Polymer composite materials based on the Moplen HP400R polypropylene matrix with a filler from walnut shell flour with 30, 40 and 50% content and 200-315 µm and 315-443 µm fraction were produced by the injection method. The effect of filler content was analysed on the processing properties of the composites such as: MFR Melt Flow Rate and the MVR Melt Volume-flow Rate, as well as the temperature of the filler flour decomposition using the TGA thermogravimetric analysis method. The following was also determined: density, hardness, tensile strength and stiffness modulus of elasticity of the materials in question. The obtained composite material was characterised by low density, which increased with the rising filler content. It was found that the applied natural filler has increased the hardness and stiffness modulus of the composite and decreased the tensile strength.
Lignite still plays a key role in the production of electricity in Poland. About one-third of domestic electric energy comes from lignite burned in large power plants that produce megatons (Mt) of bottom ash and fly ash annually. Nearly 11 wt% of the total ash generated by the lignite-fired power industry in Poland comes from lignite extracted from the Konin Lignite Mine. Part of the ash escapes into the atmosphere, and the rest is utilized, which is expensive and often harmful to the environment; hence, geochemical studies of these ashes are fully justified and increasingly carried out. The lignite samples examined in this paper represent the entire vertical section of the first Mid-Polish lignite seam (MPLS-1) mined in opencasts at Jóźwin IIB, Drzewce, and Tomisławice. First, the samples were oxidized (burnt) at one of three temperatures: 100, 850, and 950°C; then the chemical composition of oxides and trace elements was determined according to the ASTM D6349-13 standard. The ashes were rich in SiO2 and CaO; Ba, Sr, and Cu dominated the trace element content. Among the harmful elements found, Pb is of most concern. Only a few elements (Ba, Cu, Pb, Sb) reached values higher than their corresponding Clarke values. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the examined ashes are approximately as harmful to the environment as ashes from other lignite used to generate electricity. Moreover, the increased amount of CaCO3 in the MPLS-1 is beneficial in the process of natural desulphurization.
The present work concerns analysis of the possibilities of synthesis of Ni-TiO2 composite coatings from electrolytes containing formate nickel complexes. A magnetic field was applied as an additional factor enabling modification of properties of the synthesized coatings through its influence on electrode processes. The presented data describes the effect of electrode potential, TiO2 concentration in the electrolyte as well as the value of the magnetic field induction vector on the deposition rate, composition, current efficiency, structure, surface states and morphology of synthesized coatings. The studies were preceded by thermodynamic analysis of the electrolyte. The obtained results indicated possibilities of synthesis of composites containing up to 0.97 wt. % of TiO2. Depending on applied electrolysis conditions current efficiency amounted to from 61.2 to 75.1%.
This paper presents the results of research of Ni/diamond composite coatings produced by electrochemical reduction method. Research was focused on composite coatings with nickel matrix and diamond as a disperse phase and for comparison purposes on nanocrystalline nickel coatings. Ni/diamond composite coatings were produced in baths with different content of nanodiamond powder. The structures of the dispersed phase and the composite coatings were analysed by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Measurements of selected properties of the coatings were performed, including roughness, microhardness, adhesion and abrasive wear resistance. The research results indicate that the produced coatings have a compact structure and good adherence to steel substrate. Moreover, nanocrystalline Ni/diamond composite coatings exhibit greater hardness and reduced abrasive wear resistance compared to nanocrystalline nickel coatings.
Al2O3-Al2TiO5-TiO2 composites can be obtained by the infiltration of molecular titanium precursors into presintered α-Al2O3 (corundum) cylinders. Two titanium tetraalkoxides, and two dialkoxy titanium bis(acetylacetonates) serve as precursors for TiO2 (rutile) and Al2TiO5 (tialite). The precursors were infiltrated as ethanolic solutions. After sintering at 1550, 1600, and 1650°C, the prepared ceramics’ properties were investigated by SEM, in-situ HT-XRD, and conventional XRD. Titanium tetraisopropoxide leads to the highest content of Al2TiO5 in the composite. The more reactive the precursor, considering the Al2O3/precursor interface, the lower and more anisotropic the grain growth, the more homogeneous is the TiO2 contribution and the higher is the content of Al2TiO5. Raising the sintering temperature causes an increase of the crystalline Al2TiO5 content as well as of the grain growth. Moreover, the reactivity of the precursor molecule influences the Ti/(Al + Ti) ratio in the obtained tialite phase.
