For more than 30 years, Flexicon has been established as the preferred choice for aseptic liquid filling for GMP regulated industries, such as biotechnology and diagnostics
Flexicon’s products scale with your business. From the intuitive, easy-to-use design of our ergonomic pumpheads, through to the modular design of manual, semi and automatic systems, our products feature a grow-with-me concept to meet your fill/finish needs.

Our experience in engineering accurate and reliable bottle filling machine for sensitive fluids in GMP production and cleanroom environments, means we provide solutions to optimise your fill/finish processes.

As part of the Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group, Flexicon’s engineering is backed by a global network of specialist and technical support engineers, who can help optimise your complete development and filling process, wherever you are in the world.
At the heart of all our filling systems is the gentle pumping action of our peristaltic fillers, which ensure your valuable product is transferred without cross contamination or damage to viability and product quality.

Leveraging our expertise in peristaltic engineering has helped to optimise the performance of companies filling processes worldwide. Whether those companies are developing Advanced Therapy Medical Products (ATMP) or looking to quickly—and safely—scale-up their batch production, we can help develop a system tailored to your needs.

Whether you’re a newcomer to the world of liquid filling equipment or an experienced user looking to upgrade or change your production line, browsing websites and product catalogues in the search to source a suitable machine can be more than a little confusing.

Overflow or gravity machine? Piston or pump? Automatic, semi-automatic or manual? Hot or cold-filling? In-line or rotary filling? Off-the-shelf or turnkey? Fortunately, with so many choices out there you’re likely to find the ideal solution for your particular application – however, finding it requires that you do a bit of homework and adopt a systematic approach.

To simplify the process, you may find this guide to liquid filling equipment useful. It identifies key questions which will help you narrow down your search and focus only on those systems that meet your objectives.

The first question to ask is what product is being filled?

Not all liquids are the same. Some are free-flowing, others are very viscous. Some contain particulates or flammable ingredients, others are foamy whilst the viscosity of some products may change when the temperature changes. The important thing to remember is that type of liquid filling equipment that you choose has to be compatible with the product type. For example, a gravity filler is more suitable for thin products, piston fillers are a better option for thick products than overflow automatic liquid filling machine and bottom-up filling machines are used for foamy products.

Another key question to ask is what type of container is being filled?

In many instances, the type of container or bottle will dictate the type of filling technique and the more you know about the attributes of the container, the better. What material is it made from (e.g. glass, aluminium, plastic) and what are its dimensions and characteristics? This information is important because it will determine the optimum performance of the equipment and the best equipment type. For example, an automatic bottle filler which grabs a container from the side may not actually be the best option if your container is very wide and a top filler may not work if your container has an unusually-shaped cap or lid.

You need to ask how many containers do you want to fill every hour?

Knowing your production rate is also a crucial factor in your equipment selection.

A semi-automatic filling machine would be a cost-effective and reliable solution for smaller production runs like those in a laboratory or in a start-up venture, whilst an automatic filling machine with a sizeable conveyor is ideal for larger-scale operations with much higher production rates. For operations with very low production rates and no expansion plans such as a home brewing venture or small-scale home-made sauce business, a manual machine could fit the bill.

You also need to ask yourself, how do you want the final fill-level in your container or bottles to look?

Appearance does count, and different filling systems have different outcomes. For example, a liquid level machine will fill every container to the same specified level regardless of the volume of the product, making it a preferred product where uniformity is important. On the other hand, a volumetric filler will fill a container with the identical volume of liquid even when the fill levels may appear to be variable. Volumetric fillers generally cost more as they require specialized instruments for calibration, balance and timing.

Some of the types of liquid filling machines include:

gravity fed fillers (a good, cost-effective option for efficient volumetric filling especially for low viscosity and foamy liquids);
piston fillers which use a highly accurate volumetric filling technique, ideal for thick or highly viscous liquids. These are divided into two types, namely check-valve piston fillers and rotary valve piston fillers;
pump fillers which are very versatile and suitable for a wide range of liquids and viscosities
in-line filling machines (a cost-effective choice for filling containers in a line) which are suitable for those operations where different container sizes are involved; and
rotary filling machines (which are often much larger and more specialized) for faster speeds and higher production rates.
Another question is whether your filling equipment can be modified if your needs change?

It’s often not necessary to buy new equipment just because your business has expanded or you want to add new products or packaging to your line. An experienced manufacturer will have the knowledge and skills to advise whether your liquid filling system can be modified and will make recommendations to future-proof your investment.

Choosing the best liquid filling equipment is a complex decision and many factors need to be considered.  From product characteristics and container attributes to fill size, production rates, regulatory issues, safety requirements and expansion plans, if you answer the questions highlighted above, you’ll be in a strong position to make an informed choice which factors in all of these issues.

However, your best option is to talk directly to industry professionals, like AccuPak. They are one of Australia’s largest suppliers of all types of packing and filling equipment and they will work with you to identify the most cost-effective and practical solution. They know the critical factors required from all packing, filling, bagging and palletizing machinery and equipment - i.e. versatility, flexibility, reliability, accuracy and affordability - and if you’re interested in finding out how they can help you achieve your objectives, get in touch with them on 03 8804 1529 or visit accupak.com.au.
A walk down the grocery store aisle will exemplify the overwhelming amount of beverage products to choose from these days. Even with the existing wide variety of flavors and concepts within each drink category, consumers seem to want even more. For example, one of the fastest-growing segments in the beverage industry continues to be craft beer. Even after the beginning of its meteoric rise a few years back, the number of specialty beers with unique ingredients and different styles continues to proliferate with other craft alcohol producers, such as cider and spirits, following close behind. To keep up, many facilities are designing and installing additional liquid filling lines.

“As product lines continue to evolve to match expanding consumer demands, manufacturers are seeking flexible equipment that allows for product modifications—without breaking the bank,” says Paul Grainger, technical key account direct or North America for Tetra Pak. “Today’s equipment simply must be designed to accommodate a diverse range of products in order to be viable.”

Additionally, to maximize production efficiency, many are turning to high-capacity and more automated equipment that provides this flexibility. Still top of mind, though, are accuracy, minimizing product waste, reducing changeover times and simplifying sanitation. Liquid filling equipment providers are working to meet all these needs and more.When picking a specific 5 litre liquid filling machine, a good place to start is to know the exact characteristics of the liquid product. Is it a free-flowing liquid? This might work better with a timed-flow fill machine where the same volume of product is delivered each cycle. What if the product is more viscous? For that, a positive displacement liquid filler might be the way to go.

“Product specification is the most important parameter that we, at Bosch Packaging Technology, need in order to identify a suitable piece of filling equipment for our customers,” says Jonathan Viens, manager of North American sales and marketing. “We are talking about product characteristics, such as filling temperature, particulates, tendency of the product to splash or froth, etc.”

He explains that if a company is trying to dispense baby food into containers, Bosch would suggest servo-driven aseptic1 litre filling machine with full-metal pistons. This type of equipment helps address precision in filling a product that is highly viscous and particulate rich, but also avoids weight fluctuations or overfill issues.

For products that need special attention paid to minimizing microorganisms and ensuring food safety, such as juices, hot-fill technology for hygienic bottles will be needed. This was the case when Coca-Cola Canners in South Africa started bottling iced tea, sports drinks and juices with and without fruit chunks. The facility had two existing PET bottling lines, but due to the high-pulp content of the juice, a new line was needed.

The company employed KHS, a manufacturer of filling and packaging equipment, to install a hot-fill line. The content is heated to over 100°C and filled at a temperature of approximately 83°C. The line can fill up to 48,000 bottles per hour, sized between 0.3 and 1.5 liters. To avoid damaging the fruit chunks during the filling, the line was equipped with two precision volumetric fillers where the fruit pieces are first bottled with a small amount of juice before the second filler tops off the bottles with pure juice. This understanding of the filler’s impact on the final product is important, especially for sensitive liquids.

“Some yogurts tend to ‘shear’ when being forced through small openings,” says Jan Sundberg, applications development manager for JBT Corporation. “The filler needs to have gentle handling inside the filler bowl/hopper and also as the product flows through the valve. Larger porting and short, straight paths for the product flow are key to minimizing any damage.” For instance, features like extra elbows, pipes and pumps can change the viscosity of a product, so eliminating them for these applications could offer protection against damage.

“Products like creams or oily dressings can only be dosed with a specific dosing station, for example, positive valve,” says Viens. “Otherwise, the rotary movement in standard dosing stations could damage the product, or the pump design could separate the oil from the base product.”

When bottling a product like beer, which has a tendency to foam, gentle filling is paramount. Breweries want to limit the amount of oxygen picked up by the beer as much as possible during the filling process, but also want to maximize throughput. To help address these issues, Krones has equipped its Modulfill filler with a level probe that includes a swirl.

“The swirl gently guides the liquid to the bottle wall and in the bottle,” says Stefan Kraus, product manager for filling technology. “Additionally, the filling valve is equipped with two different filling speeds. The result is a gentle filling process with low turbulence and less foaming behavior.”

Product and container versatility
Because of the wide variety of products being packaged at plants, more processors are looking for fillers that can handle multiple concepts. Equipment providers understand this, but might not be able to deliver a panacea yet.

“In the world of food, the day of ‘one filler fits all’ still hasn’t arrived due to the wide range of product characteristics,” says Viens with Bosch, which acquired filling and sealing equipment manufacturer Osgood Industries, Inc. in 2015. When Bosch Osgood introduced its tank-style pump, part of the objective was to address this need for fillers to handle many different types of products. Thus, the tank-style pump can handle a range of products, from liquid juice to viscous vat-set yogurt. “With this solution, the pistons that are used to pump the product are located inside the hopper. An even distribution of product above each piston and tight tolerances offer the user excellent lane-to-lane repeatability and eliminate the need for dynamic O-rings on the piston head.”

“Customers are demanding that new filling equipment is more versatile and can handle a full range of varying products,” says Sundberg. As a result, the JBT Unifiller filler can handle products with a thin, watery consistency to thick, chunky products with high solid content and large particulates. “[It] is a unique volumetric piston filler with short product paths and larger porting.” Additionally, the fill nozzles are designed for specific applications and can be easily exchanged.

Krones 6 head liquid filling machine are also designed with flexibility in mind, says Kraus. As an example, he cites some of the company’s filling equipment that can be adjusted automatically via the filling probe, which addresses improved automatization as well.

For most of its filling machines, Serac uses net weight filling technology, which controls the amount of product dispensed into the container to give an accurate measure of what is inside. Alan Bonanno, marketing manager for Serac, says because aeration, temperature and viscosity do not affect the accuracy of a net weight filler, it can handle a variety of products with different characteristics.

Product flexibility isn’t the only filling demand, but the shapes, sizes and materials used in different containers being filled are also highly variable. Knowing the type of container is important for packaging providers to understand, says Viens, as it “will drive the configuration on numerous machine stations and the number of lanes required.”

