2020 Vol. 5, No. 1

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Editorial
Green Energy & Environment—Heading towards a new journey
2020, 5(1): 1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2020.01.001
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Research Highlights
Single-atom catalysts: The role of intrinsic intermediate
Yafei Li
2020, 5(1): 4-5. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.12.002
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Commentary
Do zinc dendrites exist in neutral zinc batteries?
Jinjun He, Xihong Lu
2020, 5(1): 6-7. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.10.002
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Short Review
Overview of acidic deep eutectic solvents on synthesis, properties and applications
Hao Qin, Xutao Hu, Jingwen Wang, Hongye Cheng, Lifang Chen, Zhiwen Qi
2020, 5(1): 8-21. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.03.002
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This review divides the acidic deep eutectic solvents (ADES) into Brønsted and Lewis DES according to their diversity of acidic character. The hydrogen bond donors and halide salts for formulating an ADES are classified, the synthesis methods are described, and the physicochemical properties including freezing point, acidity, density, viscosity and conductivity are presented. Furthermore, the applications of Brønsted acidic deep eutectic solvents (BADES) and Lewis acidic deep eutectic solvents (LADES) are overviewed, respectively, covering the fields in dissolution, extraction, organic reaction and metal electrodeposition. It is expected that the ADES has great potential to replace the pollutional mineral acid, expensive and unstable solid acid, and costly ionic liquid in many acid-employed chemical processes, thus meeting the demands of green chemistry.
Internal failure of anode materials for lithium batteries — A critical review
Xiangqi Meng, Yaolin Xu, Hongbin Cao, Xiao Lin, Pengge Ning, Yi Zhang, Yaiza Gonzalez Garcia, Zhi Sun
2020, 5(1): 22-36. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.10.003
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Prevention of mechanical and finally electrochemical failures of lithium batteries is a critical aspect to be considered during their design and performance, especially for those with high specific capacities. Internal failure is observed as one of the most serious factors, including loss of electrode materials, structure deformation and dendrite growth. It usually incubates from atomic/molecular level and progressively aggravates along with lithiation. Understanding the internal failure is of great importance for developing solutions of failure prevention and advanced anode materials. In this research, different internal failure processes of anode materials for lithium batteries are discussed. The progress on observation technologies of the anode failure is further summarized in order to understand their mechanisms of internal failure. On top of them, this review aims to summarize innovative methods to investigate the anode failure mechanisms and to gain new insights to develop advanced and stable anodes for lithium batteries.
Review article
Cellulose-based materials in wastewater treatment of petroleum industry
Baoliang Peng, Zhaoling Yao, Xiaocong Wang, Mitchel Crombeen, Dalton G. Sweeney, Kam Chiu Tam
2020, 5(1): 37-49. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.09.003
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The most abundant natural biopolymer on earth, cellulose fiber, may offer a highly efficient, low-cost, and chemical-free option for wastewater treatment. Cellulose is widely distributed in plants and several marine animals. It is a carbohydrate polymer consisting of β-1,4-linked anhydro-D-glucose units with three hydroxyl groups per anhydroglucose unit (AGU). Cellulose-based materials have been used in food, industrial, pharmaceutical, paper, textile production, and in wastewater treatment applications due to their low cost, renewability, biodegradability, and non-toxicity. For water treatment in the oil and gas industry, cellulose-based materials can be used as adsorbents, flocculants, and oil/water separation membranes. In this review, the uses of cellulose-based materials for wastewater treatment in the oil & gas industry are summarized, and recent research progress in the following aspects are highlighted: crude oil spill cleaning, flocculation of solid suspended matter in drilling or oil recovery in the upstream oil industry, adsorption of heavy metal or chemicals, and separation of oil/water by cellulosic membrane in the downstream water treatment.
Research paper
High loading FeS2 nanoparticles anchored on biomass-derived carbon tube as low cost and long cycle anode for sodium-ion batteries
Kongyao Chen, Gaojie Li, Yanjie Wang, Weihua Chen, Liwei Mi
2020, 5(1): 50-58. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.11.001
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In recent years, the sodium storage mechanism and performance optimization of FeS2 have been studied intensively. However, before the commercial application of FeS2, preconditions of low-cost, simple craft and scale production of nanoscale FeS2 are also essential. Based on above challenges, mesh-like FeS2/carbon tube/FeS2 composites are prepared simply from green, low-cost and renewable natural herb in this work. With the assistance of protogenetic interconnected carbon tube network (only 5.3 wt%), FeS2/carbon tube/FeS2 composites show high capacity (542.2 mA h g−1), good stability (< 0.005% per cycle over 1000 cycles), and excellent rate performance (426.2 mA h g−1 at 2 A g−1). The outstanding electrochemical performance of FeS2/carbon tube/FeS2 composites may be attributed to the unique interconnected reticular structure, meaning that FeS2 nanoparticles are effectively immobilized by carbon tube network via physical encapsulation and chemical bonding. More importantly, this work may provide green and low cost preparation method for specially structured metal sulfides/carbon composites, which promotes their commercial utilization in environmentally friendly energy storage system.
