Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:33:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:04:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Os resíduos sólidos galvânicos despertam especial atenção, devido à sua composição tóxica. Tais resíduos geralmente são estocados nas empresas de galvanoplastia, criando um preocupante passivo ambiental, em particular, nas áreas densamente povoadas, como a zona leste da cidade de São Paulo, que, por sua vez, possui um pólo de empresas de galvanoplastia do setor de cromação. Face ao pressuposto, na primeira parte do trabalho, um estudo foi realizado com a compilação dos dados de empresas galvânicas situadas na zona leste de São Paulo, abordando aspectos socioeconômicos e de processo, que influenciam na geração e na destinação dos resíduos sólidos industriais. Na segunda parte do trabalho, amostras selecionadas de resíduos sólidos foram avaliadas quanto às suas características químicas e físico-químicas e foi apresentada a viabilidade do uso tecnológico visando o aproveitamento destes resíduos. Os principais resultados obtidos mostraram que nas dezessete empresas visitadas são geradas 106 toneladas de resíduos sólidos por ano e estes são armazenados em condições precárias, podendo afetar a população vizinha em caso de acidentes ambientais. Os resíduos constituídos majoritariamente por Ni, Cr, B, Cu, Ca, S, C, Na, Fe e Zn, quando aquecidos até 1400°C, apresentaram formações de compostos identificados como Ca2Cr2O5, BaCrO4, NiCr2O4, CuCrO2, CaSO4, Ni2SiO4, NiO e CuO. Estes compostos são difíceis de serem obtidos e, por si só, apresentam potencial para comercialização como matérias-primas para a produção de produtos cerâmicos. Os resíduos sólidos galvânicos foram incorporados em matrizes vítreas, indicando uma alternativa satisfatória e de baixo custo para a inertização dos constituintes nocivos à saúde. Os vidros obtidos apresentaram aspectos coloridos, podendo ser utilizados como produtos finais ou como matérias-primas para a produção de esmaltes cerâmicos ou pigmentos inorgânicos. Existem diversas possibilidades de destinação dos lodos galvânicos e, independente de qual seja adotada, conclui-se que é de extrema importância a sua retirada de dentro das empresas, para eliminar o enorme e crescente passivo ambiental. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Magister Scientiae - MSc / South Africa s coal and platinum mineral resources are crucial resources towards creating an alternative and environmentally sustainable energy system. The beneficiation of these natural resources can help to enhance a sustainable and effective clean energy base infrastructure and further promote their exploration and exportation for economics gains. By diversification of these resources, coal and the platinum group metals (PGMs) especially palladium market can be further harnessed in the foreseeable future hence SA energy security can be guaranteed from the technological point of view. The South Africa power industry is a critical sector, and has served as a major platform in the South African socio-economic development. This sector has also been identified as a route towards an independent energy base, with global relevance through the development of membrane technologies to effectively and economically separate and purify hydrogen from the gas mixtures released during coal gasification. The South Africa power industry is a critical sector, and has served as a major platform in the SA's socio-economic development. This sector has also been identified as a route towards an independent energy base, with global relevance through the development of membrane technologies to effectively and economically separate and purify hydrogen from the gas mixtures released during coal gasification. Coal gasification is considered as a source of hydrogen gas and the effluent gases released during this process include hydrogen sulphide, oxides of carbon and nitrogen, hydrogen and other particulates. In developing an alternative hydrogen gas separating method, composite membrane based on organic-inorganic system is being considered since the other available methods of hydrogen separation are relatively expensive. The scientific approach of this study involves the use of palladium modified polyimide composite membrane. Palladium metal serves as hydrogen sorption material, deposited on polyimide substrates (composite film) by electroless technique. Polyimide is a class of polymer with excellent physico-chemical properties such as good mechanical strength, superior thermal stability and high resistance to chemical attack. In this study, a composite polymer-palladium membrane was developed and investigated to determine the prospect of using this membrane as a cheap, accessible, reliable and efficient system to separate and purify hydrogen gas. Prior to the palladium metal plating, the challenge of metal adhesion on glassy polymer such as polyimide film was addressed by chemical etching and unirradiated and irradiated polyimide film surface using NaOH, NaOCl and a mixture of NaOH/NaOCl solutions. The time of etching was varied and the overall effect of this surface treatment was deeply investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The FTIR study focused on the structural deformation of the polyimide functional group units and the emergence of ‘active sites’ along the polyimide backbone structures that have been identified to allow the Pd metal exchange on the functionalised polyimide film. The detailed use of FTIR spectroscopic technique in this study on the etched unirradiated and irradiated polyimide film was to understand the chemical interaction between the polyimide functional group units and the chemical etchants. The surface morphology of unirradiated and irradiated polyimide samples was studied using SEM, the depth profile (penetration) of palladium particles after electroless deposition on the polyimide matrix was investigated by SEM and TEM analysis. As for the alkaline etched irradiated polyimide, pore distribution, shape and size depended on the etching time and solution. In the XRD analysis, the palladium modified unirradiated polyimide film indicated the diffraction peaks of palladium metal in the (1,1,1), (2,2,0) and (2,0,0) planes present in the polyimide surface, and the peel test showed that the strength of adhesion of palladium on unirradiated surface was low compared to the palladium modified irradiated polyimide. The NaOH solution showed the best etchant at 20 minutes for the unirradiated palladium modified polyimide. The hallmark of this study was the design, fabrication and assemblage of home-built hydrogen diffusion reactor unit used to measure rate of hydrogen diffusion property of unirradiated and irradiated polyimide films from 25 °C to 325 °C. The rate of hydrogen diffusion was observed to depend on the etching time of polyimide surface before and after the polyimide surface irradiation treatment. / South Africa

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The ability to passivate metallic surfaces under non-UHV conditions is not only of fundamental interests, but also of growing practical importance in catalysis and microelectronics. In this work, the passivation effect of a surface iodine layer on air-exposed Ta for the copper electroless deposition was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Although the passivation effect was seriously weakened by the prolonged air exposure, iodine passivates the Ta substrate under brief air exposure conditions so that enhanced copper wetting and adhesion are observed on I-passivated Ta relative to the untreated surface.

