AIChE JournalPub Date : 2025-03-03DOI: 10.1002/aic.18787
Su-Hang Cai, Li-Hua Wang, Zhi-Xuan Fan, Yong-Rui Xu, Lan Jiang, Xiang-Sen Wu, Jian-Feng Chen, Yong Luo
{"title":"Hydrodynamics and mass transfer characteristics of a single microbubble in liquids with different properties","authors":"Su-Hang Cai, Li-Hua Wang, Zhi-Xuan Fan, Yong-Rui Xu, Lan Jiang, Xiang-Sen Wu, Jian-Feng Chen, Yong Luo","doi":"10.1002/aic.18787","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18787","url":null,"abstract":"Microbubbles have great potential in enhancing gas-to-liquid mass transfer. However, there is still a lack of systematic research on how the liquid properties affect the hydrodynamics and mass transfer characteristics of a single microbubble. In this work, the diameter, velocity, and mass transfer of a single microbubble in liquids with different properties were analyzed by using high-speed photograph technology. It was found that the rise velocity was minimally affected by the surfactant but decreased with the increase of liquid viscosity. A new velocity correlation was developed to predict the rise velocities of microbubbles, with deviations within 20%. The addition of surfactants and increasing liquid viscosity both reduce the mass transfer coefficient (<i>k</i><sub>L</sub>) compared to ultrapure water. Conversely, <i>k</i><sub>L</sub> increased by 1.3 to 4.1 times as the reactant concentration increased in chemical absorption. This study provides meaningful data to understand the hydrodynamic behaviors and mass transfer characteristics of microbubbles.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143532309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microbubble swarm in a HiGee-aided bubble column reactor: Size, gas holdup, and effective interfacial area","authors":"Li-Hua Wang, Hai-Long Liao, Liang Zheng, Zhi-Xuan Fan, Hai-Kui Zou, Yong Luo","doi":"10.1002/aic.18804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18804","url":null,"abstract":"Microbubble technology is promising for intensifying gas–liquid mass transfer in the bubble column reactor (BCR). The HiGee microbubble generator (HMG), flexibly controlling the microbubble size by adjusting the rotational speed, was developed for the BCR with obvious advantages. However, the hydrodynamics and mass transfer performance of the microbubble swarm generated by HMG in the bubble column were not clear, which hinders its industrial application process. In this work, a HiGee-aided bubble column reactor (HBCR), including an HMG and a bubble column, was proposed and designed. The effects of operating conditions on flow behavior, Sauter mean diameter (<i>d</i><sub>32</sub>), and gas holdup (<i>φ</i><sub><i>G</i></sub>) were studied. A prediction model for gas holdup was established, and the deviation between the predicted and experimental values was within ±15%. Based on <i>d</i><sub>32</sub> and <i>φ</i><sub><i>G</i></sub>, the effective interfacial area in HBCR was calculated as 500–3800 m<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>3</sup>. This study provided fundamental data for the design and scale-up of HBCR.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143532425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2025-02-28DOI: 10.1002/aic.18803
Ziqiang Hong, Zongliang Wan, Jingjing Gu, Jiu Yang, Xingyun Li, Ruonan Tan, Suixin Zhang, Rui Jia, Zheng Ji, Jin Ran, Cen-Feng Fu
{"title":"Rigid and flexible coupled micropore membranes enabling ultra-efficient anion separation","authors":"Ziqiang Hong, Zongliang Wan, Jingjing Gu, Jiu Yang, Xingyun Li, Ruonan Tan, Suixin Zhang, Rui Jia, Zheng Ji, Jin Ran, Cen-Feng Fu","doi":"10.1002/aic.18803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18803","url":null,"abstract":"The swift advancement of monovalent anion perm-selective membranes (MAPMs) presents a promising and sustainable approach for anion separation. However, their progress remains predominantly based on microphase-separated membranes characterized by wide, swelling ion-selective channels. In this study, the rigidity and flexibility coupled concept was employed to engineer rigidly confined ion-selective channels within MAPMs to facilitate anion separation. The rigid segments self-assemble into micropores (<0.8 nm), with dimensions precisely modulated by the flexible segments. Under electrodialysis conditions, these membranes demonstrate an order-of-magnitude improvement in selectivity compared with Neosepta® ACS commercial membranes (special for anion separation), with a slight increase in the permeation flux of monovalent anions. The simulation results confirm that the difference in the confinement of various anions, driven by electrostatic interactions within the rigid micropores, is responsible for the exceptional monovalent/bivalent selectivity. Overall, this study provides an alternative strategy to construct rigidly confined channels for efficient anion separation.