Drone Magnetometry in Mining Research. An Application in the Study of Triassic Cu–Co–Ni Mineralizations in the Estancias Mountain Range, Almería (Spain)

The use of drones in mining and geological exploration is under rapid development, especially in the field of magnetic field prospection. In part, this is related to the advantages presented for over ground surveys, allowing for high-density data acquisition with low loss of resolution, while being particularly useful in scenarios where vegetation, topography, and access are limiting factors. This work analyzes results of a drone magnetic survey acquired across the old mines of Don Jacobo, where Copper-Cobalt-Nickel stratabound mineralizations were exploited in the Estancias mountain range of the Betic Cordillera, Spain. The survey carried out used a vapor magnetometer installed on a Matrice 600 Pro Hexacopter. Twenty-four parallel survey lines were flown with a speed of 5 m/s, orthogonal to the regional strike of the geological structure, and mineralization with 50 m line separation and 20 m flight height over the ground was studied. The interpretation of the magnetic data allows us to reveal and model two high magnetic susceptibility bodies with residual magnetization, close to the old mines and surface mineral shows. These bodies could be related to potential unexploited mineralized areas whose formation may be related to a normal fault placed to the south of the survey area. Our geophysical survey provides essential data to improve the geological and mining potential of the area, allowing to design future research activities.

Generation of Continuous Hybrid Zig-zag and Contour Paths For 3D Printing

The generation of the printing paths is a decisive step in additive manufacturing (AM). There is a variety of patterns that offer different characteristics, but those that are strictly continuous become especially relevant in certain types of AM by extrusion, with materials like bioinks, carbon or clays, since they do not allow the retraction of the material and travelling movements result in the generation of artefacts. In this work, we present (1) a method that generates continuous paths to fill 2D polygons with a hybrid zig-zag and contour pattern with any direction and line separation,which is based on the extension of an algorithm that decomposes the 2D area to be filled into convex areas, (2) a method to join the subpolygon trajectories such that a continuous path that fills the whole polygon is obtained, and (3) a publicly available dataset of 2D polygons that are relevant to test the performance of the algorithms.

Continuous synthesis of high-performance isobutylaluminoxanes in a compact and integrated approach

We present a 3D-printed continuous flow platform for controllable synthesis of isobutylaluminoxanes (IBAO), an effective olefin polymerization co-catalyst, via highly exothermic hydrolytic reaction of triisobutylaluminum (TIBA). This platform encompasses modules of mixing and reaction, in-line separation, and in situ UV-vis characterization. In addition, two NMR protocols are established to validate the results of in-line UV-vis analysis (31P NMR) and reveal product structures (1H NMR). Measured temperature profiles over the reactor indicate essentially fast heat removal, ensuring inherent safety. Subsequently, co-catalytic activity of IBAO is obtained by ethylene oligomerization experiments using an iron-based catalyst system at atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, we investigate the influence of key operating parameters including initial molar ratio between water and TIBA, initial TIBA concentration, and residence time. High IBAO yield over 98% and superior co-catalytic activity of ~5000 kg·(mol Fe)–1·h–1 are achieved with optimized parameters in this single-pass platform, demonstrating the advantages of process.

On-Line Separation and Determination of Trivalent and Hexavalent Chromium with a New Liquid Membrane Annular Contactor Coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

We describe a new on-line sensitive and selective procedure for the determination of trivalent and hexavalent chromium in liquid samples by a tailor-made contactor (TMC), specifically a liquid membrane annular TMC, coupled with inductively coupled plasma with optical detection. The TMC was designed and developed to integrate the extraction and stripping phases of the analyte in one module to minimize the membrane solvent’s consumption and maximize the speed of transport through the liquid membrane. Moreover, the particular geometry studied, which consists of two coaxial hollow fibers, allows the TMC to be used for both separating and preconcentrating purposes. Both (−)-N-dodecyl-N-methylephedrinium bromide (30 mM) in dichloroethane and HNO3 (0.75 M) were used as the liquid membrane and receiving solution, respectively. The proposed method’s performance was evaluated in terms of the hexavalent chromium extraction efficiency and the coefficient of variation percentages; these were higher than 85% and less than 5%, respectively. In addition, the proposed procedure was applied to two real samples: a tap water sample and an eluate from solid urban waste. In both cases, the analytical performances were good and comparable to those obtained using synthetic standard solutions.

Microsecond Laser Texturing of an Aerospace Grade Aluminum Alloy to Synthesize Superhydrophobic, Anti-Water Clogging Surfaces

Traditionally superhydrophobic surfaces are prepared by applying liquid repellant organic coatings or nano-based coatings. These superhydrophobic coatings are prone to wear and can be easily damaged by abrasion and cleaning. Recently researchers are switching interest to more efficient and promising technology of pulse laser texturing for engineering sub-micron topographies to have superhydrophobic surfaces. In this research, the micro-second Laser Pulses are used to feature sub-micron textures on titanium nitride coated aluminum and polished aluminum surfaces in order to achieve the water contact angle greater than 150°. Titanium nitride coated aluminum surface with scan line separation of 50 µm shows superior hydrophobicity having a water contact angle of 156º. These superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces have applications for anti-water clogging and anti-corrosion use.

On-line separation/analysis of Rhodamine B dye based on a solid-phase extraction high performance liquid chromatography self-designed device

A special self-designed device based on poly-1-vinyl-3-pentylimidazole hexafluorophosphate (PILs-C5) solid-phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is proposed as a novel method for the on-line separation and analysis of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye.