Cerium-MOF-Derived Composite Hierarchical Catalyst Enables Energy-Efficient and Green Amine Regeneration for CO2 Capture.

The excessive energy consumed restricts the application of traditional postcombustion CO2 capture technology and limits the achievement of carbon-neutrality goals. Catalytic-rich CO2 amine regeneration has the potential to accelerate proton transfer and increase the energy efficiency in the CO2 separation process. Herein, we reported a Ce-metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived composite catalyst named HZ-Ni@UiO-66 with a hierarchical structure, which can increase the CO2 desorbed amount by 57.7% and decrease the relative heat duty by 36.5% in comparison with the noncatalytic monoethanolamine (MEA) regeneration process. The composite catalyst of the CeO2 coating from the UiO-66 precursor on the HZ-Ni carrier shows excellent stability with a long lifespan. The HZ-Ni@UiO-66 catalyst also shows a universal catalytic effect in typical blended amine systems with a large cyclic capacity. The HZ-Ni@UiO-66 catalyst effectively decreases the energy barrier of the CO2 desorption reaction to reduce the time required to reach thermodynamics, consequently saving the energy consumption generated by water evaporation. This research provides a new avenue for advancing amine regeneration with less heat duty at low temperatures.

Comparing closure compliance and ease of use for consumer product packs designed to reduce access to children.

Child impeding packs are difficult for children to open so protect them from unintended access to hazardous contents inside the pack. However, if packs are difficult for adults to open, in normal usage scenarios, this may result in a higher occurrence of packs being left open. This research explores differences in ease of usage and closure compliance between two types of child impeding packs of liquid laundry detergent capsules. The two packs, "Pinch & Lift" and "Press & Lift", had different opening and closing mechanisms. "Press & Lift" also included an audible "click" signal to confirm complete closure to the user. The research was performed across two studies. In both studies, the packs were used in participants' homes according to their usual storage and usage practices as replacements to their current liquid laundry detergent capsule pack. All participants had small children living with them in their household. In Study 1, self-reported closure and ease of use data was collected from 99 adult participants in Germany. They used each package in their home for 10 days. Study 2 extended Study 1 by measuring closure rates with an objective assessment using in pack sensors for a 10-day period for each pack. Self-reported closure and ease of use data were also collected. Study 2 was conducted with 87 participants in the United Kingdom. Results across both studies showed "Press & Lift" with the audible "Click" close signal to be rated by participants to be significantly easier to open and close and have a higher self-reported closure rate than "Pinch & Lift". In addition, Study 2 results demonstrated higher closure rates using "Press & Lift" based on the sensor-measured closure compliance. Together, the results suggest transition to a pack with a mechanism that is child impeding and easier for an adult to use with an audible closure signal, like the "Press & Lift" system, has potential to reduce child access to a capsule from a pack by reducing the likelihood of the pack being left open by the adult user. Ultimately, such packs could protect children from potential poisoning injury across a range of consumer products.

[EMmim][NTf2 ]-a Novel Ionic Liquid (IL) in Catalytic CO2 Capture and ILs' Applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been used for carbon dioxide (CO2 ) capture, however, which have never been used as catalysts to accelerate CO2 capture. The record is broken by a uniquely designed IL, [EMmim][NTf2 ]. The IL can universally catalyze both CO2 sorption and desorption of all the chemisorption-based technologies. As demonstrated in monoethanolamine (MEA) based CO2 capture, even with the addition of only 2000 ppm IL catalyst, the rate of CO2 desorption-the key to reducing the overall CO2 capture energy consumption or breaking the bottleneck of the state-of-the-art technologies and Paris Agreement implementation-can be increased by 791% at 85 °C, which makes use of low-temperature waste heat and avoids secondary pollution during CO2 capture feasible. Furthermore, the catalytic CO2 capture mechanism is experimentally and theoretically revealed.

Comprehensive mass transfer analysis of CO2 absorption in high potential ternary AMP-PZ-MEA solvent using three-level factorial design.

