•Pine sawdust, lignin, and cellulose were pyrolyzed using induction heating reactor.•Increasing temperature (500–700°C) increased gas yield and decreased liquid yield.•Cellulose had higher bio-oil ...yields than lignin; lignin had highest char yields.•Cellulose bio-oil was rich in anhydrosugars; bio-oil from lignin was rich in phenols.•Overall net positive energy output was achieved for all biomass types and the induction heating reactor.
Fast pyrolysis of pinewood sawdust and two of its major components, namely lignin and cellulose was carried out using a laboratory scale induction-heating reactor. The effect of five different temperatures (500, 550, 600, 650 and 700°C) was tested on the product yield and quality. The products were characterized to evaluate the water content, elemental composition, chemical composition and energy content. The char yield decreased with temperature for all of the biomasses. The maximum liquid yield of 55.28% was achieved at 600°C for pine sawdust, and the highest liquid yields for cellulose and lignin were obtained at 500°C. Water content in the liquid fraction decreased as reaction temperature increased. The GC–MS revealed that the bio-oil from cellulose was rich in anhydrosugars while majority of the liquid from lignin had high phenolic contents. Analysis of the gas fraction shows that as the temperature increases the gas yield increases, which, when paired with the declining char masses, showed an increase in the biomass breakdown at higher temperatures. Liquid fraction from pine sawdust has the highest HHV with a peak at 550°C.
With overwhelming progress in the field of electronic technology, self-healable hydrogel electrolyte-based supercapacitors are of significant interest as a power source in wearable energy storage ...devices. Self-healable hydrogel with unique three-dimensional porous microstructure, unprecedented self-healing, high capacitive energy density, low power density has been synthesized by in situ polymerization of acrylamide in the presence of exfoliated sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) clay as non-covalent cross-linker. Furthermore, addition of lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiTF) salt converted the hydrogel into electrolyte for use in supercapacitor. Hydrogel electrolytes were prepared containing 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt% salt (AAM1, AAM2, AAM3, and AAM4), respectively. Acrylamide, clay and salt interactions were explored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals amorphous nature whereas FTIR and transference number measurements prove the complexation and presence of ionic species in the hydrogel electrolytes. Ionic conductivity and transport studies for hydrogel electrolyte containing 30 wt% of LiTF showed maximum ionic conductivity of 9.34 × 10−3 S/cm and number density of 70.7 × 10 20 cm−3, diffusion coefficient of 2.16 × 10 −9 cm2/s, ionic mobility of 0.854 × 10−7 cm2/V.s among all the synthesized hydrogel electrolytes. The electrochemical performance of the fabricated device disclosed the maximum significant specific capacitance of 102 F/g at 3 mV/s and 157 F/g at 50 mA/g along with power density of 50 W/kg and energy density of 21.59 W h/Kg, respectively for hydrogel electrolyte (AAM3) containing 30 wt% of the LiTF. Self-healing properties of hydrogel electrolyte have been confirmed by its use in supercapacitor where it retained its self-healing properties. The self-healable supercapacitor was used to light up 2 V light emitting diode (LED). Hence, investigations suggest the potential application of the hydrogel electrolytes with 30 wt% LiTF in the supercapacitors.
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•Synthesis of self-healable and flexible poly (acrylamide) hydrogel electrolytes.•Deconvolution of FTIR spectra to find out free ions and contact ions.•Crystallite size and % crystallinity measurements through XRD.•Fabrication of self-healable supercapacitor device to power up light emitting diode.
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•Energy cane & Chinese tallow tree (CTT) biomass was pyrolyzed via induction heating.•Increasing temperature (500–700°C) increased gas yield & decreased liquid yield.•Highest liquid ...yield was achieved for energy cane at 500°C.•Nitrogen and hydrogen content of CTT bio-oil increased as the temperature increased.•CTT bio-oil had higher % fatty alcohols; energy cane bio-oil was richer in phenols.
