Tianle Zhu

Removal of gas phase low-concentration toluene over Mn, Ag and Ce modified HZSM-5 catalysts by periodical operation of adsorption and non-thermal plasma regeneration.

Ag/HZSM-5, Mn/HZSM-5, Ce/HZSM-5, Ag-Mn/HZSM-5 and Ce-Mn/HZSM-5 were prepared by impregnation method. Both their adsorption capacity and catalytic activity were investigated for the removal of gas phase low-concentration toluene by periodical operation of adsorption and non-thermal plasma regeneration. Results show that catalysts loaded with Ag (Ag/HZSM-5 and Ag-Mn/HZSM-5) had larger adsorption capacity for toluene than the other catalysts. And Ag-Mn/HZSM-5 displayed the best catalytic performance for both toluene oxidation by non-thermal plasma and byproducts suppression. On the other hand, the deactivated catalyst can be fully regenerated by calcining in air stream when its adsorption capacity and catalytic activity of the Ag-Mn/HZSM-5 catalyst was found to be decreased after 10 cycles of periodical adsorption and non-thermal regeneration.

Effects of lipid concentration on anaerobic co-digestion of municipal biomass wastes.

The influence of the lipid concentration on the anaerobic co-digestion of municipal biomass waste and waste-activated sludge was assessed by biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests and by bench-scale tests in a mesophilic semi-continuous stirred tank reactor. The effect of increasing the volatile solid (VS) concentration of lipid from 0% to 75% was investigated. BMP tests showed that lipids in municipal biomass waste could enhance the methane production. The results of bench-scale tests showed that a lipids concentration of 65% of total VS was the inhibition concentration. Methane yields increased with increasing lipid concentration when lipid concentrations were below 60%, but when lipid concentration was set as 65% or higher, methane yields decreased sharply. When lipid concentrations were below 60%, the pH values were in the optimum range for the growth of methanogenic bacteria and the ratios of volatile fatty acid (VFA)/alkalinity were in the range of 0.2-0.6. When lipid concentrations exceeded 65%, the pH values were below 5.2, the reactor was acidized and the values of VFA/alkalinity rose to 2.0. The amount of Brevibacterium decreased with increasing lipid content. Long chain fatty acids stacked on the methanogenic bacteria and blocked the mass transfer process, thereby inhibiting anaerobic digestion.

Novel Fe–Ce–Ti catalyst with remarkable performance for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3

An environmentally benign Fe–Ce–Ti mixed oxide catalyst, which was prepared via the hydrothermal method, has been investigated for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). It was found that the Fe–Ce–Ti catalyst exhibited excellent NH3-SCR activity, high N2 selectivity and strong resistance against H2O and SO2 with a wide operation temperature window. XRD and Raman spectra suggest that the Fe–Ce–Ti catalyst has an amorphous structure. The co-presence of Fe and Ce induced the formation of a redox cycle (Ce4+ + Fe2+ ↔ Ce3+ + Fe3+), which promotes the activation of NO and NH3. In situ DRIFTS studies demonstrate that the synergetic effect between Fe and Ce contributes to the formation of reactive intermediate species, thus leading to the high catalytic deNOx performance of the Fe–Ce–Ti mixed oxide catalyst.

Degradation of phenol in mists by a non-thermal plasma reactor.

A link tooth wheel-cylinder non-thermal plasma reactor was set up to investigate the degradation of phenol in the mists. In addition, the decomposition efficiency of phenol, TOC removal, and byproduct formation were investigated. The stable discharge was achieved in both air and the mist condition. The decomposition efficiency and TOC removal increased with increasing the input power. For the input power of 3.6 W, the phenol decomposition and TOC removal reached 90% and 47%, respectively. Phenol degradation byproducts were identified as small molecular organic acids, including formic acid, acetic acid, and oxalic acid. Their masses in the trapped solutions first increased and then decreased slightly with increasing the input power. Therefore, the biodegradation capacity of the phenol degradation byproducts can be improved.

PM2.5-bound PAHs in three indoor and one outdoor air in Beijing: Concentration, source and health risk assessment

Three indoor (residential home, dormitory, and office) and one outdoor concentrations of PM2.5-bound Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in Beijing across four seasons. The highest and lowest concentration of total PAHs for outdoor appeared in winter and in summer with averages of 200.1 and 9.1ng/m3 respectively. The seasonal variations of total PAHs in three indoor sites were the same as outdoor. The correlation analysis between the indoor and outdoor samples showed that the annual mean I/O ratios of total PAHs in the three sites were lower than 1. Source apportionment showed vehicle exhaust, coal combustion, and biomass burning were the major contributors of indoor and outdoor PM2.5-bound PAHs. Indoor source, such as camphor pollution, was identified in the dormitory, while camphor pollution and cooking sources were identified in the residential home. The annual averages of Benzo[a]pyrene equivalent concentration (BaPeq) were 7.6, 7.8, 7.7 and 12.7ng/m3 for the dormitory, office, residential home and outdoor samples respectively, far higher than the annual limit of 1ng/m3 regulated by European Commission. Life lung cancer risk (LLCR) in four sites across four seasons were over the acceptable cancer risk level, showing the cancer risk were at a high level in both indoor and outdoor sites in Beijing, and its level in indoor sites was much lower than in the outdoor site. The health risk assessment indicated the level of PAHs cancer risk on human for three indoor sites were similar. The results call for the development of more stringent control measures to reduce PAHs emissions.

