The nature and types of engineering of energy- and resource-efficient chemical process systems

The nature and main types, methods, and computer tools of engineering of technical structure, technological, and business processes of energy- and resource-efficient chemical process systems of appropriate industries, as well as enterprises and supply chains of competitive products (substances and materials) of the petrochemical complex, are considered. The compliance of chemical process systems’ characteristics and the quality indicators of the produced substances and materials with the requirements of national and international standards, as well as indicators of the best available techniques, are noted.     

Speciation of Copper(II)-Betaine Complexes as Starting Point for Electrochemical Copper Deposition from Ionic Liquids

The application of ionic liquids for the dissolution of metal oxides is a promising field for the development of more energy- and resource-efficient metallurgical processes. Using such solutions for the production of valuable chemicals or electrochemical metal deposition requires a detailed understanding of the chemical system and the factors influencing it. In the present work, several compounds are reported that crystallize after the dissolution of copper(II) oxide in the ionic liquid [Hbet][NTf₂]. Dependent on the initial amount of chloride, the reaction temperature and the purity of the reagent, copper crystallizes in complexes with varying coordination geometries and ligands. Subsequently, the influence of these different complex species on electrochemical properties is shown. For the first time, copper is deposited from the ionic liquid [Hbet][NTf₂], giving promising opportunities for more resource-efficient copper plating. The copper coatings were analyzed by SEM and EDX measurements. Furthermore, a mechanism for the decomposition of [Hbet][NTf₂] in the presence of chloride is suggested and supported by experimental evidence.     

A comparative study of particle swarm optimization and its variants for phase stability and equilibrium calculations in multicomponent reactive and non-reactive systems

Particle swarm optimization is a novel evolutionary stochastic global optimization method that has gained popularity in the chemical engineering community. This optimization strategy has been successfully used for several applications including thermodynamic calculations. To the best of our knowledge, the performance of PSO in phase stability and equilibrium calculations for both multicomponent reactive and non-reactive mixtures has not yet been reported. This study introduces the application of particle swarm optimization and several of its variants for solving phase stability and equilibrium problems in multicomponent systems with or without chemical equilibrium. The reliability and efficiency of a number of particle swarm optimization algorithms are tested and compared using multicomponent systems with vapor–liquid and liquid–liquid equilibrium. Our results indicate that the classical particle swarm optimization with constant cognitive and social parameters is a reliable method and offers the best performance for global minimization of the tangent plane distance function and the Gibbs energy function in both reactive and non-reactive systems.     

Optimization of Catalytic Processes and Reactors

Efficient methods and algorithms have been developed for the optimization of catalytic processes and reactors. In mathematical terms, these problems reduce to finding the extremum of a functional of a large number of variables whose domain of variation is subject to various constraints as sets of partial differential equations and algebraic inequalities. This implies solving problems in which the domain of extremals is closed. Applying Pontryagin's maximum principle to catalytic processes described by sets of differential equations with constrained phase and control variables allows the necessary set of optimal conditions to be found. A numerical algorithm has been developed for solving nonlinear boundary-value problems that arise when the maximum principle is employed. The efficiency of this algorithm is demonstrated by the example of the catalytic oligomerization of α-methylstyrene, a typical process requiring various kinds of optimization problems to be solved. The theoretical optimization of the process has served as the basis for the engineering optimization of an industrial reactor. Optimal controls were determined in both the theoretical and engineering optimization steps.     

聚合物产品工程:面向高性能高分子材料的化学工程新拓展

化学产品工程是化学工程学科的新拓展,其核心研究内容是化学品结构的精确定制.聚合物产品具有复杂的多层次结构,其中分子结构和分子的聚集态结构是决定聚合物性能的最主要结构层次.聚合过程可在很大程度上决定聚合物的分子结构和聚集态结构.近年来,本研究组在活性聚合机理和共聚动力学研究的基础上,针对各种链结构目标,建立了半连续聚合过程的模型化方法和操控聚合过程的计算机程序,实现了多种聚合产物分子结构的精确定制,制备了一些全新的高性能或特殊性能的聚合物.同时,通过反应器内合金化方法和活性界面细乳液聚合的方法尝试进行了聚合物原生聚集态结构的定制.本文综述了上述研究工作,并对未来研究的发展进行了展望.     

