Experiments were conducted to investigate the flow characteristics in the riser pipe and the suction pipe of airlift pump at a series of air flow rates and submergence ratios by using a high speed camcorder and a Laser Doppler Velocimetry system (LDV). A modified model was developed to predict the performance of airlift pump operating in gas-liquid two-phase flow. The results show that an unstable flow structure composed by a water falling film, a bubbly mixture, a water ascending film appearing alternately in riser pipe dominates the performance of airlift pump at large air flow rates. The bubbly mixture with a strongest capacity for pumping water first increases to its maximum and then slightly decreases. In suction pipe, the average velocity shows a flat profile and increases with increasing submergence ratio. Moreover, the predicted results of modified model are in good agreement with the experimental data in a margin of ±12%.

Compared to the traditional lumped-parameter model, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) attracted more attentions due to facilitating more accurate reactor design and optimization methods when analyzing the heat transfer in the industrial packed bed. Here, a model was developed based on the CFD theory, in which the heterogeneous fluid flow was resolved by considering the oscillatory behavior of voidage and the effective fluid viscosity. The energy transports in packed bed were calculated by the convection and diffusion incorporated with gaseous dispersion in fluid and the contacting thermal conductivity of packed particles in solids. The heat transfer coefficient between fluid and wall was evaluated by considering the turbulence due to the packed particles adjacent to the wall. Thus, the heat transfer in packed bed can be predicted without using any adjustable semi-empirical effective thermal conductivity coefficient. The experimental results from the literature were employed to validate this model.

For non-catalytic gas-solid reaction, it is desirable to match the mean residence time (MRT) of particles and complete conversion time (t_c) in a fluidized bed. In this study, the MRT differences (MRT ratios) between the coarse particles and the fine particles were investigated in a continuous fluidized bed with a side exit by varying the superficial gas velocity, feed composition and particle size ratio. The results show that the MRT ratio increases firstly and then decreases with increasing the gas velocity. By controlling the gas velocity and the feed composition of coarse particles, the MRT ratio can be modulated from 1.8 to 10.5 at the gas velocity of 1.0 m·s^-1 for the binary mixture with the size ratio of 2.2. The MRT ratio can reach to~12 at the gas velocity of 1.2 m·s^-1 for the particle size ratio of 3.3. The present study has endeavored to obtain fundamental data for an effective plant operation to meet the need of synchronously complete conversion of particles with different sizes during the film diffusion controlling reaction.

For the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), this paper presents a numerical investigation in a 3D fluidized bed reactor. The effect of the operation parameters such as bed temperature, superficial gas velocities, particle size and bed heights is discussed. A 3D-CFD model coupled with FTS chemical kinetics was set up. The computational results are compared with experimental data in terms of the components production rates, etc. The analysis shows that the bed heights, the bed temperature, the superficial gas velocities and particle sizes affect the C₅₊ selectivity and the reaction rates. Product yields are dependent on the operating conditions especially the temperature.

Antibiotics mycelium, byproduct of pharmaceutical industry, contains high percentage of proteins, polysaccharides and lipids, while, the low solubility in traditional solvents limits its utilization. The dissolution process of penicillin mycelium was investigated using ionic liquids (ILs) as solvent. Quantitative correlation of solubility and ILs structure and dissolution mechanism were determined. About 91.45% of penicillin mycelium was dissolved in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim] Ac) under the condition of 120.0℃ and[Bmim]Ac/mycelium (m/m) ratio of 3.90:1. Synergistic effect of ILs and DMSO was confirmed with the DMSO/[Bmim] Ac (v/m) ratio in the range of 0.0-1.0. At 25.0℃, the dissolution of penicillin mycelium increased from 69.74% to 94.50%, with the ratio of DMSO to[Bmim] Ac (v/m) as 1:1. The room temperature dissolution of mycelium provides a novel and energy-saving process for its high-valued utilization. The NMR and FT-IR spectra showed that hydrogen bonds are the dominant driving force for the dissolution in ILs. Quantitative study on the effects of anions and cations of ILs on dissolution using Kamlet-Taft model showed that there was a linearly positive correlation between solubility of penicillin mycelium and β parameter of the ILs. The solubility of mycelium increased with increasing hydrogen bond accepting ability of anions and donating ability of cations.

