Utilization of compressed natural gas for the production of carbon nanotubes

The present work aims at utilizing compressed natural gas （CNG） as carbon source for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes （CNTs） over CoO-MoO/Al2O3 catalyst via catalytic chemical vapor deposition （CCVD） method. The as-produced carbonaceous product was characterized by thermal gravimetric analyzer （TGA）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and Raman spectroscopy. The experimental finding shows that CNTs were successfully produced from CNG while carbon nanofibers （CNFs） were formed as the side products. In addition, the catalytic activity and lifetime were found sustained and prolonged, as compared with using high purity methane as carbon source. The present study suggests an alternative route which can effectively produce CNTs and CNFs using low cost CNG.

A novel correlation approach for prediction of natural gas compressibility factor

Gas compressibility factor （z-Factor） is one of the most important parameters in upstream and downstream calculations of petroleum industries.The importance of z-Factor cannot be overemphasized in oil and gas engineering calculations.The experimental measurements,Equations of State （EoS） and empirical correlations are the most common sources of z-Factor calculations.There are more than twenty correlations available with two variables for calculating the z-Factor from fitting in an EoS or just through fitting techniques.However,these correlations are too complex,which require initial value and more complicated and longer computations or have magnitude error.The purpose of this study is to develop a new accurate correlation to rapidly estimate z-Factor.Result of this correlation is compared with large scale of database and experimental data also.Proposed correlation has 1.660 of Absolute Percent Relative Error （EABS） versus Standing and Katz chart and has also 3.221 of EABS versus experimental data.The output of this correlation can be directly assumed or be used as an initial value of other implicit correlations.This correlation is valid for gas coefficient of isothermal compressibility （cg） calculations also.

Rapidly Estimating Natural Gas Compressibility Factor

Natural gases containing sour components exhibit different gas compressibility factor （Z） behavior than do sweet gases. Therefore, a new accurate method should be developed to account for these differences. Several methods are available today for calculating the Z-factor from an equation of state. However, these equations are more complex than the foregoing correlations, involving a large number of parameters, which require more complicated and longer computations. The aim of this study is to develop a simplified calculation method for a rapid estimating Z-factor for sour natural gases containing as much as 90% total acid gas. In this article, two new correlations are first presented for calculating the pseudo- critical pressure and temperature of the gas mixture as a function of the gas specific gravity. Then, a simple correlation on the basis of the standard gas compressibility factor chart is introduced for a quick estimation of sweet gases＇ compressibility factor as a function of reduced pressure and temperature. Finally, a new corrective term related to the mole fractions of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide is developed.

An efficient correlation for calculating compressibility factor of natural gases

Compressibility factor （z-factor） values of natural gases are necessary in most petroleum engineering calculations.Necessity arises when there are few available experimental data for the required composition,pressure and temperature conditions.One of the most common methods of calculating z-factor values is empirical correlation.Firstly,a new correlation based on the famous Standing-Katz （S-K） Chart is presented to predict z-factor values.The advantage of this correlation is that it is explicit in z and thus does not require an iterative solution as is required by other methods.Secondly,the comparison between new one and other correlations is carried out and the results indicate the superiority of the new correlation over the other correlations used to calculate z-factor.

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.

Experimental determination and prediction of the compressibility factor of high CO_2 content natural gas with and without water vapor

In order to study the effect of different CO2 contents on gas compressibility factor（Z-factor）,the JEFRI-PVT apparatus has been used to measure the Z-factor of dry natural gas with CO2 content range from 10.74 to 70.42 mol%at the temperature range from 301.2 to 407.3 K and pressure range from 7 to 44 MPa.The results show that Z-factor decreases with increasing CO2 content in natural gas at constant temperature and increases with increasing temperature for natural gas with the same CO2 content.In addition,the Z-factor of water-saturated natural gas with high CO2 content has been measured.A comparison of the Z-factor between natural gas with and without saturated water vapor indicates that the former shows a higher Z-factor than the latter.Furthermore,Peng-Robinson,Hall-Yarborough,and Soave-Benedict-Webb- Rubin equations of state（EoS）are used for the calculation of Z-factor of high CO2 content natural gas with and without water vapor.The optimal binary interaction parameters（BIP）for PR EoS are presented.The measured Z-factor is compared with the calculated Z-factor based on three models,which shows that PR EoS combined with van der Waals mixing rule for gas without water and Huron-Vidal mixing rule for water-saturated gas,are in good agreement with the experimental data.

