How do you write and present research well?

ABSTRACT: Research is only half the work; the other half is writing and publishing. Your research is incomplete until you publish your data.Publishing is necessary but insufficient: others must cite your work.Writing well and preparing a coherent story will help your paper get past the first hurdle in the publishing process –the copy editor. The second hurdle is the editor, who checks if it is suitable for the journal, and reviews the abstract, conclusions, and references.The final hurdle is the reviewers, who devote more time to validate the hypotheses, results, and interpretation. Rejection rates across journals are increasing.Science copy editors send one out of five submissions to the editors, and their overall rejection rate is 93 %. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering rejects close to 3 out of 4 papers researchers submit. Write better so journals accept your papers and researchers cite the

CT-FEM of the human thorax: Frequency response function and 3D harmonic analysis at resonance

ABSTRACT: Background and Objective High-frequency chest wall compression (HFCC) therapy by airway clearance devices (ACDs) acts on the rheological properties of bronchial mucus to assist in clearing pulmonary secretions. Investigating low-frequency vibrations on the human thorax through numerical simulations is critical to ensure consistency and repeatability of studies by reducing extreme variability in body measurements across individuals. This study aims to present the numerical investigation of the harmonic acoustic excitation of ACDs on the human chest as a gentle and effective HFCC therapy. Methods Four software programs were sequentially used to visualize medical images, decrease the number of surfaces, generate and repair meshes, and conduct numerical analysis, respectively. The developed methodology supplied the validation of the effect of HFCC through computed tomography-based finite element analysis (CT-FEM) of a human thorax. To illustrate the vibroacoustic characteristics of the HFCC therapy device, a 146-decibel sound pressure level (dBSPL) was applied on the back-chest surface of the model. Frequency response function (FRF) across 5–100 Hz was analyzed to characterize the behaviour of the human thorax with the state-space model. Results We discovered that FRF pertaining to accelerance equals 0.138 m/s2N at the peak frequency of 28 Hz, which is consistent with two independent experimental airway clearance studies reported in the literature. The state-space model assessed two apparent resonance frequencies at 28 Hz and 41 Hz for the human thorax. The total displacement, kinetic energy density, and elastic strain energy density were furthermore quantified at 1 µm, 5.2 µJ/m3, and 140.7 µJ/m3, respectively, at the resonance frequency. In order to deepen our understanding of the impact on internal organs, the model underwent simulations in both the time domain and frequency domain for a comprehensive analysis. Conclusion Overall, the present study enabled determining and validating FRF of the human thorax to roll out the inconsistencies, contributing to the health of individuals with investigating gentle but effective HFCC therapy conditions with ACDs. This innovative finding furthermore provides greater clarity and a tangible understanding of the subject by simulating the responses of CT-FEM of the human thorax and internal organs at resonance

Catalyst preparation for fluidized bed reactors by spray drying

Spray dried fluidized bed catalysts belong to the Geldart Group A classification and vary between 22 m to 200 m in diameter (1). Binder is either distributed throughout the particle with the active phase or surrounds the active phase as in a core-shell structure (2, 3). We slurried WO3/TiO2 micronized powder (0.2 m to 2 m) with colloidal silica (LUDOX® HS-40) to form a slurry with a mass fraction of 5 % to 20 % solids. The solution entered the top of GB-22 Yamato fluidized bed spray dryer chamber (0.12 m ID) through a two-fluid nozzle and the drying air entered the bottom counter-currently. We varied the feed slurry concentration, binder concentration, slurry and drying air flow rates, two-phase nozzle pressure drop and inlet temperature. Most conditions only produced a very fine powder (Group C, dpm) (Fig. 1a). (Ideally, the particle size should exceed 80 m for laboratory experimental equipment). The small particles were often fully spherical but we also produced large clusters that reached 150 m (Fig. 1b). The high pressure drop through the nozzle and low slurry concentration produced the fine powder. Particles agglomerated in the fluidized bed when we increased the slurry flow rate to the chamber such that the powder had not yet dried sufficiently. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

From CO₂ to formic acid fuel cells

ABSTRACT: Formic acid is a liquid, safe, and energy-dense carrier for fuel cells. Above all, it can be sustainably produced from the electroreduction of CO₂. The formic acid market is currently saturated, and it requires alternative applications to justify additional production capacity. Fuel cell technologies offer a chance to expand it, while creating an opportunity for sustainability in the energy sector. Formic acid-based fuel cells represent a promising energy supply system in terms of high theoretical open-circuit voltage (1.48 V). Compared to common fuel cells running on H2 (e.g., proton-exchange membrane fuel cells), formic acid has a lower storage cost and is safer. This review focuses on the sustainable production of formic acid from CO₂ and on the detailed analysis of commercial examples of formic acid-based fuel cells, in particular direct formic acid fuel cell stacks. Designs described in the literature are mostly at the laboratory scale, still, with 301 W as the maximum power output achieved. These case studies are fundamental for the scale-up; however, additional efforts are required to solve crossover and increase performance

