Hydrogen carriers: Production,transmission, decomposition,and storage

Recognizing the potential role of liquid hydrogen carriers in overcoming the inherent limitations in transporting and storing gaseous and liquid hydrogen, a complete production and use scenario is postulated and analyzed for perspective one-way and two-way carriers. The carriers, methanol, ammonia and toluene/MCH (methylcyclohexane), are produced at commercially viable scales in a central location, transmitted by rail or pipelines for 2000 miles, and decomposed near city gates to generate fuel-cell quality hydrogen for distribution to refueling stations. In terms of the levelized cost of H₂ distributed to the stations, methanol is less expensive to produce ($1.22/kg-H₂) than MCH ($1.35/kg-H₂) or ammonia ($2.20/kg-H₂). Levelized train transmission cost is smaller for methanol ($0.63/kg-H₂) than ammonia ($1.29/kg-H₂) or toluene/MCH system ($2.07/kg-H₂). Levelized decomposition cost is smaller for ammonia ($0.30–1.06/kg-H₂) than MCH ($0.54–1.22/kg-H₂) or methanol ($0.43–1.12/kg-H₂). Over the complete range of demand investigated, 10–350 tpd-H₂, the levelized cost of H₂ distributed to stations is aligned as methanol « ammonia ~ MCH. With pipelines at much larger scale, 6000 tpd-H₂, the levelized cost decreases by ~1 $/kg-H₂ for ammonia and MCH and much less for methanol. Methanol is a particularly attractive low-risk carrier in the transition phase with lower than 50-tpd H₂ demand.     

First experimental results of intrinsic torque on EAST

Direct measurements of the intrinsic torque profile in L-mode plasmas on the EAST tokamak have been performed using the balanced neutral beam injection. Co-and counter-current neutral beams are modulated to balance the intrinsic and externally injected torques, which result in the rotation profile close to zero and flat. The experimental results show that the intrinsic torque derived from momentum balance equations is found to be in the co-current direction, peaked in the plasma edge and negligibly small in the core.     

Tailoring cotton fabric with wettability gradient and anisotropic penetration of liquid by spray coating

Abstract

Comfort has been one of the most important features of clothing, particularly for sportswear, which requires an effective transport of heat and moisture from the inner to the outer side of clothing. We herein report the use of a simple technique of spray coating and commercially available water repellents for a one-sided hydrophobic and self-initiated one-way water transport cotton fabric. The highlight of this work is the simplicity of the process and choice of chemicals that can be adopted easily by any textile finishing industry. On this fabric, water was able to diffuse and penetrate the fabric structure in one direction from the hydrophobic to the hydrophilic side but was unable to go the opposite direction. The directional transport improved with smaller droplets and lower add-on achievable by higher air pressure and longer distance of spray coating. From moisture management tests, the best result was obtained with the spray coating of Phobol NB-NH at an air pressure of 3.0?kgf/cm² and a distance of 120?cm. Phobol NB-NH gave better result of transport and overall comfort properties than Phobotex RSY.     

Balancing the specific surface area and mass diffusion property of electrospun carbon fibers to enhance the cell performance of vanadium redox flow battery

Electrospun carbon fibers are featured with abundant electroactive sites but large mass transport resistances as the electrodes for vanadium redox flow battery. To lower mass transport resistances while maintaining large specific areas, electrospun carbon fibers with different structural properties, including pore size and pore distribution, are prepared by varying precursor concentrations. Increasing the polyacrylonitrile concentration from 9 wt% to 18 wt% results in carbonized fibers with an average fiber diameter ranging from 0.28 μm to 1.82 μm. The median pore diameter, in the meantime, almost linearly increases from 1.32 μm to 9.05 μm while maintaining the porosity of higher than 82%. The subsequent electroactivity evaluation and full battery testing demonstrate that the mass transport of vanadium ions through the electrode with larger fiber diameters are significantly improved but not scarifying the electrochemical activity. It is shown that the flow battery with these electrodes obtains an energy efficiency of 79% and electrolyte utilization of 74% at 300 mA cm⁻². Hence, all these results eliminate the concern of mass transport when applying electrospun carbon fibers as the electrodes for redox flow batteries and guide the future development of electrospun carbon fibers.     

Water transport according to temperature and current in PEM water electrolyzer

Recently, various studies have been conducted on hydrogen energy as a means of replacing conventional fuels. Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are being studied as a means of producing hydrogen for renewable energy. The PEMWE can be operated over a wider range than other types of water electrolyzers and can be connected to a renewable energy source, such as solar or wind. However, further studies are required because the water accompanying the hydrogen in the cathode presents a problem regarding hydrogen purity and storage. The phenomenon of water transport which is occurred on the PEMWE is analyzed by electro-osmotic drag and diffusion in the membrane. Electro-osmotic drag coefficients which are calculated by mass flow rate of discharged water with hydrogen are compared to the results of previous studies. The results of Electro-osmotic drag coefficient are different from previous studies at each operating condition. This difference is considered to be caused by the capacity of PEMWE such as active area and the number of cell.     

