BETO also performs a supply chain sustainability analysis (SCSA). This report describes the SCSA of the production of renewable high octane gasoline (HOG) via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of lignocellulosic biomass. This SCSA was developed for the 2017 design case for feedstock logistics (INL, 2014) and for the 2022 target case for HOG production via IDL (Tan et al., 2015). The design includes advancements that are likely and targeted to be achieved by 2017 for the feedstock logistics and 2022 for the IDL conversion process. The 2017 design case for feedstock logistics demonstrated a delivered feedstock cost of $80 per dry U.S. short ton by the year 2017 (INL, 2014). The 2022 design case for the conversion process, as modeled in Tan et al. (2015), uses the feedstock 2017 design case blend of biomass feedstocks consisting of pulpwood, wood residue, switchgrass, and construction and demolition waste (C&D) with performance properties consistent with a sole woody feedstock type (e.g., pine or poplar). The HOG SCSA case considers the 2017 feedstock design case (the blend) as well as individual feedstock cases separately as alternative scenarios when the feedstock blend ratio varies as a result of a change in feedstock availability. These scenarios could be viewed as bounding SCSA results because of distinctive requirements for energy and chemical inputs for the production and logistics of different components of the blend feedstocks.

Antiknock quality and ignition kinetics of 2-phenylethanol, a novel lignocellulosic octane booster

KAUST Repository

Shankar, Vijai

2016-06-28

High-octane quality fuels are important for increasing spark ignition engine efficiency, but their production comes at a substantial economic and environmental cost. The possibility of producing high anti-knock quality gasoline by blending high-octane bio-derived components with low octane naphtha streams is attractive. 2-phenyl ethanol (2-PE), is one such potential candidate that can be derived from lignin, a biomass component made of interconnected aromatic groups. We first ascertained the blending anti-knock quality of 2-PE by studying the effect of spark advancement on knock for various blends 2-PE, toluene, and ethanol with naphtha in a cooperative fuels research engine. The blending octane quality of 2-PE indicated an anti-knock behavior similar or slightly greater than that of toluene, and ethylbenzene, which could be attributed to either chemical kinetics or charge cooling effects. To isolate chemical kinetic effects, a model for 2-PE auto-ignition was developed and validated using ignition delay times measured in a high-pressure shock tube. Simulated ignition delay times of 2-PE were also compared to those of traditional high-octane gasoline blending components to show that the gas phase reactivity of 2-PE is lower than ethanol, and comparable to toluene, and ethylbenzene at RON, and MON relevant conditions. The gas-phase reactivity of 2-PE is largely controlled by its aromatic ring, while the effect of the hydroxyl group is minimal. The higher blending octane quality of 2-PE compared to toluene, and ethylbenzene can be attributed primarily to the effect of the hydroxyl group on increasing heat of vaporization. © 2016 The Combustion Institute.

Ignition delay measurements of light naphtha: A fully blended low octane fuel

KAUST Repository

Javed, Tamour

2016-06-15

Light naphtha is a fully blended, low-octane (RON. = 64.5, MON. = 63.5), highly paraffinic (>. 90% paraffinic content) fuel, and is one of the first distillates obtained during the crude oil refining process. Light naphtha is an attractive low-cost fuel candidate for advanced low-temperature compression ignition engines where autoignition is the primary control mechanism. We measured ignition delay times for light naphtha in a shock tube and a rapid compression machine (RCM) over a broad range of temperatures (640-1250. K), pressures (20 and 40. bar) and equivalence ratios (0.5, 1 and 2). Ignition delay times were modeled using a two-component primary reference fuel (PRF) surrogate and a multi-component surrogate. Both surrogates adequately captured the measured ignition delay times of light naphtha under shock tube conditions. However, for low-temperature RCM conditions, simulations with the multi-component surrogate showed better agreement with experimental data. These simulated surrogate trends were confirmed by measuring the ignition delay times of the PRF and multi-component surrogates in the RCM at . P = 20. bar, . ϕ = 2. Detailed kinetic analyses were undertaken to ascertain the dependence of the surrogates\\' reactivity on their chemical composition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fundamental autoignition study on the reactivity of a low-octane fully blended fuel and the use of a suitably formulated multi-component surrogate to model its behavior.

Chemical Kinetic Insights into the Octane Number and Octane Sensitivity of Gasoline Surrogate Mixtures

KAUST Repository

Singh, Eshan

2017-02-01

Gasoline octane number is a significant empirical parameter for the optimization and development of internal combustion engines capable of resisting knock. Although extensive databases and blending rules to estimate the octane numbers of mixtures have been developed and the effects of molecular structure on autoignition properties are somewhat understood, a comprehensive theoretical chemistry-based foundation for blending effects of fuels on engine operations is still to be developed. In this study, we present models that correlate the research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) with simulated homogeneous gas-phase ignition delay times of stoichiometric fuel/air mixtures. These correlations attempt to bridge the gap between the fundamental autoignition behavior of the fuel (e.g., its chemistry and how reactivity changes with temperature and pressure) and engine properties such as its knocking behavior in a cooperative fuels research (CFR) engine. The study encompasses a total of 79 hydrocarbon gasoline surrogate mixtures including 11 primary reference fuels (PRF), 43 toluene primary reference fuels (TPRF), and 19 multicomponent (MC) surrogate mixtures. In addition to TPRF mixture components of iso-octane/n-heptane/toluene, MC mixtures, including n-heptane, iso-octane, toluene, 1-hexene, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, were blended and tested to mimic real gasoline sensitivity. ASTM testing protocols D-2699 and D-2700 were used to measure the RON and MON of the MC mixtures in a CFR engine, while the PRF and TPRF mixtures’ octane ratings were obtained from the literature. The mixtures cover a RON range of 0–100, with the majority being in the 70–100 range. A parametric simulation study across a temperature range of 650–950 K and pressure range of 15–50 bar was carried out in a constant-volume homogeneous batch reactor to calculate chemical kinetic ignition delay times. Regression tools were utilized to find the conditions at which RON and MON

Laminar Burning Velocities of Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines (FACE) Gasoline and Gasoline Surrogates with and without Ethanol Blending Associated with Octane Rating

KAUST Repository

Mannaa, Ossama

2016-05-04

Laminar burning velocities of fuels for advanced combustion engines (FACE) C gasoline and of several blends of surrogate toluene reference fuels (TRFs) (n-heptane, iso-octane, and toluene mixtures) of the same research octane number are presented. Effects of ethanol addition on laminar flame speed of FACE-C and its surrogate are addressed. Measurements were conducted using a constant volume spherical combustion vessel in the constant pressure, stable flame regime at an initial temperature of 358 K and initial pressures up to 0.6 MPa with the equivalence ratios ranging from 0.8 to 1.6. Comparable values in the laminar burning velocities were measured for the FACE-C gasoline and the proposed surrogate fuel (17.60% n-heptane + 77.40% iso-octane + 5% toluene) over the range of experimental conditions. Sensitivity of flame propagation to total stretch rate effects and thermo-diffusive instability was quantified by determining Markstein length. Two percentages of an oxygenated fuel of ethanol as an additive, namely, 60 vol% and 85 vol% were investigated. The addition of ethanol to FACE-C and its surrogate TRF-1 (17.60% n-heptane + 77.40% iso-octane + 5% toluene) resulted in a relatively similar increase in the laminar burning velocities. The high-pressure measured values of Markstein length for the studied fuels blended with ethanol showed minimal influence of ethanol addition on the flame’s response to stretch rate and thermo-diffusive instability. © 2016 Taylor & Francis.

Laminar Burning Velocities of Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines (FACE) Gasoline and Gasoline Surrogates with and without Ethanol Blending Associated with Octane Rating

KAUST Repository

Mannaa, Ossama; Mansour, Morkous S.; Roberts, William L.; Chung, Suk-Ho

2016-01-01

Laminar burning velocities of fuels for advanced combustion engines (FACE) C gasoline and of several blends of surrogate toluene reference fuels (TRFs) (n-heptane, iso-octane, and toluene mixtures) of the same research octane number are presented. Effects of ethanol addition on laminar flame speed of FACE-C and its surrogate are addressed. Measurements were conducted using a constant volume spherical combustion vessel in the constant pressure, stable flame regime at an initial temperature of 358 K and initial pressures up to 0.6 MPa with the equivalence ratios ranging from 0.8 to 1.6. Comparable values in the laminar burning velocities were measured for the FACE-C gasoline and the proposed surrogate fuel (17.60% n-heptane + 77.40% iso-octane + 5% toluene) over the range of experimental conditions. Sensitivity of flame propagation to total stretch rate effects and thermo-diffusive instability was quantified by determining Markstein length. Two percentages of an oxygenated fuel of ethanol as an additive, namely, 60 vol% and 85 vol% were investigated. The addition of ethanol to FACE-C and its surrogate TRF-1 (17.60% n-heptane + 77.40% iso-octane + 5% toluene) resulted in a relatively similar increase in the laminar burning velocities. The high-pressure measured values of Markstein length for the studied fuels blended with ethanol showed minimal influence of ethanol addition on the flame’s response to stretch rate and thermo-diffusive instability. © 2016 Taylor & Francis.

Lignin conversion to high-octane fuel additives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shabtai, J.; Zmierczak, W.; Kadangode, S. [University of Utah, Salt Lake City (United States); Chornet, E.; Johnson, D.K. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

1999-07-01

Continuing previous studies on the conversion of lignin to reformulated gasoline compositions, new lignin upgrading processes were developed that allow preferential production of specific high-octane fuel additives of two distinct types: (1) C{sub 7}-C{sub 10} alkylbenzenes; and (2) aryl methyl ethers, where aryl mostly = phenyl, 2-methylphenyl, 4-methylphenyl, and dimethylphenyl. Process (1) comprises base-catalyzed depolymerization (BCD) and simultaneous partial ({approx} 50%) deoxygenation of lignin at 270 - 290{sup o}C, in the presence of supercritical methanol as reaction medium, followed by exhaustive hydrodeoxygenation and attendant mild hydrocracking of the BCD product with sulfided catalysts to yield C{sub 8}-C{sub 10} alkylbenzenes as main products. Process (2) involves mild BCD at 250 - 270{sup o}C with preservation of the lignin oxygen, followed by selective C-C hydrocracking with solid superacid catalysts. This method preferentially yields a mixture of alkylated phenols, which upon acid-catalyzed etherification with methanol are converted into corresponding aryl methyl ethers (see above) possessing blending octane numbers in the range of 142-166. In a recent extension of this work, a greatly advantageous procedure for performing the BCD stage of processes (1) and (2) in water as reaction medium was developed. (author)

Increasing the octane number of gasoline using functionalized carbon nanotubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kish, Sara Safari [Faculty of Chemistry, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rashidi, Alimorad, E-mail: rashidiam@ripi.ir [Nanotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), West Blvd. Azadi Sport Complex, Tehran 14665-1998 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Aghabozorg, Hamid Reza [Catalysis Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Moradi, Leila [Faculty of Chemistry, Kashan University, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2010-03-15

The octane number is one of the characteristics of spark-ignition fuels such as gasoline. Octane number of fuels can be improved by addition of oxygenates such as ethanol, MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), TBF (tertiary butyl formate) and TBA (tertiary butyl alcohol) as well as their blends with gasoline that reduce the cost impact of fuels. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are as useful additives for increasing the octane number. Functionalized carbon nanotubes containing amide groups have a high reactivity and can react with many chemicals. These compounds can be solubilized in gasoline to increase the octane number. In this study, using octadecylamine and dodecylamine, CNTs were amidated and the amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes were added to gasoline. Research octane number analysis showed that these additives increase octane number of the desired samples. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal gravimetry analyses (TGA) were used for characterization of the prepared functionalized carbon nanotubes.

Increasing the octane number of gasoline using functionalized carbon nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kish, Sara Safari; Rashidi, Alimorad; Aghabozorg, Hamid Reza; Moradi, Leila

2010-01-01

The octane number is one of the characteristics of spark-ignition fuels such as gasoline. Octane number of fuels can be improved by addition of oxygenates such as ethanol, MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), TBF (tertiary butyl formate) and TBA (tertiary butyl alcohol) as well as their blends with gasoline that reduce the cost impact of fuels. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are as useful additives for increasing the octane number. Functionalized carbon nanotubes containing amide groups have a high reactivity and can react with many chemicals. These compounds can be solubilized in gasoline to increase the octane number. In this study, using octadecylamine and dodecylamine, CNTs were amidated and the amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes were added to gasoline. Research octane number analysis showed that these additives increase octane number of the desired samples. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal gravimetry analyses (TGA) were used for characterization of the prepared functionalized carbon nanotubes.

High Octane Fuel: Terminal Backgrounder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moriarty, Kristi [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-02-11

The Bioenergy Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sponsored a scoping study to assess the potential of ethanol-based high octane fuel (HOF) to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. When the HOF blend is made with 25%-40% ethanol by volume, this energy efficiency improvement is potentially sufficient to offset the reduced vehicle range often associated with the decreased volumetric energy density of ethanol. The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of the fuel supply chain to accommodate more ethanol at fuel terminals. Fuel terminals are midstream in the transportation fuel supply chain and serve to store and distribute fuels to end users. While there are no technical issues to storing more ethanol at fuel terminals, there are several factors that could impact the ability to deploy more ethanol. The most significant of these issues include the availability of land to add more infrastructure and accommodate more truck traffic for ethanol deliveries as well as a lengthy permitting process to erect more tanks.

Antiknock quality and ignition kinetics of 2-phenylethanol, a novel lignocellulosic octane booster

KAUST Repository

Shankar, Vijai; Alabbad, Mohammed; El-Rachidi, Mariam; Mohamed, Samah; Singh, Eshan; Wang, Zhandong; Farooq, Aamir; Sarathy, Mani

2016-01-01

High-octane quality fuels are important for increasing spark ignition engine efficiency, but their production comes at a substantial economic and environmental cost. The possibility of producing high anti-knock quality gasoline by blending high

A methodology to relate octane numbers of binary and ternary n-heptane, iso-octane and toluene mixtures with simulated ignition delay times

KAUST Repository

Badra, Jihad A.

2015-08-11

Predicting octane numbers (ON) of gasoline surrogate mixtures is of significant importance to the optimization and development of internal combustion (IC) engines. Most ON predictive tools utilize blending rules wherein measured octane numbers are fitted using linear or non-linear mixture fractions on a volumetric or molar basis. In this work, the octane numbers of various binary and ternary n-heptane/iso-octane/toluene blends, referred to as toluene primary reference fuel (TPRF) mixtures, are correlated with a fundamental chemical kinetic parameter, specifically, homogeneous gas-phase fuel/air ignition delay time. Ignition delay times for stoichiometric fuel/air mixtures are calculated at various constant volume conditions (835 K and 20 atm, 825 K and 25 atm, 850 K and 50 atm (research octane number RON-like) and 980 K and 45 atm (motor octane number MON-like)), and for variable volume profiles calculated from cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine pressure and temperature simulations. Compression ratio (or ON) dependent variable volume profile ignition delay times are investigated as well. The constant volume RON-like ignition delay times correlation with RON was the best amongst the other studied conditions. The variable volume ignition delay times condition correlates better with MON than the ignition delay times at the other tested conditions. The best correlation is achieved when using compression ratio dependent variable volume profiles to calculate the ignition delay times. Most of the predicted research octane numbers (RON) have uncertainties that are lower than the repeatability and reproducibility limits of the measurements. Motor octane number (MON) correlation generally has larger uncertainties than that of RON.

Ignition studies of two low-octane gasolines

KAUST Repository

Javed, Tamour

2017-07-24

Low-octane gasolines (RON ∼ 50–70 range) are prospective fuels for gasoline compression ignition (GCI) internal combustion engines. GCI technology utilizing low-octane fuels has the potential to significantly improve well-to-wheel efficiency and reduce the transportation sector\\'s environmental footprint by offsetting diesel fuel usage in compression ignition engines. In this study, ignition delay times of two low-octane FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasolines, FACE I and FACE J, were measured in a shock tube and a rapid compression machine over a broad range of engine-relevant conditions (650–1200 K, 20 and 40 bar and ϕ = 0.5 and 1). The two gasolines are of similar octane ratings with anti-knock index, AKI = (RON + MON)/2, of ∼ 70 and sensitivity, S = RON–MON, of ∼ 3. However, the molecular compositions of the two gasolines are notably different. Experimental ignition delay time results showed that the two gasolines exhibited similar reactivity over a wide range of test conditions. Furthermore, ignition delay times of a primary reference fuel (PRF) surrogate (n-heptane/iso-octane blend), having the same AKI as the FACE gasolines, captured the ignition behavior of these gasolines with some minor discrepancies at low temperatures (T < 700 K). Multi-component surrogates, formulated by matching the octane ratings and compositions of the two gasolines, emulated the autoignition behavior of gasolines from high to low temperatures. Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine simulations were used to show that the PRF and multi-component surrogates exhibited similar combustion phasing over a wide range of engine operating conditions.

Refining economics of U.S. gasoline: octane ratings and ethanol content.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirshfeld, David S; Kolb, Jeffrey A; Anderson, James E; Studzinski, William; Frusti, James

2014-10-07

Increasing the octane rating of the U.S. gasoline pool (currently ∼ 93 Research Octane Number (RON)) would enable higher engine efficiency for light-duty vehicles (e.g., through higher compression ratio), facilitating compliance with federal fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards. The federal Renewable Fuels Standard calls for increased renewable fuel use in U.S. gasoline, primarily ethanol, a high-octane gasoline component. Linear programming modeling of the U.S. refining sector was used to assess the effects on refining economics, CO2 emissions, and crude oil use of increasing average octane rating by increasing (i) the octane rating of refinery-produced hydrocarbon blendstocks for oxygenate blending (BOBs) and (ii) the volume fraction (Exx) of ethanol in finished gasoline. The analysis indicated the refining sector could produce BOBs yielding finished E20 and E30 gasolines with higher octane ratings at modest additional refining cost, for example, ∼ 1¢/gal for 95-RON E20 or 97-RON E30, and 3-5¢/gal for 95-RON E10, 98-RON E20, or 100-RON E30. Reduced BOB volume (from displacement by ethanol) and lower BOB octane could (i) lower refinery CO2 emissions (e.g., ∼ 3% for 98-RON E20, ∼ 10% for 100-RON E30) and (ii) reduce crude oil use (e.g., ∼ 3% for 98-RON E20, ∼ 8% for 100-RON E30).

An Interview with Michael Horn: Blending Education for High-Octane Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Gregory A.

2012-01-01

Blended learning holds the potential of improving the way we educate students and of making them more motivated. Blended education--the melding of information technology based distance learning with school attendance--is perhaps the best way to educate students for 21st century skills, says Michael Horn in a "Kappan" interview. Horn points out…

Lifecycle optimized ethanol-gasoline blends for turbocharged engines

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Bo

2016-08-16

This study presents a lifecycle (well-to-wheel) analysis to determine the CO2 emissions associated with ethanol blended gasoline in optimized turbocharged engines. This study provides a more accurate assessment on the best-achievable CO2 emission of ethanol blended gasoline mixtures in future engines. The optimal fuel blend (lowest CO2 emitting fuel) is identified. A range of gasoline fuels is studied, containing different ethanol volume percentages (E0–E40), research octane numbers (RON, 92–105), and octane sensitivities (8.5–15.5). Sugarcane-based and cellulosic ethanol-blended gasolines are shown to be effective in reducing lifecycle CO2 emission, while corn-based ethanol is not as effective. A refinery simulation of production emission was utilized, and combined with vehicle fuel consumption modeling to determine the lifecycle CO2 emissions associated with ethanol-blended gasoline in turbocharged engines. The critical parameters studied, and related to blended fuel lifecycle CO2 emissions, are ethanol content, research octane number, and octane sensitivity. The lowest-emitting blended fuel had an ethanol content of 32 vol%, RON of 105, and octane sensitivity of 15.5; resulting in a CO2 reduction of 7.1%, compared to the reference gasoline fuel and engine technology. The advantage of ethanol addition is greatest on a per unit basis at low concentrations. Finally, this study shows that engine-downsizing technology can yield an additional CO2 reduction of up to 25.5% in a two-stage downsized turbocharged engine burning the optimum sugarcane-based fuel blend. The social cost savings in the USA, from the CO2 reduction, is estimated to be as much as $187 billion/year. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

The development of isomerization catalysts for production of high-octane products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pedrosa, A.M. Garrido; Melo, D.M.A.; Araujo, A.S. [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica; Souza, M.J.B.; Silva, A.O.S. [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Quimica

2004-07-01

In current petroleum industry, paraffins larger than C5 are used for catalytic reform. The catalytic reform is one of the most important processes for petroleum refine in reason of all reactions they drive to production of high-octane products. Reformate has high-octane products, but they contain 60% aromatics. Isomerization of C5- C7 can improve the octane number. The octane number of n-heptane is zero and increases after isomerization. For tri branched C7, the octane number reaches 113, which is higher than that of benzene. So, isomerization of C5-C7 is suggested to be a reasonable way to replace or partly replace the catalytic reforming process. It can decrease aromatics content with enhancement of octane number. Liquid acid catalysts were widely used in chemical industry in past decades. However, they face strong environmental challenges. The heavy corrosion of the reactor system is one of the main problems. Thus, solid acid catalysts are investigated for the isomerization reactions. The aim of this work is to develop a catalysts for the production of reformate products. Isomerization is catalyzed by metal-acid bifunctional catalysts. The metal components aid in hydrogenation, while the support, such as, zirconium, clays or zeolites, is the acidic component. (author)

Terpineol as a novel octane booster for extending the knock limit of gasoline

KAUST Repository

Vallinayagam, R.

2016-09-16

Improving the octane number of gasoline offers the potential of improved engine combustion, as it permits spark timing advancement without engine knock. This study proposes the use of terpineol as an octane booster for gasoline in a spark ignited (SI) engine. Terpineol is a bio-derived oxygenated fuel obtained from pine tree resin, and has the advantage of higher calorific value than ethanol. The ignition delay time (IDT) of terpineol was first investigated in an ignition quality tester (IQT). The IQT results demonstrated a long ignition delay of 24.7 ms for terpineol and an estimated research octane number (RON) of 104, which was higher than commercial European (Euro V) gasoline. The octane boosting potential of terpineol was further investigated by blending it with a non-oxygenated gasoline (FACE F), which has a RON (94) lower than Euro V gasoline (RON = 97). The operation of a gasoline direct injection (GDI) SI engine fueled with terpineol-blended FACE F gasoline enabled spark timing advancement and improved engine combustion. The knock intensity of FACE F + 30% terpineol was lower than FACE F gasoline at both maximum brake torque (MBT) and knock limited spark advance (KLSA) operating points. Increasing proportions of terpineol in the blend caused peak heat release rate, in-cylinder pressure, CA50, and combustion duration to be closer to those of Euro V gasoline. Furthermore, FACE F + 30% terpineol displayed improved combustion characteristics when compared to Euro V gasoline. © 2016

Auto-Ignition of Iso-Stoichiometric Blends of Gasoline-Ethanol-Methanol (GEM) in SI, HCCI and CI Combustion Modes

KAUST Repository

Waqas, Muhammad

2017-03-28

Gasoline-ethanol-methanol (GEM) blends, with constant stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio (iso-stoichiometric blending rule) and equivalent to binary gasoline-ethanol blends (E2, E5, E10 and E15 in % vol.), were defined to investigate the effect of methanol and combined mixtures of ethanol and methanol when blended with three FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) Gasolines, I, J and A corresponding to RON 70.2, 73.8 and 83.9, respectively, and their corresponding Primary Reference Fuels (PRFs). A Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used under Spark Ignition and Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignited modes. An ignition quality tester was utilized in the Compression Ignition mode. One of the promising properties of GEM blends, which are derived using the iso-stoichiometric blending rule, is that they maintain a constant octane number, which has led to the introduction of methanol as a drop-in fuel to supplement bio-derived ethanol. A constant RON/HCCI fuel number/derived Research octane number property was observed in all three combustion modes for high RON fuels, but for low RON fuels, the iso-stoichiometric blending rule for constant octane number did not appear to be valid. The chemical composition and octane number of the base fuel also influenced the behavior of the GEM blends under different conditions.

Auto-Ignition of Iso-Stoichiometric Blends of Gasoline-Ethanol-Methanol (GEM) in SI, HCCI and CI Combustion Modes

KAUST Repository

Waqas, Muhammad; Naser, Nimal; Sarathy, Mani; Feijs, Jeroen; Morganti, Kai; Nyrenstedt, Gustav; Johansson, Bengt

2017-01-01

Gasoline-ethanol-methanol (GEM) blends, with constant stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio (iso-stoichiometric blending rule) and equivalent to binary gasoline-ethanol blends (E2, E5, E10 and E15 in % vol.), were defined to investigate the effect of methanol and combined mixtures of ethanol and methanol when blended with three FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) Gasolines, I, J and A corresponding to RON 70.2, 73.8 and 83.9, respectively, and their corresponding Primary Reference Fuels (PRFs). A Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used under Spark Ignition and Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignited modes. An ignition quality tester was utilized in the Compression Ignition mode. One of the promising properties of GEM blends, which are derived using the iso-stoichiometric blending rule, is that they maintain a constant octane number, which has led to the introduction of methanol as a drop-in fuel to supplement bio-derived ethanol. A constant RON/HCCI fuel number/derived Research octane number property was observed in all three combustion modes for high RON fuels, but for low RON fuels, the iso-stoichiometric blending rule for constant octane number did not appear to be valid. The chemical composition and octane number of the base fuel also influenced the behavior of the GEM blends under different conditions.

Gasoline, Ethanol and Methanol (GEM) Ternary Blends utilization as an Alternative to Conventional Iraqi Gasoline to Suppress Emitted Sulfur and Lead Components to Environment

OpenAIRE

Miqdam Tariq Chaichan

2016-01-01

Iraqi conventional gasoline characterized by its low octane number not exceed 82 and high lead and sulfur content. In this paper tri-component or ternary, blends of gasoline, ethanol, and methanol presented as an alternative fuel for Iraqi conventional gasoline. The study conducted by using GEM blend that equals E85 blend in octane rating. The used GEM selected from Turner, 2010 collection. G37 E20 M43 (37% gasoline + 20% ethanol+ 43% methanol) was chosen as GEM in present study. This blend u...

Blending Octane Number of Toluene with Gasoline-like and PRF Fuels in HCCI Combustion Mode

KAUST Repository

Waqas, Muhammad Umer; Masurier, Jean-Baptiste; Sarathy, Mani; Johansson, Bengt

2018-01-01

Future internal combustion engines demand higher efficiency but progression towards this is limited by the phenomenon called knock. A possible solution for reaching high efficiency is Octane-on-Demand (OoD), which allows to customize the antiknock

A Group Contribution Method for Estimating Cetane and Octane Numbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kubic, William Louis [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Process Modeling and Analysis Group

2016-07-28

Much of the research on advanced biofuels is devoted to the study of novel chemical pathways for converting nonfood biomass into liquid fuels that can be blended with existing transportation fuels. Many compounds under consideration are not found in the existing fuel supplies. Often, the physical properties needed to assess the viability of a potential biofuel are not available. The only reliable information available may be the molecular structure. Group contribution methods for estimating physical properties from molecular structure have been used for more than 60 years. The most common application is estimation of thermodynamic properties. More recently, group contribution methods have been developed for estimating rate dependent properties including cetane and octane numbers. Often, published group contribution methods are limited in terms of types of function groups and range of applicability. In this study, a new, broadly-applicable group contribution method based on an artificial neural network was developed to estimate cetane number research octane number, and motor octane numbers of hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons. The new method is more accurate over a greater range molecular weights and structural complexity than existing group contribution methods for estimating cetane and octane numbers.

Ignition delay time correlation of fuel blends based on Livengood-Wu description

KAUST Repository

Khaled, Fathi

2017-08-17

In this work, a universal methodology for ignition delay time (IDT) correlation of multicomponent fuel mixtures is reported. The method is applicable over wide ranges of temperatures, pressures, and equivalence ratios. n-Heptane, iso-octane, toluene, ethanol and their blends are investigated in this study because of their relevance to gasoline surrogate formulation. The proposed methodology combines benefits from the Livengood-Wu integral, the cool flame characteristics and the Arrhenius behavior of the high-temperature ignition delay time to suggest a simple and comprehensive formulation for correlating the ignition delay times of pure components and blends. The IDTs of fuel blends usually have complex dependences on temperature, pressure, equivalence ratio and composition of the blend. The Livengood-Wu integral is applied here to relate the NTC region and the cool flame phenomenon. The integral is further extended to obtain a relation between the IDTs of fuel blends and pure components. Ignition delay times calculated using the proposed methodology are in excellent agreement with those simulated using a detailed chemical kinetic model for n-heptane, iso-octane, toluene, ethanol and blends of these components. Finally, very good agreement is also observed for combustion phasing in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) predictions between simulations performed with detailed chemistry and calculations using the developed ignition delay correlation.

Conversion of straight-run gas-condensate benzenes into high- octane gasolines based on modified ZSM-5 zeolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erofeev, V; Reschetilowski, V; Khomajakov, I; Egorova, L; Volgina, T; Tatarkina, A

2014-01-01

This paper describes the conversion of straight-run benzene of gas condensate into high-octane gasoline based on zeolite catalyst ZSM-5, modified in binary system oxide- based Sn (III) and Bi (III). It was defined that the introduction of the binary system oxide-based Sn(III) and Bi (III) into the basic zeolite results in the 2-fold increase of its catalytic activity.High-octane gasoline converted from straight-run benzene is characterized by a low benzol content in comparison to the high-octane benzenes produced during the catalytic reforming

Ignition delay time measurements of primary reference fuel blends

KAUST Repository

Alabbad, Mohammed

2017-02-07

Ignition delay times of four different primary reference fuels (PRF), mixtures of n-heptane and iso-octane, were measured behind reflected shock waves in a high-pressure shock tube facility. The PRFs were formulated to match the RON of two high-octane gasolines (RON 95 and 91) and two prospective low-octane naphtha fuels (RON 80 and 70). Experiments were carried out over a wide range of temperatures (700–1200K), pressures (10, 20, and 40bar) and equivalence ratios (0.5 and 1). Kinetic modeling predictions from four chemical kinetic mechanisms are compared with the experimental data. Ignition delay correlations are developed to reproduce the measured ignition delay times. Brute force sensitivity analyses are carried out to identify reactions that affect ignition delay times at specific temperature, pressure and equivalence ratio. The large experimental data set provided in the current work will serve as a benchmark for the validation of chemical kinetic mechanisms of primary reference fuel blends.

Ignition delay time measurements of primary reference fuel blends

KAUST Repository

Alabbad, Mohammed; Javed, Tamour; Khaled, Fathi; Badra, Jihad; Farooq, Aamir

2017-01-01

Ignition delay times of four different primary reference fuels (PRF), mixtures of n-heptane and iso-octane, were measured behind reflected shock waves in a high-pressure shock tube facility. The PRFs were formulated to match the RON of two high-octane gasolines (RON 95 and 91) and two prospective low-octane naphtha fuels (RON 80 and 70). Experiments were carried out over a wide range of temperatures (700–1200K), pressures (10, 20, and 40bar) and equivalence ratios (0.5 and 1). Kinetic modeling predictions from four chemical kinetic mechanisms are compared with the experimental data. Ignition delay correlations are developed to reproduce the measured ignition delay times. Brute force sensitivity analyses are carried out to identify reactions that affect ignition delay times at specific temperature, pressure and equivalence ratio. The large experimental data set provided in the current work will serve as a benchmark for the validation of chemical kinetic mechanisms of primary reference fuel blends.

Predicting octane number using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and artificial neural networks

KAUST Repository

Abdul Jameel, Abdul Gani; Oudenhoven, Vincent Van; Emwas, Abdul-Hamid M.; Sarathy, Mani

2018-01-01

Machine learning algorithms are attracting significant interest for predicting complex chemical phenomenon. In this work, a model to predict research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) of pure hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon-ethanol blends and gasoline-ethanol blends has been developed using artificial neural networks (ANN) and molecular parameters from 1H nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. RON and MON of 128 pure hydrocarbons, 123 hydrocarbon-ethanol blends of known composition and 30 FACE (fuels for advanced combustion engines) gasoline-ethanol blends were utilized as a dataset to develop the ANN model. The effect of weight % of seven functional groups including paraffinic CH3 groups, paraffinic CH2 groups, paraffinic CH groups, olefinic -CH=CH2 groups, naphthenic CH-CH2 groups, aromatic C-CH groups and ethanolic OH groups on RON and MON was studied. The effect of branching (i.e., methyl substitution), denoted by a parameter termed as branching index (BI), and molecular weight (MW) were included as inputs along with the seven functional groups to predict RON and MON. The topology of the developed ANN models for RON (9-540-314-1) and MON (9-340-603-1) have two hidden layers and a large number of nodes, and was validated against experimentally measured RON and MON of pure hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon-ethanol and gasoline-ethanol blends; a good correlation (R2=0.99) between the predicted and the experimental data was obtained. The average error of prediction for both RON and MON was found to be 1.2 which is close to the range of experimental uncertainty. This shows that the functional groups in a molecule or fuel can be used to predict its ON, and the complex relationship between them can be captured by tools like ANN.

Predicting octane number using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and artificial neural networks

KAUST Repository

Abdul Jameel, Abdul Gani

2018-04-17

Machine learning algorithms are attracting significant interest for predicting complex chemical phenomenon. In this work, a model to predict research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) of pure hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon-ethanol blends and gasoline-ethanol blends has been developed using artificial neural networks (ANN) and molecular parameters from 1H nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. RON and MON of 128 pure hydrocarbons, 123 hydrocarbon-ethanol blends of known composition and 30 FACE (fuels for advanced combustion engines) gasoline-ethanol blends were utilized as a dataset to develop the ANN model. The effect of weight % of seven functional groups including paraffinic CH3 groups, paraffinic CH2 groups, paraffinic CH groups, olefinic -CH=CH2 groups, naphthenic CH-CH2 groups, aromatic C-CH groups and ethanolic OH groups on RON and MON was studied. The effect of branching (i.e., methyl substitution), denoted by a parameter termed as branching index (BI), and molecular weight (MW) were included as inputs along with the seven functional groups to predict RON and MON. The topology of the developed ANN models for RON (9-540-314-1) and MON (9-340-603-1) have two hidden layers and a large number of nodes, and was validated against experimentally measured RON and MON of pure hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon-ethanol and gasoline-ethanol blends; a good correlation (R2=0.99) between the predicted and the experimental data was obtained. The average error of prediction for both RON and MON was found to be 1.2 which is close to the range of experimental uncertainty. This shows that the functional groups in a molecule or fuel can be used to predict its ON, and the complex relationship between them can be captured by tools like ANN.

Fiscal 2000 report of investigation. Research study on reduction of carbon dioxide discharge by increase in octane number in gasoline through use of biomass; 2000 nendo biomass wo riyoshita gasoline no octane ka kojo ni yoru nisanka tanso haishutsu sakugen ni kansuru chosa kenkyu hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

An investigative research was conducted on the means of reducing fuel consumption of motor vehicles and reducing greenhouse effect gases, by making octane boosters for gasoline through the use of alcohol derived from biomass feedstock. As a result of the investigation, the following proposals were made. In present gasoline-fueled motor vehicles, an increase in the octane number by 5 will allow a higher compression by 1, thereby reducing fuel consumption by 2.5% during running. The suitable octane boosters are MTBE (methyl tertiary butylether) and ETBE (ethyl tertiary butylether) both of which can be produced from either methanol or ethanol derived from biomass feedstock. Blending regular gasoline with an octane number of 90 and either MTBE or ETBE by 18% may make gasoline having an octane number of 95, leading to a reduction of carbon dioxide emission by 4.8% and 6.8% respectively. The amount of alcohol needed for these octane boosters is 2.2 megatons of methanol per year for MTBE production and 2.7 megatons of ethanol per year for ETBE; this requires 12 plants nationwide for producing the octane boosters at 0.5 megatons per year; and, in view of the cost of transportation, alcohol producing plants are desirably located near the octane booster producing plants. (NEDO)

A blending rule for octane numbers of PRFs and TPRFs with ethanol

KAUST Repository

AlRamadan, Abdullah S.; Sarathy, Mani; Khurshid, Muneeb; Badra, Jihad

2016-01-01

-gasoline synergistic/antagonistic blending effects. Understanding ethanol blending effects with simpler gasoline surrogates blends may enable a better understanding of ethanol blending with complex multi-component gasoline fuels. This study presents a blending rule

Technological processes for obtaining high octane benzene from methanol. Tekhnologicheskie protsessy polucheniya vysokooktanovogo benzina iz metanola

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kapustin, M A; Nefedov, B K

1982-01-01

The study is on one of the most promising processes for obtaining high octane components of motor fuel from methanol, with crude that has been made with a mixture of CO and H/sub 2/ gases, separated from coal, shale oil, natural and waste smoky gases, heavy oil sediments. The results of foreign scientific and technological studies over the last 5 years in synthesizing high octane benzene from methanol are systematized. Possible improvements over the next 10-15 years in these processes were examined.

Estimating fuel octane numbers from homogeneous gas-phase ignition delay times

KAUST Repository

Naser, Nimal

2017-11-05

Fuel octane numbers are directly related to the autoignition properties of fuel/air mixtures in spark ignition (SI) engines. This work presents a methodology to estimate the research and the motor octane numbers (RON and MON) from homogeneous gas-phase ignition delay time (IDT) data calculated at various pressures and temperatures. The hypothesis under investigation is that at specific conditions of pressure and temperature (i.e., RON-like and MON-like conditions), fuels with IDT identical to that of a primary reference fuel (PRF) have the same octane rating. To test this hypothesis, IDTs with a detailed gasoline surrogate chemical kinetic model have been calculated at various temperatures and pressures. From this dataset, temperatures that best represent RON and MON have been correlated at a specified pressure. Correlations for pressures in the range of 10–50 bar were obtained. The proposed correlations were validated with toluene reference fuels (TRF), toluene primary reference fuels (TPRF), ethanol reference fuels (ERF), PRFs and TPRFs with ethanol, and multi-component gasoline surrogate mixtures. The predicted RON and MON showed satisfactory accuracy against measurements obtained by the standard ASTM methods and blending rules, demonstrating that the present methodology can be a viable tool for a first approximation. The correlations were also validated against an extensive set of experimental IDT data obtained from literature with a high degree of accuracy in RON/MON prediction. Conditions in homogeneous reactors such as shock tubes and rapid compression machines that are relevant to modern SI engines were also identified. Uncertainty analysis of the proposed correlations with linear error propagation theory is also presented.

Estimating fuel octane numbers from homogeneous gas-phase ignition delay times

KAUST Repository

Naser, Nimal; Sarathy, Mani; Chung, Suk-Ho

2017-01-01

Fuel octane numbers are directly related to the autoignition properties of fuel/air mixtures in spark ignition (SI) engines. This work presents a methodology to estimate the research and the motor octane numbers (RON and MON) from homogeneous gas-phase ignition delay time (IDT) data calculated at various pressures and temperatures. The hypothesis under investigation is that at specific conditions of pressure and temperature (i.e., RON-like and MON-like conditions), fuels with IDT identical to that of a primary reference fuel (PRF) have the same octane rating. To test this hypothesis, IDTs with a detailed gasoline surrogate chemical kinetic model have been calculated at various temperatures and pressures. From this dataset, temperatures that best represent RON and MON have been correlated at a specified pressure. Correlations for pressures in the range of 10–50 bar were obtained. The proposed correlations were validated with toluene reference fuels (TRF), toluene primary reference fuels (TPRF), ethanol reference fuels (ERF), PRFs and TPRFs with ethanol, and multi-component gasoline surrogate mixtures. The predicted RON and MON showed satisfactory accuracy against measurements obtained by the standard ASTM methods and blending rules, demonstrating that the present methodology can be a viable tool for a first approximation. The correlations were also validated against an extensive set of experimental IDT data obtained from literature with a high degree of accuracy in RON/MON prediction. Conditions in homogeneous reactors such as shock tubes and rapid compression machines that are relevant to modern SI engines were also identified. Uncertainty analysis of the proposed correlations with linear error propagation theory is also presented.

Production of high-octane, unleaded motor fuel by alkylation of isobutane with isoamylenes obtained by dehydrogenation of isopentane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutson, T. Jr.; Hann, P.D.

1981-01-31

A process combination, with inter-cooperation, for producing high-octane alkylates comprising (a) dehydrogenating isopentane to isopentenes (amylenes), (b) introducing the mixture of said amylenes and unconverted isopentane into an HF alkylation unit for reaction with fresh or recycled isobutane, (c) separating the alkylation products into high octane alkylates, isopentane (for recycling to the dehydrogenation reactor) and isobutane (for recycling to the alkylation reactor).

Suppression of secondary reactions during n-butene dimerization to gasoline blending components : Chemical Reaction Engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Golombok, M.; Bruijn, J.

2000-01-01

There are 72 isomers of the octene molecules and only a small number of them have high value as a blending octane component in gasoline. The amorphous silica alumina catalyst used for selectively dimerizing octenes from linear butenes can itself isomerize the target species. It is demonstrated that

The influence of n-butanol blending on the ignition delay times of gasoline and its surrogate at high pressures

KAUST Repository

Agbro, Edirin

2016-09-24

The influence of blending n-butanol at 20% by volume on the ignition delay times for a reference gasoline was studied in a rapid compression machine (RCM) for stoichiometric fuel/air mixtures at 20 bar and 678-858 K. Delay times for the blend lay between those of stoichiometric gasoline and stoichiometric n-butanol across the temperature range studied. At lower temperatures, delays for the blend were however, much closer to those of n-butanol than gasoline despite n-butanol being only 20% of the mixture. Under these conditions n-butanol acted as an octane enhancer over and above what might be expected from a simple linear blending law. The ability of a gasoline surrogate, based on a toluene reference fuel (TRF), to capture the main trends of the gasoline/n-butanol blending behaviour was also tested within the RCM. The 3-component TRF based on a mixture of toluene, n-heptane and iso-octane was able to capture the trends well across the temperature range studied. Simulations of ignition delay times were also performed using a detailed blended n-butanol/TRF mechanism based on the adiabatic core assumption and volume histories from the experimental data. Overall, the model captured the main features of the blending behaviour, although at the lowest temperatures, predicted ignition delays for stoichiometric n-butanol were longer than those observed. A brute-force local sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the main chemical processes driving the ignition behaviour of the TRF, n-butanol and blended fuels. The reactions of fuel + OH dominated the sensitivities at lower temperatures, with H abstraction from n-butanol from a and 7 sites being key for both the n-butanol and the blend. At higher temperatures the decomposition of H2O2 and reactions of HO2 and that of formaldehyde with OH became critical, in common with the ignition behaviour of other fiiels. Remaining uncertainties in the rates of these key reactions are discussed. Crown Copyright (C) 2016 Published

Evaluation of Anti-Knock Quality of Dicyclopentadiene-Gasoline Blends

KAUST Repository

Al-Khodaier, Mohannad

2017-03-28

Increasing the anti-knock quality of gasoline fuels can enable higher efficiency in spark ignition engines. In this study, the blending anti-knock quality of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), a by-product of ethylene production from naphtha cracking, with various gasoline fuels is explored. The blends were tested in an ignition quality tester (IQT) and a modified cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine operating under homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) and knock limited spark advance (KLSA) conditions. Due to current fuel regulations, ethanol is widely used as a gasoline blending component in many markets. In addition, ethanol is widely used as a fuel and literature verifying its performance. Moreover, because ethanol exhibits synergistic effects, the test results of DCPD-gasoline blends were compared to those of ethanol-gasoline blends. The experiments conducted in this work enabled the screening of DCPD auto-ignition characteristics across a range of combustion modes. The synergistic blending nature of DCPD was apparent and appeared to be greater than that of ethanol. The data presented suggests that DCPD has the potential to be a high octane blending component in gasoline; one which can substitute alkylates, isomerates, reformates, and oxygenates.

Evaluation of Anti-Knock Quality of Dicyclopentadiene-Gasoline Blends

KAUST Repository

Al-Khodaier, Mohannad; Bhavani Shankar, Vijai Shankar; Waqas, Muhammad; Naser, Nimal; Sarathy, Mani; Johansson, Bengt

2017-01-01

Increasing the anti-knock quality of gasoline fuels can enable higher efficiency in spark ignition engines. In this study, the blending anti-knock quality of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), a by-product of ethylene production from naphtha cracking, with various gasoline fuels is explored. The blends were tested in an ignition quality tester (IQT) and a modified cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine operating under homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) and knock limited spark advance (KLSA) conditions. Due to current fuel regulations, ethanol is widely used as a gasoline blending component in many markets. In addition, ethanol is widely used as a fuel and literature verifying its performance. Moreover, because ethanol exhibits synergistic effects, the test results of DCPD-gasoline blends were compared to those of ethanol-gasoline blends. The experiments conducted in this work enabled the screening of DCPD auto-ignition characteristics across a range of combustion modes. The synergistic blending nature of DCPD was apparent and appeared to be greater than that of ethanol. The data presented suggests that DCPD has the potential to be a high octane blending component in gasoline; one which can substitute alkylates, isomerates, reformates, and oxygenates.

Synthesis of Highly Functionalised Enantiopure Bicyclo[3.2.1]- octane Systems from Carvone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noelia Vera

2004-04-01

Full Text Available The commercially available monoterpene carvone has been efficiently convertedinto the tricyclo[3.2.1.02.7]octane and bicyclo[3.2.1]octane systems characteristic of somebiologically active compounds. The sequence used for this transformation involves as keyfeatures an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of a 5-vinyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene and acyclopropane ring opening.

Improvements to the Composition of Fusel Oil and Analysis of the Effects of Fusel Oil–Gasoline Blends on a Spark-Ignited (SI Engine’s Performance and Emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suleyman Simsek

2018-03-01

Full Text Available With the increase of energy needs and environmental pollution, alcohol-based alternative fuels are used in spark-ignited (SI engines. Fusel oil, which is a by-product obtained through distillation of ethanol, contains some valuable alcohols. As alcohols are high-octane, they have an important place among the alternative fuels. Fusel also takes its place among those alternatives as it is high-octane and low on exhaust emissions. In this research, the effects of using blends of unleaded gasoline and improved fusel oil on engine performance and exhaust emissions were analyzed experimentally. A four-stroke, single-cylinder, spark-ignited engine was used in the experiments. The tests were conducted at a fixed speed and under different loads. The test fuels were blended supplying with fusel oil at rates incremented by 10%, up to 50%. Under each load, the engine’s performance and emissions were measured. Throughout the experiments, it has been observed that engine torque and specific fuel consumption increases as the amount of fusel oil in the blend is increased. Nitrogen oxide (NOx, carbon monoxide (CO, and hydrocarbon (HC emissions are reduced as the amount of fusel oil in the blends is increased.

Reduced Gasoline Surrogate (Toluene/n-Heptane/iso-Octane) Chemical Kinetic Model for Compression Ignition Simulations

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani; Atef, Nour; Alfazazi, Adamu; Badra, Jihad; Zhang, Yu; Tzanetakis, Tom; Pei, Yuanjiang

2018-01-01

Toluene primary reference fuel (TPRF) (mixture of toluene, iso-octane and heptane) is a suitable surrogate to represent a wide spectrum of real fuels with varying octane sensitivity. Investigating different surrogates in engine simulations is a prerequisite to identify the best matching mixture. However, running 3D engine simulations using detailed models is currently impossible and reduction of detailed models is essential. This work presents an AramcoMech reduced kinetic model developed at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for simulating complex TPRF surrogate blends. A semi-decoupling approach was used together with species and reaction lumping to obtain a reduced kinetic model. The model was widely validated against experimental data including shock tube ignition delay times and premixed laminar flame speeds. Finally, the model was utilized to simulate the combustion of a low reactivity gasoline fuel under partially premixed combustion conditions.

Reduced Gasoline Surrogate (Toluene/n-Heptane/iso-Octane) Chemical Kinetic Model for Compression Ignition Simulations

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani

2018-04-03

Toluene primary reference fuel (TPRF) (mixture of toluene, iso-octane and heptane) is a suitable surrogate to represent a wide spectrum of real fuels with varying octane sensitivity. Investigating different surrogates in engine simulations is a prerequisite to identify the best matching mixture. However, running 3D engine simulations using detailed models is currently impossible and reduction of detailed models is essential. This work presents an AramcoMech reduced kinetic model developed at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for simulating complex TPRF surrogate blends. A semi-decoupling approach was used together with species and reaction lumping to obtain a reduced kinetic model. The model was widely validated against experimental data including shock tube ignition delay times and premixed laminar flame speeds. Finally, the model was utilized to simulate the combustion of a low reactivity gasoline fuel under partially premixed combustion conditions.

Influence of Compression Ratio on High Load Performance and Knock Behavior for Gasoline Port-Fuel Injection, Natural Gas Direct Injection and Blended Operation in a Spark Ignition Engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pamminger, Michael; Sevik, James; Scarcelli, Riccardo; Wallner, Thomas; Hall, Carrie

2017-03-28

Natural Gas (NG) is an alternative fuel which has attracted a lot of attention recently, in particular in the US due to shale gas availability. The higher hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) ratio, compared to gasoline, allows for decreasing carbon dioxide emissions throughout the entire engine map. Furthermore, the high knock resistance of NG allows increasing the efficiency at high engine loads compared to fuels with lower knock resistance. NG direct injection (DI) allows for fuel to be added after intake valve closing (IVC) resulting in an increase in power density compared to an injection before IVC. Steady-state engine tests were performed on a single-cylinder research engine equipped with gasoline (E10) port-fuel injection (PFI) and NG DI to allow for in-cylinder blending of both fuels. Knock investigations were performed at two discrete compression ratios (CR), 10.5 and 12.5. Operating conditions span mid-load, wide-open-throttle and boosted conditions, depending on the knock response of the fuel blend. Blended operation was performed using E10 gasoline and NG. An additional gasoline type fuel (E85) with higher knock resistance than E10 was used as a high-octane reference fuel, since the octane rating of E10-NG fuel blends is unknown. Spark timing was varied at different loads under stoichiometric conditions in order to study the knock response as well as the effects on performance and efficiency. As anticipated, results suggest that the knock resistance can be increased significantly by increasing the NG amount. Comparing the engine operation with the least knock resistant fuel, E10 PFI, and the fuel blend with the highest knock resistance, 75% NG DI, shows an increase in indicated mean effective pressure of about 9 bar at CR 12.5. The usage of reference fuels with known knock characteristics allowed an assessment of knock characteristic of intermediate E10-NG blend levels. Mathematical correlations were developed allowing characterizing the occurrence of knocking

High octane gasoline components from catalytic cracking gasoline, propylene, and isobutane by disproportionation, clevage and alkylation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banks, R.

1980-07-08

A process is described for producing high octane value gasoline which comprises in a disproportionation zone subjecting propylene and a mixture of propylene and ethylene obtained as hereinafter delineated to disproportionation conditions to produce a stream containing ethylene and a stream containing butenes, passing the ethylene-containing stream from said disproportionation zone together with a catalytic cracking gasoline to a cleavage zone under disproportionation conditions and subjecting the mixture of hydrocarbons therin to cleavage to produce said mixture of propylene and ethylene, a C/sub 5//sup +/ gasoline-containing product and butenes and wherein the butenes obtained in the overall operation of the disproportionation zone and the cleavage zone are passed to an alkylation zone wherein said butenes are used to alkylate an isoparaffin to produce additional high octane value product.

Base catalyzed synthesis of bicyclo[3.2.1]octane scaffolds.

Science.gov (United States)

Boehringer, Régis; Geoffroy, Philippe; Miesch, Michel

2015-07-07

The base-catalyzed reaction of achiral 1,3-cyclopentanediones tethered to activated olefins afforded in high yields bicyclo[3.2.1]octane-6,8-dione or bicyclo[3.2.1]octane-6-carboxylate derivatives bearing respectively three or five stereogenic centers. The course of the reaction is closely related to the reaction time and to the base involved in the reaction.

Relative Sustainability of Natural Gas Assisted High-Octane Gasoline Blendstock Production from Biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Eric C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Zhang, Yi Min [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cai, Hao [Argonne National Laboratory

2017-11-01

Biomass-derived hydrocarbon fuel technologies are being developed and pursued for better economy, environment, and society benefits underpinning the sustainability of transportation energy. Increasing availability and affordability of natural gas (NG) in the US can play an important role in assisting renewable fuel technology development, primarily in terms of economic feasibility. When a biorefinery is co-processing NG with biomass, the current low cost of NG coupled with the higher NG carbon conversion efficiency potentially allow for cost competitiveness of the fuel while achieving a minimum GHG emission reduction of 50 percent or higher compared to petroleum fuel. This study evaluates the relative sustainability of the production of high-octane gasoline blendstock via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of biomass (and with NG co-feed) through methanol/dimethyl ether intermediates. The sustainability metrics considered in this study include minimum fuel selling price (MFSP), carbon conversion efficiency, life cycle GHG emissions, life cycle water consumption, fossil energy return on investment (EROI), GHG emission avoidance cost, and job creation. Co-processing NG can evidently improve the MFSP. Evaluation of the relative sustainability can shed light on the biomass-NG synergistic impacts and sustainability trade-offs associated with the IDL as high-octane gasoline blendstock production.

