Protein wastes (feathers, goat hair) and cellulosic wastes (corn cob, coconut husks) were collected, washed with detergent solution, thoroughly rinsed and sun dried for 2 days before drying in an oven and then ground,...Protein wastes (feathers, goat hair) and cellulosic wastes (corn cob, coconut husks) were collected, washed with detergent solution, thoroughly rinsed and sun dried for 2 days before drying in an oven and then ground, half of ground material was carbonized at a maximum temperature of 500?C after mixing with H2SO4.The carbonized parts were pulverized;both carbonized and uncarbonized sorbents were sieved into two particle sizes of 325 μm and 625 μm using mechanical sieve.1.5 g protein wastes and cellulosic wastes were each used to mop up spilled crude oil, diesel, kerosene and petrol (separately before combining) by encasing them in a sac like boom of 2cm x 2cm x 1cm dimension so as to determine the efficacy of waste sorbents in cleaning hydrocarbon spills. Results of Tables 1(a)-4(a), 1(b)-4(b) and 5-8 shows that the sorbents mopped, desorbed and retained an average of more than 500%, 350% and 300% of their weight of the hydrocarbon sorbates within average of 90 mins contact time, the volume of sorbates mopped up increased significantly when equal weight of activated and unactivated sorbents were combined, the results of equal combination of activated and unactivated sorbents at each particle size and contact time were compared with that of calculated values, high percentage retention observed were a function of mechanism of absorption/adsorption. Each sorbent have a distinct feature that enhances its mopping ability. Large volumes of the hydrocarbon liquids were recovered by mere pressing, the sorbates were mopped up in the order;crude oil > diesel > kerosene > petrol. Protein sorbents with oleophilic and aqua phobic properties absorbed more of all the hydrocarbon liquids than cellulosic sorbents at any particle size and contact, the later tend to be more abundant and therefore cost effective;it was observed that both carbonized and uncarbonized sorbents are good hydrocarbon mops and therefore good alternative to synthetic polyurethane foam already in use. Combination, particle size, activation of sorbents, contact time, viscosity and chain length of hydrocarbon determined the amount of sorbates absorbed/adsorbed, recovered or retained. The residual leachable oil (kerosene) in the sorbents were below 5% and does not constitute serious environmental menace when left in an open dump to decay being biodegradable waste, but a brighter application is that the waste sorbent can be used in making logs as alternative to fire wood or in making particle board for furniture.展开更多
Carbon capture is widely recognised as an essential strategy to meet global goals for climate protection.Although various C02 capture technologies including absorption,adsorption and membrane exist,they are not yet ma...Carbon capture is widely recognised as an essential strategy to meet global goals for climate protection.Although various C02 capture technologies including absorption,adsorption and membrane exist,they are not yet mature for post-combustion power plants mainly due to high energy penalty.Hence researchers are concentrating on developing non-aqueous solvents like ionic liquids,C 02-binding organic liquids,nanoparticle hybrid materials and microencapsulated sorbents to minimize the energy consumption for carbon capture.This research aims to develop a novel and efficient approach by encapsulating sorbents to capture C02 in a cold environment.The conventional emulsion technique was selected for the microcapsule formulation by using 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol(AMP)as the core sorbent and silicon dioxide as the shell.This paper reports the findings on the formulated microcapsules including key formulation parameters,microstructure,size distribution and thermal cycling stability.Furthermore,the effects of microcapsule quality and absorption temperature on the C02 loading capacity of the microcapsules were investigated using a self-developed pressure decay method.The preliminary results have shown that the AMP microcapsules are promising to replace conventional sorbents.展开更多
As part of an effort to build a prototype flow battery system using a nano-suspension containing β-Ni（OH）2 nanoparticles as the cathode material, nano-sized β-Ni（OH）2 particles with well-controlled particle size...As part of an effort to build a prototype flow battery system using a nano-suspension containing β-Ni（OH）2 nanoparticles as the cathode material, nano-sized β-Ni（OH）2 particles with well-controlled particle size and morphology were synthesized via the one-step precipitation of a NiCl2 precursor. The composition and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The XRD patterns confirmed that β-Ni（OH）2 was successfully synthesized, while SEM results showed that the particle sizes range from 70 to 150 nm. To ensure that Ni（OH）2 could be employed in the nano-suspension flow battery, the electrochemical performance of the synthesized 13-Ni（OH）2 was initially tested in pouch cells through charge/discharge cycling. The phase transformations occurring during charge/discharge were investigated using in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy to obtain the shift in the oxidation state of Ni （X-ray adsorption near edge structure, XANES） and the distances between Ni and surrounding atoms in charged and discharged states （extended X-ray absorption fine structure, EXAFS）. XANES results indicated that the electrode in the discharged state was a mixture of phases because the edge position did not shift back completely. XAFS results further proved that the discharge capacity was provided by β-NiOOH and the ratio between β-Ni（OH）2 and γ-NiOOH in the electrode in the discharged state was 71：29. Preliminary nano-suspension tests in a lab-scale cell were conducted to understand the behavior of the nano-suspension during charge/discharge cycling and to optimize the operating conditions.展开更多
