Herein, the liquid-solid mass transfer characteristics in micropacked bed reactors (μPBRs) operated with immiscible liquid-liquid two-phase flow is experimentally investigated. It is found that the overall volumetric liquid-solid mass transfer coefficient (k_sa) increases with the total flow rate and the channel-to-particle diameter ratio, while decreases with the organic-to-aqueous phase flow rate ratio. A satisfactory correlation model for calculating k_sa of the liquid-liquid μPBRs is developed. The new knowledge obtained would be useful in guiding the design and optimization of the liquid-liquid μPBRs.

Practical application of carvacrol in different fields including foods and biopesticides has been limited due to its instability and water insolubility. In this work, carvacrol encapsulated Pickering emulsion is developed by using polymeric Janus nanoparticles as the stabilizer. To achieve this, dumbbell-shaped polymeric nanoparticles composed of two spheres of shellac and polylactic acid (PLA) are firstly prepared via co-precipitation in a rotating packed bed reactor, followed by grafting of chitooligosaccharides (COS) onto shellac to synthesis amphiphilic Janus nanoparticles (PLA/shellac-COS). Pickering emulsions with typical oil-in-water, bi-continuous structure and water-in-oil characteristics are produced by configuring carvacrol emulsions with different oil-to-water ratios. The stability of emulsions with 5% carvacrol content stabilized by 0.5% PLA/shellac-COS nanoparticles were more stable when compared to those prepared by shellac nanoparticles and PLA/shellac nanoparticles. After stored for one month, the carvacrol encapsulated Pickering emulsions maintained a high zeta potential of -43.8 mV, with no significant changes in particle size. These preliminary studies illustrated that polymeric Janus nanoparticles synthesized by co-precipitation in a rotating packed bed are promising particles for Pickering emulsions and related work in the future.

Traditional biodiesel production primarily uses methanol as the acyl acceptor, but its toxicity to lipase increases process complexity and operational difficulty elevate manufacturing costs. This study aimed to explore a new method for enzymatic synthesis of biodiesel with methyl methacrylate (MMA) as acyl acceptor. Meanwhile, a 1, 3-position specific lipase Lipozyme RM IM was applied as biocatalyst, which enables simultaneous production of biodiesel (FAMEs) and methacrylate fatty acid glycerides (MFAGs) via specific sn-1, 3 transesterification of MMA with triglyceride. Under the optimal reaction conditions: temperature of 50 ℃, molar ratio of 4:1 for MMA to triglyceride, enzyme dosage of 7.5% (mass), and an extra water addition of 0.5% (mass); triglyceride conversion rate of 97%, and FAMEs yield of 65% could be obtained. Simultaneously, the multistage short-path distillation and column chromatographic method were combined used for the separation of the mixed products. Finally, the purity of FAME, MFADG, DMFAG, and MMFAG were 98%, 97.8%, 95.3%, and 81.78%, respectively. In this new approach, MMA demonstrates lower toxicity to lipases, allowing for straightforward addition of all the substrates without complex addition process, and enhancing operational feasibility. Meanwhile, the by-products of MFAGs could be applied as monomers in varnishes and protective coatings, which increased the value of the products. Thus, this investigation providing an alternative way to produce biodiesel, and providing a new pathway for the sustainable development of biodiesel.

Using molecular dynamics modeling, the change in the shape and density of the macromolecular corona consisting of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, including those combined into one block copolymer, on the surface of a polarized spherical metal nanoparticle was studied. A mathematical model of the structure of the block copolymer chain adsorbed on a polarized spherical nanoparticle is presented for the cases of polyelectrolyte blocks of large and small length. Based on the modeling results, radial and angular distributions of the density of atoms of polyelectrolyte polypeptides adsorbed on the surface of a spherical nanoparticle were calculated depending on its dipole moment. As the dipole moment of the nanoparticle increased, the dense macromolecular shell was destroyed, forming caps of polyelectrolyte macromolecules or fragments of block copolymer of different types on the poles of the polarized nanoparticle. In this case, the macromolecular corona in the region of the poles of the polarized nanoparticle swelled the more strongly, the greater the distance between the charged links in the polymer.

Poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF), a bioplastic synthesized via the polymerization of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) with ethylene glycol, can be served as a substitute to petroleum-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) due to its enhanced material properties. However, the fabrication of PEF with stable and desirable properties is still a challenge, largely due to the impurities in FDCA. In this study, a highly efficient purification strategy for FDCA was proposed, utilizing a dioxane/H₂O binary solvent system for effective crystallization. Furthermore, PEFs were synthesized from FDCA with varying impurity and the effects of these impurities were systematically characterized. The results revealed that impurities in FDCA could result in PEFs with relatively poor thermal properties. This study provides crucial insights for the impact of impurities on PEF properties and FDCA purification.

