The esterification of oleic acid with 2-ethylhexanol in presence of sulfuric acid  as homogeneous catalyst was investigated in this work to produce 2-ethylhexyl oleate (biodiesel) by using semi batch reactive distillation. The effect of reaction temperature (100 to 130°C), 2-ethylhexanol:oleic acid molar ratio (1:1 to 1:3) and catalysts concentration (0.2 to 1wt%) were studied. Higher conversion of 97% was achieved with operating conditions of reaction temperature of 130°C, molar ratio of free fatty acid to alcohol of 1:2 and catalyst concentration of 1wt%. A simulation was adopted from basic principles of the reactive distillation using MATLAB to describe the process. Good agreement was achieved.

The corrosion behavior of copper and carbon steel in 1M concentration of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) has been studied. The corrosion inhibition of copper and carbon steel in 1M concentration of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) by Ciprofloxacin has been investigated. Specimens were exposed in the acidic media for 7 hours and corrosion rates evaluated by using the weight loss method. The effect of temperature (from 283 ºK to 333 ºK), pH (from 1to 6), inhibitor concentration (10-4 to 10-2) has been studied. It was observed that sulphuric acid environment was most corrosive to the metals because of its oxidizing nature, followed by hydrochloric acid. The rate of metal dissolution increased with incre

Two decades after replacing the OAU, the AU’s record is best measured not by communiqués but by how fast it converts rules into results on the ground. In March 2022, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) authorised the transition from AMISOM to ATMIS in Somalia — a reminder that, two decades after the African Union (AU) replaced the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the Union’s rules are judged by execution, not intent. This article argues that the AU’s legal and institutional redesign shortened the warning‑to‑decision cycle and raised the credibility of enforcement, but performance still hinges on finance, logistics and political will. Where mandates are matched with money, enabling capabilities and enforc

Abstract: In this work we demonstrate and investigate the optical pulse propagation in a photonic band gap fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The light propagates in opposite direction in FBG is explained and discussed by a Coupled Mode Theory (CMT). The photonic band gap (stop band gap) is created by fabricated, a Bragg grating in optical fiber. The results show the pulse spectrum falls entirely within the stop band gap, the entire pulse is reflected by the grating, while when the pulse spectrum is outside the stop band gap the pulses will transmitted through the grating. The group velocity (VG) becomes zero at the edges of the stop band and group velocity dispersion β2 is anomalous on the shorter side of stop band gap whereas β2 for uniform fi

This paper reports a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) as a biosensor. The FBGs were etched using a chemical agent,namely,hydrofluoric acid (HF). This implies the removal of some part of the cladding layer. Consequently, the evanescent field propagating out of the core will be closer to the environment and become more sensitive to the change in the surrounding. The proposed FBG sensor was utilized to detect toxic heavy metal ions aqueous medium namely, copper ions (Cu2+). Two FBG sensors were etched with 20 and 40 μm diameters and fabricated. The sensors were studied towards Cu2+ with different concentrations using wavelength shift as a result of the interaction between the evanescent field and copper ions. The FBG sensors showed

In this paper, simulation study of the frequency shift of photonic bandgaps due to refractive index scaling using liquids filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers is presented. Different liquids (distilled water, n-hexane, methanol, ethanol and acetone) are used to fill the cladding of 2 types of hollow core photonic crystal fibers (HC19-1060, HC7-1060). These liquids are used to change the effective index scaling and index contrast of the cladding. The effect of increasing temperature of the liquid (20-100 0C for water and 20-70 0C for other liquids ) infiltrated hollow core fiber on the bandgap width and transmission properties has been computed. The maximum photonic bandgap width at 0.0243 has appeared with filling HC7-1060 PCF with

Recently, some of Iraq's newly constructed asphalt concrete pavements showed premature failures with significant negative impacts on roadway safety and the economy. Using Nano hydrated lime (NHL) in pavement construction could be one of the possible steps to improve pavement durability. This article discusses how NHL affects the durability of hot mix asphalt. NHL was added in two methods to the asphalt concrete mixture for the wearing course. The first is the dry method, i.e., on the aggregate, whereas the second is the wet addition method, i.e., to the bitumen. The percentages were tried for each additional method; 1, 2, and 3% by weight of aggregate for the dry method and 0.5, 1, and 1.5% by weight of asphalt concrete for the wet

This work presents the study of the dark current density and the capacitance for porous silicon prepared by photo-electrochemical etching for n-type silicon with laser power density of 10mw/cm2 and wavelength (650nm) under different anodization time (30,40,50,60) minute. The results obtained from this study shows different chara that different characteristic of porous diffecteristics for the different porous Silicon layers.

Single mode-no core-single mode fiber structure with a section of tuned no-core fiber diameter to sense changes in relative humidity has been experimentally demonstrated. The sensor performance with tuned NCF diameter was investigated to maximize the evanescent fields. Different tuned diameters of of (100, 80, and 60)μm were obtained by chemical etching process based on hydrofluoric acid immersion. The highest wavelength sensitivity was obtained 184.57 pm/RH% in the RH range of 30% –100% when the no-core fiber diameter diameter was 60 μm and the sensor response was in real-time measurements