In the diapered area, the continuous exposure to excess moisture and irritants from urine and feces weakens the stratum corneum, making the skin more susceptible to irritation. The use of wet wipes for infants (baby wipes) is a common practice to clean skin after urine or a bowel movement, and this practice even extends to cleaning the hands and face, resulting in repeated daily use. Therefore, ensuring that baby wipes contain ingredients that are safe and mild on skin is important to help minimize skin irritation and discomfort. While disposable baby wipes have been shown to be effective and gentle at cleaning infant skin, even the skin of premature infants, there is growing public concern regarding their safety and tolerability. Not all products are made the same, as differences exist in manufacturing processes, ingredients, materials, safety, and quality testing. Therefore, it is important that healthcare professionals have accessible evidenced-based information on the safety and tolerability of common ingredients found in baby wipes to optimally educate their patients and families. Herein, we provide a review on best practices for ingredient selection, safety, and efficacy of baby wipes.
Skin irritation in the diapered region (commonly referred as diaper dermatitis) is one of the most common skin disorders found in infancy, with the highest incidence at 9-12 months of age.1 Overhydration and prolonged exposure to urine and feces are known to be the main contributors to skin irritation in the diapered area.2 However, an infant's diet, medications, underlying skin conditions, certain product ingredients, caretaker behavior, and practices such as infrequent diaper changes or ineffective cleaning can also influence the occurrence of diaper dermatitis. It has been reported that the diapering process can be a stressful event for an infant.3 The presence of skin irritation can exacerbate this response, leading to increased pain and discomfort. Ensuring the diapered area is kept dry and clean and that products used do not adversely impact the skin can help minimize the occurrence of dermatitis in the diapered region and, in turn, provide comfort to the infant.

Herein, we provide a review on best practices for ingredients selection, safety, and efficacy of runhe baby soft wet wipes to help make more informed decisions when selecting products for infant diapered skin care.
A disposable baby wipe consists of three main components—the basesheet (the cloth that makes the wipe), the formulation (the ingredients in the solution that make the wipe wet and help with cleaning), and package, as shown in Figure 1. The packaging (not discussed here) and the basesheet are the most physically obvious components of a wipe. There are three types of basesheets with differences in composition which translates into differences in thickness, absorbency, and softness to touch. These differences can impact cleaning performance but the materials themselves are quite common—wood pulp, polypropylene, polyester, or combinations thereof.
Over the last two decades, significant advances have been made to baby wipes. More recently, efforts have been centered on the removal of ingredients with irritation or skin-sensitizing potential such as methylisothiazolinone (MI) and phenoxyethanol.4 In fact, five clinical studies have demonstrated that the use of modern baby wipes is superior to using water and cloth to clean diapered skin (see Table 1). In 2016, a recommendation was made by the European Roundtable Meeting on Best Practice Healthy Infant Skin Care stating that a wet wipe for infant skin should contain pH buffers to maintain the slightly acidic pH of the skin, should be free of potential irritants, and should contain well-tolerated preservatives
Formulating a hypoallergenic, safe, gentle, and effective baby wipe can be challenging as the wipe must meet regulatory, safety, and performance measures while remaining aesthetically pleasing. It is preferred that baby wipes are formulated with a very large percentage of water. However, water alone is not enough to effectively remove water-insoluble residues from feces and prevent the growth of microorganisms or maintain a healthy skin pH. Thus, it is important that baby wipes also contain an extremely mild surfactant (detergent or cleanser) to lower surface tension for better cleaning, a preservation system to ensure product freshness before and during use, a pH adjusting (buffering) system to maintain a solution pH similar to infant skin, and, optionally, skin-benefiting ingredients that reduce frictional damage, replenish the skin lipids, etc A common misconception about baby wipes is that they contain drying alcohols such as ethanol and isopropanol. While ethanol and isopropanol can be found in some sanitizing wipes, these ingredients have not been used in branded baby wipes.
The water used in baby wipes should range from highly purified to reverse osmosis quality. The treatment process removes most of the salt content (CaCO3 and MgCO3, contributing to overall hardness) and other residual minerals that can serve as nutrients for microorganisms. Most water systems also employ ozone and ultraviolet light processing to sterilize the water before use. In addition, extensive filtration removes total dissolved solids and microbes. These intentional processes produce water that is of a higher quality than standard drinking water and some types of distilled water.

2.2.2 Surfactants
Surfactants are the molecules within the formulation that provide cleaning action. Surfactants contain hydrophilic moieties attached to hydrophobic end chains. It is the hydrophobic end chains that bind to oily residue on the skin surface and help remove it. For baby wipes, it is important to use a surfactant that can adequately remove the oily molecules within feces without removing skin lipids, which can lead to skin barrier damage with repeated or prolonged use. For runhe new arrival baby wipes, the surfactant fraction would not be expected to exceed 1% by weight of the formula and, in most cases, would be below 0.3% by weight.6 This is in stark contrast to bottled baby products (body wash, shampoo, hand soap) where the surfactant concentration is typically between 5% and 20% by weight as dilution is expected upon use followed by rinsing.6

Surfactants are typically classified as anionic (negatively charged), cationic (positively charged), and non-ionic (no net charge). Generally, non-ionic surfactants are the mildest on skin; however, there are examples of suitable surfactants in all classifications. Table 2 contains a list of typical baby wipe surfactants along with maximum use concentrations and references to full reviews on their safety profile as concluded by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), an independent expert panel consisting of dermatologists, toxicologists, academic researchers in medicinal and pharmaceutical sciences, industrial scientists, and representatives from the FDA and consumer groups.
As baby wipes contain a large amount of water, this can allow microorganism growth. To prevent contamination, various manufacturing and testing practices are followed by major suppliers. The use of preservatives ensures the product is not contaminated before the consumer begins using it, and that it maintains a reasonable shelf life for use. Ensuring a consistent product, free of pathogenic microorganisms, should be of the highest concern, especially when cleaning infants with compromised skin.

In the personal care industry, the default listing of preservative chemicals is maintained by the European Union (EU) and is known as Annex V.7 Ingredients on this list are recognized for their antimicrobial action and listed with acceptable and safe usage concentrations. A subset of these chemicals applicable to baby wipes is shown in Table 3. Notably, many of the chemicals in Annex V are not allowed for use in children's products due to regulation at the state or country level. The US FDA does not maintain a list of approved preservatives but does have the authority to limit the use of ingredients in certain product classifications. After considering safety, allergenicity and irritation potential, the choice of preservative in a formulation depends on water solubility, effective concentration, pH compatibility, odor, and consumer expectation. A good example of regulatory and industrial response has been the removal of formaldehyde donating preservatives and MI from wipes and other leave-on products following many reports of contact dermatitis and sensitization in the diapered area and in other common areas of baby wipes use such as hands and face. Currently, it is rare to find this ingredient in mainstream baby soft wet wipes.
A critical part of ensuring baby wipes are safe and effective to clean infant skin is following specific microbiological quality standards prior to product distribution. As is the case with most non-sterile formulated personal care products, baby wipes require specific analyses to ensure they (1) do not contain harmful or high levels of microbes following manufacturing and (2) can control the growth of microbes introduced during use. Non-profit scientific organizations, such as the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and the European Pharmacopeia (EP), have published guidelines on the preferred approaches for completing these analyses.

Prior to releasing baby wipes for sale to consumers, an evaluation of the final product should be completed for the presence and level of microbes within the product. For example, the USP recommends that methods used in the release of non-sterile products have data available that demonstrates the ability for methods to successfully recover and quantify Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus brasiliensis.21

Any products that have a water activity level of >0.90 are susceptible to the growth of microbes in the product as this is the minimum level of water required for bacteria and fungi to grow.22-24 As such, products at or exceeding this level of water, such as wipes, should include a preservative to prevent the growth of microbes that may be introduced post-manufacturing. A likely route of post-manufacturing product contamination is while dispensing the product during use,25 a reason why packaging is a key component. In this scenario, transient or normal flora from a wipes’ user can transfer from the hands onto the stack of wipes in the product package. To assure a newborn baby wipes product is effectively preserved and able to overcome this type of contamination, a confirmatory lab test must be utilized to ensure microbial growth will not occur during normal product use. Specifically, the test should involve adding a defined number of diverse organisms (at a minimum those recommended by USP/EP but others may be added) to a defined quantity of product and then monitoring the survival and/or growth of the added organisms over time.26 This test is commonly utilized on product that has been freshly made and on product aged under ambient or accelerated (high temperature, high relative humidity) conditions. While there is no universally applied approach in how this test is conducted for wipes, many manufacturers utilize USP and/or EP guidance as the basis for establishing their method and acceptance criteria.

The performance of the preservative system is one of the most important factors that go into determining the expiration date on the package. Baby wipes that do not have a proper preservative system should have a much shorter expiration date (or period after opening) as the product does not have a means to prevent microbial growth post-manufacturing. This is especially critical when the dispensing of the wipes requires significant contact by human hands, that is, transfer of normal flora into the package. Wipes should not be used outside of the printed expiration dating on the package and should be stored as directed by the labeling on the package.

Common examples of apparel utilizing weft knitted fabric are socks. Knitting is a more versatile manufacturing process, as entire garments can be manufactured on a single knitting machine, and it is much faster than weaving. However, due to the looping, more yarn is required to manufacture a knitted garment than a comparable woven garment. Thus any cost savings gained in manufacturing speed are offset by the higher materials cost.

Knits are comfortable fabrics, as they adapt to body movement. The loop structure contributes to elasticity beyond what is capable of the yarns or fibers alone. A knit fabric is prone to snagging, and has a higher potential shrinkage than a woven fabric. The loop structure also provides many cells to trap air, and thus provides good insulation in still air. Knits are not typically very wind- or water-repellent.
Knit fabrics are composed of intermeshing loops of yarns. There are two major types of knits: weft knits and warp knits, as illustrated in Fig. 4.7. In weft knits, each weft yarn lies more or less at right angles to the direction in which the fabric is produced, and the intermeshing yarn traverses the fabric crosswise. In warp knits, each warp yarn is more or less in line with the direction in which the fabric is produced, and the intermeshing yarn traverses the fabric lengthwise. Similar to the way that woven fabrics have warps and wefts, knit fabrics have courses and wales, which lie in the crosswise and lengthwise direction, respectively. However, unlike woven fabrics, courses and wales are not composed of different sets of yarns; rather are formed by a single yarn.
Weft blend knitted fabrics are produced predominantly on circular knitting machines. The simplest of the two major weft knitting machines is a jersey machine. Generally, the terms circular knit and plain knit refer to jersey goods. The loops are formed by knitting needles and the jersey machine has one set of needles. Typical fabrics are hosiery, T-shirts, and sweaters.

Rib knitting machines have a second set of needles at approximately right angles to the set found in a jersey machine. They are used for the production of double-knit fabrics. In weft knits, design effects can be produced by altering needle movements to form tuck and miss stitches for texture and color patterns, respectively. Instead of a single yarn, several yarns can be used in the production of these structures. This increases the design possibilities.

