A huge amount of energy is always consumed to separate the ternary azeotropic mixtures by distillations. The heterogeneous azeotropic distillation and the pressure-swing distillation are two kinds of effective technologies to separate heterogeneous azeotropes without entrainer addition. To give better play to the synergistic energy-saving effect of these two processes, a novel pressure-swing-assisted ternary heterogeneous azeotropic distillation (THAD) process is proposed firstly. In this process, the ternary heterogeneous azeotrope is decanted into two liquid phases before being refluxed into the azeotropic distillation column to avoid the aqueous phase remixing, and three columns' pressures are modified to decrease the flowrates of the recycle streams. Then the dividing wall column and heat integration technologies are introduced to further reduce its energy consumption, and the pressure-swing-assisted ternary heterogeneous azeotropic dividing-wall column and its heat integration structure are achieved. A genetic algorithm procedure is used to optimize the proposed processes. The design results show that the proposed processes have higher energy efficiencies and lower CO₂ emissions than the published THAD process.

Herein, the co-pyrolysis reaction characteristics of corn straw (CS) and bituminous coal in the presence of ilmenite oxygen carriers (OCs) are investigated via thermogravimetry coupled with mass spectrometry. The results reveal that the participation of OCs weakens the devolatilization intensity of co-pyrolysis. When the CS blending ratio is <50%, the mixed fuel exhibits positive synergistic effects. The fitting results according to the Coats-Redfern integral method show that the solid-solid interaction between OCs and coke changes the reaction kinetics, enhancing the co-pyrolysis reactivity at the high-temperature zone (750-950 ℃). The synergistic effect is most prominent at a 30% CS blending ratio, with copyrolysis activation energy in the range of 26.35-40.57 kJ·mol^-1.

A novel tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica adsorbent (FNMs/TEPA) was prepared for the adsorption of Cr(III)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) from wastewater. The characterization of the prepared adsorbent certified that TEPA was modified onto the magnetic mesoporous silicon (FNMs), while FNMs/TEPA maintained the ordered mesoporous and pristine magnetic properties. The batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that TEPA significantly enhanced the removal capacity of the adsorbent for Cr(III)-EDTA. FNMs/TEPA exhibited an excellent adsorption property (13.84 mg·g^-1) at pH 4.0. Even in the presence of high concentrations of coexisting ions and organic acids, the adsorption performance of FNMs/TEPA was stable. Experimental characterization and DFT demonstrated that the adsorption of Cr(III)-EDTA was ascribed to the electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, and complexation between Cr(III)-EDTA and amino groups on the adsorbent surface. The analysis of the independent gradient model (IGM) shows that electrostatic interaction is the main mode of action in the adsorption process. Moreover, FNMs/TEPA demonstrated remarkable reusability in three regeneration cycles. These findings indicated that FNMs/TEPA possessed excellent application prospects in the disposal of wastewater containing Cr(III)-EDTA.

In this work, a novel composite material based on β-cyclodextrin-immobilized sodium alginate aerogel (β-CD/NaAlg) was developed utilizing cross-linker of epichlorohydrin and applied as an adsorbent to remove tetracycline antibiotics from reclaimed wastewater. A series of characterizations were utilized to confirm the successful synthesis of the adsorbent and this β-CD/NaAlg presented a three-dimensional network at the nanoscale or microscale. Under optimal conditions (pH = 4, t = 8 h, β-CD: NaAlg = 9, adsorbent dosage = 1.5 g·L^-1), the maximum removal rate of β-CD/NaAlg to tetracycline was 70%. The adsorption behavior of tetracycline on β-CD/NaAlg conformed to the Freundlich isotherm model (R²= 0.9977) and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R²= 0.9993). Moreover, the adsorbent still removed 55.3% of tetracycline after five cycles. Specially, the adsorbent was integrated with ultrafiltration to adsorb tetracycline antibiotics from simulated reclaimed wastewater, and the removal rate of tetracycline reached 78.9% within 2 h. The existence of Cr (VI) had a negligible impact on tetracycline removal, while the presence of humic acid exhibited a promoting effect. The possible adsorption mechanisms were also elucidated through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory analysis. In summary, β-CD/NaAlg represents an environmentally friendly, efficient, and sustainable adsorbent for removing tetracycline antibiotics from reclaimed water.

