Fluidization-melting characteristics of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration.

Fly ash (FA) from municipal solid waste incineration contains hazardous substances such as dioxins, furans, and heavy metals. Melting FA has proved to be an effective method for reducing volume and mass, while also rendering the waste harmless. However, during the melting process, the addition of a fluxing agent with calorific value is currently necessary to increase melting capacity and reduce energy consumption, which presents a challenge. To tackle this issue, a fluidization-melting technology for a fuel/FA mixture is proposed, wherein a fuel source is employed in the melting process, producing ash that can serve as a fluxing agent. To test this approach, rice husk (RH) was utilized as fuel in a small-scale fluidization-melting test. The objective of this study was to examine the operation parameters of the platform and the characteristics of the resulting product, and to evaluate the harm reduction effect of the slag and its potential for resource utilization. The operating temperature was set at 690 °C in the thermal modification unit and at 1450 °C in the melting furnace, resulting in stable operation and continuous liquid slag discharge. The leaching toxicity of heavy metals in the obtained slag was lower than the standard limit, achieving harmless disposal of FA. However, the resource utilization potential of the obtained slag is limited due to its failure to meet the criteria of vitrified substance and environmental quality requirements. These limitations could be addressed by promoting the combustion of carbon in the melting furnace and accelerating the cooling rate of the slag in the quenching unit.

Adjusting effects of pyrolytic volatiles interaction in char to upgrade oil by swelling waste nylon-tire.

Waste nylon-tire (WNT) is a typical solid municipal waste, pyrolysis efficiently disposes WNT to produce oil containing high-value chemicals. Upgrading the quality of oil is the key to improve WNT pyrolysis economy. Herein, swelling was applied to pretreat WNT, and swelled waste nylon-tire (SWNT) was pyrolyzed at different temperatures (400 °C-600 °C). Lower than 500 °C, swelling pretreatment realized the number of compounds in oil by GC-MS decreased 59.57% at 400 °C (60.78% at 450 °C, 67.97% at 500 °C) compared to Waste nylon-tire pyrolytic oil (TPO). Over 500 °C, this phenomenon weakened, decreased 47.67% at 550 °C (11.48% at 600 °C). At 400 °C and 450 °C, long chain methyl esters yield was over 30 A.% instead of short chain alkanes in TPO. D-limonene yield was over 20 A.% in oil of swelled waste nylon-tire (STPO). From 500 °C to 600 °C, swelling pretreatment affected the relative content of BTX and PAHs. At 500 °C and 550 °C, the relative content of BTX in STPO was more than twice of TPO, and BTX reached 28.75 A.% at 600 °C. PAHs in STPO appeared at 500 °C higher than TPO (450 °C), and PAHs was 0.73 A.% at 500 °C. Swelling pretreatment could produce more larger pores in particle during pyrolysis, which sharply inhibited the interaction of volatiles inside tire, so the number of compounds in oil sharply decreased at lower temperatures. Over 550 °C, temperature became the dominant role for generating oil, and components tended to be similar for STPO and TPO. CS2 with high-volatility released quickly from WNT during pyrolysis, it could be recycled to reduce final cost and environment impacts.

Heavy tar evolution characteristics during advanced sludge pyrolysis and biomass gasification integrated process.

Sludge pyrolysis and biomass gasification integrated process (SPBG) is an attractive route for the comprehensive utilization of the two materials but more tar is produced in this process compared to traditional biomass steam gasification. Nitrogen-containing compounds in the tar bring threatens to the environment and heavy components in the tar contributes to undesired coke formation. In current study, the evolution of heavy tar, especially the nitrogen-rich components, during SPBG is revealed for the first time. It was found that heavy components were mainly distributed in the mass range of 150-450 Da, where aromatics consisted of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms were the most abundant. Deamination (NH3) and the combination of quinoline accompanied with the generation of the heavy components. Organics from sludge could react with biomass to form heavier oxygen-containing molecules. Meanwhile, steam from sludge promoted heavy components to crack by tar reforming reactions and consumed radicals in bio-char to inhibit the catalytic cracking of tar. Under the combination of above reactions, more heavy molecules were generated at low sludge volatile/biomass ratio and the aromatic content in the heavy tar decreased at high sludge volatile/biomass ratio.

Case report: An ectopic adrenocortical adenoma in the renal sinus.

