Integrated vacuum pressure swing adsorption and Rectisol process for CO_(2) capture from underground coal gasification syngas

An integrated vacuum pressure swing adsorption(VPSA) and Rectisol process is proposed for CO_(2) capture from underground coal gasification(UCG) syngas. A ten-bed VPSA process with silica gel adsorbent is firstly designed to pre-separate and capture 74.57% CO_(2) with a CO_(2) purity of 98.35% from UCG syngas(CH_(4)/CO/CO_(2)/H_(2)/N_(2)= 30.77%/6.15%/44.10%/18.46%/0.52%, mole fraction, from Shaar Lake Mine Field,Xinjiang Province, China) with a feed pressure of 3.5 MPa. Subsequently, the Rectisol process is constructed to furtherly remove and capture the residual CO_(2)remained in light product gas from the VPSA process using cryogenic methanol(233.15 K, 100%(mass)) as absorbent. A final purified gas with CO_(2) concentration lower than 3% and a regenerated CO_(2) product with CO_(2) purity higher than 95% were achieved by using the Rectisol process. Comparisons indicate that the energy consumption is deceased from 2.143 MJ·kg^(-1) of the single Rectisol process to 1.008 MJ·kg^(-1) of the integrated VPSA & Rectisol process, which demonstrated that the deployed VPSA was an energy conservation process for CO_(2) capture from UCG syngas. Additionally, the high-value gas(e.g., CH_(4)) loss can be decreased and the effects of key operating parameters on the process performances were detailed.

Microstructure,mechanical properties and wear resistance of SiC_(p)/AZ91 composite prepared by vacuum pressure infiltration

SiC_(p)/AZ91 composites were prepared by vacuum pressure infiltration.The microstructure,mechanical properties and wear resistance of composite were studied.Results indicated that SiC particles were uniformly distributed in the metal matrix and had a good interface bonding with the metal matrix.Mg_(17)Al_(12) preferably precipitated near the SiC particles,and high-density dislocations were induced by the mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE)between the SiC particle and the AZ91 matrix,thereby accelerating the aging precipitation of the matrix.Compared with AZ91 alloy,the addition of SiC particles improves the hardness and compressive strength of the composite,which is mainly due to the load transfer strengthening and grain refinement strengthening mechanisms.Furthermore,a stable support surface-protecting matrix formed during the wear process because of the excellent wear resistance of SiC.

Effect of specific pressure on fabrication of 2D-C_f/Al composite by vacuum and pressure infiltration

Carbon fiber reinforced aluminum matrix （Cf/Al） composite has many excellent properties, and it has received more and more attention. Two-dimensional （2D） Cf/Al composites were fabricated by vacuum and pressure infiltration, which was an integrated technique and could provide high vacuum and high infiltration pressure. The effect of specific pressure on the infiltration quality of the obtained composites was comparatively evaluated through microstructure observation. The experimental results show that satisfied Cf/Al composites could be fabricated at the specific pressure of 75 MPa. In this case, the preform was infiltrated much more completely by aluminum alloy liquid, and the residual porosity was seldom found. It is found that the ultimate tensile strength of the obtained Cf/Al composite reached maximum at the specific pressure of 75 MPa, which was improved by 138.9% compared with that of matrix alloy.

Effect of Vacuum Pressure on the Initiation and Propagation of Pitting Corrosion of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel in Concentrated Seawater

Pitting initiation and stable propagation behaviors of 2205 duplex stainless steel were investigated in the hot concentrated seawater under vacuum pressures by potentiostatic polarization. Both applied potentials and vacuum pressures greatly influence the pitting corrosion. Higher potentials lead to much faster stable pitting initiation and growth rates in both static(101.3 kPa) and dynamic(28.4 kPa) solutions. The pressure reduction can also accelerate the pitting initiation rate. However, the boiling of solution can influence the pitting propagation mechanism. The dynamic actions of boiling bubbles are unfavorable to the pit propagation and result in the formation of relatively smooth pit bottom without secondary pits.

Characterization of A390 aluminum alloy produced at different slow shot speeds using vacuum assisted high pressure die casting

The effects of vacuum assistance on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high pressure die cast A390alloy at different slow shot speeds were evaluated.Plate-shaped specimens of hypereutectic A390aluminum alloy were produced on a TOYO BD?350V5cold chamber die casting machine incorporated with a self-improved TOYO vacuum system.According to the results,the vacuum pressure inside the die cavity increased linearly with the increasing slow shot speed at the beginning of mold filling.Meanwhile,tensile properties of vacuum die castings were deteriorated by the porosity content.In addition,the average primary silicon size decreased from23to14μm when the slow shot speed increased from0.05to0.2m/s,which has a binary functional relationship with the slow shot speed.After heat treatment,microstructural morphologies revealed that needle-shaped and thin-flaked eutectic silicon particles became rounded while Al2Cu dissolved intoα(Al)matrix.Furthermore,the fractography revealed that the fracture mechanism has evolved from brittle transgranular fracture to a fracture mode with many dimples after heat treatment.

THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE PRESSURE AND VACUUM CONTINUOUS CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON HYBRID PUMP

A novel pressure and vacuum continuous control system, which adopts a hybrid pump as pressure and vacuum source, is presented. The mathematical model of the system is developed. The theoretical simulation and analysis on the system are implemented in order to study the relationships among the characteristics, parameters and working points of the system. The experimental investigations on the system characteristics are presented with the adoption ofa fuzzy-PID controller. The simulation and experimental results indicate that the pressure and vacuum continuous control system based on hybrid pump has good dynamic and static performance, strong robustness and satisfactory adaptability to various system parameters. According to the results, system can successfully gain high accuracy and fast response signal. Also, the mathematical model of system is also testified by the experimental results.

Assessing efficacy of standard impregnation techniques on die-cast aluminum alloys using X-ray micro-CT

Utilizing lightweight Al alloys in various industrial applications requires achieving precise pressure tightness and leak requirements.Vacuum pressure impregnation(VPI)with thermosetting polymers is commonly used to address leakage defects in die-cast Al alloys.In this study,the efficacy of the VPI technique in sealing alloy parts was investigated using a combination of nondestructive micro X-ray computed tomography(micro XCT)and a standard leak test.The results demonstrate that the commonly used water leak test is insufficient for determining the sealing performance.Instead,micro XCT shows distinct advantages by enabling more comprehensive analysis.It reveals the presence of a low atomic number impregnates sealant within casting defects,which has low grey contrast and allows for visualizing primary leakage paths in 3D.The effective atomic number of impregnated resin is 6.75 and that of Al alloy is 13.69 by dual-energy X-ray CT.This research findings will contribute to enhancing the standard VPI process parameters and the properties of impregnating sealants to improve quality assurance for impregnation in industrial metals.

Laboratory investigation of axisymmetric single vacuum well point

Vacuum well point is a new but faint soft ground treatment method. This work focuses on the consolidation behavior of a reconstituted soft clayey specimen under vacuum well point combined with surcharge loading. The laboratory test was conducted through a vacuum-surcharge consolidation apparatus, and the vacuum loading scheme was adopted for vacuum pressure application to investigate the vacuum effect on soil consolidation. In the testing process, some key parameters such as vacuum pressure, pore water pressure and settlement deformation were timely recorded. Furthermore, the water content, void ratio and permeability coefficient of samples collected after loading were measured to reflect the consolidation characteristics. By comparing with the membrane system and membraneless system, something different was found for the vacuum well point method. The results indicate that the consolidation behavior of an axisymmetric single vacuum well point is almost identical to the behavior of vacuum preloading combined with prefabricated vertical drain(PVD), except for the distribution of the vacuum pressure along the well drain due to the structure of the vacuum well point. And the vacuum well point method may be useful for the improvement of soft clayey deposit in a certain depth.

Rotary bending fatigue behavior of A356 –T6 aluminum alloys by vacuum pressurizing casting

Vacuum pressurizing casting technique, providing better mould filling and inter-dendritic feeding, can reduce the porosity greatly in cast aluminum alloys, and improve the fatigue properties. The rotary bending fatigue properties of A356-T6 alloys prepared by vacuum pressurizing casting were investigated. The S-N curve and limit strength 90 MPa under fatigue life of 107 cycles were obtained. The analyses on the fatigue fractography and microstructure of specimens showed that the fatigue fracture mainly occurs at the positions with casting defects in the subsurface, especially at porosities regions, which attributed to the crack propagation during the fatigue fracture process. Using the empirical crack propagation law of Pairs-Erdogon, the quantitative relationship among the initial crack size, fatigue life and applied stress was established. The fatigue life decreases with an increase in initial crack size. Two constants in the Pairs-Erdogon equation of aluminum alloy A356-T6 were calculated using the experimental data.

New Development of VPI Process for Large Superconducting Coils

High vacuum is required for Vacuum Pressure Impregnation (VPI) process of large coils used in cryogenic. The defects such as dry spots and over rich resins should be minimized in large superconducting coils used. Both sealing problems associated with the mold and over rich resin problems are eliminated by using vacuum bag mold method with which we can simplify the design of vacuum mold.