An accurate empirical correlation for predicting natural gas compressibility factors

The compressibility factor of natural gas is an important parameter in many gas and petroleum engineering calculations. This study presents a new empirical model for quick calculation of natural gas compressibility factors. The model was derived from 5844 experimental data of compressibility factors for a range of pseudo reduced pressures from 0.01 to 15 and pseudo reduced temperatures from 1 to 3. The accuracy of the new empirical correlation has been compared with commonly used existing methods. The comparison indicates the superiority of the new empirical model over the other methods used to calculate compressibility factor of natural gas with average absolute relative deviation percent （AARD%） of 0.6535.

Prediction of Volumetric Properties(p-v-T)of Natural Gas Mixtures Using Extended Tao-Mason Equation of State

A statistical-mechanical-based equation of state(EOS)for pure substances,the Tao-Mason equation of state,is successfully extended to prediction of the(p-v-T)properties of fourteen natural gas mixtures at temperatures from 225 K to 483 K and pressures up to 60.5 MPa.This work shows that the Tao-Mason equation of state for multicomponent natural gas is predictable with minimal input information,namely critical temperature,critical pressure,and the Pitzer acentric factor.The calculated results agree well with the experimental data.From a total of 963 data of density and 330 data of compressibility factor for natural gases examined in this work,the average absolute deviations(AAD)are 1.704%and 1.344%,respectively.The present EOS is further assessed through the comparisons with Peng-Robinson(PR)equation of state.For the all of mixtures Tao-Mason(TM)EOS outperforms the PR EOS.

Performance,combustion,and emission characteristics of on a diesel engine fuelled with hydrogen compressed natural gas and Kusum seed biodiesel

Renewable fuels have many advantages over fossil fuels because they are biodegradable and sustainable,and help mitigate social and environmental problems.The objective of the present study is to evaluate the performance,combustion,and emission characteristics of a compression–ignition engine using hydrogen compressed natural gas(HCNG)-enriched Kusum seed biodiesel blend(KSOBD20).The flow rate of HCNG was set at 5 L/min,10 L/min,and 15 L/min,and the injection pressure was varied in the range of 180 bar to 240 bar.Brake thermal efficiency(BTE)and brake-specific fuel consumption(BSFC)were improved when HCNG was added to the KSOBD20.Combustion characteristics,namely,cylinder pressure(CP)and net heat release rate(NHRR),were also improved.Emissions of carbon monoxide(CO),hydrocarbons(HC),and smoke were also reduced,with the exception of nitrogen oxides(NO_(x)).The higher injection pressure(240 bar)had a positive effect on the operating characteristics.At an injection pressure of 240 bar,for KSOB20+15 L/min HCNG,the highest BTE and the lowest BSFC were found to be 32.09%and 0.227 kg/kWh,respectively.Also,the CP and NHRR were 69.34 bar and 66.04 J/°.CO,HC,and smoke levels were finally reduced to 0.013%,47×10^(-6)and 9%,respectively,with NO_(x)levels at 1623×10^(-6).For optimum results in terms of engine characteristics,the fuel combination KSOBD20+15 L/min HCNG at FIP 240 bar is recommended.

Use of Compressive Reactor for Associated Petroleum Gas Processing

The possibility of using of a pair of compression piston - cylinder with the unique performance features for the conversion of hydrocarbons are discusses. The experimental facility enables working in the pressure range that would be unattainable in diesel engines. The necessary degree of compression is managed and maintained by the computer system with a feedback.

Methane Concentration Influence on Combustion in a Rapid Compression Machine under DFICE Relevant Conditions

In this experimental work,an optically accessible rapid compression machine is used to study the ignition and combustion process under engine relevant operation conditions for five different air-natural gas equivalence ratios(λ)ignited with either 12.2 mg or 6.7 mg of pilot diesel injected at 1,600 bar.Initial temperature of the ambient mixture,walls and injector was 333 K.Additionally,for the short(6.7 mg)diesel injection,the variation in the ID(ignition delay)for two higher ambient temperatures(343 K and 353 K)was measured.Pressure and piston displacement are recorded while two high-speed cameras simultaneously capture signals in the visible range spectrum and at 305 nm wavelength for OH^(*)chemiluminescence respectively.ID is measured both from OH^(*)and pressure rise.From the recorded data,the heat release ratio is estimated and compared with the visual signals.This gives an insight of the temporal and spatial evolution of the flame,as well as a qualitative perception of the transition from spray ignition into a premixed flame in the ambient fuel-air mixture.It was found that increasing the methane concertation delays the ignition,reduces the natural flame luminosity and enhances the OH^(*)chemiluminescence signal.