Effect of preparation method on the performance of Pt–Au/TiO2 catalysts for the catalytic co-oxidation of HCHO and CO

A series of TiO2 supported Pt–Au bimetallic catalysts were prepared by impregnation, deposition–precipitation and impregnation–deposition–precipitation, and their catalytic activities for the co-oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO) and carbon monoxide (CO) were evaluated at room temperature. The results show that the Pt–Au/TiO2 catalyst prepared via introducing Pt by impregnation and subsequently introducing Au by deposition–precipitation, exhibits excellent catalytic performance for the co-oxidation of HCHO and CO. The characterizations of the catalyst by means of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) and in situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) revealed that the isolated Pt and Au sites are essential to the co-oxidation of HCHO and CO, because the HCHO oxidation occurring over Pt active sites while CO oxidation occurring over Au active sites can be conducted without mutual interference, thus simultaneously achieving both the high oxidation activity of HCHO and CO.

Conversion of carbon disulfide in air by non-thermal plasma

Carbon disulfide (CS2), a typical odorous organic sulfur compound, has adverse effects on human health and is a potential threat to the environment. In the present study, CS2 conversion in air by non-thermal plasma (NTP) was systematically investigated using a link tooth wheel-cylinder plasma reactor energized by a DC power supply. The results show that corona discharge is effective in removing CS2. The CS2 conversion increases with the increase of specific input energy (SIE). Both short-living (e.g. O, OH radicals) and long-living species contribute to the CS2 conversion, but the short-living species play a more important role. Both gaseous and solid products are formed during the conversion of CS2. Gaseous products mainly include CO, CO2, OCS, SO2, SO3 and H2SO4. The yields of CO and CO2 increase, the yields of OCS and SO2 follow bell curves while the sum yield of SO3 and H2SO4 remains constant as SIE increases. The solid products, consisting of CO3(2-), SO4(2-) and possible polymeric sulfur, deposit on the inner wall and electrodes of the plasma reactor.

Effects of gas compositions on NOx reduction by selective non-catalytic reduction with ammonia in a simulated cement precalciner atmosphere.

The effects of gas compositions on NOx reduction and NH3 slip by selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) with NH3 were investigated in a simulated cement precalciner atmosphere. The results show that the presence of H2O improves NOx reduction and widens the reduction temperature window significantly. O2 is indispensable for reducing NOx. The optimum reduction temperature decreases and the temperature window widens to a lower temperature with the increase of O2 content. In addition, the increase of O2 content also results in a decrease of the maximum NOx reduction efficiency. The effect of SO2 on NOx reduction is negligible in the simulated precalciner atmosphere. To increase CO concentration makes NO reduction take place at relatively low temperatures. However, NH3 will tend to be oxidized into NO instead of reducing NO after entering the stream containing O2 at high temperatures if it is initially blended with a high concentration of CO in an oxygen-free environment. The increase of H2O, O2, SO2 or CO concentration is helpful to reduce NH3 slip in the temperature region below 900°C. These effects are resulted from the fact that the generation and consumption of O and OH radicals which are crucial to NO reduction and formation can be influenced by the four gas compositions. In industrial operation of SNCR for cement precalciner, these effects should be taken into account to increase NOx reduction efficiency and avoid NH3 slip.

Anaerobic co-digestion of municipal biomass wastes and waste activated sludge: Dynamic model and material balances

The organic matter degradation process during anaerobic co-digestion of municipal biomass waste (MBW) and waste-activated sludge (WAS) under different organic loading rates (OLRs) was investigated in bench-scale and pilot-scale semi-continuous stirred tank reactors. To better understand the degradation process of MBW and WAS co-digestion and provide theoretical guidance for engineering application, anaerobic digestion model No.1 was revised for the co-digestion of MBW and WAS. The results showed that the degradation of organic matter could be characterized into three different fractions, including readily hydrolyzable organics, easily degradable particulate organics, and recalcitrant particle organics. Hydrolysis was the rate-limiting step under lower OLRs, and methanogenesisis was the rate-limiting step for an OLR of 8.0 kg volatile solid (VS)/(m3 x day). The hydrolytic parameters of carbohydrate, protein, and lipids were 0.104, 0.083, and 0.084 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/(kg COD x hr), respectively, and the reaction rate parameters of lipid fermentation were 1 and 1.25 kg COD/(kg COD x hr) for OLRs of 4.0 and 6.0 kg VS/(m3 x day). A revised model was used to simulate methane yield, and the results fit well with the experimental data. Material balance data were acquired based on the revised model, which showed that 58.50% of total COD was converted to methane.

Mechanism of unintentionally produced persistent organic pollutant formation in iron ore sintering.

Effects of temperature, carbon content and copper additive on formation of chlorobenzenes (CBzs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in iron ore sintering were investigated. By heating simulated fly ash (SFA) at a temperature range of 250-500°C, the yield of both CBzs and PCBs presented two peaks of 637ng/g-fly ash at 350°C and 1.5×10(5)ng/g-fly ash at 450°C for CBzs, and 74ng/g-fly ash at 300°C and 53ng/g-fly ash at 500°C. Additionally, in the thermal treatment of real fly ash (RFA), yield of PCBs displayed two peak values at 350°C and 500°C, however, yield of CBzs showed only one peak at 400°C. In the thermal treatment of SFA with a carbon content range of 0-20wt% at 300°C, both CBzs and PCBs obtained the maximum productions of 883ng/g-fly ash for CBzs and 127ng/g-fly ash for PCBs at a 5wt% carbon content. Copper additives also affected chlorinated aromatic formation. The catalytic activity of different copper additives followed the orders: CuCl2∙2H2O>>Cu2O>Cu>CuSO4>CuO for CBzs, and CuCl2∙2H2O>>Cu2O>CuO>Cu>CuSO4 for PCBs.