Nowadays, aluminum-based composites have been produced by pure alumina (Al2O3) or pure graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in aluminum matrix because of the high compressive strength of alumina and the solid lubricant properties of graphene. However, there are no studies on the influence of both alumina and graphene reinforced aluminum composites. In this study, Al-Al2O3 and Al-Al2O3-GNPs composites were reinforced with pure alumina (between 0 and 30 wt.%), pure graphene (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 wt.%), and their hybrid forms (Al2O3-GNPs) by the powder metallurgy method. This method involved ultrasonic dispensing, mixing, filtering, drying, pressing, and sintering processes. From the test results, the micro Vickers hardness of pure aluminum (28.2±1 HV) improved to 51.5±0.8 HV (Al-30Al2O3) and 63.1±1 HV (Al-30Al2O3-0.1GNPs). Similarly, the ultimate compressive strength (UCS) enhanced from 92.4±4 MPa (pure aluminum) to 165±4.5 MPa (Al-30Al2O3) and 188±5 MPa (Al-30Al2O3-0.1GNPs), respectively. In conclusion, the Vickers hardness and ultimate compressive strength of aluminum hybrid composites improved up to 0.1 wt.% graphene content. After 0.1 wt.% graphene content, these mechanical properties decreased because of the clumping of graphene nanoparticles.
A superior SiC based thermal protection coating process for carbon composite, which can be especially effective in a hot oxidizing atmosphere, was established in this study. A multi-coating process based on a combination of Chemical Vapor Reaction (CVR) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) was developed. Various protective coating layers on carbon composite were tested in hot oxidizing surroundings and the test results verified that the thermal ablation rate could be dramatically reduced down to 3.8% when the protective multi-coating was applied. The thermal protection mechanism of the coating layers was also investigated.
The article presents the urban layout, which is a best-preserved example of industrial estates in northern Italy. The subject of the research is a public space of the Crespi d’Adda settlement in the Province of Bergamo in Lombardy. Particular attention is paid to green areas occurring there, and their current use. Program of the public areas was very varied. The main role, besides the factory, held the public park, which is an important compositional and ideological. element of the layout. Research task was to show on example of Crespi, the current situation of former settlements in northern Italy, which are for the author reference material for settlements analyzed in Poland.
During austral summer phytoplankton is the main component of food of E. superba postlarval stages. Diatomeae: Thalassiosira spp., Nitzschia spp. and tiny Pennatae constitue 98% of all consumed food particles. 91% of algae consumed were of 8—40 μm, and their mean size is 21.4 μm. The mean amount of algae found in of Euphausia superba was about 1700 per individual. The differences in species composition and the size of algae eaten by juvenes, preadult and adult individuals decrease the food competition between particular age groups of E. superba.
The cenospheres are formed during the mineral transformation stage in coal combustion. Their content in fly ashes from the combustion of different types of coals varies over a rather wide range from 0.01 to 35.6 wt.%. The cenospheres has three main elements, silicon, aluminium and iron, the oxides of which account for about 89% of the material. Mineralogical analysis using XRD shows that as-received cenospheres mainly contain mullite and quartz as main mineralogical phases. The size of cenospheres varies between 5 and 500 [...], as the most common dimension is 20-300 [...]. The cenospheres are characterized by a low bulk density (0.2-0.8 g/cm3) and can be easily separated by gravitational methods in the form of a concentrate in aqueous media or collected from a water surface of lagoons intended for storage of ash and slag waste. The unique properties of these hollow microspheres make them amenable for wide applications. For example the cenospheres can be used to produce various lightweight construction products, including lightweight cements and aggregates in lightweight concrete.
The use of biomass in the energy industry is the consequence of ongoing efforts to replace Energy from fossil fuels with energy from renewable sources. However, due to the diversity of the biomass, its use as a solid fuel generates waste with diverse and unstable chemical composition. Waste from biomass combustion is a raw material with a very diverse composition, even in the case of using only one type of biomass. The content of individual elements in fly ash from the combustion of biomass ranges from zero to tens of percent. This makes it difficult to determine the optimal recovery methods. The ashes from the combustion of biomass are most commonly used in the production of building materials and agriculture. This article presents the elemental composition of the most commonly used biomass fuels. The results of the analysis of elemental composition of fly ashes from the combustion of forest and agricultural biomass in fluidized bed boilers used in the commercial power industry were presented. These ashes are characterized by a high content of calcium (12.3–19.4%), silicon (1.2–8.3%), potassium (0.05–1.46%), chlorine (1.1–6.1%), and iron (0.8–6.5%). The discussed ashes contained no sodium. Aluminum was found only in one of the five ashes. Manganese, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, sulfur, bismuth, titanium and zirconium were found in all of the examined ashes. The analysis of elemental composition may allow for a preliminary assessment of the recovery potential of a given ash.