Computational models for structure-hydrophobicity relationships of 4-carboxyl-2,6-dinitrophenyl azo hydroxynaphthalenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Idowu, Olakunle S; Adegoke, Olajire A; Idowu, Abiola; Olaniyi, Ajibola A

2007-01-01

Some phenyl azo hydroxynaphthalene dyes (e.g., sunset yellow) are certified as approved colorants for food, cosmetics, and drug formulations. The hydrophobicity of 4 newly synthesized azo dyes of the phenyl azo hydroxynaphthalene class was investigated, as a training set, with the goal of developing models for quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR). Retention behavior of the molecules reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography (RPTLC) was investigated using liquid paraffin-coated silica gel as the stationary phase. Mobile phases consisted of aqueous mixtures of methanol, acetone, and dimethylformamide (DMF). Basic hydrophobicity parameter (Rmw), specific hydrophobic surface area (S), and isocratic chromatographic hydrophobicity index (phio) were computed from the chromatographic data. The hydrophobicity index (Rm) decreased linearly with increasing concentration of organic modifiers. Extrapolated Rmw values obtained by using DMF and acetone differ significantly from the value obtained by using methanol as organic modifier [P dyes and may also play useful roles in computer-assisted molecular discovery of nontoxic azo dyes.

Fabricated super-hydrophobic film with potentiostatic electrolysis method on copper for corrosion protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Peng; Qiu Ri; Zhang Dun; Lin Zhifeng; Hou Baorong

2010-01-01

A novel one-step potentiostatic electrolysis method was proposed to fabricate super-hydrophobic film on copper surface. The resulted film was characterized by contact angle tests, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electrochemical measurements. It could be inferred that the super-hydrophobic property resulted from the flower-like structure of copper tetradecanoate film. In the presence of super-hydrophobic film, the anodic and cathodic polarization current densities are reduced for more than five and four orders of magnitude, respectively. The air trapped in the film is the essential contributor of the anticorrosion property of film for its insulation, the copper tetradecanoate film itself acts as a 'frame' to trap air as well as a coating with inhibition effect. The super-hydrophobic film presents excellent inhibition effect to the copper corrosion and stability in water containing Cl - .

Water on a Hydrophobic surface

Science.gov (United States)

Scruggs, Ryan; Zhu, Mengjue; Poynor, Adele

2012-02-01

Hydrophobicity, meaning literally fear of water, is exhibited on the surfaces of non-stick cooking pans and water resistant clothing, on the leaves of the lotus plan, or even during the protein folding process in our bodies. Hydrophobicity is directly measured by determining a contact angle between water and an objects surface. Associated with a hydrophobic surface is the depletion layer, a low density region approximately 0.2 nm thick. We study this region by comparing data found in lab using surface plasmon resonance techniques to theoretical calculations. Experiments use gold slides coated in ODT and Mercapto solutions to model both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces respectively.

Reversible superhydrophilicity and hydrophobicity switching of V2O5 thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chunzi; Peng, Zhiguang; Cui, Xiaoyu; Neil, Eric; Li, Yuanshi; Kasap, Safa; Yang, Qiaoqin

2018-03-01

V2O5 thin films are well-known "smart" materials due to their reversible wettability under UV irradiation and dark storage. Their surfaces are usually hydrophobic and turn into hydrophilic under UV irradiation. However, the V2O5 thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering in present work are superhydrophilic and turned into hydrophobic after days' of storage in air. This change can be recovered by heating. The effects of many factors including surface roughness, irradiation from visible light, UV, & X-ray, and storage in air & vacuum on the reversible switching of wettability were investigated. The results show that air absorption is the main factor causing the film surface change from superhydrophilicity to hydrophobicity.

Continuous droplet removal upon dropwise condensation of humid air on a hydrophobic micropatterned surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamuruyev, Konstantin O; Bardaweel, Hamzeh K; Carron, Christopher J; Kenyon, Nicholas J; Brand, Oliver; Delplanque, Jean-Pierre; Davis, Cristina E

2014-08-26

Combination of two physical phenomena, capillary pressure gradient and wettability gradient, allows a simple two-step fabrication process that yields a reliable hydrophobic self-cleaning condenser surface. The surface is fabricated with specific microscopic topography and further treatment with a chemically inert low-surface-energy material. This process does not require growth of nanofeatures (nanotubes) or hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterning of the surface. Trapezoidal geometry of the microfeatures facilitates droplet transfer from the Wenzel to the Cassie state and reduces droplet critical diameter. The geometry of the micropatterns enhances local coalescence and directional movement for droplets with diameter much smaller than the radial length of the micropatterns. The hydrophobic self-cleaning micropatterned condenser surface prevents liquid film formation and promotes continuous dropwise condensation cycle. Upon dropwise condensation, droplets follow a designed wettability gradient created with micropatterns from the most hydrophobic to the least hydrophobic end of the surface. The surface has higher condensation efficiency, due to its directional self-cleaning property, than a plain hydrophobic surface. We explain the self-actuated droplet collection mechanism on the condenser surface and demonstrate experimentally the creation of an effective wettability gradient over a 6 mm radial distance. In spite of its fabrication simplicity, the fabricated surface demonstrates self-cleaning property, enhanced condensation performance, and reliability over time. Our work enables creation of a hydrophobic condenser surface with the directional self-cleaning property that can be used for collection of biological (chemical, environmental) aerosol samples or for condensation enhancement.

Reference interaction site model with hydrophobicity induced density inhomogeneity: An analytical theory to compute solvation properties of large hydrophobic solutes in the mixture of polyatomic solvent molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Siqin; Sheong, Fu Kit; Huang, Xuhui

2015-01-01

Reference interaction site model (RISM) has recently become a popular approach in the study of thermodynamical and structural properties of the solvent around macromolecules. On the other hand, it was widely suggested that there exists water density depletion around large hydrophobic solutes (>1 nm), and this may pose a great challenge to the RISM theory. In this paper, we develop a new analytical theory, the Reference Interaction Site Model with Hydrophobicity induced density Inhomogeneity (RISM-HI), to compute solvent radial distribution function (RDF) around large hydrophobic solute in water as well as its mixture with other polyatomic organic solvents. To achieve this, we have explicitly considered the density inhomogeneity at the solute-solvent interface using the framework of the Yvon-Born-Green hierarchy, and the RISM theory is used to obtain the solute-solvent pair correlation. In order to efficiently solve the relevant equations while maintaining reasonable accuracy, we have also developed a new closure called the D2 closure. With this new theory, the solvent RDFs around a large hydrophobic particle in water and different water-acetonitrile mixtures could be computed, which agree well with the results of the molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, we show that our RISM-HI theory can also efficiently compute the solvation free energy of solute with a wide range of hydrophobicity in various water-acetonitrile solvent mixtures with a reasonable accuracy. We anticipate that our theory could be widely applied to compute the thermodynamic and structural properties for the solvation of hydrophobic solute

Thermodynamic Molecular Switch in Sequence-Specific Hydrophobic Interaction: Two Computational Models Compared

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Chun

2003-01-01

Full Text Available We have shown in our published work the existence of a thermodynamic switch in biological systems wherein a change of sign in ΔCp°(Treaction leads to a true negative minimum in the Gibbs free energy change of reaction, and hence, a maximum in the related Keq. We have examined 35 pair-wise, sequence-specific hydrophobic interactions over the temperature range of 273–333 K, based on data reported by Nemethy and Scheraga in 1962. A closer look at a single example, the pair-wise hydrophobic interaction of leucine-isoleucine, will demonstrate the significant differences when the data are analyzed using the Nemethy-Scheraga model or treated by the Planck-Benzinger methodology which we have developed. The change in inherent chemical bond energy at 0 K, ΔH°(T0 is 7.53 kcal mol-1 compared with 2.4 kcal mol-1, while ‹ts› is 365 K as compared with 355 K, for the Nemethy-Scheraga and Planck-Benzinger model, respectively. At ‹tm›, the thermal agitation energy is about five times greater than ΔH°(T0 in the Planck-Benzinger model, that is 465 K compared to 497 K in the Nemethy-Scheraga model. The results imply that the negative Gibbs free energy minimum at a well-defined ‹ts›, where TΔS° = 0 at about 355 K, has its origin in the sequence-specific hydrophobic interactions, which are highly dependent on details of molecular structure. The Nemethy-Scheraga model shows no evidence of the thermodynamic molecular switch that we have found to be a universal feature of biological interactions. The Planck-Benzinger method is the best known for evaluating the innate temperature-invariant enthalpy, ΔH°(T0, and provides for better understanding of the heat of reaction for biological molecules.

Adsorption of Hydrophobically Modified Polyelectrolytes on Hydrophobic Substrates Adsorption de polyélectrolytes modifiés hydrophobiquement sur les substrats hydrophobes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mays J. W.

2006-12-01

Full Text Available A series of diblock copolymers, poly (tert-butyl styrene-sodium poly (styrene sulfonate with different molecular weight and percentage of sulfonation have been used to study the effect of polymer structure on its adsorption behavior onto hydrophobically modified silicon wafers. The percentage of the hydrophobic block varies from 3. 6-8. 9%. Previous studies show that salt concentration is very important for the adsorption of such polyelectrolytes onto silica surfaces. Octadecyltriethoxysilane (OTE has been used to modify the silicon wafer which changes the water contact angle from 50° on unmodified silica to 100° to 120°. On this hydrophobic surface, we found that the adsorption of these slightly hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes is close to the 4/23rd power of salt concentration predicted by a recent model. The grafting density is also consistent with a dependence on the length of the hydrophobic block to the -12/23rd power, and the length of the polyelectrolyte block to the -6/23rd power, predicted by this model. Une série de copolymères à diblocs poly (tert-butyle styrène-sodium (sulfonate de polystyrène de masses moléculaires et pourcentages de sulfonation différents ont été utilisés pour étudier les effets de la structure du polymère sur son pouvoir d'adsorption sur des surfaces de silicium modifiées hydrophobiquement. Le pourcentage du bloc hydrophobe varie de 3,6 à 8,9%. Les études antérieures montrent que la concentration saline est très importante pour l'adsorption de ces polyélectrolytes sur les surfaces de silice. Nous avons utilisé l'octadecyltriéthoxysilane (OTE pour modifier la surface de silicium qui change l'angle de contact de l'eau de 50° sur la silice non modifiée à une valeur comprise entre 100° et 120° sur la silice modifiée. Sur cette surface hydrophobe, nous constatons que l'adsorption de ces polyélectrolytes légèrement modifiés hydrophobiquement est proche de la loi puissance 4

PC-SAFT modeling of CO2 solubilities in hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dietz, C.H.J.T.; van Osch, D.J.G.P.; Kroon, M.C.; Sadowski, G.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Gallucci, F.; Zubeir, L.F.; Held, C.

2017-01-01

The PC-SAFT 'pseudo-pure' approach was used for the modeling of CO2 solubilities in various hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for the first time. Only liquid density data were used to obtain the segment number, the temperature-independent segment diameter and the dispersion-energy parameter,

The interaction between fluid flow and ultra-hydrophobic surface in mini channel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasikova Darina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Interaction of liquid with ultra-hydrophobic surface is accompanied by creation of layer of air. The effect of the air film has a potential of use in industry in many applications. The quality of the surface is influenced by matrix roughness, the character of physical or chemical cover. There was developed a method for analysis of the liquid flow and the air film using the lighting in volume, visualization with CCD camera and long distance microscope, and optical filters. There were prepared four stainless steel samples of inner channel of dimensions (80 × 8 × 8 mm and initial surface roughness Ra 0.33, Ra 1.0, Ra 2.0, and Ra 2.2. The inner channel was treated with plasma and commercial hydrophobic coating Greblon (WEILBURGER Coatings GmbH. There was realized study focused on the liquid flow velocity profile close to the air film. There are present results for laminar, transient and turbulent flows. The study also estimated the air film thickness depending on the Re number. The knowledge of the air film behaviour helps applied suitable degree of processing and cover for the target application.

Using the hydrophobic subtraction model to choose orthogonal columns for online comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Græsbøll, Rune; Nielsen, Nikoline Juul; Christensen, Jan H.

2014-01-01

A method for choosing orthogonal columns for a specific sample set in on-line comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC×LC) was developed on the basis of the hydrophobic subtraction model. The method takes into account the properties of the sample analytes by estimating new F...... neutral and 4 acidic oxygenated polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) and 3 nitrogen-containing PAC bases was measured isocratically on 12 columns. The isocratic runs were used to determine the hydrophobic subtraction model analyte parameters, and these were used to estimate new F-weights and predict...

Hydrophobic Light-to-Heat Conversion Membranes with Self-Healing Ability for Interfacial Solar Heating

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Lianbin

2015-07-01

Self-healing hydrophobic light-to-heat conversion membranes for interfacial solar heating are fabricated by deposition of light-to-heat conversion material of polypyrrole onto porous stainless steel mesh, followed by hydrophobic fluoroalkylsilane modification. The mesh-based membranes spontaneously stay at the water–air interface, collect and convert solar light into heat, and locally heat only the water surface for an enhanced evaporation.

Hydrophobic Light-to-Heat Conversion Membranes with Self-Healing Ability for Interfacial Solar Heating

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Lianbin; Tang, Bo; Wu, Jinbo; Li, Renyuan; Wang, Peng

2015-01-01

Self-healing hydrophobic light-to-heat conversion membranes for interfacial solar heating are fabricated by deposition of light-to-heat conversion material of polypyrrole onto porous stainless steel mesh, followed by hydrophobic fluoroalkylsilane modification. The mesh-based membranes spontaneously stay at the water–air interface, collect and convert solar light into heat, and locally heat only the water surface for an enhanced evaporation.

Hydrophobic and porous cellulose nanofibrous screen for efficient particulate matter (PM2.5) blocking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Liping; Guo, Yi; Peng, Xinsheng

2017-01-01

Particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in air seriously affects public health. However, both bulk thickness and the accumulation of PM particles typically lead to a quick decline in the air permeability and large pressure drops of the conventional air clean membranes. In this work, we choose cellulose nanofibers (CNFs, a low cost, biodegradable and sustainable material) to form a hydrophobic and porous CNF thin layer on a stainless steel screen (300 mesh with pore size of 48 µ m) through a simple filtration-assisted gelation process and subsequent polydimethylsiloxane modification. The prepared hydrophobic CNFs/stainless steel screen demonstrates highly efficient PM2.5 blocking based on size-sieving effect, fast air permeability and long-term durability under natural ventilation conditions in the relative humidity range from 45% to 93%. This technique holds great potential for indoor PM2.5 blocking under natural ventilation conditions. (paper)

Hydrophobic and porous cellulose nanofibrous screen for efficient particulate matter (PM2.5) blocking

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Liping; Guo, Yi; Peng, Xinsheng

2017-10-01

Particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in air seriously affects public health. However, both bulk thickness and the accumulation of PM particles typically lead to a quick decline in the air permeability and large pressure drops of the conventional air clean membranes. In this work, we choose cellulose nanofibers (CNFs, a low cost, biodegradable and sustainable material) to form a hydrophobic and porous CNF thin layer on a stainless steel screen (300 mesh with pore size of 48 µm) through a simple filtration-assisted gelation process and subsequent polydimethylsiloxane modification. The prepared hydrophobic CNFs/stainless steel screen demonstrates highly efficient PM2.5 blocking based on size-sieving effect, fast air permeability and long-term durability under natural ventilation conditions in the relative humidity range from 45% to 93%. This technique holds great potential for indoor PM2.5 blocking under natural ventilation conditions.

Are N-methyl groups of Tetramethylurea (TMU) Hydrophobic? A ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

of three dimensional tetrahedral H-bond network to two dimensional zig-zag chain-like structure often found in alcohols. A comparison to ... All these results indicate hydrophobic interaction-induced aggregation of TMU in dilute aqueous solutions which .... off by gently blowing hot air around the outer surface of the cuvette.

AirPEx. Air Pollution Exposure Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freijer, J.I.; Bloemen, H.J.Th.; De Loos, S.; Marra, M.; Rombout, P.J.A.; Steentjes, G.M.; Van Veen, M.P.

1997-12-01

Analysis of inhalatory exposure to air pollution is an important area of investigation when assessing the risks of air pollution for human health. Inhalatory exposure research focuses on the exposure of humans to air pollutants and the entry of these pollutants into the human respiratory tract. The principal grounds for studying the inhalatory exposure of humans to air pollutants are formed by the need for realistic exposure/dose estimates to evaluate the health effects of these pollutants. The AirPEx (Air Pollution Exposure) model, developed to assess the time- and space-dependence of inhalatory exposure of humans to air pollution, has been implemented for use as a Windows 3.1 computer program. The program is suited to estimating various exposure and dose quantities for individuals, as well as for populations and subpopulations. This report describes the fundamentals of the AirPEx model and provides a user manual for the computer program. Several examples included in the report illustrate the possibilities of the AirPEx model in exposure assessment. The model will be used at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment as a tool in analysing the current exposure of the Dutch population to air pollutants. 57 refs.

Rice Starch Particle Interactions at Air/Aqueous Interfaces—Effect of Particle Hydrophobicity and Solution Ionic Strength

Science.gov (United States)

McNamee, Cathy E.; Sato, Yu; Wiege, Berthold; Furikado, Ippei; Marefati, Ali; Nylander, Tommy; Kappl, Michael; Rayner, Marilyn

2018-01-01

Starch particles modified by esterification with dicarboxylic acids to give octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) starch is an approved food additive that can be used to stabilize oil in water emulsions used in foods and drinks. However, the effects of the OSA modification of the starch particle on the interfacial interactions are not fully understood. Here, we directly measured the packing of films of rice starch granules, i.e., the natural particle found inside the plant, at air/aqueous interfaces, and the interaction forces in that system as a function of the particle hydrophobicity and ionic strength, in order to gain insight on how starch particles can stabilize emulsions. This was achieved by using a combined Langmuir trough and optical microscope system, and the Monolayer Interaction Particle Apparatus. Native rice starch particles were seen to form large aggregates at air/water interfaces, causing films with large voids to be formed at the interface. The OSA modification of the rice starches particles decreased this aggregation. Increasing the degree of modification improved the particle packing within the film of particles at the air/water interface, due to the introduction of inter-particle electrostatic interactions within the film. The introduction of salt to the water phase caused the particles to aggregate and form holes within the film, due to the screening of the charged groups on the starch particles by the salt. The presence of these holes in the film decreased the stiffness of the films. The effect of the OSA modification was concluded to decrease the aggregation of the particles at an air/water interface. The presence of salts, however, caused the particles to aggregate, thereby reducing the strength of the interfacial film. PMID:29868551

Fabrication of hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms on magnesium alloys by polymer plating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang Zhixin, E-mail: zxkang@scut.edu.cn; Lai Xiaoming; Sang Jing; Li Yuanyuan

2011-11-01

Hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms with improved corrosion resistance were fabricated on the surfaces of Mg-Mn-Ce magnesium alloy by a surface modification technique, named as polymer plating, which has been developed to modify superficial characteristics of magnesium alloys with polymeric nanofilms through synthesized organic compounds of triazine dithiol containing functional groups. The nanofilms were prepared by the electrochemical and polymerization reactions during polymer plating analyzed from characteristics of Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The fabricated nanofilms changed the surface wettability of blank magnesium alloy from hydrophilic to hydrophobic with contact angle 119.0 Degree-Sign of distilled water with lower surface free energy of 20.59 mJ/m{sup 2} and even super-hydrophobic with contact angle 158.3 Degree-Sign with lowest surface free energy of 4.68 mJ/m{sup 2} by different functional nanofilms on their surfaces. Alteration of wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic resulted from their low surface free energy and surface morphology with micro- and nano-rough structures. The corrosion behaviors from potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that the super-hydrophobic nanofilm has higher corrosion resistance and stability in 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution and lower corrosion current density (I{sub corr}) with R{sub ct} increasing two orders of magnitude of 16,500 {Omega}{center_dot}cm{sup 2} compared to that obtained for blank of 485 {Omega}{center_dot}cm{sup 2}.

Fabrication of hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms on magnesium alloys by polymer plating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang Zhixin; Lai Xiaoming; Sang Jing; Li Yuanyuan

2011-01-01

Hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms with improved corrosion resistance were fabricated on the surfaces of Mg–Mn–Ce magnesium alloy by a surface modification technique, named as polymer plating, which has been developed to modify superficial characteristics of magnesium alloys with polymeric nanofilms through synthesized organic compounds of triazine dithiol containing functional groups. The nanofilms were prepared by the electrochemical and polymerization reactions during polymer plating analyzed from characteristics of Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The fabricated nanofilms changed the surface wettability of blank magnesium alloy from hydrophilic to hydrophobic with contact angle 119.0° of distilled water with lower surface free energy of 20.59 mJ/m 2 and even super-hydrophobic with contact angle 158.3° with lowest surface free energy of 4.68 mJ/m 2 by different functional nanofilms on their surfaces. Alteration of wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic resulted from their low surface free energy and surface morphology with micro- and nano-rough structures. The corrosion behaviors from potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that the super-hydrophobic nanofilm has higher corrosion resistance and stability in 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution and lower corrosion current density (I corr ) with R ct increasing two orders of magnitude of 16,500 Ω·cm 2 compared to that obtained for blank of 485 Ω·cm 2 .

Influences on the fraction of hydrophobic and hydrophilic black carbon in the atmosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. R. McMeeking

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Black carbon (BC is a short term climate forcer that directly warms the atmosphere, slows convection, and hinders quantification of the effect of greenhouse gases on climate change. The atmospheric lifetime of BC particles with respect to nucleation scavenging in clouds is controlled by their ability to serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN. To serve as CCN under typical conditions, hydrophobic BC particles must acquire hygroscopic coatings. However, the quantitative relationship between coatings and hygroscopic properties for ambient BC particles is not known nor is the time scale for hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic conversion. Here we introduce a method for measuring the hygroscopicity of externally and internally mixed BC particles by coupling a single particle soot photometer with a humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer. We test this technique using uncoated and coated laboratory generated model BC compounds and apply it to characterize the hygroscopicity distribution of ambient BC particles. From these data we derive that the observed number fraction of BC that is CCN active at 0.2 % supersaturation is generally low in an urban area near sources and that it varies with the trajectory of the airmass. We anticipate that our method can be combined with measures of air parcel physical and photochemical age to provide the first quantitative estimates for characterizing hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic conversion rates in the atmosphere.

The effects of processing conditions on the surface morphology and hydrophobicity of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes prepared via vapor-induced phase separation

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yuelian; Fan, Hongwei; Ge, Ju; Wang, Shaobin; Chen, Ping; Jiang, Qi

2012-12-01

The present investigation reveals how the surface morphology and the hydrophobicity of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, which were prepared via a vapor-induced phase separation method, were affected by the initial PVDF content in the casting solution and the air temperature. The surface morphology was characterized with scanning electron microscopy. A ternary phase diagram of PVDF/N, N-dimethylacetamide/water was constructed to explain the formation mechanism of the different morphologies. The results show that different membrane morphologies and hydrophobicities can be obtained by changing the processing conditions. Low air temperature and high PVDF contents facilitate the crystallization process, resulting in the formation of a porous skin and particle morphology, which increases the hydrophobicity of the surface. High air temperature and low PVDF contents are favorable for the formation of a net-like surface morphology via spinodal decomposition and lead to a superhydrophobic surface. Theoretical calculations were performed to testify that the net-like surface was more favorable for superhydrophobicity than the particle-based surface.

Size influences the effect of hydrophobic nanoparticles on lung surfactant model systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Dwivedi, Mridula V; Harishchandra, Rakesh Kumar; Koshkina, Olga; Maskos, Michael; Galla, Hans-Joachim

2014-01-07

The alveolar lung surfactant (LS) is a complex lipid protein mixture that forms an interfacial monolayer reducing the surface tension to near zero values and thus preventing the lungs from collapse. Due to the expanding field of nanotechnology and the corresponding unavoidable exposure of human beings from the air, it is crucial to study the potential effects of nanoparticles (NPs) on the structural organization of the lung surfactant system. In the present study, we investigated both, the domain structure in pure DPPC monolayers as well as in lung surfactant model systems. In the pure lipid system we found that two different sized hydrophobic polymeric nanoparticles with diameter of ~12 nm and ~136 nm have contrasting effect on the functional and structural behavior. The small nanoparticles inserted into fluid domains at the LE-LC phase transition are not visibly disturbing the phase transition but disrupting the domain morphology of the LE phase. The large nanoparticles led to an expanded isotherm and to a significant decrease in the line tension and thus to a drastic disruption of the domain structures at a much lower number of nanoparticles with respect to the lipid. The surface activity of the model LS films again showed drastic variations due to presence of different sized NPs illustrated by the film balance isotherms and the atomic force microscopy. AFM revealed laterally profuse multilayer protrusion formation on compression but only in the presence of 136 nm sized nanoparticles. Moreover we investigated the vesicle insertion process into a preformed monolayer. A severe inhibition was observed only in the presence of ~136 nm NPs compared to minor effects in the presence of ~12 nm NPs. Our study clearly shows that the size of the nanoparticles made of the same material determines the interaction with biological membranes. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Protein-induced bilayer Perturbations: Lipid ordering and hydrophobic coupling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Frederic Nicolas Rønne; Laursen, Ib; Bohr, Henrik

2009-01-01

The host lipid bilayer is increasingly being recognized as an important non-specific regulator of membrane protein function. Despite considerable progress the interplay between hydrophobic coupling and lipid ordering is still elusive. We use electron spin resonance (ESR) to study the interaction...... between the model protein gramicidin and lipid bilayers of varying thickness. The free energy of the interaction is up to −6 kJ/mol; thus not strongly favored over lipid–lipid interactions. Incorporation of gramicidin results in increased order parameters with increased protein concentration...... and hydrophobic mismatch. Our findings also show that at high protein:lipid ratios the lipids are motionally restricted but not completely immobilized. Both exchange on and off rate values for the lipid ↔ gramicidin interaction are lowest at optimal hydrophobic matching. Hydrophobic mismatch of few Å results...

Interfacial behavior of alkaline protease at the air-water and oil-water interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jian; Li, Yanyan; Wang, Jing; Zhang, Yue

2018-03-01

The interfacial behavior of alkaline protease at the air-water and n-hexane-water interfaces was investigated using interfacial tension, dilatational rheology and dynamic light scattering. Additionally, different adsorption models which are Langmuir, Frumkin, Reorientation-A and Reorientation-R were used to fitting the data of equilibrium interfacial tension for further understanding the interfacial behavior of alkaline protease. Data fitting of the equilibrium interfacial tension was achieved by IsoFit software. The results show that the molecules arrangement of the alkaline protease at the n-hexane-water interface is more tightly than at the air-water interface. The data were further analyzed to indicate that the hydrophobic chains of alkaline protease penetrate into oil phase deeper than the air phase. Also data indicate that the electrostatic interactions and hydrophobic interactions at the n-hexane-water interface are stronger than at the air-water interface within molecules of the alkaline protease. Based on comprehensive analysis of the adsorption kinetics and interfacial rheological properties, interfacial structures mechanism of alkaline protease at n-hexane-water and air-water interfaces was proposed.

Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy Studies on ModelPeptide Adsorption at the Hydrophobic Solid-Water and HydrophilicSolid-Water Interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

York, Roger L. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2007-01-01

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy has been used to study the interfacial structure of several polypeptides and amino acids adsorbed to hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces under a variety of experimental conditions. Peptide sequence, peptide chain length, peptide hydrophobicity, peptide side-chain type, surface hydrophobicity, and solution ionic strength all affect an adsorbed peptide's interfacial structure. Herein, it is demonstrated that with the choice of simple, model peptides and amino acids, surface specific SFG vibrational spectroscopy can be a powerful tool to elucidate the interfacial structure of these adsorbates. Herein, four experiments are described. In one, a series of isosequential amphiphilic peptides are synthesized and studied when adsorbed to both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. On hydrophobic surfaces of deuterated polystyrene, it was determined that the hydrophobic part of the peptide is ordered at the solid-liquid interface, while the hydrophilic part of the peptide appears to have a random orientation at this interface. On a hydrophilic surface of silica, it was determined that an ordered peptide was only observed if a peptide had stable secondary structure in solution. In another experiment, the interfacial structure of a model amphiphilic peptide was studied as a function of the ionic strength of the solution, a parameter that could change the peptide's secondary structure in solution. It was determined that on a hydrophobic surface, the peptide's interfacial structure was independent of its structure in solution. This was in contrast to the adsorbed structure on a hydrophilic surface, where the peptide's interfacial structure showed a strong dependence on its solution secondary structure. In a third experiment, the SFG spectra of lysine and proline amino acids on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces were obtained by using a different experimental geometry that increases the SFG signal

Soft matter interactions at the molecular scale: interaction forces and energies between single hydrophobic model peptides.

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, Philipp; Utzig, Thomas; Valtiner, Markus

2017-02-08

In all realms of soft matter research a fundamental understanding of the structure/property relationships based on molecular interactions is crucial for developing a framework for the targeted design of soft materials. However, a molecular picture is often difficult to ascertain and yet essential for understanding the many different competing interactions at play, including entropies and cooperativities, hydration effects, and the enormous design space of soft matter. Here, we characterized for the first time the interaction between single hydrophobic molecules quantitatively using atomic force microscopy, and demonstrated that single molecular hydrophobic interaction free energies are dominated by the area of the smallest interacting hydrophobe. The interaction free energy amounts to 3-4 kT per hydrophobic unit. Also, we find that the transition state of the hydrophobic interactions is located at 3 Å with respect to the ground state, based on Bell-Evans theory. Our results provide a new path for understanding the nature of hydrophobic interactions at the single molecular scale. Our approach enables us to systematically vary hydrophobic and any other interaction type by utilizing peptide chemistry providing a strategic advancement to unravel molecular surface and soft matter interactions at the single molecular scale.

Tuning the hydrophobicity of mica surfaces by hyperthermal Ar ion irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, Adrian; Ogaki, Ryosuke; Bald, Ilko; Dong Mingdong; Kingshott, Peter; Fritzsche, Monika; Facsko, Stefan; Besenbacher, Flemming

2011-01-01

The hydrophobicity of surfaces has a strong influence on their interactions with biomolecules such as proteins. Therefore, for in vitro studies of bio-surface interactions model surfaces with tailored hydrophobicity are of utmost importance. Here, we present a method for tuning the hydrophobicity of atomically flat mica surfaces by hyperthermal Ar ion irradiation. Due to the sub-100 eV energies, only negligible roughening of the surface is observed at low ion fluences and also the chemical composition of the mica crystal remains almost undisturbed. However, the ion irradiation induces the preferential removal of the outermost layer of K + ions from the surface, leading to the exposure of the underlying aluminosilicate sheets which feature a large number of centers for C adsorption. The irradiated surface thus exhibits an enhanced chemical reactivity toward hydrocarbons, resulting in the adsorption of a thin hydrocarbon film from the environment. Aging these surfaces under ambient conditions leads to a continuous increase of their contact angle until a fully hydrophobic surface with a contact angle >80 deg. is obtained after a period of about 3 months. This method thus enables the fabrication of ultrasmooth biological model surfaces with precisely tailored hydrophobicity.

Statics and dynamics of free and hydrogen-bonded OH groups at the air/water interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Vila Verde, Ana; Bolhuis, Peter G; Campen, R Kramer

2012-08-09

We use classical atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of two water models (SPC/E and TIP4P/2005) to investigate the orientation and reorientation dynamics of two subpopulations of OH groups belonging to water molecules at the air/water interface at 300 K: those OH groups that donate a hydrogen bond (called "bonded") and those that do not (called "free"). Free interfacial OH groups reorient in two distinct regimes: a fast regime from 0 to 1 ps and a slow regime thereafter. Qualitatively similar behavior was reported by others for free OH groups near extended hydrophobic surfaces. In contrast, the net reorientation of bonded OH groups occurs at a rate similar to that of bulk water. This similarity in reorientation rate results from compensation of two effects: decreasing frequency of hydrogen-bond breaking/formation (i.e., hydrogen-bond exchange) and faster rotation of intact hydrogen bonds. Both changes result from the decrease in density at the air/water interface relative to the bulk. Interestingly, because of the presence of capillary waves, the slowdown of hydrogen-bond exchange is significantly smaller than that reported for water near extended hydrophobic surfaces, but it is almost identical to that reported for water near small hydrophobic solutes. In this sense water at the air/water interface has characteristics of water of hydration of both small and extended hydrophobic solutes.

Hydrophobic-Core Microcapsules and Their Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Calle, Luz M. (Inventor); Li, Wenyan (Inventor); Buhrow, Jerry W. (Inventor); Jolley, Scott T. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Hydrophobic-core microcapsules and methods of their formation are provided. A hydrophobic-core microcapsule may include a shell that encapsulates a hydrophobic substance with a core substance, such as dye, corrosion indicator, corrosion inhibitor, and/or healing agent, dissolved or dispersed therein. The hydrophobic-core microcapsules may be formed from an emulsion having hydrophobic-phase droplets, e.g., containing the core substance and shell-forming compound, dispersed in a hydrophilic phase. The shells of the microcapsules may be capable of being broken down in response to being contacted by an alkali, e.g., produced during corrosion, contacting the shell.

Temperature dependence of the evaporation lengthscale for water confined between two hydrophobic plates.

Science.gov (United States)

Djikaev, Yuri S; Ruckenstein, Eli

2015-07-01

Liquid water in a hydrophobic confinement is the object of high interest in physicochemical sciences. Confined between two macroscopic hydrophobic surfaces, liquid water transforms into vapor if the distance between surfaces is smaller than a critical separation, referred to as the evaporation lengthscale. To investigate the temperature dependence of the evaporation lengthscale of water confined between two hydrophobic parallel plates, we use the combination of the density functional theory (DFT) with the probabilistic hydrogen bond (PHB) model for water-water hydrogen bonding. The PHB model provides an analytic expression for the average number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule as a function of its distance to a hydrophobic surface and its curvature. Knowing this expression, one can implement the effect of hydrogen bonding between water molecules on their interaction with the hydrophobe into DFT, which is then employed to determine the distribution of water molecules between two macroscopic hydrophobic plates at various interplate distances and various temperatures. For water confined between hydrophobic plates, our results suggest the evaporation lengthscale to be of the order of several nanometers and a linearly increasing function of temperature from T=293 K to T=333 K, qualitatively consistent with previous results. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reconciling the understanding of 'hydrophobicity' with physics-based models of proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Robert C; Pettitt, B Montgomery

2016-03-02

The idea that a 'hydrophobic energy' drives protein folding, aggregation, and binding by favoring the sequestration of bulky residues from water into the protein interior is widespread. The solvation free energies (ΔGsolv) of small nonpolar solutes increase with surface area (A), and the free energies of creating macroscopic cavities in water increase linearly with A. These observations seem to imply that there is a hydrophobic component (ΔGhyd) of ΔGsolv that increases linearly with A, and this assumption is widely used in implicit solvent models. However, some explicit-solvent molecular dynamics studies appear to contradict these ideas. For example, one definition (ΔG(LJ)) of ΔGhyd is that it is the free energy of turning on the Lennard-Jones (LJ) interactions between the solute and solvent. However, ΔG(LJ) decreases with A for alanine and glycine peptides. Here we argue that these apparent contradictions can be reconciled by defining ΔGhyd to be a near hard core insertion energy (ΔGrep), as in the partitioning proposed by Weeks, Chandler, and Andersen. However, recent results have shown that ΔGrep is not a simple function of geometric properties of the molecule, such as A and the molecular volume, and that the free energy of turning on the attractive part of the LJ potential cannot be computed from first-order perturbation theory for proteins. The theories that have been developed from these assumptions to predict ΔGhyd are therefore inadequate for proteins.

Partitioning of hydrophobic organic contaminants between polymer and lipids for two silicones and low density polyethylene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smedes, F.; Rusina, T.P.; Beeltje, H.; Mayer, P.

2017-01-01

Polymers are increasingly used for passive sampling of neutral hydrophobic organic substances (HOC) in environmental media including water, air, soil, sediment and even biological tissue. The equilibrium concentration of HOC in the polymer can be measured and then converted into equilibrium

Nanomechanical probing of soft matter through hydrophobic AFM tips fabricated by two-photon polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suriano, Raffaella; De Marco, Carmela; Turri, Stefano; Zandrini, Tommaso; Osellame, Roberto; Bragheri, Francesca

2016-01-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation of soft materials is a powerful tool for probing mechanical properties of biomaterials. Though many results have been reported in this field over the last decade, adhesion forces between the tip and the sample hinder the elastic modulus measurement when hydrophilic soft samples are investigated. Here, two-photon polymerization (2PP) technology was used to fabricate hydrophobic perfluoropolyether-based AFM tips. The hydrophobic 2PP tips allowed us to overcome the limitations of commercial and functionalized tips as well as to successfully measure the elastic modulus of medically relevant soft materials in air. Our results obtained in the characterization of poly(dimethyl siloxane) and polyethylene glycol hydrogels showed lower adhesion forces over a larger measurement range when compared to measurements performed with commercial tips. The elastic moduli measured by means of hydrophobic 2PP AFM tips were also found to be comparable to those obtained using conventional techniques for macroscopic samples. We successfully showed that the hydrophobic AFM tips developed by this highly versatile technology enable the study of mechanical properties of soft matter, benefiting from reduced sample–tip interactions, and a custom-made shape and dimension of the tips. (paper)

Study on hydrophobicity degradation of gas diffusion layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Shuchun; Li, Xiaojin; Li, Jin; Liu, Sa; Lu, Wangting; Shao, Zhigang; Yi, Baolian

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The hydrophobicity degradation mechanism of GDL was proposed thoroughly. • C-O and C=O groups appeared on the surfaces of GDL after immersion. • The relative content of PTFE in GDL decreased after immersion. • The surfaces and inner structure of GDL destroyed after immersion. - Abstract: As one of the essential components of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), gas diffusion layer (GDL) is of importance on water management, as well on the performance and durability of PEMFC. In this paper, the hydrophobicity degradation of GDL was investigated by immersing it in the 1.0 mol L −1 H 2 SO 4 solution saturated by air for 1200 h. From the measurements of contact angle and water permeability, the hydrophobic characteristics of the pristine and immersed GDLs were compared. To investigate the causes for hydrophobicity degradation, the GDLs were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. Further, the chemical compositions of H 2 SO 4 solutions before and after immersion test were analyzed with infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that the hydrophobicity of immersed GDL decreased distinctly, which was caused by the damage of physical structure and surface characteristics. Moreover, the immersed GDL showed a worse fuel cell performance than the pristine GDL, especially under a low humidity condition

Super-Hydrophobic/Icephobic Coatings Based on Silica Nanoparticles Modified by Self-Assembled Monolayers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junpeng Liu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A super-hydrophobic surface has been obtained from nanocomposite materials based on silica nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (POTS using spin coating and chemical vapor deposition methods. Scanning electron microscope images reveal the porous structure of the silica nanoparticles, which can trap small-scale air pockets. An average water contact angle of 163° and bouncing off of incoming water droplets suggest that a super-hydrophobic surface has been obtained based on the silica nanoparticles and POTS coating. The monitored water droplet icing test results show that icing is significantly delayed by silica-based nano-coatings compared with bare substrates and commercial icephobic products. Ice adhesion test results show that the ice adhesion strength is reduced remarkably by silica-based nano-coatings. The bouncing phenomenon of water droplets, the icing delay performance and the lower ice adhesion strength suggest that the super-hydrophobic coatings based on a combination of silica and POTS also show icephobicity. An erosion test rig based on pressurized pneumatic water impinging impact was used to evaluate the durability of the super-hydrophobic/icephobic coatings. The results show that durable coatings have been obtained, although improvement will be needed in future work aiming for applications in aerospace.

Measuring hydrophobic micropore volumes in geosorbents from trichloroethylene desorption data.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Hefa; Reinhard, Martin

2006-06-01

Hydrophobic micropores can play a significant role in controlling the long-term release of organic contaminants from geosorbents. We describe a technique for quantifying the total and the hydrophobic mineral micropore volumes based on the mass of trichloroethylene (TCE) sorbed in the slow-releasing pores under dry and wet conditions, respectively. Micropore desorption models were used to differentiate the fast- and slow-desorbing fractions in desorption profiles. The micropore environment in which organic molecules were sorbed in the presence of water was probed by studying the transformation of a water-reactive compound (2,2-dichloropropane or 2,2-DCP). For sediment from an alluvial aquifer, the total and hydrophobic micropore volumes estimated using this technique were 4.65 microL/g and 0.027 microL/g (0.58% of total), respectively. In microporous silica gel A, a hydrophobic micropore volume of 0.038 microL/g (0.035% of reported total) was measured. The dehydrohalogenation rate of 2,2-DCP sorbed in hydrophobic micropores of the sediment was slower than that reported in bulk water, indicating an environment of low water activity. The results suggest that hydrolyzable organic contaminants sorbed in hydrophobic micropores react slower than in bulk water, consistent with the reported persistence of reactive contaminants in natural soils.

Preferential hydrophobic interactions are responsible for a preference of D-amino acids in the aminoacylation of 5'-AMP with hydrophobic amino acids

Science.gov (United States)

Lacey, J. C. Jr; Wickramasinghe, N. S.; Sabatini, R. S.

1992-01-01

We have studied the chemistry of aminoacyl AMP to model reactions at the 3' terminus of aminoacyl tRNA for the purpose of understanding the origin of protein synthesis. The present studies relate to the D, L preference in the esterification of 5'-AMP. All N-acetyl amino acids we studied showed faster reaction of the D-isomer, with a generally decreasing preference for D-isomer as the hydrophobicity of the amino acid decreased. The beta-branched amino acids, Ile and Val, showed an extreme preference for D-isomer. Ac-Leu, the gamma-branched amino acid, showed a slightly low D/L ratio relative to its hydrophobicity. The molecular basis for these preferences for D-isomer is understandable in the light of our previous studies and seems to be due to preferential hydrophobic interaction of the D-isomer with adenine. The preference for hydrophobic D-amino acids can be decreased by addition of an organic solvent to the reaction medium. Conversely, peptidylation with Ac-PhePhe shows a preference for the LL isomer over the DD isomer.

Fluoroalkyl and Alkyl Chains Have Similar Hydrophobicities in Binding to the “Hydrophobic Wall” of Carbonic Anhydrase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J Mecinovic; P Snyder; K Mirica; S Bai; E Mack; R Kwant; D Moustakas; A Heroux; G Whitesides

2011-12-31

The hydrophobic effect, the free-energetically favorable association of nonpolar solutes in water, makes a dominant contribution to binding of many systems of ligands and proteins. The objective of this study was to examine the hydrophobic effect in biomolecular recognition using two chemically different but structurally similar hydrophobic groups, aliphatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic fluorocarbons, and to determine whether the hydrophobicity of the two groups could be distinguished by thermodynamic and biostructural analysis. This paper uses isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to examine the thermodynamics of binding of benzenesulfonamides substituted in the para position with alkyl and fluoroalkyl chains (H{sub 2}NSO{sub 2}C{sub 6}H{sub 4}-CONHCH{sub 2}(CX{sub 2}){sub n}CX{sub 3}, n = 0-4, X = H, F) to human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II). Both alkyl and fluoroalkyl substituents contribute favorably to the enthalpy and the entropy of binding; these contributions increase as the length of chain of the hydrophobic substituent increases. Crystallography of the protein-ligand complexes indicates that the benzenesulfonamide groups of all ligands examined bind with similar geometry, that the tail groups associate with the hydrophobic wall of HCA II (which is made up of the side chains of residues Phe131, Val135, Pro202, and Leu204), and that the structure of the protein is indistinguishable for all but one of the complexes (the longest member of the fluoroalkyl series). Analysis of the thermodynamics of binding as a function of structure is compatible with the hypothesis that hydrophobic binding of both alkyl and fluoroalkyl chains to hydrophobic surface of carbonic anhydrase is due primarily to the release of nonoptimally hydrogen-bonded water molecules that hydrate the binding cavity (including the hydrophobic wall) of HCA II and to the release of water molecules that surround the hydrophobic chain of the ligands. This study defines the balance of enthalpic and

Hydrophobic effect of silica functionalized with silylated Ti ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

aCentre for Sustainable Nanomaterials, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research,. Universiti ... rate of water adsorption capacity for the hydrophobic catalysts prepared. .... analyzed by Gas Chromatography, Shimadzu model.

21 CFR 584.700 - Hydrophobic silicas.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...) Product. Amorphous fumed hydrophobic silica or precipitated hydrophobic silica (CAS Reg. No. 68611-0944... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Hydrophobic silicas. 584.700 Section 584.700 Food... DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS FOOD SUBSTANCES AFFIRMED AS GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS SAFE IN FEED AND...

Air quality dispersion models from energy sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazarevska, Ana

1996-01-01

Along with the continuing development of new air quality models that cover more complex problems, in the Clean Air Act, legislated by the US Congress, a consistency and standardization of air quality model applications were encouraged. As a result, the Guidelines on Air Quality Models were published, which are regularly reviewed by the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, EPA. These guidelines provide a basis for estimating the air quality concentrations used in accessing control strategies as well as defining emission limits. This paper presents a review and analysis of the recent versions of the models: Simple Terrain Stationary Source Model; Complex Terrain Dispersion Model; Ozone,Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Dioxide Models; Long Range Transport Model; Other phenomenon Models:Fugitive Dust/Fugitive Emissions, Particulate Matter, Lead, Air Pathway Analyses - Air Toxic as well as Hazardous Waste. 8 refs., 4 tabs., 2 ills

Modelling Hot Air Balloons.

Science.gov (United States)

Brimicombe, M. W.

1991-01-01

A macroscopic way of modeling hot air balloons using a Newtonian approach is presented. Misleading examples using a car tire and the concept of hot air rising are discussed. Pressure gradient changes in the atmosphere are used to explain how hot air balloons work. (KR)

Super-hydrophobic nickel films with micro-nano hierarchical structure prepared by electrodeposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hang Tao; Hu Anmin; Ling Huiqin; Li Ming; Mao Dali

2010-01-01

Super-hydrophobic nickel films were prepared by a simple and low cost electrodepositing method. The surface morphologies of the films characterized by scanning electronic microscope exhibit hierarchical structure with micro-nanocones array, which can be responsible for their super-hydrophobic characteristic (water contact angle over 150 o ) without chemical modification. The wettability of the film can be varied from super-hydrophobic (water contact angle 154 o ) to relatively hydrophilic (water contact angle 87 o ) by controlling the size of the micro-nanocones. The mechanism of the hydrophobic characteristic of nickel films with this unique structure was illustrated by several models. Such micro-nanostructure and its special wettability are expected to be applied in the practical industry.

A model system to mimic environmentally active surface film roughness and hydrophobicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Jacob S; Shaw, Scott K

2017-10-01

This work presents the development and initial assessment of a laboratory platform to allow quantitative studies on model urban films. The platform consists of stearic acid and eicosane mixtures that are solution deposited from hexanes onto smooth, solid substrates. We show that this model has distinctive capabilities to better mimic a naturally occurring film's morphology and hydrophobicity, two important parameters that have not previously been incorporated into model film systems. The physical and chemical properties of the model films are assessed using a variety of analytical instruments. The film thickness and roughness are probed via atomic force microscopy while the film composition, wettability, and water uptake are analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle goniometry, and quartz crystal microbalance, respectively. Simulated environmental maturation is achieved by exposing the film to regulated amounts of UV/ozone. Ultimately, oxidation of the film is monitored by the analytical techniques mentioned above and proceeds as expected to produce a utile model film system. Including variable roughness and tunable surface coverage results in several key advantages over prior model systems, and will more accurately represent native urban film behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of laser textured silicon surface and effect of mud adhesion on hydrophobicity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yilbas, B.S., E-mail: bsyilbas@kfupm.edu.sa [ME Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Kfupm box 1913, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Ali, H. [ME Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Kfupm box 1913, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Khaled, M. [CHEM Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Al-Aqeeli, N.; Abu-Dheir, N. [ME Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Kfupm box 1913, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Varanasi, K.K. [Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA (United States)

2015-10-01

Highlights: • Laser treatment increases surface microhardness and slightly lowers surface fracture toughness. • Residual stress formed is compressive and self-annealing effect of laser tracks lowers residual stress. • Nitride species lowers surface energy and adhesion work required to remove dust. • Mud residues do not have notable effect on fracture toughness and microhardness of treated surface. • Mud residues lower surface hydrophobicity. - Abstract: Laser gas assisted texturing of silicon wafer surface is carried out. Morphological and metallurgical changes in the treated layer are examined using the analytical tools. Microhardness and fracture toughness of the laser treated surface are measured using the indentation technique while residual stress formed is determined from the X-ray diffraction data. The hydrophobicity of the textured surfaces are assessed incorporating the contact angle data and compared with those of as received workpiece surfaces. Environmental dust accumulation and mud formation, due to air humidity, at the laser treated and as received workpiece surfaces are simulated and the effect of the mud residues on the properties of the laser treated surface are studied. The adhesion work due to the presence of the mud on the laser treated surface is also measured. It is found that laser textured surface composes of micro/nano poles and fibers, which in turn improves the surface hydrophobicity significantly. In addition, formation of nitride species contributes to microhardness increase and enhancement of surface hydrophobicity due to their low surface energy. The mud residues do not influence the fracture toughness and microhardness of the laser textured surface; however, they reduced the surface hydrophobicity significantly.

Mapping Hydrophobicity on the Protein Molecular Surface at Atom-Level Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolau Jr., Dan V.; Paszek, Ewa; Fulga, Florin; Nicolau, Dan V.

