Preparation of Monodisperse ZrO2 by the Microwave Heating of Zirconyl Chloride Solutions

Based on the principle that the solubility of a salt decreases as the dielectric constant of the solvent decreases, zirconia powders were prepared by heating a zirconyl chloride solution with a 2-PrOH-water mixture as the solvent. The morphology, size, and size distribution of the resulting particles were highly sensitive to the heating method used on the starting solution. Particles formed under conventional heating methods were polydisperse, agglomerated spherical, or irregularly shaped because of inhomogeneous precipitation through the temperature gradient, the shear force induced by stirring, compositional nonuniformity, and the low heating rate. The present study demonstrated that microwaves provide an excellent means of heating uniformly and rapidly without stirring. The particles resulting from microwave treatment were monodisperse and spherical, with a mean diameter of 0.28 μm.     

Electrochemical cell current requirements for toxic organic waste destruction in Ce(IV)-mediated electrochemical oxidation process

The electrochemical cell for cerium oxidation and reactor for organic destruction are the most important operation units for the successful working mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process. In this study, electrochemical cells with DSA electrodes of two types, single stack and double stack connected in series, were used. The performances towards the electrochemical generation of Ce(IV) in nitric acid media at 80 °C were studied. The current-voltage curves and cerium electrolysis kinetics showed the dependence on number of cell stacks needed to be connected in series for the destruction of a given quantity of organic pollutant. The presence of an optimum region for Ce(III) oxidation with a contribution of oxygen evolution, especially at low Ce(III) concentration (high conversion ratios), was found. The cells were applied for the Ce(IV) regeneration during the organic destruction. The cell and reactor processes were fitted in a simple model proposed and used to calculate the current needed in terms of Ce(III) oxidation rate and the number of cell stacks required for maintaining Ce(IV)/Ce(III) ratio at the same level during the organic destruction. This consideration was based on the kinetic model previously developed by us for the organic destruction in the MEO process.     

A numerical analysis of rate data for packed bed reactors in gas-solid reaction systems

A numerical solution of the pseudo-steady state governing equations on the basis of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood type rate equation was obtained by the approximate finite difference method in packed bed reactors for gas-solid reaction system. It was proved that the numerical method has good accuracy compared with the strict solution in the special case that the reaction rate can be represented by the first-order kinetics in terms of gaseous reactant and the effectiveness factor is unity druing the reaction. The numerical method is proposed to predict the transient of exit-gas compositions of a packed bed reactor used for gas-solid reaction systems. The exit-gas composition can be predicted from the conversion data of a single particle with varying reaction time. The present method can be easily applied to the systems involving adsorptive gaseous reactants and complex reaction behavior with structural changes of particles.     

Effect of adsorptive gaseous reactant on non-isothermal behavior for gas-solid reactions

The effect of adsorptive species on non-isothermal gas-solid reactions is studied on the basis of Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics. The concept of an effectiveness factor provides good information to ascertain the effect of adsorptive species and the transition of the rate controlling regime, in connection with the parameters, generally used in the analysis of non-isothermal behavior. For highly exothermic reactions, the effectiveness factor-Thiele modulus curves with multiple solutions are presented with respect to the modified adsorption equilibrium constant. The variations of the rate-controlling regime by the effect of adsorptive species are also discussed.     

A new characterization procedure for aqufous solutions with unknown composition

A new characterization procedure for aqueous solutions with unknown composition was proposed based on the binomial distribution of TOC (total organic carbon) fraction in terms of a characterizing variable, the Freundlich coefficient, k, so that the solution in question can be described by a finite number of pseudo.species identified with a certain k value. The validity and computational accuracy of this procedure has been demonstrated by characterizing three sets of experimental data chosen from different sources. Predictions based on this procedure yielded acceptable results that agreed closely with experimental data.     

Diffusional interference in liquid phase counter-adsorptions

A surface diffusion mocel with diffusional interference has been presented for the analysis of multicomponent adsorption of phenols by activated carbon. Surface diffusion coefficients for multicomponent adsorptions were estimated from the relationship between. the surface diffusion coefficient of each species and the surface coverage. The diffusional interference coefficients, W_ij, was determined from experimental counter-adsorption data. The numerical values of W_ij were in the range of 0.4–0.9, which show that the introduction of diffusional interference is necessary to analyze multicomponent counter-adsorptions properly. The proposed model successfully simulates the behaviour of phenols-activated carbon system in a batch adsorber.     

