Data-driven nonlinear control of a solid oxide fuel cell system

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are considered to be one of the most important clean,distributed resources. However,SOFCs present a challenging control problem owing to their slow dynamics,nonlinearity and tight operating constraints. A novel data-driven nonlinear control strategy was proposed to solve the SOFC control problem by combining a virtual reference feedback tuning (VRFT) method and support vector machine. In order to fulfill the requirement for fuel utilization and control constraints,a dynamic constraints unit and an anti-windup scheme were adopted. In addition,a feedforward loop was designed to deal with the current disturbance. Detailed simulations demonstrate that the fast response of fuel flow for the current demand disturbance and zero steady error of the output voltage are both achieved. Meanwhile,fuel utilization is kept almost within the safe region.

Photocatalytic oxidation of nitric oxide from simulated flue gas by wet scrubbing using ultraviolet/TiO_2/H_2O_2 process

Nitric oxide(NO) from flue gas is hard to remove because of low solubility and reactivity. A new technology for photocatalytic oxidation of NO using ultraviolet(UV)/TiO2/H2O2 process is studied in an efficient laboratory-scale reactor. Effects of several key operational parameters on NO removal efficiency are studied, including TiO2 content, H2O2 initial concentration, UV lamp power, NO initial content, oxygen volume fraction and TiO2/H2O2 solution volume. The results illustrate that the NO removal efficiency increases with the increasing of H2O2 initial concentration or UV lamp power. Meanwhile, a lower NO initial content or a higher TiO2/H2O2 solution volume will result in higher NO removal efficiency. In addition, oxygen volume fraction has a little effect.The highest NO removal efficiency is achieved at the TiO2 content of 0.75 g/L, H2O2 initial concentration of 2.5 mol/L, UV lamp power of 36 W, NO initial content of 206×10-6 and TiO2/H2O2 solution volume of 600 m L. It is beneficial for the development and application of NO removal from coal-fired flue gas with UV/TiO2/H2O2 process.

Comparison between sequential and single extraction procedures for metal speciation in fresh and dried Sedum Plumbizincicola

Sequential and single extraction procedures were applied to both fresh and dried Sedum Plumbizincicola leaves and stems.The extractants, different from those of soil, sediment or sewage sludge metal fractions, were water, 80%(v/v) ethanol, 1 mol/L Na Cl,2% HAc and 0.6 mol/L HCl. Zn, Cd and Cu in the extracts and samples were measured by flame atomic adsorption spectrometry. In sequential extraction procedures, water soluble form and ethanol soluble form are the main fractions for Zn, while water soluble form and Na Cl soluble form for Cd, and comparatively uniform distribution for Cu with the residue form most and HCl soluble form second. Single extraction procedures are used to compare the extraction efficiencies of the five reagents to screen appropriate extractants and operating conditions for liquid extraction to deal with large amount of harvested metal-contained biomass, which will pose a threat to the environment if treated improperly. The sequences of extraction efficiencies are HCl>Na Cl≈HAc>Water≈Ethanol for Zn and HCl≈Na Cl≈HAc>Water>Ethanol for Cd. As for Cu, all the five extractants cannot effectively extract Cu, but HCl achieves a higher efficiency(>70% in fresh samples, and 45%-60% in dried samples). Besides, extraction efficiencies for most extractants in fresh samples are higher than those in dried samples, and extraction efficiencies of stems and leaves for the five extractants are close. The two extraction procedures can obtain high degree of accuracy with the relative standard deviation(RSD)lower than 10%, and metal recoveries are controlled between 80%-120% with most of 90%-110%.