Understanding the relationship between the chemical composition and pyrolysis performance of endothermic hydrocarbon fuel (EHF) is of great significance for the design and optimization of advanced EHFs. In this work, the effect of deep hydrogenation on the pyrolysis of commercial RP-3 is investigated. Fuels with different hydrogenation degrees were obtained by the partially and completely catalytic hydrogenation and their pyrolysis performances were investigated using an apparatus equipped with an electrically heated tubular reactor. The results show that with the increase of hydrogenation degree, fuel conversion almost remains constant during the pyrolysis process (500-650 ℃, 4 MPa); however, the heat sink increases slightly, and the anti-coking performance significantly improves, which are highly related to their H/C ratios. Detailed characterisations reveal that the difference of the pyrolysis performance can be ascribed to the content of aromatics and cycloalkanes: the former are prone to initiate secondary reactions to form coking precursors, while the latter could act as the hydrogen donor and release hydrogen, which will terminate the radical propagation reactions and suppress the coke deposition. This work should provide the guidance for upgrading EHFs by modulating the composition of EHFs.

Focusing on the use of imidazolium ionic liquids and quaternary ammonium salts-based deep eutectic solvents for the separation of phenols and nitrogen-containing heteroaromatics, the role of heteroaromatics as specific sites for hydrogen bond-based separation has been investigated. These environmentally friendly solvents are known for their ability to form hydrogen bonds with heteroatoms, a key aspect in separation processes. We quantified the hydrogen bond interaction energy to reach the threshold energy for efficient O- and N-heteroaromatics separation. This article provides an in-depth study of the structural nuances of different hydrogen bonding sites and their affinity properties while conducting a comparative evaluation of the separation efficiency of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents from a thermodynamic perspective. Results showed that phenols with dual hydrogen bonding recognition sites were easier to separate than nitrogen-containing heteroaromatics. Imidazolium ionic liquids were more suitable for the extraction of nonbasic nitrogen-containing heteroaromatics, and quaternary ammonium salts-based deep eutectic solvents are more effective for phenols and basic nitrogen-containing heteroaromatics, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and empirical tests. Therefore, this study provides a theoretical basis for the strategy design and selection of extractants for the efficient separation of O- and N-containing aromatic compounds.

Chemical-looping oxidative dehydrogenation (CL-ODH) is a process designed for the conversion of alkanes into olefins through cyclic redox reactions, eliminating the need for gaseous O₂. In this work, we investigated the use of Ca₂MnO₄-layered perovskites modified with NaNO₃ dopants, serving as redox catalysts (also known as oxygen carriers), for the CL-ODH of ethane within a temperature range of 700-780 ℃. Our findings revealed that the incorporation of NaNO₃ as a modifier significantly enhanced the selectivity for ethylene generation from Ca₂MnO₄. At 750 ℃ and a gas hourly space velocity of 1300 h^-1, we achieved an ethane conversion up to 68.17%, accompanied by a corresponding ethylene yield of 57.39%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis unveiled that the doping NaNO₃ onto Ca₂MnO₄ not only played a role in reducing the oxidation state of Mn ions but also increased the lattice oxygen content of the redox catalyst. Furthermore, formation of NaNO₃ shell on the surface of Ca₂MnO₄ led to a reduction in the concentration of manganese sites and modulated the oxygen-releasing behavior in a step-wise manner. This modulation contributed significantly to the enhanced selectivity for ethylene of the NaNO₃-doped Ca₂MnO₄ catalyst. These findings provide compelling evidence for the potential of Ca₂MnO₄-layered perovskites as promising redox catalysts in the context of CL-ODH reactions.

