This paper addresses the application of stochastic optimization approaches to the synthesis
of heatintegrated complex distillation system, which is characterized by large-scale
combinatorial feature. Conventionaland complex columns, thermally coupled (linked) side
strippers and side rectifiers as well as heat integration betweenthe different columns are
simultaneously considered. The problem is formulated as an MINLP (mixed-integernonlinear
programming) problem. A simulated annealing algorithm is proposed to deal with the MINLP
problemand a shortcut method is applied to evaluate all required design parameters as well
as the total cost function. Twoillustrating examples are presented.

Experiments demonstrated that the weeping is mal-distributed and occurs mainly in a region
of traydeck next to the inlet weir. The amount of weeping in this region depends on the
weeping rate. On this basis, threetypes of weeping distribution are proposed. The effect of
mal-distributed weeping on the Murphree tray efficiencyis evaluated by using the three-
dimensional non-equilibrium mixing pool model, where the influences of the flowpattern and
the variation of Murphree point efficiency on a tray are taken into account. The calculated
resultsreveal that the extent of Murphree tray efficiency drop depends chiefly on the
degree of mal-distribution and thepercentage of weeping. It is also demonstrated that in
the determination of the lowest operating limit of vaporvelocity, the unfavorable effect of
mal-distributed weeping should be considered as an important factor and cannotbe ignored.

The liquid flow on a single-pass sieve distillation tray is simulated with a three-
dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program with the K-ε turbulence model. In
the model, a source term SMi is formulatedin the Navier-Stokes equations to represent the
interfacial momentum transfer and another term Sc is added to themass transfer equation as
the source of interfacial mass transfer. The simulation provides the detailed informationof
the three-dimensional distribution of liquid velocity on the tray, the circulation area and
the concentration profilealong the height of liquid layer.

A computational fluid-dynamics model is presented for predicting the two-phase two-
dimensional liquid phase flow on a distillation column tray based on the modification of
Navier-Stokes Equation by considering both the resistance and the enhanced turbulence
created by the uprising vapor. Experimental measurement of the local liquid phase velocity
on an air-water simulator of 1.2 m in diameter by using the hot film anemometer is briefly
described. Two of the conventional fluid-dynaxmic constants are readjusted for the case of
liquid flow on a tray by fitting the experimental data. The predicted local liquid phase
velocity and direction of flow by the present model are confirmed satisfactorily by the
authors’ experimental measurements and by the data from literature. By the aid of the
present model, the concentration field on the tray can be computed for the evaluation of
the enhancement of liquid phase concentration across a tray. The advantages of applying
computational fluid-dynamics to tray column design are discussed.

Batch extractive distillation was studied in a column with a middle vessel. The process was
simulatedby a constant holdup model and solved by two point implicit method. Acetone and
methanol mixture was separatedin such a setup using water as solvent. The simulation agrees
well with experimental results. The experimental andsimulation results show that the
solvent at the bottom and the product at the top of the column can be
withdrawnsimultaneously for a long period of time. It needs more time for the solvent to
reach high purity than that requiredfor the more volatile component to reach high purity,
so that the time to withdraw solvent from the bottom isdelayed.

Experimental study on hydrodynamics and mass transfer efficiency of jet coflow packing tray
(JCPT)was conducted in a φ285 mm column and a φ200 mm column, respectively. Compared with
new vertical sieve traywhich has been applied in the petrochemical industry since 1968, the
JCPT has lower pressure drop, higher capacityand higher mass transfer efficiency, and seems
promising in commercial application.

Flow and concentration fields of liquid phase in a gas-liquid contacting system are
simulated to showthe Rayleigh convection by utilizing the finite-element method. The
Schlieren images in CO2-ethanol system provided direct visual verification of the present
simulation, and the simulated results were well consistent with theexperimental
observation. The influence of the Rayleigh convection on mass transfer is analyzed
qualitatively andquantitatively based on the simulated and
the experimental results.

A model is presented for predicting the fluid velocity distribution around a rising bubble
which startsfrom rest on a distillation column tray by considering the unsteady fluid flow
based on the method of streamfunction. Experimental measurement of the velocity
distribution by using whole field digitized PIV (particle imagevelocimetry) method is
briefly described. The velocity distribution predicted by the present model is in
betteragreement with the measurements than the others models published in literature.

Quantitative prediction of distribution function and adhesion efficiency of particles
around a risingbubble in slurry systems is presented in this work. By solving the
convection-diffusion equation (Fokker-Planckequation), the influence of Brownian
diffusivity of fine particles on concentration distribution and adhesion efficiencyis
demonstrated with the hydrodynamic force and van der Waals attractive potential between
particles and bubbleconsidered. It is found that two kinds of mechanism dominate the
adhesion process of particles on bubble accordingaddition, the viscosity ratio of bubble to
the suspending fluid was found to have obvious influence on particleadhesion.

