Synthesis And Characterization Of Cobalt Carboxylates Environmental Sciences Essay

Synthesis And Characterization Of Cobalt Carboxylates Environmental Sciences Essay Plastics are commonly added with certain additives for developing its better characteristics. Recent decades, some kinds of additives which are known as prodegradant additives are being developed for plastics film. Prodegradant additives can result in accelerating plastics degradation. It is important to develop prodegradant additives since plastic waste is viewed as a serious worldwide environmental and health concern as its character of being non-degradable. Many pro-degradant additives, composed of transmetal-organic acid salts, have been investigated in many researches as photodegradable additives for plastics. Cobalt carboxylates, namely cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, cobalt stearate, are kinds of which have been applied for LDPE films. In the previous method, cobalt carboxylates were synthesized by reacting sodium carboxylates and cobalt acetate. This paper reports a new method of cobalt carboxylates synthesis. The new method involve reaction between molten carboxylic acid w ith sodium hydroxide solution to produce sodium carboxylate, and continued by reacting sodium carboxylate with chloride salt of cobalt. First reaction conducted at 80Â °C and under perfect agitation. Second reaction took place well in the low concentration of cobalt chloride, about 0.2 M or less and temperature 80Â °C. Cobalt carboxylates (cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, cobalt stearate) densities are 0.615, 0.391, 0.364 g/cm3 respectively. Their melting points are 107.83, 109.10, 114.40 Â °C respectively, obtained by DSC test. Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) test have been done on cobalt carboxylates to investigate their thermal stabilities. All cobalt carboxylates start to degrade over 300Â °C, as shown in TGA test result. TGA studies indicate that cobalt carboxylates have stability at compounding and film blowing/casting temperature of polyethylene, 180-200Â °C. Keywords :Prodegradant additives, cobalt carboxylates, characteristics 1. Introduction Plastics production systematically increases, thus, also plastics waste amount grows. People rely to plastics in everyday activities, such as jugs, clothes, computer, etc [1,2]. Recently, the usage of plastics increases significantly. USs plastics production in 2000 amounted to more 45,000,000 metric tons [2]. Total resin consumption in Malaysia increased by 8% from 1.6 million MT in 2004 to 1.72 million MT in 2005, of which about 65% were polyolefins (PE PP) [3]. The municipal solid waste stream in the U.S. totals nearly 160 metric tons per year and consists of about 7-11% by weight of post-consumer plastics [4]. Plastics is now being viewed as a serious worldwide environmental and health concern, especially for disposable application such as carrier and garbage bags [2]. Its character of being non-degradable, is resulting in river pollution, choking in landfill [4]. The growing environmental concern has made plastics a target of much criticism due to their lack of degradability [5]. Therefore degradable plastics will be important issue to reduce plastics waste amount. Many researches have been done to obtain methods which can improve degradability of plastics. Some methods are used to accelerate the degradation process are the addition of transition metal pro-oxidants or carbon monoxide polymer, both of which are designed to catalyse photodegradation and thermal degradation [6]. The studies on utilizations of some additives have been performed by several researchers to obtain photodegradable plastics. The effect of a series transition metal (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) stearates on the photodegradation of a high-density polyethylene have been examined. The role of metallic compounds on the photodegradation of polyethylene has been extensively studied by several authors [7]. The effect of cobalt stearate on accelerated aging of LDPE has been studied. Cobalt stearate has been proven to have significant effect on accelerated aging of LDPE [8]. The effect of cobalt carboxylates namely cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, cobalt stearate, on the photo-oxidative degradation of low density polyethylene also have been investigated [9]. Cobalt carboxylates have been synthesized through double decomposition by reacting sodium carboxylates and cobalt acetate [9,10]. This paper report the study of new synthesis method of cobalt carboxyates through double decomposition method by reacting sodium carboxylates and cobalt chloride. This paper also attempt to investigate characteristics of cobalt carboxylates. 2. Experimental 2.1 Materials Cobalt chloride hexahydrate (Fluka), sodium hydroxide, lauric acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid (Merck) were used without any treatments. Deionized water was used for all processes. 