Our previous studies on bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption to diethylaminoethyl dextran (DEAE dextran, DexD, grafting-ligand) and DEAE (D, surface-ligand) modified Sepharose FF resins found that all the grafted resins (FF-DexD and FF-D-DexD) exhibited extremely fast uptake rate (effective diffusivity, D_e, D_e/D₀N 1.4), which was six times greater than the ungrafted resins (D_e/D₀b 0.3). In this work, the influence of ionic strength (IS) on 6 typical DEAE dextran-grafted resins was investigated. Bath adsorption equilibria and kinetics, breakthrough, and linear gradient elution experiments were conducted. Commercial DEAE Sepharose FF was used for comparison. It is found that protein adsorption capacities on DEAE dextran-FF resins and the commercial resin decreased with increasing IS, but DEAE dextran-FF resins exhibited much higher capacity sensitivity to salt concentration. Besides, steeper decrease of adsorption capacities could be obtained at higher graftingligand or surface-ligand density. It is worth noting that the facilitating role of surface-ligand to the "chain delivery" effect was weakened after adding salt, leading to the less improvement in uptake rate by increasing surface-ligand density at higher IS. Although the uptake rates of the DEAE dextran-FF resins increased first and then decreased with increasing IS, they kept the extremely high level of D_e values (D_e/D₀N 1.1) at the their working/binding IS range. Moreover, the DEAE dextran-FF resin displayed much higher adsorption capacities and D_e values than commercial ungrafted resin in their working condition. Furthermore, the column results of DEAE dextran-FF resins presented higher dynamic binding capacities than and similar elution ISs with DEAE Sepharose FF to achieve similar (or even higher) recoveries suggest the excellent chromatographic column performance of the DEAE dextran-FF resins. Finally, both high recovery and purity of BSA and γ-globulin could be easily achieved using the typical DEAE dextran-FF column, FF-D60-DexD160, to separate their binary mixtures, by step gradient elution. The research has provided new insights into the practical application of the series of DEAE-dextran grafted resins in protein chromatography and proved their superiority.

Membrane fouling is the key problem that occurs in membrane process for water treatment. However, how membrane microstructure influences the fouling behavior is still not clear. In this study, fouling behavior caused by dextran was deeply and systematically investigated by employing four poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes with different pore sizes, ranging from 24 to 94 nm. The extent of fouling by dextran was accurately characterized by pore reduction, flux decline, and the change of critical flux. The result shows that membrane with the smallest pore size of 24 nm experienced the smallest fouling rate and the lowest fouling extent. As the membrane pore size increased, the critical flux ranges were 105-114, 63-73, 38-44 and 34-43 L·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. The critical flux and fouling resistances indicated that the fouling propensity increases with the increase of membrane pore size. Two pilot membrane modules with mean pore size of 25 nm and 60 nm were applied in membrane filtration of surface water treatment. The results showed that serious irreversible membrane fouling occurred on the membrane with pore size of 60 nm at the permeate flux of 40.5 L·m^-2·h^-1. On the other hand, membrane with pore size of 25 nm exhibited much better anti-fouling performance when permeate flux was set to 40.5, 48 and 60 L·m^-2·h^-1.

Electrodialytic (ED) recovery of citric acid (CA) in the presence/absence of strong electrolytes (NaCl, CaCl₂ and FeCl₃) was separately analyzed under different process conditions. Recovery effectiveness was quantitatively estimated from current efficiency values. Efficiency attained optimum value with both flow rate and potential applied, while a monotonic rise was noted with temperature which got lowered beyond 0.1 mol·L^-1 feed concentration. 40% drop in efficiency was recorded in the presence of strong electrolytes (NaCl, CaCl₂ and FeCl₃) in feed relative to their presence in concentrate. Severe transport hindrance and efficiency loss were attributed to adsorption and allied physicochemical changes occurred with anion/cation exchange membranes (AEM/CEM) and these were confirmed through contact angle/Chronopotentiometry/AFM/EDX. Sluggish potential rise (Galvanostatic mode) in Chronopotentiometric analysis indicated diffusion limiting transport of organic acids influenced AEM resistance. XRD and EDX analysis indicated the presence of salt hydrates/ions (Ca²⁺/Fe³⁺) over CEM justifying the resistance buildup due to adsorption of multivalent metal ion(s) and salts.

