The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering

Cover and Contents

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 0.

Asbtract ( )

PDF (3594KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

Research progress of moving bed gas-solid separation technology

Han LÜ Chunxi LU Yiping FAN Ying CHEN Kang QIN Hao WU

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 761-774. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225011

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (4569KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

High-efficiency gas purification technology offers dual environmental benefits. It effectively improves air quality, contributes to energy conservation and carbon reduction goals, and protects downstream processing units. As enterprises increasingly prioritize energy efficiency, wet flue gas purification methods are facing growing challenges. These methods are marked by high energy consumption and potential secondary pollution risks. In contrast, dry gas purification technologies are emerging as critical areas for development. They are more energy-saving and environmentally friendly. Moving bed filters are recognized as key technologies in dry flue gas purification. They are valued for their high efficiency and low energy consumption in high-temperature gas purification. This review focuses on the application of moving bed filtration technology in high-temperature gas purification. It systematically summarizes the technology's recent research progress and engineering practices. First, the basic structures of moving bed filters are classified. Their applicable scenarios are also introduced. Next, an in-depth analysis is conducted on the filtration mechanisms and characteristics of various types. These include co-current, counter-current, cross flow, and hybrid systems. Additionally, the practical value of moving bed filters in industrial applications is discussed. The economic and environmental benefits which they bring in real industrial scenarios are elaborated. Finally, emerging application potentials and recommended research priorities are outlined. It provides insights and directions for the technology's further development.

Research progress on the preparation and application of sulfonated carbon

Zhengfeng JIANG Ruoxin WANG Fei GAO Zhimao ZHOU Quan SHI Haimeng YU Yingwen LI Huaqun ZHOU Chen HE

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 775-791. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225036

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (2362KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

Biomass waste is a plentiful and sustainable resource, and the transformation of this waste into porous carbon materials through uncomplicated and energy-efficient processes has become a significant focus of current research. Acidic carbon materials rich in sulfonic acid (-SO3H), carboxylic acid (-COOH), and hydroxyl (-OH) groups are obtained by in-situ sulfonation or post-grafting sulfonation of biomass or amorphous carbon materials. All of the functional carbon materials incorporating -SO3H groups are referred to as sulfonated carbon. The unique surface structure of sulfonated carbon makes it have great application prospects in the areas of catalysis, energy storage, and environment. This review summarizes the research on the production of raw materials, preparation processes, reaction mechanisms and physicochemical characteristics of sulfonated carbon, describes the current applications of sulfonated carbon in various fields including solid acid catalysts, energy storage materials, adsorbents, soil improvement and carbon-based fertilizers, and points out the problems and challenges facing the application of sulfonated carbon. As the preparation technology for sulfonated carbon continues to improve, further exploration of its stability, selectivity, and wide applicability is necessary. As a highly promising new type of carbon material, sulfonated carbon is expected to have a wide range of applications in various fields.

Research progress of phase change thermal storage materials in the field of photothermal conversion

Beihang XI Hao HU Haohan ZHANG Mengxuan YANG Yu ZHOU Hongyu WANG Haiyun YU

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 792-803. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.224344

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (4295KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

Photothermal conversion entails the conversion of solar radiation into thermal energy via processes such as reflection and absorption, thus making it available for human use. This methodology is among the primary approaches currently used for harnessing solar energy. Phase change thermal storage materials, through phase transitions, store and release thermal, providing advantages like high thermal storage density and a consistent temperature during the storage and release processes. The integration of these materials with photothermal conversion technology not only improves the efficient storage of thermal energy obtained from photothermal conversion but also allows for temperature control during the storage and release processes. This integration facilitates a more precise and efficient use of thermal energy in subsequent applications, thus making phase change thermal storage materials an ideal complement to photothermal conversion technology. In this review, based on their distinct chemical compositions, the phase change thermal storage materials currently used in photothermal conversion applications are categorized and elaborated on. Their application mechanisms and the fields are explored. Furthermore, the existing challenges with current photothermal conversion phase change materials are summarized, and future research directions for the development of novel materials in this area are prospected.

