Sharif Digital Repository

A nonlinear predictive model controller was designed to control the temperature of a batch polymerization of methyl methacrylate. Using the mechanistic model of the polymerization, a state space model was derived and converted to transfer function model. The coefficients of the transfer function were calculated along the selected temperature trajectory by sequential linearization. 140 operation points were resulted. Model validation showed model ability in process dynamic description. Consequently, DMC algorithm was applied and one objective function was optimized. Results of control loop simulation shows a high precision ability of this algorithm in comparison to classic methods  

Polymer supported reagents have found many applications in recent years. Scientists in research laboratories of agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries now routinely utilize these compounds to prepare ensembles of small organic molecules for screening. This review is aimed to highlight some of the most important applications of these promising materials in organic synthesis. Furthermore, an extensive listing of polymeric reagents that were recently used in organic synthesis is included. © Springer-Verlag 2007  

Chitosan was modified with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) through ceric-initiated graft copolymerization. The chitosan-g-PAN product was saponified using sodium hydroxide aqueous solution to prepare a novel superabsorbent hydrogel, H-chitoPAN. Duration of completing the saponification reaction as well as the water absorbency capacity of the hydrogel was decreased with increasing the alkaline concentration. Either chitosan-g-PAN or H-chitoPAN was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and DSC, TGA, and DTG thermal methods. According to FTIR, all the nitrile groups were converted to carboxylate and carboxamide groups. Both modified chitosans exhibited enhanced thermal stability over chitosan. The... 

As the first part of a continued research on conversion of carboxymethyl cellulosesodium salt (CMC) to useful biopolymer-based materials, large numbers of cyanide functional groups were introduced onto CMC by grafting with polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The graft copolymerization reactions were carried out under nitrogen atmosphere using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an initiator. Evidence of grafting was obtained by comparing FTIR spectra of CMC and the graft copolymer as well as solubility characteristics of the products. The synthetic conditions were systematically optimized through studying the effective factors including temperature and concentrations of initiator, acrylonitrile monomer,... 

A novel kappa-carrageenan (C)-based superabsorbing hydrogel was synthesized through graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AAm) onto a C substrate in the presence of a crosslinking agent. The crosslinked C-poly(AAm) polymer graft was partially hydrolyzed in alkaline medium to yield a superabsorbent resin, H-carragPAM. The resin structure was confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. The variables of graft copolymerization (monomer, initiator, polysaccharide and crosslinker concentration, reaction temperature and time as well as stirrer speed) that affected on the ultimate water-swelling capacity were optimized. The time-temperature variation of the copolymerization was investigated in terms of the... 

This study reports synthesis and characterization of polymeric [MoO2(Salen)] complexes that combine MoO2(acac)2 and polymeric ligands bearing N2O2 coordination sites, abbreviated herein as [piperazinCH2{MoO2(Salen)}]n (6), [piperazinCH2{MoO2(Salophen)}]n (7), and [piperazinCH2{MoO2(Salpn)}]n (8). The epoxidation of alkenes using tert-butyl hydroperoxide and oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides by urea hydrogen peroxide were enhanced with excellent selectivity under the catalytic influence of these coordination polymers. No relevant difference in activity was found due to change in the diamine in the Schiffs base ligands. The stability of polymeric catalysts was assessed by recycling a sample... 

Chitosan was modified with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) through ceric-initiated graft copolymerization. The chitosan-g-PAN product was saponified using sodium hydroxide aqueous solution to prepare a novel superabsorbent hydrogel, H-chitoPAN. Duration of completing the saponification reaction as well as the water absorbency capacity of the hydrogel was decreased with increasing the alkaline concentration. Either chitosan-g-PAN or H-chitoPAN was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and DSC, TGA, and DTG thermal methods. According to FTIR, all the nitrile groups were converted to carboxylate and carboxamide groups. Both modified chitosans exhibited enhanced thermal stability over chitosan. The... 

This work, which is a part of our ongoing studies on developing conductive scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering, reports synthesis of highly conductive binary-doped polyaniline nanoparticles and polyaniline/graphene nanocomposites. The samples were synthesized through chemical oxidation of aniline via in situ emulsion polymerization method in presence of hydrochloric acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Graphene nanosheets were also prepared via modified Hummer's method followed by chemical reduction using hydrazine monohydrate. Electrical conductivity measurements using a standard four-point probe technique with FTIR and UV-vis studies revealed that conductive binary-doped emeraldine salt... 

Due to advantages of tubular polymerization reactors, a tubular reactor was used as the postpolymerizer for thermal bulk polymerization of styrene. By solving the mathematical model, static and dynamic simulations were carried out to study the reactor's behavior. In order to have a desired product regarding the monomer conversion and polydispersity at the reactor outlet, a specific temperature profile must be kept along the reactor's length. Based on the desired profile and using the system model, a trajectory for the jacket temperature was obtained. To apply the desired jacket temperature, the jacket is divided into three zones. The set-point of each zone has been obtained by discretizing... 

