Enhanced properties of stone coal-based composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Phase change materials (PCMs) can be incorporated with low-cost minerals to synthesize composites for thermal energy storage in building applications.Stone coal (SC) after vanadium extraction treatment shows potential for secondary utilization in composite preparation.We prepared SC-based composite PCMs with SC as a matrix,stearic acid (SA) as a PCM,and expanded graphite (EG) as an additive.The combined roasting and acid leaching treatment of raw SC was conducted to understand the effect of vanadium extraction on promoting loading capacity.Results showed that the combined treatment of roasting at 900℃ and leaching increased the SC loading of the composite by 6.2%by improving the specific surface area.The loading capacity and thermal conductivity of the composite obviously increased by 127%and 48.19%,respectively,due to the contribution of 3wt% EG.These data were supported by the high load of 66.69%and thermal conductivity of 0.59 W·m^(-1)·K-1of the designed composite.The obtained composite exhibited a phase change temperature of 52.17℃,melting latent heat of 121.5 J·g^(-1),and good chemical compatibility.The SC-based composite has prospects in building applications exploiting the secondary utilization of minerals.

Collaborative optimization model of renewable energy development considering peak shaving costs of various flexibility resources

China has set carbon emission goals for 2030 and 2060.Renewable energy sources,primarily wind and photovoltaic power,are being considered as the future of power generation.The major limitation to the development of new energies is the limited flexibility of regulations on power system resources,resulting in insufficient consumption capacity.Thus,the flexible resource costs for peak shaving as well as the reasonable coordinated development and operation optimization of regional renewable energy need to be considered.In this study,a renewable energy development layout configuration analysis method was established by considering the composite cost of a power system,comprehensively analyzing the potential of various flexibility regulation resources for the power system and its composite peak shaving cost,and combining renewable energy output characteristics,load forecasting,grid development,and other factors.For the optimization of various flexible resource utilization methods,a peak shaving cost estimation method from the perspective of the entire power system was established by combining the on-grid electricity prices and operating costs of different power sources.A collaborative optimization model of power system operation that aims at the lowest peak shaving cost and satisfies the constraints of operation,safety,and environmental protection was proposed.Finally,a certain area of Gansu Province was used as an example to perform detailed analysis and calculation,which demonstrated that the model has an optimal effect.This model can provide an analysis method for regional renewable energy development layout configurations and system optimization operations.

Electrospinning-hot pressing technique for the fabrication of thermal and electrical storage membranes and its applications

The combination of electrospinning and hot pressing,namely the electrospinning-hot pressing technique(EHPT),is an efficient and convenient method for preparing nanofibrous composite materials with good energy storage performance.The emerging composite membrane prepared by EHPT,which exhibits the advantages of large surface area,controllable morphology,and compact structure,has attracted immense attention.In this paper,the conduction mechanism of composite membranes in thermal and electrical energy storage and the performance enhancement method based on the fabrication process of EHPT are systematically discussed.Moreover,the state-of-the-art applications of composite membranes in these two fields are introduced.In particular,in the field of thermal energy storage,EHPT-prepared membranes have longitudinal and transverse nanofibers,which generate unique thermal conductivity pathways;also,these nanofibers offer enough space for the filling of functional materials.Moreover,EHPT-prepared membranes are beneficial in thermal management systems,building energy conservation,and electrical energy storage,e.g.,improving the electrochemical properties of the separators as well as their mechanical and thermal stability.The application of electrospinning-hot pressing membranes on capacitors,lithium-ion batteries(LIBs),fuel cells,sodium-ion batteries(SIBs),and hydrogen bromine flow batteries(HBFBs)still requires examination.In the future,EHPT is expected to make the field more exciting through its own technological breakthroughs or be combined with other technologies to produce intelligent materials.

