Pulverized coal plasma gasification

A number of experiments on the plasma-vapor gasification of brown coals of three types have been carried out using an experimental plant with an electric-arc reactor of the combined type. On the basis of the material and heat balances, process parameters have been obtained: the degree of carbon gasification (_c), the level of sulfur conversion into the gas phase (_s), the synthesis gas concentration (CO+Hz) in the gaseous products, and the specific power consumption for the gasification process. The degree of gasification was 90.5-95.0%, the concentration of the synthesis gas amounted to 84.7–85.7%, and the level of sulfur conversion into the gas phase was 94.3–96.7%. Numerical study of the process of plasma gasification of coals was carried out using a mathematical model of motion, heating, and gasification of polydisperse coal particles in an electric-arc reactor of the combined type with an internal heat source (arc). The initial conditions for a conjugate system of nonlinear differential equations of the gas dynamics and kinetics of a pulverized coal stream interacting with the electric arc and oxidizer (water vapor) agree with the initial conditions of the experiments. The computation results satisfactorily correlate with the experimental data. The mathematical model can be used for the determination of reagent residence time and geometrical dimensions of the plasma reactor for the gasification of coals.Nomenclature c _i volume concentration of components (kmol m^–3) - x longitudinal coordinate (m) - f _i source members, determined by variation of the ith component due to chemical reactions in unit volume in unit time (kmol m^–3s^–1) - velocity (m s^–1) - M _s ash mass in one particle (kg) - C _D particle drag coefficient - 3.14 - r _s particle radius (m) - d particle diameter (m) - density (kg m^–3) - C _p heat capacity of components (J mol^t– K^–1) - Q _j thermal effect of reaction (J kmol^–1) - E_j activation energy of reaction - N _l volume concentration of particles of thelth fraction (m^–3) - T temperature (K) - emissivity factor of coal particles - 5.67 × 10^–8, blackbody emissivity coefficient (W m^–2 K^–4) - P pressure (Pa) - S reactor cross section (m²) - D reactor diameter (m) - V reactor volume (m³) - L _R reactor length (m) - F _W friction force on the wall (N) - f _g friction coefficient - residence time (s) - Nu Nusselt number - Re Reynolds number - Pr Prandtl number - thermal conductivity of gas (J m^– s^–1 K^–1) - R 8.3 × 10³, universal gas constant (J kmol K^–1) - µ _i molecular mass of component (kg kmol^–1) - dynamic viscosity coefficient of gas (kg m^–1 s^–1) - thermal efficiency of plasma reactor - q_arc specific heat flow from arc (W m^–3) - P ₁ heat supplied in vapor at T = 405 K (W) - P ₂ heat loss to wall (W) - P ₃ heat loss in the gas and slag separator chamber (W) - P ₄ heat loss in the synthesis gas oxidation chamber (W) - P ₅ heat loss in the slag catcher (W) - P ₆ heat carried away in the off-gas (W) - P heat input of arc (W) - P _arc electric power of arc (W) - Q_sp specific power consumption (kw Hr kg^–1) - d _w specific heat flow to wall (W m^–2) - _c degree of carbon gasification (%) - _s level of sulfur conversion into gas phase (%)     

Reaction and mass transfer effects in a catalytic monolith reactor

Zeolite-based monoliths (Cu/ZSM-5 on cordierite) are prepared and used to catalyze direct decomposition of nitrogen monoxide. Two-dimensional heterogeneous model is applied to describe the behavior of the monolith reactor, with the emphasis on the features introduced due to coupling of flow, mass transfer and chemical reaction. The proposed model has been verified by comparing computer simulation data with laboratory experimental data. It is shown that both inter- and intraphase diffusion limitations have to be considered when modeling complex reactor configuration, such as monolith reactors, especially when monolith with thicker catalytic layer are used at higher temperatures.     

