scholarly journals Gas Permeability of Cellulose Aerogels with a Designed Dual Pore Space System

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 2688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathirvel Ganesan ◽  
Adam Barowski ◽  
Lorenz Ratke

The gas permeability of a porous material is a key property determining the impact of the material in an application such as filter/separation techniques. In the present study, aerogels of cellulose scaffolds were designed with a dual pore space system consisting of macropores with cell walls composing of mesopores and a nanofibrillar network. The gas permeability properties of these dual porous materials were compared with classical cellulose aerogels. Emulsifying the oil droplets in the hot salt–hydrate melt with a fixed amount of cellulose was performed in the presence of surfactants. The surfactants varied in physical, chemical and structural properties and a range of hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) values, 13.5 to 18. A wide range of hierarchical dual pore space systems were produced and analysed using nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The microstructures of the dual pore system of aerogels were quantitatively characterized using image analysis methods. The gas permeability was measured and discussed with respect to the well-known model of Carman–Kozeny for open porous materials. The gas permeability values implied that the kind of the macropore channel’s size, shape, their connectivity through the neck parts and the mesoporous structures on the cell walls are significantly controlling the flow resistance of air. Adaption of this new design route for cellulose-based aerogels can be suitable for advanced filters/membranes production and also biological or catalytic supporting materials since the emulsion template method allows the tailoring of the gas permeability while the nanopores of the cell walls can act simultaneously as absorbers.

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (36) ◽  
pp. 8901-8906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed AlRatrout ◽  
Martin J. Blunt ◽  
Branko Bijeljic

A quantitative in situ characterization of the impact of surface roughness on wettability in porous media is currently lacking. We use reservoir condition micrometer-resolution X-ray tomography combined with automated methods for the measurement of contact angle, interfacial curvature, and surface roughness to examine fluid/fluid and fluid/solid interfaces inside a porous material. We study oil and water in the pore space of limestone from a giant producing oilfield, acquiring millions of measurements of curvature and contact angle on three millimeter-sized samples. We identify a distinct wetting state with a broad distribution of contact angle at the submillimeter scale with a mix of water-wet and water-repellent regions. Importantly, this state allows both fluid phases to flow simultaneously over a wide range of saturation. We establish that, in media that are largely water wet, the interfacial curvature does not depend on solid surface roughness, quantified as the local deviation from a plane. However, where there has been a significant wettability alteration, rougher surfaces are associated with lower contact angles and higher interfacial curvature. The variation of both contact angle and interfacial curvature increases with the local degree of roughness. We hypothesize that this mixed wettability may also be seen in biological systems to facilitate the simultaneous flow of water and gases; furthermore, wettability-altering agents could be used in both geological systems and material science to design a mixed-wetting state with optimal process performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 544-552
Author(s):  
O. V. Karsaev

The use of low-orbit constellation of small or super-small satellites for solving problems of remote sensing of the Earth is a promising direction for the development of space activities. The implementation of this perspective requires the study of a wide range of fundamentally new tasks, one of which is the development of control systems for such constellations. A fundamentally new aspect in the content of this task is the possibility of using communication between satellites and the communication network of the space system as a whole. At the same time, the choice of approach to the development of the control system depends on the mode in which information exchange can take place, in real time or with time delays. The article discusses various options for the orbital construction of satellite groupings that determine the modes of information exchange. The object of research is a space system in which information exchange can occur with time delays. The aim of the research is to develop a methodology for assessing the impact of the communication network bandwidth on the efficiency of the space system. Efficiency indicators are the time of request execution and the performance of the space system — the data volumedelivered by a satellite constellation to the Earth over a certain period. The basis of the methodology is a simulation model that simulates the operation of satellites and ground infrastructure objects, the use of the developed prototype of the control system and the corresponding information exchange in the communication network.


1964 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 426-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sh. Mikhail ◽  
L. E. Copeland ◽  
Stephen Brunauer

