Determination of Latent Heats of Vaporization and Fusion

Water is the most abundant liquid on the surface of the earth. It is a liquid whose properties are quite surprising, both as a pure liquid and as a solvent. Water is a very cohesive liquid: its melting and vaporization temperatures are very high for a liquid that is neither ionic nor metallic, and whose molar mass is low. Thus, water remains liquid at atmospheric pressure up to 100C while similar molecules such as H2S, H2Se, H2Te for example would give a vaporization temperature close to 80C. This cohesion is in fact ensured by hydrogen bonds between water molecules. This type of bonds between neighboring molecules, hydrogen bonds, is quite often found in chemistry [1] [2]. Any change in the state of aggregation of a substance occurs with the absorption or release of a certain amount of latent heat of transformation. Latent heat of fusion, vaporization or sublimation is the ratio of the energy supplied as heat to the mass of the substance that is melted, vaporized or sublimated. As a result of the reversibility of the processes, the fusion heat is equal to the heat released in the reverse process: crystallization and solidification heat. And likewise the heat of vaporization is equal to the heat of condensation. This equality of heat is often used to determine experimentally either of these quantities. There are two main measurement methods: 1) Direct measurement using the calorimeter, 2) Indirect measure based on the use of the VantHoff relationship. The objective of this work is to measure the latent heat of water vaporization and verify the compatibility of the experimental values with the values given by the tables using the indirect method.

Study on the Pyrolytic Carbon Generated by the Electric Heating CVD Method

A new method of fabricating C/C composite materials, namely electric heating CVD method, was used, which electrified the carbon fiber directly by using the conductivity of itself. Acetylene was used as the carbon source with nitrogen as dilution gas, and the pyrolytic carbon started to deposit on the carbon fiber surface when the deposition temperature was reached. The morphology of pyrolytic carbon was characterized by SEM, and the surface properties of carbon fibers before and after CVD were characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The experimental results show that the electric heating method is a novel method to fabricate C/C composite materials, which can form a dense C/C composite material in a short time. The order degree and the average crystallite size of the carbon fiber surface were decreased after the experiment.

Comprehensive evaluation and sensitivity analysis of regeneration energy for acid gas removal plant using single and activated-methyl diethanolamine solvents

The absorption of acid gas using reactive amines is among the most widely used types of capturing technologies.However,the absorption process requires intensive energy expenditure majorly in the solvent regeneration process.This study simultaneously evaluated the regeneration energy of MDEA and PZ/MDEA solvents in terms of heat of absorption,sensible heat,and vaporization heat.Aspen Hysys version 8.8 simulation tool is applied to model the full acid gas removal plant for the chemical absorption process.The new energy balance technique presents around the absorption and desorption columns to bring a new perspective of energy distribution in the capturing of acid gas plants.Sensitivity analysis of regeneration energy and its three contributors is performed at several operation parameters such as absorber and stripper pressures,lean amine circulation rate,solvent concentration,reflux ratio,and CO2 and H2 S concentrations.The results show that the heat of absorption of PZ/MDEA system is higher than that for MDEA system for the same operating conditions.The sensible heat is the main contributor in the required regeneration energy of MDEA solvent system.The simulation results have been validated against data taken from real plant and literature.The product specifications of our simulation corroborate with real plant data in an excellent approach;additionally,the profile temperature of the absorber and the stripper columns are in good agreement with literature.The overall results highlight the direction of the effects of each parameter on the heat of absorption,sensible heat,and vaporization heat.

Vapor recompressed dividing-wall distillation columns:Structure and performance

Due to the topological structure of double columns and multiple separating sections in dividing-wall distillation columns(DWDCs),the development of vapor recompressed dividing-wall distillation columns(DWDC-VRHPs)represents a challenging issue with great complexities and tediousness.For the separations of light-component dominated and wide boiling-point ternary mixtures,because the purification of the light-component from the intermediate-and heavy-components incurs the primary energy dissipation,the application of vapor recompressed heat pumps(VRHP)should be aimed to reduce the irreversibility and this leads to the generation of the optimum topological structures of the DWDC-VRHPs,i.e.,a DWDC plus a two-stage VRHP.The first-stage VRHP is to preheat feed,not only taking the advantages of the small temperature elevation available but also favoring the mass transfer between the vapor and liquid phases through feed splitting.The second-stage VRHP is to reduce further separation irreversibility.The philosophy can be applied to any DWDCs no matter where the dividing wall locates.Two case studies on the separations of ternary mixtures of benzene,toluene,and o-xylene and n-pentane,n-hexane,and n-heptane demonstrate the economic optimality of the proposed DWDC-VRHPs and reveal the inherent interplay between internal and external process integration.

