Paolo Canu

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at University of Padua

Based on an experimental campaign, a model is developed for scaling up a fed-batch catalytic hydrogenation, characterized by a slow dissolution of the reagent. The model considers all mass transfer rates across the 4 phases, with solid reagent dissolution identified as the limiting factor. Chemical kinetics were identified for 7 reactions using lab...

In processing of chemical reactions involving solid phases, the physical properties of reagent suspensions is of critical importance. Therefore, we present herein a comprehensive analysis of fluid dynamics and solid transport in split-and-recombine oscillatory flow reactors. The research aims to improve the understanding of the mechanisms behind th...

Lo studio mira a esplorare la fattibilità e le condizioni operative ottimali per la degradazione in fiamma dei PFAS presenti in matrici liquide complesse, come il percolato di discarica.

Lo studio ha permesso di mettere a punto e brevettare un test rapido di reattività, definito SIT (Speedy Ignition Test), che consente di classificare le polveri metalliche in tre gruppi, per classi di pericolosità crescente: 1. polvere non reattiva 2. polvere poco reattiva 3. polvere molto reattiva. Successivamente, è stata definita una tecnologia...

A thermodynamic analysis of the methanation of CO2 within biogas sets the limits to the achievable performances, directing process and catalyst development. Practical indications of thermodynamics are elaborated. The large presence of CH4 in the biogas does not hinder the achievement of an almost complete CO2 methanation, even with CH4/CO2 = 3. The...

The exploitation of pine bark, a byproduct of timber industry, as biochar or activated carbons has been demonstrated. It can be successfully charred, and further activated, either by physical and chemical activation. The biochar yield and quality (amount of carbon) is mainly determined by the maximum temperature. Temperatures above 300 °C were requ...

Horse manure is a poor feedstock whose energetic content is comparable to that of herbaceous biomass. However, it can be effectively burnt provided that it is previously desiccated, being its moisture content very high (60% wb). This work reports an experimental investigation to identify optimal conditions for horse manure drying in a bench-scale d...

Hydrothermal deoxygenation of tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) was investigated in the presence of aqueous formic acid (0.5–7.5 wt%) as a H2 donor in the presence of subcritical H2O pressure (569–599 K). Pd and Ru nanoparticles supported on carbon (5% Pd/CSigma, 5% Ru/CSigma, 10% Pd/CO850_DP, and 5% Ru/COPcomm_DP) were found to be efficient catalysts fo...

Supported CuO catalysts onto a highly crystalline mesoporous TiO2 material are produced via an ammonium driven deposition precipitation method and tested for preferential oxidation of CO in H2-rich gases. The effect of Cu loading on the oxidation activity is investigated by producing samples with final Cu content varying between 2.5 and 10 wt%. Acc...

Aiming at improving the design of wood pellet stoves and boilers, we developed original experiments to study chemical and physical processes occurring in a single pellet. We investigated medium temperature (<550 °C) and low air flowrate, where smouldering prevails. Two setups have been used, allowing to monitor the pellet weight loss, internal temp...

Mn-based perovskites obtained by two different industrial procedures [flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and co-precipitation (COP)] have been extensively compared in terms of chemical, structural, and morphological properties with the aim of evaluating how the upscale of complex catalysts can affect the functionality. The transition between laboratory an...

La0.6Ca0.2Fe0.8Cu0.2O3, undoped (LF) and Ca, Cu-doped (LCFC), powders, obtained by different industrial procedures, are compared to evaluate reproducibility and scale-up in different industrial synthetic approaches: flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and coprecipitation (COP). Also the effects of varying composition (doping) and FSP process variability ar...

The conversion of timber industry waste to biochar was investigated, based on residues from local tropical hardwoods in Cameroon. Closed and flow reactors, loaded with few grams of the sample and fluxed with different inert gases, were used with the aim of converting these wood residues to a safe and efficient solid fuel that can be exploited by th...

