Researchers Use a Unique Catalyst to Convert Water to Hydrogen and Oxygen

PULLMAN, US: Scientist from Washington State University (WSU) have figured out a better method to efficiently generate hydrogen from water- an important key to making renewable energy production and storage feasible.

Professors Yuehe Lin and Scott Beckman in the School of mechanical and materials engineering led the research. They developed a catalyst from low-cost materials. It performs well as or better than catalysts made from precious metals that are used for the process.

The research is published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.

Storing clean energy

Energy conversion is a key to the clean energy economy. Because solar and wind sources produce power irregularly, there is a critical need for ways to store and save the electricity they create.

One of the most encouraging ideas for storing renewable energy is to use the extra electricity produced from renewables to split water into oxygen and hydrogen; the hydrogen can then be fed into fuel cell vehicles.

“Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water is the greenest way to convert electricity to chemical fuel,” said Junhua Song, a WSU PhD student who synthesised the catalyst and performed most of the experimental work.

Energy, materials too expensive

Industries rarely use the water splitting process, however, because of the prohibitive cost of the precious metal catalysts that are required – usually platinum or ruthenium.

Many of the methods to split water also require too much energy or the required materials break down too quickly. Instead, industries generally use a fossil-fuel based process to produce hydrogen for fuel cells, which generates harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

For their catalyst, the WSU research team added nanoparticles of relatively inexpensive copper to a cobalt-based framework. The new catalyst was able to conduct electricity better than the commonly used precious metal catalysts. It produced oxygen better than existing commercial catalysts and produced hydrogen at a comparable rate.

Catalyst showing, experimentation employed

The researchers used both theoretical modelling and experimental assessments to demonstrate and fine-tune their catalyst’s effectiveness.

“The modelling helped the researchers gain understanding at the atomic level of how the copper atoms improve the catalyst, which helped in precisely choosing and tuning the elements to enhance performance,” said Beckman.

“The research team has provided a new perspective in designing and improving non-precious metal-based catalysts for hydrogen production,” said Lin. “This catalyst will pave the way for the development of high-performance, electrolysis-based hydrogen production applications.”

The researchers are looking for external funding to scale up their work. They hope to improve the catalyst’s stability and efficiency.

The work is in keeping with WSU’s Grand Challenges, a suite of research initiatives aimed at large societal issues. It is particularly relevant to the challenge of sustainable resources and its theme of meeting energy needs while protecting the environment.

Read Full Story: Researchers Use a Unique Catalyst to Convert Water to Hydrogen and Oxygen 

How to Use Isopropyl Alcohol for Electronics Cleaning?

Most of our households cabinets are having Antiseptic, Astringent medicines etc. and some of those are composed of isopropyl alcohol as one of their ingredient. We are taking these medicines without even realizing its chemical composition.

In fact, isopropyl alcohol can be used for cleaning purpose, disinfactants, paint thinners, inks, general-purpose cleaners and windshield thawing agents.While it is a great sanitizing agent it also cuts grease, therefore there are infinite uses for it around the house.Most of us would be amazed! by knowing all these amazing household uses for isopropyl alcohol chemical.

What is isopropyl alcohol?

It is a colorless, flammable chemical compound with a strong odor.Isopropyl alcohol in particular is popular for pharmaceutical applications.Isopropyl alcohol may be converted to acetone. It is also used as a gasoline additive.

Why isopropyl alcohol is used in electronics?

Isopropyl alcohol is the best compound, to use on computers, laptops or any other electronic devices. The reason behind why you want to use it to get rid of smoke smells on electronics is that it dries very quickly.

If you are using water to clean the electonic devices, it would lead to you destroying the product because water and electricity are deadliest combination. On the other hand since isopropyl alcohol dries quickly, it is selected as preferred method to cleaning electronics.

The very first thing that you need to keep in mind, before you start cleaning electronic devices with isopropyl alcohol is to unplug or remove the batteries from the electronic device.

Second formost important factor, that you must consider temperature of the devices. Isopropyl alcohol works best when the room is above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it completes it work and it can evaporate soon on the surfaces of the devices. If you are applying this chemical without considering temperature factor, it costs you more.

