Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-27DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.055
H.M. Radwan , K. Pope , K.A. Hawboldt , G.F. Naterer
This study investigates the hydrolysis process of the thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle of hydrogen production, specifically the influence of CuCl₂ particle morphology and size on conversion and reaction rates. Effects of drying, crushing, and crystallization of particles are considered. CuCl₂ samples with average particle diameters of 95 µm (dried), 27 µm (crushed), and 230 µm (crystallized) were tested in a semi-batch fixed bed reactor at 390°C. Crystallization using HCl as an anti-solvent yielded flaky agglomerated particles and achieved up to 97 % conversion, outperforming dried material and closely matching the crushed sample. Kinetic modelling with a shrinking core model (SCM), for both spherical and cylindrical geometries, identified gas film diffusion as the dominant resistance for the smallest sizes of crushed and crystallized particles. X-ray diffraction indicated the formation of CuCl as a side product. The findings established crystallization as a promising approach to facilitate the hydrolysis process.
{"title":"Particle morphology effects on conversion and reaction rate of copper chloride hydrolysis for thermochemical hydrogen production","authors":"H.M. Radwan , K. Pope , K.A. Hawboldt , G.F. Naterer","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.055","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.055","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the hydrolysis process of the thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle of hydrogen production, specifically the influence of CuCl₂ particle morphology and size on conversion and reaction rates. Effects of drying, crushing, and crystallization of particles are considered. CuCl₂ samples with average particle diameters of 95 µm (dried), 27 µm (crushed), and 230 µm (crystallized) were tested in a semi-batch fixed bed reactor at 390°C. Crystallization using HCl as an anti-solvent yielded flaky agglomerated particles and achieved up to 97 % conversion, outperforming dried material and closely matching the crushed sample. Kinetic modelling with a shrinking core model (SCM), for both spherical and cylindrical geometries, identified gas film diffusion as the dominant resistance for the smallest sizes of crushed and crystallized particles. X-ray diffraction indicated the formation of CuCl as a side product. The findings established crystallization as a promising approach to facilitate the hydrolysis process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 255-267"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.041
Yuan He, Li Kang, Rong Li, Tong Cheng, Fu Li, Bo Yang
During the processes of drilling fluid circulation and cementing operation, the working fluid in the wellbore annulus mainly exhibits axial flow. Traditional large-scale axial flow simulation devices, such as horizontal well drilling fluid sand-carrying devices, can relatively truly reproduce the flow state of working fluid. However, they have problems including large volume, high cost, and inconvenience in operation and maintenance, which result in low utilization rate in conventional experiments. To date, no dedicated device has been developed for the simulation of axial flow by means of radial flow. This study proposes a new method that uses radial flow to simulate axial flow, aiming to evaluate the performance changes of oil and gas field working fluid when it flows through salt formations, as well as the effects of erosion and contamination on salt formations caused by the working fluid. It conducts research on the interaction method with working fluid as the subject and salt formation as the object, deduces the equivalent semi-theoretical formula between radial flow and axial flow under the conditions of shear rate and contact area, and develops a set of simulation experimental devices. The innovation of this study does not lie in the radial flow equivalence principle itself, but in its specific application to the solid-liquid coupling of drilling fluid-salt formation and the full-chain simulation of erosion-dissolution-contamination in salt formations. Taking laboratory experiments as an example, after 120 min of erosion on the salt formation by two drilling fluid systems (DSP and JHJS) optimized through this evaluation method, the variation range of rheological properties and fluid loss performance is 5%–10%, the dissolution depth of the salt formation is tiny, and the surface morphology remains unchanged. This method can provide an operable experimental means for the evaluation of drilling fluid salt resistance and the optimization of drilling formulas for salt formations. It also has guiding significance in practical construction, as it can realize cycle optimization in both deep wells and medium-shallow wells, and provide reliable technical support for the design and on-site application of drilling fluid systems under complex well conditions.
