Time Decay of the Activity of the Reduction Reaction of NO by CO on a Pd/Al2O3 Catalyst

An experimental study is made of the time decay of activity of the CO–NO reaction on a Pd/Al₂O₃ looking at the effect on reaction order and apparent activation energy. The optimum kinetics parameters fitting the steady state data at moderate pressures are determined. The time decay curves are analyzed through various catalyst deactivation models.     

Learning Structure from Data and Its Application to Ozone Prediction

In this paper we propose an algorithm for structure learning in predictive expert systems based on a probabilistic network representation. The idea is to have the simplest structure (minimum number of links) with acceptable predictive capability. The algorithm starts by building a tree structure based on measuring mutual information between pairs of variables, and then it adds links as necessary to obtain certain predictive performance. We have applied this method for ozone prediction in México City, where the ozone level is used as a global indicator for the air quality in different parts of the city. It is important to predict the ozone level a day, or at least several hours in advance, to reduce the health hazards and industrial losses that occur when the ozone reaches emergency levels. We obtained as a first approximation a tree-structured dependency model for predicting ozone in one part of the city. We observe that even with only three parameters, its estimations are acceptable.A causal network representation and the structure learning techniques produced some very interesting results for the ozone prediction problem. Firstly, we got some insight into the dependence structure of the phenomena. Secondly, we got an indication of which are the important and not so important variables for ozone forecasting. Taking this into account, the measurement and computational costs for ozone prediction could be reduced. And thirdly, we have obtained satisfactory short term ozone predictions based on a small set of the most important parameters.     

On the efficiency of quantization-based integration methods for building simulation

Models describing energy consumption, heating, and cooling of buildings usually impose difficulties to the numerical integration algorithms used to simulate them. Stiffness and the presence of frequent discontinuities are among the main causes of those difficulties, that become critical when the models grow in size. Quantized State Systems (QSS) methods are a family of numerical integration algorithms that can efficiently handle discontinuities and stiffness in large models. For this reason, they are promising candidates for overcoming the mentioned problems. Based on this observation, this article studies the performance of QSS methods in some systems that are relevant to the field of building simulation. The study includes a performance comparison of different QSS algorithms against state-of-the-art classic numerical solvers, showing that the former can be more than one order of magnitude faster.     

The selective oxidative dehydrogenation of propane on vanadium aluminophosphate catalysts

VAPO-5 and V/ ALPO-5 catalysts have been tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. Depending on the vanadium contents and the preparation procedure, different vanadium species and different catalytic behavior are observed. The catalyst containing V⁵⁺ species with a tetrahedral coordination presents the higher yield of propene in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. The same yields of CO₂ are observed on all vanadium aluminophosphate catalysts, while the higher the yield of propene the lower the yield of CO is.     

Microbial Fuel Cell Application for Azoic Dye Decolorization with Simultaneous Bioenergy Production Using Stenotrophomonas sp.

A single‐chamber air‐cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) was successfully applied for decolorization of the diazoic dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5) with simultaneous production of electricity. An innovative low‐cost medium, the marine water‐glucose‐yeast extract medium (MWGY), was developed which appears as a textile marine effluent in terms of salinity. The anode compartment containing a single bacterial strain of Stenotrophomonas sp. showed almost complete dye decolorization with different RB5 concentrations after seven days of treatment. For the four dye concentrations used, a correlation between dye removal and production of electrical energy was found. The comparison of the decolorization process in the MFC with that in a batch reactor as control experiment highlights the efficiency of the single‐chamber air‐cathode MFC technology which improved the dye removal by the same bacterial strain.     

Formation of Hydroperoxy-, Keto- and Hydroxy-Dienes in FAME from Oils: Influence of Temperature and Addition of α-Tocopherol

The influence of temperature (40, 60 and 80 °C) and addition of α-tocopherol (0, 500 mg/kg) on the formation and distribution of the main oxidation products of linoleic acid, i.e. hydroperoxy-, keto- and hydroxy-dienes, were studied in samples of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) derived from high-linoleic (HL) and high-oleic (HO) sunflower oils. In the range of temperatures studied, the formation of hydroperoxydienes showed monomolecular and bimolecular rate constants that ranged from 0.01 to 1 mmol^1/2kg^−1/2h⁻¹ and from 0.02 to 0.9 h⁻¹, respectively. The overall activation energies involved were similar for both samples and for the monomolecular and bimolecular periods (63–68 kJ/mol). The relative oxidation of methyl linoleate, which depended on the fatty acid composition of the FAME sample, was unaffected by temperature. At the three temperatures assayed, hydroperoxydienes constituted approximately 90 and 50% of total hydroperoxides in the HL and HO samples, respectively. Formation of keto- and hydroxy-dienes was influenced by temperature in a similar way to hydroperoxydienes and, consequently, changes in the distribution of compounds were not observed. The addition of α-tocopherol not only decreased the overall oxidation rate, but also affected the distribution of compounds. The content of hydroperoxydienes relative to that of total hydroperoxides was not affected by the presence of the antioxidant in the HL sample, whereas a significant increase (75%) was found in the HO sample compared with the control (50%). The addition of α-tocopherol in both samples also resulted in a slight increase of keto- and hydroxy-dienes in relation to hydroperoxydienes.     

Interlaboratory study on lipid oxidation during accelerated storage trials with rapeseed and sunflower oil analyzed by conjugated dienes as primary oxidation products

Accelerated storage tests are frequently used to assess the oxidative stability of foods and related systems due to its reproducibility. Various methods and experimental conditions are used to measure lipid oxidation. Differences between laboratories make it necessary to determine the repeatability and reproducibility of oxidation tests performed under the same conditions. The objective of the present interlaboratory study was to evaluate the outcome of a storage test for two different bulk oils, sunflower oil (SFO) and rapeseed oil (RSO), during a period of 9 weeks at 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, and 60°C. Sixteen laboratories were provided with bottled oils and conducted the storage tests according to a detailed protocol. Lipid oxidation was monitored by the formation of conjugated dienes (CD) and the activation energy (E_a) was determined for comparative purposes and statistically evaluated. An increase in CD formation was observed for both oils when the storage temperature was increased in all laboratories. The E_a,1 ranged from 47.9 to 73.3 kJ mol⁻¹ in RSO and from 27.8 to 62.6 kJ mol⁻¹ in SFO, with average values of 58.2 and 46.8 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The reproducibility coefficients were 10.9% and 18.2% for RSO and SFO, respectively. Practical applications: In order to compare results on oxidative stability of foods derived from different studies, the reproducibility of storage tests and methods employed to evaluate the oxidation level should be considered. This study provides fundamental data on the reproducibility of lipid oxidation under accelerated storage conditions and defines important parameters to be considered for the conduction of experiments.     

Internal Mass Transfer during Isothermal Drying of a Porous Solid Containing Multicomponent Liquid Mixtures

Abstract

Internal mass transfer in a porous solid partially saturated with multicomponent liquids has been experimentally and theoretically studied. Isothermal drying experiments were performed using a jacketed wind tunnel where the transient composition profiles and total liquid content of a cylindrical sample were determined. Sand samples wetted with the ternary liquid mixtures water-methanol-ethanol and 2-propanol-methanol-ethanol were dried at two different initial compositions and temperatures. A mathematical model including mass transfer by capillary movement of the liquid and interactive diffusion in both gas and liquid phase was developed. To simulate the capillary movement of liquid mixtures, parameters experimentally determined for single liquids where weighed according to liquid composition. A fairly good agreement between theoretical and experimental liquid composition profiles was obtained provided that axial dispersion is included in the model.