PVA/PVP blend polymer matrix for hosting carriers in facilitated transport membranes: Synergistic enhancement of CO2 separation performance
Ragne Marie Lilleby Helberg, Zhongde Dai, Luca Ansaloni, Liyuan Deng
2020, 5(1): 59-68. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.10.001
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CO2 separation performance in facilitated transport membranes has been reported depended not only on the CO2 carrier properties but also to a great extent on the polymeric matrix regarding the capacity of retaining water and carriers as well as the processability for coating defect-free ultra-thin films. In this study, the blends of hydrophilic polymers polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were studied to find an optimal polymer matrix to host carriers in facilitated transport membranes for enhanced CO2 separation. It is found out that the optimized blend is 50/50 PVA/PVP by weight, which shows a significant increase in the water uptake (from 63 to 84%) at equilibrium state compared to the neat PVA. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was employed to provide sample carriers to evaluate the synergistic effect of PVA and PVP on the CO2 separation performance. A thin film composite (TFC) membrane of the optimized blend (50/50 PVA/PVP with 50 wt% PEI) was fabricated on polysulfone (PSf) porous support. The fabrication of the TFC membranes is simple and low cost, and CO2 permeance of the optimized blend membrane is nearly doubled with the CO2/N2 selectivity remained unchanged, showing great potential for industrial applications of the resulted membranes.
Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene aerogel with hierarchically porous structure for high-performance supercapacitors
Zhiwei Lu, Xiaochao Xu, Yujuan Chen, Xiaohui Wang, Li Sun, Kelei Zhuo
2020, 5(1): 69-75. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.06.001
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Supercapacitors with unique performance have been widely utilized in many fields. Herein, we report a nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene aerogel (N/S-GA-2) prepared using a low toxic precursor for high-performance supercapacitors. The as-obtained material possesses a hierarchically porous structure and a large number of electrochemical active sites. At a current density of 1 A g−1, the specific capacitance of the N/S-GA-2 for supercapacitors with the ionic liquid as the electrolyte is 169.4 F g−1, and the corresponding energy density is 84.5 Wh kg−1. At a power density of 8.9 kW kg−1, the energy density can reach up to 75.7 Wh kg−1, showing that the N/S-GA-2 has an excellent electrochemical performance. Consequently, the N/S-GA-2 can be used as a promising candidate of electrode materials for supercapacitors with high power density and high energy density.
Active sites of Pt/CNTs nanocatalysts for aerobic base-free oxidation of glycerol
Minjian Pan, Jingnan Wang, Wenzhao Fu, Bingxu Chen, Jiaqi Lei, Wenyao Chen, Xuezhi Duan, De Chen, Gang Qian, Xinggui Zhou
2020, 5(1): 76-82. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.08.001
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Understanding the nature of Pt active sites is of great importance for the structure-sensitive base-free oxidation of glycerol. In the present work, the remarkable Pt particle size effects on glycerol conversion and products formation from the oxidation of the primary and the secondary hydroxyl groups are understood by combining the model calculations and DFT calculations, aiming to discriminate the corresponding dominant Pt active sites. The Pt(100) facet is demonstrated to be the dominant active sites for the glycerol conversion and the products formation from the two routes. The insights revealed here could shed new light on fundamental understanding of the Pt particle size effects and then guiding the design and optimization of Pt-catalyzed base-free oxidation of glycerol toward targeted products.
Geochemical record for the depositional condition and petroleum potential of the Late Cretaceous Mamu Formation in the western flank of Anambra Basin, Nigeria
Gbenga O. Ogungbesan, Taofik A. Adedosu
2020, 5(1): 83-96. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.01.008
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Carbonaceous shale exposures of the Late Cretaceous Mamu Formation along Ifon-Uzebba road in western arm (Benin Flank) of Anambra Basin, southwestern Nigeria, were analyzed for bulk organic geochemical, molecular biological and poly-aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compositions to investigate the organic matter source, paleo-depositional condition, thermal maturity and petroleum potential of the unit. The bulk organic geochemistry was determined using Leco and Rock–Eval pyrolysis analyses while the biomarkers and PAH compositions were investigated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC–MS). The bulk organic geochemical parameters of the shale samples showed total organic carbon (TOC) (1.11–6.03 wt%), S2 (0.49–11.73 mg HC/g Rock), HI (38–242 mg HC/g TOC) and Tmax (425–435 °C) indicating good to excellent hydrocarbon source-rock. Typical HI-Tmax diagram revealed the shale samples mostly in the gas-prone Type III kerogen region with few gas and oil-prone Type II-III kerogen. The investigated biomarkers (n-alkane, isoprenoid, terpane, hopane, sterane) and PAH (alkylnaphthalene, methylphenanthrene and dibenzothiophene) indicated that the carbonaceous shales contain mix contributions of terrestrial and marine organic matter inputs that were deposited in a deltaic to shallow marine settings and preserved under relatively anoxic to suboxic conditions. Thermal maturity parameters computed from Rock–Eval pyrolysis, biomarkers (hopane, sterane) and PAH (alkylnaphthalene, alkylphenanthrene, alkyldibenzothiophene) suggested that these carbonaceous shales in Anambra Basin have entered an early-mature stage for hydrocarbon generation. This is also supported by fluoranthene/pyrene (0.27–1.12), fluoranthene/(fluoranthene + pyrene) (0.21–0.53) ratios and calculated vitrinite reflectance values (0.49–0.63% Ro) indicative that these shales have mostly reached early oil window maturity, thereby having low hydrocarbon source potential.
