15 Fuel science and technology (fundamental science, analysis, instrumentation)

observed differences in the compositions of polycyclic alkanes isolated from bitumens and hydrous pyrolyzates, structural changes of these biomarkers at the molecular level during hydrous pyrolysis were studied.

97101529 Investigation of the origin of Aleksinac oil shale organic matter Glumicic, T. L. et al. J. Serb. Chern. Sm., 1996, 61, (ll), 1015-1024. A detailed GC-MS analysis of biological markers, such as steranes, diterpanes. and triterpanes, was carried out in order to determine the origin of organic matter of Aleksinac oil shale (from the village of Subotinac, Yugoslavia). Micropetrographical analysis was also conducted. The report suggests that the formation of the oil shale occurred in a large freshwater lake basin, and that the majority of organic matter originated from algae, partially modified by microorganisms. The origin of the organic matter could be from cyanophytes, green algae, archaebacteria, partially degraded algae, and acritarchs.

97101530 Kinetics of the carbonylation of methanol in a mechanically agitated reactor Bai, L. et al. J. Nat. Gas Chem.. 1996, 5, (3), 229-236. Presents a study into the carbonylation of methanol using a sodium methoxide catalyst in the temperature range of 60-110°C and pressure range of 2.0-4.0 MPa in a mechanically agitated reactor. The paper preents a kinetic rate expression for the reaction. The negative effects of CO2 and Hz0 on the carbonylation reaction were also studied. The impurities react with the sodium methoxide catalyst and stop the reaction.

97101531 Liquefaction of plasma-treated coals Kotanigawa, T. et al. Sekitan Kagaku Kaigi Happy0 Ronhunshu. 1995. 32, 275-278 (In Japanese). This article presents a preliminary study of the effect of microwave irradiation on Tanito Harum and Yallourn coal.

97101532 Method for reduction of fuel consumption in manufacture of hot iron from scrap and ore Ujisawa, M. and Yamamoto, T. Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 08, 199, 213 [96, 199, 2131 (Cl. C21Bl I/02), 6 Aug 1996, Appl. 95/10, 300, 26 Jan 1995, 7 pp (In Japanese). The hot iron is manufactured in a vertical barrel-type furnace with an opening to receive charge and to discharge off-gas at the top, a lower tuyere, an upper tuyere and a tapping hole at the bottom. Coke is filled up to the level of the lower tuyere, scrap and iron ore are charged on the top of the packed coke separate up to the level of the upper tuyere, a combustion supporting gas and, when necessary, fuel are injected through the lower tuyere, a combustion supporting gas is blown into the furnace through the upper tuyere when scrap is detected at the upper tuyere level, and the blowing of combustion gas into the furnace through the upper tuyere is terminated when ore is detected at the upper tuyere level. This method can reduce the consumption of fuel.

97101533 Methodology and evaluation of priorities for energy and environmental research projects Kagazyo, T. et al., Energy, Feb/March 1997, 22, (2/3), 121-129. This article details an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate and prioritize energy-related projects based not only on technological issues but also resource and social aspects. Nineteen energy-related characteristics and seven environmental characteristics are used to describe a proposed research project.

97101534 Microbial attack on sulfur-containing hydro- carbons: implications for the biodesulfurization of oils and coals Sherman, J. L. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol., 1996, 67, (2). 109-123. This article is concerned with microbiological attack on organic sulfur- containing hydrocarbons. The objective of most research in this area is to find suitable biocatalysts for removal at the industrial scale of organic sulfur from fossil fuels. Microbes for desulfurization should, ideally, attack the sulfur in hydrocarbons without altering the carbon skeleton or affecting other valuable components of the oil or coal. Organisms able to cleave carbon-sulfur bonds releasing sulfur atoms (as sulfate in aerobic processes) appear to fulfil these requirements. Biodesulfurization is biological possible and practically attainable at the laboratory scale.

97JO1535 Modeling of thermodynamic properties of propel- lants Petrzilek, J. and Zigmund, J. Int. Annu. Conf. ICT, 1996, 27th (Energetic Materials), 93.1-93.5. Discusses the use of TCHAR (a computer program designed for computation of thermodynamic properties of explosives), to obtain values of some energetic parameters (e.g. heat of explosion, flame temperature, force, and expected composition of burning products) for 23, 199 possible variations in compositions of propellants containing dinitrotoluene O-15, centralite O-IO, nitroglycerin O-40, nitrognanidine O-55, RDX O-30 vol.%, and nitrocellulose (containing 13.1% N) balance. Mathematical models were developed based on the results.