We investigated the exploitation of horse manure for energy recovery by combustion. First, the impact of the waste origin and management (storage conditions) was evaluated in terms of elemental analysis, moisture content, heating value, and ash melting temperature. Besides some carbon loss over the time, horse manure origin and management policy do...

In this work, the impacts of temperature, equivalence ratio, contact-time, and torrefaction on air gasification of olive cake at low temperatures were experimentally investigated. Both raw and hydrolysed olive cake feedstocks were considered. The yields of main fuel gas products, the gas LHV, and cold gas efficiency (CGE) were adopted as the indica...

Perovskites free of critical raw materials (noble metals and rare earths) of the type Ba1-ySryMn1-0.2-xMg0.2CuxO3 (y = 0.1, 0.5; x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) are developed for the abatement of pollutants in automotive exhaust, both gaseous (CO, NOx and HCs) and solid (carbon soot). The reactivity in oxidation and reduction is tuned through ad-hoc induced sur...

We investigated the autoignition and self-heating of three different dried, wastewater treatment sludges of different origin and share of municipal and industrial waste water. We used a custom testing apparatus to study large (approx. 20 g) samples, where heat- and mass transfer limitations are purposely relevant, as in real scale applications. We...

The oxidation of dry sewage sludge evolves quite differently depending on the origin of the sludge, even in the case of predominantly municipal origin. The differences are less evident by analyzing the materials with traditional techniques of thermogravimetric analysis suggesting that they derive predominantly from physical, rather than chemical fe...

In this contribution several La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 based nanocomposites have been prepared and tested for application as Three-Ways Catalysts (TWC), aiming to develop Platinum Group Metal (PGM)-free catalysts. To reach this objective we designed and realized nanocomposites in which active CuO nanoparticles are deposited on La0.5Sr0.5CoO3. This perovskite...

Experiments and modelling were performed to investigate CO oxidation over a Pd-Rh monolith. We focused on thermal effects and hysteresis, to validate by modelling a thermal explanation of the results. Different feed composition (0.07–4% vol. CO) and heating rates (0.5–5 °C/min) have been used to reproduce both ignition and extinction stages, up to...

We investigated the smouldering onset and propagation in a biomass (pine bark) bed to mitigate or control the process. By the addition of sand, the bed porosity has been modified. Sand of different average particle size, in different arrangements and proportions (from 30 to 70%) has been used, modifying the bed porosity (between 0.44 and 0.67). Exp...

In this contribution several LaCoO3 based nanocomposites have been prepared and tested for application as Three-Way Catalytic Converters (TWC): the aim is in developing Platinum Group Metal (PGM)-free catalysts. To reach this objective we designed and realized nanocomposites in which active CuO nanoparticles are deposited on active LaCoO3. This per...

We are pleased to recognize some of our top reviewers for 2017. In 2017, the journal requested external reviews for 1186 manuscripts and 5429 external reviews were submitted, with some reviewers providing as many as 11 reviews. As co-editors-in-chief, we extend our sincere thanks to all of our reviewers. In this issue, we are pleased to recognize 3...

The reactivity of Bi0.5Sr0.5MnO3, Bi0.5Sr0.5Mn0.7Cu0.3O3, Bi0.5Sr0.5Mn0.7Ni0.3O3, La0.5Sr0.5Mn0.7Cu0.3O3 and La0.5Sr0.5Mn0.7Ni0.3O3 in ethanol steam reforming was studied. Different steam to carbon ratios have been tested (therefore referred as S/C = 1.5, and S/C = 6). The effect of an ad hoc reduction pre-treatment was also investigated. Ethanol c...

Hydrogen peroxide direct synthesis was studied using different concentrations of NaBr and H3PO4 (promoters) with a commercial Pd/C catalyst. The aim of the study was to understand the role of the acids and bromide on the catalyst and thus the effect on the direct synthesis. The experimental work was done in a continuous TBR using different concentr...

Several perovskites of the type La1-xAxCo0.5Cu0.5O3 (A = K, Sr, Ba; x = 0, 0.25, 0.5) and a Sr-doped understoichiometric one, have been prepared by citrate method aiming at application as noble metals free catalysts for automotive application. The catalysts have been characterized by BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Temperature Programmed Reduction (T...

Endothermic processes at high temperature are typically implemented through heat transfer techniques based on thermal conduction from the surface. This situation implies non-uniform radial temperature within the load causing a lower quality process. The microwave (MW) based volumetric heating is the ideal alternative to improve these processes, but...

We investigated the pine bark spontaneous reactivity in oxidant atmosphere, and its self-heating development in laboratory tests on samples in the tens of grams range. Smouldering has been triggered and sustained by limiting the biomass heat dissipation. Tests in an oven (uncontrolled ambient composition, imposed ambient temperature) were first car...

Several nanocomposites of the type CuO/LaNiO3 (Cu@LaNiO3) have been developed for application as noble metal free catalysts in TWC. The nanocomposites have been obtained by depositing copper oxide on lanthanum nickelate. The supporting perovskite has been prepared by means of the citrate route; copper, in contrast, was deposited by means of an inno...

A simulation study was carried out on the free surface granular flow occurring in partially filled tumbler mixers. Three different 2D geometries were considered: a drum, a double cone mixer and an asymmetric double cone mixer. The solid-air two phases flow was simulated using an Eulerian continuum approach, including a suitable rheology for the gra...

By modelling of mass, momentum and thermal energy transport we critically investigated the design of a flexible testing cell. Its purpose is carrying out reactivity tests at high pressure (⩾ 1 bar) on flat, disk-shaped active surfaces, under continuous gas flow. We revisited the stagnation-point flow arrangement to quantitatively evaluate the poten...

A tailor-made Pd0/K2621 catalyst was subjected to post synthesis modification via a wet treatment procedure. The aim was the understanding of the role of promoters and how—if any—improvements could be qualitatively related to the catalyst performance for the H2O2 direct synthesis. The Catalyst Wet Pretreatment Method was applied in different methan...

In this paper we present a model to predict the onset and evolution of segregation during the discharge of binary mixtures of granular materials. The model accounts for the multi-phase and multi-component nature of the granular mixtures, to simulate the main flow regimes occurring in the discharge of silos (funnel and mass flow) and how they affect...

Doping of LaCoO3 with copper to add reduction functionality in addition to the known oxidation properties has been investigated, aiming at three-way catalysis (TWC) applications. Nanoscale perovskites with nominal composition LaCo1−xCuxO3, (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5) have been synthesized by means of the citrate method. A stable perovskitic phase wi...

The olive tree pruning is a specific agroindustrial waste that can be successfully used as adsorbent, to remove Pb(II) from contaminated wastewater. Its final incineration has been studied in a thermobalance and in a laboratory flow reactor. The study aims at evaluating the fate of Pb during combustion, at two different scales of investigation. The...

In this work, a detailed single particle model was developed to describe the reaction of porous solids consisting of different solid species, with an initial composition that can be non-uniformly distributed along its radius, and multiple reactions. The continuous particle model is used to describe the rate of reduction of iron–titanium oxide parti...

We quantitatively studied the advantages of improving the compaction of a powder waste by several techniques, including its pelletization. The goal is increasing the mass storage capacity in a given storage volume, and reducing the permeability of air and moisture, that may trigger exothermic spontaneous reactions in organic waste, particularly as...

The start-up of platinum-coated, hydrogen-fuelled planar channels with heights of 1 mm is investigated numerically using 2-D transient simulations with detailed hetero-/homogeneous chemistry, heat conduction in the solid wall and surface radiation heat transfer. Simulations encompass pressures of 1 and 5 bar and fuel-lean H2/air equivalence ratios...

