Biomedical subjects

Ming-Yen Wey

Publications and source records attributed to Ming-Yen Wey.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Comparison of the characteristics of bottom and fly ashes generated from various incineration processes.

This study analyzed and compared the characteristics of bottom and fly ashes from three municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in Taiwan. Different incineration furnaces were investigated, including: (1) fluidized bed, (2) mass-burning, and (3) mass-burning linked rotary kiln. The particle size distribution, morphology, mineralogical and chemical composition, and leaching behavior of heavy metals of ash samples were evaluated. The results revealed that three types of incineration processes have different characteristic for ashes due to transportation and mixing system inside furnace. Particle size distribution indicated that 28.5% of MSWI-B bottom ash has lower than 180 microm and 61.2% of MSWI-A fly ash has larger than the 250 microm. The leaching concentration of Pb exceeded the regulatory level set by the Taiwan EPA in fly ashes from MSWI-B and MSWI-C, and thus must be considered hazardous wastes. Specifically, the leaching concentration of heavy metals of fly ashes from MSWI-A (fluidized bed incinerator) was lower than that of the others, and was corresponded to the regulatory levels. Therefore, a fluidized bed incineration process appears a potential of handling heavy metals for ashes. The result was also provided the valuable information for incinerator design and operation.

Carbon↗

PubMed2006

Thermal treatment of the fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerator with rotary kiln.

Reuse of the fly ash from the municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) is a policy of Taiwan EPA. However, the fly ash is often classified as a hazardous waste and cannot be reused directly because the concentrations of heavy metals exceed the TCLP regulations. The main objective of this study is to investigate the continuous sintering behavior of fly ash with a rotary kiln and seek a solution to reduce the concentrations of heavy metal to an acceptable value. The partitions of the heavy metals in the process are also considered. The results of TCLP showed that among the metals of Cr, Cd, Cu and Pb, only the concentrations of Pb in raw fly ash exceeded the regulation. At sintering temperatures of 700, 800 and 900 degrees C, the concentration of Pb decreased in sintering products, however, the concentration of Pb still exceeded the limitation at 700 and 800 degrees C. Additionally, the water-washing was used to pre-treat the fly ash before sintering process. The washing treatment effectively reduced the leaching concentrations of Pb to agree the regulations. Therefore, water-washing followed by a sintering treatment is an available process for detoxifying the fly ash of MSWI.

Carbon↗

PubMed2005

Effects of acid treatments of activated carbon on its physiochemical structure as a support for copper oxide in DeSO(2) reaction catalysts.

To enhance the dispersion of active sites, modification of the AC supports with different acid solution might result in various surface oxygen groups which act as anchoring sites for metallic precursor to stay and improve the reactivity between AC supports and copper precursor. In the present work, the AC support is tailored with HCl and HNO(3), respectively. The pore structure, surface oxygen groups of the AC support and catalysts as well as catalyst dispersion before and after acid treatments are systematically studied by BET, pH(slurry), TPD, and XRPD analyses. It is found that the order of activity in DeSO(2) reaction is as follows: Cu/AC-HCl>Cu/AC>Cu/AC-HNO(3). The same sequence is also observed for the pore structure of AC supports, the catalyst dispersion, but not for the amounts of CO(2) evolving during TPD experiments of supports. The key role of acid treatment on carbon surface chemistry and pore structure, which are closely related to catalyst dispersion and adsorption capacity, is examined to rationalize these findings. Furthermore, under the NO/NH(3)=1 the NO could be selective catalytic reduction with NH(3) in the presence of O(2), which catalyzed by fresh and spent AC-supported catalyst.

Acids↗

PubMed2005

The effect of ash and filter media characteristics on particle filtration efficiency in fluidized bed.

The phenomenon of filtering particles by a fluidized bed is complex and the parameters that affect the control efficiency of filtration have not yet been clarified. The major objective of the study focuses on the effect of characteristics of ash and filter media on filtration efficiency in a fluidized bed. The performance of the fluidized bed for removal of particles in flue gas at various fluidized operating conditions, and then the mechanisms of collecting particles were studied. The evaluated parameters included (1) various ashes (coal ash and incinerator ash); (2) bed material size; (3) operating gas velocity; and (4) bed temperature. The results indicate that the removal efficiency of coal ash increases initially with gas velocity, then decreases gradually as velocity exceeds some specific value. Furthermore, the removal of coal ash enhance with silica sand size decreasing. When the fluidized bed is operated at high temperature, diffusion is a more important mechanism than at room temperature especially for small particles. Although the inertial impaction is the main collection mechanism, the "bounce off" effect when the particles collide with the bed material could reduce the removal efficiency significantly. Because of layer inversion in fluidized bed, the removal efficiency of incinerator ash is decreased with increasing of gas velocity.

Carbon↗

PubMed2005

Dynamic purification of coal ash by a gas-solid fluidized bed.

