Effects of FeCl3 Catalytic Hydrothermal Carbonization on Chemical Activation of Corn Wet Distillers' Fiber.

Corn wet distillers' fiber (corn fiber) is a byproduct of the corn-ethanol production process, with high potential as a precursor for activated carbon due to its moderate nitrogen content and availability. However, there has been limited investigation into activated carbons from the corn fiber. In this work, we produce activated carbons from the corn fiber using three procedures, including direct KOH activation, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) followed by KOH activation, and FeCl3-catalyzed HTC followed by KOH activation. Catalytic HTC with FeCl3 was found to slightly increase the degree of carbonization relative to uncatalyzed HTC while also removing the nitrogen content at increasing concentrations and slightly increasing the porosity. The resulting activated carbon samples are then characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and nitrogen analysis. The two-step process resulted in activated carbon with substantially higher surface areas than the one-step process (1220 vs 789 m2/g), as well as much higher thermal stability and nitrogen content (up to 1.20%). The results show that the corn fiber has potential for activated carbon production, with the two-step HTC followed by the activation process producing more favorable material properties than direct activation.

Wearable strain gauge-based technology measures manual tactile forces during the activities of daily living.

INTRODUCTION: Current methods of determining applied forces in the hand rely on grip dynamometers or force-measurement gloves which are limited in their ability to isolate individual finger forces and interfere with the sense of touch. The objective of this study was to develop an improved force measurement system that could be used during various activities of daily living. METHODS: Custom-made strain gauge sensors were secured to the fingernail of four fingers and two middle phalanges and calibrated to measure hand forces in eight healthy individuals during five activities of daily living. RESULTS: These sensors were capable of measuring forces as small as 0.17 N and did not saturate at high force tasks around 15 N, which is within the envelope of forces experienced during daily life. Preliminary data demonstrate the ability of these tactile sensors to reliably distinguish which fingers/segments were used in various tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Until now, there has been no method for real-time unobtrusive monitoring of force exposure during the tasks of daily life. The system used in this study provides a new type of low-cost wearable technology to monitor forces in the hands without interfering with the contact surface of the hand.