Effect of La2O3 on the Microstructure and Grain Refining Effect of Novel Al-TiO2-C-XLa2O3 Refiners

New aluminum grain refiners, Al-TiO2-C-XLa2O3 refiners, were manufactured by the in situ reaction of Al powder, TiO2 powder, C powder, and La2O3 powder. The effects of La2O3 on the refiners’ microstructure and the grain refining effect of the Al-TiO2-C-XLa2O3 refiners on industrial aluminum were studied. The effect of the sintering process was also studied. The results show that the refiners contain Al3Ti, TiC, Al2O3, AlN, and Al20Ti2La. As the content of La2O3 increases, the amount of Al20Ti2La also increases. However, the amounts of Al3Ti, Al2O3, and TiC decrease. Al3Ti is a lath-like compound whose size becomes smaller. The distribution of Al2O3 and TiC, however, is more uniform. The Al-TiO2-C-0.2La2O3 refiner has the best grain refining effect on industrial aluminum. The size of the industrial aluminum refined by the Al-TiO2-C-0.2La2O3 refiner is 320 μm; the refiner’s grain size is 8.4% that of the industrial aluminum without refiners 0 μm (380). After adding the novel Al-TiO2-C-0.2La2O3 refiner, the nucleation temperature TN reached 679.21 °C, which is 17 °C above the nucleation temperature of the industrial aluminum without refiners. The primary transformation time is the longest at 25.5 s, which is 4.6 s higher than that of industrial aluminum (20.9 s). Furthermore, the ΔT of the aluminum is 0.5 °C, which is the lowest value.

Catalytic Fluidized-Bed Co-Combustion of Peat and Anthracite

Results of the studies of catalytic combustion of peat, anthracite, as well as the mixture at the peat to anthracite weight percent ratio 40/60 are discussed. The degree of the mixture burning-off was shown to increase when peat evolving large quantity of volatile substances is added to anthracite. The burn-up degrees of the solid fuel particles less than 1.25 mm in size were 98.2 % of peat, 50.9 % of anthracite, 74.2 % of the peat and anthracite mixture at 700–750 °C and 1 m height bed of the industrial aluminum-copper-chromium oxide catalyst IC-12-70. In combusting coarse particles (equivalent diameter 11.6–18.6 mm) of molded peat and anthracite mixture, the burn-up degree was 80.5 % at the top of the fluidized catalyst bed. The burn-up degree of the coarse particles fed to the bottom of the fluidized bed was estimated with allowance for the burn-up degree of fine particles moving through the bed. With the coarse molded particles of the peat and anthracite mixture fed to 1 m height catalyst bed, the burn-up degree was shown to reach no less than 95 %. When the catalyst used is 2 mm in size, the peat and anthracite particles comprised in the molded fuel must be no more than 1–1.5 mm in size in order to prevent from ash accumulation in the fluidized catalyst bed.

An iridescent film of porous anodic aluminum oxide with alternatingly electrodeposited Cu and SiO2 nanoparticles

The structurally colored surface of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) is highly useful for decoration and anti-counterfeiting applications, which are of significance for both scientific and industrial communities. This study presents the first demonstration of the fabrication of an iridescent film of porous AAO on an industrial aluminum alloy substrate, with alternatingly electrodeposited Cu and SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). A rainbow effect was effectively obtained for the optimized sample with appropriate alternating electrodeposition times. The structure and optical properties of a series of the electrodeposited AAO-based thin film were investigated. The Cu and SiO2 NPs were found to be uniformly deposited into the porous structure of the AAO film, and the alternating electrodeposition repeating twice led to the formation of the optimal AAO-based thin film that exhibited a rainbow effect and superior anti-corrosion performance.