Development of a low-carbon,healthy and innovative value-added riceberry rice product through life cycle design

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Life cycle assessment was applied to a riceberry rice product to support decisions on the development of an innovative, healthy, and low-carbon product...     

Bagasse saving and water recovery in cogeneration system using superheated steam dryer

The cogeneration system in sugar factory uses bagasse with high moisture content as the fuel for the boiler, which results in low boiler efficiency. The system also produces superheated steam, which is extracted from the turbine, and mixed with cooling water to produce saturated steam required by the evaporation system. The potential use superheated steam to reduce bagasse moisture content is ignored in the standard practice of the sugar factory. In this article, an investigation is made into the improvement of the cogeneration system by using superheated steam dryer to reduce the moisture content of bagasse. Mathematical models are developed for the typical system without superheated steam dryer and the improved system with superheated steam dryer. They are then used to compare the performances of both systems. It is found that, under the condition that the required steam flow rate for the evaporation process and the power output are the same, the improved system requires less bagasse consumption, and has larger energy utilization factor. In addition, water that would be lost with flue gases in the typical system is recovered in the improved system.     

Hydrogen Production by Steam Reforming of Fusel Oil Using a CeCoOx Mixed-Oxide Catalyst

Various CeCoO_x mixed-oxide catalysts with different Ce/Co ratios were prepared by surfactant-assisted template precipitation of CeO₂ and Ce₃O₄. The obtained catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectra, hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction, nitrogen physisorption, and transmission electron microscopy. In general, the mixed-oxide CeCoO_x catalysts showed well-dispersed CeO₂ and Co₃O₄ and good catalytic characteristics including a high specific surface area and porous structure. The effectiveness of the prepared catalysts on the hydrogen (H₂) production from steam reforming of fusel oil was studied in a packed-bed reactor. Co played an important role in C–C scission to break down the large C_2–5 molecules into smaller species resulting in H₂ formation. Ce could provide supplementary active oxygen to prevent coke formation on Co, resulting in a more stable activity of the mixed-oxide catalyst throughout the reaction course.     

Heat and moisture transport in durian fiber based lightweight construction materials

This paper presents result on heat and moisture transport in durian (Durio zibethinus) fiber based lightweight construction materials composed of cement, sand and waste fiber from durian peel and the performance of the material was simulated with the surface treatment by using a computational tool. The commercial research software (WUFI 2D) was used to calculate heat and moisture transfer through a durian fiber based lightweight construction material. The materials were exposed to a climate condition similar to the one in Bangkok and the hygrothermal characteristics of the materials were investigated. The investigation reveals that the weekly mean water content on the surface of material was quite low. The effect of moisture on the apparent thermal performance of the composite was found to be higher as water absorbed in the pore structure contributed to higher thermal conductivity than the air it replaced. However, the mean value of thermal conductivity in material is still rather low as the mean value of water content in material is low. Coating the surface reduced the flow of moisture to or from the structure considerably. The results of simulation confirmed that the manufactured composite satisfied the requirement of construction materials. It is then reasonable to conclude that the use of such materials in the design and construction of passive solar buildings is promising. Laboratory investigation is undergoing to validate the simulated performance.     

Materials and mechanical properties of pretreated coir-based green composites

Chemical composition modification and surface modification of coir fibers are made in view of their use as reinforcement in coir-based green composites. Composites were prepared using coir fiber treated with varying pretreatment condition. The changes in the proportion of chemical composition and morphological properties of coir fibers with different coir pretreatment condition were discussed. It is observed that the mechanical properties of coir-based green composites; modulus of rupture and internal bond, increase as a result of chemical composition modification and surface modification. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations show that surface modifications improve the fiber/matrix adhesion.