An experimental study of methanol autothermal reformation as a method of producing hydrogen for transportation applications

This study investigates autothermal reforming (ATR) of methanol as a method of producing fuel cell-grade hydrogen for transportation applications. From the previous works in autothermal reformation, it is known that while the steam-to-carbon ratio (S/C) may somewhat affect the efficiency of ATR, the oxygen-to-methanol ratio (O₂/CH₃OH) is a more significant parameter in ATR of higher hydrocarbons. Methanol differs from higher hydrocarbons in that it is reformed at relatively low temperatures and, therefore, may respond to O₂/CH₃OH differently from higher hydrocarbons. According to the past studies, the optimum O₂/CH₃OH for ATR of methanol is equal to 0.23. However, this conclusion is based on models which utilize assumptions that are not necessarily accurate, such as complete fuel conversion and ideal reaction products. This study presents experimental data that shows how the ATR reactor efficiency varies with O₂/CH₃OH. The results from this study may serve as a baseline for future research of autothermal reforming of hydrocarbon fuels as a method of producing hydrogen in transportation applications.     

Wood production potential in poplar plantations in Sweden

Shortage of oil, large variations in exports from Russia of wood to Europe, plenty of abandoned agriculture land, new ideas about a more intensive silviculture; these circumstances are driving forces in Sweden for planting fast-growing poplar and hybrid aspen clones on suitable land. The advantage of such trees is that the wood can be used for both energy (heat, biofuels, electricity), paper and for construction. Poplar clones bred in the USA and Belgium, and older hybrid aspen clones from Sweden, together with new poplar clones collected and selected for Swedish conditions from British Columbia, Canada, were planted during the 1990s in south and central Sweden. The stem diameters and heights of the trees have been measured during the last 10 years and the woody biomass production above ground has been calculated. MAI for all the plantations is 10–31 m³ or 3–10 ton DM per hectare with the highest annual woody production of 45 m³ or 15 ton DM per hectare in some years in a very dense plantation in the most southern part of Sweden. All the plantations have been fenced for at least the first ten years. The damage has been caused by stem canker, insects, leaf rust and by moose after removal of the fences. The possibilities for the use of poplar plantations as energy forest and vegetation filters are discussed.     

Wind climate from the regional climate model REMO

Selected outputs from simulations with the regional climate model REMO from the Max Planck Institute, Hamburg, Germany were studied in connection with wind energy resource assessment. It was found that the mean wind characteristics based on observations from six mid‐latitude stations are well described by the standard winds derived from the REMO pressure data. The mean wind parameters include the directional wind distribution, directional and omni‐directional mean values and Weibull fitting parameters, spectral analysis and interannual variability of the standard winds. It was also found that, on average, the wind characteristics from REMO are in better agreement with observations than those derived from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) re‐analysis pressure data. The spatial correlation of REMO surface winds in Europe is consistent with that of the NCEP/NCAR surface winds, as well as published observations over Europe at synoptic scales. Therefore, REMO outputs are well suited for wind energy assessment application in Northern Europe. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduction of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli in production of fermented sausages

After a number of foodborne outbreaks of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli involving fermented sausages, some countries have imposed regulations on sausage production. For example, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service requires a 5 log(10) reduction of E. coli in fermented products. Such regulations have led to a number of studies on the inactivation of E. coli in fermented sausages by changing processing and post-processing conditions. Several factors influence the survival of E. coli such as pre-treatment of the meat, amount of NaCl, nitrite and lactic acid, water activity, pH, choice of starter cultures and addition of antimicrobial compounds. Also process variables like fermentation temperature and storage time play important roles. Though a large variety of different production processes of sausages exist, generally the reduction of E. coli caused by production is in the range 1-2 log(10). In many cases this may not be enough to ensure microbial food safety. By optimising ingredients and process parameters it is possible to increase E. coli reduction to some extent, but in some cases still other post process treatments may be required. Such treatments may be storage at ambient temperatures, specific heat treatments, high pressure processing or irradiation. HACCP analyses have identified the quality of the raw materials, low temperature in the batter when preparing the sausages and a rapid pH drop during fermentation as critical control points in sausage production. This review summarises the literature on the reduction verotoxigenic E. coli in production of fermented sausages.     

Hydroxy-PCBs, PBDEs, and HBCDDs in serum from an elderly population of Swedish fishermen's wives and associations with bone density

Lack of human exposure data is frequently reported as a critical gap in risk assessments of environmental pollutants, especially regarding "new" pollutants. The objectives of this study were to assess serum levels of the persistent 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153), hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites (OH-PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexabromocyclodode-canes (HBCDDs) in a group of Swedish middle-aged and elderly women expected to be relatively highly exposed, and to evaluate the impact of potential determinants (e.g., fish intake, age) for the inter-individual variation, as well as to investigate the association between these pollutants and bone density. No associations were found between bone mineral density or biochemical markers of bone metabolism and the analyzed environmental pollutants. Relatively high levels of CB-153 (median 260 ng/g fat) and sigma 3-OH-PCBs (median 1.7 ng/mL serum), and low concentrations of sigma6PBDEs (median 3.6 ng/g fat) were determined. Total level of HBCDDs in serum was quantified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (median 0.5 ng/g fat). HBCDD diastereomeric and enantiomeric patterns were determined by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. The dominating stereoisomer was (-)alpha-HBCDD, but 1-3% of gamma-HBCDD was also detected in the serum samples.     

