Hydrothermal catalytic production of fuels and chemicals from aquatic biomass

One of the promising avenues for biomass processing is the use of water as a reaction medium for wet or aquatic biomass. This review focuses on the hydrothermal catalytic production of fuels and chemicals from aquatic biomass. Two different regimes for conversion of aquatic biomass in hydrothermal conditions are discussed in detail. The first is hydrothermal liquefaction, and the second is hydrothermal gasification. The goals of these processes are to produce liquid‐fuel‐range hydrocarbons and methane or hydrogen, respectively. The catalytic upgrading of biocrude resulting from noncatalytic liquefaction and the stability and degradation of catalysts in high temperature water are also discussed. The review concludes with a brief discussion of the outlook for and opportunities within the field of hydrothermal catalytic valorization of biomass. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydrogenation of dinitriles on Raney-type Ni catalysts: kinetic and mechanistic aspects

The mechanism of the hydrogenation of aliphatic C₄–C₆ dinitriles (succinonitrile, glutaronitrile, and adiponitrile) over Raney-type Ni catalysts was investigated in a fed-batch autoclave at 350 K and 5.0 MPa. The results are interpreted based on the strength of adsorption, the interaction with the solvent and intramolecular interactions. The kinetics of the hydrogenation of aliphatic dinitriles is highly dependent on the hydrocarbon chain length. Short dinitriles like succinonitrile adsorb stronger on the catalyst surface than longer dinitriles like adiponitrile. The yield of the intermediate aminonitriles decreases with increasing hydrocarbon chain length, due to the enhanced competitiveness of dinitrile and aminonitrile for the same active sites. It is proposed that the reactivity of dinitriles and aminonitriles is caused by difference in solvent interaction. It is remarkable that the stronger the adsorption, the higher the reactivity. The reactivity decreases in the order: succinonitrile > glutaronitrile > adiponitrile. In contrast, the reaction rate of the aminonitriles is fairly independent of the hydrocarbon chain length. The formation of undesired secondary amines in the form of cyclic compounds is under kinetic control and increases with decreasing chain length. It is found that adiponitrile can be very selectively hydrogenated to primary diamines. Promoting Raney-type Ni catalysts with traces of Mo, Cr or Fe enhances the performance in the hydrogenation of dinitriles. This gives the best opportunity for process improvement towards the desired primary amines.     

Chip geometry and cutting force prediction in gear hobbing

This paper presents a tri-dexel geometric engine integrated simulation model for the gear hobbing operation. The process kinematics are modeled and validated using CNC signals from a Liebherr LC500 hobbing machine. Workpiece geometry updating and cutter-workpiece engagement (CWE) calculations are efficiently realized in the tri-dexel engine. 3D force contributions at discretized nodes along the hob's cutting edges are computed considering the localized principal cutting directions, and rake and inclination angles. To measure cutting forces, a rotary dynamometer is successfully adapted and used alongside a Kalman filter to compensate for structural dynamics. The predicted forces agree well with their experimental counterparts.     

Fault Ride-Through Capability Enhancement of VSC HVDC connected Offshore Wind Power Plants

To achieve active control of the AC voltage magnitude of wind power plant(WPP) collector network and improve the fault ride-through (FRT) capability,an FRT scheme based on feed forward DC voltage contr...     

Electrical conduction in plasma polymerized thin films of γ‐terpinene

Plasma polymerized γ‐terpinene (pp?GT) thin films are fabricated using RF plasma polymerization. MIM structures are fabricated and using the capacitive structures dielectric properties of the material is studied. The dielectric constant values are found to be in good agreement with those determined from ellipsometric data. At a frequency of 100 kHz, the dielectric constant varies with RF deposition power, from 3.69 (10 W) to 3.24 (75 W). The current density–voltage (J?V) characteristics of pp–GT thin films are investigated as a function of RF deposition power at room temperature to determine the resistivity and DC conduction mechanism of the films. At higher applied voltage region, Schottky conduction is the dominant DC conduction mechanism. The capacitance and the loss tangent are found to be frequency dependent. The conductivity of the pp?GT thin films is found to decrease from 1.39 × 10^?12 S/cm (10 W) to 1.02 × 10^?13 S/cm (75 W) and attributed to the change in the chemical composition and structure of the polymer. The breakdown field for pp–GT thin films increases from 1.48 MV/cm (10 W) to 2 MV/cm (75 W). A single broad relaxation peak is observed indicating the contribution of multiple relaxations to the dielectric response for temperature dependent J?V. The distribution of these relaxation times is determined through regularization methods. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42318.     

Effective construction planning

This paper examines the relationships between construction planning efforts and construction planning effectiveness. The influence of the project's environment and organizational characteristics of construction firms on planning efforts and planning effectiveness is also investigated. A sample of 26 building projects was studied and the results were analysed using simple correlations. Three factors were found to have a significant effect on improving construction planning effectiveness: increases in planning time prior to commencement of work on site, the extent to which emphasis is placed on the determination of construction methods during construction planning and the frequency of revision of construction plans after commencement of work on site. Significant relationships were also found between project environment variables and organizational characteristics of construction firms and planning efforts and planning effectiveness. Implications of the results are that construction planners should systematically evaluate alternative plans, sufficient time should be allowed for proper planning, thorough reviews are needed whilst work is in progress, the planning effort needs to be relevant to the environmental context of the project and the firm should be appropriately organized. Suggestions are given for future research studies.