Cobalt ferrite for direct cracking of methane to produce hydrogen and carbon nanostructure: Effect of temperature and methane flow rate

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) was used as a catalyst for direct methane cracking. The reaction was accomplished in a fixed bed reactor at normal atmospheric pressure, while gas flow rate (20–50 mL/min) and reaction temperature (800–900 °C) were varied. The fresh CoFe₂O₄ morphology is sponge-like particle with inverse spinel structure as revealed from SEM and XRD results. The methane conversions and hydrogen formation rate were increased with reaction temperature, while catalyst stability and induction period decreased. Increases of gas flow rate > 20 mL/min led to a decrease the overall catalytic activity of CoFe₂O₄ for methane cracking. The XRD results of spent catalysts revealed that CoFe alloy was the active phase of methane cracking. TGA analysis showed that the largest amount of deposited carbon was 70.46 % at (20 mL/min, 900 °C), where it was 34.40 % at (50 mL/min, 800 °C). The deposited carbon has the shape of spherical carbon nanostructures and/or nano sprouts as observed with SEM. Raman data confirmed the graphitization type of the deposited carbon.     

Heterogeneous/homogeneous and inclined magnetic aspect of infinite shear rate viscosity model of Carreau fluid with nanoscale heat transport

The study of the inclined flow along with the heterogeneous/homogeneous reactions in the fluid has been widely used in many industrial and engineering applications, such as petrochemical, pharmaceutical, materials science, heat exchanger design, fluid flow through porous media, etc. The purpose of this study is to present an infinite shear rate viscosity model using the inclined Carreau fluid with nanoscale heat transport. The model considers the effect of inclined angle on the fluid’s viscosity and the transfer of heat at the nanoscale. The result shows that the viscosity of the fluid decreases by increasing the inclination angle and the coefficient of heat transfer also increases with the inclination. The model can be used to predict the viscosity and heat transfer fluid’s behavior in the inclined systems that is widely used in the industrial and engineering applications. The results provide a better understanding of the inclined flow behavior of fluids and the heat transfer at the nanoscale, which can be useful in heat exchanger design, fluid flow through porous media, etc. Greater Infinite shear rate viscosity parameter gives the higher magnitude of Carreau fluid velocity. Moreover, inclined magnetic field reduces the velocity due to Lorentz force. Two numerical schemes are used to solve the model, BVP4C and Shooting.     

Calculation of the anharmonic effect on the main reactions referring to ethylbenzene combustion mechanism

About 11 reactions related to ethylbenzene are studied in this paper using transition state theory. The YL method proposed by Yao and Lin is utilized to calculate the anharmonic and the harmonic rate constants in these reaction processes in the temperature range of 300–4,000 K, energy diagram and the temperature dependence of the rate coefficients are also presented. The calculations indicate that the harmonic rate constants are larger than the anharmonic rate constants in most cases. Especially, there is a temperature junction between the high and low relationship between the anharmonic and harmonic rate constants in several reactions. Furthermore, the calculated values are in good agreement with other theoretical ones within the allowable error. Finally, the kinetic parameters and the thermodynamic parameters are calculated. To sum up, it can be concluded that the anharmonic effect in these reactions is very significant and cannot be ignored.     

Kinetic study on solute permeation at the interface of molecular aggregates by partial filling capillary electrophoresis

Moment analysis method using partial filling CE was developed for the kinetic study on solute permeation at the interface of spherical molecular aggregates. Moment equations for partial filling CE were developed by classifying CE systems into five categories according to the migration velocities of solute and molecular aggregate. The method was applied to the study on the dissolution of electrically neutral solutes into SDS micelles. Elution peaks were measured by partial filling CE while changing the concentration of SDS and the filling ratio of SDS micellar zone to the capillary (ϕ_M). Partition equilibrium constants (K_p) and rate constants of interfacial solute permeation of SDS micelles (k_in and k_out) were determined from the first absolute and second central moments of the elution peaks by using the moment equations. Their values were comparable irrespective of ϕ_M and were almost the same as those previously measured by complete filling CE. The positive correlation of K_p with the hydrophobicity of the solutes was explained in terms of the change in k_in and k_out. It was demonstrated that the moment analysis method using partial filling CE is effective for studying solute permeation kinetics at the interface of spherical molecular aggregates.     

Grey relational analysis for optimization of wear parameters and surface roughness on nano composite coating

The higher wear resistance of Ni based nano composite coatings makes them potential replacement in protecting the substrate materials. The role of surface roughness of the coating along with wear parameters on the specific wear rate, pin temperature, and COF are addressed in the present study. The use of hard nano Al₂O₃ particles found significant role in increasing the resistance to wear for Ni matrix coatings on Al6061 material. The resistance to dislocation offered by these nano Al₂O₃ particles and smear out of debris with plastic deformation indicated abrasive and adhesive nature of wear mechanism in combination. The optimization of wear parameters are carried out by surface response method based grey relation analysis. The normal load applied onto the pin has significant influence on the specific wear rate and temperature rise in the pin. The surface roughness of the coating has also found instrumental in the higher pin temperature and friction coefficient.     