2.2 Synthesis of cobalt carboxylates Cobalt carboxylates, namely cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, and cobalt stearate, were synthesized through two steps of reactions. First step, carboxylic acids (lauric acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid) were reacted with sodium hydroxide to produce sodium carboxylates (sodium laurate, sodium palmitate, and sodium stearate). The second step, sodium carboxylates (sodium laurate, sodium palmitate, and sodium stearate) were reacted with cobalt chloride to produce cobalt carboxylates (cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, and cobalt stearate) in solid phase . The solids were filtered and washed with hot water to separate sodium chloride. Finally, the solids were dried in the oven at 60 Â °C for 2 hours. 2.3 Characterization of cobalt carboxylates The characterization comprises density, melting point, and degradation temperature. Melting points were investigated using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) Q1000 from TA Instruments, in N2 atmosphere, in temperature range 30-200 Â °C, at heating rate 10 Â °C/min. Evaluation of degradation temperatures were done using Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) Q500 from TA Instruments, in N2 atmosphere, ramp method, heating rate 20 Â °C/min, final temperature 1000 Â °C. 3. Result and Discussion 3.1 Synthesis of cobalt carboxylates Synthesis of cobalt carboxylates comprises two steps of reactions. The first step, producing sodium carboxylates through reaction below. These reactions took place in liquid phase at 80 Â °C. Carboxylic acids were melted and added gradually with sodium hydroxide 0.25 M under agitation for one hour. The amount of carboxylic acids and sodium hydroxide were reacted in stoichiometric ratio. Perfect agitation was needed to reach a complete reaction. The second step, synthesis of cobalt carboxylates, was conducted by adding cobalt chloride hexahydrate solution 0.20 M into the product of first step reaction which contain sodium carboxylates. Cobalt chloride solution was added gradually. The reaction temperature was maintained at 80 Â °C, with continuous stirring. The second reaction could be written as follow: In the second reaction, cobalt carboxylates, which were produced in solid phase, would form suspension and became hard to be stirred. The low concentration of cobalt chloride was favored since reaction would take place well in low concentration. The low concentration of cobalt carboxylates would produce few solids of cobalt carboxylates. It mean that mixing process would run well and complete reaction could be reached. 3.2 Characterization of cobalt carboxylates Density Densities of cobalt carboxylates can be seen in Table 1. All of cobalt carboxylates are in the form of powder and have low density. Melting Point Tests have been done using Differential Scanning Calorimeters (DSC) to determine melting point of cobalt carboxylates. The DSC test results can be seen in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3. The melting point of cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, and cobalt stearate was determined from the peak of endothermic melting transition. Melting points of cobalt carboxylates can be summarized as listed in Table 2 below. There are two endothermic peaks in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Two endothermic peaks are sometimes found in DSC test result. First peak indicate unstable melting process. The second peak represent stable melting process [11]. Melting points of cobalt carboxylates increase with increasing carbon chain length of carboxylates. Melting point of cobalt stearate which has 18 C is higher than melting point of cobalt palmitate which has 16 C. Melting point of cobalt palmitate is higher than melting point of cobalt laurate which has 12 C. Thermal stability Thermal stability was investigated using Thermogravimetric Analyzers (TGA). Degradation temperature (initial and final temperature of degradation) was determined from high decrease of weight during heating. It was shown by steep slope of the curve in TGA test result. Cobalt carboxylates lost more than 80% of their weight during degradation process. The final weight remained was around 10 % of initial weight. The degradation temperature increase from cobalt laurate, cobalt palmitate, and cobalt stearate respectively. All of cobalt carboxylates start to degrade at temperature over 300 Â °C. It means, cobalt carboxylates have good thermal stability since the temperature of blending/compounding of polyethylene is 180-200 Â °C. Cobalt carboxylates will not degrade at temperature of compounding and film blowing/casting of polyethylene. 4. Conclusion Synthesis of cobalt carboxylates could be conducted through reaction of sodium carboxylates and cobalt chloride in liquid phase. The melting point of cobalt carboxylates increased with increasing the length of carbon chain. Thermal stability also increased with increasing the length of carbon chain, as indicated by temperature of degradation. Cobalt carboxylates also had thermal stability at temperature of polyethylene processing.