The accurate identification and diagnosis of chemical process faults are crucial for ensuring the safe and stable operation of production plants. The current hot topic in industrial process fault diagnosis research is data-driven methods. Most of the existing fault diagnosis methods focus on a single shallow or deep learning model. This paper proposes a novel hybrid fault diagnosis method to fully utilize various features to improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis. Furthermore, the method addresses the issue of incomplete data, which has been largely overlooked in the majority of existing research. Firstly, the variable data is effectively fitted using orthogonal non-negative matrix tri-factorization, and the missing data in the matrix is solved to construct a complete production condition relationship. Next, the support vector machine model and the deep residual contraction network model are trained in parallel to pre-diagnose process faults by mining linear and non-linear interaction features. Finally, a novel mapping relationship is established between the result and model levels using the multi-layer perceptron algorithm to complete the final diagnosis and evaluation of the fault. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we conducted extensive comparative experiments on the Tennessee Eastman dataset and the ethylene plant cracking unit dataset. The experimental results show that the method has advantages in different evaluation metrics.

The mechanism of hydrate-based desalination is that water molecules would transfer to the hydrate phase during gas hydrate formation process, while the salt ions would be conversely concentrated in the unreacted saltwater. However, the salt concentration of hydrate decomposed water and the desalination degree of hydrate phase are still unclear. The biggest challenge is how to effectively separate the hydrate phase and the remaining unreacted salt water, and then decompose the hydrate phase to measure the salt concentration of hydrate melt water. This work developed an apparatus and pressure-driven filtration method to efficiently separate the hydrate phase and the remaining unreacted saltwater. On this basis, the single hydrate phase was obtained, then it was dissociated and the salt concentration of hydrate melt water was measured. The experimental results demonstrate that when the initial salt mass concentration is 0.3% to 8.0%, the salt removal efficiency for NaCl solution is 15.9% to 29.8% by forming CO₂ hydrate, while for CaCl₂ solution is 28.9% to 45.5%. The solute CaCl₂ is easier to be removed than solute NaCl. In addition, the salt removal efficiency for forming CO₂ hydrate is higher than that for forming methane hydrate. The multi-stage desalination can continuously decrease the salt concentration of hydrate dissociated water, and the salt removal efficiency per stage is around 20%.

In this study, Pebax®2533 polymer was used as the continuous phase and UiO-67 was employed as the filler to prepare mixed matrix membranes. UiO-67 is usually synthesized using two ligands: biphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate (bpdc) and 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylic acid (bpy). In this research, UiO-67 was synthesized not only with these two ligands but also using a mixed ligand approach (50% bpdc and 50% bpy). The synthesized UiOs were incorporated into the polymer matrix at mass percentages ranging from 0% to 2% to form the mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). Membranes containing UiO-67 with mixed ligands exhibited a greater affinity for CO₂ compared to other membranes. Various analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and differential scanning calorimetry, were used to analyze the properties of the prepared membranes. The FTIR spectrum confirmed all desired bands of Pebax^®2533 and UiO-67 in the MMMs. The FESEM images showed that the pure Pebax membrane has a uniform structure, and the developed membranes are uniformly incorporated with the synthesized UiO-67 nanoparticles. Gas permeation measurements indicated that CO₂ permeability and CO₂/CH₄ selectivity increased from 402.7 Barrer (1 Barrer = 1.33×10^-14 m³(STP)·m·m^-2·s^-1·kPa^-1) and 9.32 for the pure Pebax membrane at 1.0 MPa to 770.1 Barrer and 16.96 in the modified membrane. Additionally, the gas permeation test results demonstrated that adding functionalized porous nanofillers increases the CO₂ separation performance. Permeability tests at different temperatures revealed that as temperature was raised, at constant pressure, CO₂ permeability for the membrane containing the mixed ligand increased from 682.2 Barrer to 733.5 Barrer, While CO₂/CH₄ selectivity decreased from 15.46 to 13.43.

The palladium/kieselguhr composites (Pd/K) were prepared by the PdCl₂ dipping-reducing method. The effects of the preparation conditions on the Pd/K were studied, such as the heat treatment, dipping time, palladium concentration in solution and number of loading cycles. The pore structure and palladium content of the Pd/K were measured by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The appearance and palladium element distribution were measured by a scanning electron microscope. It is found that the palladium element is more densely distributed in the irregular and porous parts of the kieselguhr particles, so the kieselguhr is superior to Al₂O₃ as the carrier material. The heat treatment can improve the pore permeability and increase the palladium content for the Pd/K. Increasing the dipping time, palladium concentration in solution and number of loading cycles is beneficial to increase the palladium content of the Pd/K, but more loading cycles may lead to the pore collapse, which obstructs the interaction with the hydrogen isotope gases. A kind of Pd/K was prepared under a set of optimized conditions and was packed in a separation column. This Pd/K was proved to be of high performance and durable by some hydrogen-deuterium separation experiments.

