Impact of Design on the Activity of ZrO2 Catalysts in Cellulose Hydrolysis-Dehydration to Glucose and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

The one-pot hydrolysis-dehydration of activated microcrystalline cellulose was studied in pure hydrothermal water at 453 K over ZrO2 catalysts produced by thermodegradation, microwave treatment, mechanical activation, and sol–gel methods and spent without any co-catalyst. ZrO2 prepared by microwave treatment was more active compared to ones derived by other methods. The catalyst calcination temperature also impacted reactivity. The cellulose conversion increased simultaneously with acidity and SBET, which in turn were set by the preparation method and calcination temperature. Phase composition did not affect the activity. Yields of glucose and 5-HMF reaching 18 and 15%, respectively, were over the most promising ZrO2 prepared by microwave treatment at 593 K. To our knowledge, this ZrO2 sample provided the highest activity in terms of TOF values (15.1 mmol g−1 h−1) compared to the pure ZrO2 systems reported elsewhere. High stability of ZrO2 derived by microwave irradiation was shown in five reaction runs.

Influences of Sintering Process on the Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of ZrO2 Nano-Composite Ceramic Tool and Die Material

A new ZrO2 nano-composite ceramic tool and die material was prepared with vacuum hot pressing technique. The effects of sintering parameters on the nano-composite ceramic tool and die materials were studied. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of ZrO2 nano-composite ceramic tool and die material with the additions of TiB2 and Al2O3 are higher than that of the pure ZrO2 ceramic material. Sintering at 1100 for 120min could improve the density and mechanical properties of ZrO2 nano-composite ceramic material. The flexural strength, fracture toughness and hardness with the optimum sintering parameters can reach 878MPa, 9.54MPa•m1/2 and 13.48GPa, respectively, obviously higher than that with non-optimum sintering parameters.

Dominant Factor for the Occurrence of a Steam Explosion

For the study of a steam explosion phenomenon in a nuclear reactor, prototypic corium, a mixture of UO2 and ZrO2 was melted in a cold crucible by applying an induction heating technique. The molten corium was then poured into cold water. It was fragmented into very small particles, so called debris, which enables a very rapid heat transfer to the water. Some cases led to steam explosions by thermal expansion of the water. After the tests, all the debris particles were dried and classified by their size. From the analysis by using EPMA, it was shown that the particles generated by a steam explosion had fine and irregular forms. It is known that real corium (including UO2) hardly leads to a steam explosion, different from pure ZrO2 or metal. A reason for this was previously suggested in that the corium generated hydrogen gas during melt-water interaction, and it enclosed the melt drops to prevent a direct contact of the corium and water. In order to confirm this fact, the debris particles were analyzed with ICP-AES for their typical element contents, EPMA for the homogeneity of the solid solution, XRD for the chemical compounds, and TGA and hydrogen reduction analysis for the percentage of the debris oxidation and reduction. These analyses showed that hydrogen was not directly related to steam explosion. Meanwhile, the material characteristics of the corium compositions are newly suggested to be the most probable reason for the occurrence of a steam explosion so far.