Energy-efficient methods for production methane from natural gas hydrates

Gas hydrates now are expected to be one of the most important future unconventional energy resources. In this paper, researches on gas hydrate exploitation in laboratory and field were reviewed and discussed from the aspects of energy efficiency. Different exploiting methods and different types of hydrate reservoir were selected to study their effects on energy efficiencies. Both laboratory studies and field tests have shown that the improved technologies can help to increase efficiency for gas hydrate exploitation. And it also showed the trend that gas hydrate exploitation started to change from permafrost to marine. Energy efficiency ratio(EER) and energy return on energy invested(EROI) were introduced as an indicator of efficiency for natural gas hydrate exploitation. An energy-efficient hydrate production process, called "Hydrate Chain Energy System(HCES)", including treatment of flue gas, replacement of CH4 with CO2, separation of CO2 from CH4, and storage and transportation of CH4 in hydrate form, was proposed for future natural gas hydrate exploitation.In the meanwhile, some problems, such as mechanism of CO2 replacement, mechanism of CO2 separation,CH4 storage and transportation are also needed to be solved for increasing the energy efficiency of gas hydrate exploitation.     

Research and Practice in Green Chemical Technologies

Green chemistry is also called environment harmless or environment friendly chemistry.Green chemistry requires to use new synthetic methods, engineering technologies and processes to eliminate or reduce by-products, wastes or products that harmful to human health, community safety,and ecology environment. Green chemistry pursues to control the usage of the harmful and toxic materials, reduce waste emission, avoid necessity to treat the wastes; Green Chemistry advocates wastes management from the beginning, improving the efficiency of atoms, optimizing the use of resources and energy, lowering the cost of production. Green Chemistry technologies are the ultimate path to the clean chemical production in the future.Insight Co. takes "hospital of enterprises" and "bank of technologies" as our characteristics in business, and deems the development and spread of green chemistry as our mission. We developed an unique business model which combines education, research and production. In the past 8 years,we had applied and obtained more than 30 patents and received more than ten national and provincial awards in technology progress.We had made great progress in the manufacturing of organophosphorus pesticides, especially the production of omethoate, methamidophos, paraquat and glycyrrhizinic phosphor, etc., which made a stable foundation for INSIGHT's development. We had also achieved great success in the high efficiency low toxic pesticides, such as imidacloprid, etofenprox, metalaxyl and in the new synthetic methods in various amino acids as well as in the pharmaceutical intermediates. The new method of preparation indigo using N-phenylglycinonitrile is an advanced process in the world in terms of the clean production technology for Ferro cyanide and HCN's transformation rate improvement. We solved the pollution problem of the old route. The newly developed substituted product for indigo using a clean production technology which greatly reduced the material consumption and environmental pollution. Insight has facilities producing nearly 20 photo-initiators and developed the new technique for light-curing lubricity, water-born resin, the technique for water-bon coating and their associated applications. The successfully developed technology of new high performance emulsion will promote the technology advancement in the coating industry and the wide spread of new coating in China.Insight has developed a series of new technologies, including a novel reactor technology - using a newly designed patented blade, has been characterized as high efficiency & energy saving reactor.The novel technology research and development are widely applied in INSIGHT's ten-year practice.We studied and confirmed the non-thermal catalyzing effect of microwaves, proposed a "weak microwave" theory, and a chemical reaction rate equation. We proposed that in the existence of microwave magnesium ions and phosphate, amino acid can be activated to form peptide which maybe the path of the origin of life.A 3000mt/a pilot plant in Chongqing using carbon monoxide and hydrogen to produce dimethyl ether in a single step has been built via collaboration with the Dept. of Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University. The large scale, low cost production of dimethyl ether may possible through comprehensive technology improvement. This technology will take full advantage of current ammonia production facilities, and try to solve the global fuel shortage problem.     

大类培养模式下非化学化工专业有机化学教学改革

针对非化学化工专业学生在学习有机化学时出现的"有机化学无用论、乏味论和繁难论"等现象,对有机化学课程教学的各个环节(包括绪论设置、新课导入、课堂教学内容编排、教学手段、考核方式)进行改革探索,旨在为"促进非化学化工专业有机化学教学改革,提高学生学习效率"提供相应的研究思路和方法.     

