Facile Preparation of g-C3N4-WO3 Composite Gas Sensing Materials with Enhanced Gas Sensing Selectivity to Acetone

In this paper, g-C3N4-WO3 composite materials were prepared by hydrothermal processing. The composites were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N2 adsorption-desorption, respectively. The gas sensing properties of the composites were investigated. The results indicated that the addition of appropriate amount of g-C3N4 to WO3 could improve the response and selectivity to acetone. The sensor based on 2 wt% g-C3N4-WO3 composite showed the best gas sensing performances. When operating at optimum temperature of 310°C, the responses to 1000 ppm and 0.5 ppm acetone were 58.2 and 1.6, respectively, and the ratio of the S1000 ppm acetone to S1000 ppm ethanol reached 3.7

Theoretical Investigation of the Formation Mechanism of NH3 and HCN during Pyrrole Pyrolysis: The Effect of H2O

Coal is a major contributor to the global emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx). The NOx formation during coal utilization typically derives from the thermal decomposition of N-containing compounds (e.g., pyrrolic groups). NH3 and HCN are common precursors of NOx from the decomposition of N-containing compounds. The existence of H2O has significant influences on the pyrrole decomposition and NOx formation. In this study, the effects of H2O on pyrrole pyrolysis to form NOx precursors HCN and NH3 are investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculation results indicate that the presence of H2O can lead to the formation of both NH3 and HCN during pyrrole pyrolysis, while only HCN is formed in the absence of H2O. The initial interaction between pyrrole and H2O determines the N products. NH3 will be formed when H2O attacks the C2 position of pyrrole with its hydroxyl group. On the contrary, HCN will be generated instead of NH3 when H2O attacks the C3 position of pyrrole with its hydroxyl group. In addition, the DFT calculations clearly indicate that the formation of NH3 will be promoted by H2O, whereas the formation of HCN is inhibite

A Modified Specific Fuel Consumption Analysis for Predicting the Rearrangement of Energy System Structures

AbstractOne variation of exergy analysis, specific fuel consumption (SFC) analysis, was modified according the advanced exergy analysis, where exergy destructions within each component were split into endogenous/exogenous and avoidable/unavoidable parts, and by combining the energy-savings effects of each component. The modified analysis approach can help locate not only the weak points at the component level but also certain bottlenecks from the topology viewpoint, which may indicate adding or deleting some components, or enhancing the thermodynamic interactions between different process or subsystems. The modified approach was then applied to a conventional coal-fired power plant. The detailed spatial distribution of SFC within the current system at different partial-load conditions were deeply discussed at both component and process levels. Further splitting of SFC and the energy-saving effects of each process are also obtained and discussed. The results show that combustion and heat-and-mass transfer processes have the largest SFC. Heat-and-mass transfer process and the vent process have the greatest avoidable SFCs. The closer the component to the final product, the larger its influence on the overall performance, and, thus, a small improvement to these components may lead to a large reduction in the overall fuel consumption. More effective energy-saving measures of coal-fired power plants should focus on the match of heat transfer at intermediate-and-low temperature level and the breakage of the isolation of heat transfer subsystems, especially enhancing the interaction between the air preheating process and feedwater preheating process

An Improved Empirical Fuel Cell Polarization Curve Model Based on Review Analysis

Based on a review analysis of empirical fuel cell polarization curve models in the literature, an improved model that can predict fuel cell performance with only measured current-voltage data is developed. The fitting characteristics of this new model are validated by fitting bench test data and road test data. In the case of bench test data, a comparison of the new model and two representative models is conducted, and the results show that the new model presents the best fitting effects over a whole range of current densities. Moreover, the fitted ohmic resistances derived from the new model show good agreement with the measured values obtained through a current interruption test. In the case of using road test data, the new model also presents excellent fitting characteristics and convenience for application. It is the author’s belief that the new model is beneficial for the application-oriented research of fuel cells due to its prominent features, such as conciseness, flexibility, and high accuracy

Numerical simulation of dynamic response characteristics for launch and recovery system under random irregular wave

Based on the rain-flow counting method, a new random numerical simulation method for evaluating dynamic response characteristics of a launch and recovery system is presented in this study. It takes a random irregular wave as an input, and the random distribution characteristics of the dynamic responses of the launch and recovery system of a seafloor drill is analyzed by using the rain-flow counting method. The nonlinear coupling mechanisms among the movements of the ship, the umbilical cable, and the seafloor drill caused by random irregular wave are investigated. A dynamic model that considers the influence of the seawater resistance on the launch and recovery system of seafloor drill is established. Then, significant wave heights are used to produce excitation of the random irregular wave, and the corresponding dynamic random responses of the launch and recovery system are calculated and analyzed. At the same time, the movement of the seafloor drill and the tension of the umbilical cable are calculated and analyzed for the cases of seafloor drill at different water depths. This method provides a new tool for evaluating the dynamic response characteristics of launch and recovery system of other seafloor equipment under random irregular wave