The investigations were performed on five hardened pastes of a type I (normal) portland cement, having initial weight ratios of water to cement of 0.35, 0.40, 0.50, 0.57, and 0.70, and hydrated for 12, 12, 12, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] years, respectively. The percentage hydration ranged from 90 to 98%.Nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherms were determined for all pastes at the boiling point of nitrogen, from low pressures to almost the saturation pressure. The BET surface areas were calculated, and the pore space accessible to nitrogen was obtained by a slight extrapolation of the isotherms. In addition, pore structure analysis was made for three of the five pastes by the method of Cranston and Inkley.The specific surface areas of the five pastes were also determined by water vapor adsorption, and the total porosity to water was measured. For every paste, the water areas and porosities were greater than the nitrogen areas and porosities.The main conclusions from the results were as follows.(1) There is a wide range of pore sizes in the pastes.(2) Nitrogen is excluded from a part of the pore system by two mechanisms; some of the pores are too narrow and others have too narrow entrances to admit nitrogen.(3) The hydraulic radius (the volume of the pore system divided by the surface area of the pore walls) for the system of small pores increases with increasing water to cement ratio.(4) The hydraulic radius of the system of large pores also increases with increasing water to cement ratio, but the increase is smaller than for the small pores.(5) The paste with water to cement ratio of 0.35 has enough pore space for complete hydration.Some practical implications of the above conclusions are discussed.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 502
Author(s):  
Zbysław Dymaczewski ◽  
Joanna Falkowska ◽  
Angelika Frąckowiak ◽  
Joanna Jeż-Walkowiak ◽  
Justyna Nawrot ◽  
...  

The study investigates the impact of pore structure parameters of three chemically non-active filtration materials on the auto-activation time and the height of the filtration zone for manganese removal from groundwater. At a technical scale, the activation is a long process which may require a period of up to three months. The process can be shortened by the use of porous filtration materials. In this study, three filtration materials (silica sand, chalcedonite sand, GAC—granulated activated carbon) were investigated using subcritical nitrogen adsorption and mercury injection capillary pressure measurements. These methods provide a comprehensive evaluation of pore structure parameters, including specific surface area (SSA), micro- and mesopore volumes, and an extended range of pore size distribution (PSD). The studied materials provided a wide range of micro- and mesopore volumes as well as SSA. In order to investigate the auto-activation time of filtration material—the time required to achieve the requested quality of the filtrate—and the height of the filtration zone, a pilot experiment was conducted for 1950 h. The pilot installation consisted of three-meters-high (10 cm diameter) filtration columns filled with the tested filtration materials. The results indicate that the internal pore structure and the investigated auto-activation parameters are correlated. Both auto-activation time and the size of the filtration zone were influenced by the mesopore volume and the associated SSA of the tested materials. The micropore volume was less effective in improving the autoactivation parameters. The research results indicated the importance of pore structure characteristics which should be considered prior to time-consuming pilot and technological tests.


2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chalimah .

eamwork is becoming increasingly important to wide range of operations. It applies to all levels of the company. It is just as important for top executives as it is to middle management, supervisors and shop floor workers. Poor teamwork at any level or between levels can seriously damage organizational effectiveness. The focus of this paper was therefore to examine whether leadership practices consist of team leader behavior, conflict resolution style and openness in communication significantly influenced the team member’s satisfaction in hotel industry. Result indicates that team leader behavior and the conflict resolution style significantly influenced team member satisfaction. It was surprising that openness in communication did not affect significantly to the team members’ satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Mosolova ◽  
Dmitry Sosin ◽  
Sergey Mosolov

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) have been subject to increased workload while also exposed to many psychosocial stressors. In a systematic review we analyze the impact that the pandemic has had on HCWs mental state and associated risk factors. Most studies reported high levels of depression and anxiety among HCWs worldwide, however, due to a wide range of assessment tools, cut-off scores, and number of frontline participants in the studies, results were difficult to compare. Our study is based on two online surveys of 2195 HCWs from different regions of Russia during spring and autumn epidemic outbreaks revealed the rates of anxiety, stress, depression, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and perceived stress as 32.3%, 31.1%, 45.5%, 74.2%, 37.7% ,67.8%, respectively. Moreover, 2.4% of HCWs reported suicidal thoughts. The most common risk factors include: female gender, nurse as an occupation, younger age, working for over 6 months, chronic diseases, smoking, high working demands, lack of personal protective equipment, low salary, lack of social support, isolation from families, the fear of relatives getting infected. These results demonstrate the need for urgent supportive programs for HCWs fighting COVID-19 that fall into higher risk factors groups.


Author(s):  
Sergei Soldatenko ◽  
Sergei Soldatenko ◽  
Genrikh Alekseev ◽  
Genrikh Alekseev ◽  
Alexander Danilov ◽  
...  

