Ultrafast solid-liquid intercalation enabled by targeted microwave energy delivery

In chemical reactions, the breaking and formation of chemical bonds usually need external energy to overcome the activation barriers. Conventional energy delivery transfers energy from heating sources via various media, hence losing efficiency and inducing side reactions. In contrast, microwave (MW) heating is known to be highly energy efficient through dipole interaction with polar media, but how exactly it transmits energy to initiate chemical reactions has been unknown. Here, we report a rigorous determination of energy delivery mechanisms underlying MW-enabled rapid hydrothermal synthesis, by monitoring the structure and temperature of all the involved components as solid-liquid intercalation reaction occurs using in situ synchrotron techniques. We reveal a hitherto unknown direct energy transmission between MW irradiation source and the targeted reactants, leading to greatly reduced energy waste, and so the ultrafast kinetics at low temperature. These findings open up new horizons for designing material synthesis reactions of high efficiency and precision.

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Understanding Sulfur Redox Mechanisms in Different Electrolytes for Room-Temperature Na–S Batteries

Nano-Micro Letters ◽

10.1007/s40820-021-00648-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hanwen Liu ◽

Wei-Hong Lai ◽

Qiuran Yang ◽

Yaojie Lei ◽

Can Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Room Temperature ◽

High Surface ◽

Reversible Capacity ◽

High Loading ◽

Side Reactions ◽

Liquid Sulfur ◽

Shuttle Effect ◽

Loading Ratio ◽

Solid Liquid ◽

Sulfur Cathodes

Abstract This work reports influence of two different electrolytes, carbonate ester and ether electrolytes, on the sulfur redox reactions in room-temperature Na–S batteries. Two sulfur cathodes with different S loading ratio and status are investigated. A sulfur-rich composite with most sulfur dispersed on the surface of a carbon host can realize a high loading ratio (72% S). In contrast, a confined sulfur sample can encapsulate S into the pores of the carbon host with a low loading ratio (44% S). In carbonate ester electrolyte, only the sulfur trapped in porous structures is active via ‘solid–solid’ behavior during cycling. The S cathode with high surface sulfur shows poor reversible capacity because of the severe side reactions between the surface polysulfides and the carbonate ester solvents. To improve the capacity of the sulfur-rich cathode, ether electrolyte with NaNO3 additive is explored to realize a ‘solid–liquid’ sulfur redox process and confine the shuttle effect of the dissolved polysulfides. As a result, the sulfur-rich cathode achieved high reversible capacity (483 mAh g−1), corresponding to a specific energy of 362 Wh kg−1 after 200 cycles, shedding light on the use of ether electrolyte for high-loading sulfur cathode.

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High-efficiency method for recycling lithium from spent LiFePO4 cathode

Nanotechnology Reviews ◽

10.1515/ntrev-2020-0119 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 1586-1593

Author(s):

Tingting Yan ◽

Shengwen Zhong ◽

Miaomiao Zhou ◽

Xiaoming Guo ◽

Jingwei Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Optical Emission ◽

Extraction Process ◽

Emission Spectrometry ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

Moisture Analysis ◽

Lifepo4 Cathode ◽

Solid Liquid

Abstract The extraction of Li from the spent LiFePO4 cathode is enhanced by the selective removal using interactions between HCl and NaClO to dissolve the Li+ ion while Fe and P are retained in the structure. Several parameters, including the effects of dosage and drop acceleration of HCl and NaClO, reaction time, reaction temperature, and solid–liquid ratio on lithium leaching, were tested. The Total yields of lithium can achieve 97% after extraction process that lithium is extracted from the precipitated mother liquor, using an appropriate extraction agent that is a mixture of P507 and TBP and NF. The method also significantly reduced the use of acid and alkali, and the economic benefit of recycling is improved. Changes in composition, morphology, and structure of the material in the dissolution process are characterized by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution instrument, and moisture analysis.

