Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)

Abstract In this research, silica gel as a low-cost adsorbent for the uptake of carbon dioxide was investigated experimentally. The samples were characterized by XRD, BET and FT-IR. It shows that as pressure was increased from 2 to 8 bar, the CO2 adsorption capability improved over time. At a pressure of 6 bar and a dose of 1 g of silica gel, the impact of temperature (25, 45, 65, and 85 °C) on the CO2 adsorption capacity (mg/g) was determined. The process behavior was investigated using isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamic models. As the temperature rises at a constant pressure, the adsorption capacity decreases. The experimental data of the carbon dioxide adsorption using silica gel have a high correlation coefficient with both Langmuir (0.998) and Freundlich (0.999) models. The results of the carbon dioxide adsorption kinetics with the silica gel adsorbent show that the correlation coefficient (R2) of the second-order model and Ritchie's second model are equal to 0.995 and have the highest value. The total pore volume was 0.005119 (cm3 g-1) and the specific surface area was 2.1723 (m2g−1). The maximum CO2 adsorption capacity at 25 °C near 8 bar was 195.8 mg/g.

Abstract The present paper deals with the kinetics and mechanism of homogeneously Ir(III) chloride catalyzed oxidation of D-mannitol by chloramine-T [CAT] in perchloric acid medium in the temperature range of 30 to 45 0C. The reaction is carried out in the presence of mercuric acetate as a scavenger for chloride ion. The experimental results show first order kinetics with respect to the oxidant [CAT] and catalyst [Ir(III)] while zero order with respect to substrate, i.e., D-Mannitol was observed. The reaction shows negligible effect of [Hg(OAc)2], [H+] and ionic strength of the medium. Chloride ion positively influence the rate of reaction. The reaction between chloramine-T and D-Mannitol in acid medium shows 2:1 stoichiometry. To calculate activation parameters, the reactions have been studied at four different temperatures between 30 to 45ºC. A mechanism involving the complex formation between catalyst and oxidant has been proposed. Mannonic acid has been identified chromatographically and spectroscopically as the final product of oxidation of D-Mannitol. Based on the kinetic data, reaction stoichiometry and product analysis, a reaction mechanism has been proposed and rate law has been derived.

Abstract Understanding the kinetics of gas hydrate formation is essential to model and predict the hydrate formation (or dissociation) process. In the present paper, we investigated the formation of pure propane gas hydrate as a former gas. In this regard, several experiments were conducted to measure the rate of hydrate formation under various pressures (410 to 510 kPa) and temperatures (274 K to 277 K) in a controlled temperature stirred reactor. It was observed that propane consumption rate can be assumed constant with time. Mass transfer approach was used to estimate the mass transfer coefficient in the gas-liquid contact area as a function of pressure and temperature. Results indicated that mass transfer approach can predict the kinetics of propane hydrate formation. In other word, it is reasonable to assume that this process is a mass transfer limited phenomena and the mass transfer in the liquid side the gas-liquid contact area controls the hydrate growth.

Abstract In this research, unstructured kinetic modeling for cell growth evaluation by X.campestris, xanthan production and sugar cane molasses consumption in a batch culture were investigated. Logistic model for biomass growth, Luedeking-Piret model for xanthan biopolymer production and modified Luedeking-Piret model for sugar cane molasses consumption provides an accurate prediction of the fermentation kinetics parameters with high coefficient of determination R2 values.Luedeking-Piret model for xanthan biopolymer production in three different concentration of sugar cane molasses (30, 60 and 90 g/l) as the sole carbon source substrate were studied. A good agreement between experimental and predicted values indicated that the unstructured models were able to describe this fermentation process successfully. The values of specific growth rate μ_max of logestic model for sugar cane molasses (30, 60 and 90 g/l) were 0.029, 0.031 and 0.032 h-1 respectively. The values of α and β is 5.280, 6.594, 8.518 and 0.072, 0.066, 0.086 respectively which shows that the xanthan production is growth associated since the value of the growth associated parameter α is much more than the value of nongrowth associated parameter β in Luedeking Piret model. Moreover, the values of γ and 𝜂 in modified Luedeking-Piret model were obtained.

Abstract The major active component in licorice is glycyrrhizic acid which is very useful in the pharmaceutical industry. In the present work, the extraction of glycyrrhizic acid in licorice is carried out in a stirred reactor as well as under indirect sonication in an ultrasonic bath. Batch extraction is carried out in a glass reactor of 150 mL capacity equipped with a six bladed glass turbine for agitation. Ultrasound assisted extraction has been carried out in a dual frequency ultrasound cleaning bath. The glycyrrhizic acid is analyzed using HPLC. Various process parameters such as solvent concentration, power, frequency of ultrasound, extraction temperature and solvent to solute ratio, which affect the extraction yield are optimized for both techniques. In ultrasound assisted extraction with final optimized conditions, i.e. 50% ethanol as solvent, 230 W power, 40:1 solvent to solute ratio, 30∫C temperature and 40 kHz frequency, 95.69% extraction is obtained in 20 minutes, whereas in extraction using stirred reactor only 68% extraction is observed in 60 minutes. Kinetic of the extraction process is studied and volumetric mass transfer coefficients as well as theoretical yield for different process parameters are estimated.

Abstract An integral reactor-based kinetic model for the selective reduction of nitric oxide over Cu-Zn/ZSM-5 washcoated monolithic catalysts is reported. The active component was washcoated onto a 400 cpsi ceramic monolithic substrate at a loading of 23.6 wt. % usage 2,000 ppm iso-butane was used as the reductant. High activity without significant pressure drop was achieved at a GHSV of 16,000 h-1 . Third order polynomial satisfactorily fitted the activity versus space time data and a low activation energy of +30.3 kJ/mol was obtained. The applicability of the model was demonstrated within
300-400 ºC and space time of 0.12-0.94 s.

Abstract One limitation in the use of hydrophilic polymers as implantable devices is their inherently poor mechanical strength. Using interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) consisting of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic networks is an effective method to strengthen these polymers. In this work, a series of poly(dimethyl siloxane) /poly(acrylic acid) sequential IPNs was synthesized and the polymerization kinetics of acrylic acid in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinker was investigated using ampoule polymerization experiments and DSC analysis. The results from conversion measurements revealed the occurrence of gel effect during acrylic acid polymerization. The properties of the produced IPNs including swelling, morpho-logical, and mechanical properties were also investigated.