To get high purity caprolactam is a challenging task in the chemical fiber industry. To
date, reports on the prediction of the distribution of caprolactam and its derivative
chemicals have been few. In this study, the extraction of caprolactam with toluene as the
extractant and N-methyl caprolactam with benzene and toluene as the extractants has been
carried out. By defining new UNIFAC groups and calibrating related interaction parameters,
a UNIFAC method was introduced to predict the equilibrium concentration of caprolactam and
methyl caprolactam in toluene or benzene extraction processes. The calculated results fit
very well with the experimental data. Using the UNIFAC model, the selectivity of
extractants can be predicted.

Cloud point extraction (CPE) processes with two silicone surfactants, Dow Corning DC-190
and DC-193, were studied as preconcentration and treatment for the water polluted by three
trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene. For all
cases, the volumes of surfactant-rich phase obtained by two silicone surfactants were very
small, i.e. a lower water content in the surfactant-rich phase was obtained. For example,
less than 3% of the initial solution was obtained in a 1% (by mass) surfactant solution,
which was much smaller than that of TX-114 in the same surfactant concentration. And TX-114
is known as a high compact surfactant-rich phase among most nonionic surfactants, thus the
comparison showed that an excellent enrichment was ensured in the analysis application by
the CPE process with the silicone surfactants, and the lower water content obtained in the
surfactant-rich phase is also important in the large scale water treatment. The influences
of additives and phase separation methodology on the recovery of PAHs were discussed.
Comparing with DC-193, DC-190 has a lower cloud point and a higher recovery (near 100%) of
all the three PAHs in same surfactant con-centration, which was required for application as
a preconcentration process prior to HPLC system. However the DC-190 solution is hard to be
phase separated only by heating, whereas DC-193 has a relative higher phase sepa-rating
speed by heating, but a high cloud point (around 360K) limits its application. Due to the
phase separation by heating is the only method of CPE suitable to the large scale water
treatment, the mixtures of two silicone surfac-tants solutions were investigated in this
study. A solution containing 1% of mixed DC-190 and DC-193 (in the ratio of 90︰10) removed
anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene near 100% with a relative low cloud point and quick
phase separating speed.

The feasibility of employing non-ionic surfactant (Triton X-100) as an alternative and
effective solvent for the microwave-assisted extraction of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) and
liquiritin (LQ) from licorice root was studied. The optimal extraction parameters based on
the microwave-assisted micellar extraction technique were determined. Under the optimal
conditions, i.e. 5% (by volume) Triton X-100, microwave-assisted extraction for 3—5min at
373K, the percentage extraction of active ingredients reached the highest value. The
preconcentration factor for GA and LQ (about 13.5) and the extraction efficiency for these
two ingredients approached 100% showed the coupling of microwave-assisted extraction and
cloud-point extraction could be employed as a new and effective technique for the rapid
extraction and preconcentration of pharmacologically active ingredients from medicinal
plants such as licorice root without disturbing chromatographic analysis.

The modelling and experimental investigation of a thermally coupled humidification-
dehumidification desalination process using a carbon-filled-polypropylene shell-tube column
are presented. A heat/mass transfer model is established to study the correlation among
productivity, thermal efficiency, physicochemical parameters (gas/liquid phase temperature,
heat/mass transfer coefficient, Reynolds number etc.), and operating conditions (the
temperature of feed water, the flow rates of external steam, feed water, and carrier air);
at the same time, the effects of operating conditions on the productivity and thermal
eficiency of the column are investigated both theoretically and experimentally, which
indicate that the optimum flow rates of external steam, feed water, and carrier gas are
0.18, 60, and 10kg•h－1, respectively, and the higher the feed water temperature (≤95℃)
is, the greater the productivity and the thermal efficiency will be. Furthermore,
performance comparison with the previous study shows that the condensate productivity of
this carbon-filled-plastic column is not lower than that of the copper column, which
demonstrates the practicability and feasibility of applying such a plastic column to the
humidification-dehumidification desalination process.