‘Loop’ is the basic unit of knit fabric. As illustrated in Fig, 4.7a, in weft knits, a loop, called a needle loop, consists of a head and two legs, and the section of yarn connecting two adjacent needle loops is called the sinker. In warp knits, the needle loop is divided into overlap and underlap, as illustrated in Fig. 4.7b. Each loop in a printed fabric is a stitch. Alternative to fabric count for woven fabrics, cut (or gauge) and stitch density are used to represent the closeness of the intermeshing loops. Cut or gauge indicates the number of knitting needles per unit length along the crosswise or lengthwise direction. The greater the number, the closer together the loops are to each other. Stitch density is the number of stitches per unit area, obtained by multiplying the number of courses per inch (25 mm) by the number of wales per inch (25 mm). Like woven fabrics, a knit fabric also has a technical face and a technical back and can differ in appearance on each side. The technical face is the side where the loops are pulled toward the viewer. Knit fabric also has an effect side, which is intended to be used outermost on a garment or other textile product. In some cases, the technical face and the effect side are the same; but in others, they are opposite.
Gel Knit® fabric is a small diameter weft knitted tube. This is knitted on a small diameter circular knitting machine with the provision for the positive feeding of two separate yarns. Positive feeding is used to ensure the good quality assurance required for a medical product.

The main yarn that is knitted is a staple (spun) yarn of cellulose. This may be any normal cellulosic textile material such as cotton or a number of different reconstituted cellulose materials such as lyocel or viscose. As will be described later in this paper, the cellulose is the precursor material since it will be chemically converted after knitting into the Gel forming material.

The second yarn is a very thin continuous filament nylon which acts as reinforcement and holds the fabric together after the Gel has been formed and the Gel forming yarn has lost all form and stability. The total nylon content of the fabric is about 10%.

Warp knit fabric is similar to that of a woven fabric in that yarns are supplied from warp beams. The fabric is produced, however, by intermeshing loops in the knitting elements rather than interlacing warps and wefts as in a weaving machine. Warp knitted fabric is knitted at a constant continuous width. This is achieved by supplying each needle with a yarn (or yarns) and all needles knit at the same time, producing a complete course (row) at once. It is also possible to knit a large number of narrow width fabrics within a needle bed width to be separated after finishing. In comparison with weft-knit structures, warp knits are typically run-resistant and are closer, flatter and less elastic.

The two common warp-knit fabrics are tricot and raschel (Fig. 10.9). Tricot, solely composed of knit stitches, represents the largest quantity of warp knit. It is characterized by fine, vertical wales on the surface and crosswise ribs on the back. Tricot fabrics may be plain, loop-raised or corded, ribbed, cropped velour or patterned designs. It is commonly used for lingerie owing to its good drapability. It is used for underwear, night-wear, dresses, blouses and outerwear.4 Tricot fabric is used in household products such as sheets and pillowcases. It is also be used for upholstery fabrics for car interiors.Most warp cotton stripe jersey knit fabrics tend to curl, including the most important type known as Jersey stitch (in the USA) or Locknit stitch (in the UK). If they receive appropriate heat treatment, synthetic warp knit fabrics do not curl. In dyeing, finishing, cutting and sewing garments, it helps to know the face and back of the fabric and its curling propensity. When a greige nylon Jersey stitch fabric is put on a table technically upright (having the loop side up), the top and bottom edges of the fabric will curl upwards or towards the loop side or technical face. However, the side edges will curl under the fabric towards the float or technical backside of the fabric.

If nylon Jersey stitch fabric is heat set it will not curl, but if that fabric is laid on the table technically upright and it is pulled sideways on the top edge of the fabric, the fabric will curl towards the loop side. There are some warp knit structures that will not curl in the greige state.Plain warp-and weft-knitted structures are not commonly used for composite applications due to their inherent anisotropy in the wale and course directions. This causes the fabric preform to roll up on itself making handling and manufacturing more difficult. This problem is solved by using weft-knit structures such as the 1 × 1 rib and milano rib, which exhibit balanced properties because of their through-thickness symmetry. However, the highly curved fibre architecture, or crimp, present in these and any knitted structure, means that composites produced using these structures exhibit relatively poor mechanical performance. Characteristics of high conformability and low strength make them ideally suited to producing semi-structural complexly shaped components.

To help increase mechanical performance, insert yarns can be placed between the planes of loops in either the warp or weft direction. The technique can be used for both warp-and weft-knitted fabrics which allow the insert yarns to remain perfectly straight, giving a greater yarn to fabric translational strength. This results in an increase in the composite stiffness and strength along the insert direction. Warp-and weft-knitted fabrics with inlay yarns are termed unidirectional knitted fabrics and the incorporation of insert yarns in two directions creates biaxial knitted fabrics.

8.4.1 Multiaxial warp knits
Multiaxial Warp Knit (MWK) fabric is a further development of this idea by utilising layers of insertion yarns for the in-plane reinforcement and warp stitch yarns for the through-thickness reinforcement. They consist of one or more parallel layers of yarns held together by a warp knit loop system. Theoretically, as many layers as preferred can be used but typical commercially available machines only allow four layers (Du and Ko, 1996). The purpose of the knit loops is to hold the layers of unidirectional yarns together, but it has also been proven to be the key to increasing the damage tolerance of the material (Zhou et al., 2005).

These types of knitted structure are termed non-crimp structures and can be produced in a single knitting process (Du and Ko, 1996). They are particularly suitable for thin to medium thickness parts. The combination of the warp-knitted structure and non-crimp yarns means they have the ability to conform to complex shapes as well as the potential to meet the demands of primary load bearing applications.

MWKs have evolved through structural modifications of warp-knitted fabrics and are predominantly fabrics with inlay yarns in the warp (90°), wale (0°) and bias (± θ°) directions. Warp, weft and bias yarns are held together by a chain or tricot stitch through the thickness of the fabric (Du and Ko, 1996). Layers of 0° need to be placed somewhere other than the top or bottom layer to ensure structural integrity. The amount of fibre and the orientation of the inlay yarns can be controlled, which is advantageous for preform engineering. As a result, the insert yarns are made from a much higher linear density yarn than the stitch yarns, since they form the load-bearing component of the fleece fabric structure (Du and Ko, 1996). Figure 8.4 shows the configuration of the chain and tricot MWK structures.Yarns in a simple weft-knitted structure, as shown in Figure 11.13a, lack the long continuous paths found in woven fabrics and there would be stress concentrations where yarns cross one another. This limits their mechanical performance, but as shown in Chapter 3, they do have applications as composites. In the free state, the knit fabric shows a low resistance to extension and shear, with accompanying area change, until the yarns jam together. This means that they are easily draped into complex shapes.

Blasting is carried out with abrasive materials such as chilled iron grit, steel or aluminium oxide grit. Sand or other substances containing free silica must not be used, as anyone exposed to dust from it could develop silicosis.76

In a factory, blasting operations should be carried out in a suitable enclosure or room to protect other personnel from injury and nearby machinery from damage. The ‘blast room’ should be provided with an efficient system of exhaust ventilation, preferably of the down-draught type. During the blasting operation super abrasive material rebounds from the surface of the article with a high velocity. Consequently the operator must be given special protective clothing such as gloves, apron and leggings. A helmet supplied with fresh air at a positive pressure is also necessary to protect the blaster from both flying particles and harmful dust.82

Because of the friction between the finely divided particles of grit and the blasting hose and nozzle, discharges of static electricity occasionally take place. It is advisable to earth the blasting hose and nozzle.
The sand blasting technique is based on blasting an abrasive material in granular, powdered or other form through a nozzle at very high speed and pressure onto specific areas of the garment surface to give the desired abraded look. A straighter surface and less effect can be obtained with the sand blasting process than with the sanding process, and sand blasting can be done in less time. For this reason, it is more advantageous in terms of costs. However, silicon grains that are located in the sand can cause silicosis disease. The sand blasting process is now prohibited in most countries because of its negative effect on human health (Suglobal Tekstil, 2013; Paul and Naik, 1997a; Paul and Pardeshi, 2003).
Very hard surfaces can be studied by the abrasion of the surface with a sheet of abrasive material, such as silicon carbide or carborundum paper. At this point a number of different methods may be used to analyze the abraded material. In essence, any solid sampling technique that is capable of handling fine powders—KBr pellet, diffuse reflectance, ATR, photoacoustic, etc.—may be used to study the material. An interesting variant is to use diffuse reflectance to study the abrasive (see the reference to the silicon carbide method in Section 4) for the residual material.
Materials used as abrasives include both natural minerals and synthetic products. Abrasive materials can be considered as cutting tools with geometrically unspecified cutting edges that are characterized by high hardness, sharp edges, and good cutting ability. The sharpness of abrasive grains may be described in terms of edge radius and apex angle. As grain size increases, the percentage of sharp apex angles decreases, indicating a deterioration of grain cutting ability. In addition, cutting ability depends on specific features such as grain structure and cleavage, which are connected with the ability of cutting grains to regenerate new sharp cutting edges and points.

The choice of abrasive for a particular application may be based on durability tests involving impact strength, fatigue compression strength, dynamic friability, and resistance to spalling which occurs under the influence of single or cyclic thermal stress.

The abrasives industry is largely based on five abrasive materials; three are considered to be conventional abrasives, namely silicon carbide (SiC), aluminum oxide (alumina, Al2O3), and garnet. The other two, namely diamond and cubic boron nitride (CBN), are termed superabrasives.

A primary requirement of a good abrasive flow is that it should be very hard; but hardness is not the only requirement of an abrasive. The requirements of a good abrasive are discussed below. The decision to employ a particular abrasive will be based on various criteria relating to workpiece material, specified geometry, and removal conditions.

Cutting fluids should be used wherever possible in grinding to achieve high material removal rates coupled with low wear of the grinding wheel.
Mechanical polishing is done on a rotating disk covered with a felt, and is sprayed with a very fine abrasive materials (e.g., aluminum oxide or magnesium oxide). Because of, not creating grooves on the samples, brush or the felt that is employed here, should be thick and have no hard particles especially dust. At the entire period of polishing, it is necessary to smear the felt with suspended aluminum dust in water frequently. Grading of the aluminum oxide particles is different and we usually polish hard materials such as steel and cast iron with coarser aluminum powder rather than the soft metals like aluminum and lead. The alumina is in two forms: allotropic alpha (hexagonal) and gamma (cubic). The polishing properties of these two forms are different, so that alpha alumina acts faster in abrasion of metals and is more suitable for rough polishing, while gamma alumina prepares a polished surface with the high quality, so it is apt for the final polishing. Sometimes, it is utilized magnesium oxide for polishing aluminum and its alloys. This substance absorbs the carbonic gas of the air and produces carbonate. Therefore, aluminum oxide is usually used in the metallurgy laboratory. A disk with a velvet coating and diamond powder is being used to obtain a mostly polished surface and devoid of any grooves. Often, it is better to use an appropriate lubricant such as alcohol for synthetic diamond paste, to remaining free or rising up the power of cutting powder of diamond particles, and also to increase the life of velvet coating.
In our day-to-day life, few manufactured products in their production process escape a finishing and/or grinding operation involving abrasive materials. Whatever their origin, abrasive minerals or abrasive tools, their economic weight is huge; more than 10 B€ for the overall abrasives and around 2B€ for the abrasives minerals markets. The other way to assess the importance of such products is the number of patents published regularly; more than 50,000 per decade since the year 2000 (Nadolny, 2014). However, these patents are firstly, mainly related to abrasive tools and secondly, focused on super abrasives – around 10,000 patents per decade these last decades – as well as microcrystalline abrasive materials using sintered abrasive ceramic grains.

