Preparation of Hydrophobic Fly Ash by Surface Modification and Oil-water Separation Devices

A simple and effective superhydrophobic mesh was designed and made to separate oil-water mixture. Alkali-activated fly ash reacted with 1-bromooctadecane to prepare superhydrophobic modified fly ash (MFA) with low surface energy through Williamson ether synthesis. The MFA powder was then coated uniformly on a stainless steel mesh (SSM) along with the epoxy resin E44 and curing agent T31 to give the superhydrophobic MFA-modified stainless steel mesh (MFA-SSM). The MFA-SSM has a high static water contact angle (CA) of 150.1°and can separate various oil or organic solvent from water with>95%separation efficiency. The oil-water separation efficiency remained high after 30 runs of petroleum ether/water separation.The developed superhydrophobic stainless steel mesh is expected to have wider use in oil-water separation.

Characterization of Flame Retardancy and Oil-Water Separation Capacity of Superhydrophobic Silylated Melamine Sponges

A silylated melamine sponge(SMS)was prepared by two simple steps,namely,immersion and dehydration of a melamine sponge coated with methyltrichlorosilane.The silylated structure of SMS was characterized by FT-IR(Fourier-transform infrared)spectroscopy,SEM(Scanning electron microscopy)and in terms of water contact angles.Its oil-water absorption and separation capacities were measured by FT-IR and UV-visible spectrophoto-metry.The experimental results have shown that oligomeric silanol covalently bonds by Si-N onto the surface of melamine sponge skeletons.SMS has shown superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle exceeding 150°±1°,a better separation efficiency with regard to diesel oil(by 99.31%(wt/wt%)in oil-water mixture and even up to 99.99%(wt/wt%)for diesel oil in its saturated aqueous solution.Moreover,SMS inherited the intrinsicflame retardancy of the melamine sponge.In general,SMS has shown superhydrophobicity,high porosity,excellent selectivity,remarkable recyclability,and better absorption capacity for various oils and organic solvents,and a high separation efficiency for oil in saturated aqueous solutions.

Numerical Simulation of Fluid Flow and Oil-Water Separation in Hydrocyclones

The fluid flow and oil-water separation were simulated using a Reynolds stress transport equation model of turbulence in water flow and a stochastic model of oil droplet motion. Simulation results give the axial and tangential velocity components, the pressure and turbulence intensity distribution and droplet trajectories for a hydrocyclone of F type and a hydrocyclone proposed by the present authors. The flow field predictions are in qualitative agreement with the LDV measurements. The results show that the proposed hydrocyclone has better performance than the hydrocyclone of F type due to creating stronger centrifugal force and lower axial velocity.

Spiral Torsion Spring Optimization Design for Separation Devices

As a driving element,the spiral torsion spring can control the release velocity by the optimization design of spring parameters and be used for separation devices,which is conducive to unlocking synchronicity and low-shock of the separation. On the basis of analyzing the performance requirements of the spiral torsion spring in a spacecraft device,the optimization design model of the spiral torsion spring is given, which takes the spiral torsion spring's length,width and thickness as the optimization variables,and the minimum volume as the optimization objective. The model considers output torque,strength,the maximal resetting load,holding force,and low shock as constraint conditions. A case is given to analyze the proposed model. The analysis results show the optimization scheme decreases the volume of the spiral torsion spring and meets the performance requirements of the separation device.

Robust,fluorine-free and superhydrophobic composite melamine sponge modified with dual silanized SiO_(2) microspheres for oil-water separation

Massive oily wastewater discharged from industrial production and human daily life have been an urgent environmental and ecological challenge.Superhydrophobic materials have attracted tremendous attention due to their unique properties and potential applications in the treatment of wastewater.In this study,a novel superhydrophobic/superoleophilic composite melamine sponge modified with dual silanized SiO_(2) microspheres was fabricated simply by a two-step sol-gel method using vinyltriethoxysilane and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane as functional agent,which exhibited a water contact angle of 153.2°and a water sliding contact angle of 4.8°.Furthermore,the composite sponge showed the excellent oil adsorption performance and the compressive elasticity reaching up to 130 g·g^(-1) of dichloromethane and 33.1 kPa of compressive stress.It was worth noting that the composite sponge presented the excellent separation efficiency(up to 99.5%)in the processes of continuous oil/water separation.The robust superhydrophobic composite melamine sponge provided the possibility with the practical application for oil-water separation.

