Pyrolitic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass and other agricultural residues, to bio-fuels is being considered for national energy security and for environmental advantages. Bio-oil, syngas and bio-char were produced and characterized from switchgrass at 400, 500 and 600 0C by pyrolysis. Bio-oil yield increased from 22 to 37%, syn-gas yield increased from 8 to 26%, and b...

A simple dynamical system that models the competitive thermokinetics and chemistry of cellulose decomposition is examined, with reference to evidence from experimental studies indicating that char formation is a low activation energy exothermal process and volatilization is a high activation energy endothermal process. The thermohydrolysis chemistry at the core of the primary competition is des...

Char black carbon (BC), the solid residue of incomplete combustion, is continuously being added to soils and sediments due to natural vegetation fires, anthropogenic pollution, and new strategies for carbon sequestration ("biochar"). Here we present a molecular-level assessment of the physical organization and chemical complexity of biomass-derived chars and, specifically, that of aromatic carb...

This study presents a method for analyzing the black carbon (BC) mass loading on a quartz fiber filter using a modified thermal-optical analysis method, wherein light transmitted through the sample is measured over a spectral region instead of at a single wavelength. Evolution of the spectral light transmission signal depends on the relative amounts of light-absorbing BC and char, the latter of...

Cr(III) adsorption by biochars generated from peanut, soybean, canola and rice straws is investigated with batch methods. Adsorption of Cr(III) increased as pH rose from 2.5 to 5.0. Adsorption of Cr(III) led to peak position shifts in the FTIR-PAS spectra of the biochars and made zeta potential values less negative, suggesting the formation of surface complexes between Cr3+ and functional group...

Developments in data storage technologies and image acquisition methods have led to the assemblage of large data banks. Management of these large chunks of data in an efficient manner is a challenge. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) has emerged as a solution to tackle this problem. CBIR extracts images that match the query image from large image databases, based on the content. In this pape...

Let $R$ be a prime ring with its Utumi ring of quotients $U$,  $C=Z(U)$ the extended centroid of $R$, $L$ a non-central Lie ideal of $R$ and $0neq a in R$. If $R$ admits a generalized derivation $F$ such that $a(F(u^2)pm F(u)^{2})=0$ for all $u in L$, then one of the following holds: begin{enumerate} item there exists $b in U$ such that $F(x)=bx$ for all $x in R$, with $ab=0$; item $F(x)=...

Demonstration of oxy-coal combustion is being planned for the old Youngdong unit 1 boiler in South Korea. The boiler is to be retrofitted to an opposed-wall-firing type with 100 MWe capacity for demonstration of oxy-fuel combustion while maintaining the original furnace shape of downshot firing. It is to be operated under oxy-coal combustion mode during demonstration periods while continuing co...