Catalytic pyrolysis is an effective route for converting lignin into value-added aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX). However, the oxygen-rich volatiles generated during pyrolysis readily form carbon deposits on acidic catalysts, leading to the blockage of active sites and catalyst deactivation. In this study, the effects of CO2 or H2O, and their mixture on coke mitigation and product evolution during lignin catalytic pyrolysis over ZSM-5 at 600 °C were systematically investigated. Both CO2 and H2O promoted the conversion of lignin-derived organics into smaller molecules through cracking- and gasification-related reactions, thereby increasing gas yields. Among the tested atmospheres, CO2 showed the strongest promotion of aromatic production, nearly doubling the relative abundance of BTX from 27.0% to 52.2%, mainly by enhancing the cracking of heavy organics and the conversion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons into monocyclic aromatics·H2O also promoted BTX formation, although to a lesser extent, whereas co-feeding CO2/H2O mainly intensified gasification and offered limited benefit for BTX enhancement. In addition, both CO2 and H2O reduced hydrocarbon deposition on the catalyst surface, suppressed the formation of coke precursors, and preserved more accessible acidic sites, especially Brønsted acid sites. They also altered char chemistry by increasing aromaticity and graphitization and by removing hydrophilic oxygen-containing species, which made the resulting biochar more hydrophobic. Overall, CO2 was more effective than H2O in enhancing BTX production, while both reactive atmospheres helped alleviate catalyst deactivation and modify char properties during lignin catalytic pyrolysis.

Petcoke (PC) steam gasification for hydrogen production using biomass ash as cheap-effective catalyst was promising. KCl, CaCO3 and SiO2 were used to establish biomass ash model system (BAMS). Influence of BAMS on char structure evolution during PC gasification and synergistic effects among BAMS components were investigated. Furthermore, synergistic effect mechanism of BAMS was revealed. The results indicate that interactions among BAMS components led to synergistic effects with three types: synergistic enhancement of catalytic effect (K-Ca>K-Ca-Si), synergistic inhibition of catalytic effect (K-Si), and synergistic enhancement of inhibitory effect (Ca-Si). Synergistic effects initially increased and then decreased as reaction proceeded. Influence of BAMS component combinations on the semi-char carbon structure and content of C-C functional groups exhibited similar phenomena. KCl and CaCO3 synergistically enhanced destruction of carbon structure, while SiO2 weakened catalytic effects of K and Ca through fixation reactions. Preferential combination of CaCO3 and SiO2 led to catalytic activity remaining of KCl.

Surfactants with capability to bind to organics might modify reaction network in hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), probably affecting the properties of resulting hydrochar and/or derived activated carbons (AC). This was studied herein by conducting HTC of tangerine peel (TP) at 200 °C in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and further activation of hydrochar with ZnCl2 at 550 °C. The results indicated that CTAB may have interacted with intermediates containing oxygen-containing functionalities (i.e. -OH, C=O and C-O-C), potentially suppressing polymerization reactions and reducing hydrochar yield by 24.6% with hydrochar-blank as a base for comparison. In-situ IR measurement confirmed highly aliphatic nature of the hydrochar-CTAB, which facilitated development of porous structures in activation, producing AC of much higher SBET and pore volume (1726.9 m2g-1 and 1.24 cm3g-1) than that from AC-char-Blank (1245.8 m2g-1 and 0.83 cm3g-1). In comparison, SDS presence generated electronegative micelle structures serving as seeds for formation of hydrochar, which increased significantly yields of hydrochar (70.4% versus 40.3%) by wrapping SDS-derivatives inside the hydrochars. The SDS-derivatives could not be activated by ZnCl2, producing AC of lower SBET (1067.7 m2g-1). However, cracking of the SDS-derivatives increased abundance of mesopores by nearly 3 folds.