Every aspect of human operations faces a wide range of risks, some of which can cause serious consequences. By the start of 21st century, mankind has recognized a new class of risks posed by climate change. It is obvious, that the global climate is changing, and will continue to change, in ways that affect the planning and day to day operations of businesses, government agencies and other organizations and institutions. The manifestations of climate change include but not limited to rising sea levels, increasing temperature, flooding, melting polar sea ice, adverse weather events (e.g. heatwaves, drought, and storms) and a rise in related problems (e.g. health and environmental). Assessing and managing climate risks represent one of the most challenging issues of today and for the future. The purpose of the risk modeling system discussed in this paper is to provide a framework and methodology to quantify risks caused by climate change, to facilitate estimates of the impact of climate change on various spheres of human activities and to compare eventual adaptation and risk mitigation strategies. The system integrates both physical climate system and economic models together with knowledge-based subsystem, which can help support proactive risk management. System structure and its main components are considered. Special attention is paid to climate risk assessment, management and hedging in the Arctic coastal areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 3738-3740

The Tonsillectomy in children or adults is an intervention commonly encountered in the ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) and Head and Neck surgeon practice. The current tendency is to perform this type of surgery in major ambulatory surgery centers. Two objectives are thus pursued: first of all, the increase of the patient quality of life through the reintegration into the family as quickly as possible and secondly, the expenses associated with continuous hospitalization are reduced. Any tertiary (multidisciplinary) sleep center must ensure the complete diagnosis and treatment (including surgery) of sleep respiratory disorders. Under these conditions the selection of patients and especially the implementation of the specific protocols in order to control the postoperative complications it becomes essential. The present paper describes our experience of tonsillectomy as treatment for selected patients with chronic rhonchopathy (snoring) and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnoea. It was presented the impact of antibiotics protocols in reducing the main morbid outcomes following tonsillectomy, in our day surgery center. The obtained results can also be a prerequisite for the integrative approach of the patients with sleep apnoea who were recommended surgical treatment. Considering the wide range of therapeutic modalities used in sleep apnoea, each with its specific advantages and disadvantages, more extensive and multicenter studies are needed. Keywords: post-tonsillectomy morbidity, day surgery center, sleep disorders


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim van Dun ◽  
Frank V. Overwalle ◽  
Mario Manto ◽  
Peter Marien

Background & Objective: During the past 3 decades, numerous neurophysiological, neuroimaging, experimental and clinical studies have evidenced a crucial role for the cerebellum in cognitive, affective and behavioral functions. As a result of the acknowledged modulatory role of the cerebellum upon remote structures such as the cerebral cortex, cerebellar injury may give rise to a constellation of behavioral, affective and cognitive symptoms (Schmahmann's Syndrome). In sharp contrast to the wide range of therapeutic interventions to treat cognitive and affective disorders following cerebral cortical lesions and despite the consequences of Schmahmann’s syndrome upon daily life activities, the literature is surprisingly only scantly documented with studies investigating the impact of cognitive therapies on cerebellar induced cognitive and affective disorders. This survey aims to present an overview of the therapeutic interventions available in the literature as a possible treatment for Schmahmann’s Syndrome after cerebellar injury, after posterior fossa surgery in children, and in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Although systematical studies are clearly warranted, available evidence suggests that cerebellar-induced cognitive and affective disorders should be treated in a specific way. Approaches where the patients are explicitly made aware of their deficits and are considered to act as an “external cerebellum” are the most promising. Conclusion: The study of the anatomical connectivity of the cerebellar microcomplexes involved in cognitive/affective deficits is likely to play a major-role in the future.


Author(s):  
Jeff Levin ◽  
Stephen G. Post

In Religion and Medicine, Dr. Jeff Levin, distinguished Baylor University epidemiologist, outlines the longstanding history of multifaceted interconnections between the institutions of religion and medicine. He traces the history of the encounter between these two institutions from antiquity through to the present day, highlighting a myriad of contemporary alliances between the faith-based and medical sectors. Religion and Medicine tells the story of: religious healers and religiously branded hospitals and healthcare institutions; pastoral professionals involved in medical missions, healthcare chaplaincy, and psychological counseling; congregational health promotion and disease prevention programs and global health initiatives; research studies on the impact of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices on physical and mental health, well-being, and healing; programs and centers for medical research and education within major universities and academic institutions; religiously informed bioethics and clinical decision-making; and faith-based health policy initiatives and advocacy for healthcare reform. Religion and Medicine is the first book to cover the full breadth of this subject. It documents religion-medicine alliances across religious traditions, throughout the world, and over the course of history. It summarizes a wide range of material of relevance to historians, medical professionals, pastors and theologians, bioethicists, scientists, public health educators, and policymakers. The product of decades of rigorous and focused research, Dr. Levin has produced the most comprehensive history of these developments and the finest introduction to this emerging field of scholarship.


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