{"title":"Study on evaluation method of drilling fluid-salt formation interaction based on radial flow equivalence","authors":"Yuan He, Li Kang, Rong Li, Tong Cheng, Fu Li, Bo Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.041","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.041","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the processes of drilling fluid circulation and cementing operation, the working fluid in the wellbore annulus mainly exhibits axial flow. Traditional large-scale axial flow simulation devices, such as horizontal well drilling fluid sand-carrying devices, can relatively truly reproduce the flow state of working fluid. However, they have problems including large volume, high cost, and inconvenience in operation and maintenance, which result in low utilization rate in conventional experiments. To date, no dedicated device has been developed for the simulation of axial flow by means of radial flow. This study proposes a new method that uses radial flow to simulate axial flow, aiming to evaluate the performance changes of oil and gas field working fluid when it flows through salt formations, as well as the effects of erosion and contamination on salt formations caused by the working fluid. It conducts research on the interaction method with working fluid as the subject and salt formation as the object, deduces the equivalent semi-theoretical formula between radial flow and axial flow under the conditions of shear rate and contact area, and develops a set of simulation experimental devices. The innovation of this study does not lie in the radial flow equivalence principle itself, but in its specific application to the solid-liquid coupling of drilling fluid-salt formation and the full-chain simulation of erosion-dissolution-contamination in salt formations. Taking laboratory experiments as an example, after 120 min of erosion on the salt formation by two drilling fluid systems (DSP and JHJS) optimized through this evaluation method, the variation range of rheological properties and fluid loss performance is 5%–10%, the dissolution depth of the salt formation is tiny, and the surface morphology remains unchanged. This method can provide an operable experimental means for the evaluation of drilling fluid salt resistance and the optimization of drilling formulas for salt formations. It also has guiding significance in practical construction, as it can realize cycle optimization in both deep wells and medium-shallow wells, and provide reliable technical support for the design and on-site application of drilling fluid systems under complex well conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 89-96"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.027
T.R. Zakirov, A.S. Khayuzkin, L.M. Mannapova, M.A. Varfolomeev
Catalysts are chemical reagents used to intensify steam-thermal treatment of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves and helps to upgrade the properties of high-viscosity and bituminous oils. The catalyst has the ability to adsorb on solid surfaces. This paper presents the systematical pore-scale numerical study of the combined effect of the pore space characteristics, convective-diffusion, and reaction conditions on the dynamic adsorption of an oil-soluble catalyst. The novelty lies in the large statistics (25 samples and 300 simulations) based on natural digital rocks cores, revealing a non-monotonic controlling mechanism of dynamic adsorption. This mass transfer phenomenon is studied for the first time in rocks with a natural origin of the pore space, represented by a collection of 25 digital sandstone models obtained using X-ray computed tomography. The primary objective is to identify new dynamic adsorption regimes in the dependence on the properties of the natural rocks, the Peclet and Damkohler numbers, and to reveal their role on the adsorbed concentration distribution on the particle surface. The research methodology is based on numerical modeling performed on a digital pore space using the lattice Boltzmann method. It has been established that the effect of pore space characteristics significantly depends on the reaction rate. A non-monotonic relationship between the reaction rate and the power of the effect of sample properties has been discovered and the maximum effect of sample characteristics has been found at intermediate reaction rates. The transition from the convective to the diffusion regime, caused only by the diffusion coefficient, weakens the influence of sample properties on the adsorbed amount, but the revealed effect is not strong. The Peclet and Damkohler numbers influence the probability distribution functions of the adsorbed concentration and its distribution along sample length. A transition from a reaction-limited to a mass-transfer-limited mode tends to increase the standard deviation of the probability distribution function and to the uneven distribution of the adsorbed concentration along sample size. Increasing the Peclet number results in a more uniform distribution of the adsorbed concentration. The identified size of a representative elementary volume for estimating the adsorbed amount is approximately 1 mm.
