Adsorption of PEO/PPO triblock co-polymers and wetting of coal

The adsorption characteristics of PEO/PPO/PEO triblock co-polymers on coal were investigated using surface tension and contact angle measurements. Although these surfactants have been widely used as wetting agents, it was observed that they increased the hydrophobicity of coal at concentrations below about 10-6 M. Surface tension studies were carried out to explain the reasons for this behavior. The surface tension versus concentration profiles displayed three distinct regions. In region I, surface tension decreased linearly and monomers were proposed to be the dominant species. This region extended to a surfactant concentration of about 10-6 M. In region II, a transition region between regions I and III, dimers, trimers, etc., were considered to form. In region III, micelles formed and surface tension was independent of concentration. The concentration at which monomers associate to form dimers, etc., is referred to as the critical association concentration (cac). The contact angle of coal increased when concentration was raised from low values to the cac. It decreased when the reagent concentration was above the cac. Finally, at concentrations above the cmc, the wetting of coal was complete and contact angle was zero

Alumina/water suspensions in the presence of PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers

The aim of this study was to investigate the stability and dispersion behaviour of aqueous alumina suspensions in the presence of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide (PEO-PPO-PEO) type triblock copolymers. For this purpose alumina suspensions at various solids loadings were prepared using four different methods. These are: Method I: powder and water were stirred only; Method II: powder and water were stirred and ultrasonic treatment was applied; Method III: powder and water were stirred in the presence of block copolymers; Method IV: powder and water were stirred and ultrasonic treatment was applied in the presence of block copolymers. These suspensions were characterized by means of rheological measurements. Sedimentation and turbidity measurements were also conducted to support these results and to investigate the stability of these systems for longer times. Surface tension measurements were performed to investigate the adsorption behaviour of block copolymers onto alumina surface. It was found that the use of PEO-PPO-PEO type triblock copolymers improved the dispersion behaviour of aqueous alumina suspensions in the presence of ultrasonic treatment at low solids loadings. However their effect was not significant at high solids loadings and without ultrasonic treatment

Analytical solution of Poisson-Boltzmann equation for interacting plates of arbitrary potentials and same sign

Efficient calculation of electrostatic interactions in colloidal systems is becoming more important with the advent of such probing techniques as atomic force microscopy. Such practice requires solving the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation (PBE). Unfortunately, explicit analytical solutions are available only for the weakly charged surfaces. Analysis of arbitrarily charged surfaces is possible only through cumbersome numerical computations. A compact analytical solution of the one-dimensional PBE is presented for two plates interacting in symmetrical electrolytes. The plates can have arbitrary surface potentials at infinite separation as long they have the same sign. Such a condition covers a majority of the colloidal systems encountered. The solution leads to a simple relationship which permits determination of surface potentials, surface charge densities, and electrostatic pressures as a function of plate separation H for different charging scenarios. An analytical expression is also presented for the potential profile between the plates for a given separation. Comparison of these potential profiles with those obtained by numerical analysis shows the validity of the proposed solution. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Physical and chemical interactions in coal flotation

Coal flotation is a complex process involving several phases (particles, oil droplets and air bubbles). These phases simultaneously interact with each other and with other species such as the molecules of a promoting reagent and dissolved ions in water. The physical and chemical interactions determine the outcome of the flotation process. Physical and chemical interactions between fine coal particles could lead to aggregation, especially for high rank coals. Non-selective particle aggregation could be said to be the main reason for the selectivity problems in coal flotation. It should be addressed by physical (conditioning) or chemical (promoters) pretreatment before or during flotation. Although the interactions between the oil droplets and coal particles are actually favored, stabilization of the oil droplets by small amounts of fine hydrophobic particles may lead to a decrease in selectivity and an increase in oil consumption. These problems could be remedied by use of promoters that modify the coal surface for suitable particle-particle, droplet-particle and particle-bubble contact while emulsifying the oil droplets. The role of promoters may be different for different types of coals, however. They could be employed as modifiers to increase the hydrophobicity of low rank coals whereas their main role might be emulsification and aggregation control for high rank coals. In this paper, a detailed description of the various phases in coal flotation, their physical and chemical interactions with each other in the flotation pulp, the major parameters that affect these interactions and how these interactions, in turn, influence the flotation process are discussed

Heavy metal removal from waste waters by ion flotation

Flotation studies were carried out to investigate the removal of heavy metals such as copper (II), zinc (II), chromium (III) and silver (I) from waste waters. Various parameters such as pH, collector and frother concentrations and airflow rate were tested to determine the optimum flotation conditions. Sodium dodecyl sulfate and hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide were used as collectors. Ethanol and methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) were used as frothers. Metal removal reached about 74% under optimum conditions at low pH. At basic pH it became as high as 90%, probably due to the contribution from the flotation of metal precipitates.İYTE Fen-199

Kinetics of oil dispersion in the absence and presence of block copolymers

A phenomenological model proposed describes droplet breakup in the turbitlently agitated lean oil-in-water dispersions and provides a correlation between the median droplet size in an agitated vessel of standard geometry and the time of dispersion. It was assumed that the droplet breakup takes place in the dispersion-only region and coalescence is negligible. Vie model described the data from this study and the literature quite satisfactorily under these conditions. The effect of adding triblock PEO/PPO/PEO copofymeric surfactants on the dispersion kinetics of oil was also investigated. Addition of surfactant reduced the median oil droplet size significanfty, and the extent of this reduction was a strong function of surfactant concentration. Application of the model on these data demonstrated that the change in the median droplet size could be divided into two distinct regions. The breakage rate was high initially, most probably due to continuous adsorption of surfactant molecules at the oil/water interface. A lower breakage rate was attained at longer tunes, as the surfactant molecules were depleted from the solution. The time of transition bet\veen the t\vo was affected strongly by the concentration of the surfactant added. Furthermore, the time of addition of the surfactant did not affect the final droplet-size distribution in the system

