Effect of packing density and adsorption parameters on the throughput of a thermal compressor

Vapour adsorption refrigeration systems (VAdS) have the advantage of scalability over a wide range of capacities ranging from a few watts to several kilowatts. In the first instance, the design of a system requires the characteristics of the adsorbate–adsorbent pair. Invariably, the void volume in the adsorbent reduces the throughput of the thermal compressor in a manner similar to the clearance volume in a reciprocating compressor. This paper presents a study of the activated carbon +HFC-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) system as a possible pair for a typical refrigeration application. The aim of this study is to unfold the nexus between the adsorption parameters, achievable packing densities of charcoal and throughput of a thermal compressor. It is shown that for a thermal compressor, the adsorbent should not only have a high surface area, but should also be able to provide a high packing density. Given the adsorption characteristics of an adsorbent–adsorbate pair and the operating conditions, this paper discloses a method for the calculation of the minimum packing density necessary for an effective throughput of a thermal compressor.     

Influence of the Surface and Structural Characteristics of Activated Carbons on Adsorptive Removal of Halo-Olefinic Impurities from 1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluoropropane

abstract Halo-olefinic impurities in 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245fa) product used as blowing agents, etc. could damage the human body and must be removed. Activated carbon was treated by HCl, ...     

中央空调系统的替代冷媒选择——评HCFC-123与HFC-134a在中央空调系统中的使用前景

本文根据最新的替代冷媒环境特性参数的研究成果与国际研讨会的一些结论,从全面看待臭氧层耗损与气候变暖这两个全球性环境问题的角度,对HCFC-123与HFC-134a在中央空调系统离心式冷水机组中的使用前景作做了评述。最后,就目前行业中对HCFC-123与HFC-134a在离心式冷水机组中使用前景所争议的问题陈述了个人的四点看法。     

Cr-Zn-Al催化剂气相氟化法合成HFC-134a

用共沉淀法制备了Cr-Zn-A l型催化剂,用于催化1,1,1-三氟-2-氯乙烷(HCFC-133 a)与HF的反应,制备了1,1,1,2-四氟乙烷(HFC-134 a)。BET法表征了催化剂的比表面积;GC-MS方法分析了不同反应条件下HCFC-133 a的转化率、HFC-134 a的收率、以及副产物组成。结果表明,催化剂按一定程序烧结、活化后,反应温度为350~370℃、n(HF)/n(HCFC-133 a)=8~12时,HFC-134 a的收率为30%~38%,反应产物中HFC-134 a的选择性大于99%。连续反应720 h后,催化剂的活性不变。     

Performance Assessment of a Potato Crisp Frying Process

Frying is a common and popular cooking method, which has been widely used in food manufacturing, though it is a very energy-intensive process. Energy analysis has been commonly used to assess the performance of fryers. In this study, we attempted to exergetically assess the performance of a potato crisp frying system, which consists of three main components, a combustor, a heat exchanger, and a fryer. In the analysis, we utilized the actual operational data obtained from the literature. We determined exergy destruction in each system component and the whole system. We calculated universal and functional exergy efficiency values for the system components and compared them with each other. We also undertook a parametric study to investigate how the overall cycle performance was affected by changing the reference environment temperature and some operating conditions. We illustrated the exergy results through the Grassmann (exergy loss and flow) diagram. We calculated the universal exergetic efficiency values of 58, 82, and 77% for the combustor, heat exchanger, and fryer, respectively, with a universal exergetic efficiency value of 4% for the whole frying system. We found that the fryer had the highest functional exergetic efficiency value of 74%, followed by the heat exchanger with 47% and the combustor with 0.08%.     

Factorial design of experiment (DOE) for parametric exergetic investigation of a steam methane reforming process for hydrogen production

Hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in future energy systems. The efficient production of hydrogen at a minimum cost and in an environmentally acceptable manner is crucial for the development of a hydrogen-including economy. The exergy analysis is a powerful tool to quantify sustainable development potential. An important aspect of sustainable development is minimizing irreversibility. The purpose of this study is to perform the exergy analysis of a steam methane reforming (SMR) process for hydrogen production. As a first step, an exergy analysis of an existing process is shown to be an efficient tool to critically examine the process energy use and to test for possible savings in primary energy consumption. The results of this investigation prove that the exergetic efficiency of the SMR process is 65.47%, and the majority of destroyed exergy is localized in the reformer with a 65.81% contribution to the whole process destroyed exergy. Next, an exergetic parametric study of the SMR has been carried out with a factorial design of experiment (DOE) method. The influence of the reformer operating temperature and pressure and of the steam to carbon ratio (S/C) on the process exergetic efficiency has been studied. A second-order polynomial mathematical model has been obtained through correlating the exergetic efficiencies with the reformer operating parameters. The results of this study show that the rational choice of these parameters can improve the process exergetic performance.     

Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China

HFC-134a is a widely used environment-friendly refrigerant. At present, China is the largest producer of HFC-134a in the world. The production of HFC-134a in China mainly adopts the calcium carbide acetylene route. However, the production route has high resource and energy consumption and large waste emission, and few of the studies addressed on the environmental performance of its production process. This study quantified the environmental performance of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide route via carrying out a life cycle assessment (LCA) using the CML 2001 method. And uncertainty analysis by Monte-Carlo simulation was also carried out. The results showed that electricity had the most impact on the environment, followed by steam, hydrogen fluoride and chlorine, and the impact of direct CO₂ emissions in calcium carbide production stage on the global warming effect also could not be ignored. Therefore, the clean energy (e.g., wind, solar, biomass, and natural gas) was used to replace coal-based electricity and coal-fired steam in this study, showing considerable environmental benefits. At the same time, the use of advanced production technologies could also improve environmental benefits, and the environmental impact of the global warming category could be reduced by 4.1% via using CO₂ capture and purification technology. The Chinese database of HFC-134a production established in this study provides convenience for the relevant study of scholars. For the production of HFC-134a, this study helps to better identify the specific environmental hotspots and proposes useful ways to improve the environmental benefits.     

Prediction of adsorption rate constants of activated carbon for various vapors

In the past decade, a theoretical calculation of the adsorption properties of activated carbon has successfully been used to predict the adsorption capacity for untested vapors after initial characterization of the carbon with a reference vapor. However, using this theoretical approach, it has not been possible to predict the second fundamental property of carbons, namely its adsorption rate constant, and therefore only a family of curves for adsorption performance could be calculated. A new extension of the present theory is proposed which would permit prediction of the adsorption rate constant of vapors, after initial characterization of the carbon with a reference vapor, so that a curve of adsorption performance can be calculated for any vapor needed.     

Removal of volatile organic compound by activated carbon fiber

Experiments were carried out to study adsorption/desorption of volatile organic compound (VOC) on the activated carbon fiber (ACF) under dynamic conditions. The primary objective was to experimentally demonstrate the suitability of ACF in effectively adsorbing VOCs from inert gaseous stream under varying operating conditions, and compare its performance vis-à-vis that of the other commercially available adsorbents, such as granular activated carbon (GAC), silica gel, and zeolites. The adsorption experiments were carried out in a fixed tubular packed bed reactor under various operating conditions including temperature (35-100 °C), gas concentration (2000-10,000 ppm), gas flow rate (0.2-1.0 slpm) and weight of the adsorbent (2-10 g). A mathematical model was developed to predict the VOC breakthrough characteristics on ACF. The model incorporated the effects of the gas-particle film mass transfer resistance, adsorbent pore diffusion and the adsorption/desorption rates within the pore. The experimental data and the corresponding model simulated results were compared and found to be in good agreement. The ACF repeatedly showed a good regeneration capability following desorption by DC electrical heating.     

氟化物催化剂合成1，1，1，2－四氟乙烷的进展

综述了以三氯乙烯为原料经１，１，１－三氟２－氯乙烷（ＨＣＦＣ－１３３ａ）中间体，气相催化氟化合成１，１，１，２－四氟乙烷（ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ）的催化剂及其载体，反应条件选择等的研究进展，探讨了卤素交换反应机理。建议开发具有高氟化性能、Ａ１Ｆ３负载的低铬或非铬催化剂．     

罗茨压缩机驱动MVR热泵系统的实验研究

机械蒸汽再压缩(MVR)蒸发系统是一种高效节能的蒸发体系。本文采用降膜蒸发器为蒸发主体、罗茨压缩机为蒸汽压缩机, 并以水为实验原料研究了一套MVR蒸发装置。实验中以总蒸发水量和单位能耗蒸发水量(SMER)作为MVR蒸发系统的性能指标, 分别研究了进料温度、蒸发压强、压缩机频率对其影响。结果表明:最佳进料温度是蒸发压强下的饱和液体温度;最适蒸发压强与具体系统的蒸发能力和压缩机效率密切有关, 在压缩机效率保持较高水平的前提下, 适当降低蒸发压强有利于系统的节能;压缩机的频率直接影响系统的蒸发量和压缩机的功耗, 在压缩机允许的范围内增大压缩机频率, 单位能耗蒸发量是增加的。     

