Language：English   Publisher：Wiley  

DOI： 10.1002/9783527830190.ch5

Publisher：Energy and Fuels  

In continuation of our previous study on production of high-strength metallurgical coke from torrefied softwood (cedar), we studied coke production from a mixture of torrefied cedar (TC) and noncaking coal by pulverization to sizes <100 μm, mixing, binderless hot briquetting, and carbonization. These sequential processes produced coke with a tensile strength of 5-17 MPa, which was equivalent to or greater than that of conventional coke (5-6 MPa), from TC-coal mixtures over the entire ranges of TC mass fraction in briquette of 0-100%, torrefaction temperature of 250-300 °C, and choice of coal (sub-bituminous or medium-volatile bituminous coal). The mixing of TC and coal hindered densification of coke due to hindrance of shrinkage of more-shrinkable TC-derived particles during the carbonization under many of the conditions. Nevertheless, positive synergy occurred in the coke strength at TC mass fractions of over 50%, where coal-derived particles were dispersed in the matrix of TC-derived particles, bonded to them during the carbonization, and behaved as a reinforcement of the matrix. The bonding between TC-derived and coal-derived primary particles was revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Copulverization of mixed TC and coal to sizes <40 μm before the briquetting gave cokes having strengths as high as 23-28 MPa. The fine pulverization increased the frequencies of mutual bonding of TC-derived particles and coal-derived particles and bonding between TC-derived and coal-derived particles per coke volume. The strength of coke from the TC-coal mixture generally followed volume-based additivity of strengths of cokes from TC and coal. This was realized by mixing primary particles of TC and coal within ≈10 μm scale or even smaller.

DOI： 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c01722

Scopus

Publisher：Journal of Molecular Liquids  

Water contamination by ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a global and emerging issue because it increases the risk of infection by antimicrobial resistant bacteria. CIP removal from water by iron nanoparticles (Fe⁰) with the presence of oxalate hasn't been reported yet. The present study demonstrated that the addition of oxalate to Fe⁰ nanoparticles improved the removal of 100 mg L⁻¹ of CIP from 45.04% to 95.74% under the following optimum conditions: [Fe⁰] = 0.3 g L⁻¹, [oxalate] = 0.3 mM, initial pH = 7, and temperature = 25 ℃. Furthermore, the experimental results illustrated that high concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the aqueous solution greatly decreased the removal efficiency of CIP by (Fe⁰/oxalate) system from 97.69% (N<inf>2</inf> atmosphere) to 67.47%. Similarly, the performance of (Fe⁰/oxalate) system declined from 95.43% to 85.23% because of increasing the ionic strength of the solution from 0 to 100 mM. In contrast, the influence of humic acid (0 – 40 mg L⁻¹) on the removal of CIP by (Fe⁰/oxalate) system was neglectable. Also, the negative impact of coexisting ions on the competence of (Fe⁰/oxalate) system was in the following order: Mg²⁺ > NO<inf>3</inf>^– > SO₄^2- > Ca²⁺ > CO<inf>3</inf>^2– > K⁺. In addition, the desorption experiments and the results of SEM-EDS, XRD, and FTIR revealed that physisorption and chemisorption were responsible for CIP removal by (Fe⁰/oxalate) system as the addition of 0.3 mM of oxalate boosted the surface complexation between Fe⁰ nanoparticles and the carboxylic, ketone, and piperazinyl groups in CIP. These results were supported by the outcomes of kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamic analysis. Moreover, oxalate addition significantly reduced the treatment cost of 1 L of 100 mg L⁻¹ of CIP and the generated sludge by approximately 55.68% and 57%, respectively. Finally, this study proved that (Fe⁰/oxalate) system is inexpensive, practical, and more efficient than most of the reported Fe⁰-based systems with a maximum adsorption capacity of 294.66 mg g⁻¹.

