The Options Available for Ammonia Removal at Davyhulme Sewage-Treatment Works

Davyhulme sewage-treatment works, which serves the Manchester drainage area, is one of the lagest in the UK. The dry-weather flow is 300 000 m³/d, and the plant receives a wide range of industrial effluents. The works has been identified as a major source of pollution in the Mersey estuary, with an average discharge of 6500 kg ammonia/day. As part of its initiative to improve the Mersey estuary, North West Water intends to reduce the daily ammonia load from Davyhulme to about 1000 kg/d by 1995. In order to assess the capabilities of both conventional and novel processes to achieve this degree of ammonia removal, a number of on-site pilot plants were established. This paper reports on the pilot-plant studies and the selection of process options. Recommendations with regard to design parameters and final process selection are given.     

Three‐dimensional trajectory of electrospun polymer solution jet using digital holographic microscopy

The three‐dimensional trajectories of polymer solution jets during the electrospinning of polymer nanofibers were experimentally investigated. Test conditions included water solutions of polyethylene oxide (PEO) with concentrations typical of those producing beaded nanofibers, driving voltages ranging from 5 kV to 15 kV to generate a single polymer jet and injection pressures ranging from 0 kPa to 55 kPa. The present holographic imaging setup resolved the spatial growth of the bending instabilities, which is beneficial for validating numerical models. The results also showed the bead formation on the polymer fiber in‐flight. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1765–1773, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Improved electro-assisted removal of phosphates and nitrates using mesoporous carbon aerogels with controlled porosity

Three-activated carbon aerogels were synthesized by CO₂ activation of the materials prepared by the polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde mixtures followed by supercritical drying. The obtained carbon aerogels were characterized and used as electrode materials for the electrosorption of sodium phosphate and nitrate. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy showed the dependence of the structural ordering of the aerogels with the resorcinol/catalyst ratio and the extent of activation. The electrosorption capacitance evaluated by cyclic voltammetry revealed large values for the activated samples containing a large contribution of mesopores, regardless the electrolyte salt. Due to an adequate combination of chemical and porous features, the desalting capacity of the activated carbon aerogel electrodes exceeded that of the as-prepared materials. The evaluation of the kinetic properties by chronocoulometric relaxation and impedance spectroscopy showed a decrease of time constant and resistances for highly mesoporous activated samples. A high deionization capacity and fast electrode discharge was detected for the deionization of sodium nitrate on the highly mesoporous activated aerogel. Data also showed the efficient electrosorption of ionic species on consecutive charge/discharge cycles, confirming the stability of the aerogel electrodes at the high applied potentials.     

Drying dynamics of polymers films by an interferometric technique

We analyze a simple laser reflectivity measurement as a tool to monitor the drying kinetics of transparent polymer films. The reflectivity signal of a laser beam at normal incidence shows oscillations due to interference arising from multiple reflection of the laser light within the drying film. We develop a model to interpret the reflectivity curves in terms of time evolving refractive indices at the top and bottom of the film. We present results of the drying kinetics of transparent alkyd films on a glass substrate of high refractive index. Data shows a clear hallmark indicating the evolution of the crosslinking process. From the reflectivity curves, the time evolution of the refractive indices at the top and bottom is obtained. Assuming a linear-gradient of the refractive index along the depth of the film the average refractive index and consequently the film thickness as a function of time are estimated. Clear features in the time evolution of the refractive indices and thickness, correlate well with qualitative “dust”, “touch” and “fingerprint” drying times. Additionally, we present some preliminary results for water based latex binders, where scattering of light is present, showing that this simple optical technique could be extended for studying latex film formation.     

Mobility Analysis of 2 nm to 11 nm Aerosol Particles with an Aspirating Drift Tube Ion Mobility Spectrometer

We describe the performance of a drift tube-ion mobility spectrometry (DT-IMS) instrument for the measurement of aerosol particles. In DT-IMS, the electrical mobility of a measured particle is inferred directly from the time required for the particle to traverse a drift region, with motion driven by an electrostatic field. Electrical mobility distributions are hence linked to arrival time distributions (ATDs) for particles reaching a detector downstream of the drift region. The developed instrument addresses two obstacles that have limited DT-IMS use for aerosol measurement previously: (1) conventional drift tubes cannot efficiently sample charged particles at ground potential and (2) the sensitivities of commonly used Faraday plate detectors are too low for most aerosols. Obstacle (1) is circumvented by creating a “sample volume” of aerosol for measurement, defined by the streamlines of fluid flow. Obstacle (2) is bypassed by interfacing the end of the drift region with a condensation particle counter. The DT-IMS prototype shows high linearity for arrival time versus inverse electrical mobility (R ² > 0.99) over the size range tested (2.2–11.1 nm), and measurements compare well with both analytical and numerical models of device performance. A dimensionless calibration curve linking drift time to inverse electrical mobility is developed. In less than 5 s, it is possible to measure 11.1 nm particles, while 2.2 nm particles are analyzable on a subsecond scale. The transmission efficiency is found to be dependent upon electrostatic deposition for short drift times and upon advective losses for long drift times.

