Volume 41, Issue 4

In view of the serious environmental pollution, which is the greatest problem the world is facing, and the continuous consumption of raw materials, it is imminent to search for green and sustainable resources. Lignin is an organic polymer that exists widely in nature, and if it can be transformed from traditional low-value waste product with low range of applications to functional materials with high application prospects, it can be of great significance to alleviate environmental pollution and shortage of fossil resources. One of the functional applications of lignin involves its use to fabricate composite with other polymeric materials, which can then be used to prepare membrane materials. This review summarizes the recent research and application progress of combining lignin with polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol, starch, cellulose, chitosan, and other polymeric materials to prepare composite membranes; and summarizes the future development direction of lignin-based composite membranes. We hope this review may provide a new perspective to the understanding of lignin-based composite membranes and a useful reference for future research.

In our study, the synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-12) crystals and the preparation of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) with various ZIF-12 loadings were targeted. The characterization of ZIF-12 and MMMs were carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermomechanical analysis. The performance of MMMs was measured by the ability of binary gas separation. Commercial polyetherimide (PEI-Ultem ® 1000) polymer was used as the polymer matrix. The solution casting method was utilized to obtain dense MMMs. In the SEM images of ZIF-12 particles, the particles with a rhombic dodecahedron structure were identified. From SEM images, it was observed that the distribution of ZIF-12 particles in the MMMs was homogeneous and no agglomeration was present. Gas permeability experiments of MMMs were measured for H 2 , CO 2 , and CH 4 gases at steady state, at 4 bar and 35 °C by constant volume-variable pressure method. PEI/ZIF-12-30 wt% MMM exhibited high permeability and ideal selectivity values for H 2 /CH 4 and CO 2 /CH 4 were PH2/CH4=331.41${P}_{{\text{H}}_{2}/{\text{CH}}_{4}}=331.41$ and PCO2/CH4=53.75${P}_{{\text{CO}}_{2}/{\text{CH}}_{4}}=53.75$ gas pair.

Baicalin, an active flavonoid ingredient of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, was extracted by heat reflux extraction and showed the same significance UV absorption property with standard baicalin. Active films were prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing baicalin extract by casting method. The effect of baicalin extracts on the UV-blocking, optical, antioxidant property, water vapor permeability, swelling and mechanical properties of the films were studied. UV–vis transmittance spectra showed that PVA films incorporated with baicalin extract blocked ultraviolet light range from 280–400 nm even with low concentration of baicalin (0.5 wt%) and maintain the high transparency in visible spectrum. The outstanding UV-blocking properties of PVA films incorporated with baicalin extract were also confirmed by Rhodamine B degradation. Baicalin conferred antioxidant properties to PVA films as determined by DPPH radical scavenging activity. Due to the interaction between hydroxy groups of baicalin and PVA molecule, water vapor permeability, swelling and elongation at break of the films were decreased accompanied with the increasing in tensile strength and Young’s modulus. FTIR reveal that the interaction between PVA molecules was significant changed by the introduction of baicalin. These results suggest that PVA film incorporated with baicalin extract can be used for the development of functional protective film.

In this paper, cerium nitrate supported silica was prepared as a new type of catalytic synergist to improve the flame retardancy in polypropylene. When 1% of Ce(NO 3 ) 2 supported SiO 2 was added, the vertical combustion performance of UL-94 of polypropylene composites was improved to V-0, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) was increased to 33.5. From the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the residual carbon of C and D was increased by about 6% at high temperature compared with B. When adding supported catalyst, the heat release rate (HRR) and total heat release (THR) were significantly reduced according to the microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC), the HRR of sample E with 2% synergist was the lowest. The combustion behaviors of intumescent flame retardant sample B and sample D were analyzed by cone calorimeter test (CCT), the HRR of sample D with supported synergist was significantly reduced, and the PHRR decreased from 323 kW/m 2 to 264 kW/m 2 . The morphologies of the residue chars after vertical combustion of polypropylene composites observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) gave positive evidence that the supported synergist could catalyze the decomposition of intumescent flame retardants into carbon, which was the main reason for improving the flame retardancy of materials.

