Designing and optimization of a micro CHP system based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with different fuel processing technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liso, Vincenzo; Nielsen, Mads Pagh; Kær, Søren Knudsen

2009-01-01

are the possibility to partially reform hydrocarbon in the fuel cell anode compartment and the possibility to use high quality heat for cogeneration. In this work, different configurations of solid oxide fuel cell system for decentralized electricity production are examined. The Balance of Plant (BoP) components...

Solid-fuel cook stoves: Fuel efficiency and emissions testing--Austin

Science.gov (United States)

The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1.6 million people prematurely die each year due to exposure to air pollutants from burning solid fuels for residential cooking and heating (WHO, 2010). Residential solid-fuel use accounts for approximately 25 percent of ...

Gas transport in solid oxide fuel cells

CERN Document Server

He, Weidong; Dickerson, James

2014-01-01

This book provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary research and emerging measurement technologies associated with gas transport in solid oxide fuel cells. Within these pages, an introduction to the concept of gas diffusion in solid oxide fuel cells is presented. This book also discusses the history and underlying fundamental mechanisms of gas diffusion in solid oxide fuel cells, general theoretical mathematical models for gas diffusion, and traditional and advanced techniques for gas diffusivity measurement.

Solid fuels, indoor air quality and health: a major issue in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandin, C.; Ezratty, V.

2009-01-01

This article intends to do a synthesis of knowledge about the relationship between the indoor air pollution and the use of solid fuels ( such wood or biomass) for heating and cooking, from publications since 200 by specifying the fuels, the pollutants and the concerned geographical areas as well as the sanitary effects and more generally the impact in term of public health. (N.C.)

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Canada (SOFCC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birss, V.; Borglum, B.

2006-01-01

Vision: To enhance co-ordination and to ensure sustainable funding of research, development, and commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells and related technologies in Canada in order to create products that serve the world. Current Research Areas of Investigation: Mission: To provide cleaner air, reduce CO 2 emissions, better utilize fuel resources, increase economic prosperity, and enhance the quality of life in Canada and the world by enabling and accelerating development of the Canadian SOFC industry. To achieve this, we will: 1. Establish national priorities for the research, development, design, demonstration, and the innovation process; commercialization of SOFC and related technologies; 2. Develop a strategy to produce commercial products within 5 years; 3. Co-ordinate activities as one integrated Canada-wide initiative; 4. Facilitate effective access to funding by providing a venue for funders to directly participate in; 5. Provide an integrating and interdisciplinary function to maximize the collective knowledge, expertise, and capacity of the alliance partners; 6. Maintain strategic relevance within an ever changing global context by providing high-quality intelligence. (author)

Jet Fuel Based High Pressure Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System

Science.gov (United States)

Gummalla, Mallika (Inventor); Yamanis, Jean (Inventor); Olsommer, Benoit (Inventor); Dardas, Zissis (Inventor); Bayt, Robert (Inventor); Srinivasan, Hari (Inventor); Dasgupta, Arindam (Inventor); Hardin, Larry (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A power system for an aircraft includes a solid oxide fuel cell system which generates electric power for the aircraft and an exhaust stream; and a heat exchanger for transferring heat from the exhaust stream of the solid oxide fuel cell to a heat requiring system or component of the aircraft. The heat can be transferred to fuel for the primary engine of the aircraft. Further, the same fuel can be used to power both the primary engine and the SOFC. A heat exchanger is positioned to cool reformate before feeding to the fuel cell. SOFC exhaust is treated and used as inerting gas. Finally, oxidant to the SOFC can be obtained from the aircraft cabin, or exterior, or both.

Power generation from solid fuels

CERN Document Server

Spliethoff, Hartmut

2010-01-01

Power Generation from Solid Fuels introduces the different technologies to produce heat and power from solid fossil (hard coal, brown coal) and renewable (biomass, waste) fuels, such as combustion and gasification, steam power plants and combined cycles etc. The book discusses technologies with regard to their efficiency, emissions, operational behavior, residues and costs. Besides proven state of the art processes, the focus is on the potential of new technologies currently under development or demonstration. The main motivation of the book is to explain the technical possibilities for reduci

SOLID STATE ENERGY CONVERSION ALLIANCE (SECA) SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL PROGRAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen Minh; Jim Powers

2003-10-01

This report summarizes the work performed for April 2003--September 2003 reporting period under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT41245 for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) entitled ''Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Solid oxide Fuel Cell Program''. During this reporting period, the conceptual system design activity was completed. The system design, including strategies for startup, normal operation and shutdown, was defined. Sealant and stack materials for the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack were identified which are capable of meeting the thermal cycling and degradation requirements. A cell module was tested which achieved a stable performance of 0.238 W/cm{sup 2} at 95% fuel utilization. The external fuel processor design was completed and fabrication begun. Several other advances were made on various aspects of the SOFC system, which are detailed in this report.

Assessment of bio-fuel options for solid oxide fuel cell applications

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jiefeng

Rising concerns of inadequate petroleum supply, volatile crude oil price, and adverse environmental impacts from using fossil fuels have spurred the United States to promote bio-fuel domestic production and develop advanced energy systems such as fuel cells. The present dissertation analyzed the bio-fuel applications in a solid oxide fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit from environmental, economic, and technological perspectives. Life cycle assessment integrated with thermodynamics was applied to evaluate the environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas emission, fossil energy consumption) of producing bio-fuels from waste biomass. Landfill gas from municipal solid wastes and biodiesel from waste cooking oil are both suggested as the promising bio-fuel options. A nonlinear optimization model was developed with a multi-objective optimization technique to analyze the economic aspect of biodiesel-ethanol-diesel ternary blends used in transportation sectors and capture the dynamic variables affecting bio-fuel productions and applications (e.g., market disturbances, bio-fuel tax credit, policy changes, fuel specification, and technological innovation). A single-tube catalytic reformer with rhodium/ceria-zirconia catalyst was used for autothermal reformation of various heavy hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., diesel, biodiesel, biodiesel-diesel, and biodiesel-ethanol-diesel) to produce a hydrogen-rich stream reformates suitable for use in solid oxide fuel cell systems. A customized mixing chamber was designed and integrated with the reformer to overcome the technical challenges of heavy hydrocarbon reformation. A thermodynamic analysis, based on total Gibbs free energy minimization, was implemented to optimize the operating environment for the reformations of various fuels. This was complimented by experimental investigations of fuel autothermal reformation. 25% biodiesel blended with 10% ethanol and 65% diesel was determined to be viable fuel for use on a truck travelling with

Advanced methods of solid oxide fuel cell modeling

CERN Document Server

Milewski, Jaroslaw; Santarelli, Massimo; Leone, Pierluigi

2011-01-01

Fuel cells are widely regarded as the future of the power and transportation industries. Intensive research in this area now requires new methods of fuel cell operation modeling and cell design. Typical mathematical models are based on the physical process description of fuel cells and require a detailed knowledge of the microscopic properties that govern both chemical and electrochemical reactions. ""Advanced Methods of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Modeling"" proposes the alternative methodology of generalized artificial neural networks (ANN) solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) modeling. ""Advanced Methods

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Operating on Alternative and Renewable Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Xiaoxing; Quan, Wenying; Xiao, Jing; Peduzzi, Emanuela; Fujii, Mamoru; Sun, Funxia; Shalaby, Cigdem; Li, Yan; Xie, Chao; Ma, Xiaoliang; Johnson, David; Lee, Jeong; Fedkin, Mark; LaBarbera, Mark; Das, Debanjan; Thompson, David; Lvov, Serguei; Song, Chunshan

2014-09-30

This DOE project at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) initially involved Siemens Energy, Inc. to (1) develop new fuel processing approaches for using selected alternative and renewable fuels – anaerobic digester gas (ADG) and commercial diesel fuel (with 15 ppm sulfur) – in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power generation systems; and (2) conduct integrated fuel processor – SOFC system tests to evaluate the performance of the fuel processors and overall systems. Siemens Energy Inc. was to provide SOFC system to Penn State for testing. The Siemens work was carried out at Siemens Energy Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA. The unexpected restructuring in Siemens organization, however, led to the elimination of the Siemens Stationary Fuel Cell Division within the company. Unfortunately, this led to the Siemens subcontract with Penn State ending on September 23rd, 2010. SOFC system was never delivered to Penn State. With the assistance of NETL project manager, the Penn State team has since developed a collaborative research with Delphi as the new subcontractor and this work involved the testing of a stack of planar solid oxide fuel cells from Delphi.

Agglomeration and Deposition Behaviour of Solid Recovered Fuel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Morten Nedergaard; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Nielsen, Mads

2015-01-01

Waste derived fuels such as Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) are increasingly being used in the cement industry as a means to reduce cost [1]. SRF is produced by separating the combustible fraction from industrial or municipal solid waste (MSW). The recovered fraction has a higher content of combustibl...

Nuclear fuel quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

Full text: Quality assurance is used extensively in the design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. This methodology is applied to all activities affecting the quality of a nuclear power plant in order to obtain confidence that an item or a facility will perform satisfactorily in service. Although the achievement of quality is the responsibility of all parties participating in a nuclear power project, establishment and implementation of the quality assurance programme for the whole plant is a main responsibility of the plant owner. For the plant owner, the main concern is to achieve control over the quality of purchased products or services through contractual arrangements with the vendors. In the case of purchase of nuclear fuel, the application of quality assurance might be faced with several difficulties because of the lack of standardization in nuclear fuel and the proprietary information of the fuel manufacturers on fuel design specifications and fuel manufacturing procedures. The problems of quality assurance for purchase of nuclear fuel were discussed in detail during the seminar. Due to the lack of generally acceptable standards, the successful application of the quality assurance concept to the procurement of fuel depends on how much information can be provided by the fuel manufacturer to the utility which is purchasing fuel, and in what form and how early this information can be provided. The extent of information transfer is basically set out in the individual vendor-utility contracts, with some indirect influence from the requirements of regulatory bodies. Any conflict that exists appears to come from utilities which desire more extensive control over the product they are buying. There is a reluctance on the part of vendors to permit close insight of the purchasers into their design and manufacturing procedures, but there nevertheless seems to be an increasing trend towards release of more information to the purchasers. It appears that

The TMI regenerable solid oxide fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Cable, Thomas L.

1995-04-01

Energy storage and production in space requires rugged, reliable hardware which minimizes weight, volume, and maintenance while maximizing power output and usable energy storage. These systems generally consist of photovoltaic solar arrays which operate during sunlight cycles to provide system power and regenerate fuel (hydrogen) via water electrolysis; during dark cycles, hydrogen is converted by the fuel cell into system. The currently preferred configuration uses two separate systems (fuel cell and electrolyzer) in conjunction with photovoltaic cells. Fuel cell/electrolyzer system simplicity, reliability, and power-to-weight and power-to-volume ratios could be greatly improved if both power production (fuel cell) and power storage (electrolysis) functions can be integrated into a single unit. The Technology Management, Inc. (TMI), solid oxide fuel cell-based system offers the opportunity to both integrate fuel cell and electrolyzer functions into one unit and potentially simplify system requirements. Based an the TMI solid oxide fuel cell (SOPC) technology, the TMI integrated fuel cell/electrolyzer utilizes innovative gas storage and operational concepts and operates like a rechargeable 'hydrogen-oxygen battery'. Preliminary research has been completed on improved H2/H2O electrode (SOFC anode/electrolyzer cathode) materials for solid oxide, regenerative fuel cells. Improved H2/H2O electrode materials showed improved cell performance in both fuel cell and electrolysis modes in reversible cell tests. ln reversible fuel cell/electrolyzer mode, regenerative fuel cell efficiencies (ratio of power out (fuel cell mode) to power in (electrolyzer model)) improved from 50 percent (using conventional electrode materials) to over 80 percent. The new materials will allow the TMI SOFC system to operate as both the electrolyzer and fuel cell in a single unit. Preliminary system designs have also been developed which indicate the technical feasibility of using the TMI SOFC

Mass, energy and material balances of SRF production process. Part 3: solid recovered fuel produced from municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Kärki, Janne

2015-02-01

This is the third and final part of the three-part article written to describe the mass, energy and material balances of the solid recovered fuel production process produced from various types of waste streams through mechanical treatment. This article focused the production of solid recovered fuel from municipal solid waste. The stream of municipal solid waste used here as an input waste material to produce solid recovered fuel is energy waste collected from households of municipality. This article presents the mass, energy and material balances of the solid recovered fuel production process. These balances are based on the proximate as well as the ultimate analysis and the composition determination of various streams of material produced in a solid recovered fuel production plant. All the process streams are sampled and treated according to CEN standard methods for solid recovered fuel. The results of the mass balance of the solid recovered fuel production process showed that 72% of the input waste material was recovered in the form of solid recovered fuel; 2.6% as ferrous metal, 0.4% as non-ferrous metal, 11% was sorted as rejects material, 12% as fine faction and 2% as heavy fraction. The energy balance of the solid recovered fuel production process showed that 86% of the total input energy content of input waste material was recovered in the form of solid recovered fuel. The remaining percentage (14%) of the input energy was split into the streams of reject material, fine fraction and heavy fraction. The material balances of this process showed that mass fraction of paper and cardboard, plastic (soft) and wood recovered in the solid recovered fuel stream was 88%, 85% and 90%, respectively, of their input mass. A high mass fraction of rubber material, plastic (PVC-plastic) and inert (stone/rock and glass particles) was found in the reject material stream. © The Author(s) 2014.

Direct Carbon Fuel Cell System Utilizing Solid Carbonaceous Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turgut Gur

2010-04-30

This 1-year project has achieved most of its objective and successfully demonstrated the viability of the fluidized bed direct carbon fuel cell (FB-DCFC) approach under development by Direct Carbon technologies, LLC, that utilizes solid carbonaceous fuels for power generation. This unique electrochemical technology offers high conversion efficiencies, produces proportionately less CO{sub 2} in capture-ready form, and does not consume or require water for gasification. FB-DCFC employs a specialized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) arrangement coupled to a Boudouard gasifier where the solid fuel particles are fluidized and reacted by the anode recycle gas CO{sub 2}. The resulting CO is electrochemically oxidized at the anode. Anode supported SOFC structures employed a porous Ni cermet anode layer, a dense yttria stabilized zirconia membrane, and a mixed conducting porous perovskite cathode film. Several kinds of untreated solid fuels (carbon and coal) were tested in bench scale FBDCFC prototypes for electrochemical performance and stability testing. Single cells of tubular geometry with active areas up to 24 cm{sup 2} were fabricated. The cells achieved high power densities up to 450 mW/cm{sup 2} at 850 C using a low sulfur Alaska coal char. This represents the highest power density reported in the open literature for coal based DCFC. Similarly, power densities up to 175 mW/cm{sup 2} at 850 C were demonstrated with carbon. Electrical conversion efficiencies for coal char were experimentally determined to be 48%. Long-term stability of cell performance was measured under galvanostatic conditions for 375 hours in CO with no degradation whatsoever, indicating that carbon deposition (or coking) does not pose any problems. Similar cell stability results were obtained in coal char tested for 24 hours under galvanostatic conditions with no sign of sulfur poisoning. Moreover, a 50-cell planar stack targeted for 1 kW output was fabricated and tested in 95% CO (balance CO{sub 2

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2010-01-01

The solid oxide fuel cell comprising a metallic support material, an active anode layer consisting of a good hydrocarbon cracking catalyst, an electrolyte layer, an active cathode layer, and a transition layer consisting of preferably a mixture of LSM and a ferrite to the cathode current collector...

Chemical analysis of solid residue from liquid and solid fuel combustion: Method development and validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trkmic, M. [University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecturek Zagreb (Croatia); Curkovic, L. [University of Zagreb, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Zagreb (Croatia); Asperger, D. [HEP-Proizvodnja, Thermal Power Plant Department, Zagreb (Croatia)

2012-06-15

This paper deals with the development and validation of methods for identifying the composition of solid residue after liquid and solid fuel combustion in thermal power plant furnaces. The methods were developed for energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer analysis. Due to the fuels used, the different composition and the location of creation of solid residue, it was necessary to develop two methods. The first method is used for identifying solid residue composition after fuel oil combustion (Method 1), while the second method is used for identifying solid residue composition after the combustion of solid fuels, i. e. coal (Method 2). Method calibration was performed on sets of 12 (Method 1) and 6 (Method 2) certified reference materials (CRM). CRMs and analysis test samples were prepared in pellet form using hydraulic press. For the purpose of method validation the linearity, accuracy, precision and specificity were determined, and the measurement uncertainty of methods for each analyte separately was assessed. The methods were applied in the analysis of real furnace residue samples. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Solid fuel block as an alternate fuel for cooking and barbecuing: Preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Monikankana; Mukunda, H.S.; Sridhar, G.

2009-01-01

A large part of the rural people of developing countries use traditional biomass stoves to meet their cooking and heating energy demands. These stoves possess very low thermal efficiency; besides, most of them cannot handle agricultural wastes. Thus, there is a need to develop an alternate cooking contrivance which is simple, efficient and can handle a range of biomass including agricultural wastes. In this reported work, a highly densified solid fuel block using a range of low cost agro residues has been developed to meet the cooking and heating needs. A strategy was adopted to determine the best suitable raw materials, which was optimized in terms of cost and performance. Several experiments were conducted using solid fuel block which was manufactured using various raw materials in different proportions; it was found that fuel block composed of 40% biomass, 40% charcoal powder, 15% binder and 5% oxidizer fulfilled the requirement. Based on this finding, fuel blocks of two different configurations viz. cylindrical shape with single and multi-holes (3, 6, 9 and 13) were constructed and its performance was evaluated. For instance, the 13 hole solid fuel block met the requirement of domestic cooking; the mean thermal power was 1.6 kW th with a burn time of 1.5 h. Furthermore, the maximum thermal efficiency recorded for this particular design was 58%. Whereas, the power level of single hole solid fuel block was found to be lower but adequate for barbecue cooking application

Our Breaths We Take: Outdoor Air Quality, Health, and Climate Change Consequences of Household Heating and Cooking with Solid Fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Chafe, Zoe Anna

) to gas inserts in the Bay Area's nine counties would reduce sector emissions by about 90%, avoiding approximately 140-310 premature deaths and 19,000 lost days of work each year, and creating upwards of $1 billion in annual financial benefits from improved public health. Chapter 5 explains methodological overlaps and differences between the previous chapters. In Chapter 6, I explore the current regulatory and policy mechanisms specific to household heating with solid fuels, and relate these to the climate change implications associated with the sector. In Chapter 7, I highlight the relative dearth of data on household heating with biomass and its nuanced climate implications. This leads to a series of recommendations for future research, including collection of better household heating data in China and further work to understand how household combustion of biomass interfaces with both local air quality policy and climate change mitigation, outlining areas where this topic is currently visible in California.

SOCTESQA - Solid Oxide Cell and Stack Testing, Safety and Quality Assurance

OpenAIRE

Lang, Michael; Auer, Corinna; Couturier, Karine; Nielsen, Eva Ravn; Mc Phail, Stephen; Kotsionopoulos, Nikolaos; FU, Qingxi; Liu, Qinglin

2015-01-01

For the successful market penetration of high temperature solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cell energy systems it is necessary to increase the quality assurance and the reliable assessment of the corresponding cells and stacks. Therefore in May 2014 the EU-funded project SOCTESQA was launched. Partners from different countries in Europe and one external party from Singapore are working together to develop uniform and industry wide test procedures and programs for solid oxide cell/stack (SOC) ass...

SOLID STATE ENERGY CONVERSION ALLIANCE (SECA) SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL PROGRAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unknown

2003-06-01

This report summarizes the progress made during the September 2001-March 2002 reporting period under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT41245 for the U. S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) entitled ''Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program''. The program focuses on the development of a low-cost, high-performance 3-to-10-kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system suitable for a broad spectrum of power-generation applications. The overall objective of the program is to demonstrate a modular SOFC system that can be configured to create highly efficient, cost-competitive, and environmentally benign power plants tailored to specific markets. When fully developed, the system will meet the efficiency, performance, life, and cost goals for future commercial power plants.

Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell: A multi-fuel approach for portable applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, Tarkeshwar C.; Duttagupta, Siddhartha P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We report the oxygen ion transport properties at the electrode–electrolyte interface (EEI) of the SOFC for the first time. • This ion transport plays a key role in the overall performance of SOFCs with different fuels. • The GIIB mechanism is also studied for the first time. • GIIB is assumed to be the prime reason for low power density and ion conductivity at the EEI when using hydrocarbon fuels. • Due to its scalability, a fuel cell can serve as a power source for on-chip applications and all portable equipment. - Abstract: The impact of oxygen ion transport at the electrolyte–electrode interface of a micro-solid oxide fuel cell using different fuels is investigated. Model validation is performed to verify the results versus the reported values. Furthermore, as the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio decreases, the diffusivity of the oxygen ion increases. This increase in diffusivity is observed because the number of hydrogen atoms available as the reacting species increases in fuels with lower hydrogen-to-carbon ratios. The oxygen ion conductivity and output power density decrease as the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of the fuels decreases. The reason behind this impact is the formation of a gas-induced ion barrier at the electrode–electrolyte interface by the CO_2 molecules formed during the reaction at the interface, thus blocking the flow of oxygen ions. As the oxygen ions become blocked, the output current contribution from the reaction also decreases and thereby affects the overall performance of the micro-solid oxide fuel cell. The experimental verification confirms this because of a significant decrease in the output power density. Furthermore, as per the application in portable devices, the appropriate choice of fuel can be chosen so that the micro-solid oxide fuel cell operates at the maximum power density.

Tecnored process - high potential in using different kinds of solid fuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Henrique Noldin Júnior

2005-12-01

Full Text Available One important feature of the Brazilian Tecnored ironmaking process is its flexibility to use different types of solid fuels, other than metallurgical coke, as proved in the pilot plant tests by extensively using green petroleum coke, biomasses, high ash cokes, etc. Even if new solid fuels not thus far used are envisaged for a given project, thru the bench scale simulator of the process it is possible to predict the behavior of such solid fuels in the Tecnored furnace and establish the best techno-economical-environmental equation for its use. This paper discusses the key aspects involved in the use of alternative solid fuels in the Tecnored process.

Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen Minh

2006-07-31

This report summarizes the work performed for Phase I (October 2001 - August 2006) under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT41245 for the U. S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) entitled 'Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program'. The program focuses on the development of a low-cost, high-performance 3-to-10-kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system suitable for a broad spectrum of power-generation applications. During Phase I of the program significant progress has been made in the area of SOFC technology. A high-efficiency low-cost system was designed and supporting technology developed such as fuel processing, controls, thermal management, and power electronics. Phase I culminated in the successful demonstration of a prototype system that achieved a peak efficiency of 41%, a high-volume cost of $724/kW, a peak power of 5.4 kW, and a degradation rate of 1.8% per 500 hours. . An improved prototype system was designed, assembled, and delivered to DOE/NETL at the end of the program. This prototype achieved an extraordinary peak efficiency of 49.6%.

Life cycle assessment integrated with thermodynamic analysis of bio-fuel options for solid oxide fuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jiefeng; Babbitt, Callie W; Trabold, Thomas A

2013-01-01

A methodology that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA) with thermodynamic analysis is developed and applied to evaluate the environmental impacts of producing biofuels from waste biomass, including biodiesel from waste cooking oil, ethanol from corn stover, and compressed natural gas from municipal solid wastes. Solid oxide fuel cell-based auxiliary power units using bio-fuel as the hydrogen precursor enable generation of auxiliary electricity for idling heavy-duty trucks. Thermodynamic analysis is applied to evaluate the fuel conversion efficiency and determine the amount of fuel feedstock needed to generate a unit of electrical power. These inputs feed into an LCA that compares energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of different fuel pathways. Results show that compressed natural gas from municipal solid wastes is an optimal bio-fuel option for SOFC-APU applications in New York State. However, this methodology can be regionalized within the U.S. or internationally to account for different fuel feedstock options. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Durability of solid oxide fuel cells using sulfur containing fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hagen, Anke; Rasmussen, Jens Foldager Bregnballe; Thydén, Karl Tor Sune

2011-01-01

The usability of hydrogen and also carbon containing fuels is one of the important advantages of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), which opens the possibility to use fuels derived from conventional sources such as natural gas and from renewable sources such as biogas. Impurities like sulfur compounds...... are critical in this respect. State-of-the-art Ni/YSZ SOFC anodes suffer from being rather sensitive towards sulfur impurities. In the current study, anode supported SOFCs with Ni/YSZ or Ni/ScYSZ anodes were exposed to H2S in the ppm range both for short periods of 24h and for a few hundred hours. In a fuel...

