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At least 721 records · Page 40
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Efficient Separation and Extraction of Vanadium and Chromium in High Chromium Vanadium Slag by Selective Two-Stage Roasting–Leaching

Vanadium and chromium are important rare metals, leading to a focus on high chromium vanadium slag (HCVS) as a potential raw material to extract vanadium and chromium in China. In this work, a novel method based on selective two-stage roasting–leaching was proposed to separate and extract vanadium and chromium efficiently in HCVS. XRD, FT-IR, and SEM were utilized to analyze the phase evolutions and microstructure during the whole process. Calcification roasting, which can calcify vanadium selectively using thermodynamics, was carried out in the first roasting stage to transfer vanadium into acid-soluble vanadate and leave chromium in the leaching residue as (Fe{sub 0.6}Cr{sub 0.4}){sub 2}O{sub 3} after H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} leaching. When HCVS and CaO were mixed in the molar ratio CaO/V{sub 2}O{sub 3} (n(CaO)/n(V{sub 2}O{sub 3})) of 0.5 to 1.25, around 90 pct vanadium and less than 1 pct chromium were extracted in the first leaching liquid, thus achieving the separation of vanadium and chromium. In the second roasting stage, sodium salt, which combines with chromium easily, was added to the first leaching residue to extract chromium and 95.16 pct chromium was extracted under the optimal conditions. The total vanadium and chromium leaching rates were above 95 pct, achieving the efficient separation and extraction of vanadium and chromium. The established method provides a new technique to separate vanadium and chromium during roasting rather than in the liquid form, which is useful for the comprehensive application of HCVS.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Separability and dynamical symmetry of Quantum Dots

The separability and Runge–Lenz-type dynamical symmetry of the internal dynamics of certain two-electron Quantum Dots, found by Simonović et al. (2003), are traced back to that of the perturbed Kepler problem. A large class of axially symmetric perturbing potentials which allow for separation in parabolic coordinates can easily be found. Apart from the 2:1 anisotropic harmonic trapping potential considered in Simonović and Nazmitdinov (2013), they include a constant electric field parallel to the magnetic field (Stark effect), the ring-shaped Hartmann potential, etc. The harmonic case is studied in detail. -- Highlights: • The separability of Quantum Dots is derived from that of the perturbed Kepler problem. • Harmonic perturbation with 2:1 anisotropy is separable in parabolic coordinates. • The system has a conserved Runge–Lenz type quantity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Separation of conditions as a prerequisite for quantum theory

We introduce the notion of “separation of conditions” meaning that a description of statistical data obtained from experiments, performed under a set of different conditions, allows for a decomposition such that each partial description depends on mutually exclusive subsets of these conditions. Descriptions that allow a separation of conditions are shown to entail the basic mathematical framework of quantum theory. The Stern–Gerlach and the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiment with three, respectively nine possible outcomes are used to illustrate how the separation of conditions can be used to construct their quantum theoretical descriptions. It is shown that the mathematical structure of separated descriptions implies that, under certain restrictions, the time evolution of the data can be described by the von Neumann/Schrödinger equation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sulfur-functionalized solid-phase materials for the selective separation of arsenic and selenium

Radioactive arsenic (As) isotopes are of growing interest for applications in nuclear medicine, national security, and environmental research. Recent efforts at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) have focused on aqueous harvesting of selenium-72,73 ( 72,73 Se) and their daughter isotopes, arsenic-72,73 ( 72,73 As), which are particularly valuable for medical applications and nuclear data studies, respectively. Both conventional isotope production and harvesting methods require chemical separations to purify radioactive As from parent and co-produced Se radioisotopes. While several solid-phase separation methods for As and Se exist, many depend on complex oxidation state control or highly acidic conditions. This study presents results for sulfur-based solid-phase materials selected to enable uptake at lower acidity and eliminate the need for intricate redox chemistry. Specifically, the performance of three covalently bound sulfur-based ligands were evaluated: (1) thiophenol-polystyrene, (2) propanethiol-silica, and (3) thiourea-silica. Uptake characteristics—including distribution coefficients (Dw), kinetics, and column separation behavior—were assessed using 75 Se and 73 As in hydrochloric (HCl) acid and nitric (HNO 3 ) solutions. The resins demonstrated high-yield (>95%) and high-purity As recovery across a range of HCl concentrations. Comparable results in HNO 3 were achieved when combined with anion exchange chromatography. Furthermore, the potential application of these materials for medical isotope generators was also investigated through ligand stability and repeated elution studies. Overall, sulfur leaching from the resins was negligible at the concentrations relevant for these separations but increased with higher acid concentrations.

