Synthesis of minerals using alternative energy sources

A technology for the synthesis of synthetic minerals (using the example of spinels) using a low-temperature plasma flame is developed. The diagnostic properties of spinels are identified.     

Palladium catalyst performance for methane emissions abatement from lean burn natural gas vehicles

As little as 1 ppm SO_x present in the exhaust of a lean burn natural gas engine strongly inhibits the oxidation of CH₄ over a Pd containing catalyst. Non-methane emissions oxidation, such as C₂H₆, C₃H₈ and CO, are also inhibited by low SO_x concentrations, but to a lesser extent than CH₄ emissions. The mechanism for SO_x inhibition indicates a 1 : 1 selective adsorption of SO_x on PdO for palladium on a non-sulfating support such as SiO₂. Deactivation is therefore very rapid. In contrast, palladium on sulfating supports, that is γ-Al₂O₃, deactivate more slowly and can tolerate more SO_x because the SO_x is also adsorbed onto the carrier. The activation energy for methane oxidation is dramatically increased after SO_x poisoning for all Pd catalysts, while the Arrhenius pre-exponential term is relatively constant, indicating a transformation from very active PdO sites to less active PdOSO_x sites. Platinum catalysts are considerably less active than Pd as evidenced by a much lower pre-exponential term, but are more resistant to deactivation by SO_x. Non-methane hydrocarbon and particulate emissions standards for lean burn natural gas engines for the United States can be met with Pd catalysts. However, the non-enforced methane emissions standards are not met. For the European truck test cycle, methane emissions standards are met since the test cycle heavily weights the hotter modes where PdSO_x is sufficiently active.     

Partial oxidation (POX) reforming of gasoline for fuel-cell powered vehicles applications

As a part of the development of a gasoline processor for integration with a proton-exchanged membrane (PEM) fuel cell, we carried out the POX reforming reaction ofiso-octane, toluene and gasoline over a commercial methane reforming catalyst, and investigated the reaction conditions required to prevent the formation of carbon and the effect of fuel constituents and sulfur impurities in gasoline. The H₂ and CO compositions increased with increasing reaction temperature, while those of CO₂ and CH₄ decreased. It is desirable to maintain an O/C molar ratio of more than 0.6 and an H₂O/C molar ratio of 1.5 to 2.0 for vehicle applications. It has been found that carbon formation in the POX reforming ofiso-octane occurs below 620 °C, whereas in the case of toluene it occurs below 640 °C. POX reforming of gasoline constituents led to the conclusion that hydrogen production is directly related to the constituents of fuels and the operating conditions. It was also found that the coke formation on the surface of catalysts is promoted by sulfur impurities in fuels. For the integration of a fuel processor with PEM fuel cell, studies are needed on the development of new high-performance transition metal-based catalysts with sulfur and coke-resistance and the desulfurization of fuels before applying the POX reformer based on gasoline feed.     

低品位热源驱动的化学吸附蓄冷装置

为了解决能源在时空上的供需矛盾,提高能源利用率,采用新型化学吸附制冷技术设计了一个由低品位热源驱动的蓄冷装置。该装置以MnCl2和NH4Cl的复合固化吸附剂作为工质对,利用氯化铵配合物的解吸热来产生制冷效果。通过实验测量在20～35℃室温下3h内的制冰量,得到该装置单位质量氯化铵的总制冷量,约为475 kJ.kg-1,平均制冷功率(SCP)约为43 W.kg-1,并且其可同时实现-1～6℃冷藏和-16～-14.5℃冷冻的两个功能,有效制冷量占总制冷量的25%～42%。减小金属热容,加强系统的传热传质性能以及装置保温性能,是系统优化设计的重点。     

Renewable energy powered desalination in Baja California Sur, Mexico

Baja California Sur (BCS) is an arid sparsely populated coastal state in northwest Mexico. Population growth, agriculture and booming tourism have lead to severe overexploitation of underground aquifers and saline intrusion. This paper reviews the current water and energy situation in BCS. The state enjoys very high levels of solar radiation, typically above 5 kWh/m²/day, and the suitability of renewable energy powered desalination for BCS is discussed, including past efforts in BCS and present challenges for this technology.     