{"title":"Effect of pore space characteristics of natural rocks on the dynamic adsorption of oil-soluble catalyst under various transport and reaction conditions","authors":"T.R. Zakirov, A.S. Khayuzkin, L.M. Mannapova, M.A. Varfolomeev","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Catalysts are chemical reagents used to intensify steam-thermal treatment of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves and helps to upgrade the properties of high-viscosity and bituminous oils. The catalyst has the ability to adsorb on solid surfaces. This paper presents the systematical pore-scale numerical study of the combined effect of the pore space characteristics, convective-diffusion, and reaction conditions on the dynamic adsorption of an oil-soluble catalyst. The novelty lies in the large statistics (25 samples and 300 simulations) based on natural digital rocks cores, revealing a non-monotonic controlling mechanism of dynamic adsorption. This mass transfer phenomenon is studied for the first time in rocks with a natural origin of the pore space, represented by a collection of 25 digital sandstone models obtained using X-ray computed tomography. The primary objective is to identify new dynamic adsorption regimes in the dependence on the properties of the natural rocks, the Peclet and Damkohler numbers, and to reveal their role on the adsorbed concentration distribution on the particle surface. The research methodology is based on numerical modeling performed on a digital pore space using the lattice Boltzmann method. It has been established that the effect of pore space characteristics significantly depends on the reaction rate. A non-monotonic relationship between the reaction rate and the power of the effect of sample properties has been discovered and the maximum effect of sample characteristics has been found at intermediate reaction rates. The transition from the convective to the diffusion regime, caused only by the diffusion coefficient, weakens the influence of sample properties on the adsorbed amount, but the revealed effect is not strong. The Peclet and Damkohler numbers influence the probability distribution functions of the adsorbed concentration and its distribution along sample length. A transition from a reaction-limited to a mass-transfer-limited mode tends to increase the standard deviation of the probability distribution function and to the uneven distribution of the adsorbed concentration along sample size. Increasing the Peclet number results in a more uniform distribution of the adsorbed concentration. The identified size of a representative elementary volume for estimating the adsorbed amount is approximately 1 mm.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 515-531"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146171268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-02-17DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.044
Xiaoyi Song , Hongfei Guo , Yun Li , Jilin Cao , Wei Feng
To achieve efficient separation of the methyl perfluoroisobutyl ether (HFE-7100)/isopropyl alcohol (IPA) azeotropic system, this study systematically measured vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the binary (HFE-7100/IPA) and ternary (HFE-7100/IPA/IL) systems, and evaluated the separation efficiency of three types of ionic liquids (ILs) as entrainers: [BMIM][OAC], [EMIM][OAC], and [EMIM][DCA]. The thermodynamic consistency of the experimental data was validated using the Herington method. Based on this, the experimental data were employed to regress parameters for the thermodynamic models (NRTL, Wilson, and UNIQUAC), and the ARD of each model was calculated. Through comprehensive comparison, the NRTL model was found to exhibit the smallest ARD value (1.99 %), demonstrating high precision and reliability. Among the three ILs, [BMIM][OAC] and [EMIM][OAC] displayed outstanding separation performance. Even at low mole fractions (x3 = 0.05), they effectively eliminated the azeotropic behavior of the binary system. In contrast, [EMIM][DCA] required a higher IL mole fraction (x3 = 0.08) to achieve the same effect. Using Aspen Plus with the sequential modular approach, we optimized the process parameters for both extractive distillation and pressure-swing distillation. This optimization minimized the TAC for each process while maintaining equivalent separation performance. The extractive distillation process achieved a 45.1 % reduction in TAC compared to pressure-swing distillation.
{"title":"Efficient separation of HFE-7100/ isopropyl alcohol azeotropic system using ionic liquids: Experimental, thermodynamic model, and process optimization","authors":"Xiaoyi Song , Hongfei Guo , Yun Li , Jilin Cao , Wei Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To achieve efficient separation of the methyl perfluoroisobutyl ether (HFE-7100)/isopropyl alcohol (IPA) azeotropic system, this study systematically measured vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the binary (HFE-7100/IPA) and ternary (HFE-7100/IPA/IL) systems, and evaluated the separation efficiency of three types of ionic liquids (ILs) as entrainers: [BMIM][OAC], [EMIM][OAC], and [EMIM][DCA]. The thermodynamic consistency of the experimental data was validated using the Herington method. Based on this, the experimental data were employed to regress parameters for the thermodynamic models (NRTL, Wilson, and UNIQUAC), and the ARD of each model was calculated. Through comprehensive comparison, the NRTL model was found to exhibit the smallest ARD value (1.99 %), demonstrating high precision and reliability. Among the three ILs, [BMIM][OAC] and [EMIM][OAC] displayed outstanding separation performance. Even at low mole fractions (<em>x</em><sub>3</sub> = 0.05), they effectively eliminated the azeotropic behavior of the binary system. In contrast, [EMIM][DCA] required a higher IL mole fraction (<em>x</em><sub>3</sub> = 0.08) to achieve the same effect. Using Aspen Plus with the sequential modular approach, we optimized the process parameters for both extractive distillation and pressure-swing distillation. This optimization minimized the TAC for each process while maintaining equivalent separation performance. The extractive distillation process achieved a 45.1 % reduction in TAC compared to pressure-swing distillation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 779-793"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147384900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-02-16DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.042
Robert Piotrowski, Tomasz Ujazdowski, Michał Kolankowski
This paper addresses the optimisation of control strategies in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). A dynamic process model was developed using the activated sludge model no. 2d (ASM2d) and a data-based aeration model, calibrated with measurements from the Swarzewo WWTP. The main objective was to optimise key operational parameters: aerobic and anaerobic phase durations, the number of aeration phases in a cycle, and the reference dissolved oxygen concentration (DOref), to improve nutrient removal efficiency and reduce aeration energy consumption. Deterministic optimisation algorithms such as sequential quadratic programming (SQP), branch and bound (B&B), and direct multisearch (DMS) were employed, while grey relational analysis (GRA) was used as a decision-making tool to evaluate trade-offs in the multi-objective setting. A backstepping controller was designed to track the optimised DOref trajectory generated by a heuristic supervisory controller. Simulation results confirm that the proposed approach enhances treatment performance while reducing the specific aeration energy consumption by up to 45%, depending on the influent loading scenario. Under high-load conditions, the approach further improves total nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies by 6.8 and 2.2 percentage points, respectively.
