Green microfluidics in microchemical engineering for carbon neutrality

The concept of“carbon neutrality”poses a huge challenge for chemical engineering and brings great opportunities for boosting the development of novel technologies to realize carbon offsetting and reduce carbon emissions.Developing high-efficient,low-cost,energy-efficient and eco-friendly microfluidicbased microchemical engineering is of great significance.Such kind of“green microfluidics”can reduce carbon emissions from the source of raw materials and facilitate controllable and intensified microchemical engineering processes,which represents the new power for the transformation and upgrading of chemical engineering industry.Here,a brief review of green microfluidics for achieving carbon neutral microchemical engineering is presented,with specific discussions about the characteristics and feasibility of applying green microfluidics in realizing carbon neutrality.Development of green microfluidic systems are categorized and reviewed,including the construction of microfluidic devices by bio-based substrate materials and by low carbon fabrication methods,and the use of more biocompatible and nondestructive fluidic systems such as aqueous two-phase systems(ATPSs).Moreover,low carbon applications benefit from green microfluidics are summarized,ranging from separation and purification of biomolecules,high-throughput screening of chemicals and drugs,rapid and cost-effective detections,to synthesis of fine chemicals and novel materials.Finally,challenges and perspectives for further advancing green microfluidics in microchemical engineering for carbon neutrality are proposed and discussed.

Engineering Research Progress of Electrochemical Microreaction Technology—A Novel Method for Electrosynthesis of Organic Chemicals

Electrochemical methods are environmentally friendly and have unique advantages in the synthesis of organic chemicals.However,their implementation is limited due to the complex transport problems posed by traditional electrochemical reactors.Recently,the application of microreaction technology in electrosynthesis studies has reduced the transport distance of ions and increased the specific surface area of electrodes,leading to efficient,successive,and easily scaled-up electrosynthesis technologies.In this review article,engineering advantages of using microchannels in electrosynthesis are discussed from process enhancement perspective.Flow patterns and mass transfer behaviors in recently reported electrochemical microreactors are analyzed,and prototypes for the reactor scale-up are reviewed.As a relatively new research area,many scientific rules and engineering features of electrosynthesis in microreactors require elucidation.Potential research foci,considered crucial for the development of novel electrosynthesis technology,are therefore proposed.

Multi-criteria decision-making selection model with application to chemical engineering management decisions

Chemical industry project management involves complex decision making situations that require discerning abilities and methods to make sound decisions. Chemical engineers as project managers are faced with decision environments and problems in chemical industry projects that are complex. Multiple-criteria decision making （MCDM） approaches are major parts of decision theory and analysis. This paper presents all of MCDM approaches for use in chemical engineering management decisions. In this work, case study is Research and Development （R＆D） project selection in chemical industry. The ability to make sound decisions is very important to success of R＆D projects. It is hoped that this work will provide a ready reference on MCDM and this will encourage the application of the MCDM in chemical engineering management.

Electrochemically and Ultrasonically-Enhanced Coagulation for Algae Removal

At the global level, the augmenting presence of harmful algae blooms constitutes important dares to water treatment plants (WTPs). In WTPs, coagulation remains the primary process of the applied procedure to treat algae-contaminated water. Such a chemical process influences the following techniques;thus, regulating coagulation parameters to eliminate algae at the maximum degree without provoking cell deterioration is more than crucial. This work aims to review coagulation-founded methods for algae elimination. First, investigations concentrating on algae elimination using the chemical process are discussed. The introduction presents the widespread algae encountered in the water treatment field. Then, habitually utilized experimental techniques and emerging methods in coagulation investigations are summarized with typical findings. Next, the newest expansions in improved algae elimination, launched by electrochemically and ultrasonically-enhanced coagulation, are discussed. Workable thoughts for applying coagulation to eliminate algae in WTPs are also debated. The paper finishes by defining restrictions and dares related to the present literature and suggesting trends for subsequent studies. The charge neutralization mechanism efficiently removes solubilized microcystins (MCs), and enhanced coagulation configuration is also found to be more efficient for their removal. However, considerations should be taken to avert that the acid introduction has no unwanted effect in killing algae treatment to avoid the solubilized MCs level elevation. If such techniques are well-optimized and controlled, both algae and solubilized MCs could be efficaciously removed by ultrasound-enhanced coagulation and electrocoagulation/electrooxidation.

