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Article 2020-07-31

Progress in use of surfactant in nearly static conditions in natural gas hydrate formation

Natural gas hydrate is an alternative energy source with a great potential for development. The addition of surfactants has been found to have practical implications on the acceleration of hydrate formation in the industrial sector. In this paper, the mechanisms of different surfactants that have been reported to promote hydrate formation are summarized. Besides, the factors influencing surfactant-promoted hydrate formation, including the type, concentration, and structure of the surfactant, are also described. Moreover, the effects of surfactants on the formation of hydrate in pure water, brine, porous media, and systems containing multiple surfactants are discussed. The synergistic or inhibitory effects of the combinations of these additives are also analyzed. Furthermore, the process of establishing kinetic and thermodynamic models to simulate the factors affecting the formation of hydrate in surfactant-containing solutions is illustrated and summarized.

Zhen PAN ,   Yi WU   et al.
Article 2020-07-20

Modeling of single coal particle combustion in O

A one-dimensional transient single coal particle combustion model was proposed to investigate the characteristics of single coal particle combustion in both O /N and O /CO atmospheres under the fluidized bed combustion condition. The model accounted for the fuel devolatilization, moisture evaporation, heterogeneous reaction as well as homogeneous reactions integrated with the heat and mass transfer from the fluidized bed environment to the coal particle. This model was validated by comparing the model prediction with the experimental results in the literature, and a satisfactory agreement between modeling and experiments proved the reliability of the model. The modeling results demonstrated that the carbon conversion rate of a single coal particle (diameter 6 to 8 mm) under fluidized bed conditions (bed temperature 1088 K) in an O /CO (30:70) atmosphere was promoted by the gasification reaction, which was considerably greater than that in the O /N (30:70) atmosphere. In addition, the surface and center temperatures of the particle evolved similarly, no matter it is under the O /N condition or the O /CO condition. A further analysis indicated that similar trends of the temperature evolution under different atmospheres were caused by the fact that the strong heat transfer under the fluidized bed condition overwhelmingly dominated the temperature evolution rather than the heat release of the chemical reaction.

Xiehe YANG ,   Yang ZHANG   et al.
Article 2020-07-13

Key issues in development of offshore natural gas hydrate

As a new clean energy resource in the 21st century, natural gas hydrate is considered as one of the most promising strategic resources in the future. This paper, based on the research progress in exploitation of natural gas hydrate (NGH) in China and the world, systematically reviewed and discussed the key issues in development of natural gas hydrate. From an exploitation point of view, it is recommended that the concepts of diagenetic hydrate and non-diagenetic hydrate be introduced. The main factors to be considered are whether diagenesis, stability of rock skeleton structure, particle size and cementation mode, thus NGHs are divided into 6 levels and used unused exploitation methods according to different types. The study of the description and quantitative characterization of abundance in hydrate enrichment zone, and looking for gas hydrate dessert areas with commercial exploitation value should be enhanced. The concept of dynamic permeability and characterization of the permeability of NGH by time-varying equations should be established. The ‘Three-gas co-production’ (natural gas hydrate, shallow gas, and conventional gas) may be an effective way to achieve early commercial exploitation. Although great progress has been made in the exploitation of natural gas hydrate, there still exist enormous challenges in basic theory research, production methods, and equipment and operation modes. Only through hard and persistent exploration and innovation can natural gas hydrate be truly commercially developed on a large scale and contribute to sustainable energy supply.

Shouwei ZHOU ,   Qingping LI   et al.
Article 2020-07-13

Thermal annealing synthesis of double-shell truncated octahedral Pt-Ni alloys for oxygen reduction reaction of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Shape-controlled Pt-Ni alloys usually offer an exceptional electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), whose tricks lie in well-designed structures and surface morphologies. In this paper, a novel synthesis of truncated octahedral PtNi alloy catalysts that consist of homogeneous Pt-Ni alloy cores enclosed by NiO-Pt double shells through thermally annealing defective heterogeneous PtNi alloys is reported. By tracking the evolution of both compositions and morphologies, the outward segregation of both PtO and NiO are first observed in Pt-Ni alloys. It is speculated that the diffusion of low-coordination atoms results in the formation of an energetically favorable truncated octahedron while the outward segregation of oxides leads to the formation of NiO-Pt double shells. It is very attractive that after gently removing the NiO outer shell, the dealloyed truncated octahedral core-shell structure demonstrates a greatly enhanced ORR activity. The as-obtained truncated octahedral Pt Ni core-shell alloy presents a 3.4-folds mass-specific activity of that for unannealed sample, and its activity preserves 45.4% after 30000 potential cycles of accelerated degradation test (ADT). The peak power density of the dealloyed truncated octahedral Pt Ni core-shell alloy catalyst based membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA) reaches 679.8 mW/cm , increased by 138.4 mW/cm relative to that based on commercial Pt/C.

Xiashuang LUO ,   Yangge GUO   et al.

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