2014-01-01

A precise representation of the spatial distribution of hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity and charges on the molecular surface of proteins is critical for the understanding of the interaction with small molecules and larger systems. The representation of hydrophobicity is rarely done at atom-level, as this property is generally assigned to residues. A new methodology for the derivation of atomic hydrophobicity from any amino acid-based hydrophobicity scale was used to derive 8 sets of atomic hydrophobicities, one of which was used to generate the molecular surfaces for 35 proteins with convex structures, 5 of which, i.e., lysozyme, ribonuclease, hemoglobin, albumin and IgG, have been analyzed in more detail. Sets of the molecular surfaces of the model proteins have been constructed using spherical probes with increasingly large radii, from 1.4 to 20 Å, followed by the quantification of (i) the surface hydrophobicity; (ii) their respective molecular surface areas, i.e., total, hydrophilic and hydrophobic area; and (iii) their relative densities, i.e., divided by the total molecular area; or specific densities, i.e., divided by property-specific area. Compared with the amino acid-based formalism, the atom-level description reveals molecular surfaces which (i) present an approximately two times more hydrophilic areas; with (ii) less extended, but between 2 to 5 times more intense hydrophilic patches; and (iii) 3 to 20 times more extended hydrophobic areas. The hydrophobic areas are also approximately 2 times more hydrophobicity-intense. This, more pronounced “leopard skin”-like, design of the protein molecular surface has been confirmed by comparing the results for a restricted set of homologous proteins, i.e., hemoglobins diverging by only one residue (Trp37). These results suggest that the representation of hydrophobicity on the protein molecular surfaces at atom-level resolution, coupled with the probing of the molecular surface at different geometric resolutions

Transparent Hydrophobic Coating by Sol Gel Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Hamzah Harun; Nik Ghazali Nik Salleh; Mahathir Mohamed; Mohd Sofian Alias

2016-01-01

Transparent hydrophobic coating of inorganic based tetra orthosilicate (TEOS) was prepared by sol gel method by varying fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) content which works as hydrophobic agent. Surface contact angle, transmittance degree and surface morphology were characterized for each sample. All samples show good transparency which was confirmed by UV visible spectroscopy. The hydrophobicity obtained increases with FAS content indicates that FAS is best candidate to induce hydrophobicity for inorganic coating. (author)

Order and correlation contributions to the entropy of hydrophobic solvation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Maoyuan; Besford, Quinn Alexander; Mulvaney, Thomas; Gray-Weale, Angus, E-mail: gusgw@gusgw.net [School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia)

2015-03-21

The entropy of hydrophobic solvation has been explained as the result of ordered solvation structures, of hydrogen bonds, of the small size of the water molecule, of dispersion forces, and of solvent density fluctuations. We report a new approach to the calculation of the entropy of hydrophobic solvation, along with tests of and comparisons to several other methods. The methods are assessed in the light of the available thermodynamic and spectroscopic information on the effects of temperature on hydrophobic solvation. Five model hydrophobes in SPC/E water give benchmark solvation entropies via Widom’s test-particle insertion method, and other methods and models are tested against these particle-insertion results. Entropies associated with distributions of tetrahedral order, of electric field, and of solvent dipole orientations are examined. We find these contributions are small compared to the benchmark particle-insertion entropy. Competitive with or better than other theories in accuracy, but with no free parameters, is the new estimate of the entropy contributed by correlations between dipole moments. Dipole correlations account for most of the hydrophobic solvation entropy for all models studied and capture the distinctive temperature dependence seen in thermodynamic and spectroscopic experiments. Entropies based on pair and many-body correlations in number density approach the correct magnitudes but fail to describe temperature and size dependences, respectively. Hydrogen-bond definitions and free energies that best reproduce entropies from simulations are reported, but it is difficult to choose one hydrogen bond model that fits a variety of experiments. The use of information theory, scaled-particle theory, and related methods is discussed briefly. Our results provide a test of the Frank-Evans hypothesis that the negative solvation entropy is due to structured water near the solute, complement the spectroscopic detection of that solvation structure by

A review of air exchange rate models for air pollution exposure assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Breen, Michael S; Schultz, Bradley D; Sohn, Michael D; Long, Thomas; Langstaff, John; Williams, Ronald; Isaacs, Kristin; Meng, Qing Yu; Stallings, Casson; Smith, Luther

2014-11-01

A critical aspect of air pollution exposure assessments is estimation of the air exchange rate (AER) for various buildings where people spend their time. The AER, which is the rate of exchange of indoor air with outdoor air, is an important determinant for entry of outdoor air pollutants and for removal of indoor-emitted air pollutants. This paper presents an overview and critical analysis of the scientific literature on empirical and physically based AER models for residential and commercial buildings; the models highlighted here are feasible for exposure assessments as extensive inputs are not required. Models are included for the three types of airflows that can occur across building envelopes: leakage, natural ventilation, and mechanical ventilation. Guidance is provided to select the preferable AER model based on available data, desired temporal resolution, types of airflows, and types of buildings included in the exposure assessment. For exposure assessments with some limited building leakage or AER measurements, strategies are described to reduce AER model uncertainty. This review will facilitate the selection of AER models in support of air pollution exposure assessments.

Robust hydrophobic polyurethane fibrous membranes with tunable porous structure for waterproof and breathable application

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Jiatai; Gu, Haihong; Cao, Jin; Chen, Shaojie; Li, Ni; Xiong, Jie

2018-05-01

In this work, novel nanofibrous membranes with waterproof and breathable (W&B) performance were successfully fabricated by the combination of electrospinning and surface modification technology. This fibrous membranes consisted of polyurethane (PU), NaCl, and fluoroalkylsilane (FAS). Firstly, The fibrous construction and porous structure of fibrous membranes were regulated by tuning the NaCl concentrations in PU solutions. Then, the obtained PU/NaCl fibrous membranes were further modified with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) to improve hydrophobic property. The synergistic effect of porous structure and hydrophobicity on waterproof and breathable performance was investigated. Furthermore, the mechanical property of fibrous membranes was deeply analysed on the basis of macromolecule orientation and adhesive structure. Benefiting from the optimized porous structure and hydrophobic modification, the resultant fibrous membranes exhibited excellent waterproof (hydrostatic pressure of 1261 Mbar), breathable (water vapor transmission (WVT) rate of 9.06 kg m-2 d-1 and air permeability of 4.8 mm s-1) performance, as well as high tensile strength (breakage stress of 10.4 MPa), suggesting a promising candidate for various applications, especially in protective clothing.

Lecithin hydrophobicity modulates the process of cholesterol crystal nucleation and growth in supersaturated model bile systems.

OpenAIRE

Ochi, H; Tazuma, S; Kajiyama, G

1996-01-01

The present study was performed to determine whether the degree of lecithin hydrophobicity regulates bile metastability and, therefore, affects the process of cholesterol crystallization. Supersaturated model bile (MB) solutions were prepared with an identical composition on a molar basis (taurocholate/lecithin/cholesterol, 73:19.5:7.5; total lipid concentration 9 g/dl) except for the lecithin species; egg yolk phosphatidylcholine, soybean phosphatidylcholine, 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-sn-phosp...

Stochastic Modeling of Traffic Air Pollution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle

2014-01-01

In this paper, modeling of traffic air pollution is discussed with special reference to infrastructures. A number of subjects related to health effects of air pollution and the different types of pollutants are briefly presented. A simple model for estimating the social cost of traffic related air...... and using simple Monte Carlo techniques to obtain a stochastic estimate of the costs of traffic air pollution for infrastructures....... pollution is derived. Several authors have published papers on this very complicated subject, but no stochastic modelling procedure have obtained general acceptance. The subject is discussed basis of a deterministic model. However, it is straightforward to modify this model to include uncertain parameters...

Characterization of local hydrophobicity on sapphire (0001) surfaces in aqueous environment by colloidal probe atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wada, Tomoya; Yamazaki, Kenji; Isono, Toshinari; Ogino, Toshio, E-mail: ogino-toshio-rx@ynu.ac.jp

2017-02-28

Highlights: • Local hydrophobicity of phase-separated sapphire (0001) surfaces was investigated. • These surfaces are featured by coexistence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. • Each domain was characterized by colloidal probe atomic force microscopy in water. • Both domains can be distinguished by adhesive forces of the probe to the surfaces. • Characterization in aqueous environment is important in bio-applications of sapphire. - Abstract: Sapphire (0001) surfaces exhibit a phase-separation into hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains upon high-temperature annealing, which were previously distinguished by the thickness of adsorbed water layers in air using atomic force microscopy (AFM). To characterize their local surface hydrophobicity in aqueous environment, we used AFM equipped with a colloidal probe and measured the local adhesive force between each sapphire domain and a hydrophilic SiO{sub 2} probe surface, or a hydrophobic polystyrene one. Two data acquisition modes for statistical analyses were used: one is force measurements at different positions of the surface and the other repeated measurement at a fixed position. We found that adhesive force measurements using the polystyrene probe allow us to distinctly separate the hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. The dispersion in the force measurement data at different positions of the surface is larger than that in the repeated measurements at a fixed position. It indicates that the adhesive force measurement is repeatable although their data dispersion for the measurement positions is relatively large. From these results, we can conclude that the hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains on the sapphire (0001) surfaces are distinguished by a difference in their hydration degrees.

Liposomes coated with hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose: Influence of hydrophobic chain length and degree of modification.

Science.gov (United States)

Smistad, Gro; Nyström, Bo; Zhu, Kaizheng; Grønvold, Marthe Karoline; Røv-Johnsen, Anne; Hiorth, Marianne

2017-08-01

Nanoparticulate systems with an uncharged hydrophilic surface may have a great potential in mucosal drug delivery. In the present study liposomes were coated with hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HM-HEC) to create a sterically stabilized liposomal system with an uncharged surface. The aim was to clarify the influence of the amount of hydrophobic modification of HEC and the length of the hydrophobic moiety, on the stability of the system and on the release properties. HM-HEC with different degrees of hydrophobic modification (1 and 2mol%) and hydrophobic groups with different chain lengths (C8, C12, C16) were included in the study, as well as fluid phase and gel phase liposomes. Both types of liposomes were successfully coated with HM-HEC containing 1mol% of hydrophobic groups, while 2mol% did not work for the intended pharmaceutical applications. The polymer coated gel phase liposomes were stable (size, zeta potential, leakage) for 24 weeks at 4°C, with no differences between the C8 and C16 HM-HEC coating. For the fluid phase liposomes a size increase was observed after 24 weeks at 4°C for all formulations; the C8 HM-HEC coated liposomes increased the most. No differences in the leakage during storage at 4°C or in the release at 35°C were observed between the fluid phase formulations. To conclude; HM-HEC with a shorter hydrophobic chain length resulted in a less stable product for the fluid phase liposomes, while no influence of the chain length was observed for the gel phase liposomes (1mol% HM). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adsorption, folding, and packing of an amphiphilic peptide at the air/water interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Engin, Ozge; Sayar, Mehmet

2012-02-23

Peptide oligomers play an essential role as model compounds for identifying key motifs in protein structure formation and protein aggregation. Here, we present our results, based on extensive molecular dynamics simulations, on adsorption, folding, and packing within a surface monolayer of an amphiphilic peptide at the air/water interface. Experimental results suggest that these molecules spontaneously form ordered monolayers at the interface, adopting a β-hairpin-like structure within the surface layer. Our results reveal that the β-hairpin structure can be observed both in bulk and at the air/water interface. However, the presence of an interface leads to ideal partitioning of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues, and therefore reduces the conformational space for the molecule and increases the stability of the hairpin structure. We obtained the adsorption free energy of a single β-hairpin at the air/water interface, and analyzed the enthalpic and entropic contributions. The adsorption process is favored by two main factors: (1) Free-energy reduction due to desolvation of the hydrophobic side chains of the peptide and release of the water molecules which form a cage around these hydrophobic groups in bulk water. (2) Reduction of the total air/water contact area at the interface upon adsorption of the peptide amphiphile. By performing mutations on the original molecule, we demonstrated the relative role of key design features of the peptide. Finally, by analyzing the potential of mean force among two peptides at the interface, we investigated possible packing mechanisms for these molecules within the surface monolayer. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds onto a hydrophobic carbonaceous geosorbent in the presence of surfactants.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Peng; Keller, Arturo A

2008-06-01

The adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs; atrazine and diuron) onto lampblack was studied in the presence of nonionic, cationic, and anionic surfactants (Triton(R) X-100), benzalkonium chloride [BC], and linear alkylbenzene sulfonate [LAS]) to determine the effect of the surfactant on HOC adsorption onto a hydrophobic carbonaceous geosorbent. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate showed an adsorption capacity higher than that of BC but similar to that of Triton X-100, implying the charge property of a surfactant is not a useful indicator for predicting the surfactant's adsorption onto a hydrophobic medium. The results also indicated that the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(OW)) of a surfactant is not a good predictor of that surfactant's sorption onto a hydrophobic medium. Under subsaturation adsorption conditions (i.e., before sorption saturation is reached), surfactant adsorption reduced HOC adsorption to a significant extent, with the reduction in HOC adsorption increasing monotonically with the amount of surfactant adsorbed. Among the three surfactants, Triton X-100 was the most effective in reducing HOC adsorption, whereas BC and LAS showed similar effectiveness in this regard. Under the same amount of the surfactant sorbed, the reduction in atrazine adsorption was consistently greater than that for diuron because of atrazine's lower hydrophobicity. No significant difference was observed in the amount of the HOC adsorbed under different adsorption sequences. Our results showed that the presence of surfactant can significantly decrease HOC adsorption onto hydrophobic environmental media and, thus, is important in predicting HOC fate and transport in the environment.

Biphilic Surfaces for Enhanced Water Collection from Humid Air

Science.gov (United States)

Benkoski, Jason; Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Luedeman, William

Surface wettability plays an important role in water recovery, distillation, dehumidification, and heat transfer. The efficiency of each process depends on the rate of droplet nucleation, droplet growth, and mass transfer. Unfortunately, hydrophilic surfaces are good at nucleation but poor at shedding. Hydrophobic surfaces are the reverse. Many plants and animals overcome this tradeoff through biphilic surfaces with patterned wettability. For example, the Stenocara beetle uses hydrophilic patches on a superhydrophobic background to collect fog from air. Cribellate spiders similarly collect fog on their webs through periodic spindle-knot structures. In this study, we investigate the effects of wettability patterns on the rate of water collection from humid air. The steady state rate of water collection per unit area is measured as a function of undercooling, angle of inclination, water contact angle, hydrophilic patch size, patch spacing, area fraction, and patch height relative to the hydrophobic background. We then model each pattern by comparing the potential and kinetic energy of a droplet as it rolls downwards at a fixed angle. The results indicate that the design rules for collecting fog differ from those for condensation from humid air. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Office of Naval Research for financial support through Grant Number N00014-15-1-2107.

Super-hydrophobic surfaces of SiO₂-coated SiC nanowires: fabrication, mechanism and ultraviolet-durable super-hydrophobicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jian; Li, Zhenjiang; Zhang, Meng; Meng, Alan

2015-04-15

The interest in highly water-repellent surfaces of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires has grown in recent years due to the desire for self-cleaning and anticorrosive surfaces. It is imperative that a simple chemical treatment with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS, CF3(CF2)7CH2CH2Si(OC2H5)3) in ethanol solution at room temperature resulted in super-hydrophobic surfaces of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires. The static water contact angle of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires surfaces was changed from 0° to 153° and the morphology, microstructure and crystal phase of the products were almost no transformation before and after super-hydrophobic treatment. Moreover, a mechanism was expounded reasonably, which could elucidate the reasons for their super-hydrophobic behavior. It is important that the super-hydrophobic surfaces of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires possessed ultraviolet-durable (UV-durable) super-hydrophobicity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterisation of nanomaterial hydrophobicity using engineered surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desmet, Cloé; Valsesia, Andrea; Oddo, Arianna; Ceccone, Giacomo; Spampinato, Valentina; Rossi, François; Colpo, Pascal, E-mail: pascal.colpo@ec.europa.eu [Directorate Health, Consumer and Reference Materials, Consumer Products Safety Unit (Italy)

2017-03-15

Characterisation of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) is of outmost importance for the assessment of the potential risks arising from their extensive use. NMs display indeed a large variety of physico-chemical properties that drastically affect their interaction with biological systems. Among them, hydrophobicity is an important property that is nevertheless only slightly covered by the current physico-chemical characterisation techniques. In this work, we developed a method for the direct characterisation of NM hydrophobicity. The determination of the nanomaterial hydrophobic character is carried out by the direct measurement of the affinity of the NMs for different collectors. Each collector is an engineered surface designed in order to present specific surface charge and hydrophobicity degrees. Being thus characterised by a combination of surface energy components, the collectors enable the NM immobilisation with surface coverage in relation to their hydrophobicity. The experimental results are explained by using the extended DLVO theory, which takes into account the hydrophobic forces acting between NMs and collectors.

Sorption kinetics and microbial biodegradation activity of hydrophobic chemicals in sewage sludge: Model and measurements based on free concentrations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Artola-Garicano, E.; Borkent, I.; Damen, K.; Jager, T.; Vaes, W.H.J.

2003-01-01

In the current study, a new method is introduced with which the rate-limiting factor of biodegradation processes of hydrophobic chemicals in organic and aqueous systems can be determined. The novelty of this approach lies in the combination of a free concentration-based kinetic model with

Assessment of water droplet evaporation mechanisms on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Zhenhai; Dash, Susmita; Weibel, Justin A; Garimella, Suresh V

2013-12-23

Evaporation rates are predicted and important transport mechanisms identified for evaporation of water droplets on hydrophobic (contact angle ~110°) and superhydrophobic (contact angle ~160°) substrates. Analytical models for droplet evaporation in the literature are usually simplified to include only vapor diffusion in the gas domain, and the system is assumed to be isothermal. In the comprehensive model developed in this study, evaporative cooling of the interface is accounted for, and vapor concentration is coupled to local temperature at the interface. Conjugate heat and mass transfer are solved in the solid substrate, liquid droplet, and surrounding gas. Buoyancy-driven convective flows in the droplet and vapor domains are also simulated. The influences of evaporative cooling and convection on the evaporation characteristics are determined quantitatively. The liquid-vapor interface temperature drop induced by evaporative cooling suppresses evaporation, while gas-phase natural convection acts to enhance evaporation. While the effects of these competing transport mechanisms are observed to counterbalance for evaporation on a hydrophobic surface, the stronger influence of evaporative cooling on a superhydrophobic surface accounts for an overprediction of experimental evaporation rates by ~20% with vapor diffusion-based models. The local evaporation fluxes along the liquid-vapor interface for both hydrophobic and superhydrophobic substrates are investigated. The highest local evaporation flux occurs at the three-phase contact line region due to proximity to the higher temperature substrate, rather than at the relatively colder droplet top; vapor diffusion-based models predict the opposite. The numerically calculated evaporation rates agree with experimental results to within 2% for superhydrophobic substrates and 3% for hydrophobic substrates. The large deviations between past analytical models and the experimental data are therefore reconciled with the

Dynamics of Wetting of Ultra Hydrophobic Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammad Karim, Alireza; Kim, Jeong-Hyun; Rothstein, Jonathan; Kavehpour, Pirouz; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Collaboration

2013-11-01

Controlling the surface wettability of hydrophobic and super hydrophobic surfaces has extensive industrial applications ranging from coating, painting and printing technology and waterproof clothing to efficiency increase in power and water plants. This requires enhancing the knowledge about the dynamics of wetting on these hydrophobic surfaces. We have done experimental investigation on the dynamics of wetting on hydrophobic surfaces by looking deeply in to the dependency of the dynamic contact angles both advancing and receding on the velocity of the three-phase boundary (Solid/Liquid/Gas interface) using the Wilhelmy plate method with different ultra-hydrophobic surfaces. Several fluids with different surface tension and viscosity are used to study the effect of physical properties of liquids on the governing laws.

EWOD driven cleaning of bioparticles on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Jönsson-Niedziółka, M; Lapierre, F; Coffinier, Y; Parry, S J; Zoueshtiagh, F; Foat, T; Thomy, V; Boukherroub, R

2011-02-07

Environmental air monitoring is of great interest due to the large number of people concerned and exposed to different possible risks. From the most common particles in our environment (e.g. by-products of combustion or pollens) to more specific and dangerous agents (e.g. pathogenic micro-organisms), there are a large range of particles that need to be controlled. In this article we propose an original study on the collection of electrostatically deposited particles using electrowetting droplet displacement. A variety of particles were studied, from synthetic particles (e.g. Polystyrene Latex (PSL) microsphere) to different classes of biological particle (proteins, bacterial spores and a viral simulant). Furthermore, we have compared ElectroWetting-On-Dielectric (EWOD) collecting efficiency using either a hydrophobic or a superhydrophobic counter electrode. We observe different cleaning efficiencies, depending on the hydrophobicity of the substrate (varying from 45% to 99%). Superhydrophobic surfaces show the best cleaning efficiency with water droplets for all investigated particles (MS2 bacteriophage, BG (Bacillus atrophaeus) spores, OA (ovalbumin) proteins, and PSL).

Partitioning of hydrophobic organic contaminants between polymer and lipids for two silicones and low density polyethylene

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smedes, Foppe; Rusina, Tatsiana P.; Beeltje, Henry

2017-01-01

Polymers are increasingly used for passive sampling of neutral hydrophobic organic substances (HOC) in environmental media including water, air, soil, sediment and even biological tissue. The equilibrium concentration of HOC in the polymer can be measured and then converted into equilibrium conce...... for a thermodynamically sound risk assessment of HOC contained in microplastics....

Impact of a Hydrophobic Sphere onto a Bath

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Daniel M.; Edmonds, John; Galeano-Rios, Carlos A.; Milewski, Paul A.

2017-11-01

Small hydrophobic particles impacting a water surface can rebound completely from the interface (Lee & Kim, Langmuir, 2008). In the present work, we focus on the bouncing dynamics of millimetric hydrophobic spheres impacting the surface of a quiescent water bath. Particular attention is given to the dependence of the normal coefficient of restitution and contact time on the impact velocity and the radius and density of the sphere. Our experimental observations are compared to the predictions of a fluid model derived from linearized Navier-Stokes under the assumption of a high Reynolds number regime (Galeano-Rios et al., JFM, in press). In the model, the motions of the sphere and the fluid interface are found by imposing the natural geometric and kinematic compatibility conditions. Future directions will be discussed. C.A.G.-R. and P.A.M. gratefully acknowledge support through the EPSRC project EP/N018176/1.

Microwave heating of electric cable insulated wires before their impregnation with a hydrophobic material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niculae, D; Mihailescu, A [Romanian Electricity Authority (Romania); Indreias, I; Martin, D [Institute of Atomic Physics, Bucharest (Romania); Margaritescu, A [ICPE Electrostatica, Bucharest, (Romania); Zlatonovici, D

1998-12-31

Underground insulated telecommunication cables must be impregnated with a hydrophobic material in order to prevent water penetration damage. To do so, the cable wire bundle must be heated to a temperature of 60 to 90 degrees C to ensure proper fluidity of the hydrophobic material that must fill the free spaces between the copper wires of the telephone cable. This paper described the microwave heating method of the wires before their impregnation. A cylindrical applicator was designed to perform a telephone bundle heating test. 800 W of microwave power were used on a telephone cable made up of 800 wires of 0.4 mm in diameter. A uniform heating was obtained throughout the section. Microwave heating was also found to be 53 per cent more energy efficient than hot air heating. 4 refs., 4 figs.

Evaluation of hydrophobicity in PAH-contaminated soils during phytoremediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cofield, Naressa; Banks, M. Katherine; Schwab, A. Paul

2007-01-01

The impact of recalcitrant organic compounds on soil hydrophobicity was evaluated in contaminated soil from a manufactured gas plant site following 12 months of phytoremediation. Significant reduction in soil wetting and water retention was observed in contaminated soil compared to an uncontaminated control. Phytoremediation was effective at reducing total PAHs by 69% with corresponding changes in soil classification from extremely hydrophobic (initial sample) to moderately-strongly hydrophobic (planted) and hydrophilic-very hydrophilic (unplanted) after 12 months. The greatest reduction in soil hydrophobicity was observed in the unplanted, unfertilized treatments that had the lowest removal rate of PAHs. The presence of plants may contribute to hydrophobicity in contaminated soil. - The presence of recalcitrant hydrophobic organic pollutants may enhance soil hydrophobicity

Ultimate Cavity Dynamics of Hydrophobic Spheres Impacting on Free Water Surfaces

KAUST Repository

Mansoor, Mohammad M.

2012-12-01

Cavity formation resulting from the water-entry of solid objects has been the subject of extensive research owing to its practical relevance in naval, military, industrial, sports and biological applications. The cavity formed by an impacting hydrophobic sphere normally seals at two places, one below (deep seal) and the other above the water surface (surface seal). For Froude numbers , the air flow into the resulting cavity is strong enough to suck the splash crown above the surface and disrupt the cavity dynamics before it deep seals. In this research work we eliminate surface seals by means of a novel practice of using cone splash-guards and examine the undisturbed transient cavity dynamics by impact of hydrophobic spheres for Froude numbers ranging . This enabled the measurement of extremely accurate pinch-off heights, pinch-off times, radial cavity collapse rates, and jet speeds in an extended range of Froude numbers compared to the previous work of Duclaux et al. (2007). Results in the extended regime were in remarkable agreement with the theoretical prediction of scaled pinch-off depth, and experimentally derived pinch-off time for . Furthermore, we investigated the influence of confinement on cavity formation by varying the cross-sectional area of the tank of liquid. In conjunction with surface seal elimination we observed the formation of multiple pinch-off points where a maximum of four deep seals were obtained in a sequential order for the Froude number range investigated. The presence of an elongated cavity beneath the first pinch-off point 5 resulted in evident "kinks" primarily related to the greatly diminished air pressure at the necking region caused by supersonic air flows (Gekle et al. 2010). Such flows passing through second pinch-offs were also found to choke the cavities beneath the first pinch- off depths causing radial expansion and hence disappearance of downward jets.

Toward a Simple Molecular Theory of Hydrophobic Hydration.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jirsák, Jan; Škvor, J.; Nezbeda, Ivo

2014-01-01

Roč. 189, SI (2014), s. 13-19 ISSN 0167-7322 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA200760905 Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : perturbation theory * primitive models * hydrophobic hydration Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry OBOR OECD: Physical chemistry Impact factor: 2.515, year: 2014

Diameter-dependent hydrophobicity in carbon nanotubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kyakuno, Haruka, E-mail: h-kyakuno@kanagawa-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397 (Japan); Institute of Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Kanagawa University, Yokohama 221-8686 (Japan); Fukasawa, Mamoru; Ichimura, Ryota; Nakai, Yusuke; Maniwa, Yutaka, E-mail: maniwa@phys.se.tmu.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397 (Japan); Matsuda, Kazuyuki [Institute of Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Kanagawa University, Yokohama 221-8686 (Japan); Miyata, Yasumitsu [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397 (Japan); PRESTO, JST, Kawaguchi 332-0012 (Japan); Saito, Takeshi [Nanotube Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565 (Japan)

2016-08-14

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are a good model system that provides atomically smooth nanocavities. It has been reported that water-SWCNTs exhibit hydrophobicity depending on the temperature T and the SWCNT diameter D. SWCNTs adsorb water molecules spontaneously in their cylindrical pores around room temperature, whereas they exhibit a hydrophilic-hydrophobic transition or wet-dry transition (WDT) at a critical temperature T{sub wd} ≈ 220-230 K and above a critical diameter D{sub c} ≈ 1.4-1.6 nm. However, details of the WDT phenomenon and its mechanism remain unknown. Here, we report a systematic experimental study involving X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. It is found that water molecules inside thick SWCNTs (D > D{sub c}) evaporate and condense into ice Ih outside the SWCNTs at T{sub wd} upon cooling, and the ice Ih evaporates and condenses inside the SWCNTs upon heating. On the other hand, residual water trapped inside the SWCNTs below T{sub wd} freezes. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that upon lowering T, the hydrophobicity of thick SWCNTs increases without any structural transition, while the water inside thin SWCNTs (D < D{sub c}) exhibits a structural transition, forming an ordered ice. This ice has a well-developed hydrogen bonding network adapting to the cylindrical pores of the SWCNTs. Thus, the unusual diameter dependence of the WDT is attributed to the adaptability of the structure of water to the pore dimension and shape.

In vitro evaluation of tissue adhesives composed of hydrophobically modified gelatins and disuccinimidyl tartrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miyuki Matsuda

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of the hydrophobic group content in gelatin on the bonding strength of novel tissue–penetrating tissue adhesives was evaluated. The hydrophobic groups introduced into gelatin were the saturated hexanoyl, palmitoyl, and stearoyl groups, and the unsaturated oleoyl group. A collagen casing was employed as an adherend to model soft tissue for the in vitro determination of bonding strength of tissue adhesives composed of various hydrophobically modified gelatins and disuccinimidyl tartrate. The adhesive composed of stearoyl-modified gelatin (7.4% stearoyl; 10Ste and disuccinimidyl tartrate showed the highest bonding strength. The bonding strength of the adhesives decreased as the degree of substitution of the hydrophobic groups increased. Cell culture experiments demonstrated that fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled 10Ste was integrated onto the surface of smooth muscle cells and showed no cytotoxicity. These results suggest that 10Ste interacted with the hydrophobic domains of collagen casings, such as hydrophobic amino acid residues and cell membranes. Therefore, 10Ste–disuccinimidyl tartrate is a promising adhesive for use in aortic dissection.

Durability of hydrophobic treatment of concrete

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.; Borsje, H.

1998-01-01

The subject of this study was the performance of hydrophobic treatment to protect concrete against chloride penetration from de-icing salts. Hydrophobic treatment makes a concrete surface absorb less water and less chloride. Test methods and requirements for commercial products were established. In

Decreased hydrophobicity of iridescent feathers: a potential cost of shiny plumage.

Science.gov (United States)

Eliason, Chad M; Shawkey, Matthew D

2011-07-01

Honest advertisement models posit that sexually selected traits are costly to produce, maintain or otherwise bear. Brightly coloured feathers are thought to be classic examples of these models, but evidence for a cost in feathers not coloured by carotenoid pigments is scarce. Unlike pigment-based colours, iridescent feather colours are produced by light scattering in modified feather barbules that are characteristically flattened and twisted towards the feather surface. These modifications increase light reflectance, but also expose more surface area for water adhesion, suggesting a potential trade-off between colour and hydrophobicity. Using light microscopy, spectrometry, contact angle goniometry and self-cleaning experiments, we show that iridescent feathers of mallards, Anas platyrhynchos, are less hydrophobic than adjacent non-iridescent feathers, and that this is primarily caused by differences in barbule microstructure. Furthermore, as a result of this decreased hydrophobicity, iridescent feathers are less efficient at self-cleaning than non-iridescent feathers. Together, these results suggest a previously unforeseen cost of iridescent plumage traits that may help to explain the evolution and distribution of iridescence in birds.

Durability of hydrophobic treatment of concrete

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.; Borsje, H.

1998-01-01

The subject of this study was the performance of hydrophobic treatment to protect concrete against chloride penetration from de-icing salts. Hydrophobic treatment makes a concrete surface absorb less water and less chloride. Several types of tests were carried out to study the performance of

Atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization of 1,3-butadiene for hydrophobic finishing of textile substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samanta, Kartick K; Jassal, Manjeet; Agrawal, Ashwini K

2010-01-01

Atmospheric pressure plasma processing of textile has both ecological and economical advantages over the wet-chemical processing. However, reaction in atmospheric pressure plasma has important challenges to be overcome before it can be successfully used for finishing applications in textile. These challenges are (i) generating stable glow plasma in presence liquid/gaseous monomer, and (ii) keeping the generated radicals active in the presence of contaminants such as oxygen and air. In this study, a stable glow plasma was generated at atmospheric pressure in the mixture of gaseous reactive monomer-1,3-butadiene and He and was made to react with cellulosic textile substrate. After 12 min of plasma treatment, the hydrophilic surface of the cellulosic substrate turned into highly hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobic finish was found to be durable to soap washing. After soap washing, a water drop of 37 μl took around 250 s to get absorbed in the treated sample compared to 0 . Both top and bottom sides of the fabric showed similar hydrophobic results in terms of water absorbency and contact angle. The results may be attributed to chemical reaction of butadiene with the cellulosic textile substrate. The surface characterization of the plasma modified samples under SEM and AFM revealed modification of the surface under <100 nm. The results showed that atmospheric pressure plasma can be successfully used for carrying out reaction of 1,3-butadiene with cellulosic textile substrates for producing hydrophobic surface finish.

Contribution of hydrophobic effect to the sorption of phenanthrene, 9-phenanthrol and 9, 10-phenanthrenequinone on carbon nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Hongbo; Zhang, Di; Pan, Bo; Peng, Jinhui

2017-02-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with diverse sources and acute toxicity, are categorized as priority pollutants. Previous studies have stated that the hydrophobic effect controls PAH sorption, but no study has been conducted to quantify the exact contribution of the hydrophobic effect. Considering the well-defined structure of carbon nanotubes and their stable chemical composition in organic solvents, three multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were selected as a model adsorbent. Phenanthrene (PHE) and its degradation intermediates 9-phenanthrol (PTR) and 9, 10-phenanthrenequinone (PQN) were used as model adsorbates. To quantify the contribution of the hydrophobic effect for these three chemicals, the effect of organic solvent (methanol and hexadecane) was investigated. Adsorption isotherms for PHE, PTR and PQN were well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model. A positive relationship between adsorption affinities of these three chemicals and specific surface area (SSA) was observed in hexadecane but not in water or methanol. Other factors should be included other than SSA. Adsorption of PQN on MWCNTs with oxygen functional groups was higher than that on pristine MWCNTs due to π-π EDA interactions. The contribution of hydrophobic effect was 50%-85% for PHE, suggesting that hydrophobic effect was the predominant mechanism. This contribution was lower than 30% for PTR/PQN on functionalized MWCNTs. Hydrogen bonds control the adsorption of PTR, and π-π bonding interactions control PQN sorption after screening out the hydrophobic effect in hexadecane. Hydrophobic effect is the control mechanism for nonpolar chemicals, while functional groups of CNTs and solvent types control the adsorption of polar compounds. Extended work on quantifying the relationship between chemical structure and the contribution of the hydrophobic effect will provide a useful technique for PAH fate modeling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanocarriers from GRAS Zein Proteins to Encapsulate Hydrophobic Actives.

Science.gov (United States)

Weissmueller, Nikolas T; Lu, Hoang D; Hurley, Amanda; Prud'homme, Robert K

2016-11-14

One factor limiting the expansion of nanomedicines has been the high cost of the materials and processes required for their production. We present a continuous, scalable, low cost nanoencapsulation process, Flash Nanoprecipitation (FNP) that enables the production of nanocarriers (NCs) with a narrow size distribution using zein corn proteins. Zein is a low cost, GRAS protein (having the FDA status of "Generally Regarded as Safe") currently used in food applications, which acts as an effective encapsulant for hydrophobic compounds using FNP. The four-stream FNP configuration allows the encapsulation of very hydrophobic compounds in a way that is not possible with previous precipitation processes. We present the encapsulation of several model active compounds with as high as 45 wt % drug loading with respect to zein concentration into ∼100 nm nanocarriers. Three examples are presented: (1) the pro-drug antioxidant, vitamin E-acetate, (2) an anticholera quorum-sensing modulator CAI-1 ((S)-3-hydroxytridecan-4-one; CAI-1 that reduces Vibrio cholerae virulence by modulating cellular communication), and (3) hydrophobic fluorescent dyes with a range of hydrophobicities. The specific interaction between zein and the milk protein, sodium caseinate, provides stabilization of the NCs in PBS, LB medium, and in pH 2 solutions. The stability and size changes in the three media provide information on the mechanism of assembly of the zein/active/casein NC.

Effect of water content on the water repellency for hydrophobized sands

Science.gov (United States)

Subedi, S.; Kawamoto, K.; Kuroda, T.; Moldrup, P.; Komatsu, T.

2011-12-01

Alternative earthen covers such as capillary barriers (CBs) and evapotranspirative covers are recognized as useful technical and low-cost solutions for limiting water infiltration and controlling seepage flow at solid waste landfills in semi-arid and arid regions. However, their application to the landfills at wet regions seems to be matter of concern due to loss of their impending capability under high precipitation. One of the possible techniques to enhance the impermeable properties of CBs is to alter soil grain surfaces to be water-repellent by mixing/coating hydrophobic agents (HAs). In order to examine a potential use of model sands hydrophobized with locally available and environmental-friendly HAs such as oleic acid (OA) and stearic acid (SA) for hydrophobic CBs. In the present study, we first characterized the effect of water content on the degree of water repellency (WR) for hydrophobized sands and volcanic ash soil at different depth. Secondly, the time dependency of the contact angle in hydrophobized sands and volcanic ash soils at different water content was evaluated. Further, the effects of hydrophobic organic matter contents on the WR of hydrophobized sands were investigated by horizontal infiltration test. We investigated the degree of WR as functions of volumetric water content (θ) of a volcanic ash soil samples from different depth and water adjusted hydrophobized sand samples with different ratio of HAs by using sessile drop method (SDM). The initial contact angle (αi) measured from SDM decreased gradually with increasing water content in OA and SA coated samples. Measured αi values for volcanic ash soils increased with increasing water content and reached a peak values of 111.7o at θ= 0.325 cm3 cm-3, where-after αi gradually decreased. Each test sample exhibited sharp decrease in contact angle with time at higher water content. Sorptivity values for oleic acid coated samples decreased with increasing HA content and reached the minimum

Dewetting and Hydrophobic Interaction in Physical and Biological Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Berne, Bruce J.; Weeks, John D.; Zhou, Ruhong

2013-01-01

Hydrophobicity manifests itself differently on large and small length scales. This review focuses on large length scale hydrophobicity, particularly on dewetting at single hydrophobic surfaces and drying in regions bounded on two or more sides by hydrophobic surfaces. We review applicable theories, simulations and experiments pertaining to large scale hydrophobicity in physical and biomoleclar systems and clarify some of the critical issues pertaining to this subject. Given space constraints, we could not review all of the significant and interesting work in this very active field. PMID:18928403

Driving force for hydrophobic interaction at different length scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Zangi, Ronen

2011-03-17

We study by molecular dynamics simulations the driving force for the hydrophobic interaction between graphene sheets of different sizes down to the atomic scale. Similar to the prediction by Lum, Chandler, and Weeks for hard-sphere solvation [J. Phys. Chem. B 1999, 103, 4570-4577], we find the driving force to be length-scale dependent, despite the fact that our model systems do not exhibit dewetting. For small hydrophobic solutes, the association is purely entropic, while enthalpy favors dissociation. The latter is demonstrated to arise from the enhancement of hydrogen bonding between the water molecules around small hydrophobes. On the other hand, the attraction between large graphene sheets is dominated by enthalpy which mainly originates from direct solute-solute interactions. The crossover length is found to be inside the range of 0.3-1.5 nm(2) of the surface area of the hydrophobe that is eliminated in the association process. In the large-scale regime, different thermodynamic properties are scalable with this change of surface area. In particular, upon dimerization, a total and a water-induced stabilization of approximately 65 and 12 kJ/mol/nm(2) are obtained, respectively, and on average around one hydrogen bond is gained per 1 nm(2) of graphene sheet association. Furthermore, the potential of mean force between the sheets is also scalable except for interplate distances smaller than 0.64 nm which corresponds to the region around the barrier for removing the last layer of water. It turns out that, as the surface area increases, the relative height of the barrier for association decreases and the range of attraction increases. It is also shown that, around small hydrophobic solutes, the lifetime of the hydrogen bonds is longer than in the bulk, while around large hydrophobes it is the same. Nevertheless, the rearrangement of the hydrogen-bond network for both length-scale regimes is slower than in bulk water. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Enhanced Removal of Hydrophobic Gas by Aerial Ultrasonic Waves and Two Kinds of Water Mists of Different Particle Sizes

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Keisuke; Miura, Hikaru

2012-07-01

Air pollutants can cause health problems, such as bronchitis and cancer, and are now recognized as a social problem. Hence, a method is proposed for the collection and removal of gaseous air pollutants by aerial ultrasonic waves and water mist. Typically, gas removal effects are studied using lemon oil vapor (“lemon gas”), which is a hydrophobic gas. Previous experiments using lemon gas have shown that a removal rate of up to 40% can be achieved in an intense standing wave at 20 kHz, for an amount of water mist of 1.39 cm3/s and an electrical input power of 50 W. Increasing the surface area of the water mist leads to greater removal of hydrophobic gas. In this study, the effects of gas removal are examined by conducting experiments using intense aerial ultrasonic waves to disperse two kinds of water mists, each composed of particles of different sizes: small particles (diameter: ≈3 µm) and conventional large particles (diameter: ≈60 µm).

The hydrophobic effect: Molecular dynamics simulations of water confined between extended hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Morten Østergaard; Mouritsen, Ole G.; Peters, Günther H.J.

2004-01-01

Structural and dynamic properties of water confined between two parallel, extended, either hydrophobic or hydrophilic crystalline surfaces of n-alkane C36H74 or n-alcohol C35H71OH, are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Electron density profiles, directly compared with corresponding......-correlation functions reveal that water molecules have characteristic diffusive behavior and orientational ordering due to the lack of hydrogen bonding interactions with the surface. These observations suggest that the altered dynamical properties of water in contact with extended hydrophobic surfaces together...... at both surfaces. The ordering is characteristically different between the surfaces and of longer range at the hydrophilic surface. Furthermore, the dynamic properties of water are different at the two surfaces and different from the bulk behavior. In particular, at the hydrophobic surface, time...

Integrated Heat Air & Moisture Modeling and control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schijndel, van A.W.M.

2007-01-01

The paper presents a recently developed Heat Air & Moisture Laboratory in SimuLink. The simulation laboratory facilitates the integration of the following models: (1) a whole building model; (2) Heating Venting and Air-Conditioning and primary systems; (3) 2D indoor airflow, 3D Heat Air & Moisture

Heat-resistant hydrophobic-oleophobic coatings

OpenAIRE

Uyanik, Mehmet; Arpac, Ertugrul; Schmidt, Helmut K.; Akarsu, Murat; Sayilkan, Funda; Sayilkan, Hikmet

2006-01-01

Thermally and chemically durable hydrophobic oleophobic coatings, containing different ceramic particles such as SiO2, SiC, Al 2O3, which can be alternative instead of Teflon, have been developed and applied on the aluminum substrates by spin-coating method. Polyimides, which are high-thermal resistant heteroaromatic polymers, were synthesized, and fluor oligomers were added to these polymers to obtain hydrophobic-oleophobic properties. After coating, Al surface was subjected to Taber-abrasio...

Water-based adhesives with tailored hydrophobic association: dilution resistance and improved setting behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Dundua, Alexander; Landfester, Katharina; Taden, Andreas

2014-11-01

Hydrophobic association and stimuli-responsiveness is a powerful tool towards water-based adhesives with strongly improved properties, which is demonstrated based on the example of hydrophobically modified alkali-soluble latexes (HASE) with modulated association. Their rheological properties are highly tunable due to the hydrophobic domains that act as physical crosslinking sites of adjustable interaction strength. Ethanol, propanol, and butanol are used as water-soluble model additives with different hydrophobicity in order to specifically target the association sites and impact the viscoelastic properties and stimuli-responsiveness. The rheological and mechanical property response upon dilution with water can be tailored, and dilution-resistant or even dilution-thickening systems are obtained. The investigations are of high importance for water-based adhesives, as our findings provide insight into general structure-property relationships to improve their setting behavior, especially upon contact with wet substrates. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fish skin bacteria: Colonial and cellular hydrophobicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sar, N; Rosenberg, E

1987-05-01

Bacteria were desorbed from the skin of healthy, fast-swimming fish by several procedures, including brief exposure to sonic oscillation and treatment with nontoxic surface active agents. The surface properties of these bacteria were studied by measuring their adhesion to hexadecane, as well as by a newly developed, simple method for studying the hydrophobicity of bacterial lawns. This method, referred to as the "Direction of Spreading" (DOS) method, consists of recording the direction to which a water drop spreads when introduced at the border between bacterial lawns and other surfaces. Of the 13 fish skin isolates examined, two strains were as hydrophobic as polystyrene by the DOS method. Suspended cells of one of these strains adhered strongly to hexadecane (84%), whereas cells of the other strain adhered poorly (13%). Another strain which was almost as hydrophobic as polystyrene by the DOS method did not adhere to hexadecane at all. Similarly, lawns of three other strains were more hydrophobic than glass by the DOS method, but cell suspensions prepared from these colonies showed little or no adhesion to hexadecane. The high colonial but relatively low cellular hydrophobicity could be due to a hydrophobic slime that is removed during the suspension and washing procedures. The possibility that specific bacteria assist in fish locomotion by changing the surface properties of the fish skin and by producing drag-reducing polymers is discussed.

Hydrophobicity-induced drying transition in alkanethiol self ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Raman Research Institute, C.V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560 080, India ... Hydrophobicity; hydrophobic gap; self-assembled monolayer; length scale dependent .... From our work, we find that when the alkanethiol SAM is prepared from a.

Analysis of hydrophobic interactions of antagonists with the beta2-adrenergic receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Novoseletsky, V N; Pyrkov, T V; Efremov, R G

2010-01-01

The adrenergic receptors mediate a wide variety of physiological responses, including vasodilatation and vasoconstriction, heart rate modulation, and others. Beta-adrenergic antagonists ('beta-blockers') thus constitute a widely used class of drugs in cardiovascular medicine as well as in management of anxiety, migraine, and glaucoma. The importance of the hydrophobic effect has been evidenced for a wide range of beta-blocker properties. To better understand the role of the hydrophobic effect in recognition of beta-blockers by their receptor, we carried out a molecular docking study combined with an original approach to estimate receptor-ligand hydrophobic interactions. The proposed method is based on automatic detection of molecular fragments in ligands and the analysis of their interactions with receptors separately. A series of beta-blockers, based on phenylethanolamines and phenoxypropanolamines, were docked to the beta2-adrenoceptor binding site in the crystal structure. Hydrophobic complementarity between the ligand and the receptor was calculated using the PLATINUM web-server (http://model.nmr.ru/platinum). Based on the analysis of the hydrophobic match for molecular fragments of beta-blockers, we have developed a new scoring function which efficiently predicts dissociation constant (pKd) with strong correlations (r(2) approximately 0.8) with experimental data.

Consumer Behavior Modeling: Fuzzy Logic Model for Air Purifiers Choosing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksandr Dorokhov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available At the beginning, the article briefly describes the features of the marketing complex household goods. Also provides an overview of some aspects of the market for indoor air purifiers. The specific subject of the study was the process of consumer choice of household appliances for cleaning air in living quarters. The aim of the study was to substantiate and develop a computer model for evaluating by the potential buyers devices for air purification in conditions of vagueness and ambiguity of their consumer preferences. Accordingly, the main consumer criteria are identified, substantiated and described when buyers choose air purifiers. As methods of research, approaches based on fuzzy logic, fuzzy sets theory and fuzzy modeling were chosen. It was hypothesized that the fuzzy-multiple model allows rather accurately reflect consumer preferences and potential consumer choice in conditions of insufficient and undetermined information. Further, a computer model for estimating the consumer qualities of air cleaners by customers is developed. A proposed approach based on the application of fuzzy logic theory and practical modeling in the specialized computer software MATLAB. In this model, the necessary membership functions and their terms are constructed, as well as a set of rules for fuzzy inference to make decisions on the estimation of a specific air purifier. A numerical example of a comparative evaluation of air cleaners presented on the Ukrainian market is made and is given. Numerical simulation results confirmed the applicability of the proposed approach and the correctness of the hypothesis advanced about the possibility of modeling consumer behavior using fuzzy logic. The analysis of the obtained results is carried out and the prospects of application, development, and improvement of the developed model and the proposed approach are determined.

Evaluation of hydrophobic materials as matrices for controlled-release drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Quadir, Mohiuddin Abdul; Rahman, M Sharifur; Karim, M Ziaul; Akter, Sanjida; Awkat, M Talat Bin; Reza, Md Selim

2003-07-01

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different insoluble and erodable wax-lipid based materials and their content level on the release profile of drug from matrix systems. Matrix tablets of theophylline were prepared using carnauba wax, bees wax, stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, cetostearyl alcohol and glyceryl monostearate as rate-retarding agents by direct compression process. The release of theophylline from these hydrophobic matrices was studied over 8-hours in buffer media of pH 6.8. Statistically significant difference was found among the drug release profile from different matrices. The release kinetics was found to be governed by the type and content of hydrophobic materials in the matrix. At lower level of wax matrices (25%), a potential burst release was observed with all the materials being studied. Bees wax could not exert any sustaining action while an extensive burst release was found with carnauba wax at this hydrophobic load. Increasing the concentration of fat-wax materials significantly decreased the burst effect of drug from the matrix. At higher hydrophobic level (50% of the matrix), the rate and extent of drug release was significantly reduced due to increased tortuosity and reduced porosity of the matrix. Cetostearyl alcohol imparted the strongest retardation of drug release irrespective of fat-wax level. Numerical fits indicate that the Higuchi square root of time model was the most appropriate one for describing the release profile of theophylline from hydrophobic matrices. The release mechanism was also explored and explained with biexponential equation. Application of this model indicates that Fickian or case I kinetics is the predominant mechanism of drug release from these wax-lipid matrices. The mean dissolution time (MDT) was calculated for all the formulations and the highest MDT value was obtained with cetostearyl matrix. The greater sustaining activity of cetostearyl alcohol can be attributed to some level of

Atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization of 1,3-butadiene for hydrophobic finishing of textile substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samanta, Kartick K; Jassal, Manjeet; Agrawal, Ashwini K, E-mail: ashwini@smita-iitd.co, E-mail: manjeet.jassal@smita-iitd.co [Smart and Innovative Textile Materials Group (SMITA), Department of Textile Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016 (India)

2010-02-01

Atmospheric pressure plasma processing of textile has both ecological and economical advantages over the wet-chemical processing. However, reaction in atmospheric pressure plasma has important challenges to be overcome before it can be successfully used for finishing applications in textile. These challenges are (i) generating stable glow plasma in presence liquid/gaseous monomer, and (ii) keeping the generated radicals active in the presence of contaminants such as oxygen and air. In this study, a stable glow plasma was generated at atmospheric pressure in the mixture of gaseous reactive monomer-1,3-butadiene and He and was made to react with cellulosic textile substrate. After 12 min of plasma treatment, the hydrophilic surface of the cellulosic substrate turned into highly hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobic finish was found to be durable to soap washing. After soap washing, a water drop of 37 {mu}l took around 250 s to get absorbed in the treated sample compared to < 1 s in the untreated samples. The plasma modified samples showed water contact angle of around 134{sup 0}. Both top and bottom sides of the fabric showed similar hydrophobic results in terms of water absorbency and contact angle. The results may be attributed to chemical reaction of butadiene with the cellulosic textile substrate. The surface characterization of the plasma modified samples under SEM and AFM revealed modification of the surface under <100 nm. The results showed that atmospheric pressure plasma can be successfully used for carrying out reaction of 1,3-butadiene with cellulosic textile substrates for producing hydrophobic surface finish.

Sweeping Gas Membrane Desalination Using Commercial Hydrophobic Hollow Fiber Membranes; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

EVANS, LINDSEY; MILLER, JAMES E.

2002-01-01

Water shortages affect 88 developing countries that are home to half of the world's population. In these places, 80-90% of all diseases and 30% of all deaths result from poor water quality. Furthermore, over the next 25 years, the number of people affected by severe water shortages is expected to increase fourfold. Low cost methods of purifying freshwater, and desalting seawater are required to contend with this destabilizing trend. Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging technology for separations that are traditionally accomplished via conventional distillation or reverse osmosis. As applied to desalination, MD involves the transport of water vapor from a saline solution through the pores of a hydrophobic membrane. In sweeping gas MD, a flowing gas stream is used to flush the water vapor from the permeate side of the membrane, thereby maintaining the vapor pressure gradient necessary for mass transfer. Since liquid does not penetrate the hydrophobic membrane, dissolved ions are completely rejected by the membrane. MD has a number of potential advantages over conventional desalination including low temperature and pressure operation, reduced membrane strength requirements, compact size, and 100% rejection of non-volatiles. The present work evaluated the suitability of commercially available technology for sweeping gas membrane desalination. Evaluations were conducted with Celgard Liqui-Cel(reg s ign) Extra-Flow 2.5X8 membrane contactors with X-30 and X-40 hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes. Our results show that sweeping gas membrane desalination systems are capable of producing low total dissolved solids (TDS) water, typically 10 ppm or less, from seawater, using low grade heat. However, there are several barriers that currently prevent sweeping gas MD from being a viable desalination technology. The primary problem is that large air flows are required to achieve significant water yields, and the costs associated with transporting this air are prohibitive. To

Soil hydrophobicity: comparative study of usual determination methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Saldanha Vogelmann

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Hydrophobic or water repellent soils slowly absorb water because of the low wett ability of the soil particles which are coated with hydrophobic organic substances. These pose significant effects on plant growth, water infiltration and retention, surface runoff and erosion. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of tension micro-infiltrometer(TMI and the water drop penetration time (WDPT methods in the determination of the hydrophobicity index of eighteen soils from southern Brazil. Soil samples were collected from the 0-5cm soil layer to determine particle size distribution, organic matter content, hydrophobicity index of soil aggregates and droplet penetration time of disaggregated and sieved soil samples. For the TMI method the soil samples were subjected to minor changes due to the use of macroaggregates to preserve the distribution of solid constituents in the soil. Due to the homogeneity of the soil samples the WDPT method gave smaller coefficients of variation unlike the TMI method where the soil structure is preserved. However, both methods had low coefficients of variation, and are thus effective for determining the soil hydrophobicity, especially when the log hydrophobicity index or log WDPT is >1.

