Recycling of Paper Mill Waste

Purpose:
Paper is produced worldwide and in turn, waste is produced in large amounts. With tons of this usable pulp being produced, you would think that there would be more options for how paper mills could recycle it. Our class was asked how we might approach this problem with our knowledge of chemistry, finding a way to recycle the pulp byproduct.

Aerogel's super-insulation properties.


Bio-foam insulation being sprayed.

Paper mill waste in it's raw form.
Background:
A graduate student in agriculture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a cost-efficient way of creating aerogels or foam from the waste of paper mills, radically reducing waste from paper production and creating two products that are highly valuable and in demand. I looked for chemical properties as well as physical properties that would allow for me to turn the pulp into foam which could be used in packaging, insulation, shoes, and other uses throughout the world. Aerogel can be used as a super-insulator in space suits (a huge new frontier in the financial world).
To produce aerogel foam from cellulose, the larger glucose must be broken down. Acid hydrolysis can be used to obtain the smaller fibers as pictured below:

(C6H12O6)n + HCl = HO + Cl + C6H11O5

These smaller fibers are a perfect feed-stock for nano-crystalline cellulose (NCC). This can be formed using relatively low energy and chemical input compared to paper-making itself. Furthermore, they developed a technique to process the NCC into composite foams. Although I was unable to access any of this information (or much of the equipment required for the processes), I believe that this would be very useful in the very industrialized world we live in.

Data/Analysis:
30ml Hcl + waste pulp

In this reaction, I added the pulp into the HCl until no reaction occurred. I then filtered the product (water and finer pulp). The finer fibers of the pulp were able to pass through the fine plastic mesh filter. These finer fibers are what allow for NCC to be produced. The other product could be used as a building material or something else. The NCC could then be used to produce aerogels and foams.

Conclusion:
I should have pulled some of the other materials and elements from the waste like the aluminum, calcium carbonate, and other miscellaneous things. This would have made a finer product for NCC production and in the end, a finer foam. I would like to research the process more and find how it may be applied to produce a non-composite foam. One of my biggest flaws in my experiment was being unable to fully produce foam or aerogel.

Citations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanocrystalline_cellulose

http://www.gizmag.com/paper-mill-waste-recycled-into-foam/19450/

Specific Heat of An Unknown Metal

Introduction:

The goal of this lab was to find the specific heat of an unknown metal to identify it. We will be collecting the weight of the samples, temperatures of the beakers of water before and after the metal sample was dropped in, as well as the temperature of the boiling water as it was not exactly 100°C since we are not at sea level.

Background:

Specific Heats-
Water = 4.184
Aluminum = 0.897
Brass and Copper = 0.385
Lead = 0.129
Stainless steel = 0.490
Zinc = 0.390

Each of these metals had a different specific heat (besides brass and copper).
1 calorie= the amount of heat needed to raise I gram of water by 1°C
Q = amount of heat energy gained or lost by substance
m = mass of sample
c = heat capacity (J°C-1 g-1 or J K-1 g-1)
Tf = final temperature
Ti = initial temperature

We use these variables in this equation to see which specific heat of the metals is most like ours.

Procedure and Materials:

1. Weigh metal samples.
2. Have 100ml water at room temperature.
3. Boil metal in water and a separate beaker.
4. Once water w/ metal reaches 100°C, remove and place in room temperature water.
5. Record temperature change in room temperature water w/ metal.

Unknown metal samples
2-250ml beakers
metal tongs
thermometer
hot plate

Data:

Weight of metal- 5.6 grams
Test #1:
100ml water before metal temp- 20.7°C
100ml water after metal temp- 21.5°C
Test #2:
100ml water before metal temp- 20.7°C
100ml water after metal temp- 21.7°C
Test #3:
100ml water before metal temp- 20.8°C
100ml water after metal temp- 21.6°C

Calculations:

Test #1:
Q = mc(ΔT)
(5.6g) x c x (99.8°- 21.5°) = 100g x (21.5 - 20.7)°C(4.184)
(5.6g) x c x 78.3 = 100g x 0.8°C(4.184)
438.48g°C x c = 334.72 Joules
438.48g°C            438.38g°C
c = 0.763 J/g°C

Test #2:
(5.6g) x c x (99.8°- 21.7°) = 100g x (21.7 - 20.7)°C(4.184)
(5.6g) x c x 78.1 = 100g x 1.0°C(4.184)
437.36g°C x c = 418.40 Joules
437.36g°C            437.36g°C
c = 0.957 J/g°C

Test #3:
(5.6g) x c x (99.8°- 21.6°) = 100g x (21.6 - 20.8)°C(4.184)
(5.6g) x c x 78.2 = 100g x 0.8°C(4.184)
437.92g°C x c = 334.72 Joules
437.92g°C            437.92g°C
c = 0.764 J/g°C

Average Specific Heat:
0.828 J/g°C

Analysis and Conclusion:

Our sample was closest to Aluminum's specific heat.
The most noteable error observed in our experiments was that we used a glass beaker instead of the foam calorimeter to measure temperature change in the water as the heated metal was dropped in. The glass beaker might have absorbed more heat than the foam calorimeter and given a lower temperature reading than it might have actually been.

Chemical Reaction: Calcium and Aluminum Sulfate

In our reaction between calcium and aluminum sulfate, a moderately violent reaction took place and produced a bubbling, steaming solution and a bit of heat as products.

We put the aluminum sulfate in an aqueous solution, stirring until it dissolved completely. Then we put the calcium in and the reaction started instantly. This was a single replacement reaction. The aluminum dissolved in calcium sulfate by the replacement of one metal by a more active metal.


3Ca+Al2 (SO4)3 ---> 2Al + 3Ca(SO4)


As you conduct this reaction you should see the aqueous solution start to change a murky white color. The solution should also start to make a thick white steamy cloud above the beaker. There was also heat production, the beaker was a little warm after we were done.

Covalent vs. Ionic

One of the more difficult things for me to remember was the difference between ionic and covalent compounds. To remember the differences between covalent and ionic compounds I figured out that ionic and covalent compounds contained different types of elements.


Covalent:
-nonmetal and nonmetal
Ionic:
-metal and nonmetal

For example, in an ionic compound, it would contain a metal (as an example, sodium) and a nonmetal (chlorine) to create Sodium chloride or NaCl. Covalent compounds are between a nonmetal (as another example, carbon) and another nonmetal (oxygen) to create carbonate or CO3.