Search results for: fuel additives

Authors: Rafiuddin

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Composite solid electrolyte of the salt and oxide type is an effective approach to improve the ionic conductivity in low and intermediate temperature regions. The conductivity enhancement in the composites occurs via interfaces. Because of their high ionic conduction, composite electrolytes have wide applications in different electrochemical devices such as solid-state batteries, solid oxide fuel cells, and electrochemical cells. In this work, a series of novel (1‒x) (CdI2‒Ag2CrO4)‒xAl2O3 composite solid electrolytes has been synthesized. The prepared materials were characterized by X‒ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and AC impedance spectroscopy. The impedance spectra show single semicircle representing the simultaneous contribution of grain and grain boundary. The conductivity increased with the increase of Al2O3 content and shows the maximum conductivity (σ= 0.0012 S cm‒1) for 30% of Al2O3 content at 30 ℃.

Keywords: composite solid electrolyte, X-ray diffraction, Impedance spectroscopy, ionic conductivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Manavjit Singh Dhindsa, Ursula Das, Kshirasagar Naik, Marzia Zaman, Richard Purcell, Srinivas Sampalli, Abdul Mutakabbir, Chung-Horng Lung, Thambirajah Ravichandran

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These days, wildland fires, also known as forest fires, are more prevalent than ever. Wildfires have major repercussions that affect ecosystems, communities, and the environment in several ways. Wildfires lead to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, affecting ecosystems and causing soil erosion. They also contribute to poor air quality by releasing smoke and pollutants that pose health risks, especially for individuals with respiratory conditions. Wildfires can damage infrastructure, disrupt communities, and cause economic losses. The economic impact of firefighting efforts, combined with their direct effects on forestry and agriculture, causes significant financial difficulties for the areas impacted. This research explores different forest fire spread models and presents a comprehensive review of various techniques and methodologies used in the field. A forest fire spread model is a computational or mathematical representation that is used to simulate and predict the behavior of a forest fire. By applying scientific concepts and data from empirical studies, these models attempt to capture the intricate dynamics of how a fire spreads, taking into consideration a variety of factors like weather patterns, topography, fuel types, and environmental conditions. These models assist authorities in understanding and forecasting the potential trajectory and intensity of a wildfire. Emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of wildfire dynamics, this research explores the approaches, assumptions, and findings derived from various models. By using a comparison approach, a critical analysis is provided by identifying patterns, strengths, and weaknesses among these models. The purpose of the survey is to further wildfire research and management techniques. Decision-makers, researchers, and practitioners can benefit from the useful insights that are provided by synthesizing established information. Fire spread models provide insights into potential fire behavior, facilitating authorities to make informed decisions about evacuation activities, allocating resources for fire-fighting efforts, and planning for preventive actions. Wildfire spread models are also useful in post-wildfire mitigation strategies as they help in assessing the fire's severity, determining high-risk regions for post-fire dangers, and forecasting soil erosion trends. The analysis highlights the importance of customized modeling approaches for various circumstances and promotes our understanding of the way forest fires spread. Some of the known models in this field are Rothermel’s wildland fuel model, FARSITE, WRF-SFIRE, FIRETEC, FlamMap, FSPro, cellular automata model, and others. The key characteristics that these models consider include weather (includes factors such as wind speed and direction), topography (includes factors like landscape elevation), and fuel availability (includes factors like types of vegetation) among other factors. The models discussed are physics-based, data-driven, or hybrid models, also utilizing ML techniques like attention-based neural networks to enhance the performance of the model. In order to lessen the destructive effects of forest fires, this initiative aims to promote the development of more precise prediction tools and effective management techniques. The survey expands its scope to address the practical needs of numerous stakeholders. Access to enhanced early warning systems enables decision-makers to take prompt action. Emergency responders benefit from improved resource allocation strategies, strengthening the efficacy of firefighting efforts.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, deep learning, forest fire management, fire risk assessment, fire simulation, machine learning, remote sensing, wildfire modeling

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Authors: Tianyu Wang, Nikita Karandikar

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The uncertainty around cost, safety, and feasibility of the decarbonized shipping fuels has made it increasingly complex for the shipping companies to set pricing strategies and forecast their freight revenues going forward. The increase in the green fuel surcharges will ultimately influence the automobile’s consumer prices. The auto shipping demand (ton-miles) has been gradually shifting from long-haul to short-sea trade over the past years following the relocation of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) manufacturing to regions such as South America and Southeast Asia. The objective of this paper is twofold: 1) to investigate the car-carriers freight revenue development over the years when the trade pattern is gradually shifting towards short-sea exports 2) to empirically identify the quantitative impact of such trade pattern shifting to mainly freight rate, but also vessel size, fleet size as well as Green House Gas (GHG) emission in Roll on-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) shipping. In this paper, a model of analyzing and forecasting ton-miles and freight revenues for the trade routes of AS-NA (Asia to North America), EU-NA (Europe to North America), and SA-NA (South America to North America) is established by deploying Automatic Identification System (AIS) data and the financial results of a selected car carrier company. More specifically, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WALWIL), the Norwegian Ro-Ro carrier listed on Oslo Stock Exchange, is selected as the case study company in this paper. AIS-based ton-mile datasets of WALWIL vessels that are sailing into North America region from three different origins (Asia, Europe, and South America), together with WALWIL’s quarterly freight revenues as reported in trade segments, will be investigated and compared for the past five years (2018-2022). Furthermore, ordinary‐least‐square (OLS) regression is utilized to construct the ton-mile demand and freight revenue forecasting. The determinants of trade pattern shifting, such as import tariffs following the China-US trade war and fuel prices following the 0.1% Emission Control Areas (ECA) zone requirement after IMO2020 will be set as key variable inputs to the machine learning model. The model will be tested on another newly listed Norwegian Car Carrier, Hoegh Autoliner, to forecast its 2022 financial results and to validate the accuracy based on its actual results. GHG emissions on the three routes will be compared and discussed based on a constant emission per mile assumption and voyage distances. Our findings will provide important insights about 1) the trade-off evaluation between revenue reduction and energy saving with the new ton-mile pattern and 2) how the trade flow shifting would influence the future need for the vessel and fleet size.

Keywords: AIS, automobile exports, maritime big data, trade flows

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Authors: Masoud Mirzaee, Ghobad Behzadi Pour

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An aircraft tire is designed to tolerate extremely heavy loads for a short duration. The number of tires increases with the weight of the aircraft, as it is needed to be distributed more evenly. Generally, aircraft tires work at high pressure, up to 200 psi (14 bar; 1,400 kPa) for airliners and higher for business jets. Tire assemblies for most aircraft categories provide a recommendation of compressed nitrogen that supports the aircraft’s weight on the ground, including a mechanism for controlling the aircraft during taxi, takeoff; landing; and traction for braking. Accurate tire pressure is a key factor that enables tire assemblies to perform reliably under high static and dynamic loads. Concerning ambient temperature change, considering the condition in which the temperature between the origin and destination airport was different, tire pressure should be adjusted and inflated to the specified operating pressure at the colder airport. This adjustment superseding the normal tire over an inflation limit of 5 percent at constant ambient temperature is required because the inflation pressure remains constant to support the load of a specified aircraft configuration. On the other hand, without this adjustment, a tire assembly would be significantly under/over-inflated at the destination. Due to an increase of human errors in the aviation industry, exorbitant costs are imposed on the airlines for providing consumable parts such as aircraft tires. The existence of an intelligent system to adjust the aircraft tire pressure based on weight, load, temperature, and weather conditions of origin and destination airports, could have a significant effect on reducing the aircraft maintenance costs, aircraft fuel and further improving the environmental issues related to the air pollution. An intelligent tire pressure regulation system (ITPRS) contains a processing computer, a nitrogen bottle with 1800 psi, and distribution lines. Nitrogen bottle’s inlet and outlet valves are installed in the main wheel landing gear’s area and are connected through nitrogen lines to main wheels and nose wheels assy. Controlling and monitoring of nitrogen will be performed by a computer, which is adjusted according to the calculations of received parameters, including the temperature of origin and destination airport, the weight of cargo loads and passengers, fuel quantity, and wind direction. Correct tire inflation and deflation are essential in assuring that tires can withstand the centrifugal forces and heat of normal operations, with an adequate margin of safety for unusual operating conditions such as rejected takeoff and hard landings. ITPRS will increase the performance of the aircraft in all phases of takeoff, landing, and taxi. Moreover, this system will reduce human errors, consumption materials, and stresses imposed on the aircraft body.

Keywords: avionic system, improve efficiency, ITPRS, human error, reduced cost, tire pressure

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Authors: Aniket Aaba Kadam, Manish Mangesh Panchal, Roushan Ashit Sharma

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This project focuses on the design and development of a lab-scale hybrid rocket motor to accurately determine the regression rate of a fuel/oxidizer combination consisting of solid paraffin and gaseous oxygen (GOX). Hybrid motors offer the advantage of on-demand thrust control over both solid and liquid systems in certain applications. The thermodynamic properties of the propellant combination were calculated using NASA CEA at different chamber pressures and corresponding O/F values to determine initial operating conditions with suitable peak temperatures and optimal O/F values. The project also includes the design of the injector orifice and the determination of the final design configurations of the motor casing, pressure control setup, and valve configuration. This research will be valuable in advancing the understanding of paraffin-based propulsion and improving the performance of hybrid rocket motors.

Keywords: hybrid rocket, NASA CEA, injector, thrust control

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Authors: Si̇nem Uğuz, Yuksel Ardali

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Nowadays rapid population growth causes a mandatory increase in consumption. As a result of production activities which meet this consumption, energy sources decrease rapidly on our world. As well as with this production activities various waste occurs. At the end of the production and accumulation of this waste need a mandatory disposal. In this context, copyrolysis of waste polyolefins were investigated. In this study for pyrolysis process, polyethylene and polyprophylene are selected as polyolefins. The pyrolysis behavior (efficiency of solid, liquid and gas production) of selected materials were examined at the different temperatures and different mixtures. Pyrolysis process was carried out at 550 °C and 600 °C without air in a fixed bed pyrolysis oven solid under the nitrogen flow to provide inertness of medium. Elemental analyses (C, H, O, N, S) of this solid and liquid (bitumen) products were made and the calorific value was calculated. The availability of liquid product as a fuel was investigated. In addition different products’ amounts formed like solid, liquid and gas at different temperatures were evaluated.

Keywords: alternative energy, elemental analysis, pyrolysis, waste reduction

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Authors: Ikbal Eski, Turan Gürgenç

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After nearly more than a century of research and development, internal combustion engines have become almost perfect. Along with such improvement in internal combustion engines, automotive manufacturers are conducting research on design of alternative fuel vehicles. Nevertheless an ideal interim solution is to increase overall efficiency of internal combustion vehicles. A potential solution to achieve that is using continuously variable transmission system which, despite being an old idea, has recently become a hope for automotive manufacturers. CVT system, by continuously varying speed ratio, raises vehicle efficiency. In this study, fuzzy logic controller is used in speed ratio control of pulley based CVT system.