Capacity and mechanism of phenol adsorption on lignite

A raw lignitic coal from Soma, Turkey was investigated to determine its potential as an adsorbent for phenol removal from wastewaters. Kinetic batch tests demonstrated that phenol could be completely removed from solution given sufficient solids loading and reaction time. The adsorption capacity of 10 mg/g obtained with the lignite is low compared to those achievable with activated carbons (around 300 mg/g). However, when normalized for the surface area, the adsorption capacity was much larger for the lignite (1.3 mg/m2) than that generally observed with activated carbons (0.05-0.3 mg/m2). Hydrogen-bonding of the phenolic -OH with the oxygen sites on the lignite surface is the most likely mechanism for adsorption. Though water molecules also have affinity for the same oxygen sites, lateral benzene ring interactions make phenol adsorption energetically more favorable. Since phenol molecules adsorbed in this fashion would project their benzene rings into solution, formation of a second layer through the action of the dispersive π-π interactions between the benzene rings is very likely. Residual water quality with respect to major elements and heavy metals was within acceptable limits defined by the ASTM standards. Dissolution of organic matter from the lignite was also observed to be negligible

Designing of spherical chitosan nano-shells with micellar cores for solvation and safeguarded delivery of strongly lipophilic drugs

Chitosan is a very effective biopolymer for drug delivery purposes due to its biocompatibility, positive charge and exceptionally pH sensitive degradability behavior in an aqueous medium. Nevertheless, its inability for dissolving lipophilic drug active material and the difficulties in controlling the size and shape of the synthesized particles in nanometer range are critical drawbacks in its effective use. In this study, a synthesis procedure which addresses both issues simultaneously is presented. The procedure is based on initial dissolution of lipophilic drug molecules within the hydrophobic cores of the micelles of a bio-compatible block-copolymer by ionic gelation and subsequent formation of a chitosan shell by polymerization around the micellar structures. Well-formed, hollow and perfectly spherical chitosan particles (nano-shells) in the 30–300 nm size range could be successfully manufactured. Characterization by STEM, TEM, AFM, FTIR and DLS, DLS-LDV techniques showed clearly that the drug was successfully incorporated into the chitosan structure. It was demonstrated that the particles enveloped the micelle(s) of a Pluronic copolymer (P-123) whose hydrophobic cores contained a strongly hydrophobic drug Probucol. The chitosan nano-shells are expected to act as an agent protecting the integrity of the drug-loaded micelles in the body fluid while providing a pH sensitive release medium. The drug uptake by the chitosan particles was very high. A very sharp increase in the amount of the drug released with a slight change in the acidity of the medium was an indication of the potential of the manufactured chitosan nano-shells as pH sensitive, target specific delivery vehicles for drug release

Electrostatic charge on spray droplets of aqueous surfactant solutions

Electrostatic charges on individual spray droplets were measured using a refined form of the Millikan oil drop method. The measurement system consisted of three main sections; a droplet generation cell, a settling column and a charge measurement chamber. The trajectories required for calculation of charge were determined using a high-speed motion analyzer coupled to a long-focal-length microscope. Charges on droplets were manipulated by the addition of surface-active agents into the spray solution. Droplet charge was a function of the type and concentration of the surfactant added. For ionic surfactants, it showed a maximum at low surfactant concentrations, decreased with further surfactant addition and was constant after the CMC. The charge on cationic surfactants was always more than that observed with the anionic surfactants. Nonionic surfactants displayed a steady increase in droplet charge with increasing concentration. The charges were lower compared to the ionic surfactants. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. Electrostatic charges on individual spray droplets were measured using a refined form of the Millikan oil drop method. The measurement system consisted of three main sections; a droplet generation cell, a settling column and a charge measurement chamber. The trajectories required for calculation of charge were determined using a high-speed motion analyzer coupled to a long-focal-length microscope. Charges on droplets were manipulated by the addition of surface-active agents into the spray solution. Droplet charge was a function of the type and concentration of the surfactant added. For ionic surfactants, it showed a maximum at low surfactant concentrations, decreased with further surfactant addition and was constant after the CMC. The charge on cationic surfactants was always more than that observed with the anionic surfactants. Nonionic surfactants displayed a steady increase in droplet charge with increasing concentration. The charges were lower compared to the ionic surfactants

Ancillary effects of surfactants on filtration of low molecular weight contaminants through cellulose nitrate membrane filters

Removal of contaminants with low molecular weight (<800 Dalton) requires the use of advanced separation techniques such as ultrafiltration (UF) or micellar enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF). However, surface active agents invariably co-exist in waste waters along with these contaminants or they may be added intentionally as part of the separation process as in the case of MEUF. Though it is quite likely that both the filter medium and the contaminants would interact with the surfactant molecules or their micelles, there is not sufficient emphasis in the literature on the concomitant aspects of such interactions.The ancillary effects created by anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS), cationic (hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB) and non-ionic (ethoxylated octylphenol, TX-100) surfactants on the mechanism and efficiency of the filtration process were investigated in this study. Methylene blue (MB) and cellulose nitrate membrane (CNM) filters were employed as model retentate and the separation medium. A combination of surface tension, contact angle and charge measurements demonstrated that the addition of surfactants had a remarkable effect on the filtration outcome. The effect depended on both the type and concentration of the surfactant and was manifested mainly through the creation of MB-surfactant entities which acted differently than the MB alone; but more importantly, through the interactions of the surfactant molecules/micelles and the MB-surfactant pairs with the separation membrane