Gaseous emissions from compressed natural gas buses in urban road and highway tests in China

The natural gas vehicle market is rapidly developing throughout the world, and the majority of such vehicles operate on compressed natural gas （CNG）. However, most studies on the emission characteristics of CNG vehicles rely on laboratory chassis dynamometer measurements, which do not accurately represent actual road driving conditions. To further investigate the emission characteristics of CNG vehicles, two CNG city buses and two CNG coaches were tested on public urban roads and highway sections. Our results show that when speeds of 0-10 km/hr were increased to 10-20 km/hr, the CO2, CO, nitrogen oxide （NOx）, and total hydrocarbon （THC） emission factors decreased by （71.6 ± 4.3）%, （65.6 ± 9.5）%, （64.9± 9.2）% and （67.8 ± 0.3）%, respectively. In this study, The Beijing city buses with stricter emission standards （Euro IV） did not have lower emission factors than the Chongqing coaches with Euro II emission standards. Both the higher emission factors at 0-10 km/hr speeds and the higher percentage of driving in the low-speed regime during the entire road cycle may have contributed to the higher CO2 and CO emission factors of these city buses. Additionally, compared with the emission factors produced in the urban road tests, the CO emission factors of the CNG buses in highway tests decreased the most （by 83.2%）, followed by the THC emission factors, which decreased by 67.1%.

Experimental Study on Consolidation Properties of Hydrate-Bearing Fine-Grained Sediments Collected from the Shenhu Area of the Northern South China Sea

Mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing fine-grained sediments are crucial to effectively mitigate environmental risks caused by artificial and natural decomposition of natural gas hydrates,and the decomposition can induce laterally confined deformation.To explore the effect of natural gas hydrates on laterally confined compression properties,consolidation tests are conducted on remolded hydrate-free and hydrate-bearing samples by using natural fine-grained sediments collected from the northern South China Sea as the host sediments,and empirical equations are developed based on the analyses of consolidation characteristics.The results show that vertical loading induces a reduction in void ratio,and the reduction increases with decreasing hydrate saturation when samples are subjected to the same vertical stress change.The compression index of samples is about 0.53 whether there is hydrate or not,but the yield stress of samples increases sharply with increasing hydrate saturation once beyond the critical value.The coefficient of volume compression and the coefficient of consolidation of hydrate-bearing samples both increase firstly and then decrease to a relative stable level with increasing vertical stress,and the transition occurs at 200 kPa.The average consolidation degree with elapsed time increases rapidly under low vertical stresses,slowly under median vertical stresses,and under high vertical stresses,the consolidation increases a little faster but still slower than those under low vertical stresses.

Catalytic performance of a Pt-Rh/CeO_2-ZrO_2-La_2O_3-Nd_2O_3 three-way compress nature gas catalyst prepared by a modified double-solvent method

A Pt-Rh three-way catalyst（M-DS） supported on CeO_2-ZrO_2-La_2O_3-Nd_2O_3 and its analogous supported catalyst（DS） were developed via a modified double-solvent method and conventional double-solvent method, respectively. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by N_2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, CO-chemisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction（H_2-TPR）. The preformed Pt nanoparticles generated using ethanol as a reducing agent on M-DS presented enhanced Pt dispersion regardless of aging treatment as confirmed by XRD and CO-chemisorption measurements. The textural properties and reduction ability of M-DS were maintained to a large extent after aging treatment. This result was consistent with those of the N_2 adsorption-desorption and H_2-TPR, respectively. Meanwhile, the XPS analysis demonstrated that higher Pt^0 species and larger Ce^（3＋） concentration could be obtained for M-DS. In the conversion of a simulated compressed natural gas（CNG） vehicle exhaust, both fresh and aged M-DS showed a significant enhancement in the activity and N_2-selectivity. Particularly, the complete conversion temperature（T_（90）） of CH_4 over the aged M-DS catalyst was 65 oC lower than that over the aged catalyst by conventional double-solvent method.

基于三维建模和数值模拟的CNG发动机进气系统分析

发动机进气系统的结构直接影响到发动机各缸的燃烧情况以及热负荷等各项性能,利用CFD技术建立三维流动模型,根据CFD计算经验将进气管内的气体流动视为三维可压缩定常流动。根据进气系统的CAD图利用GAMBIT软件建立三维模型并进行网格划分,最后用FLUENT软件进行三维流动的模拟计算,得到流场内各处流体速度的分布和变化情况,计算出各歧管出口处的流体质量流量,并分析了进气的不均匀性。

EFFECTS OF LIQUID COMPRESSIBILITY ON RADIAL OSCILLATIONS OF GAS BUBBLES IN LIQUIDS

For forced radial oscillations of gas bubbles in liquids, a more rigorous expression of the acoustic damping constant based on Keller＇s equation is developed. Comparison with those in published papers is also made. The expression offered in this paper will improve the predictions of total damping constant in particular for high frequencies and large bubbles, i.e., large ωR0 / c1 （ ω is the frequency of driving sound field, Ro is the equilibrium bubble radius, c1 is the sound speed in the liquid）. Examples in ultrasound imaging and acoustical oceanography are demonstrated.

