Flocculation, coagulation, and precipitation of manure affecting three separation techniques

The effects of polymer flocculation before manure separation were investigated, through testing both a linear and a branched polymer. Centrifugation removed 60% of phosphorus from raw manure (control), whereas raw manure clogged the filters during gravity drainage and pressure filtration. At optimum flocculation, 95% of phosphorus was removed using any of the three methods. Optimum flocculation was achieved when 2.8meq of polymer charge was added per kg of manure, corresponding to 0.6g/kg of highly charged, branched polymer or 0.85g/kg of less-charged, linear polymer. If 10mmol of ferric chloride was added per kg of manure, 2% more phosphorus was precipitated and removed. The linear polymer formed loose flocs and was superior for reducing turbidity, whereas the branched polymer formed compact flocs that deflocculated at high polymer doses. The branched polymer, however, was best for pressure filtration, as overdosing with the linear polymer resulted in high resistance.     

Indirect bioremediation: biodegradation of hydrocarbons on a commercial sorbent

Urea-formaldehyde polymer is currently used as asorbent for containment and clean up of hydrocarbons. The aerobic biodegradability of this polymer andhydrocarbons sorbed to the polymer were tested. Soilmicroorganisms readily grew on the polymer, and twoorganisms, a bacterium and a fungus, capable of growthon the polymer were isolated. However, biodegradationof the polymer was very slow and possibly incomplete. Biodegradation of the polymer was evident as a changein appearance of the polymer, but disappearance of thepolymer was not detectable in liquid culturesincubated for six months or soil cultures incubatedfor one month. Destruction of the polymer by soilmicroorganisms at ambient temperature does not appearto be practical. Degradation of ¹⁴C-labeledhexadecane and phenanthrene mixed with crude oil inliquid cultures inoculated with soil microorganismswas used as an estimate of general hydrocarbondegradation. When nitrogen was not limiting, therates of hexadecane and phenanthrene degradation werethe same, whether those hydrocarbons were sorbed tothe polymer or not sorbed. When nitrogen waslimiting, the polymer stimulated the rate ofhexadecane degradation but not the rate ofphenanthrene degradation. The polymer may stimulatehexadecane degradation by serving as a source ofnitrogen. However, optimal degradation of sorbedhydrocarbons requires nitrogen addition. The resultssuggest that it may be feasible to decontaminate spentpolymer by biodegradation of sorbed hydrocarbons.     

Zeta potential as a measure of polyelectrolyte flocculation and the effect of polymer dosing conditions on cell removal from fermentation broth

Characterization of flocculation for cell removal from fermentation broth via polyelectrolyte addition is commonly based on qualitative methods such as physical appearance of the floc. The use of zeta potential as a quantitative measure of floc character was evaluated as an indicator of optimal polymer addition. Zeta potential was found to increase with increasing cationic polyelectrolyte dosage, but never reached zero regardless of the total amount of polymer added, indicating flocculation occurs at least partially through a bridging type mechanism. Experiments were conducted using various polymer concentrations (25-75 g/L) and dosing methods (batch, incremental and continuous addition) that resulted in variable overall polymer requirements to achieve optimum flocculation. Zeta potential was found to be constant at optimal floc character regardless of the total amount of polymer added, polymer concentration, or method of polymer addition. Experiments with two additional types of fermentation broth also showed characteristic zeta potentials at optimal flocculation. Polymer requirements to achieve a particular floc character can vary greatly, depending on polymer dosing conditions and fermentation batch. The effect of polymer dosing conditions on the polymer requirement to obtain optimal floc character was evaluated. Polymer dosing method and calcium concentration were both found to have a significant effect (P < 0.0001) with continuous polymer addition and high calcium concentration requiring less polymer than did batch polymer addition and low calcium concentration, respectively. Polymer dosing concentration did not significantly affect polymer requirement for optimal flocculation.     

Production and Characterization of a Polymer from Arthrobacter sp

An Arthrobacter sp. isolated from a glucose-sucrose agar plate was found to produce a neutral, extremely viscous, opalescent extracellular polymer. Growth, polymer production, and rheological properties and chemical composition of the isolated polymer were examined. The polymer was found to be substantially different from other arthrobacter polymers. Some unusual properties included irreversible loss of viscosity with high temperature and degradation of the polymer during fermentation and upon storage at 4 degrees C. Other characteristics included dependence on sucrose for polymer production, relative pH stability, increased viscosity with increased salt concentration, and pseudoplasticity. The polymer was found to be composed primarily (if not entirely) of d-fructose. The fructose content and other characteristics suggested that the polymer was a levan.     

