Simultaneous bioelectricity generation and pollutants removal of sediment microbial fuel cell combined with submerged macrophyte

A submerged macrophyte sediment microbial fuel cell (SP-SMFC) was constructed in this study. Ceratophyllum demersum L., Vallisneria natans, Hydrilla verticillate were chosen as the submerged plants to form cer-SMFC, val-SMFC, hyd-SMFC systems. Plant groups showed the advantage of bioelectricity generation and pollutants removal compared with the unplanted system. The cer-SMFC group stood out with the maximum power density as 24.56 mW m^?2 and the average pollutants removal in overlying water (COD: 81.16%, TN: 65.27%, TP: 79.10%) and in sediments (TN: 26.40%, TP: 21.79%). The determination of root exudates and radial oxygen loss (ROL) demonstrated that C. demersum L. was superior to other studied submerged macrophytes. More root exudates may contribute to an increase in available substrates for electrochemically active bacteria and other microorganisms. Higher enzyme activities were obtained in three SP-SMFCs (especially in cer-SMFC). ATPase and APA activities in cer-SMFC group were increased by over 40% compared with the control. The results indicated that the presence of plants enhanced the microorganism activities, thereby improving bioelectricity generation and pollutants removal. This study will facilitate the application of SP-SMFC technology as an alternative for in situ remediation of polluted sediments.     

Research and development of liquid hydrogen (LH2) temperature monitoring system for marine applications

Monitoring the temperature in liquid hydrogen (LH₂) storage tanks on ships is important for the safety of maritime navigation. In addition, accurate temperature measurement is also required for commercial transactions. Temperature and pressure define the density of liquid hydrogen, which is directly linked to trading interests. In this study, we developed and tested a liquid hydrogen temperature monitoring system that uses platinum resistance sensors with a nominal electrical resistance of approximately 1000 Ω at room temperature, PT-1000, for marine applications. The temperature measurements were carried out using a newly developed temperature monitoring system under different pressure conditions. The measured values are compared with a calibrated reference PT-1000 resistance thermometer. We confirm a measurement accuracy of ±50 mK in a pressure range of 0.1 MPa–0.5 MPa.     

Nanogrooved carbon microtubes for wet three‐dimensional printing of conductive composite structures

Recent advances in three‐dimensional (3D) printing have enabled the fabrication of interesting structures which are not achievable using traditional fabrication approaches. The 3D printing of carbon microtube composite inks allows fabrication of conductive structures for practical applications in soft robotics and tissue engineering. However, it is challenging to achieve 3D printed structures from solution‐based composite inks, which requires an additional process to solidify the ink. Here, we introduce a wet 3D printing technique which uses a coagulation bath to fabricate carbon microtube composite structures. We show that through a facile nanogrooving approach which introduces cavitation and channels on carbon microtubes, enhanced interfacial interactions with a chitosan polymer matrix are achieved. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the 3D printed composites improve when nanogrooved carbon microtubes are used, compared to untreated microtubes. We show that by carefully controlling the coagulation bath, extrusion pressure, printing distance and printed line distance, we can 3D print composite lattices which are composed of well‐defined and separated printed lines. The conductive composite 3D structures with highly customised design presented in this work provide a suitable platform for applications ranging from soft robotics to smart tissue engineering scaffolds. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Simple and novel synthesis of zirconia whiskers from a phosphate flux

High quality zirconia whiskers have been successfully prepared by molten salt method, using zirconium oxychloride (ZrOCl₂·8H₂O) and sodium phosphate tribasic dodecahydrate (Na₃PO₄·12H₂O) as precursor and molten salt, respectively. The effects of types of molten salt and heat treatment temperature on the formation of zirconia whiskers were characterized by XRD, Raman, DTA-TG, FE-SEM, TEM, SAED and HR-TEM. When Na₃PO₄·12H₂O is utilized as molten salt and the heat treatment temperature is 900?°C, the as-prepared zirconia whiskers with length ranging from 4?µm to 8?µm show an average aspect ratio of 25. The obtained ZrO₂ whiskers with monoclinic structure are elongated along [010] direction and exhibit a smooth surface with no distinct defects. The XRD and Raman results reveal that the phase transformation from tetragonal zirconia to monoclinic zirconia occurs with the increased crystal size and the water quenching treatment can significantly reduce the content of sodium zirconium phosphate [Na_9–4×Zr_x(PO₄)₃] in the final product. The growth mechanism of zirconia whiskers is supposed to be a dissolution-precipitation process. Since the sodium zirconium phosphate [Na_9–4×Zr_x(PO₄)₃] effectively promotes the dissolution of zirconia in liquid molten salt, zirconia can grow into zirconia whiskers according to its anisotropy.     

Zinc ferrite based gas sensors: A review

Flammable, explosive and toxic gases, such as hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds vapor, are major threats to the ecological environment safety and human health. Among the available technologies, gas sensing is a vital component, and has been widely studied in literature for early detection and warning. As a metal oxide semiconductor, zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) represents a kind of promising gas sensing material with a spinel structure, which also shows a fine gas sensing performance to reducing gases. Due to its great potentials and widespread applications, this article is intended to provide a review on the latest development in zinc ferrite based gas sensors. We first discuss the general gas sensing mechanism of ZnFe₂O₄ sensor. This is followed by a review of the recent progress about zinc ferrite based gas sensors from several aspects: different micro-morphology, element doping and heterostructure materials. In the end, we propose that combining ZnFe₂O₄ which provides unique microstructure (such as the multi-layer porous shells hollow structure), with the semiconductors such as graphene, which provide excellent physical properties. It is expected that the mentioned composites contribute to improving selectivity, long-term stability, and other sensing performance of sensors at room or low temperature.     