Quintessence anisotropic stellar models in quadratic and Born-Infeld modified teleparallel Rastall gravity

This study aims to discuss anisotropic solutions that are spherically symmetric in the quintessence field,which describe compact stellar objects in the modified Rastall teleparallel theory of gravity.To achieve this goal,the Krori and Barua arrangement for spherically symmetric components of the line element is incorporated.We explore the field equations by selecting appropriate off-diagonal tetrad fields.Born-Infeld function of torsion f(T)=β√λT+1-1 and power law form h(T)=δTn are used.The Born-Infeld gravity was the first modified teleparallel gravity to discuss inflation.We use the linear equation of state pr=ξρto separate the quintessence density.After obtaining the field equations,we investigate different physical parameters that demonstrate the stability and physical acceptability of the stellar models.We use observational data,such as the mass and radius of the compact star candidates PSRJ 1416-2230,Cen X-3,&4U 1820-30,to ensure the physical plausibility of our findings.

A prototype for on-site generation of chlorinated disinfectant for use in rural aqueducts

Sodium hypochlorite has significant potential as a sanitation solution in hard-to-reach areas.Few studies have investigated the optimal electrolysis parameters for its production with volumes greater than 1o L.This study evaluated sodium hypochlorite production through electrolysis in a 22-L prototype and identified the optimal operating parameters.Tests were performed using graphite electrodes with areas of 68.4 cm^(2) at the laboratory scale and 1865.0 cm^(2) at the prototype scale.A design for experiments with different operating times,chloride concentrations,and electric current intensities was developed.The optimal operating time,sodium chloride concentration,and current intensity at the laboratory scale were 120 min,150 g of chloride per liter,and 3 A,respectively,leading to the production of 5.02 g/L of the disinfectant with an energy efficiency of 12.21 mg of Cl_(2) per kilojoule.At the prototype scale,the maximum sodium hypochlorite concentration of 3.99 g of chloride per liter was achieved with an operating time of 120 min,a sodium chloride concentration of 100 g of chloride per liter,and a current intensity of 70 A,reaching an energy efficiency of 42.56 mg of Cl_(2) per kilojoule.In addition,this study evaluated the influences of the chloride concentration,current intensity,and operating time on the production of sodium hypochlorite at the two scales,and formulated the equations showing the trends of sodium hypochlorite production and energy efficiency in the electrochemical systems.The 22-L prototype model for production of this oxidizing substance is promising for disinfection of large volumes of water in areas that are difficult to access.

Microfluidic-oriented synthesis of enriched iridium nanodots/carbon architecture for robust electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)is considered as a promising candidate to achieve ammonia synthesis because of clean electric energy,moderate reaction condition,safe operating process and harmless by-products.However,the chemical inertness of nitrogen and poor activated capacity on catalyst surface usually produce low ammonia yield and faradic efficiency.Herein,the microfluidic technology is proposed to efficiently fabricate enriched iridium nanodots/carbon architecture.Owing to in-situ co-precipitation reaction and microfluidic manipulation,the iridium nanodots/carbon nanomaterials possess small average size,uniform dispersion,high conductivity and abundant active sites,producing good proton activation and rapid electrons transmission and moderate adsorption/desorption capacity.As a result,the as-prepared iridium nanodots/carbon nanomaterials realize large ammonia yield of 28.73 μg h^(-1) cm^(-2) and faradic efficiency of 9.14%in KOH solution.Moreover,the high ammonia yield of 11.21 μg h^(-1) cm^(-2) and faradic efficiency of 24.30%are also achieved in H_(2)SO_(4) solution.The microfluidic method provides a reference for large-scale fabrication of nano-sized catalyst materials,which may accelerate the progress of electrocatalytic NRR in industrialization field.

Blade Wrap Angle Impact on Centrifugal Pump Performance:Entropy Generation and Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis

The centrifugal pump is a prevalent power equipment widely used in different engineering patterns,and the impeller blade wrap angle significantly impacts its performance.A numerical investigation was conducted to analyze the influence of the blade wrap angle on flow characteristics and energy distribution of a centrifugal pump evaluated as a low specific speed with a value of 69.This study investigates six impellermodels that possess varying blade wrap angles(95°,105°,115°,125°,135°,and 145°)that were created while maintaining the same volute and other geometrical characteristics.The investigation of energy loss was conducted to evaluate the values of total and entropy generation rates(TEG,EGR).The fluid-structure interaction was considered numerically using the software tools ANSYS Fluent and ANSYSWorkbench.The elastic structural dynamic equation was used to estimate the structural response,while the shear stress transport k–ωturbulence model was utilized for the fluid domain modeling.The findings suggest that the blade wrap angle has a significant influence on the efficiency of the pump.The impeller featuring a blade wrap angle of 145°exhibits higher efficiency,with a notable increase of 3.76%relative to the original model.Variations in the blade wrap angle impact the energy loss,shaft power,and pump head.The model with a 145°angle exhibited a maximum equivalent stress of 14.8MPa and a total deformation of 0.084 mm.The results provide valuable insights into the intricate flow mechanism of the centrifugal pump,particularly when considering various blade wrap angles.

