CHARCOAL PACKED FURNACE FOR LOW-TECH CHARRING OF BONE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, P.; Dahi, Elian

1997-01-01

A low-tech furnace for charring of raw bone using char coal is developed and tested. The furnace consists of a standard oil drum, fitted with simple materials as available in every market in small towns in developing counties. 80 kg of raw bone and 6 kg of charcoal are used for production of 50 kg...

Development of an advanced continuous mild gasification process for the production of coproducts. Task 4, System integration studies: Char upgrading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jha, M.C.; McCormick, R.L.; Hogsett, R.F.; Rowe, R.M.; Anast, K.R.

1991-12-01

This document describes the results of Task 4 under which a 50 pound/hour char-to-carbon (CTC) process research unit (PRU) was designed in the second half of 1989, with construction completed in June 1990. The CTC PRU at Golden was operated for nearly one year during which 35 runs were completed for a total of nearly 800 hours of operation. Char methanation and carbon production reactor development activities are detailed in this report, as well as the results of integrated runs of the CTC process. Evaluation of the process and the carbon product produced is also included. It was concluded that carbon could be produced from mild gasification char utilizing the CTC process. Char methanation and membrane separation steps performed reasonably well and can scaled up with confidence. However, the novel directly heated reactor system for methane cracking did not work satisfactorily due to materials of construction and heat transfer problems, which adversely affected the quantity and quality of the carbon product. Alternative reactor designs are recommended.

The ChemChar process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manahan, S.E.; Kinner, L.L.; Larsen, D.W.

1992-01-01

This paper reports on reverse-burn gasification is a thermochemical process that offers a number of advantages over conventional incineration for the treatment of a variety of waste materials. Patented as the ChemChar Process, reverse-burn gasification can treat wastes in the forms of solids, liquids, sludges, and soils. Waste constituents are destroyed by conversion to a combustible gas and to a dry, inert, carbonaceous solid which is either non-hazardous or can be readily mixed with cement to prevent leaching of the radioactive, toxic, or heavy metal constituents that are retained in the char residue or ash. In this way, reverse-burn gasification can be a very effective method for treating organic waste sludges containing heavy metals and mixed wastes consisting of hazardous chemicals contaminated with radioactive substances. As with any gasification waste treatment process, reverse-burn gasification offers inherent advantages in the areas of destruction efficiency and emissions control. This is because, instead of an exhaust gas that must treated to control emissions, gasification produces a combustible gas that is burned. Trace levels of contaminants are destroyed in burning the gas, and a catalyst may be employed, if necessary

Strategy for Passivating Char Efficiently at the Pilot Scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunning, Timothy C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-01-18

Fast pyrolysis is a promising pathway for the commercialization of liquid transportation fuels from biomass. Fast pyrolysis is performed at moderate heat (450-600 degrees Celcius) in an oxygen-deficient environment. One of the products of fast pyrolysis is biochar, which is often used as a heat source or as a soil amendment. Biochar is a partially reacted solid that is created in the production of bio-oil during fast pyrolysis. Biochar produced at these conditions contains significant quantities of carbon that adsorb oxygen when exposed to air. Biochar adsorption of oxygen is an exothermic process that may generate sufficient heat for combustion in ambient air. Biochar is also a self-insulating material which compounds the effects of heat generated internally. These factors lead to safety concerns and material handling difficulties. The Thermochemical Process Development Unit at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory operates a pilot plant that may be configured for fast pyrolysis, gasification, and will be introducing catalytic fast pyrolysis capabilities in 2018. The TCPDU designed and installed a system to introduce oxygen to collected biochar systematically for a controlled passivation. Biochar is collected and cooled in an oxygen deficient environment during fast pyrolysis. Oxygen is then introduced to the biochar on a mass flow basis. A sparger imbedded within the biochar sample near the bottom of the bed flows air diluted with nitrogen into the char bed, and excess gasses are removed from the top of the collection drum, above the char bed. Pressure within the collection drum is measured indicating adequate flow through filters. Sample weight is recorded before and after passivation. During passivation, temperature is measured at 18 points within the char bed. Oxygen content and temperature are measured leaving the char bed. Maximum temperature parameters were established to ensure operator safety during biochar passivation. Extensive passivation data was

Promotion of hydrogen-rich gas and phenolic-rich bio-oil production from green macroalgae Cladophora glomerata via pyrolysis over its bio-char.

Science.gov (United States)

Norouzi, Omid; Jafarian, Sajedeh; Safari, Farid; Tavasoli, Ahmad; Nejati, Behnam

2016-11-01

Conversion of Cladophora glomerata (C. glomerata) as a Caspian Sea's green macroalgae into gaseous, liquid and solid products was carried out via pyrolysis at different temperatures to determine its potential for bio-oil and hydrogen-rich gas production for further industrial utilization. Non-catalytic tests were performed to determine the optimum condition for bio-oil production. The highest portion of bio-oil was retrieved at 500°C. The catalytic test was performed using the bio-char derived at 500°C as a catalyst. Effect of the addition of the algal bio-char on the composition of the bio-oil and also gaseous products was investigated. Pyrolysis derived bio-char was characterized by BET, FESEM and ICP method to show its surface area, porosity, and presence of inorganic metals on its surface, respectively. Phenols were increased from 8.5 to 20.76area% by the addition of bio-char. Moreover, the hydrogen concentration and hydrogen selectivity were also enhanced by the factors of 1.37, 1.59 respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Slow pyrolysis for rural small biomass energy by joint project developments of Brazil and Thailand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kampegowda, Rajesh; Chandayot, Pongchan [Asian University, Chonburi (Thailand)], email: rkempegowda@asianust.ac.th; Pannirselvam, Pagandai V.; Humberto, Maricy; Santos, Joao Matias [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (DEQ/UFRN), Natal, RN (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Quimica. Grupo de Pesquisa em Engenharia de Custos], email: pannirbr@gmail.com

2008-07-01

The efficiency for carbonization by slow pyrolysis is still low in the current method studied using rice straw in Thailand and cashewnut shell in Brazil, however direct heating process yields better char yield of 17% as compared to indirect heating with 15% process using horizontal metal drum kiln.where as vertical kiln were mainly used in Brazil. Higher yield is made possible from Brasilian cashew nut shell to make oil and char. Carbon and energy balance was also carried out and the results were compared for the direct and indirect process. Burning by indirect draft gives better results like more char, faster process. Direct draft gives less char, but higher quality (higher C and H2). Also a lot of straw is left unburnt in the direct draft kiln, because of bad temperature distribution and flow inside. The kiln design is found to be more suitable for indirect draft rather than direct draft. Both methods still give rice straw charcoal that has low calorific value with an output char LHV of 4337 kcal/kg as compared to fresh rice straw of 3412 kcal/kg. In the direct heating method output char is enriched to 45% with a still unburnt rice straw left out as compared to indirect heating method with carbon enrichment of 39%. There is a loss of 13% of carbon through the ash in the both the methods. The carbon content in the condensate is in the order of 18.5% for the indirect process as compared to 13.9% in the direct process due to less exhaust and carbon enrichment inside the kiln. There is a loss of 43% of carbon in the exhaust from indirect heating process as compared to direct heating process which is reduced to 26%. The energy balance predicts a heat loss of 14% in exhaust gases. A practical small scale slow pyrolysis project was developed to meet rural energy and heat requirements. to make the clean energy from waste resources possible by the joint project. (author)

The ChemChar process for hazardous-waste treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGowin, A.E.

1991-01-01

The ChemChar Reverse-Burn Gasification Process has been studied for application to the thermal destruction of radioactive waste organic ion exchange resins. The resulting char was mixed with cement to form a dry, leach-resistant final disposal product. Successful regeneration of spent granular activated carbons was achieved with reverse-burn gasification. Regeneration parameters such as moisture content and supplemental fuel addition were investigated. The performance of regenerated carbon was evaluated by batch equilibrium and breakthrough assay and was comparable to that of the original. Surface areas were determined by the BET method. The fate of mercury during reverse-burn gasification was investigated. TRB Char adsorbent was used to remove mercury vapor emission from the process. The use of petroleum coke as a substrate for gasification of wastes was studied. Petroleum coke was activated by reverse-burn gasification to produce a highly porous, low surface area solid. Destruction efficiency for hexachlorobenzene on activated coke was considerably lower than on coal char, however, the addition of iron appeared to catalyze hexachlorobenzene gasification

Co-gasification of tire and biomass for enhancement of tire-char reactivity in CO2 gasification process.

Science.gov (United States)

Lahijani, Pooya; Zainal, Zainal Alimuddin; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman; Mohammadi, Maedeh

2013-06-01

In this investigation, palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and almond shell (AS) were implemented as two natural catalysts rich in alkali metals, especially potassium, to enhance the reactivity of tire-char through co-gasification process. Co-gasification experiments were conducted at several blending ratios using isothermal Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under CO2. The pronounced effect of inherent alkali content of biomass-chars on promoting the reactivity of tire-char was proven when acid-treated biomass-chars did not exert any catalytic effect on improving the reactivity of tire-char in co-gasification experiments. In kinetic studies of the co-gasified samples in chemically-controlled regime, modified random pore model (M-RPM) was adopted to describe the reactive behavior of the tire-char/biomass-char blends. By virtue of the catalytic effect of biomass, the activation energy for tire-char gasification was lowered from 250 kJ/mol in pure form 203 to 187 kJ/mol for AS-char and EFB-char co-gasified samples, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing biological and thermochemical processing of sugarcane bagasse: An energy balance perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leibbrandt, N.H.; Knoetze, J.H.; Goergens, J.F.

2011-01-01

The technical performance of lignocellulosic enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation versus pyrolysis processes for sugarcane bagasse was evaluated, based on currently available technology. Process models were developed for bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse using three different pretreatment methods, i.e. dilute acid, liquid hot water and steam explosion, at various solid concentrations. Two pyrolysis processes, namely fast pyrolysis and vacuum pyrolysis, were considered as alternatives to biological processing for the production of biofuels from sugarcane bagasse. For bioethanol production, a minimum of 30% solids in the pretreatment reactor was required to render the process energy self-sufficient, which led to a total process energy demand equivalent to roughly 40% of the feedstock higher heating value. Both vacuum pyrolysis and fast pyrolysis could be operated as energy self-sufficient if 45% of the produced char from fast pyrolysis is used to fuel the process. No char energy is required to fuel the vacuum pyrolysis process due to lower process energy demands (17% compared to 28% of the feedstock higher heating value). The process models indicated that effective process heat integration can result in a 10-15% increase in all process energy efficiencies. Process thermal efficiencies between 52 and 56% were obtained for bioethanol production at pretreatment solids at 30% and 50%, respectively, while the efficiencies were 70% for both pyrolysis processes. The liquid fuel energy efficiency of the best bioethanol process is 41%, while that of crude bio-oil production before upgrading is 67% and 56% via fast and vacuum pyrolysis, respectively. Efficiencies for pyrolysis processes are expected to decrease by up to 15% should upgrade to a transportation fuel of equivalent quality to bioethanol be taken into consideration. -- Highlights: → Liquid biofuels can be produced via lignocellulosic enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation or pyrolysis. → A minimum of

[Reflection on developing bio-energy industry of large oil company].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Haiyang; Su, Haijia; Tan, Tianwei; Liu, Shumin; Wang, Hui

2013-03-01

China's energy supply becomes more serious nowadays and the development of bio-energy becomes a major trend. Large oil companies have superb technology, rich experience and outstanding talent, as well as better sales channels for energy products, which can make full use of their own advantages to achieve the efficient complementary of exist energy and bio-energy. Therefore, large oil companies have the advantages of developing bio-energy. Bio-energy development in China is in the initial stage. There exist some problems such as available land, raw material supply, conversion technologies and policy guarantee, which restrict bio-energy from industrialized development. According to the above key issues, this article proposes suggestions and methods, such as planting energy plant in the marginal barren land to guarantee the supply of bio-energy raw materials, cultivation of professional personnel, building market for bio-energy counting on large oil companies' rich experience and market resources about oil industry, etc, aimed to speed up the industrialized process of bio-energy development in China.

Energy conversion assessment of vacuum, slow and fast pyrolysis processes for low and high ash paper waste sludge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridout, Angelo J.; Carrier, Marion; Collard, François-Xavier; Görgens, Johann

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Vacuum, slow and fast pyrolysis of low and high ash paper waste sludge (PWS) is compared. • Reactor temperature and pellet size optimised to maximise liquid and solid product yields. • Gross energy recovery from solid and liquid was assessed. • Fast pyrolysis of low and high ash PWS offers higher energy conversions. - Abstract: The performance of vacuum, slow and fast pyrolysis processes to transfer energy from the paper waste sludge (PWS) to liquid and solid products was compared. Paper waste sludges with low and high ash content (8.5 and 46.7 wt.%) were converted under optimised conditions for temperature and pellet size to maximise both product yields and energy content. Comparison of the gross energy conversions, as a combination of the bio-oil/tarry phase and char (EC_s_u_m), revealed that the fast pyrolysis performance was between 18.5% and 20.1% higher for the low ash PWS, and 18.4% and 36.5% higher for high ash PWS, when compared to the slow and vacuum pyrolysis processes respectively. For both PWSs, this finding was mainly attributed to higher production of condensable organic compounds and lower water yields during FP. The low ash PWS chars, fast pyrolysis bio-oils and vacuum pyrolysis tarry phase products had high calorific values (∼18–23 MJ kg"−"1) making them promising for energy applications. Considering the low calorific values of the chars from alternative pyrolysis processes (∼4–7 MJ kg"−"1), the high ash PWS should rather be converted to fast pyrolysis bio-oil to maximise the recovery of usable energy products.

Temperature induced development of porous structure of bituminous coal chars at high pressure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Howaniec

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The porous structure of chars affects their reactivity in gasification, having an impact on the course and product distribution of the process. The shape, size and connections between pores determine the mechanical properties of chars, as well as heat and mass transport in thermochemical processing. In the study the combined effects of temperature in the range of 973–1273 °K and elevated pressure of 3 MPa on the development of porous structure of bituminous coal chars were investigated. Relatively low heating rate and long residence time characteristic for the in-situ coal conversion were applied. The increase in the temperature to 1173 °K under pressurized conditions resulted in the enhancement of porous structure development reflected in the values of the specific surface area, total pore volume, micropore area and volume, as well as ratio of the micropore volume to the total pore volume. These effects were attributed to the enhanced vaporization and devolatilization, as well as swelling behavior along the increase of temperature and under high pressure, followed by a collapse of pores over certain temperature value. This proves the strong dependence of the porous structure of chars not only on the pyrolysis process conditions but also on the physical and chemical properties of the parent fuel.

A burnout prediction model based around char morphology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

T. Wu; E. Lester; M. Cloke [University of Nottingham, Nottingham (United Kingdom). Nottingham Energy and Fuel Centre

2005-07-01

Poor burnout in a coal-fired power plant has marked penalties in the form of reduced energy efficiency and elevated waste material that can not be utilized. The prediction of coal combustion behaviour in a furnace is of great significance in providing valuable information not only for process optimization but also for coal buyers in the international market. Coal combustion models have been developed that can make predictions about burnout behaviour and burnout potential. Most of these kinetic models require standard parameters such as volatile content, particle size and assumed char porosity in order to make a burnout prediction. This paper presents a new model called the Char Burnout Model (ChB) that also uses detailed information about char morphology in its prediction. The model can use data input from one of two sources. Both sources are derived from image analysis techniques. The first from individual analysis and characterization of real char types using an automated program. The second from predicted char types based on data collected during the automated image analysis of coal particles. Modelling results were compared with a different carbon burnout kinetic model and burnout data from re-firing the chars in a drop tube furnace operating at 1300{sup o}C, 5% oxygen across several residence times. An improved agreement between ChB model and DTF experimental data proved that the inclusion of char morphology in combustion models can improve model predictions. 27 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs.

Influence of the Pyrolysis Temperature on Sewage Sludge Product Distribution, Bio-Oil, and Char Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trinh, Ngoc Trung; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Dam-Johansen, Kim

2013-01-01

Fast pyrolysis may be used for sewage sludge treatment with the advantages of a significant reduction of solid waste volume and production of a bio-oil that can be used as fuel. A study of the influence of the reaction temperature on sewage sludge pyrolysis has been carried out using a pyrolysis...... of 392 g/mol, and metal concentrations lower than 0.14 wt % on a dry basis (db). Less optimal oil properties with respect to industrial applications were observed for oil samples obtained at 475 and 625 °C. Char properties of the 575 °C sample were an ash content of 81 wt % and a HHV of 6.1 MJ/kg db...

Bitumen on Water: Charred Hay as a PFD (Petroleum Flotation Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nusrat Jahan

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Global demand for petroleum keeps increasing while traditional supplies decline. One alternative to the use of conventional crude oils is the utilization of Canadian bitumen. Raw bitumen is a dense, viscous, semi-liquid that is diluted with lighter crude oil to permit its transport through pipelines to terminals where it can then be shipped to global markets. When spilled, it naturally weathers to its original form and becomes dense enough to sink in aquatic systems. This severely limits oil spill recovery and remediation options. Here we report on the application of charred hay as a method for modifying the surface behavior of bitumen in aquatic environments. Waste or surplus hay is abundant in North America. Its surface can easily be modified through charring and/or chemical treatment. We have characterized the modified and charred hay using solid-state NMR, contact angle measurements and infrared spectroscopy. Tests of these materials to treat spilled bitumen in model aquatic systems have been undertaken. Our results indicate that bitumen spills on water will retain their buoyancy for longer periods after treatment with charred hay, or charred hay coated with calcium oxide, improving recovery options.

Co-processing of standard gas oil and biocrude oil to hydrocarbon fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agblevor, Foster A.; Mante, O.; McClung, R.; Oyama, S.T.

2012-01-01

The major obstacle in thermochemical biomass conversion to hydrocarbon fuels using pyrolysis has been the high oxygen content and the poor stability of the product oils, which cause them to solidify during secondary processing. We have developed a fractional catalytic pyrolysis process to convert biomass feedstocks into a product termed “biocrude oils” (stable biomass pyrolysis oils) which are distinct from unstable conventional pyrolysis oils. The biocrude oils are stable, low viscosity liquids that are storable at ambient conditions without any significant increases in viscosity; distillable at both atmospheric pressure and under vacuum without char or solid formation. About 15 wt% biocrude oils containing 20–25% oxygen were blended with 85 wt% standard gas oil and co-cracked in an Advanced Catalyst Evaluation (ACE™) unit using fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts to produce hydrocarbon fuels that contain negligible amount of oxygen. For the same conversion of 70% for both the standard gas oil and the biocrude oil/gas oil blends, the product gasoline yield was 44 wt%, light cycle oil (LCO) 17 wt%, heavy cycle oil (HCO) 13 wt%, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 16 wt%. However, the coke yield for the standard gas oil was 7.06 wt% compared to 6.64–6.81 wt% for the blends. There appeared to be hydrogen transfer from the cracking of the standard gas oil to the biocrude oil which subsequently eliminated the oxygen in the fuel without external hydrogen addition. We have demonstrated for the first time that biomass pyrolysis oils can be successfully converted into hydrocarbons without hydrogenation pretreatment. -- Highlights: ► The co-processed product had less than 1% oxygen content and contained biocarbons determined by 14 C analysis. ► The co-processing did not affect the yields of gasoline, LCO, and HCO. ► First demonstration of direct conversion of pyrolysis oils into drop-in hydrocarbon fuels.

Mixed waste treatment using the ChemChar thermolytic detoxification technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuchynka, D.

1995-12-31

The diversity of mixed waste matrices contained at Department of Energy sites that require treatment preclude a single, universal treatment technology capable of handling sludges, solids, heterogeneous debris, aqueous and organic liquids and soils. Versatility of the treatment technology, volume reduction and containment of the radioactive component of the mixed waste streams are three criteria to be considered when evaluating potential treatment technologies. The ChemChar thermolytic detoxification process being developed under this R and D contract is a thermal, chemically reductive technology that converts the organic portion of a mixed waste stream to an energy-rich synthesis gas while simultaneously absorbing volatile inorganic species (metals and acid gases) on a macroporous, carbon-based char. The latter is mixed with the waste stream prior to entering the reactor. Substoichiometric amounts of oxidant are fed into the top portion of the cylindrical reactor generating a thin, radial thermochemical reaction zone. This zone generates all the necessary heat to promote the highly endothermic reduction of the organic components in the waste in the lower portion of the reactor, producing, principally, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The solid by-product is a regenerated carbon char that, depending on the inorganic loading, is capable for reuse. The in situ scrubbing of contaminants by the char within the reactor coupled with a char filter for final polishing produce an exceptionally clean synthesis gas effluent suitable for on-site generation of heat, steam or electricity. Despite the elevated temperatures in the thermochemical reaction zone, the reductive nature of the process precludes formation of nitrogen oxides and halogenated organic compound by-products.

Mixed waste treatment using the ChemChar thermolytic detoxification technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuchynka, D.

1995-01-01

The diversity of mixed waste matrices contained at Department of Energy sites that require treatment preclude a single, universal treatment technology capable of handling sludges, solids, heterogeneous debris, aqueous and organic liquids and soils. Versatility of the treatment technology, volume reduction and containment of the radioactive component of the mixed waste streams are three criteria to be considered when evaluating potential treatment technologies. The ChemChar thermolytic detoxification process being developed under this R and D contract is a thermal, chemically reductive technology that converts the organic portion of a mixed waste stream to an energy-rich synthesis gas while simultaneously absorbing volatile inorganic species (metals and acid gases) on a macroporous, carbon-based char. The latter is mixed with the waste stream prior to entering the reactor. Substoichiometric amounts of oxidant are fed into the top portion of the cylindrical reactor generating a thin, radial thermochemical reaction zone. This zone generates all the necessary heat to promote the highly endothermic reduction of the organic components in the waste in the lower portion of the reactor, producing, principally, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The solid by-product is a regenerated carbon char that, depending on the inorganic loading, is capable for reuse. The in situ scrubbing of contaminants by the char within the reactor coupled with a char filter for final polishing produce an exceptionally clean synthesis gas effluent suitable for on-site generation of heat, steam or electricity. Despite the elevated temperatures in the thermochemical reaction zone, the reductive nature of the process precludes formation of nitrogen oxides and halogenated organic compound by-products

Dwarf char, a new form of chars (the genus Salvelinus) in Lake Kronotskoe

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlov, S.D.; Pivovarov, E.A.; Ostberg, C.O.

2012-01-01

Lake Kronotskoe is situated in the Kronotskii State Nature Reserve and is a unique natural heritage of Kamchatka. The lake–river system of the reserve includes numerous springs and small streams and three large inflowing rivers, Listvennichnaya, Unana, and Uzon, which form the main bays of Lake Kronotskoe; one river (Kronotskaya) flows from the lake. This river is characterized by several rapids, which are assumed to be unsurmountable barriers for fish migration. The ichthyofauna of the lake has been isolated for a long time, and some endemic fishes appeared, including char of the genus Salvelinus and the residential form of red salmon Oncorhynchus nerka (the local name is kokanee). These species are perfect model objects to study microevolution processes. Char of Lake Kronotskoe are characterized by significant polymorphism and plasticity [1–3]; therefore, they are extremely valuable for studying the processes of speciation and form development. That is why the populations of char in Lake Kronotskoe are unique and attract special attention of researchers. 

Influence of reaction conditions and the char separation system on the production of bio-oil from radiata pine sawdust by fast pyrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Hyun Ju; Park, Young-Kwon; Kim, Joo Sik [Faculty of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, 90 Jeonnong-Dong, Dondaemun-Gu, Seoul 130-743 (Korea)

2008-08-15

Radiata pine sawdust was pyrolyzed in a bubbling fluidized bed equipped with a char separation system. The influence of the reaction conditions on the production of bio-oil was investigated through the establishment of mass balance, and the examination of the products' chemical and physical characteristics. The optimal reaction temperature for the production of bio-oil was between 673 and 723 K, and the yield was above 50 wt.% of the product. An optimal feed size also existed. In a particle with a size that was less than 0.3 mm, the bio-oil yield decreased due to overheating, which led to gas formation. A higher flow rate and feeding rate were found to be more effective for the production of bio-oil, but did not significantly affect it. The main compounds of bio-oil were phenolics, including cresol, guaiacol, eugenol, benzendiol and their derivatives, ketones, and aldehydes. In addition, high-quality bio-oils, which contained less than 0.005 wt.% of solid, no ash and low concentrations of alkali and alkaline earth metals, were produced due to the char removal system. (author)

Mixed waste treatment using the ChemChar thermolytic detoxification technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuchynka, D. [Mirage Systems, Sunnyvale, CA (United States)

1995-10-01

The diversity of mixed waste matrices contained at Department of Energy sites that require treatment preclude a single, universal treatment technology capable of handling sludges, solids, heterogeneous debris, aqueous and organic liquids and soils. This report describes the ChemChar thermolytic detoxification process. The process is a thermal, chemically reductive technology that converts the organic portion of mixed wastes to a synthesis gas, while simultaneously absorbing volatile inorganics on a carbon-based char.

Development of an advanced, continuous mild-gasification process for the production of coproducts. Report for Task 4.8, Decontamination and disassembly of the mild-gasification and char-to-carbon PRUs and disposal of products from testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merriam, N.W. [Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (United States); Jha, Mahesh C. [AMAX Research and Development Center, Golden, CO (United States)

1991-11-01

This report contains descriptions of mild-gasification and char-to-carbon process research units (PRUS) used by WRI and AMAX R&D Center to conduct tests under contract AC21-87MC24268. Descriptions of materials produced during those tests are also contained herein. Western Research Institute proposes to dispose of remaining fines and dried coal by combustion and remaining coal liquids by incineration during mid-1992. The mild-gasification PRU will be used for additional tests until 1993, at which time WRI proposes to decontaminate and disassemble the PRU. AMAX R&D Center intends to return the spent char, any remaining feed char, and unusable product carbon to the Eagle Butte Mine near Gillette, Wyoming, from where the coal originally came. The solid products will be added to the mine`s coal product stream. Coal liquids collected from condensers will be concentrated and sent to a local oil and solvent recycling company where the liquids will be burned as fuel. The char-to-carbon PRU will be operated periodically until 1993 when the plant will be decontaminated and disassembled.

Enrichment of bio-oil after hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae C. vulgaris grown in wastewater: Bio-char and post HTL wastewater utilization studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Arun, Jayaseelan; Varshini, Padmanabhan; Prithvinath, P Kamath; Priyadarshini, Venkataramani; Gopinath, Kannappan Panchamoorthy

2018-08-01

In this study, bio-oil was produced through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of C. vulgaris biomass cultivated in wastewater and was enriched into transportation fuels. Bio-oil yield was 29.37% wt at 300 °C, 60 min, at 15 g/200 mL biomass loading rate with 3% wt nano ZnO catalyst loading. Applying catalyst reduced oxygen and nitrogen content in bio-oil and increased its calorific value (19.6 ± 0.8 MJ/Kg). Bio-oil was enriched through liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and higher yield was obtained at 30 °C for dichloromethane solvent (18.2% wt). Compounds of enriched oil were within the petro-diesel range (C 8 -C 21 ). Bio-char after HTL process was activated and used as adsorbent in wastewater treatment process to remove organic pollutants (COD, NO 3 , NH 3 and PO 4 ). Treated wastewater can be supplied as growth medium for microalgae cultivation in further experiments. Nearly 3-4 times the nanocatalyst can be reused in the HTL process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Active sites in char gasification: Final technical report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wojtowicz, M.; Lilly, W.D.; Perkins, M.T.; Hradil, G.; Calo, J.M.; Suuberg, E.M.

1987-09-01

Among the key variables in the design of gasifiers and combustors is the reactivity of the chars which must be gasified or combusted. Significant loss of unburned char is unacceptable in virtually any process; the provision of sufficient residence time for complete conversion is essential. A very wide range of reactivities are observed, depending upon the nature of the char in a process. The current work focuses on furthering the understanding of gasification reactivities of chars. It has been well established that the reactivity of char to gasification generally depends upon three principal factors: (1) the concentration of ''active sites'' in the char; (2) mass transfer within the char; and (3) the type and concentration of catalytic impurities in the char. The present study primarily addresses the first factor. The subject of this research is the origin, nature, and fate of active sites in chars derived from parent hydrocarbons with coal-like structure. The nature and number of the active sites and their reactivity towards oxygen are examined in ''model'' chars derived from phenol-formaldehyde type resins. How the active sites are lost by the process of thermal annealing during heat treatment of chars are studied, and actual rate for the annealing process is derived. Since intrinsic char reactivities are of primary interest in the present study, a fair amount of attention was given to the model char synthesis and handling so that the effect of catalytic impurities and oxygen-containing functional groups in the chemical structure of the material were minimized, if not completely eliminated. The project would not be considered complete without comparing characteristic features of synthetic chars with kinetic behavior exhibited by natural chars, including coal chars.

Using environmental chemistry technologies for the removal of arsenic from drinking water, and fat and oil based phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Science.gov (United States)

Sutterlin, William R.

The first four chapters of this dissertation involve the removal of arsenic from drinking water. Various forms of a macroporous char prepared by partial gasification of subbituminous coal were studied for removal of arsenic(V) and arsenic(III) from water. In increasing order of effectiveness for arsenic(V) removal were untreated char water containing 500 micrograms/L of arsenic to levels below 10 micrograms/L. The capacity of the solid to remove arsenic was significantly diminished in water containing 4 mg/L of phosphate. An electrical current passed over 4 g of iron(III) oxide char in a column enabled removal of arsenic(III) from 14,000 mL of 500 micrograms/L arsenic(III) to below 10 micrograms/liter and at significantly higher flow rates than could be employed without electrolysis. The fifth chapter in this dissertation focused on the retention of organics onto a char/concrete pellet. A mixture of naphthalene, pentachlorophenol, biphenyl, toluene, tetrachloroethane, and chlorobenzene were impregnated into a loose granular char, a char/concrete pellet and a sand/concrete pellet. The results showed that the char/concrete pellet had significant advantages over the other forms. Chapters 6--9 focus on phase change materials (PCMs). These PCMs are made from fats and oils. PCMs are perhaps the only proven method that can provide near 100% thermal energy storage. In chapter 7 a novel HPLC method was developed that could provide quantification and qualification of the resulting products formed after PCM synthesis. In chapter 8 thermal cycling studies were conducted on the fat and oil based PCMs. These thermal cycle demonstrated that these PCMs were capable of going through a multitude of freeze and melt processes with little to no degradation if the appropriate preservative is used. Finally in chapter 9 the PCM is incorporated into a simulated 100 th scale house. A traditional freon based evaporator is used to freeze the PCM at night during electrical-off-peak hours

Development of an advanced continuous mild gasification process for the production of coproducts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merriam, N.W.; Jha, M.C.

1991-11-01

This report is a final brief summary of development of a mild-gasification and char conversion process. Morgantown Energy Technology Center developed a concept called mild gasification. In this concept, devolatilization of coal under nonoxidizing and relatively mild temperature and pressure conditions can yield three marketable products: (1) a high-heating-value gas, (2) a high-aromatic coal liquid, and (3) a high-carbon char. The objective of this program is to develop an advanced, continuous, mild-gasification process to produce products that will make the concept economically and environmentally viable. (VC)

Structural evolution of biomass char and its effect on the gasification rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatehi, Hesameddin; Bai, Xue-Song

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A comprehensive model was developed to describe the evolution of biomass char structure. • An effectiveness factor was used to account for the intra-particle chemical and physical processes. • The effect of the structural evolution of the multi-pore structure on biomass char reactivity was analyzed. • The multi-pore model yields results in satisfactory agreement with experiments. - Abstract: The evolution of char porous structure can affect the conversion rate of the char by affecting the intra-particle transport, especially in the zone II conversion regime. A multi-pore model based on the capillary pore theory is developed to take into account different conversion rates for pores with different radii. The model is valid for biomass chars produced under relatively low heating rates, when the original beehive structure of the biomass is not destroyed during the pyrolysis stage. The contribution of different pores with different radius is taken into account using an effectiveness factor presented for each pore radius with respect to different reactions. As the char conversion proceeds, the pore enlargement increases the contribution of micro-pores; consequently the effective surface area will increase. The increase in the effective surface area leads to an increased reactivity of char during the entire conversion process. This model is used to analyze the steam gasification process of biomass char of centimeter sizes. The results from the present multi-pore model are in better agreement with experimental data than those from a corresponding single pore model. Since the multi-pore model accommodates the detailed intra-particle transport, it is a useful basis toward developing a more predictive model for biomass char gasification.

Serbian oil sector: A new energy policy regulatory framework and development strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karovic Maricic, Vesna; Danilovic, Dusan; Lekovic, Branko

2012-01-01

Serbia has established a great part of new legislative and institutional framework as a basis for all energy sub-sectors' development in compliance with EU energy acquis. Main objectives of Serbian energy policy outlined in the new Energy Law are focused to increasing the energy supply security, energy efficiency, competitiveness of the energy market, use of renewable energy sources and environmental protection. Further steps of Serbia toward full EU membership concerning the new energy policy regulatory framework involve implementing and enforcing legislation. Besides considering the issue of Serbian energy policy and degree of its framework's alignment with the EU acquis, this paper provides an overview of new development strategies in the oil sector. The aim of Gazprom neft, a majority owner of the Petroleum industry of Serbia, is to increase crude oil production to 3 million tonnes, refining and sales volume of petroleum products to 5 million tonnes by 2020. Strategic development projects in crude oil and petroleum products transportation are: petroleum product pipeline construction in Serbia and Pan-European oil pipeline. The basic prerequisites for oil supply security, regarding the future high dependency of Serbian economy on imported oil, are establishment of the emergency oil stocks and diversification of supply sources. - Highlight: ► New energy policy regulatory framework significantly complied with EU acquis. ► Full EU membership requires implementing and enforcing new energy legislation. ► NIS-Gazpromneft has defined ambitious oil sector's development programmes to 2020. ► Supply security requires mandatory oil stocks and supply source diversification.

Evaluation of energy efficiency efforts of oil and gas offshore processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Voldsund, Mari; Breuhaus, Peter

2015-01-01

the energy performance of these facilities, by decreasing the power and heating requirements and designing more efficient processes. Several technologies that have been proposed are to (i) promote energy integration within the oil and gas processing plant, (ii) add an additional pressure extraction level......, (iii) implement multiphase expanders, and (iv) install a waste heat recovery system. The present work builds on two case studies located in the North and Norwegian Seas, which differ by the type of oil processed, operating conditions and strategies. The findings suggest that no generic improvement can...

Role of oil imports in economic development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madduri, V.B.N.S.; Radhika, G.

1990-01-01

This paper reports that energy has a vital role to play in a developing economy. The process of industrialization calls for continuous increase in energy use. In general, the greater the use of energy, the higher the economy is placed in the order of developed countries. Countries with high per-capita income have a high consumption level of energy too. On a per-capita basis, energy consumed in U.S.A. is 51.7 barrels of oil equivalent per year while in India, it is 0.9 barrels of oil equivalent only. Therefore, energy consumption, industrial development and economic growth are interlinked. Energy became a significant part in the process of development. In the case of developing countries, any change in the price of oil has a negative effect on economic growth. It was stated in one of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission reports that a fivefold increase in the international price of oil, in real terms, over the past 15 years has had profound effects on balance of payments and growth prospects in developing countries

Scale up risk of developing oil shale processing units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oepik, I.

1991-01-01

The experiences in oil shale processing in three large countries, China, the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. have demonstrated, that the relative scale up risk of developing oil shale processing units is related to the scale up factor. On the background of large programmes for developing the oil shale industry branch, i.e. the $30 billion investments in colorado and Utah or 50 million t/year oil shale processing in Estonia and Leningrad Region planned in the late seventies, the absolute scope of the scale up risk of developing single retorting plants, seems to be justified. But under the conditions of low crude oil prices, when the large-scale development of oil shale processing industry is stopped, the absolute scope of the scale up risk is to be divided between a small number of units. Therefore, it is reasonable to build the new commercial oil shale processing plants with a minimum scale up risk. For example, in Estonia a new oil shale processing plant with gas combustion retorts projected to start in the early nineties will be equipped with four units of 1500 t/day enriched oil shale throughput each, designed with scale up factor M=1.5 and with a minimum scale up risk, only r=2.5-4.5%. The oil shale retorting unit for the PAMA plant in Israel [1] is planned to develop in three steps, also with minimum scale up risk: feasibility studies in Colorado with Israel's shale at Paraho 250 t/day retort and other tests, demonstration retort of 700 t/day and M=2.8 in Israel, and commercial retorts in the early nineties with the capacity of about 1000 t/day with M=1.4. The scale up risk of the PAMA project r=2-4% is approximately the same as that in Estonia. the knowledge of the scope of the scale up risk of developing oil shale processing retorts assists on the calculation of production costs in erecting new units. (author). 9 refs., 2 tabs

Characterization of chars form biomass-derived materials: pectin chars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, R.K.; Wooten, J.B.; Baliga, V.L.; Hajaligol, M.R. [Philip Morris USA, Richmond, VA (United States). Research Center

2001-10-09

The effect of pyrolysis conditions on the yield and composition of char from pectin was studied. The volatile product was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The solid product, i.e. char, was characterised by solid-state {sup 13}C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrsocopy. The char was also analysed for its elemental composition and surface area. The surface morphology of the char was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results were compared to those from chlorogenic acid (CA). For both pectin and CA, the char yield decreased with increasing temperature before levelling-off at ca.20% of the starting substrate in non-oxidative runs. In oxidative runs, the char yields from both substrates became negligible at 550{degree}C. NMR analysis indicated that the aromatic character of char increased as the pyrolysis temperature increased. The oxygen functionality was progressively lost and the resonance bands corresponding to carbonyl groups mostly disappeared above 350{degree}C. FTIR analysis also suggested the loss of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups from chars at high temperatures. The H/C and O/C ratios of chars decreased continuously with increasing temperature. The oxidative chars showed characteristics essentially similar to those of the non-oxidative chars. The surface area of char was negligible at low temperatures, but increased dramatically to a maximum of 70 m{sup 2}g{sup -1} at 450{degree}C before decreasing at 500{degree}C. SEM analysis indicated that the pyrolysis of pectin occurred via softening and melting of the substrate followed by bubble formation. At high temperatures, surface etching followed by the appearance of crystal

Isothermal CO2 Gasification Reactivity and Kinetic Models of Biomass Char/Anthracite Char

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hai-Bin Zuo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Gasification of four biomass chars and anthracite char were investigated under a CO2 atmosphere using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer. Reactivity differences of chars were considered in terms of pyrolysis temperature, char types, crystallinity, and inherent minerals. The results show that the gasification reactivity of char decreased with the increase of pyrolysis temperature. Char gasification reactivity followed the order of anthracite coal char (AC-char ˂ pine sawdust char (PS-char ˂ peanut hull char (PH-char ˂ wheat straw char (WS-char ˂ corncob char (CB-char under the same pyrolysis temperature. Two repesentative gas-solid models, the random pore model (RPM and the modified random pore model (MRPM, were applied to describe the reactive behaviour of chars. The results indicate RPM performs well to describe gasification rates of chars but cannot predict the phenomenon that there appears to exist a peak conversion for biomass chars at a high conversion rate, where the MRPM performs better.

Scoping of fusion-driven retorting of oil shale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galloway, T.R.

1979-11-01

In the time frame beyond 2005, fusion reactors are likely to make their first appearance when the oil shale industry will probably be operating with 20% of the production derived from surface retorts operating on deep mined shale from in situ retorts and 80% from shale retorted within these in situ retorts using relatively fine shale uniformly rubblized by expensive mining methods. A process was developed where fusion reactors supply a 600 0 C mixture of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor to both surface and in situ retorts. The in situ production is accomplished by inert gas retorting, without oxygen, avoiding the burning of oil released from the larger shale particles produced in a simpler mining method. These fusion reactor-heated gases retort the oil from four 50x50x200m in-situ rubble beds at high rate of 40m/d and high yield (i.e., 95% F.A.), which provided high return on investment around 20% for the syncrude selling at $20/bbl, or 30% if sold as $30/bbl for heating oil. The bed of 600 0 C retorted shale, or char, left behind was then burned by the admission of ambient air in order to recover all of the possible energy from the shale resource. The hot combustion gases, mostly nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor are then heat-exchanged with fusion reactor blanket coolant flow to be sequentially introduced into the next rubble bed ready for retorting. The advantages of this fusion-driven retorting process concept are a cheaper mining method, high yield and higher production rate system, processing with shale grades down to 50 l/mg (12 gpt), improved resource recovery by complete char utilization and low energy losses by leaving behind a cold, spent bed

Development of an advanced continuous mild gasification process for the production of coproducts. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merriam, N.W.; Jha, M.C.

1991-11-01

This report is a final brief summary of development of a mild-gasification and char conversion process. Morgantown Energy Technology Center developed a concept called mild gasification. In this concept, devolatilization of coal under nonoxidizing and relatively mild temperature and pressure conditions can yield three marketable products: (1) a high-heating-value gas, (2) a high-aromatic coal liquid, and (3) a high-carbon char. The objective of this program is to develop an advanced, continuous, mild-gasification process to produce products that will make the concept economically and environmentally viable. (VC)

Renewable energy source from pyrolysis of solid wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Md Kawser Jamil; Farid Nasir Ani

2000-01-01

Malaysia is blessed with a significant renewable energy resource base such as solar energy and biomass. To continue with its industrial development, Malaysia must manages energy supply its c prudently in order to avoid becoming an energy importer supply. Most significantly renewable energy from biomass such as rice husks, wood wastes, oil palm wastes, rubber wastes and other agricultural wastes. Beside rice and timber. Malaysia produces a huge amount of palm oil and natural rubber. These generate a significant amount of solid wastes in the forms of oil palm shell and rubber. These wastes are producing pollution and emission problems in Malaysia which is causing an environmental issue. Besides energy is not recovered efficiently from these waste resources. From the elemental composition and thermogravimetric studies of the wastes, it appeared that the wastes could be used as an alternative value-added source of energy. For this purpose a fast pyrolysis of 300 mi-n lone, and 50 mm diameter stainless-steel reactor was designed and fabricated. The grounded, sieved and dried solid feed particles underwent pyrolysis reactor at moderate temperature and were converted into pyrolytic oil, solid char and cas. Oil and char were collected while the cas was flared. The oil was characterised by GC-MS technique. Detailed analysis of the oil showed that there was no concentration of biologically active polycyclic aromatic species in the oil. The fuel properties of the derived oils were also analysed and compared to diesel fuel. (Author)

Nuclear energy in the oils sands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arsenault, J.E.

2014-01-01

The major Canadian oil sands are located in Alberta and Saskatchewan, with most production from the strata along the Athabasca River in Alberta. The economically recoverable oil sands reserves are estimated to be 168 billion barrels which at a current production rate of 1.8 million barrels per day (2012), are projected to last a very long time. Canada has been blessed with vast energy resources which make it potentially energy-independent and able to provide significant exports but there are concerns that their development cannot be managed in a wholly acceptable manner. Comparable concerns have been applied to nuclear energy in the past and in recent times to the oil sands. The technologies associated with these energy sources have always been controversial because they are at the confluence of economics and politics where finding a balance between risk and reward is difficult. So it should be no surprise that when these technologies get linked together in certain proposals their prospect for success is doubly difficult. The possible use of nuclear energy for production of oil from the oil sands dates back to the late 1950s, when an experiment to mine the oil by detonating an underground nuclear device was proposed. It was predicted that the heat and pressure released from such a device would create a large cavern into which oil would flow, and from where it would be pumped to the surface. Almost at the same time, oil sands research using conventional sources of energy had culminated with the development of practical refining processes, essentially those still in use today. These methods require large amounts of heat energy in the form of hot water and steam. In this century nuclear energy was proposed as the source for the heat required by the oil sands production processes. To date neither of these nuclear proposals for oil sands projects have been successful, because the economic and political balance could not be struck. (author)

Nuclear energy in the oils sands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arsenault, J.E.