Integration Possibility of Urban Public Bus System and Cable Car in Maribor

Combination of a bus system and cable car system can reduce the overall congestion of traffic in urban areas, where surrounding hills or mountains hold larger settlements or tourist and recreational infrastructure. With this kind of integration number of individual car trips can be significantly reduced. In this paper, the authors present an analysis of the pilot project implementation, which was held in Maribor. The authors conducted a limited test trial of two means of transportation, combining them into a single operating transport offer for inhabitants and tourists. Combined transport option proved to be a good starting point for reduction of traffic and parking congestion during winter tourist season and beyond. Method used in the research, in order to gain actual potential of integrating two systems and improving public transport offer, was establishment and implementation of the pilot project in Maribor during January 2011. Data was gathered through interviews of two interest groups. The first covered the users who were brought to the foothills of Pohorje＇s ski center by bus. The second covered the cable car users that were traveling to the top of Pohorje. For a limited time period, a trial principle of a single ticket was established, which gave ski-pass holders free bus ride on bus line No. 6. With the aim of reducing CO2, test drives of hybrid bus and compressed natural gas bus were conducted alongside many promotional activities with which users were informed of importance of environmentally friendly mobility options.

Numerical study of CNG engine combustion using CFD with detailed chemical kinetics

A three dimensional model which considers the effects of turbulence and detailed chemi cal kinetics is built to simulate the combustion process of engine fueled by compressed nature gas （CNG）. The model is accomplished by integrating CFD software KIVA3V and chemical kinetic soft- ware CHEMKINII. Meanwhile, a turbulence combustion model which is suitable for describing the reaction rate under the coupled simulation is developed to balance the effects of turbulence and de tailed chemical kinetics. To reduce the computation time, subsequent development of the simulation code is realized, which enables the simulation code to have the function of parallel computing and run on parallel computing facility based on message passing interface （MPI）. The coupled software is used to simulate the combustion process of spark ignition CNG engine. The results show that sim ulation data have a good consistency with experimental results and parallel computing has good effi ciency and accelerate ratio.

Investigation and Simulation of CNG Bus Emissions Based on Real-World Emission Measurement

The regulated gaseous emissions from 2 China-V compressed natural gas(CNG)buses and 2 China-V diesel buses were investigated using a portable emissions measurement system(PEMS)under real road driving conditions.Compared to diesel buses,CNG buses emit less NOx pollutants,but more HC and CO pollutants based on the test results obtained in this paper.In order to evaluate the pollutant emission status of CNG buses in Beijing,an instantaneous emission model as a function of vehicle speed and vehicle specific power(VSP)was developed and validated based on emission data taken from one CNG bus.The input of the instantaneous emission model consists of driving cycle,vehicle parameters,road conditions,ambient conditions and accessory use,all of which were used to calculate the instantaneous vehicle specific power(VSP).For the core model,a group of pollutant emission maps represented as functions of vehicle speed and VSP were used to calculate the second by second emission rates.Finally,the instantaneous emission rates,emission factors and fuel consumption over the selected driving cycle could be obtained as the model outputs.The predicted results for the emissions and fuel consumption of the CNG bus were very close to the tested emission data.The prediction errors for emission factors and fuel consumption varied in the range of-1.6 2%to-5.8%.

Mixture Preparation and Combustion of CNG Low-Pressure Compound Direct Injection Spark-Ignited Engines

A set of compressed natural gas (CNG) multi-point direct injection system of spark-ignited engines and the corresponding measurement and data acquisition systems were developed in this paper. Based on different injection modes, the mixture formation and combustion of CNG low-pressure direct injection (LPDI) engines were studied under varying factors such as air/ fuel ratio, injection timing. Meanwhile, three-dimensional simulations were adopted to explain the mixture formation mechanisms of CNG low-pressure compound direct injection (LPCDI) mode. On the basis of test results and simulation of the mixture homogeneous degree, the conception of injection window was proposed, and the LPCDI mode was proved to be more beneficial to the mixture concentration stratification formation in cylinder under lean-burning conditions, which resulted in effective combustion and stability.