Recent insights in synthesis and energy storage applications of porous carbon derived from biomass waste: A review

In the last few decades, global warming, environmental pollution, and an energy shortage of fossil fuel may cause a severe economic crisis and health threats. Storage, conversion, and application of regenerable and dispersive energy would be a promising solution to release this crisis. The development of porous carbon materials from regenerated biomass are competent methods to store energy with high performance and limited environmental damages. In this regard, bio-carbon with abundant surface functional groups and an easily tunable three-dimensional porous structure may be a potential candidate as a sustainable and green carbon material. Up to now, although some literature has screened the biomass source, reaction temperature, and activator dosage during thermochemical synthesis, a comprehensive evaluation and a detailed discussion of the relationship between raw materials, preparation methods, and the structural and chemical properties of carbon materials are still lacking. Hence, in this review, we first assess the recent advancements in carbonization and activation process of biomass with different compositions and the activity performance in various energy storage applications including supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and hydrogen storage, highlighting the mechanisms and open questions in current energy society. After that, the connections between preparation methods and porous carbon properties including specific surface area, pore volume, and surface chemistry are reviewed in detail. Importantly, we discuss the relationship between the pore structure of prepared porous carbon with surface functional groups, and the energy storage performance in various energy storage fields for different biomass sources and thermal conversion methods. Finally, the conclusion and prospective are concluded to give an outlook for the development of biomass carbon materials, and energy storage applications technologies. This review demonstrates significant potentials for energy applications of biomass materials, and it is expected to inspire new discoveries to promote practical applications of biomass materials in more energy storage and conversion fields.     

Effects of feed composition,protein denaturation and storage of milk serum protein/lactose powders on lactosylation

During whey powder production, the feed is subjected to several heat treatments which can cause lactosylation of proteins. In this study, lactosylation of whey proteins was evaluated in spray-dried powders before and after storage by varying the native protein fraction as well as the serum protein/lactose ratio in the powders. The lactosylation of native α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin in the powders before storage was not affected to a large extent by the protein denaturation or if the feed had been heat treated in a high or low lactose environment. After storage (relative humidity of 23.5%, 30 °C, 25 days), the kinetic of lactosylation tended to increase with increasing native protein fraction and bulk protein content in the powders. An explanation could be that proteins dissolved in the lactose glassy structure might have a lower reactivity, while proteins present in the protein glassy structure with dissolved lactose may display higher lactosylation reactivity.     

Energy conversion performances during biomass air gasification process under microwave irradiation

Biomass gasification technology under microwave irradiation is a new and novel method, and the energy conversion performances during the process play a guiding role in improving the energy conversion efficiencies and developing the gasification simulation models. In order to improve the energy utilization efficiency of microwave biomass gasification system, this study investigated and presented the energy conversion performances during biomass gasification process under microwave irradiation, and these were materialized through detailing (a) the energy conversion performance in the microwave heating stage, and (b) the energy conversion performance in the microwave assisted biomass gasification stage. Different forms of energies in the biomass microwave gasification process were calculated by the method given in this study based on the experimental data. The results showed that the useful energy (energy in silicon carbide (SiC), 18.73 kJ) accounted for 31.22% of the total energy input (electrical energy, 60.00 kJ) in the heating stage, and the useful energy (energy in the products, 758.55 kJ) accounted for 63.41% of the total energy input (electrical and biomass energy, 1196.28 kJ) in the gasification stage. During the whole biomass gasification process under microwave irradiation, the useful energy output (energy in the products, 758.55 kJ) accounted for 60.38% of the total energy input (electrical and biomass energy, 1256.28 kJ), and the energy in the gas (523.40 kJ) product played a dominate role in product energy (758.55 kJ). The energy loss mainly included the heat loss in the gas flow (89.20 kJ), magnetron loss (191.80 kJ) and microwave dissipation loss (198.00 kJ), which accounted for 7.10%, 15.27% and 15.76% of the total energy, respectively. The contents detailed in this study not only presented the energy conversion performances during microwave assisted gasification process but also supplied important data for developing gasification simulation models.     

Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.     

Spray pressure variation effect on the properties of CdS thin films for photodetector applications

Herein, we report the photosensing property of CdS thin films. CdS thin films were coated onto glass substrates via a spray pyrolysis method using different spray pressures. Prepared films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical and photoluminescence spectroscopy. XRD analysis demonstrated the growth of crystalline CdS films with crystallite sizes varying from 26 to 29 nm depending on the pressure. The SEM and EDAX analyses revealed nearly-stoichiometric CdS films with smooth surfaces and slight variation in grain morphology due to pressure changes. Optical measurements showed a direct bandgap varying from 2.37 eV to 2.42 eV due to pressure changes. A photodetector was also fabricated using the grown CdS films; the fabricated photodetector exhibited good performance depending on the spray pressure. A spray pressure of 1.5 GPa resulted in high photoresponsivity and external quantum efficiency.     