Optimization of the fluid catalytic cracking unit performance by application of a high motor Octane catalyst and reduction of gasoline vapour pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavdarov, I.; Stratiev, D.; Shishkova, I.; Dinkov, R.; Petkov, P.

2013-01-01

Full text: The fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline is the main contributor to the refinery gasoline pool in the LUKOIL Neftohim Burgas (LNB) refinery. Next in quantity contributor in the refinery gasoline pool is the reformate. The FCC gasoline sensitivity (MON-RON) is about 12 points. The reformer gasoline sensitivity is 11 points. The high sensitivity of the main contributors to the LNB refinery gasoline pool leads to a shortage in the motor octane number. For that reason a selection of an FCC catalyst that is capable of increasing the motor octane number of the FCC gasoline was performed. The application of this catalyst in the LNB FCC unit has led to an increase of the motor octane number of the FCC gasoline by 0.5 points, which enabled the refinery to increase the production of automotive gasolines by 1.3 % and to increase the share of premium automotive gasoline by 5 %. This had an effect of improvement of the refinery economics by a six figure number of US $ per year. The optimization of the FCC gasoline Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) during the winter season, consisting in a reduction of the RVP from 60 to 50 kPa and an increase of the FCC C 4 olefins yield, has led to an augmentation of high motor octane number alkylate production. As a result the refinery economics was improved by a five figure number of US $ per year. key words: FCC gasoline motor octane number, gasoline RVP, FCC operation profitability

Process Design and Economics for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to High Octane Gasoline: Thermochemical Research Pathway with Indirect Gasification and Methanol Intermediate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Eric [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Talmadge, M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dutta, Abhijit [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hensley, Jesse [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Schaidle, Josh [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Biddy, Mary J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Humbird, David [DWH Process Consulting, Denver, CO (United States); Snowden-Swan, Lesley J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Ross, Jeff [Harris Group, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States); Sexton, Danielle [Harris Group, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States); Yap, Raymond [Harris Group, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States); Lukas, John [Harris Group, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)

2015-03-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) promotes research for enabling cost-competitive liquid fuels production from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks. The research is geared to advance the state of technology (SOT) of biomass feedstock supply and logistics, conversion, and overall system sustainability. As part of their involvement in this program, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) investigate the economics of conversion pathways through the development of conceptual biorefinery process models. This report describes in detail one potential conversion process for the production of high octane gasoline blendstock via indirect liquefaction (IDL). The steps involve the conversion of biomass to syngas via indirect gasification followed by gas cleanup and catalytic syngas conversion to a methanol intermediate; methanol is then further catalytically converted to high octane hydrocarbons. The conversion process model leverages technologies previously advanced by research funded by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and demonstrated in 2012 with the production of mixed alcohols from biomass. Biomass-derived syngas cleanup via tar and hydrocarbons reforming was one of the key technology advancements as part of that research. The process described in this report evaluates a new technology area with downstream utilization of clean biomass-syngas for the production of high octane hydrocarbon products through a methanol intermediate, i.e., dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME) which subsequently undergoes homologation to high octane hydrocarbon products.

Quantities of Interest in Jet Stirred Reactor Oxidation of a High-Octane Gasoline

KAUST Repository

Chen, Bingjie

2017-03-28

This work examines the oxidation of a well-characterized, high-octane-number FACE (fuel for advanced combustion engines) F gasoline. Oxidation experiments were performed in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) for FACE F gasoline under the following conditions: pressure, 10 bar; temperature, 530-1250 K; residence time, 0.7s; equivalence ratios, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0. Detailed species profiles were achieved by identification and quantification from gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). Four surrogates, with physical and chemical properties that mimic the real fuel properties, were used for simulations, with a detailed gasoline surrogate kinetic model. Fuel and species profiles were well-captured and-predicted by comparisons between experimental results and surrogate simulations. Further analysis was performed using a quantities of interest (QoI) approach to show the differences between experimental and simulation results and to evaluate the gasoline surrogate kinetic model. Analysis of the multicomponent surrogate kinetic model indicated that iso-octane and alkyl aromatic oxidation reactions had impact on species profiles in the high-temperature region;. however, the main production and consumption channels were related to smaller molecule reactions. The results presented here offer new insights into the oxidation chemistry of complex gasoline fuels and provide suggestions for the future development of surrogate kinetic models.

Thermodynamic and kinetic anisotropies in octane thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2015-12-07

Confinement breaks the translational symmetry of materials, making all thermodynamic and kinetic quantities functions of position. Such symmetry breaking can be used to obtain configurations that are not otherwise accessible in the bulk. Here, we use computer simulations to explore the effect of substrate-liquid interactions on thermodynamic and kinetic anisotropies induced by a solid substrate. We consider n-octane nano-films that are in contact with substrates with varying degrees of attraction, parameterized by an interaction parameter ϵS. Complete freezing of octane nano-films is observed at low temperatures, irrespective of ϵS, while at intermediate temperatures, a frozen monolayer emerges at solid-liquid and vapor-liquid interfaces. By carefully inspecting the profiles of translational and orientational relaxation times, we confirm that the translational and orientational degrees of freedom are decoupled at these frozen monolayers. At sufficiently high temperatures, however, free interfaces and solid-liquid interfaces close to loose (low-ϵS) substrates undergo "pre-freezing," characterized by mild peaks in several thermodynamic quantities. Two distinct dynamic regimes are observed at solid-liquid interfaces. The dynamics is accelerated in the vicinity of loose substrates, while sticky (high-ϵS) substrates decelerate dynamics, sometimes by as much as two orders of magnitude. These two distinct dynamical regimes have been previously reported by Haji-Akbari and Debenedetti [J. Chem. Phys. 141, 024506 (2014)] for a model atomic glass-forming liquid. We also confirm the existence of two correlations-proposed in the above-mentioned work-in solid-liquid subsurface regions of octane thin films, i.e., a correlation between atomic density and normal stress, and between atomic translational relaxation time and lateral stress. Finally, we inspect the ability of different regions of an octane film to explore the potential energy landscape by performing inherent

Pressure-dependent kinetics of initial reactions in iso-octane pyrolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, HongBo; Gong, ChunMing; Li, ZeRong; Li, XiangYuan

2015-05-07

This study focuses on the studies of the main pressure-dependent reaction types of iso-octane (iso-C8H18) pyrolysis, including initial C-C bond fission of iso-octane, isomerization, and β-scission reactions of the alkyl radicals produced by the C-C bond fission of iso-octane. For the C-C bond fission of iso-octane, the minimum energy potentials are calculated at the CASPT2(2e,2o)/6-31+G(d,p)//CAS(2e,2o)/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory. For the isomerization and the β-scission reactions of the alkyl radicals, the optimization of the geometries and the vibrational frequencies of the reactants, transition states, and products are performed at the B3LYP/CBSB7 level, and their single point energies are calculated by using the composite CBS-QB3 method. Variable reaction coordinate transition state theory (VRC-TST) is used for the high-pressure limit rate constant calculation and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus/master equation (RRKM/ME) is used to calculate the pressure-dependent rate constants of these channels with pressure varying from 0.01-100 atm. The rate constants obtained in this work are in good agreement with those available from literatures. We have updated the rate constants and thermodynamic parameters for species involved in these reactions into a current chemical kinetic mechanism and also have improved the concentration profiles of main products such as C3H6 and C4H6 in the shock tube pyrolysis of iso-octane. The results of this study provide insight into the pyrolysis of iso-octane and will be helpful in the future development of branched paraffin kinetic mechanisms.

An amateur chemist's high-octane idea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, G.

1996-01-01

The construction of a state-of-the-art facility near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, which will produce the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), was discussed. The additive is considered to be an effective, safe and economical product to enhance gasoline's octane. Although expensive, (US$0.95 per US gallon) it has significant environmental benefits. It is less toxic that other additives such as benzene, xylene and toluene. MTBE reduces gasoline evaporation from tailpipes, refuelling and tank venting in hot weather. The company BioClean Fuels Inc., has patented its own multiple oxygenate manufacturing process which combines the CO 2 from fermentation with the H 2 from butane to produce methanol, a key MTBE ingredient. The new facility will consume 250 million gallons of butane and 650,000 metric tonnes of barley annually to produce 19,000 barrels of MTBE per day, mostly for the California market. 1 fig

A Classroom Demonstration of Water-Induced Phase Separation of Alcohol-Gasoline Biofuel Blends

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Sherry A.; Anderson, James E.; Wallington, Timothy J.

2009-01-01

A significant issue associated with ethanol-gasoline blends is the phase separation that occurs with the addition of small volumes of water, producing an ethanol-deficient gasoline layer and an ethanol-rich aqueous layer. The gasoline layer may have a lower-than-desired octane rating due to the decrease in ethanol content, resulting in engine…

Bioblendstocks that Enable High Efficiency Engine Designs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCormick, Robert L.; Fioroni, Gina M.; Ratcliff, Matthew A.; Zigler, Bradley T.; Farrell, John

2016-11-03

The past decade has seen a high level of innovation in production of biofuels from sugar, lipid, and lignocellulose feedstocks. As discussed in several talks at this workshop, ethanol blends in the E25 to E50 range could enable more highly efficient spark-ignited (SI) engines. This is because of their knock resistance properties that include not only high research octane number (RON), but also charge cooling from high heat of vaporization, and high flame speed. Emerging alcohol fuels such as isobutanol or mixed alcohols have desirable properties such as reduced gasoline blend vapor pressure, but also have lower RON than ethanol. These fuels may be able to achieve the same knock resistance benefits, but likely will require higher blend levels or higher RON hydrocarbon blendstocks. A group of very high RON (>150) oxygenates such as dimethyl furan, methyl anisole, and related compounds are also produced from biomass. While providing no increase in charge cooling, their very high octane numbers may provide adequate knock resistance for future highly efficient SI engines. Given this range of options for highly knock resistant fuels there appears to be a critical need for a fuel knock resistance metric that includes effects of octane number, heat of vaporization, and potentially flame speed. Emerging diesel fuels include highly branched long-chain alkanes from hydroprocessing of fats and oils, as well as sugar-derived terpenoids. These have relatively high cetane number (CN), which may have some benefits in designing more efficient CI engines. Fast pyrolysis of biomass can produce diesel boiling range streams that are high in aromatic, oxygen and acid contents. Hydroprocessing can be applied to remove oxygen and consequently reduce acidity, however there are strong economic incentives to leave up to 2 wt% oxygen in the product. This oxygen will primarily be present as low CN alkyl phenols and aryl ethers. While these have high heating value, their presence in diesel fuel

Experimental Study of the Effect of Octane Number on the

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raed R. Jasem

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The experiments had been carried out using two stroke, single cylinder type (TD113, with compression ratio of (7.3:1 Coupled to hydraulic dynamometer type (TD115.          The results showed that there is  enhancement   of the engine  performance  with increasing octane number. This appears clearly when comparing the results of performance with fuel of 75 and 95 octane number.The torque increases 10% at speed of 2750 RPM. The break power also increases 18% when the octane number changed from 75 to 95 at 3000 RPM of engine speed. The same change in octane number will increase the thermal efficiency by 9% at 2300 RPM of engine speed. The break specific fuel consumption decreases at the same ratio of thermal efficiency 9% but at 2400 RPM. The less fuel consumption happens at 2400 RPM for octane number 95. 

A comprehensive iso-octane combustion model with improved thermochemistry and chemical kinetics

KAUST Repository

Atef, Nour

2017-02-05

Iso-Octane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane) is a primary reference fuel and an important component of gasoline fuels. Moreover, it is a key component used in surrogates to study the ignition and burning characteristics of gasoline fuels. This paper presents an updated chemical kinetic model for iso-octane combustion. Specifically, the thermodynamic data and reaction kinetics of iso-octane have been re-assessed based on new thermodynamic group values and recently evaluated rate coefficients from the literature. The adopted rate coefficients were either experimentally measured or determined by analogy to theoretically calculated values. Furthermore, new alternative isomerization pathways for peroxy-alkyl hydroperoxide (ȮOQOOH) radicals were added to the reaction mechanism. The updated kinetic model was compared against new ignition delay data measured in rapid compression machines (RCM) and a high-pressure shock tube. These experiments were conducted at pressures of 20 and 40 atm, at equivalence ratios of 0.4 and 1.0, and at temperatures in the range of 632–1060 K. The updated model was further compared against shock tube ignition delay times, jet-stirred reactor oxidation speciation data, premixed laminar flame speeds, counterflow diffusion flame ignition, and shock tube pyrolysis speciation data available in the literature. Finally, the updated model was used to investigate the importance of alternative isomerization pathways in the low temperature oxidation of highly branched alkanes. When compared to available models in the literature, the present model represents the current state-of-the-art in fundamental thermochemistry and reaction kinetics of iso-octane; and thus provides the best prediction of wide ranging experimental data and fundamental insights into iso-octane combustion chemistry.

Low-cost high-efficiency GDCI engines for low octane fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolodziej, Christopher P.; Sellnau, Mark C.

2018-01-09

A GDCI engine has a piston arranged within a cylinder to provide a combustion chamber. According to one embodiment, the GDCI engine operates using a method that includes the steps of supplying a hydrocarbon fuel to the combustion chamber with a research octane number in the range of about 30-65. The hydrocarbon fuel is injected in completely stratified, multiple fuel injections before a start of combustion and supplying a naturally aspirated air charge to the combustion chamber.

A comparative study of the oxidation characteristics of two gasoline fuels and an n-heptane/iso-octane surrogate mixture

KAUST Repository

Javed, Tamour

2015-01-01

Ignition delay times and CO, H2O, OH and CO2 time-histories were measured behind reflected shock waves for two FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasolines and one PRF (Primary Reference Fuel) blend. The FACE gasolines chosen for this work are primarily paraffinic and have the same octane rating (∼RON = 84) as the PRF blend, but contain varying amounts of iso- and n-paraffins. Species time-histories and ignition delay times were measured using laser absorption methods over a temperature range of 1350-1550 K and pressures near 2 atm. Measured species time-histories and ignition delay times of the PRF blend and the two FACE fuels agreed reasonably well. However, when compared to recent gasoline surrogate mechanisms, the simulations did not capture some of the kinetic trends found in the species profiles. To our knowledge, this work provides some of the first shock tube species time-history data for gasoline fuels and PRF surrogates and should enable further improvements in detailed kinetic mechanisms of gasoline fuels.

Effects of Heat of Vaporization and Octane Sensitivity on Knock-Limited Spark Ignition Engine Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratcliff, Matthew A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Burton, Jonathan L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sindler, Petr [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); McCormick, Robert L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Christensen, Earl D [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Fouts, Lisa A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-04-03

Knock-limited loads for a set of surrogate gasolines all having nominal 100 research octane number (RON), approximately 11 octane sensitivity (S), and a heat of vaporization (HOV) range of 390 to 595 kJ/kg at 25 degrees C were investigated. A single-cylinder spark-ignition engine derived from a General Motors Ecotec direct injection (DI) engine was used to perform load sweeps at a fixed intake air temperature (IAT) of 50 degrees C, as well as knock-limited load measurements across a range of IATs up to 90 degrees C. Both DI and pre-vaporized fuel (supplied by a fuel injector mounted far upstream of the intake valves and heated intake runner walls) experiments were performed to separate the chemical and thermal effects of the fuels' knock resistance. The DI load sweeps at 50 degrees C intake air temperature showed no effect of HOV on the knock-limited performance. The data suggest that HOV acts as a thermal contributor to S under the conditions studied. Measurement of knock-limited loads from the IAT sweeps for DI at late combustion phasing showed that a 40 vol% ethanol (E40) blend provided additional knock resistance at the highest temperatures, compared to a 20 vol% ethanol blend and hydrocarbon fuel with similar RON and S. Using the pre-vaporized fuel system, all the high S fuels produced nearly identical knock-limited loads at each temperature across the range of IATs studied. For these fuels RON ranged from 99.2 to 101.1 and S ranged from 9.4 to 12.2, with E40 having the lowest RON and highest S. The higher knock-limited loads for E40 at the highest IATs examined were consistent with the slightly higher S for this fuel, and the lower engine operating condition K values arising from use of this fuel. The study highlights how fuel HOV can affect the temperature at intake valve closing, and consequently the pressure-temperature history of the end gas leading to more negative values of K, thereby enhancing the effect of S on knock resistance.

Well-to-Wheels Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis of High-Octane Fuels with Various Market Shares and Ethanol Blending Levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Jeongwoo [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Elgowainy, Amgad [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Wang, Michael [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Divita, Vincent [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-07-14

In this study, we evaluated the impacts of producing HOF with a RON of 100, using a range of ethanol blending levels (E10, E25, and E40), vehicle efficiency gains, and HOF market penetration scenarios (3.4% to 70%), on WTW petroleum use and GHG emissions. In particular, we conducted LP modeling of petroleum refineries to examine the impacts of different HOF production scenarios on petroleum refining energy use and GHG emissions. We compared two cases of HOF vehicle fuel economy gains of 5% and 10% in terms of MPGGE to baseline regular gasoline vehicles. We incorporated three key factors in GREET — (1) refining energy intensities of gasoline components for the various ethanol blending options and market shares, (2) vehicle efficiency gains, and (3) upstream energy use and emissions associated with the production of different crude types and ethanol — to compare the WTW GHG emissions of various HOF/vehicle scenarios with the business-as-usual baseline regular gasoline (87 AKI E10) pathway.

Development of high-performance blended cements

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zichao

2000-10-01

This thesis presents the development of high-performance blended cements from industrial by-products. To overcome the low-early strength of blended cements, several chemicals were studied as the activators for cement hydration. Sodium sulfate was discovered as the best activator. The blending proportions were optimized by Taguchi experimental design. The optimized blended cements containing up to 80% fly ash performed better than Type I cement in strength development and durability. Maintaining a constant cement content, concrete produced from the optimized blended cements had equal or higher strength and higher durability than that produced from Type I cement alone. The key for the activation mechanism was the reaction between added SO4 2- and Ca2+ dissolved from cement hydration products.

Thermodynamic and kinetic anisotropies in octane thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G.

2015-01-01

Confinement breaks the translational symmetry of materials, making all thermodynamic and kinetic quantities functions of position. Such symmetry breaking can be used to obtain configurations that are not otherwise accessible in the bulk. Here, we use computer simulations to explore the effect of substrate-liquid interactions on thermodynamic and kinetic anisotropies induced by a solid substrate. We consider n-octane nano-films that are in contact with substrates with varying degrees of attraction, parameterized by an interaction parameter ϵ S . Complete freezing of octane nano-films is observed at low temperatures, irrespective of ϵ S , while at intermediate temperatures, a frozen monolayer emerges at solid-liquid and vapor-liquid interfaces. By carefully inspecting the profiles of translational and orientational relaxation times, we confirm that the translational and orientational degrees of freedom are decoupled at these frozen monolayers. At sufficiently high temperatures, however, free interfaces and solid-liquid interfaces close to loose (low-ϵ S ) substrates undergo “pre-freezing,” characterized by mild peaks in several thermodynamic quantities. Two distinct dynamic regimes are observed at solid-liquid interfaces. The dynamics is accelerated in the vicinity of loose substrates, while sticky (high-ϵ S ) substrates decelerate dynamics, sometimes by as much as two orders of magnitude. These two distinct dynamical regimes have been previously reported by Haji-Akbari and Debenedetti [J. Chem. Phys. 141, 024506 (2014)] for a model atomic glass-forming liquid. We also confirm the existence of two correlations—proposed in the above-mentioned work—in solid-liquid subsurface regions of octane thin films, i.e., a correlation between atomic density and normal stress, and between atomic translational relaxation time and lateral stress. Finally, we inspect the ability of different regions of an octane film to explore the potential energy landscape by performing

Thermodynamic and kinetic anisotropies in octane thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G., E-mail: pdebene@exchange.princeton.edu [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 (United States)

2015-12-07

Confinement breaks the translational symmetry of materials, making all thermodynamic and kinetic quantities functions of position. Such symmetry breaking can be used to obtain configurations that are not otherwise accessible in the bulk. Here, we use computer simulations to explore the effect of substrate-liquid interactions on thermodynamic and kinetic anisotropies induced by a solid substrate. We consider n-octane nano-films that are in contact with substrates with varying degrees of attraction, parameterized by an interaction parameter ϵ{sub S}. Complete freezing of octane nano-films is observed at low temperatures, irrespective of ϵ{sub S}, while at intermediate temperatures, a frozen monolayer emerges at solid-liquid and vapor-liquid interfaces. By carefully inspecting the profiles of translational and orientational relaxation times, we confirm that the translational and orientational degrees of freedom are decoupled at these frozen monolayers. At sufficiently high temperatures, however, free interfaces and solid-liquid interfaces close to loose (low-ϵ{sub S}) substrates undergo “pre-freezing,” characterized by mild peaks in several thermodynamic quantities. Two distinct dynamic regimes are observed at solid-liquid interfaces. The dynamics is accelerated in the vicinity of loose substrates, while sticky (high-ϵ{sub S}) substrates decelerate dynamics, sometimes by as much as two orders of magnitude. These two distinct dynamical regimes have been previously reported by Haji-Akbari and Debenedetti [J. Chem. Phys. 141, 024506 (2014)] for a model atomic glass-forming liquid. We also confirm the existence of two correlations—proposed in the above-mentioned work—in solid-liquid subsurface regions of octane thin films, i.e., a correlation between atomic density and normal stress, and between atomic translational relaxation time and lateral stress. Finally, we inspect the ability of different regions of an octane film to explore the potential energy

Utilization of Renewable Oxygenates as Gasoline Blending Components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yanowitz, J.; Christensen, E.; McCormick, R. L.

2011-08-01

This report reviews the use of higher alcohols and several cellulose-derived oxygenates as blend components in gasoline. Material compatibility issues are expected to be less severe for neat higher alcohols than for fuel-grade ethanol. Very little data exist on how blending higher alcohols or other oxygenates with gasoline affects ASTM Standard D4814 properties. Under the Clean Air Act, fuels used in the United States must be 'substantially similar' to fuels used in certification of cars for emission compliance. Waivers for the addition of higher alcohols at concentrations up to 3.7 wt% oxygen have been granted. Limited emission testing on pre-Tier 1 vehicles and research engines suggests that higher alcohols will reduce emissions of CO and organics, while NOx emissions will stay the same or increase. Most oxygenates can be used as octane improvers for standard gasoline stocks. The properties of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dimethylfuran, 2-methylfuran, methyl pentanoate and ethyl pentanoate suggest that they may function well as low-concentration blends with gasoline in standard vehicles and in higher concentrations in flex fuel vehicles.

An experimental assessment on the influence of high octane fuels on biofuel based dual fuel engine performance, emission, and combustion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masimalai Senthilkumar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study on the effect of different high octane fuels (such as eucalyptus oil, ethanol, and methanol on engine’s performance behaviour of a biofuel based dual fuel engine. A single cylinder Diesel engine was modified and tested under dual fuel mode of operation. Initially the engine was run using neat diesel, neat mahua oil as fuels. In the second phase, the engine was operated in dual fuel mode by using a specially designed variable jet carburettor to supply the high octane fuels. Engine trials were made at 100% and 40% loads (power outputs with varying amounts of high octane fuels up-to the maximum possible limit. The performance and emission characteristics of the engine were obtained and analysed. Results indicated significant improvement in brake thermal efficiency simultaneous reduction in smoke and NO emissions in dual fuel operation with all the inducted fuels. At 100% load the brake thermal efficiency increased from 25.6% to a maximum of 32.3, 30.5, and 28.4%, respectively, with eucalyptus oil, ethanol, and methanol as primary fuels. Smoke was reduced drastically from 78% with neat mahua oil a minimum of 41, 48, and 53%, respectively, with eucalyptus oil, ethanol, and methanol at the maximum efficiency point. The optimal energy share for the best engine behaviour was found to be 44.6, 27.3, and 23.2%, respectively, for eucalyptus oil, ethanol, and methanol at 100% load. Among the primary fuels tested, eucalyptus oil showed the maximum brake thermal efficiency, minimum smoke and NO emissions and maximum energy replacement for the optimal operation of the engine.

Molecular dynamics simulations on desulfurization of n-octane/thiophene mixture using silica filled polydimethylsiloxane nanocomposite membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shariatinia, Zahra; Jalali, Azin Mazloom; Taromi, Faramarz Afshar

2016-01-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed at 298.15 K and 1 atm in order to study microstructure and transport behaviors of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes containing 0%–8% SiO 2 nanoparticles used for the separation of thiophene from n-octane. It was found that the fractional free volume (FFV) of 0% SiO 2 was the highest (47.24%) among five nanocomposite membranes and addition of 2%–8% silica nanoparticles led to dramatic decrease in the FFV of the cells. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of all membranes showed that they had a semi-crystalline structure containing a broad peak around 15°–18°. The radial distribution function (RDF) analysis proved that the smallest C(CH 2 -octane)–O(SiO 2 ), C(PDMS)–O(SiO 2 ) and H(thiophene)–O(SiO 2 ) distances were present in 4% SiO 2 membrane reflecting the silica–octane, silica–polymer and silica–thiophene interactions were the strongest in this membrane. The mean squared displacement (MSD) and diffusion coefficients of n-octane were both small in the 6% silica membrane but they were high for thiophene suggesting this membrane was the most suitable for the desulfurization process and separation of thiophene from n-octane. (paper)

PAIRWISE BLENDING OF HIGH LEVEL WASTE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

CERTA, P.J.

2006-01-01

The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate a mission scenario that uses pairwise and incidental blending of high level waste (HLW) to reduce the total mass of HLW glass. Secondary objectives include understanding how recent refinements to the tank waste inventory and solubility assumptions affect the mass of HLW glass and how logistical constraints may affect the efficacy of HLW blending

Aromatization of n-octane over Pd/C catalysts

KAUST Repository

Yin, Mengchen; Natelson, Robert H.; Campos, Andrew A.; Kolar, Praveen; Roberts, William L.

2013-01-01

Gas-phase aromatization of n-octane was investigated using Pd/C catalyst. The objectives were to: (1) determine the effects of temperature (400-600 °C), weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) (0.8-∞), and hydrogen to hydrocarbon molar ratio (MR) (0-6) on conversion, selectivity, and yield (2) compare the activity of Pd/C with Pt/C and Pt/KL catalysts and (3) test the suitability of Pd/C for aromatization of different alkanes including n-hexane, n-heptane, and n-octane. Pd/C exhibited the best aromatization performance, including 54.4% conversion and 31.5% aromatics yield at 500 °C, WHSV = 2 h-1, and a MR of 2. The Pd/C catalyst had higher selectivity towards the preferred aromatics including ethylbenzene and xylenes, whereas Pt/KL had higher selectivity towards benzene and toluene. The results were somewhat consistent with adsorbed n-octane cyclization proceeding mainly through the six-membered ring closure mechanism. In addition, Pd/C was also capable of catalyzing aromatization of n-hexane and n-heptane. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Octane-Assisted Reverse Micellar Dyeing of Cotton with Reactive Dyes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan Yiu-lun Tang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, we investigated the computer colour matching (CCM of cotton fabrics dyed with reactive dye using the octane-assisted reverse micellar approach. The aim of this study is to evaluate the colour quality and compare the accuracy between CCM forecasting and simulated dyeing produced by conventional water-based dyeing and octane-assisted reverse micellar dyeing. First, the calibration of dyeing databases for both dyeing methods was established. Standard samples were dyed with known dye concentrations. Computer colour matching was conducted by using the colour difference formula of International Commission on Illumination (CIE L*a*b*. Experimental results revealed that the predicted concentrations were nearly the same as the expected known concentrations for both dyeing methods. This indicates that octane-assisted reverse micellar dyeing system can achieve colour matching as good as the conventional water-based dyeing system. In addition, when comparing the colour produced by the conventional water-based dyeing system and the octane-assisted reverse micellar dyeing system, the colour difference (ΔE is ≤1, which indicates that the reverse micellar dyeing system could be applied for industrial dyeing with CCM.

Low-Temperature Combustion of High Octane Fuels in a Gasoline Compression Ignition Engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khanh Duc Cung

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Gasoline compression ignition (GCI has been shown as one of the advanced combustion concepts that could potentially provide a pathway to achieve cleaner and more efficient combustion engines. Fuel and air in GCI are not fully premixed compared to homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI, which is a completely kinetic-controlled combustion system. Therefore, the combustion phasing can be controlled by the time of injection, usually postinjection in a multiple-injection scheme, to mitigate combustion noise. Gasoline usually has longer ignition delay than diesel. The autoignition quality of gasoline can be indicated by research octane number (RON. Fuels with high octane tend to have more resistance to autoignition, hence more time for fuel-air mixing. In this study, three fuels, namely, aromatic, alkylate, and E30, with similar RON value of 98 but different hydrocarbon compositions were tested in a multicylinder engine under GCI combustion mode. Considerations of exhaust gas recirculating (EGR, start of injection, and boost were investigated to study the sensitivity of dilution, local stratification, and reactivity of the charge, respectively, for each fuel. Combustion phasing (location of 50% of fuel mass burned was kept constant during the experiments. This provides similar thermodynamic conditions to study the effect of fuels on emissions. Emission characteristics at different levels of EGR and lambda were revealed for all fuels with E30 having the lowest filter smoke number and was also most sensitive to the change in dilution. Reasonably low combustion noise (<90 dB and stable combustion (coefficient of variance of indicated mean effective pressure <3% were maintained during the experiments. The second part of this article contains visualization of the combustion process obtained from endoscope imaging for each fuel at selected conditions. Soot radiation signal from GCI combustion were strong during late injection and also more intense

Sulfur and octane trade off in FCC naphta conventional hydrotreating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badra, C. [INTEVEP S.A. Research and Technological Support Center of Petroleos de Venzuela, Caracas (Venezuela). Dept. de Refinacion; Perez, J.A. [INTEVEP S.A. Research and Technological Support Center of Petroleos de Venzuela, Caracas (Venezuela). Dept. de Refinacion; Salazar, J.A. [INTEVEP S.A. Research and Technological Support Center of Petroleos de Venzuela, Caracas (Venezuela). Dept. de Refinacion; Cabrera, L. [INTEVEP S.A. Research and Technological Support Center of Petroleos de Venzuela, Caracas (Venezuela). Dept. de Refinacion; Gracia, W. [INTEVEP S.A. Research and Technological Support Center of Petroleos de Venzuela, Caracas (Venezuela). Dept. de Refinacion

1997-06-01

A model to predict the change of octane numbers expected in an FCC naphtha hydrotreating process as a function of the hydroprocessing severity (degree of sulfur removal) and the type of naphtha (expressed as the sulfur content and bromine number in the feedstock) is presented. When considering hydrotreating as an option for processing their catalytic naphthas, refiners search for the proper balance between the desired reduction of sulfur and olefins and the resulting undesired reduction of octane (RON and MON). In doing so, refiners should study the possibility of performing the hydrotreating at mild severities and/or the possibility of fractionating FCC naphthas to just treat a specific cut. This paper provides simple tools to study and analyze these study cases and to assess the sulfur-octane trade offs. (orig.)

Intermediate Alcohol-Gasoline Blends, Fuels for Enabling Increased Engine Efficiency and Powertrain Possibilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Splitter, Derek A [ORNL; Szybist, James P [ORNL

2014-01-01

The present study experimentally investigates spark-ignited combustion with 87 AKI E0 gasoline in its neat form and in mid-level alcohol-gasoline blends with 24% vol./vol. iso-butanol-gasoline (IB24) and 30% vol./vol. ethanol-gasoline (E30). A single-cylinder research engine is used with a low and high compression ratio of 9.2:1 and 11.85:1 respectively. The engine is equipped with hydraulically actuated valves, laboratory intake air, and is capable of external exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). All fuels are operated to full-load conditions with =1, using both 0% and 15% external cooled EGR. The results demonstrate that higher octane number bio-fuels better utilize higher compression ratios with high stoichiometric torque capability. Specifically, the unique properties of ethanol enabled a doubling of the stoichiometric torque capability with the 11.85:1 compression ratio using E30 as compared to 87 AKI, up to 20 bar IMEPg at =1 (with 15% EGR, 18.5 bar with 0% EGR). EGR was shown to provide thermodynamic advantages with all fuels. The results demonstrate that E30 may further the downsizing and downspeeding of engines by achieving increased low speed torque, even with high compression ratios. The results suggest that at mid-level alcohol-gasoline blends, engine and vehicle optimization can offset the reduced fuel energy content of alcohol-gasoline blends, and likely reduce vehicle fuel consumption and tailpipe CO2 emissions.

A study on emission characteristics of an EFI engine with ethanol blended gasoline fuels

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bang-Quan; Wang, Jian-Xin; Hao, Ji-Ming; Yan, Xiao-Guang; Xiao, Jian-Hua

The effect of ethanol blended gasoline fuels on emissions and catalyst conversion efficiencies was investigated in a spark ignition engine with an electronic fuel injection (EFI) system. The addition of ethanol to gasoline fuel enhances the octane number of the blended fuels and changes distillation temperature. Ethanol can decrease engine-out regulated emissions. The fuel containing 30% ethanol by volume can drastically reduce engine-out total hydrocarbon emissions (THC) at operating conditions and engine-out THC, CO and NO x emissions at idle speed, but unburned ethanol and acetaldehyde emissions increase. Pt/Rh based three-way catalysts are effective in reducing acetaldehyde emissions, but the conversion of unburned ethanol is low. Tailpipe emissions of THC, CO and NO x have close relation to engine-out emissions, catalyst conversion efficiency, engine's speed and load, air/fuel equivalence ratio. Moreover, the blended fuels can decrease brake specific energy consumption.

Influence of ethanol admixture on the determination of equivalence ratios in DISI engines by laser-induced fluorescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Storch, Michael; Lind, Susanne; Will, Stefan; Zigan, Lars

2016-10-20

In this work, the planar laser-induced fluorescence of a fuel tracer is applied for the analysis of mixture formation for various ethanol/iso-octane blends in a direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engine. The tracer triethylamine (TEA) was added to pure iso-octane and ethanol as well as to their blends E20 and E85 for the measurement of the fuel/air ratio. In general, ethanol blending strongly affects the mixture formation process, which is caused by specific physical fuel properties influencing the evaporation process of ethanol in comparison to iso-octane. As interactions of the fuel and tracer fluorescence appear possible, TEA fluorescence was studied for different fuel blends in a cuvette, in a calibration cell under constant conditions, and in an optically accessible internal combustion engine at late injection timing. It was found that ethanol blending strongly affects the fluorescence intensity of TEA in the liquid phase, which can be explained by the interaction of the tracer and ethanol molecules. However, in the gas phase a quantification of the fuel/air ratio is possible for different ethanol fuel blends, which is demonstrated in a DISI engine. Under stratified charge conditions the engine results showed a significant impact of a high amount of ethanol on the mixture formation process, leading to a leaner mixture in comparison to iso-octane.

Instabilities and soot formation in spherically expanding, high pressure, rich, iso-octane-air flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lockett, R D

2006-01-01

Flame instabilities, cellular structures and soot formed in high pressure, rich, spherically expanding iso-octane-air flames have been studied experimentally using high speed Schlieren cinematography, OH fluorescence, Mie scattering and laser induced incandescence. Cellular structures with two wavelength ranges developed on the flame surface. The larger wavelength cellular structure was produced by the Landau-Darrieus hydrodynamic instability, while the short wavelength cellular structure was produced by the thermal-diffusive instability. Large negative curvature in the short wavelength cusps caused local flame quenching and fracture of the flame surface. In rich flames with equivalence ratio φ > 1.8, soot was formed in a honeycomb-like structure behind flame cracks associated with the large wavelength cellular structure induced by the hydrodynamic instability. The formation of soot precursors through low temperature pyrolysis was suggested as a suitable mechanism for the initiation of soot formation behind the large wavelength flame cracks

Instabilities and soot formation in spherically expanding, high pressure, rich, iso-octane-air flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lockett, R D [School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V OHB (United Kingdom)

2006-07-15

Flame instabilities, cellular structures and soot formed in high pressure, rich, spherically expanding iso-octane-air flames have been studied experimentally using high speed Schlieren cinematography, OH fluorescence, Mie scattering and laser induced incandescence. Cellular structures with two wavelength ranges developed on the flame surface. The larger wavelength cellular structure was produced by the Landau-Darrieus hydrodynamic instability, while the short wavelength cellular structure was produced by the thermal-diffusive instability. Large negative curvature in the short wavelength cusps caused local flame quenching and fracture of the flame surface. In rich flames with equivalence ratio {phi} > 1.8, soot was formed in a honeycomb-like structure behind flame cracks associated with the large wavelength cellular structure induced by the hydrodynamic instability. The formation of soot precursors through low temperature pyrolysis was suggested as a suitable mechanism for the initiation of soot formation behind the large wavelength flame cracks.

Phosphor blends for high-CRI fluorescent lamps

Science.gov (United States)

Setlur, Anant Achyut [Niskayuna, NY; Srivastava, Alok Mani [Niskayuna, NY; Comanzo, Holly Ann [Niskayuna, NY; Manivannan, Venkatesan [Clifton Park, NY; Beers, William Winder [Chesterland, OH; Toth, Katalin [Pomaz, HU; Balazs, Laszlo D [Budapest, HU

2008-06-24

A phosphor blend comprises at least two phosphors each selected from one of the groups of phosphors that absorb UV electromagnetic radiation and emit in a region of visible light. The phosphor blend can be applied to a discharge gas radiation source to produce light sources having high color rendering index. A phosphor blend is advantageously includes the phosphor (Tb,Y,LuLa,Gd).sub.x(Al,Ga).sub.yO.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, wherein x is in the range from about 2.8 to and including 3 and y is in the range from about 4 to and including 5.

Process Design and Economics for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Hydrocarbons via Indirect Liquefaction. Thermochemical Research Pathway to High-Octane Gasoline Blendstock Through Methanol/Dimethyl Ether Intermediates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, E. C. D.; Talmadge, M.; Dutta, A.; Hensley, J.; Schaidle, J.; Biddy, M.; Humbird, D.; Snowden-Swan, L. J.; Ross, J.; Sexton, D.; Yap, R.; Lukas, J.

2015-03-01

This report was developed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO’s) efforts to enable the development of technologies for the production of infrastructure-compatible, cost-competitive liquid hydrocarbon fuels from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks. The research funded by BETO is designed to advance the state of technology of biomass feedstock supply and logistics, conversion, and overall system sustainability. It is expected that these research improvements will be made within the 2022 timeframe. As part of their involvement in this research and development effort, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory investigate the economics of conversion pathways through the development of conceptual biorefinery process models and techno-economic analysis models. This report describes in detail one potential conversion process for the production of high-octane gasoline blendstock via indirect liquefaction of biomass. The processing steps of this pathway include the conversion of biomass to synthesis gas or syngas via indirect gasification, gas cleanup, catalytic conversion of syngas to methanol intermediate, methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether (DME), and catalytic conversion of DME to high-octane, gasoline-range hydrocarbon blendstock product. The conversion process configuration leverages technologies previously advanced by research funded by BETO and demonstrated in 2012 with the production of mixed alcohols from biomass. Biomass-derived syngas cleanup via reforming of tars and other hydrocarbons is one of the key technology advancements realized as part of this prior research and 2012 demonstrations. The process described in this report evaluates a new technology area for the downstream utilization of clean biomass-derived syngas for the production of high-octane hydrocarbon products through methanol and DME intermediates. In this process, methanol undergoes dehydration to

Knock Resistance and Fine Particle Emissions for Several Biomass-Derived Oxygenates in a Direct-Injection Spark-Ignition Engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratcliff, Matthew A.; Burton, Jonathan; Sindler, Petr; Christensen, Earl; Fouts, Lisa; Chupka, Gina M.; McCormick, Robert L.

2016-04-01

Several high octane number oxygenates that could be derived from biomass were blended with gasoline and examined for performance properties and their impact on knock resistance and fine particle emissions in a single cylinder direct-injection spark-ignition engine. The oxygenates included ethanol, isobutanol, anisole, 4-methylanisole, 2-phenylethanol, 2,5-dimethyl furan, and 2,4-xylenol. These were blended into a summertime blendstock for oxygenate blending at levels ranging from 10 to 50 percent by volume. The base gasoline, its blends with p-xylene and p-cymene, and high-octane racing gasoline were tested as controls. Relevant gasoline properties including research octane number (RON), motor octane number, distillation curve, and vapor pressure were measured. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis was used to estimate heat of vaporization and particulate matter index (PMI). Experiments were conducted to measure knock-limited spark advance and particulate matter (PM) emissions. The results show a range of knock resistances that correlate well with RON. Molecules with relatively low boiling point and high vapor pressure had little effect on PM emissions. In contrast, the aromatic oxygenates caused significant increases in PM emissions (factors of 2 to 5) relative to the base gasoline. Thus, any effect of their oxygen atom on increasing local air-fuel ratio was outweighed by their low vapor pressure and high double-bond equivalent values. For most fuels and oxygenate blend components, PMI was a good predictor of PM emissions. However, the high boiling point, low vapor pressure oxygenates 2-phenylethanol and 2,4-xylenol produced lower PM emissions than predicted by PMI. This was likely because they did not fully evaporate and combust, and instead were swept into the lube oil.

Terpineol as a novel octane booster for extending the knock limit of gasoline

KAUST Repository

Vallinayagam, R.; Vedharaj, S.; Naser, Nimal; Roberts, William L.; Dibble, Robert W.; Sarathy, Mani

2016-01-01

Improving the octane number of gasoline offers the potential of improved engine combustion, as it permits spark timing advancement without engine knock. This study proposes the use of terpineol as an octane booster for gasoline in a spark ignited

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON BLENDED LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Umit YAPICI,

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In this study, it is aimed to determine the high school students’ views on blended learning. The study was carried out in biology course for the lesson unit of “Classification of Living Things and Biodiversity” with 47 9th grade students attending Nevzat Ayaz Anatolian High School in the second term of the academic year of 2009-2010. The lessons were taught in a way appropriate to the blended learning model both via the Internet and on face-to-face basis. As the online dimension of the blended learning model, Moodle, a Learning Management System (LMS, was used. The application lasted 10 weeks. The scale of learners’ views on blended learning was applied and interviews were held to determine the views. As a result of the analysis of the scale, it was seen that their views were “highly” positive. The interviews held with the students revealed that the blended learning model provided students with various opportunities such as getting prepared for the lessons, reviewing the lessons as many times as wanted, reaching the subject-related materials without being dependent on time and place, testing oneself and communicating with the teacher and other students out of the school. The interviews also revealed that there were various problems though such as lack of Internet connection at home and problems experienced while playing the videos.

Osmotic and activity coefficients of triorganophosphates in n-octane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagert, N.H.; Lau, D.W.P.

1982-01-01

Vapour pressure osmometry was used to measure osmotic coefficients for tributylphosphate (TBP), tricresylphosphate (TCP), and triethylhexylphosphate (THEP) in n-octane at 30, 40, 50, and 60 0 C and at molalities up to 0.3 mol/kg. Activity coefficients and excess thermodynamic properties (unsymmetrical definition) were calculated from these osmotic coefficients. At 30 0 C, the excess Gibbs free energies for 0.1 mol of solute in 1.0 kg n-octane were -42 J, -66 J, and -20 J for TBP, TCP, and TEHP, respectively. The more ideal behavior of the TEHP-octane system is attributed to the increasing importance of hydrocarbon-hydrocarbon interactions as the chain length is increased. The excess enthalpies for 0.1 mol of solute in 1.0 kg of solvent were -100 J, and -300 J, and -150 J for TBP, TCP, and TEHP, respectively. Thus, association of these solutes arises primarily from entropic effects. Our data could generally be accommodated adequately by postulating association of monomers into dimmers. The exception was TCP at lower temperatures, where more complex models were required

Lignin derivatives as potential octane boosters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tian, M.; van Haaren, R.W.G.; Reijnders, J.J.E.; Boot, M.D.

2015-01-01

Owing to environmental and health concerns, tetraethyl lead was gradually phased out from the early 1970's to mid-1990's in most developed countries. Advances in refining, leading to more aromatics (via reformate) and iso-paraffins such as iso-octane, along with the introduction of (bio) oxygenates

Blended Learning and Student Engagement in an Urban High School

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Courtney

2017-01-01

A metropolitan school district wanted to understand blended learning as it existed in one of their high schools. Blended learning had been school-wide for four years, and district administrators wanted to know how students, teachers, and school administrators perceived blended learning and its impact on student engagement. This was a…

Compression ignition of low-octane gasoline: Life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Han; Liu, Feiqi; Liu, Zongwei; Zhao, Fuquan

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A process-based, well-to-wheel conceptualized life cycle assessment model is established. • The impacts of using low-octane gasoline on compression ignition engines are examined. • Life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions reductions are 24.6% and 21.6%. • Significant technical and market barriers are still to be overcome. - Abstract: The use of low-octane gasoline on Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) engines is considered as a competitive alternative to the conventional vehicle propulsion technologies. In this study, a process-based, well-to-wheel conceptualized life cycle assessment model is established to estimate the life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the conventional gasoline-Spark Ignition (SI) and low-octane gasoline-GCI pathways. It is found that compared with the conventional pathway, the low-octane gasoline-GCI pathway leads to a 24.6% reduction in energy consumption and a 22.8% reduction in GHG emissions. The removal of the isomerization and catalytic reforming units in the refinery and the higher energy efficiency in the vehicle use phase are the substantial drivers behind the reductions. The results indicate that by promoting the use of low-octane gasoline coupled with the deployment of GCI vehicles, considerable reductions of energy consumption and GHG emissions in the transport sector can be achieved. However, significant technical and market barriers are still to be overcome. The inherent problems of NO_x and PM exhaust emissions associated with GCI engines need to be further addressed with advanced combustion techniques. Besides, the yield of low-octane gasoline needs to be improved through adjusting the refinery configurations.

The effect of ethanol-gasoline blends on performance and exhaust emissions of a spark ignition engine through exergy analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doğan, Battal; Erol, Derviş; Yaman, Hayri; Kodanli, Evren

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Examining the performance of ethanol-gasoline blend. • Evaluation of the exhaust emissions. • Energy and exergy analysis. • Calculation of irreversibility from cooling system and the exhaust resulting. - Abstract: Ethanol which is considered as an environmentally cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is used on its own or blended with other fuels in different ratios. In this study, ethanol which has high octane rating, low exhaust emission, and which is easily obtained from agricultural products has been used in fuels prepared by blending it with gasoline in various ratios (E0, E10, E20, and E30). Ethanol-gasoline blends have been used in a four-cylinder four-stroke spark ignition engine for performance and emission analysis under full load. In the experimental studies, engine torque, fuel and cooling water flow rates, and exhaust and engine surface temperature have been measured. Engine energy distribution, irreversible processes in the cooling system and the exhaust, and the exergy distribution have been calculated using the experimental data and the formulas for the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Experiments and theoretical calculations showed that ethanol added fuels show reduction in carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO_2) and nitrogen oxide (NO_X) emissions without significant loss of power compared to gasoline. But it was measured that the reduction of the temperature inside the cylinder increases the hydrocarbon (HC) emission.

Review of market for octane enhancers: Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. E. Sinor Consultants, Inc.

2000-06-20

Crude oil is easily separated into its principal products by simple distillation. However, neither the amounts nor the quality of these natural products matches demand. Today, octane requirements must be achieved by changing the chemical composition of the straight-run gasoline fraction.

Ignition studies of two low-octane gasolines

KAUST Repository

Javed, Tamour; Ahmed, Ahfaz; Lovisotto, Leonardo; Issayev, Gani; Badra, Jihad; Sarathy, Mani; Farooq, Aamir

2017-01-01

, were measured in a shock tube and a rapid compression machine over a broad range of engine-relevant conditions (650–1200 K, 20 and 40 bar and ϕ = 0.5 and 1). The two gasolines are of similar octane ratings with anti-knock index, AKI = (RON + MON)/2

Autoignition characteristics of laminar lifted jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Al-Noman, Saeed M.; Choi, Sang Kyu; Chung, Suk-Ho

2015-01-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar non-premixed jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane, one of the primary reference fuels for octane rating, have been studied experimentally in heated coflow air. Non-autoignited and autoignited lifted

An optimal retrieval, processing, and blending strategy for immobilization of Hanford high-level tank waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoza, M.

1996-01-01

Hanford tank waste will be separated into high-level and low-level portions; each portion will then be vitrified (other waste forms are also being considered for low-level waste) to produce a stable glass form for disposal. Because of the wide variability in the tank waste compositions, blending is being considered as a way to reduce the number of distinct compositions that must be vitrified and to minimize the resultant volume of vitrified waste. Three years of computational glass formulation and blending studies have demonstrated that blending of the high-level waste before vitrification can reduce the volume of high-level waste glass required by as much as 50 percent. This level of reduction would be obtained if all the high-level waste were blended together (Total Blend) prior to vitrification, requiring the retrieval and pretreatment of all tank waste before high-level vitrification was started. This paper will present an overall processing strategy that should be able to match the blending performance of the Total Blend and be more logistically feasible. The strategy includes retrieving, pretreating, blending and vitrifying Hanford tank waste. This strategy utilizes blending both before and after pretreatment. Similar wastes are blended before pretreatment, so as not to dilute species targeted for removal. The high-level portions of these pretreated early blends are then selectively blended to produce a small number of high-level vitrification feed streams

Analysis of Physicochemical Properties of Mexican Gasoline and Diesel Reformulated with Ethanol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Porfirio Caballero-Mata

2012-07-01

Full Text Available High energy prices, environmental issues and increasing importation of fossil fuels has provoked, in some countries, a reorientation of resources towards the development of biofuels that can partially substitute the consumption of fossil fuels. Ethanol is one of the biofuels more commonly used in the world; in the United States, Brazil and Australia gasoline blends that reach up to 85% Ethanol are commercialized. This work presents the results of a physicochemical characterization of commercial Mexican gasoline (Magna and Premium and diesel blends with 10% vol. and 15% vol. anhydrous Ethanol. The analytical testing included: Research Octane Number, Motor Octane Number, Cetane Number, Reid Vapor Pressure, Distillation Curve and Heating Value. The stability of the blends was also evaluated. The theoretical emissions of CO2 were calculated based on the results of the physicochemical characterization. The ethanol-gasoline blends increased their Octane Number with respect to the commercial gasoline, while conserving an appropriate Distillation Index. The Cetane Number of the ethanol-diesel blends showed a substantial decrease, while the heating value of gasoline and diesel blends was negatively affected by the addition of ethanol. Nevertheless, taking into account the credits by the use of a renewable fuel, the use of the reformulated gasoline blends would imply a maximum theoretical reduction of 7.5% in CO2 emissions whereas in the case of ethanol-diesel blends it would represent a 9.2% decrease.

Mixed butanols addition to gasoline surrogates: Shock tube ignition delay time measurements and chemical kinetic modeling

KAUST Repository

AlRamadan, Abdullah S.

2015-10-01

The demand for fuels with high anti-knock quality has historically been rising, and will continue to increase with the development of downsized and turbocharged spark-ignition engines. Butanol isomers, such as 2-butanol and tert-butanol, have high octane ratings (RON of 105 and 107, respectively), and thus mixed butanols (68.8% by volume of 2-butanol and 31.2% by volume of tert-butanol) can be added to the conventional petroleum-derived gasoline fuels to improve octane performance. In the present work, the effect of mixed butanols addition to gasoline surrogates has been investigated in a high-pressure shock tube facility. The ignition delay times of mixed butanols stoichiometric mixtures were measured at 20 and 40bar over a temperature range of 800-1200K. Next, 10vol% and 20vol% of mixed butanols (MB) were blended with two different toluene/n-heptane/iso-octane (TPRF) fuel blends having octane ratings of RON 90/MON 81.7 and RON 84.6/MON 79.3. These MB/TPRF mixtures were investigated in the shock tube conditions similar to those mentioned above. A chemical kinetic model was developed to simulate the low- and high-temperature oxidation of mixed butanols and MB/TPRF blends. The proposed model is in good agreement with the experimental data with some deviations at low temperatures. The effect of mixed butanols addition to TPRFs is marginal when examining the ignition delay times at high temperatures. However, when extended to lower temperatures (T < 850K), the model shows that the mixed butanols addition to TPRFs causes the ignition delay times to increase and hence behaves like an octane booster at engine-like conditions. © 2015 The Combustion Institute.

High-performance ferroelectric memory based on phase-separated films of polymer blends

KAUST Repository

Khan, Yasser; Bhansali, Unnat Sampatraj; Almadhoun, Mahmoud N.; Odeh, Ihab N.; Cha, Dong Kyu; Alshareef, Husam N.

