JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING OF JAPAN
Online ISSN : 1881-1299
Print ISSN : 0021-9592
Volume 44, Issue 3
Displaying 1-11 of 11 articles from this issue
Editorial Note
  • 2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages edit_3
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Editor-in-Chief: Yoshiyuki Yamashita (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
    Associate Editors-in-Chiefs:
    Hiroyuki Honda (Nagoya University)
    Takao Tsukada (Tohoku University)

    Editors
    Tomohiro Akiyama (Hokkaido University)
    Georges Belfort (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
    Jun Fukai (Kyushu University)
    Yutaka Genchi (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST))
    Takayuki Hirai (Osaka University)
    Masahiko Hirao (The University of Tokyo)
    In-Beum Lee (Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTEC))
    Eiji Iritani (Nagoya University)
    Hideo Kameyama (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
    Masahiro Kino-oka (Osaka University)
    Toshinori Kojima (Seikei University)
    Shin Mukai (Hokkaido University)
    Akinori Muto (Okayama University)
    Nobuyoshi Nakagawa (Gunma University)
    Satoru Nishiyama (Kobe University)
    Hiroyasu Ogino (Osaka Prefecture University)
    Naoto Ohmura (Kobe University)
    Mitsuhiro Ohta (Muroran Institute of Technology)
    Hiroshi Ooshima (Osaka City University)
    Noriaki Sano (Kyoto University)
    Manabu Shimada (Hiroshima University)
    Masahiro Shishido (Yamagata University)
    Shigeki Takishima (Hiroshima University)
    Richard Lee Smith, Jr. (Tohoku University)
    Yoshifumi Tsuge (Kyushu University)
    Da-Ming Wang (National Taiwan University)

    Editorial office:
    The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan
    Kyoritsu Building, 4-6-19, Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku
    Tokyo 112-0006, Japan
    journal@scej.org

    AIMS AND SCOPE:

    Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, an official publication of the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan, is dedicated to providing timely original research results in the broad field of chemical engineering ranging from fundamental principles to practical applications. Subject areas of this journal are listed below. Research works presented in the journal are considered to have significant and lasting value in chemical engineering.

