We studied the kinetics of methane (CH4) gas
clathrate
hydrate formation and its morphology at low pressure, temperature,
and low stirring speeds. A typical jacket cooling high-pressure reactor
was used to form the hydrate in low stirring mode (LSM) at speeds
of 100, 150, and 200 rpm and in unstirring mode (USM) under a pressure
of 50 bar and a temperature of 2 ± 0.5 °C. A fixed mole
ratio of cyclopentane to deionized water (CP/water) of 1:3.14 was
maintained for all tests. The kinetics of hydrate formation among
LSM and USM time of the hydrate was compared at the same conditions.
Due to the volatile nature of CP, each experiment was carried out
three times to ensure the repeatability of the experimental results.
The results reveal that the employment of LSM resulted in a shorter
hydrate formation time with enhanced stability of the CP/CH4 hydrate. In addition, the use of LSM enhanced the diffusion rate
of CH4 within the two distinct polarity solvent phases.
Moreover, higher CH4 gas consumption and an improved CP/CH4 hydrate formation rate were achieved. Under LSM conditions,
four distinct morphological characteristics of CP/CH4 hydrate
were observed, showing the evolution of morphology from a hazy emulsion
to hydrate crystal slurry, hydrate agglomeration, and then, finally,
complete solid hydrate blocks.
The slow dynamic response of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) to high load change during deficit periods must be considered. Therefore, integrating the hybrid system with energy storage devices like battery storage and/or a supercapacitor is necessary. To reduce the consumed hydrogen, an energy management strategy (EMS) based on the white shark optimizer (WSO) for photovoltaic/PEMFC/lithium-ion batteries/supercapacitors microgrid has been developed. The EMSs distribute the load demand among the photovoltaic, PEMFC, lithium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors. The design of EMSs must be such that it minimizes the use of hydrogen while simultaneously ensuring that each energy source performs inside its own parameters. The recommended EMS-based-WSO was evaluated in regard to other EMSs regarding hydrogen fuel consumption and effectiveness. The considered EMSs are state machine control strategy (SMCS), classical external energy maximization strategy (EEMS), and optimized EEMS-based particle swarm optimization (PSO). Thanks to the proposed EEMS-based WSO, hydrogen utilization has been reduced by 34.17%, 29.47%, and 2.1%, respectively, compared with SMCS, EEMS, and PSO. In addition, the efficiency increased by 6.05%, 9.5%, and 0.33%, respectively, compared with SMCS, EEMS, and PSO.
A breakthrough in cosmeceuticals by utilizing insects as major ingredients in cosmetic products is gaining popularity. Therefore, the interest in rare sources of ingredients, for instance, from the Oryctes rhinoceros beetle, can bring huge benefits in terms of turning pests into wealth. In this study, curcumin was chosen as the active ingredient loaded into chitosan-gold nanoparticles (CCG-NP). Curcumin is unstable and has poor absorption, a high rate of metabolism, and high sensitivity to light. These are all factors that contribute to the low bioavailability of any substance to reach the target cells. Therefore, chitosan extracted from O. rhinoceros could be used as a drug carrier to overcome these limitations. In order to overcome these limitations, CCG-NPs were synthesized and characterized. Chitosan was isolated from O. rhinoceros and CCG-NPs were successfully synthesized at 70 °C for 60 min under optimal conditions of a reactant ratio of 2:0.5 (0.5 mM HAuCl4: 0.1% curcumin). Characterizations of CCG-NP involved FTIR analysis, zeta potential, morphological properties determination by FE-SEM, particle size analysis, crystallinity study by XRD, and elemental analysis by EDX. The shape of the CCG-NP was round, its size was 128.27 d.nm, and the value of the zeta potential was 20.2 ± 3.81 mV. The IC50 value for cell viability is 58%, indicating a mild toxicity trait. To conclude, CCG-NP is a stable, spherical, nano-sized, non-toxic, and homogeneous solution.
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