Palladium catalysts with an active metal content from 0.3 to 5.0 wt.% and supported on a strongly acidic, macroporous resin were prepared by ion-exchange/reduction method. H2O2 direct synthesis was carried out in the absence of promoters (acids and halides). The total Pd amount in the reacting environment was varied by changing A) the catalyst conc...

A “citrate route” derived procedure, to directly synthesize perovskite catalysts on a cordierite monolith has been developed as a simple, sustainable, fast and reproducible alternative to washcoating. The procedure has been validated with LaCoO3, a well-established perovskite active for oxidation reactions. The activity of LaCoO3 directly synthesiz...

We present a synthetic strategy for the preparation of palladium-tin alloy and intermetallic nanoparticles. Complexes of palladium(II) and tin(IV) precursors in oleylamine were thermally decomposed in an organic solution in presence of reducing moieties, leading to the formation of monodispersed nanoparticles, with varying crystallographic structur...

Laboratory-scale trickle bed reactor was modeled and simulated, taking into account axial dispersion, gas-liquid, liquid-solid and internal mass transfer as well as catalyst deactivation under isothermal conditions. For catalyst particles dynamic and steady state models were developed, including both mass and heat balances. Catalyst deactivation wa...

We studied the spontaneous heating of dried sludge produced by treating wastewater mainly originating from tanneries. Heating up to burning has been observed in the presence of air and moisture, starting at ambient temperature. To understand and prevent the process we combined chemical and morphological analyses (ESEM) with thermal activity monitor...

This invention concerns a procedure for the formation of a bimetallic composition by means of the subsequent depositing of Co(0) and Pd(0) on an inert support, a composition obtained by means of said procedure and the use of said bimetallic composition as a catalyst. Another aspect of this invention is a catalytic device that includes said bimetall...

A numerical comparison between the shrinking core model and the grain model is carried out, in the case of a single noncatalytic gas–solid reaction within a spherical particle. The study is focused on the mathematical quantification of the divergence between the time dependent particle conversions predicted by the two models, taking into account th...

In this work a continuous trickle bed reactor was used to identify optimal operation conditions with two different palladium based catalysts, selected for their promising catalytic performances as measured in batch and semibatch reactors. The two catalysts use different supports: a commercial cross-linked polymeric matrix (i.e., K2621: a cross-link...

A 2D axialsymmetric model of a DRP (direct reduction plant) shaft furnace that includes momentum, species and enthalpy balances for the solid and the gas phases was solved. The process consists in the reduction of iron ore pellets with H 2 and CO mixtures at high temperature. The process gas can contain natural gas, which is catalytically converted...

Processing of granular material often requires mixing steps in order to blend cohesive powders, distribute viscous liquids into powder beds or create agglomerates from a wet powder mass. For this reason, using bladed, high-speed mixers is frequently considered a good solution by many types of industry. However, despite the importance of such mixers...

Pd and PdAu catalysts supported on SBA15 and SiO2 were prepared and investigated for H2O2 direct synthesis in a batch autoclave (10 °C and 17.5 bar) and in the absence of halides and acids. The SiO2 supported catalysts exhibited inferior performances compared to the mesoporous ordered SBA15. A good control of both the catalysts dispersion and nanop...

We studied the reactivity of dried sludge produced by treatment of wastewater, mainly from tanneries. The solids transformations have been first characterized with thermal analysis (TGA and DSC) proving that exothermic transformation takes place at fairly low temperature, before the total organic combustion that occurs in air above 400°C. The onset...

Axial segregation in horizontal rotating drums is studied focusing on the effect of wall roughness and geometry. The problem is tackled both numerically and experimentally. Simulations are based on a cellular automata (CA) approach using rules derived from experiments and the experimental validation of the simulated phenomenology is given for notew...

The co-pyrolysis of coffee grounds and polypropylene was studied, at different volumetric fractions of each material, in a fixed bed, under inert flow. With a constant heating rate of 5 °C/min, a preset pyrolysis temperature, between 360 and 420 °C, was maintained for 3 h. Polymer degradation is not completed at a low temperature (360 °C), while co...