Growth of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes on Substrates Using Carbon Monoxide as Carbon Source

The growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) on substrates has attracted great interests because of the potential applications in various fields. Carbon monoxide(CO) was used as the carbon source for the growth of SWCNTs on silicon substrates. Random or oriented SWCNTs can be produced by varying the CO flow rate. When the flow rate of CO was as low as 20 sccm(sccm:standard cubic centimeter per minute), dense SWCNT networks with clean surface were produced. When the flow rate was above 50 sccm, vertically aligned SWCNT(VA-SWCNT) arrays were grown. Well-aligned VA-SWCNT arrays were obtained in the temperature range of 650-800℃ and the content of large-diameter(above 1.7 nm) tubes in the array increased with the temperature. The height of the array was affected by the growth temperature, the CO flow rate, and the growth time. These findings indicate CO can be used as an efficient carbon source for the growth of SWCNTs on substrates under low flow rates.     

New ion exchange membrane derived from sulfochlorated polyether sulfone for electrodialysis desalination of brackish water

The purpose of this work is to study the desalination of brackish water using a new ion exchange membrane, made from sulfochlorated polyethersulfone (Cl‐PES), and crosslinked using aminated polyethersulfone (NH2‐PES) as a crosslinking reagent. This membrane, named ClNH2 membrane, has been obtained by reaction between Cl‐PES with 1.3 SO₂Cl groups per monomer unit and 0.2 equivalent amount of NH2‐PES. ClNH2 membrane has been characterized in terms of contact angle, transport number, intrinsic conductivity, and water uptake (as a function of temperature). Electrodialysis performances of the newly synthetized membranes have been measured using an electrodialysis cell at a laboratory scale and compared to commercial membranes. All the experiments have been performed using synthetic brackish water solutions prepared from sodium chloride salts with different concentrations (varying from 0.5 to 5.0 g/L). The concentration of different water samples obtained has been found to be below the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water.     

Kinetic Behavior of Quaternary Ammonium Hydroxides in Mixed Methane and Carbon Dioxide Hydrates

This study evaluates the kinetic hydrate inhibition (KHI) performance of four quaternary ammonium hydroxides (QAH) on mixed CH₄ + CO₂ hydrate systems. The studied QAHs are; tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH), tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH), tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH), and tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPrAOH). The test was performed in a high-pressure hydrate reactor at temperatures of 274.0 K and 277.0 K, and a concentration of 1 wt.% using the isochoric cooling method. The kinetics results suggest that all the QAHs potentially delayed mixed CH₄ + CO₂ hydrates formation due to their steric hindrance abilities. The presence of QAHs reduced hydrate formation risk than the conventional hydrate inhibitor, PVP, at higher subcooling conditions. The findings indicate that increasing QAHs alkyl chain lengths increase their kinetic hydrate inhibition efficacies due to better surface adsorption abilities. QAHs with longer chain lengths have lesser amounts of solute particles to prevent hydrate formation. The outcomes of this study contribute significantly to current efforts to control gas hydrate formation in offshore petroleum pipelines.     

Rate Coefficients and Kinetic Isotope Effects of Cl+XCl→XCl+Cl (X=H,D, Mu) Reactions from Ring Polymer Molecular Dynamics

The ring-polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) was used to calculate the thermal rate coefficients and kinetic isotope effects of the heavy-light-heavy abstract reaction Cl+XCl\begin{document}$ \rightarrow $\end{document}XCl+Cl (X = H, D, Mu). For the Cl+HCl reaction, the excellent agreement between the RPMD and experimental values provides a strong proof for the accuracy of the RPMD theory. And the RPMD results are also consistent with results from other theoretical methods including improved-canonical-variational-theory and quantum dynamics. The most novel finding is that there is a double peak in Cl+MuCl reaction near the transition state, leaving a free energy well. It comes from the mode softening of the reaction system at the peak of the potential energy surface. Such an explicit free energy well suggests strongly there is an observable resonance. And for the Cl+DCl reaction, the RPMD rate coefficient again gives very accurate results compared with experimental values. The only exception is at the temperature of 312.5 K, results from RPMD and all other theoretical methods are close to each other but slightly lower than the experimental value, which indicates experimental or potential energy surface deficiency.     

DCE-MRI定量参数对子宫内膜癌的诊断价值及与临床病理因素的相关性

本文选取了子宫内膜癌患者108例作为观察组,另选取子宫内膜良性病变患者105例作为对照组,均行DCE-MRI检查后发现,观察组容量转移常数(K trans)、速率常数(K ep)、血管外细胞外间隙容积比值(V e)高于对照组(P<0.05);K trans、K ep、V e值联合诊断子宫内膜癌的曲线下面积(AUC)为0.841;K trans、K ep、V e值与临床分期、肌层浸润程度呈正相关,与分化程度呈负相关(P<0.05)。本研究结果提示DCE-MRI定量参数对子宫内膜癌具有一定鉴别诊断价值,有助于进一步区分子宫内膜癌患者肌层浸润程度、临床分期、分化程度。