120 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 1997

97101536 Modelling of char-gas reaction kinetics Liliedahl, T. and Sjostrom, K. Fuel, 1997, 76, (l), 29-37. Discusses the development of a semi-empirical gasification kinetic model and reviews the most common rate models. Comparisons are made with experimental data for lignite char and published data on chars of coal, peat and biomass. In the gasification experiments, finely ground lignite char samples of 0.5-I g were gasified in a thermobalance at atmospheric and elevated pressures, at temperatures between 750 and 8So’C, using a number of CO-C02-HZO-Ar mixtures.

97101537 Online GC-MS techniques for monitoring high- pressure conversion reactions Jakab, E. et al. Process Control Qual., 1996, 8, (2-3). 55-67. In experiments conducted for this study gas chromatography-mass spectro- metry instruments were interfaced to high-pressure flow-through micro- reactors to monitor the product formation online. Three types of instrumental setup are described illustrating the versatility of this kind of coupling. The first example shows the thermal and catalytic conversion of dibenzyl ether in solution under 115 bar hydrogen atmospheres. In the second application, thermal decomposition of JP-7 jet fuel was carried out under supercritical conditions to study the gaseous product evolution. This system features the application of a microbalance to monitor the weight of the total liquid sample plus products. The third system was designed to perform conversion of solid sample (wood) in liquid/vapor environment. This-reactor can be applied to model two-step liquefaction processes with catalytic conversion of the primary products. All the three systems provide information on the product distribution and kinetic profiles of the conversion processes.

97101538 Open-path Fourier transform infrared studies of large-scale laboratory biomass fires. Yekelson, R. J. et al. .I. Geophys. Res., [Atmos./, 1996. 101. (D15). 21067- 21080. A series of large-scale open fires was conducted at controlled-environment combustion facility using pure pine needles or sagebrush or mixed fuels as fuels, simulating forest-floor, ground fires; crown fires; broadcast burns; and slash pile burns. Mid-IR spectra of the smoke were recorded throughout each fire by open path Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectro- scopy. Simultaneous measurements were made of fuel mass loss, stack gas temperature, and total mass flow up the stack. Carbon dioxide is the dominant emission of (and primarily produced by) flaming combustion, from which nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and most of the water vapour from combustion and fuel moisture were also measured. Carbon monoxide is the dominant emission formed primarily by smoldering combustion from which carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and ethane were also measured. A significant fraction of the total emissions consisted of unoxidized pyrolysis products (e.g. methanol, foimaldehyde, acetic and formic acid, ethene (ethylene), ethyne (acetylene), and hydrogen cyanide). Large differences in emissions occur from different fire and fuel types, and the observed temporal behaviour of the emissions is found to depend strongly on the fuel bed and product type.

97101539 Performance and stability characterization of liquid oxygen/kerosene injectors at Aerojet Pieper, J. et al. Prog. Astronaut. Aeronaut., 1996. 171 (Recent Advances in Spray Combustion: Spray Atomization and Drop Burning Phenomena, 2), 349-368. Presents the findings of research conducted on spray combustion of RP-II liquid O2 rocket propellant systems, with emphasis on determining the impact on performance and stability of the geometric and flow dynamics that affect spray combustion. Topics discussed include historical back- ground, visualization of liquid 02-hydrocarbon combustion sprays, combus- tion efficiency and stability, RP-1 vapourization limitations, injector element mixing limitations, kinetic limitations at low oxidizer-fuel ratios, types of combustion instability, effect of damping devices, and effect of operating conditions.

97101540 Phase diagram approach to the fluxing effect of additions of CaCO, on Australian coal ashes Hurst, H. J. et al., (Division of Coal and Energy Technology, CSIRO, Norih Ryde, 2113 Australia). Energy Fuels, 1996, 10, (6), 1215-1219. A phase diagram approach to predict the melting temperatures of coal ash/ flux mixtures and the viscosity vs. temperature characteristics of the molten slags is presented in this article. The approach is illustrated by calcium oxide fluxing studies of three Australian bituminous coal ashes covering a range of silica to alumina ratios. The agreement between experimental results and predictions from this approach suggests that sensible estimates can be made of the amount of fluxing agent necessary for satisfactory slag tapping from the ash content and ash composition of the coal.

97101541 Plasma chemical reactions at atmospheric pres- sure for high efficiency use of hydrocarbon fuels Okazaki, K. et a/. Energy, Feb/March 1997, 22, (2/3), 369-374. This article discusses how the direct conversion of methane to methanol with minimum energy consumption could become a key technology for highly efficient utilization of fossil fuel, because low-quality or Iow- temperature (-ilOO”C) energy sources can be used and regenerated by converting methanol to hydrogen. A new technique for synthesizing methanol directly from a methane-oxygen mixture has been developed.