2014-09-15

The major Canadian oil sands are located in Alberta and Saskatchewan, with most production from the strata along the Athabasca River in Alberta. The economically recoverable oil sands reserves are estimated to be 168 billion barrels which at a current production rate of 1.8 million barrels per day (2012), are projected to last a very long time. Canada has been blessed with vast energy resources which make it potentially energy-independent and able to provide significant exports but there are concerns that their development cannot be managed in a wholly acceptable manner. Comparable concerns have been applied to nuclear energy in the past and in recent times to the oil sands. The technologies associated with these energy sources have always been controversial because they are at the confluence of economics and politics where finding a balance between risk and reward is difficult. So it should be no surprise that when these technologies get linked together in certain proposals their prospect for success is doubly difficult. The possible use of nuclear energy for production of oil from the oil sands dates back to the late 1950s, when an experiment to mine the oil by detonating an underground nuclear device was proposed. It was predicted that the heat and pressure released from such a device would create a large cavern into which oil would flow, and from where it would be pumped to the surface. Almost at the same time, oil sands research using conventional sources of energy had culminated with the development of practical refining processes, essentially those still in use today. These methods require large amounts of heat energy in the form of hot water and steam. In this century nuclear energy was proposed as the source for the heat required by the oil sands production processes. To date neither of these nuclear proposals for oil sands projects have been successful, because the economic and political balance could not be struck. (author)

Combustion char characterisation. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, P; Ingermann Petersen, H; Sund Soerensen, H; Thomsen, E; Guvad, C

1996-06-01

The aim was to correlate reactivity measures of raw coals and the maceral concentrates of the coals obtained in a previous project with the morphology of the produced chars by using a wire grid devolatilization method. Work involved determination of morphology, macroporosity and a detailed study by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Systematic variations in the texture of chars produced in different temperature domains and heating rates were demonstrated by using incident light microscopy on polished blocks and by SEM studies directly on the surfaces of untreated particles. Results suggest that work in the field of char reactivity estimates and correlations between char morphology and coal petrography can be accomplished only on chars produced under heating rates and temperatures comparable to those for the intended use of coal. A general correlation between the coals` petrography and the the morphology of high temperature chars was found. The SEM study of the chars revealed that during the devolatilization period the particles fuse and the macroporosity and thus the morphotypes are formed. After devolatilization ceases, secondary micropores are formed. These develop in number and size throughout the medium combustion interval. At the end of the combustion interval the macrostructure breaks down, caused by coalescence of the increased number of microspores. This can be observed as a change in the morphology and the macroporosity of the chars. Results indicate that char reactivity is a function of the macroporosity and thus the morphology of combustion chars. (AB) 34 refs.

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Tar Model Compound with Various Bio-Char Catalysts to Recycle Char from Biomass Pyrolysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinmiao Liu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Tar and char can be regarded as unwanted byproducts during the gasification process. In this study, three types of catalyst, i.e., biomass char (bio-char, nickel supported on biomass (Ni+bio-char, and nickel supported on bio-char (bio-char+Ni, were studied to compare the catalytic effects of different preparation methods on tar model compound removal. The structural characteristics of the three catalysts were also investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET methods. The results revealed that Ni+bio-char catalyst showed much higher activity for the reformation of toluene (C7H8 as a tar model compound than the other two catalysts. Toluene could be completely converted to small gas molecules at a conversion rate of 99.92% at 800 °C, and the maximum yield of gas was 432 mL/(mL C7H8. In particular, the H2 and CH4 yields were 339 and 85 mL/(mL C7H8 at 850 °C, respectively. An N2 absorption-desorption experiment demonstrated that the specific surface area of Ni+bio-char was 32.87 times that of bio-char and 8.39 times that of bio-char+Ni. Moreover, metallic nickel (Ni0 particles could be generated in the carbon matrix of Ni+bio-char catalyst. SEM analysis confirmed that the Ni+bio-char catalyst had a more porous structure. Nickel supported on biomass might be a promising catalyst for tar reformation because of its excellent catalytic activities.

Production of activated carbon from TCR char

Science.gov (United States)

Stenzel, Fabian; Heberlein, Markus; Klinner, Tobias; Hornung, Andreas

2016-04-01

The utilization of char for adsorptive purposes is known since the 18th century. At that time the char was made of wood or bones and used for decoloration of fluids. In the 20th century the production of activated carbon in an industrial scale was started. The today's raw materials for activated carbon production are hard coal, peat, wood or coconut shells. All these materials entail costs especially the latter. Thus, the utilization of carbon rich residues (biomass) is an interesting economic opportunity because it is available for no costs or even can create income. The char is produced by thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR®). This process is a combination of an intermediate pyrolysis and subsequently a reforming step. During the pyrolysis step the material is decomposed in a vapor and a solid carbon enriched phase. In the second step the vapor and the solid phase get in an intensive contact and the quality of both materials is improved via the reforming process. Subsequently, the condensables are precipitated from the vapor phase and a permanent gas as well as oil is obtained. Both are suitable for heat and power production which is a clear advantage of the TCR® process. The obtained biochar from the TCR® process has special properties. This material has a very low hydrogen and oxygen content. Its stability is comparable to hard coal or anthracite. Therefore it consists almost only of carbon and ash. The latter depends from input material. Furthermore the surface structure and area can be influenced during the reforming step. Depending from temperature and residence time the number of micro pores and the surface area can be increased. Preliminary investigations with methylene blue solution have shown that a TCR® char made of digestate from anaerobic digestion has adsorptive properties. The decoloration of the solution was achieved. A further influencing factor of the adsorption performance is the particle size. Based on the results of the preliminary tests a

Oil substitution and energy saving - A research and development strategy of the International Energy Agency /IEA/

Science.gov (United States)

Rath-Nagel, S.

1981-03-01

Systems analyses were carried out by the International Energy Agency for the participating 15 countries in order to work out strategies and scenarios for lessening the dependence on imported oil and for developing new energy technologies. MARKAL model computations show the technology and energy mixes necessary for achieving a reduction of oil imports by two thirds over the next 40 years. The scenario 'high social security' examines the projected rise in energy consumption, the development of oil substitutes, the increase in alternative heating sources, the development of markets for liquid energy products, the demand for gas, and the relative usage of various energy generation methods. The recommended strategy involves as the most important points an increase in coal consumption, greater nuclear energy reliance and development of alternative technologies.

Demand for oil and energy in developing countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolf, C. Jr.; Relles, D.A.; Navarro, J.

1980-05-01

How much of the world's oil and energy supply will the non-OPEC less-developed countries (NOLDCs) demand in the next decade. Will their requirements be small and thus fairly insignificant compared with world demand, or large and relatively important. How will world demand be affected by the economic growth of the NOLDCs. In this report, we try to develop some reasonable forecasts of NOLDC energy demands in the next 10 years. Our focus is mainly on the demand for oil, but we also give some attention to the total commercial energy requirements of these countries. We have tried to be explicit about the uncertainties associated with our forecasts, and with the income and price elasticities on which they are based. Finally, we consider the forecasts in terms of their implications for US policies concerning the NOLDCs and suggest areas of future research on NOLDC energy issues.

Analysis of selected energy security issues related to US crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, transportation and processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-10-01

In July 1989, President Bush directed the Secretary of Energy to initiate the development of a comprehensive National Energy Strategy (NES) built upon a national consensus. The overall principle for the NES, as defined by the President and articulated by the Economic Policy Council (EPC), is the continuation of the successful policy of market reliance, consistent with the following goals: Balancing of energy, economic, and environmental concerns; and reduced dependence by the US and its friends and allies on potentially unreliable energy suppliers. The analyses presented in this report draw upon a large body of work previously conducted for DOE/Office of Fossil Energy, the US Department of Interior/Minerals Management Service (DOI/MMS), and the Gas Research Institute (GRI), referenced throughout the text of this report. This work includes assessments in the following areas: the potential of advanced oil and gas extraction technologies as improved through R ampersand D, along with the successful transfer of these technologies to the domestic petroleum industry; the economic and energy impacts of environmental regulations on domestic oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation; the potential of tax incentives to stimulate domestic oil and gas development and production; the potential environmental costs associated with various options for leasing for US oil and gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); and the economic impacts of environmental regulations affecting domestic crude oil refining

Development of the Write Process for Pipeline-Ready Heavy Oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee Brecher; Charles Mones; Frank Guffey

2009-03-07

Work completed under this program advances the goal of demonstrating Western Research Institute's (WRI's) WRITE{trademark} process for upgrading heavy oil at field scale. MEG Energy Corporation (MEG) located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada supported efforts at WRI to develop the WRITE{trademark} process as an oil sands, field-upgrading technology through this Task 51 Jointly Sponsored Research project. The project consisted of 6 tasks: (1) optimization of the distillate recovery unit (DRU), (2) demonstration and design of a continuous coker, (3) conceptual design and cost estimate for a commercial facility, (4) design of a WRITE{trademark} pilot plant, (5) hydrotreating studies, and (6) establish a petroleum analysis laboratory. WRITE{trademark} is a heavy oil and bitumen upgrading process that produces residuum-free, pipeline ready oil from heavy material with undiluted density and viscosity that exceed prevailing pipeline specifications. WRITE{trademark} uses two processing stages to achieve low and high temperature conversion of heavy oil or bitumen. The first stage DRU operates at mild thermal cracking conditions, yielding a light overhead product and a heavy residuum or bottoms material. These bottoms flow to the second stage continuous coker that operates at severe pyrolysis conditions, yielding light pyrolyzate and coke. The combined pyrolyzate and mildly cracked overhead streams form WRITE{trademark}'s synthetic crude oil (SCO) production. The main objectives of this project were to (1) complete testing and analysis at bench scale with the DRU and continuous coker reactors and provide results to MEG for process evaluation and scale-up determinations and (2) complete a technical and economic assessment of WRITE{trademark} technology to determine its viability. The DRU test program was completed and a processing envelope developed. These results were used for process assessment and for scaleup. Tests in the continuous coker were intended to

Energy Efficient Pump Control for an Offshore Oil Processing System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Zhenyu; Soleiman, Kian; Løhndorf, Bo

2012-01-01

The energy efficient control of a pump system for an offshore oil processing system is investigated. The seawater is lifted up by a pump system which consists of three identical centrifugal pumps in parallel, and the lifted seawater is used to cool down the crude oil flowing out of a threephase...... separator on one of the Danish north-sea platform. A hierarchical pump-speed control strategy is developed for the considered system by minimizing the pump power consumption subject to keeping a satisfactory system performance. The proposed control strategy consists of online estimation of some system...... operating parameters, optimization of pump configurations, and a real-time feedback control. Comparing with the current control strategy at the considered system, where the pump system is on/off controlled, and the seawater flows are controlled by a number of control valves, the proposed control strategy...

Future strategies for oil shale development as a new indigenous energy resource in Jordan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaber, J.O.; Tarawneh, T.

2011-01-01

Indigenous oil shale deposits could satisfy Jordan's demand for liquid and gaseous fuels as well as electricity for many centuries. Markets also exist for raw and retorted oil shale, spent shale, and for sulfur recovered during the upgrading and refining of crude shale oil. Although the potential benefits of oil shale development are substantial, complex and expensive facilities would be required, and these have serious economic, environmental, and social implications for the Kingdom and its people. In January 2006, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a grant to the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to support the analysis of current oil shale processing technologies and the application of international expertise to the development of a oil shale industry in Jordan. The goal of the technical assistance project was to help the Government of Jordan (GoJ) establish short and long-term strategies for oil shale development and to facilitate the commercial production of shale oil in the country. This paper discusses the results of the project. The Kingdom's current energy situation and its previous work on oil shale are summarized, and the incentives and restraints on oil shale commercialization are described. Impediments to development are identified, and possible governmental responses are assessed. (author)

Advances in biofuel production from oil palm and palm oil processing wastes: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jundika C. Kurnia

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Over the last decades, the palm oil industry has been growing rapidly due to increasing demands for food, cosmetic, and hygienic products. Aside from producing palm oil, the industry generates a huge quantity of residues (dry and wet which can be processed to produce biofuel. Driven by the necessity to find an alternative and renewable energy/fuel resources, numerous technologies have been developed and more are being developed to process oil-palm and palm-oil wastes into biofuel. To further develop these technologies, it is essential to understand the current stage of the industry and technology developments. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the palm oil industry, review technologies available to process oil palm and palm oil residues into biofuel, and to summarise the challenges that should be overcome for further development. The paper also discusses the research and development needs, technoeconomics, and life cycle analysis of biofuel production from oil-palm and palm-oil wastes.

Fast Pyrolysis Oil Stabilization: An Integrated Catalytic and Membrane Approach for Improved Bio-oils. Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huber, George W.; Upadhye, Aniruddha A.; Ford, David M.; Bhatia, Surita R.; Badger, Phillip C.

2012-10-19

This University of Massachusetts, Amherst project, "Fast Pyrolysis Oil Stabilization: An Integrated Catalytic and Membrane Approach for Improved Bio-oils" started on 1st February 2009 and finished on August 31st 2011. The project consisted following tasks: Task 1.0: Char Removal by Membrane Separation Technology The presence of char particles in the bio-oil causes problems in storage and end-use. Currently there is no well-established technology to remove char particles less than 10 micron in size. This study focused on the application of a liquid-phase microfiltration process to remove char particles from bio-oil down to slightly sub-micron levels. Tubular ceramic membranes of nominal pore sizes 0.5 and 0.8m were employed to carry out the microfiltration, which was conducted in the cross-flow mode at temperatures ranging from 38 to 45 C and at three different trans-membrane pressures varying from 1 to 3 bars. The results demonstrated the removal of the major quantity of char particles with a significant reduction in overall ash content of the bio-oil. The results clearly showed that the cake formation mechanism of fouling is predominant in this process. Task 2.0 Acid Removal by Membrane Separation Technology The feasibility of removing small organic acids from the aqueous fraction of fast pyrolysis bio-oils using nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes was studied. Experiments were carried out with a single solute solutions of acetic acid and glucose, binary solute solutions containing both acetic acid and glucose, and a model aqueous fraction of bio-oil (AFBO). Retention factors above 90% for glucose and below 0% for acetic acid were observed at feed pressures near 40 bar for single and binary solutions, so that their separation in the model AFBO was expected to be feasible. However, all of the membranes were irreversibly damaged when experiments were conducted with the model AFBO due to the presence of guaiacol in the feed solution. Experiments

Oxidation rates of carbon and nitrogen in char residues from solid fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karlstroem, O.

2013-06-01

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is an important tool in designing new combustion systems. By using CFD modeling, entire combustion systems can be modeled and the emissions and the performance can be predicted. CFD modeling can also be used to develop new and better combustion systems from an economical and environmental point of view. In CFD modeling of solid fuel combustion, the combustible fuel is generally treated as single fuel particles. One of the limitations with the CFD modeling concerns the sub-models describing the combustion of single fuel particles. Available models in the scientific literature are in many cases not suitable as submodels for CFD modeling since they depend on a large number of input parameters and are computationally heavy. In this thesis CFD-applicable models are developed for the combustion of single fuel particles. The single particle models can be used to improve the combustion performance in various combustion devices or develop completely new technologies. The investigated fields are oxidation of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in char residues from solid fuels. Modeled char-C oxidation rates are compared to experimental oxidation rates for a large number of pulverized solid fuel chars under relevant combustion conditions. The experiments have been performed in an isothermal plug flow reactor operating at 1123-1673 K and 3-15 vol.% O{sub 2}. In the single particle model, the char oxidation is based on apparent kinetics and depends on three fuel specific parameters: apparent pre-exponential factor, apparent activation energy, and apparent reaction order. The single particle model can be incorporated as a sub-model into a CFD code. The results show that the modeled char oxidation rates are in good agreement with experimental char oxidation rates up to around 70% of burnout. Moreover, the results show that the activation energy and the reaction order can be assumed to be constant for a large number of bituminous coal chars

Evaluation of energy efficiency options in steam assisted gravity drainage oil sands surface facilities via process integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carreon, Carlos E.; Mahmoudkhani, Maryam; Alva-Argaez, Alberto; Bergerson, Joule

2015-01-01

While new technologies are being developed for extracting unconventional oil, in the near term economic benefits and footprint reduction can be achieved by enhancing the energy efficiency of existing facilities. The objective of this work is to evaluate energy efficiency opportunities for in situ extraction of Canada's oil sands resource using pinch analysis. Modifications to an original plant design are analyzed in order to estimate utility savings beyond those obtained for the initial process configuration. The modifications explored in this paper are estimated to deliver energy savings of up to 6% beyond ‘business as usual’. This corresponds to GHG emissions reduction of approximately 5%. However, in some cases, this increase in energy savings comes at the cost of increasing demand for make-up water and volume of disposal water. Surplus generation of steam beyond heating requirements in the water treatment system leads to energy inefficiencies. Additional cost and energy savings are obtained by reducing or eliminating the use of glycol in the cooling circuit. - Highlights: • Pinch analysis performed for unconventional oil recovery process to identify inefficiencies. • Both the removal of pinch violations and process modifications lead to savings. • Effect of energy savings on water consumption for the process is considered. • Greenhouse gas emissions reduction and economic benefit are estimated for the studied cases

Thermovolumetric investigations of steam gasification of coals and their chars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Porada Stanisław

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The process of steam gasification of three coals of various rank and three chars obtained from these coals by the ex-situ method at 900 °C was compared. In the coal gasification process, the pyrolysis stage plays a very important part, which is connected with its direct impact on the kinetics of gasification of the resulting char. What is more, taking into consideration the impact of pyrolysis conditions on char properties, it should be anticipated that the gasification kinetics of coal and char, formed from it by the ex situ method, will be different. In order to examine and compare the process of gasification of coals and chars, an isothermal thermovolumetric method, designed by the authors, was applied. For all the examined samples the measurements were performed at three temperatures, i.e. 850, 900, and 950 °C, and at the pressure of 0.1 MPa. An evaluation of the impact of raw material on the steam gasification of the examined samples was made. The carbon conversion degree and the kinetic parameters of CO and H2 formation reaction were calculated. It was observed that the course of gasification is different for coals and chars obtained from them and it can be concluded that coals are more reactive than chars. Values of kinetic parameters of carbon monoxide and hydrogen formation calculated for coals and corresponding chars are also different. Due to the observed differences the process of gasification of coals and of chars with steam should not be equated.

Gasification of biomass chars in steam-nitrogen mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haykiri-Acma, H.; Yaman, S.; Kucukbayrak, S.

2006-01-01

Some agricultural and waste biomass samples such as sunflower shell, pinecone, rapeseed, cotton refuse and olive refuse were first pyrolyzed in nitrogen, and then, their chars were gasified in a gas mixture of steam and nitrogen. Experiments were performed using the thermogravimetric analysis technique. Pyrolysis of the biomass samples was performed at a heating rate of 20 K/min from ambient to 1273 K in a dynamic nitrogen atmosphere of 40 cm 3 min -1 . The obtained chars were cooled to ambient temperature and then gasified up to 1273 K in a dynamic atmosphere of 40 cm 3 min -1 of a mixture of steam and nitrogen. Derivative thermogravimetric analysis profiles from gasification of the chars were derived, and the mass losses from the chars were interpreted in terms of temperature. It was concluded that gasification characteristics of biomass chars were fairly dependent on the biomass properties such as ash and fixed carbon contents and the constituents present in the ash. Different mechanisms in the three temperature intervals, namely water desorption at lower temperatures, decomposition of hydroxide minerals to oxide minerals and formation of carbon monoxide at medium temperatures and production of hydrogen at high temperatures govern the behavior of the char during the gasification process. The chars from pinecone and sunflower shell could be easily gasified under the mentioned conditions. In order to further raise the conversion yields, long hold times should be applied at high temperatures. However, the chars from rapeseed and olive refuse were not gasified satisfactorily. Low ash content and high fixed carbon content biomass materials are recommended for use in gasification processes when char from pyrolysis at elevated temperatures is used as a feedstock

Sulfate reduction and carbon removal during kraft char burning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waag, K.J.; Frederick, W.J.; Sricharoenchaikul, V [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Grace, T.M. [T.M. Grace Company, Appleton, WI (United States); Kymalainen, M. [Tampella Power, Tampere (Finland)

1995-12-31

An improved mathematical model of char burning during black liquor combustion was described. Enhancements include a proper treatment of CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O gasification, reactions between oxygen and combustibles in the boundary layer, and integration of sulfate reduction and sulfide reoxidation into the char burning process. Gasification of char carbon by reaction with H{sub 2}O and CO{sub 2} proved to be the most important means of carbon release under typical recovery furnace conditions. Sulfate reduction was shown to be responsible for only a minor part of the carbon release. Simulations showed that for typical recovery boiler conditions, char burning behavior is independent of oxygen concentration up to the point of carbon depletion. After carbon depletion, sulfide reoxidation occurs at a rate determined by oxygen mass transfer. Process variables that had the biggest effect on char burning behavior were initial black liquor drop diameter and temperature; also there was a direct link between char burnout times and the amount of sulfate reduction. At a given temperature, any variable that shortened the char burnout time resulted in proportionately less reduction. 22 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Influence of pyrolysis conditions on the structure and gasification reactivity of biomass chars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E. Cetin; B. Moghtaderi; R. Gupta; T.F. Wall [University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW (Australia). Discipline of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, School of Engineering

2004-11-01

The physical and chemical structure as well as gasification reactivities of chars generated from several biomass species (i.e. pinus radiata, eucalyptus maculata and sugar cane bagasse) were studied to gain insight into the role of heating rate and pressure on the gasification characteristics of biomass chars. Char samples were generated in a suite of reactors including a wire mesh reactor, a tubular reactor, and a drop tube furnace. Scanning electron microscopy analysis, X-ray diffractometry, digital cinematography and surface area analysis were employed to determine the impact of operating conditions on the char structure. The global gasification reactivities of char samples were also determined for a range of pressures between 1 and 20 bar using pressurised thermogravimetric analysis technique. Char reactivities were found to increase with increasing pyrolysis heating rates and decreasing pyrolysis pressure. It was found that under high heating rates the char particles underwent plastic deformation (i.e. melted) developing a structure different to that of the virgin biomass. Pressure was also found to influence the physical and chemical structures of char particles. The difference in the gasification reactivities of biomass chars at pressure was found to correlate well with the effect of pyrolysis pressure on the graphitisation process in the biomass char structure. 29 refs., 18 figs., 2 tabs.

Intrinsic char reactivity of plastic waste (PET) during CO2 gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil, M.V.; Fermoso, J.; Pevida, C.; Pis, J.J.; Rubiera, F.

2010-01-01

Char reactivity has a strong influence on the gasification process, since char gasification is the slowest step in the process. A sample of waste PET was devolatilised in a vertical quartz reactor and the resulting char was partially gasified under a CO 2 atmosphere at 925 C in order to obtain samples with different degrees of conversion. The reactivity of the char in CO 2 was determined by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis at different temperatures in a kinetically controlled regime and its reactive behaviour was evaluated by means of the random pore model (RPM). The texture of the char was characterised by means of N 2 and CO 2 adsorption isotherms. The results did not reveal any variation in char reactivity during conversion, whereas the micropore surface area was affected during the gasification process. It was found that the intrinsic reaction rate of the char can be satisfactorily calculated by normalizing the reaction rate by the narrow micropore surface area calculated from the CO 2 adsorption isotherms. It can be concluded therefore that the surface area available for the gasification process is the area corresponding to the narrow microporosity. (author)

Impact of Char Livelihood Program (CLP of Char land Dwellers around the Char Areas in Sirajgonj District of Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Anamul Haque

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In an attempt to address the impact of Char Livelihood Program (CLP of Char land dwellers, this study is carried out to examine the livelihood and income generation activities of the people of Bangala Char in Sirajgonj District, due to intervention of Char Livelihood Program (CLP by the DFID of United Kingdom (UK. The research question of the study was whether and to what extent the Char Livelihood Program (CLP brings any changes in the livelihood and income generation activities of the people of Bangala Char. Two areas have been studied, one area is under the intervention of the project (Bangala Char as program intervention area another is not under the program intervention (Sonatoni Char as control area. Both areas have been chosen of the vicinity of similar characteristics and geographical location for the ease of addressing the problems and analytical comparison. The study uses semi-structured questionnaire for household interview both for the program intervention and the control area as random sampling basis. This study a total of 96 households’ interviews conducted of the study areas among them 48 households from Bangala Char and 48 households from the Sonatoni Char (control area. Primary data collected from house hold respondent and secondary data were used from published and unpublished sources. Four variables are access to land, income and assets , food security and vulnerability identified and the analysis shows that access to land resources among the char dwellers has established legal ownership and entitlement of land and resolve the crisis of permanent settlement which bring change in livelihood in terms of access to land resources to some extent. The islands of char dwellers are in general disadvantaged with respect to their mainland counterparts in terms of physical isolation and vulnerability to flooding and erosion have created seasonal migration and higher dependency on traditional money lenders for accessing credit supply

Synergistic Effect of Co-utilization of Coal and Biomass Char: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Paiman, M. E. S.; Hamzah, N. S.; Idris, S. S.; Rahman, N. A.; Ismail, K.

2018-05-01

Global concerns on impact of greenhouse gases emission, mostly released from coal-fired power plant, and the depletion of fossil fuel particularly coal, has led the production of electricity from alternatives resources such as co-utilization technologies. Previous studies proved that the co-utilization of coal and biomass/biomass chars has significantly reduced the emission of greenhouse gases either during the pyrolysis, combustion or gasification process in laboratories, pilots as well as in the industrial scales. Interestingly, most of the studies reported the presence of synergistic effect during the co-utilization processes particularly between coal and biomass char while some are not. Biomass chars were found to have porous and highly disorder carbon structure and belong to the class of most reactive carbon material, resulting to be more reactive than those hard coal and lignite. Up to date, microwave assisted pyrolysis is one of the best and latest techniques employed to produce better quality of biomass chars and it is also reduce the processing cost. Lot of works has been done regarding on the existence of synergistic effects during its co-utilization. However, the knowledge is limited to thermal and product characteristics so far. Even so, the specific reasons behind its existence are yet to understand well. Therefore, in this paper, the emphasis will be given on the synergistic effects on emission characteristics of co-utilization of coal and biomass chars so that it can be apply in energy-based industries to help in reduction of the greenhouse gases emission.

A study of energy consumption in turning process using lubrication of nanoparticles enhanced coconut oil (NECO)

Science.gov (United States)

Mansor, A. F.; Zakaria, M. S.; Azmi, A. I.; Khalil, A. N. M.; Musa, N. A.

2017-10-01

Cutting fluids play very important role in machining application in order to increase tool life, surface finish and reduce energy consumption. Instead of using petrochemical and synthetic based cutting fluids, vegetable oil based lubricants is safety for operators, environmental friendly and become more popular in the industrial applications. This research paper aims to find the advantage of using vegetable oils (coconut oil) with additional of nano particles (CuO) as lubricant to the energy consumption during machining process. The energy was measured for each run from 2 level factorial experimental layout. Obtained results illustrate that lubricant with enhancement of nanoparticles has capability to improve the energy consumption during the machining process.

Characteristics of activated carbon resulted from pyrolysis of the oil palm fronds powder

Science.gov (United States)

Maulina, S.; Iriansyah, M.

2018-02-01

Activated carbon is the product of a charcoal impregnation process that has a higher absorption capacity and has more benefits than regular char. Therefore, this study aims to cultivate the powder of oil palm fronds into activated carbon that meets the requirements of Standard National Indonesia 06-3730-1995. To do so, the carbonization process of the powder of oil palm fronds was carried out using a pyrolysis reactor for 30 minutes at a temperature of 150 °C, 200 °C, and 250 °C in order to produce activated char. Then, the char was impregnated using Phosphoric Acid activator (H3PO4) for 24 hours. Characteristics of activated carbon indicate that the treatment of char by chemical activation of oil palm fronds powder has an effect on the properties of activated carbon. The activated carbons that has the highest absorption properties to Iodine (822.91 mg/g) were obtained from the impregnation process with 15% concentration of Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4) at pyrolysis temperature of 200 °C. Furthermore, the activation process resulted in activated carbon with water content of 8%, ash content of 4%, volatile matter 39%, and fixed carbon 75%, Iodine number 822.91 mg/g.

Improvement of biomass char-CO{sub 2} gasification reactivity using microwave irradiation and natural catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lahijani, Pooya, E-mail: pooya.lahijani@gmail.com [Biomass and Bioenergy Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang (Malaysia); Mohammadi, Maedeh, E-mail: m.mohammadi@nit.ac.ir [Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol Noushirvani University of Technology, 47148 Babol (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zainal, Zainal Alimuddin, E-mail: mezainal@eng.usm.my [Biomass and Bioenergy Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang (Malaysia); Mohamed, Abdul Rahman, E-mail: chrahman@usm.my [Low Carbon Economy (LCE) Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang (Malaysia)

2015-03-20

Highlights: • We study microwave-induced gasification of EFB ash-loaded biomass char with CO{sub 2}. • Synergistic effect of microwave and catalyst resulted in CO{sub 2} conversion of 93%. • Gasification of pristine char using conventional heating gives CO{sub 2} conversion of 58%. • E{sub a} of 74 and 247 kJ/mol were obtained for microwave and conventional CO{sub 2} gasification. - Abstract: In char-CO{sub 2} gasification, the highly endothermic nature of the Boudouard reaction (CO{sub 2} (g) + C (s) ↔ 2CO (g)) dictates use of very high temperatures to shift the equilibrium towards CO production. In this study, such high temperature (750–900 °C) was provided by microwave irradiation. A microwave heating system was developed to perform the gasification tests by passing CO{sub 2} through a packed bed of oil palm shell (OPS) char. In order to speed up the microwave-induced CO{sub 2} gasification, ash of palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was used as natural catalyst (rich in potassium) and incorporated into the skeleton of the OPS char. The synergistic effect of microwave and catalyst concluded to very encouraging results, where a CO{sub 2} conversion of 93% was achieved at 900 °C, within 60 min microwave gasification. In comparison, CO{sub 2} conversion in thermal gasification (conventional heating) of pristine OPS char was only 58% under the same operating condition.

Clean and Secure Energy from Domestic Oil Shale and Oil Sands Resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spinti, Jennifer [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Birgenheier, Lauren [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Deo, Milind [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Facelli, Julio [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Hradisky, Michal [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Kelly, Kerry [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Miller, Jan [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); McLennan, John [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Ring, Terry [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Ruple, John [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Uchitel, Kirsten [Inst. for Clean and Secure Energy, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

2015-09-30

This report summarizes the significant findings from the Clean and Secure Energy from Domestic Oil Shale and Oil Sands Resources program sponsored by the Department of Energy through the National Energy Technology Laboratory. There were four principle areas of research; Environmental, legal, and policy issues related to development of oil shale and oil sands resources; Economic and environmental assessment of domestic unconventional fuels industry; Basin-scale assessment of conventional and unconventional fuel development impacts; and Liquid fuel production by in situ thermal processing of oil shale Multiple research projects were conducted in each area and the results have been communicated via sponsored conferences, conference presentations, invited talks, interviews with the media, numerous topical reports, journal publications, and a book that summarizes much of the oil shale research relating to Utah’s Uinta Basin. In addition, a repository of materials related to oil shale and oil sands has been created within the University of Utah’s Institutional Repository, including the materials generated during this research program. Below is a listing of all topical and progress reports generated by this project and submitted to the Office of Science and Technical Information (OSTI). A listing of all peer-reviewed publications generated as a result of this project is included at the end of this report; Geomechanical and Fluid Transport Properties 1 (December, 2015); Validation Results for Core-Scale Oil Shale Pyrolysis (February, 2015); and Rates and Mechanisms of Oil Shale Pyrolysis: A Chemical Structure Approach (November, 2014); Policy Issues Associated With Using Simulation to Assess Environmental Impacts (November, 2014); Policy Analysis of the Canadian Oil Sands Experience (September, 2013); V-UQ of Generation 1 Simulator with AMSO Experimental Data (August, 2013); Lands with Wilderness Characteristics, Resource Management Plan Constraints, and Land Exchanges

Experimental investigation of pyrolysis of rice straw using bench-scale auger, batch and fluidized bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, Hyungseok; Capareda, Sergio C.; Ashwath, Nanjappa; Kongkasawan, Jinjuta

2015-01-01

Energy conversion efficiencies of three pyrolysis reactors (bench-scale auger, batch, and fluidized bed) were investigated using rice straw as the feedstock at a temperature of 500 °C. The highest bio-oil yield of 43% was obtained from the fluidized bed reactor, while the maximum bio-char yield of 48% was obtained from the batch reactor. Similar bio-oil yields were obtained from the auger and batch type reactors. The GCMS and FTIR were used to evaluate the liquid products from all reactors. The best quality bio-oil and bio-char from the batch reactor was determined to have a heating value of 31 MJ/kg and 19 MJ/kg, respectively. The highest alkali mineral was found in the bio-char produced from the auger reactor. The energy conversion efficiencies of the three reactors indicated that the majority of the energy (50–64%) was in the bio-char products from the auger and batch reactors, while the bio-oil from the fluidized bed reactor contained the highest energy (47%). A Sankey diagram has been produced to show the flows of product energy from each pyrolysis process. The result will help determine which conversion process would be optimal for producing specific products of bio-char, bio-oil, and gas depending on the needs. - Highlights: • Pyrolysis products from auger, batch, and fluidized bed reactor were examined. • O/C ratios of bio-oils stayed in specific ranges depending on the process reactors. • The largest quantity of bio-oil from fluidized, while the best quality from batch. • The highest alkali concentration of 37 g/kg included in the auger based bio-char. • Sankey diagram was used to understand the energy distribution from reactors.

Effects of catalysts on combustion characteristics and kinetics of coal-char blends

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yingjie; Wang, Zhiqiang; Cheng, Xingxing; Liu, Ming; Ma, Chunyuan

2018-04-01

The effects of Fe2O3, CaO, and MnO2 on the combustion characteristics and kinetics of coal-char blends were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicated that catalysts exhibited positive effects on the combustion characteristics of coal-char blends, especially in the initial period of coal-char blends combustion. With catalysts addition (mass 1.5%), it could improves volatile matter release, and reduces ignition point, promotes char to begin burning under lower temperature. The ignition index (C) was increased, respectively, by 27% for Fe2O3, 6% for CaO, 11.3% for MnO2, and the combustion characteristic index ( S ) was increased respectively, by 29% for Fe2O3, 5% for CaO, 8.3% for MnO2. In addition, two kinetic models (R2 and F1) were adopted to calculate the kinetic parameters in different stage of combustion processes. The results showed that with Fe2O3 or CaO addition, the activation energy at second stage decreases from 86.0 KJ/mol to 76.92 KJ/mol and 75.12 KJ/mol, respectively. There are no obvious decreases at the third stage of samples combustion process.

A Study on Recycling of Spent Mushroom Substrate to Prepare Chars and Activated Carbon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuhui Ma

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Chars were obtained from spent mushroom substrate (SMS via pyrolysis. It was found that as the pyrolysis temperature increased from 400 to 700 °C, the char yield decreased from 45.10 to 33.79 wt.% and the higher heating value increased from 17.32 to 22.72 MJ/kg. The largest BET surface area (13 m2/g was created at 500 °C. Hydrogen atoms were continuously lost during pyrolysis, whereas oxygen atoms were difficult to eliminate. Whewellite, calcite, lime, and quartz were the minerals in the chars, and their forms and crystallinity changed with changing pyrolysis temperature. Activated carbon with a BET surface area of 1023 m2/g and a total pore volume of 0.595 cm3/g was obtained from the char prepared at 500 °C. Its characteristics were studied by N2-adsorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, and X-ray diffraction (XRD. The pyrolysis and KOH-activation processes were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA. The results showed that the pyrolysis of SMS occurred primarily between 217 and 375 °C and that the energies needed for the pyrolysis reactions were relatively low due to the prior mushroom cultivation. Furthermore, lignin was incompletely decomposed in the char prepared at 500 °C, and KOH suppressed tar evolution and reduced the energy needed to decompose the residual lignin during activation.

An overview of renewable hydrogen production from thermochemical process of oil palm solid waste in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosseini, Seyed Ehsan; Wahid, Mazlan Abdul; Ganjehkaviri, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • 40% of energy demand of Malaysia could be supplied by thermochemical process of PSR. • SCWG of PSR is preferable thermochemical process due to char and tar elimination. • Potential of H 2 production from SCWG of PSR is 1.05 × 10 10 kgH 2 per year in Malaysia. • Highly moisturized PSR could be used in hydrogen production by SCWG process. - Abstract: Hydrogen is one of the most promising energy carriers for the future of the world due to its tremendous capability of pollution reduction. Hydrogen utilization is free of toxic gases formation as well as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission. Hydrogen production can be implemented using a wide variety of resources including fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable and sustainable energy (RSE). Amongst various RSE resources, biomass has great capacity to be employed for renewable hydrogen production. Hydrogen production from palm solid residue (PSR) via thermochemical process is a perfect candidate for waste-to-well strategy in palm oil mills in Malaysia. In this paper, various characteristics of hydrogen production from thermochemical process of PSR includes pyrolysis and gasification are reviewed. The annual oil palm fruits production in Malaysia is approximately 100 million tonnes which the solid waste of the fruits is capable to generate around 1.05 × 10 10 kgH 2 (1.26 EJ) via supercritical water gasification (SCWG) process. The ratio of energy output to energy input of SCWG process of PSR is about 6.56 which demonstrates the priority of SCWG to transform the energy of PSR into a high energy end product. The high moisture of PSR which is the most important barrier for its direct combustion, emerges as an advantage in thermochemical reactions and highly moisturized PSR (even more than 50%) is utilized directly in SCWG without application of any high cost drying process. Implementation of appropriate strategies could lead Malaysia to supply about 40% of its annual energy demand by hydrogen yield from

A business process for enhanced heavy oil recovery research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, P.; Campbell, M.; Kantzas, A.

1995-01-01

Husky Oil's enhanced oil recovery (EOR) research management processes for reducing process development time and increasing investment efficiency were described. The considerations that went into the development of the plan a decade ago were reviewed and new ideas incorporated into the revised plan were presented. Four case studies were presented to illustrate the need for process to reservoir matching. A need for strategic research planning was emphasized. Proposed technologies for enhancement of heavy oil reservoir productivity were presented in tabular form. 1 tab., 7 figs

Synergistic effect on thermal behavior and char morphology analysis during co-pyrolysis of paulownia wood blended with different plastics waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Lin; Wang, Shuzhong; Meng, Haiyu; Wu, Zhiqiang; Zhao, Jun

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Positive synergistic effect on volatiles yield during co-pyrolysis of PAW and PP. • Higher char yields than predicated value during PAW/PVC and PAW/PET blends pyrolysis. • Co-pyrolysis of PAW and plastics reduced the mean activation energy of the blends. • The plastics affected the surface morphology of co-pyrolysis chars significantly. - Abstract: Thermal behavior of Paulownia wood (PAW), model plastics (polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate, abbreviated as PP, PVC and PET) and their mixtures during pyrolysis process were studied through thermogravimetric analyzer. Scanning electron microscopy technology (SEM) and fractal theory were applied to evaluate the surface morphology of pyrolysis chars. This study found that PP showed synergistic effect on PAW pyrolysis with more volatiles release than predicated value, and the maximum volatiles yield exhibited with 25% PAW blending ratio. However, higher char yields were observed compared with the predicted values during co-pyrolysis process of PAW blends with PVC or PET, and the maximum char yields were obtained under the PAW blending ratio of 75% and 25% respectively. An evident decline in mean activation energy was found during co-pyrolysis of the PAW blending with plastics. The minimum values of mean activation energy for the PAW/PP, PAW/PVC and PAW/PET were gained when the PAW blending ratio were 75%, 50% and 75% respectively. Quantitative information about surface topography of pyrolysis chars were obtained by fractal analysis of the SEM microphotograph. The fractal dimension of residual chars from PAW/PP blends increased from 1.75 to 1.84 as increasing the ratio of PP from 25% to 75%, indicating that PP addition promoted the nonuniformity of the co-pyrolysis chars. The surface morphology of residual chars from PAW/PET and PAW/PVC blends showed a contrary tendency, and the minimum values of fractal dimension were respectively 1.62 and 1.61 under 25% PAW blending

Caracterização dos produtos líquidos e do carvão da pirólise de serragem de eucalipto Characterization of liquid products and char from the pyrolysis of eucalyptus sawdust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayrton F. Martins

2007-08-01

Full Text Available This study proposes the low temperature pyrolysis as an alternative conversion process for residual biomass and for obtaining gaseous, liquid and solid chemical feedstocks. Using a bench electrical pyrolysis oven, four product fractions from eucalyptus sawdust were obtained: a gaseous one, two liquid (aqueous and oily, and a solid residue (char. These products were characterized by different analytical methods. The liquid fractions showed themselves as potential sources for input chemicals. The residual char revealed appreciable adsorption capability. The process demonstrated good efficiency, generating at least two fractions of great industrial interest: bio oil and char.

Preoxidation and Activation of the Lignin Char: Carbonization and Oxidation Procedures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saloua Sebbahi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A comprehensive process of pretreatment and oxidation of lignin char was developed to optimize the production of activated carbon. The lignin char was obtained by carbonization of lignin under nitrogen at 600°C for 2 hours. The optimum time and temperature used to oxidize the char without destruction were, respectively, 6 hours and 245°C. The oxygen improves the reactivity of the sample in CO2 and evolved the sample of a thermoplastic behaviour to a thermosetting behaviour. The oxygenation in air of the lignin char does not change the mode of deformation acquired by the material during the carbonization. The preoxidized coal reacts more than the nonoxidized coal during the CO2 activation, whereas the reduction in volume in the first case is smaller than in the second. The preoxidized and then activated carbon shows the formation and the development of microporosity at the expense of macroporosity. This microstructure is one of the main characteristics of activated carbon, which can be used as adsorbent for different pollutants.

Present status on world alternative energy developments to oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddington, J.

1980-01-01

The IEA was established about five years ago in the OECD immediately after the oil crisis, and 20 countries have participated in it. Progress was observed in the control of the expansion of energy demand. The energy utilization in IEA member countries became efficient due to the contribution of new technologies, and owing to the improvement of productivity, the growth of energy consumption was less than 1% despite the GDP grew at the yearly rate of 2.5%. The expansion of the utilization of natural gas and coal is promising, but the projects of nuclear power generation are behind schedule. The short term prospect in petroleum market is discussed, and the price of crude oil tends to be stabilized. ''The prospect of energy in the world by 2000'' will be published by the IEA in the latter half of 1980. The scale of the development of nuclear power generation was reduced because the prediction of the rate of power generation growth was changed from 5.2% to 3.1%. The effect of new energy technologies on future energy market has been studied by the support of 15 countries, and it was recommended to give financial aid to heat pumps, coal liquefaction and the efficient recovery of oil and natural gas. Also the techniques for operating existing facilities under strict environment and safety regulations have been studied. (Kako, I.)

Novel intrinsic-based submodel for char particle gasification in entrained-flow gasifiers: Model development, validation and illustration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulze, S.; Richter, A.; Vascellari, M.; Gupta, A.; Meyer, B.; Nikrityuk, P.A.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Model resolving intra-particle species transport for char conversion was formulated. • TGA experiments of char particle conversion in gas flow were conducted. • The experimental results for char conversion validated the model. • CFD simulations of endothermic reactor with developed model were carried out. - Abstract: The final carbon conversion rate is of critical importance in the efficiency of gasifiers. Therefore, comprehensive modeling of char particle conversion is of primary interest for designing new gasifiers. This work presents a novel intrinsic-based submodel for the gasification of a char particle moving in a hot flue gas environment considering CO 2 and H 2 O as inlet species. The first part of the manuscript describes the model and its derivation. Validations against experiments carried out in this work for German lignite char are reported in the second part. The comparison between submodel predictions and experimental data shows good agreement. The importance of char porosity change during gasification is demonstrated. The third part presents the results of CFD simulations using the new submodel and a surface-based submodel for a generic endothermic gasifier. The focus of CFD simulations is to demonstrate the crucial role of intrinsic based heterogeneous reactions in the adequate prediction of carbon conversion rates.

Improvement in char formability of phenolic resin for development of Carbon/Carbon composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajhosseini, M.; Payami, A.; Ghaffarian, S. R.; Rezadoust, A. M.

2008-01-01

In the processing of carbon/carbon composites using polymer resin as the matrix precursor, it is inevitable that a porous structure was formed after carbonization. As a result, densification by liquid phase impregnation followed by recarbonization is required to obtain a densified composite. Consequently, the char formability of resin is an important factor in reducing the number of densification cycles and hence the processing cost. In this study, a novel approach is adopted to improve the densification of carbon/carbon composites by using a new phenolic resin modified by pitch. For this purpose, soluble part of pitch was extracted and dispersed in resol type phenolic resin. The polymerization reaction was performed in presence of para-formaldehyde and a resol-pitch compound was obtained. The second compound was prepared by mixing novolac-furfural in 55:45 weight ratio containing 9% by weight hexamethylene tetramine. This compound was added to resol-pitch compound in 10,20,50 and 80 w %. The microstructure of carbonized resin was investigated by X-ray diffraction and char yield, and the linear and volumetric shrinkage were obtained. Results show that in 80:20 ratio of resol-pitch to novolac-furfural , the char yield would be maximized by 71% and volumetric shrinkage would be minimized at 16.4%. At the same time, XRD results indicate that the resin has a strong ability to graphitize carbon/carbon composites matrix as a necessary step for its processing

Porous structure and morphology of granular chars from flash and conventional pyrolysis of grape seeds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jimenez-Cordero, Diana; Heras, Francisco; Alonso-Morales, Noelia; Gilarranz, Miguel A.; Rodriguez, Juan J.