Lymph node targeting is a commonly used strategy for particulate vaccines, particularly for Pickering emulsions. However, extensive research on the internal delivery mechanisms of these emulsions, especially the complex intercellular interactions of deformable Pickering emulsions, has been surprisingly sparse. This gap in knowledge holds significant potential for enhancing vaccine efficacy. This study aims to address this by summarizing the process of lymph-node-targeting transport and introducing a dissipative particle dynamics simulation method to evaluate the dynamic processes within cell tissue. The transport of Pickering emulsions in skeletal muscle tissue is specifically investigated as a case study. Various factors impacting the transport process are explored, including local cellular tissue environmental factors and the properties of the Pickering emulsion itself. The simulation results primarily demonstrate that an increase in radial repulsive interaction between emulsion particles can decrease the transport efficiency. Additionally, larger intercellular gaps also diminish the transport efficiency of emulsion droplet particles due to the increased motion complexity within the intricate transport space compared to a single channel. This study sheds light on the nuanced interplay between engineered and biological systems influencing the transport dynamics of Pickering emulsions. Such insights hold valuable potential for optimizing transport processes in practical biomedical applications such as drug delivery. Importantly, the desired transport efficiency varies depending on the specific application. For instance, while a more rapid transport might be crucial for lymph-node-targeted drug delivery, certain applications requiring a slower release of active components could benefit from the reduced transport efficiency observed with increased particle repulsion or larger intercellular gaps.

Micromixing efficiency is an important parameter for evaluating the multiphase mass transfer performance and reaction efficiency of microreactors. In this work, the novel curved capillary reactor with different shapes was designed to generate Dean flow, which was used to enhance the liquid-liquid micromixing performance. The Villermaux-Dushman probe reaction was employed to characterize the micromixing performance in different curved capillary microreactors. The effects of experiment parameters such as liquid flow rate, inner diameter, tube length, and curve diameter on micromixing performance were systematically investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the minimum value of the segmentation factor X_S was 0.008. It was worth noting that at the low Reynolds number (Re < 30), the change of curved shape on the capillary microreactor can significantly improve the micromixing performance with X_S reduced by 37.5%. Further, the correlations of segment index X_S with dimensionless factor such as Reynolds number or Dean number were developed, which can be used to predict the liquid-liquid micromixing performance in capillary microreactors.

Separators play a critical role in the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries. However, commercial polyolefin separators are limited by their poor affinity with electrolytes and low melting points. In this work, we constructed a reinforced-concrete-like structure by homogeneously dispersing nano-Al₂O₃ and cellulose on the separators to improve their stability and performance. In this reinforced-concrete-like structure, the cellulose is a reinforcing mesh, and the nano-Al₂O₃ acts as concrete to support the separator. After constructing the reinforced-concrete-like structure, the separators exhibit good stability even at 200 ℃ (thermal shrinkage of 0.3%), enhanced tensile strain (tensile stress of 133.4 MPa and tensile strains of 62%), and better electrolyte wettability (a contact angle of 6.5°). Combining these advantages, the cells with nano-Al₂O₃@cellulose-coated separators exhibit stable cycling performance and good rate performance. Therefore, the construction of the reinforced-concrete-like structure is a promising technology to promote the application of lithium-ion batteries in extreme environments.

A green environmental protection and enhanced leaching process was proposed to recover all elements from spent lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) lithium batteries. In order to reduce the influence of Al impurity in the recovery process, NaOH was used to remove impurity. After impurity removal, the spent LiFePO₄ cathode material was used as raw material under the H₂SO₄ system, and the pressure oxidation leaching process was adopted to achieve the preferential leaching of lithium. The E-pH diagram of the Fe-P-Al-H₂O system can determine the stable region of each element in the recovery process of spent LiFePO₄ Li-batteries. Under the optimal conditions (500 r·min^-1, 15 h, 363.15 K, 0.4 MPa, the liquid-solid ratio was 4:1 ml·g^-1 and the acid-material ratio was 0.29), the leaching rate of Li was 99.24%, Fe, Al, and Ti were 0.10%, 2.07%, and 0.03%, respectively. The Fe and P were precipitated and recovered as FePO₄·2H₂O. The kinetic analysis shows that the process of high-pressure acid leaching of spent LiFePO₄ materials depends on the surface chemical reaction. Through the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the spent LiFePO₄ whole recovery process, eight midpoint impact categories were selected to assess the impact of recovery process. The results can provide basic environmental information on production process for recycling industry.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) usually refers to the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. In the environment, medicine, and fermentation industries, the DO level needs to be accurate and capable of online monitoring to guide the precise control of water quality, clinical treatment, and microbial metabolism. Compared with other analytical methods, the electrochemical strategy is superior in its fast response, low cost, high sensitivity, and portable device. However, an electrochemical DO sensor faces a trade-off between sensitivity and long-term stability, which strongly limits its practical applications. To solve this problem, various advanced nanomaterials have been proposed to promote detection performance owing to their excellent electrocatalysis, conductivity, and chemical stability. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the recent progress of advanced nanomaterial-based electrochemical DO sensors. Through the comparison of the working principles on the main analysis techniques toward DO, the advantages of the electrochemical method are discussed. Emphasis is placed on recently developed nanomaterials that exhibit special characteristics, including nanostructures and preparation routes, to benefit DO determination. Specifically, we also introduce some interesting research on the configuration design of the electrode and device, which is rarely introduced. Then, the different requirements of the electrochemical DO sensors in different application fields are included to provide brief guidance on the selection of appropriate nanomaterials. Finally, the main challenges are evaluated to propose future development prospects and detection strategies for nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors.

