A numerical simulation was performed to investigate the interaction of two bubbles rising side by side in shear-thinning fluid using volume of fluid (VOF) method coupled with continuous surface force (CSF) method. By considering rheological characteristics of fluid, this approach was able to accurately capture the deformation of bubble interface, and validated by comparing with the experimental results. The rising of bubble pairs with different configurations, including horizontal alignment and oblique alignment, was simulated by the method. The influences of the bubble initial distance and the bubble alignment were studied by analyzing the bubble deformation, rising paths and flow fields surrounding bubbles. The results indicate that within certain initial bubble spacing of S^* 3.3 (S^* S_I/D, S_I initial distance between bubbles, and D bubble diameter), the dynamic interaction between two bubbles aligned horizontally shows repulsive effect that decreases with the increase of initial bubble spacing, but weakens to certain degree by the shear-thinning properties of fluid. However, the interaction between two bubbles aligned obliquely presents a repulsive effect for the small angle involved but an attractive impact for the large one, which is yet strengthened by the rheological characteristics of fluid.

Modern packing technology is presented in terms of correlations and criteria for an extensive evaluation of up-to-date packing design used in current mass transfer operations. The corresponding basic information covers the process engineering aspects, e.g. volumetric effectiveness and optimum geometry of the packing, and the techno-economic aspects, e.g. when selecting a packing adopted in practice for a certain application task. The correlations required for this investigation are derived and evaluated on the basis of a comprehensive experimental research by testing and comparison of modern packings, such as Raschig Super-Rings and reference packings. The results thus obtained are correlated and presented in graphic presentation of diagrams, figures and tables.

The thermal decomposition of abietic acid in air was investigated under non-isothermal condition using thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) technique with heating rates of 5, 10, 15 and 25 K·min^-1. The non-isothermal kinetic parameters were obtained via the analysis of the thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric (TG-DTG) curves by using Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method and Kissinger method. The thermal decomposition mechanism of abietic acid was studied with four integral methods (Šatava-Šesták, MacCallum-Tanner, ordinary integral and Agrawal). The results show that the thermal decomposition mechanism is nucleation and growth, and the mechanism function is Avrami-Erofeev equation with n equates 1/2. The activation energy and the pre-exponential factor are 64.04 kJ·mol^-1 and 5.89×10⁵ s^-1, respectively.

The applicability of a commercial Pt-Sn/Al₂O₃ isobutane dehydrogenation catalyst in dehydrogenation of propane was studied. Catalyst performance tests were carried out in a fixed-bed quartz reactor under different operating conditions. Generally, as the factors improving propane conversion decrease the propylene selectivity, the optimal operating condition to maximize propylene yield is expected. The optimal condition was obtained by the experimental design method. The investigated parameters were temperature, hydrogen/hydrocarbon (H₂/HC) ratio and space velocity, being changed in three levels. Constrains such as the susceptibility of the catalyst components to sintering or phase transformation were also taken into account. Activity, selectivity and stability of the catalyst were considered as the measured response factors, while the space-time-yield (STY) was considered as the variable to be optimized due to its commercial interest. A STY of 16 mol·kg^-1·h^-1 was achieved under the optimal conditions of T 620℃, H₂/HC 0.6 and, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) 2.2 h^-1. Single carbon-carbon bond rupture was found to be the main route for the formation of lower hydrocarbon byproducts.

The dissolution kinetics of diatomite in alkaline solution is the theoretical basis for the process optimization of alkali-diatomite reaction and its applications. In this study, the dissolution kinetics of diatomite in NaOH solution is investigated. The results indicate that the dissolution reaction fits well the unreacted shrinking core model for solid-liquid heterogeneous reactions. The apparent reaction order for NaOH is 2 and the apparent activation energy for the reaction (E_a) is 28.06 kJ·mol^-1. The intra-particle diffusion through the sodium silicate layer is the rate-controlling step. When the dissolution reaction occurs at the interface of unreacted diatomite solid core, the diffusion in the trans-layer (the liquid film around the wetted particle) reduces the rate of whole dissolution process.

