Catalytic upgrading of bio-oil from halophyte seeds into transportation fuels

Because of socioeconomic considerations,wide-scale production of biofuel necessitates the utilization of nonedible biomass feedstock that does not compete for land and fresh water resources.In this regard,Salicornia bigelovii(SB)is the most investigated halophyte species.The high oil content in SB seeds has sparked mounting research that aims to utilize SB as an industrial crop in the production of bio-oil,particularly in coastal areas where these plants thrive.However,the oil extracted from the pyrolysis of raw SB seeds is largely dominated by oxygenated fatty acids,most notably 9,12-octadecadienoic acid and 9,17-octadecadienal,typical to that of other crops.The pyrolysate bio-oil of the raw SB seeds exhibited a relative yield of oxygenated compounds that decreased from 57.05%at 200℃to 9.81%at 500℃,and the relative yield of nitrogenated compounds increased from 4.86%at 200℃to 21.97%at 500℃.To improve the quality of the produced bio-oil,herein we investigated the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation(HDO)of the fragments that were produced from the thermal degradation of SB seeds.A 5%Ni–CeO_(2)catalyst was prepared and characterized by a wide array of methods X-ray diffraction,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,temperature programmed reduction,scanning electron microscope,BrunauerEmmett-Teller analysis,and thermogravimetric analyzer.The catalytic run was executed between 200 and 500℃in a flow reactor.The deployed catalytic methodology displayed a profound HDO capacity.At 400℃,for instance,the gas chromatography mass spectroscopy(GC–MS)detected loads of paraffin and aromatic compounds exists at appreciable values of 48.0%and 28.5%,respectively.With a total relative yield of 43.2%(at 400℃),C8–C15 species(i.e.,jet fuel fractions)were the most abundant species in the upgraded SB bio-oil.The release of H_(2),CO,CO_(2),and CH_(4)was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using gas chromatography thermal conductivity detector and Fourier infrared spectroscopic analysis.When the Ni–CeO_(2)catalyst was utilized,a complete deoxygenated bio-oil was obtained from SB seeds using the surface-assisted HDO reaction.On the basis of the elemental analysis,the biochar’s hydrogen and oxygen contents were found to decrease significantly.Density functional theory computations showed mechanisms for reactions that underpinned the experimentally observed hydrodeoxygenation process.Outcomes presented herein shall be instrumental toward the effective utilization of halophyte in the production of commercial transportation fuels.

System integration of China's first PEMFC locomotive

In the face of growing environmental pollution, developing a fuel-cell-driven shunting locomotive is a great challenge in China for environmental protection and energy saving, which combines the environmental advantages of an electric locomotive with the lower infrastructure costs of a diesel-electric locomotive. In this paper, the investigation status and the development trend of the fuel-cell-driven shunting locomotive were introduced. Through innovation of the power system using fuel cells, an experiment prototype of a fuel-cell shunting locomotive was developed, which would reduce the effects on the environment of the existing locomotives. This was the first locomotive to use a proton exchange membrane fuel-cell （PEMFC） power plant in China. From October 2012, we started to test the fuel-cell power plant and further test runs on the test rail-line in Chengdu, Sichuan. The achieved encouraging results can provide fundamental data for the modification of the current individual fuel cell locomotives or further development of the fuel-cell hybrid ones in China.

Investigation of molecular penetration depth variation with SMBI fluxes

We study the molecular penetration depth variation with the SMBI fluxes.The molecular transport process and the penetration depth during SMBI with various injection velocities and densities are simulated and compared.It is found that the penetration depth of molecules strongly depends on the radial convective transport of SMBI and it increases with the increase of the injection velocity.The penetration depth does not vary much once the SMBI injection density is larger than a critical value due to the dramatic increase of the dissociation rate on the fueling path.An effective way to improve the SMBI penetration depth has been predicted,which is SMBI with a large radial injection velocity and a lower molecule injection density than the critical density.