Using a sonochemical reactor designed by the authors, the process of removing sulfur
dioxide from citrate solution simulating the flue gas desulfurization was studied. The
influence of ultrasonic frequency, ultrasonic power, reaction temperature, stirring speed,
inert gases, initial concentration of sulfur dioxide and concentration of citrate on the
efficiency of sulfur dioxide desorption, the stability of citrate solution and the
concentration of sulfate radical was examined systematically. By comparing the desorption
of sulfur dioxide with and without ultrasonification, it was concluded that (1) lower
ultrasonic frequency results in a better degassing efficiency; (2) the use of ul-
trasonification in desorbing sulfur dioxide from citrate solution improves the desorbing
efficiency in some condi-tions, without changing the essence of chemical reactions; (3)
sparging inert gas into the liquid can lower the vis-cosity of solution and the cavitating
threshold, and raise the desorption efficiency. These results demonstrate a technical way
for deep desorption of sulfur dioxide and provide the fundamental data for future
industrial disposal of sulfur dioxide.

Droplet behavior in the wave-type flow channel is discussed, especially with the secondary
droplet generation due to impingement of droplets on the wall considered. A numerical
method is suggested to simulate the droplet behavior in the flow field. Calculations are
compared with experimental data on the pressure drop and separating efficiency. Good
agreement exists between the calculations and air-water experiments. The numerical method
developed gives a reasonable description of the droplet deposition and secondary droplet
generation, and it can be applied to predict the performance of wave-type vane separators.

The coupling effect among the flow of fluid film, the frictional heat of fluid film and the
thermal deformation of sealing rings is inherent in mechanical seals. The frictional heat
transfer analysis was carried out to optimize the geometrical parameters of the sealing
rings, such as the length, the inner radius and the outer radius. The geometrical
parameters of spiral grooves, such as the spiral angle, the end radius, the groove depth,
the ratio of the groove width to the weir width and the number of the grooves, were
optimized by regarding the maximum bearing force of fluid film as the optimization
objective with the coupling effect considered. The depth of spiral groove was designed to
gradually increase from the end radius of spiral groove to the outer radius of end face in
order to de-crease the weakening effect of thermal deformation on the hydrodynamic effect
of spiral grooves. The end faces of sealing rings were machined to form a divergent gap at
inner radius, and a parallel gap will form to reduce the leakage rate when the thermal
deformation takes place. The improved spiral groove mechanical seal possesses good heat
transfer performance and sealing ability.

Chemical modification (CM) and deposition-precipitation (DP) methods were used for the
dispersion of active Au nanoparticles on mesoporous silica materials in this work. XRD,
TEM, N2 adsorption isotherms and UV-Vis absorption spectra were used to characterize in
detail Au-SBA-15 materials prepared by the two methods. The analysis results showed that
high loading (1.7%, by mass) and uniform Au nanoparticles (approximately 3 nm) were
dispersed in the channels of mesoporous SBA-15 by the CM method. While for the DP method,
most of Au nanoparticles with the size of 10—15nm were aggregated outside of the channels
of SBA-15 and the actual loading of Au was only 0.38% (by mass).

The detailed kinetic model of selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) of nitric oxide,
including sodium species reactions, was developed on the basis of recent studies on thermal
DeNOx mechanism, NOxOUT mechanism and promotion mechanism of Na2CO3. The model was
validated by comparison with several experimental findings, thus providing an effective
tool for the primary and promoted SNCR process simulation. Experimental and simulated
results show part-per-million level of sodium carbonate enhances NO removal efficiency and
extend the effective SNCR temperature range in comparison with use of a nitrogen agent
alone. The kinetic modeling, sensitivity and rate-of-production analysis suggest that the
performance improvement can be explained as homogeneous sodium species reactions producing
more reactive OH radicals. The net result of sodium species reactions is conversion of H2O
and inactive HO2 radicals into reactive OH radicals, i.e. H2O+HO2＝3OH, which enhances the
SNCR performance of nitrogen agents by mainly increasing the production rate of NH2
radicals. Moreover, N2O and CO are eliminated diversely via the reactions Na+N2O＝NaO+N2,
NaO+CO＝Na+CO2 and NaO2+CO＝NaO+CO2, in the promoted SNCR process, especially in the NOxOUT
process.

A simulated gasoline consisting of model sulfur compounds of thiophene (C4H4S) and 3-
methythiophene (3-MC4H4S) dissolved in n-heptane was tested for the oxidative
desulfurization in the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and formic acid oxidative system over metal
oxide-loaded molecular sieve. The effects of the oxidative system, loaded metal oxides,
phase transfer catalyst, the addition of olefin and aromatics on sulfur removal were
investigated in details. The results showed that the sulfur removal rate of simulated
gasoline in the H2O2/ formic acid system was higher than in other oxidative systems. The
cerium oxide-loaded molecular sieve was found very active catalyst for oxidation of
simulated gasoline in this system. The sulfur removal rates of C4H4S and 3-MC4H4S were
enhanced when phase transfer catalyst (PTC) was added. However, the sulfur removal rate of
simulated gasoline was reduced with the addition of olefin and aromatics.

