Title Supersonic Condensation and Separation Characteristics of CO_(2)-Rich Natural Gas under Different Pressures

Supersonic separation technology is a new natural gas sweetening method for the treatment of natural gas with high CO_(2)(carbon dioxide)content.The structures of the Laval nozzle and the supersonic separator were designed,and the mathematical models of supersonic condensation and swirling separation for CO_(2)-CH4 mixture gas were established.The supersonic condensation characteristics of CO_(2) in natural gas and the separation characteristics of condensed droplets under different inlet pressures were studied.The results show that higher inlet pressure results in a larger droplet radius and higher liquid phase mass fraction;additionally,the influence of centrifugal force is more pronounced,and the separation efficiency and removal efficiency of CO_(2) are higher.When the inlet pressure is 6 and 9 MPa,the liquefaction efficiency at the Laval nozzle outlet increases from 56.90%to 79.97%,and the outlet droplet radius increases from 0.39 to 0.72μm,and the removal efficiency is 31.25%and 54.52%,respectively.The effects of inlet pressures on the removal efficiency of the supersonic separator are complicated and are controlled by the combined effects of liquefaction capacity of the nozzle and centrifugal separation capacity of the swirl vane.

自支撑NiFe LDH-MoS_(x)集成电极在工业电解水条件下实现高效电解水

化石燃料的枯竭和不断增长的能源需求给人类带来巨大的挑战,加之能源消耗过程带来的环境问题使得开发清洁可再生绿色能源迫在眉睫.氢能具有零排放、可再生、能量高和来源广等特点,且可通过化石能源和电解水制取,是未来人类最理想的替代能源之一.相较于化石能源制氢,电解水制氢被认为是一种最有前途的清洁制氢技术,能够将可再生能源(例如太阳能和风能)产生的剩余电能以化学能的形式存储起来.电解水反应由发生在阴极的析氢反应与发生在阳极的析氧反应组成.其中,析氧反应涉及多个质子和电子转移,反应动力学缓慢严重限制了其水分解的整体效率.为满足实际应用,亟待开发低成本、高催化活性和在工业电解条件(60-80℃,20%-30%KOH,400mA·cm^(-2))下长期稳定性强等特性的析氧催化剂.本文报道了一种用于析氧反应的自支撑泡沫镰铁自支撑的镰铁层状双金属氢氧化物-二硫化钼(NiFe LDH-MoS_(x)/INF)集成电极,在正常碱性测试条件(25℃,1 M KOH)和模拟工业电解条件(65℃,5 M KOH)下均表现出优异的催化性能.优化后的电极在一般碱性测试条件下,过电势仅需195和290 mV即可达到100和400mA·cm^(-2)的电流密度.在模拟工业电解条件下达到相同的电流密度,过电势只需156和201mV.在两种条件下进行长期稳定性测试,催化剂均未观察到明显的失活现象.在两电极体系(NiFe LDH-MoS.yiNF||20%Pt/C)全解水测试中,达到100mA·cm^(-2)电流密度仅需1.72 V的电压.还使用NiFe LDH-MoS.v/INF作为阳极催化剂构建膜电极并评价其阴离子交换膜电解水的性能:在400mA·cm^(-2)的电流密度下能量转换效率(60℃,1 M KOH)为71.8%.综上,原位生长策略保证了此类电极的长期稳定性.硫化基底的存在可以控制NiFe LDH的生长厚度,从而提高集成电极的整体导电性.另外,MoS_(x)的引入进一步调节了NiFe LDH的电子结构,进而优化了反应中间体的吸附能及状态.在模拟工业操作条件下进行的电化学测试进一步证实了多孔三维自支撑NiFe LDH-MoS_(x)/INF集成电极具有在工业电解水中大规模应用的前景.本文为合理设计用于工业阴离子交换膜水电解的非贵金属析氧催化剂提供新的策略.

