Advanced Environmental Control Research Articles

Circular adsorptive utilization of benzalkonium chloride via construction of ionic microenvironment in dopamine quinone-functionalized acrylic fiber surface

A novel dopamine quinone-functionalized acrylic fiber (PANdpqF) was successfully synthesized, which adsorbed the disinfectant dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (DDBAC) to in-situ construct a highly efficient catalyst (DDBAC@PANdpqF) for the cyclization of CO2 with epoxide. The successful preparation of PANdpqF was proved by 13C Cross Polarization-Magic Angle Spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and scanning electron microscopy. High adsorption capacity of DDBAC on PANdpqF has been demonstrated by ultraviolet analysis, and the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was calculated as 666.67 mg/g. Based on comprehensive analysis, the corresponding adsorption mechanism is proposed in which chloride ion of DDBAC is added to o-quinone moiety through Michael addition, followed by the formation of phenoxy and quaternary ammonium ion pair. DDBAC@PANdpqF was well applicable to catalyze the cyclization of CO2, and the yield could reach 93.7% even with a low catalyst loading. The possible cooperatively catalytic mechanism was proposed correspondingly, in which phenolic hydroxyl helps to activate CO2 and epoxide, phenoxy anion attacks CO2 as a nucleophile, and quaternary ammonium cation stabilizes the anionic intermediates. Overall, the functionalized acrylic fiber adsorbed environmentally harmful disinfectant DDBAC to furnish a highly active catalyst for the transformation of greenhouse gas CO2 into useful carbonates, which provides a new method for advanced environmental pollution control.

Study on Heat-moisture Treatment of Near Space Crew Capsule Based on Phase Change Material

Environment control system of the near-space capsule is of great importance to maintain a comfortable environment and working conditions for crew members as well as onboard equipments. Temperature and humidity, as two main parameters, are controlled by the phase change cool storage device in crew capsule. To improve the design of environment control system, a numerical study of the thermal environment based on a crew capsule suspending in the stratosphere was conducted in this paper. The main structure and thermodynamic parameters of the phase change cool storage device were calculated. Under the way of nozzle outlet air supply, a numerical modelling of the temperature and humidity distribution inside a crew capsule is performed. This research will contribute a better solution for an advanced environment control system design of crew capsules.

Improved energy efficiency and optimization of microclimate in buildings

Nowadays it is possible to reduce energy consumption without losing comfort as a result of using efficient energy saving technologies and advanced environment control methods for buildings. One of the measures to improve energy performance of buildings can be installation of decentralized air intake and exhaust mechanical ventilation systems with plate heat exchangers in apartments making it possible to «return» up to 85% of thermal energy. The article deals with the decentralized system controlled ventilation with heat recovery and alternative solutions heating supply air in residential buildings.

Advanced environmental control as a key component in the development of ultrahigh accuracyex situmetrology for x-ray optics

The advent of fully coherent free-electron laser and diffraction-limited synchrotron radiation storage ring sources of x-rays is catalyzing the development of new ultrahigh accuracy metrology methods. To fully exploit these sources, metrology needs to be capable of determining the figure of an optical element with subnanometer height accuracy. The major limiting factors of the current absolute accuracy of ex situ metrology are drift errors due to temporal instabilities of the lab’s environmental conditions and systematic errors inherent to the metrology instruments. Here, we discuss in detail work at the Advanced Light Source X-Ray Optics Laboratory on building of advanced environmental control that is a key component in the development of ultrahigh accuracy ex situ metrology for x-ray optics. By a few examples, we show how the improvement of the environmental conditions in the lab allows us to significantly gain efficiency in performing ex situ metrology with high-quality x-ray mirrors. The developed concepts and approaches, included in the design of the new X-Ray Optics Laboratory, are described in detail. These data are essential for construction and successful operation of a modern metrology facility for x-ray optics, as well as high-precision measurements in many fields of experimental physics.

Optimization of Microclimate in Residential Buildings

Nowadays it is possible to reduce energy consumption without losing comfort as a result of using efficient energy saving technologies and advanced environment control methods for buildings. One of the measures to improve energy performance of buildings can be installation of decentralized air intake and exhaust mechanical ventilation systems with plate heat exchangers in apartments making it possible to «return» up to 85% of thermal energy. The article deals with the decentralized system controlled ventilation with heat recovery and alternative solutions heating supply air in residential buildings.