Comblike poly(ethylene oxide)/hydrophobic C6 branched chitosan surfactant polymers as anti-infection surface modifying agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mai-ngam, Katanchalee

2006-05-01

A series of structurally well-defined poly(ethylene oxide)/hydrophobic C6 branched chitosan surfactant polymers that undergo surface induced self assembly on hydrophobic biomaterial surfaces were synthesized and characterized. The surfactant polymers consist of low molecular weight (Mw) chitosan backbone with hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and hydrophobic hexyl pendant groups. Chitosan was depolymerized by nitrous acid deaminative cleavage. Hexanal and aldehyde-terminated PEO chains were simultaneously attached to low Mw chitosan hydrochloride via reductive amination. The surfactant polymers were prepared with various ratios of the two side chains. The molecular composition of the surfactant polymers was determined by FT-IR and 1H NMR. Surface active properties at the air-water interface were determined by Langmuir film balance measurements. The surfactant polymers with PEO/hexyl ratios of 1:3.0 and 1:14.4 were used as surface modifying agents to investigate their anti-infection properties. E. coli adhesion on Silastic surface was decreased significantly by the surfactant polymer with PEO/hexyl 1:3.0. Surface growth of adherent E. coli was effectively suppressed by both tested surfactant polymers.

Temperature distribution of a water droplet moving on a heated super-hydrophobic surface under the icing condition

Science.gov (United States)

Yamazaki, Masafumi; Sumino, Yutaka; Morita, Katsuaki

2017-11-01

In the aviation industry, ice accretion on the airfoil has been a hazardous issue since it greatly declines the aerodynamic performance. Electric heaters and bleed air, which utilizes a part of gas emissions from engines, are used to prevent the icing. Nowadays, a new de-icing system combining electric heaters and super hydrophobic coatings have been developed to reduce the energy consumption. In the system, the heating temperature and the coating area need to be adjusted. Otherwise, the heater excessively consumes energy when it is set too high and when the coating area is not properly located, water droplets which are once dissolved possibly adhere again to the rear part of the airfoil as runback ice In order to deal with these problems, the physical phenomena of water droplets on the hydrophobic surface demand to be figured out. However, not many investigations focused on the behavior of droplets under the icing condition have been conducted. In this research, the temperature profiling of the rolling droplet on a heated super-hydrophobic surface is experimentally observed by the dual luminescent imaging.

Air quality model guideline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idriss, A.; Spurrell, F.

2009-06-01

Alberta Environment has developed a guidelines for operations and proposed operations that require approvals under the province's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act or that operate under a code of practice for emissions to the atmosphere. In an effort to ensure consistency in the use of dispersion models for regulatory applications in Alberta, this document provided detailed guidance on suitable methods and approaches that should be employed to assess air quality from emission sources, specifically, information required to demonstrate that a source meets the Alberta ambient air quality objectives. The document outlined the statutory authority and provided an overview of the approach. It provided detailed advice on the types and uses of dispersion models with particular reference to the modelling protocol, input data, and output interpretation. Guidance on the application of regulatory models were also presented. Various models were described and their intended uses were explained. Internet addresses for different modelling resources were also offered. Last, some information about regional modelling in the province of Alberta was discussed. 40 refs., 4 tabs., 7 figs., 3 appendices.

Hydrophobic treatment of concrete as protection against chloride penetration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.; Borsje, H.

1996-01-01

Hydrophobic treatment makes a concrete surface absorb less water and less chloride. Hydrophobic treatment was studied as a protection agninst chloride penetration from deicing salts. Test methods were designed. Nine hydrophobic products were tested, of which three complied to the requirements on

Design of textured surfaces for super-hydrophobicity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Prithvi Raj Jelia

2017-11-11

Nov 11, 2017 ... as silicon wafer [1, 10, 11]. Yoon et al [12] used a modified ... The explanation for the increase in the contact angle or hydrophobicity on the ... water droplets on super-hydrophobic surfaces that exhibit large contact angles are ...

Preparation of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for decontamination of nuclear effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionita, Gh.; Popescu, I.; Retegan, T.; Stefanescu, I.

2005-01-01

Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in deuterium and tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: (1) to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes, (2) to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the deuterium and tritium separation (3) to asses and to find a new procedure for preparation a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. The merits of the hydrophobic catalysts are shown in comparison to hydrophilic catalysts. As results of the review some general conclusions about the applications of hydrophobic catalysts in environmental field are as follow: (1) the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed reactors showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; (2) the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium removal from liquid and gaseous effluent in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; (3) the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in other new processes, which take place in presence of liquid water or high humidity are subjected to testing. (author)

Preparation of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for decontamination of nuclear effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionita, Gh.; Popescu, I.; Retegan, T.; Stefanescu, I.

2004-01-01

Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in deuterium and tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: - to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes; - to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the deuterium and tritium separation; - to assess and to find a new procedure for preparation a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. The merits of the hydrophobic catalysts are shown in comparison to hydrophilic catalysts. As results of the review some general conclusions about the applications of hydrophobic catalysts in environmental field are as follows: - the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed reactors showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; - the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium removal from liquid and gaseous effluent in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; - the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in other new processes, which take place in presence of liquid water or high humidity are subject to testing. (authors)

Air-Impregnated Nanoporous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Layers for Enhancing the Corrosion Resistance of Aluminum.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Chanyoung; Lee, Junghoon; Sheppard, Keith; Choi, Chang-Hwan

2015-10-13

Nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide layers were fabricated on aluminum substrates with systematically varied pore diameters (20-80 nm) and oxide thicknesses (150-500 nm) by controlling the anodizing voltage and time and subsequent pore-widening process conditions. The porous nanostructures were then coated with a thin (only a couple of nanometers thick) Teflon film to make the surface hydrophobic and trap air in the pores. The corrosion resistance of the aluminum substrate was evaluated by a potentiodynamic polarization measurement in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution (saltwater). Results showed that the hydrophobic nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide layer significantly enhanced the corrosion resistance of the aluminum substrate compared to a hydrophilic oxide layer of the same nanostructures, to bare (nonanodized) aluminum with only a natural oxide layer on top, and to the latter coated with a thin Teflon film. The hydrophobic nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide layer with the largest pore diameter and the thickest oxide layer (i.e., the maximized air fraction) resulted in the best corrosion resistance with a corrosion inhibition efficiency of up to 99% for up to 7 days. The results demonstrate that the air impregnating the hydrophobic nanopores can effectively inhibit the penetration of corrosive media into the pores, leading to a significant improvement in corrosion resistance.

Structuring unbreakable hydrophobic barriers in paper

Science.gov (United States)

Nargang, Tobias M.; Kotz, Frederik; Rapp, Bastian E.

2018-02-01

Hydrophobic barriers are one of the key elements of microfluidic paper based analytical devices (μPADs).μPADs are simple and cost efficient and they can be carried out without the need of high standard laboratories. To carry out such a test a method is needed to create stable hydrophobic barriers. Commonly used methods like printing wax or polystyrene have the major drawback that these barriers are stiff and break if bended which means they will no longer be able to retain a liquid sample. Here we present silanes to structure hydrophobic barriers via polycondensation and show a silanization method which combines the advantages of flexible silane/siloxane layers with the short processing times of UV-light based structuring. The barriers are created by using methoxy silanes which are mixed with a photo acid generator (PAG) as photoinitiator. Also a photosensitizer was given to the mixture to increase the effectiveness of the PAG. After the PAG is activated by UV-light the silane is hydrolyzed and coupled to the cellulose via polycondensation. The created hydrophobic barriers are highly stable and do not break if being bended.

Analysis of Error Propagation Within Hierarchical Air Combat Models

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

values alone are propagated through layers of combat models, the final results will likely be biased, and risk underestimated. An air-to-air...values alone are propagated through layers of combat models, the final results will likely be biased, and risk underestimated. An air-to-air engagement... PROPAGATION WITHIN HIERARCHICAL AIR COMBAT MODELS by Salih Ilaslan June 2016 Thesis Advisor: Thomas W. Lucas Second Reader: Jeffrey

Air Quality Modelling and the National Emission Database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, S. S.

The project focuses on development of institutional strengthening to be able to carry out national air emission inventories based on the CORINAIR methodology. The present report describes the link between emission inventories and air quality modelling to ensure that the new national air emission...... inventory is able to take into account the data requirements of air quality models...

Modeling aluminum-air battery systems

Science.gov (United States)

Savinell, R. F.; Willis, M. S.

The performance of a complete aluminum-air battery system was studied with a flowsheet model built from unit models of each battery system component. A plug flow model for heat transfer was used to estimate the amount of heat transferred from the electrolyte to the air stream. The effect of shunt currents on battery performance was found to be insignificant. Using the flowsheet simulator to analyze a 100 cell battery system now under development demonstrated that load current, aluminate concentration, and electrolyte temperature are dominant variables controlling system performance. System efficiency was found to decrease as both load current and aluminate concentration increases. The flowsheet model illustrates the interdependence of separate units on overall system performance.

Pathways to dewetting in hydrophobic confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Remsing, Richard C; Xi, Erte; Vembanur, Srivathsan; Sharma, Sumit; Debenedetti, Pablo G; Garde, Shekhar; Patel, Amish J

2015-07-07

Liquid water can become metastable with respect to its vapor in hydrophobic confinement. The resulting dewetting transitions are often impeded by large kinetic barriers. According to macroscopic theory, such barriers arise from the free energy required to nucleate a critical vapor tube that spans the region between two hydrophobic surfaces--tubes with smaller radii collapse, whereas larger ones grow to dry the entire confined region. Using extensive molecular simulations of water between two nanoscopic hydrophobic surfaces, in conjunction with advanced sampling techniques, here we show that for intersurface separations that thermodynamically favor dewetting, the barrier to dewetting does not correspond to the formation of a (classical) critical vapor tube. Instead, it corresponds to an abrupt transition from an isolated cavity adjacent to one of the confining surfaces to a gap-spanning vapor tube that is already larger than the critical vapor tube anticipated by macroscopic theory. Correspondingly, the barrier to dewetting is also smaller than the classical expectation. We show that the peculiar nature of water density fluctuations adjacent to extended hydrophobic surfaces--namely, the enhanced likelihood of observing low-density fluctuations relative to Gaussian statistics--facilitates this nonclassical behavior. By stabilizing isolated cavities relative to vapor tubes, enhanced water density fluctuations thus stabilize novel pathways, which circumvent the classical barriers and offer diminished resistance to dewetting. Our results thus suggest a key role for fluctuations in speeding up the kinetics of numerous phenomena ranging from Cassie-Wenzel transitions on superhydrophobic surfaces, to hydrophobically driven biomolecular folding and assembly.

Low-order modelling of a drop on a highly-hydrophobic substrate: statics and dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Wray, Alexander W.; Matar, Omar K.; Davis, Stephen H.

2017-11-01

We analyse the behaviour of droplets resting on highly-hydrophobic substrates. This problem is of practical interest due to its appearance in many physical contexts involving the spreading, wetting, and dewetting of fluids on solid substrates. In mathematical terms, it exhibits an interesting challenge as the interface is multi-valued as a function of the natural Cartesian co-ordinates, presenting a stumbling block to typical low-order modelling techniques. Nonetheless, we show that in the static case, the interfacial shape is governed by the Young-Laplace equation, which may be solved explicitly in terms of elliptic functions. We present simple low-order expressions that faithfully reproduce the shapes. We then consider the dynamic case, showing that the predictions of our low-order model compare favourably with those obtained from direct numerical simulations. We also examine the characteristic flow regimes of interest. EPSRC, UK, MEMPHIS program Grant (EP/K003976/1), RAEng Research Chair (OKM).

Hydrophobic mismatch in gramicidin A'/lecithin systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watnick, P.I.; Chan, S.I.; Dea, P.

1990-01-01

Gramicidin A' (GA') has been added to three lipid systems of varying hydrophobic thickness: dimyristoyllecithin (DML), dipalmitoyllecithin (DPL), and distearoyllecithin (DSL). The similarity in length between the hydrophobic portion of GA' and the hydrocarbon chains of the lipid bilayers has been studied by using 31 P and 2 H NMR. Hydrophobic mismatch has been found to be most severe in the DML bilayer system and minimal in the case of DSL. In addition, the effects of hydrophobic mismatch on the cooperative properties of the bilayer have been obtained from 2 H NMR relaxation measurements. The results indicate that incorporation of the peptide into the bilayer disrupts the cooperative director fluctuations characteristic of pure multilamellar lipid dispersions. Finally, the GA'/lecithin ratio at which the well-known transformation from bilayer to reverse hexagonal (H II ) phase occurs is shown to depend on the acyl chain length of the phospholipid. A rationale is proposed for this chain length dependence

Geostatistical models for air pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, M.J.; Soares, A.; Almeida, J.; Branquinho, C.

2000-01-01

The objective of this paper is to present geostatistical models applied to the spatial characterisation of air pollution phenomena. A concise presentation of the geostatistical methodologies is illustrated with practical examples. The case study was conducted in an underground copper-mine located on the southern of Portugal, where a biomonitoring program using lichens has been implemented. Given the characteristics of lichens as indicators of air pollution it was possible to gather a great amount of data in space, which enabled the development and application of geostatistical methodologies. The advantages of using geostatistical models compared with deterministic models, as environmental control tools, are highlighted. (author)

Hydrophobic core substitutions in calbindin D9k

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kragelund, B B; Jönsson, M; Bifulco, G

1998-01-01

Hydrophobic core residues have a marked influence on the Ca2+-binding properties of calbindin D9k, even though there are no direct contacts between these residues and the bound Ca2+ ions. Eleven different mutants with substitutions in the hydrophobic core were produced, and their equilibrium Ca2+...... that the hydrophobic core residues promote Ca2+ binding both by contributing to the preformation of the Ca2+ sites in the apo state and by preferentially stabilizing the Ca2+-bound state.......Hydrophobic core residues have a marked influence on the Ca2+-binding properties of calbindin D9k, even though there are no direct contacts between these residues and the bound Ca2+ ions. Eleven different mutants with substitutions in the hydrophobic core were produced, and their equilibrium Ca2...... that the mutation causes only very minimal perturbations in the immediate vicinity of residue 61. Substitutions of alanines or glycines for bulky residues in the center of the core were found to have significant effects on both Ca2+ affinity and dissociation rates. These substitutions caused a reduction in affinity...

Surface Flux Modeling for Air Quality Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limei Ran

2011-08-01

Full Text Available For many gasses and aerosols, dry deposition is an important sink of atmospheric mass. Dry deposition fluxes are also important sources of pollutants to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The surface fluxes of some gases, such as ammonia, mercury, and certain volatile organic compounds, can be upward into the air as well as downward to the surface and therefore should be modeled as bi-directional fluxes. Model parameterizations of dry deposition in air quality models have been represented by simple electrical resistance analogs for almost 30 years. Uncertainties in surface flux modeling in global to mesoscale models are being slowly reduced as more field measurements provide constraints on parameterizations. However, at the same time, more chemical species are being added to surface flux models as air quality models are expanded to include more complex chemistry and are being applied to a wider array of environmental issues. Since surface flux measurements of many of these chemicals are still lacking, resistances are usually parameterized using simple scaling by water or lipid solubility and reactivity. Advances in recent years have included bi-directional flux algorithms that require a shift from pre-computation of deposition velocities to fully integrated surface flux calculations within air quality models. Improved modeling of the stomatal component of chemical surface fluxes has resulted from improved evapotranspiration modeling in land surface models and closer integration between meteorology and air quality models. Satellite-derived land use characterization and vegetation products and indices are improving model representation of spatial and temporal variations in surface flux processes. This review describes the current state of chemical dry deposition modeling, recent progress in bi-directional flux modeling, synergistic model development research with field measurements, and coupling with meteorological land surface models.

Desorption modeling of hydrophobic organic chemicals from plastic sheets using experimentally determined diffusion coefficients in plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hwang; Byun, Da-Eun; Kim, Ju Min; Kwon, Jung-Hwan

2018-01-01

To evaluate rate of migration from plastic debris, desorption of model hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) from polyethylene (PE)/polypropylene (PP) films to water was measured using PE/PP films homogeneously loaded with the HOCs. The HOCs fractions remaining in the PE/PP films were compared with those predicted using a model characterized by the mass transfer Biot number. The experimental data agreed with the model simulation, indicating that HOCs desorption from plastic particles can generally be described by the model. For hexachlorocyclohexanes with lower plastic-water partition coefficients, desorption was dominated by diffusion in the plastic film, whereas desorption of chlorinated benzenes with higher partition coefficients was determined by diffusion in the aqueous boundary layer. Evaluation of the fraction of HOCs remaining in plastic films with respect to film thickness and desorption time showed that the partition coefficient between plastic and water is the most important parameter influencing the desorption half-life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adsorption of butyl acetate in air over silver-loaded Y and ZSM-5 zeolites: experimental and modelling studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Subhash; Abdullah, Ahmad Zuhairi; Wong, Cheng Teng

2009-04-15

Adsorption behaviours of butyl acetate in air have been studied over silver-loaded Y (Si/Al=40) and ZSM-5 (Si/Al=140) zeolites. The silver metal was loaded into the zeolites by ion exchange (IE) and impregnation (IM) methods. The adsorption study was mainly conducted at a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 13,000 h(-1) with the organic concentration of 1000 ppm while the desorption step was carried out at a GHSV of 5000 h(-1). The impregnated silver-loaded adsorbents showed lower uptake capacity and shorter breakthrough time by about 10 min, attributed to changes in the pore characteristics and available surface for adsorption. Silver exchanged Y (AgY(IE)) with lower hydrophobicity showed higher uptake capacity of up to 35%, longer adsorbent service time and easier desorption compared to AgZSM-5(IE). The presence of water vapour in the feed suppressed the butyl acetate adsorption of AgY(IE) by 42% due to the competitive adsorption of water on the surface and the effect was more pronounced at lower GHSV. Conversely, the adsorption capacity of AgZSM-5(IE) was minimally affected, attributed to the higher hydrophobicity of the material. A mathematical model is proposed to simulate the adsorption behaviour of butyl acetate over AgY(IE) and AgZSM-5(IE). The model parameters were successfully evaluated and used to accurately predict the breakthrough curves under various process conditions with root square mean errors of between 0.05 and 0.07.

Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeppenfeld, Thorsten; Balkenhol, Niko; Kóvacs, Kristóf; Carminati, Andrea

2017-01-01

The ability to acquire water from the soil is a major driver in interspecific plant competition and it depends on several root functional traits. One of these traits is the excretion of gel-like compounds (mucilage) that modify physical soil properties. Mucilage secreted by roots becomes hydrophobic upon drying, impedes the rewetting of the soil close to the root, the so called rhizosphere, and reduces water availability to plants. The function of rhizosphere hydrophobicity is not easily understandable when looking at a single plant, but it may constitute a competitive advantage at the ecosystem level. We hypothesize that by making the top soil hydrophobic, deep-rooted plants avoid competititon with shallow-rooted plants. To test this hypothesis we used an individual-based model to simulate water uptake and growth of two virtual plant species, one deep-rooted plant capable of making the soil hydrophobic and a shallow-rooted plant. We ran scenarios with different precipitation regimes ranging from dry to wet (350, 700, and 1400 mm total annual precipitation) and from high to low precipitation frequencies (1, 7, and 14 days). Plant species abundance and biomass were chosen as indicators for competitiveness of plant species. At constant precipitation frequency mucilage hydrophobicity lead to a benefit in biomass and abundance of the tap-rooted population. Under wet conditions this effect diminished and tap-rooted plants were less productive. Without this trait both species coexisted. The effect of root exudation trait remained constant under different precipitation frequencies. This study shows that mucilage secretion is a competitive trait for the acquisition of water. This advantage is achieved by the modification of the soil hydraulic properties and specifically by inducing water repellency in soil regions which are shared with other species.

Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thorsten Zeppenfeld

Full Text Available The ability to acquire water from the soil is a major driver in interspecific plant competition and it depends on several root functional traits. One of these traits is the excretion of gel-like compounds (mucilage that modify physical soil properties. Mucilage secreted by roots becomes hydrophobic upon drying, impedes the rewetting of the soil close to the root, the so called rhizosphere, and reduces water availability to plants. The function of rhizosphere hydrophobicity is not easily understandable when looking at a single plant, but it may constitute a competitive advantage at the ecosystem level. We hypothesize that by making the top soil hydrophobic, deep-rooted plants avoid competititon with shallow-rooted plants. To test this hypothesis we used an individual-based model to simulate water uptake and growth of two virtual plant species, one deep-rooted plant capable of making the soil hydrophobic and a shallow-rooted plant. We ran scenarios with different precipitation regimes ranging from dry to wet (350, 700, and 1400 mm total annual precipitation and from high to low precipitation frequencies (1, 7, and 14 days. Plant species abundance and biomass were chosen as indicators for competitiveness of plant species. At constant precipitation frequency mucilage hydrophobicity lead to a benefit in biomass and abundance of the tap-rooted population. Under wet conditions this effect diminished and tap-rooted plants were less productive. Without this trait both species coexisted. The effect of root exudation trait remained constant under different precipitation frequencies. This study shows that mucilage secretion is a competitive trait for the acquisition of water. This advantage is achieved by the modification of the soil hydraulic properties and specifically by inducing water repellency in soil regions which are shared with other species.

Controllable picoliter pipetting using hydrophobic microfluidic valves

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, M.; Huang, J.; Qian, X.; Mi, S.; Wang, X.

2017-06-01

A picoliter pipetting technique using the microfluidic method is presented. Utilizing the hydrophobic self-assembled monolayer films patterned in microchannels as pressure-controlled valves, a small volume of liquid can be separated by a designed channel trap and then ejected from the channel end at a higher pressure. The liquid trap section is composed of a T-shaped channel junction and a hydrophobic patch. The liquid volume can be precisely controlled by varying the distance of the hydrophobic patch from the T-junction. By this means, liquid less than 100 pl can be separated and pipetted. The developed device is potentially useful for sample dispensing in biological, medical, and chemical applications.

Investigations on reducing microbiologically-influenced corrosion of aluminum by using super-hydrophobic surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Tao, E-mail: liutao@shmtu.edu.c [Institute of Marine Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306 (China); Dong Lihua; Liu Tong; Yin Yansheng [Institute of Marine Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306 (China)

2010-07-15

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to determine the effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces on the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens (V. natriegens) adhesion. Four different samples were prepared in order to investigate the anti-biocorrosion mechanism of super-hydrophobic surfaces. Potentiodynamic polarization suggested that the V. natriegens attached on the surface mainly enhanced the reaction kinetics of the anodic reaction and accelerated the dissolution of aluminum. EIS results were interpreted with different equivalent circuits to model the physicoelectric characteristics of the electrode/biofilm/solution interface. The results showed that neither anodization nor chemical modification could decrease the bacterial adhesion and corrosion rate individually. V. natriegens showed only weak attachment to the super-hydrophobic surface, and the biocorrosion mechanism was closely associated with surface energy and surface topography.

Investigations on reducing microbiologically-influenced corrosion of aluminum by using super-hydrophobic surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Tao; Dong Lihua; Liu Tong; Yin Yansheng

2010-01-01

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to determine the effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces on the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens (V. natriegens) adhesion. Four different samples were prepared in order to investigate the anti-biocorrosion mechanism of super-hydrophobic surfaces. Potentiodynamic polarization suggested that the V. natriegens attached on the surface mainly enhanced the reaction kinetics of the anodic reaction and accelerated the dissolution of aluminum. EIS results were interpreted with different equivalent circuits to model the physicoelectric characteristics of the electrode/biofilm/solution interface. The results showed that neither anodization nor chemical modification could decrease the bacterial adhesion and corrosion rate individually. V. natriegens showed only weak attachment to the super-hydrophobic surface, and the biocorrosion mechanism was closely associated with surface energy and surface topography.

Hydrophobic Drug-Loaded PEGylated Magnetic Liposomes for Drug-Controlled Release

Science.gov (United States)

Hardiansyah, Andri; Yang, Ming-Chien; Liu, Ting-Yu; Kuo, Chih-Yu; Huang, Li-Ying; Chan, Tzu-Yi

2017-05-01

Less targeted and limited solubility of hydrophobic-based drug are one of the serious obstacles in drug delivery system. Thus, new strategies to enhance the solubility of hydrophobic drug and controlled release behaviors would be developed. Herein, curcumin, a model of hydrophobic drug, has been loaded into PEGylated magnetic liposomes as a drug carrier platform for drug controlled release system. Inductive magnetic heating (hyperthermia)-stimulated drug release, in vitro cellular cytotoxicity assay of curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes and cellular internalization-induced by magnetic guidance would be investigated. The resultant of drug carriers could disperse homogeneously in aqueous solution, showing a superparamagnetic characteristic and could inductive magnetic heating with external high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF). In vitro curcumin release studies confirmed that the drug carriers exhibited no significant release at 37 °C, whereas exhibited rapid releasing at 45 °C. However, it would display enormous (three times higher) curcumin releasing under the HFMF exposure, compared with that without HFMF exposure at 45 °C. In vitro cytotoxicity test shows that curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes could efficiently kill MCF-7 cells in parallel with increasing curcumin concentration. Fluorescence microscopy observed that these drug carriers could internalize efficiently into the cellular compartment of MCF-7 cells. Thus, it would be anticipated that the novel hydrophobic drug-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes in combination with inductive magnetic heating are promising to apply in the combination of chemotherapy and thermotherapy for cancer therapy.

Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zlatev, Z.; Brandt, J.; Builtjes, P. J. H.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998......Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998...

Strategic Implications of U.S. Fighter Force Reductions: Air-to-Air Combat Modeling Using Lanchester Equations

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-01

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF US FIGHTER FORCE REDUCTIONS: AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT MODELING USING LANCHESTER ...TO-AIR COMBAT MODELING USING LANCHESTER EQUATIONS GRADUATE RESEARCH PAPER Presented to the Faculty Department of Operational Sciences...MODELING USING LANCHESTER EQUATIONS Ronald E. Gilbert, BS, MBA Major, USAF Approved

High-energy metal air batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ji-Guang; Xiao, Jie; Xu, Wu; Wang, Deyu; Williford, Ralph E.; Liu, Jun

2013-07-09

Disclosed herein are embodiments of lithium/air batteries and methods of making and using the same. Certain embodiments are pouch-cell batteries encased within an oxygen-permeable membrane packaging material that is less than 2% of the total battery weight. Some embodiments include a hybrid air electrode comprising carbon and an ion insertion material, wherein the mass ratio of ion insertion material to carbon is 0.2 to 0.8. The air electrode may include hydrophobic, porous fibers. In particular embodiments, the air electrode is soaked with an electrolyte comprising one or more solvents including dimethyl ether, and the dimethyl ether subsequently is evacuated from the soaked electrode. In other embodiments, the electrolyte comprises 10-20% crown ether by weight.

Marine antifouling from thin air.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnott, Jaimys; Wu, Alex H F; Vucko, Matthew J; Lamb, Robert N

2014-10-01

The dynamic relationship between the settlement behaviour of marine biota (cells, spores, larvae) and the longevity of an entrapped air layer (plastron) on submersed superhydrophobic surfaces was systematically investigated. Plastron lifetime decreased with increasing hydrophobic polymer loadings, and was correlated with the settlement rate of a range of fouling species of varying length scale, motility and hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface preference. The results show that the level of fouling on immersed superhydrophobic surfaces was greater when plastron lifetimes were minimal, regardless of the length scale, motility and the surface preference of the organisms. This is the first direct demonstration of the broad-spectrum attachment-inhibiting properties of a plastron on an immersed superhydrophobic surface.

Enantioselective Crystallization of Sodium Chlorate in the Presence of Racemic Hydrophobic Amino Acids and Static Magnetic Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María-Paz Zorzano

2014-06-01

Full Text Available We study the bias induced by a weak (200 mT external magnetic field on the preferred handedness of sodium chlorate crystals obtained by slow evaporation at ambient conditions of its saturated saline solution with 20 ppm of added racemic (dl hydrophobic amino acids. By applying the Fisher test to pairs of experiments with opposing magnetic field orientation we conclude, with a confidence level of 99.7%, that at the water-air interface of this saline solution there is an enantioselective magnetic interaction that acts upon racemic mixtures of hydrophobic chiral amino acids. This interaction has been observed with the three tested racemic hydrophobic amino acids: dl-Phe, dl-Try and dl-Trp, at ambient conditions and in spite of the ubiquitous chiral organic contamination. This enantioselective magnetic dependence is not observed when there is only one handedness of added chiral amino-acid, if the added amino acid is not chiral or if there is no additive. This effect has been confirmed with a double blind test. This novel experimental observation may have implications for our view of plausible initial prebiotic scenarios and of the roles of the geomagnetic field in homochirality in the biosphere.

The new view of hydrophobic free energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Robert L

2013-04-17

In the new view, hydrophobic free energy is measured by the work of solute transfer of hydrocarbon gases from vapor to aqueous solution. Reasons are given for believing that older values, measured by solute transfer from a reference solvent to water, are not quantitatively correct. The hydrophobic free energy from gas-liquid transfer is the sum of two opposing quantities, the cavity work (unfavorable) and the solute-solvent interaction energy (favorable). Values of the interaction energy have been found by simulation for linear alkanes and are used here to find the cavity work, which scales linearly with molar volume, not accessible surface area. The hydrophobic free energy is the dominant factor driving folding as judged by the heat capacity change for transfer, which agrees with values for solvating hydrocarbon gases. There is an apparent conflict with earlier values of hydrophobic free energy from studies of large-to-small mutations and an explanation is given. Copyright © 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prediction of Hydrophobic Cores of Proteins Using Wavelet Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirakawa; Kuhara

1997-01-01

Information concerning the secondary structures, flexibility, epitope and hydrophobic regions of amino acid sequences can be extracted by assigning physicochemical indices to each amino acid residue, and information on structure can be derived using the sliding window averaging technique, which is in wide use for smoothing out raw functions. Wavelet analysis has shown great potential and applicability in many fields, such as astronomy, radar, earthquake prediction, and signal or image processing. This approach is efficient for removing noise from various functions. Here we employed wavelet analysis to smooth out a plot assigned to a hydrophobicity index for amino acid sequences. We then used the resulting function to predict hydrophobic cores in globular proteins. We calculated the prediction accuracy for the hydrophobic cores of 88 representative set of proteins. Use of wavelet analysis made feasible the prediction of hydrophobic cores at 6.13% greater accuracy than the sliding window averaging technique.

Feasibility study of silica sol as the carrier of a hydrophobic drug in aqueous solution using enrofloxacin as the model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Meirong; Song Junling; Ning Aimin; Cui Baoan; Cui Shumin; Zhou Yaobing; An Wankai; Dong Xuesong; Zhang Gege

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of using silica sol to carry a hydrophobic drug in aqueous solution. Enrofloxacin, which was selected as the model drug because it is a broad-spectrum antibiotic drug with poor solubility in water, was adsorbed onto silica sol in aqueous solution during cooling from 60 deg. C to room temperature. The drug-loaded silica sol was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, thermal gravimetric analysis and ultraviolet-visible light spectroscopy. The results showed that enrofloxacin was adsorbed by silica sol without degradation at a loading of 15.23 wt.%. In contrast to the rapid release from pure enrofloxacin, the drug-loaded silica sol showed a slower release over a longer time. Kinetics analysis suggested the drug release from silica sol was mainly a diffusion-controlled process. Therefore, silica sol can be used to carry a hydrophobic drug in aqueous solution for controlled drug delivery.

A capillary pumping device utilizing super-hydrophobic silicon grass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kung, Chun-Fei; Chang, Chien-Cheng; Chu, Chin-Chou

2011-01-01

In this study, we show that a compact silicon grass surface can be generated by utilizing the induced coupled plasma method with suitably chosen fabrication parameters. This super-hydrophobic structure suspends deionized water on top of the grass and keeps the contact angle at around 153°. The silicon grass is used to improve the driving efficiency of a capillary pumping micro-duct (without sidewalls), which is completely defined by a bottom hydrophilic stripe (adjacent to a Teflon substrate) and a fully top-covered hydrophobic Teflon surface which is coated on a glass substrate. The channel has a height of 3 µm and a width of 100 µm. In this work, the Teflon substrate is replaced with the silicon grass surface. When the fluid is flowing through the micro-duct on the stripe, the interface between the silicon grass and the hydrophilic stripe forms a stable air cushion barrier to the fluid, thus effectively reducing the frictional force. By changing only the interface with this replacement, we demonstrate that the average measured velocities of the new design show improvements of 21% and 17% in the driving efficiency over the original design for transporting deionized water and human blood, respectively. It is also shown that the measured data of the present design are closer to the values predicted by a theoretical analysis which relates the flow velocity to the contact angles, surface tension and fluid viscosity

Thz Spectroscopy and DFT Modeling of Intermolecular Vibrations in Hydrophobic Amino Acids

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, michael R. C.; Aschaffenburg, Daniel J.; Schmuttenmaer, Charles A.

2013-06-01

Vibrations that involve intermolecular displacements occur in molecular crystals at frequencies in the 0.5-5 THz range (˜15-165 cm^{-1}), and these motions are direct indicators of the interaction potential between the molecules. The intermolecular potential energy surface of crystalline hydrophobic amino acids is inherently interesting simply because of the wide variety of forces (electrostatic, dipole-dipole, hydrogen-bonding, van der Waals) that are present. Furthermore, an understanding of these particular interactions is immediately relevant to important topics like protein conformation and pharmaceutical polymorphism. We measured the low-frequency absorption spectra of several polycrystalline hydrophobic amino acids using THz time-domain spectroscopy, and in addition we carried out DFT calculations using periodic boundary conditions and an exchange-correlation functional that accounts for van der Waals dispersion forces. We chose to investigate a series of similar amino acids with closely analogous unit cells (leucine, isoleucine, and allo-isoleucine, in racemic or pseudo-racemic mixtures). This allows us to consider trends in the vibrational spectra as a function of small changes in molecular arrangement and/or crystal geometry. In this way, we gain confidence that peak assignments are not based on serendipitous similarities between calculated and observed features.

Evaporation rate of water in hydrophobic confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sumit; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2012-03-20

The drying of hydrophobic cavities is believed to play an important role in biophysical phenomena such as the folding of globular proteins, the opening and closing of ligand-gated ion channels, and ligand binding to hydrophobic pockets. We use forward flux sampling, a molecular simulation technique, to compute the rate of capillary evaporation of water confined between two hydrophobic surfaces separated by nanoscopic gaps, as a function of gap, surface size, and temperature. Over the range of conditions investigated (gaps between 9 and 14 Å and surface areas between 1 and 9 nm(2)), the free energy barrier to evaporation scales linearly with the gap between hydrophobic surfaces, suggesting that line tension makes the predominant contribution to the free energy barrier. The exponential dependence of the evaporation rate on the gap between confining surfaces causes a 10 order-of-magnitude decrease in the rate when the gap increases from 9 to 14 Å. The computed free energy barriers are of the order of 50 kT and are predominantly enthalpic. Evaporation rates per unit area are found to be two orders of magnitude faster in confinement by the larger (9 nm(2)) than by the smaller (1 nm(2)) surfaces considered here, at otherwise identical conditions. We show that this rate enhancement is a consequence of the dependence of hydrophobic hydration on the size of solvated objects. For sufficiently large surfaces, the critical nucleus for the evaporation process is a gap-spanning vapor tube.

ARAMIS a regional air quality model for air pollution management: evaluation and validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solar, M. R.; Gamez, P.; Olid, M.

2015-07-01

The aim of this research was to better understand the dynamics of air pollutants and to forecast the air quality over regional areas in order to develop emission abatement strategies for air pollution and adverse health effects. To accomplish this objective, we developed and applied a high resolution Eulerian system named ARAMIS (A Regional Air Quality Modelling Integrated System) over the north-east of Spain (Catalonia), where several pollutants exceed threshold values for the protection of human health. The results indicate that the model reproduced reasonably well observed concentrations, as statistical values fell within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations and European (EU) regulations. Nevertheless, some hourly O{sub 3} exceedances in summer and hourly peaks of NO{sub 2} in winter were underestimated. Concerning PM10 concentrations less accurate model levels were obtained with a moderate trend towards underestimation during the day. (Author)

ARAMIS a regional air quality model for air pollution management: evaluation and validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soler, M.R.; Gamez, P.; Olid, M.

2015-07-01

The aim of this research was to better understand the dynamics of air pollutants and to forecast the air quality over regional areas in order to develop emission abatement strategies for air pollution and adverse health effects. To accomplish this objective, we developed and applied a high resolution Eulerian system named ARAMIS (A Regional Air Quality Modelling Integrated System) over the north-east of Spain (Catalonia), where several pollutants exceed threshold values for the protection of human health. The results indicate that the model reproduced reasonably well observed concentrations, as statistical values fell within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations and European (EU) regulations. Nevertheless, some hourly O3 exceedances in summer and hourly peaks of NO2 in winter were underestimated. Concerning PM10 concentrations less accurate model levels were obtained with a moderate trend towards underestimation during the day. (Author)

Design and fabrication of a nanostructured surface combining antireflective and enhanced-hydrophobic effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Y C; Mei, G H; Chang, T W; Wang, T J; Lin, D Z; Lee, C K

2007-01-01

Herein, we propose a special type of periodic subwavelength structure, which is optically an effective gradient-index (GRIN) antireflective surface that also exhibits enhanced-hydrophobic behaviour. Our new concept was developed adopting both the effective medium theory (EMT) and Wenzel's wettability model. To demonstrate the concept, an inverted pyramid structure was fabricated by electron beam (EB) lithography and anisotropic etching. The experimental data was found to be in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. Some potential applications that can benefit from this combination of antireflection and enhanced-hydrophobicity features are discussed

The Oak Ridge Heat Pump Models: I. A Steady-State Computer Design Model of Air-to-Air Heat Pumps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, S.K. Rice, C.K.

1999-12-10

The ORNL Heat Pump Design Model is a FORTRAN-IV computer program to predict the steady-state performance of conventional, vapor compression, electrically-driven, air-to-air heat pumps in both heating and cooling modes. This model is intended to serve as an analytical design tool for use by heat pump manufacturers, consulting engineers, research institutions, and universities in studies directed toward the improvement of heat pump performance. The Heat Pump Design Model allows the user to specify: system operating conditions, compressor characteristics, refrigerant flow control devices, fin-and-tube heat exchanger parameters, fan and indoor duct characteristics, and any of ten refrigerants. The model will compute: system capacity and COP (or EER), compressor and fan motor power consumptions, coil outlet air dry- and wet-bulb temperatures, air- and refrigerant-side pressure drops, a summary of the refrigerant-side states throughout the cycle, and overall compressor efficiencies and heat exchanger effectiveness. This report provides thorough documentation of how to use and/or modify the model. This is a revision of an earlier report containing miscellaneous corrections and information on availability and distribution of the model--including an interactive version.

Model-generated air quality statistics for application in vegetation response models in Alberta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McVehil, G.E.; Nosal, M.

1990-01-01

To test and apply vegetation response models in Alberta, air pollution statistics representative of various parts of the Province are required. At this time, air quality monitoring data of the requisite accuracy and time resolution are not available for most parts of Alberta. Therefore, there exists a need to develop appropriate air quality statistics. The objectives of the work reported here were to determine the applicability of model generated air quality statistics and to develop by modelling, realistic and representative time series of hourly SO 2 concentrations that could be used to generate the statistics demanded by vegetation response models

Biosurfactant-enhanced bioremediation of hydrophobic pollutants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cameotra, S.S.; Makkar, R.S. [Inst. of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh (India)

2010-01-15

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds synthesized by a wide variety of microorganisms. They are molecules that have both hydrophobic and - philic domains and are capable of lowering the surface tension and the interfacial tension of the growth medium. Biosurfactants possess different chemical structures-lipopeptides, glycolipids, neutral lipids, and fatty acids. They are nontoxic biomolecules that are biodegradable. Biosurfactants also exhibit strong emulsification of hydrophobic compounds and form stable emulsions. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), crude on sludge, and pesticides call be toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic compounds that pollute the environment. They are released into the environment as a result of oil spillage and by-products of coal treatment processes. The low water solubility of these compounds limits their availability to microorganisms, which is a potential problem for bioremediation of contaminated sites. Microbially produced surfactants enhance the bioavailability of these hydrophobic compounds for bioremediation. Therefore, biosurfactant-enhanced solubility of pollutants has potential hioremediation applications.

BRACHIAL EFFLUX OF HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BY RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS)

Science.gov (United States)

Data on the branchial elimination of hydrophobic compounds has been suggested as key information in the development of PBTK models for fish. The hypothesis is that branchial efflux of high log Kow compounds proceeds to an equilibrium between the afferent blood and expired water. ...

BRANCHIAL EFFLUX OF HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BY RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS)

Science.gov (United States)

Development of PBTK models for fish has been impededd by a lack of data on the branchial elimination of hydrophobic compounds. The hypothesis is that branchial efflux of high log Kow compounds proceeds to an equilibrium between the afferent blood and expired water. Branchial effl...

Use of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in tritium removal from effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gheorghe, Ionita; Popescu, Irina; Stefanescu, Ioan; Steflea, Dumitru; Varlam, Carmen

2002-01-01

Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the application of the hydrophobic catalysts in tritium removal from nuclear effluents. Tritium removal from the heavy water reactor and nuclear reprocessing plant, the cleanup of atmosphere and gaseous effluents by hydrogen-oxygen recombination, removal of oxygen dissolved in water are presented and discussed. Unlike the conventional hydrophilic catalysts, the hydrophobic catalysts keep a high catalytic activity and stability, even under the direct contact to liquid water or in presence of saturated humidity. A large diversity of catalyst types (over 100 catalysts) was prepared and tested in order to make them feasible for such processes. The objectives of the review are: - to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes; - the designing and operation of reactor packed with hydrophobic catalysts; - to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the present and future applications. The most important results are the following: - the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed or separated bed reactors, showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; - the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for the hydrogen isotopes (tritium and deuterium) separation and for hydrogen-oxygen recombination in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; - the improvement of the inner geometry of the reactors and of the composition of mixed catalytic packing as well as the evaluation of performances of separation processes constitute a major contribution of the authors; - the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the oxidation of volatile organic compounds from wastewater; - the removal of dissolved oxygen, and deuterium

Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents as water-immiscible extractants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Osch, van D.J.G.P.; Zubeir, L.F.; Bruinhorst, van den A.; Alves da Rocha, M.A.; Kroon, M.C.

2015-01-01

Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are presented for the first time. They consist of decanoic acid and various quaternary ammonium salts. The effect of the alkyl chains on the hydrophobicity and the equilibrium of the two-phase DES–water system were investigated. These new DESs were

Modelling of air-conditioned and heated spaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moehl, U

1987-01-01

A space represents a complex system involving numerous components, manipulated variables and disturbances which need to be described if dynamic behaviour of space air is to be determined. A justifiable amount of simulation input is determined by the application of adjusted modelling of the individual components. The determination of natural air exchange in heated spaces and of space-air flow in air-conditioned space are a primary source of uncertainties. (orig.).

The air emissions risk assessment model (AERAM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gratt, L.B.

1991-01-01

AERAM is an environmental analysis and power generation station investment decision support tool. AERAM calculates the public health risk (in terms of the lifetime cancers) in the nearby population from pollutants released into the air. AERAM consists of four main subroutines: Emissions, Air, Exposure and Risk. The Emission subroutine uses power plant parameters to calculate the expected release of the pollutants. A coal-fired and oil-fired power plant are currently available. A gas-fired plant model is under preparation. The release of the pollutants into the air is followed by their dispersal in the environment. The dispersion in the Air Subroutine uses the Environmental Protection Agency's model, Industrial Source Complex-Long Term. Additional dispersion models (Industrial Source Complex - Short Term and Cooling Tower Drift) are being implemented for future AERAM versions. The Expose Subroutine uses the ambient concentrations to compute population exposures for the pollutants of concern. The exposures are used with corresponding dose-response model in the Risk Subroutine to estimate both the total population risk and individual risk. The risk for the dispersion receptor-population centroid for the maximum concentration is also calculated for regulatory-population purposes. In addition, automated interfaces with AirTox (an air risk decision model) have been implemented to extend AERAM's steady-state single solution to the decision-under-uncertainty domain. AERAM was used for public health risks, the investment decision for additional pollution control systems based on health risk reductions, and the economics of fuel vs. health risk tradeoffs. AERAM provides that state-of-the-art capability for evaluating the public health impact airborne toxic substances in response to regulations and public concern

Toward air-stable multilayer phosphorene thin-films and transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Joon-Seok; Liu, Yingnan; Zhu, Weinan; Kim, Seohee; Wu, Di; Tao, Li; Dodabalapur, Ananth; Lai, Keji; Akinwande, Deji

2015-01-01

Few-layer black phosphorus (BP), also known as phosphorene, is poised to be the most attractive graphene analogue owing to its high mobility approaching that of graphene, and its thickness-tunable band gap that can be as large as that of molybdenum disulfide. In essence, phosphorene represents the much sought after high-mobility, large direct band gap two-dimensional layered crystal that is ideal for optoelectronics and flexible devices. However, its instability in air is of paramount concern for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate air-stable BP devices with dielectric and hydrophobic encapsulation. Microscopy, spectroscopy, and transport techniques were employed to elucidate the aging mechanism, which can initiate from the BP surface for bare samples, or edges for samples with thin dielectric coating, highlighting the ineffectiveness of conventional scaled dielectrics. Our months-long studies indicate that a double layer capping of Al2O3 and hydrophobic fluoropolymer affords BP devices and transistors with indefinite air-stability for the first time, overcoming a critical material challenge for applied research and development. PMID:25758437

77 FR 4808 - Conference on Air Quality Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-31

... Modeling AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of conference. SUMMARY: The EPA will be hosting the Tenth Conference on Air Quality Modeling on March 13-15, 2012. Section 320 of the... First, Second, and Third Conferences on Air Quality Modeling as required by CAA Section 320 to help...

Influence of hydrophobicity on the chemical treatments of graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Krishna Bahadur; Khadka, Ishwor Bahadur; Kim, Eun Hye; Ahn, Sung Joon; Kim, Hyun Woo; Ahn, Joung Real

2018-01-01

The defect-free transfer of graphene grown by using chemical vapor deposition is essential for its applications to electronic devices. For the reduction of inevitable chemical residues, such as polar molecules and ionized impurities resulting from the transfer process, a hydrophobic polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) film was coated on a SiO2/Si wafer. The hydrophobic PDMS film resulted in fewer defects in graphene in comparison to a bare SiO2/Si wafer, as measured with Raman spectroscopy. We also studied the influence of the hydrophobic PDMS film on the chemical doping of graphene. Here, nitric acid (HNO3) was used to make p-type graphene. When graphene was transferred onto a SiO2/Si wafer coated with the hydrophobic PDMS film, fewer defects, compared to those in graphene transferred onto a bare SiO2/Si wafer, were created in grapheme by HNO3 as measured with Raman spectroscopy. The experiments suggest that when graphene is transferred onto a hydrophobic film, the number of defects created by chemical molecules can be reduced.

NASA/Air Force Cost Model: NAFCOM

Science.gov (United States)

Winn, Sharon D.; Hamcher, John W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The NASA/Air Force Cost Model (NAFCOM) is a parametric estimating tool for space hardware. It is based on historical NASA and Air Force space projects and is primarily used in the very early phases of a development project. NAFCOM can be used at the subsystem or component levels.

Dispersion modeling of selected PAHs in urban air: A new approach combining dispersion model with GIS and passive air sampling

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Sáňka, O.; Melymuk, L.; Čupr, P.; Dvorská, Alice; Klánová, J.

2014-01-01

Roč. 90, oct (2014), s. 88-95 ISSN 1352-2310 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : passive air sampling * air dispersion modeling * GIS * polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons * emission inventories Subject RIV: DI - Air Pollution ; Quality Impact factor: 3.281, year: 2014

Frosting characteristics on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Min-Hwan; Kim, Hisuk; Lee, Kwan-Soo; Kim, Dong Rip

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Fabrication methods of hydrophobic metal surfaces were investigated. • Mechanisms of ice crystal formation were reviewed in terms of static contact angle. • Future researches for frost retardation on heat exchanger surfaces were discussed. - Abstract: Fabrication methods of the hydrophobic property on metal surfaces and frosting characteristics on hydrophobic surfaces were investigated. A hydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of less than 150° was implemented by surface coating or etching, and a superhydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of greater than 150° was realized by a hybrid method using both coating and etching. The changes in surface properties affected the behaviors of the early stage frosting from the dry surface to the formation of ice crystals. On the hydrophobic surfaces, ice crystals were formed by freezing after condensation. Isolated-droplet freezing and inter-droplet freezing are mechanisms by which the condensate undergoes a phase change into ice crystals. Through isolated-droplet freezing, a supercooled condensate changes phase into ice crystals by forming ice nuclei based on the classical nucleation theory. In addition, through inter-droplet freezing, ice crystals are propagated due to the difference in saturation vapor pressure between supercooled condensates and ice crystals. The formation and propagation of ice crystals are delayed as the static contact angle increases. Additionally, based on a review, future researches that is needed to improve hydrophobic technologies are discussed.

Super-Hydrophobic Green Corrosion Inhibitor On Carbon Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, H.; Ismail, A.; Ahmad, S.; Soon, C. F.

2017-06-01

There are many examples of organic coatings used for corrosion protection. In particular, hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic coatings are shown to give good protection because of their enhanced ability to slow down transport of water and ions through the coating. The purpose of this research is to develop water repellent coating to avoid direct contact between metal and environment corrosive and mitigate corrosion attack at pipeline system. This water repellent characteristic on super-hydrophobic coating was coated by electrodeposition method. Wettability of carbon steel with super-hydrophobic coating (cerium chloride and myristic acid) and oxidized surface was investigated through contact angle and inhibitor performance test. The inhibitor performance was studied in 25% tannin acid corrosion test at 30°C and 3.5% sodium chloride (NaCl). The water contact angle test was determined by placing a 4-μL water droplet of distilled water. It shows that the wettability of contact angle super-hydrophobic with an angle of 151.60° at zero minute can be classified as super-hydrophobic characteristic. By added tannin acid as inhibitor the corrosion protection on carbon steel becomes more consistent. This reveals that the ability of the coating to withstand with the corrosion attack in the seawater at different period of immersions. The results elucidate that the weight loss increased as the time of exposure increased. However, the corrosion rates for uncoated carbon steel is high compared to coated carbon steel. As a conclusion, from both samples it can be seen that the coated carbon steel has less corrosion rated compared to uncoated carbon steel and addition of inhibitor to the seawater provides more protection to resist corrosion attack on carbon steel.

Mathematical models for atmospheric pollutants. Appendix D. Available air quality models. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drake, R.L.; McNaughton, D.J.; Huang, C.

