Conversion Natural Gas to Ci Hydrocarbons via Cold Plasma Reaction

Natural gas is not only an increasing important role in energy and chemicals supplies in 21st century but also the second most important of the greenhouse gases^[1]. For the past 200 years atmospheric methane concentrations have increased from 0.8 to 1.65ppm. This change in methane concentration had been led to an estimated increase in radiative forcing of climate of 0.47 W/m² compared to the increase of 1.56 W/m² due to the change in carbon dioxide concentration over a comparable time period^[2]. With large increases in natural gas reserves proven worldwide, it can be expected that natural gas will play an increasing important role in humanity future. Cold plasma chemical processing is a promising route for synthesis of chemicals that have high activation energies, because electric field can be excite reactant to the plasma and many kinds of reactive particles, electrons, free radicals, ions metastable species and photons are produced in a plasma chemical processing system.     

The changes in particle charge distribution during rapid growth of particles in the plasma reactor

The changes in particle charging were investigated during the rapid growth of particles in the plasma reactor by the discrete-sectional model and the Gaussian charge distribution function. The particle size distribution becomes bimodal in the plasma reactor and most of the large particles are charged negatively, but some fractions of small particles are in a neutral state or even charged positively. As the particles accumulate in the plasma reactor, the amount of electrons absorbed onto the particles increases, while the electron concentration in the plasma decreases. As the mass generation rate of small particles (monomers) decreases or as the initial electron concentration increases, the electron concentration in the plasmas increases and the particle charge distribution is shifted in the negative direction and the fraction of particles charged negatively and the average number of electrons per particle increase. With the decrease in monomer diameter, the electron concentration decreases in the beginning of plasma discharge, but, later, increases. For high mass generation rate of monomers or for low initial electron concentration or for small monomer diameter, the fraction of particles in a neutral state increases and the particle size distribution becomes broader.     

Effects of fluorination modification on pore size controlled electrospun activated carbon fibers for high capacity methane storage

Electrospun carbon fibers were prepared as a methane storage medium. Chemical activation was carried out using potassium carbonate to develop the pore structure, which can provide sites for the uptake of methane, and then fluorination surface modification was conducted to enhance the capacity of storage. Chemical activation provided a highly microporous structure, which is beneficial for methane storage, with a high specific surface area greater than 2500 m²/g. The pore size distribution showed that the prepared samples have pore sizes in the range of 0.7–1.6 nm. The effect of fluorination surface modification was also investigated. The functional groups, which were confirmed by XPS analysis, played an important role in guiding methane gas into the carbon silt pores via the attractive force felt by the electrons in the methane molecules due to the high electronegativity of fluorine. Eventually, the methane uptake increased up to 18.1 wt.% by the synergetic effects of the highly developed micropore structure and the guiding of methane to carbon pores by fluorine.     

担载型过渡金属催化剂上甲烷同系聚合反应的研究

本文利用瞬变应答反应技术较系统地考察了担载型过渡金属催化剂上甲烷同系聚合制C2以上烃的反应, 研究发现通过采用总反应分解法操作, 可以克服甲烷同系聚合反应的热力学限制, 使该反应能在较为温和的条件下得以进行。本文还系统地探讨了影响该反应的各种因素。523K 5wt% Pt/SiO2上甲烷的最佳转化可达9,91%。Pt, Co催化剂表现出较为优越的催化性能。甲烷在催化剂表面分解产生的CHx(ad)(0<=x<=3)物种可能是该反应的活性中间体。     

甲醇溶液辉光放电等离子体电解

甲醇溶液辉光放电等离子体电解过程出现明显的非法拉第定律现象, 主要产物是氢气和甲醛, 还有少量一氧化碳、甲烷、乙烷、丙烷、1,3,5-三噁烷和水等, 产物和产量受放电极性和辅助电解质及放电电压等因素的影响. 在甲醇溶液电导率为11.40 mS·cm-1, 放电电压700 V 条件下, 阳极气体产量为55.90 mol/(mol electrons), 阴极气体产量为707.90 mol/(mol electrons), 阴极气体产量是阳极气体产量的12.66 倍, 气相产物中氢气含量在86%(molar fraction)以上. 在等离子体层中甲醇分解过程和其它类型的等离子体分解过程类似, 蒸汽鞘层中的加速电子是引发辉光放电过程非法拉第定律现象的决定因素. 阴极辉光放电过程中等离子体-溶液界面上的主要活性物种是中性粒子和电子,阳极辉光放电过程中等离子体鄄溶液界面上的主要活性物种是中性粒子和正离子. 辅助电解质对产物的影响主要是通过影响界面上发生的后续反应过程来表现.     