A study on carbon coating to silicon and electrochemical characteristics of Si-C/Li cells

The aim of this paper is to study the electrochemical behavior of Si-C material synthesized by heating a mixture of silicon and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in the ratios of 5, 20, and 50 wt%. The particle size of the synthesized material was found to be increased with increase in the PVDF ratio. The coexistence of silicon with carbon was confirmed from the XRD analysis. A field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) study performed with the material proved the improvement in coating efficiency with increase in the PVDF ratio. Coin cells of the type 2025 were made by using the synthesized material, and the electrochemical properties were studied. An electrode was prepared by using the developed Si-C material. Si-C|Li cells were made with this electrode. A charge|discharge test was performed for 20 cycles at 0.1 C hour rate. Initial charge and discharge capacities of Si-C material derived from 20 wt% of PVDF was found to be 1,830 and 526 mAh|g, respectively. Initial charge/discharge characteristics of the electrode were analyzed. The level of reversible specific capacity was about 216mAh/g at Si-C material derived from 20 wt% of PVDF, initial intercalation efficiency (IIE), intercalation efficiency at initial charge/discharge, was 68%. Surface irreversible specific capacity was 31 mAh/g, and average specific resistance was 2.6 ohm * g.     

Evaluation of the performance of tight-UF membranes with respect to NOM removal using effective MWCO, molecular weight, and apparent diffusivity of NOM

Concepts for the effective MWCO of tight-UF membranes, and apparent diffusion coefficients for NOM, were introduced to determine the mechanisms influencing NOM removal and to explain the various behaviors of NOM removal by UF membranes with different hydrophobicities, permeability, and surface charges. Colloidal NOM (COM) and non-colloidal hydrophobic NOM (NCD HP) constituents were chosen for the evaluation of two different UF membranes. For a relatively hydrophobic, relatively high permeability, and less negatively charged UF membrane, the hydrophobic fractions of COM were preferentially removed and were also removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., both hydrophobic interaction and size exclusion mechanisms). The NCD HP exhibited no such preferential removal of the hydrophobic fractions, but could be removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., only size exclusion mechanism). With a relatively hydrophilic, relatively low permeability, and more negatively charged UF membrane, COM exhibited no preferential removal of the hydrophobic fractions, but could be removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., only size exclusion mechanism). Whereas the hydrophobic fractions of the NCD HP were preferentially removed, these could not be removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., only hydrophobic interaction mechanism). The apparent diffusion coefficients of NOM, as determined from NOM diffusion experiments using a diffusion cell equipped with a regenerated cellulose membrane, were much lower than those calculated by the Stokes-Einstein relation. The diffusion coefficient of NOM is expected to be used to predict and explain NOM transport behaviors in tight-UF membranes.     

Exploration of unknown object by active touch of robot hand

This paper proposes a method of exploring the local shape of an unknown object using the force and torque information obtained from active touch. In the first, we present a method to estimate an unknown curvature, using rolling and sliding motion with a force/torque sensor attached to the fingertip of the hand. Then, the normal curvature equation from 2D curvatures is obtained. Finally we present a reconstruction algorithm of local geometry by using a normal curvature equation, which is composed of principal curvatures and principal directions. The method is tested by using a hand-arm system consisting of an industrial robot arm and an anthropomorphic robot hand with 6-axis force/torque sensor. The feasibility of the proposed method is experimentally validated for objects with simple geometries such as cylinder, spheres etc.     

Virtual target tracking of mobile robot and its application to formation control

A virtual target tracking approach is proposed for kinematic control of mobile robot. In the controller, linear and angular velocity inputs are generated by using the local data of robot position and orientation along with the estimated velocity of target object. Applying the proposed approach to a cooperative robot group with arbitrary number of multiple mobile robots, it is possible to create various robot formations for cooperative navigation and tracking of moving object. The developed controller is shown to be stable and convergent through theoretical proof and a series of experiments.