Iranian journal of chemical engineering
Volume:20 Issue: 2, Spring 2023

In this work, nanoparticles of the metal fuel Zirconium (Zr) and nanoscale oxidizer BaCrO4 are synthesized considering their unique nanoparticle characteristics like mixing homogeneity and high surface/volume ratio. Using the synthesized fuel and oxidizer, the pyrotechnic mixture of Zr/BaCrO4 was developed under 4 different conditions and analyzed in terms of the thermal behavior and burning rate. In the synthesis stage, the oxidizer nanopowder BaCrO4 was developed through precipitating Barium Nitrate and Chromate Potassium in the vicinity of Dodecyl benzene sulfonate sodium (DBSS) stabilizer. Also, Zr nanopowder was prepared using direct reduction of Zr (NO3)2 by N2H2 and was coated by a 4% Collodion. Then, the pyrotechnic mixture Zr/BaCrO4 was charged and pressed in the constructed combustion chamber. The burning rate of the mixture was captured by the direct footage of the combustion process using digital cameras with 60 frame-per-second capabilities. The fastest burning occurs when both the fuel and the oxidizer are nano-scaled. The thermal behavior of the mixture was studied using the simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) machine within the temperature range of 25 to 1000 °C. Results of the thermal analysis show that the thermal decomposition temperature of the Zr/BaCrO4 mixture in the micron size is higher than in the nano size and the amount of destruction is lower. Increasing the concentration of zirconium in the nano-size from 10 to 50% leads to a decrease in the decomposition temperature from 565 to 437 °C, while the pyrotechnic mixture destruction rate increases from 39% to over 63%.

The Ethanol-water separation involves a well-known azeotrope that confines the achievement of the ethanol purity to the values higher than 95 wt% using straightforward distillation. Many attempts have been made to identify how it can be possible to produce ultra-pure ethanol (99.95 wt%) for various valuable applications. In practice, minimizing the total cost of the process is of high importance beside having the finished product with utmost purity. As a consequence, finding the best process conditions imposed to apply the simulation and statistical optimization methods in combination. Numerical optimization provides the best trade-offs to achieve the goals. In this research, the separation of the ethanol/water mixture (87 wt%) was simulated using azeotropic distillation in Aspen plus© environment. Indeed, cyclohexane was chosen as an effective azeotrope-former. The UNIQUAC equation was used to describe the phase behavior. The two-column arrangement, in which the first column was used to dehydrate ethanol and the second to recover the entrainer, was applied in this simulation. The effect of important process variables, including the number of the trays in columns and the feed-tray position in each tower on the total capital cost were investigated. Finally, the process variables were optimized via the Response Surface Methodology to minimize the total cost of the process. The results uncovered that the total capital cost would be minimized if the number of the trays in the azeotropic (C1) and recovery (C2) columns were set to 34 and 40, whereas, the feed-tray numbers were adjusted to 19 and 9 respectively.

In this study, the fluid flow together with solid particles has been studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The gas-solid flow (air and sand particles with the size of 150 µm) inside a 76.2 mm diameter pipe with various bend angles including 45, 60, 90, 120, 135, and 180° was modelled at the fluid flow velocity of 11 m/s. The k-ω turbulence model was employed to model the flow turbulence and the E/CRC erosion model have been used to predict erosion rates. The hydrodynamics of the flow, the particles motion as well as the probable erosion regions were predicted. The CFD simulation results showed that increasing the curvature angle increases the erosion rate. While, increasing the pipe diameter, decreases the erosion rate. The maximum erosion rate was predicted at the end part of the curvature for 45 and 60 ° angles, while it was observed in the middle region for 120 and 135 ° curvatures. Finally, the maximum erosion rate for the 180 ° curvature was observed in two regions at the end of the first and second half. Using these results, precautionary considerations for the erosion, and the suitable plans for the repair and maintenance of the equipment can be offered.

1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane (HMX) is one of the most powerful explosives of which the purity may have a significant effect on increasing the performance of rocket engines. In this research, the synthesis of high purity HMX is presented using the nitration of 1,5-diacetyl-3,7-dinitrooctahydro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (DADN) with a mixture of nitric acid and polyphosphoric acid. The nitration parameters including temperature, time, and the concentration of nitric acid, and polyphosphoric acid were optimized for the desirable purity and efficiency using the response surface method and central composite method (CCD). Based on the optimization, HMX was obtained with a purity of 99% and an efficiency of 92.9% at a temperature of 70°C and the time duration of 70 minutes with a molar ratio of polyphosphoric acid to nitric acid of 1:1:6.

Current research has simulated polymer oxide/metal oxide nanofibers (nanocomposites) through the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The oil was placed inside a cylindrical tank covered with a thin layer of phase change material nanocomposites. A combination of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a the phase change material (PCM) and polyamide 6 (PA6) as a support matrix for nanofibers were used. The effect of some parameters such as the type of metal oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3, Fe2O3, TiO2, and CuO), the ratio of metal oxide to polymer (2% and 8% by weight), and time (600 and 4800 s) on some thermophysical properties such as changes in temperature, density and thermal conductivity were investigated. The simulation results showed that the most suitable system for thermal management is related to the presence of nanoparticles and PCM with the highest weight percentage. It was also found that the use of the nanofibers of phase change materials is very effective in improving thermal management and temperature control. As a result, they can be used as suitable materials for storing and transferring energy. The addition of 8% nanoparticles led to a 22.5% increase in thermal conductivity. Also, by providing the same initial and boundary conditions for all cases, the amount of melting in the presence of nanoparticles with a high percentage (8%) was higher than the with a low percentage (2%). As a result, the addition of nanoparticles to increase the melting rate can be very useful for various heat management purposes such as energy storage.

The membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a combination of biological and membrane systems. It utilizes advanced technologies in the treatment of various types of wastewater, having unique advantages such as the high-quality effluent and improved efficiency. The primary limiting factor for the utilization of this bioreactor  is the  membrane fouling phenomenon, which increases operational costs. In this study, four membrane bioreactors were used, with the first MBR (R1) serving as the control bioreactor. In the second MBR (R2), an adsorption process was employed, while in the third (R3) and fourth MBR (R4), in addition to the adsorption process, the electrochemical process was applied with voltages of two and one volts respectively. For the four bioreactors, the percentages of the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were recorded as 86%, 91.2%, 90.7%, and 95.3% respectively. The levels of the total Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) in R1, R2, R3, and R4 were about 260, 155, 177, and 98 mg/gVSS respectively. The R4 exhibited significantly lower EPS (98 mg/gVSS) compared to R1 (260 mg/gVSS), possibly due to the adsorption of EPS by nanoparticles and its subsequent removal during the electrochemical process. The role of voltage was evident in R3, where the higher voltage (2V) resulted in the less removal of EPS (155 mg/gVSS) compared to the same in R4 (98 mg/gVSS). The study found that the values of the Soluble Microbial Products (SMP) for R4, R3, R2, and R1 were about 15, 65, 55 and 139 mg/L respectively. Particularly in the most effective MBR, R4, where the addition of the zeolite adsorbent alongside metal ions demonstrated the best performance in the removal of SMP.