Chromium (Cr) contamination in water poses significant health risks, yet advanced remediation methods remain limited. Cr(VI) reduction catalyzed by palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) on hydrogen-transfer membranes has shown potential but requires further optimization. This study investigated the simultaneous microbial-driven and Pd-catalyzed Cr(VI) reduction, focusing on reduction efficiency and optimal conditions. Two hydrogen-based membrane reactors were compared: a Pd-biofilm reactor incorporating PdNPs associated with a biofilm, and a control biofilm reactor. Continuous experiments demonstrated the superior performance of the Pd-biofilm reactor, achieving immediate Cr(VI) reduction and effluent Cr(III) concentrations below 0.040 mg·L^-1, compared to 0.3 mg·L^-1 in the control biofilm reactor. High-throughput sequencing identified Dechloromonas as the dominant microbial species within Pd-biofilm, which plays a critical role in metal ion reduction. The Pd-biofilm reactor maintained high Cr(VI) reduction flux across varying conditions. When the influent Cr(VI) loading reached up to 10 mg·L^-1, where the control biofilm reactor experienced inhibition, the Pd-biofilm reactor achieved a Cr removal of 99%. Increased nitrate loading and hydrogen pressure further enhanced Pd-biofilm reactor performance without compromising Cr(VI) reduction since Cr(VI) is the preferential electron acceptor, whereas the biofilm reactor required hydrogen pressures ≥15 psig (1 psig = 6.895 kPa) for similar results. The optimal pH range for Cr(VI) reduction was 5.0-8.0 in the Pd-biofilm reactor and 7.0 in the biofilm reactor, with alkaline conditions being more inhibitory than acidic ones in both systems. The Pd-biofilm reactor effectively reduced Cr(VI) concentrations from 1 to 10 mg·L^-1 to below the maximum contaminant level of 0.1 mg·L^-1, thus appearing as an efficient technique to treat Cr-contaminated waters.

This study proposes a novel cyclone separator with a conical inner core to enhance particle classification efficiency in oil and gas wellhead-recovered liquids. Particle motion and force dynamics are analyzed to optimize key structural parameters, including inlet diameter (D_i), overflow pipe diameter (D_e), insertion depth (L_e), and bottom flow pipe diameter (D_z). Numerical simulations employ the Reynolds stress turbulence model, SIMPLEC algorithm, and discrete phase model to evaluate separation performance in a gas-liquid two-phase system. Results indicate that a smaller D_i improves fine particle separation but increases turbulence; an optimal range of D_i/D_c = 0.35-0.4 is recommended. Larger D_e enhances the diversion ratio, aiding fine particle discharge (D_e/D_c = 0.25-0.35). Increased L_e facilitates fine particle overflow but induces vortices, whereas a smaller L_e stabilizes the bottom flow for larger particle separation (L_e/D_c = 0.5-0.75). A reduced D_z enhances centrifugal force and separation efficiency but may cause turbulence; an optimal D_z/D_c of 0.6-0.65 is suggested for stability. These findings provide valuable design guidelines for improving cyclone separator performance in multiphase flow applications.

Catalytic oxidation is an effective strategy for eliminating CO pollutant. Pt/TiO₂ catalyst are one of the most active catalysts as used, but facing the issue of sulfur and water deactivation. In this study, TiO₂ was synthesized using a sol-gel method, while Pt/TiO₂ was prepared by impregnation method. By varying the calcination temperature of the TiO₂ support, Pt/TiO₂ catalysts with different proportions of anatase and rutile phases were synthesized. At the calcination temperature of 500 ℃, the catalysts exhibited approximately equal proportions of anatase and rutile, resulting in exceptional catalytic activity for CO oxidation, as well as improved resistance to sulfur and water in the flue gas. Consequently, the Pt/TiO₂-500 catalyst achieved a CO conversion of 93% at 160 ℃. Even under conditions of 8% (vol) H₂O and 0.016% (vol) SO₂ (GHSV = 300000 ml·h^-1·g^-1), the CO conversion remained above 95% at 220 ℃ for 46 h. The catalysts were characterized and analyzed using various techniques. The results indicated that anatase-phase TiO₂ exhibited weak CO adsorption capacity but strong SO₂ adsorption capacity, whereas rutile-phase TiO₂ demonstrated strong CO adsorption capacity and weak SO₂ adsorption capacity. The presence of the anatase phase mitigated the CO self-poisoning phenomenon of the catalyst, while the biphase interface reduced the adsorption and oxidation of SO₂ on the catalyst’s surface, significantly inhibiting the deposition of TiOSO₄. Consequently, the Pt/TiO₂-500 catalyst displayed the highest CO catalytic activity along with superior resistance to sulfur and water.

Integrated continuous stirred-tank reactors and distillation columns with recycle (CSTR-DC-recycle) are essential components in chemical processes. This paper proposes a method to establish a normal operating zone (NOZ) model to represent allowable variations of the CSTR-DC-recycle chemical processes. The NOZ is a geometric space containing all safe operating points of the CSTR-DC-recycle chemical processes, so that it is an effective model for process monitoring. The novelty of the proposed method is to establish the NOZ model based on boundary points. The boundary points make it possible to capture the actual geometric space irrespective of the space shape. In contrast, existing methods represent the NOZ of processes by fixed mathematical models such as ellipsoidal and convex-hull models; they are not suitable for the CSTR-DC-recycle chemical processes whose NOZs cannot be exactly defined by fixed mathematical structures. Simulated case studies based on Aspen Hysys software are given to illustrate the proposed method.