Keywords: continuously variable transmission system, variator, speed ratio, fuzzy logic

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Authors: Shubham Sharma, Sandra Barkauskaite, Brendan Duffy, Swarna Jaiswal, Amit K. Jaiswal

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Food packaging protects food from temperature, light, and humidity; preserves food and guarantees the safety and the integrity of the food. Advancement in packaging research leads to development of active packaging system with numerous properties such as oxygen scavengers, carbon-dioxide generating systems, antimicrobial active packaging, moisture control packaging, ethylene scavengers etc. In the active packaging, several additives such as essential oils, polyphenols etc. are incorporated into packaging film or within the packaging material to achieve the desired properties. This study investigates the effect on the structural, thermal and functional properties of different poly(lactide) – poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PLA-PBAT) blend films incorporated with clove essential oil. The PLA-PBAT films were prepared by a solution casting method and then characterized based on their optical, mechanical properties, surface hydrophobicity, chemical composition, antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli, and inhibition of biofilm formation of E. coli. Results showed that, the developed packaging film containing clove oil has significant UV-blocking property (80%). However, incorporation of clove oil resulted in reduced transparency and tensile strength of the film as the concentration of clove oil increased. The surface hydrophobicity of packaging film was improved with the increasing concentration of essential oil. Similarly, thickness of the clove oil containing films increased from 36.71 µm to 106.67 µm as the concentration increases. The antimicrobial activity and biofilm inhibition study showed that the clove-incorporated PLA-PBAT composite film was effective against tested bacteria E. coli and S. aureus. This study showed that the PLA-PBAT – Clove oil composite film has significant antimicrobial and UV-blocking properties and can be used as an active food packaging film.

Keywords: active packaging, clove oil, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), poly(lactide)

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Authors: Berkas Khaoula

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Based on selection characteristics, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) extruded pipes are among the most economical and durable materials as well-designed solutions for water and gas transmission systems. The main reasons for such a choice are the high quality-performance ratio and the long-term service durability under aggressive conditions. Due to inevitable interactions with soils of different chemical compositions and transported fluids, aggressiveness becomes a key factor in studying resilient strength and life prediction limits. This phenomenon is known as environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR). In this work, the effect of 3 acidic environments (5% acetic, 20% hydrochloric and 20% sulfuric) on HDPE-100 samples (~10x11x24 mm3). The results presented in the form (Δm/m0, %) as a function of √t indicate that the absorption, in the case of strong acids (HCl and H2SO4), evolves towards negative values involving material losses such as antioxidants and some additives. On the other hand, acetic acid and deionized water (DW) give a form of linear Fickean (LF) and B types, respectively. In general, the acids cause a slow but irreversible alteration of the chemical structure, composition and physical integrity of the polymer. The DW absorption is not significant (~0.02%) for an immersion duration of 69 days. Such results are well accepted in actual applications, while changes caused by acidic environments are serious and must be subjected to particular monitoring of the OIT factor (Oxidation Induction Time). After 55 days of aging, the H2SO4 and HCl media showed particular values with a loss of % mass in the interval [0.025-0.038] associated with irreversible chemical reactions as well as physical degradations. This state is usually explained by hydrolysis of the polymer, causing the loss of functions and causing chain scissions. These results are useful for designing and estimating the lifetime of the tube in service and in contact with adverse environments.

Keywords: HDPE, environmental stress cracking, absorption, acid media, chemical aging

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Authors: Selvakuma Kumaresh, Man Young Kim

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Combustion phenomenon will be accomplished effectively by the development of low emission combustor. One of the significant factors influencing the entire Combustion process is the mixing between a swirling angular jet (Primary Air) and the non-swirling inner jet (fuel). To study this fundamental flow, the chamber had to be designed in such a manner that the combustion process to sustain itself in a continuous manner and the temperature of the products is sufficiently below the maximum working temperature in the turbine. This study is used to develop the effective combustion with low unburned combustion products by adopting the concept of high swirl flow and motility of holes in the secondary chamber. The proper selection of a swirler is needed to reduce emission which can be concluded from the emission of Nox and CO2. The capture of CO2 is necessary to mitigate CO2 emissions from natural gas. Thus the suppression of unburned gases is a meaningful objective for the development of high performance combustor without affecting turbine blade temperature.

Keywords: combustion, emission, can-type combustion chamber, CFD, motility of holes, swirl flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Hayder Shanbara, Felicite Ruddock, William Atherton, Ali Al-Rifaie

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In highways construction, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) is used predominantly as a paving material from many years. Around 90 percent of the world road network is laid by flexible pavements. However, there are some restrictions on paving hot mix asphalt such as immoderate greenhouse gas emission, rainy season difficulties, fuel and energy consumption and cost. Therefore, Cold Bitumen Emulsion Mixture (CBEM) is considered an alternative mix to the HMA. CBEM is the popular type of Cold Mix Asphalt (CMA). It is unheated emulsion, aggregate and filler mixtures, which can be prepared and mixed at ambient temperature. This research presents a simple and more practicable design procedure of CBEM and discusses limitations of this design. CBEM is a mixture of bitumen emulsion and aggregates that mixed and produced at ambient temperature. It is relatively easy to produce, but the design procedure that provided by Asphalt Institute (Manual Series 14 (1989)) pose some issues in its practical application.

