Emissions control catalysts: links between Fecralloy preoxidation and coating adherence

Tightening emissions legislation for vehicles across the world has caused the use of monolith catalysts in automobile emission control to become ubiquitous. In this study, the physiochemical transformations caused by thermal pre-oxidation of the surface of Fecralloy® foil, an integral component of emissions control catalysts, have been studied to assess their role on coating film adherence. The foil coupons were pre-oxidised at 950°C for 0, 5, 10 and 30 h and the mass gain was found to fit a simplified hyperbolic model. Measurements were made of surface topography and microstructure using laser profiling interferometry (LPI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with phase analysis being obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD). The optimal surface roughness was obtained after 10 h of pre-oxidation, when the surface contained significant amounts of α-alumina arranged as randomly oriented whiskers. Upon coating of the treated foil coupons with γ–alumina slurry, the sample pre-oxidised for 10 h gave the best performance in terms of coating film loading of 7.94 mass % and adherence of less than 10 mass % loss

Measuring the adhesion of alumina coatings onto Fecralloy supports using a mechanical testing system

Tightening legislation for vehicles across the world has caused the use of monolith catalysts in automotive emission control to become ubiquitous. Control of the surface adhesion of the platinum group metal (PGM) coating onto the monolith block, to maximise catalytic performance for a minimum PGM loading, is therefore paramount. In this paper, an automatic film application is used for coating γ-alumina slurries onto Fecralloy ®, an integral component of metallic monolith catalysts, to achieve the desired coating properties. A newly devised dual compression-tension technique using a mechanical testing system (MTS) is used for measuring the coating adhesion. This method involves compression of the coating with a probe at a fixed load, and then removing the probe together with the coating at right angles to the substrate surface at a speed of 10 mm/min. The MTS results are compared with those from conventional ultrasonic vibration tests. It is found that at 40 wt% solids concentration, the coatings of the finest particles (d 0.9 of 12.14 μm) showed the best adhesion with an ultimate strength of 0.59 MPa and 85-90 mass% coating removal. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Thermodynamic equilibrium analysis of CO2 reforming of methane: elimination of carbon deposition and adjustment of H2/CO ratio

Dry (CO2) reforming of methane (DRM) is considered as a promising technique to produce syngas. In this study, to optimise the operating conditions for elimination of carbon deposition, thermodynamic calculations were carried out to understand the effect of various temperatures (550-1200 ̊C), pressures (0.05-5 MPa) and CH4/CO2 mole ratios (0.5-2) on the product of H2/CO ratio as well as the formation of carbon deposition. The suggested DRM operating conditions for carbon free regime are at a temperature greater than 1000 ̊C with CH4/CO2 mole ratio = 1 and pressure P = 0.1 MPa. The operating temperature of carbon free regime could be switched to lower temperature by either lowering the CH4/CO2 mole ratio or decreasing the reaction pressure. The results illustrated that the temperature range for severe carbon formation was between 546 ̊C and 703 ̊C. CH4 decomposition and CO disassociation reaction are considered as the major reactions contributing to carbon formation. The former was promoted at operating conditions of P ≤ 0.1 MPa and 550 ̊C ≤ T ≤ 1000 ̊C, while the latter was enhanced at operating conditions of P ≥ 0.1 MPa and T ≤ 700 ̊C. The syngas produced from optimised carbon free regime operating conditions, could be used to synthesis olefin, heavy hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds. H2 /CO ratio could be adjusted by the changing CH4 /CO2 mole ratio and/or pressure to satisfy F-T process for different application. Since the latter is only effective when operating temperature is lower than 900 ̊C, the former is proposed as a more efficient method to adjust H2/CO ratio. When the operating temperature of DRM is over 700 ̊C, H2/CO ratio obtained at CH4/CO2 mole ratio of DRM ≤ 1 and P = 0.1 MPa is more preferable to be used for the synthesis of olefin, heavy hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds. Otherwise the syngas is more suitable for producing alkane (C1 –C5)