    Physical Properties and Physical Chemistry
    Transport Phenomena and Fluid Engineering
    Particle Engineering
    Separation Engineering
    Thermal Engineering
    Chemical Reaction Engineering
    Process Systems Engineering and Safety
    Biochemical Food and Medical Engineering
    Micro and Nano Systems
    Materials Engineering and Interfacial Phenomena
    Energy
    Environment
    Engineering Education
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Physical Properties and Physical Chemistry
  • Hiroyuki Matsuda, Naoki Kamihama, Kiyofumi Kurihara, Katsumi Tochigi, ...
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Physical Properties and Physical Chemistry
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 131-139
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 06, 2011
    JOURNAL RESTRICTED ACCESS
    Isobaric vapor–liquid equilibria (VLE) were measured for four binary systems containing tetrahydrofuran (THF): THF + water, and three different mixtures of THF + n-alkane (n-pentane, n-hexane, and n-heptane). Measurements were conducted at pressures in the range 40.0–101.3 kPa using a simple, automatic apparatus developed in our laboratory. From the experimental VLE data it was confirmed that the THF + water and THF + n-hexane systems formed minimum-boiling-point azeotropes, whereas the THF + n-pentane and THF + n-heptane systems were non-azeotropic mixtures. Non-random two-liquid (NRTL) parameters were also determined on the basis of the experimental VLE data.
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Transport Phenomena and Fluid Engineering
  • Koichi Terasaka, Yoshihito Sasada, Daisuke Kobayashi, Satoko Fujioka
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Transport Phenomena and Fluid Engineering
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 140-145
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 18, 2011
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    A biological method is usually used in many industries and water purification plants to treat organic waste water. Aerobic microorganisms in active sludge decompose organic compounds to lower molecular weight compounds with oxygen consumption in aeration tank. On many aeration systems, the oxygen supply into water limits the rate of waste water treatment. To improve the oxygen dissolution into water, the size of air bubbles may be reduced. If bubbles are crushed by some additional power devices such as pump or stirrer, however, the cost increases. Therefore, in this study, a novel aerator which consumes almost no additional power was developed to generate bubbles having a diameter smaller than 1 mm.
    When a gas is inputted from a round orifice into water, the bubbles grow very stably and their size is large. On the other hand, when the shape of the orifice is slit-like, instability is caused by bubble expansion. By using this natural phenomena, a uniform dispersion of submilli-bubbles was realized. Moreover, to design submilli-bubble dispersers, a semi-empirical bubble formation model is proposed.
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Particle Engineering
  • Romanus Krisantus Tue Nenu, Sunao Izumi, Hideto Yoshida, Kunihiro Fuku ...
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Particle Engineering
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 146-154
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: August 12, 2010
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    Experimental studies were carried out on the separation of unburned carbon in fly ash powder using a special louver separator. The optimum operating conditions and the effects of the inlet flow rectifier, blade shape, and number of separators on both the separation performance and unburned carbon content were examined. Fly ash powder with a median size of about 44.7 μm and average unburned carbon content of about 20.9% was used as the feed powder. The study showed that there was an optimum velocity corresponding to the best separation performance in terms of the particle size and unburned carbon content. It was found that a louver separator with an inlet rectifier and additional inclined wall shows better separation performance and unburned carbon content separation compared to a conventional separator. When a special blade was used, the separation performance improved in comparison to typical flat blade. The separation performance and unburned carbon content of two louver separators connected in series were better than those of a single separator. In the case of two louver separators, the unburned carbon content of the fine side was reduced to as low as 8% while about 78% of carbon yield was achieved; therefore it is recommended the use of two special louver separators connected in series. A model of louver separator, based on the unburned carbon profile of feed powders and the data of partial separation efficiency was developed and the calculated results were compared to the experimental results. Calculated result by using the model showed qualitative agreement with the experimental results, and the optimum operating conditions required to maximize the unburned carbon separation were determined.
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Separation Engineering
  • Pedro Susial, Aday Sosa-Rosario, Juan José Rodríguez-Hen ...
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Separation Engineering
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 155-163
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: December 04, 2010
    JOURNAL RESTRICTED ACCESS
    The vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) of the ethyl acetate/ethanol system has been determined under isobaric conditions at 0.1, 0.5, and 0.7 MPa using a modified stainless-steel ebulliometer, which works continuously with the recirculation of both phases. The activity coefficients in the liquid phase are predicted using the ASOG model and different versions of the UNIFAC model; these values are quantified with respect to the experimental data, which are verified using the Van Ness point-to-point test.
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  • Junpei Fujiki, Eiji Furuya
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Separation Engineering
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 164-170
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 06, 2011
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    In general, adsorptive separation includes an adsorption and a desorption process in which the separation is affected by the operating conditions of each stage. In this study, the optimum operational conditions for the recovery using a fixed-bed adsorber are investigated numerically. Adsorption/desorption curves for a ternary component mixture are simulated under various operation conditions. The amount and percentage of each component recovered from the mixture are evaluated from the curves. These values are then used in the theoretical determination of the optimal operating conditions. The elution behavior of each component is controlled by adjusting the desorption starting time, whereby efficient recovery of a target component can be achieved by controlling the elution behavior using this technique. The results suggest that sufficient recovery of each component can be performed by use of a single fixed-bed adsorber. The recovery of each component is clearly related to the formation of adsorption zones, and the minimum bed length required for the establishment of constant pattern adsorption zones is an adequate bed length for efficient recovery.
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Biochemical, Food and Medical Engineering
  • Qing-Dong Ling, Ling-Yi Ho, Yi-An Ko, Yung Chang, Akon Higuchi
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Biochemical, Food and Medical Engineering
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 171-178
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 07, 2011
