This work reports the studies on synergistic effect of layered double hydroxide with epoxidized oil (sunflower and soybean oil) on the thermal stabilization of poly(vinyl chloride). For the study Ca-glutarate was prepared and epoxidation of sunflower oil (ESO) was carried out in the laboratory. The Ca/Zn based compounds along with layered double hydroxide (LDH) were used for the stabilization of PVC. Synergistic effect of LDH with Ca/Zn stabilizer on the thermal stabilization of PVC with and without the presence of epoxidized oils was studied. Thermal stability of PVC was determined by Congo red test as a stability time while the discoloration of the PVC sheets were examined in the oven test. Synergistic effect of LDH with epoxidized oils on the thermal stability of PVC was substantially observed with better stability time. The synergism of LDH in presence of both the epoxidized oil (sunflower and soybean oil) results in better stabilizing efficiency of PVC which was comparable for both the oils. It is suggested that the LDH and epoxidized oils react with liberated HCl during the degradation of PVC by ion exchange mechanism. It is also projected that the participation of epoxy ring present in epoxidized oils react during the release of HCl and further prevents the dehydrochlorination reaction of the PVC.
Polymer composites are rapidly replacing conventional materials in automobiles and aircrafts, with an aim of achieving light-weight and improved performance. Parts made from PA-6 are extensively used in sliding components of fuel tank, door assemblies, structural and load bearing parts such as gears, bearings, dampers, etc. Therefore, superior mechanical properties are expected from them with an ease in fabrication. In light of this, present study deals with fabrication and testing of PA-6/MWCNT composites with CNT concentration varying from 0.1-0.5 weight percentage. The effect of such low CNT additions on structural, thermal and mechanical behavior of PA-6 is studied. SEM of composites shows multiple CNT-coral like structures evenly dispersed throughout the matrix. XRD and DSC data conforms that there is an increase in crystallinity and nucleation efficiency along with a decrease in crystallite size on CNT addition. This indicates the fact that tensile strength of PA-6 improves even with small amounts of CNTs, which has been proven by tensile testing also. Thus, from processing point-of-view, this study demonstrates that even small amounts of CNT additions in PA-6 can improve its processability by increasing rate of production.
The purpose of this research work was to investigate dynamic foaming behavior and foaminess of non-ionic Tween-20 surfactant in a foam bed column. Static foaminess and liquid hold up of non-ionic Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate (Tween-20) and anionic Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) surfactants were also studied for three different concentrations. Density and Viscosity of these solutions were also measured. It was found that stability of foam was affected by the surfactant concentration. Among both the surfactants tested for their foamability, SLS exhibited better results due to its lower surface tension than Tween-20. Viscosity measurement showed that as the surfactant concentration increased; the viscosity also increased. The foam volume observations suggested that as the concentration of surfactant increased, the liquid hold up in foam section increased. It was clearly observed that the Foam Bed Column (FBC) offers a large gas–liquid interfacial mass transfer area per unit volume of the column which could be advantageous to carry out gas-liquid reactions which demand more surface area.
Fertilizers are generally used for rapid and healthy growth of plants. By 2050 world’s population will increases up to 9 billion and 70% more food consumption is required, so for that an innovative solution is required. One such solution is vertical farming, an agricultural technique that relies on hydroponics (placing seeds in a solution of minerals dissolved in water) to grow crops year-round. The aim of the present study is about the plant growth affected by magnetic field in hydroponic system for different crops (Wheatgrass, Green gram, Bengal gram, etc.). The seeds are exposed in different type of magnetic field i.e. by magnetized water and by magnetic field provided near to the plant by using magnet. The result shows that there is some biochemical changes induced in plant and growth takes place. Seed germination is also done by placing it in the magnetic field. The current study shows the magnetic field in hydroponic system gives better growth of plant than the conventional method. In the current study hydroponic nutrients are used to grow the plant and we found that, when complete system is placed in the magnetic field it decreases the time of growth of the plant as compare to normal condition of plant growth.
The ultrasonic velocity (U), density (ρ) and compressibility (β) of polar-nonpolar binary liquid mixtures of Nitro methane (NM) with Toluene at 303.15 K have been measured and studied. From this data, thermodynamic parameters have been calculated such as excess velocity, excess acoustic impedance and excess adiabatic compressibility. The results have been interpreted in terms of molecular interaction between polar and non-polar binary mixtures. Excess parameters are fitted to obtain standard deviation of the data.
Silver nanoparticles may be synthesized by different routes like electron irradiation, chemical reduction, photochemical methods, microwave processing, laser ablation, gamma irradiation etc. In the present work, syntheses of silver nanoparticles as well as its composite with polyaniline (PAni) have been carried out electrochemically from aqueous medium where the synthesized particles were electrodeposited on to a conductive rubber composites electrode. Frequency dependent conductivity was analyzed for the conductive rubber composite. Morphology analysis through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the formation of nearly spherical shapes for silver nanoparticles with average diameter of 15-25 nm. Presence of both PAni and silver nanoparticles in PAni/Ag composite was confirmed through energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and x-ray diffractograms (XRD) which has also been supported by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA).