Pore-scale modeling of pore structure properties and wettability effect on permeability of low-rank coal

Permeability is a key parameter for coalbed methane development.Although the absolute permeability of coal has been extensively studied,wettability and pore structure properties continue to challenge the microscopic description of water-gas flow in coal.For this purpose,we reconstructed the microstructures of low-rank coal using micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)images.Pore geometry and pore-throat parameters are introduced to establish a relationship with absolute permeability.A dual-porosity pore network model is developed to study water-gas displacement under different wetting and pore structure properties.Results show that absolute permeability is significantly affected by pore geometry and can be described using a binary quadratic function of porosity and fractal dimension.Water-gas relative permeability varies significantly and the residual gas saturation is lower;the crossover saturation first decreased and then increased with increasing porosity under hydrophobic conditions.While the water relative permeability is lower and a certain amount of gas is trapped in complex pore-throat networks;the crossover saturation is higher under hydrophilic conditions.Models with large percolating porosity and well-developed pore networks have high displacement efficiency due to low capillary resistance and avoidance of trapping.This work provides a systematic description of absolute permeability and water-gas relative permeability in coal microstructure for enhanced gas recovery.

Reconstruction and recovery of anatase TiO_(2) from spent selective catalytic reduction catalyst by Na OH hydrothermal method

The improper disposal of spent selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts causes environmental pollution and metal resource waste.A novel process to recover anatase titanium dioxide (TiO_(2)) from spent SCR catalysts was proposed.The process included alkali (NaOH) hydrothermal treatment,sulfuric acid washing,and calcination.Anatase TiO_(2) in spent SCR catalyst was reconstructed by forming Na_(2)Ti_(2)O_(4)(OH)_(2) nanosheet during NaOH hydrothermal treatment and H_(2)Ti_(2)O_(4)(OH)_(2) during sulfuric acid washing.Anatase TiO_(2) was recovered by decomposing H_(2)Ti_(2)O_(4)(OH)_(2) during calcination.The surface pore properties of the recovered anatase TiO_(2) were adequately improved,and its specific surface area (SSA) and pore volume (PV) were 85 m^(2)·g^(-1)and 0.40 cm^(3)·g^(-1),respectively.The elements affecting catalytic abilities(arsenic and sodium) were also removed.The SCR catalyst was resynthesized using the recovered TiO_(2) as raw material,and its catalytic performance in NO selective reduction was comparable with that of commercial SCR catalyst.This study realized the sustainable recycling of anatase TiO_(2) from spent SCR catalyst.

Collapse behavior and microstructural evolution of loess soils from the Loess Plateau of China

Loess soils are characterized by metastable microstructure, high porosity and water-sensitivity. These soils have always been problematic soils and attracted attention from researchers all over the world. In the present study, three loess soils extracted at various depths from the Loess Plateau of China, i.e. Malan(Q_3), upper Lishi(Q_2~2) and lower Lishi(Q_2~1) loess soils, were studied. Single oedometer-collapse tests were performed on intact loess specimens to investigate the collapse behavior of three loess soils. The microstructure and chemical composition of each loess before and after collapse test were characterized using scanning electron microscopy(i.e. SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy(i.e. EDS) techniques. The microstructural evolution due to wetting collapse was interpreted qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of the pore morphology properties. The results suggest that:(1) the collapse potential of each loess may rise again after a round of rise and drop, which could be failure of the new-developed stable structure under quite high vertical pressure. It implies that loess may collapse even if it has collapsed.(2) Q_3, Q_2~2 and Q_2~1 loess have different types of microstructure, namely, granule, aggregate and matrix type of microstructure, respectively.(3) The microstructural evolution due to loading and wetting is observed from a granule type to an aggregate type and finally to a matrix type of structure. The variations in distributions of pore morphology properties indicate that collapse leads to a transformation of large-sized pores into small-sized pores, re-orientation and remolding of soil pores due to particle rearrangement.(4) A porous structure is essential for loess collapse; however, the non-water-stability of bonding agents promotes the occurrence of collapse under the coupling effect of loading and wetting.