Mass transfer of CO2 absorption in 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) - piperazine (PZ) - monoethanolamine (MEA) was statistically investigated in terms of overall mass transfer coefficient ([Formula: see text]) and CO2 removal percentage. The parameters of interest were lean solvent flux (A), rich gas flux (B), CO2 loading in the lean solvent (C), and ratio of the sampling height to the total column height [Formula: see text] (D). From ANOVA, A was the most impactable parameter on both responses with three-quarters of the overall contribution. Regarding the three-level factorial design, a second-order polynomial increasing trend of [Formula: see text] was observed as C and/or D increased. Additionally, [Formula: see text] linearly increased as A increased but was not affected by B. On the other hand, the CO2 removal percentage linearly increased as A and/or D increased but linearly decreased as B and/or C increased. Surface analysis suggested the optimum condition for both responses at a high level of A, low level of B, low level of C, and middle level of D. In this work, D was statistically investigated and included in the predictive correlation for [Formula: see text] for the first time. The main advantage of the proposed correlation over the recently reported correlations was that it did not require a measurement of CO2 partial pressure along the column height. For each amine component in the blend, (i) AMP played a positive key role in cyclic capacity and solvent regeneration duty, (ii) PZ enhanced transfer rate, and (iii) MEA elevated total amine concentration. As a result, 1.5:1.5:3 was recommended due to (i) elevations of 68.2% [Formula: see text], 14% CO2 removal percentage, 15.1% absorption capacity, and 66.7% cyclic capacity and (ii) reduction of 50% regeneration duty compared with 5 M MEA. With respect to the other literature-reported solvents, AMP-PZ-MEA is very competitive in terms of transfer coefficient, cyclic capacity, and solvent regeneration heat duty.

Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Ultrafine Pd-Based Biochar Catalyst for Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid and Application of In Situ Hydrogenation.

In this work, a novel "foaming" strategy uses sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and ammonium oxalate ((NH4)2C2O4) as the foaming agent, turning biomass-derived carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) into N-doped porous carbon. Highly active palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) immobilized on nitrogen-doped porous carbon (Pd@MC(2)-P) are produced through a phosphate-mediation approach. The phosphoric acid (H3PO4) becomes the key to the synthesis of highly dispersed ultrafine Pd NPs on active Pd-cluster-edge (the edge of the Pd-cluster-100 and Pd-cluster-111 surfaces). The Pd@MC(2)-P exhibits high activity for formic acid (FA) dehydrogenation with an initial TOFg of 971 h-1 at room temperature. The subsequent hydrogenation of phenol using FA as an in situ hydrogen source on Pd@MC(2)-P and the highly efficient hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone reaches more than 90% selectivity and 80% conversion. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the reduced H poisoning and more exposed (100) surface over Pd nanoparticles are the keys to the Pd nanoparticles' high activity.

Applied Artificial Neural Network for Hydrogen Sulfide Solubility in Natural Gas Purification.

Solubility of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in 46 single and blended physical absorbents, amines, ionic liquids, and hybrid absorbents of amines + ionic liquids and amines + physical absorbents was successfully predicted based on artificial neural networks (ANNs). Three neural network algorithms of Levenberg-Marquardt (LM), Bayesian regularization (BR), and scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) were applied for architecting the ANN models. The results showed that both the number of hidden neurons and the prediction algorithm affected the prediction of H2S solubility. Based on the mean square error (MSE) and determination coefficient (R 2), the most attractive model was the LM-ANN model with 17 hidden neurons. As a result, very satisfactory prediction performance (for the testing data set) with an MSE of 0.0014 and an R 2 of 0.9817 was obtained from the developed LM-ANN model. Additionally, a parity chart confirmed that the predicted solubility of H2S well aligned with the experimental data. To effectively absorb H2S and maintain high solubility of H2S, the absorbent should be well complied with the operating pressure. For a low-pressure range of less than 100 kPa, amines are very attractive. As the pressure elevated to 100-1000 kPa, amines and hybrid amine + physical absorbents are suggested. Lastly, at a high pressure over 1000 kPa, physical absorbents and ionic liquids are recommended.

The exploration of size and toddler interaction with liquid laundry detergent capsules.

