Final Heat Research Articles

Mineralogy of the Steel Mountain Anorthosite Complex, Western Newfoundland Appalachians, Canada: Petrogenesis and Tectonic Affinity

The Steel Mountain complex in western Newfoundland is one of several possible peri-Gondwanan basement slivers that have been emplaced along the northwestern margin of the Appalachian Orogen. The complex includes feldspathic anorthosite, gabbronorite, and magnetite-ilmenite ore. Megacrysts of plagioclase (andesine), orthopyroxene (hypersthene) and amphibole (hornblende) were analyzed by electron microprobe and they are of similar composition to the groundmass minerals. The ferromagnesian megacrysts have exsolution lamellae of Fe-Ti oxides, magnesio–hornblende, and clinopyroxene. The hornblende megacrysts and the lack of plagioclase in the exsolution lamellae are unusual for Proterozoic anorthosites and result from unusual abundance of water in the parental magma. Whole-rock Nd-Sm isotope determinations give an isochron age of ~1.2 Ga. Ar-Ar dating of biotite rims on hornblende shows an early Ordovician plateau age and the final heating step suggests a ~0.8 Ga age for the amphibole itself. Taken together with published zircon geochronology, these data suggest a provenance in the southern peri-Gondwanan Appalachians.

Synthesis of Pyrrole-Sharing Fused Porphyrinoid Hybrids by Post-fabrication of Ni(II) Porphyrins.

Pyrrole-sharing fused hybrids of NiII porphyrin with PdII N-confused(NC)-corrole and PdII NC-oxaporphyrin were synthesized by post-fabrication of NiII porphyrins. Specifically this consists of Friedel-Crafts type aromatic substitution reaction of meso-free NiII porphyrin with α,α'-dibromotripyrrin and Pd(OAc)2 assisted cyclization, and final heating to induce a Pd-C bond formation. NiII porphyrins fused with PdII NC-corrole and with PdII NC-oxaporphyrins show coplanar structures with a shared pyrrole unit. In these hybrids, the PdII NC-oxaporphyrin is aromatic and the PdII NC-corrole is moderately antiaromatic and these local electronic properties interact to influence the whole network.

Possibility of obtaining rolled sheet from white iron with increased plasticity

Рroblem In the work, a study of the technology of manufacturing sheet metal up to 2 mm thick from white ledeburite cast iron alloyed with vanadium was carried out. Сast-iron purveyances forged preliminary. After forging purveyances were rolled with the different wringing out. At rolling a total degree of deformation was 70%. The additional annealing helped to bring down hardness of sheet and moulding of pipes became possible. White cast-iron has high plasticity because there are phase transformations in a vanadium eutecticum cementite. Goal. The goal of work is a study of sheet rolling of white cast-iron’s bars to use for the armour and weld-fabricated pipes. Methodology. Experimental cast iron contains 2.7 - 2.85% C and up to 2% V. 30 kg of castings were melted. The total degree of deformation was 70%. After forging, rolling was carried out on a two-roll laboratory mill on rolls with a smooth barrel. Results. The technological scheme for the production of white cast iron forgings is applied, which includes preliminary annealing, forging with a degree of deformation from 10 to 15%, intermediate annealing and final forging with a total ε=70%. Оriginality The use of carbide transformation in vanadium-doped cementite made it possible to carry out combined pressure treatment and obtain sheets up to 2 mm thick from iron castings Preliminary hot forging greatly stimulates and accelerates the process of cementite disintegration into austenite and vanadium carbides during high-temperature exposure. Rolling of forging blanks was carried out and the influence of thermal and deformation parameters on the structure of cast iron was investigated. Рractical value. Application of final heat treatment after deformation of cast iron provides a level of mechanical properties that corresponds to the properties of high-strength armor steels, and the hardness indicators even exceed them. Thinner sheets of such cast iron can be used to create compositions of multilayer armor with increased ballistic resistance from several materials with different properties.