In order to reduce the sulfur compounds in diesel fuel, boron nitride (BN) has been used as a novel metal-free catalyst in the present research. This nanocatalyst was synthesized via template-free approach followed by heating treatment at 900 ℃ in nitrogen atmosphere that the characteristics of the sample were identified by the X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results of structural and morphological analysis represented that BN has been successfully synthesized. The efficacy of the main operating parameters on the process was studied by using response surface methodology based on the Box-Behnken design method. The prepared catalyst showed high efficiency in oxidative desulfurization of diesel fuel with initial sulfur content of 8040 mg·kg^-1 S. From statistical analysis, a significant quadratic model was obtained to predict the sulfur removal as a function of efficient parameters. The maximum efficiency of 72.4% was achieved under optimized conditions at oxidant/sulfur molar ratio of 10.2, temperature of 71, reaction time of 113 min, and catalyst dosage of 0.36 g. Also, the reusability of the BN was studied, and the result showed little reduction in activity of the catalyst after 10 times regeneration. Moreover, a plausible mechanism was proposed for oxidation of sulfur compounds on the surface of the catalyst. The present study shows that BN materials can be selected as promising metal-free catalysts for desulfurization process.

During wet complexation denitrification of flue gas, Fe^IIEDTA regeneration, also known as reducing Fe^IIIEDTA and Fe^IIEDTA-nitric oxide (NO) to Fe^IIEDTA, is crucial. In this paper, ultraviolet (UV) light was used for the first time to reduce Fe^IIEDTA-NO. The experimental result demonstrated that Fe^IIEDTA-NO reduction rate increased with UV power increasing, elevated temperature, and initial Fe^IIEDTA-NO concentration decreasing. Fe^IIEDTA-NO reduction rate increased first and then decreased as pH value increased (2.0-10.0). Fe^IIEDTA-NO reduction with UV irradiation presented a first order reaction with respect to Fe^IIEDTA-NO. Compared with other Fe^IIEDTA regeneration methods, Fe^IIEDTA regeneration with UV show more superiority through comprehensive consideration of regeneration rate and procedure. Subsequently, NO absorption experiment by Fe^IIEDTA solution with UV irradiation confirmed that UV can significantly promote the NO removal performance of Fe^IIEDTA. Appropriate oxygen concentration (3% (vol)) and acidic environment (pH = 4) was favorable for NO removal. With UV power increasing as well as temperature decreasing, NO removal efficiency rose. In addition, the mechanism research indicates that NO from flue gas is mostly converted to NO₂^-, NO₃^-, NH₄⁺, N₂, and N₂O with Fe^IIEDTA absorption liquid with UV irradiation. UV strengthens NO removal in Fe^IIEDTA absorption liquid by forming a synergistic effect of oxidation-reduction-complexation. Finally, compared with NO removal methods with Fe^IIEDTA, Fe^IIEDTA combined UV system shows prominent technology advantage in terms of economy and secondary pollution.

It is quite important to ensure the safety and sustainable development of nuclear energy for the treatment of radioactive wastewater. To treat radioactive wastewater efficiently and rapidly, two multi-amine β-cyclodextrin polymers (diethylenetriamine β-cyclodextrin polymer (DETA-TFCDP) and triethylenetetramine β-cyclodextrin polymer (TETA-TFCDP)) were prepared and applied to capture uranium. Results exhibited that DETA-TFCDP and TETA-TFCDP displayed the advantages of high adsorption amounts (612.2 and 628.2 mg·g^-1, respectively) and rapid adsorption rates, which can reach (88 ±1)% of their equilibrium adsorption amounts in 10 min. Moreover, the adsorbent processes of DETA-TFCDP and TETA-TFCDP on uranium(VI) followed the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model, stating they were mainly chemisorption and self-endothermic. Besides, TETA-TFCDP also showed excellent selectivity in the presence of seven competing cations and could be effectively reused five times via Na₂CO₃ as the desorption reagent. Meanwhile, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy illustrated that the enriched multi-amine groups and oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of TETA-TFCDP were the main active sites for capturing uranium(VI). Hence, multi-amine β-cyclodextrin polymers are a highly efficient, rapid, and promising adsorbent for capturing uranium(VI) from radioactive wastewater.