Liquid laundry capsules have been involved in multiple poisoning incidents with young children in the home. There are a range of contributing factors for these incidents, including influences from industry, culture, home environments, and parenting/supervision. There also are influences from children's behaviour and decisions in reaction to potential hazards. Previous research examined the influence of capsule product appearance and colour on children's behaviour around hazardous household items, but little research examines the influence of product size. This research explored if differences in the size of liquid laundry capsules result in different levels of toddler interaction. We compared two commercially available capsule designs that are identical in physical appearance but differ in physical size. Our research was conducted using three studies: Study 1, forced-choice test in an out-of-context laboratory setting; Study 2, an ecologically-valid, simulated real-world setting replicating a home laundry cabinet with a container of capsules left open; and Study 3, a second ecologically-valid study replicating a home laundry cabinet, this time with a capsule left outside its container. Capsule interaction was measured by grasping choice among samples of 156 toddlers ages 9-36 months. The same sample was used for Studies 1 and 2, and a second identically sized sample recruited for Study 3. Results from Study 1 indicated toddlers selected the small (49.8% selection) and large (50.2%) capsule with nearly identical frequency. Study 2 largely replicated Study 1: Toddlers selected the small capsule or container of small capsules 26.8% of the time and the large capsule or container of large capsules 22.3% of the time. Study 3 also replicated previous findings: Toddlers selected the smaller capsule 18.0% of the time and the larger 19.2%. We discuss study results, which suggest no appreciable difference in toddler's grasping choice to smaller versus larger laundry capsules.

Reducing Energy Penalty of CO2 Capture Using Fe Promoted SO42-/ZrO2/MCM-41 Catalyst.

The high energy consumption of CO2-loaded solvent regeneration is the biggest impediment for the real application of the amine-based CO2 capture process. To lower the energy requirement, three Fe promoted SO42-/ZrO2 supported on MCM-41 (SZMF) catalysts with different iron oxide content (5%, 10%, and 15%) were synthesized and applied for the rich monoethanolamine solution regeneration process at 98 °C. Results reveal that the use of SZMF hugely enhanced the CO2 desorption performances (i.e., desorption factor) by 260-388% and reduced the heat duty by about 28-40%, which is better than most of the reported catalysts for this purpose. The eminent catalytic activities of SZMF are related to their enhanced ratio of Brønsted to Lewis acid sites, weak acid sites, basic sites, and high dispersed Fe3+ species. Meanwhile, the addition of SZMF for CO2 desorption shows a promotional effect on its CO2 absorption performance, and SZMF presents an excellent cyclic stability. A possible mechanism is suggested for the SZMF catalyzed CO2 desorption process. Results of this work may provide direction for future research and rational design of more efficient catalysts for this potential catalyst-aided CO2 desorption technology.

The importance of an ecologically valid method in the evaluation of toddler interaction with coloured liquid laundry detergent capsules.

The colour and appearance of liquid laundry capsules have been implicated in the risk of attracting the attention of toddlers, and therefore contributing to poisoning incidents in the home by encouraging interaction. This research set out to explore if differences in colours and contrasting colour designs used in mono and multi-coloured capsules result in different levels of attractiveness. This was performed using two study settings: a laboratory setting (out of context), and by comparison, a more ecologically valid setting, mimicking the real-world. Capsule attractiveness to toddlers was measured by visual attention (measured through eye tracking) and grasping choice (measured as frequency of grasping in a behavioural task). Results from the research in the out of context setting showed statistically significant differences in visual attention and grasping choice between colours and contrasting designs. In the visual attention study a preference for multi-coloured capsules was shown. In the grasping choice study, in addition to multi-coloured, mono-coloured white or purple capsules were also preferred. In the more ecologically valid setting, there were no statistically significant differences in the visual attention or grasping choice between any of the capsules. These results were consistent with each other and in line with market data reflecting poisoning incident rates, which show no change with colour or contrasting colour design. We suggest that the results from out of context studies might not be a reliable indicator of real world behaviour. Given the importance of toddler home safety, using a methodology that is aligned with market numbers is crucial to develop countermeasures.

Dynamic Exergy Method for Evaluating the Control and Operation of Oxy-Combustion Boiler Island Systems.

Exergy-based methods are widely applied to assess the performance of energy conversion systems; however, these methods mainly focus on a certain steady-state and have limited applications for evaluating the control impacts on system operation. To dynamically obtain the thermodynamic behavior and reveal the influences of control structures, layers and loops, on system energy performance, a dynamic exergy method is developed, improved, and applied to a complex oxy-combustion boiler island system for the first time. The three most common operating scenarios are studied, and the results show that the flow rate change process leads to less energy consumption than oxygen purity and air in-leakage change processes. The variation of oxygen purity produces the largest impact on system operation, and the operating parameter sensitivity is not affected by the presence of process control. The control system saves energy during flow rate and oxygen purity change processes, while it consumes energy during the air in-leakage change process. More attention should be paid to the oxygen purity change because it requires the largest control cost. In the control system, the supervisory control layer requires the greatest energy consumption and the largest control cost to maintain operating targets, while the steam control loops cause the main energy consumption.