A feasible criterion was established to determine the lower size limit of raw coal (d_pRm) for efficient beneficiation in the air-fluidized bed with magnetite particles. The feasibility of using small magnetite particles to accommodate the fine raw coal was demonstrated from the experimental perspective. The minimum size for the magnetite particles to be fluidized smoothly was clarified as 47.1 μm, which corresponded to the border between Geldart-B and -A groups. Since the gangue and coal components in the raw coal were crushed into the same size, d_pRm depended on the greater one between d_pGm (minimum size required for the gangue particles to sink towards the bottom) and d_pCm (minimum size required for the coal particles to float towards the top). d_pGm was determined as 259 μm by supposing that provided the gangue particles accumulated in the lower half bed, they could be potentially extracted from the bottom. On the other hand, it was observed that the coal particles could always accumulate in the upper half bed. Under such circumstances, d_pCm was revealed as 9.8 μm since finer coal particles would be blown out by air before the 47.1 μm sized magnetite particles became fluidized. Eventually, d_pRm was clarified as 259 μm, agreeing with the common view that raw coal coarser than 6 mm could be effectively beneficiated in the air-fluidized bed with magnetite particles. Additionally, the difficulty in beneficiating the fine raw coal was revealed to arise more from the remixing of sorted gangue particles than that of separated coal particles.

This study delves into the optimization of the methanol-vinyl acetate (VAC) azeotrope separation process via pressure swing distillation (PSD), along with an evaluation of its energy-saving potential. The methanol-VAC system, a polar azeotrope highly susceptible to pressure variations, presents notable separation complexities in polyvinyl alcohol production. Aspen Plus simulations were utilized to assess the feasibility of PSD, with particular emphasis on critical process parameters such as the number of theoretical plates, feed position, reflux ratio, and sidestream extraction location. The results indicate that PSD demonstrates remarkable efficacy in separating methanol and VAC, achieving purities of 99.88% and 99.73% respectively. When compared to extractive distillation, PSD achieves a reduction of 9.07 t·h^-1 in steam consumption and minimizes wastewater generation by 20.77 t·h^-1. Furthermore, the economic assessment reveals a 7.91% decrease in the total annual cost associated with PSD. This study not only provides theoretical insights but also offers practical guidance for the design of energy-efficient and sustainable separation processes. Future research will focus on extending the analysis to encompass multi-pressure scenarios, further enhancing the applicability and robustness of the findings.

Flammable gas leakage in a semi-enclosed scenario can lead to catastrophic consequences, such as vapor cloud explosions. To reduce casualties and environmental damage, predicting the consequences based on the initial concentration time series monitored by sensors is of paramount importance. This paper proposes a consequence prediction model based on deep learning using variable-length concentration time series. Incomplete concentration values are padded and then passed through a masking layer, enabling the network to focus exclusively on valid data. The temporal correlations are extracted using a long short-term memory (LSTM) network, and the final prediction results are obtained by passing these features into a feedforward neural network (FNN). Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software was used to simulate the leakage of hydrogen-mixed natural gas. Experiments were carried out for nine distinct prediction targets, derived from combinations of the mass and centroid coordinates of vapor clouds formed by various gases. These prediction targets were modeled using both fixed-length and variable-length input sequences. The high accuracy of the experimental results validates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

In this paper, the research progress of Cu-based catalyst and the activity enhancement strategies in the hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate (DMO) to ethylene glycol (EG) was reviewed. As a green and economical ethylene glycol production path, the core of DMO hydrogenation of EG lies in the rational design and optimization of catalysts. This paper first introduces the background of the DMO hydrogenation system EG significance and the important effect of Cu-based catalyst in the reaction, particularly emphasizing the coordination with the Cu⁺-Cu⁰ species catalytic effect. Then, many factors affecting the activity of Cu-based catalysts were analyzed in detail, including the equilibrium effect between Cu⁰ and Cu⁺ species, the surface dispersion of Cu species, the interaction between metal and support, and the morphology effect of the catalyst. Regarding strategies for improving catalyst performance, this paper summarized effective measures such as optimizing support structure, adding promoters and optimizing preparation methods, and demonstrated the practical application effects of these strategies through representative catalyst examples. In addition, this paper also discusses the complex relationship between the influencing factors and catalyst performance. It points out the key directions for future research, with in-depth exploration of the correlation between catalyst structure and performance, the development of new catalysts, and the application of machine learning and big data technology in the catalyst research and development. In summary, this paper provides comprehensive theoretical guidance and practical reference for the performance optimization of Cu-based catalysts for DMO hydrogenation to EG.

This study investigates the removal of fluorine (F) impurities from phosphogypsum (PG) using steam as the reaction medium. The effects of the reaction atmosphere, temperature, time, and steam velocity on F impurities removal were systematically examined. The results showed that with a steam velocity of 0.0184 m·s^-1, a reaction temperature of 700 ℃, and a reaction time of 60 min, the F removal rate reached 95.87%. Further investigations into the defluorination mechanism revealed that steam and SiO₂ synergistically enhance fluoride removal, playing a crucial role in improving the defluorination efficiency. Kinetic analysis of the defluorination process, based on the shrinking core model (SCM), indicated that internal diffusion is the rate-controlling step, with the activation energy of 30.12 kJ·mol^-1. This study identifies optimal conditions for PG defluorination and proposes a defluorination mechanism, contributing to the theoretical understanding of impurity removal through the thermal treatment of PG.