2013-01-01

This work studies the influence of the operating conditions used in the pyrolysis of grape seeds on the morphology and textural properties of the chars resulting. Flash and conventional (283 K min −1 heating rate) pyrolysis have been used within a wide range of temperature (300–1000 °C). The effect of a pretreatment for oil extraction has also been studied. The porous structure of the chars was characterized by adsorption of N 2 at 77 K, Ar at 77 K and 87 K, and CO 2 at 273 K and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. All the materials prepared revealed an essentially microporous structure, with a poor or even negligible contribution of mesopores. Increasing pyrolysis temperature led to higher specific surface areas and lower pore size. The highest specific surface area values occurred within 700–800 °C, reaching up to 500 m 2 g −1 with pore sizes in the 0.4–1.1 nm range. No significant morphological changes were observed upon carbonization so that the resulting chars were granular materials of similar size than the starting grape seeds. The hollow core structure of the chars, with most of the material allocated at the periphery of the granules can help to overcome the mass transfer limitations of most common (solid or massive) granular activated carbons. The chars showed a good mechanical strength during attrition tests. These chars can be potential candidates for the preparation of granular carbons molecular sieve or activated carbons raw materials. -- Highlights: •We use a raw material that has a very low price and a high availability. •Not very much attention has been paid to this waste for carbonaceous materials preparation. •The chars obtained have high specific surface area that is an interesting starting point for later activation processes. •The chars show a micro-macro porous bimodal distribution. •Pyrolysis does not affect to morphology or initial seed, leading a carbonized

A multi-stage oil-water-separating process design for the sea oil spill recovery robot

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Min-ge; Wu, Jian-guo; Lin, Xinhua; Wang, Xiao-ming

2018-03-01

Oil spill have the most common pollution to the marine ecological environment. In the late stage of physical method recovery, because of the thin oil and the strong sea breeze, the recovery vessels has low efficiency and high energy consumption. This paper develops a multi-stage oil-water-separating process carried by the sea oil spill recovery robot in severe conditions. This design consists of three separation process, among which both the first and third process adopt corrugated sheets horizontal oil-water separator, while the second is hydraulic rotary breaker. This design also equiptment with rectifier and cyclone separator and other important components. This process has high flexibility and high recovery efficiency. The implement effect is significant.

Study on coal char ignition by radiant heat flux.

Science.gov (United States)

Korotkikh, A. G.; Slyusarskiy, K. V.

2017-11-01

The study on coal char ignition by CO2-continuous laser was carried out. The coal char samples of T-grade bituminous coal and 2B-grade lignite were studied via CO2-laser ignition setup. Ignition delay times were determined at ambient condition in heat flux density range 90-200 W/cm2. The average ignition delay time value for lignite samples were 2 times lower while this difference is larger in high heat flux region and lower in low heat flux region. The kinetic constants for overall oxidation reaction were determined using analytic solution of simplified one-dimensional heat transfer equation with radiant heat transfer boundary condition. The activation energy for lignite char was found to be less than it is for bituminous coal char by approximately 20 %.

Project development laboratories energy fuels and oils based on NRU “MPEI”

Science.gov (United States)

Burakov, I. A.; Burakov, A. Y.; Nikitina, I. S.; Khomenkov, A. M.; Paramonova, A. O.; Khtoo Naing, Aung

2017-11-01

In the process of improving the efficiency of power plants a hot topic is the use of high-quality fuels and lubricants. In the process of transportation, preparation for use, storage and maintenance of the properties of fuels and lubricants may deteriorate, which entails a reduction in the efficiency of power plants. One of the ways to prevent the deterioration of the properties is a timely analysis of the relevant laboratories. In this day, the existence of laboratories of energy fuels and energy laboratory oil at thermal power stations is satisfactory character. However, the training of qualified personnel to work in these laboratories is a serious problem, as the lack of opportunities in these laboratories a complete list of required tests. The solution to this problem is to explore the possibility of application of methods of analysis of the properties of fuels and lubricants in the stage of training and re-training of qualified personnel. In this regard, on the basis of MPEI developed laboratory projects of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, power and energy oils and lubricants. Projects allow for a complete list of tests required for the timely control of properties and prevent the deterioration of these properties. Assess the financial component of the implementation of the developed projects based on the use of modern equipment used for tests. Projects allow for a complete list of tests required for the timely control of properties and prevent the deterioration of these properties.

Improving Energy Efficiency In Thermal Oil Recovery Surface Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murthy Nadella, Narayana

2010-09-15

Thermal oil recovery methods such as Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and In-situ Combustion are being used for recovering heavy oil and bitumen. These processes expend energy to recover oil. The process design of the surface facilities requires optimization to improve the efficiency of oil recovery by minimizing the energy consumption per barrel of oil produced. Optimization involves minimizing external energy use by heat integration. This paper discusses the unit processes and design methodology considering thermodynamic energy requirements and heat integration methods to improve energy efficiency in the surface facilities. A design case study is presented.

Energy balance of the lavender oil production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osman GÖKDOĞAN

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This research was carried out to determine the energy input-output analysis of lavender oil production. Data from agricultural farms in Isparta province was used. Energy input was calculated as 1993.89 MJ and energy output was calculated as 2925.51 MJ. Wood energy, fresh stalked lavender flower energy, equipment energy, human labour energy, electricity energy, and water energy inputs were 54.22 %, 41.86 %, 3.40 %, 0.23 %, 0.18 %, and 0.10 % of energy inputs, respectively. In this production, it is noteworthy that wood was used as fuel in the lavender oil production distillation process as the highest input. In the energy outputs, an average of 3.10 kg lavender oil and 130 kg lavender water were extracted by processing 234 kg fresh stalked lavender flower. Energy use efficiency, specific energy, energy productivity, and net energy for lavender oil production were calculated as 1.47, 643.19 MJ kg-1, 0.002 kg MJ-1 and 931.62 MJ, respectively.

Study on Energy Productivity Ratio (EPR) at palm kernel oil processing factory: case study on PT-X at Sumatera Utara Plantation

Science.gov (United States)

Haryanto, B.; Bukit, R. Br; Situmeang, E. M.; Christina, E. P.; Pandiangan, F.

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance, productivity and feasibility of the operation of palm kernel processing plant based on Energy Productivity Ratio (EPR). EPR is expressed as the ratio of output to input energy and by-product. Palm Kernel plan is process in palm kernel to become palm kernel oil. The procedure started from collecting data needed as energy input such as: palm kernel prices, energy demand and depreciation of the factory. The energy output and its by-product comprise the whole production price such as: palm kernel oil price and the remaining products such as shells and pulp price. Calculation the equality of energy of palm kernel oil is to analyze the value of Energy Productivity Ratio (EPR) bases on processing capacity per year. The investigation has been done in Kernel Oil Processing Plant PT-X at Sumatera Utara plantation. The value of EPR was 1.54 (EPR > 1), which indicated that the processing of palm kernel into palm kernel oil is feasible to be operated based on the energy productivity.

Energy Return on Investment (EROI of Oil Shale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter A. O’Connor

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The two methods of processing synthetic crude from organic marlstone in demonstration or small-scale commercial status in the U.S. are in situ extraction and surface retorting. The considerable uncertainty surrounding the technological characterization, resource characterization, and choice of the system boundary for oil shale operations indicate that oil shale is only a minor net energy producer if one includes internal energy (energy in the shale that is used during the process as an energy cost. The energy return on investment (EROI for either of these methods is roughly 1.5:1 for the final fuel product. The inclusions or omission of internal energy is a critical question. If only external energy (energy diverted from the economy to produce the fuel is considered, EROI appears to be much higher. In comparison, fuels produced from conventional petroleum show overall EROI of approximately 4.5:1. “At the wellhead” EROI is approximately 2:1 for shale oil (again, considering internal energy and 20:1 for petroleum. The low EROI for oil shale leads to a significant release of greenhouse gases. The large quantities of energy needed to process oil shale, combined with the thermochemistry of the retorting process, produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Oil shale unambiguously emits more greenhouse gases than conventional liquid fuels from crude oil feedstocks by a factor of 1.2 to 1.75. Much of the discussion regarding the EROI for oil shale should be regarded as preliminary or speculative due to the very small number of operating facilities that can be assessed.

Development of an advanced, continuous mild-gasification process for the production of coproducts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merriam, N.W. (Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (United States)); Jha, Mahesh C. (AMAX Research and Development Center, Golden, CO (United States))

1991-11-01

This report contains descriptions of mild-gasification and char-to-carbon process research units (PRUS) used by WRI and AMAX R D Center to conduct tests under contract AC21-87MC24268. Descriptions of materials produced during those tests are also contained herein. Western Research Institute proposes to dispose of remaining fines and dried coal by combustion and remaining coal liquids by incineration during mid-1992. The mild-gasification PRU will be used for additional tests until 1993, at which time WRI proposes to decontaminate and disassemble the PRU. AMAX R D Center intends to return the spent char, any remaining feed char, and unusable product carbon to the Eagle Butte Mine near Gillette, Wyoming, from where the coal originally came. The solid products will be added to the mine's coal product stream. Coal liquids collected from condensers will be concentrated and sent to a local oil and solvent recycling company where the liquids will be burned as fuel. The char-to-carbon PRU will be operated periodically until 1993 when the plant will be decontaminated and disassembled.

Physico-Chemical Characterizations of Sawdust-Derived Bio char as Potential Solid Fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Azlina Wan Ab Karim Ghani

2014-01-01

Characterization Malaysian rubber-wood sawdust derived bio char (MRWSB) produced in the fixed bed pyrolysis under different temperatures (450 to 850 degree Celsius) were studied for its applicability as a solid fuel. A range of analyses were carried out, including bio char oxidation reactivity , inorganic species, oxygen and hydrogen contents in the bio chars, release of heteroatoms in bio char as the gaseous product, and bio char structural evolution during pyrolysis process. The results show that the optimum temperature for carbonization to obtain a char having moderately high yield was found as 450 degree Celsius. Thermogravimetric analyses (TG) shows that temperatures induces a progressively more ordered carbonaceous structure and leads to a significant changes in the bio char reactivity. The process is coupled with the loss of heteroatoms, released as dominantly carbon dioxide (C0 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO). In addition, the elemental study of wood-derived bio char shows the higher carbon content but with low H/C and 0/C ratio suggested this material was dominated by highly aromatic structures and this were revealed in the Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR). More importantly, insignificant amount of inorganic species is evidenced in the samples. (author)

Mixed Waste Treatment Using the ChemChar Thermolytic Detoxification Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuchynka, D.J.

1997-01-01

This R and D program addresses the treatment of mixed waste employing the ChemChar Thermolytic Detoxification process. Surrogate mixed waste streams will be treated in a four inch diameter, continuous feed, adiabatic reactor with the goal of meeting all regulatory treatment levels for the contaminants in the surrogates with the concomitant production of contaminant free by-products. Successful completion of this program will show that organic contaminants in mixed waste surrogates will be converted to a clean, energy rich synthesis gas capable of being used, without further processing, for power or heat generation. The inorganic components in the surrogates will be found to be adsorbed on a macroporous coal char activated carbon substrate which is mixed with the waste prior to treatment. These contaminants include radioactive metal surrogate species, RCRA hazardous metals and any acid gases formed during the treatment process. The program has three main tasks that will be performed to meet the above objectives. The first task is the design and construction of the four inch reactor at Mirage Systems in Sunnyvale, CA. The second task is production and procurement of the activated carbon char employed in the ChemChartest runs and identification of two surrogate mixed wastes. The last task is testing and operation of the reactor on char/surrogate waste mixtures to be performed at the University of Missouri. The deliverables for the project are a Design Review Report, Operational Test Plan, Topical Report and Final Report. This report contains only the results of the design and construction carbon production-surrogate waste identification tasks.Treatment of the surrogate mixed wastes has just begun and will not be reported in this version of the Final Report. The latter will be reported in the final version of the Final Report

Sulfur retention by ash during coal combustion. Part I. A model of char particle combustion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BORISLAV GRUBOR

2003-02-01

Full Text Available A model for the combustion of porous char particles as a basis for modeling the process of sulfur retention by ash during coal combustion is developed in this paper. The model belongs to the microscopic intrinsic models and describes the dynamic behavior of a porous char particle during comustion, taking into account temporal and spatial changes of all important physical properties of the char particle and various combustion parameters. The parametric analysis of the enhanced model shows that the model represents a good basis for the development of a model for the process of sulfur retention by ash during coal combustion. The model enables the prediction of the values of all parameters necessary for the introduction of reactions between sulfur compounds and mineral components in ash, primarily calcium oxide.

Converting of oil shale and biomass into liquid hydrocarbons via pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kılıç, Murat; Pütün, Ayşe Eren; Uzun, Başak Burcu; Pütün, Ersan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Co-processing of oil shale with an arid land biomass for hydrocarbon production. • Co-pyrolysis in TGA and fixed-bed reactor. • Characterization of oil and char. - Abstract: In this study, co-pyrolytic behaviors of oil shale and Euphorbia rigida were investigated at different temperatures in a fixed bed reactor at 450, 500, and 550 °C with a heating rate of 10 °C/min in the presence of nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained solid product (char) and liquid product (tar) were analyzed by using different types of characterization techniques. Experimental results showed co-pyrolysis of oil shale and biomass could be an environmental friendly way for the transformation of these precursors into valuable products such as chemicals or fuels

TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF PYROLYSIS OIL PRODUCTION COSTS AND MATERIAL ENERGY BALANCE ASSOCIATED WITH A TRANSPORTABLE FAST PYROLYSIS SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phil Badger

2011-02-01

Full Text Available A techno-economic analysis was performed for a 100 dry-ton/day (90,719 kg/day fast pyrolysis transportable plant. Renewable Oil International® LLC provided the life cycle cost of operating a 100 dry-ton/day fast pyrolysis system using southern pine wood chips as feedstock. Since data was not available from an actual large-scale plant, the study examined data obtained from an actual 15 dry-ton/day pilot plant and from several smaller plants. These data were used to obtain base figures to aid in the development of models to generate scaled-up costs for a larger 100 dry-ton/day facility. Bio-oil represented 60% of mass of product yield. The cost for the bio-oil from fast pyrolysis was valued at $0.94/gal. Energy cost bio-oil and char was valued at $6.35/MMBTU. Costs associated with purchasing feedstocks can drastically influence the final cost of the bio-oil. The assumed cost of feedstocks was $25/wet ton or $50/dry ton. This paper is part of a larger study investigating the economic and environmental impacts for producing bio-oil / biocide wood preservatives.

Oil and Gas Development in Southwestern Wyoming - Energy Data and Services for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)

Science.gov (United States)

Biewick, Laura

2009-01-01

The purpose of this report is to explore current oil and gas energy development in the area encompassing the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative. The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative is a long-term science-based effort to ensure southwestern Wyoming's wildlife and habitat remain viable in areas facing development pressure. Wyoming encompasses some of the highest quality wildlife habitats in the Intermountain West. At the same time, this region is an important source of natural gas. Using Geographic Information System technology, energy data pertinent to the conservation decision-making process have been assembled to show historical oil and gas exploration and production in southwestern Wyoming. In addition to historical data, estimates of undiscovered oil and gas are included from the 2002 U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas in the Southwestern Wyoming Province. This report is meant to facilitate the integration of existing data with new knowledge and technologies to analyze energy resources development and to assist in habitat conservation planning. The well and assessment data can be accessed and shared among many different clients including, but not limited to, an online web-service for scientists and resource managers engaged in the Initiative.

DDGS chars gasification with CO{sub 2}: a kinetic study using TG analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meng, Xiangmei; Jong, Wiebren de; Fu, Ningjie; Verkooijen, Adrian H.M. [Delft University of Technology, Process and Energy Department, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft (Netherlands)

2011-12-15

Dry Distiller's Grains with Solubles (DDGS) is a by-product during ethanol production from cereals which is currently mainly used as feedstock for cattle. With the growth of the ethanol industry, the increasing supply of DDGS may saturate the livestock feed market; thus, its potential applications need to be explored. DDGS gasification in a 100-kW{sub th} circulating fluidized bed (CFB) steam-O{sub 2} blown gasifier has been studied. However, the modeling of DDGS gasification process encounters difficulties due to the unavailable knowledge of DDGS char gasification kinetics. Therefore, in this paper, gasification kinetics of DDGS char with CO{sub 2} was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Two different types of char samples have been tested. Char type one (PYR-Char) was obtained after DDGS pyrolysis in a TGA at a final temperature of 750 C or 850 C for 20 min. Char type two (CFB-Char) was obtained after DDGS gasification in the 100-kW{sub th} CFB gasifier within the temperature range of 790 C to 820 C with a steam/biomass mass ratio of 0.81 and oxygen to biomass stoichiometric ratio of approximately 0.38. The influences of pyrolysis temperature (750 C, 850 C), heating rate (10 C/min, 30 C/min, 50 C/min, 70 C/min), CO{sub 2} concentration (10, 20, 30 vol.%), and gasification temperature (900 C, 1,000 C, 1,100 C) on the reaction rate of char-CO{sub 2} reaction were determined. Two representative gas-solid reaction models, the volumetric reaction model (VRM) and the shrinking core model (SCM) were applied in order to determine kinetic parameters. It was found that the calculated activation energy (E{sub a}) values using SCM were slightly lower than those using VRM. The calculated E{sub a} values for PYR-Char using both models were in the range of 100-165 kJ/mol, while the calculated E{sub a} values for CFB-Char were in the range of 55-100 kJ/mol. It was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that CFB-Char was more fragile and PYR-Char

Coal pyrolysis and char burnout under conventional and oxy-fuel conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Makhadmeh, L.; Maier, J.; Scheffknecht, G. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Institut fuer Verfahrenstechnik und Dampfkesselwesen

2009-07-01

Coal utilization processes such as combustion or gasification generally involve several steps i.e., the devolatilization of organic materials, homogeneous reactions of volatile matter with the reactant gases, and heterogeneous reactions of the solid (char) with the reactant gases. Most of the reported work about coal pyrolysis and char burnout were performed at low temperatures under environmental conditions related to the air firing process with single particle tests. In this work, coal combustion under oxy-fuel conditions is investigated by studying coal pyrolysis and char combustion separately in practical scales, with the emphasis on improving the understanding of the effect of a CO{sub 2}-rich gas environment on coal pyrolysis and char burnout. Two coals, Klein Kopje a medium volatile bituminous coal and a low-rank coal, Lausitz coal were used. Coal pyrolysis in CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2} environments were performed for both coals at different temperatures in an entrained flow reactor. Overall mass release, pyrolysis gas concentrations, and char characterization were performed. For char characterization ultimate analysis, particle size, and BET surface area were measured. Chars for both coals were collected at 1150 C in both CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2} environments. Char combustion was performed in a once-through 20 kW test facility in O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} and O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} atmospheres. Besides coal quality, oxygen partial pressure was chosen as a variable to study the effect of the gas environment on char burnout. In general, it is found that the CO{sub 2} environment and coal rank have a significant effect on coal pyrolysis and char burnout. (orig.)

Removal of copper by oxygenated pyrolytic tire char: kinetics and mechanistic insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Quek, Augustine; Balasubramanian, Rajashekhar

2011-04-01

The kinetics of copper ion (Cu(II)) removal from aqueous solution by pyrolytic tire char was modeled using five different conventional models. A modification to these models was also developed through a modified equation that accounts for precipitation. Conventional first- and second-order reaction models did not fit the copper sorption kinetics well, indicating a lack of simple rate-order dependency on solute concentration. Instead, a reversible first-order rate reaction showed the best fit to the data, indicating a dependence on surface functional groups. Due to the varying solution pH during the sorption process, modified external and internal mass transfer models were employed. Results showed that the sorption of copper onto oxygenated chars was limited by external mass transfer and internal resistance with and without the modification. However, the modification of the sorption process produced very different results for unoxygenated chars, which showed neither internal nor external limitation to sorption. Instead, its slow sorption rate indicates a lack of surface functional groups. The sorption of Cu(II) by oxygenated and unoxygenated chars was also found to occur via three and two distinct stages, respectively. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Coal-char combustion in a fluidised bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mehrotra, S.P.; Pande, M. [Indian Institute of Technolgy, Kanpur (India)

2001-12-01

Combustion of bituminous coal chars ranging from 0.8 mm to 1.8 mm has been studied in a fluidised bed reactor at temperatures ranging from 500 to 850{sup o}C. The fluidised bed consists of inert sand particles of average size of 0.5 mm and reactive coal char particles. A heat balance has been worked out to calculate the rate of combustion of char from measured incremental changes in the bed temperature during combustion. Investigations on partially burnt particles suggest that the ash layer which builds up around the burning core of char particles is non-flaking and the particles burn in a shrinking core manner. Analysis of rate data indicates that the rate of combustion is controlled by chemical reaction kinetics, though diffusion of oxygen through the bundary layer begins to influence the overall reaction kinetics at higher temperatures. The burnt out time varies linearly with particle size. Activation energy for the chemical reaction control regime is found to be around 68 kJ/mole.

Production and characterization of Lemna minor bio-char and its catalytic application for biogas reforming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muradov, Nazim; Fidalgo, Beatriz; Gujar, Amit C.; Garceau, Nathaniel; T-Raissi, Ali

2012-01-01

Pyrolysis of fast-growing aquatic biomass - Lemna minor (commonly known as duckweed) with the emphasis on production, characterization and catalytic application of bio-char is reported in this paper. The yield of bio-char was determined as a function of L. minor pyrolysis temperature and sweep gas flow rate. It was found that the pore development during L. minor pyrolysis was not significant and the changes in the reaction conditions (temperature and sweep gas flow rate) did not alter markedly the textural characteristics and BET surface area of the bio-char produced. Thermogravimetric/differential thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analyses of L. minor and different bio-char samples in inert (helium) and oxidative (air) media showed substantial differences in their TG/DTG patterns. A comparison of scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of L. minor, bio-char and ash indicated that the basic structural features of L. minor remained intact and were not affected by thermolysis. The inorganic ash content of L. minor derived bio-char is significantly higher than that of typical terrestrial (plant) biomass. The energy dispersive spectroscopic (EDS) analysis of L. minor ash showed that it mostly consisted of silica, and small quantities of Na, K and Ca compounds. The treatment of bio-char with CO 2 at 800 °C increased its BET surface area. It was found that CO 2 -treated bio-char exhibited appreciable initial catalytic activity in biogas reforming. -- Highlights: ► New data on characterization of bio-chars derived from Lemna minor are presented. ► Effect of pyrolysis operational parameters on bio-char properties is determined. ► Basic skeletal structure of Lemna minor leaflets does not change during pyrolysis. ► Bio-chars show an appreciable initial catalytic activity for biogas reforming.

A burnout prediction model based around char morphology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tao Wu; Edward Lester; Michael Cloke [University of Nottingham, Nottingham (United Kingdom). School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering

2006-05-15

Several combustion models have been developed that can make predictions about coal burnout and burnout potential. Most of these kinetic models require standard parameters such as volatile content and particle size to make a burnout prediction. This article presents a new model called the char burnout (ChB) model, which also uses detailed information about char morphology in its prediction. The input data to the model is based on information derived from two different image analysis techniques. One technique generates characterization data from real char samples, and the other predicts char types based on characterization data from image analysis of coal particles. The pyrolyzed chars in this study were created in a drop tube furnace operating at 1300{sup o}C, 200 ms, and 1% oxygen. Modeling results were compared with a different carbon burnout kinetic model as well as the actual burnout data from refiring the same chars in a drop tube furnace operating at 1300{sup o}C, 5% oxygen, and residence times of 200, 400, and 600 ms. A good agreement between ChB model and experimental data indicates that the inclusion of char morphology in combustion models could well improve model predictions. 38 refs., 5 figs., 6 tabs.

Influence of char structure on reactivity and nitric oxide emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arenillas, Ana; Rubiera, Fernando; Parra, Jose B.; Pis, Jose J. [Department of Energy and Environment, Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC, Apartado 73, 33080 Oviedo (Spain)

2002-06-20

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of coal rank and operating conditions during coal pyrolysis on the resultant char texture properties, morphology and reactivity. A range of bituminous coals were pyrolysed in a fixed bed reactor at different heating rates. It was found that the higher the heating rate and the lower the coal rank, the more microporous chars were obtained. Isothermal (500 C) gasification in 20% oxygen in argon of the chars was carried out using a differential thermogravimetric system (DTG). The results of this work indicated that the increase in the availability of char-active surface sites led to an increase in char reactivity, not only for oxygen but also for other reactive gases, in particular NO, diminishing emissions during the combustion process.

Pyrolysis of plastic waste for liquid fuel production as prospective energy resource

Science.gov (United States)

Sharuddin, S. D. A.; Abnisa, F.; Daud, W. M. A. W.; Aroua, M. K.

2018-03-01

The worldwide plastic generation expanded over years because of the variety applications of plastics in numerous sectors that caused the accumulation of plastic waste in the landfill. The growing of plastics demand definitely affected the petroleum resources availability as non-renewable fossil fuel since plastics were the petroleum-based material. A few options that have been considered for plastic waste management were recycling and energy recovery technique. Nevertheless, several obstacles of recycling technique such as the needs of sorting process that was labour intensive and water pollution that lessened the process sustainability. As a result, the plastic waste conversion into energy was developed through innovation advancement and extensive research. Since plastics were part of petroleum, the oil produced through the pyrolysis process was said to have high calorific value that could be used as an alternative fuel. This paper reviewed the thermal and catalytic degradation of plastics through pyrolysis process and the key factors that affected the final end product, for instance, oil, gaseous and char. Additionally, the liquid fuel properties and a discussion on several perspectives regarding the optimization of the liquid oil yield for every plastic were also included in this paper.

The conversion of anaerobic digestion waste into biofuels via a novel Thermo-Catalytic Reforming process.

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Johannes; Meyer, Johannes; Ouadi, Miloud; Apfelbacher, Andreas; Binder, Samir; Hornung, Andreas

2016-01-01

Producing energy from biomass and other organic waste residues is essential for sustainable development. Fraunhofer UMSICHT has developed a novel reactor which introduces the Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR®) process. The TCR® is a process which can convert any type of biomass and organic feedstocks into a variety of energy products (char, bio-oil and permanent gases). The aim of this work was to demonstrate this technology using digestate as the feedstock and to quantify the results from the post reforming step. The temperature of a post reformer was varied to achieve optimised fuel products. The hydrogen rich permanent gases produced were maximised at a post reforming temperature of 1023 K. The highly de-oxygenated liquid bio-oil produced contained a calorific value of 35.2 MJ/kg, with significantly improved fuel physical properties, low viscosity and acid number. Overall digestate showed a high potential as feedstock in the Thermo-Catalytic Reforming to produce pyrolysis fuel products of superior quality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SOLVENT-BASED ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY PROCESSES TO DEVELOP WEST SAK ALASKA NORTH SLOPE HEAVY OIL RESOURCES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David O. Ogbe; Tao Zhu

2004-01-01

A one-year research program is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of applying solvent-based enhanced oil recovery processes to develop West Sak and Ugnu heavy oil resources found on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The project objective is to conduct research to develop technology to produce and market the 300-3000 cp oil in the West Sak and Ugnu sands. During the first phase of the research, background information was collected, and experimental and numerical studies of vapor extraction process (VAPEX) in West Sak and Ugnu are conducted. The experimental study is designed to foster understanding of the processes governing vapor chamber formation and growth, and to optimize oil recovery. A specially designed core-holder and a computed tomography (CT) scanner was used to measure the in-situ distribution of phases. Numerical simulation study of VAPEX was initiated during the first year. The numerical work completed during this period includes setting up a numerical model and using the analog data to simulate lab experiments of the VAPEX process. The goal was to understand the mechanisms governing the VAPEX process. Additional work is recommended to expand the VAPEX numerical study using actual field data obtained from Alaska North Slope.

Energetic assessment of air-steam gasification of sewage sludge and of the integration of sewage sludge pyrolysis and air-steam gasification of char

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil-Lalaguna, N.; Sánchez, J.L.; Murillo, M.B.; Atienza-Martínez, M.; Gea, G.

2014-01-01

Thermo-chemical treatment of sewage sludge is an interesting option for recovering energy and/or valuable products from this waste. This work presents an energetic assessment of pyrolysis and gasification of sewage sludge, also considering the prior sewage sludge thermal drying and the gasification of the char derived from the pyrolysis stage. Experimental data obtained from pyrolysis of sewage sludge, gasification of sewage sludge and gasification of char (all of these performed in a lab-scale fluidized reactor) were used for the energetic calculations. The results show that the energy contained in the product gases from pyrolysis and char gasification is not enough to cover the high energy consumption for thermal drying of sewage sludge. Additional energy could be obtained from the calorific value of the pyrolysis liquid, but some of its properties must be improved facing towards its use as fuel. On the other hand, the energy contained in the product gas of sewage sludge gasification is enough to cover the energy demand for both the sewage sludge thermal drying and the gasification process itself. Furthermore, a theoretical study included in this work shows that the gasification efficiency is improved when the chemical equilibrium is reached in the process. - Highlights: • 4 MJ kg −1 for thermal drying of sewage sludge (SS) from 65 to 6.5 wt.% of moisture. • 0.15 MJ kg −1 for thermal decomposition of sewage sludge during fast pyrolysis. • Not enough energy in gases from SS pyrolysis and char gasification for thermal drying. • Enough energy in SS gasification gas for thermal drying and gasification process. • Gasification efficiency improves when equilibrium is reached in the process

Oil sand synfuel production using nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnert, H.

1984-10-01

The importance of oil sand as a primary energy carrier is illustrated. The oil sand mining project 'synfuel' in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, is described. On the basis of a layout of an In-situ-process different possibilities of introducing nuclear energy to the process are described. This leads to an increase of the product yield, leading finally to a doubling of the energy output compared to the reference layout. The introduction of nuclear energy contributes to the reduction of emissions, in particular to the emission of carbon dioxide in the conversion process. (orig.)

Production of activated char from Illinois coal for flue gas cleanup

Science.gov (United States)

Lizzio, A.A.; DeBarr, J.A.; Kruse, C.W.

1997-01-01

Activated chars were produced from Illinois coal and tested in several flue gas cleanup applications. High-activity chars that showed excellent potential for both SO2 and NOx removal were prepared from an Illinois No. 2 bituminous coal. The SO2 (120 ??C) and NOx (25 ??C) removal performance of one char compared favorably with that of a commercial activated carbon (Calgon Centaur). The NOx removal performance of the same char at 120 ??C exceeded that of the Centaur carbon by more than 1 order of magnitude. Novel char preparation methods were developed including oxidation/thermal desorption and hydrogen treatments, which increased and preserved, respectively, the active sites for SO2 and NOx adsorption. The results of combined SO2/NOx removal tests, however, suggest that SO2 and NOx compete for similar adsorption sites and SO2 seems to be more strongly adsorbed than NO. A low-activity, low-cost char was also developed for cleanup of incinerator flue gas. A three-step method involving coal preoxidation, pyrolysis, and CO2 activation was used to produce the char from Illinois coal. Five hundred pounds of the char was tested on a slipstream of flue gas from a commercial incinerator in Germany. The char was effective in removing >97% of the dioxins and furans present in the flue gas; mercury levels were below detectable limits.

Oil shales and the nuclear process heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarpinella, C.A.

1974-01-01

Two of the primary energy sources most dited as alternatives to the traditional fossil fuels are oil shales and nuclear energy. Several proposed processes for the extraction and utilization of oil and gas from shale are given. Possible efficient ways in which nuclear heat may be used in these processes are discussed [pt

Particle-based characterisation of pulverised coals and chars for carbon burnout studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibbins, J.R.; Seitz, M.H.; Kennedy, S.M.; Beeley, T.J.; Riley, G.S. [Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London (United Kingdom). Mechanical Engineering Department

1999-07-01

The study of individual particle properties, as opposed to averaged behaviour of differing particles, was carried out for the combustion of coals and chars using optical microscopy and digital image processing. Chars from entrained flow reactors and corresponding pulverized fuel samples were characterized to examine possible char particle origins for real heterogeneous particles. 7 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Encapsulation of phase change materials using rice-husk-char

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gondora, Wayne; Doudin, Khalid; Nowakowski, Daniel J.; Xiao, Bo; Ding, Yulong; Bridgwater, Tony; Yuan, Qingchun

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Rice-husk-char particles are successfully used in the encapsulation of phase change materials. • Carbon-based phase change microcapsules aim at using the high thermal conductivity of carbon materials. • Carbon from biomass can be used in low and intermediate heat harvest and storage. • Carbon in biomass is captured and to be used in improving energy efficiency. - Abstract: This paper explored a new approach to prepare phase change microcapsules using carbon-based particles via Pickering emulsions for energy storage applications. Rice-husk-char, a by-product in biofuel production, containing 53.58 wt% of carbon was used as a model carbon-based material to encapsulate hexadecane. As a model phase change material, hexadecane was emulsified in aqueous suspensions of rice-husk-char nanoparticles. Water soluble polymers poly(diallyldimethyl-ammonium chloride) and poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) were used to fix the rice-husk-char nanoparticles on the emulsion droplets through layer-by-layer assembly to enhance the structural stability of the microcapsules. The microcapsules formed are composed of a thin shell encompassing a large core consisting of hexadecane. Thermal gravimetrical and differential scanning calorimeter analyses showed the phase change enthalpy of 80.9 kJ kg"−"1 or 120.0 MJ m"−"3. Design criteria of phase change microcapsules and preparation considerations were discussed in terms of desired applications. This work demonstrated possible utilisations of biomass-originated carbon-based material for thermal energy recovery and storage applications, which can be a new route of carbon capture and utilisation.

Investigation on the fast co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge with biomass and the combustion reactivity of residual char.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Shuanghui; Tan, Houzhang; Wang, Xuebin; Yang, Fuxin; Cao, Ruijie; Wang, Zhao; Ruan, Renhui

2017-09-01

Gaining the valuable fuels from sewage sludge is a promising method. In this work, the fast pyrolysis characteristics of sewage sludge (SS), wheat straw (WS) and their mixtures in different proportions were carried out in a drop-tube reactor. The combustion reactivity of the residual char obtained was investigated in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results indicate that SS and WS at different pyrolysis temperatures yielded different characteristic gas compositions and product distributions. The co-pyrolysis of SS with WS showed that there existed a synergistic effect in terms of higher gas and bio-oil yields and lower char yield, especially at the WS adding percentage of 80wt%. The addition of WS to SS increased the carbon content in the SS char and improved char porous structures, resulting in an improvement in the combustion reactivity of the SS char. The research results can be used to promote co-utilization of sewage sludge and biomass. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Review on biofuel oil and gas production processes from microalgae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amin, Sarmidi

2009-01-01

Microalgae, as biomass, are a potential source of renewable energy, and they can be converted into energy such as biofuel oil and gas. This paper presents a brief review on the main conversion processes of microalgae becoming energy. Since microalgae have high water content, not all biomass energy conversion processes can be applied. By using thermochemical processes, oil and gas can be produced, and by using biochemical processes, ethanol and biodiesel can be produced. The properties of the microalgae product are almost similar to those of offish and vegetable oils, and therefore, it can be considered as a substitute of fossil oil.

Pyrolysis oil from carbonaceous solid wastes in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Islam, M.N.; Jamil, M.K.; Ani, F.N.; Zailani, R.

2000-01-01

The agro-industrial sector of Malaysia produces a huge amount of oil palm and paddy rice. These generate a significant amount of renewable biomass solid wastes in the forms of oil palm shell and rice husk. Apart from this a huge quantity of scrap tyre is generated from the country's faster increasing usage of transportation vehicles like motorcycle, car, bus and lorries. These wastes are producing pollution and disposal problems affecting the environment. Besides energy is not recovered efficiently from these waste resources. From the elemental composition and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) studies of the wastes, it appeared that the wastes could be used for pyrolysis liquid oil production. Pyrolysis at present is deemed to be a potential method for the conversion of carbonaceous solid wastes into upgraded liquid products which can either be tried for liquid fuel or value-added chemical. A fluidized bed bench scale fast pyrolysis system was employed for this thermochemical conversion process of solid wastes. Silica sand was used as fluidized bed material and nitrogen gas as the fluidising medium. The products obtained were liquid oil, solid char and gas. The liquid oil and solid char were collected separately while the gas was flared. The maximum liquid product yield was found to vary with feedstock material fluidized bed temperature. The maximum liquid product yield was found to be 58, 53 and 40 wt. % of biomass fed at fluidized bed temperature at 500, 525 and 450 0 C respectively for oil palm shell, scrap tyre and rice husk. The solid char yield was 25, 36 and 53 wt. % of biomass fed at the condition of maximum liquid product yield for oil palm shell, scrap tyre and rice husk respectively. The oil products were subjected to FTIR, GC and GC/MS analysis for their group composition and detailed chemical compositions. The pyrolysis oil from scrap tyre was found to contain highest percentage of pure hydrocarbons (25 wt. % of total feed) with esters and oxygenated

Practicability and margin for substitution processes in the energy field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandel, H.

1975-01-01

In the past 25 years substitution processes have led to the result that energy supply of the Federal Republic of Germany is now dependent on mineral oil by more than 50 per cent. The development of prices on the mineral oil market during the last two years gave important impulses to innovations in the energy field. Already today a number of dispositions for substitution processes can be recognized which may, in conjunction with efforts for an increased rational use of the various energy carries, reduce the mineral oil share on primary energy requirements to one fourth up to year 2000. It has to be secured, that our economic system will get under control the research and development efforts which are required to gain the - at least part-wise - very exacting technologies for the use of substitution energy. The reduction of onesided dependence on mineral oil of our energy supply system is one of the most important aims in future energy politics. (orig.) [de

Improvement of Waste Tire Pyrolysis Oil and Performance Test with Diesel in CI Engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. N. Islam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The standard of living, quality of life, and development of a nation depend on its per capita energy consumption. Global energy supply that mainly depends on fossil fuel is decreasing day by day. It is estimated that the energy demand will be increased five times by the year 2021 from present scenario. Due to the fossil fuel crisis, the development of alternative fuel technologies has drawn more attraction to deliver the replacement of fossil fuel. Pyrolysis is one of the promising alternative fuel technologies which produces valuable oil, char, and gas product from organic waste. Early investigations report that tire pyrolysis oil extracted from vacuum pyrolysis method seemed to have properties similar to diesel fuel. The main concern of this paper is to produce and improve the properties of crude tire pyrolysis oil by desulfurizing, distilling, and utilizing it with diesel in CI engine to analyze the efficiency for various compositions.

Ultrasonically assisted extraction of calcium and ash from char

Science.gov (United States)

Mathumba, E. E.; Mbaya, R. K. K.; Kolesnikov, A.

2018-03-01

This study characterized and removed calcium and ash content from char to improve the chemical quality of char as reductant for titanium smelting application. Calcium in char can be classified in two parts: mineral matter and cationic metals associated with organic matrix. Virgin and chemically treated char was characterized by using ISO 1171, wet chemistry methods, ISO 19579, XRF, and B.E.T. methods. In this present work, demineralization of char with mild chemical leachants such as acetic acid, citric acid, gluconic acid and Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic acid with three different ultrasonic power input (150 W, 270 W and 300 W) and semi-dual frequency of 40 kHz tank was investigated. Actual power dissipated into the system was calculated from the calorimetric measurement. An optimum set of process parameters are identified and validated. The ultrasound technology was compared with soaking technology to determine the efficiency of ultrasound system for the removal of calcium. The removal of calcium was exponentially higher with ultrasonic treatment than without it. Results revealed that mild chemical reagents do not harm the carbon content of char. It is evident from the results that amongst the leachants used; acetic and citric acid has caused significant removal of mineral phases.

BioOil presents: Free-flowing alternative to traditional biomass energy generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McChesney, S.

2003-12-01

A new technology, called fast pyrolysis, is described. Fast pyrolysis is a process for converting biomass collected from agricultural and forest residues into an organic liquid fuel, called BioOil, that's easily transported, stored and handled. BioOil's principal virtue is that it can be used to generate carbon-neutral, cost-effective process heat and electricity; it also disposes of organic waste, and creates new jobs and industries. As an indication of interest in BioOil, two recent developments are cited as worthy of note: an award of $23 million for biomass research jointly by the USDA and the USDOE and a commitment of $30 million by the Government of Canada to support the development and demonstration of bio-based systems and technologies. (The Canadian investment is part of the $1 billion commitment toward implementation of the Climate Change Program for Canada). The fast pyrolysis process is carbon dioxide neutral, i.e. when biomass is converted into thermal energy, the carbon dioxide that is released is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide that went into growing the biomass. The process is particularly appealing to energy companies in areas with large forestry or agricultural potential. In Canada, DynaMotive Energy Systems Corporation is the most advanced in developing and commercializing environmentally friendly fuels produced from biomass; the company is also a world leader in fast pyrolysis technology. Ontario Power Generation is cooperating with DynaMotive on a project to produce BioOil from residue supplied by Erie Flooring and Wood Products. The 2.5 megawatt gas turbine that will combust the bio-oil and generate electricity will be supplied by the Magellan Aerospace Corporation. Beyond meeting the energy requirements of Erie Flooring and Wood Products, the project will also contribute about 1.5 megawatts of power to OPG's green energy portfolio in 2004. It is expected that the example of a commercial project of this scale, will serve

Properties of gasification-derived char and its utilization for catalytic tar reforming

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Kezhen

Char is a low-value byproduct of biomass gasification and pyrolysis with many potential applications, such as soil amendment and the synthesis of activated carbon. The overall goal of the proposed research was to develop novel methods to use char derived from gasification for high-value applications in syngas conditioning. The first objective was to investigate effects of gasification condition and feedstock on properties of char derived from fluidized bed gasification. Results show that the surface areas of most of the char were 1--10 m 2/g and increased as the equivalence ratio increased. Char moisture and fixed carbon contents decreased while ash content increased as equivalence ratio increased. The next objective was to study the properties of sorghum and red cedar char derived from downdraft gasifier. Red cedar char contained more aliphatic carbon and o-alkyl carbon than sorghum char. Char derived from downdraft gasification had higher heating values and lower ash contents than char derived from fluidized bed gasification. The gasification reactivity of red cedar char was higher than that of sorghum char. Then, red cedar char based catalysts were developed with different preparation method to reform toluene and naphthalene as model tars. The catalyst prepared with nickel nitrate was found to be better than that with nickel acetate. The nickel particle size of catalyst impregnated with nickel nitrate was smaller than that of catalyst impregnated with nickel acetate. The particle size of catalyst impregnated with nickel acetate decreased by hydrazine reduction. The catalyst impregnated with nickel nitrate had the highest toluene removal efficiency, which was 70%--100% at 600--800 °C. The presence of naphthalene in tar reduced the catalyst efficiency. The toluene conversion was 36--99% and the naphthalene conversion was 37%--93% at 700--900 °C. Finally, effects of atmosphere and pressure on catalytic reforming of lignin-derived tars over the developed catalyst

Electrocatalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis oils to chemical and fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Chun Ho

The present project's aim is to liquefy biomass through fast pyrolysis and then upgrade the resulting "bio-oil" to renewable fuels and chemicals by intensifying its energy content using electricity. This choice reflects three points: (a) Liquid hydrocarbons are and will long be the most practical fuels and chemical feedstocks because of their energy density (both mass and volume basis), their stability and relative ease of handling, and the well-established infrastructure for their processing, distribution and use; (b) In the U.S., the total carbon content of annually harvestable, non-food biomass is significantly less than that in a year's petroleum usage, so retention of plant-captured carbon is a priority; and (c) Modern technologies for conversion of sunlight into usable energy forms---specifically, electrical power---are already an order of magnitude more efficient than plants are at storing solar energy in chemical form. Biomass fast pyrolysis (BFP) generates flammable gases, char, and "bio-oil", a viscous, corrosive, and highly oxygenated liquid consisting of large amounts of acetic acid and water together with hundreds of other organic compounds. With essentially the same energy density as biomass and a tendency to polymerize, this material cannot practically be stored or transported long distances. It must be upgraded by dehydration, deoxygenation, and hydrogenation to make it both chemically and energetically compatible with modern vehicles and fuels. Thus, this project seeks to develop low cost, general, scalable, robust electrocatalytic methods for reduction of bio-oil into fuels and chemicals.

Expanding the biomass resource: sustainable oil production via fast pyrolysis of low input high diversity biomass and the potential integration of thermochemical and biological conversion routes.

Science.gov (United States)

Corton, J; Donnison, I S; Patel, M; Bühle, L; Hodgson, E; Wachendorf, M; Bridgwater, A; Allison, G; Fraser, M D

2016-09-01

Waste biomass is generated during the conservation management of semi-natural habitats, and represents an unused resource and potential bioenergy feedstock that does not compete with food production. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to characterise a representative range of biomass generated during conservation management in Wales. Of the biomass types assessed, those dominated by rush ( Juncus effuses ) and bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum ) exhibited the highest and lowest volatile compositions respectively and were selected for bench scale conversion via fast pyrolysis. Each biomass type was ensiled and a sub-sample of silage was washed and pressed. Demineralization of conservation biomass through washing and pressing was associated with higher oil yields following fast pyrolysis. The oil yields were within the published range established for the dedicated energy crops miscanthus and willow. In order to examine the potential a multiple output energy system was developed with gross power production estimates following valorisation of the press fluid, char and oil. If used in multi fuel industrial burners the char and oil alone would displace 3.9 × 10 5  tonnes per year of No. 2 light oil using Welsh biomass from conservation management. Bioenergy and product development using these feedstocks could simultaneously support biodiversity management and displace fossil fuels, thereby reducing GHG emissions. Gross power generation predictions show good potential.

