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At least 1,459 records · Page 81

A General Route to Flame Aerosol Synthesis and In Situ Functionalization of Mesoporous Silica

Mesoporous silica is a versatile material for energy, environmental, and medical applications. In this work, for the first time, we report a flame aerosol synthesis method for a class of mesoporous silica with hollow structure and specific surface area exceeding 1000 m 2 /g -1 . We show its superior performance in water purification, drug carrier, and thermal insulation. Moreover, we propose a general route to produce mesoporous nanoshell supported nanocatalysts by in situ decorating active nanoclusters, including noble metal (Pt/SiO 2 ), transition metal (Ni/SiO 2 ), metal oxide (CrO 3 /SiO 2 ), and alumina support (Co/Al 2 O 3 ). As a prototypical application, we perform dry reforming of methane using Ni/SiO 2 , achieving constant 97% CH 4 and CO 2 conversions for more than 200 hours, dramatically outperforming MCM-41 supported Ni catalyst. This work provides a scalable strategy to produce mesoporous nanoshells and proposes an in situ functionalization mechanism to flexible catalysts design for many reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Scalar energy fluctuations in Large-Eddy Simulation of turbulent flames: Statistical budgets and mesh quality criterion

Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) provides space-filtered quantities to compare with measurements, which usually have been obtained using a different filtering operation; hence, numerical and experimental results can be examined side-by-side in a statistical sense only. Instantaneous, space-filtered and statistically time-averaged signals feature different characteristic length-scales, which can be combined in dimensionless ratios. From two canonical manufactured turbulent solutions, a turbulent flame and a passive scalar turbulent mixing layer, the critical values of these ratios under which measured and computed variances (resolved plus sub-grid scale) can be compared without resorting to additional residual terms are first determined. It is shown that actual Direct Numerical Simulation can hardly accommodate a sufficiently large range of length-scales to perform statistical studies of LES filtered reactive scalar-fields energy budget based on sub-grid scale variances; an estimation of the minimum Reynolds number allowing for such DNS studies is given. From these developments, a reliability mesh criterion emerges for scalar LES and scaling for scalar sub-grid scale energy is discussed. (author)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Evaluation of scalar mixing and time scale models in PDF simulations of a turbulent premixed flame

Numerical simulation results obtained with a transported scalar probability density function (PDF) method are presented for a piloted turbulent premixed flame. The accuracy of the PDF method depends on the scalar mixing model and the scalar time scale model. Three widely used scalar mixing models are evaluated: the interaction by exchange with the mean (IEM) model, the modified Curl's coalescence/dispersion (CD) model and the Euclidean minimum spanning tree (EMST) model. The three scalar mixing models are combined with a simple model for the scalar time scale which assumes a constant C{sub {phi}}=12 value. A comparison of the simulation results with available measurements shows that only the EMST model calculates accurately the mean and variance of the reaction progress variable. An evaluation of the structure of the PDF's of the reaction progress variable predicted by the three scalar mixing models confirms this conclusion: the IEM and CD models predict an unrealistic shape of the PDF. Simulations using various C{sub {phi}} values ranging from 2 to 50 combined with the three scalar mixing models have been performed. The observed deficiencies of the IEM and CD models persisted for all C{sub {phi}} values considered. The value C{sub {phi}}=12 combined with the EMST model was found to be an optimal choice. To avoid the ad hoc choice for C{sub {phi}}, more sophisticated models for the scalar time scale have been used in simulations using the EMST model. A new model for the scalar time scale which is based on a linear blending between a model for flamelet combustion and a model for distributed combustion is developed. The new model has proven to be very promising as a scalar time scale model which can be applied from flamelet to distributed combustion. (author)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Soot formation in non-premixed counterflow flames of butane and butanol isomers

Soot formation processes for butane and butanol isomers have been experimentally explored and compared in a counterflow non-premixed flame configuration at atmospheric pressure. Non-intrusive laser-based diagnostic techniques, including Laser Induced Incandescence and Light Extinction, have been adopted for soot volume fraction measurements. Experimental results of these C 4 fuels have been compared to illustrate the effects of hydroxyl (–OH) group and the isomeric structures on soot formation process. Under the investigated conditions, butane isomers were observed to form more soot than butanol isomers, thereby showing the effect of the hydroxyl group. The effects of isomeric structural differences on sooting propensity were also observed within the butane and butanol isomers. In addition, while soot volume fraction was seen to increase with increasing fuel mole fraction, the ranking of sooting propensity for these C 4 fuels remained unchanged. Effects of varying strain rate and oxygen mole fraction on soot formation were studied herein as well. For each isomeric class, two chemical kinetic models available in the literature were used to simulate and compare the spatially-resolved profiles of the soot precursors. The amount of soot precursors predicted by the models was different and the initial fuel breaking pathways were also found to differ significantly. Moreover, no direct correlation between the computed mole fractions of soot precursors and the measured amount of soot formed in the present experimental conditions was observed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Predicting octane number from microscale flame dynamics