Life cycle assessment and economic analysis of HFC-134a production from natural gas compared with oil-based and coal-based production

China is the largest producer and consumer of HFC-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) in the world. Coal-based route is mainly adopted to produce HFC-134a, which suffers from large waste and CO₂ emissions. Natural gas is a low-carbon and clean energy resource, and no research has been found on the environment and economy of producing HFC-134a from natural gas. In this study, CML 2001 method was used to carry out the life cycle assessment of natural gas (partial oxidation)-based and natural gas (plasma cracking)-based routes (abbreviated as gas(O)-based and gas(P)-based routes, respectively), and their environmental performances were compared with coal-based and oil-based routes. Meanwhile, considering that China is vigorously promoting the transformation of energy structure, and the application of electric heating equipment to replace fossil-based heating equipment in industrial field, which has a great impact on the environmental performance of the production processes, the authors conducted a scenario analysis. The results showed that the gas(O)-based route had the most favourable environmental benefits. However, the gas(P)-based route had the highest potential for reducing environmental burdens, and its environmental benefit was the most favourable in scenario 2050. Additionally, the economic performance of the gas(P)-based route was significantly better than that of gas(O)-based and coal-based routes.     

Evaluation of the effects of fuel and combustion-related processes on exergetic efficiency

The fuel used in combustion applications has significant influence on irreversibility generation and hence the exergetic efficiency of the system. This work discusses a method of estimating the availability destructions and exergetic efficiencies of combustion for different classes of fuels viz. hydrogen, hydrocarbons, alcohols and biodiesel surrogates. A ranking of these fuels is presented based on their exergetic efficiencies during isobaric and isochoric combustion. It is observed that availability destruction is greater for heavier hydrocarbon fuels and oxygenated fuels with higher oxygen fraction. Though unsaturated hydrocarbon fuels are associated with lower availability destruction, they result in poor exergetic efficiency as a significant fraction of the fuel availability is lost in the products. Hydrogen and acetylene are identified as the fuels with maximum and minimum exergetic efficiencies respectively. Optimum exergetic efficiency is obtained for reactant mixtures on the leaner side of fuel-air stoichiometry. Availability destruction increases with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and decreases with oxygen enrichment of the supplied air. However, oxygen enrichment entails significant chemical availability losses and lowers exergetic efficiency. Preheating the reactants is found to be effective in mitigating availability destruction.     

The use of rice hulls for sustainable control of NOx emissions in deep space missions

The use of the activated carbon produced from rice hulls to control NOx emissions for future deep space missions has been demonstrated. The optimal carbonization temperature range was found to be between 600 and 750 degrees C. A burnoff of 61.8% was found at 700 degrees C in pyrolysis and 750 degrees C in activation. The BET surface area of the activated carbon from rice hulls was determined to be 172 m2/g when prepared at 700 degrees C. The presence of oxygen in flue gas is essential for effective adsorption of NO by activated carbon. On the contrary, water vapor inhibits the adsorption efficiency of NO. Consequently, water vapor in flue gas should be removed by drying agents before adsorption to ensure high NO adsorption efficiency. All of the NO in the flue gas was removed for more than 1.5 h when 10% oxygen was present and the ratio of the carbon weight to the flue gas flow rate (W/F) was 15.4 g min/L. Reduction of the adsorbed NO to form N2 could be effectively accomplished under anaerobic conditions at 550 degrees C. The adsorption capacity of NO on the activated carbon was found to be 5.02 mg of NO/g of carbon. The loss of carbon mass was determined to be about 0.16% of the activated carbon per cycle of regeneration if the regeneration occurred when the NO in the flue gas after the carbon bed reached 4.8 ppm, the space maximum allowable concentration. The reduction of the adsorbed NO also regenerated the activated carbon, and the regenerated activated carbon exhibited an improved NO adsorption efficiency.     

Catalytic conversion of 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a)

We examined the conversion of HFC-134a over five catalysts, Na₂CO₃, CaO, CaCO₃, and two types of γ-Al₂O₃ with different surface areas, between 300 and 600 °C. HFC-134a was barely converted via the non-catalytic reaction, even at the highest temperature (600 °C). The operating temperatures for the catalytic conversion of HFC-134a were reduced dramatically and its efficiency increased with increasing temperature. Among the catalysts used, γ-Al₂O₃ with the larger surface area showed the highest conversion rate of HFC-134a, which was followed, in order, by γ-Al₂O₃ with the smaller surface area, CaCO₃, CaO, and Na₂CO₃. The conversion rate of γ-Al₂O₃ decreased rapidly due to catalyst deactivation. The catalytic efficiency of γ-Al₂O₃ was maintained for a longer period by water addition. Water acted as a hydrogen donor for the dehydrofluorination reaction.     

