Determining the flow characteristics of synthetic slag and optimizing the slag characteristics

In the dynamics of blast furnace slag plays an important role in the quality of the hot metal produces and also the efficiency of the blast furnace. The quality of the hot metal depends on the formation and other mineralogical transformation that the slag undergoes during the passage of the burden. The minerals such as SiO2 and Al2O3 increases the viscosity of the slag whereas, CaO decreases the viscosity of the slag.The cohesive zone determines gas flow pattern. The cohesive zone's thickness is determined by the melting zone of the slag. The ore is compacted due to softening and melting in the cohesive zone. Minimizing the size, lowering the level of the cohesive zone, increases the efficiency of the blast furnace, improves productivity and decreases coke rate. The work is designed at arriving at a slag composition through actual experiments which will ensure the lowering of the cohesive zone of the blast furnace with simultaneous decrease in the difference between the softening temperature (ST) and flow temperature (FT) of the slag.Synthetic slags were formed by imitation of blast furnace slag using the major oxides (CaO, MgO, SiO2 and Al2O3) and disregarding the minor oxides. The mineralogical compositions of the slag can be varied to obtain different synthetic slag and thus the flow characteristics of the slag can be experimented for different synthetic Slags

Genetic Predisposition for Dermal Problems in Hexavalent Chromium Exposed Population

We studied the effect of genetic susceptibility on hexavalent chromium induced dermal adversities. The health status of population was examined from the areas of Kanpur (India) having the elevated hexavalent chromium levels in groundwater. Blood samples were collected for DNA isolation to conduct polymorphic determination of genes, namely: NQO1 (C609T), hOGG1 (C1245G), GSTT1, and GSTM1 (deletion). Symptomatic exposed subjects (n=38) were compared with asymptomatic exposed subjects (n=108) along with asymptomatic controls (n=148) from a non contaminated reference community. Exposed symptomatic group consisted of 36.8% subjects who were GSTM1 null genotyped as compared to asymptomatic where only 19.4% subjects were null. The exposed subjects with GSTM1 null genotype were more susceptible to dermal adversities in comparison with wild genotyped subjects (OR = 2.42; 95% CI = 1.071–5.451). Age, smoking, gender or duration of residence were not found to have any confounding effect towards this association. Association with other genes was not statistically significant, nonetheless, possible contribution by these genes cannot be ruled out. In conclusion, variation in the polymorphic status of GSTM1 gene may influence dermal outcomes among residents from Cr(VI) contaminated areas. Further studies are therefore, needed to examine these observations among different population groups

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) polymer electrolyte for paper-based and flexible battery applications

Paper-based batteries represent a new frontier in battery technology. However, low-flexibility and poor ionic conductivity of solid electrolytes have been major impediments in achieving practical mechanically flexible batteries. This work discuss new highly ionic conductive polymer gel electrolytes for paper-based battery applications. In this paper, we present a poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDH-HFP) porous membrane electrolyte enhanced with lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulphone)imide (LiTFSI) and lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (LATP), with an ionic conductivity of 2.1 × 10−3 S cm−1. Combining ceramic (LATP) with the gel structure of PVDF-HFP and LiTFSI ionic liquid harnesses benefits of ceramic and gel electrolytes in providing flexible electrolytes with a high ionic conductivity. In a flexibility test experiment, bending the polymer electrolyte at 90° for 20 times resulted in 14% decrease in ionic conductivity. Efforts to further improving the flexibility of the presented electrolyte are ongoing. Using this electrolyte, full-cell batteries with lithium titanium oxide (LTO) and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) electrodes and (i) standard metallic current collectors and (ii) paper-based current collectors were fabricated and tested. The achieved specific capacities were (i) 123 mAh g−1 for standard metallic current collectors and (ii) 99.5 mAh g−1 for paper-based current collectors. Thus, the presented electrolyte has potential to become a viable candidate in paper-based and flexible battery applications. Fabrication methods, experimental procedures, and test results for the polymer gel electrolyte and batteries are presented and discussed

Paper-Based Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries

Paper-based flexible batteries have a wide range of applications in paper-based platforms, including in paper electronics, packaging, product displays, greeting cards, and sensors. This poster will present lithium-ion batteries using flexible paper-based current collectors. These current collectors were fabricated from wood microfibers that were coated with carbon nanotubes (CNT) through an electrostatic layer-by-layer nanoassembly process. The use of paper-based current collectors provides flexibility and improved electrode adhesion. Electrodes were fabricated by casting thin layers of lithium titanium oxide, lithium cobalt oxide or lithium magnesium oxide on the conductive paper. Half-cell and full-cell devices were fabricated and tested. The results show that the presented batteries use reduced mass loading of carbon nanotubes (10.1 μg/cm2) compared to CNT film based batteries. Experimental capacities of the half-cell devices were measured to be 150 mAh/g for lithium cobalt oxide, 158 mAh/g for lithium titanium oxide, and 130 mAh/g for lithium magnesium oxide. Device designs, fabrication processes of paper-based current collectors, electrodes, and batteries, and further experimental results, including solid electrolytes, will be presented