Now a days, current generation kids are fond of games, in specific video games and they will be using game consoles, controllers hours together. Once they will finish the game, it will be neglect these gaming peripherals. As a result dust will be deposited on these devices. In these case also we can apply isopropyl alcohol as a cleaning agent.

Other electronic devices like printed circuit board’s (PCB), Tvs, Headphones, Smartphones and any other small electronics can be sanitize and keep them clear of dirty finger prints and smudges.

Read Full Story: Isopropyl Alcohol for Electronics Cleaning

Diwali 2016: Festival of Light, Not Pollution

Diwali (Deepavali) is an Indian festival celebrated by lighting lamps, distributing sweets and bursting crackers. By tradition, homes are lit with clay lamps, candles, fairy lights, and firecrackers light the sky as people rejoice in the festival. Over the years, the bursting of fire crackers have reached high noise levels and air pollution during Diwali. Let us have a look at the various toxic chemicals, increasing levels of pollution and the methods to celebrate eco-friendly Diwali.

Chemicals in fireworks

Heavy smog hangs low in the air on Diwali night and a few days after that. The levels of sulphur nitrates, magnesium, nitrogen dioxide increase, and these chemicals are injurious to our respiratory passages. Diwali can be potentially fatal to asthamatics.

The various chemicals in fireworks and their effects -

Sulfur dioxide: Causes wheezing and shortness of breath.

Cadmium: Can cause anemia and damage to kidney and also affect the nervous system.

Copper: Irritates respiratory tract

Lead: Affects the nervous system

Magnesium: Can cause metal fume fever

Nitrate: Can cause mental impairment

Nitrite: Can cause skin problems, eye irritation, and respiratory problems in children.

Increasing pollution on Diwali

Unfortunately, every year, the quantum of air and noise pollution caused due to the bursting of firecrackers increases on Diwali. Firecrackers release pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide etc in the air, which causes ailments like asthma and bronchitis. Last year, the air pollution levels had raised than any other years in past. The 2013 Diwali witnessed, the respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) levels at 236.2 microgram per cubic metre during Diwali; while the SOx (oxides of Sulphur) levels of 48.7 microgram per cubic meter during the festival. The NOx (oxides of Nitrogen) 35.3 microgram after the festival.

Celebrate eco-friendly Diwali

Lets us celebrate eco-friendly Diwali this year and save the environment from pollution. Diwali not only marks bursting cracker, but the glittering lights, boxes of sweets, freshly painted homes, exchange of gifts, family reunions. 
SAY NO TO CRACKERS

Read Full Story: Diwali 2016: Festival of Light, Not Pollution

Crab, shrimp shells useful for bone regeneration, drug delivery

TSUKUBA, JAPAN: A review of the latest research shows that combining a sugar, obtained from crab and shrimp shells, with a variety of nanomaterials could lead to the development of biomedical applications that enhance bone regeneration, wound healing and targeted drug delivery.

Properties of the nanocomposites are looked at for the bio medical and bio sensing applications.

Also the increasing need to develop green polymeric materials with improved thermal stability, gas barrier properties, strength and biodegradation, has led to the development of composite materials based on natural polymers.

The review, published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, provides an overview of the different nanomaterials that are being tested in combination with chitosan, the methods used to prepare the composite materials and the resultant properties that make them suitable for applications in the biomedical field, reported ACN Newswire.

Chitosan is a sugar that is typically derived from shrimp and crab shell waste and is known for its biocompatible, biodegradable, antibacterial, antifungal, analgesic and haemostatic (stops bleeding) properties. This makes it an excellent candidate for a number of biomedical applications. Researchers are working on developing composites that combine chitosan with “nanofillers,” making the resulting material stronger.

Scientists are finding some success in combining bioactive glass nanoparticles with chitosan to develop synthetic bone grafts. Bioactive glass is a glass-ceramic biomaterial that binds well to physiological structures such as bone. Bone cells were found to grow relatively quickly and cover grafts made of bioactive glass and chitosan.

Graphene oxide has been used in combination with chitosan to develop “nanocarriers” that can deliver drugs to target tissues, avoiding the negative side effects that conventional drugs can have on other tissues of the body.

Silver nanoparticles are being tested as nanofillers in combination with chitosan to develop wound dressings with antibacterial properties.

Also, haemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen through the body), silver nanoparticles and graphene have been combined with chitosan to develop a biosensor that can detect hydrogen peroxide, a dangerous by-product of some industrial processes.