Preparation of sodium molybdate from molybdenum concentrate by microwave roasting and alkali leaching

The preparation process of sodium molybdate has the disadvantages of high energy consumption,low thermal efficiency,and high raw material requirement of molybdenum trioxide,in order to realize the green and efficient development of molybdenum concentrate resources,this paper proposes a new process for efficient recovery of molybdenum from molybdenum concentrate and preparation of sodium molybdate by microwave-enhanced roasting and alkali leaching.Thermodynamic analysis indicated the feasibility of oxidation roasting of molybdenum concentrate.The effects of roasting temperature,holding time,and power-to-mass ratio on the oxidation product and leaching product sodium molybdate (Na_(2)MoO_(4)·2H_(2)O) were investigated.Under the optimal process conditions:roasting temperature of 700℃,holding time of 110 min,and power-to-mass ratio of 110 W/g,the molybdenum state of existence was converted from MoS_(2) to Mo O3.The process of preparing sodium molybdate by alkali leaching of molybdenum calcine was investigated,the optimal leaching conditions include a solution concentration of 2.5 mol/L,a liquid-to-solid ratio of 2 mL/g,a leaching temperature of 60℃,and leaching solution termination at pH 8.The optimum conditions result in a leaching rate of sodium molybdate of 96.24%.Meanwhile,the content of sodium molybdate reaches 94.08wt%after leaching and removing impurities.Iron and aluminum impurities can be effectively separated by adjusting the pH of the leaching solution with sodium carbonate solution.This research avoids the shortcomings of the traditional process and utilizes the advantages of microwave metallurgy to prepare high-quality sodium molybdate,which provides a new idea for the highvalue utilization of molybdenum concentrate.

Natural Silicate as a Solid Support for the Calix[4]Thiophosphorus Derivative for Removal Mercury (II), as Picrate from Water

Currently a technique widely used for gold extraction is mercury by amalgamation technique, the tailing produced pollutes water of all kinds, so it is necessary to develop a form of selective mitigation, for which it is necessary to use complexing agents based on calixarene functionalized with mercury sequestering agents. These are immobilized by adding supports based on natural silica to form polymers and make them insoluble in all types of solvents, so that they can be used as an extractor and at the same time regenerate to their original properties for continuous reuse.

A Unique Modelling Strategy to Dynamically Simulate the Performance of a Lobe Pump for Industrial Applications

The performance of a newly designed tri-lobe industrial lobe pump of high capacity is simulated by using commercial CFD solver Ansys Fluent. A combination of user-defined-functions and meshing strategies is employed to capture the rotation of the lobes. The numerical model is validated by comparing the simulated results with the literature values. The processes of suction, displacement, compression and exhaust are accurately captured in the transient simulation. The fluid pressure value remains in the range of inlet pressure value till the processes of suction and displacement are over. The instantaneous process of compression is accurately captured in the simulation. The movement of a particular working chamber is traced along the gradual degree of lobe’s rotation. At five different degrees of lobe’s rotation, pressure contour plots are reported which clearly shows the pressure values inside the working chamber. Each pressure value inside the working chamber conforms to the particular process in which the working chamber is operating. Finally, the power requirement at the shaft of rotation is estimated from the simulated values. The estimated value of power requirement is 3.61 BHP FHP whereas the same calculated theoretically is 3 BHP FHP. The discrepancy is attributed to the assumption of symmetry of blower along the thickness.

Carbon materials for enhanced photothermal conversion:Preparation and applications on steam generation

Photothermal conversion attracted lots of attention in the past years and sorts of materials were explored to enhance photothermal efficiency.In the past years,solar-driven desalination by photothermal conversion was proposed to release the shortage of fresh water and then it was considered much more important to prepare photothermal materials on large scales with high performance and low cost.In this review,we summarized the works on carbon-based photothermal materials in the past years,including the preparation as well as their application in steam generation.From these works,we give an outlook on the difficulties and chances of how to design and prepare carbon-based photothermal materials.