Corn stover availability for biomass conversion: situation analysis

As biorefining conversion technologies become commercial, feedstock availability, supply system logistics, and biomass material attributes are emerging as major barriers to the availability of corn stover for biorefining. While systems do exist to supply corn stover as feedstock to biorefining facilities, stover material attributes affecting physical deconstruction, such as densification and post-harvest material stability, challenge the cost-effectiveness of present-day feedstock logistics systems. In addition, the material characteristics of corn stover create barriers with any supply system design in terms of equipment capacity/efficiency, dry matter loss, and capital use efficiency. However, analysis of a conventional large square bale corn stover feedstock supply system concludes that (1) where other agronomic factors are not limiting, corn stover can be accessed and supplied to a biorefinery using existing bale-based technologies, (2) technologies and new supply system designs are necessary to overcome biomass bulk density and moisture material property challenges, and (3) major opportunities to improve conventional bale biomass feedstock supply systems include improvements in equipment efficiency and capacity and reducing biomass losses in harvesting, collection, and storage. Finally, the backbone of an effective stover supply system design is the optimization of intended and minimization of unintended material property changes as the corn stover passes through the individual supply system processes from the field to the biorefinery conversion processes.

化学工程学科发展及战略研究

化学工程学科经过百年发展,经历了"单元操作"、"三传一反"两个里程碑,进入"产品工程"、"三传一反+X"、"多(介)尺度理论与方法"等新阶段,初步形成了以化学、物理学、数学和生物学基本原理和方法为基础,以传递过程原理与化学反应工程为核心的学科知识体系.我国在化学工程学科建成了良好的学科研究平台和队伍.应用基础研究进展显著,论文发表数量及引用评价影响等方面已与美国并列站在最高水平线上.对国民经济支柱产业发展也做出了重要贡献.通过分析美国基金委员会近10年资助的化工重点领域,以及对AIChE Journal、Chemical Engineering Science、IndustrialEngineering Chemistry Research三大化工主流刊物关键词索引汇聚研究,并结合国家自然科学基金委员会"十二五"化工学科发展规划,归纳出了化学工程学科发展的三个层次:学科基础、交叉前沿领域、重大需求,共计15个重点领域方向.建议化学工程学科应优化自身理论体系、完善学科评价体系、争取"工程转化"环节的多方支持.     

Analytical chemistry of nonlinear systems

Analytical methods for characterizing complex, nonlinear chemical systems are reviewed. Emphasis is on those aspects of systems which make their characterization more difficult than just measuring concentrations or simple reaction rates. Examples include phase transitions, oscillating chemical reactions, laser fluctuations, and electrochemical oscillations. Data reduction algorithms specific to such systems are described.     

Design of ecologically safe and science intensive electrochemical processes

This review discusses the results of and prospects for studies aimed at design of new science intensive, environmentally safe technologies for the synthesis of organophosphorus compounds by halogenation of α-olefins, including modification of rapeseed oil; it also considers methods for the production of some other intermediates for chemical industry. New synthetic applications have been developed, using combined methods of classical organic chemistry and electrochemistry, for processes based on electrochemical generation of catalysts (mediators)—complexes of metals in low oxidation states, halogen complexes, etc. Selective electrochemical procedures are suggested for the synthesis of triphenylphosphine, trialkylphosphates, and nanosized transition metal phosphides from white phosphorus.     

Perspectives in Metabolic Engineering: Understanding Cellular Regulation Towards the Control of Metabolic Routes

Metabolic engineering seeks to redirect metabolic pathways through the modification of specific biochemical reactions or the introduction of new ones with the use of recombinant technology. Many of the chemicals synthesized via introduction of product-specific enzymes or the reconstruction of entire metabolic pathways into engineered hosts that can sustain production and can synthesize high yields of the desired product as yields of natural product-derived compounds are frequently low, and chemical processes can be both energy and material expensive; current endeavors have focused on using biologically derived processes as alternatives to chemical synthesis. Such economically favorable manufacturing processes pursue goals related to sustainable development and “green chemistry”. Metabolic engineering is a multidisciplinary approach, involving chemical engineering, molecular biology, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry. Recent advances in molecular biology, genome-scale models, theoretical understanding, and kinetic modeling has increased interest in using metabolic engineering to redirect metabolic fluxes for industrial and therapeutic purposes. The use of metabolic engineering has increased the productivity of industrially pertinent small molecules, alcohol-based biofuels, and biodiesel. Here, we highlight developments in the practical and theoretical strategies and technologies available for the metabolic engineering of simple systems and address current limitations.     