Characterization and Activation Study of Black Chars Derived from Cellulosic Biomass Pyrolyzed at Very High Temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Contescu, Cristian I. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Gallego, Nidia C. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-03-01

The State of Tennessee, in partnership with the University of Tennessee (UT) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has created the RevV! Manufacturing voucher program to help Tennessee manufacturers gain access to the world-class resources at ORNL. As a part of this program, ORNL was working with Proton Power, Inc. (PPI), a rapidly growing company located in Lenoir City, Tennessee. PPI has developed a patented renewable energy system that uses biomass and waste sources to produce inexpensive hydrogen gas or synthetic fuels which are economically competitive with fossil fuels. The pyrolysis process used by PPI in their manufacturing chain generates significant amounts of black carbon char as by-product. The scope of ORNL collaboration with PPI was assessing the black carbon char as a potential feedstock for activated carbon production, as this could be a potentially new revenue stream. During 2015-2016 ORNL received eight char samples from PPI and characterized their initial properties, simulated their physical activation by carbon dioxide, prepared gram-size samples of physically activated carbons, and characterized their surface and porosity properties. This report presents a summary of the work methods employed and the results obtained in the collaborative project between ORNL and PPI.

Oil Depletion and the Energy Efficiency of Oil Production: The Case of California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam R. Brandt

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This study explores the impact of oil depletion on the energetic efficiency of oil extraction and refining in California. These changes are measured using energy return ratios (such as the energy return on investment, or EROI. I construct a time-varying first-order process model of energy inputs and outputs of oil extraction. The model includes factors such as oil quality, reservoir depth, enhanced recovery techniques, and water cut. This model is populated with historical data for 306 California oil fields over a 50 year period. The model focuses on the effects of resource quality decline, while technical efficiencies are modeled simply. Results indicate that the energy intensity of oil extraction in California increased significantly from 1955 to 2005. This resulted in a decline in the life-cycle EROI from 6.5 to 3.5 (measured as megajoules (MJ delivered to final consumers per MJ primary energy invested in energy extraction, transport, and refining. Most of this decline in energy returns is due to increasing need for steam-based thermal enhanced oil recovery, with secondary effects due to conventional resource depletion (e.g., increased water cut.

Oil, gas and other energies, a primer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legault, A.

2007-09-01

At a time when the topic of energy is front and centre, this book examines the basic concepts that are essential to grasping the energy issues of the 21 st century. Ail the main questions that people have about energy, especially oil and gas, are addressed, providing students, academics, journalists, representatives of government and other institutions and interested readers in general with the information they need to understand the complex, multifaceted energy sector. Abundantly illustrated, this book represents five years of exhaustive research on a fascinating and highly controversial topic. If discusses all the processes related to fossil forms of energy, from the formation of hydrocarbons (crude oil and natural gas) to the delivery of oil and gas to consumers. It also examines renewable energy options and climate change issues in addressing the major geopolitical challenges facing the energy sector. Content: 1 - The Extraordinary History of the Earth; 2 - The Formation of Oil and Gas; 3 - Energy, Past and Present; 4 - Renewable Energies; 5 - The Essence of Oil and Gas; 6 - Geography of Oil and Gas; 7 - The Outlook for Petroleum Prices and Demand Until 2030; 8 - Global Warming; 9 - Liquefied Natural Gas;10 - The Big Three: Russia, China and the United States

Oil and gas activities in the program energy research and development (PERD)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Billette, N.; Marshall, S.-L.

2002-01-01

A broad range of non-nuclear energy research and development activities are covered under the umbrella of the Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD) managed by Natural Resources Canada. The research and development budget amounts to 52.5 million dollars annually, and is distributed across twelve federal departments and agencies. Horizontal coordinated research activities are taking place. Of this total budget, approximately 14 million dollars annually are spent to carry out oil and gas research and development activities by five federal departments and one agency. A results-based management for PERD was recently implemented by the Office of Energy Research and Development in an effort to improve the strategic management. Some of the efforts are directed toward research in the following general classification: upstream activities, offshore and frontier activities, and cross-cutting activities. Upgrading technologies and advanced separation technologies with the focus on oil sands bitumen represent the main issues addressed under the heading upstream activities. The major issues studied in the offshore and frontier activities are: basin assessment and geotechnics, wind-wave-current modelling, managing sea ice, ice-structure interactions, transportation safety, marine operations and ship design, management of offshore drilling and production waste, oil spills remediation and environmental impact assessment of offshore wastes and produced waters. Flaring, pipelines and soil and groundwater remediation are topics classified under the heading cross-cutting activities. The authors provided an overview of the activities and identified the future trends in PERD to meet the requirements of the various stakeholders and the Canadian population. 1 tab

Oil and gas activities in the program energy research and development (PERD)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Billette, N.; Marshall, S.-L. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2002-06-01

A broad range of non-nuclear energy research and development activities are covered under the umbrella of the Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD) managed by Natural Resources Canada. The research and development budget amounts to 52.5 million dollars annually, and is distributed across twelve federal departments and agencies. Horizontal coordinated research activities are taking place. Of this total budget, approximately 14 million dollars annually are spent to carry out oil and gas research and development activities by five federal departments and one agency. A results-based management for PERD was recently implemented by the Office of Energy Research and Development in an effort to improve the strategic management. Some of the efforts are directed toward research in the following general classification: upstream activities, offshore and frontier activities, and cross-cutting activities. Upgrading technologies and advanced separation technologies with the focus on oil sands bitumen represent the main issues addressed under the heading upstream activities. The major issues studied in the offshore and frontier activities are: basin assessment and geotechnics, wind-wave-current modelling, managing sea ice, ice-structure interactions, transportation safety, marine operations and ship design, management of offshore drilling and production waste, oil spills remediation and environmental impact assessment of offshore wastes and produced waters. Flaring, pipelines and soil and groundwater remediation are topics classified under the heading cross-cutting activities. The authors provided an overview of the activities and identified the future trends in PERD to meet the requirements of the various stakeholders and the Canadian population. 1 tab.

The Role of Shearing Energy and Interfacial Gibbs Free Energy in the Emulsification Mechanism of Waxy Crude Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhihua Wang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Crude oil is generally produced with water, and the water cut produced by oil wells is increasingly common over their lifetime, so it is inevitable to create emulsions during oil production. However, the formation of emulsions presents a costly problem in surface process particularly, both in terms of transportation energy consumption and separation efficiency. To deal with the production and operational problems which are related to crude oil emulsions, especially to ensure the separation and transportation of crude oil-water systems, it is necessary to better understand the emulsification mechanism of crude oil under different conditions from the aspects of bulk and interfacial properties. The concept of shearing energy was introduced in this study to reveal the driving force for emulsification. The relationship between shearing stress in the flow field and interfacial tension (IFT was established, and the correlation between shearing energy and interfacial Gibbs free energy was developed. The potential of the developed correlation model was validated using the experimental and field data on emulsification behavior. It was also shown how droplet deformation could be predicted from a random deformation degree and orientation angle. The results indicated that shearing energy as the energy produced by shearing stress working in the flow field is the driving force activating the emulsification behavior. The deformation degree and orientation angle of dispersed phase droplet are associated with the interfacial properties, rheological properties and the experienced turbulence degree. The correlation between shearing stress and IFT can be quantified if droplet deformation degree vs. droplet orientation angle data is available. When the water cut is close to the inversion point of waxy crude oil emulsion, the interfacial Gibbs free energy change decreased and the shearing energy increased. This feature is also presented in the special regions where

Thermal characteristics analysis of microwaves reactor for pyrolysis of used cooking oil

Science.gov (United States)

Anis, Samsudin; Shahadati, Laily; Sumbodo, Wirawan; Wahyudi

2017-03-01

The research is objected to develop microwave reactor for pyrolysis of used cooking oil. The effect of microwave power as well as addition of char as absorber towards its thermal characteristic were investigated. Domestic microwave was modified and used to test the thermal characteristic of used cooking oil in the terms of temperature evolution, heating rate, and thermal efficiency. The samples were examined under various microwave power of 347W, 399W, 572W and 642W for 25 minutes of irradiation time. The char loading was tested in the level of 0, 50, and 100 g. Microwave reactor consists of microwave unit with a maximum power of 642W, a ceramic reactor, and a condenser equipped with temperature measurement system was successfully developed. It was found that microwave power and addition of absorber significantly influenced the thermal characteristic of microwave reactor. Under investigated condition, the optimum result was obtained at microwave power of 642W and 100 g of char. The condition was able to provide temperature of 480°C, heating rate of 18.2°C/min and thermal efficiency of 53% that is suitable to pyrolyze used cooking oil.

Closed Process of Shale Oil Recovery from Circulating Washing Water by Hydrocyclones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Huang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The conventional oil recovery system in the Fushun oil shale retorting plant has a low oil recovery rate. A large quantity of fresh water is used in the system, thereby consuming a considerable amount of water and energy, as well as polluting the environment. This study aims to develop a closed process of shale oil recovery from the circulating washing water for the Fushun oil shale retorting plant. The process would increase oil yield and result in clean production. In this process, oil/water hydrocyclone groups were applied to decrease the oil content in circulating water and to simultaneously increase oil yield. The oil sludge was removed by the solid/liquid hydrocyclone groups effectively, thereby proving the smooth operation of the devices and pipes. As a result, the oil recovery rate has increased by 5.3 %, which corresponds to 230 tonnes a month.

Differing perspectives of major oil firms on future energy developments: An illustrative framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang Youngho; Yong Jiayun

2007-01-01

This study develops a framework to analyse the perspectives of major oil firms in terms of their perceptions of current energy developments and projections of future energy potentials, and illustrates their views on the possibility of a paradigm shift in fuel use. The three A's themes-availability of resource (AV), applicability of technology (AP) and acceptability by society (AC)-make up the analytical framework. Divergence in oil firms' behaviour and perspectives are captured by the 3-A triangle that illustrates how the four largest oil firms in the world balance their stakes among the three A's. ExxonMobil's position is markedly skewed towards the theme of AV, whilst BP has the most balanced approach among the four. Shell and Total both share a similarly shaped 3-A triangle with more stakes placed on the theme of AP. The results would imply that a paradigm shift in resource use or a full-scale transition to a backstop technology is unlikely in the coming decades

Letting Off Steam and Getting Into Hot Water - Harnessing the Geothermal Energy Potential of Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teodoriu, Catalin; Falcone, Gioia; Espinel, Arnaldo

2007-07-01

The oil industry is turning its attention to the more complex development of heavy oil fields in order to meet the ever increasing demands of the manufacturing sector. The current thermal recovery techniques of heavy oil developments provide an opportunity to benefit from the geothermal energy created during the heavy oil production process. There is scope to improve the current recovery factors of heavy oil reservoirs, and there is a need to investigate the associated geothermal energy potential that has been historically neglected. This paper presents a new concept of harnessing the geothermal energy potential of heavy oil reservoirs with the co-production of incremental reserves. (auth)

Development of synthetic gasoline production process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imai, T; Fujita, H; Yamada, K; Suzuki, T; Tsuchida, Y

1986-01-01

As oil deposits are limited, it is very important to develop techniques for manufacturing petroleum alternatives as substitute energy sources to brighten the outlook for the future. The Research Association for Petroleum Alternatives Development (RAPAD) in Japan is engaged in the research and development of production techniques for light hydrocarbon oils such as gasoline, kerosene, and light oil from synthesis gas (CO, H/sub 2/) obtained from the raw materials of natural gas, coal, etc. Regarding the MTG process of synthesizing gasoline via methanol from synthesis gas and the STG process of directly synthesizing gasoline from synthesis gas, Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., members of RAPAD, have sought jointly to develop catalysts and processes. As a result of this co-operation, the authors have recently succeeded in developing a new catalyst with a long life span capable of providing a high yield and high selectivity. Additionally, the authors are currently on the verge of putting into effect a unique two-step STG process of synthesizing high octane gasoline via dimethyl ether, referred to as the AMSTG process.

Effective Diffusion Coefficients in Coal Chars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnsson, Jan Erik; Jensen, Anker

2001-01-01

Knowledge of effective diffusion coefficients in char particles is important when interpreting experimental reactivity measurements and modeling char combustion or NO and N2O reduction. In this work, NO and N2O reaction with a bituminous coal char was studied in a fixed-bed quartz glass reactor....... In the case of strong pore diffusion limitations, the error in the interpretation of experimental results using the mean pore radius could be a factor of 5 on the intrinsic rate constant. For an average coal char reacting with oxygen at 1300 K, this would be the case for particle sizes larger than about 50...

Net energy yield from production of conventional oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dale, Michael; Krumdieck, Susan; Bodger, Pat

2011-01-01

Historic profitability of bringing oil to market was profound, but most easy oil has been developed. Higher cost resources, such as tar sands and deep off-shore, are considered the best prospects for the future. Economic modelling is currently used to explore future price scenarios commensurate with delivering fuel to market. Energy policy requires modelling scenarios capturing the complexity of resource and extraction aspects as well as the economic profitability of different resources. Energy-return-on-investment (EROI) expresses the profitability of bringing energy products to the market. Net energy yield (NEY) is related to the EROI. NEY is the amount of energy less expenditures necessary to deliver a fuel to the market. This paper proposes a pattern for EROI of oil production, based on historic oil development trends. Methodology and data for EROI is not agreed upon. The proposed EROI function is explored in relation to the available data and used to attenuate the International Energy Agency (IEA) world oil production scenarios to understand the implications of future declining EROI on net energy yield. The results suggest that strategies for management and mitigation of deleterious effects of a peak in oil production are more urgent than might be suggested by analyses focussing only on gross production. - Highlights: → Brief introduction to methodological issues concerning net energy analysis. → Description of EROI function over the whole production cycle of an energy resource. → Calibration of this function to EROI data from historic oil production. → Application to determine the net energy yield from current global oil production. → Calculation of net energy yield from IEA projections of future oil production.

Modeling and evaluation of chromium remediation from water using low cost bio-char, a green adsorbent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohan, Dinesh; Rajput, Shalini; Singh, Vinod K.; Steele, Philip H.; Pittman, Charles U.

2011-01-01

Oak wood and oak bark chars were obtained from fast pyrolysis in an auger reactor at 400-450 deg. C. These chars were characterized and utilized for Cr(VI) remediation from water. Batch sorption studies were performed at different temperatures, pH values and solid to liquid ratios. Maximum chromium was removed at pH 2.0. A kinetic study yielded an optimum equilibrium time of 48 h with an adsorbent dose of 10 g/L. Sorption studies were conducted over a concentration range of 1-100 mg/L. Cr(VI) removal increased with an increase in temperature (Q Oakwood o : 25 deg. C = 3.03 mg/g; 35 deg. C = 4.08 mg/g; 45 deg. C = 4.93 mg/g and Q Oakbark o : 25 deg. C = 4.62 mg/g; 35 deg. C = 7.43 mg/g; 45 deg. C = 7.51 mg/g). More chromium was removed with oak bark than oak wood. The char performances were evaluated using the Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson, Toth, Radke and Sips adsorption isotherm models. The Sips adsorption isotherm model best fits the experimental data [high regression (R 2 ) coefficients]. The overall kinetic data was satisfactorily explained by a pseudo second order rate expression. Water penetrated into the char walls exposing Cr(VI) to additional adsorption sites that were not on the surfaces of dry char pores. It is remarkable that oak chars (S BET : 1-3 m 2 g -1 ) can remove similar amounts of Cr(VI) as activated carbon (S BET : ∼1000 m 2 g -1 ). Thus, byproduct chars from bio-oil production might be used as inexpensive adsorbents for water purification. Char samples were successfully used for chromium remediation from contaminated surface water with dissolved interfering ions.

Modeling and evaluation of chromium remediation from water using low cost bio-char, a green adsorbent.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohan, Dinesh; Rajput, Shalini; Singh, Vinod K; Steele, Philip H; Pittman, Charles U

2011-04-15

Oak wood and oak bark chars were obtained from fast pyrolysis in an auger reactor at 400-450 °C. These chars were characterized and utilized for Cr(VI) remediation from water. Batch sorption studies were performed at different temperatures, pH values and solid to liquid ratios. Maximum chromium was removed at pH 2.0. A kinetic study yielded an optimum equilibrium time of 48 h with an adsorbent dose of 10 g/L. Sorption studies were conducted over a concentration range of 1-100mg/L. Cr(VI) removal increased with an increase in temperature (Q(Oak wood)(°): 25 °C = 3.03 mg/g; 35 °C = 4.08 mg/g; 45 °C = 4.93 mg/g and Q(Oakbark)(°): 25 °C = 4.62 mg/g; 35 °C = 7.43 mg/g; 45 °C = 7.51 mg/g). More chromium was removed with oak bark than oak wood. The char performances were evaluated using the Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson, Toth, Radke and Sips adsorption isotherm models. The Sips adsorption isotherm model best fits the experimental data [high regression (R(2)) coefficients]. The overall kinetic data was satisfactorily explained by a pseudo second order rate expression. Water penetrated into the char walls exposing Cr(VI) to additional adsorption sites that were not on the surfaces of dry char pores. It is remarkable that oak chars (S(BET): 1-3m(2)g(-1)) can remove similar amounts of Cr(VI) as activated carbon (S(BET): ∼ 1000 m(2)g(-1)). Thus, byproduct chars from bio-oil production might be used as inexpensive adsorbents for water purification. Char samples were successfully used for chromium remediation from contaminated surface water with dissolved interfering ions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strategic thinking on oil development in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Keyu; Shan Weiguo

2005-01-01

It is expected that crude oil production in China will maintain its current level until 2020. Driven by higher living standards and the rapid development of energy intensive industries, China's oil demand will increase rapidly and might lead to heavier import dependency. Three cases of demand forecasts are presented, but for the sake of sustainable economic and social development, neither the high nor the middle case is favourable for China. Thus, China must seek a path of oil saving economic development, and limit oil consumption to no more than 350MT in 2010 and 450MT in 2020. Meanwhile, in order to secure the oil supply, the following strategies should be adopted: save oil and develop alternative energies; stabilise domestic oil production and to diversify oil imports and overseas oil exploration and development; accelerate the gas industry and introduce strategic petroleum reserves. (author)

Endotoxin Removal from Water Using Heterogenus Catalytic Ozonation by Bone Char

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abas Rezaee

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The endotoxin is one of pollutants with lipopolysaccharide structure which release from gram negative bacteria and cyanobacters. The aim of this study was removal of endotoxin from water using catalytic ozonation by bone char. The endotoxin for experiments have extracted from Escherichia coli bacterium cell wall by Stefan and Jan method. Chromogenic limulus ambusite lysate method in 405-410 nm wave length was used for analysing of endotoxin. The ozone have analysed by potassium iodine method. Results: Results of the research shown endotoxin removal rates using heterogenous catalytic ozonation were 6.0 Eu/ml.min and 0.5 Eu/ml.min for grey bone char and white bone char, respectively. The efficency of the process was found eighty percent. Primary concentration of basic compounds had no effect on endotoxin removal rate. Therefore, endotoxin removal kinetic of reaction is a zero order reaction. This study revealed that ozonation process using bone char is more efficient than other proposed methods such as ozonation or chlorination and can be used successfully for endotoxin removal from water as a efficient method.

The effect of char structure on burnout during pulverized coal combustion at pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, G.; Wu, H.; Benfell, K.E.; Lucas, J.A.; Wall, T.F.

1999-07-01

An Australian bituminous coal sample was burnt in a drop tube furnace (DTF) at 1 atm and a pressurized drop tube furnace (PDTF) at 15 atm. The char samples were collected at different burnout levels, and a scanning electron microscope was used to examine the structures of chars. A model was developed to predict the burnout of char particles with different structures. The model accounts for combustion of the thin-walled structure of cenospheric char and its fragmentation during burnout. The effect of pressure on reaction rate was also considered in the model. As a result, approximately 40% and 70% cenospheric char particles were observed in the char samples collected after coal pyrolysis in the DTF and PDTF respectively. A large number of fine particles (< 30 mm) were observed in the 1 atm char samples at burnout levels between 30% and 50%, which suggests that significant fragmentation occurred during early combustion. Ash particle size distributions show that a large number of small ash particles formed during burnout at high pressure. The time needed for 70% char burnout at 15 atm is approximately 1.6 times that at 1 atm under the same temperature and gas environment conditions, which is attributed to the different pressures as well as char structures. The overall reaction rate for cenospheric char was predicted to be approximately 2 times that of the dense chars, which is consistent with previous experimental results. The predicted char burnout including char structures agrees reasonably well with the experimental measurements that were obtained at 1 atm and 15 atm pressures.

Kinetics of coal combustion: Part 3, Mechanisms and kinetics of char combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gavalas, G. R.; Flagan, R. C. [California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena, CA (USA)

1988-09-01

This report summarizes a three-year research program aimed at developing this level of understanding of char combustion through a combination of detailed analysis of chars as produced during devolatilization and as they evolve during oxidation, and theoretical studies of the porous microstructures and of pore diffusion and reaction within the coal particles. A small number of coals have been studied in detail, namely a HVA bituminous (PSOC 1451), a sub-bituminous (PSOC 1488), and a lignite (PSOC 1443). Chars have been generated from size-classified samples of these coals by pyrolysis in an inert atmosphere in a drop tube furnace. The chars were then characterized both chemically and physically. Subsequent oxidation studies were performed on these chars. 42 refs., 54 figs., 4 tabs.

Characterization, leachability and valorization through combustion of residual chars from gasification of coals with pine.

Science.gov (United States)

Galhetas, Margarida; Lopes, Helena; Freire, Márcia; Abelha, Pedro; Pinto, Filomena; Gulyurtlu, Ibrahim

2012-04-01

This paper presents the study of the combustion of char residues produced during co-gasification of coal with pine with the aim of characterizing them for their potential use for energy. These residues are generally rich in carbon with the presence of other elements, with particular concern for heavy metals and pollutant precursors, depending on the original fuel used. The evaluation of environmental toxicity of the char residues was performed through application of different leaching tests (EN12457-2, US EPA-1311 TCLP and EA NEN 7371:2004). The results showed that the residues present quite low toxicity for some of pollutants. However, depending on the fuel used, possible presence of other pollutants may bring environmental risks. The utilization of these char residues for energy was in this study evaluated, by burning them as a first step pre-treatment prior to landfilling. The thermo-gravimetric analysis and ash fusibility studies revealed an adequate thermochemical behavior, without presenting any major operational risks. Fluidized bed combustion was applied to char residues. Above 700°C, very high carbon conversion ratios were obtained and it seemed that the thermal oxidation of char residues was easier than that of the coals. It was found that the char tendency for releasing SO(2) during its oxidation was lower than for the parent coal, while for NO(X) emissions, the trend was observed to increase NO(X) formation. However, for both pollutants the same control techniques might be applied during char combustion, as for coal. Furthermore, the leachability of ashes resulting from the combustion of char residues appeared to be lower than those produced from direct coal combustion. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advances in CO_2 gasification reactivity of biomass char through utilization of radio frequency irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lahijani, Pooya; Mohammadi, Maedeh; Zainal, Zainal Alimuddin; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

2015-01-01

A straightforward and well-known reaction for CO_2 activation is the “Boudouard reaction”, wherein, CO_2 is reacted with carbon (char) to produce CO. In this study, a RF (radio frequency) heating system was developed to perform the Boudouard reaction by passing CO_2 through a packed bed of PNS (pistachio nut shell) char. High CO_2 conversion of 84% was achieved at 850 °C. When similar experiments were performed in thermal electric furnace, the conversion was only 38%. For further expanding the knowledge on RF-induced gasification, sodium (Na) was incorporated into char skeleton and gasified with CO_2 under RF irradiation. RF gasification of Na-catalyzed char pronouncedly improved in the reaction, where sustainable CO_2 conversion of 99% was attained at 850 °C. The predominance of RF over thermal heating was highly reflected in kinetic studies, where the activation energies of 26.7, 46.9 and 183.9 kJ/mol were obtained for catalytic and non-catalytic RF and thermal gasification, respectively. In RF gasification studies, it was attempted to improve the quality of mix gases, simulating air and steam gasification gas compositions, through the Boudouard reaction. The heating value of the gases simulating air and steam gasification improved from 6.4 to 8.0 MJ/m"3 and 7.6–10.4 MJ/m"3, respectively. - Highlights: • We study radio frequency-induced CO_2 gasification of pistachio nut shell char. • We achieve very high CO_2 conversion of 99% in RF gasification of Na-catalyzed char. • E_a of 47 and 184 kJ/mol obtained for RF-assisted and conventional CO_2 gasification. • Heating value of synthesis gas improved via RF-induced char-CO_2 gasification.

Biodiesel development from rice bran oil: Transesterification process optimization and fuel characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, Shailendra; Agarwal, Avinash Kumar; Garg, Sanjeev

2008-01-01

Increased environmental awareness and depletion of resources are driving industry to develop viable alternative fuels from renewable resources that are environmentally more acceptable. Vegetable oil is a potential alternative fuel. The most detrimental properties of vegetable oils are its high viscosity and low volatility, and these cause several problems during their long duration usage in compression ignition (CI) engines. The most commonly used method to make vegetable oil suitable for use in CI engines is to convert it into biodiesel, i.e. vegetable oil esters using process of transesterification. Rice bran oil is an underutilized non-edible vegetable oil, which is available in large quantities in rice cultivating countries, and very little research has been done to utilize this oil as a replacement for mineral Diesel. In the present work, the transesterification process for production of rice bran oil methyl ester has been investigated. The various process variables like temperature, catalyst concentration, amount of methanol and reaction time were optimized with the objective of producing high quality rice bran oil biodiesel with maximum yield. The optimum conditions for transesterification of rice bran oil with methanol and NaOH as catalyst were found to be 55 deg. C reaction temperature, 1 h reaction time, 9:1 molar ratio of rice bran oil to methanol and 0.75% catalyst (w/w). Rice bran oil methyl ester thus produced was characterized to find its suitability to be used as a fuel in engines. Results showed that biodiesel obtained under the optimum conditions has comparable properties to substitute mineral Diesel, hence, rice bran oil methyl ester biodiesel could be recommended as a mineral Diesel fuel substitute for compression ignition (CI) engines in transportation as well as in the agriculture sector

A preliminary high-pressure thermogravimetric study of combustion reactivity of a Collie coal char

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, Yii Leng; Zhang, Zhezi; Zhu, Mingming; Zhang, Dongke [Western Australia Univ., Crawley, WA (Australia). Centre for Energy (M473); Luan, Chao [Western Australia Univ., Crawley, WA (Australia). Centre for Energy (M473); Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Inst. of Thermal Engineering; You, Changfu [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Inst. of Thermal Engineering

2013-07-01

The effect of pressure(up to 20 bar)on the reactivity of a char(150-160 {mu}m) produced from Western Australian Collie coal has been studied using a high-pressure thermogravimetric analyser (HP TGA). The pressure demonstrated a positive effect in enhancing char combustion reactivities.Kinetic parameters have been determined from the experimental data.The apparent reaction order was found to be approximately 0.7 and the apparent activation energies were 91.0 kJ/mol at atmospheric pressure and 1.5 kJ/mol at an elevated pressure(10 bar),indicating a shift in the control regimes of the reaction at elevated pressures.The lumped effect of the sample size, bulk diffusion,interparticle and intraparticle diffusion at the elevated pressures played an important role in reducing the mass transfer during the HP-TGA experimentation.Thus the activation energy calculated at elevated pressures may not represent the intrinsic activation energy of the char particles but the apparent values of the bulk of the samples.

Oil pipeline energy consumption and efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hooker, J.N.

1981-01-01

This report describes an investigation of energy consumption and efficiency of oil pipelines in the US in 1978. It is based on a simulation of the actual movement of oil on a very detailed representation of the pipeline network, and it uses engineering equations to calculate the energy that pipeline pumps must have exerted on the oil to move it in this manner. The efficiencies of pumps and drivers are estimated so as to arrive at the amount of energy consumed at pumping stations. The throughput in each pipeline segment is estimated by distributing each pipeline company's reported oil movements over its segments in proportions predicted by regression equations that show typical throughput and throughput capacity as functions of pipe diameter. The form of the equations is justified by a generalized cost-engineering study of pipelining, and their parameters are estimated using new techniques developed for the purpose. A simplified model of flow scheduling is chosen on the basis of actual energy use data obtained from a few companies. The study yields energy consumption and intensiveness estimates for crude oil trunk lines, crude oil gathering lines and oil products lines, for the nation as well as by state and by pipe diameter. It characterizes the efficiency of typical pipelines of various diameters operating at capacity. Ancillary results include estimates of oil movements by state and by diameter and approximate pipeline capacity utilization nationwide.

Yields from pyrolysis of refinery residue using a batch process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Prithiraj

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Batch pyrolysis was a valuable process of assessing the potential of recovering and characterising products from hazardous waste materials. This research explored the pyrolysis of hydrocarbon-rich refinery residue, from crude oil processes, in a 1200 L electrically-heated batch retort. Furthermore, the off-gases produced were easily processed in compliance with existing regulatory emission standards. The methodology offers a novel, cost-effective and environmentally compliant method of assessing recovery potential of valuable products. The pyrolysis experiments yielded significant oil (70% with high calorific value (40 MJ/kg, char (14% with carbon content over 80% and non-condensable gas (6% with significant calorific value (240 kJ/mol. The final gas stream was subjected to an oxidative clean-up process with continuous on-line monitoring demonstrating compliance with South African emission standards. The gas treatment was overall economically optimal as only a smaller portion of the original residue was subjected to emission-controlling steps. Keywords: Batch pyrolysis, Volatiles, Oil yields, Char, Emissions, Oil recovery

Particle behavior and char burnout mechanisms under pressurized combustion conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauer, C.M.; Spliethoff, H.; Hein, K.R.G.

1999-07-01

Combined cycle systems with coal-fired gas turbines promise highest cycle efficiencies for this fuel. Pressurized pulverized coal combustion, in particular, yields high cycle efficiencies due to the high flue gas temperatures possible. The main problem, however, is to ensure a flue gas clean enough to meet the high gas turbine standards with a dirty fuel like coal. On the one hand, a profound knowledge of the basic chemical and physical processes during fuel conversion under elevated pressures is required whereas on the other hand suitable hot gas cleaning systems need to be developed. The objective of this work was to provide experimental data to enable a detailed description of pressurized coal combustion processes. A series of experiments were performed with two German hvb coals, Ensdorf and Goettelborn, and one German brown coal, Garzweiler, using a semi-technical scale pressurized entrained flow reactor. The parameters varied in the experiments were pressure, gas temperature and bulk gas oxygen concentration. A two-color pyrometer was used for in-situ determination of particle surface temperatures and particle sizes. Flue gas composition was measured and solid residue samples taken and subsequently analyzed. The char burnout reaction rates were determinated varying the parameters pressure, gas temperature and initial oxygen concentration. Variation of residence time was achieved by taking the samples at different points along the reaction zone. The most influential parameters on char burnout reaction rates were found to be oxygen partial pressure and fuel volatile content. With increasing pressure the burn-out reactions are accelerated and are mostly controlled by product desorption and pore diffusion being the limiting processes. The char burnout process is enhanced by a higher fuel volatile content.

Development of an advanced continuous mild gasification process for the production of coproducts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jha, M.C.; McCormick, R.L.; Hogsett, R.F.; Rowe, R.M.; Anast, K.R.

1991-12-01

This document describes the results of Task 4 under which a 50 pound/hour char-to-carbon (CTC) process research unit (PRU) was designed in the second half of 1989, with construction completed in June 1990. The CTC PRU at Golden was operated for nearly one year during which 35 runs were completed for a total of nearly 800 hours of operation. Char methanation and carbon production reactor development activities are detailed in this report, as well as the results of integrated runs of the CTC process. Evaluation of the process and the carbon product produced is also included. It was concluded that carbon could be produced from mild gasification char utilizing the CTC process. Char methanation and membrane separation steps performed reasonably well and can scaled up with confidence. However, the novel directly heated reactor system for methane cracking did not work satisfactorily due to materials of construction and heat transfer problems, which adversely affected the quantity and quality of the carbon product. Alternative reactor designs are recommended.

Char characterisation and its application in a coal burnout mode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michael Cloke; Tao Wu; Richelieu Barranco; Ed Lester [University of Nottingham, Nottingham (United Kingdom). Nottingham Fuel and Energy Centre, School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering, Coal Technology Research Group

2003-10-01

In this study, char image analysis techniques have been employed to investigate the morphology of chars obtained from a Drop-Tube furnace. Char image analysis results have been incorporated as inputs to a char burnout model based on Hurt's CBK model. It has been observed that the char combustion rate was strongly affected by char structural parameters and the inclusion of char morphology has led to a better prediction of char burnout. It has also been suggested by the model that the inclusion of ash inhibition overestimates the resistance attributed by ash film and the consideration of ash film resistance should be undertaken in a different way to give a better prediction at the later stages of char combustion. 12 refs., 13 figs., 5 tabs.

Development of advanced technologies for biomass pyrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ran

The utilization of biomass resources as a renewable energy resource is of great importance in responding to concerns over the protection of the environment and the security of energy supply. This PhD research focuses on the investigation of the conversion of negative value biomass residues into value-added fuels through flash pyrolysis. Pyrolysis Process Study. A pilot plant bubbling fluidized bed pyrolyzer has been set up and extensively used to thermally crack various low or negative value agricultural, food and biofuel processing residues to investigate the yields and quality of the liquid [bio-oil] and solid (bio-char] products. Another novel aspect of this study is the establishment of an energy balance from which the thermal self-sustainability of the pyrolysis process can be assessed. Residues such as grape skins and mixture of grape skins and seeds, dried distiller's grains from bio-ethanol plants, sugarcane field residues (internal bagasse, external and whole plant) have been tested. The pyrolysis of each residue has been carried out at temperatures ranging from 300 to 600°C and at different vapor residence times, to determine its pyrolysis behavior including yields and the overall energy balance. The thermal sustainability of the pyrolysis process has been estimated by considering the energy contribution of the product gases and liquid bio-oll in relation to the pyrolysis heat requirements. The optimum pyrolysis conditions have been identified in terms of maximizing the liquid blo-oil yield, energy density and content of the product blo-oil, after ensuring a self-sustainable process by utilizing the product gases and part of char or bio-oil as heat sources. Adownflow pyrolyzer has also been set up. Preliminary tests have been conducted using much shorter residence times. Bio-oil Recovery. Bio-oil recovery from the pyrolysis unit includes condensation followed by demisting. A blo-oil cyclonic condensing system is designed A nearly tangential entry forces

Sustainable energy transitions in emerging economies: The formation of a palm oil biomass waste-to-energy niche in Malaysia 1990–2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, Ulrich Elmer; Nygaard, Ivan

2014-01-01

The economic development in emerging economies in Southeast Asia has significantly increased the use of fossil fuel based energy. This has severe implications for global climate change, and against this background, scholars within the sustainable transition tradition have taken an interest in addressing how transitions towards more sustainable development pathways in this region may be achieved. This paper contributes to the abovementioned literature by examining the conducive and limiting factors for development and proliferation of a palm oil biomass waste-to-energy niche in Malaysia during the period 1990–2011. Rising oil prices, strong pressure on the palm oil industry from environmental groups, and a persisting palm oil biomass waste disposal problem in Malaysia appear to have been conducive to niche proliferation, and on top of this national renewable energy policies and large-scale donor programmes have specifically supported the utilisation of palm oil biomass waste for energy. However, in spite of this, the niche development process has only made slow progress. The paper identifies reluctant implementation of energy policy, rise in biomass resource prices, limited network formation and negative results at the niche level, as the main factors hindering niche development. - Highlights: • We examine crucial factors for developing a biomass-to-energy niche in Malaysia. • In spite of interventions for policy support the niche has only made slow progress. • Oil prices, NGO pressure, waste problems and policy support were the enabling factors. • First, reluctant implementation of energy policy was hindering niche development. • Later, low performance level of implemented plants was hindering niche development

Characterization and Catalytic Upgrading of Crude Bio-oil Produced by Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Swine Manure and Pyrolysis of Biomass

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Dan

The distillation curve of crude bio-oil from glycerol-assisted hydrothermal liquefaction of swine manure was measured using an advanced distillation apparatus. The crude bio-oil had much higher distillation temperatures than diesel and gasoline and was more distillable than the bio-oil produced by the traditional liquefaction of swine manure and the pyrolysis of corn stover. Each 10% volumetric fraction was analyzed from aspects of its chemical compositions, chemical and physical properties. The appearance of hydrocarbons in the distillates collected at the temperature of 410.9°C and above indicated that the thermal cracking at a temperature from 410°C to 500°C may be a proper approach to upgrade the crude bio-oil produced from the glycerol-assisted liquefaction of swine manure. The effects of thermal cracking conditions including reaction temperature (350-425°C), retention time (15-60 min) and catalyst loadings (0-10 wt%) on the yield and quality of the upgraded oil were analyzed. Under the optimum thermal cracking conditions at 400°C, a catalyst loading of 5% by mass and the reaction time of 30 min, the yield of bio-oil was 46.14% of the mass of the crude bio-oil and 62.5% of the energy stored in the crude bio-oil was recovered in the upgraded bio-oil. The upgraded bio-oil with a heating value of 41.4 MJ/kg and viscosity of 3.6 cP was comparable to commercial diesel. In upgrading crude bio-oil from fast pyrolysis, converting organic acids into neutral esters is significant and can be achieved by sulfonated activated carbon/bio-char developed from fermentation residues. Acitivated carbon and bio-char were sulfonated by concentrated sulfuric acid at 150°C for 18 h. Sulfonation helped activated carbon/bio-char develop acid functional groups. Sulfonated activated carbon with BET surface area of 349.8 m2/g, was effective in converting acetic acid. Acetic acid can be effectively esterified by sulfonated activated carbon (5 wt%) at 78°C for 60 min with the

Techno-economic analysis of the coal-to-olefins process in comparison with the oil-to-olefins process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiang, Dong; Qian, Yu; Man, Yi; Yang, Siyu

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Present the opportunities and challenges of coal-to-olefins (CTO) development. • Conduct a techno-economic analysis on CTO compared with oil-to-olefins (OTO). • Suggest approaches for improving energy efficiency and economic performance of CTO. • Analyze effects of plant scale, feedstock price, CO 2 tax on CTO and OTO. - Abstract: Olefins are one of the most important oil derivatives widely used in industry. To reduce the dependence of olefins industry on oil, China is increasing the production of olefins from alternative energy resources, especially from coal. This study is concerned with the opportunities and obstacles of coal-to-olefins development, and focuses on making an overall techno-economic analysis of a coal-to-olefins plant with the capacity of 0.7 Mt/a olefins. Comparison is made with a 1.5 Mt/a oil-to-olefins plant based on three criteria including energy efficiency, capital investment, and product cost. It was found that the coal-based olefins process show prominent advantage in product cost because of the low price of its feedstock. However, it suffers from the limitations of higher capital investment, lower energy efficiency, and higher emissions. The effects of production scale, raw material price, and carbon tax were varied for the two production routes, and thus the operational regions were found for the coal-to-olefins process to be competitive

Production of syngas and oil at biomass refinery and their application in low speed two stroke engines for combined cycle electric energy generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinatti, Daltro Garcia [Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Tubarao, SC (Brazil)], E-mail: pinatti@demar.eel.usp.br; Oliveira, Isaias de; Ferreira, Joao Carlos; Romao, Erica Leonor [RM Materiais Refratarios Ltd., Lorena, SP (Brazil)], Emails: isaias@rm-gpc.com.br, joaocarlos@rm-gpc.com.br, ericaromao@rm-gpc.com.br; Conte, Rosa Ana [University of Sao Paulo (DEMAR/EEL/USP), SP (Brazil). Lorena School of Engineering. Dept. of Materials Engineering], E-mail: rosaconte@demar.eel.usp.br

2009-07-01

Low speed two stroke engines burn fuels of medium quality with high efficiency (47%) and allows a flexible use of oil (> 8% of total power) and syngas (< 92%, low heating value-LHV>11.2MJ/m{sup 3}). Biomass refinery (BR) generates oil from sludge and oleaginous biomass by low temperature conversion and syngas from lignocellulosic biomass treated by diluted acidic prehydrolysis. BR has low investment cost (US$1,500.00/kW) compared with hydroelectric plants (US$2,500.00/kW) and both generate electric energy with sales price below US$75.00/MWh. It allows distributed generation from 30 MW up to 170 MW or centralized power of 1 GW with six motor generator sets. BR matrix, mass and energy balance, fuels compositions, modulations and scope of supply will be presented. Besides electric energy BR can be tailored to supply other products such as ethanol, H{sub 2} for fuel cells, biodiesel, fertilizer recycling, char and simultaneously maximizes the production of animal protein. (author)

The energy efficiency of oil sands extraction: Energy return ratios from 1970 to 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, Adam R.; Englander, Jacob; Bharadwaj, Sharad

2013-01-01

It has been argued that the oil sands industry is not energy efficient: comparatively large energy inputs are required per unit of energy output from oil sands operations. Unfortunately, quantitative work to date in this area has suffered from poor data availability and uncertain methods. We apply a new methodology and new dataset to compute ERRs (energy return ratios) for the oil sands industry. We collected monthly oil sands energy consumption and output data from 1970 to 2010. Current oil sands operations have mine mouth NERs (net energy returns) of about 6 GJ output per GJ of energy consumed and point of use energy returns of about 3 GJ/GJ. Long-term trends show oil sands operations becoming significantly more efficient: point of use NER increased from about 1 GJ/GJ in 1970 to 3 GJ/GJ in 2010. These energy returns are lower than those observed in historical conventional oil operations, but low energy returns are not likely to hinder development of oil sands operations due to the large resource in place and the ability for largely self-fueled pathways to return significant amounts of energy to society for every unit of external energy supplied. - Highlights: • Oil sands operations have become significantly more energy efficient over the history of the industry. • Oil sands production is largely fueled with energy from the bitumen resource itself, making external energy returns high. • Oil sands production is still significantly less efficient than conventional oil production

Applications of Nuclear Energy to Oil Sands and Hydrogen Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffey, R.B.; Miller, A.; Kuran, S.

2011-01-01

Many novel and needed applications of nuclear energy arise in today's energy-hungry, economically challenged world, and in solving tomorrow's search for a globally carbon-constrained and sustainable energy supply. Not only can nuclear power produce low cost electricity, it can provide co-generation of process heat, desalinated water, and hydrogen with negligible greenhouse gas emissions. In each of these new applications, nuclear energy is competing against, or displacing conventional and established use of natural gas or coal in thermal power plants and boilers. Therefore, there must be a compelling case, in terms of supply certainty, stability, safety, security, and acceptability. In addition, a synergistic relation must exist or be created with the existing power and energy markets, the use of windpower, and the needs for low-cost supply with negligible greenhouse gas emissions and carbon 'footprint'. The development of Canada's oil sands resource depends on a substantial energy input for extraction and upgrading. So far, this input has been supplied by natural gas, a resource that (a) is a premium fuel; (b) has constrained availability; and (c) produces significant CO 2 emissions. For the oil sands extraction process, natural gas is the current energy source used to generate the steam for in-situ heating, the power to drive the separation equipment, and the hydrogen for varying degrees of upgrading before piping. Nothwithstanding the current imbalance between supply and demand for gas within North America, the very demand of the oil sands for prodigious amounts of natural gas has itself the potential to force higher prices and create supply constraints for natural gas. Rooted in the energy equivalence of oil and gas, there is a long-established link between American gas prices whereby one bbl of oil is worth 7 GJ of natural gas. Temporary supply/demand imbalances apart, only cheap oil can maintain cheap gas. Only the improbability of cheap oil will maintain low

Development of continuous processes for vegetable oil alcoholysis in microfluidic devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Romain

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Biodiesel can be produced from vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste cooking oils by transesterification with ethanol (also called ethanolysis in order to substitute fossil fuels. In this work, we were interested in the transesterification reaction of sunflower oil with ethanol, which leads to ethyl esters, used to date for applications principally in food and cosmetic industry. To open the application field to biofuels (to substitute current fuels resulting from fossil resources, the process efficiency has to be developed to be economically profitable. The batch reaction of vegetable oil ethanolysis was transposed to a micro-scaled continuous device (PFA tube of 508 μm internal diameter, inducing better heat and mass transfer. Study of the influence of the operational conditions (reactants flow, initial ethanol to oil molar ratio, temperature. . . revealed the favourable reaction parameters necessary to reach high conversions and yields. In these conditions, it is possible to acquire kinetics data at the first seconds of the reaction, which was not feasible in a conventional batch process. These data were used to model occurring phenomena and to determine kinetic constants and transfer coefficients. The model was subsequently used to simulate reactions with other operational conditions. To acquire these data in microreactors, an on-line analysis method by Near InfraRed (NIR spectroscopy was developed by using gas chromatography as a reference method. PLS models were then set up to quantify on-line the major compounds contents during the reaction.

Fast pyrolysis of lignin, macroalgae and sewage sludge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trinh, N.T.

