Demonstration of a small‐scale power generator using supercritical CO_(2)

The supercritical CO_(2)(sCO_(2))power cycle could improve efficiencies for a wide range of thermal power plants.The sCO_(2)turbine generator plays an important role in the sCO_(2)power cycle by directly converting thermal energy into mechanical work and electric power.The operation of the generator encounters challenges,including high temperature,high pressure,high rotational speed,and other engineering problems,such as leakage.Experimental studies of sCO_(2)turbines are insufficient because of the significant difficulties in turbine manufacturing and system construction.Unlike most experimental investigations that primarily focus on 100 kW‐or MW‐scale power generation systems,we consider,for the first time,a small‐scale power generator using sCO_(2).A partial admission axial turbine was designed and manufactured with a rated rotational speed of 40,000 rpm,and a CO_(2)transcritical power cycle test loop was constructed to validate the performance of our manufactured generator.A resistant gas was proposed in the constructed turbine expander to solve the leakage issue.Both dynamic and steady performances were investigated.The results indicated that a peak electric power of 11.55 kW was achieved at 29,369 rpm.The maximum total efficiency of the turbo‐generator was 58.98%,which was affected by both the turbine rotational speed and pressure ratio,according to the proposed performance map.

Multi-objective optimization and evaluation of supercritical CO_(2) Brayton cycle for nuclear power generation

The supercritical CO_(2) Brayton cycle is considered a promising energy conversion system for Generation IV reactors for its simple layout,compact structure,and high cycle efficiency.Mathematical models of four Brayton cycle layouts are developed in this study for different reactors to reduce the cost and increase the thermohydraulic performance of nuclear power generation to promote the commercialization of nuclear energy.Parametric analysis,multi-objective optimizations,and four decision-making methods are applied to obtain each Brayton scheme’s optimal thermohydraulic and economic indexes.Results show that for the same design thermal power scale of reactors,the higher the core’s exit temperature,the better the Brayton cycle’s thermo-economic performance.Among the four-cycle layouts,the recompression cycle(RC)has the best overall performance,followed by the simple recuperation cycle(SR)and the intercooling cycle(IC),and the worst is the reheating cycle(RH).However,RH has the lowest total cost of investment(C_(tot))of$1619.85 million,and IC has the lowest levelized cost of energy(LCOE)of 0.012$/(kWh).The nuclear Brayton cycle system’s overall performance has been improved due to optimization.The performance of the molten salt reactor combined with the intercooling cycle(MSR-IC)scheme has the greatest improvement,with the net output power(W_(net)),thermal efficiencyη_(t),and exergy efficiency(η_(e))improved by 8.58%,8.58%,and 11.21%,respectively.The performance of the lead-cooled fast reactor combined with the simple recuperation cycle scheme was optimized to increase C_(tot) by 27.78%.In comparison,the internal rate of return(IRR)increased by only 7.8%,which is not friendly to investors with limited funds.For the nuclear Brayton cycle,the molten salt reactor combined with the recompression cycle scheme should receive priority,and the gas-cooled fast reactor combined with the reheating cycle scheme should be considered carefully.

Adsorption of methane onto mudstones under supercritical conditions: Mechanisms, physical properties and thermodynamic parameters

Since the mechanisms of methane-mudstone interactions are important for estimating shale gas reserves,methane adsorption under supercritical conditions of 30 MPa pressure and 303.15,333.15,363.15 K temperatures was studied to measure the excess methane adsorption in two mudstone samples from Yanchang Formation,Ordos Basin.Excess adsorption features inflection points where the amount of adsorbed gas changes from increasing to decreasing concentrations.Three methods(fixed,slope,and freely fitted density)were applied to calculate the adsorbed-phase density(rad),which was then used to fit the measured excess adsorption.Two criteria,the goodness-of-fit and whether the fitting can obtain reasonable absolute adsorption,were applied to determine the most accurate model.Results indicated that the supercritical Dubinin-Radushkevich(SDR)model with freely fitted rad was the most reasonable model.The volume of adsorbed methane at 363.15 K is close to the micropore(d<2 nm)volume of the corresponding mudstone.Considering the actual geological conditions,the adsorbed gas should be predominantly stored in micropores.Thermodynamic parameters reveal that the methane adsorption on mudstone is a physisorption process that is jointly controlled by the heterogeneity of,and interaction forces between the methane molecule and,the rock surface.

