Lignin is cleaved electrolytically into smaller molecules than the starting lignin by passage of electric current through an aqueous alkaline solution of lignin at a temperature above 100.degree. C. while mixing. The yield is greater than 6%.

A process for electrolytically treating the surface of a carbon fiber without using a surface treatment bath, comprising forming a flow of an electrolyte solution in the form of a liquid film or column at at least one anode and at at least one cathode which alternate along the direction of the length of the carbon fiber, and passing carbon fiber strands through the flows of the electrolyte solution to apply electric current to the carbon fiber strands.

A method for changing a characteristic of a material is provided. The characteristic of the material is determined by the nature of the bond coupling certain molecular components in the material. The material is exposed to electromagnetic energy having a frequency range related to the bond coupling two molecular components in the material. During the time the material is exposed to the electromagnetic energy, stress is applied to the material. As a result, the bond is broken and then subsequentl...

The method is of the type in which carbon (3) is put into contact with a solution (2) of an amine compound in a bipolar solvent with the carbon being positively polarized relative to a cathode (5). According to the invention, the solvent is an organic compound, preferably an aprotic compound, having a high anode oxidation potential, and the solution is practically free from water.

A process for electrochemically bleaching pulp which comprises dispersing a pulp in a solution of sodium chloride to provide a first pulp slurry; subjecting said pulp slurry to electrolysis at a pH in the range of about 0 to 2.0; filtering said pulp slurry to remove said pulp; dispersing said pulp in a second solution of sodium chloride to provide a second pulp slurry; subjecting said second pulp slurry to electrolysis at a pH greater than 8.0; and recovering said pulp.

By establishing a direct electrical current between electrodes in an electrolyte like seawater, brine or brackish water, calcium carbonates, magnesium hydroxides, and hydrogen are precipitated at the cathode, while at the anode, oxygen and chlorine are produced. The electrochemical precipitation of minerals at the surface, to form a coating, or internally, to mineralize, of organic fibrous material, such as wood, is utilized to prevent attack by fouling and boring organisms, and to improve struc...

A filter contains first and second resonators adjacent to each other in a first direction, each of the first resonator and the second resonator comprising a pair of first microstrip lines formed on a first region in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and each having an open end and other end and a first width, and a second microstrip line arranged on a second region in the second direction, and connected between other ends of the pair of first microstrip lines, and having a ...

A system may include a memory file and an execution core. The memory file may include an entry configured to store an addressing pattern and a tag. If an addressing pattern of a memory operation matches the addressing pattern stored in the entry, the memory file may be configured to link a data value identified by the tag to a speculative result of the memory operation. The addressing pattern of the memory operation includes an identifier of a logical register, and the memory file may be configu...

A process for permanent waving of hair by a reaction in which cystine bridges are reduced to cysteine, the hair reshaped, and the reaction reversed. The improvement in the process resides in the step of reducing or reversing the reaction by applying to hair a composition which includes an emulsion polymerized mercapto functional silicone. Permanent hair waving with waving lotions, neutralizing solutions, or both, containing such emulsion polymerized mercapto functional silicones, provide waved h...

An improved highly alkaline hair straightening emulsion and a two component system for preparing the emulsion are provided. The emulsion employs a combination of strong nitrogenous organic base and alkali metal hydroxide in the presence of an alkaline earth metal cation. Neither the amount of the alkali metal hydroxide nor the amount of organic base present in the emulsion is sufficient by itself to effectively permanently straighten naturally curly hair. Alkaline earth metal hydroxides are char...