Research on Energy Conversion System of Floating Wave Energy Converter

A wave power device includes an energy harvesting system and a power take-off system. The power take-off system of a floating wave energy device is the key that converts wave energy into other forms. A set of hydraulic power take-off system, which suits for the floating wave energy devices, includes hydraulic system and power generation system. The hydraulic control system uses a special“self-hydraulic control system”to control hydraulic system to release or save energy under the maximum and the minimum pressures. The maximum pressure is enhanced to 23 MPa, the minimum to 9 MPa. Quite a few experiments show that the recent hydraulic system is evidently improved in efficiency and reliability than our previous one, that is expected to be great significant in the research and development of our prototype about wave energy conversion.

Experimental Study on Conversion Efficiency of A Floating OWC Pentagonal Backward Bent Duct Buoy Wave Energy Converter

Wave tank tests were carried out to evaluate the total efficiency of a floating OWC Pentagonal Backward Bent Duct Buoy (PBBDB). Two kinds of turbine generators were used in tests. The incident wave power, pneumatic power and electricity were measured. The test results show that the primary efficiency can reach up to 185.98% in regular waves and 85.86% in irregular waves. The total efficiency from wave to wire with Wells turbine-generator set is 33.43% in regular waves and 15.82% in irregular waves. The peak total efficiency of the PBBDB with check valves equipped with the impulse turbine-generator set is 41.68% in regular waves and 27.10% in irregular waves. The efficiency of the turbine-generator set is about 30% in the tests. Obviously, the total efficiency can be further improved with the increasing of turbine efficiency.

Study of Hydrodynamic Characteristics of A Sharp Eagle Wave Energy Converter

According to Newton＇s Second Law and the microwave theory, mechanical analysis of multiple buoys which form Sharp Eagle wave energy converter （WEC） is carried out. The movements of every buoy in three modes couple each other when they are affected with incident waves. Based on the above, mechanical models of the WEC are established, which are concerned with fluid forces, damping forces, hinge forces, and so on. Hydrodynamic parameters of one buoy are obtained by taking the other moving buoy as boundary conditions. Then, by taking those hydrodynamic parameters into the mechanical models, the optimum external damping and optimal capture width ratio are calculated out. Under the condition of the optimum external damping, a plenty of data are obtained, such as the displacements amplitude of each buoy in three modes （sway, heave, pitch）, damping forces, hinge forces, and speed of the hydraulic cylinder. Research results provide theoretical references and basis for Sharp Eagle WECs in the design and manufacture.

Analysis of Energy Characteristics in the Process of Freak Wave Generation

The energy characteristics in the evolution of the wave train are investigated to understand the inherent cause of the freak wave generation. The Morlet wavelet spectrum method is employed to analyze the numerical, laboratory and field evolution data of this generation process. Their energy distributions and variations are discussed with consideration of corresponding surface elevations. Through comparing the energy characteristics of three cases, it is shown that the freak wave generation depends not only on the continuous transfer of wave train energy to a certain region where finally the maximum energy occurs, but also on the distinct shift of the converged energy to high-frequency components in a very short time. And the typical energy characteristics of freak waves are also given.

Analytical method of radiation by a wave energy device with dual rectangular floating bodies

The system with one floating rectangular body on the free surface and one submerged rectangular body has been applied to a wave energy conversion device in water of finite depth. The radiation problem by this device on a plane incident wave is solved by the use of an eigenfunction expansion method, and a new analytical expression for the radiation velocity potential is obtained. The wave excitation force is calculated via the known incident wave potential and the radiation potential with a theorem of Haskind employed. To verify the correctness of this method, an example is computed respectively through the bound element method and analytical method. Results show that two numerical methods. are in good agreement, which shows that the present method is applicable. In addition, the trends of hydrodynamic coefficients and wave force are analyzed under different conditions by use of the present analytical method.

Architectural Technology Strategies of Zero Energy Solar House

Taking I-Magic Cube - the entry of Shandong Jianzhu University for Solar Decathlon 2013 - for example, the paper analyzes the conceptual, technological, functional and aesthetic solutions of zero energy solar house coping with ecological, economic, social and cultural challenges. Passive strategies, the solar thermal and PV system, and the building integrated solar system tactics are elaborated. Finally, industrialization and marketing viability of the solar house prototypes are discussed.