Characteristics and mechanisms of supercritical CO_(2) flooding under different factors in low-permeability reservoirs

In recent years,supercritical CO_(2)flooding has become an effective method for developing lowpermeability reservoirs.In supercritical CO_(2)flooding different factors influence the mechanism of its displacement process for oil recovery.Asynchronous injection-production modes can use supercritical CO_(2)to enhance oil recovery but may also worsen the injection capacity.Cores with high permeability have higher oil recovery rates and better injection capacity,however,gas channeling occurs.Supercritical CO_(2)flooding has a higher oil recovery at high pressure levels,which delays the occurrence of gas channeling.Conversely,gas injection has lower displacement efficiency but better injection capacity at the high water cut stage.This study analyzes the displacement characteristics of supercritical CO_(2)flooding with a series of experiments under different injection and production parameters.Experimental results show that the gas breakthrough stage has the fastest oil production and the supercritical CO_(2)injection capacity variation tendency is closely related to the gas-oil ratio.Further experiments show that higher injection rates represent significant ultimate oil recovery and injection index,providing a good reference for developing low-permeability reservoirs.

Fundamental study and utilization on supercritical CO_(2) fracturing developing unconventional resources:Current status,challenge and future perspectives

Under the fact that considerable explo ration and production of unconventional re sources and wo rsening global climate,reducing carbon emission and rationally utilizing carbon resources have been drawn increasing attention.Supercritical CO_(2)(SC-CO_(2)) has been proposed as anhydrous fracturing fluid to develop unconventional reservoirs,since its advantages of reducing water consumption,reservoir contamination etc.Well understanding of SC-CO_(2)fracturing mechanism and key influencing factors will exert significant impact on the application of this technology in the field.In this paper,the fundamental studies on SC-CO_(2)fracturing from the aspects of laboratory experiment and simulation are reviewed.The fracturing experimental setups,fracture monitoring and characterizing methods,unconventional formation categories,numerical simulation approaches,fracturing mechanism and field application etc.,are analyzed.The fundamental study results indicate that compared with conventional hydraulic fracturing,SC-CO_(2)fracturing can reduce fracture initiation pressure and easily induce complex fracture networks with multiple branches.The field test further verifies the application prospect and the possibility of carbon storage.However,due to the limitation of reservoir complexity and attributes of SC-CO_(2),massive challenges will be encountered in SC-CO_(2)fracturing.According to the current research status,the limitations in basic research and field application are summarized,and the future development direction of this technology and relevant suggestions are proposed.

MICROPOROUS PVDF-HFP-BASED POLYMER MEMBRANES FORMED FROM SUPERCRITICAL CO_2 INDUCED PHASE SEPARATION

Microporous poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)(PVDF-HFP)membranes following supercritical CO_2 induced phase separation process were prepared using four solvents.The solid electrolytes of PVDF-HFP were formed by microporous PVDF-HFP membranes filled and swollen by a liquid electrolyte.The effect of the solvents on the morphology and structure,electrolyte absorptions and lithium ionic conductivity of the activated membranes were investigated.It was approved that all the membrane had the similar...

Study on Purifying Technology of Andrographolide by Supercritical CO_(2) Secondary Gradient Crystallization

The effects of the secondary gradient crystallizing pressure, temperature and time on the purity and crystallization ratio of andrographolide were investigated via single factor experiments. The shape of crystal was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The purity of andrographolide was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was found that the optimized parameters were pressure 14 MPa, temperature 55℃, time 60 min, and CO2 flow rate 15 L min-1, under these conditions the particle of andrographolide was much smaller, the crystal of andrographolide was distributed in floccule on crystal board,with the purity of andrographolide 92.5%, the crystallization ratio 48.9%.

