A critical review on thermodynamic mechanisms of membrane fouling in membrane-based water treatment process

Membrane technology is widely regarded as one of the most promising technologies for wastewater treatment and reclamation in the 21st century. However, membrane fouling significantly limits its applicability and productivity. In recent decades, research on the membrane fouling has been one of the hottest spots in the field of membrane technology. In particular, recent advances in thermodynamics have substantially widened people’s perspectives on the intrinsic mechanisms of membrane fouling. Formulation of fouling mitigation strategies and fabrication of anti-fouling membranes have both benefited substantially from those studies. In the present review, a summary of the recent results on the thermodynamic mechanisms associated with the critical adhesion and filtration processes during membrane fouling is provided. Firstly, the importance of thermodynamics in membrane fouling is comprehensively assessed. Secondly, the quantitative methods and general factors involved in thermodynamic fouling mechanisms are critically reviewed. Based on the aforementioned information, a brief discussion is presented on the potential applications of thermodynamic fouling mechanisms for membrane fouling control. Finally, prospects for further research on thermodynamic mechanisms underlying membrane fouling are presented. Overall, the present review offers comprehensive and in-depth information on the thermodynamic mechanisms associated with complex fouling behaviors, which will further facilitate research and development in membrane technology.

Matching between mechanics and thermodynamics among 4 individual strokes in a 4-stroke engine by non-circular gear mechanism

The relationship between engine mechanics and thermo-dynamics has been investigated by means of numerical simulation.The inherent mismatching between the mechanical behaviors and the thermodynamic process in internal combustion engine is identified,which is believed to be one of the important limiting factors of energy efficiency for conventional engines available in the current market.An approach for engine efficiency improvement through optimal matching between mechanics and thermodynamics(OMBMT)is proposed.An ideal matching model is defined and the conflicts due to the constraints among the mapping strokes in a 4-stroke engine are analyzed.A novel mechanical model is built for approaching optimal matching among all 4 individual strokes in a 4-stroke spark-ignition engine,which is composed of non-circular gears(NCG)and integrated with conventional slider crank engine mechanism.By means of digital mechanical model and numerical simulation,the matching gains among all 4 strokes are defined and calculated for quantifying the NCG engine efficiency improvement by comparing with a baseline engine.The potentials with the OMBMT implemented and the enhancements made by NCG mechanism for engines in terms of overall engine efficiency are reported.Based on the results achieved,it is recommended that the feasibility studies and the experimental validations should be conducted to verify the engine matching concept and effectiveness of the NCG mechanism engine model proposed,and the engine performance and NCG design parameters should be further optimized.

Study on the mechanism and reaction characteristics of metal-supported phosphogypsum as oxygen carrier in a chemical looping gasification application

This study aimed to explore the chemical looping gasification(CLG)reaction characteristics of the metal-supported composite phosphogypsum(PG)oxygen carriers(OCs)and the thermodynamic mechanism.The FactSage 7.1 thermodynamic simulation was used to explore the oxygen release and H_(2)S removal mechanisms.The experimental results showed that the syngas yield of CLG with PG-CuFe_(2)O_(4)was more than that with PG-Fe_(2)O_(3)20/CuO40 or PG-Fe_(2)O_(3)30/CuO30 OC at 1023 K when the water vapor content was 0.3.Furthermore,the maximum syngas yield of the CO selectivity was 70.3% and of the CO_(2)selectivity was 23.8%.The H_(2)/CO value was 0.78,and the highest carbon conversion efficiency was 91.9% in PG-CuFe_(2)O_(4)at the gasification temperature of 1073 K.The metal-supported PG composite oxygen carrier was proved not only as an oxygen carrier to participate in the preparation of syngas but also as a catalyst to catalyze coal gasification reactions.Furthermore,both the experimental results and FactSage 7.1 thermodynamic analysis revealed that the trapping mechanism of H_(2)S by composite OCs was as follows:CuO first lost lattice oxygen as an oxygen carrier to generate Cu_(2)O,which,in turn,reacted with H_(2)S to generate Cu_(2)S.This study provided efficient guidance and reference for OC design in CLG.

