An Engineering Solution for using Coarse Meshes in the Simulation of Delamination with Cohesive Zone Models

This paper presents a methodology to determine the parameters used in the simulation of delamination in composite materials using decohesion finite elements. A closed-form expression is developed to define the stiffness of the cohesive layer. A novel procedure that allows the use of coarser meshes of decohesion elements in large-scale computations is proposed. The procedure ensures that the energy dissipated by the fracture process is correctly computed. It is shown that coarse-meshed models defined using the approach proposed here yield the same results as the models with finer meshes normally used in the simulation of fracture processes

Approximate solution to the speed of spreading viruses

Recently, it has been shown that the speed of virus infections can be explained by time-delayed reactiondiffusion [J. Fort and V. Me´ndez, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 178101 (2002)], but no analytical solutions were found. Here we derive formulas for the front speed, valid in appropriate limits. We also integrate numerically the evolution equations of the system. There is good agreement with both numerical and experimental speeds

Processamento de pilhas Li/MnO2 usadas

This work presents two recycling processes for spent Li/MnO2 batteries. After removal of the solvent under vacuum the cathode + anode + electrolyte was submitted to one of the following procedures: (a) it was calcined (500 ºC, 5 h) and the calcined solid was submitted to solvent extraction with water in order to recover lithium salts. The residual solid was treated with sulfuric acid containing hydrogen peroxide. Manganese was recovered as sulfate; (b) the solid was treated with potassium hydrogeno sulfate (500 ºC, 5 h). The solid was dissolved in water and the resulting solution was added dropwise to sodium hydroxide. Manganese was recovered as dioxide. The residual solution was treated with potassium fluoride in order to precipitate lithium fluoride.

Determinação voltamétrica por redissolução anódica de Cu(II) em águas residuárias empregando um eletrodo de pasta de carbono modificado com quitosana

The electrochemical applications of a CPE modified with chitosan for the determination of Cu(II) in wastewater samples using anodic stripping voltammetry are described. The best voltammetric response was observed for a paste containing 25% m/m of chitosan. A 0.10 mol L-1 NaNO3 solution (pH 6.5) as supporting electrolyte, a pre-concentration potential of -0.20 V, pre-concentration time of 270 s and a scan rate of 25 mV s-1 were selected. The calibration graph was linear in the Cu(II) concentration range from 2.0 x 10-7 to 7.4 x 10-6 mol L-1, with a detection limit of 8.3 x 10-8 mol L-1.

Treatment of oily wastewater by ultrafiltration: The effect of different operating and solution conditions

In many industries, such as petroleum production, and the petrochemical, metal, food and cosmetics industries, wastewaters containing an emulsion of oil in water are often produced. The emulsions consist of water (up to 90%), oils (mineral, animal, vegetable and synthetic), surfactants and other contaminates. In view of its toxic nature and its deleterious effects on the surrounding environment (soil, water) such wastewater needs to be treated before release into natural water ways. Membrane-based processes have successfully been applied in industrial applications and are considered as possible candidates for the treatment of oily wastewaters. Easy operation, lower cost, and in some cases, the ability to reduce contaminants below existing pollution limits are the main advantages of these systems. The main drawback of membranes is flux decline due tofouling and concentration polarisation. The complexity of oil-containing systems demands complementary studies on issues related to the mitigation of fouling and concentration polarisation in membranebased ultrafiltration. In this thesis the effect of different operating conditions (factors) on ultrafiltration of oily water is studied. Important factors are normally correlated and, therefore, their effect should be studied simultaneously. This work uses a novel approach to study different operating conditions, like pressure, flow velocity, and temperature, and solution properties, like oil concentration (cutting oil, diesel, kerosene), pH, and salt concentration (CaCl2 and NaCl)) in the ultrafiltration of oily water, simultaneously and in a systematic way using an experimental design approach. A hypothesis is developed to describe the interaction between the oil drops, salt and the membrane surface. The optimum conditions for ultrafiltration and the contribution of each factor in the ultrafiltration of oily water are evaluated. It is found that the effect on permeate flux of the various factors studied strongly depended on the type of oil, the type of membrane and the amount of salts. The thesis demonstrates that a system containing oil is very complex, and that fouling and flux decline can be observed even at very low pressures. This means that only the weak form of the critical flux exists for such systems. The cleaning of the fouled membranes and the influence of different parameters (flow velocity, temperature, time, pressure, and chemical concentration (SDS, NaOH)) were evaluated in this study. It was observed that fouling, and consequently cleaning, behaved differently for the studied membranes. Of the membranes studied, the membrane with the lowest propensity for fouling and the most easily cleaned was the regenerated cellulose membrane (C100H). In order to get more information about the interaction between the membrane and the components of the emulsion, a streaming potential study was performed on the membrane. The experiments were carried out at different pH and oil concentration. It was seen that oily water changed the surface charge of the membrane significantly. The surface charge and the streaming potential during different stages of filtration were measured and analysed being a new method for fouling of oil in this thesis. The surface charge varied in different stages of filtration. It was found that the surface charge of a cleaned membrane was not the same as initially; however, the permeability was equal to that of a virgin membrane. The effect of filtration mode was studied by performing the filtration in both cross-flow and deadend mode. The effect of salt on performance was considered in both studies. It was found that salt decreased the permeate flux even at low concentration. To test the effect of hydrophilicity change, the commercial membranes used in this thesis were modified by grafting (PNIPAAm) on their surfaces. A new technique (corona treatment) was used for this modification. The effect of modification on permeate flux and retention was evaluated. The modified membranes changed their pore size around 33oC resulting in different retention and permeability. The obtained results in this thesis can be applied to optimise the operation of a membrane plant under normal or shock conditions or to modify the process such that it becomes more efficient or effective.

