Investigation of fabrication of gas diffusion substrate for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The gas diffusion substrate (GDS) is essential in the proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Its fabrication techniques affect the performance significantly and are worthy of investigation. In this study, a manufacturing process of the GDS is proposed to understand the formation process of GDS and promote its structure and performance more pertinently. Different states during the preparation process, raw carbon paper, pre-curing, curing, carbonation, and graphitization, are characterized and measured. Experimental and numerical methods are employed to determine the relationships between microstructure, transport, and mechanical performance variation with the fabricating processes. The results show that its porosity, average pore size, and effective diffusivity decrease first and increase after curing. These parameters after graphitization are lower than that of the carbon paper (CP). The electrical resistivity increases dramatically while pre-curing and decreases gradually after curing, carbonation, and graphitization, and it is much reduced after graphitization. Moreover, mechanical measurement results show that both the picks of tensile strength and flexural modulus occur after curing. Its tensile strength shows little change after graphitization compared to the initial paper's. In contrast, the flexural modulus is improved significantly.     

One-step to prepare high-performance gas diffusion layer (GDL) with three different functional layers for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)

Gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the most important components of fuel cells. In order to improve the fuel cell performance, GDL has developed from single layer to dual layers, and then to multiple layers. However, dual or multi layers in GDL are usually prepared by layer-by-layer methods, which cost too much time, energy, and resources. In this work, we successfully developed a facile one-step method to prepare a GDL with three functional layers by utilizing the different sedimentation rates and filtration rates of short carbon fiber (CF) and carbon nanotube (CNT). The treatment temperature for this GDL is much lower than that of traditional method. The thickness of the GDL can be effectively controlled from as thin as 50 μm to more than 200 μm by simply adjusting the content of CF. The GDL with high flexibility is suitable to develop high performance flexible electronics. The fuel cell with the GDL has the maximum power density 1021 mW cm^?2, which shows 19% improvement comparing to the conventional one. Therefore, this work breaks the traditional concept that GDL for fuel cells only can be prepared by very complex and high-cost procedure.     

The influence of national culture on responsible innovation: A case of CO2 utilisation in Indonesia

Responsible innovation (RI) offers a promising step towards a more responsible adoption of innovations, such as new and emerging technologies. However, how RI would be practised in different cultural contexts and settings is still less studied, especially in the context of developing countries. Taking the utilisation of CO₂ in Indonesia as an empirical case, the purpose of this paper is to explore this issue through examining the influence of key characteristics of Indonesia's national culture on core dimensions of RI: anticipation, reflexivity, deliberation, responsiveness and participation. The different RI dimensions are applied in practice in a focus group discussion (FGD) and a round of interviews with different stakeholders that explored CO₂ utilisation in the country. Hofstede's classification of national cultural dimensions is used to single out key focus points for attention in these RI processes in the Indonesian context. The results from the experiment illustrate that culture matters in the application of RI dimensions in practice. In the sense that in order for RI to work well, the governance of core RI processes such as participation and deliberation has to be adjusted to social norms of what is considered legitimate, desirable and good behaviour. These norms differ across societies. The findings further suggest ways of applying RI dimensions in practice.     

Paper mill sludge as a renewable substrate for the production of acetone-butanol-ethanol using Clostridium sporogenes NCIM 2337

In the present study, pre-treated paper mill sludge (PMS) was evaluated extensively as a substrate for production of acetone-butanol-ethanol using Clostridium sporogenes NCIM 2337. The PMS was subjected to three types of pre-treatment methods namely alkali, mechanical, and thermal treatment and was analyzed by SEM. The pre-treatment of PMS by alkali was observed to be more effective over the other pre-treatment methods. The alkali pre-treated sludge was then made to undergo fermentation, which showed the conventional process of acidogenesis followed by solventogenesis. The acetone, butanol, and ethanol concentration for 15% alkali pre-treated PMS was estimated to be maximum.     

