Process conditions for preparing methanol from cornstalk gas

The low-heat-value cornstalk gas produced in the down-flow fixed bed gasifier was tentatively used for methanol synthesis. The cornstalk gas was purified and the technical procedures such as deoxygenation, desulfurization, catalytic cracking of tar, purification and hydrogenation were studied. The catalytic experiments of methanol synthesis with cornstalk syngas were carried out in a tubular-flow integral and isothermal reactor. The effect of reaction temperature, pressure, catalysttypes, catalyst particle size, syngas flow at entering end and composition of syngas was investigated. The optimum process conditions and yield of methanol from cornstalk syngas were obtained. The experimental results indicated that the proper catalyst of the synthetic reaction was C301 and the optimum catalyst size （φ） was 0.833 mm×0.351 mm. The optimum operating temperature and pressure were found to be 235℃ and 5 Mpa, respectively. The suitable syngas flow 0.9-1.10 mol/h at entering end was selected and the best composition of syngas were CO 10.49%, CO2 8.8%, N2 37.32%, CnHm 0.95% and H2 40.49%. The best methanol yield is 0.418 g/g cornstalk. The study provided the technical support for the industrial test of methanol production from biomass （cornstalk）gas.

Reductive leaching of low-grade manganese ore with pre-processed cornstalk

Cornstalk is usually directly used as a reductant in reduetive leaching manganese. However, low utilization of cornstalk makes low manganese dissolution ratio, In the research, pretreatment for cornstalk was proposed to improve manganese dissolution ratio. Cornstalk was preprocessed by a heated sulfuric acid solution （1.2 M of sulfuric acid concentration） for 10 min at 80℃. Thereafter, both the pretreated solution and the residue were used as a reductant for manganese leaching. This method not only exhibited superior activity for hydrolyzing cornstalk but also enhanced manganese dissolution. These effects were attributed to an increase in the amount of reductive sugars resulting from lignin hydrolysis. Through acid pretreatment for cornstalk, the manganese dissolution ratio was improved from 50.14% to 83.46%. The present work demonstrates for the first time the effective acid pretreatment of cornstalk to provide a cost-effective reductant for manganese leaching.

Formula Screening of Low-Cost Lactobacillus Suspension and Its Fermentation Effects

[ Objective] The research aimed to study the low-cost medium instead of MRS to produce lactobacillus suspension and to provide a theoretical basis for the large-scale production of stalk fermented by lactobacillus. [ Method] Different concentrations of glucose and sodium chloride were added into the cooking liquor of maize flour, and lactobacillus was inoculated to ferment the stalk. The changes of pH were measured and compared with MRS medium. The optimum low-cost medium for producing lactobacillus and fermenting stalk was selected to ferment stalk. And the feeding experiment of cattle was made with fermented stalk and unfermented stalk to study the consumption quantity of different kinds of feeds. [ Resuit] The changes of pH in cornmeal and MRS media had the same tendency, but the decrease of pH in cornmeal medium was faster. The consumed quantity of fermented stalk feed was larger than that of unfermented feeds. [ Conclusion] Cornmeal medium can be used instead of MRS to produce lactobacillus and the production cost decreased more than 80%.

Data-driven interpretable analysis for polysaccharide yield prediction

Cornstalks show promise as a raw material for polysaccharide production through xylanase.Rapid and accurate prediction of polysaccharide yield can facilitate process optimization,eliminating the need for extensive experimentation in actual production to refine reaction conditions,thereby saving time and costs.However,the intricate interplay of enzymatic factors poses challenges in predicting and optimizing polysaccharide yield accurately.Here,we introduce an innovative data-driven approach leveraging multiple artificial intelligence techniques to enhance polysaccharide production.We propose a machine learning framework to identify highly accurate polysaccharide yield prediction modeling methods and uncover optimal enzymatic parameter combinations.Notably,Random Forest(RF)and eXtreme Gradient Boost(XGB)demonstrate robust performance,achieving prediction accuracies of 93.0%and 95.6%,respectively,while an independently developed deep neural network(DNN)model achieves 91.1%accuracy.A feature importance analysis of XGB reveals the enzyme solution volume's dominant role(43.7%),followed by time(20.7%),substrate concentration(15%),temperature(15%),and pH(5.6%).Further interpretability analysis unveils complex parameter interactions and potential optimization strategies.This data-driven approach,incorporating machine learning,deep learning,and interpretable analysis,offers a viable pathway for polysaccharide yield prediction and the potential recovery of various agricultural residues.