Alkanolamines are widely used in the purification of the sour gas sweetening process. During the sour gas absorption process, CO₂ significantly degrades the amine solvent and creates enormous problems for plant operation. In this work, CO₂ induced degradation of aqueous diethanolamine (DEA) solution was conducted in a 1.25 L jacketed glass reactor that functioned as an absorber and stripper at atmospheric conditions. Pure CO₂ was bubbled through the reactor until the solution became saturated. In this study, the concentrations of DEA used were in the range of concentrations between 2 mol·L^-1 and 4 mol·L^-1. In the degradation experiment, six generic cycles were conducted for each run. Each cycle was configured with the absorption and desorption of carbon dioxide at 55℃ and 100℃, respectively. Samples were collected after a predetermined experimental time and analyzed by ion chromatography (IC) to identify unknown ionic degradation products (DGPs). In the IC analysis, three different columns were used for anion, cation and ion exclusion systems, which are Metrosep A Supp 5 150/4.0, Metrosep C Supp 4 150/4.0 and Metrosep Organic Acids, respectively. The major identified DGPs of D01DEA2M, D02DEA3M, and D03DEA4M are nitrite, acetate and ammonium. Phosphate product was found in the degraded amine samples which might be due to the contamination of water or chromatographic system.

The drying kinetics of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) of variety Terengganu (UMKL-1) and the quality attribution of Roselle were studied. The experiments were conducted using four different drying methods, including solar greenhouse drying (SD), solar greenhouse with intermittent heat pump drying (SIHP), hot air drying (HA) and heat pump drying (HP). Among the four drying methods, HP achieved the highest drying rate at a range from 0.054 g H₂O·(g DM)^-1·min^-1 to 0.212 g H₂O·(g DM)^-1·min^-1 while SD had the lowest drying rate, measured at 0.042 g H₂O·(g DM)^-1·min^-1. The analysis on colour kinetics revealed that there is no significant colour loss (p > 0.05) observed from HP's dried Roselle. Greater amount of flavonoid compounds i.e. protocatechuic acid was found in SD and SIHP dried finished product whereas HP's dried Roselle contains higher percentage of catechin as compared to other drying methods.

Solvent extraction kinetics of Sm (Ⅲ), Eu (Ⅲ) and Gd (Ⅲ) from hydrochloric acid have been focused on using 2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507) with Anordning for Kontinuerlig Undersokning av Fordelningsfaktore vid Vatske Extraction (AKUFVE). Compared with the conventional set-up, some advantages emerge obviously, for example, fast phase separation, easy operation and convenience of kinetic data acquisition. First of all, the extraction mechanism was discussed based on the dimeric model of P507. Secondly, the effects of stirring speed were investigated and 420 r·min^-1 was determined of the following experiments. The effects of pH, concentration of rare earth elements (REEs) and P507 on the extraction rate were analyzed. The results indicated that the extraction mechanism changed with the increasing concentration of P507. Then, the experiments with different temperature were carried out. It turned out that the values of apparent activation energy (E_a) for Sm(Ⅲ), Eu(Ⅲ) and Gd(Ⅲ) extracted by P507 were 26.80 kJ·mol^-1, 13.40 kJ·mol^-1 and 11.10 kJ·mol^-1 respectively, the resistance of the entire process was limited by diffusion or both of diffusion and reaction. Finally, the correlation equations were obtained, and the theoretical results fit with the experimental data well, most relative error was within ±30%.

This paper investigated the influences of surface properties of carbon support and nickel precursors (nickel nitrate, nickel chloride and nickel acetate) on Ni nanoparticle sizes and catalytic performances for steam reforming of toluene. Treatment with nitric acid helped to increase the amount of functional groups on the surface and hydrophilic nature of carbon support, leading to a homogeneous distribution of Ni nanoparticles. The thermal decomposition products of nickel precursor also played an important role, Ni nanoparticles supported on carbon treated with acid using nickel nitrate as the precursor exhibited the smallest mean diameter of 4.5 nm. With the loading amount increased from 6 wt% to 18 wt%, the mean particle size of Ni nanoparticles varied from 4.5 nm to 9.1 nm. The as-prepared catalyst showed a high catalytic activity and a good stability for toluene steam reforming:98.1% conversion of toluene was obtained with the Ni content of 12 wt% and the S/C ratio of 3, and the conversion only decreased to 92.0% after 700 min. Because of the high activity, good stability, and low cost, the as-prepared catalyst opens up new opportunities for tar removing.

