Experimental study of zeolitic diffusion by use of a concentration-dependent surface diffusion model

Surface diffusivity in adsorption and ion exchange processes is probably the most important property studied expensively in the literature but some aspects, especially its dependence on solid phase concentration, is still an open subject to discussion. In this study a new concentration-dependent surface diffusion model, equipped with a flexible double selectivity equilibrium relationship is applied on the removal of Pb2+, Cr3+, Fe3+ and Cu2+ from aqueous solutions using a natural zeolite. The model incorporates the Chen-Yang surface diffusivity correlation able to deal with positive and negative dependence with surface coverage. The double selectivity equilibrium relationship successfully represents the experimental equilibrium data, which follow Langmurian isotherm type for Pb2+, sigmoidal for Cr3+ and Fe3+ and linear for Cu2+. The concentration-dependent surface diffusion model was compared with the constant diffusivity surface diffusion model and found to be moderately more accurate but considerably more useful as it provides more insights into the diffusion mechanism. The application of the model resulted in an average deviation of 8.56 ± 6.74% from the experimental data and an average solid phase diffusion coefficients between 10−9 and 10−10 cm2/s. The results showed that the diffusion of metal ions in the zeolite structure is unhindered following the surface diffusion mass transfer mechanism

Variable diffusivity homogeneous surface diffusion model and analysis of merits and fallacies of simplified adsorption kinetics equations

Adsorption and ion exchange phenomena are encountered in several separation processes, which in turn, are of vital importance across various industries. Although the literature on adsorption kinetics modeling is rich, the majority of the models employed are empirical, based on chemical reaction kinetics or oversimplified versions of diffusion models. In this paper, the fifteen most popular simplified adsorption kinetics equations are presented and discussed. A new versatile variable-diffusivity two-phase homogeneous diffusion model is presented and used to evaluate the analytical adsorption models. Aspects of ion exchange kinetics are also addressed

Shape optimization of conductive-media interfaces using an IGA-BEM solver

In this paper, we present a method that combines the Boundary Element Method (BEM) with IsoGeometric Analysis (IGA) for numerically solving the system of Boundary Integral Equations (BIE) arising in the context of a 2-D steady-state heat conduction problem across a periodic interface separating two conducting and conforming media. Our approach leads to a fast solver with high convergence rate when compared with low-order BEM. Additionally, an optimization framework comprising a parametric model for the interface’s shape, our IGA-BEM solver, and evolutionary and gradient-based optimization algorithms is developed and tested. The optimization examples demonstrate the efficiency of the framework in generating optimum interfaces for maximizing heat transfer under various geometric constraints

An Alternative Method to Deduce Bubble Dynamics in Single Bubble Sonoluminescence Experiments

In this paper we present an experimental approach that allows to deduce the important dynamical parameters of single sonoluminescing bubbles (pressure amplitude, ambient radius, radius-time curve) The technique is based on a few previously confirmed theoretical assumptions and requires the knowledge of quantities such as the amplitude of the electric excitation and the phase of the flashes in the acoustic period. These quantities are easily measurable by a digital oscilloscope, avoiding the cost of expensive lasers, or ultrafast cameras of previous methods. We show the technique on a particular example and compare the results with conventional Mie scattering. We find that within the experimental uncertainties these two techniques provide similar results.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Factors Determining the Stability of a Gas Cell in an Elastic Medium

In this paper we consider the stability of a gas cell embedded in an infinite elastic medium. The stability criterion obtained extends the classical result by Gibbs, y < 2E, to include the shear modulus of the elastic material. Interestingly, besides the shear modulus another parameter appears which is a measure of supersaturation and relates the pressure and the gas concentration at the far field. If it is less than a critical value then any bubble size corresponding to a steady state is stable; above this critical value a condition must be satisfied which is a function of the surface dilatational modulus, the shear modulus, the surface tension, the supersaturation, and the bubble radius, and simplifies to the classical result when the shear modulus is zero. Calculations based on an initial cell size of 10-5 m showed that shrinkage of a cell is inhibited by a higher dilatational or bulk modulus. For small values of superstaturation there is a single stable steady state corresponding to a shrinking gas cell while for moderate values of supersaturation there are two steady states, one stable and one unstable; excessive supersaturation leads to unbounded bubble growth