Background: Ectopic adrenal tissue is rare in adults, with an incidence of only about 1%. We report a rare case of ectopic adrenocortical adenoma in the left renal sinus. Case Preentation: A 57-year-old woman was admitted to the Department of Urology due to "a left kidney tumor" on physical examination. Multislice helical computed tomography (CT) showed the left kidney with an anterior lip mass near the hilum, approximately 2.3 cm × 2.2 cm in size. Preoperative renal artery CT angiography (CTA) showed no obvious abnormality. Laparoscopic resection of the left renal sinus mass was performed, and postoperative pathological findings showed ectopic adrenocortical adenoma. The tumor was a nonfunctional adenoma. Conclusion: Renal ectopic adrenal cortical adenoma is rare. Most of them are nonfunctional adenomas, which cannot be clearly diagnosed by preoperative imaging examination and can often be diagnosed by postoperative pathology.

A multi-birth metric learning framework based on binary constraints.

Multi-metric learning plays a significant role in improving the generalization of algorithms related to distance metrics since using a single metric is sometimes insufficient to handle complex data. Metric learning can adjust automatically the distance between samples to make the intra-class samples compact while making the inter-class distance as far as possible. To implement this intention better,in this work, we propose a novel multi-metric learning framework based on the pair constraints instead of triple constraints to reduce computational burden. To solve effectively the problem, we first propose a multi-birth metric learning model (termed MBML), where for each class sample, the global metric and a local metric are jointly trained. Both global and local structural information are adapted to better depict sample information. Then two alternating iterative algorithms are developed to optimize the MBML. The convergence of the proposed algorithm and complexity are analyzed theoretically. Moreover, a fast diagonal multi-metric learning method is proposed based on binary constraints, and problem can be reformulated a linear programming, with fast training speed, low the computational burden and the global optimal solutions. Numerical experiments are carried out on different scales and different types of datasets including an artificial data, benchmark datasets and an image database from binary class and multi-class problems. Experiment results confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Waste tire heat treatment to prepare sulfur self-doped char via pyrolysis and K2FeO4-assisted activation methods.

Waste tire was heat-treated to prepare sulfur self-doped chars via pyrolysis and activation processes. Pyrolytic waste tire chars were activated at different temperatures (600 °C, 800 °C, 1000 °C, and 1200 °C) with K2FeO4 additive ratios (mass ratio of K2FeO4 to char) being 0.5, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The effective activation occurred over 600 °C with K2FeO4 additive ratios over 0.5. The strongest activation occurred at 1000 °C with K2FeO4 additive ratio of 3, and the specific capacitance increased to 129.5 F/g at 1 A/g, which was six times higher than that without K2FeO4. The activation mechanism revealed that higher K2FeO4 additive ratio promoted the transformation of large aromatic ring systems (≥6 rings) to small ones and smaller pores formation. When K2FeO4 additive ratio was less than 2, high ratio not only promoted alkyl-aryl C-C bonds formation, but also inhibited sulfur enrichment with S 2p3/2 (sulphide bridge) converting to S 2p5/2 (sulphone bridge). But when the ratio was further increased, slight decomposition of alkyl-aryl C-C bonds with the promoted conversion of S 2p5/2 to S 2p3/2 was witnessed. Furthermore, higher activation temperature promoted the conversion of aromatic ring systems and alkyl-aryl C-C bonds to form ordered graphitic structures. S 2p3/2 was enriched before 800 °C, but both S 2p3/2 and S 2p5/2 were released at higher temperature. Formation of smaller pores was promoted before 1000 °C, but the char structure was then destroyed to form larger pores when temperature was further increased.

Sulfur self-doped char with high specific capacitance derived from waste tire: Effects of pyrolysis temperature.

Preparation of sulfur self-doped char derived from waste tire (WT) was realized via two successively processes of pyrolysis and activation treatment. WT was firstly pyrolyzed at 400 °C, 600 °C, 800 °C, and 1000 °C to collect waste tire chars (WTCs) and they were subsequently activated at 800 °C with potassium ferrate (K2FeO4). The specific capacitance of activated waste tire chars at different pyrolysis temperatures (AWTCs-x-800) decreased from 92.60 F/g to 54.05 F/g at 1 A/g with pyrolysis temperature rising from 400 °C to 1000 °C. As for AWTCs-x-800, higher pyrolysis temperature promoted pore-forming process before 800 °C, and higher pyrolysis temperature enlarged pores after 800 °C. Increase of pyrolysis temperature promoted decomposition of alkyl-aryl CC bonds, transformation of relative small to large aromatic ring system, ordered arrangement of carbon atoms. Besides, it was found that sulfur doping content dominated in specific capacitance performance before 800 °C while surface area dominated after 800 °C. The large surface area and high S 2p3/2 (-C-S-C-, sulphide bridge) content were beneficial for the larger specific capacitance while more S 2p5/2 (-C-SOx-C- (x = 2-4, sulphone bridge) had the negative effect. Pyrolysis mainly affected sulfur doping properties, lower pyrolysis temperature promoted sulfur enrichment and S 2p3/2 generation. Activation promoted surface area improvement and sulfur conversion, higher pyrolysis temperature promoted surface area improvement and sulfur release before 800 °C while the promotion effects weakened after 800 °C, and sulfur transformation of S 2p3/2 converting to S 2p5/2 strengthened at higher pyrolysis temperature.

