Sulfur doped biocarbon obtained from Sargassum spp. for the oxygen reduction reaction

Sulfured doped carbon electrocatalysts is synthesized from the waste biomass Sargassum spp. Two doping procedures are examined to determine which is better for Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR); one by doping biocarbon obtained from the pyrolysis of the biomass and the second through a process of in situ doping in autoclave. The electrocatalyst are obtained from pyrolysis of the sample at 700 °C, which is finally characterized as a metal free electrocatalyst for the ORR. The electrocatalyst are characterized by BET surface area analysis, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and the electrochemical characterization is determined in 0.1 M KOH. The sample SSKPT-1 exhibits a promising electrocatalytic activity with an onset potential of 0.896 V vs RHE and a current density of 5 mA cm^?2 (at 0.2 V vs. RHE) which could be partly attributed to its high BET surface area of 2755 m² g^?1.     

Numerical study on laminar burning velocity of ammonia flame with methanol addition

The combustion characteristics of ammonia/methanol mixtures were investigated numerically in this study. Methanol has a dramatic promotive effect on the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of ammonia. Three mechanisms from literature and another four self-developed mechanisms constructed in this study were evaluated using the measured laminar burning velocities of ammonia/methanol mixtures from Wang et al. (Combust.Flame. 2021). Generally, none of the selected mechanisms can precisely predict the measured laminar burning velocities at all conditions. Aiming to develop a simplified and reliable mechanism for ammonia/methanol mixtures, the constructed mechanism utilized NUI Galway mechanism (Combust.Flame. 2016) as methanol sub-mechanism and the Otomo mechanism (Int. J. Hydrogen. Energy. 2018) as ammonia sub-mechanism was optimized and reduced. The reduced mechanism entitled ‘DNO-NH3’, can accurately reproduce the measured laminar burning velocities of ammonia/methanol mixtures under all conditions. A reaction path analysis of the ammonia/methanol mixtures based on the DNO-NH3 mechanism shows that methanol is not directly involved in ammonia oxidation, instead, the produced methyl radicals from methanol oxidization contribute to the dehydrogenation of ammonia. Besides, NO_x emission analysis demonstrates that 60% methanol addition results in the highest NO_x emissions. The most important reactions dominating the NO_x consumption and production are identified in this study.     

Enhancing sustainable bioelectricity generation using facile synthesis of nanostructures of bimetallic Co–Ni at the combined support of halloysite nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide as novel oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalyst in single-chambered microbial fuel cells

The present study aims to utilize the high surface area of the nanotube structure of halloysite (HNTs), an aluminosilicate clay, and conductivity of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as support material for the deposition of nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) nanoparticles. With that aim, a novel bimetallic cathode electrocatalyst, Co–Ni @ HNTs-rGO (Catalyst H₃), is developed. This catalyst is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Catalyst H₃ demonstrates outstanding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity, electrochemical stability, electrocatalytic performance, and lowest resistance in comparison to the other developed catalysts and conventional Pt/C. Catalyst H₃ is used in single-chambered MFCs (microbial fuel cells), where the anode is filled with molasses-laden wastewater. The attained maximum power density in MFC (catalyst H₃) is 455 ± 9 mW/m², which is higher than other catalysts. All the results indicate towards its potential use in MFC application.     

Optimization of PEMFC system operating conditions based on neural network and PSO to achieve the best system performance

PEMFC system is a complex new clean power system. Based on MATLAB/Simulink, this paper develops a system-level dynamic model of PEMFC, including the gas supply system, hydrogen supply system, hydrothermal management system, and electric stack. The neural network fits the electric stack model to the simulation data. The effects of different operating conditions on the PEMFC stack power and system efficiency are analyzed. Combining the power of the reactor and the system efficiency to define the integrated performance index, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is introduced to optimize the power density and system efficiency of the PEMFC with multiple objectives. The final optimal operating point increases the power density and system efficiency by 1.33% and 12.8%, respectively, which maximizes the output performance and reduces the parasitic power.     

