An integrated ionic liquid hybrid polymeric fixed-bed reactor with a porous sponge-like structure for biomass hydrolysis

Energy Applications of Ionic Liquids: Recent Developments and Future Prospects

Ionic liquids (ILs) consisting entirely of ions exhibit many fascinating and tunable properties, making them promising functional materials for a large number of energy-related applications. For example, ILs have been employed as electrolytes for electrochemical energy storage and conversion, as heat transfer fluids and phase-change materials for thermal energy transfer and storage, as solvents and/or catalysts for CO2 capture, CO2 conversion, biomass treatment and biofuel extraction, and as high-energy propellants for aerospace applications. This paper provides an extensive overview on the various energy applications of ILs and offers some thinking and viewpoints on the current challenges and emerging opportunities in each area. The basic fundamentals (structures and properties) of ILs are first introduced. Then, motivations and successful applications of ILs in the energy field are concisely outlined. Later, a detailed review of recent representative works in each area is provided. For each application, the role of ILs and their associated benefits are elaborated. Research trends and insights into the selection of ILs to achieve improved performance are analyzed as well. Challenges and future opportunities are pointed out before the paper is concluded.

Research on a New Drag Force Model for Cylindrical Particles in Fixed Bed Reactors

Fixed bed reactors play an important role in converting solid wastes to high-quality products. The solid wastes, as well as the corresponding catalysts, are often made into cylindrical particles. However, research on the drag force for cylindrical particles is still rarely reported. In this work, the fixed bed porosity was firstly predicted with the unresolved CFD-DEM method and validated against experimental data. Then, the Ergun model, Di Felice model, and Ganser model were evaluated against the reported pressure drop data for both the spherical and cylindrical particles, so that a more solid drag force theory could be selected as a candidate for cylindrical particles. Finally, a new Ganser model was proposed for cylindrical particle drag force prediction based on the reported experimental results and validated by other experimental data. It was found that, for the spherical particle bed, the relative prediction errors of the Di Felice model are approximately 10%, while those of the Ergun model are approximately 15%. For the cylindrical particle bed, the relative prediction errors of the Ganser model are approximately 10%, while those of the Di Felice model are much higher than 10%. With the new Ganser model proposed in this work, the maximum error between the predicted pressure drop and the experimental data can be lowered to approximately 5%. The research is of reference value for drag force model selection when simulating similar FBRs with cylindrical particles.