Modeling water and carbon fluxes above summer maize field in North China Plain with back-propagation neural networks

In this work, datasets of water and carbon fluxes measured with eddy covariance technique above a summer maize field in the North China Plain were simulated with artificial neural networks (ANNs) to explore the fluxes responses to local environmental variables. The results showed that photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), air temperature (T) and leaf area index (LAI) were primary factors regulating both water vapor and carbon dioxide fluxes. Three-layer back-propagation neural networks (BP) could be applied to model fluxes exchange between cropland surface and atmosphere without using detailed physiological information or specific parameters of the plant.

Configuring topologically optimum vapor recompressed dividing-wall distillation columns to maximize operating efficiency

For dividing-wall distillation columns(DWDCs) separating a heavy-component dominated and wide boiling-point ternary(HCDWBT) mixture, a significant amount of excessive heat exists inevitably in stripping the heavy-component from the intermediate-component and it can be employed to initiate the development of vapor recompression heat pump(VRHP) assisted DWDC(VRHP-DWDC). Despite dividing wall may locate in the top, middle, and bottom, the optimum VRHP-DWDC is found to involve uniformlytwo VRHP circles. While the first one serves to compress and transform the excessive heat resulted from the separation of the heavy-component from the intermediate-component, the second one to compress and transform the overhead vapor stream of the light-component pre-heated sequentially with the condensate from the first one and the bottom product stream of the heavy-component, both releasing the temperature-elevated latent heat to the pre-fractionator's or common stripping section. The processing of two HCDWBT mixtures of benzene/toluene/o-xylene and n-pentane/n-hexane/n-heptane are selected to assess the derived optimum topological configurations of the VRHP-DWDC and their optimality is confirmed through detailed comparisons with the DWDC and two VRHP-DWDCs involving only one VRHP circle. The proposed strategy helps to tap the full potential of the VRHP-DWDC with considerably alleviated complication in process development.

Synthesis and Design of Distillation Columns for Wide-Boiling Binary Mixtures with Vapor Recompression Heat Pumps

The vapor recompression heat pump(VRHP) distillation technology offers significant improvements in energy efficiency for distillation systems with small temperature differences between the top and bottom of the column. However, the separation of wide-boiling binary mixtures leads to substantial temperature differences between the top and bottom of the column. This limits the applicability of conventional VRHP due to high capital costs and strict performance requirements of the compressor. To overcome these challenges and to accommodate compressor operating conditions, a novel synthesis and design method is introduced to integrate VRHPs with wide-boiling binary mixture distillation columns(WBMDCs). This method enables quick determination of an initial configuration for the integrated WBMDC-VRHP system and helps identify the optimum configuration with the minimum total annual cost. Two examples, namely the separation of benzene/toluene and isopropanol/chlorobenzene, are employed to derive optimum configurations of the WBMDC-VRHP and compare them with the WBMDC. A systematic comparison between the WBMDC-VRHP and WBMDC demonstrates the superior steady-state performance and economic efficiency of the WBMDC-VRHP.

Synthesis of Sodium Beta Alumina Films by Heat Treatment of Sodium Aluminum Oxides

Sodium beta alumina（Na-β-alumina） films were synthesized by heat treatment of NaAl6O（9.5）and γ-NaA1O2 films at temperatures of 1 373-1 573 K.Single-phase γ-NaA1O2 and NaAl6O（9.5） films were prepared by laser chemical vapor deposition at the deposition temperatures of 976 and 1 100 K,respectively.Subsequent heat treatment of the films resulted in the formation of Na-β-alumina with α-Al2O3 at temperatures above 1 373 K for NaAl6O（9.5） and 1 473 K for γ-NaA1O2.On heat treatment at temperatures of 1 473-1 573 K,the faceted morphology with terraces of the as-deposited（110）-oriented γ-NaAlO2 films transformed to a porous morphology with platelet grains comprising Na-β-alumina and α-Al2O3.On heat treatment at temperatures of1 373-1 473 K,the pyramidal,faceted grains of as-deposited NaAl6O（9.5） films transformed to planer,shapeanisotropic morphology in the film of mixed Na-β-alumina and α-Al2O3.A dense morphology was observed in both the as-deposited and heat-treated NaAl6O（9.5） films.

Autonomous Changes in the Concentration of Water Vapor Drive Climate Change

When compared to the average annual global temperature record from 1880, no published climate model posited on the assumption that the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide is the driver of climate change can accurately replicate the significant variability in the annual temperature record. Therefore, new principles of atmospheric physics are developed for determining changes in the average annual global temperature based on changes in the average atmospheric concentration of water vapor. These new principles prove that: 1) Changes in average global temperature are not driven by changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide;2) Instead, autonomous changes in the concentration of water vapor, ΔTPW, drive changes in water vapor heating, thus, the average global temperature, ΔTAvg, in accordance with this principle, ΔTAvg=0.4ΔTPW the average accuracy of which is ±0.14%, when compared to the variable annual, 1880-2019, temperature record;3) Changes in the concentration of water vapor and changes in water vapor heating are not a feedback response to changes in the concentration of CO2;4) Rather, increases in water vapor heating and increases in the concentration of water vapor drive each other in an autonomous positive feedback loop;5) This feedback loop can be brought to a halt if the average global rate of precipitation can be brought into balance with the average global rate of evaporation and maintained there;and, 6) The recent increases in average global temperature can be reversed, if average global precipitation can be increased sufficiently to slightly exceed the average rate of evaporation.