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Heating an electric car with a biofuel operated heater during cold seasons – design, application and test

ACTA IMEKO ◽

10.21014/acta_imeko.v7i4.578 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 48 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christian Riess ◽

Michael Simon Josef Walter ◽

Stefan Weiherer ◽

Tiffany Haas ◽

Sebastian Haas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Structural Changes ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Technological Development ◽

Research Work ◽

Heating System ◽

Passenger Compartment ◽

External Energy ◽

Cold Temperatures ◽

Electric Car ◽

Drive Systems

The automotive industry is currently undergoing far-reaching structural changes. Automobile manufacturers are pursuing intensive scientific research and technological development in the field of alternative drive systems, such as electric powertrains. If electric car batteries are charged with regenerative generated electricity, their emission output is zero (from a well-to-wheel view). Furthermore, electric drives have very high efficiency. At cold temperatures, however, the battery power drops due to energy-intensive loads, such as the heating of the passenger compartment, and this consequently reduces the range dramatically. Therefore, the focus of this research work is external energy supply for the required heat capacity. The auxiliary energy may be generated by renewable energy technologies in order to further improve the CO<sub>2</sub> balance of electric vehicles. The paper deals with the design, application, and testing of a biofuel-operated heater to heat the passenger compartment of a battery-powered electric car (a Renault ZOE R240). The practical use of the heating system is analyzed in several test drives, performed during winter 2018. The results as well as the range extension of the electric car that can be achieved by substituting the on-board heating system by the fuel-operated heater are quantified herein.

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Accurate and Efficient Numerical Methods for Computing Ground States and Dynamics of Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensates via the Nonuniform FFT

Communications in Computational Physics ◽

10.4208/cicp.scpde14.37s ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (5) ◽

pp. 1141-1166 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Weizhu Bao ◽

Qinglin Tang ◽

Yong Zhang

Keyword(s):

Numerical Methods ◽

Ground State ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Ground States ◽

Dipole Interaction ◽

Polar Coordinates ◽

Pitaevskii Equation ◽

Nonuniform Fft ◽

Bose Einstein

AbstractWe propose efficient and accurate numerical methods for computing the ground state and dynamics of the dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates utilising a newly developed dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) solver that is implemented with the non-uniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) algorithm. We begin with the three-dimensional (3D) Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) with a DDI term and present the corresponding two-dimensional (2D) model under a strongly anisotropic confining potential. Different from existing methods, the NUFFT based DDI solver removes the singularity by adopting the spherical/polar coordinates in the Fourier space in 3D/2D, respectively, thus it can achieve spectral accuracy in space and simultaneously maintain high efficiency by making full use of FFT and NUFFT whenever it is necessary and/or needed. Then, we incorporate this solver into existing successful methods for computing the ground state and dynamics of GPE with a DDI for dipolar BEC. Extensive numerical comparisons with existing methods are carried out for computing the DDI, ground states and dynamics of the dipolar BEC. Numerical results show that our new methods outperform existing methods in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.

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Observation of the chemical reaction equilibria of element 104, rutherfordium: solid–liquid extraction of Rf, Zr, Hf and Th with Aliquat 336 resin from HCl

Dalton Transactions ◽

10.1039/c6dt03497g ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (47) ◽

pp. 18827-18831 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Takuya Yokokita ◽

Yoshitaka Kasamatsu ◽

Aiko Kino ◽

Hiromitsu Haba ◽

Yudai Shigekawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Equilibrium State ◽

Chemical Reactions ◽

Chemical Reaction ◽

Superheavy Element ◽

Liquid Extraction ◽

Aliquat 336 ◽

Solid Liquid Extraction ◽

Solid Liquid

We successfully observed the equilibrium state of the chemical reactions for superheavy element, Rf.

