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This paper is dedicated to the development of the method of high-temperature two-dimensional gas chromatography (HT-GC × GC) using a flow modulator for the analysis of a number of complex high-boiling samples. A method has been developed that allows to analyze complex samples with a temperature up to 360 °C using a combination of non-polar and mid-polar columns. We have achieved separations of such complex mixtures as products of thermal cracking of slack wax, vacuum gas oil (VGO) and the products of its processing, a product of catalytic processing of sludge sediments pyrolysate and products of polyethylene pyrolysis. The method makes it possible to achieve good resolution in the previously listed samples between the groups of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. In addition, the group of aliphatic hydrocarbons was resolved into separate constituent classes: alkanes, alkenes, alkadienes, and cycloalkanes. A good resolution was reached for sludge pyrolysis samples between the groups of polar compounds and aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Comparisons with other standardized methods illustrate the high potential of high-temperature two-dimensional gas chromatography for the analysis of high-boiling mixtures.

The stability and convergence properties of the mimetic finite difference method for diffusion-type problems on polyhedral meshes are analyzed. The optimal convergence rates for the scalar and vector variables in the mixed formulation of the problem are proved.

A coupled level set and moment of fluid method (CLSMOF) is described for computing solutions to incompressible two-phase flows. The local piecewise linear interface reconstruction (the CLSMOF reconstruction) uses information from the level set function, volume of fluid function, and reference centroid, in order to produce a slope and an intercept for the local reconstruction. The level set function is coupled to the volume-of-fluid function and reference centroid by being maintained as the signed distance to the CLSMOF piecewise linear reconstructed interface. The nonlinear terms in the momentum equations are solved using the sharp interface approach recently developed by Raessi and Pitsch (Annual Research Brief, 2009 ). We have modified the algorithm of Raessi and Pitsch from a staggered grid method to a collocated grid method and we combine their treatment for the nonlinear terms with the variable density, collocated, pressure projection algorithm developed by Kwatra et al. (J. Comput. Phys. 228:4146–4161, 2009 ). A collocated grid method makes it convenient for using block structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) grids. Many 2D and 3D numerical simulations of bubbles, jets, drops, and waves on a block structured adaptive grid are presented in order to demonstrate the capabilities of our new method.

Fiber mode-locked lasers are nonlinear optical systems that provide ultrashort pulses at high repetition rates. However, adjusting the cavity parameters is often a challenging task due to the intrinsic multistability of a laser system. Depending on the adjustment of the cavity parameters, the optical output may vary significantly, including Q-switching, single and multipulse, and harmonic mode-locked regimes. In this study, we demonstrate an experimental implementation of the Soft Actor–Critic algorithm for generating a harmonic mode-locked regime inside a state-of-the-art fiber laser with an ion-gated nanotube saturable absorber. The algorithm employs nontrivial strategies to achieve a guaranteed harmonic mode-locked regime with the highest order by effectively managing the pumping power of a laser system and the nonlinear transmission of a nanotube absorber. Our results demonstrate a robust and feasible machine-learning–based approach toward an automatic system for adjusting nonlinear optical systems with the presence of multistability phenomena.

Optical waveguides covered with thin films, which transmittance can be controlled by external action, are widely used in various applications from optical modulators to saturable absorbers. It is natural to suggest that the losses through such a waveguide will be proportional to the absorption coefficient of the covering material. In this letter, we demonstrate that under certain conditions, this simple assumption fails. Instead, we observe that the reduction of the material loss of the film can lead to an increase in the propagation losses through the waveguide. For this, we use a side polished fiber covered with a single-walled carbon nanotube thin film whose absorption can be attenuated either by a short pulse illumination (due to absorption saturation) or with electrochemical gating. For the films thicker than 50 nm, we observe saturable absorption to turn into optical limiting with nonmonotonic dependence on the incident power. With a numerical simulation, we identify that this nontrivial behavior comes from mode reshaping due to changes in the absorption coefficient of the covering film. We demonstrate the applicability of the observed effect by fabricating the device which nonlinear optical response can be controllably switched between saturable absorbing and optical limiting. Finally, we utilize an analytical approach to predict the required parameters and corresponding nontrivial shapes of the nonlinear absorbance curves. These results provide new perspectives for engineering complex reconfigurable nonlinear optical responses and transmittance dependences of nanomaterial covered waveguides.