The separation between methane and nitrogen is an inevitable and important task in the C1
chemicaltechnology and the utilization of methane from coalbed, yet it is considered to be
one of the tough tasks in thefield of separation. Pressure swing adsorption is a preferable
technology if an adsorbent that allowing a largecoefficient of separation for the CH4/N2
system is available. The separation coefficients between CH4 and N2were obtained on
analyzing the breakthrough curves measured experimentally with nine adsorbents. A technique
ofmeasuring the temperature-pulse was incorporated in the experiments, and the reliability
of the result was improved.Superactivated carbon with large surface area and plenty of
micropores was shown to have the largest separationcoefficient and to be promising for the
commercial utilization.

The kinetics of casein tryptic hydrolysis to prepare active peptides was investigated.
Taking intoaccount the reaction mechanism including single substrate hydrolysis,
irreversible enzyme inactivation, and substrateinhibition, a set of exponential equations
was established to characterize the enzymatic hydrolysis curves. Theverification was
carried out by a series of experimental results and indicated that the average regressive
error wasless than 5%. According to the proposed kinetic model, the kinetic constants and
thermodynamic constants of thereaction system were also calculated.

The desalting property of ion-exchange resins in organic solvent is reported by using
potassium acetateas a model compound. The experimental results show that the solvability of
the solvent stirring speed, andtemperature are the factors which influence the ion-exchange
rate. The increase of solvability, stirring speed andtemperature will speed up the ion-
exchange process.

Two kinds of fixed carrier membrane materials containing secondary amine and carboxyl
groups whichcan be used as carriers of CO2 were prepared. One was poly(N-vinyl-γ-sodium
aminobutyrate)(PVSA), whichwas obtained through the hydrolysis of polyvinylpyrrolidone
(PVP) synthesized with N-vinylpyrrolidone(NVP) byradical polymerization. The other was
poly(N-vinyl-γ-sodium aminobutyrate-co-sodium acrylate)(VSA-SA), whichwas obtained through
the hydrolysis of copolymer of N-vinylpyrrolidone and acrylamide(AAm) (NVP-AAm).
Thecomposite membranes were developed with PVSA or VSA-SA as active layer and polysulfone
(PS) as supportmembranes. The permeation rates of pure CO2 and CH4 gas as well as binary
mixtures of CO2/CH4 throughthe composite membranes were measured. The results show that the
composite membranes present better CO2permeation rates than other fixed carrier membranes
do reported in literature. For example, at 26℃, 1330 Pa of CO2pressure, the PVSA/PS
composite membrane displays a CO2 permeation rate of 5.95 × 10-7 cm3.cm-2.s-1.pa-1with
CO2/CH4 ideal separation factor of 212.1. At 20℃, 6400Pa of CO2 pressure, the VSA-SA/PS
compositemembrane displays a CO2 permeation rate of 4.24 × 10-8 cm3@cm-2.s-1.Pa-1 with
CO2/CH4 ideal separationfactor of 429.7. The results with the gas mixtures are not as good
as those obtained with pure gas because ofthe coupling effects between CO2 and CH4. The
heat cross-linked membrane shows good separation factor due todensification of the polymer.

The diffusion of an antifogging agent, EO/PO (epoxyethane/epoxypropane) copolymer, through
apolyethylene PE film was studied using a simple experimental system. It was found that the
temperature, concentration of antifogging agent, crystallinity of PE film and film
thickness affect the diffusion process.

Palladium membranes were prepared on an α-alumina support by metal-organic compound
chemicalvapor deposition (MOCVD) method from palladium(Ⅱ) acetate precursor. Permeation
properties of hydrogen andhelium gas were studied as a function of the number of times of
deposition of palladium on the peeling off phenomenonof palladium, which is common in
electroless plated membrane, was observed. Silica was introduced into the pores toprevent
the palladium grain from peeling off. The palladium-silica conjugated membrane does not
show the peelingoff phenomenon and can withstand the high temperature up to 800℃ which is
the upper limit of our apparatus.The separation factor for hydrogen gas over carbon dioxide
gas was improved with the increase of number of timesof silica coating by sacrificing the
H2 permeation and finally increased to four times. The improvement on theseparation of
hydrogen gas over carbon dioxide for palladium-silica conjugated membrane was evaluated and
amodel of permeation pattern (palladium and silica) was proposed. This model suggests that
the separation factorfor hydrogen over carbon dioxide could be improved by introducing
silica layer because the silica layer fills the poresand reduces the gas permeation without
sacrificing the hydrogen permeation through the palladium region. Theseresults indicate
that the introduction of silica into the palladium grain is a promising means to improve
the hydrogenseparation performance of palladium based composite membranes.

The size and the shape of non-reversal random-walking polymer chains near an impenetrable,
non-interacting flat surface are investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulation on the
simple cubic lattice. It wasfound that both size and shape are dependent on the normal-to-
surface distance z0 of the first segment of chain. Wefind that the size and shape of
chains, characterized by mean square radius of gyration and mean asphericityparameter
respectively, show similar dependence on distance z0. Both and reach the
maximum atz0 = 0, then decrease with the increase of z0 and soon reach the minimum values,
afterwards they go up continuouslyand approach to the limit values of free chain. The
similar dependence of and on z0 can be explained by apositive correlation between
A and S2. However, the dependence of the correlation coefficient CA,S2 on z0 is
verycomplicated and deserves further study. The overall density probability of segments is
also investigated. Resultsshow that segments near the surface are relatively less, and the
symmetrical distribution disappears when the chainlocates near the surface.