For scientists the difficulty will be to evaluate what will be the final performance of their abrasives grains in the numerous end user applications, knowing that such performance is a 50/50 combination between the abrasive grain and the abrasive tool; a common approach in the industrial abrasives community.

Although abrasive minerals are never studied from a detailed academic point of view, for industrial scientists there are big challenges which require scientific knowledge across a broad range of materials science such as crystallography, high temperature chemistry, surface chemistry, tribology, technical and advanced ceramic processing etc. This is what will be seen in the following part of this chapter which is based upon industrial experience of the author.Powder blasting is not selective in terms of chemistry; hence, it will etch any material with similar elastic properties at the same rate. Unlike chemical etching (which is chemically selective), powder blasting will continue to etch through substrate materials if the mechanical properties are comparable to those of the film. For example, a silicon substrate will continue to be etched once the ceramic film has been patterned. Due to the high etch rates, it is often not possible to prevent the underlying substrate from being attacked. It is also important to note that thin layers of ductile material will not resist removal if the underlying material is brittle, as any particle impacts will cause the underlying material to fracture, thereby lifting the thin metal film off. This can be seen where thin metallic electrode layers (100–200 nm) are removed when etching through a ceramic film.

It is possible to achieve a degree of selectivity by choosing the appropriate blasting media. The rate of material removal is a function of the difference in hardness between the blasting media and the target material, as well as the kinetic energy of the blasting media. Very hard blasting media with high kinetic energy (i.e. large mass and high speed) will exhibit high removal rates. For example, very hard blasting material such as alumina will remove the majority of materials, while softer materials, such as cornstarch, show much lower material removal rates. The contrast between the two media can be seen in Figure 5.4, where both alumina and cornstarch etch through the green ceramic layer, but the cornstarch is unable to etch the underlying silicon.The powder blasting etch process is relatively anisotropic in nature as the abrasive media is directed in one direction. Some sideways etching does still occur, as the abrasive is not all traveling in one direction due to the divergent nature of the spray and random deflections of the etching media. The edge of the mask may also be deformed or abraded by the etchant, resulting in further degradation of the sidewalls.

These effects can give rise to different etch profiles as the etch area decreases in size. When relatively large-sized holes are etched, the etch front is relatively uniform with only slight edge effects. When the size of the etch hole decreases, the edge effects are extenuated and the etch front becomes less uniform. This is mainly caused by etching media being deflected off the edges of the hole and hitting the base of the depression resulting in a pronounced ‘U’-shaped profile. As the feature size decreases still further, the ability of the abrasive powder to reach the material at the base of the depression decreases significantly, leading to the cessation of the etch process. This is the limit of the achievable resolution and is related to the size of the abrasive particle; the resolution is between 5 and 10 times the particle size. Smaller particles can be used to overcome this issue, but their lower mass means that the kinetic energy available for etching also decreases unless the speed of particles is increased. At a critical point, there will be insufficient kinetic energy for etching to occur.

Ice blasting is a simple, nonabrasive, cleaning process that uses ice crystals as impact medium for removing surface contaminants without the use of chemicals, abrasive materials, high temperatures, or steam. The technology employs ordinary tap water, compressed air and electricity to create an environmentally friendly, cost-effective method for surface cleaning. Ice as a phase change blast medium has the ability to change its physical state to liquid water which flushes contaminants from the surface, leaving no solid residue after blasting. The technique can be used for cleaning surfaces, removing paint, or stripping contaminants from a surface. It can also be used to remove loose material, blips, and burrs from metal components after machining, and even softer materials, such as organic polymeric materials, including plastic and rubber components, can be processed. Compared to other blast cleaning processes, ice blasting does not accumulate ice particles in the waste and thus significantly reduces secondary waste. Applications of ice blasting range from precision cleaning of semiconductor wafers and delicate items, such as books and antiques, to removal of contaminants on a variety of substrates. Ice blasting has been effective in removing paint coatings from a variety of substrates without substrate damage, including delicate surfaces such as Kevlar and graphite-epoxy composites, as well as removing paints, grease, oil, grime, and other contaminants from a variety of glass surfaces, including windows, gauge panels, and controls.

Acrylic plastic refers to a family of synthetic, or man-made, plastic materials containing one or more derivatives of acrylic products acid. The most common acrylic plastic is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which is sold under the brand names of Plexiglas, Lucite, Perspex, and Crystallite. PMMA is a tough, highly transparent material with excellent resistance to ultraviolet radiation and weathering. It can be colored, molded, cut, drilled, and formed. These properties make it ideal for many applications including airplane windshields, skylights, automobile taillights, and outdoor signs. One notable application is the ceiling of the Houston Astrodome which is composed of hundreds of double-insulating panels of PMMA acrylic plastic.

Like all plastics, acrylic plastics are polymers. The word polymer comes from the Greek words poly, meaning many, and meros, meaning a part. A polymer, therefore, is a material made up of many molecules, or parts, linked together like a chain. Polymers may have hundreds, or even thousands, of molecules linked together. More importantly, a polymer is a material that has properties entirely different than its component parts. The process of making a polymer, known as polymerization, has been likened to shoveling scrap glass, copper, and other materials into a box, shaking the box, and coming back in an hour to find a working color television set. The glass, copper, and other component parts are still there, but they have been reassembled into something that looks and functions entirely differently.

The first plastic polymer, celluloid, a combination of cellulose nitrate and camphor, was developed in 1869. It was based on the natural polymer cellulose, which is present in plants. Celluloid was used to make many items including photographic film, combs, and men's shirt collars.

In 1909, Leo Baekeland developed the first commercially successful synthetic plastic polymer when he patented phenol formalde-hyde resin, which he named Bakelite. Bakelite was an immediate success. It could be machined and molded. It was an excellent electrical insulator and was resistant to heat, acids, and weather. It could also be colored and dyed for use in decorative objects. Bakelite plastic was used in radio, telephone, and electrical equipment, as well as counter tops, buttons, and knife handles.

Acrylic acid was first prepared in 1843. Methacrylic acid, which is a derivative of acrylic acid, was formulated in 1865. When methacrylic acid is reacted with methyl alcohol, it results in an ester known as methyl methacrylate. The polymerization process to turn methyl methacrylate into polymethyl methacrylate was discovered by the German chemists Fittig and Paul in 1877, but it wasn't until 1936 that the process was used to produce sheets of acrylic safety glass commercially. During World War II, acrylic glass was used for periscope ports on submarines and for windshields, canopies, and gun turrets on airplanes.
Acrylic plastic polymers are formed by reacting a monomer, such as methyl methacrylate, with a catalyst. A typical catalyst would be an organic peroxide. The catalyst starts the reaction and enters into it to keep it going, but does not become part of the resulting polymer.

Acrylic plastics are available in three forms: flat sheets, elongated shapes (rods and tubes), and molding powder. Molding powders are sometimes made by a process known as suspension polymerization in which the reaction takes place between tiny droplets of the monomer suspended in a solution of water and catalyst. This results in grains of polymer with tightly controlled molecular weight suitable for molding or extrusion.

Acrylic plastic sheets are formed by a process known as bulk polymerization. In this process, the monomer and catalyst are poured into a mold where the reaction takes place. Two methods of bulk polymerization may be used: batch cell or continuous. Batch cell is the most common because it is simple and is easily adapted for making diy acrylic key chain sheets in thicknesses from 0.06 to 6.0 inches (0.16-15 cm) and widths from 3 feet (0.9 m) up to several hundred feet. The batch cell method may also be used to form rods and tubes. The continuous method is quicker and involves less labor. It is used to make sheets of thinner thicknesses and smaller widths than those produced by the batch cell method.

We will describe both the batch cell and continuous bulk polymerization processes typically used to produce transparent polymethyl methacrylic (PMMA) sheets.
The mold for producing sheets is assembled from two plates of polished glass separated by a flexible "window-frame" spacer. The spacer sits along the outer perimeter of the surface of the glass plates and forms a sealed cavity between the plates. The fact that the spacer is flexible allows the mold cavity to shrink during the polymerization process to compensate for the volume contraction of the material as the reaction goes from individual molecules to linked polymers. In some production applications, polished metal plates are used instead of glass. Several plates may be stacked on top of each other with the upper surface of one plate becoming the bottom surface of the next higher mold cavity. The plates and spacers are clamped together with spring clamps.
An open comer of each mold cavity is filled with a pre-measured liquid syrup of methyl methacrylate monomer and catalyst. In some cases, a methyl methacrylate prepolymer is also added. A prepolymer is a material with partially formed polymer chains used to further help the polymerization process. The liquid syrup flows throughout the mold cavity to fill it.
The mold is then sealed and heat may be applied to help the catalyst start the reaction.
As the reaction proceeds, it may generate significant heat by itself. This heat is fanned off in air ovens or by placing the molds in a water bath. A programmed temperature cycle is followed to ensure proper cure time without additional vaporization of the monomer solution. This also prevents bubbles from forming. Thinner sheets may cure in 10 to 12 hours, but thicker sheets may require several days.
When the plastic is cured, the molds are cooled and opened. The glass or metal plates are cleaned and reassembled for the next batch.
The plastic sheets are either used as is or are annealed by heating them to 284-302°F (140-150°C) for several hours to reduce any residual stresses in the material that might cause warping or other dimensional instabilities.
Any excess material, or flash, is trimmed off the edges, and masking paper products or plastic film is applied to the surface of the finished sheets for protection during handling and shipping. The paper or film is often marked with the material's brand name, size, and handling instructions. Conformance with applicable safety or building code standards is also noted.
The storage, handling, and processing of the chemicals that make acrylic plastics are done under controlled environmental conditions to prevent contamination of the material or unsafe chemical reactions. The control of temperature is especially critical to the polymerization process. Even the initial temperatures of the monomer and catalyst are controlled before they are introduced into the mold. During the entire process, the temperature of the reacting material is monitored and controlled to ensure the heating and cooling cycles are the proper temperature and duration.