{"title":"Solution of deterministic optimization tasks for biological processes in bioreactor: Single and multi-objective approach","authors":"Robert Piotrowski, Tomasz Ujazdowski, Michał Kolankowski","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.042","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.042","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper addresses the optimisation of control strategies in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). A dynamic process model was developed using the activated sludge model no. 2d (ASM2d) and a data-based aeration model, calibrated with measurements from the Swarzewo WWTP. The main objective was to optimise key operational parameters: aerobic and anaerobic phase durations, the number of aeration phases in a cycle, and the reference dissolved oxygen concentration (<em>DO</em><sub><em>ref</em></sub>), to improve nutrient removal efficiency and reduce aeration energy consumption. Deterministic optimisation algorithms such as sequential quadratic programming (SQP), branch and bound (B&B), and direct multisearch (DMS) were employed, while grey relational analysis (GRA) was used as a decision-making tool to evaluate trade-offs in the multi-objective setting. A backstepping controller was designed to track the optimised <em>DO</em><sub><em>ref</em></sub> trajectory generated by a heuristic supervisory controller. Simulation results confirm that the proposed approach enhances treatment performance while reducing the specific aeration energy consumption by up to 45%, depending on the influent loading scenario. Under high-load conditions, the approach further improves total nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies by 6.8 and 2.2 percentage points, respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 866-878"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147384909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.025
Richel Annan Dadzie , Massimiliano Zanin , William Skinner , Richmond Asamoah , Jonas Addai-Mensah , George Blankson Abaka-Wood
Reprocessing copper flotation tailings is limited by particle-size effects and mineralogical challenges, especially poor liberation. Preliminary studies aimed at recovering copper minerals from complex, low-grade rougher flotation tailings have shown limited success, with values within the intermediate particle size range (-150 +53 µm) failing in conventional mechanical flotation cells. To improve copper recovery, the current study employs a flowsheet that uses Hydrofloat ™ fluidised-bed flotation on the deslimed + 53 µm fraction, considers the REFLUX ™ Flotation Cell (RFC) for the (-53µm) slimes, and compares performance against a Denver mechanical cell. Flotation performance (recovery, grade, size-by-size) was combined with data from Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN), including liberation and locking statistics, to explain the flotation response observed. At similar mass pull (29.3–33 %), Hydrofloat ™ achieved 61.8 % Cu recovery at 0.74 % Cu (upgrade ratio 3.44), outperforming the mechanical flotation cell (44. 6 % Cu at 0. 10 % Cu grade; upgrade ratio 0.6) when processing the deslimed feed, rather than the whole (unsplit) tailings feed. Preliminary RFC tests on the - 53 µm stream maintained high recoveries of fine particles (often >80 %) with improved Cu concentrate grades, aligning with the presence of well-liberated chalcopyrite in slimes. Overall, the results support a split-flotation process for complex copper low grade ores. Although liberation ultimately limits recovery this integrated method significantly enhances copper recovery and upgrade relative to conventional mechanical cells, offering a practical route to unlock value from low-grade sulphide tailings.
