Frank G.F. Qin

Experimental investigation of a molten salt thermocline storage tank

Thermal energy storage is considered as an important subsystem for solar thermal power stations. Investigations into thermocline storage tanks have mainly focused on numerical simulations because conducting high-temperature experiments is difficult. In this paper, an experimental study of the heat transfer characteristics of a molten salt thermocline storage tank was conducted by using high-temperature molten salt as the heat transfer fluid and ceramic particle as the filler material. This experimental study can verify the effectiveness of numerical simulation results and provide reference for engineering design. Temperature distribution and thermal storage capacity during the charging process were obtained. A temperature gradient was observed during the charging process. The temperature change tendency showed that thermocline thickness increased continuously with charging time. The slope of the thermal storage capacity decreased gradually with the increase in time. The low-cost filler material can replace the expensive molten salt to achieve thermal storage purposes and help to maintain the ideal gravity flow or piston flow of molten salt fluid.

Preparation, Characterization, and Antioxidant Activity Evaluation of Liposomes Containing Water-Soluble Hydroxytyrosol from Olive

Due to the multiple hydroxyl groups in its structure, hydroxytyrosol (HT) is very sensitive to air and light and has very strong instability and hydrophilicity that affect its biological activity. This study attempted to prepare liposomes containing water-soluble HT to improve the bioavailability and biocompatibility of the target drug. The preparation process factors (temperature, mass ratio of phospholipid (PL) and cholesterol (CH), Tween-80 volume, HT mass) were studied and response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the conditions. The results demonstrated that by using a temperature of 63 °C, mass ratio of PL and CH 4.5:1, HT mass 5 mg and Tween-80 volume of 6 mL, HT liposomes with an encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 45.08% were prepared. It was found that the particle sizes of the HT liposomes were well distributed in the range of 100–400 nm. Compared to free HT, prepared HT liposomes had better stability and a distinct slow release effect in vitro. Besides, HT liposomes presented better DPPH radical scavenging activity than free HT, which could be due to the fact that HT was encapsulated fully inside the liposomes. In addition, the encapsulation mechanism of HT was evaluated. In summary, the results indicated that HT liposome could enhance the antioxidant activity and was a promising formulation for prolonging the biological activity time of the target drug.

Experimental Study on Edible Mushroom Bran Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis characteristics of edible mushroom bran with different heating rates were investigated applying a thermogravimetric analyzer (TG) coupled with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The pyrolysis experiments were performed up to 1073 K at heating rates of 10, 20, 30 K/min in a dynamic nitrogen flow of 20 ml/min. The results show that important differences on the pyrolytic behavior and product distributions are observed when heating rate is changed. At the lower heating rates, the starting temperature, final temperature of pyrolysis and the maximum rates of mass losses were relatively low. When the heating rate was increased, the starting temperature, final temperature of pyrolysis and the maximum rates of mass losses also increased. There have three stages: the first-stage was from the temperature of 20 to110°C with a weight loss of 12.33~14.36%; the second-stage was from 220°C to 400°C with a weight loss of 45.09~49.59%; the third stage was from 400 to 800°Cwith a weight loss of 15.11%~ 15.34%. The main pyrolysis vapour was CO2, phenol , and significant amounts of H2O, hydrocarbon, carbonyl compounds and acids.

Calculate the waste heat quantity and recovery rate of the liquid and gas fuel's low grade fuel

In Chinas energy structure, the consumption of various liquid and gas fuels grows rapidly. After these fuels are combusted, the discharged flues temperature is generally about 160∼180°C. There is a lot of low-temperature waste heat in the flue. This part of energy can be used as secondary energy, though which energys grade is low. Lots of H elements are in the Liquid and gas fuel, and the vapor is the flues main ingredients. In this paper, the waste heat quantity and recovery rate of 0# light diesel oil and natural gass flue are calculated, which temperature is from 180°C to 25°C, at the condition of 1 atm. In the 0# light diesels flue, the proportion of residual heat of the vapor is about 55.08%. And in the natural gass flue, which proportion is about 79.41%. Moreover, the vapors latent heat is about 3/4. So for the low temperature flues heat recovery, recovering the latent heat of vapor is of great significance.