Scale up and stability test for oxidative coupling of methane over Na_2WO_4-Mn/SiO_2 catalyst in a 200 ml fixed-bed reactor

The study of scale up for the oxidative coupling of methane （OCM） has been carried out in a 200 ml stainless steel fixed-bed reactor over a 5wt% Na2WO4-1.9wt% Mn/SiO2 （W-Mn/SiO2） catalyst. The effects of reaction conditions were investigated in detail. The results showed that, with increasing reaction temperature, the gas-phase reaction was enhanced and a significant amount of methane was converted into COx; with the CH4/O2 molar ratio of 5, the highest C2 （ethylene and ethane） yield of 25% was achieved; the presence of steam （as diluent） had a positive effect on the C2 selectivity and yield. Under lower methane gaseous hourly space velocity （GHSV）, higher selectivity and yield of C2 were obtained as the result of the decrease of released heat energy. In 100 h reaction time, the C2 selectivity of 66%-61% and C2 yield of 24.2%-25.4% were achieved by a single pass without any significant loss in catalytic performance.

Microfluidic field strategy for enhancement and scale up of liquid-liquid homogeneous chemical processes by optimization of 3D spiral baffle structure

Due to the scale effect, the uniform distribution of reagents in continuous flow reactor becomes bad when the channel is enlarged to tens of millimeters. Microfluidic field strategy was proposed to produce high mixing efficiency in large-scale channel. A 3D spiral baffle structure(3SBS) was designed and optimized to form microfluidic field disturbed by continuous secondary flow in millimeter scale Y-shaped tube mixer(YSTM). Enhancement effect of the 3SBS in liquid-liquid homogeneous chemical processes was verified and evaluated through the combination of simulation and experiment. Compared with 1 mm YSTM, 10 mm YSTM with 3SBS increased the treatment capacity by 100 times, shortened the basic complete mixing time by 0.85 times, which proves the potential of microfluidic field strategy in enhancement and scale-up of liquid-liquid homogeneous chemical process.

Scale Up the Rewards Program in a Steady Way Excerpts from Speech by Zhang Weiqing,Minister of NPFPC

Why scaling up the rewards program for rural families that practice family planning? Rewarding a select number of rural families that practice family planning is a major step that the government takes to improve the country’s family planning program, stabilize the low fertility level, and promote rural socioeconomic development. It is

Upsilon Constants and Their Usefulness in Planck Scale Quantum Cosmology

This paper introduces the two Upsilon constants to the reader. Their usefulness is described with respect to acting as coupling constants between the CMB temperature and the Hubble constant. In addition, this paper summarizes the current state of quantum cosmology with respect to the Flat Space Cosmology (FSC) model. Although the FSC quantum cosmology formulae were published in 2018, they are only rearrangements and substitutions of the other assumptions into the original FSC Hubble temperature formula. In a real sense, this temperature formula was the first quantum cosmology formula developed since Hawking’s black hole temperature formula. A recent development in the last month proves that the FSC Hubble temperature formula can be derived from the Stephan-Boltzmann law. Thus, this Hubble temperature formula effectively unites some quantum developments with the general relativity model inherent in FSC. More progress towards unification in the near-future is expected.

Scale effect mechanism on micro rod upsetting deformation analyzed by crystal plasticity model

To analyze the effect of single grain deformation behaviors on microforming process, a crystal plasticity model was developed considering grains at free surface layer as single grains. Based on the rate-dependent crystal plasticity theory, the analysis of the scale effect mechanism on upsetting deformation of micro rods was performed with respect to specimen dimension, original grain orientation and its distribution. The results show that flow stress decreases significantly with the scaling down of the specimen. The distribution of the grain orientation has an evident effect on flow stress of the micro specimen, and the effect becomes smaller with the progress of plastic deformation. For the anisotropy of single grains, inhomogeneous deformation occurs at the surface layer, which leads to the increase of surface roughness, especially for small specimens. The effect of grain anisotropy on the surface topography can be decreased by the transition grains. The simulation results are validated by upsetting deformation experiments. This indicates that the developed model is suitable for the analysis of microforming processes with characteristics, such as scale dependency, scatter of flow stress and inhomogeneous deformation.