铜浮选尾矿的再处理受到粒度效应和矿物学挑战的限制，尤其是解离性差。从复杂的、低品位的粗细浮选尾矿中回收铜矿物的初步研究表明，在常规机械浮选池中，在中等粒度范围内（-150 +53 µm）的数值是失败的。为了提高铜的回收率，目前的研究采用了一个流程，在脱泥+ 53 µm部分使用Hydrofloat™流化床浮选，考虑了（-53µm）泥的REFLUX™浮选池（RFC），并将其性能与丹佛机械池进行了比较。浮选性能（回收率、品位、粒度）与QEMSCAN矿物定量评价（Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy， QEMSCAN）的数据（包括解离和锁定统计）相结合，来解释观察到的浮选反应。在相同的质量拉力（29.3-33 %）下，Hydrofloat™的铜回收率为61.8 %，铜回收率为0.74 %（升级比3.44），优于机械浮选池（44）。6 % Cu at 0。10 % Cu品位；在处理脱泥料时升级比0.6)，而不是处理整个（未分裂）尾矿料。在- 53 µm流上进行的初步RFC测试保持了高细颗粒回收率（通常为>； 80% %），铜精矿品位提高，与泥中黄铜矿的充分释放一致。总体而言，研究结果支持对复杂低品位铜矿石进行分选浮选。尽管释放最终限制了铜的回收，但与传统的机械电池相比，这种集成方法显著提高了铜的回收和升级，为从低品位硫化物尾矿中释放价值提供了实用的途径。
{"title":"Enhanced size-split flotation of sulphide tailings: Mechanical, HydroFloat™, REFLUX ™ flotation benchmarking","authors":"Richel Annan Dadzie , Massimiliano Zanin , William Skinner , Richmond Asamoah , Jonas Addai-Mensah , George Blankson Abaka-Wood","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.025","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reprocessing copper flotation tailings is limited by particle-size effects and mineralogical challenges, especially poor liberation. Preliminary studies aimed at recovering copper minerals from complex, low-grade rougher flotation tailings have shown limited success, with values within the intermediate particle size range (-150 +53 µm) failing in conventional mechanical flotation cells. To improve copper recovery, the current study employs a flowsheet that uses Hydrofloat ™ fluidised-bed flotation on the deslimed + 53 µm fraction, considers the REFLUX ™ Flotation Cell (RFC) for the (-53µm) slimes, and compares performance against a Denver mechanical cell. Flotation performance (recovery, grade, size-by-size) was combined with data from Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN), including liberation and locking statistics, to explain the flotation response observed. At similar mass pull (29.3–33 %), Hydrofloat ™ achieved 61.8 % Cu recovery at 0.74 % Cu (upgrade ratio 3.44), outperforming the mechanical flotation cell (44. 6 % Cu at 0. 10 % Cu grade; upgrade ratio 0.6) when processing the deslimed feed, rather than the whole (unsplit) tailings feed. Preliminary RFC tests on the - 53 µm stream maintained high recoveries of fine particles (often >80 %) with improved Cu concentrate grades, aligning with the presence of well-liberated chalcopyrite in slimes. Overall, the results support a split-flotation process for complex copper low grade ores. Although liberation ultimately limits recovery this integrated method significantly enhances copper recovery and upgrade relative to conventional mechanical cells, offering a practical route to unlock value from low-grade sulphide tailings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 35-45"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146026067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-25DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.049
Yuxin Wang , Jingting Liu
Surface wettability governs critical interfacial phenomena at the solid-liquid-gas three-phase boundary. It serves as a pivotal factor in regulating bubble dynamics, which in turn fundamentally dictates bubble acoustic emissions. However, despite this intrinsic link, a comprehensive synthesis elucidating the relationship between surface wettability and bubble acoustics remains absent, and the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. To address this gap, this paper systematically reviews state-of-the-art methodologies for engineering superhydrophobic (contact angle >150º) and superhydrophilic (contact angle <5º) surfaces via the synergistic combination of laser texturing and low-surface-energy chemical modification. It provides an in-depth elucidation of the physical mechanisms linking wettability gradients to the thermodynamics of bubble nucleation, the mechanics of directional transport, and the modulation of acoustic signatures. By identifying current challenges in wettability-driven bubble control, this study offers critical theoretical insights and innovative design concepts for advancing ship drag reduction and mitigating underwater noise, measures that are crucial for the conservation of marine ecosystems.