Arsenic↗
DOE OSTI2022

Strategies for design and synthesis of porous liquids toward carbon capture and separation

Porous liquids (PLs) represent a promising category of sorbents in carbon capture and separation capable of integrating the advantages of flowing liquid and porous solid systems. Well-defined pores were engineered into liquid sorbents via liquifying molecules with stiff interior voids, dissolving rigid porous hosts in flowing liquids, or dispersing porous frameworks in high steric hindrance solvents, producing type I, II, or III PLs, respectively. Unique features of PLs have triggered broad interest in exploring their applications in carbon capture and separation, in which diverse design strategies, synthesis approaches, and enhanced performance have been reported. Here, in this minireview, recent progress in the design, synthesis, and structural engineering of PLs and efforts towards the optimization of their carbon capture and separation behavior will be summarized, including the comparison between PLs with varied types. Porosity engineering into liquid sorbents provides opportunities to resolve challenging issues in conventional sorption and separation systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Disjunctive linear separation conditions and mixed-integer formulations for aircraft conflict resolution

In this paper, we address the aircraft conflict resolution problem in air traffic control. We introduce new mixed-integer programming formulations for aircraft conflict resolution with speed, heading and altitude control which are based on disjunctive linear separation conditions. We first examine the two-dimensional aircraft conflict resolution problem with speed and heading control represented as continuous decision variables. We show that the proposed disjunctive linear separation conditions are equivalent to the classical nonlinear conditions for aircraft separation. Further, we characterise conflict-free trajectories based on aircraft velocity bounds and propose a simple pre-processing algorithm to identify aircraft pairs which are either always conflict-free, or which cannot be separated using speed and heading control only. We then incorporate altitude control and propose a lexicographic optimisation formulation that aims to minimise the number of flight level changes before resolving outstanding conflicts via two-dimensional velocity control. The proposed mixed-integer programming formulations are nonconvex, and we propose convex relaxations, decomposition methods and constraint generation algorithms to solve the two-dimensional and lexicographic optimisation formulations to guaranteed optimality. Numerical experiments on four types of conflict resolution benchmarking instances are conducted to test the performance of the proposed mixed-integer formulations. Further, the proposed method is compared against two benchmarks based on state-of-the-art approaches for the aircraft conflict resolution problem. Our numerical results show that the proposed method largely outperforms both benchmarks in terms of runtime and is able to solve significantly more instances to global optimality.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Accelerating Laboratory-Based, All-Solid-State Battery Research and Development: Industrially Relevant Small-Batch Dry-Processing, Small and Low-Cost Test Fixtures, and Short-Tolerant Separators

This work presents improvements to mixing (for dry-processed electrodes), separator robustness, and cell testing jigs for all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). These developments combine synergistically to enable rapid research and development of ASSB catholytes. A mechanical "kneader" is designed and built which emulates the mixing and fibrillation of poly-tetrafluoroethylene binder that occurs in industrially relevant twin-screw extruders. A modest improvement in the mixing and dispersion catholyte materials is observed using micro-resolution X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). Catholytes are paired with an In-metal anode and separated by a novel, dual-layer, polyaramid-fiber-supported, sulfide-solid electrolyte (Li6 PS5 Cl) separator. This separator achieves high short tolerance which enabled a 95% success rate across 20 attempted cells and to date over 100 successful cells have been built. ASSBs were tested in a 2032 coin-cell format. Simultaneous cycling of a large number of cells is further enabled by a compact and low cost (~ 38 USD per jig) pressure application jig of which 100 have been constructed to date. The utility of these advances is demonstrated through a brief study on the effect cathode-side conductive carbon and current collector type has on capacity and rate performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

In-situ observation of calcium chloride hexahydrate phase separation via neutron imaging