The effects of changing municipal solid waste characteristics on combustion fuel quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artz, N.S.; Franklin, M.A.

1991-01-01

This paper discusses the quality of municipal solid waste (MSW) as a combustion fuel based on two aspects: heat of combustion and heavy metal content. Characterization of MSW by the material flows methodology now provides a historical data series on the composition of MSW for nearly 30 years (1960-1988). Over this period, there have been marked changes in MSW composition, with paper and plastics increasing in percentage while glass and metals have declined. This paper will illustrate the effects of this changing composition on heat of combustion. Using a computer model and standard heat of combustion values for the components of MSW, heating values of MSW (in Btu per pound) are calculated for the 30-year time period. Changes in heating values are highlighted and projections are made to year 2010. Recognizing the increasing importance of the recovery of materials from MSW for recycling, the paper illustrates the effects of removing varying quantities of recyclable materials (e.g., newspapers, corrugated boxes, plastic bottles, glass bottles, metals, yard wastes) on the heating value of the remaining MSW. The paper's final section summarizes recent studies performed for EPA and others on the presence of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and mercury) in the products discarded in MSW. Again, time trends are used to demonstrate the changing presence of these metals

Electrode Design for Low Temperature Direct-Hydrocarbon Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fanglin (Inventor); Zhao, Fei (Inventor); Liu, Qiang (Inventor)

2015-01-01

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a solid oxide fuel cell is described. The solid oxide fuel cell includes a hierarchically porous cathode support having an impregnated cobaltite cathode deposited thereon, an electrolyte, and an anode support. The anode support includes hydrocarbon oxidation catalyst deposited thereon, wherein the cathode support, electrolyte, and anode support are joined together and wherein the solid oxide fuel cell operates a temperature of 600.degree. C. or less.

Electrode design for low temperature direct-hydrocarbon solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fanglin; Zhao, Fei; Liu, Qiang

2015-10-06

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a solid oxide fuel cell is described. The solid oxide fuel cell includes a hierarchically porous cathode support having an impregnated cobaltite cathode deposited thereon, an electrolyte, and an anode support. The anode support includes hydrocarbon oxidation catalyst deposited thereon, wherein the cathode support, electrolyte, and anode support are joined together and wherein the solid oxide fuel cell operates a temperature of 600.degree. C. or less.

Provisional 2008 assessment of solid mineral fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-03-01

This article first comments data on solid mineral fuel consumption in France in 2008, i.e., the overall consumption, and the consumption by different sectors (energy production in coal plants, iron and steel industry, other industries, housing and office buildings). Then, it comments solid mineral fuel imports and their origins. It comments and explains the price evolution since 1999 (notably on the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam market) in relationship with maritime transport price, availabilities and problems, and with the evolution of coal demand (notably in China) and oil prices. Finally, it briefly comments the French residual production and stocks

Addressing fuel recycling in solid oxide fuel cell systems fed by alternative fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2017-01-01

An innovative study on anode recirculation in solid oxide fuel cell systems with alternative fuels is carried out and investigated. Alternative fuels under study are ammonia, pure hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, DME and biogas from biomass gasification. It is shown that the amount of anode off......%. Furthermore, it is founded that for the case with methanol, ethanol and DME then at high utilization factors, low anode recirculation is recommended while at low utilization factors, high anode recirculation is recommended. If the plant is fed by biogas from biomass gasification then for each utilization...

A novel direct carbon fuel cell by approach of tubular solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Renzhu; Zhao, Chunhua; Li, Junliang; Zeng, Fanrong; Wang, Shaorong; Wen, Tinglian; Wen, Zhaoyin [CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Shanghai Inorganic Energy Materials and Power Source Engineering Center, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SICCAS), 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2010-01-15

A direct carbon fuel cell based on a conventional anode-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cell, which consisted of a NiO-YSZ anode support tube, a NiO-ScSZ anode functional layer, a ScSZ electrolyte film, and a LSM-ScSZ cathode, has been successfully achieved. It used the carbon black as fuel and oxygen as the oxidant, and a preliminary examination of the DCFC has been carried out. The cell generated an acceptable performance with the maximum power densities of 104, 75, and 47 mW cm{sup -2} at 850, 800, and 750 C, respectively. These results demonstrate the feasibility for carbon directly converting to electricity in tubular solid oxide fuel cells. (author)

Characteristics of sustainable bio-solid fuel produced from sewage sludge as a conventional fuel substitute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Bongjin; Nam, Wonjun; Lee, Na-Yeon; Kim, Kyung-Hoon

2010-01-01

Safely final disposal of sewage sludge which is being increased every year has already become serious problems. As one of the promising technologies to solve this problem, thermal drying method has been attracting wide attention due to energy recovery from sewage sludge. This paper describes several characteristics of sustainable bio-solid fuel, as a conventional fuel substitute, produced from sewage sludge drying and granulation plant having the treatment capacity of 10 ton/ day. This plant has been successfully operated many times and is now designing for scale-up. Average moisture content of twelve kinds of bio-solid fuels produced from the plant normally less than 10 wt% and average shape of them is mainly composed of granular type having a diameter of 2-8 mm for easy handling and transportation to the final market destinations. Average higher heating value, which is one of the important properties to estimate the possibility of available energy, of bio-solid fuels is about 3800 kcal/ kg as dry basis. So they can be utilized to supply energy in the coal power plant and cement kiln etc. as a conventional fuel substitute for a beneficial reuse. Characteristics including proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, contents of heavy metals, wettability etc. of bio-solid fuels have been also analyzed for the environmentally safe re utilization. (author)

Child mortality from solid-fuel use in India: a nationally-representative case-control study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bassani Diego G

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most households in low and middle income countries, including in India, use solid fuels (coal/coke/lignite, firewood, dung, and crop residue for cooking and heating. Such fuels increase child mortality, chiefly from acute respiratory infection. There are, however, few direct estimates of the impact of solid fuel on child mortality in India. Methods We compared household solid fuel use in 1998 between 6790 child deaths, from all causes, in the previous year and 609 601 living children living in 1.1 million nationally-representative homes in India. Analyses were stratified by child's gender, age (neonatal, post-neonatal, 1-4 years and colder versus warmer states. We also examined the association of solid fuel to non-fatal pneumonias. Results Solid fuel use was very common (87% in households with child deaths and 77% in households with living children. After adjustment for demographic factors and living conditions, solid-fuel use significantly increase child deaths at ages 1-4 (prevalence ratio (PR boys: 1.30, 95%CI 1.08-1.56; girls: 1.33, 95%CI 1.12-1.58. More girls than boys died from exposure to solid fuels. Solid fuel use was also associated with non-fatal pneumonia (boys: PR 1.54 95%CI 1.01-2.35; girls: PR 1.94 95%CI 1.13-3.33. Conclusions Child mortality risks, from all causes, due to solid fuel exposure were lower than previously, but as exposure was common solid, fuel caused 6% of all deaths at ages 0-4, 20% of deaths at ages 1-4 or 128 000 child deaths in India in 2004. Solid fuel use has declined only modestly in the last decade. Aside from reducing exposure, complementary strategies such as immunization and treatment could also reduce child mortality from acute respiratory infections.

Near-ambient solid polymer fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Holleck, G. L.

1993-01-01

Fuel cells are extremely attractive for extraterrestrial and terrestrial applications because of their high energy conversion efficiency without noise or environmental pollution. Among the various fuel cell systems the advanced polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells based on sulfonated fluoropolymers (e.g., Nafion) are particularly attractive because they are fairly rugged, solid state, quite conductive, of good chemical and thermal stability and show good oxygen reduction kinetics due to the low specific adsorption of the electrolyte on the platinum catalyst. The objective of this program is to develop a solid polymer fuel cell which can efficiently operate at near ambient temperatures without ancillary components for humidification and/or pressurization of the fuel or oxidant gases. During the Phase 1 effort we fabricated novel integral electrode-membrane structures where the dispersed platinum catalyst is precipitated within the Nafion ionomer. This resulted in electrode-membrane units without interfacial barriers permitting unhindered water diffusion from cathode to anode. The integral electrode-membrane structures were tested as fuel cells operating on H2 and O2 or air at 1 to 2 atm and 10 to 50 C without gas humidification. We demonstrated that cells with completely dry membranes could be self started at room temperature and subsequently operated on dry gas for extended time. Typical room temperature low pressure operation with unoptimized electrodes yielded 100 mA/cm(exp 2) at 0.5V and maximum currents over 300 mA/cm(exp 2) with low platinum loadings. Our results clearly demonstrate that operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells at ambient conditions is feasible. Optimization of the electrode-membrane structure is necessary to assess the full performance potential but we expect significant gains in weight and volume power density for the system. The reduced complexity will make fuel cells also attractive for smaller and portable power supplies and as

Interconnection of bundled solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Michael; Bessette, II, Norman F; Litka, Anthony F; Schmidt, Douglas S

2014-01-14

A system and method for electrically interconnecting a plurality of fuel cells to provide dense packing of the fuel cells. Each one of the plurality of fuel cells has a plurality of discrete electrical connection points along an outer surface. Electrical connections are made directly between the discrete electrical connection points of adjacent fuel cells so that the fuel cells can be packed more densely. Fuel cells have at least one outer electrode and at least one discrete interconnection to an inner electrode, wherein the outer electrode is one of a cathode and and anode and wherein the inner electrode is the other of the cathode and the anode. In tubular solid oxide fuel cells the discrete electrical connection points are spaced along the length of the fuel cell.

Sampling, characterisation and processing of solid recovered fuel production from municipal solid waste: An Italian plant case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranieri, Ezio; Ionescu, Gabriela; Fedele, Arcangela; Palmieri, Eleonora; Ranieri, Ada Cristina; Campanaro, Vincenzo

2017-08-01

This article presents the classification of solid recovered fuel from the Massafra municipal solid waste treatment plant in Southern Italy in compliancy with the EN 15359 standard. In order to ensure the reproducibility of this study, the characterisation methods of waste input and output flow, the mechanical biological treatment line scheme and its main parameters for each stage of the processing chain are presented in details, together with the research results in terms of mass balance and derived fuel properties. Under this study, only 31% of refused municipal solid waste input stream from mechanical biological line was recovered as solid recovered fuel with a net heating value (NC=HV) average of 15.77 MJ kg -1 ; chlorine content average of 0.06% on a dry basis; median of mercury solid recovered fuel produced meets the European Union standard requirements and can be classified with the class code: Net heating value (3); chlorine (1); mercury (1).

Carbonization plant for low temperature carbonization of solid fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1948-02-13

A carbonization plant for the low-temperature carbonization of solid fuels, consists of a heat-treating retort including an outer vertical stationary tube, a second inner tube coaxial with the first tube, adapted to rotate round its axis and defining the first tube, and an annular gap where the solid fuel is treated. The inside of the inner tube is divided in two parts, the first fed with superheated steam which is introduced into the annular gap through vents provided in the wall of the inner tube, the second part communicating with the gap by means of vents provided in the wall of the inner tube through which gases and oil vapors evolved from the fuel are evacuated. A combustion furnace is provided in which the hot solid residues evacuated at the bottom of the annular gap are burned and from which hot fumes are evacuated, a conduit surrounding, in the form of a helical flue, outer cylinder of the retort, and in which flow hot fumes; a preliminary drier for the raw solid fuel heated by the whole or a part of the fumes evacuated from the combustion furnace. Means for bringing solid fuels from the outlet of the preliminary drier to the upper inlet of the gap of the retort a pipe line receiving steam and bringing it into the first inside part of the inner tube, this pipe line has portions located within the conduit for the fumes in order to superheat the steam, and an expansion chamber in which the gases and oil vapors are trapped at the bottom of the second inside part of the inner tube are included.

Fuels: market, quality, emissions in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philippon, A.

1997-01-01

Here is a study about the automobile fuels market. From the market trends, we find the evolution of fuels quality; but in front of the concurrence and with the imbalance between diesel fuels and gasoline fuels, the improvement in fuels quality that requires investments does not increase as well as the air quality should necessitate. (N.C.)

The history, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity of carbon-based fuels and their emissions. Part 2: solid fuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Claxton, Larry D

2014-01-01

The combustion of solid fuels (like wood, animal dung, and coal) usually involves elevated temperatures and altered pressures and genotoxicants (e.g., PAHs) are likely to form. These substances are carcinogenic in experimental animals, and epidemiological studies implicate these fuels (especially their emissions) as carcinogens in man. Globally, ∼50% of all households and ∼90% of all rural households use solid fuels for cooking or heating and these fuels often are burnt in simple stoves with very incomplete combustion. Exposed women and children often exhibit low birth weight, increased infant and perinatal mortality, head and neck cancer, and lung cancer although few studies have measured exposure directly. Today, households that cannot meet the expense of fuels like kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and electricity resort to collecting wood, agricultural residue, and animal dung to use as household fuels. In the more developed countries, solid fuels are often used for electric power generation providing more than half of the electricity generated in the United States. The world's coal reserves, which equal approximately one exagram, equal ∼1 trillion barrels of crude oil (comparable to all the world's known oil reserves) and could last for 600 years. Studies show that the PAHs that are identified in solid fuel emissions react with NO2 to form direct-acting mutagens. In summary, many of the measured genotoxicants found in both the indoor and electricity-generating combustors are the same; therefore, the severity of the health effects vary with exposure and with the health status of the exposed population. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Apparatus and method for solid fuel chemical looping combustion

Science.gov (United States)

Siriwardane, Ranjani V; Weber, Justin M

2015-04-14

The disclosure provides an apparatus and method utilizing fuel reactor comprised of a fuel section, an oxygen carrier section, and a porous divider separating the fuel section and the oxygen carrier section. The porous divider allows fluid communication between the fuel section and the oxygen carrier section while preventing the migration of solids of a particular size. Maintaining particle segregation between the oxygen carrier section and the fuel section during solid fuel gasification and combustion processes allows gases generated in either section to participate in necessary reactions while greatly mitigating issues associated with mixture of the oxygen carrier with char or ash products. The apparatus and method may be utilized with an oxygen uncoupling oxygen carrier such as CuO, Mn.sub.3O.sub.4, or Co.sub.3O.sub.4, or utilized with a CO/H.sub.2 reducing oxygen carrier such as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3.

Airflow Obstruction and Use of Solid Fuels for Cooking or Heating: BOLD Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Amaral, André F S; Patel, Jaymini; Kato, Bernet S; Obaseki, Daniel O; Lawin, Hervé; Tan, Wan C; Juvekar, Sanjay K; Harrabi, Imed; Studnicka, Michael; Wouters, Emiel F M; Loh, Li-Cher; Bateman, Eric D; Mortimer, Kevin; Buist, A Sonia; Burney, Peter G J

2017-09-12

Evidence supporting the association of COPD or airflow obstruction with use of solid fuels is conflicting and inconsistent. To assess the association of airflow obstruction with self-reported use of solid fuels for cooking or heating. We analysed 18,554 adults from the BOLD study, who had provided acceptable post-bronchodilator spirometry measurements and information on use of solid fuels. The association of airflow obstruction with use of solid fuels for cooking or heating was assessed by sex, within each site, using regression analysis. Estimates were stratified by national income and meta-analysed. We carried out similar analyses for spirometric restriction, chronic cough and chronic phlegm. We found no association between airflow obstruction and use of solid fuels for cooking or heating (ORmen=1.20, 95%CI 0.94-1.53; ORwomen=0.88, 95%CI 0.67-1.15). This was true for low/middle and high income sites. Among never smokers there was also no evidence of an association of airflow obstruction with use of solid fuels (ORmen=1.00, 95%CI 0.57-1.76; ORwomen=1.00, 95%CI 0.76-1.32). Overall, we found no association of spirometric restriction, chronic cough or chronic phlegm with the use of solid fuels. However, we found that chronic phlegm was more likely to be reported among female never smokers and those who had been exposed for ≥20 years. Airflow obstruction assessed from post-bronchodilator spirometry was not associated with use of solid fuels for cooking or heating.

A feasibility study of hydrothermal treatment of rice straw for multi-production of solid fuel and liquid fertilizer

Science.gov (United States)

Samnang, S.; Prawisudha, P.; Pasek, A. D.

2017-05-01

Energy use has increased steadily over the last century due to population and industry increase. With the growing of GHG, biomass becomes an essential contributor to the world energy need. Indonesia is the third rice producer in the world. Rice straw has been converted to solid fuel by Hydrothermal Treatment (HT) for electricity generation. HT is a boiling solid organic or inorganic substance in water at high pressure and temperature within a holding time. HT converts high moisture content biomass into dried, uniform, pulverized, and higher energy density solid fuels. HT can effectively transport nutrient components in biomass into a liquid product known as fertilizer. This paper deals with an evaluation of hydrothermal treatment of rice straw for solid fuel and liquid fertilizer. An investigation of rice straw characteristics were completed for Bandung rice straw with various condition of temperature, biomass-water ratio, and holding time in the purpose to find the changes of calorific value for solid product and (N, P, K, and pH) for liquid product. The results showed that solid product at 225 °C and 90 min consists in a heating value 13.8 MJ/kg equal to lignite B. Liquid product at 225 °C and 90 min had the NPK content similar to that of micronutrients compound liquid fertilizer. The dried solid product should be useful for Coal Fire Power Plant, and the liquid product is suitable for plants. This research proves that hydrothermal process can be applied to rice straw to produce solid fuel and liquid fertilizer with adequate quality.

Modeling solid-fuel dispersal during slow loss-of-flow-type transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiMelfi, R.J.; Fenske, G.R.

1981-01-01

The dispersal, under certain accident conditions, of solid particles of fast-reactor fuel is examined in this paper. In particular, we explore the possibility that solid-fuel fragmentation and dispersal can be driven by expanding fission gas, during a slow LOF-type accident. The consequences of fragmentation are studied in terms of the size and speed of dispersed particles, and the overall quantity of fuel moved. (orig.)

LG Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Model Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haberman, Ben [LG Fuel Cell Systems Inc., North Canton, OH (United States); Martinez-Baca, Carlos [LG Fuel Cell Systems Inc., North Canton, OH (United States); Rush, Greg [LG Fuel Cell Systems Inc., North Canton, OH (United States)

2013-05-31

This report presents a summary of the work performed by LG Fuel Cell Systems Inc. during the project LG Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Model Development (DOE Award Number: DE-FE0000773) which commenced on October 1, 2009 and was completed on March 31, 2013. The aim of this project is for LG Fuel Cell Systems Inc. (formerly known as Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US) Inc.) (LGFCS) to develop a multi-physics solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) computer code (MPC) for performance calculations of the LGFCS fuel cell structure to support fuel cell product design and development. A summary of the initial stages of the project is provided which describes the MPC requirements that were developed and the selection of a candidate code, STAR-CCM+ (CD-adapco). This is followed by a detailed description of the subsequent work program including code enhancement and model verification and validation activities. Details of the code enhancements that were implemented to facilitate MPC SOFC simulations are provided along with a description of the models that were built using the MPC and validated against experimental data. The modeling work described in this report represents a level of calculation detail that has not been previously available within LGFCS.

Indoor Air Pollution and Health in Ghana: Self-Reported Exposure to Unprocessed Solid Fuel Smoke.

Science.gov (United States)

Armah, Frederick A; Odoi, Justice O; Luginaah, Isaac

2015-06-01

Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana still depend extensively on unprocessed solid cooking fuels with many people exposed on a daily basis to harmful emissions and other health risks. In this study, using complementary log-log multivariate models, we estimated the health effects of exposure to smoke from unprocessed wood in four regions of Ghana while controlling for socio-environmental and socio-demographic factors. The results show that the distribution of self-reported exposure to smoke was highest among participants in the Northern region, rural dwellers, the 25-49 age groups, individuals with no education, and married women. As expected, exposure to smoke was higher in crowded households and in communities without basic social amenities. Region, residential locality, housing quality (type of roofing, floor and exterior materials), self-reported housing condition, and access to toilet facilities were associated with self-reported exposure to solid fuel smoke. Participants living in urban areas were less likely (OR = 0.82, ρ ≤ 0.01) to be exposed to solid fuel smoke compared to their rural counterparts. An inverse relationship between self-reported housing condition and exposure to solid fuel smoke was observed and persisted even after adjustments were made for confounding variables in the demographic model. In Ghana, the cost and intermittent shortages of liquefied petroleum gas and other alternative fuel sources hold implications for the willingness of the poor to shift to their use. Thus, the poorest rural populations with nearly no cash income and electricity, but with access to wood and/or agricultural waste, are unlikely to move to clean fuels or use significantly improved stoves without large subsidies, which are usually not sustainable. However, there appears to be large populations between these extremes that can be targeted by efforts to introduce improved stoves.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems PVL Line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shearer, Susan; Rush, Gregory

2012-01-01

In July 2010, Stark State College (SSC), received Grant DE-EE0003229 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Golden Field Office, for the development of the electrical and control systems, and mechanical commissioning of a unique 20kW scale high-pressure, high temperature, natural gas fueled Stack Block Test System (SBTS). SSC worked closely with subcontractor, Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US) Inc. (RRFCS) over a 13 month period to successfully complete the project activities. This system will be utilized by RRFCS for pre-commercial technology development and training of SSC student interns. In the longer term, when RRFCS is producing commercial products, SSC will utilize the equipment for workforce training. In addition to DOE Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies program funding, RRFCS internal funds, funds from the state of Ohio, and funding from the DOE Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program have been utilized to design, develop and commission this equipment. Construction of the SBTS (mechanical components) was performed under a Grant from the State of Ohio through Ohio's Third Frontier program (Grant TECH 08-053). This Ohio program supported development of a system that uses natural gas as a fuel. Funding was provided under the Department of Energy (DOE) Solid-state Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program for modifications required to test on coal synthesis gas. The subject DOE program provided funding for the electrical build, control system development and mechanical commissioning. Performance testing, which includes electrical commissioning, was subsequently performed under the DOE SECA program. Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems is developing a megawatt-scale solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stationary power generation system. This system, based on RRFCS proprietary technology, is fueled with natural gas, and operates at elevated pressure. A critical success factor for development of the full scale system is the capability to

Propellant selection for ramjets with solid fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmucker, R H; Lips, H

1976-03-11

Ramjet propulsion using solid propellant for post-boost acceleration of missiles exhibits several favorable properties, brought about by heterogeneous combustion. A simplified theory for calculating the performance of possible propellants is presented, and they are classified with respect to maximum fuel-specific impulse. The optimal choice of fuel, from a system standpoint, must consider volume constraints, and defines the requirements for motor geometry.

Durable and Robust Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjalmarsson, Per; Knibbe, Ruth; Hauch, Anne

project had as one of its’ overarching goals to improve durability and robustness of the Danish solid oxide fuel cells. The project focus was on cells and cell components suitable for SOFC operation in the temperature range 600 – 750 °C. The cells developed and/or studied in this project are intended......The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an attractive technology for the generation of electricity with high efficiency and low emissions. Risø DTU (now DTU Energy Conversion) works closely together with Topsoe Fuel Cell A/S in their effort to bring competitive SOFC systems to the market. This 2-year...... for use within the CHP (Combined Heat and Power) market segment with stationary power plants in the range 1 – 250 kWe in mind. Lowered operation temperature is considered a good way to improve the stack durability since corrosion of the interconnect plates in a stack is lifetime limiting at T > 750 °C...

Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance of fossil fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Axelson, D.E.

1985-01-01

This book contains the following chapters: Principles of solid state NMR; Relaxation processes: Introduction to pulse sequences; Quantitative analysis; Removal of artifacts from CPMAS FT experiments; Line broadening mechanisms; Resolution enhancement of solid state NMR spectra; and /sup 13/C CPMAS NMR of fossil fuels--general applications

Direct Coal Oxidation in Modified Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deleebeeck, Lisa; Gil, Vanesa; Ippolito, Davide

2017-01-01

Hybrid direct carbon fuel cells employ a classical solid oxide fuel cell together with carbon dispersed in a carbonate melt on the anode side. In a European project, the utilization of various coals has been investigated with and without addition of an oxidation catalyst to the carbon-carbonate s......Hybrid direct carbon fuel cells employ a classical solid oxide fuel cell together with carbon dispersed in a carbonate melt on the anode side. In a European project, the utilization of various coals has been investigated with and without addition of an oxidation catalyst to the carbon......-carbonate slurry or anode layer. The nature of the coal affects both open circuit voltage and power output. Highest OCV and power densities were observed for bituminous coal and by adding manganese oxide or praseodymium-doped ceria to the carbon/carbonate mixture. Comparing the carbon black fueled performance...... bituminous coal (73 mW/cm2)....

Elemental balance of SRF production process: solid recovered fuel produced from municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Oinas, Pekka

2016-01-01

In the production of solid recovered fuel (SRF), certain waste components have excessive influence on the quality of product. The proportion of rubber, plastic (hard) and certain textiles was found to be critical as to the elemental quality of SRF. The mass flow of rubber, plastic (hard) and textiles (to certain extent, especially synthetic textile) components from input waste stream into the output streams of SRF production was found to play the decisive role in defining the elemental quality of SRF. This paper presents the mass flow of polluting and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in SRF production. The SRF was produced from municipal solid waste (MSW) through mechanical treatment (MT). The results showed that of the total input chlorine content to process, 55% was found in the SRF and 30% in reject material. Of the total input arsenic content, 30% was found in the SRF and 45% in fine fraction. In case of cadmium, lead and mercury, of their total input content to the process, 62%, 38% and 30%, respectively, was found in the SRF. Among the components of MSW, rubber material was identified as potential source of chlorine, containing 8.0 wt.% of chlorine. Plastic (hard) and textile components contained 1.6 and 1.1. wt.% of chlorine, respectively. Plastic (hard) contained higher lead and cadmium content compared with other waste components, i.e. 500 mg kg(-1) and 9.0 mg kg(-1), respectively. © The Author(s) 2015.

Performance Evaluation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell by Computer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The search for sustainable energy source that can compete with the existing one led to the discovery and acceptance of fuel cell technologies as a perfect replacement for fossil fuel. The ability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) to capture the heat generation during the process of energy generation from electrochemical ...

Cooking with Fire: The Mutagenicity- and PAH-Emission Factors of Solid-Fuel Cookstoves

Science.gov (United States)

Emissions from solid fuels used for cooking cause ~4 million premature deaths per year. Advanced solid-fuel cookstoves are a potential solution, but they should be assessed by appropriate performance indicators, including biological effects. We evaluated two categories of solid...

Sulfur Release from Cement Raw Materials during Solid Fuel Combustion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anders Rooma; Larsen, Morten B.; Glarborg, Peter

2011-01-01

During combustion of solid fuels in the material inlet end of cement rotary kilns, local reducing conditions can occur and cause decomposition of sulfates from cement raw materials. Decomposition of sulfates is problematic because it increases the gas-phase SO2 concentration, which may cause...... deposit formation in the kiln system. SO2 release from cement raw materials during combustion of solid fuels has been studied experimentally in a high temperature rotary drum. The fuels were tire rubber, pine wood, petcoke, sewage sludge, and polypropylene. The SO2 release from the raw materials...

SOLID STATE ENERGY CONVERSION ALLIANCE DELPHI SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steven Shaffer; Sean Kelly; Subhasish Mukerjee; David Schumann; Gail Geiger; Kevin Keegan; John Noetzel; Larry Chick

2003-12-08

The objective of Phase I under this project is to develop a 5 kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell power system for a range of fuels and applications. During Phase I, the following will be accomplished: Develop and demonstrate technology transfer efforts on a 5 kW stationary distributed power generation system that incorporates steam reforming of natural gas with the option of piped-in water (Demonstration System A). Initiate development of a 5 kW system for later mass-market automotive auxiliary power unit application, which will incorporate Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPO) reforming of gasoline, with anode exhaust gas injected into an ultra-lean burn internal combustion engine. This technical progress report covers work performed by Delphi from January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003, under Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FC-02NT41246. This report highlights technical results of the work performed under the following tasks: Task 1 System Design and Integration; Task 2 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack Developments; Task 3 Reformer Developments; Task 4 Development of Balance of Plant (BOP) Components; Task 5 Manufacturing Development (Privately Funded); Task 6 System Fabrication; Task 7 System Testing; Task 8 Program Management; and Task 9 Stack Testing with Coal-Based Reformate.

Fuel cycle and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoll, W.

1979-01-01

The volume of the fuel cycle is described in its economic importance and its through put, as it is envisaged for the Federal Republic of Germany. Definitions are given for quality continuing usefulness of an object and translated into quality criteria. Requirements on performance of fuel elements are defined. The way in which experimental results are translated into mass production of fuel rods, is described. The economic potential for further quality effort is derived. Future ways of development for quality control organisation and structure are outlined. (Auth.)

Moisture management, energy density and fuel quality in forest fuel supply chains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tahvanainen, T. [Joensuu Science Park Ltd., Joensuu (Finland); Sikanen, L. [Joensuu Univ. (Finland); Roser, D. [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Joensuu (Finland)

2009-07-01

This presentation provided tools for reducing the moisture content (MC) in wood chips, as moisture is one of the main quality factors for woody biomass, along with energy density and cleanness. The amount of water in solid wood fuels has a considerable effect on transportation efficiency, combustion efficiency and emissions. Under favourable storage conditions, MC can be decreased from typical fresh cut 50-55 per cent to 20-30 per cent in relatively short periods of storing by natural or artificial drying. Minor modifications can boost natural drying in fuel wood supply chains. This natural drying effect can have significant effects on the total energy efficiency and emissions of supply chains. The effect of improved packing density on transportation phase was discussed along with the need to control chip purity and size distribution. A procedure developed at the University of Joensuu and in the Finnish Forest Research Institute was used to estimate transportation costs and emissions according to transportation fleet and MC of the transported fuel. tabs., figs.

Direct Coal Oxidation in Modified Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deleebeeck, Lisa; Gil, Vanesa; Ippolito, Davide

2015-01-01

Hybrid direct carbon fuel cells employ a classical solid oxide fuel cell together with carbon dispersed in a carbonate melt on the anode side. In a European project, the utilization of various coals has been investigated with and without addition of an oxidation catalyst to the carbon-carbonate s......Hybrid direct carbon fuel cells employ a classical solid oxide fuel cell together with carbon dispersed in a carbonate melt on the anode side. In a European project, the utilization of various coals has been investigated with and without addition of an oxidation catalyst to the carbon......-carbonate slurry or anode layer. The nature of the coal affects both open circuit voltage and power output. Highest OCV and power densities were observed for bituminous coal and by adding manganese oxide or praseodymium-doped ceria to the carbon/carbonate mixture. Comparing the carbon black fueled performance...... bituminous coal (73 mW/cm2). © 2015 ECS - The Electrochemical Society...

Design of high quality doped CeO2 solid electrolytes with nanohetero structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, T.; Ou, D.R.; Ye, F.; Drennan, J.

2006-01-01

Doped cerium (CeO 2 ) compounds are fluorite related oxides which show oxide ionic conductivity higher than yttria-stabilized zirconia in oxidizing atmosphere. As a consequence of this, a considerable interest has been shown in application of these materials for low (400-650 o C) temperature operation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this paper, our experimental data about the influence of microstructure at the atomic level on electrochemical properties were reviewed in order to develop high quality doped CeO 2 electrolytes in fuel cell applications. Using this data in the present paper, our original idea for a design of nanodomain structure in doped CeO 2 electrolytes was suggested. The nanosized powders and dense sintered bodies of M doped CeO 2 (M:Sm,Gd,La,Y,Yb, and Dy) compounds were fabricated. Also nanostructural features in these specimens were introduced for conclusion of relationship between electrolytic properties and domain structure in doped CeO 2 . It is essential that the electrolytic properties in doped CeO 2 solid electrolytes reflect in changes of microstructure even down to the atomic scale. Accordingly, a combined approach of nanostructure fabrication, electrical measurement and structure characterization was required to develop superior quality doped CeO 2 electrolytes in the fuel cells. (author)

Integration of a municipal solid waste gasification plant with solid oxide fuel cell and gas turbine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bellomare, Filippo; Rokni, Masoud

2013-01-01

An interesting source of producing energy with low pollutants emission and reduced environmental impact are the biomasses; particularly using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as fuel, can be a competitive solution not only to produce energy with negligible costs but also to decrease the storage...... in landfills. A Municipal Solid Waste Gasification Plant Integrated with Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Gas Turbine (GT) has been studied and the plant is called IGSG (Integrated Gasification SOFC and GT). Gasification plant is fed by MSW to produce syngas by which the anode side of an SOFC is fed wherein...

Commercial jet fuel quality control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strauss, K.H.

1995-05-01

The paper discusses the purpose of jet fuel quality control between the refinery and the aircraft. It describes fixed equipment, including various types of filters, and the usefulness and limitations of this equipment. Test equipment is reviewed as are various surveillance procedures. These include the Air Transport Association specification ATA 103, the FAA Advisory Circular 150/5230-4, the International Air Transport Association Guidance Material for Fuel Quality Control and Fuelling Service and the Guidelines for Quality Control at Jointly Operated Fuel Systems. Some past and current quality control problems are briefly mentioned.

Quality assurance of nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The guide presents the quality assurance requirements to be completed with in the procurement, design, manufacture, transport, handling and operation of the nuclear fuel. The guide also applies to the procurement of the control rods and the shield elements to be placed in the reactor. The guide is mainly aimed for the licensee responsible for the procurement and operation of fuel, for the fuel designer and manufacturer and for other organizations whose activities affect fuel quality, the safety of fuel transport, storage and operation. (2 refs.)

Provisional 2008 assessment of solid mineral fuels; Bilan provisoire 2008 des combustibles mineraux solides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-03-15

This article first comments data on solid mineral fuel consumption in France in 2008, i.e., the overall consumption, and the consumption by different sectors (energy production in coal plants, iron and steel industry, other industries, housing and office buildings). Then, it comments solid mineral fuel imports and their origins. It comments and explains the price evolution since 1999 (notably on the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam market) in relationship with maritime transport price, availabilities and problems, and with the evolution of coal demand (notably in China) and oil prices. Finally, it briefly comments the French residual production and stocks.

TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFICIENT USAGE OF HYDROCARBON-CONTAINING WASTE IN PRODUCTION OF MULTI-COMPONENT SOLID FUEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. M. Khroustalev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers modern approaches to usage of hydrocarbon-containing waste as energy resources and presents description of investigations, statistic materials, analysis results on formation of hydrocarbon-containing waste in the Republic of Belarus. Main problems pertaining to usage of waste as a fuel and technologies for their application have been given in the paper. The paper describes main results of the investigations and a method for efficient application of viscous hydrocarbon-containing waste as an energy-packed component and a binding material while producing a solid fuel. A technological scheme, a prototype industrial unit which are necessary to realize a method for obtaining multi-component solid fuel are represented in the paper. A paper also provides a model of technological process with efficient sequence of technological operations and parameters of optimum component composition. Main factors exerting significant structure-formation influence in creation of structural composition of multi-component solid fuel have been presented in the paper. The paper gives a graphical representation of the principle for selection of mixture particles of various coarseness to form a solid fuel while using a briquetting method and comprising viscous hydrocarbon-containing waste. A dependence of dimensionless concentration g of emissions into atmosphere during burning of two-component solid fuel has been described in the paper. The paper analyzes an influence of the developed methodology for emission calculation of multi-component solid fuels and reveals a possibility to optimize the component composition in accordance with ecological function and individual peculiar features of fuel-burning equipment. Special features concerning storage and transportation, advantages and disadvantages, comparative characteristics, practical applicability of the developed multi-component solid fuel have been considered and presented in the paper. The paper

Mathematical modeling of solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Cheng-Yi; Maloney, Thomas M.

1988-01-01

Development of predictive techniques, with regard to cell behavior, under various operating conditions is needed to improve cell performance, increase energy density, reduce manufacturing cost, and to broaden utilization of various fuels. Such technology would be especially beneficial for the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) at it early demonstration stage. The development of computer models to calculate the temperature, CD, reactant distributions in the tubular and monolithic SOFCs. Results indicate that problems of nonuniform heat generation and fuel gas depletion in the tubular cell module, and of size limitions in the monolithic (MOD 0) design may be encountered during FC operation.

Quality assurance of fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoerber, J.

1980-01-01

The quality assurance activities for reactor fuel elements are based on a quality assurance system which implies the requirements resulting from the specifications, regulations of the authorities, national standards and international rules and regulations. The quality assurance related to production of reactor fuel will be shown for PWR fuel elements in all typical fabrication steps as conversion into UO 2 -powder, pelletizing, rodmanufacture and assembling. A wide range of destructive and nondestructive techniques is applied. Quality assurance is not only verified by testing techniques but also by process monitoring by means of parameter control in production and testing procedures. (RW)

Reducing residential solid fuel combustion through electrified space heating leads to substantial air quality, health and climate benefits in China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, J.; Mauzerall, D. L.

2017-12-01

During periods of high pollution in winter, household space heating can contribute more than half of PM2.5 concentrations in China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region. The majority of rural households and some urban households in the region still heat with small stoves and solid fuels such as raw coal, coal briquettes and biomass. Thus, reducing emissions from residential space heating has become a top priority of the Chinese government's air pollution mitigation plan. Electrified space heating is a promising alternative to solid fuel. However, there is little analysis of the air quality and climate implications of choosing various electrified heating devices and utilizing different electricity sources. Here we conduct an integrated assessment of the air quality, human health and climate implications of various electrified heating scenarios in the BTH region using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry. We use the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China for the year 2012 as our base case and design two electrification scenarios in which either direct resistance heaters or air source heat pumps are installed to replace all household heating stoves. We initially assume all electrified heating devices use electricity from supercritical coal-fired power plants. We find that installing air source heat pumps reduces CO2 emissions and premature deaths due to PM2.5 pollution more than resistance heaters, relative to the base case. The increased health and climate benefits of heat pumps occur because they have a higher heat conversion efficiency and thus require less electricity for space heating than resistance heaters. We also find that with the same heat pump installation, a hybrid electricity source (40% of the electricity generated from renewable sources and the rest from coal) further reduces both CO2 emissions and premature deaths than using electricity only from coal. Our study demonstrates the air pollution and CO2 mitigation potential and

A development of solid oxide fuel cell technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Hee Chun; Lee, Chang Woo [Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Taejon (Korea, Republic of). Research Center; Kim, Kwy Youl; Yoon, Moon Soo; Kim, Ho Ki; Kim, Young Sik; Mun, Sung In; Eom, Sung Wuk [Korea Electrotechnology Research Inst., Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-12-31

Solid oxide fuel cell which was consisted of ceramics has high power density and is very simple in shape. The project named A development of SOFC(Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology is to develop the unit cell fabrication processing and to evaluate the unit cell of solid oxide full cell. In this project, a manufacturing process of cathode by citrate method and polymeric precursor methods were established. By using tape casting method, high density thin electrolyte was manufactured and has high performance. Unit cell composed with La{sub 17}Sr{sub 13}Mn{sub 3} as cathode, 8YSZ electrolyte and 50% NiYSZ anode had a performance of O.85 W/cm{sup 2} and recorded 510 hours operation time. On the basis of these results. 100 cm{sup 2} class unit cell will be fabricated and tests in next program (author). 59 refs., 120 figs.

A development of solid oxide fuel cell technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Hee Chun; Lee, Chang Woo [Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Taejon (Korea, Republic of). Research Center; Kim, Kwy Youl; Yoon, Moon Soo; Kim, Ho Ki; Kim, Young Sik; Mun, Sung In; Eom, Sung Wuk [Korea Electrotechnology Research Inst., Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-12-31

Solid oxide fuel cell which was consisted of ceramics has high power density and is very simple in shape. The project named A development of SOFC(Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology is to develop the unit cell fabrication processing and to evaluate the unit cell of solid oxide full cell. In this project, a manufacturing process of cathode by citrate method and polymeric precursor methods were established. By using tape casting method, high density thin electrolyte was manufactured and has high performance. Unit cell composed with La{sub 17}Sr{sub 13}Mn{sub 3} as cathode, 8YSZ electrolyte and 50% NiYSZ anode had a performance of O.85 W/cm{sup 2} and recorded 510 hours operation time. On the basis of these results. 100 cm{sup 2} class unit cell will be fabricated and tests in next program (author). 59 refs., 120 figs.

The quality challenge for fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lannegrace, J.-P.

1990-01-01

Fuel fabrication is a key segment of the nuclear fuel cycle, since safe and economic operation of reactors is highly dependent on the quality of the fuel. Achieving and controlling quality is, therefore, of paramount importance to fuel fabricators dominating nearly every aspect of the business. The quality policy, concepts and assurance system at three French plants are outlined. The need for integrated inspection, process optimization and good employee motivation is stressed. (author)

On the intrinsic transient capability and limitations of solid oxide fuel cell systems

OpenAIRE

Mueller, F; Jabbari, F; Brouwer, J

2009-01-01

The intrinsic transient performance capability and limitation of integrated solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems is evaluated based on the system balance-of-plant response and fuel cell operating requirements (i.e., allowable deviation from nominal operation). Specifically, non-dimensional relations are derived from conservation principles that quantify the maximum instantaneous current increase that a solid oxide fuel cell system can safely manage based on (1) the desired fuel cell operating...

Materials for high temperature solid oxide fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singhal, S.C.

1987-01-01

High temperature solid oxide fuel cells show great promise for economical production of electricity. These cells are based upon the ability of stabilized zirconia to operate as an oxygen ion conductor at elevated temperatures. The design of the tubular solid oxide fuel cell being pursued at Westinghouse is illustrated. The cell uses a calcia-stabilized zironcia porous support tube, which acts both as a structural member onto which the other cell components are fabricated in the form of thin layers, and as a functional member to allow the passage, via its porosity, of air (or oxygen) to the air electrode. This paper summarizes the materials and fabrication processes for the various cell components

Degradation of solid oxide fuel cell metallic interconnects in fuels containing sulfur

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ziomek-Moroz, M.; Hawk, Jeffrey A.

2005-01-01

Hydrogen is the main fuel for all types of fuel cells except direct methanol fuel cells. Hydrogen can be generated from all manner of fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas, diesel, gasoline, other hydrocarbons, and oxygenates (e.g., methanol, ethanol, butanol, etc.). Impurities in the fuel can cause significant performance problems and sulfur, in particular, can decrease the cell performance of fuel cells, including solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). In the SOFC, the high (800-1000°C) operating temperature yields advantages (e.g., internal fuel reforming) and disadvantages (e.g., material selection and degradation problems). Significant progress in reducing the operating temperature of the SOFC from ~1000 ºC to ~750 ºC may allow less expensive metallic materials to be used for interconnects and as balance of plant (BOP) materials. This paper provides insight on the material performance of nickel, ferritic steels, and nickel-based alloys in fuels containing sulfur, primarily in the form of H2S, and seeks to quantify the extent of possible degradation due to sulfur in the gas stream.

Solid recovered fuels in the steel industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kepplinger, Werner L; Tappeiner, Tamara

2012-04-01

By using waste materials as alternative fuels in metallurgical plants it is possible to minimize the traditionally used reducing agents, such as coke, coal, oil or natural gas. Moreover, by using waste materials in the metallurgical industry it is feasible to recover these materials as far as possible. This also represents another step towards environmental protection because carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced, if the H(2) content of the waste material is greater in comparison with that of the substituted fuel and the effects of global warming can therefore be reduced. In the present article various solid recovered fuels and their applications in the metallurgical industry are detailed.

Alternative Fuels in Cement Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Morten Boberg

The substitution of alternative for fossil fuels in cement production has increased significantly in the last decade. Of these new alternative fuels, solid state fuels presently account for the largest part, and in particular, meat and bone meal, plastics and tyre derived fuels (TDF) accounted...... for the most significant alternative fuel energy contributors in the German cement industry. Solid alternative fuels are typically high in volatile content and they may differ significantly in physical and chemical properties compared to traditional solid fossil fuels. From the process point of view......, considering a modern kiln system for cement production, the use of alternative fuels mainly influences 1) kiln process stability (may accelerate build up of blockages preventing gas and/or solids flow), 2) cement clinker quality, 3) emissions, and 4) decreased production capacity. Kiln process stability...

Household cooking with solid fuels contributes to ambient PM2.5 air pollution and the burden of disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Chafe, Zoë A; Brauer, Michael; Klimont, Zbigniew; Van Dingenen, Rita; Mehta, Sumi; Rao, Shilpa; Riahi, Keywan; Dentener, Frank; Smith, Kirk R

2014-12-01

Approximately 2.8 billion people cook with solid fuels. Research has focused on the health impacts of indoor exposure to fine particulate pollution. Here, for the 2010 Global Burden of Disease project (GBD 2010), we evaluated the impact of household cooking with solid fuels on regional population-weighted ambient PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm) pollution (APM2.5). We estimated the proportion and concentrations of APM2.5 attributable to household cooking with solid fuels (PM2.5-cook) for the years 1990, 2005, and 2010 in 170 countries, and associated ill health. We used an energy supply-driven emissions model (GAINS; Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies) and source-receptor model (TM5-FASST) to estimate the proportion of APM2.5 produced by households and the proportion of household PM2.5 emissions from cooking with solid fuels. We estimated health effects using GBD 2010 data on ill health from APM2.5 exposure. In 2010, household cooking with solid fuels accounted for 12% of APM2.5 globally, varying from 0% of APM2.5 in five higher-income regions to 37% (2.8 μg/m3 of 6.9 μg/m3 total) in southern sub-Saharan Africa. PM2.5-cook constituted > 10% of APM2.5 in seven regions housing 4.4 billion people. South Asia showed the highest regional concentration of APM2.5 from household cooking (8.6 μg/m3). On the basis of GBD 2010, we estimate that exposure to APM2.5 from cooking with solid fuels caused the loss of 370,000 lives and 9.9 million disability-adjusted life years globally in 2010. PM2.5 emissions from household cooking constitute an important portion of APM2.5 concentrations in many places, including India and China. Efforts to improve ambient air quality will be hindered if household cooking conditions are not addressed.

Regulatory viewpoint on nuclear fuel quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tripp, L.E.

