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The purpose of this paper is to reveal the mechanism of nitrite (NO_2⁻) for the surface passivation of carbon steels in acidic environments through investigating the influences of 0.01 mol/L NaNO₂ addition on the corrosion and passivation behaviors of Q235 carbon steel in acidic phosphate buffer (APB) solutions (pH 2 to 6).

The electrochemical techniques including open circle potential evolution, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were applied.

In APB solutions without NO_2⁻, the Q235 steel presented the electrochemical behaviors of activation (A), activation-passivation-transpassivation and self-passivation-transpassivation at pH 2 to 4, pH 5 and pH 6, respectively; the corrosion rate decreased with the up of pH value, and the surface passivation occurred in the pH 5 and pH 6 solutions only: the anodic passivation at pH 5 and the spontaneous passivation at pH 6.

In APB solutions without NO_2⁻, the corrosion rate decreased with the up of pH value, and the surface passivation occurred in the pH 5 and pH 6 solutions only: the anodic passivation at pH 5 and the spontaneous passivation at pH 6. With the addition of 0.01 mol/L NaNO₂, into APB solutions, the variation of corrosion rate showed the same rule, but the surface passivation occurred over the whole acidic pH range, including the anodic passivation at pH 2 to 4 and the spontaneous passivation at pH 5 to 6.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the grey relational estimating model of soil pH value based on hyper-spectral data.

As to the uncertainty of the factors affecting the soil pH value estimation based on hyper-spectral, the grey weighted relation estimation model was set up according to the grey system theory. Then the linear regression correction model is established according to the difference and grey relation degree information between the estimated samples and their corresponding pattern. At the same time, the model was applied to Hengshan county of Shanxi province.

The results are convincing: not only that the linear regression correction model of grey relation estimating pattern of soil pH value based on hyper-spectral data is valid, but also the model’s estimating accuracy is higher, which the corrected average relative error is 0.2578 per cent, and the decision coefficient R²=0.9876.

The method proposed in the paper can be used at soil pH value hyper-spectral inversion and even for other similar forecast problem.

The paper succeeds in realising both the soil pH value hyper-spectral grey relation estimating pattern based on the grey relational theory and the correction model of the estimating pattern by using the linear regression.

The textile industry is one of the largest and most important industrial sectors in India. Because the textile industry consumes large quantities of water and produces highly polluted water discharge, its environmental impact is high. Water is expensive to use, treat and dispose of. Therefore, water conservation and reuse are critical necessity for the textile industry because decreasing water and wastewater treatment and recycling costs can be beneficial.

This research neutralized the pH during dyeing industry wastewater treatment. The system should be robust to erroneous sensor measurements. A pH meter was developed and used to monitor the pH of wastewater hourly before and after HCl treatment.

HCl was used to neutralize the pH of wastewater from 9 to 7.5. The amount of HCl was optimized depending on the wastewater. Three wastewater treatment methods were used, namely, HCl, wash water and reverse osmosis (RO) treatments. The HCl treatment was the most effective for decreasing the pH; the wash water treatment was the most effective for decreasing the total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS) total hardness and chemical oxygen demand; and the RO treatment was the most effective for decreasing the biochemical oxygen demand, TDS, TSS, total hardness and Cl⁻ concentration.

The pH should be monitored during the textile dyeing because the addition of color to textile fabrics is the most effective at neutral pH. This study evaluated several parameters of wastewater, including pH, color, TSS and TDS. The fabricated digital pH meter provided superior results than conventional measuring devices. The goal was to maintain a neutral pH during dyeing and recycle wastewater to improve environmental sustainability. The newly developed digital pH meter was less expensive and more precise than traditional pH meters. Before reusing and recycling, wastewater underwent ultrafiltration and RO treatment.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the complex nature of galvanic corrosion and how it is affected by various key factors related to material characteristics and material processing parameters. In particular, this study aims to explore the effect of pH and temperature on the integrity of a system galvanically protected through the use of zinc anodes.

This study involved electrochemical testing at 24, 35 and 50°C in acidic and neutral solutions. As the environmental temperature and pH change the corrosion potential, galvanic potential and galvanic current may alter. This could influence the expected life of an anode used to protect processing equipment. Accordingly, the experimental design methodology involved collection of corrosion potential, galvanic current and galvanic potential data for zinc and zinc coupled to steel. This information was then used to calculate the life of zinc anodes at different temperatures and pH.