Data-driven tools, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and independent component
analysis (ICA) have been applied to different benchmarks as process monitoring methods. The
difference between the two methods is that the components of PCA are still dependent while
ICA has no orthogonality constraint and its latent variables are independent. Process
monitoring with PCA often supposes that process data or principal components is Gaussian
distribution. However, this kind of constraint cannot be satisfied by several practical
processes. To extend the use of PCA, a nonparametric method is added to PCA to overcome the
difficulty, and kernel density estimation (KDE) is rather a good choice. Though ICA is
based on non-Gaussian distribution information, KDE can help in the close monitoring of the
data. Methods, such as PCA, ICA, PCA with KDE (KPCA), and ICA with KDE (KICA), are
demonstrated and compared by applying them to a practical industrial Spheripol craft
polypropylene catalyzer reactor instead of a laboratory emulator.

A novel control strategy for a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system, which has the
typical characteristic of strongly pronounced nonlinearity, multiple operating points, and
a wide operating range, is initiated from the point of hybrid systems. The proposed scheme
makes full use of the modeling power of mixed logical dy-namical (MLD) systems to describe
the highly nonlinear dynamics and multiple operating points in a unified framework as a
hybrid system, and takes advantage of the good control quality of model predictive control
(MPC) to design a controller. Thus, this approach avoids oscillation during switching
between sub-systems, helps to relieve shaking in transition, and augments the stability
robustness of the whole system, and finally achieves optimal (i.e. fast and smooth)
transition between operating points. The simulation results demonstrate that the presented
ap-proach has a satisfactory performance.

With the unique ergodicity, irregularity, and special ability to avoid being trapped in
local optima, chaos optimization has been a novel global optimization technique and has
attracted considerable attention for application in various fields, such as nonlinear
programming problems. In this article, a novel neural network nonlinear predic-tive control
(NNPC) strategy based on the new Tent-map chaos optimization algorithm (TCOA) is presented.
The feedforward neural network is used as the multi-step predictive model. In addition, the
TCOA is applied to perform the nonlinear rolling optimization to enhance the convergence
and accuracy in the NNPC. Simulation on a labora-tory-scale liquid-level system is given to
illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A novel mathematical model for single particle slurry propylene polymerization using
heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts has been developed to describe the kinetic behavior,
the molecular weight distribution, the monomer concentration, the degree of polymerization,
the polydispersity index (PDI), etc. This model provides a more valid mathematical
description by accounting for the monomer diffusion phenomena at two levels as multi-grain
model counts, and obtains results that are more applicable to the conditions existing in
most polymerizations of industrial interest. Considering that some models on the mesoscale
phenomena are so complex that some existing modeling aspects have to be simplified or even
neglected to make the model convenient for use in interesting engi-neering studies, it is
very important to put some effort into determining what sort of numerical analysis works
best for these problems. For this reason, special attention is paid to these studies to
explore an efficient algorithm using adaptive grid-point spacing in a finite-difference
technique to figure out more practical mass transport models and convection-diffusion
models efficiently. The reasonable outcomes, as well as the significant computation time
sav-ing, have been achieved, thereby displaying the advantage of this calculation method.

In compound fertilizer production, several quality variables need to be monitored and
controlled simul-taneously. It is very difficult to measure these variables on-line by
existing instruments and sensors. So, soft-sensor technique becomes an indispensable method
to implement real-time quality control. In this article, a new model of multi-inputs multi
-outputs (MIMO) soft-sensor, which is constructed based on hybrid modeling technique, is
pro-posed for these interactional variables. Data-driven modeling method and simplified
first principle modeling method are combined in this model. Data-driven modeling method
based on limited memory partial least squares (LM-PLS) algorithm is used to build soft-
senor models for some secondary variables; then, the simplified first prin-ciple model is
used to compute three primary variables on line. The proposed model has been used in
practical process; the results indicate that the proposed model is precise and efficient,
and it is possible to realize on line quality control for compound fertilizer process.