The theoretical model of micropolar-Casson fluid is studied in roll-coating over a moving substrate based on the lubrication theory. Closed-form solutions for the velocity, pressure gradient, and microrotation are attained, while a numerical technique employed to compute interesting engineering variables such as pressure, roll-separating force, separating point, and power input. The influence of involved parameters on the physical and engineering quantities are displayed via graphs and table. The coupling number ( N ) and viscoplastic parameter ( β ) provide the controlling mechanism for the exit sheet thickness, separating force, and power input. Also, the pressure gradient and pressure profile in the nip region enhances for large values of coupling number ( N ) whereas the viscoplastic parameter ( β ) gives the opposite behavior.

Production methods are changing day by day with the developing technology. Based on this idea, a new production logic and machine have been developed owing to polymer-supported powder injection molding (PIM). The ability of this newly designed machine ( new PIM) to mold metal or ceramic powders supported by polymer binders is discussed in this study. By taking advantage of the polymer properties such as fluidity and sticking, powders are molded with a specially developed machine with high gas pressure in certain sizes. In this study, in which many parameters are processed from feedstock (FS) production to molding; metals Mg/316L and ceramics SiC/SiO 2 powders have been used in different powder sizes and structures. In the new PIM process, polymers were included in four different recipes. Paraffin wax (PW), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene (PP), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) have been employed in the FS with different combinations. From FS production to the molding stage; pressure, microstructure examination, weight loss, and density change features were investigated. The result indicated that the best FS and molding was obtained by the PEG+PMMA polymer composition formed with a spherical powder with a diameter below 40 µm. The compression force of the FS in this composition was observed at approximately 3.4k N values.

Out-of-plane joints, between hat (omega) stiffeners and skin panels are asymmetric parts of the composite structure. Studies show that physical-mechanical conditions in these joints significantly affect skin forming quality. In the present article, aimed to investigate the mechanism of the skin wrinkle in the joints of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) hat-shaped structure, the pressure testing apparatus based on the Pascal principle is used to surveillance the resin pressure dynamically in out-of-plane joints. In this regard, several influencing factors such as first-order holding time, forming pressure and relative volume of unidirectional fillers are studied. Obtained results show that increasing the first stage holding time can prolong the viscous flow state of the resin, and time to achieve pressure equalization at each detection point, thereby improving the dispersion of the pressure and reducing the possibility of wrinkles. It is found that as the forming pressure increases, the degree of skin wrinkles in the out-of-plane joints ameliorates. Moreover, for fillers with a relative volume within the range of 0–50%, the pressure transfer effect and the skin flatness is relatively dissatisfactory. It is concluded that the filler with a relative volume of 80–120% improves the skin wrinkle in out-of-plane joints.

Owing to the existence of the cone angle, the size of a conical counter-rotating twin screw continuously changes along the axis, so it is not easy to model using SolidWorks. In this study, the parametric design of the modeling process is completed based on the Visual Basic language and a program-driven method. Finally, the SolidWorks program plug-in and user interface are developed to complete the automatic generation of the three-dimensional model of a conical counter-rotating twin screw.

The isothermal viscoelastic finite element method is used to simulate and analyze the process of cable coating extrusion, in which the Navier slip model is adopted. The Phan–Thien–Tanner differential viscoelastic constitutive equation is used to describe the flow characteristics of the polymer melt. The polymer material used for simulation is polypropylene. The extrudate swell, velocity field, pressure field and shear stress field are calculated by finite element method. The influences of the gas-assisted extrusion and traditional extrusion on wall slip of cable coating extrusion are compared. The results indicate that the extrudate swell ratio is the largest under the condition of the complete slip between core wire and melt during traditional extrusion process. The increase of core wire dragging velocity can lead to the increase of slip velocity, the decrease of pressure and the increase of shear stress of melt. Gas-assisted extrusion can eliminate the negative effects caused by the slip of core wire or the increase of core wire dragging velocity. Therefore, gas-assisted extrusion can reduce the energy consumption, improve the cable coating layer quality and increase the production efficiency during extrusion process.