恩德粉煤气化技改攻关总结

我公司 2 0 0 3年采用恩德粉煤气化技术进行煤气化技术改造后 ,经试生产 ,暴露出气化炉制气存在煤耗高等问题 ,为此 ,公司专门成立了攻关小组 ,对原设备及工艺设计、生产运行过程中严重影响消耗的问题进行总结 ,找出生产消耗高的环节 ,通过调节、优化工艺操作和节能技术改造等措施 ,降低了消耗 ,提高了设备运行的可靠性和公司的经济效益。下面就恩德粉煤气化技改后存在的问题及攻关情况作一总结。1　造气系统存在问题1 1　煤耗高原设计造气用煤为免渡河长焰煤 ,发热量2 1 82 5 8kJ/kg ,每立方米煤气耗煤 5 35kg ;现在校核煤种为免渡河长…     

Solar powered high voltage energization for vehicular exhaust cleaning: A step towards possible retrofitting in vehicles

This paper proposes a novel way of generating high voltage for electric discharge plasma in controlling NO_x emission in diesel engine exhaust. A solar powered high frequency electric discharge topology has been suggested that will improve the size and specific energy density required when compared to the traditional repetitive pulse or 50 Hz AC energization. This methodology has been designed, fabricated and experimentally verified by conducting studies on real diesel engine exhaust.     

醇基燃料——21世纪最具发展潜力的新能源

发展醇基燃料,实现燃料多元化,是具有深远意义的必然选择。通过醇基燃料的特性分析和成本分析,论证了醇基燃料在新世纪可替代燃料中的重要地位,以及应用中将能取得的预期效果。     

Particle emission from gasoline powered vehicles: Emission, deposition and re-emission under different traffic density situations

Particle emission, re-emission and deposition from a gasoline fueled car were investigated during driving conditions in streets. The measurement facility was carried on a trailer behind the testcar. Filter collection and sedimentation samplers were used for particle collection. Measurements were performed in different environmental and meteorological situations.

Particle emission was also measured in laboratory conditions at temperatures of + 20 and − 20°C using gasoline and diesel engines.

The elemental composition of the particle samples was analyzed by the PIXE-method and the composition data by a statistical cluster-method. The results for re-emission and condensation growth of aerosols were compared with theoretical calculations.

The re-emission fraction in summer conditions was obtained to be over 70% in high traffic densities and about 50% in low densities. The condensation growth was about four times higher in the cold air than in the warm weather.     

Seawater integrated desalination plant without brine discharge and powered by renewable energy systems

Environmental effects are one of the main concerns of massive desalination facilities. To reach the objective of no brine discharge the salt from seawater must be completely separated and obtained as a secondary and valuable product. If no CO₂ emission increase is desired, the power source must be a combination of renewable energy systems (RES). This paper presents an analysis of an integrated desalination scheme consisting of two sequential systems: a multi-effect distillation (MED) plant and a mechanical vapour compression (MVC) system based on evaporator equipment. The energy is obtained by several wind turbines (WT) and a thermal solar collector (TSC) field. Separation of salt and water is achieved in a coupled multi-effect distillation-mechanical vapour compression (MED+MVC) two step process. The MED stage is driven by thermal solar collectors, whereas the energy consuming mechanical compression of the vapour (MVC) is fuelled by wind-powered turbines. Interestingly, the final products of this process are dry salt and fresh water. Such a system has been designed and dimensioned for a throughput of 100 m³/h of desalted water A preliminary study of the investment, amortization and exploitation costs of a combined MED+MVC+WT+TSC installation with these dimensions has been done. The price of desalted water, after considering the profits due to the sale of salt and electricity has been estimated at 0.59 ?/m³. If the initial investment has a 35% subsidy, a final price of 0.41 ?/m³ could be ensured, which is near the price associated to conventional energy sources. An outline of the solar collector system and the technical requirements of the wind turbines in needed to meet the energy demand of the MED+MVC system are also included.     

溶液浓差能驱动的逆电渗析反应器制氢实验研究

低品位热能制氢技术首先是将热能转换为溶液浓差能,然后通过逆电渗析(RED)反应器将溶液浓差能转换成氢能。为了验证RED反应器能将溶液浓差能转换为氢能,探索关键运行参数变化对能量转换过程的影响。设计了一个由40个膜对所构成的RED反应器,以NaCl水溶液为工作溶液,NaOH水溶液为电极液的制氢系统。通过改变浓/稀溶液入口浓度,溶液过膜流速以及输出电流来考察对RED反应器产氢率、制氢效率和能量转换效率的影响。实验结果发现,浓/稀溶液入口浓度,过膜流速变化均会影响RED反应器的输出电流。在外电路短接条件下,输出电流越大,反应器产氢率和制氢效率越高,但能量转换效率越低。     

Photo-catalytic degradation of rhodamine B using microwave powered electrodeless discharge lamp

A microwave discharge electrodeless lamp (MDEL) was used as the light source for microwave assisted TiO₂ photo-catalysis to degrade rhodamine B. A MDEL filled with low pressure mercury gas has been developed for the photo-catalytic treatment of water pollutants over TiO₂ balls. TiO₂ balls produced by the chemical vapor deposition method were used. The degradation reaction rate was shown to be higher with higher microwave intensity and with a larger amount of O₂ gas addition. The effect of addition of H₂O₂ was not significant when photo-catalysis was used without additional microwave irradiation or when microwave was irradiated without the use of photo-catalysts. When H₂O₂ was added under simultaneous use of photo-catalysis and microwave irradiation, however, considerably higher degradation reaction rates were observed. This result suggests that there is a synergy effect when the constituent techniques are applied together.     