A clustering and visualisation approach to the analysis of internal control structures

The purpose of this study is to use a visual clustering approach (the self-organising map) to analyse differences in companies’ internal control (IC) structures, based upon the five components of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework. The empirical data were collected through a survey of 741 Finnish companies. Over 90% of the respondents were chief executive officers (CEOs) and the response rate was 50.4%. Five different clusters with differing IC structures were identified. Three of these clusters are partly in contradiction with the literature (high risk assessment vs. undeveloped control environment; advanced control environment vs. undeveloped other control structures; advanced control structures vs. low risk assessment). This study, therefore, raises several questions for future research and contributes to earlier IC and self-organising map (SOM) studies.

Project [formula omitted]—a study for a manned Mars mission in 2031

This study deals with a manned mission which focuses on building an orbital station around Mars. The advantages in comparison to direct-landing scenarios are outlined and the necessary technology is described. The orbiting station prohibits contamination of and from the Red Planet and houses six astronauts in a 1100 days journey to Mars providing three pressurized modules: two of them will remain in a Low Mars Orbit for further human missions while the third module is used as an Earth Return Vehicle. A Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Propulsion System is used also for electrical power production. An advanced Environment Control and Life Support System, the necessary radiation shielding, human factors and crew selection criteria have been studied. The described partly reusable Mars Landing Module allows highest possible flexibility in the choice of landing scenario. The overall mission budgets in the fields of mass, power and costs have been estimated.

A user-friendly procedure to visualize the hourly quantitative performance of daylighting systems

The paper reports on the academic experience of teaching daylighting to undergraduate architectural students. The case of teaching daylighting in the architectural professional program at Oklahoma State University is used as a case study. The paper provides a brief survey of the existing design-assisting tools and methods often used, in architectural education, to design and evaluate daylighting systems. These tools are the ones normally found in textbooks that are used to teach regular and/or advanced environmental control courses. As a result of the experimentation with the use of such handy methods in the architectural design studio, a limited benefit was observed. Although these tools can provide a good understanding of the issues and variables that may affect the performance of daylighting systems, students seldom use them in a design studio setting. In contrast, the suggested simplified procedure proved to be user-friendly. It was also found to be capable of visualizing the hourly performance of daylighting systems, and consequently building a comprehensive understanding of the performance of daylighting systems. This hands-on procedure provides quick and meaningful evaluation that can help students to further develop their daylighting designs to meet the predefined goals. The paper does not intend to present a new method of daylighting systems design and/or evaluation. However, it will present a procedure that helped architectural students to visualize, further develop, and comprehensively understand the performance of their daylighting designs.

The U.S. Department of Energy's NO<SUB align=right>x control technology R&D programme for existing power plants

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has established a set of national priorities through its Strategic Plan that includes the goal to promote secure, competitive, and environmentally responsible energy systems that serve the needs of the public. The Innovations for Existing Plants (formerly the Advanced Research and Environmental Technologies) programme, managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), develops advanced environmental control technologies for coal-based power systems. The programme also provides high-quality scientific information on present and emerging environmental issues for use in regulatory and policy decision-making. An important component of the programme is the research and development of advanced nitrogen oxide (NO2) control technologies. This effort is focused primarily on systems capable of controlling NO2 emissions to a level at or below 0.15 lb/million Btu at a cost significantly lower than state-of-the-art technology. The programme will also provide an improved understanding of the impact of these advanced technologies on related issues such as unburned carbon, waterwall wastage, and mercury speciation and capture. The research is driven by continuing pressure for further reductions in NO2 emissions from coal-fired utility boilers to address ground-level ozone and other environmental considerations including ambient fine particulates, visibility, eutrophication, and climate change. NETL is currently managing a portfolio of NO2 control technology R&D projects ranging from laboratory studies to modelling to full-scale demonstration. This paper will provide an update on the status of these projects covering ultra-low-NO2 burners, advanced reburning, selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), selective catalytic reduction (SCR), methane de-NO2, and enhanced-oxygen combustion.