Against the backdrop of China’s “dual-carbon” targets and its energy structure characterized by abundant coal but limited oil resources, coal-to-liquid fuel and ammonia show promising engineering prospects as alternative fuels for internal combustion engines. However, engines fueled with either pure ammonia or ammonia-blended fuels commonly suffer from high unburned ammonia emissions. The post-injection strategy has the potential to reduce unburned NH3 emissions, but it may also increase the risk of particulate emissions. Therefore, in this study, experiments were conducted on a four-cylinder diesel engine to investigate the effects of injection pressure on the combustion and emission characteristics of a coal-to-liquid/ammonia dual-fuel engine under a post-injection strategy. The results show that increasing the injection pressure raises the late-combustion temperature and improves combustion efficiency. The brake thermal efficiency (BTE) reaches a maximum value of 42.9 % at 100 MPa. However, owing to the increased heat release before compression top dead center, the negative compression work increases, resulting in a slight decrease in BTE at 140 MPa. In terms of emissions, CO, soot, and unburned NH3 all increase with the ammonia energy fraction (AEF), whereas increasing the injection pressure can significantly reduce these emissions. For example, at AEF = 10, CO, soot, and unburned NH3 decrease by 33 %, 71 %, and 19 %, respectively, as the injection pressure increases. Meanwhile, because a higher AEF reduces the carbon supply and enhances late-stage oxidation, the soot emission at AEF = 15 is lower than that at AEF = 10. Regarding particulate matter, increasing the injection pressure markedly suppresses the particle number concentration (PNC). For example, under the AEF = 0 condition, the PNC decreases by 56 % with increasing injection pressure. In terms of particle size distribution, the number concentration of ultrafine particles with diameters below 23 nm also shows a simultaneous decreasing trend, with a reduction of 31 %. This indicates that increasing the injection pressure has the potential to reduce particulate emissions and inhibit particle size growth.

Fenton pretreatment could break down partially structures of biomass components, which also enriches oxygen-containing groups on biomass surface and reduces mass transfer limitations of volatiles in subsequent pyrolysis. To elucidate its effects on pyrolysis pathways and char evolution, wood powder was pretreated with Fenton systems at different Fe2+/H2O2 ratios prior to pyrolysis. The results showed that ·OH radicals generated during Fenton treatment preferentially attack β-O-4 bonds, glycosidic bonds, and methoxyl side chains. Such a pre-oxidative disruption shifts the downstream conversion pathway away from “lignin → phenols” and “cellulose → ketones”, redirecting volatile fragments instead toward furans, organic acids, and ultimately gaseous products. Concretely, bio-oil yield dropped by 1–8% while gas yield rose correspondingly. In terms of the influence on characteristics of char: specific surface area increased from 227.8 m2/g to as high as 316.8 m2/g, microporosity rose from 74.4% to nearly 80%, and oxygen content fell from 26.4% to as low as 16.8%. Carbon enrichment from the Fenton oxidation further raised energy yield from 35.6% to 41.7%. As a result, the best-performing char achieved a bisphenol A adsorption capacity of 114.99 mg/g—roughly three times that of the untreated control. Notably, this enhancement is not merely a surface area effect; it reflects a threefold synergy among more uniform micropores, a more condensed aromatic framework, and reduced surface hydrophilicity. Together, these findings demonstrate that targeted pre-oxidation of biomass precursors offers a rational route to steer pyrolysis away from bio-oil formation and toward functional microporous carbons with tunable interfacial chemistry.

The tight coupling of primary and secondary reactions in biomass pyrolysis complicates reaction mechanisms and product control. Photo-thermal (PT) pyrolysis, with its thermal focusing effect, allows volatiles to enter the heat-restricted area with controllable secondary homogeneous reaction intensity, enabling easier separation and independent regulation of primary reactions and secondary homogeneous reactions. This study developed a twostage PT heating reactor to explore the mechanisms of secondary homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions during rapeseed cake pyrolysis. Results showed that stronger secondary volatile-char interactions promoted polymerization of bio-oil and the combination of free radicals with unsaturated rings, mainly increasing the content of 2-3 ring aromatic compounds. The interactions also induced free radical coupling, forming more aliphatic radicals that competed with char aromatization, reducing condensation. Secondary homogeneous volatile reactions mainly influenced the conversion of light components, promoting their cracking into gases, increasing H2 and CO yields by 26.39 NmL/g and 9.62 NmL/g, respectively. High-activity aromatic compounds underwent methylation and methoxylation reactions and also served as precursors for polycyclic aromatics. At second-stage temperatures above 300 degrees C, bio-oil component oligomerization was also promoted, enhancing the aromaticity of the bio-oil. This study provides a basis for understanding and regulating primary and secondary reactions to optimize biomass pyrolysis products.

