Investigation on activated semi-coke desulfurization

An activated semi coke with industrial scale size was prepared by high pressure hydrothermal chemistry activation, HNO 3 oxidation and calcination activation in proper order from Inner Mongolia Zhalainuoer semi coke, which is rich in resource and cheap in sale. SO 2 adsorption capacity on this activated semi coke was assessed in the fixed bed in the temperature range of 60—170℃, space velocity range of 500—1300 h -1 , SO 2 concentration of 1000—3000 ppmv, and N 2 as balance. The surface area, elemental and proximate analysis for both raw semi coke and activated semi cokes were measured. The experimental results showed that the activated semi coke has a high adsorption capacity for sulfur dioxide than the untreated semi coke. This may be the result of increase of surface area on activated semi coke and surface oxygen functional groups with basicity characteristics. Comparison to result of FTIR, it is known that group of —C—O—C? ?may be active center of SO 2 catalytic adsorption on activated semi coke.

Fabrication of pollution-free coal gangue-based catalytic material utilizing ferrous chloride as activator for efficient peroxymonosulfate activation

Novel coal gangue-based persulfate catalyst(CG-FeCl_(2))was successfully synthesized by the means of calcinating under nitrogen atmosphere with the addition of ferrous chloride tetrahydrate(FeCl_(2)·_(4)H_(2)O).The phase transformation of the prepared materials and gas products during the heating process are thoroughly investigated.It is suggested that ferrous chloride participated in the phase transformation and formed Si-O-Fe bonds.And the main gaseous products are H_(2)O,H_(2),and HCl during the heating process.Besides,the ability of CG-FeCl_(2) to activate peroxymonosulfate(PMS)for catalytic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)and phenol was deeply studied.More than 95%of naphthyl,phenanthrene and phenol were removed under optimizied conditions.In addition,1O_(2),·OH,and SO_(4)·−were involved in the CG-FeCl_(2)/PMS system from the free radical scavenging experiment,where 1O_(2) played a major role during the oxidation process.Furthermore,CG-FeCl_(2)/PMS system exhibited superior stability in a relatively wide pH range and the presence of common anion from related degradation experiments.Overall,the novel CG-FeCl_(2) is an efficient and environmentally friendly catalyst,displaying potential application prospect in the field of PAHs and phenol-contaminated wastewater treatment.

Study Progress Analysis of Effluent Quality Prediction in Activated Sludge Process Based on CiteSpace

In this paper, CiteSpace, a bibliometrics software, was adopted to collect research papers published on the Web of Science, which are relevant to biological model and effluent quality prediction in activated sludge process in the wastewater treatment. By the way of trend map, keyword knowledge map, and co-cited knowledge map, specific visualization analysis and identification of the authors, institutions and regions were concluded. Furthermore, the topics and hotspots of water quality prediction in activated sludge process through the literature-co-citation-based cluster analysis and literature citation burst analysis were also determined, which not only reflected the historical evolution progress to a certain extent, but also provided the direction and insight of the knowledge structure of water quality prediction and activated sludge process for future research.

Activation of 2D MoS_(2) electrodes induced by high-rate lithiation processes

MoS_(2) is a highly promising material for application in lithium-ion battery anodes due to its high theoretical capacity and low cost.However,problems with a fast capacity decay over cycling,especially at the first cycles,and poor rate performance have deterred its practical implementation.Herein,electrodes comprised solely of few-layers 2D MoS_(2) nanosheets have been manufactured by scalable liquid-phase exfoliation and spray deposition methods.The long-standing controversy questioning the reversibility of conversion processes of MoS_(2)-based electrodes was addressed.Raman studies revealed that,in 2D MoS_(2) electrodes,conversion processes are indeed reversible,where nanostructure played a key role.Cycling of the electrodes at high current rates revealed an intriguing phenomenon consisting of a continuously increasing capacity after ca.100-200 cycles.This phenomenon was comprehensively addressed by a variety of electrochemical and microscopy methods that revealed underlying physical activation mechanisms that involved a range of profound electrode structural changes.Activation mechanisms delivered a capacitive electrode of a superior rate performance and cycling stability,as compared to the corresponding pristine electrodes,and to MoS_(2) electrodes previously reported.Herein,we have devised a methodology to overcome the problem of cycling stability of 2D MoS_(2) electrodes.Moreover,activation of electrodes constitutes a methodology that could be applied to enhance the energy storage performance of electrodes based on other 2D nanomaterials,or combinations thereof,strategically combining chemistries to engineer electrodes of superior energy storage properties.

Effects of Co_3O_4 nanocatalyst morphology on CO oxidation:Synthesis process map and catalytic activity

This study focuses on drawing a hydrothermal synthesis process map for Co3O4 nanoparticles with various morphologies and investigating the effects of Co3O4 nanocatalyst morphology on CO oxidation.A series of cobalt-hydroxide-carbonate nanoparticles with various morphologies（i.e.,nanorods,nanosheets,and nanocubes） were successfully synthesized,and Co3O4 nanoparticles were obtained by thermal decomposition of the cobalt-hydroxide-carbonate precursors.The results suggest that the cobalt source is a key factor for controlling the morphology of cobalt-hydroxide-carbonate at relatively low hydrothermal temperatures（≤ 140℃）.Nanorods can be synthesized in CoCl2 solution,while Co（NO3）2 solution promotes the formation of nanosheets.Further increasing the synthesis temperature（higher than 140 ℃） results in the formation of nanocubes in either Co（NO3）2 or CoCl2 solution.The reaction time only affects the size of the obtained nanoparticles.The presence of CTAB could improve the uniformity and dispersion of particles.Co3O4 nanosheets showed much higher catalytic activity for CO oxidation than nanorods and nanocubes because it has more abundant Co^（3＋） on the surface,much higher reducibility,and better oxygen desorption capacity.

Intercross real-time control strategy in alternating activated sludge process for short-cut biological nitrogen removal treating domestic wastewater

To develop technically feasible and economically favorable dynamic process control(DPC)strategies for an alternating activated sludge(AAS)system,a bench-scale continuous-flow alternating aerobic and anoxic reactor,performing short-cut nitrogen removal from real domestic wastewater was operated under different control strategies for more than five months.A fixed-time control(FTC) study showed that bending-points on pH and oxidation-reduction potential(ORP)profiles accurately coincided with the major biologic...

Comparison of heavy metal removal efficiencies in four activated sludge processes

The removal efficiencies of heavy metals(As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were investigated in the 17 operating municipal wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) and compared with those in four main activated sludge processes. Significant differences of heavy metal removal efficiencies were observed among four activated sludge processes. The removal efficiency for As(75.5%) in the oxidation ditch(OD) process is significantly higher than that in the conventional activated sludge(CAS) process(38.6%) or sequencing batch reactor(SBR) process(51.4%). The mean removal efficiencies for Cu and Ni in the OD process are 90.5% and 46.7%, respectively, while low mean removal efficiencies are observed for Cu(69.9%) and Ni(16.5%), respectively, in the SBR process. The removal efficiencies for Cu and Ni in the OD process are significantly higher than those in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic(A2-O) process. These results highlight the differences of removal efficiencies for heavy metals in different processes and should be considered when selecting a wastewater treatment process.

Enhanced biological nutrient removal in modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic process with return activated sludge pre-concentration

A pilot-scale modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic(AAO) process with pre-concentration of returned activated sludge(RAS) was proposed in this study for the enhanced biological nutrient removal(BNR) of municipal wastewater with limited carbon source. The influent carbon source was fed in step while a novel RAS pre-concentration tank was adopted to improve BNR efficiency, and the effects of an influent carbon source distribution ratio and a RAS pre-concentration ratio were investigated. The results show that the removal efficiency of TN is mainly influenced by the carbon source distribution ratio while the TP removal relies on the RAS pre-concentration ratio. The optimum carbon source distribution ratio and RAS pre-concentration ratio are 60% and 50%, respectively, with an inner recycling ratio of 100% under the optimum steady operation of pilot test, reaching an average effluent TN concentration of 9.8 mg·L-1with a removal efficiency of 63% and an average TP removal efficiency of 94%. The mechanism of nutrient removal is discussed and the kinetics is analyzed. The results reveal that the optimal carbon source distribution ratio provides sufficient denitrifying carbon source to each anoxic phase, reducing nitrate accumulation while the RAS pre-concentration ratio improves the condition of anaerobic zone to ensure the phosphorus release due to less nitrate in the returned sludge. Therefore, nitrifying bacteria, denitrifying bacteria and phosphorus accumulation organisms play an important role under the optimum condition, enhancing the performance of nutrient removal in this test.

Freeze-thaw processes of active-layer soils in the Nanweng'he River National Natural Reserve in the Da Xing'anling Mountains,northern Northeast China

The active-layer soils overlying the permafrost are the most thermodynamically active zone of rock or soil and play important roles in the earth-atmosphere energy system. The processes of thawing and freezing and their associated complex hydrothermal coupling can significantly affect variation in mean annual temperatures and the formation of ground ice in permafrost regions. Using soil-temperature and-moisture data obtained from the active layer between September 2011 and October 2014 in the permafrost region of the Nanweng'he River in the Da Xing'anling Mountains, the freeze-thaw characteristics of the permafrost were studied. Based on analysis of ground-temperature variation and hydrothermal transport characteristics, the thawing and freezing processes of the active layer were divided into three stages:(1) autumn-winter freezing,(2) winter freeze-up, and(3) spring-summer thawing. Variations in the soil temperature and moisture were analyzed during each stage of the freeze-thaw process, and the effects of the soil moisture and ground vegetation on the freeze-thaw are discussed in this paper. The study's results show that thawing in the active layer was unidirectional, while the ground freezing was bidirectional(upward from the bottom of the active layer and downward from the ground surface).During the annual freeze-thaw cycle, the migration of soil moisture had different characteristics at different stages. In general, during a freezing-thawing cycle, the soil-water molecules migrate downward, i.e., soil moisture transports from the entire active layer to the upper limit of the permafrost. In the meantime, freeze-thaw in the active layer can be significantly affected by the soil-moisture content and vegetation.

Mechanical activation of natural chalcopyrite for improving heterogeneous Fenton degradation of tetracycline

Natural minerals receive growing attention as inexpensive, green, and efficient catalysts for degradation of organic pollutants. Mechanical activation of natural chalcopyrite was conducted for improving the catalytic performance.Tetracycline degradation was evaluated in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and mechanically activated chalcopyrite.Tetracycline degradation at 100 min is 55.52%(Chp10), 68.97%(Chp30), 77.79%(Chp60), and 86.43%(Chp120),respectively, and the rate constant of pseudo-first-order kinetics is 0.0079, 0.0109, 0.0137 and 0.0192 min^(-1), respectively.Chalcopyrite samples were examined by multiple characterizations. Mechanical activation of natural chalcopyrite induces the decline of particle size and slight increase of surface area, smaller grain size, lattice strain, and partial sulfur oxidation. The relationship between catalytic activity and property change manifests that the improved catalytic ability is mainly ascribed to the increase of surface area and surface oxidation induced by mechanical activation. This work provides novel insights into the improvement of catalytic performance of natural minerals by mechanical activation.

A modified active disturbance rejection control for a wastewater treatment process

Waste water treatment process(WWTP)control has been attracting more and more attention.However,various undesired factors,such as disturbance,uncertainties,and strong nonlinear couplings,propose big challenges to the control of a WWTP.In order to improve the control performance of the closed-loop system and guarantee the discharge requirements of the effluent quality,rather than take the model dependent control approaches,an active disturbance rejection control(ADRC)is utilized.Based on the control signal and system output,a phase optimized ADRC(POADRC)is designed to control the dissolved oxygen and nitrate concentration in a WWTP.The phase advantage of the phase optimized extended state observer(POESO),convergence of the POESO,and stability of the closed-loop system are analyzed from the theoretical point of view.Finally,a commonly accepted benchmark simulation model no.1.(BSM1)is utilized to test the POESO and POADRC.Linear active disturbance rejection control(LADRC)and the suggested proportion-integration(PI)control are taken to make a comparative research.Both system responses and performance index values confirm the advantage of the POADRC over the LADRC and the suggested PI control.Numerical results show that,as a result of the leading phase of the total disturbance estimation,the POESO based POADRC is an effective and promising way to control the dissolved oxygen and nitrate concentration so as to ensure the effluent quality of a WWTP.

Quantification by Signal to Noise Ratio of Active Infrared Thermography Data Processing Techniques

In this paper, the use of a signal to noise ratio (SNR) is proposed for the quantification of the goodness of some selected processing techniques of thermographic images, such as differentiated absolute contrast, skewness and kurtosis based algorithms, pulsed phase transform, principal component analysis and thermographic signal reconstruction. A new hybrid technique is also applied (PhAC—Phase absolute contrast), it combines three different processing techniques: phase absolute contrast, pulsed phase thermography and thermographic signal reconstruction. The quality of the results is established on the basis of the values of the parameter SNR, assessed for the present defects in the analyzed specimen, which enabled to quantify and compare their identification and the quality of the results of the employed technique.

Adjusting oxygen vacancies in perovskite LaCoO_(3)by electrochemical activation to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction activity in alkaline condition

Developing highly-active,earth-abundant non-precious-metal catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)in alkaline solution would be beneficial to sustainable energy storage.Perovskite oxides are generally regarded as low-active HER catalysts,due to their inapposite hydrogen adsorption and water dissociation.Here,we report a detailed study on perovskite LaCoO_(3)epitaxial thin films as a model catalyst to significantly enhance the HER performance via an electrochemical activation process.As a result,the overpotential for the activation films to achieve a current density of 0.36 m A/cm^(2)is 238 m V,reduced by more than 200 m V in comparison with that of original samples.Structural characterization revealed the activation process dramatically increases the concentration of oxygen vacancies(Vo)on the surface of LaCoO_(3).We established the relationship between the electronic structure induced by Vo and the enhanced HER activity.Further theoretical calculations revealed that the Vo optimizes the hydrogen adsorption and dissociation of water on the surface of LaCoO_(3)thin films,thus improving the HER catalytic activity.This work may promote a deepened understanding of perovskite oxides for HER mechanism by Vo adjusting and a new avenue for designing highly active electrochemical catalysts in alkaline solution.

Study on Treatment of the Pesticide Wastewater by the Composite Process of Biological Active Carbon Filter-Fluid Bed

[ Objectlve] The research aimed to study treatment effect of the pesticide wastewater by the composite process of biological active car- bon filter-fluid bed. [Method] The composite process of biological active carbon filter- fluid bed was applied to treat the mixed pesticide wastewater. The removal efficiencies of CODcr, BODs, NH3-N, SS and the influence factors were investigated. [ Result] The composite process had good treatment efficiency for pesticide wastewater. After running stably, the average removal rates of CODc,, BODs, NH3-N and SS were re- spectively 91.6%, 96.2%, 90.2% and 87.5%. All indices reached the third level cdteda specified in Comprehensive Standard of the Sewage Dis- charge （DB12/356-2008）. [ Conclusionl The whole system operates reliably and simply, and provides a stable, convenient and economical solu- tion for deep treatment of the mixed pesticide wastewater.

Effects of pre-deformation on microstructure and tensile properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy produced by modified strain induced melt activation

The effects of Al-8B grain refiner on microstructure and tensile properties of an Al-12Zn-3Mg-2.5Cu alloy produced by modified strain induced melt activation process were investigated. Pre-deformation of 60% was used by hot working at 300 ℃. After pre-deformation, the samples were heated to a temperature above the solidus and below the liquidus point and maintained in the isothermal conditions at three different temperatures（500, 550 and 590 ℃） for varying time（10, 20 and 40 min）. It was observed that strain induced melt activation has caused the globular morphology of α（Al） grains. Microstructural study was carried out on the alloy by using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope in both unrefined and B-refined conditions. The results showed that for the desired microstructures of the alloy during SIMA process, the optimum temperature and time are 550 ℃ and 10 min, respectively. After the T6 heat treatment, the average tensile strengths increased from 278 to 585 MPa and 252 to 560 MPa for samples refined with 3.75% Al-8B before and after SIMA process, respectively. The ultimate strength of SIMA specimens is lower than that of B-refined specimens.

Effects of strain-induced melt activation treatment on the microstructure and properties of Zn sacrificial anodes

The microstructural properties and electrochemical performance of zinc(Zn)sacrificial anodes during strain-induced melt activation(SIMA)were investigated in this study.The samples were subjected to a compressive ratio of 20%-50% at various temperatures(425-435℃)and durations(5-30 min).Short-term electrochemical tests(anode tests)based on DNV-RP-B401 and potentiodynamic polarization tests were performed in 3.5wt%NaCl solution to evaluate the electrochemical efficiency and corrosion behavior of the samples,respectively.The electrochemical test results for the optimum sample confirmed that the corrosion current density declined by 90% and the anode efficiency slightly decreased relative to that of the raw sample.Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy,metallographic images,and microhardness profiles showed the accumulation of alloying elements on the boundary and the conversion of uniform corrosion into localized corrosion,hence the decrease of the Zn sacrificial anode’s efficiency after the SIMA process.