In recent years, with the rapid development of the economy and society, pollution of valuable metal ions in wastewater has become a major challenge to environmental sustainability. In order to solve the pollution caused by metal ions, researchers have conducted continuous researches and explored various remediation methods. Crown ether has attracted great attention because of its ionic radius and cavity size matching well with metal ions, which makes it have the ability to selectively complex metal ions. This unique property enables the directed removal and recovery of metal ions and makes crown ethers increasingly popular in extraction and separation processes. In this paper, the research progress of crown ethers in the extraction and separation of valuable metal ions was reviewed, with emphasis on the principles, extraction systems and the key factors affecting the extraction process. This study can provide some technical support for the application of separation and extraction of valuable metal ions by crown ether.

Electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX) is an effective technology for extracting high-value-added ions from dilute solutions. This study focuses on Li⁺ extraction by employing a comprehensive model to analyze interaction between fluidic dynamics, electric field and ion transport. The model combines Butler-Volmer equation modified by electroactive site concentration, Nernst-Planck equation and Navier-Stokes equation. It is found that the chamber width affects solution phase resistance, thereby altering the potential distribution and influencing the current distribution within the membrane. A narrow chamber increases current density in the solid phase of the membrane, enhancing Li⁺ extraction. The solution flow-field not only enhances convective transport but also increases the current density in the solid phase, promoting Li⁺ extraction. There is a synergistic effect between fluid-flow-field and electric-field for ion separation, which is only significant when the chamber width is greater than 2 mm. The synergistic mechanism differs from that in the capacitive deionization system. Therefore, the performance decline caused by a wide chamber can be compensated for by increasing the fluid-flow rate, utilizing the synergistic effect between the fluid-flow-field and electric-field to optimize the lithium extraction efficiency in the ESIX system.

Accurately soft sensing of the mechanical properties of hot-rolled strips is essential to ensure product quality, optimize production, and reduce costs. However, it faces the difficulty caused by limited labeled samples, for which co-training based semi-supervised learning offers a potential solution. So in this paper, a novel soft sensing method for mechanical properties based on improved co-training (ICO) is proposed. Compared with the existing co-training framework, the proposed ICO introduces improvements from the aspects of multiple view partition, confidence estimation, and pseudo-label assignment. Specifically, (ⅰ) in the stage of multiple view partition, ICO integrates metallurgical mechanisms of hot rolling processes and statistical mutual information to achieve a balance between view sufficiency and independence, which improves model performance and interpretability; (ⅱ) in the stage of confidence estimation, ICO evaluates the confidence of unlabeled samples at the cluster level rather than at the level of a single sample, which facilitates the exploration of sample distribution and the selection of representative samples; (ⅲ) in the pseudo-label assignment stage, ICO adopts a safe pseudo-label algorithm (which is called SAFER by its author and originally used for each single sample) to assign pseudo-labels for cluster of samples with the highest confidence determined in the previous step stage, to take advantage of the merit of handling unlabeled samples at the cluster level mentioned above on one hand, and the merit of SAFER in enhancing the quality of pseudo-labels on the other hand. The proposed soft sensing method effectively predicts mechanical properties on the real hot rolling dataset, achieving approximately 5% improvement in R² compared to traditional supervised learning.

The plasma-coupled electrocatalytic cascade technology with NO_x^- as intermediate product is a potential method to realize green ammonia synthesis. The matching of the formation rate and consumption rate of NO₂^- as the main absorption product is an important prerequisite for the system to achieve stable operation. Therefore, this paper firstly emphasizes the importance of operating parameters on the cascade system based on the single factor experiment. Secondly, the empirical equation between electrocatalytic operating conditions and NO₂^- consumption rate was established by response surface analysis. Based on this equation, the electrocatalytic operating parameters were optimized to achieve the dynamic equilibrium between NO₂^- formation rate and consumption rate. Finally, the techno-economic assessment model was established to calculate the levelized cost of ammonia based on the cascade system, and the single-variable sensitivity analysis was performed to provide the clear guidance for cost reduction.

Sewage sludge (SS) and SS impregnated with activating agents (ZnCl₂ and KOH) were pyrolyzed in a fixed-bed reactor to produce gaseous fuel and activated char. The effects of heating rate, pyrolysis temperature and activator type on gas yields, pore structure and adsorption properties of activated char were systematically studied. The results demonstrated that increasing the pyrolysis temperature from 450 ℃ to 850 ℃ proportionally enhanced H₂ and CO yields from the rapid pyrolysis of SS, while CH₄ yield showed minimal variation between 650 ℃ and 850 ℃. ZnCl₂ notably increased the CO yield, reaching 71.9 ml·g^-1 at 850 ℃, but caused a marked reduction in CH₄ yield under the tested conditions. Similarly, KOH promoted CO yield at 750 ℃ and 850 ℃, with minimal impact on CH₄ production. Both activators facilitated higher H₂ yields in the range of 450-550 ℃, while the maximum H₂ yield (109.8 ml·g^-1) was observed at 850 ℃ in the absence of activator. The activated char derived from ZnCl₂-assisted pyrolysis exhibited well-developed micro- and mesopore structures, with specific surface areas ranging from 188.2 to 54.1 m²·g^-1 across pyrolysis temperatures of 450-850 ℃. When evaluated as adsorbents for methylene blue removal, activated char with greater specific surface area and total pore volume exhibited superior adsorption capacity. The adsorption process was well-described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

