Highly stable external short-circuit-assisted oxygen ionic transport membrane reactor for carbon dioxide reduction coupled with methane partial oxidation

A membrane reactor allows for simultaneous separation and reaction, and thus, can play a good role to produce value-added chemicals. In this work, we demonstrated such a membrane reactor based on fluorite oxide samarium-doped ceria (SDC) using an external short-circuit concept for oxygen permeation. The fluorite phase was employed to impart its high structural stability, while its limited electronic conductivity was overcome by the application of an external short circuit to function the SDC membrane for oxygen transport. On one side of the membrane, i.e., feed side, carbon dioxide decomposition into carbon monoxide and oxygen was carried out with the aid of a Pt or Ag catalyst. The resultant oxygen was concurrently depleted on the membrane surface and transported to the other side of the membrane, favorably shifting this equilibrium-limited reaction to the product side. The transported oxygen on the permeate side with the aid of a GdNi/Al2O3 catalyst was then consumed by the reaction with methane to form syngas, i.e., carbon monoxide and hydrogen. As such, the required driving force for gas transport through the membrane can be sustained by coupling two different reactions in one membrane reactor, whose stability to withstand these different gases at high temperatures is attained in this paper. We also examined the effect of the membrane thickness, oxygen ionic transport rate, and CO2 and CH4 flow rates to the membrane reactor performance. More importantly, here, we proved the feasibility of a highly stable membrane reactor based on an external short circuit as evidenced by achieving the constant performance in CO selectivity, CH4 conversion, CO2 conversion, and O2 flux during 100 h of operation and unaltered membrane structure after this operation together with the coking resistance.

Partial state estimation for linear systems with output and input time delays.

This paper deals with the problem of partial state observer design for linear systems that are subject to time delays in the measured output as well as the control input. By choosing a set of appropriate augmented Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals with a triple-integral term and using the information of both the delayed output and input, a novel approach to design a minimal-order observer is proposed to guarantee that the observer error is ε-convergent with an exponential rate. Existence conditions of such an observer are derived in terms of matrix inequalities for the cases with time delays in both the output and input and with output delay only. Constructive design algorithms are introduced. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the design procedure, practicality and effectiveness of the proposed observer.

Maximum power point tracking of partial shaded photovoltaic array using an evolutionary algorithm: a particle swarm optimization technique

 Partial shading is one of the unavoidable complications in the field of solar power generation. Although the most common approach in increasing a photovoltaic (PV) array’s efficiency has always been to introduce a bypass diode to the said array, this poses another problem in the form of multi-peaks curves whenever the modules are partially shaded. To further complicate matters, most conventional Maximum Power Point Tracking methods develop errors under certain circumstances (for example, they detect the local Maximum Power Point (MPP) instead of the global MPP) and reduce the efficiency of PV systems even further. Presently, much research has been undertaken to improve upon them. This study aims to employ an evolutionary algorithm technique, also known as particle swarm optimization, in MPP detection. VC 2014 Author(s).

Reduced order functional observers with application to partial state estimation of linear systems with input delay

Reduced order multi-functional observer design for multi-input multi-utput (MIMO) linear time-invariant (LTI) systems with constant delayed inputs is studied. This research is useful in the input estimation of LTI systems with actuator delay, as well as system monitoring and fault detection of these systems. Two approaches for designing an asymptotically stable functional observer for the system are proposed: delay-dependent and delay-free. The delay-dependent observer is infinite-dimensional, while the delay-free structure is finite-dimensional. Moreover, since the delay-free observer does not require any information on the time delay, it is more practical in real applications. However, the delay-dependent observer contains less restrictive assumptions and covers more variety of systems. The proposed observer design schemes are novel, simple to implement, and have improved numerical features compared to some of the other available approaches to design (unknown-input) functional observers. In addition, the proposed observers usually possess lower order than ordinary Luenberger observers, and the design schemes do not need the observability or detectability requirements of the system. The necessary and sufficient conditions of the existence of an asymptoticobserver in each scenario are explored. The extensions of the proposed observers to systems with multiple delayed-inputs are also discussed. Several numerical examples and simulation results are employed to support our theories.

Decomposition properties of PVA/graphene composites during melting-crystallization

Abstract The thermal decomposition of PVA and PVA composites during the melting-crystallization process is still unclear due to indistinct changes in chemical compositions. Using graphene as a model, the decomposition properties of PVA and PVA-graphene composites were systematically analyzed under multiple melting-crystallization cycles. And a series of isothermal decomposition experiments around the melting-crystallization temperature were carried out to simulate the corresponding decomposition kinetics. Based on multiple cycle melting-crystallization, the weight loss of PVA and PVA/graphene composites was successfully quantified. Further morphology investigation and chemical structure analysis indicated that the decomposition was non-uniformly distributed, rendering the possibility of crystallization for PVA and PVA/graphene composites after multiple heating-cooling cycles. In addition, isothermal decomposition analysis based on reduced time plot approach and model-free iso-conversional method indicated that Avrami-Eroffev model could well match the decomposition process of the neat PVA and PG-0.3 composite, while the Avrami-Eroffev and first order models could precisely forecast the decomposition of PG-0.9 composite. Both analyses during multiple cycle melting-crystallization and isothermal decomposition demonstrated that graphene served as decomposition accelerator in the whole thermal decomposition process, and particularly the decomposition of neat PVA and PVA/graphene composites was highly related to the band area ratios of C-H and O-H vibrations in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum.