Influence of Polycarboxylate Superplasticizer on the Calorimetric and Physicomechanical Properties of Mortar

The use of polycarboxylate ether superplasticizer PCE in the preparation of mortars and concretes influences the hydration kinetics and the amount of total heat released. This leads to a modification of certain properties of the mortar, namely workability, calorimetry and mechanical resistance. In this study two ether polycarboxylate superplasticizers with different chemical structures were used; they were incorporated at different dosages into a standardized cement-based mortar. The objective of this work is to study the effectiveness of these superplasticizers and to select the most compatible product with cement and the most suitable for use according to the climates of the country. The impact of superplasticizers on fresh cement was studied by measuring the Marsh cone flow time and calorimetric measurement. In the hardened state, the mechanical properties were provided by measuring the compressive strength. The results show that low dosages of ether polycarboxylate superplasticizer promote grain hydration and produce more heat. On the other hand, high dosages delay the contact of the cement grains with the mixing water and cause a reduction in the final heat released and a delay in setting. The ether polycarboxylate superplasticizer with high carboxylic density gives the best mechanical resistance compressive at 7 and 28 days.

Effects of circulating ash and dolomite on mercury transition during coal step conversion of pyrolysis and combustion

In aim to study the influence of circulating ash used as heat carrier and dolomite used as catalyst on mercury transition during the step conversion of coal pyrolysis and combustion, five experiments with different operating conditions were conducted in this study, including four pyrolysis experiments of raw coal, coal/ash, coal/dolomite, coal and ash/dolomite, and combustion experiment of pyrolysis solid product. By changing the experimental conditions including final pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, coal-ash ratio and dolomite type, the transition path and final mercury distribution in the step conversion process were comprehensively analyzed. Experiments results indicated that mercury completely released out from coal when the final pyrolysis temperature was 600 °C. The individual addition of ash could promote the mercury release from coal at lower temperature. Dolomite could catalyze the oxidation of Hg0 in gas phase, and the modified dolomite had better catalytic capacity for Hg0 oxidation than natural dolomite. The addition of circulating ash and natural dolomite both had a certain catalytic effect on Hg0 emission peaks during the coal pyrolysis. Increasing the coal-ash ratio was conducive to the oxidation of Hg0 in pyrolysis gas. During the direct combustion of coal, the content of Hg0 released into the gas phase could reach to 69.97%. By adding ash, ash/natural dolomite and ash/modified dolomite to the coal pyrolysis process, the content of Hg0 in pyrolysis gas decreased to 58.99%, 34.77% and 31.30%, respectively. The research is able to offer the theoretical foundation for mercury contaminants’ removal and process optimization of the step conversion technology.

Hydration Heat and Hydration Kinetics of Cement Paste Compound with Molybdenum Tailings Powder: A Research Article

Molybdenum tailings powder (MTs) has potential pozzolanic activity and can be used as a mineral admixture. In order to comprehend the influence of MTs powder on the cement hydration process, the hydration heat and kinetics of composite cementitious materials (CCMs) were investigated using an isothermal calorimeter and the Krstulovic–Dabic model. Furthermore, the influences of fly ash (FA), slag (SL), and MTs powder on hydration heat were compared and analyzed, considering the same content. The results show that the proper amount of MTs can promote the hydration of CCMs. When the content of MTs is 5% and 15%, the second exothermic peak of the CCMs appears 2.30% and 4.27% earlier, and the exothermic peak increases by 2.72% and 1.34%, respectively. The cumulative heat release of CCMs gradually decreases with an increasing content of MTs powder. When the replacement of MTs, FA, and SL is 15%, respectively, the second exothermic peak of CCMs increases by 1.34%, −16.13%, and −12.04% for MTs, FA, and SL, respectively. The final heat release of MTs is higher than that of FA, but lower than that of SL. The hydration process of CCMs undergoes three stages: nucleation and crystal growth (NG), interactions at phase boundaries (I), and diffusion (D).