Keywords: cold bitumen, emulsion mixture, design procedure, pavement

Procedia PDF Downloads 236

Authors: R. S. Komartin, B. Balanuca, R. Stan

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the last decades, studies about the use of polymeric materials of plant origin, considering environmental concerns, have captured the interest of researchers because these represent an alternative to petroleum-derived materials. Vegetable oils are one of the preferred alternatives for petroleum-based raw materials having long aliphatic chains similar to hydrocarbons which means that can be processed using conventional chemistry. Epoxidized vegetable oils (EVO) are among the most interesting products derived from oil both for their high reactivity (epoxy group) and for the potential to react with compounds from various classes. As in the case of epoxy resins starting from petrochemical raw materials, those obtained from EVO can be crosslinked with different agents to build polymeric networks and can also be reinforced with various additives to improve their thermal and mechanical performances. Among the multitude of known EVO, the most common in industrial practice are epoxidized linseed oils (ELO) and epoxidized soybean oils (ESO), the first with an iodine index over 180, the second having a lower iodine index but being cheaper. On the other hand, lignin (Ln) is the second natural organic material as a spread, whose use has long been hampered because of the high costs associated with its isolation and purification. In this context, our goal was to obtain new composite materials with satisfactory intermediate properties in terms of stiffness and elasticity using the characteristics of ELO and Ln and choosing the proper curing procedure. In the present study linseed oil (LO) epoxidation was performed using peracetic acid generated in situ. The obtained bio-based epoxy resin derived from linseed oil was used further to produce the new composites byloading Ln in various mass ratios. The resulted ELO-Ln blends were subjected to a dual-curing protocol, namely photochemical and thermal. The new ELO-Ln composites were investigated by FTIR spectrometry, thermal stability, water affinity, and morphology. The positive effect of lignin regarding the thermal stability of the composites could be proved. The results highlight again the still largely unexplored potential of lignin in industrial applications.

Keywords: composite materials, dual curing, epoxidized linseed oil, lignin

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Ülle Parm, Kata Pedamäe, Jaak Jürimäe, Evelin Lätt, Aivar Orav, Anna-Liisa Tamm

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Vegetarianism has gained popularity across the world. It`s being chosen for multiple reasons, but among Estonians, these have remained unknown. Previously, attention to bone health and probable nutrient deficiency of vegetarians has been paid and in vegetarians lower body mass index (BMI) and blood cholesterol level has been found but the results are inconclusive. The goal was to explain reasons for choosing vegetarian diet in Estonia and impact of vegetarianism to body composition – BMI, fat percentage (fat%), fat mass (FM), and fat free mass (FFM). The study group comprised of 68 vegetarians and 103 omnivorous. The determining body composition with DXA (Hologic) was concluded in 2013. Body mass (medical electronic scale, A&D Instruments, Abingdon, UK) and height (Martin metal anthropometer to the nearest 0.1 cm) were measured and BMI calculated (kg/m2). General data (physical activity level included) was collected with questionnaires. The main reasons why vegetarianism was chosen were the healthiness of the vegetarian diet (59%) and the wish to fight for animal rights (72%) Food additives were consumed by less than half of vegetarians, more often by men. Vegetarians had lower BMI than omnivores, especially amongst men. Based on BMI classification, vegetarians were less obese than omnivores. However, there were no differences in the FM, FFM and fat percentage figures of the two groups. Higher BMI might be the cause of higher physical activity level among omnivores compared with vegetarians. For classifying people as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese both BMI and fat% criteria were used. By BMI classification in comparison with fat%, more people in the normal weight group were considered; by using fat% in comparison with BMI classification, however, more people categorized as overweight. It can be concluded that the main reasons for vegetarianism chosen in Estonia are healthiness of the vegetarian diet and the wish to fight for animal rights and vegetarian diet has no effect on body fat percentage, FM and FFM.

Keywords: body composition, body fat percentage, body mass index, vegetarianism

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Authors: Yasser R. Shaban

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A practical multipurpose device for medical isotopes production is most wanted for clinical centers and researches. Unfortunately, the major supply of these radioisotopes currently comes from aging sources, and there is a great deal of uneasiness in the domestic market. There are also many cases where the cost of certain radioisotopes is too high for their introduction on a commercial scale even though the isotopes might have great benefits for society. The medical isotopes such as radiotracers PET (Positron Emission Tomography), Technetium-99 m, and Iodine-131, Lutetium-177 by is feasible to be generated by a single unit named IEMC (Inertial Electrostatic Magnetic Confinement). The IEMC fusion vessel is the upgrading unit of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement IEC fusion vessel. Comprehensive experimental works on IEC were carried earlier with promising results. The principle of inertial electrostatic magnetic confinement IEMC fusion is based on forcing the binary fuel ions to interact in the opposite directions in ions cyclotrons orbits with different kinetic energies in order to have equal compression (forces) and with different ion cyclotron frequency ω in order to increase the rate of intersection. The IEMC features greater fusion volume than IEC by several orders of magnitude. The particles rate from the IEMC approach are projected to be 8.5 x 10¹¹ (p/s), ~ 0.2 microampere proton, for D/He-3 fusion reaction and 4.2 x 10¹² (n/s) for D/T fusion reaction. The projected values of particles yield (neutrons and protons) are suitable for medical isotope productions on-site by a single unit without any change in the fusion vessel but only the fuel gas. The PET radiotracers are usually produced on-site by medical ion accelerator whereas Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is usually produced off-site from the irradiation facilities of nuclear power plants. Typically, hospitals receive molybdenum-99 isotope container; the isotope decays to Tc-99mwith half-life time 2.75 days. Even though the projected current from IEMC is lesser than the proton current from the medical ion accelerator but still the IEMC vessel is simpler, and reduced in components and power consumption which add a new value of populating the PET radiotracers in most clinical centers. On the other hand, the projected neutrons flux from the IEMC is lesser than the thermal neutron flux at the irradiation facilities of nuclear power plants, but in the IEMC case the productions of Technetium-99m is suggested to be at the resonance region of which the resonance integral cross section is two orders of magnitude higher than the thermal flux. Thus it can be said the net activity from both is evened. Besides, the particle accelerator cannot be considered a multipurpose particles production unless a significant change is made to the accelerator to change from neutrons mode to protons mode or vice versa. In conclusion, the projected fusion yield from IEMC is a straightforward since slightly change in the primer IEC and ion source is required.