{"title":"Superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces: Interfacial engineering for regulating bubble dynamics and acoustic signatures","authors":"Yuxin Wang , Jingting Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.049","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Surface wettability governs critical interfacial phenomena at the solid-liquid-gas three-phase boundary. It serves as a pivotal factor in regulating bubble dynamics, which in turn fundamentally dictates bubble acoustic emissions. However, despite this intrinsic link, a comprehensive synthesis elucidating the relationship between surface wettability and bubble acoustics remains absent, and the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. To address this gap, this paper systematically reviews state-of-the-art methodologies for engineering superhydrophobic (contact angle >150º) and superhydrophilic (contact angle <5º) surfaces via the synergistic combination of laser texturing and low-surface-energy chemical modification. It provides an in-depth elucidation of the physical mechanisms linking wettability gradients to the thermodynamics of bubble nucleation, the mechanics of directional transport, and the modulation of acoustic signatures. By identifying current challenges in wettability-driven bubble control, this study offers critical theoretical insights and innovative design concepts for advancing ship drag reduction and mitigating underwater noise, measures that are crucial for the conservation of marine ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 142-164"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.050
Lei Chen , Yuting Guo , Yanqiu Wang , Yin Tang , Hong Liu , Yixian Wang , Shuangyu Wang , Zishan Yin , Yong Li
Coking wastewater is an organic wastewater containing recalcitrant contaminants. If not treated properly, it poses a serious threat to public health and environment. In this study, a novel heterogeneous Fenton catalyst, honeycomb activated carbon (HAC)/α-FeOOH, was fabricated via an impregnation and calcination method, in which HAC served as a support matrix for immobilizing α-FeOOH. HAC/α-FeOOH exhibits notable process-intensification attributes, including broad pH adaptability (3−9), high efficiency, and practical applicability. In heterogeneous chemical Fenton, the removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH₃-N, and color reached 89.3 %, 85 %, and 90 %, respectively. In the heterogeneous electrical Fenton (hetero-EF), the concentrations of COD and NH₃-N were both decreased to below the detection limit. The color removal efficiency reached 99 %. Kinetic analysis revealed that COD reduction followed first-order reaction kinetics. Both quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra confirmed that the hydroxyl radicals (·OH) generated is the primary active substance for removing pollutants. Spectral analyses provided evidence of the effective degradation of heterocyclic and aromatic compounds. A miniaturized dynamic apparatus was constructed using HAC/α-FeOOH to mimic real industrial conditions. Over 48 h of continuous operation, the apparatus maintained excellent removal efficiency and stability, confirming the stable performance and practical application potential of HAC/α-FeOOH.
{"title":"Honeycomb activated carbon/α-FeOOH catalyst: Construction of heterogeneous chemical and electrical Fenton for treating coking wastewater and dynamic practicality assessment","authors":"Lei Chen , Yuting Guo , Yanqiu Wang , Yin Tang , Hong Liu , Yixian Wang , Shuangyu Wang , Zishan Yin , Yong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.050","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.01.050","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coking wastewater is an organic wastewater containing recalcitrant contaminants. If not treated properly, it poses a serious threat to public health and environment. In this study, a novel heterogeneous Fenton catalyst, honeycomb activated carbon (HAC)/α-FeOOH, was fabricated via an impregnation and calcination method, in which HAC served as a support matrix for immobilizing α-FeOOH. HAC/α-FeOOH exhibits notable process-intensification attributes, including broad pH adaptability (3−9), high efficiency, and practical applicability. In heterogeneous chemical Fenton, the removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH₃-N, and color reached 89.3 %, 85 %, and 90 %, respectively. In the heterogeneous electrical Fenton (hetero-EF), the concentrations of COD and NH₃-N were both decreased to below the detection limit. The color removal efficiency reached 99 %. Kinetic analysis revealed that COD reduction followed first-order reaction kinetics. Both quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra confirmed that the hydroxyl radicals (·OH) generated is the primary active substance for removing pollutants. Spectral analyses provided evidence of the effective degradation of heterocyclic and aromatic compounds. A miniaturized dynamic apparatus was constructed using HAC/α-FeOOH to mimic real industrial conditions. Over 48 h of continuous operation, the apparatus maintained excellent removal efficiency and stability, confirming the stable performance and practical application potential of HAC/α-FeOOH.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 77-88"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.011
Mohammad Khajavian , Samaneh Shahsavarifar , Ehsan Salehi , Vahid Vatanpour , Majid Masteri-Farahani , Fahimeh Ghaffari , Seyed Ali Tabatabaei