γ-Alumina is used to catalyze the Cannizzaro reaction in the absence of any base under microwave irradiation in high yields. In the case of terephthalaldehyde the reaction is carried out with high selectivity  

Carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC) was doubly modified to prepare a novel poly(acrylamidoxime) chelating resin. Acrylonitrile was firstly graft polymerized onto CMC using cerium ammonium nitrate as an initiator. The polyacrylonitrile (PAN) grafted CMC was then amidoximized via treatment with hydroxylamine to prepare the ion exchange resin. The sorption capacity of the resin towards bivalent metal ions was evaluated while varying the pH, the loading of the PAN and the initial metal ion concentration. The adsorption kinetics were investigated for the cupric ion. The chelating resin exhibited very high metal sorption capacity in comparison with either synthetic or polysaccharide-based... 

This paper describes how to find optimal operating conditions of three controlling parameters, i.e. temperature, transmembrane pressure (TMP), and cross-flow velocity (CFV) for maximizing the permeate flux and total organic carbons (TOC) rejection, and minimizing the fouling resistance using Taguchi method in ultrafiltration (UF) treatment of the real produced water. At first, the optimal operating conditions were found at a temperature of 45°C, TMP = 4 bar, and CFV of 2.25 m/s. To determine the most significant parameters affecting the response parameters, an analysis of variance was employed. In the second stage, performance of applied polymeric membrane in the UF system was studied under... 

Poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (PAMAM) was successfully functionalized by chlorosulfonic acid to form an strong ionic acid catalyst. The resulting polymeric catalyst was shown to be an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 1,1-diacetyl from aldehydes under free solvent conditions at room temperature. Also, the deprotection of the resulting aldehydes was investigated under catalytic conditions. The Hammett acidity function of catalyst showed that catalyst is a strong Brønsted acid. Due to the multi-functional nature of PAMAM, the catalyst has high loading level of acidic protons  

Potential applications of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) demand physical configurations in different size ranges. Nowadays, research on MIPs is focused on the development of new or improved morphologies, which involves control and modification of the different parameters during the synthesis. In this study, the effect of different synthesis conditions on the particle size and morphology is investigated. Carbamazepine-imprinted polymers were prepared using precipitation polymerization under various conditions such as: the amounts of cross-linker and functional monomers, initiator, porogen, temperature and time of polymerization. We studied the polymerization conditions to obtain... 

In this paper, optimization and control of a tubular reactor for thermal bulk post-polymerization of styrene have been investigated. By using the reactor mathematical model, static and dynamic simulations are carried out. Based on an objective function including polymer conversion and polydispersity, reactor optimal temperature profile has been obtained. In the absence of model mismatch, desired product characteristic can also be obtained by applying the corresponding reactor wall or jacket temperature profile. To achieve this temperature trajectory, reactor jacket is divided into three zones and jacket inlet temperatures are used as manipulated variables. Effectiveness of the proposed... 

This paper describes how to find optimal operating conditions of three controlling parameters, i.e. temperature, transmembrane pressure (TMP), and cross-flow velocity (CFV) for maximizing the permeate flux and total organic carbons (TOC) rejection, and minimizing the fouling resistance using Taguchi method in ultrafiltration (UF) treatment of the real produced water. At first, the optimal operating conditions were found at a temperature of 45°C, TMP = 4 bar, and CFV of 2.25 m/s. To determine the most significant parameters affecting the response parameters, an analysis of variance was employed. In the second stage, performance of applied polymeric membrane in the UF system was studied under... 

The performance of a polymeric membrane in an ultrafiltration system under the chosen optimum conditions was studied. To achieve this, four real produced waters were dealt with. To find the optimum conditions, Taguchi method was applied. Results showed that PAN350 membrane is a potential candidate for industrial applications for three feeds which contained oil and total organic carbon (TOC) less than 1,500 and 300 ppm, respectively. The values of oil/grease, total suspended solids, and turbidity rejections were approximately 100%. Although TOC could not be entirely removed, the removal values for TOC were acceptable in this study. For the fourth feed due to the values of oil and TOC which... 

Natural gas contains several impurities, e.g., CO 2 and H 2S, which have undesirable effects on the performance of the glassy polymeric membranes. The plasticization effect of H 2S at high concentrations on the gas separation performance of polyphenylene oxide hollow fiber membrane has been studied at different compositions of H 2S and feed pressures. The existence of high concentrations of H 2S in CH 4 feed mixture, which is present in many natural gas sources in Iran, enhances plasticization. For a H 2S/CH 4 mixture containing 5008 ppm H 2S at ≈ 75 psig, the H 2S permeance reduces by > 45% from its initial value. H 2S acts as a plasticizer in H 2S/CH 4 membrane separation at elevated... 

In this study, reinforcement of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) was investigated using the sol-gel surface modified diamond nanoparticles (NDs). Nanocomposite samples were synthesized via in-situ polymerization using bi-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and contact angle measurements proved the proper silanization (∼1.9%) of NDs. Characterization of the catalysts revealed decrease in the activity of catalysts in presence of NDs which were responsible for the lower average molecular weight of the samples. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed an improved dispersion of the modified NDs in...