2013-01-01

High-performance polymer memory is fabricated using blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) and highly insulating poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPO). The blend films spontaneously phase separate into amorphous PPO nanospheres embedded in a semicrystalline P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Using low molecular weight PPO with high miscibility in a common solvent, i.e., methyl ethyl ketone, blend films are spin cast with extremely low roughness (Rrms ≈ 4.92 nm) and achieve nanoscale phase seperation (PPO domain size < 200 nm). These blend devices display highly improved ferroelectric and dielectric performance with low dielectric losses (<0.2 up to 1 MHz), enhanced thermal stability (up to ≈353 K), excellent fatigue endurance (80% retention after 106 cycles at 1 KHz) and high dielectric breakdown fields (≈360 MV/m). © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-performance ferroelectric memory based on phase-separated films of polymer blends

KAUST Repository

Khan, Yasser

2013-10-29

High-performance polymer memory is fabricated using blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) and highly insulating poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPO). The blend films spontaneously phase separate into amorphous PPO nanospheres embedded in a semicrystalline P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Using low molecular weight PPO with high miscibility in a common solvent, i.e., methyl ethyl ketone, blend films are spin cast with extremely low roughness (Rrms ≈ 4.92 nm) and achieve nanoscale phase seperation (PPO domain size < 200 nm). These blend devices display highly improved ferroelectric and dielectric performance with low dielectric losses (<0.2 up to 1 MHz), enhanced thermal stability (up to ≈353 K), excellent fatigue endurance (80% retention after 106 cycles at 1 KHz) and high dielectric breakdown fields (≈360 MV/m). © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An investigation on chloroprene-compatibilized acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/high density polyethylene blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Khalil

2015-11-01

Blends of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/high density polyethylene (NBR/HDPE) compatibilized by Chloroprene rubber (CR) were prepared. A fixed quantity of industrial waste such as marble waste (MW, 40 phr) was also included. The effect of the blend ratio and CR on cure characteristics, mechanical and swelling properties of MW-filled NBR/HDPE blends was investigated. The results showed that the MW-filled NBR/HDPE blends revealed an increase in tensile strength, tear, modulus, hardness and cross-link density for increasing weight ratio of HDPE. The minimum torque (M L) and maximum torque (M H) of blends increased with increasing weight ratio of HDPE while scorch time (ts2) cure time (tc90), compression set and abrasion loss of blends decreased with increasing weight ratio of HDPE. The blends also showed a continuous reduction in elongation at break as well as swelling coefficient with increasing HDPE amount in blends. MW filled blends based on CR provided the most encouraging balance values of overall properties.

An investigation on chloroprene-compatibilized acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/high density polyethylene blends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khalil Ahmed

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Blends of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/high density polyethylene (NBR/HDPE compatibilized by Chloroprene rubber (CR were prepared. A fixed quantity of industrial waste such as marble waste (MW, 40 phr was also included. The effect of the blend ratio and CR on cure characteristics, mechanical and swelling properties of MW-filled NBR/HDPE blends was investigated. The results showed that the MW-filled NBR/HDPE blends revealed an increase in tensile strength, tear, modulus, hardness and cross-link density for increasing weight ratio of HDPE. The minimum torque (ML and maximum torque (MH of blends increased with increasing weight ratio of HDPE while scorch time (ts2 cure time (tc90, compression set and abrasion loss of blends decreased with increasing weight ratio of HDPE. The blends also showed a continuous reduction in elongation at break as well as swelling coefficient with increasing HDPE amount in blends. MW filled blends based on CR provided the most encouraging balance values of overall properties.

Experimental study on the potential of higher octane number fuels for low load partially premixed combustion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, S.; van der Waart, K.; Somers, B.; de Goey, P.

2017-01-01

The optimal fuel for partially premixed combustion (PPC) is considered to be a gasoline boiling range fuel with an octane number around 70. Higher octane number fuels are considered problematic with low load and idle conditions. In previous studies mostly the intake air temperature did not exceed 30

Morphology and mechanical properties of PA12/plasticized starch blends prepared by high-shear extrusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teyssandier, F.; Cassagnau, P.; Gérard, J.F.; Mignard, N.; Mélis, F.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► High shear rate processing was found to greatly impact PA12/starch blend morphologies. ► The morphology was observed to be stable under subsequent processing conditions. ► The mechanical properties of the blends under high-shear rate were greatly improved. ► Polymer blend preparation via high-shear processing has proved to be very effective. ► Finally, polymer blends with improved mechanical properties were obtained. - Abstract: PA12/plasticized starch blends (PA12/TPS) were prepared by high-shear twin screw extruder. The morphology development and the mechanical properties of the blends were investigated as a function of the apparent shear rate. High-shear processing has proved to be an efficient method to finely disperse thermoplastic starch in polyamide 12 matrix. Blends containing TPS domains with a size at the nano-scale (R n ∼ 150 nm) homogeneously dispersed in PA12 matrix were obtained. From a modeling point of view, the variation of the droplet radius is closer to the Wu's predictions compared to the Serpe's predictions. From the basic hypothesis of these models, it can be then assumed that compatibilization between both phases occurs during the blend processing. Furthermore, this morphology of the blends has been proved to be stable after a reprocessing step in an internal mixer most likely due to either strong hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of starch and amide groups of polyamide 12 or to potentially cross reactions between macroradicals accounting for in situ formation of graft copolymers with the potential function of compatibilizers. Mechanical properties of the blends were found to be strongly dependent on the shear rate parameter of blend processing as the mechanical properties increase with shear rate. In agreement to the blend morphology, the elongation at break of the blends was greatly improved attesting of a good adhesion between both phases.

High School Students' Views on Blended Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Yapici, Ibrahim Umit; Akbayin, Hasan

2012-01-01

In this study, it is aimed to determine the high school students' views on blended learning. The study was carried out in biology course for the lesson unit of "Classification of Living Things and Biodiversity" with 47 9[superscript th] grade students attending Nevzat Ayaz Anatolian High School in the second term of the academic year of…

21 CFR 176.160 - Chromium (Cr III) complex of N-ethyl-N-heptadecylfluoro-octane sulfonyl glycine.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Chromium (Cr III) complex of N-ethyl-N... § 176.160 Chromium (Cr III) complex of N-ethyl-N-heptadecylfluoro-octane sulfonyl glycine. The chromium... by weight of the chromium (Cr III) complex of heptadecylfluoro-octane sulfonic acid may be safely...

Relating the octane numbers of fuels to ignition delay times measured in an ignition quality tester (IQT)

KAUST Repository

Naser, Nimal

2016-09-21

A methodology for estimating the octane index (OI), the research octane number (RON) and the motor octane number (MON) using ignition delay times from a constant volume combustion chamber with liquid fuel injection is proposed by adopting an ignition quality tester. A baseline data of ignition delay times were determined using an ignition quality tester at a charge pressure of 21.3 bar between 770 and 850 K and an equivalence ratio of 0.7 for various primary reference fuels (PRFs, mixtures of isooctane and n-heptane). Our methodology was developed using ignition delay times for toluene reference fuels (mixtures of toluene and n-heptane). A correlation between the OI and the ignition delay time at the initial charge temperature enabled the OI of non-PRFs to be predicted at specified temperatures. The methodology was validated using ignition delay times for toluene primary reference fuels (ternary mixtures of toluene, iso-octane, and n-heptane), fuels for advanced combustion engines (FACE) gasolines, and certification gasolines. Using this methodology, the RON, the MON, and the octane sensitivity were estimated in agreement with values obtained from standard test methods. A correlation between derived cetane number and RON is also provided. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A formative evaluation of a high school blended learning biology course

Science.gov (United States)

Nellman, Stephen William

As growing student populations continue to tax the resources of public high schools, administrators are constantly looking for ways to address the needs of all students. One option for increasing the number of students in a classroom without sacrificing quality of instruction is to use "blended learning". Blended learning is defined by Marsh et al. (2003, p.2) as a situation where "face-to-face and distance education delivery methods and resources are merged". In such a course, students receive the benefits of classroom-based instruction, while also benefiting from several aspects of distance learning. This is especially true for science courses that rely heavily on both hands-on labs and various multimedia. The purpose of this study was a formative evaluation of a high school blended learning biology course, focusing on a genetics unit. The research question addressed by the study was "Will participants increase their domain knowledge and problem-solving skills after instruction in a high school level blended distance learning biology course? Also investigated was if higher levels of self-regulation skills were correlated to higher levels of content-understanding and problem-solving. The study was composed of a pilot study and a main study. Participants were students in an urban Southern California public high school biology course. Classroom instruction was from a single instructor, and online content was managed using the "Moodle" course management system. Participants were assessed for their gains in genetics content-understanding, genetics problem-solving skills (Punnett squares), and self-regulation. Additionally, participant reactions to the blended instruction model were surveyed. Results indicated that significant increases (pself-regulation skills were not shown to be significantly correlated to increased content-understanding, or problem-solving skills. Participants reacted positively to the blended model, suggesting that it be used more often in their

Effects of help-seeking in a blended high school Biology class

Science.gov (United States)

Deguzman, Paolo

Distance learning provides an opportunity for students to learn valuable information through technology and interactive media. Distance learning additionally offers educational institutions the flexibility of synchronous and asynchronous instruction while increasing enrollment and lowering cost. However, distance education has not been well documented within the context of urban high schools. Distance learning may allow high school students to understand material at an individualized pace for either enrichment or remediation. A successful high school student who participates in distance learning should exhibit high self regulatory skills. However, most urban high school students have not been exposed to distance learning and should be introduced to proper self regulatory strategies that should increase the likelihood of understanding the material. To help facilitate a move into distance learning, a blended distance learning model, the combination of distance learning and traditional learning, will be used. According to O'Neil's (in preparation) revised problem solving model, self regulation is a component of problem solving. Within the Blended Biology course, urban high school students will be trained in help-seeking strategies to further their understanding of genetics and Punnett Square problem solving. This study investigated the effects of help-seeking in a blended high school Biology course. The main study consisted of a help-seeking group (n=55) and a control group (n=53). Both the help-seeking group and the control group were taught by one teacher for two weeks. The help-seeking group had access to Blended Biology with Help-Seeking while the control group only had access to Blended Biology. The main study used a pretest and posttest to measure Genetics Content Understanding, Punnett Square Problem Solving, Adaptive Help-Seeking, Maladaptive Help-Seeking, and Self Regulation. The analysis showed no significant difference in any of the measures in terms of

Experimental investigation on the knocking combustion characteristics of n-butanol gasoline blends in a DISI engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Haiqiao; Feng, Dengquan; Pan, Mingzhang; Pan, JiaYing; Rao, XiaoKang; Gao, Dongzhi

2016-01-01

Highlights: • N-butanol shows better knock resistance characterized by improved KLST. • Bu20 blend fuel slightly degrades the knock resistance compared with gasoline. • Knock oscillation frequency depends on combustion chamber resonance modes. • Probability distribution is applied to evaluate variation of knock intensity. - Abstract: n-Butanol is a very competitive alternative biofuel for spark ignition (SI) engines given its many advantages. Current researches are mainly concentrated on the overall combustion and emissions performance concerning the feasibility of n-butanol gasoline blends in SI engines. In this work, focus was given on the knocking combustion characteristics of operation with pure n-butanol as well as a blend fuel with 20% volume content of n-butanol (Bu20), which was investigated experimentally in a direct-injection spark ignition (DISI) single cylinder engine. Operation condition is fixed at a constant engine speed of 1500 r/min, using three throttle openings with stoichiometric air–fuel ratio. Spark timing was swept to achieve different knocking levels. The results of n-butanol and Bu20 were benchmarked against those obtained by the research octane number (RON) 92 commercial gasoline. Compared with the baseline fuel gasoline, neat n-butanol shows better anti-knock ability with more advanced knock limited spark timing, whereas slightly deteriorative knock resistance can be found for Bu20. It is hypothesized Bu20 has higher end gas temperature due to its higher brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and faster burning rate compared with gasoline, which indicates the knock tendency depends not only on the fuel octane number, but also on the factors that affect the end gas thermodynamic state. The heavier knock propensity of Bu20 is furthermore confirmed by its more advanced knock onset and higher peak oscillation pressure. Results of fast fourier transform (FFT) indicate the knocking oscillation frequencies are mainly determined by the

PREDICCION DE PROPIEDADES DE MEZCLAS GASOLINA-ETANOL MEDIANTE ESPECTROSCOPIA DE INFRARROJO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Sánchez-Minero

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of ethanol in the gasoline reformulation was studied by infrared spectroscopy (IR. Six samples with different ethanol content were prepared (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 volume percent. IR spectra of these blends were achieved in the region from 4000 to 850 cm -1. Then, a characteristic factor of ethanol (F CO was obtained. This factor relates the area under the curve at 1050 cm -1 and the total area of the spectrum. The FCO factor was used to propose models for the prediction of properties of gasoline-ethanol blends as octane number, heat value and vapor pressure. In general, results shows a high degree of adjustment for the proposed models (R 2>0.98 with residual values for octane number, heat value and vapor pressure of -0.92/+0.75 octanes, -87.4/+107.6 Kcal/Kg and -2.67/+3.09 KPa, respectively.

Mapping surrogate gasoline compositions into RON/MON space

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morgan, N.; Smallbone, A.; Bhave, A.; Kraft, M.; Cracknell, R.; Kalghatgi, G.T.

2010-01-01

In this paper, new experimentally determined octane numbers (RON and MON) of blends of a tri-component surrogate consisting of toluene, n-heptane, i-octane (called toluene reference fuel TRF) arranged in an augmented simplex design are used to derive a simple response surface model for the octane

An experimental study of the effect of octane number higher than engine requirement on the engine performance and emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sayin, Cenk; Kilicaslan, Ibrahim; Canakci, Mustafa; Ozsezen, Necati [Kocaeli Univ., Dept. of Mechanical Education, Izmit (Turkey)

2005-06-01

In this study, the effect of using higher-octane gasoline than that of engine requirement on the performance and exhaust emissions was experimentally studied. The test engine chosen has a fuel system with carburettor because 60% of the vehicles in Turkey are equipped with the carburettor. The engine, which required 91-RON (Research Octane Number) gasoline, was tested using 95-RON and 91-RON. Results show that using octane ratings higher than the requirement of an engine not only decreases engine performance but also increases exhaust emissions. (Author)

Structural investigation of diglycerol monolaurate reverse micelles in nonpolar oils cyclohexane and octane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrestha, Lok Kumar; Aramaki, Kenji

2009-01-01

Structure of diglycerol monolaurate (abbreviated as C 12 G 2 ) micelles in nonpolar oils cyclohexane and n-octane as a function of compositions, temperatures, and surfactant chain length has been investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The SAXS data were evaluated by the generalized indirect Fourier transformation (GIFT) method and real-space structural information of particles was achieved. Conventional poly(oxyethylene) type nonionic surfactants do not form reverse micelles in oils unless a trace water is added. However, present surfactant C 12 G 2 formed reverse micelle (RM) in cyclohexane and n-octane without addition of water at normal room temperature. A clear signature of one dimensional (1-D) micellar growth was found with increasing C 12 G 2 concentration. On the other hand, increasing temperature or hydrocarbon chain length of surfactant shorten the length of RM, which is essentially a cylinder-to-sphere type transition in the aggregate structure. Drastic changes in the structure of RM, namely, transition of ellipsoidal prolate to long rod-like micelles was observed upon changing oil from cyclohexane to octane. All the microstructural transitions were explained in terms of critical packing parameter. (author)

Thermophysical properties for (diethyl carbonate + p-xylene + octane) ternary system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosteiro, L. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Vigo, Lagoas Marcosende s/n, 36310 Vigo (Spain); Casas, L.M., E-mail: lmcasas@uvigo.es [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Vigo, Lagoas Marcosende s/n, 36310 Vigo (Spain); Curras, M.R. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Vigo, Lagoas Marcosende s/n, 36310 Vigo (Spain); Mariano, A.B. [Laboratorio de Fisicoquimica, Departamento de Quimica, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Nacional de Comahue, 8300 Neuquen (Argentina); Legido, J.L. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Vigo, Lagoas Marcosende s/n, 36310 Vigo (Spain)

2011-12-15

Highlights: > Thermophysical properties of (diethyl carbonate + p-xylene + octane) were measured. > Excess molar volumes and isentropic compressibilities were determined and correlated. > Ternary surface tension deviations were correlated using Cibulka equation. > Intermolecular interactions based on the derived properties trend were discussed. - Abstract: The density and speed of sound of the ternary mixture (diethyl carbonate + p-xylene + octane) have been measured at atmospheric pressure and in the temperature range T = (288.15 to 308.15) K. Besides, surface tension has been also determined for the same mixture at T = 298.15 K. The experimental measurements have allowed the calculation of the corresponding derived properties: excess molar volumes, excess isentropic compressibilities, and surface tension deviations. Excess properties have been correlated using Nagata and Tamura equation and correlation for the surface tension deviation has been done with the Cibulka equation. Good accuracy has been obtained. Based on the variations of the derived properties values with composition, a qualitative discussion about the intermolecular interactions was drawn.

Blending Behavior of Ethanol with PRF 84 and FACE A Gasoline in HCCI Combustion Mmode

KAUST Repository

Waqas, Muhammad Umer

2017-09-04

The blending of ethanol with PRF (Primary reference fuel) 84 was investigated and compared with FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) A gasoline surrogate which has a RON of 83.9. Previously, experiments were performed at four HCCI conditions but the chemical effect responsible for the non-linear blending behavior of ethanol with PRF 84 and FACE A was not understood. Hence, in this study the experimental measurements were simulated using zero-dimensional HCCI engine model with detailed chemistry in CHEMKIN PRO. Ethanol was used as an octane booster for the above two base fuels in volume concentration of 0%, 2%, 5% and 10%. The geometrical data and the intake valve closure conditions were used to match the simulated combustion phasing with the experiments. Low temperature heat release (LTHR) was detected by performing heat release analysis. LTHR formation depended on the base fuel type and the engine operating conditions suggesting that the base fuel composition has an important role in the formation of LTHR. The effect of ethanol on LTHR was explained by low temperature chemistry reactions and OH/HO evolution. A strong correlation of low temperature oxidation reactions of base fuels with ethanol was found to be responsible for the observed blending effects.

Blend or not to blend: a study investigating faculty members perceptions of blended teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet A Ocak

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This study examined faculty members’ perceptions of blended teaching from several perspectives. A total of 73 faculty members in Turkish Higher Education context participated in the study by completing an online survey that combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based on a data analysis, the faculty members’ perceptions were sorted into six categories: (a satisfaction with blended teaching, (b perceived impact on the role of the faculty, (c perceived impact on student learning, (d perceived impact on student motivation, (e advantages of blended teaching, and (f disadvantages of blended teaching. Findings indicated that faculty members were likely to agree that blended teaching provides a high degree of satisfaction and that it requires more time and commitment from the faculty. The faculty members perceived that blended teaching improves student learning and, to some extent, improves motivation. The faculty members also emphasized the importance of institutional support and the use of technology to mitigate student problems. This study presents these faculty members’ perceptions, which are helpful for those planning to implement a blended teaching approach, and makes suggestions for trouble-shooting and taking advantage of the opportunities in a blended environment successfully.

Experimental investigations of butanol-gasoline blends effects on the combustion process in a SI engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merola, Simona Silvia; Tornatore, Cinzia; Machitto, Luca; Valentino, Gerardo; Corcione, Felice Esposito [Istituto Motori-CNR, Naples (Italy)

2012-07-01

Fuel blend of alcohol and conventional hydrocarbon fuels for a spark-ignition engine can increase the fuel octane rating and the power for a given engine displacement and compression ratio. In this work, the influence of butanol addition to gasoline in a port fuel-injection, spark ignition engine was investigated. The experiments were realized in a single cylinder ported fuel injection SI engine with an external boosting device. The optical accessible engine was equipped with the head of commercial SI turbocharged engine with the same geometrical specifications (bore, stroke, compression ratio) as the research engine. The effect on the spark ignition combustion process of 20% and 40% of n-butanol blended in volume with pure gasoline was investigated through cycle resolved visualization. The engine worked at low speed, medium boosting and wide open throttle. Fuel injections both in closed valve and open valve conditions were considered. Comparisons between the parameters related to the flame luminosity and the pressure signals were performed. Butanol blends allowed working in more advanced spark timing without knocking occurrence. The duration of injection for Butanol blends was increased to obtain stoichiometric mixture. In open valve injection condition, the fuel deposits on intake manifold and piston surfaces decreased, allowing a reduction in fuel consumption. BU40 granted the performance levels of gasoline and in open valve injection allowed to minimize the abnormal combustion effects including the emission of ultrafine carbonaceous particles at the exhaust. In-cylinder investigations were correlated to engine out emissions. (orig.)

Increasing Octane Value in Catalytic Cracking of n-Hexadecane with Addition of *BEA Type Zeolite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iori Shimada

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, multifunctional catalysts were developed by adding *BEA or MFI zeolite with high Si/Al ratio to a residual fluidized catalytic cracking (RFCC catalyst and tested in the catalytic cracking of n-hexadecane, which is a heavy crude oil model compound, for the purpose of increasing the octane value of produced gasoline under the strong hydrogen transfer activity of the RFCC catalyst. Reaction products analysis revealed that the addition of *BEA zeolite to the RFCC catalyst increased the yields of olefins and multi-branched paraffins, which resulted in improvement of the octane value without sacrificing gasoline yield. On the contrary, the addition of MFI zeolite decreased the gasoline yield because it cracks the gasoline range olefins into LPG range olefins. In general, it is difficult to increase the yield of multi-branched molecules because the multi-branched molecule is more easily cracked than linear molecules. Our results suggest the possibility for the selective acceleration of isomerization reaction by the addition of less acidic *BEA zeolite to the RFCC catalyst.

2-Methylfuran: A bio-derived octane booster for spark-ignition engines

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani; Shankar, Vijai; Tripathi, Rupali; Pitsch, Heinz; Sarathy, Mani

2018-01-01

The efficiency of spark-ignition engines is limited by the phenomenon of knock, which is caused by auto-ignition of the fuel-air mixture ahead of the spark-initiated flame front. The resistance of a fuel to knock is quantified by its octane index

Toughening modification of poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) blends by an epoxy-functionalized elastomer

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Weizhou; Wang, Kai; Yan, Wei; Guo, Weihong

2017-10-01

New toughened poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) (40/60 wt%) blends were obtained by melting with Glycidyl methacrylate grafted poly(ethylene octane) copolymer (POE-g-GMA), varying the POE-g-GMA content up to 20 wt%, in a twin-screw extruder, followed by injection molding. The influence of POE-g-GMA on the properties of the PBT/PET blends was investigated by mechanical testing, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis, gel fractions analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The mechanical testing results indicated that the incorporation of POE-g-GMA led to increases in the notched impact strength and decreases in the tensile strength, flexural strength, and flexural modulus. When POE-g-GMA content reached 20 wt%, the notched impact strength (8.0 kJ m-2) was achieved for the PBT/PET/POE-g-GMA blends. FT-IR results proved that some PBT/PET/POE-g-GMA copolymers were produced, which improved the compatibility between POE-g-GMA and the PBT/PET matrix. The extent of crosslinking was observed by gel fraction measurements. DMA results further testified chain-extending and micro-crosslink reactions occurred between POE-g-GMA and PBT/PET blends. In addition, the reactions induced by POE-g-GMA affected the crystallization behavior of PBT/PET blends obviously, as observed from DSC results. By means of SEM observation of the impact fracture surface morphology, and the discussion of the micro-crosslink reaction process between the epoxide-containing elastomers and PBT/PET matrix, the toughening mechanism was proposed to be taken into account the shear yielding of PBT/PET matrix and cavitation of elastomer particles.

Morphology control in polymer blend fibers—a high throughput computing approach

Science.gov (United States)

Sesha Sarath Pokuri, Balaji; Ganapathysubramanian, Baskar

2016-08-01

Fibers made from polymer blends have conventionally enjoyed wide use, particularly in textiles. This wide applicability is primarily aided by the ease of manufacturing such fibers. More recently, the ability to tailor the internal morphology of polymer blend fibers by carefully designing processing conditions has enabled such fibers to be used in technologically relevant applications. Some examples include anisotropic insulating properties for heat and anisotropic wicking of moisture, coaxial morphologies for optical applications as well as fibers with high internal surface area for filtration and catalysis applications. However, identifying the appropriate processing conditions from the large space of possibilities using conventional trial-and-error approaches is a tedious and resource-intensive process. Here, we illustrate a high throughput computational approach to rapidly explore and characterize how processing conditions (specifically blend ratio and evaporation rates) affect the internal morphology of polymer blends during solvent based fabrication. We focus on a PS: PMMA system and identify two distinct classes of morphologies formed due to variations in the processing conditions. We subsequently map the processing conditions to the morphology class, thus constructing a ‘phase diagram’ that enables rapid identification of processing parameters for specific morphology class. We finally demonstrate the potential for time dependent processing conditions to get desired features of the morphology. This opens up the possibility of rational stage-wise design of processing pathways for tailored fiber morphology using high throughput computing.

Novel selective catalytic reduction with tritium: synthesis of the GABAA receptor radioligand 1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-4-[2,3-3H2]propyl-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo[2.2.2 ]octane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palmer, C.J.; Casida, J.E.

1991-01-01

Protection of the terminal alkyne function in 1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-4-(prop-2-enyl)-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo[2.2.2] octane with a trimethylsilyl group permits the selective catalytic reduction of the olefin moiety with tritium gas to give after deprotection 1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-4-[2,3- 3 H 2 ] propyl-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo-[2.2.2] octane. The labeled product at high specific activity is an improved radioligand for the GABA-gated chloride channel of insects and mammals and the intermediate 4-[2,3- 3 H 2 ]propyl-1-[4-[(trimethylsilyl)ethynyl]phenyl]-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo[2.2.2]octane is useful for studies on the metabolic activation of this selective proinsecticide. (author)

Détermination automatique de l'indice d'octane et de la composition des reformats par chromatographie en phase gazeuse Automatic Determination of Reformate Octane Number and Composition by Gas Chromatography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petroff N.

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Utilisant des analyses par chromatographie en phase gazeuse, diverses méthodes ont été testées pour calculer l'indice d'octane de reformats. L'une d'elles s'est imposée par la simplicité de l'appareillage, ses possibilités d'automatisation et son adéquation à des échantillons provenant de charges différentes. Cette étude décrit les conditions opératoires de la méthode chromatographique optimisées pour les réformes, en vue d'obtenir des valeurs calculées de l'indice d'octane (IO dit Recherche différant de moins de un point des valeurs mesurées sur un moteur CFR selon la norme ASTM/D2699 (NF MO7026. L'analyse chromatographique est faite sur une colonne capillaire fonctionnant en température programmée. Le traitement des données est réalisé par un logiciel qui assure àla fois l'identification des constituants et le calcul de l'indice d'octane, à partir des données chromatographiques standard (temps de rétention et surface des pics. Les résultats obtenus portent sur une soixantaine de reformats divers. La fiabilité de la méthode d'identification, la répétabilité et la reproductibilité des valeurs de IO calculés sont démontrées. Ces résultats permettent d'envisager l'exploitation de la méthode en sortie d'unité. Various methods were tested by gas chromatography analysis for calculating the octane number of reformates. One of them was superior because of the simplicity of its equipment, its possibilities of automation and its suitability for samples coming from different feeds. This article describes the operating conditions of the optimized chromatographic method for reformates with a view to obtaining calculated values of the so-called Researchoctane number (RON different by at least one point from the values measured with a CFR engine according to the ASTM/D2699 standard. Chromatographic analysis is performed in a capillary column operating with programmedtemperature. Data processing is done with a software

Highly conductive thermoplastic composite blends suitable for injection molding of bipolar plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mighri, F.; Huneault, M.A.; Champagne, M.F.

2003-01-01

This study aimed at developing highly conductive, lightweight, and low-cost bipolar plates for use in proton exchange membranes (PEM) fuel cells. Injection and compression molding of highly filled polypropylene, PP, and polyphenylene sulfide, PPS, based blends were used as a mean for mass production of bipolar plates. Loadings up to 60-wt% in the form of graphite, conductive carbon black and carbon fibers were investigated. The developed formulations have a combination of properties and processability suitable for bipolar plate manufacturing, such as good chemical resistance, sufficient fluidity, and good electrical and thermal conductivity. Electrical resistivities around 0.15 and 0.09 Ohm-cm were respectively achieved for the PP and PPS-based blends, respectively. Two bipolar plate designs were successfully fabricated by molding the gas flow channels over aluminum plates to form a metallic/polymer composite plate, or simply by direct injection molding of the conductive polymer composite. For the first design, overall plate resistivities of 0.2 and 0.1 Ohm-cm were respectively attained using PP and PPS based blends as conductive skin. A lower volume resistivity of around 0.06 Ohm-cm was attained for the second injected plate design with PPS based blend. (author)

A comprehensive iso-octane combustion model with improved thermochemistry and chemical kinetics

KAUST Repository

Atef, Nour; Kukkadapu, Goutham; Mohamed, Samah; Rashidi, Mariam Al; Banyon, Colin; Mehl, Marco; Heufer, Karl Alexander; Nasir, Ehson Fawad; Alfazazi, Adamu; Das, Apurba K.; Westbrook, Charles K.; Pitz, William J.; Lu, Tianfeng; Farooq, Aamir; Sung, Chih-Jen; Curran, Henry J.; Sarathy, Mani

2017-01-01

Iso-Octane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane) is a primary reference fuel and an important component of gasoline fuels. Moreover, it is a key component used in surrogates to study the ignition and burning characteristics of gasoline fuels. This paper presents

Gas Separation Membranes Derived from High-Performance Immiscible Polymer Blends Compatibilized with Small Molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Panapitiya, Nimanka P; Wijenayake, Sumudu N; Nguyen, Do D; Huang, Yu; Musselman, Inga H; Balkus, Kenneth J; Ferraris, John P

2015-08-26

An immiscible polymer blend comprised of high-performance copolyimide 6FDA-DAM:DABA(3:2) (6FDD) and polybenzimidazole (PBI) was compatibilized using 2-methylimidazole (2-MI), a commercially available small molecule. Membranes were fabricated from blends of 6FDD:PBI (50:50) with and without 2-MI for H2/CO2 separations. The membranes demonstrated a matrix-droplet type microstructure as evident with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging where 6FDD is the dispersed phase and PBI is the continuous phase. In addition, membranes with 2-MI demonstrated a uniform microstructure as observed by smaller and more uniformly dispersed 6FDD domains in contrast to 6FDD:PBI (50:50) blend membranes without 2-MI. This compatibilization effect of 2-MI was attributed to interfacial localization of 2-MI that lowers the interfacial energy similar to a surfactant. Upon the incorporation of 2-MI, the H2/CO2 selectivity improved remarkably, compared to the pure blend, and surpassed the Robeson's upper bound. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of a small molecule to compatibilize a high-performance immiscible polymer blend. This approach could afford a novel class of membranes in which immiscible polymer blends can be compatibilized in an economical and convenient fashion.

Physical and chemical effects of low octane gasoline fuels on compression ignition combustion

KAUST Repository

Badra, Jihad; Viollet, Yoann; Elwardani, Ahmed Elsaid; Im, Hong G.; Chang, Junseok

2016-01-01

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engines running on low octane gasoline fuels are considered an attractive alternative to traditional spark ignition engines. In this study, three fuels with different chemical and physical characteristics have

Autoignition characterization of primary reference fuels and n-heptane/n-butanol mixtures in a constant volume combustion device and homogeneous charge compression ignition engine

KAUST Repository

Baumgardner, Marc E.; Sarathy, Mani; Má rchese, Anthony J.

2013-01-01

-octane, n-heptane, and n-butanol were tested in the FIT - 28 test runs with 25 ignition measurements for each test run, totaling 350 individual tests in all. These experimental results supported previous findings that fuel blends with high alcohol content

Construction and validation of detailed kinetic models for the combustion of gasoline surrogates; Construction et validation de modeles cinetiques detailles pour la combustion de melanges modeles des essences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Touchard, S.

2005-10-15

The irreversible reduction of oil resources, the CO{sub 2} emission control and the application of increasingly strict standards of pollutants emission lead the worldwide researchers to work to reduce the pollutants formation and to improve the engine yields, especially by using homogenous charge combustion of lean mixtures. The numerical simulation of fuel blends oxidation is an essential tool to study the influence of fuel formulation and motor conditions on auto-ignition and on pollutants emissions. The automatic generation helps to obtain detailed kinetic models, especially at low temperature, where the number of reactions quickly exceeds thousand. The main purpose of this study is the generation and the validation of detailed kinetic models for the oxidation of gasoline blends using the EXGAS software. This work has implied an improvement of computation rules for thermodynamic and kinetic data, those were validated by numerical simulation using CHEMKIN II softwares. A large part of this work has concerned the understanding of the low temperature oxidation chemistry of the C5 and larger alkenes. Low and high temperature mechanisms were proposed and validated for 1 pentene, 1-hexene, the binary mixtures containing 1 hexene/iso octane, 1 hexene/toluene, iso octane/toluene and the ternary mixture of 1 hexene/toluene/iso octane. Simulations were also done for propene, 1-butene and iso-octane with former models including the modifications proposed in this PhD work. If the generated models allowed us to simulate with a good agreement the auto-ignition delays of the studied molecules and blends, some uncertainties still remains for some reaction paths leading to the formation of cyclic products in the case of alkenes oxidation at low temperature. It would be also interesting to carry on this work for combustion models of gasoline blends at low temperature. (author)

Optimizing Blendstock Composition and Ethanol Feedstock to Reduce Gasoline Well-to-Pump CO 2 Emission

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Bo; Sarathy, Mani; Abdul-Manan, Amir F.N.

2017-01-01

Lifecycle CO2 emission of ethanol blended gasoline was simulated to investigate how fuel properties and composition affect overall emission. Fuel research octane number (RON), octane sensitivity and ethanol content (derived from sugarcane and corn) were varied in the simulations to formulate blended fuels that economically achieve target specifications. The well-to-pump (WTP) simulation results were then analyzed to understand the effects of fuel composition on emission. Elevated ethanol content displaces aromatics and olefins required in gasoline blendstock to reach a target fuel specification. The addition of greater sugarcane-based ethanol percentage in constant aromatics and olefins fuel reduces its WTP CO2 emission. Corn-based ethanol blending does not offer CO2 emission offset due to its high production emissions. The mixing of sugarcane-based with corn-based ethanol is shown to be a potentially effective method for achieving a blended fuel with a lower lifecycle CO2 emission. Besides CO2 emission, the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from land-use conversions (LUC), CH4, and N2O are also significant in determining the optimal fuel blend. Herein, we present preliminary results showing that total GHG emissions significantly increase when either corn or sugarcane ethanol is blended at even small percentages; detailed results will be addressed in future communications.

Optimizing Blendstock Composition and Ethanol Feedstock to Reduce Gasoline Well-to-Pump CO 2 Emission

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Bo

2017-06-02

Lifecycle CO2 emission of ethanol blended gasoline was simulated to investigate how fuel properties and composition affect overall emission. Fuel research octane number (RON), octane sensitivity and ethanol content (derived from sugarcane and corn) were varied in the simulations to formulate blended fuels that economically achieve target specifications. The well-to-pump (WTP) simulation results were then analyzed to understand the effects of fuel composition on emission. Elevated ethanol content displaces aromatics and olefins required in gasoline blendstock to reach a target fuel specification. The addition of greater sugarcane-based ethanol percentage in constant aromatics and olefins fuel reduces its WTP CO2 emission. Corn-based ethanol blending does not offer CO2 emission offset due to its high production emissions. The mixing of sugarcane-based with corn-based ethanol is shown to be a potentially effective method for achieving a blended fuel with a lower lifecycle CO2 emission. Besides CO2 emission, the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from land-use conversions (LUC), CH4, and N2O are also significant in determining the optimal fuel blend. Herein, we present preliminary results showing that total GHG emissions significantly increase when either corn or sugarcane ethanol is blended at even small percentages; detailed results will be addressed in future communications.

Components of Particle Emissions from Light-Duty Spark-Ignition Vehicles with Varying Aromatic Content and Octane Rating in Gasoline.

Science.gov (United States)

Short, Daniel Z; Vu, Diep; Durbin, Thomas D; Karavalakis, Georgios; Asa-Awuku, Akua

2015-09-01

Typical gasoline consists of varying concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons and octane ratings. However, their impacts on particulate matter (PM) such as black carbon (BC) and water-soluble and insoluble particle compositions are not well-defined. This study tests seven 2012 model year vehicles, which include one port fuel injection (PFI) configured hybrid vehicle, one PFI vehicle, and six gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles. Each vehicle was driven on the Unified transient testing cycle (UC) using four different fuels. Three fuels had a constant octane rating of 87 with varied aromatic concentrations at 15%, 25%, and 35%. A fourth fuel with higher octane rating, 91, contained 35% aromatics. BC, PM mass, surface tension, and water-soluble organic mass (WSOM) fractions were measured. The water-insoluble mass (WIM) fraction of the vehicle emissions was estimated. Increasing fuel aromatic content increases BC emission factors (EFs) of transient cycles. BC concentrations were higher for the GDI vehicles than the PFI and hybrid vehicles, suggesting a potential climate impact for increased GDI vehicle production. Vehicle steady-state testing showed that the hygroscopicity of PM emissions at high speeds (70 mph; κ > 1) are much larger than emissions at low speeds (30 mph; κ < 0.1). Iso-paraffin content in the fuels was correlated to the decrease in WSOM emissions. Both aromatic content and vehicle speed increase the amount of hygroscopic material found in particle emissions.

Excess molar volume along with viscosity, refractive index and relative permittivity for binary mixtures of exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene with four octane isomers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue, Lei; Qin, Xiaomei; Wu, Xi; Xu, Li; Guo, Yongsheng; Fang, Wenjun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Binary mixtures of JP-10 with octane isomers are studied as model hydrocarbon fuels. • Density, viscosity, refractive index and relative permittivity are determined. • Excess molar volumes and viscosity deviations are calculated and correlated. - Abstract: The fundamental physical properties including density, viscosity, refractive index and relative permittivity, have been measured for binary mixtures of exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (JP-10) with four octane isomers (n-octane, 3-methylheptane, 2,4-dimethylhexane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane) over the whole composition range at temperatures T = (293.15 to 313.15) K and pressure p = 0.1 MPa. The values of excess molar volume (V m E ), viscosity deviation (Δη), refractive index deviation (Δn D ) and relative permittivity deviation (Δε r ) are then calculated. All of the values of V m E and Δη are observed to be negative, while those of Δn D and Δε r are close to zero. The effects of temperature and composition on the variation of V m E values are discussed. The negative values of V m E and Δη are conductive to high-density and low-resistance of fuels, which is favorable for the design and preparation of advanced hydrocarbon fuels

High performance lignin-acrylonitrile polymer blend materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naskar, Amit K.; Tran, Chau D.

2017-11-14

A polymer blend material comprising: (i) a lignin component having a weight-average molecular weight of up to 1,000,000 g/mol; and (ii) an acrylonitrile-containing copolymer rubber component comprising acrylonitrile units in combination with diene monomer units, and having an acrylonitrile content of at least 20 mol %; wherein said lignin component is present in an amount of at least 5 wt % and up to about 95 wt % by total weight of components (i) and (ii); and said polymer blend material possesses a tensile yield stress of at least 5 MPa, or a tensile stress of at least 5 MPa at 10% elongation, or a tensile stress of at least 5 MPa at 100% elongation. Methods for producing the polymer blend, molded forms thereof, and articles thereof, are also described.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of di-(3, 8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane) diquaternary ammonium salts as unique analgesics.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hong; Cheng, Tie-Ming; Zhang, Hong-Mei; Li, Run-Tao

2003-11-01

Based on the structure characteristics of the lead compounds, 1, 1' octanedioyl-4, 4'-dimethyl-4, 4'-dibenzyl dipiperazinium dibromide (2) and 3, 8-disubstituted-3, 8-diazabicyclo [3.2.1]octanes (DBO), di-(3, 8-diazabicyclo [3.2.1]octane) diquaternary ammonium salts 3 a-c were designed and synthesized through a highly practical procedure. Target compounds 3 a-c and the hydrochloride salts of their precursors 10 a-c were evaluated for their in vivo analgesic and sedative activities. Interestingly, the introduction of an endoethylenic bridge in the piperazine of lead compound 2 causes loss of the analgesic activity and increases the toxicity dramatically. This result shows that the flexible conformation of piperazine in compound 2 is favorable for interaction with the receptor, and the quaternization of compounds 10 a-c is the main reason for the toxicity increase.

The effect of the head group on branched-alkyl chain surfactants in glycolipid/n-octane/water ternary system.

Science.gov (United States)

Nainggolan, Irwana; Radiman, Shahidan; Hamzah, Ahmad Sazali; Hashim, Rauzah

2009-10-01

Two novel glycolipids have been synthesized and their phase behaviour studied. They have been characterized using FT-IR, FAB and 13C NMR and 1H NMR to ensure the purity of novel glycolipids. The two glycolipids are distinguished based on the head group of glycolipids (monosaccharide/glucose and disaccharide/maltose). These two novel glycolipids have been used as surfactant to perform two phase diagrams. Phase behaviours that have been investigated are 2-hexyldecyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2-HDG)/n-octane/water ternary system and 2-hexyldecyl-beta-D-maltoside (2-HDM)/n-octane/water ternary system. SAXS and polarizing optical microscope have been used to study the phase behaviours of these two surfactants in ternary phase diagram. Study of effect of the head group on branched-alkyl chain surfactants in ternary system is a strategy to derive the structure-property relationship. For comparison, 2-HDM and 2-HDG have been used as surfactant in the same ternary system. The phase diagram of 2-hexyldecyl-beta-D-maltoside/n-octane/water ternary system exhibited a Lalpha phase at a higher concentration regime, followed with two phases and a micellar solution region in a lower concentration regime. The phase diagram of 2-HDG/water/n-octane ternary system shows hexagonal phase, cubic phase, rectangular ribbon phase, lamellar phase, cubic phase as the surfactant concentration increase.

Experimental investigation of CI engine combustion, performance and emissions in DEE–kerosene–diesel blends of high DEE concentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, K.R.; Thipse, S.S.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • First ever study on DEE–kerosene–diesel blends used in CI engine. • DEE–diesel blends have reduced the trade-off between PM and NOx of diesel engine. • Optimum performance blend has been found as DE15D. • Adulteration effects of kerosene with diesel have also been investigated. • Additions of kerosene with DE15D blend have deteriorated the overall engine performance. - Abstract: An experimental investigation had been carried out to evaluate the effects of oxygenated cetane improver diethyl ether (DEE) blends with kerosene and diesel on the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a direct injection diesel engine. Initially, 2%, 5%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% DEE (by volume) were blended into diesel. The DEE–diesel blends have reduced the trade-off between PM and NOx of diesel engine and the optimum performance blend has been found as DE15D. Similarly, 5%, 10% and 15% kerosene (by volume) were blended into diesel to investigate the adulteration effect. In addition, a study was carried out to evaluate the effects of kerosene adulteration on DE15D by blending with 5%, 10% and 15% kerosene (by volume). The engine tests were carried out at 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of full load for all test fuels. Laboratory fuel tests showed that the DEE is completely miscible with diesel and kerosene in any proportion. It was observed that the density, kinematic viscosity and calorific value of the blends decreases, while the oxygen content and cetane number of the blends increases with the concentration of DEE addition. The experimental test results showed that the DEE–kerosene–diesel blends have low brake thermal efficiency, high brake specific fuel consumption, high smoke at full load, low smoke at part load, overall low NO, almost similar CO, high HC at full load and low HC at part load as compared to DE15D blend

Identification of octanal as plant growth inhibitory volatile compound released from Heracleum sosnowskyi fruit.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishyna, Maryia; Laman, Nikolai; Prokhorov, Valery; Maninang, John Solomon; Fujii, Yoshiharu

2015-05-01

Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden of the Apiaceae family is a malignant invasive plant in Eastern Europe, Belarus and Russia. The species is known for its prolific seed production, which has been linked to the plant's invasive success. The fruit also has a strong aroma, but the contribution of the fruit's volatile constituent to out-compete neighboring plants has not been fully established. In this study, fruit volatiles of H. sosnowskyi and conspecifics (i.e. H. asperum, H. lescovii, H. dissectum, H. hirtum) were identified by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS). Octyl acetate, octanol, octanal, hexyl isobutyrate, and hexyl-2-methyl butyrate were found to be the principal volatiles. Using authentic standards, the growth-inhibitory property of the individual compounds was assayed by the novel Cotton swab method. Assay results with lettuce (Lactuca sativa) showed that octanal strongly inhibited seed germination and radicle elongation of seedlings. The results suggest that octanal may be the main contributor to the allelopathic activity of H. sosnowksyi fruits. Furthermore, the mixture of fruit volatiles from the invasive H. sosnowskyi more strongly delayed lettuce seedling elongation than the volatiles from fruits of the non-invasive H. asperum, H. lescovii, H. dissectum and H. hirtum. Thus, the present study is the first to demonstrate the possible involvement of fruit volatiles of Heracleum species in plant-plant interaction.

Effect of ethanol–gasoline blends on CO and HC emissions in last generation SI engines within the cold-start transient: An experimental investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iodice, Paolo; Senatore, Adolfo; Langella, Giuseppe; Amoresano, Amedeo

2016-01-01

Highlights: • This study assesses the effect of ethanol–gasoline blends on cold emissions. • A last generation motorcycle was operated on the chassis dynamometer. • A new calculation procedure was applied to model the cold transient behaviour. • The 20% v/v ethanol blend shows the highest reduction of CO and HC cold emissions. - Abstract: Urban areas in developed countries are characterized by an increasing decline in air quality state mainly due to the exhaust emissions from vehicles. Besides, due to catalyst improvements and electronic mixture control of last generation engines, nowadays CO and HC cold start extra-emissions are heavily higher than emissions exhausted in hot conditions, with a clear consequence on air quality of the urban contexts. Ethanol combined with gasoline can be widely used as an alternative fuel due to the benefit of its high octane number and its self-sustaining characteristics. Ethanol, in fact, is well known as potential alcohol alternative fuel for SI engines, since it can be blended with gasoline to increase oxygen content, then decreasing CO and HC emissions and the depletion of fossil fuels. Literature data about cold emissive behaviour of SI engines powered with ethanol/gasoline blended fuels are rather limited. For this reason, the aim of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of ethanol/gasoline blends on CO and HC cold start emissions of four-stroke SI engines: a last generation motorcycle was operated on the chassis dynamometer for exhaust emission measurements without change to the engine design, while the ethanol was mixed with unleaded gasoline in different percentages (10, 20 and 30 vol.%). Results of the experimental tests and the application of a new calculation procedure, designed and optimised to model the cold transient behaviour of SI engines using different ethanol–gasoline blends, indicate that CO and HC cold start emissions decrease compared to the use of commercial gasoline, with the 20

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of High Injection Pressure Blended Biodiesel

Science.gov (United States)

Khalid, Amir; Jaat, Norrizam; Faisal Hushim, Mohd; Manshoor, Bukhari; Zaman, Izzuddin; Sapit, Azwan; Razali, Azahari

2017-08-01

Biodiesel have great potential for substitution with petrol fuel for the purpose of achieving clean energy production and emission reduction. Among the methods that can control the combustion properties, controlling of the fuel injection conditions is one of the successful methods. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of high injection pressure of biodiesel blends on spray characteristics using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Injection pressure was observed at 220 MPa, 250 MPa and 280 MPa. The ambient temperature was kept held at 1050 K and ambient pressure 8 MPa in order to simulate the effect of boost pressure or turbo charger during combustion process. Computational Fluid Dynamics were used to investigate the spray characteristics of biodiesel blends such as spray penetration length, spray angle and mixture formation of fuel-air mixing. The results shows that increases of injection pressure, wider spray angle is produced by biodiesel blends and diesel fuel. The injection pressure strongly affects the mixture formation, characteristics of fuel spray, longer spray penetration length thus promotes the fuel and air mixing.

Phase equilibria in a system of aqueous arginine with an octane solution of sulfonic acid

Science.gov (United States)

Kuvaeva, Z. I.; Koval'chuk, I. V.; Vodop'yanova, L. A.; Soldatov, V. S.

2013-05-01

The extraction of arginine (Arg) from aqueous salt (0.1 M NaCl) solutions with a sulfo extractant in a wide range of pH values and amino acid concentrations was studied. The 0.1 M solution of dinonylnaphthalenesulfonic acid (HD) in octane was used as an extractant. The degree of extraction was found to be high at pH 0.8-9.0. This can be explained by the effect of additional intermolecular interactions in the extractant phase involving the guanidine group of Arg.

Thermal and mechanical properties of injection molded recycled high density polyethylene blends with virgin isotactic polypropylene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madi, N.K.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Recycled high density polyethylene and isotactic polypropylene blends have been prepared by melt compounding. ► Thermal study showed that iPP is not well dispersed into the rHDPE matrix. ► Tensile testing shows that there is strong correlation between the thermal properties and the tensile behavior of rHDPE/ipp blends. - Abstract: Polymer blending has become an important field in polymer research and especially in the area of recycling. In this research the target was to reduce the polymer waste problem. Therefore, recycled high density polyethylene (rHDPE) and virgin isotactic polypropylene (vPP) blends containing upto 30 wt% of vPP have been prepared by melt compounding method using injection molding at 220 °C. The thermal properties, thermal degradation and the mechanical properties of the polymer blends were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile testing method. DSC study shows that in all the blends there are two melting peaks, one around the melting temperature of rHDPE and another one around the melting point of vPP, indicating that vPP is not well dispersed into the rHDPE matrix. The changes in the heat of fusion for the rHDPE/iPP polymer blends versus vPP content suggests that incorporating vPP affects the crystallinity of the system. TGA analysis of the polymer blends shows that parts of rHDPE with 95/5 upto 80/20 of vPP are mostly stable composition which brings about valuable stabilization to the rHDPE. Tensile testing shows that there is strong correlation between the thermal properties and the tensile behavior of rHDPE/vpp blends

Formulation of Zero-Trans Crystalized Fats Produced from Palm Stearin and High Oleic Safflower Oil Blends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nydia E. Buitimea-Cantúa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available High intake of trans fat is associated with several chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Fat blends, produced by direct blending process of palm stearin (PS with high oleic safflower oil (HOSO in different concentrations, were investigated. The effects of the PS addition (50, 70, or 90% and the rate of agitation (RA (1000, 2000, or 3000 rpm on physical properties, fatty acid profile (FAP, trans fatty acids (TFA, crystal structure, and consistency were researched. The blend containing 50% of each sort of oil (50% PS/50% HOSO showed that melting point and features were similar to the control shortening. The saturated fatty acids (SFA were higher followed by monounsaturated (MUFA and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA. Significant differences in the content of palmitic and oleic acids among blends were observed. The 50% PS/50% HOSO blend contained higher oleic acid (42.9% whereas the 90% PS/10% HOSO was higher in palmitic acid (56.9%. The blending of PS/HOSO promoted the β crystal polymorphic forms. The direct blending process of equal amounts of PS and HOSO was an adequate strategy to formulate a new zero-trans crystallized vegetable fats with characteristics similar to commercial counterparts with well-balanced fats rich in both omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids.

Equilibrating high-molecular-weight symmetric and miscible polymer blends with hierarchical back-mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Ohkuma, Takahiro; Kremer, Kurt; Daoulas, Kostas

2018-05-01

Understanding properties of polymer alloys with computer simulations frequently requires equilibration of samples comprised of microscopically described long molecules. We present the extension of an efficient hierarchical backmapping strategy, initially developed for homopolymer melts, to equilibrate high-molecular-weight binary blends. These mixtures present significant interest for practical applications and fundamental polymer physics. In our approach, the blend is coarse-grained into models representing polymers as chains of soft blobs. Each blob stands for a subchain with N b microscopic monomers. A hierarchy of blob-based models with different resolution is obtained by varying N b. First the model with the largest N b is used to obtain an equilibrated blend. This configuration is sequentially fine-grained, reinserting at each step the degrees of freedom of the next in the hierarchy blob-based model. Once the blob-based description is sufficiently detailed, the microscopic monomers are reinserted. The hard excluded volume is recovered through a push-off procedure and the sample is re-equilibrated with molecular dynamics (MD), requiring relaxation on the order of the entanglement time. For the initial method development we focus on miscible blends described on microscopic level through a generic bead-spring model, which reproduces hard excluded volume, strong covalent bonds, and realistic liquid density. The blended homopolymers are symmetric with respect to molecular architecture and liquid structure. To parameterize the blob-based models and validate equilibration of backmapped samples, we obtain reference data from independent hybrid simulations combining MD and identity exchange Monte Carlo moves, taking advantage of the symmetry of the blends. The potential of the backmapping strategy is demonstrated by equilibrating blend samples with different degree of miscibility, containing 500 chains with 1000 monomers each. Equilibration is verified by comparing

High performance concrete with blended cement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biswas, P.P.; Saraswati, S.; Basu, P.C.

