ABSTRACT
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) is a valuable technology to support people with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and is recommended for COVID-19 patients. This study aims to fabricate polymer-based composite membranes coated with ethylcellulose nanoparticles from waste paper and identify the performance of the composite as ECMO candidates. Composite membranes were made from four types of polymers, namely, nylon, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), Pebax® MH-1657, and SBS (poly-(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene)). PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) 1 wt.% and ethylcellulose nanoparticles (3% and 10 wt.%) were used as membrane coatings to increase their hydrophobic properties. The success of cellulose isolation and ethylcellulose synthesis from waste paper was confirmed by the FTIR and XRD analysis. The size of the synthesized ethylcellulose nanoparticles was 32.68 nm. The coating effect on composite membranes was studied by measuring the contact angle, membrane porosity, protein quantification tests, and single gas permeation of O2 and CO2. Based on the protein quantification test, the protein could not pass through the Pebax/PDMS and SBS/PDMS composites coated with 10 wt.% ethylcellulose;this indicated less risk of plasma leakage. The gas permeation test on nylon/PDMS, PTFE/PDMS, and SBS/PDMS composites coated with 10% ethylcellulose resulted high CO2/O2 selectivity, respectively, 2.17, 3.48, and 3.22 as good indication for extracorporeal oxygenation membrane.
ABSTRACT
Carbon fibre and carbon fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites (CFRPs) are important lightweight materials for aerospace, automotive, rail transport, infrastructure, and renewable energy applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the history of carbon fibres and carbon fibre composites, the current global CFRPs consumption, and trends for future developments in the aerospace, wind turbine, automotive, pressure vessels, sports and leisure, and construction sectors. The history of carbon fibres and CFRPs is discussed over four representative periods including their early development (1950–60's), growth of carbon fibre composites industry (1970–80's), major adoption of carbon fibre composites (the first wave, 1990–2000's), and expanded use of carbon fibre composites (the second wave, 2010's and beyond). Despite a 37% decline of carbon fibre consumption in the aerospace industry in 2021 caused by COVID-19, the global CFRP demand was around 181 kt which more than doubled its value in 2014. There is tangible projected increase over the next five years and the demand for CFRPs is expected to reach 285 kt in 2025, mainly attributed from the fast expansion of non-aerospace industries such as the wind energy sector. Lower cost carbon fibres (e.g., large tow) and associated manufacturing technologies are continually evolving. Finally, the implications of emerging materials and manufacturing methods in conjunction with recycling and reuse for carbon fibre composites are discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR]
ABSTRACT
Carbon fibre and carbon fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites (CFRPs) are important lightweight materials for aerospace, automotive, rail transport, infrastructure, and renewable energy applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the history of carbon fibres and carbon fibre composites, the current global CFRPs consumption, and trends for future developments in the aerospace, wind turbine, automotive, pressure vessels, sports and leisure, and construction sectors. The history of carbon fibres and CFRPs is discussed over four representative periods including their early development (1950–60's), growth of carbon fibre composites industry (1970–80's), major adoption of carbon fibre composites (the first wave, 1990–2000's), and expanded use of carbon fibre composites (the second wave, 2010's and beyond). Despite a 37% decline of carbon fibre consumption in the aerospace industry in 2021 caused by COVID-19, the global CFRP demand was around 181 kt which more than doubled its value in 2014. There is tangible projected increase over the next five years and the demand for CFRPs is expected to reach 285 kt in 2025, mainly attributed from the fast expansion of non-aerospace industries such as the wind energy sector. Lower cost carbon fibres (e.g., large tow) and associated manufacturing technologies are continually evolving. Finally, the implications of emerging materials and manufacturing methods in conjunction with recycling and reuse for carbon fibre composites are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Indoor air quality (IAQ) has been a growing concern in recent years, only to be expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic. A common provisional measure for IAQ is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is commonly used to inform the ventilation control of buildings. However, few commercially available sensors exist that can reliably measure CO2 while being low cost, exhibiting low power consumption, and being easily deployable for use in applications such as occupancy monitoring. This work presents a polymer composite-based chemiresistive CO2 sensor that leverages branched poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as the CO2 absorbing layer. This polymer blend was incorporated with single wall carbon nanotubes (CNT), which serve as the charge carriers. Prototype sensors were assessed in a bench-top environmental test chamber which varied temperature (22–26 °C), relative humidity level (20–80%), CO2 concentration (400–20,000 ppm), as well as other gas constituents to simulate typical and extreme indoor conditions. The results indicate that the proposed system could ultimately serve as a low-power alternative to current commercially available technologies for indoor CO2 monitoring.
ABSTRACT
The International Conference on Electronic and Advanced Materials (ICEAM) 2021 was held online on the 2nd November 2021 streaming from Digital Management and Development Centre, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). This conference was organized by the Center of Excellence Geopolymer & Green Technology (CEGeoGTech), UniMAP, with Tin Solder Technology Research Group (TSTRG) MALAYSIA and The Electronics Packaging Research Society (EPRS) as co-organizer. The conference was also sponsored by the Tin Industry (R&D) Board. The conference was held virtually in order to follow the standard operation procedure imposed by the Malaysian government due to the COVID-19 movement control order and travel restriction.The conference serves as the best platform for sharing and exchanging ideas on Advanced Materials topics such as electronic materials, ceramic materials and geopolymer, bio-materials, polymers and rubber, and composites. The conference aimed to provide a platform for scientists, researchers, and students in the related field to discuss current research progress, challenges, and practical solutions that could be adopted to keep abreast in this challenging world. The program provides networking and cooperation amongst academicians, scientists, researchers, and engineers from the materials sciences and engineering fields.List of Organizing committee is available in this pdf.
ABSTRACT
Polypropylene (PP) has poor oxygen barrier properties, therefore it is manufactured in a multi-layer structure with other plastics and metals, and has been widely used as a packaging material in various industries from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals. However, multi-layered packaging materials are generally low in recyclability and cause serious environmental pollution, therefore we have faced the challenge of improving the oxygen barrier performance as a uni-material. In this work, PP/nanoclay nanocomposites were prepared at nanoclay contents ranging from 0.8 to 6.4 wt% by the biaxial stretching method, performed through a sequential stretching method. It was observed that, as the draw ratio increased, the behavior of the agglomerates of the nanoclay located in the PP matrix changed and the nanoclay was dispersed along the second stretching direction. Oxygen barrier properties of PP/nanoclay nanocomposites are clearly improved due to this dispersion effect. As the biaxial stretching ratio and the content of nanoclay increased, the oxygen permeability value of the PP/nanoclay nanocomposite decreased to 43.5 cc·mm/m2·day·atm, which was reduced by about 64% compared to PP. Moreover, even when the relative humidity was increased from 0% to 90%, the oxygen permeability values remained almost the same without quality deterioration. Besides these properties, we also found that the mechanical and thermal properties were also improved. The biaxially-stretched PP/nanoclay nanocomposite fabricated in this study is a potential candidate for the replacement of the multi-layered packaging material used in the packaging fields.