Keywords: electrostatic versus magnetic confinement fusion vessel, ion source, medical isotopes productions, neutron activation

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: Melanie Francois, Gilles Caboche, Frederic Demoisson, Francois Maeght, Maria Paola Carpanese, Lionel Combemale, Pascal Briois

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Finding new clean, and efficient way for energy production is one of the actual global challenges. Advances in fuel cell technology have shown that, for few years, Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cell (PCFC) has attracted much attention in the field of new hydrogen energy thanks to their lower working temperature, possible higher efficiency, and better durability than classical SOFC. On the contrary of SOFC, where O²⁻ oxygen ion is the charge carrier, PCFC works with H⁺ proton as a charge carrier. Consequently, the lower activation energy of proton diffusion compared to the one of oxygen ion explains those benefits and allows PCFC to work in the 400-600°C temperature range. Doped-BaCeO₃ is currently the most chosen material for this application because of its high protonic conductivity; for example, BaCe₀.₉Y₀.₁O₃ δ exhibits a total conductivity of 1.5×10⁻² S.cm⁻¹ at 600°C in wet H₂. However, BaCeO₃ based perovskite has low stability in H₂O and/or CO₂ containing atmosphere, which limits their practical application. On the contrary, BaZrO₃ based perovskite exhibits good chemical stability but lower total conductivity than BaCeO₃ due to its larger grain boundary resistance. By substituting zirconium with 20% of yttrium, it is possible to achieve a total conductivity of 2.5×10⁻² S.cm⁻¹ at 600°C in wet H₂. However, the high refractory property of BaZr₀.₈Y₀.₂O₃-δ (noted BZY20) causes problems to obtain a dense membrane with large grains. Thereby, using a synthesis process that gives fine particles could allow better sinterability and thus decrease the number of grain boundaries leading to a higher total conductivity. In this work, BaZr₀.₈Y₀.₂O₃-δ have been synthesized by classical batch hydrothermal device and by a continuous hydrothermal device developed at ICB laboratory. The two variants of this process are able to work in supercritical conditions, leading to the formation of nanoparticles, which could be sintered at a lower temperature. The as-synthesized powder exhibits the right composition for the perovskite phase, impurities such as BaCO₃ and YO-OH were detected at very low concentration. Microstructural investigation and densification rate measurement showed that the addition of 1 wt% of ZnO as sintering aid and a sintering at 1550°C for 5 hours give high densified electrolyte material. Furthermore, it is necessary to heat the synthesized powder prior to the sintering to prevent the formation of secondary phases. It is assumed that this thermal treatment homogenizes the crystal structure of the powder and reduces the number of defects into the bulk grains. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy investigations in various atmospheres and a large range of temperature (200-700°C) were then performed on sintered samples, and the protonic conductivity of BZY20 has been highlighted. Further experiments on half-cell, NiO-BZY20 as anode and BZY20 as electrolyte, are in progress.

Keywords: hydrothermal synthesis, impedance measurement, Y-doped BaZrO₃, proton conductor

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Authors: Ishtiaq A. Chaudhry, Zia R. Tahir, F. A. Siddiqui, F. Noor, M. J. Rashid

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It has experimentally been proved that the performance of compression ignition (CI) engine is spray characteristics related. In modern diesel engine the spray formation and the eventual combustion process are the vital processes that offer more challenges towards enhancing the engine performance. In the present work, the numerical simulation has been carried out for evaporating diesel sprays using Fluent software. For computational fluid dynamics simulation “Meshing” is done using Gambit software before transmitting it into fluent. The simulation is carried out using hot bomb conditions under varying chamber conditions such as gas pressure, nozzle diameter and fuel injection pressure. For comparison purpose, the numerical simulations the chamber conditions were kept the same as that of the experimental data. At varying chamber conditions the spray penetration rates are compared with the existing experimental results.

Keywords: evaporating diesel sprays, penetration rates, hot bomb conditions

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Authors: Chandan Kundu, Sankar Bhattacharya

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A significant disadvantage of fossil fuel energy production is the considerable amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released, which is one of the contributors to climate change. Apart from environmental concerns, changing fossil fuel prices have pushed society gradually towards renewable energy sources in recent years. Biomass is a plentiful and renewable resource and a source of carbon. Recent years have seen increased research interest in generating fuels and chemicals from biomass. Unlike fossil-based resources, biomass is composed of lignocellulosic material, which does not contribute to the increase in atmospheric CO₂ over a longer term. These considerations contribute to the current move of the chemical industry from non-renewable feedstock to renewable biomass. This presentation focuses on generating bio-oil and two major platform chemicals that can potentially improve the environment. Thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis are considered viable methods for producing bio-oil and biomass-based platform chemicals. Fluidized bed reactors, on the other hand, are known to boost bio-oil yields during pyrolysis due to their superior mixing and heat transfer features, as well as their scalability. This review and the associated experimental work are focused on the thermochemical conversion of biomass to bio-oil and two high-value platform chemicals, Levoglucosenone (LGO) and 5-Chloromethyl furfural (5-CMF), in a fluidized bed reactor. These two active molecules with distinct features can potentially be useful monomers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries since they are well adapted to the manufacture of biologically active products. This process took several meticulous steps. To begin, the biomass was delignified using a peracetic acid pretreatment to remove lignin. Because of its complicated structure, biomass must be pretreated to remove the lignin, increasing access to the carbohydrate components and converting them to platform chemicals. The biomass was then characterized by Thermogravimetric analysis, Synchrotron-based THz spectroscopy, and in-situ DRIFTS in the laboratory. Based on the results, a continuous-feeding fluidized bed reactor system was constructed to generate platform chemicals from pretreated biomass using hydrogen chloride acid-gas as a catalyst. The procedure also yields biochar, which has a number of potential applications, including soil remediation, wastewater treatment, electrode production, and energy resource utilization. Consequently, this research also includes a preliminary experimental evaluation of the biochar's prospective applications. The biochar obtained was evaluated for its CO₂ and steam reactivity. The outline of the presentation will comprise the following: Biomass pretreatment for effective delignification Mechanistic study of the thermal and thermochemical conversion of biomass Thermochemical conversion of untreated and pretreated biomass in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce LGO and CMF A thermo-catalytic process for the production of LGO and 5-CMF in a continuously-fed fluidized bed reactor and efficient separation of chemicals Use of biochar generated from the platform chemicals production through gasification