Modified sepiolite stabilized stearic acid as a form-stable phase change material for thermal energy storage

Sepiolite(ST) was used as a supporting matrix in compiste phase change materials(PCMs) due to its unique microstructure, good thermal stability, and other raw material advantages. In this paper, microwave acid treatment were innovatively used for the modification of sepiolite. The modified sepiolite(ST_(m)) obtained in different hydrochloric acid concentrations(0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 mol·L^(-1)) was added to stearic acid(SA) via vacuum impregnation method. The thermophysical properties of the composites were changed by varying the hydrochloric acid concentration. The SA-ST_(m0.5)obtained by microwave acid treatment at 0.5 mol·L^(-1)hydrochloric acid concentration showed a higher loading capacity(82.63%) than other composites according to the differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) analysis. The melting and freezing enthalpies of SA-ST_(m0.5)were of 152.30 and 148.90 J·g^(-1), respectively. The thermal conductivity of SA-ST_(m0.5)was as high as 1.52 times that of pure SA. In addition, the crystal structure, surface morphology, and microporous structure of ST_(m)were studied, and the mechanism of SAST_(m0.5)performance enhancement was further revealed by Brunauere Emmett Teller(BET) analysis. Leakage experiment showed that SAST_(m0.5)had a good morphological stability. These results demostrate that SA-ST_(m0.5)has a potential application in thermal energy storage.

Optimal guidance strategy for flexible load based on hybrid direct load control and time of use

The time-of-use(TOU)strategy can effectively improve the energy consumption mode of customers,reduce the peak-valley difference of load curve,and optimize the allocation of energy resources.This study presents an Optimal guidance mechanism of the flexible load based on strategies of direct load control and time-of-use.First,this study proposes a period partitioning model,which is based on a moving boundary technique with constraint factors,and the Dunn Validity Index(DVI)is used as the objective to solve the period partitioning.Second,a control strategy for the curtailable flexible load is investigated,and a TOU strategy is utilized for further modifying load curve.Third,a price demand response strategy for adjusting transferable load is proposed in this paper.Finally,through the case study analysis of typical daily flexible load curve,the efficiency and correctness of the proposed method and model are validated and proved.

Research of Power Take-off System for “Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” Wave Energy Converter

The " Sharp Eagle” device is a wave energy converter of a hinged double floating body. The wave-absorbing floating body hinges on the semi-submerged floating body structure. Under the action of wave, the wave-absorbing floating body rotates around the hinge point, and the wave energy can be converted into kinetic energy. In this paper, the power take-off system of " Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” wave energy converter (the second generation of " Sharp Eagle”) was studied, which adopts the hydraulic type power take-off system. The 0-1 power generation mode was applied in this system to make the " Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” operate under various wave conditions. The principle of power generation was introduced in detail, and the power take-off system was simulated. Three groups of different movement period inputs were used to simulate three kinds of wave conditions, and the simulation results were obtained under three different working conditions. In addition, the prototype of " Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” wave energy converter was tested on land and in real sea conditions. The experimental data have been collected, and the experimental data and simulation results were compared and validated. This work has laid a foundation for the design and application of the following " Sharp Eagle” series of devices.

Single Mode Simulation Calculation of Oscillating Buoy Wave Energy Converter with A Slider

This paper presents an oscillating slider wave energy device which is based on a seabed anchoring and uses eagle beak as the absorber.The self-compiled program uses the boundary element theory based on the simple Green’s function to solve the wave forces and hydrodynamic parameters.And the equation of motion,the oscillation of the float and the capture width ratio are obtained by the modal method.The influences of the shape of the eagle beak,the angle of the slider and the wave heading on the capture ability of the device are investigated.According to the calculation results and the wave resources in the sea area,the optimal shape of the eagle beak and external damping can be selected to maximize the wave energy capture capability.

