Department of Chemical Engineering

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IIT Jodhpur

Permeation of U(VI) from nitric acid solution has been studied across supported liquid membrane (SLM) using bis[2,4,4 trimethyl pentyl] phosphinic acid (Cyanex 272) either alone or in combination with neutral donors like Cyanex 923 (a mixture of four trialkyl phosphine oxides viz. R3PO, R2R′PO, RR′2PO, and R′3PO where R: n-octyl and R′: n-hexyl chain), TBP (tri-n-butyl phosphate), and TEHP (tris-2-ethylhexyl phosphate) dissolved in n-paraffin as carriers. Effect of various other parameters such as nature and concentration of receiver phase, feed acidity, uranium concentration, pore size, and membrane thickness on U(VI) transport across SLM were investigated. Transport behavior of U(VI) was also compared with other derivatives of phosphoric acids like 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid-mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC88A), dinonyl phenyl phosphoric acid (DNPPA) under identical conditions and it followed the order: Cyanex 272 &gt; PC88A &gt; DNPPA. 2 M H2SO4 was suitable for effective U(VI) transport across SLM. Presence of neutral donors in carrier showed significant enhancement in U(VI) permeation in the order: Cyanex 923 &gt; TBP &gt; TEHP. U(VI) transport decreased with increased membrane thickness as well as decrease in pore size. The optimized conditions were tested for recovery of U(VI) from uranyl nitrate raffinate (UNR) waste generated during purification of uranium. © Taylor &amp; Francis Group, LLC.

World University root node

Separation Science and Technology

Uranium permeation from nitrate medium across supported liquid membrane containing acidic organophosphorous extractants and their mixtures with neutral oxodonors

An apparatus for small angle light scattering (SALS) and light transmission measurements under shear was builtand tested at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As a new development, the polarization direction canbe rotated by a liquid crystal polarization rotator (LCPR) with a short response time of about 20 ms. The experimentswere controlled and analyzed with a LabVIEWTM based code (LabVIEWTM 7.1) in real time. Quiescent andflow-induced crystallization experiments on isotactic poly-1-butene (iPB) were conducted to demonstrate theinstrument and software capabilities. Software was designed with a modular approach, so that further modulescan be added to investigate other systems such as polymer blends, colloidal suspensions, solutions withdroplets etc. A replica of the SALS apparatus was custom built for ExxonMobil Research in Clinton NJ.© Appl. Rheol.

Applied Rheology

A new generation of light scattering device with real time data analysis for Rheo-optical measurements

Polypyrrole(PPy)titania(TiO2) nanocomposites were prepared by an in situ oxidative polymerization method with two different oxidants, namely ammonium persulfate (APS) and ferric chloride. The effects of oxidant type and TiO2 particle loading level on the physiochemical properties of the PPyTiO2 nanocomposites were investigated in details. The intermolecular interactions within the polymer nanocomposites were explored by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). While scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize surface morphology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the well-dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles in the PPy matrix. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed improved thermal stability of PPy with addition of the nanofillers. The nanocomposites prepared by APS oxidation exhibited lower electrical conductivity at room temperature than that of the PPy nanocomposites from FeCl3 oxidation polymerization. Both nanocomposites and pure PPy follow the three-dimensional variable range hopping (VRH) electron conduction mechanism. The frequency dependent dielectric constants of PPyTiO2 nanocomposites were measured in the range of 20 Hz-2 MHz. © 2011 The Electrochemical Society.

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Polypyrrole-titania nanocomposites derived from different oxidants

Attrition is erosion by friction, i.e., wearing down of particles by friction due to water. Powdery materials such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), a well known sorbent, suffers from attrition loss during metal ion recovery, mainly during regeneration of TiO2 for reuse. To minimize the inorganic sorbent (TiO2) loss, inorganic–organic composite (hybrid) sorbent was prepared from a radical initiated solution polymerization of acrylamide and freshly prepared titanium dioxide. Uranium uptake has been compared with titanium dioxide (freshly prepared), TiO2–polymer composite and virgin polymer. The potential of this composite sorbents for the uranium recovery was ascertained. © 2011 Taylor &amp; Francis Group, LLC.

Desalination and Water Treatment

Composite sorbent for attrition minimization

This paper presents the collaboration between the French Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat á l'Energie Atomique, CEA) and the Indian Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on the use of nuclear reactors for desalination. The joint R&D effort aims at developing optimised nuclear desalination systems, producing large amounts of desalted water at the lowest cost and in a sustainable manner. It focuses on two areas: (a) development and validation of process models for thermal and membrane-based desalination plants; and (b) extraction of valuable materials from the concentrated brine rejected by water plants. The results achieved during phase I of the collaboration include the development, implementation and partial validation of models describing the behaviour of multi-effect evaporators (MEE) equipped with a mechanical vapour compression device (MVC), the assessment of the influence of the feed water properties on the performance of the reverse osmosis (RO) process and the identification of methods and protocols for the extraction of valuable materials from brine reject. This effort will continue during phase II of the project with a particular emphasis on model extension, validation and application. © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