3D anchoring structured for LiFe_(0.5)Mn_(0.5)PO_(4)@cornstalk-C cathode materials

The organic carbon source coating LiFe_(x)Mn_(1-x)PO_(4)suffers from the problem of non-uniform carbon cladding.Too thick carbon cladding layer instead hinders the de-embedding of lithium ions.In this paper,we choose cornstalk as the carbon source,then LiFe_(0.5)Mn_(0.5)PO_(4)@cornstalk-C(LFMP@C-C)with 3D anchoring structure is prepared by the solvothermal method.The results show that the LFMP with cornstalk as the carbon source has better performance compared to the sucrose-coated LFMP material(LFMP@C).The discharge capacity of LFMP@C-C is 116 mAh/g for the first cycle at 1 C and the capacity retention rate is 94.0%after 500 cycles,and the discharge capacity of LFMP@C-C is more than 17.17%higher than that of LFMP@C.

Natural Cornstalk Pith as an Effective Energy Absorbing Cellular Material

The replacement of synthetic foam materials using natural biological ones is of great significance for saving energy/resources and reducing environmental pollutions.Here we characterized the microstructure and mechanical properties of natural cornstalk pith,which has a large annual output yet lacks an effective exploitation,and evaluated its feasibility for applications as a substitute for synthetic foam materials.The cornstalk pith was revealed to be a cellular material composed of closed cells elongated along the growth direction of com plant and reinforced by well-aligned vascular bundles penetrating the foam matrix.The compressive behavior is featured by a stable stress plateau which is favorable for energy absorption with its mechanical properties largely dependent on the hydration state and loading configuration.In particular,the initial dimension and mechanical properties of cornstalk pith can be effectively recovered after deformation simply by hydration treatment owing to swelling effect caused by the turgor pressure from osmosis.The cornstalk pith demonstrates an outstanding combination of low density and high energy absorption efficiency among various foam materials,specifically with its plateau stress and energy absorption comparable or even superior to those of some typical synthetic foam materials.These along with the huge resources and good biodegradability make it a promising natural energy absorbing cellular material for replacing synthetic counterparts.

Development of a new hydrophobic magnetic biochar for removing oil spills on the water surface

More technologies are urgently needed for combined use to effectively eliminate the effect of oil spills,an environmental problem of widespread concern.Among these technologies,sorption methods are available to remove residual oil and prevent the further spread on the water surface.In this study,biochars,prepared from different feed-stock materials and pyrolysis temperatures,were screened and further modified to improve their application in the water environment.Among cornstalk biochar(CSBC),corncob biochar(CCBC),Sophora sawdust biochar(SSBC),and rice husk biochar(RHBC),the CSBC had excellent oil sorption capacity,especially prepared at 350℃(CSBC350),which has a complete and full pore structure.Furthermore,magnetic and silane agent modifications of CSBC350(OMBC)were performed to enhance the properties of the magnetic field controllability and hydrophobicity to increase oil sorption.The OMBC exhibited satisfactory oil sorption capacities to crude oil,diesel oil,and engine oil in the water-oil system of 8.77 g g^(−1),4.01 g g^(−1),and 4.44 g g^(−1),respectively.The sorption process of CSBC350 and OMBC complied with the pseudo-second-order kinetics(R^(2)>0.97)and the Langmuir isotherm models(R^(2)>0.80)based on the highest regression coefficients.The sorption mechanisms are dominated by hydrophobic forces,pore intercepts,and hydrogenbond interactions.The biochar adsorbent can availably cooperate with other physical methods to eliminate oil contaminants,which can be an outstanding fuel source for producing heat.