Further research is needed. More focus is required on improving the dispersion of nanofillers within the chitosan matrix, according to the researchers. The vast opportunities shown by these materials, allied with their incredible nanotechnology potential, is expected to revolutionize the biomedical field in the near future.

Read Full Story: Crab, shrimp shells useful for bone regeneration, drug delivery

Chemistry of Teflon Cookware

In our day to day activity we are using lot varieties of cookware for preparing food and other purposes.

But…

Did you know some of our cookware that are specially coated with chemical coating i.e., Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), coating?

This chemical name makes you think a lot? Never heard of this chemical?

What is it?

Let me give you the common name of Polytetrafluoroethylene i.e., “Teflon”

In this article I will give some of its characteristics, chemical nature, advantages, disadvantages etc…

Teflon is generally used for non-stick cookware. The non-stick cookware coating allows food to brown without sticking to the pan and this feature all because of Teflon. There are many misconceptions about teflon. Although it is used on armor-piercing rounds, it does not provide any of the armor-piercing capabilities. Teflon is solid with an extremely low coefficient of friction. The teflon coating is also used only to protect the rifling of the gun's barrel.

The metallic substrate is roughened to promote adhesion, and layers of PTFE, from one to seven, are sprayed or rolled on, with a larger number of layers and spraying being better. The number and thickness of the layers and quality of the material determine the quality of the non-stick coating.

Chemical characteristics of Teflon/ Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)

Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is a fluorocarbon solid, as it is a high-molecular-weight compound consisting wholly of carbon and fluorine. PTFE is hydrophobic in nature. It maintains high strength, toughness and self-lubrication at low temperatures down to 5 K (-268.15 °C; -450.67 °F), and good flexibility at temperatures above 194 K (-79 °C; -110 °F). PTFE was accidentally discovered in 1938 by Roy Plunkett while he was working in New Jersey for DuPont.

PTFE is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is very non-reactive, partly because of the strength of carbon–fluorine bonds, and so it is often used in containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals. PTFE also acts as lubricant and reduces friction, wear and energy consumption of machinery. It is commonly used as a graft material in surgical interventions. PTFE is used for applications where sliding action of parts is needed: plain bearings, gears, slide plates, etc. In these applications, it performs significantly better than nylon and acetal.

PTFE film is also widely used in the production of carbon fiber composites as well as fiberglass composites, notably in the aerospace industry. PTFE film is used as a barrier between the carbon or fiberglass part being built, and breather and bagging materials used to incapsulate the bondment when debulking and when curing the composite, usually in an autoclave. PTFE tubes are used in gas-gas heat exchangers in gas cleaning of waste incinerators.

PTFE is widely used as a thread seal tape in plumbing applications, largely replacing paste thread dope. PTFE-coated filters are often used in dust collection systems to collect particulate matter from air streams in applications involving high temperatures and high particulate loads such as coal-fired power plants, cement production and steel foundries.

PTFE can also be used for dental fillings, to isolate the contacts of the anterior tooth so the filling materials will not stick to the adjacent tooth. PTFE sheets are used in the production of butane hash oil due to its non-stick properties and resistance to non-polar solvents.

Side effects of teflon

The fumes released from non-stick cookware have been known to be highly toxic to birds, as many pet birds die from ‘Teflon toxicosis’ each year. When humans are exposed to the fumes they can experience a condition known as ‘polymer fume fever’. This is characterized by flu-like symptoms, including headaches, chills, fever, and coughing and chest tightness.

Read Full Story: Chemistry of Teflon Cookware

Role of Chlorine in Your Day to Day Life

Chlorine is the most abundant member of the halogen family of periodic table elements. Chlorine is an important chemical in our day-to-day life. Chlorine is a clear amber-colored liquid about 1.5 times heavier than water. Gaseous chlorine is greenish-yellow, about 2.5 times as heavier than air, which will cause it to initially remain near the ground in areas with little air movement. Chlorine has a pungent odor. Chlorine is a powerful oxidizing agent and it must be handled carefully. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature.

Chlorine is a major building block for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.Chlorine is also known as disinfectant in drinking water and in swimming pools, chlorine contributes to advances in areas as diverse as disinfecting, medicine, public safety and enhancing our everyday life.