The growing demand for energy and the increasing opposition to fossil fuels has given rise to the need for alternative fuels. The pyrolysis process is one viable option that converts lignocellulosic biomass into liquid fuel. This study focuses, for the first time, on the use of an induction heating mechanism to pyrolyze biomass from energy cane (Saccharum complex) bagasse and invasive Chinese tallow trees (Triadica sebifera L.). Energy cane and tallow wood were pyrolyzed at 500, 550, 600, 650, and 700°C at atmospheric pressure in a laboratory scale batch process with an initial loading of 15g and 30g for energy cane bagasse and CTT respectively. The results indicate that the highest liquid yield was obtained at 500°C for both biomasses. The yields of char declined and the gas yields increased as the reaction temperature increased, as the biomass was more thoroughly decomposed at the higher reaction temperatures. GC–MS results show that the liquid product was rich in oxygenated compounds such as phenols, ketones and alcohols for biomasses at all temperatures. Bio-oil obtained from pyrolysis of Chinese tallow tree showed small concentration of fatty alcohols. Concentration of smaller compounds in the liquid product increased as the reaction temperature increased. Highest energy content and liquid yields (34MJ/kg and 35.4%) amongst the tested temperatures was obtained at 500°C for both energy cane and tallow wood pyrolysis. Higher heating values were obtained for bio-oil from energy cane compared to tallow tree biomass.
The upgrading of pyrolysis bio-oil is an important process for obtaining stable, high-quality bio-oil. Rapid and uniform heating of both the biomass and the catalyst bed plays an important role in ...the product quality and in the overall process efficiency. Induction heating offers numerous advantages over conventional heating methods: rapid, efficient heating and precise temperature control. In this study, an advanced induction heating technology was tested for pyrolysis as well as catalyst bed heating. Three different catalyst-to-biomass ratios were studied (1:1, 1.5:1, and 2:1 weight basis), and the effect of catalyst bed temperature (290, 330, and 370 °C) was also investigated. The results were compared with conventionally heated catalyst bed reactor. Higher-quality bio-oil was obtained with induction heating reactor with increased yield of aromatic hydrocarbons and reduced oxygen content compared to conventional heating. Inductively heated catalyst was also observed to have lower carbon deposition after reaction, compared to conventionally heated catalyst. Higher Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was available post-reaction for inductively heated catalysts. This observation could be attributed to higher thermal gradients in conventional reactors, which causes the condensation of molecules on the catalyst surface with cooler temperatures; these effects are less pronounced for the inductively heated catalyst.
In the present study, the ogival-nosed hardened steel projectile having a mass of 0.4 kg, diameter of 19 mm, calibre radius head (CRH) of 3, and length of 200 mm was used to obtain their muzzle ...velocity with respect to their corresponding air pressure. The two pressure vessels with varying storage capacities (20 and 90 liters) connected with the same actuator (having an opening diameter of 25.4 mm) were used to describe their influence on the muzzle velocity of the projectile. Also, the two actuators with varying opening diameters (25.4 and 50.8 mm) connected with the same pressure vessel (having a storage capacity of 90 liter) were considered to describe the influence of releasing a large volume of air on the muzzle velocity of the projectile. Based on these variations, three testing configurations such as (1) the pressure vessel with a storage capacity of 20 liter connected with the actuator having an opening diameter of 25.4 mm will be described as Case 1, (2) the actuators with an opening diameter of 25.4 connected with the pressure vessel having a storage capacity of 90 liter will be described as Case 2, and (3) the actuators with an opening diameter of 50.8 connected with the pressure vessel having a storage capacity of 90 liter will be described as Case 3, were made. Based on the experimental results, the muzzle velocities of the projectile obtained for Case 3 were found to be higher than that obtained for Case 2 at pressures varying from 10 to 55 kg/cm
2
. Also, the actuator having a double opening diameter (50.8 mm) was responsible for increasing the muzzle velocity of the projectile to a maximum of 58% due to releasing a larger volume of air than that for Case 2. The muzzle velocity obtained for Case 2 was equal to that obtained for Case 1 at low pressure (10 kg/cm
2
). However, the muzzle velocity obtained for Case 2 was higher than that obtained for Case 1 at pressures varying from 15 to 55 kg/cm
2
and increased to a maximum of 6%, describing the influence of using the pressure vessel having 4.5 times higher storage capacity than that used for Case 1. Hence, using the actuator with a large opening diameter was more effective for increasing the muzzle velocity of the projectile than the pressure vessel with a large storage capacity.
In this two-part paper we begin the development of a new class of methods for modeling fluid–structure interaction (FSI) phenomena for air blast. We aim to develop accurate, robust, and practical ...computational methodology, which is capable of modeling the dynamics of air blast coupled with the structure response, where the latter involves large, inelastic deformations and disintegration into fragments. An immersed approach is adopted, which leads to an a-priori monolithic FSI formulation with intrinsic contact detection between solid objects, and without formal restrictions on the solid motions. In Part I of this paper, the core air-blast FSI methodology suitable for a variety of discretizations is presented and tested using standard finite elements. Part II of this paper focuses on a particular instantiation of the proposed framework, which couples isogeometric analysis (IGA) based on non-uniform rational B-splines and a reproducing-kernel particle method (RKPM), which is a meshfree technique. The combination of IGA and RKPM is felt to be particularly attractive for the problem class of interest due to the higher-order accuracy and smoothness of both discretizations, and relative simplicity of RKPM in handling fragmentation scenarios. A collection of mostly 2D numerical examples is presented in each of the parts to illustrate the good performance of the proposed air-blast FSI framework.