Formation of highly graphitic char derived from phenolic resin carbonization by Ni-Zn-B alloy.

The formation of highly graphitic phenolic resin chars (GPFCs) during catalytic carbonization at relatively low reaction temperature (1200-1600 °C) using novel Ni-Zn-B alloy catalyst with small amount of addition (5-15%) was systematically studied. Only two kinds of graphites (turbostratic graphite and ordered graphite) can be found in GPFCs after catalytic carbonization with Ni-Zn-B and their proportions were changed with reaction conditions. When Ni-Zn-B was involved at 1200-1600 °C, the phenolic resin char was fully transformed to be graphite, and ordered graphite content increased to 28.42% at 1400 °C, which was also almost twice of ordered graphite content in the char catalyzed by pure Ni. But the order graphite content would decrease due to sintering at higher reaction temperature. The addition of Zn and B can promote nickel-based alloy catalytic action by reducing melt point and accelerating graphitization respectively. It was also found that ordered graphite content could be used as a key evaluation parameter to directly reflect the quality of GPFCs based on detailed characteristics analysis. The model between three reaction conditions (reaction temperature, retention time, catalyst content) and ordered graphite content was built with artificial neural network (ANN), and the prediction accuracy of ANN was high up to 91.48%.

Influence of operating parameters on arsenic transformation during municipal sewage sludge incineration with cotton stalk.

Addition of cotton stalk (CS) has been proved to promote dramatically the transformation of toxic As3+ to less toxic As5+ in the fly ash during municipal sewage sludge (MSS) incineration. However, the fate of arsenic during co-firing of MSS and CS in different operating parameters was still unclear. In the present study, the effects of incineration temperatures and O2 content in the flue gas on speciation transformation of arsenic during MSS and 70% MSS/30% CS incineration were investigated in a bubbling fluidized bed. The results show that less arsenic is distributed in bottom ash whereas more arsenic is migrated to the fly ash and flue gas, with the temperature increasing from 800 °C to 950 °C. The arsenic capture in fly ash is facilitated predominantly by the condensation and/or physical adsorption of As2O3(g) at the temperatures from 800 °C to 900 °C. The chemical oxidation of As2O3(g) is favored by forming various arsenates (As5+) at 950 °C. At low O2 content from 1% to 5%, some arsenic compounds in MSS such as As2S3 can react with O2 to produce As2O3(g), and then more As2O3(g) is captured in the fly ash by the inherent mineral compounds like CaO through the condensation and/or physical adsorption. Further increasing O2 content especially to 9% stimulates significantly the oxidation of As3+ to As5+ in the fly ash, which is mainly attributed to the chemical reactions between As2O3(g), various mineral compounds and sufficient O2.

Pien-Tze-Huang protects cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting neuronal apoptosis in acute ischemic stroke rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Pien-Tze-Huang (PZH) is a famous formula of traditional Chinese medicine used to treating stroke. However, the protective effect of PZH and its mechanisms in acute ischemic stroke remain to be explored. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the protective effect of PZH on neuronal apoptosis in acute cerebral ischemic injury rats and explore its underlying mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of PZH were studied in acute ischemic stroke rats induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, and the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic proteins including cytochrome C (Cyt C), Bax, Bcl-xl, P53, caspase-3, and caspase-9 as well as AKT and glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3ß) were assessed. RESULTS: Four days of PZH treatment (180 mg/kg) could significantly reduce cerebral infarct volume, improve neurological deficit, attenuate inflammatory response, and inhibit neuronal apoptosis in acute ischemic stroke rats. Moreover, PZH treatment significantly decreased cytosolic Cyt C, Bax, P53, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 levels, but elevated mitochondrial Cyt C and Bcl-xl levels. PZH treatment also increased phosphorylation of AKT and GSK-3ß. CONCLUSION: PZH potently protects the brain from cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo, and inhibiting mitochondria-mediated neuronal apoptosis as well as attenuating inflammatory responses may be involved in this effect. This study provides experimental basis of PZH in treating acute cerebral ischemic stroke, which would provide some novel insights for its prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke.