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The percentage of reduction in fatigue limit of AISI 4340 steel due to one chromium plating was 21 percent, based on the fatigue limit of unplated AISI 4340 steel. / Master of Science

Additive manufacturing introduces a new design paradigm that allows the fabrication of geometrically complex parts that cannot be produced by traditional manufacturing and assembly methods. Using a cellular heat exchanger as a motivational example, this thesis investigates the creation of a hybrid manufacturing approach that combines selective laser sintering with an electroforming process to produce complex, hollow, metal geometries. The developed process uses electroless nickel plating on laser sintered parts that then undergo a flash burnout procedure to remove the polymer, leaving a complex, hollow, metal part. The resulting geometries cannot be produced directly with other additive manufacturing systems. Copper electroplating and electroless nickel plating are investigated as metal coating methods. Several parametric parts are tested while developing a manufacturing process. Copper electroplating is determined to be too dependent on the geometry of the part, with large changes in plate thickness between the exterior and interior of the tested parts. Even in relatively basic cellular structures, electroplating does not plate the interior of the part. Two phases of electroless nickel plating combined with a flash burnout procedure produce the desired geometry. The tested part has a density of 3.16g/cm3 and withstands pressures up to 25MPa. The cellular part produced has a nickel plate thickness of 800µm and consists of 35% nickel and 65% air (empty space). Detailed procedures are included for the electroplating and electroless plating processes developed. / Master of Science

Ruthenium dioxide, zirconium dioxide and bismuth titanate thin films were deposited on Si, sapphire disks, and Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by hot wall metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Bis(cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium [Ru(C₅H₅)₂], zirconium tetramethylheptanedione [Zr(thd)₄], triphenylbismuth [Bi(C₆H₅)₃], and titanium ethoxide [Ti(C₂H₅O)₄] were used as precursors. MOCVD RuO₂ film structure was dependent on MOCVD process parameters such as bubbler temperature, dilute gas flow rates, deposition temperature, and total pressure. Either pure RuO₂, pure Ru, or a RuO₂ + Ru mixture was obtained under different deposition conditions. As-deposited pure RuO₂ films were specular, crack-free, and adhered well on the substrates. The Auger electron spectroscopy depth profile showed a good composition uniformity across the bulk of the films. The MOCVD RuO₂ thin films exhibited resistivities as low as 60 <i>μ</i>Ω-cm. In addition, the reflectance of RuO₂ in the NIR region showed a metallic character. Zr(thd)₄ was synthesized and the process was optimized. Purity of Zr(thd)₄ was confirmed by melting point determination, carbon and hydrogen elemental analysis and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR). The MOCVD ZrO₂ film deposition rates were very small (≤ 1 nm/min) for substrate temperatures below 530°C. The film deposition rates were significantly affected by: (1) source temperature, (2) substrate temperature, and (3) total pressure. As-deposited films are carbon free. Furthermore, only the tetragonal ZrO₂ phase was identified in as-deposited films. The tetragonal phase transformed progressively into the monoclinic phase as the films were subjected to high temperature post-deposition annealing. The optical properties of the ZrO₂ thin films as a function of wavelength, in the range of 200 nm to 2000 nm, were also reported. In addition, a simplified theoretical model which considers only a surface reaction was used to analyze the deposition of ZrO₂ film. The deposition rates can be predicted well for various deposition conditions in the hot wall reactor. The deposition rates of MOCVD Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ were in the range of 3.9-12.5 nm/min. The Bi/Ti ratio was controlled by precursor temperature, carrier gas flow rate, and deposition temperature. As-deposited films were pure Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ phase. The films were specular and showed uniform and fine-grain morphology. Optical constants as a function of wavelength were calculated from the film transmission characteristics in the UV-VIS-NIR region. The 550°C annealed film had a spontaneous polarization of 26.5 <i>μ</i>C/cm² and a coercive field of 244.3 kV/cm. / Master of Science

Ferroelectric-reinforced metal matrix composites (FR-MMCs) show promise as high damping materials for structural applications. Most structural materials are valued based on their stiffness and strength; however, stiff materials typically have limited inherent ability to dampen mechanical or acoustic vibrations. The addition of ferroelectric ceramic particles may also augment the strength of the matrix, creating a multifunctional composite. In this work, the damping behavior of FR-MMCs created by the addition of barium titanate (BaTiO3) discontinuous reinforcement in a bearing bronze (Cu-10w%Sn) matrix has been studied. It has been shown that even when combined with other traditional composite mechanisms, added damping ability has been achieved due to the ferroelectric nature of the reinforcement. FR-MMCs currently represent a material system capable of exhibiting increased damping ability, as compared to the structural metal matrix alone. / Master of Science