The catalytic performance of commonly used heteropolyacids (H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ and H₃PMo₁₂O₄₀) for the synthesis of 4,4'-methylenedianiline (4,4'-MDA) from aniline and formaldehyde was evaluated and the result showed that H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ with moderate acid strength exhibited the best catalytic performance. Then H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀@MIL-100(Fe) was prepared by encapsulating H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ within the pores of MIL-100(Fe) to facilitate its recovery and reuse. The prepared H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀@MIL-100(Fe) was characterized by means of FT-IR, N₂ adsorption-desorption, XRD, TG and then the catalytic performance was evaluated. The result showed that H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ was highly dispersed in the pores of MIL-100(Fe), and both the Keggin structure of H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ and the crystal skeleton structure of MIL-100(Fe) could be effectively preserved. Furthermore, H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀@MIL-100(Fe) showed excellent catalytic performance under the following reaction conditions:a molar ratio of aniline to formaldehyde=5, a mass ratio of catalyst to formaldehyde=1.2, a reaction temperature of 120℃ and a reaction time of 6 h. Under the above reaction conditions, the conversion of aniline was 41.1%, and the yield and selectivity of 4,4'-MDA were 81.6% and 79.2%, respectively. Unfortunately, an appreciable loss in the catalytic activity of the recovered H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀@MIL-100(Fe) was observed because of the blocking of the pores and the change of the acidity resulted from the adsorption of alkaline organics such as aniline and 4,4'-MDA. The adsorbed alkaline organics could be cleaned up when the recovered catalyst was washed by methanol and DMF. Then the catalyst was effectively reused up to three cycles without much loss in its activity.

Polyoxomolybdate[Mo₃₆O₁₁₀(NO)₄(H₂O)₁₄]·52H₂O was synthesized by a simple one-pot procedure through reducing an acidified mixture of Na₂MoO₄·2H₂O and NH₂OH·HCl. In order to create a heterogeneous catalyst system, the polyoxomolybdate was pillared with MgAl-LDH-NO₃ by direct ion exchange. These novel materials were carefully analyzed by various chemico-physical methods. The catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB) as common dyes in the presence of MgAl-LDH-1 nanoparticles with aqueous hydrogen peroxide, H₂O₂, as an oxidizing agent was studied in aqueous solution at room temperature. More importantly, the catalyst can be recovered and reused efficiently up to five consecutive cycles with negligible loss of catalytic activity.

Regarding the growth of global energy consumption and the paucity of light crude oil, extracting and using heavy and extra heavy crude oil has received much more attention, but the application of this kind of oil is complicated due to its very high molecular weight. High viscosity and low flowability complicate the transportation of heavy and extra heavy crude oil. Accordingly, it is essential to reduce the viscosity of heavy and extra heavy crude oil through in-situ operations or immediate actions after extraction to reduce costs. Numerical simulations are influential methods, because they reduce calculation time and costs. In this study, the cracking of extra heavy crude oil using computational fluid dynamics is simulated, and a unique kinetic model is proposed based on experimental procedures to predict the behavior of extra heavy crude oil cracking reaction. Moreover, the hydrodynamics and heat transfer of the system and influence of nanocatalysts and temperature on the upgrading of crude oil are studied. The geometry of a reactor is produced using commercial software, and some experiments are performed to examine the validity and accuracy of the numerical results. The findings reveal that there is a good agreement between the numerical and experimental results. Furthermore, to investigate the main factors affecting the process, sensitivity analysis is adopted. Results show that type of catalyst and concentration of catalyst are the parameters that influence the viscosity reduction of extra heavy crude oil the most. The findings further revealed that when using a 25 nm SiO₂ nanocatalyst, a maximum viscosity reduction of 98.67% is observed at 623 K. Also, a catalyst concentration of 2.28wt% is best for upgrading extra heavy crude oil. The results obtained through sensitivity analysis, simulation model, and experiments represent effectual information for the design and development of high performance upgrading processes for energy applications.