Inorganic salt hydrate offers a low-cost thermal energy storage solution with high energy density, but phase separation during thermal cycling poses a significant challenge, leading to irreversible performance degradation. In this research, neutron radiography was used to investigate phase separation in calcium chloride hexahydrate (CaCl₂·6H₂O, CCH) during thermal cycling to track its gradual accumulation into calcium chloride tetrahydrate (CaCl₂·4H₂O, CC4). Through in-situ visualization, phase separation and CC4 sedimentation were observed to occur during the cooling phase between 301.40 K and 304.80 K. CC4 accumulated linearly to 7.99 wt% after 10 thermal cycles. Crystallization and multi-cycle conversion models were developed to validate neutron imaging results of CC4 formation. The predicted CC4 content after 10 thermal cycles closely aligned with experimental observations. Neutron imaging offers a novel approach to investigate salt hydrate phase change materials (PCMs). It enables in-situ visualization of sub-hydrate (CC4) formation from original hydrate (CCH) in metastable phase change range (between 301.40 ± 0.66 K and 304.80 ± 0.60 K). Thereby, it provides a new insight of understanding the basis of phase separation mechanism and paves the way for future research of improving PCM thermal cycling performance.

Li, Yucen [The University of Tennessee, Knoxville]↗
DOE OSTI2015

Scale separation for multi-scale modeling of free-surface and two-phase flows with the conservative sharp interface method

In this paper we present a scale separation approach for multi-scale modeling of free-surface and two-phase flows with complex interface evolution. By performing a stimulus-response operation on the level-set function representing the interface, separation of resolvable and non-resolvable interface scales is achieved efficiently. Uniform positive and negative shifts of the level-set function are used to determine non-resolvable interface structures. Non-resolved interface structures are separated from the resolved ones and can be treated by a mixing model or a Lagrangian-particle model in order to preserve mass. Resolved interface structures are treated by the conservative sharp-interface model. Since the proposed scale separation approach does not rely on topological information, unlike in previous work, it can be implemented in a straightforward fashion into a given level set based interface model. A number of two- and three-dimensional numerical tests demonstrate that the proposed method is able to cope with complex interface variations accurately and significantly increases robustness against underresolved interface structures.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Separable projection integrals for higher-order correlators of the cosmic microwave sky: Acceleration by factors exceeding 100

We present a case study describing efforts to optimise and modernise “Modal”, the simulation and analysis pipeline used by the Planck satellite experiment for constraining general non-Gaussian models of the early universe via the bispectrum (or three-point correlator) of the cosmic microwave background radiation. We focus on one particular element of the code: the projection of bispectra from the end of inflation to the spherical shell at decoupling, which defines the CMB we observe today. This code involves a three-dimensional inner product between two functions, one of which requires an integral, on a non-rectangular domain containing a sparse grid. We show that by employing separable methods this calculation can be reduced to a one-dimensional summation plus two integrations, reducing the overall dimensionality from four to three. The introduction of separable functions also solves the issue of the non-rectangular sparse grid. This separable method can become unstable in certain scenarios and so the slower non-separable integral must be calculated instead. We present a discussion of the optimisation of both approaches. We demonstrate significant speed-ups of ≈100×, arising from a combination of algorithmic improvements and architecture-aware optimisations targeted at improving thread and vectorisation behaviour. The resulting MPI/OpenMP hybrid code is capable of executing on clusters containing processors and/or coprocessors, with strong-scaling efficiency of 98.6% on up to 16 nodes. We find that a single coprocessor outperforms two processor sockets by a factor of 1.3× and that running the same code across a combination of both microarchitectures improves performance-per-node by a factor of 3.38×. By making bispectrum calculations competitive with those for the power spectrum (or two-point correlator) we are now able to consider joint analysis for cosmological science exploitation of new data.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Manufacturing Process Design of a Micro-Scale Liquid-Liquid Extractor and Multi-phase Separator

Advances in process innovation within the chemical process industry are impeded by the cost of producing new innovative components. In this paper, various manufacturing process routes were evaluated for scaling up a micro-scale liquid-liquid extractor and multi-phase separator capable of separating immiscible phases that are used for the extraction of a chemical product into a lower boiling point solvent to make downstream distillation easier. A manufacturing process design methodology was used to evaluate both photochemical machining and binder jetting as a means for producing the micropost arrays within the separator. Cost curves show that for a 0.3 mm deep micropost array, photochemical machining was found to be much cheaper than binder jetting. However, because binder jetting processes enable microposts with over 13 times higher depth-to-width aspect ratios, binder jetting was found to decrease the overall costs of the extractor/separator by more than half for a 500 barrel per day plant, with breakeven as low as 15 barrels per day. These economics were confirmed by building extractor/separator plates and characterizing them dimensionally and functionally. The binder jet plates were found to perform better than photochemical plates leading to the complete separation of the organic phase from water. The utilization of slower sintering cycles combined with surface grinding provided acceptable dimensional tolerances for the binder jet plates. Using pressurized air during depowdering improved the economics for the binder jetting process.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2012

