Modification of ash flow properties of coal rich in calcium and iron by coal gangue addition

Flow property of coal ash and slag is an important parameter for slag tapping of entrained flow gasifier.The viscosity of slag with high contents of calcium and iron exhibits the behavior of a crystalline slag,of which viscosity sharply increases when temperature is lowered than temperature of critical viscosity(TCV).The fluctuation in temperature near the TCVcan cause an accumulation of slag inside the gasifier.In order to prevent slag blockage,it is necessary to adjust the ash composition by additive to modify the flow property of coal rich in calcium and iron.Main components of coal gangue are Al_(2)O_(3) and SiO_(2),which is a potential additive to modify the ash flow properties of these coals.In this work,we investigated the ash flow properties of a typical coal rich in calcium and iron by adding coal gangue with different SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)ratio.The results showed that the ash fusion temperatures(AFTs)firstly decreased,and then increased with increasing amount of coal gangue addition.Chemical composition of coal ash rich in calcium and iron moved from gehlenite primary phase to anorthite,quartz and corundum primary phases.The slags with coal gangue addition behaved as a glassy slag,of which the viscosity gradually increased as temperature decreased.Besides,a high SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)ratio of coal gangue was beneficial to modify the slag viscosity behavior.Addition of coal gangue with a high SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)ratio impeded formation of crystalline phases during cooling.This work demonstrated that coal gangue addition was an effective way to improve the ash flow properties of the coal rich in calcium and iron for the entrained flow gasifier.

Meltblown fabric vs nanofiber membrane, which is better for fabricating personal protective equipments

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has led to a great demand on the personal protection products such as reusable masks.As a key raw material for masks,meltblown fabrics play an important role in rejection of aerosols.However,the electrostatic dominated aerosol rejection mechanism of meltblown fabrics prevents the mask from maintaining the desired protective effect after the static charge degradation.Herein,novel reusable masks with high aerosols rejection efficiency were fabricated by the introduction of spider-web bionic nanofiber membrane(nano cobweb-biomimetic membrane).The reuse stability of meltblown and nanofiber membrane mask was separately evaluated by infiltrating water,75%alcohol solution,and exposing under ultraviolet(UV)light.After the water immersion test,the filtration efficiency of meltblown mask was decreased to about 79%,while the nanofiber membrane was maintained at 99%.The same phenomenon could be observed after the 75%alcohol treatment,a high filtration efficiency of 99%was maintained in nanofiber membrane,but obvious negative effect was observed in meltblown mask,which decreased to about 50%.In addition,after long-term expose under UV light,no filtration efficiency decrease was observed in nanofiber membrane,which provide a suitable way to disinfect the potential carried virus.This work successfully achieved the daily disinfection and reuse of masks,which effectively alleviate the shortage of masks during this special period.

pvp/(nh4)2Ce(NO3)6复合纳米纤维的制备与表征

用静电纺丝技术成功制备了纺丝液中铈浓度为0.1mol/L的有机-无机复合纳米纤维PVP/(NH4)2Ce(NO3)6,并优化了制备工艺。实验结果表明,复合纳米纤维随着铈含量的增大单位长度上的电压值升高,推进设备的推进速度降低;静电纺丝液中加入一定浓度的乙酸,将溶胶凝胶体系的pH控制在1.5～2.5可以明显提高纺丝液的可纺性。复合纤维的平均直径随着铈浓度的提高而增大:铈浓度为0.005mol/L时纤维平均直径为366nm,铈浓度为0.1mol/L时纤维平均直径为415nm;XRD结果表明复合纤维中铈盐为非结晶态。紫外可见分光光度仪检测结果显示,PVP/(NH4)2Ce(NO3)6静电纺丝制得的纳米纤维薄膜具有较好的可见光透过性与较强的紫外光吸收性能。

Homogeneous Isolation of Nanocellulose from Cotton Cellulose by High Pressure Homogenization

Nano-cellulose materials are widely believed to have the potential to push polymer mechanical properties. The cotton cellulose was dissolved in ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl)), and then was isolated by high pressure homogenization in a homogeneous media. The nano-cellulose was obtained at 80MPa for 30 cycles. The geometry and microstructure of the cellulose nano-fibres were observed by SEM and their particle size analysis. FTIR, XRD and TGA were used to characterize changes to chemical functionality. Particular emphasis is given to the physical and chemical characterization of these nano-fibres together with their thermal stability and crystallinity, in order to develop their suitability.