Dissipative particle dynamics simulation on the properties of the oil/water/surfactant system in the absence and presence of polymer

Dissipative particle dynamics is used to simulate the oil/water/surfactant system in the absence and presence of polymer. Structural properties, interfacial properties, and their dependence on the surfactant concentration, polymer concentration and oil/water ratio were investigated. The snapshots illustrate the variation of the structure of oil/water/surfactant system. In the presence of polymer, the interface is supersaturated at a lower surfactant concentration. The end-to-end distance increases with surfactant concentration and polymer chains but shows weak dependence on the oil/water ratio. The peak of density grows higher with surfactant concentration, but it is not affected by oil/water ratio. The density profiles of polymer grow higher with polymer chains, indicating that most of the polymer chains stay at the interface for stability. Interfacial thickness shows an adsorption of polymer/surfactant complexes at the interface, where the polymer is in an extended conformation at the interface. The formation of polymer/surfactant complexes is favourable for the decrease of oil/water interfacial tension.     

The development and application of a new affinity partitioning system for enzyme isolation and purification.

A reactive water-soluble polymer was synthesized by copolymerizing N-isopropylacrylamide and glycidyl acrylate. The reactive polymer could react with the amino groups of enzymes/proteins or other ligands to form an affinity polymer. As a model, the reactive polymer was allowed to react with paraaminobenzamidine, a strong trypsin inhibitor. The affinity polymer could easily form an aqueous two-phase system with either dextran or pullulan, and the phase diagram was compared favorably to that of the well-known polyethylene glycol-dextran system. Once trypsin was attracted to the affinity polymer dominant phase, the enzyme could be dissociated from the polymer at low pH. Owing to the N-isopropylacrylamide units, the affinity polymer could be isolated from the solution by precipitation at a low level of ammonium sulfate. The enzyme recovery was always greater than 50%, and the affinity polymer could be reused in several cycles of affinity partitioning and recovery.     

Crosslinked carboxymethylchitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) copolymer as a novel superabsorbent polymer

A novel carboxymethylchitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) (CMCTS-g-PAA) superabsorbent polymer was prepared through graft polymerization of acrylic acid onto the chain of carboxymethylchitosan and subsequent crosslinking. It was demonstrated by FTIR spectroscopy that acrylic acid had been graft polymerized with carboxymethylchitosan. The thermal stability of the polymer was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis. By studying the swelling ratio of the polymer synthesized under different conditions, optimization conditions were found for a polymer with the highest swelling ratio. The rate of water absorption of the polymer was high, and the swelling of the polymer fitted the process of first dynamics. The swelling ratio of the polymer was pH-dependent.     

Elastic constants of polymer-grafted lipid membranes

The surface expansion that is induced by the lateral pressure in the brush region of lipid membranes containing grafted polymers is deduced from the scaling and mean-field theories for the polymer brush, together with the equation of state for a lipid monolayer at the equivalence pressure with fluid lipid bilayers. Depending on the length and mole fraction of the polymer lipid, the membrane expansion can be appreciable. Direct experimental evidence for this lateral expansion comes from recent spin-label measurements with lipid membranes containing poly(ethylene glycol)-grafted lipids. The expansion in lipid area modifies the elastic constants of the polymer-grafted membranes in a way that opposes the direct elastic response of the polymer itself. Calculations as a function of polymer lipid content indicate that the net change in isothermal area expansion modulus of the membrane is negative but small, in contrast to previous predictions. A similar situation applies to the curvature elastic moduli of membranes containing short polymer lipids. For longer polymer lipids, however, the direct contribution of the polymer brush to the bending elastic constants dominates, and the increase in bending moduli with increasing polymer lipid content rapidly exceeds the basal values of the bare lipid membrane. The spontaneous (or intrinsic) curvature of the component monolayer of polymer lipid-containing membranes is calculated for the first time. The polymer brush contribution to spontaneous curvature scales quadratically with the polymer length, and at least quadratically with the mole fraction of polymer lipid.     

Tacticity control in the synthesis of poly(lactic acid) polymer stars with dipentaerythritol cores

The synthesis of a family of polymer stars with arms of varied tacticities is discussed. The effect of polymer tacticity on the physical properties of these polymer stars is presented. Dipentaerythritol cores support six poly(lactic acid) (PLA) arms. Lewis acidic tin and aluminum catalysts control the polymerization to afford polymer stars of variable tacticity. The analysis of these polymers by NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry reveals the effects of tacticity control on the physical properties of the polymer stars. Preliminary decomposition studies suggest that the biodegradation profile of a polymer star may also be tuned by stereochemical control. This is the first systematic altering of tacticity in PLA polymer stars, showing that polymer tacticity can have a great impact on star properties.     