A value-added cooking process to improve the quality of soybean:Protecting its isoflavones and antioxidant activity

This study investigated the effects of domestic cooking process on the variations of soybean isoflavones,aiming at understanding the conversion of-glucosides and aglycones isoflavones during the process and the relation with antioxidant activity.It was found that-glucosides isoflavones was significantly increased from 223.01(raw)to 727.29 mg/g(frying at 160◦C for 2 min),but boiling showed only a slight increase to 258.14 mg/g.The process for the mixed cooking of soybeans with vegetables was also evaluated,which is quite common in home cuisine.The results showed all bioactive ingredients were aggressively destroyed by over processing,but interestingly,green pepper and kelp exhibited isoflavones generation potentials for soybean.In addition,cooking from 60 to 160◦C for 2 or 5 min,showed a significantly decrease on FRAP.However,in the case of fried soybeans which treated at 120◦C or 160◦C,when extending the heating time to 5 min,their FRAP activity got a significant increase.The present study may provide a practical guidance for healthy soybean cooking,by using frying around 120◦C for 5 min and mixed with some vegetables such as green peppers or kelp.

Proportion integral-type active disturbance rejection generalized predictive control for distillation process based on grey wolf optimization parameter tuning

The high-purity distillation column system is strongly nonlinear and coupled,which makes it difficult to control.Active disturbance rejection control(ADRC)has been widely used in distillation systems,but it has limitations in controlling distillation systems with large time delays since ADRC employs ESO and feedback control law to estimate the total disturbance of the system without considering the large time delays.This paper designs a proportion integral-type active disturbance rejection generalized predictive control(PI-ADRGPC)algorithm to control the distillation column system with large time delay.It replaces the PD controller in ADRC with a proportion integral-type generalized predictive control(PI-GPC),thereby improving the performance of control systems with large time delays.Since the proposed controller has many parameters and is difficult to tune,this paper proposes to use the grey wolf optimization(GWO)to tune these parameters,whose structure can also be used by other intelligent optimization algorithms.The performance of GWO tuned PI-ADRGPC is compared with the control performance of GWO tuned ADRC method,multi-verse optimizer(MVO)tuned PI-ADRGPC and MVO tuned ADRC.The simulation results show that the proposed strategy can track reference well and has a good disturbance rejection performance.

Activation of Transition Metal(Fe,Co and Ni)-Oxide Nanoclusters by Nitrogen Defects in Carbon Nanotube for Selective CO_(2) Reduction Reaction

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR),which can produce value-added chemical feedstocks,is a proton-coupled-electron process with sluggish kinetics.Thus,highly efficient,cheap catalysts are urgently required.Transition metal oxides such as CoO_(x),FeO_(x),and NiO_(x)are low-cost,low toxicity,and abundant materials for a wide range of electrochemical reactions,but are almost inert for CO_(2)RR.Here,we report for the first time that nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes(N-CNT)have a surprising activation effect on the activity and selectivity of transition metal-oxide(MO_(x)where M=Fe,Ni,and Co)nanoclusters for CO_(2)RR.MO_(x)supported on N-CNT,MO_(x)/N-CNT,achieves a CO yield of 2.6–2.8 mmol cm−2 min−1 at an overpotential of−0.55 V,which is two orders of magnitude higher than MO_(x)supported on acid treated CNTs(MO_(x)/O-CNT)and four times higher than pristine N-CNT.The faraday efficiency for electrochemical CO_(2)-to-CO conversion is as high as 90.3%at overpotential of 0.44 V.Both in-situ XAS measurements and DFT calculations disclose that MO_(x)nanoclusters can be hydrated in CO_(2)saturated KHCO_(3),and the N defects of N-CNT effectively stabilize these metal hydroxyl species under carbon dioxide reduction reaction conditions,which can split the water molecules and provide local protons to inhibit the poisoning of active sites under carbon dioxide reduction reaction conditions.

Training of Multi-layered Neural Network for Data Enlargement Processing Using an Activity Function

In this paper, we present a study on activity functions for an MLNN (multi-layered neural network) and propose a suitable activity function for data enlargement processing. We have carefully studied the training performance of Sigmoid, ReLu, Leaky-ReLu and L & exp. activity functions for few inputs to multiple output training patterns. Our MLNNs model has L hidden layers with two or three inputs to four or six outputs data variations by BP (backpropagation) NN (neural network) training. We focused on the multi teacher training signals to investigate and evaluate the training performance in MLNNs to select the best and good activity function for data enlargement and hence could be applicable for image and signal processing (synaptic divergence) along with the proposed methods with convolution networks. We specifically used four activity functions from which we found out that L & exp. activity function can suite DENN (data enlargement neural network) training since it could give the highest percentage training abilities compared to the other activity functions of Sigmoid, ReLu and Leaky-ReLu during simulation and training of data in the network. And finally, we recommend L & exp. function to be good for MLNNs and may be applicable for signal processing of data and information enlargement because of its performance training characteristics with multiple teacher training patterns using original generated data and hence can be tried with CNN (convolution neural networks) of image processing.