Drying characteristics of sewage sludge pre-conditioned by CaO and sawdust under low-temperature drying conditions.

Heat pump drying is a low-carbon method of sludge drying. The operating temperature of a heat pump is generally not more than 70℃. To improve the drying efficiency of heat pump dryers, the effects of air parameters and additives on sludge drying characteristics at low temperatures were studied. The sludge drying experiments were conducted at an air temperature 50-70℃ and an air velocity of 0.5-1.7 m/s. The experimental results showed that the increase of air temperature, velocity and the addition ratio of additives can accelerate the sludge drying process. The average and maximum drying rates of sludge pre-conditioned by CaO and sawdust increased by 14.23% and 25.71%, respectively, compared with those of pure sludge. The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the influence of air temperature on the sludge drying was higher than that of air velocity. Five reference models were fitted by the drying experiment data. The Page model has the highest R2, so it is the most suitable model to predict the drying time of sludge at low temperatures.

Thermodynamic mechanism evaluate the feasibility of oil shale pyrolysis by topochemical heat.

Topochemical heat in-situ pyrolysis of oil shale is achieved by injecting high temperature nitrogen to promote oil shale pyrolysis and release heat, and then injecting air to trigger oil shale combustion in the early stage of oil shale pyrolysis, and then by injecting normal temperature air continuously to promote local oxidation of oil shale in the later stage. In order to verify the oil and gas recovery by topochemical heat method, Jilin University has chosen Fuyu City, Jilin Province, to carry out pilot project of oil shale in-situ pyrolysis by topochemical heat method. Besides, in order to infer the spontaneity, feasibility and difficulty of continuous pyrolysis of oil shale based on topochemical heat, this paper, the mechanism of solid-state pyrolysis and the thermodynamic analysis of transition state of oil shale in Fuyu area are discussed. Because the second stage of oil shale pyrolysis is the main stage of oil production. Therefore, the characteristics of Gibbs free energy, free enthalpy and free entropy of transition state in the main oil production stage of oil shale pyrolysis are obtained by calculation. The results show that in situ pyrolysis of oil shale topochemical heat can be carried out spontaneously and continuously, and the release characteristics of volatiles during pyrolysis of oil shale are described.

Kinetics and thermodynamics evaluation of carbon dioxide enhanced oil shale pyrolysis.

The pyrolysis process of oil shale is significantly affected by atmospheric conditions. In this paper, the pyrolysis experiments of oil shale under non-isothermal conditions are carried out using nitrogen and carbon dioxide as heat-carrying fluids. The results show that the activation energy of the second stage of oil shale pyrolysis under carbon dioxide is less than that under nitrogen. The thermodynamic analysis of the second stage of oil shale pyrolysis shows that Gibbs free energy, activation enthalpy and activation entropy are higher under carbon dioxide than those under nitrogen, which obeys the law of carbon dioxide promoting oil shale pyrolysis. In addition, the volatile release characteristics of oil shale in the second stage of pyrolysis were analyzed, which proves that the volatile release characteristics of oil shale under carbon dioxide are higher than that under nitrogen. Therefore, carbon dioxide is helpful to promote the pyrolysis of oil shale and increases the release of volatile substances during pyrolysis.

Pyrolysis characteristics of cathode from spent lithium-ion batteries using advanced TG-FTIR-GC/MS analysis.