Samples of finished acrylic materials are also given periodic laboratory analysis to confirm physical, optical, and chemical properties.
Acrylic plastics manufacturing involves highly toxic substances which require careful storage, handling, and disposal. The polymerization process can result in an explosion if not monitored properly. It also produces toxic fumes. Recent legislation requires that the polymerization process be carried out in a closed environment and that the fumes be cleaned, captured, or otherwise neutralized before discharge to the atmosphere.

Acrylic plastic is not easily recycled. It is considered a group 7 plastic among recycled plastics and is not collected for recycling in most communities. Large pieces can be reformed into other useful objects if they have not suffered too much stress, crazing, or cracking, but this accounts for only a very small portion of the acrylic display case boxes plastic waste. In a landfill, acrylic plastics, like many other plastics, are not readily biodegradable. Some acrylic plastics are highly flammable and must be protected from sources of combustion.
The average annual increase in the rate of consumption of acrylic plastics has been about 10%. A future annual growth rate of about 5% is predicted. Despite the fact that acrylic plastics are one of the oldest plastic materials in use today, they still hold the same advantages of optical clarity and resistance to the outdoor environment that make them the material of choice for many applications.

With so many options for clear plastic on the market, it is no surprise that lots of people misunderstand the differences between the types. Each type is made in a different way using different materials, which results in many different price points. We've put together this resource page to help sort out some of the most frequently asked questions, like "is acrylic a plastic or a glass?" and "what is the difference between acrylic and plastic?". While acrylic is a plastic, not all plastic is acrylic. The term "acrylic" represents a family of petroleum-based thermoplastics made from the derivation of natural gas. Another common name for acrylic is "polyacrylate" which is one of the most common types. This material is made from Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), Poly Methyl Methacrylate, or a combination of both.
Although the composition is pretty much the same, acrylic has many brand names. Plexiglas was the original trademark name when the Rohm and Haas Company first introduced the product to a mass market, but many others have established their own brand names including Lucite by du Pont and Acrylite by Evonik Cyro LLC. Some other common brands are Perspex, Oroglass, Optix, and Altuglass.Injection molded acrylic is manufactured by injecting acrylic or polymethyl methacrylate material into a mold. This transparent thermoplastic makes a great alternative to glass, which is why it is commonly used to manufacture bakery bins, sunglasses, and display risers. Unlike polystyrene, injection molded acrylic table number plate can be made without the issues of hazing or coloration. Additionally the material is much stronger and has minimal relief markings when removed from the mold. Injection molding takes less labor than hand-crafting, which results in a lower cost.

Advancements in battery technology have dramatically increased demand for improvements in liquid solid separation design, as the separator plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and electrochemical performance of the cells. Current separators, either in commercial usage or under investigation, have yet to meet the high stability and lifespan performance standards necessary to prevent deterioration in the efficiency and reliability of the battery technologies. Recently, considerable effort has been devoted to developing functionalized separators, ranging from designing a variety of new materials and modification methods, and increasingly, to optimizing advanced preparation processes. In order to understand how the mechanisms of vibrating separator performance are affected by different properties, we will first summarize recent research progress and then have in-depth discussions regarding the separator’s significant contribution to enhancing the safety and performance of the cell. We then provide our design strategy for future separators, which not only meets the requirements of different type of batteries, but also aims for multifunctionality. We hope such a perspective could provide new inspiration in the development of liquid solid separator research for future battery technologies.
The global demand for data storage and processing is increasing exponentially. To deal with this challenge, massive efforts have been devoted to the development of advanced memory and computing technologies. Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) are currently at the forefront of this endeavor. In this Review, we focus on the mechanisms of the spontaneous structural relaxation – aging – of amorphous PCMs, which causes the well-known resistance drift issue that significantly reduces the device accuracy needed for phase-change memory and computing applications. We review the recent breakthroughs in uncovering the structural origin, achieved through state-of-the-art experiments and ab initio atomistic simulations. Emphasis will be placed on the evolving atomic-level details during the relaxation of the complex amorphous structure. We also highlight emerging strategies to control aging, inspired by the in-depth structural understanding, from both materials science and device engineering standpoints, that offer effective solutions to reduce the resistance drift. In addition, we discuss an important new paradigm – machine learning – and the potential power it brings in interrogating amorphous PCMs as well as other disordered alloy systems. Finally, we present an outlook to comment on future research opportunities in amorphous PCMs, as well as on their reduced aging tendency in other advanced applications such as non-volatile photonics.
Air filter paper with a high filtration efficiency that can remove small-size pollutant particles and toxic gases is vital for human health and the environment. We report a nanofiltration paper that is based on wood fiber filter paper with good mechanical properties and a three-dimensional network structure. The filter paper was prepared by impregnation with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and phenol-formaldehyde (PF). The results showed that MWCNTs were present on the surfaces of the fibers and between the pores, which increased the specific surface area of the fibers and enhanced the effective interception of the particles. The optimum impregnation concentration of the MWCNT was 0.1%. Compared with the cellulose fibers (CFs), the average pore diameter of the 0.1% MWCNT–CF filter paper was reduced by 8.05%, the filtration efficiency was increased by 0.64%, and the physical properties were slightly enhanced. After impregnation with PF, the mechanical properties of the air filter paper were significantly enhanced. The PF on the fiber surfaces and at the junction of the fibers covered the MWCNTs. Based on the change in the filter paper properties after impregnation, the optimal filter paper strength index and filtration performance were observed at a solid PF content of 8.4%.
Particles with different sizes and components in the air are in contact with and absorbed by the human body.1 Epidemiological studies have shown a strong correlation between airborne particulate exposure and respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and mortality.2,3 Inhalable particulate matter (PM10, aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5, aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm) are more likely to carry harmful substances, such as heavy metals or gaseous pollutants, into the human respiratory tract and even the alveolus, causing health hazards.4 Common pollutant control methods include source control, ventilation, and purification.5 Filter paper is an effective material to reduce the concentration of particulate matter in air purification.

Filter paper usually removes particles based on five physical effects: gravity, collision, screening, diffusion, and static electricity.6 The removal efficiency of filter paper is closely related to the relative size of the particle diameter and the paper pore size. Smaller pore sizes of the paper correspond to smaller sizes of the particles that it can intercept under the same filtration efficiency.7,8 Adjusting the structure of the filter paper to improve the air flow resistance can increase the residence time of the pollutant particles in the filter paper, resulting in a higher removal efficiency.9,10 However, the filter filtration resistance directly affects the energy consumption of the pressure leaf filter, such that extremely high filtration resistances are not recommended.11 The filtration efficiency has exhibited dependence on the fiber coarseness. Specifically, finer fibers have exhibited higher filtration efficiencies at a constant pressure drop.12 However, air filter paper must maintain a certain porosity to allow air flow. Nanofibers can increase the specific surface area of the filter paper to generate filter papers with small pore sizes, high filtration efficiencies, and high porosities.

Traditional air filter paper is mainly composed of micron-grade fibers with high air permeability, small airflow resistance, and a poor filtration effect for small particles, which do not meet the requirements of many modern industries for high filtration precision air filter paper. In our work, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) air filter paper with a high filtration efficiency and antibacterial activity for extremely small particle pollutants was prepared.13 To reduce the pore size of the filter paper, MWCNTs with large aspect ratios and high specific surface areas were introduced to cellulose fiber (CF) filter paper, which has a low filtration resistance and high mechanical strength due to its porous nanofiber structure.14 The MWCNT–CF filter paper exhibited high air permeability following the incorporation of the MWCNTs. In addition, the MWCNTs exhibited a fine antibacterial ability, which is suitable for industries that require antibacterial, high-efficiency air filter paper.
First, the performance of the CF filter paper was studied after loading MWCNTs with different contents. The MWCNT dispersion (10–15 nm in diameter, 10% concentration) was purchased from Beijing Carbon Yang Technology Co., Ltd., China. CF filter paper (quantitative 90 g m−2) was purchased from Shandong Longde Technology Co., Ltd., China. The MWCNTs were diluted with deionized water to 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1%. The CF filter paper was then dipped into the diluted MWCNT dispersing solution for 30 s and dried in an oven (electric blast drying oven, DGG-101-1, Tianjin Tianyu Experimental Instrument Co., Ltd., China.), with a drying time and temperature of 15 min and 105 °C, respectively.15,16

2.2 Preparation of the PF–MWCNT–CF air vertical pressure leaf filter paper
In this study, phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin was used to impregnate the MWCNT–CF air filter paper to improve the physical strength of the paper. PF resin (solid content 58%) was purchased from Shanghai Kain Chemical, China. The CF filter paper loaded with 0.5% MWCNTs was impregnated for the second time with PF (dissolved in 99.5% anhydrous methanol). The experiments followed an impregnation time of 30 s, a drying temperature of 105 °C, and a drying time of 15 min. By heating the PF, the gelatinous resin formed a polymer chain resin,17 which gradually hardened from a viscous flow state and appropriately improved the strength of the paper. 
2.3 Characterization
The prepared samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM; GeminiSEM 500, Zeiss, Germany), a computer-controlled tensile testing machine (CP-KZ300, Sichuan Changjiang Paper Instrument Co., Ltd., China), and a burst strength tester (969920, L&W, Sweden). The air permeability and pore size distribution of the samples were measured by a digital air permeability meter (YG461E, Ningbo Textile Mill, China) and a capillary pore size analyzer (Porolux 100, Porometer NV, Belgium).

2.4 Filtration performance
The Palas MFP 3000 filter material test system (MFP 3000, Palas Company, Germany) and test dust ISO A2 fine ash were used for testing. The following test conditions were implemented: an end pressure of 2000 Pa, a dust concentration of 1000 mg m−3, a rated gas flow rate of 66 L min−1, a sample area of 100 cm2, and a sample surface velocity of 11.1 cm s−1. The filtration efficiency, filtration resistance, and dust retention of the filter paper were tested.
After the CF filter paper was impregnated with an MWCNT dispersion, MWCNTs adhered to the surface of the vibrating filter paper, thus reducing the pore size and resulting in a higher filter paper surface content compared with that inside the paper. When the load of MWCNTs was greater than 4.56%, the pores readily became blocked, which was not conducive to filtration. At a loading rate of 3.68%, the resistance increased by 26.56% and the dust-holding capacity only increased by 8.33%. At this time, the filtration efficiency was 99.69% (2000 Pa), and the paper strength was also enhanced.

The filtration performance of the MWCNT–CF filter paper impregnated with PF showed little change. The burst index of PF–MWCNT–CF filter paper increased by 110% compared with MWCNT–CF filter paper. The tensile index increased constantly, but the dust retention was too low when the PF solid content was 10%. Thus, the optimal impregnation concentration was 8.4%. At this time, the longitudinal tensile index and transverse tensile index of the filter paper increased by 77.01% and 80.41% respectively, compared with MWCNT–CF filter paper.