Effects of cell positive cans and separators on the performance of high-voltage Li-ion batteries

The effects of different cell cans and separators on the first-cycle Coulombic efficiency and long-term cycling stability of high voltage spinel cathode were investigated systematically. Compared to stainless steel (SS) positive-cans, aluminum (Al)-clad SS-316 positive-cans have a much better resistance to oxidation at high voltages thus improving the initial Coulombic efficiency of the batteries by more than 13%. Among the five separators studied in this work, polyethylene (PE) separator shows the best electrochemical stability. The cells using LiCr0.05Ni0.45Mn1.5O4 as cathode, Al-clad positive-can, and PE separator exhibit the first-cycle Columbic efficiency of about 90% and a capacity fading of only 0.01% per cycle.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Contributions of conduction band offset to the enhanced separation efficiency of photoinduced charges for SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} heterojunction semiconductor

SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} heterojunction semiconductor was prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis absorption spectrum, and scanning electron microscope, surface photovoltage spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The surface photovoltage spectra indicate that the separation efficiency of photoinduced charges for SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was enhanced compared with that of SrTiO{sub 3} or Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}. The energy band diagram of SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} heterojunction was directly determined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the conduction band offset between SrTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was quantified to be 0.28±0.03 eV. The photoluminescence spectra display that the recombination rate of photoinduced carriers for SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} decreases compared with that of SrTiO{sub 3} or Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}, which is mainly due to the energy levels matching between them. Therefore the enhanced separation efficiency of photoinduced charges is resulting from the energy difference between the conduction band edges of SrTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}. -- Graphical abstract: Enhanced separation efficiency for SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} is resulting from the energy difference between the conduction band edges. Highlights: ●Heterojunction semiconductor of SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} was prepared. ●SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} presents enhanced separation efficiency. ●Conduction band offset between SrTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} is quantified. ●Recombination rate of SrTiO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} decreases compared with single phases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Nano-phase formation accompanying phase separation in undercooled CoCrCuFeNi-3 at.% Sn high entropy alloy

Highlights: • Undercooled multi-component CoCrCuFeNi-3 at.% Sn high-entropy alloy was studied. • Accompanying phase separation, the nano-precipitates were detected. • The effect of Sn on the microstructures and properties was clarified. • The microhardness increased markedly with the increase of undercooling. - Abstract: Highly undercooled multi-component CoCrCuFeNi-3 at.% Sn high-entropy alloy was studied by adopting molten glass purification combined with cycle superheating methods. Based on the critical undercooling ΔT{sup ⁎}, the characteristic of liquid-phase separation was researched at different undercoolings. Accompanying phase separation, two phases (CoCrFeNi-rich and CuNi-rich) and three kinds of nano-precipitates (CrCo-rich, CrSn-rich and Sn-rich nano-precipitates) were detected. The microhardness of undercooled CoCrCuFeNi-3 at.% Sn high-entropy alloys increased markedly with the increase of undercooling. The effect of Sn on the microstructure evolution and properties in the process of phase separation was clarified with the aid of nano-precipitates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Robust natural nanocomposites realizing unprecedented ultrafast precise molecular separations

Synthetic polymer membranes can potentially reduce the large energy and carbon footprints that are typically associated with traditional chemical separation technologies. Unfortunately, current production protocols negate the green benefits of membrane separation. To address this bottleneck, here we report the use of natural materials monosaccharide – glucose and polydopamine and Zr-based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) to fabricate ultrathin nanocomposite membranes via interfacial polymerization reaction. The synergistic effect of these three materials on angstrom-scale molecular transport both in organic solvent and aqueous environment was elucidated using a series of complementary techniques. We demonstrate such nature-inspired nanocomposite membranes enable structural stability even in polar aprotic solvents, and unparalleled ultra-fast, low-pressure, precise separations in both nanofiltration modes, which easily surpass state-of-the-art membranes relying on unsustainable materials. Finally, the multi-functionality of saccharide nanocomposites was elegantly harnessed to impact separation applications that contribute towards a better living environment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Amine-functionalized (Al) MIL-53/VTEC™ mixed-matrix membranes for H 2 /CO 2 mixture separations at high pressure and high temperature

