A Novel SiC Foam Valve Tray for Distillation Columns

The novel SiC foam valve tray was made of thin slices of SiC foam material with a high specific surfacearea. Hydrodynamic performances of the novel SiC foam valve tray were studied with air-water system at atmos-pheric pressure. These performance parameters included pressure drop, entrainment, weeping and clear liquidheight. The mass transfer efficiency of the SiC foam valve tray was measured in laboratory plate column. Comparedwith the F1 float valve tray, the dry pressure drop was decreased about 25%, the entrainment rate was about 70%lower at high gas load, the weeping was much better, and the mass transfer efficiency was far higher. Thus, theoverall performance of the novel SiC foam valve tray was better than that of F1 float valve tray.

Purification of Octacosanol by Agitated Short-Path Distillation

Octacosanol is purified by agitated short-path distillation (SPD). Effects of evaporation temperature,number of SPD steps in series and other distillation method on the octacosanol recovery and decomposition are studied. Although the experimental results indicate some decomposition when the mixture of higher primary aliphatic alcohols is distillated by SPD, SPD is still an effective method to purify octacosanol. It is concluded that evaporation temperature affects greatly on the purity and recovery of octacosanol.

Modeling for Volatilization and Bioremediation of Toluene-contaminated Soil by Bioventing

A two-dimensional numerical model is developed to simulate the flow,transport and biodegradation of toluene during bioventing （BV） processes in the unsaturated zones.The simulation for a single well BV system is used to illustrate the effect of air injection rate on remediation efficiency.The air is injected into the vadose zone to create a positive pressure.Simulation results show that air injection rate is a primary parameter governing the dispersal,redistribution and surface loss of contaminant.At injection rates of 81.504 m3·d-1 （Run 1） and 407.52 m3·d-1 （Run 2）,the total removed mass of toluene is 169.14 kg and 170.59 kg respectively.Ratios of volatilization to bio-degradation in Run 1 and Run 2 are 0.57︰1 and 0.89︰1,respectively,indicating that lower air injection rate enhances the biodegradation efficiency greatly.Air injection rate should be optimized to meet oxygen demand and to minimize the operational cost.

Recovery of Dilute Acetic Acid by Catalytic Distillation Using NKC-9 as Catalyst

The reaction kinetics of dilute acetic acid with methanol using NKC-9 as catalyst was studied at temperatures of 308 K, 318 K, 323 K, 328 K. The kinetic model based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood rate model was derived and the activation energy was 6.13 × 10^4 kJ/kmol. The experiment of recovery of dilute acetic acid was conducted in a packed bed catalytic distillation column. The optireal process parameters and operational conditions determined to make up to 85.9% conversion of acetic acid are as follows：the height of catalyst bed is 1 100 mm, reflux ratio is 4： 1, and the ratio of methanol to acetic acid is 2： 1. The method can be used as a guide in industrial scale recovery of 15% 30% dilute acetic acid.

Liquid Flow Field on Evaporator of Wiped Short Path Distillation——Experimental Results and Computer Simulation

Short path distillation (SPD) is a kind of high vacuum distillation method, which is suitable for the separation of high boiling, heat sensitivity and viscidity products.In this paper,through measuring the phase-averaged velocity distributions with a conditional sampling method of the particle imaging velocimetry (PIV), the liquid flow field that affects the heat and mass transfer of evaporating thin-film in an SPD evaporator is investigated.Measured results show that the flow velocities decrease rapidly apart from the wiper at different wiper velocities, the maximum velocity appears before wipers, and the quicker the wiping, the larger the flow velocity. Meanwhile, the evaluation of numerical calculations is carried out.The measured velocity distributions indicate clearly the effect of the wiper both on the flow field along its moving direction and on the vortices behind the wiper.Simulation data show that the performance of liquid flow field on the heating surface not only agrees with the experimental results well,but also can give further more information, such as the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy.In this study,turbulent kinetic energy mainly distributes before wipers and laminar flow appears far away from the wipers.