Simultaneously spray-assisted assembling reversible superwetting coatings for oil-water separation

Here,superhydrophobic cuprous oxide(Cu2O)with hierarchical micro/nanosized structures was synthesized via sprayassisted layer by layer assembling.The asprepared superhydrophobic meshes with high contact angle(159.6°)and low sliding angle(1°)are covered with Cu_(2)O "coral reef"like micro/nanosized structures.Interestingly,the superhydrophobic mesh surfaces became superhydrophilic again due to the oxidization of Cu_(2)O to CuO by annealing at a higher temperature(300℃).And the superhydrophobic properties would be recovered by heating at 120℃.Furthermore,the superwetting meshes were applied to design a miniature device to separate light or heavy oil from the wateroil mixtures with excellent separation efficiency.These superwetting surfaces by simultaneously sprayassisted layer by layer assembling technique show the potential application in universal oilwater separation.

Effect of Stirring on Oil-Water Separation in Rare Earth Mixer-Settler

Oil-water separation is critical to solvent extraction process of rare earth, which can directly affect the yield and quality of the product. The experiments measure the two-phase separation time in a beaker, mixing uniformity of two phases in the mixer and the oil phase entrainment at oil exit by the Karl Fischer method and numerical simulation for the mixersettler to study the combined effect of gravity and stirring. Experimental results show that relative to the static situation, the separation efficiency resulted from low-speed stirring is increased by 25%. The water content in the oil is a minimum at an offset distance L of 10 cm and the clearance off the tank bottom z of 10 cm is as low as 0.49%. Distribution images of oilwater separation at 2 s indicates that stirring is very conducive to the separation of the oil-water phase.

Magnetic Wood-based Superhydrophobic Aerogel for Efficient Oil-Water Separation

The fabrication of directionally driven oil-water separation materials has great significance for the removal of oil spills and organic pollutants.In this study,an oil-water separation aerogel capable of directionally adsorbing oil was designed using an anisotropic wood aerogel with a layered structure and a top-down fabrication strategy.Specifically,a magnetic wood-based superhydrophobic aerogel(methyltrimethoxysilane(MTMS)/Fe_(3)O_(4) wood aerogel)was developed through the in situ coprecipitation of Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles and chemical vapor deposition.Owing to its highly porous structure,lipophilicity,hydrophobicity(water contact angle of 160°),and high compressibility,the MTMS/Fe_(3)O_(4) wood aerogel exhibits excellent oil-water separation performance and compression cycle stability.Additionally,the Fe_(3)O_(4) endows the material with excellent magnetic and photothermal conversion capabilities.These excellent properties make MTMS/Fe_(3)O_(4) wood aerogel a promising recyclable and sustainable oil-water separation material.

Preparation of Silica Nanosphere with Vertical Pore and Its Application in Oil-water Separation

Uniform monodispersed mesoporous silica nanospheres with vertical pores were successfully synthesized using chiral amphiphilic small molecule L-16Ala5PyClO4and solvents as dual templates via solgel transcription.The morphologies and pore sizes of silicas are adjustable by changing the type and amount of solvents in the reaction systems.With the increase of the organic solvent content,the morphologies of the obtained silica changed from nanospheres with vertical pore structures to nanosheets structures.When 1 mL of benzene,cyclohexane or toluene were used as solvents,only silica nanospheres were obtained,the BET surface areas of silica nanospheres reached 600.7,669.5,and 560.8 m^(2)/g,respectively.The pore sizes were 3.51,3.54,and 3.46 nm,respectively.Significantly,these ordered silica nanospheres/poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene)(PVAco-PE)nanofiber membranes have high separation efficiencies(>99%)for n-hexane/water mixtures.

Electrospinning Nanofiber Membrane Reinforced PVA Composite Hydrogel with Preferable Mechanical Performance for Oil-Water Separation

Nowadays hydrogels have been attracting the massive interest in oil-water separation due to their robust hydrophilicity and fantastic underwater oiliness features.However,the weak toughness and tensile strength shortcomings of hydrogels have thus inhibited their actual applicability.For this reason,we successfully fabricated the electrospun nanofiber membrane-reinforced PVA composite hydrogels.The PVA-PAN composite hydrogel has exhibited the excellent tensile strength and friction performance,separately enhancing 174.2%of the tensile strength,and reducing 20.7%of the friction coefficient and 58.7%of wear volume relative to the neat PVA hydrogel.Furthermore,the pull-out experiments indicated that the PAN nanofiber membrane exerted a stronger interface bonding effect with PVA hydrogel.The oil-water separation evaluation test showed that the separation efficiency reached up to 97.6%for treating the SA-100 lubricating oil/water system.