In this study, ex-situ, in-situ, and multi-step pressurized CO2 treatment processes were integrated to enhance the grindability of bastnaesite ore. Based on the particle size distribution and the Bond Work Index (BWI), the grinding-aiding effect of the combined process was evaluated, while the morphology, microstructural evolution and carbonate content of ore particles at different treatment stages were investigated to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Grinding tests demonstrated that replacing the one-step grinding process with three-step or six-step grinding to implement multi-step CO2 treatment reduced the P80 of the grinding products from 87.01 mu m to 72.27 mu m and 65.49 mu m, respectively. Accordingly, the BWI declined from 6.96 kWh/t to 5.93 kW h/t and 5.47 kWh/t, representing reductions of 14.80 % and 21.41 %, respectively. Mechanistic study revealed that the combined treatment facilitates rapid reactions between CO2 and newly exposed carbonate minerals, leading to the formation of soluble bicarbonates, which in turn drives sustained microcrack generation and a reduction in ore hardness. This process significantly improves grindability and provides valuable insights for scaling up CO2assisted grinding technologies in industrial applications.

In response to the synergistic performance requirements of "high thermal conductivity-high dielectric energy storage" for polymer-based composites in electronic devices, this study develops a multi-scale synergistic strategy comprising "surface modification-phase inversion into pores-hot-pressing molding", and fabricates high-performance boron nitride/graphene oxide/poly(arylene ether nitrile) (BN/GO/PEN) composite films. This strategy enhances interfacial compatibility by forming hydrogen bonds between the amino groups on the surface of BN and the hydroxyl, carboxyl, and other oxygen-containing groups on PEN and GO. Meanwhile, polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30) and Pluronic F127 were incorporated as dispersants. Leveraging the synergistic effects of π–π conjugation and hydrogen bonding, filler agglomeration was effectively suppressed, thereby further improving interfacial compatibility. Then, a three-dimensional (3D) honeycomb-like interconnected porous structure was constructed via the phase inversion method (PIM), which not only provided spatial support for uniform filler dispersion but also mitigated material brittleness, laying a critical structural foundation for subsequent hot-pressing densification. Finally, the porous structure was densified, defects were eliminated, and the thermally conductive network was enhanced through the hot-pressing process. Ultimately, at a hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) loading of 15 wt%, the dielectric energy storage density of composite film reached 4.18 J/cm3, which was 81.7% higher than that of the unmodified and non-hot-pressed samples. The resultant composite films also exhibited excellent mechanical strength and thermal management potential. Centered on the core design concept of phase inversion porosification, this work provides innovative insights and a theoretical basis for developing next-generation dielectric materials with combined high thermal conductivity and high-power energy storage capability.

Inorganics are important fractions of biomass and they may actively participate in thermochemical conversion of biomass or at least may create some steric hindrance, modifying reaction network and properties of products. This was investigated herein by conducting pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), activation with ZnCl2 and gasification of rice husk (RH) or RH after desilication (DSRH) with steam. The results showed that removal of SiO2 enhanced the yields (on organic basis) of biochar by 19.6%, hydrochar by 28.6%, activated carbon (AC) by 29.8%, while decreased the yield of char from gasification by 71.0%. Removal of SiO2 reduced steric hindrance, enhancing accessibility of inner structures by steam and hence severity of gasification. This also promoted crosspolymerization in HTC, condensation in activation with ZnCl2, but minimized cracking induced by SiO2 in pyrolysis. These factors together increased C and O contents of resulting solid products. Moreover, enhanced permeability of activator from removing SiO2 significantly increased SBET and microporosity in activation with ZnCl2 (1504.1 versus 1112.2 m2/g; micropores: 95.1% versus 83.4%) as well as SBET and mesoporosity in gasification with H2O (698.2 versus 326.9 m2/g; mesopores: 82.8% versus 56.8%). Additionally, removal of SiO2 also created more voids on outer surface of AC and increased the capability for adsorption of phenol while improved combustion performance of biochar and hydrochar.

As a reliable peak-shaving power source, coal-fired boilers’ flexible operation technology has become a key support for achieving the low-carbon transition. To enhance the peak-shaving capacity of the boiler, it is urgent to explore the transient mechanisms of flow, combustion, and heat transfer under dynamic conditions. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics of the burner under varying load conditions and the combustion characteristics in boilers under low and dynamic load conditions are investigated by CFD numerical simulation technology based on a 10 MW coal-fired test bench. The results indicate that at load rates of 2%/min and 4%/min, heat flux density remains mostly consistent across the upper wall of the furnace. At 6%/min, the heat flux near dense pulverized coal flow exceeds that near fresh coal flow. At 60% load, the flow fields are symmetrical, optimizing flame filling and distribution. As the load drops to 40%, the upper flow field begins to distort, and by 20% load, turbulence and uneven temperature distribution arise. At 20% load, the one-layer burner demonstrates superior flow field stabilization compared to the two-layer configuration, with particle concentration remaining lower near the wall above the burner but higher in the cold ash hopper, while high-temperature zones predominantly concentrate in the furnace center with minimal areas exceeding 1900 K. A boiler designed for concentration separation enhances airflow and decreases wall particle concentration at 20% load, resulting in a more uniform temperature distribution with high-temperature zones further from the walls.