Preceramic paper-derived Ti3Al(Si)C2-based composites obtained by spark plasma sintering

The paper describes the structure and properties of preceramic paper-derived Ti₃Al(Si)C₂-based composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The effect of sintering temperature and pressure on microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites was studied. The microstructure and phase composition were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. It was found that at 1150 °C the sintering of materials with the MAX-phase content above 84 vol% leads to nearly dense composites. The partial decomposition of the Ti₃Al(Si)C₂ phase becomes stronger with the temperature increase from 1150 to 1350 °C. In this case, composite materials with more than 20 vol% of TiC were obtained. The paper-derived Ti₃Al(Si)C₂-based composites with the flexural strength > 900 MPa and fracture toughness of >5 MPa m^1/2 were sintered at 1150 °C. The high values of flexural strength were attributed to fine microstructure and strengthening effect by secondary TiC and Al₂O₃ phases. The flexural strength and fracture toughness decrease with increase of the sintering temperature that is caused by phase composition and porosity of the composites. The hardness of composites increases from ~9.7 GPa (at 1150 °C) to ~11.2 GPa (at 1350 °C) due to higher content of TiC and Al₂O₃ phases.     

Moulded pulp products manufacturing with thermoforming

For an effective optimization of pulp thermoforming and of the moulded pulp products manufactured by this process, a full understanding of the process physics combined with full knowledge of the pressing equipment is necessary. For this reason, in this Addendum, we clarify how the process parameters “Holding time,” “Vacuum time,” “Cycle time,” and “Temperature” were interpreted and subsequently defined for the analysis of the process and product‐related outputs of the thermoforming experiments.     

Controllable electrodeposition synthesis of Pd/TMxOy-rGO/CFP composite electrode for highly efficient methanol electro-oxidation

A novel and high-efficiency Pd/TM_xO_y-rGO/CFP (TM_xO_y = Co₃O₄, Mn₃O₄, Ni(OH)₂) electrocatalyst for directly integrated membrane electrode was synthesized by controllable cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition combined with hydrothermal process. The results showed excellent performance towards methanol oxidation reduction. The Pd/Co₃O₄-rGO/CFP as-prepared catalyst has the best electrocatalytic activity, and mass activity is 5181 mA·mg⁻¹_Pd, which is about 40 times and 4.3 times that of the commercial Pd/C and Pt/C catalyst (JM). It can be attributed that the small size of Pd nanoparticle, uniformity of distribution, and the synergistic interaction between transition metal oxide on the support surface and Pd nanoparticles. The prepared Pd/TM_xO_y-rGO/CFP composite electrode is a promising catalyst for integrated membrane electrode assembly of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in the future.     

七层熔融共挤出石头纸在昆钢的工业化实践

通过制备印刷层、遮盖层、发泡层、增强层母料,再将上述各挤入层的熔融胶状物通过同一模头挤出发泡,经常规三辊压光、冷却、牵引、收卷,即得到七层熔融共挤出石头纸。采用该方法制备的石头纸,挺度好、印刷适应性好,比重低,不透明度高、平滑度好、厚度均匀,各项性能指标符合GB/T22806-2008"白卡纸"的性能指标要求,可用于印制美术印刷品、卡片、名片、包装纸盒等。该制备方法在云南昆钢石头纸环保材料有限得到工业化实践。     

Impacts of spectral variations in multiwavelength excitation method on measurements of fluorescently whitened papers

The multiwavelength excitation (MWE) method for measuring the colorimetric properties of fluorescent whitening agent (FWA)‐treated specimens illuminated by a standard daylight illuminant computationally approximates not the spectral power distribution (SPD) of the illuminant but the luminescent SPD excited thereby by a weighted sum of the luminescent SPDs excited by a few different narrow‐band illuminations. The weights are optimized for the actual SPDs of those illuminations and the bispectral luminescent radiance factors of typical FWA‐treated paper specimens. Since the latter is invariant among instruments once provided as the common numerical data, the variations of the narrow‐band SPDs give major impacts to the reproducibility of this method. The weights optimized for the varied SPDs, however, mitigate the impacts. For investigating how they impact, one basic illumination system and its 16 simple variation systems were built virtually. The basic system consists of three narrow‐band LEDs and one blue‐excited white LED, whereas the individual simple variation system has either the peak wavelength or spectral width of one of the four LEDs (including the blue LED in the white LED) varied. With those systems, seven FWA‐treated papers with the known bispectral radiance factors were measured computationally by simulating the procedure of the MWE method. The differences in the colorimetric values measured with the simple variation systems from those with the basic system are far below the just noticeable difference, which indicates that the MWE method can be a practical solution for better reproducibility in measuring FWA‐treated papers.