Fast Oxidative Removal of Refractory Aromatic Sulfur Compounds by a Magnetic Ionic Liquid

Magnetic ionic liquids (MIL) are extensively used in extraction and catalytic processes. Here, a series of MIL, i.e., 1‐n‐butyric acid‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride/xFeCl₃ ([C₃H₆COOHmim]Cl/xFeCl₃; x = 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2), were synthesized and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, visible absorption spectrometry, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The MIL [C₃H₆COOHmim]Cl/2FeCl₃ was found to be highly active for the extraction and catalytic oxidative desulfurization of a model oil under mild conditions. Of note, the removal of benzothiophene, which has been regarded as a refractory aromatic sulfur compound, could be achieved at up to 100 % in 10 min. After reaction, the MIL could be easily separated from the model oil by applying an external magnetic field, due to its paramagnetic properties.     

Online droplet diameter measurements to improve the crude oil dehydration process

Emulsion droplet size is information of paramount importance in the design and evaluation of oil–water separators. This paper describes the application of a technique for in situ determination of water droplet diameter distribution (DDD) in actual production scenarios. We discuss the DDD and water content measurements in emulsions obtained during normal operation and plant upsets including variations of the demulsifier chemical dosage or tripping of the electrostatic coalescer grids inside a large dehydrator vessel operated on a crude oil production field in Saudi Arabia. It is demonstrated that DDD data can provide a detailed understanding of the oil–water separation phenomena occurring inside the dehydrator vessel, which helped in planning process recovery strategies in the event of a plant upset.     

Improving workflow modularity using a concern-specific layer on top of Unify

Workflows are a popular means of automating processes in many domains, ranging from high-level business process modeling to lower-level web service orchestration. However, state-of-the-art workflow languages offer a limited set of modularization mechanisms. This results in monolithic workflow specifications, in which different concerns are scattered across the workflow and tangled with one another. This hinders the design, evolution, and reusability of workflows expressed in these languages. We address this problem through the Unify framework. This framework enables uniform modularization of workflows by supporting the specification of all workflow concerns – including crosscutting ones – in isolation of each other. These independently specified workflow concerns are connected to each other using workflow-specific connectors. In order to further facilitate the development of workflows, we enable the definition of concern-specific languages (CSLs) on top of the Unify framework. A CSL facilitates the expression of a family of workflow concerns by offering abstractions that map well to the concerns' domain. Thus, domain experts can add concerns to a workflow using concern-specific language constructs. We exemplify the specification of a workflow in Unify, and show the definition and application of two concern-specific languages built on top of Unify.     

Phase equilibria of free fatty acids enriched vegetable oils and carbon dioxide: Experimental data,distribution coefficients and separation factors

In present work, the oils were treated by saponification procedure to release fatty acids from triglycerides to obtain free fatty acids (FFA) enriched oils and glycerol. Phase equilibria data for systems FFA enriched rapeseed oil–CO₂, FFA enriched corn germ oil–CO₂ and FFA enriched borage oil–CO₂ were determined at temperatures 35, 45, 65 and 85 °C, and in pressure range from 100 to 550 Bar. Experiments using FFA enriched oils were performed using high-pressure variable–volume view cell, where phase inversions were also observed at temperatures 35 and 45 °C. Samples from liquid and vapor phases were analyzed by gas chromatography for the content of free fatty acids, and based on obtained data; the distribution coefficients and the separation factors between FFA and glycerol were calculated.     

Separation of Acylglycerides Obtained by Enzymatic Esterification Using Solvent Extraction

New avenues to add value to glycerol are currently being explored. One of them is the synthesis of structured lipids through glycerol esterification. In this work we have analyzed the recovery and purification of dicaprin obtained by esterification of glycerol with capric acid (C) in heptane, mediated by Lipozyme RM IM. This is an intermediate step to obtain lipids MLM. In the first stage, the diglyceride synthesis MGM (being G a central HC–OH) was carried out. When M = C, the diglyceride is CGC. Recovery of the diglyceride CGC is required to carry out the esterification of the sn-2 position with palmitic acid (P), thus obtaining the triglyceride CPC. Different solvents were evaluated using Ecofac 1.0 (a molecular design software solvent) through a theoretical approach to explore the best solvents for the acylglycerides separation. Then, the performance of the selected solvents to separate dicaprin from mono and tricaprin was experimentally studied in a liquid–liquid extraction process. Previously, the remaining fatty acid had been neutralized. With liquid–liquid extraction in three simple steps, using ethanol/water, 94 % of the dicaprin obtained by enzymatic esterification was recovered with a purity of 89 % (wt%). It was also possible to obtain dicaprin with a purity of 97 % but with a yield of 56 %.     

