No abstract

Raman spectroscopy has been widely used in the structural characterisation of various carbonaceous materials. Through spectral deconvolution, FT-Raman spectroscopy has been used to gain insights into the transformation of char structure during gasification, providing new evidence to understand the char gasification mechanisms. These studies have mainly focused on the first-order Raman spectra in the range between 800 and 1800 cm-1. Additional information can be gained from the second-order Raman spectra. This study aims to develop a new spectral deconvolution scheme for the second-order Raman spectra of chars from the gasification of coal and biomass. As our initial attempt, the second-order Raman spectra of chars in the range between 2,000 and 3,300 cm-1 were deconvoluted into 7 bands representing the main structural features in the chars. Both total Raman peak area and band area ratios are used to gain information about the structural features of char. Using chars from the gasification of WA Collie sub-bituminous coal in CO2 and H2O as examples, the implication of the first-order and second-order Raman spectral data in terms of gasification mechanisms is discussed.

Abstract:The Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP), also known as the Third Pole and the World Water Tower, is the largest and highest plateau with distinct and competing surface and subsurface processes. It is covered by a large layer of discontinuous and sporadic alpine permafrost which has degraded 10% during the past few decades. The average active layer thickness (ALT) increase rate is approximately 7.5 cm·yr −1 from 1995 to 2007, based on soil temperature measurements from 10 borehole sites along Qinghai-Tibetan Highway, and approximately 6.3 cm·yr −1 , 2006-2010, using soil temperature profiles for 27 monitoring sites along Qinghai-Tibetan railway. In this study, we estimated the ALT and its AL thickening rate in the northern QTP near the railway using ALOS PALSAR L-band small baseline subset interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SBAS-InSAR) data observed land subsidence and the corresponding ALT modeling. The InSAR estimated ALT and AL thickening rate were validated with ground-based observations from the borehole site WD4 within our study region, indicating excellent agreement. We concluded that we have generated high spatial resolution (30 m) and spatially-varying ALT and AL thickening rates, [2007][2008][2009], over approximately an area of 150 km 2 of permafrost-covered region in the northern QTP.

An efficient ramp control strategy may not be politically attractive due to its negative impacts on equity. This paper addresses this issue and presents a new objective for ramp metering-minimizing weighted travel time-which is able to balance efficiency and equity. A quasioptimization/simulation approach is used to achieve the new objective. BEEX, a new family of control strategies with various degrees of equity consideration, are developed and used to demonstrate this approach.

No abstract