Thermal treatment offers an alternative method for the separation of Al foil and cathode materials during spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) recycling. In this work, the pyrolysis behavior of cathode from spent LIBs was investigated using advanced thermogravimetric Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (TG-FTIR-GC/MS) method. The fate of fluorine present in spent batteries was probed as well. TG analysis showed that the cathode decomposition displayed a three-stage process. The temperatures of maximum mass loss rate were located at 470 °C and 599 °C, respectively. FTIR analysis revealed that the release of CO2 increased as the temperature rose from 195 to 928 °C. However, the evolution of H2O showed a decreasing trend when the temperature increased to above 599 °C. The release of fluoride derivatives also exhibited a decreasing trend, and they were not detected after temperatures increasing to above 470 °C. GC-MS analysis indicated that the release of H2O and CO displayed a similar trend, with larger releasing intensity at the first two stages. The evolution of 1,4-difluorobenzene and 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene also displayed a similar trend-larger releasing intensity at the first two stages. However, the release of CO2 showed a different trend, with the largest release intensity at the third stage, as did the release of 1,2,4-trifluorobenzene, with the release mainly focused at the temperature of 300-400 °C. The release intensities of 1,2,4-trifluorobenzene and 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene were comparable, although smaller than that of 1,4-difluorobenzene. This study will offer practical support for the large-scale recycling of spent LIBs.

Pyrolysis treatment of nonmetal fraction of waste printed circuit boards: Focusing on the fate of bromine.

Advanced thermal treatment of electronic waste offers advantages of volume reduction and energy recovery. In this work, the pyrolysis behaviour of nonmetallic fractions of waste printed circuit boards was studied. The fate of a bromine and thermal decomposition pathway of nonmetallic fractions of waste printed circuit boards were further probed. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the temperatures of maximum mass loss were located at 319°C and 361°C, with mass loss of 29.6% and 50.6%, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy analysis revealed that the spectra at temperatures of 300°C-400°C were complicated with larger absorbance intensity. The nonmetallic fractions of waste printed circuit boards decomposed drastically and more evolved products were detected in the temperature range of 600°C-1000°C. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis indicated that various brominated derivates were generated in addition to small molecules, such as CH4, H2O and CO. The release intensity of CH4 and H2O increased with temperature increasing and reached maximum at 600°C-800°C and 400°C-600°C. More bromoethane (C2H5Br) was formed as compared with HBr and methyl bromide (CH3Br). The release intensity of bromopropane (C3H7Br) and bromoacetone (C3H5BrO) were comparable, although smaller than that of bromopropene (C3H5Br). More dibromophenol (C6H4Br2O) was released than that of bromophenol (C6H5BrO) in the thermal treatment. During the thermal process, part of the ether bonds first ruptured forming bisphenol A, propyl alcohol and tetrabromobisphenol A. Then, the tetrabromobisphenol A decomposed into C6H5BrO and HBr, which further reacted with small molecules forming brominated derivates. It implied debromination of raw nonmetallic fractions of waste printed circuit boards or pyrolysis products should be applied for its environmentally sound treating.

An optimal sampling approach to modelling whole-body vibration exposure in all-terrain vehicle driving.

Exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) presents an occupational health risk and several safety standards obligate to measure WBV. The high cost of direct measurements in large epidemiological studies raises the question of the optimal sampling for estimating WBV exposures given by a large variation in exposure levels in real worksites. This paper presents a new approach to addressing this problem. A daily exposure to WBV was recorded for 9-24 days among 48 all-terrain vehicle drivers. Four data-sets based on root mean squared recordings were obtained from the measurement. The data were modelled using semi-variogram with spectrum analysis and the optimal sampling scheme was derived. The optimum sampling period was 140 min apart. The result was verified and validated in terms of its accuracy and statistical power. Recordings of two to three hours are probably needed to get a sufficiently unbiased daily WBV exposure estimate in real worksites. The developed model is general enough that is applicable to other cumulative exposures or biosignals. Practitioner Summary: Exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) presents an occupational health risk and safety standards obligate to measure WBV. However, direct measurements can be expensive. This paper presents a new approach to addressing this problem. The developed model is general enough that is applicable to other cumulative exposures or biosignals.

The Effect of ZrO2 Nanoparticles on the Microstructure and Properties of Sintered WC-Bronze-Based Diamond Composites.