Metabolic engineering is key to a sustainable chemical industry

The depletion of fossil fuel stocks will prohibit their use as the main feedstock of future industrial processes. Biocatalysis is being increasingly used to reduce fossil fuel reliance and to improve the sustainability, efficiency and cost of chemical production. Even with their current small market share, biocatalyzed processes already generate approximately US$50 billion and it has been estimated that they could be used to produce up to 20% of fine chemicals by 2020. Until the advent of molecular biological technologies, the compounds that were readily accessible from renewable biomass were restricted to naturally-occurring metabolites. However, metabolic engineering has considerably broadened the range of compounds now accessible, providing access to compounds that cannot be otherwise reliably sourced, as well as replacing established chemical processes. This review presents the case for continued efforts to promote the adoption of biocatalyzed processes, highlighting successful examples of industrial chemical production from biomass and/or via biocatalyzed processes. A selection of emerging technologies that may further extend the potential and sustainability of biocatalysis are also presented. As the field matures, metabolic engineering will be increasingly crucial in maintaining our quality of life into a future where our current resources and feedstocks cannot be relied upon.     

Microfluidic Device： A Miniaturized Platform for Chemical Reactions

Microfluidic devices, as a new miniaturized platform stemming from the field of micro-electromechanical sys-tems, have been used in many disciplines. In the field of chemical reactions, microfluidic device-based microreac-tors have shown great promise in building new chemical technologies and processes with increased speed and reli- ability and reduced sample consumption and cost. This technology has also become a new and effective tool for precise, high-throughput, and automatic analysis of chemical synthesis processes. Compared with conventional chemical laboratory batch methodologies, microfluidic reactors have a number of features, such as high mixing ef- ficiency, short reaction time, high heat-transfer coefficient, small reactant volume, controllable residence time, and high surface-to-volume ratio, among others. Combined with recent advances in microfluidic devices for chemical reactions, this review aims to give an overview of the features and applications of microfluidic devices in the field of chemical synthesis. It also aims to stimulate the development of microfluidic device applications in the field of chemical reactions.     

On the Correlation Between Deposition Rate and Process Parameters in Remote Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has become one of the most important thin film deposition technologies. To avoid direct plasma exposure the substrates may be placed in the remote region. A carrier gas conveys the plasma energy to the deposition area where the reactions with the monomer molecules take place. For the engineering of such a process the modeling of the achievable deposition rate is of great interest. Among different possibilities semiempirical models provide a fast and easily utilizable tool without intensive computer simulations or the necessity of detailed knowledge about the chemistry involved. From deposition experiments with oxygen and an organosilicon monomer (hexamethyldisiloxane, HMDSO) the remote composite parameter is suggested. It combines microwave power, monomer and carrier gas flow rate, and the distance of the substrate from the plasma source. This parameter was derived from the ratio between atomic oxygen and monomer flow rate. In the parameter range considered the deposition rate is described as well ordered and the energy- and monomer-deficient regions are clearly separated.     

Beyond Mechanical Recycling: Giving New Life to Plastic Waste

Increasing the stream of recycled plastic necessitates an approach beyond the traditional recycling via melting and re‐extrusion. Various chemical recycling processes have great potential to enhance recycling rates. In this Review, a summary of the various chemical recycling routes and assessment via life‐cycle analysis is complemented by an extensive list of processes developed by companies active in chemical recycling. We show that each of the currently available processes is applicable for specific plastic waste streams. Thus, only a combination of different technologies can address the plastic waste problem. Research should focus on more realistic, more contaminated and mixed waste streams, while collection and sorting infrastructure will need to be improved, that is, by stricter regulation. This Review aims to inspire both science and innovation for the production of higher value and quality products from plastic recycling suitable for reuse or valorization to create the necessary economic and environmental push for a circular economy.     