变形铝合金表面锆基化学转化膜的研究现状

化学转化膜是金属表面主要的处理方法之一，具备良好的附着力和耐蚀性，能为铝合金提供一定的临时防护。传统的六价铬酸盐化学转化膜在日渐严苛的环保压力下已经逐渐淘汰，取而代之的是近几年发展迅猛的三价铬及无铬锆基化学转化膜。铝合金可分为铸造铝合金和变形铝合金，按照所含主要合金元素和热处理状态可分为若干个系列和型号。本文选取几种典型的变形铝合金，综述了不同铝合金微观组织对转化膜成膜过程的影响，化学转化液添加剂、预处理和后处理工艺对转化膜性能的调控及作用机理，以及几种典型商业钝化剂在变形铝合金表面的应用。总结了目前变形铝合金表面锆基化学转化膜仍面临的问题和发展趋势，未来化学转化膜需在满足新型铝合金发展要求的基础上，通过不同有机、无机添加剂以及外场作用对转化膜的成膜均一性、完整性进行调控，以提高转化膜的综合性能。     

溶液浓差能驱动的逆电渗析反应器制氢实验研究

低品位热能制氢技术首先是将热能转换为溶液浓差能，然后通过逆电渗析（RED）反应器将溶液浓差能转换成氢能。为了验证RED反应器能将溶液浓差能转换为氢能，探索关键运行参数变化对能量转换过程的影响。设计了一个由40个膜对所构成的RED反应器，以NaCl水溶液为工作溶液，NaOH水溶液为电极液的制氢系统。通过改变浓/稀溶液入口浓度，溶液过膜流速以及输出电流来考察对RED反应器产氢率、制氢效率和能量转换效率的影响。实验结果发现，浓/稀溶液入口浓度，过膜流速变化均会影响RED反应器的输出电流。在外电路短接条件下，输出电流越大，反应器产氢率和制氢效率越高，但能量转换效率越低。     

喷淋液滴在空气环境下的运动特性

本文以喷淋液滴在空气环境下运动特性为工程背景，建立单个液滴在常温、常压空气环境中的动量方程，分析液滴沉降特性、追赶特性及运动轨迹行为。计算结果表明，不同喷淋液滴初始条件下，短时间内存在重力大于曳力和重力小于曳力两种情况，但最终减速液滴均会达到受力平衡状态；液滴离开喷淋头后，垂向位移均迅速增大，液滴粒径越大、初始速度越大，垂向位移增长的速率也越大，达到相同位移的用时越短；液滴尺寸、初始速度相差越大，液滴追赶所用的时间越短，追赶位移越小，液滴尺寸、初始速度越接近，液滴追赶所用的时间越长，追赶位移越大；液滴初始速度越大、初始直径越大、喷射角度越大，横向速度消失越慢，达到的横向位移越大，喷射液滴覆盖的面积也越大。计算结果有助于优化工程实际中喷淋系统的设计与布置。     

内燃机活塞环表面处理技术

活塞环在内燃机中有着支撑、密闭、储油、导热的作用,内燃机活塞环制备材料应该具备优良的加工性能、耐高温、耐腐蚀、导热性好且具有良好的强韧性,较好的与气缸材料表面的磨合性能。球墨铸铁和专用钢材已经成为制备内燃机活塞环的基础材料,目前国内外采用多种表面处理技术比如:镀铬、氮化、PVD与CVD镀膜、喷钼、喷涂陶瓷层等表面处理工艺进行表面改性,提高内燃机活塞环的使用寿命和使用性能。需要不断研究和开发新的内燃机活塞环的表面处理技术来满足实际生产和应用中内燃机越来越高的要求。     

Mechanical properties and microstructure of Yb2SiO5 environmental barrier coatings under isothermal heat treatment

Yb₂SiO₅ (ytterbium monosilicate) top coatings and Si bond coat layer were deposited by air plasma spray method as a protection layer on SiC substrates for environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) application. The Yb₂SiO₅-coated specimens were subjected to isothermal heat treatment at 1400 °C on air for 0, 1, 10, and 50 h. The Yb₂SiO₅ phase of the top coat layer reacted with Si from the bonding layer and O₂ from atmosphere formed to the Yb₂Si₂O₇ phase upon heat treatment at 1400 °C. The oxygen penetrated into the cracks to form SiO₂ phase of thermally grown oxide (TGO) in the bond coat and the interface of specimens during heat treatment. Horizontal cracks were also observed, due to a mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the top coat and bond coat. The isothermal heat treatment improves the hardness and elastic modulus of Yb₂SiO₅ coatings; however, these properties in the Si bond coat were a little bit decreased.