1976-01-01

Considerations of the importance of fuel quality and performance to nuclear safety, ''as low reasonably achievable'' release of radioactive materials in reactor effluents, and past fuel performance problems demonstrate the need for strong regulatory input, review and inspection of nuclear fuel quality assurance programs at all levels. Such a regulatory program is being applied in the United States of America by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Quality assurance requirements are contained within government regulations. Guidance on acceptable methods of implementing portions of the quality assurance program is contained within Regulatory Guides and other NRC documents. Fuel supplier quality assurance program descriptions are reviewed as a part of the reactor licensing process. Inspections of reactor licensee control of their fuel vendors as well as direct inspections of fuel vendor quality assurance programs are conducted on a regularly scheduled basis. (author)

Characterization of Korean solid recovered fuels (SRFs): an analysis and comparison of SRFs.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Yeon-Seok; Han, Soyoung; Choi, Hang-Seok; Kim, Seock-Joon

2012-04-01

To date, Korea has used four species of solid recovered fuels (SRFs) which have been certified by the Environmental Ministry of Korea: refuse-derived fuel (RDF), refused plastic fuel (RPF), tyre-derived fuel (TDF), and wood chip fuel (WCF). These fuels have been used in many industrial boilers. In this study, seven regulatory properties associated with each of the four species: particle size, moisture and ash content, lower heating value (LHV), total chlorine, sulfur, and heavy metals content (Pb, As, Cd, Hg, Cr) were analysed. These properties are the main regulation criteria for the usage and transfer of SRFs in Korea. Different properties of each SRF were identified on the basis of data collected over the last 3 years in Korea, and the manufacturing process problem associated with the production of SRFs were considered. It was found that the high moisture content of SRFs (especially WCF) could directly lead to the low LHV of SRFs and that the poor screening and sorting of raw materials could cause defective SRF products with high ash or chlorine contents. The information obtained from this study could contribute to the manufacturing of SRF with good quality.

Formation of Liquid Products at the Filtration Combustion of Solid Fuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. A. Salgansky

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Yields of liquid and gaseous products of the filtration combustion of cellulose, wood, peat, coal, and rubber have been investigated. Experiments have shown that the gasification of solid fuels in the regime with superadiabatic heating yields liquid hydrocarbons with quantity and quality, which are close to those produced using other methods, for example, by pyrolysis. But in this case no additional energy supply is needed to carry out the gasification process. The low calorific combustible gas, which forms in this process, contains a substantial quantity of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are components of syngas.

Simultaneous analysis of qualitative parameters of solid fuel using complex neutron gamma method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dombrovskij, V.P.; Ajtsev, N.I.; Ryashchikov, V.I.; Frolov, V.K.

1983-01-01

A study was made on complex neutron gamma method for simultaneous analysis of carbon content, ash content and humidity of solid fuel according to gamma radiation of inelastic fast neutron scattering and radiation capture of thermal neutrons. Metrological characteristics of pulse and stationary neutron gamma methods for determination of qualitative solid fuel parameters were analyzed, taking coke breeze as an example. Optimal energy ranges of gamma radiation detection (2-8 MeV) were determined. The advantages of using pulse neutron generator for complex analysis of qualitative parameters of solid fuel in large masses were shown

Technology of solid-fuel-layer targets for laser-fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musinski, D.L.; Henderson, T.M.; Pattinson, T.R.; Tarvin, J.A.

1979-01-01

An apparatus which produces uniform solid-fuel layers in glass-shell targets for laser irradiation is described. A low-power cw laser pulse is used to vaporize the fuel within a previously frozen target which is maintained in a cold-helium environment by a cryogenic shroud. The rapid refreezing that follows the pulse forms a uniform fuel layer on the inner surface of the glass shell. This apparatus and technique meet the restrictions imposed by the experimental target chamber. The method does not perturb the target position; nor does it preclude the usual diagnostic experimets since the shroud is retracted before the main laser pulse arrives. Successful laser irradiation and implosion of solid-fuel-layer targets at KMSF have confirmed the effectiveness and reliability of this system and extended the range of laser-target-interaction studies in the cryogenic regime

Nuclear fuel management via fuel quality factor averaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mingle, J.O.

1978-01-01

The numerical procedure of prime number averaging is applied to the fuel quality factor distribution of once and twice-burned fuel in order to evolve a fuel management scheme. The resulting fuel shuffling arrangement produces a near optimal flat power profile both under beginning-of-life and end-of-life conditions. The procedure is easily applied requiring only the solution of linear algebraic equations. (author)

Redox Stable Anodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guoliang eXiao

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs can convert chemical energy from the fuel directly to electrical energy with high efficiency and fuel flexibility. Ni-based cermets have been the most widely adopted anode for SOFCs. However, the conventional Ni-based anode has low tolerance to sulfur-contamination, is vulnerable to deactivation by carbon build-up (coking from direct oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels, and suffers volume instability upon redox cycling. Among these limitations, the redox instability of the anode is particularly important and has been intensively studied since the SOFC anode may experience redox cycling during fuel cell operations even with the ideal pure hydrogen as the fuel. This review aims to highlight recent progresses on improving redox stability of the conventional Ni-based anode through microstructure optimization and exploration of alternative ceramic-based anode materials.

Household Cooking with Solid Fuels Contributes to Ambient PM2.5 Air Pollution and the Burden of Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Chafe, Zoë A.; Brauer, Michael; Klimont, Zbigniew; Van Dingenen, Rita; Mehta, Sumi; Rao, Shilpa; Riahi, Keywan; Dentener, Frank

2014-01-01

Background: Approximately 2.8 billion people cook with solid fuels. Research has focused on the health impacts of indoor exposure to fine particulate pollution. Here, for the 2010 Global Burden of Disease project (GBD 2010), we evaluated the impact of household cooking with solid fuels on regional population-weighted ambient PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm) pollution (APM2.5). Objectives: We estimated the proportion and concentrations of APM2.5 attributable to household cooking with solid fuels (PM2.5-cook) for the years 1990, 2005, and 2010 in 170 countries, and associated ill health. Methods: We used an energy supply–driven emissions model (GAINS; Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies) and source-receptor model (TM5-FASST) to estimate the proportion of APM2.5 produced by households and the proportion of household PM2.5 emissions from cooking with solid fuels. We estimated health effects using GBD 2010 data on ill health from APM2.5 exposure. Results: In 2010, household cooking with solid fuels accounted for 12% of APM2.5 globally, varying from 0% of APM2.5 in five higher-income regions to 37% (2.8 μg/m3 of 6.9 μg/m3 total) in southern sub-Saharan Africa. PM2.5-cook constituted > 10% of APM2.5 in seven regions housing 4.4 billion people. South Asia showed the highest regional concentration of APM2.5 from household cooking (8.6 μg/m3). On the basis of GBD 2010, we estimate that exposure to APM2.5 from cooking with solid fuels caused the loss of 370,000 lives and 9.9 million disability-adjusted life years globally in 2010. Conclusions: PM2.5 emissions from household cooking constitute an important portion of APM2.5 concentrations in many places, including India and China. Efforts to improve ambient air quality will be hindered if household cooking conditions are not addressed. Citation: Chafe ZA, Brauer M, Klimont Z, Van Dingenen R, Mehta S, Rao S, Riahi K, Dentener F, Smith KR. 2014. Household cooking with solid fuels contributes to

Formulation and Testing of Paraffin-Based Solid Fuels Containing Energetic Additives for Hybrid Rockets

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Daniel B.; Boyer, Eric; Wachs,Trevor; Kuo, Kenneth K.; Story, George

2012-01-01

Many approaches have been considered in an effort to improve the regression rate of solid fuels for hybrid rocket applications. One promising method is to use a fuel with a fast burning rate such as paraffin wax; however, additional performance increases to the fuel regression rate are necessary to make the fuel a viable candidate to replace current launch propulsion systems. The addition of energetic and/or nano-sized particles is one way to increase mass-burning rates of the solid fuels and increase the overall performance of the hybrid rocket motor.1,2 Several paraffin-based fuel grains with various energetic additives (e.g., lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) have been cast in an attempt to improve regression rates. There are two major advantages to introducing LiAlH4 additive into the solid fuel matrix: 1) the increased characteristic velocity, 2) decreased dependency of Isp on oxidizer-to-fuel ratio. The testing and characterization of these solid-fuel grains have shown that continued work is necessary to eliminate unburned/unreacted fuel in downstream sections of the test apparatus.3 Changes to the fuel matrix include higher melting point wax and smaller energetic additive particles. The reduction in particle size through various methods can result in more homogeneous grain structure. The higher melting point wax can serve to reduce the melt-layer thickness, allowing the LiAlH4 particles to react closer to the burning surface, thus increasing the heat feedback rate and fuel regression rate. In addition to the formulation of LiAlH4 and paraffin wax solid-fuel grains, liquid additives of triethylaluminum and diisobutylaluminum hydride will be included in this study. Another promising fuel formulation consideration is to incorporate a small percentage of RDX as an additive to paraffin. A novel casting technique will be used by dissolving RDX in a solvent to crystallize the energetic additive. After dissolving the RDX in a solvent chosen for its compatibility

Biomass-powered Solid Oxide Fuel Cells : Experimental and Modeling Studies for System Integrations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, M.

2013-01-01

Biomass is a sustainable energy source which, through thermo-chemical processes of biomass gasification, is able to be converted from a solid biomass fuel into a gas mixture, known as syngas or biosyngas. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a power generation device that directly converts the chemical

Quality management of nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The Guide presents the quality management requirements to be complied with in the procurement, design, manufacture, transport, receipt, storage, handling and operation of nuclear fuel. The Guide also applies to control rods and shield elements to be placed in the reactor. The Guide is mainly aimed for the licensee responsible for the procurement and operation of fuel, for the fuel designer and manufacturer and for other organisations, whose activities affect fuel quality and the safety of fuel transport, storage and operation. General requirements for nuclear fuel are presented in Section 114 of the Finnish Nuclear Energy Decree and in Section 15 of the Government Decision (395/1991). Regulatory control of the safety of fuel is described in Guides YVL6.1, YVL6.2 and YVL6.3. An overview of the regulatory control of nuclear power plants carried out by STUK (Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Finland) is clarified in Guide YVL1.1

An initial applications study of ceria-gadolinia solid oxide fuel cells: V. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauen, A.; Hart, D.; Mould, B.

1998-11-01

Fuel cells are categorised by their electrolytes, and the solid oxide fuel cell is so called because its electrolyte consists of a solid ceramic oxide. Commonly this has been a form of zirconia, though other materials are now being considered for their different electrical properties. One of these, ceria doped with gadolinia, shows promise for use in lower temperature regimes than zirconia, and may open up different areas of a future market for consideration. This report considers the opportunities for ceria-gadolinia solid oxide fuel cell systems by comparing them with the application requirements in markets where fuel cells may have potential. The advantages and disadvantages of the technology are analysed, together with the state of the art in research and development. The direction in which research effort needs to move to address some of the issues is assessed. The report then draws conclusions regarding the potential of ceria-gadolinia in solid oxide fuel cell systems and in the energy markets as a whole. It should be noted that while this report is an applications study, some technology assessment has been included. Much of this is found in Volume 2. (author)

SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL HYBRID SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED POWER GENERATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faress Rahman; Nguyen Minh

2003-07-01

This report summarizes the work performed by Hybrid Power Generation Systems, LLC during the January 2003 to June 2003 reporting period under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT40779 for the U. S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) entitled ''Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Distributed Power Generation''. The main objective of this project is to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of a highly efficient hybrid system integrating a planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and a micro-turbine. In addition, an activity included in this program focuses on the development of an integrated coal gasification fuel cell system concept based on planar SOFC technology. This report summarizes the results obtained to date on: System performance analysis and model optimization; Reliability and cost model development; System control including dynamic model development; Heat exchanger material tests and life analysis; Pressurized SOFC evaluation; and Pre-baseline system definition for coal gasification fuel cell system concept.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Distributed Power Generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faress Rahman; Nguyen Minh

2004-01-04

This report summarizes the work performed by Hybrid Power Generation Systems, LLC (HPGS) during the July 2003 to December 2003 reporting period under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT40779 for the U. S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) entitled ''Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Distributed Power Generation''. The main objective of this project is to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of a highly efficient hybrid system integrating a planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and a micro-turbine. In addition, an activity included in this program focuses on the development of an integrated coal gasification fuel cell system concept based on planar SOFC technology. Also, another activity included in this program focuses on the development of SOFC scale up strategies.

Quality surveillance experience of PHWR fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulkarni, P.G.; Bandyopadhyay, A.K.; Shah, B.K.

1997-01-01

Quality Surveillance activities are being carried out for PHWR fuel for over 25 years in India. A large number of fuel bundles of 19 element design have been produced and successfully irradiated. The quality surveillance practices follow the guidelines given in various Quality Assurance Codes and Guides. An independent third party surveillance is provided to cover major manufacturing and quality control operations. A system of design basis review periodic quality audit and regulatory safety review is in place. Over the years there have been modifications in the quality assurance procedures to comply with changing requirements. Also many innovative improvements have been introduced in the manufacturing procedures. Similarly quality control activities are also modified. Developments in fuel has remained a continuous activity. The paper summarizes the experience gathered over many years in this exciting process of innovation and improvement. (author)

Strontium Titanate-based Composite Anodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blennow Tullmar, Peter; Kammer Hansen, Kent; Wallenberg, L.R.

2008-01-01

Surfactant-assisted infiltration of Gd-doped ceria (CGO) in Nb-doped SrTiO3 (STN) was investigated as a potential fuel electrode for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). An electronically conductive backbone structure of STN was first fabricated at high temperatures and then combined with the mixed con...

Structures of the particles of the condensed dispersed phase in solid fuel combustion products plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samaryan, A.A.; Chernyshev, A.V.; Nefedov, A.P.; Petrov, O.F.; Fortov, V.E.; Mikhailov, Yu.M.; Mintsev, V.B.

2000-01-01

The results of experimental investigations of a type of dusty plasma which has been least studied--the plasma of solid fuel combustion products--were presented. Experiments to determine the parameters of the plasma of the combustion products of synthetic solid fuels with various compositions together with simultaneous diagnostics of the degree of ordering of the structures of the particles of the dispersed condensed phase were performed. The measurements showed that the charge composition of the plasma of the solid fuels combustion products depends strongly on the easily ionized alkali-metal impurities which are always present in synthetic fuel in one or another amount. An ordered arrangement of the particles of a condensed dispersed phase in structures that form in a boundary region between the high-temperature and condensation zones was observed for samples of aluminum-coated solid fuels with a low content of alkali-metal impurities

SOLID STATE ENERGY CONVERSION ALLIANCE DELPHI SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steven Shaffer; Sean Kelly; Subhasish Mukerjee; David Schumann; Gail Geiger; Kevin Keegan; Larry Chick

2004-05-07

The objective of this project is to develop a 5 kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell power system for a range of fuels and applications. During Phase I, the following will be accomplished: Develop and demonstrate technology transfer efforts on a 5 kW stationary distributed power generation system that incorporates steam reforming of natural gas with the option of piped-in water (Demonstration System A). Initiate development of a 5 kW system for later mass-market automotive auxiliary power unit application, which will incorporate Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPO) reforming of gasoline, with anode exhaust gas injected into an ultra-lean burn internal combustion engine. This technical progress report covers work performed by Delphi from July 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003, under Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FC-02NT41246. This report highlights technical results of the work performed under the following tasks: Task 1 System Design and Integration; Task 2 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack Developments; Task 3 Reformer Developments; Task 4 Development of Balance of Plant (BOP) Components; Task 5 Manufacturing Development (Privately Funded); Task 6 System Fabrication; Task 7 System Testing; Task 8 Program Management; Task 9 Stack Testing with Coal-Based Reformate; and Task 10 Technology Transfer from SECA CORE Technology Program. In this reporting period, unless otherwise noted Task 6--System Fabrication and Task 7--System Testing will be reported within Task 1 System Design and Integration. Task 8--Program Management, Task 9--Stack Testing with Coal Based Reformate, and Task 10--Technology Transfer from SECA CORE Technology Program will be reported on in the Executive Summary section of this report.

Volume reduction technology development for solid wastes from the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Won Zin; Lee, Kune Woo; Song, Kee Chan; Choi, Wang Kyu; Kim, Young Min

1998-07-01

A great deal of solid wastes, which have various physical, chemical, and radiological characteristics, are generated from the nuclear fuel cycle facility as well as radioactive gaseous and liquid wastes. The treatment of the large quantity of solid wastes from the nuclear fuel cycle have great technical, economical and social effects on the domestic policy decision on the nuclear fuel cycle, such as operation and maintenance of the facility, waste disposal, etc. Cement immobilization, super compaction, and electrochemical dissolution were selected as the volume reduction technologies for solid wastes, which will generated from the domestic nuclear fuel cycle facility in the future. And the assessment of annual arisings and the preliminary conceptual design of volume reduction processes were followed. Electrochemical decontamination of α-radionuclides from the spent fuel hulls were experimentally investigated, and showed the successful results. However, β/γ radioactivity did not reduce to the level below which hulls can be classified as the low-level radioactive waste and sent to the disposal site for the shallow land burial. The effects of the various process variables in the electrochemical decontamination were experimentally analysed on the process. (author). 32 refs., 32 tabs., 52 figs

Generator module architecture for a large solid oxide fuel cell power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Gillett, James E.; Zafred, Paolo R.; Riggle, Matthew W.; Litzinger, Kevin P.

2013-06-11

A solid oxide fuel cell module contains a plurality of integral bundle assemblies, the module containing a top portion with an inlet fuel plenum and a bottom portion receiving air inlet feed and containing a base support, the base supports dense, ceramic exhaust manifolds which are below and connect to air feed tubes located in a recuperator zone, the air feed tubes passing into the center of inverted, tubular, elongated, hollow electrically connected solid oxide fuel cells having an open end above a combustion zone into which the air feed tubes pass and a closed end near the inlet fuel plenum, where the fuel cells comprise a fuel cell stack bundle all surrounded within an outer module enclosure having top power leads to provide electrical output from the stack bundle, where the fuel cells operate in the fuel cell mode and where the base support and bottom ceramic air exhaust manifolds carry from 85% to all 100% of the weight of the stack, and each bundle assembly has its own control for vertical and horizontal thermal expansion control.

Optimization of combustion process for radiation-treated solid fuels in dust state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Askarova, A.S.; Bajdullaeva, G.E.

1997-01-01

Computation experiment on combustion of solid radiation-treated fuel in burning chamber of boiler at Pavlodar thermal electric plant is carried out. Velocity, temperature distribution and concentration of combustion products by height of chamber are received. Analysis of received results shows that radiation treatment of fuels exerts substantial effect on egress parameters of thermal electric plant. It is shown, that radiation treatment allows to improve effectiveness of boiler device and reduce of harmful substances discharge in atmosphere. Results of conducted numerical experiments allow to create complete methods of solid fuel combustion with high moisture and ashiness

The TMI Regenerative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Cable, Thomas L.; Ruhl, Robert C.; Petrik, Michael

1996-01-01

Energy storage and production in space requires rugged, reliable hardware which minimizes weight, volume, and maintenance while maximizing power output and usable energy storage. Systems generally consist of photovoltaic solar arrays which operate (during sunlight cycles) to provide system power and regenerate fuel (hydrogen) via water electrolysis and (during dark cycles) fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity. Common configurations use two separate systems (fuel cell and electrolyzer) in conjunction with photovoltaic cells. Reliability, power to weight and power to volume ratios could be greatly improved if both power production (fuel cells) and power storage (electrolysis) functions can be integrated into a single unit. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) based design integrates fuel cell and electrolyzer functions and potentially simplifies system requirements. The integrated fuel cell/electrolyzer design also utilizes innovative gas storage concepts and operates like a rechargeable 'hydrogen-oxygen battery'. Preliminary research has been completed on improved H2/H20 electrode (SOFC anode/electrolyzer cathode) materials for regenerative fuel cells. Tests have shown improved cell performance in both fuel and electrolysis modes in reversible fuel cell tests. Regenerative fuel cell efficiencies, ratio of power out (fuel cell mode) to power in (electrolyzer mode), improved from 50 percent using conventional electrode materials to over 80 percent. The new materials will allow a single SOFC system to operate as both the electolyzer and fuel cell. Preliminary system designs have also been developed to show the technical feasibility of using the design for space applications requiring high energy storage efficiencies and high specific energy. Small space systems also have potential for dual-use, terrestrial applications.

Fuel quality processing study, volume 1

Science.gov (United States)

Ohara, J. B.; Bela, A.; Jentz, N. E.; Syverson, H. T.; Klumpe, H. W.; Kessler, R. E.; Kotzot, H. T.; Loran, B. L.

1981-01-01

A fuel quality processing study to provide a data base for an intelligent tradeoff between advanced turbine technology and liquid fuel quality, and also, to guide the development of specifications of future synthetic fuels anticipated for use in the time period 1985 to 2000 is given. Four technical performance tests are discussed: on-site pretreating, existing refineries to upgrade fuels, new refineries to upgrade fuels, and data evaluation. The base case refinery is a modern Midwest refinery processing 200,000 BPD of a 60/40 domestic/import petroleum crude mix. The synthetic crudes used for upgrading to marketable products and turbine fuel are shale oil and coal liquids. Of these syncrudes, 50,000 BPD are processed in the existing petroleum refinery, requiring additional process units and reducing petroleum feed, and in a new refinery designed for processing each syncrude to produce gasoline, distillate fuels, resid fuels, and turbine fuel, JPGs and coke. An extensive collection of synfuel properties and upgrading data was prepared for the application of a linear program model to investigate the most economical production slate meeting petroleum product specifications and turbine fuels of various quality grades. Technical and economic projections were developed for 36 scenarios, based on 4 different crude feeds to either modified existing or new refineries operated in 2 different modes to produce 7 differing grades of turbine fuels. A required product selling price of turbine fuel for each processing route was calculated. Procedures and projected economics were developed for on-site treatment of turbine fuel to meet limitations of impurities and emission of pollutants.

Comparison of coal/solid recovered fuel (SRF) with coal/refuse derived fuel (RDF) in a fluidised bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagland, S.T.; Kilgallon, P.; Coveney, R.; Garg, A.; Smith, R.; Longhurst, P.J.; Pollard, S.J.T.; Simms, N.

2011-01-01

An experimental study was undertaken to compare the differences between municipal solid waste (MSW) derived solid recovered fuel (SRF) (complying with CEN standards) and refuse derived fuel (RDF). Both fuels were co-combusted with coal in a 50 kW fluidised bed combustor and the metal emissions were compared. Synthetic SRF was prepared in the laboratory by grinding major constituents of MSW such as paper, plastic, textile and wood. RDF was obtained from a local mechanical treatment plant. Heavy metal emissions in flue gas and ash samples from the (coal + 10% SRF) fuel mixture were found to be within the acceptable range and were generally lower than that obtained for coal + 10% RDF fuel mixture. The relative distribution of heavy metals in ash components and the flue gas stream shows the presence of a large fraction (up to 98%) of most of the metals in the ash (except Hg and As). Thermo-gravimetric (TG) analysis of SRF constituents was performed to understand the behaviour of fuel mixtures in the absence and presence of air. The results obtained from the experimental study will enhance the confidence of fuel users towards using MSW-derived SRF as an alternative fuel.

On-line determination of the calorific value of solid fuels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kessel, L.B.M. van; Arendsen, A.R.J.; Brem, G.

2004-01-01

In thermal processes with highly inhomogeneous fuels it is desirable to know real time fuel characteristics. In the case of municipal solid waste combustion (MSWC) it was up till now not possible to determine the calorific value of the waste on-line with a high accuracy. In this paper, a new method

Development of oxygen sensors using zirconia solid electrolyte for fuel rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiura, Nobuo; Endou, Yasuichi; Yamaura, Takayuki; Matui, Yoshinori; Niimi, Motoji; Hoshiya, Taiji; Kobiyama, Mamoru; Motohashi, Yoshinobu

1999-01-01

The oxygen potential in oxide fuel pellet is an important parameter to understand behavior of high burn up fuel and its integrity. Zirconia solid electrolyte which is durable under irradiation and high temperature is considered as candidate material for the oxygen potential. Combined use of solid electrolyte and Ni/NiO as a solid standard electrode will realize small size oxygen sensor which can be easily loaded in the fuel rod. Prototypes of the oxygen sensor made of these materials were irradiated with neutrons the Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR), and characteristics of electromotive force (EMF) by sensors were examined under irradiation. For a prototype using zirconia solid electrolyte stabilized by Y 2 O 3 (YSZ), measured EMF under irradiation was nearly equivalent to the value under unirradiated condition, and very stable within a range of neutron fluence (E>1 MeV) up to 1.52 x 10 23 m -2 and for the time of 600 h. However, the measured EMFs were slightly smaller than the theoretical values. The reason for this decrease of the EMF was thought as due to insufficient adhesion forces between solid electrolyte and standard electrode. After modification of the sensor to increase adhesion force, EMF was measured again under irradiation. The results showed improvement of the characteristics of the sensor in which measured EMFs were almost equivalent to the theoretical values. (author)

Fuel manufacture and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roepenack, H.; Raab, K.