Modeling and Design of a Multistream Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger in the Air Separation Units by Pinch Technology

Recent years have seen considerable advancement in cryogenic technology. Air separation devices have used the cold box with heat exchanger plate-fin (PFHE) in numerous applications. Cryogenic technologies are used in many industrial processes to recover heat and reduce energy consumption. The multistream plate-fin heat exchanger (MSPFHE) is heavily utilized in the air separation plant’s (ASU) design. The plate-fin heat exchanger, one of the most important applications in the cryogenic industry, is the focus of the current investigation. The air entering this operation has been cooled by utilizing energy from streams originating from the distillation tower in the air separation unit (ASU) to reduce energy usage. The project aims to develop and create a multistream plate-fin heat exchanger (MSPFHE) that may be used in the cold box of an air separation unit practically and without limitations. The pinch technique, a method based on the usage of composite curves, was used in the creation of MSPFHE. With pinch technology, it is possible to divide a multistream exchanger into block portions that represent enthalpy intervals and identify the entry and departure sites for the streams. The correlations used in the MSPFHE thermal design model were first modeled and compared to earlier models as part of this effort. This model has been turned into MATLAB code and utilized in two case studies to yield acceptable results during the sizing step. Calculations of thermodynamic properties, heat transfer, pressure drop, choice of fin type, and final heat exchanger size were all part of the design of the MSPFHE. Finally, based on the software’s ability to reproduce the identical environmental conditions nature produces, the case study results have been validated using Aspen EDR. These findings were matched to findings from the literature and determined to be reliable and consistent.

Microbial Quality of Halawet Eljibn, an Arabic Sweet Sold in the Retail Market in Jordan

Background: Halawet eljibn is a popular Ready-to-Eat sweet in the Levant region. However, its non-machinery preparation and lack of final heating increase the risk of contamination by microorganisms that can cause food-borne illnesses. The study aimed to investigate the numbers of microorganisms present in commercially produced halawet eljibn in Jordan.
 Methods: Sixty samples of halawet eljibn were collected from 15 sweet shops in Amman, Jordan at two intervals. Two sample units were taken from each sweet shop, and two reference samples were prepared under hygienic conditions for comparison purposes. The study evaluated the chemical properties of the samples, including moisture content, pH, and titratable acidity, and also assessed their microbiological quality through Aerobic Plate Count, Coliform Count, Lactic Acid Bacteria count, Staphylococcus aureus count, and yeast and mold count analyses.
 Results: In this study, the samples exhibited a moisture content ranging from 40.9 to 49.8%, a pH range of 5.7 to 6.7, and acidity levels varying between 0.14 and 0.45%. The average Aerobic Plate Count and the counts of coliforms, Lactic Acid Bacteria, yeast and mold and S. aureus for halawet eljibn market samples were 6.6, 4.1, 6.8, 3.2, and 2.0 log Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g, respectively. Counts of interval I (10th October-12th December) samples were significantly higher than those of interval II (19th December-10th January). The same average counts of the reference samples were significantly lower (2.3, <10, 1.6, 1.4, and <10 log CFU/g, respectively).
 Conclusion: The study findings indicate that halawet eljibn provides an appropriate environment for microbial growth. The observed non-adherence to optimal hygienic practices during the production and handling of halawet eljibn underscores the need for more rigorous regulations to ensure its microbiological quality and safety.

Effect of final temperature and heating rate on the mechanical and optical properties of a zirconia veneering ceramic

PurposeTo evaluate the effect of firing temperature and heating rate on the volumetric shrinkage, translucency, flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness of a zirconia veneering ceramic. Material and methodsZirconia veneering ceramic specimens (N = 45) with varying final temperatures (730 °C, 750 °C, and 770 °C) and heating rates (70 °C/min, 55 °C/min, and 40 °C/min) were fabricated (n = 5). Each specimen's shrinkage, translucency, flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness were determined. Two-way analysis of variance, Scheffé test, and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to evaluate data (α = 0.05). ResultsThe shrinkage (44.9 ± 3.1–47.5 ± 1.6 vol%) and flexural strength (74.1 ± 17.4–107.0 ± 27.1 MPa) were not affected by tested parameters (P ≥ 0.288). The interaction between the main factors affected the translucency, hardness, and fracture toughness of the specimens (P ≤ 0.007). Specimens with 770 °C final temperature and 70 °C/min heating rate had the lowest (21.8 ± 3.2 %) translucency (P ≤ 0.039). The hardness ranged between 4.98 ± 0.51 GPa (730 °C; 70 °C/min) and 5.60 ± 0.37 GPa (770 °C; 70 °C/min). Fracture toughness ranged between 0.54 ± 0.04 MPa√m and 0.67 ± 0.08 MPa√m with the highest values for specimens fired at 730 °C with 70 °C/min (P ≤ 0.001). There was a positive correlation between translucency and hardness (r = 0.335, P = 0.012), and a negative correlation between fracture toughness and all parameters other than shrinkage (translucency: r = −0.693/P < 0.001, flexural strength: r = −0.258/P = 0.046, hardness: r = −0.457/P < 0.001). ConclusionsHeating rate and final temperature should be considered while fabricating veneered zirconia restorations with tested ceramic as they affected the translucency, hardness, and fracture toughness.

