Processing Technique of Carbonizing by Stir-Frying for Baked Rheum tanguticum Maxim.ex Balf. Optimized by Orthogonal Design

[Objectives]To optimize the processing technology of baked Rheum tanguticum carbon.[Methods]Firstly,the baking temperature and baking time were investigated by single factor,and the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(5-HMF)was determined by HPLC.The main influencing factors of baking effect were baking temperature,baking time and tablet specifications.The L 9(34)orthogonal design experiment was carried out to optimize the processing technique of R.tanguticum carbon.[Results]The optimum processing technique was as follows:small-sized tablets,controlled oven baking temperature at(210±2)℃,and baking time of 20 min.[Conclusions]The optimum processing technique of R.tanguticum carbon is reasonable and feasible.Thus,this experiment can provide a certain reference for processing method and quality control of R.tanguticum carbon.

Investigation into the Methodology and Implementation of Life Cycle Engineering under China’s Carbon Reduction Target in the Process Industry

The industrial sector is the primary source of carbon emissions in China.In pursuit of meeting its carbon reduction targets,China aims to promote resource consumption sustainability,reduce energy consumption,and achieve carbon neutrality within its processing industries.An effective strategy to promote energy savings and carbon reduction throughout the life cycle of materials is by applying life cycle engineering technology.This strategy aims to attain an optimal solution for material performance,resource consumption,and environmental impact.In this study,five types of technologies were considered:raw material replacement,process reengineering,fuel replacement,energy recycling and reutilization,and material recycling and reutilization.The meaning,methodology,and development status of life cycle engineering technology abroad and domestically are discussed in detail.A multidimensional analysis of ecological design was conducted from the perspectives of resource and energy consumption,carbon emissions,product performance,and recycling of secondary resources in a manufacturing process.This coupled with an integrated method to analyze carbon emissions in the entire life cycle of a material process industry was applied to the nonferrous industry,as an example.The results provide effective ideas and solutions for achieving low or zero carbon emission production in the Chinese industry as recycled aluminum and primary aluminum based on advanced technologies had reduced resource consumption and emissions as compared to primary aluminum production.

Preparation of Co/S co-doped carbon catalysts for excellent methylene blue degradation

S and Co co-doped carbon catalysts were prepared via pyrolysis of MOF-71 and thiourea mixtures at 800℃at a mass ratio of MOF-71 to thiourea of 1:0.1 to effectively activate peroxymonosulfate(PMS)for methylene blue(MB)degradation.The effects of two different mixing routes were identified on the MB degradation performance.Particularly,the catalyst obtained by the alcohol solvent evaporation(MOF-AEP)mixing route could degrade 95.60%MB(50 mg/L)within 4 min(degradation rate:K=0.78 min^(-1)),which was faster than that derived from the direct grinding method(MOF-DGP,80.97%,K=0.39 min^(-1)).X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the Co-S content of MOF-AEP(43.39at%)was less than that of MOF-DGP(54.73at%),and the proportion of C-S-C in MOF-AEP(13.56at%)was higher than that of MOF-DGP(10.67at%).Density functional theory calculations revealed that the adsorption energy of Co for PMS was -2.94 eV when sulfur was doped as C-S-C on the carbon skeleton,which was higher than that when sulfur was doped next to cobalt in the form of Co-S bond(-2.86 eV).Thus,the C-S-C sites might provide more contributions to activate PMS compared with Co-S.Furthermore,the degradation parameters,including pH and MOF-AEP dosage,were investigated.Finally,radical quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)measurements revealed that ^(1)O_(2)might be the primary catalytic species,whereas·O~(2-)might be the secondary one in degrading MB.

Denitrification potential enhancement by addition of external carbon sources in a pre-denitrification process

The aim of this study is to investigate the denitrification potential enhancement by addition of external carbon sources and to estimate the denitrification potential for the predenitrification system using nitrate utilization rate （NUR） batch tests. It is shown that the denitrification potential can be substantially increased with the addition of three external carbon sources, i.e. methanol, ethanol, and acetate, and the denitrification rates of ethanol, acetate, and methanol reached up to 9.6, 12, and 3.2 mgN/（g VSS.h）, respectively, while that of starch wastewater was only 0.74 mgN/（g VSS,h）. By comparison, ethanol was found to be the best external carbon source. NUR batch tests with starch wastewater and waste ethanol were carried out. The denitfification potential increased from 5.6 to 16.5 mg NO3-N/L owing to waste ethanol addition. By means of NUR tests, the wastewater characteristics and kinetic parameters can be estimated, which are used to determine the denitrification potential of wastewater, to calculate the denitrification potential of the plant and to predict the nitrate effluent quality, as well as provide information for developing carbon dosage control strategy.