1975-01-01

The different steps in fuel and fuel element manufacturing from the conversion of UF 6 to UO 2 to the assembling of the whole fuel element are shortly described. Each of this fabrication steps must satisfy well-defined quality criteria which are checked in certain analyses or tests. (RB) [de

An afterburner-powered methane/steam reformer for a solid oxide fuel cells application

Science.gov (United States)

Mozdzierz, Marcin; Chalusiak, Maciej; Kimijima, Shinji; Szmyd, Janusz S.; Brus, Grzegorz

2018-04-01

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems can be fueled by natural gas when the reforming reaction is conducted in a stack. Due to its maturity and safety, indirect internal reforming is usually used. A strong endothermic methane/steam reforming process needs a large amount of heat, and it is convenient to provide thermal energy by burning the remainders of fuel from a cell. In this work, the mathematical model of afterburner-powered methane/steam reformer is proposed. To analyze the effect of a fuel composition on SOFC performance, the zero-dimensional model of a fuel cell connected with a reformer is formulated. It is shown that the highest efficiency of a solid oxide fuel cell is achieved when the steam-to-methane ratio at the reforming reactor inlet is high.

Quality assurance for breeder reactor fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marx, E.R.

1978-01-01

Fuel performance in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) depends on fabrication of fuel to rigorous quality standards. The quality program including Management, Procurement, Fabrication, Inspection, Records, and Audits is discussed as well as unique mixed oxide fuel inspections such as homogeneity inspection, analytical chemistry, and nondestructive fissile assay

Thermophotovoltaics, wood powder and fuel quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marks, J [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Operational Efficiency; Broman, L; Jarefors, K [Solar Energy Research Center, Borlaenge (Sweden)

1998-06-01

PV cells can be used for electricity production based on other heat sources than the sun. If the temperature of the source is around 1500 K it is possible to get reasonably high conversion efficiency from heat radiation to electricity. This is due to recent advances in low-bandgap PV cells and selectively emitting fibrous emissive burners. There are some different biomass fuels capable of producing this temperature in the flame, especially gas and liquid fuels of different kinds. Wood powder is the only solid wood fuel with a sufficiently stable quality and properties for this high temperature combustion. A joint project between SERC, SLU and National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL in Golden, Colorado, USA aims at building a wood powder fuelled thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generator for cogeneration of heat and electricity. A stable flame temperature of 1500 K has been achieved in a prototype pilot-scale burner that includes feeder and combustion chamber. Furthermore, a setup for measuring TPV cell efficiency for a wide region of black body emitter temperatures and cell irradiation has been constructed and several 0.6 eV GaInAs TPV cells have been investigated. A setup for testing the chain IR emitter - selectively reflecting filter - TPV cell has been designed. In order to limit the region of filter incident angles, which will make the filter act more efficiently, a special geometry of the internally reflecting tube that transmits the radiation is considered 23 refs, 4 figs

Thermodynamic analysis of SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell)–Stirling hybrid plants using alternative fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rokni, Masoud

2013-01-01

A novel hybrid power system (∼10 kW) for an average family home is proposed. The system investigated contains a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) on top of a Stirling engine. The off-gases produced in the SOFC cycle are fed to a bottoming Stirling engine, at which additional power is generated. Simulations of the proposed system were conducted using different fuels, which should facilitate the use of a variety of fuels depending on availability. Here, the results for natural gas (NG), ammonia, di-methyl ether (DME), methanol and ethanol are presented and analyzed. The system behavior is further investigated by comparing the effects of key factors, such as the utilization factor and the operating conditions under which these fuels are used. Moreover, the effect of using a methanator on the plant efficiency is also studied. The combined system improves the overall electrical efficiency relative to that of a stand-alone Stirling engine or SOFC plant. For the combined SOFC and Stirling configuration, the overall power production was increased by approximately 10% compared to that of a stand-alone SOFC plant. System efficiencies of approximately 60% are achieved, which is remarkable for such small plant sizes. Additionally, heat is also produced to heat the family home when necessary. - Highlights: • Integrating a solid oxide fuel with a Stirling engine • Design of multi-fuel hybrid plants • Plants running on alternative fuels; natural gas, methanol, ethanol, DME and ammonia • Thermodynamic analysis of hybrid SOFC–Stirling engine plants

Computer Simulations of Composite Electrodes in Solid-Oxide Fuel-Cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sunde, Svein

1999-07-01

Fuel cells are devices for converting the combined chemical (free) energy of fuels and oxygen (air) directly to electrical energy without relying on the dynamic action of steam heated by reacting fuel-oxygen mixtures, like in steam turbines, or of the reacting gas mixtures themselves, like in gas turbines. The basic rationale for fuel cells is their high efficiencies as compared to indirect-conversion methods. Fuel cells are currently being considered for a number of applications, among them de-centralised power supply. Fuel cells come in five basic types and are usually classified according to the type of electrolyte used, which in turn to a significant degree limits the options for anode and cathode materials. The solid-oxide fuel-cell (SOFC) , with which this thesis is concerned, is thus named after its oxide electrolyte, typically the oxide-ion conducting material yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ). While the cathode of an SOFC is often uniform in chemical composition (or at least intended to be), various problems of delamination, cracking etc. associated with the use of metallic anode electrocatalysts led to the development of composite SOFC anodes. Porous anodes consisting of Ni and YSZ particles in roughly 50/50 wt-% mixtures are now almost standard with any SOFC-development programme. The designer of composite SOFC electrodes is faced with at least three, interrelated questions: (1) What will be the optimum microstructure and composition of the composite electrode? (2) If the structure changes during operation, as is often observed, what will be the consequences for the internal losses in the cell? (3) How do we interpret electrochemical and conductivity measurements with regard to structure and composition? It is the primary purpose of this thesis to provide a framework for modelling the electrochemical and transport properties of composite electrodes for SOFC, and to arrive at some new insights that cannot be offered by experiment alone. Emphasis is put on

Plasma Membranes Modified by Plasma Treatment or Deposition as Solid Electrolytes for Potential Application in Solid Alkaline Fuel Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Reinholdt, Marc; Ilie, Alina; Roualdès, Stéphanie; Frugier, Jérémy; Schieda, Mauricio; Coutanceau, Christophe; Martemianov, Serguei; Flaud, Valérie; Beche, Eric; Durand, Jean

2012-01-01

In the highly competitive market of fuel cells, solid alkaline fuel cells using liquid fuel (such as cheap, non-toxic and non-valorized glycerol) and not requiring noble metal as catalyst seem quite promising. One of the main hurdles for emergence of such a technology is the development of a hydroxide-conducting membrane characterized by both high conductivity and low fuel permeability. Plasma treatments can enable to positively tune the main fuel cell membrane requirements. In this work, commercial ADP-Morgane® fluorinated polymer membranes and a new brand of cross-linked poly(aryl-ether) polymer membranes, named AMELI-32®, both containing quaternary ammonium functionalities, have been modified by argon plasma treatment or triallylamine-based plasma deposit. Under the concomitant etching/cross-linking/oxidation effects inherent to the plasma modification, transport properties (ionic exchange capacity, water uptake, ionic conductivity and fuel retention) of membranes have been improved. Consequently, using plasma modified ADP-Morgane® membrane as electrolyte in a solid alkaline fuel cell operating with glycerol as fuel has allowed increasing the maximum power density by a factor 3 when compared to the untreated membrane. PMID:24958295

Plasma membranes modified by plasma treatment or deposition as solid electrolytes for potential application in solid alkaline fuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinholdt, Marc; Ilie, Alina; Roualdès, Stéphanie; Frugier, Jérémy; Schieda, Mauricio; Coutanceau, Christophe; Martemianov, Serguei; Flaud, Valérie; Beche, Eric; Durand, Jean

2012-07-30

In the highly competitive market of fuel cells, solid alkaline fuel cells using liquid fuel (such as cheap, non-toxic and non-valorized glycerol) and not requiring noble metal as catalyst seem quite promising. One of the main hurdles for emergence of such a technology is the development of a hydroxide-conducting membrane characterized by both high conductivity and low fuel permeability. Plasma treatments can enable to positively tune the main fuel cell membrane requirements. In this work, commercial ADP-Morgane® fluorinated polymer membranes and a new brand of cross-linked poly(aryl-ether) polymer membranes, named AMELI-32®, both containing quaternary ammonium functionalities, have been modified by argon plasma treatment or triallylamine-based plasma deposit. Under the concomitant etching/cross-linking/oxidation effects inherent to the plasma modification, transport properties (ionic exchange capacity, water uptake, ionic conductivity and fuel retention) of membranes have been improved. Consequently, using plasma modified ADP-Morgane® membrane as electrolyte in a solid alkaline fuel cell operating with glycerol as fuel has allowed increasing the maximum power density by a factor 3 when compared to the untreated membrane.

Reforming processes for micro combined heat and powersystem based on solid oxide fuel cell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liso, Vincenzo; Nielsen, Mads Pagh; Kær, Søren Knudsen

2009-01-01

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a promising technology for decentralized power generation and cogeneration. This technology has several advantages: the high electric efficiency, which can be theoretically improved through integration in power cycles; the low emissions; and the possibility of using...... a large variety of gaseous fuels. The high operating temperature (700-1000°C) of SOFCs has a number of consequences, the most important of which are the possibility to partially reform the raw fuel in the fuel cell anode compartment and the possibility to use high quality heat for cogeneration....... In this work, different configurations of SOFC systems for decentralized electricity production are considered and studied. The balance of plant (BoP) components will be identified including fuel and air supply, fuel management, start-up steam, anode re-circulation, exhaust gas heat management, power...

Solid Polymer Fuel Cells. Electrode and membrane performance studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeller-Holst, S.

1996-12-31

This doctoral thesis studies aspects of fuel cell preparation and performance. The emphasis is placed on preparation and analysis of low platinum-loading solid polymer fuel cell (SPEC) electrodes. A test station was built and used to test cells within a wide range of real operating conditions, 40-150{sup o}C and 1-10 bar. Preparation and assembling equipment for single SPFCs was designed and built, and a new technique of spraying the catalyst layer directly onto the membrane was successfully demonstrated. Low Pt-loading electrodes (0.1 mg Pt/cm{sup 2}) prepared by the new technique exhibited high degree of catalyst utilization. The performance of single cells holding these electrodes is comparable to state-of-the-art SPFCs. Potential losses in single cell performance are ascribed to irreversibilities by analysing the efficiency of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell by means of the second law of thermodynamics. The water management in membranes is discussed for a model system and the results are relevant to fuel cell preparation and performance. The new spray deposition technique should be commercially interesting as it involves few steps as well as techniques that are adequate for larger scale production. 115 refs., 43 figs., 18 tabs.

Solid Polymer Fuel Cells. Electrode and membrane performance studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeller-Holst, S

1997-12-31

This doctoral thesis studies aspects of fuel cell preparation and performance. The emphasis is placed on preparation and analysis of low platinum-loading solid polymer fuel cell (SPEC) electrodes. A test station was built and used to test cells within a wide range of real operating conditions, 40-150{sup o}C and 1-10 bar. Preparation and assembling equipment for single SPFCs was designed and built, and a new technique of spraying the catalyst layer directly onto the membrane was successfully demonstrated. Low Pt-loading electrodes (0.1 mg Pt/cm{sup 2}) prepared by the new technique exhibited high degree of catalyst utilization. The performance of single cells holding these electrodes is comparable to state-of-the-art SPFCs. Potential losses in single cell performance are ascribed to irreversibilities by analysing the efficiency of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell by means of the second law of thermodynamics. The water management in membranes is discussed for a model system and the results are relevant to fuel cell preparation and performance. The new spray deposition technique should be commercially interesting as it involves few steps as well as techniques that are adequate for larger scale production. 115 refs., 43 figs., 18 tabs.

Application of the monolithic solid oxide fuel cell to space power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myles, K.M.; Bhattacharyya, S.K.

1991-01-01

The monolithic solid-oxide fuel cell (MSOFC) is a promising electrochemical power generation device that is currently under development at Argonne National Laboratory. The extremely high power density of the MSOFC leads to MSOFC systems that have sufficiently high energy densities that they are excellent candidates for a number of space missions. The fuel cell can also be operated in reverse, if it can be coupled to an external power source, to regenerate the fuel and oxidant from the water product. This feature further enhances the potential mission applications of the MSOFC. In this paper, the current status of the fuel cell development is presented---the focus being on fabrication and currently achievable performance. In addition, a specific example of a space power system, featuring a liquid metal cooled fast spectrum nuclear reactor and a monolithic solid oxide fuel cell, is presented to demonstrate the features of an integrated system

Application of the monolithic solid oxide fuel cell to space power systems

Science.gov (United States)

Myles, Kevin M.; Bhattacharyya, Samit K.

1991-01-01

The monolithic solid-oxide fuel cell (MSOFC) is a promising electrochemical power generation device that is currently under development at Argonne National Laboratory. The extremely high power density of the MSOFC leads to MSOFC systems that have sufficiently high energy densities that they are excellent candidates for a number of space missions. The fuel cell can also be operated in reverse, if it can be coupled to an external power source, to regenerate the fuel and oxidant from the water product. This feature further enhances the potential mission applications of the MSOFC. In this paper, the current status of the fuel cell development is presented—the focus being on fabrication and currently achievable performance. In addition, a specific example of a space power system, featuring a liquid metal cooled fast spectrum nuclear reactor and a monolithic solid oxide fuel cell, is presented to demonstrate the features of an integrated system.

ATTACK ON WATER BY CARBON OF SOLID FUEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. S. Nazarov

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers a continuous method for attack of high temperature water steam by carbon of solid fuel (coke. Design of water-coal gas generator and experimental stand, methodology for  measurements of parameters of water-coal gasification are described in the paper.

Independent and combined effects of maternal smoking and solid fuel on infant and child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Akinyemi, Joshua O; Adedini, Sunday A; Wandera, Stephen O; Odimegwu, Clifford O

2016-12-01

To estimate the independent and combined risks of infant and child mortality associated with maternal smoking and use of solid fuel in sub-Saharan Africa. Pooled weighted data on 143 602 under-five children in the most recent demographic and health surveys for 15 sub-Saharan African countries were analysed. The synthetic cohort life table technique and Cox proportional hazard models were employed to investigate the effect of maternal smoking and solid cooking fuel on infant (age 0-11 months) and child (age 12-59 months) mortality. Socio-economic and other confounding variables were included as controls. The distribution of the main explanatory variable in households was as follows: smoking + solid fuel - 4.6%; smoking + non-solid fuel - 0.22%; no smoking + solid fuel - 86.9%; and no smoking + non-solid fuel - 8.2%. The highest infant mortality rate was recorded among children exposed to maternal smoking + solid fuel (72 per 1000 live births); the child mortality rate was estimated to be 54 per 1000 for this group. In full multivariate models, the risk of infant death was 71% higher among those exposed to maternal smoking + solid fuel (HR = 1.71, CI: 1.29-2.28). For ages 12 to 59 months, the risk of death was 99% higher (HR = 1.99, CI: 1.28-3.08). Combined exposures to cigarette smoke and solid fuel increase the risks of infant and child mortality. Mothers of under-five children need to be educated about the danger of smoking while innovative approaches are needed to reduce the mortality risks associated with solid cooking fuel. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Guidebook on quality control of mixed oxides and gadolinium bearing fuels for light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-02-01

Under the coverage of an efficient quality assurance system, quality control in nuclear fuel fabrication is an essential element to assure the reliable performance of all its components in service. Incentives to increase fuel performance, by extending reactor cycles or achieving higher burnups and, in some countries to use recycled plutonium in light water reactors (LWRs) necessitated the development of new types of fuels. In the first case, due to higher uranium enrichments, a burnable neutron absorber was integrated to the fuel pellets. Gadolinia was found to form a solid solution with Uranium dioxide and, to present a burnup rate which matches fissile uranium depletion. (U,Gd)O 2 fuels which have been successfully used since the seventies, in boiling water reactors have more recently found an increased utilization, in pressurized water reactors. This amply justifies the publication of this TECDOC to encourage authorities, designers and manufacturers of these types of fuel to establish a more uniform, adapted and effective system of control, thus promoting improved materials reliability and good performance in advanced fuel for light water reactors. The Guidebook is subdivided into four chapters written by different authors. A separate abstract was prepared for each of these chapters. Refs, figs and tabs

Indoor air pollution from unprocessed solid fuels in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Charlotte

2010-01-01

Approximately half of the world's population relies on biomass (primarily wood and agricultural residues) or coal fuels (collectively termed solid fuels) for heating, lighting, and cooking. The incomplete combustion of such materials releases byproducts with well-known adverse health effects, hence increasing the risk of many diseases and death. Among these conditions are acute respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, cataracts and blindness, tuberculosis, asthma, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified the indoor combustion of coal emissions as Group 1, a known carcinogen to humans. Indoor air pollution exposure is greatest in individuals who live in rural developing countries. Interventions have been limited and show only mixed results. To reduce the morbidity and mortality from indoor air pollution, countermeasures have to be developed that are practical, efficient, sustainable, and economical with involvement from the government, the commercial sector, and individuals. This review focuses on the contribution of solid fuels to indoor air pollution.

Improving the performance of solid oxide fuel cell systems

OpenAIRE

Halinen, Matias

2015-01-01

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems can provide power production at a high electrical efficiency and with very low emissions. Furthermore, they retain their high electrical efficiency over a wide range of output power and offer good fuel flexibility, which makes them well suited for a range of applications. Currently SOFC systems are under investigation by researchers as well as being developed by industrial manufacturers. The first commercial SOFC systems have been on the market for some...

AlliedSignal solid oxide fuel cell technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minh, N.; Barr, K.; Kelly, P.; Montgomery, K. [AlliedSignal Aerospace Equipment Systems, Torrance, CA (United States)

1996-12-31

AlliedSignal has been developing high-performance, lightweight solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology for a broad spectrum of electric power generation applications. This technology is well suited for use in a variety of power systems, ranging from commercial cogeneration to military mobile power sources. The AlliedSignal SOFC is based on stacking high-performance thin-electrolyte cells with lightweight metallic interconnect assemblies to form a compact structure. The fuel cell can be operated at reduced temperatures (600{degrees} to 800{degrees}C). SOFC stacks based on this design has the potential of producing 1 kW/kg and 1 ML. This paper summarizes the technical status of the design, manufacture, and operation of AlliedSignal SOFCs.

Viscoelastic response of HTPB based solid fuel to horizontal and vertical storage slumping conditions and it's affect on service life

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nawaz, Q.; Nizam, F.

2011-01-01

Frequent use of solid fuels as thrust generating energy source in modern day space vehicle systems has created a need to assess their serviceability for long term storage under various conditions. Solid fuel grain, the most important part of any solid fuel system, responds visco elastically to any loading condition. For the assessment of the service life of any solid fuel system, the solid fuel grain has to be structurally evaluated in applied storage conditions. Structural integrity of the grain is exceptionally significant to guarantee the successful operation of the solid fuel system. In this work, numerical simulations have been performed to assess the mechanical stresses and strains induced in an HTPB based solid fuel grain during service life employing ABAQUS standard FEA software using 4-node bilinear quadrilateral elements. For finite element analysis (FEA), typical 2-D and p/nth axisymmetric section of 5-point (n) star grain geometry is considered. Mechanical loads include the horizontal or vertical 1-g (solid fuel weight) storage condition. The simulation results are compared with the analytical results for the same grain geometry. Analytically measured slump deflections in grain segment at various storage times have been found in good relation with the FEA based simulation results. This proves the validity of the procedure adopted and is helpful in assessment of the service life of solid fuel systems. (author)

Conversion of hydrocarbons in solid oxide fuel cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg; Kammer Hansen, K.

2003-01-01

Recently, a number of papers about direct oxidation of methane and hydrocarbon in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) at relatively low temperatures (about 700degreesC) have been published. Even though the conversion of almost dry CH4 at 1000degreesC on ceramic anodes was demonstrated more than 10 years...

Stability of solid oxide fuel cell materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, T.R.; Bates, J.L.; Chick, L.A. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

1996-04-01

Interconnection materials in a solid oxide fuel cell are exposed to both highly oxidizing conditions at the cathode and to highly reducing conditions at the anode. The thermal expansion characteristics of substituted lanthanum and yttrium chromite interconnect materials were evaluated by dilatometry as a function of oxygen partial pressures from 1 atm to 10{sup -18} atm, controlled using a carbon dioxide/hydrogen buffer.

Hydrothermal treatment of grape marc for solid fuel applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mäkelä, Mikko; Kwong, Chi Wai; Broström, Markus; Yoshikawa, Kunio

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The effects of treatment temperature and liquid pH on char and liquid properties. • Liquid pH had a statistically significant effect only on liquid carbon yield. • Higher treatment temperature increased char volatiles that can enhance ignitability. • Char showed promising fuel properties if elevated ash phosphorus can be tolerated. - Abstract: The treatment and disposal of grape marc, a residue from grape processing, represents a significant economic and environmental challenge for the winemaking industry. Hydrothermal treatment of grape marc could be an efficient way for producing solid fuels on-site at the wineries. In this work the effects of treatment temperature and liquid pH on grape marc char and liquid properties were determined based on laboratory experiments and the combustion characteristics of char were assessed through thermogravimetric analysis and fuel ash classification. The results showed that hydrothermal treatment increased the energy and carbon contents and decreased the ash content of grape marc. The effect of liquid pH was statistically significant (p < 0.05) only for the determined carbon yield of liquid samples. The energy yield from grape marc was maximized at lower treatment temperatures, which also decreased the content of less thermally stable compounds in the attained char. Higher treatment temperatures decreased grape marc solid, carbon and energy yields and led to an increase in thermally labile compounds compared to lower temperatures likely due to the condensation of liquid compounds or volatiles trapped in the pores of char particles. The alkali metal contents of char ash were reduced coupled with an increase in respective phosphorus. Overall the results support the use of hydrothermally treated grape marc in solid fuel applications, if elevated levels of ash phosphorus can be tolerated.

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

Bioenergy in Germany. Facts and figures. Solid fuels, biofuels, biogas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-04-11

The brochure under consideration gives statistical information about the bioenergy in Germany: Renewable energies (bioenergy) and solid fuels. For example, the structure of the primary energy consumption in the year 2010, the energy supply from renewables, gross electricity generation, the total sales of renewables, growth in number of installed pellet boilers, wood fuel equivalent prices by energy value or biofuels in comparison with heating oil are presented.

Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycled plastics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gug, JeongIn; Cacciola, David; Sobkowicz, Margaret J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Briquetting was used to produce solid fuels from municipal solid waste and recycled plastics. • Optimal drying, processing temperature and pressure were found to produce stable briquettes. • Addition of waste plastics yielded heating values comparable with typical coal feedstocks. • This processing method improves utilization of paper and plastic diverted from landfills. - Abstract: Diversion of waste streams such as plastics, woods, papers and other solid trash from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is to burn the high-energy-content components in standard coal power plant. This research aims to reform wastes into briquettes that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, free of hazardous contaminants, and moisture resistant, while retaining high fuel value. This study aims to investigate the effects of processing conditions and added recyclable plastics on the properties of MSW solid fuels. A well-sorted waste stream high in paper and fiber content was combined with controlled levels of recyclable plastics PE, PP, PET and PS and formed into briquettes using a compression molding technique. The effect of added plastics and moisture content on binding attraction and energy efficiency were investigated. The stability of the briquettes to moisture exposure, the fuel composition by proximate analysis, briquette mechanical strength, and burning efficiency were evaluated. It was found that high processing temperature ensures better properties of the product addition of milled mixed plastic waste leads to better encapsulation as well as to greater calorific value. Also some moisture removal (but not complete) improves the compacting process and results in

Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycled plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gug, JeongIn, E-mail: Jeongin_gug@student.uml.edu; Cacciola, David, E-mail: david_cacciola@student.uml.edu; Sobkowicz, Margaret J., E-mail: Margaret_sobkowiczkline@uml.edu

2015-01-15

Highlights: • Briquetting was used to produce solid fuels from municipal solid waste and recycled plastics. • Optimal drying, processing temperature and pressure were found to produce stable briquettes. • Addition of waste plastics yielded heating values comparable with typical coal feedstocks. • This processing method improves utilization of paper and plastic diverted from landfills. - Abstract: Diversion of waste streams such as plastics, woods, papers and other solid trash from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is to burn the high-energy-content components in standard coal power plant. This research aims to reform wastes into briquettes that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, free of hazardous contaminants, and moisture resistant, while retaining high fuel value. This study aims to investigate the effects of processing conditions and added recyclable plastics on the properties of MSW solid fuels. A well-sorted waste stream high in paper and fiber content was combined with controlled levels of recyclable plastics PE, PP, PET and PS and formed into briquettes using a compression molding technique. The effect of added plastics and moisture content on binding attraction and energy efficiency were investigated. The stability of the briquettes to moisture exposure, the fuel composition by proximate analysis, briquette mechanical strength, and burning efficiency were evaluated. It was found that high processing temperature ensures better properties of the product addition of milled mixed plastic waste leads to better encapsulation as well as to greater calorific value. Also some moisture removal (but not complete) improves the compacting process and results in

Strategies for Lowering Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Operating Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Tarancón

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Lowering the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs to the intermediate range (500–700 ºC has become one of the main SOFC research goals. High operating temperatures put numerous requirements on materials selection and on secondary units, limiting the commercial development of SOFCs. The present review first focuses on the main effects of reducing the operating temperature in terms of materials stability, thermo-mechanical mismatch, thermal management and efficiency. After a brief survey of the state-of-the-art materials for SOFCs, attention is focused on emerging oxide-ionic conductors with high conductivity in the intermediate range of temperatures with an introductory section on materials technology for reducing the electrolyte thickness. Finally, recent advances in cathode materials based on layered mixed ionic-electronic conductors are highlighted because the decreasing temperature converts the cathode into the major source of electrical losses for the whole SOFC system. It is concluded that the introduction of alternative materials that would enable solid oxide fuel cells to operate in the intermediate range of temperatures would have a major impact on the commercialization of fuel cell technology.

Fuel quality issues in stationary fuel cell systems.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Papadias, D.; Ahmed, S.; Kumar, R. (Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division)

2012-02-07

Fuel cell systems are being deployed in stationary applications for the generation of electricity, heat, and hydrogen. These systems use a variety of fuel cell types, ranging from the low temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) to the high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Depending on the application and location, these systems are being designed to operate on reformate or syngas produced from various fuels that include natural gas, biogas, coal gas, etc. All of these fuels contain species that can potentially damage the fuel cell anode or other unit operations and processes that precede the fuel cell stack. These detrimental effects include loss in performance or durability, and attenuating these effects requires additional components to reduce the impurity concentrations to tolerable levels, if not eliminate the impurity entirely. These impurity management components increase the complexity of the fuel cell system, and they add to the system's capital and operating costs (such as regeneration, replacement and disposal of spent material and maintenance). This project reviewed the public domain information available on the impurities encountered in stationary fuel cell systems, and the effects of the impurities on the fuel cells. A database has been set up that classifies the impurities, especially in renewable fuels, such as landfill gas and anaerobic digester gas. It documents the known deleterious effects on fuel cells, and the maximum allowable concentrations of select impurities suggested by manufacturers and researchers. The literature review helped to identify the impurity removal strategies that are available, and their effectiveness, capacity, and cost. A generic model of a stationary fuel-cell based power plant operating on digester and landfill gas has been developed; it includes a gas processing unit, followed by a fuel cell system. The model includes the key impurity removal steps to enable predictions of impurity breakthrough

Uranium transport to solid electrodes in pyrochemical reprocessing of nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomczuk, Z.; Ackerman, J.P.; Wolson, R.D.; Miller, W.E.

1992-01-01

A unique pyrochemical process developed for the separation of metallic nuclear fuel from fission products by electrotransport through molten LiCl-KCl eutectic salt to solid and liquid metal cathodes. The process allow for recovery and reuse of essentially all of the actinides in spent fuel from the integral fast reactor (IFR) and disposal of wastes in satisfactory forms. Electrotransport is used to minimize reagent consumption and, consequently, waste volume. In particular, electrotransport to solid cathodes is used for recovery of an essentially pure uranium product in the presence of other actinides; removal of pure uranium is used to adjust the electrolyte composition in preparation for recovery of a plutonium-rich mixture with uranium in liquid cadmium cathodes. This paper presents experiments that delineate the behavior of key actinide and rare-earth elements during electrotransport to a solid electrode over a useful range of PuCl 3 /UCl 3 ratios in the electrolyte, a thermodynamic basis for that behavior, and a comparison of the observed behavior with that calculated from a thermodynamic model. This work clearly established that recovery of nearly pure uranium can be a key step in the overall pyrochemical-fuel-processing strategy for the IFR

Advanced methods of quality control in nuclear fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onoufriev, Vladimir

2004-01-01

Under pressure of current economic and electricity market situation utilities implement more demanding fuel utilization schemes including higher burn ups and thermal rates, longer fuel cycles and usage of Mo fuel. Therefore, fuel vendors have recently initiated new R and D programmes aimed at improving fuel quality, design and materials to produce robust and reliable fuel. In the beginning of commercial fuel fabrication, emphasis was given to advancements in Quality Control/Quality Assurance related mainly to product itself. During recent years, emphasis was transferred to improvements in process control and to implementation of overall Total Quality Management (TQM) programmes. In the area of fuel quality control, statistical control methods are now widely implemented replacing 100% inspection. This evolution, some practical examples and IAEA activities are described in the paper. The paper presents major findings of the latest IAEA Technical Meetings (TMs) and training courses in the area with emphasis on information received at the TM and training course held in 1999 and other latest publications to provide an overview of new developments in process/quality control, their implementation and results obtained including new approaches to QC

Quality analysis in pressurized water reactor fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darolles, J.F.

1975-01-01

An integrated system which has been set up to administrate and analyze the quality is described. This system is in actual operation. The basic principles for quality analysis system are traceability, i.e., identification, location and history of fuel components and quality evaluation during manufacturing. The quality analysis system operates in the following areas: data recording and transmission, data processing, quality file generation. The interest of such a system may be noted particularly in manufacturing, for the constitution of quality files, the design of products and the processing of data from irradiated fuel assemblies [fr

Fifty years of fuel quality and vehicle emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rose, K. [CONCAWE, Brussels (Belgium)

2013-04-01

In the late 1970s, with growing emphasis on urban air quality in Europe, CONCAWE embarked on new research related to fuels and vehicles. After only a few years, it became clear that fuel properties and specifications would be increasingly important to the future of the European refining industry, and considerable research was completed in the 1970s to better understand the impact of fuel composition on vehicle performance and emissions. This early work led to the formation of the first Fuels and Emissions Management Group (FEMG) in 1982, almost 20 years after the formation of the CONCAWE Association. Since these early days, FEMG has been responsible for ensuring CONCAWE's strategic outlook on future vehicle and fuel developments, monitoring regulatory and vehicle developments, and overseeing a diverse portfolio of fuel quality and vehicle emissions research. Since the 1980s, tremendous progress has been made in improving European air quality, in part by reducing emissions from road transport and other sectors, and major improvements in European fuel qualities have contributed to these reductions. Nevertheless, many challenges are still ahead, especially further reductions in pollutant emissions from vehicles while also reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport. In the near-term, these GHG reductions will largely come from improvements in engine and vehicle fuel consumption and by blending of GHG-reducing bio-blending components. Dealing with these challenges to fuel quality and performance will require a continuing focus on CONCAWE's founding principles: sound science, cost effectiveness and transparency.

Recent standardisation work in Sweden related to measurement of biomass fuel quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maansson, Margret [Swedish National Testing and Research Inst., Boraas (Sweden)

1998-06-01

Work on Swedish standards for peat and biofuels started close to fifteen years ago. The same technical committee that has the responsibility for peat and solid biofuels is also handling the standardisation work on solid mineral fuels. Its counterpart within the ISO is TC 27 Solid mineral fuels. A number of the Swedish analysis standards are structured such that they define methods for all of the solid fuels in the same standard, with specific requirements for the type of fuel if necessary. By now, twenty Swedish biomass standards have been prepared and adopted, half of them already revised at least once. There are dedicated biofuel standards for terminology, sampling and sample preparation and for determination of parameters such as moisture, ash, size distribution, bulk density and mechanical strength. Solid fuels standards that include biomass and peat in their range of application exist for the determination of volatile matter, sulfur chlorine and calorific value. Solid fuel ash methods have been specifically developed for the determination of unburned material and sulfur content. At the present time, standard methods are being defined for the determination of total amounts of heavy metals in ash, and also methods for measuring the availability (leaching properties) of certain elements in ash, in particular ash from combustion of biomass. Ash methods are of interest because of the focus on the possibilities of returning biomass-origin ash to forest soil as a fertilizer and also to prevent depletion of trace elements caused by the increase in the utilisation of the forest growth

Development and Characterization of Fast Burning Solid Fuels/Propellants for Hybrid Rocket Motors with High Volumetric Efficiency

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The objective of this proposed work is to develop several fast burning solid fuels/fuel-rich solid propellants for hybrid rocket motor applications. In the...

Three-dimensional ionic conduction in the strained electrolytes of solid oxide fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Yupei; Zou, Minda; Lv, Weiqiang; He, Weidong; Mao, Yiwu; Wang, Wei

2016-01-01

Flexible power sources including fuel cells and batteries are the key to realizing flexible electronic devices with pronounced foldability. To understand the bending effects in these devices, theoretical analysis on three-dimensional (3-D) lattice bending is necessary. In this report, we derive a 3-D analytical model to analyze the effects of electrolyte crystal bending on ionic conductivity in flexible solid-state batteries/fuel cells. By employing solid oxide fuel cells as a materials' platform, the intrinsic parameters of bent electrolyte materials, including lattice constant, Young's modulus, and Poisson ratio, are evaluated. Our work facilitates the rational design of highly efficient flexible electrolytes for high-performance flexible device applications.

Solid oxide fuel cell anode image segmentation based on a novel quantum-inspired fuzzy clustering

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Xiaowei; Xiang, Yuhan; Chen, Li; Xu, Xin; Li, Xi

2015-12-01

High quality microstructure modeling can optimize the design of fuel cells. For three-phase accurate identification of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) microstructure, this paper proposes a novel image segmentation method on YSZ/Ni anode Optical Microscopic (OM) images. According to Quantum Signal Processing (QSP), the proposed approach exploits a quantum-inspired adaptive fuzziness factor to adaptively estimate the energy function in the fuzzy system based on Markov Random Filed (MRF). Before defuzzification, a quantum-inspired probability distribution based on distance and gray correction is proposed, which can adaptively adjust the inaccurate probability estimation of uncertain points caused by noises and edge points. In this study, the proposed method improves accuracy and effectiveness of three-phase identification on the micro-investigation. It provides firm foundation to investigate the microstructural evolution and its related properties.

Decoupled numerical simulation of a solid fuel fired retort boiler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryfa, Arkadiusz; Buczynski, Rafal; Chabinski, Michal; Szlek, Andrzej; Bialecki, Ryszard A.

2014-01-01

The paper deals with numerical simulation of the retort boiler fired with solid fuel. Such constructions are very popular for heating systems and their development is mostly based on the designer experience. The simulations have been done in ANSYS/Fluent package and involved two numerical models. The former deals with a fixed-bed combustion of the solid fuel and free-board gas combustion. Solid fuel combustion is based on the coal kinetic parameters. This model encompasses chemical reactions, radiative heat transfer and turbulence. Coal properties have been defined with user defined functions. The latter model describes flow of water inside a water jacked that surrounds the combustion chamber and flue gas ducts. The novelty of the proposed approach is separating of the combustion simulation from the water flow. Such approach allows for reducing the number of degrees of freedom and thus lowering the necessary numerical effort. Decoupling combustion from water flow requires defining interface boundary condition. As this boundary condition is unknown it is adjusted iteratively. The results of the numerical simulation have been successfully validated against measurement data. - Highlights: • New decoupled modelling of small scale boiler is proposed. • Fixed-bed combustion model based on kinetic parameters is introduced. • Decoupling reduced the complexity of the model and computational time. • Simple and computationally inexpensive coupling algorithm is proposed. • Model is successfully validated against measurements

Thermodynamic analysis of Direct Urea Solid Oxide Fuel Cell in combined heat and power applications

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, F.; Dincer, I.

2015-12-01

This paper presents a comprehensive steady state modelling and thermodynamic analysis of Direct Urea Solid Oxide Fuel Cell integrated with Gas Turbine power cycle (DU-SOFC/GT). The use of urea as direct fuel mitigates public health and safety risks associated with the use of hydrogen and ammonia. The integration scheme in this study covers both oxygen ion-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC-O) and hydrogen proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC-H). Parametric case studies are carried out to investigate the effects of design and operating parameters on the overall performance of the system. The results reveal that the fuel cell exhibited the highest level of exergy destruction among other system components. Furthermore, the SOFC-O based system offers better overall performance than that with the SOFC-H option mainly due to the detrimental reverse water-gas shift reaction at the SOFC anode as well as the unique configuration of the system.

Abundance of 14C in biomass fractions of wastes and solid recovered fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fellner, Johann; Rechberger, Helmut

2009-01-01

In recent years thermal utilization of mixed wastes and solid recovered fuels has become of increasing importance in European waste management. Since wastes or solid recovered fuels are generally composed of fossil and biogenic materials, only part of the CO 2 emissions is accounted for in greenhouse gas inventories or emission trading schemes. A promising approach for determining this fraction is the so-called radiocarbon method. It is based on different ratios of the carbon isotopes 14 C and 12 C in fossil and biogenic fuels. Fossil fuels have zero radiocarbon, whereas biogenic materials are enriched in 14 C and reflect the 14 CO 2 abundance of the ambient atmosphere. Due to nuclear weapons tests in the past century, the radiocarbon content in the atmosphere has not been constant, which has resulted in a varying 14 C content of biogenic matter, depending on the period of growth. In the present paper 14 C contents of different biogenic waste fractions (e.g., kitchen waste, paper, wood), as well as mixtures of different wastes (household, bulky waste, and commercial waste), and solid recovered fuels are determined. The calculated 14 C content of the materials investigated ranges between 98 and 135 pMC

Solid oxide fuel cell bi-layer anode with gadolinia-doped ceria for utilization of solid carbon fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kellogg, Isaiah D. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 290A Toomey Hall, 400 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 223 McNutt Hall, 1400 N. Bishop, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Koylu, Umit O. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 290A Toomey Hall, 400 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Dogan, Fatih [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 223 McNutt Hall, 1400 N. Bishop, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States)

2010-11-01

Pyrolytic carbon was used as fuel in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte and a bi-layer anode composed of nickel oxide gadolinia-doped ceria (NiO-GDC) and NiO-YSZ. The common problems of bulk shrinkage and emergent porosity in the YSZ layer adjacent to the GDC/YSZ interface were avoided by using an interlayer of porous NiO-YSZ as a buffer anode layer between the electrolyte and the NiO-GDC primary anode. Cells were fabricated from commercially available component powders so that unconventional production methods suggested in the literature were avoided, that is, the necessity of glycine-nitrate combustion synthesis, specialty multicomponent oxide powders, sputtering, or chemical vapor deposition. The easily-fabricated cell was successfully utilized with hydrogen and propane fuels as well as carbon deposited on the anode during the cyclic operation with the propane. A cell of similar construction could be used in the exhaust stream of a diesel engine to capture and utilize soot for secondary power generation and decreased particulate pollution without the need for filter regeneration. (author)

Integrated non-food concept of rape seed, reed canary grass and flax processing for fiber, fuel oil and solid fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sipilae, K.

1998-01-01

The target of the project was to investigate if rape seed based fuel oil and diesel fuel component, agrofiber and solid fuel from other annual crops could be produced effectively as an alternative to existing non-economical biodiesel-RME and ethanol production. Without heavy tax incentives the biodiesel and grain ethanol can not compete with conventional liquid fuels, the present EU fuel tax legislation will not permit any permanent tax incentives for commercial scale operations. Based on several studies by VTT the rape seed oil will be 30 % cheaper than RME and the utilization as a component 10-30 % blended to heating oil or diesel fuel might the most flexible solution. Neste Oy has carried out the combustion tests with 20 kW boiler and VTT the diesel engine tests with 20 % unprocessed rape seed oil mixtures, the oil was delivered by Mildola Oy. For the co-utilization of annual crops and straw, several laboratory scale combustion and flash pyrolysis tests have been carried out by VTT with straw, reed canary grass etc. In fluid bed combustion 10-30 % addition of rape seed straw and reed canary grass, which have high ash melting point, seems to be less problematic compared to other straw species, which are used for example in Denmark. In a flash pyrolysis process, the alkalies will remain in the char and a low alkali level bio oils can be produced. As a final step in order to reach the zero subsidy target, an extensive laboratory work is carried out to produce agro fibre from flax, reed canary grass and wheat straw. The laboratory results show that a good quality pulp can be produced to be mixed with conventional wood fibres, the quality of flax pulp is even better compared to conventional pulp. During the next months an overall economic calculations will be carried out in Finnish, Danish and Italian conditions as an EU-Apas project in order to see the competitiveness of such integrated concepts to conventional RME and reed canary grass combustion. (orig.)

standards used for quality control of nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guereli, L; Can, S.

1997-01-01

Nuclear fuels and fuel materials are subject to stringent restrictions as to their quality. The standards and regulations that apply vary according to reactor type and country and the standards are stated in the quality assurance documents. The concept of quality assurance has altered the conventional quality control tests and procedures, defining which control tests are to be applied and how. Although most of the tests and measurements allow the determination of tolerances to be decided according to the agreement between the buyer and the seller, exacting procedures apply to which instruments and equipment are used for these tests and measurements, how these instruments are standardized.Detailed explanations of test methods and their documentation is a requirement in all standards. The purpose of this work is to study which standards, tests and measurements apply to the nuclear fuel production. Only the standards that apply to various stages of the nuclear fuel production (powder preparation, pellet production, fuel element and fuel assembly fabrication) are reviewed. Process and documentation control, design and licensing requirements and the frequency of inspections are quality assurance subjects. Some ASTM standards are given as examples

High temperature fuel cell with ceria-based solid electrolyte

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, H.; Eguchi, K.; Yahiro, H.; Baba, Y.

1987-01-01

Cation-doped ceria is investigated as an electrolyte for the solid oxide fuel cell. As for application to the fuel cells, the electrolyte are desired to have high ionic conductivity in deriving a large electrical power. A series of cation-doped ceria has higher ionic conductivity than zirconia-based oxides. In the present study, the basic electrochemical properties of cation-doped ceria were studied in relation to the application of fuel cells. The performance of fuel cell with yttria-doped ceria electrolyte was evaluated. Ceria-based oxides were prepared by calcination of oxide mixtures of the components or calcination of co-precipitated hydroxide mixtures from the metal nitrate solution. The oxide mixtures thus obtained were sintered at 1650 0 C for 15 hr in air into disks. Ionic transference number, t/sub i/, was estimated from emf of oxygen concentration cell. Electrical conductivities were measured by dc-4 probe method by varying the oxygen partial pressure. The fuel cell was operated by oxygen and hydrogen

The study of flow and proton exchange interactions in the cylindrical solid oxide fuel cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saievar-Iranizad, E.; Malekifar, A.

2002-01-01

The solid oxide fuel cell operates at high temperature of about 1000 deg C. In this temperature, some known materials such as Ni, ... which is abundant in the nature, can be used as a catalyst in the electrodes. The electrolytes of such cell solid oxide fuel cell can be made through non-porous solid ceramics such as Zircon's (ZrO 2 ). It can be stabilized using a doped Yttrium oxide. The importance of Yttria-stabilised Zirconia at high temperature belongs to the transport of oxygen ions through the electrolyte. Oxygen using in the hot cathode side causes a considerable reduction in the concentration of oxygen molecules. The oxygen ions exchange through the electrolyte relates to the molecular oxygen concentration gradient between the anode and cathode. Applying fuels such as hydrogen or natural gas in the anode and its chemical reaction with oxygen ions transfer from cathode through the electrolyte, produce electricity, water and heat. To study the ion exchange and its interaction into solid oxide fuel cell, a mathematical model had been considered in this article. This model simulates and illustrates the interaction, diffusion and oxygen ions exchange into fuel cell. The electrical power of fuel cell due to the ion exchange can be obtained using a simulation method. The ion exchange simulation, diffusion of molecules, their interactions and system development through the mathematical model has been discussed in this paper

The study of flow and proton exchange interactions in the cylindrical solid oxide fuel cell

CERN Document Server

Saievar-Iranizad, E

2002-01-01

The solid oxide fuel cell operates at high temperature of about 1000 deg C. In this temperature, some known materials such as Ni, ... which is abundant in the nature, can be used as a catalyst in the electrodes. The electrolytes of such cell solid oxide fuel cell can be made through non-porous solid ceramics such as Zircon's (ZrO sub 2). It can be stabilized using a doped Yttrium oxide. The importance of Yttria-stabilised Zirconia at high temperature belongs to the transport of oxygen ions through the electrolyte. Oxygen using in the hot cathode side causes a considerable reduction in the concentration of oxygen molecules. The oxygen ions exchange through the electrolyte relates to the molecular oxygen concentration gradient between the anode and cathode. Applying fuels such as hydrogen or natural gas in the anode and its chemical reaction with oxygen ions transfer from cathode through the electrolyte, produce electricity, water and heat. To study the ion exchange and its interaction into solid oxide fuel cel...

Criteria for solid recovered fuels as a substitute for fossil fuels--a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Beckmann, Michael; Pohl, Martin; Bernhardt, Daniel; Gebauer, Kathrin

2012-04-01

The waste treatment, particularly the thermal treatment of waste has changed fundamentally in the last 20 years, i.e. from facilities solely dedicated to the thermal treatment of waste to facilities, which in addition to that ensure the safe plant operation and fulfill very ambitious criteria regarding emission reduction, resource recovery and energy efficiency as well. Therefore this contributes to the economic use of raw materials and due to the energy recovered from waste also to the energy provision. The development described had the consequence that waste and solid recovered fuels (SRF) has to be evaluated based on fuel criteria as well. Fossil fuels - coal, crude oil, natural gas etc. have been extensively investigated due to their application in plants for energy conversion and also due to their use in the primary industry. Thereby depending on the respective processes, criteria on fuel technical properties can be derived. The methods for engineering analysis of regular fuels (fossil fuels) can be transferred only partially to SRF. For this reason methods are being developed or adapted to current analytical methods for the characterization of SRF. In this paper the possibilities of the energetic utilization of SRF and the characterization of SRF before and during the energetic utilization will be discussed.

Quantification of fusion in ashes from solid fuel combustion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lone Aslaug; Frandsen, Flemming; Dam-Johansen, Kim

1999-01-01

The fusion of ashes produced during solid fuel combustion greatly affects the tendency of these ashes to cause operational problems in utility boilers. In this paper, a new and quantitative laboratory method for assessing the fusion of ashes based on simultaneous thermal analysis, STA, is described...

Production of Solid Fuel Briquettes from Agricultural and Wood ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fibrous agricultural and wood waste materials have been compressed with suitable adhesive into solid fuel briquettes in a compressing machine, which was designed and constructed for this purpose. Nine samples of fibrous waste materials were prepared into different categories:- Category A (100% saw-dust, 100% ...