This paper presents a study of the pyrolysis products organic raw materials (bio-oil and sludge sediments of treatment facilities) by chromatographic methods. A feature of the work is to optimize the sample preparation procedure by fractionating the pyrolysis products. Using the method of gel permeation chromatography, molecular weight distribution of pyrolysis products was assessed. Determination of the water content in these objects (by Karl Fischer titration) was used to assess the possibility of their direct analysis by gas chromatography. A sample of sludge pyrolysis and several fractions obtained from a bio-oil sample were analyzed. By the method of two-dimensional gas chromatography, where a selfdeveloped column based on an ionic liquid was used as the first measurement column, the pyrolysate of sludge sediments and the ether fraction of bio-oil were analyzed. The obtained chromatograms and quantitative results are presented

The high-energy potential of wastewater sewage sludge (SS) produced in large amounts around the world makes it an attractive feedstock for fuels and energy sectors. Thermochemical valorization relying on pyrolysis of SS followed by hydrotreatment of pyrolysis oil (Py-SS) might even allow the integration of SS into existing oil refineries. In the present study, catalytic hydrotreatment of Py-SS was performed over a NiCuMo-P-SiO2 catalyst in a batch reactor at temperatures in the range of 200–390 °C. Due to sulfur presence in the feed, the increasing reaction temperature induced in situ transformation of metallic Ni into Ni3S2 in the catalyst. In contrast, the Ni3P active phase possessed remarkable stability even at the harshest reaction conditions. The oxygen content in the reaction products was decreased by 59%, while up to 52% of N and 89% of S were removed at 390 °C. The content of free fatty acids was greatly reduced by their conversion to n-alkanes, while the larger amount of volatile aromatics was generated from high molecular mass compounds. The quality of oil-derived products greatly changed at elevated temperatures, providing strong evidence of effective upgrading via decarboxy(ny)lation, hydrogenation, and hydrocracking transformations.

Accurate discrete analogs of differential operators that satisfy the identities and theorems of vector and tensor calculus provide reliable finite difference methods for approximating the solutions to a wide class of partial differential equations. These methods mimic many fundamental properties of the underlying physical problem including conservation laws, symmetries in the solution, and the nondivergence of particular vector fields (i.e., they are divergence free) and should satisfy a discrete version of the orthogonal decomposition theorem. This theorem plays a fundamental role in the theory of generalized solutions and in the numerical solution of physical models, including the Navier-Stokes equations and in electrodynamics. We are deriving mimetic finite difference approximations of the divergence, gradient, and curl that satisfy discrete analogs of the integral identities satisfied by the differential operators. We first define the natural discrete divergence, gradient, and curl operators based on coordinate invariant definitions, such as Gauss's theorem, for the divergence. Next we use the formal adjoints of these natural operators to derive compatible divergence, gradient, and curl operators with complementary domains and ranges of values. In this paper we prove that these operators satisfy discrete analogs of the orthogonal decomposition theorem and demonstrate how a discrete vector can be decomposed into two orthogonal vectors in a unique way, satisfying a discrete analog of the formula$\\overrightarrow{A} = grad \\varphi + curl\\overrightarrow{B}.$We also present a numerical example to illustrate the numerical procedure and calculate the convergence rate of the method for a spiral vector field.

We study the convergence of the new family of mimetic finite difference schemes for linear diffusion problems recently proposed in [K. Lipnikov, G. Manzini, J. D. Moulton, and M. Shashkov, J. Comput Phys, 305 (2016), pp. 111-126]. In contrast to the conventional approach, the diffusion coefficient enters both the primary mimetic operator, i. e., the discrete divergence, and the inner product in the space of gradients. The diffusion coefficient is therefore evaluated on different mesh locations, i. e., inside mesh cells and on mesh faces. Such a staggered discretization may provide the flexibility necessary for future development of efficient numerical schemes for nonlinear problems, especially for problems with degenerate coefficients. These new mimetic schemes preserve symmetry and positive-definiteness of the continuum problem, which allow us to use efficient algebraic solvers such as the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. We show that these schemes are inf-sup stable and establish a priori error estimates for the approximation of the scalar and vector solution fields. Numerical examples confirm the convergence analysis and the effectiveness of the method in providing accurate approximations.

This work addresses the supramolecular self-organization in the xerogels of formose reaction products. The UV-induced formose reaction was held in over-saturated formaldehyde solutions at 70∘C without a catalyst. The solutions of the obtained carbohydrates were dried on a glass slide, and the obtained xerogels demonstrated a prominent optical activity, while the initial solutions were optically inactive. The xerogels contained highly elongated crystalline elements of a helical structure as well as the isometric ones. Thus xerogel formation was accompanied by a spontaneous resolution of enantiomers and separation of different-shaped supramolecular structures. The thick helices were twisted of thinner ones, while the latter were twisted of elementary structures having a diameter much smaller than 400 nm. Similar structural hierarchy is typical of biological macromolecules (DNA, proteins, and cellulose). Summarizing the obtained results, we proposed a hypothetical mechanism explaining the amplification of the initial enantiomeric excess, as well as chiral and chemical purification of the substances which were essential for the evolution of Life to start.