EFFECTS OF HEATING RATE AND PARTICLE SIZE ON THE PRODUCTS YIELDS FROM RAPID PYROLYSIS OF BEECH-WOOD

Effects of pyrolysis temperature (300-1000 ^°C), heating rates (100, 500, 1000, and 10,000 ^°C/s), and particle sizes (53-63,104-120,177-270, and 270-500 urn) on the yields and formation rates of tar, light oils, total gases, and char from pyrolysis of beech-wood under 1 atm helium pressure were studied. Wood particles were pyrolyzed in strips of stainless steel wire mesh in a captive sample apparatus; and yields of products were measured in weight percent of original wood as a function of temperature for different heating rates and particle sizes. The overall weight loss achieved from pyrolysis of this wood was about 90%. The total yields of tar and light oils from pyrolysis of this wood accounted for up to 80% of the original wood above 400 ^°C. Due to the post-pyrolysis reactions of tar and light oils, the tar and light oils yields go through a maximum with pyrolysis temperature for all particle sizes and most heating rates studied here. As particle size increases from 53-63 μm to 270-500 μm the maximum tar yield decreases from 53% to about 38%. The maximum tar yield also decreases with increasing the heating rate from 70% at 100 ^°C/s to 48% at 10,000 ^°C/s heating rate. Theses results indicate that as the intra-panicle post-pyrolysis cracking reactions of tar increases at higher heating rates and with larger particles the tar yield decreases. Tar was also analyzed with GPC for the effects of above pyrolysis parameters on the tar molecular weight. The tar average molecular weight. remains relatively constant (M     

Fabrication of circular microfluidic channels through grayscale dual-projection lithography

Circular microfluidic channels are in great demand since they are more realistic in mimicking physiological flow systems, generating axis-symmetrical flow, and achieving uniform shear stress. A typical microchannel with rectangular cross section can induce non-physiological gradients of shear rate, pressure, and velocity. This paper presents a novel method of fabricating microfluidic channels with circular and elliptical cross sections through grayscale dual-projection lithography. Our method utilizes two projecting systems to expose grayscale image face-to-face and simultaneously polymerize the photocurable material. The cross-sectional profiles of the fabricated microchannels are consistent with mathematical predictions and, therefore, demonstrate the capability of controlling the channel shapes precisely. Customized circular microchannels can be generated with complex features such as junctions, bifurcations, hierarchies, and gradually changed diameters. This method is capable of fabricating circular channels with a wide range of diameters (39 μm–2 mm) as well as elliptical channels with a major-to-minor axis ratio up to 600%. Microfluidic devices with circular cross sections suitable for particle analysis were made as a demonstrative application in nanoparticle binding and distribution within a mimetic blood vessel. A ready-to-use microfluidic device with customized circular channels can be fabricated within 1 h without the need of clean room or expensive photolithography devices.     

An Overview on SARS‑CoV‑2(COVID‑19)and Other Human Coronaviruses and Their Detection Capability via Amplification Assay,Chemical Sensing,Biosensing,Immunosensing,and Clinical Assays

A novel coronavirus of zoonotic origin(SARSCoV-2)has recently been recognized in patients with acute respiratory disease.COVID-19 causative agent is structurally and genetically similar to SARS and bat SARS-like coronaviruses.The drastic increase in the number of coronavirus and its genome sequence have given us an unprecedented opportunity to perform bioinformatics and genomics analysis on this class of viruses.Clinical tests like PCR and ELISA for rapid detection of this virus are urgently needed for early identification of infected patients.However,these techniques are expensive and not readily available for point-of-care(POC)applications.Currently,lack of any rapid,available,and reliable POC detection method gives rise to the progression of COVID-19 as a horrible global problem.To solve the negative features of clinical investigation,we provide a brief introduction of the general features of coronaviruses and describe various amplification assays,sensing,biosensing,immunosensing,and aptasensing for the determination of various groups of coronaviruses applied as a template for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.All sensing and biosensing techniques developed for the determination of various classes of coronaviruses are useful to recognize the newly immerged coronavirus,i.e.,SARS-CoV-2.Also,the introduction of sensing and biosensing methods sheds light on the way of designing a proper screening system to detect the virus at the early stage of infection to tranquilize the speed and vastity of spreading.Among other approaches investigated among molecular approaches and PCR or recognition of viral diseases,LAMP-based methods and LFAs are of great importance for their numerous benefits,which can be helpful to design a universal platform for detection of future emerging pathogenic viruses.     

Kinetic Model for Invertase‐Induced Sucrose Hydrolysis: Initial Time Lag

The kinetics of sucrose hydrolysis by invertase was studied in order to find a comprehensive model for the reaction pathway and mechanism. First, three common models of Michaelis‐Menten (MM), substrate inhibition (S²), and substrate clusters' inhibition (S³(I)) were investigated. The third model was found to better predict the initial sucrose concentration. Then, the S³(I) model was modified to cover the remaining pathway (S³(II)). Finally, a new comprehensive model (S³(III)) was evaluated, which in addition to what is considered in the two previously mentioned models (S³(I) and S³(II)) also involved the initial time lag. The model predictions showed an excellent agreement with the experimental data. The mean absolute error for the MM model is significantly reduced for the S³(III) model.     

Thermodynamic Analysis of Propane Aromatization

Chemical equilibria of propane aromatization under both unrestricted coke-formation and coke-free operating conditions were studied. In both cases, propane conversions were nearly complete. The aromatics selectivity was observed to be 46% at a temperature of 823 K (1 bar) under coke-free operating conditions. Application of hydrogen and steam as coke-removing agents was also studied. Under coke-free operation, the presence of low level of water in the feed favors propane methanation, whereas higher levels of water enhance propane steam reforming. Methane selectivity was found to attain a maximum at H₂O/C₃H₈ molar ratio equal to 0.75 (823 K, 1 bar). The outcomes of the present study imply that the products selectivity has to be controlled kinetically and that the catalyst formulation should be aimed at minimization of coke formation and carbon-carbon bond breakage activity.     

Inventory lot-sizing with supplier selection using hybrid intelligent algorithm

In supply chain management (SCM), multi-product and multi-period models are usually used to select the suppliers. In the real world of SCM, however, there are normally several echelons which need to be integrated into inventory management. This paper presents a hybrid intelligent algorithm, based on the push SCM, which uses a fuzzy neural network and a genetic algorithm to forecast the rate of demand, determine the material planning and select the optimal supplier. We test the proposed algorithm in a case study conducted in Iran.     

A simple analytical model for calculating the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids

A simple mathematical model for calculating the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids has been developed based on the thermal resistance approach. The model is developed by considering both effects of a solid‐like nanolayer and convective heat transfer caused by Brownian motion which have not been considered simultaneously by most available models in the literature. In addition the correlation of Prasher and Phelan for the convective heat transfer coefficient is modified to take into account the effect of the solid‐like nanolayer. In addition a general value for n (different from the one presented by Tillman and Hill) is introduced to modify the thickness of the solid‐like nanolayer. The latter is done by considering both conduction and convection heat transfer mechanisms. Comparisons with previously published experimental results and other mathematical models show that the presented model could well predict a nanofluids effective thermal conductivity as a function of the nanoparticles mean diameter, volume fraction, and temperature for different kinds of nanofluids. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20290