Facile synthesis of Mo2C nanoparticles on N-doped carbon nanotubes with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions

Developing low-cost and highly-efficient electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion technologies has attracted even-increasing attention. Molybdenum carbide materials have recently emerged as a type of promising catalysts for electrocatalytic reactions due to the earth-abundance and Pt-resembled electrical properties. In this work, taking the advantage of the interaction between the basic groups of the Mo(VI)-melamine polymer and the acidic groups on the surface of the oxidized carbon nanotubes(CNTs), N-doped CNTs supported Mo2C nanoparticles(Mo2C/NCNT) are prepared, which exhibit outstanding electrocatalytic activity and durability for both the hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions. The impressive performance of Mo2C/NCNT can be attributed to the small size of Mo2C particles, the large exposure ratio of surface sites and the presence of N-doped CNTs. This work enlarges the multi-field applications of molybdenum carbide-base materials as promising non-precious metal electrocatalysts, which is of great significance for sustainable energy-related technologies.

Continuous Fabrication of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_x MXene-Based Braided Coaxial Zinc-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitors with Improved Performance

Zinc-ion hybrid fiber supercapacitors(FSCs)are promising energy storages for wearable electronics owing to their high energy density,good flexibility,and weavability.However,it is still a critical challenge to optimize the structure of the designed FSC to improve energy density and realize the continuous fabrication of super-long FSCs.Herein,we propose a braided coaxial zinc-ion hybrid FSC with several meters of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_x MXene cathode as core electrodes,and shell zinc fiber anode was braided on the surface of the Ti_(3)C_(2)T_x MXene fibers across the solid electrolytes.According to the simulated results using ANSYS Maxwell software,the braided structures revealed a higher capacitance compared to the spring-like structures.The resulting FSCs exhibited a high areal capacitance of 214 mF cm^(-2),the energy density of 42.8μWh cm^(-2)at 5 mV s^(-1),and excellent cycling stability with 83.58%capacity retention after 5000 cycles.The coaxial FSC was tied several kinds of knots,proving a shape-controllable fiber energy storage.Furthermore,the knitted FSC showed superior stability and weavability,which can be woven into watch belts or embedded into textiles to power smart watches and LED arrays for a few days.

Targeting efficient biomass gasification

The sustainability of biomass use as a primary energy source depends on the efficiency of its conversion processes.The key contributing factors are well understood,owing to extensive experimental and theoretical modeling efforts in literature.In this manuscript,we present a systematic study of the thermochemical conversion route that allows us to target desirable outcomes when converting biomass to other fuels and products.Using process synthesis techniques that include material,energy and work balances,we identify the best targets to consider for highly efficient processes given specific constraints.Our analysis shows that by supplying the right amount of oxygen,a 100%carbon conversion efficiency can be achieved for certain applications that require gas as product.If the objective is to obtain a cleaner fuel from biomass,converting it to char is most efficient in terms of carbon and energy conversion.According to our analysis,an energy neutral biomass gasification process is theoretically possible over a wide range of H_(2) and CO production rates.We demonstrate its feasibility by simulating the process on Aspen Plus®.The simulation reveals that with heat integration,we can achieve the energy neutral target at a hydrogen production rate of 0.9 mol/mol biomass.We further show that even at zero energy requirement,biomass gasification processes can have excess chemical potential,which can be recovered as useful work or conserved by producing more H2.Adding low temperature heat in the form of steam at 102℃ gives an 8% gain in chemical potential conservation and increases the hydrogen production rate by 60%.The insights revealed in this work allow for better decision making in early stages of process design,and consequently,more efficient biomass gasification processes.

