Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite Coatings for Steel Pipelines.

Steel pipeline systems carry about three-quarters of the world's oil and gas. Such pipelines need to be coated to prevent corrosion and erosion. An alternative to the current epoxy-based coating, a multi-layered composite coating is developed in this research.

3D-Printed Polymeric Biomaterials for Health Applications.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, holds immense potential for rapid prototyping and customized production of functional health-related devices. With advancements in polymer chemistry and biomedical engineering, polymeric biomaterials have become integral to 3D-printed biomedical applications. However, there still exists a bottleneck in the compatibility of polymeric biomaterials with different 3D printing methods, as well as intrinsic challenges such as limited printing resolution and rates.

Coaxial Layered Fiber Spinning for Wind Turbine Blade Recycling.

Plastics' long degradation time and their role in adding millions of metric tons of plastic waste to our oceans annually present an acute environmental challenge. Handling end-of-life waste from wind turbine blades (WTBs) is equally pressing. Currently, WTB waste often finds its way into landfills, emphasizing the need for recycling and sustainable solutions.

Computational study on organochlorine insecticides extraction using ionic liquids.

Insecticides pose hazardous environmental effects and can enter the food chain and contaminate water resources. Ionic liquids (ILs) have recently drawn much interest as environmentally friendly solvents and have been an efficient choice for extracting pesticides because of their outstanding thermophysical characteristics and tunable nature. In this study, ILs were screened using COSMO-RS (Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents) to extract organochlorine insecticides from water at 289 K.

Novel surface-treatment for bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration to reduce the heavy metals leachability for a sustainable environment.

Unconventional treatments can provide a modification to convert ash waste into valuable materials that can be used in various applications. This study focuses on bottom ash (BA) collected from a local incineration plant and characterizes its chemical composition before and after pretreatment by coating with polymers. The toxicity-characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) was used to identify selected heavy metal leaching after treatment with vinyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) of different molecular weights.

Effect of Thermally Reduced Graphene on the Characteristics and Performance of Polysulfone Mixed Matrix Ultrafiltration Membranes.

Ultrafiltration (UF) polymeric membranes are widely used in water treatment and support desalination and gas separation membranes. In this article, we enhance the performance of Polysulfone (PSF) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) by dispersing different concentrations of thermally reduced graphene (TRG) nanofillers. The UF PSF-TRG MMMs were fabricated via the phase inversion process, and the impact of TRG loading on the characteristics of the membrane, including hydrophilicity, porosity, roughness, and morphology, were analyzed using a contact angle measurement, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and dynamic mechanical analysis.

3D Printing-Enabled Design and Manufacturing Strategies for Batteries: A Review.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have significantly impacted the daily lives, finding broad applications in various industries such as consumer electronics, electric vehicles, medical devices, aerospace, and power tools. However, they still face issues (i.e.

Cytotoxicity and Antibiofilm Activity of Silver-Polypropylene Nanocomposites.

The development of biocompatible nanomaterials that interface with human skin and tissue is critical for advancing prosthetics and other therapeutic medical needs. In this perspective, the development of nanoparticles with cytotoxicity and antibiofilm properties and biocompatibility characteristics are important. Metallic silver (Ag) exhibits good biocompatibility, but it is often challenging to integrate it into a nanocomposite without compromising its antibiofilm properties for optimal applications.

Did Corporate Social Responsibility Vaccinate Corporations Against COVID-19?

Using an international setting consisting of 5410 corporations domiciled in 24 countries, we test the insurance-like effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance in the era of the pandemic and confirm that CSR performance increases socially responsible companies' resilience against the adverse effects of the crisis. Comparing stakeholders' responses to CSR activities during the pandemic and normal periods, we observe that the link between CSR performance and firm value is stronger during the crisis period. We also realize that the social aspect of CSR performance is the main driver for the mentioned effects.

Pt-Based Nanostructures for Electrochemical Oxidation of CO: Unveiling the Effect of Shapes and Electrolytes.

Direct alcohol fuel cells are deemed as green and sustainable energy resources; however, CO-poisoning of Pt-based catalysts is a critical barrier to their commercialization. Thus, investigation of the electrochemical CO oxidation activity (CO) of Pt-based catalyst over pH ranges as a function of Pt-shape is necessary and is not yet reported. Herein, porous Pt nanodendrites (Pt NDs) were synthesized via the ultrasonic irradiation method, and its CO oxidation performance was benchmarked in different electrolytes relative to 1-D Pt chains nanostructure (Pt NCs) and commercial Pt/C catalyst under the same condition.

Spectral and Structural Properties of High-Quality Reduced Graphene Oxide Produced via a Simple Approach Using Tetraethylenepentamine.

A simple temperature-assisted solution interaction technique was used to functionalize and reduce graphene oxide (GO) using tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) with less chemicals, low temperature, and without using other reducing agents. GO nanosheets, produced using a modified Hummers' method, were functionalized using two different GO:TEPA ratios (1:5 and 1:10). The reduction of GO was evaluated and confirmed by different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques.

Long-Term Treatment of Highly Saline Brine in a Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) Pilot Unit Using Polyethylene Membranes.

