Assessment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gmelina arborea</Emphasis> sawdust–cement-bonded rainwater storage tank

The performance of a mixture of a forest bye product and cement for the production of storage structure for harvested rainwater was assessed. Three mix ratios of Cement: Gmelina arborea sawdust 3.0:1.0 (specimen A), 2.5:1.0 (specimen B) and 2.0:1.0 (specimen C) were considered. Engineering properties and dimensional stability of the different mix-ratios were monitored from prototypes cylindrical pots and test billet specimens. Possible change in quality of stored rainwater, with time was monitored in all the three cases. Water quality parameters monitored include pH, hardness, total suspended solids, alkalinity, acidity and total dissolved CO₂. The tensile stress obtained were 110, 104, and 95 N/mm², while the compressive strength were 5,000, 3,000, and 2,000 kN for specimens A, B and C respectively. Accelerated aging test showed that sample A were more resistant to deformation, while specimen C were more susceptible to change in structure over time. Similarly, the values of tensile and compressive strength after accelerated aging test increased in the order of specimen A > B > C. Except in specimen C where significant differences in alkalinity and acidity were observed, there were no significant differences in quality of the water stored in the pots after 2 months of storage. The results indicate the suitability of the Gmelina arborea waste as an alternative in constructing water storage structures in rural communities.     

Time course of isocyanate emission from curing polyurethane adhesives

The time course of isocyanate emission from curing polyurethane (PUR) resins and adhesives was studied in two different emission test chambers. The measured emissions were strongly dependent on the type of experiment. The adhesives under investigation contained different types of diisocyanates and are used for different applications, e.g. for fixing of textile floor coverings. The influence of the curing mechanism on emission was studied by comparing the emission curves of one-component adhesives (OCA) and two-component adhesives (TCA). For TCA, the decrease in isocyanate emission was found to follow a two-step process during curing. In the first step, the emission is dominated by surface evaporation, and the decay of emission is mainly caused by the decrease in monomer content due to reaction. In the second step, the release is limited by internal diffusion. The influence of monomer reactivity on the emission profile could be demonstrated for 2,4′- and 4,4′-MDI. The less-reactive 2,4′-MDI caused prolonged emission. A strong dependence of emission rates on temperature and adhesive viscosity was also obvious. The evaluation of emission rates of different commercially available PUR adhesives showed the highest emission from systems that are applied at high temperatures. The high reactivity of diisocyanates requires special techniques for sampling and analysis. Therefore, an analytical method using HPLC–MS/MS was developed that enables limits of quantitation of <5 ng/m³ with a sampling volume of 100 l.