2013-04-15

Non-conventional biomass feedstock may also be applicable for fast pyrolysis processes. Among the forms of non-conventional biomasses, macroalgae, lignin (industrial residue) and sewage sludge may be attractive materials due to their low price, non-competitiveness with food crops and the possible utilization of solid wastes. Besides, a fast pyrolysis process can be used as a process to densify the biomass and produce bioslurry, a mixture of bio-oil and pyrolytic char. The bioslurry is found to be a possible feedstock for pressurized gasification plants. Thus, the aims of this project are to investigate fast pyrolysis properties of lignin, sewage sludge and macroalgae on a lab scale PCR and characterize their bio-oil properties. Bioslurry properties with respect to use as a feedstock for pressurized gasification is also investigated. Lignin and sewage sludge PCR pyrolysis provided bio-oil yields of 47 and 54 wt% daf, and oil energy recovery of 45 and 50 %, respectively. While the macroalgae PCR pyrolysis showed promising results with an organic oil yield of 65 wt% daf and an oil energy recovery of 76 %. The HHV of the lignin, sewage sludge and macroalgae oils were 29.7, 25.7 and 25.5 MJ/kg db respectively, and that are higher than that of typical bioiv oil from conventional biomasses (23-24 MJ/kg db). Almost all metals feedstock contents were contained in the chars at temperatures of 550 - 575 deg. C for lignin, sewage sludge and macroalgae PCR pyrolysis. Due to high feedstock nitrogen and sulfur contents, also a high level of nitrogen and sulfur of macroalgae and sewage sludge oils were observed compared to conventional bio-oil and this may limit their further industrial applications. The lignin char had a high proportion of small size particles, a HHV of 21 MJ/kg db and were almost free of chloride and sulfur, thus it is considered as a promising fuel for gasification or combustion; whereas macroalgae and sewage sludge chars containing high amounts of

Report on results of research. Basic studies on characteristics of coal char gasification under pressure; Sekitan char no kaatsuka ni okeru gas ka tokuseino kiso kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1981-03-01

This paper explains basic studies on characteristics of coal char gasification under pressure. Hydro-gasification of coal needs as a gasifying agent a large amount of hydrogen, which is effectively produced by the water gasification of exhaust unreacted residual char. In fiscal 1975, gasification was tested on Taiheiyo coal carbonized char by an atmospheric fluidized gasifier of 28 mm bore. In fiscal 1976, experiment was conducted under pressure by fully improving the auxiliary safety equipment. The char and gas yield increased with higher pressure in pressurized carbonization by an autoclave. In fiscal 1977, clinker was successfully prevented by using quartz sand for a fluidized medium. In fiscal 1978, two-stage continuous gasification was examined. In fiscal 1979, correlation was determined between operation factors such as gasification pressure, temperature, etc., and clinker formation/char reactivity. An experiment was conducted for particle pop-out using a pressurized fluidized bed of 100 mm inner diameter, with the pop-out quantity found to be proportional to the 0.38th power of a pressure. A high pressure fluidized gasifier was built having a char processing capacity of 1 t/day, 20 atmospheric pressure, and an inner diameter of 100 mm. In fiscal 1980, this device was continuously operated, elucidating problems for the practicability. (NEDO)

A Novel Energy-Efficient Pyrolysis Process: Self-pyrolysis of Oil Shale Triggered by Topochemical Heat in a Horizontal Fixed Bed

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, You-Hong; Bai, Feng-Tian; Lü, Xiao-Shu; Li, Qiang; Liu, Yu-Min; Guo, Ming-Yi; Guo, Wei; Liu, Bao-Chang

2015-02-01

This paper proposes a novel energy-efficient oil shale pyrolysis process triggered by a topochemical reaction that can be applied in horizontal oil shale formations. The process starts by feeding preheated air to oil shale to initiate a topochemical reaction and the onset of self-pyrolysis. As the temperature in the virgin oil shale increases (to 250-300°C), the hot air can be replaced by ambient-temperature air, allowing heat to be released by internal topochemical reactions to complete the pyrolysis. The propagation of fronts formed in this process, the temperature evolution, and the reaction mechanism of oil shale pyrolysis in porous media are discussed and compared with those in a traditional oxygen-free process. The results show that the self-pyrolysis of oil shale can be achieved with the proposed method without any need for external heat. The results also verify that fractured oil shale may be more suitable for underground retorting. Moreover, the gas and liquid products from this method were characterised, and a highly instrumented experimental device designed specifically for this process is described. This study can serve as a reference for new ideas on oil shale in situ pyrolysis processes.

Enhancement of biofuels production by means of co-pyrolysis of Posidonia oceanica (L.) and frying oil wastes: Experimental study and process modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaafouri, Kaouther; Ben Hassen Trabelsi, Aida; Krichah, Samah; Ouerghi, Aymen; Aydi, Abdelkarim; Claumann, Carlos Alberto; André Wüst, Zibetti; Naoui, Silm; Bergaoui, Latifa; Hamdi, Moktar

2016-05-01

Energy recovery from lignocellulosic solid marine wastes, Posidonia oceanica wastes (POW) with slow pyrolysis responds to the growing trend of alternative energies as well as waste management. Physicochemical, thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) and spectroscopic (FTIR) characterizations of POW were performed. POW were first converted by pyrolysis at different temperatures (450°C, 500°C, 550°C and 600°C) using a fixed-bed reactor. The obtained products (bio-oil, syngas and bio char) were analyzed. Since the bio-oil yield obtained from POW pyrolysis is low (2wt.%), waste frying oil (WFO) was added as a co-substrate in order to improve of biofuels production. The co-pyrolysis gave a better yield of liquid organic fraction (37wt.%) as well as syngas (CH4,H2…) with a calorific value around 20MJ/kg. The stoichiometric models of both pyrolysis and co-pyrolysis reactions were performed according to the biomass formula: CαHβOγNδSε. The thermal kinetic decomposition of solids was validated through linearized Arrhenius model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Survey on alternative energy for industrial processes in Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masduki, B.; Sukarsono, R.; Wardaya; Suryawan, I.

1997-01-01

In consequence of the national industrial development, it is necessary to supply a lot of energy. This paper presented a discussion about the option of supplying nuclear processed heat as alternative energy sources for industry especially in Java island. The electrical energy requirement can be estimated rising. The stock and the requirement of energy in Indonesia is unbalance. If the oil production rate is constant, such as that of today, it can be estimated that the oil stock would be over in 20 years. The country is trying to difertify its source of energy and reduce its dependence on oil. High Temperature Reactor (HTR) produces electric and also heat at various temperature in the form of steam and gas. Heat processes from a high temperature reactor, could be used in industry for supplying heat for coal hidroforming, gasification of coal, metal annealing, petrochemical hydrogenation, distillation, purification of petrochemicals, evaporation, water heat, etc. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig., 5 tabs

Global Trends and Development Prospects for Oil and the Oil Products Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Dorozhkina

2006-03-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the important issue of the development of the global market of oil and oil products. It offers an overview of how this market was formed and its current status, classification, location and potential of countries in the oil and oil processing business. It analyzes the Ukrainian oil products market. The article discusses the shortcomings and strategic areas for the development of Ukraine’s oil transport system. It presents an optimum method for creating integration groups in order to develop the oil processing business in Ukraine for the future. The article considers the main trends and outlines development prospects for the global oil and oil products market.

Adsorption of Pb(II by Activated Pyrolytic Char from Used Tire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Ping

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As a renewable resource, the pyrolytic char derived from used tire has promising adsorption capacities owing to its similar structure and properties with active carbon. The purification and activation of the pyrolytic char from used tire, as well as the application of this material in the adsorption of Pb(II in water is conducted. The influences on the adsorption capacity by temperature and pH value are investigated and discussed; the adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics are also studied. The results show that the pyrolytic char from used tire has remarkable adsorption capacity for Pb(II, and the adsorption is an endothermic process complying with the Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption kinetics is a pseudo second-order reaction.

China's energy security: Oil and gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Kang

2014-01-01

China is currently the largest energy consuming country in the world. Until the early 1990s, China had long been a net energy exporter. The country became a net oil importer in 1993, the first time since the 1960s. For China, energy security first means oil supply security. China turned into a net natural gas importer in 2007 and then a net coal importer in 2009. In other words, China is now a net importer of all three types of fossil energy—oil, natural gas, and coal. In the context of rising oil imports and implementation of China's 12th Five-Year Program from 2011 to 2015, this paper examines China's energy security strategies with a focus on three leading elements, namely overseas oil investment, strategic petroleum reserves (SPR)and unconventional gas development. Our findings suggest that the Chinese government has promoted overseas investment strongly; its SPR program has been established though the progress for Phase II has been slower than expected and the government intends to boost the unconventional gas sector development. However, the challenges are enormous as well. As for future research, other elements for each dimension of energy security should be reviewed to reach a comprehensive conclusion about how well China has done and what steps are needed to move forward. - Highlights: • Identified China's key energy security strategies during the 12th Five-Year Program (FYP) and previous FYPs. • Provided a unique insight into China's rising oil imports. • Reviewed China's overseas oil and gas investment as a key energy security measure. • Assessed China's strategic petroleum reserves program and the future growth. • Provided a comprehensive coverage of China's unconventional gas development, including both coal-bed methane and shale gas

Oil development in China: Current status and future trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Linwei; Fu Feng; Li Zheng; Liu Pei

2012-01-01

The future of oil has become an important topic of the discussion of energy policy in China. This paper attempts to present a full picture of the current status and future trends of China’s oil development through system analysis. First, we map a Sankey diagram of China’s oil flow to reveal the physical pattern of China’s oil supply and consumption. Then, we present the historical and ongoing trends of China’s oil flow from key aspects such as oil demand, oil resource availability, technology improvement, and policy adjustment. Based on these understandings, we design three scenarios of China’s oil demand in 2030, and analyze policy implications for oil saving, automotive energy development, and energy security. From the analysis, we draw some conclusions for policy decisions, such as to control the total oil consumption to avoid energy security risks, to enhance oil saving in all sectors with road transportation as the emphasis, and to increase the investment on oil production and refining to secure oil supply and reduce emissions. - Highlights: ► A Sankey Diagram to reveal the physical pattern of China’s oil supply and consumption. ► Present the ongoing trends of China’s oil development. ► Discuss important policy issues such as oil saving, energy security, and emissions reduction.

Degradation of p-Nitrophenol by Lignin and Cellulose Chars: H2O2-Mediated Reaction and Direct Reaction with the Char.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jing; Pignatello, Joseph J; Pan, Bo; Xing, Baoshan

2017-08-15

Chars and other black carbons are reactive toward certain compounds. Such reactivity has been attributed to reduction of O 2 by persistent free radicals in the solid to H 2 O 2 , which then back-reacts with the solid to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS; especially HO • ). We studied the decomposition of p-nitrophenol (PNP) by pure lignin and cellulose chars aged in moist air or a vacuum at room temperature for up to a month. In air, the chars chemisorbed oxygen, a portion of which was liberated as H 2 O 2 when the char was submerged in water. The evolved H 2 O 2 was simultaneously decomposed by the char. PNP reacted predominantly in the sorbed state and only reduction products (phenol, catechol) were identified. Aging the char in air sharply (within hours) reduced H 2 O 2 -producing capacity and free radical concentration, but more gradually reduced PNP decay rate over the month-long period. PNP decay was only modestly suppressed (12-30%) by H 2 O 2 removal (catalase), and had little effect on the free radical signal (reactive sites. Lignin char was generally more reactive than cellulose char. The Fe impurity in lignin played no role. The results are relevant to the fate of pollutants in black carbon-rich environments and the use of carbons in remediation.

Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sukumar Bandopadhyay; Charles Chamberlin; Robert Chaney; Gang Chen; Godwin Chukwu; James Clough; Steve Colt; Anthony Covescek; Robert Crosby; Abhijit Dandekar; Paul Decker; Brandon Galloway; Rajive Ganguli; Catherine Hanks; Rich Haut; Kristie Hilton; Larry Hinzman; Gwen Holdman; Kristie Holland; Robert Hunter; Ron Johnson; Thomas Johnson; Doug Kame; Mikhail Kaneveskly; Tristan Kenny; Santanu Khataniar; Abhijeet Kulkami; Peter Lehman; Mary Beth Leigh; Jenn-Tai Liang; Michael Lilly; Chuen-Sen Lin; Paul Martin; Pete McGrail; Dan Miller; Debasmita Misra; Nagendra Nagabhushana; David Ogbe; Amanda Osborne; Antoinette Owen; Sharish Patil; Rocky Reifenstuhl; Doug Reynolds; Eric Robertson; Todd Schaef; Jack Schmid; Yuri Shur; Arion Tussing; Jack Walker; Katey Walter; Shannon Watson; Daniel White; Gregory White; Mark White; Richard Wies; Tom Williams; Dennis Witmer; Craig Wollard; Tao Zhu

2008-12-31

The Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory was created by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in response to a congressionally mandated funding opportunity through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), specifically to encourage research partnerships between the university, the Alaskan energy industry, and the DOE. The enabling legislation permitted research in a broad variety of topics particularly of interest to Alaska, including providing more efficient and economical electrical power generation in rural villages, as well as research in coal, oil, and gas. The contract was managed as a cooperative research agreement, with active project monitoring and management from the DOE. In the eight years of this partnership, approximately 30 projects were funded and completed. These projects, which were selected using an industry panel of Alaskan energy industry engineers and managers, cover a wide range of topics, such as diesel engine efficiency, fuel cells, coal combustion, methane gas hydrates, heavy oil recovery, and water issues associated with ice road construction in the oil fields of the North Slope. Each project was managed as a separate DOE contract, and the final technical report for each completed project is included with this final report. The intent of this process was to address the energy research needs of Alaska and to develop research capability at the university. As such, the intent from the beginning of this process was to encourage development of partnerships and skills that would permit a transition to direct competitive funding opportunities managed from funding sources. This project has succeeded at both the individual project level and at the institutional development level, as many of the researchers at the university are currently submitting proposals to funding agencies, with some success.

INTERFACIAL ENERGY DURING THE EMULSIFICATION OF WATER-IN-HEAVY CRUDE OIL EMULSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Karcher

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the interfacial energy involved in the production of water-in-oil (W/O emulsions composed of water and a Brazilian heavy crude oil. For such purpose an experimental set-up was developed to measure the different energy terms involved in the emulsification process. W/O emulsions containing different water volume fractions (0.1, 0.25 and 0.4 were prepared in a batch calorimeter by using a high-shear rotating homogenizer at two distinct rotation speeds (14000 and 22000 rpm. The results showed that the energy dissipated as heat represented around 80% of the energy transferred to the emulsion, while around 20% contributed to the internal energy. Only a very small fraction of the energy (0.02 - 0.06% was stored in the water-oil interface. The results demonstrated that the high energy dissipation contributes to the kinetic stability of the W/O emulsions.

Energy return on (energy) invested (EROI), oil prices, and energy transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heun, Matthew Kuperus; de Wit, Martin

2012-01-01

Very little work has been done so far to model, test, and understand the relationship between oil prices and EROI over time. This paper investigates whether a declining EROI is associated with an increasing oil price and speculates on the implications of these results on oil policy. A model of the relationship between EROI and oil market prices was developed using basic economic and physical assumptions and non-linear least-squares regression models to correlate oil production price with EROI using available data from 1954–1996. The model accurately reflects historical oil prices (1954–1996), and it correlates well with historical oil prices (1997–2010) if a linear extrapolation of EROI decline is assumed. As EROI declines below 10, highly non-linear oil price movements are observed. Increasing physical oil scarcity is already providing market signals that would stimulate a transition away from oil toward alternative energy sources. But, price signals of physical oil scarcity are not sufficient to guarantee smooth transitions to alternative fuel sources, especially when there is insufficient oil extraction technology development, a declining mark-up ratio, a non-linear EROI–cost of production relationship, and a non-linear EROI–price relationship. - Highlights: ► A model of the relationship between EROI and oil prices has been developed. ► As EROI declines below 10, highly non-linear oil price movements are expected. ► Physical oil scarcity provides market signals for a transition to alternatives. ► Scarcity price signals are insufficient for smooth transitions to alternatives.

Exploration of process parameters for continuous hydrolysis of canola oil, camelina oil and algal oil

KAUST Repository

Wang, Weicheng

2012-07-01

Thermal hydrolysis of triglycerides to form free fatty acid (FFA) is a well-established industry practice. Recently, this process has been employed as a first step in the production of biofuels from lipids. To that end, batch and continuous hydrolysis of various feedstocks has been examined at the laboratory scale. Canola, the primary feedstock in this paper, camelina and algal oils were converted to high quality FFA. For the different reaction temperatures, the continuous hydrolysis system was found to provide better yields than the laboratory batch system. In addition, CFD simulation with ANSYS-CFX was used to model the performance and reactant/product separation in the continuous, counter-flow reactor. The effects of reaction temperature, water-to-oil ratio (ratio of water and oil volumetric inflow rate), and preheating of the reactants were examined experimentally. Optimization of these parameters has resulted in an improved, continuous process with high mass yields (89-93%, for reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1) and energy efficiency (76%, for reactor temperature of 250°C and water-to-oil ratio of 2:1). Based on the product quality and energy efficiency considerations, the reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1 have provided the optimal condition for the lab scale continuous hydrolysis reaction. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Exploration of process parameters for continuous hydrolysis of canola oil, camelina oil and algal oil

KAUST Repository

Wang, Weicheng; Turner, Timothy L.; Stikeleather, Larry F.; Roberts, William L.

2012-01-01

Thermal hydrolysis of triglycerides to form free fatty acid (FFA) is a well-established industry practice. Recently, this process has been employed as a first step in the production of biofuels from lipids. To that end, batch and continuous hydrolysis of various feedstocks has been examined at the laboratory scale. Canola, the primary feedstock in this paper, camelina and algal oils were converted to high quality FFA. For the different reaction temperatures, the continuous hydrolysis system was found to provide better yields than the laboratory batch system. In addition, CFD simulation with ANSYS-CFX was used to model the performance and reactant/product separation in the continuous, counter-flow reactor. The effects of reaction temperature, water-to-oil ratio (ratio of water and oil volumetric inflow rate), and preheating of the reactants were examined experimentally. Optimization of these parameters has resulted in an improved, continuous process with high mass yields (89-93%, for reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1) and energy efficiency (76%, for reactor temperature of 250°C and water-to-oil ratio of 2:1). Based on the product quality and energy efficiency considerations, the reactor temperature of 260°C and water-to-oil ratio of 4:1 have provided the optimal condition for the lab scale continuous hydrolysis reaction. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Thermal characteristics and surface morphology of char during co-pyrolysis of low-rank coal blended with microalgal biomass: Effects of Nannochloropsis and Chlorella.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zhiqiang; Yang, Wangcai; Yang, Bolun

2018-02-01

In this work, the influence of Nannochloropsis and Chlorella on the thermal behavior and surface morphology of char during the co-pyrolysis process were explored. Thermogravimetric and iso-conversional methods were applied to analyzing the pyrolytic and kinetic characteristics for different mass ratios of microalgae and low-rank coal (0, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3 and 1). Fractal theory was used to quantitatively determine the effect of microalgae on the morphological texture of co-pyrolysis char. The result indicated that both the Nannochloropsis and Chlorella promoted the release of volatile from low-rank coal. Different synergistic effects on the thermal parameters and yield of volatile were observed, which could be attributed to the different compositions in the Nannochloropsis and Chlorella and operating condition. The distribution of activation energies shows nonadditive characteristics. Fractal dimensions of the co-pyrolysis char were higher than the individual char, indicating the promotion of disordered degree due to the addition of microalgae. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heat Transfer in a Fixed Bed of Straw Char

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fjellerup, Jan Søren; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk; Jensen, Anker

2003-01-01

A model for the thermal conductivity of a straw char bed has been developed. The model extends the work of Yagi and Kunii to describe heat transfer in a bed of cylinders, using a relationship between the interparticle distance and the external porosity. To verify the model, thermal conductivity...... the experimental uncertainty over the range of conditions investigated. The heat transfer model was used in a parametric study to evaluate the effect of gas flow rate, particle diameter, porosity, and temperature on the thermal conductivity in a straw char bed....... experiments were performed on shredded and un-shredded straw char samples, varying particle size, bed packing (loose or dense), and temperature. Predictions with the model, using the measured external porosity and particle diameter as input parameters, are in agreement with measurements within...

Alternative energy sources or integrated alternative energy systems? Oil as a modern lance of Peleus for the energy transition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szklo, Alexandre; Schaeffer, Roberto

2006-01-01

In this viewpoint, we discuss the importance of consorting alternative energy sources with oil, and not of opposing them. That is why we introduce the concept of alternative energy systems, which we feel is broader-ranging and more effective than alternative energy sources, as this deals with the actual transformation process of the global energy system. Alternative energy systems integrate oil with other energy sources and pave the way for new systems, which will benefit from what we call the 'virtues of oil'. They produce energy carriers for multi-fuel and multi-product strategies, where flexibility is a key target, allied to other co-benefits, especially those related to the increased use of renewable energy sources. The concept of alternative energy systems can bring a new light to the oil transition era discussion and might also influence energy policies for promoting renewables

Analysis of Porous Structure Parameters of Biomass Chars Versus Bituminous Coal and Lignite Carbonized at High Pressure and Temperature—A Chemometric Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Smoliński

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The characteristics of the porous structure of carbonized materials affect their physical properties, such as density or strength, their sorption capacity, and their reactivity in thermochemical processing, determining both their applicability as fuels or sorbents and their efficiency in various processes. The porous structure of chars is shaped by the combined effects of physical and chemical properties of a carbonaceous material and the operating parameters applied in the carbonization process. In the study presented, the experimental dataset covering parameters of various fuels, ranging from biomass through lignite to bituminous coal, and chars produced at 1273 K and under the pressure of 1, 2, 3, and 4 MPa was analyzed with the application of the advanced method of data exploration. The principal component analysis showed that the sample of the highest coal rank was characterized by lower values of parameters reflecting the development of the porous structure of chars. A negative correlation was also observed between the carbon content in a fuel and the evolution of the porous structure of chars at high pressure. The highest total pore volume of chars produced under 1 and 3 MPa and the highest micropore surface area under 3 MPa were reported for a carbonized fuel sample of the highest moisture content.

Volatile characteristic of trace elements during microwave pyrolysis of oil shale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bai, Jing-ru; Wang, Qing; Kong, Ling-wen; Bai, Zhang [Northeast Dianli Univ., Jilin (China). Engineering Research Centre

2013-07-01

Oil shale is abundant in the world. Today, the industry of oil shale retorting for producing shale oil is developing owing to high price of oil in the world. In order to study migratory behavior of trace elements in oil shale at microwave pyrolysis, tests were performed in laboratory with oil shale of the Huadian deposit of China at different powers from 400 to 700 W. The trace elements As, Cd, Hg, Mo, Pb, Se, Cr, Cu, Ni, V, Zn, Ba, Co, Mn present in oil shale and shale char were determined by the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). By comparing the content of trace elements in oil shale and shale char, distribution characteristics of trace elements at retorting were studied. The overall trends of volatile ratio of trace elements are ascending with higher microwave power and higher than the conventional pyrolysis. The differences in the volatile ratio indicate that the trace elements investigated are bound with the oil shale kerogen and its mineral matter in different manner. So Float-sink experiments (FSE) were performed on oil shale. Huadian oil shale has more included mineral. The volatilization of organic matter is not the main reason for the volatilization of trace elements in oil shale. The trace elements combined with the mineral elements may be also certain volatility.

The waste-to-energy framework for integrated multi-waste utilization: Waste cooking oil, waste lubricating oil, and waste plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singhabhandhu, Ampaitepin; Tezuka, Tetsuo [Energy Economics Laboratory, Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)

2010-06-15

Energy generation by wastes is considered one method of waste management that has the benefit of energy recovery. From the waste-to-energy point of view, waste cooking oil, waste lubricating oil, and waste plastics have been considered good candidates for feedstocks for energy conversion due to their high heating values. Compared to the independent management of these three wastes, the idea of co-processing them in integration is expected to gain more benefit. The economies of scale and the synergy of co-processing these wastes results in higher quality and higher yield of the end products. In this study, we use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the integrated management scenario of collecting the three wastes and converting them to energy. We report the total heat of combustion of pyrolytic oil at the maximum and minimum conversion rates, and conduct a sensitivity analysis in which the parameters of an increase of the electricity cost for operating the process and increase of the feedstock transportation cost are tested. We evaluate the effects of economy of scale in the case of integrated waste management. We compare four cases of waste-to-energy conversion with the business as usual (BAU) scenario, and our results show that the integrated co-processing of waste cooking oil, waste lubricating oil, and waste plastics is the most profitable from the viewpoints of energy yield and economics. (author)

Process for oil shale retorting

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, John B.; Kunchal, S. Kumar

1981-10-27

Particulate oil shale is subjected to a pyrolysis with a hot, non-oxygenous gas in a pyrolysis vessel, with the products of the pyrolysis of the shale contained kerogen being withdrawn as an entrained mist of shale oil droplets in a gas for a separation of the liquid from the gas. Hot retorted shale withdrawn from the pyrolysis vessel is treated in a separate container with an oxygenous gas so as to provide combustion of residual carbon retained on the shale, producing a high temperature gas for the production of some steam and for heating the non-oxygenous gas used in the oil shale retorting process in the first vessel. The net energy recovery includes essentially complete recovery of the organic hydrocarbon material in the oil shale as a liquid shale oil, a high BTU gas, and high temperature steam.

The Effect of Polymer Char on Nitridation Kinetics of Silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Rickmond C.; Bhatt, Ramakrishna T.

1994-01-01

Effects of polymer char on nitridation kinetics of attrition milled silicon powder have been investigated from 1200 to 1350 C. Results indicate that at and above 1250 C, the silicon compacts containing 3.5 wt percent polymer char were fully converted to Si3N4 after 24 hr exposure in nitrogen. In contrast, the silicon compacts without polymer char could not be fully converted to Si3N4 at 1350 C under similar exposure conditions. At 1250 and 1350 C, the silicon compacts with polymer char showed faster nitridation kinetics than those without the polymer char. As the polymer char content is increased, the amount of SiC in the nitrided material is also increased. By adding small amounts (approx. 2.5 wt percent) of NiO, the silicon compacts containing polymer char can be completely nitrided at 1200 C. The probable mechanism for the accelerated nitridation of silicon containing polymer char is discussed.

Structural evolution of biomass char and its effect on the gasification rate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fatehi, Hesameddin; Bai, Xue Song

2017-01-01

The evolution of char porous structure can affect the conversion rate of the char by affecting the intra-particle transport, especially in the zone II conversion regime. A multi-pore model based on the capillary pore theory is developed to take into account different conversion rates for pores wi...

Oil crops: requirements and possibilities for their utilization as an energy source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerner, G; Schoenefeldt, J; Mehring, I [OeHMI Forschung und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH, Magdeburg (Germany)

1995-12-01

Although vegetable oils have been used as an energy source for centuries, they were used almost exclusively in oil lamps. Their value as a foodstuff and the availability and low price of mineral oil had for a long time kept them from being seriously considered as a potential energy source. Now, owing to the increasing cost of fossil fuel, particularly oil, and increasing industrial energy consumption, as well as the negative impact of fossil fuel use on the environment, there is interest in a number of alternative energy sources, including vegetable oils. The discussion in this paper focuses on the use of untreated vegetable oils, particularly rapeseed oil. The energy potential of rapeseed oil is explored first. Then, conditions under which the use of oil crops as an energy source is feasible are briefly discussed; two concepts for decentralized oil-seed processing are described and, finally, future possibilities for use of vegetable oils as a fuel source are reviewed. (author) 5 refs, 4 figs, 4 tabs

Oil crops: requirements and possibilities for their utilization as an energy source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boerner, G.; Schoenefeldt, J.; Mehring, I.

1995-01-01

Although vegetable oils have been used as an energy source for centuries, they were used almost exclusively in oil lamps. Their value as a foodstuff and the availability and low price of mineral oil had for a long time kept them from being seriously considered as a potential energy source. Now, owing to the increasing cost of fossil fuel, particularly oil, and increasing industrial energy consumption, as well as the negative impact of fossil fuel use on the environment, there is interest in a number of alternative energy sources, including vegetable oils. The discussion in this paper focuses on the use of untreated vegetable oils, particularly rapeseed oil. The energy potential of rapeseed oil is explored first. Then, conditions under which the use of oil crops as an energy source is feasible are briefly discussed; two concepts for decentralized oil-seed processing are described and, finally, future possibilities for use of vegetable oils as a fuel source are reviewed. (author)

Chars from gasification of coal and pine activated with K2CO3: acetaminophen and caffeine adsorption from aqueous solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Galhetas, Margarida; Mestre, Ana S; Pinto, Moisés L; Gulyurtlu, Ibrahim; Lopes, Helena; Carvalho, Ana P

2014-11-01

The high carbon contents and low toxicity levels of chars from coal and pine gasification provide an incentive to consider their use as precursors of porous carbons obtained by chemical activation with K2CO3. Given the chars characteristics, previous demineralization and thermal treatments were made, but no improvement on the solids properties was observed. The highest porosity development was obtained with the biomass derived char (Pi). This char sample produced porous materials with preparation yields near 50% along with high porosity development (ABET≈1500m(2)g(-1)). For calcinations at 800°C, the control of the experimental conditions allowed the preparation of samples with a micropore system formed almost exclusively by larger micropores. A mesopore network was developed only for samples calcined at 900°C. Kinetic and equilibrium acetaminophen and caffeine adsorption data, showed that the processes obey to a pseudo-second order kinetic equation and to the Langmuir model, respectively. The results of sample Pi/1:3/800/2 outperformed those of the commercial carbons. Acetaminophen adsorption process was ruled by the micropore size distribution of the carbons. The caffeine monolayer capacities suggest a very efficient packing of this molecule in samples presenting monomodal micropore size distribution. The surface chemistry seems to be the determinant factor that controls the affinity of caffeine towards the carbons. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The catalytic cracking mechanism of lignite pyrolysis char on tar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, Z.; Huibin, H.; Xiangling, S.; Zhenhua, M.; Lei, Z.

2017-01-01

The influence of different pyrolysis conditions for tar catalytic cracking will be analyzed according to the lignite pyrolysis char as catalyst on pyrolytic tar in this paper. The pyrolysis char what is the by-product of the cracking of coal has an abundant of pore structure and it has good catalytic activity. On this basis, making the modified catalyst when the pyrolysis char is activation and loads Fe by impregnation method. The cracking mechanism of lignite pyrolytic tar is explored by applying gas chromatograph to analyze splitting products of tar. The experimental results showed that: (1) The effect of tar cracking as the pyrolysis temperature, the heating rate, the volatilization of pyrolysis char and particle size increasing is better and better. The effect of the catalytic and cracking of lignite pyrolysis char in tar is best when the heating rate, the pyrolysis temperature, the volatiles of pyrolysis char, particle size is in specific conditions.(2) The activation of pyrolysis char can improve the catalytic effect of pyrolysis char on the tar cracking. But it reduces the effect of the tar cracking when the pyrolysis char is activation loading Fe. (author)

Interactive association between biopolymers and biofunctions in carinata seeds as energy feedstock and their coproducts (carinata meal) from biofuel and bio-oil processing before and after biodegradation: current advanced molecular spectroscopic investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Peiqiang; Xin, Hangshu; Ban, Yajing; Zhang, Xuewei

2014-05-07

Recent advances in biofuel and bio-oil processing technology require huge supplies of energy feedstocks for processing. Very recently, new carinata seeds have been developed as energy feedstocks for biofuel and bio-oil production. The processing results in a large amount of coproducts, which are carinata meal. To date, there is no systematic study on interactive association between biopolymers and biofunctions in carinata seed as energy feedstocks for biofuel and bioethanol processing and their processing coproducts (carinata meal). Molecular spectroscopy with synchrotron and globar sources is a rapid and noninvasive analytical technique and is able to investigate molecular structure conformation in relation to biopolymer functions and bioavailability. However, to date, these techniques are seldom used in biofuel and bioethanol processing in other research laboratories. This paper aims to provide research progress and updates with molecular spectroscopy on the energy feedstock (carinata seed) and coproducts (carinata meal) from biofuel and bioethanol processing and show how to use these molecular techniques to study the interactive association between biopolymers and biofunctions in the energy feedstocks and their coproducts (carinata meal) from biofuel and bio-oil processing before and after biodegradation.

Microalgae Oil Production: A Downstream Approach to Energy Requirements for the Minamisoma Pilot Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dhani S. Wibawa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the potential of microalgae oil production as an alternative renewable energy source, in a pilot project located at Minamisoma City in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. The algal communities used in this research were the locally mixed species, which were mainly composed of Desmodesmus collected from the Minamisoma pilot project. The microalgae oil-production processes in Minamisoma consisted of three stages: cultivation, dewatering, and extraction. The estimated theoretical input-energy requirement for extracting oil was 137.25 MJ to process 50 m3 of microalgae, which was divided into cultivation 15.40 MJ, centrifuge 13.39 MJ, drum filter 14.17 MJ, and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL 94.29 MJ. The energy profit ratio (EPR was 1.41. The total energy requirement was highest in the HTL process (68% followed by cultivation (11% and the drum filter (10%. The EPR value increased along with the yield in the cultivation process. Using HTL, the microalgae biomass could be converted to bio-crude oil to increase the oil yield in the extraction process. Therefore, in the long run, the HTL process could help lower production costs, due to the lack of chemical additions, for extracting oil in the downstream estimation of the energy requirements for microalgae oil production.

Predictive Method for Correct Identification of Archaeological Charred Grape Seeds: Support for Advances in Knowledge of Grape Domestication Process

Science.gov (United States)

Ucchesu, Mariano; Orrù, Martino; Grillo, Oscar; Venora, Gianfranco; Paglietti, Giacomo; Ardu, Andrea; Bacchetta, Gianluigi

2016-01-01

The identification of archaeological charred grape seeds is a difficult task due to the alteration of the morphological seeds shape. In archaeobotanical studies, for the correct discrimination between Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris and Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera grape seeds it is very important to understand the history and origin of the domesticated grapevine. In this work, different carbonisation experiments were carried out using a hearth to reproduce the same burning conditions that occurred in archaeological contexts. In addition, several carbonisation trials on modern wild and cultivated grape seeds were performed using a muffle furnace. For comparison with archaeological materials, modern grape seed samples were obtained using seven different temperatures of carbonisation ranging between 180 and 340ºC for 120 min. Analysing the grape seed size and shape by computer vision techniques, and applying the stepwise linear discriminant analysis (LDA) method, discrimination of the wild from the cultivated charred grape seeds was possible. An overall correct classification of 93.3% was achieved. Applying the same statistical procedure to compare modern charred with archaeological grape seeds, found in Sardinia and dating back to the Early Bronze Age (2017–1751 2σ cal. BC), allowed 75.0% of the cases to be identified as wild grape. The proposed method proved to be a useful and effective procedure in identifying, with high accuracy, the charred grape seeds found in archaeological sites. Moreover, it may be considered valid support for advances in the knowledge and comprehension of viticulture adoption and the grape domestication process. The same methodology may also be successful when applied to other plant remains, and provide important information about the history of domesticated plants. PMID:26901361

The influence of wildfire severity on soil char composition and nitrogen dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Rhoades, Charles; Fegel, Timothy; Chow, Alex; Tsai, Kuo-Pei; Norman, John, III; Kelly, Eugene

2017-04-01

Forest fires cause lasting ecological changes and alter the biogeochemical processes that control stream water quality. Decreased plant nutrient uptake is the mechanism often held responsible for lasting post-fire shifts in nutrient supply and demand, though other upland and in-stream factors also likely contribute to elevated stream nutrient losses. Soil heating, for example, creates pyrogenic carbon (C) and char layers that influence C and nitrogen (N) cycling. Char layer composition and persistence vary across burned landscapes and are influenced first by fire behavior through the temperature and duration of combustion and then by post-fire erosion. To evaluate the link between soil char and stream C and N export we studied areas burned by the 2002 Hayman Fire, the largest wildfire in Colorado, USA history. We compared soil C and N pools and processes across ecotones that included 1) unburned forests, 2) areas with moderate and 3) high wildfire severity. We analyzed 1-2 cm thick charred organic layers that remain visible 15 years after the fire, underlying mineral soils, and soluble leachate from both layers. Unburned soils released more dissolved organic C and N (DOC and DON) from organic and mineral soil layers than burned soils. The composition of DOC leachate characterized by UV-fluorescence, emission-excitation matrices (EEMs) and Fluorescence Regional Integration (FRI) found similarity between burned and unburned soils, underscoring a common organic matter source. Humic and fulvic acid-like fractions, contained in regions V and III of the FRI model, comprised the majority of the fluorescing DOM in both unburned and char layers. Similarity between two EEMs indices (Fluorescence and Freshness), further denote that unburned soils and char layers originate from the same source and are consistent with visual evidence char layers contain significant amounts of unaltered OM. However, the EEMs humification index (HIX) and compositional analysis with pyrolysis GCMS

US oil dependency and energy security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noel, P.

2002-01-01

The three papers of this document were written in the framework of a seminar organized the 30 may 2002 by the IFRI in the framework of its program Energy and Climatic Change. The first presentation deals with the american oil policy since 1980 (relation between the oil dependence and the energy security, the Reagan oil policy, the new oil policy facing the increase of the dependence). The second one deals with the US energy security (oil security, domestic energy security, policy implications). The last presentation is devoted to the US oil dependence in a global context and the problems and policies of international energy security. (A.L.B.)

Comparative exergy analyses of Jatropha curcas oil extraction methods: Solvent and mechanical extraction processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ofori-Boateng, Cynthia; Keat Teong, Lee; JitKang, Lim

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Exergy analysis detects locations of resource degradation within a process. ► Solvent extraction is six times exergetically destructive than mechanical extraction. ► Mechanical extraction of jatropha oil is 95.93% exergetically efficient. ► Solvent extraction of jatropha oil is 79.35% exergetically efficient. ► Exergy analysis of oil extraction processes allow room for improvements. - Abstract: Vegetable oil extraction processes are found to be energy intensive. Thermodynamically, any energy intensive process is considered to degrade the most useful part of energy that is available to produce work. This study uses literature values to compare the efficiencies and degradation of the useful energy within Jatropha curcas oil during oil extraction taking into account solvent and mechanical extraction methods. According to this study, J. curcas seeds on processing into J. curcas oil is upgraded with mechanical extraction but degraded with solvent extraction processes. For mechanical extraction, the total internal exergy destroyed is 3006 MJ which is about six times less than that for solvent extraction (18,072 MJ) for 1 ton J. curcas oil produced. The pretreatment processes of the J. curcas seeds recorded a total internal exergy destructions of 5768 MJ accounting for 24% of the total internal exergy destroyed for solvent extraction processes and 66% for mechanical extraction. The exergetic efficiencies recorded are 79.35% and 95.93% for solvent and mechanical extraction processes of J. curcas oil respectively. Hence, mechanical oil extraction processes are exergetically efficient than solvent extraction processes. Possible improvement methods are also elaborated in this study.

Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni; Wagirin Ruiz Paidin; Thaer N. N. Mahmoud; Daryl S. Sequeira; Amit P. Sharma

2006-09-30

This is the final report describing the evolution of the project ''Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' from its conceptual stage in 2002 to the field implementation of the developed technology in 2006. This comprehensive report includes all the experimental research, models developments, analyses of results, salient conclusions and the technology transfer efforts. As planned in the original proposal, the project has been conducted in three separate and concurrent tasks: Task 1 involved a physical model study of the new GAGD process, Task 2 was aimed at further developing the vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for gas-oil miscibility determination, and Task 3 was directed at determining multiphase gas-oil drainage and displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks at realistic pressures and temperatures. The project started with the task of recruiting well-qualified graduate research assistants. After collecting and reviewing the literature on different aspects of the project such gas injection EOR, gravity drainage, miscibility characterization, and gas-oil displacement characteristics in porous media, research plans were developed for the experimental work to be conducted under each of the three tasks. Based on the literature review and dimensional analysis, preliminary criteria were developed for the design of the partially-scaled physical model. Additionally, the need for a separate transparent model for visual observation and verification of the displacement and drainage behavior under gas-assisted gravity drainage was identified. Various materials and methods (ceramic porous material, Stucco, Portland cement, sintered glass beads) were attempted in order to fabricate a satisfactory visual model. In addition to proving the effectiveness of the GAGD process (through measured oil recoveries in the range of 65 to 87% IOIP), the visual models demonstrated

Modifying Char Dustcake Pressure Drop Using Particulate Additives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Landham, C.; Dahlin, R.S.; Martin, R.A.; Guan, X.

2002-09-19

Coal gasification produces residual particles of coal char, coal ash, and sorbent that are suspended in the fuel gas stream exiting the gasifier. In most cases, these particles (referred to, hereafter, simply as char) must be removed from the stream prior to sending the gas to a turbine, fuel cell, or other downstream device. Currently, the most common approach to cleaning the gas stream at high temperature and pressure is by filtering the particulate with a porous ceramic or metal filter. However, because these dusts frequently have small size distributions, irregular morphology, and high specific surface areas, they can have very high gas flow resistance resulting in hot-gas filter system operating problems. Typical of gasification chars, the hot-gas filter dustcakes produced at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) during recent coal gasification tests have had very high flow resistance (Martin et al, 2002). The filter system has been able to successfully operate, but pressure drops have been high and filter cleaning must occur very frequently. In anticipation of this problem, a study was conducted to investigate ways of reducing dustcake pressure drop. This paper will discuss the efficacy of adding low-flow-resistance particulate matter to the high-flow-resistance char dustcake to reduce dustcake pressure drop. The study had two parts: a laboratory screening study and confirming field measurements at the PSDF.

Disintegration of beech wood char during thermal conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hindsgaul, Claus

In the present work the processes occurring in the structures of slowly pyrolysed beech wood char during thermal gasification have been investigated. Emphasis was put on physical changes and gas transport properties during conversion. The highly anisotropic structure of wood was preserved in its ...

Energy development and environmental protection: we can have both

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1981-01-01

This article is excerpted from a speech given by Ruth Caplan, Chair, National Energy Committee, Sierra Club, at Energy Magazine's Fourth Annual International Energy Conference, Hotel Roosevelt, New York City, November 24-25, 1980. When the environmental community speaks of alternative energy it is referring to renewable energy sources. Its preferred energy future begins with energy conservation and development of renewables. This path will relieve pressure for developing all our fossil resources at once. It will allow us to begin leasing in the least environmentally sensitive areas; to develop a small number of shale processing facilities and to study the impacts before building more; to be sure that the synthetic fuel processes which are commercialized minimize environmental and health impacts; to be sure that strip mined land can be reclaimed and that water resources are husbanded for foods as well as fuel; and to proceed without dismantling the Clean Air Act. Environmental concerns are set forth on the following: strip coal mining; oil shale development; oil and gas leasing along the Overthrust Belt; and nuclear waste disposal

Characteristic of oil palm residue for energy conversion system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muharnif; Zainal, Z.A.

2006-01-01

Malaysia is the major producer of palm oil in the world. It produces 8.5 tones per year (8.5 x 10 6 ty -1 ) of palm oil from 38.6 x 10 6 ty - 1 of fresh fruit bunches. Palm oil production generates large amounts of process residue such as fiber (5.4 x 10 6 ty - 1 ), shell (2.3 x 10 6 ty - 1 ), and empty fruit bunches (8.8 x 10 6 ty - 1 ). A large fraction of the fiber and much of the shell are used as fuel to generate process steam and electricity. The appropriate energy conversion system depends on the characteristic of the oil palm residue. In this paper, a description of characteristic of the oil palm residue is presented. The types of the energy conversion system presented are stoker type combustor and gasified. The paper focuses on the pulverized biomass material and the use of fluidized bed gasified. In the fluidized bed gasified, the palm shell and fiber has to be pulverized before feeding into gasified. For downdraft gasified and furnace, the palm shell and fiber can be used directly into the reactor for energy conversion. The heating value, burning characteristic, ash and moisture content of the oil palm residue are other parameters of the study

Preparatory selection of sterilization regime for canned Natural Atlantic Mackerel with oil based on developed mathematical models of the process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maslov A. A.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Definition of preparatory parameters for sterilization regime of canned "Natural Atlantic Mackerel with Oil" is the aim of current study. PRSC software developed at the department of automation and computer engineering is used for preparatory selection. To determine the parameters of process model, in laboratory autoclave AVK-30M the pre-trial process of sterilization and cooling in water with backpressure of canned "Natural Atlantic Mackerel with Oil" in can N 3 has been performed. Gathering information about the temperature in the autoclave sterilization chamber and the can with product has been carried out using Ellab TrackSense PRO loggers. Due to the obtained information three transfer functions for the product model have been identified: in the least heated area of autoclave, the average heated and the most heated. In PRSC programme temporary temperature dependences in the sterilization chamber have been built using this information. The model of sterilization process of canned "Natural Atlantic Mackerel with Oil" has been received after the pre-trial process. Then in the automatic mode the sterilization regime of canned "Natural Atlantic Mackerel with Oil" has been selected using the value of actual effect close to normative sterilizing effect (5.9 conditional minutes. Furthermore, in this study step-mode sterilization of canned "Natural Atlantic Mackerel with Oil" has been selected. Utilization of step-mode sterilization with the maximum temperature equal to 125 °C in the sterilization chamber allows reduce process duration by 10 %. However, the application of this regime in practice requires additional research. Using the described approach based on the developed mathematical models of the process allows receive optimal step and variable canned food sterilization regimes with high energy efficiency and product quality.