Membrane distillation (MD) is an attractive separation process for wastewater treatment and desalination. There are continuing challenges in implementing MD technologies at a large industrial scale. This work attempts to investigate the desalination performance of a pilot-scale direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system using synthetic thermal brine mimicking industrial wastewater in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

MXene (TiCT)/Cellulose Acetate Mixed-Matrix Membrane Enhances Fouling Resistance and Rejection in the Crossflow Filtration Process.

Obstacles in the membrane-based separation field are mainly related to membrane fouling. This study involved the synthesis and utilization of covalently crosslinked MXene/cellulose acetate mixed matrix membranes with MXene at different concentrations (CCAM-0% to CCAM-12%) for water purification applications. The membranes' water flux, dye, and protein rejection performances were compared using dead-end (DE) and crossflow (CF) filtration.

Recent Developments and Advancements in Graphene-Based Technologies for Oil Spill Cleanup and Oil-Water Separation Processes.

The vast demand for petroleum industry products led to the increased production of oily wastewaters and has led to many possible separation technologies. In addition to production-related oily wastewater, direct oil spills are associated with detrimental effects on the local ecosystems. Accordingly, this review paper aims to tackle the oil spill cleanup issue as well as water separation by providing a wide range of graphene-based technologies.

Recent Progress on Nanomaterial-Based Membranes for Water Treatment.

Nanomaterials have emerged as the new future generation materials for high-performance water treatment membranes with potential for solving the worldwide water pollution issue. The incorporation of nanomaterials in membranes increases water permeability, mechanical strength, separation efficiency, and reduces fouling of the membrane. Thus, the nanomaterials pave a new pathway for ultra-fast and extremely selective water purification membranes.

Membrane Surface Modification and Functionalization.

With the increase in water scarcity, and as only 2 [...

Enhanced biological control of root-knot nematode, , by combined inoculation of cotton or soybean seeds with a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium and pectin-rich orange peel.

LC-MS analysis of plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) AP203 supernatants indicated the presence of nematode-inhibiting compounds that increased in abundance when AP203 was grown on orange peel. J2 were incubated with AP203 spores and orange peel, spores alone, orange peel alone, or with a non-inoculated control, and the combination of AP203 with orange peel resulted in 94% mortality of juveniles ( ≤ 0.05).

Trade credit research before and after the global financial crisis of 2008 - A bibliometric overview.

This study presents an overview of the state-of-the-art in trade credit research by examining 1191 publications between 1955 and 2019. Applying bibliometrics and econometrics, the study compares the extant research across the three sub-domains of banking and finance, production and operations, and accounting. Findings suggest that the financial emergency in the global market had resulted in a watershed moment in trade credit research.

Multifunctional Oil Absorption with Macroporous Polystyrene Fibers Incorporating Silver-Doped ZnO.

Hydrophobic microporous polystyrene (PS) fibers are fabricated by a solvent-induced phase-separation-assisted electrospinning method. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver-doped zinc oxide (Ag-ZnO) nanomaterials with variable morphologies are added to the PS fibers, to investigate the influence of multifunctional nanofiller addition on the porosity and consequent oil-adsorbing properties for different oil types. The doping of silver as well as the uniformity in particle distribution are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and the energy-dispersive spectral analyses.

A Hybrid NF-FO-RO Process for the Supply of Irrigation Water from Treated Wastewater: Simulation Study.

Municipal treated wastewater could be considered as a water source for food crop irrigation purposes. Enhancing the quality of treated wastewater to meet irrigation standards has become a necessary practice. Nanofiltration (NF) was used in the first stage to produce permeate at relatively low energy consumption.

Protocol for Preparing Synthetic Solutions Mimicking Produced Water from Oil and Gas Operations.

Produced water (PW) is the water associated with hydrocarbons during the extraction of oil and gas (O&G) from either conventional or unconventional resources. Existing efforts to enhance PW management systems include the development of novel membrane materials for oil-water separation. In attempting to evaluate these emerging physical separation technologies, researchers develop various formulations of test solutions aiming to represent actual PW.

Comparison of Nanofiltration with Reverse Osmosis in Reclaiming Tertiary Treated Municipal Wastewater for Irrigation Purposes.

This study compares the performance of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) for the reclamation of ultrafiltered municipal wastewater for irrigation of food crops. RO and NF technologies were evaluated at different applied pressures; the performance of each technology was evaluated in terms of water flux, recovery rate, specific energy consumption and quality of permeate. It was found that the permeate from the reverse osmosis (RO) process complied with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) standards at pressures applied between 10 and 18 bar.

Corrosion and Heat Treatment Study of Electroless NiP-Ti Nanocomposite Coatings Deposited on HSLA Steel.

Corrosion and heat treatment studies are essential to predict the performance and sustainability of the coatings in harsh environments, such as the oil and gas industries. In this study, nickel phosphorus (NiP)-titanium (Ti) nanocomposite coatings (NiP-Ti nanoparticles (TNPs)), containing various concentrations of Ti nanoparticles (TNPs) were deposited on high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel through electroless deposition processing. The concentrations of 0.