Sharif Digital Repository

Synergistic effects of Cyanex 272 mixed with D2EHPA and Cyanex 302 mixed with D2EHPA were investigated for the separation of cobalt and nickel from a dilute sulfate media with the aim of reducing the reagent cost. Selective extraction of cobalt over nickel improved with respect to D2EHPA, but worsened with respect to Cyanex 272. By the application of the slope analysis method, the stoichiometric coefficient of the extractant was found to be four for cobalt and five for nickel, in a mixture of D2EHPA with Cyanex 302. However, it was four for both cobalt and nickel in a mixture of D2EHPA with Cyanex 272. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) was utilized to examine the... 

Nanostructured molybdenum oxide having a particle size in the range of 30-80 nm was prepared by potentiodynamic electrodeposition method, and the effects of H2SO4 concentration on its capacitive behavior were studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Poor to fair capacitive behaviors were witnessed depending on the electrolyte concentration and conditions of charge/discharge. Increasing acid concentration to 0.02 M had favorable effect, while beyond that, the effect was detrimental. Capacitance around 600 F g-1 was recorded in the potential range of 0 to -0.55 V vs. Ag/AgCl  

Amino acids partitioning including phenylalanine, glutamic acid, and tryptophan in aqueous and ionic liquid phases at temperature of 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure were measured. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide used in this work can produce two phases with water immediately. The effect of aqueous solution pH on amino acids partitioning was studied and revealed that amino acid partitioning coefficient was decreased with increasing pH. This phenomenon pertains to the electrostatic interaction between cations of amino acid and the anions of ionic liquid which is decreased when pH increases. Considering the effect of pH, liquid-liquid equilibrium data of amino... 

The purpose of this study was to produce intelligent pectin-based superabsorbent polymers (SAP) to be used as pH- and thermosensitive carriers for the controlled delivery of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The superabsorbent formation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of pH, ionic strength, temperature, porosity, particle size and levels of loaded drug on drug release profile in various surrounding media were investigated. Each sample was well characterized through swelling studies. The molecular weight between crosslinks (M̄C), crosslinking density (ve) polymer-solvent interaction parameter... 

In this work, the partition coefficients of Cephalexin in aqueous two-phase systems containing PEG [poly(ethylene glycol)] 4000, 10000 and K 2HPO4, Na3Citrate (C6H 5Na3O7 5, 5H2O) have been measured. The experimental data were obtained in a wide range of temperatures, (28.2 to 37.2) °C. The effects of temperature, pH, polymer concentration, polymer molecular weight, and salt concentration on the partitioning of Cephalexin were also studied. The results showed that salt concentration has a large effect on the partition coefficient, and temperature has an almost negligible effect. The Chen-NRTL Gibbs energy model was used to correlate the experimental results. © 2009 American Chemical Society  

Platinum extraction from the spent reforming catalysts in iodine-iodide solutions at temperatures from 25 to 95 °C was investigated. The reforming catalyst mostly consists of a porous gamma alumina support with metallic platinum finely dispersed on the walls of the nano-pores of the catalyst support. The effect of a variety of factors, including catalyst particle size, impeller agitation speed, reactant concentrations, liquid to solid mass ratio, temperature and the solution pH on the Pt extraction rate and recovery were investigated. It was found that the catalyst particle sizes less than 106 μm and impeller agitation speed higher than 700 rpm eliminated the effects of catalyst size and... 

In this contribution we have developed a collagen-based highly porous hydrogel by neutralizing the grafted poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) after gel formation. Preparation of the hydrogels involved free radical polymerization of a combination of hydrolyzed collagen, acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AAm) and distilled water, in appropriate amounts and contained a crosslinking agent called N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA). The chemical structure of the hydrogels was characterized by means of FTIR spectroscopy, DSC and TGA thermal methods. Morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Systematically, the certain variables of the graft copolymerization were... 

The nitrate-citrate gels exhibit auto-catalytic behavior, which can be used to synthesize the nanocrystalline YIG powders. In this study yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12) nanocrystalline powders were prepared by a sol-gel auto-combustion process. The influence of pH value of the precursor solution on the combustion behavior and the garnet phase formation of synthesized powders were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis (DTA/TGA), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). The results show that with increasing pH value, the combustion rate increases. The as-burnt powder prepared with pH 1 yielded a single phase YIG after calcination at 800... 

In this paper, immobilization of penicillin G aclylase onto non-porous ultrafine silica particles has been studied. The amount of penicillin G acylase immobilized was increased by increasing the free enzyme concentration and, at 0.45 mg/ml concentration of the free enzyme, 80% of the enzyme was immobilized. The optimum pH for immobilization was found to be 7.0, close to the pl of the enzyme. Although immobilization of the enzyme on ultrafine silica particles with and without glutaraldehyde showed almost the same activities, the enzyme immobilized with glutaraldehyde retained its initial activity much longer during 40 cycle-repeated batches with a half life of 163.2 h. © Sharif University of... 