System reliability can produce a strong influence on the performance of the heat exchanger network (HEN). In this paper, an optimization method with system reliability analysis for flexible HEN by genetic/simulated annealing algorithms (GA/SA) is presented. Initial flexible arrangements of HEN is received by pseudo-temperature enthalpy diagram. For determining system reliability of HEN, the connections of heat exchangers(HEXs) and independent subsystems in the HEN are analyzed by the connection sequence matrix(CSM), and the system reliability is measured by the independent subsystem including maximum number of HEXs in the HEN. As for the HEN that did not meet system reliability, HEN decoupling is applied and the independent subsystems in the HEN are changed by removing decoupling HEX, and thus the system reliability is elevated. After that, heat duty redistribution based on the relevant elements of the heat load loops and HEX areas are optimized in GA/SA. Then, the favorable network configuration, which matches both the most economical cost and system reliability criterion, is located. Moreover, particular features belonging to suitable decoupling HEX are extracted from calculations. Corresponding numerical example is presented to verify that the proposed strategy is effective to formulate optimal flexible HEN with system reliability measurement.

The solubilities of isophthalic acid (1) in binary acetic acid (2)+water (3) solvent mixtures were determined in a pressurized vessel. The temperature range was from 373.2 to 473.2K and the range of the mole fraction of acetic acid in the solvent mixtures was from x₂ 0 to 1. A new method to measure the solubility was developed, which solved the problem of sampling at high temperature. The experimental results indicated that within the temperature range studied, the solubilities of isophthalic acid in all mixtures showed an increasing trend with increasing temperature. The experimental solubilities were correlated by the Buchowski equation, and the calculate results showed good agreement with the experimental solubilities. Furthermore, the mixed solvent systems were found to exhibit a maximum solubility effect on the solubility, which may be attributed to the intermolecular association between the solute and the solvent mixture. The maximum solubility effect was well modeled by the modified Wilson equation.

Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium(VLE) data for acetic acid+sec-butyl acetate and water+acetic acid+sec-butyl acetate systems were determined at 101.3 kPa using a modified Rose type. The nonideality of the vapor phase caused by the association of the acetic acid was corrected by the chemical theory and Hayden-O’Connell method. Thermodynamic consistency was tested for the binary VLE data. The experimental data were correlated successfully with the Non-Random Two Liquids (NRTL) model. The Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) of the ternary system was 0.0038. The saturation vapor pressure of sec-butyl acetate at 329 to 385 K was measured by means of two connected equilibrium cells. The vapor pressures of water and sec-butyl acetate were correlated with the Antoine equation. The binary interaction parameters and the ternary VLE data were obtained from this work.

A series of caprolactam ionic liquids (ILs) containing incorporated halide anions were synthesized. Their physical properties, such as melting points, heats of fusion and heat capacities, were measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results indicate that these ionic liquids exhibit proper melting points, high value of heats of fusion, and satisfying heat capacities which are suitable for thermal energy storage applications.

The carbon dioxide-water system was used to investigate the flowing gas-liquid metastable state. The experiment was carried out in a constant volume vessel with a horizontal circulation pipe and a peristaltic pump forced CO₂ saturated water to flow. The temperature and pressure were recorded. The results showed that some CO₂ escaped from the water in the flow process and the pressure increased, indicating that the gas-liquid equilibrium was broken. The amount of escaped CO₂ varied with flow speed and reached a limit in a few minutes, entitled dynamic equilibrium. Temperature and liquid movement played the same important role in breaking the phase equilibrium. Under the experimental conditions, the ratio of the excessive carbon dioxide in the gas phase to its thermodynamic equilibrium amount in the liquid could achieve 15%.

method of extracting astaxanthin from Phaffia rhodozyma with various solvents after acid washing was investigated. The extraction efficiency was distinctly increased after acid washing of P. rhodozyma cells. When the concentration of HCl was 0.4 mol·L^-1, the highest extraction efficiency of astaxanthin was achieved which was about three times higher than the control. Acetone or benzene as single polar or non-polar solvent was the most effective solvent in our research. With a combination of isopropanol and n-hexane (volume ratio of 2:1), the maximal extraction efficiency was achieved, approximately 60% higher than that obtained with a single solvent. The liquid-solid ratio and the extracting time were also optimized. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the extraction yield of astaxanthin exceeded 98%.