Keywords: biomass, pretreatment, pyrolysis, levoglucosenone

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Authors: Yul Y. Nazaruddin, Anas Y. Widiaribowo, Satriyo Nugroho

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Boiler is one of the critical unit in a petrochemical plant. Steam produced by the boiler is used for various processes in the plant such as urea and ammonia plant. An alternative method to optimize the boiler combustion system is presented in this paper. Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) approach is applied to model the boiler using real-time operational data collected from a boiler unit of the petrochemical plant. Nonlinear equation obtained is then used to optimize the air to fuel ratio using Genetic Algorithm, resulting an optimal ratio of 15.85. This optimal ratio is then maintained constant by ratio controller designed using inverse dynamics based on ANFIS. As a result, constant value of oxygen content in the flue gas is obtained which indicates more efficient combustion process.

Keywords: ANFIS, boiler, combustion process, genetic algorithm, optimization.

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Authors: Hamada A. Ahmed, Kadry M. Sadek, Ayman E. Taha

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The effects of basil and/or chamomile seed supplementation on the growth of Hubbard broiler chicks were evaluated. The antioxidant effects of these supplements were also assessed. One hundred and twenty 1-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into four equal groups. The control group (group 1) was fed a basal diet (BD) without supplementation. Groups 2, 3, and 4 were fed the BD supplemented with 10g basil, 10g chamomile, and 5g basil plus 5g chamomile per kg of food, respectively. Basil supplementation alone or in combination with chamomile non-significantly (P≥0.05) increased final body weight (3.2% and 0.3%, respectively) and weight gain (3.5% and 3.6%, respectively) over the experimental period. Chamomile supplementation alone non-significantly (P≥0.05) reduced final body weight and weight gain over the experimental period by 1.7% and 1.7%, respectively. In comparison to the control group, herbal seed supplementation reduced feed intake and improved the feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios. In general, basil seed supplementation stimulated chicken growth and improved the feed efficiency more effectively than chamomile seed supplementation. The antioxidant activities of basil and/or chamomile supplementation were examined in the thymus, bursa, and spleen. In chickens that received supplements, the level of malondialdehyde was significantly decreased, whereas the activities of glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were significantly increased (P<0.05). Supplementation of basil and/or chamomile did not affect blood protein levels, but had lipid-lowering effects as evidenced by reduced serum levels of total lipids, triglycerides, and cholesterol. In conclusion, supplementation of basil and/or chamomile improved growth parameters in broiler chicks and had antioxidant and blood lipid-lowering effects. These beneficial effects of basil and/or chamomile supplementation resulted in economically viable production of high-quality white meat containing no harmful residues.

Keywords: herbal additives, basil, chamomile, broiler, growth performance, antioxidant

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Authors: Ghazal Horiat, Alireza Hajiani Bushehrian

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leakage of contamination from fuel or oil reservoirs can alter the geotechnical properties of the soil under their foundation and finally affect their performance in their service life. This article investigates the behavior of shallow foundations on the soil contaminated with diesel and kerosene using the Plaxis Tunnel3D V1.2 software. The information required for the numerical modeling in the paper was obtained from a similar experimental study. The present study seeks to compare the behavior of square foundations on sandy soil without contamination and the soil contaminated with different percentages of diesel and crude oil. The study was conducted on a small square foundation. The depth of the contamination was assumed constant, and the soil was evaluated with four different percentages of both contaminants. The results of analyses were plotted and assessed in the form of load-displacement curves for the foundation. The results indicate reduced bearing capacity of the foundation with the rise in the contamination percentage.

Keywords: bearing capacity, contaminated soils, shallow foundations, 3D numerical analysis

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Authors: Phuong Nguyen

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Along with the ongoing energy transition, the electrical power system is getting more vulnerable with the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RES). By replacing a large amount of fossil fuel-based power plants with RES, the rotating mass of the power grid is decreasing drastically, which has been reported by a number of system operators. This leads to a huge challenge for operators to secure the operation of their grids in all-time horizon ranges, from sub-seconds to minutes and even hours. There is a need to revise the grid capabilities in dealing with transient (angle) stability and voltage dynamics. While the traditional approaches relied on deterministic scenarios (worst-case scenarios), there is also a need to cover a whole range of probabilities regarding a wide range of uncertainties coming from massive RES units. To contribute to handle these issues, this paper aims to focus on developing a new analytical approach for transient stability.

