Mixed Blends Research Articles

Impact of Surface Modification and Nanoparticle on Sisal Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Nanocomposites

The use of plant fibers, polymer, and nanoparticles for composite has gained global attention, especially in the packaging, automobile, aviation, building, and construction industries. Nanocomposites materials are currently in use as a replacement for traditional materials due to their superior properties, such as high strength-to-weight ratio, cost effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. Sisal fiber (SF) was treated with 5% NaOH for 2 hours at 70°C. A mixed blend of sisal fiber and recycled polypropylene (rPP) was produced at four different fiber loadings: 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt.%, while nanoclay was added at 1, 3, and 5 wt.%. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) was used as the compatibilizer for all composites prepared except the untreated sisal fibers. The characterization results showed that the fiber treatment, addition of MAPP, and nanoclay improved the mechanical properties and thermal stability and reduced water absorption of the SF/rPP nanocomposites. The tensile strength, tensile modulus, and impact strength increased by 32.80, 37.62, and 5.48%, respectively, when compared to the untreated SF/rPP composites. Water absorption was reduced due to the treatment of fiber and the incorporation of MAPP and nanoclay.

An Examination of Electronic Cigarette Content on Social Media: Analysis of E-Cigarette Flavor Content on Reddit.

In recent years, the emerging electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) marketplace has shown great development prospects all over the world. Reddit, one of the most popular forums in the world, has a very large user group and thus great influence. This study aims to gain a systematic understanding of e-cigarette flavors based on data collected from Reddit. Flavor popularity, mixing, characteristics, trends, and brands are analyzed. Fruit flavors were mentioned the most (n = 15,720) among all the posts and were among the most popular flavors (n = 2902) used in mixed blends. Strawberry and vanilla flavors were the most popular for e-juice mixing. The number of posts discussing e-cigarette flavors has increased sharply since 2014. Mt. Baker Vapor and Hangen were the most popular brands discussed among users. Information posted on Reddit about e-cigarette flavors reflected consumers’ interest in a variety of flavors. Our findings suggest that Reddit could be used for data mining and analysis of e-cigarette-related content. Understanding how e-cigarette consumers’ view and utilize flavors within their vaping experience and how producers and marketers use social media to promote flavors and sell products could provide valuable information for regulatory decision-makers.

Performance and emission of multi-cylinder diesel engine using biodiesel blends obtained from mixed inedible feedstocks

Biodiesel production from non-edible feedstock is now being taken into careful consideration to avoid the negative impact of using edible oils as biodiesel feedstock. This is a study on the combustion, engine performance and emission of a multi cylinder diesel engine fueled with mixed biodiesel blends prepared from two non-edible feedstock kapok and moringa. The kapok–moringa mixed biodiesel blends showed 6–9% higher brake specific fuel consumption and 5–7% lower brake power compared to diesel fuel (B0). However, engine performance of kapok–moringa mixed biodiesel was found comparable with kapok and moringa biodiesel as the performance parameters varied slightly among all tested biodiesels. Average NO and CO2 emissions for kapok–moringa mixed biodiesels were found 14–17% and 1–3% higher than B0 respectively. On the contrary average HC and CO emissions of kapok–moringa mixed biodiesels were 23–38% and 16–31% lower than B0 respectively. As a conclusion, 10% and 20% kapok–moringa mixed biodiesel blends can be used in diesel engines without any modifications.

Evaluation of cattail (Typha spp.) for manufacturing composite panels

Cattail [Typha latifolia or Typha angustifolia] is a perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to Typhaceae family. In the U.S., it is widely seen invading marshes, pond, lake, river and drainage ditches thus impeding water flow and increased siltation. A study was conducted to evaluate the application of cattail as potential cellulosic raw material for the manufacturing of commercial composite panels (particleboards). Particleboards of low density (0.48g/cm3) were prepared using hot press and by varying the proportion of cattail and wheat straw and mixing with 3% methylene diphenyl diisocyanate resin (pMDI). The density, particle size distribution, water absorption, internal bond strength and flexural properties were measured on the resulting particleboards. The results of the experiment showed that a blend of 75% cattail and 25% wheat straw particles exhibited superior average mechanical properties for application in the particleboards. Overall the mixed blends performed better than the control 100% wheat straw or cattail in flexural stiffness, flexural strength, internal bond and water absorption tests.

Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Mixed Biodiesel Fueled CI Engine

In this present paper, an attempt has been made to examine the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine fueled with blends of mixed biodiesel (Thevetia peruviana, Neem, Jatropha, Pongamia). Experiments were conducted with various blends of mixed biodiesel in CI engine for different loads. The results show that lower brake thermal efficiency and higher brake specific fuel consumption were obtained with mixed biodiesel blends when compared with diesel. Lower the value of CO and HC and higher the value of CO2 emissions were determined for mixed biodiesel blends compared to that of diesel. Also, higher in NOx and lower smoke opacity were found compared to diesel.

Characterization of Sherardized Low Carbon Steel Used in Oil Pipelines Coated with Polymer Blends Layers

Oil pipelines of low carbon steel were coated by sherardizing process at 400oC for different treatment times (15, 30, 60, 120, 240) min and then the sherardizing samples coated by polymer blend unsaturation polyester resin with butadiene rubber (UP: BR) and unsaturation polyester resin with nitrile butadiene rubber (UP: NBR) with different percentage weight ratio of BR and NBR (0, 5, 10 and 15 %) in the blends. The thickness of sherardizing coated, hardness, surface roughness and adhesive strength were studied. The results of this research showed that the thickness of sherardizing coated and hardness values increase with increasing time treatment. The adhesive strength of sherardizing surface coated with polymer blends layer increases with increasing surface roughness of sherardizing coated with two mixed group of polymers blends [(UP:BR) and (UP:NBR)] samples, as well as the adhesive strength decreases with increasing percentages weight of BR or NBR in the blend. The higher values of adhesion force reach to (2.761KN) and (0.848KN) for polymer blends (95%UP: 5%NBR) and (95%UP:5%BR) respectively. Whereas coating sherardizing surface by unsaturated polyester only has the high value of the adhesion force (2.921 KN) at surface roughness (2.29µm). As well as the results show the sherardizing surface coated by mixed polymers blend (UP: NBR) having higher values of adhesion force compared with other samples coated by mixed (UP: BR) polymer blend.

Studies on mechanical behavior high impact polystyrene/vinyl clay nanocomposites: Comparison betweenin situpolymerization and melt mixing

A comparative study on various synthesis methods like melt mixing (MM) andin situpolymerization (ISP) of high impact polystyrene/vinyl clay nanocomposites (HIPS/VNCs) is attempted here. In ISP, nanocomposites were prepared by mixing vinyl clay (VC) and poly butadiene rubber (PBR) in styrene with the initiator, azo bis isobutyronitryle. Melt compounding was conducted in two ways–commercial melt mixed blend where Commercial HIPS was mixed with VC andin situmelt mixed blend, where, nanocomposites were prepared by mixing polystyrene, PBR, and VC. The effect of dispersion of the nanoclay on the morphology and material properties of HIPS/VNCs was compared for all the methods, and it is found that the product obtained by ISP gives better properties when compared with MM. Moreover, the dispersion of the clay in the matrix is greater byin situmethod, which is evident from X‐ray diffraction pattern and scanning electron microscopic analysis. Statistical analysis of ISP was carried out by design expert software version 8.0.7.1. Modeling and Optimization of the mechanical properties were done by using central composite design of response surface methodology. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:68–76, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers

Pervaporative recovery of acetone from water using mixed matrix blend membranes

Several organophilic blend membranes were prepared by solution blending of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS). Mixed matrix membranes were also prepared from PVC and PS by incorporating organophilic clay in these blends. These filled (mixed matrix) and unfilled blend membranes were characterized and used for pervaporative recovery of 5–25wt.% acetone from water. The filled blend membrane containing 2wt.% clay was observed to yield the best result, i.e., a flux of 0.042kg/m2h and acetone selectivity of 10.6 at 30°C for 5wt.% acetone in water. The permeability, intrinsic membrane selectivity and concentration average diffusion coefficients of the solvents were also determined.