1979-08-01

Models that are available for the analysis of airborne pollutants are summarized. In addition, recommendations are given concerning the use of particular models to aid in particular air quality decision making processes. The air quality models are characterized in terms of time and space scales, steady state or time dependent processes, reference frames, reaction mechanisms, treatment of turbulence and topography, and model uncertainty. Using these characteristics, the models are classified in the following manner: simple deterministic models, such as air pollution indices, simple area source models and rollback models; statistical models, such as averaging time models, time series analysis and multivariate analysis; local plume and puff models; box and multibox models; finite difference or grid models; particle models; physical models, such as wind tunnels and liquid flumes; regional models; and global models

Inverse colloidal crystal membranes for hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Vu, Anh T; Wang, Xinying; Wickramasinghe, S Ranil; Yu, Bing; Yuan, Hua; Cong, Hailin; Luo, Yongli; Tang, Jianguo

2015-08-01

Hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography has gained interest due to its excellent performance in the purification of humanized monoclonal antibodies. The membrane material used in hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography has typically been commercially available polyvinylidene fluoride. In this contribution, newly developed inverse colloidal crystal membranes that have uniform pores, high porosity and, therefore, high surface area for protein binding are used as hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography membranes for humanized monoclonal antibody immunoglobulin G purification. The capacity of the inverse colloidal crystal membranes developed here is up to ten times greater than commercially available polyvinylidene fluoride membranes with a similar pore size. This work highlights the importance of developing uniform pore size high porosity membranes in order to maximize the capacity of hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Neuro-models for discharge air temperature system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaheer-uddin, M.; Tudoroiu, N.

2004-01-01

Nonlinear neuro-models for a discharge air temperature (DAT) system are developed. Experimental data gathered in a heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) test facility is used to develop multi-input multi-output (MIMO) and single-input single-output (SISO) neuro-models. Several different network architectures were explored to build the models. Results show that a three layer second order neural network structure is necessary to achieve good accuracy of the predictions. Results from the developed models are compared, and some observations on sensitivity and standard deviation errors are presented

Patterned hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces of ultra-smooth nanocrystalline diamond layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mertens, M., E-mail: michael.mertens@uni-ulm.de [Institute of Micro and Nanomaterials, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Mohr, M.; Brühne, K.; Fecht, H.J. [Institute of Micro and Nanomaterials, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Łojkowski, M.; Święszkowski, W. [Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw (Poland); Łojkowski, W. [Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw (Poland)

2016-12-30

Highlights: • Hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties on fluorine-, hydrogen- and oxygen- terminated ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films. • Micropatterned - multi-terminated layers with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas on one sample. • Visualization of multi-terminated surfaces by e.g. SEM and LFM. • Roughness and friction investigations on different terminated surfaces. • Smooth and biocompatible surfaces with same roughness regardless of hydrophobicity for microbiological investigations. - Abstract: In this work, we show that ultra nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) surfaces have been modified to add them hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. The nanocrystalline diamond films were deposited using the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique. This allows growing diamond on different substrates which can be even 3D or structured. Silicon and, for optical applications, transparent quartz glass are the preferred substrates for UNCD layers growth. Fluorine termination leads to strong hydrophobic properties as indicated by a high contact angle for water of more than 100°. Hydrogen termination shows lesser hydrophobic behavior. Hydrophilic characteristics has been realised with oxygen termination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) measurements confirm the oxygen and fluorine- termination on the nanocrystalline diamond surface. Further, by micropatterning using photolithography, multi-terminated layers have been created with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas. In addition, we have shown that retermination is achieved, and the properties of the surface have been changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic and vice versa. Micro- roughness and stress in the grown film influences slightly the wetting angle as well. The opportunity to realize local differences in hydrophobicity on nanocrystalline diamond layers, in any size or geometry, offers interesting applications for example in

Fabricating Super-hydrophobic Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces by a Simple Filler-Dissolved Process

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yung-Tsan; Chou, Jung-Hua

2010-12-01

The self-cleaning effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces has attracted the attention of researchers. Typical ways of manufacturing super-hydrophobic surfaces include the use of either dedicated equipment or a complex chemical process. In this study, a simple innovative filler-dissolved method is developed using mainly powder salt and rinsing to form hydrophobic surfaces. This method can produce large super-hydrophobic surfaces with porous and micro rib surface structures. It can also be applied to curved surfaces, including flexible membranes. The contact angle of the manufactured artificial hydrophobic surface is about 160°. Furthermore, water droplets roll off the surface readily at a sliding angle of less than 5°, resembling the nonwetting lotus like effect.

Characteristics improvement of hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene-platinum catalysts for tritium separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popescu, I.; Ionita, Gh.; Dobrinescu, D.; Varlam, C.; Stefanescu, I.

2006-01-01

Full text: Based on the long experience of the authors in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts in tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: how to improve the characteristics and performance of platinum hydrophobic catalysts; to assess and find a new procedure for the preparation of a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. From reviewed references one can conclude that platinum is the most active and efficient catalytic metal while the polytetrafluoroethylene is the best wet-proofing agent. A new improved hydrophobic Pt-catalyst has been proposed and its testing is now underway. The main steps and experimental conditions of preparation are thoroughly discussed. A new wet-proofing agent and new binders (titanium dioxide, cerium dioxide, zirconium dioxide) with a catalytic role are proposed and tested. The physico-structural parameters of the improved catalyst have been determined and are discussed in detail. The new proposal is a promising idea to improve the performance of conventional hydrophobic Pt-catalysts. (authors)

Hydrophobic treatment of concrete

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.

1996-01-01

As part of the maintenance policy of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Civil Engineering Division, hydrophobic treatment of concrete was considered as an additional protective measure against penetration of aggressive substances, for instance deicing salts in bridge decks. A set of tests was designed

Accumulation of dissolved gases at hydrophobic surfaces in water and sodium chloride solutions: Implications for coal flotation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hampton, M.A.; Nguyen, A.V. [University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. (Australia). Division of Chemical Engineering

2009-08-15

Dissolved gases can preferentially accumulate at the hydrophobic solid-water interface as revealed by neutron reflectivity measurements. In this paper, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to examine accumulation of dissolved gases at a hydrophobic surface in water and sodium chloride solutions. The solvent-exchange method was used to artificially form gaseous domains accumulated at the interface suitable for AFM imaging. Smooth graphite surfaces were used as model surfaces to minimize the secondary effect of surface roughness on the imaging. The concentration of NaCl up to 1 M was found to have a negligible influence on the geometry and population of pre-existing nanobubbles, nanopancakes and nanobubble-nanopancake composites. The implications of the findings on coal flotation in saline water are discussed in terms of attraction between hydrophobic surfaces in water, bubble-particle attachment and hydrophobic coagulation between particles.

Low proliferation and high apoptosis of osteoblastic cells on hydrophobic surface are associated with defective Ras signaling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Eun-Ju; Kim, Hong-Hee; Huh, Jung-Eun; Kim, In-Ae; Seung Ko, Jea; Chung, Chong-Pyoung; Kim, Hyun-Man

2005-01-01

The hydrophobic (HPB) nature of most polymeric biomaterials has been a major obstacle in using those materials in vivo due to low compatibility with cells. However, there is little knowledge of the molecular detail to explain how surface hydrophobicity affects cell responses. In this study, we compared the proliferation and apoptosis of human osteoblastic MG63 cells adhered to hydrophilic (HPL) and hydrophobic surfaces. On the hydrophobic surface, less formation of focal contacts and actin stress fibers, a delay in cell cycle progression, and an increase in apoptosis were observed. By using fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) as a model growth factor, we also investigated intracellular signaling pathways on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The activation of Ras, Akt, and ERK by FGF1 was impaired in MG63 cells on the hydrophobic surface. The overexpression of constitutively active form of Ras and Akt rescued those cells from apoptosis and recovered cell cycle progression. Furthermore, their overexpression also restored the actin cytoskeletal organization on the hydrophobic surface. Finally, the proliferative, antiapoptotic, and cytoskeletal effects of constitutively active Ras in MG63 cells on the hydrophobic surface were blocked by wortmannin and PD98059 that inhibit Akt and ERK activation, respectively. Therefore, our results suggest that the activation of Ras and its downstream molecules Akt and ERK to an appropriate level is one of crucial elements in the determination of osteoblast cell responses. The Ras pathway may represent a cell biological target that should be considered for successful surface modification of biomaterials to induce adequate cell responses in the bone tissue

Long-Term Calculations with Large Air Pollution Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ambelas Skjøth, C.; Bastrup-Birk, A.; Brandt, J.

1999-01-01

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998......Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998...

Adsorption of dextrin on hydrophobic minerals.

Science.gov (United States)

Beaussart, Audrey; Mierczynska-Vasilev, Agnieszka; Beattie, David A

2009-09-01

The adsorption of dextrin on talc, molybdenite, and graphite (three naturally hydrophobic minerals) has been compared. Adsorption isotherms and in situ tapping mode atomic force microscope (TMAFM) imaging have enabled polymer adsorbed amount and morphology of the adsorbed layer (area coverage and polymer domain size) to be determined and also the amount of hydration water in the structure of the adsorbed layer. The effect of the polymer on the mineral contact angles, measured by the captive bubble method on cleaved mineral surfaces, indicates clear correlations between the hydrophobicity reduction of the minerals, the adsorbed amount, and the surface coverage of the adsorbed polymer. Predictions of the flotation recovery of the treated mineral phases have been confirmed by performing batch flotation experiments. The influence of the polymer surface coverage on flotation recovery has highlighted the importance of this key parameter in the predictions of depressant efficiency. The roles of the initial hydrophobicity and the surface structure of the mineral basal plane in determining adsorption parameters and flotation response of the polymer-treated minerals are also discussed.

Synthesis of biocompatible hydrophobic silica-gelatin nano-hybrid by sol-gel process.

Science.gov (United States)

Smitha, S; Shajesh, P; Mukundan, P; Nair, T D R; Warrier, K G K

2007-03-15

Silica-biopolymer hybrid has been synthesised using colloidal silica as the precursor for silica and gelatin as the biopolymer counterpart. The surface modification of the hybrid material has been done with methyltrimethoxysilane leading to the formation of biocompatible hydrophobic silica-gelatin hybrid. Here we are reporting hydrophobic silica-gelatin hybrid and coating precursor for the first time. The hybrid gel has been evaluated for chemical modification, thermal degradation, hydrophobicity, particle size, transparency under the UV-visible region and morphology. FTIR spectroscopy has been used to verify the presence of CH(3) groups which introduce hydrophobicity to the SiO2-MTMS-gelatin hybrids. The hydrophobic property has also been tailored by varying the concentration of methyltrimethoxysilane. Contact angle by Wilhelmy plate method of transparent hydrophobic silica-gelatin coatings has been found to be as high as approximately 95 degrees . Oxidation of the organic group which induces the hydrophobic character occurs at 530 degrees C which indicates that the surface hydrophobicity is retained up to that temperature. Optical transmittance of SiO2-MTMS-gelatin hybrid coatings on glass substrates has been found to be close to 100% which will enable the hybrid for possible optical applications and also for preparation of transparent biocompatible hydrophobic coatings on biological substrates such as leather.

Density, dynamic viscosity, and electrical conductivity of pyridinium-based hydrophobic ionic liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Qing-Shan; Li, Pei-Pei; Welz-Biermann, Urs; Chen, Jian; Liu, Xiao-Xia

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Targets of this research are hydrophobic series ionic liquids. • Density, dynamic viscosity and electrical conductivity were determined. • Influences of methylene to properties were discussed. • Influences of methyl group on pyridinium ring position to properties were discussed. • Relationship of ρ, η and σ were described systematically. -- Abstract: Air and water stable hydrophobic ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized: N-propyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C 3 3mpy][NTf 2 ], N-hexyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C 6 3mpy][NTf 2 ], and N-hexyl-4-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C 6 4mpy][NTf 2 ]. Density, dynamic viscosity, and electrical conductivity of ILs were determined at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of (278 to 353) K. The effects of methylene and methyl groups to density, dynamic viscosity, and electrical conductivity, respectively, were discussed. The thermal expansion coefficient, molecular volume, standard molar entropy, and lattice energy of the samples were estimated in terms of empirical and semi-empirical equations based on the density values. The temperature dependence on dynamic viscosity and electrical conductivity values of the ILs were discussed by Vogel–Fulcher–Tamman (VFT) and Arrhenius equations. The molar conductivities were calculated by density and electrical conductivity values

Influence of hydrophobic modification in alginate-based hydrogels for biomedical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhary, Soumitra

Alginate has been exploited commercially for decades in foods, textiles, paper, pharmaceutical industries, and also as a detoxifier for removing heavy metals. Alginate is also popular in cell encapsulation because of its relatively mild gelation protocol and simple chemistry with which biological active entities can be immobilized. Surface modification of alginate gels has been explored to induce desired cell interactions with the gel matrix. These modifications alter the bulk properties, which strongly determine on how cells feel and response to the three-dimensional microenvironment. However, there is a need to develop strategies to engineer functionalities into bulk alginate hydrogels that not only preserve their inherent qualities but are also less toxic. In this thesis, our main focus was to optimize the mechanical properties of alginate-based hydrogels, and by doing so control the performance of the biomaterials. In the first scheme, we used alginate and hydrophobically modified ethyl hydroxy ethyl cellulose as components in interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) gels. The second network was used to control gelation time and rheological properties. We believe these experiments also may provide insight into the mechanical and structural properties of more complex biopolymer gels and naturally-occurring IPNs. Next, we worked on incorporating a hydrophobic moiety directly into the alginate chain, resulting in materials for extended release of hydrophobic drugs. We successfully synthesized hydrophobically modified alginate (HMA) by attaching octylamine groups onto the alginate backbone by standard carbodiimide based amide coupling reaction. Solubility of several model hydrophobic drugs in dilute HMA solutions was found to be increased by more than an order of magnitude. HMA hydrogels, prepared by crosslinking the alginate chains with calcium ions, were found to exhibit excellent mechanical properties (modulus ˜100 kPa) with release extended upto 5 days. Ability

Influence of Hydrophobicity on Polyelectrolyte Complexation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadman, Kazi [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Wang, Qifeng [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Chen, Yaoyao [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Keshavarz, Bavand [Department; Jiang, Zhang [X-ray; Shull, Kenneth R. [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States

2017-11-16

Polyelectrolyte complexes are a fascinating class of soft materials that can span the full spectrum of mechanical properties from low viscosity fluids to glassy solids. This spectrum can be accessed by modulating the extent of electrostatic association in these complexes. However, to realize the full potential of polyelectrolyte complexes as functional materials their molecular level details need to be clearly correlated with their mechanical response. The present work demonstrates that by making simple amendments to the chain architecture it is possible to affect the salt responsiveness of polyelectrolyte complexes in a systematic manner. This is achieved by quaternizing poly(4-vinylpyridine) (QVP) with methyl, ethyl and propyl substituents– thereby increasing the hydrophobicity with increasing side chain length– and complexing them with a common anionic polyelectrolyte, poly(styrene sulfonate). The mechanical 1 ACS Paragon Plus Environment behavior of these complexes is compared to the more hydrophilic system of poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium) by quantifying the swelling behavior in response to salt stimuli. More hydrophobic complexes are found to be more resistant to doping by salt, yet the mechanical properties of the complex remain contingent on the overall swelling ratio of the complex itself, following near universal swelling-modulus master curves that are quantified in this work. The rheological behavior of QVP complex coacervates are found to be approximately the same, only requiring higher salt concentrations to overcome strong hydrophobic interactions, demonstrating that hydrophobicity can be used as an important parameter for tuning the stability of polyelectrolyte complexes in general, while still preserving the ability to be processed “saloplastically”.

Photoinduced hydrophobic surface of graphene oxide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xiaoyan; Song Peng; Cui Xiaoli

2012-01-01

Graphene oxide (GO) thin films were deposited on transparent conducting oxide substrates and glass slides by spin coating method at room temperature. The wettability of GO thin films before and after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was characterized with water contact angles, which increased from 27.3° to 57.6° after 3 h of irradiation, indicating a photo-induced hydrophobic surface. The UV–vis absorption spectra, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and conductivity measurements of GO films before and after UV irradiation were taken to study the mechanism of photoinduced hydrophobic surface of GO thin films. It is demonstrated that the photoinduced hydrophobic surface is ascribed to the elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups on GO molecules. This work provides a simple strategy to control the wettability properties of GO thin films by UV irradiation. - Highlights: ► Photoinduced hydrophobic surface of graphene oxide thin films has been demonstrated. ► Elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups in graphene oxide achieved by UV irradiation. ► We provide novel strategy to control surface wettability of GO thin films by UV irradiation.

On gel electrophoresis of dielectric charged particles with hydrophobic surface: A combined theoretical and numerical study.

Science.gov (United States)

Majee, Partha Sarathi; Bhattacharyya, Somnath; Gopmandal, Partha Pratim; Ohshima, Hiroyuki

2018-03-01

A theoretical study on the gel electrophoresis of a charged particle incorporating the effects of dielectric polarization and surface hydrophobicity at the particle-liquid interface is made. A simplified model based on the weak applied field and low charge density assumption is also presented and compared with the full numerical model for a nonpolarizable particle to elucidate the nonlinear effects such as double layer polarization and relaxation as well as surface conduction. The main motivation of this study is to analyze the electrophoresis of the surface functionalized nanoparticle with tunable hydrophobicity or charged fluid drop in gel medium by considering the electrokinetic effects and hydrodynamic interactions between the particle and the gel medium. An effective medium approach, in which the transport in the electrolyte-saturated hydrogel medium is governed by the Brinkman equation, is adopted in the present analysis. The governing electrokinetic equations based on the conservation principles are solved numerically. The Navier-slip boundary condition along with the continuity condition of dielectric displacement are imposed on the surface of the hydrophobic polarizable particle. The impact of the slip length on the electrophoresis is profound for a thinner Debye layer, however, surface conduction effect also becomes significant for a hydrophobic particle. Impact of hydrophobicity and relaxation effects are higher for a larger particle. Dielectric polarization creates a reduction in its electrophoretic propulsion and has negligible impact at the thinner Debye length as well as lower gel screening length. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Anisotropic wetting characteristics versus roughness on machined surfaces of hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Yande; Shu, Liming; Natsu, Wataru; He, Fuben

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The aim is to investigate the influence of roughness on anisotropic wetting on machined surfaces. • The relationship between roughness and anisotropic wetting is modeled by thermodynamical analysis. • The effect of roughness on anisotropic wetting on hydrophilic materials is stronger than that on hydrophobic materials. • The energy barrier existing in the direction perpendicular to the lay is one of the main reasons for the anisotropic wetting. • The contact angle in the parallel direction is larger than that in the perpendicular direction. - Abstract: Anisotropic wetting of machined surfaces is widely applied in industries which can be greatly affected by roughness and solid's chemical properties. However, there has not been much work on it. A free-energy thermodynamic model is presented by analyzing geometry morphology of machined surfaces (2-D model surfaces), which demonstrates the influence of roughness on anisotropic wetting. It can be concluded that the energy barrier is one of the main reasons for the anisotropic wetting existing in the direction perpendicular to the lay. In addition, experiments in investigating anisotropic wetting, which was characterized by the static contact angle and droplet's distortion, were performed on machined surfaces with different roughness on hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials. The droplet's anisotropy found on machined surfaces increased with mean slope of roughness profile Kr. It indicates that roughness on anisotropic wetting on hydrophilic materials has a stronger effect than that on hydrophobic materials. Furthermore, the contact angles predicted by the model are basically consistent with the experimentally ones

Micro- and nanoscale characterization of hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaf surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhushan, Bharat; Jung, Yong Chae

2006-01-01

Superhydrophobic surfaces as well as low adhesion and friction are desirable for various industrial applications. Certain plant leaves are known to be hydrophobic in nature due to their roughness and the presence of a thin wax film on the surface of the leaf. The purpose of this study is to fully characterize the leaf surfaces on the micro- and nanoscale while separating out the effects of the micro- and the nanobumps of hydrophobic leaves on the hydrophobicity. Hydrophilic leaves were also studied to better understand the role of wax and roughness. Furthermore, the adhesion and friction properties of hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaves were studied. Using an optical profiler and an atomic/friction force microscope (AFM/FFM), measurements were made to fully characterize the leaf surfaces. It is shown that the nanobumps play a more important role than the microbumps in the hydrophobic nature as well as friction of the leaf. This study will be useful in developing superhydrophobic surfaces

Bio-inspired hydrophobic modification of cellulose nanocrystals with castor oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Qianqian; Liu, Chengguo; Hu, Yun; Jia, Puyou; Hu, Lihong; Zhou, Yonghong

2018-07-01

This work presents an efficient and environmentally friendly approach to generate hydrophobic cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) using thiol-containing castor oil (CO-SH) as a renewable hydrophobe with the assist of bio-inspired dopamine at room temperature. The modification process included the formation of the polydopamine (PDA) buffer layer on CNC surfaces and the Michael addition reaction between the catechol moieties of PDA coating and thiol groups of CO-SH. The morphology, crystalline structure, surface chemistry, thermal stability and hydrophobicity of the modified CNC were charactered by TEM, XRD, FT-IR, solid-state 13 C NMR, XPS, TGA and contact angle analysis. The modified CNC preserved cellulose crystallinity, displayed higher thermal stability than unmodified CNC, and was highly hydrophobic with a water contact angle of 95.6°. The simplicity and versatility of the surface modification strategy inspired by adhesive protein of mussel may promote rapid development of hydrophobic bio-based nanomaterials for various applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes : synthesis, properties and interactions with surfactants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwkerk, A.C.

1998-01-01

Hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes can form micelle-like aggregates, so-called microdomains, in aqueous solution. The hydrophobic side chains constitute the apolar inner part of these microdomains and the hydrophilic groups on the polyelectrolyte backbone are at the surface of the

The cost of simplifying air travel when modeling disease spread.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin Lessler

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Air travel plays a key role in the spread of many pathogens. Modeling the long distance spread of infectious disease in these cases requires an air travel model. Highly detailed air transportation models can be over determined and computationally problematic. We compared the predictions of a simplified air transport model with those of a model of all routes and assessed the impact of differences on models of infectious disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using U.S. ticket data from 2007, we compared a simplified "pipe" model, in which individuals flow in and out of the air transport system based on the number of arrivals and departures from a given airport, to a fully saturated model where all routes are modeled individually. We also compared the pipe model to a "gravity" model where the probability of travel is scaled by physical distance; the gravity model did not differ significantly from the pipe model. The pipe model roughly approximated actual air travel, but tended to overestimate the number of trips between small airports and underestimate travel between major east and west coast airports. For most routes, the maximum number of false (or missed introductions of disease is small (<1 per day but for a few routes this rate is greatly underestimated by the pipe model. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: If our interest is in large scale regional and national effects of disease, the simplified pipe model may be adequate. If we are interested in specific effects of interventions on particular air routes or the time for the disease to reach a particular location, a more complex point-to-point model will be more accurate. For many problems a hybrid model that independently models some frequently traveled routes may be the best choice. Regardless of the model used, the effect of simplifications and sensitivity to errors in parameter estimation should be analyzed.

Effect of hydrophobic paints coating for tritium reduction in concrete materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edao, Y.; Fukada, S.; Nishimura, Y.; Katayama, K.; Takeishi, T.; Hatano, Y.; Taguchi, A.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Effects of hydrophobic paint coating in tritium transport are investigated. ► Two kinds of paints, acrylic-silicon resin and epoxy resin are used. ► The hydrophobic paints are effective to reduce tritium permeation. ► The effect of tritium reduction of epoxy paint is higher than that of silicon. - Abstract: The effects of hydrophobic paint coating on a concrete material of cement paste on the tritium transport are investigated. The cement paste is coated with two kinds of paints, acrylic-silicon resin paint and epoxy resin paint. We investigated the amount of tritium trapped in the samples exposed to tritiated water vapor by means of sorption and release. It was found that both the hydrophobic paints could reduce effectively tritium permeation during 50 days exposure of tritiated water vapor. The effect of tritium reduction of the epoxy paint was higher than that of silicon while the amount of tritium trapped in the epoxy paint was larger than that of silicon due to difference of the structure. Based on an analysis of a diffusion model, the rate-determining step of tritium migration through cement paste coated with the paints is diffusion through the paints respectively. It was found that tritium was easy to penetrate through silicon because there were many pores or voids in the silicon comparatively. In the case of tritium released from the epoxy paint, it is considered that tritium diffusion in epoxy is slow due to retardation by isotope exchange reaction to water included in epoxy paint.

Cationic flocculants carrying hydrophobic functionalities: applications for solid/liquid separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, S; Jaeger, W; Paulke, B-R; Bratskaya, S; Smolka, N; Bohrisch, J

2007-07-26

The flocculation behaviors of three series of polycations with narrow molecular weight distributions carrying hydrophobic substituents on their backbones [poly(N-vinylbenzyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride), poly(N-vinylbenzyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-butylammonium chloride), and poly(N-vinylbenzylpyridinium chloride)] were investigated in dispersions of monodisperse polystyrene latexes and kaolin. Apparently, the charge density of the polycations decreases with increasing substituent hydrophobicity and increasing molecular weight of the polyelectrolytes. The necessary amount of flocculant for phase separation in dispersions with high substrate surface charge densities increases with increasing hydrophobicity of the polyelectrolyte. Nevertheless, the introduction of hydrophobic functionalities is beneficial, resulting in a substantial broadening of the range between the minimum and maximum amounts of flocculant necessary for efficient flocculation (flocculation window). An increase in ionic strength supports this effect. When the substrate has a low charge density, the hydrophobic interactions play a much more significant role in the flocculation process. Here, the minimum efficient doses remained the same for all three polyelectrolytes investigated, but the width of the flocculation window increased as the polycation hydrophobicity and the molecular weight increased. The necessary amount of flocculant increased with an increase in particle size at constant solid content of the dispersion, as well as with a decreasing number of particles at a constant particle size.

Mathematical Models for Room Air Distribution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter V.

1982-01-01

A number of different models on the air distribution in rooms are introduced. This includes the throw model, a model on penetration length of a cold wall jet and a model for maximum velocity in the dimensioning of an air distribution system in highly loaded rooms and shows that the amount of heat...... removed from the room at constant penetration length is proportional to the cube of the velocities in the occupied zone. It is also shown that a large number of diffusers increases the amount of heat which may be removed without affecting the thermal conditions. Control strategies for dual duct and single...... duct systems are given and the paper is concluded by mentioning a computer-based prediction method which gives the velocity and temperature distribution in the whole room....

Air quality modelling using chemometric techniques | Azid | Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study presents that the chemometric techniques and modelling become an excellent tool in API assessment, air pollution source identification, apportionment and can be setbacks in designing an API monitoring network for effective air pollution resources management. Keywords: air pollutant index; chemometric; ANN; ...

Detection of secondary structure elements in proteins by hydrophobic cluster analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodcock, S; Mornon, J P; Henrissat, B

1992-10-01

Hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA) is a protein sequence comparison method based on alpha-helical representations of the sequences where the size, shape and orientation of the clusters of hydrophobic residues are primarily compared. The effectiveness of HCA has been suggested to originate from its potential ability to focus on the residues forming the hydrophobic core of globular proteins. We have addressed the robustness of the bidimensional representation used for HCA in its ability to detect the regular secondary structure elements of proteins. Various parameters have been studied such as those governing cluster size and limits, the hydrophobic residues constituting the clusters as well as the potential shift of the cluster positions with respect to the position of the regular secondary structure elements. The following results have been found to support the alpha-helical bidimensional representation used in HCA: (i) there is a positive correlation (clearly above background noise) between the hydrophobic clusters and the regular secondary structure elements in proteins; (ii) the hydrophobic clusters are centred on the regular secondary structure elements; (iii) the pitch of the helical representation which gives the best correspondence is that of an alpha-helix. The correspondence between hydrophobic clusters and regular secondary structure elements suggests a way to implement variable gap penalties during the automatic alignment of protein sequences.

Modelling the fate of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a boreal forest catchment: A cross disciplinary approach to assessing diffuse pollution to surface waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergknut, Magnus; Meijer, Sandra; Halsall, Crispin; Agren, Anneli; Laudon, Hjalmar; Koehler, Stephan; Jones, Kevin C.; Tysklind, Mats; Wiberg, Karin

2010-01-01

The fate of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in soils and waters in a northern boreal catchment was explored through the development of a chemical fate model in a well-characterised catchment system dominated by two land types: forest and mire. Input was based solely on atmospheric deposition, dominated by accumulation in the winter snowpack. Release from soils was governed by the HOC concentration in soil, the soil organic carbon fraction and soil-water DOC content. The modelled export of selected HOCs in surface waters ranged between 11 and 250 ng day -1 during the snow covered period, compared to 200 and 9600 ng/d during snow-melt; highlighting the importance of the snow pack as a source of these chemicals. The predicted levels of HOCs in surface water were in reasonable agreement to a limited set of measured values, although the model tended to over predict concentrations of HOCs for the forested sub-catchment, by over an order of magnitude in the case of hexachlorobenzene and PCB 180. This possibly reflects both the heterogeneity of the forest soils and the complicated and changing hydrology experienced between the different seasons. - The fate of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a boreal forest catchment is connected to the flux of dissolved organic carbon and seasonal deposition.

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Half-corrugated Channel Flow by Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Rastan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In the first part of the present study, a two dimensional half-corrugated channel flow is simulated at Reynolds number of 104, in no-slip condition (hydrophilic surfaces( using various low Reynolds turbulence models as well as standard k-ε model; and an appropriate turbulence model (k-ω 1998 model( is proposed. Then, in order to evaluate the proposed solution method in simulation of flow adjacent to hydrophobic surfaces, turbulent flow is simulated in simple channel and the results are compared with the literature. Finally, two dimensional half-corrugated channel flow at Reynolds number of 104 is simulated again in vicinity of hydrophobic surfaces for varoius slip lengths. The results show that this method is capable of drag reduction in such a way that an increase of 200 μm in slip length leads to a massive drag reduction up to 38%. In addition, to access a significant drag reduction in turbulent flows, the non-dimensionalized slip length should be larger than the minimum.

Air Pollution Exposure Modeling for Health Studies | Science ...

Science.gov (United States)

Dr. Michael Breen is leading the development of air pollution exposure models, integrated with novel personal sensor technologies, to improve exposure and risk assessments for individuals in health studies. He is co-investigator for multiple health studies assessing the exposure and effects of air pollutants. These health studies include participants with asthma, diabetes, and coronary artery disease living in various U.S. cities. He has developed, evaluated, and applied novel exposure modeling and time-activity tools, which includes the Exposure Model for Individuals (EMI), GPS-based Microenvironment Tracker (MicroTrac) and Exposure Tracker models. At this seminar, Dr. Breen will present the development and application of these models to predict individual-level personal exposures to particulate matter (PM) for two health studies in central North Carolina. These health studies examine the association between PM and adverse health outcomes for susceptible individuals. During Dr. Breen’s visit, he will also have the opportunity to establish additional collaborations with researchers at Harvard University that may benefit from the use of exposure models for cohort health studies. These research projects that link air pollution exposure with adverse health outcomes benefit EPA by developing model-predicted exposure-dose metrics for individuals in health studies to improve the understanding of exposure-response behavior of air pollutants, and to reduce participant

The ASAC Air Carrier Investment Model (Second Generation)

Science.gov (United States)

Wingrove, Earl R., III; Johnson, Jesse P.; Sickles, Robin C.; Good, David H.

1997-01-01

To meet its objective of assisting the U.S. aviation industry with the technological challenges of the future, NASA must identify research areas that have the greatest potential for improving the operation of the air transportation system. To accomplish this, NASA is building an Aviation System Analysis Capability (ASAC). The ASAC differs from previous NASA modeling efforts in that the economic behavior of buyers and sellers in the air transportation and aviation industries is central to its conception. To link the economics of flight with the technology of flight, ASAC requires a parametrically based mode with extensions that link airline operations and investments in aircraft with aircraft characteristics. This model also must provide a mechanism for incorporating air travel demand and profitability factors into the airlines' investment decisions. Finally, the model must be flexible and capable of being incorporated into a wide-ranging suite of economic and technical models that are envisioned for ASAC. We describe a second-generation Air Carrier Investment Model that meets these requirements. The enhanced model incorporates econometric results from the supply and demand curves faced by U.S.-scheduled passenger air carriers. It uses detailed information about their fleets in 1995 to make predictions about future aircraft purchases. It enables analysts with the ability to project revenue passenger-miles flown, airline industry employment, airline operating profit margins, numbers and types of aircraft in the fleet, and changes in aircraft manufacturing employment under various user-defined scenarios.

Air cathode structure manufacture

Science.gov (United States)

Momyer, William R.; Littauer, Ernest L.

1985-01-01

An improved air cathode structure for use in primary batteries and the like. The cathode structure includes a matrix active layer, a current collector grid on one face of the matrix active layer, and a porous, nonelectrically conductive separator on the opposite face of the matrix active layer, the collector grid and separator being permanently bonded to the matrix active layer. The separator has a preselected porosity providing low IR losses and high resistance to air flow through the matrix active layer to maintain high bubble pressure during operation of the battery. In the illustrated embodiment, the separator was formed of porous polypropylene. A thin hydrophobic film is provided, in the preferred embodiment, on the current collecting metal grid.

QUANTIFYING SUBGRID POLLUTANT VARIABILITY IN EULERIAN AIR QUALITY MODELS

Science.gov (United States)

In order to properly assess human risk due to exposure to hazardous air pollutants or air toxics, detailed information is needed on the location and magnitude of ambient air toxic concentrations. Regional scale Eulerian air quality models are typically limited to relatively coar...

Modeling of Hydrophobic Surfaces by the Stokes Problem With the Stick–Slip Boundary Conditions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kučera, R.; Šátek, V.; Haslinger, Jaroslav; Fialová, S.; Pochylý, F.

2017-01-01

Roč. 139, č. 1 (2017), č. článku 011202. ISSN 0098-2202 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : algebra * boundary conditions * hydrophobicity * Lagrange multipliers * Navier Stokes equations Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 1.437, year: 2016 http://fluidsengineering.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/article.aspx?articleid=2536532

Impact of Hydrophobic Pollutants' Behavior on Occupational and Environmental Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ijeoma Kanu

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the influence of hydrophobic pollutant behavior on environmental hazards and risks. The definition and examples of hydrophobic pollutants are given as a guide to better understand the sources of release and the media of dispersion in the environment. The properties and behavior of hydrophobic pollutants are described and their influence on environmental hazard and risk is reviewed and evaluated. The overall outcome of the assessment and evaluation showed that all hydrophobic pollutants are hazardous and risky to all organisms, including man. Their risk effects are due to their inherent persistence, bioaccumulation potential, environmental mobility, and reactivity. Their hazardous effects on organisms occur at varying spatial and temporal degrees of emissions, toxicities, exposures, and concentrations.

Modeling activities in air traffic control systems: antecedents and consequences of a mid-air collision.

Science.gov (United States)

de Carvalho, Paulo Victor R; Ferreira, Bemildo

2012-01-01

In this article we present a model of some functions and activities of the Brazilian Air traffic Control System (ATS) in the period in which occurred a mid-air collision between flight GLO1907, a commercial aircraft Boeing 737-800, and flight N600XL, an executive jet EMBRAER E-145, to investigate key resilience characteristics of the ATM. Modeling in some detail activities during the collision and related them to overall behavior and antecedents that stress the organization uncover some drift into failure mechanisms that erode safety defenses provided by the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), enabling a mid-air collision to be happen.

An EMD–SARIMA-Based Modeling Approach for Air Traffic Forecasting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Nai

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The ever-increasing air traffic demand in China has brought huge pressure on the planning and management of, and investment in, air terminals as well as airline companies. In this context, accurate and adequate short-term air traffic forecasting is essential for the operations of those entities. In consideration of such a problem, a hybrid air traffic forecasting model based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD and seasonal auto regressive integrated moving average (SARIMA has been proposed in this paper. The model proposed decomposes the original time series into components at first, and models each component with the SARIMA forecasting model, then integrates all the models together to form the final combined forecast result. By using the monthly air cargo and passenger flow data from the years 2006 to 2014 available at the official website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC, the effectiveness in forecasting of the model proposed has been demonstrated, and by a horizontal performance comparison between several other widely used forecasting models, the advantage of the proposed model has also been proved.

Hydrophobic polymers for orodispersible films: a quality by design approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Borges, Ana Filipa; Silva, Branca M A; Silva, Cláudia; Coelho, Jorge F J; Simões, Sérgio

2016-10-01

To develop orodispersible films (ODF) based on hydrophobic polymers with higher stability to ordinary environmental humidity conditions without compromising their fast disintegration time. A quality by design approach was applied to screen three different formulations each one based on a different hydrophobic polymer: polyvinyl acetate, methacrylate-based copolymer and shellac. The screening formulations were characterized regarding their mechanical properties, residual water content, disintegration time and appearance, in order to find a suitable ODF formulation according to established critical quality attributes. The selected critical process parameters for the selection of appropriate ODF formulations were the percentage of the different excipients and the plasticizer type. Three hydrophobic-based matrices with fast disintegration were developed. These were generically composed by a hydrophobic polymer, a stabilizer, a disintegrant and a plasticizer. It verified that the common components within the three different formulations behave differently depending on the system/chemical environment that they were included. It was shown that it is possible to develop oral films based on hydrophobic polymers with fast disintegration time, good texture and appearance, breaking a paradigm of the ODF research field.

Entropic formulation for the protein folding process: Hydrophobic stability correlates with folding rates

Science.gov (United States)

Dal Molin, J. P.; Caliri, A.

2018-01-01

Here we focus on the conformational search for the native structure when it is ruled by the hydrophobic effect and steric specificities coming from amino acids. Our main tool of investigation is a 3D lattice model provided by a ten-letter alphabet, the stereochemical model. This minimalist model was conceived for Monte Carlo (MC) simulations when one keeps in mind the kinetic behavior of protein-like chains in solution. We have three central goals here. The first one is to characterize the folding time (τ) by two distinct sampling methods, so we present two sets of 103 MC simulations for a fast protein-like sequence. The resulting sets of characteristic folding times, τ and τq were obtained by the application of the standard Metropolis algorithm (MA), as well as by an enhanced algorithm (Mq A). The finding for τq shows two things: (i) the chain-solvent hydrophobic interactions {hk } plus a set of inter-residues steric constraints {ci,j } are able to emulate the conformational search for the native structure. For each one of the 103MC performed simulations, the target is always found within a finite time window; (ii) the ratio τq / τ ≅ 1 / 10 suggests that the effect of local thermal fluctuations, encompassed by the Tsallis weight, provides to the chain an innate efficiency to escape from energetic and steric traps. We performed additional MC simulations with variations of our design rule to attest this first result, both algorithms the MA and the Mq A were applied to a restricted set of targets, a physical insight is provided. Our second finding was obtained by a set of 600 independent MC simulations, only performed with the Mq A applied to an extended set of 200 representative targets, our native structures. The results show how structural patterns should modulate τq, which cover four orders of magnitude; this finding is our second goal. The third, and last result, was obtained with a special kind of simulation performed with the purpose to explore a

How osmolytes influence hydrophobic polymer conformations: A unified view from experiment and theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Jagannath; Halverson, Duncan; Li, Isaac T S; Stirnemann, Guillaume; Walker, Gilbert C; Berne, Bruce J

2015-07-28

It is currently the consensus belief that protective osmolytes such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) favor protein folding by being excluded from the vicinity of a protein, whereas denaturing osmolytes such as urea lead to protein unfolding by strongly binding to the surface. Despite there being consensus on how TMAO and urea affect proteins as a whole, very little is known as to their effects on the individual mechanisms responsible for protein structure formation, especially hydrophobic association. In the present study, we use single-molecule atomic force microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effects of TMAO and urea on the unfolding of the hydrophobic homopolymer polystyrene. Incorporated with interfacial energy measurements, our results show that TMAO and urea act on polystyrene as a protectant and a denaturant, respectively, while complying with Tanford-Wyman preferential binding theory. We provide a molecular explanation suggesting that TMAO molecules have a greater thermodynamic binding affinity with the collapsed conformation of polystyrene than with the extended conformation, while the reverse is true for urea molecules. Results presented here from both experiment and simulation are in line with earlier predictions on a model Lennard-Jones polymer while also demonstrating the distinction in the mechanism of osmolyte action between protein and hydrophobic polymer. This marks, to our knowledge, the first experimental observation of TMAO-induced hydrophobic collapse in a ternary aqueous system.

Hydrophobic perfluoro-silane functionalization of porous silicon photoluminescent films and particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, C.; Laplace, P.; Gallach-Pérez, D.; Pellacani, P.; Martín-Palma, R.J. [Departamento de Física Aplicada e Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain); Torres-Costa, V. [Departamento de Física Aplicada e Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain); Centro de Microanálisis de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain); Ceccone, G. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, 21020, Ispra (Italy); Manso Silván, M., E-mail: miguel.manso@uam.es [Departamento de Física Aplicada e Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain)

2016-09-01

Highlights: • Hydrophobic functionalization of porous silicon structures. • Perfluorooctyl group binding confirmed by XPS. • Improved stability face to extreme oxidation conditions. • Perfluorooctyl functionalization compatible with photoluminescence of porous silicon particles. - Abstract: Luminescent structures based on semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are increasingly used in biomolecular assays, cell tracking systems, and in-vivo diagnostics devices. In this work we have carried out the functionalization of porous silicon (PSi) luminescent structures by a perfluorosilane (Perfluoro-octyltriethoxysilane, PFOS) self assembly. The PFOS surface binding (traced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and photoluminescence efficiency were analyzed on flat model PSi. Maximal photoluminescence intensity was obtained from PSi layers anodized at 110 mA/cm{sup 2}. Resistance to hydroxylation was assayed in H{sub 2}O{sub 2}:ethanol solutions and evidenced by water contact angle (WCA) measurements. PFOS-functionalized PSi presented systematically higher WCA than untreated PSi. The PFOS functionalization was found to slightly improve the aging of the PSi particles in water giving rise to particles with longer luminescent life. Confirmation of PFOS binding to PSi particles was derived from FTIR spectra and the preservation of luminescence was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Such functionalization opens the possibility of promoting hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions between biomolecules and fluorescent QD structures, which may enlarge their biomedical applications catalogue.

Improved gel electrophoresis matrix for hydrophobic protein separation and identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Tokarski, Caroline; Fillet, Marianne; Rolando, Christian

2011-03-01

We propose an improved acrylamide gel for the separation of hydrophobic proteins. The separation strategy is based on the incorporation of N-alkylated and N,N'-dialkylated acrylamide monomers in the gel composition in order to increase hydrophobic interactions between the gel matrix and the membrane proteins. Focusing on the most efficient monomer, N,N'-dimethylacrylamide, the potentiality of the new matrix was evaluated on membrane proteins of the human colon HCT-116 cell line. Protein analysis was performed using an adapted analytical strategy based on FT-ICR tandem mass spectrometry. As a result of this comparative study, including advanced reproducibility experiments, more hydrophobic proteins were identified in the new gel (average GRAVY: -0.085) than in the classical gel (average GRAVY: -0.411). Highly hydrophobic peptides were identified reaching a GRAVY value up to 1.450, therefore indicating their probable locations in the membrane. Focusing on predicted transmembrane domains, it can be pointed out that 27 proteins were identified in the hydrophobic gel containing up to 11 transmembrane domains; in the classical gel, only 5 proteins containing 1 transmembrane domain were successfully identified. For example, multiple ionic channels and receptors were characterized in the hydrophobic gel such as the sodium/potassium channel and the glutamate or the transferrin receptors whereas they are traditionally detected using specific enrichment techniques such as immunoprecipitation. In total, membrane proteins identified in the classical gel are well documented in the literature, while most of the membrane proteins only identified on the hydrophobic gel have rarely or never been described using a proteomic-based approach. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydration of krypton and consideration of clathrate models of hydrophobic effects from the perspective of quasi-chemical theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashbaugh, Henry S; Asthagiri, D; Pratt, Lawrence R; Rempe, Susan B

2003-09-01

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) results on a krypton-water liquid solution are presented and compared to recent XAFS results for the radial hydration structure for a Kr atom in liquid water solution. Though these AIMD calculations have important limitations of scale, the comparisons with the liquid solution results are satisfactory and significantly different from the radial distributions extracted from the data on the solid Kr/H(2)O clathrate hydrate phase. The calculations also produce the coordination number distribution that can be examined for metastable coordination structures suggesting possibilities for clathrate-like organization; none are seen in these results. Clathrate pictures of hydrophobic hydration are discussed, as is the quasi-chemical theory that should provide a basis for clathrate pictures. Outer shell contributions are discussed and estimated; they are positive and larger than the positive experimental hydration free energy of Kr(aq), implying that inner shell contributions must be negative and of comparable size. Clathrate-like inner shell hydration structures on a Kr atom solute are obtained for some, but not all, of the coordination number cases observed in the simulation. The structures found have a delicate stability. Inner shell coordination structures extracted from the simulation of the liquid, and then subjected to quantum chemical optimization, always decomposed. Interactions with the outer shell material are decisive in stabilizing coordination structures observed in liquid solution and in clathrate phases. The primitive quasi-chemical estimate that uses a dielectric model for the influence of the outer shell material on the inner shell equilibria gives a contribution to hydration free energy that is positive and larger than the experimental hydration free energy. The 'what are we to tell students' question about hydrophobic hydration, often answered with structural clathrate pictures, is then considered; we propose an

Layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte-polyester hybrid microcapsules for encapsulation and delivery of hydrophobic drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Rongcong; Venkatraman, Subbu S; Neu, Björn

2013-07-08

A two-step process is developed to form layer-by-layer (LbL) polyelectrolyte microcapsules, which are able to encapsulate and deliver hydrophobic drugs. Spherical porous calcium carbonate (CaCO3) microparticles were used as templates and coated with a poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) layer containing hydrophobic compounds via an in situ precipitation gelling process. PLGA layers that precipitated from N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) had a lower loading and smoother surface than those precipitated from acetone. The difference may be due to different viscosities and solvent exchange dynamics. In the second step, the successful coating of multilayer polyelectrolytes poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) onto the PLGA coated CaCO3 microparticles was confirmed with AFM and ζ-potential studies. The release of a model hydrophobic drug, ibuprofen, from these hybrid microcapsules with different numbers of PAH/PSS layers was investigated. It was found that the release of ibuprofen decreases with increasing layer numbers demonstrating the possibility to control the release of ibuprofen with these novel hybrid microcapsules. Besides loading of hydrophobic drugs, the interior of these microcapsules can also be loaded with hydrophilic compounds and functional nanoparticles as demonstrated by loading with Fe3O4 nanoparticles, forming magnetically responsive dual drug releasing carriers.

The impact of alkyl sulfate surfactant geometry and electrolyte on the co-adsorption of anionic surfactants with model perfumes at the air-solution interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradbury, Robert; Penfold, Jeffrey; Thomas, Robert K; Tucker, Ian M; Petkov, Jordan T; Jones, Craig

2013-08-01

The impact of surfactant geometry and electrolyte on the co-adsorption of anionic surfactants and model perfumes at the air-solution interface has been studied by neutron reflectivity. The more hydrophobic perfume linalool, competes more favourably for the surface with sodium dodecylsulfate than was previously reported for the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl 6-benzenesulfonate. Due to an increase in surface activity of the sodium dodecylsulfate, the addition of electrolyte results in a reduction in the linalool adsorption. Changing the alkyl chain length affects the relative adsorption of linalool and surfactant at the interface. Similar measurements for the different alkyl sulfates and with electrolyte with the more hydrophilic perfume phenyl ethanol, reveal broadly similar trends. Although the relative adsorption of phenyl ethanol with sodium dodecylsulfate is substantially enhanced compared to sodium dodecyl-6-benzenesulfonate the effects are not as significant as was observed with linalool. The variations with alkyl chain geometry show the importance of the hydrophobic interaction between the perfume and surfactant and changes in the packing constraints on the relative adsorption. The results highlight the importance of the specific interaction between the surfactant and perfume, and the surfactant and perfume geometries on the relative adsorption at the interface. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimization of linear and branched alkane interactions with water to simulate hydrophobic hydration

Science.gov (United States)

Ashbaugh, Henry S.; Liu, Lixin; Surampudi, Lalitanand N.

2011-08-01

Previous studies of simple gas hydration have demonstrated that the accuracy of molecular simulations at capturing the thermodynamic signatures of hydrophobic hydration is linked both to the fidelity of the water model at replicating the experimental liquid density at ambient pressure and an accounting of polarization interactions between the solute and water. We extend those studies to examine alkane hydration using the transferable potentials for phase equilibria united-atom model for linear and branched alkanes, developed to reproduce alkane phase behavior, and the TIP4P/2005 model for water, which provides one of the best descriptions of liquid water for the available fixed-point charge models. Alkane site/water oxygen Lennard-Jones cross interactions were optimized to reproduce the experimental alkane hydration free energies over a range of temperatures. The optimized model reproduces the hydration free energies of the fitted alkanes with a root mean square difference between simulation and experiment of 0.06 kcal/mol over a wide temperature range, compared to 0.44 kcal/mol for the parent model. The optimized model accurately reproduces the temperature dependence of hydrophobic hydration, as characterized by the hydration enthalpies, entropies, and heat capacities, as well as the pressure response, as characterized by partial molar volumes.

Fabrication of super-hydrophobic duo-structures

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X. Y.; Zhang, F.; Jiang, Y. J.; Wang, Y. Y.; Shi, Z. W.; Peng, C. S.

2015-04-01

Recently, super-hydrophobicity has attracted increasing attention due to its huge potential in the practical applications. In this paper, we have presented a duo-structure of the combination of micro-dot-matrix and nano-candle-soot. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as a combination layer between the dot-matrix and the soot particles. Firstly, a period of 9-μm dot-matrix was easily fabricated on the K9 glass using the most simple and mature photolithography process. Secondly, the dot-matrix surface was coated by a thin film of PDMS (elastomer: hardener=10:1) which was diluted by methylbenzene at the volume ratio of 1:8. Thirdly, we held the PDMS modified surface over a candle flame to deposit a soot layer and followed by a gentle water-risen to remove the non-adhered particles. At last, the samples were baked at 85°C for 2 hours and then the duo-structure surface with both micro-size dot-matrix and nano-size soot particles was obtained. The SEM indicated this novel surface morphology was quite like a lotus leaf of the well-know micro-nano-binary structures. As a result, the contact angle meter demonstrated such surface exhibited a perfect super-hydrophobicity with water contact angle of 153° and sliding angle of 3°. Besides, just listed as above, the fabrication process for our structure was quite more easy, smart and low-cost compared with the other production technique for super-hydrophobic surfaces such as the phase separation method, electrochemical deposition and chemical vapor deposition etc. Hence, this super-hydrophobic duo-structure reported in this letter was a great promising candidate for a wide and rapid commercialization in the future.

How microorganisms use hydrophobicity and what does this mean for human needs?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna eKrasowska

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH plays a crucial role in the attachment to, or detachment from the surfaces. The influence of CSH on adhesion of microorganisms to biotic and abiotic surfaces in medicine as well as in bioremediation and fermentation industry has both negative and positive aspects. Hydrophobic microorganisms cause the damage of surfaces by biofilm formation; on the other hand, they can readily accumulate on organic pollutants and decompose them. Hydrophilic microorganisms also play a considerable role in removing organic wastes from the environment because of their high resistance to hydrophobic chemicals. Despite the many studies on the environmental and metabolic factors affecting cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH, the knowledge of this subject is still scanty and is in most cases limited to observing the impact of hydrophobicity on adhesion, aggregation or flocculation. The future of research seems to lie in finding a way to managing the microbial adhesion process, perhaps by steering cell hydrophobicity.