Thermal Decomposition of Olive-Solid Waste by TGA: Characterization and Devolatilization Kinetics under Nitrogen and Oxygen Atmospheres

Despite the fact that a few countries in the Mediterranean and the Middle East have limited crude oil reserves, they have abundant biomass feedstocks. For instance, Jordan relies heavily on the importation of natural gas and crude oil for its energy needs;but, by applying thermochemical conversion techniques, leftover olive oil can be used to replace these energy sources. Understanding the chemical, physical, and thermal characteristics of raw materials is essential to obtaining the most out of these conversion processes. Thermogravimetric analysis was used in this study to examine the thermal behavior of olive-solid residue (kernel) at three different heating rates (5, 20 and 40 C/min) in nitrogen and oxygen atmospheres. The initial degradation temperature, the residual weight at 500 and 700˚C and the thermal degradation rate during the devolatilization stage (below 400˚C) were all determined. It was found that in N2 and O2 atmospheres, both the initial degradation temperature and the degradation rate increase with increasing heating rates. As heating rates increase in the N2 atmosphere, the residual weight at 500 or 700˚C decreases slightly, but at low heating rates compared to high heating rates in the O2 atmosphere, it decreases significantly. This suggests that a longer lignin oxidation process is better than a shorter one. Coats and Redfern approach was used to identify the mechanism and activation energy for the devolatilization stage of pyrolysis and oxidation reactions. The process mechanism analysis revealed that the model of first-order and second-order reactions may adequately describe the mechanism of heat degradation of the devolatilization step of olive-solid waste for pyrolysis and oxidation processes, respectively.

Experimental investigation and theoretical modeling on scale behaviors of high salinity wastewater in zero liquid discharge process of coal chemical industry

Zero liquid discharge(ZLD)treatment and reuse equipment of high salinity wastewater in coal-chemical industry often occur in various types of blockage problems because of high salt content,affecting the long-term stability of the device.In this study,the effects of solution temperature,steel,reaction time and wall roughness on fouling were investigated.The changes in the contents of fouling and fouling substances were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by XRD and EDS respectively,and the formation of scale was observed by SEM.The results show that with temperature increasing,Q235 steel is the most difficult to scale.Scaling rate of all salt scales reaches a maximum after 12 h,and the fouling rate decreases significantly from 12 to 48 h.It gradually stabilizes at 48 to 96 h.With the roughness increasing,the thickness of fouling layer increases,and a linear relationship is presented for 1 to 10 h.By comparing actual and simulated wastewater scaling rates,the relationship between actual and simulated wastewater scaling rates is y=ax-0.494.The composition of the scale was analyzed,calcium carbonate is the main product and increases with fouling time.Based on the above-mentioned results combining literatures,the hybrid prediction model with calcium carbonate as the main product is put forward.It is discussed microscopically that calcium carbonate is converted from aragonite and vaterite in a thermodynamically metastable state to calcite in a thermodynamically stable state.

Ionic Distribution, Electrostatic Potential and Zeta Potential at Electrochemical Interfaces

Density functional theory is applied to predicting the structures and electrostatic potentials of planar electrochemical surfaces within the framework of the restricted primitive model where small ions are represented by charged hard spheres of equal diameter and the solvent is assumed to be a continuous dielectric medium. The hard-sphere contribution to the excess Helmholtz energy functional is evaluated using the modified fundamentalmeasure theory and the electrostatic contribution is obtained from the quadratic functional Taylor expansion using the second-order direct correlation function from the mean-spherical approximation. Numerical results for the ionic density profiles and the mean electrostatic potentials near a planar surface of various charge densities are in excellent agreement with molecular simulations. In contrast to the modified Gouy-Chapman theory, the present density functional theory correctly predicts the second layer formation and charge inversion of charged surfaces as observed in simulations and in experiments. The theory has also been tested with the zeta potentials of positively charged polystyrene particles in aqueous solutions of KBr. Good agreement is achieved between the calculated and experimental results.

Boosting hydrogen and chemicals production through ethanol electro-reforming on Pt-transition metal anodes