Efecto del catión, del anión y del co-ión sobre la agregación de líquidos iónicos en solución acuosa

The aggregation behavior of thirteen 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids in aqueous solution is presented, considering variations of the alkyl side chain length as well as the anionic moiety. Cation and anion molecular volumes are selected as appropriate molecular descriptors. Additionally, the existing relationship between critical micelle concentration (CMC) and electrolyte concentration in solution is established, aiming to clarify ion effects. CMC values were obtained by measuring electrical conductivity and surface tension. It was confirmed that aggregation of ionic liquids in aqueous solution and in presence of inorganic salts is affected by the factors developed in this study.

Influência do eletrólito na eletrodeposição de nanopartículas de Cu sobre eletrodo de diamante dopado com boro

This paper presents the electrolyte influence on deposition and dissolution processes of Cu nanoparticles on boron doped diamond electrodes (BDD). Morphological, structural and electrochemical analysis showed BDD films with good reproducibility, quality and reversible in a specific redox system. Electrodeposition of Cu nanoparticles on DDB electrodes in three different solutions was influenced by pH and ionic strength of the electrolytic medium. Analyzing the process as function of the scan rate, it was verified a better efficiency in 0,5 mol L-1 Na2SO4 solution. Under the influence of the pH and ionic strength, Cu nanoparticles on DDB may be obtained with different morphologies and it was important for defining the desired properties.

Investigating the spontaneous formation of SDS micelle in aqueous solution using a coarse-grained force field

A 1µs Molecular Dynamic simulation was performed with a realistic model system of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) micelles in aqueous solution, comprising of 360 DS-, 360 Na+ and 90000 water particles. After 300 ns three different micellar shapes and sizes 41, 68 and 95 monomers, were observed. The process led to stabilization in the total number of SDS clusters and an increase in the micellar radius to 2.23 nm, in agreement with experimental results. An important conclusion, is be aware that simulations employed in one aggregate, should be considered as a constraint. Size and shape distribution must be analyzed.

Solution thermodynamics of methocarbamol in some ethanol + water mixtures

Apparent thermodynamic functions, Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy of solution and mixing, for methocarbamol in ethanol + water mixtures, were evaluated from solubility data determined at temperatures from 293.15 K to 313.15 K and from calorimetric values of drug fusion. The drug solubility was greatest in the mixtures with 0.70 or 0.80 mass fraction of ethanol and lowest in neat water across all temperatures studied. Non-linear enthalpy-entropy compensation was found for the dissolution processes. Accordingly, solution enthalpy drives the respective processes in almost all the solvent systems analyzed.