Direct Optical Resolution of Chiral Pesticides by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Enantiomer separation is one of the most important prerequisites for the investigation of environmental enantioselective behavior for chiral pesticides.The enantiomeric separation of three chiral pesticides,indoxacarb,lambda-cyhalothrin,and simeconazole,were studied on cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenyl-carbamate)-coated chiral stationary phase(CDMPC-CSP) using high-performance liquid chromatography under normal phase condition.The effects of chromatographic conditions,such as the mobile phase composition including the concentration and type of alcohol modifiers in hexane,flow rate and column temperature,on enantiomer separation were examined.The thermodynamical mechanism of enantioseparation and chiral recognition mechanism were discussed.Better separation were achieved using 20% n-propanol for indoxacarb,2% iso-butanol for lambda-cyhalothrin,and 20% iso-propanol for simeconazole as modifiers in hexane at 25℃ with the selectivity factor(a) of 1.69,1.82 and 1.70,respectively.The resolution factor(Rs) decreased as the flow rate increased from 0.4 to 1.1 ml·min-1.The retention factor(k') and selectivity factor for the enantiomers of analytes decreased as temperature increased.The lna-1/T plots for racemic chiral pesticides were linear in the range of 15-35℃ in hexane/iso-propanol and the chiral separation was controlled by enthalpy.Hydrogen bonding,π-π and dipole-dipole interactions between enantiomers and CDMPC-CSP play an important role in chiral identification,and the fitting of the asymmetric portion of solutes in a chiral cavity or channel of the CSP is also important.

Surface and transport properties of Cu-Sn-Ti liquid alloys

The lack of experimental data and / or limited experimental information concerning both surface and transport properties of liquid alloys often require the prediction of these quantities. An attempt has been made to link the thermophysical properties of a ternary Cu-Sn-Ti system and its binary Cu-Sn, Cu-Ti and SnoTi subsystems with the bulk through the study of the concentration dependence of various thermodynamic, structural, surface and dynamic properties in the frame of the statistical mechanical theory in conjunction with the quasi-lattice theory （QLT）. This formalism provides valuable qualitative insight into mixing processes that occur in molten alloys.

Thermodynamic Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones with Rapid Intensity Change over the Coastal Waters of China

In order to investigate the different thermodynamic mechanisms between rapid intensifying （RI） and rapid weakening （RW） tropical cyclones （TCs）, the thermodynamic structures of two sets of composite TCs are analyzed based on the complete-form vertical vorticity tendency equation and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Each composite is composed of five TCs, whose intensities change rapidly over the coastal waters of China. The results show that the maximum apparent heating source Q1 exists in both the upper and lower troposphere near the RI TC center, and Q1 gets stronger at the lower level during the TC intensification period. But for the RW TC, the maximum Q1 exists at the middle level near the TC center, and Q1 gets weaker while the TC weakens. The maximum apparent moisture sink Q2 lies in the mid troposphere. Q2 becomes stronger and its peak-value height rises while TC intensifies, and vice versa. The increase of diabatic heating with height near the TC center in the mid-upper troposphere and the increase of vertical inhomogeneous heating near the TC center in the lower troposphere are both favorable to the TCs＇ rapid intensification; otherwise, the intensity of the TC decreases rapidly.

Hydrogen storage thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of PrMg12-type alloys synthesized by mechanical milling

To improve the hydrogen storage performance of PrMg12-type alloys, Ni was adopted to replace partially Mg in the alloys. The PrMgllNi＋x wt.% Ni （x=100, 200） alloys were prepared via mechanical milling. The phase structures and morphology of the experimental alloys were in vestigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that increasing milling time and Ni content accelerate the formation of nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The gaseous hydrogen storage properties of the experimental alloys were determined by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and Sievert apparatus. In addition, increasing milling time makes the hydrogenation rates of the alloys augment firstly and decline subsequently and the dehydrogenation rate always increases. The maximum capacity is 5. 572 wt. % for the x = 100 alloy and 5. 829 wt. % for the x = 200 alloy, respectively. The enthalpy change （ △H ）, entropy change （△S） and the dehydrogenation activation energy （Exde） markedly lower with increasing the milling time and the Ni content due to the generation of nanocrystalline and amorphous structure.

