NiCoFe/C cathode electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells

A direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC), which is less prone to ethanol crossover, is reported. The cell consists of PtRu/C catalyst as the anode, Nafion^® 117 membrane, and Ni–Co–Fe (NCF) composite catalyst as the cathode. The NCF catalyst was synthesized by mixing Ni, Co, and Fe complexes into a polymer matrix (melamine-formaldehyde resins), followed by heating the mixture at 800 °C under inert atmosphere. TEM and EDX experiments suggest that the NCF catalyst has alloy structures of Ni, Co and Fe. The catalytic activity of the NCF catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was compared with that of commercially available Pt/C (CAP) catalyst at different ethanol concentrations. The decrease in open circuit voltage (V_oc) of the DEFC equipped with the NCF catalysts was less than that of CAP catalyst at higher ethanol concentrations. The NCF catalyst was less prone to ethanol oxidation at cathode even when ethanol crossover occurred through the Nafion^®117 film, which prevents voltage drop at the cathode. However, the CAP catalyst did oxidize ethanol at the cathode and caused a decrease in voltage at higher ethanol concentrations.     

Accelerator Analysis of Tributyltin Adsorbed onto the Surface of a Tributyltin Resistant Marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. Cell

Tributyltin (TBT) released into seawater from ship hulls is a stable marine pollutant and obviously remains in marine environments. We isolated a TBT resistant marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. TBT1 from sediment of a ship’s ballast water. The isolate (10^{9.3 ± 0.2} colony-forming units mL⁻¹) adsorbed TBT in proportion to the concentrations of TBTCl externally added up to 3 mM, where the number of TBT adsorbed by a single cell was estimated to be 10^8.2. The value was reduced to about one-fifth when the lysozyme-treated cells were used. The surface of ethanol treated cells became rough, but the capacity of TBT adsorption was the same as that for native cells. These results indicate that the function of the cell surface, rather than that structure, plays an important role to the adsorption of TBT. The adsorption state of TBT seems to be multi-layer when the number of more than 10^6.8 TBT molecules is adsorbed by a single cell.     

Numerical characterization of a microscale solid-oxide fuel cell

In this study, a single unit of planar micro-solid-oxide fuel cell (μSOFC) is investigated numerically to evaluate the influences of flow channel design, oxygen composition, and thermal operating conditions on cell performance. Four flow channel designs are examined under the co-flow configuration: serpentine, double serpentine, rod bundle, and oblique rib. For all designs, the contacts areas of interconnect to electrodes are kept consistent to maintain the ohmic losses at the same level. To characterize the mass transport effects, there are three different compositions, 100% O₂, 50% O₂/50% N₂ and air, fed to the cathode inlet. Different thermal conditions, adiabatic and isothermal, are applied to the outer boundary of the μSOFC and the results are compared. The outcomes suggest that both thermal conditions and oxidant composition show remarkable influences on μSOFC performance. Under adiabatic conditions, the rise of cell temperature causes a decrease in reversible voltage, deteriorating the overall cell competence. When oxygen is diluted with nitrogen, local gas diffusion becomes dominant to the cathode reaction. Bulk flow, on the other hand, plays a minor role in cell performance since there is little deviation in the polarization curves for all flow channel designs, even at high current densities. For comparison, the flow visualization technique is employed to observe the transport phenomena in various flow channel designs. The flow patterns are found to resemble the concentration distribution, providing a useful tool to design μSOFCs.     