The quantification of components in mixed solid wastes is fundamental to waste-quality assessment and to informed decision-making for downstream utilization. Here, we develop a non-destructive quantitative framework that couples near-infrared hyperspectral imaging with machine learning for a five-component system comprising HDPE, PP, PS, pine shavings, and corn stalks. Standard normal variate (SNV) preprocessing and successive projections algorithm (SPA) feature selection were used to construct feature spectral inputs, and five machine learning models (PLSR, XGBoost, SVR, RF, and 1D-CNN) were benchmarked using sample-level grouped cross-validation. Results demonstrated that the 1D-CNN delivered consistently strong performance across all components (R2 = 0.977-0.989, MAE = 1.966-2.662 wt%). Guided by analyses of component crosstalk, agreement bias assessment, and error patterns, we further identified confusing component pairs and low-concentration regimes, and introduced targeted augmentation using decoupling and low-content datasets to reinforce the model. Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) analysis established interpretable links between key bands and component competition. Furthermore, the reinforced model demonstrated excellent stability in independent tests across days and batches. In leave-combination-out extrapolation test using five-component formulations, the model maintained high accuracy, with R2 ranging from 0.898 to 0.990 and MAE from 1.036 to 3.119 wt%, demonstrating transferability to unknown recipes and practical engineering potential. This study provides an interpretable and scalable route to rapid quantitative analysis for precision blending of mixed solid waste.

As global energy and environmental pressures increase, the recovery of industrial low-temperature waste heat (LTWH) has become increasingly important. This study develops four novel cogeneration systems based on chemical heat pumps to simultaneously provide thermal energy and electricity from LTWH. Through system optimization, the internal cogeneration system (NORC-IAH) identified the optimized NORC-IAH (NORC-IAH1), which effectively converts LTWH, generating electricity and high-temperature heat. Exergy, economic, and environmental assessments were conducted for NORC-IAH1. Exergy analysis shows the highest exergy loss in the distillation column T1, at 599.85 kW, and the lowest exergy efficiencies for pumps P1 and T1, at 37.25% and 41.94%, respectively. Economic analysis reveals a total annual cost of $712,641.65/year, with T1 and heat exchanger H1 contributing the most, indicating potential improvements in heat transfer efficiency. Life cycle assessment highlights the carcinogenic risk from sulfidic tailings during the stainless steel construction stage. This study provides a foundation for industrial heat recovery and environmental sustainability.

The coal combustion process is essentially a series of complex chain reactions driven by free radicals, and the chemical structure has a significant impact on the coal combustion process. To reveal the mechanism of Persistent Free Radicals (PFRs) in coal during combustion, 60 kinds of representative Chinese coals of varying coal ranks were selected and characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to determine the g value, PFRs concentration, and FWHM. Furthermore, proximate analysis, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were employed to elucidate the influence of coal quality and chemical structure parameters on PFRs characteristics, and to develop quadratic regression models for predicting combustion temperatures. Results indicate that highly coalified coal samples exhibit increased PFRs concentration, reduced g value and FWHM, associated with condensed, highly cross-linked aromatic structures and low heteroatom content. In contrast, low rank coals present the opposite trend, indicating a predominance of aliphatic chains and less condensed aromatic domains, resulting in more reactive but less stable radicals. Combustion modeling achieved high predictive accuracy (R-2 > 0.85), the model revealed that PFRs concentration controlling the ignition process (T-i) while the activity of free radicals governing the peak (T-m) and burnout (T-b) combustion stage.