Influence of preload discreteness on air-operated separation process of low-shock separation device

To investigate the influence of design parameters on the performance of separation device,the structure and air-operated test of a low-shock separation device are introduced and analyzed in this paper.According to the law of energy conservation and aerodynamics,a mathematical model is built.Because the preload used to ensure the connection reliability has the discreteness,which will influence the separation process,the influence of preload discreteness on the air-operated separation process is simulated and tested.Simulation results are consistent with the experimental results.It is shown that the change of preload has an obvious influence on the separation process.The study is useful for the design and optimization of separation device.

NIR-responsive Collagen-based Sponge Coated with Polydimethylsiloxane/Candle Soot for Oil-Water Separation

To fabricate an oil-water separation material that is rich in source,eco-friendly,and responsive,in this study,we successfully developed a collagen-based sponge for application to oil-water separation based on a green and facile strategy.In this design,widely-available collagen(COL)was used as the substrate:it was immersed in polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)suspension with candle soot(CS)nanoparticles,followed by hot curing.The resultant sponge(CS/PDMS-COL)possessed good hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 148.3°under a low PDMS concentration of 2%.The results from field emission scanning electron microscope,Fourier transform infrared spectrometer,X-ray photoelectron spectrometer,and X-ray diffractometry demonstrated the successful coating of CS and PDMS on the surface of COL substrate.The CS/PDMS-COL can adsorb eight oils,with the adsorption capacity for trichloromethane reaching 95 g/g.With benzene as the target adsorbent,the separation efficiency was maintained at no less than 95%even after recycling 20 times.CS/PDMS-COL was also used to separate oil-in-water emulsion.Moreover,the sponge killed bacteria effectively due to its excellent near-infrared photothermal responsiveness.This study provides new insight into the preparation of facile oil-water separation materials based on naturally occurring biomaterials effortlessly.

The Development of Memory Alloy Satellite-Rocket Separation Device for Commercial Small Satellites

Non-pyrotechnic separation devices have been fully recognized for their high performance and high reliability.The focus of this paper is mainly around the development of memory alloy satellite and rocket separation devices.Due to the increasing demand for small-sized rockets and satellites,some suggestions and experiments for developing this new type of non-pyrotechnic device are proposed and conducted.

Analysis and experimental study on resistance-increasing behavior of composite high efficiency autonomous inflow control device

Bottom water coning is the main reason to reduce the recovery of horizontal bottom water reservoir. By water coning, we mean the oil-water interface changes from a horizontal state to a mound-shaped cone and breaks through to the wellbore. Autonomous inflow control device(AICD) is an important instrument maintain normal production after bottom water coning, however, the resistance increasing ability of the swirl type AICD is insufficient at present, which seriously affects the water control effect. Aiming this problem, this paper designs a multi-stage resistance-increasing and composite type AICD. The separation mechanism of oil-water two phases in this structure, the resistance form of oil-water single phase and the resistance-increasing principle of water phase are analyzed. Establishing the dual-phase multi-stage separation and resistance-increasing model, and verified by measuring the throttling pressure drop and oil-water volume fraction of the AICD, it is found that the composite type AICD has the effect of ICD and AICD at the same time, which can balance the production rate of each well section at the initial stage of production, delay the occurrence of bottom water coning. In the middle and later stages of production, water-blocking can be effectively increased to achieve water control and stable production.After structural sensitivity analysis, the influence law of various structural parameters on the water control performance of composite AICD was obtained. The simulation calculation results show that,compared with the existing swirl type AICD, composite AICD has higher sensitivity to moisture content,the water phase throttling pressure drop is increased by 4.5 times on average. The composite AICD is suitable for the entire stage of horizontal well production.

Dynamic resistive switching in a three-terminal device based on phase separated manganites

A three-terminal device based on electronic phase separated manganites is suggested to produce high performance resistive switching. Our Monte Carlo simulations reveal that the conductive filaments can be formed/annihilated by reshaping the ferromagnetic metal phase domains with two cross-oriented switching voltages. Besides, by controlling the high resistance state（HRS） to a stable state that just after the filament is ruptured, the resistive switching remains stable and reversible, while the switching voltage and the switching time can be greatly reduced.