This paper presents the investigation on biosynthesis of high-value-added amino acids and
sugars labeleduniformly with stable isotope 13C by microalga Spirulina (Arthrospira) maxima
in a parallelepiped photobioreactor.The kinetic data of both batch and continuous cultures
with characterization of the amino acids and sugars areshown. The continuous culture
without nutrients deficiency is for biosynthesis of amino acids, with tyrosine as oneof the
principal constituents, and the batch culture with deficiency in nitrogen is for
biosynthesis of labeled glucosethat is up to 64% versus dry mass of cells.

Liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for the ternary system water-ethanol-dimethyl
succinate havebeen determined experimentally at temperatures ranging from 298.15 to 318.15
K at 5 K intervals. Complete phasediagrams were obtained by determining solubility and the
tie-line data. Tie-line compositions were correlated byOthmer-Tobias method. The universal
quasichemical functional group activity coefficient (UNIFAC) and modifiedUNIFAC methods
were used to predict the phase equilibrium in the system using the interaction parameters
determined from experimental data between groups CH3, CH2, OH, CH3COO and H2O. It is found
that UNIFAC andmodified UNIFAC group interaction parameters used for LLE could not provide
a good prediction. Distributioncoefficients and separation factors were evaluated for the
immiscibility region.

Experimental densities, viscosities and heat capacities at different temperatures were
presented overthe entire range of mole fraction for the binary mixture of p-xylene and
acetic acid. Density values were used in thedetermination of excess molar volumes, VE. At
the same time, the excess viscosity and excess molar heat capacitieswere calculated. The
values of VE, ηE and cpE were fitted to the Redlich-Kister equation. Good agreements
wereobserved. The excess molar volumes are positive with a large maximum value located in
the central concentrationrange. The excess viscosity has an opposite trend to the excess
molar volume VE. ηE values are negative over theentire range of the mixture. The cure of
dependence of cEp on concentration has a special shape. The molecularinteraction between p
-xylene and acetic acid is discussed.

The mass transfer between non-aqueous phase liquid(NAPL) phase and soil gas phase in soil
vapor extraction(SVE) process has been investigated by one-dimensional venting experiments.
During quasi-steady volatilization of three single-component NAPLs in a sandy soil,
constant initial lumped mass transfer coefficient (λgN,0) canbe obtained if the relative
saturation (ξ) between NAPL phase and gas phase is higher than a critical value (ξc),
andthe lumped mass transfer coefficient decreases with ξ when ξ＜ξc. It is also shown
that the lumped mass transfercoefficient can be increased by blending porous micro-
particles into the sandy soil because of the increasing of theinterfacial area.

Proton conducting membranes composed of phosphotungstic acid (PWA) and poly(vinyl alcohol)
(PVA)were prepared. Conductivity and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR)
measurements show that most ofthe acid embedded are stable in the PVA matrix when the
membrane is immerged in water or methanol solution atroom temperature. Conductivity of the
composite membranes scatters around 10-3 S.cm-1 at room temperature.The methanol crossover
through the membranes is about an order of magnitude lower than that through Nafion117
membrane.

Pervaporation membrane with preferential permeation for organic compounds over water was
preparedand characterized. Selection of membrane material and the effects of
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), cross-linker,and catalyst concentrations on performances of
pervaporation membrane at room temperature were discussed. Inaddition, the time of cross-
linking, and the kinds of basic plate in the process of preparation were tested.
Theformulation of pervaporation membrane material was determined. Through the
characterization of membrane byinfrared spectrometry(IR), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and Xray diffraction(XRD), it is proved that
the structures and characters are suitable for the pervaporation process.Experiments also
demonstrate that the permeate flux and separation factor are suitable for the process.

Aluminum specimens were anodized in a sulfuric acid bath, then silver was electrodeposited
in poresof the anodized aluminum by using alternating current . The anodized aluminum with
deposited silver was testedfor its antibacterial performance. The results show that the
antibacterial rates of the specimens are above 95%against the growth of E. coli, P.
aeruginasa, S. faecalis and S. aureus. The morphology of the silver in pores ofanodized
aluminum is characterized by transmission electron microscopy, and the micrographs indicate
that silveris assembled in the form of nanowires with a diameter of 10 nm or 25 nm. The
nanowires have a structure of parallelbright stripes alternating with parallel dark
stripes.

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate systematically the effects of
acoustic cavitation parameters and fluid subcooling on boiling of acetone around a
horizontal circular tube. The experimentalresults show that acoustic cavitation enhanced
remarkably the boiling heat transfer and decreased the incipientboiling superheat and that
cavitation bubbles effect on boiling heat transfer reduced with cavitation distance.
Forboiling curves in a form of h-q″, elevated cavitation distance shift nucleate boiling
curves to the right of the corresponding ordinary pool boiling curve. The associated
mechanism of heat transfer enhancement is analyzed withthe consideration of cavitation
bubble influence on vapor embryo.