Interaction of anionic polyelectrolyte with cationic gemini surfactant has been
investigated by coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation. Polyelectrolyte facilitates
the oppositely charged ionic surfactants to aggregate by suppressing the electrostatic
repulsion between ionic head groups leading to the formation of micellar complex. With
addition of surfactant, the conformation of polyion chain changes from stretched to random
coiled to spherical, and at the same time more free micelles are formed by surfactants in
mixtures. Increasing the length of spacer or tail chain in gemini surfactant will weaken
its interaction with polyelectrolyte and simultaneously strengthen its tendency to self-
assemble. The simulation results are consistent with experimental observations and reveal
that the electrostatic interaction plays an important role in the interaction of
polyelectrolyte with gemini sur-factant.

Long-term injectable microspheres have some inherent disadvantages such as migration of
micro-spheres from the original site and the burst effect. In order to avoid these
problems, microsphere-loaded thermosen-sitive hydrogel system was designed and expected to
achieve a zero-order release of biomolecular drugs in relative high initial drug loadings.
Lysozyme, an antibacterial protein usually used to reduce prosthetic valve endocarditis,
was selected as the model drug. Poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres,
prepared by solvent evapo-ration method, were employed to encapsulate lysozyme and
dispersed into thermosensitive pre-gel solution con-taining methylcellulose (MC),
polyethylene glycol (PEG), sodium citrate (SC), and sodium alginate (SA). The mix-ture
could act as a drug reservoir by performing sol-gel transition rapidly if the temperature
was raised from room temperature to 37℃. The in vitro release results showed that the
burst effect was avoided due to strengthening of diffusion resistance in the gel. The
formulation was able to deliver lysozyme for over 30 days in a nearly zero-order release
profile with a rate of 32.8μg•d－1 which exhibits its remarkable potential for effective
application in long-term drug delivery.

Inducing expression and the reaction characteristic of nitrile hydratase (NHase) from
Rhodococcus sp. SHZ-1 were investigated. The results showed that the expression of NHase
was greatly enhanced with the coopera-tion of acrylonitrile and ammonium chloride as
inducer in the medium and the specific activity of NHase was in-creased of 44%. Then the
temperature, pH, concentration of acrylonitrile and acrylamide were evaluated, which af-
fected the activity and reaction characteristic of NHase. It was found that the temperature
and concentration of acrylamide were the most important factors for the catalyzation of
NHase. The optimal catalysis temperature of NHase from Rhodococcus sp. SHZ-1 was 30℃, and
the activation energy of the hydration of NHase was 90.2kJ∙mol－1 in the temperature range
from 5℃ to 30℃. Km of NHase was 0.095mol∙L－1 using acrylonitrile (AN) as substrate, and
NHase activity was inhibited seriously when acrylonitrile concentration was up to 40g∙L－1,
the substrate inhibition constant Ki is 0.283mol∙L－1. Moreover, the NHase from Rhodococcus
sp. SHZ-1 had very strong tolerance to acrylamide, in which the final concentration of
acrylamide reached to 642g∙L－1 and the residual activity of NHase still maintained 8.6% of
the initial enzyme activity.

The flowability of five kinds of microencapsulation powders, with different β-carotene
contents and by two alternative particle-forming technologies i.e. spray-drying and starch
-catching beadlet technology, was meas-ured. The actual flow properties of the five powders
were compared based on bin-flow test, and three flow indexes (Hausner ratio, repose angle
and flow index) were measured. It was found that the repose angle is the most suitable
index to reflect the flowability of these powders for the particle properties would not be
altered due to compaction or tapping during the measuring process. Particle size and
particle size distribution play most important roles in the flowability of these granular
materials, which was also influenced by other factors like shape, surface texture, sur-face
roughness, etc. Microcapsules with wall material of gelatin and a layer of modified starch
absorbed on the sur-face showed excellent flowabilities and good mechanical properties, and
they are favorable for tabletting to supply β-carotene.

Hirudin is the most anticoagulant drug found in nature, but its short serum half-life
significantly inhibits its clinical application. The PEGylation of hirudin, the most
promising anticoagulant drug, was performed in this paper. The optimal reaction conditions
for PEGylated hirudin were investigated. When the PEGylation reaction was conducted under 4
℃ after 10h, in the borate buffer at pH 8.5, with the molar ratio 250︰1 of PEG to
hirudin, a higher modification extent was achieved. Finally, the bioactivity of PEGylated
hirudin was measured in vitro. Compared with unmodified hirudin, 26% of anti-thrombin
activity was retained.