Adhesive cell cultivation on polymer particle having grafted epoxy polymer chain

In this study, we synthesized a new cell immobilization support having poly(glycidyl methacrylate) as a graft polymer chain and used this support for cell cultivation. Base polymer particle was synthesized by suspension polymerization and epoxy polymer chain was extended from particle surface on graft polymerization. Produced polymer particles had broad particle size distribution ranging from 20 to 1000 μm and the degree of polymerization of grafted polymer chain was ranged from 500 to 1000. The effects of various factors, such as grafted polymer chain length and its surface density, composition of base polymer network and graft polymer chain, on the cell growth of murine fibroblast cell line (MS-5 cell) on polymer particle were studied. This polymer particle could cultivate not only fibroblast cell line but also epidermal cell line (HeLa cell), osteoblast cell line (MC3T3E1 cell), and chondrocyte cell line (ch-8 cell) on its surface. Growth rate is almost the same as that of cells using poly(styrene) tissue culture dish. To apply this cell cultivation system for examination of cell co-culture, HeLa cell immobilized on 100 μm of polymer particle was successfully co-cultured with MS-5 cell immobilized on 300 μm of polymer particle for four weeks.     

The Role of Electron Affinity in Determining Whether Fullerenes Catalyze or Inhibit Photooxidation of Polymers for Solar Cells

Understanding the stability and degradation mechanisms of organic solar materials is critically important to achieving long device lifetimes. Here, an investigation of the photodegradation of polymer:fullerene blend films exposed to ambient conditions for a variety of polymer and fullerene derivative combinations is presented. Despite the wide range in polymer stabilities to photodegradation, the rate of irreversible polymer photobleaching in blend films is found to consistently and dramatically increase with decreasing electron affinity of the fullerene derivative. Furthermore, blends containing fullerenes with the smallest electron affinities photobleached at a faster rate than films of the pure polymer. These observations can be explained by a mechanism where both the polymer and fullerene donate photogenerated electrons to diatomic oxygen to form the superoxide radical anion which degrades the polymer.     

Effect of the solvent on recognition properties of molecularly imprinted polymer specific for ochratoxin A

A molecularly imprinted polymer specific for the mycotoxin ochratoxin A has been synthesised using a non-covalent approach. The polymer has shown an excellent affinity and specificity for the target template in aqueous solutions. The binding experiments, NMR study and molecular modelling have proven that the template recognition by polymer originates from the shape complementarity of binding sites. The binding mechanism is critically depended on factors that affect the polymer conformation. Thus the variation in buffer concentration, pH and presence of organic solvent, which affect the polymer swelling or shrinking, had a profound effect on the polymer recognition properties.     

Reconstitution of an in vitro poly(ADP-ribose) turnover system

Poly(ADP-ribose) is synthesized and degraded by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and glycohydrolase, respectively. We have reconstituted in vitro two turnover systems containing these two enzymes. We have measured the kinetics of NAD consumption and polymer accumulation during turnover. The combined action of the two enzymes (i.e., turnover) generates a steady state of polymer quantity. The glycohydrolase determines the time and the level at which this steady state of total polymer is reached. A major observation is that the size and calculated density of polymer bound to the total polymerase molecules is tightly regulated by the rate of polymer turnover. On the polymerase, an increase in the rate of polymer turnover does not affect the mean polymer size, but reduces the polymer density on the enzyme (i.e., the number of polymer chains per polymerase molecule). In the absence of glycohydrolase and at low histone H1 concentration (less than 1.5 micrograms/ml), poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase preferentially automodifies itself instead of modifying histone H1. In contrast, under turnover conditions, oligomer accumulation on histone H1 was greatly increased, with almost 40% of all the polymer present on H1 after 5 min of turnover. Although turnover conditions were necessary for histone H1 labelling, there was no difference between the fast and the slow turnover systems as concerns the proportion of histone H1 labelling, although the mean polymer size on histone H1 was decreased with increasing turnover rate. Due to its small size, polymer is not degraded by the glycohydrolase and accumulates on histone H1 during turnover. These data suggest that the glycohydrolase modulates the level of poly(ADP-ribosyl)action of different proteins in two ways; by degrading shorter polymers at a slower rate and probably by competing with the polymerase for polymer.     