Driving forces for adsorption of amphiphilic peptides to the air-water interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Engin, Ozge; Villa, Alessandra; Sayar, Mehmet; Hess, Berk

2010-09-02

We have studied the partitioning of amphiphilic peptides at the air-water interface. The free energy of adsorption from bulk to interface was calculated by determining the potential of mean force via atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. To this end a method is introduced to restrain or constrain the center of mass of a group of molecules in a periodic system. The model amphiphilic peptides are composed of alternating valine and asparagine residues. The decomposition of the free energy difference between the bulk and interface is studied for different peptide block lengths. Our analysis revealed that for short amphiphilic peptides the surface driving force dominantly stems from the dehydration of hydrophobic side chains. The only opposing force is associated with the loss of orientational freedom of the peptide at the interface. For the peptides studied, the free energy difference scales linearly with the size of the molecule, since the peptides mainly adopt extended conformations both in bulk and at the interface. The free energy difference depends strongly on the water model, which can be rationalized through the hydration thermodynamics of hydrophobic solutes. Finally, we measured the reduction of the surface tension associated with complete coverage of the interface with peptides.

Impact of air pollution on deposition of mineral dust: Implications for ocean productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, S.; Horrowitz, L. W.; Levy, H.; Moxim, W. J.

2003-12-01

Atmospheric dust aerosols originating from arid regions are simulated in an atmospheric global chemical transport model. Based on model results and observations of dust oncentration, we hypothesize that Asian dust over the North Pacific is mostly hydrophilic and removed efficiently by both ice and droplet nucleation processes. By contrast, African dust over the tropical Atlantic is mostly hydrophobic and removed by ice, but not droplet, nucleation. We suggest that Asian dust is transformed into hydrophilic aerosols by chemical reactions with air pollutants over East Asia, which produce high levels of readily soluble materials on the surface of dust particles. A model of chemical aging will be presented for the hygroscopic transformation of mineral dust in the atmosphere. The model predicts that evolving air pollution in East Asia could have caused an increase of dust deposition to the coastal oceans off Asia and a decrease by as much as 50 percent in the eastern North Pacific. Insofar as iron from dust deposition fuels diatom blooms in the North Pacific Ocean, this decrease could have potential consequences on ocean biology.

Dropwise condensation on hydrophobic bumps and dimples

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Yuehan; Aizenberg, Joanna; Park, Kyoo-Chul

2018-04-01

Surface topography plays an important role in promoting or suppressing localized condensation. In this work, we study the growth of water droplets on hydrophobic convex surface textures such as bumps and concave surface textures such as dimples with a millimeter scale radius of curvature. We analyze the spatio-temporal droplet size distribution under a supersaturation condition created by keeping the uniform surface temperature below the dew point and show its relationship with the sign and magnitude of the surface curvature. In particular, in contrast to the well-known capillary condensation effect, we report an unexpectedly less favorable condensation on smaller, millimeter-scale dimples where the capillary condensation effect is negligible. To explain these experimental results, we numerically calculated the diffusion flux of water vapor around the surface textures, showing that its magnitude is higher on bumps and lower on dimples compared to a flat surface. We envision that our understanding of millimetric surface topography can be applied to improve the energy efficiency of condensation in applications such as water harvesting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for buildings and transportation, heat exchangers, thermal desalination plants, and fuel processing systems.

Letter to the Editor: Applications Air Q Model on Estimate Health Effects Exposure to Air Pollutants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gholamreza Goudarzi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Epidemiologic studies in worldwide have measured increases in mortality and morbidity associated with air pollution (1-3. Quantifying the effects of air pollution on the human health in urban area causes an increasingly critical component in policy discussion (4-6. Air Q model was proved to be a valid and reliable tool to predicts health effects related to criteria  pollutants (particulate matter (PM, ozone (O3, nitrogen dioxide (NO2, sulfur dioxide (SO2, and carbon monoxide (CO, determinate  the  potential short term effects of air pollution  and allows the examination of various scenarios in which emission rates of pollutants are varied (7,8. Air Q software provided by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH (9. Air Q model is based on cohort studies and used to estimates of both attributable average reductions in life-span and numbers of mortality and morbidity associated with exposure to air pollution (10,11. Applications

Application of Parallel Algorithms in an Air Pollution Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Georgiev, K.; Zlatev, Z.

1999-01-01

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998......Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998...

Effect of material flexibility on the thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrophobically induced evaporation of water.

Science.gov (United States)

Altabet, Y Elia; Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2017-03-28

The evaporation of water induced by confinement between hydrophobic surfaces has received much attention due to its suggested functional role in numerous biophysical phenomena and its importance as a general mechanism of hydrophobic self-assembly. Although much progress has been made in understanding the basic physics of hydrophobically induced evaporation, a comprehensive understanding of the substrate material features (e.g., geometry, chemistry, and mechanical properties) that promote or inhibit such transitions remains lacking. In particular, comparatively little research has explored the relationship between water's phase behavior in hydrophobic confinement and the mechanical properties of the confining material. Here, we report the results of extensive molecular simulations characterizing the rates, free energy barriers, and mechanism of water evaporation when confined between model hydrophobic materials with tunable flexibility. A single-order-of-magnitude reduction in the material's modulus results in up to a nine-orders-of-magnitude increase in the evaporation rate, with the corresponding characteristic time decreasing from tens of seconds to tens of nanoseconds. Such a modulus reduction results in a 24-orders-of-magnitude decrease in the reverse rate of condensation, with time scales increasing from nanoseconds to tens of millions of years. Free energy calculations provide the barriers to evaporation and confirm our previous theoretical predictions that making the material more flexible stabilizes the confined vapor with respect to liquid. The mechanism of evaporation involves surface bubbles growing/coalescing to form a subcritical gap-spanning tube, which then must grow to cross the barrier.

Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model

Science.gov (United States)

The Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM), released in 2002, is a guidance tool designed for use by building professionals and others interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings.

Air Quality Forecasts Using the NASA GEOS Model

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Christoph A.; Knowland, K. Emma; Nielsen, Jon E.; Orbe, Clara; Ott, Lesley; Pawson, Steven; Saunders, Emily; Duncan, Bryan; Follette-Cook, Melanie; Liu, Junhua;

Mechanism of ion adsorption to aqueous interfaces: Graphene/water vs. air/water.

Science.gov (United States)

McCaffrey, Debra L; Nguyen, Son C; Cox, Stephen J; Weller, Horst; Alivisatos, A Paul; Geissler, Phillip L; Saykally, Richard J

2017-12-19

The adsorption of ions to aqueous interfaces is a phenomenon that profoundly influences vital processes in many areas of science, including biology, atmospheric chemistry, electrical energy storage, and water process engineering. Although classical electrostatics theory predicts that ions are repelled from water/hydrophobe (e.g., air/water) interfaces, both computer simulations and experiments have shown that chaotropic ions actually exhibit enhanced concentrations at the air/water interface. Although mechanistic pictures have been developed to explain this counterintuitive observation, their general applicability, particularly in the presence of material substrates, remains unclear. Here we investigate ion adsorption to the model interface formed by water and graphene. Deep UV second harmonic generation measurements of the SCN - ion, a prototypical chaotrope, determined a free energy of adsorption within error of that for air/water. Unlike for the air/water interface, wherein repartitioning of the solvent energy drives ion adsorption, our computer simulations reveal that direct ion/graphene interactions dominate the favorable enthalpy change. Moreover, the graphene sheets dampen capillary waves such that rotational anisotropy of the solute, if present, is the dominant entropy contribution, in contrast to the air/water interface.

AirPEx: Air Pollution Exposure Model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Freijer JI; Bloemen HJTh; Loos S de; Marra M; Rombout PJA; Steentjes GM; Veen MP van; LBO

1997-01-01

Analysis of inhalatory exposure to air pollution is an important area of investigation when assessing the risks of air pollution for human health. Inhalatory exposure research focuses on the exposure of humans to air pollutants and the entry of these pollutants into the human respiratory tract. The

Hydrophobic environment is a key factor for the stability of thermophilic proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Gromiha, M Michael; Pathak, Manish C; Saraboji, Kadhirvel; Ortlund, Eric A; Gaucher, Eric A

2013-04-01

The stability of thermophilic proteins has been viewed from different perspectives and there is yet no unified principle to understand this stability. It would be valuable to reveal the most important interactions for designing thermostable proteins for such applications as industrial protein engineering. In this work, we have systematically analyzed the importance of various interactions by computing different parameters such as surrounding hydrophobicity, inter-residue interactions, ion-pairs and hydrogen bonds. The importance of each interaction has been determined by its predicted relative contribution in thermophiles versus the same contribution in mesophilic homologues based on a dataset of 373 protein families. We predict that hydrophobic environment is the major factor for the stability of thermophilic proteins and found that 80% of thermophilic proteins analyzed showed higher hydrophobicity than their mesophilic counterparts. Ion pairs, hydrogen bonds, and interaction energy are also important and favored in 68%, 50%, and 62% of thermophilic proteins, respectively. Interestingly, thermophilic proteins with decreased hydrophobic environments display a greater number of hydrogen bonds and/or ion pairs. The systematic elimination of mesophilic proteins based on surrounding hydrophobicity, interaction energy, and ion pairs/hydrogen bonds, led to correctly identifying 95% of the thermophilic proteins in our analyses. Our analysis was also applied to another, more refined set of 102 thermophilic-mesophilic pairs, which again identified hydrophobicity as a dominant property in 71% of the thermophilic proteins. Further, the notion of surrounding hydrophobicity, which characterizes the hydrophobic behavior of residues in a protein environment, has been applied to the three-dimensional structures of elongation factor-Tu proteins and we found that the thermophilic proteins are enriched with a hydrophobic environment. The results obtained in this work highlight the

Evaluation of AirGIS: a GIS-based air pollution and human exposure modelling system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ketzel, Matthias; Berkowicz, Ruwim; Hvidberg, Martin

2011-01-01

This study describes in brief the latest extensions of the Danish Geographic Information System (GIS)-based air pollution and human exposure modelling system (AirGIS), which has been developed in Denmark since 2001 and gives results of an evaluation with measured air pollution data. The system...... shows, in general, a good performance for both long-term averages (annual and monthly averages), short-term averages (hourly and daily) as well as when reproducing spatial variation in air pollution concentrations. Some shortcomings and future perspectives of the system are discussed too....

Modeling of air flow through a narrow crack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trojek, T.; Cechak, T.; Moucka, L.; Fronka, A.

2004-01-01

Radon transport in dwellings is governed to a significant extent by pressure differences and properties of transport pathways. A model of air flow through narrow cracks was created in order to facilitate prediction of air velocity and air flow. Theoretical calculations, based on numerical solution of a system of differential equations, were compared with measurements carried out on a window crack. (P.A.)

Impact of inherent meteorology uncertainty on air quality model predictions

Science.gov (United States)

It is well established that there are a number of different classifications and sources of uncertainties in environmental modeling systems. Air quality models rely on two key inputs, namely, meteorology and emissions. When using air quality models for decision making, it is impor...

Synthesis of hydrophobic peptides : An Fmoc “Solubilising Tail” method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Choma, Christin T.; Robillard, George T.; Englebretsen, Darren R.

1998-01-01

The development of an Fmoc method for synthesis and purification of hydrophobic peptides using a “solubihsing tail” strategy is described. Peptide-constructs of the form hydrophobic peptide-[CHmb ester]-solubilising peptide were synthesised. Procedures for forming the 4-Hmb ester linkage, and

Hydrophobic Sand Is a Non-Toxic Method of Urine Collection, Appropriate for Urinary Metal Analysis in the Rat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica F. Hoffman

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Hydrophobic sand is a relatively new method of urine collection in the rodent, comparable to the established method using a metabolic cage. Urine samples are often used in rodent research, especially for biomarkers of health changes after internal contamination from embedded metals, such as in a model of a military shrapnel wound. However, little research has been done on the potential interference of hydrophobic sand with urine metal concentrations either by contamination from the sand particulate, or adsorption of metals from the urine. We compare urine collected from rats using the metabolic cage method and the hydrophobic sand method for differences in metal concentration of common urinary metals, and examine physical properties of the sand material for potential sources of contamination. We found minimal risk of internal contamination of the rat by hydrophobic sand, and no interference of the sand with several common metals of interest (cobalt, strontium, copper, and manganese, although we advise caution in studies of aluminum in urine.

Quasi-steady-state model of a counter flow air-to-air heat exchanger with phase change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rose, Jørgen; Nielsen, Toke Rammer; Kragh, Jesper

2008-01-01

-exchanger. Developing highly efficient heat-exchangers and strategies to avoid/remove frost formation implies the use of detailed models to predict and evaluate different heat-exchanger designs and strategies. This paper presents a quasi-steady-state model of a counter-flow air-to-air heat-exchanger that takes...

Generalized additive model of air pollution to daily mortality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J.; Yang, H.E.

2005-01-01

The association of air pollution with daily mortality due to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and old age (65 or older) in Seoul, Korea was investigated in 1999 using daily values of TSP, PM10, O 3 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and CO. Generalized additive Poisson models were applied to allow for the highly flexible fitting of daily trends in air pollution as well as nonlinear association with meteorological variables such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed. To estimate the effect of air pollution and weather on mortality, LOESS smoothing was used in generalized additive models. The findings suggest that air pollution levels affect significantly the daily mortality. (orig.)

Features of the corrosion protection of aluminium alloys by creation of hydrophobic coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Sinebryukhov, S. L.; Gnedenkov, S. V.; Egorkin, V. S.; Vyaliy, I. E.

2017-09-01

Results of the study of hydrophobic layers on aluminum alloy, which underwent plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and subsequent deposition of the hydrophobic agent have been described. Coatings formed by deposition of dispersion of the hydrophobic agent containing SiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of the PEO-layer are characterized by high contact angles and inhibitive properties. The formed composite layers were found to be characterized with hydrophobicity and high barrier properties.

Particle Surface Hydrophobicity and the Dechlorination of Chloro-Compounds by Iron Sulfides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sang-Won, E-mail: spark3@uncc.edu; Kim, Sung-Kuk; Kim, Jeong-Bae; Choi, Sung-Woo [Keimyung University, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering (Korea, Republic of); Inyang, Hilary I. [University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems (United States); Tokunaga, Shuzo [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan)

2006-02-15

Halogenated aliphatic compounds (HACs) can be reduced by iron sulfides in aqueous systems. Generally, the thermodynamics and kinetics of dehalogenation reactions are controlled by the mineralogical and particle surface characteristics of the iron sulfide, the composition of the HAC and reaction conditions such as component concentrations, pH and Eh. In this theoretical and experimental investigation of CCl{sub 4} and C{sub 2}Cl{sub 6} reduction by FeS and FeS{sub 2}, the roles of hydrophobic and hydrophilic sites on the iron sulfides were analyzed. Experimental data obtained through zeta potential measurements, were used along with the Gouy-Chapman model and the simple two-layer surface complexation model to relate iron sulfide surface hydroxyl densities to the degree of HAC dehalogenation. The surface hydroxyl site densities of FeS and FeS{sub 2} were found to be 0.11 sites/nm{sup 2} and 0.21 sites/nm{sup 2}, respectively. During the dehalogenation reaction process, CCl{sub 4} was found to decrease to its first intermediate product CHCl{sub 3} within the first 20 hours followed by a slower process of conversion to CH{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}. The results also show that FeS is less hydrated (more hydrophobic) than FeS{sub 2}. For CCl{sub 4} and C{sub 2}Cl{sub 6}, FeS is a better dehalogenator than FeS{sub 2}. These results imply that particle surface hydrophobicity is a critical factor in surface-mediated dehalogenation of chlorinated compounds.

Mixed deterministic statistical modelling of regional ozone air pollution

KAUST Repository

Kalenderski, Stoitchko

2011-03-17

We develop a physically motivated statistical model for regional ozone air pollution by separating the ground-level pollutant concentration field into three components, namely: transport, local production and large-scale mean trend mostly dominated by emission rates. The model is novel in the field of environmental spatial statistics in that it is a combined deterministic-statistical model, which gives a new perspective to the modelling of air pollution. The model is presented in a Bayesian hierarchical formalism, and explicitly accounts for advection of pollutants, using the advection equation. We apply the model to a specific case of regional ozone pollution-the Lower Fraser valley of British Columbia, Canada. As a predictive tool, we demonstrate that the model vastly outperforms existing, simpler modelling approaches. Our study highlights the importance of simultaneously considering different aspects of an air pollution problem as well as taking into account the physical bases that govern the processes of interest. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd..

Performance of the air2stream model that relates air and stream water temperatures depends on the calibration method

Science.gov (United States)

Piotrowski, Adam P.; Napiorkowski, Jaroslaw J.

2018-06-01

A number of physical or data-driven models have been proposed to evaluate stream water temperatures based on hydrological and meteorological observations. However, physical models require a large amount of information that is frequently unavailable, while data-based models ignore the physical processes. Recently the air2stream model has been proposed as an intermediate alternative that is based on physical heat budget processes, but it is so simplified that the model may be applied like data-driven ones. However, the price for simplicity is the need to calibrate eight parameters that, although have some physical meaning, cannot be measured or evaluated a priori. As a result, applicability and performance of the air2stream model for a particular stream relies on the efficiency of the calibration method. The original air2stream model uses an inefficient 20-year old approach called Particle Swarm Optimization with inertia weight. This study aims at finding an effective and robust calibration method for the air2stream model. Twelve different optimization algorithms are examined on six different streams from northern USA (states of Washington, Oregon and New York), Poland and Switzerland, located in both high mountains, hilly and lowland areas. It is found that the performance of the air2stream model depends significantly on the calibration method. Two algorithms lead to the best results for each considered stream. The air2stream model, calibrated with the chosen optimization methods, performs favorably against classical streamwater temperature models. The MATLAB code of the air2stream model and the chosen calibration procedure (CoBiDE) are available as Supplementary Material on the Journal of Hydrology web page.

EMMA model: an advanced operational mesoscale air quality model for urban and regional environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jose, R.S.; Rodriguez, M.A.; Cortes, E.; Gonzalez, R.M.

1999-01-01

Mesoscale air quality models are an important tool to forecast and analyse the air quality in regional and urban areas. In recent years an increased interest has been shown by decision makers in these types of software tools. The complexity of such a model has grown exponentially with the increase of computer power. Nowadays, medium workstations can run operational versions of these modelling systems successfully. Presents a complex mesoscale air quality model which has been installed in the Environmental Office of the Madrid community (Spain) in order to forecast accurately the ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide air concentrations in a 3D domain centred on Madrid city. Describes the challenging scientific matters to be solved in order to develop an operational version of the atmospheric mesoscale numerical pollution model for urban and regional areas (ANA). Some encouraging results have been achieved in the attempts to improve the accuracy of the predictions made by the version already installed. (Author)

An experimental investigation of evaporating sessile droplet on super-hydrophobic surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Dong Hwan; Lee, Seong Hyuk; Yoo, Jung Yul

2008-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the evaporation process of a water droplet on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. Time-dependent contact angle, height, radius, surface area, and volume were measured for three different surfaces, such as glass, OctadecylTrichloroSilane(OTS), and AlkylKetene Dimmer(AKD) using a digital image analysis technique. For hydrophilic surfaces, the measured contact angle, liquid volume, and height are also compared with numerical estimation. It is found that for super-hydrophobic surfaces, the contact line becomes no longer pinned during evaporation, and three distinct stages for hydrophobic surface cannot be found. For the super-hydrophobic surface, it takes the longest time for evaporation because the droplet maintains spherical shape even near the end of evaporation process

Development of a model for radon concentration in indoor air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jelle, Bjørn Petter

2012-01-01

A model is developed for calculation of the radon concentration in indoor air. The model takes into account various important parameters, e.g. radon concentration in ground, radon diffusion resistance of radon barrier, air permeance of ground, air pressure difference between outdoor ground and indoor at ground level, ventilation of the building ground and number of air changes per hour due to ventilation. Characteristic case studies are depicted in selected 2D and 3D graphical plots for easy visualization and interpretation. The radon transport into buildings might be dominated by diffusion, pressure driven flow or a mixture of both depending on the actual values of the various parameters. The results of our work indicate that with realistic or typical values of the parameters, most of the transport of radon from the building ground to the indoor air is due to air leakage driven by pressure differences through the construction. By incorporation of various and realistic values in the radon model, valuable information about the miscellaneous parameters influencing the indoor radon level is gained. Hence, the presented radon model may be utilized as a simple yet versatile and powerful tool for examining which preventive or remedial measures should be carried out to achieve an indoor radon level below the reference level as set by the authorities. - Highlights: ► Model development for calculation of radon concentration in indoor air. ► Radon model accounting for various important parameters. ► Characteristic case studies depicted in 2D and 3D graphical plots. ► May be utilized for examining radon preventive measures.

Hydrophobic patches on protein surfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lijnzaad, P.

2007-01-01

Hydrophobicity is a prime determinant of the structure and function of proteins. It is the driving force behind the folding of soluble proteins, and when exposed on the surface, it is frequently involved in recognition and binding of ligands and other proteins. The energetic cost of

Spray-coating process in preparing PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Weng

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the performance of a liquid-floated rotor micro-gyroscope, the resistance of the moving interface between the rotor and the floating liquid must be reduced. Hydrophobic treatment can reduce the frictional resistance between such interfaces, therefore we proposed a method to prepare a poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE-poly-phenylene sulphide (PPS composite super-hydrophobic coating, based on a spraying process. This method can quickly prepare a continuous, uniform PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic surface on a 2J85 material. This method can be divided into three steps, namely: pre-treatment; chemical etching; and spraying. The total time for this is around three hours. When the PTFE concentration is 4%, the average contact angle of the hydrophobic coating surface is 158°. If silicon dioxide nanoparticles are added, this can further improve the adhesion and mechanical strength of the super-hydrophobic composite coating. The maximum average contact angle can reach as high as 164° when the mass fraction of PTFE, PPS and silicon dioxide is 1:1:1.

Spray-coating process in preparing PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic coating

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Rui; Zhang, Haifeng; Liu, Xiaowei

2014-03-01

In order to improve the performance of a liquid-floated rotor micro-gyroscope, the resistance of the moving interface between the rotor and the floating liquid must be reduced. Hydrophobic treatment can reduce the frictional resistance between such interfaces, therefore we proposed a method to prepare a poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-poly-phenylene sulphide (PPS) composite super-hydrophobic coating, based on a spraying process. This method can quickly prepare a continuous, uniform PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic surface on a 2J85 material. This method can be divided into three steps, namely: pre-treatment; chemical etching; and spraying. The total time for this is around three hours. When the PTFE concentration is 4%, the average contact angle of the hydrophobic coating surface is 158°. If silicon dioxide nanoparticles are added, this can further improve the adhesion and mechanical strength of the super-hydrophobic composite coating. The maximum average contact angle can reach as high as 164° when the mass fraction of PTFE, PPS and silicon dioxide is 1:1:1.

Preparing hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica film by a facile one-pot method.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Duy; Kongparakul, Suwadee; Samart, Chanatip; Phanthong, Patchiya; Karnjanakom, Surachai; Abudula, Abuliti; Guan, Guoqing

2016-11-20

Hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica film was successfully prepared by a facile one-pot method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and dodecyl triethoxylsilane (DTES). Morphological characterization of the hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica (NC-SiO2-DTES) film showed well self-assembled DTES modified silica spherical nanoparticles with the particle sizes in the range of 88-126nm over the nanocellulose film. The hydrophobicity of the NC-SiO2-DTES film was achieved owing to the improvement of roughness of the nanocellulose film by coating dodecyl- terminated silica nanoparticles. An increase in DTES loading amount and reaction time increased the hydrophobicity of the film, and the optimum condition for NC-SiO2-DTES film preparation was achieved at DTES/TEOS molar ratio of 2.0 for 8h reaction time. Besides, the NC-SiO2-DTES film performed superoleophilic property with octane and hexadecane contact angles of 0°. It also showed an excellent hydrophobic property over all pH values ranged from 1 to 14. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mathematical Models for Room Air Distribution - Addendum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter V.

1982-01-01

A number of different models on the air distribution in rooms are introduced. This includes the throw model, a model on penetration length of a cold wall jet and a model for maximum velocity in the dimensioning of an air distribution system in highly loaded rooms and shows that the amount of heat...... removed from the room at constant penetration length is proportional to the cube of the velocities in the occupied zone. It is also shown that a large number of diffusers increases the amount of heat which may be removed without affecting the thermal conditions. Control strategies for dual duct and single...... duct systems are given and the paper is concluded by mentioning a computer-based prediction method which gives the velocity and temperature distribution in the whole room....

Optimal Hydrophobicity in Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization-Based Protein Mimics Required for siRNA Internalization.

Science.gov (United States)

deRonde, Brittany M; Posey, Nicholas D; Otter, Ronja; Caffrey, Leah M; Minter, Lisa M; Tew, Gregory N

2016-06-13

Exploring the role of polymer structure for the internalization of biologically relevant cargo, specifically siRNA, is of critical importance to the development of improved delivery reagents. Herein, we report guanidinium-rich protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs) based on a ring-opening metathesis polymerization scaffold containing tunable hydrophobic moieties that promote siRNA internalization. Structure-activity relationships using Jurkat T cells and HeLa cells were explored to determine how the length of the hydrophobic block and the hydrophobic side chain compositions of these PTDMs impacted siRNA internalization. To explore the hydrophobic block length, two different series of diblock copolymers were synthesized: one series with symmetric block lengths and one with asymmetric block lengths. At similar cationic block lengths, asymmetric and symmetric PTDMs promoted siRNA internalization in the same percentages of the cell population regardless of the hydrophobic block length; however, with 20 repeat units of cationic charge, the asymmetric block length had greater siRNA internalization, highlighting the nontrivial relationships between hydrophobicity and overall cationic charge. To further probe how the hydrophobic side chains impacted siRNA internalization, an additional series of asymmetric PTDMs was synthesized that featured a fixed hydrophobic block length of five repeat units that contained either dimethyl (dMe), methyl phenyl (MePh), or diphenyl (dPh) side chains and varied cationic block lengths. This series was further expanded to incorporate hydrophobic blocks consisting of diethyl (dEt), diisobutyl (diBu), and dicyclohexyl (dCy) based repeat units to better define the hydrophobic window for which our PTDMs had optimal activity. High-performance liquid chromatography retention times quantified the relative hydrophobicities of the noncationic building blocks. PTDMs containing the MePh, diBu, and dPh hydrophobic blocks were shown to have superior

The new method of modifying the hydrophobic properties of expanded perlite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vogt Elżbieta

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The progressive industrialization and development of the automotive industry is the cause of the increasing demand for chemical products, especially oil products. Unfortunately, during processing, transportation or storage of these products, they get very often into the environment causing pollution. The removal of the results of accidents is still a current problem. The techniques which employ various types of sorbents deserve special attention among the several methods of eliminating the effects of pollutions. Moreover, expanded hydrophobic perlite is an interesting material among sorbents which are used on a large scale. The new method of modifying the hydrophobic properties of expanded perlite, with the use of solutions of stearic acid in organic solvents, was presented. The perlite that was used in research was produced by the PerliPol registered partnership in Bełchatów. Hydrophobic properties of the obtained materials were determined on the basis of the results achieved due to the modified film flotation method, “floating on water” test and on the basis of the value of water retention for individual samples. All grain fractions of perlite obtained hydrophobic properties which were better than or comparable to the hydrophobic properties of the HydroPerl (PerlPol commercial material used to remove petroleum product pollution. The hydrophobization process significantly improved the adsorption capacity of modified perlite to petroleum product pollution.

New calculation method for thermodynamic properties of humid air in humid air turbine cycle – The general model and solutions for saturated humid air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zidong; Chen, Hanping; Weng, Shilie

2013-01-01

The article proposes a new calculation method for thermodynamic properties (i.e. specific enthalpy, specific entropy and specific volume) of humid air in humid air turbine cycle. The research pressure range is from 0.1 MPa to 5 MPa. The fundamental behaviors of dry air and water vapor in saturated humid air are explored in depth. The new model proposes and verifies the relationship between total gas mixture pressure and gas component pressures. This provides a good explanation of the fundamental behaviors of gas components in gas mixture from a new perspective. Another discovery is that the water vapor component pressure of saturated humid air equals P S , always smaller than its partial pressure (f·P S ) which was believed in the past researches. In the new model, “Local Gas Constant” describes the interaction between similar molecules. “Improvement Factor” is proposed for the first time by this article, and it quantitatively describes the magnitude of interaction between dissimilar molecules. They are combined to fully describe the real thermodynamic properties of humid air. The average error of Revised Dalton's Method is within 0.1% compared to experimentally-based data. - Highlights: • Our new model is suitable to calculate thermodynamic properties of humid air in HAT cycle. • Fundamental behaviors of dry air and water vapor in saturated humid air are explored in depth. • Local-Gas-Constant describes existing alone component and Improvement Factor describes interaction between different components. • The new model proposes and verifies the relationship between total gas mixture pressure and component pressures. • It solves saturated humid air thoroughly and deviates from experimental data less than 0.1%

Modeling quiescent phase transport of air bubbles induced by breaking waves

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Fengyan; Kirby, James T.; Ma, Gangfeng

Simultaneous modeling of both the acoustic phase and quiescent phase of breaking wave-induced air bubbles involves a large range of length scales from microns to meters and time scales from milliseconds to seconds, and thus is computational unaffordable in a surfzone-scale computational domain. In this study, we use an air bubble entrainment formula in a two-fluid model to predict air bubble evolution in the quiescent phase in a breaking wave event. The breaking wave-induced air bubble entrainment is formulated by connecting the shear production at the air-water interface and the bubble number intensity with a certain bubble size spectra observed in laboratory experiments. A two-fluid model is developed based on the partial differential equations of the gas-liquid mixture phase and the continuum bubble phase, which has multiple size bubble groups representing a polydisperse bubble population. An enhanced 2-DV VOF (Volume of Fluid) model with a k - ɛ turbulence closure is used to model the mixture phase. The bubble phase is governed by the advection-diffusion equations of the gas molar concentration and bubble intensity for groups of bubbles with different sizes. The model is used to simulate air bubble plumes measured in laboratory experiments. Numerical results indicate that, with an appropriate parameter in the air entrainment formula, the model is able to predict the main features of bubbly flows as evidenced by reasonable agreement with measured void fraction. Bubbles larger than an intermediate radius of O(1 mm) make a major contribution to void fraction in the near-crest region. Smaller bubbles tend to penetrate deeper and stay longer in the water column, resulting in significant contribution to the cross-sectional area of the bubble cloud. An underprediction of void fraction is found at the beginning of wave breaking when large air pockets take place. The core region of high void fraction predicted by the model is dislocated due to use of the shear

Ag/C:F Antibacterial and hydrophobic nanocomposite coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Kylián, Ondřej; Kratochvíl, Jiří; Petr, Martin; Kuzminova, Anna; Slavínská, Danka; Biederman, Hynek; Beranová, Jana

Silver-based nanomaterials that exhibit antibacterial character are intensively studied as they represent promising weapon against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Equally important class of materials represent coatings that have highly water repellent nature. Such materials may be used for fabrication of anti-fogging or self-cleaning surfaces. The aim of this study is to combine both of these valuable material characteristics. Antibacterial and highly hydrophobic Ag/C:F nanocomposite films were fabricated by means of gas aggregation source of Ag nanoparticles and sputter deposition of C:F matrix. The nanocomposite coatings had three-layer structure C:F base layer/Ag nanoparticles/C:F top layer. It is shown that the increasing number of Ag nanoparticles in produced coatings leads not only in enhancement of their antibacterial activity, but also causes substantial increase of their hydrophobicity. Under optimized conditions, the coatings are super-hydrophobic with water contact angle equal to 165∘ and are capable to induce 6-log reduction of bacteria presented in solution within 4h.

Rheological Properties in Aqueous Solution for Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamides Prepared in Inverse Emulsion Polymerization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shirley Carro

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Inverse emulsion polymerization technique was employed to synthesize hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide polymers with hydrophobe contents near to feed composition. Three different structures were obtained: multisticker, telechelic, and combined. N-Dimethyl-acrylamide (DMAM, n-dodecylacrylamide (DAM, and n-hexadecylacrylamide (HDAM were used as hydrophobic comonomers. The effect of the hydrophobe length of comonomer, the initial monomer, and surfactant concentrations on shear viscosity was studied. Results show that the molecular weight of copolymer increases with initial monomer concentration and by increasing emulsifier concentration it remained almost constant. Shear viscosity measurements results show that the length of the hydrophobic comonomer augments the hydrophobic interactions causing an increase in viscosity and that the polymer thickening ability is higher for combined polymers.

Assessment and prediction of air quality using fuzzy logic and autoregressive models

Science.gov (United States)

Carbajal-Hernández, José Juan; Sánchez-Fernández, Luis P.; Carrasco-Ochoa, Jesús A.; Martínez-Trinidad, José Fco.

2012-12-01

In recent years, artificial intelligence methods have been used for the treatment of environmental problems. This work, presents two models for assessment and prediction of air quality. First, we develop a new computational model for air quality assessment in order to evaluate toxic compounds that can harm sensitive people in urban areas, affecting their normal activities. In this model we propose to use a Sigma operator to statistically asses air quality parameters using their historical data information and determining their negative impact in air quality based on toxicity limits, frequency average and deviations of toxicological tests. We also introduce a fuzzy inference system to perform parameter classification using a reasoning process and integrating them in an air quality index describing the pollution levels in five stages: excellent, good, regular, bad and danger, respectively. The second model proposed in this work predicts air quality concentrations using an autoregressive model, providing a predicted air quality index based on the fuzzy inference system previously developed. Using data from Mexico City Atmospheric Monitoring System, we perform a comparison among air quality indices developed for environmental agencies and similar models. Our results show that our models are an appropriate tool for assessing site pollution and for providing guidance to improve contingency actions in urban areas.

Effects of nanometric hydrophobic layer on performances of solar photovoltaic collectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrei BUTUZA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The study refers to the experimental investigation of solar photovoltaic collectors' behaviour when the glazed surface is treated with a nanometric layer of hydrophobic solution. The experiment was carried out on two photovoltaic collectors, of which one was considered as reference and the other one was coated with a commercial hydrophobic solution. It was studied the evolution of the following electrical parameters: current, voltage, power, efficiency and daily energy production. The voltage was almost unaffected, but for all the others parameters, important drop were recorded. The preliminary conclusion of the study is that the use of hydrophobic solutions, for the treatment of glazed surfaces of solar collectors is not recommended. This hypothesis needs supplementary investigations and measurements in the context of reduced available information concerning the optical properties of hydrophobic solutions.

Production and characterization of hydrophobic zinc borate by using palm oil

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Nil Baran Acarali; Nurcan Tugrul; Emek Moroydor Derun; Sabriye Piskin

2013-01-01

Zinc borate (ZB) was synthesized using zinc oxide, boric acid synthesized from colemanite, and reference ZB as seed. The eff ects of reaction parameters such as reaction time, reactant ratio, and seed ratio on its yield were examined. Then, the eff ects of palm oil with solvents (isopropyl alcohol (IPA), ethanol, and methanol) added to the reaction on its hydrophobicity were explored. Reactions were carried out under determined reaction conditions with magnetically and mechanically stirred systems. The produced ZB was characterized by X-ray diff raction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and measurements of contact angle identified hydrophobicity. The results showed that hydrophobic ZB was successfully produced under determined reaction conditions. The change of process parameters influenced its yield and the usage of palm oil provided hydrophobicity.

A study of degradation resistance and cytocompatibility of super-hydrophobic coating on magnesium.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yufen; Feyerabend, Frank; Tang, Shawei; Hu, Jin; Lu, Xiaopeng; Blawert, Carsten; Lin, Tiegui

2017-09-01

Calcium stearate based super-hydrophobic coating was deposited on plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) pre-treated magnesium substrate. The pre-treated magnesium and super-hydrophobic coating covered sample were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electrochemical corrosion measurements. The cytocompatibility and degradation resistance of magnesium, pre-treated magnesium and super-hydrophobic coating were analysed in terms of cell adhesion and osteoblast differentiation. The results indicate that the calcium stearate top coating shows super-hydrophobicity and that the surface is composed of micro/nanostructure. The super-hydrophobic coating covered sample shows higher barrier properties compared with the PEO pre-treated magnesium and bare magnesium. Human osteoblast proliferation, but not differentiation is enhanced by the PEO coating. Contrary, the super-hydrophobic coating reduces proliferation, but enhances differentiation of osteoblast, observable by the formation of hydroxyapatite. The combination of corrosion protection and cell reaction indicates that this system could be interesting for biomedical applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HPMA-based block copolymers promote differential drug delivery kinetics for hydrophobic and amphiphilic molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomcin, Stephanie; Kelsch, Annette; Staff, Roland H; Landfester, Katharina; Zentel, Rudolf; Mailänder, Volker

2016-04-15

We describe a method how polymeric nanoparticles stabilized with (2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA)-based block copolymers are used as drug delivery systems for a fast release of hydrophobic and a controlled release of an amphiphilic molecule. The versatile method of the miniemulsion solvent-evaporation technique was used to prepare polystyrene (PS) as well as poly-d/l-lactide (PDLLA) nanoparticles. Covalently bound or physically adsorbed fluorescent dyes labeled the particles' core and their block copolymer corona. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in combination with flow cytometry measurements were applied to demonstrate the burst release of a fluorescent hydrophobic drug model without the necessity of nanoparticle uptake. In addition, CLSM studies and quantitative calculations using the image processing program Volocity® show the intracellular detachment of the amphiphilic block copolymer from the particles' core after uptake. Our findings offer the possibility to combine the advantages of a fast release for hydrophobic and a controlled release for an amphiphilic molecule therefore pointing to the possibility to a 'multi-step and multi-site' targeting by one nanocarrier. We describe thoroughly how different components of a nanocarrier end up in cells. This enables different cargos of a nanocarrier having a consecutive release and delivery of distinct components. Most interestingly we demonstrate individual kinetics of distinct components of such a system: first the release of a fluorescent hydrophobic drug model at contact with the cell membrane without the necessity of nanoparticle uptake. Secondly, the intracellular detachment of the amphiphilic block copolymer from the particles' core after uptake occurs. This offers the possibility to combine the advantages of a fast release for a hydrophobic substance at the time of interaction of the nanoparticle with the cell surface and a controlled release for an amphiphilic molecule later on therefore

New nanostructured nickel–polymer nanohybrids with improved surface hydrophobicity and effect on the living cells adhesion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macko, Ján; Oriňak, Andrej; Oriňaková, Renáta; Muhmann, Christian; Petruš, Ondrej; Harvanová, Denisa

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Unique nanohybrid formed from nanostructured nickel covered with polymer layer in being introduced. • Polymer is spin-coated on nanostructured nickel surface. • Nanohybrid surface hydrophobicity extension has been observed. • Adhesion of the cells was studied at nanohybrid surface. • The cells growth was differently inhibited at nanohybrid surface. - Abstract: An intensive gain of surface hydrophobicity has been observed on the differently polar polymer layers spin-coated directly on the previously prepared nanostructured nickel surface to form nanohybrids. Nanostructured nickel layer has been prepared by electrochemical deposition to form polyhedral crystalline nanostructure. Surface morphology and homogeneity of a nanohybrid polymer layer have been monitored by TOF-SIMS and SEM methods. Hydrophobicity extension of nanohybrid surfaces increased nearly linearly with decreasing polarity of single polymers applied and maximum increase in hydrophobicity value obtained was 32%. Novel nanohybrid surfaces functionality has been tested on the different cells adhesion. The results showed cell adhesion followed with an inhibition of the living cells spreading and proliferation on declared nanostructured nickel–polymer nanohybrid surfaces. The maximum inhibition activity of nanohybrid surface against cells line has been observed in a case when polydimethylsiloxane was applied as surface polymeric layer. Preparation of this kind of surface is easy and inexpensive, with many proposed applications where hydrophobic surfaces are required. This also can tend as a model for the preparation of the surfaces with cell anti-adhesion and antimicrobial activity.

Current status for applications of hydrophobic platinum catalysts in tritium removal from nuclear effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vagner, Irina; Ionita, Gheorghe; Varlam, Carmen

2008-01-01

Full text: Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D results on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in deuterium and tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: 1. to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes; 2. to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the deuterium and tritium separation; 3. to assess and find a new procedure for preparation of a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. The merits of the hydrophobic catalysts are shown in comparison to hydrophilic catalysts. As results of the review some general conclusions about the applications of hydrophobic catalysts in environmental field are as follow: 1. the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed reactors showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; 2. the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium removal from liquid and gaseous effluent in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; 3. the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts to other new processes, which take place in presence of liquid water or high humidity, like VOCs oxidation from wastewater or H 2 -O 2 catalytic recombination, are subject to testing

Functional bacterial amyloid increases Pseudomonas biofilm hydrophobicity and stiffness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Guanghong; Vad, Brian S; Dueholm, Morten S

2015-01-01

The success of Pseudomonas species as opportunistic pathogens derives in great part from their ability to form stable biofilms that offer protection against chemical and mechanical attack. The extracellular matrix of biofilms contains numerous biomolecules, and it has recently been discovered...... that in Pseudomonas one of the components includes β-sheet rich amyloid fibrils (functional amyloid) produced by the fap operon. However, the role of the functional amyloid within the biofilm has not yet been investigated in detail. Here we investigate how the fap-based amyloid produced by Pseudomonas affects biofilm...... hydrophobicity and mechanical properties. Using atomic force microscopy imaging and force spectroscopy, we show that the amyloid renders individual cells more resistant to drying and alters their interactions with hydrophobic probes. Importantly, amyloid makes Pseudomonas more hydrophobic and increases biofilm...

Radiation-induced changes in membrane hydrophobicity in liposomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakazawa, Tohru; Nagatsuka, Shinichiro; Yukawa, Osami

1985-01-01

Effects of γ-radiation on the physical state of membranes were examined with liposomes of lecithin (phosphatidylcholine) from soybean and rat liver microsomes using spin labeling method. There was a slight increase in the membrane fluidity after irradiation. However, a marked decrease in the membrane hydrophobicity by irradiation was observed in the peripheral region in both types of membranes, in parallel with an increase in the lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that irradiation mainly causes a decrease in the membrane hydrophobicity through lipid peroxidation. (author)

Robust geographically weighted regression of modeling the Air Polluter Standard Index (APSI)

Science.gov (United States)

Warsito, Budi; Yasin, Hasbi; Ispriyanti, Dwi; Hoyyi, Abdul

2018-05-01

The Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model has been widely applied to many practical fields for exploring spatial heterogenity of a regression model. However, this method is inherently not robust to outliers. Outliers commonly exist in data sets and may lead to a distorted estimate of the underlying regression model. One of solution to handle the outliers in the regression model is to use the robust models. So this model was called Robust Geographically Weighted Regression (RGWR). This research aims to aid the government in the policy making process related to air pollution mitigation by developing a standard index model for air polluter (Air Polluter Standard Index - APSI) based on the RGWR approach. In this research, we also consider seven variables that are directly related to the air pollution level, which are the traffic velocity, the population density, the business center aspect, the air humidity, the wind velocity, the air temperature, and the area size of the urban forest. The best model is determined by the smallest AIC value. There are significance differences between Regression and RGWR in this case, but Basic GWR using the Gaussian kernel is the best model to modeling APSI because it has smallest AIC.

Numerical Modelling Of Humid Air Flow Around A Porous Body

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bohojło-Wiśniewska Aneta

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an example of humid air flow around a single head of Chinese cabbage under conditions of complex heat transfer. This kind of numerical simulation allows us to create a heat and humidity transfer model between the Chinese cabbage and the flowing humid air. The calculations utilize the heat transfer model in porous medium, which includes the temperature difference between the solid (vegetable tissue and fluid (air phases of the porous medium. Modelling and calculations were performed in ANSYS Fluent 14.5 software.

Topological characterization of antireflective and hydrophobic rough surfaces: are random process theory and fractal modeling applicable?

Science.gov (United States)

Borri, Claudia; Paggi, Marco

2015-02-01

The random process theory (RPT) has been widely applied to predict the joint probability distribution functions (PDFs) of asperity heights and curvatures of rough surfaces. A check of the predictions of RPT against the actual statistics of numerically generated random fractal surfaces and of real rough surfaces has been only partially undertaken. The present experimental and numerical study provides a deep critical comparison on this matter, providing some insight into the capabilities and limitations in applying RPT and fractal modeling to antireflective and hydrophobic rough surfaces, two important types of textured surfaces. A multi-resolution experimental campaign using a confocal profilometer with different lenses is carried out and a comprehensive software for the statistical description of rough surfaces is developed. It is found that the topology of the analyzed textured surfaces cannot be fully described according to RPT and fractal modeling. The following complexities emerge: (i) the presence of cut-offs or bi-fractality in the power-law power-spectral density (PSD) functions; (ii) a more pronounced shift of the PSD by changing resolution as compared to what was expected from fractal modeling; (iii) inaccuracy of the RPT in describing the joint PDFs of asperity heights and curvatures of textured surfaces; (iv) lack of resolution-invariance of joint PDFs of textured surfaces in case of special surface treatments, not accounted for by fractal modeling.

Inconsistent Distances in Substitution Matrices can be Avoided by Properly Handling Hydrophobic Residues

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J. Baussand

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The adequacy of substitution matrices to model evolutionary relationships between amino acid sequences can be numerically evaluated by checking the mathematical property of triangle inequality for all triplets of residues. By converting substitution scores into distances, one can verify that a direct path between two amino acids is shorter than a path passing through a third amino acid in the amino acid space modeled by the matrix. If the triangle inequality is not verified, the intuition is that the evolutionary signal is not well modeled by the matrix, that the space is locally inconsistent and that the matrix construction was probably based on insufficient biological data. Previous analysis on several substitution matrices revealed that the number of triplets violating the triangle inequality increases with sequence divergence. Here, we compare matrices which are dedicated to the alignment of highly divergent proteins. The triangle inequality is tested on several classical substitution matrices as well as in a pair of “complementary” substitution matrices recording the evolutionary pressures inside and outside hydrophobic blocks in protein sequences. The analysis proves the crucial role of hydrophobic residues in substitution matrices dedicated to the alignment of distantly related proteins.

Evaporation of Nanosuspensions on Substrates with Different Hydrophobicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Perrin, Lionel; Pajor-Swierzy, Anna; Magdassi, Shlomo; Kamyshny, Alexander; Ortega, Francisco; Rubio, Ramón G

2018-01-24

Liquid drop evaporation on surfaces is present in many industrial and medical applications, e.g., printed electronics, spraying of pesticides, DNA mapping, etc. Despite this strong interest, a theoretical description of the dynamic of the evaporation of complex liquid mixtures and nanosuspensions is still lacking. Indeed, one of the aspects that have not been included in the current theoretical descriptions is the competition between the kinetics of evaporation and the adsorption of surfactants and/or particles at the liquid/vapor and liquid/solid interfaces. Materials formed by an electrically isolating solid on which a patterned conducting layer was formed by the deposits left after drop evaporation have been considered as very promising for building electrical circuits on flexible plastic substrates. In this work, we have done an exhaustive study of the evaporation of nanosuspensions of latex and hydrophobized silver nanoparticles on four substrates of different hydrophobicity. The advancing and receding contact angles as well as the time dependence of the volume of the droplets have been measured over a broad range of particle concentrations. Also, mixtures of silver particles and a surfactant, commonly used in industrial printing, have been examined. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics at both the air/liquid and solid/liquid interfaces have been measured. Whereas the latex particles do not adsorb at the solid/liquid and only slightly reduce the surface tension, the silver particles strongly adsorb at both interfaces. The experimental results of the evaporation process were compared with the predictions of the theory of Semenov et al. (Evaporation of Sessile Water Droplets: Universal Behavior in the Presence of Contact Angle Hysteresis. Colloids Surf. Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 2011, 391 (1-3), 135-144) and showed surprisingly good agreement despite that the theory was developed for pure liquids. The morphology of the deposits left by the droplets after total

The role of hydrophobic interactions for the formation of gas hydrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, R.H.; Wang, J.; Eriksson, J.C. [Virginia Polytech Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States). Center for Advanced Separation Technologies; Sum, A.K. [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2008-07-01

The process of hydrate formation remains largely unexplained due to a lack of evidence for the water molecules around the hydrophobic solute such as methane, and the nucleation process leading to the clustering that induces hydrate growth. However, the water structure is known to play a major role in the mechanism for hydrate nucleation. This paper presented evidence that hydrophobic solutes promote the structuring of water. Water molecules at room temperature tend to form ice structures around the hydrocarbon chains of surfactant molecules dissolved in water. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used in this study to measure the surface forces between thiolated gold surfaces. The purpose was to better understand the structure of the thin films of water between hydrophobic surfaces. The water molecules tended to reorganize themselves to form ordered structures, which may be related to the nucleation of hydrates. The entropy reduction associated with the ice structure can be considered as the net driving force for self-assembly. Recent studies have revealed that long-range attractive forces exist between hydrophobic surfaces, which are likely to result from structuring of the water molecules in the vicinity of the hydrophobic surfaces. Similarly, the hydrophobic nature of most gas hydrate formers may induce ordering of water molecules in the vicinity of dissolved solutes. It was concluded that the results of this study may be used to develop a new mechanism for the formation of gas hydrates, including methane. 20 refs., 2 figs.

SET-LRP of the Hydrophobic Biobased Menthyl Acrylate.

Science.gov (United States)

Bensabeh, Nabil; Ronda, Joan C; Galià, Marina; Cádiz, Virginia; Lligadas, Gerard; Percec, Virgil

2018-04-09

Cu(0) wire-catalyzed single electron transfer-living radical polymerization (SET-LRP) of (-)-menthyl acrylate, a biobased hydrophobic monomer, was investigated at 25 °C in ethanol, isopropanol, ethyl lactate, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE), and 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropanol (TFP). All solvents are known to promote, in the presence of N ligands, the mechanistically required self-regulated disproportionation of Cu(I)Br into Cu(0) and Cu(II)Br 2 . Both fluorinated alcohols brought out their characteristics of universal SET-LRP solvents and showed the proper polarity balance to mediate an efficient polymerization of this bulky and hydrophobic monomer. Together with the secondary alkyl halide initiator, methyl 2-bromopropionate (MBP), and the tris(2-dimethylaminoethyl)amine (Me 6 -TREN) ligand, TFE and TPF mediated an efficient SET-LRP of MnA at room temperature that proceeds through a self-generated biphasic system. The results presented here demonstrate that Cu(0) wire-catalyzed SET-LRP can be used to target polyMnA with different block lengths and narrow molecular weight distribution at room temperature. Indeed, the use of a combination of techniques that include GPC, 1 H NMR, MALDI-TOF MS performed before and after thioetherification of bromine terminus via "thio-bromo" click chemistry, and in situ reinitiation copolymerization experiments supports the near perfect chain end functionality of the synthesized biobased hydrophobic polymers. These results expand the possibilities of SET-LRP into the area of renewable resources where hydrophobic compounds are widespread.

Relation between the characteristic molecular volume and hydrophobicity of nonpolar molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sedov, Igor A., E-mail: igor_sedov@inbox.ru; Solomonov, Boris N., E-mail: boris.solomonov@ksu.r

2010-09-15

Experimental values of the Gibbs free energies of hydration for a set of nonpolar or very slightly polar compounds are analyzed in order to investigate how does the hydrophobic effect depend on molecular structure and shape. The contribution due to the hydrophobic effect is evaluated using a method we suggested previously. A number of values of the Gibbs free energies of solvation in dimethyl sulfoxide and in hexadecane, which are required for calculation, were determined by gas chromatographic headspace analysis. It is found that the Gibbs hydrophobic effect energy is linearly dependent on characteristic molecular volume for a large variety of solutes with branched and unbranched carbon chains, different functional groups and atomic composition. Molecular structure and shape do not significantly affect the hydrophobicity of chemical species, and molecular volume is a main factor determining it.

Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model Forms

Science.gov (United States)

The Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) is a guidance tool designed for use by building professionals and others interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings.

Innovations in projecting emissions for air quality modeling ...

Science.gov (United States)

Air quality modeling is used in setting air quality standards and in evaluating their costs and benefits. Historically, modeling applications have projected emissions and the resulting air quality only 5 to 10 years into the future. Recognition that the choice of air quality management strategy has climate change implications is encouraging longer modeling time horizons. However, for multi-decadal time horizons, many questions about future conditions arise. For example, will current population, economic, and land use trends continue, or will we see shifts that may alter the spatial and temporal pattern of emissions? Similarly, will technologies such as building-integrated solar photovoltaics, battery storage, electric vehicles, and CO2 capture emerge as disruptive technologies - shifting how we produce and use energy - or will these technologies achieve only niche markets and have little impact? These are some of the questions that are being evaluated by researchers within the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development. In this presentation, Dr. Loughlin will describe a range of analytical approaches that are being explored. These include: (i) the development of alternative scenarios of the future that can be used to evaluate candidate management strategies over wide-ranging conditions, (ii) the application of energy system models to project emissions decades into the future and to assess the environmental implications of new technologies, (iii) and methodo

Enhancement of Water Evaporation on Solid Surfaces with Nanoscale Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic Patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Rongzheng; Wang, Chunlei; Lei, Xiaoling; Zhou, Guoquan; Fang, Haiping

2015-11-06

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the evaporation of nanoscale water on hydrophobic-hydrophilic patterned surfaces is unexpectedly faster than that on any surfaces with uniform wettability. The key to this phenomenon is that, on the patterned surface, the evaporation rate from the hydrophilic region only slightly decreases due to the correspondingly increased water thickness; meanwhile, a considerable number of water molecules evaporate from the hydrophobic region despite the lack of water film. Most of the evaporated water from the hydrophobic region originates from the hydrophilic region by diffusing across the contact lines. Further analysis shows that the evaporation rate from the hydrophobic region is approximately proportional to the total length of the contact lines.

Modeling the Environmental Impact of Air Traffic Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Neil

2011-01-01

There is increased interest to understand and mitigate the impacts of air traffic on the climate, since greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, and contrails generated by air traffic can have adverse impacts on the climate. The models described in this presentation are useful for quantifying these impacts and for studying alternative environmentally aware operational concepts. These models have been developed by leveraging and building upon existing simulation and optimization techniques developed for the design of efficient traffic flow management strategies. Specific enhancements to the existing simulation and optimization techniques include new models that simulate aircraft fuel flow, emissions and contrails. To ensure that these new models are beneficial to the larger climate research community, the outputs of these new models are compatible with existing global climate modeling tools like the FAA's Aviation Environmental Design Tool.

Fabrication of TiO2/EP super-hydrophobic thin film on filter paper surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zhengxin; Zhai, Xianglin; Liu, Feng; Zhang, Ming; Zang, Deli; Wang, Chengyu

2015-09-05

A composite filter paper with super-hydrophobicity was obtained by adhering micro/nano structure of amorphous titanium dioxide on the filter paper surface with modifying low surface energy material. By virtue of the coupling agent, which plays an important part in bonding amorphous titanium dioxide and epoxy resin, the structure of super-hydrophobic thin film on the filter paper surface is extremely stable. The microstructure of super-hydrophobic filter paper was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the images showed that the as-prepared filter paper was covered with uniform amorphous titanium dioxide particles, generating a roughness structure on the filter paper surface. The super-hydrophobic performance of the filter paper was characterized by water contact angle measurements. The observations showed that the wettability of filter paper samples transformed from super-hydrophilicity to super-hydrophobicity with the water contact angle of 153 ± 1°. Some experiments were also designed to test the effect of water-oil separation and UV-resistant by the super-hydrophobic filter paper. The prepared super-hydrophobic filter paper worked efficiently and simply in water-oil separation as well as enduringly in anti-UV property after the experiments. This method offers an opportunity to the practical applications of the super-hydrophobic filter paper. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crystalline mono- and multilayer self-assemblies of oligothiophenes at the air-water interface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Isz, S.; Weissbuch, I.; Kjær, K.

1997-01-01

The formation of Langmuir monolayers at the air-water interface has long been believed to be limited to amphiphilic molecules containing a hydrophobic chain and a hydrophilic headgroup. Here we report the formation of crystalline mono- and multilayer self-assemblies of oligothiophenes, a class...... of aromatic nonamphiphilic molecules, self-aggregated at the air-water interface. As model systems we have examined the deposition of quaterthiophene (S-4), quinquethiophene (S-5). and sexithiophene (S-6) from chloroform solutions on the water surface. The structures of the films were determined by surface...... surface. S-5 self-ageregates at the water surface to form mixtures of monolayers and bilayers of the beta polymorph; S-6 forms primarily crystalline monolayers of both alpha and beta forms. The crystalline assemblies preserve their integrity during transfer from the water surface onto solid supports...

Hydrophobic recovery of repeatedly plasma-treated silicone rubber .2. A comparison of the hydrophobic recovery in air, water, or liquid nitrogen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Everaert, EP; VanderMei, HC; Busscher, HJ

1996-01-01

Surfaces of medical grade silicone rubber (Q7-4750, Dow Coming) were modified by repeated (six times) RF plasma treatments using various discharge gases: oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. The treated samples were stored for a period of 3 months in ambient air, water, or liquid nitrogen.

Reactivity of long chain alkylamines to lignin moieties: implications on hydrophobicity of lignocellulose materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kudanga, Tukayi; Prasetyo, Endry Nugroho; Sipilä, Jussi; Guebitz, Georg M; Nyanhongo, Gibson S

2010-08-20

Enzymatic processes provide new perspectives for modification of lignocellulose materials. In the current study, laccase catalyzed coupling of long chain alkylamines to lignin model molecules and lignocellulose was investigated. Up to two molecules of dodecylamine (DA) and dihexylamine (DHA) were successfully coupled with lignin monomers (guaiacol, catechol and ferulic acid) while coupling onto complex lignin model compounds (syringylglycerol beta-guaiacyl ether, guaiacylglycerol beta-guaiacyl ether and dibenzodioxocin) yielded 1:1 coupling products. Surface analysis of beech veneers enzymatically grafted with DA showed an increase in nitrogen content of 3.18% compared to 0.71% in laccase only treated controls while the O/C ratio decreased from 0.52 to 0.46. Concomitantly the grafting of DHA or DA onto beech veneers resulted in a 53.8% and 84.2% increase in hydrophobicity, respectively when compared to simple adsorption. Therefore, laccase-mediated grafting of long chain alkylamines onto lignocellulose materials can be potentially exploited for improving their hydrophobicity. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling green infrastructure land use changes on future air ...

Science.gov (United States)

Green infrastructure can be a cost-effective approach for reducing stormwater runoff and improving water quality as a result, but it could also bring co-benefits for air quality: less impervious surfaces and more vegetation can decrease the urban heat island effect, and also result in more removal of air pollutants via dry deposition with increased vegetative surfaces. Cooler surface temperatures can also decrease ozone formation through the increases of NOx titration; however, cooler surface temperatures also lower the height of the boundary layer resulting in more concentrated pollutants within the same volume of air, especially for primary emitted pollutants (e.g. NOx, CO, primary particulate matter). To better understand how green infrastructure impacts air quality, the interactions between all of these processes must be considered collectively. In this study, we use a comprehensive coupled meteorology-air quality model (WRF-CMAQ) to simulate the influence of planned land use changes that include green infrastructure in Kansas City (KC) on regional meteorology and air quality. Current and future land use data was provided by the Mid-America Regional Council for 2012 and 2040 (projected land use due to population growth, city planning and green infrastructure implementation). These land use datasets were incorporated into the WRF-CMAQ modeling system allowing the modeling system to propagate the changes in vegetation and impervious surface coverage on meteoro

Development and application of air quality models at the US ...

Science.gov (United States)

Overview of the development and application of air quality models at the U.S. EPA, particularly focused on the development and application of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model developed within the Computation Exposure Division (CED) of the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL). This presentation will provide a simple overview of air quality model development and application geared toward a non-technical student audience. The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Computational Exposure Division (CED) develops and evaluates data, decision-support tools, and models to be applied to media-specific or receptor-specific problem areas. CED uses modeling-based approaches to characterize exposures, evaluate fate and transport, and support environmental diagnostics/forensics with input from multiple data sources. It also develops media- and receptor-specific models, process models, and decision support tools for use both within and outside of EPA.

The hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio vs. dissolved organics removal by coagulation – A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djamel Ghernaout

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This review discusses the hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio as a function of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic contents removal by coagulation process. It is well established that coagulation process could bring a reduction in dissolved organic carbon of around 30–60% by increasing the coagulant dose and optimising reaction pH, in which large organic molecules with hydrophobic property was removed preferentially. Furthermore, the literature affirmed that the greater removal of UV-absorbing substances indicates that alum coagulation preferentially removed the hydrophobic fraction of the total organic carbon. For the hydrophobic fraction, it needs to be removed entirely without its transformation into hydrophilic fractions by coagulation process avoiding pre-chlorination/pre-oxidation due to the risk of organic molecules fragmentation. Determining the exact numerical values of the hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio for raw water and treated water at different stages of the treatment processes in a water treatment plant, as for the DCO/DBO5 ratio in the case of wastewater treatment, would help on more focusing on OM control and removal.

Equivalent Air Spring Suspension Model for Quarter-Passive Model of Passenger Vehicles

OpenAIRE

Abid, Haider J.; Chen, Jie; Nassar, Ameen A.

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the GENSIS air spring suspension system equivalence to a passive suspension system. The SIMULINK simulation together with the OptiY optimization is used to obtain the air spring suspension model equivalent to passive suspension system, where the car body response difference from both systems with the same road profile inputs is used as the objective function for optimization (OptiY program). The parameters of air spring system such as initial pressure, volume of bag, l...

Hydrophobic catalyst applications in the nuclear field and in environmental studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionita, Gheorghe; Popescu, Irina; Stefanescu, Ioan; Varlam, Carmen

2002-01-01

The paper presents methods of preparation and applications of hydrophobic platinum catalysts in nuclear field and environmental protection. These catalysts allow the transport of gaseous reactants and reaction products to and from catalytic active centers since the pore blocking by water is avoided. Hence the activity and stability of the catalysts increase and isotopic exchange columns with simpler internal structure can be achieved. The aim of the paper is: 1. to give a data base regarding the preparation methods of the optimal catalyst type; 2. to indicate the utilization and operation procedures of hydrophobic catalysts with mixed and simple packings; 3. to evaluate the performances and applications of hydrophobic catalysts. Over one hundred of hydrophobic catalysts of the active metal/support type were prepared in our laboratory. Hydrophobic features were obtained by different methods like these: - coating a hydrophilic conventional catalyst with a hydrophobic agent such as silicone or teflon; - supporting the active metal directly into the pores of a hydrophobic support; - mixing the teflon powder with a hydrophilic conventional catalyst; coating the support with teflon followed by the impregnation with the precursor of the active metal. The most important application of these catalysts is detritiation of the heavy water used as moderator and coolant in CANDU type reactors. Build-up of tritium in heavy water following the neutron capture by deuterium leads to a reduction in the moderating properties and at the same time leads to a contamination hazard for both operation personnel and environment. Tritium recovery leads this way to both improving the moderating qualities of the heavy water and obtaining valuable pure tritium of high importance in fusion research and other laboratory studies. One gram of tritium costs about USD 10,000. The physical chemical process is water-hydrogen catalyzed isotopic exchange. Also discussed in the paper is the separation of

Aircraft/Air Traffic Management Functional Analysis Model: Technical Description. 2.0

Science.gov (United States)

Etheridge, Melvin; Plugge, Joana; Retina, Nusrat

1998-01-01

The Aircraft/Air Traffic Management Functional Analysis Model, Version 2.0 (FAM 2.0), is a discrete event simulation model designed to support analysis of alternative concepts in air traffic management and control. FAM 2.0 was developed by the Logistics Management Institute (LMI) under a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contract. This document provides a technical description of FAM 2.0 and its computer files to enable the modeler and programmer to make enhancements or modifications to the model. Those interested in a guide for using the model in analysis should consult the companion document, Aircraft/Air Traffic Management Functional Analysis Model, Version 2.0 Users Manual.

Hydrophobicity study of kaolinite from La Unión, Antioquia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana M. Usuga-Manco

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In this research three methodologies to convert the hydrophilic surface of kaolinite into a hydrophobic surface are proposed, this condition is required to recover this mineral by means of froth flotation. Taking into account the anisotropy, zeta potential and complex surface electrical properties of the kaolinite, three surface chemical treatments based on the interacting and absorption of anionic collectors onto the mineral surface, causing an increase in the contact angle and thus increased hydrophobicity of kaolinite were applied. The methodologies proposed were interactions of kaolinite particles with: sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions with concentration 1x10-3M, 1x10-4M, 1x10-5M; sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions 1x10-3M, 1x10-4M, 1x10-5M with further interaction with kerosene solutions 127000 ppm; and oleic acid solutions 1x10-3M, 1x10-4M, 1x10-5M, each one with a five minutes of interaction. The experimental results obtained by zeta potential and contact angle of the kaolinite before and after applying chemical treatments indicate that larger the chain length of the collector and its concentration, bigger the contact angle and so, more hydrophobic the surface (edge or face. In order to optimize, control and understand this solid-liquid interaction phenomenon is suggested to find out about the hydrophobization mechanism of kaolinite with oleic acid and its percentage of hydrophobization.

Automated Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography Column Selection for Use in Protein Purification

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Patrick J. M.; Stone, Orrin J.; Anderson, Michelle E.

2011-01-01

should be employed for future, more exhaustive optimization experiments and protein purification runs 4. The specific protein being purified here is recombinant green fluorescent protein (GFP); however, the approach may be adapted for purifying other proteins with one or more hydrophobic surface regions. GFP serves as a useful model protein, due to its stability, unique light absorbance peak at 397 nm, and fluorescence when exposed to UV light 5. Bacterial lysate containing wild type GFP was prepared in a high-salt buffer, loaded into a Bio-Rad DuoFlow medium pressure liquid chromatography system, and adsorbed to HiTrap HIC columns containing different HIC media. The protein was eluted from the columns and analyzed by in-line and post-run detection methods. Buffer blending, dynamic sample loop injection, sequential column selection, multi-wavelength analysis, and split fraction eluate collection increased the functionality of the system and reproducibility of the experimental approach. PMID:21968976

3DRISM-HI-D2MSA: an improved analytic theory to compute solvent structure around hydrophobic solutes with proper treatment of solute–solvent electrostatic interactions

KAUST Repository

Cao, Siqin

2017-12-22

The 3D reference interaction site model (3DRISM) is a powerful tool to study the thermodynamic and structural properties of liquids. However, for hydrophobic solutes, the inhomogeneity of the solvent density around them poses a great challenge to the 3DRISM theory. To address this issue, we have previously introduced the hydrophobic-induced density inhomogeneity theory (HI) for purely hydrophobic solutes. To further consider the complex hydrophobic solutes containing partial charges, here we propose the D2MSA closure to incorporate the short-range and long-range interactions with the D2 closure and the mean spherical approximation, respectively. We demonstrate that our new theory can compute the solvent distributions around real hydrophobic solutes in water and complex organic solvents that agree well with the explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations.

3DRISM-HI-D2MSA: an improved analytic theory to compute solvent structure around hydrophobic solutes with proper treatment of solute–solvent electrostatic interactions

KAUST Repository

Cao, Siqin; Zhu, Lizhe; Huang, Xuhui

2017-01-01

The 3D reference interaction site model (3DRISM) is a powerful tool to study the thermodynamic and structural properties of liquids. However, for hydrophobic solutes, the inhomogeneity of the solvent density around them poses a great challenge to the 3DRISM theory. To address this issue, we have previously introduced the hydrophobic-induced density inhomogeneity theory (HI) for purely hydrophobic solutes. To further consider the complex hydrophobic solutes containing partial charges, here we propose the D2MSA closure to incorporate the short-range and long-range interactions with the D2 closure and the mean spherical approximation, respectively. We demonstrate that our new theory can compute the solvent distributions around real hydrophobic solutes in water and complex organic solvents that agree well with the explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations.

3DRISM-HI-D2MSA: an improved analytic theory to compute solvent structure around hydrophobic solutes with proper treatment of solute–solvent electrostatic interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Siqin; Zhu, Lizhe; Huang, Xuhui

2018-04-01

The 3D reference interaction site model (3DRISM) is a powerful tool to study the thermodynamic and structural properties of liquids. However, for hydrophobic solutes, the inhomogeneity of the solvent density around them poses a great challenge to the 3DRISM theory. To address this issue, we have previously introduced the hydrophobic-induced density inhomogeneity theory (HI) for purely hydrophobic solutes. To further consider the complex hydrophobic solutes containing partial charges, here we propose the D2MSA closure to incorporate the short-range and long-range interactions with the D2 closure and the mean spherical approximation, respectively. We demonstrate that our new theory can compute the solvent distributions around real hydrophobic solutes in water and complex organic solvents that agree well with the explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations.

A Density Functional Theory Evaluation of Hydrophobic Solvation: Ne, Ar and Kr in a 50-Water Cluster. Implications for the Hydrophobic Effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobko, Nadya; Marianski, Mateusz; Asensio, Amparo; Wieczorek, Robert; Dannenberg, J J

2012-06-15

The physical explanation for the hydrophobic effect has been the subject of disagreement. Physical organic chemists tend to use a explanation related to pressure, while many biochemists prefer an explanation that involves decreased entropy of the aqueous solvent. We present DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and X3LYP/6-31G(d,p) levels on the solvation of three noble gases (Ne, Ar, and Kr) in clusters of 50 waters. Vibrational analyses show no substantial decreases in the vibrational entropies of the waters in any of the three clusters. The observed positive free energies of transfer from the gas phase or from nonpolar solvents to water appear to be due to the work needed to make a suitable hole in the aqueous solvent. We distinguish between hydrophobic solvations (explicitly studied here) and the hydrophobic effect that occurs when a solute (or transition state) can decrease its volume through conformational change (which is not possible for the noble gases).

High-resolution modelling of health impacts from air pollution using the integrated model system EVA

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Jørgen; Andersen, Mikael S.; Bønløkke, Jakob; Christensen, Jesper H.; Geels, Camilla; Hansen, Kaj M.; Jensen, Steen S.; Ketzel, Matthias; Plejdrup, Marlene S.; Sigsgaard, Torben; Silver, Jeremy D.

2014-05-01

A high-resolution assessment of health impacts from air pollution and related external cost has been conducted for Denmark using the integrated EVA model system. The EVA system has been further developed by implementing an air quality model with a 1 km x 1 km resolution covering the whole of Denmark. New developments of the integrated model system will be presented as well as results for health impacts and related external costs over several decades. Furthermore, the sensitivity of health impacts to model resolution will be studied. We have developed an integrated model system EVA (Economic Valuation of Air pollution), based on the impact-pathway chain, to assess the health impacts and health-related economic externalities of air pollution resulting from specific emission sources or sectors. The system is used to support policymaking with respect to emission control. In Brandt et al. (2013a; 2013b), the EVA system was used to assess the impacts in Europe and Denmark from the past, present and future total air pollution levels as well as the contribution from the major anthropogenic emission sectors. The EVA system was applied using the hemispheric chemistry-transport model, the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM), with nesting capability for higher resolution over Europe (50 km x 50 km) and Northern Europe (16.7 km x 16.7 km). In this study an Urban Background Model (UBM) has been further developed to cover the whole of Denmark with a 1 km x 1 km resolution and the model has been implemented as a part of the integrated model system, EVA. The EVA system is based on the impact-pathway methodology. The site-specific emissions will result (via atmospheric transport and chemistry) in a concentration distribution, which together with detailed population data, are used to estimate the population-level exposure. Using exposure-response functions and economic valuations, the exposure is transformed into impacts on human health and related external costs. In this study

Statistical modeling of urban air temperature distributions under different synoptic conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Christoph; Breitner, Susanne; Cyrys, Josef; Hald, Cornelius; Hartz, Uwe; Jacobeit, Jucundus; Richter, Katja; Schneider, Alexandra; Wolf, Kathrin

2015-04-01

Within urban areas air temperature may vary distinctly between different locations. These intra-urban air temperature variations partly reach magnitudes that are relevant with respect to human thermal comfort. Therefore and furthermore taking into account potential interrelations with other health related environmental factors (e.g. air quality) it is important to estimate spatial patterns of intra-urban air temperature distributions that may be incorporated into urban planning processes. In this contribution we present an approach to estimate spatial temperature distributions in the urban area of Augsburg (Germany) by means of statistical modeling. At 36 locations in the urban area of Augsburg air temperatures are measured with high temporal resolution (4 min.) since December 2012. These 36 locations represent different typical urban land use characteristics in terms of varying percentage coverages of different land cover categories (e.g. impervious, built-up, vegetated). Percentage coverages of these land cover categories have been extracted from different sources (Open Street Map, European Urban Atlas, Urban Morphological Zones) for regular grids of varying size (50, 100, 200 meter horizonal resolution) for the urban area of Augsburg. It is well known from numerous studies that land use characteristics have a distinct influence on air temperature and as well other climatic variables at a certain location. Therefore air temperatures at the 36 locations are modeled utilizing land use characteristics (percentage coverages of land cover categories) as predictor variables in Stepwise Multiple Regression models and in Random Forest based model approaches. After model evaluation via cross-validation appropriate statistical models are applied to gridded land use data to derive spatial urban air temperature distributions. Varying models are tested and applied for different seasons and times of the day and also for different synoptic conditions (e.g. clear and calm

Description of Supply Openings in Numerical Models for Room Air Distribution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter V.

This paper discusses various possibilities for describing supply openings in numerical models of room air distribution.......This paper discusses various possibilities for describing supply openings in numerical models of room air distribution....

Modelling pesticide volatilization after soil application using the mechanistic model Volt'Air

Science.gov (United States)

Bedos, Carole; Génermont, Sophie; Le Cadre, Edith; Garcia, Lucas; Barriuso, Enrique; Cellier, Pierre

Volatilization of pesticides participates in atmospheric contamination and affects environmental ecosystems including human welfare. Modelling at relevant time and spatial scales is needed to better understand the complex processes involved in pesticide volatilization. Volt'Air-Pesticides has been developed following a two-step procedure to study pesticide volatilization at the field scale and at a quarter time step. Firstly, Volt'Air-NH 3 was adapted by extending the initial transfer of solutes to pesticides and by adding specific calculations for physico-chemical equilibriums as well as for the degradation of pesticides in soil. Secondly, the model was evaluated in terms of 3 pesticides applied on bare soil (atrazine, alachlor, and trifluralin) which display a wide range of volatilization rates. A sensitivity analysis confirmed the relevance of tuning to K h. Then, using Volt'Air-Pesticides, environmental conditions and emission fluxes of the pesticides were compared to fluxes measured under 2 environmental conditions. The model fairly well described water temporal dynamics, soil surface temperature, and energy budget. Overall, Volt'Air-Pesticides estimates of the order of magnitude of the volatilization flux of all three compounds were in good agreement with the field measurements. The model also satisfactorily simulated the decrease in the volatilization rate of the three pesticides during night-time as well as the decrease in the soil surface residue of trifluralin before and after incorporation. However, the timing of the maximum flux rate during the day was not correctly described, thought to be linked to an increased adsorption under dry soil conditions. Thanks to Volt'Air's capacity to deal with pedo-climatic conditions, several existing parameterizations describing adsorption as a function of soil water content could be tested. However, this point requires further investigation. Practically speaking, Volt'Air-Pesticides can be a useful tool to make

COMPLEX OF NUMERICAL MODELS FOR COMPUTATION OF AIR ION CONCENTRATION IN PREMISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Biliaiev

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The article highlights the question about creation the complex numerical models in order to calculate the ions concentration fields in premises of various purpose and in work areas. Developed complex should take into account the main physical factors influencing the formation of the concentration field of ions, that is, aerodynamics of air jets in the room, presence of furniture, equipment, placement of ventilation holes, ventilation mode, location of ionization sources, transfer of ions under the electric field effect, other factors, determining the intensity and shape of the field of concentration of ions. In addition, complex of numerical models has to ensure conducting of the express calculation of the ions concentration in the premises, allowing quick sorting of possible variants and enabling «enlarged» evaluation of air ions concentration in the premises. Methodology. The complex numerical models to calculate air ion regime in the premises is developed. CFD numerical model is based on the use of aerodynamics, electrostatics and mass transfer equations, and takes into account the effect of air flows caused by the ventilation operation, diffusion, electric field effects, as well as the interaction of different polarities ions with each other and with the dust particles. The proposed balance model for computation of air ion regime indoors allows operative calculating the ions concentration field considering pulsed operation of the ionizer. Findings. The calculated data are received, on the basis of which one can estimate the ions concentration anywhere in the premises with artificial air ionization. An example of calculating the negative ions concentration on the basis of the CFD numerical model in the premises with reengineering transformations is given. On the basis of the developed balance model the air ions concentration in the room volume was calculated. Originality. Results of the air ion regime computation in premise, which

Air Quality – monitoring and modelling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius DEACONU

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Air pollution is a major concern for all nations, regardless of their development. The rapid growth of the industrial sector and urban development have lead to significant quantities of substances and toxic materials, mostly discharged into the atmosphere and having adverse effects both on human health and environment in general. Human society has to recognize that environment has only a limited capacity to process all of its waste without major changes. Each of us is a pollutant but also a victim of pollution. If monitoring of air pollutants is particularly important for assessing the air quality at any moment, by modelling the monitoring data spectacular results are obtained both through the factor analysis and identification of potential pollution mitigation measures. Latest equipment and techniques come and support these problems giving medium and long term solutions.

The introduction of hydrogen bond and hydrophobicity effects into the rotational isomeric states model for conformational analysis of unfolded peptides

Science.gov (United States)

Engin, Ozge; Sayar, Mehmet; Erman, Burak

2009-03-01

Relative contributions of local and non-local interactions to the unfolded conformations of peptides are examined by using the rotational isomeric states model which is a Markov model based on pairwise interactions of torsion angles. The isomeric states of a residue are well described by the Ramachandran map of backbone torsion angles. The statistical weight matrices for the states are determined by molecular dynamics simulations applied to monopeptides and dipeptides. Conformational properties of tripeptides formed from combinations of alanine, valine, tyrosine and tryptophan are investigated based on the Markov model. Comparison with molecular dynamics simulation results on these tripeptides identifies the sequence-distant long-range interactions that are missing in the Markov model. These are essentially the hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions that are obtained between the first and the third residue of a tripeptide. A systematic correction is proposed for incorporating these long-range interactions into the rotational isomeric states model. Preliminary results suggest that the Markov assumption can be improved significantly by renormalizing the statistical weight matrices to include the effects of the long-range correlations.

The introduction of hydrogen bond and hydrophobicity effects into the rotational isomeric states model for conformational analysis of unfolded peptides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engin, Ozge; Sayar, Mehmet; Erman, Burak

2009-01-01

Relative contributions of local and non-local interactions to the unfolded conformations of peptides are examined by using the rotational isomeric states model which is a Markov model based on pairwise interactions of torsion angles. The isomeric states of a residue are well described by the Ramachandran map of backbone torsion angles. The statistical weight matrices for the states are determined by molecular dynamics simulations applied to monopeptides and dipeptides. Conformational properties of tripeptides formed from combinations of alanine, valine, tyrosine and tryptophan are investigated based on the Markov model. Comparison with molecular dynamics simulation results on these tripeptides identifies the sequence-distant long-range interactions that are missing in the Markov model. These are essentially the hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions that are obtained between the first and the third residue of a tripeptide. A systematic correction is proposed for incorporating these long-range interactions into the rotational isomeric states model. Preliminary results suggest that the Markov assumption can be improved significantly by renormalizing the statistical weight matrices to include the effects of the long-range correlations

Breakout character of islet amyloid polypeptide hydrophobic mutations at the onset of type-2 diabetes

Science.gov (United States)

Frigori, Rafael B.

2014-11-01

Toxic fibrillar aggregates of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) appear as the physical outcome of a peptidic phase transition signaling the onset of type-2 diabetes mellitus in different mammalian species. In particular, experimentally verified mutations on the amyloidogenic segment 20-29 in humans, cats, and rats are highly correlated with the molecular aggregation propensities. Through a microcanonical analysis of the aggregation of IAPP20 -29 isoforms, we show that a minimalist one-bead hydrophobic-polar continuum model for protein interactions properly quantifies those propensities from free-energy barriers. Our results highlight the central role of sequence-dependent hydrophobic mutations on hot spots for stabilization, and thus for the engineering, of such biological peptides.

An inexact fuzzy-chance-constrained air quality management model.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ye; Huang, Guohe; Qin, Xiaosheng

2010-07-01

Regional air pollution is a major concern for almost every country because it not only directly relates to economic development, but also poses significant threats to environment and public health. In this study, an inexact fuzzy-chance-constrained air quality management model (IFAMM) was developed for regional air quality management under uncertainty. IFAMM was formulated through integrating interval linear programming (ILP) within a fuzzy-chance-constrained programming (FCCP) framework and could deal with uncertainties expressed as not only possibilistic distributions but also discrete intervals in air quality management systems. Moreover, the constraints with fuzzy variables could be satisfied at different confidence levels such that various solutions with different risk and cost considerations could be obtained. The developed model was applied to a hypothetical case of regional air quality management. Six abatement technologies and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission trading under uncertainty were taken into consideration. The results demonstrated that IFAMM could help decision-makers generate cost-effective air quality management patterns, gain in-depth insights into effects of the uncertainties, and analyze tradeoffs between system economy and reliability. The results also implied that the trading scheme could achieve lower total abatement cost than a nontrading one.

AIR INGRESS ANALYSIS: COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMIC MODELS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang H. Oh; Eung S. Kim; Richard Schultz; Hans Gougar; David Petti; Hyung S. Kang

2010-08-01

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, is performing research and development that focuses on key phenomena important during potential scenarios that may occur in very high temperature reactors (VHTRs). Phenomena Identification and Ranking Studies to date have ranked an air ingress event, following on the heels of a VHTR depressurization, as important with regard to core safety. Consequently, the development of advanced air ingress-related models and verification and validation data are a very high priority. Following a loss of coolant and system depressurization incident, air will enter the core of the High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor through the break, possibly causing oxidation of the in-the core and reflector graphite structure. Simple core and plant models indicate that, under certain circumstances, the oxidation may proceed at an elevated rate with additional heat generated from the oxidation reaction itself. Under postulated conditions of fluid flow and temperature, excessive degradation of the lower plenum graphite can lead to a loss of structural support. Excessive oxidation of core graphite can also lead to the release of fission products into the confinement, which could be detrimental to a reactor safety. Computational fluid dynamic model developed in this study will improve our understanding of this phenomenon. This paper presents two-dimensional and three-dimensional CFD results for the quantitative assessment of the air ingress phenomena. A portion of results of the density-driven stratified flow in the inlet pipe will be compared with results of the experimental results.

Modeling personal exposure to traffic related air pollutants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montagne, D.R.

2015-01-01

The first part of this thesis is about the VE3SPA project. Land use regression (LUR) models are often used to predict the outdoor air pollution at the home address of study participants, to study long-term effects of air pollution. While several studies have documented that PM2.5 mass measured at a

Distributed Nonstationary Heat Model of Two-Channel Solar Air Heater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klychev, Sh. I.; Bakhramov, S. A.; Ismanzhanov, A. I.; Tashiev, N.N.

2011-01-01

An algorithm for a distributed nonstationary heat model of a solar air heater (SAH) with two operating channels is presented. The model makes it possible to determine how the coolant temperature changes with time along the solar air heater channel by considering its main thermal and ambient parameters, as well as variations in efficiency. Examples of calculations are presented. It is shown that the time within which the mean-day efficiency of the solar air heater becomes stable is significantly higher than the time within which the coolant temperature reaches stable values. The model can be used for investigation of the performances of solar water-heating collectors. (authors)

Cladding oxidation during air ingress. Part II: Synthesis of modelling results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beuzet, E.; Haurais, F.; Bals, C.; Coindreau, O.; Fernandez-Moguel, L.; Vasiliev, A.; Park, S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A state-of-the-art for air oxidation modelling in the frame of severe accident is done. • Air oxidation models from main severe accident codes are detailed. • Simulations from main severe accident codes are compared against experimental results. • Perspectives in terms of need for further model development and experiments are given. - Abstract: Air ingress is a potential risk in some low probable situations of severe accidents in a nuclear power plant. Air is a highly oxidizing atmosphere that can lead to an enhanced Zr-based cladding oxidation and core degradation affecting the release of fission products. This is particularly true speaking about ruthenium release, due to its high radiotoxicity and its ability to form highly volatile oxides in a significant manner in presence of air. The oxygen affinity is decreasing from the Zircaloy cladding, fuel and ruthenium inclusions. It is consequently of great need to understand the phenomena governing cladding oxidation by air as a prerequisite for the source term issues in such scenarios. In the past years, many works have been done on cladding oxidation by air under severe accident conditions. This paper with in addition the paper “Cladding oxidation during air ingress – Part I: Synthesis of experimental results” of this journal issue aim at assessing the state of the art on this phenomenon. In this paper, the modelling of air ingress phenomena in the main severe accident codes (ASTEC, ATHLET-CD, MAAP, MELCOR, RELAP/SCDAPSIM, SOCRAT) is described in details, as well as the validation against the integral experiments QUENCH-10, QUENCH-16 and PARAMETER-SF4. A full review of cladding oxidation by air is thus established.

A physically based analytical spatial air temperature and humidity model

Science.gov (United States)

Yang Yang; Theodore A. Endreny; David J. Nowak

2013-01-01

Spatial variation of urban surface air temperature and humidity influences human thermal comfort, the settling rate of atmospheric pollutants, and plant physiology and growth. Given the lack of observations, we developed a Physically based Analytical Spatial Air Temperature and Humidity (PASATH) model. The PASATH model calculates spatial solar radiation and heat...

An assessment on preparation methods and applications of hydrophobic Pt-catalyst in nuclear and environmental field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionita, Gh.; Stefanescu, I.; Varlam, Carmen

2001-01-01

Based on the long experience of the authors in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation and application of hydrophobic catalysts for use in nuclear and environmental fields. Unlike the conventional hydrophilic catalysts, the hydrophobic catalysts repel the liquid water and allow the transport of the gaseous reactants and reaction products to and from catalytic active centers. For deuterium and tritium separation, over one hundred hydrophobic catalyst types have been prepared in different experimental conditions and by a large diversity of wet proofing methods. The influence of about twenty parameters on catalytic activity have been also studied. The purpose of this paper is: (1) to provide a database for preparation and selection of he most appropriate method for preparing an active hydrophobic catalyst, (2) to show how to use the hydrophobic catalyst and how to operate efficiently the reactor packed with hydrophobic catalyst, (3) to evaluate the performances and potentiality of hydrophobic catalysts in nuclear and environmental field, (4) evaluation of applications of hydrophobic catalysts in nuclear and environmental fields. As result, the following categories are shown: (1) the hydrophobic catalysts based on platinum and Teflon as wet-proofing proved to have the highest activity and the longest stability, (2) the utilization of hydrophobic catalyst as ordered mixed catalytic packing in the trickle bed or separated bed reactors is more efficient and has been entirely proved on industrial scale for tritium separation process, (3) the extension of the applications of hydrophobic catalysts for other processes which take place in the presence of saturated humidity or liquid water in environmental protection field. The merits of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium separation are discussed in comparison to other

On Regional Modeling to Support Air Quality Policies (book chapter)

Science.gov (United States)

We examine the use of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model in simulating the changes in the extreme values of air quality that are of interest to the regulatory agencies. Year-to-year changes in ozone air quality are attributable to variations in the prevailing meteo...

Effect of photocatalytic and hydrophobic coatings on brewery surface microorganisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Priha, O; Laakso, J; Tapani, K; Levänen, E; Kolari, M; Mäntylä, T; Storgårds, E

2011-11-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether process hygiene in the beverage industry could be improved by applying new coating techniques to process surfaces. Photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) and hydrophobic coatings applied to stainless steel with or without added antimicrobial compounds were studied in laboratory attachment tests and in a 15-month process study. No clear reductions in numbers of attached microbes were obtained with photocatalytic coatings, except for coatings to which silver had been added. These TiO(2)+Ag coatings reduced microbial coverage in laboratory studies and in some process samples. Hydrophobic coatings reduced the area coverage of microorganisms in 4-h laboratory studies but did not affect colony counts in laboratory or process studies. The surfaces had changed from hydrophobic into hydrophilic during the process study. The coatings did not mechanically fully withstand process conditions; part of the hydrophobic coatings had peeled off, most of the precipitated Ag had dissolved, and some of the TiO(2) coatings were damaged. In conclusion, functional coatings have potential for reducing microbial loads on beverage industry surfaces, but these coatings need further development.

A physically based analytical spatial air temperature and humidity model

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yang; Endreny, Theodore A.; Nowak, David J.

2013-09-01

Spatial variation of urban surface air temperature and humidity influences human thermal comfort, the settling rate of atmospheric pollutants, and plant physiology and growth. Given the lack of observations, we developed a Physically based Analytical Spatial Air Temperature and Humidity (PASATH) model. The PASATH model calculates spatial solar radiation and heat storage based on semiempirical functions and generates spatially distributed estimates based on inputs of topography, land cover, and the weather data measured at a reference site. The model assumes that for all grids under the same mesoscale climate, grid air temperature and humidity are modified by local variation in absorbed solar radiation and the partitioning of sensible and latent heat. The model uses a reference grid site for time series meteorological data and the air temperature and humidity of any other grid can be obtained by solving the heat flux network equations. PASATH was coupled with the USDA iTree-Hydro water balance model to obtain evapotranspiration terms and run from 20 to 29 August 2010 at a 360 m by 360 m grid scale and hourly time step across a 285 km2 watershed including the urban area of Syracuse, NY. PASATH predictions were tested at nine urban weather stations representing variability in urban topography and land cover. The PASATH model predictive efficiency R2 ranged from 0.81 to 0.99 for air temperature and 0.77 to 0.97 for dew point temperature. PASATH is expected to have broad applications on environmental and ecological models.

Responsive gelation of hydrophobized linear polymer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Claus Greve; Toeth, Joachim; Jørgensen, Lene

In this study we present the rheological properties of a physically linked polymer network, composed of linear hydrophilic chains, modified with hydrophobic moieties in each end. Solutions of the polymer in ethanol-water mixtures showed Newtonian behaviour up to about 99 % ethanol, with the highest...

A phenomenological model of two-phase (air/fuel droplet developing and breakup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlović Radomir R.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Effervescent atomization namely the air-filled liquid atomization comprehends certain complex two-phase phenomenon that are difficult to be modeled. Just a few researchers have found the mathematical expressions for description of the complex atomization model of the two-phase mixture air/diesel fuel. In the following review, developing model of twophase (air/fuel droplet of Cummins spray pump-injector is shown. The assumption of the same diameters of the droplet and the opening of the atomizer is made, while the air/fuel mass ratio inside the droplet varies.

The results of air treatment process modeling at the location of the air curtain in the air suppliers and ventilation shafts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaev Aleksandr

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the existing shaft air heater installations (AHI, that heat the air for air suppliers in cold seasons, a heater channel is used. Some parts of the air from the heater go to the channel, other parts are sucked through a pithead by the general shaft pressure drawdown formed by the main ventilation installation (MVI. When this happens, a mix of two air flows leads to a shaft heat regime violation that can break pressurization of intertubular sealers. The problem of energy saving while airing underground mining enterprises is also very important. The proposed solution of both tasks due to the application of an air curtain is described in the article. In cold seasons the air treatment process should be used and it is offered to place an air curtain in the air suppliers shaft above the place of interface of the calorifer channel to a trunk in order to avoid an infiltration (suction of air through the pithead. It’s recommended to use an air curtain in a ventilation shaft because it reduces external air leaks thereby improving energy efficiency of the MVI work. During the mathematical modeling of ventilation and air preparation process (in SolidWorks Flowsimulation software package it was found out that the use of the air curtain in the air supply shaft can increase the efficiency of the AHI, and reduce the electricity consumption for ventilation in the ventilation shaft.

Spatial distribution of emissions to air - the SPREAD model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plejdrup, M S; Gyldenkaerne, S

2011-04-15

The National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University, completes the annual national emission inventories for greenhouse gases and air pollutants according to Denmark's obligations under international conventions, e.g. the climate convention, UNFCCC and the convention on long-range transboundary air pollution, CLRTAP. NERI has developed a model to distribute emissions from the national emission inventories on a 1x1 km grid covering the Danish land and sea territory. The new spatial high resolution distribution model for emissions to air (SPREAD) has been developed according to the requirements for reporting of gridded emissions to CLRTAP. Spatial emission data is e.g. used as input for air quality modelling, which again serves as input for assessment and evaluation of health effects. For these purposes distributions with higher spatial resolution have been requested. Previously, a distribution on the 17x17 km EMEP grid has been set up and used in research projects combined with detailed distributions for a few sectors or sub-sectors e.g. a distribution for emissions from road traffic on 1x1 km resolution. SPREAD is developed to generate improved spatial emission data for e.g. air quality modelling in exposure studies. SPREAD includes emission distributions for each sector in the Danish inventory system; stationary combustion, mobile sources, fugitive emissions from fuels, industrial processes, solvents and other product use, agriculture and waste. This model enables generation of distributions for single sectors and for a number of sub-sectors and single sources as well. This report documents the methodologies in this first version of SPREAD and presents selected results. Further, a number of potential improvements for later versions of SPREAD are addressed and discussed. (Author)

Effect of hydrophobic groups on the adsorption conformation of modified polycarboxylate superplasticizer investigated by molecular dynamics simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Hongxia [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China); Wang, Yanwei, E-mail: wangyanwei@cnjsjk.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China); Yang, Yong; Shu, Xin; Yan, Han [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China); Ran, Qianping, E-mail: qpran@cnjsjk.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Adsorption conformation of comb-like PCE was studied by all-atom MD simulations. • A comparison is made between vacuum-based and solution-based simulations. • Effects of hydrophobic modifications on adsorption properties are elucidated. - Abstract: All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the adsorption conformations of hydrophobically-modified comb-shaped polycarboxylate ether-based (PCE) superplasticizer molecules on a model surface of dicalcium silicate (C{sub 2}S) in vacuum and in an explicit solution, respectively. Three different hydrophobic modifying groups, namely, the ethyl group, the n-butyl group and the phenyl group, decorated to the backbone, were examined. Comparing the hydrophobically-modified PCEs to the unmodified one, differences were found in the binding energy, the adsorption conformation and the water density at the interface. The interaction between PCE molecules and C{sub 2}S was weakened in a solution with explicit solvents than that obtained from vacuum-based simulations. The presence of hydrophobic groups lowered the polymer-surface binding energy, decreased the radius of gyration (Rg) of the adsorbed polymer, increased the peak position in the heavy-atom density profiles in the direction perpendicular to the surface, and also caused the adsorbed conformations to be more globular in shape. The parallel and perpendicular components (relative to the surface plane) of the geometric sizes of the adsorbed polymers were calculated, and the results showed that the presence of hydrophobically modifying groups decreased the in-plane radius while increased the adsorption layer thickness compared to the unmodified control. The presence of PCEs perturbed the dense water layer above the C{sub 2}S surface and lowered the water density. Perturbations to the interfacial water density were found to correlate nicely with the adsorbed conformations of PCEs.

Hydrophobic cotton textile surfaces using an amphiphilic graphene oxide (GO) coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tissera, Nadeeka D.; Wijesena, Ruchira N.; Perera, J. Rangana; Nalin de Silva, K.M.; Amaratunge, Gehan A.J.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Different GO dispersions were prepared by sonicating different amounts of GO in water. Degree of exfoliation of these GO sheets in water was analyzed using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). • AFM results obtained showed higher the GO concentration on water more the size of GO sheets and lesser the degree of exfoliation. • GO with different amounts was deposited on cotton fabric using simple dyeing method. • High GO loading on cotton increase the surface area coverage of the textile fibers with GO sheets. This led to less edge to mid area ratio of grafted GO sheets. • As contribution of mid area of GO increase on fiber surface cotton fabric becomes more hydrophobic. • Amphiphilic property of GO sheets was used to lower the surface energy of the cotton fibers leading to hydrophobic property. - Abstract: We report for the first time hydrophobic properties on cotton fabric successfully achieved by grafting graphene oxide on the fabric surface, using a dyeing method. Graphite oxide synthesized by oxidizing natural flake graphite employing improved Hummer's method showed an inter layer spacing of ∼1 nm from XRD. Synthesized graphite oxide was exfoliated in water using ultrasound energy to obtain graphene oxide (GO). AFM data obtained for the graphene oxide dispersed in an aqueous medium revealed a non-uniform size distribution. FTIR characterization of the synthesized GO sheets showed both hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups present on the nano sheets giving them an amphiphilic property. GO flakes of different sizes were successfully grafted on to a cotton fabric surface using a dip dry method. Loading different amounts of graphene oxide on the cotton fiber surface allowed the fabric to demonstrate different degrees of hydrophobicity. The highest observed water contact angle was at 143° with the highest loading of graphene oxide. The fabric surfaces grafted with GO also exhibits adhesive type hydrophobicity

RESOLVING NEIGHBORHOOD-SCALE AIR TOXICS MODELING: A CASE STUDY IN WILMINGTON, CALIFORNIA

Science.gov (United States)

Air quality modeling is useful for characterizing exposures to air pollutants. While models typically provide results on regional scales, there is a need for refined modeling approaches capable of resolving concentrations on the scale of tens of meters, across modeling domains 1...

Preparation and characterization of hydrophobic platinum-doped ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

2013-05-31

May 31, 2013 ... drawback of inaccessible micropores and mineral impuri- ties. More recently, there has ... hydrophobicity and mechnical strength. PTFE binder was ... were measured by BET surface area measurement system. (Micromeritics ...

Equivalent Air Spring Suspension Model for Quarter-Passive Model of Passenger Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Abid, Haider J; Chen, Jie; Nassar, Ameen A

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the GENSIS air spring suspension system equivalence to a passive suspension system. The SIMULINK simulation together with the OptiY optimization is used to obtain the air spring suspension model equivalent to passive suspension system, where the car body response difference from both systems with the same road profile inputs is used as the objective function for optimization (OptiY program). The parameters of air spring system such as initial pressure, volume of bag, length of surge pipe, diameter of surge pipe, and volume of reservoir are obtained from optimization. The simulation results show that the air spring suspension equivalent system can produce responses very close to the passive suspension system.

An interprovincial cooperative game model for air pollution control in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Jian; Zhao, Laijun; Fan, Longzhen; Qian, Ying

2015-07-01

The noncooperative air pollution reduction model (NCRM) that is currently adopted in China to manage air pollution reduction of each individual province has inherent drawbacks. In this paper, we propose a cooperative air pollution reduction game model (CRM) that consists of two parts: (1) an optimization model that calculates the optimal pollution reduction quantity for each participating province to meet the joint pollution reduction goal; and (2) a model that distribute the economic benefit of the cooperation (i.e., pollution reduction cost saving) among the provinces in the cooperation based on the Shapley value method. We applied the CRM to the case of SO2 reduction in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China. The results, based on the data from 2003-2009, show that cooperation helps lower the overall SO2 pollution reduction cost from 4.58% to 11.29%. Distributed across the participating provinces, such a cost saving from interprovincial cooperation brings significant benefits to each local government and stimulates them for further cooperation in pollution reduction. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed using the year 2009 data to test the parameters' effects on the pollution reduction cost savings. China is increasingly facing unprecedented pressure for immediate air pollution control. The current air pollution reduction policy does not allow cooperation and is less efficient. In this paper we developed a cooperative air pollution reduction game model that consists of two parts: (1) an optimization model that calculates the optimal pollution reduction quantity for each participating province to meet the joint pollution reduction goal; and (2) a model that distributes the cooperation gains (i.e., cost reduction) among the provinces in the cooperation based on the Shapley value method. The empirical case shows that such a model can help improve efficiency in air pollution reduction. The result of the model can serve as a reference for Chinese government

A rheological study of hydrophobic-surface-active polymer systems structuration; Etude rheologique de la structuration de systemes polymere hydrophobe-tensioactif

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinrich, E.

1997-01-29

This work deals with the study of the rheology and the structuration of hydrophobic polymer and surfactant systems. The used associative polymers are acrylamide/nonyl methacrylate copolymers and the surfactant is nonionic. They are particularly used for hydrocarbons extraction techniques as drilling (drilling fluids) or wells cementation. The studied materials are first characterized by different analytic techniques. This preliminary stage of the work gives a good insight of the physico-chemical parameters of the systems. The effect of surfactant was shown by studying the variation of Newtonian viscosity as a function of surfactant concentration. This yields bell curves, whose maximum determines the critical aggregation concentration (cac). The hydrophobic effect is analysed in different polymer concentration regimes, in quasi-static conditions, and under shear. The study of the dynamic visco-elasticity of semi-dilute solutions allows to observe the effect of the hydrophobic associations on the relaxation time of the chains. The system can be described as a superposition of two networks of junctions: the network of physical entanglements and a second one formed by the hydrophobic links. Phenomena of structuration have been observed at room temperature for surfactant concentrations close to the cac. The increase of viscosity or elastic modulus can be 3 to 4 orders of magnitude. The effect of the temperature on the structure of the systems is studied as well. The rheological characterization of the Sol-Gel transition is developed and the rheological behavior of the solutions in a structured state shows a critical stress for rupture of the structure. Microscopic observations of the birefringence of the solutions display the existence of lamellar vesicles, which leads to the following assumption: the formation of big spherulites create a rigidification of the macromolecular network. (author) 190 refs.

Hydrophobicity Tuning by the Fast Evolution of Mold Temperature during Injection Molding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Liparoti

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The surface topography of a molded part strongly affects its functional properties, such as hydrophobicity, cleaning capabilities, adhesion, biological defense and frictional resistance. In this paper, the possibility to tune and increase the hydrophobicity of a molded polymeric part was explored. An isotactic polypropylene was injection molded with fast cavity surface temperature evolutions, obtained adopting a specifically designed heating system layered below the cavity surface. The surface topology was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM and, concerning of hydrophobicity, by measuring the water static contact angle. Results show that the hydrophobicity increases with both the temperature level and the time the cavity surface temperature was kept high. In particular, the contact angle of the molded sample was found to increase from 90°, with conventional molding conditions, up to 113° with 160 °C of cavity surface temperature kept for 18 s. This increase was found to be due to the presence of sub-micro and nano-structures characterized by high values of spatial frequencies which could be more accurately replicated by adopting high heating temperatures and times. The surface topography and the hydrophobicity resulted therefore tunable by selecting appropriate injection molding conditions.

MODELS OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ERRORS PREVENTION IN TERMINAL CONTROL AREAS UNDER UNCERTAINTY CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volodymyr Kharchenko

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: the aim of this study is to research applied models of air traffic controllers’ errors prevention in terminal control areas (TMA under uncertainty conditions. In this work the theoretical framework descripting safety events and errors of air traffic controllers connected with the operations in TMA is proposed. Methods: optimisation of terminal control area formal description based on the Threat and Error management model and the TMA network model of air traffic flows. Results: the human factors variables associated with safety events in work of air traffic controllers under uncertainty conditions were obtained. The Threat and Error management model application principles to air traffic controller operations and the TMA network model of air traffic flows were proposed. Discussion: Information processing context for preventing air traffic controller errors, examples of threats in work of air traffic controllers, which are relevant for TMA operations under uncertainty conditions.

