Greenhouse gases mitigation by CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> reforming of methane to hydrogen-rich syngas using praseodymium oxide supported cobalt catalyst

This study focuses on the potential of hydrogen-rich syngas production by CO₂ reforming of methane over Co/Pr₂O₃ catalyst. The Co/Pr₂O₃ catalyst was synthesized via wet-impregnation method and characterized for physicochemical properties by TGA, XRD, BET, H₂-TPR, FESEM, EDX, and FTIR. The CO₂ reforming of methane over the as-synthesized catalyst was studied in a tubular stainless steel fixed-bed reactor at feed ratio ranged 0.1–1.0, temperature ranged 923–1023 K, and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 30,000 h^?1 under atmospheric pressure condition. The catalyst activity studies showed that the increase in the reaction temperature from 923 to 1023 K and feed ratio from 0.1 to 1.0 resulted in a corresponding increase in the reactant’s conversion and the product’s yields. At 1023 K and feed ratio of 1.0, the activity of the Co/Pr₂O₃ catalyst climaxed with CH₄ and CO₂ conversions of 41.49 and 42.36 %. Moreover, the catalyst activity at 1023 K and feed ratio of 1.0 resulted in the production of H₂ and CO yields of 40.7 and 40.90 %, respectively. The syngas produced was estimated to have H₂:CO ratio of 0.995, making it suitable as chemical building blocks for the production of oxygenated fuel and other value-added chemicals. The used Co/Pr₂O₃ catalyst which was characterized by TPO, XRD, and SEM-EDX show some evidence of carbon formation and deposition on its surface.     

Catalysis of semihydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene: current trends,challenges, and outlook

Ethylene is an important feedstock for various industrial processes, particularly in the polymer industry. Unfortunately, during naphtha cracking to produce ethylene, there are instances of acetylene presence in the product stream, which poisons the Ziegler–Natta polymerization catalysts. Thus, appropriate process modification, optimization, and in particular, catalyst design are essential to ensure the production of highly pure ethylene that is suitable as a feedstock in polymerization reactions. Accordingly, carefully selected process parameters and the application of various catalyst systems have been optimized for this purpose. This review provides a holistic view of the recent reports on the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Previously published reviews were limited to Pd catalysts. However, effective new metal and non-metal catalysts have been explored for selective acetylene hydrogenation. Updates on this recent progress and more comprehensive computational studies that are now available for the reaction are described herein. In addition to the favored Pd catalysts, other catalyst systems including mono, bimetallic, trimetallic, and ionic catalysts are presented. The specific role(s) that each process parameter plays to achieve high acetylene conversion and ethylene selectivity is discussed. Attempts have been made to elucidate the possible catalyst deactivation mechanisms involved in the reaction. Extensive reports suggest that acetylene adsorption occurs through an active single-site mechanism rather than via dual active sites. An increase in the reaction temperature affords high acetylene conversion and ethylene selectivity to obtain reactant streams free of ethylene. Conflicting findings to this trend have reported the presence of ethylene in the feed stream. This review will serve as a useful resource of condensed information for researchers in the field of acetylene-selective hydrogenation.     

Degree of stability of geodesic domes with independent loading parameters

Solution techniques and guidelines for convergence and error controls are presented for static and dynamic stability investigations of imperfection-sensitive reticulated space structures. The structure may be subjected to independent loading parameters and finite disturbances. The state of stability investigations of reticulated space structures is briefly described and reflected by the references cited. The determination of the static stability parameters including the degree of stability of equilibrium, which forms the basis of a sufficient condition of dynamic stability, is illustrated for a geodesic dome model.     

A comprehensive view of agent-oriented patterns

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for classifying, analyzing and describing agent-oriented software patterns. We present a two dimensional scheme for classifying agent-oriented patterns. We define agent-oriented pattern attributes and use these attributes in a process for analyzing and placing agent-oriented patterns within the classification scheme. Using the proposed classification scheme, we classify 28 patterns written by a variety of agent researchers, chosen from almost 100 patterns which we have studied.     

Effects of processing conditions and packaging material on the quality attributes of dry‐roasted peanuts

Five different processing conditions of raw shelled unblanched peanuts were investigated. The first two treatments involved soaking the peanuts in tap water for 10 and 30 min respectively, then mixing thoroughly with dry NaCl before roasting. Another two treatments involved soaking the peanuts in saturated brine solution for 10 and 30 min respectively before roasting. Unsalted roasted peanuts served as the control. Packaging and storage studies were carried out by packaging the differently treated dry‐roasted peanuts in four different packaging materials and storing them under three different relative humidities for 3 months at ambient temperature. Proximate composition, NaCl content, peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid value were determined and sensory evaluation tests were carried out. Salting was found to improve the taste, flavour and overall acceptability of dry‐roasted peanuts but had no effect on shelf‐life. Peanuts treated in saturated brine solution for 30 min before roasting were the most preferred. The control packaging material, 18 µm transparent polyethylene, was found to be inadequate for protecting the quality attributes of dry‐roasted peanuts, with mould growth being observed on the 42nd day of storage at 80% relative humidity. However, acceptable results were obtained with 45 µm transparent polypropylene. The mean sensory scores and objective tests were found to be negatively correlated. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Rainfall parameters from disdrometer dropsize measurements at a tropical station

The rain dropsize distributions measured by a disdrometer in 21 rain events consisting of 1, 640one-minute dropsize spectra have been analyzed for a tropical station, Ile-Ife (geog. lat. 7.5°N, long 4.5°E) in South-Western Nigeria. Empirical power law relations of the form Y = aR^b have been obtained between the rainfall rate R, the radar reflectivity factor Z, liquid water content M, optical extinction σ and the median volume diameter D₀ for three types of rainfall. A power law relationship was also obtained between the median volume diameter D₀ and the liquid water content M. The variability in a and b with rain parameters, rain events and rain types is discussed. The empirical relations have been compared with existing relations for other parts of the world, for their utilization in radar meteorology and radar engineering.     

Rain induced depolarization from 1 GHz to 300 GHz in a tropical environment

The rain induced depolarization in a tropical environment has been studied using a tropical raindrop size distribution developed by Ajayi and Olsen (A-O). The differential attenuation, differential phase shift and cross polarization discrimination, XPD, were computed over a frequency range of 1GHz to 300GHz for spheroidal drops and up to 33GHz for Pruppacher-Pitter drops. The variations of XPD with frequency, rainfall rate and copolar attenuation, CPA, were investigated. A mathematical relationship was established between the XPD and the CPA, canting angle and frequency of propagation from 5GHz to 300 GHz for spheroidal drops and up to 33 GHz for Pruppacher-Pitter drops. The results obtained using the A-O drop size distribution have been compared with those assuming the Laws and Parsons (L-P) distribution. The Pruppacher-Pitter drop shape has been found to give rise to higher XPD, especially at low CPA and high frequencies.     

Response Surface Optimization of Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Production by Greenhouse Gases Reforming

The effect of process interaction and response surface optimization of hydrogen-rich syngas production by catalytic carbon dioxide (CO₂) reforming of methane (CH₄) was evaluated. The Box-Behnken design was applied to investigate the influence of CH₄ partial pressure, CO₂ partial pressure, and temperature on the hydrogen yield. The analysis of variance indicated that temperature and CH₄ partial pressure had the most significant impact on the hydrogen yield. Under optimum conditions a maximum hydrogen yield of 71.38 % was achieved. Model validation with the ideal conditions confirmed close agreement of the predicted hydrogen yields with experimental values.