ZIF-8 derived bimetallic Fe–Ni-Nanoporous carbon for enhanced oxygen reduction reaction

The development of highly efficient nοn-nοble meta? catalysts for (ОRR) in PEMFCs is at the heart of the research, yet their performance is not satisfactory. The Fe–N active sites enclosed in carbon matrix are generally agreed to be the most promising active sites for ORR. In view of this, further effort is made to increase the Fe–N active sites. Here we present the fabrication of novel FeNi bimetallic electrоcatalyst obtained from ZIF, which consists of FeNi nanоallоys incorporated in N-doped carbon (FeNi-NC) featuring carbon nanotubes and porous carbon demonstrates outstanding results for ОRR. The Fe–N and Ni–N active sites synergistically enhance the ORR activity of FeNi-NC catalyst. The FeNi-NC showed remarkable performance in KОH with the half-wave and onset potential of 0.89 V and 0.99 V vs RHE, respectively. This catalyst shows exceptional stability in methanol equivalent to Pt/C commercial. The FeNi-NC retained 71%, while Pt/C commercial retained only 59% of its original current density. The exceptional stability and activity might be associated with the interplay among FeNi active sites and N-doped carbon, the distinct nanо-structure made up of porous carbon and carbon nanotubes with a high graphitization degree.     

Differences between internal and external hydrogen effects on slow strain rate tensile test of iron-based superalloy A286

To investigate the evaluation method of hydrogen compatibility of A286 superalloy in high pressure hydrogen gas, SSRT tests of hydrogen-charged specimens were conducted at ambient temperature at various strain rates. The relative reduction in area (RRA), one of the ductility parameters, was determined. The hydrogen content in the hydrogen-charged specimen was the same as the equilibrium hydrogen content on the specimen surface at 150 °C in 70 MPa hydrogen gas. The strain rate dependence of RRA was smaller than that of RRA obtained in 70 MPa hydrogen gas at 150 °C. All the hydrogen-charged specimens showed slip-plane fractures in the grains in their cores. However, the specimens in 70 MPa hydrogen gas at 150 °C showed fracture surfaces morphology ranging from dimples to quasi-cleavages and intergranular fractures with decreasing strain rate. These dissimilarities are expected to arise from differences in the hydrogen concentration behaviors of the specimens during the deformation process.     

Hydrogen-rich gas generation via the exhaust gas-fuel reformer for the marine LNG engine

Reformed exhaust gas recirculation technology has attracted great attention in internal combustion engines. A platform of an exhaust gas-fuel reformer connected with the marine LNG engine was set up for generating on-board hydrogen. Based on the platform, effects of the methane to oxygen ratio (M/O) and reformed exhaust gas ratio (R_EG) from the reformer and excess air ratio (λ) from the engine on the components, hydrogen yield, thermal efficiency and reforming process of the reformer were experimentally investigated. Results shown that hydrogen-rich gases (reformate) can be generated by reforming the mixture of engine exhaust gas (about 400 °C) and methane supplied via the reformer with Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst, and the hydrogen concentration of reformate was between 6.2% and 12.6% by volume. The methane supplied rate and λ affected the components and temperature of the reactant in the reformer, while R_EG changed the gas hour space velocity during the exhaust gas-fuel reforming processes, resulting in the difference in the components of the reformate and thermal efficiency. At the present experimental condition, the highest H₂ concentration reformate was generated under the M/O of 2.0, λ of 1.55 and R_EG of 6%.     

Synthesis of hollow Fe,Co, and N-doped carbon catalysts from conducting polymer-metal-organic-frameworks core-shell particles for their application in an oxygen reduction reaction

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), one of the key reactions for fuel cells and zinc-air batteries, should be improved for higher performance. Herein, we fabricated hollow Fe, Co, and nitrogen co-doped carbon (H-FeCo-NC) catalyst, which was prepared by carbonization of core-shell particles made of polypyrrole (PPy)-coated polystyrene (PS) spheres as cores and (Zn, Co) bimetallic-zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZnCoBZIFs) as shells. PPy was used as a nitrogen and a carbon source. The H-FeCo-NC catalyst had a high surface area of 324.08 m² g^?1 with uniformly distributed Fe and Co species, and excellent ORR performance with the half-wave potential of 0.888 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode in alkaline media. Furthermore, the H-FeCo-NC catalyst demonstrated exceptional stability, durability, and tolerance to methanol crossover.     

A novel design for humidifying an open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell using anode purge

The low performance of open-cathode proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (OCPEMFCs) is attributed to the low-humidity ambient air supplied to the cathode using electric fans. To improve the OCPEMFC performance, this paper proposes a novel humidification method by collecting water purged from the anode and supplying it to the open cathode. The OCPEMFC performance is evaluated at various humidifier distances from the cathode inlet, and it is compared with that where no humidifier is used when the OCPEMFC operates under three different current levels of 1, 5, and 8 A. The results show that the novel design improves the stack power, and optimal performance is achieved at a humidifier distance of 2 cm. The energy efficiency achieves an improvement between 1.4% and 1.8% when a humidifier is used.