The Effects of CO2 Additional on Flame Characteristics in the CH4/N2/O2 Counterflow Diffusion Flame.

The effects (chemical, thermal, transport, and radiative) of CO2 added to the fuel side and oxidizer side on the flame temperature and the position of the flame front in a one-dimensional laminar counterflow diffusion flame of methane/N2/O2 were studied. Overall CO2 resulted in a decrease in flame temperature whether on the fuel side or on the oxidizer side, with the negative effect being more obvious on the latter side. The prominent effects of CO2 on the flame temperature were derived from its thermal properties on the fuel side and its radiative properties on the oxidizer side. The results also highlighted the differences in the four effects of CO2 on the position of the flame front on different sides. In addition, an analysis of OH and H radicals and the heat release rate of the main reactions illustrated how CO2 affects the flame temperature.

Effect of CH4, Pressure, and Initial Temperature on the Laminar Flame Speed of an NH3-Air Mixture.

Ammonia (NH3) is not only expected to be used as a hydrogen energy carrier but also expected to become a carbon-free fuel. Methane (CH4) can be used as a combustion enhancer for improving the combustion intensity of NH3. In addition, it is important to understand the flame characteristics of NH3-air at elevated pressures and temperatures. The laminar flame speed of NH3-CH4-air is numerically investigated, where the mole fraction of CH4 ranges from 0 to 50% in binary fuels and the pressure and initial temperature are up to 10 atm and 1000 K, respectively. The calculated value from the Okafor mechanism is in excellent agreement with experimental data. The CH4 in the fuel affects the flame speed by changing the main species of free radicals in the flame; the high pressure not only increases the rate-limiting reaction rate in the flame but also reduces the amount of H, O, and OH radicals in the flame, so as to restrain the propagation of the flame. At a higher initial temperature, the faster flame speed is mainly due to the higher adiabatic flame temperature. The laminar flame speed correlation equation has a consistent trend with the simulation results, though with a slight underestimation at higher pressures and temperatures. It is a more effective way to calculate the laminar flame speeds of NH3-air for a given pressure and temperature.

Development and Verification of the New Simplified Mechanism for CH4/O2/CO2 Laminar Premixed Flame under High Pressure.

To study the laminar premixed flame characteristics of methane under an O2/CO2 atmosphere in high pressure, a new simplified chemical mechanism (44 steps and 19 species) was extracted from the GRI-Mech 3.0 mechanism. The sensitivity coefficient analysis method is used to retain the elementary reactions that have great influence on the target parameters and remove other secondary elementary reactions. Meanwhile, the closeness of the simplified mechanism initially obtained was verified. The results of the laminar burning velocities, the distribution of the main species, and the ignition delay time were compared between the two mechanisms for the premixed flame and the ignition process. Overall, the simplified mechanisms performed fairly well over a wide range of pressure, equivalence ratio, and fuel mixture composition.

Experimental and Numerical Study of the Effect of CO2 Replacing Part of N2 present in Air on CH4 Premixed Flame Characteristics Using a Reduced Mechanism.

The effect of CO2, which replaces part of N2 present in air, on flame stability, laminar burning velocities (LBVs), and intermediate radicals (O OH) of CH4/O2/N2/CO2 premixed flames has been analyzed using detailed experiments and numerical studies. The numerical simulations were conducted using the PREMIX code with a detailed chemical reaction mechanism (GRI-Mech 3.0) and a reduced mechanism (39 species and 205 reactions) based on GRI-Mech 3.0 over a wide range of equivalence ratios (Φ = 0.7-1.3) and CO2 substitution ratios (0-30%). The reduced mechanism showed a good agreement with the other detailed mechanisms and experimental data. The experimental and numerical results showed that the substitution of CO2 diminishes the stability of the flame, and the flame blow-out speed is significantly reduced (the substitution ratio is 0-30%, and the corresponding flame blow-out velocity is 5.2-2.5 m/s). In addition, CO2 inhibits the LBV of the flame owing to the decrease of O and OH mole fractions. It not only accelerates the consumption of these two free radicals but also inhibits the generation of these two free radicals. Further analysis concluded that the substituted CO2 has the greatest influence on the LBV sensitivity coefficient of the HO2 + CH3 = OH + CH3O reaction.

Comparison of thermosensitive in situ gels and drug-resin complex for ocular drug delivery: In vitro drug release and in vivo tissue distribution.

