Recovery of greenhouse gas as cleaner fossil fuel contributes to carbon neutrality

Under the context of carbon neutrality of China,it is urgent to shift our energy supply towards cleaner fuels as well as to reduce the greenhouse gas emission.Currently,coal is the main fossil fuel energy source of China.The country is striving hard to replace it with methane,a cleaner fossil fuel.Although China has rich geological resources of methane as coal bed methane(CBM)reserves,it is quite challenging to utilize them due to low concentration.The CBM is however mainly emitted directly to atmosphere during coal mining,causing waste of the resource and huge contribution to greenhouse effect.The recent work by Yang et al.demonstrated a potential solution to extract low concentration methane selectively from CBM through using MOF materials as sorbents.Such kind of materials and associated separation technology are promising to reduce greenhouse gas emission and promote the methane production capability,which would contribute to carbon neutrality in dual pathways.

Application of Non-Fuel Power Generation Technology in Steel Industry

Through continuous equipment technology transformation and full utilization of Ma Steel's abundant gas,the boiler no longer relies on fuel oil for stable combustion during boiler startup,sliding parameter shutdown,and RB,thus achieving safe and stable operation of the boiler under any abnormal working conditions,and achieving good economic and social benefits.

GAS FUEL-POWERED HOPPER

Based on the hopping principle, a miniature gas fuel-powered hopper is designed and manufactured. According to thermodynamic analysis, the pressure-displacement curve in the combustion chamber after ignition is obtained through iterative calculation, then the work on the cylinder done by high-pressure gas is calculated and the initial hopping velocity of the hopper is obtained. The wireless control system is developed to realize the tele-control of the hopper, including fuel injection and ignition. Experimental results agree well with analytical results. The hopper has a jumping ability of height 2.2 m and distance 3.5 m, and it is more than 14 times its dimension.

Effects of Freeze/Thaw Cycles and Gas Purging Method on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

At subzero temperature, the startup capability and performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) deteriorates markedly. The object of this work is to study the degradation mechanism of key components of PEMFC-membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and seek feasible measures to avoid degradation. The effect of freeze/thaw cycles on the structure of MEA is investigated based on porosity and SEM measurement. The performance of a single cell was also tested before and after repetitious freeze/thaw cycles. The experimental results indicated that the performance of a PEMFC decreased along with the total operating time as well as the pore size distribution shifting and micro configuration changing. However, when the redundant water had been removed by gas purging, the performance of the PEMFC stack was almost resumed when it experienced again the same subzero temperature test. These results show that it is necessary to remove the water in PEMFCs to maintain stable performance under subzero temperature and gas purging is proved to be the effective operation.

Effect of exhaust gas recirculation and intake pre-heating on performance and emission characteristics of dual fuel engines at part loads

Achieving simultaneous reduction of NOx,CO and unburned hydrocarbon(UHC) emissions without compromising engine performance at part loads is the current focus of dual fuel engine research.The present work focuses on an experimental investigation conducted on a dual fuel(diesel-natural gas) engine to examine the simultaneous effect of inlet air pre-heating and exhaust gas recirculation(EGR) ratio on performance and emission characteristics at part loads.The use of EGR at high levels seems to be unable to improve the engine performance at part loads.However,it is shown that EGR combined with pre-heating of inlet air can slightly increase thermal efficiency,resulting in reduced levels of both unburned hydrocarbon and NOx emissions.CO and UHC emissions are reduced by 24% and 31%,respectively,The NOx emissions decrease by 21% because of the lower combustion temperature due to the much inert gas brought by EGR and decreased oxygen concentration in the cylinder.

Key CO_(2)capture technology of pure oxygen exhaust gas combustion for syngas-fueled high-temperature fuel cells

Integrated gasification fuel cells(IGFCs)integrating high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology with CO_(2)capture processes represents highly-efficient power systems with negligible CO_(2)emissions.Flame burning with pure oxygen is an ideal method for fuel cell exhaust gas treatment,and this report describes experimental and numerical studies regarding an oxy-combustor for treating the exhaust gas of a 10 kW IGFC system anode.The applied simulation method was verified based on experiments,and the key performance indices of the combustor were studied under various conditions.It was determined that 315 K was the ideal condensation temperature to obtain flame stability.Under these pure oxygen flame burning conditions,CO was almost completely converted,and the dry mole fraction of CO_(2)after burning was C 0.958 when there was up to 5%excess O_(2).Overall,5%excess O_(2)was recommended to maximize CO_(2)capture and promote other environmental considerations.Additionally,the optimal tangential fuel jet angle to control the liner temperature was approximately 25°.The total fuel utilization had to be high enough to maintain the oxygen flame temperature of the anode exhaust gas below 1800 K to ensure that the system was environmentally friendly.The results presented herein have great value for designing IGFCs coupled with CO_(2)capture systems.