Dechlorination of carbon tetrachloride by the catalyzed Fe-Cu process

The dectrochemical reduction characteristics of carbon tetrachlofide （CT） were investigated using cyclic voltammetry in this study. In addition, the difference in reduction mechanisms of CT between Master Builders＇ iron and the catalyzed Fe-Cu process was discussed. The results showed that CT was reduced directly on the surface of copper rather than by atomic hydrogen produced at the cathode in the catalyzed Fe-Cu process. The reduction was realized largely by atomic hydrogen in Master Builders＇ iron. The entire CT in 350 ml aqueous solution with 320 mg/L was reduced to trichloromethane and dichloromethane in 2.25 h when 100 g of scrap iron with Fe/Cu ratio of 10：1 （w/w） were used. Moreover, the reduction rate slowed with time. CT could be reduced at acidic, neutral and alkaline pH from solution by Fe-Cu bimetallic media, but the mechanisms were different. The degradation rate was not significantly influenced by pH in the catalyzed Fe-Cu process; in Master Builders＇ iron it clearly increased with decreasing pH. The kinetics of the reductions followed pseudo-first order in both cases. Furthermore, the reductions under acidic conditions proceeded faster than that under the neutral and alkaline conditions. The catalyzed Fe-Cu process was superior to Master Builders＇ iron in treating CT-containing water and this advantage was particularly noticeable under alkaline conditions. The reduction was investigated in the cathode （Cu） and anode （Fe） compartments respectively, the results showed that the direct reduction pathway played an important role in the reduction by the catalyzed Fe-Cu process. The catalyzed Fe-Cu process is of practical value.

Cleanliness of Ti-bearing Al-killed ultra-low-carbon steel during different heating processes

During the production of Ti-bearing Al-killed ultra-low-carbon(ULC) steel, two different heating processes were used when the converter tapping temperature or the molten steel temperature in the Ruhrstahl–Heraeus(RH) process was low: heating by Al addition during the RH decarburization process and final deoxidation at the end of the RH decarburization process(process-Ⅰ), and increasing the oxygen content at the end of RH decarburization, heating and final deoxidation by one-time Al addition(process-Ⅱ). Temperature increases of 10°C by different processes were studied; the results showed that the two heating processes could achieve the same heating effect. The T.[O] content in the slab and the refining process was better controlled by process-Ⅰ than by process-Ⅱ. Statistical analysis of inclusions showed that the numbers of inclusions in the slab obtained by process-Ⅰ were substantially less than those in the slab obtained by process-Ⅱ. For process-Ⅰ, the Al_2O_3 inclusions produced by Al added to induce heating were substantially removed at the end of decarburization. The amounts of inclusions were substantially greater for process-Ⅱ than for process-Ⅰ at different refining stages because of the higher dissolved oxygen concentration in process-Ⅱ. Industrial test results showed that process-Ⅰ was more beneficial for improving the cleanliness of molten steel.

Direct Patterning of Carbon Nanotube via Stamp Contact Printing Process for Stretchable and Sensitive Sensing Devices

Flexible and wearable sensing devices have broad application prospects in bio-monitoring such as pulse measurement,motion detection and voice recognition.In recent years,many significant improvements had been made to enhance the sensor’s performance including sensitivity,flexibility and repeatability.However,it is still extremely complicated and difficult to prepare a patterned sensor directly on a flexible substrate.Herein,inspired by typography,a lowcost,environmentally friendly stamping method for the mass production of transparent conductive carbon nanotube(CNT)film is proposed.In this dry transfer strategy,a porous CNT block was used as both the seal and the ink;and Ecoflex film was served as an object substrate.Welldesigned CNT patterns can be easily fabricated on the polymer substrate by engraving the target pattern on the CNT seal before the stamping process.Moreover,the CNT film can be directly used to fabricate ultrathin(300μm)strain sensor.This strain sensor possesses high sensitivity with a gauge factor(GF)up to 9960 at 85%strain,high stretchability(>200%)and repeatability(>5000 cycles).It has been used to measure pulse signals and detect joint motion,suggesting promising application prospects in flexible and wearable electronic devices.

