Experimental study of paddy drying in a vortex chamber

The intensification of interfacial mass, heat, and momentum transfer makes vortex chambers potentially interesting for the efficient drying of paddy, allowing shorter drying times and/or more compact equipment. The presence of a shell introduces particular challenges. Intraparticle diffusion limitations are strong and may reduce the advantage from intensified interfacial mass and heat transfer and the efficiency of air usage. Furthermore, high shear and normal stresses in the fast rotating particle bed may cause damage to the paddy shell, posing problems for transport and storage. With these specific aspects in mind, the use of vortex chambers for paddy drying is experimentally evaluated.     

Cuphea a rich source of medium chain triglycerides: Fatty acid composition and oil diversity in Cuphea procumbens

The phenological characteristics, oil content, and fatty acid composition of 34 selections of Cuphea procumbens have been studied. The mean seed yield per plant was 9.7 ± 0.43 g. Maximum seed yield (16.7 g) was noticed in NBC‐27, while the average number of fruits per plant was 124.9 ± 10.7. The oil content in the seeds ranged from 16.7—28.7%, maximum being in NBC‐34. The fatty acid composition revealed the presence of capric acid (C10:0) in all the selections of C. procumbens as the major constituent of the oil ranging from 87.7—94.6%. C. procumbens showed its novelty as an alternative source of capric acid and may be utilized as a renewable resource in the production of plasticizers and lubricants which wholly depend on petrochemical import. Researches are in progress in order to obtain tolerant cultivars against wild plant characteristics and some delayed seed shattering plants have been identified.     

Bi-phasic bio-conversion of sulfur present in model organo-sulfur compounds and hydro-treated diesel

Bacterial strain of Rhodococcus sp. (JUBT1) isolated from petrol/diesel station has been used for the desulfurization of different model organo-sulfur compounds like DBT, substituted DBT, etc. which are difficult to remove in the conventional hydro-desulfurization of diesel fraction. The initial concentration of organo-sulfur compounds has been varied in the range of 100–1000 mg/dm³. Under the present experimental range, the bacterial growth has been observed to follow Haldane-type kinetics characterizing the presence of substrate inhibition. The extent of inhibition by the substrate has been observed to increase with the number of substituents in the same range of initial concentration of different organo-sulfur compounds. The values of intrinsic kinetic parameters, like maximum desulfurization rate, v_max, half saturation constant, K_S, inhibition constant, K_Si and the maximum substrate concentration, C_Smax, corresponding to the maximum uninhibited rate of desulfurization, have been determined using each organo-sulfur compound having different number of substituents as limiting substrate. Relative changes in the values of the kinetic parameters have been correlated to the number of substitutions. Separate studies have also been conducted to determine the kinetics of bio-desulfurization of a hydro-treated diesel fraction. The concentration of sulfur in diesel was selected in the range of 100–500 mg/dm³.

The effect of aqueous to non-aqueous ratio on the rate of specific desulfurization of hydro-treated diesel fraction in the range from 1:9 to 9:1 has also been studied in the present investigation. Mathematical models have been developed to predict the conversion of sulfur during batch-type bio-desulfurization of model compounds as well as diesel having known distribution of organo-sulfur compounds. The predictions of the model satisfactorily compare with the experimental results.     

Microstructure and properties of quenched-and-aged plates produced from a copper-bearing HSLA steel

For the first time in India, quenched-and-tempered (Q&T) plates of a copper-bearing high-strength lowalloy (HSLA) steel have been commercially developed for naval structural applications. A 50 ton production heat was made through electric arc furnace (EAF)-vacuum arc degassing (VAD) route and continuously cast into 170 mm thick slabs. These slabs were conditioned, reheated in walking-beam furnace and hot rolled in plate mill into plates of 10 to 16 mm thickness. The as-rolled plates were hardened through oil quenching and subsequently tempered (aged) at 630 ‡C to achieve the combination of highstrength and good low-temperature impact toughness. The microstructures of heat treated plates showed fine acicular ferrite with grain sizes ranging between ASTM No. 9 and 10. From the standpoint of tensile properties, Q&T plates of all thicknesses exhibited significantly higher yield strengths than the minimum stipulated value of 552 MPa for HY-80/HSLA-80 steels. The elongation (22.20 to 26.00%) and reduction in area (62.12 to 67.62%) values achieved also exceeded the respective minimum requirements of 20 and 50% stipulated for such steels. The trend in variation of Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact energies at room temperature, -18, and -62 ‡C not only showed significantly higher values than that stipulated for HY-80 and HSLA-100 steels at -18 ‡C, but also indicated that the CVN impact energies achieved (105.15 to 144.25 J) at -62 ‡C were higher than the estimated value of 90 J for HSLA-80/HSLA-100 steels at this temperature.     

Biocompatible hyperbranched polyurethane/multi-walled carbon nanotube composites as shape memory materials

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based composites have been prepared by in situ technique using Mesua ferrea L. seed oil-based hyperbranched polyurethane (HBPU) as the matrix. The scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses revealed good dispersion as well as interaction of MWCNT with the matrix. Remarkable recovery of shape to the extent of 98% was obtained after composite formation. More than 300% improvement in tensile strength was observed as compared to the pristine HBPU. Significant enhancement of thermal stability up to 275 °C was found even at low MWCNT loading (1 wt.%). Bacterial degradation of the composite films was tested using two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MTCC 7814 and MTCC 7815. The composites exhibited enhanced biodegradability as compared to the pristine polymer. The cytocompatibility test based on hemolysis of red blood cells showed that the material lacks cytotoxicity. The investigation indicates that the material has high potential as shape memory biomaterial.     