International Journal of Nuclear Desalination

The CEA/BARC collaboration on the use of nuclear reactors for desalination

The present paper deals with the location of tanks in a tank farm, in chemical and allied industries. Ideally the tanks are so placed and installed that in case of fire, the neighbouring tanks could remain safe. The safe distance of separation among the tanks is calculated in no wind condition, as well as, in the presence of wind. The paper uses the methods available in literature and modifies the point source model to include the effect of wind vector on the flame height during the calculation of safe inter-tank distance. It is found that for wind velocity > 4. m/s, the modified point source model provides appropriate inter-tank distance. However, for no wind and with wind velocity < 4. m/s, the Shokri-Beyler's method provides safe inter-tank distance. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries

Engineering layout of fuel tanks in a tank farm

"In-House" resin Polyacrylhydroxamic acid (PHOA) has been synthesized and utilized targeting ground water remediation; recovery of uranium from low concentration aqueous solution e.g., mining activities related water, flooding of excavated or deplumed areas, nuclear plant washed effluent and process generated effluents in nuclear plant during front-end as well as back-end treatment. In the present study, treatment of field effluent containing heavy metals and radio-nuclides from contaminated mining sites reflected preference for uranium with respect to manganese. The specific complexation between the extractant and metal ion especially uranium provides high distribution co-efficient (K d) for uranium (K d,U = 1,450 mL/g from inlet of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and K d,U = 74,950 mL/g for synthetic solution) compared to high level impurity (1,000 times higher concentration) of manganese (K d,Mn = 111 mL/g from inlet of ETP and K d,Mn = 10,588 mL/g for synthetic solution). The "In-House" resin showed significant extractability (70-95% elution efficiency) and indicates a possibility of selective removal/recovery of the valuable metal ions even from secondary sources. As a specialty, resin can be regenerated and reused. © 2011 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

Studies on uranium recovery from inlet stream of Effluent Treatment Plant by novel "in-House" sorbent

In this study, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared in outside skin tubular configuration using polysulfone and sulfonated polysulfone polymers in order to study the effect of chemical nature of membrane surface on separation performance as well as surface fouling. Separation of polysaccharide and protein with its fouling tendency, removal efficiency of turbidity from seawater with flux recovery after fouling were evaluated. Tubular configuration was chosen, as the membrane surface is most exposed for cleaning after fouling than any other configurations. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium salt of alginic acid were used as model protein and polysaccharide, respectively, to probe the rejection behavior of these tubular membranes. Sulfonated polymeric membranes were compared with pure polymer membranes for resistance to fouling by the model protein and polysaccharide solutions. Pure water fl ux recovery on water flushing for polysaccharide fouled membrane was comparatively more (6–8%) than protein fouled membrane, particularly in case of polysulfone membrane. In general, the pure water flux recovery after fouling, i.e., reversibility of fouling was more (up to 10%) for sulfonated polysulfone membranes than that of pure polysulfone membranes. Finally, these membranes in tubular configurations were used for removal of turbidity from seawater as periodic washing by flow reversal recovers flux after fouling. © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Outside skin tubular ultrafiltration membranes for separation of proteins and polysaccharides and removal of turbidity from seawater

Protein quantification is one of the principal goals of mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics, and many strategies exist to achieve it. Several approaches involve the incorporation of a stable-isotope label using either chemical derivatization, enzymatically catalyzed incorporation of (18)O, or metabolic labeling in a cell or tissue culture. These techniques can be cost or time prohibitive or not amenable to the biological system of interest. Label-free techniques including those utilizing integrated ion abundance and spectral counting offer an alternative to stable-isotope-based methodologies. Herein, we present the comparison of stable-isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) with spectral counting for the quantification of human embryonic stem cells as they differentiate toward the trophectoderm at three time points. Our spectral counting experimental strategy resulted in the identification of 2641 protein groups across three time points with an average sequence coverage of 30.3%, of which 1837 could be quantified with more than five spectral counts. SILAC quantification was able to identify 1369 protein groups with an average coverage of 24.7%, of which 1027 could be quantified across all time points. Within this context we further explore the capacity of each strategy for proteome coverage, variation in quantification, and the relative sensitivity of each technique to the detection of change in relative protein expression. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM

Comparison of stable-isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture and spectral counting for relative quantification of protein expression.

Titania nanostructures have gained much attention lately due to their high specific surface area, ion-exchange ability, and better electrical properties. In this study, pure titania nanotubes (TNTs) were synthesized using hydrothermal method. Phosphorus-doped titania nanotubes (P-TNTs) were fabricated following a wet chemical procedure with dimethyl phosphite as a precursor. Characterization of the prepared pure/phosphorus-doped titania nanotubes was performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), XRD analysis, UV-Vis absorption spectra, and BET specific surface area analysis. Phosphorus-doping slightly reduces the surface area but shifts the band gap towards the visible light region. When compared to pure TNTs, the optimal 0.75 wt.% P-TNTs have a similar surface area (272 m2/g vs. 274 m2/g) but with a band gap shift of 0.27 eV towards the visible light region. The photocatalytic activity of 0.75 wt.% P-TNTs was tested using rhodamine B (RhB) as a model pollutant under a 9 W fluorescent lamp and was significantly better than the benchmark Degussa P25 nanoparticles due to the band gap narrowing and an increased surface area. The decolorization follows first-order kinetics with the apparent rate constant k1 of 0.13 min-1 for 0.75 wt.% P-TNT and 0.07 min-1 for Degussa P25. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.