Fabrication of Porous Anorthite Ceramic Insulation Using Solid Wastes

Porous anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) ceramics, suitable for thermal insulation in buildings, were obtained using waste seashells as a source of CaO, kaolin as a source of Al2O3 and SiO2 and banana peel as a pore former. Changing the volume of banana peel as well as the processing temperature was found to be an effective approach to control the thermo-mechanical properties of the obtained anorthite ceramics. The sintering of powder compacts containing up to 30 wt% banana peel at temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1200 °C resulted in anorthite ceramics possessing up to 45% open porosity, a compressive strength between 13 and 92 MPa, a bulk density between 1.87 and 2.62 g/cm3 and thermal conductivity between 0.097 and 3.5 W/mK. It was shown that waste materials such as seashells and banana peel can be used to obtain cost-effective thermal insulation in buildings.

Upcycling of the Used Cigarette Butt Filters through Pyrolysis Process: Detailed Kinetic Mechanism with Bio-Char Characterization

Thermo-chemical conversion via the pyrolysis of cigarette butt (CB) filters was successfully valorized and upcycled in the pre-carbonization and carbonization stages. The pre-carbonization stage (devolatilization) of the precursor material (cellulose acetate filter, r-CAcF) was analyzed by micro-scale experiments under non-isothermal conditions using TG-DTG-DTA and DSC techniques. The results of a detailed kinetic study showed that the decomposition of r-CAcF takes place via complex mechanisms, including consecutive reaction steps and two single-step reactions. Consecutive stages include the α-transition referred to as a cellulose polymorphic transformation (cellulose I → II) through crystallization mechanism changes, where a more thermodynamically ordered system was obtained. It was found that the transformation rate of cellulose I → II ('cellulose regeneration') is strongly affected by the presence of alkali metals and the deacetylation process. Two single-step reactions showed significant overlapping behavior, which involves a nucleation-controlled scission mechanism (producing levoglucosan, gaseous products, and abundant radicals) and hydrolytic decomposition of cellulose by catalytic cleavage of glycosidic bonds with the presence of an acidic catalyst. A macro-scale experiment showed that the operating temperature and heating rate had the most notable effects on the total surface area of the manufactured carbon. A substantial degree of mesoporosity with a median pore radius of 3.1695 nm was identified. The presence of macroporosity on the carbon surface and acidic surface functional groups was observed.

Natural Cyanobacteria Removers Obtained from Bio-Waste Date-Palm Leaf Stalks and Black Alder Cone-Like Flowers

The impact of urbanization and modern agricultural practice has led to accelerated eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, which has resulted in the massive development of cyanobacteria. Very often, in response to various environmental influences, cyanobacteria produce potentially carcinogenic cyanotoxins. Long-term human exposure to cyanotoxins, through drinking water as well as recreational water (i.e., rivers or lakes), can cause serious health consequences. In order to overcome this problem, this paper presents the synthesis of completely new activated carbons and their potential application in contaminated water treatment. The synthesis and characterization of new active carbon materials obtained from waste biomass, date-palm leaf stalks (P_AC) and black alder cone-like flowers (A_AC) of reliable physical and chemical characteristics were presented in this article. The commercial activated carbon (C_AC) was also examined for the purpose of comparisons with the obtained materials. The detailed characterization of materials was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), low-temperature N2 physisorption, and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Preliminary analyzes of the adsorption capacities of all activated carbon materials were conducted on water samples from Aleksandrovac Lake (Southern part of Serbia), as a eutrophic lake, in order to remove Cyanobacteria from water. The results after 24 h showed removal efficiencies for P_AC, A_AC, and C_AC of 99.99%, 99.99% and 89.79%, respectively.

Structure prediction of aluminum nitride combining data mining and quantum mechanics

This study covers the experimentally observed modifications of AlN, investigates their relations and searches for new possible modifications combining data mining and ab initio methods.

Design of a method for in vitro studies of polymer adhesion

In this paper we describe a modified intestinal perfusion technique for investigation of bioadhesion phenomena. This technique is an in vitro method with well standardized experimental conditions which measures the intestinal intraluminal pressure and its oscillation. This also allows the vitality of the intestinal segment used in the experimental to be checked. Our results suggest that the longest adhesion occurred with polyacrylic acid, in comparison with carboxymethylcellulose sodium and the shortest with hydroxypropylcellulose.