Simulation and Scale-up of Barium Sulphate Precipitation Process Using CFD Modeling

Some empirical mixing models were used to describe the imperfect mixing in precipitation process. However, the models can not, in general, reflect the details of interactions between mixing and crystallization in a vessel. In this study, CFD (computational fluid dynamics) technique were developed by simulating the precipitation of barium sulphate in stirred tanks by integration of population balance equations with a CFD solver. Two typical impellers, Rushton and pitched blade turbines, were employed for agitation. The influence of feed concentration and position on crystal product properties was investigated by CFD simulation. The scale-up of these precipitators was systematically studied. Significant effect on the crystal properties was found for the scale-up under some conditions.

To Improve the Accuracy of Laser Pulse Range Finding by Time Scale-Up

A method of improving the accuracy of laser pulse range finding from ±10 m to ±1 m inexpensively by means of time scale up is described. Time scale up can stretch the entire flight time by a factor of 1 000 and then the stretched result is counted to calculate the distance. The use of this technique decreases the resolution of counting from nanosecond to microsecond, therefore a separate counting oscillator followed by an interpolation operation is unnecessary. This technique can improve the accuracy of laser pulse range finding inexpensively and effectively.

Scale Effect of Climate and Soil Texture on Soil Organic Carbon in the Uplands of Northeast China

Understanding how spatial scale influences commonly-observed effects of climate and soil texture on soil organic carbon （SOC） storage is important for accurately estimating the SOC pool at different scales. The relationships among climate factors, soil texture and SOC density at the regional, provincial, city, and county scales were evaluated at both the soil surface （0-20 cm） and throughout the soil profile （0-100 cm） in the Northeast China uplands. We examined 1 022 profiles obtained from the Second National Soil Survey of China. The results indicated that the relationships between climate factors and SOC density generally weakened with decreasing spatial scale. The provincial scale was optimal to assess the relationship between climate factors and SOC density because regional differences among provinces were covered up at the regional scale. However, the relationship between soil texture and SOC density had no obvious trend with increasing scale and changed with temperature. There were great differences in the impacts of climate factors and soil texture on SOC density at different scales. Climate factors had a larger effect on SOC density than soil texture at the regional scale. Similar trends were seen in Heilongjiang and eastern Inner Mongolia at the provincial scale. But, soil texture had a greater effect on SOC density compared with climate factors in Jilin and Liaoning. At the city and county scales, the influence of soil texture on SOC density was more important than climate factors.

Landscape Ecology:Coupling of Pattern,Process,and Scale

Landscape ecology provides new theoretical frameworks and methodologies for understanding complex ecological phenomena at multiple scales.Studies of landscape ecology focus on understanding the dynamics of eco-logical patterns and processes,and highlight the integration of multiple disciplines.In this paper,we discussed the problems and challenges that landscape ecology is currently facing,emphasizing the limitations of current methods used to describe dynamic landscape patterns and processes.We suggested that the focus should be on the integration of ground-based observation,mobile monitoring,transect survey,and remote-sensing monitoring,as well as improved coupling of experimental and model simulations.In addition,we outlined the research frontiers in landscape ecology,including scaling,integrated pattern and process modeling,and regional synthesis.Lastly,a brief review of pat-tern-process-scale coupling studies in China was provided.We concluded by pointing out that pattern-process-scale interactions,correlations between natural,economic,and social processes,and the coupling of human and natural systems will be major research areas in landscape ecology in the future.

Scale-up of biomass conversion using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate as the solvent

This scale-up study demonstrated the feasibility of an ionic liquid(IL)pretreatment process at 40 kg scale,using the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate([C2C1Im][OAc])as the solvent.The pretreatment was followed by enzymatic hydrolysis through which the process efficiency for biomass conversion to monomeric sugars was determined.The results show that 43 wt%of switchgrass was dissolved in IL after 2 h of pretreatment at 160℃ with 15 wt%solid loading.A 120 h enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated switchgrass results in 96%glucan and 98%xylan conversion.[C2C1Im][OAc]pretreatment has been successfully scaled up to 40 kg with improved sugar titers and yields relative to bench scale(6 kg).The mass flow of the overall process was established and the major scale-up challenges of the process were identified.

