Environmental-friendly extraction of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from poly(vinyl chloride) using liquefied dimethyl ether.

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is one of the most widely used plastics. However, a major challenge in recycling PVC is that there is no economical method to separate and remove its toxic phthalate plasticizers. This research made a breakthrough by extracting PVC with liquefied dimethyl ether (DME) and successfully separating the plasticizer components.

CFD simulation of CVD reactors in the CHSiCl(MTS)/H system using a two-step MTS decomposition and one-step SiC growth models.

In this study, we report on a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the chemical vapor deposition reactor of silicon carbide (SiC) in the methyltrichlorosilane (MTS, CHSiCl)/H system. The formation of SiC thin film is controlled by various process parameters, such as temperature and pressure. In this study, we propose a reaction mechanism of MTS decomposition to SiC growth on a substrate surface for CVD reactors in the CHSiCl(MTS)/H system.

Aeromedical Transport Operations Using Helicopters during the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake in Japan.

More than 6,000 people died in the Great Hanshin (Kobe) Earthquake in 1995, and it was later reported that there were around 500 preventable trauma deaths. In response, the Japanese government developed the helicopter emergency medical service in 2001, known in Japan as the "Doctor-Heli" (DH), which had 46 DHs and 2 private medical helicopters as of April 2016. DHs transport physicians and nurses to provide pre-hospital medical care at the scene of medical emergencies.

Shear Viscosity and Heterogeneous Structure of Alkylaminoethanol-Based CO Absorbents.

Shear viscosity of concentrated aqueous solutions of alkylaminoethanols was determined with changing the length of the alkyl chain and the concentration of dissolved CO. The viscosity increased with increasing the CO loading, reflecting the strengthening of the intermolecular electrostatic interaction. The dependence of the viscosity on both temperature and CO loading was described by a modified version of Vogel-Fulchar-Tammann equation.

Production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from corn stalk catalyzed by corn stalk-derived carbonaceous solid acid catalyst.

A carbonaceous solid acid was prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of corn stalk followed by sulfonation and was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM and elemental analysis techniques. The as-prepared corn stalk-derived carbonaceous solid acid catalyst contained SO3H, COOH, and phenolic OH groups, and was used for the one-step conversion of intact corn stalk to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([BMIM][Cl]), where a 5-HMF yield of 44.1% was achieved at 150 °C in 30 min reaction time.

Efficient laser performance of Nd:GdVO4 crystals grown by the floating zone method.

Efficient laser performance is demonstrated with Nd:GdVO4 crystals grown by the floating zone method. With a 2-at. % Nd-doped crystal a slope efficiency of 67% is achieved with pumping at 808 nm.