Phase Stability in Mechanically Alloyed Mg–Ni System Studied by Experiments and Thermodynamic Calculations

In this study, microstructural evolution of Mg–Ni alloy during mechanical alloying（MA） was investigated.Also, a thermodynamic approach was utilized to predict the most stable phases formed in Mg–Ni alloy after MA. The phase composition and microstructural properties of Mg–Ni alloy were assessed by X-ray diffractometry, high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that ball milling of magnesium and nickel powder mixture for 70 h yields nanostructural Mg2Ni compound with an average grain size of ~20 nm. Thermodynamic calculations revealed that in the composition ranges of 0.0 ／ XMg／ 0.03（at.%）and 0.97 ／ XMg／ 1, there is no driving force for amorphous phase formation. In the composition range of 0.07 ／ XMg／ 0.93, the change of Gibbs free energy for amorphous phase formation was more negative than solid solution.While for XMg= 0.66（nominal composition of Mg2Ni intermetallic phase）, the change of Gibbs free energy for intermetallic phase was found to be more negative than both amorphous and solid solution phases indicating that Mg2Ni intermetallic compound is the most stable phase, in agreement with the experimental observations.

Thermodynamic Characteristic and Phase Evolution in Immiscible Cr–Mo Binary Alloys

This paper systematically reports the thermodynamic characteristic and phase evolution of immiscible Cr–Mo binary alloy during mechanical alloying（MA） process. The Cr–35Mo（in at%） powder mixture was milled at 243 and258 K, respectively, for different time. For comparative study, Cr–15Mo and Cr–62Mo powder mixtures were milled at 243 K for 18 h. Solid solution Cr（Mo） with body-centered cubic（bcc） crystal structure and amorphous Cr（Mo） alloy was obtained during MA process caused by high-energy ball milling. Based on the Miedema＇s model, the free-energy change for forming either a solid solution or an amorphous in Cr–Mo alloy system is positive but small at a temperature range between 200 and 300 K. The thermodynamical barrier for forming alloy in Cr–Mo system can be overcome when MA occurs at 243 K, and the supersaturated solid solution crystal nuclei with bcc structure form continually, and three supersaturated solid solutions of Cr–62Mo, Cr–35Mo and Cr–15Mo formed. Milling the Cr–35Mo powder mixture at 258 K, the solid solution Cr（Mo） forms firstly, and then the solid solution Cr（Mo） transforms into the amorphous Cr（Mo）alloy with a few of nanocrystallines when milling is prolonged. At higher milling temperature, it is favorable for the formation of the amorphous phase, as indicated by the thermodynamical calculation for immiscible Cr–Mo alloy system.

First-principles Calculations of Strengthening Compounds in Magnesium Alloy： A General Review

First-principles computation methods play an important role in developing and designing new magnesium alloys.In this article,we present an overview of the first-principles modeling techniques used in recent years to simulate ideal models of the structure of strengthening compounds in Mg alloys.For typical Mg compounds,structural stability,mechanical properties,electronic structure and thermodynamic properties have been discussed.Specifically,the elastic anisotropies of these compounds are examined,which is highly correlated with the possibility of inducing micro-cracks.Furthermore,some heterogeneous nucleation interfaces investigated by first-principles method are reviewed.Some of the theoretical results are compared with available experimental observations.We hope to illustrate that the first-principles computation can help to accelerate the design of new Mg-based materials and the development of materials genome initiative.Remaining problems and future directions in this research field are considered.