DOI： 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119323

Scopus

Publisher：Journal of Cleaner Production  

The antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) is recognized as a contaminant of emerging concern because its persistent occurrence in water accelerates the growth of deadly antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRs). For the first time, the conventional precipitation technique was thermally modified to produce hybrid magnesium hydroxide/magnesium oxide nanorods [Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO] for efficient and rapid adsorption of CIP from water. The successful synthesis of Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO was confirmed by the outcomes of TEM, EDS, XRD, and FTIR analysis. Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO exhibited an extraordinary capability to adsorb CIP from water regardless of CIP initial concentration where more than 97% of 200 mg L⁻¹ of CIP was promptly eliminated within 30 min by 0.1 g L⁻¹ of Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO under neutral pH and room temperature. These results clearly state that Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO is at least 2-fold efficient and 20-fold faster in removing CIP than the reported nanomaterials with exceptional adsorption capacity higher than 1789 mg g⁻¹. FTIR analysis for the spent Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO revealed that bridging complexation with carboxylic group and electrostatic attraction with the positive amine group are the responsible mechanisms for CIP adsorption by Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO. Moreover, simulated CIP-contaminated river water was efficiently treated by Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO which proves the promising performance of Mg(OH)<inf>2</inf>/MgO in field scale applications.

DOI： 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130949

Scopus

Publisher：Bioresource Technology  

This work presents the selective production of the versatile bio-based platform levoglucosenone (LGO) using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as catalysts during cellulose pyrolysis. Among 18 types of DESs examined, those containing p-toluenesulfonic acid as a hydrogen bond donor possessed the requisite thermal stability for use in the pyrolysis of cellulose. When those DESs were combined with cellulose, the pyrolysis temperature could be reduced which led to greater selectivity for LGO, the highest yield being 41.5% on a carbon basis. Because of their thermal stability, the DESs could be recovered from the pyrolysis residue and reused. The DESs recovery reached 97.9% in the pyrolysis at a low temperature with the LGO yield of 14.0%. Thus, DES-assisted cellulose pyrolysis is a promising methodology for LGO production.

DOI： 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126323

Scopus

Publisher：ISIJ International  

This paper proposes a method of preparing high-strength formed coke from woody biomass without binder. Chipped and pre-dried Japanese cedar was heat-treated in an inert atmosphere (i.e., torrefied) at 225–325°C (Tt), pulverized to sizes in three different ranges, molded into briquettes (in the form of thick disk with diameter/thickness ≈ 2.5) at temperature up to 200°C by applying mechanical pressure of 128 MPa. The torrefied/briquetted cedar (TBC) was then converted into coke by heating to 1 000°C in an inert atmosphere at normal pressure. This process sequence enabled to prepare coke having indirect tensile strength (St) of 8–32 MPa, which was much higher than that without torrefaction, below 5 MPa. The torrefaction greatly improved pulverizability of the cedar, which was further promoted by increasing Tt. St of TBC and that of coke both increased as the particle sizes of TBC decreased, but this explained only a minor part of significant effect of Tt on St of the coke. St was maximized at Tt = 275°C regardless of the degree of pulverization. The Tt effects on physicochemical properties of TBC and coke were investigated in detail. The difference in St of coke by Tt was mainly due to that in the increment of St along the carbonization at 500–1 000°C. Fracture surfaces of the coke had particular morphologies that had been inherited from the original honeycomb structure of the cedar.

DOI： 10.2355/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2022-013

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.cherd.2021.08.005

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.apcata.2021.118286

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}  

DOI： 10.1007/s10311-020-01055-0

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c01290

Scopus

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.03.164

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3390/catal10010021

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.2355/isijinternational.isijint-2018-847

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b00465

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.crcon.2018.09.002

DOI： 10.15017/1960659

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：American Chemical Society  

DOI： 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b03147

Scopus

DOI： 10.1016/b978-0-08-101971-9.00003-x

DOI： 10.1016/b978-0-08-101975-7.00002-6

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.crci.2017.06.007

Web of Science

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1016/j.rser.2017.03.088

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.09.025

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jtice.2015.12.019

Web of Science

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7259-0482

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.20319/mijst.2016.21.4252

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1016/j.rser.2014.12.025

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1039/c5ra10997c

Web of Science

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7259-0482

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1039/c5ra07098h

Web of Science

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7259-0482

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1021/jp202401b

Web of Science

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7259-0482

Language：English