Feature issue introduction: Light, energy and the environment, 2017

The editors introduce the feature issue on “Energy, Light and the Environment (LEE) 2017”, which is based on the topics presented at a congress of the same name held in Boulder, CO, US, from November 6 to November 9. This feature issue presents 13 papers selected from the voluntary submissions by attendees who presented at the progress and...

Current and future trends in topology optimization for additive manufacturing

Manufacturing-oriented topology optimization has been extensively studied the past two decades, in particular for the conventional manufacturing methods, for example, machining and injection molding or casting. Both design and manufacturing engineers have benefited from these efforts because of the close-to-optimal and friendly-to-manufacture...

Simultaneous photocatalytic and microbial degradation of dye-containing wastewater by a novel g-C₃ N₄ -P₂₅ /photosynthetic bacteria composite

Azo dyes are very resistant to light-induced fading and biodegradation. Existing advanced oxidative pre-treatment methods based on the generation of non-selective radicals cannot efficiently remove these dyes from wastewater streams, and post-treatment oxidative dye removal is problematic because it may leave many byproducts with unknown...

A highly selective and stable ZnO-ZrO₂ solid solution catalyst for CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol

Although methanol synthesis via CO hydrogenation has been industrialized, CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol still confronts great obstacles of low methanol selectivity and poor stability, particularly for supported metal catalysts under industrial conditions. We report a binary metal oxide, ZnO-ZrO₂ solid solution catalyst,...

A Facile Surface Reconstruction Mechanism toward Better Electrochemical Performance of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ in Lithium-Ion Battery

Through a facile sodium sulfide (Na₂S)-assisted hydrothermal treatment, clean and nondefective surfaces are constructed on micrometer-sized Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ particles. The remarkable improvement of surface quality shows a higher first cycle Coulombic efficiency (≈95%), a significantly enhanced cycling...

Time-dependent mechanical and transport behaviors of Callovo-Oxfordian argillite

An experimental study was carried out on the time-dependent mechanical and transport behaviors of the Callovo-Oxfordian (Cox) argillite, the geological barriers for high-level radioactive waste disposal in France. Six coupled one-step creep tests under the same confining pressure 6MPa and different deviatoric stresses were proposed to...

BQC: A new multi-GNSS data quality checking toolkit

Multi-GNSS networks, for example M-GEX and iGMAS, are set up and grow quickly with the development of new navigation systems and multi-GNSS receivers. It is unavoidable that GNSS signals are deteriorated by several error sources. Thus GNSS network operators, data users and receiver designers all require data quality checking (QC). However, few...

Analysis of heave motions of a truss spar platform semi-closed moon pool

Experimental investigation of nonlinear dynamic tension in mooring lines

CFD modeling of chemical reactors: Single-Phase Complex Reactions and Fine-Particle Production

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a useful tool for modeling chemical reactors. However, because the design goals and expected outcomes are different than in "traditional'' CFD applications, chemical reactors require special attention to the treatment of chemical reactions, and heat and mass transfer. Here we provide an overview of the...