Results indicate that changes in pH and temperature can influence the potential of zinc, the galvanic current in a steel couple and the galvanic potential of zinc joined to steel. Calculations based on the accumulation of these data have revealed that at constant pH as the temperature was decreased, the driving potential of the zinc increased. Through further analysis, it was found that as a consequence of changes in driving potential the integrity of a structure may be put at risk due to fluctuations in pH and temperature.

Practically the research can help predict whether the integrity of a structure protected by zinc sacrificial anodes is at risk depending upon changes in pH and temperature.

Previous work was related mainly to galvanic corrosion at one particular pH and temperature. In this investigation, a range of pH and temperature values was used for the application of zinc anodes. The paper will be of value to engineers involved in the design of cathodic protection systems for oil field equipment, where changes in the acidity of the environment may occur due to differing levels of CO₂ and H₂S entering a structure.

This study aims to concentrate on quality improvement in plain yogurt production process at company A through adjusting the factors affecting the acidity of the yogurt and determining the optimal level of these factors.

Six Sigma-based framework using define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) methodology is adopted through the application of design of experiments tool to focus on customer’s requirements to improve the quality characteristic of plain yogurt production process in dairy products manufacturing company (company A) in Iran.

The results showed that incubation time and fat percentage were significant factors on pH values of yogurt and the optimum settings for these factors were defined as 12 h for the incubation time and 1.5 per cent for the fat percentage.

This study focused solely on the plain yogurt production process in dairy products manufacturing company.

Simplicity of Six Sigma plays a leading role for enabling any dairy manufacturer to determine the problem and minimize its cause through a systematic approach.

Six Sigma has been considered to be a systematic, powerful technique to continuously improve the processes and develop the new products by using effective analytical and statistical tools and methods. This paper presents a Six Sigma-based framework using DMAIC methodology to improve the quality characteristic of plain yogurt production process in dairy products manufacturing company.

This study contributes to show a potential area in which Six Sigma DMAIC approach can promote to improve the quality of yogurt production process. This case can prompt managers of the company to apply Six Sigma method to address complicated problems in other processes, where causes particularly are not clear.

The fabrication and characterization of a hydrogel-based conductometric sensor have been carried out. The purpose of this research is to fabricate a small robust hydrogel-based conductometric sensor for real-time monitoring of pH in the physiological range.

A pH-responsive Chitosan/Gelatin composite hydrogel has been used for this purpose. This study reports and analyzes the sensing response obtained from four hydrogel compositions with varying Chitosan/Gelatin ratios. The pH-responsive nature of the hydrogel has been mapped out through volumetric and conductometric tests. An attempt has been made to correlate these characteristics with the physico-chemical nature of the hydrogel through scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques.

The four hydrogel compositions differed on the basis of gel composition ratios; the conductometric analysis results prove that the sensor with the hydrogel composition (Chitosan 2 per cent, Gelatin 7 per cent, ratio 1:2) produces the best pH resolution in the pH range of 4 to 9. The sensing mechanisms and the differences obtained between individual sensor outputs have been discussed in detail. On the basis of this extensive in vitro assessment, it has been concluded that while key pendant functional groups contribute to pH-responsive characteristics of the hydrogel, the overall sensitivity of the sensors gel component to surrounding pH is also determined by the crystalline to amorphous ratio of the hydrogel composite, its interpenetrating cross-linked structure and the relative ratio of the hydrophilic to the pH-sensitive components.

The conductometric sensor results prove that the fabricated sensor with the shortlisted hydrogel composition shows good sensitivity in the physiological pH range (4 to 9) and it has the potential for use in point of care medical devices for diagnostic purposes.

This is the first reported version of the fabrication and testing and analysis/comparison of a hydrogel-based conductometric sensor based on this composition. The work is original and has not been replicated anywhere.

This study aims to describe the design and synthesis of two novel azo and imine chromophores-based dyes derived from two different aldehydes with intramolecular colour matching that are pH sensitive.

The visible absorption wavelength (λ_max) was extended when azo chromophore was included in imine-based systems. The dyed patterns created sophisticated colour-changing paper packaging sensors with pH-sensitive chromophores using alum as a mediator or mordant. Due to the tight adhesive bonding, the dyes on paper’s cellulose fibres could not be removed by ordinary water even at extremely high or low pH, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy analysis. The dyed patterns demonstrated an evident, sensitive and fast colour-changing mechanism with varying pH, from pale yellow to red for Dye-I and from pale yellow to brown-violet for Dye-II.

