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Porous anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) ceramics, suitable for thermal insulation in buildings, were obtained using waste seashells as a source of CaO, kaolin as a source of Al2O3 and SiO2 and banana peel as a pore former. Changing the volume of banana peel as well as the processing temperature was found to be an effective approach to control the thermo-mechanical properties of the obtained anorthite ceramics. The sintering of powder compacts containing up to 30 wt% banana peel at temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1200 °C resulted in anorthite ceramics possessing up to 45% open porosity, a compressive strength between 13 and 92 MPa, a bulk density between 1.87 and 2.62 g/cm3 and thermal conductivity between 0.097 and 3.5 W/mK. It was shown that waste materials such as seashells and banana peel can be used to obtain cost-effective thermal insulation in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anorthite ceramics (CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8) was obtained by slip casting of water suspension of kaolin (Al 2 O 3 ·2SiO 2 ·2H 2 O) and CaCO 3 as a source of CaO. A relative density of 87 % of the theoretical density was achieved after a 3-h-long sintering of green samples at 1200 °C. It was found that slip casting allows the fabrication of anorthite with relatively small pores (<8 μm) which was beneficial for achieving a high fracture strength of 129 MPa and good thermal shock resistance. For a quantitative measurement of thermal shock resistance, a critical temperature interval (ΔT c) was determined by a reduction in the mean fracture strength of at least 30 %. The experimentally determined ΔT c of 300 °C was higher than the value calculated by the equation assuming that the thermal stress created during quenching causes the fracture. It was found that the discrepancy between experimental and calculated values of ΔT c could be explained by an introduction of cracks of various sizes by indentation method and careful observation of crack growth initiation after quenching from various temperatures. It is believed that the reason for the discrepancy lies in the different nature of stress that was used in the theoretical calculation and the stress that acts during sample quenching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anorthite ceramics (CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8) was obtained by slip casting of water suspension of kaolin (Al 2 O 3 ·2SiO 2 ·2H 2 O) and CaCO 3 as a source of CaO. A relative density of 87 % of the theoretical density was achieved after a 3-h-long sintering of green samples at 1200 °C. It was found that slip casting allows the fabrication of anorthite with relatively small pores (<8 μm) which was beneficial for achieving a high fracture strength of 129 MPa and good thermal shock resistance. For a quantitative measurement of thermal shock resistance, a critical temperature interval (ΔT c) was determined by a reduction in the mean fracture strength of at least 30 %. The experimentally determined ΔT c of 300 °C was higher than the value calculated by the equation assuming that the thermal stress created during quenching causes the fracture. It was found that the discrepancy between experimental and calculated values of ΔT c could be explained by an introduction of cracks of various sizes by indentation method and careful observation of crack growth initiation after quenching from various temperatures. It is believed that the reason for the discrepancy lies in the different nature of stress that was used in the theoretical calculation and the stress that acts during sample quenching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cordierite-acicular mullite composites containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 wt% of mullite were fabricated from waste MoSi 2 and commercial powders of Al 2 O 3 and spinel (MgAl 2 O 4). Careful oxidation of pulverised waste MoSi 2 rendered a precursor mixture of MoO 3 and amorphous SiO 2 , which served as pore forming agent and SiO 2 source, respectively. Evaporation of MoO 3 at ∼750 °C allowed production of highly porous cordierite-mullite ceramic composite after sintering in air at 1350 °C for 4 h. The combination of equiaxed cordierite grains and elongated (prism-like) mullite grains, resulted in unique microstructure with open porosity between 53.3 and 55.6 vol% which makes the obtained composite convenient for application as diesel particulate filter material. The presence of mullite affected four key thermo-mechanical properties which determine the thermal shock resistance of cordierite-mullite composite. The best thermal shock resistance was measured in composite containing 75 wt% of mullite. It was a result of improved thermal conductivity (1.081 W/mK) and bending strength (3.62 MPa) and relatively low values of coefficient of thermal expansion (3.8 × 10−6 K−1) and elastic modulus (2.27 GPa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive study on effect of YAG amount on densification, creep resistance and room-temperature mechanical properties of Al 2 O 3 -YAG composite pressureless sintered at 1600 °C was conducted. The main goal was to optimize the amount of YAG in order to fabricate a composite with improved creep resistance and sufficiently good room-temperature mechanical properties. The composite was made by mixing a commercially available Al 2 O 3 powder with fine YAG powder obtained by glycine-nitrate combustion synthesis starting from aluminum nitrate and yttrium nitrate. Increased driving force for sintering of fine YAG powder allowed fabrication of dense Al 2 O 3 -YAG composite with up to 30 vol% YAG. The presence of YAG was found to be very effective in improving creep resistance of Al 2 O 3 -YAG composite. Large Y3+ ions blocked diffusion along Al 2 O 3 grain boundaries, reduced diffusivity and therefore enhanced creep resistance of Al 2 O 3 -YAG composite which continuously increased as the YAG amount increased. Тhe presence of YAG was also found to improve mechanical properties such as hardness and elastic modulus. The improvement of these properties was ascribed to increased