生物质气化发电技术研究进展

化石能源枯竭和环境污染两大难题日渐成为社会发展的枷锁,人类亟需寻找绿色清洁能源推动社会可持续发展。生物质具有可再生性、原料丰富和清洁低碳的特点,拥有巨大应用潜力。生物质气化发电技术作为生物能利用的方法之一,不仅可以替代传统能源,还能避免能源利用过程中带来的环境污染问题。本文介绍了国内外生物质气化发电技术研究进展,包括气化设备研究、生命周期评价和发电工艺研究等,为生物质气化发电技术的研究提供参考和借鉴。     

Optimal design of sustainable cellulosic biofuel supply chains: Multiobjective optimization coupled with life cycle assessment and input–output analysis

This article addresses the optimal design and planning of cellulosic ethanol supply chains under economic, environmental, and social objectives. The economic objective is measured by the total annualized cost, the environmental objective is measured by the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and the social objective is measured by the number of accrued local jobs. A multiobjective mixed‐integer linear programming (mo‐MILP) model is developed that accounts for major characteristics of cellulosic ethanol supply chains, including supply seasonality and geographical diversity, biomass degradation, feedstock density, diverse conversion pathways and byproducts, infrastructure compatibility, demand distribution, regional economy, and government incentives. Aspen Plus models for biorefineries with different feedstocks and conversion pathways are built to provide detailed techno‐economic and emission analysis results for the mo‐MILP model, which simultaneously predicts the optimal network design, facility location, technology selection, capital investment, production planning, inventory control, and logistics management decisions. The mo‐MILP problem is solved with an ε‐constraint method; and the resulting Pareto‐optimal curves reveal the tradeoff between the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of the sustainable biofuel supply chains. The proposed approach is illustrated through two case studies for the state of Illinois. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

A bi‐criterion optimization approach for the design and planning of hydrogen supply chains for vehicle use

In this article, we address the design of hydrogen supply chains for vehicle use with economic and environmental concerns. Given a set of available technologies to produce, store, and deliver hydrogen, the problem consists of determining the optimal design of the production‐distribution network capable of satisfying a predefined hydrogen demand. The design task is formulated as a bi‐criterion mixed‐integer linear programming (MILP) problem, which simultaneously accounts for the minimization of cost and environmental impact. The environmental impact is measured through the contribution to climate change made by the hydrogen network operation. The emissions considered in the analysis are those associated with the entire life cycle of the process, and are quantified according to the principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). To expedite the search of the Pareto solutions of the problem, we introduce a bi‐level algorithm that exploits its specific structure. A case study that addresses the optimal design of the hydrogen infrastructure needed to fulfill the expected hydrogen demand in Great Britain is introduced to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed approach. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

可持续航空生物燃料的推广应用及行业影响与应对措施

为了保障航空运输业可持续发展,实现温室气体减排目标,国际民航组织通过了“国际航空碳抵消和减排计划”,并计划强制推行一系列实施与认证标准,这将对我国民航运输、化石航煤生产和航空生物燃料技术开发应用产生重大影响。针对这一新的变化趋势,本文介绍了国际民航组织碳减排计划概况,梳理总结了航空替代燃料可持续性标准框架内容,简述了国内外可持续航空生物燃料规模化应用现状,分析了对相关主要行业可能产生的影响,在此基础上提出应对措施及发展建议。研究指出,可持续航空生物燃料是民航业应对气候变化、实现碳减排的根本途径和最重要措施,产业链上下游各方应充分认清当前发展形势,加快制定完善国内相关规范与标准,协同配合共同应对国际磋商与谈判,同时加速推进工业生产示范装置建设和运行,并广泛开展交流与合作,建立完善“原料-炼制-运输-加注-使用”的完整产业链,实现行业可持续发展。     

A LCA Based Biofuel Supply Chain Analysis Framework

This paper presents a life cycle assessment （LCA） based biofuel supply chain （SC） analysis framework which enables the study of economic, energy and environmental （3E） performances by using multi-objective opti-mization. The economic objective is measured by the total annual profit, the energy objective is measured by the average fossil energy （FE） inputs per MJ biofuel and the environmental objective is measured by greenhouse gas （GHG） emissions per MJ biofuel. A multi-objective linear fractional programming （MOLFP） model with multi-conversion pathways is formulated based on the framework and is solved by using theε-constraint method. The MOLFP prob-lem is turned into a mixed integer linear programming （MILP） problem by setting up the total annual profit as the optimization objective and the average FE inputs per MJ biofuel and GHG emissions per MJ biofuel as constraints. In the case study, this model is used to design an experimental biofuel supply chain in China. A set of the weekly Pareto optimal solutions is obtained. Each non-inferior solution indicates the optimal locations and the amount of biomass produced, locations and capacities of conversion factories, locations and amount of biofuel being supplied in final markets and the flow of mass through the supply chain network （SCN）. As the model reveals trade-offs among 3E criteria, we think the framework can be a good support tool of decision for the design of biofuel SC.     