Metal matrix-impregnated diamond composites are widely used in diamond tool manufacturing. In order to satisfy the increasing engineering requirements, researchers have paid more and more attention to enhancing conventional metal matrices by applying novel methods. In this work, ZrO2 nanoparticles were introduced into the WC-bronze matrix with and without diamond grits via hot pressing to improve the performance of conventional diamond composites. The effects of ZrO2 nanoparticles on the microstructure, density, hardness, bending strength, and wear resistance of diamond composites were investigated. The results indicated that the hardness and relative density increased, while the bending strength decreased when the content of ZrO2 nanoparticles increased. The grinding ratio of diamond composites increased significantly by 60% as a result of nano-ZrO2 addition. The enhancement mechanism was discussed. Diamond composites showed the best overall properties with the addition of 1 wt % ZrO2 nanoparticles, thus paving the way for further applications.

A novel energy-efficient pyrolysis process: self-pyrolysis of oil shale triggered by topochemical heat in a horizontal fixed bed.

This paper proposes a novel energy-efficient oil shale pyrolysis process triggered by a topochemical reaction that can be applied in horizontal oil shale formations. The process starts by feeding preheated air to oil shale to initiate a topochemical reaction and the onset of self-pyrolysis. As the temperature in the virgin oil shale increases (to 250-300°C), the hot air can be replaced by ambient-temperature air, allowing heat to be released by internal topochemical reactions to complete the pyrolysis. The propagation of fronts formed in this process, the temperature evolution, and the reaction mechanism of oil shale pyrolysis in porous media are discussed and compared with those in a traditional oxygen-free process. The results show that the self-pyrolysis of oil shale can be achieved with the proposed method without any need for external heat. The results also verify that fractured oil shale may be more suitable for underground retorting. Moreover, the gas and liquid products from this method were characterised, and a highly instrumented experimental device designed specifically for this process is described. This study can serve as a reference for new ideas on oil shale in situ pyrolysis processes.

Sickness absence, employment history, and high-risk employees: a 10-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of employment characteristics on the occurrence of long-term sickness absence taking socioeconomic covariates into account. METHODS: A longitudinal analysis was conducted for 62,745 employees aged 18 to 64 during 1990-1999. A nonlinear random-effects model was used. In particular, the missing data patterns and their relationship with sickness absence were studied. RESULTS: Strong relationship of socioeconomic background with occurrence of long-term sickness absence (≥ 3 days) was found. The missing data patterns significantly predicted sickness absence for female employees. In subsequent analysis, the discontinuous employment history with high occurrence of short-term sickness absence (<3 days) appeared to be strongly linked to long-term sickness absence in young women. CONCLUSIONS: An investigation of missing values and short-term sickness absence as predictors for long-term sickness absence uncovered that young women with irregular employment history constituted high-risk employees.

A novel mathematical approach for modelling time-dependent musculoskeletal outcomes for office staff.

Musculoskeletal disorders are common in prolonged computer use. The dynamics of the relationship between musculoskeletal outcomes and duration of computer use is not easy to model by common statistical methods due to the nonlinearity of the data. The use of inappropriate statistical models increases the likelihood of drawing wrong conclusions. In this paper we present a new mathematical methodology for modelling such a dynamic data set. Data on simultaneous direct measures of computer usage and questionnaire diaries of discomfort ratings were analysed using singular value decomposition as a means to track dominant dynamic trends, which presented the common characteristic of the relationship between computer-related workload and musculoskeletal outcomes over time. The relationship was constructed explicitly as a dose-response functional relationship that was parametrized by body region parameters. Standard statistical software was employed to quantify the variability of the estimates due to the complicated feature involved in the data. A deterministic population model was then developed to simulate the dynamics of computer-related workload and musculoskeletal outcomes. A stochastic model was also proposed to describe the stochastic nature of dynamics for individual subjects. The model was verified by comparison with real data for forecasting purposes. Possibilities for extending the model to accommodate more complicated medical data are discussed. The mathematical model can be served as both a deterministic population model that can project the demographic consequences and a stochastic model that can describe the whole quantity evolution of the study subjects. The proposed methodology is a flexible and broadly applicable one, which can be utilized by a variety of medical research.