High-efficiency power production from natural gas with carbon capture

A unique electricity generation process uses natural gas and solid oxide fuel cells at high electrical efficiency (74%HHV) and zero atmospheric emissions. The process contains a steam reformer heat-integrated with the fuel cells to provide the heat necessary for reforming. The fuel cells are powered with H₂ and avoid carbon deposition issues. 100% CO₂ capture is achieved downstream of the fuel cells with very little energy penalty using a multi-stage flash cascade process, where high-purity water is produced as a side product. Alternative reforming techniques such as CO₂ reforming, autothermal reforming, and partial oxidation are considered. The capital and energy costs of the proposed process are considered to determine the levelized cost of electricity, which is low when compared to other similar carbon capture-enabled processes.     

Enzymatic characterization of acid tolerance response (ATR) during the enhanced biohydrogen production process from Taihu cyanobacteria via anaerobic digestion

Enhancement of biohydrogen production via anaerobic digestion from Taihu cyanobacteria (blue algae) after acid stress on anaerobic sludge, and the enzymatic characterization of the acid tolerance response (ATR) during the enhanced biohydrogen production process were investigated in this study. Comparing to those of the control, biohydrogen accumulation and hydrogen content increased by 1.9 and 1.7 times, when 12.5 and 7.5 g/L of acid stress on anaerobic sludge were performed respectively. Other than that, activities of hydrolytic enzymes, such as β-glucosidase, BAA-proteolytic enzyme and phosphatase were all improved during the enhanced biohydrogen process after appropriate acid stress. Significantly, activity of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), the main microbial ATR stimulated by excessive acids, was increased consistently with the biohydrogen accumulation. Therefore, acid stress might be a practical approach to improving the biochemical traits of the anaerobic sludge. In turn, improved hydrolysis of organic substances would help the anaerobic sludge better survive excessive organic acids, and then enhance biohydrogen production from Taihu cyanobacteria.     

Thermal behavior and hydrogen production of methanol steam reforming and autothermal reforming with spiral preheating

The present study aims to investigate the thermal behavior and hydrogen production characteristics from methanol steam reforming (MSR) and autothermal reforming (ATR) under the effects of a Cu-Zn-based catalyst and spiral preheating. Two different reaction temperatures of 250 and 300 °C are taken into account. Meanwhile, the O/C ratio (i.e. the molar ratio between O₂ and methanol) and S/C ratio (i.e. the molar ratio between steam and methanol) are controlled in the ranges of 0-0.5 and 1-2, respectively. The condition of O/C = 0 represents the reaction of MSR. By monitoring the supplied power into the reactor with a fixed gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 72,000 h⁻¹, the experimental results indicate that an exothermic reaction from ATR can be attained once the O/C ratio is as high as 0.125. Increasing O/C ratio causes more heat released from the reaction, this results in the decrease in the frequency of supplied power, especially at O/C = 0.5. It is noted that the concentration of CO in the product gas is quite low compared to that of CO₂. An increase in O/C ratio abates the concentration of H₂ from the consumption of per mol methanol; however, the H₂ yield in terms of thermodynamic analysis is increased. On account of the utilization of spiral preheating on the reactants, within the investigated operating conditions the methanol conversion and hydrogen yield were always higher than 95 and 90%, respectively. A comparison suggests that the methanol conversion from ATR of methanol with spiral preheating is superior to those of other studies.     

Studies on in vitro and in vivo transdermal flux enhancement of methotrexate by a combinational approach in comparison to oral delivery

Background: Methotrexate (MTX) causes systemic toxicity thereby limiting its use; hence, transdermal delivery would be a possible alternative. Method: A comparative in vitro/in vivo study was done to see the effect of the two-tier system of chemical and physical enhancers. MTX was loaded into polyacrylamide-based hydrogel patch to see the effect of enhancers. Result: Flux enhancement (161%) of MTX was achieved when ternary mixture of ethyl acetate:menthol:ethanol (1:1:1) was used in combination with square-wave iontophoresis for 1hour. Lower flux enhancement of 71%, 83%, and 93.5% was obtained in vitro with neat ethyl acetate, its binary composition with ethanol, and its ternary composition with ethanol and menthol, respectively, as compared to passive. However, with square-wave iontophoresis, it increased to 126%, 140%, and 161%, respectively. The mechanism of flux enhancement was supported by biophysical tools such as attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and histopathology. ATR–FTIR studies demonstrated split in the asymmetric C–H vibration and amide II band with terpenes and iontophoresis, respectively. Additionally binary and ternary mixture of ethyl acetate demonstrated absence of ester peak accounting for lipid extraction. SEM of the skin samples treated with chemical enhancers in combination with square-wave iontophoresis showed both swelling and increased pore size of hair follicles, thus supporting higher permeation. Histopathological studies on treated skin samples of albino mice demonstrated epidermal thinning and focal disruptions, spongiosis, dermal edema, and appendageal dilatations. In vivo studies on mice demonstrated plasma concentration of 18.79μg/mL with ternary mixture of ethyl acetate in combination with square wave, which is twofold higher to oral delivery. The reversibility studies conducted in vivo on mice demonstrated that the histological changes induced by the above-mentioned enhancers were transient and reversible in 48 hours. Conclusion: The above results indicate that the above-mentioned enhancers are safe and well tolerated by the skin.     

