Editor-in-Chief
Manabu Shimada (Hiroshima University)

Associate Editor-in-Chiefs
Masahiro Shishido (Yamagata University)
Ken-Ichiro Sotowa (The University of Tokushima)

Editors
Choji Fukuhara (Shizuoka University)
Toshitaka Funazukuri (Chuo University)
Yoshihiro Hashimoto (Nagoya Institute of Technology)
Shunji Homma (Saitama University)
Jun-ichi Horiuchi (Kyoto Institute of Technology)
Yoshinori Itaya (Gifu University)
Masashi Iwata (Osaka Prefecture University)
Noriho Kamiya (Kyushu University)
In-Beum Lee (Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTEC))
Kouji Maeda (University of Hyogo)
Hideyuki Matsumoto (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST))
Michiaki Matsumoto (Doshisha University)
Nobuyoshi Nakagawa (Gunma University)
Tsuguhiko Nakagawa (Okayama Prefectural University)
Yasuya Nakayama (Kyushu University)
Masaru Noda (Fukuoka University)
Mikihiro Nomura (Shibaura Institute of Technology)
Eika W. Qian (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
Yuji Sakai (Kogakuin University)
Noriaki Sano (Kyoto University)
Naomi Shibasaki-Kitakawa (Tohoku University)
Hiroshi Suzuki (Kobe University)
Nobuhide Takahashi (Shinshu University)
Kazuhiro Takeda (Shizuoka University)
Shigeki Takishima (Hiroshima University)
Yoshifumi Tsuge (Kyushu University)
Tomoya Tsuji (Nihon University)
Shigeyuki Uemiya (Gifu University)
Da-Ming Wang (National Taiwan University)
Takayuki Watanabe (Kyushu University)
Takuji Yamamoto (University of Hyogo)
Tetsuya Yamamoto (Nagoya University)
Masahiro Yoshida (Kagoshima University)
Yasuo Yoshimi (Shibaura Institute of Technology)
Miki Yoshimune (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST))

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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Inorganic membranes such as zeolites have great potential for seawater desalination. However, membrane fouling, which can be induced by the adsorption of organic molecules and biomolecules, could be a significant issue for such membranes, as is the case for polymeric composite membranes. In this study, whether membrane fouling could be a serious problem in the application of siliceous membranes to desalination was investigated by free energy calculations using molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations showed that organic substances strongly adsorb onto pure siliceous surfaces, which definitely causes membrane fouling, whereas they can be more easily separated from the antifouling carboxybetaine surface. These results suggest the potential of ultralow carboxybetaine coatings on siliceous membranes in suppressing membrane fouling. A theoretical screening of optimal coating polymers on membranes is possible by applying this approach to varied polyzwitterions.

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The power numbers of several kinds of impellers in rectangular eccentric vessels were correlated with Kamei et al.’s modified equation for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The mixing patterns of these impellers were observed by using a decolorization method based on the reaction between sodium thiosulfate and iodine. A relationship was established between the power number diagram (N_P–Re diagram) and the shape of the isolated zone. At low Reynolds numbers, isolated zones like donut rings were observed in the rectangular vessels and in a cylindrical vessel without baffles.

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The present study investigates the charge–discharge processes of a Planté lead–acid battery performed under atmospheric pressure and 10 MPa. The ampere-hour efficiency of the lead electrodes was substantially increased by the secondary formation of the Planté electrode, and the ampere-hour efficiency under 10 MPa was slightly higher than that under atmospheric pressure. The active PbSO₄ crystals on both electrodes were observed by SEM at different currents, and the morphology and crystal size distribution (CSD) were obtained. Active PbSO₄ crystals nucleated and grew during discharging; whereas, they disappeared during charging. This is similar to the crystal behavior during continuous crystallization in a battery. Therefore, a simple population balance model was used to express the CSD of PbSO₄ crystals on both electrodes. The CSD of both electrodes were similar at 10 MPa, but the CSD of the positive electrode was different from the CSD of the negative electrode. The current density on both electrodes was balanced under 10 MPa.

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Quantitative evaluation of crystal growth is important to understand the mechanism upon crystallization from supersaturated solution. In the present work, the prediction of crystal growth was quantitatively performed by phase-field simulation. The program on the crystal growth following the concentration difference as the driving force was developed. The validity of simulation results was evaluated by comparing the crystal morphology obtained by phase-field simulation with experimental results. The rate of crystal growth was estimated by calculating the change in crystal morphology against time. The crystal growth rate was different between constant and non-constant supersaturation ratios. The growth rate on each face strongly depended on the supersaturation ratio. This simulation method would help to design operating conditions for obtaining the desired crystal morphology. We could quantitatively predict the crystal growth by introducing the substance-specific parameters.

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Solvent extraction of silver from a nitric acid solution was investigated using 5,8-diethyl-7-hydroxy-dodecan-6-oxime (LIX63). The effects of various parameters were investigated, including diluent identity and the concentrations of nitric acid, the extractant, and metal ions. LIX63 was found to extract silver through a solvating extraction mechanism for nitric acid concentrations higher than 0.100 mol/L. In addition, a sodium thiosulfate solution was found to be the best stripping agent for the loaded complex. Finally, the developed procedure was also successful in preventing contamination of the final material with commonly associated ions, such as Al(III), Ca(II), Fe(III), and Si(IV).