Copyright 2014 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Direct Synthesis of 1-Butanol from Ethanol in a Plug Flow Reactor: Reactor and Reaction Kinetics Modeling

Bio-ethanol is well known for its use as a gasoline additive. However, it can be blended in low portions to traditional gasoline although it has a corrosive nature. By taking advantage of modern continuous reactor technology and heterogeneous alumina catalysts, ethanol can be upgraded to 1-butanol in fixed beds. Butanol has more feasible properties as fuel component in comparison to ethanol. Mathematical modeling of reaction kinetics revealed a simple kinetic model could be used to describe the complex reaction process on a Cu/alumina catalyst. The reaction kinetics model is based on five parallel reactions in which ethanol reacts to 1-butanol, acetealdehyde, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether and diethoxyethane, respectively.

     

CO Oxidation on Pd(100) Versus PdO(101)-(\sqrt{5}\times \sqrt{5})R27^{\circ}: First-Principles Kinetic Phase Diagrams and Bistability Conditions

We present first-principles kinetic Monte Carlo (1p-kMC) simulations addressing the CO oxidation reaction at Pd(100) for gas-phase conditions ranging from ultra-high vacuum to ambient pressures and elevated temperatures. For the latter technologically relevant regime there is a long-standing debate regarding the nature of the active surface. The pristine metallic surface, an ultra-thin $(\sqrt{5}\times \sqrt{5})R27^{\circ}$ PdO(101) surface oxide, and thicker oxide layers have each been suggested as the active state. We investigate these hypotheses with 1p-kMC simulations focusing on either the Pd(100) surface or the PdO(101) surface oxide and intriguingly obtain a range of (T, p)-conditions where both terminations appear metastable. The predicted bistability regime nicely ties in with oscillatory behavior reported experimentally by Hendriksen et al. (Catal Today 105:234, 2005). Within this regime we find that both surface terminations exhibit very similar intrinsic reactivity, which puts doubts on attempts to assign the catalytic function to just one active state.     

The HLD Study of Surfactant Partitioning for Oilfield Corrosion Inhibitors

The partitioning of corrosion inhibitor (CI) products is a measure of their potential to protect oilfield pipelines. In this paper the hydrophilic–lipophilic deviation (HLD) model is first used to quantify their partitioning in terms of the characteristic curvature (C _c,act) of a series of anionic (alkoxylated phosphate esters) and cationic (alkoxylated amines, aromatic amines, imidazoline acetates and quaternary amines) actives. This parameter is expressed over a range of pHs within which pipeline corrosion occurs. The HLD model is next used to predict the partitioning of each active from water into toluene at increased salinities. Linear mixing rules are lastly used to predict the characteristic curvature of Product A (C _c,mix) as a function of the C _c,act of a subset of actives.     

Copper(I) Bromide‐Dimethyl Sulfide‐Catalyzed Direct Sulfanylation of 4‐Hydroxycoumarins and 4‐Hydroxyquinolinones with Arylsulfonylhydrazides and Selective Fluorescence Switch‐ On Sensing of Cadmium(II) Ion in Water

An efficient protocol for the direct sulfanylation of various 4‐hydroxycoumarins and 4‐hydroxyquinolinones in good yield with arylsulfonylhydrazides as sulfanylating agents was developed via copper(I) bromide⋅dimethyl sulfide‐catalyzed S–O, S–N bond cleavage and C–S cross‐coupling reactions. A highly selective fluorescence turning‐on sensing of cadmium(II) ions in water using the synthesized 3‐sulfanyl‐4‐hydroxycoumarin derivative was also investigated.

     

On the association between poly(vinyl alcohol) and sodium dodecyl sulfate and its effect on liquid–liquid interfacial tension: A mathematical model

Association between poly(vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) copolymer (PVA) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was studied experimentally and theoretically. It was found that, for the ethyl acetate-aqueous phase interface in which PVA was previously adsorbed, the interfacial tension (γ) increases abruptly to a maximum and then exhibits a relatively mild decay with the addition of SDS to the aqueous phase. The theoretical results indicate that vinyl acetate (VAc) segments determine γ. However, for relatively low concentrations of SDS (C_SDS), this latter plays a major role because through its association with the VAc segments it modulates the extent to which PVA is adsorbed at the interface, indirectly determining the value of γ. As C_SDS approaches to the CMC value for SDS, its influence on γ decreases because SDS tends to self-assembly rather than associates with VAc. These model predictions are consistent with experimental findings reported in the literature.