Hydrogen storage systems based on hydride–graphite composites: computer simulation and experimental validation

The design of hydride-based hydrogen storage systems is non-trivial because numerous physical, chemical and engineering principles have to be considered. In particular, gas and heat transport properties of the hydride bed are crucial for a high-dynamic tank operation. Since most hydrides show low intrinsic heat conductivities, auxiliary materials or structures inside the reaction zone are beneficial. For that purpose, hydride–graphite composites with strong anisotropic thermal conductivities have been developed recently.     

Development of durable and efficient electrodes for large-scale alkaline water electrolysis

A new type of electrodes for alkaline water electrolysis is produced by physical vapour depositing (PVD) of aluminium onto a nickel substrate. The PVD Al/Ni is heat-treated to facilitate alloy formation followed by a selective aluminium alkaline leaching. The obtained porous Ni surface is uniform and characterized by a unique interlayer adhesion, which is critical for industrial application. IR-compensated polarisation curves prepared in a half-cell setup with 1 M KOH electrolyte at room temperature reveals that at least 400 mV less potential is needed to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen with the developed porous PVD Al/Ni electrodes as compared to solid nickel electrodes. High-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM) micrographs reveal Ni-electrode surfaces characterized by a large surface area with pores down to a few nanometre sizes. Durability tests were carried out in a commercially produced bipolar electrolyser stack. The developed electrodes showed stable behaviour under intermittent operation for over 9000 h indicating no serious deactivation in the density of active sites.     

On the Numerical Modeling of Impinging Jets Heat Transfer—A Practical Approach

This article compares steady-state and transient simulations in predicting impinging jet heat transfer. The configurations tested are H/D = 2 and 6, Re = 10,000, 20,000, 23,000, and 30,000. The variables considered are: turbulence model (LES, k-?, k-ω, V2F), discretization schemes, mesh density and topology, inlet velocity profile, and turbulence. The V2F model performs best for the steady state simulations. The inlet velocity profile plays an important role. Mesh topology and distribution is also important. The turbulence created in the shear layer plays a stronger role than the inlet turbulence. The LES model reproduces the turbulent structures with a useful degree of accuracy.     

The selective dynamical downscaling method for extreme‐wind atlases

A selective dynamical downscaling method is developed to obtain extreme‐wind atlases for large areas. The method is general, efficient and flexible. The method consists of three steps: (i) identifying storm episodes for a particular area, (ii) downscaling of the storms using mesoscale modelling and (iii) post‐processing. The post‐processing generalizes the winds from the mesoscale modelling to standard conditions, i.e. 10‐m height over a homogeneous surface with roughness length of 5 cm. The generalized winds are then used to calculate the 50‐year wind using the annual maximum method for each mesoscale grid point. The generalization of the mesoscale winds through the post‐processing provides a framework for data validation and for applying further the mesoscale extreme winds at specific places using microscale modelling. The results are compared with measurements from two areas with different types of extreme‐wind climates, and the results are promising. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do potential methylation rates reflect accumulated methyl mercury in contaminated sediments?

Relationships between the short-term mono-methyl mercury (MeHg) production, determined as the specific, potential methylation rate constant Km (day(-1)) after 48 h of incubation with isotope-enriched 201Hg(II) at 23 degrees C, and the long-term accumulation of ambient MeHg, were investigated in contaminated sediments. The sediments covered a range of environments from small freshwater lakes to large brackish water estuaries and differed with respect to source and concentration of Hg, salinity, primary productivity, quantity and quality of organic matter, and temperature climate. Significant (p < 0.001), positive relationships were observed between Km (day(-1)) and the concentration of MeHg normalized to total Hg (%MeHg) for surface sediments (0-10, 0-15, and in one case 0-20 cm) across all environments, and across subsets of organic and minerogenic freshwaters. This suggests that the methylation process (MeHg production) overruled demethylation and net transport processes in the surface sediments. The lack of a relationship between Km and %MeHg in two brackish water sediment depth profiles (0-100 cm) indicates that demethylation and the net effect of input-output are relatively more important at greater depths. Differences in the primary production and subsequent availability of easily degradable organic matter (serving as electron donor for methylating bacteria) was indicated to be the most important factor behind observed differences in %MeHg and Km among sites. In contrast, concentrations of sulfate were not correlated to Km, %MeHg, or absolute concentrations of MeHg. We conclude that total concentrations of Hg are of importance for the long-term accumulation of MeHg, and that %MeHg in surface sediments can be used as a proxy for the rate of methylation, across a range of sites from different environments.