Keywords: transient stability, uncertainties, renewable energy sources, analytical approach

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Authors: Sanjay Upadhyay, Om Prakash Pandey

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Hydrogen has been promoted as an alternative source of energy, which is renewable, cost-effective, and nature-friendly. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can be used for mass production of hydrogen at a very low cost through electrochemical water splitting. An active and efficient electrocatalyst is required to perform this reaction. Till date, platinum (Pt) is a stable and efficient electrocatalyst towards HER. But its high cost and low abundance hiders its large scale uses. Molybdenum carbide having a similar electronic structure to platinum can be a great alternative to costly platinum. In this study, pure phase molybdenum carbide (Mo₂C) has been synthesized in a single step. Synthesis temperature and holding time have been optimized to obtain pure phases of Mo₂C. The surface, structural and morphological properties of as-synthesized compounds have been studied. The HER activity of as-synthesized compounds has been explored in detail.

Keywords: capacitance, hydrogen fuel, molybdenum carbide, nanoparticles

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Authors: G. Kim, R. Sterkenburg

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One of the disadvantages of honeycomb sandwich structure is that they are prone to fluid intrusion. The purpose of this study is to determine if the structural properties of honeycomb core are affected by contact with a fluid. The test specimens were manufactured of fiberglass prepreg for the facesheets and Nomex^® honeycomb core for the core material in accordance with ASTM C-365/365M. Test specimens were soaked in several different kinds of fluids, such as aircraft fuel, turbine engine oil, hydraulic fluid, and water for a period of 60 days. A flatwise compressive test was performed, and the test results were analyzed to determine how the contact with aircraft fluids affected the compressive strength of the Nomex^® honeycomb core and how the strength was recovered when the specimens were dry. In addition, the investigation of de-bonding between facesheet and core material after soaking were performed to support the study.

Keywords: sandwich structure, honeycomb, environmental degradation, debonding

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Tibor Ajtai, Noémi Utry, Máté Pintér, Tomi Smausz, Zoltán Kónya, Béla Hopp, Gábor Szabó, Zoltán Bozóki

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Characterization of spectral responses of light absorbing carbonaceous particulate matter (LAC) is of great importance in both modelling its climate effect and interpreting remote sensing measurement data. The residential or domestic combustion of coal is one of the dominant LAC constituent. According to some related assessments the residential coal burning account for roughly half of anthropogenic BC emitted from fossil fuel burning. Despite of its significance in climate the comprehensive investigation of optical properties of residential coal aerosol is really limited in the literature. There are many reason of that starting from the difficulties associated with the controlled burning conditions of the fuel, through the lack of detailed supplementary proximate and ultimate chemical analysis enforced, the interpretation of the measured optical data, ending with many analytical and methodological difficulties regarding the in-situ measurement of coal aerosol spectral responses. Since the gas matrix of ambient can significantly mask the physicochemical characteristics of the generated coal aerosol the accurate and controlled generation of residential coal particulates is one of the most actual issues in this research area. Most of the laboratory imitation of residential coal combustion is simply based on coal burning in stove with ambient air support allowing one to measure only the apparent spectral feature of the particulates. However, the recently introduced methodology based on a laser ablation of solid coal target opens up novel possibilities to model the real combustion procedure under well controlled laboratory conditions and makes the investigation of the inherent optical properties also possible. Most of the methodology for spectral characterization of LAC is based on transmission measurement made of filter accumulated aerosol or deduced indirectly from parallel measurements of scattering and extinction coefficient using free floating sampling. In the former one the accuracy while in the latter one the sensitivity are liming the applicability of this approaches. Although the scientific community are at the common platform that aerosol-phase PhotoAcoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) is the only method for precise and accurate determination of light absorption by LAC, the PAS based instrumentation for spectral characterization of absorption has only been recently introduced. In this study, the investigation of the inherent, spectral features of laser generated and chemically characterized residential coal aerosols are demonstrated. The experimental set-up and its characteristic for residential coal aerosol generation are introduced here. The optical absorption and the scattering coefficients as well as their wavelength dependency are determined by our state-of-the-art multi wavelength PAS instrument (4λ-PAS) and multi wavelength cosinus sensor (Aurora 3000). The quantified wavelength dependency (AAE and SAE) are deduced from the measured data. Finally, some correlation between the proximate and ultimate chemical as well as the measured or deduced optical parameters are also revealed.

Keywords: absorption, scattering, residential coal, aerosol generation by laser ablation

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Authors: Oliver Mărunţălu, Gheorghe Lăzăroiu, Elena Elisabeta Manea, Dana Andreya Bondrea, Lăcrămioara Diana Robescu

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This paper presents the results obtained by numerical simulation of the pollutants dispersion in the atmosphere coming from the evacuation of combustion gases resulting from the fuel combustion used by electric thermal power plant using the software ANSYS CFX-CFD. The model uses the Navier-Stokes equation to simulate the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. We considered as important factors in elaboration of simulation the atmospheric conditions (pressure, temperature, wind speed, wind direction), the exhaust velocity of the combustion gases, chimney height and the obstacles (buildings). Using the air quality monitoring stations we have measured the concentrations of main pollutants (SO2, NOx and PM). The pollutants were monitored over a period of 3 months, after that we calculated the average concentration, which is used by the software. The concentrations are: 8.915 μg/m3 (NOx), 9.587 μg/m3 (SO2) and 42 μg/m3 (PM). A comparison of test data with simulation results demonstrated that CFX was able to describe the dispersion of the pollutant as well the concentration of this pollutants in the atmosphere.

