RESUMO
An experiment is presented to study homogeneous nucleation and the subsequent droplet growth at high temperatures and high pressures in a compact setup that does not use moving parts. Nucleation and condensation are induced in an adiabatic, stationary expansion of the vapor and an inert carrier gas through a Laval nozzle. The adiabatic expansion is driven against atmospheric pressure by pressurized inert gas its mass flow carefully controlled. This allows us to avoid large pumps or vacuum storage tanks. Because we eventually want to study the homogeneous nucleation and condensation of zinc, the use of carefully chosen materials is required that can withstand pressures of up to 10(6) Pa resulting from mass flow rates of up to 600 l(N) min(-1) and temperatures up to 1200 K in the presence of highly corrosive zinc vapor. To observe the formation of droplets a laser beam propagates along the axis of the nozzle and the light scattered by the droplets is detected perpendicularly to the nozzle axis. An ICCD camera allows to record the scattered light through fused silica windows in the diverging part of the nozzle spatially resolved and to detect nucleation and condensation coherently in a single exposure. For the data analysis, a model is needed to describe the isentropic core part of the flow along the nozzle axis. The model must incorporate the laws of fluid dynamics, the nucleation and condensation process, and has to predict the size distribution of the particles created (PSD) at every position along the nozzle axis. Assuming Rayleigh scattering, the intensity of the scattered light can then be calculated from the second moment of the PSD.
RESUMO
A novel high-temperature solar chemical reactor is proposed for the thermal recycling of hazardous solid waste material using concentrated solar power. It features two cavities in series, with the inner one functioning as the solar absorber and the outer one functioning as the reaction chamber. The solar reactor can handle thermochemical processes at temperatures above 1,300 K involving multiphases and controlled atmospheres. It further allows for batch or continuous mode of operation and for easy adjustment of the residence time of the reactants to match the kinetics of the reaction. A 10-kW solar reactor prototype was designed and tested for the carbothermic reduction of electric arc furnace dusts (EAFD). The reactor was subjected to mean solar flux intensities of 2,000 kW m(-2) and operated in both batch and continuous mode within the temperature range of 1,120-1,400 K. Extraction of over 90% of the toxic compounds originally contained in the EAFD was achieved while the condensable products of the off-gas contained mainly Zn, Pb, and Cl. The use of concentrated solar energy as the source of process heat offers the possibility of converting hazardous solid waste material into valuable commodities for processes in closed and sustainable material cycles.