0000000000172344
AUTHOR
Enrique Sánchez
Large scale synthesis of nanostructured zirconia-based compounds from freeze-dried precursors
Nanocrystalline zirconia powders have been obtained at the multigram scale by thermal decomposition of precursors resulting from the freeze-drying of aqueous acetic solutions. This technique has equally made possible to synthesize a variety of nanostructured yttria or scandia doped zirconia compositions. SEM images, as well as the analysis of the XRD patterns, show the nanoparticulated character of those solids obtained at low temperature, with typical particle size in the 10–15 nm range when prepared at 673 K. The presence of the monoclinic, the tetragonal or both phases depends on the temperature of the thermal treatment, the doping concentration and the nature of the dopant. In addition,…
BIOALGA reactor: preliminary studies for heavy metals removal
Abstract Microalgae have a high affinity for polyvalent metals, for that reason they could be used to reduce the concentration of heavy metals present in water and wastewater. In the present work an evaluation of a rotary biofilm reactor for algae immobilization (BIOALGA) with the subject of heavy metal removal was investigated. The BIOALGA reactor consisted of a pilot scale model that was operated with synthetic wastewater with an initial concentration of 3000 μg/l of cobalt ion. Scenedesmus obliquus was immobilized in the reactor, which was operated in batch mode for a period of 20 days. The rotary velocity used, 2 rpm, was constant during the experiment. A maximum removal of cobalt ion o…
Nanostructured Alumina from Freeze-Dried Precursors
Nanocrystalline alumina has been obtained on the 100 g scale by thermal decomposition of precursors resulting from the freeze-drying of aqueous solutions of different aluminum-containing products, namely aluminum acetate and aluminum L-lactate. Samples prepared at different temperatures (from 873 to 1573 K in steps of 100 K) were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and surface area measurements. In the acetate case, the transformation sequence involves the formation of θ-Al 2 O 3 as an intermediate phase between γ-Al 2 O 3 and α-Al 2 O 3 , whereas this θ phase is not observed in the lactate case. TEM…
Microstructure and mechanical properties of plasma spraying coatings from YSZ feedstocks comprising nano-and submicron-sized particles
Atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) is an attractive technique to obtain nanostructured coatings due to its versatility, simplicity and relatively low cost. However, nanoparticles cannot be fed into the plasma using conventional feeding systems, due to their low mass and poor flowability, and must be adequately reconstituted into sprayable micrometric agglomerates. In this work, nanostructured and submicron/nanostiuctured powders of yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) were deposited using APS, with a view to obtaining high-performance thermal bather coatings (IBC). All powders were reconstituted by spray-drying from different solid loading suspensions, followed by a thermal treatment of the spra…
Nanostructured alumina from freeze-dried precursors
Nanocrystalline alumina has been obtained on the 100 g scale by thermal decomposition of precursors resulting from the freeze-drying of aqueous solutions of different aluminum-containing products, namely aluminum acetate and aluminum l-lactate. Samples prepared at different temperatures (from 873 to 1573 K in steps of 100 K) were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and surface area measurements. In the acetate case, the transformation sequence involves the formation of θ-Al2O3 as an intermediate phase between γ-Al2O3 and α-Al2O3, whereas this θ phase is not observed in the lactate case. TEM and SEM i…
Synthesis and processing of nanocrystalline tungsten carbide: Towards cemented carbides with optimal mechanical properties
Abstract Nanocrystalline tungsten carbide has been obtained by reduction/carburization at low temperature from precursors obtained by freeze-drying of aqueous solutions. Nanocrystalline WC powders with a adequate content of carbon were mixed with submicrometric Cobalt powder (12 wt.%), obtained by same synthesis method, and sintered in vacuum furnace. The cemented carbides fabricated from experimental powders were compared with both commercial ultrafine and nanocrystalline WC-12Co mixtures consolidated by the same route. The synthesised powders were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, elemental analysis and scanning and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. On the other h…
Population Dynamic of Algae and Bacteria in an Oxidation Channel
A study on algae and bacteria population changes, as a function of time, was carried out in a pilot scale oxidation channel bioreactor using a carrousel system. Total Coliforms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus faecalis, the most common bacteria found in sewage, Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris were the microalgae considered in this work. Physicochemical parameters such as COD, BOD, Chlorophyll a, nitrogen, and phosphorous compounds were studied and determined during the experiments. It was demonstrated that the level of wastewater contamination could be predicted based on the bacterial and algae composition. The relationships between the algae and bacteria population, a…