Superhydrophobic magnetic Fe_(3)O_(4) polyurethane sponges for oil-water separation and oil-spill recovery

The effective and affordable separation of oil and water,a crucial process in the safe han dling of environmental disasters such as crude oil spills and recovery of valuable resources is a highly sought-after yet challenging task.Herein,superhydrophobic PU sponge was fab ricated for the fast and cost-effective adsorptive separation of oil and different organic sol vents from water.Octadecyltrichlorosilane(OTS)-functionalized Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)core-shell mi crospheres were dip-coated on the surface of porous materials via a dip-coating process thereby endowing them with superhydrophobicity.Owing to the hydrophobic interaction between OTS molecules and oil and increased capillary force in the micropores,the result ing superhydrophobic sponge served as a selective oil-sorbent scaffold for absorbing oil from oil-water mixtures,including oil-water suspensions and emulsions.Remarkably,after the recovery of the adsorbed oil via mechanical extrusion,these superhydrophobic materials could be reused multiple times and maintain their oil-water separation efficacy even afte 10 oil-water separation cycles.

Experimental Study on the Performance of an Onboard Hollow-Fiber-Membrane Air Separation Module

Onboard air separation devices,based on hollow fiber membranes,are traditionally used for the optimization of aircraft fuel tank inerting systems.In the present study,a set of tests have been designed and executed to assess the air separation performances of these systems for different air inlet temperatures(70°C∼110°C),inlet pressures(0.1∼0.4 MPa),volume flow rates of nitrogen-enriched air(NEA)(30∼120 L/min)and flight altitudes(1.5∼18 km).In particular,the temperature,pressure,volume flow rate,and oxygen concentration of air,NEA and oxygen-enriched air(OEA)have been measured.The experimental results show that the oxygen concentration of NEA,air separation coefficient,and nitrogen utilization coefficient decrease with the rising of air inlet temperature,air inlet pressure,and flight altitude.The effect of air inlet pressure on the above three parameters is significant,while the influence of air inlet temperature and flight altitude is relatively small.

New finding on out-of-step separation configuration of large-scale power systems

In this paper,two new concepts—“main out-of-step mode” and “minor out-of-step mode”—are proposed for power system reliability analysis. Large-scale power system studies found that out-of-step generator groups may have characteristics of the main out-of-step mode and the minor out-of-step mode. The generator groups with main out-of-step modes can determine the out-of-step interface of the large-scale power system,while generators with the minor out-of-step modes cannot play such a role. Therefore,the method of capturing the out-of-step interface by seeking the lowest voltage point(the out-of-step center) can only group the generators with the main out-of-step modes,and may fail to combine the generators with the minor out-of-step modes into proper coherent generator groups. Thus,it is necessary in engineering applications to equip the generators that are likely to have the characteristics of the minor out-of-step modes with separation devices based on off-line simulation studies in order to reduce the risk of further accidents caused by these generators after system separation.

Methods for Increasing the Efficiency of Cleaning the Transfer Device

The article improves the quality of raw cotton by creating a new transfer device structure for the transportation of cotton in long-distance riots, located in the main building of the ginnery. Both foreign and domestic separator cleaners have been studied. Experiments were carried out on prototype transfer device and the results were obtained. The cleaning efficiency was determined by sampling the cotton entering the separator in the moving device and exiting after the inclined vibrating mesh surface installed after the separator.

One-step preparation of modified photothermal-driven melamine foam with gradient wettability for oil-waterseparation

The absorption of high-viscosity oil by traditional oil absorbing materials has always been a challenge.So there is an urgent need to solve the problem of slow absorption of high-viscosity oil.In this work,an emulsion composed of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS),carbon black(CB)and waterborne polyurethane(solid content 40%)was sprayed on the melamine foam(MF).After volatilization of organic solvents,the photothermal material CB was fixed on the MF framework,making it photothermal.By raising the temperature of the modified foam to accelerate the internal thermal movement of high-viscosity oil molecules around the foam,intermolecular forces are reduced,thereby accelerating the separation process.The absorption capacity of this modified MF towards organic solvents and oil is up to 79 times its own weight.In addition,the mechanical properties of the modified foam are improved to a certain extent,more conducive to the continuous oil-water separation.This photothermal absorption material provides ideas for the rapid removal of high-viscosity oil,heavy oil,etc.