Photocatalytic degradation of methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) in contaminated water by ZnO nanoparticles

BACKGROUND: Over the past several decades methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) as additive to gasoline, intended to either boost ratings of fuel or to reduce air pollution, has been accepted worldwide. Since MTBE has high water solubility, the occurrence of fuel spills or leaks from underground storage tanks or transferring pipeline has led to the contamination of natural waters. In this study the degradation of aqueous MTBE at relatively high concentrations was investigated by a UV‐visible/ZnO/H₂O₂ photocatalytic process. The effects of important operational parameters such as pH, amount of H₂O₂, catalyst loading and irradiation time were also investigated. Concentration of MTBE and intermediates such as tert‐butyl formate and tert‐butyl alcohol were measured. RESULTS: Time required for complete degradation increased from 20 to 150 min when the initial concentration was increased from 10 to 500 mg L^?1. The first‐order rate constants for degradation of MTBE were estimated to be 0.183–0.022 min^?1 as the concentration increased from 10 to 500 mg L^?1. Study of the overall mineralization monitored by total organic carbon analysis showed that at an initial concentration of 100 mg L^?1 MTBE complete mineralization was obtained after 100 min under UV‐visible/ZnO/H₂O₂ photocatalysis. CONCLUSION: The data presented in this paper clearly indicated that UV‐visible/ZnO/O₂ as an advanced oxidation process provides an efficient treatment alternative for the remediation of MTBE‐contaminated waters. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Performance of a Yeast-mediated Biological Fuel Cell

Saccharomyces cerevisiae present in common Baker’s yeast was used in a microbial fuel cell in which glucose was the carbon source. Methylene blue was used as the electronophore in the anode compartment, while potassium ferricyanide and methylene blue were tested as electron acceptors in the cathode compartment. Microbes in a mediator-free environment were used as the control. The experiment was performed in both open and closed circuit configurations under different loads ranging from 100 kΩ to 400Ω. The eukaryotic S. cerevisiae-based fuel cell showed improved performance when methylene blue and ferricyanide were used as electron mediators, rendering a maximum power generation of 146.71±7.7 mW/m³. The fuel cell generated a maximum open circuit voltage of 383.6±1.5 mV and recorded a maximum efficiency of 28±1.8 % under 100 kΩ of external load.     

低工作温度的氧化钨气敏材料

本文报道了一种可以在１００℃左右工作的氢化钨气敏材料，它对氢气和一氧化氮有很高的灵敏度和良好的选择性，并可对空气中的一氧化氮进行探测     

On modeling the design of cellular manufacturing systems

A new optimization model is discussed for the design of cellular manufacturing systems. It is based on an integer programming formulation that updates some other models by eliminating redundant machine assignment and cost coefficients dependent on cell configuration. To reduce computational burdens, a simplified integer programming model and a decomposition algorithm are proposed. Several computer solutions were performed to evaluate the performance of the new model. The computational results are discussed.     

Propane conversion over zeolite catalysts: Comments on the role of Ga

The activation of propane using zeolite H-Y and Ga³⁺ exchanged zeolite Y indicates that in the presence of Ga³⁺ the mechanism of propane activation is changed from a cracking pathway to a dehydrogenation pathway. The presence of both Ga³⁺ and H⁺ are required to achieve this effect.     

Lubricating behavior of iron rhenate and its relation to matching pairs

The iron rhenate was compounded by chemical method, which may be generated during wear process of Fe-Re alloys at elevated temperature. The friction coefficient of iron rhenate has been determined by a pin-on-disc device. The results show that iron rhenate plays role of lubricating at RT-600 °C. The lubricating behavior is related to the matching pairs. The hardness of the materials of matching pairs, compatibility of iron rhenate with materials of matching pairs and surface roughness of disc affect the lubricating behavior of iron rhenate mostly. The principle of matching pairs is proposed. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Synopsis of the first author Xiong Dangsheng. associated professor, born in 1960. Current research fields include high-temperature self-lubricating alloys and tribological properties of material.     

Synfuel development impacts— econometric modelling and policy analysis

The prospects for rapid near-term development of a synfuel industry in the USA have decreased, due to depressed world oil prices, synfuel project cost overruns, and the lukewarm support of the Reagan administration. Nonetheless, socioeconomic and environmental impact analysis studies can provide valuable information for determining the regional welfare effects of proposed projects. The author discusses the results of a regional econometric analysis of the synfuel projects planned for Western Kentucky, which focuses on environmental impacts, and reveals the inevitable trade-offs that would accompany synfuel development. Some policy issues are briefly reviewed, especially that of efficient energy pricing.