A DRIVER steering a car on a twisting road has two distinct tasks: to match the road curvature, and to keep a proper distance from the lane edges. Both are achieved by turning the steering wheel, but it is not clear which part or parts of the road ahead supply the visual information needed, or how it is used. Current models of the behaviour of real drivers1,2 or 'co-driver' simulators3–5 vary greatly in their implementation of these tasks, but all agree that successful steering requires the driver to monitor the angular deviation of the road from the vehicle's present heading at some 'preview' distance ahead, typically about 1 s into the future. Eye movement recordings generally support this view6–9. Here we have used a simple road simulator, in which only certain parts of the road are displayed, to show that at moderate to high speeds accurate driving requires that both a distant and a near region of the road are visible. The former is used to estimate road curvature and the latter to provide position-in-lane feedback. At lower speeds only the near region is necessary. These results support a two-stage model1 of driver behaviour.
Why do some cars respond so well to the driver? Great handling makes you feel safe and in control – and makes panic swerves and steering corrections as effective as possible. The lightest touch of the wheel should direct the steering system effortlessly and precisely. As well as a well-designed suspension parts, it takes a good quality steering system and steering parts to achieve excellent handling. If you’d like to know the anatomy of a steering system and how it supports handling, road holding and driveability, here is an easy overview.

The function of a steering parts
When you rotate the steering wheel, the car responds. But how does this steering system in cars give you a smooth route forward? A group of parts called the steering system transmits the movement of the steering wheel down the steering shaft to move the wheels left and right – although car wheels don’t turn at the same angle. 

The popular rack and pinion steering system 
In most cars, small trucks and SUVs on the road today, there is a rack and pinion steering system. This converts the rotational motion of the steering wheel into the linear motion that turns the wheels and guides your path. The system involves a circular gear (the steering pinion) which locks teeth on a bar (the rack). It also transforms big rotations of the steering wheel into small, accurate turns of the wheels, giving a solid and direct feel to the steering.
How does power steering affect the rack and pinion?
It’s likely that if you drive today, you’re used to power steering. Contemporary cars, and especially trucks and utility vehicles have a power steering system function – also called power-assisted steering. This gives that extra energy (either hydraulic or electric) to help turn the wheels and means parking and manoeuvering requires less effort than with simple manual force. The rack and pinion steering system is slightly different with power steering, with an added engine-driven pump or electric motor to aid the steering assembly.

So is ease the only benefit of power steering? The system allows you to have higher gear steering and means you have to turn the steering wheel less to turn the wheels further (less steering wheel turns lock-to-lock). It therefore sharpens up response times and makes the steering even more precise. With such busy roads and traffic jams, this means drivers can more safely manoeuvre in close proximity to other vehicles. Keeping tight control at all speeds, in any conditions and in critical situations, will help to avoid accidents. 
What are the components of the steering system in cars?
Whatever a car’s make and model, quality auto steering parts support a flawless drive. Premium rack and pinion parts manufactured by MOOG include axial rods, tie rod ends, drag links, centre arms, steering rack gaiter kits, tie rod assemblies and wheel end bearings.
These steering parts are robust and hard wearing enough to provide both strength and durability. Choosing parts which meet OE manufacturer specifications means the whole assembly will be responsive and long-lasting.

The return of four-wheel steering 
Beyond the swivel of the front wheels, some cars have a steering system which affects all four. This has traditionally been exclusive to sporty or luxury models, but there’s a growing trend towards the feature in more affordable cars.

A four-wheel steering control unit sits behind the rear axle of the car and affects the rear wheels as needed. Car wheels turn in opposite directions at low speeds, but at high speeds, turning all four wheels in concert helps to maintain stability and prevent fishtailing.
Stating that automotive literature presents surprisingly little helpful information concerning the faults of the steering-systems used on automotive vehicles and that, in spite of the fact that so many of the faults are self-evident, they frequently are overlooked in actual practice, the author includes with the presentation of his own investigations summaries of the views expressed by numerous well-qualified automotive engineers and discusses these steering-gear faults in some detail. Beginning with the subject of safety, consideration is given successively to the causes of hard steering, the angular position of knuckle-pivots, knuckle-pivot location, the foregather or toe-in of wheels, castering or trailing effect, wheel-wabble, drag-link location, irreversibility, steering-gear type comparisons, tie-rods and tie-rod arms. Numerous drawings illustrative of present-day practice are presented and commented upon, reference being made also to other articles, printed previously, that are pertinent.
Rack and pinion steering systems are not suitable for steering the wheels on rigid front axles, as the axles move in a longitudinal direction during wheel travel as a result of the sliding-block guide. The resulting undesirable relative movement between wheels and steering gear cause unintended steering movements. Therefore only steering gears with a rotational movement are used. The intermediate lever 5 sits on the steering knuckle (Fig. 4.5). The intermediate rod 6 links the steering knuckle and the pitman arm 4. When the wheels are turned to the left, the rod is subject to tension and turns both wheels simultaneously, whereas when they are turned to the right, part 6 is subject to compression. A single tie rod connects the wheels via the steering arm.
Two types of vehicle steering are in general use. The venerable rack-and-pinion system is the simplest and most popular for cars. As the steering wheel is turned, a pinion attached to the base of the steering column moves along a linear-toothed rack to which it is meshed. The arrangement converts the rotary movement of the wheel to a horizontal movement along the transverse axis of the vehicle. The rack is attached at each end to tie rods which transmit the movement to the wheels. This method of steering is positive and provides rapid feedback to the driver. A second steering mechanism, the so-called recirculating-ball system, is used on some heavy trucks and SUVs because of its robustness and greater mechanical advantage. The latter attribute makes turning the wheel easier but, with the advent of power steering, this action is now less of an issue and many heavy vehicles are now adopting rack-and-pinion steering.

Cars with front-wheel drive have much of their weight over the front wheels and therefore it becomes more difficult to turn the steering wheel. This factor, together with the use of wider tyres on SUVs and larger cars, compounds the difficulty to the point that unassisted steering would be almost impossible for many people. Thus most vehicles are today equipped with power steering, a system that is normally operated hydraulically with mineral oil serving as the working medium. A double-acting hydraulic cylinder controls a piston that applies a force to the steering mechanism to augment the effort made by the driver. The pump is operated by a belt-drive off the engine and therefore no assistance is provided unless the engine is switched on. A disadvantage associated with hydraulic power steering is that the pump is constantly running when assistance is not required and this consumes fuel.

An alternative form of power steering is an electrical system in which an electric motor provides assistive torque to the steering mechanism. Sensors detect the position and torque of the steering column and feed the data to a computer that then controls the current to the electric motor. A major advantage of the electrical system is that the degree of assistance can be tailored to the speed of the vehicle, with more assistance at low speeds and less at high speed. Other advantages are: (i) a hydraulic pump, a belt drive and hoses are not required and this leaves more space under the bonnet; (ii) the electrical system is more fuel efficient in that, unlike the hydraulic system, it only uses energy when it is operating.

Some vehicles now have steering on all four wheels. This arrangement was introduced primarily to permit a tighter turning circle and to facilitate parking in a restricted space. It is most useful for truck chassis other parts, heavy goods vehicles and tractors, although it is also available on a few cars. The rear wheels, which cannot turn as far as the front wheels, are controlled by a computer and actuators.
Because thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) behave essentially as conventional thermoplastics, they can be recycled using the same methods. Many TPEs tolerate multiple recycling [3]. The Society of Automotive Engineers has generically classified commercial TPEs to enable their segregation into mutually compatible categories for recycle purposes [4]. In this scheme, TPEs are categorized in the same manner as that used for rigid thermoplastics such as polypropylene and polystyrene.

TPVs are widely used in automotive applications (e.g., weather stripping, rack-and-pinion steering gear bellows, constant velocity joint boots, air master booster door covers, body plugs, interior skins, etc.) and in appliances (disk drive seals, dishwasher sump boot, door seals, and compressor mounts). The used articles and production scrap are simply ground in a granulator, and the granulate is added in relatively high proportions to the virgin material. The TPV granulate is compatible with granulate prepared from TPO. In fact, it was found that the addition of TPV granulate improves the properties of the TPO material [5]. Many automotive manufacturers have started extensive car dismantling programs and are working together with polymer manufacturers to recycle and reuse material, often in “closed-loop” systems, in which the material goes back into the original product [6].

Other recycling routes for used TPE components are not significantly different from the route for other elastomers, such as incineration with energy recovery. The main benefit of TPEs in this context is that they contain relatively little sulfur, with consequent beneficial effects on incinerator flue gas composition.

Although components made from TPEs can in theory be recycled similar to other thermoplastics, they still suffer from the disadvantage that they are not pure TPEs, but have inserts, or they are composites or blends of materials used in overmolded parts. In the case of the largest class of TPEs, styrenic block copolymers, up to one third of total production is used in inherently nonrecyclable applications, such as oil modifiers, adhesives, or bitumen modification [7].

A recent development that allows recycling of materials from overmolded and coextruded parts is the use of magnetic separation. Magnetic separation is a well-established technique used for high-volume separation in mining, aggregate, and other industries. It is also widely used to remove metal contaminants from plastics and rubber. To be applied for the separation of polymeric materials from mixtures (e.g., TPE from polypropylene or other rigid plastic), it is required that a magnetic additive be mixed into the TPE material. The amount of this additive is typically 1%. It has been established that the additive does not have an adverse effect on the physical properties of the material or on the overmolding adhesion. In the recycling process, the granulated scrap is placed onto a belt conveyor and the particles of the resin with the magnetic additive are separated at the end of the belt by a roll with imbedded powerful rare-earth magnets. The particles attracted to the roll are collected in a hopper after they fall away from it. A mechanical barrier, or “splitter”, helps to separate the two particle streams [8].

Paint protection film is a modern marvel. It’s a thin but exceptionally durable polymer or polyurethane film that is the ultimate layer of protection. Not only does it keep your ride’s clear coat protected against chemicals, UV exposure, acid rain and road debris, but if the vehicle’s paint is impacted by road debris, it can save you thousands of dollars in autobody repair.

There is a lot of information on the interwebs about car paint protection film. Some of it is accurate, and others are pure, 100 percent, grade A BS. Search up ceramic coating and you’ll get similar misleading information. So, let’s explore the truth about paint protection film.

In this article – we’ll weed through the myths, rumors, and flat our false information out there, to provide a definitive guide about paint protection film. Does it really protect from light scratches? Can PPF actually self-heal?
We’ll also introduce you to Kavaca instant healing paint protection film – the most advanced PPF on the market today. Additionally, we’ll explain why it makes sense to apply a professional grade ceramic coat on top of that PPF – to create the Ultimate Shield of protection. If you’d like to compare PPF vs ceramic coating, we’ve got a great article you can review after reading this one.
In order to fully appreciate the power of paint protection film, it’s important to explore it’s history. Like many of today’s modern achievements, PPF was developed to solve a problem. During the Vietnam War, the United States Department of Defense was having trouble with rotor blades on several of their helicopters being damaged by shrapnel, trees, and other debris.