Delayed and nonhealing of diabetic wounds imposes substantial economic burdens and physical pain on patients. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) promote diabetic wound healing. Particularly when MSCs aggregate into multicellular spheroids, their therapeutic effect is enhanced. However, traditional culture platforms are inadequate for the efficient preparation and delivery of MSC spheroids, resulting in inefficiencies and inconveniences in MSC spheroid therapy. In this study, a three-dimensional porous nanofibrous dressing (NFD) is prepared using a combination of electrospinning and homogeneous freeze-drying. Using thermal crosslinking, the NFD not only achieves satisfactory elasticity but also maintains notable cytocompatibility. Through the design of its structure and chemical composition, the NFD allows MSCs to spontaneously form MSC spheroids with controllable sizes, serving as MSC spheroid delivery systems for diabetic wound sites. Most importantly, MSC spheroids cultured on the NFD exhibit improved secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and hepatocyte growth factor, thereby accelerating diabetic wound healing. The NFD provides a competitive strategy for MSC spheroid formation and delivery to promote diabetic wound healing.

In order to comprehend the applicability of microwave irradiation for recovering coalbed methane, it is necessary to evaluate the microwave irradiation-induced alterations in coals with varying levels of metamorphism. In this work, the carbon molecular sieve combined with KMnO₄ oxidation was selected to fabricate carbon molecular sieve with diverse oxidation degrees, which can serve as model substances toward coals. Afterwards, the microwave irradiation dependences of pores, functional groups, and high-pressure methane adsorption characteristics of model substances were studied. The results indicated that microwave irradiation causes rearrangement of oxygen-containing functional groups, which could block the micropores with a size of 0.40-0.60 nm in carbon molecular sieve; meanwhile, naphthalene and phenanthrene generated by macro-molecular structure pyrolysis due to microwave irradiation could block the micropores with a size of 0.70-0.90 nm. These alterations in micropore structure weaken the saturated methane adsorption capacity of oxidized carbon molecular sieve by 2.91%-23.28%, suggesting that microwave irradiation could promote methane desorption. Moreover, the increased mesopores found for oxidized carbon molecular sieve after microwave irradiation could benefit CH₄ diffusion. In summary, the oxidized carbon molecular sieve can act as model substances toward coals with different ranks. Additionally, microwave irradiation is a promising technology to enhance coalbed methane recovery.

Steam reforming of long-chain hydrocarbon fuels for hydrogen production has received great attention for thermal management of the hypersonic vehicle and fuel-cell application. In this work, Pt catalysts supported on CeO₂ and Tb-doped CeO₂ were prepared by a precipitation method. The physical structure and chemical properties of the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, H₂ temperature programmed reduction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that Tb-doped CeO₂ supported Pt possesses abundant surface oxygen vacancies, good inhibition of ceria sintering, and strong metal-support interaction compared with CeO₂ supported Pt. The catalytic performance of hydrogen production via steam reforming of long-chain hydrocarbon fuels (n-dodecane) was tested. Compared with 2Pt/CeO₂, 2Pt/Ce_0.9Tb_0.1O₂, and 2Pt/Ce_0.5Tb_0.5O₂, the 2Pt/Ce_0.7Tb_0.3O₂ has higher activity and stability for hydrogen production, on which the conversion of n-dodecane was maintained at about 53.2% after 600 min reaction under 700 ℃ at liquid space velocity of 9 ml·g^-1·h^-1. 2Pt/CeO₂ rapidly deactivated, the conversion of n-dodecane was reduced to only 41.6% after 600 min.