Effect of Co-solvent and Pressure on the Thermal Decomposition of 2,2′Azobis-(isobutyronitrile) in Supercritical CO_2

The thermal decomposition of 2, 2'-azobis (isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) in supercritical CO2 with cosolvent methanol or cyclohexane has been studied by using UV/Vis spectroscopic method at 335.15 K and at 12.0 MPa and 14.0 MPa. Both of the cosolvents can accelerate the decomposition rate, and the effect of methanol is more significant than that of the cyclohexane.

Effect of proppant pumping schedule on the proppant placement for supercritical CO_(2) fracturing

Supercritical CO_(2)fracturing is a potential waterless fracturing technique which shows great merits in eliminating reservoir damage,improving shale gas recovery and storing CO_(2)underground.Deep insight into the proppant-transport behavior of CO_(2)is required to better apply this technique in the engineering field.In the present paper,we adopted a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method(CFD-DEM)approach to simulate the proppant transport in a fracking fracture with multiple perforation tunnels.Previous experiments were first simulated to benchmark the CFD-EDM approach,and then various pumping schedules and injection parameters(injection location,multi-concentration injection order,multi-density injection order and injection temperature)were investigated to determine the placement characteristics of proppant.Results indicate that the swirling vortex below the injection tunnels dominates the proppant diffusion in the fracture.The velocity of fluid flow across the proppant bank surface in multi-concentration injection shows a positive correlation with the proppant concentration.Injecting high-density proppant first can promote the transportation of low-density proppant injected later in the fracture to a certain extent.Decreasing the initial injection temperature of supercritical CO_(2)slurry helps enhance the particle-driving effect of fluid and improve the performance of supercritical CO_(2)in carrying proppant.

Effect of Co-solvent on the Palladium Catalyzed Alkoxycarbonylation of Allyl Bromide in Supercritical CO_2

The effect of cosolvent on the palladium catalyst which catalyze alkoxycarbonylation of allyl bromide in supercritical CO2 has been investigated. It was found that a small amount of cosolvent such as ethanol, CH2Cl2 and cyclohexane can affect both reaction yields and selectivities largely. Ethanol was the most favorable cosolvent for increasing the total yield of unsaturated esters and the selectivity of 3-butenoic acid ester. Using cosolvent ethanol and cocatalyst FeCl2 Simultaneously can lead to better reaction results.

Preparation of Semi-interpenetrating Polymer Network of Silicon Rubber and Poly(methyl methylacrylate) Using Supercritical CO_2

The heterogeneous free-radical polymerization of methyl methylacrylate (MMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) as cross-linker within supercritical carbon dioxide-swollen silicon rubber (SR) has been studied as an approach to preparing semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) of SR and poly(methyl methylacrylate) (PMMA). The SR/PMMA semi-IPNs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA).

Cosolvent Effect on the Tautomerism of Ethyl Acetoacetate in Supercritical CO_2

The effect of cosolvent cyclohexane, chloroform, and acetonitrile on the keto-enol tautomeric equilibrium of ethyl acetoacetate in supercritical CO2 was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy over the pressure range from 76 to 110 bar at 308.15 K. It was found that the equilibrium constant decreases with increasing polarity of the cosolvents.

Polymerization of Styrene in Supercritical CO_2-swollenPoly(ethylene terephthlate)

Polystyrene/Poly(ethylene terephthlate) (PET) blends have been prepared by theheterogeneous free-radical polymerization of styrene within supercritical carbon dioxide-swollenPET substrates. Composition of the blends and the average molecular weight of polystyrene inthe blends can be controlled by equilibration time and reaction condition.

Extraction of Heavy Metals from Solid Material by Supercritical CO_2

Extraction of heavy metal ions from solid matrix by means of an incorporation of chelating agents with supercritical carbon dioxide（scCO2） was investigated experimentally. Four commercially available chelating agents, diethylammonium diethyldithiocarbamate（Et2NH2DDC）, trifluoroacetylacetone（TFA）, hexafluoroacetylacetone（HFA） and thenoyltrifluoroacetone（TTA） were tested. The extraction experiments were conducted at 50 °C and 1.39×107― 2.80×107 Pa. According to the experimental results, for the extraction of Cu2＋, all the chelating agents investigated here are effective. For other metal ions, such as Pb2＋, Ni2＋ and Cd2＋, Et2NH2DDC exhibited a better extraction result, while other chelating agents were less effective. This investigation is expected to provide a tentative evaluation on the scCO2-based metal extraction from solid media.