Role of Ni(NO_3)_2 in the preparation of a magnetic coal-based activated carbon

The role of Nil（NO3）2 in the preparation of a magnetic activated carbon is reported in this paper. Magnetic coal-based activated carbons （MCAC） were prepared from Taixi anthracite with low ash content in the presence of Ni（NO3）2. The MCAC materials were characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer （VSM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, a scanning electric microscope （SEM）, and by N2 adsorption. The cylindri- cal precursors and derived char were also subjected to thermogravimetric analysis to compare their behavior of weight losses during carbonization. The results show that MCAC has a larger surface area （1074 m21g） and a higher pore volume （0.5792 cm3/g） with enhanced mesopore ratio （by about 10~）. It also has a high saturation magnetization （1.6749 emu/g） and low coercivity （43.26 Oe）, which allows the material to be magnetically separated. The MCAC is easily magnetized because the nickel salt is con- vetted into Ni during carbonization and activation. Metallic Ni has a strong magnetism on account of electrostatic interaction. Added Ni（NO3）2 catalyzes the carbonization and activation process by accelerat- ing burn off of the carbon, which contributes to the development of mesopores and macropores in the activated carbon.

Microstructure and Properties of Cement Foams Prepared by Magnesium Oxychloride Cement

Microstructural features including pore size distribution, cell walls and phase compositions of magnesium oxychloride cement foams（MOCF） with various MgO powders and water mixture ratios were studied. Their infl uences on compressive strength, water absorption and resistance of MOCF were also discussed in detail. The experimental results indicated that moderate and slight excess MgO powders（MgO/MgCl2 molar ratios from 5.1 to 7） were beneficial to the formation of excellent microstructure of MOCF, but increasing water contents（H2O/MgO mass ratios from 0.9 to 1.29） might result in opposite conclusions. The microstructure of MOCF produced with moderate and slight excess MgO powders could enhance the compressive strength, while serious excess MgO powders addition（MgO/MgCl2 molar ratios = 9） would destroy the cell wall structures, and therefore decrease the strength of the system. Although MOCF produced with excess MgO powders could decrease the water absorption, its softening coefficient was lower than that of the material produced with moderate MgO powders. This might be due to the instability of phase 5, the volume expansion and cracking of cell walls as immersed the sample into water.

SYNTHESIS OF MACROPOROUS COPOLYMER OF VCA AND DVB

The reactiving ratios of vinyl acetate (VAc) and divinyl benzene (DVB) werecalculated from the Q and e values. The possibility of the copolymerization of thesetwo monomers was predicted and the copolymerization was carried out by-sin pensionpolymerization technique in the presence of pore producing agent (toluene andgasoline). The relative ratio of acetoxy group and benzene ring in the copolymer weremonitored by IR measurement during the polymerization. The variation of poreproperties, such as specific surface area, porosity and average pore diameter withpolymerization time were determined The copolymers at various polymerization timewere alcoholyzed and thus the variation of the hydroxyl group content withpolymerization time was studied.

Effects of Microwave Heating on Pore Fractal Properties of Blast Furnace Sludge

Effects of microwave heating on the pore fractal properties of blast furnace sludge （BFS） and relative mechanism were studied. The results show that the morphology features of iron bearing sinter and coke particles, which are the main constituents of the BFS, were remarkably changed by microwave heating. The porosity, surface roughness and specific surface area of modified particle surface all increased obviously. Combining with fractal meth-od called Sierpinski model, the fractal dimensions of sinter, coke and others increased from 2.35, 2.24 and 2.58 to 2.65, 2.44 and 2.61 respectively, after modification by microwave heating. The results predicted that the reaction mechanism of microwave heating for BFS is related to two aspects. Different mineral phases existed in BFS particles incline to dissociate each other due to their different microwave absorbability~ some recombination or reconstruction of matters or structure leads to structure defects, which have great influences on the surface morphology characteris-tics and chemical properties. The research indicated that fractal dimension can be used as an effective factor for quan-titative analysis of the pore changes in morphology of the sludge. Furthermore, it is helpful for separation and ex- traction of valuable constituent from BFS.

Effect of Temperature on Thermal Treatment of Silica Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles

In the quest for developing a catalyst with as many desired characteristics, a facile synthetic route was designed for the preparation of mesoporous silica coated magnetic nanoparticles（MSMNP） employing a colloid mill reactor. The composite particles were characterized by the techniques, such as nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, X-ray diffraction patterns （XRD）, thermo-gravimetric analysis（TGA）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR） and vibrating sample magnetometer（VSM）, etc. The analysis showed that the resulted MSMNP composites were composed of silica shell layers with open pores connecting channels and NiFe204 with spinel structure, so the thermal treatment temperature did not show significant effect on pore textural properties, and its specific surface areas were in the range of 443-- 474 m2/g, while pore volume of about 0.8 cm3/g with an average pore size of around 9.5 nm. The composites with super paramagnetic nature were encapsulated entirely with amorphous silica layers contributing to optimum porosity and abundant surface hydroxyl groups.