Hydrophobic mesoporous acidic resin for hydroxyalkylation/alkylation of 2‐methylfuran and ketone to high‐density biofuel

Hydroxyalkylation/alkylation of biomass‐derived 2‐methylfuran with cyclic ketones (cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone) has great potential in synthesizing high‐density biofuel. But the conversion and selectivity are still unsatisfactory because the in‐situ formed water decreases the acidity of catalyst and induces side reaction. Herein, hydrophobic mesoporous resins with sulfonic acid group (PS) and fluoride sulfonic acid group (PCS) were synthesized by a simple solvothermal reaction and ion exchange treatment, which have good mesoporous structure with surface area of 300–700 m²/g. Notably, PS and PCS have better hydrophobicity and oleophilicity as compared to widely used sulfonic acid functional amberlyst‐15 and fluoride sulfonic acid functional nafion‐212. In the hydroxyalkylation/alkylation reaction, PS shows higher activity and selectivity than amberlyst‐15 while PCS surpasses nafion‐212. Furthermore, both PS and PCS have good recycling stability in consecutive 5 runs. After hydrodeoxygenation, two high‐density biofuels with density of 0.819 and 0.825 g/mL were obtained. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 680–688, 2017     

Multiobjective optimization under uncertainty of the economic and life‐cycle environmental performance of industrial processes

The combined use of multiobjective optimization and life‐cycle assessment (LCA) has recently emerged as a useful tool for minimizing the environmental impact of industrial processes. The main limitation of this approach is that it requires large amounts of data that are typically affected by several uncertainty sources. We propose herein a systematic framework to handle these uncertainties that takes advantage of recent advances made in modeling of uncertain LCA data and in optimization under uncertainty. Our strategy is based on a stochastic, multiobjective, and multiscenario mixed‐integer nonlinear programming approach in which the uncertain parameters are described via scenarios. We investigate the use of two stochastic metrics: (1) the environmental impact in the worst case and (2) the environmental downside risk. We demonstrate the capabilities of our approach through its application to a generic complex industrial network in which we consider the uncertainty of some key life‐cycle inventory parameters. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2098–2121, 2014     

Multiactor multicriteria decision making for life cycle sustainability assessment under uncertainties

This article aims at developing a generic multiactor multicriteria decision making (MAMCDM) method for life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of industrial systems under uncertainties, which can help multiple stakeholders/decision‐makers to prioritize the alternative industrial systems in a group decision‐making approach. The interval best–worst method, which can address the ambiguity, vagueness and hesitations existing in human's judgments, was developed for determining the weight of the criteria in LCSA. The consensus convergence model was developed for aggregating the relative importance of each criterion determined by different stakeholders/decision‐makers into an interval weight. Afterward, a novel multicriteria decision‐making method which can address the decision‐making matrix with interval numbers was developed to prioritize industrial systems under data uncertainties. An illustrative case has been studied by the developed model, and it reveals that the developed model allows multiple stakeholders/decision‐makers to participate in the decision‐making processes and prioritize industrial systems accurately by using interval numbers. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 2103–2112, 2018     

Polymerization of benzoguanamine and pyromellitic dianhydride under microwave radiation and its third‐order optical nonlinearities

Polycondensation and imidization of benzoguanamine and pyromellitic dianhydride under microwave radiation were studied. The effects of the microwave radiation time (power), the composition of the monomer on the imidization, and the polymer yield were discussed. The polycondensates' third‐order optical nonlinearities and time responses were measured by a phase conjugate forward, 3‐dimensional degenerate, four‐wave mixing technique. At the same time they were compared with relevant conventional thermopolymerization. The results showed that the polycondensates had high third‐order nonlinear optical coefficients [polyimide (PI) χ⁽³⁾ = 1.181 × 10^?13 esu] and fast time responses (22 ps). The third‐order nonlinear optical coefficients under microwave radiation were higher than that of conventional thermopolymerization (microwave radiation PI χ⁽³⁾ = 1.181 × 10^?13 esu: thermopolymerization PI χ⁽³⁾ = 0.686 × 10^?13 esu). The experimental results also showed that the third‐order optical nonlinearities were not only affected by the length of the polycondensate chain, but also the polycondensate π‐electron density distribution, which was explained and confirmed by computation with the semiempirical Austin method. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 1356–1363, 2001     