Microwave absorbers designed from PVDF/SAN blends containing multiwall carbon nanotubes anchored cobalt ferrite via a pyrene derivative

Lightweight and flexible electromagnetic shielding materials were designed by selectively localizing multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) anchored magnetic nanoparticles in melt mixed co-continuous blends of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN).

Recent Developments on Internal Combustion Engine Performance and Emissions Fuelled With Biodiesel-Diesel-Ethanol Blends

Ever increasing drift of energy consumption due to growth of population, transportation and luxurious lifestyle has motivated researchers to carry out research on biofuel as a sustainable alternative fuel for diesel engine. Biofuel such as biodiesel and ethanol, produced from renewable feedstocks, are the most appropriate alternative of petroleum fuels. However, direct using of ethanol in diesel fuel face some technical problem especially in cold weather, due to low cetane number, lower flash point and poor solubility. Biodiesel can be blended with both ethanol and diesel fuel and biodiesel–alcohol–diesel blends can be used in diesel engines. The aim of this review paper is to discuss the effect of mixed blends of biodiesel alcohol and diesel on engine performance and emission parameters of a diesel engine. Most of the researchers reported that adding ethanol into biodiesel-diesel blend in diesel engines significantly reduce HC, PM, NOx and smoke emissions but slightly increase fuel consumption. The study concluded that biodiesel-diesel-ethanol blend can be used as a substitute of petro-diesel fuel to reduce dependency on fossil fuel as well as the exhaust emissions of the engine.

Laboratory and Field Investigations of Polymer and Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen

In this paper, properties of new kind of modified bitumen are presented. Bituminous binder was modified with mix modification using polymer and additive of crumb rubber. Terminal blend process at the refinery was applied to produce the mixed modified binder. Laboratory tests were focused on the characterization of the properties of 45/80-55 CR binder with comparison to reference 50/70 and conventional polymer modified 45/80-55 bitumen. Based on conventional binder tests such as penetration, softening point and Fraass breaking point as well as BBR (bending beam rheometer) and DSR (dynamic shear rheometer) tests, rheological properties were investigated. For determination of stability of the polymer and crumb rubber, modified bitumen tube testing method was used. Based on the results analysis, improvement of the viscoelastic properties of polymer and crumb rubber modified bitumen was observed. Conventional properties and stability tests showed that it is possible to pass standard requirements for polymer modified bitumen. Mixed modification and terminal blend allow to use crumb rubber as a modifier with elimination of the separation of crumb rubber during transportation and storage at high temperature. In this paper, experience from filed sections with use of the asphalt mixture with new kind of modified bitumen is presented.

Effects of mixing protocol and mixing time on viscoelasticity of compatibilized PP/PS blends

Linear and non-linear viscoelastic properties of Polypropylene (PP)/Polystyrene (PS) blends with organoclay (C20A) as a compatibilizer were investigated using dynamic oscillatory measurement, i.e., small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) and large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) tests. Four different mixing protocols were applied to probe the effect of mixing sequence on rheological properties. Moreover, each protocol was conducted at three mixing times, i.e., 1, 3, and 8 min, to investigate the effect of mixing time on final rheological properties. Final results revealed that mixing time had no significant effect on either the viscoelastic response of the simultaneously mixed blends or the PP+C20A/PS (PP and C20A mixed for 30 seconds and then PS added) blend. On the other hand, rheological properties of the PS+C20A/PP (PS and C20A mixed for 30 seconds and then PP added) blend significantly increased upon 1 min of total mixing time, whereas 3 and 8 min of mixing demonstrated almost the same results as their other blended counterparts. TEM pictures revealed migration of C20A particles from PS phase towards the interface with increasing mixing time.

