Exergy analysis of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell and organic Rankine cycle for cooling, heating and power production

The study examines a novel system that combined a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for cooling, heating and power production (trigeneration) through exergy analysis. The system consists of an SOFC, an ORC, a heat exchanger and a single-effect absorption chiller. The system is modeled to produce a net electricity of around 500 kW. The study reveals that there is 3-25% gain on exergy efficiency when trigeneration is used compared with the power cycle only. Also, the study shows that as the current density of the SOFC increases, the exergy efficiencies of power cycle, cooling cogeneration, heating cogeneration and trigeneration decreases. In addition, it was shown that the effect of changing the turbine inlet pressure and ORC pump inlet temperature are insignificant on the exergy efficiencies of the power cycle, cooling cogeneration, heating cogeneration and trigeneration. Also, the study reveals that the significant sources of exergy destruction are the ORC evaporator, air heat exchanger at the SOFC inlet and heating process heat exchanger.     

Influence of Sn content on the electrocatalytic activity of NiSn alloy nanoparticles-incorporated carbon nanofibers toward methanol oxidation

Improvement of the electrocatalytic activity of nickel toward methanol oxidation can be conducted by exploiting the synergetic influence of a co-catalyst and/or utilizing a proper support. In this study, utilizing tin as a co-catalyst and supporting on carbon nanofibers are proposed to enhance methanol oxidation in the alkaline media. Typically, NiSn nanoparticles alloy-incorporated carbon nanofibers could be prepared by calcination of electrospun nanofibers composed of poly (vinyl alcohol), nickel acetate tetrahydrate and tin chloride under argon atmosphere at a high temperature. The influence of the co-catalyst content and the calcination temperature on the morphology, composition and electrocatalytic activity of the proposed nanofibers was investigated. Smooth electrospun nanofibers can be prepared regardless the tin chloride content up to 35 wt%, and the calcination process did not distinctly affect the nanofibrous morphology. Mostly, Ni₃Sn and Ni₃Sn₂ nanoparticles-incorporated amorphous carbon nanofibers were obtained at all the utilized calcination temperatures (700, 850 and 1000 °C) and examined SnCl₂ contents. However, at 10 wt% SnCl₂ content and 850 °C calcination temperature, single metallic compound (Ni₃Sn₂)-incorporated carbon nanofibers were synthesized. Electrochemical measurements indicated that the electrocatalytic activity depends strongly on the tin content as well as the calcination temperature. The nanofibers obtained from electrospun solution containing 10 wt% SnCl₂ and calcined at 850 °C showed very good performance compared to the other formulations. Typically, the corresponding onset potential of the methanol oxidation reaction using these nanofibers catalyst is 315 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) while it was 405 mV for the nanofibers obtained from electrospun solution containing 0, 5, 15, 25 and 35 wt% SnCl₂. Moreover, the best nanofibers reveal the highest current density. Kinetic study indicated that the corresponding activation energy is 15.6 kJ/mol.     

Effect of cold press and soxhlet extraction systems on fatty acid,tocopherol contents,and phenolic compounds of various grape seed oils

In this study, fatty acids, tocopherol contents, and phenolic compounds of the grape seed oils obtained with cold‐pressed and soxhlet extraction systems from several grape seeds were investigated. Linoleic acid contents of cold‐pressed oils varied between 59.61 and 72.13%. In addition, linoleic acid contents of oils obtained with soxhlet system changed between 58.51 and 71.17%. While α‐tocotrienol contents of oil samples extracted with cold‐pressed change between 13.21 and 34.71 mg/100 g, α‐tocotrienol contents of oils obtained by soxhlet system in all grape varieties varied between 8.89 and 33.89 mg/100 g. In addition, while ?‐tocotrienol contents of cold‐pressed oils range from 15.47 to 39.95 mg/100 g, ?‐tocotrienol contents of soxhlet extraction oils in all grape varieties were determined between 13.47 and 35.75 mg/100 g. Both systems' oils are rich in catechin, gallic acid, and chlorogenic acid. While catechin contents of cold‐pressed oils change between 427.80 and 847.14 mg/kg, catechin contents of soxhlet extraction oils in all grape seeds ranged from 537.11 to 836.88 mg/kg.

Practical applications

Cold‐pressed grape seed oil stands out as a suitable alternative to other commonly used vegetable oils because of its higher amounts of essential fatty acid, and many others bioactive compounds. Grape seed oil is being used in various fields such as cosmetics and cooking. Because the cold‐pressing does not need both heat and chemical treatments, cold‐pressed oils are being preferred for natural and safe food products by consumer. The consumption of vegetable oils rather than solid fats is crucial to maintaining health. As known, grape seed oil is an environment friendly oil due to a by‐product of wine and grape juice‐making processes.     

Emotion recognition from spontaneous speech using emotional vowel-like regions

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Spontaneous speech varies in terms of characteristics such as emotion, volume, and pitch. Emotion, itself, is not uniformly distributed across an utterance. The...