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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A simple theoretical methodology to predict the CO₂ solubilities of physical absorbents is proposed based on free energy calculations using molecular dynamics simulations. Here, the free energy profiles were estimated for a CO₂ molecule approaching several types of solvent molecules: polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether, tetraglyme, glycerol, glycerol carbonate, and methanol. Remarkable differences were observed between the minimum values of the free energy profiles for the seven solvents. The energetic minima of the PEGs were deeper and wider than those of the other solvents, demonstrating that PEG solvents have higher affinity for CO₂. It was also suggested that the simulated minimum values for these profiles are correlated with the experimental CO₂ absorbed amounts. The refinement of our simple approach can contribute to the efficient screening of possible physical absorbents for carbon capture and storage.

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This study presents empirical evidence that dilute particle-polymer suspensions exhibit composition-dependent stress oscillations at constant shear rate. In ethanol/toluene co-solvent suspensions, an increase in the ethanol concentration promoted a transition of the particle-polymer suspension from a stable state, through an oscillating state with well-defined periodicity, toward an unstable mode with multiple frequency peaks. This transition corresponded to increases in the gyration radii of the polymer chains in the fluids. Furthermore, the opposite transition from an unstable state to stable states was observed with increasing polymer concentrations. In contrast, the extent of the transition was curtailed in cyclohexane/toluene suspension, in which both the shear stress and gyration radius remained constant with negligible dependence on the fluid composition. These facts indicate that the non-hydrodynamic deletion attractions among particles play a significant role in influencing the stress instability of polymer-particle suspensions.

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An unsteady heat transfer model of cement clinker in a grate cooler was built by according to theory of seepage heat transfer in porous media. Then, the heat transfer law of cement clinker in a grate cooler was obtained by solving the equations of seepage field and temperature field. Using the model, the influence of two main working parameters, grate speed and wind pressure, in the clinker cooling process were analyzed. The calculation results showed that the air temperature and clinker temperature rise with the increase of grate speed and a reasonable grate speed range is 0.007–0.009 m/s. The air temperature and clinker temperature dropped with the increase of air supply pressure and a reasonable air supply pressure range is 6,000–8,000 Pa.

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A facile method to determine the concentration of Cu²⁺ ions in aqueous solution was developed by using ionic liquids (ILs) as a concentrating reagent. Four hydrophobic ILs with the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide counter anion were tested for their abilities to measure Cu²⁺ ion concentration. Results showed that 1-allyl-3-butylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (ABIM) was good at concentrating Cu²⁺ ions in the form of [(TMPyP)Cu]⁴⁺, and thus the ABIM ILs only extracted [(TMPyP)Cu]⁴⁺ species from aqueous solution, whereas others showed no selectivity. In UV-vis absorption spectra, the Soret band absorbance of [(TMPyP)Cu]⁴⁺ in ABIM ILs was 17 times higher than that in water. Moreover, the band intensity increased linearly with increasing Cu²⁺ ion concentration. These results indicated that ABIM IL-TMPyPH₂ (TMPyPH₂: meso-tetrakis(N-methyl-pyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin) was an effective concentrator for Cu²⁺ ions. Interference studies showed that other metals (Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, and Ni²⁺) did not interfere significantly with the determination of Cu²⁺ ion concentration using this method.

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The present study investigates the decomposition of ammonia (NH₃) over Ni and Ru catalysts using a kinetic model based on a reaction mechanism consisting of kinetically important elementary steps. Experimental results obtained over a wide range of reaction conditions were reproduced by the model. Recombinative N₂ desorption was the rate-limiting step on the Ru catalyst; whereas, the overall rate of NH₃ decomposition was controlled by the NH₃ dehydrogenation step on the Ni catalyst.

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This study aims to explore the use of biomass-derived char-supported catalyst as a cost effective catalyst for the reforming of biomass-derived tar compounds. Char-supported nickel and cobalt catalysts were prepared using palm kernel shell (PKS) as the char precursor. The performance of the catalysts in catalysing the steam reforming of biomass tar was evaluated at temperatures between 700 and 950°C using toluene as the model compound of tar. Results of this study indicate that the PKS-derived char-supported catalysts have higher catalytic activity than the PKS char for the steam reforming of toluene. The catalytic activity of char and char-supported catalysts decreased beyond 850°C due likely to the loss of alkali and alkaline earth metal (AAEM) species, the sintering of metal particles and the deposition of carbon. Comparison of fresh and spent catalysts provides some information regarding the changes of catalyst properties during the steam reforming of toluene.