The folks at 3M were tasked to create a protective layer that was lightweight, yet incredibly strong. The solution was called helicopter tape or a custom urethane film that was designed for function – not style.

Today’s PPF is far cry from 3M’s helicopter tape. It’s thermoplastic urethane that is transparent, can be colored, even custom textured to enhance gloss or matte paint jobs. It is a clear paint protection film that can be purchased in different grades, thickness, and is applied by highly trained professionals with precision accuracy.
There are a lot of coating for cars on the market today. But tpu car paint protection film is arguably the best and most-effective solution. The 3M Corporation is the Godfather of PPF. As explained above, its primary application was to apply a tint to protect lightning-fast spinning helicopter rotor blades from being damaged. Today, more than a dozen different types, brand names, and designs are offered to car enthusiasts.

You’ve probably heard of some of the leading brands including our own Kavaca, 3M Paint Protection Film Pro Series, Llumar, Suntek, and Xpel film. However, it’s commonly misunderstood that the brand of PPF is associated with the type of product.

While sometimes this is the case, the brand is not always related to the material or its proprietary properties. This is one of the myths or misleading PPF truths that can confuse car owners. Some are applied as full wraps while others are partial hood. There are several that offer limited warranties and some that can back up their product with a 10-year warranty.
Arguably the most popular ‘name’ in the paint protection films market is clear bra. This is a dual-purpose term – kind of like calling a soda pop a “Coke” – or sealable plastic bags “Zip-Lock”. Clear Bra is a brand name for a specific type of protective film. But, it’s also a specific brand as well.

It’s applied to the front end of the vehicle, covering the front bumper, car’s paint, grille, headlights, splitter, and even the front portion of the hood and front fenders. The term “bra” is used to describe the location of the application.
For a PPF to protect, it’s got to be bonded to a surface. This becomes possible when that surface is clean, free of debris, and any damage. However, since a paint protection film is transparent, the condition of the paint or surface underneath makes a huge difference in the brilliance of the finished product.

What is a Decontamination Car Wash? A decontaminating car wash is typically the first step of PPF prep. It involves the use of a wax-stripping car shampoo that acts as a detergent, which breaks down the oils in wax, factory paint sealant, and allows them to be washed away.

If you have a ceramic coating applied to your entire vehicle, the professional detailer that installs clear bra film will simply complete a maintenance car wash. If there are minor scratches due to rock chips – or if you have an older paint job, the auto detailing company might want to repair those issues in the next step.

What is Paint Correction? Once the surface has been cleaned and stripped of initial debris, the installer will inspect the condition of the paint. If it is faded, aged, has spider-webbing or swirl marks, or shows signs of damage, the installer will recommend paint correction to the client.

This involves polishing or using a cutting compound to remove minor scratches or imperfections in the paint. The final result is a perfectly smooth surface that allows the PPF to bond but also allows the brilliance of the finish to shine.

Final Wipe Panel Wipe Down: Using a proprietary blend of chemical agents, the authorized and certified PPF installer will remove any contaminants or excess polishes or oils on the surface.
A professionally prepped and applied automotive paint protection film has an expected longevity of five to 10 years. However, like any other paint protection solution, the durability of the PPF is impacted by several variables.
Having a certified paint protection film installer complete the entire process is another surefire way to extend the lifespan of your PPF. The material and supplies they use is just as crucial.

Most PPF brands, like Ceramic Pro PPF Kavaca partner with the best professional detailers and installers, have advanced training and certification process, to ensure their clients receive the best possible service. Working with the right PPF dealer will reduce air bubbles in the finished product, which makes the PPF look seamless.

Inferior top coat materials are common in cheap products, which leads to yellowing or potential for a stain to occur. It also provides reduced protection against bug acids.
During the recent Circuit Breaker, many car owners were left wondering if they were permitted to wash their cars within HDB compounds. It is evident that we Singaporean drivers really pride ourselves in ensuring our vehicles look good despite not being able to leave our homes.

A common method to give your car a lasting shine with minimal maintenance would be to send it to a car detailer for a good polish. When it comes to car polishing, most drivers would be familiar with the common terms like Ceramic Coating and auto paint protector film (PPF). However, what drivers are unlikely to know is that giving your car a good polish does more for your car than simply enhancing its aesthetic features.

Let’s take a closer look at what each of these applicants does for your car to see if there are more to them than meets the eye.
Something all vehicle owners want is for their ride to look brand new and shiny - like it never left the showroom floor. This can be achieved with Ceramic Coating, a coating that only needs to be applied once, which bonds to the surface of your vehicle’s paint, greatly enhancing its ability to withstand the harsh weather and environmental conditions of Singapore’s roads.

Additionally, Ceramic Coating reduces the effort needed in maintaining your car to look brand new, as it allows for easier cleaning while increasing your vehicle’s shine. Vehicle owners will know the dilemma of finding a minor scratch on their beloved vehicle, yet choose to put up with the ugliness as repairing it will cost a substantial amount. However, you will be pleased to find out that with a good quality Ceramic Coat, minor scratches may be removed with a thorough polish.

Ceramic Coating, however, is not a full-proof solution for your car’s grooming needs as it does not improve your vehicles toughness to withstand more severe injuries like rock chips - very commonly faced by Singaporean drivers as we share the roads with big trucks.
If your goal is to protect your vehicle from scratches and rock chips - something Ceramic Coating is not capable of, then PPF is what you’re looking for. PPF, though costing slightly more than Ceramic Coating, is a military grade film that greatly enhances your vehicle's resistance to foreign objects, something Ceramic Coating is not capable of. Additionally, PPF has self-healing properties that protects your paint from rock chips, contaminants and scratches, as scars will dissipate over time with heat.

PPF sadly reduces your vehicle’s shine however, and should only be applied by a professional as untrained application may potentially damage the body of your vehicle, which will be very costly to remedy. PPF application does not mean lower maintenance effort on the vehicle owner's part, as it is advised that PPF be replaced after a few years of usage.

QMI ToughGuard Paint Protection Singapore

It seems then that vehicle owners will constantly face a dilemma between making their car aesthetically pleasing and actually trying to protect their vehicles… well, you’re wrong!

Quick to identify a solution to this problem back in 1998, QMI ToughGuard Paint Protection Singapore became the only detailer to introduce QMI's marine grade products which utilises Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) technology to our shores.
Now, you may be wondering what PTFE, a chemical compound, is capable of doing for your vehicle. Since PTFE is highly durable, transparent and non-stick, it will result in the body of your vehicle being extremely smooth to the touch. Vehicle owners will additionally be able to say goodbye to rainwater stains as the hydrophobic quality of PTFE makes it a very effective water repellant, causing water droplets to simply flow off the body of your car!

Once QMI's PTFE products are applied, ToughGuard Nano Surface Protection is applied as a final protective layer. This results in the formation of a protective layer over the body of your vehicle that is hard and transparent, creating a hardness that goes beyond the strength of 9H thickness coatings!

QMI ToughGuard clear film auto paint protection Singapore ensures your vehicle has a smooth surface that retains shine and resists environmental contaminants. This allows you to have a fuss-free maintenance regime for your vehicle as all you need to do is to wash your vehicle with water at least once a month and dirt can simply be wiped with a cloth!

With forecasts of heavy downpour over the coming weeks, why not give them a try as your car will still look good despite the unpredictable weather of Singapore!

The Effectiveness of Home Water Purification Systems on the Amount of Fluoride in Drinking Water
Statement of the Problem
Laboratory ultrapure water purification systems for domestic use have drawn significant attention over the past few years. This can be related to the improvement of public health and concern for water contamination. 

Purpose
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether home water purification systems eliminate the essential materials such as fluoride besides filtrating the heavy ions and other unwanted particles out of water.

Materials and Method
In this experimental study, six most frequently used commercial brands of water purifiers were evaluated and compared. Specimens were collected right before and after setting up the device, and 6 months later. Then, spectrophotometry (the Harrison device) was performed to compare fluoride clearance by each home water cleaner device.

Results
Based on the data collected from all water purification devices in different locations, the amount of fluoride was significantly different before and right after using home water purifier and six months later (p= 0.001 and p= 0.00, respectively).

Conclusion
The filtration of water significantly decreased its fluoride concentration. The fluoride content of purified super series iltrapure water system was approximately as much as zero in some cases.
Fluoride is a natural element branched from Fluorine. This element can be found in all sorts of water and soil. Out of every kilogram of outer layer of earth, 0.3 gram is fluoride. Mineral waters have more amount of this element compared to other sources.(1)

About 60 years ago, Grand Rapids in Michigan State was the first city in which fluoride supplement was synthetically added to tap water. In US, adding fluoride to community water supplies of many cities has improved the oral health of millions of American citizens.(2)

Fluoridation of community water supplies is adding a specific amount of fluoride (0.7-1.2 ppm) to water in order to reduce the risk of dental caries. By 2002, almost 170 million Americans were provided with this privilege.(3)

Since most of the systemic fluoride is provided through tap water to population, many policies have been established to add fluoride to community water regarding its benefits for teeth and bones.(4)

In regions and countries that do not have water-fluoridation technology, there are natural supplements as previously mentioned. For example, Iran has many mineral water supplies that contain considerable amounts of fluoride. Amount of fluoride in natural mineral waters depends on weather conditions; the warmer the weather is, the higher the amount of fluoride can be detected. Mineral waters in southern regions that have warmer weather contain more fluoride. In Iran, the highest amount of fluoride has been found in southeast and northeast areas.

Water purification systems for domestic use have drawn much of attention over the past few years. This can be related to improvement of public health and concerns for water contamination. There are several types of home laboratory reverse osmosis water purification systems that can be categorized into 3 different groups(5) as filtered systems, systems using UV irradiation, and ion-exchange systems.

The aim of this study was to find out whether domestic laboratory deionized water purification systems could eliminate the essential materials such as fluoride besides filtrating the heavy ions and other unwanted particles out of water.

Go to:
Materials and Method
In this study, 6 frequently used commercial brands of water purifiers in Ahwaz were compared. The commercial brands evaluated in the current study were CCK (Ceramic and Ceramic/Carbon Cartridges ; RTX-TS DLM filters, Korea), Soft Water (Ceramic Candles; Alpine TJ Series filters, W9332420, USA), Alkusar (Special media cartridges filters; PRB50-IN, USA), Puricom (Special media cartridges filters; Watts 4.5" x 10" Dual Housing, Korea), Water Safe (Granular Carbon Cartridges filters; LCV (Lead, Cysts, VOC's) (Carbon Block Filter Cartridges, Australia), and Aquafresh (Sediment String-Wound; Poly Spun and Pleated Washable Cartridges filters, K5520, USA). The main drinking dura pro series ultrapure water system supply for Ahwaz is provided by governmental companies. After making arrangement with certain companies that supported these brands, the devices were setup in 6 different regions of Ahwaz. Samples were collected before and right after setting up the device. To reduce the errors and elevate the accuracy of the module, 5 samples were taken from each device. Another sample was collected from each single device 6 months later. A total of 64 samples were collected including 32 unfiltered (control) and 32 filtered samples of tap water (experimental) from 6 regions in Ahwaz. Fluoride sampling kits (Spands; EW-99574-08Hach® Test Kits, USA) were used to test the amount of fluoride in sample waters. Samples were all collected in polyethylene sampling containers and were then coded. Spectrophotometry (AvaSpec-ULS2048L- USB2 UARS spectrometer, USA) was performed. In order to measure the characteristics of individual molecules, a mass spectrometer converted them to ions so that they could be moved about and manipulated by external electric and magnetic fields.