In the petrochemical industry process, the relative volatility between the components to be separated is close to one or the azeotrope that systems are difficult to separate. Liquid-liquid extraction is a common and effective separation method, and selecting an extraction agent is the key to extraction technology research. In this paper, a design method of extractants based on elements and chemical bonds was proposed. A knowledge-based molecular design method was adopted to pre-select elements and chemical bond groups. The molecules were automatically synthesized according to specific combination rules to avoid the problem of “combination explosion” of molecules. The target properties of the extractant were set, and the extractant meeting the requirements was selected by predicting the correlation physical properties of the generated molecules. Based on the separation performance of the extractant in liquid-liquid extraction and the relative importance of each index, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation membership function was established, the analytic hierarchy process determined the mass ratio of each index, and the consistency test results were passed. The results of case study based on quantum chemical analysis demonstrated that effective determination of extractants for the analysis of benzene-cyclohexane systems. The results unanimously prove that the method has important theoretical significance and application value.

Radiant syngas cooler (RSC) is widely used as a waste heat recovery equipment in industrial gasification. In this work, an RSC with radiation screens is established and the impact of gaseous radiative property models, gas components, and ash particles on heat transfer is investigated by the numerical simulation method. Considering the syngas components and the pressure environment of the RSC, a modified weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model was developed. The modified model shows high accuracy in validation. In computational fluid dynamics simulation, the calculated steam production is only 0.63% in error with the industrial data. Compared with Smith's model, the temperature decay along the axial direction calculated by the modified model is faster. Syngas components are of great significance to heat recovery capacity, especially when the absorbing gas fraction is less than 10%. After considering the influence of particles, the outlet temperature and the proportion of radiative heat transfer are less affected, but the difference in steam output reaches 2.7 t·h^-1. The particle deposition on the wall greatly reduces the heat recovery performance of an RSC.

Efficient and convenient treatment of industrial dyeing wastewater is of great significance to guarantee human and animal health. This work presented the enhanced catalytic activity at pH 3.0 of laccase immobilized on amino-functionalized ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (ZnFe₂O₄-laccase) and its application for the degradation of textile dyes. Due to the existence of a large number of oxygen vacancies on the surface of the ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles, negative ions accumulated on the magnetic carriers, which resulted in a harsh optimal pH value of the ZnFe₂O₄-laccase. Laccase activity assays revealed that the ZnFe₂O₄-laccase possessed superior pH and thermal stabilities, excellent reusability, and noticeable organic solvent tolerance. Meanwhile, the ZnFe₂O₄ laccase presented efficient and sustainable degradation of high concentrations of textile dyes. The initial decoloration efficiencies of malachite green (MG), brilliant green (BG), azophloxine, crystal violet (CV), reactive blue 19 (RB19), and procion red MX-5B were approximately 99.1%, 95.0%, 93.3%, 87.4%, 86.1%, and 85.3%, respectively. After 10 consecutive reuses, the degradation rates of the textile dyes still maintained about 98.2%, 92.5%, 83.2%, 81.5%, 79.8% and 65.9%, respectively. The excellent dye degradation properties indicate that the ZnFe₂O₄-laccase has a technical application in high concentrations of dyestuff treatment.

Silicone rubber (SR) is widely used in the field of electronic packaging because of its low dielectric properties. In this work, the porosity of the SR was improved, and the dielectric constant of the SR foam was reduced by adding expanded microspheres (EM). Then, the thermal conductivity of the system was improved by combining the modified boron nitride (f-BN). The results showed that after the f-BN was added, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss were much lower than those of pure SR. Micron-sized modified boron nitride (f-mBN) improved the dielectric and thermal conductivity of the SR foam better than that of nano-sized modified boron nitride (f-nBN), but f-nBN improved the volume resistivity, tensile strength, and thermal stability of the SR better than f-mBN. When the mass ratio of f-mBN and f-nBN is 2:1, the thermal conductivity of the SR foam reaches the maximum value of 0.808 W·m^-1·K^-1, which is 6.5 times that before the addition. The heat release rate and fire growth index are the lowest, and the improvement in flame retardancy is mainly attributed to the high thermal stability and physical barrier of f-BN.