氯气脱除技术研究进展

氯气(Cl₂)是一种对人体健康和大气环境有严重威胁的高毒性污染物,广泛存在氯碱工业的生产过程中,是含氯尾气的主要成分。含氯尾气的高效清洁脱除已成为研究重点与难点。吸附法和吸收法脱氯技术是目前主要的研究方向。本文以Cl₂的高效率脱除为目标、经济性脱除为理念、绿色化脱除为方向,综述了吸附法和吸收法技术的脱氯效果、机理和优缺点,并针对吸附法脱氯效率不足、吸附剂损耗大和吸收法操作条件繁琐、二次污染风险高等问题提出研究与发展方向。     

探索介尺度科学:从新角度审视老问题

本文介绍了国家自然科学基金委员会重大研究计划"多相反应中的介尺度机制及调控"的立项背景、聚焦的科学问题,以及该计划对化学工程的发展和介尺度科学的形成可能产生的影响.研究认为,介于分子/原子和宏观材料之间的物相或表界面结构及介于颗粒(气泡、液滴)和单元化工设备之间的非均匀结构是实现物质转化工艺过程定量设计、放大、优化和调控的瓶颈问题.这两个介尺度问题及其跨层次的关联是当代化学工程科学的核心,这些问题的解决将大大促进化学工程及相关学科由经验向量化过渡,并为逐步形成具有学科交叉特色的介尺度科学作出贡献.     

聚焦变革中的催化——始终基于解决重大经济社会需求的催化工程问题（英文）

催化是化学工业中最重要和最普遍的跨学科技术,也是具有重要社会影响的学科之一,是一门基于应用、注重实践、与化学工程息息相关的学科.应用、实践是催化的根本,也是其生命力所在,其发展轨迹与人类的历史进程密不可分.从20世纪初Mittasch贡献的高效Fe基催化剂为氮基化肥的大规模推广奠定了基础,到60年代,分子筛裂化催化剂使汽油收率和辛烷值大幅提升,为交通运输业的大力发展奠定了能源基础,推动了交通运输业的革命.从齐格勒和纳塔TiCl_4-AlEt_3体系催化乙烯、丙烯、丁烯等在低压下高收率地聚合,生成分子结构高度规整的立体定向聚合物——聚烯烃,到汽车排气管中的Pt-Rh-Pd三效催化剂,可以通过氧化和还原反应,把废气中的烃类物质和CO转化为水和CO_2,同时把环境危害大的NO_x分解成无害的N_2和O_2,等等.这些催化的印记推动了产业变革和社会进步.可以说,无处不在的催化支撑了人类社会的发展.近年有些突破也发生在我国,使我们更加感受到催化的力量.催化科学与技术是极其复杂的.一方面表现在表面科学的知识和催化反应的物理化学现象建模,材料科学和无机化学以制备合适的纳米结构催化剂;另一方面表现在催化剂成型、反应动力学评价和催化过程建模.这两个方面均涉及原料多样性、催化材料多变性、化工工艺适应性、宏量制备放大效应,以及本征与表观性能关联等复杂问题.但是这些复杂性问题与催化发展的根本相比,或者说,与催化发展的核心驱动力相比,很显然,催化解决重大经济社会问题更应引起关注,这是催化的使命所在.目前,我国催化基础研究走在了世界前列,已经取得了重大突破,李灿等成功组织举办了第16届国际催化大会,包信和、孙予罕等科学家的一系列重大催化基础研究成果在Science、Nature等期刊上发表,李灿、包信和等多名科学家被国际催化相关学术组织颁发荣誉称号,张涛等人一系列重大成果被评为重要进展.与此同时,我国在煤制烃、油品质量升级以及绿色化工等能源化工催化方面取得了重大的工业化成果.这些走在世界前列的重大催化工业化成果驱动了我国经济社会发展.本文试图总结这些重大工业化催化成果,并基于经济社会发展提炼相关催化问题,探讨发展方向、路径与对策.