Novel Anionic Clay Adsorbents for Boiler-Blow Down Waters Reclaim and Reuse: Final Report

Our goal in this study is to utilize novel anionic clay sorbents for treating and reclaiming/reusing power-plant effluents, in particular, boiler blow-down waters containing heavy metals, such as As and Se. Developing and using novel materials for such application is dictated by the challenge posed by reclaiming and recycling these too-clean-to-clean effluent streams, generated during electricity production, whose contaminant levels are in the ppm/ppb (or even less) trace levels. During the study model blow-down streams have been treated in batch experiments. Adsorption isotherms as a function of pH/temperature have been established for both As and Se. Adsorption rates have also measured as a function of concentration, temperature, pH, and space time. For both the equilibrium and rate measurements, we have studied the As/Se interaction, and competition from background anions. A homogeneous surface diffusion model is used to describe the experimental kinetic data. The estimated diffusivity values are shown to depend on the particle size. On the other hand, a model taking into account the polycrystalline nature of these adsorbent particles, and the presence of an intercrystallite porous region predicts correctly that the surface diffusivity is particle size independent. A mathematical model to describe flow experiments in packed-beds has also been developed during phase I of this project. The goal is to validate this model with flow experiments in packed-beds during the phase II of this project, to determine the adsorption capacity under flow conditions, and to compare it with the capacity estimated from the adsorption isotherms determined from the batch studies

First principles-based multiparadigm, multiscale strategy for simulating complex materials processes with applications to amorphous SiC films

Progress has recently been made in developing reactive force fields to describe chemical reactions in systems too large for quantum mechanical (QM) methods. In particular, ReaxFF, a force field with parameters that are obtained solely from fitting QM reaction data, has been used to predict structures and properties of many materials. Important applications require, however, determination of the final structures produced by such complex processes as chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, and formation of ceramic films by pyrolysis of polymers. This requires the force field to properly describe the formation of other products of the process, in addition to yielding the final structure of the material. We describe a strategy for accomplishing this and present an example of its use for forming amorphous SiC films that have a wide variety of applications. Extensive reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been carried out to simulate the pyrolysis of hydridopolycarbosilane. The reaction products all agree with the experimental data. After removing the reaction products, the system is cooled down to room temperature at which it produces amorphous SiC film, for which the computed radial distribution function, x-ray diffraction pattern, and the equation of state describing the three main SiC polytypes agree with the data and with the QM calculations. Extensive MD simulations have also been carried out to compute other structural properties, as well the effective diffusivities of light gases in the amorphous SiC film

HINDERED DIFFUSION OF COAL LIQUIDS

It was the purpose of the project described here to carry out careful and detailed investigations of petroleum and coal asphaltene transport through model porous systems under a broad range of temperature conditions. The experimental studies were to be coupled with detailed, in-depth statistical and molecular dynamics models intended to provide a fundamental understanding of the overall transport mechanisms and a more accurate concept of the asphaltene structure. The following discussion describes some of our accomplishments

Conference Proposal for the Organization of ISCRE 15 [summary of results]

Though ISCRE 15 goal was to emphasize the fundamentals, of equal importance were the technological advances currently shaping the future of the field. Topical areas for ISCRE 15 included: (1) Reactors for Materials Processing; (2) Waste Minimization and Remediation; (3) Environmentally Benign Processing; (4) Reactor Dynamics; (5) Reactor Control and Safety; (6) Reactor Scale-up and Economic Evaluation; (7) Computational and Modeling Aspects of Reaction/ Reactor Engineering; (8)Fluid-Solid Catalytic and Non-Catalytic Reaction Systems; and (9) Catalytic, Polymerization and Biochemical Reactors

Steady State and Stability Characteristics of Catalytic Arrays

305 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1978.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Novel Anionic Clay Adsorbents for Boiler-Blow-Down Waters Reclaim and Reuse

Arsenic (As) and Selenium (Se) are found in water in the form of oxyanions. Relatively high concentrations of As and Se have been reported both in power plant discharges, as well as, in fresh water supplies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer currently classifies As as a group 1 chemical, that is considered to be carcinogenic to humans. In Phase I of this project we studied the adsorption of As and Se by uncalcined and calcined layered double hydroxide (LDH). The focus of the present work is a systematic study of the adsorption of As and Se by conditioned LDH adsorbents. Conditioning the adsorbent significantly reduced the Mg and Al dissolution observed with uncalcined and calcined LDH. The adsorption rates and isotherms have been investigated in batch experiments using particles of four different particle size ranges. As(V) adsorption is shown to follow a Sips-type adsorption isotherm. The As(V) adsorption rate on conditioned LDH increases with decreasing adsorbent particle size; the adsorption capacity, on the other hand, is independent of the particle size. A homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM) and a bi-disperse pore model (BPM) - the latter viewing the LDH particles as assemblages of microparticles and taking into account bulk diffusion in the intraparticle pore space, and surface diffusion within the microparticles themselves - were used to fit the experimental kinetic data. The HSDM estimated diffusivity values dependent on the particle size, whereas the BPM predicted an intracrystalline diffusivity, which is fairly invariant with particle size. The removal of As(V) on conditioned LDH adsorbents was also investigated in flow columns, where the impact of important solution and operational parameters such as influent As concentration, pH, sorbent particle size and flow rate were studied. An early breakthrough and saturation was observed at higher flow rates and at higher influent concentrations, whereas a decrease in the sorbent particle size and a decrease in influent pH resulted in an increase in the bed volumes treated at breakthrough. Both the HSDM and BPM were shown capable of predicting the column behavior

Membranes catalytiques et réacteurs membranaires

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