Metal-organic framework(MOF)-derived catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: Recent progress and future perspectives

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis(FTS) is an important catalytic chemical reaction that converts a mixture of CO and H2(syngas) derived from biomass, coal or natural gas into ultra-clean fuels or value-added chemicals. However, most traditional catalysts used in the Fischer-Tropsch process are faced with the problems of high deactivation rate triggered by sintering, phase changes and oxidation which hamper their catalytic performance. Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)-derived materials have been a promising alternative in addressing the catalyst deactivation problems in FTS because of the encapsulation of their metal nanoparticles in carbon matrix and absence of large particle size, among other reasons. Therefore, this review emphasizes the most recent research headway in the investigation of MOFs as precursors to achieve high-performance FTS catalysts. Precisely, the design of iron and cobalt-based FTS catalysts from parent MOFs via MOF-mediated synthesis, the catalytic activity of the MOF-derived materials and the promoter effects under FTS operation were outlined and discussed. We have also evaluated the influence of MOF structures on the FTS performance and compared them with traditional/commercially available catalysts to show the importance of this approach. Finally, the challenges and opportunities to further expedite the extensive research efforts and promote their applications in material design and FT technology were mentioned.

Realizing photomultiplication-type organic photodetectors based on C_(60)-doped bulk heterojunction structure at low bias

Photomultiplication(PM) structure has been widely employed to improve the optoelectronic performance of organic photodetectors(OPDs). However, most PM-type OPDs require a high negative operating voltage or complex fabrication. For obtaining high-efficiency OPDs with low voltage and easy process, here the bulk heterojunction(BHJ) structure of high exciton dissociation efficiency combined with the method of trap-assisted PM are applied to the OPDs.In this paper, we investigate the operating mechanism of OPDs based on poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3 HT):(phenyl-C61-butyric-acid-methyl-ester)(PC61 BM), and poly-{[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b]dithiophene-2,6-diyl]-alt-[3-fluore-2-(octyloxy)carbonyl-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-4,6-diyl]}(PBDT-TT-F):PC_(61)BM doped with C_(60) as active layer.Furthermore, the influence of C_(60) concentration on the optoelectronic performances is also discussed. With 1.6 wt.% C_(60)added, the P3 HT:PC_(61)BM:C_(60) OPD exhibits a 327.5% external quantum efficiency, a 1.21 A·W^(-1) responsivity, and a4.22 x 1012 Jones normalized detectivity at-1 V under 460 nm(0.21 mW·cm^(-2)) illumination. The experimental results show that the effective electron traps can be formed by doping a small weight of C_(60) into BHJ active layer. Thus the PM-type OPDs can be realized, which benefits from the cathode hole tunneling injection assisted by the trapped electrons in C_(60) near the A1 side. The efficiency of PM is related to the C_(60) concentration. The present study provides theoretical basis and method for the design of highly sensitive OPDs with low operating voltage and facile fabrication.

Catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds using perovskite oxides catalysts—a review

With the rapid development of industry,volatile organic compounds(VOCs)are gaining attention as a class of pollutants that need to be eliminated due to their adverse effects on the environment and human health.Catalytic combustion is the most popular technology used for the removal of VOCs as it can be adapted to different organic emissions under mild conditions.This review first introduces the hazards of VOCs,their treatment technologies,and summarizes the treatment mechanism issues.Next,the characteristics and catalytic performance of perovskite oxides as catalysts for VOC removal are expounded,with a special focus on lattice distortions and surface defects caused by metal doping and surface modifications,and on the treatment of different VOCs.The challenges and the prospects regarding the design of perovskite oxides catalysts for the catalytic combustion of VOCs are also discussed.This review provides a reference base for improving the performance of perovskite catalysts to treat VOCs.

Preface to special issue on“Engineering Nanostructured Materials for Advanced Energy and Environmental Catalysis”

Sustainability in environment and energy is the watchword of the 21st century.The excessive growth in fossil energy consumption and the ensuing acceleration of global climate change as well as related air and water pollution have attracted great attention,on the view of national security globally.Environmental sustainability has recently emerged as an energy policy issue,requiring the rapid development of science and technology to achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.The sustainability challenges faced by the world are complex and involve multiple interdependent areas.The utilization of green energy has been required to attempt to change the current energy and environment issues.With the rapid progress in advanced nanotechnologies,nanostructures and corresponding nanomaterials start to play a vital role in solving critical problems,particularly in energy and environmental fields.Indeed,advanced materials and green catalysis are being more and more important in solving the energy and environmental issues.Nanomaterials as building units have brought a unique opportunity for advancing science and technology to create updated products meeting the global demands of environmental remediation and sustainable energy development.

Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of influenza: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE: To justify the clinical use of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) in the treatment of influenza.METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Database and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from thedate of inception until January 1,2013, for the literature on treatment of influenza with TCM.RESULTS: A total of 7 randomized controlled trials were identified and reviewed. Of these trials, 2 compared a(modified) prescription of TCM with oseltamivir and 5 compared a patent traditional Chinese drug with oseltamivir. Based on the Meta-analysis,compared to oseltamivir, the(modified) prescription had similar effect in defervescence [WMD=5.66, 95% CI(﹣32.02, 43.35), P=0.77] and viral shedding [WMD=﹣ 6.21, 95% CI(﹣84.19, 71.76), P=0.88], and the patent traditional Chinese drug also had similar effect in viral shedding [WMD=﹣ 0.24,95% CI(﹣4.79, 4.31), P=0.92] but more effective in defervescence [WMD=﹣4.65, 95%CI(﹣8.91, ﹣0.38),P=0.03].CONCLUSION: TCM has potential positive effects in the treatment of influenza.

Measurement and prediction of tomato canopy apparent photosynthetic rate

Given the lack of technical conditions and research methods,instruments that can measure the canopy apparent photosynthetic rate have low precision and are rarely studied.Comparative studies on canopy apparent photosynthetic rate and single leaf photosynthetic rate are also relatively few.This study aims to measure and predict the canopy apparent photosynthetic rate of tomato.A canopy apparent photosynthetic rate measuring system,which was comprised of a wireless sensor network(WSN),an assimilation chamber,and a LI-6400XT photosynthetic rate instrument was established.The system was used to determine the greenhouse environmental parameters and CO2 absorptive capacity of the whole growth stage of tomato.A semi-closed assimilation chamber was designed as a side opening to conveniently measure the canopy apparent photosynthetic rate.WSN nodes were placed in the chamber to monitor environmental parameters,including air temperature,air humidity,and assimilation chamber temperature.A grid and pixel conversion method was used to measure the whole plant leaf areas of tomato.As a semi-closed measurement system,the assimilation chamber was used to calculate the canopy apparent photosynthetic rate.To conduct a comparative research on the canopy apparent photosynthetic rate and the single leaf photosynthetic rate,the LI-6400XT portable photosynthesis system was used to measure the single leaf photosynthetic rate,and the support vector machine was used to establish the prediction model of canopy apparent photosynthetic rate.The experimental results indicated that the correlation coefficients of the photosynthesis prediction model in the seeding and flowering stages were 0.9420 and 0.9226,respectively,showing the high accuracy of the SVM model.

Cooperative effect between copper species and oxygen vacancy in Ce_(0.7−x)Zr_(x)Cu_(0.3)O_(2) catalysts for carbon monoxide oxidation

The effects of Zr doping on the existence of Cu and the catalytic performance of Ce_(0.7−x)Zr_(x)Cu_(0.3)O_(2)for CO oxidation were investigated.The characterization results showed that all samples have a cubic structure,and a small amount of Zr doping facilitates Cu^(2+) ions entering the CeO2 lattice,but excessive Zr doping leads to the formation of surface CuO crystals again.Thus,the number of oxygen vacancies caused by the Cu^(2+) entering the lattice(e.g.,Cu^(2+)-□-Ce^(4+);□:oxygen vacancy),and the amount of reducible copper species caused by CuO crystals,varies with the Zr doping.Catalytic CO oxidation tests indicated that the oxygen vacancy and the reducible copper species were the adsorption and activation sites of O_(2)and CO,respectively,and the cooperative effects between them accounted for the high CO oxidation activity.Thus,the samples x=0.1 and 0.3,which possessed the most oxygen vacancy or reducible copper species,showed the best activity for CO oxidation,with full CO conversion obtained at 110℃.The catalyst is also stable and has good resistance to water during the reaction.

