Laboratory Glass Reactor Setup. Copyright: Petr Kluson

Functional food is experiencing increasing interest. Water-in-oil-in-water emulsions are remarkable systems bringing innovative opportunities to this field. They could allow for enjoying favorite fat products because of lower fat content and eventually other nutritional benefits. This review discusses the technology and research of such emulsions with potential applications in dairy products.

Coke oven gas is an important source of benzol. The process of benzol scrubbing and stripping was examined and the physicochemical properties of wash oil were monitored under natural technological conditions. Laboratory experiments simulated the exposition by coke oven gas impurities. Optimal conditions for wash oil regeneration could be estimated based on the presented results.

Three very rapid and accurate models for the prediction of the cold filtration plugging point were developed and correlated with the standard method for its assessment. Each model has its own particular advantages that suit it to a particular type of diesel sample and a specific stage of the diesel production process. These models could improve the optimization of diesel fuel production.

Mixed-matrix membranes based on Matrimid®, PEG 200, and ZIF-8 were successfully prepared by the traditional and the non-dried metal-organic framework method. The membrane preparation procedure played an important role for the separation properties of the membranes, at least in the dispersion of the filler across the membrane. The incorporation of ZIF-8 nanoparticles increased the CO₂ permeability.

Shale gas is an emerging unconventional energy with enormous reserves. The shale gas sweetening process and Claus process are coupled by energy integration. A framework of economic evaluation and environmental assessment on the coupled process is established. The economic and environmental performance is investigated and distributions of different pollutant emissions by sources are discussed.

A modified interphase drag model is proposed to describe the interactions between gas phase and slurry phase considering the presence of particles. Flow hydrodynamics in a slurry-bed reactor is studied by a computational fluid dynamics-population balance model with the modified drag force model. Simulation results demonstrate the accuracy of the model in predicting the hydrodynamics.

Separation of methanol/trimethyl borate using industrial membranes was performed, with PERVAP^TM 4155-30 reaching the best separation results from all tested membranes. Due to the strong affinities of these membranes to different compounds, methanol preferentially passed through PERVAP^TM 4155-30 whereas trimethyl borate was favorably pervaporated from the mixture by PERVAP^TM 4060.

Probabilistic-statistical methods are increasingly used in the theoretical description of processes in hydrocyclones to meet modern chemical engineering requirements. The use of the property of statistical self-similarity is proposed to reduce the scope of field experiments and provide an opportunity to define the relationship between random components and flow hydrodynamics in a hydrocyclone.

Supported metal catalysts play an important role in chemical technology, and hydrothermal synthesis of catalysts has recently attracted much attention. Cobalt and nickel nanoparticles were deposited on a hyper-cross-linked polystyrene matrix by a hydrothermal method, and the catalytic activity of the resulting catalysts was evaluated in the deoxygenation of fatty acids in supercritical n-hexane.

Crystallization kinetics of borax decahydrate in a batch-cooling dual-impeller crystallizer at different impeller diameters was evaluated. Hydrodynamic conditions were analyzed by mixing time and simulations of the fluid flow pattern by computational fluid dynamics. A strong relation between the hydrodynamics and the properties of the final product of crystallization was detected.

Based on systems modeling, three post-combustion CO₂ capture processes – membrane, absorption, and adsorption – were compared regarding energy consumption, design, and efficiency. The membrane process is revealed as the most efficient one in terms of energy consumption, but reaches lower recovery rates than the other two processes and a significantly smaller CO₂ purity than the absorption process.

Solubilities of gases in liquids are needed to interpret rate data in gas-liquid, gas-liquid-liquid, and gas-liquid-solid reactions. Hence, CO and H₂ solubility under the conditions of liquid-phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis were measured and thermodynamic parameters calculated. The SRK equation of state can be used to predict optimal process conditions for liquid-phase Fischer-Tropsch reactions.

The solid particle distribution in a liquid inside a tank in the presence of sedimentation and random perturbing forces caused particularly by convective motion is considered. The behavior of particles can be described by a diffusion-type equation, the Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equation. Stationary particle distributions over the height and horizontal cross sections of the tank were obtained.

Thermal dissolution and hydrogenation of coal was performed under mild reaction conditions with a carbonyl iron powder catalyst. The yield of preasphaltenes, asphaltenes, and oils were strongly influenced by the solvent-to-coal mass ratio and temperature. Carbonyl iron powder is an effective catalyst for first-stage direct coal liquefaction, replacing the dangerous iron pentacarbonyl catalyst.

The impact on turbulence characteristics of the main particle image velocimetry setting parameters was investigated for a Rushton turbine impeller. To obtain the relevant data for velocities and fluctuation gradients, a minimum recording time is needed. No effect of sampling frequency was observed if the sampling frequency was higher than approx. 17 times the impeller frequency.