In this report VTEC™ PI-1388 and 20 wt% (Al) NH 2 -MIL-53/VTEC™ PI-1388 mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) with different thicknesses were tested for gas permeation of H2 and CO 2 from 5 to 30 bar and from 35 to 300 °C. 50/50 H 2 /CO 2 mixtures were also tested at 30 bar and 250 °C with stage cuts that ranged from 0.05 to 1. Gas permeation data show that the affinity of (Al) NH 2 -MIL-53 for VTEC™ PI-1388 is strong enough to perform gas separations under these conditions. At 30 bar and at temperatures above 200 °C, the performance of the MMMs for H 2 /CO 2 separation improved significantly with increasing temperature. Specifically, the H 2 permeability of the MMM at 300 °C increased by 70% with respect to that of VTEC™ PI-1388 (VTEC™ PI-1388: H 2 = 85 Barrer, H 2 /CO 2 = 4.0; MMM: H 2 = 144 Barrer, H 2 /CO 2 = 5.8). Gas mixture separations using VTEC™ PI-1388 and the MMM depended on the stage cut and reached a maximum H 2 /CO 2 separation of 7.2 for VTEC™ PI-1388 and 7.5 for the MMM at a stage cut of 0.05.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Atomic scale understanding of organic anion separations using ion-exchange resins

A combination of ab initio and classical molecular dynamic simulations was used to explore the adsorption/desorption and diffusion characteristics of ion-exchange resins for extraction of organic anions in electrically-driven separation processes. We considered two classes of carboxylate mixtures that are commonly encountered in bioprocessing separations: a short chain fatty acid mixture (acetate/butyrate) and an aromatic mixture (ferulate/coumarate). The suitability of several resin materials including PFC100E, IRC86, PFA444 and IRA67 was interrogated. The decomposition of the interaction energies by the symmetry-adapted perturbation theory and the classical molecular dynamic simulations of organic diffusion together reveal that the geometries of the organic anions and the functional groups of the resins, as well as their Columbic interactions, are the controlling factors in the diffusion process of the organic compounds in these resins. Additionally, classical simulations also show that modifying the functionality of resin beads, the magnitude of electric fields, and the ratio of organic mixtures may provide an effective way to control the diffusion rate and obtain selective separation of these organic mixtures. Finally, a general suggestion for favorable separation conditions is summarized.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fabrication and accelerated long-term stability test of asymmetrical hollow fiber-supported thin film oxygen separation membrane

Asymmetrical hollow fiber-supported thin film membrane may provide microstructural advantages for air separation and oxygen production. The fabrication of such a membrane is usually very difficult, particularly the sintering behaviors and thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) mismatch among multiple layers. This directly affects the reliability and long-term stability of the membrane. Here, in this research, the sintering behaviors of a set of simple oxides are systematically studied and ZnO is identified as a material component for composite substrate La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LSCF)-ZnO. The LSCF-ZnO ratios are further optimized by trading off several factors, e.g., matching the sintering behaviors and TECs of the LSCF-ZnO composite with those of LSCF thin film separation layer while enhancing the substrate strength. With the identified LSCF-ZnO ratio, the LSCF-ZnO composite hollow fiber substrate precursor is formed through slurry spinning process with porous microstructure being formed via phase inversion process. The thin film LSCF dense separation layer is then dip-coated on the substrate followed by co-sintering process. A thin, porous PrBaCo(Fe 0.6 Zr 0.2 Y 0.2 )O 5+δ (PBCFZY) catalyst layer is fabricated on the dense LSCF separation layer with dip-coating and sintering process, forming an asymmetrical membrane device LSCF-ZnO/LSCF/PBCFZY. Oxygen permeation test of the device is systematically conducted, and the fundamental mechanisms are analyzed. An accelerated long-term stability test of the membrane is also conducted (~550h, 46 thermal cycling loads), demonstrating excellent robustness and durability. The device is characterized and analyzed before and after the test. By replacing a considerable amount of high cost LSCF with low cost ZnO in the substrate, it not only enhances the stability but also reduces the capital cost of the membrane for practical applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