Sharif Digital Repository

The electro-oxidation of methanol on copper in alkaline solutions has been studied by the methods of cyclic voltammetry, quasi-steady state polarization and chronoamperometry. It has been found that in the course of an anodic potential sweep the electro-oxidation of methanol follows the formation of CuIII and is catalysed by this species through a mediated electron transfer mechanism. The reaction also continues in the early stages of the reversed cycle until it is stopped by the prohibitively negative potentials. The process is diffusion controlled and the current-time responses follow Cottrellian behavior. The rate constants, turnover frequency, anodic transfer coefficient and the apparent... 

Background: Biodegradation of free cyanide from industrial wastewaters has been proven as a viable and robust method for treatment of wastewaters containing cyanide. Results: Cyanide degrading bacteria were isolated from a wastewater treatment plant for coke-oven-gas condensate by enrichment culture technique. Five strains were able to use cyanide as the sole nitrogen source under alkaline conditions and among them; one strain (C2) was selected for further studies on the basis of the higher efficiency of cyanide degradation. The bacterium was able to tolerate free cyanide at concentrations of up to 500 ppm which makes it a good potentially candidate for the biological treatment of cyanide... 

Alkaline flooding is one of the newest chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. Alkaline generates in situ surfactants when in reacts with acid content of the oil. This economic surfactant generated in oil-water interface, reduces interfacial tension (IFT) significantly that leads to increase in oil recovery by extracting oil from tiny pores. In this study, three alkaline i.e. Na2CO3, NaOH and KOH in various concentrations were flooded in a glassy micromodel to detect displacement mechanisms and compare oil recovery. According to the results, increase in alkaline concentration leads to increase in recovery. However, in this case, alkaline type does not play a significant role. In... 

Steel slag, which contains basic oxides capable of generating high levels of alkalinity, may be used in leaching beds or leaching channels to neutralize acid mine drainage (AMD). In the present study, electric arc furnace (EAF) slag from the Pasargad Steel Complex was used to investigate the influence of slag particle size on AMD treatment. Three slag samples with different particle size distributions (coarse, mixed, fine) were prepared. Slag composition, pH variation, level of alkalinity, and specific surface area were measured and the surfaces of the slag particles was examined by scanning electron microscopy. In both dynamic and static leaching tests, there proved to be three stages: an... 

In this work, a porous and flexible three-dimensional (3D) nickel/gold nanoparticle electrode (NiF/AuNPs) is presented as an efficient electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The 3D nanocomposite electrode consists of interconnected porous nickel foam (NiF) with large pores (500±200 μm diameter) surrounded by interconnected struts (∼100 μm) that are decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, 37±8 nm) through in-situ electrochemical deposition. The catalytic performance of the 3D electrode was evaluated by different electrochemical methods. An enhancement in the performance (about 253 %) and a remarkable decline in onset potential (about ∼0.63 V) in comparison with pristine... 

Laboratory scale experiments were conducted in order to investigate the photolysis of Reactive Blue 19 (RB 19) dye using UV as the irradiation source in alkaline solution. The effects of operating parameters such as, pH, initial dye concentration, UV dosage, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen have been evaluated. The results indicate that the UV photolysis process in alkaline solution is ideal for decolorizing of RB 19 and it can be taken as a starting step to establish the economical feasibility of the method for the decolorization of wastewater from textile industries  

An aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and potassium phosphate (K2HPO4) was used for partitioning and partial purification of alkaline protease produced by Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 21424. The effect of PEG molar mass, pH and concentration of NaCl salt addition on partition coefficient, yield and purification factor (PF) for ATPS were studied. The highest partition coefficient (5.3) was achieved in an ATPS of 25% (w/w) PEG 10,000 (g/mol) and 10% (w/w) NaCl at pH 9. Cation and anion exchange chromatography was employed for purification of alkaline protease from protein mixture and the yield and PF for enzyme fractions were obtained to make a comparison... 

The process of self-color anodizing of titanium is done in acidic and alkaline solutions, and anodic films of different colors are formed. Results of this work show that the corrosion rate of titanium decreased after the application of an anodizing layer  

In recent years there has been potential increase in the use of alkaline protease as industrial catalysts. Many major industrial and commercial applications, such as food and textile industries, and medical diagnoses, are highly dependent on the protease enzyme. In the cell immobilization technique, the free movement of microorganisms is restricted in the process, and a continuous system of fermentation can be used. In the present work, this technique has been used for alkaline protease production using different carriers, such as chitosan, corn cob and corn tassel. Enzyme activity before immobilization (72 h) was 78.3 U/ml. Corn cob, with 65% immobilization capacity and the highest enzyme... 