The standard method for measuring the octane number of fuels requires large sample volumes (~1L) and access to a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. This method reliably quantifies the knock resistance of fuels in spark ignition engines, however the large sample volume requirement prevents testing of new experimental fuels (often produced in quantities of just ~1 mL), and the large equipment size impedes mobile, decentralized testing of remote fuel supplies. When direct measurements of octane number are impractical, other methods are needed. Micro flow reactors have shown promise in measuring ignition characteristics that are sensitive to octane number, and they are compact and operate on small volumes (~1 mL). This study uses simulations to demonstrate that measurements of the unsteady flame dynamics in a micro flow reactor can provide valuable data for accurate octane number predictions. Simulations of the flow reactor are used to obtain ignition characteristics for over 200 ethanol-toluene primary reference fuels (ETPRF) and 21 biofuel blends. A feed forward neural network is trained using the micro flow reactor ignition characteristics, fuel properties, and known research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) for the ETPRF fuels. Here, the neural network is able to predict the RON and MON of the biofuel blends to within 2 octane number on average. Prediction results are compared to other methods available in the literature. Additional neural network models are trained that show improved prediction accuracy as additional fuel training data becomes available.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Data reduction considerations for the burning velocity of spherical constant volume flames of R32 (CH 2 F 2 ) with air

Here, the present work explores data reduction techniques for the measurement of the laminar burning velocities of R32(CH 2 F 2 )-air mixtures using a constant volume combustion device, in which the pressure-time history is the only measured parameter. To allow clear assessment of the accuracy of the data reduction methods, the pressure-time histories used for analysis are synthetically generated via a detailed numerical simulation employing full kinetics and with and without an optically-thin radiation model. Various data reduction models are employed, including a two-zone model and two multi-zone models, and these are compared with the results from the burning velocity obtained from the output of the numerical simulation. The data reduction schemes are shown to be accurate if the same radiation model is employed in the data reduction as was used in the flame simulation to generate the pressure trace used for post-processing. If the incorrect radiation model is employed, however, the errors can be quite large. The effects of stretch, radiation, and different data post-processing methodologies are explored and the errors quantified. Stretch is shown to be important for the early stages and the selected data range that is used for extrapolation has a significant effect on the extrapolated burning velocity. However, with an appropriate choice of data considered for extrapolation, the prediction of the unstretched burning velocity can be quite accurate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Direct numerical simulation of a turbulent methane/air flame impinged by a sub-breakdown electric field

Here, the effects of an external electric field on a turbulent methane/air diffusion flame are analyzed in this work using direct numerical simulations. The analyzed configuration consists of a temporally evolving mixing layer of air and a mixture of methane and nitrogen at 1 atm that is impinged by an electric field in the direction normal to the mean mixing plane. The combustion and chemi-ionization reactions involved in the flow are modeled using finite-rate chemistry and a reduced reaction scheme consisting of 26 species and 134 reactions. The mass diffusion and ion-wind effects are modeled using a detailed description of the diffusion coefficients and electric mobilities based on kinetic theory. The presented calculations show that the turbulence generated within the mixing layer is mostly unaffected by the applied electric field for the configuration under exam. In fact, the electric body force is developed away from the mixing region where the flow is uniform. Conversely, the turbulence is able to introduce very high intermittency in the electrically charged species concentration and, consequently, in the electric body force. Such intermittency will constitute a challenge in the future formulation of combustion models that take into account ion-wind effects.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Investigation of startup, performance and cycling of a residential furnace integrated with micro-tubular flame-assisted fuel cells for micro-combined heat and power

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) offer advantages for micro-Combined Heat and Power (μCHP), but currently suffer from slow startup (>1 h) and limited thermal cycling which reduces the applications, energy savings and economics. In this work, a micro-Tubular SOFC stack is integrated into a residential furnace to create a micro-Tubular Flame-assisted Fuel Cell (mT-FFC) μCHP system. A high power density of 202 mW cm -2 is reported operating in synthesis gas generated from fuel-rich combustion of natural gas/air. Unlike previous reports, instabilities in the polarization are attributed to low temperature of the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode. The mT-FFC stack achieved peak power density in 6 min after ignition. 200 thermal cycles at an average heating rate of 215 °C.min -1 and average cooling rate of 176 °C.min -1 were conducted and a low degradation rate of 0.0325 V per 100 cycles per fuel cell was achieved. Low NO x emissions (10 ppm) and high combined efficiency is reported.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Techno-economic analysis of cathode material production using flame-assisted spray pyrolysis