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"130 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143517906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Atomically exposed Pd catalysts covered by boron nitride for highly selective hydrogenation of acetylene","authors":"Yating Zhan, Xinping Zhang, Guoqiang Shen, Chao Chen, Shaofei Wang, Qinlan Luo, Yangqiang Huang, Xiao Luo, Jiayu Dai, Jie Fu, Hao Chen","doi":"10.1002/aic.18788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18788","url":null,"abstract":"The selective hydrogenation of acetylene to remove trace acetylene in ethylene plays a significant role in the ethylene polymerization industry. Herein, boron nitride (BN) was selected for encapsulating Pd nanoparticles to prepare a catalyst with atomic Pd sites exposed by a simple inorganic precursor-based strategy. This atomically exposed Pd catalyst favors the desorption of ethylene kinetically instead of further hydrogenation, which is the key for improving the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. With only atomic Pd exposure, the Pd@BN-0.5 catalyst reached 94% ethylene selectivity when acetylene conversion was 100% in a pure acetylene environment. More importantly, this atomically exposed Pd catalyst also showed an ethylene selectivity of 84.7% in ethylene-rich feed, which is the simulated environment for industrial production. Finally, this atomic exposure strategy was extended to PdAg@BN, where 96.9% ethylene selectivity in a pure acetylene environment and 88.7% ethylene selectivity in an ethylene-rich environment were obtained.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"113 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143495622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2025-02-25DOI: 10.1002/aic.18797
Thomas S. Lankiewicz, Nathalie H. Elisabeth, David L. Valentine, Michelle A. O'Malley
{"title":"An argument for using anaerobes as microbial cell factories to advance synthetic biology and biomanufacturing","authors":"Thomas S. Lankiewicz, Nathalie H. Elisabeth, David L. Valentine, Michelle A. O'Malley","doi":"10.1002/aic.18797","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18797","url":null,"abstract":"Anaerobes thrive in the absence of oxygen and are an untapped reservoir of biotechnological potential. Therefore, bioprospecting efforts focused on anaerobic microbial diversity could rapidly uncover new enzymes, pathways, and chassis organisms to drive biotechnology innovation. Despite their potential utility, anaerobic fermenters are viewed as inefficient from a biochemical perspective because their metabolisms produce fewer ATP (~2) per molecule of glucose processed than heterotrophic respirers (~32–38 ATP). While aerobes excel at ATP generation, they are often less efficient than anaerobes at processes that compete with ATP generation for cellular resources. This perspective highlights how anaerobic adaptations are advantageous for synthetic biology and biomanufacturing applications through the engineering of microbial cell factories. We further highlight emerging applications of anaerobic bioprocessing, including the use of anaerobic metabolisms for lignocellulosic bioprocessing, human and environmental health, and value-added bioproduction.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143495626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2025-02-25DOI: 10.1002/aic.18784
Qi Ping, Yujing Hu, Jian Zhang, Zhe An, Xin Shu, Hongyan Song, Yanru Zhu, Jing He
{"title":"Manipulating bimetal structure of CuCo at mesoscale via topological transformation of layered double hydroxides","authors":"Qi Ping, Yujing Hu, Jian Zhang, Zhe An, Xin Shu, Hongyan Song, Yanru Zhu, Jing He","doi":"10.1002/aic.18784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18784","url":null,"abstract":"Topological transformation of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) containing bimetal components is a powerful method for producing bimetal catalysts, but suffers from uncontrollable bimetal structures and catalytically active sites due to the indistinct mechanism. This work demonstrates the manipulation of CuCo structure by simply changing the aspect ratio or Cu/Co distribution (one in layer and the other in interlayer) of LDHs, affording (i) exclusive Janus Cu-Co particles or well-alloyed CuCo particles and (ii) CuCo alloy with Janus Cu-Co, monometallic Co, or monometallic Cu coexisting. The mesoscale key factor in the topological transformation is revealed. In the syngas conversion, the selectivity to alcohol reaches 49.3% and 43.2% with C<sub>2+</sub> alcohol fraction of >94% on well-alloyed CuCo and Janus Cu-Co particles with good affinity of Cu-Co sites. But the presence of monometallic Co or Cu suppresses alcohol selectivity or C<sub>2+</sub> alcohol fraction by facilitating the production of hydrocarbons or methanol, respectively.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143495625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Selective electrodialysis with bipolar membranes for cobalt and lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries","authors":"Junying Yan, Yuxuan Xia, Jie Yang, Liuhuimei Cheng, Huiqing Liu, Baoying Wang, Ruirui Li, Yaoming Wang, Tongwen Xu","doi":"10.1002/aic.18786","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18786","url":null,"abstract":"The recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries is pivotal for overcoming lithium resource shortages and mitigating environmental pollution. Herein, we propose a novel selective electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (BMSED) process for simultaneous cobalt and lithium recovery from a citric acid-leaching lithium-ion battery solution. By taking advantage of the accelerated water dissociation of bipolar membranes and the monovalent selectivity of Li<sup>+</sup> over Co<sup>2+</sup> ions from selective electrodialysis, one-step preparation of 99.96% purity LiOH, cobalt salt, and 0.63 mol/L citric acid solution was achieved. The steric hindrance effect of citrate across anion-exchange membranes was investigated via positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy characterization. The competitive migration between the proton and metal cations across the cation-exchange membrane could decrease the current efficiency. A carbon footprint analysis revealed that the BMSED procedure accounted for only 18.40% of the total carbon emissions, demonstrating the environmental friendliness of this recycling method.