2012-01-01

Principal objectives of the proposed project are two folds. Firstly, to develop the HPC mix suitable to NPP structures with blended cement, and secondly to study its durability necessary for desired long-term performance. Three grades of concrete to b considered in the proposed projects are M35, M50 and M60 with two types of blended cements, i.e. Portland slag cement (PSC) and Portland pozzolana cement (PPC). Three types of mineral admixtures - silica fume, fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag will be used. Concrete mixes with OPc and without any mineral admixture will be considered as reference case. Durability study of these mixes will be carried out

Investigation of diesel-ethanol blended fuel properties with palm methyl ester as co-solvent and blends enhancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mat Taib Norhidayah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Diesel engine is known as the most efficient engine with high efficiency and power but always reported as high fuel emission. Malaysia National Automotive Policy (NAP was targeting to improve competitive regional focusing on green technology development in reducing the emission of the engine. Therefore, ethanol was introduced to reduce the emission of the engine and while increasing its performance, Palm methyl ester was introduced as blend enhancer to improve engine performance and improve diesel-ethanol blends stability. This paper aimed to study the characteristics of the blends and to prove the ability of palm-methyl-ester as co-solvent in ethanol-diesel blends. Stability and thermophysical test were carried out for different fuel compositions. The stability of diesel-ethanol blended was proved to be improved with the addition of PME at the longer period and the stability of the blends changed depending on temperature and ethanol content. Density and viscosity of diesel-ethanol-PME blends also give higher result than diesel-ethanol blends and it's proved that PME is able to increase density and viscosity of blends. Besides, heating value of the blends also increases with the increasing PME in diesel-ethanol blends.

Ternary Blend Composed of Two Organic Donors and One Acceptor for Active Layer of High-Performance Organic Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jong Won; Choi, Yoon Suk; Ahn, Hyungju; Jo, Won Ho

2016-05-04

Ternary blends composed of two donor absorbers with complementary absorptions provide an opportunity to enhance the short-circuit current and thus the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells. In addition to complementary absorption of two donors, ternary blends may exhibit favorable morphology for high-performance solar cells when one chooses properly the donor pair. For this purpose, we develop a ternary blend with two donors (diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer (PTDPP2T) and small molecule ((TDPP)2Ph)) and one acceptor (PC71BM). The solar cell made of a ternary blend with 10 wt % (TDPP)2Ph exhibits higher PCE of 7.49% as compared with the solar cells with binary blends, PTDPP2T:PC71BM (6.58%) and (TDPP)2Ph:PC71BM (3.21%). The higher PCE of the ternary blend solar cell is attributed mainly to complementary absorption of two donors. However, a further increase in (TDPP)2Ph content in the ternary blend (>10 wt %) decreases the PCE. The ternary blend with 10 wt % (TDPP)2Ph exhibits well-developed morphology with narrow-sized fibrils while the blend with 15 wt % (TDPP)2Ph shows phase separation with large-sized domains, demonstrating that the phase morphology and compatibility of ternary blend are important factors to achieve a high-performance solar cell made of ternary blends.

Growth on Octane Alters the Membrane Lipid Fatty Acids of Pseudomonas oleovorans due to the Induction of alkB and Synthesis of Octanol

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Qi; Janssen, Dick B.; Witholt, Bernard

1995-01-01

Growth of Pseudomonas oleovorans GPo1, which contains the OCT plasmid, on octane results in changes in the membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition. These changes were not found for GPo12, an OCT-plasmid-cured variant of GPo1, during growth in the presence or absence of octane, implying the

Novel selective catalytic reduction with tritium: synthesis of the GABA sub A receptor radioligand 1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-4-(2,3- sup 3 H sub 2 )propyl-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo(2. 2. 2 )octane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palmer, C J; Casida, J E [California Univ., Berkeley, CA (United States). Pesticide Chemistry and Toxicology Lab.

1991-07-01

Protection of the terminal alkyne function in 1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-4-(prop-2-enyl)-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo(2.2.2) octane with a trimethylsilyl group permits the selective catalytic reduction of the olefin moiety with tritium gas to give after deprotection 1-(4-ethynylphenyl)-4-(2,3-{sup 3}H{sub 2}) propyl-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo-(2.2.2) octane. The labeled product at high specific activity is an improved radioligand for the GABA-gated chloride channel of insects and mammals and the intermediate 4-(2,3-{sup 3}H{sub 2})propyl-1-(4-((trimethylsilyl)ethynyl)phenyl)-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo(2.2.2)octane is useful for studies on the metabolic activation of this selective proinsecticide. (author).

Economic and environmental benefits of higher-octane gasoline.

Science.gov (United States)

Speth, Raymond L; Chow, Eric W; Malina, Robert; Barrett, Steven R H; Heywood, John B; Green, William H

2014-06-17

We quantify the economic and environmental benefits of designing U.S. light-duty vehicles (LDVs) to attain higher fuel economy by utilizing higher octane (98 RON) gasoline. We use engine simulations, a review of experimental data, and drive cycle simulations to estimate the reduction in fuel consumption associated with using higher-RON gasoline in individual vehicles. Lifecycle CO2 emissions and economic impacts for the U.S. LDV fleet are estimated based on a linear-programming refinery model, a historically calibrated fleet model, and a well-to-wheels emissions analysis. We find that greater use of high-RON gasoline in appropriately tuned vehicles could reduce annual gasoline consumption in the U.S. by 3.0-4.4%. Accounting for the increase in refinery emissions from production of additional high-RON gasoline, net CO2 emissions are reduced by 19-35 Mt/y in 2040 (2.5-4.7% of total direct LDV CO2 emissions). For the strategies studied, the annual direct economic benefit is estimated to be $0.4-6.4 billion in 2040, and the annual net societal benefit including the social cost of carbon is estimated to be $1.7-8.8 billion in 2040. Adoption of a RON standard in the U.S. in place of the current antiknock index (AKI) may enable refineries to produce larger quantities of high-RON gasoline.

Effects of convective motion in n-octane pool fires in an ice cavity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farahani, Harried Farmahini; Jomaas, Grunde; Rangwala, Ali S.

2015-01-01

The effects of convective flows in n-octane pool fires in an ice cavity were investigated and it was found that a new set of parameters to the classical problem of bounded pool fires arises under these unique conditions. To systematically understand these parameters, two sets of experiments were...

Growth on octane alters the membrane lipid fatty acids of Pseudomonas oleovorans due to the induction of alkB and synthesis of octanol.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Q; Janssen, D B; Witholt, B

1995-01-01

Growth of Pseudomonas oleovorans GPo1, which contains the OCT plasmid, on octane results in changes in the membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition. These changes were not found for GPo12, an OCT-plasmid-cured variant of GPo1, during growth in the presence or absence of octane, implying the involvement of OCT-plasmid-encoded functions. When recombinant strain GPo12(pGEc47) carrying the alk genes from the OCT plasmid was grown on octane, the cells showed the same changes in fatty acid composition as those found for GPo1, indicating that such changes result from induction and expression of the alk genes. This finding was corroborated by inducing GPo12(pGEc47) with dicyclopropylketone (DCPK), a gratuitous inducer of the alk genes. Further experiments showed that the increase of the mean acyl chain length of fatty acids is related to the expression of alkB, which encodes a major integral membrane protein, while the formation of trans unsaturated fatty acids mainly results from the effects of 1-octanol, an octane oxidation product. PMID:7592483

Morphology stabilization of heterogeneous blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

A heterogeneous elastomer blend is described, consisting of at least two elastomer components which are cross-linkable by irradiation and having a stabilized morphology formed by subjecting the blend to high energy radiation to a point from below to slightly above the gel dose of the blend. (author)

DETAILED CHEMICAL KINETIC MODELING OF ISO-OCTANE SI-HCCI TRANSITION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Havstad, M A; Aceves, S M; McNenly, M J; Piggott, W T; Edwards, K D; Wagner, R M; Daw, C S; Finney, C A

2009-10-12

The authors describe a CHEMKIN-based multi-zone model that simulates the expected combustion variations in a single-cylinder engine fueled with iso-octane as the engine transitions from spark-ignited (ST) combustion to homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion. The model includes a 63-species reaction mechanism and mass and energy balances for the cylinder and the exhaust flow. For this study they assumed that the SI-to-HCCI transition is implemented by means of increasing the internal exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) at constant engine speed. This transition scneario is consistent with that implemented in previously reported experimental measurements on an experimental engine equipped with variable valve actuation. They find that the model captures many of the important experimental trends, including stable SI combustion at low EGR ({approx} 0.10), a transition to highly unstable combustion at intermediate EGR, and finally stable HCCI combustion at very high EGR ({approx} 0.75). Remaining differences between the predicted and experimental instability patterns indicate that there is further room for model improvement.

High-performance ternary blend polymer solar cells involving both energy transfer and hole relay processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Luyao; Chen, Wei; Xu, Tao; Yu, Luping

2015-06-04

The integration of multiple materials with complementary absorptions into a single junction device is regarded as an efficient way to enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, because of increased complexity with one more component, only limited high-performance ternary systems have been demonstrated previously. Here we report an efficient ternary blend OSC with a PCE of 9.2%. We show that the third component can reduce surface trap densities in the ternary blend. Detailed studies unravel that the improved performance results from synergistic effects of enlarged open circuit voltage, suppressed trap-assisted recombination, enhanced light absorption, increased hole extraction, efficient energy transfer and better morphology. The working mechanism and high device performance demonstrate new insights and design guidelines for high-performance ternary blend solar cells and suggest that ternary structure is a promising platform to boost the efficiency of OSCs.

Interfacial tensions of binary mixtures of ethanol with octane, decane, dodecane, and tetradecane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mejia, Andres; Cartes, Marcela; Segura, Hugo

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Experimental interfacial tensions in binary mixtures with aneotropic behavior. → Experimental interfacial tensions for ethanol + hydrocarbon mixtures. → Aneotropic displacement in ethanol mixtures. - Abstract: This contribution is devoted to the experimental characterization of interfacial tensions of a representative group of binary mixtures pertaining to the (ethanol + linear hydrocarbon) series (i.e. octane, decane, dodecane, and tetradecane). Experimental measurements were isothermically performed using a maximum differential bubble pressure technique, which was applied over the whole mole fraction range and over the temperature range 298.15 K < T/K < 318.15 K. Experimental results show that the interfacial tensions of (ethanol + octane or decane) negatively deviate from the linear behavior and that sharp minimum points on concentration, or aneotropes, are observed for each isotherm. The interfacial tensions of (ethanol + dodecane or tetradecane), in turn, are characterized by combined deviations from the linear behavior, and inflecting behavior observed on concentration for each isotherm. The experimental evidence also shows that these latter mixtures are close to exhibit aneotropy. For the case of (ethanol + octane or decane) mixtures, aneotropy was clearly induced by the similarity of the interfacial tension values of the constituents. The inflecting behavior of the interfacial tensions of (ethanol + dodecane or tetradecane), in turn, was observed in the vicinity of the coordinates of the critical point of these mixtures, thus pointing to the fact that the quasi-aneotropic singularity that affects these mixtures was provoked by the proximity of an immiscibility gap of the liquid phase. Finally, the experimental data of interfacial tensions were smoothed with the Scott-Myers expansion, from which it is possible to conclude that the observed aneotropic concentrations weakly depend on temperature for all the analyzed mixtures.

Studies of PVC/ENR blends: blend compositions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chantara Thevy Ratnam; Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan; Nasir, M.; Baharin, A.

2002-01-01

Blends of poly(vinyl chloride/epoxidized natural rubber (PVC/ENR) were prepared by using Bra bender Plasticorder at compositions ranging from 0-100% PVC. They were blended at 150 degree C mixing temperature, 50 rpm rotor speed and 10 minutes mixing time. The blends were characterized for tensile strength , elongation at break, glass transition temperatures and Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR). Results revealed that as the PVC content increases the blend behaviour changes from elastomeric to glassy. However the blends found to be compatible at all compositions. (Author)

Direct Creation of Highly Conductive Laser-Induced Graphene Nanocomposites from Polymer Blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazdi, Alireza Zehtab; Navas, Ivonne Otero; Abouelmagd, Ahmed; Sundararaj, Uttandaraman

2017-09-01

The current state-of-the-art mixing strategies of nanoparticles with insulating polymeric components have only partially utilized the unique electrical conductivity of graphene in nanocomposite systems. Herein, this paper reports a nonmixing method of direct creation of polymer/graphene nanocomposites from polymer blends via laser irradiation. Polycarbonate-laser-induced graphene (PC-LIG) nanocomposite is produced from a PC/polyetherimide (PC/PEI) blend after exposure to commercially available laser scribing with a power of ≈6 W and a speed of ≈2 cm s -1 . Extremely high electrical conductivities are obtained for the PC-LIG nanocomposites, ranging from 26 to 400 S m -1 , depending on the vol% of the starting PEI phase in the blend. To the authors' knowledge, these conductivity values are at least one order of magnitude higher than the values that are previously reported for conductive polymer/graphene nanocomposites prepared via mixing strategies. The comprehensive microscopy and spectroscopy characterizations reveal a complete graphitization of the PEI phase with columnar microstructure embedded in the PC phase. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Autoignition characteristics of laminar lifted jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Alnoman, Saeed

2015-12-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar non-premixed jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane, one of the primary reference fuels for octane rating, have been studied experimentally in heated coflow air. Non-autoignited and autoignited lifted flames were analyzed. With the coflow air at relatively low initial temperatures below 940 K, an external ignition source was required to stabilize the flame. These lifted flames had tribrachial edge structures and their liftoff heights correlated well with the jet velocity scaled by stoichiometric laminar burning velocity, indicating the importance of the edge propagation speed on flame stabilization. At high initial temperatures over 940 K, the autoignited flames were stabilized without requiring an external ignition source. These autoignited lifted flames exhibited either tribrachial edge structures or mild combustion behaviors depending on the level of fuel dilution. Two distinct transition behaviors were observed in the autoignition regime from a nozzle-attached flame to a lifted tribrachial-edge flame and then to lifted mild combustion as the jet velocity increased at a certain fuel dilution level. The liftoff data of the autoignited flames with tribrachial edges were analyzed based on calculated ignition delay times. Analysis of the experimental data suggested that ignition delay time may be much less sensitive to initial temperature under atmospheric pressure conditions as compared with predictions. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An overview of engine durability and compatibility using biodiesel–bioethanol–diesel blends in compression-ignition engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dharma, S.; Ong, Hwai Chyuan; Masjuki, H.H.; Sebayang, A.H.; Silitonga, A.S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The effects on engine performance and emission depend on biofuel properties. • The engine performance can improve and emission reduces with biofuel as the fuel. • Biofuel can ensure the long term engine durability and materials of diesel engine. • Feasibility of biofuel carried out extended periods in corrosion behaviour. • Biofuel appears to reduce life-cycle cost efficiencies for the alternative fuel. - Abstract: The realization of declining fossil fuel supplies and the adverse impact of fossil fuels on the environment has accelerated research and development activities in renewable energy sources and technologies. Biofuels are renewable fuels made from edible, non-edible or waste oils, as well as animal fats and algae, and these fuels have been proven to be good substitutes for fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Bioethanol and biodiesels have gained worldwide attention in order to address environmental issues associated with fossil fuels, provide energy security, reduce imports and rural employment, as well as improve agricultural economy. Bioethanol has high oxygen content and octane content up to 35% and 108, respectively and hence, it increases oxygenation and improves combustion of fuel. In addition, bioethanol has lower vaporization pressure, which reduces the risks associated with evaporative emissions. In contrast, biodiesel has good lubricity, which helps protect the surface of engine components from wear and friction. The use of biodiesel–bioethanol–petroleum diesel blends poses a greater challenge with regards to improving the compatibility of the materials with the fuel system in compression ignition (CI) and spark ignition (SI) engines. In this work, the technical conditions of an engine (i.e. engine deposits, wear of the engine components and quality of the lubrication oil) are assessed by the application of with biodiesel–bioethanol–petroleum diesel blends. It is deemed important to evaluate the effects of

Comparative Study of Various Preparation Methods of CuO–CeO2 Catalysts for Oxidation of n–Hexane and iso–Octane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashutosh Mishra

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The complete oxidation of n-Hexane and iso-Octane was studied individually in a fixed bed tubular flow reactor over CuO-CeO2 catalysts synthesized via four different methods namely urea-nitrate combustion method, urea gelation/co-precipitation method, citric acid sol-gel method and co-impregnation method. Laser diffraction was employed in catalysts characterization. The results obtained from the complete conversion of n-Hexane and iso-Octane revealed that the CuO-CeO2 catalysts prepared by urea-nitrate combustion method (UNC showed the best performance than the catalysts prepared by other methods used in the present investigation. CuO-CeO2 catalysts prepared by UNC method achieve total n-Hexane and iso-Octane conversion to CO2 at lower temperatures of 280 0C and 340 0C respectively due to the larger surface area of the catalysts which increases the specific rate of reaction. © 2013 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 30th October 2012; Revised: 30th November 2012; Accepted: 3rd December 2012[How to Cite: A. Mishra, B.D. Tripathi, A.K. Rai, R. Prasad (2013. Comparative Study of Various Preparation Methods of CuO–CeO2 Catalysts for Oxidation of n–Hexane and iso–Octane. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7(3: 172-178. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.3.4076.172-178][Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.3.4076.172-178 ] View in  |

Mutual interaction between high and low stereo-regularity components for crystallization and melting behaviors of polypropylene blend fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Kawai, Kouya; Kohri, Youhei; Takarada, Wataru; Takebe, Tomoaki; Kanai, Toshitaka; Kikutani, Takeshi

2016-03-01

Crystallization and melting behaviors of blend fibers of two types of polypropylene (PP), i.e. high stereo-regularity/high molecular weight PP (HPP) and low stereo-regularity/low molecular weight PP (LPP), was investigated. Blend fibers consisting of various HPP/LPP compositions were prepared through the melt spinning process. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis were applied for clarifying the crystallization and melting behaviors of individual components. In the DSC measurement of blend fibers with high LPP composition, continuous endothermic heat was detected between the melting peaks of LPP at around 40 °C and that of HPP at around 160 °C. Such endothermic heat was more distinct for the blend fibers with higher LPP composition indicating that the melting of LPP in the heating process was hindered because of the presence of HPP crystals. On the other hand, heat of crystallization was detected at around 90 °C in the case of blend fibers with LPP content of 30 to 70 wt%, indicating that the crystallization of HPP component was taking place during the heating of as-spun blend fibers in the DSC measurement. Through the TMDSC analysis, re-organization of the crystalline structure through the simultaneous melting and re-crystallization was detected in the cases of HPP and blend fibers, whereas re-crystallization was not detected during the melting of LPP fibers. In the WAXD analysis during the heating of fibers, amount of a-form crystal was almost constant up to the melting in the case of single component HPP fibers, whereas there was a distinct increase of the intensity of crystalline reflections from around 100 °C, right after the melting of LPP in the case of blend fibers. These results suggested that the crystallization of HPP in the spinning process as well as during the conditioning process after spinning was hindered by the presence of LPP.

Mutual interaction between high and low stereo-regularity components for crystallization and melting behaviors of polypropylene blend fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawai, Kouya; Takarada, Wataru; Kikutani, Takeshi; Kohri, Youhei; Takebe, Tomoaki; Kanai, Toshitaka

2016-01-01

Crystallization and melting behaviors of blend fibers of two types of polypropylene (PP), i.e. high stereo-regularity/high molecular weight PP (HPP) and low stereo-regularity/low molecular weight PP (LPP), was investigated. Blend fibers consisting of various HPP/LPP compositions were prepared through the melt spinning process. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis were applied for clarifying the crystallization and melting behaviors of individual components. In the DSC measurement of blend fibers with high LPP composition, continuous endothermic heat was detected between the melting peaks of LPP at around 40 °C and that of HPP at around 160 °C. Such endothermic heat was more distinct for the blend fibers with higher LPP composition indicating that the melting of LPP in the heating process was hindered because of the presence of HPP crystals. On the other hand, heat of crystallization was detected at around 90 °C in the case of blend fibers with LPP content of 30 to 70 wt%, indicating that the crystallization of HPP component was taking place during the heating of as-spun blend fibers in the DSC measurement. Through the TMDSC analysis, re-organization of the crystalline structure through the simultaneous melting and re-crystallization was detected in the cases of HPP and blend fibers, whereas re-crystallization was not detected during the melting of LPP fibers. In the WAXD analysis during the heating of fibers, amount of a-form crystal was almost constant up to the melting in the case of single component HPP fibers, whereas there was a distinct increase of the intensity of crystalline reflections from around 100 °C, right after the melting of LPP in the case of blend fibers. These results suggested that the crystallization of HPP in the spinning process as well as during the conditioning process after spinning was hindered by the presence of LPP.

Mutual interaction between high and low stereo-regularity components for crystallization and melting behaviors of polypropylene blend fibers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawai, Kouya; Takarada, Wataru; Kikutani, Takeshi, E-mail: kikutani.t.aa@m.titech.ac.jp [Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552 (Japan); Kohri, Youhei; Takebe, Tomoaki [Performance Materials Laboratories, Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (Japan); Kanai, Toshitaka [KT Polymer (Japan)

2016-03-09

Crystallization and melting behaviors of blend fibers of two types of polypropylene (PP), i.e. high stereo-regularity/high molecular weight PP (HPP) and low stereo-regularity/low molecular weight PP (LPP), was investigated. Blend fibers consisting of various HPP/LPP compositions were prepared through the melt spinning process. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis were applied for clarifying the crystallization and melting behaviors of individual components. In the DSC measurement of blend fibers with high LPP composition, continuous endothermic heat was detected between the melting peaks of LPP at around 40 °C and that of HPP at around 160 °C. Such endothermic heat was more distinct for the blend fibers with higher LPP composition indicating that the melting of LPP in the heating process was hindered because of the presence of HPP crystals. On the other hand, heat of crystallization was detected at around 90 °C in the case of blend fibers with LPP content of 30 to 70 wt%, indicating that the crystallization of HPP component was taking place during the heating of as-spun blend fibers in the DSC measurement. Through the TMDSC analysis, re-organization of the crystalline structure through the simultaneous melting and re-crystallization was detected in the cases of HPP and blend fibers, whereas re-crystallization was not detected during the melting of LPP fibers. In the WAXD analysis during the heating of fibers, amount of a-form crystal was almost constant up to the melting in the case of single component HPP fibers, whereas there was a distinct increase of the intensity of crystalline reflections from around 100 °C, right after the melting of LPP in the case of blend fibers. These results suggested that the crystallization of HPP in the spinning process as well as during the conditioning process after spinning was hindered by the presence of LPP.

HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM BLEND DOWN PROGRAM AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE PRESENT AND FUTURE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magoulas, V; Charles Goergen, C; Ronald Oprea, R

2008-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) entered into an Interagency Agreement to transfer approximately 40 metric tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to TVA for conversion to fuel for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. Savannah River Site (SRS) inventories included a significant amount of this material, which resulted from processing spent fuel and surplus materials. The HEU is blended with natural uranium (NU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) with a 4.95% 235U isotopic content and shipped as solution to the TVA vendor. The HEU Blend Down Project provided the upgrades needed to achieve the product throughput and purity required and provided loading facilities. The first blending to low enriched uranium (LEU) took place in March 2003 with the initial shipment to the TVA vendor in July 2003. The SRS Shipments have continued on a regular schedule without any major issues for the past 5 years and are due to complete in September 2008. The HEU Blend program is now looking to continue its success by dispositioning an additional approximately 21 MTU of HEU material as part of the SRS Enriched Uranium Disposition Project

Co-combustion characteristics and blending optimization of tobacco stem and high-sulfur bituminous coal based on thermogravimetric and mass spectrometry analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kaihua; Zhang, Kai; Cao, Yan; Pan, Wei-ping

2013-03-01

Despite much research on co-combustion of tobacco stem and high-sulfur coal, their blending optimization has not been effectively found. This study investigated the combustion profiles of tobacco stem, high-sulfur bituminous coal and their blends by thermogravimetric analysis. Ignition and burnout performances, heat release performances, and gaseous pollutant emissions were also studied by thermogravimetric and mass spectrometry analyses. The results indicated that combustion of tobacco stem was more complicated than that of high-sulfur bituminous coal, mainly shown as fixed carbon in it was divided into two portions with one early burning and the other delay burning. Ignition and burnout performances, heat release performances, and gaseous pollutant emissions of the blends present variable trends with the increase of tobacco stem content. Taking into account the above three factors, a blending ratio of 0–20% tobacco stem content is conservatively proposed as optimum amount for blending. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Blended Learning Based on Schoology: Effort of Improvement Learning Outcome and Practicum Chance in Vocational High School

Science.gov (United States)

Irawan, Vincentius Tjandra; Sutadji, Eddy; Widiyanti

2017-01-01

The aims of this study were to determine: (1) the differences in learning outcome between Blended Learning based on Schoology and Problem-Based Learning, (2) the differences in learning outcome between students with prior knowledge of high, medium, and low, and (3) the interaction between Blended Learning based on Schoology and prior knowledge to…

Introducing blended e-learning course design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gyamfi, Samuel Adu; Ryberg, Thomas

2012-01-01

In the face of diminishing education budgets in higher education, blended learning has been found to be a viable and effective approach to deliver high-quality, up-to-date, on-demand solutions to developing cross-curricular skills of undergraduates. However, research has also shown that blended...... learning solutions do not often live up to the potential of the approach or fail to produce the intended results because the students are not always equipped to handle the technical, psychological and organisational challenges of blended learning approaches. This project surveyed seventy-five first year...... the students’ e-readiness for an implementation of a blend-ed course design....

An Analysis of High Impact Scholarship and Publication Trends in Blended Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Halverson, Lisa R.; Graham, Charles R.; Spring, Kristian J.; Drysdale, Jeffery S.

2012-01-01

Blended learning is a diverse and expanding area of design and inquiry that combines face-to-face and online modalities. As blended learning research matures, numerous voices enter the conversation. This study begins the search for the center of this emerging area of study by finding the most cited scholarship on blended learning. Using Harzing's…

Conversion of the Iridoid Glucoside Antirrhinoside into 3-Azabicyclo[3.3.0]-octane Building Blocks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franzyk, Henrik; Frederiksen, Signe Maria; Jensen, Søren Rosendal

2000-01-01

The iridoid glucoside antirrhinoside (1) was transformed into polysubstituted 3-azabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes 3, 12 and 13 in 4-5 steps. Ozonolysis of the diacetonide of 1 and of its 7-deoxy-derivative 8 afforded cyclopentanoids 2 and 10, respectively. Conditions for the selective conversion of 2 and 10...

Evaluation of the ignition behaviour of coals and blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. Faundez; F. Rubiera; X. Garcia; A. Arenillas; A.L. Gordon; J.J. Pis [CSIC, Instituto Nacional del Carbon, Oviedo (Spain). Department of Energy and Environment

2003-07-01

An experimental study about ignition of coals and blends was carried out by using an entrained flow reactor (EFR) with continuous feed. Seven coals of varying rank, from subbituminous to semianthracite, were tested and evolving gases (O{sub 2}, CO, CO{sub 2}, NO) were measured. The ignition temperature was evaluated from the evolution profiles of these gases, and correlated inversely to the reactivity of coals, as reflected by increasing values of ignition temperatures in the sequence subbituminous, high volatile bituminous, low volatile bituminous and semianthracite coals. Mechanism of ignition varied from an heterogeneous mechanism (for subbituminous, low volatile bituminous and semianthracite coals) to an homogeneous mechanism (for high volatile bituminous coal). Experiments with coal blends showed that if a low volatile bituminous coal is blended with a high volatile bituminous coal, the latter determines the value of the ignition temperature and ignition mechanism of the blend, when its percentage in the blend is 50% or higher. For blends of subbituminous and high volatile bituminous coals, the ignition mechanism of the blend is determined by the ignition mechanism of the coal with a higher content in the blend. 12 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.

Isomerization-cracking of n-octane on catalysts based on heteropolyacid H{sub 3}Pw{sub 12}O{sub 40} and heteropolyacid supported on zirconia and promoted with Pt and Cs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manuele, Debora L.; Torres, Gerardo C.; Benitez, Viviana M.; Badano, Juan M.; Yori, Juan C.; Sepulveda, Jorge H., E-mail: jsepulve@fiq.unl.edu.ar [Universidad Nacional de Litoral, Santa Fe (Argentina). Instituto de Investiaciones en Catalisis y Petroquimica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas

2013-10-01

Isomerization-cracking of n-octane was studied using H{sub 3}PW{sub 12}O{sub 40} (HPA) and HPA supported on zirconia and promoted with Pt and Cs. The addition of Pt and Cs to the supported HPA did not modify the Keggin structure. The Pt addition to the supported HPA did not substantially modify the total acidity; however, the Broensted acidity increased significantly. Cs increased the total acidity and Broensted acidity. A linear relation was observed between the n-C{sub 8} total conversion and Broensted acidity. The most adequate catalysts for performing isomerization and cracking to yield high research octane number (RON) are those with higher values of Broensted acidity. (author)

A new simplex chemometric approach to identify olive oil blends with potentially high traceability.

Science.gov (United States)

Semmar, N; Laroussi-Mezghani, S; Grati-Kamoun, N; Hammami, M; Artaud, J

2016-10-01

Olive oil blends (OOBs) are complex matrices combining different cultivars at variable proportions. Although qualitative determinations of OOBs have been subjected to several chemometric works, quantitative evaluations of their contents remain poorly developed because of traceability difficulties concerning co-occurring cultivars. Around this question, we recently published an original simplex approach helping to develop predictive models of the proportions of co-occurring cultivars from chemical profiles of resulting blends (Semmar & Artaud, 2015). Beyond predictive model construction and validation, this paper presents an extension based on prediction errors' analysis to statistically define the blends with the highest predictability among all the possible ones that can be made by mixing cultivars at different proportions. This provides an interesting way to identify a priori labeled commercial products with potentially high traceability taking into account the natural chemical variability of different constitutive cultivars. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EVA reactive blending with Si–H terminated polysiloxane by carbonyl hydrosilylation reaction: From compatibilised blends to crosslinking networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonnet, J.; Bounor-Legaré, V.; Alcouffe, P.; Cassagnau, P.

2012-01-01

A new and original method based on carbonyl hydrosilylation was developed to prepare ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/polysiloxane polymer blends. This focused on the addition of hydrogenosilane groups (SiH) from polysiloxane to the carbonyl groups of EVA. The influence of the nature of the polysiloxane on blend properties was investigated by rheology and scanning electron microscopy. Mixing of a low viscosity polysiloxane with a high viscosity EVA matrix produced a two-phase morphology. The occurrence of the hydrosilylation reaction at the EVA/polysiloxane interface promoted a homogenisation of the blend depending on the molar ratio SiH/vinyl acetate groups, [SiH]/[VA], and the viscosity ratio of the blend. Two distinct behaviours were observed. The formation of a crosslinked network under shear was obtained for a low viscosity ratio between polysiloxane and EVA (λ polysiloxane/EVA = 4.0 × 10 −6 ) with a high concentration of SiH groups ([SiH]/[VA] = 0.5), while the formation of a compatibilised blend was observed for high molar mass polysiloxanes (Mn > 15,000 g mol −1 ) with a low concentration of SiH ([SiH]/[VA] −3 ). -- Highlights: ► Carbonyl hydrosilylation reaction was found to enhance EVA/polysiloxane immiscible blends. ► EVA crosslinking was obtained with a low molar mass polysiloxane. ► EVA compatibilisation was obtained with a high molar mass polysiloxane. ► Shear rate was found to improve the hydrosilylation reaction at the interface. ► A two-phase morphology of the blends was observed after reaction with fine polysiloxane nodules.

Ignition characteristics of coal blends in an entrained flow furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. Faundez; B. Arias; F. Rubiera; A. Arenillas; X. Garcia; A.L. Gordon; J.J. Pis [Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion (Chile)

2007-09-15

Ignition tests were carried out on blends of three coals of different rank - subbituminous, high volatile and low volatile bituminous - in two entrained flow reactors. The ignition temperatures were determined from the gas evolution profiles (CO, CO{sub 2}, NO, O{sub 2}), while the mechanism of ignition was elucidated from these profiles and corroborated by high-speed video recording. Under the experimental conditions of high carbon loading, clear interactive effects were observed for all the blends. Ignition of the lower rank coals (subbituminous, high volatile bituminous) enhanced the ignition of the higher rank coal (low volatile bituminous) in the blends. The ignition temperatures of the blends of the low rank coals (subbituminous-high volatile bituminous) were additive. However, for the rest of the blends the ignition temperatures were always closer to the lower rank coal in the blend. 21 refs., 8 figs.

An integrated video- and weight-monitoring system for the surveillance of highly enriched uranium blend down operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenarduzzi, R.; Castleberry, K.; Whitaker, M.; Martinez, R.

1998-01-01

An integrated video-surveillance and weight-monitoring system has been designed and constructed for tracking the blending down of weapons-grade uranium by the US Department of Energy. The instrumentation is being used by the International Atomic Energy Agency in its task of tracking and verifying the blended material at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Portsmouth, Ohio. The weight instrumentation developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory monitors and records the weight of cylinders of the highly enriched uranium as their contents are fed into the blending facility while the video equipment provided by Sandia National Laboratory records periodic and event triggered images of the blending area. A secure data network between the scales, cameras, and computers insures data integrity and eliminates the possibility of tampering. The details of the weight monitoring instrumentation, video- and weight-system interaction, and the secure data network is discussed

Reforming petroleum-based fuels for fuel cell vehicles : composition-performance relationships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopasz, J. P.; Miller, L. E.; Ahmed, S.; Devlin, P. R.; Pacheco, M.

2001-01-01

Onboard reforming of petroleum-based fuels, such as gasoline, may help ease the introduction of fuel cell vehicles to the marketplace. Although gasoline can be reformed, it is optimized to meet the demands of ICEs. This optimization includes blending to increase the octane number and addition of oxygenates and detergents to control emissions. The requirements for a fuel for onboard reforming to hydrogen are quite different than those for combustion. Factors such as octane number and flame speed are not important; however, factors such as hydrogen density, catalyst-fuel interactions, and possible catalyst poisoning become paramount. In order to identify what factors are important in a hydrocarbon fuel for reforming to hydrogen and what factors are detrimental, we have begun a program to test various components of gasoline and blends of components under autothermal reforming conditions. The results indicate that fuel composition can have a large effect on reforming behavior. Components which may be beneficial for ICEs for their octane enhancing value were detrimental to reforming. Fuels with high aromatic and naphthenic content were more difficult to reform. Aromatics were also found to have an impact on the kinetics for reforming of paraffins. The effects of sulfur impurities were dependent on the catalyst. Sulfur was detrimental for Ni, Co, and Ru catalysts. Sulfur was beneficial for reforming with Pt catalysts, however, the effect was dependent on the sulfur concentration

An experimental investigation into combustion and performance characteristics of an HCCI gasoline engine fueled with n-heptane, isopropanol and n-butanol fuel blends at different inlet air temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uyumaz, Ahmet

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Combustion was retarded with the increase of the amount of isopropanol and n-butanol in the test fuels. • Combustion was advanced with the increase of air inlet temperature on HCCI combustion. • Isopropanol seems more suitable fuel due to controlling the HCCI combustion and preventing knocking. • Almost zero NO emissions were measured when alcohol used except for n-heptane and B20 test fuels. - Abstract: An experimental study was conducted in a single cylinder, four stroke port injection Ricardo Hydra test engine in order to determine the effects of pure n-heptane, the blends of n-heptane and n-butanol fuels B20, B30, B40 (including 20%, 30%, 40% n-butanol and 80%, 70%, 60% n-heptane by vol. respectively) and the blends of n-heptane and isopropanol fuels P20, P30, P40 (including 20%, 30%, 40% isopropanol and 80%, 70%, 60% n-heptane by vol. respectively) on HCCI combustion. Combustion and performance characteristics of n-heptane, n-butanol and isopropanol were investigated at constant engine speed of 1500 rpm and λ = 2 in a HCCI engine. The effects of inlet air temperature were also examined on HCCI combustion. The test results showed that the start of combustion was advanced with the increasing of inlet air temperature for all test fuels. Start of combustion delayed with increasing percentage of n-butanol and isopropanol in the test fuels. Knocking combustion was seen with B20 and n-heptane test fuels. Minimum combustion duration was observed in case of using B40. Almost zero NO emissions were measured with test fuels apart from n-heptane and B20. The test results also showed that CO and HC emissions decreased with the increase of inlet air temperature for all test fuels. Isopropanol showed stronger resistance for knocking compared to n-butanol in HCCI combustion due to its higher octane number. It was determined that n-butanol was more advantageous according to isopropanol as thermal efficiency. As a result it was found that the HCCI

Biodegradability Study of the Blend Film of High Density Polyethylene and Poly(lactic acid Disposable Packages Flake

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elahe Baghi Neirizi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available One of the major concerns of using a non-biodegradable polymer product is its disposal at the end of its life cycle. Development of biodegradable plastics promises an alternative solution to combat this problem. Blending of poly(lactic acid with non-biodegradable polymers is a practical and economical method for modifying the biodegradability properties of non-biodegradable polymers. In this study, soil biodegradability of the blends of high density polyethylene (HDPE and variable amounts of recycled poly(lactic acid (r-PLA plastic flakes at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt% was studied. The behavior of the force-elongation profile of the blends having r-PLA content of lower than 30 wt% was approximately the same as that of pure HDPE while, it was completely different for the other blends. Tearing force and elongation-at-yield-point of the blends films with the 20 to 50 wt% r-PLA were decreased significantly after 60 days of soil biodegradability test. Morphological study showed that biodegradability of the blend films at surface of the samples (deep pores and grooves was increased with extended biodegradability time and higher r-PLA content, while, this variation was significant for the blend films of more than 20 wt% r-PLA content. Thermal properties evaluation by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC curves indicated that the glass transition temperature and enthalpy peaks during the heating stage were eliminated with increasing the biodegradability testing time. Also, reduction in the crystallinity degree of the r-PLA component with increasing the biodegradability testing time coincided with the earlier results.

Mechanical properties of irradiated rubber-blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nasr, G.M.; Madani, M.

2005-01-01

A study has been made on blend ratios of natural rubber (NR) and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) that are loaded with general purpose furnace (GPE) carbon black and irradiated at different gamma radiation doses. It was fount that the mechanical properties of such blend are highly affected by γ- irradiation dose and the composition ratios of its constituents. The elongation at break for blends was found to increase slightly with increasing NBR loafing which is mainly due to the stiffness of blending matrix formation between NR and GPF carbon black particles. The hysteresis loss, extension ratio and shape factor have been calculated for the different un-irradiated and irradiated samples

HEU to LEU conversion and blending facility: Metal blending alternative to produce LEU oxide for disposal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-01

US DOE is examining options for disposing of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. The nuclear material is converted to a form more proliferation- resistant than the original form. Blending HEU (highly enriched uranium) with less-enriched uranium to form LEU has been proposed as a disposition option. Five technologies are being assessed for blending HEU. This document provides data to be used in environmental impact analysis for the HEU-LEU disposition option that uses metal blending with an oxide waste product. It is divided into: mission and assumptions, conversion and blending facility descriptions, process descriptions and requirements, resource needs, employment needs, waste and emissions from plant, hazards discussion, and intersite transportation.

HEU to LEU conversion and blending facility: Metal blending alternative to produce LEU oxide for disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

US DOE is examining options for disposing of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. The nuclear material is converted to a form more proliferation- resistant than the original form. Blending HEU (highly enriched uranium) with less-enriched uranium to form LEU has been proposed as a disposition option. Five technologies are being assessed for blending HEU. This document provides data to be used in environmental impact analysis for the HEU-LEU disposition option that uses metal blending with an oxide waste product. It is divided into: mission and assumptions, conversion and blending facility descriptions, process descriptions and requirements, resource needs, employment needs, waste and emissions from plant, hazards discussion, and intersite transportation

Highly toughened polypropylene/ethylene–propylene-diene monomer/zinc dimethacrylate ternary blends prepared via peroxide-induced dynamic vulcanization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Yukun, E-mail: cyk@scut.edu.cn [The Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering, Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (China); School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Xu, Chuanhui [College of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Cao, Liming [The Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering, Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (China); School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Cao, Xiaodong [College of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640 (China)

2013-02-15

Polypropylene (PP)/ethylene–propylene-diene monomer (EPDM)/zinc dimethacrylate (ZDMA) blends with remarkable toughness and extensibility were successfully prepared via peroxide dynamical vulcanization. A unique structure with the EPDM particles surrounded by a transition zone containing numerous polymerized ZDMA (PZDMA) nano-particles was observed for the first time by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination, which contributed to the dramatically increase of Izod impact strength. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) confirmed that the possible PZDMA graft products resulted from peroxide dynamical vulcanization improved the compatibility between EPDM and PP phases. The specific morphology of the PP/EPDM/ZDMA blends indicated that ZDMA can lead to size reduction and good distribution uniformity of the crosslinked rubber particles and the increase of adhesion between PP matrix and EPDM phases during deformation. The synergic effect of the increase in the effective volume of the EPDM phase, the improved compatibility and adhesion between EPDM and PP phases and the deformation of those fine rubber particles is believed to result in the remarkable high toughness and extensibility of the PP/EPDM/ZDMA blends. Particularly for the PP/EPDM ratio of 70/30, the PP/EPDM/ZDMA (70/30/9, w/w/w) ternary blends with the Izod impact strength nearly 2 times higher than PP/EPDM (70/30, w/w) binary blends and 15–20 times higher than PP are achieved; besides, the elongation at break of PP/EPDM/ZDMA ternary blends is 4–5 times higher than that of PP/EPDM binary blends. - Highlights: ► ZDMA largely toughen peroxide dynamically vulcanized PP/EPDM blend. ► PZDMA graft products improved the compatibility and adhesion between EPDM and PP. ► Size reduction and good distribution uniformity of crosslinked rubber particles.

Highly toughened polypropylene/ethylene–propylene-diene monomer/zinc dimethacrylate ternary blends prepared via peroxide-induced dynamic vulcanization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yukun; Xu, Chuanhui; Cao, Liming; Cao, Xiaodong

2013-01-01

Polypropylene (PP)/ethylene–propylene-diene monomer (EPDM)/zinc dimethacrylate (ZDMA) blends with remarkable toughness and extensibility were successfully prepared via peroxide dynamical vulcanization. A unique structure with the EPDM particles surrounded by a transition zone containing numerous polymerized ZDMA (PZDMA) nano-particles was observed for the first time by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination, which contributed to the dramatically increase of Izod impact strength. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) confirmed that the possible PZDMA graft products resulted from peroxide dynamical vulcanization improved the compatibility between EPDM and PP phases. The specific morphology of the PP/EPDM/ZDMA blends indicated that ZDMA can lead to size reduction and good distribution uniformity of the crosslinked rubber particles and the increase of adhesion between PP matrix and EPDM phases during deformation. The synergic effect of the increase in the effective volume of the EPDM phase, the improved compatibility and adhesion between EPDM and PP phases and the deformation of those fine rubber particles is believed to result in the remarkable high toughness and extensibility of the PP/EPDM/ZDMA blends. Particularly for the PP/EPDM ratio of 70/30, the PP/EPDM/ZDMA (70/30/9, w/w/w) ternary blends with the Izod impact strength nearly 2 times higher than PP/EPDM (70/30, w/w) binary blends and 15–20 times higher than PP are achieved; besides, the elongation at break of PP/EPDM/ZDMA ternary blends is 4–5 times higher than that of PP/EPDM binary blends. - Highlights: ► ZDMA largely toughen peroxide dynamically vulcanized PP/EPDM blend. ► PZDMA graft products improved the compatibility and adhesion between EPDM and PP. ► Size reduction and good distribution uniformity of crosslinked rubber particles

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of structural transformation in zinc blende GaN under high pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, H.Y.; Gao, Fei; Zu, X.T.; Weber, W.J.

2010-01-01

High-pressure induced zinc blende to rocksalt phase transition in GaN has been investigated by ab initio molecular dynamics method to characterize the transformation mechanism at the atomic level. It was shown that at 100 GPa GaN passes through tetragonal and monoclinic states before rocksalt structure is formed. The transformation mechanism is consistent with that for other zinc blende semiconductors obtained from the same method. Detailed structural analysis showed that there is no bond breaking involved in the phase transition.

Strategies for cell manipulation and skeletal tissue engineering using high-throughput polymer blend formulation and microarray techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Ferdous; Tare, Rahul S; Kanczler, Janos M; Oreffo, Richard O C; Bradley, Mark

2010-03-01

A combination of high-throughput material formulation and microarray techniques were synergistically applied for the efficient analysis of the biological functionality of 135 binary polymer blends. This allowed the identification of cell-compatible biopolymers permissive for human skeletal stem cell growth in both in vitro and in vivo applications. The blended polymeric materials were developed from commercially available, inexpensive and well characterised biodegradable polymers, which on their own lacked both the structural requirements of a scaffold material and, critically, the ability to facilitate cell growth. Blends identified here proved excellent templates for cell attachment, and in addition, a number of blends displayed remarkable bone-like architecture and facilitated bone regeneration by providing 3D biomimetic scaffolds for skeletal cell growth and osteogenic differentiation. This study demonstrates a unique strategy to generate and identify innovative materials with widespread application in cell biology as well as offering a new reparative platform strategy applicable to skeletal tissues. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conversion and Blending Facility highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium as metal. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-07-05

The mission of this Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) will be to blend surplus HEU metal and alloy with depleted uranium metal to produce an LEU product. The primary emphasis of this blending operation will be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. The blended LEU will be produced as a waste suitable for storage or disposal.

Conversion and Blending Facility highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium as metal. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The mission of this Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) will be to blend surplus HEU metal and alloy with depleted uranium metal to produce an LEU product. The primary emphasis of this blending operation will be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. The blended LEU will be produced as a waste suitable for storage or disposal

Cyanoresin, cyanoresin/cellulose triacetate blends for thin film, dielectric capacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Shiao-Ping S. (Inventor); Lewis, Carol R. (Inventor); Cygan, Peter J. (Inventor); Jow, T. Richard (Inventor)

1996-01-01

Non brittle dielectric films are formed by blending a cyanoresin such as cyanoethyl, hydroxyethyl cellulose (CRE) with a compatible, more crystalline resin such as cellulose triacetate. The electrical breakdown strength of the blend is increased by orienting the films by uniaxial or biaxial stretching. Blends of high molecular weight CRE with high molecular weight cyanoethyl cellulose (CRC) provide films with high dielectric constants.

Isolation and biological activities of decanal, linalool, valencene, and octanal from sweet orange oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Kehai; Chen, Qiulin; Liu, Yanjun; Zhou, Xiaoyan; Wang, Xichang

2012-11-01

Product 1 (82.25% valencene), product 2 (73.36% decanal), product 3 (78.12% octanal), and product 4 (90.61% linalool) were isolated from sweet orange oil by combined usage of molecular distillation and column chromatography. The antioxidant activity of sweet orange oil and these products was investigated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and reducing power assays. In this test, product 1 (82.25% valencene), product 2 (73.36% decanal), and product 4 (90.61% linalool) had antioxidant activity, but lower than sweet orange oil. The antimicrobial activity was investigated in order to evaluate their efficacy against 5 microorganisms. The results showed that sweet orange oil, product 2 (73.36% decanal), product 3 (78.12% octanal), and product 4 (90.61% linalool) had inhibitory and bactericidal effect on the test microorganisms (except Penicillium citrinum). Valencene did not show any inhibitory effect. Saccharomyces cerivisiae was more susceptible, especially to the crude sweet orange oil (minimal inhibitory concentration 6.25 μL/mL). The cytotoxicity was evaluated on Hela cells using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. All test samples showed significant cytotoxicity on the cell lines with IC(50) values much less than 20 μg/mL. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

Conversion and Blending Facility highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium as oxide. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-07-05

This Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) will have two missions: (1) convert HEU materials into pure HEU oxide and (2) blend the pure HEU oxide with depleted and natural uranium oxide to produce an LWR grade LEU product. The primary emphasis of this blending operation will be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. To the extent practical, the chemical and isotopic concentrations of blended LEU product will be held within the specifications required for LWR fuel. Such blended LEU product will be offered to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to be sold as feed material to the commercial nuclear industry. Otherwise, blended LEU will be produced as a waste suitable for storage or disposal.

Blended learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dau, Susanne

2016-01-01

Blended Learning has been implemented, evaluated and researched for the last decades within different educational areas and levels. Blended learning has been coupled with different epistemological understandings and learning theories, but the fundamental character and dimensions of learning...... in blended learning are still insufficient. Moreover, blended learning is a misleading concept described as learning, despite the fact that it fundamentally is an instructional and didactic approach (Oliver & Trigwell, 2005) addressing the learning environment (Inglis, Palipoana, Trenhom & Ward, 2011......) instead of the learning processes behind. Much of the existing research within the field seems to miss this perspective. The consequence is a lack of acknowledgement of the driven forces behind the context and the instructional design limiting the knowledge foundation of learning in blended learning. Thus...

The use of synthetic blended fibers to reduce cracking risk in high performance concrete.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

The aim of this project was to investigate a relatively new technique to control early-age cracking; the : use of blended size polypropylene fibers in high performance concrete mixtures. The key findings : from this work were that the use of drying s...

Viscoelastic properties of PLA/PCL blends compatibilized with different methods

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Boo Young; Han, Do Hung

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to observe changes in the viscoelastic properties of PLA/PCL (80/20) blends produced using different compatibilization methods. Reactive extrusion and high-energy radiation methods were used for blend compatibilization. Storage and loss moduli, complex viscosity, transient stress relaxation modulus, and tan δ of blends were analyzed and blend morphologies were examined. All compatibilized PLA/PCL blends had smaller dispersed particle sizes than the non-compatibilized blend, and well compatibilized blends had finer morphologies than poorly compatibilized blends. Viscoelastic properties differentiated well compatibilized and poorly compatibilized blends. Well compatibilized blends had higher storage and loss moduli and complex viscosities than those calculated by the log-additive mixing rule due to strong interfacial adhesion, whereas poorly compatibilized blends showed negative deviations due to weak interfacial adhesion. Moreover, well compatibilized blends had much slower stress relaxation than poorly compatibilized blends and didn't show tan δ plateau region caused by slippage at the interface between continuous and dispersed phases.

Supporting School Leaders in Blended Learning with Blended Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Acree, Lauren; Gibson, Theresa; Mangum, Nancy; Wolf, Mary Ann; Kellogg, Shaun; Branon, Suzanne

2017-01-01

This study provides a mixed-methods case-study design evaluation of the Leadership in Blended Learning (LBL) program. The LBL program uses blended approaches, including face-to-face and online, to prepare school leaders to implement blended learning initiatives in their schools. This evaluation found that the program designers effectively…

Study of PP/Polybutene Blends Modified by Gamma Irradiation and HMS-PP/Polybutene Blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lugao, A. B.

2006-01-01

The polypropylene (PP) has been applied to a wide range of production due to its various excellent properties such as cheapness, high stiffness, chemical resistance, no environmental pollution when incinerated, low specific density and good mechanical properties. However, PP is a linear polymer which exhibits low melt strength. One of the effective approaches to achieve high melt strength (HMS) is to add chain branches onto backbone polymers. High melt strength polypropylene (HMS-PP) has been recently developed and introduced in the market by the major international polypropylene producers. As a consequence different methods have been applied to modify polypropylenes by chain branches. The technology obtained by IPEN together with EMBRARAD and BRASKEM comprises chain branches added onto backbone species using gamma radiation, which is generated from a Co 6 0 source. Such radiation is very convenient in order to improve polymer materials by grafting, crosslinking and degradation. Another important approach to the development of polymer materials is based on the combination of different polymers into a new product having some of the desired properties of each component. In this work, gamma irradiation technique was used to induce chemical changes in commercial polypropylene (HMS-PP) that was after blended with polybutene and in polypropylene/polybutene blends. The samples were irradiated with a 60 C o source at doses of 12,5 and 20kGy in the presence of acetylene. It was investigated how the two different routes of blends processing can modify their properties. Indeed the results from melt flow, gel fraction and rheology reveal the influence of the process route in the blends properties. Effects on the elongation at break and break strength were observed by the results of mechanical tests. The results from rheology demonstrated an increase in melt strength and drawability of the blends

Blended Learning

OpenAIRE

Bauerová, Andrea

2013-01-01

This thesis is focused on a new approach of education called blended learning. The history and developement of Blended Learning is described in the first part. Then the methods and tools of Blended Learning are evaluated and compared to the traditional methods of education. At the final part an efficient developement of the educational programs is emphasized.