An improved correlation to determine minimum miscibility pressure of CO2–oil system
Guangying Chen, Hongxia Gao, Kaiyun Fu, Haiyan Zhang, Zhiwu Liang, Paitoon Tontiwachwuthikul
2020, 5(1): 97-104. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2018.12.003
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An accurate and reliable estimation of minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) of CO2–oil system is a critical task for the design and implementation of CO2 miscible displacement process. In this study, an improved CO2–oil MMP correlation was developed to predict the MMP values for both pure and impure CO2 injection cases based on ten influential factors, i.e. reservoir temperature (TR), molecular weight of C7+ oil components (MW), mole fraction of volatile oil components (xvol), mole fraction of C2C4 oil components (x), mole fraction of C5C6 oil components (x), and the gas stream mole fractions of CO2 (y), H2S (yS), C1 (y), hydrocarbons (yHC) and N2 (y). The accuracy of the improved correlation was evaluated against experimental data reported in literature concurrently with those estimated by several renowned correlations. It was found that the improved correlation provided higher prediction accuracy and consistency with literature experimental data than other literature correlations. In addition, the predictive capability of the improved correlation was further validated by predicting an experimentally measured CO2–oil MMP data, and it showed an accurate result with the absolute deviation of 4.15%. Besides, the differential analysis of the improved correlation was analyzed to estimate the impact of parameters uncertainty in the original MMP data on the calculated results. Also, sensitivity analysis was performed to analyze the influence of each parameter on MMP qualitatively and quantitatively. The results revealed that the increase ofx, x and yS lead to the decrease of MMP, while the increase of TR, MW, xvol, y, y, yHC and y tend to increase the MMP. Overall, the relevance of each parameter with MMP follows the order of TR > x > MW > xvol > yS > yHC > y > y > y > x.
Modification to solution-diffusion model for performance prediction of nanofiltration of long-alkyl-chain ionic liquids aqueous solutions based on ion cluster
Jianguo Qian, Ruiyi Yan, Xiaomin Liu, Chunshan Li, Xiangping Zhang
2020, 5(1): 105-113. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2018.10.001
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Mathematical modeling for nanofiltration of ionic liquids (ILs) solutions could assist to understand transfer mechanism and predict experimental values. In this work, modeling by solution-diffusion model for nanofiltration of long-alkyl-chain ILs aqueous solutions was proposed. Molecular simulations were performed to validate the existence of ion cluster in long-alkyl-chain ILs aqueous solution. Based on the results of simulations, parameters used in the solution-diffusion model were modified, such as concentration of ILs and diameter of ion cluster. The modeling process was developed for three long-alkyl-chain ILs aqueous solutions with different concentrations (1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride: [C 6mim]Cl, [C8mim]Cl, [C10mim]Cl). The calculated values obtained from modified solution-diffusion model could well match the experimental values.
Dye-sensitized TiO2@SBA-15 composites: Preparation and their application in photocatalytic desulfurization
Guoqing Guo, Haiyang Guo, Feng Wang, Liam John France, Wanxin Yang, Zhihong Mei, Yinghao Yu
2020, 5(1): 114-120. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2019.11.005
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Photocatalytic oxidation desulfurization has become a research hotspot in recent years because of mild reaction conditions, less energy consumption and high selectivity. In this paper, TiO2 was loaded onto SBA-15 molecular sieves and sensitized with organic dyes (2, 9-dichloroquinacridone, DCQ) to extend its spectral response range from ultraviolet light to visible light. The catalyst DCQ-X%TiO2@SBA-15 was characterized by BET measurements, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflection spectra, and then it was applied for photocatalytic oxidation desulfurization of gasoline. The effects of different catalytic systems, TiO2 concentration, catalyst dosage, and different model sulfur compounds on catalytic desulfurization performance were investigated. Experimental results show that DCQ-TiO2@SBA-15 has a better performance than the unsensitized TiO2@SBA-15, and the desulfurization rate can reach up to 96.1% in a reaction time of 90 min.

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