Conventional ophthalmic eye drops are limited by their rapid elimination rate and short time of action. Ion exchange resin has been used to achieve sustained ocular drug delivery but the high selectivity of drug molecules restricts its broad application. In situ gel system seems to be a good strategy to address these problems but the influence of in situ gel type on the sustained release behavior and tissue distribution after ocular application is unclear. Therefore, in this study, using betaxolol hydrochloride as a model drug, poloxamer 407 and methylcellulose as the carriers, two thermosensitive in situ gel systems were prepared and characterized. Influence of formulation composition type and concentration on in vitro drug release was studied. Tissue distribution after ocular delivery of two different thermosensitive in situ gels was studied and compared with commercial BH eye drop (Betoptic S®). In vitro studies demonstrated that addition of 4% HPMC 606W in 15% P407 solution and 5% PEG4000 in 2% MC solution obtained gels with appropriate gelation temperature and similar sustained drug release rate. In vivo tissue distribution study indicated that they presented similar drug concentration in cornea, iris-ciliary and aqueous humor irrespective of gel type, with higher drug concentration achieved after 4 h compared to the commercial resin suspension eye drops. The AUC and MRT of the two in situ gel eye drops were 2 times higher than that of the commercial resin suspension eye drops in cornea. In conclusion, the two thermosensitive in situ gels have prolonged drug release after ocular drug delivery compared with ion exchange resin eye drops, implying their potential applications in clinic with broad drug adoptability.

Inner layer-embedded contact lenses for ion-triggered controlled drug delivery.

Drug leakage during manufacturing and storage process is the main obstacle hindering the application of contact lenses as the carrier for extended ocular drug delivery. In this study, we have designed a novel inner layer-embedded contact lens capable of ion-triggered drug release for extended ocular drug delivery. Using betaxolol hydrochloride as a drug model, drug-ion exchange resin complex dispersed polymer film was used as an inner layer, and silicone hydrogel was used as an outer layer to fabricate inner layer-embedded contact lens. Influence of composition of the inner film and crosslinking degree of the outer hydrogel on drug release profile was studied and optimized for weekly use. The ion-triggered drug eluting property enables the inner layer-embedded contact lens being stable when stored in distilled water at 5 °C for at least 30 days with ignorable drug loss and negligible changes in drug release kinetics. In vivo pharmacokinetic study in rabbits showed sustained drug release for over 168 h in tear fluid, indicating significant improvement in drug corneal residence time. A level A IVIVC was established between in vitro drug release and in vivo drug concentration in tear fluid. In conclusion, this inner layer embedded contact lens design could be used as a platform for extended ocular drug delivery with translational potential for both anterior and posterior ocular disease therapy.

Elucidation of release characteristics of highly soluble drug trimetazidine hydrochloride from chitosan-carrageenan matrix tablets.

The aim of this study was to better understand the underlying drug release characteristics from matrix tablets based on the combination of chitosan (CS) and different types of carrageenans [kappa (κ)-CG, iota (ι)-CG, and lambda (λ)-CG]. Highly soluble trimetazidine hydrochloride (TH) was used as a model drug. First, characteristics of drug release from different formulations were investigated, and then in situ complexation capacity of CG with TH and CS was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Erosion and swelling of matrix were also characterized to better understand the drug-release mechanisms. Effects of pH and ionic strength on drug release were also studied. It was found that not only ι-CG and λ-CG could reduce the burst release of TH by the effect of TH-CG interaction, CS-ι-CG- and CS-λ-CG-based polyelectrolyte film could further modify the controlled-release behavior, but not CS-κ-CG. High pH and high ionic strength resulted in faster drug release from CS-κ-CG- and CS-ι-CG-based matrix, but drug release from CS-λ-CG-based matrix was less sensitive to pH and ionic strength. In conclusion, CS-λ-CG-based matrix tablets are quite promising as controlled-release drug carrier based on multiple mechanisms.

Exploration of hydrophobic modification degree of chitosan-based nanocomplexes on the oral delivery of enoxaparin.

The objective of this paper is to elucidate the influence of lipophilic modification degree of chitosan on the peroral absorption of enoxaparin. A series of novel chitosan grafted glyceryl monostearate (GM) copolymers with different GM substitution degree were synthesized and the successful synthesis was confirmed by (1)H NMR, FTIR and X-ray diffraction. Enoxaparin loaded nanocomplexes with different carriers were prepared by self-assembly process. Influence of GM substitution degree and chitosan molecular weight in the copolymer on the properties of the nanocomplexes was investigated. Morphology of the nanocomplexes was observed by atomic force microscopy. Mucoadhesive properties of the nanocomplexes were characterized using mucin particle method. Initially, mucoadhesion of the nanocomplexes increased with the increase of GM substitution degree and it started to decrease when the substitution degree was up to 18.6%. A good linear relationship between GM substitution degree and in vivo absorption of enoxaparin in fasted rats was established in the substitution degree range of 0-11.1%. In agreement with mucoadhesion data, further increasing GM substitution degree to 18.6% caused a decrease in oral absorption. In conclusion, oral bioavailability of enoxaparin can be enhanced by structure modification of the carriers and the bioavailability is hydrophobic modification degree dependent.