Hydrogen solubility in methanol, (methanol + carbon dioxide) and (methanol + carbon dioxide + oxygen) was measured and correlated at different temperatures (268 < T/K < 288) and pressures (0.37 < P/MPa < 3.5). Hydrogen content in the liquid phase was measured using a gas absorption method and Fugatron HYD-100 instrument. Experiments were performed...

We experimentally studied the occurrence of spontaneous self-heating of sludge after drying, to understand its nature, course and remediation. The sludge originates from primary and biological treatment of both municipal and industrial wastewater, the latter largely dominant (approx. 90% total organic carbon, mainly from local tanneries). Dried slu...

A model of a gas bubbling, batch slurry reactor for H2O2 direct synthesis is presented. Experimental measurements were carried out in the absence of halides and acids at temperatures between 258 and 297 K (pressures 14–20 bar, depending on temperature) with H2 and O2 diluted in CO2 outside flammability limits (gas phase composition of CO2, O2 and H...

h i g h l i g h t s " Activity for H 2 O 2 direct synthesis on ideal, bulk Pd surfaces. " Pd (1 0 0) and poly crystalline activity differ, Prove of structure/reactivity correlation. " Activity scaled on the surface much larger Pd–Au powder catalyst. " Surface oxidized specie revealed by XPS, reflecting the underlying Pd texture. " Bridge between UH...

Kinetic experiments of the decomposition, hydrogenation, and direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide were performed on a commercial Pd/C catalyst. Temperature effects and subsequent hydrogen addition were investigated without using promoters. The hydrogen amount in the liquid phase was measured online by using a Fugatron Instrument to investigate the...

Palladium catalysts based on different supports, silica (SiO2), zirconia (Z), sulfated ceria (CeS), and sulfated zirconia (ZS), previously tested in a semibatch reactor, were chosen to demonstrate how the direct synthesis process can be improved by continuous operation in a three-phase fixed bed. The gas and liquid flow rates were systematically va...

In this Letter, the two-dimensional dense flow of polygonal particles on an incline with a flat frictional inferior boundary is analyzed by means of contact dynamics discrete element simulations, in order to develop boundary conditions for continuum models of dense granular flows. We show the evidence that the global slip phenomenon deviates signif...

H2O2 direct synthesis over two bimetallic, palladium-gold catalysts based on sulfated ceria (PdAu-CeS) and on sulfated zirconia (PdAu-ZS) has been studied in a continuous, trickle-bed reactor, at −10°C and 10bar. Three different liquid flow rates and seven different gas flow rates were used. The combined effect of liquid and gas flow rates, with tw...

A honeycomb monolith with a Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst has been tested in order to highlight and explain the bifurcation behavior of catalytic methane (partial) oxidation under process conditions, elucidating the light off behavior. With CH4/O2=1 (rich mixture) and different heating/cooling policies it has been shown that hysteresis occurs only after comp...

We extended the standard approach to countercurrent gas–solid flow in vertical vessels by explicitly coupling the gas flow and the rheology of the moving bed of granular solids, modelled as a continuum, pseudo-fluid. The method aims at quantitatively accounting for the presence of shear in the granular material that induces changes in local porosit...

The kinetics of the cyclopropanation reaction of diethyl malonate with [60]fullerene were assayed to optimize the continuous flow synthesis of the methanofullerene monoadduct. Experiments were carried out under both batch and flow conditions, by sampling the reaction mixture at different times and separating the components by means of HPLC in a way...

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of some important drug properties (such as particle size distribution, hygroscopicity and solubility) and process variables on the granule growth behaviour and final drug distribution in high shear wet granulation. Results have been analyzed in the light of widely accepted theories and some...

New sampling probes and methods for investigating cohesive powders are conceived, designed and characterized. Probes are made of two metallic shells (a slide and a cover) which need to be inserted sequentially into the bed of powder in order to extract representative samples. The thin profile of the shells, combined with a particular insertion proc...