Safety‐Reinforced Poly(Propylene Carbonate)‐Based All‐Solid‐State Polymer Electrolyte for Ambient‐Temperature Solid Polymer Lithium Batteries

An integrated preparation of safety‐reinforced poly(propylene carbonate)‐based all‐solid polymer electrolyte is shown to be applicable to ambient‐temperature solid polymer lithium batteries. In contrast to pristine poly(ethylene oxide) solid polymer electrolyte, this solid polymer electrolyte exhibits higher ionic conductivity, wider electrochemical window, better mechanical strength, and superior rate performance at 20 °C. Moreover, lithium iron phosphate/lithium cell using such solid polymer electrolyte can charge and discharge even at 120 °C. It is also noted that the solid‐state soft‐package lithium cells assembled with this solid polymer electrolyte can still power a red light‐emitting diode lamp without suffering from internal short‐circuit failures even after cutting off one part of the battery. Considering the aspects mentioned above, the solid polymer electrolyte is eligible for practical lithium battery applications with improved reliability and safety. Just as important, a new perspective that the degree of amorphous state of polymer is also as critical as its low glass transition temperature for the exploration of room temperature solid polymer electrolyte is illustrated. In all, this study opens up a kind of new avenue that could be a milestone to the development of high‐voltage and ambient‐temperature all‐solid‐state polymer electrolytes.     

Recent Advances in Polymer Electrolytes for Zinc Ion Batteries: Mechanisms,Properties, and Perspectives

Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have been deemed to be possible candidates for large‐scale energy storage due to their ecoefficiency, substantial reserve, safety, and low cost. However, the challenges inherent in aqueous electrolytes, such as water splitting reactions, water evaporation, and liquid leakage, have greatly hindered their development in energy storage. Fortunately, polymer electrolytes would be able to overcome the abovementioned challenges. Moreover, the flexible properties of polymer electrolytes can facilitate their future application in wearable electronics. Recently, increasing attention has been attracted to the polymer electrolyte‐based zinc ion batteries. However, the development of polymer electrolytes for ZIBs is still in the early stages due to numerous challenges. Therefore, substantial research effort is required to overcome the challenges of polymer electrolyte‐based ZIBs. In this review, the current progress in developing polymer electrolytes, including solid polymer electrolytes, gel polymer electrolytes, and hybrid polymer electrolytes, as well as the interactions between electrodes and polymer electrolytes for ZIBs is comprehensively reviewed, analyzed, and discussed in terms of their synthesis, characterization, and performance validation. To facilitate further research and development of polymer electrolytes for ZIBs, the relevant challenges are summarized and analyzed, and some underlying approaches to overcome these challenges are also proposed.     

Enzymatic polymerization of tyrosine derivatives. Peroxidase- and protease-catalyzed synthesis of poly(tyrosine)s with different structures

Polymerization of tyrosine derivatives has been carried out by using two enzymes, peroxidase and protease, as catalyst to give poly(tyrosine)s with different structures. Tyrosine ester hydrochlorides were oxidatively polymerized by a peroxidase in a buffer. Using a high buffer concentration produced the polymer in good yields. The resulting polymer was soluble in N,N-dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and methanol but was insoluble in acetone, tetrahydrofuran, and water. The ester moiety of the polymer was subjected to the alkaline hydrolysis, yielding a water-soluble polymer having the amino acid group in the side chain. The peroxidase also catalyzed the oxidative polymerization of N-acetyltyrosine to give the polymer soluble in water. The polymerization of tyrosine ester hydrochlorides proceeded in the presence of papain catalyst to give a polymer of alpha-peptide structure. The polymerization in the buffer of high phosphate concentration efficiently produced the polymer. On the other hand, the polymer formation was not observed in the low buffer concentration. The molecular weight was several thousands and almost constant during the reaction. The morphology of the precipitated polymer was examined. The product of the initial reaction stage was amorphous. After 24 h, the precipitates exhibiting clear birefringence were formed. Scanning electron microscopy observation of the polymer after 72 h showed the formation of a globular crystal in a diameter larger than 50 microm, which was not found by recrystallization of poly(tyrosine).     