Effect of Palm Oil Enzymatic Interesterification on Physicochemical and Structural Properties of Mixed Fat Blends

AbstractThe physicochemical properties of binary and ternary fat systems made of commercial samples of palm oil (PO) blended with anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and/or rapeseed oil (RO) were studied. Physical properties such as solid fat content by pulsed‐Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (p‐NMR), melting profile by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polymorphism of the blends were investigated. Palm oil was then batch enzymatically interesterified for 27 h, using Lipozyme® TL IM as biocatalyst, and further blended with AMF and/or RO in the same way. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the effect of batch enzymatic interesterification (B‐EIE) of palm oil on physical characteristics of the investigated fat blends. For that purpose, iso‐solid diagrams have been constructed from p‐NMR data. It was shown that B‐EIE of palm oil modifies its melting behaviour, but also its polymorphic stability and miscibility with other fats. Under dynamic conditions, after B‐EIE, the non‐ideal behaviour (eutectic) detected at low temperatures in the ternary PO/AMF/RO system disappears in the corresponding EIE‐PO/AMF/RO. After static crystallization followed by a tempering, the hardness of palm oil is increased after B‐EIE, as well as the hardnesses of the blends containing this fat compared to the native one. Polymorphism stability of the binary and ternary fat systems is also modified after B‐EIE compared to the corresponding native systems.

Mixed-waste pyrolysis of biomass and plastics waste – A modelling approach to reduce energy usage

Thermal co-processing of waste mixtures had gained a lot of attention in the last decade. This is largely due to certain synergistic effects such as higher quantity and better quality of oil, limited supply of certain feedstock and improving the overall pyrolysis process. Many experiments have been conducted via TGA analysis and different reactors to achieve the stated synergistic effects in co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes. The thermal behaviour of plastics during pyrolysis is different from that of biomass because its decomposition happens at a high temperature range with sudden release of volatile compared to biomass which have a wide range of thermal decomposition. A properly designed recipe and operational strategy of mixing feedstock can ease the operational difficulties and at the same time decrease energy consumption and/or improve the product yield. Therefore it is worthwhile to study the possible synergistic effects on the overall energy used during co-pyrolysis process. In this work, two different modelling approaches were used to study the energy related synergistic effect between polystyrene (PS) and bamboo waste. The mass loss and volatile generation profiles show that significant interactions between the two feedstocks exist. The results also show that both modelling approaches give an appreciable synergy effect of reduction in overall energy when PS and bamboo are co-pyrolysed together. However, the second approach which allows interaction between the two feedstocks gives a more reduction in overall energy usage up to 6.2% depending on the ratio of PS in the mixed blend.

Solution processed n-type mixed metal oxide layer for electron extraction in inverted polymer solar cells

In this paper we demonstrate an efficient inverted polymer bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells using solution processed interfacial layer by mixing zinc oxide (ZnO) with cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) for ideal electron extraction and transport. The optimized inverted BHJ solar cell with n-type mixed (ZnO:Cs2CO3) electron transport layer and blend of poly (3-hexylthiophene):Indene-C60 bisadduct as a photoactive layer shows a power conversion efficiency as high as 5.29%. This performance enhancement is attributed to improved interfacial contact between photoactive layer and electron extraction layer, low leakage current, and a suitable surface morphology for electron extraction and transport.

Modeling the electrical percolation of mixed carbon fillers in polymer blends

A model based on excluded volume theory is proposed for describing the electrical percolation of mixed carbon fillers in polymer blends by adjusting the unit volume of the previous model concerning mixed carbon-filler-filled single polymer systems. An equation capable of predicting the percolation threshold from those of individual carbon fillers in the single matrix polymer is developed from the model and further corrected to suit the actual situation. The corrected equation fits the experimental results obtained from multi-walled carbon nanotubes/carbon black-filled polybutylene terephthalate/styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN), polycarbonate (PC)/SAN and PC/acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene blends well. The model and equation show clearly the advantages of using both mixed fillers and polymer blends, and can provide an important theoretical basis for designing the structures and predicting the electrical properties of conductive polymer composites.