Fluidized bed filtration classified as granular bed filtration is a solution for removing particles from flue gas. Fine particles are captured by colliding with bed material. Binary mixtures including fines exist in the fluidized bed; the situation becomes more complex because the fines increases with time as particles enter continuously. Coal ash was put into the inlet gas of a gas-solid fluidized bed with silica sand and the variations in concentration with time was monitored, to elucidate the dynamic purification of fines by bed material and the interaction therewith. Water was injected into the inlet gas also to study the influence of water content on the removal of particles. Experimental results showed that the particle concentration rapidly increased with time until equilibrium was achieved. The outlet concentrations exceeded the inlet concentration (such that the removal efficiency was negative) at operating time between 26 and 30 min, yielding an efficiency as low as -35%. The removal efficiency increased with the relative humidity from 30% to 70%. The maximum cumulative collection ratios of particles (by mass) were 20%, 22% and 27% at humidities of 30%, 50% and 70%, declining to 7%, 13%, and 19% at the end.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2005

Filtration of fly ash using a fluidized-bed filter.

This study focuses on the control of particulates with a fluidized-bed filter in exhaust gas stream. The fluidized-bed filter classified in the granular bed filtration technology was employed to demonstrate the performance for removal of fly ash at indicated operating velocities, fixed bed heights, and bed temperatures; then the collecting mechanisms of particulates by fluidized-bed filter were studied. The size distribution of fly ash passing through the fluidized-bed filter was also analyzed. The results indicate that at higher operating velocities and fixed bed heights, the removal of fly ash is more efficient and inertial impaction is the main mechanism when the fluidized-bed is operated at room temperature (25 degrees C). While operating at higher temperatures (200 degrees C), efficiency of 93.2% to 99.4% can be achieved for submicron particles. It is supposed to be the diffusion mechanism that is responsible for collecting such small particles, and high temperature is a favorable condition because of diffusion.

Air Pollution↗

PubMed2004

Relationship between pressure fluctuations and generation of organic pollutants with different particle size distributions in a fluidized bed incinerator.

The hydrodynamic behaviors of fluidization perhaps significantly influence the uniformity of fluidization in fluidized bed incinerator. Good uniformity of fluidization expressed the air across uniformly through the bed and the particles being distributed well in the fluid stream. The aggregates, flocs and channels of particles do not happen during fluidization. The Good uniformity will maintain high heat and mass distribution to improve reaction efficiency. These parameters include the height of static bed, gas velocity, mixing and distribution of bed particle, which have rarely been studied in previous investigations. Consequently, this study examines how the hydrodynamic parameters affect the generation of organic pollutants (BTEXs and PAHs) during incineration. The statistical and power spectral analysis of the measured pressure fluctuation during incineration are used to elucidate the relationship between behaviors of fluidization and generation of pollutants during incineration. Experimental results show the organic concentration does not increase with uniformity of fluidization decreasing. The reason may be the explosion of the gas and the consequent thermal shock destroy the coalescent bubbles to form small bubbles again and enhance the efficiency of transfer of oxygen to increase combustion efficiency. Additionally, the mean amplitude and fluidized index of pressure fluctuation similarly vary with the concentration of organic pollutants. These two indices can be used to assess the efficiency of combustion. The four particle size distributions could be divided into two groups by statistical analysis. The Gaussian and narrow distributions belong to one group and the binary and flat the other. The organic concentration of the Gaussian and narrow distributions are lower than that of the other distributions. Consequently, the bed materials should maintain narrow or Gaussian distributions to maintain a good combustion efficiency during incineration.

Benzene Derivatives↗

PubMed2003

Control of acid gases using a fluidized bed adsorber.

During incineration, secondary pollutants such as acid gases, organic compounds, heavy metals and particulates are generated. Among these pollutants, the acid gases, including sulfur oxides (SO(x)) and hydrogen chloride (HCl), can cause corrosion of the incinerator piping and can generate acid rain after being emitted to the atmosphere. To address this problem, the present study used a novel combination of air pollution control devices (APCDs), composed of a fluidized bed adsorber integrated with a fabric filter. The major objective of the work is to demonstrate the performance of a fluidized bed adsorber for removal of acid gases from flue gas of an incinerator. The adsorbents added in the fluidized bed adsorber were mainly granular activated carbon (AC; with or without chemical treatment) and with calcium oxide used as an additive. The advantages of a fluidized bed reactor for high mass transfer and high gas-solid contact can enhance the removal of acid gases when using a dry method. On the other hand, because the fluidized bed can filter particles, fine particles prior to and after passing through the fluidized bed adsorber were investigated. The competing adsorption on activated carbon between different characteristics of pollutants was also given preliminary discussion. The results indicate that the removal efficiencies of the investigated acid gases, SO(2) and HCl, are higher than 94 and 87%, respectively. Thus, a fluidized bed adsorber integrated with a fabric filter has the potential to replace conventional APCDs, even when there are other pollutants at the same time.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2002

