Set-membership estimation from poor quality data sets: Modelling ammonia volatilisation in flooded rice systems

A set-membership (bounded-error) estimation approach can handle small and poor quality data sets as it does not require testing of statistical assumptions which is possible only with large informative data sets. Thus, set-membership estimation can be a good tool in the modelling of agri-environmental systems, which typically suffers from limited and poor quality observational data sets. The objectives of the paper are (i) to demonstrate how six parameters in an agri-environmental model, developed to estimate NH₃ volatilisation in flooded rice systems, were estimated based on two data sets using a set-membership approach, and (ii) to compare the set-membership approach with conventional non-linear least-squares methods. Results showed that the set-membership approach is efficient in retrieving feasible parameter-vectors compared with non-linear least-squares methods. The set of feasible parameter-vectors allows the formation of a dispersion matrix of which the eigenvalue decomposition reflects the parameter sensitivity in a region.     

Factors Affecting Hydrogen Production from Food Wastes by Clostridium-Rich Composts

This study used the technique of response surface approach to analyze the combined effects of heat-shocking temperature and time on anaerobic grass composts. Results indicate that the grass composts under heat-shocking temperature and time of 80°C and 3?h, respectively, could yield high populations of hydrogen-producing microorganisms. Metabolic results demonstrate that the composts are reliable, having considerable hydrogen-producing Clostridia. The multivariate analysis with response surface by considering specific hydrogen-producing potential and rate simultaneously indicate that the cultural media with Fe2+ = 132?mg/L; NH4+ = 537?mg/L; and PO43? = 1,331?mg/L were optimal for the hydrogen-producing Clostridia-rich composts using high-solids food wastes. The specific hydrogen production potential and rate were 77±3?mL?H2/gTVS and 520±20?mL?H2/g?TVS/day, respectively. The former was 38% of theoretical hydrogen-producing potential of Clostridium sp. using glucose. Of these factors, ammonium and phosphate are nutrients for the hydrogen-producing Clostridia growth while iron exerts a synergistic influence on them in the conversion of the food wastes into hydrogen.     

荧光分光光度法测定石油中阴离子表面活性剂

用荧光分光光度法测定原油中所含的阴离子表面活性剂。结果表明，该法灵敏度高、检出限低、有很好的选择性，适合于复杂体系的测定。     

Remote detection of gaseous ammonia using the near infrared transmission properties of polyaniline

Ammonia is a key component of many industrial processes where it is used in very high concentrations. The applications range from high quality steel production and fertiliser manufacture, to the refrigeration of food products and ice ring leisure facilities. Ammonia escapes have been identified as a large and serious problem by both government and industry. Simple and robust ammonia sensors for remote monitoring applications remain an area of continuous interest.

Polyaniline is a conducting polymer used in ‘electronic nose’ instrumentation and has been shown to be electronically sensitive to ammonia. In this paper, we report on the application of electrochemically-prepared polyaniline films for the measurement of gaseous ammonia at 1300 nm. This wavelength corresponds to a region of high optical transmission for optical fibres and is also compatible with telecom devices and technology. A simple and robust measurement system based on a standard telecom 1300 nm LED is described and remote sensing using 100 m of duplex multimode fibre is demonstrated.

Typically, the transmission of the polyaniline films at 1300 nm increases by approximately 1% in response to gaseous ammonia levels of 6 ppm in 50% RH. This represents the lower limit of detection in our study. Although initially the sensors react to the presence of ammonia very fast it takes over several hours for the output to reach the equilibrium. Clearly this is impractical however, it is possible to differentiate between different concentrations of ammonia by taking two readings at fixed intervals. A calibration curve for the sensors was obtained using two readings 15 s apart. The response time of the polyanaline films was found to be insensitive to the humidity variations in the range of 30–70% RH, however, over the 10–90% variation the changes were of the same order of magnitude as those induced by 6 ppm of ammonia.     

Fe1—xO基氨合成催化剂还原性能的研究

具有维氏体（Ｗｕｓｔｉｔｅ）相结构的Ｆｅ１－ｘＯ基催化剂低温还原性能明显优于传统的Ｆｅ３Ｏ４基催化剂，其还原诱导期短。在干气氛条件下，Ｆｅ１－ｘＯ基催化剂还原动力学可用“壳－核模型”描述。空速和温度明显影响Ｆｅ１－ｘＯ基催化剂的活化，而压力影响不如它们显著。在工业还原过程中宜采用“低温、低压、高空速、高氢”的操作原则     

Study of Leaching of Multimetal Sulphides Through an Interdisciplinary Approach

The leaching of a real multimetal bulk concentrate cannot often be adequately understood on the basis of published literature on simpler and often ideal systems because the process is far too complex, Moreover, the data can become ambiguous in the absence of adequate information on raw materials. Thus any process development work requires a thorough knowledge of the raw material characteristics. This paper describes the use of an interdisciplinary study for a better understanding of ammonia leaching of multimetal sulphides. The techniques employed comprise of X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, chemical analysis and microscopy.     