Integrated Environmental Control Modeling of Coal-Fired Power Systems

The capability to estimate the performance and costs of advanced environmental control systems for coal-fired power plants is critical to a variety of planning and analysis requirements faced by utilities, regulators, researchers, and analysts in the public and private sectors. This paper describes a computer model developed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide an up-to-date capability for analyzing a variety of pre-combustion, combustion, and post-combustion options in an integrated framework. A unique feature of the model allows performance and costs of integrated environmental control concepts to be modeled probabilistically as a means of characterizing uncertainties and risks. Examples are presented of model applications, comparing conventional and advanced emission control designs. The magnitude of technological risks associated with advanced technologies now under development are seen to vary markedly across applications. In general, however, integrated environmental control concepts show significant potential for more cost-effective methods of emissions control.

The radiological services laboratory: Designed for the future

A new state of the art radiochemistry laboratory incorporating advanced design and environmental control elements has been constructed in Atlanta, Georgia. The design of the facility is oriented to the efficient production of analytical sample results which meet regulatory requirements while at the same time provides an atmosphere that is pleasurable for analysts and visitors alike. The laboratory building contains two separate and distinct laboratories under one roof. This allows the facility to handle samples with low levels of radioactivity on one side of the lab without fear of contamination of environmental work on the other side. Unlike most laboratories, this facility utilizes a scrubber system and liquid waste holdup system to prevent accidental releases to the environment. The potential spread of radioactive contamination is controlled through the use of negative pressure ventillation zones. Construction techniques, laboratory systems, instrumentation and ergonomic considerations will also be discussed.

植物工場における環境制御装置のオブジェクト指向ソフトウェア開発支援システム

In plant growth factories, it is necessary that we use computer environmental control systems for integrate control and continuous plant production. Development of computer software for advanced the environmental controllers is important to produce high quality plants and to save production costs. An environmental control software development support system with using object-oriented programming techniques was developed and tested. Smalltalk/V and PC-9801 desktop micro-computer (CPU : i80386) were used for the development support system implementation. Four classes were defined for constructing environmental controller model of the development support system.The results of several tests suggested that the development support system with excellent graphic user interface had sufficient performance for testing advanced environmental control algorithms and debugging environment control software. It is considered that high reusability of the object-oriented programming techniques helps accumulation of many pieces of developed environmental control software to make large software property for development advanced the environmental controllers.

Space station environmental control and life support systems test bed program - an overview

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) begins to intensify activities for development of the Space Station, decisions must be made concerning the technical state of the art that will be baselined for the initial Space Station system. These decisions are important because significant potential exists for enhancing system performance and for reducing life-cycle costs. However, intelligent decisions cannot be made without an adequate assessment of new and ready technologies, i.e., technologies which are sufficiently mature to allow predevelopment demonstrations to prove their application feasibility and to quantify the risk associated with their development. Therefore, the NASA has implemented a technology development program which includes the establishment of generic test bed capabilities in which these new technologies and approaches can be tested at the prototype level. One major Space Station subsystem discipline in which this program has been implemented is the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS). Previous manned space programs such as Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle have relied heavily on consumables to provide environmental control and life support services. However, with the advent of a long-duration Space Station, consumables must be reduced within technological limits to minimize Space Station resupply penalties and operational costs. The use of advanced environmental control and life support approaches involving regenerative processes offers the best solution for significant consumables reduction while also providing system evolutionary growth capability. Consequently, the demonstration of these “new technologies” as viable options for inclusion in the baseline that will be available to support a Space Station initial operational capability in the early 1990's becomes of paramount importance. The mechanism by which the maturity of these new regenerative life support technologies will be demonstrated is the Space Station ECLSS Test Bed Program. The Space Station ECLSS Test Bed Program, which is managed by the NASA, is designed to parallel and to provide continuing support to the Space Station Program. The prime objective of this multiphase test bed program is to provide viable, mature, and enhancing technical options in time for Space Station implementation. To accomplish this objective, NASA is actively continuing the development and testing of critical components and engineering preprototype subsystems for urine processing, washwater recovery, water quality monitoring, carbon dioxide removal and reduction, and oxygen generation. As part of the ECLSS Test Bed Program, these regenerative subsystems and critical components are tested in a development laboratory to characterize subsystem performance and to identify areas in which further technical development is required. Proven concepts are then selected for development into prototype subsystems in which flight issues such as packaging and maintenance are addressed. These subsystems then are to be assembled as an integrated system and installed in an integrated systems test bed facility for extensive unmanned and manned testing.