Chemical Engineering & Technology最新文献

The innovation of high-performance, stable electrocatalysts for clean energy systems faces significant challenges. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with their porous nature, flexible structures, and homogeneous active site dispersion, have gained interest as unique precursors for carbon-based catalysts. MOFs' properties significantly enhance catalytic performance in fuel cells. This review highlights recent advancements in MOF design for oxygen electrocatalysis in fuel cells, while also discussing perspectives for future material innovations to improve catalytic activity in this emerging field.

Hydrogen liquefaction is essential for the efficient storage and transportation of hydrogen. In the liquefaction process, catalytic ortho-para conversion is crucial to achieve a product with at least 95 % para-hydrogen to reduce boil-off losses. The proposed hydrogen liquefaction process using a catalyst-filled heat exchanger for continuous ortho-para conversion is modeled through steady-state thermal simulations in Aspen HYSYS. Additionally, an ejector is integrated to reliquefy boil-off gas. The proposed design achieves a specific energy consumption (SEC) of 10.50 kWh ($$)⁻¹ and an exergy efficiency (EXE) of 30.1 %, which is 18 % lower in SEC compared to processes with separate converters. The integrated approach enhances energy utilization and offers references for future hydrogen liquefiers.

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Ellipticity has a significant impact on the flow and heat transfer performance of microchannel heat exchangers (MHEs) with elliptical concave cavities. In this study, five types of MHEs with different elliptical concave cavities (ellipticities of 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2) were designed. The influence of ellipticity on the flow and heat transfer performance of MHEs was numerically investigated using ANSYS Fluent 21.0 R1. Moreover, MHEs with corresponding elliptical concave cavities structures were processed and manufactured, and then an experimental platform was designed and built for experimental verification. The results showed that the fluid velocity distribution in MHEs with elliptical concave cavities was symmetrical, and the formation of secondary flow in the elliptical concave cavities led to the continuous destruction and reconstruction of the flow and thermal boundary layer in the microchannel, which is conducive to mass and heat transfer in the MHEs with elliptical concave cavities. The inlet and outlet pressure drop of MHEs with elliptical concave cavities increased as the inlet flow rate increased. At the same inlet flow rate, the inlet and outlet pressure drop of the MHE with elliptical concave cavities first increased and then decreased with increasing ellipticity. At an ellipticity of 1.0, the inlet and outlet of MHE exhibited the lowest pressure drop indicating that the MHE with an ellipticity of 1.0 featured the highest pressure drop performance. The cold-water outlet temperature of the MHEs with elliptical concave cavities first decreased and then increased as the inlet flow rate increased. At the same inlet flow rate, the cold-water outlet temperature of the MHEs with elliptical concave cavities first increased and then decreased with increasing ellipticity, while the hot-water outlet temperature of the MHEs first decreased and then increased with increasing flow rate. This indicated that the MHE with an ellipticity of 1.0 exhibited excellent heat transfer performance.

Water coloring has the properties of resistance to mutagenic, toxic, aggressive, carcinogenic, destructive, strong light and unstable oxidation and air pollution and has serious effects on environmental systems and human health. Because of its severe toxicity, methylene blue (MB) can cause cancer, mutagenesis, and teratogenic consequences in people as well as enter the food chain. The main objective of this investigation is to study the modeling and the optimization parameters of MB adsorption using a low-cost adsorbent Fe₃O₄. The parameters evaluated for adsorption are the adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time, and temperature using the response surface methodology. The principal variables affecting MB removal were pH (3–11), catalyst dosage (0.01–0.3 g), contact duration (10–180 min), and temperature (25–55 °C). To select an experimental domain, a preliminary study was performed first. The results showed that at pH 10, 1.4 g L⁻¹ Fe₃O₄-nanoparticles (NPs) had the highest removal efficiency of cationic dye MB (20 ppm) from aqueous solutions by batch adsorption technique. The pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic models and the Langmuir isotherm provided the best fit for the adoption of MB. The adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous, according to thermodynamics studies. To determine the effect of the investigated variables and their interaction on the adsorption process, a Box–Behnken design was used. A second-order polynomial equation was used to model the experimental results. The experimental findings were consistent with the suggested model as demonstrated by the high value of the determination coefficient. The performance of the model equation verified the experimental observation with just a slight divergence, and the values acquired from the experiment and model predictions were found to be in suitable agreement. According to the numerical optimization, 98.61 % is the optimal elimination efficiency for MB adsorption. These results suggest that an adsorption process utilizing Fe₃O₄ NPs is efficient in environmental remediation.

The curcumin-malic acid-aspartic acid polymer (PCMA) as a new water treatment agent was prepared by solid phase synthesis of curcumin, malic acid and aspartic acid. The static scale inhibition experiments showed that PCMA can inhibit CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ scale formation by 100.0 % and had excellent scale inhibition effect under various experimental conditions. The mechanism of action of PCMA was obtained by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and molecular dynamics simulation. Electrochemical test showed that PCMA is an anodic corrosion inhibitor that achieves 93.1 % corrosion inhibition by forming a protective film on the surface of Q235 carbon steel. Besides, fluorescence spectra proved that PCMA has stable fluorescence intensity.

Effects of nanoparticle and steam injection on the extraction of Iranian American Petroleum Institute (API) 14 heavy oil from a model porous medium at temperatures of 110, 150, and 200 °C were investigated. Nanoparticle content was 1 %, 3 %, and 5 %, and injection flow rates were 0.018, 0.036 and 0.072 mL h⁻¹. In short-term injection, increasing the injection temperature to 200 °C and the flow rate to 0.072 mL h⁻¹ resulted in the highest recovery. In the mid-term injection, the highest recovery factor was at a temperature of 150 °C and flow rate of 0.036 mL h⁻¹, while the results of the long-term injection predicted a non-monotonic effect of flow rate. The effect of alumina content on the recovery factor is less than that of temperature and flow rate. Interestingly, alumina content also has non-monotonic effects on the recovery factor.

Calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystallization is a common phenomenon that contributes to various kidney disorders and stone formation, as well as the formation of scale in industrial processes. The inhibition of CaOx is an area of intense scientific interest in the field of materials science due to its relevance to biomineralization. The present study investigated the effects of pectin (PE) and sodium alginate (SA), two natural polymers, on the growth of CaOx crystals using a batch crystallization method in aqueous solutions at 37 °C with different concentrations (0.5, 1, 5, and 10 ppm). The results of the study showed that both PE and SA were effective inhibitors of CaOx crystal growth, with the highest inhibition observed at a concentration of 10 ppm, reaching 80 %. PE did not significantly affect the size of the crystals, while SA reduced their size as the concentration increased. These findings contribute to our understanding of the potential of natural polymers as non-toxic inhibitors of CaOx crystal growth.