Source term identification is very important for the contaminant gas emission event. Thus, it is necessary to study the source parameter estimation method with high computation efficiency, high estimation accuracy and reasonable confidence interval. Tikhonov regularization method is a potential good tool to identify the source parameters. However, it is invalid for nonlinear inverse problem like gas emission process. 2-step nonlinear and linear PSO (partial swarm optimization)-Tikhonov regularization method proposed previously have estimated the emission source parameters successfully. But there are still some problems in computation efficiency and confidence interval. Hence, a new 1-step nonlinear method combined Tikhonov regularization and PSO algorithm with nonlinear forward dispersion model was proposed. First, the method was tested with simulation and experiment cases. The test results showed that 1-step nonlinear hybrid method is able to estimate multiple source parameters with reasonable confidence interval. Then, the estimation performances of different methods were compared with different cases. The estimation values with 1-step nonlinear method were close to that with 2-step nonlinear and linear PSO-Tikhonov regularization method. 1-step nonlinear method even performs better than other two methods in some cases, especially for source strength and downwind distance estimation. Compared with 2-step nonlinear method, 1-step method has higher computation efficiency. On the other hand, the confidence intervals with the method proposed in this paper seem more reasonable than that with other two methods. Finally, single PSO algorithm was compared with 1-step nonlinear PSO-Tikhonov hybrid regularization method. The results showed that the skill scores of 1-step nonlinear hybrid method to estimate source parameters were close to that of single PSO method and even better in some cases. One more important property of 1-step nonlinear PSO-Tikhonov regularization method is its reasonable confidence interval, which is not obtained by single PSO algorithm. Therefore, 1-step nonlinear hybrid regularization method proposed in this paper is a potential good method to estimate contaminant gas emission source term.

Mercury-containing catalysts are widely used for acetylene hydrochlorination in China. Surface chemical characteristics of the fresh low-level mercury catalysts and spent low-level mercury catalysts were compared using multiple characterization methods. Pore blockage and active site coverage caused by chlorine-containing organics are responsible for catalyst deactivation. The reactions of chloroethylene and acetylene with chlorine free radical can generate chlorine-containing organic species. SiO₂ and functional groups on activated carbon contribute to the generation of carbon deposition. No significant reduction in the total content of mercury was observed after catalyst deactivation, while there was mercury loss locally. The irreversible loss of HgCl₂ caused by volatilization, reduction and poisoning of elements S and P also can lead to catalyst deactivation. Si, Al, Ca and Fe oxides are scattered on the activated carbon. Active components are still uniformly absorbed on activated carbon after catalyst deactivation.

A systematic series of experiments are designed and performed including interfacial tension (IFT) measurements concomitant with Bond (BN, the ratio of gravity forces to capillary forces) and swelling/extraction measurements. Dynamic IFT, BN and swelling/extraction are measured as a function of pressure at temperatures of 30, 50 and 80℃. In addition, in the light of measured IFT the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) of CO₂ and light crude oil is determined based on a method called vanishing interfacial tension (VIT). The obtained results interestingly revealed that equilibrium IFT decreases linearly with pressure in two distinct pressure intervals while equilibrium BN shows an increasing trend as a function of pressure for all of the studied cases while no obvious trend is observed for swelling of crude oil and extraction of light-components regarding time, temperature and pressure.

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid (4-HPPA), a kind of α-keto acid, is an intermediate in the metabolism of tyrosine and has a wide range of application in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. Using amino acids as raw material to produce the corresponding α-keto acid is thought to be both economic and efficient. Among the enzymes that convert amino acid to α-keto acid, membrane bound L-amino acid deaminase (mL-AAD), which is anchored to the outer side of the cytomembrane, becomes an ideal enzyme to prepare α-keto acid since there is no cofactors needed and H₂O₂ production during the reaction. In this study, the mL-AAD from Proteus vulgaris was used to prepare whole-cell catalysts to produce 4-HPPA from L-tyrosine. The secretory efficiency of mL-AAD conducted by its own twin-arginine signal peptide (twin-arginine translocation pathway, Tat) and integrated pelB (the general secretory pathway, Sec)-Tat signal peptide was determined and compared firstly, using two pET systems (pET28a and pET20b). It was found that the Tat pathway (pET28a-mlaad) resulted in higher cell-associated mL-AAD activity and cell biomass, and was more beneficial to prepare biocatalyst. In addition, expression hosts Bl21(DE3) and 0.05 mmol·L^-1 IPTG were found to be suitable for mL-AAD expression. The reaction conditions for mL-AAD were optimized and 72.72 mmol·L^-1 4-HPPA was obtained from 100 mmol·L^-1 tyrosine in 10 h under the optimized conditions. This bioprocess, which is more eco-friendly and economical than the traditional chemical synthesis ways, has great potential for industrial application.