A coupled thermo-mechanical peridynamic model for fracture behavior of granite subjected to heating and water-cooling processes

Thermal damage and thermal fracture of rocks are two important indicators in geothermal mining projects. This paper investigates the effects of heating and water-cooling on granite specimens at various temperatures. The laboratory uniaxial compression experiments were also conducted. Then, a coupled thermo-mechanical ordinary state-based peridynamic (OSB-PD) model and corresponding numerical scheme were developed to simulate the damage of rocks after the heating and cooling processes, and the change of crack evolution process was predicted. The results demonstrate that elevated heating temperatures exacerbate the thermal damage to the specimens, resulting in a decrease in peak strength and an increase in ductility of granite. The escalating occurrence of thermal-induced cracks significantly affects the crack evolution process during the loading phase. The numerical results accurately reproduce the damage and fracture characteristics of the granite under different final heating temperatures (FHTs), which are consistent with the test results in terms of strength, crack evolution process, and failure mode.

Design and numerical assessment of an additively manufactured Schwarz diamond triply periodic minimal surface fluid-fluid heat exchanger

In aerospace, thermal applications demand compact, lightweight, and efficient heat exchangers. Additive manufacturing processes offer the potential to create highly complex structures that are not achievable through traditional manufacturing methods. This work presents the development of an additively manufactured fluid-fluid heat exchanger that shows the potential to enhance the performance, reduce weight, and increase compactness compared to a conventional plate heat exchanger. A numerical model of the conventional plate heat exchanger was created, and fluid dynamics simulations with heat transfer were performed. Validation of the simulations was done by experiments. Then, a novel heat exchanger was designed using a bottom-up approach and investigated at different levels of complexity using computational fluid dynamics. The internal structure of the final heat exchanger consists of a repeating triply periodic Schwarz diamond minimum surface elongated in the direction of flow. The heat exchanger was manufactured with laser powder bed fusion process using AlSi10Mg. It had a 108% higher compactness and 54% lower weight compared to the plate heat exchanger. Numerical analysis yielded the pressure loss in pascal was reduced by 50%–59% while heat transfer in watts was improved by 3%–5%. Future researches should experimentally investigate the thermal and fluid mechanical characteristics of the novel additively manufactured heat exchanger and increase compactness and heat transfer further by analyzing the minimum partition wall thickness and the impact of wall roughness and deposit formation.

Examining the effect of intermediate aging temperature on intermetallics, microstructure evolution, and recrystallization in a thermomechanically processed Al-Cu-Mg alloy sheet

In this research, distinct thermomechanical processing routes, encompassing primary annealing, cold rolling, intermediate aging, and final heat treatment have been devised. The primary goal was to explore the critical impact of short intermediate aging temperature on the evolution of intermetallic particles, microstructure evolution, thermal stability, and recrystallization in Al-Cu-Mg alloy samples. The findings demonstrated that while each thermomechanical step exerted a significant influence on the microstructure and particles' evolution, interestingly, the composition of particles remained relatively unaffected by the processing steps. Throughout the experimental procedures, two major intermetallic compounds, namely Al7Cu2(Fe,Mn) and AlCuMnFeSi were consistently identified. It was observed that intermediate aging successfully suppressed recrystallization implying the higher thermal stability of the aged samples. Analysis of the changes in the volume fractions of particles, their size distribution pattern, and samples’ hardness revealed an optimal aging temperature of 170 °C, i.e., at which the lowest volume fraction of particles (6.33 vol%) was obtained concurrently with the greatest hardness (thus the highest thermal stability), as well as the lowest recrystallized fraction, hence effectively establishing an equilibrium between activation energy of precipitation and thermally activated diffusion mechanisms.