Development of solid base catalyst X/Y/MgO/γ-Al2O3 for optimization of preparation of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L.seed oil

The preparation and regeneration conditions of the identified catalyst X/Y/MgO/γ-Al₂O₃ with high catalytic activity were studied and optimized. The biodiesel was prepared by transesterification of Jatropha curcas seed oil produced in Guizhou with methanol at its reflux temoerature in the presence of X/Y/MgO/γ-Al₂O₃. The pilot plant tests were carried out in a 100 L reaction vessel. Both average yield and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) content reached more than 96.50% under the optimum reaction conditions of the pilot plant tests designed withan oil/methanol molar ratio of 1: 10, catalyst concentration of 1.00%, and reaction time of 3 h at reflux temperature. In addition, analysis shows that the quality of biodiesel meets the standard EN 14214. __________ Translated from Modern Chemical Industry, 2007, 27(Suppl. 2): 452–455 [译自: 现代化工]     

One pot synthesis of nano Ag in calcium alginate beads and its catalytic application in p‐Nitrophenol reduction with kinetic parameter estimation and model fitting

In this work, one step process of synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Agnp) embedded in insitu formed calcium alginate (CA) beads is stated. CA, formed from the reaction between sodium alginate and calcium hydroxide, acts as reducing and stabilizing agent as well as support for nanoparticles. The reaction mechanism for the formation and stabilization of Agnp is proposed where the vicinal dihydroxy groups of alginate are assumed to act as the reducing agent for Ag⁺ to Ag°. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x‐ray diffraction (XRD), UV‐vis spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) were used to characterize the Agnp. The formation of spherical nanoparticles with average size range of 4‐5 nm was confirmed by TEM. Catalytic activity of this nano silver‐calcium alginate (Agnp‐CA) composite was evaluated in the reduction of p‐nitrophenol. Concentrations of sodium alginate, calcium hydroxide, and AgNO₃ are found to be the parameters that critically affect the synthesis of Agnp. The efficacy of the catalyst is expressed on the basis of suitable reaction parameters. Both pseudo‐homogeneous and heterogeneous kinetic models are proposed for the reaction to find the best model and the Eley‐Riedel model is found to fit well with the experimental data. The novelty of this work is that the tandem process of CA bead formation, Agnp formation, and Agnp entrapment in CA have been transformed into a single‐step process. Moreover, elaborations of each step of the ionic mechanisms of Agnp formation and p‐NP reduction with Agnp and the establishment of a heterogeneous kinetic model for the reaction are reported for the first time here.     

Extraction of aluminium as aluminium sulphate from thermal power plant fly ashes

Valuable metal extraction technology from thermal power plant fly ash is limited. In the present study, aluminium is extracted from fly ash as highly pure aluminium sulphate (>99.0%) by leaching with sulphuric acid, followed by pre-concentration and successive crystallization. Two types of fly ashes from different sources, i.e., Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) and Vedanta Aluminium Company Limited (VAL) were chosen for comparative study on the extraction of aluminium as aluminium sulphate. The product is characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Purity of aluminium sulphate was also investigated by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES). The extraction efficiency of aluminium depends on the varied solid-to-liquid ratio (fly ash : 18 mol/L H₂SO₄, g/mL) and particle size of fly ashes. Physico-chemical analysis indicates that the obtained product is Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O, having low iron content (0.08%).     

Fault Ride-Through Capability Enhancement of VSC HVDC connected Offshore Wind Power Plants

To achieve active control of the AC voltage magnitude of wind power plant(WPP) collector network and improve the fault ride-through (FRT) capability,an FRT scheme based on feed forward DC voltage contr...     

Direct simulation of turbulent heat transfer in swept flow over a wire in a channel

We investigate heat transfer characteristics of a turbulent swept flow in a channel with a wire placed over one of its walls using direct numerical simulation. This geometry is a model of the flow through the wire-wrapped fuel pins, the heat exchanger, typical of many civil nuclear reactor designs. The swept flow configuration generates a recirculation bubble with net mean axial flow. A constant inward heat flux from the walls of the channel is applied. A key aspect of this flow is the presence of a high temperature region at the contact line between the wire and the channel wall, due to thermal confinement (stagnation). We analyze the variation of the temperature in the recirculation bubble at Reynolds number based on the bulk velocity along the wire-axis direction and the channel half height of 5400. Four cases are simulated with different flowrates transverse to the wire-axis direction. This configuration is topologically similar to backward-facing steps or slots with swept flow, except that the dominant flow is along the obstacle axis in the present study and the crossflow is smaller than the axial flow, i.e., the sweep angle is large. The temperature field is simulated at three different Prandtl numbers: 10^?2, 10^?1 and 1. The lower value of Prandtl number is characteristic of experimental high-temperature reactors that use a molten salt as coolant while the high value is typical of gas (or water vapor) heat exchangers. In addition, mean temperature, turbulence statistics, instantaneous wall temperature distribution and Nusselt number variation are investigated. The peak Nusselt number occurs close to the reattachment location, on the lee side of the wire, and is about 50–60% higher compared to the case without crossflow. The high temperature region follows the growth of the recirculation bubble which increases by about 65% from the lowest to highest amount of crossflow. Particular attention is devoted to the temperature distribution on the walls of the channel and the surface of the wire. The behavior of the heat-flux across the mean dividing streamline of the recirculation bubble is investigated to quantify the local heat transfer rates occurring in this region.