Firms Innovativeness and Performance in Nigerian Industrial Estates

This paper examined the nature of firms’ innovativeness and business performance of manufacturing firms in industrial estates located in Lagos State, Southwestern Nigeria. Data for the study were collected through questionnaire and unstructured interview which elicited information on types of innovation; intensity of innovation; factors influencing innovation; and their effect on business performance. The result revealed that food and beverages (29.3%), metal fabrication (17.1%), chemical/chemical products (12.2%), and rubber/plastic products (12.2%) were the predominant industrial sectors at the estates. The study further showed that 78.0% of the firms carried out innovation activities while 73.2% reported successful innovations. In addition, 41.5% of the innovations were based on internal efforts while external factors accounted for 7.3%. Similarly, 26.8% of responding firms engaged in occasional innovations while a few (19.5%) adopted continuous innovation strategy. Effect of innovation strategy on business performance revealed a significant positive relationship between the average sales turnover of firms and process innovation (r = 0.518; p<0.05) while variables such as product innovations (r = -0.046; p>0.05), organizational innovation (r = -0.213; p>0.05), and marketing innovation (r = -0.069; p>0.05) had no significant relationship with the firms’ performance. The study concluded that business performance could be more enhanced through improved operational efficiency, linkages with R&D institutions and acquisition of appropriate technical skills. Keywords: Innovations, manufacturing firms, industrial estates, business performanc

Technological Innovation Sources and Institutional Supports for Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

The study examined the technological innovation sources, the relevance of these sources as well as institutional supports and their significance to the innovativeness of small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Southwestern Nigeria. The data for the study were collected through questionnaire and interview schedule from a sample of 100 manufacturing SMEs. The results reveal that the key information sources for innovation among these companies are customers; suppliers of equipment and machinery; seminars, training and conferences; market research and business associations. None of the external inputs that the companies needed for internal learning and innovation come from government agencies. The results suggest the urgent need for enterprise-oriented technology transfer from public funded R&D institutions to link the science and technology system with small and medium enterprises production units. Similarly, the SMEs associations should be strengthened to provide opportunities for their members to continuously learn about new technology developments and opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the sector.The study examined the technological innovation sources, the relevance of these sources as well as institutional supports and their significance to the innovativeness of small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Southwestern Nigeria. The data for the study were collected through questionnaire and interview schedule from a sample of 100 manufacturing SMEs. The results reveal that the key information sources for innovation among these companies are customers; suppliers of equipment and machinery; seminars, training and conferences; market research and business associations. None of the external inputs that the companies needed for internal learning and innovation come from government agencies. The results suggest the urgent need for enterprise-oriented technology transfer from public funded R&D institutions to link the science and technology system with small and medium enterprises production units. Similarly, the SMEs associations should be strengthened to provide opportunities for their members to continuously learn about new technology developments and opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the sector.The study examined the technological innovation sources, the relevance of these sources as well as institutional supports and their significance to the innovativeness of small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Southwestern Nigeria. The data for the study were collected through questionnaire and interview schedule from a sample of 100 manufacturing SMEs. The results reveal that the key information sources for innovation among these companies are customers; suppliers of equipment and machinery; seminars, training and conferences; market research and business associations. None of the external inputs that the companies needed for internal learning and innovation come from government agencies. The results suggest the urgent need for enterprise-oriented technology transfer from public funded R&D institutions to link the science and technology system with small and medium enterprises production units. Similarly, the SMEs associations should be strengthened to provide opportunities for their members to continuously learn about new technology developments and opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the sector