Characterization of the lubricity of bio-oil/diesel fuel blends by high frequency reciprocating test rig

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Yufu; Wang, Qiongjie; Hu, Xianguo; Li, Chuan; Zhu, Xifeng

2010-01-01

The diesel fuel was mixed with the rice husk bio-oil using some emulsifiers based on the theory of Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance (HLB). The lubricity of the bio-oil/diesel fuel blend was studied on a High Frequency Reciprocating Test Rig (HFRR) according to ASTM D 6079-2004. The microscopic topography and chemical composition on the worn surface were analyzed respectively using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The profile and surface roughness of the rubbed trace were measured using a profilometer. The chemical group and composition were studied by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The results showed that the lubrication ability of the present fuel blend was better than that of the Chinese conventional diesel fuel (number zero). However, the anti-corrosion and anti-wear properties of the fuel blend were not satisfactory in comparison with those of conventional diesel fuel.

High molecular weight poly(L-lactide) and poly(ethylene oxide) blends : Thermal characterization and physical properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijenhuis, AJ; Colstee, E; Grijpma, DW; Pennings, AJ

1996-01-01

The miscibility of high molecular weight poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) with high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) (PEG) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Ail blends containing up to 50 weight% PEO showed single glass transition temperatures. The PLLA and PEO melting temperatures were

The mutagenic potential of high flash aromatic naphtha.

Science.gov (United States)

Schreiner, C A; Edwards, D A; McKee, R H; Swanson, M; Wong, Z A; Schmitt, S; Beatty, P

1989-06-01

Catalytic reforming is a refining process that converts naphthenes to aromatics by dehydrogenation to make higher octane gasoline blending components. A portion of this wide boiling range hydrocarbon stream can be separated by distillation and used for other purposes. One such application is a mixture of predominantly 9-carbon aromatic molecules (C9 aromatics, primarily isomers of ethyltoluene and trimethylbenzene), which is removed and used as a solvent--high-flash aromatic naphtha. A program was initiated to assess the toxicological properties of high-flash aromatic naphtha since there may be human exposure through inhalation or external body contact. The current study was conducted partly to assess the potential for mutagenic activity and also to assist in an assessment of carcinogenic potential. The specific tests utilized included the Salmonella/mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay, the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) forward mutation assay in CHO cells, in vitro chromosome aberration and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assays in CHO cells, and an in vivo chromosome aberration assay in rat bone marrow.

Exploring Teachers' Blended Learning Experiences in a Rural Alabama High School

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Aslean Madison

2017-01-01

The use of blended learning is fast becoming a practice used in public schools to address 21st century learning challenges. However, despite the growing use of instructional delivery models that blend online learning platforms with traditional instruction in brick and mortar classrooms, little is known about teachers' experiences with the…

Autoignition characteristics of oxygenated gasolines

KAUST Repository

Lee, Changyoul

2017-08-14

Gasoline anti-knock quality, defined by the research and motor octane numbers (RON and MON), is important for increasing spark ignition (SI) engine efficiency. Gasoline knock resistance can be increased using a number of blending components. For over two decades, ethanol has become a popular anti-knock blending agent with gasoline fuels due to its production from bio-derived resources. This work explores the oxidation behavior of two oxygenated certification gasoline fuels and the variation of fuel reactivity with molecular composition. Ignition delay times of Haltermann (RON = 91) and Coryton (RON = 97.5) gasolines have been measured in a high-pressure shock tube and in a rapid compression machine at three pressures of 10, 20 and 40 bar, at equivalence ratios of φ = 0.45, 0.9 and 1.8, and in the temperature range of 650–1250 K. The results indicate that the effects of fuel octane number and fuel composition on ignition characteristics are strongest in the intermediate temperature (negative temperature coefficient) region. To simulate the reactivity of these gasolines, three kinds of surrogates, consisting of three, four and eight components, are proposed and compared with the gasoline ignition delay times. It is shown that more complex surrogate mixtures are needed to emulate the reactivity of gasoline with higher octane sensitivity (S = RON–MON). Detailed kinetic analyses are performed to illustrate the dependence of gasoline ignition delay times on fuel composition and, in particular, on ethanol content.

HEU to LEU conversion and blending facility: UNH blending alternative to produce LEU oxide for disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is examining options for the disposition of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. Disposition is a process of use or disposal of material that results in the material being converted to a form that is substantially and inherently more proliferation-resistant than is the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. This report provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the uranyl nitrate hexahydrate blending option to produce oxide for disposal. This the Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) alternative will have two missions (1) convert HEU materials into HEU uranyl nitrate (UNH) and (2) blend the HEU uranyl nitrate with depleted and natural assay uranyl nitrate to produce an oxide that can be stored until an acceptable disposal approach is available. The primary emphasis of this blending operation will be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. The blended LEU will be produced as a waste suitable for storage or disposal

HEU to LEU conversion and blending facility: UNH blending alternative to produce LEU oxide for disposal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is examining options for the disposition of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. Disposition is a process of use or disposal of material that results in the material being converted to a form that is substantially and inherently more proliferation-resistant than is the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. This report provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the uranyl nitrate hexahydrate blending option to produce oxide for disposal. This the Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) alternative will have two missions (1) convert HEU materials into HEU uranyl nitrate (UNH) and (2) blend the HEU uranyl nitrate with depleted and natural assay uranyl nitrate to produce an oxide that can be stored until an acceptable disposal approach is available. The primary emphasis of this blending operation will be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. The blended LEU will be produced as a waste suitable for storage or disposal.

Use of Savannah River Site facilities for blend down of highly enriched uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bickford, W.E.; McKibben, J.M.

1994-02-01

Westinghouse Savannah River Company was asked to assess the use of existing Savannah River Site (SRS) facilities for the conversion of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU). The purpose was to eliminate the weapons potential for such material. Blending HEU with existing supplies of depleted uranium (DU) would produce material with less than 5% U-235 content for use in commercial nuclear reactors. The request indicated that as much as 500 to 1,000 MT of HEU would be available for conversion over a 20-year period. Existing facilities at the SRS are capable of producing LEU in the form of uranium trioxide (UO 3 ) powder, uranyl nitrate [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ] solution, or metal. Additional processing, and additional facilities, would be required to convert the LEU to uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) or uranium hexafluoride (UF 3 ), the normal inputs for commercial fuel fabrication. This study's scope does not include the cost for new conversion facilities. However, the low estimated cost per kilogram of blending HEU to LEU in SRS facilities indicates that even with fees for any additional conversion to UO 2 or UF 6 , blend-down would still provide a product significantly below the spot market price for LEU from traditional enrichment services. The body of the report develops a number of possible facility/process combinations for SRS. The primary conclusion of this study is that SRS has facilities available that are capable of satisfying the goals of a national program to blend HEU to below 5% U-235. This preliminary assessment concludes that several facility/process options appear cost-effective. Finally, SRS is a secure DOE site with all requisite security and safeguard programs, personnel skills, nuclear criticality safety controls, accountability programs, and supporting infrastructure to handle large quantities of special nuclear materials (SNM)

Relations between blended learning possibilities and teachers' approaches to blended learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stenalt, Maria Hvid; Nielsen, Tobias Alsted; Bager-Elsborg, Anna

Higher Education has embraced blended learning as a way of enhancing quality in teaching and helping students to learn. This presentation addresses relations between blended learning possiblities presented to teachers in a teacher training project and teachers’ approaches to blended learning. We...... suggest that in order to identify the level of impact of integrating technologies in teaching and learning, we need to understand the factors influencing approaches to design of courses for blended contexts. Participants in the teacher training project come from the Department of Law at Aarhus University......: • Optain locally-embedded knowledge about blended learning • Develop opportunities for law students to receive (more) feedback • Comply with strategic aims The results so far suggest that teachers provide a disciplinary perspective on the key dimensions of blended learning, which influences...

Orientation and properties of the blends on high-molecular mass polyacrylonitrile with trihydroxyethylenedimethacrylate under electron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lomonosova, N.V.

1998-01-01

Molecular orientation of the drawn blends of high- molecular-mass poly(acrylonitrile) containing 5-50 wt % of trihydroxyethylenedimethacrylate and a change in the orientation of the drawn samples upon irradiation with accelerated electrons was studied by methods of birefringence, isometric heating, and IR dichroism. The degree of orientation of the unirradiated blends containing certain amounts of oligomer exceed that of the individual polymer. In the region of large drawing ratios, the differential degree of orientation of the polymer matrix is not affected by the irradiation, while the orientation of the oligomer component increase. High values of the strength (600-730 MPa) and the modulus (18-22 GPa) of the compositions are due to the presence of a crystalline skeleton formed by unfolded chains of the polymer matrix stabilized by the electron irradiation induced cross-linking

Extrudability and Consolidation of Blends between CGM and DDGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. J. R. Verbeek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available During the last decade, the global biofuels industry has experienced exponential growth. By-products such as high protein corn gluten meal (CGM and high fibre distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS have grown in parallel. CGM has been shown to be suitable as a biopolymer; the high fibre content of DDGS reduces its effectiveness, although it is considerably cheaper. In this study, the processing behaviour of CGM and DDGS blends was evaluated and resulting extrudate properties were determined. Prior to processing, urea was used as a denaturant. DDGS : CGM ratios of 0, 33, 50, 66, and 100% were processed in a single screw extruder, which solely used dissipative heating. Blends containing DDGS were less uniformly consolidated and resulted in more dissipative heating. Blends showed multiple glass transitions, which is characteristic of mechanically compatible blends. Transmission electron microscopy revealed phase separation on a microscale, although distinct CGM or DDGS phases could not be identified. On a macroscale, optical microscopy suggested that CGM-rich blends were better consolidated, supported by visual observations of a more continuous extrudate formed during extrusion. Future work should aim to also characterize the mechanical properties of these blends to assess their suitability as either bioplastic feedstock or pelletized livestock feed.

The Effect of Using Ethanol-Gasoline Blends on the Mechanical, Energy and Environmental Performance of In-Use Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan E. Tibaquirá

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The use of ethanol in gasoline has become a worldwide tendency as an alternative to reduce net CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, increasing gasoline octane rating and reducing dependence on petroleum products. However, recently environmental authorities in large urban centers have expressed their concerns on the true effect of using ethanol blends of up to 20% v/v in in-use vehicles without any modification in the setup of the engine control unit (ECU, and on the variations of these effects along the years of operation of these vehicles. Their main concern is the potential increase in the emissions of volatile organic compounds with high ozone formation potential. To address these concerns, we developed analytical and experimental work testing engines under steady-conditions. We also tested carbureted and fuel-injected vehicles every 10,000 km during their first 100,000 km of operation. We measured the effect of using ethanol-gasoline blends on the power and torque generated, the fuel consumption and CO2, CO, NOx and unburned hydrocarbon emissions, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs such as acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, benzene and 1,3-butadiene which are considered important ozone precursors. The obtained results showed statistically no significant differences in these variables when vehicles operate with a blend of 20% v/v ethanol and 80% v/v gasoline (E20 instead of gasoline. Those results remained unchanged during the first 100,000 km of operation of the vehicles. We also observed that when the vehicles operated with E20 at high engine loads, they showed a tendency to operate with greater values of λ (ratio of the actual air-fuel ratio to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio when compared to their operation with gasoline. According to the Eco-Indicator-99, these results represent a minor reduction (<1.3% on the impact to human health, and on the deterioration of the ecosystem. However, it implies a 12.9% deterioration of the natural

Blended working: for whom it may (not work.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nico W Van Yperen

Full Text Available Similarly to related developments such as blended learning and blended care, blended working is a pervasive and booming trend in modern societies. Blended working combines on-site and off-site working in an optimal way to improve workers' and organizations' outcomes. In this paper, we examine the degree to which workers feel that the two defining features of blended working (i.e., time-independent working and location-independent working enhance their own functioning in their jobs. Blended working, enabled through the continuing advance and improvement of high-tech ICT software, devices, and infrastructure, may be considered beneficial for workers' perceived effectiveness because it increases their job autonomy. However, because blended working may have downsides as well, it is important to know for whom blended working may (not work. As hypothesized, in a sample of 348 workers (51.7% women, representing a wide range of occupations and organizations, we found that the perceived personal effectiveness of blended working was contingent upon workers' psychological need strength. Specifically, the perceived effectiveness of both time-independent working and location-independent working was positively related to individuals' need for autonomy at work, and negatively related to their need for relatedness and need for structure at work.

Conversion and Blending Facility Highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium as uranium hexafluoride. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

This report describes the Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) which will have two missions: (1) convert surplus HEU materials to pure HEU UF 6 and a (2) blend the pure HEU UF 6 with diluent UF 6 to produce LWR grade LEU-UF 6 . The primary emphasis of this blending be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. The chemical and isotopic concentrations of the blended LEU product will be held within the specifications required for LWR fuel. The blended LEU product will be offered to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to be sold as feed material to the commercial nuclear industry

Conversion and Blending Facility Highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium as uranium hexafluoride. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-07-05

This report describes the Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) which will have two missions: (1) convert surplus HEU materials to pure HEU UF{sub 6} and a (2) blend the pure HEU UF{sub 6} with diluent UF{sub 6} to produce LWR grade LEU-UF{sub 6}. The primary emphasis of this blending be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. The chemical and isotopic concentrations of the blended LEU product will be held within the specifications required for LWR fuel. The blended LEU product will be offered to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to be sold as feed material to the commercial nuclear industry.

Thermoset Blends of an Epoxy Resin and Polydicyclopentadiene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rohde, Brian J.; Le, Kim Mai; Krishnamoorti, Ramanan; Robertson, Megan L.

2016-12-13

The mechanical properties of two chemically distinct and complementary thermoset polymers were manipulated through development of thermoset blends. The thermoset blend system was composed of an anhydride-cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)-based epoxy resin, contributing high tensile strength and modulus, and polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD), which has a higher toughness and impact strength as compared to other thermoset polymers. Ultra-small-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering analysis explored the morphology of concurrently cured thermoset blends, revealing a macroscopically phase separated system with a surface fractal structure across blended systems of varying composition. The epoxy resin rich and PDCPD rich phases exhibited distinct glass transitions (Tg’s): the Tg observed at higher temperature was associated with the epoxy resin rich phase and was largely unaffected by the presence of PDCPD, whereas the PDCPD rich phase Tg systematically decreased with increasing epoxy resin content due to inhibition of dicyclopentadiene ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The mechanical properties of these phase-separated blends were in reasonable agreement with predictions by the rule of mixtures for the blend tensile strength, modulus, and fracture toughness. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the tensile and fracture specimen fracture surfaces showed an increase in energy dissipation mechanisms, such as crazing, shear banding, and surface roughness, as the fraction of the more ductile component, PDPCD, increased. These results present a facile method to tune the mechanical properties of a toughened thermoset network, in which the high modulus and tensile strength of the epoxy resin can be largely retained at high epoxy resin content in the blend, while increasing the fracture toughness.

Synthesizing optimal waste blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narayan, V.; Diwekar, W.M.; Hoza, M.

1996-01-01

Vitrification of tank wastes to form glass is a technique that will be used for the disposal of high-level waste at Hanford. Process and storage economics show that minimizing the total number of glass logs produced is the key to keeping cost as low as possible. The amount of glass produced can be reduced by blending of the wastes. The optimal way to combine the tanks to minimize the vole of glass can be determined from a discrete blend calculation. However, this problem results in a combinatorial explosion as the number of tanks increases. Moreover, the property constraints make this problem highly nonconvex where many algorithms get trapped in local minima. In this paper the authors examine the use of different combinatorial optimization approaches to solve this problem. A two-stage approach using a combination of simulated annealing and nonlinear programming (NLP) is developed. The results of different methods such as the heuristics approach based on human knowledge and judgment, the mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) approach with GAMS, and branch and bound with lower bound derived from the structure of the given blending problem are compared with this coupled simulated annealing and NLP approach

Autoignition characteristics of oxygenated gasolines

KAUST Repository

Lee, Changyoul; Ahmed, Ahfaz; Nasir, Ehson Fawad; Badra, Jihad; Kalghatgi, Gautam; Sarathy, Mani; Curran, Henry; Farooq, Aamir

2017-01-01

Gasoline anti-knock quality, defined by the research and motor octane numbers (RON and MON), is important for increasing spark ignition (SI) engine efficiency. Gasoline knock resistance can be increased using a number of blending components

Blending effects on coal burnout and NO emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

B. Arias; R. Backreedy; A. Arenillas; J.M. Jones; F. Rubiera; M. Pourkashanian; A. Williams; J.J. Pis [Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC Oviedo (Spain)

2003-07-01

In this work, the combustion behaviour of individual coals of different rank and their blends was evaluated. The study was focused on burnout and NO emissions during blend combustion. Preliminary combustion tests of the coals and their blends were carried out in a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). Some characteristic temperatures were obtained to evaluate the combustibility of the samples. These temperatures indicate an improvement in the combustibility of the less reactive coal when it is blended. An entrained flow reactor (EFR) was employed to study the behaviour of the samples at high heating rates and short residence times. Burnout and NO emissions were measured during EFR combustion tests. In some blends the results can be predicted from the weighted average of the values of the individual coals. However, other blends show an increase, from the averaged values, in burnout and especially in NO emissions. 14 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.

Preparation and Properties of Polyhedral Oligosilsesquioxanes/Polymers Blends

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blanski, Rusty

2000-01-01

... (polycarbonate, SB rubber, etc.) resulting in a clear blend. We also report that aliphatic POSS compounds are also dispersible in high density polyethylene. The synthesis of POSS/polymer blends as well as some physical properties will be discussed.

Blended Learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Baaren, John

2009-01-01

Van der Baaren, J. (2009). Blended Learning. Presentation given at the Mini symposium 'Blended Learning the way to go?'. November, 5, 2009, The Hague, The Netherlands: Netherlands Defence Academy (NDLA).

A novel wood flour-filled composite based on microfibrillar high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/Nylon-6 blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hongzhi; Yao, Fei; Xu, Yanjun; Wu, Qinglin

2010-05-01

A novel wood flour (WF)-filled composite based on the microfibrillar high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and Nylon-6 co-blend, in which both in situ formed Nylon-6 microfibrils and WF acted as reinforcing elements, was successfully developed using a two-step extrusion method. At the 30wt.% WF loading level, WF-filled composite based on the microfibrillized HDPE/Nylon-6 blend exhibited higher strengths and moduli than the corresponding HDPE-based composite. The incorporation of WF reduced short-term creep response of HDPE matrix and the presence of Nylon-6 microfibrils further contributed to the creep reduction. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Olivine-Based Blended Compounds as Positive Electrodes for Lithium Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian M. Julien

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Blended cathode materials made by mixing LiFePO4 (LFP with LiMnPO4 (LMP or LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC that exhibit either high specific energy and high rate capability were investigated. The layered blend LMP–LFP and the physically mixed blend NMC–LFP are evaluated in terms of particle morphology and electrochemical performance. Results indicate that the LMP–LFP (66:33 blend has a better discharge rate than the LiMn1−yFeyPO4 with the same composition (y = 0.33, and NMC–LFP (70:30 delivers a remarkable stable capacity over 125 cycles. Finally, in situ voltage measurement methods were applied for the evaluation of the phase evolution of blended cathodes and gradual changes in cell behavior upon cycling. We also discuss through these examples the promising development of blends as future electrodes for new generations of Li-ion batteries.

Stereochemical preference of yeast epoxide hydrolase for the O-axial C3 epimers of 1-oxaspiro[2.5] octanes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijers, C.A.G.M.; Koenst, P.; Franssen, M.C.R.; Sudhölter, E.J.R.

2007-01-01

The 1-oxaspiro[2.5]octane moiety is a common motif in many biologically active spiroepoxide compounds. Stereochemistry plays an important role in the action of these spiroepoxides, since the O-axial C3 epimers are predominantly responsible for biological activity. In view of this, the reactivity of

"Comfort" as a Critical Success Factor in Blended Learning Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Futch, Linda S.; deNoyelles, Aimee; Thompson, Kelvin; Howard, Wendy

2016-01-01

There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended learning courses. However, few research studies focus on what happens at the classroom level. This research study aims to consider the highly contextual environment of effective blended learning courses by identifying the strategies instructors use to…

Polymer blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, Scott D.; Naik, Sanjeev

2017-08-22

The present invention provides, among other things, extruded blends of aliphatic polycarbonates and polyolefins. In one aspect, provided blends comprise aliphatic polycarbonates such as poly(propylene carbonate) and a lesser amount of a crystalline or semicrystalline polymer. In certain embodiments, provided blends are characterized in that they exhibit unexpected improvements in their elongation properties. In another aspect, the invention provides methods of making such materials and applications of the materials in applications such as the manufacture of consumer packaging materials.

Conversion and Blending Facility highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium as uranyl nitrate hexahydrate. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-07-05

This Conversion and Blending Facility (CBF) will have two missions: (1) convert HEU materials to pure HEU uranyl nitrate (UNH) and (2) blend pure HEU UNH with depleted and natural UNH to produce HEU UNH crystals. The primary emphasis of this blending operation will be to destroy the weapons capability of large, surplus stockpiles of HEU. The blended LEU product can only be made weapons capable again by the uranium enrichment process. To the extent practical, the chemical and isotopic concentrations of blended LEU product will be held within the specifications required for LWR fuel. Such blended LEU product will be offered to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to be sold as feed material to the commercial nuclear industry. Otherwise, blended LEU Will be produced as a waste suitable for storage or disposal.

Photonic polymer-blend structures and method for making

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Michael D.

2004-06-29

The present invention comprises the formation of photonic polymer-blend structures having tunable optical and mechanical properties. The photonic polymer-blend structures comprise monomer units of spherical microparticles of a polymer-blend material wherein the spherical microparticles have surfaces partially merged with one another in a robust inter-particle bond having a tunable inter-particle separation or bond length sequentially attached in a desired and programmable architecture. The photonic polymer-blend structures of the present invention can be linked by several hundred individual particles sequentially linked to form complex three-dimensional structures or highly ordered two-dimensional arrays of 3D columns with 2D spacing.

Blended learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staugaard, Hans Jørgen

2012-01-01

Forsøg på at indkredse begrebet blended learning i forbindelse med forberedelsen af projekt FlexVid.......Forsøg på at indkredse begrebet blended learning i forbindelse med forberedelsen af projekt FlexVid....

Morphological studies on block copolymer modified PA 6 blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poindl, M., E-mail: marcus.poindl@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: christian.bonten@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de; Bonten, C., E-mail: marcus.poindl@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: christian.bonten@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de [Institut für Kunststofftechnik, University of Stuttgart (Germany)

2014-05-15

Recent studies show that compounding polyamide 6 (PA 6) with a PA 6 polyether block copolymers made by reaction injection molding (RIM) or continuous anionic polymerization in a reactive extrusion process (REX) result in blends with high impact strength and high stiffness compared to conventional rubber blends. In this paper, different high impact PA 6 blends were prepared using a twin screw extruder. The different impact modifiers were an ethylene propylene copolymer, a PA PA 6 polyether block copolymer made by reaction injection molding and one made by reactive extrusion. To ensure good particle matrix bonding, the ethylene propylene copolymer was grafted with maleic anhydride (EPR-g-MA). Due to the molecular structure of the two block copolymers, a coupling agent was not necessary. The block copolymers are semi-crystalline and partially cross-linked in contrast to commonly used amorphous rubbers which are usually uncured. The combination of different analysis methods like atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) gave a detailed view in the structure of the blends. Due to the partial cross-linking, the particles of the block copolymers in the blends are not spherical like the ones of ethylene propylene copolymer. The differences in molecular structure, miscibility and grafting of the impact modifiers result in different mechanical properties and different blend morphologies.

Dynamic Viscoelastic Behavior and Phase Morphology of HIPS/HDPE Blends

OpenAIRE

LIU Jing-ru; XIA Yang-yang; GAO Li-qun; YU Qiang

2017-01-01

The dynamic viscoelastic behavior and phase morphology of high impact polystyrene (HIPS)/high density polyethylene (HDPE) blends were investigated by dynamic rheological test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The compatibilizing effect of 1%(mass fraction, same as below) micron-CaCO3 and nano-CaCO3 on HIPS/HDPE(30/70) immiscible blend was compared. The results indicate that the complex viscosity and storage modulus of HIPS/HDPE blends at low frequencies show positive deviation from the ...

Mechanical properties of HDPE/UHMWPE blends: effect of filler loading and filler treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, K L K; Roziyanna, A; Ogunniyi, D S; Zainal, Arifin M I; Azlan, Ariffin A

2004-05-01

Various blend ratios of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were prepared with the objective of determining their suitability as biomaterials. In the unfilled state, a blend of 50/50 (HDPE/UHMWPE) ratio by weight was found to yield optimum properties in terms of processability and mechanical properties. Hydroxyapatite (HA) was compounded with the optimum blend ratio. The effects of HA loading, varied from 0 to 50wt% for both filled and unfilled blends were tested for mechanical properties. It was found that the inclusion of HA in the blend led to a remarkable improvement of mechanical properties compared to the unfilled blend. In order to improve the bonding between the polymer blend and the filler, the HA used was chemically treated with a coupling agent known as 3-(trimethoxysiyl) propyl methacrylate and the treated HA was mixed into the blend. The effect of mixing the blend with silane-treated HA also led to an overall improvement of mechanical properties.

Crystallinity evaluation of polyhydroxybutyrate and polycaprolactone blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavalcante, Maxwell P.; Rodrigues, Elton Jorge R.; Tavares, Maria Ines B.

2015-01-01

Polyhydroxybutyrate, PHB, is a polymer obtained through bacterial or synthetic pathways. It has been used in the biomedical field as a matrix for drug delivery, medical implants and as scaffold material for tissue engineering. PHB has high structural organization, which makes it highly crystalline and brittle, making biodegradation difficult, reducing its employability. In order to enhance the mechanical and biological properties of PHB, blends with other polymers, biocompatible or not, are researched and produced. In this regard, blends of PHB and polycaprolactone, PCL, another biopolymer widely used in the biomedical industry, were obtained via solution casting and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR). Results have shown a dependence between PHB's crystallinity index and PCL quantity employed to obtain the blends.(author)

Phase equilibria of microemulsion forming system n-decyl-(beta)-D-glucopyranoside/water/n-octane/1-butanol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kahl, Heike; Quitzsch, Konrad; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

1997-01-01

of multicomponent system is the coexistence of a highly structural liquid phase enriched with amphiphilic compounds and an excess water or an excess oil phase or both of them. The phase behaviour was studied experimentally by use of turbidity titration and HPLC measurements and theoretically by application...... of the UNIQUAC-equation and the UNIFAC-method. The UNIFAC-method is able to describe the phase behaviour in the quaternary system qualitatively, without fitting parameters. However, by applying the UNIQUAC-method, with adjustable parameters, it was only possible to model the ternary subsystems. The modelling......A systematic investigation of the phase behaviour involving microemulsions is presented with respect to experimental and calculated data for the four-component system n-decyl-(beta)-D-glucopyranoside/water/n-octane/1-butanol and its corresponding ternaries at 25°C. The main feature of this kind...

Polystyrene/Hyperbranched Polyester Blends and Reactive Polystyrene/Hyperbranched Polyester Blends

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mulkern, Thomas

1999-01-01

.... In this work, the incorporation of HBPs in thermoplastic blends was investigated. Several volume fractions of hydroxyl functionalized hyperbranched polyesters were melt blended with nonreactive polystyrene (PS...

Stereoselectivity and substrate specificity in the kinetic resolution of methyl-substituted 1-oxaspiro[2.5]octanes by Rhodotorula glutinis epoxide hydrolase

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijers, C.A.G.M.; Meeuwse, P.; Herpers, R.L.J.M.; Franssen, M.C.R.; Sudhölter, E.J.R.

2005-01-01

[GRAPHICS] The kinetic resolution of a range of methyl-substituted 1-oxaspiro[2.5]octanes by yeast epoxide hydrolase (YEH) from Rhodotorula glutinis has been investigated. The structural determinants of substrate specificity and stereoselectivity of YEH toward these substrates appeared to be the

Properties, degradation and high temperature fuel cell test of different types of PBI and PBI blend membranes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Qingfeng; Rudbeck, Hans Christian; Chromik, Andreas

2010-01-01

Polybenzimidazoles (PBIs) with synthetically modified structures and their blends with a partially fluorinated sulfonated aromatic polyether have been prepared and characterized for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Significant improvement in the polymer chemical stability...

Blending Biodiesel in Fishing Boat Fuels for Improved Fuel Characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Cherng-Yuan

2014-01-01

Biodiesel is a renewable, clean, alternative energy source with advantages, such as excellent lubricity, superior biodegradability, and high combustion efficiency. Biodiesel is considered for mixing with fishing boat fuels to adjust their fuel characteristics so that toxic pollutants and greenhouse-effect gas emissions from such shipping might be reduced. The effects of blending fishing boat fuels A and B with various weight proportions of biodiesel are experimentally investigated in this study. The results show that biodiesel blending can significantly improve the inferior fuel properties of both fishing boat fuels and particularly fuel B. The flash points of both of these fuels increases significantly with the addition of biodiesel and thus enhances the safety of transporting and storing these blended fuels. The flash point of fishing boat fuel B even increases by 16% if 25 wt.% biodiesel is blended. The blending of biodiesel with no sulfur content is found to be one of the most effective ways to reduce the high sulfur content of fishing boat fuel, resulting in a reduction in the emission of sulfur oxides. The addition of only 25 wt.% biodiesel decreased the sulfur content of the fishing boat fuel by 37%. The high kinematic viscosity of fishing boat fuel B was also observed to be reduced by 63% with the blending of just 25 wt.% biodiesel. However, biodiesel blending caused a slight decrease in heating value around 1–4.5%.

Blending Biodiesel in Fishing Boat Fuels for Improved Fuel Characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Cherng-Yuan, E-mail: lin7108@ntou.edu.tw [Department of Marine Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan (China)

2014-02-24

Biodiesel is a renewable, clean, alternative energy source with advantages, such as excellent lubricity, superior biodegradability, and high combustion efficiency. Biodiesel is considered for mixing with fishing boat fuels to adjust their fuel characteristics so that toxic pollutants and greenhouse-effect gas emissions from such shipping might be reduced. The effects of blending fishing boat fuels A and B with various weight proportions of biodiesel are experimentally investigated in this study. The results show that biodiesel blending can significantly improve the inferior fuel properties of both fishing boat fuels and particularly fuel B. The flash points of both of these fuels increases significantly with the addition of biodiesel and thus enhances the safety of transporting and storing these blended fuels. The flash point of fishing boat fuel B even increases by 16% if 25 wt.% biodiesel is blended. The blending of biodiesel with no sulfur content is found to be one of the most effective ways to reduce the high sulfur content of fishing boat fuel, resulting in a reduction in the emission of sulfur oxides. The addition of only 25 wt.% biodiesel decreased the sulfur content of the fishing boat fuel by 37%. The high kinematic viscosity of fishing boat fuel B was also observed to be reduced by 63% with the blending of just 25 wt.% biodiesel. However, biodiesel blending caused a slight decrease in heating value around 1–4.5%.

Novel bio-based and biodegradable polymer blends

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shengzhe

Most plastic materials, including high performance thermoplastics and thermosets are produced entirely from petroleum-based products. The volatility of the natural oil markets and the increasing cost of petroleum have led to a push to reduce the dependence on petroleum products. Together with an increase in environmental awareness, this has promoted the use of alternative, biorenewable, environmentally-friendly products, such as biomass. The growing interest in replacing petroleum-based products by inexpensive, renewable, natural materials is important for sustainable development into the future and will have a significant impact on the polymer industry and the environment. This thesis involved characterization and development of two series of novel bio-based polymer blends, namely polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)/polyamide (PA) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/soy protein. Blends with different concentrations and compatible microstructures were prepared using twin-screw extruder. For PHA/PA blends, the poor mechanical properties of PHA improved significantly with an excellent combination of strength, stiffness and toughness by adding PA. Furthermore, the effect of blending on the viscoelastic properties has been investigated using small-amplitude oscillatory shear flow experiments as a function of blend composition and angular frequency. The elastic shear modulus (G‧) and complex viscosity of the blends increased significantly with increasing the concentration of PHA. Blending PLA with soy protein aims at reducing production cost, as well as accelerating the biodegradation rate in soil medium. In this work, the mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of the blends were investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile tests.

Design and screening of synergistic blends of SiO2 nanoparticles and surfactants for enhanced oil recovery in high-temperature reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le, Nhu Y Thi; Pham, Duy Khanh; Le, Kim Hung; Nguyen, Phuong Tung

2011-01-01

SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the sol–gel method in an ultrasound reactor and monodispersed NPs with an average particle size of 10–12 nm were obtained. The synergy occurring in blending NPs and anionic surfactant solutions was identified by ultra-low interfacial tension (IFT) reduction measured by a spinning drop tensiometer (Temco500). The oil displacement efficiency of the synergistic blends and surfactant solutions at Dragon South-East (DSE) reservoir temperature was evaluated using contact angle measurement (Dataphysics OCA 20). It was found that SiO 2 /surfactant synergistic blends displace oil as well as their original surfactant solutions at the same 1000 ppm total concentration. Abundant slag appearing in the SiO 2 /surfactant medium during oil displacement could be attributed to an adsorption of surfactants onto the NPs. The results indicate that at a concentration of 1000 ppm in total, the original surfactant SS16-47A and its blend with SiO 2 NPs in the ratio of 8:2 exhibited an IFT reduction as high as fourfold of the IFT recorded for the DSE oil–brine interface and very high speed of oil displacement. Therefore, it could potentially be applicable to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in high-temperature reservoirs with high hardness-injection-brine, like the one at DSE. This opens up a new direction for developing effective EOR compositions, which require less surfactant and are environmentally safer

Inkjet-Printed Organic Transistors Based on Organic Semiconductor/Insulating Polymer Blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Yoon-Jung; Park, Yeong Don; Lee, Wi Hyoung

2016-08-02

Recent advances in inkjet-printed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are reviewed in this article. Organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are attractive ink candidates for enhancing the jetting properties, inducing uniform film morphologies, and/or controlling crystallization behaviors of organic semiconductors. Representative studies using soluble acene/insulating polymer blends as an inkjet-printed active layer in OFETs are introduced with special attention paid to the phase separation characteristics of such blended films. In addition, inkjet-printed semiconducting/insulating polymer blends for fabricating high performance printed OFETs are reviewed.

Computer simulations of material ejection during C{sub 60} and Ar{sub m} bombardment of octane and β-carotene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palka, G.; Kanski, M.; Maciazek, D. [Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, ul. Reymonta 4, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Garrison, B.J. [Department of Chemistry, 104 Chemistry Building, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Postawa, Z., E-mail: zbigniew.postawa@uj.edu.pl [Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, ul. Reymonta 4, 30-059 Krakow (Poland)

2015-06-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations are used to investigate material ejection and fragment formation during keV C{sub 60} and Ar{sub m} (m = 60, 101, 205, 366, 872 and 2953) bombardment of organic solids composed from octane and β-carotene molecules at 0° and 45° impact angle. Both systems are found to sputter efficiently. For the octane system, material removal occurs predominantly by ejection of intact molecules, while fragment emission is a significant ejection channel for β-carotene. A difference in the molecular dimensions is proposed to explain this observation. It has been shown that the dependence of the sputtering yield Y on the primary kinetic energy E and the cluster size n can be expressed in a simplified form if represented in reduced units. A linear and nonlinear dependence of the Y/n on the E/n are identified and the position of the transition point from the linear to nonlinear regions depends on the size of the cluster projectile. The impact angle has a minor influence on the shape of the simplified representation.

A divergent [5+2] cascade approach to bicyclo[3.2.1]octanes: facile synthesis of ent-kaurene and cedrene-type skeletons.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Chi; Bai, Zengbing; Hu, Jialei; Wang, Bingnan; Xie, Hujun; Yu, Lei; Ding, Hanfeng

2017-07-25

A solvent-dependent oxidative dearomatization-induced divergent [5+2] cascade approach to bicyclo[3.2.1]octanes was described. This novel protocol enables a facile synthesis of a series of diversely functionalized ent-kaurene and cedrene-type skeletons in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivities.

Proton exchange membranes based on PVDF/SEBS blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mokrini, A.; Huneault, M.A. [Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 75 de Mortagne Blvd., Boucherville, Que. (Canada J4B 6Y4)

2006-03-09

Proton-conductive polymer membranes are used as an electrolyte in the so-called proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Current commercially available membranes are perfluorosulfonic acid polymers, a class of high-cost ionomers. This paper examines the potential of polymer blends, namely those of styrene-(ethylene-butylene)-styrene block copolymer (SEBS) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), in the proton exchange membrane application. SEBS/PVDF blends were prepared by twin-screw extrusion and the membranes were formed by calendering. SEBS is a phase-segregated material where the polystyrene blocks can be selectively functionalized offering high ionic conductivity, while PVDF insures good dimensional stability and chemical resistance to the films. Proton conductivity of the films was obtained by solid-state grafting of sulfonic acid moieties. The obtained membranes were characterized in terms of conductivity, ionic exchange capacity and water uptake. In addition, the membranes were characterized in terms of morphology, microstructure and thermo-mechanical properties to establish the blends morphology-property relationships. Modification of interfacial properties between SEBS and PVDF was found to be a key to optimize the blends performance. Addition of a methyl methacrylate-butyl acrylate-methyl methacrylate block copolymer (MMA-BA-MMA) was found to compatibilize the blend by reducing the segregation scale and improving the blend homogeneity. Mechanical resistance of the membranes was also improved through the addition of this compatibilizer. As little as 2wt.% compatibilizer was sufficient for complete interfacial coverage and lead to improved mechanical properties. Compatibilized blend membranes also showed higher conductivities, 1.9x10{sup -2} to 5.5x10{sup -3}Scm{sup -1}, and improved water management. (author)

The Effect of Blended Learning in Mathematics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ya-Wen; Tseng, Chih-Lung; Chiang, Po-Jui

2017-01-01

With the advent of the digital age, traditional didactic teaching and online learning have been modified and gradually replaced by "Blended Learning." The purpose of this study was to explore the influences of blended learning pedagogy on junior high school student learning achievement and the students' attitudes toward mathematics. To…

Performance and emissions of gasoline blended with terpineol as an octane booster

KAUST Repository

Vallinayagam, R.; Vedharaj, S.; Roberts, William L.; Dibble, Robert W.; Sarathy, Mani

2016-01-01

. For FACE F + 30% terpineol, break thermal efficiency was improved by 12.1% over FACE F gasoline at full load for maximum brake torque operating point, and similar performance as EURO V gasoline was achieved. Due to its high energy density, total fuel

Interaction of 3,8-diazabicyclo (3.2.1) octanes with mu and delta opioid receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cignarella, G; Barlocco, D; Tranquillini, M E; Volterra, A; Brunello, N; Racagni, G

1988-05-01

A series of 3,8-diazabicyclo (3.2.1) octanes (DBO) (1) substituted at the nitrogen atoms by acyl and aralkenyl groups, were tested in in vitro binding assays towards mu and delta opioid receptors. The most representative terms (1a, 1d, 1g, 1j,) were also evaluated for the analgesic potency in vivo by the hot plate method. Among the compounds tested the most potent was the p.nitrocinnamyl DBO (1d) which displayed a mu/delta selectivity and an analgesic activity respectively 25 and 17 fold those of morphine. On the contrary, the m.hydroxycinnamyl DBO (1g) was markedly less active as agonist than the parent 1a, thus suggesting that structure 1 interacts with opioid receptors in a different fashion than morphine. Compound 1j isomer of 1a which is provided with high mu affinity, but lower analgesic potency, was found to possess a mixed agonist-antagonist activity.

Profiling Student Behaviour in a Blended Course: Closing the Gap Between Blended Teaching and Blended Learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, Nynke; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia

2018-01-01

Blended learning is often associated with student-oriented learning in which students have varying degrees of control over their learning process. However, the current notion of blended learning is often a teacher- oriented approach in which the teacher identifies the used learning technologies and

Synthesis and characterization of compatibilizers for blends of PA and ABS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Staal, M.P.B.

2005-01-01

Blends of polyamide (PA) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymers yield polymeric materials that are highly solvent resistant, easy to process and have high impact strengths over a wide temperature range. These properties make these blends interesting materials for various applications

Effect of blending temperature on the mechanical properties of PVC/ENR blend upon irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chantara Thevy Ratnam; Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan; Nasir, M.; Baharin, A.

2000-01-01

Poly (vinyl chloride) / epoxidized natural rubber blends were prepared with a Brabender plasticorder at 140, 150, 160, 170 and 180 degree C mixing temperatures. They were mixed at 50 rpm rotor speed for 10 min. The blends were irradiated with doses ranging from 0-200 kGy. Changes in tensile strength, modulus at 100% elongation, gel fraction and damping properties (tan δ) of the blends with increasing mixing temperatures and irradiation doses were investigated. In general, it was observed that the mixing temperature is important in maximizing the positive effect of irradiation. Results revealed that a readily miscible blend enjoy maximum benefit from irradiation meanwhile irradiation impart miscibility to a partially miscible PVC/ENR blend. The enhancement in blend properties is believed to be attributed by the irradiation-induced crosslinking along with irradiation-induced interaction between the polymers. The radiation-induced degradation found to be prominent at higher doses for blend that has undergone excessive thermal degradation. However evidence did not reveal the specific nature of radiation-induced reaction responsible for the improved interactions of the blends. (author)

Blending Words Found In Social Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giyatmi Giyatmi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There are many new words from the social media such as Netizen, Trentop, and Delcon. Those words include in blending. Blending is one of word formations combining two clipped words to form a brand new word. The researchers are interested in analyzing blend words used in the social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Blackberry Messenger. This research aims at (1 finding blend words used in the social media (2 describing kinds of blend words used in social media (3 describing the process of blend word formation used in the social media. This research uses some theories dealing with definition of blending and kinds of blending. This research belongs to descriptive qualitative research. Data of the research are English blend words used in social media. Data sources of this research are websites consisting of some English words used in social media and some social media users as the informant. Techniques of data collecting in this research are observation and simak catat. Observation is by observing some websites consisting of some English words used in social media. Simak catat is done by taking some notes on the data and encoding in symbols such as No/Blend words/Kinds of Blending. The researchers use source triangulation to check the data from the researchers with the informant and theory triangulation to determine kinds of blending and blend word formation in social media. There are115 data of blend words. Those data consists of 65 data of Instagram, 47 data of Twitter, 1 datum of Facebook, and 2 data of Blackberry Messenger. There are 2 types of blending used in social media;108 data of blending with clipping and 7 data of blending with overlapping. There are 10 ways of blend word formation found in this research.

Design Principles for the Blend in Blended Learning: A Collective Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Ming; Lam, Kwok Man; Lim, Cher Ping

2016-01-01

This paper reports on a collective case study of three blended courses taught by different instructors in a higher education institution, with the purpose of identifying the different types of blend and how the blend supports student learning. Based on the instructors' and students' interviews, and document analysis of course outlines, two major…

Is Blended e-Learning as Measured by an Achievement Test and Self-Assessment Better than Traditional Classroom Learning for Vocational High School Students?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Cheng Chang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of blended e-learning on electrical machinery performance (achievement test and self-assessment. Participants were two classes of 11th graders majoring in electrical engineering and taking the electrical machinery class at a vocational high school in Taiwan. The participants were randomly selected and assigned to either the experimental group (n = 33 which studied through blended e-learning or the control group (n = 32 which studied through traditional classroom learning. The experiment lasted for five weeks. The results showed that (a there were no significant differences in achievement test scores between blended e-learning and traditional learning; (b students in the experimental group obtained significantly higher scores on self-assessment than students in the control group; (c students’ scores on self-assessment were significantly higher after studying through blended e-learning than before. Overall, blended e-learning did not significantly affect students’ achievement test scores, but significantly affected their self-assessment scores.

Blended particle filters for large-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems

Science.gov (United States)

Majda, Andrew J.; Qi, Di; Sapsis, Themistoklis P.

2014-01-01

A major challenge in contemporary data science is the development of statistically accurate particle filters to capture non-Gaussian features in large-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems. Blended particle filters that capture non-Gaussian features in an adaptively evolving low-dimensional subspace through particles interacting with evolving Gaussian statistics on the remaining portion of phase space are introduced here. These blended particle filters are constructed in this paper through a mathematical formalism involving conditional Gaussian mixtures combined with statistically nonlinear forecast models compatible with this structure developed recently with high skill for uncertainty quantification. Stringent test cases for filtering involving the 40-dimensional Lorenz 96 model with a 5-dimensional adaptive subspace for nonlinear blended filtering in various turbulent regimes with at least nine positive Lyapunov exponents are used here. These cases demonstrate the high skill of the blended particle filter algorithms in capturing both highly non-Gaussian dynamical features as well as crucial nonlinear statistics for accurate filtering in extreme filtering regimes with sparse infrequent high-quality observations. The formalism developed here is also useful for multiscale filtering of turbulent systems and a simple application is sketched below. PMID:24825886

Inkjet-Printed Organic Transistors Based on Organic Semiconductor/Insulating Polymer Blends

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Yoon-Jung; Park, Yeong Don; Lee, Wi Hyoung

2016-01-01

Recent advances in inkjet-printed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are reviewed in this article. Organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are attractive ink candidates for enhancing the jetting properties, inducing uniform film morphologies, and/or controlling crystallization behaviors of organic semiconductors. Representative studies using soluble acene/insulating polymer blends as an inkjet-printed active layer in OFETs are introduced with special attention paid to the phase separation characteristics of such blended films. In addition, inkjet-printed semiconducting/insulating polymer blends for fabricating high performance printed OFETs are reviewed. PMID:28773772

Production of palm and Calophyllum inophyllum based biodiesel and investigation of blend performance and exhaust emission in an unmodified diesel engine at high idling conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, S.M. Ashrafur; Masjuki, H.H.; Kalam, M.A.; Abedin, M.J.; Sanjid, A.; Sajjad, H.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Biodiesel produced from palm and Calophyllum oil using trans-esterification process. • Produced biodiesels properties were compared with ASTM D6751 standards. • Engine performance and exhaust emissions were evaluated at high idling conditions. • Idling CO and HC emission was reduced using biodiesel–diesel blends. • For low percentages of biodiesel–diesel blends NO X emission increased negligibly. - Abstract: Rapid depletion of fossil fuels, increasing fossil-fuel price, carbon price, and the quest of low carbon fuel for cleaner environment – these are the reason researchers are looking for alternatives of fossil fuels. Renewable, non-flammable, biodegradable, and non-toxic are some reasons that are making biodiesel as a suitable candidate to replace fossil-fuel in near future. In recent years, in many countries of the world production and use of biodiesel has gained popularity. In this research, biodiesel from palm and Calophyllum inophyllum oil has been produced using the trans-esterification process. Properties of the produced biodiesels were compared with the ASTM D6751 standard: biodiesel standard and testing methods. Density, kinematic viscosity, flash point, cloud point, pour point and calorific value, these are the six main physicochemical properties that were investigated. Both palm biodiesel and Calophyllum biodiesel were within the standard limits, so they both can be used as the alternative of diesel fuel. Furthermore, engine performance and emission parameters of a diesel engine run by both palm biodiesel–diesel and Calophyllum biodiesel–diesel blends were evaluated at high idling conditions. Brake specific fuel consumption increased for both the biodiesel–diesel blends compared to pure diesel fuel; however, at highest idling condition, this increase was almost negligible. Exhaust gas temperatures decreased as blend percentages increased for both the biodiesel–diesel blends. For low blend percentages increase in NO

Radiation crosslinked block copolymer blends with improved impact resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saunders, F.L.; Pelletier, R.R.

1976-01-01

Polymer blends having high impact resistance after mechanical working are produced by blending together a non-elastomeric monovinylidene aromatic polymer such as polystyrene with an elastomeric copolymer, such as a block copolymer of styrene and butadiene, in the form of crosslinked, colloidal size particles

Combustion Kinetic Studies of Gasolines and Surrogates

KAUST Repository

Javed, Tamour

2016-11-01

Future thrusts for gasoline engine development can be broadly summarized into two categories: (i) efficiency improvements in conventional spark ignition engines, and (ii) development of advance compression ignition (ACI) concepts. Efficiency improvements in conventional spark ignition engines requires downsizing (and turbocharging) which may be achieved by using high octane gasolines, whereas, low octane gasolines fuels are anticipated for ACI concepts. The current work provides the essential combustion kinetic data, targeting both thrusts, that is needed to develop high fidelity gasoline surrogate mechanisms and surrogate complexity guidelines. Ignition delay times of a wide range of certified gasolines and surrogates are reported here. These measurements were performed in shock tubes and rapid compression machines over a wide range of experimental conditions (650 – 1250 K, 10 – 40 bar) relevant to internal combustion engines. Using the measured the data and chemical kinetic analyses, the surrogate complexity requirements for these gasolines in homogeneous environments are specified. For the discussions presented here, gasolines are classified into three categories: (i)\\tLow octane gasolines including Saudi Aramco’s light naphtha fuel (anti-knock index, AKI = (RON + MON)/2 = 64; Sensitivity (S) = RON – MON = 1), certified FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasoline I and J (AKI ~ 70, S = 0.7 and 3 respectively), and their Primary Reference Fuels (PRF, mixtures of n-heptane and iso-octane) and multi-component surrogates. (ii)\\t Mid octane gasolines including FACE A and C (AKI ~ 84, S ~ 0 and 1 respectively) and their PRF surrogates. Laser absorption measurements of intermediate and product species formed during gasoline/surrogate oxidation are also reported. (iii)\\t A wide range of n-heptane/iso-octane/toluene (TPRF) blends to adequately represent the octane and sensitivity requirements of high octane gasolines including FACE gasoline F and G

Blended learning: how can we optimise undergraduate student engagement?

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, Caroline E; Saleh, Sohag N; Smith, Susan F; Hemani, Ashish; Ameen, Akram; Bennie, Taylor D; Toro-Troconis, Maria

2016-08-04

Blended learning is a combination of online and face-to-face learning and is increasingly of interest for use in undergraduate medical education. It has been used to teach clinical post-graduate students pharmacology but needs evaluation for its use in teaching pharmacology to undergraduate medical students, which represent a different group of students with different learning needs. An existing BSc-level module on neuropharmacology was redesigned using the Blended Learning Design Tool (BLEnDT), a tool which uses learning domains (psychomotor, cognitive and affective) to classify learning outcomes into those taught best by self-directed learning (online) or by collaborative learning (face-to-face). Two online courses were developed, one on Neurotransmitters and the other on Neurodegenerative Conditions. These were supported with face-to-face tutorials. Undergraduate students' engagement with blended learning was explored by the means of three focus groups, the data from which were analysed thematically. Five major themes emerged from the data 1) Purpose and Acceptability 2) Structure, Focus and Consolidation 3) Preparation and workload 4) Engagement with e-learning component 5) Future Medical Education. Blended learning was acceptable and of interest to undergraduate students learning this subject. They expressed a desire for more blended learning in their courses, but only if it was highly structured, of high quality and supported by tutorials. Students identified that the 'blend' was beneficial rather than purely online learning.

SYSTEM APPROACH TO THE BLENDED LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Kukharenko

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Currently, much attention is paid to the development of learning sour cream – a combination of traditional and distance (30-70% of training. Such training is sometimes called hybrid and referred to disruptive technologies. Purpose – to show that the use of systemic campaign in blended learning provides a high quality of education, and the technology can be devastating. The subject of the study – blended learning, object of study – Mixed learning process. The analysis results show that the combined training increases the motivation of students, qualification of teachers, personalized learning process. At the same time there are no reliable methods of assessing the quality of education and training standards. It is important that blended learning strategy to support the institutional goals and had an effective organizational model for support.

Thermodesorption studies of ammonium nitrate prills by high-resolution thermogravimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwok, Q.S.M.; Jones, D.E.G. [Natural Resources Canada, CANMET Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2003-07-01

Ammonium nitrate prills with fuel oil (ANFO) are commonly used in commercial explosives. The wettability of AN is influenced by porosity and surface area. To date, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury porosimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) microscopy have been used to characterize prill porosities. This study used high-resolution thermogravimetry (TG) to investigate the thermodesorption of octane from ammonium nitrate (AN) prills of different porosities. Samples were immersed in octane. Samples of AN prills were monitored over a temperature range between 25 to 120 degrees C. Mass-loss curves were measured to determine the evaporation of excess liquids as well as the rate of octane thermodesorption from the pores and surfaces of the AN prills. An analysis of the curves suggested that the initial mass loss was caused by evaporation of the bulk liquid. The following step represented the thermodesorption of adsorbed octane on the surface of the AN remote from the monolayer. Properties of the surface liquid differed significantly from the bulk liquid as the adsorbate materials interacted with the solid surface. The study demonstrated that the quantity of octane desorbed in the steps correlated with the volume observed in the pores and the amount adsorbed on the surface. Results of the study were then compared with data obtained using SEM. It was concluded that high resolution TG can be used to characterize AN porosity and adsorption capacity. 16 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

HEU to LEU conversion and blending facility: Oxide blending alternative to produce LEU oxide for commercial use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is examining options for the disposition of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. Disposition is a process of use or disposal of material that results in the material being converted to a form that is substantially and inherently more proliferation-resistant than the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. This document provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the oxide blending HEU disposition option. This option provides for a yearly HEU throughput of 1 0 metric tons (MT) of uranium metal with an average U235 assay of 50% blended with 165 MT of natural assay triuranium octoxide (U 3 O 8 ) per year to produce 177 MT of 4% U235 assay U 3 O 8 , for LWR fuel. Since HEU exists in a variety of forms and not necessarily in the form to be blended, worst case scenarios for preprocessing prior to blending will be assumed for HEU feed streams

Binary blend Nanoparticles with defined morphology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghazy, O.A.H.

