Producing clean diesel fuel by co-hydrogenation of vegetable oil with gas oil

The goal of our investigation was the production of partially bio-derived fuels in the gas oil boiling point range. Our aim was the production of diesel fuel blending components by co-hydrogenation of mixtures of high-sulphur gas oil (about 1.0%) and vegetable oil raw materials with different vegetable oil contents (0, 5, 15, 25 and 100%). The experiments were carried out on a NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalyst with a targeted composition (T = 300–380°C, P = 60–80 bar, LHSV = 1.0/h and H₂/HC = 600 Nm³/m³). We obtained that both the vegetable oil conversion reactions and the gas oil quality improvement reactions took place. Under the favourable operational conditions (360–380°C, P = 80 bar, LHSV = 1.0/h and H₂/HC = 600 Nm³/m³ and up to 15% vegetable oil content of the feed), the main properties of the high-yield (>90%) products except for the Cold Filter Plugging Point (CFPP) value satisfied the requirements of the standard of diesel fuels (EN 590:2009). The amount of vegetable oil higher than 15% reduced the desulphurization efficiency, because of the intake of large quantities of oxygen with the triglyceride molecules of the vegetable oil. The products—depending on the vegetable oil content of the feedstocks—have an increased n- and i-paraffin content, so their combustion properties are very favourable, and the emission of particles is lower.     

Improving the accuracy of a measurement system with unstable parameters

Calibration of an adaptive data-acquisition system by the use of standard measures is considered when there are destabilizing factors. Methods are considered for reducing the errors and lessening the computational costs in the measurements. __________ Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 1, pp. 7–11, January, 2006.     

Qualitative and energy recovery potential analysis: plastic-derived fuel oil versus conventional diesel oil

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Due to depleting fossil fuel sources, plastic-derived fuel oil (PDFO) has received much attention over the past decade as an alternative to...     

Improving the accuracy and efficiency of measurement of low signal-harmonic factors

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 9, pp. 60–62, September, 1991.     

Improving the accuracy of measurement of parts with contaminated surfaces by multichannel optoelectronic systems

A method is proposed for improving the measurement accuracy of multichannel optoelectronic instruments in mechanical engineering. The method involves the suppression of crosstalk and processing of the measurement data in accordance with the resulting transfer function of the detector. An example of practical implementation is given.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 9, pp. 25–27, September, 1995.     

Biodegradation of effluent contaminated with diesel fuel and gasoline

We studied the effects of fuel concentration (diesel and gasoline), nitrogen concentration and culture type on the biodegradation of synthetic effluent similar to what was found at inland fuel distribution terminals. An experimental design with two levels and three variables (2(3)) was used. The mixed cultures used in this study were obtained from lake with a history of petroleum contamination and were named culture C(1) (collected from surface sediment) and C(2) (collected from a depth of approximately 30cm). Of the parameters studied, the ones that had the greatest influence on the removal of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were a nitrogen concentration of 550mg/L and a fuel concentration of 4% (v/v) in the presence of culture C(1). The biodegradability study showed a TPH removal of 90+/-2% over a process period of 49 days. Analysis using gas chromatography identified 16 hydrocarbons. The aromatic compounds did not degrade as readily as the other hydrocarbons that were identified.     

Application of a titania thin film for the discrimination between diesel fuel and heating oil

The aim of the paper is to show that chemiresistors based on the TiO₂ thin film can be used for the discrimination between diesel fuel, heating oil and their blends if coupled with a suitable measuring procedure and pattern recognition technique. The titania layer was prepared with sol-gel technique. A film response of the TiO₂ layer was measured at the temperatures of 275, 360 and 440 °C. The response of chemiresistors to fuel vapours depended on temperature of the sensitive material. The most apparent differences between oils appeared at the temperature of 360 °C. Principal Component Analysis qualitatively indicated the possibility of discrimination between oils at the sensing layer temperature of 360 °C. The actual discrimination was obtained with Linear Discriminant Analysis. It used first two principal components extracted from the measurement data collected at 360 °C as input variables. Our results indicate the possibility to develop a method of discrimination between diesel fuel and heating oil, based on measurements of electrical signals generated by the film in the presence of detected vapours.     