Atmospheric pressure was around 760 torr (mm of mercury). The pressure under which ions may be handled is roughly 10-5 to 10-8 torr (less than a billionth of an atmosphere). By varying the strength of the magnetic field, ions of different mass can be focused progressively on a detector fixed at the end of a curved tube and also under a high vacuum.

Latin alphabetic words were used to code each commercial device. Numbers were used for samples obtained before and after setting the device.(6)
The present article gives a review about water purification, filtration techniques and technologies that are practiced till date. Purification of water is mainly focused because of a sensitive reason that it is one of the essential sources of survival for all living beings. Water is found in many forms on the earth’s surface, large amount of drinking water is from lakes and rivers. All living beings need drinking water but human beings need them to be drunk in a purified manner with rich in minerals and salts. Pure water refers to absence of bacteria and disease causing microorganisms, dissolved metal ions and heavy impurities. To gain the whole usefulness of drinking water, it should be not only pure but also healthy. Healthy water refers to presence of nutrients such as minerals and salts that are required to the human body for functioning of body organs like heart, kidneys and blood circulation freely throughout the body. All the technologies had tried to make water pure but not healthy. This makes a lot of difference in life cycle before and after drinking only pure water for a longer period. Some technologies for purification of water chose harmful polymers and dreadful chemical compositions. The then technologies updated and entered into the nanotechnology and polymers for water purification and filtration. Reverse Osmosis is base for any purification process that uses semi permeable membrane which contains ultra, micro and nano porous membranes which removes bacteria and microbes as well as minerals and salts. This RO processed water may cause illness on consuming for a long time continuously. Hence some fiber composites and mineral cartridges were introduced to overcome to add minerals and salts to water. All these techniques adopted for purification of water and usage of fiber composites, polymer membranes are reviewed in this article with defects in them that might cause a lot of damage to mankind.

Natural stone lends a sense of inimitable elegance and a unique texture to all interior spaces. Granite, travertine, slate or marble are commonly used for all types of interior design projects. We tell you 5 ways to use natural stone in home decoration:
Stone’s thermal inertia helps maintain constant temperatures in the home’s interior, promoting thermal comfort and energy savings. Environmentally sustainable, this product does not contain any chemical and can be safely used for indoors. Stone is completely recyclable, reducing any adverse impact on the ecosystem, and can even be reused in new projects. 
Granite, marble, travertine, quartzite, slate and limestone are resistant and durable products used for flooring. They can create a welcoming atmosphere in home decoration.
You can mix colours and textures for getting an interesting look. Their hardness and durability enables the creation of resistant floors in bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms or living-rooms.
Natural stone like slate slate or sandstone can be used as wall cladding solutions. It adds more texture and a fresh appeal to interior walls.
You can create interior divisions using stone cladding in the living room and the kitchen. Or you can add a touch of texture by cladding walls with different types of natural stone. Even you can renovate your kitchen walls.
Fireplaces clad in natural artificial stone are functional and easy to maintain. They add value to any interior design project. You can use our DECOPANEL™, a panel composed by natural stone with a slab format, which provides the ideal lightness to decorate interior fireplaces. It has an unparalleled high thermal resistance, so it perfectly withstands heat from chimneys and stoves without showing any damage (no direct contact with fire).
Check out this post about Natural stone fireplaces: how to choose the right one.
Granite and quartzite are the best natural stones for kitchen countertops and backsplashes. They are hard, non-porous, durable and can be cleaned easily. You have many aesthetic possibilities, colors and finishes to choose. 
Have a look at this article about how to choose natural stone for kitchen countertops.
Natural stone can be used to create decorative items such as sculptures, lamps or coffee terrazzo table. They are perfect accessories for decoration, helping you apply the finishing touches to every room in your home. 
For further informations, visit CUPA STONE website.
Stone is one of the most popular building materials to have ever existed. It has seen implementation within architecture and design ever since the early days of the industries themselves. Ever since the stone age, this material has been king.
And even if the stone was overshadowed in popularity by newer, shinier materials, this material giant is going nowhere any time soon.
Stone has seen a lot of infrastructural implementation over its long history, but in more recent times, it is reserved for a myriad of decoration purposes.
There is just something special about the brute honesty and simplicity of stone. That's what kept it in the limelight for centuries. The fact that it’s dirt cheap, beautiful, and ample in supply also helps its popularity.
As mentioned above, ever since we've started using materials for the design and build of things, we've used stone. So, perhaps we can say that stones' popularity as a building material and design material stems from the start of humanity itself.
It was most famous as a building material in the medieval ages, where fortresses were constructed out of it.
It has remained a popular decoration material for quite some time after that. It’s still one of the most popular articles.
Stone never went anywhere – it's always been a popular choice as a material. The purpose that it served has changed drastically over the years and continues to evolve to this day.
While we are no longer constructing our houses out of stone, we're decorating them with numerous different stone ornamentation and decorations. Rock is appealing due to multiple various reasons.
There are many different kinds of stone. There are many stones if we can say so. Each stone has its very own unique properties and qualities, which can all be boiled down to its practicality.
Not all rocks are priced the same, as you can get a common rock for free, but a diamond might set you back by quite a lot.
But this is where the beauty of stone comes in. It's simplicity, it's honesty, and its sheer variety gives it a special place in our material realm.
Now that we have established why stone is one of the most important materials out there, it's time to get into the implementation of it.
While we don't want to go about building stone houses, building and designing parts of your home out of stone can has its benefits.
It can be cost-effective, depending on the type of stone furniture, and it can make for some of the most beautiful designs in the world.
We've all visited a bar or two back in the day. While wooden bars are most prevalent in modern society, they are no match for the simplicity and elegance that stone bars bring to the "table."
Bars are an essential part of every household as well and make for some dashing kitchen additions.
Every kitchen needs a proper workspace, and bars make a fantastic compromise. You can't only expect this versatile kitchen addition to serving a singular purpose, can you?
Of course, you can't. Bars are universally useful, whether you're looking for additional cooking space or somewhere to have a couple of drinks at. Bars are best topped with granite or marble. Still, people have made some thrilling limestone-epoxy combinations that are to die for.
While stone is known for its gorgeous properties, it is also far superior in wood as a bar top design. While wood is subject to cracking, inadequate maintenance, discoloration, and cleaning issues – stone isn't.
Stone, in general, is a solid material that is easy to clean, maintain, and won't change color in any way, shape, or form.
If you're a little bit tight on the funds but still wish to have a beautiful stone bar in your kitchen, there is no need to worry. Faux-stone or stone foil can be purchased for quite a low price at your local design store or ordered through Amazon.
While it does give the illusion of real stone, it's far inferior when it comes to function, so remember to be careful!
It's best left to the architectural experts who are designing your home, as stone can be quite heavy and provide some infrastructural issues if mishandled. That's why stone has been less popular as a form of wall decoration.
But every problem comes with a solution, and the answer to the weight issue might be a little bit more creative than you think.
People have invented molds that are applied to a thin level of concrete, which is covering your wall, imitating stone perfectly.
Concrete is stone-hard and is a great wall material. Molding it into stones, polishing it, and painting it to look like the real thing will give it that new shine that nothing else can achieve.
Concrete is also insanely cheap, and the whole process is low-budget in nature.
If you're looking for something perhaps even cheaper than real stone imitation, you might be interested in 3D stone plastic stickers.
Not tacky at all if you ask us, these stickers are virtually stuck to your wall and imitate stone perfectly. Just don't expect them to be as resilient as stone, as these stickers are quite fragile.
If you're looking for yet another wall decoration opportunity while utilizing stone, you're going to love the idea that has been around all of 2019. Stone shelves!
Stone is not traditionally a shelf material, as the stone is pretty heavy. But, topping off your wooden shelves with stone slabs is not only trendy, but adds visuals, functionality, durability, and sturdiness!
You can't imagine a bathroom without a porcelain toilet or sink, but why stop there? Tiles have been out of fashion for quite some time now, and that is because they're quite dull.
Concrete is really in right now, due to the resurgence of the Brutalist movement.
That's why concrete has found its way into your bathroom. Concrete sinks are not only really simple-looking but are also very beautiful and durable.
While we don't recommend flooring your bathroom with concrete, perhaps a big, beautiful artificial marble slab might be more in your taste. Incorporating stone into your bathroom doesn't only have some exceptional aesthetic value, but some great functionality as well.
Stone is not only a durable, sturdy, and beautiful material – it’s also one of the best natural insulators. If you're looking to keep your bathroom heat-insulated, stone is the way to go.
Stone is also great at retaining heat, which will keep your bathroom warm a lot longer than thin tiles.
Porcelain or god forbid, metal bathtubs have also been out of fashion for quite some time. The latest hit in the design world is stone cut bathtubs.
While these might be one of the most expensive tubs out there, they are a great marriage of functionality and beauty.
While we've mentioned stone floors in our previous addition to this list, the potential really doesn't stop in your bathroom.
While there are molds for your walls that turn concrete into the gorgeous aritificial stone decoration design, there are molds for quite a lot of other things as well.
One of these molds is stone molds for your backyard. Why would you spend a ton of money on bricks to make a walkway to your house if you could just mold one out of stone?
If you don't fancy faking stone and are looking to make a gorgeous walkway, you can use real stones.
Now, you don't want to use an expensive stone such as marble or granite for your walkway, but you can utilize common stones. Common stone walkways give out a comfortable rustic vibe that is sure to persist over the ages.
Stone walkways have been present in our history for quite some time, and are incredibly persistent and durable. They're also dirt cheap to construct.
If you're looking for a little bit more finesse in your stone walkway, you can enhance it with some thrilling brickwork or some strategically placed plants.
There is no reason to stop at walkways either, as you can include as much stone into your backyard as you want. Stone walls, stone summer houses, and even stone pool ornamentation.
Stone is very easy to incorporate into any enviro
Stone has been a cornerstone of the universal design and architecture industry and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. Even if the stone is such a popular material, it seems to be keeping up with the times.
It has found new life in the interior design world through adaptation and aesthetic value alone.
Humans have been making man-made stone for quite some time now, and we're aching to see what the next big hit is going to be. Who knows what the future holds for this solid material.