Local Contribution Method for Efficiency of Large Plates

From the measurement of liquid flow field on a large plate by a hot-film anemometer, three different regions on the large plate were presented, including a liquid circulation area near the inlet down-comer, a region with very slow moving or stagnant liquid on the side of the tray and an active flow region at the center of the plate. According to the contribution of the three regions, the tray efficiency for large plates was proposed. The prediction plate efficiency by the present model are compared with the experimental data in the literature and those calculated by other models. It is shown that the present model is more accurate for prediction of efficiency of large plates, and the calculation is simpler.

CFD Simulation of Hydrodynamic Characteristics in Stirred Reactors Equipped with Standard Rushton or 45°-Upward PBT Impeller

The hydrodynamic characteristics generated by the standard Rushton or 45°-upward pitched-blade-turbine (PBT) impellers in a baffled reactor are numerically simulated for different off-bottom clearances (C= 1/3H and 1/2H) and agitator speeds (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300r·min^-1) by using FLUENT code (Version 5.4). The results are compared with the experimental and simulated data in the published papers and good agreement is observed. The shapes of the profile of mean velocities seem independent to the speed of agitators under the experimental conditions (100-300r·min^-1).

2D-Cell Experiment on Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether Transport in Saturated Zone of Groundwater

As an additive of gasoline,methyl ten-butyl ether(MTBE)has a higher solubility in water,which is about 20 times as high as that of benzene.This characteristic results in MTBE dissolving out of the gasoline into the soil and groundwater.Due to relative unique physicochemical behavior of MTBE it would be an ideal candidate for use in environmental forensic investigations.In order to study the transport and distribution of MTBE in saturated zone of ground water,a two-dimensional experimental cell was setup to simulate the real environment of the groundwater flow.The effects of soil and groundwater flow velocity on the MTBE transport were investigated.The results show that the mobile distance of MTBE in vertical direction was smaller than that in horizontal direction paralleling with the groundwater flow.Because the main dynamics of groundwater flow direction was convection and dispersion,the movement of MTBE is also diffusion in the vertical direction.In addition,the transport of MTBE was more quick in high permeability porous media,and the increase of groundwater flow velocity can accelerate the MTBE plume development,but the irregularity and randomness of the plume are enhanced synchronously.These research results can give some helps for the investigation of MTBE movement in the groundwater,also can make some references for other petroleum contamination behavior.

Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium Simulation of Binary and Ternary Mixtures of CH_4,C_2H_4 and iso-C_4H_(10)

The vapor-liquid equilibrium(VLE) properties for the binary and ternary mixtures of CH4,C2H4 and isoC4H10 are of great importance in the recovery of ethylene from mixture containing CH4 and C2H4 with iso-C4H10 as solvent.Hence,Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo(GEMC) simulations were used to estimate vapor-liquid equilibrium for the binary and ternary mixtures of CH4,C2H4 and iso-C4H10 with the united atom potential NERD model.The selected simulation conditions are based on the experiment in the literature.The results of this work were shown to be in satisfactory agreement with available experimental data and predictions of Peng-Robinson equation of state.The structure of simulated liquid phase is also characterized by radial distribution function(RDF),which contributes to further understanding of the VLE curve of these systems.RDF is not sensitive to the pressure and temperature range.With the increase of pressure or the decrease of temperature,the molecules tend to gather together.

Synergistic effects of non-thermal plasma-assisted catalyst and ultrasound on toluene removal

A wire-mesh catalyst coated by La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 was combined with a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） reactor for toluene removal at atmospheric pressure. It was found that toluene removal efficiency and carbon dioxide selectivity were enhanced in the catalytic packed-bed reactor. In addition, ozone and nitrogen monoxide from the gas effluent byproducts decreased. This is the first time that ultrasound combined with plasma has been used for toluene removal. A synergistic effect on toluene removal was observed in the plasma-assisted ultrasound system. At the same time, the system increased toluene conversion and reduced ozone emission.