2008-01-01

The word blend in linguistics means a word formed from two parts of two words. In polymer science polymer blends means polymer mixtures, a class of materials analogues to the metal alloys. Blending of polymers is a simple and economic way to create new materials meeting specific desired properties. The other alternative is to synthesize such materials eventually facing the organic chemistry design difficulties. The low entropy of mixing polymers makes the process thermodynamically unfavorable, unless there are some specific interactions between the mixed polymers. As a result, in thermal equilibrium typically a phase separation between the blend components takes place. The main challenge facing the blending of polymers is the control of the length scale of the phase separation. One of the most important applications, where the control of the phase separation is crucial for the performance is the organic solar cells. In organic solar cells a blend of an electron donating polymer and electron accepting one is formed. The dimensions of the phase separation between the two polymers should be in the range of the exciton diffusion length [1-3] (in semiconductors, exciton diffusion length is the average distance traveled by the electron-hole pair before recombination). Only under this condition the charge transfer at the interface between the two polymer layers can take place and the solar cell performs efficiently. The thin polymer blend layers for such applications are commonly deposited by spin coating from solution containing both polymers. The morphology of the thin layer prepared in this way is highly influenced by the preparation conditions such as the surface properties of the substrate, the solvent from which the blend was deposited, the temperature, and the annealing temperature [4-9]. Therefore controlling the length scale of phase separation in layers casted or spin coated from solutions is difficult and is a matter of trials and errors. Recently a novel

Blended acquisition with dispersed source arrays

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, A.J.

2012-01-01

Blended source arrays are historically configured with equal source units, such as broadband vibrators (land) and broadband air-gun arrays (marine). I refer to this concept as homogeneous blending. I have proposed to extend the blending concept to inhomogeneous blending, meaning that a blended

Physical and chemical effects of low octane gasoline fuels on compression ignition combustion

KAUST Repository

Badra, Jihad

2016-09-30

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engines running on low octane gasoline fuels are considered an attractive alternative to traditional spark ignition engines. In this study, three fuels with different chemical and physical characteristics have been investigated in single cylinder engine running in GCI combustion mode at part-load conditions both experimentally and numerically. The studied fuels are: Saudi Aramco light naphtha (SALN) (Research octane number (RON) = 62 and final boiling point (FBP) = 91 °C), Haltermann straight run naphtha (HSRN) (RON = 60 and FBP = 140 °C) and a primary reference fuel (PRF65) (RON = 65 and FBP = 99 °C). Injection sweeps, where the start of injection (SOI) is changed between −60 and −11 CAD aTDC, have been performed for the three fuels. Full cycle computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were executed using PRFs as chemical surrogates for the naphtha fuels. Physical surrogates based on the evaporation characteristics of the naphtha streams have been developed and their properties have been implemented in the engine simulations. It was found that the three fuels have similar combustion phasings and emissions at the conditions tested in this work with minor differences at SOI earlier than −30 CAD aTDC. These trends were successfully reproduced by the CFD calculations. The chemical and physical effects were further investigated numerically. It was found that the physical characteristics of the fuel significantly affect the combustion for injections earlier than −30 CAD aTDC because of the low evaporation rates of the fuel because of the higher boiling temperature of the fuel and the colder in-cylinder air during injection. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Blended Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Imbriale, Ryan

2013-01-01

Teachers always have been and always will be the essential element in the classroom. They can create magic inside four walls, but they have never been able to create learning environments outside the classroom like they can today, thanks to blended learning. Blended learning allows students and teachers to break free of the isolation of the…

Apparatus for blending small particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bradley, R.A.; Reese, C.R.; Sease, J.D.

1975-01-01

An apparatus is described for blending small particles and uniformly loading the blended particles in a receptacle. Measured volumes of various particles are simultaneously fed into a funnel to accomplish radial blending and then directed onto the apex of a conical splitter which collects the blended particles in a multiplicity of equal subvolumes. Thereafter the apparatus sequentially discharges the subvolumes for loading in a receptacle. A system for blending nuclear fuel particles and loading them into fuel rod molds is described in a preferred embodiment

Performance evaluation of gamma irradiated SiR-EPDM blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deepalaxmi, R., E-mail: deepalaxmivaithi@gmail.com; Rajini, V.

2014-07-01

Highlights: • The effects of gamma irradiation on SiR-EPDM blend are examined. • Cross-linking reaction is dominant in blends C, D and E, due to higher EPDM content. • The tensile strength and hardness of blend E is improved by gamma irradiation. • The blend C and EPDM rich blends (D, E) are found to have superior performance. • Among C, D and E, suitable blend can be selected for a particular NPP application. - Abstract: Cable insulation materials (CIM) should perform their safety functions throughout their installed life in nuclear power plants (NPP). The CIM will be exposed to gamma irradiation at the installed locations. In order to forecast long-term performance of CIM, the short time accelerated testing was carried out. Due to its good mechanical strength, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) is widely used as CIM. Silicone rubber (SiR) is used in high temperature environments, due to its good di-electric properties/hydrophobicity. The blending of these two polymers may result in the improvement in their specific properties. This paper analyses the effects of gamma irradiation on the five different compositions (90-10; 70-30; 50-50; 30-70; 10-90) of SiR-EPDM blends. The blends were exposed to four different doses (25 Mrad, 100 Mrad, 200 Mrad and 250 Mrad) of gamma irradiation. The electrical and mechanical parameters like volume resistivity (VRY), surface resistivity (SRY), tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EB), hardness (H) of the virgin and gamma irradiated blends were determined as per ASTM/IEC standards. The nature of degradation was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The simultaneous occurrence of cross-linking and chain scission is found to be the mechanism for ageing in SiR-EPDM blends. The electrical parameters such as volume resistivity and surface resistivity of all the blends are found to improve for all doses of gamma irradiation. To validate the influence of cross-linking reaction of the Si

Characterization of herbal powder blends homogeneity using near-infrared spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenlong Li

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Homogeneity of powder blend is essential to obtain uniform contents for the tablets and capsules. Near-infrared (NIR spectroscopy with fiber-optic probe was used as an on-line technique for monitoring the homogeneity of pharmaceutical blend during the blending process instead of the traditional techniques, such as high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC method. In this paper NIRS with a SabIR diffuse reflectance fiber-optic probe was used to monitor the blending process of coptis powder and lactose (excipient with different contents, and further qualitative methods, like similarity, moving block of standard deviation and mean square were used for calculation purposes with the collected spectra after the pretreatment of multiplicative signal correction (MSC and second derivative. Correlation spectrum was used for the wavelength selection. Four different coptis were blended with lactose separately to validate the proposed method, and the blending process of "liu wei di huang" pill was also simulated in bottles to verify this method on multiple herbal blends. The overall results suggest that NIRS is a simple, effective and noninvasive technique can be successfully applied to the determination of homogeneity in the herbal blend.

Composites and blends from biobased materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelley, S.S. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

1995-05-01

The program is focused on the development of composites and blends from biobased materials to use as membranes, high value plastics, and lightweight composites. Biobased materials include: cellulose derivative microporous materials, cellulose derivative copolymers, and cellulose derivative blends. This year`s research focused on developing an improved understanding of the molecular features that cellulose based materials with improved properties for gas separation applications. Novel cellulose ester membrane composites have been developed and are being evaluated under a collaborative research agreement with Dow Chemicals Company.

Pressure effects on enzyme reactions in mainly organic media: alpha-chymotrypsin in reversed micelles of Aerosol OT in octane.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozhaev, V V; Bec, N; Balny, C

1994-08-01

Biocatalytic transformations in reversed micelles formed by anionic surfactant Aerosol OT in octane have been studied at high pressures by an example of alpha-chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of N-carbobenzoxy-L-tyrosine p-nitrophenyl ester and N-succinyl-L-phenylalanine p-nitroanilide. For the first time it has been found that the enzyme retains high activity in these water-in-oil microemulsions up to a pressure of 2 kbar. The value of the activation volume (delta V*) for the enzyme reactions shows a dependence on the water content in the system. When the size of the micellar aqueous inner cavity (as evaluated at 1 atm) approaches the molecular size of alpha-chymotrypsin, delta V* becomes significantly different from the value in aqueous solution and in the micelles with a larger size. Possibilities of regulating the enzyme activity by pressure in systems with a low content of water are discussed.

HEU to LEU Conversion and Blending Facility: UF6 blending alternative to produce LEU UF6 for commercial use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

US DOE is examining options for disposing of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials; the nuclear material will be converted to a form more proliferation- resistant than the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. Five technologies for blending HEU will be assessed; blending as UF 6 to produce a UF 6 product for commercial use is one of them. This document provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the UF 6 blending HEU disposition option. Resource needs, employment needs, waste and emissions from plant, hazards, accident scenarios, and intersite transportation are discussed

Effect of blending different rank coals on NOx emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rubiera, F.; Esteban, R.; Arenillas, A.; Pis, J.J. [Instituto Nacional del Carbon, Oviedo (Spain)

1999-07-01

A study was carried out to assess the NOx emissions when the fraction of high-volatile coals in blends with low-volatile coals, such as anthracitic and semianthracitic, was increased. Burnout and NO emissions were determined for individual coals and their blends. 4 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Numerical simulation of combustion and soot under partially premixed combustion of low-octane gasoline

KAUST Repository

An, Yanzhao

2017-09-23

In-cylinder combustion visualization and engine-out soot particle emissions were investigated in an optical diesel engine fueled with low octane gasoline. Single injection strategy with an early injection timing (−30 CAD aTDC) was employed to achieve partially premixed combustion (PPC) condition. A high-speed color camera was used to record the combustion images for 150 cycles. The regulated emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and soot mass concentration were measured experimentally. Full cycle engine simulations were performed using CONVERGE™ and the simulation results matched with the experimental results. The in-cylinder soot particle evolution was performed by coupling a reduced toluene reference fuel mechanism including the PAHs formation/oxidation reactions with particulate size mimic model. The results showed that PPC presents typical stratified combustion characteristics, which is significantly different from the conventional diesel spray-driven combustion. The in-cylinder temperature and equivalence ratio overlaid with soot-NO formation regime revealed that PPC operating condition under study mostly avoided the main sooting conditions throughout the entire combustion. The evaluation of temperature distribution showed formaldehyde could be regarded as an indicator for low temperature reactions, while hydroxyl group represents the high temperature reactions. Soot evolution happened during the combustion process, hydroxyl radicals promoted the soot oxidation.

Numerical simulation of combustion and soot under partially premixed combustion of low-octane gasoline

KAUST Repository

An, Yanzhao; Jaasim, Mohammed; Vallinayagam, R.; Vedharaj, S.; Im, Hong G.; Johansson, Bengt.

2017-01-01

In-cylinder combustion visualization and engine-out soot particle emissions were investigated in an optical diesel engine fueled with low octane gasoline. Single injection strategy with an early injection timing (−30 CAD aTDC) was employed to achieve partially premixed combustion (PPC) condition. A high-speed color camera was used to record the combustion images for 150 cycles. The regulated emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and soot mass concentration were measured experimentally. Full cycle engine simulations were performed using CONVERGE™ and the simulation results matched with the experimental results. The in-cylinder soot particle evolution was performed by coupling a reduced toluene reference fuel mechanism including the PAHs formation/oxidation reactions with particulate size mimic model. The results showed that PPC presents typical stratified combustion characteristics, which is significantly different from the conventional diesel spray-driven combustion. The in-cylinder temperature and equivalence ratio overlaid with soot-NO formation regime revealed that PPC operating condition under study mostly avoided the main sooting conditions throughout the entire combustion. The evaluation of temperature distribution showed formaldehyde could be regarded as an indicator for low temperature reactions, while hydroxyl group represents the high temperature reactions. Soot evolution happened during the combustion process, hydroxyl radicals promoted the soot oxidation.

A one pot solution blending method for highly conductive poly (methyl methacrylate)-highly reduced graphene nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Balasubramaniyan, R.; Pham, Viet Hung; Jang, Jinhee; Hur, Seung Hyun; Chung, Jin Suk

2013-11-01

PMMA-HRG (Poly (methyl methacrylate)-highly reduced graphene) nanocomposites were prepared by a solution blending method, and the effect of HRG loading on the electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the materials was studied. PMMA-HRG nanocomposites achieved a percolation threshold of 0.37 vol.% (0.039 S/m) and a maximum electrical conductivity as high as 85 S/m at a loading of 2.7 vol. %. The homogeneous dispersion of HRG sheets overcame aggregation in solution and gave a uniformly distributed single layer graphene in the PMMA matrix. The T g of PMMA-HRG increased by 19°C with a loading of 0.27 vol. %, and the storage modulus of the nanocomposites increased by 37% in the glassy region with a loading of 2.7 vol. %.

Modification of combustion behaviour and NO emissions by coal blending

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rubiera, Fernando; Arenillas, Ana; Arias, Borja; Pis, Jose J. [Department of Energy and Environment, Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC, Apartado 73, 33080 Oviedo (Spain)

2002-06-20

Combustion profiles determined by TGA and experiments in a laminar entrained flow reactor (EFR) were used in this work to assess the relative combustion reactivities of different rank coals and their binary coal blends. The combustion behaviour of coal blends in TGA was greatly influenced by coal rank and the proportion of each component in the blend. Higher volatile coals exerted more influence in the low-temperature region and less reactive coals in the char combustion zone. The results in the EFR indicated that coal blends burnout and NO emissions show additivity in the case of similar nature coals. When one of the components was a high-rank coal, the burnout of the blend exhibited, in some cases, positive synergistic effects, while a clear deviation from linearity was found in NO emissions.

Exciton and Hole-Transfer Dynamics in Polymer: Fullerene Blends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Loosdrecht P. H. M.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Ultrafast hole transfer dynamics from fullerene derivative to polymer in bulk heterojunction blends are studied with visible-pump - IR-probe spectroscopy. The hole transfer process is found to occur in 50/300 fs next to the interface, while a longer 15-ps time is attributed to exciton diffusion towards interface in PC71BM domains. High polaron generation efficiency in P3HT blends indicates excellent intercalation between the polymer and the fullerene even at highest PC71BM concentration thereby yielding a valuable information on the blend morphology.

Entanglement Length in Miscible Blends of cis-Polyisoprene and Poly(ptert-butylstyrene)

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Hiroshi; Matsumiya, Yumi

In miscible polymer blends, the entanglement length is common for the components, but its changes with the composition w remain unclear. For this problem, this study analyzed viscoelastic data for miscible blends of cis-polyisoprene (PI) and poly(ptert-butylstyrene) (PtBS), considering the basic feature that the local relaxation is determined only by wPI. On the basis of this feature, a series of unentangled low- M PI/PtBS blends having various M and a given wPI were utilized as references for well-entangled high- M PI/PtBS blends having the same wPI, and the modulus data of the references were subtracted from the high- M blend data. For an optimally chosen reference, the storage modulus Ge'of the high- M blends obtained after the subtraction exhibited a clear entanglement plateau GN and the corresponding Ge' ' decreased in proportion to 1/ ω at high frequencies ω. Thus, the onset of entanglement relaxation was detected. The GN values were well described by a linear mixing rule of the entanglement length with the number fraction of Kuhn segments of the components being utilized as the averaging weight. This result, not explained by a mean-field picture of entanglement, is discussed in relation to local packing of bulky PtBS chains and skinny PI chains.

River Protection Project Mission Analysis Waste Blending Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shuford, D.H.; Stegen, G.

2010-01-01

Preliminary evaluation for blending Hanford site waste with the objective of minimizing the amount of high-level waste (HLW) glass volumes without major changes to the overall waste retrieval and processing sequences currently planned. The evaluation utilizes simplified spreadsheet models developed to allow screening type comparisons of blending options without the need to use the Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator (HTWOS) model. The blending scenarios evaluated are expected to increase tank farm operation costs due to increased waste transfers. Benefit would be derived from shorter operating time period for tank waste processing facilities, reduced onsite storage of immobilized HLW, and reduced offsite transportation and disposal costs for the immobilized HLW.

Radiation effect on PVC/ENR blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chantara Thevy Ratnam; Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan

1997-01-01

The effect of irradiation on the physical properties of Polyvinyl Chloride / Epoxidised Natural Rubber Blends (PVC/ENR blends) were investigated. The enhancement in tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness and aging properties of the blends have confirmed the positive effect of irradiation on the blends. It is evident from gel fraction and infra red spectroscopic studies that the blends of PVC and ENR cross-linked upon irradiation. The results also revealed that at any blend composition, the enhancement in properties depend on irradiation dose which controls the degree of radiation induced cross-linking. In an attempt to maximize the constructive effect of irradiation, the influence of various additives such as stabilizers, radiation sensitizers, fillers and processing aids on the blend properties were studied. The changes in blend properties upon irradiation with the presents of above additives were also presented in this paper

HEU to LEU conversion and blending facility: Oxide blending alternative to produce LEU oxide for commercial use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is examining options for the disposition of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. Disposition is a process of use or disposal of material that results in the material being converted to a form that is substantially and inherently more proliferation-resistant than the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. This document provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the oxide blending HEU disposition option. This option provides for a yearly HEU throughput of 1 0 metric tons (MT) of uranium metal with an average U235 assay of 50% blended with 165 MT of natural assay triuranium octoxide (U{sub 3} O{sub 8}) per year to produce 177 MT of 4% U235 assay U{sub 3} O{sub 8}, for LWR fuel. Since HEU exists in a variety of forms and not necessarily in the form to be blended, worst case scenarios for preprocessing prior to blending will be assumed for HEU feed streams.

Blending into the mix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, R.G.; Gibb, W.H.; Majid, K.A. [Power Technology (United Kingdom)

1999-07-01

Successful coal blending requires finding a careful balance between fuel costs and plant performance. A recent study of a Malaysian power plant shows how the utility (Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)) could reduce fuel costs while avoiding boiler operating problems normally associated with firing low-grade coals. TNB`s Kaper 2220 MW power station in Selangor needed an improved method of coal blending for two new 500 MW units and for two existing 300 MW units. UK`s Power Technology was commissioned to identify what coal blends the boiler could tolerate. A Coal Quality Impact Model (CQIM) analysis of the effect of different coals and coal blends on combustion performance and economics, and a performance analysis of coal yard handling facility was made to determine whether the accuracy of the required blend could be achieved (using a Coal Handling Simulation, CHAS, software package). The CQIM study showed that the proportion of cheaper coals could be increased from 20% to 50% provided each shipment was adequately sampled. The CHAS study showed that use of a flat back reclaimer or modifications to the dry coal stove would allow accurate blending. 5 figs., 1 tab.

Castor oil biodiesel and its blends as alternative fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman, Paula; Nizri, Shahar; Wiesman, Zeev

2011-01-01

Intensive production and commercialization of biodiesel from edible-grade sources have raised some critical environmental concerns. In order to mitigate these environmental consequences, alternative oilseeds are being investigated as biodiesel feedstocks. Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is one of the most promising non-edible oil crops, due to its high annual seed production and yield, and since it can be grown on marginal land and in semi-arid climate. Still, few studies are available regarding its fuel-related properties in its pure form or as a blend with petrodiesel, many of which are due to its extremely high content of ricinoleic acid. In this study, the specifications in ASTM D6751 and D7467 which are related to the fatty acid composition of pure castor methyl esters (B100) and its blend with petrodiesel in a 10% vol ratio (B10) were investigated. Kinematic viscosity and distillation temperature of B100 (15.17 mm 2 s -1 and 398.7 o C respectively) were the only two properties which did not meet the appropriate standard limits. In contrast, B10 met all the specifications. Still, ASTM D7467 requires that the pure biodiesel meets the requirements of ASTM D6751. This can limit the use of a wide range of feedstocks, including castor, as alternative fuel, especially due to the fact that in practice vehicles normally use low level blends of biodiesel and petrodiesel. These issues are discussed in depth in the present study. -- Highlights: → CaME can be used as a biodiesel alternative feedstock when blended in petrodiesel. → Due to the high levels of ricinoleic acid maximum blending level is limited to 10%. → Today, CaME blends are not a viable alternative feedstock. → ASTM D7467 requires that pure biodiesel must meet all the appropriate limits.

Melting and crystallization behavior of partially miscible high density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (HDPE/EVA) blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Yang; Zou, Huawei, E-mail: hwzou@163.com; Liang, Mei, E-mail: liangmeiww@163.com; Cao, Ya

2014-06-01

Highlights: • HDPE/EVA blends undergo phase separation, making it an interesting topic to investigate the relationships between miscibility and crystallization. • Influences from blending on the crystallization kinetics were successfully evaluated by Friedman's and Khanna's method. • X-ray diffraction studies revealed that blending with EVA the unit length of the unit cell of the HDPE increases. • Thermal fractionation method was successfully used to characterize the co-crystallization in HDPE/EVA blends. - Abstract: Crystallization studies on HDPE/EVA blends and the individual components were performed with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique and wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). Influences of blending on the crystallization kinetics of each component in HDPE/EVA mixture were evaluated by Friedman's activation energy and Khanna's crystallization rate coefficient (CRC). The addition of more HDPE into the EVA matrix causes more heterogeneous nucleation while the addition of EVA would hinder the nucleation of HDPE at the beginning of cooling process. Inter-molecular interaction in the melt facilitated the crystallization of both EVA and HDPE components. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that HDPE and EVA have orthorhombic unit cell. Blending with EVA did not affect the crystalline structure of HDPE. In addition, a little shift of (1 1 0), (2 0 0) and (0 2 0) crystalline peaks toward lower 2θ values of samples indicating a little increase of unit cell parameters of the orthorhombic unit cell of polyethylene. Thermal fractionation results showed that co-crystallization took place in the HDPE/EVA blend. All those results indicated that the polymer pair we choose was partially miscible.

The Effects of Self-Paced Blended Learning of Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Balentyne, Phoebe; Varga, Mary Alice

2016-01-01

As online and blended learning gain more popularity in education, it becomes more important to understand their effects on student learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of self-paced blended learning of mathematics on the attitudes and achievement of 26 high ability middle school students, and investigate the relationship…

Polymer blends of polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene succinate-adipate

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Wenguang

A series of blends consisting of polylactic acid (PLA) and aliphatic succinate polyester (BionolleRTM #3000) had been prepared and investigated. The results of mechanical property investigations showed that using 20 wt% Bionolle#3000 can significantly increase the toughness of PLA. BionolleRTM #3000 also reduces the physical aging rate of PLA so blends remain tough longer. Conversely, the stiffness of BionolleRTM #3000 can be significantly increased by blending in PLA. DMA and DSC results show that PLA/BionolleRTM 3000 blends are not thermodynamically miscible, but are compatible blends. Studies have also been performed to determine the amount and rate of aerobic biodegradation of PLA/aliphatic succinate polyester blends in biologically active composting, enzymatic, and soil environments. The changes in molecular weight, molecular structure and thermal properties in the composting environment were also studied by GPC, NMR and DSC analyses. The research results showed BionolleRTM #3000 had a high degradation rate, while PLA had a low degradation rate. PLA/BionolleRTM #3000 blends had moderate degradation rates that increased with BionolleRTM #3000 content. The melt flow behavior of PLA/BionolleRTM #3000 blends has been studied by capillary rheometry. The relationship of the blends' viscosity with their composition, shear stress, shear rate, and temperature has been investigated. Power law index and activation energy of PLA, BionolleRTM #3000 and their blends have been calculated. The experimental and theoretical data can let us understand the processability of PLA/BionolleRTM #3000 blends. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the morphological structure of the PLA/BionolleRTM #3000 blends. Micrographs of the samples made from different methods (blown film, extrudate and compression molding sheet) were taken; their differences in morphology were compared. For comparison, the micrographs of blend PLA/BionolleRTM #6000 was also studied. The

Decentralized Blended Acquisition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, A.J.

2013-01-01

The concept of blending and deblending is reviewed, making use of traditional and dispersed source arrays. The network concept of distributed blended acquisition is introduced. A million-trace robot system is proposed, illustrating that decentralization may bring about a revolution in the way we

Blended Learning: enabling Higher Education Reform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen Matheos

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Blended learning research and practice have been areas of growth for two decades in Canada, with over 95% of Canadian higher education institutions involved in some form of blended learning. Despite strong evidence based research and practice blended learning, for the most part, has remained at sidelined in Canadian universities. The article argues the need for blended learning to situate itself within the timely and crucial Higher Education Reform (HER agenda. By aligning the affordances of blended learning with the components of HER, blended learning can clearly serve as an enabler for HER.

The butane as a component for the gasoline blending

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gicheva, Ljubica

2002-01-01

In OKTA Crude Oil Refinery - Skopje the production of butane as a pure component is based on a liquid phase and it is used for both TNG (propane-butane gas) and motor gasoline production with a quality that satisfy the standard. By using the butane as a gasoline component the quality of the MB-98 and BMB has been improved. The butane itself ensures octane improvement of the pool, by what the content of the lead additives or the octane of the main component - reformat decreases. Also, the butane addition decreases the density of the final products by what the financial effects have been improved. It is also interesting to explain the usage of butane for gasoline production concerning the new proposed standard. The paper presents the practical results, through tables and diagrams, of the butane usage as a component for gasoline production, as well as the butane influence to the quality of the produced gasoline. (Original)

Effect of the High-Energy Electron Beam Irradiation on the Morphology and Mechanical Properties of PE/EVA Blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Razavi Aghjeh, M. K.

2006-01-01

The main objective of the present work was to study the effect of electron beam irradiation on the morphology and mechanical properties of PE/EVA blends. The melt compounding of the blends were carried out in an internal mixer. The small amount of the prepared blend samples were rapidly quenched in liquid nitrogen and the remained were compression molded into sheets. Sheets and quenched samples were then irradiated by a 10 MeV electron beam accelerator using different dose levels. The morphological studies for both, sheeted and quenched blends were performed on cryogenically fractured surfaces by using SEM technique. The mechanical properties of the sheeted samples were evaluated according to ASTM D638. The results of mechanical properties showed that, increasing in irradiation dose increases the tensile strength and decreases the elongation at break in all blend compositions. On the other hand, it was found that, for PE/EVA blends the extent of tensile strength increase, and elongation at break decrease, are more appreciable in compare to the neat PE and EVA. These results suggest that, the blend interface is more susceptible for irradiation induced crosslinking. This is because of more affinity of PE and EVA macroradicals to termination with together in compare to own macroradicals.The results of morphological studies showed that, irradiation can stabilize the blend morphology especially in co-continues regions, where the morphology is more unstable due to the heat coarsening

blend4php: a PHP API for galaxy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wytko, Connor; Soto, Brian; Ficklin, Stephen P

2017-01-01

Galaxy is a popular framework for execution of complex analytical pipelines typically for large data sets, and is a commonly used for (but not limited to) genomic, genetic and related biological analysis. It provides a web front-end and integrates with high performance computing resources. Here we report the development of the blend4php library that wraps Galaxy's RESTful API into a PHP-based library. PHP-based web applications can use blend4php to automate execution, monitoring and management of a remote Galaxy server, including its users, workflows, jobs and more. The blend4php library was specifically developed for the integration of Galaxy with Tripal, the open-source toolkit for the creation of online genomic and genetic web sites. However, it was designed as an independent library for use by any application, and is freely available under version 3 of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LPGL v3.0) at https://github.com/galaxyproject/blend4phpDatabase URL: https://github.com/galaxyproject/blend4php. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Potential Application of ENR/EPDM Blends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.L. Chan

2017-06-01

resistance properties, or some in the development of potential thermoplastic rubber and its thermoplastic vulcanizates. In this paper, the author would like to share some findingsof the ENR/EPDM blends that have good flexand dynamic properties, relatively low compression set, and tolerant tensile properties that satisfy most rubber products that are required for and used in the industrial, mechanical, and even automotive parts. More importantly, the sliding skid resistance/frictional property and wear resistance of the blends are also examined. In some blends, the thermal dynamic behaviour is also measured over a temperature range depicting the low-temperature stability, its temperature of transition and the dynamic factor like tangent delta (σ. These are the potential factors that could enhance the blend properties that give possible, good high speed and traction, applicable in tyres.

Analysis of physicochemical properties of Mexican gasoline and diesel reformulated with ethanol; Analisis de las propiedades fisicoquimicas de gasolina y diesel mexicanos reformulados con etanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castillo-Hernandez, Patricia; Mendoza-Dominguez, Alberto; Caballero-Mata, Porfirio [Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Nuevo Leon (Mexico)]. E-mails: pcastillohdz@gmail.com; mendoza.alberto@itesm.mx; pcaballe@itesm.mx

2012-07-15

High energy prices, environmental issues and increasing importation of fossil fuels has provoked, in some countries, a reorientation of resources towards the development of biofuels that can partially substitute the consumption of fossil fuels. Ethanol is one of the biofuels more commonly used in the world; in the United States, Brazil and Australia gasoline blends that reach up to 85% Ethanol are commercialized. This work presents the results of a physicochemical characterization of commercial Mexican gasoline (Magna and Premium) and diesel blends with 10% vol. and 15% vol. anhydrous Ethanol. The analytical testing included: Research Octane Number, Motor Octane Number, Cetane Number, Reid Vapor Pressure, Distillation Curve and Heating Value. The stability of the blends was also evaluated. The theoretical emissions of CO{sub 2} were calculated based on the results of the physicochemical characterization. The ethanol-gasoline blends increased their Octane Number with respect to the commercial gasoline, while conserving an appropriate Distillation Index. The Cetane Number of the ethanol-diesel blends showed a substantial decrease, while the heating value of gasoline and diesel blends was negatively affected by the addition of ethanol. Nevertheless, taking into account the credits by the use of a renewable fuel, the use of the reformulated gasoline blends would imply a maximum theoretical reduction of 7.5% in CO{sub 2} emissions whereas in the case of ethanol-diesel blends it would represent a 9.2% decrease. [Spanish] Los altos precios de los energeticos, la problematica ambiental y las importaciones de combustibles continuamente a la alza, han ocasionado que algunos paises redirijan sus esfuerzos al desarrollo de biocombustibles con la finalidad de sustituir parcialmente a los combustibles fosiles. El Etanol es uno de los biocombustibles mas usados; Estados Unidos, Brasil y Australia comercializan gasolina con Etanol con una concentracion de hasta 85% en volumen. El

Effect of Temperature, Pressure and Equivalence Ratio on Ignition Delay in Ignition Quality Tester (IQT): Diesel,n-Heptane, andiso-Octane Fuels under Low Temperature Conditions

KAUST Repository

Yang, Seung Yeon; Naser, Nimal; Chung, Suk-Ho; Cha, Junepyo

2015-01-01

-octane in relatively low temperature conditions to simulate unsteady spray ignition behavior. A KAUST Research ignition quality tester (KR-IQT) was utilized, which has a feature of varying temperature, pressure and equivalence ratio using a variable displacement fuel

7 CFR 989.16 - Blend.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Blend. 989.16 Section 989.16 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and... CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 989.16 Blend. Blend means to mix or commingle raisins. ...

Effect of Blending on the Composition and Acceptability of Blends of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However the blend was found deficient in lysine, leucine, iso-leucine and phenylalanine when compared with the FAO recommendations for infants. Increased levels of pigeon pea in the blend also resulted in significant increases in potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium and calcium. Similarly, increased levels of ...

Blended learning in surgery using the Inmedea Simulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Funke, Katrin; Bonrath, Esther; Mardin, Wolf Arif; Becker, Jan Carl; Haier, Joerg; Senninger, Norbert; Vowinkel, Thorsten; Hoelzen, Jens Peter; Mees, Soeren Torge

2013-02-01

Recently, medical education in surgery has experienced several modifications. We have implemented a blended learning module in our teaching curriculum to evaluate its effectiveness, applicability, and acceptance in surgical education. In this prospective study, the traditional face-to-face learning of our teaching curriculum for fourth-year medical students (n = 116) was augmented by the Inmedea Simulator, a web-based E-learning system, with six virtual patient cases. Student results were documented by the system and learning success was determined by comparing patient cases with comparable diseases (second and sixth case). The acceptance among the students was evaluated with a questionnaire. After using the Inmedea Simulator, correct diagnoses were found significantly (P blended learning (score 2.5 ± 1.2) to conventional teaching. The blended learning approach using the Inmedea Simulator was highly appreciated by our medical students and resulted in a significant learning success. Blended learning appears to be a suitable tool to complement traditional teaching in surgery.

HEU to LEU Conversion and Blending Facility: UF{sub 6} blending alternative to produce LEU UF{sub 6} for commercial use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-01

US DOE is examining options for disposing of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials; the nuclear material will be converted to a form more proliferation- resistant than the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. Five technologies for blending HEU will be assessed; blending as UF{sub 6} to produce a UF{sub 6} product for commercial use is one of them. This document provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the UF{sub 6} blending HEU disposition option. Resource needs, employment needs, waste and emissions from plant, hazards, accident scenarios, and intersite transportation are discussed.

Properties of PET/PLA Electrospun Blends

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Kevin; Cebe, Peggy

2012-02-01

Electrospun membranes were fabricated from poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, co-spun with poly(lactic acid), PLA. The PLA contained 2% of the D-isomer, which served to limit the overall degree of crystallinity. Membranes were deposited from blended solutions of PET/PLA in hexafluoroisopropanol. The PET/PLA composition ranged from 0/100, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 100/0. Electrospun membranes were made using either a static flat plate or a rotating wheel as the counter electrode, yielding unoriented mats or highly oriented tapes, respectively. We report on our investigation of the crystallinity, crystal perfection, and mechanical properties of these materials using differential scanning calorimetry, wide and small angle X-ray scattering, and dynamic mechanical analysis. In particular, we study the ability of one blend component (PET) to crystallize in the presence of existing crystals of the second blend component (PLA) which crystallizes first and at a lower temperature than PET.

Locally restricted blending of Blobtrees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, de Erwin; Wyvill, B.; Wetering, van de H.M.M.

2009-01-01

Blobtrees are volume representations particularly useful for models which require smooth blending. When blending is applied to two or more Blobtree models, extra volume will be created in between the two surfaces to form a smooth connection. Although it is easy to apply blending, it is hard to

Performance of Blended Learning in University Teaching:

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Reiss

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Blended learning as a combination of classroom teaching and e-learning has become a widely represented standard in employee and management development of companies. The exploratory survey “Blended Learning@University” conducted in 2008 investigated the integration of blended learning in higher education. The results of the survey show that the majority of participating academic teachers use blended learning in single courses, but not as a program of study and thus do not exploit the core performance potential of blended learning. According to the study, the main driver of blended learning performance is its embeddedness in higher education. Integrated blended programs of study deliver the best results. In blended learning, learning infrastructure (in terms of software, culture, skills, funding, content providing, etc. does not play the role of a performance driver but serves as an enabler for blended learning.

HEU to LEU Conversion and Blending Facility: UNH blending alternative to produce LEU UNH for commercial use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-01

US DOE is examining options for disposing of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials and storage of all weapons-usable fissile materials. The nuclear material is converted to a form that is more proliferation-resistant than the original form. Examining options for increasing the proliferation resistance of highly enriched uranium (HEU) is part of this effort. Five technologies for blending HEU will be assessed. This document provides data to be used in the environmental impact analysis for the UNH blending HEU disposition option. Process requirements, resource needs, employment needs, waste/emissions from plant, hazards, accident scenarios, and intersite transportation are discussed.

Effects of butanol-diesel fuel blends on the performance and emissions of a high-speed DI diesel engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rakopoulos, D.C.; Rakopoulos, C.D.; Giakoumis, E.G.; Dimaratos, A.M.; Kyritsis, D.C.

2010-01-01

An experimental investigation is conducted to evaluate the effects of using blends of n-butanol (normal butanol) with conventional diesel fuel, with 8%, 16% and 24% (by volume) n-butanol, on the performance and exhaust emissions of a standard, fully instrumented, four-stroke, high-speed, direct injection (DI), Ricardo/Cussons 'Hydra' diesel engine located at the authors' laboratory. The tests are conducted using each of the above fuel blends or neat diesel fuel, with the engine working at a speed of 2000 rpm and at three different loads. In each test, fuel consumption, exhaust smokiness and exhaust regulated gas emissions such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and total unburned hydrocarbons are measured. The differences in the measured performance and exhaust emission parameters of the three butanol-diesel fuel blends from the baseline operation of the diesel engine, i.e., when working with neat diesel fuel, are determined and compared. It is revealed that this fuel, which can be produced from biomass (bio-butanol), forms a challenging and promising bio-fuel for diesel engines. The differing physical and chemical properties of butanol against those for the diesel fuel are used to aid the correct interpretation of the observed engine behavior.

Toughening mechanisms in interfacially modified HDPE/thermoplastic starch blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Taguet, Aurélie; Bureau, Martin N; Huneault, Michel A; Favis, Basil D

2014-12-19

The mechanical behavior of polymer blends containing 80 wt% of HDPE and 20 wt% of TPS and compatibilized with HDPE-g-MA grafted copolymer was investigated. Unmodified HDPE/TPS blends exhibit high fracture resistance, however, the interfacial modification of those blends by addition of HDPE-g-MA leads to a dramatic drop in fracture resistance. The compatibilization of HDPE/TPS blends increases the surface area of TPS particles by decreasing their size. It was postulated that the addition of HDPE-g-MA induces a reaction between maleic anhydride and hydroxyl groups of the glycerol leading to a decrease of the glycerol content in the TPS phase. This phenomenon increases the stiffness of the modified TPS particles and stiffer TPS particles leading to an important reduction in toughness and plastic deformation, as measured by the EWF method. It is shown that the main toughening mechanism in HDPE/TPS blends is shear-yielding. This article demonstrates that stiff, low diameter TPS particles reduce shear band formation and consequently decrease the resistance to crack propagation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-Trust Leadership and Blended Learning in the Age of Disruptive Innovation: Strategic Thinking for Colleges and Schools of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Denise D.; Piper, Randy T.

2016-01-01

We introduce diverse definitions of leadership and its evolutionary history and then we integrate this idea network: strategic thinking, high-trust leadership, blended learning, and disruptive innovation. Following the lead of Marx's (2014) model of Teaching Leadership and Strategy and Rehm's (2014) model of High School Student Leadership…

Technology for down-blending weapons grade uranium into commercial reactor-usable uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arbital, J.G.; Snider, J.D.

1996-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is evaluating options for rendering surplus inventories of highly enriched uranium (HEU) incapable of being used in nuclear weapons. Weapons-capable HEU was earlier produced by enriching the uranium isotope 235 U from its natural occurring 0.71 percent isotopic concentration to at least 20 percent isotopic concentration. Now, by permanently diluting the concentration of the 235 U isotope, the weapons capability of HEU can be eliminated in a manner that is reversible only through isotope re-enrichment, and therefore, highly resistant to proliferation. To the extent that can be economically and technically justified, the down-blended, low-enriched uranium product will be made suitable for use as commercial reactor fuel. Such down-blended uranium product can also be disposed of as waste if chemical or isotopic impurities preclude its use as reactor fuel. The DOE has evaluated three candidate processes for down blending surplus HEU. These candidate processes are: (1) uranium hexafluoride blending; (2) molten uranium metal blending; and (3) uranyl nitrate solution blending. This paper describes each of these candidate processes. It also compares the relative advantages and disadvantages of each process with respect to: (1) the various forms and compounds of HEU comprising the surplus inventory, (2) the use of down-blended product as commercial reactor fuel, or (3) its disposal as waste

PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN ZAT ADITIF OCTANE BOOSTER X TERHADAP KINERJA DAN EMISI GAS BUANG KENDARAAN SEPEDA MOTOR TIPE ALL NEW CBR150R

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gusti Yuditia Rahmadian

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Proses pembakaran pada kendaraan bermotor sangat mempengaruhi kinerja mesin secara keseluruhan dan efisiensi pembakaran pada mesin itu sendiri. Zat aditif merupakan bahan yang ditambahkan pada bahan bakar, baik mesin bensin maupun mesin diesel. Zat aditif digunakan sebagai anti knocking akibat pembakaran yang tidak sempurna dan meningkatakan angka oktan untuk bahan bakar bensin. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh komposisi penggunaan zat aditif Octane Booster terhadap kinerja mesin motor CBR150R tahun 2014 menggunakan Dyno test, gas analyzer dan tes konsumsi bahan bakar. Berdasarkan eksperimen didapatkan bahwa campuran komposisi OB2 (1 liter pertamax ditambah 3 ml zat aditif Octane Booster membuat daya dan torsi meningkat menjadi 12.54 kW @10500 rpm dan 12.17 Nm @y500 rpm, serta menurunkan kadar CO menjadi 0.08 % Vol, HC menjadi 129 ppm Vol, O2 menjadi 2.68 % Vol dan menaikkan kadar CO2 menjadi 9.82 % Vol dan masih berada di bawah ambang batas dari ketentuan pemerintah. Komposisi tersebut juga menurunkan tingkat konsumsi bahan bakar menjadi 22.73 ,l/km yang membuat kendaraan menjadi lebih irit.

Matrimid®/polysulfone blend mixed matrix membranes containing ZIF-8 nanoparticles for high pressure stability in natural gas separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shahid, S.; Nijmeijer, K.

2017-01-01

Plasticization is of important concern in high pressure natural gas separation. Majority of the pure polymers and MOF-MMM systems suffer from plasticization at low pressures. Combination of polymer blending and MMM approach could lead to plasticization resistant membranes with improved membrane

Compatibilizing Bulk Polymer Blends by Using Organoclays

Science.gov (United States)

Si, Mayu; Gersappe, Dilip; Zhang, Wenhua; Ade, Harald; Rafailovich, Miriam; Sokolov, Jonathan; Rudomen, Gregory; Schwartz, Bradley; Fisher, Robert

2004-03-01

We investigated the compatiblizing performance of organoclays on melt mixed binary and tertiary polymer blends, such as, PS/PMMA, PC/SAN, PS/PMMA/PVC and PS/PMMA/PE. These polymer blends were characterized by TEM, STXM, DSC and DMA. TEM and STXM photographs show that the addition of organoclays into polymer blends drastically reduces the average domain size of the component phases. And the organoclay goes to the interfacial region between the different polymers and effectively slows down the domain size increasing during high temperature annealing. DMA and DSC results show the effect of organoclays on the mechanical properties and glass transitions temperature, which indicates the compatibilization on the molecular level. The generalized compatibilization induced by the nanoscale fillers for blends can be explained in terms of mean field models where the reduction of interfacial tension induced by in-situ grafting is counterbalanced by the increased bending energy due to the rigidity of the filler. This in turn can be shown to be a function of the degree of exfoliation, aspect ratio, and polymer filler interactions. Supported by NSF funded MRSEC at Stony Brook

Effects of Electron Beam Irradiation on Binary Polyamide-6 Blends with Metallocene Copolymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosales, C.

2006-01-01

A versatile way to produce new materials with high Izod impact strength and reduced heat deformations is the irradiation of compatibilized blends. The effect of electron beam irradiation and different types of dispersed phase grafted copolymers on thermal and mechanical properties, and SEM morphology of polyamide-6 (PA-6) blends were investigated. Two metallocene copolymers (mEPDM and mPOE) grafted in-situ with maleic anhydride and two commercial maleated copolymers (EPDM-g-MA and mEPR-g-MA) were employed in binary blends with PA6 as matrix. The blends were prepared by extrusion with a composition of 80 wt. % of PA-6. The influence of the radical or functional groups generated in the grafting and the irradiation processes (25, 50, 100 and 200 kGy) was found by ATR-FTIR. The blends exhibited the characteristic thermal behavior of immiscible systems. All compatibilizers employed influenced the melting and crystallization behavior of the blend components without irradiation and an improvement in interface adhesion was clearly observed by SEM micrographs. The sizes of the dispersed phase in the non-irradiated reactive blends were in agreement with the viscosity ratios of the blend components. High toughness materials were obtained with ethylene-polypropylene-diene (mEPDM) grafted copolymers without significant variations in their thermal properties and Izod impact strength at room temperature and -30 degree with the irradiation doses. However, the toughness of the blends with grafted metallocene polyethylenes was affected by the irradiation doses employed. Therefore, the gel content and tensile properties of the samples depended on the chain scission, crosslinking and/or grafting reactions of the blend components

Blended Learning over Two Decades

Science.gov (United States)

Zhonggen, Yu; Yuexiu, Zhejiang

2015-01-01

The 21st century has witnessed vast amounts of research into blended learning since the conception of online learning formed the possibility of blended learning in the early 1990s. The theme of this paper is blended learning in mainstream disciplinary communities. In particular, the paper reports on findings from the last two decades which looked…

Evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline.

Science.gov (United States)

Okamoto, Katsuhiro; Hiramatsu, Muneyuki; Hino, Tomonori; Otake, Takuma; Okamoto, Takashi; Miyamoto, Hiroki; Honma, Masakatsu; Watanabe, Norimichi

2015-04-28

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming, production of gasoline blended with ethyl tert-buthyl ether (ETBE) is increasing annually. The flash point of ETBE is higher than that of gasoline, and blending ETBE into gasoline will change the flash point and the vapor pressure. Therefore, it is expected that the fire hazard caused by ETBE-blended gasoline would differ from that caused by normal gasoline. The aim of this study was to acquire the knowledge required for estimating the fire hazard of ETBE-blended gasoline. Supposing that ETBE-blended gasoline was a two-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE, we developed a prediction model that describes the vapor pressure and flash point of ETBE-blended gasoline in an arbitrary ETBE blending ratio. We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the relation between molar mass of gasoline and mass loss fraction. We measured the changes in the vapor pressure and flash point of gasoline by blending ETBE and evaporation, and compared the predicted values with the measured values in order to verify the prediction model. The calculated values of vapor pressures and flash points corresponded well to the measured values. Thus, we confirmed that the change in the evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation could be predicted by the proposed model. Furthermore, the vapor pressure constants of ETBE-blended gasoline were obtained by the model, and then the distillation curves were developed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Entanglement Dynamics in Miscible Polyisoprene / Poly(p-tert-butyl styrene) Blends

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Hiroshi

2011-03-01

Viscoelastic and dielectric behavior was examined for well entangled, miscible blends of high- M cis-polyisoprene (PI) and poly(p-tert-butyl styrene) (PtBS). The dielectric data of the blends, reflecting the global motion of the PI chains having the type-A dipoles, indicated that PI and PtBS were the fast and slow components therein. At high temperatures T , the blends exhibited two-step entanglement plateau. The high frequency (ω) plateau height was well described by a simple mixing rule of the entanglement length based on the number fraction of the Kuhn segments. At low T , the blend exhibited the Rouse-like power-law behavior of storage and loss moduli, G ' = G ~ω0.5 , in the range of ω where the high- ω plateau was supposed to emerge. This lack of the high- ω plateau was attributed to retardation of the Rouse equilibration of the PI chain over the entanglement length due to the hindrance from the slow PtBS chains: The PI and PtBS chains were equilibrated cooperatively, and the retardation due to PtBS shortened the plateau for PI to a width not resolved experimentally. A simple model for this cooperative equilibration formulated on the basis of the dielectric data described the viscoelastic data surprisingly well.

NUCLEAR ISOTOPIC DILUTION OF HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM BY DRY BLENDING VIA THE RM-2 MILL TECHNOLOGY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajamani, Raj K.; Latchireddi, Sanjeeva; Devrani, Vikas; Sethi, Harappan; Henry, Roger; Chipman, Nate

2003-01-01

DOE has initiated numerous activities to focus on identifying material management strategies to disposition various excess fissile materials. In particular the INEEL has stored 1,700 Kg of offspec HEU at INTEC in CPP-651 vault facility. Currently, the proposed strategies for dispositioning are (a) aqueous dissolution and down blending to LEU via facilities at SRS followed by shipment of the liquid LEU to NFS for fabrication into LWR fuel for the TVA reactors and (b) dilution of the HEU to 0.9% for discard as a waste stream that would no longer have a criticality or proliferation risk without being processed through some type of enrichment system. Dispositioning this inventory as a waste stream via aqueous processing at SRS has been determined to be too costly. Thus, dry blending is the only proposed disposal process for the uranium oxide materials in the CPP-651 vault. Isotopic dilution of HEU to typically less than 20% by dry blending is the key to solving the dispositioning issue (i.e., proliferation) posed by HEU stored at INEEL. RM-2 mill is a technology developed and successfully tested for producing ultra-fine particles by dry grinding. Grinding action in RM-2 mill produces a two million-fold increase in the number of particles being blended in a centrifugal field. In a previous study, the concept of achieving complete and adequate blending and mixing (i.e., no methods were identified to easily separate and concentrate one titanium compound from the other) in remarkably short processing times was successfully tested with surrogate materials (titanium dioxide and titanium mono-oxide) with different particle sizes, hardness and densities. In the current project, the RM-2 milling technology was thoroughly tested with mixtures of natural uranium oxide (NU) and depleted uranium oxide (DU) stock to prove its performance. The effects of mill operating and design variables on the blending of NU/DU oxides were evaluated. First, NU and DU both made of the same oxide

Evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, Katsuhiro; Hiramatsu, Muneyuki; Hino, Tomonori; Otake, Takuma; Okamoto, Takashi; Miyamoto, Hiroki; Honma, Masakatsu; Watanabe, Norimichi

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the molar mass of gasoline. • We proposed an evaporation model assuming a 2-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE. • We predicted the change in the vapor pressure of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation. • The vapor pressures were measured and compared as a means of verifying the model. • We presented the method for predicting flash points of the ETBE-blended gasoline. - Abstract: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming, production of gasoline blended with ethyl tert-buthyl ether (ETBE) is increasing annually. The flash point of ETBE is higher than that of gasoline, and blending ETBE into gasoline will change the flash point and the vapor pressure. Therefore, it is expected that the fire hazard caused by ETBE-blended gasoline would differ from that caused by normal gasoline. The aim of this study was to acquire the knowledge required for estimating the fire hazard of ETBE-blended gasoline. Supposing that ETBE-blended gasoline was a two-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE, we developed a prediction model that describes the vapor pressure and flash point of ETBE-blended gasoline in an arbitrary ETBE blending ratio. We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the relation between molar mass of gasoline and mass loss fraction. We measured the changes in the vapor pressure and flash point of gasoline by blending ETBE and evaporation, and compared the predicted values with the measured values in order to verify the prediction model. The calculated values of vapor pressures and flash points corresponded well to the measured values. Thus, we confirmed that the change in the evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation could be predicted by the proposed model. Furthermore, the vapor pressure constants of ETBE-blended gasoline were obtained by the model, and then the distillation curves were

Evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okamoto, Katsuhiro, E-mail: okamoto@nrips.go.jp [National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882 (Japan); Hiramatsu, Muneyuki [Yamanashi Prefectural Police H.Q., 312-4 Kubonakajima, Isawa-cho, Usui, Yamanashi 406-0036 (Japan); Hino, Tomonori; Otake, Takuma [Metropolitan Police Department, 2-1-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8929 (Japan); Okamoto, Takashi; Miyamoto, Hiroki; Honma, Masakatsu; Watanabe, Norimichi [National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882 (Japan)

2015-04-28

Highlights: • We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the molar mass of gasoline. • We proposed an evaporation model assuming a 2-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE. • We predicted the change in the vapor pressure of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation. • The vapor pressures were measured and compared as a means of verifying the model. • We presented the method for predicting flash points of the ETBE-blended gasoline. - Abstract: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming, production of gasoline blended with ethyl tert-buthyl ether (ETBE) is increasing annually. The flash point of ETBE is higher than that of gasoline, and blending ETBE into gasoline will change the flash point and the vapor pressure. Therefore, it is expected that the fire hazard caused by ETBE-blended gasoline would differ from that caused by normal gasoline. The aim of this study was to acquire the knowledge required for estimating the fire hazard of ETBE-blended gasoline. Supposing that ETBE-blended gasoline was a two-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE, we developed a prediction model that describes the vapor pressure and flash point of ETBE-blended gasoline in an arbitrary ETBE blending ratio. We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the relation between molar mass of gasoline and mass loss fraction. We measured the changes in the vapor pressure and flash point of gasoline by blending ETBE and evaporation, and compared the predicted values with the measured values in order to verify the prediction model. The calculated values of vapor pressures and flash points corresponded well to the measured values. Thus, we confirmed that the change in the evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation could be predicted by the proposed model. Furthermore, the vapor pressure constants of ETBE-blended gasoline were obtained by the model, and then the distillation curves were

AKRO/SF: Blend System

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Blend was the system used by the NMFS Alaska Regional Office to monitor groundfish catch from 1991 until 2002. The Blend system combined data from industry...