Opuntia ficus-indica seed pomace extracts with high UV-screening ability in a circular economy approach for body lotions with solar protection

Opuntia ficus-indica seed pomace, a by-product of seed oil extraction, was investigated due to its richness of phytochemical compounds and high antioxidant capacity. The pomace was subjected to hydrothermal extraction using water under subcritical conditions to solubilize various compounds. Different final heating temperatures 120 to 220 °C were applied, and the resulting filtered extracts were analyzed using HPLC and HPSEC to determine the monosaccharide profile and molecular weight of the oligomers. Notably, extractions performed at temperatures between 120 and 180 °C yielded extracts characterized by elevated levels of glucuronic acid and exhibited higher molecular weights. In contrast, extractions conducted at 200 and 220 °C were distinguished by their enriched xylose content and relatively low molecular weights, falling below 23.6 kDa. The extracts were tested for total phenolic compounds, as well as antioxidant activity using spectrophotometric methods such as TEAC, DPPH, and FRAP. Results showed that increasing temperature led to a corresponding increase in phenolic compounds (from 7.7 to 13.7 gGAE/100 g) and antioxidant activity, with the maximum observed at 200 °C. These phenolic compounds enriched extract were used to produce a body lotion with sun protection factor of 8, with rheological behavior similar to that of commercially available products but without the need for additional UV filters and antioxidants. The lotion was shown to be safe for topical use and did not cause skin irritation. This study highlights the potential of O. ficus-indica seed pomace as a valuable source of phytochemical compounds and demonstrates the feasibility of using hydrothermal extraction to produce eco-friendly commercially interesting compounds.

Prediction of Higher Heating Values in Bio-Oil from Solvothermal Biomass Conversion and Bio-Oil Upgrading Given Discontinuous Experimental Conditions.

Both the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-oil (BO) and the upgrading of BO have been the targets of many studies. Due to the large diversity and discontinuity seen in terms of reaction conditions, catalysts, solvents, and feedstock properties that have been used, a comparison across different publications is difficult. In this study, machine learning modeling is used for the prediction of final higher heating value (HHV) and ΔHHV for the conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to BO, and BO upgrading. The models achieved coefficient of determination (R2) scores ranging from 0.77 to 0.86, and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values were used to obtain model explainability, revealing that only a few experimental parameters are largely responsible for the outcome of the experiments. In particular, process temperature and reaction time were overwhelmingly responsible for the majority of the predictions, for both final HHV and ΔHHV. Elemental composition of the starting feedstock or BO dictated the upper possible HHV value obtained after the experiment, which is in line with what is known from previous methodologies for calculating HHV for fuels. Solvent used, initial moisture concentration in BO, and catalyst active phase showed low predicting power, within the context of the data set used. The results of this study highlight experimental conditions and variables that could be candidates for the creation of minimum reporting guidelines for future studies in such a way that machine learning can be fully harnessed.

Roadmap towards clean and low-carbon heating to 2060: The case of northern urban region in China

With higher requirements for living comfort, heating demand continue rising. Currently, heating in northern urban region is still dominated by coal consumption, which combined with inefficient equipment systems, presents a severe challenge for building sector to achieve net-zero emissions. In this study, by predicting final heating demand in northern urban region to 2060 and inputting it into Northern Urban Region Heating System Model, we solve the production structure of heating technologies with cost-optimal way and then account for energy consumption and carbon emissions. Finally, the energy conservation and emission reduction potential of clean and low-carbon strategies were analyze. The results show that the share of clean heating technologies is 91%, 97%, and 100%, and coal-fired CHP technology still accounts for approximately 37%–46% in 2060 under different scenarios. In two abatement scenarios, heating energy consumption decreased by 31% and 55%, and carbon emissions reduced by 71% and 88% by 2060. From the energy conservation and emission reduction potential analysis, clean heating technology application and low-carbon technology application will contribute the main force to future. This research is of great significance, on the one hand, it provides a theoretical basis for the modeling heating system. On the other hand, it provides feasible heating transition paths, which assist building sector achieving net-zero emissions.