NOx and N2O precursors from biomass pyrolysis: role of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin play important roles in biomass. Nitrogen in biomass is mainly in forms of proteins (amino acids). Two amino acids, proline and glutamic acid, with different structures were selected as the nitrogen-containing model compound in biomass. Interaction between the two amino acids with cellulose, hemicelluloses, or lignin at different weight ratios was investigated to understand nitrogen chemistry. Considering the composition of wood and agricultural straw, proline and the mixture of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were pyrolyzed under the same condition. Nitrogen transformation during copyrolysis of amino acid with the component at different ratios was identified to determine the role of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The emissions of HCN and NH3 were detected with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The results indicate that although the structure of the amino acid has a significant effect on the nitrogen transformation during pyrolysis, it is interesting to find some characteristics in common for the aliphatic amino acid and heterocyclic amino acid. The effects of hemicellulose on NH3 formation from the two amino acids are similar, hemicellulose inhibits N-NH3 conversion and lignin promotes NH3 formation for the two amino acids.

NOx and N2O precursors from biomass pyrolysis: nitrogen transformation from amino acid.

Large quantities of NO(x) and N(2)O emissions can be produced from biomass burning. Understanding nitrogen behavior during biomass pyrolysis is crucial. Nitrogen in biomass is mainly in forms of proteins (amino acids). Phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid were used as the model compounds for the nitrogen in biomass. Release behavior tests of nitrogen species from the three amino acids during pyrolysis in argon and gasification with O(2) and CO(2) were performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) coupled with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The results indicate that although the influence of oxygen and CO(2) in the atmosphere on nitrogen behavior is different for the amino acids, it is interesting to find some phenomenon in common. The presence of oxygen promotes NO and HNCO formation for all the three amino acids; HCN and HNCO formation are suppressed by introduced CO(2) for all the three amino acids. This can reveal the N-conversion mechanism from biomass in depth under the same conditions.

Feasibility of CO2/SO2 uptake enhancement of calcined limestone modified with rice husk ash during pressurized carbonation.

The calcination/carbonation cycle using calcium-based sorbents appears to be a viable method for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from combustion gases. Recent attempts to improve the CO2/SO2 uptake of a calcium-based sorbent modified by using rice husk ash (RHA) in the hydration process have succeeded in enhancing its effectiveness. The optimal mole ratio of RHA to calcined limestone (M(Si/Ca)) was adjusted to 0.2. The cyclic CO2 capture characteristics and the SO2 uptake activity of the modified sorbent were evaluated in a calcination/pressurized carbonation reactor system. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrum of the sorbent were also taken to supplement the study. The results showed that the carbonation conversion was greatly increased for the sorbent with M(Si/Ca) ratio of 0.2. For this sorbent formulation the optimal operating conditions were 700-750 °C and 0.5-0.7 MPa. CO2 absorption was not proportional to CO2 concentration in the carbonation atmosphere, but was directly related to reaction time. The CO2 uptake decreased in the presence of SO2. SO2 uptake increased, and the total calcium utilization was maintained over multiple cycles. Analysis has shown that the silicate component is evenly or well distributed, and this serves as a framework to prevent sintering, thus preserving the available microstructure for reaction. The sorbent also displayed high activity to SO2 absorption and could be used to capture CO2 and SO2 simultaneously.

NO formation during agricultural straw combustion.

NO formation during combustion of four typical kinds of straw (wheat straw, rice straw, cotton stalk and corn stalk) which belong to soft straw and hard straw was studied in a tubular quartz fixed bed reactor under conditions relevant to grate boiler combustion. Regarding the real situation in biomass fired power plants in China, NO formation from blended straw combustion was also investigated. Nitrogen transfer during blended straw pyrolysis was performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) coupled with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The results show that NO conversion for the four straws during combustion is distinctive. Over 70% fuel-N converts into NO for cotton stalk, while only 37% for wheat straw under the same condition. When wheat straw and cotton stalk were mixed, N-NO conversion increases. The limestone addition promotes NO emission during cotton stalk combustion. The presence of SO(2) in atmosphere suppresses NO formation from straw combustion.

TG-FTIR study on co-pyrolysis of municipal solid waste with biomass.

Co-pyrolysis of cotton stalk, a representative agricultural biomass in China, mixed with municipal solid waste (MSW) with high ash content and low calorific value was carried out using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) coupled with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer in Ar atmosphere. Pyrolysis characteristic and pollutant emission performance from MSW and stalk blends at different mass proportions were studied. The results show that as the mass proportion of stalk added increases, the total weight loss of the blend during pyrolysis increases. The addition of stalk has substantial effects on the N-selectivity to HCN, NH(3) and HNCO. In the presence of stalk, lower concentrations of HCl are detected.