Facile synthesis of hydrochar-supported catalysts from glucose and its catalytic activity towards the production of functional amines

Since the utilization of abundant biomass to develop advanced materials has become an utmost priority in recent years,we developed two sustainable routes(i.e.,the impregnation method and the one-pot synthesis)to prepare the hydrochar-supported catalysts and tested its catalytic performance on the reductive amination.Several techniques,such as TEM,XRD and XPS,were adopted to characterize the structural and catalytic features of samples.Results indicated that the impregnation method favors the formation of outer-sphere surface complexes with porous structure as well as well-distributed metallic nanoparticles,while the one-pot synthesis tends to form the inner-sphere surface complexes with relatively smooth appearance and amorphous metals.This difference explains the better activity of catalysts prepared by the impregnation method which can selectively convert benzaldehyde to benzylamine with an excellent yield of 93.7%under the optimal reaction conditions;in contrast,the catalyst prepared by the one-pot synthesis only exhibits a low selectivity near to zero.Furthermore,the gram-scale test catalyzed by the same catalysts exhibits a similar yield of benzylamine in comparison to its smaller scale,which is comparable to the previously reported heterogeneous noble-based catalysts.More surprisingly,the prepared catalysts can be expediently recycled by a magnetic bar and remain the satisfying catalytic activity after reusing up to five times.In conclusion,these developed catalysts enable the synthesis of functional amines with excellent selectivity and carbon balance,proving cost-effective and sustainable access to the wide application of reductive amination.

Experimental Study on Conversion Characteristics of Dual-Mode OWC Models Appropriate for Voyaging

Freely movable wave energy converters(WECs) will greatly improve their adaptability to the marine environment.In this paper, a dual-mode oscillating water column(OWC) WEC with potential sailing capability is proposed. By opening and closing a gate on the side facing the waves, the WEC converts wave energy in the vertical duct(called VD mode) with low sailing resistance or in the backward bend duct(called BBD mode) with high sailing resistance.A small model and a medium model were designed and manufactured. The capture width ratio(CWR) of the small model in the two modes was experimentally studied. The CWR under bidirectional airflow and conversion characteristics under unidirectional airflow of the medium model in the BBD mode were obtained. Tests of the small model show that the peak CWR is 145.2% under regular waves and 90.1% under random waves in BBD mode, and in VD mode the peak CWR is about 60% of that in the BBD mode. Tests of the medium model show that the peak CWR is 228.96% under regular waves, the maximum wave-to-battery efficiency is 63.36% under regular waves and 30.17%under random waves, respectively.

Fabrication of a sinter-resistant Fe-MFI zeolite dragonfruit-like catalyst for syngas to aromatics conversion

Direct conversion of syngas to aromatics has great potential to decrease fossil fuel dependence.Here,a unique structured hybrid catalyst composed of Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles intimately dispersed inside an acidic zeolite is developed.1 to 4 nm sized Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles end up evenly dispersed in an acidic and slightly mesoporous Al-ZSM-5 based on Fe_(3)O_(4) restructuring during co-hydro thermal synthesis using organosilane modification.A very high aromatic productivity of 214 mmolaromatics h^(-1) gFe^(-1) can be obtained with a remarkable 62%aromatic selectivity in hydrocarbons.This catalyst has excellent sintering resistance ability and maintains stable aromatics production over 570 h.The synthetic insights that postulate a mechanism for the metastable oxide-zeolite reorganization during hydrothermal synthesis could serve as a generic route to sinter-resistant oxide-zeolite composite materials with uniform,well-dispersed oxide nanoparticles in close intimacy with-and partially confined in-a zeolite matrix.