Effect of temperature fluctuation on hydrate-based CO_2 separation from fuel gas

A new method of temperature fluctuation is proposed to promote the process of hydrate-based CO2 separation from fuel gas in this work according to the dual nature of CO2 solubility in hydrate forming and non-hydrate forming regions [1].The temperature fluctuation operated in the process of hydrate formation improves the formation of gas hydrate observably.The amount of the gas consumed with temperature fluctuation is approximately 35% more than that without temperature fluctuation.It is found that only the temperature fluctuation operated in the period of forming hydrate leads to a good effect on CO2 separation.Meanwhile,with the proceeding of hydrate formation,the effect of temperature fluctuation on the gas hydrate gradually reduces,and little effect is left in the completion term.The CO2 separation efficiencies in the separation processes with the effective temperature fluctuations are improved remarkably.

Injection Strategy in Natural Gas–Diesel Dual-Fuel Premixed Charge Compression Ignition Combustion under Low Load Conditions

Dual-fuel premixed charge compression ignition (DF-PCCI) combustion has been proven to be a viable alternative to conventional diesel combustion in heavy-duty compression ignition engines due to its low nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. When natural gas (NG) is applied to a DF-PCCI engine, its low reactivity reduces the maximum pressure rise rate under high loads. However, the NG–diesel DF-PCCI engine suffers from low combustion efficiency under low loads. In this study, an injection strategy of fuel supply (NG and diesel) in a DF-PCCI engine was investigated in order to reduce both the fuel consumption and hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions under low load conditions. A variation in the NG substitution and diesel start of energizing (SOE) was found to effectively control the formation of the fuel–air mixture. A double injection strategy of diesel was implemented to adjust the local reactivity of the mixture. Retardation of the diesel pilot SOE and a low fraction of the diesel pilot injection quantity were favorable for reducing the combustion loss. The introduction of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) improved the fuel economy and reduced the NOx and PM emissions below Euro VI regulations by retarding the combustion phasing. The combination of an NG substitution of 40%, the double injection strategy of diesel, and a moderate EGR rate effectively improved the combustion efficiency and indicated efficiency, and reduced the HC and CO emissions under low load conditions.

Experiments on Ni/γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst for improving lower heating value of biomass gasification fuel gas via methanation

Ni-based catalysts supported by γ-Al_2O_3 were prepared for improving the lower heating value( LHV) of biomass gasification fuel gas through methanation. Prior to the performance tests, the physico-chemical properties of the catalyst samples were characterized by N_2 isothermal adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction( XRD) and a scanning electron microscope( SEM). Afterwards, a series of experiments were carried out to investigate the catalytic performance and the results showthat catalysts with 15% and20% Ni loadings have better methanation catalytic effect than those with 5% and 10% Ni loadings in terms of elevating the LHV of biomass gasification fuel gas. M oreover, controllable influential factors such as the reaction temperature, the H_2/CO ratio and the water content occupy an important position in the methanation of biomass gasification fuel gas. 15 Ni/γ-Al_2O_3 and 20 Ni/γ-Al_2O_3 catalysts have a higher CO conversion and CH_4 selectivity at 350 ℃ and the LHV of biomass gasification fuel gas can be largely increased by 34. 3 % at 350 ℃. Higher H_2/CO ratio and a lower water content are more beneficial for improving the LHV of biomass gasification fuel gas when considering the combination of both CO conversion and CH_4 selectivity. This is due to the fact that a higher H_2/CO ratio and lower water content can increase the extent of the methanation reaction.

Electromotive Force for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Using Biomass Produced Gas as Fuel

The electromotive force （e.m.f.） of solid oxide fuel cells using biomass produced gas （BPG） as the fuels is calculated at 700-1,200 K using an in-house computer program, based on thermodynamic equilibrium analysis. Tour program also predicts the concentration of oxygen in the fuel chamber as well as the concentration of equilibrium species such as H2, CO, CO2 and CH4. Compared with using hydrogen as a fuel, the e.m.f. for cells using BPG as the fuels is relative low and strongly influenced by carbon deposition. To remove carbon deposition, the optimum amount of H2O to add is determined at various operating temperatures. Further the e.m.f, for cells based on yttria stabilized zirconia and doped ceria as electrolytes are compared. The study reveals that when using BPG as fuel, the depression of e.m.f, for a SOFC using doped ceria as electrolyte is relatively small when compared with that using Yttria stabilized zirconia.