The selective catalytic deoxygenation of oxy-organics in Fischer-Tropsch mixed oil for its high value utilization is challenging. Herein, a BaCO₃/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was prepared calcining γ-Al₂O₃ with BaCO₃, and the acid-alkalinity of the catalyst was regulated by introducing alkaline Ba basic sties. In a continuous fixed-bed reactor with a feed mass space velocity of 1 h^-1 and reaction temperature of 330 ℃, BaCO₃/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst can efficiently catalyzed the deoxygenation removal of 1-octanol in Fischer-Tropsch C10 mixture oil. It also inhibited the isomerization of 1-decene in the C10 mixture. The catalytic deoxygenation kinetics of 1-octanol were also studied. The reaction was endothermic with an activation energy of 64 kJ·mol^-1 and a reaction order of 2. In addition, theoretical studies revealed the adsorption and activation of 1-decene on the Lewis acidic site and the alkaline Ba basic sites, 1-decene was more easily underwent isomerization into 2-decene at Lewis acid sites. This research provides a useful method to enable the industrial application of catalytic deoxygenation of alcohols in Fischer-Tropsch synthetic oil.

An in-depth understanding of the competition mechanism between olefins and different types of sulfides in gasoline is essential to improve the desulfurization selectivity of the adsorption desulfurization process (ADS). In this study, the competitive adsorption and diffusion mechanism of two systems, diethyl sulfide/cyclohexene and n-butyl mercaptan/cyclohexene, with different adsorption amounts in siliceous faujasite zeolite (FAU) were investigated by Monte Carlo (MC) and molecular dynamics (MD). The systems exhibited a two-stage loading-dependent competitive adsorption and diffusion mechanism, with an inflection point of 32 molecule/UC (moleculers per microcoulomb). Before the inflection point (4-32 molecule/UC), the competition mechanism of the two systems was the “optimal-displacement” mechanism. After the inflection point, the mechanism of the diethyl sulfide/cyclohexene changed to “relocation-displacement”, while that of the n-butyl mercaptan/cyclohexene system changed to “dominant-displacement”. Compared to ether functional groups, the alcohol functional group has higher polarity and stronger adsorption stability, thus occupying more favorable adsorption sites within the supercages (SCs), while ethyl sulfide shifts outward to other sites within other SCs. In addition, the diffusion performance of adsorbent is related to the adsorption energy. The lower the adsorption energy, the weaker the diffusion ability. Meanwhile, the diffusion performance of adsorbates is better at high temperatures and low adsorption capacity. The effect of temperature on the desulfurization selectivity was determined. A lower temperature is favorable for the adsorption capacity of the two systems and the removal selectivity of sulfides. This study provides fundamental insights into the competitive adsorption and diffusion mechanisms among sulfides, mercaptans and olefins, offering theoretical guidance for adsorbent design and reaction temperature optimization.

Magnesium phosphate cements (MPC) have shown promising applications in many fields, but high raw material prices hinder their development. The production of salt lake MPC (SLMPC) from magnesium slag (MS), a byproduct of lithium extraction from salt lakes, offers significant environmental and economic advantages. In this study, a low-cost magnesia raw material was obtained through the calcination of MS, which was subsequently utilized in conjunction with KH₂PO₄ to prepare SLMPC. The changes in hydration products, microscopic morphology, solution pH value, and TG content during the SLMPC curing process, and the hydration kinetics equation and model were used to study the hydration processes of SLMPC. The results show that the outcome indicates that the SLMPC system entered the accelerated reaction stage within 6 min after mixing, where the highest heat release rate was 6.29 J·g^-1·min^-1, the maximum heat release was 205.3 J·g^-1, and the main hydration product appeared at 50-60 min. The hydration behavior of SLMPC exhibits similarities to that of traditional MPC. Specifically, the acceleration phase is governed by an autocatalytic reaction, the deceleration phase is influenced by both autocatalytic reactions and diffusion processes, and the stabilization phase is predominantly controlled by diffusion mechanisms. This paper aims to establish the theoretical foundation for the industrial application of MS and the cost-effective production of MPC.

Conventional organic coatings often face limitations in providing long-term corrosion protection in aggressive environments. This study introduces a dual-functional polydopamine-zinc oxide (PD-Z) composite incorporated into an epoxy (EP) matrix (PD-Z/EP) to enhance the hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance of aluminum substrates. Characterization analyses confirmed the successful fabrication of the PD-Z composite. Electrochemical measurements, specifically potentiodynamic polarization, are conducted after three days of immersion in a 3.5% (mass) NaCl solution, significantly decreasing corrosion current density (I_corr) from 249.4 nA·cm^-2 for pure EP to 167 nA·cm^-2 for PD-Z/EP. Concurrently, the corrosion rate decreased from 0.004 to 0.0002 mm·a^-1. Additionally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) demonstrated a marked increase in the low-frequency impedance modulus (Z₀._{01 Hz}) from 0.07×10⁶ to 1.2114×10⁶ Ω·cm², indicating superior corrosion inhibition. The exceptional anodic and cathodic protective performance of the PD-Z/EP coating is attributed to the synergistic effects of polydopamine and ZnO, which enhance chloride ion entrapment, hydrophobic barrier properties, and overall corrosion resistance.

