Anodic oxidation of synthetic refinery effluent on lead anode: mass transport and charge rate balance

A synthetic wastewater based on Algiers refinery real effluent was prepared and treated using anodic oxidation. Full factorial plan design was used to conduct the statistical analysis of the results. The aim of the study was to assess the interaction between current density (CD) and stirring degree (SD), and quantify their effects on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and electric energy specific consumption (EESC). With an initial COD of 487 mg/l, pH of 5.5 and 0.05 M of Na2SO4 as supporting electrolyte, it was found that a 55 rpm steering degree variation lead to a substantial gain in COD removal and energy consumption, 6% and 8.5 KWh/kg, respectively. Current density was found to have different effect on removal efficiency within the applied stirring domain, and that mass transport coefficient (km) is inversely correlated to energy consumption. Theoretical model describing the process was reviewed and the relation between concentration, hydrodynamics and applied current was emphasized.

New Tourist Tax as a Tool for Municipalities in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is one of many states where the new legal regulation of tourist taxes was introduced to limit the shortcomings of the original regulation. The aim of this paper is to define the opportunities and threats of the new regulation in the Czech Republic in the area of tourist taxes. To achieve the purpose of this article, the tourist tax is defined and Czech legal regulation valid until the end of 2019 and since 2020 in the given area is analysed. The hypothesis that the new regulation is perfect and ideal for the tax administration and for the municipalities was confirmed only partially. While most of the critical issues were solved and the new tourist charge is a good step for both municipalities and the tax administration, the charge rate of 21 CZK in 2020, resp. 50 CZK in the following years is not adequate. With the new regulation, municipalities got new opportunities, primarily to increase their revenues. The single tourist charge makes the system easier for all stakeholders: for municipalities, for tourists, and for quartermasters. Issues arise especially concerning the simplified evidence and the non-chargeable long-term stays. Municipalities should be particularly careful when defining the exemptions and differentiating the charge rate for specific dates in the year, or specific parts of the municipality. The unequal treatment might be seen as discrimination or even unfair public incentive.

Effect of carbonization temperature on the lithium storage performances of porous Sb/C nanocomposite

In the present study, Sb/C nanocomposites have been synthesized using citrate-gel method in combination with a carbonization process at different temperatures in N2 gas. At reasonable carbonization temperatures, the porous Sb/C nanocomposites with novel foam like-interconnected three-dimensional structure, which is built-up by nanosized Sb particles covered by a carbon shell, are obtained. Among the synthesized composites, the Sb/C-600 sample, which is calcinated at 600 oC, exhibit the best lithium storage. At a discharge-charge rate of 0.1 C, the Sb/C-600 electrode can supply an initial reversible specific capacity of 640.7 mA h g-1, 1.7 times higher than the theoretical specific capacity of graphite anode. During 100 cycles, the electrode shows a slight capacity decay with 0.0348% of loss capacity per cycle. Because of this featured architecture, the Sb/C nanocomposites severe as anode material with enhanced lithium storage performances for rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

Capacity Configuration of Battery Energy Storage System for Photovoltaic Generation System Considering the High Chargerate

Battery energy storage system (BESS) is one of the important solutions to improve the accommodation of large-scale grid connected photovoltaic (PV) generation and increase its operation economy. However, the strong intra-day volatility and severe curtailment of PV power sets a high demand of BESS charge-rate that is a key factor in operation models but ignored in current planning researches. This paper proposes a BESS capacity configuration model for PV generation systems which takes BESS’s ability to (dis)charge exceeds its rated power into account. The best charge-rate and power & energy capacity of BESS are optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Through an analysis of the annual output statistics of PV power station in the northwest of China, the results show that when considering the high charge-rate of BESS, the optimal BESS capacity configuration rises and comprehensive income of the PV-BESS system will increase.