Assessing the critical concentration of NH2 terminal groups on the surface of MWNTs towards chain scission of PC in PC/SAN blends: effect on dispersion, electrical conductivity and EMI shielding

The localization and dispersion quality of as received NH2 terminated multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT-I) and ethylene diamine (EDA) functionalized MWNTs in melt mixed blends of polycarbonate (PC) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) were assessed in this study using rheo-electrical and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding measurements. In order to improve the dispersion quality and also to selectively localize MWNTs in the PC phase of the blends, EDA was grafted onto MWNTs by two different strategies like diazonium reaction of the para-substituted benzene ring of MWNTs with EDA (referred to as MWNT-II) and acylation of carboxyl functionalized MWNTs with thionyl chloride (referred to as MWNT-III). By this approach we could systematically vary the concentration of NH2 functional groups on the surface of MWNTs at a fixed concentration (1 wt%) in PC/SAN blends. XPS was carried to evaluate the % concentration of N in different MWNTs and was observed to be highest for MWNT-III manifesting in a large surface coverage of EDA on the surface of MWNTs. Viscoelastic properties and melt electrical conductivities were measured to assess the dispersion quality of MWNTs using a rheo-electrical set-up both in the quiescent as well as under steady shear conditions. Rheological properties revealed chain scission of PC in the presence of MWNT-III which is due to specific interactions between EDA and PC leading to smaller PC grafts on the surface of MWNTs. The observed viscoelastic properties in the blends were further correlated with the phase morphologies under quiescent and annealed conditions. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness in X and Ku-band frequencies were measured to explore these composites for EMI shielding applications. Interestingly, MWNT-II showed the highest electrical conductivity and EMI shielding in the blends.

Synthesis and characterization of biopolymer based mixed matrix membranes for pervaporative dehydration

Several blend membranes were prepared from different weight ratios of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and these unfilled membranes were crosslinked with maleic acid. In a similar way mixed matrix blend membranes were also prepared by varying weight ratio of PVA and HEC with micro and nano bentonite filler in each of these blends. These membranes were used for pervaporative dehydration of 89wt% tetrahydrofuran (THF). Three membranes designated as UF (unfilled), MF2 (containing 2wt% micro filler) and NF2 (containing 2wt% nano filler) showing the best results for flux and selectivity were identified. These membranes were characterized by FTIR, UV, XRD and DTA-TG and used for separation of 80–99wt% THF from water by pervaporation. The NF2 membrane was found to show the best results in terms of flux and separation factor.

Mutagenicity of smoke condensates from Canadian cigarettes with different design features

There is currently limited knowledge regarding the impact of different cigarette designs on the toxicological properties of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC). This study used the Salmonella Mutagenicity Assay to examine the mutagenic activity of mainstream CSCs from 11 commercial Canadian cigarette brands with different design features or tobacco blend. The brands were selected to include design features that are common for cigarettes sold in the Canadian market, as well as cigarettes with alternate filters (charcoal or MicroBlue™), the super slim design, and cigarettes containing mixed blends of different tobacco types. CSCs were obtained using the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Health Canada Intense (HCI) smoking regimes, and mutagenic activity was assessed using Salmonella strains TA98, YG1041 and YG5185. Comparisons of the commercial brands to the Kentucky 3R4F, the Canadian Monitor 8 reference and a Canadian best seller revealed no significant reduction in CSC mutagenicity for cigarettes with alternate filters. However, the super slim design did afford some reduction in mutagenic potency. Nevertheless, since the study did not attempt to evaluate the impact of the cigarette designs on human health at the individual or population level, the super slim cigarettes cannot be considered 'reduced-harm' cigarettes.

Co-pyrolysis of Biomass and Plastics waste: A Modelling Approach

Thermal co-processing of waste mixtures had gained a lot of attention in the last decade largely due to certain synergistic effects such as higher quantity and better quality of oil, limited supply of certain feedstock and improving the overall pyrolysis process. Many experiments have been done using the TGA analysis and different reactors to achieve the stated synergistic effects in co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes. The thermal behaviour of plastics during pyrolysis is different from that of biomass because its decomposition happens at a high temperature range (>450 °C) with sudden release of volatilecompared to biomass which have a wide range of thermal decomposition. Therefore it is worthwhile to study the possible synergistic effects on the overall energy used during co-pyrolysis process. In this work, two different modelling approaches were used to study the energy related synergistic effect between polystyrene (PS) and bamboo waste. The results show that both modelling approaches give an appreciable synergy effect of reduction in overall energy when PS and bamboo are co-pyrolyzed together. However, the second approach which allows interaction between the two feedstocks gives a more reduction in overall energy usage up to 6.2 % depending on the ratio of PS in the mixed blend.