Chlorine is not flammable, but may react explosively or form explosive compounds with many common substances (including acetylene, ether, turpentine, ammonia, natural gas, hydrogen, and finely divided metals).

 Chlorine is slightly water soluble, and reacts with moisture to form hypochlorous acid (HClO) and hydrochloric acid (HCl).

Chlorine is commonly pressurized and cooled for storage and shipment as an amber-colored liquid.

 Chlorine gas is a harmful poison, which was the first gas used in chemical warfare in World War I. It causes suffocation, constriction of the chest, tightness in the throat, and edema of the lungs. As little as 2.5 mg per litre in the atmosphere causes death in minutes, but less than 0.0001 percent by volume may be tolerated for several hours.

 Surprising sources of chlorine

 A Chinese folk medicine plant contains five natural organo chlorine compounds.

 An Ecuadorian tree frog produces a chlorinated alkaloid, with pain-killing properties several hundred times more powerful than morphine.

 A natural organ chlorine antibiotic i.e., vancomycin, is a key defense against hospital Staphylococcus infections.

 Some natural organ chlorinated products exhibit potent antibacterial and anticancer properties

 NASA’s Curiosity Rover, currently exploring the surface of Mars, has detected the presence of chlorine on the Red Planet. A Mars expert at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, US, stated that "the presence of perchlorates implies a source of chlorine, which was most likely derived from briny water or volcanic activity in the past".

 NASA also detected chlorinated methane compounds when soil samples were analyzed in Curiosity's on-board laboratory.

 Chlorine constitutes about 0.013 percent of the Earth's crust.

 Free chlorine has been reported as a very minor constituent of volcanic gases, of which hydrogen chloride (q.v.) is a fairly common component.

 Chlorine, as the chloride ion Cl-, is the main negative ion in ocean water (1.9 percent by weight) and in inland seas such as the Caspian Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Great Salt Lake of Utah

 It is found in evaporite minerals, for example, combined with sodium, as rock salt (halite) and in the minerals chlorapatite and sodalite.

 Natural chlorine is a mixture of two stable isotopes: chlorine-35 (75.53 percent) and chlorine-37 (24.47 percent).

 The Chloride ion is present in the body fluids of higher animals and as hydrochloric acid in the digestive secretions of the stomach.

 Properties

 Chlorine molecules are composed of two atoms (Cl2). Chlorine combines directly with almost all the elements to give chlorides

 Besides the -1 oxidation state of the chlorides, chlorine also exhibits +1, +3, +5, +7 oxidation states, respectively, in the following ions: hypochlorite, ClO-; chlorite, ClO-2 ; chlorate, ClO-3 and perchlorate, ClO-4 .

 Chlorine also exists in the forms of four oxides, such as chlorine monoxide (Cl2O), chlorine dioxide (ClO2), dichlorine hexoxide (Cl2O6), and dichlorine heptoxide (Cl2O7). All the four oxides are highly reactive and unstable, have been indirectly synthesized.

 Chlorine can displace the heavier halogens, bromine and iodine, from their ionic compounds and undergoes addition or substitution reactions with organic compounds. Chlorine enters directly or as an intermediate into the synthesis of many organic chemicals that are used as solvents, dyes, plastics, and synthetic rubber.

 Many chemicals, plastics and medicines depend on chlorine during the manufacturing process, although the chemical is not contained in the end product.

 Two third of all chlorine is used in the production of plastics, such as PVC, Poly-Urethanes, Epoxy-resins, Teflon, Neoprene etc., for use in construction, automotive, electronic and electrical industries.

 85 per cent of medicines, including many lifesaving drugs, are made using chlorine chemistry.

 25 per cent of medical devices contain chlorine, including blood bags, sterile tubing, heart catheters, prosthetics and X-ray films.

 More than 90 per cent of Western Europe's drinking water is made safe with the help of chlorine. Worldwide waterborne diseases kill 15 million people each year.

Chlorine production methods

Most chlorine is industrially produced by the electrolysis of brine. Chlorine is also obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of sodium metal by the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride.

One of the laboratory methods to prepare chlorine is reaction between sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite or hydrochloric acid with sodium hypochlorite. Sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid reacts with sodium hypochlorite solution to release chlorine gas but reacts with sodium chlorate to produce chlorine gas and chlorine dioxide gas.