Development of Pressure-Tube Inspection Equipment and Experience in “FUGEN” (ATR)

Abstract

Remote-controlled in-service inspection (IS1) equipment has been developed for inspecting the pressure tubes (117.8mm I.D., 4.3mm thickness, 4.8m length, made of Zr alloy) of the Fugen, which is a heavy-water-moderated, boiling-light-water-cooled pressure-tube-type reactor. The equipment is capable of performing three kinds of inspection; ultrasonic flaw detection, measurement of inside diameter and cross-sectional form, and visual inspection of the internal surface.

A system mock-up was prepared using facilities outside the reactor; the test results were:

(1) Detection of a flaw of 5.0 mm (L) x0.06 mm (W) ×0.05 mm (D) with S/N=15 dB

(2) Inside diameter measured to ±15 µm for water temperatures of 10–407°C

(3) Identification of a 2.0 mm (L) x0.1 mm (W) ×0.1 mm (D) flaw

(4) Under a radiation level of 3×10⁵ R/h (Gamma), the system was confirmed to be reliable for 80 h of operation.

This equipment was used for inspecting of 15 pressure tubes in September 1989 during the 8th annual inspection of Fugen, and the inspection was finished on schedule.     

Effects of the cosurfactant 1‐butanol and feed composition on nanoparticle properties produced by microemulsion copolymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate

The concentration of the cosurfactant 1‐butanol (BuOH) determined the polymer weight and size for a series of poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate)s (P(St‐co‐MMA)) synthesized by the free‐radical (o/w) microemulsion technique. A factorial design established the levels of the experimental conditions for the polymerization i.e., concentration of the surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS); concentration of the cosurfactant, BuOH; temperature and ratio of the styrene (St) to methyl methacrylate (MMA). An increase in the weight‐average molecular weight (M_w) and number‐average molecular weight (M_n) was observed in the P(St‐co‐MMA) series with an increase in BuOH concentration from 1 to 5 wt %. These effects could arise from the micellar aggregation induced by interfacial BuOH. The unique micellar conditions could be exploited to synthesize copolymers of varying molecular weight and size. Additionally, the composition of the copolymers was virtually templates of the feed composition. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

红外光谱在材料检测中的应用

研究了在材料检测过程中,根据样品的特性所制定的制样方法;讨论了检测前的预处理、检测中的操作以及仪器的设置,为获得样品(塑料粒子、色粉以及液体样品)稳定的、高质量的谱图,应该注意的细节问题。利用经改进的制样方法来收集样品谱图,在测试质量上较以前的有明显提高。     

Chemical modification of hemp fibers by silane coupling agents

Natural hemp fibers were chemically modified using silane coupling agents to reduce their hydrophilic character. The existence of a chemical bond between coupling agents and hemp fibers was confirmed by ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy, ²⁹Si Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and BET surface area measurements. It was shown that the initial concentration and the chemical structure of the organosilane coupling agent have an effect on the grafted quantity on the hemp fiber surfaces. The grafted quantity increased proportionally to the initial concentration of silane molecules. The presence of polar amino end group (NH₂) in silane structure can cause an increase in the grafted quantity, compared with results obtained in the case of silane molecules containing methacryloxy groups. This effect is attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds between NH₂ and unreacted hydroxyl groups of hemp fibers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

中远距离舰船目标识别方法研究

分析了中远距离舰船目标的特点和对其进行识别的重要性,提出了一种新的舰船目标识别算法。该算法采用基于曲线进化的方法提取目标的骨架,通过计算目标骨架扩展的Hu不变矩提取目标特征,最后选用支持向量机作为分类器,并用创建的舰船目标的模型对分类器进行训练,利用训练好的分类器对实际获取的目标的红外图像进行分类识别。实验结果表明算法的识别率较高,鲁棒性较好。