The application of amplitude-preserved processing and migration for carbonate reservoir prediction in the Tarim Basin,China

Conventional seismic exploration method based on post-stack data usually fails to identify the distribution of fractured and caved carbonate reservoirs in the Tarim Basin,so the rich pre-stack information should be applied to the prediction of carbonate reservoirs.Amplitude-preserved seismic data processing is the foundation.In this paper,according to the feature of desert seismic data （including weak reflection,fast attenuation of high frequency components,strong coherent noises,low S/N and resolution）,a set of amplitude-preserved processing techniques is applied and a reasonable processing flow is formed to obtain the high quality data.After implementing a set of pre-stack amplitude-preserved processing,we test and define the kernel parameters of amplitude-preserved Kirchhoff PSTM （pre-stack time migration） and subsequent gathers processing,in order to obtain the amplitude-preserved gathers used to the isotropic pre-stack inversion for the identification of caved reservoirs.The AVO characteristics of obtained gathers fit well with the synthetic gathers from logging data,and it proves that the processing above is amplitudepreserved.The azimuthal processing techniques,including azimuth division and binning enlargement,are implemented for amplitude-preserved azimuthal gathers with the uniform fold.They can be used in the anisotropic inversion to detect effective fractures.The processing techniques and flows are applied to the field seismic data,and are proved available for providing the amplitude-preserved gathers for carbonate reservoir prediction in the Tarim Basin.

Machining Process Classification Based on Carbon Footprint Analysis

Despite spending considerable effort on the development of manufacturing technology during the production process,manufacturing companies experience resources waste and worse ecological influences. To overcome the inconsistencies between energy-saving and environmental conservation,a uniform way of reporting the information and classification was presented. Based on the establishment of carbon footprint( CFP) for machine tools operation,carbon footprint per kilogram( CFK) was proposed as the normalized index to evaluate the machining process.Furthermore,a classification approach was developed as a tracking and analyzing system for the machining process. In addition,a case study was also used to illustrate the validity of the methodology. The results show that the approach is reasonable and feasible for machining process evaluation,which provides a reliable reference to the optimization measures for low carbon manufacturing.

Fabrication of carbon nanotubes reinforced AZ91D composites by ultrasonic processing

Magnesium matrix nanocomposite reinforced with carbon nanotubes(CNTs/AZ91D) was fabricated by mechanical stirring and high intensity ultrasonic dispersion processing.The microstructures and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite were investigated.The results show that CNTs are well dispersed in the matrix and combined with the matrix very well.As compared with AZ91D magnesium alloy matrix,the tensile strength,yield strength and elongation of the 1.5%CNTs/AZ91D nanocomposite are improved by 22%,21%and 42%respectively in permanent mold casting.The strength and ductility of the nanocomposite are improved simultaneously.The tensile fracture analysis shows that the damage mechanism of nanocomposite is still brittle fracture.But the CNTs can prevent the local crack propagation to some extent.

Process design and economic optimization for the indirect synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from urea and methanol

Much attention has been paid for the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate(DMC) by urea indirect alcoholysis method, which had not been actually industrialized by now. The rigorous full process model was then necessary to optimize the process with heat integration. In this paper, a full process was designed and optimized for the DMC synthesis by urea indirect alcoholysis method based on Aspen Plus software.The technological analysis was developed to find how the process was influenced by the three main recycled materials of methanol, 1,2-propylene glycol(PG) and mixture of DMC–methanol. Simultaneously,the thermal optimization was taken into account for energy saving and the optimized process was proposed with heat integration. Moreover, the economic evaluation was implemented for the optimized process with total annualized cost(TAC) and cost of product(COP) according to the plant investment and operations. It was found that the 11.6% decrease in TAC was obtained for the optimized process compared to the original designed process. The COP analysis showed that the process was economically efficient for the production of DMC from urea and methanol.

Remarkable carbon dioxide catalytic capture (CDCC) leading to solid-form carbon material via a new CVD integrated process (CVD-IP): An alternative route for CO_2 sequestration

Through our newly-developed ＂chemical vapor deposition integrated process （ISVD-IP）＇＂ using carbon OlOXlae （t..u2） as me raw matenal and only carbon source introduced, CO2 could be catalytically activated and converted to a new solid-form product, i.e., carbon nanotubes （CO2-derived） at a quite high yield （the single-pass carbon yield in the solid-form carbon-product produced from CO2 catalytic capture and conversion was more than 30% at a single-pass carbon-base）. For comparison, when only pure carbon dioxide was introduced using the conventional CVD method without integrated process, no solid-form carbon-material product could be formed. In the addition of saturated steam at room temperature in the feed for CVD, there were much more end-opening carbon nano-tubes produced, at a slightly higher carbon yield. These inspiring works opened a remarkable and alternative new approach for carbon dioxide catalytic capture to solid-form product, comparing with that of CO2 sequestration （CCS） or CO2 mineralization （solidification）, etc. As a result, there was much less body volume and almost no greenhouse effect for this solid-form carbon-material than those of primitive carbon dioxide.