The aim of this work is to boost the combined hydrogen and added-values compounds generation(acetaldehyde, acetic acid and ethyl acetate) through ethanol electrochemical reforming using bimetallic anodes. In particular, the influence of the secondary metal on the electrochemical performance as well as on the product distribution was studied. For that purpose, Pt X/C electrocatalysts(where X corresponds to Cu, Co, Ni and Ru) were synthesized by the modified polyol method and tested in both half-cell and proton exchange membrane(PEM) cell configurations. Characterization results showed that incorporation of Ni and Co into the Pt matrix enhances the morphological properties of the material, providing smaller crystallite sizes, higher active surface areas and hence, better dispersion when comparing to Ru and Cu-based electrocatalysts. Ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR) was evaluated by cyclic, linear voltammetry and chronopotentiometry assays. Pt Co/C and Pt Ni/C exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity at high polarization levels, which translate into an improvement of more than 30%(up to 1050 m A cm^(-2)) in the hydrogen production and chemical yields. On the other hand, Pt Ru/C results more advantageous for a lower potential interval(<0.85 V) promoting the acetic acid production despite sacrificing ethanol conversion. Pt Cu/C presented the lowest results in both electrochemical performance and product distribution. Such differences in the electrochemical performance can be rationalized in terms of the synergistic effect between both metals(particle size distribution, grade of dispersion and hydrophilic behavior), which demonstrate that the incorporation of a different secondary metal plays an essential role in the EOR development.

Estimating solubility of supercritical H_2S in ionic liquids through a hybrid LSSVM chemical structure model

Development of a predictive tool for H_2S solubility estimation can be very helpful in gas sweetening industry. Experimental databases on H_2 S solubility were rarely available, so as reliable predictive models. Thus, in this study the H_2 S solubility database was established, and then a Least-Squares Support Vector Machine(LSSVM) approach based on the established database is proposed. Group contribution method was also applied to eliminate the model's dependence on experimental data. Accordingly, our proposed LSSVM model can predict H_2 S solubility as a function of temperature, pressure, and 15 different chemical structures of Ionic liquids(ILs). Root Mean Square Error(RMSE) and coefficient of determination(R^2) are 0.0122 and 0.9941, respectively. Moreover, comparison of our model with other existing models showed its reliability for H_2 S solubility in ILs. This can be very useful for engineers dealing with gas sweetening process in different applications of analysis, simulation, and designation.

Phytochemical constituents and biological activities of longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) fruit: a review

Longan(Dimocarpus longan Lour.),as an edible fruit and traditional Chinese medicine,has been consumed for thousands of years.Longan pulp has abundant nutritional phytochemicals such as protein,carbohydrate,vitamin C,polysaccharides,polyphenols,which shows multiple biological activities including antioxidant,immunomodulatory and antitumor effects.Longan pericarp also demonstrates biological activities because of its rich content of polysaccharides and polyphenols.This review summarizes the bioactive compounds and bioactivities of longan pulp and aims to provide comprehensive information for future development of longan as a functional health food.

Kinetics of chemical leaching of chalcopyrite from low grade copper ore: behavior of different size fractions

The kinetics of the chemical leaching of copper from low grade ore in ferric sulfate media was investigated using the constrained least square optimization technique. The experiments were carried out for different particle sizes in both the reactor and column at constant oxidation-reduction potential （Eh）, pH values, and temperature. The main copper mineral was chalcopyrite. About 40% of Cu recovery is obtained after 7 d of reactor leaching at 85℃ using -0.5 mm size fraction, while the same recovery is obtained at 75℃ after 24 d. Also, about 23% of Cu recovery is obtained after 60 d of column leaching for ＋4--8 mm size fraction whereas the Cu recovery is as low as about 15% for ＋8--12.7 and ＋12.7--25 mm size fractions. A 4-stage model for chalcopyrite dissolution was used to explain the observed dissolution behaviors. The results show that thick over-layers of sulphur components cause the parabolic behavior of chalcopyrite dissolution and the precipitation of Fe3＋ plays the main role in chalcopyrite passivation. In the case of coarse particles, transformation from one stage to another takes a longer time, thus only two stages including the initial reaction on fresh surfaces and S0 deposition are observed.

Chemical Treatment to Recover Molybdenum and Vanadium from Spent Heavy Gasoil Hydrodesulfurization Catalyst

Large quantities of spent hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts are available from petrochemical industry. Disposal of spent catalyst is a problem as it falls under the category of hazardous industrial waste due to its vanadium concentration. Most of these catalysts are usually supported on alumina containing a variable percentage of elements such as nickel or molybdenum. Hence these catalysts contain environmentally critical, and economically valuable metals such as molyb denum, vanadium, and, nickel. In this paper, a spent HDS catalyst was treated with caustic soda solution. Parameters such as temperature, time, and NaOH solution concentration have been studied thoroughly, in order to settle the appropriate conditions for the maximum recovery of molybdenum and vanadium. Under the best leaching conditions (20 %w NaOH, room temperature, 2 h) about 95% recovery of Mo and V was achieved, and the recovery of nickel obtained was of 99% in the form of NiAlO4.