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- ICP OES (1)
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- Used engine oil (1)
The analysis of used engine oils from industrial engines enables the study of engine wear and oil degradation in order to evaluate the necessity of oil changes. As the matrix composition of an engine oil strongly depends on its intended application, meaningful diagnostic oil analyses bear considerable challenges. Owing to the broad spectrum of available oil matrices, we have evaluated the applicability of using an internal standard and/or preceding sample digestion for elemental analysis of used engine oils via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP OES). Elements originating from both wear particles and additives as well as particle size influence could be clearly recognized by their distinct digestion behaviour. While a precise determination of most wear elements can be achieved in oily matrix, the measurement of additives is performed preferably after sample digestion. Considering a dataset of physicochemical parameters and elemental composition for several hundred used engine oils, we have further investigated the feasibility of predicting the identity and overall condition of an unknown combustion engine using the machine learning system XGBoost. A maximum accuracy of 89.6% in predicting the engine type was achieved, a mean error of less than 10% of the observed timeframe in predicting the oil running time and even less than 4% for the total engine running time, based purely on common oil check data. Furthermore, obstacles and possibilities to improve the performance of the machine learning models were analysed and the factors that enabled the prediction were explored with SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP). Our results demonstrate that both the identification of an unknown engine as well as a lifetime assessment can be performed for a first estimation of the actual sample without requiring meticulous documentation.
Scratch assays enable the study of the migration process of an injured adherent cell layer in vitro. An apparatus for the reproducible performance of scratch assays and cell harvesting has been developed that meets the requirements for reproducibility in tests as well as easy handling. The entirely autoclavable setup is divided into a sample translation and a scratching system. The translational system is compatible with standard culture dishes and can be modified to adapt to different cell culture systems, while the scratching system can be adjusted according to angle, normal force, shape, and material to adapt to specific questions and demanding substrates. As a result, a fully functional prototype can be presented. This system enables the creation of reproducible and clear scratch edges with a low scratch border roughness within a monolayer of cells. Moreover, the apparatus allows the collection of the migrated cells after scratching for further molecular biological investigations without the need for a second processing step. For comparison, the mechanical properties of manually performed scratch assays are evaluated.
Process-induced changes in the morphology of biodegradable polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA) blends modified with various multifunctional chainextending cross-linkers (CECLs) are presented. The morphology of unmodified and modified films produced with blown film extrusion is examined in an extrusion direction (ED) and a transverse direction (TD). While FTIR analysis showed only small peak shifts indicating that the CECLs modify the molecular weight of the PBAT/PLA blend, SEM investigations of the fracture surfaces of blown extrusion films revealed their significant effect on the morphology formed during the processing. Due to the combined shear and elongation deformation during blown film extrusion, rather spherical PLA islands were partly transformed into long fibrils, which tended to decay to chains of elliptical islands if cooled slowly. The CECL introduction into the blend changed the thickness of the PLA fibrils, modified the interface adhesion, and altered the deformation behavior of the PBAT matrix from brittle to ductile. The results proved that CECLs react selectively with PBAT, PLA, and their interface. Furthermore, the reactions of CECLs with PBAT/PLA induced by the processing depended on the deformation directions (ED and TD), thus resulting in further non-uniformities of blown extrusion films.
Operating an ozone-evolving PEM electrolyser in tap water: A case study of water and ion transport
(2022)
While PEM water electrolysis could be a favourable technique for in situ sanitization with ozone, its application is mainly limited to the use of ultrapure water to achieve a sufficient long-time stability. As additional charge carriers influence the occurring transport phenomena, we investigated the impact of different feed water qualities on the performance of a PEM tap water electrolyser for ozone evolution. The permeation of water and the four most abundant cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) is characterised during stand-by and powered operation at different charge densities to quantify underlying transport mechanisms. Water transport is shown to linearly increase with the applied current (95 ± 2 mmol A−1 h−1) and occurs decoupled from ion permeation. A limitation of ion permeation is given by the transfer of ions in water to the anode/PEM interface. The unstabilized operation of a PEM electrolyser in tap water leads to a pH gradient which promotes the formation of magnesium and calcium carbonates and hydroxides on the cathode surface. The introduction of a novel auxiliary cathode in the anolytic compartment has shown to suppress ion permeation by close to 20%.