Recycled glass as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in structural concrete -effects on compressive strength

Waste management is becoming a major issue for communities worldwide. Glass, being nonbiodegradable, is not suitable for addition to landfill, and as such recycling opportunities need to be investigated. Due to the high material consumption of the construction industry, the utilisation of waste glass as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in structural concrete is particularly attractive. This project aimed to determine the level of glass replacement resulting in optimal compressive strength. Three concrete samples were tested at 7 and 28 days, for glass replacement proportions of 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40%. Compressive strength was found to increase up to a level of 30%, at which point the strength developed was 9% and 6% higher than the control after 7 and 28 days respectively. This demonstrates that concrete containing up to 30% fine glass aggregate exhibits higher compressive strength development than traditional concrete.

An alternative (partial) justification for the holding in Kirk

In Kirk v Industrial Court (NSW), the High Court determined that, based on“accepted doctrine at the time of Federation”, s 73 of the Constitutionentrenched the jurisdiction of the State Supreme Courts to review thedecisions of State decision-makers on the grounds of jurisdictional error. In anearlier article, the author argued that this reasoning was seriously flawed. Thisarticle propounds an alternative, partial justification for the holding in Kirk,based on features inherent in the text and structure of Ch III of the Constitutionat Federation and the preservation of those features in the face of thepost-Federation dismantling of the imperial legal system. It argues that animplication can be inserted into s 73 which entrenches the jurisdiction of theState Supreme Courts to review the decisions of “Lower State Courts”, but not“State Administrators”.

Control of partial coalescence of self-assembled metal nano-particles across lyotropic liquid crystals templates towards long range meso-porous metal frameworks design

The formation of purely metallic meso-porous metal thin films by partial interface coalescence of self-assembled metal nano-particles across aqueous solutions of Pluronics triblock lyotropic liquid crystals is demonstrated for the first time. Small angle X-ray scattering was used to study the influence of the thin film composition and processing conditions on the ordered structures. The structural characteristics of the meso-structures formed demonstrated to primarily rely on the lyotropic liquid crystal properties while the nature of the metal nano-particles used as well as the their diameters were found to affect the ordered structure formation. The impact of the annealing temperature on the nano-particle coalescence and efficiency at removing the templating lyotropic liquid crystals was also analysed. It is demonstrated that the lyotropic liquid crystal is rendered slightly less thermally stable, upon mixing with metal nano-particles and that low annealing temperatures are sufficient to form purely metallic frameworks with average pore size distributions smaller than 500 nm and porosity around 45% with potential application in sensing, catalysis, nanoscale heat exchange, and molecular separation.

Partial state estimation: a new design approach

© 2014 IEEE. There are three different approaches for functional observer design for Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) systems within the literature. One of the most common methods has been proposed by Aldeen [1] and further developed by others. We found several examples in which the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a functional observer are actually not sufficient for this methodology. This finding motivated us to develop a new methodology for designing functional observers. Our new method provides enough degrees of freedom for the observer design parameter and it improves the weakness within the Aldeen's method in solving the observer coupled matrix equations. In this paper, we present the reason and an example to show the insufficiency of the former method. Furthermore, we present our new developed methodology. An illustrative algorithm also describes the design procedure step by step. A numerical example and simulation results support our findings and performance of the proposed method.

Physical properties of high Li-ion content N-propyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide based ionic liquid electrolytes

Electrolytes based on bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI) with a range of LiFSI salt concentrations were characterized using physical property measurements, as well as NMR, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. Different from the behavior at lower concentrations, the FSI electrolyte containing 1 : 1 salt to IL mole ratio showed less deviation from the KCl line in the Walden plot, suggesting greater ionic dissociation. Diffusion measurements show higher mobility of lithium ions compared to the other ions, which suggests that the partial conductivity of Li(+) is higher at this higher composition. Changes in the FT-IR and Raman peaks indicate that the cis-FSI conformation is preferred with increasing Li salt concentration.

Construction and aggregation of preference relations based on fuzzy partial orders

In group decision-making problems it is common to elicit preferences from human experts in the form of pairwise preference relations. When this is extended to a fuzzy setting, entries in the pairwise preference matrix are interpreted to denote strength of preference, however once logical properties such as consistency and transitivity are enforced, the resulting preference relation requires almost as much information as providing raw scores or a complete order over the alternatives. Here we instead interpret fuzzy degrees of preference to only apply where the preference over two alternatives is genuinely fuzzy and then suggest an aggregation procedure that minimizes a generalized Kemeny distance to the nearest complete or partial order. By focusing on the fuzzy partial order, the method is less affected by differences in the natural scale over which an expert expresses their preference, and can also limit the influence of extreme scores.

On the statistical estimation of diffusion processes - a partial survey

Data available on continuous-time diffusions are always sampled discretely in time. In most cases, the likelihood function of the observations is not directly computable. This survey covers a sample of the statistical methods that have been developed to solve this problem. We concentrate on some recent contributions to the literature based on three di§erent approaches to the problem: an improvement of the Euler-Maruyama discretization scheme, the employment of Martingale Estimating Functions, and the application of Generalized Method of Moments (GMM).