Reaction characteristics of Ca(OH)2, HCl and SO2 at low temperature in a spray dryer integrated with a fabric filter.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the reaction characteristics of CaOH2, HCl and SO2 in the flue gas emitted by a laboratory incinerator. The amount of sulfur retained in the residues (including the spray dryer ash and baghouse ash) was also evaluated in this study. The experimental parameters included HCl concentration (500-2000 ppm), SO2 concentration (500-2000 ppm), relative humidity (40-80% RH), and the addition of CaCl2 (30 wt.%). The results indicated that an HCl concentration of 500-2000 ppm did not affect HCl removal efficiency in the spray dryer at 150 degrees C and 45+/-5% RH. On the other hand, increase in SO2 concentration from 500 to 2000 ppm enhanced SO2 removal at 150 degrees C and 75+/-5% RH. Moreover, increase in removal efficiency of SO2 was more obvious when the relative humidity was greater than 80%. When the flue gas contained both HCl and SO2 simultaneously, the removal efficiency of SO2 could increase from 56.7 to 90.33% at HCl concentration of 236 ppm. However, when the concentration of HCl exceeded 535 ppm, the removal efficiency of SO2 decreased with increasing concentration of HCl. The removal efficiency of SO2 could be increase to 97.7% with the addition of CaCl2.

Air Pollution↗

PubMed2002

Catalytic oxidation of organic compounds in incineration flue gas by a commercial palladium catalyst.

The object of this study is to investigate the effect of different operation conditions on the catalytic oxidation of trace organic compounds [i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX); and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)] in incineration flue gas. A commercial Pd-based honeycomb catalyst, which is applied to treat flue gas with low organic concentrations and high gas velocity, is employed in this study. The investigated parameters include (1) effect of different space velocities, (2) effect of heavy metals, (3) effect of acid gas, and (4) effect of water vapor and ash particles. In this work, an effective catalyst oxidation system is constructed and expected to purify the incineration flue gas. Catalyst oxidation is a potential purification system that will meet the stricter regulations on the emissions of incineration systems. Experimental results showed that the destruction efficiency of PAHs and BTEX in Pd catalyst was generally greater than 80%. Decreasing the space velocity increased the decomposition efficiency of organic compounds. When the feedstock contained the heavy metals Pb and Cr, the oxidation of organic compounds was not inhibited. But the presence of Cd significantly decreased the oxidation efficiency. The acid gases SO2 and HCl in the flue gas could have influenced the crystal structure of PdO and subsequently deactivated/poisoned the Pd catalyst. The effect of water vapor on the catalytic destruction of PAHs and BTEX was not obvious.

Catalysis↗

PubMed2002

The utilization of catalyst sorbent in scrubbing acid gases from incineration flue gas.

Catalyst sorbents based on alumina-supported CuO, CeO2, and CuO-CeO2 were applied to a dry scrubber to clean up the SO2/HCl/NO simultaneously from pilot-scale fluidized-bed incineration flue gas. In the presence of organic compounds, CO and the submicron particles SO2 and HCI removed by the fresh catalyst sorbents and NO reduced to N2 by NH3 under the catalysis of fresh and spent desulfurization/dechloridization (DeSO2/DeHCl) catalyst sorbents (copper compounds, Cu, CuO, and CuSO4) were evaluated in this paper. The fresh and spent catalyst sorbents were characterized by the Brunner-Emmett-Teller method (BET), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the elemental analyzer (EA). The study showed that the performances of CuO, CeO2, and CuO-CeO2/gamma-Al2O3 were better than that of Ca(OH)2. The removal efficiency of SO2 and HCl was 80-95% in the dry scrubber system. Under NH3/NO = 1, NO could not be reduced to N2 because it was difficult to control the ratio of air/fuel in the flue gas. For estimating the feasibility of regenerating the spent catalyst sorbents, BET and EA analyses were used. They indicated that the pore structures were nearly maintained and a small amount of carbon accumulated on their surface.

Absorption↗

PubMed2002

Pore structure effects on Ca-based sorbent sulfation capacity at medium temperatures: activated carbon as sorbent/catalyst support.

The reaction between three different Ca-based sorbents and SO2 were studied in a medium temperature range (473-773 K). The largest SO2 capture was found with Ca(OH)2 at 773 K, 126.31 mg SO2 x g Ca(OH)2(-1), and the influence of SO2 concentration on the sorbent utilization was observed. Investigations of the internal porous structure of Ca-based sorbents showed that the initial reaction rate was controlled by the surface area, and once the sulfated products were produced, pore structure dominated. To increase the surface area of Ca-based sorbents available to interact with and retain SO2, one kind of CaO/ activated carbon (AC) sorbent/catalyst was prepared to study the effect of AC on the dispersion of Ca-based materials. The results indicated that the Ca-based material dispersed on high-surface-area AC had more capacities for SO2 than unsupported Ca-based sorbents. The initial reaction rates of the reaction between SO2 and Ca-based sorbents and the prepared CaO/AC sorbents/catalysts were measured. Results showed that the reaction rate apparently increased with the presence of AC. It was concluded that CaO/AC was the active material in the desulfurization reaction. AC acting as the support can play a role to supply O2 to increase the affinity to SO2. Moreover, when AC is acting as a support, the surface oxygen functional group formed on the surface of AC can serve as a new site for SO2 adsorption.

Adsorption↗