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    The neurite outgrowth and gene expression of PC12 cells on collagen-coated glass plates under light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation and mixed light irradiation were investigated at several wavelengths (470, 525, 600, and 630 nm). We found that visible light regulated the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. Therefore, we investigated the expression level of p75NTR and TrkA in PC12 cells in order to evaluate whether gene expression in PC12 cells changed according to the wavelength of light used to irradiate these cells. When the PC12 cells were irradiated with mixed light or LED light for 10 min or 30 h in the presence of nerve growth factor (NGF), p75NTR expression was downregulated compared to that in PC12 cells cultured in the dark with NGF in the culture medium. Light irradiation influenced the expression of TrkA in the PC12 cells cultured with or without NGF. Light irradiation of PC12 cells regulated the expression of specific genes as well as neurite outgrowth.
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Materials Engineering and Interfacial Phenomena
  • Renat Tussupbayev, Taskyn Shokanbay, Zhumabay Bakenov, Izumi Taniguchi
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Materials Engineering and Interfacial Phenomena
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 179-186
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: December 09, 2010
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    LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 with a spinel structure was prepared by drip pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor followed by a short heat treatment from a precursor solution; in which Li(CH3COO) · 2H2O, Ni(CH3COO)2 · 4H2O and Mn(CH3COO)2 · 4H2O were stoichiometrically dissolved into distilled water. The effect of process parameters such as reactor temperature, superficial gas velocity and annealing temperature on the physical and electrochemical properties of samples were intensively investigated through analysis by X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric-differential thermal-mass analysis, Bruneaur–Emment–Teller method and scanning electron microscopy. The samples prepared by the drip pyrolysis showed a spinel structure with low crystallinity and poor electrochemical activity. Thus, the as-prepared samples were then annealed at different temperatures ranging from 700 to 900°C for 5 h. Complex analysis showed that the annealing at 700°C leads to the formation of a pure ordered P4332 phase, while the annealing at 800 and 900°C leads to the formation of both spinel Fd3m (disordered) and simple cubic P4332 (ordered) phases. The final LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 samples were used as cathode active materials for lithium batteries, and electrochemical tests were carried out for the cell Li|1M LiPF6 in EC : DEC = 1 : 1|LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 at various charge-discharge rates. As a result, the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 sample, which was synthesized at 600°C and a fluidization number of Uo/Umf = 5 followed by heat treatment at 800°C for 5 h, delivered a first discharge capacity of 127 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C rate. Furthermore, it also showed excellent capacity retention at 1 C of more than 92% after 100 cycles.
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  • Mizuki Kumashiro, Shunki Saitoh, Azusa Kobayakawa, Izumi Hirasawa
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Materials Engineering and Interfacial Phenomena
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 187-190
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 06, 2011
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    The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of organic solvents on pseudopolymorph transformation kinetics for clarifying the transformation phenomenon. In our previous study, we observed anhydrate and dihydrate crystals of myo-inositol in water and/or an ethanol–water system and transformation phenomena. However, we could not determine the detailed transformation mechanism in organic solvents. Therefore, we attempted adding seed crystals to different alcohol solvents, which resulted in the transformation of seed crystals of a dihydrate into anhydrate crystals. The transformation kinetics increased with a decrease in the alkyl carbon number in the solvents and also with an increase in the ethanol mass fraction. During the transformation process, fine anhydrate crystals were observed on the surface of dihydrate crystals, and the dihydrate crystals were found to dissolve and gradually decrease in size. On the basis of these results, we propose that the hydrophilic nature of organic solvents is a significant factor determining the pseudopolymorph transformation kinetics of myo-inositol. The transformation phenomena proceeded easily upon the addition of dehydrate seed crystals, as if the solvent had the driving force for the crystallization of a stable polymorph. We classified this unique mechanism as a “solvent-induced transformation.”
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  • Mitsuru Shoji, Toshinori Eto, Hiroshi Takiyama
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Materials Engineering and Interfacial Phenomena
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 191-196
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 27, 2011
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    In cooling-type batch crystallization, the influence of undersaturation operation on crystal size distribution (CSD) was investigated by computational simulation. The model used considered the primary and secondary nucleation rates, size-dependent growth rate, and size-dependent dissolution rate limited by mass transfer; the crystal size dependence of the dissolution rate was determined by a Frössling-type equation. The population balance equation was directly solved by computational simulation by using the Cubic Interpolated Pseudo-particle method. The simulation successfully reproduced the order of the values of average crystal size in the experimental results for different temperature profiles. The model proved to be efficient for evaluating the influence of undersaturation operation on the CSD. In this paper, the influence of the frequency of introducing undersaturation, and the time at which undersaturation was introduced, on CSD was also discussed.
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  • Takuma Minamisono, Takao Omae, Takashi Kato, Hiroshi Takiyama
    Article type: Research Paper
    Subject area: Materials Engineering and Interfacial Phenomena
    2011 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 197-202
    Published: March 20, 2011
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2011
    Advance online publication: January 21, 2011
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    The determination of the thermodynamic stability of a polymorphic compound is very important. The toropane derivative compound nitrate salt (TDN) has three enantiotropically related polymorphs. To determine the relative stability of TDN polymorphs, kinetic and thermodynamic approaches were carried out and compared. The kinetically irreversible transformation from Form-I to Form-III, and the kinetically reversible transformation from Form-III to Form-II were observed using simultaneous X-ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry (XRD-DSC) measurement. The solubility of Form-I was lower than that of Form-II at and around ambient temperature. These data indicate that Form-I is the most stable form at and around ambient temperature and Form-II is the metastable form. However, transformation from Form-I to Form-II could not be observed directly by the kinetic approaches such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Therefore, the transition temperature from Form-I to Form-II should be estimated using thermodynamic approaches. The conventional technique and the microcalorimetric technique were carried out as thermodynamic approaches. The conventional technique means the van't Hoff plot of the temperature dependence TDN solubility. The microcalorimetric technique required the heat of solution and only one point solubility data at a certain temperature for both polymorphs. The estimated transition temperature was 332 K using the microcalorimetric technique. This temperature was almost the same as that using conventional van't Hoff plot. These results mean the microcalorimetric technique is a useful and a more convenient approach to estimate the thermodynamic stability.
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