A novel saline-tolerant bacterium Bacillus circulans WZ-12 was evaluated for its potential to degrade four chlorinated hydrocarbons under saline conditions. CH₂Cl₂ was effectively degraded by Bacillus circulans WZ-12 cells in the medium containing NaCl concentrations ranging from 5 g·L^-1 to 10 g·L^-1, and the maximum degradation efficiency (85%) was achieved at NaCl concentration of 10 g·L^-1. Similarly, Bacillus circulans WZ-12 was able to degrade CH₂BrCl, C₂H₄Cl₂, and C₂H₂Cl₂ in the presence of 10 g NaCl per liter within 24 h. Cells of Bacillus circulans WZ-12 grown in minimal salt medium contained low levels of glycine betaine (GB), but GB levels were 3- to 5-fold higher in cells grown in media with high salt. Kinetic analysis revealed that biodegradation of the four chlorinated hydrocarbons was concentration dependent and a linear inverse correlation (R² 0.85-0.94) was observed between the rate of biodegradation (V) and salt concentration from 5 g·L^-1 to 60 g·L^-1. The growing cells (in minimal salt medium) degraded approximately 50% of the CH₂Cl₂ within 24 h, whereas the resting cells (in physiological saline) degraded only 25% of the CH₂Cl₂ within 24 h and were inactive after 36 h cultivation. Biodegradation could be repeatedly performed for more than 192 h with more than 50% removal efficiency. Bacillus circulans WZ-12 grows well in an aqueous/oil system, hence, it is effective for the treatment of industrial effluents that contain chlorinated hydrocarbons with high salt concentrations.

This paper investigates the effects of coflow O₂ level and temperature on diffusion flame of a CH₄/H₂ jet in hot coflow (JHC) from a burner system similar to that of Dally et al. The coflow O₂ mass fraction (y_O2^*) is varied from 3% to 80% and the temperature (T_cof^*) from 1200 K to 1700 K. The Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC) model with detailed reaction mechanisms GRI-Mech 3.0 is used for all simulations. To validate the modeling, several JHC flames are predicted under the experimental conditions of Dally et al. [Proc. Combust. Inst., 29 (1), 1147-1154 (2002)] and the results obtained match well with the measurements. Results demonstrate that, when y_O2^* decreased, the diffusion combustion is likely to transform from traditional combustion to MILD (Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution) combustion mode. When T_cof^* is higher, the temperature distribution over the whole domain trends to be more uniform. Reducing y_O2^* or T_cof^* leads to less production of intermediate species OH and CO. It is worth noting that if y_O2^* is high enough (y_O2^*>80%), increasing y_O2^* does not cause obvious temperature increase.

Discrete element model was developed to simulate the ellipsoidal particles moving in the moving bed. Multi-element model was used to describe a ellipsoidal particle, the contact detection algorithm of ellipsoidal particle was developed, and both contact force and gravity force were considered in the models. The simulation results were validated by our experiment. Three algorithms for representing an ellipsoidal particle were compared in macro and micro aspects. The results show that there exists big difference in the microscopic parameters such as kinetic energy, rotational kinetic energy, deformation, contact force and collision number which leads to the difference of macroscopic parameters. The relative error in the discharge rate and tracer particle position is the largest between 3-tangent-element representation and experimental results. The flow pattern is similar for the 5-element and 3-intersection representations. The only difference is the discharge rate of 5-element representation is larger than the experimental value and that of the 3-intersection representation has the contrary result. Finally the 3-intersection- element representation is chosen in the simulation due to less computing time than that of the 5-element representation.

In this study, the oxidation rates of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in sulphuric acid solution by ozone and oxygen were compared, and the oxidation mechanism of ozone on SO₂ was investigated. The results showed that the oxidation-reduction potential of the acidic solution was enhanced, the transformation rate of sulfuric acid to sulphuric acid was increased and the absorption driving force was improved in the presence of ozone. By comparing the amount of sulfate ions measured in the experiments and the theoretical amount of sulfate ions calculated from the amount of ozone consumed in the reaction, it can be confirmed that oxygen free radicals from dissociation of ozone are reactive as an efficient oxidant and oxygen from ozone generator participates in the reaction with SO₂. 0.602 mol of effective oxygen was introduced into the reaction by one mole of ozone in 10.15 min at sulphuric acid concentration of 3% (by mass), SO₂ concentration of 1.33% (by volume) and oxygen flow rate of 1.5 L·min^-1 from ozone generator.

This paper presents a novel capacitance probe, i.e., parallel-wire capacitance probe (PWCP), for two-phase flow measurement. Using finite element method (FEM), the sensitivity field of the PWCP is investigated and the optimum sensor geometry is determiend in term of the characterisitc parameters. Then, the response of PWCP for the oil-water stratified flow is calculated, and it is found the PWCP has better linearity and sensitivity to the variation of water-layer thickness, and is almost independant of the angle between the oil-water interface and the sensor electrode. Finally, the static experiment for oil-water stratified flow is carried out and the calibration method of liquid holdup is presented.