On the Manifestation and nature of macroinstabilities in stirred vessels

The flow variations or macroinstabilities (MIs) occurring in a vessel stirred by a pitched blade turbine (PBT) are studied through particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments. Proper orthogonal decomposition and fast Fourier transform techniques are applied to the PIV velocity data at one vertical and nine horizontal planes below the impeller, to identify and characterize the flow structures present in the vessel. It is shown that the PBT MI is manifested as a precessional movement around the impeller axis and an oscillation in the direction of the axial mean stream around the shaft axis. The identified flow structures are similar to those previously observed in vessels stirred by Rushton impellers and are characterized by two dominant frequencies, equal to one‐tenth and one‐fifth of the impeller rotational speed. The nature and extent of these structures and their interaction with the trailing vortices emanating from the turbine blades are discussed. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

A full‐scale system for aerobic biological treatment of olive mill wastewater

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is a major environmental problem in the Mediterranean basin. Although many methods for OMW treatment have been developed, only a few have been adopted in pilot‐ or full‐scale applications. A full‐scale system for aerobic biological treatment of OMW was developed. The system consists of a trickling filter and a recirculation tank. Continuous recirculation of the wastewater was used to provide oxygen concentrations from 0.7 to 1.2 mg L^?1. Low ambient temperatures did not affect system performance since the raw wastewater was warm enough. Nutrient addition was not necessary as raw wastewater contained sufficient nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations. Indigenous olive pulp bacteria proved to be resistant to full‐scale conditions. Feed chemical oxygen demand and phenolic concentrations were about 43 000 and 9500 mg L^?1, respectively. The system reduced more than half of the organic load under continuous operation and a hydraulic retention time of 24 h. The efficiency of this method could be improved by combining it with another technology to further reduce the organic load. The absence of mechanical aeration and the very low hydraulic retention time denotes that the proposed system could be viable and attractive. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Complexing agent assisted synthesis of high aspect ratio Fe3 +/Mg2 + layered double hydroxides

A new, facile synthesis for Fe^3 +/Mg^2 + LDHs is developed and investigated. The crucial feature of the synthesis is the usage of a complexing agent (diethylenetriamine, DETA) to increase the solubility of iron phases precipitated intermediately. The influences of different synthesis parameter like DETA concentration, pH value, and temperature are investigated. The optimized synthesis route yields high aspect ratio Fe^3 +/Mg^2 + LDHs which are expected to be interesting filler materials for flame retardant nanocomposites.     

Diamond growth on WC-Co substrates by hot filament chemical vapor deposition: Effect of filament–substrate separation

Polycrystalline diamond films have been grown by hot filament (HF) chemical vapor deposition on WC-Co bar substrates using different CH₄/H₂ source gas mixing ratios and two different total gas pressures. Each substrate was mounted so as to span a range of HF-substrate separations, d_f, (and thus substrate temperatures) and therefore samples a spread of incident gas phase chemistry and compositions. Spatially resolved scanning electron microscopy and Raman analysis of the deposited material provides a detailed picture of the evolution of film morphology, growth rate, sp³/sp² content and stress with d_f in each deposited sample, and of how these properties vary with process conditions. The experimental study is complemented by two-dimensional model calculations of the HF-activated gas phase chemistry and composition, which succeeds in reproducing the measured growth rates well.     

Pillar design and coal burst experience in Utah Book Cliffs longwall operations

Longwall mining has existed in Utah for more than half a century. Much of this mining occurred at depths of cover that significantly exceed those encountered by most other US longwall operations. Deep cover causes high ground stress, which can combine with geology to create a coal burst hazard. Nearly every longwall mine operating within the Utah's Book Cliffs coalfield has been affected by coal bursts. Pillar design has been a key component in the burst control strategies employed by mines in the Book Cliffs.Historically, most longwall mines employed double-use two-entry yield pillar gates. Double-use signifies that the gate system serves first as the headgate, and then later serves as the tailgate for the adjacent panel. After the 1996 burst fatality at the Aberdeen Mine, the inter-panel barrier design was introduced.In this layout, a wide barrier pillar protects each longwall panel from the previously mined panel, and each gate system is used just once. This paper documents the deep cover longwall mining conducted with each type of pillar design, together with the associated coal burst experience. Each of the six longwall mining complexes in the Book Cliffs having a coal burst history is described on a panel-by-panel basis.The analysis shows that where the mining depth exceeded 450 m, each design has been employed for about 38000 total m of longwall panel extraction. The double-use yield pillar design has been used primarily at depths less than 600 m, however, while the inter-panel barrier design has been used mainly at depths exceeding 600 m. Despite its greater depth of use, the inter-panel barrier gate design has been associated with about one-third as much face region burst activity as the double-use yield pillar design.     