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.83.069903

A hydrodynamic model for dense granular flows, previously developed for confined flows, has been extended to address free surface flow down an inclined chute. Results show that the model can predict the existence of two critical inclination angles, namely, the avalanche starting angle θ(start) above which the granular bed begins flowing from an ini...

A comparison of the predictions of a rheological model that we recently developed with experimental results of stress and flow profiles in a pilot scale silo is presented in this work. Experiments were performed to collect information on the flow field by means of a tracer method and on wall normal stresses at several different positions along the...

Spatially resolved species and temperature profiles measured for a wide range of inlet stoichiometries and flowrates are compared with microkinetic numerical simulations to investigate the effect of transport phenomena on the catalytic partial oxidation of methane on Rh foam catalysts. In agreement with the experimental data, the species profiles c...

Bimetallic Pd-Au catalysts supported on sulphated zirconia (ZS) were prepared by different methods and used for hydrogen peroxide direct. The effect of the addition of gold to Pd enhance the selectivity and the yield of H(2)O(2). Activity was tested at both atmospheric and high pressure, batch and semi-batch wise. Decomposition, hydrogenation and d...

High-shear wet granulation is commonly used in many industries such as in the pharmaceutical industry to convert fine cohesive powders into dense and round granules. The purpose of this work was to determine the effects of some important powder properties (crystalline or amorphous nature, hygroscopicity, solubility and particle size) and process va...

Scale-up of high-shear wet granulators is currently difficult to perform and there are no universally applicable scale-up rules. It is not completely clear how changes in granulator geometry and processing conditions can affect the granule growth [1]. An investigation on the scale-up effects on the growth behaviour in high-shear wet granulation is...

With a view to describing the powder agglomeration process, particles have often been considered as inert material and the solid–liquid interactions have rarely been contemplated.The present research aims to fill the gap in understanding how the nucleation and the early stage of the granule growth depend on some important formulation properties.The...

H2O2 direct synthesis over a palladium catalyst based on sulfated ceria (Pd−CeS) has been studied in a trickle-bed reactor at −10 °C. The combined effect of liquid and gas flow rates was studied by independent variations. The maximum productivity and selectivity was always found at flow rate combinations intermediate within the investigated range....

Aiming at controlling the selective depolymerization via the thermal route, we investigated a two-stage process, where volatiles are produced in a low temperature (<450 degrees C) thermal pyrolysis of LLDPE and fed to a thermal cracker (>800 degrees C, residence time <1.3 s). Splitting the process allows to control the reaction times independently...

The mechanism of the partial oxidation of methane has been investigated over a bimetallic Pt–Ru catalyst. Dedicated experiments aimed to separate and quantify the relative contribution of single reactions included in the so-called “combustion and reforming” mechanism using the same catalyst. The catalyst is 0.5% Ru and 0.5% Pt (w/w) supported on mi...

We experimentally and theoretically studied cellulose pyrolysis at high temperature and short residence time. We investigated the gas phase chemistry with dedicated experiments and feeding intermediates. Results have been also compared with equilibrium calculations, both single (gas) phase and allowing for solid C formation. Our aim was to understa...

An alternative procedure for achieving formulation design in a high-shear wet granulation process has been developed. Particularly, a new formulation map has been proposed which describes the onset of a significant granule growth as a function of the formulation variables (diluent, dry and liquid binder). Granule growth has been monitored using on-...

A model to simulate the dense flow of granular materials is presented. It is based on continuum, pseudo-fluid approximation. Balance equations and constitutive relations account for fluctuations in the velocity field, through the ‘granular temperature’ concept. Partial wall slip is also allowed by means of a slip-length approach. The model is appli...

Catalyst Pd/K2621 (K2621=strongly acidic macroreticular resin from Bayer) is an effective catalyst for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide in methanol at temperatures near 0°C, under batch reactor conditions. Reaction conditions are non-explosive in character and no addition of selectivity enhancers is required. Selectivity up to 70% at 50% c...