Digital Testing of Hybrid Components Manufactured by L-DED and Forging

Manufacturing effectiveness is highly demanded in the aerospace industry; therefore, hybrid manufacturing technologies have gained considerable attention in order to overcome the limitations of a single manufacturing technology. Actually, the hybridisation of different manufacturing processes consists in taking advantage of the strengths of each process and compensating the weaknesses. In this work, the Laser Directed Energy Deposition (L-DED) process is hybridised with forging. The L-DED is an Additive Manufacturing technology which enables to add material on existing parts in order to add geometrical details or repair damaged areas. Thereby, the flexibility of the L-DED can be combined with the high-productivity and lower cost of the forging. A nickel-based superalloy employed in aeronautical applications is selected, the Inconel 718, which is suitable for high-temperature applications, such as the turbine casing of jet engines. Depending on the manufacturing process and final heat treatment, the Inconel 718 presents different properties. Hence, simulation tools are considered as a key element for the material properties characterization, where digital testing is becoming a fundamental pillar. Thermal and mechanical simulations with FEM enable the evaluation of the complete thermal history of the part and the resulting mechanical behaviour in-service conditions. In this work, the feasibility of hybridising forging and L-DED is studied. For this purpose, the resulting properties of the parts manufactured by each individual process are quantified and the interaction between both processes is analysed. Moreover, a test part is manufactured to show the hybridisation capabilities. Afterwards, to determine the behaviour of such demonstrator, a digital testing is performed by means of finite element modelling. Both thermal and structural analysis are carried out and the results obtained for the hybrid component are compared with those of an entirely forged part, focusing on a critical assessment of the performance of each manufacturing approach.

LHFNet: A Fast and Accurate Object Detector Based on CenterNet

This paper proposes LHFNet, an improved object detection method based on CenterNet, which achieves a better speed-accuracy trade-off. The main contributions of this paper are as follows: We design a lightweight Hourglass network to reduce the number of parameters and computations of CenterNet, thus improving the detection speed. We introduce an intermediate feature map fusion module to enhance the feature extraction capability of Hourglass, which compensates for the possible performance degradation caused by the network simplification. We apply an attention module to the final heat map to improve the image feature representation. We design and optimize a series of loss functions to train LHFNet effectively. Through the research in this paper, we demonstrate that the feature map fusion and the attention module greatly improve the performance of LHFNet. We evaluate our method on the COCO dataset and achieve a high accuracy at a fast speed (Tesla V100), which outperforms other object detection methods in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.

New optimum configuration for the FGM rotating disc in gas turbines using combined thermal-mechanical analysis: An analytical approach

The gas turbine is one of the most suitable equipment for various applications. Usually, a gas turbine comprises a set of discs to maintain turbine blades. The rotating disc in gas turbines is one of the critical components affected by various thermal and mechanical loads. The current article considers a new rotating disc with variable thickness (power-law profile). The functionally graded material has been used as the disc material, and the disc’s properties vary with temperature and location. Therefore, the mechanical and thermal behaviours of the disc are a function of temperature and location. The differential energy balance equation has been derived for analysing the new disc. In the performed analysis, the conduction and convection heat transfer coefficients vary with temperature and location; thus, the derived final heat transfer equation has high nonlinearity. One of the efficient expansion methods, the so-called Differential Transformation Method (DTM), is used for the governed equation’s analytical solution, and the numerical solution is used for validation. Then, the stress analysis is performed using analytical expressions according to the temperature profile. The impacts of geometrical and thermophysical characteristics on the temperature and stress distribution are evaluated using the analytical solution in the new disc. The comparison of displacement and stresses in the new FGM disc and old discs shows that the thermo-mechanical performance of the new proposed disc is improved significantly.