Degradation of pyrene by immobilized microorganisms in saline-alkaline soil

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) is very difficult in saline-alkaline soil due to the inhibition of microbial growth under saline-alkaline stress.The microorganisms that can most effectively degrade PAHs were screened by introducing microorganisms immobilized on farm byproducts and assessing the validity of the immobilizing technique for PAHs degradation in pyrene-contaminated saline-alkaline soil.Among the microorganisms examined,it was found that Mycobacterium sp.B2 is the best,and can degrade 82.2% and 83.2% of pyrene for free and immobilized cells after 30 days of incubation.The immobilization technique could increase the degradation of pyrene significantly,especially for fungi.The degradation of pyrene by the immobilized microorganisms Mucor sp.F2,fungal consortium MF and co-cultures of MB+MF was increased by 161.7%(P < 0.05),60.1%(P < 0.05) and 59.6%(P < 0.05) after 30 days,respectively,when compared with free F2,MF and MB+MF.Scanning electron micrographs of the immobilized microstructure proved the positive effects of the immobilized microbial technique on pyrene remediation in salinealkaline soil,as the interspace of the carrier material structure was relatively large,providing enough space for cell growth.Co-cultures of different bacterial and fungal species showed different abilities to degrade PAHs.The present study suggests that Mycobacterium sp.B2 can be employed for in situ bioremediation of PAHs in saline-alkaline soil,and immobilization of fungi on farm byproducts and nutrients as carriers will enhance fungus PAH-degradation ability in saline-alkaline soil.

Photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene on soil surfaces in the presence of nanometer anatase TiO_2 under UV-light

The effect of nanometer anatase TiO2 was investigated on the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene on soil surfaces under a variety of conditions.After being spiked with phenanthrene,soil samples loaded with different amounts of TiO2(0wt.%,1wt.%,2wt.%,3wt.%,and 4 wt.%) were exposed to UV-light irradiation for 25 hr.The results indicated that the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene followed the pseudo first-order kinetics.TiO2 significantly accelerated the degradation of phenanthrene with the half-life reduced from 45.90 to 31.36hr for TiO2 loading of 0wt.% and 4wt.%,respectively.In addition,the effects of H2O2,light intensity and humic acid on the degradation of phenanthrene were investigated.The degradation of phenanthrene increased with the concentration of H2O2,light intensity and the concentration of humic acids.It has been demonstrated that the photocatalytic method in the presence of nanometer anatase TiO2 was a very promising technology for the treatments of soil polluted with organic substances in the future.

Synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes-FePO_4 composite from phosphate residue and its application as effective Fenton-like catalyst for dye degradation

Phosphate residue is regarded as a hazardous waste, which could potentially create significant environmental and health problems if it is not properly treated and disposed of. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes-FePO_4(NCNTs-FePO_4) composite was successfully synthesized from phosphate residue, and its application as an effective catalyst was explored. Firstly, an effective method was developed to recover FePO_4 from phosphate residue, achieving an impressive FePO_4 mass recovery rate of 98.14%. Then, the NCNTsFePO_4 catalyst was synthesized from the recovered FePO_4 by two main reactions, including surface modification and chemical vapor deposition. Finally, the synthesized NCNTs-FePO_4 was applied to photo-degrade 15 mg/L Rhodamine B(RhB) in a Fenton-like system. The results showed that 98.9% of RhB could be degraded in 60 min, closely following the pseudofirst-order kinetics model. It was found that even after six consecutive cycles, NCNTs-FePO_4 still retained a high catalytic capacity(>50%). Moreover, ·OH radicals participating in the RhB degradation process were evidenced using quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis, and a rational mechanism was proposed. It was demonstrated that the materials synthesized from hazardous phosphate residue can be used as an effective catalyst for dye removal.

Synthesis of porous iron hydroxy phosphate from phosphate residue and its application as a Fenton-like catalyst for dye degradation

Phosphate residue is a kind of hazardous solid waste and if not properly disposed of, could cause serious environmental contaminations. The abundant iron salt available in phosphate residue can be used to prepare photo-Fenton catalytic reagent for wastewater treatment. In this study, the phosphate residue was effectively purified by a hydrothermal recrystallization method, reaching an iron phosphate purity of 94.2%. The particles of iron phosphate were further processed with ball milling with their average size reduced from 19.4 to 1.6 μm. By hydrothermal crystallization of iron phosphate and thermal decomposition of oxalate precursor, porous iron hydroxy phosphate was prepared. The modified porous iron hydroxy phosphate(m-PIHP) of higher surface area with iron oxalate on its surface can degrade 98.87% of Rhodamine B in 15 min. Cyclic experiment showed that the catalyst still had a good catalytic activity after six cycles( > 40%). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the iron oxalate complex on the catalyst surface decomposed to produce ferrous ions and accelerated the rate of · OH production. The current work demonstrated that the m-PIHP synthesized from phosphate residue and modified with iron oxalate can be used as an effective dye wastewater treatment agent.

Omniphobic membranes for distillation:Opportunities and challenges

As an emerging thermal-driven membrane technology,membrane distillation(MD)has attracted immense attention for desalination and water purification.The membranes for MD generally have hydrophobic or superhydrophobic properties to enable vapor permeation without liquid passage(e.g.,wetting).However,conventional MD membranes cannot undergo long term stable operations due to gradual wetting in practical applications where the feed solution often contains multiple low-surface tension contaminants(e.g.,oil).Recently,omniphobic membranes repelling all sorts of liquids and typically having ultralow surface energy and re-entrant structures have been developed for robust MD to mitigate wetting and fouling.In this paper,we aim to provide a comprehensive review of recent progress on omniphobic membranes.Fundamentals,desirable properties,advantages and applications of omniphobic membranes are discussed.We also summarize the research efforts and methods to engineer omniphobic membranes.Finally,the challenges and future research directions on omniphobic membranes are discussed.