Particle densities and non-equilibrium in a low-pressure argon plasma jet

Plasma diagnostic techniques have been employed to determine particle densities and temperatures in a low-pressure argon plasma jet generated by a cascade arc. These measurements allow characterization of the extent to which the plasma jet deviates from thermodynamic equilibrium and provide a basis for predicting how reactive gases will interact with the excited and ionized species in the plasma jet. It was found that the distribution of atomic states in the plasma jet is not adequately described by either local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) or partial local thermodynamic equilibrium (pLTE), and the jet was optically thick for 3p4s transitions across the jet radius. Excited argon neutrals outnumber ions by a large ratio, and dominate subsequent dissociation/excitation phenomena. The rate of methane destruction in the plasma jet shows that estimates for particle densities, temperature, and jet velocity are self-consistent.     

Equilibrium sorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution using synthetic hematite

Hematite sample prepared by transformation of ferrihydrite was used to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. Effects of initial concentration, contact time, pH, ionic strength, and temperature were investigated. The data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Kaganer-Radushkevich and Temkin models of adsorption. The results showed the best fit to the Langmuir isotherm. The increase of pH as well as that of increasing ionic strength resulted in the decrease of adsoiption of Cr(VI). Two kinetic models namely pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order were used to fit the experimental data. The thermodynamic parameters were found, and the results indicated spontaneous and exothermic nature of the process.     

Thermodynamic Model of Inorganic Arsenic Species in Aqueous Solutions. Potentiometric Study of the Hydrolytic Equilibrium of Arsenious Acid

A potentiometric study of the hydrolysis of arsenious acid was carried out to define the thermodynamic model of the inorganic arsenic species in aqueous solutions. The protonation equilibrium of arsenious acid was determined at 25^°C. The variation of the stoichiometric formation constant with the ionic strength was also studied up to ionic strength 3.0 mol-dm^–3 in aqueous NaClO₄, NaCl, and KCl. The thermodynamic formation constant of arsenious acid (log K ^o = 9.22 ± 0.01) and the various interaction parameters were computed using the Modified Bromley Methodology (MBM), for both the molar and molal concentration scales at constant temperature (25^°C). The results showed the importance, not only of ionic strength, but also of the composition of the ionic medium on the distribution of the acid-base As(III) species as a function of pH in natural waters.     

Transient behavior of a nonequilibrium plasma formed by merged beams

A low density, low temperature plasma formed by two merged beams of electrons and ions at near zero relative velocity is studied by solving a set of time-dependent rate equations. In particular, we investigate the role played by the radiative recombination (RR) and three-body recombination (TBR) on the population of excited states during the initial stage of plasma rearrangement and relaxation. It is found in the case of hydrogenic plasmas that low-lying states are filled predominantly by RR, while high Rydberg states are populated mainly by TBR. As the plasma further relaxes, the collisional excitation and de-excitation, and radiative decays become important, filling the median excited states. The dependence of the TBR and RR rates on ionic chargeZ is discussed to extend the result to plasmas of highZ ions.     

Chemical Kinetics of Methane Pyrolysis in Microwave Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

Results of chemical kinetics modeling in methane subjected to the microwave plasma at atmospheric pressure are presented in this paper. The reaction mechanism is based on the methane oxidation model without reactions involving nitrogen and oxygen. For the numerical calculations 0D and 1D models were created. 0D model uses Calorimetric Bomb Reactor whereas 1D model is constructed either as Plug Flow Reactor or as a chain of Plug Flow Reactor and Calorimetric Bomb Reactor. Both models explain experimental results and show the most important reactions responsible for the methane conversion and production of H₂, C₂H₂, C₂H₄ and C₂H₆ detected in the experiment. Main conclusion is that the chemical reactions in our experiment proceed by a thermal process and the products can be defined by considering thermodynamic equilibrium. Temperature characterizing the methane pyrolysis is 1,500–2,000 K, but plasma temperature is in the range of 4,000–5,700 K, which means that methane pyrolysis process is occurring outside the plasma region in the swirl gas flowing around the plasma.     