Process simulation and energy integration in the mineral carbonation of blast furnace slag

Large quantities of blast furnace(BF) slag and CO_2 are discharged annually from iron and steel industries, along with a large amount of waste heat.The mineral carbonation of BF slag can not only reduce emissions of solid waste but also realize the in-situ fixation of CO_2 with low energy consumption if integrated with the waste heat utilization.In this study, based on our previous works, Aspen Plus was employed to simulate and optimize the carbonation process and integrate the process energy.The effects of gehlenite extraction, MgSO_4 carbonation,and aluminum ammonium sulfate crystallization were studied systematically.The simulation results demonstrate that 2.57 kg of BF slag can sequester 1 kg of CO_2, requiring 5.34 MJ of energy(3.3 MJ heat and 2.04 MJ electricity), and this energy includes the capture of CO_2 from industrial flue gases.Approximately 60 kg net CO_2 emission reduction could be achieved for the disposal of one ton of BF slag.In addition, the by-product,aluminum ammonium sulfate, is a high value-added product.Preliminary economic analysis indicates that the profit for the whole process is 1127 CNY per ton of BF slag processed.

Process Reengineering of Cold Chain Logistics of Agricultural Products Based on Low-carbon Economy

Through the process analysis of cold chain logistics of agricultural products,we find that cold chain logistics of agricultural products contradict the development model of low-carbon economy to some extent.We apply the development idea of low-carbon economy,introduce the thirdparty logistics companies,establish distribution center of cold chain logistics of agricultural products,and strengthen information sharing,to reengineer the process of cold chain logistics of agricultural products in China.The results show that applying low-carbon economy to process reengineering of cold chain logistics of agricultural products,has advantages of increasing added value of products,promoting scale merit and abating lag,plays a role in promoting emission reduction,high efficiency and environmental protection in the process of cold chain logistics of agricultural products in China.

Controlled Rolling and Cooling Process for Low Carbon Cold Forging Steel

Effect of controlled rolling and cooling process on the mechanical properties of low carbon cold forging steel was investigated for different processing parameters of a laboratory hot rolling mill. The results show that the specimens with fast cooling after hot rolling exhibit very good mechanical properties, and the improvement of the mechanical properties can be attributed mainly to the ferrite-grain refinement. The mechanical properties increase with decreasing final cooling temperature within the range from 670 ℃ to 570 ℃ due to the finer interlamellar spacing of pearlite colony. The specimen with fast cooling after low temperature rolling shows the highest values of the mechanical properties. The effect of the ferrite grain size on the mechanical properties was greater than that of pearlite morphology in the present study. The mechanical properties of specimens by controlled rolling and cooling process without thermal treatment were greatly superior to that of the same specimens by the conventional rolling, and their tensile strength reached 490 MPa grade even in the case of low temperature rolling without controlled rolling. It might be expected to realize the substitution medium-carbon by low-carbon for 490 MPa grade cold forging steel with controlled rolling and cooling process.

Enhanced biological nutrient removal in modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic process with return activated sludge pre-concentration

A pilot-scale modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic(AAO) process with pre-concentration of returned activated sludge(RAS) was proposed in this study for the enhanced biological nutrient removal(BNR) of municipal wastewater with limited carbon source. The influent carbon source was fed in step while a novel RAS pre-concentration tank was adopted to improve BNR efficiency, and the effects of an influent carbon source distribution ratio and a RAS pre-concentration ratio were investigated. The results show that the removal efficiency of TN is mainly influenced by the carbon source distribution ratio while the TP removal relies on the RAS pre-concentration ratio. The optimum carbon source distribution ratio and RAS pre-concentration ratio are 60% and 50%, respectively, with an inner recycling ratio of 100% under the optimum steady operation of pilot test, reaching an average effluent TN concentration of 9.8 mg·L-1with a removal efficiency of 63% and an average TP removal efficiency of 94%. The mechanism of nutrient removal is discussed and the kinetics is analyzed. The results reveal that the optimal carbon source distribution ratio provides sufficient denitrifying carbon source to each anoxic phase, reducing nitrate accumulation while the RAS pre-concentration ratio improves the condition of anaerobic zone to ensure the phosphorus release due to less nitrate in the returned sludge. Therefore, nitrifying bacteria, denitrifying bacteria and phosphorus accumulation organisms play an important role under the optimum condition, enhancing the performance of nutrient removal in this test.