TiO₂ nanotubes immobilized on polyurethane foam as a floating photocatalyst for water treatment

ABSTRACT: We investigated the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂-NPs) and TiO₂ nanotubes (TiO₂-NTs) supported on a floating polyurethane (PU) foam for removing Bisphenol A (BPA) as a model pollutant. We fabricated TiO₂-NPs by the sol-gel method and TiO₂-NTs by the ultrasound-assisted hydrothermal method. Subsequently, the photocatalysts were immobilized onto the PU foam through the wet chemical deposition process. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by contact angle, SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, DRS, and BET analyses. TiO₂-NPs and TiO₂-NTs were successfully deposited onto the PU foam, creating floating photocatalysts denoted as TiO₂-NPs@PU and TiO₂-NTs@PU. Our findings indicated that the nanotubular structure of floating TiO₂ photocatalysts enhanced the removal efficiency of BPA relative to the nanoparticles, resulting in the complete removal of the pollutant over 180 min of simulated sunlight irradiation. TiO₂-NTs@PU was also stable after five reuse cycles. Moreover, h+ was the main scavenging reactive species during the photocatalysis of BPA with TiO₂-NTs@PU

Synthesis of a novel Ce(iii)/melamine coordination polymer and its application for corrosion protection of AA2024 in NaCl solution

ABSTRACT: We present the synthesis of a new cerium(III)–melamine coordination polymer (CMCP) by a mixedsolvothermal method and its characterization. Characterization techniques included Raman, Fourier Transformation Infra-Red (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), in which the change in the electronic environment and the crystallinity were tracked. The characterization results confirm the coordination of cerium(III) with melamine through –NH₂ groups, instead of the N atoms of the triazine ring, for which we propose a mechanism of interaction. In addition, Biovia Materials Studio package was applied to determine and investigate the molecular structure of the CMCP. All simulations were done using COMPASS force-field theory and atom-based method for summation of electrostatic and van de Waals forces. The application of the CMCP for the corrosion inhibition of AA2024 in 3.5% NaCl solution was tested using the potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The results point out that the presence of cerium as cerium(III) in the CMCP structure plays the fundamental role of inhibition, whereby the inhibition mechanism occurs by cathodic oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) and cyclic reduction of Ce(IV) to Ce(III) by melamine part of CMCP

tert-butanol and hydrogen peroxide react over Amberlyst-15 to form tert-butyl hydroperoxide

ABSTRACT: Organic peroxides are explosive compounds that are applied as disinfectants, bleaching agents, and as initiators for polymer synthesis because of their high reactivity. Traditional homogeneous processes with H₂SO₄ catalyst produce salts, either in the neturalization step after reaction or due to the foramtion of tert-butyl hydrogen sulphate, that must be disposed of, which introduces cost and represents an environmental burden. Here, we devised a flow chemistry approach to oxidize tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) to tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) over various heterogeneous catalysts. Under acidic conditions, TBHP is the main product and di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP) and peroxy-ketal are by-products. The most active catalyst was Amberlyst-15, while yield of Nafion, activated carbon, and heteropoly acids (HPA) on carbon and silica matrices was less than 1% at 70°C. In in the range of 30 to 50°C, a first order kinetic expression characterizes the tert-butyl alcohol conversion well (${R}^2=0.99$). The reaction rate is slow and the rate constant, ${k}_{40^{\circ}\mathrm{C}}$, was 0.003 min⁻¹. Above 50°C, by-products reacted further to acetone, methane, ethane, and other compounds

Toward scaling-up photocatalytic process for multiphase environmental applications

ABSTRACT: Recently, we have witnessed a booming development of composites and multi-dopant metal oxides to be employed as novel photocatalysts. Yet the practical application of photocatalysis for environmental purposes is still elusive. Concerns about the unknown fate and toxicity of nanoparticles, unsatisfactory performance in real conditions, mass transfer limitations and durability issues have so far discouraged investments in full-scale applications of photocatalysis. Herein, we provide a critical overview of the main challenges that are limiting large-scale application of photocatalysis in air and water/wastewater purification. We then discuss the main approaches reported in the literature to tackle these shortcomings, such as the design of photocatalytic reactors that retain the photocatalyst, the study of degradation of micropollutants in different water matrices, and the development of gas-phase reactors with optimized contact time and irradiation. Furthermore, we provide a critical analysis of research–practice gaps such as treatment of real water and air samples, degradation of pollutants with actual environmental concentrations, photocatalyst deactivation, and cost and environmental life-cycle assessment