High quality sapphire crystal by advanced chemical transport process

Single crystal sapphire was synthesized by chemical transport of Al-O generated by the reaction of polycrystalline Al₂O₃ ceramic and carbon. Using C-axis oriented polycrystalline Al₂O₃ ceramics as a seed crystal in the deposition temperature range, a C-axis sapphire crystal (Φ5xL35 mm) was grown at a temperature range of 700–1000 °C, and the growth rate in the C-axis direction was about 3.5 mm/h. The transmittance in the visible to infrared region of the synthesized sapphire is a theoretical value (transmission loss is lower than 0.1 %/cm), and the absorption edge was less than 200 nm (the band gap is 6.2 eV), which is shorter than the absorption edge (240 nm) of the commercially available single crystal (band gap 5.2 eV) synthesized by the Czochralski method. The dislocation density in this material was extremely low, and it was confirmed by lattice image observation that it was a high-quality single crystal with very few defects.     

Influence of the porous transport layer properties on the mass and charge transfer in a segmented PEM electrolyzer

A titanium Porous Transport Layer (PTL) is usually used at the anode side of PEM water electrolyzers to ensure both the gas/water transport and the electric charges transfer. In this paper, four different sintered Ti powder PTLs were characterized to determine some properties, such as the pore size distribution, the porosity, and the permeability. Their influence on the electrolysis performance was investigated by using a 30 cm² segmented cell which allowed measuring the current density distribution, while controlling temperature and pressure conditions. For a better understanding, in-situ techniques such as the Polarization Curves and the Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were used. A local characterization of mass transport limitations caused by oxygen saturation was carried out, paying special attention to the pressure influence when using a PTL with very small pores. The results showed that current density heterogeneities can be explained by microstructure changes along the PTL. The optimal geometric characteristics of the PTL depend not only on the operating conditions such as current density, pressure, and temperature but also on the catalyst layer properties. A new model for the constriction resistance between the catalyst layer and the PTL was proposed.     

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopic Analysis of Sensitization-Based Solar Cells

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a very powerful tool for elucidation of charge transfer and transport processes in sensitization-based solar cells (e.g., dye-sensitized solar cells [DSSCs], quantum dot-sensitized solar cells [QDSSCs], and perovskite solar cells [PSCs]). EIS measures the electrochemical response to small amplitude AC signals over a wide range of frequencies. Analysis of the EIS response provides information about the corresponding parameters of the cells. Here, we review the fundamentals of EIS, charge transport kinetic processes, and equivalent circuit models of sensitization-based solar cells and use these concepts to explain the EIS spectra of DSSCs, QDSSCs, and PSCs. This review will be very useful for understanding the fundamental charge transfer and transport processes in different sensitization-based solar cells and the use of an equivalent circuit model to interpret the observed charge transfer and reactions.     

Time-independent charge carrier mobility in a model polymer:fullerene organic solar cell

The technique of photo-CELIV (charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage) is one of the more straightforward and popular approaches to measure the faster carrier mobility in measurement geometries that are relevant for operational solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. It has been used to demonstrate a time-dependent photocarrier mobility in pristine polymers, attributed to energetic relaxation within the density of states. Conversely, in solar cell blends, the presence or absence of such energetic relaxation on transport timescales remains under debate. We developed a complete numerical model and performed photo-CELIV experiments on the model high efficiency organic solar cell blend poly[3,6-dithiophene-2-yl-2,5-di(2-octyldodecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-naphthalene] (PDPP-TNT):[6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (PC70BM). In the studied solar cells a constant, time-independent mobility on the scale relevant to charge extraction was observed, where thermalisation of photocarriers occurs on time scales much shorter than the transit time. Therefore, photocarrier relaxation effects are insignificant for charge transport in these efficient photovoltaic devices.     

Charge transport and recombination in heterostructure organic light emitting transistors

Light-emitting field effect transistors (LEFETs) are a class of organic optoelectronic device capable of simultaneously delivering the electrical switching characteristics of a transistor and the light emission of a diode. We report on the temperature dependence of the charge transport and emissive properties in a model organic heterostructure LEFET system from 300 K to 135 K. We study parameters such as carrier mobility, brightness, and external quantum efficiency (EQE), and observe clear thermally activated behaviour for transport and injection. Overall, the EQE increases with decreasing temperature and conversely the brightness decreases. These contrary effects can be explained by a higher recombination efficiency occurring at lower temperatures, and this insight delivers new knowledge concerning the optimisation of both the transport and emissive properties in LEFETs.