Evaluation eines Elektronendiffusionsmodelles zur Berechnung von nicht Gleichgewichts-Elektronenkonzentrationen in Induktiv gekoppelten Argonplasma für die spektrochemische Analyse

The electron density in argon ICP discharges has been found experimentally by other investigators to be higher than that calculated from the temperature distribution and Saha equation assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The results of the present study suggest that this non equilibrium concentration has mainly two causes: first, the kinetic energy of electrons owing to the power input of the rf field is higher than the kinetic energy of the gas particles. Second, as an effect of the extremely high gradients in the electron density and the temperature distribution, ambipolar diffusion of electrons results in a non LTE situation. With the help of the ambipolar diffusion constant and with recombination being taken into account, the electron concentration and the electron temperature in an ICP have been calculated. The so calculated electron density distributions are compared with literature values, found experimentally by other investigators. Finally a new model is proposed which explains the high ion concentration found experimentally for important analytical species.     

Glow Discharge Plasma Induced Dechlorination and Decomposition of Dichloromethane in an Aqueous Solution

In the present study, efficient dechlorination and decomposition of dichloromethane (DCM) induced by glow discharge plasma (GDP) in contact with an aqueous solution was investigated. Experimental results showed that DCM underwent effective dechlorination and decomposition under the action of GDP. Both the removal and the dechlorination of DCM increased with increasing pH and with the presence of hydroxyl radical scavengers and decreased with quenchers of hydrated electrons. Formic acid and formaldehyde were the major intermediate byproducts. Final products were carbon dioxide and chloride ion. Hydrated electrons were the most important active species responsible for initiation of the reaction. Hydrolysis of the resulting chloromethyl radicals played an important role in mineralization of chlorine atoms of the molecule. Hydroxyl radicals were mainly involved in the oxidation of the intermediate byproducts. Reaction mechanism was proposed based on the dechlorination kinetics and the distribution of intermediate byproducts.     

SiO2担载的过渡金属催化剂上甲烷直接羰基化反应

用程序升温脉冲反应技术，较系统地考察了担载型过渡金属（Ｆｅ、Ｃｏ、Ｎｉ）催化剂上，甲烷直接羰基化制乙醛的反应，研究发现，通过采用总反应分解法操作后，能够克服甲烷直接羰基化反应的热力学限制，将总反应转化为两个可在较温和条件下发生的反应，首次实现了ＣＨ４＋ＣＯ＝ＣＨ３ＣＨＯ的反应，即首先进行甲烷的分解，然后引入ＣＯ使其与甲烷分解所产生的表面物种直接反应生成乙醛，还探讨了甲烷吸附条件、ＣＯ甲烷分解所产生     

Extraction of Bovine Serum Albumin Using Reverse Micelles Formed by Hexadecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Chloride

The extraction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated using reverse micelles of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride/n-octanol/isooctane. Forward extraction process parameters such as the surfactant concentration, co-solvent concentration, pH, ionic strength, and species of the initial aqueous phase were important factors affecting the extraction performance. These parameters were varied to optimize the extraction efficiency. Under the optimized conditions, forward extraction efficiencies of BSA can reach practically 99.55%. The thermodynamic study revealed that the extraction of BSA is controlled by entropy changes. Maximum back-extraction efficiency of 85.16% can be obtained at low pH values and high salt concentrations. The structures of BSA during reverse micelle extraction did not change by comparing the circular dichroism spectra of BSA back-extracted to the aqueous phase with that of feed BSA.     

A kinetic study of methane conversion by a dinitrogen microwave plasma

Conversion of CH₄ with a N₂ microwave plasma (2.45 GHz) is studied. The experiments cover the absorbed microwave power range 300–700 W with 17–62% of methane in the gas mixture, with pressures of 10–40 mbar and flow rates of 140–650 ml· min^–1. The yields of C₂ hydrocarbons and dihydrogen are analyzed by gas chromatography. The distance of methane addition downstream of the plasma plays an important role on the composition and the concentration of the products obtained. This distance mainly determines the energy concentrated in the active species of the plasma when they react with methane. Different behaviors for acetylene formation, on the one hand, and for ethane and ethene formation, on the other hand, have been observed, and this finding allows us to propose a kinetic mechanism for the decay of methane and for the formation of C₂ hydrocarbons.     