Development of a whole-cell biosensor based on an ArsR-Pars regulatory circuit from Geobacter sulfurreducens

In this study,an Escherichia coli(E.coli)whole-cell biosensor for the specific detection of bioavailable arsenic was developed by placing a green fluorescent protein(GFP)reporter gene under the control of the ArsR1(GSU2952)regulatory circuit from Geobacter sulfurreducens.E.coli cells only emitted green fluorescence in the presence of arsenite and were more sensitive to arsenite when they were grown in M9 supplemented medium compared to LB medium.Under optimal test conditions,the Geobacter arsR1 promoter had a detection limit of 0.01 mM arsenite and the GFP expression was linear within a range of 0.03-0.1 mM(2.25-7.5 mg/l).These values were well below World Health Organization’s drinking water quality standard,which is 10 mg/l.The feasibility of using this whole-cell biosensor to detect arsenic in water samples,such as arsenic polluted tap water and landfill leachate was verified.The biosensor was determined to be just as sensitive as atomic fluorescence spectrometry.This study examines the potential applications of biosensors constructed with Geobacter ArsR-Pars regulatory circuits and provides a rapid and cost-effective tool that can be used for arsenic detection in water samples.

Different outer membrane c‐type cytochromes are involved in direct interspecies electron transfer to Geobacter or Methanosarcina species

Direct interspecies electron transfer(DIET)may be most important in methanogenic environments,but mechanistic studies of DIET to date have primarily focused on cocultures in which fumarate was the terminal electron acceptor.To better understand DIET with methanogens,the transcriptome of Geobacter metallireducens during DIET‐based growth with G.sulfurreducens reducing fumarate was compared with G.metallireducens grown in coculture with diverse Methanosarcina.The transcriptome of G.metallireducens cocultured with G.sulfurreducens was significantly different from those with Methanosarcina.Furthermore,the transcriptome of G.metallireducens grown with Methanosarcina barkeri,which lacks outer‐surface c‐type cytochromes,differed from those of G.metallireducens cocultured with M.acetivorans or M.subterranea,which have an outer‐surface c‐type cytochrome that serves as an electrical connect for DIET.Differences in G.metallireducens expression patterns for genes involved in extracellular electron transfer were particularly notable.Cocultures with c‐type cytochrome deletion mutant strains,ΔGmet_0930,ΔGmet_0557 andΔGmet_2896,never became established with G.sulfurreducens but adapted to grow with all three Methanosarcina.Two porin–cytochrome complexes,PccF and PccG,were important for DIET;however,PccG was more important for growth with Methanosarcina.Unlike cocultures with G.sulfurreducens and M.acetivorans,electrically conductive pili were not needed for growth with M.barkeri.Shewanella oneidensis,another electroactive microbe with abundant outer‐surface c‐type cytochromes,did not grow via DIET.The results demonstrate that the presence of outer‐surface c‐type cytochromes does not necessarily confer the capacity for DIET and emphasize the impact of the electron‐accepting partner on the physiology of the electron‐donating DIET partner.

Cytochrome-mediated direct electron uptake from metallic iron by Methanosarcina acetivorans

Impact statement Methane-producing microorganisms accelerate the corrosion of iron-containing metals.Previous studies have inferred that some methanogens might directly accept electrons from Fe(0),but when this possibility was more intensively investigated,H2 was shown to be an intermediary electron carrier between Fe(0)and methanogens.Here,we report that Methanosarcina acetivorans catalyzes direct metal-to-microbe electron transfer to support methane production.Deletion of the gene for the multiheme,outer-surface c-type cytochrome MmcA eliminated methane production from Fe(0),consistent with the key role of MmcA in other forms of extracellular electron exchange.These findings,coupled with the previous demonstration that outer-surface c-type cytochromes are also electrical contacts for electron uptake from Fe(0)by Geobacter and Shewanella species,suggest that the presence of multiheme c-type cytochromes on corrosion surfaces might be diagnostic for direct metal-to-microbe electron transfer and that interfering with cytochrome function might be a strategy to mitigate corrosion.