Behavior of Element Vaporization and Composition Control of Fe-Ga Alloy during Vacuum Smelting

Saturated vapor pressure, critical evaporation temperature and evaporation loss rate of Fe-Ga alloy were calculated under different conditions of Ga and Fe contents with activity coefficients. The relationship between the change of Ga content and melting time was determined. The results demonstrated that saturated vapor pressure of Ga was higher than that of Fe under the same conditions. The difference value of critical evaporation temperature of Ga with and without Ar was nearly 800 K. The critical evaporation temperature of Fe was higher than that of Ga under vacuum, indicating that Ga was more volatile than Fe. At 1800 K, the evaporation rate of Ga was 84 times higher than that of Fe in the melt of Fe81Ga19 alloy. Under this condition, the change of Ga content and smelting time kept a linear relationship. The higher the temperature was, the faster the Ga content decreased, which was consistent with theoretical calculations.

Effects of micropore structure of activated carbons on the CH_(4)/N_(2) adsorption separation and the enrichment of coal-bed methane

In the process of enriching CH4 from coal-bed methane,the separation of CH_(4)/N_(2)is very difficult to accomplish by an adsorption process due to the similar physico-chemical properties of the two molecules.A series of coconut-shell-based granular activated carbons(GACs)with different pore structures were prepared,which were characterized by different methods.The influence of the pore structure on the separation properties was investigated in detail.The results show that one of the carbons prepared(GAC-3)has high CH4 equilibrium adsorption capacity(3.28 mol·kg–1)at 298 K and equilibrium separation coefficient(3.95).The CH_(4)/N_(2)separation on the GACs is controlled by adsorption equilibrium as compared with the dynamic effect.Taking the specific surface area,for example,the common characterization index of the pore structure is not enough to judge the separation performance of the GACs.However,the microstructure of carbon materials plays a decisive role for CH_(4)/N_(2)separation.According to the pore-structure analysis,the effective pore size for the CH_(4)/N_(2)separation is from 0.4 to 0.9 nm,with the optimum effect occurring in the range of 0.6–0.7 nm,followed by the range of 0.7~0.9 nm.Also,a four-bed vacuum pressure swing adsorption process was adopted to evaluate the performance of GACs for the separation of CH4 from nitrogen.

Study on Bamboo Treatment Technology with CuAz Preservative

In order to research the effect of preservative penetrability, CuAz (copper azole) was used for the preservative, and pieces of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) were used for the experimental materials in this study. The vacuum pressure process was used to treat bamboo pieces. The results showed as follows: 1) Main treatment factors were preservative concentration and applied pressure; 2) In the same technology, both the retention and the weight proportion gain of the samples without node were less than those of ones with node, due to special structure of bamboo node; 3) For the samples without node, a good result could be gotten when the preservative concentration was from 1% to 2%, treatment pressure was 0.6 MPa, and treatment time was 30 min. And for the bamboo samples with node, a good result can be gotten when the concentration was 2%, treatment pressure was 0.4 MPa, and treatment time was 30 min. This study demonstrates that the interaction between preservative and bamboo can be improved by adjusting the parameters.

Novel technologies for the lost foam casting process

Lost foam casting （LFC） is a green precision casting process categorized as a near net forming technology. Yet, despite its popularity, it still suffers from some technological problems, such as poor filling ability of the castings, coarse and non-dense microstructure, low mechanical properties for the A1 and Mg LFC processes, and defective carburization for the low carbon steel LFC process. These drawbacks restrict the development and widespread application of the LFC process. To solve these problems, the present study developed several novel LFC technologies, namely, LFC technologies under vacuum and low pressure, vibration solidification, and pressure solidification conditions; expendable shell casting techno- logy; and preparation technology of bimetallic castings based on the LFC process. The results showed that the LFC under vacuum and low pressure evidently improved the filling ability and solved the oxidization problem of the alloys, which is suitable for producing complex and thin- wall castings. The vibration and pressure solidifications increased the compactness of the castings and refined the microstructure, significantly improving the mechanical properties of the castings. The expendable shell casting technology could solve the pore, carburization, and inclusion defects of the traditional LFC method, obtaining castings with acceptable surface quality. Moreover, the A1/Mg and A1/A1 bimetallic castings with acceptable metallurgical bonding were successfully fabricated using the LFC process. These proposed novel LFC technologies can solve the current technological issues and promote the technological progress of the LFC process.