Biomass constituents’ interactions with coal during co-firing

The importance of biomass in the emerging low carbon economy remains quite crucial especially relating to the co-firing of coal and biomass due to the improvements in thermal properties and its influence on reactivity, burnout and flame stability. In this research, the combustion profile of coal and biomass blends, coal and low temperature biomass ash blends and coal and demineralized biomass blends were studied using thermogravimetric analysis. The results established the presence of both mechanism of synergy in the fuel blends during co-firing. This was substantiated by significant decrease in peak, burnout temperature as well as reduction in activation energy, demonstrating non-additive interaction between the biomass and coal sample. Further deductions reveal a degree of overlap in the function of catalytic and non-catalytic synergy mechanisms in the biomass blends due to competitive reactions among the catalyzing AAEMs and the hydrogen contributing organic constituents of biomass with coal. Finally, this study further establishes a higher degree of catalytic synergy in potassium rich oat straw in comparison to calcium rich gumwood. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of ICAE2018 - The 10th International Conference on Applied Energy

A novel index for the study of synergistic effects during the co-processing of coal and biomass

In this study, synergistic interaction between coal and biomass and its intensity were investigated systematically using a low rank coal and its blends with different biomass samples at various blending ratios. The catalytic effects of minerals originated from biomass were also studied. It was found that some of the minerals existing in the ash derived from oat straw catalysed the combustions process and contributed to synergistic interactions. However, for the coal and rice husk blends, minimal improvements were recorded even when the biomass and coal blending ratio was as high as 30 wt%. Biomass volatile also influenced the overall combustion performance of the blends and contributed to synergistic interactions between the two fuels in the blends. Based on these findings, a novel index was formulated to quantify the degree of synergistic interactions. This index was also validated using data extracted from literature and showed satisfactory correlation coefficients. It was found that at a blending ratio of 30 wt% oat straw in the blend, the degree of synergistic interaction between coal and oat straw showed an additional SF value of 0.25 with non-catalytic and catalytic synergistic effect contributing 0.16 (64%) and 0.09 (36%) respectively. This index could be used in the selection of proper biomass and proper blending ratio for co-firing at coal-fired power stations aiming at improving the combustion performance of poor quality coals via enhancing synergistic interactions during co-processing

Coating of catalyst supports: links between slurry characteristics, coating process and final coating quality

Tightening legislation for vehicles across the world has caused the use of monolith catalysts in automotive emission control to become ubiquitous. Control of the adherence and homogeneity of the platinum group metal (PGM) coating onto the monolith block, to maximise catalytic performance for a minimum PGM loading, is therefore paramount. In this study, an automatic film application is used for coating γ–alumina slurries onto Fecralloy®, an integral component of metallic monolith catalysts, to achieve the desired coating properties. Upon coating of the Fecralloy® coupons, the samples preoxidised for 10 h gave the best performance in terms of coating loading (7.94 mass %) and adherence (< 10 mass % loss) based on ultrasonic vibration test. These conditions produced the optimal surface topography, typified by conspicuous and randomly-oriented α–alumina whiskers which promote coating adherence. The optimal coating loading and adherence were achieved at a pH of 4 and solids concentrations not exceeding 40 wt%. A newly devised technique using the electromechanical testing system showed that finest particle coatings of 40 wt% solids concentration produced the best coating adherence. At solids concentration of 45 wt% the coating adherence was poor and insensitive to the blends of different particle size distributions

EMISSIONS CONTROL CATALYSTS: LINKS BETWEEN FECRALLOY PREOXIDATION AND COATING ADHERENCE

Abstract Tightening emissions legislation for vehicles across the world has caused the use of monolith catalysts in automobile emission control to become ubiquitous. In this study, the physiochemical transformations caused by thermal preoxidation of the surface of Fecralloy ® foil, an integral component of emissions control catalysts, have been studied to assess their role on coating film adherence. The foil coupons were pre-oxidised at 950 o C for 0, 5, 10 and 30 h and the mass gain was found to fit a simplified hyperbolic model. Measurements were made of surface topography and microstructure using laser profiling interferometry (LPI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with phase analysis being obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD). The optimal surface roughness was obtained after 10 h of pre-oxidation, when the surface contained significant amounts of α-alumina arranged as randomly oriented whiskers. Upon coating of the treated foil coupons with γ-alumina slurry, the sample pre-oxidised for 10 h gave the best performance in terms of coating film loading of 7.94 mass % and adherence of less than 10 mass % loss