Analysis of human perception of facial skin radiance by means of image histogram parameters of surface and subsurface reflections from the skin.

BACKGROUND: The appearance of the skin is the result of complicated light-skin interactions involving surface and subsurface reflections. Radiant skin is a complicated attribute but is important for skin beauty. The aim of the present study was to achieve an understanding of the association between human perceptions of skin radiance and image histogram parameters from technically recorded images of surface and subsurface reflections. METHODS: Facial images of 45 subjects were evaluated visually by 30 respondents and were also computer analyzed in terms of their image histogram parameters. A partial least squares regression model was created to explain visual perceptions in terms of the image histogram parameters. RESULTS: Visual perceptions of subsurface reflections can be explained in terms of the mean from the subsurface reflection image histogram, and visual perceptions of surface reflections can be explained in terms of the standard deviation (SD) and skewness from the surface reflection image histogram. Skin radiance can be explained in terms of the mean from the subsurface reflection and the SD from the surface reflection. CONCLUSION: To acquire skin radiance, a surface reflection component that makes the skin look shiny and a subsurface reflection component that is in line with skin fairness are both needed. A balance of these features provides the origin of skin radiance.

Characterization of comprehensive appearances of skin ageing: an 11-year longitudinal study on facial skin ageing in Japanese females at Akita.

BACKGROUND: Facial appearance is regarded as a typical index of ageing. However, people of the same age do not necessarily show the same degree of the facial appearance. The ageing of facial skin proceeds relatively slowly and therefore requires long-term follow-up to elucidate the mechanism of ageing changes. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify facial skin parameters contributing the subjective impression of the overall ageing and characterize the degree of skin ageing by a 11 year longitudinal skin monitoring. METHODS: One-hundred-eight healthy Japanese females excluded outside workers aged 5-64 at 1999, and lived in Akita, Japan till 2010 were enrolled. Facial images were collected to quantify various skin optical parameters. Skin colour, hydration and barrier function were measured with Chromameter, Corneometer and TEWAmeter, respectively. The visual evaluation of the overall facial skin ageing impression was also carried out. The skin parameters contributing visible impression of skin ageing were identified by variable importance in projection analysis, and the degree of facial skin ageing over 11 years was statistically classified by a cluster analysis. RESULTS: Facial skin parameters that comprehensively influenced visible skin ageing, including hyperpigmented spots, wrinkles and texture were studied. The Skin Ageing Score calculated from these three skin factors was used to classify the subjects into a mild, age-appropriate, and severe skin ageing group. The mild skin ageing group maintained significant better both skin optical and physical conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Variability and classification of the degree of facial skin ageing appearance were studied from this longitudinal research.

Microwave synthesis of zinc sulfite and porous zinc oxide microrods.

ZnSO(3) microrods with uniform size and shape can be prepared under microwave irradiation at much higher speed than a conventional heating bath, usually in minutes. The annealing of ZnSO(3) microrods produced porous ZnO microrods with pore size between 50-200 nm.

Towards aqueous gold nanoparticles with buffer resistance and high concentration.

High-concentration gold nanoparticles stabilized by poly(vinylpyrrolindone) (PVP) are prepared through modified citrate-reduction method. The modified approach possesses all the advantages of the popular citrate reduction method. With PVP as weak ligands as well as spatial effects for the metal nanoparticles, the control of the size and size distribution of the gold nanoparticles in the size range between 10 and 30 nm was achieved via maintaining balanced nucleation and growth by tuning the feed ratios of the metal precursors and reducing reagents. As a modified procedure to gold nanoparticles, PVP-stabilized gold nanoparticles are more stable in a broad range of pH and different buffers than conventional gold colloids. Because only PVP are employed in the new synthetic schemes, surface modification and functionalization of the resulting gold nanoparticles through small molecular ligands can be readily carried out.

Green chemistry for large-scale synthesis of semiconductor quantum dots.

Large-scale synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) with high concentration and high yield through simultaneously increasing the precursor concentration was introduced. This synthetic route conducted in diesel has produced gram-scale CdSe semiconductor quantum dots (In optimal scale-up synthetic condition, the one-pot yield of QDs is up to 9.6g). The reaction has been conducted in open air and at relatively low temperature at 190-230 degrees C in the absence of expensive organic phosphine ligands, aliphatic amine and octadecene, which is really green chemistry without high energy cost for high temperature reaction and unessential toxic chemicals except for Cd, which is the essential building block for QDs.