We derive an effective boundary condition for dense granular flow taking into account the effect of the heterogeneity of the force network on sliding friction dynamics. This yields an intermediate boundary condition which lies in the limit between no slip and Coulomb friction; two simple functions relating wall stress, velocity, and velocity varian...

We address the slow, dense flow of granular materials as a continuum with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations plus the fluctuating energy balance for granular temperature. The pseudo-fluid is given an apparent viscosity, for which we choose an Arrhenius-like dependence on granular temperature; the fluctuating energy balance includes a 'mobil...

Composition quantification in granular mixtures through colorimetric imaging is addressed. Digital images of binary mixtures have been analysed with three different colour spaces: gray scale, L⁎a⁎b⁎ and HSV. Experiments have been carried out on a small scale drum mixer. After blending, the mixtures have been impregnated with a binder, solidified an...

A bimetallic catalyst (Pt–Ru 50/50) has been prepared for methane partial oxidation. Total metal load was 1 wt%. The support was alumina mixed with 25 wt% of a ceria–zirconia mixture. This because of the good performances of alumina for such applications and to exploit the oxygen buffer effect of the ceria–zirconia system. The catalyst has been pre...

Using spatially resolved measurements of temperature and concentration, we critically analyzed the chemistry and transport limitations in the partial oxidation of methane (POM) reaction carried out on Rh, supported on a foam catalyst. The analysis was based on two models, both sharing a detailed surface chemistry but with different gas–surface tran...

We address the slow, dense flow of granular materials as a continuum with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations plus the fluctuating energy balance including granular temperature. The pseudo-fluid is given an apparent viscosity which depends on an order parameter which we choose to be granular temperature. We derive the fluctuating energy bala...

Partial oxidation of methane (POxM) was studied over Ru catalyst supported on alumina (1%, w/w). The catalyst was prepared via microemulsion (ME) and coated onto cordierite monoliths. Samples were characterized by XRD, BET surface area, SEM–EDS and TPR and TPO analyses. The catalyst showed high methane conversion with very good selectivity towards...

We discuss the advantages and results of using a mixing-length, compressible model to account for the shear banding behaviour in granular flow. We formulate a general approach based on two functions of the solid fraction to be determined. Studying the vertical chute flow, we show that the shear band thickness is always independent of flow rate in t...

In this work, steam reforming of natural gas is investigated with an application to a small-scale hydrogen production unit of industrial interest, coupled to PEM fuel cells. We carried out a thermodynamic analysis to estimate the efficiency of this overall process, which consists of a reformer reactor and two water gas shift reactors. We compare tw...

Partial oxidation of methane (POM) to synthesis gas was studied over Ru catalysts (1% (w/w)) supported on silica, alumina and ceria–zirconia. Catalyst samples were prepared by incipient wetness and characterized by BET area, XRD, ESEM–EDS, and TPR–TPO analyses. Ru on silica deactivated very fast, while Ru supported on alumina has good activity and...

The application of a model of fine particles initial deposition from a flowing suspension on smooth surfaces is discussed by comparison with literature experimental data and simplified models (Leveque equation). The model and its original features, including an accurate account of particle–surface interactions and ad hoc solution techniques, with s...

Fluid-dynamic conditions that are compatible with tensile stress on the bonds between platelet glycoprotein Ibalpha and immobilized Von Willebrand factor A1 domain (VWF-A1) led to Ca++ release from intracellular stores (type alpha/beta peaks), which preceded stationary platelet adhesion. Raised levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cy...

A model of fine particles deposition from a flowing suspension on smooth surfaces is developed. It is based on a common Eulerian–Lagrangian particle tracking approach, that allows a force-based description of the interactions between particles and surface. Hydrodynamics and particle–wall forces are included, with emphasis on a detailed account of V...