超声制备微乳化柴油的实验研究

微乳柴油是一种较佳的节能环保材料。采用聚氧乙烯失水山梨醇单油酸酯(Tween80)、失水山梨醇单油酸酯(Span80)和十二烷基苯磺酸钠复配成复配乳化剂,利用超声乳化机理,将超声波用于微乳化,研究了超声参数(声强,作用时间)、乳化剂及乙醇用量对乳液稳定性的影响,并通过正交实验找出了超声制备微乳化柴油的最佳工艺条件。该W/O乳液稳定时间随超声声强的增大而增加,且超声作用时间对乳液稳定时间有个最佳值。超声作用下乳化剂用量为2.5%(wt)时乳液最稳定。乙醇用量跟水油比有关,实验中水油比为0.1(V)时乙醇用量为5%(V),掺水量为10%(V)时的超声柴油微乳化最佳工艺条件为乳化剂用量为2.5%(wt),指示电流为3A(相当于声强为0.15 W/cm2),稳定剂用量为0.158%(wt),超声作用时间为15min,乙醇用量为5%(V)。     

远距离高精度多普勒位移测量

通过泛函、激光散斑理论和随机过程各态遍历的研究,导出激光多普勒信号强度与聚焦光斑直径、接收透镜通光口径、光电接收器响应等参数间的关系,在此基础上设计出一种适用于远距离处面内位移测量的光路。此光路将高斯光束束腰聚焦在被测体上,实现最小聚焦光斑和平面波叠加,此外采用大口径透镜接收散射光,用响应度高的光电接收器转换光电信号等措施获得高强度高信噪比的测量信号。将此光路用于 100m 处面内位移(49.70mm)测量,其精度可达 2%。此设计方法能用于振动或地震波的高精度检测。     

Tribological properties of lubricating oil with micro/nano-scale WS2 particles

The tribological properties of lubricating oil containing micro/nano-scale WS₂ (90 nm, 2 µm) and ionic liquid [C₇H₁₁F₃N₂O₃S] are evaluated using a four-ball friction tester. Results show that the addition of micro/nano-scale WS₂ can improve the tribological properties of the base oil; moreover, adding the ionic liquid as a solvent may lead to a better mixing of the micro/nano-scale WS₂ and base oil and promote the dispersion of WS₂ in the sample oil. The base oil with 90 nm nano-WS₂ and ionic liquid presents the best anti-friction and anti-wear properties at 1 wt.% content. The surface analysis of wear scars reveals that ploughing is the main cause of wear in the three bottom balls. Furthermore, the wear furrows of nano-WS₂ as lubricating additive are uniform and symmetrical and can homogenously appear on the friction area. This work proves that the micro/nano-scale WS₂ plays an important role in improving the performance of tribological properties of lubricating oil.     

Comments on "Improving accuracy of intrinsic coercivity measurement for magnetically soft materials"

The authors of the paper by Hilton et al. (see ibid., vol. 41. no. 8, P.2322-7, Aug. 2005) conclude among other things that "the commercial imperative is to obtain accurate coercivity results. How slow does the magnetizing field decay have to be in order to achieve this? There is no universal answer; it depends on the material and on the dimensions. For routine coercivity measurement of soft iron bars, a 60-s linear ramp time is advised. This protocol allows accurate coercivity measurement within an acceptable amount of laboratory time." The present author would like to mention that years ago a number of experiments were carried out indicating that coercivity of magnetically soft materials depends strongly on the rate of rise of the driving field. In the case of a linear ramp driving held, the coercivity, depends linearly on the square root of this rate of rise, k/sub i/. It was shown experimentally that the above dependence holds also for soft ferrites and Permalloy cores as well as for magnetic thin films.     

Analysis of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in conventional diesel and Fischer-Tropsch diesel fuel emissions using electron monochromator-mass spectrometry

The presence of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in diesel fuel emissions has been studied for a number of years predominantly because of their contribution to the overall health and environmental risks associated with these emissions. Electron monochromator-mass spectrometry (EM-MS) is a highly selective and sensitive method for detection of NPAHs in complex matrixes, such as diesel emissions. Here, EM-MS was used to compare the levels of NPAHs in fuel emissions from conventional (petroleum) diesel, ultra-low sulfur/low-aromatic content diesel, Fischer-Tropsch synthetic diesel, and conventional diesel/synthetic diesel blend. The largest quantities of NPAHs were detected in the conventional diesel fuel emissions, while the ultra-low sulfur diesel and synthetic diesel fuel demonstrated a more than 50% reduction of NPAH quantities when compared to the conventional diesel fuel emissions. The emissions from the blend of conventional diesel with 30% synthetic diesel fuel also demonstrated a more than 30% reduction of the NPAH content when compared to the conventional diesel fuel emissions. In addition, a correlation was made between the aromatic content of the different fuel types and NPAH quantities and between the nitrogen oxides emissions from the different fuel types and NPAH quantities. The EM-MS system demonstrated high selectivity and sensitivity for detection of the NPAHs in the emissions with minimal sample cleanup required.