Predicting properties of intrinsically unstructured proteins

There is increasing evidence that intrinsically unstructured proteins or protein domains have important biological functions. These types of proteins may be productively analyzed using polymer theory developed to predict global physical properties of polymers. In these theories molecular detail is “coarse grained” out of the models, and replaced with a small number of parameters that characterize the polymer. This reduction in complexity allows extremely large systems to be studied. In the case of simulations, the time scales accessible also increase significantly. Here we discuss the application of polymer theory to unstructured proteins, and consider how to classify proteins within a polymer framework. We then review polymer theory that is relevant to predicting functionally important properties, such as radius of gyration, height of a polymer brush and force required to compress a polymer brush.     

Alkyl Chain Length Effects of Polymer Donors on the Morphology and Device Performance of Polymer Solar Cells with Different Acceptors

The development of nonfullerene acceptors has brought polymer solar cells into a new era. Maximizing the performance of nonfullerene solar cells needs appropriate polymer donors that match with the acceptors in both electrical and morphological properties. So far, the design rationales for polymer donors are mainly borrowed from fullerene‐based solar cells, which are not necessarily applicable to nonfullerene solar cells. In this work, the influence of side chain length of polymer donors based on a set of random terpolymers PTAZ‐TPD10‐Cn on the device performance of polymer solar cells is investigated with three different acceptor materials, i.e., a fullerene acceptor [70]PCBM, a polymer acceptor N2200, and a fused‐ring molecular acceptor ITIC. Shortening the side chains of polymer donors improves the device performance of [70]PCBM‐based devices, but deteriorates the N2200‐ and ITIC‐based devices. Morphology studies unveil that the miscibility between donor and acceptor in blend films depends on the side chain length of polymer donors. Upon shortening the side chains of the polymer donors, the miscibility between the donor and acceptor increases for the [70]PCBM‐based blends, but decreases for the N2200‐ and ITIC‐based blends. These findings provide new guidelines for the development of polymer donors to match with emerging nonfullerene acceptors.     

Modulation of tubulin-nucleotide interactions by metal ions: comparison of beryllium with magnesium and initial studies with other cations.

With microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) BeSO4 and MgSO4 stimulated tubulin polymerization as compared to a reaction mixture without exogenously added metal ion, while beryllium fluoride had no effect (E. Hamel et al., 1991, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 286, 57-69). Effects of both cations were most dramatic at GTP concentrations in the same molar range as the tubulin concentration. We have now compared effects of beryllium and magnesium on tubulin-nucleotide interactions in both unpolymerized tubulin and in polymer. Polymer formed with magnesium had properties similar to those of polymer formed without exogenous cation, except for a 20% lower stoichiometry of exogenous GTP incorporated into the latter. In both polymers the incorporated GTP was hydrolyzed to GDP. Stoichiometry of GTP incorporation into polymers formed with beryllium or magnesium was identical, but much of the GTP in the beryllium polymer was not hydrolyzed. The beryllium polymer was more stable than the magnesium polymer. Beryllium also differed from magnesium in only weakly enhancing the binding of GTP in the exchangeable site of unpolymerized tubulin, while neither cation affected GDP exchange at the site. If both cations were present in a reaction mixture, polymer stability was little changed from that of the beryllium polymer, but most of the GTP incorporated into polymer was hydrolyzed. Six additional metal salts (AlCl3, CdCl2, CoCl2, MnCl2, SnCl2, and ZnCl2) also stimulated MAP-dependent tubulin polymerization, but enhanced polymer stability did not correlate with polymer GTP content. We postulate that enhanced polymer stability is a consequence of cation binding directly to tubulin and/or polymer while deficient GTP hydrolysis in the presence of beryllium, as well as aluminum and tin, is a consequence of tight binding of cation to GTP in the exchangeable site.     

The use of extraction methods for the quantification of extracellular polymer production byKlebsiella aerogenes under varying cultural conditions

Summary A combination of ultrasonication at 18 W for 10 min and centrifugation at 33,000 g for 60 min was found to achieve the highest recovery of extracellular polymer fromKlebsiella aerogenes, NCTC 8172, allowing both soluble and colloidal phases to be separated. Estimates of the total polymer present, made by gravimetry and by acid hydrolysis, indicated that polymer production was greater in continuous culture than in batch culture, and increased in continuous culture as the dilution rate decreased from 0.5 h^–1 to 0.01 h^–1. Extraction of polymer from these cultures varied in efficiency; up to 73% of the total polymer was extracted at low dilution rates where the colloidal form of polymer was predominant, but only 22% was extracted at high dilution rates where the majority of the polymer was in the soluble phase. Consequently, this extraction method was considered to be unsuitable as a quantitative measure of polymer production.