Excessive accumulation of unburned char (UBC) in the blast furnace can impair permeability and constrain further increases in the pulverized-coal injection (PCI) rate unless UBC is effectively consumed, primarily through subsequent gasification. Nine high-volatile bituminous coals with comparable properties were rapidly combusted in a drop tube furnace to produce UBCs with different burnout levels. Their thermal conversion and CO2 gasification behaviors were investigated using simultaneous thermal analysis, complemented by pore-structure, microcrystalline, and mineralogical characterization. UBC gasification reactivity showed no direct correlation with parent-coal burnout but remained strongly related to parent-coal reactivity at burnout levels below 80% (R2 > 0.92). Increasing burnout decreased both the specific surface area and aromatic interlayer spacing d002; however, neither parameter showed a consistently positive correlation with UBC gasification reactivity. Instead, Ca-bearing minerals in the UBC ash promoted gasification through low-temperature carbonation followed by high-temperature carbonate decomposition, thereby generating or regenerating catalytically active CaO, while carbonate decomposition may also contribute to local pore development. The associated mass-gain and decomposition features in the TG-DTG-DTA curves reflected the catalytic contribution of discrete Ca-bearing species. As burnout increased, mineral catalysis progressively outweighed the adverse effects of pore deterioration and increasing carbon structural order, ultimately becoming a dominant factor governing UBC gasification reactivity. These findings reveal the coupled effects of parent-coal properties, UBC microstructure, and ash-mineral transformations on the thermal conversion and CO2 gasification reactivity of UBC.

Biomass-derived carbon aerogels are attractive carbon supports, yet their structural evolution under coking environments remains poorly understood. Utilizing a waste-pomelo-peel derived Ni/carbon aerogel (Ni/CA) as a model system, this work investigates the co-evolution of deposited carbon species and the resulting reconstruction of the carbon framework during ethanol cracking to elucidate dynamic structural transformations. Time-on-stream characterization combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed the coexistence of two distinct carbon growth patterns. After 6 h at 700 degrees C, the total carbon deposition rate reached 0.503 g & sdot; g- cat 1 & sdot; h-1 with filamentous carbon (52.2%) ultimately exceeding amorphous carbon (47.8%). Initially, disordered amorphous carbon preferentially filled intrinsic micropores, whereas filamentous structures became increasingly dominant over time. Filamentous carbon grew via a Ni catalyzed tip growth mode, inducing pronounced framework reconstruction. DFT calculations suggested that representative carbon-containing states and C-C bonded configurations can be stabilized on Ni/carbon interfacial sites, providing energetic support for the experimentally observed persistence of deposited carbon. More importantly, filament entanglement generated secondary meso-/macroporous voids that partially compensated for the loss of intrinsic microporosity within the examined reaction window. These results demonstrate that carbon deposition on Ni/CA is not a purely deactivating process, but a dynamic carbon-on-carbon reconstruction involving competition between pore-blocking amorphous coking and filament-induced pore reorganization. The work provides a mechanistic understanding from a carbon materials perspective regarding deposited carbon evolution on biomass-derived carbon aerogels and clarifies how concurrent carbon growth pathways reshape pore hierarchy and interfacial accessibility within the examined reaction window under carbon-rich reaction conditions.

In recent years, the large-scale integration of renewable energy has posed major challenges to grid stability. Enhancing the flexibility of coal-fired power units has become a key measure to address the issue of renewable energy consumption. To address the ramp rate limitations caused by the large inertia and delays of conventional pulverizing systems, this study proposes a small pulverized coal silo (SPCS) based system that combines the advantages of direct-fired and intermediate storage systems, improving coal feeding and reduction rates. The system was implemented in engineering on a 350 MW once-through boiler-turbine (OTBT) unit and its effectiveness was verified, achieving a load ramp rate of no less than 3.5% Pe/min within a wide load range for the first time. The operational characteristics of the new system were systematically analyzed, and mass conservation equations were established with incorporation of system delays and inertia times. A four-input three-output mechanistic model of an OTBT unit under the wide-load operation conditions was developed. To further optimize the model parameters, we propose a chaotic enhanced adaptive black-winged kite optimization (CEABKA) method and employ it for the model parameter identification. The result indicates that an overall MAPE error below 2.6% for the data-identified model was achieved. The model was validated using operational and step disturbance data in SPCS field test. The results showed that the MAPE was less than 4.5% and 1%, confirming its high accuracy under real conditions. The developed high-fidelity model can provides a reliable foundation for implementing advanced control in SPCS-integrated units.

The MAPK signaling pathway plays a considerable role in cancer inhibition, and pyroptosis is a type of programmed cell death (PCD); thus, it is essential for cellular activity and cancer progression. Juglone can inhibit the viability and motility of cancer cells, but it is unclear whether it can induce pyroptosis in cancer cells, and the corresponding regulatory mechanisms are not well understood. This study explored the in vitro effects of juglone on OS cells, further revealing its ability to induce pyroptosis via the caspase-3/GSDME pathway. Moreover, juglone can regulate the GSDME pathway to induce both pyroptosis and apoptosis through the JNK/p38 pathway. These findings suggest that juglone has potential as a therapeutic agent for osteosarcoma.