In the carbonate industry, deep decarbonization strategies are necessary to effectively remediate CO₂. These strategies mainly include both sustainable energy supplies and the conversion of CO₂ in downstream processes. This study developed a coupled process of biomass chemical looping H₂ production and reductive calcination of CaCO₃. Firstly, a mass and energy balance of the coupled process was established in Aspen Plus. Following this, process optimization and energy integration were implemented to provide optimized operation conditions. Lastly, a life cycle assessment was carried out to assess the carbon footprint of the coupled process. Results reveal that the decomposition temperature of CaCO₃ in an H₂ atmosphere can be reduced to 780 ℃ (generally around 900 ℃), and the conversion of CO₂ from CaCO₃ decomposition reached 81.33% with an H₂:CO ratio of 2.49 in gaseous products. By optimizing systemic energy through heat integration, an energy efficiency of 86.30% was achieved. Additionally, the carbon footprint analysis revealed that the process with energy integration had a low global warming potential (GWP) of -2.624 kg·kg^-1 (CO₂/CaO). Conclusively, this work performed a systematic analysis of introducing biomass-derived H₂ into CaCO₃ calcination and demonstrated the positive role of reductive calcination using green H₂ in mitigating CO₂ emissions within the carbonate industry.

Biochar is a reactive carrier as it may be partially gasified with steam in steam reforming, which could influence the formation of reaction intermediates and modify catalytic behaviors. Herein, the Ni/biochar as well as two comparative catalysts, Ni/Al₂O₃ and Ni/SiO₂, with low nickel loading (2% (mass)) was conducted to probe involvement of the varied carriers in the steam reforming. The results indicated that the Ni/biochar performed excellent catalytic activity than Ni/SiO₂ and Ni/Al₂O₃, as the biochar carrier facilitated quick conversion of the -OH from dissociation of steam to gasify the oxygen-rich carbonaceous intermediates like C=O and C-O-C, resulting in low coverage while high exposure of nickel species for maintaining the superior catalytic performance. In converse, strong adsorption of aliphatic intermediates over Ni/Al₂O₃ and Ni/SiO₂ induced serious coking with polymeric coke as the main type (21.5% and 32.1%, respectively), which was significantly higher than that over Ni/biochar (3.9%). The coke over Ni/biochar was mainly aromatic or catalytic type with nanotube morphology and high crystallinity. The high resistivity of Ni/biochar towards coking was due to the balance between formation of coke and gasification of coke and partially biochar with steam, which created developed mesopores in spent Ni/biochar while the coke blocked pores in Ni/Al₂O₃ and Ni/SiO₂ catalysts.

The technological revolution has spawned a new generation of industrial systems, but it has also put forward higher requirements for safety management accuracy, timeliness, and systematicness. Risk assessment needs to evolve to address the existing and future challenges by considering the new demands and advancements in safety management. The study aims to propose a systematic and comprehensive risk assessment method to meet the needs of process system safety management. The methodology first incorporates possibility, severity, and dynamicity (PSD) to structure the “51X” evaluation indicator system, including the inherent, management, and disturbance risk factors. Subsequently, the four-tier (risk point-unit-enterprise-region) risk assessment (RA) mathematical model has been established to consider supervision needs. And in conclusion, the application of the PSD-RA method in ammonia refrigeration workshop cases and safety risk monitoring systems is presented to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed PSD-RA method in safety management. The findings show that the PSD-RA method can be well integrated with the needs of safety work informatization, which is also helpful for implementing the enterprise's safety work responsibility and the government's safety supervision responsibility.

Microreactors are increasingly used for green and safe chemical processes owing to their benefits of superior mass and heat transfer, increased yield, safety, and simplicity of control. However, immobilizing catalysts in microreactors remains challenging. In this investigation, a technique for creating Cu₂O/montmorillonite catalyst coating, using electrostatic attraction for layer-by-layer self-assembly, was proposed. The montmorillonite film's morphology and thickness could be efficiently regulated by adjusting the degree of exfoliation and surface charge of montmorillonite, alongside layer-by-layer coating times. The Cu₂O nanoparticles were immobilized using the flow deposition approach. The resulting Cu₂O@montmorillonite-film-coated capillary microreactor successfully transformed glycerol into dihydroxyacetone. The conversion of glycerol and product selectivity could be controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of reactants, temperature, residence time, and Cu₂O loading. The maximum glycerol conversion observed was 47.6%, with a 27% selectivity toward dihydroxyacetone. The study presents a technique for immobilizing montmorillonite-based catalyst coatings in capillary tubing, which can serve as a foundation for the future application of microreactors in glycerol conversion.