Industrial production of chlorine is through by following process

•  The membrane cell process
• The mercury cell process
• The diaphragm cell process

 Chlorine applications

 Chlorine and its compounds are used extensively for bleaching in the paper and textile industries, for disinfecting municipal water supplies, for household bleaches and germicides, and for the production of many organic and inorganic chemicals, in the separation of such metals as copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and gold from their ores.

 Chlorinated solvents are used as an extraction medium in pharmaceutical processes, in printing, mining and plastics processing, in the manufacture of adhesives and in paint & varnish remover

 Chlorine compounds have been used in pharmaceutical formulations for many years and play a part in the eradication of infection and disease. It is not only used in antiseptics, but in drugs such as chloramphenicol.

Read Full Story: Role of Chlorine in Your Day to Day Life

GST Implementation in India will Benefit Chemical Industries

Dr Joerg Strassburger, Founder and CEO, Go East Advisors GmbH shares his views with Chemical Today magazine on GST to be implemented in India. Before founding Go East, Dr Strassburger was the Country Representative and Managing Director of LANXESS India Pvt Ltd from 2005 to 2014.

That the government was finally able to win support for the GST legislation in the upper house of parliament and get all the amendments of the bill also passed in Lok Sabha is a big achievement for Prime Minister Modi. This important milestone of his plan to improve the “Ease of doing business” in India will not only simplify the way how to do business in India but it will also increase the competitiveness of the Indian economy.

Besides the direct positive impact in India it is also an important message to investors around the world that the government is still serious about the reform agenda. This I especially important as over the last months doubts were raised if the Modi government would be able to fulfil promises it made while taking office. With this achievement, the “Make in India” campaign also could get a new boost.

The chemical industry in India is one of the industries which will benefit most of the GST implementation as it is typically an industry which has few, capital intensive manufacturing locations and subsequently a lot of logistical activities which follow the actual production steps and which are necessary to reach the customers who are normally spread out all over India. A benefit for the whole economy and also for the chemical industry is, that if the GST set-up is done in an efficient way comparable to countries like Germany, it will also be avoided that cumulative cost effects influence the value chain and make production set-ups in India less competitive.

Even if the final design of the GST is not yet 100 percent decided it seems to be clear that for the chemical industry on a company level the positive effects of the GST introduction are significant. First of all, the internal efforts to manage the business and the work in the finance departments will be reduced as many of the numerous indirect taxes will be integrated into GST. In addition, GST linked to purchased products and services and GST charged to the customers can be counterbalanced which also results in internal processes becoming much easier.

But more importantly also direct savings can be realized. In today’s complex indirect tax legislation, a company, which for example produces chemicals in Gujarat and sells these products in Tamil Nadu tries to stay competitive by setting up a warehouse in Tamil Nadu to cater to the local customers. By doing a stock transfer from its production location to its sales warehouse the company will not only avoid the central sales tax and can thus price the products lower it will also be able to supply customers faster as it pre-pones the long transportation times which are due to multiple truck checking points.

But also, this kind of set-up is not for free for the company nor, eventually for the customer. The cost for setting up and running the local warehouse is not small and especially if a company is producing hazardous chemicals, suitable warehouse locations are sometimes difficult to find. In addition, the internal complexity to manage this kind of set-up for multiple locations requires expertise and manpower and thus stands for additional cost.

With introduction of GST the requirements for setting up warehouses in different Indian states will disappear for most chemical businesses in India. With the upcoming integration of CST into GST one of the major needs for the warehouse set up is not any longer existent. And depending on the final design of GST and as a result on how far finally the trucks will be able to circulate without being stopped also the just in time delivery will be possible over longer distances and so also this argument for local warehouses disappears.

In summary, it means that the introduction of a well-designed GST will be very beneficial for the chemical companies in India as the external and internal cost and the complexity of managing the numerous indirect taxes will be reduced and sales prices will be more attractive compared to imports. Knowing that chemical products often are intermediates to other chemicals this effect is cumulative and therefore the Indian chemical industry will be significantly more competitive after introduction of GST. This positive perspective might also help to reverse the trend seen in the last decade in many chemical segments that imports grew faster than local production.

Read More: GST Implementation in India will Benefit Chemical Industries