The abundance of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater from three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were determined in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The MPs abundance was 140-350 particles per litre in the influent and 10-30 particles per litre in the effluent. Four shapes of MPs in the influent were observed, while mainly only debris was left in the effluent. The percentage of small (≤100 μm), medium (100-500 μm), and large-sized (≥500 μm) plastics in the raw leachate of the three WWTPs were 54.3%, 8.6%, and 37.1%, 28.6%, 64.3%, and 7.1%, and 41.4%, 24.1%, and 34.5%, respectively. Mainly only the size of ≤100 μm was left in the effluent of all. The removal efficiencies of MPs in a range of 78.6% to 96.6% were achieved. Polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride were the main types and detected in all wastewater samples, accounting for over 75% of all types. The plastic components contained in different industrial wastewater were more complex. The distribution of MPs was significantly positively correlated with most conventional indicators such as chemical oxygen demead, ammonia nitrogen, and total phosphorus, but not with heavy metals. Similar wastewater, different treatment processes, or similar processes but different wastewater (industrial wastewater proportion varied) could all lead to differences in MPs removal. The MPs abundance measured in this experiment was similar to some previous studies, but relatively high. The three WWTPs can discharge up to 6.0×10⁸-1.8×10⁹ plastics of MPs per day, which poses potential ecological risks. This study indicates that the source control of MPs and optimizing the process design of existing WWTPs are crucial for preventing and controlling MPs pollution.

CO₂ hydrate-based sequestration in submarine sediments shows great potential for carbon emission reduction. Considering the proportional relationship of CO₂ and water for hydrates formation, their existing ratio largely determines the CO₂ sequestration density and phase state. Here, this work focuses on determining the optimal ratio of CO₂ to seawater in sediments simulated with 20-40 mesh (0.42-0.85 mm) quartz sand, in order to maximize CO₂ hydrate conversion in sediments. The results show that the conversion rate of CO₂ hydrate increases with the initial water saturation, reaching 15.3% at 80% initial water saturation. The optimal CO₂ hydrate formation occurs at 30% initial water saturation, with the corresponding CO₂ storage density in hydrate form of 33.09 kg·m^-3 and the hydrate saturation of 22.3%. However, CO₂ hydrate conversion rate is <10%, which implies that most CO₂ still exists in liquid state, despite the presence of free water. The total CO₂ sequestration density is negatively correlated with the initial water saturation, and at 10% initial water saturation, 398.73 kg·m^-3 of CO₂ is sequestered, of which only 18.02 kg·m^-3 is hydrated. Additionally, the lower initial water saturation corresponds to the shorter time to achieve t₉₀ of CO₂ consumption, and the water conversion rate to hydrate reaches 90% at 10% initial water saturation. In summary, adjusting the volume ratio of liquid CO₂ to seawater can effectively increase the sequestration amount of CO₂ hydrates, but methods to increase CO₂ conversion to hydrate still need to be established.

Superhydrophobicity endows various substrates with astonishing multifunctional properties and has received widespread praise in industrial production. However, the fragile connection between the coating and the substrate not only limits the service life of superhydrophobic coatings, but also poses limitations. To address this issue, this study used 3-(perfluorooctyl) propanol and organic polysilazane (OPSZ) with universal anchoring properties as starting materials to obtain fluorine modified OPSZ through a one-step synthesis method, and then doped SiO₂ micro nano particles to produce superhydrophobic coatings that can be widely applied to various substrates. Investigating the relationship between the hydrophobic properties of the coatings and the amounts of SiO₂ microparticles and nanoparticles used to create the microscopic rough structure of the superhydrophobic coatings, it was discovered that the hydrophobic properties of the coatings tended to increase as the number of nanoparticles increased. The water contact angle of prepared coatings was still over 157° after 48 h of UV exposure or 180 days of exposure to air. The heat resistance of the created superhydrophobic coatings was tested in a muffle furnace at 400 ℃ for 2 h. The results revealed that the coatings maintained their water contact angle of 155.1°±3.01° and water sliding angle of 6.4°±1.98°, demonstrating their excellent heat resistance and suitability for use in a variety of high-temperature environments. The work provided a practical way for creating superhydrophobic composite coatings with excellent mechanical stability, acid and alkali corrosion resistance, and heat resistance, and had potential application in antifouling and anti-corrosion.