Fuel conversion characteristics of black liquor and pyrolysis oil mixture for efficient gasification with inherent catalyst

OpenAIRE

Bach Oller, Albert; Furusjö, Erik; Umeki, Kentaro

2014-01-01

This paper describes the technical feasibility of a catalytic co-gasification process using a mixture of black liquor (BL) and pyrolysis oil (PO). A technical concern is if gasifiers can be operated at low temperature (~1000 ºC) without problems of tar, soot or char, as is the case for pure BL due to the catalytic effect of fuel alkali. Hence, we investigated fuel conversion characteristics of BL/PO mixture: conversion of single droplet in flame, and char gasification reactivity. 20wt.% (BP20...

The development and commercialization of solar PV technology in the oil industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinkse, Jonatan; Buuse, Daniel van den

2012-01-01

In diversifying energy supply, the transformation of the energy industry has been identified as a key challenge for a sustainable energy future. This suggests that incumbent firms in this industry have a vital role in the development and commercialization process of renewable energy technologies. This paper provides a comparative analysis of oil and gas firms’ strategies regarding solar PV technology investments, a renewable energy technology that has seen explosive growth of late. The main aim is to examine the strategic approach of incumbent firms in the oil and gas industry towards the development and commercialization of solar PV technology. To investigate this, a multiple case study has been conducted within the European oil industry, focusing on the three largest oil and gas firms: BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Total. Findings show that oil and gas firms have difficulties with integrating solar PV technology in their supply chain. The analysis suggests that it is uncertain whether all oil and gas firms will abandon solar completely, as this depends to what extent they are able to generate profits. Nevertheless, there is currently a trend in the oil industry of leaving solar and positioning towards a ‘recarbonization’ of business activities. - Research Highlights: ► Oil and gas incumbents have experienced difficulties in integrating solar technology in their supply chain and therefore established fairly independent business units, serving niche markets outside mainstream markets for oil and gas. ► It is uncertain whether all oil and gas firms will abandon solar completely, as it depends to what extent they are able to generate profits with these activities. ► The competitive strain and increased turbulence in the oil industry have led to erratic investment behavior of oil firms and, as a consequence, renewable energy projects in which incumbents are engaged are often cancelled for reasons which have nothing to do with the market viability of renewable

Controllable production of liquid and solid biofuels by doping-free, microwave-assisted, pressurised pyrolysis of hemicellulose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, T.; Remón, J.; Shuttleworth, P.S.; Jiang, Z.; Fan, J.; Clark, J.H.; Budarin, V.L.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Microwave pyrolysis of xylan in the absence of any external microwave absorber. • High energy-efficient and controllable production of biochar and bio-oil from xylan. • Water in liquid phase is needed for fast microwave pyrolysis. • Production of bio-oil and bio-char with HHVs 52% and 19% greater than that of xylan. - Abstract: Batch, pressurised microwave-assisted pyrolysis of hemicellulose in the absence of any external microwave absorber was found to be a promising route for the production of bio-based chemicals and biofuels. The experiments were conducted in a 10 mL batch reactor using a fixed power of 200 W employing different initial masses of xylan (0.1–0.7 g) for a maximum time, temperature and pressure of 10 min, 250 °C and 200 psi, respectively. The gas, bio-oil and solid (char) yields varied by 16–40%, 2–21% and 40–82%, respectively. Char production is preferential using a low amount of xylan (<0.25 g), while bio-oil production is favoured using a high amount of xylan (0.25–0.7 g). The effect of the sample mass is accounted for by the different physical state of the volatiles released during pyrolysis depending on the pressure attained during the experiment. This permits the process to be easily customised for the selective production of liquid (bio-oil) or solid (bio-char). Regarding the bio-oil, it is composed of a mixture of platform chemicals such as aldehydes, alkenes, phenols, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHC), cyclic ketones and furans, with the composition varying depending on the initial mass of xylan. The char had a higher proportion of C together with a lower proportion of O than the original feedstock. Energy efficiencies of 100 and 26% were achieved for char and bio-oil production, respectively; thus leading to an increase in the HHV of the products (with respect to the original feedstock) of 52% for char and 19% for bio-oil.

Characterization of char derived from various types of solid wastes from the standpoint of fuel recovery and pretreatment before landfilling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, I.H.; Matsuto, T.; Tanaka, N.; Sasaki, Y.; Tanaami, K.

2007-01-01

Carbonization is a kind of pyrolysis process to produce char from organic materials under an inert atmosphere. In this work, chars derived from various solid wastes were characterized from the standpoint of fuel recovery and pretreatment of waste before landfilling. Sixteen kinds of municipal and industrial solid wastes such as residential combustible wastes, non-combustible wastes, bulky wastes, construction and demolition wastes, auto shredder residue, and sludges were carbonized at 500 deg. C for 1 h under nitrogen atmosphere. In order to evaluate the quality of char as fuel, proximate analysis and heating value were examined. The composition of raw waste had a significant influence on the quality of produced char. The higher the ratio of woody biomass in waste, the higher heating value of char produced. Moreover, an equation to estimate heating value of char was developed by using the weight fraction of fixed carbon and volatile matter in char. De-ashing and chlorine removal were performed to improve the quality of char. The pulverization and sieving method seems to be effective for separation of incombustibles such as metal rather than ash. Most char met a 0.5 wt% chlorine criterion for utilization as fuel in a shaft blast furnace after it was subjected to repeated water-washing. Carbonization could remove a considerable amount of organic matter from raw waste. In addition, the leaching of heavy metals such as chrome, cadmium, and lead appears to be significantly suppressed by carbonization regardless of the type of raw waste. From these results, carbonization could be considered as a pretreatment method for waste before landfilling, as well as for fuel recovery

Biodiesel production from vegetable oil: Process design, evaluation and optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kianimanesh Hamid Reza

2017-09-01

Full Text Available To investigate the effect of reactor performance/configuration of biodiesel production on process parameters (mass & energy consumption, required facilities etc., two diverse production processes (from vegetable oil were implemented/designed using Aspen HYSYS V7.2. Two series reactors were taken into account where overall conversion was set to be 97.7% and 70% in first and second processes respectively. Comparative analysis showed that an increase in conversion yield caused to consumption reduction of oil, methanol, cold energy and hot energy up to 9.1%, 22%, 67.16% and 60.28% respectively; further, a number of facilities (e.g. boiler, heat exchanger, distillation tower were reduced. To reduce mass & energy consumption, mass/heat integration method was employed. Applying integration method showed that in the first design, methanol, cold and hot energy were decreased by 49.81%, 17.46% and 36.17% respectively; while in the second design, oil, methanol, cold and hot energy were decreased by 9%, 60.57% 19.62% and 36.58% respectively.

Energy security of supply and oil shale resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elkarmi, F.

1994-01-01

Jordan must utilize its huge oil shale deposits in order to increase domestic security of energy supply and benefit financially. Utilization processes will require large scale financial expenditures, beyond Jordan's means. Therefore, the BOT scheme seems to be the perfects solution. Since oil shale retorting technology will produce oil which can be traded to generate valuable foreign exchange revenues, it is more advantageous than direct burning technology which produces electricity limited to local consumption regardless of economics. Under the BOT scheme, the incentive, for the foreign sponsor is to return his investment via quantities of oil; for Jordan the aim is to meet local energy demand and acquire the plant infrastructure in the long term. Recent events in the more traditional oil fields of the region make such a project in Jordan more attractive. (author) 3 tabs. 2 figs

Steam process cogeneration using nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso, G.; Ramirez, R.

2010-10-01

Use of energy in a sustainable manner is to make processes more efficient. Oil industry requires of electricity and steam for refinery and petrochemical processes, nuclear energy can be a clean energy alternative. Cogeneration is an option to be assessed by Mexico to provide additional value to electricity generation. Mexico is a country with oil resources that requires process heat for gasoline production among other things. With the concern about the climate change and sustain ability policies it is adequate to use cogeneration as a way to optimize energy resources. Currently there is a national program that considers cogeneration for several Mexican refineries, and the first choices are combined cycle plants and thermo power plants using residual oil. This is long term program. The pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) is a next generation reactors that works with very high temperatures that can be used to produce steam process along with electricity, in this work two different couplings are assessed for the PBMR reactor to produce steam process, the two couplings are compared for using in the Mexican refineries and some conclusions are given. (Author)

Combustion characteristics of Malaysian oil palm biomass, sub-bituminous coal and their respective blends via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

Science.gov (United States)

Idris, Siti Shawalliah; Rahman, Norazah Abd; Ismail, Khudzir

2012-11-01

The combustion characteristics of Malaysia oil palm biomass (palm kernel shell (PKS), palm mesocarp fibre (PMF) and empty fruit bunches (EFB)), sub-bituminous coal (Mukah Balingian) and coal/biomass blends via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were investigated. Six weight ratios of coal/biomass blends were prepared and oxidised under dynamic conditions from temperature 25 to 1100°C at four heating rates. The thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the EFB and PKS evolved additional peak besides drying, devolatilisation and char oxidation steps during combustion. Ignition and burn out temperatures of blends were improved in comparison to coal. No interactions were observed between the coal and biomass during combustion. The apparent activation energy during this process was evaluated using iso-conversional model free kinetics which resulted in highest activation energy during combustion of PKS followed by PMF, EFB and MB coal. Blending oil palm biomass with coal reduces the apparent activation energy value. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Security Analysis: The case of constrained oil supply for Ireland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glynn, James; Chiodi, Alessandro; Gargiulo, Maurizio; Deane, J.P.; Bazilian, Morgan; Gallachóir, Brian Ó

2014-01-01

Ireland imports 88% of its energy requirements. Oil makes up 59% of total final energy consumption (TFC). Import dependency, low fuel diversity and volatile prices leave Ireland vulnerable in terms of energy security. This work models energy security scenarios for Ireland using long term macroeconomic forecasts to 2050, with oil production and price scenarios from the International Monetary Fund, within the Irish TIMES energy systems model. The analysis focuses on developing a least cost optimum energy system for Ireland under scenarios of constrained oil supply (0.8% annual import growth, and –2% annual import decline) and subsequent sustained long term price shocks to oil and gas imports. The results point to gas becoming the dominant fuel source for Ireland, at 54% total final energy consumption in 2020, supplanting oil from reference projections of 57% to 10.8% TFC. In 2012, the cost of net oil imports stood at €3.6 billion (2.26% GDP). The modelled high oil and gas price scenarios show an additional annual cost in comparison to a reference of between €2.9bn and €7.5bn by 2020 (1.9–4.9% of GDP) to choose to develop a least cost energy system. Investment and ramifications for energy security are discussed. - Highlights: • We investigate energy security within a techno-economic model of Ireland to 2050. • We impose scenarios constraints of volume and price derived from IMF forecasting. • Continued high oil prices lead to natural gas supplanting oil at 54% TFC by 2020. • Declining oil production induces additional energy system costs of 7.9% GDP by 2020. • High oil and gas prices are likely to strain existing Irish gas import infrastructure

Fuel specification, energy consumption and CO2 emission in oil refineries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szklo, Alexandre; Schaeffer, Roberto

2007-01-01

The more stringent environmental quality specifications for oil products worldwide are tending to step up energy use and, consequently, CO 2 emissions at refineries. In Brazil, for example, the stipulated reduction in the sulfur content of diesel and gasoline between 2002 and 2009 should increase the energy use of Brazil's refining industry by around 30%, with effects on its CO 2 emissions. Thus, the world refining industry must deal with trade-offs between emissions of pollutants with local impacts (due to fuel specifications) and emissions of pollutants with global impacts (due to the increased energy use at refineries to remove contaminants from oil products). Two promising technology options for refineries could ease this clash in the near-to-mid term: the reduction per se of the energy use at the refinery; and the development of treatment processes using non-hydrogen consuming techniques. For instance, in Brazilian refineries, the expanded energy use resulting from severe hydrotreatment to comply with the more stringent specifications of oil products may be almost completely offset by energy saving options and alternative desulfurization techniques, if barriers to invest in technological innovations are overcome. (author)

Development and supply of the world energy requirement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, E.

1981-01-01

Recently published research reveals that the world energy requirement can and must grow more slowly than previously anticipated. In order to supply developing nations with the energy necessary for the expansion of their economies, energy saving and oil substitution assume greater significance in the industrialised countries such as the Federal Republic. Future fulfillment of the world energy requirement will be characterised by escalating costs for supply, especially for the current main energy carrier oil, on the one hand and by increased use of coal and nuclear energy as well unconventional fossils such as regenerative energies on the other. Nuclear energy and thus the electricity economy must play a key function in the future energy supply of industrial nations such as Federal Germany. Nuclear energy enables, both directly and indirectly, the substitution of oil in the heat market, supplies the process heat required for coal production and, due to the ease of storage or uranium, provides a hedge against fluctuations on the world energy market. (orig.) [de

Oil sands and heavy oil development issues and prospects under a Liberal government

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiry, J.

1993-01-01

A short review is presented of some of the factors affecting development of the western Canadian oil sands and heavy oil deposits to the year 2000. The Alberta oil sands resource has at least 1 trillion bbl of recoverable oil. At current prices, technology is the key to reducing costs to a more economic level. Cash operating costs have halved to $15/bbl over the past decade and the oil sands companies have programs to halve that figure again. A problem is the rising cost of natural gas as a fuel, which could jeopardize further development of both oil sand and heavy oil resources. In Saskatchewan, over 25 billion bbl of heavy oil are estimated to be in place. The biggest question is what percentage can be recovered; again, technology such as horizontal wells, 3-dimensional seismic, and steam assisted recovery is playing an important role. Concerns are expressed about the intentions of the new Liberal government concerning oil sand/heavy oil development, especially on the issues of foreign investment, exports, and environmental policy. A Liberal energy policy is not likely to allow U.S. direct investment in an oil sands plant to be tied to export of production, and the energy- and emissions-intensive nature of the oil sand/heavy oil industry will tend to make environmental approvals difficult

Mild Biomass Liquefaction Process for Economic Production of Stabilized Refinery-Ready Bio-oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gangwal, Santosh [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States); Meng, Jiajia [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States); McCabe, Kevin [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States); Larson, Eric [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Princeton Environmental Inst.; Mastro, Kelly [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States)

2016-04-25

Southern Research (SR) in cooperation with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO), investigated a biomass liquefaction process for economic production of stabilized refinery-ready bio-oil. The project was awarded by DOE under a Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0000686) for Bio-oil Stabilization and Commoditization that intended to evaluate the feasibility of using bio-oil as a potential feedstock in an existing petroleum refinery. SR investigated Topic Area 1 of the FOA at Technology Readiness Level 2-3 to develop thermochemical liquefaction technologies for producing a bio-oil feedstock from high-impact biomass that can be utilized within a petroleum refinery. Bio-oil obtained from fast pyrolysis of biomass is a green intermediate that can be further upgraded into a biofuel for blending in a petroleum refinery using a hydro-deoxygenation (HDO) route. Co-processing pyrolysis bio-oil in a petroleum refinery is an attractive approach to leverage the refinery’s existing capital. However, the petroleum industry is reluctant to accept pyrolysis bio-oil because of a lack of a standard definition for an acceptable bio-oil feedstock in existing refinery processes. Also per BETO’s multiyear program plan, fast pyrolysis-based bio-fuel is presently not cost competitive with petroleum-based transportation fuels. SR aims to develop and demonstrate a cost-effective low-severity thermal liquefaction and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process to convert woody biomass to stabilized bio-oils that can be directly blended with hydrotreater input streams in a petroleum refinery for production of gasoline and/or diesel range hydrocarbons. The specific project objectives are to demonstrate the processes at laboratory scale, characterize the bio-oil product and develop a plan in partnership with a refinery company to move the technology towards commercialization.

Leaching of major and trace elements from paper-plastic gasification chars. An experimental and modelling study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuente-Cuesta, A.; Lopez-Anton, M.A.; Diaz-Somoano, M.; Martinez-Tarazona, M.R. [Instituto Nacional del Carbon CSIC, C/Francisco Pintado Fe No 26, 33011, Oviedo (Spain); Van Zomeren, A.; Cieplik, M. [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, Biomass, P.O. Box 1, 1755 ZG, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-01-15

The control of soluble metal species in the sub-product leachate generated in electricity production processes is of great concern from an environmental and health point of view. Unlike fly ash, the leaching behaviour of char materials has received little attention. Yet, these solids are captured together with fly ashes in the particle control devices of power plants and are emitted in the same way as by-products. The present study was carried out using two char samples: (1) a raw char and (2) the same type of char employed in a previous study so that it could serve as a sorbent for mercury species in gas phase. The char samples were by-products (residues) that had been generated during the gasification of plastic and paper waste. The leachates were analyzed for the following elements: Al, Ca, Si, Mg, Ba, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mo and Hg. In addition, geochemical modelling of the leaching test results was employed to identify the underlying chemical processes that led to the release of toxic elements. The results showed that at alkaline pH values, sorption on the solid surfaces of the char was negligible due to the inorganic complexation of cations in the solution. When the char was used as mercury sorbent slight changes occurred on the reactive surface resulting in the modification of the binding of some elements. As the pH increased, complexation with dissolved organic matter played a more important role in the case of some elements such as Cu because of the greater concentration of dissolved organic matter in solution.

Oil prices and the stock prices of alternative energy companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriques, Irene; Sadorsky, Perry

2008-01-01

Energy security issues coupled with increased concern over the natural environment are driving factors behind oil price movements. While it is widely accepted that rising oil prices are good for the financial performance of alternative energy companies, there has been relatively little statistical work done to measure just how sensitive the financial performance of alternative energy companies are to changes in oil prices. In this paper, a four variable vector autoregression model is developed and estimated in order to investigate the empirical relationship between alternative energy stock prices, technology stock prices, oil prices, and interest rates. Our results show technology stock prices and oil prices each individually Granger cause the stock prices of alternative energy companies. Simulation results show that a shock to technology stock prices has a larger impact on alternative energy stock prices than does a shock to oil prices. These results should be of use to investors, managers and policy makers. (author)

The oil companies' move toward energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burucoa, X.

1999-01-01

The oil companies have taken advantage of the deregulation of the energy market to extend their core business. By choice or by necessity, they are becoming multi-energy suppliers. Their level of investment in the renewable energy sector goes to show that the trend is a lasting one. The other energy sector companies, whether they are partners or competitors, cannot remain indifferent to this development

Intrinsic reaction kinetics of coal char combustion by direct measurement of ignition temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ryang-Gyoon; Jeon, Chung-Hwan

2014-01-01

A wire heating reactor that can use a synchronized experimental method was developed to obtain the intrinsic kinetics of large coal char particles ranging in size from 0.4 to 1 mm. This synchronization system consists of three parts: a thermocouple wire for both heating and direct measurement of the particle temperature, a photodetector sensor for determining ignition/burnout points by measuring the intensity of luminous emission from burning particles, and a high-speed camera–long-distance microscope for observing and recording the movement of luminous zone directly. Coal char ignition was found to begin at a spot on the particle's external surface and then moved across the entire particle. Moreover, the ignition point determined according to the minimum of dT/dt is a spot point and not a full growth point. The ignition temperature of the spot point rises as the particle diameter increases. A spot ignition model, which describes the ignition in terms of the internal conduction and external/internal oxygen diffusion, was then developed to evaluate the intrinsic kinetics and predict the ignition temperature of the coal char. Internal conduction was found to be important in large coal char particles because its effect becomes greater than that of oxygen diffusion as the particle diameter increases. In addition, the intrinsic kinetics of coal char obtained from the spot ignition model for two types of coal does not differ significantly from the results of previous investigators. -- Highlights: • A novel technique was used to measure the coal char particle temperature. • The ignition point determined from a dT/dt minimum is a spot ignition point. • A spot ignition model was suggested to analyze the intrinsic reaction kinetics of coal char. • Internal conduction has to be considered in order to evaluate the intrinsic kinetics for larger particle (above 1 mm)

Sustaining high energy efficiency in existing processes with advanced process integration technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Nan; Smith, Robin; Bulatov, Igor; Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Process integration with better modelling and more advanced solution methods. ► Operational changes for better environmental performance through optimisation. ► Identification of process integration technology for operational optimisation. ► Systematic implementation procedure of process integration technology. ► A case study with crude oil distillation to demonstrate the operational flexibility. -- Abstract: To reduce emissions in the process industry, much emphasis has been put on making step changes in emission reduction, by developing new process technology and making renewable energy more affordable. However, the energy saving potential of existing systems cannot be simply ignored. In recent years, there have been significant advances in process integration technology with better modelling techniques and more advanced solution methods. These methods have been applied to the new design and retrofit studies in the process industry. Here attempts are made to apply these technologies to improve the environmental performance of existing facilities with operational changes. An industrial project was carried out to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of exploiting the operational flexibility for energy conservation. By applying advanced optimisation technique to integrate the operation of distillation and heat recovery in a crude oil distillation unit, the energy consumption was reduced by 8% without capital expenditure. It shows that with correctly identified technology and the proper execution procedure, significant energy savings and emission reduction can be achieved very quickly without major capital expenditure. This allows the industry to improve its economic and environment performance at the same time.

Applications of Enzymes in Oil and Oilseed Processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Xuebing

Enzymes, through the last 20-30 years research and development, have been widely explored for the uses in oil and oilseed processing. Following the conventional processing technology from oilseeds, the oil can be produced through pressing or solvent extraction. The crude oil is then refined to meet...... edible requirements. The oil can be also modified to meet functional or even nutritional needs. In each of those steps, enzymes have been used in industry successfully. For the oil processing stage, enzymes have been used to destroy the cell structure so that makes the oil release easier, where...... conventionally high temperature conditioning or cooking is necessary. The good story in industry is the fish oil and olive oil processing. Good quality and higher oil yield have been achieved through the use of enzymes in the processing stages. For the refining stage, the use of enzymes for degumming has...

GIS-and Web-based Water Resource Geospatial Infrastructure for Oil Shale Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Wei [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Minnick, Matthew [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Geza, Mengistu [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Murray, Kyle [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Mattson, Earl [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

2012-09-30

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) was awarded a grant by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct a research project en- titled GIS- and Web-based Water Resource Geospatial Infrastructure for Oil Shale Development in October of 2008. The ultimate goal of this research project is to develop a water resource geo-spatial infrastructure that serves as “baseline data” for creating solutions on water resource management and for supporting decisions making on oil shale resource development. The project came to the end on September 30, 2012. This final project report will report the key findings from the project activity, major accomplishments, and expected impacts of the research. At meantime, the gamma version (also known as Version 4.0) of the geodatabase as well as other various deliverables stored on digital storage media will be send to the program manager at NETL, DOE via express mail. The key findings from the project activity include the quantitative spatial and temporal distribution of the water resource throughout the Piceance Basin, water consumption with respect to oil shale production, and data gaps identified. Major accomplishments of this project include the creation of a relational geodatabase, automated data processing scripts (Matlab) for database link with surface water and geological model, ArcGIS Model for hydrogeologic data processing for groundwater model input, a 3D geological model, surface water/groundwater models, energy resource development systems model, as well as a web-based geo-spatial infrastructure for data exploration, visualization and dissemination. This research will have broad impacts of the devel- opment of the oil shale resources in the US. The geodatabase provides a “baseline” data for fur- ther study of the oil shale development and identification of further data collection needs. The 3D geological model provides better understanding through data interpolation and

The potential of pyrolysis technology in climate change mitigation – influence of process design and –parameters, simulated in SuperPro Designer Software

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Tobias; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Bruun, Esben

This report investigates whether or not it would be possible to produce carbon-negative energy from pyrolysis of wheat straw in a series of Danish agricultural scenarios. A combination of process simulation in SuperPro Designer software, correlations derived from literature studies and experimental...... on scenario settings. The final results of the study have been compared to another study with convincing results. Results concluded that the primary force of the pyrolysis technology is the recalcitrant char product and not the pyrolysis oil. Based on this, the study suggests that despite the trend...... in commercial pyrolysis technology that focuses on fast pyrolysis processes with maximized bio-oil production, the twin challenge of climate mitigation and sustainable energy production is most efficiently addressed with a combination of slow pyrolysis and complete biomass conversion through combustion...

Renewable Energy and Proven Oil Reserves Relation: Evidence from OPEC Members

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Arcan TUZCU

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The well documented literature on the relation between energy consumption and climate change has been extended by the addition of renewable energy consumption. Several studies show its impact on technical efficiency, per capita income or carbon dioxide (CO2 emission levels for developed and developing countries. However, to the extent of our knowledge, very few of them state the importance of renewable energy for the countries where the main type of fossil fuels, oil, is exported. This study aims to explore the association between renewable energy, real gross domestic product (GDP, CO2 emission level, real oil prices as well as the proven oil reserves for seven members of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC. The analyses are conducted using panel data techniques, namely fixed effect – random effect tests. Our results show a positive and significant relation between renewable energy consumption, and real GDP and CO2 emission level. A statistically not significant coefficient is found for the relation between renewable energy and the proven oil reserves. The relation between energy and real oil prices is also insignificant.

Biomass energy development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng'eny-Mengech, A.

1990-01-01

This paper deals more specifically with biomethanation process and non conventional sources of biomass energy such as water hyacinths and vegetable oil hydrocarbon fuels. It highlights socioeconomic issues in biomass energy production and use. The paper also contains greater details on chemical conversion methods and processes of commercial ethanol and methanol production. (author). 291 refs., 6 tabs

Fuel gas and char from pyrolysis of waste paper in a microwave plasma reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khongkrapan, Parin; Thanompongchart, Patipat; Tippayawong, Nakorn; Kiatsiriroat, Tanongkiat [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand)

2013-07-01

In this study, a microwave plasma reactor was used for pyrolysis of waste papers. The effects of different argon flow rates on char and gas generation were investigated. Changes in carbon and oxygen contents from those in paper to char were significant. Char yield of over 25 % was obtained with the heating value of about 38 MJ/kg. Average gas yield and total content of combustible fraction (CO, CH4 and H2) in the gas product were 2.56 m3/kg and 36 %, respectively. The heating value of gas product and carbon conversion efficiency of the process were maximum at 6.0 MJ/m3 and 73 %, respectively.

The application of thermal processes to valorise waste tyre

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murillo, R.; Aylon, E.; Navarro, M.V.; Callen, M.S.; Aranda, A.; Mastral, A.M. [Instituto de Carboquimica, CSIC, M Luesma Castan 4, 50018-Zaragoza (Spain)

2006-01-15

Scrap tyres are a growing environmental problem because they are not biodegradable and their components cannot readily be recovered. In this investigation, the thermochemical recycling of rubber from old tyres by pyrolysis and the value of the products obtained have been studied. First, thermobalance experiments were carried out, studying the influence of the following variables: heating rate, flow rate, particle size and temperature. These thermobalance results were extended by performing experiments in a fixed bed reactor, studying the effect of the main process variables on yields of derived products: oils, gases and solid residue. The oils have been characterized using a combination of analytical techniques (TLC-FID, GC-MS and simulated distillation). No relationship between functional group composition of the oils determined by TLC-FID and process variables was found. The carbonaceous material obtained was characterized by N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} adsorption. The possible uses of this char have been analyzed taking into account and calculating the emissions that would be produced if the char were burnt. (author)

The application of thermal processes to valorise waste tyre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murillo, R.; Aylon, E.; Navarro, M.V.; Callen, M.S.; Aranda, A.; Mastral, A.M.

2006-01-01

Scrap tyres are a growing environmental problem because they are not biodegradable and their components cannot readily be recovered. In this investigation, the thermochemical recycling of rubber from old tyres by pyrolysis and the value of the products obtained have been studied. First, thermobalance experiments were carried out, studying the influence of the following variables: heating rate, flow rate, particle size and temperature. These thermobalance results were extended by performing experiments in a fixed bed reactor, studying the effect of the main process variables on yields of derived products: oils, gases and solid residue. The oils have been characterized using a combination of analytical techniques (TLC-FID, GC-MS and simulated distillation). No relationship between functional group composition of the oils determined by TLC-FID and process variables was found. The carbonaceous material obtained was characterized by N 2 and CO 2 adsorption. The possible uses of this char have been analyzed taking into account and calculating the emissions that would be produced if the char were burnt. (author)

Canada's oil sands, opportunities and challenges to 2015 : an energy market assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-05-01

The National Energy Board monitors the supply of all energy commodities in Canada along with the demand for Canadian energy commodities in domestic and export markets. This report provides an assessment of the current state of the oil sands industry and the potential for growth. It also identifies the major issues and challenges associated with the development of Canada's oil sands, one of the world's largest hydrocarbon resources. Initial production of Canada's oil sands began in 1967. The resource has become more economic to develop in recent years due to higher energy prices and new technologies. The economic potential of Canada's oil sands has been recognized internationally. Canadian oil sands production in 2004 will surpass 160,000 cubic metres per day. By 2015, production is expected to more than double to meet market demands. The challenges facing the industry include higher natural gas prices, capital cost overruns and environmental impacts. The major factors that affect the rate of oil sands development include natural gas supply, energy demand, oil and gas pricing, markets and pipelines, environmental considerations, emerging technologies, geopolitical issues, and labour. This report includes key findings for the following four key components: economic potential and development of the resource base; markets and pipelines; environmental and socio-economic impacts; and, potential spin-off developments in the electricity and petrochemical industries. 26 tabs., 53 figs

Energy infrastructure modeling for the oil sands industry: Current situation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazzaroni, Edoardo Filippo; Elsholkami, Mohamed; Arbiv, Itai; Martelli, Emanuele; Elkamel, Ali; Fowler, Michael

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A simulation-based modelling of energy demands of oil sands operations is proposed. • Aspen simulations used to simulate delayed coking-based upgrading of bitumen. • The energy infrastructure is simulated using Aspen Plus achieving self-sufficiency. • Various scenarios affecting energy demand intensities are investigated. • Energy and CO_2 emission intensities of integrated SAGD/upgrading are estimated. - Abstract: In this study, the total energy requirements associated with the production of bitumen from oil sands and its upgrading to synthetic crude oil (SCO) are modeled and quantified. The production scheme considered is based on the commercially applied steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) for bitumen extraction and delayed coking for bitumen upgrading. In addition, the model quantifies the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of energy required for these operations from technologies utilized in the currently existing oil sands energy infrastructure. The model is based on fundamental engineering principles, and Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus simulations. The energy demand results are expressed in terms of heat, power, hydrogen, and process fuel consumption rates for SAGD extraction and bitumen upgrading. Based on the model’s output, a range of overall energy and emission intensity factors are estimated for a bitumen production rate of 112,500 BPD (or 93,272 BPD of SCO), which were determined to be 262.5–368.5 MJ/GJ_S_C_O and 14.17–19.84 gCO_2/MJ_S_C_O, respectively. The results of the model indicate that the majority of GHG emissions are generated during SAGD extraction (up to 60% of total emissions) due to the combustion of natural gas for steam production, and the steam-to-oil ratio is a major parameter affecting total GHG emissions. The developed model can be utilized as a tool to predict the energy demand requirements for integrated SAGD/upgrading projects under different operating conditions, and

The renewable energies development policy. Statement of renewable energies. Cogeneration. Gas distribution. Oil rates. The after-mining. The European helps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierret, Ch.

1999-01-01

This issue of 'Energies et Matieres Premieres' comprises 7 papers dealing successively with: the French policy for the development of renewable energies (talk given by C. Pierret, French state secretary of Industry, at the colloquium 'energy diversification and environment protection: the renewable energies at the 2010 vista'); the statement of the renewable energies development policy (wood-fuel, wind energy, thermal solar energy, electrification of isolated areas, biomass for power production, revalorization of the conditions of power repurchase); the recent development of cogeneration in France (advantages, promotion, financial incentives, contracts, future developments); the natural gas distribution or how to combine public utility and market deregulation; the crude oil rates (key-role of Saudi Arabia, effect of speculation, perspectives and uncertainties); the human, technical, financial and legal problems linked with mines decommissioning; the European helps in favour of energy mastery (the fifth R and D management program, the energy program and its 6 specific programs: ETAP, SYNERGY, ALTENER, SAVE, CARNOT, SURE). (J.S.)

Determination of reactivity parameters of model carbons, cokes and flame-chars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Lasse Holst; Gjernes, Erik; Jessen, Thomas

1996-01-01

Reactivity profiles are defined and measured with thermogravimetry for a dense metallurgical Longyear coke, a polymer-derived porous active carbon, Carboxen 1000, and three flame-chars, Illinois #6, Pittsburgh #8 and New Mexico Blue #1. For each sample it is found that the reactivity profile can...... and activation energy in oxygen are estimated for each sample over a 100 K temperature range (cases vary from 573 to 885 K) and a maximum oxygen partial pressure range of 0.01-1 bar. For the different fuel samples reaction orders range fromn =0.65 to 0.78, and global activation energies are found in the narrow...... range of 130-133 kJ/mol. For Carboxen n=0.91 and E=146 kJ/mol. The reactivity differences between the coal chars are proposed mainly due to variations in the physical structure. Over the pressure-temperature domain examined reactivity varies considerably, but the structural profile is approximately...

Development of a stranded oil in coarse sediment (SOCS) model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphrey, B.; Owens, E.; Sergy, G.

1993-01-01

Oil spills in Canadian waters have a high probability of impacting coarse sediment beaches, yet the ability to predict oil fate and estimate natural self-cleaning rates is less than adequate. Data is lacking to understand fully many oil sediment interactions. Historically, shoreline interactions have been considered using fairly simple concepts. The authors examined the processes that may occur on a coarse sediment beach, selected those which are important, and developed a fate and persistence model for stranded oil. The processes were divided into stages relative to the spill event, and the factors which affect each stage were evaluated. Three areas of special interest were the capacity of a beach to hold oil, the residual capacity of a beach for oil, and the long-term fate of the oil. After developing model algorithms, the outputs were compared to a data base of information collected during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The stranded oil in coarse sediment model will provide information at two levels: a general level for planning and sensitivity mapping and a more detailed level intended for the prediction of oil fate on specific known beaches. The strengths and weaknesses of the model have been assessed in terms of data deficiencies. The type and nature of the data which are most useful to, and which need to be collected for, spill planning and spill monitoring were identified. The model shows that the important factors directing the fate of oil on coarse sediment beaches are porosity and permeability, determined by grain size and oil properties (composition, viscosity, etc.). The natural rate of removal of oil, modeled as a first-order (exponential) removal, is dependent on the stage of the spill process and on wave energy

Developing new energy sources: the Syncrude case. [Booklet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maxwell, J

1975-01-01

Results of a research project to produce oil from the Athabasca oil sands indicate that Canada's energy needs and present dependence on imported oil will be better served by a vigorous conservation effort. The Syncrude Canada Limited project suffered from escalating construction and operating costs of $20,000 per barrel (compared to $6,000 for North Sea development), which could make the process non-competitive in the 1980s market. A joint business and government venture was used because of the high investment risks, but this could set a precedent for future government modification of a profit-based market system. With investors delaying further projects until Syncrude's operations have progressed at least a year, oil production will fall off before the process can make a significant contribution to depleted domestic reserves. Canada's energy policy must determine whether to pursue the high risks of Syncrude expenses, oil import security, or uncertain Arctic exploration. The project also faced serious social problems in providing satisfying living and working conditions for 1800 permanent staff and their families. (DCK)

Energy security: it's not only oil. Increasing and replacing oil resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandil, C.; Appert, O.

2006-01-01

The security of energy supplies is once again right at the top of the list of energy policy subjects, following the political tensions in the Middle East, as well as major electricity failures of recent years, the hurricanes of August and September 2005 and the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Even if the system of strategic oil stocks managed by the International Energy Agency has proved to be efficient, today keywords for guarding against the risks are diversification (of energy, of its sources, its suppliers and of its supply lines) and flexibility. Dialogue with the producers is essential. It will be difficult to find substitutes for hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) in the short and medium terms to meet the needs of transport and for the petrochemical industry; they are likely to represent, in the order of two-thirds of the total demand for the world energy by the year 2030. In order to replace oil resources, taking account of all the risks of climate change, technological innovation will play a major role and should allow us to benefit from today potentially unreliable hydrocarbon supplies for many more years, allowing our society sufficient time to develop other sources of energy, and to do so at a cost that is acceptable to everybody. (authors)

Scientific basis of development and application of nanotechnologies in oil industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirzajanzadeh, A.; Maharramov, A.; Abdullayev, R.; Yuzifzadeh, Kh.; Shahbazov, E.; Qurbanov, R.; Akhmadov, S.; Kazimov, E; Ramazanov, M.; Shafiyev, Sh.; Hajizadeh, N.

2010-01-01

Development and introduction of nanotechnologies in the oil industry is one of the most pressing issues of the present times.For the first time in the world practice scientific-methodological basis and application practice of nanotechnologies in oil industry is developed on the basis of uniform, scientifically proven approach by taking into account the specificities of oil and gas industry.The application system of such nanotechnologies was developed in oil and gas production.Mathematical models of nanotechnological processes, i.e. c haos regulation a nd hyper-accidental process were offered. Nanomedium and nanoimpact on the w ell-layer s ystem was studied. Wide application results of nanotechnologies in SOCAR's production fields in oil and gas production are shown.Research results of N ANOSAA o n the basis of N ANO + NANO e ffect are described in the development.For the first time in world practice N ANOOIL , N ANOBITUMEN , N ANOGUDRON' and N ANOMAY' systems on the basis of machine waste oil in the drilling mud were developed for the application in oil and gas drilling. Original property, e ffect of super small concentrations a nd n anomemory i n N ANOOIL a nd N ANOBITUMEN s ystems was discovered.By applying N ANOOIL , N ANOBITUMEN a nd N ANOMAY s ystems in the drilling process was discovered: the increase of linear speed, early turbulence, decrease of hydraulic resistance coefficient and economy in energy consumption.Hyper-accidental evaluation of mathematical expectation of general sum of values of the surface strain on the sample data is spelled out with the various experiment conditions. Estimated hyper-accidental value of the mathematical expectation allows us to offer practical recommendations for the development of new nanotechnologies on the basis of rheological parameters of oil.

Combustion reactivity of chars from copyrolysis of coal with coke-oven gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao Hongqiang; Sun Chenggong; Li Baoqing [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan (China). State Key Lab. of Coal Conversion

1997-12-31

The combustion reactivity of char from pyrolysis of Xianfeng lignite with coke-oven gas (COG) is related to the pyrolysis pressure and heating rate. Decreasing pressure and increasing heating rate enhance the char yields and combustion reactivity. The combustion reactivities of char from coal pyrolysis with COG nearly reach to that of char from hydropyrolysis, but lower than those of char from coal pyrolysis under N{sub 2}. (orig.)

Nitric oxide reduction over a synthetic coal char

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

C. Pevida; A. Arenillas; F. Rubiera; J.J. Pis [Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC, Oviedo (Spain)

2003-07-01

In the present work, the mechanisms involved in the NO heterogeneous reduction have been investigated. A synthetic coal char was used as the carbon source. This synthetic coal was made from a mixture of model compounds and provides well-known functionalities, including nitrogenated ones, similar to those found in a high volatile bituminous coal. The char was obtained by pyrolysis of the synthetic coal, up to 1123 K, under helium atmosphere in a fixed bed reactor. Char texture and structure were characterised by N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} adsorption isotherms at 77 and 273 K, respectively, X-ray diffraction, immersion calorimetry in C{sub 6}H{sub 6} and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Temperature programmed reactions (TPR) were carried out in a thermogravimetric analyser using 400 ppm NO diluted in Ar as the reactant gas. The char was heated at 15 K min{sup -1} from room temperature to 1273 K. Gaseous products were simultaneously analysed by mass spectrometry (MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The influence of nitrogen in the solid phase on the reduction mechanism was evaluated by comparing the results for chars with and without nitrogen in their composition. The results of this preliminary study showed that the presence of nitrogen in the chars composition did not favour the heterogeneous NO reduction. In addition, low temperature NO chemisorption on the carbon surface creates complexes that take an active part in the subsequent reactions with NO. 5 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Microanalysis of vitrous char and associated polymers: reference and ancient assemblages

Science.gov (United States)

Allue, E.; Bonnamy, S.; Courty, M. M.; Gispert I Guirado, F.

2012-12-01

Formation of vitrous char that occur in ancient charcoal assemblages have remained unsolved. Laboratory experiments refuted vitrification to resulting from high temperature charring of green or resinous wood. This puzzling problem has been refreshed by showing the association to the charcoal and vitrous char of plastics that were originally supposed to only be produced by petroleum industry. Extraction of similar polymers within geological glassy products from cosmic airbursts has suggested impact processes to possibly forming the carbonaceous polymorphs. The pulverisation at the ground in the Angles village (French Eastern Pyrenees) following the 2011 August 2nd high altitude meteor explosion of exotic debris with vitrous char and polymers, just alike the puzzling ones of the geological and archaeological records, has provided potential reference materials. We present here their microanalysis by Environmental SEM with EDS, Raman micro-spectrometry and FTIR, XRD, TEM, ICP-MS and isotope analyses. The characterization helps elucidating how the carbonaceous polymorphs formed by transient heating and transient high pressure of atmospheric aerosols. Under TEM the vesicular, dense, vitrous char show high structural organization with a dense pattern of nano-sized graphitized domains, metals and mineral inclusions. The coupled Raman-ESEM has allowed identifying a complex pattern at micro scales of ordered "D" peak at 1320-1350 cm-1 and the graphitic, ordered peak at 1576-1590 cm-1, in association to amorphous and poorly graphitic ordered carbon. The later occurs within plant cells that have been extracted from the dense vitrous char by performing controlled combustion under nitrogen up to 1000°C. In contrast, the brittle, vesicular vitrous char and the polymers encountered at the rear of the pulverised airburst debris reveal to be formed of agglutinated micro spherules of amorphous carbon with rare crystallized carbon nano-domains and scattered mineral inclusions. They

Adsorption of heavy metals by bio-chars produced from pyrolysis of paper mulberry from simulated industrial wastewater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adil, S.; Asma, M.

2014-01-01

Paper mulberry bio-char (by-product of pyrolysis) was evaluated for the removal of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb) from simulated industrial waste water. The surface properties and surface area of the bio-char was found suitable for metal adsorption. Batch sorption studies for adsorption potential of paper mulberry bio-char for Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were investigated under different experimental conditions of pH, temperature and contact time. Maximum removal efficiency of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn was 97.8, 76.8, 85.6, and 82.2 % respectively at pH 12 while maximum removal of Cr was recorded (98%) at pH 2. The removal efficiency showed different behaviour at different contact times. Maximum removal efficiency of Cd, Cr, Zn was 81, 86, 61.4% at contact time of 3 hr. The maximum removal of Cu was 64.2% observed at a contact time of 4 hours while the maximum removal of Pb and Zn was 85% at contact time of 2 hr. The values of the thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy delta H, Gibbs free energy delta G of sorption and entropy delta So were calculated to define endothermic or exothermic behavior of the sorbent used. Negative value of delta G for Cd, Cu, Cr and Pb indicated paper mulberry bio-char as a feasible sorbent for the efficient removal of Cd, Cu, Cr and Pb. Negative value of delta H was observed for Cd and Pb indicating that the adsorption process is exothermic while positive value of delta H was calculated for Cu, Cr and Zn showed that the adsorption is endothermic. The results obtained showed that plant residue bio-char can act as an effective sorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. (author)

Fiscal 1999 survey report. Survey of development and utilization of energy substitutes for oil in the Pacific region; 1999 nendo Taiheiyo chiiki sekiyu daitai energy kaihatsu riyo chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

The Pacific region is a densely populated region where economy is developing at a high pace with China and other newly industrialized economies at the core. When energy balance in the region is studied, it is found that China and some others have already turned pure importers of energy and that probabilities are high that, along with development of economy and improvement on living standards, all the nations in the region will become pure importers. Accordingly, in the presence of urgent problems of global pollution and oil resources depletion, it is important to make sure that data particularly about the development of substitute energies for oil in this region be collected and duly dealt with for accurately predicting future developments. In this survey, a database is to be built to grasp the trends of energy supply and demand with attention focused on substitutes for oil which are available at hand. In this fiscal year, data for 1997 were added to the database for analysis into demand and supply of substitutes for oil in the Pacific region, and energy data were gathered for this purpose. Detailed tables of balance were compiled, broken down by energy source. Other detailed tables of balance were also prepared, these broken down by ultimate consumption department. (NEDO)

Co-pyrolysis of corn cob and waste cooking oil in a fixed bed.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guanyi; Liu, Cong; Ma, Wenchao; Zhang, Xiaoxiong; Li, Yanbin; Yan, Beibei; Zhou, Weihong

2014-08-01

Corn cob (CC) and waste cooking oil (WCO) were co-pyrolyzed in a fixed bed. The effects of various temperatures of 500 °C, 550 °C, 600 °C and CC/WCO mass ratios of 1:0, 1:0.1, 1:0.5, 1:1 and 0:1 were investigated, respectively. Results show that co-pyrolysis of CC/WCO produce more liquid and less bio-char than pyrolysis of CC individually. Bio-oil and bio-char yields were found to be largely dependent on temperature and CC/WCO ratios. GC/MS of bio-oil show it consists of different classes and amounts of organic compounds other than that from CC pyrolysis. Temperature of 550 °C and CC/WCO ratio of 1:1 seem to be the optimum considering high bio-oil yields (68.6 wt.%) and good bio-oil properties (HHV of 32.78 MJ/kg). In this case, bio-char of 24.96 MJ/kg appears attractive as a renewable source, while gas with LHV of 16.06 MJ/Nm(3) can be directly used in boilers as fuel. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bio-oil from Flash Pyrolysis of Agricultural Residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibrahim, Norazana

This thesis describes the production of bio-oils from flash pyrolysis of agricultural residues, using a pyrolysis centrifugal reactor (PCR). By thermal degradation of agricultural residues in the PCR, a liquid oil, char and non-condensable gases are produced. The yield of each fraction...