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Hydrogen Generation Using the Modular Helium Reactor

12th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Volume 1 ◽

10.1115/icone12-49228 ◽

2004 ◽

Author(s):

Matt Richards ◽

Arkal Shenoy

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Chemical Reactions ◽

Nuclear Reactor ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Hydrogen Generation ◽

Hybrid Process ◽

Thermochemical Process ◽

Process Heat ◽

Splitting Water

Process heat from a high-temperature nuclear reactor can be used to drive a set of chemical reactions, with the net result of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. For example, process heat at temperatures in the range 850°C to 950°C can drive the sulfur-iodine (SI) thermochemical process to produce hydrogen with high efficiency. Electricity can also be used to split water, using conventional, low-temperature electrolysis (LTE). An example of a hybrid process is high-temperature electrolysis (HTE), in which process heat is used to generate steam, which is then supplied to an electrolyzer to generate hydrogen. In this paper we investigate the coupling of the Modular Helium Reactor (MHR) to the SI process and HTE. These concepts are referred to as the H2-MHR. Optimization of the MHR core design to produce higher coolant outlet temperatures is also discussed.

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A Compact Nanostructure Integrated Pool Boiler for Microscale Cooling Applications

Volume 12: Micro and Nano Systems, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/imece2009-11008 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muhsincan S¸es¸en ◽

Cem Baha Akkartal ◽

Wisam Khudhayer ◽

Tansel Karabacak ◽

Ali Kos¸ar

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Cooling System ◽

Bubble Formation ◽

Heat Removal ◽

Nucleate Boiling ◽

External Energy ◽

Excessive Heat ◽

Aluminum Base

An efficient cooling system consisting of a plate, on which copper nanorods (nanorods of size ∼100nm) are integrated to copper thin film (which is deposited on Silicon substrate), a heater, an Aluminum base, and a pool was developed. Heat is transferred with high efficiency to the liquid within the pool above the base through the plate by boiling heat transfer. Near the boiling temperature of the fluid, vapor bubbles started to form with the existence of wall superheat. Phase change took place near the nanostructured plate, where the bubbles emerged from. Bubble formation and bubble motion inside the pool created an effective heat transfer from the plate surface to the pool. Nucleate boiling took place on the surface of the nanostructured plate helping the heat removal from the system to the liquid above. The heat transfer from nanostructured plate was studied using the experimental setup. The temperatures were recorded from the readings of thermocouples, which were successfully integrated to the system. The surface temperature at boiling inception was 102.1°C without the nanostructured plate while the surface temperature was successfully decreased to near 100°C with the existence of the nanostructured plate. In this study, it was proved that this device could have the potential to be an extremely useful device for small and excessive heat generating devices such as MEMS or Micro-processors. This device does not require any external energy to assist heat removal which is a great advantage compared to its counterparts.

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The Effect of Operating Conditions on Curcumin Extracted from Turmeric by Hydrothermal Extraction

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201912519001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 125 ◽

pp. 19001

Author(s):

Mohamad Endy Yulianto ◽

Rizka Amalia ◽

Vita Paramita ◽

Indah Hartati ◽

Nissa Ayu Maulinda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Efficiency ◽

Economic Value ◽

Bioactive Compound ◽

Extraction Process ◽

Operating Conditions ◽

Extraction Temperature ◽

Liquid Ratio ◽

High Concentration ◽

Solid Liquid ◽

Hydrothermal Extraction

Turmeric has a bioactive compound namely curcuminoid. It has many pharmacology effects such as anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifertility, anti-venom, anti-coagulant, anti-HIV hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and anticoagulant properties. To increase the economic value of turmeric, it is necessary to develop a hydrothermal extraction process of turmeric’s active compound. The advantages of hydrothermal extraction were inexpensive, abundant availability, high purity, non-toxic, and easy to handle. This research aims to study the effect of operating conditions : temperature (130-150oC), time (10-40 minutes) and solid:liquid ratio (1:10 and 1:12) on the bioactive compounds of turmeric extracted from hydrothermal extraction process. Generally, high extraction yield was obtained at higher extraction temperature (140 and 150oC). Under these conditions, with a lower solid : liquid ratio (1:10), high concentration of curcumin is produced. Further, a higher solid : liquid ratio will likely produce the opposite result, except when it operates at low extraction temperature. The high temperature of the pressurized liquid water can reduce the viscosity and surface tension of water so it will increase the diffusion rates and absorption. The higher the solid:liquid ratio, the greater the different concentration between interior and exterior cell, which promote the high efficiency of diffusion process.

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