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143495627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coalescence dynamics of nanofluid droplets in an expansion chamber structure microchannel","authors":"Daofan Ma, Yanjun Deng, Guangwei Wang, Youguang Ma, Chunying Zhu, Xiangyang Tang","doi":"10.1002/aic.18796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18796","url":null,"abstract":"Nanofluid droplets have considerable applications in industry. In this study, the coalescence dynamics of nanofluid droplets in an expansion chamber structure microchannel were visually investigated; the shape and liquid bridge evolutions of droplets were studied systematically. Five droplet coalescence flow patterns were observed: non-contact, double coalescence, cascade coalescence, compact slug flow, and jetting flow regimes. Due to the adsorption of nanoparticles on the fluid interface, a solidified layer is formed, which restrains the curvature change of the liquid bridge, slowing down the shrinkage of the liquid bridge. The evolution of the liquid bridge neck width with time could be divided into two stages: the dispersed phase control stage and the continuous phase control stage. The nanoparticles could affect markedly the dispersed phase control stage, while having less effect on the continuous control stage.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143486049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mechanistically guided kinetic analysis of G3-catalyzed ROMP for the precision synthesis of cyclic olefin polymers","authors":"Tian-Tian Wang, Jiang Wang, Yu-Cai Cao, Zheng-Hong Luo, Yin-Ning Zhou","doi":"10.1002/aic.18794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18794","url":null,"abstract":"Grubbs third-generation catalyst (G3) in ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) shows unique kinetic behaviors and ligand-addition enabled metathesis activity regulation, while several kinetic features have not been fully revealed. In this work, a thorough kinetic analysis of G3-catalyzed ROMP, for the first time, is carried out via method-of-moments-based numerical simulation and experiments. A generalized kinetic model considering possible metathesis reactions is developed and a stable-deviation-analysis strategy is proposed to estimate the rate coefficient for cyclic monomer propagation. Simulation results confirm that the number of active sites for propagation is independent of the G3 concentration, resulting in the zeroth-order kinetic dependence. Adding external pyridine ligand accelerates the consumption of G3 through a coordination competition, and a positive relation between external ligand concentration and the rate for reaching the steady-state condition is disclosed. The interchain metathesis reaction increases molar mass dispersity by increasing the weight-average molar mass, which can be effectively mitigated by adding a strongly coordinating external ligand. Analysis of ring-chain competition in intrachain backbiting suggests that increasing the initial concentration of reactants can enhance the selectivity for producing linear polymers. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism-governed ROMP kinetic behaviors and aids in the precision synthesis of cyclic olefin polymers.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143495190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIChE JournalPub Date : 2025-02-25DOI: 10.1002/aic.18769
Wenhao Zou, Kang Peng, Rene Ling, Qixuan Li, Yulin Liu, Tongwen Xu, Zhengjin Yang
{"title":"Robust and ultrathin pore-filling anion exchange membranes for water electrolysis","authors":"Wenhao Zou, Kang Peng, Rene Ling, Qixuan Li, Yulin Liu, Tongwen Xu, Zhengjin Yang","doi":"10.1002/aic.18769","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.18769","url":null,"abstract":"Ultrathin and robust composite anion exchange membranes are developed by infiltrating poly(biphenyl piperidinium) solution into PE porous substrate and overcoming the poor wettability of the PE substrate in a pore-filling procedure. By strengthening the binding between ionomers and the porous substrate via a physical interlocking strategy, symmetric and dense composite membranes were developed. A representative membrane, namely PE-PBP-30%, displays a tensile strength exceeding 118 MPa, an elongation at break around 87%, and maintains H<sub>2</sub> permeability as low as 1.85 Barrer at 2 bar. Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) based on the PE-PBP-30% could be operated at a current density of up to 800 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> at 1.8 V and demonstrates stable performance at 500 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> and 60°C for 600 h with a voltage increase rate of 0.25 mV/h. This study explores the possibility of combining traditional homogeneous AEMs with diaphragm membranes for AEMWE and provides insights into the development of AEMWEs using pore-filling membranes.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143495624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}