In this paper, LM pectin production from commercial apple pectin by using acid, alkali and ammonia methods in the presence of ethanol was studied. Also, the effect of different parameters such as, temperature, time, acid, alkali and ammonia treatment in LM pectin production were evaluated. In all the experiments, low temperature showed a better influence from a recovery, purity and low de-polymerization viewpoint. Optimum conditions in the acid method reached at pH = 2, t = 17 hrs and T = 30°C, in the alkaline method reached at pH = 11, t = 3 hrs and T = 5°C and in the ammonia method reached at 2 N ammonia and T = 5°C, were determined. © Sharif University of Technology  

Desalting plants are often installed in crude oil production units in order to remove water-soluble salts from an oil stream. Experiments in both the laboratory and field have shown the desalting process parameters to be very complicated. This research reflects the results of a study conducted regarding the impact of operational desalting parameters, including the effects of temperature, injected chemicals and the pH of the crude oil associated water, on an electrostatic desalter on one of the oil platforms owned by the Iranian Oil Offshore Company in the Persian Gulf. The temperature range applied was between 98 to 133 °C, at which the effects on water and oil density as well as salt... 

In the first stage, chitosan (CH)-hydroxyapatite (HA)-multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite coatings were synthesized by electrophoretic deposition technique (EPD) on 316L stainless steel substrates at different levels of pH and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, FTIR and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A smooth distribution of HA and MWCNT particles in a chitosan matrix with strong interfacial bonding was obtained. In the next stage, effects of pH and MWCNT content of the suspension on the corrosion behavior and deposition mechanism were studied. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) curves... 

In this paper, the sorption of uranium onto nanoporous silica adsorbent in the presence of nitrate, sulfate, chloride, fluoride and phosphate was studied. The effect of contact time between the nanoporous sorbent and aqueous solution, pH and initial concentration of uranium was also investigated. Uranium sorption onto nanoporous silica adsorbent is a very fast process as sorption rate increases with pH increment. Optimum pH for uranium sorption was 4-8. Experimental sorption isotherm is successfully described by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The results obtained by batch experiments showed that the presence of high concentration of nitrate, sulfate, chloride and phosphate anions alone had... 

In this paper, uranium sorption onto amberlite CG-400 anion exchange resin in the presence of phosphate anions was studied. The effect of contact time between the sorbent and aqueous solution, pH, initial concentration of uranium and temperature were also investigated. Kinetic studies show that uranium sorption onto amberlite CG-400 resin in the presence of phosphate is a fast process and follows pesudo-second-order kinetics. It was also found that the pH value and the presence of phosphate play very important roles in the uranium sorption onto CG-400 resin. Optimum pH for uranium sorption in the presence of phosphate anions was about 3.5. The experimental sorption isotherm is successfully... 

In this study, copper oxide nano particles were synthesized by batchwise supercritical hydrothermal method. After preparation of CuO nano particles, they were immobilized into the porous matrix of sodium alginate. The drying process formed a very porous structure that is useful for enhancing of adsorption activity. Produced CuO particles were characterized by X-ray diffractometery (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and BET for measuring the surface area. The prepared materials were then used as adsorbent in the removal of toxic metal ions in aqueous solution. To optimize the adsorption system, the effect of various parameters such as adsorbent... 

A pyrophosphate based solution, as an acidic electrolyte, was developed for bronze electroplating. By using a statistical experimental design, response surface method, the effects of five factors [copper concentration (Cu), tin concentration (Sn), pyrophosphate concentration (P), current density j and pH] on the composition of the electroplated alloy as well as the process efficiency were evaluated. Statistical analysis indicated that all the parameters were significant and a second order polynomial model was successfully fitted to the data for both the alloy composition and the process efficiency. Based on the results obtained, a solution of Cu(II)8.04 g L -1, Sn(II)=26.36 g L -1, P=113.22... 

Effects of pH, D2EHPA, Cyanex® 272 and Cyanex® 302 on extraction of zinc, manganese and cobalt from a Zn-Mn-Co-Cd-Ni containing solution at the room temperature was comprehensively investigated. Addition of Cyanex® 302 indicated a left-shifting-effect on the extraction curve of zinc, a right-shifting-effect on the extraction curve of manganese and no effect on the extraction of cobalt. Addition of Cyanex® 272 shifted all three curves to the right. Therefore, the most suitable extractant for separation of zinc from manganese was therefore 0.3-0.3 mixture of D2EHPA and Cyanex® 302, and that for separation of manganese from cobalt was pure D2EHPA. The stoichiometric coefficient for the... 

Two sequencing batch reactors were operated to investigate the effect of influent alkalinity and reactor pH on aerobic granulation. In the first reactor R1 with high influent alkalinity the pH was adjusted in the neutral range, and in the second reactor R2 with low alkalinity the pH was held within the acidic range. The R1-dominating species were bacteria and the appearance time of granules was three weeks after reactor start-up. On the other hand, the acidic environment of R2 provided favorable conditions for fungal growth, and rapid granule formation occurred within the first week of operation. The varying microbial structure of granules resulted in different reactor performance in terms... 

In this study, we have investigated the potential of a native bacterial strain isolated from an Iranian oil field for the production of biosurfactant. The bacterium was identified to be Bacillus mycoides by biochemical tests and 16S ribotyping. The biosurfactant, which was produced by this bacterium, was able to reduce the surface tension of media to 34 mN/m. Biosurfactant production was optimized by the combination of central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM). The factor selected for optimization of growth conditions were pH, temperature, glucose and salinity concentrations. The empirical model developed through RSM in terms of effective operational factors... 

This paper presents a study of the Taguchi design method to optimise the rate of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of Bioglass® particles from aqueous suspensions. The effect of Bioglass® concentration, pH and electric field was investigated. An orthogonal array of L16 type with mixed levels of the control factors was utilized. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and regression analysis based on the partial least-square method were used to identify the significant factors affecting the deposition rate and its stability during constant-voltage EPD. It was found that the pH of the suspension significantly influences the deposition rate whereas the applied electric field has the smallest...