The manufacture of high-value carbon from coal-tar pitch

World-wide, 17 million ta^?1 of coal-tar are obtained as a by product in the chamber coking process for the production of metallurgical coke. Refining of this aromatic raw material yields coal-tar pitch which is the traditional coal-derived starting material for the manufacture of carbon precursors and carbon artefacts. Considerable progress has been made in the elucidation of the physical and chemical nature of this material by means of chromatography, n.m.r. spectroscopy, thermal analysis and chemical reactions schemes. The dominant fields of application of pitch are the manufacture of pitch coke and electrode binders. Delayed coking and horizontal chamber coking are the technologies currently used for the production of cokes with low sulphur and metal content, for anodes for the aluminium-refining industry and the electric steel process. Coal-tar pitch, low in quinoline-insolubles (QI), is an excellent raw material for the manufacture of needle-cokes with a low coefficient of thermal expension (CTE). The separation of inherent QI can be performed via gravity settling in aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures, by centrifugation in a disc separator or by filtration. The possible co-carbonization with aromatic petroleum-derived residues yields premium coke suitable for the manufacture of UHP-electrodes. New developments in the production of coke from coal-tar pitch aim to improve coke yields and increase anisotropy (i.e. low CTE and high electrical conductivity values). Further technological progress has been made in the manufacture of hard pitch which can be used as a starting material for the production of pitch coke in the chamber coking process and for the production of electrode binders by means of a continuous flash process with optimized thermal and pressure treatment of pitch, thus facilitating the ‘tailored’ manufacture of binder pitches of different qualities.     

Reduction of NOx by H2 on WOx-Promoted Pt/Al2O3/SiO2 Catalysts Under O2-Rich Conditions

This work addresses the reduction of NO_x by H₂ under O₂-rich conditions using Al₂O₃/SiO₂-supported Pt catalysts with different loads of WO_x promotor. The samples were thoroughly characterised by N₂ physisorption, temperature-programmed desorption of CO, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, laser raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy with probe molecule CO. The catalytic studies of the samples without WO_x showed pronounced NO_x conversion below 200 °C, whereas highest efficiency was related to small Pt particles. The introduction of WO_x provided increasing deNO_x activity as well as N₂ selectivity. This promoting effect was referred to an additional reaction path at the Pt-WO_x/Al₂O₃/SiO₂ interface, whereas an electronic activation of Pt by strong metal support interaction was excluded.

Graphic Abstract

     

2.5万t/a离子膜烧碱技改项目国产自然循环复极槽工程概况

介绍了在2．5万t／a离子膜烧碱技改项目中采用国产自然循环复极槽及其配套装置的设计依据及运行情况，认为国产离子膜电解槽运行情况良好，但尚需完善。     

Polyurethane‐infiltrated carbon foams: A coupling of thermal and mechanical properties

The thermal and mechanical properties of polyurethane‐infiltrated carbon foam of various densities were investigated. By combining the high thermal conductivity of the carbon foam with the mechanical toughness of the pure polyurethane, a mechanically tough composite (relative to the unfilled foam) that could be used at higher temperatures than the polyurethane's degradation was formed. Both the tensile strength and the modulus increased by an order of magnitude for the composites compared to unfilled foam, while the compressive and shear strengths and moduli of the composites approached values exhibited by pure polyurethane. At both 300 and 400°C, the rectangular blocks of pure polyurethane lost their mechanical integrity due to decomposition in air. Thermogravimetric analysis confirms substantial initial weight loss above 290°C. Filled carbon foam blocks, however, maintain their mechanical integrity at both 300 and 400°C indefinitely, although the bulk of the rectangular block mass is polyurethane. Three different carbon foam densities are examined. As expected, the higher density foams show greater heat transfer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2348–2355, 2003     

Thermal analysis of styrene–alkyl methacrylate polymers. I. Glass transition temperatures

The glass transition temperatures (T_g's) of several polystyrenes and styrene–alkyl methacrylate copolymers and terpolymers were measured using thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The polymers studied had number-average molecular weights from 3000 to 250,000 g/mole. The results indicate that the composition dependence of the T_g's for the copolymers and terpolymers can be satisfactorily described by a general Fox equation. In general, the measured T_g's of the copolymer and terpolymer samples depend more on the steric effects of the constituent pendent groups than on their molecular weights. The chain flexibility rather than the size of the pendent group is the determining factor in the glass transition properties of the styrene polymers.     

Alarm pheromone system of leaf-footed bugLeptoglossus zonatus (Heteroptera: Coreidae)

The alarm pheromone system ofLeptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) adults was shown to be composed of hexyl acetate, hexanol, hexanal, and hexanoic acid. Single components tested in the field elicited dispersive behavior of over 70% of adults. 2-(E)-Hexenal, found in the secretion of nymphs, but not in the exudates of adults, was also active against adults. In addition, first-instar nymphs responded to the four components of the alarm pheromone of adults as well as to 2-(E)-hexenal, a component of their own alarm pheromone system. Adults and nymphs possess different alarm pheromone systems, which are not specific to their own life stage. That hemipteran alarm pheromone systems are not species-specific was supported by the fact that both adult and nymphL. zonatus responded to butanoic acid, an alarm pheromone of Alydidae, which was not found in this Coreidae species.     

X-ray crystal structure of the dye 2-cyano-4-bromo-4′-N,N-diethylaminoazobenzene

The crystal structure and molecular conformation of 2-cyano-4-bromo-4′-N,N-diethylaminoazobenzene (C₁₇H₁₇N₄Br, mol. wt. = 357·2 a.m.u) has been determined from X-ray diffraction data; triclinic, P$\text{1}$ (No. 2), a = 10·132(11) Å, b = 12·216(16) Å, c = 6·966(11) Å, α = 104·21(9)°, β = 92·67(12)°, γ = 97·22(7)°, V = 826·5(9) ų, Z = 2, D_c = 1·436 g cm^?3, F(000) = 378, λ(MoKα) = 0·71069 Å, μ(MoKα) = 26·0 cm^?1. The structure was solved by the multiple solution direct method and refined by full-matrix least-squares to R = 0·059 for 1538 independent observed reflections. The azobenzene skeleton is planar to within 0·06 Å. Most significant bonding data are: NN, 1·290(8) Å; BrC, 1·866(6) Å; mean CN (azo) 1·380(8) Å; NNC, 113·6(4) and 115·3(4)°; NCC (cis relative to NN) 125·9(4)° and 126·7(4)°; NCC (trans) 116·8°(5)° and 116·1(4)°.     

Effect of HTPB structure on prepolymer characteristics and on mechanical properties of polybutadiene-based polyurethanes

Oligobutadiene-based prepolymers and polyurethanes (PU) were prepared from hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), three diisocyanates (aromatic, alicyclic and aliphatic) and two chain extenders (containing hydroxyl or amino groups). The free NCO content in the prepolymers varied systematically and the characteristic of these products were interpreted in terms of NCO group reactivity, propagation reactions and HTPB functionality. The mechanical properties of the polyurethane elastomers derived from the prepolymers were discussed in terms of hard and soft segment structures.     

An NMR study of the dissociation of N,N′-(2-propyloximino)-4,4′-methylenebis(phenylcarbamate) and its crosslinking of polymers containing labile hydrogens. II

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to study the dissociation and reaction of N,N′-(2-propyloximino)-4,4′-methylenebis(phenylcarbamate), as a crosslinking agent for polymers containing labile hydrogens. The crosslinking of poly(acrylic acid), polyacrylamide, and poly(vinyl alcohol) was found to result upon heating each to 150°C for 10 min with this component at 2–10 wt %.