Pulse combustors for unpulverized solid fuels; Combustor pulsante para solidos nao pulverizados

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferreira, Marco Aurelio; Carvalho Junior, Joao Andrade de [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil)

1988-12-31

This work presents results of performance evaluation of an experimental pulsating combustor developed to burn unpulverized solid fuels. The fuels tested were sized wood blocks and coal lumps. The results for coal show a clear maximum combustion efficiency as a function of fuel loading within the combustor. For an excess of air of 10%, a maximum combustion efficiency of 94% was obtained. (author) 38 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Pollutants generated by the combustion of solid biomass fuels

CERN Document Server

Jones, Jenny M; Ma, Lin; Williams, Alan; Pourkashanian, Mohamed

2014-01-01

This book considers the pollutants formed by the combustion of solid biomass fuels. The availability and potential use of solid biofuels is first discussed because this is the key to the development of biomass as a source of energy.This is followed by details of the methods used for characterisation of biomass and their classification.The various steps in the combustion mechanisms are given together with a compilation of the kinetic data. The chemical mechanisms for the formation of the pollutants: NOx, smoke and unburned hydrocarbons, SOx, Cl compounds, and particulate metal aerosols

Bed models for solid fuel conversion process in grate-fired boilers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Costa, M.; Massarotti, N.; Indrizzi, V.

2013-01-01

-chemical processes are divided in two successive sections: drying and conversion (which includes pyrolysis, gasification and combustion). The second model is an empirical 1D approach. The two models need input data such as composition, temperature and feeding rate of biomass and primary air. Temperature, species...... to describe the thermo-chemical conversion process of a solid fuel bed in a grate-fired boiler is presented. In this work both models consider the incoming solid fuel as subjected to drying, pyrolysis, gasification and combustion. In the first approach the biomass bed is treated as a 0D system, but the thermo...... concentrations and velocity of the producer gas leaving the fuel bed provided by the two models are compared. A sensitivity analysis with respect to mass flow rate of the primary air is also performed, as well as a further comparison regarding the dependence of the producer gas properties on the initial moisture...

Technical meeting on 'Review of solid and mobile fuels for partitioning and transmutation systems'. Working material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-07-01

The topics covered during the Meeting were divided into two Sessions. Session 1 - Qualification of Solid and Mobile Fuels delt with: Neutronic, fuel and material properties of a molten salt transmuter; and Preliminary analysis of transmutation fuels for KALIMER. Session 2 - Reactor Physics and Safety Characteristics of Transmutation Systems based on Solid and Mobile Fuel Types included the following: Activity in NEA for P and T area; IAEA activities in the area of partitioning and transmutation; The R and D activity in Brazil: A conceptual fast energy amplifier ADS cooled by helium double stata Th/U fuel cycle; Closed fuel cycle and contemporary tendencies of the nuclear facilities development; Current Russian activities in P and T area; Pyrochemical reprocessing and nuclear spent fuel disposal project; Fuel selection criteria specific for double stratum minor actinide burners.

Total quality in spent fuel pool reracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cranston, J.S.; Bradbury, R.B.; Cacciapouti, R.J.

1993-01-01

The nuclear utility environment is one of strict cost control under prescriptive regulations and increasing public scrutiny. This paper presents the results of A Total Quality approach, by a dedicated team, that addresses the need for increased on-site spent fuel storage in this environment. Innovations to spent fuel pool reracking, driven by utilities' specific technical needs and shrinking budgets, have resulted in both product improvements and lower prices. A Total Quality approach to the entire turnkey project is taken, thereby creating synergism and process efficiency in each of the major phases of the project: design and analysis, licensing, fabrication, installation and disposal. Specific technical advances and the proven quality of the team members minimizes risk to the utility and its shareholders and provides a complete, cost effective service. Proper evaluation of spent fuel storage methods and vendors requires a full understanding of currently available customer driven initiatives that reduce cost while improving quality. In all phases of a spent fuel reracking project, from new rack design and analysis through old rack disposal, the integration of diverse experts, at all levels and throughout all phases of a reracking project, better serves utility needs. This Total Quality environment in conjunction with many technical improvements results in a higher quality product at a lower cost

Generation of transportation fuel from solid municipal waste plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarker, Moinuddin

2010-09-15

Transportation fuels derived from fossil fuels are subjected to the price fluctuations of the global marketplace, and constitute a major expense in the operation of a vehicle. Emissions from the evaporation and combustion of these fuels contribute to a range of environmental problems, causing poor air quality and emitting greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Alternative fuels created from domestic sources have been proposed as a solution to these problems, and many fuels are being developed based on biomass and other renewable sources. Natural State Research, Inc. developed different alternative hydrocarbon fuel which is produced from waste plastic materials.

Modules for estimating solid waste from fossil-fuel technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowther, M.A.; Thode, H.C. Jr.; Morris, S.C.

1980-10-01

Solid waste has become a subject of increasing concern to energy industries for several reasons. Increasingly stringent air and water pollution regulations result in a larger fraction of residuals in the form of solid wastes. Control technologies, particularly flue gas desulfurization, can multiply the amount of waste. With the renewed emphasis on coal utilization and the likelihood of oil shale development, increased amounts of solid waste will be produced. In the past, solid waste residuals used for environmental assessment have tended only to include total quantities generated. To look at environmental impacts, however, data on the composition of the solid wastes are required. Computer modules for calculating the quantities and composition of solid waste from major fossil fuel technologies were therefore developed and are described in this report. Six modules have been produced covering physical coal cleaning, conventional coal combustion with flue gas desulfurization, atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion, coal gasification using the Lurgi process, coal liquefaction using the SRC-II process, and oil shale retorting. Total quantities of each solid waste stream are computed together with the major components and a number of trace elements and radionuclides

Structural design considerations for micromachined solid-oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Srikar, V. T.; Turner, Kevin T.; Andrew Ie, Tze Yung; Spearing, S. Mark

Micromachined solid-oxide fuel cells (μSOFCs) are among a class of devices being investigated for portable power generation. Optimization of the performance and reliability of such devices requires robust, scale-dependent, design methodologies. In this first analysis, we consider the structural design of planar, electrolyte-supported, μSOFCs from the viewpoints of electrochemical performance, mechanical stability and reliability, and thermal behavior. The effect of electrolyte thickness on fuel cell performance is evaluated using a simple analytical model. Design diagrams that account explicitly for thermal and intrinsic residual stresses are presented to identify geometries that are resistant to fracture and buckling. Analysis of energy loss due to in-plane heat conduction highlights the importance of efficient thermal isolation in microscale fuel cell design.

Solid oxide fuel cells for transportation: A clean, efficient alternative for propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, R.; Krumpelt, M.; Myles, K.M.

1993-01-01

Fuel cells show great promise for providing clean and efficient transportation power. Of the fuel cell propulsion systems under investigation, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is particularly attractive for heavy duty transportation applications that have a relatively long duty cycle, such as locomotives, trucks, and barges. Advantages of the SOFC include a simple, compact system configuration; inherent fuel flexibility for hydrocarbon and alternative fuels; and minimal water management. The specific advantages of the SOFC for powering a railroad locomotive are examined. Feasibility, practicality, and safety concerns regarding SOFCs in transportation applications are discussed, as am the major R ampersand D issues

Association of Solid Fuel Use With Risk of Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality in Rural China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Kuai; Qiu, Gaokun; Chan, Ka-Hung; Lam, Kin-Bong Hubert; Kurmi, Om P; Bennett, Derrick A; Yu, Canqing; Pan, An; Lv, Jun; Guo, Yu; Bian, Zheng; Yang, Ling; Chen, Yiping; Hu, Frank B; Chen, Zhengming; Li, Liming; Wu, Tangchun

2018-04-03

When combusted indoors, solid fuels generate a large amount of pollutants such as fine particulate matter. To assess the associations of solid fuel use for cooking and heating with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. This nationwide prospective cohort study recruited participants from 5 rural areas across China between June 2004 and July 2008; mortality follow-up was until January 1, 2014. A total of 271 217 adults without a self-reported history of physician-diagnosed cardiovascular disease at baseline were included, with a random subset (n = 10 892) participating in a resurvey after a mean interval of 2.7 years. Self-reported primary cooking and heating fuels (solid: coal, wood, or charcoal; clean: gas, electricity, or central heating), switching of fuel type before baseline, and use of ventilated cookstoves. Death from cardiovascular and all causes, collected through established death registries. Among the 271 217 participants, the mean (SD) age was 51.0 (10.2) years, and 59% (n = 158 914) were women. A total of 66% (n = 179 952) of the participants reported regular cooking (at least weekly) and 60% (n = 163 882) reported winter heating, of whom 84% (n = 150 992) and 90% (n = 147 272) used solid fuels, respectively. There were 15 468 deaths, including 5519 from cardiovascular causes, documented during a mean (SD) of 7.2 (1.4) years of follow-up. Use of solid fuels for cooking was associated with greater risk of cardiovascular mortality (absolute rate difference [ARD] per 100 000 person-years, 135 [95% CI, 77-193]; hazard ratio [HR], 1.20 [95% CI, 1.02-1.41]) and all-cause mortality (ARD, 338 [95% CI, 249-427]; HR, 1.11 [95% CI, 1.03-1.20]). Use of solid fuels for heating was also associated with greater risk of cardiovascular mortality (ARD, 175 [95% CI, 118-231]; HR, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.06-1.55]) and all-cause mortality (ARD, 392 [95% CI, 297-487]; HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03-1.26]). Compared with persistent solid fuel

Copper-substituted perovskite compositions for solid oxide fuel cell cathodes and oxygen reduction electrodes in other electrochemical devices

Science.gov (United States)

Rieke, Peter C [Pasco, WA; Coffey, Gregory W [Richland, WA; Pederson, Larry R [Kennewick, WA; Marina, Olga A [Richland, WA; Hardy, John S [Richland, WA; Singh, Prabhaker [Richland, WA; Thomsen, Edwin C [Richland, WA

2010-07-20

The present invention provides novel compositions that find advantageous use in making electrodes for electrochemical cells. Also provided are electrochemical devices that include active oxygen reduction electrodes, such as solid oxide fuel cells, sensors, pumps and the like. The compositions comprises a copper-substituted ferrite perovskite material. The invention also provides novel methods for making and using the electrode compositions and solid oxide fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cell assemblies having cathodes comprising the compositions.

40 kW Stirling Engine for Solid Fuel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlsen, Henrik; Trærup, Jens

1996-01-01

The external combustion in a Stirling engine makes it very attractive for utilisation of solid fuels in decentralised combined heat and power (CHP) plants. Only a few projects have concentrated on the development of Stirling engines specifically for biomass. In this project, a Stirling engine has...... been designed primarily for utilisation of wood chips. Maximum shaft power is 40 kW corresponding to an electric output of 36 kW. Biomass needs more space in the combustion chamber compared to gas and liquid fuels, and a large heat transfer area is necessary. The design of the new Stirling engine has...... been adapted to the special demands of combustion of wood chips, resulting in a large engine compared to engines for gas or liquid fuels. The engine has four-cylinders arranged in a square. The design is made as a hermetic unit, where the alternator is built into the pressurised crankcase so...

Nuclear Solid Waste Processing Design at the Idaho Spent Fuels Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dippre, M. A.

2003-01-01

A spent nuclear fuels (SNF) repackaging and storage facility was designed for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), with nuclear solid waste processing capability. Nuclear solid waste included contaminated or potentially contaminated spent fuel containers, associated hardware, machinery parts, light bulbs, tools, PPE, rags, swabs, tarps, weld rod, and HEPA filters. Design of the nuclear solid waste processing facilities included consideration of contractual, regulatory, ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) exposure, economic, logistical, and space availability requirements. The design also included non-attended transfer methods between the fuel packaging area (FPA) (hot cell) and the waste processing area. A monitoring system was designed for use within the FPA of the facility, to pre-screen the most potentially contaminated fuel canister waste materials, according to contact- or non-contact-handled capability. Fuel canister waste materials which are not able to be contact-handled after attempted decontamination will be processed remotely and packaged within the FPA. Noncontact- handled materials processing includes size-reduction, as required to fit into INEEL permitted containers which will provide sufficient additional shielding to allow contact handling within the waste areas of the facility. The current design, which satisfied all of the requirements, employs mostly simple equipment and requires minimal use of customized components. The waste processing operation also minimizes operator exposure and operator attendance for equipment maintenance. Recently, discussions with the INEEL indicate that large canister waste materials can possibly be shipped to the burial facility without size-reduction. New waste containers would have to be designed to meet the drop tests required for transportation packages. The SNF waste processing facilities could then be highly simplified, resulting in capital equipment cost savings, operational

Occurrence of bromine in fluidised bed combustion of solid recovered fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vainikka, P.

2011-12-15

Corrosive ash species are the single most important factor limiting the electric efficiency of steam boiler plants fired with waste or biomass. Chlorine has been found to have a central role in the chemistry involved as it reduces the melting temperature of ash, forms corrosive vapour and gas species in the furnace and halogenated deposits on boiler heat transfer surfaces. In this context chlorine has been extensively researched. At the time of writing this thesis there was hardly any published data available on the occurrence of bromine (Br) in the aforementioned context. The objective of this work was to review the occurrence of bromine in solid fuels and characterise the behaviour of bromine in full-scale fluidised bed combustion. The review on the occurrence of bromine in solid fuels revealed that in anthropogenic wastes bromine is mainly found in connection to flame retarded substances. Several weight percentages of bromine can be found in plastics treated with brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Bromine is typically found some 100-200 mg kg-1 in mixed municipal solid wastes (MSW). Bromine may be enriched in fuels with high share of plastics, such as solid recovered fuel (SRF) or refuse derived fuel (RDF). Up to 2000 mg kg-1 was found as a monthly average in SRF, typical levels being 20-200 mg kg-1. Wastewater sludge from paper mills may contain bromine 20-100 mg kg-1 due the use of bromine based biocides. In other fuels bromine may be found in significant amounts in marine influenced coal deposits and peat as well as in biomass treated with brominated pesticides. In the experimental part SRF, spruce bark and wastewater sludge from a paper mill were co-fired in a full- scale bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) boiler, and the collected fuels, aerosols and waterwall deposits were analysed with the focus on the fate of bromine. Bromine was mainly found to form water soluble high vapour pressure alkali metal halides in the furnace - in the form of KBr(g) and NaBr(g) as

Quality control procedures for HTGR fuel element components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delle, W.W.; Koizlik, K.; Luhleich, H.; Nickel, H.

1976-08-01

The growing use of nuclear reactors for the production of electric power throughout the world, and the consequent increase in the number of nuclear fuel manufacturers, is giving enhanced importance to the consideration of quality assurance in the production of nuclear fuels. The fuel is the place, where the radioactive fission products are produced in the reactor and, therefore, the integrity of the fuel is of utmost importance. The first and most fundamental means of insuring that integrity is through the exercise of properly designed quality assurance programmes during the manufacture of the fuel and other fuel element components. The International Atomic Energy Agency therefore conducted an International Seminar on Nuclear Fuel Quality Assurance in Oslo, Norway from 24 till 28 May, 1976. This KFA report contains a paper which was distributed preliminary during the seminar and - in the second part - the text of the oral presentation. The paper gives a summary of the procedures available in the present state for the production control of HTGR core materials and of the meaning of the particular properties for reactor operation. (orig./UA) [de

Thermodynamic analysis of carbon formation in solid oxide fuel cells with a direct internal reformer fueled by ethanol, methanol, and methane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laosiripojana, N.; Assabumrungrat, S.; Pavarajarn, V.; Sangtongkitcharoen, W.; Tangjitmatee, A.; Praserthdam, P.

2004-01-01

'Full text:' This paper concerns a detailed thermodynamic analysis of carbon formation for a Direct Internal Reformer (DIR) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). The modeling of DIR-SOFC fueled by ethanol, methanol, and methane were compared. Two types of fuel cell electrolytes, i.e. oxygen-conducting and hydrogen-conducting, are considered. Equilibrium calculations were performed to find the ranges of inlet steam/fuel ratio where carbon formation is thermodynamically unfavorable in the temperature range of 500-1200 K. It was found that the key parameters determining the boundary of carbon formation are temperature, type of solid electrolyte and extent of the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen. The minimum requirements of H2O/fuel ratio for each type of fuel in which the carbon formation is thermodynamically unfavored were compared. At the same operating conditions, DIR-SOFC fueled by ethanol required the lowest inlet H2O/fuel ratio in which the carbon formation is thermodynamically unfavored. The requirement decreased with increasing temperature for all three fuels. Comparison between two types of the electrolytes reveals that the hydrogen-conducting electrolyte is impractical for use, regarding to the tendency of carbon formation. This is due mainly to the water formed by the electrochemical reaction at the electrodes. (author)

Complex plasmochemical processing of solid fuel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Messerle

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Technology of complex plasmaochemical processing of solid fuel by Ecibastuz bituminous and Turgay brown coals is presented. Thermodynamic and experimental study of the technology was fulfilled. Use of this technology allows producing of synthesis gas from organic mass of coal and valuable components (technical silicon, ferrosilicon, aluminum and silicon carbide and microelements of rare metals: uranium, molybdenum, vanadium etc. from mineral mass of coal. Produced a high-calorific synthesis gas can be used for methanol synthesis, as high-grade reducing gas instead of coke, as well as energy gas in thermal power plants.

CANDU fuel quality and how it is achieved

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gacesa, M.; Quarrington, G.R.; Tarasuk, W.R.; Carrick, I.R.; Pawliw, J.; McGregor, G.; Debnam, H.R.; Proos, L.

1980-07-01

In this three part presentation CANDU fuel quality is reviewed from the point of view of a designer/operator and a fabricator. In Part 'A' fuel performance and quality considerations are discussed from the point of view of a designer-operator. In Parts 'B' and 'C' fuel quality is reviewed from the point of view of a fabricator. The presentation was divided in this way to convey the 'team effort' attitude which exists in the Canadian program; the team effort which is an essential part of the CANDU story. (auth)

Strength of Anode‐Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faes, A.; Frandsen, Henrik Lund; Kaiser, Andreas

2011-01-01

Nickel oxide and yttria doped zirconia composite strength is crucial for anode‐supported solid oxide fuel cells, especially during transient operation, but also for the initial stacking process, where cell curvature after sintering can cause problems. This work first compares tensile and ball....... Even though the electrolyte is to the tensile side, it is found that the anode support fails due to the thermo‐mechanical residual stresses....

Tubular solid oxide fuel cells with porous metal supports and ceramic interconnections

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Kevin [Export, PA; Ruka, Roswell J [Pittsburgh, PA

2012-05-08

An intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell structure capable of operating at from 600.degree. C. to 800.degree. C. having a very thin porous hollow elongated metallic support tube having a thickness from 0.10 mm to 1.0 mm, preferably 0.10 mm to 0.35 mm, a porosity of from 25 vol. % to 50 vol. % and a tensile strength from 700 GPa to 900 GPa, which metallic tube supports a reduced thickness air electrode having a thickness from 0.010 mm to 0.2 mm, a solid oxide electrolyte, a cermet fuel electrode, a ceramic interconnection and an electrically conductive cell to cell contact layer.

DK-SOFCa. Development of solid oxide fuel cells. Technical final report; DK-SOFCa, udvikling af fastoxid braendselsceller. Teknisk slutrapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, P.H.

2004-08-01

This project is part of the Danish strategy for solid oxide fuel cells. The main purpose with the project was to upgrade Danish fuel cell technology within the SOFC area from established laboratory production techniques to pre-pilot scale. This target has been reached, as a 400m{sup 2} production area with equipment capable of producing up to 500 homogeneous, batch-size cells with a low rejection rate has been established. The production processes are described, analysed and optimised systematically in order to create a basis for a future upgrading to industrial production. A number of non-destructive evaluation methods have been developed for quality control of the produced cells. A reproducibility study of the established production process has contributed to identifying reasons for variations in the yield of the cells, and has enabled a continuous quality improvement. The cells produced on the pre-pilot plant are globally competitive as to mechanical strength, service life and electrical yield. Thus, the project has opened an opportunity for a demonstration of Danish fuel cell technology. (BA)

Chlorine in solid fuels fired in pulverized fuel boilers sources, forms, reactions, and consequences: a literature review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David A. Tillman; Dao Duong; Bruce Miller [Foster Wheeler North America Corp. (United States)

2009-07-15

Chlorine is a significant source of corrosion and deposition, both from coal and from biomass, and in PF boilers. This investigation was designed to highlight the potential for corrosion risks associated with once-through units and advanced cycles. The research took the form of a detailed literature investigation to evaluate chlorine in solid fuels: coals of various ranks and origins, biomass fuels of a variety of types, petroleum cokes, and blends of the above. The investigation focused upon an extensive literature review of documents dating back to 1991. The focus is strictly corrosion and deposition. To address the deposition and corrosion issues, this review evaluates the following considerations: concentrations of chlorine in available solid fuels including various coals and biomass fuels, forms of chlorine in those fuels, and reactions - including reactivities - of chlorine in such fuels. The assessment includes consideration of alkali metals and alkali earth elements as they react with, and to, the chlorine and other elements (e.g., sulfur) in the fuel and in the gaseous products of combustion. The assessment also includes other factors of combustion: for example, combustion conditions including excess O{sub 2} and combustion temperatures. It also considers analyses conducted at all levels: theoretical calculations, bench scale laboratory data and experiments, pilot plant experiments, and full scale plant experience. Case studies and plant surveys form a significant consideration in this review. The result of this investigation focuses upon the concentrations of chlorine acceptable in coals burned exclusively, in coals burned with biomass, and in biomass cofired with coal. Values are posited based upon type of fuel and combustion technology. Values are also posited based upon both first principles and field experience. 86 refs., 8 figs., 7 tabs.

Effectiveness of paper-structured catalyst for the operation of biodiesel-fueled solid oxide fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Quang-Tuyen, Tran; Kaida, Taku; Sakamoto, Mio; Sasaki, Kazunari; Shiratori, Yusuke

2015-06-01

Mg/Al-hydrotalcite (HDT)-dispersed paper-structured catalyst (PSC) was prepared by a simple paper-making process. The PSC exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the steam reforming of model biodiesel fuel (BDF), pure oleic acid methyl ester (oleic-FAME, C19H36O2) which is a mono-unsaturated component of practical BDFs. The PSC exhibited fuel conversion comparable to a pelletized catalyst material, here, conventional Ni-zirconia cermet anode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with less than one-hundredth Ni weight. Performance of electrolyte-supported cell connected with the PSC was evaluated in the feed of oleic-FAME, and stable operation was achieved. After 60 h test, coking was not observed in both SOFC anode and PSC.

