核电应急柴油发电机组滑油低压保护停机控制的设计优化

通过采用转速分段及增加短延时的改进方法，对当前核电应急柴油发电机组滑油低压保护停机控制设计进行了优化。经论证与试验表明:优化后的保护停机控制对机组起动及运行过程均起到了保护作用，同时确保了滑油压力的正常建立，避免了机组因受外部因素影响导致应急保护停机误动作，提高了机组起动的可靠性。该优化方案已经在核电厂应急柴油发电机组控制系统中得到广泛应用。     

YC12VC型高速柴油机发火顺序的分析研究

基于AVL-EXCITE软件搭建了YC12VC发电用高速柴油机轴系动力学模型,其模拟值与试验值吻合性较好,验证了该模型可以较好地模拟不同工况条件下轴系的运动情况。基于平衡性和均匀发火等原则,设计了8种不同的发火顺序,并针对轴承受力、轴承润滑、轴系扭振和转速不均匀性开展影响规律研究。结果表明:通过发火顺序的优化,在保证最大主轴承负荷和最小油膜厚度满足设计要求的前提下,标定工况下的曲轴扭振总振幅从0.465°降低到0.259°,转速不均匀系数从0.018降低到0.009。     

Formulation of a Biodegradable Detergent for Cleaning Oily Residues Generated during Industrial Processes

The use of toxic petroleum-based heavy oils is common in industrial processes. The cleaning of machines, equipment, and other surface covered in these oils is achieved with expensive products that are often also toxic and harmful to both the health of workers and the environment. The present paper proposes the development of a sustainable biodetergent made from plant-based materials. Tests were performed to determine the properties of the biodetergent in terms of its surfactant and emulsifying capacities, stability, toxicity, and the removal of heavy oil from glass plates and metallic surfaces. The formulation was composed of a natural solvent (cottonseed oil), a plant-based surfactant agent (saponin), and two natural stabilizers (carboxymethylcellulose and glycerine). The formulation was stable, nontoxic, and highly efficient, removing 100% of the heavy oil from glass and metallic surfaces. This solution developed in this study could be used in diverse industries with the need to clean machines and parts encrusted with oil and grease as well as the cleaning of floors covered with petroleum-based residues. A preliminary analysis of the economic feasibility of using the detergent was carried out at a Brazilian power plant. Besides the reduction in environmental impact due to the use of a nontoxic, biodegradable product as well as the reduction in health risks to workers associated with toxic cleaning products, this new product can have a considerable impact on the market as an environmentally friendly solution.     

The study of palm‐oil‐based bio‐polyol on the morphological,acoustic and mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams

The focus of this paper was to explore the acoustic properties of flexible polyurethane (FPU) foam modified by palm‐oil‐based polyol (POP). The presence of POP showed a marked influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of FPU foam. A smaller mean pore diameter can be observed at lower POP content. Indeed, the introduction of POP caused a higher closed pore ratio and an increased air‐flow resistivity, which consequently improved the sound absorption coefficient and transmission loss. In particular, the acoustic performance of the all bio‐based FPU foam was enhanced at low frequency, and the density was lower than that of the reference foam. Additionally, the addition of POP also improved the compressive strength. Conversely, the tensile strength of FPU foam declined with increasing POP content. From this study, the outstanding acoustic ability of bio‐based FPU foam has been proved, with additional advantages of lower density and higher compressive strength. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Flame spectroscopy of waste tire oils and waste cooking oils blends using coaxial burner

Waste tires and cooking oil pose a serious danger to human health and environment. Self-reacting pyrolysis system for waste tires is designed and constructed for converting waste tires into oil that could be used as a sustainable fuel. This study aims to analyze the thermal microstructure of conventional fuels like light diesel oil (LDO) and heavy diesel oil (HDO) as well as blended with waste cooking oil (WCO) and tires pyrolysis oil (TPO) using a co-axial burner via flame spectroscopy analysis. The first Blend 1 (B1) consists of 20% WCO + 80% LDO, the second one (B2) consist of 20% WCO+80%HDO and the last one (B3) was 20%TPO and 80% LDO by mass. This percentage was chosen carefully and according to previous combustion characteristics results. The experimental results showed that B1 will shrink C2 radicals by nearly 61% and 64.5% at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96 respectively. B2 will decrease C2 radicals by nearly 19% and 82% at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96 respectively. Finally, B3 will reduce C2 radical's intensity by nearly 39% and 58% at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96 respectively. TPO produced CH emission radicals lower than that of LDO by nearly 5.9%. LDO droplets absorbed more radiation energy needed for excitation than that of WCO due to droplet size and fuel physic-chemical properties. B2 fuel is recommended to replace LDO at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96.     

Economic geology value of oil shale deposits: Ethiopia (Tigray) and Jordan

Oil shale is an organic-rich, fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing kerogen, from which liquid hydrocarbons (called shale oil) can be produced. The oil shale deposits in the Tigray region are found in the northern parts of Ethiopia, Eastern Africa. They are of Upper Paleozoic in age, existing as remnants of the Cretaceous erosion period, underlain by tillites and overlain by sandstones. They were formed during the glacial retreat followed by marine deposition of shales in a basin created by the enormous load of the glaciers. The Ethiopian-Tigray oil shale deposits cover an area extending over approximately 30 km², with an average mineable bed-thickness of 55 m, showing on the upper part inter-beds and laminations of shaley limestones. The oil shale resources in this region are estimated to be approximately 4 billion tonnes. The exploitation of the Ethiopian-Tigray oil shale deposits is an excellent alternative to fulfill the fuel and other petroleum products’ demand of Ethiopia. This study sheds light on the oil shale resources in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, as they are fairly investigated, regarding their geological characterization, and future strategies for their exploration and exploitation potential. In addition, the oil shale deposits in Jordan are also moderately investigated, as Jordan is considered a promising country for shale oil, taking into account that Jordan has no other hydrocarbon resources (such as crude oil and natural gas), unlike many other countries in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, as MENA sets on “seas” of oil and natural gas. Furthermore, oil shale in the USA is also briefly investigated, as the USA is being the world’s largest country of oil shale resources and reserves. Also, some other issues related to the oil shale industry are investigated, such as economics, extraction technologies of shale oil, and the environmental impacts.     

The relationship between oil prices and US economy revisited

The authors revisit the relationship between US economic growth and crude oil prices considering Industrial Production Index and West Texas Intermediate crude oil spot prices as respective proxies for a period spanning over January 1986 to June 2017. To capture the asymmetric and time-varying relationship, the authors employ maximum overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT)-based quantile regression (QR) analysis. Interestingly, MODWT-based QR analysis provides evidence of supply-driven link between crude oil prices and economic growth in the short run. However, in the medium to long run a demand-driven link is dominant. In addition, the QR results without MODWT also advocate a demand-driven link. Overall, the result of this study adds a new dimension to the literature on the relationship between crude oil prices and economic growth by focusing upon the time-frequency varying business cycle fluctuations.