Neutral wetting brush layers for block copolymer thin films using homopolymer blends processed at high temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceresoli, M; Palermo, M; Ferrarese Lupi, F; Seguini, G; Perego, M; Zuccheri, G; Phadatare, S D; Antonioli, D; Gianotti, V; Sparnacci, K; Laus, M

2015-01-01

Binary homopolymer blends of two hydroxyl-terminated polystyrene (PS-OH) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA-OH) homopolymers (Mn ∼ 16000 g mol"−"1) were grafted on SiO_2 substrates by high-temperature (T > 150 °C), short-time (t < 600 s) thermal treatments. The resulting brush layer was tested to screen preferential interactions of the SiO_2 substrate with the different symmetric and asymmetric PS-b-PMMA block copolymers deposited on top of the grafted molecules. By properly adjusting the blend composition and the processing parameters, an efficient surface neutralization path was identified, enabling the formation, in the block copolymer film, of homogeneous textures of lamellae or cylinders perpendicularly oriented with respect to the substrate. A critical interplay between the phase segregation of the homopolymer blends and their grafting process on the SiO_2 was observed. In fact, the polar SiO_2 is preferential for the PMMA-rich phase that forms a homogeneous layer on the substrate, while the PS-rich phase is located at the polymer-air interface. During the thermal treatment, phase segregation and grafting proceed simultaneously. Complete wetting of the PS rich phase on the PMMA rich phase leads to the formation of a PS/PMMA bilayer. In this case, the progressive diffusion of PS chains toward the polymer-SiO_2 interface during the thermal treatment allows tuning of the brush layer composition. (paper)

High-performance ternary blend polymer solar cells involving both energy transfer and hole relay processes

OpenAIRE

Lu, Luyao; Chen, Wei; Xu, Tao; Yu, Luping

2015-01-01

The integration of multiple materials with complementary absorptions into a single junction device is regarded as an efficient way to enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, because of increased complexity with one more component, only limited high-performance ternary systems have been demonstrated previously. Here we report an efficient ternary blend OSC with a PCE of 9.2%. We show that the third component can reduce surface trap densities in the...

Effects of blend ratio between high density polyethylene and biomass on co-gasification behavior in a two-stage gasification system

KAUST Repository

Park, Jae Hyun

2016-08-12

The co-gasification of a high density polyethylene (HDPE) blended with a biomass has been carried out in a two-stage gasification system which comprises an oxidative pyrolysis reactor and a thermal plasma reactor. The equivalence ratio was changed from 0.38 to 0.85 according to the variation of blend ratio between HDPE and biomass. The highest production yield was achieved to be 71.4 mol/h, when the equivalence ratio was 0.47. A large amount of hydrocarbons was produced from the oxidative pyrolysis reactor as decreasing equivalence ratio below 0.41, while the CO2 concentration significantly increased with a high equivalence ratio over 0.65. The production yield was improved by the thermal plasma reactor due to the conversion of hydrocarbons into syngas in a high temperature region of thermal plasma. At the equivalence ratio of 0.47, conversion selectivities of CO and H2 from hydrocarbons were calculated to be 74% and 44%, respectively. © 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.

DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYVINYLIDENE FLUORIDE - IMIDAZOLIUM FUNCTIONALIZED POLYSULFONE BLEND ANION EXCHANGE MEMBRANE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. VELU

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Anion exchange membrane (AEM is one of the core components of an alkaline fuel cell influencing the fuel cell’s performance, durability and stability. Out of the many anion exchange membranes reported so far, imidazolium functionalized polysulfone (PSf-ImOH membrane has been identified to have high hydroxide ionic conductivity, reaching up to 50 mS cm-1 at 20oC. However, at high levels of ion exchange capacity, the membrane’s water uptake and swelling ratio increases significantly with temperature thus destabilizing it and making it unfit for potential use in high temperature alkaline fuel cells. This limitation of PSf-ImOH membranes has been overcome by blending it with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF polymer, which is a thermally stable and highly hydrophobic polymer. PSf-ImOH membrane with a high degree of chloromethylation (180% was synthesized and blended with PVDF at different weight ratios (PVDF / PSf-ImOH: 30/70, 50/50 and 70/30 to create a series of novel anion exchange membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized to study their structure, water uptake, swelling ratio, solubility in low boiling water soluble solvents, thermal stability, ion exchange capacity (IEC and ionic conductivity (IC at different temperatures. The 70% PVDF blend membrane demonstrated the better performance in terms of IEC, IC and water uptake properties compared to other membranes. Comparative studies on the water uptake and IC variation between the 70% PVDF blend membrane and pure PSfImOH membrane (having the same IEC as that of the blend membrane, clearly indicated the superiority and the promising use of the blend membrane in alkaline fuel cell especially for high temperature working condition.

Investigation on the effect of blending ratio and airflow rate on syngas profile produced from co-gasification of blended feedstock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inayat Muddasser

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Shortages of feedstock supply due to seasonal availability, high transportation costs, and lack of biomass market are creating serious problems in continues operation of bioenergy industry. Aiming at this problem, utilization of blended feedstock is proposed. In this work blends of two different biomasses (wood and coconut shells were co-gasified using externally heated downdraft gasifier. The effects of varying biomass blending ratio and airflow rate on gaseous components of syngas and its heating value were investigated. The results obtained from the experiments revealed that W20:CS80 blend yielded higher values for H2 (20 Vol.% and HHV (18 MJ/Nm3 as compared to the other blends. The higher airflow rate has a negative effect on syngas profile and heating value. The CO and CH4 were observed higher at the start of the process, however, CO was observed decreasing afterward, and the CH4 dropped to 5.0 Vol.%. The maximum H2 and CH4 were obtained at 2.5 LPM airflow rate. The process was noticed more stable at low air flow rates. The HHV was observed higher at the start of process at low airflow rate. It is concluded that low airflow rate and a higher ratio of coconut shells can improve the syngas quality during co-gasification.

Entanglement in miscible blends

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Hiroshi

2010-03-01

The entanglement length Le of polymer chains (corresponding to the entanglement molecular weight Me) is not an intrinsic material parameter but changes with the interaction with surrounding chains. For miscible blends of cis-polyisoprene (PI) and poly(tert-butyl styrene) (PtBS), changes of Le on blending was examined. It turned out that the Le averaged over the number fractions of the Kuhn segments of the components (PI and PtBS) satisfactorily describes the viscoelastic behavior of pseudo-monodisperse blends in which the terminal relaxation time is the same for PI and PtBS.

Miscibility evolution of polycarbonate/polystyrene blends during compounding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chuai, Chengzhi; Almdal, Kristoffer; Johannsen, Ib

2002-01-01

The miscibility evolution of polycarbonate/polystyrene (PC/PS) blends during the compounding process in three blending methods of industrial relevance, namely melt blending, remelt blending in a twin-screw extruder and third melt blending in an injection molding machine, was investigated...... polymer in the other. The observed solubility strongly depends on blend composition and blending method. The T-g measurements showed maximum mutual solubility around 50/50 composition. The miscibility of PC/PS blended after the third stage (melt injection molding) was higher than that after the first...... by measuring their glass transition temperatures (T-g) and their specific heat increment (DeltaC(p)). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to examine nine blend compositions. Shifts in glass transition temperature (T-g) of the two phases in melt-mixed PC/PS blends suggest partial miscibility of one...

Preliminary assessment of blending Hanford tank wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geeting, J.G.H.; Kurath, D.E.

1993-03-01

A parametric study of blending Hanford tank wastes identified possible benefits from blending wastes prior to immobilization as a high level or low level waste form. Track Radioactive Components data were used as the basis for the single-shell tank (SST) waste composition, while analytical data were used for the double-shell tank (DST) composition. Limiting components were determined using the existing feed criteria for the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP) and the Grout Treatment Facility (GTF). Results have shown that blending can significantly increase waste loading and that the baseline quantities of immobilized waste projected for the sludge-wash pretreatment case may have been drastically underestimated, because critical components were not considered. Alternatively, the results suggest further review of the grout feed specifications and the solubility of minor components in HWVP borosilicate glass. Future immobilized waste estimates might be decreased substantially upon a thorough review of the appropriate feed specifications

Preliminary assessment of blending Hanford tank wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geeting, J.G.H.; Kurath, D.E.

1993-03-01

A parametric study of blending Hanford tank wastes identified possible benefits from blending wastes prior to immobilization as a high level or low level waste form. Track Radioactive Components data were used as the basis for the single-shell tank (SST) waste composition, while analytical data were used for the double-shell tank (DST) composition. Limiting components were determined using the existing feed criteria for the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP) and the Grout Treatment Facility (GTF). Results have shown that blending can significantly increase waste loading and that the baseline quantities of immobilized waste projected for the sludge-wash pretreatment case may have been drastically underestimated, because critical components were not considered. Alternatively, the results suggest further review of the grout feed specifications and the solubility of minor components in HWVP borosilicate glass. Future immobilized waste estimates might be decreased substantially upon a thorough review of the appropriate feed specifications.

Dissolution of di-2-ethylhexyl phosphates of ree in an octane + octanol mixture under the influence of gaseous ammonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trifonov, Y.I.; Legin, E.K.; Suglobov, D.N.

1986-01-01

The authors find that the solubility of di-2-ethylhexyl phosphates rises considerably under the influence of gaseous ammonia on the solvent-LnA 3 system when a mixture of octane and octanol is used as solvent. The dissolving power of ammonia rises with alcohol concentration and attains the maximum at an alcohol content of ca 20 vol. %. An equation is presented that describes the dependence of the LnA 3 solubility on the partial amonia pressure

Effects of Blended-Cement Paste Chemical Composition Changes on Some Strength Gains of Blended-Mortars

Science.gov (United States)

Kirgiz, Mehmet Serkan

2014-01-01

Effects of chemical compositions changes of blended-cement pastes (BCPCCC) on some strength gains of blended cement mortars (BCMSG) were monitored in order to gain a better understanding for developments of hydration and strength of blended cements. Blended cements (BC) were prepared by blending of 5% gypsum and 6%, 20%, 21%, and 35% marble powder (MP) or 6%, 20%, 21%, and 35% brick powder (BP) for CEMI42.5N cement clinker and grinding these portions in ball mill at 30 (min). Pastes and mortars, containing the MP-BC and the BP-BC and the reference cement (RC) and tap water and standard mortar sand, were also mixed and they were cured within water until testing. Experiments included chemical compositions of pastes and compressive strengths (CS) and flexural strengths (FS) of mortars were determined at 7th-day, 28th-day, and 90th-day according to TS EN 196-2 and TS EN 196-1 present standards. Experimental results indicated that ups and downs of silica oxide (SiO2), sodium oxide (Na2O), and alkali at MP-BCPCC and continuously rising movement of silica oxide (SiO2) at BP-BCPCC positively influenced CS and FS of blended cement mortars (BCM) in comparison with reference mortars (RM) at whole cure days as MP up to 6% or BP up to 35% was blended for cement. PMID:24587737

Effects of Blended-Cement Paste Chemical Composition Changes on Some Strength Gains of Blended-Mortars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Serkan Kirgiz

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Effects of chemical compositions changes of blended-cement pastes (BCPCCC on some strength gains of blended cement mortars (BCMSG were monitored in order to gain a better understanding for developments of hydration and strength of blended cements. Blended cements (BC were prepared by blending of 5% gypsum and 6%, 20%, 21%, and 35% marble powder (MP or 6%, 20%, 21%, and 35% brick powder (BP for CEMI42.5N cement clinker and grinding these portions in ball mill at 30 (min. Pastes and mortars, containing the MP-BC and the BP-BC and the reference cement (RC and tap water and standard mortar sand, were also mixed and they were cured within water until testing. Experiments included chemical compositions of pastes and compressive strengths (CS and flexural strengths (FS of mortars were determined at 7th-day, 28th-day, and 90th-day according to TS EN 196-2 and TS EN 196-1 present standards. Experimental results indicated that ups and downs of silica oxide (SiO2, sodium oxide (Na2O, and alkali at MP-BCPCC and continuously rising movement of silica oxide (SiO2 at BP-BCPCC positively influenced CS and FS of blended cement mortars (BCM in comparison with reference mortars (RM at whole cure days as MP up to 6% or BP up to 35% was blended for cement.

Reactivity and NO emissions of coal blends during combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

B. Arias; R.I. Backreedy; A. Arenillas; J.M. Jones; F. Rubiera; M. Pourkashanian; A. Williams; J.J. Pis [Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC, Oviedo (Spain)

2003-07-01

This work is focussed on burnout and NO emissions during coal blend combustion. Two different approaches were used. In a first step, experimental work was carried out in a laminar entrained flow reactor (EFR) and then computational techniques were applied to improve the burnout prediction of coals and blend during the experiments. A preliminary study on the combustibility of the samples was made using a thermogravimetric analyser. An entrained flow reactor was employed to study the behaviour of coals and blends at high heating rate and short residence times. Burnout and NO emissions were measured during these experiments. Two methods were used to modelling the combustion in the entrained flow reactor: a commercial CFD code and an advanced char burnout model. Experiments done in the EFR showed that burnout and NO emissions of some blends can be predicted from the weighted average of the values of individual coals, especially when blended coals have the same rank. When a blend is made with coals of different rank, some deviations were observed with respect to the averaged values in burnout and especially in NOx emissions. Burnouts predicted with a commercial CFD code were higher than the experimental values. The use of an advanced char burnout model improved greatly the results, showing the advantages of coupling these two mathematical techniques. 9 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

Quality of some Nigerian coals as a blending stock in metallurgical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Lafia- Obi/foreign coals blends possess lower ash and better rheological properties compared to Chikila/foreign coal composites which have high ash and poor rheological properties. These together suggest that amongst the two Nigerian coals, Lafia-Obi is superior for blending with the foreign ones in metallurgical coke ...

Combustion and emissions characteristics of high n-butanol/diesel ratio blend in a heavy-duty diesel engine and EGR impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Zheng; Wu, Zhenkuo; Liu, Jingping; Lee, Chiafon

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Effects of EGR on high n-butanol/diesel ratio blend (Bu40) were investigated and compared with neat diesel (Bu00). • Bu40 has higher NOx due to wider combustion high-temperature region. • Bu40 has lower soot due to local lower equivalence ratio distribution. • Bu40 has higher CO due to lower gas temperature in the late expansion process. • For Bu40, EGR reduces NOx emissions dramatically with no obvious influence on soot. - Abstract: In this work, the combustion and emission fundamentals of high n-butanol/diesel ratio blend with 40% butanol (i.e., Bu40) in a heavy-duty diesel engine were investigated by experiment and simulation at constant engine speed of 1400 rpm and an IMEP of 1.0 MPa. Additionally, the impact of EGR was evaluated experimentally and compared with neat diesel fuel (i.e., Bu00). The results show that Bu40 has higher cylinder pressure, longer ignition delay, and faster burning rate than Bu00. Compared with Bu00, moreover, Bu40 has higher NOx due to wider combustion high-temperature region, lower soot due to local lower equivalence ratio distribution, and higher CO due to lower gas temperature in the late expansion process. For Bu40, EGR reduces NOx emissions dramatically with no obvious influence on soot. Meanwhile, there is no significant change in HC and CO emissions and indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) with EGR until EGR threshold is reached. When EGR rate exceeds the threshold level, HC and CO emissions increase dramatically, and ITE decreases markedly. Compared with Bu00, the threshold of Bu40 appears at lower EGR rate. Consequently, combining high butanol/diesel ratio blend with medium EGR has the potential to achieve ultra-low NOx and soot emissions simultaneously while maintaining high thermal efficiency level

Morphologies and mechanical properties of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP)/polyethylene (PE) blends

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loos, J.; Bonnet, M.; Petermann, J.

2000-01-01

The tensile properties of blends based on syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) have been studied. In order to understand the unexpected decrease in ductility, the crystallization behavior of these blends was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and

Human norovirus surrogate reduction in milk and juice blends by high pressure homogenization.

Science.gov (United States)

Horm, Katie Marie; Harte, Federico Miguel; D'Souza, Doris Helen

2012-11-01

Novel processing technologies such as high pressure homogenization (HPH) for the inactivation of foodborne viruses in fluids that retain nutritional attributes are in high demand. The objectives of this research were (i) to determine the effects of HPH alone or with an emulsifier (lecithin) on human norovirus surrogates-murine norovirus (MNV-1) and feline calicivirus (FCV-F9)-in skim milk and orange juice, and (ii) to determine HPH effects on FCV-F9 and MNV-1 in orange and pomegranate juice blends. Experiments were conducted in duplicate at 0, 100, 200, 250, and 300 MPa for PFU/ml at 300 and 250 MPa, respectively, and ≥4- and ∼1-log PFU/ml reductions were obtained in orange juice at 300 and 250 MPa, respectively. In orange juice or milk combined with lecithin, FCV-F9 was reduced to nondetectable levels at 300 MPa, and by 1.77 and 0.78 log PFU/ml at 250 MPa. MNV-1 in milk was reduced by ∼1.3 log PFU/ml only at 300 MPa, and by ∼0.8 and ∼0.4 log PFU/ml in orange juice at 300 and 250 MPa, respectively. MNV-1 in milk or orange juice containing lecithin at 300 MPa showed 1.32- and 2.5-log PFU/ml reductions, respectively. In the pomegranate-orange juice blend, FCV-F9 was completely reduced, and MNV-1 was reduced by 1.04 and 1.78 log PFU/ml at 250 and 300 MPa, respectively. These results show that HPH has potential for commercial use to inactivate foodborne virus surrogates in juices.

Better together: synergy in nanocellulose blends

Science.gov (United States)

Mautner, Andreas; Mayer, Florian; Hervy, Martin; Lee, Koon-Yang; Bismarck, Alexander

2017-12-01

Cellulose nanopapers have gained significant attention in recent years as large-scale reinforcement for high-loading cellulose nanocomposites, substrates for printed electronics and filter nanopapers for water treatment. The mechanical properties of nanopapers are of fundamental importance for all these applications. Cellulose nanopapers can simply be prepared by filtering a suspension of nanocellulose, followed by heat consolidation. It was already demonstrated that the mechanical properties of cellulose nanopapers can be tailored by the fineness of the fibrils used or by modifying nanocellulose fibrils for instance by polymer adsorption, but nanocellulose blends remain underexplored. In this work, we show that the mechanical and physical properties of cellulose nanopapers can be tuned by creating nanopapers from blends of various grades of nanocellulose, i.e. (mechanically refined) bacterial cellulose or cellulose nanofibrils extracted from never-dried bleached softwood pulp by chemical and mechanical pre-treatments. We found that nanopapers made from blends of two or three nanocellulose grades show synergistic effects resulting in improved stiffness, strength, ductility, toughness and physical properties. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue `New horizons for cellulose nanotechnology'.

Impact of fuel molecular structure on auto-ignition behavior – Design rules for future high performance gasolines

KAUST Repository

Boot, Michael D.

2016-12-29

At a first glance, ethanol, toluene and methyl tert-butyl ether look nothing alike with respect to their molecular structures. Nevertheless, all share a similarly high octane number. A comprehensive review of the inner workings of such octane boosters has been long overdue, particularly at a time when feedstocks for transport fuels other than crude oil, such as natural gas and biomass, are enjoying a rapidly growing market share. As high octane fuels sell at a considerable premium over gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, new entrants into the refining business should take note and gear their processes towards knock resistant compounds if they are to maximize their respective bottom lines. Starting from crude oil, the route towards this goal is well established. Starting from biomass or natural gas, however, it is less clear what dots on the horizon to aim for. The goal of this paper is to offer insight into the chemistry behind octane boosters and to subsequently distill from this knowledge, taking into account recent advances in engine technology, multiple generic design rules that guarantee good anti-knock performance. Careful analysis of the literature suggests that highly unsaturated (cyclic) compounds are the preferred octane boosters for modern spark-ignition engines. Additional side chains of any variety will dilute this strong performance. Multi-branched paraffins come in distant second place, owing to their negligible sensitivity. Depending on the type and location of functional oxygen groups, oxygenates can have a beneficial, neutral or detrimental impact on anti-knock quality.

Effect of compatibilizer on impact and morphological analysis of recycled HDPE/PET blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salleh, Mohd Nazry [School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia and School of Materials Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Jejawi, Perlis (Malaysia); Ahmad, Sahrim; Ghani, Mohd Hafizuddin Ab; Chen, Ruey Shan [School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia)

2013-11-27

Blends based on recycled high density polyethylene (rHDPE) and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) were prepared using a corotating twin screw extruder. PET and HDPE are incompatible polymers and their blends showed poor properties. Compatibilization is a step to obtain blends with good mechanical properties and in this work, ethylene glycidyl methacrylate copolymer (E-GMA) was used as a compatibilizing agent. The effect of blends based on rHDPE and rPET with and without a compatibilizer, E-GMA were examined. From the studies clearly showed that the addition of 5% E-GMA increased the impact strength. SEM analysis of rHDPE/rPET blends confirmed the morphological interaction and improved interfacial bonding between two phases.

Full-color tuning in binary polymer:perovskite nanocrystals organic-inorganic hybrid blends

Science.gov (United States)

Perulli, A.; Balena, A.; Fernandez, M.; Nedelcu, G.; Cretí, A.; Kovalenko, M. V.; Lomascolo, M.; Anni, M.

2018-04-01

The excellent optical and electronic properties of metal halide perovskites recently proposed these materials as interesting active materials for optoelectronic applications. In particular, the high color purity of perovskite colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) had recently motivated their exploration as active materials for light emitting diodes with tunable emission across the visible range. In this work, we investigated the emission properties of binary blends of conjugated polymers and perovskite NCs. We demonstrate that the emission color of the blends is determined by the superposition of the component photoluminescence spectra, allowing color tuning by acting on the blend relative composition. The use of two different polymers, two different perovskite NCs, and different blend compositions is exploited to tune the blend color in the blue-green, yellow-red, and blue-red ranges, including white light generation.

Coalescence in PLA-PBAT blends under shear flow: Effects of blend preparation and PLA molecular weight

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nofar, M. [Center for High Performance Polymer and Composite Systems (CREPEC), Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada and CREPEC, Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B2 (Canada); Heuzey, M. C.; Carreau, P. J., E-mail: pierre.carreau@polymtl.ca [Center for High Performance Polymer and Composite Systems (CREPEC), Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4 (Canada); Kamal, M. R. [CREPEC, Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B2 (Canada); Randall, J. [NatureWorks LLC, 15305 Minnetonka Boulevard, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55345 (United States)

2016-07-15

Blends containing 75 wt. % of an amorphous polylactide (PLA) with two different molecular weights and 25 wt. % of a poly[(butylene adipate)-co-terephthalate] (PBAT) were prepared using either a Brabender batch mixer or a twin-screw extruder. These compounds were selected because blending PLA with PBAT can overcome various drawbacks of PLA such as its brittleness and processability limitations. In this study, we investigated the effects of varying the molecular weight of the PLA matrix and of two different mixing processes on the blend morphology and, further, on droplet coalescence during shearing. The rheological properties of these blends were investigated and the interfacial properties were analyzed using the Palierne emulsion model. Droplet coalescence was investigated by applying shear flows of 0.05 and 0.20 s{sup −1} at a fixed strain of 60. Subsequently, small amplitude oscillatory shear tests were conducted to investigate changes in the viscoelastic properties. The morphology of the blends was also examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs. It was observed that the PBAT droplets were much smaller when twin-screw extrusion was used for the blend preparation. Shearing at 0.05 s{sup −1} induced significant droplet coalescence in all blends, but coalescence and changes in the viscoelastic properties were much more pronounced for the PLA-PBAT blend based on a lower molecular weight PLA. The viscoelastic responses were also somehow affected by the thermal degradation of the PLA matrix during the experiments.

Coalescence in PLA-PBAT blends under shear flow: Effects of blend preparation and PLA molecular weight

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nofar, M.; Heuzey, M. C.; Carreau, P. J.; Kamal, M. R.; Randall, J.

2016-01-01

Blends containing 75 wt. % of an amorphous polylactide (PLA) with two different molecular weights and 25 wt. % of a poly[(butylene adipate)-co-terephthalate] (PBAT) were prepared using either a Brabender batch mixer or a twin-screw extruder. These compounds were selected because blending PLA with PBAT can overcome various drawbacks of PLA such as its brittleness and processability limitations. In this study, we investigated the effects of varying the molecular weight of the PLA matrix and of two different mixing processes on the blend morphology and, further, on droplet coalescence during shearing. The rheological properties of these blends were investigated and the interfacial properties were analyzed using the Palierne emulsion model. Droplet coalescence was investigated by applying shear flows of 0.05 and 0.20 s"−"1 at a fixed strain of 60. Subsequently, small amplitude oscillatory shear tests were conducted to investigate changes in the viscoelastic properties. The morphology of the blends was also examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs. It was observed that the PBAT droplets were much smaller when twin-screw extrusion was used for the blend preparation. Shearing at 0.05 s"−"1 induced significant droplet coalescence in all blends, but coalescence and changes in the viscoelastic properties were much more pronounced for the PLA-PBAT blend based on a lower molecular weight PLA. The viscoelastic responses were also somehow affected by the thermal degradation of the PLA matrix during the experiments.

Morphology Evolution of Polycarbonate-Polystyrene Blends During Compounding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chuai, Chengzhi; Almdal, Kristoffer; Johannsen, Ib

2001-01-01

The morphology evolution of polycarbonate-polystyrene (PC/PS) blends during the compounding process in three blending methods of industrial relevance, namely melt blending, re-melt blending in a twin-screw extruder and tri-melt blending in an injection-moulding machine, was investigated using......-empirical model. The results show that the formation of co-continuous morphology strongly depends on blend composition and melt blending method, whereas the model prediction for phase inversion deviates from the experimental values. Further, we found that the initial mechanism of morphology evolution involves...... scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Co examine nine blend compositions. Blends were prepared at compositions where phase inversion was expected to occur according to model predictions. The experimental results were compared to the values of the point of phase inversion calculated with the semi...

Lecithin blended polyamide-6 high aspect ratio nanofiber scaffolds via electrospinning for human osteoblast cell culture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nirmala, R. [Bio-nano System Engineering, College of Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561 756 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hye-Min [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561 756 (Korea, Republic of); Navamathavan, R. [School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561 756 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Hyung-Sub [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561 756 (Korea, Republic of); El-Newehy, Mohamed H. [Petrochemical Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Kim, Hak Yong, E-mail: khy@jbnu.ac.kr [Petrochemical Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Center for Healthcare Technology and Development, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561 756 (Korea, Republic of)

2011-03-12

In this study, we focused on the preparation and characterization of lecithin blended polyamide-6 nanofibers via an electrospinning process for human osteoblastic (HOB) cell culture applications. The morphological, structural characterizations and thermal properties of polyamide-6/lecithin nanofibers were determined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA). SEM images revealed that the nanofibers were well-oriented with good incorporation of lecithin. FT-IR results indicated the presence of amino groups of lecithin in the blended nanofibers. TGA analysis revealed that the onset degradation temperature decreased with increasing lecithin content in the blended nanofibers. The morphological features of cells attached on polyamide-6/lecithin nanofibers were confirmed by SEM. The adhesion, viability and proliferation properties of osteoblast cells on the polyamide-6/lecithin blended nanofibers were analyzed by in vitro cell compatibility test. This study demonstrated the non-cytotoxic behavior of electrospun polyamide-6/lecithin nanofibers for the osteoblast cell culture.

Lecithin blended polyamide-6 high aspect ratio nanofiber scaffolds via electrospinning for human osteoblast cell culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nirmala, R.; Park, Hye-Min; Navamathavan, R.; Kang, Hyung-Sub; El-Newehy, Mohamed H.; Kim, Hak Yong

2011-01-01

In this study, we focused on the preparation and characterization of lecithin blended polyamide-6 nanofibers via an electrospinning process for human osteoblastic (HOB) cell culture applications. The morphological, structural characterizations and thermal properties of polyamide-6/lecithin nanofibers were determined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA). SEM images revealed that the nanofibers were well-oriented with good incorporation of lecithin. FT-IR results indicated the presence of amino groups of lecithin in the blended nanofibers. TGA analysis revealed that the onset degradation temperature decreased with increasing lecithin content in the blended nanofibers. The morphological features of cells attached on polyamide-6/lecithin nanofibers were confirmed by SEM. The adhesion, viability and proliferation properties of osteoblast cells on the polyamide-6/lecithin blended nanofibers were analyzed by in vitro cell compatibility test. This study demonstrated the non-cytotoxic behavior of electrospun polyamide-6/lecithin nanofibers for the osteoblast cell culture.

High flux polyethersulfone-polyimide blend hollow fiber membranes for gas separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kapantaidakis, G.; Koops, G.H.

2002-01-01

In this work, the preparation of gas separation hollow fibers based on polyethersulfone Sumikaexcel (PES) and polyimide Matrimid 5218 (PI) blends, for three different compositions (i.e. PES/PI: 80/20, 50/50 and 20/80 wt.%), is reported. The dry/wet spinning process has been applied to prepare

Statistical methods for assessment of blend homogeneity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Camilla

2002-01-01

In this thesis the use of various statistical methods to address some of the problems related to assessment of the homogeneity of powder blends in tablet production is discussed. It is not straight forward to assess the homogeneity of a powder blend. The reason is partly that in bulk materials......, it is shown how to set up parametric acceptance criteria for the batch that gives a high confidence that future samples with a probability larger than a specified value will pass the USP threeclass criteria. Properties and robustness of proposed changes to the USP test for content uniformity are investigated...

Blended Learning Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Lise

2015-01-01

University College Lillebaelt has decided that 30 percent of all educational elements must be generated as blended learning by the end of the year 2015 as part of a modernization addressing following educational needs: 1. Blended learning can help match the expectations of the future students who...... learning. 4. Blended learning can contribute to supporting and improving efficiency of educational efforts. This can for instance be done through programmes for several classes by using video conferencing, allocating traditional face to face teaching to synchronous and asynchronous study activities produce...... digital materials which can be employed didactically and reused by the teachers. This can also mean that the particular competencies which teaches have in Svendborg can be used at other locations in UCL and disseminated to a larger group of students without further costs. Educational Innovation...

Blended Learning: How Teachers Balance the Blend of Online and Classroom Components

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffrey, Lynn M.; Milne, John; Suddaby, Gordon

2014-01-01

Despite teacher resistance to the use of technology in education, blended learning has increased rapidly, driven by evidence of its advantages over either online or classroom teaching alone. However, blended learning courses still fail to maximize the benefits this format offers. Much research has been conducted on various aspects of this problem,…

Effect of solvent blending on cycling characteristics of lithium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morita, Masayuki; Matsuda, Yoshiharu

1987-07-01

The suitability of electrolytes using mixed solvents has been examined for ambient temperature, rechargeable lithium batteries. Sulfolane (S) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) have been used as base solvents because of their high permittivity, and ethers such as 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) have been blended as a low viscosity co-solvent. This blending has been found to yield electrolytes with a high conductivity, and maximum values are observed in solutions with 40-90 mol% ether. The cycling characteristics of lithium are also improved by blending the ethers. The coulombic efficiencies on a nickel substrate are greater than or equal to 80% in S-DME/LiPF/sub 6/ and DMSO-DME/LiPF/sub 6/ solutions. The lithium electrode characteristics are markedly dependent on the type of co-solvent ether, as well as on the electrolytic salt. The results of the conductance behaviour and the electrode characteristics are discussed in terms of ionic structure in the mixed solvent and the state of the electrode/electrolyte interphase.

Tailoring the key fuel properties using different alcohols (C2–C6) and their evaluation in gasoline engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masum, B.M.; Masjuki, H.H.; Kalam, M.A.; Palash, S.M.; Wakil, M.A.; Imtenan, S.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Optimized C 2 –C 6 alcohols–gasoline blends achieved better properties than E15. • Optimum blends improved torque and reduced BSFC than that of E15 fuel. • Higher peak in-cylinder pressure obtained for alcohol gasoline blends. • Compared to E15, optimum blends reduced BSCO, BSHC and BSNOx emission. - Abstract: The use of ethanol as a fuel for internal combustion engines has been given much attention mostly because of its possible environmental and long-term economical advantages over fossil fuel. Higher carbon number alcohols, such as propanol, butanol, pentanol and hexanol also have the potential to use as alternatives as they have higher energy content, octane number and can displace more petroleum gasoline than that of ethanol. Therefore, this study focuses on improvement of different physicochemical properties using multiple alcohols at different ratios compared to that of the ethanol–gasoline blend (E10/E15). To optimize the properties of multiple alcohol–gasoline blends, properties of each fuel were measured. An optimization tool of Microsoft Excel “Solver” was used to find out the optimum blend. Three optimum blends with maximum heating value (MaxH), maximum research octane number (MaxR) and maximum petroleum displacement (MaxD) are selected for testing in a four cylinder gasoline engine. Tests were conducted under the wide open throttle condition with varying speeds and compared results with that of E15 (Ethanol 15% with gasoline 85%) as well as gasoline. Optimized blends have shown higher brake torque than gasoline. In the terms of BSFC (Brake specific fuel consumption), optimized blends performed better than that of E15. In-cylinder pressure started to rise earlier for all alcohol–gasoline blends than gasoline. The peak in-cylinder pressure and peak heat release rate obtained higher for alcohol gasoline blend than that of gasoline. On the other hand, the use of optimized blends reduces BSCO (Brake specific carbon

Thin films of polymer blends deposited by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation: Effects of blending ratios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paun, Irina Alexandra; Ion, Valentin; Moldovan, Antoniu; Dinescu, Maria

2011-01-01

In this work, we show successful use of matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) for obtaining thin films of PEG:PLGA blends, in the view of their use for controlled drug delivery. In particular, we investigate the influence of the blending ratios on the characteristics of the films. We show that the roughness of the polymeric films is affected by the ratio of each polymer within the blend. In addition, we perform Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements and we find that the intensities ratios of the infrared absorption bands of the two polymers are consistent with the blending ratios. Finally, we assess the optical constants of the polymeric films by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). We point out that the blending ratios exert an influence on the optical characteristics of the films and we validate the SE results by atomic force microscopy and UV-vis spectrophotometry. In all, we stress that the ratios in which the two polymers are blended have significant impact on the morphology, chemical structure and optical characteristics of the polymeric films deposited by MAPLE.

A Theoretical investigation of a potential high energy density compound 3,6,7,8-tetranitro-3,6,7,8-tetraaza-tricyclo[3.1.1.1(2,4]octane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guozheng Zhao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The B3LYP/6-31G (d density functional theory (DFT method was used to study molecular geometry, electronic structure, infrared spectrum (IR and thermodynamic properties. Heat of formation (HOF and calculated density were estimated to evaluate detonation properties using Kamlet-Jacobs equations. Thermal stability of 3,6,7,8-tetranitro-3,6,7,8-tetraaza-tricyclo [3.1.1.1(2,4]octane (TTTO was investigated by calculating bond dissociation energy (BDE at the unrestricted B3LYP/6-31G(d level. Results showed the N-NO2 bond is a trigger bond during the thermolysis initiation process. The crystal structure obtained by molecular mechanics (MM methods belongs to P2(1/C space group, with cell parameters a = 8.239 Å, b = 8.079 Å, c = 16.860 Å, Z = 4 and r = 1.922 g cm-3. Both detonation velocity of 9.79 km s-1 and detonation pressure of 44.22 GPa performed similarly to CL-20. According to the quantitative standards of energetics and stability, TTTO essentially satisfies this requirement as a high energy density compound (HEDC.

Emissions characteristics of higher alcohol/gasoline blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gautam, M.; Martin, D.W.; Carder, D.

2000-01-01

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the emissions characteristics of higher alcohols and gasoline (UTG96) blends. While lower alcohols (methanol and ethanol) have been used in blends with gasoline, very little work has been done or reported on higher alcohols (propanol, butanol and pentanol). Comparisons of emissions and fuel characteristics between higher alcohol/gasoline blends and neat gasoline were made to determine the advantages and disadvantages of blending higher alcohols with gasoline. All tests were conducted on a single-cylinder Waukesha Cooperative Fuel Research engine operating at steady state conditions and stoichiometric air-fuel (A/F) ratio. Emissions test were conducted at the optimum spark timing-knock limiting compression ratio combination for the particular blend being tested. The cycle emission [mass per unit time (g/h)] of CO, CO 2 and organic matter hydrocarbon equivalent (OMHCE) from the higher alcohol/gasoline blends were very similar to those from neat gasoline. Cycle emissions of NO x from the blends were higher than those from neat gasoline. However, for all the emissions species considered, the brake specific emissions (g/kW h) were significantly lower for the higher alcohol/gasoline blends than for neat gasoline. This was because the blends had greater resistance to knock and allowed higher compression ratios, which increased engine power output. The contribution of alcohols and aldehydes to the overall OMHCE emissions was found to be minimal. Cycle fuel consumption (g/h) of higher alcohol/gasoline blends was slightly higher than with neat gasoline due to the lower stoichiometric A/F ratios required by the blends. However, the brake specific fuel consumption (g/kW h) for the blends was significantly lower than that for neat gasoline. (Author)

Comparison of combustion characteristics of n-butanol/ethanol–gasoline blends in a HCCI engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Bang-Quan; Liu, Mao-Bin; Zhao, Hua

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The blends with alcohol autoignite early in the conditions highly diluted by exhaust. • n-Butanol is more reactive than ethanol in the blend with the same alcohol content. • Autoignition timing delays with retarding IVO timing for all alcohol–gasoline blends. • Advanced autoignition for the blends with alcohol leads to lower thermal efficiency. - Abstract: As a sustainable biofuel, n-butanol can be used in conventional spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engines in order to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel. Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a novel combustion to improve the thermal efficiency of conventional SI engines at part loads. To understand the effect of alcohol structure on HCCI combustion under stoichiometric conditions highly diluted by exhaust gases, the combustion characteristics of n-butanol, ethanol and their blends with gasoline were investigated on a single cylinder port fuel injection gasoline engine with fixed intake/exhaust valve lifts at the same operating conditions in this study. The results show that autoignition timing for alcohol–gasoline blends is dependent on alcohol types and its concentration in the blend, engine speed and intake valve opening (IVO)/exhaust valve closing (EVC) timing. In the operating conditions with the residual gases more than 38% by mass in the mixture, alcohol–gasoline blends autoignite more easily than gasoline. Autoignition timing for n-butanol–gasoline blend is earlier than that for ethanol–gasoline blend with the same alcohol volume fraction at 1500 rpm in most cases while the autoignition timings for the blends with alcohol are relatively close at 2000 rpm at the same IVO/EVC timing. Combustion stability is improved with advanced EVC timing at a fixed IVO timing, which is benefit for the improvement in the thermal efficiency in the case of alcohol–gasoline blends. In addition, n-butanol–gasoline blends autoignite earlier than their ethanol�

Effect of EPDM-g-MAH on properties of HDPE/OBC blends

Science.gov (United States)

Li, M.; Yu, L. Y.; Li, P. F.; Bin, Y. H.; Zhang, H. J.

2017-04-01

In this paper, we take the HDPE as the matrix material, OBC as the toughening material, and EDPM-g-MAH as the compatibility agent, HDPE/OBC/EPDM-g-MAH blends were prepared by high speed mixing, melt extrusion, injection molding and so on. The effects of OBC and EPDM-g-MAH on mechanical properties, crystalline properties, fracture surface structure and rheological properties of HDPE were analyzed by universal tensile tester, melt mass flow rate test machine, DSC and SEM. Experimental results show that: with the addition of EPDM-g-MAH, the notched impact strength of the blends increased first and then decreased; HDPE/OBC blend containing 4% EPDM-g-MAH, OBC dispersion in the matrix is more uniform, particle size is significantly refined, melt flow has some improvement, Compared with HDPE/OBC blend materials, notched impact strength and elongation at break increased by 41.07% and 107.28% respectively, the toughness of the blend was greatly improved.

Oxidative stability of biodiesel blends derived from waste frying oils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Feroldi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The high cost of biodiesel production is mainly linked to the price of raw material.This factor has favored the use of alternative fats and oils such as those used in frying. Since biodiesel can be obtained from several vegetable and animal raw materials, the physicochemical characteristics of the fuel may vary considerably. One of these characteristics is the fatty acid composition. It directly affects the oxidative stability of biodiesel, which can be impaired when the fuel undergoes exposure to sunlight, metals, oxygen and high temperatures. In order to improve the oxidative stability of biodiesels produced from waste frying oil some studies involving blends of different raw materials have been carried out. In this sense, this work aimed to assess the characteristics resulting from the blending of soybean waste frying oil with other waste biodiesels in what concerns to oxidation. The blends of fatty materials were obtained by means of a 2² factorial design. The induction periods of biodiesel blends were enough to meet the ASTM D6751 standard. Swine fat was responsible for the increase in the induction period values.

40 CFR 80.82 - Butane blending.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Reformulated Gasoline § 80.82 Butane blending. A refiner for any refinery that produces gasoline by blending butane with conventional gasoline or reformulated gasoline or RBOB may meet... paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the refiner may: (i) Blend the butane with conventional gasoline, or...

Biomimetic, bioactive etheric polyphosphazene-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) blends for bone tissue engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Meng; Nair, Lakshmi S; Nukavarapu, Syam P; Kumbar, Sangamesh G; Brown, Justin L; Krogman, Nicholas R; Weikel, Arlin L; Allcock, Harry R; Laurencin, Cato T

2010-01-01

The long-term goal of this work is to develop biomimetic polymer-based systems for bone regeneration that both allow for neutral pH degradation products and have the ability to nucleate bonelike apatite. In this study, the etheric biodegradable polyphosphazene, poly[(50%ethyl glycinato)(50%methoxyethoxyethoxy)phosphazene] (PNEG(50)MEEP(50)) was blended with poly(lactide-co-glycolide) PLAGA and studied their ability to produce high-strength degradable biomaterials with bioactivity. Accordingly, two blends with weight ratios of PNEG(50)MEEP(50) to PLAGA 25:75 (BLEND25) and 50:50 (BLEND50) were fabricated using a mutual solvent approach. Increases in PNEG(50)MEEP(50) content in the blend system resulted in decreased elastic modulus of 779 MPa when compared with 1684 MPa (PLAGA) as well as tensile strength 7.9 MPa when compared with 25.7 MPa (PLAGA). However, the higher PNEG(50)MEEP(50) content in the blend system resulted in higher Ca/P atomic ratio of the apatite layer 1.35 (BLEND50) when compared with 0.69 (BLEND25) indicating improved biomimicry. Furthermore, these blends supported primary rat osteoblast adhesion and proliferation with an enhanced phenotypic expression when compared with PLAGA. These findings establish the suitability of PNEG(50)MEEP(50)-PLAGA biodegradable blends as promising bioactive materials for orthopedic applications.

Supercritical CO2 foaming of radiation crosslinked polypropylene/high-density polyethylene blend: Cell structure and tensile property

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chenguang; Xing, Zhe; Zhang, Mingxing; Zhao, Quan; Wang, Mouhua; Wu, Guozhong

2017-12-01

A blend of isotactic polypropylene (PP) with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in different PP/HDPE ratios was irradiated by γ-ray to induce cross-linking and then foamed using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a blowing agent. Radiation effect on the melting point and crystallinity were analyzed in detail. The average cell diameter and cell density were compared for PP/HDPE foams prepared under different conditions. The optimum absorbed dose for the scCO2 foaming of PP/HDPE in terms of foaming ability and cell structure was 20 kGy. Tensile measurements showed that the elongation at break and tensile strength at break of the crosslinked PP/HDPE foams were higher than the non-crosslinked ones. Of particular interest was the increase in the foaming temperature window from 4 ℃ for pristine PP to 8-12 ℃ for the radiation crosslinked PP/HDPE blends. This implies much easier handling of scCO2 foaming of crosslinked PP with the addition of HDPE.

Study of gasoline mixture with 10% of anhydrous ethanol. Physic-chemical properties evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres, Jaime; Molina, Daniel; Pinto, Carlos; Rueda, Fernando

2002-01-01

This study includes the assessment results for blends of premium and regular gasoline produced in Barrancabermeja' s refinery with 10vol% anhydrous ethanol and concentrations within this range (from 5vol% to 15vol%). The results may allow for a more precise definition of the characteristics for the desired blend. The survey basically focused on the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) and the antiknock index (RON+MON/2) properties, in order to determine the variations within these properties when 5vol%, 10vol%, and 15vol% anhydrous ethanol is added to the base fuels. Based on these results, the RVP and antiknock index were determined for the base fuels, blended with 10vol% ethanol, to comply with the quality standards required for Colombian fuels in year 2005. For the adjustment of the base fuel's RVP, light-vapors, nitrogen-dragging stripper was designed and built. As for the adjustment of the base fuel's antiknock index, blends with straight naphtha were made for lower index values, while blends with cracked naphtha and high octane alkylate were made for higher index values. Having determined the specifications for base fuels, as required to blend them with 10vol% ethanol and meet the quality standards for Colombian gasoline in year 2005, water tolerance for the blends was estimated at temperature ranges of 273 k to 313 k

Thermal characterizations of the paraffin wax/low density polyethylene blends as a solid fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Soojong; Moon, Heejang; Kim, Jinkon, E-mail: jkkim@kau.ac.kr

2015-08-10

Highlights: • Regression rate of blends fuel is higher than polymer fuel. • LDPE is an effective mixing ingredient for the combustion efficiency. • Blends fuel is a uniform mixture with two degradation steps. • LDPE plays a positive role for the low sensitivity to the thermal deformation • Blends with low LDPE content can be an effective fuel for hybrid rocket application. - Abstract: Thermal characterizations of a novel solid fuel for hybrid rocket application, based on the paraffin wax blends with low density polyethylene (LDPE) concentration of 5% (SF-5) and 10% (SF-10) were conducted. Both the increased regression rate in comparison with the polymeric fuel, and the improved combustion efficiency in comparison with the pure paraffin fuel reveal that the blend fuels achieve higher combustion performance. The morphology of the shape stabilized paraffin wax/LDPE blends was characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Although the SEM observation indicated the blends have uniform mixtures, they showed two degradation steps confirming the immiscibility of components in the crystalline phase from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) results showed that the melting temperature of LDPE in the blends decreased with an increase of paraffin wax content. The decreasing total specific melting enthalpy of blended fuels with decreasing paraffin wax content is in fairly good agreement with the additive rule. In thermomechanical analysis (TMA), the linear coefficient of thermal expansion (LCTE) seems to decrease with an increase of LDPE loading, however, the loaded LDPE do merely affect the LCTE in case of the blends with low LDPE concentration. It was found that a blend of low concentration of LDPE with a relatively high concentration of paraffin wax can lead to a potential novel fuel for rocket application, a contrary case with respect to the field of phase change materials (PCM) where a blend of high concentration

Thermal characterizations of the paraffin wax/low density polyethylene blends as a solid fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Soojong; Moon, Heejang; Kim, Jinkon

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Regression rate of blends fuel is higher than polymer fuel. • LDPE is an effective mixing ingredient for the combustion efficiency. • Blends fuel is a uniform mixture with two degradation steps. • LDPE plays a positive role for the low sensitivity to the thermal deformation • Blends with low LDPE content can be an effective fuel for hybrid rocket application. - Abstract: Thermal characterizations of a novel solid fuel for hybrid rocket application, based on the paraffin wax blends with low density polyethylene (LDPE) concentration of 5% (SF-5) and 10% (SF-10) were conducted. Both the increased regression rate in comparison with the polymeric fuel, and the improved combustion efficiency in comparison with the pure paraffin fuel reveal that the blend fuels achieve higher combustion performance. The morphology of the shape stabilized paraffin wax/LDPE blends was characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Although the SEM observation indicated the blends have uniform mixtures, they showed two degradation steps confirming the immiscibility of components in the crystalline phase from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) results showed that the melting temperature of LDPE in the blends decreased with an increase of paraffin wax content. The decreasing total specific melting enthalpy of blended fuels with decreasing paraffin wax content is in fairly good agreement with the additive rule. In thermomechanical analysis (TMA), the linear coefficient of thermal expansion (LCTE) seems to decrease with an increase of LDPE loading, however, the loaded LDPE do merely affect the LCTE in case of the blends with low LDPE concentration. It was found that a blend of low concentration of LDPE with a relatively high concentration of paraffin wax can lead to a potential novel fuel for rocket application, a contrary case with respect to the field of phase change materials (PCM) where a blend of high concentration

Etherification of Glycerol with Propylene or 1-Butene for Fuel Additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chakrapong Saengarun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The etherification of glycerol with propylene over acidic heterogeneous catalysts, Amberlyst-15, S100, and S200 resins, produced mono-propyl glycerol ethers (MPGEs, 1,3-di- and 1,2-di-propyl glycerol ethers (DPGEs, and tri-propyl glycerol ether (TPGE. The propylation of glycerol over Amberlyst-15 yielded only TPGE. The glycerol etherification with 1-butene over Amberlyst-15 and S200 resins produced 1-mono-, 2-mono-, 1,2-di-, and 1,3-di-butyl glycerol ethers (1-MBGE, 2-MBGE, 1,2-DBGE, and 1,3-DBGE. The use of Amberlyst-15 resulted in the propylation and butylation of glycerol with higher yields than those obtained from the S100 and S200 resins. The PGEs, TPGE, and BGEs were evaluated as cold flow improvers and octane boosters. These alkyl glycerol ethers can reduce the cloud point of blended palm biodiesels with diesel. They can increase the research octane number and the motor octane number of gasoline.

Heat flux characteristics of spray wall impingement with ethanol, butanol, iso-octane, gasoline and E10 fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serras-Pereira, J.; Aleiferis, P.G.; Walmsley, H.L.; Davies, T.J.; Cracknell, R.F.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Heat flux sensors used to characterise the locations of fuel spray wall impingement. • Droplet evaporation modelling used to study the effect of fuel properties. • Behaviour of ethanol and butanol distinctively different to hydrocarbons. -- Abstract: Future fuel stocks for spark-ignition engines are expected to include a significant portion of bio-derived components with quite different chemical and physical properties to those of liquid hydrocarbons. State-of-the-art high-pressure multi-hole injectors for latest design direct-injection spark-ignition engines offer some great benefits in terms of fuel atomisation, as well as flexibility in in-cylinder fuel targeting by selection of the exact number and angle of the nozzle’s holes. However, in order to maximise such benefits for future spark-ignition engines and minimise any deteriorating effects with regards to exhaust emissions, it is important to avoid liquid fuel impingement onto the cylinder walls and take into consideration various types of biofuels. This paper presents results from the use of heat flux sensors to characterise the locations and levels of liquid fuel impingement onto the engine’s liner walls when injected from a centrally located multi-hole injector with an asymmetric pattern of spray plumes. Ethanol, butanol, iso-octane, gasoline and a blend of 10% ethanol with 90% gasoline (E10) were tested and compared. The tests were performed in the cylinder of a direct-injection spark-ignition engine at static conditions (i.e. quiescent chamber at 1.0 bar) and motoring conditions (at full load with inlet plenum pressure of 1.0 bar) with different engine temperatures in order to decouple competing effects. The collected data were analysed to extract time-resolved signals, as well as mean and standard deviation levels of peak heat flux. The results were interpreted with reference to in-cylinder spray formation characteristics, as well as fuel evaporation rates obtained by modelling

THE COMBUSTION CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGNITE BLENDS

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Cheng Jun; Zhou Junhu; Cao Xinyu; Cen Kefa

2000-01-01

The combustion characteristics of lignite blends were studied with a thermogravimetric analyzer (t.g.a.), at constant heating rate.The characteristic temperatures were determined from the burning profiles.It was found that the characteristic times of combustion reaction moved forward, the ignition temperature dropped and the burnout efficiency slightly changed when blending lignites.The characteristic parameters of blends could not be predicted as a linear function of the average values of the individual lignites.when blending with less reactive coal, the ignition and burnout characteristics of lignite turned worse.

Preparation and Properties of the Chitosan/PVA Blend for Heavy Metals Chelation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zuhair Jabbar Abdul Ameer

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Current research based on the use of extracted chitosan mixed with Polyvinyl alcohol to manufacture blend that can been used in water purification from heavy metals such as copper, this due to chitosan properties and its ability to chelation these metals because of the presence of the functional groups in their structure. The blend has been treated with borax to increase the viscosity, and then high density polyethylene granulated coated with polymer solution to increase the surface area for chelation. The ultraviolet test showed the efficiency of blend to chelation of copper ions through lower the copper ions absorbance peak after each stage where the solution of copper ions pass on the polymer blend containing chitosan.