The cost of cathode materials contributes approximately 32.7% of the total cell construction cost of lithium-ion batteries, significantly affecting the price of battery packs. To reduce the cathode material manufacturing cost, a flame-assisted spray pyrolysis (FSP) method has been developed to utilize a sustainable solvent of glycerol to manufacture the LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 (NMC333) cathode materials. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the minimum cathode material selling price (MCSP) of the FSP processes compared with a traditional carbonate co-precipitation pathway. Results show that the MCSP of the FSP is $\$$19.1/kg that is 17% lower than the traditional carbonate co-precipitation pathway as a result of lower fixed operating cost and variable overhead. Sensitivity analysis shows that when the new process is integrated with in-situ sintering and processing, the MCSP can be as low as $\$$15.6/kg. When all the material prices are decreased by 20%, the FSP process can synthesize NMC333 at a price of $\$$2.3/kg lower. According to the simulation result, LiNi 0·8 Mn 0·1 Co 0·1 O 2 (NMC811) has the best potential to meet the U.S. Department of Energy battery price target of $\$$125/kWh, demonstrating that the FSP process is an attractive manufacturing technology for NMC cathode powder material production.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

An approach to identifying fibers and evolved compounds from flame resistant fabrics

Flame resistant (FR) fabrics have use in civilian, military, and industrial applications. Herein, this work describes the development of a methodology aimed at identifying the fiber composition of blended fabrics of unknown composition. Here, FR fabrics used in military uniforms, are studied using a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). Elemental analysis of the fabrics using XPS yielded a preliminary determination of the composition of the polymer(s) and aided in the identification of FR additives. TGA and Py-GC-MS experiments were used for subsequent compound identification. In TGA the temperature of mass loss events was compared to reference materials, and in Py-GC-MS the pyrolysis products of the blended FR fabrics were compared to those from a series of potential parent fibers. It was possible to discern the composition of the parent fibers and the type of FR treatment added to fabrics because the thermal decomposition chemistry did not significantly change by blending the fibers to make fabrics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A general flame aerosol route to high-entropy nanoceramics

High-entropy ceramics are an emerging class of materials with fascinating characteristics. However, elemental immiscibility and crystal complexity limit the development of a general synthesis strategy, and common methods yield bulk materials. Here, we introduce a transformative non-equilibrium flame aerosol technique for synthesizing high-entropy nanoceramics. This scalable, one-step process enables the production of high-entropy oxide nanoceramics with an unprecedented diversity of crystal structures, including fluorite-phase materials that integrate up to 22 distinct cation elements. The method’s capacity for entropic stabilization and grain refinement significantly improves the thermal stability of these nanostructures. In a representative application, a Pt-(MgCoNiCuZn)O high-entropy single-atom catalyst showed superior activity and long-term stability, maintaining constant CO 2 conversion over 670 h and dramatically outperforming conventional catalysts. Finally, the general approach opens a vast composition and structure space for the creation of high-entropy oxide nanomaterials for application across diverse fields, including catalysis, energy storage, sensing, and thermal management.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Soot formation and precursor chemistry in Counterflow flames of aviation fuel surrogates

To meet market demands, the aviation sector is interested in utilizing drop-in Synthetic Aviation Turbine Fuels (SATF), either as neat fuels or in blends with conventional Jet A. SATF currently approved in standard specifications may have lower aromatic content with significant fractions of normal, branched, and cyclo-alkanes. Fundamental studies on soot formation from aviation fuels (Jet A, SATF) and their surrogate components are essential to understand how fuel composition influences soot and soot precursor formation. Here, this study reports new measurements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and soot in counterflow diffusion flames (CDFs) of aviation fuel surrogates. Both intrusive and non-intrusive diagnostics are employed to determine the profiles of temperature, gas phase species, PAHs (up to C16), and soot volume fraction (SVF) in CDFs of iso-octane and surrogate mixtures. These measurements shed light on the transition of soot precursors to primary soot particles. In addition to serving as a common surrogate component in Jet A surrogate mixtures, iso-octane is a template species for larger, less volatile branched alkanes found in SATF mixtures. The newly developed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) PAH and soot model successfully captures temperature, precursor species, and SVF profiles for the mixtures and conditions discussed in this work. Finally, a high-fidelity surrogate for Jet A is proposed that matches targeted physical and chemical properties well, while leveraging the wide range of candidate fuel molecules available in the LLNL detailed chemical model. The proposed surrogate formulation is validated against newly acquired measurements of the surrogate and literature measurements of Jet A. These new experiments and simulations provide critical insights into the PAH and soot formation from aviation fuels. Reaction pathways which require further investigation are highlighted, such that future work may bridge the remaining quantitative gaps in predicting soot formation from aviation fuel surrogates and surrogate components.