Chemical-looping gasification of biomass in a 10 kW_(th) interconnected fluidized bed reactor using Fe_2O_3/Al_2O_3 oxygen carrier

Abstract:The aim of this research is to design and operate a 10 kW hot chemical-looping gasification(CLG)unit using Fe2O3/Al2O3as an oxygen carrier and saw dust as a fuel.The effect of the operation temperature on gas composition in the air reactor and the fuel reactor,and the carbon conversion of biomass to CO2and CO in the fuel reactor have been experimentally studied.A total60 h run has been obtained with the same batch of oxygen carrier of iron oxide supported with alumina.The results show that CO and H2concentrations are increased with increasing temperature in the fuel reactor.It is also found that with increasing fuel reactor temperature,both the amount of residual char in the fuel reactor and CO2concentration of the exit gas from the air reactor are degreased.Carbon conversion rate and gasification efficiency are increased by increasing temperature and H2production at 870℃reaches the highest rate.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD)and BET-surface area tests have been used to characterize fresh and reacted oxygen carrier particles.The results display that the oxygen carrier activity is not declined and the specific surface area of the oxygen carrier particles is not decreased significantly.

Efficient production of ethyl levulinate from cassava over Al2(SO4)3 catalyst in ethanol–water system

One-pot achievement of ethyl levulinate from cassava was conducted in ethanol–water system over several simple sulfate salt catalysts. Al2(SO4)3catalyst had the best performance in synthesizing ethyl levulinate comparing with those of a series of sulfate salts. The highest yields of ethyl levulinate was up to 39.27% as well as 7.78% levulinate acid when cassava was catalyzed in ethanol medium by adding 10 wt% water.13C and1H NMR spectroscopic investigations confirmed that isomerization of glucose to fructose over Al2(SO4)3catalyst is an important step in producing ethyl levulinate and levulinate acid. Due to aggregations of Al3+under hydrothermal conditions, tiny amount of Al3+were detected in filtrate at the percentage of 0.32% even if in absolute water. Brønsted and Lewis acids could improve the yield of ethyl levulinate and levulinate acid by synergistic effect. All results suggested that Al2(SO4)3was a simple and efficient catalyst for ethyl levulinate and levulinate acid production. © 2016 Science Press

Single and competitive adsorption affinity of heavy metals toward peanut shell-derived biochar and its mechanisms in aqueous systems

Converting peanut shells into biochar by pyrolysis was considered an environmentally friendly and efficient method for agricultural solid waste disposal.The properties of peanut shell-derived biochar(PBC)under different temperature and its adsorption capacity of heavy metals were investigated.It was found that PBC400 exhibited the highest cumulative capability for heavy metals elimination in single solute because of its high specific surface area and rich functional groups.Furthermore,the competitive adsorption revealed that PBC had a substantial difference in adsorption affinity from diverse heavy metal ions,sorption capacity decreased as Pb2+>Cu2+>Cd2+>Ni2+>Zn2+,which was lower than in a single solute.The adsorption process using selected biochar was optimized with respect to p H,reaction time,adsorbent dose,and initial concentration of heavy metals.The kinetic data was well fitted with PSO model,and the Langmuir model was adopted for adsorption equilibrium data in both cases of single solutes and mixed solutes for all heavy metals,which indicated that the removal course was primarily explained by monolayer adsorption,and chemical adsorption occupied an important role.Therefore,peanut shells derived biochar could be a potential and green adsorbent for wastewater treatment.

Study on Immobilized Lipase Catalyzed Transesterification Reaction of Tung Oil

The transesterification reaction conditions of tung oil with methanol have been studied in this article, with immobilized lipase NOVO435 as catalyst. The response surface methodology was used to optimize the transesterification reaction of tung oil in a nonsolvent system. The optimal conditions were rotation rate 200 r/min, molar ratio of methanol to oil 2.2： l, reaction temperature 43℃, and the catalyst amount 14% （based on the weight of oil）. After reacting for 18 h, 67.5% of the oil was converted to its corresponding methyl esters （the theoretical ester conversion was 73.3%）. The lipase was washed by organic solvents after each reaction and was reused again. The esters conversion of tung oil was decreased by 6% after the lipase was reused for 120 h. The theoretical amount of methanol was added in two steps, 85% ester conversion was obtained after 36 h of reaction （theoretical ester conversion was 100%）. The molar ratio of methanol to oil, the catalyst amount, the reaction temperature, and reaction time were all highly significant factors, and there was a relative significant interaction between every two factors.