Determinação rápida de hidroquinona usando análise por injeção em batelada (BIA) com detecção amperométrica

A fast analytical method for determination of hydroquinone in pharmaceutical formulations employing batch injection analysis (BIA) with amperometric detection using a boron-doped diamond electrode is described. The supporting electrolyte was a 0.1 mol L-1 H2SO4 solution (the single reagent used for analysis). The method showed good repeatability (RSD of 0.45%, n=20), wide linear range (from 10 to 2000 µmol L-1, R=0.9999), low detection limit (0.016 µmol L-1) and satisfactory recovery values (91-96%). Accuracy of the method was evaluated by comparative analyses using high-performance liquid-chromatography. The ability to replace the electronic pipette by disposable syringes (injection procedure) in BIA systems was also shown.

Equilibrium studies of 2,2'-(5-bromo-6-methylpyrimidine-2,4-diyl)bis(azanediyl)dipropanoic acid with some transition-metal ions in aqueous solution

The stability constants of the 1:1 complexes formed between M2+ (M2+: Mn2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, or Cd2+) and BMADA2- (BMADA: 2,2'-(5-bromo-6-methylpyrimidine-2,4 diyl)bis(azanediyl)dipropanoic acid) were determined by potentiometric pH titration in aqueous solution (I = 0.1 mol L-1, NaNO3, 25 °C). The stability of the binary M - BMADA complexes is determined by the basicity of the carboxyl or amino groups. All the stability constants reported in this work exhibit the usual trend, and the order obtained was Mn2+< Ni2+ < Cu2+ > Cd2+. The observed stability order for BMADA approximately follows the Irving - Williams sequence. In the M - BMADA complexes, the M ion is able to form a macrochelate via the pyrimidine group of BMADA.

Determinação voltamétrica de amitriptilina em formulações farmacêuticas com eletrodo de diamante dopado com boro explorando medidas em meio ácido

A simple and reliable voltammetric method is presented for the determination of amitriptyline using a boron-doped diamond electrode in 0.1 mol L-1 sulfuric acid solution as the support electrolyte. Under optimized differential pulse voltammetry conditions (modulation time 5 ms, scan rate 70 mV s-1, and pulse amplitude 120 mV), the electrode provides linear responses to amitriptyline in the concentration range 1.05 to 92.60 µmol L-1 and at a detection limit of 0.52 µmol L-1. The proposed method was successfully applied in pharmaceutical formulations, with results similar to those obtained using UV-vis spectrophotometric method as reference (at 95% confidence level), as recommended by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia.

Determination of Mn2+ ion by solution scanometry as a new, simple and inexpensive method

In this research, scanometry was used as a new, simple, fast and inexpensive method for a colorimetric determination of Mn2+ ion in water samples and thermocouple wire through the use of periodate reagent in an acidic medium. The results showed the oxidization of colorless Mn2+ ion by periodate and the formation of a purplish MnO4- ion. The system had a linear range of 1.0 to 70.0 µg mL-1 Mn2+ ion with a detection limit of 0.314 µg mL-1 and a relative standard deviation of 2.77% for G color value. This method has the capability to determine low levels of Mn2+ ion in thermocouple wire and water samples.

VALIDAÇÃO INTRALABORATORIAL DA DETERMINAÇÃO DE METILTESTOSTERONA EM ÁGUAS NATURAIS POR VOLTAMETRIA USANDO ELETRODO DE GOTA PENDENTE DE MERCÚRIO

17α-methyltestosterone (17α-MT) is a hormone used in medicine and aquaculture which can be found in natural waters. It is considered an emerging organic pollutant and its accurate and precise analysis is required. Therefore, this study presents the in-house validation of a new voltammetric methodology for 17α-MT analysis in natural waters. A hanging mercury drop electrode and NaOH 5.0×10-3 mol L-1 solution as the electrolyte were employed in the voltammetric determinations. To confirm the presence of 17α-MT in water samples quantitative analysis was performed by ESI-MS/MS. The methodology exhibited good selectivity, linearity, accuracy (recovery of between 100.4 and 108.8%) and precision (RSDs for repeatability of 2.85% and for intermediate precision of 14.10%, with n = 5, respectively). LOD and LOQ were 3.07 µg L-1 and 10.78 µg L-1, respectively. The methodology was suitable for determination of 17α-MT in natural waters due to low-cost, good performance and no sample pre-treatment required.