Development of Kinetics and Mathematical Models for High Pressure Gasification of Lignite-Switchgrass Blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Pradeep K. [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

2016-12-20

The overall objective of the current project was to investigate the high pressure gasification characteristics of a feed containing both coal and biomass. The two feed types differ in their ash contents and ash composition, particularly the alkali content. Gasification of a combined feed of coal and biomass has the potential for considerable synergies that might lead to a dramatic improvement in process economics and flexibility. The proposed study aimed to develop a detailed understanding of the chemistry, kinetics, and transport effects during high pressure gasification of coal-biomass blend feed. Specifically, we studied to develop: (a) an understanding of the catalytic effect of alkali and other inorganic species present in the biomass and coal, (b) an understanding of processing conditions under which synergistic effects of the blending of coal and biomass might be observed. This included the role of particle size, residence time, and proximity of the two feed types, (c) kinetics of high pressure gasification of individual feeds as well as the blends, and (d) development of mathematical models that incorporate kinetics and transport models to enable prediction of gasification rate at a given set of operating conditions, and (e) protocols to extend the results to other feed resources. The goal was to provide a fundamental understanding of the gasification process and guide in optimizing the configurations and design of the next generation of gasifiers. The approach undertaken was centered on two basic premises: (1) the gasification for small particles without internal mass transfer limitations can be treated as the sum of two processes in series (pyrolysis and char gasification) , and (2) the reactivity of the char generated during pyrolysis not only depends on the pressure and temperature but is also affected by the heating rates. Thus low heating rates (10-50 °C/min) typical of PTGA fail to produce char that would typically be formed at high heating rates

Structural characterization of HDPE/LLDPE blend-based nano composites obtained by different blending sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passador, Fabio R.; Ruvolo Filho, Adhemar; Pessan, Luiz A.

2011-01-01

The blending sequence affects the morphology formation of the nanocomposites. In this work, the blending sequences were explored to determine its influence in the rheological behavior of HDPE/LLDPE/OMMT nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were obtained by melt-intercalation using a mixture of LLDPE-g-MA and HDPE-g-MA as compatibilizer system in a torque rheometer at 180 deg C and five blending sequences were studied. The materials structures were characterized by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and by rheological properties. The nanoclay's addition increased the shear viscosity at low shear rates, changing the behavior of HDPE/LLDPE matrix to a Bingham model behavior with an apparent yield stress. Intense interactions were obtained for the blending sequence where LLDPE and/or LLDPE-g-MA were first reinforced with organoclay since the intercalation process occurs preferentially in the amorphous phase. (author)

Excess Molar Volumes of (Octane + 1-Chloropentane) at Temperatures between 298.15 K and 328.15 K and at Pressures up to 40 MPa

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Morávková, Lenka; Linek, Jan

2003-01-01

Roč. 35, č. 7 (2003), s. 1119-1127 ISSN 0021-9614 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/00/0600; GA ČR GA203/02/1098 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4072921 Keywords : octane * 1-chloropentane * binary mixture Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 0.986, year: 2003

Controlled release of tocopherols from polymer blend films

Science.gov (United States)

Obinata, Noe

Controlled release packaging has great potential to increase storage stability of foods by releasing active compounds into foods continuously over time. However, a major limitation in development of this technology is the inability to control the release and provide rates useful for long term storage of foods. Better understanding of the factors affecting active compound release is needed to overcome this limitation. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between polymer composition, polymer processing method, polymer morphology, and release properties of active compounds, and to provide proof of principle that compound release is controlled by film morphology. A natural antioxidant, tocopherol was used as a model active compound because it is natural, effective, heat stable, and soluble in most packaging polymers. Polymer blend films were produced from combination of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), or polystyrene (PS) with 3000 ppm mixed tocopherols using conventional blending method and innovative blending method, smart blending with a novel mixer using chaotic advection. Film morphologies were visualized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Release of tocopherols into 95% ethanol as a food simulant was measured by UV/Visible spectrophotometry or HPLC, and diffusivity of tocopherols in the polymers was estimated from this data. Polymer composition (blend proportions) and processing methods have major effects on film morphology. Four different types of morphologies, dispersed, co-continuous, fiber, and multilayer structures were developed by either conventional extrusion or smart blending. With smart blending of fixed polymer compositions, different morphologies were progressively developed with fixed polymer composition as the number of rod rotations increased, providing a way to separate effects of polymer composition and morphology. The different morphologies

GDI fuel sprays of light naphtha, PRF95 and gasoline using a piezoelectric injector under different ambient pressures

KAUST Repository

Wu, Zengyang; Wang, Libing; Badra, Jihad A.; Roberts, William L.; Fang, Tiegang

2018-01-01

This study investigates fuel sprays of light naphtha (LN), primary reference fuel (PRF) and gasoline under different ambient pressures with an outwardly opening piezo gasoline direct injection (GDI) fuel injector. The tested gasoline fuel (regular grade with up to 10% ethanol, E10) was obtained by mixing fuels with AKI (the average of the research octane number (RON) and the motor octane number (MON)) of 87 from three local gas stations. Primary reference fuel (PRF) is commonly used as gasoline surrogate fuel and is blended by iso-octane and n-heptane. PRF95 is the blend of 95% iso-octane and 5% n-heptane by volume. LN fuel was provided by Saudi Aramco Oil Company. Five different ambient pressure conditions varied from 1 bar to 10 bar were tested. The spray was visualized by applying a Mie-scattering technique and a high-speed camera was employed to capture the spray images. The spray structure, spray angle, spray penetration length and spray front fluctuation were analyzed and compared among three fuels. Spray images show that a clear filamentary hollow-cone spray structure is formed for all three fuels at atmospheric conditions, and toroidal recirculation vortexes are observed at the downstream spray edges. A higher ambient pressure leads to a stronger vortex located closer to the injector outlet. Generally speaking, larger spray angles are found under higher ambient pressure conditions for all three fuels. Gasoline fuel always has the largest spray angle for each ambient pressure, while PRF95 has the smallest at most time. For each fuel, the spray front penetration length and spray front penetration velocity decrease with increasing ambient pressure. LN, PRF95 and gasoline show similar penetration length and velocity under the tested conditions. A two-stage spray front fluctuation pattern is observed for all three fuels. Stage one begins from the start of the injection and ends at 450–500 μs after the start of the injection trigger (ASOIT) with a slow

GDI fuel sprays of light naphtha, PRF95 and gasoline using a piezoelectric injector under different ambient pressures

KAUST Repository

Wu, Zengyang

2018-03-20

This study investigates fuel sprays of light naphtha (LN), primary reference fuel (PRF) and gasoline under different ambient pressures with an outwardly opening piezo gasoline direct injection (GDI) fuel injector. The tested gasoline fuel (regular grade with up to 10% ethanol, E10) was obtained by mixing fuels with AKI (the average of the research octane number (RON) and the motor octane number (MON)) of 87 from three local gas stations. Primary reference fuel (PRF) is commonly used as gasoline surrogate fuel and is blended by iso-octane and n-heptane. PRF95 is the blend of 95% iso-octane and 5% n-heptane by volume. LN fuel was provided by Saudi Aramco Oil Company. Five different ambient pressure conditions varied from 1 bar to 10 bar were tested. The spray was visualized by applying a Mie-scattering technique and a high-speed camera was employed to capture the spray images. The spray structure, spray angle, spray penetration length and spray front fluctuation were analyzed and compared among three fuels. Spray images show that a clear filamentary hollow-cone spray structure is formed for all three fuels at atmospheric conditions, and toroidal recirculation vortexes are observed at the downstream spray edges. A higher ambient pressure leads to a stronger vortex located closer to the injector outlet. Generally speaking, larger spray angles are found under higher ambient pressure conditions for all three fuels. Gasoline fuel always has the largest spray angle for each ambient pressure, while PRF95 has the smallest at most time. For each fuel, the spray front penetration length and spray front penetration velocity decrease with increasing ambient pressure. LN, PRF95 and gasoline show similar penetration length and velocity under the tested conditions. A two-stage spray front fluctuation pattern is observed for all three fuels. Stage one begins from the start of the injection and ends at 450–500 μs after the start of the injection trigger (ASOIT) with a slow

Polarization behaviour of polyvinylidenefluoride-polysulfone (PVDF: PSF) blends under high field and high temperature condition

Science.gov (United States)

Shrivas, Sandhya; Patel, Swarnim; Dubey, R. K.; Keller, J. M.

2018-05-01

Thermally stimulated discharge currents of PVDF: PSF blend samples in ratio 80:20 and 95:05 prepared by the solution cast technique have been studied as a function of polarizing field and polarizing temperature, the temperature corresponding to a peak in TSDC is found to be independent of polarizing field but dependent on the polarizing temperature.

Autoignition characterization of primary reference fuels and n-heptane/n-butanol mixtures in a constant volume combustion device and homogeneous charge compression ignition engine

KAUST Repository

Baumgardner, Marc E.

2013-12-19

In this study, the autoignition behavior of primary reference fuels (PRF) and blends of n-heptane/n-butanol were examined in a Waukesha Fuel Ignition Tester (FIT) and a Homogeneous Charge Compression Engine (HCCI). Fourteen different blends of iso-octane, n-heptane, and n-butanol were tested in the FIT - 28 test runs with 25 ignition measurements for each test run, totaling 350 individual tests in all. These experimental results supported previous findings that fuel blends with high alcohol content can exhibit very different ignition delay periods than similarly blended reference fuels. The experiments further showed that n-butanol blends behaved unlike PRF blends when comparing the autoignition behavior as a function of the percentage of low reactivity component. The HCCI and FIT experimental results favorably compared against single and multizone models with detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms - both an existing mechanism as well as one developed during this study were used. The experimental and modeling results suggest that that the FIT instrument is a valuable tool for analysis of high pressure, low temperature chemistry, and autoignition for future fuels in advanced combustion engines. Additionally, in both the FIT and engine experiments the fraction of low temperature heat release (fLTHR) was found to correlate very well with the crank angle of maximum heat release and shows promise as a useful metric for fuel reactivity in advanced combustion applications. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Improvement of locally produced gasoline and studying its effects on both the performance of the engine and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamdan, M.A.; Al-Subaih, T.A.

2002-01-01

This study aims at investigating the effect of methyl-tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) addition to gasoline on its octane number and, hence, the performance of an engine. Also, its effect on the emitted gases was investigated. Locally produced gasoline was blended with five different percentages of MTBE, namely 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. Then, these fuels were burned in an engine, which is coupled to a gas analyzer. It was found that the octane number of the gasoline increases continuously and linearly with MTBE percentage in the gasoline. The best performance of the engine occurs at around 10% MTBE addition and this percentage also gives the best reduction in exhaust eases emissions. (author)

Radiation curable polymer blends for magnetic media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santosusso, T.M.

1985-01-01

Binder resins in magnetic coating formulations must fulfil a diverse set of requirements. These polymers must have the ability to accept high pigment loadings while maintaining good abrasion resistance, substrate adhesion, inherent lubricity and resistance to temperature and humidity effects. In addition, they must act as grinding aids in the dispersion of the magnetic pigment. In the thermally converted coatings now in use, these requirements are usually met by combining several polymers and crosslinking agents into an optimized blend. This approach is also effective in designing radiation curable binder systems. An overview of the methods employed to achieve such optimized blends will be discussed. (author)

Tactical Fuel and Energy Strategy for The Future Modular Force

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-18

Environmental Protection Agency ESSP Energy Strategic Security Plan EV Electric Vehicle FAME Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Appendix...1992. Methanol can be used to make methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), oxygenate that is blended with gasoline to enhance octane and create cleaner...Military Occupation Specialty MTBE Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether MW Megawatt NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NATO North

Blended learning in K-12 mathematics and science instruction -- An exploratory study

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Jason

Blended learning has developed into a hot topic in education over the past several years. Flipped classrooms, online learning environments, and the use of technology to deliver educational content using rich media continue to garner national attention. While generally well accepted and researched in post-secondary education, not much research has focused on blended learning in elementary, middle, and high schools. This thesis is an exploratory study to begin to determine if students and teachers like blended learning and whether or not it affects the amount of time they spend in math and science. Standardized achievement test data were also analyzed to determine if blended learning had any effect on test scores. Based on student and teacher surveys, this population seems to like blended learning and to work more efficiently in this environment. There is no evidence from this study to support any effect on student achievement.

Simultaneous Delivery of Highly Diverse Bioactive Compounds from Blend Electrospun Fibers for Skin Wound Healing.

Science.gov (United States)

Peh, Priscilla; Lim, Natalie Sheng Jie; Blocki, Anna; Chee, Stella Min Ling; Park, Heyjin Chris; Liao, Susan; Chan, Casey; Raghunath, Michael

2015-07-15

Blend emulsion electrospinning is widely perceived to destroy the bioactivity of proteins, and a blend emulsion of water-soluble and nonsoluble molecules is believed to be thermodynamically unstable to electrospin smoothly. Here we demonstrate a method to retain the bioactivity of disparate fragile biomolecules when electrospun. Using bovine serum albumin as a carrier protein; water-soluble vitamin C, fat soluble vitamin D3, steroid hormone hydrocortisone, peptide hormone insulin, thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3), and peptide epidermal growth factor (EGF) were simultaneously blend-spun into PLGA-collagen nanofibers. Upon release, vitamin C maintained the ability to facilitate Type I collagen secretion by fibroblasts, EGF stimulated skin fibroblast proliferation, and insulin potentiated adipogenic differentiation. Transgenic cell reporter assays confirmed the bioactivity of vitamin D3, T3, and hydrocortisone. These factors concertedly increased keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation while maintaining keratinocyte basal state. This method presents an elegant solution to simultaneously deliver disparate bioactive biomolecules for wound healing applications.

A novel quantitative analysis method of three-dimensional fluorescence spectra for vegetable oils contents in edible blend oil

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jing; Wang, Yu-Tian; Liu, Xiao-Fei

2015-04-01

Edible blend oil is a mixture of vegetable oils. Eligible blend oil can meet the daily need of two essential fatty acids for human to achieve the balanced nutrition. Each vegetable oil has its different composition, so vegetable oils contents in edible blend oil determine nutritional components in blend oil. A high-precision quantitative analysis method to detect the vegetable oils contents in blend oil is necessary to ensure balanced nutrition for human being. Three-dimensional fluorescence technique is high selectivity, high sensitivity, and high-efficiency. Efficiency extraction and full use of information in tree-dimensional fluorescence spectra will improve the accuracy of the measurement. A novel quantitative analysis is proposed based on Quasi-Monte-Carlo integral to improve the measurement sensitivity and reduce the random error. Partial least squares method is used to solve nonlinear equations to avoid the effect of multicollinearity. The recovery rates of blend oil mixed by peanut oil, soybean oil and sunflower are calculated to verify the accuracy of the method, which are increased, compared the linear method used commonly for component concentration measurement.

Heat Release Property and Fire Performance of the Nomex/Cotton Blend Fabric Treated with a Nonformaldehyde Organophosphorus System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Q. Yang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Blending Nomex® with cotton improves its affordability and serviceability. Because cotton is a highly flammable fiber, Nomex®/cotton blend fabrics containing more than 20% cotton require flame-retardant treatment. In this research, combination of a hydroxyl functional organophosphorus oligmer (HFPO and 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA was used for flame retardant finishing of the 65/35 Nomex®/cotton blend woven fabric. The system contains HFPO as a flame retardant, BTCA as a bonding agent, and triethenolamine (TEA as a reactive additive used to enhance the performance of HFPO/BTCA. Addition of TEA improves the hydrolysis resistance of the HFPO/BTCA crosslinked polymeric network on the blend fabric. Additionally, TEA enhances HFPO’s flame retardant performance by reducing formation of calcium salts and also by providing synergistic nitrogen to the treated blend fabric. The Nomex®/cotton blend fabric treated with the HFPO/BTCA/TEA system shows high flame resistance and high laundering durability at a relatively low HFPO concentration of 8% (w/w. The heat release properties of the treated Nomex®/cotton blend fabric were measured using microscale combustion calorimetry. The functions of BTCA; HFPO and TEA on the Nomex®/cotton blend fabric were elucidated based on the heat release properties, char formation, and fire performance of the treated blend fabric.

High-pressure lattice dynamics and thermodynamic properties of zinc-blende BN from first-principles calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Huanyou; Xu Hui; Wang Xianchun; Jiang Chunzhi

2009-01-01

The density function perturbation theory (DFPT) is employed to study the lattice dynamics and thermodynamic properties (with quasiharmonic approximation) of zinc-blende BN. First we discuss the structural properties and compare the phonon spectrum with available Raman scattering experiments. Thereafter using the calculated phonon dispersions we obtain the PTV equation of state from the free energy. Our results for the above properties are generally speaking in good agreement with experiments and with similar theoretical calculations. Owing to the anharmonic effect at high temperature, the calculated linear thermal expansion coefficients (CTE) are low to experimental data.

Blending additions to PrFeB and NdFeB-type magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, A.; Harris, I.R.

2001-01-01

The RFeB system has been developed over the last fifteen years to provide permanent magnets of the highest quality for advanced applications. These magnets exhibit high saturation and good coercivity but their poor corrosion resistance and high temperature properties had led to considerable research in improving these properties by alloying additions. The majority of studies in to the effects of additions to RFeB magnets have been made by alloy modification at a pre-casting stage. This is a somewhat inflexible route with many casts being required to investigate the systematic effect of a particular addition on properties. In this work, additions have been made by the powder blending technique. By blending powders prior to sintering a wide range of composing can be assessed rapidly using only a small number of starting alloys. Manufacturers could take advantage of this technique by obtaining a large quantity of a base alloy, and then adjusting its properties accordingly to customer requirements. Pr and Nd-based magnets have been prepared by blending with Co and Al powder. The paper reports the domain structure of as cast alloys, microstructure, magnetic properties and curie temperature of sintered magnets made by blending with Co and Al particles. Magnets were made by varying the Co contents from 0 to 10 at % with both alloys. Al blended magnets of Nd-based alloys were made by varying the Al content from 0 to 3 at %. It has been found that blending is very effective way of adding Co and Al to these alloys. There is an improvement in the curie temperature and magnetic properties of the blended magnets. (author)

Polyethylene/hydrophilic polymer blends for biomedical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Brynda, E; Houska, M; Novikova, S P; Dobrova, N B

1987-01-01

Polyethylene blends with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(HEMA)] or poly(2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate) [poly(DHPMA)] were prepared by swelling polyethylene with HEMA or 2,3-epoxypropyl methacrylate (EPMA) and by polymerization of the respective monomers. Poly(EPMA) in blends was hydrolysed to poly(DHPMA) with acetic acid. The blends had similar surface and bulk compositions. Swelling with water and surface wettability were proportional to the content of the hydrophilic component; at the same content the polyethylene/poly(DHPMA) blends appeared more hydrophilic than those of polyethylene/poly(HEMA). Thrombus formation in contact with blood examined ex vivo and in vivo was considerably slower on the blends than on unmodified polyethylene. The tests indicated optima in composition; the best biological response was achieved with the blends containing about 14% poly(HEMA) or 16% poly(DHPMA).

Study of observed broad dielectric relaxation and compatibility of polysulfone - Polyvinylidenefluoride blends

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Swarnim; Shrivas, Sandhya; Dubey, R. K.; Keller, J. M.

2018-05-01

Short circuit thermally stimulated depolarization current measurement techniques has been employed to investigate the dielectric relaxation behavior of PSF: PVDF blends. The samples taken were blends of composition PSF: PVDF:: 80:20; 85:15; 90:10 and 95:05 percent by weight. The thermograms were characterized by a high value of initial current, a low temperature peak around 75-80°C and a prominent broad peak in the temperature interval 130 to 160°C. The two polymers are found to form compatible blend in the studied composition range.

Biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Putri, Zufira; Arcana, I Made

2014-01-01

Sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) can be applied as a proton exchange membrane fuel cell due to its fairly good chemical stability. In order to be applied as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), membrane polymer should have a good ionic conductivity, high proton conductivity, and high mechanical strength. Lignosulfonate (LS) is a complex biopolymer which has crosslinks and sulfonate groups. SPS-LS blends with addition of SiO 2 are used to increase the proton conductivity and to improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability. However, the biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends is required to determine whether the application of these membranes to be applied as an environmentally friendly membrane. In this study, had been done the synthesis of SPS, biodegradability test of SPS-LS blends with variations of LS and SiO 2 compositions. The biodegradation test was carried out in solid medium of Luria Bertani (LB) with an activated sludge used as a source of microorganism at incubation temperature of 37°C. Based on the results obtained indicated that SPS-LS-SiO 2 blends are more decomposed by microorganism than SPS-LS blends. This result is supported by analysis of weight reduction percentage, functional groups with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and morphological surface with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

A dark brown roast coffee blend is less effective at stimulating gastric acid secretion in healthy volunteers compared to a medium roast market blend.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubach, Malte; Lang, Roman; Bytof, Gerhard; Stiebitz, Herbert; Lantz, Ingo; Hofmann, Thomas; Somoza, Veronika

2014-06-01

Coffee consumption sometimes is associated with symptoms of stomach discomfort. This work aimed to elucidate whether two coffee beverages, containing similar amounts of caffeine, but differing in their concentrations of (β) N-alkanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamides (C5HTs), chlorogenic acids (CGAs), trigonelline, and N-methylpyridinium (N-MP) have different effects on gastric acid secretion in healthy volunteers. The intragastric pH after administration of bicarbonate with/without 200 mL of a coffee beverage prepared from a market blend or dark roast blend was analyzed in nine healthy volunteers. Coffee beverages were analyzed for their contents of C5HT, N-MP, trigonelline, CGAs, and caffeine using HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS/MS. Chemical analysis revealed higher concentrations of N-MP for the dark brown blend (87 mg/L) compared to the market blend coffee (29 mg/L), whereas concentrations of C5HT (0.012 versus 0.343 mg/L), CGAs (323 versus 1126 mg/L), and trigonelline (119 versus 343 mg/L) were lower, and caffeine concentrations were similar (607 versus 674 mg/mL). Gastric acid secretion was less effectively stimulated after administration of the dark roast blend coffee compared to the market blend. Future studies are warranted to verify whether a high ratio of N-MP to C5HT and CGAs is beneficial for reducing coffee-associated gastric acid secretion. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Reactive modification of polyesters and their blends

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Chen

2004-12-01

the desired rheological and structural characteristics of the final products for potential applications such as low density extrusion foaming or compatibilization of immiscible polymer blends. Important modification conditions through coagents are identified and reaction mechanisms are proposed. A high MW saturated polyester, PET, can also be rheologically modified in extruders through low MW multifunctional anhydride and epoxy compounds by chain extension/branching. Several such modifiers were successfully screened in terms of their reactivity towards PET under controlled reactive extrusion conditions. A dianhydride with medium reactivity was then successfully used in a one-step reactive modification/extrusion foaming process to produce low density foams. A similar process was successfully used to produce small cell size foams from a four component system containing PET, PP and lesser amounts of a low molecular weight multifunctional epoxy compound and an acid functionalized polyolefin, the latter acting as compatibilizers.

Outlook for the U.S. alkylation industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Felten, J.R.; Bradshaw, T.; McCarthy, K.

1994-01-01

Alkylation has long been recognized in the refining industry as one of the best options to convert refinery olefins into valuable, clean, high octane blending components. In fact, refinery alkylation is a preferred source of blending stocks for reformulated gasoline. However, the hydrofluoric acid (HF) alkylation process and, to a lesser extent, the sulfuric acid (SA) process have come under increasing pressure in the US due to safety and environmental concerns. This paper examines the current outlook for the US alkylation industry including: key trends and driving forces in the industry, the impact of environmental issues on both HF and SA alkylation, US alkylation supply/demand forecast including the outlook for oxygenates, how US refines will respond to the increased demand and restricted supply for alkylates, and the outlook for new solid acid alkylation (SAC) technology

Blending crystalline/liquid crystalline small molecule semiconductors: A strategy towards high performance organic thin film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

He, Chao; He, Yaowu; Li, Aiyuan; Zhang, Dongwei; Meng, Hong

2016-10-01

Solution processed small molecule polycrystalline thin films often suffer from the problems of inhomogeneity and discontinuity. Here, we describe a strategy to solve these problems through deposition of the active layer from a blended solution of crystalline (2-phenyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene, Ph-BTBT) and liquid crystalline (2-(4-dodecylphenyl) [1]benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene, C12-Ph-BTBT) small molecule semiconductors with the hot spin-coating method. Organic thin film transistors with average hole mobility approaching 1 cm2/V s, much higher than that of single component devices, have been demonstrated, mainly due to the improved uniformity, continuity, crystallinity, and stronger intermolecular π-π stacking in blend thin films. Our results indicate that the crystalline/liquid crystalline semiconductor blend method is an effective way to enhance the performance of organic transistors.

Effect of two-stage injection on combustion and emissions under high EGR rate on a diesel engine by fueling blends of diesel/gasoline, diesel/n-butanol, diesel/gasoline/n-butanol and pure diesel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Zunqing; Yue, Lang; Liu, Haifeng; Zhu, Yuxuan; Zhong, Xiaofan; Yao, Mingfa

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Two-stage injection using diesel blended fuel at high EGR (46%) was studied. • Blending fuels induce retarded pilot heat release and have less effect on MPRR. • Effects of injection parameters of blended fuels on emissions are similar to diesel. • Different fuels have little influence on post combustion heat release. • Small quantity post injection close to main results in better efficiency and emissions. - Abstract: The effect of two-stage injection on combustion and emission characteristics under high EGR (46%) condition were experimentally investigated. Four different fuels including pure diesel and blended fuels of diesel/gasoline, diesel/n-butanol, diesel/gasoline/n-butanol were tested. Results show that blending gasoline or/and n-butanol in diesel improves smoke emissions while induces increase in maximum pressure rise rate (MPRR). Adopting pilot injection close to main injection can effectively reduce the peak of premixed heat release rate and MPRR. However, for fuels blends with high percentage of low cetane number fuel, the effect of pilot fuel on ignition can be neglected and the improvement of MPRR is not that obvious. Pilot-main interval presents more obvious effect on smoke than pilot injection rate does, and the smoke emissions decrease with increasing pilot-main interval. A longer main-post interval results in a lower post heat release rate and prolonged combustion duration. While post injection rate has little effect on the start of ignition for post injection. The variation in fuel properties caused by blending gasoline or/and n-butanol into diesel does not impose obvious influence on post combustion. The smoke emission increases first and then declines with retard of post injection timing. Compared to diesel, the smoke emissions of blended fuels are more sensitive to the variation of post injection strategy

Controlling Blend Morphology for Ultra-High Current Density in Non-Fullerene Acceptor Based Organic Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Song, Xin

2018-01-23

Due to the high absorption coefficient and modulated band gap of non-fullerene small molecule acceptors (NFAs), photons can be utilized more efficiently in near-infrared (NIR) range. In this report, we highlight a system with a well-known polymer donor (PTB7-Th) blended with a narrow bandgap non-fullerene acceptor (IEICO-4F) as active layer and 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) as the solvent additive. The optimization of the photoactive layer nanomorphology yields short-circuit current density value (Jsc) of 27.3 mA/cm2, one of the highest value in OSCs reported to date, which competes with other types of solution processed solar cells such as perovskite or quantum dot devices. Along with decent open-circuit voltage (0.71V) and fill factor values (66%), a power conversion efficiency of 12.8% is achieved for the champion devices. Grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) patterns and resonant soft X-ray scattering (R-SoXS) elucidate that the origin of this high photocurrent is mainly due to increased π-π coherence length of the acceptor, the domain spacing as well as the mean-square composition variation of the blend. Optoelectronic measurements confirm a balanced hole and electron mobility and reduced trap-assisted recombination for the best devices. These findings unveil the relevant solvent processing-nanostructure-electronic properties correlation in low band gap non-fullerene based solar cells, which provide a helpful guide for maximizing photocurrent that can pave the way for high efficiency organic solar cells.

Controlling Blend Morphology for Ultra-High Current Density in Non-Fullerene Acceptor Based Organic Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Song, Xin; Gasparini, Nicola; Ye, Long; Yao, Huifeng; Hou, Jianhui; Ade, Harald; Baran, Derya

2018-01-01

Due to the high absorption coefficient and modulated band gap of non-fullerene small molecule acceptors (NFAs), photons can be utilized more efficiently in near-infrared (NIR) range. In this report, we highlight a system with a well-known polymer donor (PTB7-Th) blended with a narrow bandgap non-fullerene acceptor (IEICO-4F) as active layer and 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) as the solvent additive. The optimization of the photoactive layer nanomorphology yields short-circuit current density value (Jsc) of 27.3 mA/cm2, one of the highest value in OSCs reported to date, which competes with other types of solution processed solar cells such as perovskite or quantum dot devices. Along with decent open-circuit voltage (0.71V) and fill factor values (66%), a power conversion efficiency of 12.8% is achieved for the champion devices. Grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) patterns and resonant soft X-ray scattering (R-SoXS) elucidate that the origin of this high photocurrent is mainly due to increased π-π coherence length of the acceptor, the domain spacing as well as the mean-square composition variation of the blend. Optoelectronic measurements confirm a balanced hole and electron mobility and reduced trap-assisted recombination for the best devices. These findings unveil the relevant solvent processing-nanostructure-electronic properties correlation in low band gap non-fullerene based solar cells, which provide a helpful guide for maximizing photocurrent that can pave the way for high efficiency organic solar cells.

Characteristics of PVdF copolymer/Nafion blend membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Ki-Yun; Eom, Ji-Yong; Jung, Ho-Young; Choi, Nam-Soon; Lee, Yong Min; Park, Jung-Ki; Choi, Jong-Ho; Park, Kyung-Won; Sung, Yung-Eun

2004-01-01

For direct methanol fuel cell, blends of vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (P(VdF-co-HFP)) and Nafion were prepared the different equivalent weight of Nafion. The investigations of the blend morphology were performed by means of permeability test, uptake measurement, differential-scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy. In the blend membranes, many pores were created as the content of Nafion in blend increased. Then, the methanol uptake was sharply increased. But the methanol permeability was not sharply increased because the methanol permeation through blend membranes is diffusion-controlled process. The methanol permeability of N10 (low equivalent weight) series was similar to that of N11 series (high equivalent weight). The proton conductivity of N10 series was around one and a half times higher than that of N11 series. The cell performance of the blend was much enhanced when the equivalent weight of Nafion was 1000

Face-to-Face Activities in Blended Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Annemette

While blended learning combines online and face-to-face teaching, research on blended learning has primarily focused on the role of technology and the opportunities it creates for engaging students. Less focus has been put on face-to-face activities in blended learning. This paper argues...... that it is not only the online activities in blended learning that provide new opportunities for rethinking pedagogy in higher education, it is also imperative to reconsider the face-to-face activities when part of the learning is provided online. Based on a review of blended learning in business and management...... education, we identify what forms of teaching and learning are suggested to take place face-to-face when other activities are moved online. We draw from the Community of Inquiry framework to analyze how face-to-face activities contribute to a blended learning pedagogy and discuss the implications...

BLENDED LEARNING STRATEGY IN TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marian F. Byrka

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article examines the implementation of blended learning strategy in teacher training programs as an innovation in online learning. The blended learning idea comes from blending elements which use online technology with more traditional face-to-face teaching in the same course. The article analyses teacher training programs offered by Chernivtsi Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education. Additional data were gathered through a questionnaire administered to teachers who attended training courses. The characteristics of blended learning strategy, its benefits and limitations for teacher training are supported by a review of literature. The article closes with the comparison of curriculum components (content delivery, learner activities, materials, and required competences between traditional and blended learning teacher training programs. Having obvious benefits in teacher training programs, the implementation of blended learning strategy sets some additional requirements to a learner, as well as to course instructors and lectors.

Emissions of Jatropha oil-derived biodiesel blend fuels during combustion in a swirl burner

Science.gov (United States)

Norwazan, A. R.; Mohd. Jaafar, M. N.; Sapee, S.; Farouk, Hazir

2018-03-01

Experimental works on combustion of jatropha oil biodiesel blends of fuel with high swirling flow in swirl burner have been studied in various blends percentage. Jatropha oil biodiesel was produced using a two-step of esterification-transesterification process. The paper focuses on the emissions of biodiesel blends fuel using jatropha oil in lean through to rich air/fuel mixture combustion in swirl burner. The emissions performances were evaluated by using axial swirler amongst jatropha oil blends fuel including diesel fuel as baseline. The results show that the B25 has good emissions even though it has a higher emission of NOx than diesel fuel, while it emits as low as 42% of CO, 33% of SO2 and 50% of UHC emissions with high swirl number. These are due to the higher oxygen content in jatropha oil biodiesel.

27 CFR 24.213 - Heavy bodied blending wine.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Heavy bodied blending wine..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS WINE Production of Other Than Standard Wine § 24.213 Heavy bodied blending wine. Heavy bodied blending wine is wine made for blending purposes from grapes or other fruit without...

[Blending powdered antineoplastic medicine in disposable ointment container].

Science.gov (United States)

Miyazaki, Yasunori; Uchino, Tomonobu; Kagawa, Yoshiyuki

2014-01-01

On dispensing powdered antineoplastic medicines, it is important to prevent cross-contamination and environmental exposure. Recently, we developed a method for blending powdered medicine in a disposable ointment container using a planetary centrifugal mixer. The disposable container prevents cross-contamination. In addition, environmental exposure associated with washing the apparatus does not arise because no blending blade is used. In this study, we aimed to confirm the uniformity of the mixture and weight loss of medicine in the blending procedure. We blended colored lactose powder with Leukerin(®) or Mablin(®) powders using the new method and the ordinary pestle and mortar method. Then, the blending state was monitored using image analysis. Blending variables, such as the blending ratio (1:9-9:1), container size (35-125 mL), and charging rate (20-50%) in the container were also investigated under the operational conditions of 500 rpm and 50 s. At a 20% charging rate in a 35 mL container, the blending precision of the mixtures was not influenced by the blending ratio, and was less than 6.08%, indicating homogeneity. With an increase in the charging rate, however, the blending precision decreased. The possible amount of both mixtures rose to about 17 g with a 20% charging rate in a 125 mL container. Furthermore, weight loss of medicines with this method was smaller than that with the pestle and mortar method, suggesting that this method is safer for pharmacists. In conclusion, we have established a precise and safe method for blending powdered medicines in pharmacies.

Compatibilization of recycled polypropylene and recycled poly (ethylene terephthalate blends with SEBS-g-MA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Maria Guadagnini Araujo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The compatibilization of recycled PP/PET blend with high and low concentration (20 and 5 phr of elastomer functionalized by maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA was achieved. Recycled polypropylene from plastic industry and recycled PET from post-consumer bottles was used. PP/PET blends: 80:20 w/w, 50:50 w/w and 20:80 w/w were prepared in an internal mixer for mechanical properties, thermal properties, morphology and rheological properties. SEBS-g-MA promoted compatibilization of the PP/PET blends and improved their properties. With an increasing compatibilization level, the refinement of morphology was observed in the PET rich blend. Compatibilized blends showed negative deviation in the PET glass transition temperature related to neat PET, demonstrating that compatibilization was very successful. PET crystallization was accelerated in the blends due to PP presence that enhanced nucleation. It was found that the 50/50/20 blend showed huge potential for textile fiber application and that of 80/20/20 showed more intermediary properties than neat polymers.

The Optimum Blend: Affordances and Challenges of Blended Learning For Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuray Gedik

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to elicit students’ perceptions regarding the most facilitative and most challenging features (affordances and barriers in a blended course design. Following the phenomenological approach of qualitative inquiry, data were collected from ten undergraduate students who had experiences in a blended learning environment. Data were collected from the students’ weekly reşection papers, interviews with students, and documents, and analyzed by structurally and texturally describing the resulting experiences and perceptions. The findings of the study indicate that used together, online and face-to-face course structures offer several opportunities and challenges for students. The participating students mentioned interaction and communication opportunities, increased motivation, increased opportunities to voice their opinions, and reinforcement of learning as the affordances in the blended learning environment. The barriers included increased workload, cultural and technical barriers, and the inter-dependence of the two environments. Implications and suggestions are offered for instructors in higher education settings

The Optimum Blend: Affordances and Challenges of Blended Learning For Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuray Gedik

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to elicit students’ perceptions regarding the most facilitative and most challenging features (affordances and barriers in a blended course design. Following the phenomenological approach of qualitative inquiry, data were collected from ten undergraduate students who had experiences in a blended learning environment. Data were collected from the students’ weekly reflection papers, interviews with students, and documents, and analyzed by structurally and texturally describing the resulting experiences and perceptions. The findings of the study indicate that used together, online and face-to-face course structures offer several opportunities and challenges for students. The participating students mentioned interaction and communication opportunities, increased motivation, increased opportunities to voice their opinions, and reinforcement of learning as the affordances in the blended learning environment. The barriers included increased workload, cultural and technical barriers, and the inter-dependence of the two environments. Implications and suggestions are offered for instructors in higher education settings.

Mechanical and water barrier properties of agar/κ-carrageenan/konjac glucomannan ternary blend biohydrogel films.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhim, Jong-Whan; Wang, Long-Feng

2013-07-01

Multicomponent hydrogel films composed of agar, κ-carrageenan, konjac glucomannan powder, and nanoclay (Cloisite(®) 30B) were prepared and their mechanical and water barrier properties such as water vapor permeability (WVP), water contact angle (CA), water solubility (WS), water uptake ratio (WUR), water vapor uptake ratio (WVUR) were determined. Mechanical, water vapor barrier, and water resistance properties of the ternary blend film exhibited middle range of individual component films, however, they increased significantly after formation of nanocomposite with the clay. Especially, the water holding capacity of the ternary blend biopolymer films increased tremendously, from 800% to 1681% of WUR for agar and κ-carrageenan films up to 5118% and 5488% of WUR for the ternary blend and ternary blend nanocomposite films, respectively. Water vapor adsorption behavior of films was also tested by water vapor adsorption kinetics and water vapor adsorption isotherms test. Preliminary test result for fresh spinach packaging revealed that the ternary blend biohydrogel films had a high potential for the use as an antifogging film for packaging highly respiring agricultural produce. In addition, the ternary blend nanocomposite film showed an antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

E-learning and blended learning in orthodontic education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avinash Kumar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to evaluate how effective and efficient e-learning and blended learning is when compared with traditional face-to-face learning in orthodontic education. This article also provides a comparison between face-to-face learning, e-learning, and blended learning. An open PubMed literature search was done from 1980 to 2015, and a total of 23 relevant key articles were reviewed. Information emerging from studies in orthodontic education has indicated that e-learning classes are at least as good as and/or better than face-to-face classroom learning. Till date, only one study stated that the face-to-face conventional learning is better than e-learning. Two studies stated that blended approach using both traditional face-to-face learning and e-learning is the best method. In one study, the advantages of e-learning observed in the theoretical fields of orthodontics were not achieved in learning practical procedures for manual skills. Few studies found improvements in the efficiency of learning with e-learning program. Studies performed through questionnaires showed that student's attitude and acceptance toward the use of e-learning was positive and favorable; however, blended learning was always rated high. Future research should be based on experiences of both faculty and student on a large scale for implementation of e-learning and blended learning in academic institutions. There is also need to provide professional development for faculty who will be teaching both in the physical and virtual environments.

Wavelet and Blend maps for texture synthesis

OpenAIRE

Du Jin-Lian; Wang Song; Meng Xianhai

2011-01-01

blending is now a popular technology for large realtime texture synthesis .Nevertheless, creating blend map during rendering is time and computation consuming work. In this paper, we exploited a method to create a kind of blend tile which can be tile together seamlessly. Note that blend map is in fact a kind of image, which is Markov Random Field, contains multiresolution signals, while wavelet is a powerful way to process multiresolution signals, we use wavelet to process the traditional ble...

Silk fibroin/pullulan blend films: Preparation and characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shivananda, C. S.; Rao, B. Lakshmeesha; Madhukumar, R.; Asha, S. [Department of Studies in Physics, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri – 574 199 (India); Sarojini, B. K. [Department of Industrial Chemistry, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri, Mangalore –574 199 (India); Somashekhar, R. [Department of Studies in Physics, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore – 570 006 (India); Sangappa, Y., E-mail: syhalabhavi@yahoo.co.in [Department of Studies in Physics, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri – 574 199 (India); School of Material Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States)

2016-05-23

In this work silk fibroin/pullulan blend films have been prepared by solution casting method. The blend films were examined for structural, and thermal properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimatric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The XRD results indicate that with the introduction of pullulan, the interaction between SF and pullulan in the blend films induced the conformation transition of SF films and amorphous phase increases with increasing pullulan ratio. The thermal properties of the blend films were improved significantly in the blend films.

A Complementary Biodiesel Blend from Soapnut Oil and Free Fatty Acids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu-Yen Chen

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Blends of biodiesels produced from soapnut oil and high-oleic free fatty acids (FFAs, which are potential non-edible oil feedstocks, were investigated with respect to their fuel properties. The soapnut oil methyl esters (SNME had satisfactory fuel properties with the exception of its high cold filter plugging point. In contrast, the biodiesel from the FFAs had favorable fuel properties such as a low cold filter plugging point of −6 °C; however, it exhibits poor oxidation stability with an induction period (IP of 0.2 h. The complementary blend of the SNME and the FFA-based biodiesel at various weight ratios was studied to improve the fuel properties. As a result, the biodiesel blend at a weight ratio of 70:30 can successfully meet all the biodiesel specifications, except the marginal oxidation stability. Furthermore, the effectiveness of N,N’-di-sec-butyl-p-phenylenediamine at the concentration between 100 and 500 ppm on the improvement in the oxidation stability of the biodiesel blend was examined. The relationship between the IP values associated with the consumption of antioxidants in the biodiesel blends was described by first-order reaction rate kinetics. In addition, the natural logarithm of IP (ln IP at various concentrations of antioxidant presented a linear relation with the test temperature. The IP at ambient temperature can be predicted based on the extrapolation of the temperature dependence relation.

Determination of Component Contents of Blend Oil Based on Characteristics Peak Value Integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jing; Hou, Pei-guo; Wang, Yu-tian; Pan, Zhao

2016-01-01

Edible blend oil market is confused at present. It has some problems such as confusing concepts, randomly named, shoddy and especially the fuzzy standard of compositions and ratios in blend oil. The national standard fails to come on time after eight years. The basic reason is the lack of qualitative and quantitative detection of vegetable oils in blend oil. Edible blend oil is mixed by different vegetable oils according to a certain proportion. Its nutrition is rich. Blend oil is eaten frequently in daily life. Different vegetable oil contains a certain components. The mixed vegetable oil can make full use of their nutrients and make the nutrients more balanced in blend oil. It is conducive to people's health. It is an effectively way to monitor blend oil market by the accurate determination of single vegetable oil content in blend oil. The types of blend oil are known, so we only need for accurate determination of its content. Three dimensional fluorescence spectra are used for the contents in blend oil. A new method of data processing is proposed with calculation of characteristics peak value integration in chosen characteristic area based on Quasi-Monte Carlo method, combined with Neural network method to solve nonlinear equations to obtain single vegetable oil content in blend oil. Peanut oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil are used as research object to reconcile into edible blend oil, with single oil regarded whole, not considered each oil's components. Recovery rates of 10 configurations of edible harmonic oil is measured to verify the validity of the method of characteristics peak value integration. An effective method is provided to detect components content of complex mixture in high sensitivity. Accuracy of recovery rats is increased, compared the common method of solution of linear equations used to detect components content of mixture. It can be used in the testing of kinds and content of edible vegetable oil in blend oil for the food quality detection

Correspondence Theory and Phonological Blending in French

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Scott

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Though less productive than rival word-formation processes like compounding and affixation, blending is still a rich source of neologisms in French. Despite this productivity, however, blends are often seen by scholars as unpredictable, uninteresting, or both. This analysis picks up where recent studies of blending have left off, using Correspondence Theory and a bundle of segmental constraints to deal with this phenomenon as it pertains to French. More specifically, it shows that blending is the result of a single output standing in correspondence with two or more other outputs, and that we do not need to refer to prosodic information, which is crucial in accounts of blending in languages with lexical stress like English, to account for the process in French. The analysis also differs from previous studies in that it locates blending exclusively within the phonology, leaving its morphological and semantic characteristics to be handled by other processes in the grammar.

Moisture sorption and thermal characteristics of polyaramide blend fabrics

OpenAIRE

Genç, Gözde; Alp, Burcu; Balköse, Devrim; Ülkü, Semra; Cireli, Aysun

2006-01-01

Four types of fabrics woven from various polyaramid fibers of Nomex and Kevlar blends were characterized by morphology, XRD, elemental analysis, thermal analysis, and moisture adsorption isotherms. The blends consisted of Polybenzimidazole/ Kevlar blend (40% FBI and 60% Kevlar®), Nomex Delta A (blend of 60% Kevlar and 40% Nomex®), Nomex Delta T (blend of 75% Nomex, 23% Kevlar, and 2% P140 antistatic fiber), and Nomex III (fabric with a 95/5 blend of Nomex and Kevlar) containing 1% steel fiber...

A neurotoxicity assessment of high flash aromatic naphtha.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, J F; McKee, R H; Cagen, S Z; Schmitt, S L; Beatty, P W; Swanson, M S; Schreiner, C A; Ulrich, C E; Cockrell, B Y

1993-01-01

Catalytic reforming is a refining process that converts naphthenes to aromatics by dehydrogenation to make higher octane gasoline blending components. A portion of this wide-boiling range hydrocarbon stream can be separated by distillation and used for other purposes. One such application is a mixture of predominantly 9-carbon aromatic molecules (C9 Aromatics, primarily isomers of ethyltoluene and trimethylbenzene), which is removed and used as a solvent also known as High Flash Aromatic Naphtha (HFAN). A program was initiated to assess the toxicological properties of HFAN since there may be human exposure, especially in the workplace. The current study was conducted to assess the potential for neurotoxicity in the rat. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats of approximately 300 grams body weight, in groups of twenty, were exposed by inhalation to HFAN for 90 days at concentrations of 0, 100, 500, and 1500 ppm. During this period the animals were tested monthly for motor activity and in a functional observation battery. After three months of exposure, for 6 hours/day, 5 days/week, 10 animals/group/sex were sacrificed and selected nervous system tissue was examined histopathologically. No signs of neurotoxicity were seen in any of the evaluated parameters, nor was there evidence of pathologic changes in any of the examined tissues.

Using Blended Teaching to Teach Blended Learning: Lessons Learned from Pre-Service Teachers in an Instructional Methods Course

Science.gov (United States)

Shand, Kristen; Farrelly, Susan Glassett

2017-01-01

In this study, we explore the design and delivery of a blended social studies teaching methods course to examine the elements of the blended design that pre-service teachers found most constructive. In focus groups at the completion of the course, pre-service teachers were asked to reflect on their experience in the blended course, identify the…

LENRA as compatibilizer in NR/HDPE blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahlan Mohd; Mahathir Mohamed

2006-01-01

Polymer blends of 60/40 NR/RDPE were prepared using Brabender PL2000 Plasticorder with 60 g capacity. The blends were added with radiation-sensitive natural rubber (NR)-based compatibilizer, known as LENRA. They were irradiated with electron-beam radiation at various doses. The efficacy of the compatibilizer was monitored by measuring various properties of the blends such as physical and dynamic mechanical properties including morphological studies by electron microscopic technique. Early results show that the addition of LENRA improves the properties of the TPNR blends. (Author)

Blended learning within an undergraduate exercise physiology laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmer, Steven J; Carter, Kathryn R; Armga, Austin J; Carter, Jason R

2016-03-01

In physiological education, blended course formats (integration of face-to-face and online instruction) can facilitate increased student learning, performance, and satisfaction in classroom settings. There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of using blending course formats in laboratory settings. We evaluated the impact of blended learning on student performance and perceptions in an undergraduate exercise physiology laboratory. Using a randomized, crossover design, four laboratory topics were delivered in either a blended or traditional format. For blended laboratories, content was offloaded to self-paced video demonstrations (∼15 min). Laboratory section 1 (n = 16) completed blended laboratories for 1) neuromuscular power and 2) blood lactate, whereas section 2 (n = 17) completed blended laboratories for 1) maximal O2 consumption and 2) muscle electromyography. Both sections completed the same assignments (scored in a blinded manner using a standardized rubric) and practicum exams (evaluated by two independent investigators). Pre- and postcourse surveys were used to assess student perceptions. Most students (∼79%) watched videos for both blended laboratories. Assignment scores did not differ between blended and traditional laboratories (P = 0.62) or between sections (P = 0.91). Practicum scores did not differ between sections (both P > 0.05). At the end of the course, students' perceived value of the blended format increased (P learning key foundational content through video demonstrations before class greatly enhanced their learning of course material compared with a preassigned reading (94% vs. 78%, P Blended exercise physiology laboratories provided an alternative method for delivering content that was favorably perceived by students and did not compromise student performance. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Excess Molar Volumes of (Octane + Benzene, or + Toluene, or + 1,3-Xylene, or 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene) at Temperatures between (298.15 K and 328.15) K

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Morávková, Lenka; Linek, Jan

2008-01-01

Roč. 40, č. 4 (2008), s. 671-676 ISSN 0021-9614 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA104/06/0656 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : octane * benzene * excess volume Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.876, year: 2008

A Phase Blending Study on Rubber Blends Based on the Solubility Preference of Curatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guo, R.; Talma, Auke; Datta, Rabin; Dierkes, Wilma K.; Noordermeer, Jacobus W.M.

2009-01-01

Using previously obtained data on the solubilities of curatives in SBR, EPDM and in NBR, different mixing procedures were performed on 50/50 SBR/EPDM and NBR/EPDM blends. In contrast to a previous phase-mixing study, the curatives were added to separate phases before final blending, in an attempt to

Droplet size in flow: Theoretical model and application to polymer blends

Science.gov (United States)

Fortelný, Ivan; Jůza, Josef

2017-05-01

The paper is focused on prediction of the average droplet radius, R, in flowing polymer blends where the droplet size is determined by dynamic equilibrium between the droplet breakup and coalescence. Expressions for the droplet breakup frequency in systems with low and high contents of the dispersed phase are derived using available theoretical and experimental results for model blends. Dependences of the coalescence probability, Pc, on system parameters, following from recent theories, is considered and approximate equation for Pc in a system with a low polydispersity in the droplet size is proposed. Equations for R in systems with low and high contents of the dispersed phase are derived. Combination of these equations predicts realistic dependence of R on the volume fraction of dispersed droplets, φ. Theoretical prediction of the ratio of R to the critical droplet radius at breakup agrees fairly well with experimental values for steadily mixed polymer blends.

Determination of Crosslink Concentration by Mooney-Rivlin Equation for Vulcanized NR/ SBR Blend and its Influence on Mechanical Properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azreen Izzati Dzulkifli; Che Mohd Som Said; Han, C.C.

2015-01-01

Crosslink concentration is an important property affecting the major characteristic of cured rubber. The crosslink concentration was determined using Mooney-Rivlin equation due to its simple and reliable method. Cured natural rubber and styrene butadiene rubber blend (NR/SBR) with different crosslink concentrations were obtained with different blend ratios of 100/0, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60 and 0/100. The crosslink concentrations were determined using Mooney-Rivlin Equation and its influence on International Rubber Hardness Tester (IRHD), tensile strength and rebound resilience of NR/ SBR blend vulcanizates was investigated. The results showed different blend ratios had an influence on the crosslink concentration of the NR/ SBR blend vulcanizates. Obtained data showed that high NR content in NR/ SBR blend increased the crosslink concentration. The highest crosslink concentration recorded was for 100/0 blend ratio which was 0.0498 mol kg"-"1 RH while the lowest was 0.0295 mol kg"-"1 RH for 0/100 blend ratio. The study on the influence of crosslink concentration on IRHD, tensile strength and rebound resilience of NR/ SBR blend vulcanizates showed that the mechanical properties increased linearly with the crosslink concentration. High NR content in NR/ SBR blends resulted in higher crosslink concentration which improved the performance of mechanical properties for NR/ SBR blend. (author)

Blended Learning: An Innovative Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lalima; Dangwal, Kiran Lata

2017-01-01

Blended learning is an innovative concept that embraces the advantages of both traditional teaching in the classroom and ICT supported learning including both offline learning and online learning. It has scope for collaborative learning; constructive learning and computer assisted learning (CAI). Blended learning needs rigorous efforts, right…

Biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Putri, Zufira, E-mail: zufira.putri@gmail.com, E-mail: arcana@chem.itb.ac.id; Arcana, I Made, E-mail: zufira.putri@gmail.com, E-mail: arcana@chem.itb.ac.id [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Research Groups, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung (Indonesia)

2014-03-24

Sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) can be applied as a proton exchange membrane fuel cell due to its fairly good chemical stability. In order to be applied as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), membrane polymer should have a good ionic conductivity, high proton conductivity, and high mechanical strength. Lignosulfonate (LS) is a complex biopolymer which has crosslinks and sulfonate groups. SPS-LS blends with addition of SiO{sub 2} are used to increase the proton conductivity and to improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability. However, the biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends is required to determine whether the application of these membranes to be applied as an environmentally friendly membrane. In this study, had been done the synthesis of SPS, biodegradability test of SPS-LS blends with variations of LS and SiO{sub 2} compositions. The biodegradation test was carried out in solid medium of Luria Bertani (LB) with an activated sludge used as a source of microorganism at incubation temperature of 37°C. Based on the results obtained indicated that SPS-LS-SiO{sub 2} blends are more decomposed by microorganism than SPS-LS blends. This result is supported by analysis of weight reduction percentage, functional groups with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and morphological surface with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)