Sustainable design and synthesis of algae‐based biorefinery for simultaneous hydrocarbon biofuel production and carbon sequestration

The superstructure optimization of algae‐based hydrocarbon biorefinery with sequestration of CO₂ from power plant flue gas is proposed. The major processing steps include carbon capture, algae growth, dewatering, lipid extraction and power generation, and algal biorefinery. We propose a multiobjective mixed‐integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model that simultaneously maximizes the net present value (NPV) and minimizes the global warming potential (GWP) subject to technology selection constraints, mass balance constraints, energy balance constraints, technoeconomic analysis constraints, and environmental impact constraints. The model simultaneously determines the optimal decisions that include production capacity, size of each processing unit, mass flow rates at each stage of the process, utility consumption, economic, and environmental performances. We propose a two‐stage heuristic solution algorithm to solve the nonconvex MINLP model. Finally, the bicriteria optimization problem is solved with ε‐constraint method, and the resulting Pareto‐optimal curve reveals the trade‐off between the economic and environmental criteria. The results show that for maximum NPV, the optimal process design uses direct flue gas, a tubular photobioreactor for algae growth, a filtration dewatering unit, and a hydroprocessing pathway leading to 47.1 MM gallons of green diesel production per year at $6.33/gal corresponding to GWP of 108.7 kg CO₂‐eq per gallon. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 1599–1621, 2013     

Second harmonic generation in germanotellurite bulk glass‐ceramics

In this study, we have investigated the use of silver cation as nucleating agent in germanotellurite glass matrix of compositions (100?x) [70TeO₂–10GeO₂–10Nb₂O₅–10K₂O]–xAg₂O (x=0‐6 mol%), in order to promote bulk crystallization. Density measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, X‐ray diffraction, UV‐Vis, and Raman spectroscopies have been performed to study the crystallization process. We have observed bulk crystallization of a unique noncentrosymmetric phase, K[Nb_1/3Te_2/3]₂O_4.8, which has been investigated for its second‐order optical activity. Transparent to translucent glass‐ceramics have been successfully tailored under thermal treatment and second harmonic generation signals were recorded on the glass‐ceramic samples as a function of their synthesis procedure. It is suggested that the second‐order optical properties observed are strongly related to the organization of crystallites within phase‐separated domains.     

Clean technology—an introduction

A Clean Technology is a means of providing a human benefit which, overall, uses less resources and causes less environmental damage than alternative means with which it is economically competitive. Life Cycle Assessment is central to Clean Technology, as the way to identify overall resource usage and environmental damage. Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimisation are important parts of Clean Technology, but more fundamental is the shift from selling products to providing services. Some specific technological challenges for the chemical and biotechnology industries are identified.     

Novel applications of dividing‐wall column technology to biofuel production processes

Biofuels enjoy nowadays increased public and scientific attention, driven by key factors such as volatile oil price, the need for increased energy security, and concerns over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. However, in order to make biofuels a competitive alternative, the cost of production has to be significantly reduced by using enhanced process technologies. Distillation is heavily involved in the production processes of biofuels—taking the blame for the high energy requirements that have a negative impact on the operating costs. Dividing‐wall column (DWC) is one of the best examples of proven industrial process intensification technology in distillation, as it allows significantly lower investment and operating costs while also reducing the number of equipment units and the carbon footprint. This work presents an overview of novel applications using the DWC technology in the production of the most important biofuels, by employing multi‐component separations, azeotropic, extractive or reactive distillation in a DWC: enhanced methanol recovery and glycerol separation in biodiesel production, synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters and dimethyl ether (DME) by reactive distillation, integrated DME purification and methanol or CO₂ recovery in the dimethyl ether process, as well as bioethanol concentration and dehydration. The industrially relevant case studies presented here show that significant energy savings are possible (ranging from ∼20 to 60%) while simplifying the processes by using less equipment that requires a lower plant footprint. Remarkably, in most cases there is also the possibility of revamping existing plants producing biofuels, and thus reusing the already available equipment. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Global optimization for sustainable design and synthesis of algae processing network for CO2 mitigation and biofuel production using life cycle optimization