In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), it is important to construct electron transport layer (ETL) with ideal surface morphology and advantageous electron transport dynamics. In this work, a functional TiO₂ ETL is designed and constructed based on a novel Ti³⁺ self-doping strategy. Experimental results indicate that Ti³⁺ dopant can optimize TiO₂ film crystallization process by facilitating the assembly of precursor particles, reducing the content of pore-forming reagent, and enhancing the adhesion of precursors to glass substrate in film formation process. Therefore, the modified surface morphology inhibits the formation of undesired hole structure. Besides, self-doping moderately generates oxygen vacancies on TiO₂ surface and a shallower TiO₂ Fermi energy level. These not only result in a stronger interfacial electronic coupling, but also establish an advantageous energy band alignment. These merits optimize interfacial electron transfer dynamics by inhibiting recombination loss and facilitating electron extraction. Benefiting from the optimized TiO₂ ETL, hole transport layer (HTL)-free carbon electrode based CsPbI₃ PSCs deliver a high efficiency of 18.62%, representing one of the highest levels in this field.

To elucidate the effects of Cl^- and Ca²⁺ on the corrosion and scale formation of 3Cr steel in CO₂ flooding-produced fluid, corrosion weight loss experiments, and titration experiments were conducted. The resulting products were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This study examined the corrosion and scaling behavior of 3Cr steel under the influence of Cl^- and Ca²⁺. The results indicate that both Cl^- and Ca²⁺ promote the corrosion of 3Cr steel. Notably, Cl^- diminishes the promoting effect of Ca²⁺ on corrosion and inhibits scaling, revealing a mutual enhancement between corrosion and scaling. The mechanisms of localized corrosion under varying concentrations of Cl^- and Ca²⁺ differ; under-scale corrosion occurs in environments with 5000 mg·L^-1 Cl^-, while Cl^-induced corrosion is observed in 20000 mg·L^-1 Cl^- environments. This study highlights that under the synergistic effects of Cl^-, Ca²⁺, and scaling processes, the protective product film dissolves, thereby influencing both corrosion and scaling processes.

Traditional hydrogels are inevitably damaged during practical applications, resulting in a gradual deterioration of their functional efficacy. A primary strategy to address this issue involves developing hydrogels with inherent self-healing properties. In this study, we report the synthesis of self-healing polyacrylate hydrogels that integrate zwitterions, hydrophilic nano-silica and aluminum ions. Due to the synergistic effect of multiple hydrogen bonds, coordination bonds and electrostatic interactions, the tensile strength of the hydrogel is enhanced from 15.1 to 162.6 kPa. Moreover, the electrical resistance and tensile strength of the hydrogel can almost recover to its initial values after 20 min of healing at room temperature, exhibiting remarkable self-healing performance. Furthermore, the zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogel serves as a wearable sensor with the capability of accurately response to the bending and stretching of human joints, exhibting a gauge factor of 1.87 under tensile strain ranging from 80% to 100%. Even after being freezed at -20 ℃ for 3 h, the zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogel retains its exceptional writing performance. In conclusion, the hydrogels developed in this study demonstrate significant potential for wearable electronics applications.

Density (ρ) and speed of sound (u) findings on the binary liquid mixtures consisting of cyclohexanol (CH—OH), with aniline (A), ortho-chloroaniline (o-CA), and meta-chloroaniline (m-CA) were gathered at the various temperatures spanning the entire concentration range. 303.15, 308.15,313.15 and 318.15 K at atmospheric pressure. The information measured there was utilized to compute excess molar volume (V_m^E), excess isentropic compressibility (K_S^E), excess of speed of sound (u^E), excess intermolecular free length (L_f^E) and excess acoustic impedance (Z^E). Further, the partial molar volumes (V_m,1^°. V_?,1^°. V_m,2^°.V_?,2^°), partial molar compressibilities (K_m,1^°, K_?,1^°,K_m,2^°, K_?,2^°) and their excess values (V_m,1^E, V_?,1^°E, V_m,2^E,V_?,2^°E), (K_m,1^E, K_?,1^°E, K_m,2^E,K_?,2^°E) were also computed to perceive more information on molecular interaction and structural effects in these mixtures. Applying the theory of Prigogine-Flory-Patterson (PFP) as a framework, the V_m^E data of the current liquid mixtures were examined. The analysis of the experimental data took into consideration the interactions that occur between the individual molecules that make up liquid mixtures. By using density functional theory DFT (B3LYP) of 6-31 ++ G (d,P) to analyze the geometries, bond characteristics, interaction energies, and hydrogen bonded complexes in organic solvent phase, quantum chemical calculations were able to further confirm the hydrogen bonding that predominates between cyclohexanol with aniline and chlorosubstituted anilines.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in electrochemical battery energy storage systems (BESS) because of their high energy density, lack of memory effects, low self-discharge rate, and long cycle life. However, inadequate heat dissipation during their discharge process can significantly degrade battery performance. The improvement of BESS efficiency depends on the optimization of thermal management structures. In this work, we integrate the pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) electrochemical model with a three-dimensional thermal model to analyze the heat generation and transfer processes within the BESS. The simulation results are closely aligned with the experimental results in terms of voltage and temperature rise curves. Under air cooling conditions of 293.15 K and 3 m·s^-1, the BESS has a maximum temperature of 308.60 K and a temperature difference of 9.22 K, ensuring safe operation. At 1 C, we suggest that enlarging the inlet and outlet areas improves the air-cooling efficiency, and transitioning environmental air-cooling temperatures after 2400 s of discharge effectively reduces the temperature difference and the energy consumption of the cooling equipment. This work provides valuable theoretical insights for optimizing the thermal design of BESS.