Effect of Diphenyldisulfides with Different Substituents on the Reclamation of NR Based Latex Products

The latex industry has expanded over the years to meet the world demands for gloves, condoms, latex thread etc. Because of the strict specifications for the products and the unstable nature of the latex, as high as 15%, of the final latex products are rejected. Since waste latex rubber (WLR) represents a source of high quality rubber hydrocarbon, it is a potential candidate for generating reclaimed rubber of superior quality. Two types of WLR with different amounts of polysulfidic bridges are used in these experiments, which are reclaimed with variation of the concentration of the reclaiming agents, the reclamation temperature and time, Di phenyldisultide, 2-aminophenyldisulfide and 2,2'-dibenzamidodiphenyldisulfide (DBADPDS) are used as reclaiming agents, and the effect of diphenyldisulfides (DPDS) with different substituents, on the reclamation efficiency of WLR is investigated. A kinetic study of the reclamation reaction with the three reclaiming agents is done. The reaction rates and activation energies are calculated and compared with literature values. The comparative study of the three different reclaiming agents shows that (DBADPDS) is able to break the crosslinks at temperature levels 20'C below the temperature levels normally used with DPDS. Another advantage of this reclaiming agent is the reduced smell during the reclamation process and of the final reclaims, one of the most important shortcomings of other disulfides used for this purpose.

Studies on the effect of selected metals on the productivity of two species of algae

The thesis embodies the results of a study on the variations in the parameters of productivity of two test species, a chlorophycean alga and a diatom. The chlorophycean alga Scenedesmus abundans was isolated from a fresh water pond whereas the diatom Nitzschia clausii was from the Cochin backwaters. Their growth parameters and their variations due to the effect of addition of some heavy metals have been studied. The growth parameters include biomass, production, respiration, photosynthetic pigments and end products of photosynthesis. The cell numbers were estimated by using a haemocytometer and production and respiration by oxygen light and dark technique. Spectrophotometric analysis for pigments, anthrone method for carbohydrate and heated biuret method for protein were the different methods employed in the present investigation. The present study is confined to nickel, cobalt, trivalent and hexavalent chromium. Different metals are discharged from various industries in and around Cochin. The effects of these metals individually and in combination are studied. Experiments to determine the effects of interaction of metals in combination enabled the assessment of the antagonistic and synergistic effect of metals on test species. The concentration or accumulation of metals on algae was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The thesis has been divided into seven chapters. The introductory chapter explains the relevance of the present investigation. Chapter two presents the review of literature based on the work in relation to toxicity. Third chapter gives a detailed description of the material and specialized methods followed for the study. The effects of various metals selected for study - nickel, cobalt, trivalent and hexavalent chromium on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of productivity forms the subject of matter of the fourth chapter. The fifth chapter gives the impact of metals in combination on two species of algae. A general discussion and summary are included in the sixth and seventh chapters