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The products and the capacity of production in the production process in the chemical industry depend on the design specification of the units. And many disruptions exist on the production process. Therefore, a company that aims to maximize the profit from the operation of a production process needs to restrain the influence of disruptive signals, and the capacity of the production process to restrain their negative effects is called the resilience. To maintain productivity, the company must improve the resilience. In this paper, the authors propose a metric for the quantitative estimation of resilience based on the skills and knowledge of production plant personnel on the production process in the chemical industry using the value of skills estimated quantitatively by the real measured value of skills of production plant personnel working at the production process. The value of skills is composed of the proficiency (level of skills and knowledge) and the labor efficiency (work hours devoted to skills), and it is possible 1) to estimate the averaged resilience of a work team by the potential capability of production plant personnel to compare the resilience of several production process, and 2) to know the change or trend of resilience in a single production process. It is possible to evaluate the metric of resilience commonly no matter what kind of process or number of the production plant personnel.

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Effects of the feed location on crystal growth and agglomeration using a model of a classified bed type crystallizer were examined. Semi-batch crystallization tests were examined with a feed from one of various feed locations. The particle size distribution and the number of the product particles were measured. From the results of the investigations, it was concluded that a feed positioned inside the slurry phase of the crystallizer affects the crystal growth and agglomeration phenomena, though the knowledge about phenomena of fine crystals is inadequate. Positioning the feed within the slurry phase increases the crystal growth rate slightly at the bottom of the slurry phase, as well as the agglomeration of the seed crystals, by increasing the degree of supersaturation at the inlet to the crystallizer. However, when the feed is positioned in the upper part of the slurry phase, the feed interferes with the agglomeration by reducing the concentration of the mother solution. It was thought that we can control the size of the crystals that form in the crystallizer by moving the location of the feed to a point within the slurry phase.

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A macroporous polymeric organogel for the immobilization of enzymes was developed using a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion-gelation method. This method was used to simultaneously synthesize 2-ethylhexyl acrylate organogels and entrap lipase in randomly distributed, non-interconnected, sphere-like macropores that were several micrometers in diameter. The lipase immobilized within the macroporous organogel successfully catalyzed the transesterification of propylacetate and 1-pentanol and the esterification of oleic acid and alcohol (ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-pentanol) in organic media and exhibited higher activity than free lipase.

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Modification of a coconut shell-based activated carbon under N₂ atmosphere has been carried out using a microwave device operating at 2,450 MHz and different microwave powers. The samples were characterized by means of low temperature N₂ adsorption, elemental analysis, and Boehm titration. The results show that microwave heating treatment results in a minor increase in micropore surface area and pore volume and has little effect on average micropore width. The results also show that microwave heating treatment is a very effective method for modifying the surface chemistry of the activated carbon. A gradual decrease in the surface acidic functional groups is observed, while the surface basicity is enhanced with increasing microwave power. Adsorption studies show enhanced adsorption of SO₂ onto microwave-treated carbon, caused by modification of the surface chemistry. During microwave treatment, the active sites are induced by decomposition of CO-type surface oxygen groups, which favors the adsorption and oxidation of SO₂.

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Many elements have been used as raw materials for electronic components, wiring, and plating on printed circuit boards. Such boards contain several hundred to a few thousand ppm of rare metals and precious metals, while containing base metals in the order of a few percent. To develop an efficient low-energy recovery process for such valuable elements from spent products, the dynamic behavior of ten elements was investigated during chlorination of samples prepared in three different ways: by incinerating and pyrolyzing the spent printed circuit boards, and by mixing the incinerated sample with a solid carbon reducing agent. When an incinerated sample was heated, volatilization was observed to start at 600°C for Sn, Cr, Fe, and Zn; at 800°C for Cu and Ni; and at 1,000°C for Pb, Ta, Co, and Au. The volatilization temperature was confirmed to be lower for the pyrolyzed sample than for the incinerated sample. The volatilization of all elements was accelerated when solid carbon was added to the incinerated sample and the starting temperature of volatilization was found to decrease. A non-isothermal kinetic analysis was conducted for the release behavior of elements during the chlorination of the incinerated, pyrolyzed, and carbon-added samples, assuming that the release rate could be expressed as first-order in terms of the content of the solid phase. The addition of carbon to the incinerated sample resulted in a reduction of the activation energy for the volatilization reaction to half or less for all elements except Cr. Since the pyrolyzed sample contained 12.7 wt% carbon, it is presumed that this carbon promoted the chlorination reaction at low temperatures in comparison to the incinerated samples. The change in the extent to which elements were released decreased when the release extents of Sn, Fe, and Zn reached 0.85, 0.70, and 0.65, respectively; however, it was found that the volatilization rate could be restored by crushing and mixing the samples.

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