Empirical analysis of GUI programming concerns

The focus of this paper is on identification of typical graphical user interface (GUI) programming concerns. As opposed to some other proposals available in the literature that indicate GUI programming concerns by simple intuition, we have conducted a systematic empirical analysis to derive our proposal. It included an analysis of an existing application programming interface (API), its use in industrial projects, and an analysis of the requirements and issues reported during software maintenance. In addition, we have evaluated more than 50 GUI frameworks and APIs and proved usefulness and generality of our classification of concerns. As an additional proof of applicability of the proposed classification, we have refactored the inheritance hierarchy of the selected GUI API using concern-oriented interfaces. We have implemented a supporting tool that complements the developed API and supports its concern-oriented use. The evaluation of the refactored API showed positive effects on API usability.     

On the separation in 2-period double round robin tournaments with minimum breaks

This paper considers the separation in 2-period double round robin tournaments (2P-DRRTs) with minimum breaks. The separation is a lower bound on the number of slots between the two games with the same opponents. None of known schemes provides 2P-DRRTs with minimum breaks and a positive separation. We first propose a new scheme to generate 2-separation 2P-DRRTs with minimum breaks, based on single round robin tournaments (SRRTs) with minimum breaks which have the last break in the third slot from the end. Our experiment results show that such SRRTs exist for 8-68 teams. Secondly, we consider maximizing the separation in general 2P-DRRTs with minimum breaks by integer programming and constraint programming, respectively. The two approaches of direct formulation and “first-break, then-schedule” decomposition are presented and compared. We obtain the maximum separation for up to 14 teams. Furthermore, we consider the application with place constraints to show the flexibility and efficiency of scheduling 2P-DRRTs with minimum breaks and a positive separation.     

Electro-coalescence of an aqueous droplet at an oil-water interface

The coalescence of an aqueous droplet at an oil-water interface under an electric field has been investigated, with a view to quantify conditions that give rise to secondary droplet formation. Two patterns of drop-interface coalescence may occur: complete coalescence and partial coalescence. The former is obviously the desirable pattern for industrial coalescers. However in practice, the process of coalescence could actually produce smaller droplets, which become more difficult to remove, and hence undesirable. This is caused by either necking, due to extensive elongation of the droplet, or reaction to a fast and energetic coalescence and is referred to as partial coalescence. The volume of the droplets formed in this way has been analyzed as a function of the initial droplet size, electric field strength and the distance between the droplet and the interface. The expansion speed of the neck connecting the droplet and interface at the beginning of the pumping process has also been quantified. These results are useful in optimizing the electro-coalescence process.     

Enhancing TRU burning and Am transmutation in Advanced Recycling Reactor

This paper presents about conceptual designs of Advanced Recycling Reactor (ARR) focusing on enhancement in transuranics (TRU) burning and americium (Am) transmutation. The design has been conducted in the context of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) seeking to close nuclear fuel cycle in ways that reduce proliferation risks, reduce the nuclear waste in the US and further improve global energy security. This study strives to enhance the TRU burning and the Am transmutation, assuming the development of related technologies in this study, while the ARR based on mature technologies was designed in the previous study. It has followed that the provided TRU burning core is designed to burn TRU at 28 kg/TW_thh, by adding moderator pins of B₄C (Enriched B-11) and the Am transmutation core will be able to transmute Am at 34 kg/TW_thh, by locating Am blanket of AmN around the TRU burning core. It indicates that these concepts improve TRU burning by 40-50% than the previous core and can transmute Am effectively, keeping the void reactivity acceptable.     

光纤总配线架的应用模式

分析了传统ODF的应用现状,重点介绍了OMDF的结构特点,阐述了引入OMDF的必要性,并针对工程实际提出了几种OMDF的应用模式。