density of Al 2 O 3 -YAG composites owing to high sintering activity of YAG powder. While fracture strength of the composite can be as high as that of monolithic Al 2 O 3 , fracture toughness of composite decreased continuously as the YAG content increased. The decrease was ascribed to transgranular fracture of both YAG and Al 2 O 3 grains in samples containing larger amounts of YAG. The proper balance between fracture toughness and creep resistance was found in composite containing 18 vol% YAG which had considerably improved creep resistance accompanied by a relatively small decrease in fracture toughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dense CsAlSi 5 O 12 was successfully obtained by hot pressing of Cs-exchanged clinoptilolite at 900 °C. Simultaneous application of high temperature and mechanical pressure allowed formation of CsAlSi 5 O 12 at temperature considerably lower than 1150 °C which was the lowest reported temperature of CsAlSi 5 O 12 formation in pressureless sintered Cs-exchanged clinoptilolite. CsAlSi 5 O 12 formation was preceded by complete amorphisation of Cs-exchanged clinoptilolite in temperature range between 700 and 900 °C. Bearing in mind that clinoptilolite possesses high affinity for Cs cation it is believed that hot pressing of Cs-exchanged clinoptilolite might be an efficient way to immobilize radioactive Cs by its incorporation into crystal lattice of stable CsAlSi 5 O 12 . The samples sintered at 950 °C had relative density about 84% of theoretical density and open porosity of only 6% which is expected to result in low Cs leaching rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple one-step method with direct thermal conversion at lower temperatures for preparing a stabile Cs-aluminsilicate phase, known as pollucite, is presented. Cs-exchanged form of Na, Ca-LTA type of zeolite (Cs-LTA) was pressureless sintered and hot pressed at certain temperatures in order to obtain pollucite. XRD and FTIR analysis were used to study structural changes of Cs-LTA before and after thermal treatments. Pressureless sintered sample recrystallized into pollucite phase after heat treatment at 1000 °C (3 h) (PLS1000) and hot pressed sample at 750 °C (3 h) using pressure of 35 MPa (HP750), indicating reduced temperature of 250°. SEM micrographs confirmed that HP750 has higher density than PLS1000 which leads to higher value of compressive strength. The HP750 showed better resistance to Cs leaching than the PLS1000. Base on these results one can conclude that hot pressing is the promising method for the permanent disposal of Cs radionuclides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of imaging techniques in diagnostic studies, such as MRI, has contributed to the development of the wide range of new materials which could be successfully used as image improving agents. However, there is a lack of such substances in the area of gastrointestinal tract MRI. Many of the traditionally popular relaxation altering agents show poor results and disadvantages provoking black bowel, side effects of diarrhea and the presence of artifacts arising from clumping. Paramagnetic species seem to be potentially suitable agents for these studies, but contrast opacification has been reported and less than 60% of the gastrointestinal tract magnetic resonance scans showed improved delineation of abdominal pathologies. The new solution has been proposed as zeolites or smectite clays (hectorite and montmorillonite) enclosing of paramagnetic metal ions obtained by ion-exchange methods. However, such materials have problems of leakage of paramagnetic ions causing the appearance of the various side-effects. In this study we show that Co+2 and Dy+3 paramagnetic-pillared bentonites could be successfully used as MRI digestive tract non-leaching contrast agents, altering the longitudinal and transverse relaxation times of fluids in contact with the clay minerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertical distribution of Ra was investigated in soils from the cultivated and undisturbed areas in Rudovci, municipality Lazarevac, Serbia. There were three profiles, each profile divided on four horizons, what gives 12 soil samples. The specific activity of Ra in soil and sediment samples was determined by using the gamma-spectrometric method. Analysis of the vertical soil profiles indicated that the activity of Ra was not extremely changed with depth. To evaluate the radiological hazards of Ra in the samples, the absorbed dose rate, the annual effective dose rate, the radium equivalent activity, and the external hazards index were calculated according to the UNSCEAR 2000 report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced degradation of organic dye was achieved using two different kinds of waste materials: waste tire granules and spent sealed radioactive sources. Waste tire granules were used as raw material for the production of waste tire char (WTC), which was further utilized as an adsorbent matrix for synergetic adsorption/irradiation degradation of organic dye. The spent radioactive sources were radiographic sealed sources that originate from the industry which generate the high energy radiation. Methylene Blue (MB) was used as an organic model compound. Synthesized WTC has turbostratic structure, irregular shaped particles and developed mesoporous surface. Complete degradation of 0.02 dm3 of 100 mg dm−3 MB solution, having WTC dose of 1.25 g dm−3, was achieved with delivered doze of only 60 Gy. The applied doses were 100 times smaller than those presented in the literature. Degradation pathway was determined: OH radicals that originate from radiolysis of water and from the surface of WTC played the crucial role in the radiocatalytic degradation of MB. Breakage of the aromatic ring of MB appeared by the scission of the double C‒S+˭C bond as a result of the attack of OH species on adsorbed and electronically reorganized MB molecule. ga1 • Simultaneous application of spent radioactive source and carbon waste tire char. • Synergism of γ irradiation and adsorption induce improved degradation of dye. • A radiocatalytic effect of dye degradation in the solution was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]