Progress in roasting-priority lithium extraction of spent transition metal lithium-ion batteries

Juan HAO Zhuyan GE Haifeng WANG Ruoxi ZHAO Jiawei WANG Xiaoxue MA Hao ZHANG Weining XIE Yaqun HE

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 804-819. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.224345

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (10919KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

With the rapid development of electric vehicles, energy storage and other industries, the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has maintained rapid growth. At the same time, the production of spent LIBs has increased sharply, and its clean and efficient recycling has become a major problem that needs to be solved urgently at home and abroad. LIBs cathode materials are mainly LiCoO2 (LCO), Li(NiCoMn)O2 (NCM), LiMn2O4 (LMO), Li(NiCoAl)O2 (NCA), LiFePO4 (LFP), and lithium-rich manganese based oxides (LLO). For the spent transition metal LIBs, roasting-priority lithium extraction process has become the key technology of spent transition metal LIBs recovery because it can preferentially recover lithium in the leaching stage, avoid the loss of lithium caused by multi-step separation, reduce the use of acid base and other reagents in the leaching stage, and the transition metal is reduced for its acid leaching. In order to improve the roasting effect and increase the leaching rate of water extraction of lithium and transition metal elements, scholars at home and abroad have tried to use a variety of materials for roasting, and developed their own unique roasting processes. This review summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the existing treatment technology, and looks forward to the development direction of spent LIBs recycling technology, which provides a certain reference for the green and low-carbon recycling of spent LIBs.

Numerical simulation of dynamics characteristic of gas-liquid two-phase fluid intensified by jet

Xin DONG Can XUE Yongrui SHAN Ying FENG Jianwei ZHANG

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 820-833. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.224337

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (9056KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

The fluid dynamics characteristics of bubbly jet in gas-liquid two-phase flow affect the mass transfer, heat transfer, and momentum exchange between gas-liquid phases, which is crucial for enhancing the mixing between gas-liquid phases. In order to explore the flow characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow in power-law fluids, the hydrodynamic characteristics of bubbly jet was studied by the numerical simulation method. The effects of different flow rate ratios and liquid rheological properties on gas phase velocity, bubble size, gas holdup distribution, and gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns were analyzed in water and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) aqueous solutions with different concentrations. The results showed that due to the diffusion movement of the gas phase and the disturbance to the liquid phase environment, the vortex structure existed in the flow field, and the interaction between the gas and liquid phases was enhanced. With the increase of the flow rate ratio, the turbulence in the flow field was strong, the gas-liquid two-phase mixing was promoted, the streamline was diffused, and the distribution was scattered. The diameter of the bubble increased, and the size distribution of the bubble gradually changed from single peak to double peak with the increase of the flow rate ratio, and the distribution range of bubble diameter increased with the increase of the liquid phase concentration. Compared to tap water, the gas holdup of the bubbly jet in CMC aqueous solution was small, the bubble dispersion width increased, and the flow behavior of the bubbly jet changed. With the increase of the flow rate ratio, the turbulence in the flow field was enhanced, the volume fraction of the gas phase at the core of the bubble jet increased, the local mixing was strengthened by the vortex structure. The width of dispersion from the gas phase to the liquid phase increased, the effective contact area of the gas-liquid interface increased, and the mass transfer efficiency between the gas-liquid phases increased. The dispersion effect was obvious with the increase of the liquid phase concentration.

Experimental study on bubble characteristics and boiling heat transfer in parallel microfluidic heat exchanger

Junfei YUAN Guyu XING Zicheng FENG Shuoshuo SONG Yu WANG

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 834-844. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225032

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (39521KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

To further expand the application range of microchannel boiling heat transfer in the field of high heat flux electronic equipment cooling, an experimental study is conducted on the dynamic characteristics of boiling generation and development, as well as the overall heat transfer characteristics of microchannel heat exchangers with parallel multiple channels. The results indicate that in microchannel heat exchangers with parallel multiple channels, there are significant differences in the initiation positions of boiling bubbles among the parallel microchannels. The deviation in the non-uniformity of the boiling inception position is relatively small under the influence of mass flow rate and decreases initially and then increases with the increase of heat flux density. Both subcooled boiling and saturated boiling heat transfer mechanisms occur simultaneously within the microchannels. Bubbly flow can happen in both boiling mechanisms, while slug flow and annular flow regimes only occur in the saturated boiling region. The heat flux density has a significant impact on the heat transfer mechanism within the channel, the wall temperature along the flow path, and its variation pattern. Within the heat flux density range of 63~80 kW/m2, the sudden expansion effect at the outlet plenum chamber cause the wall temperature at the heat exchanger's outlet reduce first, then increase, and then reduce again. As the heat flux density increases to 104~252 kW/m2, the wall temperature fluctuations in the microchannels are smaller, and temperature uniformity is enhanced. The overall boiling heat transfer characteristics of the heat exchanger show a turning point when the outlet refrigerant dryness at the microchannel exit is 0.02. The overall heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger increases with the increase of both mass flow rate and heat flux density, with the mass flow rate having a higher sensitivity to the average heat transfer coefficient.