Small-time scale network traffic prediction based on a local support vector machine regression model

In this paper we apply the nonlinear time series analysis method to small-time scale traffic measurement data. The prediction-based method is used to determine the embedding dimension of the traffic data. Based on the reconstructed phase space, the local support vector machine prediction method is used to predict the traffic measurement data, and the BIC-based neighbouring point selection method is used to choose the number of the nearest neighbouring points for the local support vector machine regression model. The experimental results show that the local support vector machine prediction method whose neighbouring points are optimized can effectively predict the small-time scale traffic measurement data and can reproduce the statistical features of real traffic measurements.

Multi-scale Spatial Patterns and Influencing Factors of Rural Poverty:A Case Study in the Liupan Mountain Region, Gansu Province, China

The important role of spatial scale in exploring the geography of poverty as well as its policy implications has been noticed but with limited knowledge. To improve such limited understanding, we mainly investigated the spatial patterns and influencing factors of rural poverty(indicated by poor population and poverty incidence) at three different administrative levels in the Liupan Mountain Region, one of the fourteen poorest regions in China. Our results show that from a global perspective, poor areas are clustered significantly at the county-, township-, and village-level, and more greatly at a lower level. Locally, there is spatial mismatch among poverty hotspots detected not only by the same indicator at different levels but also by different indicators at the same level. A scale effect can be found in the influencing factors of rural poverty. That is, the number of significant factors increases, but the degree of their association with poverty incidence decreases at a lower level. Such scale effect indicates that poverty incidence at lower levels may be affected by more complex factors, including not only the new local ones but also the already appeared non-local ones at higher levels. However, the natural conditions tend to play a scale-independent role to poverty incidence. In response to such scale-dependent patterns and factors, anti-poverty policies can be 1) a multilevel monitoring system to reduce incomplete or even misleading single-level information and understanding; 2) the village-based targeting strategy to increase the targeting efficiency and alleviate the mentioned spatial mismatch; 3) more flexible strategies responding to the local impoverishing factors, and 4) different task emphasises for multilevel policymakers to achieve the common goal of poverty reduction.

Experimental and numerical investigations of scale-up effects on the hydrodynamics of slurry bubble columns

Experiments and simulations were conducted for bubble columns with diameter of 0.2 m(180 mm i.d.), 0.5 m(476 mm i.d.) and 0.8 m(760 mm i.d.) at high superficial gas velocities(0.12–0.62 m·s-1) and high solid concentrations(0–30 vol%). Radial profiles of time-averaged gas holdup, axial liquid velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy were measured by using in-house developed conductivity probes and Pavlov tubes. Effects of column diameter, superficial gas velocity, and solid concentration were investigated in a wide range of operating conditions. Experimental results indicated that the average gas holdup remarkably increases with superficial gas velocity, and the radial profiles of investigated flow properties become steeper at high superficial gas velocities. The axial liquid velocities significantly increase with the growth of the column size, whereas the gas holdup was slightly affected. The presence of solid in bubble columns would inhibit the breakage of bubbles, which results in an increase in bubble rise velocity and a decrease in gas holdup, but time-averaged axial liquid velocities remain almost the same as that of the hollow column. Furthermore, a 2-D axisymmetric k–ε model was used to simulate heterogeneous bubbly flow using commercial code FLUENT 6.2. The lateral lift force and the turbulent diffusion force were introduced for the determination of gas holdup profiles and the effects of solid concentration were considered as the variation of average bubble diameter in the model. Results predicted by the CFD simulation showed good agreement with experimental data.