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The present paper investigates the simultaneous removal and synergistic effect of SO₂ and NOx in natrium-alkali solutions in a countercurrent packed column in continuous flow mode. On the basis of high SO₂ removal efficiency, the NOx removal efficiencies under different process variables such as natrium-alkali concentration, reaction temperature, initial pH value, SO₂ concentration, oxidation degree of NOx and additive were investigated. The reaction mechanism for synergistic effect and simultaneous removal of SO₂ and NOx based on the natrium-alkali method were deduced. The removal efficiency of SO₂ was about 100%, but the effect mechanism of denitration efficiency was complex. In this paper, the optimal conditions for simultaneous removal of SO₂ and NOx were determined. The experimental results showed that the simultaneous desulfurization and denitration was possible, and the removal efficiencies could meet the increasingly stringent emissions regulations of IMO.

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In a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operation, the reduction of boil-off gas (BOG) is critical for economy and safety. The BOG recondenser, which is a key piece of equipment for dealing with BOG, is commonly used in receiving terminals. The dynamic behavior of a BOG recondenser is complex and difficult to stabilize. Therefore, an exact dynamic model of the equipment needs to be developed that will help improve the operation. In this research, we propose an advanced dynamic modeling methodology for BOG recondensers using HYSYS dynamics to achieve better accuracy than previous studies. The main feature of the proposed methodology is that variable flash efficiency depending on the LNG input rate is allowed, enabling the description of non-equilibrium phenomena inside the recondenser. The proposed methodology was verified by using the operating data from the BOG recondenser in a real terminal, and it showed less than 2% errors in the measurements of the liquid level, temperature, and pressure.

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We present a planning method for reducing product losses while manufacturing sterile drug products. The method consists of five steps that guide the process improvement effort and serve as a foundation for the Plan phase of the Plan–Do–Check–Act cycle. The method can cover all product components of the process in the analysis (e.g., active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, and primary packaging materials). In addition, newly developed mechanisms help generate effective improvement scenarios and allow for comparing the effect and difficulty of different scenarios in a multiobjective manner. In a case study, the method was executed step-by-step using industrial data, and its effectiveness was demonstrated.

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We study the effect of adding cetrimonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant to titanium dioxide (TiO₂) solution for immobilizing TiO₂ on glass substrates. The thin films are deposited by the dip-coating technique. After dipping into the TiO₂ sol, the films are calcined and a pure anatase crystal phase is obtained. The thickness of the thin film is changed by varying the number of the dip-and-calcine cycles. The prepared films are characterized using FE-SEM, TG-DTA, and XRD, and samples’ photocatalytic performances are tested with regard to the degradation of methylene blue dye. Aside from the photocatalytic performance, the photoinduced hydrophilicity of thin TiO₂ films surface is also studied.
Characterization results show that the addition of surfactant gives rise to characteristic patterns on the surface of the TiO₂ thin film, which also affects the photocatalytic activity. The addition of CTAB to the TiO₂ dipping solution has a negative effect because the calcination temperature is not sufficiently high to burn all the surfactants off. As for surface wettability, the addition of surfactant has a positive effect on the photoinduced surface hydrophilicity of the TiO₂ films under UV light.

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This study focused on understanding the impact of operating conditions on the temperature profile of the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and the catalyst layer at the cathode (i.e., the reaction surface) in a single polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). A 1D multi-plate heat-transfer model based on the temperature data of the separator measured by the thermograph in a power-generation experiment was developed to evaluate the temperature profile of the reaction surface. The in-plane temperature distributions on the reaction surface, which was analyzed at twenty points were investigated in detail with the relative humidity, flow rate of the supply gas, and gas channel pitch of the separator as variables. The results showed that the temperature of the reaction surface increased with the gas channel pitch except when the flow rate and relative humidity of supply gas were low. The temperature of the reaction surface measured along the gas-flow direction from the inlet to the outlet of the cell by 1–2 K under all experimental conditions. The impact of the relative humidity of the supply gas on the temperature of the reaction surface was insignificant compared to that of the gas channel pitch. The results of this study suggest that the temperature of the supply gas should be set higher by 2 K and that the accumulated water should be removed from the turn-round part of the gas channel in order to realize an even in-plane temperature distribution on the reaction surface.

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The Integrated coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is one of the clean coal technologies because of its excellent low environmental impact and its high thermal efficiency. In recent years, IGCC plants tend to use low-rank coals (LRC), which contain a large amount of moisture. A drying process based on self-heat recuperation (SHR) technology has been developed to greatly reduce the energy consumption because of its capability of recuperating the latent and sensible heat of water and dried coal. It has been shown that the SHR drying process uses less energy than the mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) drying process. For the commercialization of the SHR drying process, the energy consumption and cost are important. In this study, the thermal efficiency and capital cost of superheated steam drying processes (MVR, original SHR (SHR-A), and simplified SHR (SHR-B)) of LRC (sub-bituminous coal and lignite) combined with the IGCC plant were evaluated by using a commercial process simulator, ASPEN Plus ver. 7.2. The results show that the energy consumption of the SHR-B drying process was smaller than that of MVR and the SHR-A processes when the air flow ratio was small. The reduction of thermal efficiency in the IGCC plant due to drying in these processes was less than only 1.4%. It was found that the cost of a compressor and heat exchangers were the major contributors to capital cost in these drying processes, and that overall heat transfer coefficient in the heat exchanger is a critical factor to determine total capital cost. The estimated fixed capital investment of the SHR-B drying process is in the range of 25.6–66.9 million US$ for sub-bituminous coal and 28.7–75.3 million US$ for lignite when the air flow ratio was 0.02. These values were only 1.79–4.68% of the IGCC plant total capital cost of sub-bituminous coal and 1.86–4.86% of that of lignite.

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