Ammonia decomposition kinetics over LiOH-promoted, α-Al2O3-supported Ru catalyst

A LiOH-promoted Ru-based catalyst was recently reported to have a high TOF of 17.7 s⁻¹ at 623 K, compared to 2.7 s⁻¹ for an un-promoted Ru-based catalyst, and has been reproduced for this study to develop further understanding of the catalyst activity under a range of conditions. The kinetic values were calculated using a Temkin-Pyzhev-like power law rate expression model. Reaction orders, pre-exponential factors (A) and activation energies (E) were calculated for two temperature ranges, 623–748 K, and 748–873 K. The TOF of this catalyst at 623 K is not similar to that previously reported, being only 1.6 s⁻¹ in this study. A follow-up CFD analysis supports the fact that the kinetic model effectively describes performance of the catalyst at a range of temperatures and pressures, and can be used in the future on similar catalysts. H₂ partial pressure has an inhibitory effect on the rate of decomposition of NH₃ at all temperatures, not just near or below 673 K as previously proposed in the literature, however equilibrium decomposition is still possible with sufficient catalyst loading.     

Facile and eco-friendly synthesis of porous carbon nanosheets as ideal platform for stabilizing rhodium nanoparticles in efficient hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Carbon materials have been demonstrated as excellent carriers for preparing supported metal nanocatalysts in catalytic applications. However, numerous chemical activators including strong acids and bases were applied, leading to the entire process dangerous and hazardous. Eco-friendly, economic, and convenient synthesis of carbon materials with desired properties as supports for metal nanoparticle (NP) stabilization to boost performance is important but remains challenging. Here, we developed a facile and eco-friendly strategy to synthesize porous carbon nanosheets (PCNs) with ultrahigh specific surface area (2575.1 m²/g) via pyrolysis the mixture of potassium oxalate and glucose. The resultant PCNs can be used as ideal platform for in-situ distribution of small Rh NPs (Rh/PCNs) as efficient catalysts in hydrogen production from ammonia borane (AB) under ambient conditions. Specifically, Rh/PCNs displayed high activity for AB hydrolysis, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 513.2 min⁻¹. Small and well-distributed Rh NPs on PCNs with large catalytically active surface atoms are contributed to the high catalytic property of Rh/PCNs for the reaction. Present study has demonstrated that the PCNs is a superior catalyst support for preparing a series of metal NPs in other catalytic applications beyond hydrolysis reaction.     

An experimental investigation on hydroxy (HHO) enriched ammonia as alternative fuel in gas turbine

Today, the important challenges with the utilization of hydrogen in power-producing applications (internal combustion engines and fuel cells) are its delivery and storage and these create a big hesitation regarding the application safety. Ammonia, which can be regarded as the most promising alternative fuel to hydrogen, provides the possibility of storage in liquid form at low pressures and high temperatures. This study was carried out to investigate how to compensate the drawbacks of using ammonia as the main fuel in a gas turbine by hydrogen and hydroxy-gas enrichment. During the experiments, propane that is standard working fuel of the gas turbine, neat ammonia, as well as a 10 L/min ammonia fuel enriched with 3 L/min, 5 L/min, and 7 L/min hydroxy gas, were utilized. The results show that hydroxy enrichments cause improvements in the performance data as well as emission values due to the absence of any carbon emissions. When the performance outputs are examined, it has been shown that the power values of NH₃ + 3 HHO and NH₃ + 5 HHO fuels are 10.98% and 3.65% lower than propane, whereas NH₃ + 7 HHO fuel produces 4.12% more power, and the desired performance values are reached. It has been also fund that NO_x emissions should be kept under control in addition to the increase in the performance and elimination of the carbon emissions.     

Development of a novel combined energy plant for multigeneration with hydrogen and ammonia production

In order to meet the energy and fuel needs of societies in a sustainable way and hence preserve the environment, there is a strong need for clean, efficient and low-emission energy systems. In this regard, it is aimed to generate cleaner energy outputs, such as electricity, hydrogen and ammonia as well as some additional useful commodities by utilizing both methane gas and the waste heat of an integrated unit to the whole system. In this paper, a novel multi-generation plant is proposed to generate power, hydrogen and ammonia as a chemical fuel, drying, freshwater, heating, and cooling. For this reason, the Brayton cycle as prime unit using methane gas is integrated into the s-CO₂ power cycle, organic Rankine cycle, PEM electrolyzer, freshwater production unit, cooling cycle and dryer unit. In order then to evaluate the designed integrated multigeneration system, thermodynamic analyses and parametric studies are performed, revealing that the energy and exergy efficiencies of the whole plant are found to be 69.08% and 65.42%. In addition, ammonia and hydrogen production rates have been found to be 0.2462 kg/s and 0.0631 kg/s for the methane fuel mass flow rate of 1.51 kg/s. Also, the effects of the reference temperature, pinch point temperature of superheater, combustion chamber temperature, gas turbine input pressure, and mass flow rate of fuel on numerous parameters and performance of the plant are investigated.