Search results for "PLASTICS"

Interface evolution during magnetic pulse welding under extremely high strain rate collision: mechanisms, thermomechanical kinetics and consequences

2020

Abstract Magnetic pulse welding enables to produce perplexing interfacial morphologies due to the complex material response during the high strain rate collision. Thus, a thermomechanical model is used in this study to investigate the formation mechanism of the wake, vortex, swirling and mesoscale cavities with the increase of the impact intensity at the interface. The formation of these interfacial features are difficult to characterize by insitu methods, thus the origin of phenomena still remain a subject of open discussion. Our studies identify the governing mechanisms and the associated thermomechanical kinetics, which are responsible for the formation mechanism of interfacial features.…

Synergistic effect of fiber content and length on mechanical and water absorption behaviors of Phoenix sp. fiber-reinforced epoxy composites

2016

Phoenix sp. fiber-reinforced epoxy composites have been manufactured using compression molding technique. The effect of reinforcement volume content (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%) and size (300 µm particles, 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm fibers) on quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties was investigated. Moreover, the water absorption properties of composites were analyzed at different environmental conditions (10℃, 30℃, and 60℃). For each reinforcement size, composites loaded with 40% in volume show highest tensile and flexural properties. Furthermore, composites with 300 µm particles present the best impact properties and the lowest water absorption, regardless of the environmental …

Effect of AlR3 (R = Me, Et, iBu) addition on the composition and microstructure of ethylene/1-olefin copolymers made with post-metallocene complexes …

2018

The effect of trialkylaluminum compound (AlR3, where R = Me, Et, iBu) addition on the performance of the [LigZrCl]2(μ-O)/AliBu3/Ph3CB(C6F5)4 and LigTiCl2/AliBu3/Ph3CB(C6F5)4 (Lig = Me2N(CH2)2N(CH2-2-O-3,5-tBu2-C6H2)2) catalysts in ethylene/1-olefin copolymerization was investigated. The presence of AlMe3 in the feed during the copolymerization process catalyzed by the diamine-bis(phenolate) zirconium catalyst greatly increases the amount of incorporated comonomer and leads to microstructural changes, e.g., the formation of blocky and alternating sequences of 1-olefin units. Moreover, the use of AlMe3 limits the reaction yield and decreases the molecular weight of the produced copolymers. Th…

The complementary structural studies of the double metal cyanide type catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of the oxiranes

2016

Who's better at spotting? A comparison between aerial photography and observer-based methods to monitor floating marine litter and marine mega-fauna.

2020

Pollution by marine litter is raising major concerns due to its potential impact on marine biodiversity and, above all, on endangered mega-fauna species, such as cetaceans and sea turtles. The density and distribution of marine litter and mega-fauna have been traditionally monitored through observer-based methods, yet the advent of new technologies has introduced aerial photography as an alternative monitoring method. However, to integrate results produced by different monitoring techniques and consider the photographic method a viable alternative, this ‘new’ methodology must be validated. This study aims to compare observations obtained from the concurrent application of observer-based and…

Two decades of monitoring in marine debris ingestion in loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, from the western Mediterranean

2018

Abstract Anthropogenic marine debris is one of the major worldwide threats to marine ecosystems. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) has established a protocol for data collection on marine debris from the gut contents of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and for determining assessment values of plastics for Good Environmental Status (GES). GES values are calculated as percent turtles having more than average plastic weight per turtle. In the present study, we quantify marine debris ingestion in 155 loggerhead sea turtles collected in the period 1995–2016 in waters of western Mediterranean (North-east Spain). The study aims (1) to update and standardize debris inges…

What is in our seas? Assessing anthropogenic litter on the seafloor of the central Mediterranean Sea

2020

Abstract Abundance, composition, and distribution of macro-litter found on the seafloor of the Strait of Sicily between 10 and 800 m depth has been studied using data collected by bottom trawl surveys MEDITS from 2015 to 2019. Three waste categories based on the items use were considered: single-use, fishing-related and generic-use. Over 600 sampling sites, just 14% of these were litter-free. The five-years average density of seafloor litter was 79.6 items/km2 and ranged between 46.8 in 2019 and 118.1 items/km2 in 2015. The predominant waste type was plastic (58% of all items). Regardless of material type, single-use items were a dominant (60% of items) and widespread (79% of hauls) fractio…

Plastic ingestion by pelagic and demersal fish from the North Sea and Baltic Sea

2015

Plastic ingestion by marine biota has been reported for a variety of different taxa. In this study, we investigated 290 gastrointestinal tracts of demersal (cod, dab and flounder) and pelagic fish species (herring and mackerel) from the North and Baltic Sea for the occurrence of plastic ingestion. In 5.5% of all investigated fishes, plastic particles were detected, with 74% of all particles being in the microplastic (<5mm) size range. The polymer types of all found particles were analysed by means of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Almost 40% of the particles consisted of polyethylene (PE). In 3.4% of the demersal and 10.7% of the pelagic individuals, plastic ingestion was …

Phosphoglycerate Kinases Are Co-Regulated to Adjust Metabolism and to Optimize Growth

2017

[EN] In plants, phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) converts 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate into 3-phosphoglycerate in glycolysis but also participates in the reverse reaction in gluconeogenesis and the Calvin-Benson cycle. In the databases, we found three genes that encode putative PGKs. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) PGK1 was localized exclusively in the chloroplasts of photosynthetic tissues, while PGK2 was expressed in the chloroplast/plastid of photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic cells. PGK3 was expressed ubiquitously in the cytosol of all studied cell types. Measurements of carbohydrate content and photosynthetic activities in PGK mutants and silenced lines corroborated that PGK1 was the phot…

Bioplastic recovery from wastewater: A new protocol for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) extraction from mixed microbial cultures

2019

Abstract A new protocol for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) extraction from mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) is proposed. PHA-accumulating capacity of the MMC was selected in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with a synthetic effluent emulating a fermented oil mill wastewater (OMW). The highest recovery yield and purity (74 ± 8% and 100 ± 5%, respectively) was obtained when using NH4-Laurate for which operating conditions of the extraction process such as temperature, concentration and contact time were optimized. Best conditions for PHA extraction from MMC turned to be: i) a pre-treatment with NaClO at 85 °C with 1 h of contact time, followed by ii) a treatment with lauric acid in a ratio ac…