Phase-change/thermal process

Desalination of saline water (sea and brackish waters) is a well-established means of water supply in many countries. Basically, desalination processes in this area can be divided into two groups (1) phase-change/thermal, and (2) membrane-based separation processes. Phase-change processes include multi-stage flash,multiple effect boiling, vapour compression,freezing,humidi-fication/dehumidification and solar stills. RO, ED and membrane distillation (MD) are typical membrane separation processes (Charcosset, 2009). 

This phenomenon, called reverse osmosis, is used in a number of processes. An important commercial use is in the desalination of seawater or brackish water to produce fresh water. Unlike distillation and freezing processes used to remove solvents, reverse osmosis can operate at ambient temperature without phase change. This process is quite useful for processing of thermally and chemically unstable products. Applications include concentration of fruit juices and milk, recovery of protein and sugar from cheese whey, and concentration of enzymes. 

The thermal decomposition of a solid, which necessarily (on the above definition) incorporates a chemical step, is sometimes associated with the physical transformations to which passing reference was made above melting, sublimation, and recrystallization. Aspects of the relationships between physical transitions and decomposition reactions of solids are discussed in a book by Budnikov and Ginstling [1]. Since, in general, phase changes exert significant influence upon concurrent or subsequent chemical processes, it is appropriate to preface the main survey of the latter phenomena with a brief account of those features of melting, sublimation, and recrystallization which are relevant to the consideration of thermal decomposition reactions. 

The thermal stability of mesoporous frameworks substantially increases with an increase in the wall thickness and pore size, which can be varied even for the same template by changing the processing conditions. Ozin et al.55 developed a way to prepare crystalline titania films with a 2D-hexagonal architecture by replacement of ethanol in the Pluronic-containing precursor solution with more hydrophobic butanol-1. The latter promotes phase separation at low surfactant-to-titania ratios, resulting in thicker pore walls, which are more compatible with the crystal growth during subsequent calcination. 

A case of a thermally induced phase change involving ring inversion was recently described by Kaftory (31). He found that a crystal of the exo isomer of the adduct, 7a, of ll-cyano-l,6-methano[10]annulene with 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione is transformed to the endo isomer 7b on heating to 175°C. The process involves nucleation and growth of the product phase, but maintains... 

In contrast to the detonation of gaseous materials, the detonation process of explosives composed of energetic solid materials involves phase changes from solid to liquid and to gas, which encompass thermal decomposition and diffusional processes of the oxidizer and fuel components in the gas phase. Thus, the precise details of a detonation process depend on the physicochemical properties of the explosive, such as its chemical structure and the particle sizes of the oxidizer and fuel components. The detonation phenomena are not thermal equilibrium processes and the thickness of the reachon zone of the detonation wave of an explosive is too thin to identify its detailed structure.[i- i Therefore, the detonation processes of explosives are characterized through the details of gas-phase detonation phenomena. 

One such process involves the thermal decomposition of a diazo compound to give an acid that cross-links phenol formaldehyde resins upon heating, similar to the conventional UV initiated plates used in the industry (Figure 4.3), but other sensitisation methods are also used (see section 4.5). It is also possible to produce plates in a dry resin process by ablation or phase change methods. 

Aluminum nitride UFPs have been synthesized by thermal decomposition from many kinds of precursor such as polyminoalanef l/ ) AIH(NR)] (50), aluminum polynuclear complexes of basic aluminum chloride (BAC) or basic aluminum lactate (BAL) (51), and (hydroxo)(succinato) aluminum(lll) complex, A1(0H)(C4H404) jfLO (52). These precursors were calcined under N2 or NH, gas flow. The calcination temperatures, which depend on the individual precursor, can be lower by 600-200°C than the 1700°C in ihe conventional carbothermal reduction method. The XRD measurements at intermediate stages of the calcination process showed the phase change from an amorphous state to a trace of y-alumina with very fine grains and finally to wurtzite-type AIN (51,52). Lowering the calcination... 

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