A Non-linear Stochastic Model for an Office Building with Air Infiltration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thavlov, Anders; Madsen, Henrik

2015-01-01

This paper presents a non-linear heat dynamic model for a multi-room office building with air infiltration. Several linear and non-linear models, with and without air infiltration, are investigated and compared. The models are formulated using stochastic differential equations and the model...

Double-grooved nanofibre surfaces with enhanced anisotropic hydrophobicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Meimei; Chen, Xin; Xu, Yang; Zhu, Lei; Jin, Xiangyu; Huang, Chen

2017-11-02

This study reports a facile method for fabricating double-grooved fibrous surfaces. The primary grooves of the surface are formed by aligned fibres, while the secondary grooves are achieved by oriented nanogrooves on the fibre surface. Investigation into the formation mechanism reveals that the nanogrooves can be readily tailored through adjusting the solvent ratio and relative humidity. With this understanding, a variety of polymers have been successfully electrospun into fibres having the same nanogrooved feature. These fibres show high resemblance to natural hierarchical structures, and thereby endowing the corresponding double-grooved surface with enhanced anisotropic hydrophobicity. A water droplet at a parallel direction to the grooves exhibits a much higher contact angle and a lower roll-off angle than the droplet at a perpendicular direction. The application potential of such anisotropic hydrophobicity has been demonstrated via a fog collection experiment, in which the double-grooved surface can harvest the largest amount of water. Moreover, the fabrication method requires neither post-treatment nor sophisticated equipment, making us anticipate that the double-grooved surface would be competitive in areas where a highly ordered surface, a large surface area and an anisotropic hydrophobicity are preferred.

Carbon dioxide solubilities in decanoic acid-based hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zubeir, Lawien F.; Van Osch, Dannie J.G.P.; Rocha, Marisa A.A.; Banat, Fawzi; Kroon, Maaike C.

2018-01-01

The solubility of CO2 in hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) has been measured for the first time. Six different hydrophobic DESs are studied in the temperature range from 298 to 323 K and at CO2 pressures up to 2 MPa. The results are evaluated by comparing the solubility data with existing

Optically transparent super-hydrophobic thin film fabricated by reusable polyurethane-acrylate (PUA) mold

Science.gov (United States)

Park, J.-S.; Park, J.-H.; Lee, D.-W.

2018-02-01

In this paper, we describe a simple manufacturing method for producing an optically transparent super-hydrophobic polymer thin film using a reusable photo-curable polymer mold. Soluble photoresist (PR) molds were prepared with under-exposed and under-baked processes, which created unique hierarchical micro/nano structures. The reverse phase of the PR mold was replicated on the surface of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. The unique patterns on the replicated PDMS molds were successfully transferred back to the UV curable polyurethane-acrylate (PUA) using a laboratory-made UV exposure system. Continuous production of the super-hydrophobic PDMS thin film was demonstrated using the reusable PUA mold. In addition, hydrophobic nano-silica powder was sprayed onto the micro/nano structured PDMS surfaces to further improve hydrophobicity. The fabricated PDMS thin films with hierarchical surface texturing showed a water contact angle  ⩾150°. Excellent optical transmittance within the range of visible light of wavelengths between 400-800 nm was experimentally confirmed using a spectrophotometer. High efficiency of the super-hydrophobic PDMS film in optical transparency was also confirmed using solar panels. The fabricated PUA molds are very suitable for use in roll-to-roll or roll-to-plate systems which allow continuous production of super-hydrophobic thin films with an excellent optical transparency.

Fabrication and hydrophobic characteristics of micro / nanostructures on polydimethylsiloxane surface prepared by picosecond laser

Science.gov (United States)

Bin, Wang; Dong, Shiyun; Yan, Shixing; Gang, Xiao; Xie, Zhiwei

2018-03-01

Picosecond laser has ultrashort pulse width and ultrastrong peak power, which makes it widely used in the field of micro-nanoscale fabrication. polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a typical silicone elastomer with good hydrophobicity. In order to further improve the hydrophobicity of PDMS, the picosecond laser was used to fabricate a grid-like microstructure on the surface of PDMS, and the relationship between hydrophobicity of PDMS with surface microstructure and laser processing parameters, such as processing times and cell spacing was studied. The results show that: compared with the unprocessed PDMS, the presence of surface microstructure significantly improved the hydrophobicity of PDMS. When the number of processing is constant, the hydrophobicity of PDMS decreases with the increase of cell spacing. However, when the cell spacing is fixed, the hydrophobicity of PDMS first increases and then decreases with the increase of processing times. In particular, when the times of laser processing is 6 and the cell spacing is 50μm, the contact angle of PDMS increased from 113° to 154°, which reached the level of superhydrophobic.

Urban Landscape Characterization Using Remote Sensing Data For Input into Air Quality Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Crosson, William; Khan, Maudood

2005-01-01

The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models that are used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, particularly for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of air quality models to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well these models predict ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to meteorological and air quality models focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data have been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for future scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission. This allows the State Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect future air quality.

A thermodynamic study of peptides binding to carbon nanotubes based on a hydrophobic-polar lattice model using Monte Carlo simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Y; Lu, C; Liu, G R; Li, Z R; Mi, D

2008-01-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are outstanding novel materials that have great potential for a variety of chemical and biomedical applications. However, the mechanism of their interactions with biomaterials is still not fully understood, and more insightful research work is needed. In this work, we use the 2D hydrophobic-polar lattice model and the Monte Carlo simulation method to study the interactions between model peptides and CNTs. The energy parameters of the coarse-grained lattice model are qualitatively determined based on experimental data and molecular dynamics simulation results. Our model is capable of reproducing the essential phenomena of peptides folding in bulk water and binding to CNTs, as well as providing new insights into the thermodynamics and conformational properties of peptides interacting with nanotubes. The results suggest that both the internal energy and the peptide conformational entropy contribute to the binding process. Upon binding to the CNTs, peptides generally unfold into their denatured structures before they reach the lowest-accessible energy states of the system. Temperature has a significant influence on the adsorption process

CARNAUBA WAX USED AS AN HYDROPHOBIC AGENT FOR EXPANDED VERMICULITE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.A.F. Melo

1998-03-01

Full Text Available This work deals with the use of carnauba wax as an expansion and hydrophobicity agent for vermiculite, to be utilized in the sorption process of oil in water. Evaluation of the system (oil-water-hydrophobic vermiculite submersion percentage was considered in assessing the performance of vermiculite in comparison to a Mexican turf. Carnauba wax seems to be more efficient in both fresh and salt waters.

Mathematical model of one-man air revitalization system

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

A mathematical model was developed for simulating the steady state performance in electrochemical CO2 concentrators which utilize (NMe4)2 CO3 (aq.) electrolyte. This electrolyte, which accommodates a wide range of air relative humidity, is most suitable for one-man air revitalization systems. The model is based on the solution of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations derived from mass transport and rate equations for the processes which take place in the cell. The boundary conditions are obtained by solving the mass and energy transport equations. A shooting method is used to solve the differential equations.

Mapping real-time air pollution health risk for environmental management: Combining mobile and stationary air pollution monitoring with neural network models.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Matthew D; Kanaroglou, Pavlos S

2016-03-01

Air pollution poses health concerns at the global scale. The challenge of managing air pollution is significant because of the many air pollutants, insufficient funds for monitoring and abatement programs, and political and social challenges in defining policy to limit emissions. Some governments provide citizens with air pollution health risk information to allow them to limit their exposure. However, many regions still have insufficient air pollution monitoring networks to provide real-time mapping. Where available, these risk mapping systems either provide absolute concentration data or the concentrations are used to derive an Air Quality Index, which provides the air pollution risk for a mix of air pollutants with a single value. When risk information is presented as a single value for an entire region it does not inform on the spatial variation within the region. Without an understanding of the local variation residents can only make a partially informed decision when choosing daily activities. The single value is typically provided because of a limited number of active monitoring units in the area. In our work, we overcome this issue by leveraging mobile air pollution monitoring techniques, meteorological information and land use information to map real-time air pollution health risks. We propose an approach that can provide improved health risk information to the public by applying neural network models within a framework that is inspired by land use regression. Mobile air pollution monitoring campaigns were conducted across Hamilton from 2005 to 2013. These mobile air pollution data were modelled with a number of predictor variables that included information on the surrounding land use characteristics, the meteorological conditions, air pollution concentrations from fixed location monitors, and traffic information during the time of collection. Fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide were both modelled. During the model fitting process we reserved

Models of Aire-dependent gene regulation for thymic negative selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina eDanso-Abeam

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Mutations in the Autoimmune Regulator (AIRE gene lead to Autoimmune Polyendocrinopathy Syndrome type 1 (APS1, characterized by the development of multi-organ autoimmune damage. The mechanism by which defects in AIRE result in autoimmunity has been the subject of intense scrutiny. At the cellular level, the working model explains most of the clinical and immunological characteristics of APS1, with AIRE driving the expression of tissue restricted antigens (TRAs in the epithelial cells of the thymic medulla. This TRA expression results in effective negative selection of TRA-reactive thymocytes, preventing autoimmune disease. At the molecular level, the mechanism by which AIRE initiates TRA expression in the thymic medulla remains unclear. Multiple different models for the molecular mechanism have been proposed, ranging from classical transcriptional activity, to random induction of gene expression, to epigenetic tag recognition effect, to altered cell biology. In this review, we evaluate each of these models and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses.

New insight in the structural features of haloadaptation in α-amylases from halophilic Archaea following homology modeling strategy: folded and stable conformation maintained through low hydrophobicity and highly negative charged surface

Science.gov (United States)

Zorgani, Mohamed Amine; Patron, Kevin; Desvaux, Mickaël

2014-07-01

Proteins from halophilic archaea, which live in extreme saline conditions, have evolved to remain folded, active and stable at very high ionic strengths. Understanding the mechanism of haloadaptation is the first step toward engineering of halostable biomolecules. Amylases are one of the main enzymes used in industry. Yet, no three-dimensional structure has been experimentally resolved for α-amylases from halophilic archaea. In this study, homology structure modeling of α-amylases from the halophilic archaea Haloarcula marismortui, Haloarcula hispanica, and Halalkalicoccus jeotgali were performed. The resulting models were subjected to energy minimization, evaluation, and structural analysis. Calculations of the amino acid composition, salt bridges and hydrophobic interactions were also performed and compared to a set of non-halophilic counterparts. It clearly appeared that haloarchaeal α-amylases exhibited lower propensities for helix formation and higher propensities for coil-forming regions. Furthermore, they could maintain a folded and stable conformation in high salt concentration through highly negative charged surface with over representation of acidic residues, especially Asp, and low hydrophobicity with increase of salt bridges and decrease in hydrophobic interactions on the protein surface. This study sheds some light on the stability of α-amylases from halophilic archaea and provides strong basis not only to understand haloadaptation mechanisms of proteins in microorganisms from hypersalines environments but also for biotechnological applications.

MICROBIAL CELL-SURFACE HYDROPHOBICITY - THE INVOLVEMENT OF ELECTROSTATIC INTERACTIONS IN MICROBIAL ADHESION TO HYDROCARBONS (MATH)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

GEERTSEMADOORNBUSCH, GI; VANDERMEI, HC; BUSSCHER, HJ

Microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH) is the most commonly used method to determine microbial cell surface hydrophobicity. Since, however, the assay is based on adhesion, it is questionable whether the results reflect only the cell surface hydrophobicity or an interplay of hydrophobicity and

Prediction of Indoor Air Exposure from Outdoor Air Quality Using an Artificial Neural Network Model for Inner City Commercial Buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Challoner, Avril; Pilla, Francesco; Gill, Laurence

2015-12-01

NO₂ and particulate matter are the air pollutants of most concern in Ireland, with possible links to the higher respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rates found in the country compared to the rest of Europe. Currently, air quality limits in Europe only cover outdoor environments yet the quality of indoor air is an essential determinant of a person's well-being, especially since the average person spends more than 90% of their time indoors. The modelling conducted in this research aims to provide a framework for epidemiological studies by the use of publically available data from fixed outdoor monitoring stations to predict indoor air quality more accurately. Predictions are made using two modelling techniques, the Personal-exposure Activity Location Model (PALM), to predict outdoor air quality at a particular building, and Artificial Neural Networks, to model the indoor/outdoor relationship of the building. This joint approach has been used to predict indoor air concentrations for three inner city commercial buildings in Dublin, where parallel indoor and outdoor diurnal monitoring had been carried out on site. This modelling methodology has been shown to provide reasonable predictions of average NO₂ indoor air quality compared to the monitored data, but did not perform well in the prediction of indoor PM2.5 concentrations. Hence, this approach could be used to determine NO₂ exposures more rigorously of those who work and/or live in the city centre, which can then be linked to potential health impacts.

Effect of increased surface hydrophobicity via drug conjugation on the clearance of inhaled PEGylated polylysine dendrimers.

Science.gov (United States)

Haque, Shadabul; McLeod, Victoria M; Jones, Seth; Fung, Sandy; Whittaker, Michael; McIntosh, Michelle; Pouton, Colin; Owen, David J; Porter, Christopher J H; Kaminskas, Lisa M

2017-10-01

PEGylated polylysine dendrimers are attractive and well tolerated inhalable drug delivery platforms that have the potential to control the release, absorption kinetics and lung retention time of conjugated drugs. The clinical application of these systems though, would likely require partial substitution of surface PEG groups with drug molecules that are anticipated to alter their lung clearance kinetics and clearance pathways. In the current study, we therefore evaluated the impact of increased surface hydrophobicity via substitution of 50% surface PEG groups with a model hydrophobic drug (α-carboxyl OtButylated methotrexate) on the lung clearance of a Generation 5 PEGylated polylysine dendrimer in rats. PEG substitution with OtBu-methotrexate accelerated lung clearance of the dendrimer by increasing polylysine scaffold catabolism, improving systemic absorption of the intact dendrimer and low molecular weight products of scaffold catabolism, and enhancing mucociliary clearance. These results suggest that the conjugation of hydrophobic drug on the surface of a PEGylated dendrimer is likely to accelerate lung clearance when compared to a fully PEGylated dendrimer. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial distribution of emissions to air - the SPREAD model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plejdrup, M.S.; Gyldenkaerne, S.

2011-04-15

The National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University, completes the annual national emission inventories for greenhouse gases and air pollutants according to Denmark's obligations under international conventions, e.g. the climate convention, UNFCCC and the convention on long-range transboundary air pollution, CLRTAP. NERI has developed a model to distribute emissions from the national emission inventories on a 1x1 km grid covering the Danish land and sea territory. The new spatial high resolution distribution model for emissions to air (SPREAD) has been developed according to the requirements for reporting of gridded emissions to CLRTAP. Spatial emission data is e.g. used as input for air quality modelling, which again serves as input for assessment and evaluation of health effects. For these purposes distributions with higher spatial resolution have been requested. Previously, a distribution on the 17x17 km EMEP grid has been set up and used in research projects combined with detailed distributions for a few sectors or sub-sectors e.g. a distribution for emissions from road traffic on 1x1 km resolution. SPREAD is developed to generate improved spatial emission data for e.g. air quality modelling in exposure studies. SPREAD includes emission distributions for each sector in the Danish inventory system; stationary combustion, mobile sources, fugitive emissions from fuels, industrial processes, solvents and other product use, agriculture and waste. This model enables generation of distributions for single sectors and for a number of sub-sectors and single sources as well. This report documents the methodologies in this first version of SPREAD and presents selected results. Further, a number of potential improvements for later versions of SPREAD are addressed and discussed. (Author)

Air quality modeling for effective environmental management in the mining region.

Science.gov (United States)

Asif, Zunaira; Chen, Zhi; Han, Yi

2018-04-18

Air quality in the mining sector is a serious environmental concern and associated with many health issues. The air quality management in mining region has been facing many challenges due to lack of understanding of atmospheric factors and physical removal mechanism. A modeling approach called mining air dispersion model (MADM) is developed to predict air pollutants concentration in the mining region while considering the deposition effect. The model is taken into account through the planet's boundary conditions and assuming that the eddy diffusivity depends on the downwind distance. The developed MADM is applied to a mining site in Canada. The model provides values as the predicted concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , TSP, NO 2 and six heavy metals (As, Pb, Hg, Cd, Zn, Cr) at various receptor locations. The model shows that neutral stability conditions are dominant for the study site. The maximum mixing height is achieved (1280 m) during the evening of summer, and minimum mixing height (380 m) is attained during the evening of winter. The dust fall (PM coarse) deposition flux is maximum during February and March with the deposition velocity of 4.67 cm/s. The results are evaluated with the monitoring field values, revealing a good agreement for the target air pollutants with R-squared ranging from 0.72 to 0.96 for PM 2.5 ; 0.71 to 0.82 for PM 10 and from 0.71 to 0.89 for NO 2 . The analyses illustrate that presented algorithm in this model can be used to assess air quality for the mining site in a systematic way. The comparison of MADM and CALPUFF modeling values are made for four different pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , TSP, and NO 2 ) under three different atmospheric stability classes (stable, neutral and unstable). Further, MADM results are statistically tested against CALPUFF for the air pollutants and model performance is found satisfactory.

Deactivation of hydrophobic catalysts for a hydrogen isotope exchange: Application of the time-on-stream theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Heui-Joo; Lee, Han Soo; Ahn, Do-Hee; Kim, Jeong-Guk; Kim, Wi-soo; Sohn, SoonHwan

2005-01-01

A recycle reactor was built for the purpose of characterizing newly developed hydrophobic catalysts for a hydrogen isotope exchange. The catalytic rate constants of two types of hydrophobic catalysts were measured at a 100% relative humidity. The catalytic rate constants were measured at 60 deg C for 28 days and both the catalysts showed very high initial catalytic rate constants. The measured deactivation profile showed that the catalytic rate constants of both the catalysts were almost identical for 28 days. The deactivation of the catalysts was modelled based upon the time-on-stream theory. The deactivation profiles of the catalysts were estimated by using the model for a period of three years. The results showed that both the catalysts had a good exchange capacity for hydrogen isotopes and they could be applicable to a tritium removal facility that will be built at the Wolsong nuclear power plants in the near future

Preparation of Pt-PTFE hydrophobic catalyst for hydrogen-water isotope exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Junhua; Kang Yi; Han Yande; Ruan Hao; Dou Qincheng; Hu Shilin

2001-01-01

The hydrophobic catalyst used in the hydrogen-water isotope exchange is prepared with Pt as the active metal, PTFE as the hydrophobic material, active carbon or silicon dioxide as the support. The isotope catalytic exchange reaction between hydrogen and water is carried out in the trickle bed and the effects of different carriers, mass fraction of Pt and PTFE on the catalytic activity are discussed. The experimental results show that the activity of Pt-C-PTFE hydrophobic catalyst with the ratio between PTFE and Pt-C from 1 to 2 is higher than other kinds of catalysts and the overall volume transfer coefficient is increased with the increasing of the hydrogen flow rate and reaction temperature

Creation of hydrophobic surfaces using a paint containing functionalized oxide particles

Science.gov (United States)

Sino, Paul Albert L.; Herrera, Marvin U.; Balela, Mary Donnabelle L.

2017-05-01

Hydrophobic surfaces were created by coating various substrates (aluminum sheet, soda-lime glass, silicon carbide polishing paper, glass with double-sided adhesive) with paint containing functionalized oxide particles. The paint was created by functionalizing oxide particles (ground ZnO, TiO2 nanoparticles, or TiO2 microparticles) with fluorosilane molecules in absolute ethanol. Water contact angle of samples shows that the coated substrate becomes hydrophobic (water contact angle ≥ 90°). Among the oxides that were used, ground ZnO yielded contact angle exemplifying superhydrophobicity (water contact angle ≥ 150°). Scanning electron micrograph of paint-containing TiO2 nanoparticles shows rough functionalized oxides structures which probably increase the hydrophobicity of the surface.

Artificial hairy surfaces with a nearly perfect hydrophobic response.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Shu-Hau; Sigmund, Wolfgang M

2010-02-02

A nearly perfect hydrophobic interface by dint of mimicking hairs of arthropods was achieved for the first time. These Gamma-shape artificial hairs were made via a membrane casting technique on polypropylene substrates. This extreme hydrophobicity merely arises from microstructure modification, and no further chemical treatments are needed. The ultralow adhesion to water droplets was evaluated through video assessment, and it is believed to be attributed to the mechanical response of the artificial hairs. The principle of this fabrication technique is accessible and is expected to be compatible with large-area fabrication of superhydrophobic interfaces.

Fabrication of highly hydrophobic two-component thermosetting polyurethane surfaces with silica nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Guang; Song, Jialu; Hou, Xianghui

2018-05-01

Highly hydrophobic thermosetting polyurethane (TSU) surfaces with micro-nano hierarchical structures were developed by a simple process combined with sandpaper templates and nano-silica embellishment. Sandpapers with grit sizes varying from 240 to 7000 grit were used to obtain micro-scale roughness on an intrinsic hydrophilic TSU surface. The surface wettability was investigated by contact angle measurement. It was found that the largest contact angle of the TSU surface without nanoparticles at 102 ± 3° was obtained when the template was 240-grit sandpaper and the molding progress started after 45 min curing of TSU. Silica nanoparticles modified with polydimethylsiloxane were scattered onto the surfaces of both the polymer and the template to construct the desirable nanostructures. The influences of the morphology, surface composition and the silica content on the TSU surface wettability were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements. The surface of the TSU/SiO2 nanocomposites containing 4 wt% silica nanoparticles exhibited a distinctive dual-scale structure and excellent hydrophobicity with the contact angle above 150°. The mechanism of wettability was also discussed by Wenzel model and Cassie-Baxter model.

An integrated simulator of structure and anisotropic flow in gas diffusion layers with hydrophobic additives

Science.gov (United States)

Burganos, Vasilis N.; Skouras, Eugene D.; Kalarakis, Alexandros N.

2017-10-01

The lattice-Boltzmann (LB) method is used in this work to reproduce the controlled addition of binder and hydrophobicity-promoting agents, like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), into gas diffusion layers (GDLs) and to predict flow permeabilities in the through- and in-plane directions. The present simulator manages to reproduce spreading of binder and hydrophobic additives, sequentially, into the neat fibrous layer using a two-phase flow model. Gas flow simulation is achieved by the same code, sidestepping the need for a post-processing flow code and avoiding the usual input/output and data interface problems that arise in other techniques. Compression effects on flow anisotropy of the impregnated GDL are also studied. The permeability predictions for different compression levels and for different binder or PTFE loadings are found to compare well with experimental data for commercial GDL products and with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions. Alternatively, the PTFE-impregnated structure is reproduced from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images using an independent, purely geometrical approach. A comparison of the two approaches is made regarding their adequacy to reproduce correctly the main structural features of the GDL and to predict anisotropic flow permeabilities at different volume fractions of binder and hydrophobic additives.

A Flexible Spatio-Temporal Model for Air Pollution with Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Covariates

OpenAIRE

Lindström, Johan; Szpiro, Adam A; Sampson, Paul D; Oron, Assaf P; Richards, Mark; Larson, Tim V; Sheppard, Lianne

2013-01-01

The development of models that provide accurate spatio-temporal predictions of ambient air pollution at small spatial scales is of great importance for the assessment of potential health effects of air pollution. Here we present a spatio-temporal framework that predicts ambient air pollution by combining data from several different monitoring networks and deterministic air pollution model(s) with geographic information system (GIS) covariates. The model presented in this paper has been implem...

Tuning hydrophobicity of zein nanoparticles to control rheological behavior of Pickering emulsions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zou, Yuan; Baalen, van Carlijn; Yang, Xiaoquan; Scholten, E.

2018-01-01

In the present work, the influence of hydrophobicity of zein/tannic acid complex particles (ZTPs) on the rheological behavior of ZTP-stabilized emulsion gels is described. The hydrophobicity of the particles was controlled by the incorporation of different amounts of hydrophilic tannic acid, while

Air traffic simulation in chemistry-climate model EMAC 2.41: AirTraf 1.0

Science.gov (United States)

Yamashita, Hiroshi; Grewe, Volker; Jöckel, Patrick; Linke, Florian; Schaefer, Martin; Sasaki, Daisuke

2016-09-01

Mobility is becoming more and more important to society and hence air transportation is expected to grow further over the next decades. Reducing anthropogenic climate impact from aviation emissions and building a climate-friendly air transportation system are required for a sustainable development of commercial aviation. A climate optimized routing, which avoids climate-sensitive regions by re-routing horizontally and vertically, is an important measure for climate impact reduction. The idea includes a number of different routing strategies (routing options) and shows a great potential for the reduction. To evaluate this, the impact of not only CO2 but also non-CO2 emissions must be considered. CO2 is a long-lived gas, while non-CO2 emissions are short-lived and are inhomogeneously distributed. This study introduces AirTraf (version 1.0) that performs global air traffic simulations, including effects of local weather conditions on the emissions. AirTraf was developed as a new submodel of the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model. Air traffic information comprises Eurocontrol's Base of Aircraft Data (BADA Revision 3.9) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) engine performance data. Fuel use and emissions are calculated by the total energy model based on the BADA methodology and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) fuel flow method. The flight trajectory optimization is performed by a genetic algorithm (GA) with respect to a selected routing option. In the model development phase, benchmark tests were performed for the great circle and flight time routing options. The first test showed that the great circle calculations were accurate to -0.004 %, compared to those calculated by the Movable Type script. The second test showed that the optimal solution found by the algorithm sufficiently converged to the theoretical true-optimal solution. The difference in flight time between the two solutions is less than 0.01 %. The dependence of

Drag crisis moderation by thin air layers sustained on superhydrophobic spheres falling in water

KAUST Repository

Jetly, Aditya

2018-01-22

We investigate the effect of thin air layers naturally sustained on superhydrophobic surfaces on the terminal velocity and drag force of metallic spheres free falling in water. The surface of 20 mm to 60 mm steel or tungsten-carbide spheres is rendered superhydrophobic by a simple coating process that uses commercially available hydrophobic agent. By comparing the free fall of unmodified spheres and superhydrophobic spheres in a 2.5 meters tall water tank, It is demonstrated that even a very thin air layer (~ 1 – 2 μm) that covers the freshly dipped superhydrophobic sphere, can reduce the drag force on the spheres by up to 80 %, at Reynolds numbers 105 - 3×105 , owing to an early drag crisis transition. This study complements prior investigations on the drag reduction efficiency of model gas layers sustained on heated metal spheres falling in liquid by the Leidenfrost effect. The drag reduction effects are expected to have significant implication for the development of sustainable air-layer-based energy saving technologies.

Non-invasive high throughput approach for protein hydrophobicity determination based on surface tension.

Science.gov (United States)

Amrhein, Sven; Bauer, Katharina Christin; Galm, Lara; Hubbuch, Jürgen

2015-12-01

The surface hydrophobicity of a protein is an important factor for its interactions in solution and thus the outcome of its production process. Yet most of the methods are not able to evaluate the influence of these hydrophobic interactions under natural conditions. In the present work we have established a high resolution stalagmometric method for surface tension determination on a liquid handling station, which can cope with accuracy as well as high throughput requirements. Surface tensions could be derived with a low sample consumption (800 μL) and a high reproducibility (content. The protein influence on the solutions' surface tension was correlated to the hydrophobicity of lysozyme, human lysozyme, BSA, and α-lactalbumin. Differences in proteins' hydrophobic character depending on pH and species could be resolved. Within this work we have developed a pH dependent hydrophobicity ranking, which was found to be in good agreement with literature. For the studied pH range of 3-9 lysozyme from chicken egg white was identified to be the most hydrophilic. α-lactalbumin at pH 3 exhibited the most pronounced hydrophobic character. The stalagmometric method occurred to outclass the widely used spectrophotometric method with bromophenol blue sodium salt as it gave reasonable results without restrictions on pH and protein species. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pining phenomena of an evaporated droplet on the hydrophobic micro-textured surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Dong In; Doh, Seung Woo; Park, Hyun Sun; Moriyama Kiyofumia; Kim, Moo Hwan; Kwak, Ho Jae; Ahn, Ho Seon

2015-01-01

When the decreased contact angle reaches the receding contact angle, the contact radius is reduced while maintaining a constant contact angle, i.e., this evaporation mode is known as the constant contact angle (CCA) mode. The emphasis of the droplet evaporation is that the transition from CCR to CCA modes is relative with the rate of the droplet evaporation, and it is markedly influenced by the surface wettability. In this study, it is focused on the evaporation mode transition. Especially, the transition from CCR to CCA modes is investigated on the hydrophobic microtextured surfaces. On the basis of the thermodynamics, the transition from CCR to CCA mode is theoretically analyzed. The thermodynamic model is developed to estimate the receding contact angle at the evaporation mode transition. Additionally, to compare between the theoretical model and experimental results, it is shown that the experimental receding contact angle is well estimated by the receding contact angle with the theoretical model. This study was performed to investigate the pinning phenomena of an evaporated droplet on the hydrophobic micro-textured surfaces. The pinning phenomena at the contact line were shown theoretically to be due to the most favorable thermodynamics process that caused the Gibbs free energy to rapidly reach an equilibrium state during droplet evaporation. The evaporation mode underwent a transition when the decrease in the Gibbs free energy was equivalent for the CCR and CCA modes. On the basis of the analysis described here, a theoretical model was developed to estimate the receding contact angle at the mode transition as a function of the surface conditions

Period adding cascades: experiment and modeling in air bubbling.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Felipe Augusto Cardoso; Colli, Eduardo; Sartorelli, José Carlos

2012-03-01

Period adding cascades have been observed experimentally/numerically in the dynamics of neurons and pancreatic cells, lasers, electric circuits, chemical reactions, oceanic internal waves, and also in air bubbling. We show that the period adding cascades appearing in bubbling from a nozzle submerged in a viscous liquid can be reproduced by a simple model, based on some hydrodynamical principles, dealing with the time evolution of two variables, bubble position and pressure of the air chamber, through a system of differential equations with a rule of detachment based on force balance. The model further reduces to an iterating one-dimensional map giving the pressures at the detachments, where time between bubbles come out as an observable of the dynamics. The model has not only good agreement with experimental data, but is also able to predict the influence of the main parameters involved, like the length of the hose connecting the air supplier with the needle, the needle radius and the needle length.

Air Pollution Modeling at Road Sides Using the Operational Street Pollution Model-A Case Study in Hanoi, Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hung, Ngo Tho; Ketzel, Matthias; Jensen, Steen Solvang

2010-01-01

In many metropolitan areas, traffic is the main source of air pollution. The high concentrations of pollutants in streets have the potential to affect human health. Therefore, estimation of air pollution at the street level is required for health impact assessment. This task has been carried out...... in many developed countries by a combination of air quality measurements and modeling. This study focuses on how to apply a dispersion model to cities in the developing world, where model input data and data from air quality monitoring stations are limited or of varying quality. This research uses...... the operational street pollution model (OSPM) developed by the National Environmental Research Institute in Denmark for a case study in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. OSPM predictions from five streets were evaluated against air pollution measurements of nitrogen oxides (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide...

Dynamic Models of Heating and Cooling Coils with One—Dimensional Air Distribution

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WangZijie; G.Krauss

1993-01-01

This paper presents the simulation models of the plate-fin,air-to-water(or water vapour) heat exchangers used as air-heating or air-cooling and dehumidifying colis in the HVAC(Heating,Ventilation and AIr-Conditioning)systems.The thermal models are used to calculate the heat exchange between distributing air and coil pipes and outlet temperatures of air and heat or chilled fluid.The aerodynamic models are used to account for the pressure drop of the air crossing the coil tubes,They can also be used to optimize the structres of such coils.The models are based on principal laws of teat and mass conservation and fluid mechanics.They are transparent and easy to use.In our work,a coil is considered as an assembly of numbers of basic elements in which all the state variables are unique.Therefore we can conveniently simulate the coils with different structures and different geometric parameters.Two modular programs TRNSYS(Transient System Simulation)and ESACAP are utilized as supporting softwares which make the programming and simulation greatly simplified.The coil elements and a real coil were simulated.The results were compared with the data offered by the manufacturer(company SOFICA) and also with those obtained using critical methods such as NTU method ,etc.and good agreement is attained.

Trends of air pollution in Denmark - Normalised by a simple weather index model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiilsholm, S.; Rasmussen, A.

2000-01-01

This report is a part of the Traffic Pool projects on 'Traffic and Environments', 1995-99, financed by the Danish Ministry of Transport. The Traffic Pool projects included five different projects on 'Surveillance of the Air Quality', 'Atmospheric Modelling', 'Atmospheric Chemistry Modelling', 'Smog and ozone' and 'Greenhouse effects and Climate', [Rasmussen, 2000]. This work is a part of the project on 'Surveillance of the Air Quality' with the main objectives to make trend analysis of levels of air pollution from traffic in Denmark. Other participants were from the Road Directory mainly focusing on measurement of traffic and trend analysis of the air quality utilising a nordic model for the air pollution in street canyons called BLB (Beregningsmodel for Luftkvalitet i Byluftgader) [Vejdirektoratet 2000], National Environmental Research Institute (HERI) mainly focusing on. measurements of air pollution and trend analysis with the Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM) [DMU 2000], and the Copenhagen Environmental Protection Agency mainly focusing on measurements. In this study a more simple statistical model has been developed for trend analysis of the air quality. The model is filtering out the influence of the variations from year to year in the meteorological conditions on the air pollution levels. The weather factors found most important are wind speed, wind direction and mixing height. Measurements of CO, NO and NO 2 from three streets in Copenhagen have been used, these streets are Jagtvej, Bredgade and H. C. Andersen's Boulevard (HCAB). The years 1994-1996 were used for evaluation of the method and annual indexes of air pollution index dependent only on meteorological parameters, called WEATHIX, were calculated for the years 1990-1997 and used for normalisation of the observed air pollution trends. Meteorological data were taken from either the background stations at the H.C. Oersted - building situated close to one of the street stations or the synoptic

Prediction of Indoor Air Exposure from Outdoor Air Quality Using an Artificial Neural Network Model for Inner City Commercial Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avril Challoner

2015-12-01

Full Text Available NO2 and particulate matter are the air pollutants of most concern in Ireland, with possible links to the higher respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rates found in the country compared to the rest of Europe. Currently, air quality limits in Europe only cover outdoor environments yet the quality of indoor air is an essential determinant of a person’s well-being, especially since the average person spends more than 90% of their time indoors. The modelling conducted in this research aims to provide a framework for epidemiological studies by the use of publically available data from fixed outdoor monitoring stations to predict indoor air quality more accurately. Predictions are made using two modelling techniques, the Personal-exposure Activity Location Model (PALM, to predict outdoor air quality at a particular building, and Artificial Neural Networks, to model the indoor/outdoor relationship of the building. This joint approach has been used to predict indoor air concentrations for three inner city commercial buildings in Dublin, where parallel indoor and outdoor diurnal monitoring had been carried out on site. This modelling methodology has been shown to provide reasonable predictions of average NO2 indoor air quality compared to the monitored data, but did not perform well in the prediction of indoor PM2.5 concentrations. Hence, this approach could be used to determine NO2 exposures more rigorously of those who work and/or live in the city centre, which can then be linked to potential health impacts.

Hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated using atmospheric pressure cold plasma technology: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitrakellis, Panagiotis; Gogolides, Evangelos

2018-04-01

Hydrophobic surfaces are often used to reduce wetting of surfaces by water. In particular, superhydrophobic surfaces are highly desired for several applications due to their exceptional properties such as self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-friction and others. Such surfaces can be prepared via numerous methods including plasma technology, a dry technique with low environmental impact. Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) has recently attracted significant attention as lower-cost alternative to low-pressure plasmas, and as a candidate for continuous rather than batch processing. Although there are many reviews on water-repellent surfaces, and a few reviews on APP technology, there are hardly any review works on APP processing for hydrophobic and superhydrohobic surface fabrication, a topic of high importance in nanotechnology and interface science. Herein, we critically review the advances on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surface fabrication using APP technology, trying also to give some perspectives in the field. After a short introduction to superhydrophobicity of nanostructured surfaces and to APPs we focus this review on three different aspects: (1) The atmospheric plasma reactor technology used for fabrication of (super)hydrophobic surfaces. (2) The APP process for hydrophobic surface preparation. The hydrophobic surface preparation processes are categorized methodologically as: a) activation, b) grafting, c) polymerization, d) roughening and hydrophobization. Each category includes subcategories related to different precursors used. (3) One of the most important sections of this review concerns superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated using APP. These are methodologically characterized as follows: a) single step processes where micro-nano textured topography and low surface energy coating are created at the same time, or b) multiple step processes, where these steps occur sequentially in or out of the plasma. We end the review with some perspectives in the field. We

The Aviation System Analysis Capability Air Carrier Cost-Benefit Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gaier, Eric M.; Edlich, Alexander; Santmire, Tara S.; Wingrove, Earl R.., III

1999-01-01

To meet its objective of assisting the U.S. aviation industry with the technological challenges of the future, NASA must identify research areas that have the greatest potential for improving the operation of the air transportation system. Therefore, NASA is developing the ability to evaluate the potential impact of various advanced technologies. By thoroughly understanding the economic impact of advanced aviation technologies and by evaluating how the new technologies will be used in the integrated aviation system, NASA aims to balance its aeronautical research program and help speed the introduction of high-leverage technologies. To meet these objectives, NASA is building the Aviation System Analysis Capability (ASAC). NASA envisions ASAC primarily as a process for understanding and evaluating the impact of advanced aviation technologies on the U.S. economy. ASAC consists of a diverse collection of models and databases used by analysts and other individuals from the public and private sectors brought together to work on issues of common interest to organizations in the aviation community. ASAC also will be a resource available to the aviation community to analyze; inform; and assist scientists, engineers, analysts, and program managers in their daily work. The ASAC differs from previous NASA modeling efforts in that the economic behavior of buyers and sellers in the air transportation and aviation industries is central to its conception. Commercial air carriers, in particular, are an important stakeholder in this community. Therefore, to fully evaluate the implications of advanced aviation technologies, ASAC requires a flexible financial analysis tool that credibly links the technology of flight with the financial performance of commercial air carriers. By linking technical and financial information, NASA ensures that its technology programs will continue to benefit the user community. In addition, the analysis tool must be capable of being incorporated into the

Fabrication of hydrophobic compressed oil palm trunk surface by sol-gel process

Science.gov (United States)

Muzakir, Syafiqah; Salim, Nurjannah; Huda Abu Bakar, Nurul; Roslan, Rasidi; Sin, Lim Wan; Hashim, Rokiah

2018-04-01

Improvement of the robustness of hydrophobic surfaces is crucial to achieving commercial applications of these surfaces in such various areas as self-cleaning, water repellency and corrosion resistance. Compressed oil palm trunk (OPT) panel is one of potential product which can be used as panelling and indoor furniture application. By adding hydrophobic properties to compressed oil palm trunk panel might increase the application of compressed oil palm trunk especially for outdoor application. In this study, fabrication is using the sol-gel technique. Sol-gel was prepared by adding ethanol with Hexadecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) solution with Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (TEOS) with surface modification of chlorotrimethylsilane (CTMS). The surface with hydrophobic coating was undergone surface analysis with contact angle machine with the aid of software SCA 20 and the determined of the morphology of surface with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The produced compressed oil palm trunk surfaces exhibited promising hydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 104° and the relatively better mechanical robustness.

Modification of epoxy resin, silicon and glass surfaces with alkyl- or fluoroalkylsilanes for hydrophobic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marczak, Jacek; Kargol, Marta; Psarski, Maciej; Celichowski, Grzegorz

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Chemical structure of alkylsilanes and fluoroalkylsilanes can affect the hydrophobic and surface performance of the modified samples. • Wet chemical hydrophobization is relatively simple and inexpensive method to obtain hydrophobic/superhydrophobic coatings. • The samples degradation is not observed and hydrophobic coatings seem to be stable in UV light. - Abstract: Preparation of superhydrophobic materials inspired by nature has attracted a great scientific interest in recent decades. Some of these materials have hierarchical lotus-like structures, i.e. micro- and nano-objects coated by hydrophobic compounds. A major challenge of applying the superhydrophobic surfaces for the self-cleaning coatings preparation is their improved efficiency in varying atmospheric conditions, e.g. UV light. The objective of this research work was to investigate the effect of the different chemical structure and the surface free energy on the hydrophobic and tribological properties of the alkylsilanes and fluoroalkylsilanes deposited on silicon wafers, glass slides and epoxy resin. Tribological and hydrophobic properties of the modified surfaces were correlated with their chemical structures. Chemical structures of the deposited materials were examined by using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and hydrophobic properties were investigated by water contact angle (WCA) and surface free energy (SFE) measurements. The modified surfaces exhibited water contact angles of above 100° for the selected modifiers. It was noticed that the replacement of hydrogen atoms by fluorine atoms in alkyl chain caused an increase in the water contact angle values and a decrease in friction coefficients. The obtained results showed that the carbon chain length of a modifier and its chemical structure can strongly affect the hydrophobic and tribological properties of the modified surfaces. The highest values of WCA, lowest values of SFE and coefficient

Air injection test on a Kaplan turbine: prototype - model comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Angulo, M.; Rivetti, A.; Díaz, L.; Liscia, S.

2016-11-01

Air injection is a very well-known resource to reduce pressure pulsation magnitude in turbines, especially on Francis type. In the case of large Kaplan designs, even when not so usual, it could be a solution to mitigate vibrations arising when tip vortex cavitation phenomenon becomes erosive and induces structural vibrations. In order to study this alternative, aeration tests were performed on a Kaplan turbine at model and prototype scales. The research was focused on efficiency of different air flow rates injected in reducing vibrations, especially at the draft tube and the discharge ring and also in the efficiency drop magnitude. It was found that results on both scales presents the same trend in particular for vibration levels at the discharge ring. The efficiency drop was overestimated on model tests while on prototype were less than 0.2 % for all power output. On prototype, air has a beneficial effect in reducing pressure fluctuations up to 0.2 ‰ of air flow rate. On model high speed image computing helped to quantify the volume of tip vortex cavitation that is strongly correlated with the vibration level. The hydrophone measurements did not capture the cavitation intensity when air is injected, however on prototype, it was detected by a sonometer installed at the draft tube access gallery.

Engineering Model of High Pressure Moist Air

OpenAIRE

Hyhlík Tomáš

2017-01-01

The article deals with the moist air equation of state. There are equations of state discussed in the article, i.e. the model of an ideal mixture of ideal gases, the model of an ideal mixture of real gases and the model based on the virial equation of state. The evaluation of sound speed based on the ideal mixture concept is mentioned. The sound speed calculated by the model of an ideal mixture of ideal gases is compared with the sound speed calculated by using the model based on the concept ...

Air-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on a new hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent for the preconcentration of benzophenone-type UV filters from aqueous samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Dandan; Zhang, Yi; Dai, Yixiu; Yang, Shumin

2018-04-01

Deep eutectic solvents are considered as new and green solvents that can be widely used in analytical chemistry such as microextraction. In the present work, a new dl-menthol-based hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent was synthesized and used as extraction solvents in an air-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method for preconcentration and extraction of benzophenone-type UV filters from aqueous samples followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. In an experiment, the deep eutectic solvent formed by dl-menthol and decanoic acid was added to an aqueous solution containing the UV filters, and then the mixture was sucked up and injected five times by using a glass syringe, and a cloudy state was achieved. After extraction, the solution was centrifuged and the upper phase was subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography for analysis. Various parameters such as the type and volume of the deep eutectic solvent, number of pulling, and pushing cycles, solution pH and salt concentration were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the developed method exhibited low limits of detection and limits of quantitation, good linearity, and precision. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to determine the benzophenone-type filters in environmental water samples with relative recoveries of 88.8-105.9%. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Determination of 1-octanol-air partition coefficient using gaseous diffusion in the air boundary layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Yeonjeong; Kwon, Jung-Hwan

2010-04-15

Exact determination of the partition coefficient between 1-octanol and air (K(OA)) is very important because it is a key descriptor for describing the thermodynamic partitioning between the air and organic phases. In spite of its importance, the number and quality of experimental K(OA) values for hydrophobic organic chemicals are limited because of experimental difficulties. Thus, to measure K(OA) values, a high-throughput method was developed that used liquid-phase extraction with 1-octanol drop at the tip of a microsyringe needle. The concentration in the headspace surrounding the 1 muL octanol drop was equilibrated with liquid octanol containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The change in concentrations of PAHs in the octanol drop was measured to obtain mass transfer rate constants, and these rate constants were then converted into K(OA) values using a film diffusion model. Thirteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with log K(OA) between 5 and 12 were chosen for the proof of the principle. Experimental determination of log K(OA) was accomplished in 30 h for PAHs with their log K(OA) less than 11. The measured log K(OA) values were very close to those obtained by various experimental and estimation methods in the literature, suggesting that this new method can provide a fast and easy determination of log K(OA) values for many chemicals of environmental interests. In addition, the applicability of the method can be extended to determine Henry's law constant for compounds with low vapor pressure and to estimate gaseous transfer rate of semivolatile compounds for environmental fate modeling.

Implementation of a WRF-CMAQ Air Quality Modeling System in Bogotá, Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Nedbor-Gross, R.; Henderson, B. H.; Pachon, J. E.; Davis, J. R.; Baublitz, C. B.; Rincón, A.

2014-12-01

Due to a continuous economic growth Bogotá, Colombia has experienced air pollution issues in recent years. The local environmental authority has implemented several strategies to curb air pollution that have resulted in the decrease of PM10 concentrations since 2010. However, more activities are necessary in order to meet international air quality standards in the city. The University of Florida Air Quality and Climate group is collaborating with the Universidad de La Salle to prioritize regulatory strategies for Bogotá using air pollution simulations. To simulate pollution, we developed a modeling platform that combines the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), local emissions, and the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ). This platform is the first of its kind to be implemented in the megacity of Bogota, Colombia. The presentation will discuss development and evaluation of the air quality modeling system, highlight initial results characterizing photochemical conditions in Bogotá, and characterize air pollution under proposed regulatory strategies. The WRF model has been configured and applied to Bogotá, which resides in a tropical climate with complex mountainous topography. Developing the configuration included incorporation of local topography and land-use data, a physics sensitivity analysis, review, and systematic evaluation. The threshold, however, was set based on synthesis of model performance under less mountainous conditions. We will evaluate the impact that differences in autocorrelation contribute to the non-ideal performance. Air pollution predictions are currently under way. CMAQ has been configured with WRF meteorology, global boundary conditions from GEOS-Chem, and a locally produced emission inventory. Preliminary results from simulations show promising performance of CMAQ in Bogota. Anticipated results include a systematic performance evaluation of ozone and PM10, characterization of photochemical sensitivity, and air

Hydrophobic Calcium Carbonate for Cement Surface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shashi B. Atla

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This report describes a novel way to generate a highly effective hydrophobic cement surface via a carbonation route using sodium stearate. Carbonation reaction was carried out at different temperatures to investigate the hydrophobicity and morphology of the calcium carbonate formed with this process. With increasing temperatures, the particles changed from irregular shapes to more uniform rod-like structures and then aggregated to form a plate-like formation. The contact angle against water was found to increase with increasing temperature; after 90 °C there was no further increase. The maximum contact angle of 129° was obtained at the temperature of 60 °C. It was also found that carbonation increased the micro hardness of the cement material. The micro hardness was found to be dependent on the morphology of the CaCO3 particles. The rod like structures which caused increased mineral filler produced a material with enhanced strength. The 13C cross polarization magic-angle spinning NMR spectra gave plausible explanation of the interaction of organic-inorganic moieties.

Microscopic modelling of air spring bellows. Automation in the lifetime estimation of air springs; Mikroskopische Balgmodellierung. Automatismen in der Lebensdauerabschaetzung von Luftfedern

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pham, Tram Anh; Brueger, Thorsten [Vibracoustic GmbH und Co. KG, Hamburg (Germany); Rambacher, Christoph [Professur fuer Maschinenelemente und Produktentwicklung (MRP), Helmut-Schmidt-Univ., Hamburg (HSU) (Germany)

2009-07-01

Because of the many advantages of air springs over conventional springs, they are being increasingly fitted in upper and middle class automobiles. Generally air spring bellows, consisting of reinforcing cords and elastomer, can be simulated using the rebar technique. The following article introduces a method in which the boundary conditions derived from the model simulated with the rebar technique are applied in the air spring bellow ''microscopic model'' which is modelled automatically. The microscopic modelling enables a detailed analysis of stress and strain conditions in the elastomer. With the automated process this method can be applied for the widespread design process for air spring systems. Finally the validation of the method is demonstrated. (orig.)

An SFG study of interfacial amino acids at the hydrophilic SiO2 and hydrophobic deuterated polystyrene surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Holinga, George J; York, Roger L; Onorato, Robert M; Thompson, Christopher M; Webb, Nic E; Yoon, Alfred P; Somorjai, Gabor A

2011-04-27

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was employed to characterize the interfacial structure of eight individual amino acids--L-phenylalanine, L-leucine, glycine, L-lysine, L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-alanine, and L-proline--in aqueous solution adsorbed at model hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Specifically, SFG vibrational spectra were obtained for the amino acids at the solid-liquid interface between both hydrophobic d(8)-polystyrene (d(8)-PS) and SiO(2) model surfaces and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at pH 7.4. At the hydrophobic d(8)-PS surface, seven of the amino acids solutions investigated showed clear and identifiable C-H vibrational modes, with the exception being l-alanine. In the SFG spectra obtained at the hydrophilic SiO(2) surface, no C-H vibrational modes were observed from any of the amino acids studied. However, it was confirmed by quartz crystal microbalance that amino acids do adsorb to the SiO(2) interface, and the amino acid solutions were found to have a detectable and widely varying influence on the magnitude of SFG signal from water at the SiO(2)/PBS interface. This study provides the first known SFG spectra of several individual amino acids in aqueous solution at the solid-liquid interface and under physiological conditions.

Mathematical modeling of hot air/electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying kinetics of mushroom slices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taghian Dinani, Somayeh; Hamdami, Nasser; Shahedi, Mohammad; Havet, Michel

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Hot air/EHD drying behavior of thin layer mushroom slices was evaluated. • A new empirical model was proposed for drying kinetics modeling of mushroom slices. • The new model presents excellent predictions for hot air/EHD drying of mushroom. - Abstract: Researches about mathematical modeling of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying are rare. In this study, hot air combined with electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying behavior of thin layer mushroom slices was evaluated in a laboratory scale dryer at voltages of 17, 19, and 21 kV and electrode gaps of 5, 6, and 7 cm. The drying curves were fitted to ten different mathematical models (Newton, Page, Modified Page, Henderson and Pabis, Logarithmic, Two-term exponential, Midilli and Kucuk, Wang and Singh, Weibull and Parabolic models) and a proposed new empirical model to select a suitable drying equation for drying mushroom slices in a hot air combined with EHD dryer. Coefficients of the models were determined by non-linear regression analysis and the models were compared based on their coefficient of determination (R 2 ), sum of square errors (SSE) and root mean square error (RMSE) between experimental and predicted moisture ratios. According to the results, the proposed model that contains only three parameters provided the best fit with the experimental data. It was closely followed by the Midilli and Kucuk model that contains four parameters. Therefore, the proposed model can present comfortable usage and excellent predictions for the moisture content changes of mushroom slices in the hot air combined with EHD drying system

Surface modification of thermoplastic poly(vinyl alcohol)/saponite nanocomposites via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization enhanced by air dielectric discharges barrier plasma treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhen Weijun; Lu Canhui

2012-01-01

To improve the water resistance of thermoplastic poly(vinyl alcohol)/saponite nanocomposites (TPVA), a simple two-step method was developed for the covalent immobilization of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators on the TPVA surfaces enhanced by air dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) plasma treatment, and hydrophobic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) brushes were then grafted onto the surface of TPVA via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The chemical composition, morphology and hydrophobicity of the modified TPVA surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The water resistance of the surface-functionalized PMMA was evaluated by the contact angle and water adsorption method. It was shown that air DBD plasma treatment activated the TPVA surface and accelerated the immobilization of ATRP initiator on the TPVA surface. Compared with TPVA control, TPVA modified by SI-ATRP can be grafted well-defined and covalently tethered network PMMA brushes onto the surface and the hydrophobicity of TPVA were significantly enhanced.