Fuzzy Control of Nitrate Recirculation and External Carbon Addition in A/O Nitrogen Removal Process

Nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations of effluent water must be taken into account for the design and operation of wastewater treatment plants. In addition, the requirement for effluent quality is becoming strict. Therefore, intelligent control approaches are recently required in removing biological nutrient. In this study, fuzzy control has been successfully applied to improve the nitrogen removal. Experimental results showed that a close relationship between nitrate concentration and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) at the end of anoxic zone was found for anoxic/oxic (A/O) nitrogen removal process treating synthetic wastewater. ORP can be used as online fuzzy control parameter of nitrate recirculation and external carbon addition. The established fuzzy logic controller that includes two inputs and one output can maintain ORP value at - 86 mV and - 90 mV by adjusting the nitrate recirculation flow and external carbon dosage respectively to realize the optimal control of nitrogen removal, improving the effluent quality and reducing the operating cost.

Current status and trends of carbon-based electrodes for fully solution-processed perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cells(PSCs) have revolutionized photovoltaic research. As a result, a certified power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 25.5% was recorded in late 2020. Although this efficiency is comparable with silicon solar cells;some issues remain partially unsolved, such as lead toxicity, instability of perovskite materials under continuous illumination, moisture and oxygen, and degradation of the metallic counter electrodes. As an alternative to tackle this last concern, carbon materials have been recently used, due to their good electrical and thermal conductivity, and chemical stability, which makes them one of the most promising materials to replace metallic counter electrodes in the fabrication of PSCs. This review highlights the recent advances of carbon-based PSCs, where the carbon electrode(CE) is the main actor.CEs have become very promising candidates for PSCs;they are mainly fabricated using a simple combination of graphite and carbon black powders embedded in a binder matrix, giving a paste that is then solution-processable, resulting in devices with improved quality stability, when compared to metallic electrodes. In this review, CE’s composition is emphasized, since it can give both, high and lowtemperature processed electrodes, compatible with different device configurations. Finally, the tendencies and opportunities to use CE in PSCs devices are presented.

Improving Prediction Accuracy of a Rate-Based Model of an MEA-BasedCarbon Capture Process for Large-Scale Commercial Deployment

Carbon capture and storage （CCS） technology will play a critical role in reducing anthropogenic carbondioxide （CO2） emission from fossil-fired power plants and other energy-intensive processes. However, theincrement of energy cost caused by equipping a carbon capture process is the main barrier to its commer-cial deployment. To reduce the capital and operating costs of carbon capture, great efforts have been madeto achieve optimal design and operation through process modeling, simulation, and optimization. Accuratemodels form an essential foundation for this purpose. This paper presents a study on developing a moreaccurate rate-based model in Aspen Plus for the monoethanolamine （MEA）-based carbon capture processby multistage model validations. The modeling framework for this process was established first. The steady-state process model was then developed and validated at three stages, which included a thermodynamicmodel, physical properties calculations, and a process model at the pilot plant scale, covering a wide rangeof pressures, temperatures, and CO2 loadings. The calculation correlations of liquid density and interfacialarea were updated by coding Fortran subroutines in Aspen Plus. The validation results show that the cor-relation combination for the thermodynamic model used in this study has higher accuracy than those ofthree other key publications and the model prediction of the process model has a good agreement with thepilot plant experimental data. A case study was carried out for carbon capture from a 250 MWe combinedcycle gas turbine （CCGT） power plant. Shorter packing height and lower specific duty were achieved usingthis accurate model.

Effects of Quenching Process on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Nb-Ti Microalloyed Steel

The low carbon Nb-Ti mieroalloyed tested steel was prepared by the process of vacuum induction furnace smelting, forging and hot rolling. The new steel aims to meet the demand of high strength, high toughness and high plasticity for building facilities. The effects of quenching process on microstructure and mechanical properties of tested steel were investigated. The results showed that prior austenite grain size, phase type and precipitation behavior of （ Nb, Ti） （ C, N） play important roles in mechanical properties of the steel. Through modified appropriately, the model of austenite grain growth during heating and holding is d^5.7778 = 5. 6478^5.7778 ＋ 7.04 × 10^22t^1.6136 exp（- 427. 15 ×10^3 /（RT））. The grain growth activation energy is Qg = 427. 15 kJ. During quenching, the microscopic structures are mainly martensite and lath bainite which contains lots of lath substructure and dislocations. The content of phases, fine and coarsening （ Nb, Ti ） （ C, N ） precipitated changes during different quenching temperatures and holding time. Finally compared with the hardness value, the best quenching process can be obtained that heating temperature and holding time are 900 ℃ and 50 mins, respectively.