Techno-Economic Evaluation of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis Plants for the Conversion of Heterogeneous Waste Plastics to Liquid Fuels in Nigeria

Techno-economic potentials of thermal and catalytic pyrolysis plants for the conversion of waste plastics to liquid fuels have been widely studied, but it is not obvious which of the two plants is more profitable, as the existing studies used different assumptions and cost bases in their analyses, thereby making it difficult to compare the economic potentials of the two plants. In this study, industrial-scale thermal and catalytic waste plastics pyrolysis plants were designed and economically analyzed using ASPEN PLUS. Amorphous silica-alumina was considered the optimum catalyst, with 3:1 feed to catalyst ratio. Based on 20,000 tons/year of feed and 20% interest rate, the catalytic plant, having a net present value (NPV) of &#83582208 million, was found to be economically less attractive than the thermal plant, having the NPV of &#83582426.4 million. On the contrary, sensitivity analyses of the two plants at a feed rate of 50,000 tons/year gave rise to a slightly higher NPV for the catalytic plant (&#83589861 million) than the thermal plant having NPV of &#83589838 million, thereby making the former more economically attractive for processing large amounts of waste plastics into liquid fuels. Consequently, as the catalytic plant showed a better scale economy and would produce higher quality liquid fuels than the thermal plant, it is recommended for commercialization in Nigeria.

Texture coefficient and band gap tailoring of Fe-doped SnO_(2) nanoparticles via thermal spray pyrolysis

An investigation of Fe-doping effect on SnO_(2) thin films was performed in this study using thermal spray pyrolysis(TSP) method.The surface morphology and structural,optical and electrical properties were studied by field energy scanning electron microscope(FESEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis) spectroscopy and four-point probe method.FES EM images demonstrate that the surface morphology of the as-deposited films varies when Fe-doping content varies.XRD studies reveal that crystallite size and preferential growth orientations of the films are dependent on Fe-doping concentrations.The grain size is found to decrease with the increase in Fe content.These studies also specify that the films have tetragonal rutile-type structure with mixed secondary phases.The texture coefficient value of(110) plane increases with the concomitant in-plane(220) decrease in higher doping concentrations.The resistivity and the optical absorbance are found to increase with Fe concentration.The direct optical band gap decreases from 3.94 to3.52 eV with increasing Fe content.

Microstructure and evolution of hafnium carbide whiskers via polymer-derived ceramics:A novel formation mechanism

Polymer-derived ultra-high-temperature ceramic(UHTC)nanocomposites have attracted growing attention due to the increasing demands for advanced thermal structure components in aerospace.Herein,hafnium carbide(HfC)whiskers are successfully fabricated in carbon fiber preforms via the polymer-derived ceramic(PDC)method.A novel carbon nanotube(CNT)template growth mechanism combined with the PDC method is proposed in this work,which is different from the conventional vapor–liquid–solid(VLS)mechanism that is commonly used for polymer-derived nanostructured ceramics.The CNTs are synthesized and proved to be the templates for fabricating the HfC whiskers,which are generated by the released low-molecular-weight gas such as CO,CO_(2),and CH4 during the pyrolysis of a Hf-containing precursor.The formed products are composed of inner single crystal HfC whiskers that are measured to be several tens of micrometers in length and 100–200 nm in diameter and outer HfC/HfO_(2)particles.Our work not only proposes a new strategy to prepare the HfC whiskers,but also puts forward a new thinking of the efficient utilization of a UHTC polymer precursor.

Hierarchically porous carbon cages synthesized through in situ migration of templates

In order to optimize mass transportation and exchange,nature creates hierarchically porous networks which are composed of multi-level branches.Although bottom-up templating methods have succeeded in fabrication of these kinds of hierarchically porous networks,the templates have to be assembled/packed in advance,therefore,driving the fabrication process too complex.In this report,we presented that the hierarchically porous networks could be fabricated through migration of templates,which was similar to formation of rive rs.During thermal pyrolysis of Prussian blue cages,the in situly generated iron oxides nanoparticles diffused and aggrega ted together to grow larger,and eventually moved outside from the porous carbons.The moving routes of the iron oxides became hierarchical channels in the obtained carbon cages.By using the porous carbon cages as electrode for Na-ion battery,a pseudocapacitor-type ion storage was investigated.