The mechanism of char ignition in fluidized bed combustors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Siemons, R.V.

1987-01-01

Knowledge about ignition processes of coal in fluidized beds is of importance for the start-up and dynamic control of these combustors. Initial experiments in a transparent fluidized bed scale model showed the existence of a considerable induction period for the ignition of char, especially at low

Another look on the relationships between oil prices and energy prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lahiani, Amine; Miloudi, Anthony; Benkraiem, Ramzi; Shahbaz, Muhammad

2017-01-01

This paper employs the Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lags (QARDL) model developed recently by Cho et al. (2015) to investigate the pass-through of oil prices to a set of energy prices. This approach allows analyzing simultaneously short-term connections and long-run cointegrating relationships across a range of quantiles. It also provides insights on the short-run predictive power of oil prices in predicting energy prices while accounting for the cointegration between oil prices and each of the considered energy prices in low, medium and high quantiles. Two key findings emerge from this paper. First, all considered energy prices are shown to be cointegrated with oil price across quantiles meaning that a stationaryequilibriumrelationship exists between single energy price and oil price. Second, we find evidence that oil price is a significant predictor of individual petroleum products prices and natural gas in the short run. This paper has important policy implications for forecasters, energy policy-makers and portfolio managers. - Highlights: • The pass-through of oil prices to a set of energy prices is investigated for US economy. • All considered energy prices are shown to be cointegrated with oil price across quantiles. • Oil price is a significant predictor of individual petroleum products prices in the short run. • Oil price also predicts natural gas prices in the short run.

Advanced CANDU reactor: an optimized energy source of oil sands application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopwood, J.M.; Bock, D.; Miller, A.; Kuran, S.; Keil, H.; Fiorino, L.; Duffey, R.; Dunbar, R.B.

2003-01-01

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is developing the ACR-700 TM (Advanced CANDU Reactor-700 TM ) to meet customer needs for reduced capital cost, shorter construction schedule, high capacity factor while retaining the benefits of the CANDU experience base. The ACR-700 is based on the concept of CANDU horizontal fuel channels surrounded by heavy water moderator. The major innovation of this design is the use of slightly enriched uranium fuel in a CANFLEX bundle that is cooled by light water. This ensures: higher main steam pressures and temperatures providing higher thermal efficiency; a compact and simpler reactor design with reduced capital costs and shorter construction schedules; and reduced heavy water inventory compared to existing CANDU reactors. ACR-700 is not only a technically advanced and cost effective solution for electricity generating utilities, but also a low-cost, long-life and sustainable steam source for increasing Alberta's Oil Sand production rates. Currently practiced commercial surface mining and extraction of Oil Sand resources has been well established over the last three decades. But a majority of the available resources are somewhat deeper underground require in-situ extraction. Economic removal of such underground resources is now possible through the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process developed and proto-type tested in-site. SAGD requires the injection of large quantities of high-pressure steam into horizontal wells to form reduced viscosity bitumen and condensate mixture that is then collected at the surface. This paper describes joint AECL studies with CERI (Canadian Energy Research Institute) for the ACR, supplying both electricity and medium-pressure steam to an oil sands facility. The extensive oil sands deposits in northern Alberta are a very large energy resource. Currently, 30% of Canda's oil production is from the oil sands and this is expected to expand greatly over the coming decade. The bitumen deposits in the

Effect of Kaolin Clay and Alumina on Thermal Performance and Char Morphology of Intumescent fire retardant coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

aziz Hammad

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Intumescent fire retardant coating (IFRC have been developed by using ammonium polyphosphate, expandable graphite, melamine, boric acid, kaolin clay and alumina as fillers bound together with epoxy resin and cured with the help of curing agent. Five different formulations were developed with and without using fillers. Cured samples were burned in furnace at 500°C for 2h for char expansion. Bunsen burner test was performed for 1h using UL-94 vertical burning test to investigate the thermal performance of IFRC. The resultant char obtained after burning of coated samples were characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscopy for char morphology. Char composition was analyzed by using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis was carried out to investigate the residual weight of coating. Results showed that formulation with 0.5 weight % of kaolin clay and 0.5 weight % of alumina provide best thermal performance, uniform and multi-porous char structure with high anti-oxidation property.

The development of a neuroscience-based methodology for the nuclear energy learning/teaching process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barabas, Roberta de C.; Sabundjian, Gaiane

2015-01-01

When compared to other energy sources such as fossil fuels, coal, oil, and gas, nuclear energy has perhaps the lowest impact on the environment. Moreover, nuclear energy has also benefited other fields such as medicine, pharmaceutical industry, and agriculture, among others. However, despite all benefits that result from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the theme is still addressed with prejudice. Education may be the starting point for public acceptance of nuclear energy as it provides pedagogical approaches, learning environments, and human resources, which are essential conditions for effective learning. So far nuclear energy educational researches have been conducted using only conventional assessment methods. The global educational scenario has demonstrated absence of neuroscience-based methods for the teaching of nuclear energy, and that may be an opportunity for developing new strategic teaching methods that will help demystifying the theme consequently improving public acceptance of this type of energy. This work aims to present the first step of a methodology in progress based on researches in neuroscience to be applied to Brazilian science teachers in order to contribute to an effective teaching/learning process. This research will use the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to verify implicit attitudes of science teachers concerning nuclear energy. Results will provide data for the next steps of the research. The literature has not reported a similar neuroscience-based methodology applied to the nuclear energy learning/teaching process; therefore, this has demonstrated to be an innovating methodology. The development of the methodology is in progress and the results will be presented in future works. (author)

The development of a neuroscience-based methodology for the nuclear energy learning/teaching process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barabas, Roberta de C.; Sabundjian, Gaiane, E-mail: robertabarabas@usp.br, E-mail: gdjian@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

When compared to other energy sources such as fossil fuels, coal, oil, and gas, nuclear energy has perhaps the lowest impact on the environment. Moreover, nuclear energy has also benefited other fields such as medicine, pharmaceutical industry, and agriculture, among others. However, despite all benefits that result from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the theme is still addressed with prejudice. Education may be the starting point for public acceptance of nuclear energy as it provides pedagogical approaches, learning environments, and human resources, which are essential conditions for effective learning. So far nuclear energy educational researches have been conducted using only conventional assessment methods. The global educational scenario has demonstrated absence of neuroscience-based methods for the teaching of nuclear energy, and that may be an opportunity for developing new strategic teaching methods that will help demystifying the theme consequently improving public acceptance of this type of energy. This work aims to present the first step of a methodology in progress based on researches in neuroscience to be applied to Brazilian science teachers in order to contribute to an effective teaching/learning process. This research will use the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to verify implicit attitudes of science teachers concerning nuclear energy. Results will provide data for the next steps of the research. The literature has not reported a similar neuroscience-based methodology applied to the nuclear energy learning/teaching process; therefore, this has demonstrated to be an innovating methodology. The development of the methodology is in progress and the results will be presented in future works. (author)

Assessment of energy return on energy investment (EROEI of oil bearing crops for renewable fuel production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Restuccia

2013-09-01

Full Text Available As reported in literature the production of biodiesel should lead to a lower energy consumption than those obtainable with its use. So, to justify its consumption, a sustainable and “low input” production should be carried out. In order to assess the sustainability of Linum usitatissimum, Camelina sativa and Brassica carinata cultivation for biodiesel production in terms of energy used compared to that obtained, the index EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Invested has been used. At this aim, an experimental field was realised in the south-eastern Sicilian land. During the autumn-winter crop cycle, no irrigation was carried out and some suitable agricultural practices have been carried out taking into account the peculiarity of each type of used seeds. The total energy consumed for the cultivation of oil bearing crops from sowing to the production of biodiesel represents the Input of the process. In particular, this concerned the energy embodied in machinery and tools utilized, in seed, chemical fertilizer and herbicide but also the energy embodied in diesel fuels and lubricant oils. In addition, the energy consumption relating to machines and reagents required for the processes of extraction and transesterification of the vegetable oil into biodiesel have been calculated for each crops. The energy obtainable from biodiesel production, taking into account the energy used for seed pressing and for vegetable oil transesterification into biodiesel, represents the Output of the process. The ratio Output/Input gets the EROEI index which in the case of Camelina sativa and Linum usatissimum is greater than one. These results show that the cultivation of these crops for biofuels production is convenient in terms of energy return on energy investment. The EROEI index for Brassica carinata is lower than one. This could means that some factors, concerning mechanisation and climatic

CHAR CRYSTALLINE TRANSFORMATIONS DURING COAL COMBUSTION AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR CARBON BURNOUT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ROBERT H. HURT

1998-09-08

Recent work at Sandia National Laboratories, Imperial College, and the U.K. utility PowerGen, has identified an important mechanism believed to have a large influence on unburned carbon levels from pulverized coal-fired boilers. That mechanism is char carbon crystalline rearrangements on subsecond times scales at temperatures of 1800 - 2500 K, which lead to char deactivation in the flame zones of furnaces. The so-called thermal annealing of carbons is a well known phenomenon, but its key role in carbon burnout has only recently been appreciated, and there is a lack of quantitative data in this time/temperature range. In addition, a new fundamental tool has recently become available to study crystalline transformations, namely high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) fringe imaging, which provides a wealth of information on the nature and degree of crystallinity in carbon materials such as coal chars. Motivated by these new developments, this University Coal Research project has been initiated with the following two goals:  to determine transient, high-temperature, thermal deactivation kinetics as a function of parent coal and temperature history.  to characterize the effect of this thermal treatment on carbon crystalline structure through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and specialized, quantitative image analysis. Work is currently underway on the following three tasks: Task 1 Experimental technique development. The goal of this task is to develop and demonstrate an apparatus and procedure for measuring transient, high-temperature, thermal deactivation of coal chars. While peak gas temperatures in boilers are often in the range 1800 - 2000 K, peak particle temperatures can be much higher due to high rates of heat release at the particle surface due to exothermic carbon oxidation. The prototype transient heat treatment apparatus is based on an inert-gas purged graphite-rod sample holder that is subjected to rapid Joule heating to

Utilization of residual biochar produced from the pyrolysis of energy crops for soil enrichment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pilon, G.; Lavoie, J.M. [Sherbrooke Univ., Sherbrooke, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology

2010-07-01

Although national and international interest in the use of energy crops for the production of biofuels is increasing, it is understood that measures must be taken to ensure that the production and transportation of these energy crops does not require more energy than they provide and that the soil should not be left uncovered so as not to reduce its organic content and nutrients. In response, concerns regarding soil fertilization have increased. A technique for biomass preconversion known as pyrolysis-torrefaction involves the production of char and bio-oil from biomass. This processing method is gaining interest because the char may be useful for many applications such as a fuel, soil conditioner or carbon sequestration. An appropriate distribution of biochar applications could be potentially beneficial for the sustainability of biomass use in the imminent biomarket. In this study, biochar produced from switchgrass was prepared and characterized to verify its potential as a soil enhancer and its potential as a solid fuel. The biochar was prepared under varying reacting conditions using custom-made bench scale, batch-type fixed bed pyrolysis-torrefaction reactor. Volatiles were released by varying the residence times.

Pyrolysis Recovery of Waste Shipping Oil Using Microwave Heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wan Adibah Wan Mahari

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the use of microwave pyrolysis as a recovery method for waste shipping oil. The influence of different process temperatures on the yield and composition of the pyrolysis products was investigated. The use of microwave heating provided a fast heating rate (40 °C/min to heat the waste oil at 600 °C. The waste oil was pyrolyzed and decomposed to form products dominated by pyrolysis oil (up to 66 wt. % and smaller amounts of pyrolysis gases (24 wt. % and char residue (10 wt. %. The pyrolysis oil contained light C9–C30 hydrocarbons and was detected to have a calorific value of 47–48 MJ/kg which is close to those traditional liquid fuels derived from fossil fuel. The results show that microwave pyrolysis of waste shipping oil generated an oil product that could be used as a potential fuel.

Calendula oil processing : seed classification, oil extraction, refining process development and oil quality aspects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssens, R.J.J.

2000-01-01

The difference in Calendula oil quality from fractions obtained after seed classification is enormous. The oil quality varies from excellent to very poor, according to important aspects such as in the hulls and dust fraction, high free fatty acid values (13% vs. 0.6%) are found. This can be

Restructuring the oil segment in South America: public policy, private capital and energy integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorotti, A.; Tiomno Tolmasquim, M.; Tiomno Tolmasquim, M.; Alveal, C.

2006-01-01

The World Oil Industry (WOI) developed through two types of economic organization, built up around vertically integrated and internationalized enterprises: the US model, based on private international firms, and the model centered on setting up State-run enterprises, initially in the United Kingdom, Argentina and Mexico. However, from the first oil crisis (1973) onwards, the World Oil Industry has gradually been un-bundled through nationalization and the loss of control over the reserves by the oil majors. With this new configuration of the industry, from the 1980's onwards, the strategies of the major international oil companies focused on developing the spot market, while lowering investment and operating costs, introducing correlated diversification strategies, and enhancing industrial concentration through mergers and acquisitions and/or cooperation agreements between companies. The core purpose of these strategic shifts is to obtain control over new oil field areas. The restructuring processes of national oil industries all over the world - particularly in South America - constituted an important drive aligned with these new guidelines, headed up by the global oil operators. This paper analyzes the changes in the South American oil sector during the 1990's, analyzing aspects involved in awarding mineral rights in the upstream segment. Despite similar policies, market deregulation processes follow different patterns. However, the most significant aspect is an increase in the presence of international private capital in the dynamics of this sector, mainly in regional energy integration processes. (authors)

Oil prices, nuclear energy consumption, and economic growth: New evidence using a heterogeneous panel analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chien-Chiang; Chiu, Yi-Bin

2011-01-01

This paper applies panel data analysis to examine the short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium relationships among nuclear energy consumption, oil prices, oil consumption, and economic growth for developed countries covering the period 1971-2006. The panel cointegration results show that in the long run, oil prices have a positive impact on nuclear energy consumption, suggesting the existence of the substitution relationship between nuclear energy and oil. The long-run elasticity of nuclear energy with respect to real income is approximately 0.89, and real income has a greater impact on nuclear energy than do oil prices in the long run. Furthermore, the panel causality results find evidence of unidirectional causality running from oil prices and economic growth to nuclear energy consumption in the long run, while there is no causality between nuclear energy consumption and economic growth in the short run. - Research highlights: → We examine the relationship among nuclear energy consumption, oil prices, oil consumption, and economic growth for developed countries. → The existence of the substitution relationship between nuclear energy and oil. → Real income has a greater impact on nuclear energy than do oil prices in the long run. → An unidirectional causality running from oil prices and economic growth to nuclear energy consumption in the long run.

Rise of oil prices and energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This document reprints the talk of the press conference given by D. de Villepin, French prime minister, on August 16, 2005 about the alarming rise of oil prices. In his talk, the prime minister explains the reasons of the crisis (increase of worldwide consumption, political tensions in the Middle East..) and presents the strategy and main trends of the French energy policy: re-launching of energy investments in petroleum refining capacities and in the nuclear domain (new generation of power plants), development of renewable energy sources and in particular biofuels, re-launching of the energy saving policy thanks to financial incentives and to the development of clean vehicles and mass transportation systems. In a second part, the prime minister presents his policy of retro-cession of petroleum tax profits to low income workers, and of charge abatement to professionals having an occupation strongly penalized by the rise of oil prices (truckers, farmers, fishermen, taxi drivers). (J.S.)

A study on the char burnout characteristics of coal and biomass blends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Behdad Moghtaderi [University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW (Australia). Discipline of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment

2007-10-15

The char burnout characteristics of coal/biomass blends under conditions pertinent to pulverised fuel combustors were investigated by a combined modelling and experimental approach. Results indicate that blending of coal with biomass increases the likelihood of char extinction (i.e. extinction potential of the char particle in the blend), in turn, decreasing the char burnout level. Our modelling results attribute this to a reduction in the char particle size to levels below a critical dimension which appears to be a strong function of the fuel blending ratio (the weight percentage of biomass in the blend), fuel reactivity, char cloud shape and particle density number. It is demonstrated here that the drop in the char burnout level during co-firing can be effectively resolved when a more reactive secondary coal is added to the blend to minimise its extinction potential. 22 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

Thermogravimetric study on the influence of structural, textural and chemical properties of biomass chars on CO2 gasification reactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouraoui, Zeineb; Jeguirim, Mejdi; Guizani, Chamseddine; Limousy, Lionel; Dupont, Capucine; Gadiou, Roger

2015-01-01

The present investigation aims to examine the influence of textural, structural and chemical properties of biomass chars on the CO 2 gasification rate. Various lignocellulosic biomass chars were prepared under the same conditions. Different analytical techniques were used to determine the char properties such as Scanning Electronic Microscopy, nitrogen adsorption manometry, Raman spectroscopy and X Ray Fluorescence. Gasification tests were carried out in a thermobalance under 20% CO 2 in nitrogen at 800 °C. Significant differences of the total average reactivity were observed with a factor of 2 between the prepared chars. Moreover, different behaviors of gasification rate profiles versus conversion were obtained. This difference of behavior appeared to be correlated with the biomass char properties. Hence, up to 70% of conversion, the gasification rate was shown to depend on the char external surface and the potassium content. At higher conversion ratio, a satisfactory correlation between the Catalytic Index and the average gasification rate was identified. The results highlight the importance of knowing both textural and structural properties and mineral contents of biomass chars to predict fuel reactivity during CO 2 gasification processes. Such behavior prediction is highly important in the gasifiers design for char conversion. - Highlights: • CO 2 gasification reactivity of various lignocellulosic chars were examined. • Chars properties affect strongly samples gasification behavior. • Initial gasification rate is affected by external surface, K content and D3/G ratio. • Gasification rate behavior depends on the Alkali index at high conversion

Effect of burn-off on physical and chemical properties of coal char; Gas ka shinko ni tomonau sekitan char no tokusei henka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamada, T.; Tamura, K.; Hashimoto, H.; Funaki, M.; Suzuki, T. [Kitami Institute of Technology, Hokkaido (Japan)

1996-10-28

For high-efficiency coal gasification, investigations were given on effect of coal chars with different conversion rates on coal gasification reactivity. In coal gasification, reactivity of char after pyrolysis governs the efficiency. The reference char conversion in CO2 gasification of coal (weight loss) changes linearly in the initial stage of the reaction, but the reactivity declines as the end point is approached. Char surface area is as large as 400 m{sup 2}/g in the initial stage with the conversion at 20%, but it decreases in the final stage. This phenomenon relates closely with changes in pore size and crystalline structure. Change in the Raman value R which shows incompleteness of char graphite structure and amorphous carbon ratio suggests that an active portion with high reactivity is oxidized preferentially, and a portion with low reactivity remains finally. Minerals in coal are known to accelerate the gasification. However, their catalytic effect is related with chemical forms, and complex as they may change into inactive sulfides and silicates under severe reaction conditions. Change in forms of calcium compounds may also be involved in decline of the reactivity in the latter stage. 8 refs., 4 figs.

CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN OIL AND GAS COMPLEX ENTITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail Borodin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to analyze the current state of the oil and gas complex of Ukraine, upon which to identify the challenges and to justify the development prospects of the effective activities of complex entities. Comprehensive introduction of the advanced mechanisms for the development of oil and gas complex entities’ development will contribute to the economic growth of other industries and the Ukrainian economy as a whole, as well as decrease in the energy dependence and security of the state interests. Methods. The following methods were used in research: systematic, economic and mathematical, balancing, judgment-based and abstract-logical. In addition, methods of statistical analysis, analytical spread sheet tabulation method, and method of scientific hypothesis modelling for studied processes. Results. The effectiveness of introduction of the proposed perspective trends of the entities of Ukrainian oil and gas complex is estimated. It is proved that their comprehensive implementation will improve the competitiveness of their operations, and energy independence of Ukraine. The necessity of introduction of the innovative technologies and new approaches to solution of the management problems at oil and gas complex entities is proved. Implementation of prospective mechanisms for the development of effective activity of oil and gas entities shall be based on economic competition between the entities with simultaneous implementation of the measures of state support for the promising modernization technologies reflecting the public interest to the energy security improvement. Practical significance. A study of the current state of oil and gas complex of Ukraine and challenges of development of the complex entities contributes to the identification of areas for balancing and substantiation of the development prospects of the oil and gas sector of economy in order to ensure its energy security, taking into account the strategic orientations

Multipurpose nuclear process heat for energy supply in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, U.; Inden, P.; Oesterwind, D.; Hukai, R.Y.; Pessine, R.T.; Pieroni, R.R.; Visoni, E.

1978-11-01

The industrialized nations require 75% of the energy as heat and it is likely that developing countries in the course of industrialization will show a comparable energy consumption structure. The High Temperature Reactor (HTR) allows the utilization of nuclear energy at high temperatures as process heat. In the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) the development in the relevant technical areas is well advanced and warrants investigation as a matter for transfer to Brazil. In Brazil nuclear process heat finds possible applications in steel making, shale oil extraction, petroleum refining, and in the more distant future coal gasification with distribution networks. Based on growth forecasts for these industries a theoretical potential market of 38-53 GW (th) can be identified. At present nuclear process heat is marginally more expensive than conventional fossil technologies but the anticipated development is expected to add an economic incentive to the emerging necessity of providing a sound energy base in the developing countries. (author)

Optimal Design of Biodiesel Production Process from Waste Cooking Palm Oil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simasatitkul, Lida; Gani, Rafiqul; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

2012-01-01

A design methodology for biodiesel production from waste cooking palm oil is proposed. The proposed method is flexible to the biodiesel process using various catalyst types: alkali and acid catalyst in homogenous and heterogeneous forms, and different process: enzyme process and supercritical......, oleic acid, linoleic and linolenic acid). A driving force approach and thermodynamic insight are employed to design separation units (e.g., flash separator and distillation) minimizing the energy consumption. Steady-state simulations of the developed biodiesel processes are performed and economic...... analysis is used to find a suitable biodiesel process. The results show that based on a net present value, the heterogeneous acid catalyzed process is the best process for biodiesel production. With the design methodology, the proposed biodiesel process can save the energy requirement of 41.5%, compared...

SiteChar – Methodology for a Fit-for-Purpose Assessment of CO2 Storage Sites in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delprat-Jannaud F.

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The FP7-funded SiteChar project examined the entire CO2 geological storage site characterisation process, from the initial feasibility studies through to the final stage of application for a CO2 storage permit based on criteria defined by the relevant European legislation. The SiteChar workflow for CO2 geological storage site characterisation provides a description of all elements of a site characterisation study, as well as guidance to streamline the site characterisation process and make sure that the output covers the aspects mentioned in the European Community (EC Storage Directive. Five potential European storage sites, representative of prospective geological contexts, were considered as test sites for the research work: a North Sea multi-store site (hydrocarbon field and aquifer offshore Scotland; an onshore aquifer in Denmark; an onshore gas field in Poland; an aquifer offshore in Norway; and an aquifer in the Southern Adriatic Sea. This portfolio combines complementary sites that allowed to encompass the different steps of the characterisation workflow. A key innovation was the development of internal ‘dry-run’ permit applications at the Danish and Scottish sites and their review by relevant regulatory authorities. This process helped to refine the site characterisation workflow, and aimed to identify remaining gaps in site-specific characterisation, needed to secure storage permits under the EC Storage Directive as implemented in ‘host’ Member States. SiteChar considered the important aspect of the public awareness and public opinions of these new technologies, in parallel to technical issues, on the onshore Polish and offshore Scottish sites. A new format to assist public opinion-forming processes was tested involving a small sample of local communities. Generic as well as site-specific information was made available to the general and local public via the internet and at information meetings. These exercises provide insight

Mercury adsorption of modified mulberry twig chars in a simulated flue gas.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Tong; Lu, Ping; He, Nan

2013-05-01

Mulberry twig chars were prepared by pyrolysis, steam activation and impregnation with H2O2, ZnCl2 and NaCl. Textural characteristics and surface functional groups were performed using nitrogen adsorption and FTIR, respectively. Mercury adsorption of different modified MT chars was investigated in a quartz fixed-bed absorber. The results indicated that steam activation and H2O2-impregnation can improve pore structure significantly and H2O2-impregnation and chloride-impregnation promote surface functional groups. However, chloride-impregnation has adverse effect on pore structure. Mercury adsorption capacities of impregnated MT chars with 10% or 30% H2O2 are 2.02 and 1.77 times of steam activated MT char, respectively. Mercury adsorption capacity of ZnCl2-impregnated MT char increase with increasing ZnCl2 content and is better than that of NaCl-impregnated MT char at the same chloride content. The modified MT char (MT873-A-Z5) prepared by steam activation following impregnation with 5% ZnCl2 exhibits a higher mercury adsorption capacity (29.55 μg g(-1)) than any other MT chars. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The energy efficiency of crude oil refining in Brazil: A Brazilian refinery plant case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Romulo S. de; Schaeffer, Roberto

2011-01-01

This article evaluates energy efficiency in Brazilian crude oil refining in comparison with the crude oil refining in the United States between 1930 and 2008. It aims to show that increased refinery complexity reduces the energy consumption of products of high value added. Moreover, the article shows that improvements in energy efficiency result in higher quality products and increased processing of oil. A Brazilian refinery with a capacity of 157,000 barrels per day (kbpd) was modernized in 2008 at a cost of US $1.3 billion. As a result, its capacity increased by 17%, from 157 to 189 kbpd. Its complexity index also rose from 3.2 to 6.8, allowing an improvement in the EII (energy intensity index) from 110% to 93%. In relation to the crude oil processed before being modernized, energy consumption fell from 0.75 to 0.52 MBtu (million British thermal units) per barrel processed. These proceedings show that increases in complexity reduce the energy consumed in the production of final products with high value added, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. -- Highlights: → Increased refinery complexity reduces the energy consumption of products of high value added. → Improvements in refinery energy efficiency result in higher quality products and increased processing of oil. → Brazilian refineries were not affected significantly in the 2008 crisis, such as the US refineries, due to many factors. → The EII of Brazilian refining presents real opportunities for gains through changes in the profile of energy consumed.

Heat Transfer in a Fixed Biomass Char Bed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fjellerup, Jan Søren; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk; Glarborg, P.

2002-01-01

A thermal conductivity model based on the Yagi and Kunii model together with a bed model was developed to describe the thermal conductivity of a straw char bed. The bed model describes the relationship between the distance between particles and the external porosity. To verify the model, thermal ...

Fundamental study of the pulverized coal char combustion in oxyfuel mode with drop tube furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ito, Takamasa; Takafuji, Makoto; Suda, Toshiyuki; Fujimori, Toshiro [Heat and Fluid Dynamics Department, Yokohama (Japan)

2013-07-01

The combustion characteristics of coal char particles in either O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} or O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} conditions were experimentally investigated. Especially, the char burnout, the char particle temperature and the shrinkage of the char particles were discussed. A Drop Tube Furnace (DTF: whose wall temperature was set at 873, 923 and 973 K) was used as the experimental apparatus. The experimental results revealed that, in equivalent oxygen concentration, the char burnout and the char particle temperature were higher in O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} conditions than those in O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} conditions. The shrinkage of the char particle did not show the large difference in either O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} or O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} conditions. Up to 15% of char burnout, the char particle diameters were reduced gradually. Up to 80% of char burnout, the char particle diameters were not changed. This is supposed that the chemical reaction is mainly occurred not on the external surface but on the internal surface of the char particle. Over 80% of char burnout, sudden shrinkage could be seen. Finally, an empirical equation for the prediction of the char particle shrinkage was introduced. Further investigation is required in high operating temperature, where CO{sub 2} gasification may have a large influence on the char burnout.

Reactivity of coal chars prepared in a fluidised bed reactor at different burn-off degrees

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreno, A.H.; Arenillas, A.; Rubiera, F.; Fuente, E.; Pis, J.J. [Inst. Nacional del Carbon, Oviedo (Spain)

1997-12-31

The main goal of this work has been to study the effect of the textural properties of coal chars, obtained from partially burned coal, on their reactivity to oxygen. A low volatile bituminous coal was used to prepare chars, with different levels of burn-off, in a bench-scale fluidised bed reactor. Textural characterisation of the samples was accomplished by measuring true (helium) and apparent (mercury) densities, and mercury porosimetry. An increase in the burn-off degree gave rise to a densification of the chars. Porosity development greatly changed during progressive burning of the samples. DTG burning profiles and isothermal gasification were utilised to estimate the reactivities of the precursor coal and its partially burned chars. Reactivity reached a maximum value at an intermediate burn-off and strongly decreased at higher burn-off degrees. (orig.)

Comparison of char structural characteristics and reactivity during conventional air and oxy-fuel combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xiaowei; Xu, Minghou; Yao, Hong; Gu, Ying; Si, Junping; Xiong, Chao [Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China). State Key Lab. of Coal Combustion

2013-07-01

The capture and sequestration of CO{sub 2} generated from large- scale stationary power plants is considered to be one of the leading technologies that could potentially have a significant impact on reducing greenhouse emissions. Among these emerging technologies, the oxy-fuel combustion is a near-zero emission technology that can be adapted to both new and existing pulverized coal-fired power stations. The goal of this work is to make a comparative study on char structural characteristics (including char yield, swelling ratio, BET surface area, pore distribution, morphology) and reactivity during conventional air and oxy-fuel combustion. Specific experimental designs include two series. One is carried out in pure N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} (pyrolysis experiments), and another is prepared in N{sub 2} + 5%O{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} + 5%O{sub 2}. Coal samples included raw coal, low density fraction coal and medium density fraction coal in all experiments. The present study is a further effort to extend our knowledge about physical and chemical structural characteristics and reactivity of char in the presence of high concentration CO{sub 2}. Combustion and pyrolysis of a density fractionated China coal at drop tube furnace yielded the following conclusions. Compared to oxy-chars obtained under pure CO{sub 2} atmosphere, the swelling ratios of char obtained in pure N{sub 2} atmosphere are higher. When adding 5%O{sub 2}, experimental results are completely different with those of the pyrolysis experiment. In comparison with the oxy-chars obtained under CO{sub 2} + 5%O{sub 2} atmosphere, the swelling ratios of the char obtained in N{sub 2} + 5%O{sub 2} atmosphere are lower. In the pyrolysis experiment, the BET surfaces Area of the oxy-chars are about 10-20 times as much as chars. When adding 5%O{sub 2}, the BET surfaces Area of the oxy-chars are about two to four times as much as chars. During pyrolysis experiment, the total pore volumes of the oxy-chars obtained under pure CO

Bio-Oil Separation and Stabilization by Near-Critical Propane Fractionation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ginosar, Daniel M.; Petkovic, Lucia M.; Agblevor, Foster A.

2016-08-01

Bio-oils produced by thermal process are promising sources of sustainable, low greenhouse gas alternative fuels. These thermal processes are also well suited to decentralized energy production due to low capital and operating costs. Algae feedstocks for bio-oil production are of particular interest, due in part to their high-energy growth yields. Further, algae can be grown in non-arable areas in fresh, brackish, salt water, or even waste water. Unfortunately, bio-oils produced by thermal processes present significant stability challenges. These oils have complex chemical compositions, are viscous, reactive, and thermally unstable. Further, the components within the oils are difficult to separate by fractional distillation. By far, the most effective separation and stabilization method has been solvent extraction. However, liquid phase extraction processes pose two main obstacles to commercialization; they require a significant amount of energy to remove and recover the solvent from the product, and they have a propensity for the solvent to become contaminated with minerals from the char and ash present in the original bio-oil. Separation and fractionation of thermally produced bio-oils using supercritical fluids (SCF) offers the advantages of liquid solvent extraction while drastically reducing energy demands and the predisposition to carry over solids into the extracted phase. SCFs are dense fluids with liquid-like solvent properties and gas-like transport properties. Further, SCF density and solvent strength can be tuned with minor adjustments in pressure, co-solvent addition, or gas anti-solvent addition. Catalytic pyrolysis oils were produced from Scenedesmus dimorphus algae using a fluid catalytic cracking catalyst. Bio-oil produced from catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) was separated using critical fluids. Propane extraction was performed at 65 °C at a fluid reduced pressure of 2.0 (85 bar) using an eight to one solvent to feed ratio by weight. Extraction of

Experimental comparison of biomass chars with other catalysts for tar reduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abu El-Rub, Ziad; Bramer, Eduard A.; Brem, Gerrit

2008-01-01

In this paper the potential of using biomass char as a catalyst for tar reduction is discussed. Biomass char is compared with other known catalysts used for tar conversion. Model tar compounds, phenol and naphthalene, were used to test char and other catalysts. Tests were carried out in a fixed bed

Energy efficiency measures for offshore oil and gas platforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Voldsund, Mari; Breuhaus, Peter; Elmegaard, Brian

2016-01-01

Oil and gas platforms are energy-intensive systems – each facility uses from a few to several hundreds MW of energy, depending on the petroleum properties, export specifications and field lifetime. Several technologies for increasing the energy efficiency of these plants are investigated in this work. They include: (i) the installation of multiple pressure levels in production manifolds, (ii) the implementation of multiphase expanders, (iii) the promotion of energy and process integration, (iv) the limitation of gas recirculation around the compressors, (v) the exploitation of low-temperature heat from the gas cooling steps, (vi) the downsizing or replacement of the existing gas turbines, and (vii) the use of the waste heat from the power plant. The present study builds on four actual cases located in the North and Norwegian Seas, which differ by the type of oil processed, operating conditions and strategies. The benefits and practical limitations of each measure are discussed based on thermodynamic, economic and environmental factors. Significant energy savings and reductions in CO_2-emissions are depicted, reaching up to 15–20%. However, they strongly differ from one facility to another, which suggests that generic improvements can hardly be proposed, and that thorough techno-economic analyses should be conducted for each plant. - Highlights: • Energy efficiency measures for offshore platforms are assessed. • Energy savings and reductions in CO_2-emissions can reach up to 15-20%. • They differ strongly depending on the oil type, operating conditions and strategies.

Life cycle GHG emissions from Malaysian oil palm bioenergy development: The impact on transportation sector's energy security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, Mohd Nor Azman; Jaramillo, Paulina; Griffin, W. Michael

2011-01-01

Malaysia's transportation sector accounts for 41% of the country's total energy use. The country is expected to become a net oil importer by the year 2011. To encourage renewable energy development and relieve the country's emerging oil dependence, in 2006 the government mandated blending 5% palm-oil biodiesel in petroleum diesel. Malaysia produced 16 million tonnes of palm oil in 2007, mainly for food use. This paper addresses maximizing bioenergy use from oil-palm to support Malaysia's energy initiative while minimizing greenhouse-gas emissions from land-use change. When converting primary and secondary forests to oil-palm plantations between 270-530 and 120-190 g CO 2 -equivalent per MJ of biodiesel produced, respectively, is released. However, converting degraded lands results in the capture of between 23 and 85 g CO 2 -equivalent per MJ of biodiesel produced. Using various combinations of land types, Malaysia could meet the 5% biodiesel target with a net GHG savings of about 1.03 million tonnes (4.9% of the transportation sector's diesel emissions) when accounting for the emissions savings from the diesel fuel displaced. These findings are used to recommend policies for mitigating GHG emissions impacts from the growth of palm oil use in the transportation sector. - Research highlights: → We modeled greenhouse gas emissions in the production of palm-biodiesel. → Five land types were included to model emissions associated with land-use change. → Land-use change has the biggest impact on the emissions in making palm-biodiesel. → Emissions from fertilizer use and effluent treatment are still significant. → At 5% biodiesel grown on suitable lands Malaysia would obtain an emissions savings.

Kinetic Analysis of Char Thermal Deactivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zolin, Alfredo; Jensen, Anker; Dam-Johansen, Kim

2001-01-01

and demineralized Dietz from USA, and two alternative fuels, Danish leached straw and petroleum coke, were used in the experiments. The coal chars from demineralized Dietz, Illinois no. 6, and Cerrejon deactivate readily, whereas petroleum coke and Blair Athol show a relative high resistance to deactivation....... Leached straw deactivates significantly, but maintains at any heat-treatment temperature a higher reactivity than the other chars. The inertinite-rich coal Blair Athol is more resistant to deactivation than two vitrinite-rich coals of the same ASTM rank, Cerrejon and Illinois no. 6. Cerrejon and Illinois...

The influence of South Korean energy policy on OPEC oil exports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almansoori, Ali

2014-01-01

South Korea is the fifth top oil importer worldwide with 64% of its oil coming from OPEC member countries. Over the last 30 years, South Korea accounted for a rapid increase in energy use. This in turn led South Korea to be totally dependent on oil imports. Due to this increase, South Korea has been experiencing drastic changes in its energy system which could potentially impact its dependence on OPEC oil import. External and internal factors have forced South Korea to change its energy strategy and targets. These targets would be achieved by reducing its energy intensity and utilizing electricity and renewable energies in order to reduce its dependence on oil consumption. “Low Carbon, Green Growth” is one policy along with many other energy policies developed by South Korea for reducing greenhouse gases, thus this policy is receiving a remarkable attention today. These national policies along with other international ones are needed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and promote other green initiatives. This study puts emphasis on these policies as well as uses them to predict the future energy profile of South Korea and how these policies will impact on oil imports from OPEC member countries. - Highlights: • Analyze energy policy of South Korea and its energy profiles. • Study the factors that affect South Korea to change its energy strategy and targets. • Analyze the implications of South Korean energy policy on oil imports from OPEC. • South Korea will continue importing oil from OPEC countries for the next decade

Studies on the Exergy Transfer Law for the Irreversible Process in the Waxy Crude Oil Pipeline Transportation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinglin Cheng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With the increasing demand of oil products in China, the energy consumption of pipeline operation will continue to rise greatly, as well as the cost of oil transportation. In the field of practical engineering, saving energy, reducing energy consumption and adapting to the international oil situation are the development trends and represent difficult problems. Based on the basic principle of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, this paper derives the field equilibrium equations of non-equilibrium thermodynamic process for pipeline transportation. To seek the bilinear form of “force” and “flow” in the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of entropy generation rate, the oil pipeline exergy balance equation and the exergy transfer pipeline dynamic equation of the irreversibility were established. The exergy balance equation was applied to energy balance evaluation system, which makes the system more perfect. The exergy flow transfer law of the waxy oil pipeline were explored deeply from the directions of dynamic exergy, pressure exergy, thermal exergy and diffusion exergy. Taking an oil pipeline as an example, the influence factors of exergy transfer coefficient and exergy flow density were analyzed separately.

The thermal history of char as disclosed by carbon isotope ratios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Egsgaard, Helge; Ambus, Per; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper

In laboratory experiments, biomass char was produced under controlled conditions using wood chips from French pinewood. Different char qualities were obtained by pyrolysing the biomass at similar heating rates with end-temperatures ranging from 250 to 1000 o C. The char was analysed by flash...... pyrolysis and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The results demonstrate that the temperature history of the char is reflected in the fine variation of carbon isotopes. The compound classes responsible for the variation were identified. Key words: Isotope ratio, flash pyrolysis, hot gas cleaning...

Process development, design and operation of off-line purification system for oil-contaminated impure heavy water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bose, H.; Rakesh Kumar; Gandhi, H.C.; Unny, V.K.P.; Ghosh, S.K.; Mishra, Vivek; Shukla, D.K.; Duraisamy, S.; Agarwal, S.K.

2004-01-01

A large volume of degraded, tritiated heavy water contaminated with mineral oil and ionic impurities have accumulated at Dhruva in the past years of reactor operation as a result of routine operation and maintenance activities. The need was felt for a simple and efficient process that could be set up and operated locally at site using readily available materials, to purify the accumulated impure heavy waters at Dhruva so as to make them acceptable at the up gradation facilities. After a detailed laboratory study, a three stage clean-up process was developed which could purify a highly turbid oil-water emulsion to yield clear, oil-free and de-mineralized heavy water at reasonable rates of volume through-put. Based on the laboratory data, a suitably scaled up purification unit has been designed and commissioned which in the past few months has processed a sizeable volume of oil-contaminated heavy water waste from Dhruva, with most satisfactory results

Quantitative Analysis of Graphene Sheet Content in Wood Char Powders during Catalytic Pyrolysis

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yan-Jia Liou; Wu-Jang Huang

2013-01-01

The quantitative characterization of the graphene sheet content in carbon-containing materials is arguable and has not yet been developed.The authors report on a feasible method to characterize graphene sheet content quantitatively in pyrolized carbon materials using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrometer.A direct carbonation at 300 ℃ followed by catalytic pyrolysis (heat-treatment temperature was set at 700-1400 ℃)under a vacuum condition was used for turning wood waste into pyrolized wood char powders.The graphene content in the samples was calculated through an analysis of full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the carbon (100) crystal plane at around 42°-43° in XRD.Results showed that the FWHM and the calculated graphene sheet content of pyrolized wood char powders depended on the heat-treatment temperature,and the FWHM of wood char powder with well-developed graphene sheets (100％) was determined to be 5.0.In addition,the trend to 100％ graphene sheet-contained pyrolized carbon powder was obtained at a heattreatment temperature of 2700 ℃.The resistivity of the wood char powder with 100％ graphene sheets was predicted to be 0.01 Ω cm,close to our experimental data of 0.012 and 0.006 Ω cm for commercial graphite and graphene products,respectively.

Three Essays on National Oil Company Efficiency, Energy Demand and Transportation

Science.gov (United States)

Eller, Stacy L.

This dissertation is composed of three separate essays in the field of energy economics. In the first paper, both data envelopment analysis and stochastic production frontier estimation are employed to provide empirical evidence on the revenue efficiency of national oil companies (NOCs) and private international oil companies (IOCs). Using a panel of 80 oil producing firms, the analysis suggests that NOCs are generally less efficient at generating revenue from a given resource base than IOCs, with some exceptions. Due to differing firm objectives, however, structural and institutional features may help explain much of the inefficiency. The second paper analyzes the relationship between economic development and the demand for energy. Energy consumption is modeled using panel data from 1990 to 2004 for 50 countries spanning all levels of development. We find the relationship between energy consumption and economic development corresponds to the structure of aggregate output and the nature of derived demand for electricity and direct-use fuels in each sector. Notably, the evidence of non-constant income elasticity of demand is much greater for electricity demand than for direct-use fuel consumption. In addition, we show that during periods of rapid economic development, one in which the short-term growth rate exceeds the long-run average, an increase in aggregate output is met by less energy-efficient capital. This is a result of capital being fixed in the short-term. As additional, more efficient capital stock is added to the production process, the short-term increase in energy intensity will diminish. In the third essay, we develop a system of equations to estimate a model of motor vehicle fuel consumption, vehicle miles traveled and implied fuel efficiency for the 67 counties of the State of Florida from 2001 to 2008. This procedure allows us to decompose the factors of fuel demand into elasticities of vehicle driving demand and fuel efficiency. Particular

Effect of temperature on energy potential of pyrolysis products from oil palm shells

OpenAIRE

Lina María Romero Millán; María Alejandra Cruz Domínguez; Fabio Emiro Sierra Vargas

2016-01-01

Context: Taking into account that near 220 000 tons of oil palm shells are produced every year in Colombia, as a waste of the Elaeis Guineensis palm oil transformation process, the aim of this work is to determine the energy potential of oil palm shells, when transformed through slow pyrolysis process. Methods: Using a fixed bed lab scale reactor, different oil palm shells pyrolysis tests were performed between 300°C and 500°C. The effect of the temperature in the process product yield an...