Study of Quantitative Structure Equilibrating Interaction of Retention Indices of Monomethylalkanes in Fossil Fuels by Multiple Linear Regression and Vector

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - A support vector machine model in quantitative structure–property interaction was developed for predicting retention indices of...     

Advances in statistical mechanics of rock masses and its engineering applications

To efficiently link the continuum mechanics for rocks with the structural statistics of rock masses,a theoretical and methodological system called the statistical mechanics of rock masses(SMRM)was developed in the past three decades.In SMRM,equivalent continuum models of stressestrain relationship,strength and failure probability for jointed rock masses were established,which were based on the geometric probability models characterising the rock mass structure.This follows the statistical physics,the continuum mechanics,the fracture mechanics and the weakest link hypothesis.A general constitutive model and complete stressestrain models under compressive and shear conditions were also developed as the derivatives of the SMRM theory.An SMRM calculation system was then developed to provide fast and precise solutions for parameter estimations of rock masses,such as full-direction rock quality designation(RQD),elastic modulus,Coulomb compressive strength,rock mass quality rating,and Poisson’s ratio and shear strength.The constitutive equations involved in SMRM were integrated into a FLAC3D based numerical module to apply for engineering rock masses.It is also capable of analysing the complete deformation of rock masses and active reinforcement of engineering rock masses.Examples of engineering applications of SMRM were presented,including a rock mass at QBT hydropower station in northwestern China,a dam slope of Zongo II hydropower station in D.R.Congo,an open-pit mine in Dexing,China,an underground powerhouse of Jinping I hydropower station in southwestern China,and a typical circular tunnel in Lanzhou-Chongqing railway,China.These applications verified the reliability of the SMRM and demonstrated its applicability to broad engineering issues associated with jointed rock masses.     

Porous nitrogen-enriched hollow carbon nanofibers as freestanding electrode for enhanced lithium storage

One-dimensional porous carbons bearing high surface areas and sufficient heteroatom doped functional-ities are essential for advanced electrochemical energy storage devices, especially for developing free-standing film electrodes. Here we develop a porous, nitrogen-enriched, freestanding hollow carbon nanofiber (PN-FHCF) electrode material via filtration of polypyrrole (PPy) hollow nanofibers formed by in situ self-degraded template-assisted strategy, followed by NH3-assisted carbonization. The PN-FHCF retains the freestanding film morphology that is composed of three-dimensional networks from the entanglement of 1D nanofiber and delivers 3.7-fold increase in specific surface area (592 m2·g-1) com-pared to the carbon without NH3 treatment (FHCF). In spite of the enhanced specific surface area, PN-FHCF still exhibits comparable high content of surface N functionalities (8.8％, atom fraction) to FHCF. Such developed hierarchical porous structure without sacrificing N doping functionalities together enables the achievement of high capacity, high-rate property and good cycling stability when applied as self-supporting anode in lithium-ion batteries, superior to those of FHCF without NH3 treatment.     

A strategy for defects healing in 3D printed ceramic compact via cold isostatic pressing: Sintering kinetic window and microstructure evolution

In this study, we developed a unique defect healing method for 3D printed ceramic compact via cold isostatic pressing (CIP) after debinding, and typical features of interlayer interface defects of 3D-printed zirconia compact were characterized and found to be reduced significantly. The characteristic sintering kinetics window and microstructure evolution of the healed sintered bodies were systematically investigated, which was found to be quite different from conventional shaping methods. The three sintering stages are probed by their feature microstructure details such as the mechanically flattening surface at the early sintering stage, the heterogeneous microstructure and high porosity in the interlayer interface region at the middle stage, and the slightly ripple-like structural features combined with the healed interlayer defects at the final stage. The evolution of the pore structure of the healed 3D printed bodies were traced and the mechanical properties such as the Young's modulus, hardness, and fracture toughness were measured to understand the significance of the heal effect.     

Spreading and Curing Behaviors of a Thermosetting Droplet-Silicone on a Heated Surface

Thermosetting materials are widely used as encapsulation in the electrical packaging to protect the core electronic components from external force, moisture, dust, and other factors. However, the spreading and curing behaviors of such kind of fluid on a heated surface have been rarely explored. In this study, we experimentally and numerically investigated the spreading and curing behaviors of the silicone(OE6550 A/B, which is widely used in the light-emitting diode packaging) droplet with diameter of ～2.2 mm on a heated surface with temperature ranging from 25 ℃ to 250 ℃. For the experiments, we established a setup with high-speed camera and heating unit to capture the fast spreading process of the silicone droplet on the heated surface. For the numerical simulation, we built a viscosity model of the silicone by using the Kiuna's model and combined the viscosity model with the Volume of Fluid(VOF) model by the User Defined Function(UDF) method. The results show that the surface temperature significantly affected the spreading behaviors of the silicone droplet since it determines the temperature and viscosity distribution inside the droplet. For surface temperature varied from 25 ℃ to 250 ℃, the final contact radius changed from ～2.95 mm to ～1.78 mm and the total spreading time changed from ～511 s to ～0.15 s. By further analyzing the viscosity evolution of the droplet, we found that the decreasing of the total spreading time was caused by the decrease of the viscosity under high surface temperature at initial spreading stage, while the reduction of the final contact radius was caused by the curing of the precursor film. This study supplies a strategy to tuning the spreading and curing behavior of silicone by imposing high surface temperature, which is of great importance to the electronic packaging.