文摘Protein wastes (feathers, goat hair) and cellulosic wastes (corn cob, coconut husks) were collected, washed with detergent solution, thoroughly rinsed and sun dried for 2 days before drying in an oven and then ground, half of ground material was carbonized at a maximum temperature of 500?C after mixing with H2SO4.The carbonized parts were pulverized;both carbonized and uncarbonized sorbents were sieved into two particle sizes of 325 μm and 625 μm using mechanical sieve.1.5 g protein wastes and cellulosic wastes were each used to mop up spilled crude oil, diesel, kerosene and petrol (separately before combining) by encasing them in a sac like boom of 2cm x 2cm x 1cm dimension so as to determine the efficacy of waste sorbents in cleaning hydrocarbon spills. Results of Tables 1(a)-4(a), 1(b)-4(b) and 5-8 shows that the sorbents mopped, desorbed and retained an average of more than 500%, 350% and 300% of their weight of the hydrocarbon sorbates within average of 90 mins contact time, the volume of sorbates mopped up increased significantly when equal weight of activated and unactivated sorbents were combined, the results of equal combination of activated and unactivated sorbents at each particle size and contact time were compared with that of calculated values, high percentage retention observed were a function of mechanism of absorption/adsorption. Each sorbent have a distinct feature that enhances its mopping ability. Large volumes of the hydrocarbon liquids were recovered by mere pressing, the sorbates were mopped up in the order;crude oil > diesel > kerosene > petrol. Protein sorbents with oleophilic and aqua phobic properties absorbed more of all the hydrocarbon liquids than cellulosic sorbents at any particle size and contact, the later tend to be more abundant and therefore cost effective;it was observed that both carbonized and uncarbonized sorbents are good hydrocarbon mops and therefore good alternative to synthetic polyurethane foam already in use. Combination, particle size, activation of sorbents, contact time, viscosity and chain length of hydrocarbon determined the amount of sorbates absorbed/adsorbed, recovered or retained. The residual leachable oil (kerosene) in the sorbents were below 5% and does not constitute serious environmental menace when left in an open dump to decay being biodegradable waste, but a brighter application is that the waste sorbent can be used in making logs as alternative to fire wood or in making particle board for furniture.
文摘Carbon capture is widely recognised as an essential strategy to meet global goals for climate protection.Although various C02 capture technologies including absorption,adsorption and membrane exist,they are not yet mature for post-combustion power plants mainly due to high energy penalty.Hence researchers are concentrating on developing non-aqueous solvents like ionic liquids,C 02-binding organic liquids,nanoparticle hybrid materials and microencapsulated sorbents to minimize the energy consumption for carbon capture.This research aims to develop a novel and efficient approach by encapsulating sorbents to capture C02 in a cold environment.The conventional emulsion technique was selected for the microcapsule formulation by using 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol(AMP)as the core sorbent and silicon dioxide as the shell.This paper reports the findings on the formulated microcapsules including key formulation parameters,microstructure,size distribution and thermal cycling stability.Furthermore,the effects of microcapsule quality and absorption temperature on the C02 loading capacity of the microcapsules were investigated using a self-developed pressure decay method.The preliminary results have shown that the AMP microcapsules are promising to replace conventional sorbents.
文摘As part of an effort to build a prototype flow battery system using a nano-suspension containing β-Ni（OH）2 nanoparticles as the cathode material, nano-sized β-Ni（OH）2 particles with well-controlled particle size and morphology were synthesized via the one-step precipitation of a NiCl2 precursor. The composition and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The XRD patterns confirmed that β-Ni（OH）2 was successfully synthesized, while SEM results showed that the particle sizes range from 70 to 150 nm. To ensure that Ni（OH）2 could be employed in the nano-suspension flow battery, the electrochemical performance of the synthesized 13-Ni（OH）2 was initially tested in pouch cells through charge/discharge cycling. The phase transformations occurring during charge/discharge were investigated using in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy to obtain the shift in the oxidation state of Ni （X-ray adsorption near edge structure, XANES） and the distances between Ni and surrounding atoms in charged and discharged states （extended X-ray absorption fine structure, EXAFS）. XANES results indicated that the electrode in the discharged state was a mixture of phases because the edge position did not shift back completely. XAFS results further proved that the discharge capacity was provided by β-NiOOH and the ratio between β-Ni（OH）2 and γ-NiOOH in the electrode in the discharged state was 71：29. Preliminary nano-suspension tests in a lab-scale cell were conducted to understand the behavior of the nano-suspension during charge/discharge cycling and to optimize the operating conditions.