Erratum to “Autonomous Changes in the Concentration of Water Vapor Drive Climate Change” [Atmospheric and Climate Sciences 10 (2020) 443-508]

A. Changes in average global temperature are not driven by changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide; B. Instead, autonomous changes in the concentration of water vapor, ΔTPW, drive changes in water vapor heating, thus, changes in the average global temperature, ΔTAvg, in deg. Celsius are calculated in accordance with this principle, measured in kg·m-2, the average accuracy of which is ±0.14%, when compared to the variable annual, 1880 - 2019, average global temperature record;

Regional applicability of seven meteorological drought indices in China

The definition of a drought index is the foundation of drought research.However,because of the complexity of drought,there is no a unified drought index appropriate for different drought types and objects at the same time.Therefore,it is crucial to determine the regional applicability of various drought indices.Using terrestrial water storage obtained from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment,and the observed soil moisture and streamflow in China,we evaluated the regional applicability of seven meteorological drought indices:the Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI),modified PDSI(PDSI_CN) based on observations in China,self-calibrating PDSI(scPDSI),Surface Wetness Index(SWI),Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI),Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI),and soil moisture simulations conducted using the community land model driven by observed atmospheric forcing(CLM3.5/ObsFC).The results showed that the scPDSI is most appropriate for China.However,it should be noted that the scPDSI reduces the value range slightly compared with the PDSI and PDSI_CN;thus,the classification of dry and wet conditions should be adjusted accordingly.Some problems might exist when using the PDSI and PDSI_CN in humid and arid areas because of the unsuitability of empiricalparameters.The SPI and SPEI are more appropriate for humid areas than arid and semiarid areas.This is because contributions of temperature variation to drought are neglected in the SPI,but overestimated in the SPEI,when potential evapotranspiration is estimated by the Thornthwaite method in these areas.Consequently,the SPI and SPEI tend to induce wetter and drier results,respectively.The CLM3.5/ObsFC is suitable for China before 2000,but not for arid and semiarid areas after 2000.Consistent with other drought indices,the SWI shows similar interannual and decadal change characteristics in detecting annual dry/wet variations.Although the long-term trends of drought areas in China detected by these seven drought indices during 1961-2013 are consistent,obvious differences exist among the values of drought areas,which might be attributable to the definitions of the drought indices in addition to climatic change.

Flow Characteristics of a Refrigerant-Oil Mixture in a Vapor Compression Heat Pump Heat Exchanger for Space Applications

The vapor compression heat pump is considered as the best option for aerospace thermal control system.The heat exchanger in vapor compression heat pump is a component that is greatly influenced by the cosmic environment.Lubricating oil enters heat pump system with a refrigerant under microgravity,and the entrance of the lubricant increases the complexity of the flow.In this work,FLUENT software was used to study the flow and lubricant deposition of a two-phase mixture of lubricant POE RL 68H and refrigerant R134a in a heat exchanger without the consideration of phase-change heat transfer.The functional relationships between the oil film thickness and the proportion of lubricating oil,the gravitational acceleration,the inlet flow velocity,and the placement directions of the two phases of oil in the heat exchanger were established.The results demonstrate that with the increase of the gravitational acceleration and the lubricating oil content,the thickness of the oil film will exhibit an S-type change in line with the Boltzmann function,and the amount of lubricating oil deposition will increase.With the increase of the flow velocity,the thickness of the oil film will exhibit an exponential decline.

Design and analysis of a novel dual source vapor injection heat pump using exhaust and ambient air

A novel dual source vapor injection heat pump(DSVIHP)using exhaust and ambient air is proposed.The air exhausted from the building first releases energy to the medium-pressure evaporator and is then mixed with the ambient air to heat the low-pressure evaporator.A vapor injection(VI)compressor of two inlets is connected with the low and medium pressure evaporators.It’s first time that a VI compressor is employed to recover the ventilation heat.The system can minimize the ventilation heat loss and provide a unique defrosting approach by using the exhaust waste heat.Fundamentals of the proposed DSVIHP are illustrated.Mathematical models are built.Both energetic and exergetic analyses are carried out under variable conditions.The results indicate that the DSVIHP has superior thermodynamic performance.The superiority is more appreciable at a lower ambient temperature.It has a higher COP than the conventional vapor injection heat pump and air source heat pump by 11.3%and 23.2%respectively at an ambient temperature of-10°C and condensation temperature of 45°C.The waste heat recovery ratio from the exhaust air is more than 100%.The novel DSVIHP has great potential in the cold climate area application.