In this paper, processes for producing a food-grade glucose solution through enzymatic hydrolysis of celluloserich solids obtained from rice straws are presented. The rice straws were pretreated by acid-catalyzed steam explosion, and the reaction efficiency, toxicity control, and process economic feasibility were studied. Mass transfer resistance to the hydrolysis reaction was reduced by grinding with glass beads. A higher glucose concentration could be obtained by feeding more cellulose in the hydrolysis reaction; however, this also resulted in the production of undesired byproducts. Thus, a soaking process for the cellulose solids in water was developed to effectively reduce the generation of byproducts in the hydrolysis reaction. The resulting food-grade glucose solution can provide 414 kilocalories per liter, and could be used during a food-shortage crisis in the future. The current production cost is estimated to be 0.82 USD·L^-1.

Estrogen hormones as a group of endocrine disruptive compounds (EDC) can interfere with endocrine system in humans and animals. The goal of this study was to investigate the elimination rate of Estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) in Moving Bed Bioreactor (MBBR). These analytes extracted by Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction (DLLME) technique, followed by derivatization, and detected by GC/MS. Estrogen removal efficiency in MBBR improved at high solid retention times (SRTs), which notion is owing to development of nitrification. Estrogen specific removal rate was between 0.22-1.45 μg·(g VSS)^-1·d^-1 for natural and synthetic hormones. The adsorption rate was 0.9%-3.2%, 0-1.3%, and 0.7%-5.7% for E1, E2, and EE2, respectively. In addition, the biodegradation rates were more than 95% for these compounds. These results illustrated that in MBBR, the biodegradation and the adsorption to biomass are considered as two significant routes for elimination of estrogenic compounds. As a whole, the deterioration rate of estrogens enhanced by MBBR compared to other biological wastewater treatment processes such as conventional activated sludge.

Molten plastics are characterised with high viscosity and low thermal conductivity. Applying falling film pyrolysis reactor to deal with waste plastics can not only improve heat transfer efficiency, but also solve the flow problem. In this work, the pyrolysis process of molten polypropylene (PP) in a vertical falling film reactor is experimentally studied, and the influence of heating temperature on pyrolysis products is discussed. It has been found that with the temperature increases from 550℃ to 625℃, the yield of pyrolysis oil decreases from 74.4 wt% (±2.2 wt%) to 53.5 wt% (±1.3 wt%). The major compositions of the pyrolysis oil are C₉, C₁₂ and C₁₈, and β-scission reactions are predominant. The content of the light fraction C₆-C₁₂ of pyrolysis oil is 69.7 wt%. Compared with other pyrolysis reactors, the yield of oil from vertical falling film pyrolysis reactor is slightly higher than that from tubular reactor, equal to that from rotary kiln reactor, and slightly lower than that in medium fluidised-bed reactor.

Rapid pyrolysis of oil shale coupled with in-situ upgrading of pyrolysis volatiles over oil shale char was studied in a laboratory two-stage fluidized bed (TSFB) to clarify the shale oil yield and quality and their variations with operating conditions. Rapid pyrolysis of oil shale in fluidized bed (FB) obtained shale oil yield higher than the Fischer Assay oil yield at temperatures of 500-600℃. The highest yield was 12.7 wt% at 500℃ and was about 1.3 times of the Fischer Assay oil yield. The heavy fraction (boiling point N 350℃) in shale oil at all temperatures from rapid pyrolysis was above 50%. Adding an upper FB of secondary cracking over oil shale char caused the loss of shale oil but improved its quality. Heavy fraction yield decreased significantly and almost disappeared at temperatures above 550℃, while the corresponding light fraction (boiling point b 350℃) yield dramatically increased. In terms of achieving high light fraction yield, the optimal pyrolysis and also secondary cracking temperatures in TSFB were 600℃, at which the shale oil yield decreased by 17.74% but its light fraction yield of 7.07 wt% increased by 86.11% in comparison with FB pyrolysis. The light fraction yield was higher than that of Fischer Assay at all cases in TSFB. Thus, a rapid pyrolysis of oil shale combined with volatile upgrading was important for producing high-quality shale oil with high yield as well.

