Air Pressure-Assisted Centrifugal Dewatering of Concentrated Fine Sulfide Particles

An air pressure-assisted centrifugal dewatering method was developed and used for the dewatering of concentrated finesulfide particles, such as sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite. This filtration method was mainly designed to increase the filtration rate during the drainage cycle and, hence, produce drier filter cakes, which in turn could reduce the cost and emission problems/concerns of thermal dryers in the preparation plants. Several dewatering parameters, including applied pressure, centrifugal force (G-force), spin time, cake thickness, and surface hydrophobization, were tested to optimize the processing conditions. Test results showed that, at higher air pressure and centrifugal force, the cake moisture reduction was more than 70%, depending on the testing conditions. As a result, it can be-concluded that the novel filtration method effectively works on the dewatering of fine particles (–150 μm)

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF NANOCOMPOSITE FIBERS UNDER VARIOUS LOADS AND TEMPERATURES

Abstract Multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) based nanocomposite fibers were fabricated using electrospinning method, and their electrical properties were investigated under various loads and temperatures. MWCNTs were initially dispersed into polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and electrospun at various spinning conditions, including DC voltage, pump speed, concentration and distance. When the mechanical load was applied to a film of PVP nanocomposite fibers, the contact resistance, separation between sites and jumping distance of the charge carriers were gradually reduced, thus likely enhancing the electrical conduction. Additionally, as the temperature increased from 20 to 90 °C, the electrical resistance drastically decreased. These behaviors may be a consequence of conductivity and polarization effects of the nanoscale inclusions in the fibers

Magnetic Characterizations of Sol-Gel-Produced Mn-Doped ZnO

Nanoparticles of ZnO doped with 6 at.% Mn were produced by a sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction confirms the hexagonal structure as that of the parent compound ZnO, and high-resolution electron transmission microscopy reveals a single-crystallite lattice. Magnetic measurements using a superconducting quantum interference device indicate that about one half of the Mn2+ ions follow Curie's law for paramagnetism. The remaining Mn2+ ions exhibit a weak ferromagnetic character, which might be induced through canted antiferromagnetic interactions

Drug-Carrying Magnetic Nanocomposite Particles for Potential Drug Delivery Systems

Drug-carrying magnetic nanocomposite spheres were synthesized using magnetite nanoparticles and poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) for the purpose of magnetic targeted drug delivery. Magnetic nanoparticles (∼13 nm on average) of magnetite were prepared by a chemical coprecipitation of ferric and ferrous chloride salts in the presence of a strong basic solution (ammonium hydroxide). An oil-in-oil emulsion/solvent evaporation technique was conducted at 7000 rpm and 1.5–2 hours agitation for the synthesis of nanocomposite spheres. Specifically, PLGA and drug were first dissolved in acetonitrile (oily phase I) and combined with magnetic nanoparticles, then added dropwise into viscous paraffin oil combined with Span 80 (oily phase II). With different contents (0%, 10%, 20%, and 25%) of magnetite, the nanocomposite spheres were evaluated in terms of particle size, morphology, and magnetic properties by using dynamic laser light scattering (DLLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The results indicate that nanocomposite spheres (200 nm to 1.1 μm in diameter) are superparamagnetic above the blocking temperature near 40 K and their magnetization saturates above 5 000 Oe at room temperature