2,5-Dimethylfuran (DMF) is a type of attractive sustainable green energy for diesel engines that is designed to reduce soot emission. This study investigated the effect of fuel properties on the macroscopic and microscopic spray characteristics of four test blends under injection pressures of 90, 120 and 150 MPa and ambient pressure of 5 MPa in a common diesel rail injection system. The macroscopic results indicate that with higher density, lower viscosity and lower latent heating of DMF20, the spray tip penetration and spray area are increased and the average spray angle is slightly increased. Interestingly, the effect of latent heating on the average spray angle is more obvious than that of kinematic viscosity. The microscopic results suggest that higher density, lower viscosity and lower latent heating of DMF20 have an adverse effect on the breakup of small droplets. The results of comparative analysis show that the change rules of the spray parameters remain nearly unchanged with increased injection pressure, and the influence of DMF20 properties produces a different change in different spray parameters with increasing injection pressure. The meaningful conclusion is that the properties of DMF are favourable to improvement of the spray and atomization parameters under high injection pressure.

Efficient thermal regulation is critical for the safe and reliable operation of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and energy storage systems; however, conventional battery thermal management systems (BTMSs) often fail to ensure rapid response and stable temperature control under dynamic operating conditions. This study aims to develop a high-performance hybrid BTMS that couples thermoelectric coolers (TECs) with PCMs and to investigate its transient thermal response, synergistic cooling mechanism, and optimization potential under realistic, time-varying battery heat generation. A three-dimensional multi-physics transient numerical model was established, incorporating thermoelectric conversion, PCM phase change behavior, fluid-solid coupled heat transfer, and dynamic battery heat generation characteristics under WLTP conditions. Comparative analyses were conducted among three systems: (1) TEC-PCM hybrid BTMS, (2) liquid cooling + PCM BTMS, and (3) PCM-only BTMS. The effects of PCM type and TEC operating current were also evaluated to determine optimal system configurations. The TEC-PCM hybrid BTMS exhibited the best thermal control, maintaining the battery temperature below 312.23 K with a maximum temperature difference of only 3.67 K, extending PCM operation up to 5400 s. A strong synergistic effect between TEC and PCM was observed: TECs provided rapid active cooling under high loads and facilitated PCM latent heat recovery during low loads. Optimization revealed that combining PCM 3 (high latent heat) with a TEC current of 0.9 A achieved the most efficient performance, with a maximum temperature of 311.31 K, a maximum temperature difference of 3.66 K, and a PCM liquid fraction of 0.985. The proposed TEC-PCM hybrid BTMS effectively addresses the limitations of conventional systems by combining fast thermoelectric response and high-capacity latent heat buffering. Its robust transient regulation and optimization potential make it a promising solution for next-generation electric vehicle battery cooling and energy storage applications.

NO_x and PM emissions of a diesel engine are simultaneously reduced by diesel/gasoline/isopropanol blends at proper EGR ratio.

There is limited information on insectivory in folivorous primates. Here, we report that wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) consume cicadas (Karenia caelatata) in the Qinling Mountains of China. Our research suggests that snub-nosed monkeys expand their diet and prey on cicadas during summer and early autumn, possibly in response to increased availability of these insects and their relatively high protein and fat content relative to leaves.

Methanol fuel engines can effectively reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and particulate matter, but they cause a substantial increase in emissions of unregulated pollutants like methanol and formaldehyde. In this study, Ag/CeO₂ catalysts were prepared from metal–organic framework (MOF) and silver acetate precursors using different methods and applied to the deep oxidation of methanol. The influence of preparation conditions on the types of active oxygen, surface chemical state, and oxygen vacancies was revealed by changing the calcination conditions and compared with the Ag/CeO₂ catalyst prepared by traditional methods. At the same time, the low-temperature reaction pathway of methanol was explored. The results showed that calcination conditions greatly affected the structure of the catalyst. Among them, Ag/CeO₂-A500 obtained by calcining Ag/Ce BTC in air at 500 °C had the best catalytic performance for methanol oxidation. The surface chemical state, overall oxygen vacancies, and the proportion of metallic silver may be key factors for its superior catalytic performance.