Global optimization for sustainable design and synthesis of a large‐scale algae processing network under economic and environmental criteria is addressed. An algae processing network superstructure including 7800 processing routes is proposed. Based on the superstructure, a multiobjective mixed‐integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model is developed to simultaneously optimize the unit cost and the unit global warming potential (GWP). To efficiently solve the nonconvex MINLP model with separable concave terms and mixed‐integer fractional terms in the objective functions, a global optimization strategy that integrates a branch‐and‐refine algorithm based on successive piecewise linear approximations is proposed and an exact parametric algorithm based on Newton's method. Two Pareto‐optimal curves are obtained for biofuel production and biological carbon sequestration, respectively. The unit annual biofuel production cost ranges from $7.02/gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) to $9.71/GGE, corresponding to unit GWP's of 26.491 to 16.52 kg CO₂‐eq/GGE, respectively. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3195–3210, 2014     

Decrement of cellulose recalcitrance by treatment with ionic liquid (1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate) as a strategy to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis

BACKGROUND: The high crystallinity of cellulose underlies the recalcitrance that this polymer presents in enzymatic degradation. Thus, a pre‐treatment step is applied in most bioconversion processes. Treatments with ionic liquids are considered an emerging pre‐treatment technology, owing to their high efficiency in solvating cellulose, over molecular solvent systems. RESULTS: Crystalline cellulose with and without ionic liquid (1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate) treatment, both commercially available, were used as substrates in enzymatic hydrolysis reactions using the earlier evaluated cellulolytic system of Fusarium oxysporum. The in situ removal of the hydrolysate during reactions enhanced the reaction rate as well as the overall glucose production. Ionic liquid treatment significantly decreased cellulose crystallinity and enhanced bioconversion yields and rates. The effects of cellulose structural changes during treatment on hydrolysis rate were investigated and the recalcitrance constants were determined. CONCLUSION: The study showed that ionic liquid‐treated cellulose became more homogeneous and more easily degradable than the untreated cellulose, a conclusion that was expressed mathematically by the difference in the recalcitrance constants for the two substrates. It was concluded that glucose production from ionic liquid‐treated cellulose could achieve very high conversion yields in consolidated bioprocesses or during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enhanced data envelopment analysis for sustainability assessment: A novel methodology and application to electricity technologies

Quantifying the level of sustainability attained by a system is a challenging task due to the need to consider a wide range of economic, environmental and social aspects simultaneously. This work explores the application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the sustainability ‘efficiency’ of a system. We propose an enhanced DEA methodology that uses the concept of ‘order of efficiency’ to compare and rank alternatives according to the extent to which they adhere to sustainability principles. The capabilities of the proposed approach are illustrated through a sustainability assessment of different technologies for electricity generation in United Kingdom. In addition to screening the alternatives based on sustainability principles, enhanced DEA provides improvement targets for the least sustainable alternatives that, if achieved, would make them more sustainable. The enhanced DEA shows clearly the ultimate distance to sustainability, helping industry and policy makers to improve the efficiency of technologies, products and policies.     

离子液体电还原CO2合成甲醇过程评价与分析

CO₂电还原合成化学品因反应条件温和、可利用分布式清洁能源等优势成为国际热点,被视为缓解全球变暖和能源危机的有效途径之一,对该类技术潜在经济及环境效益进行系统评估,可为新技术工业应用提供重要支撑。本文以离子液体电还原CO₂制甲醇工艺为例,首先进行概念设计和建模,建立了基于生命周期的工艺经济性及碳排放评价模型,获得了离子液体电还原CO₂制甲醇工艺的盈利前景和碳减排潜力。通过灵敏度分析,确定了例如法拉第效率、电费及槽电压等影响工艺经济性的关键技术参数。结果表明,与传统煤制甲醇工艺相比,离子液体电还原CO₂制甲醇工艺兼具一定的经济效益与碳减排潜力。在最佳假设前提下,新工艺可节约成本约11.67%。若完全采用可再生能源提供电力,则可实现生命周期内的负碳排放,即每生产1kg甲醇最高可消纳1.29kg CO₂。本研究为低碳合成甲醇变革性技术的研发提供了重要参考。