Keywords: air pollutants, computational fluid dynamics, dispersion, simulation

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Authors: Husam Mohammed Saleh Alziyadi

Abstract:

The drilling fluid has a significant impact on drilling efficiency. Drilling fluids have several functions which make them most important within the drilling process, such as lubricating and cooling the drill bit, removing cuttings from down of hole, preventing formation damage, suspending drill bit cuttings, , and also removing permeable formation as a result, the flow of fluid into the formation process is delayed. In the oil and gas sector, unconventional shale reserves have been a central player in meeting world energy demands. Oil-based drilling fluids (OBM) are generally favored for drilling shale plays due to negligible chemical interactions. Nevertheless, the industry has been inspired by strict environmental regulations to design water-based drilling fluids (WBM) capable of regulating shale-water interactions to boost their efficiency. However, traditional additives are too large to plug the micro-fractures and nanopores of the shale. Recently, nanotechnology in the oil and gas industries has shown a lot of promise, especially with drilling fluids based on nanoparticles. Nanotechnology has already made a huge contribution to technical developments in the energy sector. In the drilling industry, nanotechnology can make revolutionary changes. Nanotechnology creates nanomaterials with many attractive properties that can play an important role in improving the consistency of mud cake, reducing friction, preventing differential pipe sticking, preserving the stability of the borehole, protecting reservoirs, and improving the recovery of oil and gas. The selection of suitable nanomaterials should be based on the shale formation characteristics intended for drilling. The size, concentration, and stability of the NPs are three more important considerations. The effects of the environment are highly sensitive to these materials, such as changes in ionic strength, temperature, or pH, all of which occur under downhole conditions. This review paper focused on the previous research and recent development of environmentally friendly drilling fluids according to the regulatory environment and cost challenges.

Keywords: nanotechnology, WBM, Drilling Fluid, nanofluids

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Authors: Nicolas Lipchak, Franco Aiducic, Santiago Baieli

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The present work is a part of the research project called ‘Testing of gas turbine KingTech with biodiesel’, carried out by the Department of Industrial Engineering of the National Technological University at Buenos Aires. The research group aims to experiment with biodiesel in a gas turbine Kingtech K-100 to verify the correct operation of it. In this sense, tests have been developed to obtain real data of parameters inherent to the work cycle, to be used later as parameters of comparison and performance analysis. In the first instance, the study consisted in testing the gas turbine with a mixture composition of 50% Biodiesel and 50% Diesel. The parameters arising from the measurements made were compared with the parameters of the gas turbine with a composition of 100% Diesel. In the second instance, the measured parameters were used to calculate the power generated and the thermal efficiency of the Kingtech K-100 turbine. The turbine was also inspected to verify the status of the internals due to the use of biofuels. The conclusions obtained allow empirically demonstrate that it is feasible to use biodiesel in this type of gas turbines, without the use of this fuel generates a loss of power or degradation of internals.

Keywords: biodiesel, efficiency, KingTech, turbine

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Authors: A. Alkattib, M. Boumaza

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Steam reforming is industrially important as it is incorporated in several major chemical processes including the production of ammonia, methanol, hydrogen and ox alcohols. Due to the strongly endothermic nature of the process, a large amount of heat is supplied by fuel burning (commonly natural gas) in the furnace chamber. Reaction conversions, tube catalyst life, energy consumption and CO2 emission represent the principal factors affecting the performance of this unit and are directly influenced by the high operating temperatures and pressures. This study presents a simulation of the performance of the reforming of methane in a primary reformer, through a developed empirical relation which enables to investigate the effects of operating parameters such as the pressure, temperature, steam to carbon ratio on the production of hydrogen, as well as the fraction of non-converted methane. It appears from this analysis that the exit temperature Te, the operating pressure as well the steam to carbon ratio has an important effect on the reforming of methane.

Keywords: reforming, methane, performance, hydrogen, parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: J. P. Makwana, A. K. Joshi, Rajesh N. Patel, Darshil Patel

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Recently, fluidized bed gasification becomes an attractive technology for power generation due to its higher efficiency. The main objective pursued in this work is to investigate the producer gas production potential from sized biomass (sawdust and pigeon pea) by applying the air gasification technique. The size of the biomass selected for the study was in the range of 0.40-0.84 mm. An experimental study was conducted using a fluidized bed gasifier with 210 mm diameter and 1600 mm height. During the experiments, the fuel properties and the effects of operating parameters such as gasification temperatures 700 to 900 °C, equivalence ratio 0.16 to 0.46 were studied. It was concluded that substantial amounts of producer gas (up to 1110 kcal/m3) could be produced utilizing biomass such as sawdust and pigeon pea by applying this fluidization technique. For both samples, the rise of temperature till 900 °C and equivalence ratio of 0.4 favored further gasification reactions and resulted into producer gas with calorific value 1110 kcal/m3.

Keywords: sized biomass, fluidized bed gasifier, equivalence ratio, temperature profile, gas composition

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Abdelazziz Aouiche, El Moundher Aouiche, Mouhamed Salah Soudani

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Renewable energy sources now significantly contribute to the replacement of traditional fossil fuel energy sources. One of the most potent types of renewable energy that has developed quickly in recent years is photovoltaic energy. We all know that solar energy, which is sustainable and non-depleting, is the best knowledge form of energy that we have at our disposal. Due to changing weather conditions, the primary drawback of conventional solar PV cells is their inability to track their maximum power point. In this study, we apply artificial neural networks (ANN) to automatically track and measure the maximum power point (MPP) of solar panels. In MATLAB, the complete system is simulated, and the results are adjusted for the external environment. The results are better performance than traditional MPPT methods and the results demonstrate the advantages of using neural networks in solar PV systems.

Keywords: modeling, photovoltaic panel, artificial neural networks, maximum power point tracking

Procedia PDF Downloads 70