Characteristics analysis of throttling-enhanced auto-cascade refrigeration cycle

Sen CHEN Ziyun SONG Yingying TAN Zhanwei WANG Lin WANG Xiuzhen LI

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 845-852. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.224371

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (1450KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

The auto-cascade refrigeration cycle is characterized by its simple design, stable operational characteristics, broad cooling temperature range, and promising applications, making it a focal point in the field of low-temperature research. However, the traditional auto-cascade refrigeration cycle (BACR) is limited by refrigerant flow rate within the evaporator, typically addressed by reducing evaporation pressure to enhance cooling capacity. This approach leads to the issues such as high compressor power consumption, high exhaust temperature and low refrigeration efficiency. Researchers have extensively explored refrigerant component ratio optimization and system process improvements to address these issues. However, previous cycles are relatively complex, posing challenges to stable operation for the systems. Thus, a simple and effective cycle improvement scheme is necessary for practical applications. This work proposes a novel throttling-enhanced auto-cascade refrigeration cycle (VACR). This configuration reduces the pressure of the two-phase refrigerant mixture at the condenser outlet through a throttling process, promoting partial evaporation of the liquid phase and increasing the refrigerant flow rate into the evaporator. Using R1150/R600a as the refrigeration, a thermodynamic model of the cycle is established, and the effects of key parameters such as component ratio, condenser outlet vapor quality, condensation temperature, and evaporation temperature on thermodynamic performance are analyzed. The results show that when the R1150 component ratio ranges from 0.45 to 0.60, the VACR increases the refrigerant flow rate within the evaporator by 15.1% to 17.0% compared to the BACR. The highest coefficient of performance (COP) of the VACR is 0.743, representing a 14.54% improvement over the BACR. When the condensation temperature ranges from 30℃ to 40℃, the COP of the VACR increases by 13.82% to 31.19% compared to the BACR. When the evaporation temperature ranges from -60℃ to -70℃, the cooling capacity of the VACR increases by 19.43% to 56.11% compared to the BACR. Overall, the comparative analysis highlights the thermodynamic performance improvement potential in the proposed VACR.

Research on plasma perovskite thermal catalytic reduction of SO₂ to S production

Liang YAO Hao WANG Shuangde LI Yunfa CHEN

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 853-861. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225017

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (1846KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

Rapid industrialization has resulted in significant gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollutant emissions, which come from power plants, petrochemical industries, and metallurgical plants. This toxic, non-inflammable, and notorious pollutant poses a threat to ecosystems, contributes to acid rain formation, and leads to the corrosion of equipment and infrastructure. Catalytically reducing SO2 to elemental sulfur, which is a benign and valuable product, in a reducing atmosphere is a promising solution. It has gained considerable attention not only for the SO2 emission reduction, but also for the resource utilization of SO2 waste gas. In this study, iron doping perovskite materials (denoted as LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3) were synthesized by the citric acid induced sol-gel method followed by calcination at a certain temperature. The material was subjected to oxygen-free sulfurization (which is denoted as OFS-LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3) and oxygen free sulfurization under dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma conditions (which was denoted as POFS-LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the structure and properties of the catalytic materials. The performance of sulfur production by DBD thermal-catalytic reduction of SO2 under CO, and combined CO and H2 reducing atmospheres was investigated, together with the by-products under different catalytic materials and varied reducing gas conditions. The XRD results showed that both OFS-LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3 and POFS-LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3 maintained the perovskite crystal form with a weaker decrease in peak intensity compared to LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3. After catalytic reaction with SO2, the XRD pattern exhibited other weak impurity peaks. With CO reduction, compared with DBD reduction alone, the combination of DBD plasma and the catalyst increased the SO2 conversion rate from 82.3% to 95.0% at 450℃. In addition, the SO2 conversion rate reached 99.8% under co-reduction with CO and H2 at 300℃. The H2-TPR results indicated that the reduction peak of LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3 showed better reducibility at lower temperatures compared to OFS-LaCo0.8Fe0.2O3, which may contribute to the increased SO2 conversion.