Electrokinetic desalination is very useful method for the removal of salt ions from porous building materials. This study investigates the influence of electric potential, electric current and pH ...distribution on the electrokinetic desalination of sodium chloride contaminated specimens of fired clay brick and sandstone. The measurements show that the ingress of acidic and alkaline fronts in the porous materials affects the removal of salt ions by diminishing the effect of electric field and electric current intensities. To suppress pH changes, poultices composed of kaolin clay with and without addition of buffering agents are investigated. The effective suppression of pH changes by the addition buffering agents in poultice enhanced the removal efficiency of both the Na
+
and Cl
−
ions from both the fired clay brick and sandstone specimens. In order to keep the specimen in good electrical contact with poultice and electrodes, the drying of poultices was avoided by inserting wet sponges in contact with large water reservoirs in the electrodes compartments.
This study examines the effect of electroosmotic (EO) and hydraulic flow on the removal of heavy metal (Pb
2+
, total Cr, and Fe
2+
) and salt (K
+
and Clˉ) ions from artificially contaminated soil. ...For this purpose, the vertical electrokinetic (VEK) and hydraulic setups with wet sponges are introduced to reduce water consumption and avoid the accumulation of contaminants near the soil surface. In this study, during VEK experiments, different continuous and pulsed voltage gradients (i.e., 0.5, 1, and 2 V cm
−1
) are applied across the contaminated soil via iron mesh electrodes for 48 h, while during the hydraulic experiment, no voltage gradient is applied. The outcomes revealed that EO and hydraulic flow were directed downward from the top of the soil column, while EO flow was higher for a relatively higher voltage gradient. Therefore, the removal of cations (Pb
2+
and K
+
) was higher than anions (total Cr and Clˉ) due to the effect of electromigration and EO flow. In contrast, under relatively low continuous and pulsed voltage gradient, the removal of anions was higher than cations due to electromigration and diffusion. In addition, during the hydraulic experiment, the removal of ions was comparatively lower than in all VEK experiments due to the low hydraulic flux. However, the accumulation of Fe
2+
ions in soil increased with the intensity of voltage gradient due to the corrosion of anode during all VEK experiments, except in the case of the hydraulic experiment where no voltage gradient was applied and the removal efficiency of Fe
2+
ions was 21%.
Graphical abstract
In this two-part paper we begin the development of a new class of methods for modeling fluid–structure interaction (FSI) phenomena for air blast. We aim to develop accurate, robust, and practical ...computational methodology, which is capable of modeling the dynamics of air blast coupled with the structure response, where the latter involves large, inelastic deformations and disintegration into fragments. An immersed approach is adopted, which leads to an a-priori monolithic FSI formulation with intrinsic contact detection between solid objects, and without formal restrictions on the solid motions. In Part I of this paper, the core air-blast FSI methodology suitable for a variety of discretizations is presented and tested using standard finite elements. Part II of this paper focuses on a particular instantiation of the proposed framework, which couples isogeometric analysis (IGA) based on non-uniform rational B-splines and a reproducing-kernel particle method (RKPM), which is a Meshfree technique. The combination of IGA and RKPM is felt to be particularly attractive for the problem class of interest due to the higher-order accuracy and smoothness of both discretizations, and relative simplicity of RKPM in handling fragmentation scenarios. A collection of mostly 2D numerical examples is presented in each of the parts to illustrate the good performance of the proposed air-blast FSI framework.
The simulation of immiscible two-phase flows on Eulerian meshes requires the use of special techniques to guarantee a sharp definition of the evolving fluid interface. This work describes the ...combination of two distinct technologies with the goal of improving the accuracy of the target simulations. First of all, a spatial enrichment is employed to improve the approximation properties of the Eulerian mesh. This is done by injecting into the solution space new features to make it able to correctly resolve the solution in the vicinity of the moving interface. Then, the Lagrangian Particle Level Set (PLS) method is employed to keep trace of the evolving solution and to improve the mass conservation properties of the resulting method. While the local enrichment can be understood in the general context of the XFEM, we employ an element-local variant, which allows preserving the matrix graph, and hence highly improving the computational efficiency.
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