Modified network kinetic model for coal pyrolysis with high-value products and low carbon emissions

Pyrolysis is a clean and efficient technology for the conversion of low-rank coal. Its key product is tar with high value. The complex composition of tar limits its further effective utilization. Although most kinetic models can provide the final distribution of three-phase products in coal pyrolysis, an effective prediction method for the specific composition of tar and gas has not yet been developed. Most numerical models serve to improve the total yield of volatile matter and cannot provide theoretical guidance for the improvement of tar quality or the reduction of carbon emission. Based on the basic assumptions of the CPD (Chemical Percolation Devolatilization) model for product molecules structure and generation mechanism, this paper proposed a more sophisticated method for dividing tar composition, which can achieve the division of light, medium, and heavy fractions of tar components according to boiling point. Light gas composition could be obtained with the combination of FG(Functional Group) submodel. The influence of pyrolysis final temperature, heating rate, and environmental pressure was explored for the yield and distribution of products of 18 coals. The simulation results showed that the total yield of tar was affected by both coal structure characteristics and operating parameters. Under conditions favorable for evaporation, such as low pressure and high temperature, the total yield of tar was positively correlated with the average aromatic core size in coal. Under other conditions, tar release was limited by its volatility. Coal with larger average aromatic core size corresponded to less tar yield instead. The pressure in the operating parameters had the most significant influence on the total yield of tar. The heavy fractions of tar are more sensitive to changes in operational parameters, making working conditions that increase the total yield of tar reduce tar quality. The overall carbon emission of pyrolysis is <1 kg CO2/kg tar, which is far lower than the 2–4 kg CO2/kg tar and 3–9 kg CO2/kg tar of direct and indirect liquefaction processes. Under the conditions of sufficient insulation time and no consideration of secondary reactions, the carbon emission of pyrolysis only depended on the content of carboxyl groups in the precursor functional groups. Therefore, the carbon emission intensity decreased with the increase of coal rank. For the optimization for total tar yield and tar quality, 1 atm pressure and 723–923 K temperature was optimal for low rank coals, while low temperature and heating rate with 10–20 atm pressure or high temperature and heating rate with 45–50 atm pressure were optimal for medium rank coals. For the optimization of light tar yield and tar quality, 6–9 atm pressure was optimal for low-rank coals, and 1–3 atm pressure was optimal for medium-rank coals.

Modification of accelerated thermal stabilization of polyacrylonitrile fibers by creating an oxygen concentration gradient in the production of carbon fiber

Objectives. The work set out to modify the technology of accelerated thermal stabilization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers used in the production of high-strength carbon fibers by reducing the formation of a heterophase core–shell structure to create an oxygen concentration gradient in heat treatment furnaces while maintaining a total thermal stabilization time of 30 min. The optimized process conditions led to milder thermal stabilization conditions, reducing both the final heat treatment temperature and the temperature difference between the thermal stabilization zones while simultaneously maintaining the target volume density parameter with respect to the previously developed accelerated thermal stabilization technology.Methods. The thermal stabilization study of an industrially produced 12S precursor under different conditions on an experimental carbon fiber production line included measurement of bulk density, analysis of the thermal effects of the oxidation reaction by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and a study of micrographs of the resulting samples.Results. The optimum process of thermal stabilization of PAN fiber was determined in four stabilization zones using selected compositions. The formation of the core–shell structure is significantly reduced when the target volume density and DSC thermal oxidation reaction effect of the stabilized polymer fiber are achieved in a given time (30 min).Conclusions. The resulting technology regime is promising for the production of high strength (4.5 GPa, 4.9 GPa) PAN fibers at a reduced cost. While maintaining the total thermal stabilization time of PAN at the level of 30 min, which is three times less than the industrial processes used, it was possible to reduce the formation of a heterophase structure, as well as lowering the final processing temperature and reducing the temperature difference between the stabilization zones. This is promising in terms of a positive effect on the stability and safety of the industrial process, as well as ensuring the quality of the obtained products.