Combustion Characteristics of Solid Refuse Fuels from Different Waste Sources

In the production(as co-fuel or alone)of solid refuse fuel(SRF),knowledge about the characteristics of the raw materials is required for an ecofriendly and effective combustion process.SRFs are commonly produced by drying combustible waste and removing incombustible matter,resulting in a higher combustibility as compared to the original waste.However,the characteristics of SRFs may highly vary depending on where and from which materials they were produced.Thus,we investigated the characteristics of various SRFs using thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).As a TGA sample is commonly small,on the scale of milligrams,and,unlike homogeneous fuels,SRFs are heterogeneous,individual SRF samples analysed with this method may not represent the bulk material,and sample properties may vary significantly between batches.Therefore,we further performed combustion experiments using a small-scale combustor and sample sizes from 1 to 10 g.To optimise SRF combustor design and determine the SRF characteristics,proximate,elemental,heating value,TG,and differential thermogravimetric analyses were conducted,and weight losses and gas concentrations at different temperatures were measured upon combustion.The lower heating values of the three analysed SRFs were 20,976,16,873,and 19,762 kJ/kg,and their Cl contents were 0.89,0.95,and 1.27 wt.%(legal criterion[Cl]<2.0 wt.%).TGA and small combustor experiments showed that complete weight loss was achieved below 500°C.However,CO was detected until 620°C.

Fundamental study on iron ore sintering new process of flue gas recirculation together with using biochar as fuel

It is of great significance for cleaner production to substitute bio-energy for fossil fuels in iron ore sintering. However, with the replacement ratio increasing, the consistency of heat front and flame front is broken, and the thermal utilizing efficiency of fuel is reduced, which results in the decrease of yield and tumble index of sinter. Circulating flue gas to sintering bed as biochar replacing 40% coke, CO in flue gas can be reused so as to increase the thermal utilizing efficiency of fuels, and the consistency of two fronts is recovered for the circulating flue gas containing certain CO2, H2 O and lower O2, which contributes to increasing the maximum temperature, extending the high temperature duration time of sintering bed, and results in improving the output and quality of sinter. In the condition of circulating 40% flue gas, the sintering with biomass fuels is strengthened, and the sintering indexes with biomass fuel replacing 40% coke breeze are comparative to those of using coke breeze completely.

Enhancement of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance Using a Novel Tapered Gas Channel

Based on use of multi-dimensional models,this investigation simulates the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell by varying the channel pattern.In the one-dimensional model,the porosity of the gas diffusion layer is 0.3.The model reveals the water vapor distribution of the fuel cell and demonstrates that the amount of water vapor increases linearly with the reduction reaction adjacent to the gas channel and the gas diffusion layer.Secondly,four novel tapered gas channels are simulated by a two-dimensional model.The model considers the distributions of oxygen,the pressure drop,the amount of water vapor distribution and the polarization curves.The results indicate that as the channel depth decreases,the oxygen in the tapered gas channel can be accel-erated and forced into the gas diffusion layer to improve the cell performance.The three-dimensional model is employed to simulate the phenomenon associated with four novel tapered gas channels.The results also show that the best performance is realized in the least tapered gas channel.Finally,an experimentally determined mechanism is found to be consistent with the results of the simulation.

Fault Tree Analysis of Fire and Explosion Accidents for Dual Fuel （Diesel/Natural Gas） Ship Engine Rooms

In recent years, China's increased interest in environmental protection has led to a promotion of energy-efficient dual fuel(diesel/natural gas) ships in Chinese inland rivers. A natural gas as ship fuel may pose dangers of fire and explosion if a gas leak occurs. If explosions or fires occur in the engine rooms of a ship, heavy damage and losses will be incurred. In this paper, a fault tree model is presented that considers both fires and explosions in a dual fuel ship; in this model, dual fuel engine rooms are the top events. All the basic events along with the minimum cut sets are obtained through the analysis.The primary factors that affect accidents involving fires and explosions are determined by calculating the degree of structure importance of the basic events.According to these results, corresponding measures are proposed to ensure and improve the safety and reliability of Chinese inland dual fuel ships.

A 10kW-scale Distributed Power Plant of Natural Gas-Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

A 10 kW-scale natural gas fueled proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) distributed power plant is presented in this paper,which is designed for cogeneration of power and heat. With homemade catalysts for CO removal in a two-stage methanation process and integrated reactor in the fuel processing system,the reformed fuel with CO molar fraction less than 10-5 is obtained for the fuel cell stack. Based on Matlab/Simulink/Stateflow and xPC Target platform,a rapid control prototype(RCP) is developed for real-time condition management,signal tracking and parameter tuning,data storing,and man-machine interaction. In a typical running with 4.3 kW stack power,the hydrogen production efficiency,gross power generation efficiency and heat recovery efficiency approach to 76%,41% and 50%,respectively. The peak stack power reaches 7.3 kW. Though there is still considerable dis-tance to long-term operation at 10 kW-scale net power generation,it is a milestone for the PEMFC-based stationary application in China.

