CO_(2)utilization in syngas conversion to dimethyl ether and aromatics:Roles and challenges of zeolites-based catalysts

Several studies have proven a strong correlation between global warming and CO_(2)emissions.Annually,38 billion tons of CO_(2)are approximately emitted into the atmosphere.Utilizing CO_(2)via chemical conversion to clean fuels and value-added aromatics can substantially contribute to controlling the problem.Considering the thermodynamic and environmental limitations of hydrogenation of CO_(2)alone to value-added aromatics and fuels,CO_(2)utilization has currently emerged as a promising and practical approach for the production of fuels and aromatics with simultaneous utilization of both CO and CO_(2)wastes.As such,the approach is economically preferable.CO_(2)could be converted directly to fuels by the hydrogenation process or as a part of a syngas mixture.Dimethyl ether(DME)is a clean fuel with a higher energy density,which could be used as a substituent for several fuels such as diesel.In the same vein,value-added aromatics such as benzene,toluene,and xylene(BTX)can be produced from a similar process.Herein,we report a review that collects the most recent studies for the conversion of CO_(2)to DME and aromatics via zeolite-based bifunctional catalysts.We highlighted the main routes for producing DME and aromatics,as well as thoroughly discussed the conducted studies on CO_(2)hydrogenation and CO_(2)-rich syngas utilized as feedstock for conversion to DME and aromatics.The CO_(2)hydrogenation mostly occurs through the methanol-mediated reaction route but is most often limited by low selectivity and catalyst deactivation,particularly in the utilization of CO_(2)alone for the reduction reaction.The review takes an overview of the progress made so far and concluded by identifying the roles and challenges of zeolite-based catalysts for CO_(2)utilization and conversion to DME and aromatics.Accordingly,despite the incredible growth the field received in the last couple of years,however,many research challenges and opportunities associated with this process are still abounded and required to be addressed.Special attention is required for the development of approaches to block diffusion of H2O through zeolite to suppress the excess formation of CO_(2)in CO_(2)-rich syngas hydrogenation to DME and aromatics,exceed the product distribution limits,and suppress catalysts deactivation.

Unsteady Flow and Heat Transfer of a Casson Micropolar Nanofluid over a Curved Stretching/Shrinking Surface

We present the results of an investigation into the behavior of the unsteady flow of a Casson Micropolar nanofluid over a shrinking/stretching curved surface,together with a heat transfer analysis of the same problem.The body force acting perpendicular to the surface wall is in charge of regulating the fluid flow rate.Curvilinear coordinates are used to account for the considered curved geometry and a set of balance equations for mass,momentum,energy and concentration is obtained accordingly.These are turned into ordinary differential equations using a similarity transformation.We show that these equations have dual solutions for a number of different combinations of various parameters.The stability of such solutions is investigated by applying perturbations on the steady states.It is found that high values of the Micropolar and Casson parameters cause the flow to move more slowly.However,when compared to a shrunken surface,a stretched surface produces a greater Micro-rotation flux.

Construction of 3D flowers-like O-doped g-C_(3)N_(4)-[N-doped Nb2O5/C]heterostructure with direct S-scheme charge transport and highly improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic efficiency

Constructing a suitable heterojunction photocatalytic system from two photocatalytic materials is an efficient approach for designing extremely efficient photocatalysts for a broader range of environmental,medical,and energy applications.Recently,the construction of a step-scheme heterostructure system(hereafter called the S-scheme)has received widespread attention in the photocatalytic field due to its ability to achieve efficient photogenerated carrier separation and obtain strong photo-redox ability.Herein,a novel S-scheme heterojunction system consisting of 2D O-doped g-C_(3)N_(4)(OCN)nanosheets and 3D N-doped Nb_(2)O_(5)/C(N-NBO/C)nanoflowers is constructed via ultrasonication and vigorous agitation technique followed by heat treatment for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B(RhB).Detailed characterization and decomposition behaviour of RhB showed that the fabricated material shows excellent photocatalytic efficiency and stability towards RhB photodegradation under visible-light illumination.The enhanced performance could be attributed to the following factors:fast charge transfer,highly-efficient charge separation,extended lifetime of photoinduced charge carriers,and the high redox capability of the photoinduced charges in the S-scheme system.Various trapping experiment conditions and electron paramagnetic resonance provide clear evidence of the S-scheme photogenerated charge transfer path,meanwhile,the RhB mineralization degradation pathway was also investigated using LC-MS.This study presents an approach to constructing Nb_(2)O_(5)-based S-scheme heterojunctions for photocatalytic applications.

The utilization of spent palm cooking oil for formulating oil-based drilling muds with excellent H_(2)S scavenging capability

In this study,a spent palm cooking oil-based mud with an excellent H_(2)S scavenging capability induced by the inclusion of a small quantity of potassium permanganate is formulated and tested for the first time.The mud formulation,containing the spent palm oil as the continuous phase and water as the dispersed phase,respectively,was stabilized by Span 80 and rhamnolipid biosurfactant as primary and secondary emulsifiers,respectively,while hydrophobic zinc nanoparticles(NPs)were used as weighting agent.The results showed that H_(2)S scavenging capacity at the breakthrough time reached 182.4 g H_(2)S/barrel mud,which increased to 417.9 g H_(2)S/barrel mud at the saturation time,demonstrating the effective H_(2)S scavenging performance of the formulated mud.The spent palm oil-based mud(SPOBM)also showed a good flow behavior that could be well fitted using the Herschel-Bulkley and Casson models.The effect of temperature on the apparent viscosity of the SPOBM has been investigated,and the fitting of the viscosity-temperature data provided an estimate of the activation energy as 23.53 kJ/mol.The findings reported in this article reveal the feasibility of transforming the spent/waste cooking oils into a valuable commodity for formulating greener drilling fluids with acceptable rheology and excellent H_(2)S scavenging performance.

Irradiation Resistance of CoCrCuFeNi High Entropy Alloy under Successive Bombardment

With the excellent irradiation resistance due to the chemical complexity,high entropy alloys have attracted considerable attention in the design of nuclear structural materials.However,their performance under successive bombardments remains elusive.In this study,we have investigated the irradiation resistance of equiatomic CoCrCuFeNi HEA compared with Ni metal using molecular dynamics simulations.The evolution of defects such as point defects,defect clusters and dislocations after 400 times of bombardments is examined.The results show that CoCrCuFeNi has fewer point defects than Ni does.Moreover,CoCrCuFeNi has smaller interstitial clusters size,lower interstitial-type Frank partial dislocation density,shorter average interstitial-type Frank partial dislocation length and higher average vacancy formation energy.These findings suggest that CoCrCuFeNi has superior radiation resistance under successive bombardments due to its high entropy effect.