Oxidation of n-Butanol and 2-Pentanol with Molecular Oxygen in Supercritical CO2

Oxidation of n-butanol and 2-pentanol using molecular oxygen in supercritical (SC) CO2 with and without co-solvent is investigated. The results showed that the reaction selectivity is high when the reaction is carried out in SC CO2. It has been observed that co-solvent affects conversion and selectivity of the reaction considerably.

A supercritical CO_2 fluid technique for the preparation and evaluation of rhBMP-2-loaded PLLA microspheres

Introduction The use of supercritical fluids such as supercritical CO2（scCO2） has provided a ’clean’ and effective alternative to traditional methods of protein delivery systems.Here。

SOLID PHASE TRANSITION OF SYNDIOTACTIC POLYSTYRENE IN SUPERCRITICAL CO_2

Solid phase transition of the a form crystals to the 3 form crystals in syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) samples has occurred in supercritical CO2. This transformation is different from those detected under other conditions. The effects of some factors (e.g. time, temperature, and pressure) on the solid phase transformation of sPS in supercritical CO2 were analyzed in detail. Experimental results show that longer time, higher temperature or higher pressure favors the transformation of the a form crystals to the beta form crystals.

Pressure Effect on the Local Composition SurroundingEthyl Acetoacetate in Supercritical CO_2 - Ethanol Mixture

The keto-enol tautomerization of ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) in supercritical CO2-ethanol mixture has been investigated at 308.15 K and at different pressures using UV-Visspectroscopy. A method for calculating the local composition about EAA has been developed based on the relationship between the equilibrium constant and dielectric property of the mixing solvent. The results indicate that the local concentration of ethanol surrounding EAA is much higher than that in the bulk.

Experimental Study on Performance of Supercritical CO_2 Heat Exchanger with Four Different Inner Tubes

The experiment was conducted to investigate the heat transfer performance of supercritical CO_2 in a casing heat exchanger by comparing their heat transfer,entropy production unit number,non-dimensional entropy production rate and field synergy factor.The results show that both heat transfer and entropy production unit number in four tubes decrease with water temperature increasing.Heat transfer and entropy production unit number in multiple tubes( i. e.,triple straight tube and double helix tube) is higher than their single counterparts; the non-dimensional entropy production rate increases with water temperature. Non-dimensional entropy production rate of triple straight tube and double helix tube is far below the single tube. Field synergy factor of double helix tube is much higher than that of the triple straight tube under the same condition. Further experiment was carried out in double helix tube,under various CO_2 pressure and inlet water temperature,the results are analyzed and reported in this paper.

Optimization of Supercritical CO_(2) Extraction of Curcumin by Response Surface Methodology and Its Antioxidant Activity

[Objectives]This study was conducted to establish a mathematical model for supercritical CO_(2) extraction of curcumin.[Methods]With ginger as the experimental raw material,a quadratic polynomial mathematical model of the yield of curcumin extracted by supercritical CO_(2) was established by response surface methodology(RSM).The validity of the mathematical model was verified,and the effects of extraction temperature(60-70℃),pressure(30-50 MPa)and time(70-90 min)on curcumin yield were analyzed.[Results]According to the model,the process parameters were optimized.Taking curcumin yield as the index,the optimal process conditions for supercritical CO_(2) extraction obtained were:temperature 62.6℃,pressure 37.7 MPa,time 82.9 min,under which the yield of curcumin was as high as 7.34%.Under the optimal extraction conditions,curcumin had a certain reducing capacity,and showed strong scavenging capacities to·OH,O_(2)^(-)·and DPPH,and its IC_(50) values were 9.40,9.03 and 8.04 mg/ml,respectively.Therefore,it is feasible to extract curcumin from ginger using supercritical CO_(2).[Conclusions]This study provides a theoretical basis for the development and utilization of curcumin.