BACKGROUND: NANOCLAY IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED INORGANIC FILLERS, WHICH HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY INCORPORATED INTO VARIOUS TYPES OF POLYMERIC MATRICES YET [1, 2]. HOWEVER, TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF DISPERSION, LAYER AGGREGATES IN NANOCLAY HAVE TO BE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER PRIOR TO USE. ORGANICALLY MODIFIED CLOISITE 30B IS A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE KIND OF NANOCLAY POSSESSING A QUATERNARY ALKYL AMMONIUM SALT FUNCTIONALIZED BY HYDROXYL GROUPS BETWEEN ITS LAYERS [3]. IN THIS WORK, FURTHER EXFOLIATION OF THE LAYERS BY TRANSESTERIFICATION REACTION OF THE AFOREMENTIONED HYDROXYL GROUPS WITH ESTER GROUPS PRESENT IN THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE OF LINSEED OIL OCCURS.METHODS: A THREE-NECKED FLASK WAS CHARGED BY THF, LINSEED OIL, AND ALCL3. NEXT, A SUSPENSION OF CLOISITE 30B IN THF WAS ADDED TO THE FLASK, WHILE STIRRING AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. THE REACTION MIXTURE WAS REFLUXED FOR 4 DAYS, AND THEN FILTERED, WASHED THOROUGHLY, AND DRIED UNDER RESDUCED PRESSURE. RESULTS: INCORPORATION OF LONG SIZE ORGANIC PARTS INTO CLOISITE 30B LAYERS VIA FORMATION OF ESTER GROUPS IS CLEARLY CONFIRMED BY FT-IR ANALYSIS. MOREOVER, X-RAY ANALYSIS OBVIOUSLY SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE INTER-LAYER SPACES.CONCLUSION: EXFOLIATION OF CLOISITE 30B LAYERS THROUGHTRANSESTERIFICATION REACTION OF OH GROUPS OF CLOISITE 30B WITH ESTER GROUPS OF LINSEED OIL CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY RESULT IN THE MORE ORGANICALLY MODIFIED NANOCLAY. THIS, IN TURN, CAN MAKE IT MORE SUSCEPTIBLE FOR DISPERSION IN POLYMERIC MATRICES.

AVAILABILITY OF SULFUR AS A BY-PRODUCT HAS CONSIDERABLY GROWN IN MANY COUNTRIES DUE TO THE INCREASE IN NUMBER OF OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES AND POSE MAJOR CHALLENGES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. THEREFORE, INVESTIGATION FOR NEW APPLICATIONS OF SULFUR TO MAKE ADDED VALUE SEEMS TO BE INEVITABLE.BITUMEN HAS BEEN WIDELY USED IN ROAD PAVEMENT AS THE BINDER OF AGGREGATE. IN THE PAVING INDUSTRIES, SOME VOLUME OR WEIGHT PERCENTAGE OF BITUMEN CAN BE REPLACED BY THE ADDITION OF MOLTEN SULFUR OR SULFUR PELLETS. THIS MIXTURE, REFERRED TO AS SULFUR-EXTENDED-ASPHALT OR SEA FOR SHORT, HAS A GREAT EFFECT ON THE PROPERTIES OF RESULTING ASPHALT MIXTURE. SEA MIXTURES HAVE REPORTED TO OFFER ENHANCED CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE IN THE PAST.IN THIS PRESENT WORK VARIOUS SEA MIXTURES HAVE BEEN PREPARED AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCED ASPHALT AND THE ODOR ABSORPTION POTENTIALS OF VARIOUS ADDITIVES HAVE BEEN EXAMINED. THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS HAVE INDICATED THAT THE UNPLEASANT AND HARMFUL SULPHUR FUMES CAN BE ELIMINATED SUBSTANTIALLY DURING THE SEA PREPARATION.

NANO CRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE (NCC) WAS USED TO MODIFY THE STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF POLY LACTIC ACID (PLA) FOAMS. THE CELLULAR STRUCTURES OBTAINED FROM NEAT PLA AND PLA/NCC FOAMS WERE INVESTIGATED BY SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM). THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS INDICATED THAT CELL DENSITY INCREASED AND CELL SIZE DECREASED IN THE PRESENCE OF NCC AND UNDER THE SAME FOAMING CONDITIONS. PLA INCLUDED NCC FOAMS HAD MORE UNIFORM CELL SIZE DISTRIBUTION THAN PLA FOAMS. PLA/NCC FOAMS WITH 5 PERCENT NCC HAD THE SMALLEST CELL SIZE OF 10.6ΜM AND THE HIGHEST CELL DENSITY OF 109CELLS/CM3. INCREASING NCC ADDITION FROM 5 TO 10 PERCENT HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE CELL DENSITY.

IN THIS STUDY, IN ORDER TO REACH A NEW SUITABLE ELECTROLYTE FOR BETTER METHANOL ELECTRO-OXIDATION IN ACIDIC MEDIA, SOLUTION CONTAINING SYNTHETIC MODIFIER (SM) WAS USED. THESE SMS HAVE HIGH THERMAL STABILITY AND EXCELLENT IONIC CONDUCTIVITY WHICH HAS CONDUCTIVITY ABOUT 0.1 S/CM. THE METHANOL OXIDATION WAS MONITORED ON MODIFIED GC ELECTRODE WITH 10-20 %WT PT-RU/C WHICH HAS PT AND RU LOADING OF 0.051 MG/CM2 AND 0.102 MG/CM2, RESPECTIVELY. SMS IMPROVE THE METHANOL OXIDATION REACTION KINETIC BY INCREASING THE SOLUTION IONIC CONDUCTIVITY AND ALSO DECREASE THE RCT OF REACTION. THEREFORE, SM ADDED ELECTROLYTE CAN BE THE NEW PROMISING ELECTROLYTE FOR DMFCS APPLICATION.