{"title":"Retraction notice to “Ethylenediamine-functionalized ZIF-8 for modification of chitosan-based membrane adsorbents: Batch adsorption and molecular dynamic simulation”, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Volume 175, November 2021, Pages 131–145","authors":"Mohammad Khajavian , Samaneh Shahsavarifar , Ehsan Salehi , Vahid Vatanpour , Majid Masteri-Farahani , Fahimeh Ghaffari , Seyed Ali Tabatabaei","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Page 492"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146171198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-02-17DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.031
Chenguang Zhu , Kun Fang , Hai Wang , Rujun Wang , Nan Zhang , Robin Smith
Distillation is one of the most widely utilized unit operations in the process industry, associated with substantial capital and operational costs. Although systematic design methods exist, conventional approaches still rely on engineers' expertise, leading to inconsistent designs and inefficiencies, especially for repetitive distillation tasks. This research aims to address these challenges by proposing a smart design and optimization framework that leverages machine-learning techniques to reduce reliance on human intervention, thereby enhancing design quality, ensuring design consistency, and improving work and design efficiency. The key novelty lies developing automated framework for simultaneous optimization of column internals and tray efficiency prediction, eliminating the assumption-prediction gap that characterizes traditional sequential approaches, while enabling comprehensive design space exploration through data-driven models significantly reduce computational burden and make multi-variable optimization practically feasible. Moreover, with help of the data-driven models focusing on the optimization of column internals, particularly valve-tray columns, the proposed methodology tackles the complexity of multiple degrees of freedom and stringent hydraulic constraints through an integrated hybrid approach combining machine learning with detailed first-principles hydraulic correlations. By integrating distillation simulation results through data-driven models, rigorous hydraulic correlations, and detailed tray efficiency predictions, the framework ensures operational feasibility through comprehensive hydraulic constraint validation, including jet flooding, downcomer flooding, and weir loading limits. Application of this approach to an industrial valve-tray column for separating C4 hydrocarbons demonstrates good performance improvements. The optimized design achieves a 17 % reduction in Total Annualized Cost (TAC) compared to an industrial base case designed following conventional approaches across various investment scenarios while maintaining reasonable hydraulic performance and enhancing tray efficiency through systematic optimization of column internal design parameters, demonstrating the practical advantages of the automated framework over traditional experience-dependent methods.
{"title":"Intelligent design of distillation columns integrating detailed tray geometry using data-driven model","authors":"Chenguang Zhu , Kun Fang , Hai Wang , Rujun Wang , Nan Zhang , Robin Smith","doi":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cherd.2026.02.031","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Distillation is one of the most widely utilized unit operations in the process industry, associated with substantial capital and operational costs. Although systematic design methods exist, conventional approaches still rely on engineers' expertise, leading to inconsistent designs and inefficiencies, especially for repetitive distillation tasks. This research aims to address these challenges by proposing a smart design and optimization framework that leverages machine-learning techniques to reduce reliance on human intervention, thereby enhancing design quality, ensuring design consistency, and improving work and design efficiency. The key novelty lies developing automated framework for simultaneous optimization of column internals and tray efficiency prediction, eliminating the assumption-prediction gap that characterizes traditional sequential approaches, while enabling comprehensive design space exploration through data-driven models significantly reduce computational burden and make multi-variable optimization practically feasible. Moreover, with help of the data-driven models focusing on the optimization of column internals, particularly valve-tray columns, the proposed methodology tackles the complexity of multiple degrees of freedom and stringent hydraulic constraints through an integrated hybrid approach combining machine learning with detailed first-principles hydraulic correlations. By integrating distillation simulation results through data-driven models, rigorous hydraulic correlations, and detailed tray efficiency predictions, the framework ensures operational feasibility through comprehensive hydraulic constraint validation, including jet flooding, downcomer flooding, and weir loading limits. Application of this approach to an industrial valve-tray column for separating C4 hydrocarbons demonstrates good performance improvements. The optimized design achieves a 17 % reduction in Total Annualized Cost (TAC) compared to an industrial base case designed following conventional approaches across various investment scenarios while maintaining reasonable hydraulic performance and enhancing tray efficiency through systematic optimization of column internal design parameters, demonstrating the practical advantages of the automated framework over traditional experience-dependent methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10019,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Research & Design","volume":"227 ","pages":"Pages 945-964"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147384897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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