Numerical manifold method modeling of coupled processes in fractured geological media at multiple scales

The greatest challenges of rigorously modeling coupled hydro-mechanical(HM)processes in fractured geological media at different scales are associated with computational geometry.These challenges include dynamic shearing and opening of intersecting fractures at discrete fracture scales as a result of coupled processes,and contact alteration along rough fracture surfaces that triggers structural and physical changes of fractures at micro-asperity scale.In this paper,these challenges are tackled by developing a comprehensive modeling approach for coupled processes in fractured geological media based on numerical manifold method(NMM)at multiple scales.Based on their distinct geometric features,fractures are categorized into three different scales:dominant fracture,discrete fracture,and discontinuum asperity scales.Here the scale is relative,that of the fracture relative to that of the research interest or domain.Different geometric representations of fractures at different scales are used,and different governing equations and constitutive relationships are applied.For dominant fractures,a finite thickness zone model is developed to treat a fracture as a porous nonlinear domain.Nonlinear fracture mechanical behavior is accurately modeled with an implicit approach based on strain energy.For discrete fractures,a zero-dimensional model was developed for analyzing fluid flow and mechanics in fractures that are geometrically treated as boundaries of the rock matrix.With the zero-dimensional model,these fractures can be modeled with arbitrary orientations and intersections.They can be fluid conduits or seals,and can be open,bonded or sliding.For the discontinuum asperity scale,the geometry of rough fracture surfaces is explicitly represented and contacts involving dynamic alteration of contacts among asperities are rigorously calculated.Using this approach,fracture alteration caused by deformation,re-arrangement and sliding of rough surfaces can be captured.Our comprehensive model is able to handle the computational challenges with accurate representation of intersections and shearing of fractures at the discrete fracture scale and rigorously treats contacts along rough fracture surfaces at the discontinuum asperity scale.With future development of three-dimensional(3D)geometric representation of discrete fracture networks in porous rock and contacts among multi-body systems,this model is promising as a basis of 3D fully coupled analysis of fractures at multiple scales,for advancing understanding and optimizing energy recovery and storage in fractured geological media.

Effects of composite oxide scale on oxidation resistance of superalloy K273

A Si-containing K273 superalloy was made using intermediate frequency induction furnace in the study. In the testing of oxidation resistance, the oxidation process of the alloy specimens during the testing at 900℃ for 500 h was examined by oxidation weight gain method. The morphology and composition of the oxide scales were determined using scanning electron microscope （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）, respectively. The effects of the transferring of ions and electrons on the oxidation resistance were further analyzed microscopically by semiconductor oxide models. The results show that the composite oxide scales consist of Cr203, SiO2 and spinel- type oxide MCr204, with flat and compact structure, and fine grains in uniform distribution. All of these endow the superalloy K273 with strong oxidation resistance. The reason for the powerful oxidation resistance of the composite scale is that the formation process of P＋N type semiconductor oxide enables to consume most of the surplus negative and positive ions in the oxide scales, which makes the number of the mobile ions and electrons dropped enormously, and the transfer rate of them falls heavily. So the oxidation rate of the metal phase in the alloy matrix is reduced significantly.

Investigation on the biodegradation levels of super heavy oils by parameter-striping method and refined Manco scale: a case study from the Chepaizi Uplift of Junggar Basin

The Carboniferous volcanic reservoir in the Chepaizi Uplift became an exploration hot target in recent years for its substantial amount of oils discovered. However, most of the Carboniferous heavy oils were biodegraded to PM7 or higher with orders of magnitude variation in oil viscosities. Two oil groups (I and II) exactly corresponding to the western and eastern Chepaizi Uplift were distinguished according to their source diagnose. Furthermore, three oil families (II1, II2 and II3), with the biodegradation level of PM7, PM8–8+, PM9+, respectively, were classified based on molecular compositions and parameter-stripping method of strongly bioresistant parameters. Allowing for this extremely high biodegradation case, more biodegradation refractory compound class were added to establish a refined Manco scale to quantitatively evaluate the biodegradation extent. Refined Manco number (RMN2) positively correlated with the oil density, NSO contents, and absolute concentrations of diasteranes and gammacerane, negatively correlated with the absolute concentrations of diahopane, summed tricyclic terpanes and pentacyclic terpanes. This refined scale showed higher resolution than the PM one to differentiate the biodegradation extent of Carboniferous heavy oils from the Chepaizi Uplift, especially those with same PM values but different oil viscosities.