The biological aerated filter (BAF) was used to treat the oil-field produced water. The
removal effi-ciency for oil, COD, BOD and suspended solids (SS) was 76.3%—80.3%, 31.6%—
57.9%, 86.3%—96.3% and 76.4%—82.7%, respectively when the hydraulic loading rates varied
from 0.6m•h－1 to 1.4m•h－1. The greatest part of removal, for example more than 80% of COD
removal, occurred on the top 100cm of the media in BAF. The ki-netic performance of BAF
indicated that the relationship of BOD removal efficiency with the hydraulic loading rates
in biological aerated filters could be described by cr/ci＝1－exp(－2.44/L0.59). This
equation could be used to predict the BOD removal efficiency at different hydraulic loading
rates.

Using nickel(Ⅱ) acetate-2,2′-dipyridyl complex as template and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone
(NVP) as coor-dinate functional monomer, a new kind of metal-complexing template
molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared. The results of equilibrium binding
experiments in aqueous solution showed that the MIP had higher bind-ing capacity for
nickel(Ⅱ)-2,2′-dipyridyl than the non-imprinted polymer with the same chemical
composition. The influences of metal ions and pH of solution on the recognition performance
of MIP were investigated. The binding characteristics of MIP were evaluated by the
Scatchard analysis with one-site and two-site binding equations, re-spectively. The results
on substrate selectivity of imprinted polymer revealed that MIP had better binding affinity
for template among the tested compounds.

A novel quadripolymer scale inhibitor poly-maleic anhydride-acrylic acid-acrylamide-sodium
methallyl sulfonate (PMAAS) was synthesized by solution polymerization with maleic
anhydride (MA), acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM), sodium methallyl sulfonate (SMAS), etc.
IR spectrum shows that PMAAS contains carbonyl, hydroxyl, phosphatic and sulfonic acid
group. SEM indicates that PMAAS blocks the normal growth of scale CaCO3 and CaSO4 crystals.
The influences of PMAAS concentration, Ca2+ concentration, temperature and pH value of the
system on the inhibition efficiency are investigated. The inhibition efficiency of PMAAS is
superior to com-mercial inhibitors T-225 and XF-192.

Isopropylation of naphthalene with propene resulted in a variety of isomers having
different alkylation levels. The most important isomer is 2,6-DIPN, which is the precursor
of important monomer 2,6-naphthalene di-carboxylic acid used for making liquid crystal
polymers. In order to increase the yield of 2,6-DIPN, the intermo-lecular transalkylation
with naphthalene was applied to the mixture of other DIPNs and PIPN to obtain MIPN en-
riched product, which underwent isopropylation with propene to produce 2,6-DIPN in a higher
yield. The experi-mental study showed that the preferable conditions for transalkylation
were reaction temperature of 325℃, the mo-lar ratio of isopropyl group to naphthyl group
(IP/N) of 0.8︰1—0.9︰1, reaction time of 4h and 5% of amorphous silica-alumina by mass.
The conversions of DIPN and PIPN in its mixture were 62%—69% and 87%—88% respec-tively
and the yield of MIPN was greater than 40%. The mixture of MIPN enriched product and
recovered MIPN from rectification was subject to isopropylation with propene at 275℃ over
a shape-selective catalyst to produce 2,6-DIPN in a yield up to 38%. A recycled process of
recovered components was established, through one cycle the yield of 2,6-DIPN based on
naphthalene may be 2.8 times higher than before, and the utilization ratio of raw naph-
thalene was increased by 46%.

A self-developed laser image measurement system was established to study the behavior of
bubble for-mation at a single orifice in non-Newtonian polyacrylamide (PAAm) solutions.
Images of bubbles were captured by a CCD camera and volumes of bubbles were digitally
analyzed online. The effects of rheological property of PAAm solution, orifice, reservoir,
and gas flowrate on bubble formation were studied experimentally. It is found that the
volume of bubble increases with the concentration of PAAm solution, the diameter of the
orifice, and the gas flowrate, respectively, whereas little effect of reservoir is observed
in experiments.

A novel method to prepare macroporous TiO2 ceramic, based on membrane emulsification was
reported. To solve the paradox between the instability of nonaqueous emulsion and long
emulsification time required by the membrane emulsification, a two-stage ceramic membrane
jet-flow emulsification was proposed. Discussion was conducted on the evolution of droplet
size with time, which followed the Ostwald ripening theory. And a monodis-persed nonaqueous
emulsion with an average droplet size of 1.6μm could be prepared. Using the emulsion as a
template, TiO2 ceramics with an average pore size of 1.1μm were obtained. The material
could be prospectively used for preparation of catalysts, adsorbents, and membranes.