Parameter identification of thermophilic anaerobic degradation of valerate

The considered mathematical model of the decomposition of valerate presents three unknown kinetic parameters, two unknown stoichiometric coefficients, and three unknown initial concentrations for biomass. Applying a structural identifiability study, we concluded that it is necessary to perform simultaneous batch experiments with differenitial conditions for estimating these parameters. Four simultaneous batch experiments were conducted at 55°C, characterized by four different initial acetate concentrations. Product inhibition of valerate degradation by acetate was considered. Practical identification was done optimizing the sum of the multiple determination coefficients for all measured state viariables and for all experiments simultaneously. The estimated values of kinetic parameters and stoichiometric coefficients were characterized by the parameter correlation matrix, the confidence interval, and the student's t-test at 9% significance level with positive results except for the saturation constant, for which more eperiments for improving its identifiability should be conducted. In this article, we discussekinetic parameter estimation methods.     

An Analytical Study of Molecular Transport in a Zeolite Crystallite Bed

Analytical solutions of the diffusion equations to obtain the diffusant concentrations in the macro- and micropores which constitute the pore system of a zeolite bed are presented. The parameter which determines the influence of each pore type on the evolution of the adsorbate/adsorbant system towards the equilibrium state is described. Examples are given to illustrate a qualitative and quantitative study based on the curves obtained from these equations.     

On the mathematical formulation and interpretation of LACO MO theory

The mathematical basis of LCAO MO theory is studied, both within the Hartree-Fock approximation and in more exact formulations. The basic LCAO expansion for molecular orbitals ¦> in terms of atomic orbitals ¦x> is conveniently written ¦> = ¦x> S ^–1 B where S is the overlap matrix for atomic orbitals and B is the matrix of atomic orbital-molecular orbital overlaps. It is suggested that matrices P and Q, defined by P=B B and Q=BnB where n is the matrix of molecular orbital occupation numbers, are appropriate to the interpretation of molecular calculations in terms of atomic orbital components, electronic populations and the degree of bonding. Implications for Hartree-Fock calculations are investigated.     

Adsorption of the Ternary Liquid Mixture Ethanol/n-Octane/n-Hexadecane onto Activated Carbon: I. The Adsorption Excess of the Ternary Mixture and of Its Binary Combinations

The adsorption isotherms of the binary mixtures of ethanol/n-Octane, ethanol/n-hexadecane and n-octane/n-hexadecane onto the activated carbon TA 95 were measured at 278 K, 288 K, 298 K and 308 K and described with mathematical functions. About 300 experimental values of the adsorption excess of the ternary mixture ethanol/n-octane/n-hexadecane onto activated carbon TA 95 at 298 K were measured by gas chromatography inside the ternary triangle. The ternary miscibility gap was determined at three temperatures. A good representation of the ternary data and the calculated activity coefficients (using the UNIFAC model) in three-dimensional space was possible with the help of transformation of coordinates. It was possible, too, by utilization of the conception of the quasi two-component representation of the mole fractions with and without miscibility gap. Several influencing factors on ternary adsorption isotherms were discussed for the system ethanol/n-octane/n-hexadecane/TA 95.     

Stability theorems for infinitely constrained mathematical programs

The primary concern of this paper is to investigate stability conditions for the mathematical program: findx E ⁿ that maximizesf(x):g ^j(x)0 for somej J, wheref is a real scalarvalued function and eachg is a real vector-valued function of possibly infinite dimension. It should be noted that we allow, possibly infinitely many, disjunctive forms. In an earlier work, Evans and Gould established stability theorems wheng is a continuous finite-dimensional real-vector function andJ=1. It is pointed out that the results of this paper reduce to the Evans-Gould results under their assumptions. Furthermore, since we use a slightly more general definition of lower and upper semicontinuous point-to-set mappings, we can dispense with the continuity ofg (except in a few instances where it is implied by convexity assumptions).     

Closed paths of light trapped in a closed Fermat curve

Geometric constructions have previously been shown that can be interpreted as rays of light trapped either in polygons or in conics, by successive reflections. The same question, trapping light in closed Fermat curves, is addressed here. Numerical methods are used to study the behaviour of the reflection points of a triangle when the degree of the curve varies, including a generalization to non integer powers.