A new approach is provided to resolve the large-scale applications of coal tar pitch. Carbon foams with uniform pore size are prepared at the foaming pressure of normal pressure using coal tar pitch as raw materials. The physical and chemical performance of high softening point pitch (HSPP) can be regulated by vacuumizing owing to the cooperation of vacuumizing and polycondensation. Results indicate that the optimum softening point and weight ratio of quinoline insoluble are about 292℃ and 65.7%, respectively. And the optimum viscosity of HSPP during the foaming process is distributed in the range of 1000-10000 Pa·s. The resultant carbon foam exhibits excellent performance, such as uniform pore structure, high compressive strength (4.7 MPa), low thermal conductivity (0.07 W·m^-1·K^-1), specially, it cannot be fired under the high temperature of 1200℃. Thus, this kind of carbon foam is a potential candidate for thermal insulation material applied in energy saving building.

Cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) thin films have been grown by electrodeposition technique onto ITO-coated glass substrates from aqueous copper acetate solutions with addition of sodium thiosulfate at 60℃. The effects of sodium thiosulfate on the electrochemical deposition of Cu₂O films were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry techniques. Deposited films were obtained at -0.58 V vs. SCE and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical, photoelectrochemical and electrical measurements. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the synthesized Cu₂O films had a pure cubic phase with a marked preferential orientation peak along (200) plane and with lattice constants a=b=c=0.425 nm. FTIR results confirmed the presence of Cu₂O films at peak 634 cm^-1. SEM images of Cu₂O films showed a better compactness and spherical-shaped composition. Optical properties of Cu₂O films reveal a high optical transmission (>80%) and high absorption coefficient (α > 104 cm^-1) in visiblelight region. The optical energy band gap was found to be 2.103 eV. Photoelectrochemical measurements indicated that Cu₂O films had n-type semiconductor conduction, which confirmed by Hall Effect measurements. Electrical properties of Cu₂O films showed a low electrical resistivity of 61.30 Ω·cm^-1, carrier concentration of -4.94×10¹⁵ cm^-3 and mobility of 20.61 cm²·V^-1·s^-1. The obtained Cu₂O thin films with suitable properties are promising semiconductor material for fabrication of photovoltaic solar cells.

In this study, titania nanotubes (TNTs) were prepared by hydrothermal method with the aim to compare the properties of these one-dimensional tubular nanostructures' reinforced nanocomposites with the carbon and halloysite nanotubes' (CNTs and HNTs, respectively) reinforced nanocomposites. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) was used as the matrix material. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized and compared by means of their morphological, mechanical and thermal properties. SEM results showed enhanced interfacial interaction and better dispersion of TNTs and HNTs into LDPE with the incorporation of a MAPE compatibilizer, however, these interactions seem to be absent between CNTs and LDPE, and the CNTs remained agglomerated. Contact angle measurements revealed that CNT filled nanocomposites are more hydrophilic than HNT composites, and less than TNT composites. CNTs provided better tensile strength and Young's modulus than HNT and TNT nanocomposites, a 42% increase in tensile strength and Young's modulus is achieved compared to LDPE. Tear strength improvement was noticed in the TNT composites with a value of 35.4 N·mm^-1, compared to CNT composites with a value of 25.5 N·mm^-1·s^-1. All the prepared nanocomposites are more thermally stable than neat LDPE and the best improvement in thermal stability was observed for CNT reinforced nanocomposites. CNTs depicted the best improvement in tensile and thermal properties and the MAPE compatibilizer effectiveness regarding morphological, mechanical and thermal properties was only observed for TNT and HNT systems.