Multi-enzyme catalytic preparation of D-alanine

Xianbing SONG Yu YANG Manman WANG Ranfeng HE Yuming ZHANG Ziqiang WANG Xiaolian LI Yunshan WANG

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 862-871. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.224362

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (1355KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

D-Alanine (D-Ala) is an important chiral amino acid with a wide range of applications in the fields of medicine, food, and chemical industry. In this project, a "two-bacteria, four-enzyme" catalytic process for the preparation of D-Ala, a fed-batch fermentation process with pRMA [E.coli BL21(DE3)Alr-Dadx--pRSFDuet-1-MaiA-AspA] and pEAD2 [E.coli BL21(DE3)Alr-Dadx--pETDuet-1-AspR-DaaT] trains was established to achieve co-expression of maleic acid cis?trans isomerase (MaiA)/asparaginase (AspA) and aspartate racemase (AspR)/D-amino acid transcarbamylase (DaaT). Additionally, process parameters for multiple enzyme preparation of D-Ala with maleic anhydride (MA) as the substrate were optimized, including temperature, pH, and concentrations of pyruvate, pyridoxal phosphate, maleic anhydride, and pRMA/pEAD2 cells, leading to the development of an efficient enzymatic conversion process for D-Ala. The results showed that the cell concentration and apparent activity of pRMA reached the maximum value of 72.56 g/L and 554.49±30.96 U, respectively, at 23 h. In contrast, the apparent activity of pEAD2 could reach 513.74±38.25 U at 9 h, and the cell concentration was 30.75 g/L. For the multi-enzyme preparation of D-Ala, the optimized catalytic system was composed of 1.5 mol/L MA, 5.0 mmol/L pyridoxal phosphate and 3.52 g/L pyruvic acid. The dosages of pRMA and pEAD2 cells were 6.60 g/L and 9.80 g/L, added at 3 h intervals. The optimum reaction conditions were pH=8.0, temperature of 50℃, and rotation speed of 200 r/min for 24 h. The substrate conversion rate was up to 99.00%, and the yield of D-Ala reached 93.97%. Under the above optimal conditions, when the reaction volume was scaled up 40-fold, from 100 mL to 4 L, there was no significant difference in substrate conversion and product yield, which laid the foundation for its industrial application.

Molten salt electrodeposition of Mg-Ni alloy on nickel foam and its electrocatalytic properties for hydrogen evolution

Zhongsheng HUA Zhiwen ZHAO Xiaobin WU Junjie YU Zheng ZENG Jing WANG Huan LIU

The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 2025, 25(8): 872-880. DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225027

Asbtract ( )

HTML ( )

PDF (4628KB) ( )

Related Articles | Metrics

Water electrolysis in alkaline media for hydrogen production is regarded as one of the most effective approaches to address the energy crisis and environmental pollution associated with fossil fuels, and the development of non-noble metal catalysts with low cost and high activity is one of the key factors for realizing its industrial large-scale application. Ni is a promising candidate for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction, due to its high intrinsic catalytic activity and stability, and good corrosion resistance. However, the overall hydrogen evolution rate on pure Ni is limited by the hydrogen desorption step. Alloying Ni with another metal to transform the electronic structure, is an effective strategy to enhance its electrocatalytic activity. Herein, Mg is proposed as the alloy element for Ni to form Mg-Ni catalyst. In this work, using nickel foam (NF) as the substrate material, Mg-Ni alloy films were in?situ grown on NF via potentiostatic electrolysis in molten NaCl-KCl-MgCl2, and self-supporting Mg-Ni/NF electrodes were successfully fabricated, which can be directly used for catalytic hydrogen evolution. The phase structure, surface morphology, element distribution, and chemical state of the alloy on NF were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrocatalytic activity and stability of the as-fabricated electrode were then examined in 1.0 mol/L KOH solution. The Mg-Ni/NF-8 h electrode was highly effective for hydrogen evolution reaction with a low overpotential of only 49.5 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA/cm2 and a small Tafel slope of 36.0 mV/dec, exceeding the noble Pt catalyst. The electrode maintained a long-term stable electrolysis of 106 h at a high current density of 100 mA/cm2. The phase composition, microstructure, and surface characteristics of the electrode were unchanged after long-term electrolysis, indicating superior electrochemical stability with no obvious activity decay. The Mg2Ni/MgNi2 heterostructure, huge specific surface area originating from nanosheets, and stable self-supported structure were the main reasons for the electrode to achieve excellent electrochemical activity and stability. This work offers new insights into the designing of efficient and stable non-precious metal hydrogen evolution materials, expanding the application of magnesium in the field of catalysis.

Table of Content