Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research最新文献

Amine-based CO₂ phase change absorbents (CPCAs) have received considerable attention for their potential energy efficiency. This study presents an aminoethylethanolamine (AEEA)-based CPCA using n-butanol (n-BuOH) as a phase separator for efficient CO₂ capture. The experimental results demonstrate that the obtained CPCA of AEEA/n-BuOH/H₂O exhibited a 44.0% higher cyclic capacity and 24.9% lower regeneration energy consumption compared to AEEA/H₂O. In addition, quantitative NMR analysis of the species distribution in both the upper and lower phases revealed an effective separation between the phase separator and the CO₂ products. Specifically, n-BuOH was present in the rich phase at only 3.2%, with the remainder consisting of CO₂ products. Moreover, the phase separation mechanism was elucidated by studying the difference in dipole moments of the substances during CO₂ capture. Overall, the n-BuOH-regulated AEEA-based CPCA shows promise as a candidate for practical CO₂ capture applications.

Reactivation of industrial spent hydrocracking catalysts can reduce fresh catalyst consumption and hazardous waste emissions, generating significant economic and environmental benefits. However, seldom have reports on this subject been found. Herein, a solvent-induced coordinating method was developed to reactivate the industrial spent hydrocracking catalysts for tetralin selective hydrogenation and ring-opening to produce benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX). The developed reactivation method could redisperse the aggregated Ni, Mo active phases and transform the inert β-NiMoO₄ phases into the type II NiMoS active phases after sulfidation. The newly formed NiMoS active phases bear 2–3 stacking layers and short stacking lengths over the reactivated catalyst. Besides, the porous structure is reconstructed by removal of the framework aluminum (FAL) and the extra-framework aluminum (EFAL) from the support, and the acidity of the reactivated catalyst is enhanced by the introduction of Beta zeolite. Compared with the spent catalysts, the hydrocracking performance of the reactivated catalysts shows a significant improvement. The tetralin conversion is 83% with a BTX selectivity of 48%, which is comparable to the performance of the freshly prepared catalysts reported in the literature. This work provides a new idea for the resource utilization of spent hydrocracking catalysts.

The selective growth of polar crystals, such as γ and β forms, during melt molding of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymers is expected to provide a wide range of applications. In particular, PVDF materials with γ crystals exhibit high Curie temperatures and are suitable for use under harsh conditions. In this study, poly(MMA-co-VA) composed of methyl methacrylate, vinylphosphonic acid(VA), silica, and tetrabutylphosphonium chloride (TBPC), was added to poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (PVDF-CTFE). This system created melt-formable three-dimensional (3D) networks of poly(methyl methacrylate) and silica in the amorphous regions of PVDF-CTFE. TBPC enhanced the dispersibility of silica nanoparticles, promoting the selective growth of γ′ crystals in the presence of silica nanoparticles, leading to improved mechanical properties, heat resistance, and dielectric constant. Furthermore, the 3D network suppressed the relaxation of poly(MMA-co-VA) and poly(PVDF-CTFE) and the high-frequency dielectric loss. This method creates melt-formable multifunctional materials with high dielectric constants by using inorganic nanoparticles.

N-rich carbon nitride (g-C₃N₅) became a promising photocatalyst due to its narrower band gap, larger π-conjugate network, and better visible light responsive hydrogen precipitation activity compared with g-C₃N₄. However, the inherent shortcomings still limited the development of g-C₃N₅. To reasonably address this issue, N defects and surface amino groups were successfully introduced into pristine g-C₃N₅ through facile one-step calcination. Systematical characterizations and theoretical calculation confirmed that the synergy of N defects and the surface-grafted amino group achieved a dual-capture strategy, endowing g-C₃N₅ with higher hydrophilicity and faster photogenerated carrier separation and transfer efficiency. With the modification of urea, the as-prepared samples exhibited a larger specific surface area to further provide more active sites during photocatalysis. The experimental results proved that the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) performance of the novel material was significantly enhanced, with the optimal results reaching 5000.6 μmol·h^–1·g^–1, which was 24.5 and 4.5 times higher than that of the pristine g-C₃N₅ and the comparison sample, respectively. The stability and reusability of the N-defected g-C₃N₅ with surface-grafted amino groups were verified by the recycling tests without an obvious decrease after continuous 30 h visible light irradiation. This work provided perspective insight for designing and fabricating the surface functionalized g-C₃N₅ photocatalysts.