Research on High Pressure Gas Injection As a Method of Fueling, Disruption Mitigation and Plasma Termination for Future Tokamak Reactors

High-pressure gas injection has proved to be an effective disruption mitigation tech- nique in DIII-D tokamak experiments. If the method can be applied in future tokamak reactors not only for disruption mitigation but also for plasma termination and fueling, it will have an attractive advantage over the pellet and liquid injection from the viewpoint of economy and engineering design. In order to investigate the feasibility of this option, a study has been carried out with relevant parameters for conveying tubes of different geometrical sizes and for different gases. These parameters include pressure drop, lagger time after the valve＇s opening, gas diffusion in an ultra-high vacuum condition, and particle number contour.

Effects of Freeze/Thaw Cycles and Gas Purging Method on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

At subzero temperature, the startup capability and performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell PEMFC deteriorates markedly. The object of this work is to study the degradation mechanism of key compo- nents of PEMFC—membrane-electrode assembly MEA and seek feasible measures to avoid degradation. The ef- fect of freezethaw cycles on the structure of MEA is investigated based on porosity and SEM measurement. The performance of a single cell was also tested before and after repetitious freezethaw cycles. The experimental results indicated that the performance of a PEMFC decreased along with the total operating time as well as the pore size distribution shifting and micro configuration changing. However, when the redundant water had been removed by gas purging, the performance of the PEMFC stack was almost resumed when it experienced again the same subzero temperature test. These results show that it is necessary to remove the water in PEMFCs to maintain stable per- formance under subzero temperature and gas purging is proved to be the effective operation.

A highly active and stable Sr_(2)Fe_(1.5)Mo(0.5)O_(6)‑δ‑Ce_(0.8)Sm_(0.2)O_(1.95)ceramic fuel electrode for efficient hydrogen production via a steam electrolyzer without safe gas

High temperature steam(H_(2)O)electrolysis via a solid oxide electrolysis cell is an efficient way to produce hydrogen(H_(2))because of its high energy conversion efficiency as well as simple and green process,especially when the electrolysis process is combined with integrated gasification fuel cell technology or derived by renewable energy.However,about 60%-70%of the electricity input is consumed to overcome the large oxygen potential gradient but not for electrolysis to split H_(2)O to produce H_(2)due to the addition of safe gas such as H_(2)in the fuel electrode.In this work,Sr_(2)Fe_(1.5)Mo_(0.5)O_(6)-δ-Ce_(0.8)Sm_(0.2)O_(1.95)(SFM-SDC)ceramic composite material has been developed as fuel electrode to avoid the use of safe gas,and the open circuit voltage(OCV)has been effectively lowered from 1030 to 78 mV when the feeding gas in the fuel electrode is shifted from 3%H_(2)O-97%H_(2)to 3%H_(2)O-97%N_(2),reasonably resulting in a significantly increased electrolysis efficiency.In addition,it is also demonstrated that the electrolysis current density is greatly enhanced by increasing the humidity in the fuel electrode and the working temperature.A considerable electrolysis current density of−0.54 A/cm^(2)is obtained at 800°C and 0.4 V for the symmetrical electrolyzer by exposing SFM-SDC fuel electrode to 23%H_(2)O-77%N_(2),and durability test at 800°C for 35 h demonstrates a relatively stable electrochemical performance for steam electrolysis under the same operation condition without safe gas and a constant electrolysis current density of−0.060 A/cm2.Our findings achieved in this work indicate that SFM-SDC is a highly promising fuel electrode for steam electrolysis.

Characteristics of a coherent jet enshrouded in a supersonic fuel gas

Based on a current coherent jet,this study proposes a supersonic combustion(SC)coherent jet in which the main oxygen jet is surrounded by a supersonic fuel gas.The characteristics of the proposed coherent jet are analyzed using experimental methods and numerical simulations in the high-temperature environment of electric arc furnace(EAF)steelmaking.The SC coherent jet achieved stable combustion in the EAF steelmaking environment.The simulated combustion temperature of the supersonic shrouding methane gas was 2930 K,slightly below the theoretical combustion temperature of methane–oxygen gas.The high speed and temperature of the supersonic flame effectively weakened the interaction between the main oxygen jet and the external ambient gas,inhibiting the radial expansion of the main oxygen jet and maintaining its high speed and low turbulence over a long distance.These features improved the impact capacity of the coherent jet and strengthened the stirring intensity in the EAF bath.