Aviation fuels↗

Estimation of human percutaneous bioavailability for two novel brominated flame retardants, 2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP)

2-Ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB) and bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP) are novel brominated flame retardants used in consumer products. A parallelogram approach was used to predict human dermal absorption and flux for EH-TBB and BEH-TEBP. [{sup 14}C]-EH-TBB or [{sup 14}C]-BEH-TEBP was applied to human or rat skin at 100 nmol/cm{sup 2} using a flow-through system. Intact rats received analogous dermal doses. Treated skin was washed and tape-stripped to remove “unabsorbed” [{sup 14}C]-radioactivity after continuous exposure (24 h). “Absorbed” was quantified using dermally retained [{sup 14}C]-radioactivity; “penetrated” was calculated based on [{sup 14}C]-radioactivity in media (in vitro) or excreta + tissues (in vivo). Human skin absorbed EH-TBB (24 ± 1%) while 0.2 ± 0.1% penetrated skin. Rat skin absorbed more (51 ± 10%) and was more permeable (2 ± 0.5%) to EH-TBB in vitro; maximal EH-TBB flux was 11 ± 7 and 102 ± 24 pmol-eq/cm{sup 2}/h for human and rat skin, respectively. In vivo, 27 ± 5% was absorbed and 13% reached systemic circulation after 24 h (maximum flux was 464 ± 65 pmol-eq/cm{sup 2}/h). BEH-TEBP in vitro penetrance was minimal (< 0.01%) for rat or human skin. BEH-TEBP absorption was 12 ± 11% for human skin and 41 ± 3% for rat skin. In vivo, total absorption was 27 ± 9%; 1.2% reached systemic circulation. In vitro maximal BEH-TEBP flux was 0.3 ± 0.2 and 1 ± 0.3 pmol-eq/cm{sup 2}/h for human and rat skin; in vivo maximum flux for rat skin was 16 ± 7 pmol-eq/cm{sup 2}/h. EH-TBB was metabolized in rat and human skin to tetrabromobenzoic acid. BEH-TEBP-derived [{sup 14}C]-radioactivity in the perfusion media could not be characterized. < 1% of the dose of EH-TBB and BEH-TEHP is estimated to reach the systemic circulation following human dermal exposure under the conditions tested. Chemical compounds studied in this article: 2-Ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (PubChem CID: 71316600; CAS No. 183658-27-7 FW: 549.92 g/mol logP{sub est}: 7.73–8.75 (12)) Abdallah et al., 2015a. Other published abbreviations for 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate are TBB EHTeBB or EHTBB Abdallah and Harrad, 2011. bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (PubChem CID: 117291; CAS No. 26040-51-7 FW: 706.14 g/mol logP{sub est}: 9.48-11.95 (12)). Other published abbreviations for bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate are TeBrDEPH TBPH or BEHTBP. - Highlights: • Human skin maximal flux was 11 ± 7 (EH-TBB) & 0.3 ± 0.2 (BEH-TEBP) pmol-eq/cm{sup 2}/h. • Predicted systemic bioavailability was < 1% for either chemical after 24 h. • Skin retained EH-TBB & BEH-TEBP after 24 h dermal exposure. • EH-TBB was hydrolyzed to tetrabromobenzoic acid; BEH-TEBP was not metabolized. • Skin contact is an important route of human exposure to EH-TBB & BEH-TEBP.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Defect Engineering of WO 3 by Rapid Flame Reduction for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Conversion of Methane into Liquid Oxygenates

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion is a promising way to use methane (CH 4 ) as a chemical building block without harsh conditions. However, the PEC conversion of CH 4 to value-added chemicals remains challenging due to the thermodynamically favorable overoxidation of CH 4 . Here, we report WO 3 nanotube (NT) photoelectrocatalysts for PEC CH 4 conversion with high liquid product selectivity through defect engineering. By tuning the flame reduction treatment, we carefully controlled the oxygen vacancies of WO 3 NTs. The optimally reduced WO 3 NTs suppressed overoxidation of CH4 showing a high total C1 liquid selectivity of 69.4% and a production rate of 0.174 μmol cm –2 h –1 . Scanning electrochemical microscopy revealed that oxygen vacancies can restrain the production of hydroxyl radicals, which, in excess, could further oxidize C1 intermediates to CO 2 . Additionally, band diagram analysis and computational studies elucidated that oxygen vacancies thermodynamically suppress overoxidation. In conclusion, this work introduces a strategy for understanding and controlling the selectivity of photoelectrocatalysts for direct conversion of CH 4 to liquids.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