A rapid, simple method based on graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is described for the direct determination of arsenic in coal fly ash. Solid samples were directly introduced into the atomizer without preliminary treatment. The direct analysis method was not always free of spectral matrix interference, but the stabilization of arsenic by adding palladium nitrate (chemical modifier...

In this work, we introduce a furnace-balancing scheme that generates an optimal furnace-side feed distribution that has the potential to improve the thermal efficiency of a reformer. The furnace-balancing scheme is composed of four major components: data generation, model identification, a model-based furnace-balancing optimizer and a termination checker. Initially, a computational fluid dynami...

The temperature control of the reheat furnace is very difficult due to its complex characteristics. Based on expert knowledge and pyrology mechanism, a hybrid supervisory control system (an optimal setting model) has been developed innovatively to control its temperature. With the help of a statistical process controller, this hybrid supervisory control system can replace the human operator for...

A tubular furnace specifically designed for growing nanostructured materials is presented in this work. The configuration allows an accurate control of evaporation temperature, substrate temperature, total pressure, oxygen partial pressure, volumetric flow and source-substrate distance, with the possibility of performing both downstream and upstream depositions. In order to illustrate the versa...

A nonlinear model predictive controller is designed for the strip temperature in a combined directand indirect-fired strip annealing furnace. Based on a tailored first-principles dynamical model and the estimated current system state, the receding horizon controller selects optimal trajectories for both the fuel supply and the strip velocity so that the strip temperature is controlled to its de...

The gas temperature of atomospheric gas in a graphite atomizer was measured during an atomization stage in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS), by using a two-line method under the assumption of Boltzmann distribution. Iron and nickel were chosen as the probe elements to compare the gas temperatures obtained with different pairs of spectral lines. The atomic absorptions of ...

It is attempt in pulverized coal injection (PCI) in blast furnace tuyeres to increase the injection rate without increasing the amount of unburned char inside the stack of the blast furnace. The unburned char can cause problems in the blast furnace operation, such as reduced permeability, undesirable gas/temperature distribution, excessive coke erosion and significant char carryover. In the nea...

Current blast furnace technology is a two-stage ironmaking process that requires that iron ore concentrate first be formed into pellets, fired at 1260°C, cooled, transported to the blast furnace, and then re-heated to approximately 1500°C to produce pig iron. This heating, cooling, and then reheating wastes a great deal of energy, which would be saved if the ironmaking process had only a single...

We review our recent results on the growth and characterization of silicon nanowires (SiNWs). Vapourphase deposition techniques are considered, including chemical vapour deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), high-temperature annealing, and thermal evaporation. We present complementary approaches to SiNW production. We investigate the low-temperature (down to 300 ...