Ionic liquids for coal dissolution,extraction and liquefaction

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel. Direct combustion of low- and medium-rank coals causes alarming environmental impacts. Therefore, it is crucial for coal to undergo pretreatments before its efficient utilization [such as coal to liquid (CTL) processes]. Conventional pretreatment methods suffer from several limitations including the use of volatile organic solvents, environmental hazards, strong reaction conditions (e.g. high temperature and pressure), consumption of large quantities of nonrecoverable chemicals (e.g. bases used in aqueous alkaline digestion), or being only effective for specific coals. On the other hand, coal pretreatment by nonvolatile ionic liquids (ILs) could lead to partial coal dissolution/swelling and structure disruption, which is a critical step before coal liquefaction, hydrogenation, pyrolysis or the inhibition of oxidation/combustion. In addition, ILs are suitable solvents for extracting sulfur compounds from coal, asphaltenes from Direct Coal Liquefaction Residues (DCLR) and phenolic compounds from coal tar. This review will discuss these aspects of coal pretreatments by ILs, and identify how ILs could lead to a cleaner and more efficient utilization of coal resources. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Development and characterization of inks for screen printing of glass solders for SOFCs

Glass ceramics are supposed to produce stable sealants between ceramic electrolyte and ferritic steel in planar SOFC stacks. The screen printing method is a suitable industrial process in order to produce layers with tailored height and width reproducibly. An appropriate suspension was developed for this application and improved by adjusting the additive composition. This study investigates the rheological behavior of screen printing inks and the corresponding topography of the printed layers. Rotary measurements were carried out to analyse the impact of shear rates on viscosity showing shear thinning behavior. In addition, oscillatory rheometry is performed to gain information about the viscoelastic properties of the slurries and to understand the internal structure of the developed inks. The viscoelasticity and the recovery behavior after shear loading are crucial for the topography of printed films. The principal investigations are executed on solvent-based suspensions, whereby the knowledge gained is used for a transfer to water-based systems allowing a more environmentally friendly handling.     

Structure-Activity Relationship and Crystallographic Studies on 4-Hydroxypyrimidine HIF Prolyl Hydroxylase Domain Inhibitors

The 2-oxoglutarate-dependent hypoxia inducible factor prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) are targets for treatment of a variety of diseases including anaemia. One PHD inhibitor is approved for use for the treatment of renal anaemia and others are in late stage clinical trials. The number of reported templates for PHD inhibition is limited. We report structure–activity relationship and crystallographic studies on a promising class of 4-hydroxypyrimidine-containing PHD inhibitors.     

Second-Generation Meridianin Analogues Inhibit the Formation of Mycobacterium smegmatis Biofilms and Sensitize Polymyxin-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria to Colistin

Drug-resistant bacteria are rapidly becoming a significant problem across the globe. One element that factors into this crisis is the role played by bacterial biofilms in the recalcitrance of some infections to the effects of conventional antibiotics. Bacteria within a biofilm are highly tolerant of both antibiotic treatment and host immune responses. Biofilms are implicated in many chronic infections, including tuberculosis, in which they can act as bacterial reservoirs, requiring an arduous antibiotic regimen to eradicate the infection. A separate, compounding problem is that antibiotics once seen as last-resort drugs, such as the polymyxin colistin, are now seeing more frequent usage as resistance to front-line drugs in Gram-negative bacteria becomes more prevalent. The increased use of such antibiotics inevitably leads to an increased frequency of resistance. Drugs that inhibit biofilms and/or act as adjuvants to overcome resistance to existing antibiotics will potentially be an important component of future approaches to antibacterial treatment. We have previously demonstrated that analogues of the meridianin natural product family possess adjuvant and antibiofilm activities. In this study, we explore structural variation of the lead molecule from previous studies, and identify compounds showing both improved biofilm inhibition potency and synergy with colistin.     

First Principles Analysis of the Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol and Carbon Monoxide

The strong drive to commercialize fuel cells for portable as well as transportation power sources has led to the tremendous growth in fundamental research aimed at elucidating the catalytic paths and kinetics that govern the electrode performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Advances in theory over the past decade coupled with the exponential increases in computational speed and memory have enabled theory to become an invaluable partner in elucidating the surface chemistry that controls different catalytic systems. Despite the significant advances in modeling vapor-phase catalytic systems, the widespread use of first principle theoretical calculations in the analysis of electrocatalytic systems has been rather limited due to the complex electrochemical environment. Herein, we describe the development and application of a first-principles-based approach termed the double reference method that can be used to simulate chemistry at an electrified interface. The simulations mimic the half-cell analysis that is currently used to evaluate electrochemical systems experimentally where the potential is set via an external potentiostat. We use this approach to simulate the potential dependence of elementary reaction energies and activation barriers for different electrocatalytic reactions important for the anode of the direct methanol fuel cell. More specifically we examine the potential-dependence for the activation of water and the oxidation of methanol and CO over model Pt and Pt alloy surfaces. The insights from these model systems are subsequently used to test alternative compositions for the development of improved catalytic materials for the anode of the direct methanol fuel cell.