一步快速活化法制备生物质活性炭及其对乙酸乙酯的吸附再生

活性炭吸附法因技术成熟、简单易行、吸附效率高等优点而被广泛应用于挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的处理中。本文以山林废弃物的野山桃核为原料,烟道废气及硝酸铁为活化剂,制备了一系列生物质活性炭,并利用固定床吸附装置对其吸附、再生性能进行了研究。利用二氧化碳和水蒸气模拟烟气,在固定流量的烟气活化氛围中进行活化,并探讨了不同硝酸铁的量对活性炭的孔隙结构及其吸附再生性能的影响。利用N₂ 吸附-脱附实验、扫描电镜、拉曼光谱和红外光谱等技术研究了活性炭详细特征。结果表明：当硝酸铁的质量分数为0.2% 时,所制备的活性炭AC-3具有最大的比表面积和平均孔径,分别为923m2/g及2.57nm。其对乙酸乙酯的饱和吸附量也最大,为973.04mg/g。利用烟气对AC-3活性炭进行活化再生处理,经过3次重复吸附-解吸再生实验,其饱和吸附能力仍可达91.5％以上,实现了废弃烟气资源化利用及活性炭的循环回收,从而达到废气治理的目标。     

Thermal modeling of activated carbon based adsorptive natural gas storage system

A homogeneous, isotropic porous matrix of activated carbon inside a portable steel cylinder is considered as the adsorption bed for natural gas (NG) which is idealized as pure methane for the purpose of simulation. The heat and fluid flow inside the porous adsorption bed are modeled using a volume averaging technique and Darcy-Brinkman formulation. The effective thermal conductivity of the activated carbon-methane system is calculated as a function of uptake according to the Luikov model. Heat generation due to the exothermic process of adsorption is considered. The governing equations are solved using an implicit finite volume method for the given boundary conditions. Three different models of adsorption are considered, namely (i) a no-flow model, (ii) flow model with uniform adsorption and (iii) a flow model with local adsorption. For each of these models, transient temperature profiles in the adsorption bed during the charging process are obtained, and the corresponding mass adsorption potentials are calculated. Parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of gas inlet temperature and rate of charging on the maximum bed temperature and the time required to fill the cylinder.     

氟化物催化剂合成1,1 1,2 一四氟乙烷的进展

综述了以三抓乙烯为原料经1,1 ,1-三氟-2-氮乙烷(HCFC-133a)中间体, 气相催化氮化合成1,1 ,1 ,2-四氟乙烷(HFC-134a)的催化剂及其载体, 反应条件选择等的研究进展, 探讨了卤素交换反应机理。建议开发具有高氟化性能、AlF₃负载的低铬或非铬催化剂。     

Improving the performance of an active carbon-nitrogen adsorption cryocooler by thermal regeneration

Thermodynamic analysis was done on single and two stage active carbon nitrogen adsorption cryocoolers to study the effect of thermal regeneration on the performance. Heat regeneration within compressors operating in the same temperature range is considered. From the analysis done on 80 K cooler and 117.5 K cooler, it is found that dramatic efficiency improvement is possible with the use of compressor heat regeneration techniques.     

多效蒸发海水淡化系统可行域时变分析与全周期操作优化

能耗过高制约了多效蒸发（MED）海水淡化技术的大规模应用,稳态操作优化虽然能够有效减少MED系统的短期蒸汽消耗速率,但污垢累积导致该系统在长周期运行时蒸汽消耗量升高和装置减产。为此,首先针对带蒸汽压缩机（TVC）的MED系统（MED-TVC）提出可行域的概念,分析表明操作点在可行域中的位置决定了系统的运行效益。随后通过可行域的时变分析发现操作点超出可行域是稳态优化中系统性能逐渐衰减的原因。最后利用可行域的性质,提出了时变约束的全周期操作优化方法。该方法通过调整MED-TVC系统在运行周期内的操作条件,获得全周期最低的蒸汽消耗量,同时利用时变的可行域约束保证优化结果在全周期内均满足淡水产量要求。结果表明,时变约束的全周期操作优化在维持MED-TVC系统的设计淡水产量的同时,全周期蒸汽消耗量相比于设计值减少了19.6%,能够很好地解决MED-TVC系统的操作优化问题。