Accelerating the Global Nested Air Quality Prediction Modeling System (GNAQPMS) model on Intel Xeon Phi processors

OpenAIRE

Wang, Hui; Chen, Huansheng; Wu, Qizhong; Lin, Junming; Chen, Xueshun; Xie, Xinwei; Wang, Rongrong; Tang, Xiao; Wang, Zifa

2017-01-01

The GNAQPMS model is the global version of the Nested Air Quality Prediction Modelling System (NAQPMS), which is a multi-scale chemical transport model used for air quality forecast and atmospheric environmental research. In this study, we present our work of porting and optimizing the GNAQPMS model on the second generation Intel Xeon Phi processor codename “Knights Landing” (KNL). Compared with the first generation Xeon Phi coprocessor, KNL introduced many new hardware features such as a boo...

Existing air sparging model and literature review for the development of an air sparging optimization decision tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-08-01

The objectives of this Report are two-fold: (1) to provide overviews of the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice with respect to air sparging technology, air sparging models and related or augmentation technologies (e.g., soil vapor extraction); and (2) to provide the basis for the development of the conceptual Decision Tool. The Project Team conducted an exhaustive review of available literature. The complete listing of the documents, numbering several hundred and reviewed as a part of this task, is included in Appendix A. Even with the large amount of material written regarding the development and application of air sparging, there still are significant gaps in the technical community`s understanding of the remediation technology. The results of the literature review are provided in Section 2. In Section 3, an overview of seventeen conceptual, theoretical, mathematical and empirical models is presented. Detailed descriptions of each of the models reviewed is provided in Appendix B. Included in Appendix D is a copy of the questionnaire used to compile information about the models. The remaining sections of the document reflect the analysis and synthesis of the information gleaned during the literature and model reviews. The results of these efforts provide the basis for development of the decision tree and conceptual decision tool for determining applicability and optimization of air sparging. The preliminary decision tree and accompanying information provided in Section 6 describe a three-tiered approach for determining air sparging applicability: comparison with established scenarios; calculation of conceptual design parameters; and the conducting of pilot-scale studies to confirm applicability. The final two sections of this document provide listings of the key success factors which will be used for evaluating the utility of the Decision Tool and descriptions of potential applications for Decision Tool use.

Numerical model of sprayed air cooled condenser coupled to refrigerating system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Youbi-Idrissi, M.; Macchi-Tejeda, H.; Fournaison, L.; Guilpart, J.

2007-01-01

Because of technological, economic and environmental constraints, many refrigeration and air conditioning units are equipped with a simple air cooled condenser. Spraying the condenser seems to be an original solution to improve the energetic performances of such systems. To characterise this energetic benefit, a semi-local mathematical model was developed and applied to a refrigerating machine with and without spraying its air cooled condenser. It is found that, compared to a dry air cooled condenser, both the calorific capacity and machine COP increase by 13% and 55%, respectively. Furthermore, the model shows that a spray flow rate threshold occurs. It should not be exceeded to assure an effective and rational spray use

Identification of potential hydrophobic properties of carbon layer from the coffee bean waste

Science.gov (United States)

Fitria, D.; Baroroh, L. A. Al; Destyorini, F.; Widayatno, W. B.; Amal, M. I.; Wismogroho, A. S.

2018-03-01

The significant increase of waste due to vast development of human civilization and industrialization has plunged humanity into various environmental issues. Nowadays, the concern on waste handling and conversion into more valuable material has become one of hot research topics. Biomass waste has great abundance with various types that can be utilized for many applications such as landfill, recycled-material, adsorbent, separation, catalysis, and so on. In this study, coffee bean waste (CBW) was used as a source to produce hydrophobic layer. The CBW was converted into amorphous carbon using simple carbonization method at 500 °C, dispersed in acetic acid and then mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at low temperature heating. In order to investigate effects of composition on hydrophobicity properties, ratio of carbon and PVA was varied. In addition, acetic acid was used to evaluate effect of dispersant on hydrophobic properties. SEM analysis reveals unique morphology of carbon layer. The measurement of contact angle demonstrates that this unique morphology possesses comparable hydrophobicity with that of some well-known materials. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirms the effect of PVA bonding and carbon layer on its hydrophobicity.

Boundary layers of aqueous surfactant and block copolymer solutions against hydrophobic and hydrophilic solid surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steitz, Roland; Schemmel, Sebastian; Shi Hongwei; Findenegg, Gerhard H

2005-01-01

The boundary layer of aqueous surfactants and amphiphilic triblock copolymers against flat solid surfaces of different degrees of hydrophobicity was investigated by neutron reflectometry (NR), grazing incidence small angle neutron scattering (GISANS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Solid substrates of different hydrophobicities were prepared by appropriate surface treatment or by coating silicon wafers with polymer films of different chemical natures. For substrates coated with thin films (20-30 nm) of deuterated poly(styrene) (water contact angle θ w ∼ 90), neutron reflectivity measurements on the polymer/water interface revealed a water depleted liquid boundary layer of 2-3 nm thickness and a density about 90% of the bulk water density. No pronounced depletion layer was found at the interface of water against a less hydrophobic polyelectrolyte coating (θ w ∼ 63). It is believed that the observed depletion layer at the hydrophobic polymer/water interface is a precursor of the nanobubbles which have been observed by AFM at this interface. Decoration of the polymer coatings by adsorbed layers of nonionic C m E n surfactants improves their wettability by the aqueous phase at surfactant concentrations well below the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of the surfactant. Here, GISANS experiments conducted on the system SiO 2 /C 8 E 4 /D 2 O reveal that there is no preferred lateral organization of the C 8 E 4 adsorption layers. For amphiphilic triblock copolymers (PEO-PPO-PEO) it is found that under equilibrium conditions they form solvent-swollen brushes both at the air/water and the solid/water interface. In the latter case, the brushes transform to uniform, dense layers after extensive rinsing with water and subsequent solvent evaporation. The primary adsorption layers maintain properties of the precursor brushes. In particular, their thickness scales with the number of ethylene oxide units (EO) of the block copolymer. In the case of dip-coating without

Quenched polyelectrolytes with hydrophobicity independent from chemical charge fraction: A SANS and SAXS study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Souha Ben Mahmoud

2017-11-01

Full Text Available We investigate by SANS and SAXS the structure of semidilute aqueous hydrophobic quenched polyelectrolyte solutions, in which we can vary independently the hydrophobicity and the chemical/electrostatic charge fraction (above the Manning condensation threshold 36%. Such a de-correlation is the original point of the work, reached using statistical tri-copolymers poly(acrylamide-co-styrene-co-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane-sodium sulfonate, poly(AMx-co-STy-co-AMPSz. The hydrophobicity is brought by ST, the chemical electrostatic charge by AMPS and solubility without charge by AM. We consider that although these copolymers have chemical structure different from partially sulfonated polystyrene sulfonate, PS-co-SSNa, made of two monomers, one charged, one hydrophobic, they have however vicinal behavior. The variation of chemical charge, has no strong consequence on the structure properties which is in agreement with the fact that it is always larger than the Manning threshold. The dependence of q∗ with AM content shows that AM reduces hydrophobicity. The similarity with PS-co-SSNa, for which pearl necklace-like conformations were directly measured by SANS (form factor using ZAC method, suggests that pearl necklace conformations are also adopted by these tri-copolymers and that this behavior could be so generalized to a much larger range of synthetic hydrophobic polyelectrolytes using simple copolymerization.

User's guide to the LIRAQ model: an air pollution model for the San Francisco Bay Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacCracken, M.C.

1975-01-01

The Livermore Regional Air Quality (LIRAQ) model comprises a set of computer programs that have been integrated into an easily used tool for the air quality planner. To assemble and modify the necessary data files and to direct model execution, a problem formulation program has been developed that makes possible the setup of a wide variety of studies involving perturbation of the emission inventory, changes to the initial and boundary conditions, and different choices of grid size and problem domain. In addition to describing the types of air quality problems for which the LIRAQ model may be used, this User's Guide provides detailed information on how to set up and conduct model simulations. Also included are descriptions of the formats of input data files so that the LIRAQ model may be applied to regions other than the San Francisco Bay Area

Development of breathable hydrophobic/hydrophilic functional textiles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agrawal, P. (Pramod); Brink, G.J. (Ger)

2013-01-01

The proposed bi-functional protective structure intended to have hydrophilic interior towards the skin surface and hydrophobic exterior for protection, ensuring fast transfer of moisture between body and external environment. The sandwich structure is prepared using 100% wool jersey and varieties of

Evolution of Air Quality Model at the US EPA

Science.gov (United States)

At the US EPA, we have developed an air quality model, CMAQ, in the past 20+ years. Throughout the years, the model has been upgraded with respect to advancement of science. We have extended the model from regional to hemispheric. We have coupled it with meteorological model, WR...

Hydrogen isotope separation in hydrophobic catalysts between hydrogen and liquid water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ye, Linsen, E-mail: yls2005@mail.ustc.edu.cn [China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); Luo, Deli [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Jiangyou 621907 (China); Tang, Tao; Yang, Wan; Yang, Yong [China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China)

2015-11-15

Hydrogen isotope catalytic exchange between hydrogen and liquid water is a very effective process for deuterium-depleted potable water production and heavy water detritiation. To improve the characteristics of hydrophobic catalysts for this type of reaction, foamed and cellular structures of hydrophobic carbon-supported platinum catalysts were successfully prepared. Separation of deuterium or tritium from liquid water was carried out by liquid-phase catalytic exchange. At a gas–liquid ratio of 1.53 and exchange temperature of 70 °C, the theoretical plate height of the hydrophobic catalyst (HETP = 34.2 cm) was slightly lower than previously reported values. Changing the concentration of the exchange column outlet water yielded nonlinear changes in the height of the packing layer. Configurations of deuterium-depleted potable water and detritiation of heavy water provide references for practical applications.

Standard Test Method for Hydrophobic Surface Films by the Atomizer Test

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

1965-01-01

1.1 This test method covers the detection of the presence of hydrophobic (nonwetting) films on surfaces and the presence of hydrophobic organic materials in processing ambients. When properly conducted, the test will enable detection of fractional molecular layers of hydrophobic organic contaminants. On very rough or porous surfaces the sensitivity of the test may be significantly decreased. 1.2 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only. 1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

Preparing the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) for global retrospective air quality modeling

Science.gov (United States)

The US EPA has a plan to leverage recent advances in meteorological modeling to develop a "Next-Generation" air quality modeling system that will allow consistent modeling of problems from global to local scale. The meteorological model of choice is the Model for Predic...

In vitro to in vivo extrapolation of biotransformation rates for assessing bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic chemicals in mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yung-Shan; Lo, Justin C; Otton, S Victoria; Moore, Margo M; Kennedy, Chris J; Gobas, Frank A P C

2017-07-01

Incorporating biotransformation in bioaccumulation assessments of hydrophobic chemicals in both aquatic and terrestrial organisms in a simple, rapid, and cost-effective manner is urgently needed to improve bioaccumulation assessments of potentially bioaccumulative substances. One approach to estimate whole-animal biotransformation rate constants is to combine in vitro measurements of hepatic biotransformation kinetics with in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) and bioaccumulation modeling. An established IVIVE modeling approach exists for pharmaceuticals (referred to in the present study as IVIVE-Ph) and has recently been adapted for chemical bioaccumulation assessments in fish. The present study proposes and tests an alternative IVIVE-B technique to support bioaccumulation assessment of hydrophobic chemicals with a log octanol-water partition coefficient (K OW ) ≥ 4 in mammals. The IVIVE-B approach requires fewer physiological and physiochemical parameters than the IVIVE-Ph approach and does not involve interconversions between clearance and rate constants in the extrapolation. Using in vitro depletion rates, the results show that the IVIVE-B and IVIVE-Ph models yield similar estimates of rat whole-organism biotransformation rate constants for hypothetical chemicals with log K OW  ≥ 4. The IVIVE-B approach generated in vivo biotransformation rate constants and biomagnification factors (BMFs) for benzo[a]pyrene that are within the range of empirical observations. The proposed IVIVE-B technique may be a useful tool for assessing BMFs of hydrophobic organic chemicals in mammals. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1934-1946. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

A survey of perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides in indoor and outdoor air using passive air samplers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shoeib, M.; Harner, T. [Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada (Canada); Wilford, B.; Jones, K. [Lancaster Univ. (United Kingdom). Environmental Science; Zhu, J. [Chemistry Research Division, Health Canada, Tunney' s Pasture, Ottawa (Canada)

2004-09-15

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has recently emerged as a priority environmental pollutant due to its widespread detection in biological samples from remote regions including the Arctic and the Mid-North Pacific Ocean. Because PFOS is fairly involatile, it is hypothesized that its occurrence in remote regions is the result of atmospheric transport of more volatile precursor compounds such as the perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides (PFASs). PFASs are used in variety of consumer products for water and oil resistance including surface treatments for fabric, upholstery, carpet, paper and leather. In a recent pilot study employing high volume air samples, indoor air concentrations of PFASs were approximately 100 times greater than outdoor levels. This is of significance because people typically spend about 90% of their time indoors 5 and this exposure may serve as an important uptake pathway. Indoor air also serves as a source of PFASs to the outside where PFASs are ultimately transported and distributed throughout the environment. The current study is intended to be a more comprehensive survey of indoor and outdoor air allowing more confident conclusions to be made. Passive air samplers comprised of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were used. These are quiet, non-intrusive samplers that operate without the aid of a pump or electricity. Air movement delivers chemical to the sampler which has a high retention capacity for persistent organic pollutants (POPs). PUF disks samplers have been previously used successfully to monitor different classes of hydrophobic persistent organic pollutants POPs.

Novel strategy in increasing stability and corrosion resistance for super-hydrophobic coating on aluminum alloy surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yin Bo [Department of Applied Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 (China); Fang Liang, E-mail: fangliangcqu@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Applied Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 (China); National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 (China); Tang Anqiong; Huang Qiuliu; Hu Jia; Mao Jianhui [Department of Applied Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 (China); Bai, Ge; Bai, Huan [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment and System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 (China)

2011-10-15

A novel super-hydrophobic coating was prepared by chemical modification on the anodized aluminum alloy surface. The surface structure was characterized by water contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the composition was measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The corrosion behavior of the super-hydrophobic coating was evaluated by the polarization curve and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was found that the static water contact angle on the surface of super-hydrophobic coating was as high as 167.7 {+-} 1.2 deg., and the sliding angle was 5 deg. The super-hydrophobic coating resulted in excellent corrosion resistance property and the super-hydrophobic coating showed a good stability.

Review of air quality modeling techniques. Volume 8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, L.C.

1977-01-01

Air transport and diffusion models which are applicable to the assessment of the environmental effects of nuclear, geothermal, and fossil-fuel electric generation are reviewed. The general classification of models and model inputs are discussed. A detailed examination of the statistical, Gaussian plume, Gaussian puff, one-box and species-conservation-of-mass models is given. Representative models are discussed with attention given to the assumptions, input data requirement, advantages, disadvantages and applicability of each

A Data-Driven Air Transportation Delay Propagation Model Using Epidemic Process Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Baspinar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In air transport network management, in addition to defining the performance behavior of the system’s components, identification of their interaction dynamics is a delicate issue in both strategic and tactical decision-making process so as to decide which elements of the system are “controlled” and how. This paper introduces a novel delay propagation model utilizing epidemic spreading process, which enables the definition of novel performance indicators and interaction rates of the elements of the air transportation network. In order to understand the behavior of the delay propagation over the network at different levels, we have constructed two different data-driven epidemic models approximating the dynamics of the system: (a flight-based epidemic model and (b airport-based epidemic model. The flight-based epidemic model utilizing SIS epidemic model focuses on the individual flights where each flight can be in susceptible or infected states. The airport-centric epidemic model, in addition to the flight-to-flight interactions, allows us to define the collective behavior of the airports, which are modeled as metapopulations. In network model construction, we have utilized historical flight-track data of Europe and performed analysis for certain days involving certain disturbances. Through this effort, we have validated the proposed delay propagation models under disruptive events.

Physical approach to air pollution climatological modelling in a complex site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonino, G [Torino, Universita; CNR, Istituto di Cosmo-Geofisica, Turin, Italy); Longhetto, A [Ente Nazionale per l' Energia Elettrica, Centro di Ricerca Termica e Nucleare, Milan; CNR, Istituto di Cosmo-Geofisica, Turin, Italy); Runca, E [International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria

1980-09-01

A Gaussian climatological model which takes into account physical factors affecting air pollutant dispersion, such as nocturnal radiative inversion and mixing height evolution, associated with land breeze and sea breeze regimes, has been applied to the topographically complex area of La Spezia. The measurements of the dynamic and thermodynamic structure of the lower atmosphere obtained by field experiments are utilized in the model to calculate the SO/sub 2/ seasonal average concentrations. The model has been tested on eight three-monthly periods by comparing the simulated values with the ones measured at the SO/sub 2/ stations of the local air pollution monitoring network. Comparison of simulated and measured values was satisfactory and proved the applicability of the model for urban planning and establishment of air quality strategies.

A three-dimensional numerical study and comparison between the air side model and the air/water side model of a plain fin-and-tube heat exchanger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borrajo-Pelaez, R.; Ortega-Casanova, J.; Cejudo-Lopez, J.M.

2010-01-01

CFD is becoming an important heat exchanger research technique. It constitutes an inexpensive prediction method, avoiding the need of testing numerous prototypes. Current work in this field is mostly based on air flow models assuming constant temperature of fin-and-tube surface. The purpose of this paper is to present an enhanced model, whose innovation lies in considering additionally the water flow in the tubes and the conduction heat transfer through the fin and tubes, to demonstrate that the neglect of these two phenomena causes a simulation result accuracy reduction. 3-D Numerical simulations were accomplished to compare both an air side and an air/water side model. The influence of Reynolds number, fin pitch, tube diameter, fin length and fin thickness was studied. The exchanger performance was evaluated through two non-dimensional parameters: the air side Nusselt number and a friction factor. It was found that the influence of the five parameters over the mechanical and thermal efficiencies can be well reported using these non-dimensional coefficients. The results from the improved model showed more real temperature contours, with regard to those of the simplified model. Therefore, a higher accuracy of the heat transfer was achieved, yielding better predictions on the exchanger performance.

New Methods for Air Quality Model Evaluation with Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Holloway, T.; Harkey, M.

2015-12-01

Despite major advances in the ability of satellites to detect gases and aerosols in the atmosphere, there remains significant, untapped potential to apply space-based data to air quality regulatory applications. Here, we showcase research findings geared toward increasing the relevance of satellite data to support operational air quality management, focused on model evaluation. Particular emphasis is given to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard the NASA Aura satellite, and evaluation of simulations from the EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. This work is part of the NASA Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (AQAST), and is motivated by ongoing dialog with state and federal air quality management agencies. We present the response of satellite-derived NO2 to meteorological conditions, satellite-derived HCHO:NO2 ratios as an indicator of ozone production regime, and the ability of models to capture these sensitivities over the continental U.S. In the case of NO2-weather sensitivities, we find boundary layer height, wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity to be the most important variables in determining near-surface NO2 variability. CMAQ agreed with relationships observed in satellite data, as well as in ground-based data, over most regions. However, we find that the southwest U.S. is a problem area for CMAQ, where modeled NO2 responses to insolation, boundary layer height, and other variables are at odds with the observations. Our analyses utilize a software developed by our team, the Wisconsin Horizontal Interpolation Program for Satellites (WHIPS): a free, open-source program designed to make satellite-derived air quality data more usable. WHIPS interpolates level 2 satellite retrievals onto a user-defined fixed grid, in effect creating custom-gridded level 3 satellite product. Currently, WHIPS can process the following data products: OMI NO2 (NASA retrieval); OMI NO2 (KNMI retrieval); OMI

Health risks maps. Modelling of air quality as a tool to map health risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Doorn, R.; Hegger, C.

2000-01-01

Environmental departments consider geographical maps with information on air quality as the final product of a complicated process of measuring, modelling and presentation. Municipal health departments consider such maps a useful starting point to solve the problem whether air pollution causes health risks for citizens. The answer to this question cannot be reduced to checking if threshold limit values are exceeded. Based on the results of measurements and modelling of concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in air, the health significance of air pollution caused by nitrogen dioxide is illuminated. A proposal is presented to map health risks of air pollution by using the results of measurements and modelling of air pollution. 7 refs

COMPARISON OF SORPTION ENERGTICS FOR HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS BY SYNTHETIC AND NATURAL SORBENTS FROM METHANOL/WATER SOLVENT MIXTURES

Science.gov (United States)

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) was used to investigate the thermodynamics and mechanisms of hydrophobic organic chemical (HOC) retention from methanol/water solvent mixtures. The enthalpy-entropy compensation model was used to infer that the hydro- phobic sorptive me...

Adsorption and Desorption of Chemical Warfare Agent Simulants on Silica Surfaces with Hydrophobic Coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Eun Ji; Kim, Young Dok

2013-01-01

Aim of our study is finding adsorbents suitable for pre-concentration of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). We considered Tenax, bare silica and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated silica as adsorbents for dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) and dipropylene glycol methyl ether (DPGME). Tenax showed lower thermal stability, and therefore, desorption of CWA simulants and decomposition of Tenax took place simultaneously. Silica-based adsorbents showed higher thermal stabilities than Tenax. A drawback of silica was that adsorption of CWA simulant (DMMP) was significantly reduced by pre-treatment of the adsorbents with humid air. In the case of PDMS-coated silica, influence of humidity for CWA simulant adsorption was less pronounced due to the hydrophobic nature of PDMS-coating. We propose that PDMS-coated silica can be of potential importance as adsorbent of CWAs for their pre-concentration, which can facilitate detection of these CWAs

Adsorption and Desorption of Chemical Warfare Agent Simulants on Silica Surfaces with Hydrophobic Coating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Eun Ji; Kim, Young Dok [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-07-15

Aim of our study is finding adsorbents suitable for pre-concentration of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). We considered Tenax, bare silica and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated silica as adsorbents for dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) and dipropylene glycol methyl ether (DPGME). Tenax showed lower thermal stability, and therefore, desorption of CWA simulants and decomposition of Tenax took place simultaneously. Silica-based adsorbents showed higher thermal stabilities than Tenax. A drawback of silica was that adsorption of CWA simulant (DMMP) was significantly reduced by pre-treatment of the adsorbents with humid air. In the case of PDMS-coated silica, influence of humidity for CWA simulant adsorption was less pronounced due to the hydrophobic nature of PDMS-coating. We propose that PDMS-coated silica can be of potential importance as adsorbent of CWAs for their pre-concentration, which can facilitate detection of these CWAs.

Development of Air Dispersion Modeling for Future Nuclear Plant in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Nahar Othman

2011-01-01

The impact development of Nuclear power plant in Malaysia, can be very negative to the nearby population, causing public restlessness and consequently affecting the image of the authorities in the countries. The precise source of the pollution from the nuclear power plant must be determined, pollution emission level and the meteorological conditions are needed to predict and established the ambient air to the save level at the perimeter fence of the plant and address it with respect to the radiological ambient standards. Upon modeling using an established package as well as site measurements, the radiological level at the perimeter fence of the plant must deduced and lower than the normal ambient level. Based on this issue, a modeling study was made in vicinity of Malaysian Nuclear Agency TRIGA reactor in the area of Bangi, Selangor to evaluate the possibility of movement of air around the area and their impact. This paper will address and discuss the modeling base on the data getting from Meteorological Department such as measurement of wind speed, temperature, humidity, ambient air radiological concentration and ect. The purpose of Air Dispersion Modeling is to establish the critical ambient emission level, as well as radiological modeling. The focus will be made on exploring the use of Ausplume modeling to develop correlations between the radiological concentrations, chemical compositions and ambient model for emission controls. (author)

Protection of oxidative hair color fading from shampoo washing by hydrophobically modified cationic polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Y; Foltis, L; Moore, D J; Rigoletto, R

2009-01-01

regimen significantly outperforms commercial products that were tested containing a color protection claim. The proposed mechanism for the anti-fading action of hydrophobically modified polymers includes a cationic charge-reinforced hydrophobic barrier. This model is supported by evaluating the color fastness effect of several different polymer chemistries and by measuring hair surface hydrophobicity changes.

Hydrophobic polymers modification of mesoporous silica with large pore size for drug release

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu Shenmin, E-mail: smzhu@sjtu.edu.c [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites (China); Zhang Di; Yang Na [Fudan University, Ministry of Education, Key Lab of Molecular Engineering of Polymers (China)

2009-04-15

Mesostructure cellular foam (MCF) materials were modified with hydrophobic polyisoprene (PI) through free radical polymerization in the pores network, and the resulting materials (MCF-PI) were investigated as matrices for drug storage. The successful synthesis of PI inside MCF was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance ({sup 1}H NMR), X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. It was interesting to find the resultant system held a relatively large pore size (19.5 nm) and pore volume (1.02 cm{sup 3} g{sup -1}), which would benefit for drug storage. Ibuprofen (IBU) and vancomycin were selected as model drugs and loaded onto unmodified MCF and modified MCF (MCF-PI). The adsorption capacities of these model drugs on MCF-PI were observed increase as compared to that of on pure MCF, due to the trap effects induced by polyisoprene chains inside the pores. The delivery system of MCF-PI was found to be more favorable for the adsorption of IBU (31 wt%, IBU/silica), possibly attributing to the hydrophobic interaction between IBU and PI formed on the internal surface of MCF matrix. The release of drug through the porous network was investigated by measuring uptake and release of IBU.

Numerical Modelling and Analysis of Hydrostatic Thrust Air Bearings for High Loading Capacities and Low Air Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yunluo; Pu, Guang; Jiang, Kyle

2017-12-01

The paper presents a numerical simulation study on hydrostatic thrust air bearings to assess the load capacity, compressed air consumptions, and the dynamic response. Finite Difference Method (FDM) and Finite Volume Method (FVM) are combined to solve the non-linear Reynolds equation to find the pressure distribution of the air bearing gas film and the total loading capacity of the bearing. The influence of design parameters on air film gap characteristics, including the air film thickness, supplied pressure, depth of the groove and external load, are investigated based on the proposed FDM model. The simulation results show that the thrust air bearings with a groove have a higher load capacity and air consumption than without a groove, and the load capacity and air consumption both increase with the depth of the groove. Bearings without the groove are better damped than those with the grooves, and the stability of thrust bearing decreases when the groove depth increases. The stability of the thrust bearings is also affected by their loading.

Cholesterol and fat lowering with hydrophobic polysaccharide derivatives

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Čopíková, J.; Taubner, T.; Tůma, J.; Synytsya, A.; Dušková, Dagmar; Marounek, Milan

2015-01-01

Roč. 116, č. 1 (2015), s. 207-214 ISSN 0144-8617 Institutional support: RVO:67985904 Keywords : hydrophobically modified polysaccharides * structure * thermal analysis Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 4.219, year: 2015

Bibliography for the Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model

Science.gov (United States)

The Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) is a guidance tool designed for use by building professionals and others interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings.

Modeling the ascent of sounding balloons: derivation of the vertical air motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Gallice

2011-10-01

Full Text Available A new model to describe the ascent of sounding balloons in the troposphere and lower stratosphere (up to ∼30–35 km altitude is presented. Contrary to previous models, detailed account is taken of both the variation of the drag coefficient with altitude and the heat imbalance between the balloon and the atmosphere. To compensate for the lack of data on the drag coefficient of sounding balloons, a reference curve for the relationship between drag coefficient and Reynolds number is derived from a dataset of flights launched during the Lindenberg Upper Air Methods Intercomparisons (LUAMI campaign. The transfer of heat from the surrounding air into the balloon is accounted for by solving the radial heat diffusion equation inside the balloon. In its present state, the model does not account for solar radiation, i.e. it is only able to describe the ascent of balloons during the night. It could however be adapted to also represent daytime soundings, with solar radiation modeled as a diffusive process. The potential applications of the model include the forecast of the trajectory of sounding balloons, which can be used to increase the accuracy of the match technique, and the derivation of the air vertical velocity. The latter is obtained by subtracting the ascent rate of the balloon in still air calculated by the model from the actual ascent rate. This technique is shown to provide an approximation for the vertical air motion with an uncertainty error of 0.5 m s⁻¹ in the troposphere and 0.2 m s⁻¹ in the stratosphere. An example of extraction of the air vertical velocity is provided in this paper. We show that the air vertical velocities derived from the balloon soundings in this paper are in general agreement with small-scale atmospheric velocity fluctuations related to gravity waves, mechanical turbulence, or other small-scale air motions measured during the SUCCESS campaign (Subsonic Aircraft: Contrail and Cloud Effects

Molecular dynamics simulations of the hydrophobin SC3 at a hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fan, Hao; Wang, Xiaoqin; Zhu, Jiang; Robillard, George T.; Mark, Alan E.

2006-01-01

Hydrophobins are small (similar to 100 aa) proteins that have an important role in the growth and development of mycelial fungi. They are surface active and, after secretion by the fungi, self-assemble into amphipathic membranes at hydrophobic/hydrophilic interfaces, reversing the hydrophobicity of

A method for detecting hydrophobic patches protein

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lijnzaad, P.; Berendsen, H.J.C.; Argos, P.

1996-01-01

A method for the detection of hydrophobic patches on the surfaces of protein tertiary structures is presented, it delineates explicit contiguous pieces of surface of arbitrary size and shape that consist solely of carbon and sulphur atoms using a dot representation of the solvent-accessible surface,

Importance and Challenges in Use and Uptake of Air Quality Modelling in Developing Countries: Use of CAMx for Air Quality Management in the City of Johannesburg.

Science.gov (United States)

Garland, R. M.; Naidoo, M.; Sibiya, B.; Naidoo, S.; Bird, T.; von Gruenewaldt, R.; Liebenberg-Enslin, H.; Nekhwalivhe, M.; Netshandama, J.; Mahlatji, M.

2017-12-01

Ambient air pollution levels are regulated in South Africa; however in many areas pollution concentrations exceed these levels. The South African Air Quality Act also stipulates that government across all levels must have Air Quality Management Plans (AQMP) in place that outline the current state of air quality and emissions, as well as the implementable plan to manage, and where necessary improve, air quality. Historically, dispersion models have been used to support air quality management decisions, including in AQMPs. However, with the focus of air quality management shifting from focusing on industrial point sources to a more integrated and holistic management of all sources, chemical transport models are needed. CAMx was used in the review and development of the City of Johannesburg's AQMP to simulate hot spots of air pollution, as well as to model intervention scenarios. As the pollutants of concern in Johannesburg are ozone and particulate matter, it is critical to use a model that can simulate chemistry. CAMx was run at 1 km with a locally derived emissions inventory for 2014. The sources of pollution in the City are diverse (including, industrial, vehicles, domestic burning, natural), and many sources have large uncertainties in estimating emissions due to lack of necessary data and local emission factors. These uncertainties, together with a lack of measurements to validate the model against, hinder the performance of the model to simulate air quality and thus inform air quality management. However, as air quality worsens in Africa, it is critical for decision makers to have a strong evidence base on the state of air quality and impact of interventions in order to improve air quality effectively. This presentation will highlight the findings from using a chemical transport model for air quality management in the largest city in South Africa, the use and limitations of these for decision-makers, and proposed way forward.

Modeling of a split type air conditioner with integrated water heater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Techarungpaisan, P.; Theerakulpisut, S.; Priprem, S.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a steady state simulation model to predict the performance of a small split type air conditioner with integrated water heater. The mathematical model consists of submodels of system components such as evaporator, condenser, compressor, capillary tube, receiver and water heater. These submodels were built based on fundamental principles of heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, empirical relationships and manufacturer's data as necessary. The model was coded into a simulation program and used to predict system parameters of interest such as hot water temperature, condenser exit air temperature, evaporator exit air temperature, mass flow rate of refrigerant, heat rejection in the condenser and cooling capacity of the system. The simulation results were compared with experimental data obtained from an experimental rig built for validating the mathematical model. It was found that the experimental and simulation results are in good agreement

Efficacy of Hydrophobic Coatings in Protecting Oak Wood Surfaces during Accelerated Weathering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miloš Pánek

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The durability of transparent coatings applied to an oak wood exterior is relatively low due to its anatomic structure and chemical composition. Enhancement of the protection of oak wood against weathering using transparent hydrophobic coatings is presented in this study. Oak wood surfaces were modified using UV-stabilizers, hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS, and ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles before the application of a commercial hydrophobic topcoat. A transparent oil-based coating was used as a control coating system. The artificial weathering test lasted 6 weeks and colour, gloss, and contact angle changes were regularly evaluated during this period. The changes in the microscopic structure were studied with confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results proved limited durability against weathering of both tested hydrophobic coatings. The formation of micro-cracks causing the leaching of degraded wood compounds and discolouration of oak wood were observed after 1 or 3 weeks of the weathering test. Until then, an oil-based coating film had protected the wood sufficiently, but after 6 weeks the wood was fully defoliated to its non-homogenous thickness, which was caused by the presence of large oak vessels, and by the effects of specific oak tannins. Using transparent hydrophobic coatings can prolong the service life of the exteriors of wood products by decreasing their moisture content. Without proper construction protection against rainwater, the hydrophobic coating itself cannot guarantee the preservation of the natural appearance of wood exteriors.

Modeling, Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis of Spacecraft Air Contaminants

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, W. Fred; Skliar, Mikhail; Narayan, Anand; Morgenthaler, George W.; Smith, Gerald J.

1998-01-01

Control of air contaminants is a crucial factor in the safety considerations of crewed space flight. Indoor air quality needs to be closely monitored during long range missions such as a Mars mission, and also on large complex space structures such as the International Space Station. This work mainly pertains to the detection and simulation of air contaminants in the space station, though much of the work is easily extended to buildings, and issues of ventilation systems. Here we propose a method with which to track the presence of contaminants using an accurate physical model, and also develop a robust procedure that would raise alarms when certain tolerance levels are exceeded. A part of this research concerns the modeling of air flow inside a spacecraft, and the consequent dispersal pattern of contaminants. Our objective is to also monitor the contaminants on-line, so we develop a state estimation procedure that makes use of the measurements from a sensor system and determines an optimal estimate of the contamination in the system as a function of time and space. The real-time optimal estimates in turn are used to detect faults in the system and also offer diagnoses as to their sources. This work is concerned with the monitoring of air contaminants aboard future generation spacecraft and seeks to satisfy NASA's requirements as outlined in their Strategic Plan document (Technology Development Requirements, 1996).

Is Br2 hydration hydrophobic?

Science.gov (United States)

Alcaraz-Torres, A; Gamboa-Suárez, A; Bernal-Uruchurtu, M I

2017-02-28

The spectroscopic properties of bromine in aqueous systems suggest it can behave as either hydrophilic or hydrophobic solute. In small water clusters, the halogen bond and the hydrogen-halogen interaction are responsible for its specific way of binding. In water hydrates, it is efficiently hosted by two different cages forming the crystal structure and it has been frequently assumed that there is little or no interaction between the guest and the host. Bromine in liquid solution poses a challenging question due to its non-negligible solubility and the large blue shift measured in its absorption spectra. Using a refined semi-empirical force field, PM3-PIF, we performed a Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics study of bromine in liquid water. Here we present a detailed study in which we retrieved the most representative hydration structures in terms of the most frequent positions around bromine and the most common water orientations. Albeit being an approximate description of the total hydration phenomenon, it captures the contribution of the leading molecular interactions in form of the recurrent structures. Our findings confirm that the spectroscopic signature is mainly caused by the closest neighbors. The dynamics of the whole first hydration shell strongly suggests that the external molecules in that structure effectively isolate the bulk from the presence of bromine. The solvation structure fluctuates from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic-like environment along the studied trajectory.

Development of a forecast model for global air traffic emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaefer, Martin

2012-07-01

The thesis describes the methodology and results of a simulation model that quantifies fuel consumption and emissions of civil air traffic. Besides covering historical emissions, the model aims at forecasting emissions in the medium-term future. For this purpose, simulation models of aircraft and engine types are used in combination with a database of global flight movements and assumptions about traffic growth, fleet rollover and operational aspects. Results from an application of the model include emissions of scheduled air traffic for the years 2000 to 2010 as well as forecasted emissions until the year 2030. In a baseline scenario of the forecast, input assumptions (e.g. traffic growth rates) are in line with predictions by the aircraft industry. Considering the effects of advanced technologies of the short-term and medium-term future, the forecast focusses on fuel consumption and emissions of nitric oxides. Calculations for historical air traffic additionally cover emissions of carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and soot. Results are validated against reference data including studies by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and simulation results from international research projects. (orig.)

Daily air quality index forecasting with hybrid models: A case in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Suling; Lian, Xiuyuan; Liu, Haixia; Hu, Jianming; Wang, Yuanyuan; Che, Jinxing

2017-01-01

Air quality is closely related to quality of life. Air pollution forecasting plays a vital role in air pollution warnings and controlling. However, it is difficult to attain accurate forecasts for air pollution indexes because the original data are non-stationary and chaotic. The existing forecasting methods, such as multiple linear models, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and support vector regression (SVR), cannot fully capture the information from series of pollution indexes. Therefore, new effective techniques need to be proposed to forecast air pollution indexes. The main purpose of this research is to develop effective forecasting models for regional air quality indexes (AQI) to address the problems above and enhance forecasting accuracy. Therefore, two hybrid models (EMD-SVR-Hybrid and EMD-IMFs-Hybrid) are proposed to forecast AQI data. The main steps of the EMD-SVR-Hybrid model are as follows: the data preprocessing technique EMD (empirical mode decomposition) is utilized to sift the original AQI data to obtain one group of smoother IMFs (intrinsic mode functions) and a noise series, where the IMFs contain the important information (level, fluctuations and others) from the original AQI series. LS-SVR is applied to forecast the sum of the IMFs, and then, S-ARIMA (seasonal ARIMA) is employed to forecast the residual sequence of LS-SVR. In addition, EMD-IMFs-Hybrid first separately forecasts the IMFs via statistical models and sums the forecasting results of the IMFs as EMD-IMFs. Then, S-ARIMA is employed to forecast the residuals of EMD-IMFs. To certify the proposed hybrid model, AQI data from June 2014 to August 2015 collected from Xingtai in China are utilized as a test case to investigate the empirical research. In terms of some of the forecasting assessment measures, the AQI forecasting results of Xingtai show that the two proposed hybrid models are superior to ARIMA, SVR, GRNN, EMD-GRNN, Wavelet-GRNN and Wavelet-SVR. Therefore, the

The performance analysis of direct methanol fuel cells with different hydrophobic anode channels

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Hung-Chun; Yang, Ruey-Jen; Luo, Win-Jet; Jiang, Jia-You; Kuan, Yean-Der; Lin, Xin-Quan

In order to enhance the performance of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), the product of CO 2 bubble has to be efficiently removed from the anode channel during the electrochemical reaction. In this study, the materials of Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) with hydrophilic property and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with hydrophobic property are used to form the anode cannel. The channel is fabricated through a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) manufacture process of the DMFCs. In addition, some particles with high hydrophobic properties are added into the PDMS materials in order to further reduce the hydro-resistance in the anode channel. The performance of the DMFCs is investigated under the influence of operation conditions, including operation temperature, flow rate, and methanol concentration. It is found that the performance of the DMFC, which is made of PDMS with high hydrophobic particles, can be greatly enhanced and the hydrophobic property of the particles can be unaffected by different operation conditions.

Dry Air Cooler Modeling for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moisseytsev, A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sienicki, J. J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lv, Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-07-28

Modeling for commercially available and cost effective dry air coolers such as those manufactured by Harsco Industries has been implemented in the Argonne National Laboratory Plant Dynamics Code for system level dynamic analysis of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) Brayton cycles. The modeling can now be utilized to optimize and simulate sCO₂ Brayton cycles with dry air cooling whereby heat is rejected directly to the atmospheric heat sink without the need for cooling towers that require makeup water for evaporative losses. It has sometimes been stated that a benefit of the sCO₂ Brayton cycle is that it enables dry air cooling implying that the Rankine steam cycle does not. A preliminary and simple examination of a Rankine superheated steam cycle and an air-cooled condenser indicates that dry air cooling can be utilized with both cycles provided that the cycle conditions are selected appropriately

Developing of a New Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation (AIR) Model

Science.gov (United States)

Clem, John M.; deAngelis, Giovanni; Goldhagen, Paul; Wilson, John W.

2003-01-01

As a result of the research leading to the 1998 AIR workshop and the subsequent analysis, the neutron issues posed by Foelsche et al. and further analyzed by Hajnal have been adequately resolved. We are now engaged in developing a new atmospheric ionizing radiation (AIR) model for use in epidemiological studies and air transportation safety assessment. A team was formed to examine a promising code using the basic FLUKA software but with modifications to allow multiple charged ion breakup effects. A limited dataset of the ER-2 measurements and other cosmic ray data will be used to evaluate the use of this code.

Hydrophobicity measurements of microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Harbrecht, J.G.; Brinkman, D.; Hanemaaijer, J.H.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.; Riet, van 't K.

1989-01-01

A method for the determination of the hydrophobicity of membrane materials is developed. The advantage of this method over existing methods is that it is not influenced by the presence of the pores. A piece of the membrane material is submerged horizontally in a liquid with surface tension L.

Biofiltration of air contaminated with methanol and toluene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pakamas Chetpattananondh

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Biofiltration of air contaminated with VOCs is inexpensive compared with the conventional techniques and very effective for treating large volumes of moist air streams with low concentrations of VOCs. In this study, biofiltration for the purification of polluted air from methanol, a hydrophilic VOC, and toluene, a hydrophobic VOC, was investigated. The experiments were operated using three separated stainless steel biofilters, for methanol, toluene, and a mixture of methanol and toluene, respectively. Biofilter consisted of a mixture of palm shells and activated sludge as a filter-bed material. Only the indigenous microorganisms of the bed medium without any addition of extra inoculum were used throughout the whole process. The polluted air inlet concentration was varied from 0.3-4.7 g/m3 with flow rates ranging from 0.06-0.45 m3/h, equivalent to the empty bed residence times of 9-71 sec. Polluted air was successfully treated by biofiltration, 100% removal efficiencies would be obtained when the air flow rate was lower than 0.45 m3/h. The presence of toluene did not affect the removal rate of methanol while the removal rate of toluene was decreased with the presence of methanol in air stream according to the competition phenomenon.

Air-gun signature modelling considering the influence of mechanical structure factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Guofa; Liu, Zhao; Wang, Jianhua; Cao, Mingqiang

2014-01-01

In marine seismic prospecting, as the air-gun array is usually composed of different types of air-guns, the signature modelling of different air-guns is particularly important to the array design. Different types of air-guns have different mechanical structures, which directly or indirectly affect the signatures. In order to simulate the influence of the mechanical structure, five parameters—the throttling constant, throttling power law exponent, mass release efficiency, fluid viscosity and heat transfer coefficient—are used in signature modelling. Through minimizing the energy relative error between the simulated and the measured signatures by the simulated annealing method, the five optimal parameters can be estimated. The method is tested in a field experiment, and the consistency between the simulated and the measured signatures is improved with the optimal parameters. (paper)

Air Dispersion Modeling for the INL Application for a Synthetic Minor Sitewide Air Quality Permit to Construct with a Facility Emission Cap Component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sondrup, Andrus Jeffrey [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-10-01

The Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) is applying for a synthetic minor, Sitewide, air quality permit to construct (PTC) with a facility emission cap (FEC) component from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to limit its potential to emit to less than major facility limits for criteria air pollutants (CAPs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) regulated under the Clean Air Act. This document is supplied as an appendix to the application, Idaho National Laboratory Application for a Synthetic Minor Sitewide Air Quality Permit to Construct with a Facility Emissions Cap Component, hereafter referred to as “permit application” (DOE-ID 2015). Air dispersion modeling was performed as part of the permit application process to demonstrate pollutant emissions from the INL will not cause a violation of any ambient air quality standards. This report documents the modeling methodology and results for the air dispersion impact analysis. All CAPs regulated under Section 109 of the Clean Air Act were modeled with the exception of lead (Pb) and ozone, which are not required to be modeled by DEQ. Modeling was not performed for toxic air pollutants (TAPs) as uncontrolled emissions did not exceed screening emission levels for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic TAPs. Modeling for CAPs was performed with the EPA approved AERMOD dispersion modeling system (Version 14134) (EPA 2004a) and five years (2000-2004) of meteorological data. The meteorological data set was produced with the companion AERMET model (Version 14134) (EPA 2004b) using surface data from the Idaho Falls airport, and upper-air data from Boise International Airport supplied by DEQ. Onsite meteorological data from the Grid 3 Mesonet tower located near the center of the INL (north of INTEC) and supplied by the local National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) office was used for surface wind directions and wind speeds. Surface data (i

Indoor Air Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Health Modeling and Assessment System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stenner, Robert D.; Hadley, Donald L.; Armstrong, Peter R.; Buck, John W.; Hoopes, Bonnie L.; Janus, Michael C.

2001-03-01

Indoor air quality effects on human health are of increasing concern to public health agencies and building owners. The prevention and treatment of 'sick building' syndrome and the spread of air-borne diseases in hospitals, for example, are well known priorities. However, increasing attention is being directed to the vulnerability of our public buildings/places, public security and national defense facilities to terrorist attack or the accidental release of air-borne biological pathogens, harmful chemicals, or radioactive contaminants. The Indoor Air Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Health Modeling and Assessment System (IA-NBC-HMAS) was developed to serve as a health impact analysis tool for use in addressing these concerns. The overall goal was to develop a user-friendly fully functional prototype Health Modeling and Assessment system, which will operate under the PNNL FRAMES system for ease of use and to maximize its integration with other modeling and assessment capabilities accessible within the FRAMES system (e.g., ambient air fate and transport models, water borne fate and transport models, Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic models, etc.). The prototype IA-NBC-HMAS is designed to serve as a functional Health Modeling and Assessment system that can be easily tailored to meet specific building analysis needs of a customer. The prototype system was developed and tested using an actual building (i.e., the Churchville Building located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground) and release scenario (i.e., the release and measurement of tracer materials within the building) to ensure realism and practicality in the design and development of the prototype system. A user-friendly "demo" accompanies this report to allow the reader the opportunity for a "hands on" review of the prototype system's capability.

Determining octanol-water partition coefficients for extremely hydrophobic chemicals by combining 'slow stirring' and solid phase micro extraction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, Michiel T O

Octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow ) are widely used in fate and effects modelling of chemicals. Still, high quality experimental Kow data are scarce, in particular for very hydrophobic chemicals. This hampers reliable assessments of several fate and effect parameters and the development and

Modelling the urban air quality in Hamburg with the new city-scale chemistry transport model CityChem

Science.gov (United States)

Karl, Matthias; Ramacher, Martin; Aulinger, Armin; Matthias, Volker; Quante, Markus

2017-04-01

Air quality modelling plays an important role by providing guidelines for efficient air pollution abatement measures. Currently, most urban dispersion models treat air pollutants as passive tracer substances or use highly simplified chemistry when simulating air pollutant concentrations on the city-scale. The newly developed urban chemistry-transport model CityChem has the capability of modelling the photochemical transformation of multiple pollutants along with atmospheric diffusion to produce pollutant concentration fields for the entire city on a horizontal resolution of 100 m or even finer and a vertical resolution of 24 layers up to 4000 m height. CityChem is based on the Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). CityChem treats the complex photochemistry in cities using detailed EMEP chemistry on an Eulerian 3-D grid, while using simple photo-stationary equilibrium on a much higher resolution grid (receptor grid), i.e. close to industrial point sources and traffic sources. The CityChem model takes into account that long-range transport contributes to urban pollutant concentrations. This is done by using 3-D boundary concentrations for the city domain derived from chemistry-transport simulations with the regional air quality model CMAQ. For the study of the air quality in Hamburg, CityChem was set-up with a main grid of 30×30 grid cells of 1×1 km2 each and a receptor grid of 300×300 grid cells of 100×100 m2. The CityChem model was driven with meteorological data generated by the prognostic meteorology component of the Australian chemistry-transport model TAPM. Bottom-up inventories of emissions from traffic, industry, households were based on data of the municipality of Hamburg. Shipping emissions for the port of Hamburg were taken from the Clean North Sea Shipping project. Episodes with elevated ozone (O3) were of specific interest for this study, as these are associated with exceedances of the World

Modeling Air-Quality in Complex Terrain Using Mesoscale and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Air-quality in a complex terrain (Colorado-River-Valley/Grand-Canyon Area, Southwest U.S.) is modeled using a higher-order closure mesoscale model and a higher-order closure dispersion model. Non-reactive tracers have been released in the Colorado-River valley, during winter and summer 1992, to study the ...

Modelling of radio emission from cosmic ray air showers

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, Marianne

2011-06-01

Cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere induce extensive air showers consisting of up to billions of secondary particles. Among them, a multitude of electrons and positrons are generated. These get deflected in the Earth's magnetic field, creating time-varying transverse currents. Thereby, the air shower emits coherent radiation in the MHz frequency range measured by radio antenna arrays on the ground such as LOPES at the KIT. This detection method provides a possibility to study cosmic rays with energies above 1017 eV. At this time, the radio technique undergoes the change from prototype experiments to large scale application. Thus, a detailed understanding of the radio emission process is needed more than ever. Before starting this work, different models made conflicting predictions on the pulse shape and the amplitude of the radio signal. It turned out that a radiation component caused by the variation of the number of charged particles within the air shower was missed in several models. The Monte Carlo code REAS2 superposing the radiation of the individual air shower electrons and positrons was one of those. At this time, it was not known how to take the missing component into account. For REAS3, we developed and implemented the endpoint formalism, a universal approach, to calculate the radiation from each single particle. For the first time, we achieve a good agreement between REAS3 and MGMR, an independent and completely different simulation approach. In contrast to REAS3, MGMR is based on a macroscopic approach and on parametrisations of the air shower. We studied the differences in the underlying air shower models to explain the remaining deviations. For comparisons with LOPES data, we developed a new method which allows "top-down" simulations of air showers. From this, we developed an air shower selection criterion based on the number of muons measured with KASCADE to take shower-to-shower fluctuations for a single event analysis into account. With

Characterizing time-dependent contact angles for sands hydrophobized with oleic and stearic acids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Subedi, S; Kawamoto, K; Jayarathna, L

2012-01-01

-frequency precipitation. A potential solution is to alter soil grain surfaces to become water repellent by mixing or coating the soil cover material with hydrophobic agents (HAs). In this study, hydrophobic CBs comprised of sands mixed with environmentally friendly HAs (oleic acid [OA] and stearic acid [SA]) were studied...

Model development for air conditioning system in heavy duty trucks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kessels, J.T.B.A.; van den Bosch, P.P.J.; Zhang, Quansheng; Li, Shengbo Eben; Deng, Kun