Art Analysis of The Luncheon of the Boating Party vs A Sunday on La Gra

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is a piece full of rich colors that reflect both the time period and the artist’s impressionist style. This composition not only conveys a leisurely gathering of people, but also expresses the changing French social structure of the time due to the industrial revolution. To portray these themes Renoir uses, shape, space, color and texture. Shape is seen in the modeled figures and bottles, and space is created by overlapping of the bodies, but it does not give a realistic illusion of depth. Color is most evident in the painting by the deep blue and green contrasted by the vibrant red and greens making it very rich in colour. Texture is also evident in the clothing which was emphasized by the artist’s impressionist brushstroke style. Renoir also used principals of design to make his composition more effective like balance, movement, repetition and unity. A symmetrical balance is evident because most of the subjects in the painting are on the right side. Movement is achieved in this painting by the gesture and expression of the subjects as well as the drapery on the table and the gazebo cover. Repetition can be seen in the curves of the gazebo cover, the stripes and the posts in the railing. All these elements and principals of design unify this piece and make it very pleasing to the eye. Renoir reflects the theme is this painting because the impressionist style was new to the art field, just as the advances fr...

Movie and Personality Theory Analysis Essay

John Q is a movie about a desperate father who finds himself in an impossible situation when his son, Michael, collapses during a baseball game and turns out to be in need of a heart transplant. John Q. Archibald discovers that his health insurance does not cover such an expensive procedure, and unable to raise the 75,000 dollar deposit needed to place his son in the donor list, John resorts to taking the staff and patients of the hospital’s emergency room hostage and held at gunpoint. The hospital administrator then decides to place Michael in the donor list and Michael is soon given a new heart. John, as described by his wife Rebecca, â€Å"is a sweet kind man†. His personality does not pinpoint to violent tendencies, and yet the radical decision to seize part of the hospital and take the people in it as hostage are not indicative of a meek and pleasant individual. It is therefore worth remembering that genes can influence the behavior only in people who live in some kind of environment. Without an environment there would be no behavior at all, regardless of what genes were present. And the reverse is true about the environment: without a person built by genes to affect, no behavior can occur, no matter what the environment. In the determination of personality, genes and the environment interact (Funder). Thus, John with his genetic instinct to love and protect those that he loves combined with the injustice of his circumstances induced him to go against his sweet nature as an attempt to remedy the situation in any way he can. One theme of the movie is self-sacrifice, this is apparent when John decides to give his own heart to his son when he finds no other options available, fortunately he is stopped before he pulls the trigger when a heart arrives for his son. John’s complete devotion and his willingness to do everything for his son can be partly explained by the evolution theory. A theory that endeavors to illuminate how patterns of behavior that characterize all humans originate from the survival value these characteristics provide over the history of the species. Specific to this theory, is the tendency to aid close relatives to ensure the survival of ones own genes into succeeding generations, an outcome called inclusive fitness (Funder, 2002). Evolutionary theory has also been used to explain why self esteem is so important for human beings. Our feelings of self-esteem evolved to monitor the degree to which we are accepted by others, a principle most exemplified by Gus Monroe, the Chicago Chief of Police, as he basks in apparent joy by the adulation of the media and the crowd. The hospital director Rebecca Payne is most notable in the rationalizations that she uses to distance herself from the unfairness of the situation. Rationalization is the usage of contrived explanations to conceal unworthy motives for ones behavior. Ms Payne deftly suggests that John accept his son’s impending death and strive to make Michael’s remaining days a happy time. She stands by the financial rules of the hospital and claims that her hands are tied by the fact that the family is unable to come up with the amount of money needed for their son’s surgery. But when Denise Archibald expresses her dislike for Rebecca, the hospital director changes her mind and announces that Michael will be placed at the top of the donor list. When we detect signs of not being adequately valued or respected, our self-esteem goes down, motivating us to do things that will cause others to think better of us so we can think better of ourselves (Funder) A subplot in the movie is the relationship between two hostages, Julie, who needs treatment for a broken arm and her boyfriend Mitch, who has no wounds aside from scratches in his arm. Mitch claims that a car crash had caused it, but due to a number of dubious elements in their narrative, John and another hostage named Lester is able to conclude that the two are lying and that Mitch had in fact beat Julie up. The fact that Julie lied and helped Mitch in covering up the event indicate signs of a battered woman in the stage of denial, where the woman refuses to admit, perhaps even to herself that there is a problem in her relationship, she calls it an accident and may believe that it will never happen again. However, during the course of the movie, when Julie sees Mitch helpless on the ground she seizes the opportunity to douse his eyes with a caustic agent, and as Mitch screams in pain Julie announces that what she did was revenge for the physical hurt he caused her. This is a tacit admission that she will no longer submit to Mitch’s violent ways. On the other hand, Mitch’s personality demonstrates arrogance, an overblown ego and a tendency for stress and hostility as shown by his attempted attack on John. Mitch’s controlling tendency is revealed when Julie screams she will â€Å"no longer be his Barbie doll† and rips of her blonde wig as an indication that he wants specific physical attributes for his girlfriend. The movie also touches on the subject of death and loss when a patient adjacent to Michael’s hospital room dies and her family is shown grieving and inconsolable. Depression that follows a social emptiness such as the death of a loved one is characterized by pain and crying. Weeping is a useful way of seeking social support and fatigue and pessimism can prevent one from wasting energy and resources on fruitless endeavors. (Funder) This is further discussed by claims of psychologists Matthew Keller and Randolph Nesse that in the same way that blocking fever may prolong infection, blocking normal depressive symptoms could increase the risk of negative life situations. When John Archibald is faced with the actual possibility of his son’s death, he engages in the ego-defense mechanism called denial of reality, wherein the individual protects the self from an unpleasant reality by refusing to perceive or face it. In this case however, John’s belief that his son will not die is compounded by his extreme actions and the decision to offer his own life, if need be, for his sons survival. The movie also involves the occurrence of Stockholm syndrome, a phenomenon wherein positive feelings are developed by hostages towards their captors that appear strange in light of the danger or risk endured. This happened when John showed kindness towards the hostages and when they understood the circumstances that forced him to take drastic measures. A psychological perspective towards an existential movie like John Q offers a unique understanding of the film, revealing philosophic and scientific dimensions that enrich a person’s comprehension of the world. This enables one to engage in analytic thinking and to apply classroom theories to real-world situations. Works Cited Funder, David C. The personality puzzle, fourth edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. John Q. Screenplay by James Kearne, Dir. Nick Cassavetas. , Perf. Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise and Daniel Smith. New Line Cinema, 2002.

The Reality Of Reality Television - 927 Words

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