The thermodynamic model of inorganic arsenic species in aqueous solutions Potentiometric study of the hydrolitic equilibrium of arsenic acid

Protonation constants of arsenic acid were determined at different ionic strengths in NaClO(4) (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0 mol dm(-3)), NaCl (0.5 and 1.0 mol dm(-3)) and KCl (0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 mol dm(-3)) ionic media by means of a potentiometric study. The distribution of arsenate species was defined depending on two important variables in natural environments: pH and composition. All the experimentation was performed at 25 degrees C. The differences found in the protonation constants for different medium compositions, were explained by the different behaviour of the interaction parameters of the species considered in the different media and ionic strengths. These parameters were reported for all hydrolitic As(V) species and were calculated using the Modified Bromley's Methodology (MBM). The corresponding thermodynamic stepwise formation constants were also determined (log degrees K(1)=11.58+/-0.01, log degrees K(2)=7.06+/-0.01, log degrees K(3)=2.25+/-0.01). All the results obtained showed not only the importance of the ionic strength but also of the composition of the ionic medium on the distribution of the acid-base species of As(V) as a function of pH in natural waters.     

担载型贵金属催化剂上甲烷直接羰基化反应

利用程序升温脉冲反应、恒温脉冲反应及探针分子表面反应技术较系统地考察了担载型贵金属催化剂上甲烷直接羰基化制乙醛的反应，研究发现通过采用总反应分解法操作后，能够克服甲烷直接羰基化反应的热力学限制，将总反应转化为两个可在较温和条件发生的反应，首次实现了CH4＋CO→CH3CHO的反应即首先进行甲烷的分解，然后引入CO与甲烷分解所产生的表面物种直接反应生成乙醛．本文还探讨了甲烷吸附条件，CO与甲烷分解所产生的表丙碳物种间的作用等反应的影响因素、探针分子CH3I的表面反应结果显示甲烷分解产生的CHx（ad）（x≤3）物种可能是该反应的活性中间体     

Kinetics and stability of CH4-CO2 mixed gas hydrates during formation and long-term storage.

The formation of CH4-CO2 mixed gas hydrates was observed by measuring the change of vapor-phase composition using gas chromatography and Raman spectroscopy. Preferential consumption of carbon dioxide molecules was found during hydrate formation, which agreed well with thermodynamic calculations. Both Raman spectroscopic analysis and the thermodynamic calculation indicated that the kinetics of this mixed gas hydrate system was controlled by the competition of both molecules to be enclathrated into the hydrate cages. However, the methane molecules were preferentially crystallized in the early stages of hydrate formation when the initial methane concentration was much less than that of carbon dioxide. According to the Roman spectra, pure methane hydrates first formed under this condition. This unique phenomenon suggested that methane molecules play important roles in the hydrate formation process. These mixed gas hydrates were stored at atmospheric pressure and 190 K for over two months to examine the stability of the encaged gases. During storage, CO2 was preferentially released. According to our thermodynamic analysis, this CO2 release was due to the instability of CO2 in the hydrate structure under the storage conditions.     

Computer simulation of the ionic atmosphere around Z-DNA

We describe a coarse-grained model for Z-DNA that mimics the DNA shape with a relatively small number of repulsive interaction sites. In addition, negative charges are placed at the phosphate positions. The ionic atmosphere around this grooved Z-DNA model is then investigated with Monte Carlo simulation. Cylindrically averaged concentration profiles as well as the spatial distribution of ions have been calculated. The results are compared to those for other DNA models differing in the repulsive core. This allows the examination of the effect of the DNA shape in the ionic distribution. It is seen that the penetrability of the ions to the DNA groove plays an important role in the ionic distribution. The results are also compared with those reported for B-DNA. In both conformers the ions are structured in alternating layers of positive and negative charge. In Z-DNA the layers are more or less concentric to the molecular axis. Besides, no coions enter into the single groove of this conformer. On the contrary, the alternating layers of B-DNA are also structured along the axial coordinate with some coions penetrating into the major groove. In both cases we have found five preferred locations of the counterions and two for the coions. The concentration of counterions reaches its absolute maximum at the narrow Z-DNA groove and at the minor groove of B-DNA, the value of the maximum being higher in the Z conformer.     

Extraction of uranium(VI) by bis(hexylsulfinyl)methane

The extraction of uranium(VI) with bis(hexylsulfinyl)methane (BHxSM) from nitric acid aqueous solution has been investigated. It was found that the extraction increased with increasing nitric acid concentration up 8.5 mol/l and then decreased. Extraction distribution ratio also increased with the bis(hexylsulfinyl)methane concentration. The extraction species appear to be UO₂(NO₃)₂ ^.2BHxSM. The influences of temperature, salting-out concentration and oxalate concentration on the extraction equilibrium were also investigated, and the enthalpy of the extraction reaction was obtained. The result shows that the reaction of uranium(VI) extraction with BHxSM is an exothermic one.