The λ_max for colour changing was recorded from 400 to 490 nm for Dye-I, whereas from 400 to 520 for Dye-II. The freshness judgement of food was checked using actual experiments with cooked crab spoilage, where the cooked crab was incubated at 37 ^oC for 6 h to see the noticeable colour change from yellow to brown-violet with Dye-II. The colour-changing mechanism was studied with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra at different pH, and thin layer chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance and FTIR spectroscopy studied the desired structure formation of the dyes. Potential uses for smart packaging sensors include quickly detecting food freshness during transportation or right before consumption.

1. Two novel azo-imine dyes have been synthesized with a pH-responsive effect. 2. The pH-responsive mechanism was studied. 3. The study was supported by computational chemistry using density functional theory. 4. The obtained dyes were used to make pH-responsive sensors for seafood packaging to judge the freshness.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different PHS on the surface chemistry of fumed silica treated with aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS).

The reaction conditions involved variation of pH ranging from acidic to alkaline. Different analytical techniques including FT‐IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), CHN and Zeta potential analyses were employed to investigate the surface chemistry of treated particles. In addition, the stability of silanised silica dispersions were studied using turbidimetric and rheometric measurements.

It was revealed that in all conditions silica was more or less chemically grafted by the silane. When the pH of treating bath was adjusted to 1‐2 prior and during the reaction, 58 percent grafting was observed, as obtained by CHN and TGA analyses. At very alkaline conditions, however, the grafting content declined to 29 percent. The variations in grafting were dependent on the silane hydrolysis and its further condensation with the silica surface. Zeta potential measurements showed a drastic change from −7.1 mv to +18.01 mv (at pH 7) for the untreated particle and the one with the highest grafting, respectively. The dispersion stability of differently treated particles varied in solvents with different Hansen solubility parameters (HSP). Moreover, due to the variations of surface chemistry of particles, their rheological behaviours were significantly influenced.

The results obtained in this work showed that the surface chemistry of fume silica could be tuned with treating method. The highest content of grafting led to a better dispersion in solvents having greater hydrogen bonding component and to an inferior dispersion in solvents with higher polar component.

The most recent and prestigious scientific research shows that nitrogen leaching caused by over-used nitrogen fertilizer rapidly acidifies all soil types in China, revolutionizing the basic understanding of the mechanism of soil acidification. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of nitrogen on soil acidity over the long run, which is the shadow price of nitrogen.

In a discrete dynamic programming model, this paper compares the nitrogen application and soil pH between optimal nitrogen control that takes the shadow price of nitrogen into consideration and myopic nitrogen control that ignores that shadow price. Using a five-year panel experimental data on a rapeseed-rice rotation, this paper simulates and numerically solves the dynamic model.

Both theoretically and empirically, this paper shows that the over-use of nitrogen and the decline in soil pH are explained by ignorance of the shadow price of nitrogen. Compared with optimal nitrogen control, myopic nitrogen control applies more nitrogen in total, resulting in lower soil pH. In addition, over-use in the first season contributes to soil acidification and the carry-over effects mitigate that problem.

This paper enriches the literature by extending the study of the environmental impact of nitrogen leaching to its impact on the long-term loss in agricultural production, providing a new theoretical framework in which to study soil acidification rather than conventionally treating soil acidification as a secondary consequence of acid rain, and showing the possibility of using nitrogen control to mitigate soil acidification when lime applications are not feasible due to socio-economic constraints.

This paper seeks to investigate the different inhibition performance and adsorption behaviour of dodecylamine in acidic and neutral environments and to understand further the inhibition mechanism of dodecylamine in CO₂‐saturated brine solution.

The inhibition performance and adsorption behaviour of dodecylamine on N80 steel in CO₂‐saturated brine solution in acidic and neutral environments were investigated by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Corrosion potentials exhibited a pronounced shift in the positive direction at higher concentrations of dodecylamine. The inhibition efficiency of dodecylamine was shown to be pH‐dependent. The effective inhibition concentration of dodecylamine decreased from pH 4.9 to 7.4. In a neutral environment, the inhibitor was shown to affect the deposition of the corrosion products and provide more active sites to bond with the inhibitor. More alkaline environments made the electron cloud density of dodecylamine much higher, which was more favourable to the interaction of dodecylamine and the naked metal base, and hence dodecylamine had a much better inhibition performance in a neutral environment than in acidic environments.

This paper provides information regarding the inhibition performance and adsorption behaviour of dodecylamine on N80 steel and probes the inhibition mechanism of dodecylamine in acidic and neutral environments. The results of the work contribute to an understanding of the inhibition mechanism of the inhibitor in different environments, which will be useful for effective design and choice of inhibitors in CO₂ corrosion.