The expectations of combustion engineers who use CFD tools are put into perspective by two instructive examples. The first one is an extensive parametric study of NO_x emissions, and the second one a prediction of local heat loads in a water-cooled furnace. Both examples are validated by reliable measured data and provide an indication of the typical degree of accuracy.

The collision of single bubbles with single vortex rings of defined energy was studied experimentally. The intention was to investigate if the model case of a free rising bubble that interacts with a controlled liquid jet can be used as an alternative source of breakup parameters for population balance modeling of multiphase flows where bubble breakup occurs.

Activated carbon was prepared from agricultural waste (cocoa pod husk) with ZnCl₂ as an activating agent and employed as a green support for Pd oxidation catalysts. Pd nanoparticles were introduced by impregnation with Pd acetate in the presence of citric acid. The catalysts were tested in ethanol gas-phase oxidation and their performance correlated with their physicochemical properties.

Thermal sterilization still holds a dominant position in the food industry. The performance of a Taylor-Couette flow apparatus as sterilizer for food was numercically investigated. The destruction of spores of Clostridium botulinum and retention of thiamine served as model reactions. The proposed flow sterilizer has the potential for process intensification in heat sterilization processes.

Electrodialysis of secondary milk products, i.e., the ultrafiltration permeate and its concentrated form by reverse osmosis, was performed to achieve different levels of desalination. Ion analysis showed that electrodialysis of milk permeate, particularly after reverse osmosis, improves the handling characteristics and may offer advantages for further processing of secondary dairy products.

As a fuel, hydrogen has a high heating value and is environmentally friendly, and thus, a hydrogen production process must be sustainable and inexpensive. Photocatalytic processes meet these requirements. An improved multi-response kinetic model based on experimental observations is presented for the photocatalytic production of hydrogen.

Heterogeneous Fenton catalysts have potential applications in treating dye-containing effluents. Hence, CuO catalysts supported on mesoporous silica MCM-41 were synthesized and evaluated in a Fenton-like reaction for the decolorization of the azo dye methyl orange. Catalytic activity at different pH values and the influence of copper content on catalyst activity were also investigated.

The air heat pump for domestic hot water is an ideal solution for heating systems equipped with solid fuel boilers. It is a maintenance-free, economical, and environmentally friendly system outside the heating season. Such heat pump should be used primarily in systems with solid fuel boilers that are not turned on outside the heating season, and installations with electric utility water preparation.

The characteristics of transition from a diffusion process to the concentration gravitational convection in multicomponent gas mixtures containing hydrocarbon components are evaluated. A computational model for the study of isothermal transfer in a ternary mixture by means of 2D modeling in a vertical channel of finite size is proposed and the results are compared with experimental data.

The definitions adopted in breakage experiments of single fluid particles are significant for the reported values. The impact of the two main definitions of fluid particle breakage on those values like breakage time, daughter sizes, and daughter numbers is investigated. An image analysis procedure is presented and the procedure for extracting the parameters from a series of images is elucidated.

A novel chitosan-Prussian blue-based membrane was successfully prepared through addition/removal of polyethylene glycol. The membrane exerts a high immobilizing stability as well as attractive adsorption characteristics for the selective removal of cesium ions, e.g., from water resources. High amounts of immobilized Prussian blue improve the adsorption ability of the membrane.

Innovative thermostable high-performance catalysts for selective production of synthesis gas from CH₄ at short contact times were developed. Nanosized Pt^o, Ru^o, and PtRu clusters provide optimum selective oxidation. The relationship of physicochemical characteristics of catalysts with their catalytic properties was evaluated. Quantum chemical modeling of CH bond activation in CH₄ on clusters was conducted.

Cryoconcentration is a relatively new emerging and environmentally friendly non-thermal technology. The improvement of centrifugal cryoconcentration through concentrate recovery from the ice fraction applied to orange juice was evaluated. The solid concentration increased by six times compared to the initial concentration of solids in fresh orange juice after three cycles.

A 3D full-loop simulation was conducted for a pilot-scale circulating-fluidized bed to study the gas-solids flow behavior. The system hydrodynamics such as pressure balance, distribution of solids holdup and velocity as well as instantaneous circulating rates were investigated, and the effects of operating conditions on the system were evaluated to get a comprehensive understanding of the system.

A styrene-divinylbenzene cation-exchange resin with sulfonic acid group is a promising adsorbent for phytosterol recovery from fatty acid methyl esters. The behavior of stigmasterol adsorption on this resin is analyzed. Simple pseudo-second-order kinetics and a modified Langmuir isotherm with corresponding parameters are proposed for prediction of adsorption rate and adsorption capacity of the resin.