Simulation of SCR equipped vehicles using iron-zeolite catalysts

Iron-catalysts, based on ZSM-5 (FeZSM5) and Cuban natural Mordenite (FeMORD) zeolites have been prepared by a conventional ion-exchange method and their catalytic activity in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with ammonia was studied in the presence of H₂O and SO₂. A commercial SCR catalyst (CATCO) based on V₂O₅–WO₃–TiO₂, was also studied as a reference. This paper presents the experimental results of using these catalysts without toxic vanadium and also exploits a neural network-based approach to predict NO_x conversion efficiency of three SCR catalysts. The mathematical functions derived have been integrated into a numerical model to simulate diesel road vehicles equipped with SCR catalysts such as those studied here. The main results indicate that despite toxic vanadium and N₂O formation, CATCO shows better NO_x conversion efficiencies. However, FeMORD does not produce N₂O and performs better than the FeZSM5. The simulation results on real cycles show lower level of NO_x for heavy-duty and light-duty diesel vehicles compared with homologation load cycles.     

Swelling of coals using binary vehicles containing THQ

The swelling test of subbituminous coal was carried out using l,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline(THQ)-water and THQ-ethanol systems. The addition of a small amount of water or ethanol to THQ promoted the coal swelling ratio. It was found that there was a significant correlation between swelling ratio and absorption amount of THQ or water into coal.     

Application of alternative energy integration technology in seawater desalination

Technologies that are used mainly in the seawater desalination industry are reviewed and evaluated in this paper. The utilization principles, applications and problems of solar and nuclear energy in desalination are respectively summarized and discussed with emphasis. Other alternative energies such as wind, hydro-energy and ocean energy are also presented. Applying alternative energy integration technologies in seawater desalination as a key proponent to meet the future challenges of sustainable development and/or energy issue was also discussed.     

Optimization of RO desalination systems powered by renewable energies. Part I: Wind energy

Operation of an experimental RO plant connected directly to a wind system without energy storage was studied. The data obtained confirm the wide spectrum of operation of the plant with respect to the power available and the operation of the system.     

25000 t LNG燃料动力化学品船能量利用系统的设计及优化分析

以25000 t LNG燃料动力化学品船为研究对象,在分析及评估原船废气余热利用系统以及高温冷却水系统用能水平基础上,针对船舶发电、海水淡化、冷库及空调等需求,综合考虑原船余热资源及未加以利用的LNG冷能,以加装废气动力涡轮、LNG冷能ORC发电、冷冻法海水淡化及设置高低温冷库与空调系统等方式组合提出了五种能量系统梯级利用方案。通过HYSYS软件模拟计算和对比分析,从（火用）效率及经济性两个方面对各方案进行了评估。结果表明,诸方案中以低温冷库+高温冷库+空调系统经济性最好,所形成的新设计系统经优化后（火用）效率可提高至62.87%,每年经济收益可达1227.85万元。     

An optimization framework for cost effective design of refueling station infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles

Historically, gasoline and diesel fuels have been used for transportation, but the possible decline of oil supplies in the future is forcing nations to consider alternative fuels. Most technically and economically feasible alternative fuels have a lower energy density than gasoline, which results in a shorter range for these vehicles. This necessitates a greater need for convenient access to refueling facilities for alternative fuel vehicles. Since infrastructure development is expensive, there is a need to direct investments towards the establishment of refueling facilities in areas which result in maximum impact. This can be addressed by locating facilities at sites which service as many vehicles as possible. This work deals with the use of mathematical programming for determining the best locations for establishing alternative transportation fuel stations. The objective was to site the refueling stations at locations which maximize the number of vehicles served, while staying within budget constraints. The model used here is a modified form of the flow interception facility location model. For the case study we used the transportation network of Alexandria, Virginia, as a test bed for our model. Origin-destination travel demand data for this city is simulated through a transportation simulator to determine the routes taken by individual vehicles. The results are then compared with the service level offered by conventional gasoline refueling stations already located in the city. This work integrates the use of transportation modeling with mathematical programming for the solution of a complex large-scale problem on a real-life transportation network.