Graphene is usually synthesized through deoxygenation of graphene oxide (GO) by hydrazine as the most common and one of the strongest reducing agents. But, due to the high toxicity of hydrazine, it is not a promising reductant in large-scale production of graphene. Here, for the first time, we used melatonin (MLT), as a powerful antioxidant and a biocompatible competitor of hydrazine in reduction of GO suspension. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), current-voltage and optical characteristics of the sheets indicated that the deoxygenation efficiency of the GO suspensions by MLT and under heating in an alkaline condition for 3 h was comparable with the efficiency obtained by hydrazine in... 

In regard to highly poisonous effects of cyanide ion, concerns have been focused recently on treatment of such compounds in different ways. Four bacterial strains (C1-C4) capable of using cyanide as nitrogen source were isolated from contaminated gold mine soil samples under alkaline conditions at 30 °C, pH 9.5-10.5, and agitation speed 150 rpm. The gram-negative bacterium C3 (identified as Pseudomonas parafulva NBRC 16636(T) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing) was able to tolerate cyanide up to 500 ppm besides removing 93.5% of 200 ppm cyanide in 13 days which was confirmed by microorganisms growth. The addition of basal salts enhanced the removal efficiency of C3 by 16%. Cyanide removal... 

The advantages of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), such as high specific strength, resistance against corrosion and formability, have made it a more acceptable alternative to conventional materials regarding repairing and retrofitting of structures. Although investigations in recent years have proved the concern of civil engineers about the environmental effects on the bond between FRP and concrete or masonry (especially moisture and temperature), only few researches have been reported on FRP-wood interfaces. This research investigated the effect of five different environments on the bond at the interface between FRP and wood. A series of pull-out tests were performed on 375 wood specimens... 

In this study, the optimum curing temperature and alkaline solution-to-binder (S:B) ratio of geopolymer mortars based on waste ceramic powder (WCP) were investigated. For this purpose, mixes with S:B ratios of 0.4–0.7 were prepared and cured at 60, 75, 90, and 105 °C. The density, compressive and flexural strengths were measured at 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. Higher S:B ratios enhanced the flow of the fresh mortar. The optimum mortar was obtained for S:B ratio of 0.6 and curing temperature of 90 °C. The SEM analysis revealed that the optimal mix had a dense matrix with minimum pores. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd  

A novel multichannel sensor array has been designed using a single, yet multiemissive lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP). The energy levels of lanthanide ions gave rise to several emission bands which were exploited as individual sensor elements for the recognition of four important neurotransmitters (NTs): dopamine, norepinephrine, levodopa, and serotonin. At alkaline conditions, the oxidation products of these NTs quenched the fluorescence emissions of UCNPs with different quenching degrees. The resulting fingerprint multichannel emission profiles from NaYF4:Yb/Er/Tm UCNPs allowed the discrimination of NTs with excellent accuracy. The recognition was further verified in... 

As the membrane technology developed at the last 30 years, the relevant processes have been significantly developed. One of which is the chlor alkali technology. The development of membrane technology and its effect on Chlor-Alkali process is capable of evaluation in to two different fields, environmental and energy consumption. Some of environmental problems of mercury and diaphragm processes because of their technological development have been eliminated the energy consumption of these processes is significantly decreased especially in membrane and diaphragm processes. Recently investigation in the field of membrane cell is more focused on cell construction, depolarized cathodes, and fluid... 

This paper deals with an experimental investigation into the mechanical performance and microstructure characteristics of the cementitious mortars containing recycled waste materials subjected to acidic, neutral and alkaline environments. The recycled waste materials include glass, eggshell, iron and rubber powder in various amounts, namely 7, 14 and 21% by volume, as the replacement for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). In this respect, to examine the mechanical performance of the specimens, the compressive, tensile and bending strength tests as well as water absorption test were carried out at the ages of 7, 28 and 90 days. Moreover, to study the microstructure of the specimens, the scanning... 

The power-to-liquid concept is a promising strategy to convert the power plants' flue gas to value-added liquid fuels using renewable energy. This technology could potentially reduce global greenhouse gases emissions and mitigate the environmental problems associated with the fossil fuels industry. In this regard, the main objective of the present study is to propose a novel power-to-liquid plant for the synthesis of formic acid and ammonia from power plants' flue gas, emphasizing the role of electrochemical technologies and renewable energy. The system's basis is developed by the integration of CO2 electroreduction cell, alkaline water electrolysis cell, and photovoltaic panel technologies....