Analysis and forecasts of investment scale and structure in upstream sector for oil companies based on system dynamics

Oil and gas exploration and production is the most important and key segment in the whole business chain of the petroleum industry.Therefore,oil companies always put much emphasis on making scientific and reasonable decisions about investment scale and structure in the upstream sector,so that they can minimise business risks and obtain high returns.According to the system dynamics theories and methods and based on the actual results from an oil company＇s practice in China,a system dynamics model is built in this paper for analyzing and forecasting the upstream investment scale and structure for an oil company.This model was used to analyze the investment effect of a large oil company in China, and the results showed that the total upstream investment scale will decline slowly in a short period and the investment proportion of different parts should be adjusted if some influencing factors are taken into account.This application practice was compared with the actual data and indicated that the system dynamics（SD） model presented in this paper is a useful tool for analyzing and forecasting of upstream investment scale and structure of oil companies in their investment decisions.

Sap-flow measurement and scale transferring from sample trees to entire forest stand of Populus euphratica in desert riparian forest in extreme arid region

Understanding how the transpiration of this vegetation type responds to environmental stress is important for determining the wa-ter-balance dynamics of the riparian ecosystem threatened by groundwater depletion. Transpiration and sap flow were measured using the heat-pulse technique. The results were then projected up to the stand level to investigate the stand’s water-use in relation to climate forcing in the desert riparian forest in an extreme arid region. This study took place from April through October 2003 and from May through October 2004. The experimental site was selected in the Populus euphratica Forest Reserve (101o10' E, 41o59' N) in Ejina county, in the lower Heihe River basin, China. The sapwood area was used as a scalar to extrapolate the stand-water consumption from the whole trees’ water consumption measured by the heat-pulse velocity recorder (HPVR). Scale transferring from a series of individual trees to a stand was done according to the existing natural variations between trees under given environmental conditions. The application of the biometric parameters available from individual tree and stand levels was proved suitable for this purpose. A significant correlation between the sapwood area and tree diameter at breast height (DBH) was found. The prediction model is well fitted by the power model. On the basis of the prediction model, the sapwood area can be cal-culated by DBH. The sap-flow density can then be used to extrapolate the stand-water use by means of a series of mathematical models.

Scale-Up Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide from H_2/O_2 with Multiple Parallel DBD Tubes

The scale-up synthesis of H2O2 from H2/O2 via a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） under ambient conditions was studied. A plasma reactor consisting of multiple parallel DBD tubes was designed to scale up the H2O2 synthesis. The number of tubes had no significant effect on the discharge mode, and no decay occurred in H2O2 selectivity during the scale-up process. These advantages made this technology more stable and efficient. The reactor＇s energy efficiency increased with the number of tubes and reached 136 g H2O2/kWh in the four-tube reaction. The total energy efficiency was limited by the extremely low energy transfer efficiency of power supply, and might be enhanced by optimizing the impedance matching between the power supply and the reactor load. As a result, an assembly of multiple DBD tubes may provide a viable route for the scale-up synthesis of H2O2 by a non-equilibrium plasma.

Traditional Nitrogen Removal Coupled with SND to Meet Advanced WWTP Standards at a Full Scale SBR Wastewater Treatment Facility

A Florida wastewater treatment facility studied how Simultaneous Nitrification Denitrification (SND) coupled with traditional nitrogen removal would be used to meet the state’s current advanced wastewater treatment nutrient criterion. This study examined the effect of these combined processes on the fate and transport of the nitrogen species during the treatment process. The effectiveness of nitrogen removal within the full scale sequential batch reactor system (SBR) and the extent of SND compared to nitrification and denitrification in the nitrogen removal process was also evaluated. Finally, the overall performance of the municipal wastewater treatment facility utilizing these combined processes was evaluated. Overall, this application reduced the total nitrogen to almost 6% of the permitted concentration of 3.0 mg/L. The combination of both processes also resulted in an actual ?concentration 93.7% lower than the acceptable theoretical ?concentration, which also resulted in effluent Total Inorganic Nitrogen nearly 80% lower than the permitted 3.0 mg/L effluent concentration. Further, the process produced a composite Total Nitrogen concentration that was 74% lower than the permitted concentration. This coupling of SND with traditional nitrogen removal resulted in a highly effective process to reduce nitrogen in the municipal wastewater effluent which is also attractive for potential implementation due to the low cost expenditure incurred in its utilization.