Removal of hexavalent Cr by coconut coir and derived chars--the effect of surface functionality.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ying-Shuian; Wang, Shan-Li; Tzou, Yu-Min; Yan, Ya-Yi; Kuan, Wen-Hui

2012-01-01

The Cr(VI) removal by coconut coir (CC) and chars obtained at various pyrolysis temperatures were evaluated. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature resulted in an increased surface area of the chars, while the corresponding content of oxygen-containing functional groups of the chars decreased. The Cr(VI) removal by CC and CC-derived chars was primarily attributed to the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by the materials and the extent and rate of the Cr(VI) reduction were determined by the oxygen-containing functional groups in the materials. The contribution of pure Cr(VI) adsorption to the overall Cr(VI) removal became relatively significant for the chars obtained at higher temperatures. Accordingly, to develop a cost-effective method for removing Cr(VI) from water, the original CC is more advantageous than the carbonaceous counterparts because no pyrolysis is required for the application and CC has a higher content of functional groups for reducing Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The oil industry in France: contribution to the debate on energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

Proposed by the professional body of the French oil industry, this document proposes a contribution of this body to the energy challenge. The authors first discuss the context and its evolution in terms of energy demand and of energy sources. They outline the necessary development of renewable energies. While giving recommendations, they state how the oil sector will support the economy and employment, how this sector will keep on exploring and producing hydrocarbons, how the refining activity needs to be adapted, how the oil logistics must evolve, and how the service station network is already evolving

Coal pyrolysis in a continuous fluidized bed - process development studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramakrishnan, N N; Akmal, M A.K.; Vaidyeswaran, R

1981-10-01

The paper deals with the development of a process development unit (PDU) for the fluid bed pyrolysis of non-caking slack coal obtained from Singareni and Talcher coalfields. Preheated air is used as the fluidizing medium. It is necessary to avoid its maldistribution by a suitable design of the gas distributor. In this regard perforated conical distributors appear to play an important role. In the low temperature carbonization of coal an operation around 500 C gives optimum yields of char and tar of desirable quality. Carbonization reactions are generally completed within about 20 min of the feed entry into the fluidized bed and the char attains an equilibrium volatile matter content. Since air is used as the fluidizing medium carbonization gas is diluted with nitrogen and non-combustibles. The heating value of the gas is low. (5 refs.)

The potential applications of using compost chars for removing the hydrophobic herbicide atrazine from solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsui, Lo; Roy, William R

2008-09-01

One commercial compost sample was pyrolyzed to produce chars as a sorbent for removing the herbicide atrazine from solution. The sorption behavior of compost-based char was compared with that of an activated carbon derived from corn stillage. When compost was pyrolyzed, the char yield was greater than 45% when heated under air, and 52% when heated under N(2). In contrast, when the corn stillage was pyrolyzed under N(2), the yield was only 22%. The N(2)-BET surface area of corn stillage activated carbon was 439 m(2)/g, which was much greater than the maximum compost char surface area of 72 m(2)/g. However, the sorption affinity of the compost char for dissolved atrazine was comparable to that of the corn stillage activated carbon. This similarity could have resulted from the initial organic waste being subjected to a relatively long period of thermal processes during composting, and thus, the compost was more thermally stable when compared with the raw materials. In addition, microorganisms transformed the organic wastes into amorphous humic substances, and thus, it was likely that the microporisity was enhanced. Although this micropore structure could not be detected by the N(2)-BET method, it was apparent in the atrazine sorption experiment. Overall, the experimental results suggested that the compost sample in current study was a relatively stable material thermally for producing char, and that it has the potential as a feed stock for making high-quality activated carbon.

An improved crude oil atmospheric distillation process for energy integration: Part II: New approach for energy saving by use of residual heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benali, Tahar; Tondeur, Daniel; Jaubert, Jean Noël

2012-01-01

In Part I of this paper, it was shown on thermodynamic grounds that introducing a flash in the preheating train of an atmospheric oil distillation process, together with an appropriate introduction of the resulting vapour into the column, could potentially bring substantial energy savings, by reducing the duty of the preheating furnace, by doing some pre-fractionation and by reducing the column irreversibilities. Part II expands on this idea by showing how this can be done while keeping the throughput and the product characteristics unchanged. The outcome is that placing several flashes after the heat exchangers and feeding the corresponding vapour streams to the appropriate trays of the column reduces the pumparound flows and the heat brought to the preheating train. The resulting heat deficit may then be compensated in an additional heat exchanger by using low level heat recuperated from the products of the distillation and/or imported from other processes. The use of this residual heat reduces the furnace duty by approximately an equivalent amount. Thus high level energy (fuel-gas burnt in the furnace) is replaced by residual low level heat. The simulation with an example flowsheet shows that the savings on fuel could be as high as 21%. - Highlights: ► Flash installation in the preheating train of the crude oil distillation process. ► Pumparound streams and heat sent to the preheating train are reduced. ► A high level heat deficit is induced and replaced by low level heat. ► Considerable energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions are achieved.

Lead sorption characteristics of various chicken bone part-derived chars.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jong-Hwan; Wang, Jim J; Kim, Seong-Heon; Kang, Se-Won; Cho, Ju-Sik; Delaune, Ronald D; Ok, Yong Sik; Seo, Dong-Cheol

2018-01-18

Recycling food waste for beneficial use is becoming increasingly important in resource-limited economy. In this study, waste chicken bones of different parts from restaurant industry were pyrolyzed at 600 °C and evaluated for char physicochemical properties and Pb sorption characteristics. Lead adsorption isotherms by different chicken bone chars were carried out with initial Pb concentration range of 1-1000 mg L -1 at pH 5. The Pb adsorption data were better described by the Langmuir model (R 2  = 0.9289-0.9937; ARE = 22.7-29.3%) than the Freundlich model (R 2  = 0.8684-0.9544; ARE = 35.4-72.0%). Among the chars derived from different chicken bone parts, the tibia bone char exhibited the highest maximum Pb adsorption capacity of 263 mg g -1 followed by the pelvis (222 mg g -1 ), ribs (208 mg g -1 ), clavicle (179 mg g -1 ), vertebrae (159 mg g -1 ), and humerus (135 mg g -1 ). The Pb adsorption capacities were significantly and positively correlated with the surface area, phosphate release amount, and total phosphorus content of chicken bone chars (r ≥ 0.9711). On the other hand, approximately 75-88% of the adsorbed Pb on the chicken bone chars was desorbable with 0.1 M HCl, indicating their recyclability for reuse. Results demonstrated that chicken bone char could be used as an effective adsorbent for Pb removal in wastewater.

The hierarchical porous structure bio-char assessments produced by co-pyrolysis of municipal sewage sludge and hazelnut shell and Cu(II) adsorption kinetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Bing; Xu, Xinyang; Zeng, Fanqiang; Li, Haibo; Chen, Xi

2018-05-04

The co-pyrolysis technology was applied to municipal sewage sludge (MSS) and hazelnut shell with alkaline activating agent K 2 CO 3 under N 2 atmosphere. The innovative bio-char produced by co-pyrolysis had significant physical and chemical characteristics. The specific surface area reached 1990.23 m 2 /g, and the iodine absorption number was 1068.22 mg/g after co-pyrolysis at 850 °C. Although hazelnut shell was a kind of solid waste, it also had abundant cellulose resource, which could contribute to porous structure of bio-char during co-pyrolysis with MSS and decrease total heavy metals contents of raw material to increase security of bio-chars. Meanwhile, the residual fractions of heavy metals in bio-char were above 92.95% after co-pyrolysis at 900 °C except Cd to prevent heavy metals digestion, and the bio-char presented significant immobilization behavior from co-pyrolysis technology. Moreover, the yield and the iodine absorption number of bio-chars under different process variables were analyzed, and it was confirmed that appropriate process variables could contribute the yield and the iodine absorption number of bio-char and prevent to etch pore structure excessively to collapse. The changes of surface functional groups and crystallographic structure before and after co-pyrolysis were analyzed by FTIR and XRD, respectively. The hierarchical porous structure of bio-char was presented by SEM and N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherm. The Cu(II) adsorption capacity of the bio-char was 42.28 mg/g after 24 h, and surface functional groups acted as active binding sites for Cu(II) adsorption. Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model can describe process of Cu(II) adsorption well.

Quinault Indian Nation Renewable Energy Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Don Hopps, Institute for Washington' s Future; Jesse Nelson, Institute for Washington' s Future

2006-11-28

. This plan calls for commercial-scale production only, with the QIN being the first “customer” for the product. This plan favors employing the pyrolysis technology to produce bio-oil, heat, and char. We favor this approach and technology because it is the most cost effective way to use the available resource. Its main product, bio-oil, has proven utility for the production of heat and electricity. It has promise for use as an alternative fuel, which is a much higher value than present uses of wood and it meets the QIN need for flexibility, scalability, and portability. Char, the secondary product from the pyrolysis process, has proven value-added uses. In addition to these direct benefits, the use of biomass in pyrolysis technology has significant indirect benefits. These benefits include the fact that the technology is a good fit with the Nation’s cultural values, i.e., environmental protection and the holistic use of a resource. It fits well with current QIN enterprises. For example, char could be processed into a charcoal co-product for QIN fish. Finally, the QIN can become a leader in developing and demonstrating this innovative approach to the use of wood. This plan proposes key organization steps to insure both excellent implementation of the plan and taking the best advantage of the processes and facilities put in place. This plan calls for two new QIN organizations: an energy production/distribution corporation and a community development corporation. The production/distribution corporation can be either a utility or a business enterprise that develops and markets renewable energy. The community development corporation can be a not-for-profit to support the QIN in taking best advantage of its energy opportunities. The production and distribution corporation is the subject of a further business planning effort now underway. This plan envisions a community development corporation that works directly with the Business Committee on research, education, and

Development of a centrifugal in-line separator for oil-water flows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slot, J.J.

2013-01-01

The world energy consumption will increase in the next decades. However, many aging oil fields are showing a steady decline in oil production. And they are producing increasing amounts of water, making the separation of the oil from the oil-water mixture an important processing step. In-line

US oil policy and energy security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noel, P.

2002-05-01

Although the energy dependence reached its historical maximum and will continue to increase for the next 20 years, the USA keep their oil policy. For the economist this policy is reasonable because of the poor room for the US imports reduction costs. To explain these conclusions the author discusses on the following topics: the links between the oil dependence and the energy security, the oil policy after Reagan, the oil policy evolution - or no evolution - facing the increasing dependency and the Cheney report. (A.L.B.)

Thermal analysis of charring materials based on pyrolysis interface model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Hai-Ming

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Charring thermal protection systems have been used to protect hypersonic vehicles from high heat loads. The pyrolysis of charring materials is a complicated physical and chemical phenomenon. Based on the pyrolysis interface model, a simulating approach for charring ablation has been designed in order to obtain one dimensional transient thermal behavior of homogeneous charring materials in reentry capsules. As the numerical results indicate, the pyrolysis rate and the surface temperature under a given heat flux rise abruptly in the beginning, then reach a plateau, but the temperature at the bottom rises very slowly to prevent the structural materials from being heated seriously. Pyrolysis mechanism can play an important role in thermal protection systems subjected to serious aerodynamic heat.

Mineral-char interaction during gasification of high-ash coals in fluidized-bed gasification

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oboirien, BO

2011-09-01

Full Text Available -enriched conditions, while X-ray spectroscopy [and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS)] mapping was used to determine the distribution of elements, such as Si, Al, Mg, Ca, and K, in the same chars. The higher ordered structure of the carbon around the melted minerals...

Effects of Pyrolysis Temperature on Product Yields and Energy Recovery from Co-Feeding of Cotton Gin Trash, Cow Manure, and Microalgae: A Simulation Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hanif, Muhammad Usman; Capareda, Sergio C.; Iqbal, Hamid; Arazo, Renato Ortiz; Baig, Muhammad Anwar

2016-01-01

The intensive search of new and cleaner energy catches interest in recent years due to huge consumption of fossil fuels coupled with the challenge of energy and environmental sustainability. Production of renewable and environmentally benign energy from locally available raw materials is coming in the frontline. In this work, conversion of the combined biomass (cotton gin trash, cow manure, and Microalgae [Nannochloropsis oculata]) through batch pyrolysis has been investigated. The effect of temperature to the production of energy fuels such as bio-oil, char, and biogas have been simulated considering the yield and energy content as responses. Result of the investigation generally revealed that the proportions of the different biomass did not significantly affect the product yield and energy recovery. Significant effect of temperature is evident in the simulation result of energy recovery whereby maximum conversion was achieved at 400°C for char (91 wt%), 600°C for syngas (22 wt%), and 551°C for bio-oil (48 wt%). Overall energy conversion efficiency of 75.5% was obtained at 589°C in which 15.6 MJ/kg of mixed biomass will be elevated to pyrolysis products. PMID:27043929

A New Screening Methodology for Improved Oil Recovery Processes Using Soft-Computing Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Parada, Claudia; Ertekin, Turgay

2010-05-01

The first stage of production of any oil reservoir involves oil displacement by natural drive mechanisms such as solution gas drive, gas cap drive and gravity drainage. Typically, improved oil recovery (IOR) methods are applied to oil reservoirs that have been depleted naturally. In more recent years, IOR techniques are applied to reservoirs even before their natural energy drive is exhausted by primary depletion. Descriptive screening criteria for IOR methods are used to select the appropriate recovery technique according to the fluid and rock properties. This methodology helps in assessing the most suitable recovery process for field deployment of a candidate reservoir. However, the already published screening guidelines neither provide information about the expected reservoir performance nor suggest a set of project design parameters, which can be used towards the optimization of the process. In this study, artificial neural networks (ANN) are used to build a high-performance neuro-simulation tool for screening different improved oil recovery techniques: miscible injection (CO2 and N2), waterflooding and steam injection processes. The simulation tool consists of proxy models that implement a multilayer cascade feedforward back propagation network algorithm. The tool is intended to narrow the ranges of possible scenarios to be modeled using conventional simulation, reducing the extensive time and energy spent in dynamic reservoir modeling. A commercial reservoir simulator is used to generate the data to train and validate the artificial neural networks. The proxy models are built considering four different well patterns with different well operating conditions as the field design parameters. Different expert systems are developed for each well pattern. The screening networks predict oil production rate and cumulative oil production profiles for a given set of rock and fluid properties, and design parameters. The results of this study show that the networks are

Pyrolysis of superfine pulverized coal. Part 4. Evolution of functionalities in chars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Jiaxun; Ma, Yang; Luo, Lei; Ma, Junfang; Zhang, Hai; Jiang, Xiumin

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A combination of XPS and NMR is adopted for analyzing char chemical structures during superfine pulverized coal pyrolysis. • The chemisorbed NO can be transformed into pyridine N with the favor of adjacent oxygenated groups in chars. • Particle size has significant influence on oxygen-containing configurations in chars. - Abstract: The properties of the coal-derived char play crucial roles in coal conversion reactions and the formation of air pollutants. The nascent char is highly reactive due to the existence of numerous free radicals, active sites, and organic functional groups on its surface. Here, we showed that a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques is an effective and precise way to characterize the occurrence, distribution, and evolution of organic functionalities in coal chars. Using these methods, we explored detailed information about chemical features of superfine pulverized coal chars in different atmospheres, and we also discussed the influence of particle size on the evolutionary behavior of functionalities. Results indicate that, in both N_2 and CO_2 atmospheres, the content of C−O species increases with the reduction in char particle sizes. This increment facilitates the heterogeneous reduction of NOx on char surfaces. The chemisorbed NO is susceptible to being incorporated into chars, and being transformed into pyridine-type nitrogen with the favor of adjacent oxygen-containing groups. Moreover, the significant increment in oxygen-containing groups with the reduction of particle size is further confirmed through "1"3C NMR analysis. It was shown that there is an excellent correlation between estimates derived from XPS and NMR for oxygen configuration. The findings from this work provide some new insights into NOx reduction mechanisms and shed light on the practical application of superfine pulverized coal in the future.

U.S. oil dependence 2014: Is energy independence in sight?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, David L.; Liu, Changzheng

2015-01-01

The importance of reducing U.S. oil dependence may have changed in light of developments in the world oil market over the past two decades. Since 2005, increased domestic production and decreased oil use have cut U.S. import dependence in half. The direct costs of oil dependence to the U.S. economy are estimated under four U.S. Energy Information Administration Scenarios to 2040. The key premises of the analysis are that the primary oil market failure is the use of market power by OPEC and that U.S. economic vulnerability is a result of the quantity of oil consumed, the lack of readily available, economical substitutes and the quantity of oil imported. Monte Carlo simulations of future oil market conditions indicate that the costs of U.S. oil dependence are likely to increase in constant dollars but decrease relative to U.S. gross domestic product unless oil resources are larger than estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Reducing oil dependence therefore remains a valuable goal for U.S. energy policy and an important co-benefit of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. -- Highlights: •Increased oil production and decreased use caused U.S. oil imports to fall from 60% in 2005 to 27% in 2014. •OPEC's market power appears to have increased due to lower oil price elasticities. •Future costs of oil dependence to the U.S. are likely to increase but decrease relative to GDP. •If U.S. oil resources are far larger than EIA estimates, the U.S. could be oil independent by 2040

Radioactivity partitioning of oil sludge undergoing incineration process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhamat Omar; Suhaimi Hamzah; Muhd Noor Muhd Yunus

1997-01-01

Oil sludge waste is a controlled item under the Atomic Energy Act (Act 304) 1984 of which the radioactivity content shall be subjected to analysis. Apart from that the treatment method also shall be approved by Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB). Thus, an analysis of the oil sludge for MSE fluidized incinerator was conducted to comply with above requirements using various techniques. Further screening analysis of fly ash as well as bed material were done to study the effect of incinerating the sludge. This paper highlights the analysis techniques and discusses the results with respect to the radioactivity level and the fate of radionuclides subjected to the processing of the waste

Study on pore structure properties of steam activated biomass chars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shu, Tong; Lu, Fei; Wang, Qinchao; Lu, Ping [Nanjing Normal Univ. (China). School of Energy and Mechanical Engineering

2013-07-01

Wheat straw and rice husk chars were prepared in a fixed bed reactor at different pyrolysis temperatures (673, 873 and 1,073K) and different pyrolysis procedure. The steam activated chars were also prepared in a fixed bed reactor at the following conditions: activation temperature is 1,073K, the flow rate of N{sub 2} is 5L/min, and N{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O molar ratio is 1:1. The specific surface area, pore structure and micro-morphology of different kinds of prepared biomass chars were measured by NOVA1000e analysis instrument and JSM-5610LV scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Results indicated that the internal structure was improved significantly by steam activation through enlarging the specific surface area and enriching the porosity. The wheat straw char prepared by both rapid pyrolysis at 873K and activation by steam is better than others, whose DR surface area increases from 3.10 to 1099.99m{sup 2}/g. The N{sub 2} adsorption volume of steam activated biomass chars has been significant promoted.

Energy Globalization: Oil Geopolitics in Central Asia Big Race for the Caspian Oil

OpenAIRE

VOLKOVA, JANINA

2007-01-01

The research aims to show causal relations between recent global change in geopolitics towards energy resources, its effect on foreign policies of Russia, the USA and China; as well as the role of oil factor in their rivalry, development of the newly formed Central Asian (the Caspian region) states-donors and international relations in general . Globalization, geopolitics, oil factor, Russia, the USA, China, the Caspian Sea, international relations, Asia

Nuclear energy development in China: A study of opportunities and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Sheng; Zhang, Xiliang

2010-01-01

With rapid economic development, China faces a great challenge to meet its increasing energy demand. Currently, China's energy supply is dominated by coal consumption, while natural gas and oil are in relative short supply. At the same time, nuclear energy is a relatively clean energy without green-house gas emissions. Considering the growing cost of fossil energy and the limited resources in China, oil supply security, coal mining disasters, the domestic environment pressure, and global climate warming, nuclear energy is an inevitable strategic option. Generally speaking, nuclear energy development has a promising future in China. Its driving factors include the brisk electricity demand, environment impact pressure, oil supply security, and positive public acceptance. Meanwhile, the question still remains whether nuclear energy development in China is sustainable. Just like in other parts of the world, China is also bewildered by the problems of reactor safety, nuclear waste treatment, and risk of proliferation of weapons material. In addition, nuclear technology diversity, shortage of uranium resources, and weak market competitiveness of nuclear power in the short term are certain barriers that China's nuclear energy development also faces. There are also other worrying issues such as: whether public acceptance in the future will change? Whether the current approaches to nuclear waste disposal are still acceptable when nuclear plants gains scale? In this paper, some suggestions and recommendations are put forward on the measures to be followed to 1) enhance domestic nuclear technology development and imported technology localization; 2) reduce the cost of nuclear power and enhance its market competitiveness; 3) accelerate the process of cleanly developing nuclear technology; 4) accelerate the process of developing more efficient reactor and nuclear fuel cycle; and 5) conduct effective publicity work to uphold public acceptance.

Study on the hydrodeoxygenative upgrading of crude bio-oil produced from woody biomass by fast pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae-Seung; Oh, Shinyoung; Kim, Jae-Young; Choi, In-Gyu; Choi, Joon Weon

2014-01-01

Crude bio-oil produced from fast pyrolysis of yellow poplar wood was subjected to HDO (hydrodeoxygenation) for the purpose of reducing water content as well as increasing heating value. HDO was performed in an autoclave reactor at three different reaction factors: temperature (250–370 °C), reaction time (40–120 min), and Pd/C catalyst loading (0–6 wt%) under hydrogen atmosphere. After completion of HDO, gas, char, and two immiscible liquid products (light oil and heavy oil) were obtained. Liquid products were less acidic and contained less water than crude bio-oil. Water content of heavy oil was ranged between 0.4 wt% and 1.9 wt%. Heating values of heavy oil were estimated between 28.7 and 37.4 MJ/kg, which was about twice higher than that of crude bio-oil. Elemental analysis revealed that heavy oil had a lower O/C ratio (0.17–0.36) than crude bio-oil (0.71). H/C ratio of heavy oil decreased from 1.50 to 1.32 with an increase of temperature from 250 °C to 350 °C, respectively. - Highlights: • Bio-oil was subjected to hydrodeoxygenation with Pd/C catalyst in supercritical ethanol. • Gas, char and two immiscible liquids (light/heavy oil) were obtained as final products. • Ethanol addition reduced the char formation during hydrodeoxygenation. • The heavy oil was characteristic to less acidic and less water content than bio-oil. • Higher heating value of the heavy oil was measured to 28.7–37.4 MJ/kg

Thermo-Economic Modelling and Process Integration of CO2-Mitigation Options on Oil and Gas Platforms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Tock, Laurence; Breuhaus, Peter

2014-01-01

recovering CO2 that can be used for enhanced oil recovery. In this paper, a North Sea platform is considered as case study, and the site-scale retrofit integration of these three options is analysed, considering thermodynamic, economic and environmental performance indicators. The results illustrate......The offshore extraction of oil and gas is an energy-intensive process associated with large CO2 and CH4 emissions to the atmosphere and chemicals to the sea. The taxation of these emissions has encouraged the development of more energy-efficient and environmental-friendly solutions, of which three...

Impact of changing conditions in the oil market on energy policies in the ESCWA region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

The present study has been prepared in the implementation of the ESCWA work programme and priorities for 1988/1989. It is aimed at examining energy issues of major concern to the region particularly the changes in the oil market, fluctuations of oil prices and their impact on energy plans and policies. The study is also intended to serve as a background document to the Meeting organized to discuss salient energy issues arising from recent developments in the oil market. It has therefore been designed to deal with downstream and upstream activities, adjustments to contractual terms, and market and national energy policies following the violent fluctuations of oil prices. Some futuristic views on the oil market are also presented and the study includes an examination of national and regional entities involved in energy issues and development of oil resources in the ESCWA region. (Author)

Investigation on the ignition, thermal acceleration and characteristic temperatures of coal char combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Bin; Fu, Peifang; Liu, Yang; Yue, Fang; Chen, Jing; Zhou, Huaichun; Zheng, Chuguang

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A new thermal model and measuring method for the ignition temperature are proposed. • Ignition occurs in a region but not a point with ambient conditions changing. • Ignition region is measured from the minimum to maximum ignition temperature. • T_i_g_,_m_a_x of coal char in TG-DSC is in line with the ignition temperature of EFR. - Abstract: Through using a new thermal analysis model and a method of coal/char combustion, the minimum ignition temperature and minimum ignition heat of three different ranks of pulverized coal char were measured by simultaneous Thermogravimetry and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG-DSC) experiments. The results show that the ignition of coal char occurs in the range between the minimum ignition temperature and the inflection-point temperature. The thermal acceleration and its gradient G_T increase with increasing heating rate and decrease with increasing coal char rank. The higher the G_T of the coal char, the more easily the ignition occurs and more rapidly the burning and burnout occur. The data show that the G_T of coal char of SLH lignite is 1.6 times more than that of coal char of ZCY bituminous and JWY anthracite in ignition zone, and 3.4 times in burning zone. The characteristic temperatures increase with increasing temperature of prepared char, heating rate and char rank. Moreover, the T_i_g_,_m_a_x calculated in DSC experiment is approximately in line with the ignition temperature obtained in the entrained flow reactor, which demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed theory.

Study of the reaction of uranium and plutonium with bone char

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silver, G.L.; Koenst, J.W.

1977-01-01

A study of the reaction of plutonium with a commercial bone char indicates that this bone char has a high capacity for removing plutonium from aqueous wastes. The adsorption of plutonium by bone char is pH dependent, and for plutonium(IV) polymer appears to be maximized near pH 7.3 for plutonium concentrations typical of some waste streams. Adsorption is affected by dissolved salts, especially calcium and phosphate salts. Freundlich isotherms representing the adsorption of uranium and plutonium have been prepared. The low potential imposed upon aqueous solutions by commercial bone char is adequate for reduction of hexavalent plutonium to a lower plutonium oxidation state

Time domain-nuclear magnetic resonance study of chars from southern hardwoods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elder, Thomas; Labbe, Nicole; Harper, David; Rials, Timothy

2006-01-01

Chars from the thermal degradation of silver maple (Acer saccharinum), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and white oak (Quercus spp.), performed at temperatures from 250 to 350 o C, were examined using time domain-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Prior to analysis, the chars were equilibrated under conditions insuring the presence of bound water only and both bound water and free water. Transverse relaxation times were found to be related to the moisture content of the chars, which varied with temperature. At elevated temperatures the number of signals assigned to free water decreased, indicative of an increase in pore size within the chars

NO formation during oxy-fuel combustion of coal and biomass chars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Ke; Jensen, Anker Degn; Glarborg, Peter

2014-01-01

The yields of NO from combustion of bituminous coal, lignite, and biomass chars were investigated in O2/N2 and O2/CO 2 atmospheres. The experiments were performed in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor in the temperature range of 850-1150 °C. To minimize thermal deactivation during char preparat......The yields of NO from combustion of bituminous coal, lignite, and biomass chars were investigated in O2/N2 and O2/CO 2 atmospheres. The experiments were performed in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor in the temperature range of 850-1150 °C. To minimize thermal deactivation during char...

Geothermal energy development - a boon to Philippine energy self-reliance efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaraz, A.P.; Ogena, M.S.

1997-01-01

The Philippine success story in geothermal energy development is the first of the nation's intensified search for locally available alternative energy sources to oil. Due to its favorable location in the Pacific belt of fire, together with the presence of the right geologic conditions for the formation of geothermal (earth heat) reservoirs, the country has been able to develop commercially six geothermal fields. These are the Makiling-Banahaw area, just south of Manila, Tiwi in Albay, Bacon-Manito in Sorsogon, Tongonan in Leyte, Palinpinon in Southern Negros, and the Mt. Apo region of Mindanao. Together these six geothermal fields have a combined installed generation capacity of 1,448 Mwe, which the Philippines second largest user geothermal energy in the world today. Since 1977 to mid-1997, a total of 88,475 gigawatt-hours have been generated equivalent to 152.54 million barrels of oil. Based on the average yearly price of oil for the period, this translates into a savings of $3,122 billion for the country that otherwise would have gone for oil importations. It is planned that by the year 2000, geothermal shall be accounting for 28.4% of the 42,000 gigawatt-hours of the energy needed for that year, coal-based plants will contribute 24.6% and hydropower 18.6%. This will reduce oil-based contribution to just 28.4%. Geothermal energy as an indigenous energy resource provides the country a sustainable option to other conventional energy sources such as coal, oil and even hydro. Technologies have long been developed to maintain the environmental quality of the geothermal site. It serves to minimize changes in the support systems found on the land, water and air environments. The country has hopped, skipped and jumped towards energy self-reliance anchored on development of its large geothermal resources. And as the Philippines pole-vaults into the 21st century, the nation can look forward to geothermal energy to remain as one of the pillars of its energy self

The effect of the textural properties of bituminous coal chars on NO emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arenillas, A.; Rubiera, F.; Pis, J.J.; Jones, J.M.; Williams, A. [CSIC, Oviedo (Spain). Inst. Nacional del Carbon

1999-11-01

NO is the primary product of the oxidation of char nitrogen, and in some combustion processes the NO can be reduced on the char surface to give N{sub 2}O and/or N{sub 2}. In this study a range of bituminous coal (low, medium and high volatile matter content) were pyrolysed in a fixed bed reactor at various heating rates. Textural characterisation was carried out by measuring true (He) and apparent (Hg) densities and N{sub 2} (-196{degree}C) and CO{sub 2} (0{degree}C) adsorption isotherms. Pore volume distributions and surface areas were obtained for the chars studied. A thermogravimetric analyser coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer (TG-MS) was used to study the combustion behaviour of the samples and the nitrogen compounds evolved during temperature-programmed combustion. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of both textural properties and reactivity on NO emissions and on the heterogeneous reduction of NO. 23 refs., 8 figs., 4 tabs.

Oil-free bearing development for high-speed turbomachinery in distributed energy systems – dynamic and environmental evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tkacz Eliza

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Modern distributed energy systems, which are used to provide an alternative to or an enhancement of traditional electric power systems, require small size highspeed rotor turbomachinery to be developed. The existing conventional oil-lubricated bearings reveal performance limits at high revolutions as far as stability and power loss of the bearing are concerned. Non-conventional, oil-free bearings lubricated with the machine working medium could be a remedy to this issue. This approach includes a correct design of the machine flow structure and an accurate selection of the bearing type. Chosen aspects of the theoretical and experimental investigations of oil-free bearings and supports; including magnetic, tilting pad, pressurized aerostatic and hydrostatic bearings as well as some applications of oil-free bearing technology for highspeed turbomachinery; are described in the paper.

Fiscal 1996 investigational research on the chemical process technology using supercritical fluids; 1996 nendo chorinkai ryutai wo riyoshita kagaku process gijutsu ni kansuru chosa kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

Importance was studied of making a research on the chemical process technology using the supercritical fluid. As for its effect on global warming, the amount of CO2 emission was compared during the operation between the conventional process and the process using the supercritical fluid, the CO2 reduction rate and amount were trially calculated, and a CO2 reduction of a several ten thousand ton scale in carbon conversion was predicted. As to hazardous materials and the reaction of waste retrieval, it was made clear that the process using the supercritical fluid was valid also for objects for which the chemical process used to be impossible, which indicates a possibility of the widening field of application. Concerning its effect on the energy conservation, energy reduction of several ten thousand tons in heavy oil conversion was predicted by replacing all the existing processes with supercritical fluids. Relating to the recycling, with the use of supercritical fluids, the process is possible which produces higher quality and yield and fewer unnecessary products such as char than the conventional process. 197 refs., 102 figs., 71 tabs.

Role of the process designer in the evolution of a technology oriented toward energy conservation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cassarino, S [CONSER, Rome; Riccardi, R

1975-01-01

The increase in energy costs has introduced new stringent boundaries to process engineering, involving the need for more and more advanced calculation techniques and a greater accountability on the part of the process designer for the purposes of a financially effective engineering work. The designing and optimization approaches tending to favor minimum investment decisions for the past are now subjected to a careful critical revision under the pressures of this new reality. The process designer can--through such revision process--bring a substantial contribution of his own to the development of a technology oriented toward energy conservation. In view of these considerations and on the basis of newly emerging trends, some examples are introduced to illustrate certain development opportunities in oil-refining and petrochemical industrial processes. Conventional designs covering a refining plant and an oil fractionating unit are compared in details in this review with alternative patterns to which new designing approaches are applied for the purposes of an optimized energy consumption.

Suspension Combustion of Wood: Influence of Pyrolysis Conditions on Char Yield, Morphology, and Reactivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall'Ora, Michelangelo; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

2008-01-01

Chars from pine and beech wood were produced by fast pyrolysis in an entrained flow reactor and by slow pyrolysis in a thermogravimetric analyzer. The influence of pyrolysis temperature, heating rate and particle size on char yield and morphology was investigated. The applied pyrolysis temperature...... varied in the range 673−1673 K for slow pyrolysis and between 873 and 1573 K for fast pyrolysis. The chars were oxidized in a thermogravimetric analyzer and the mass loss data were used to determine char oxidation reactivity. Char yield from fast pyrolysis (104−105 K/s) was as low as 1 to 6% on a dry ash......, char oxidation reactivity decreased as pyrolysis temperature increased. The amount and composition of the ash forming matter of the wood fuels seems to play an important role in determining the differences in char yield, morphology and reactivity....

Process Development in the Preparation and Characterization of Silicon Alkoxide From Rice Husk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khin San Win; Toe Shein; Nyunt Wynn

2011-12-01

The preparation and characterization of silicon alkoxide (silicon isopropoxide) from rice husk char has been studied. In the investigation, four kinds of Myanmar paddies were chemically assayed. Analyses showed the silicon contend varies from 73-92% . Based on the silicon content, the process development in the production of silicon isopropoxide was carried out. In the process development, silicon isopropoxide with a yield of 44.21% was achieved by the direct reaction of isopropanol in situ by silicon tetrachloride, which was directly produced by the chlorination of rice husk char at the high temperature range of 900-1100 C. The novelity of the process was that, silicon isopropoxide was achieved in situ and not by using the old process, where generally isopropanol was reacted with silicon tetrachloride. The physiochemical properties of silicon isopropoxide was confirmed by conventional and modern techniques. In the investigation, the starting materials, silica in the reaction products were characterized, identified and confirmed by modren techniques. Silicon isopropoxide can be a sources of pore silica whereby silicon of 97-99% of purity can be achieved.

Optimization of biodiesel production process using recycled vegetable oil

Science.gov (United States)

Lugo, Yarely

Petro diesel toxic emissions and its limited resources have created an interest for the development of new energy resources, such as biodiesel. Biodiesel is traditionally produced by a transesterification reaction between vegetable oil and an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. However, this process is slow and expensive due to the high cost of raw materials. Low costs feedstock oils such as recycled and animal fats are available but they cannot be transesterified with alkaline catalysts due to high content of free fatty acids, which can lead to undesirable reactions such as saponification. In this study, we reduce free fatty acids content by using an acid pre-treatment. We compare sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and ptoluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) to pre-treat recycled vegetable oil. PTSA removes water after 60 minutes of treatment at room temperature or within 15 minutes at 50°C. The pretreatment was followed by a transesterification reaction using alkaline catalyst. To minimize costs and accelerate reaction, the pretreatment and transesterification reaction of recycle vegetable oil was conducted at atmospheric pressure in a microwave oven. Biodiesel was characterized using a GC-MS method.

Oil shale technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.

1991-01-01

Oil shale is undoubtedly an excellent energy source that has great abundance and world-wide distribution. Oil shale industries have seen ups and downs over more than 100 years, depending on the availability and price of conventional petroleum crudes. Market forces as well as environmental factors will greatly affect the interest in development of oil shale. Besides competing with conventional crude oil and natural gas, shale oil will have to compete favorably with coal-derived fuels for similar markets. Crude shale oil is obtained from oil shale by a relatively simple process called retorting. However, the process economics are greatly affected by the thermal efficiencies, the richness of shale, the mass transfer effectiveness, the conversion efficiency, the design of retort, the environmental post-treatment, etc. A great many process ideas and patents related to the oil shale pyrolysis have been developed; however, relatively few field and engineering data have been published. Due to the vast heterogeneity of oil shale and to the complexities of physicochemical process mechanisms, scientific or technological generalization of oil shale retorting is difficult to achieve. Dwindling supplied of worldwide petroleum reserves, as well as the unprecedented appetite of mankind for clean liquid fuel, has made the public concern for future energy market grow rapidly. the clean coal technology and the alternate fuel technology are currently of great significance not only to policy makers, but also to process and chemical researchers. In this book, efforts have been made to make a comprehensive text for the science and technology of oil shale utilization. Therefore, subjects dealing with the terminological definitions, geology and petrology, chemistry, characterization, process engineering, mathematical modeling, chemical reaction engineering, experimental methods, and statistical experimental design, etc. are covered in detail

Influence of biomass pretreatment on upgrading of bio-oil: Comparison of dry and hydrothermal torrefaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiwei; Tu, Ren; Sun, Yan; Li, Zhiyu; Jiang, Enchen

2018-08-01

The dry and hydrothermal torrefacation of on Camellia Shell (CS) was carried on three different devices- batch autoclave, quartz tube, and auger reactor. The torrefied bio-char products were investigated via TGA, elemental analysis and industrial analysis. Moreover, the pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis properties of torrefied bio-char were investigated. The results showed torrefaction significantly influenced the content of hemicellulose in CS. And hydrothermal torrefaction via batch autoclave and dry torrefaction via auger reactors promoted the hemicellulose to strip from the CS. Quartz tube and auger reactor were beneficial for devolatilization and improving heat value of torrefied bio-char. The result showed that the main products were phenols and acids. And hydrothermal torrefaction pretreatment effectively reduced the acids content from 34.5% to 13.2% and enriched the content of phenols (from 27.23% to 60.05%) in bio-oil due to the decreasing of hemicellulos in torrefied bio-char. And the catalyst had slight influence on the bio-oil distribution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oil sands development in a carbon constrained world

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDougall, J. [Alberta Research Council, Devon, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

The challenges facing oilsands development in Alberta were discussed in this PowerPoint presentation. In 2005, 71 per cent of Alberta's export value was derived from energy and mining. The author addressed the issue that resource based economies have rarely succeeded in the long term. He then demonstrated how such economies could capture value from technology. The primary focus was on the goal to develop and adapt greenhouse gas (GHG) transformational technologies that will break the link between hydrocarbon energy use and GHG emissions. The role of oil sands in this endeavour was also discussed. Alberta's oil sands are the world's largest hydrocarbon resource, with 315 b bbls proven reserves, and 2.5 t bbls potential reserves. As an important economic driver for Alberta, oil sands production is expected to grow significantly in the next 2 decades. Since bitumen production is more energy intensive than conventional oil, the industry is faced with the challenge of sustainable development. Concentrated GHG emissions create opportunities to proceed with long-term oil sands development with a sustainable level of GHG emissions, but technology and infrastructure are needed to take advantage of them. Current carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) storage projects in Alberta were highlighted. The economic potential of geological storage of CO{sub 2} through acid gas injection or deep disposal was discussed in terms of enhanced oil recovery, enhanced coalbed methane recovery, enhanced gas recovery and cost avoidance of CO{sub 2} per tonne. It was emphasized that a long-term vision and commitment is needed to balance with short term problems solving and longer-term strategic agendas. tabs., figs.

Economic Analysis of Solar Energy Using in Oil Sector Economy in Republic of Tatarstan

Science.gov (United States)

Kulikova, L. I.; Goshunova, A. V.; Nutfullina, D. I.

2017-11-01

In the current economic conditions further increase of the profit or maintenance of its current level on the base of extensive development factors is no longer possible. The example of the oil-extracting company in the Republic of Tatarstan demonstrates that in the future it will be possible to replace traditional energy sources with solar energy; it will reduce energy costs for oil extraction, production costs and provide an increase of corporate efficiency. The economic analysis results show that the use of solar electricity can lead to 4.68% reduction in total electricity costs. In addition, the energy consumption per ton of oil produced is reduced. The share of electricity costs in the oil cost is reducing from 12.13% to 11.56%. Consequently, in the long term, the impact of total energy costs reduction can become more significant. In this way solar energy can become quite a real alternative in ensuring the energy needs of the economy of the oil-extracting sector of the Republic of Tatarstan and become a driver of intensive economic development.

Influence of pH on pesticide sorption by soil containing wheat residue-derived char

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheng Guangyao; Yang Yaning; Huang Minsheng; Yang Kai

2005-01-01

Field burning of crop residues incorporates resulting chars into soil and may thus influence the environmental fate of pesticides in the soil. This study evaluated the influence of pH on the sorption of diuron, bromoxynil, and ametryne by a soil in the presence and absence of a wheat residue-derived char. The sorption was measured at pHs ∼3.0 and ∼7.0. Wheat char was found to be a highly effective sorbent for the pesticides, and its presence (1% by weight) in soil contributed >70% to the pesticide sorption (with one exception). The sorption of diuron was not influenced by pH, due to its electroneutrality. Bromoxynil becomes dissociated at high pHs to form anionic species. Its sorption by soil and wheat char was lower at pH ∼7.0 than at pH ∼3.0, probably due to reduced partition of the anionic species of bromoxynil into soil organic matter and its weak interaction with the carbon surface of the char. Ametryne in its molecular form at pH ∼7.0 was sorbed by char-amended soil via partitioning into soil organic matter and interaction with the carbon surface of the char. Protonated ametryne at pH ∼3.0 was substantially sorbed by soil primarily via electrostatic forces. Sorption of protonated ametryne by wheat char was also significant, likely due not only to the interaction with the carbon surface but also to interactions with hydrated silica and surface functional groups of the char. Sorption of ametryne by char-amended soil at pH ∼3.0 was thus influenced by both the soil and the char. Environmental conditions may thus significantly influence the sorption and behavior of pesticides in agricultural soils containing crop residue-derived chars. - Wheat char was effective for adsorption of pesticides in soil, with efficacy varying with pH and particular pesticides

Influence of pH on pesticide sorption by soil containing wheat residue-derived char

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheng Guangyao [Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 (United States)]. E-mail: gsheng@uark.edu; Yang Yaning [Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 (United States); Huang Minsheng [Department of Environmental Science and Technology, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China); Yang Kai [Department of Environmental Science and Technology, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China)

2005-04-01

Field burning of crop residues incorporates resulting chars into soil and may thus influence the environmental fate of pesticides in the soil. This study evaluated the influence of pH on the sorption of diuron, bromoxynil, and ametryne by a soil in the presence and absence of a wheat residue-derived char. The sorption was measured at pHs {approx}3.0 and {approx}7.0. Wheat char was found to be a highly effective sorbent for the pesticides, and its presence (1% by weight) in soil contributed >70% to the pesticide sorption (with one exception). The sorption of diuron was not influenced by pH, due to its electroneutrality. Bromoxynil becomes dissociated at high pHs to form anionic species. Its sorption by soil and wheat char was lower at pH {approx}7.0 than at pH {approx}3.0, probably due to reduced partition of the anionic species of bromoxynil into soil organic matter and its weak interaction with the carbon surface of the char. Ametryne in its molecular form at pH {approx}7.0 was sorbed by char-amended soil via partitioning into soil organic matter and interaction with the carbon surface of the char. Protonated ametryne at pH {approx}3.0 was substantially sorbed by soil primarily via electrostatic forces. Sorption of protonated ametryne by wheat char was also significant, likely due not only to the interaction with the carbon surface but also to interactions with hydrated silica and surface functional groups of the char. Sorption of ametryne by char-amended soil at pH {approx}3.0 was thus influenced by both the soil and the char. Environmental conditions may thus significantly influence the sorption and behavior of pesticides in agricultural soils containing crop residue-derived chars. - Wheat char was effective for adsorption of pesticides in soil, with efficacy varying with pH and particular pesticides.

Properties and Developments of Combustion and Gasification of Coal and Char in a CO2-Rich and Recycled Flue Gases Atmosphere by Rapid Heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhigang Li

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Combustion and gasification properties of pulverized coal and char have been investigated experimentally under the conditions of high temperature gradient of order 200°C·s−1 by a CO2 gas laser beam and CO2-rich atmospheres with 5% and 10% O2. The laser heating makes a more ideal experimental condition compared with previous studies with a TG-DTA, because it is able to minimize effects of coal oxidation and combustion by rapid heating process like radiative heat transfer condition. The experimental results indicated that coal weight reduction ratio to gases followed the Arrhenius equation with increasing coal temperature; further which were increased around 5% with adding H2O in CO2-rich atmosphere. In addition, coal-water mixtures with different water/coal mass ratio were used in order to investigate roles of water vapor in the process of coal gasification and combustion. Furthermore, char-water mixtures with different water/char mass ratio were also measured in order to discuss the generation ratio of CO/CO2, and specified that the source of Hydrocarbons is volatile matter from coal. Moreover, it was confirmed that generations of CO and Hydrocarbons gases are mainly dependent on coal temperature and O2 concentration, and they are stimulated at temperature over 1000°C in the CO2-rich atmosphere.

Development of the German mineral oil market in 1995. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohnfeld, J.; Heinze, W.

1996-01-01

Following a brief glance at the boundary conditions for the German market (world oil market, inland energy consumption), the development of inland sales is described. One after one, the mineral oil products Otto engine fuel, diesel fuel, light fuel oil and heavy fuel oil are considered. Further sections deal with crude oil supply, the supply of mineral oil produce, refinery production, the development in the sales sector, the profit situation of the mineral oil industry, the development of prices (according to products) and expenditure in foreign exchange for mineral oil. The article contains numerous tables and graphs; comparisons with the years previously illustrate development trends. (UA) [de