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SOLID ELECTROLYTES: FUEL CELL APPLICATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rambabu Bobba; Josef Hormes; T. Wang; Jaymes A. Baker; Donald G. Prier; Tommy Rockwood; Dinesha Hawkins; Saleem Hasan; V. Rayanki

1997-12-31

The intent of this project with Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC)/Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) is to develop research infrastructure conductive to Fuel Cell research at Southern University and A and M College, Baton Route. A state of the art research laboratory (James Hall No.123 and No.114) for energy conversion and storage devices was developed during this project duration. The Solid State Ionics laboratory is now fully equipped with materials research instruments: Arbin Battery Cycling and testing (8 channel) unit, Electrochemical Analyzer (EG and G PAR Model 273 and Solartron AC impedance analyzer), Fuel Cell test station (Globe Tech), Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC-10), Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), UV-VIS-NIR Absorption Spectrometer, Fluorescence Spectrometer, FT-IR Spectrometer, Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) measurement capability at Center for Advanced Microstructure and Devices (CAMD- a multimillion dollar DOE facility), Glove Box, gas hood chamber, high temperature furnaces, hydraulic press and several high performance computers. IN particular, a high temperature furnace (Thermodyne 6000 furnace) and a high temperature oven were acquired through this project funds. The PI Dr. R Bobba has acquired additional funds from federal agencies include NSF-Academic Research Infrastructure program and other DOE sites. They have extensively used the multimillion dollar DOE facility ''Center'' for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) for electrochemical research. The students were heavily involved in the experimental EXAFS measurements and made use of their DCM beamline for EXAFS research. The primary objective was to provide hands on experience to the selected African American undergraduate and graduate students in experimental energy research.The goal was to develop research skills and involve them in the Preparation and Characterization of Solid

Novel quasi-symmetric solid oxide fuel cells with enhanced electrochemical performance

KAUST Repository

Chen, Yonghong; Cheng, Zhuanxia; Yang, Yang; Gu, Qingwen; Tian, Dong; Lu, Xiaoyong; Yu, Weili; Lin, Bin

2016-01-01

Symmetrical solid oxide fuel cell (SSOFC) using same materials as both anode and cathode simultaneously has gained extensively attentions, which can simplify fabrication process, minimize inter-diffusion between components, enhance sulfur and coking

Development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) automotive auxiliary power unit (APU) fueled by gasoline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeMinco, C.; Mukerjee, S.; Grieve, J.; Faville, M.; Noetzel, J.; Perry, M.; Horvath, A.; Prediger, D.; Pastula, M.; Boersma, R.; Ghosh, D.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the design and the development progress of a 3 to 5 auxiliary power unit (APU) based on a gasoline fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). This fuel cell was supplied reformate gas (reactant) by a partial oxidation (POx) catalytic reformer utilizing liquid gasoline and designed by Delphi Automotive Systems. This reformate gas consists mainly of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen and was fed directly in to the SOFC stack without any additional fuel reformer processing. The SOFC stack was developed by Global Thermoelectric and operates around 700 o C. This automotive APU produces power to support future 42 volt vehicle electrical architectures and loads. The balance of the APU, designed by Delphi Automotive Systems, employs a packaging and insulation design to facilitate installation and operation on-board automobiles. (author)

Production process and quality control for the HTTR fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshimuta, S.; Suzuki, N.; Kaneko, M.; Fukuda, K.

1991-01-01

Development of the production and inspection technology for High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) fuel has been carried out by cooperative work between Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd (NFI). The performance and the quality level of the developed fuel are well established to meet the design requirements of the HTTR. For the commercial scale production of the fuel, statistical quality control and quality assurance must be carefully considered in order to assure the safety of the HTTR. It is also important to produce the fuel under well controlled process condition. To meet these requirements in the production of the HTTR fuel, a new production process and quality control system is to be introduced in the new facilities. The main feature of the system is a computer integrated control system. Process control data at each production stage of products and semi-products are all gathered by terminal computers and processed by a host computer. The processed information is effectively used for the production, quality and accountancy control. With the aid of this system, all the products will be easily traceable from starting materials to final stages and the statistical evaluation of the quality of products becomes more reliable. (author). 8 figs

A quality assurance programme for reload fuel for light-water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilson, R.

1976-01-01

The Exxon Nuclear quality assurance programme for the design and fabrication of reload fuel for light-water reactors is described. The programme is based on the 18 quality assurance criteria used for the design and construction of nuclear facilities in the United States of America, but is broadened considerably to reflect other inputs and experiences unique to nuclear fuel production. The government and utility interfaces with the fuel supplier in the area of quality assurance, and future trends, for example, the development of topical quality assurance reports, are also discussed. Quality assurance is discussed in terms of three fundamental categories: management control, engineering assurance and quality control. Examples of specific design, processing and inspection considerations which relate to known fuel failure mechanisms are discussed. The results of irradiated fuel examinations to date have shown that certain fuel failure mechanisms can be alleviated by the considerations described and that fuel of the requisite quality can be consistently produced. (author)

High pressure operation of tubular solid oxide fuel cells and their intergration with gas turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haynes, C.; Wepfer, W.J. [Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

1996-12-31

Fossil fuels continue to be used at a rate greater than that of their natural formation, and the current byproducts from their use are believed to have a detrimental effect on the environment (e.g. global warming). There is thus a significant impetus to have cleaner, more efficient fuel consumption alternatives. Recent progress has led to renewed vigor in the development of fuel cell technology, which has been shown to be capable of producing high efficiencies with relatively benign exhaust products. The tubular solid oxide fuel cell developed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation has shown significant promise. Modeling efforts have been and are underway to optimize and better understand this fuel cell technology. Thus far, the bulk of modeling efforts has been for operation at atmospheric pressure. There is now interest in developing high-efficiency integrated gas turbine/solid oxide fuel cell systems. Such operation of fuel cells would obviously occur at higher pressures. The fuel cells have been successfully modeled under high pressure operation and further investigated as integrated components of an open loop gas turbine cycle.

Fuel cells with solid polymer electrolyte and their application on vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fateev, V.

1996-04-01

In Russia, solid polymer electrolyte MF-4-SK has been developed for fuel cells. This electrolyte is based on perfluorinated polymer with functional sulfogroups. Investigations on electrolyte properties and electrocatalysts have been carried out.

Experience with quality assurance in fuel design and manufacturing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzer, R.; Nilson, F.

1984-01-01

The Quality Assurance/Quality Control activities for nuclear fuel design and manufacturing described here are coordinated under a common ''Quality Assurance System For Fuel Assemblies and Associated Core Components'' which regulates the QA-functions of the development, design and manufacturing of fuel assemblies independent of the organizational assignment of the contributing technical groups. Some essential characteristics of the system are shown, using examples from design control, procurement, manufacturing and qualification of special processes. The experience is very good, it allowed a flexible and well controlled implementation of design and manufacturing innovations and contributed to the overall good fuel behavior. (orig.)

Alternative anode materials for solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goodenough, John B.; Huang, Yun-Hui [Texas Materials Institute, ETC 9.102, 1 University Station, C2200, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

2007-11-08

The electrolyte of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an O{sup 2-}-ion conductor. The anode must oxidize the fuel with O{sup 2-} ions received from the electrolyte and it must deliver electrons of the fuel chemisorption reaction to a current collector. Cells operating on H{sub 2} and CO generally use a porous Ni/electrolyte cermet that supports a thin, dense electrolyte. Ni acts as both the electronic conductor and the catalyst for splitting the H{sub 2} bond; the oxidation of H{sub 2} to H{sub 2}O occurs at the Ni/electrolyte/H{sub 2} triple-phase boundary (TPB). The CO is oxidized at the oxide component of the cermet, which may be the electrolyte, yttria-stabilized zirconia, or a mixed oxide-ion/electron conductor (MIEC). The MIEC is commonly a Gd-doped ceria. The design and fabrication of these anodes are evaluated. Use of natural gas as the fuel requires another strategy, and MIECs are being explored for this application. The several constraints on these MIECs are outlined, and preliminary results of this on-going investigation are reviewed. (author)

Quality management and quality assurance in the manufacture of nuclear fuel elements: new trends and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baur, K.

1998-01-01

Modern instruments for quality assurance are applied with increasing success also in the area of fuel element supply. This new philosophy of quality management is characterized by a clear focus on processes and a commitment to continuous quality improvement. How can these new quality concepts, the application of which is desired by the companies operating nuclear power plants, be implemented and find acceptance? Is it possible that error prevention in place of error correction can increase the quality of fuel elements and at the same time reduce costs? What instruments are available to solve problems specific to fuel element technology? Efforts currently under way to answer these questions are described, particularly with regard to cooperation with fuel element suppliers. Within this context, a new guideline 'Quality System for Fuel Elements' has been developed. (orig.) [de

Quality evaluation of the nuclear fuel manufactured in Romania before 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budan, O.; Galeriu, C.A.; Pascu, A.; Bailescu, A.; Andrei, G.

1997-01-01

Nuclear fuel fabricated in Romania before June 1990 was stored and was not licensed for the use in reactor. A preliminary appraisal performed by AECL and Zircatec experts in 1990, considered this fuel as being of suspect quality. Taking into consideration that Nuclear Fuel Plant was qualified to produce CANDU-6 fuel, only after 1990, RENEL-GEN authorized FCN to evaluate the actual quality of the stock fuel, in 1996. A documented evaluation program was developed and implemented. Stock production of each year was considered as one fuel bundle lot. Quality verification was done on statistical basis. Random sampling was applied, with the condition that each production week was represented in the sample. The results show that the fuel quality is not acceptable for in-reactor use. Recovery solutions for the stock fuel were established and already applied. An independent review of the program, results and recovery solutions, made by AECL confirmed the consistency of the work performed by FCN for stock fuel quality evaluation. (author)

Co-flow anode/cathode supply heat exchanger for a solid-oxide fuel cell assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Haltiner, Jr., Karl J.; Kelly, Sean M.

2005-11-22

In a solid-oxide fuel cell assembly, a co-flow heat exchanger is provided in the flow paths of the reformate gas and the cathode air ahead of the fuel cell stack, the reformate gas being on one side of the exchanger and the cathode air being on the other. The reformate gas is at a substantially higher temperature than is desired in the stack, and the cathode gas is substantially cooler than desired. In the co-flow heat exchanger, the temperatures of the reformate and cathode streams converge to nearly the same temperature at the outlet of the exchanger. Preferably, the heat exchanger is formed within an integrated component manifold (ICM) for a solid-oxide fuel cell assembly.

PRODUCTION OF NEW BIOMASS/WASTE-CONTAINING SOLID FUELS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David J. Akers; Glenn A. Shirey; Zalman Zitron; Charles Q. Maney

2001-04-20

CQ Inc. and its team members (ALSTOM Power Inc., Bliss Industries, McFadden Machine Company, and industry advisors from coal-burning utilities, equipment manufacturers, and the pellet fuels industry) addressed the objectives of the Department of Energy and industry to produce economical, new solid fuels from coal, biomass, and waste materials that reduce emissions from coal-fired boilers. This project builds on the team's commercial experience in composite fuels for energy production. The electric utility industry is interested in the use of biomass and wastes as fuel to reduce both emissions and fuel costs. In addition to these benefits, utilities also recognize the business advantage of consuming the waste byproducts of customers both to retain customers and to improve the public image of the industry. Unfortunately, biomass and waste byproducts can be troublesome fuels because of low bulk density, high moisture content, variable composition, handling and feeding problems, and inadequate information about combustion and emissions characteristics. Current methods of co-firing biomass and wastes either use a separate fuel receiving, storage, and boiler feed system, or mass burn the biomass by simply mixing it with coal on the storage pile. For biomass or biomass-containing composite fuels to be extensively used in the U.S., especially in the steam market, a lower cost method of producing these fuels must be developed that includes both moisture reduction and pelletization or agglomeration for necessary fuel density and ease of handling. Further, this method of fuel production must be applicable to a variety of combinations of biomass, wastes, and coal; economically competitive with current fuels; and provide environmental benefits compared with coal. Notable accomplishments from the work performed in Phase I of this project include the development of three standard fuel formulations from mixtures of coal fines, biomass, and waste materials that can be used in

Tubular solid oxide fuel cell development program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ray, E.R.; Cracraft, C.

1995-12-31

This paper presents an overview of the Westinghouse Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) development activities and current program status. The Westinghouse goal is to develop a cost effective cell that can operate for 50,000 to 100,000 hours. Progress toward this goal will be discussed and test results presented for multiple single cell tests which have now successfully exceeded 56,000 hours of continuous power operation at temperature. Results of development efforts to reduce cost and increase power output of tubular SOFCs are described.

Solid oxide fuel cell field trial evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilcox, C.P.; Winstanley, R.; Nietsch, T.; Smith, C.; Knight, R.; Seymore, C.

2000-07-01

This report focuses on issues relating to a field trial of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Aspects examined include markets for SOFC systems, the choice of systems for demonstration in year 2002, the assessment of industrial interest, and evaluation and ranking of candidate systems. The identification and evaluation of interest in field trials, the estimation of the capital and running costs of a field trial, and identification of the benefits to the UK and barriers to implementation of SOFC systems are discussed. (UK)

Solid oxide fuel cells and hydrogen production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dogan, F.

2009-01-01

'Full text': A single-chamber solid oxide fuel cell (SC-SOFC), operating in a mixture of fuel and oxidant gases, provides several advantages over the conventional SOFC such as simplified cell structure (no sealing required). SC-SOFC allows using a variety of fuels without carbon deposition by selecting appropriate electrode materials and cell operating conditions. The operating conditions of single chamber SOFC was studied using hydrocarbon-air gas mixtures for a cell composed of NiO-YSZ / YSZ / LSCF-Ag. The cell performance and catalytic activity of the anode was measured at various gas flow rates. The results showed that the open-circuit voltage and the power density increased as the gas flow rate increased. Relatively high power densities up to 660 mW/cm 2 were obtained in a SC-SOFC using porous YSZ electrolytes instead of dense electrolytes required for operation of a double chamber SOFC. In addition to propane- or methane-air mixtures as a fuel source, the cells were also tested in a double chamber configuration using hydrogen-air mixtures by controlling the hydrogen/air ratio at the cathode and the anode. Simulation of single chamber conditions in double chamber configurations allows distinguishing and better understanding of the electrode reactions in the presence of mixed gases. Recent research efforts; the effect of hydrogen-air mixtures as a fuel source on the performance of anode and cathode materials in single-chamber and double-chamber SOFC configurations,will be presented. The presentation will address a review on hydrogen production by utilizing of reversible SOFC systems. (author)

Thermodynamic analysis of an integrated gasification solid oxide fuel cell plant combined with an organic Rankine cycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pierobon, Leonardo; Rokni, Masoud; Larsen, Ulrik

2013-01-01

into a fixed bed gasification plant to produce syngas which fuels the combined solid oxide fuel cells e organic Rankine cycle system to produce electricity. More than a hundred fluids are considered as possible alternative for the organic cycle using non-ideal equations of state (or state-of-the-art equations......A 100 kWe hybrid plant consisting of gasification system, solid oxide fuel cells and organic Rankine cycle is presented. The nominal power is selected based on cultivation area requirement. For the considered output a land of around 0.5 km2 needs to be utilized. Woodchips are introduced...... achieved by simple and double stage organic Rankine cycle plants and around the same efficiency of a combined gasification, solid oxide fuel cells and micro gas turbine plant. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Torrefaction study for energy upgrading on Indonesian biomass as low emission solid fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Alamsyah, R.; Siregar, N. C.; Hasanah, F.

2017-05-01

Torrefaction is a pyrolysis process with low heating rate and temperature lower than 300°C in an inert condition which transforms biomass into a low emission solid fuel with relatively high energy. Through the torrefaction process biomass can be altered so that the end product is easy to grind and simple in the supply chain. The research was aimed at designing torrefaction reactor and upgrading energy content of some Indonesian biomass. The biomass used consist of empty fruit bunches of oil palm (EFB), cassava peel solid waste, and cocopeat (waste of coconut fiber). These biomass were formed into briquette and pellet form and were torrified with 300°C temperature during 1.5 hours without air. The results of terrified biomass and non-torrefied biomass were compared after burning on the stove in term of energy content and air emission quality. The result shows that energy content of biomass have increased by 1.1 up to 1.36 times. Meanwhile emission air resulted from its combustion was met with Indonesian emission regulation.

Thermal radiation modelling in a tubular solid oxide fuel cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Austin, M.E.; Pharoah, J.G.; Vandersteen, J.D.J.

2004-01-01

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are becoming the fuel cell of choice among companies and research groups interested in small power generation units. Questions still exist, however, about the operating characteristics of these devices; in particular the temperature distribution in the fuel cell. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) a model is proposed that incorporates conduction, convection and radiation. Both surface-to-surface and participating media are considered. It is hoped that a more accurate account of the temperature field in the various flow channels and cell components will be made to assist work on design of fuel cell components and reaction mechanisms. The model, when incorporating radiative heat transfer with participating media, predicts substantially lower operating temperatures and smaller temperature gradients than it does without these equations. It also shows the importance of the cathode air channel in cell cooling. (author)

Impact of indoor air pollution from the use of solid fuels on the incidence of life threatening respiratory illnesses in children in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyay, Ashish Kumar; Singh, Abhishek; Kumar, Kaushalendra; Singh, Ashish

2015-03-28

India contributes 24% of the global annual child deaths due to acute respiratory infections (ARIs). According to WHO, nearly 50% of the deaths among children due to ARIs is because of indoor air pollution (IAP). There is insufficient evidence on the relationship between IAP from the use of solid fuels and incidence of life threatening respiratory illnesses (LTRI) in children in India. Panel data of children born during 2001-02, from the Young Lives Study (YLS) conducted in India during 2002 and 2006-07 was used to estimate the impact of household use of solid fuels for cooking on LTRI in children. Multivariable two-stage random effects logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds of suffering from LTRI among children from households using solid fuels relative to children from households using other fuels (Gas/Electricity/Kerosene). Bivariate results indicate that the probability of an episode of LTRI was considerably higher among children from households using solid fuels for cooking (18%) than among children from households using other fuels (10%). Moreover, children from households using solid fuels in both the rounds of YLS were more likely to suffer from one or more than one episode of LTRI compared to children from households using solid fuels in only one round. Two-stage random effects logistic regression result shows that children from households using solid fuels were 1.78 (95% CI: 1.05-2.99) times as likely to suffer from LTRI as those from households using other fuels. The findings of this paper provide conclusive evidence on the harmful effects of the use of solid fuels for cooking on LTRI in India. The Government of India must make people aware about the health risks associated with the use of solid fuels for cooking and strive to promote the use of cleaner fuels.

A solid oxide fuel cell system for buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zink, Florian; Lu, Yixin; Schaefer, Laura

2007-01-01

This paper examines an integrated solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) absorption heating and cooling system used for buildings. The integrated system can provide heating/cooling and/or hot water for buildings while consuming natural gas. The aim of this study is to give an overall description of the system. The possibility of such an integrated system is discussed and the configuration of the system is described. A system model is presented, and a specific case study of the system, which consists of a pre-commercial SOFC system and a commercial LiBr absorption system, is performed. In the case study, the detailed configuration of an integrated system is given, and the heat and mass balance and system performance are obtained through numerical calculation. Based on the case study, some considerations with respect to system component selection, system configuration and design are discussed. Additionally, the economic and environmental issues of this specific system are evaluated briefly. The results show that the combined system demonstrates great advantages in both technical and environmental aspects. With the present development trends in solid oxide fuel cells and the commercial status of absorption heating and cooling systems, it is very likely that such a combined system will become increasingly feasible within the following decade

Develpment of quality assurance manual for fabrication of DUPIC fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Young Gun; Lee, J. W.; Kim, S. S. and others

2001-09-01

The Quality Assurance Manual for the fabrication of DUPIC fuel with high quality was developed. The Quality Assurance Policy established by this manual is to assure that the DUPIC fuel element supplied to customer conform to the specified requirements of customer, applicable codes and standards. The management of KAERI is committed to implementation and maintenance of the program described by this manual. This manual describes the quality assurance program for DUPIC fuel fabrication to comply with CAN3-Z299.2-85 to the extent as needed and appropriate. This manual describes the methods which DUPIC Fuel Development Team(DFDT) personnel must follow to achieve and assure high quality of our product. This manual also describes the quality management system applicable to the activities performed at DFDT.

Develpment of quality assurance manual for fabrication of DUPIC fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Young Gun; Lee, J. W.; Kim, S. S. and others

2001-09-01

The Quality Assurance Manual for the fabrication of DUPIC fuel with high quality was developed. The Quality Assurance Policy established by this manual is to assure that the DUPIC fuel element supplied to customer conform to the specified requirements of customer, applicable codes and standards. The management of KAERI is committed to implementation and maintenance of the program described by this manual. This manual describes the quality assurance program for DUPIC fuel fabrication to comply with CAN3-Z299.2-85 to the extent as needed and appropriate. This manual describes the methods which DUPIC Fuel Development Team(DFDT) personnel must follow to achieve and assure high quality of our product. This manual also describes the quality management system applicable to the activities performed at DFDT

Kinetic and geometric aspects of solid oxide fuel cell electrodes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg; Skaarup, Steen

1996-01-01

The paper gives an overview of the main factors controlling the performance of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrodes, emphasizing the most widely chosen anodes and cathodes, Ni-YSZ and LSM-YSZ. They are often applied as composites (mixtures) of the electron conducting electrode material...

Three-phase boundary length in solid-oxide fuel cells: A mathematical model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janardhanan, Vinod M. [Institutefor Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Kaiserstr. 12, D-76128 Karlsruhe (Germany); Heuveline, Vincent; Deutschmann, Olaf [Institute for Applied and Numerical Mathematics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Kaiserstr. 12, D-76128 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2008-03-15

A mathematical model to calculate the volume specific three-phase boundary length in the porous composite electrodes of solid-oxide fuel cell is presented. The model is exclusively based on geometrical considerations accounting for porosity, particle diameter, particle size distribution, and solids phase distribution. Results are presented for uniform particle size distribution as well as for non-uniform particle size distribution. (author)

Three-phase boundary length in solid-oxide fuel cells: A mathematical model

Science.gov (United States)

Janardhanan, Vinod M.; Heuveline, Vincent; Deutschmann, Olaf

A mathematical model to calculate the volume specific three-phase boundary length in the porous composite electrodes of solid-oxide fuel cell is presented. The model is exclusively based on geometrical considerations accounting for porosity, particle diameter, particle size distribution, and solids phase distribution. Results are presented for uniform particle size distribution as well as for non-uniform particle size distribution.

Status of solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell technology and potential for transportation applications

Science.gov (United States)

McElroy, J. F.; Nuttall, L. J.

The solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell represents the first fuel cell technology known to be used operationally. Current activities are mainly related to the development of a space regenerative fuel cell system for energy storage on board space stations, or other large orbiting vehicles and platforms. During 1981, a study was performed to determine the feasibility of using SPE fuel cells for automotive or other vehicular applications, using methanol as the fuel. The results of this study were very encouraging. Details concerning a conceptual automotive fuel cell power plant study are discussed, taking into account also a layout of major components for compact passenger car installation.

Global radiative effects of solid fuel cookstove aerosol emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yaoxian; Unger, Nadine; Storelvmo, Trude; Harper, Kandice; Zheng, Yiqi; Heyes, Chris

2018-04-01

We apply the NCAR CAM5-Chem global aerosol-climate model to quantify the net global radiative effects of black and organic carbon aerosols from global and Indian solid fuel cookstove emissions for the year 2010. Our assessment accounts for the direct radiative effects, changes to cloud albedo and lifetime (aerosol indirect effect, AIE), impacts on clouds via the vertical temperature profile (semi-direct effect, SDE) and changes in the surface albedo of snow and ice (surface albedo effect). In addition, we provide the first estimate of household solid fuel black carbon emission effects on ice clouds. Anthropogenic emissions are from the IIASA GAINS ECLIPSE V5a inventory. A global dataset of black carbon (BC) and organic aerosol (OA) measurements from surface sites and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from AERONET is used to evaluate the model skill. Compared with observations, the model successfully reproduces the spatial patterns of atmospheric BC and OA concentrations, and agrees with measurements to within a factor of 2. Globally, the simulated AOD agrees well with observations, with a normalized mean bias close to zero. However, the model tends to underestimate AOD over India and China by ˜ 19 ± 4 % but overestimate it over Africa by ˜ 25 ± 11 % (± represents modeled temporal standard deviations for n = 5 run years). Without BC serving as ice nuclei (IN), global and Indian solid fuel cookstove aerosol emissions have net global cooling radiative effects of -141 ± 4 mW m-2 and -12 ± 4 mW m-2, respectively (± represents modeled temporal standard deviations for n = 5 run years). The net radiative impacts are dominated by the AIE and SDE mechanisms, which originate from enhanced cloud condensation nuclei concentrations for the formation of liquid and mixed-phase clouds, and a suppression of convective transport of water vapor from the lower troposphere to the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere that in turn leads to reduced ice cloud formation. When BC is allowed

Non-destructive delamination detection in solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gazzarri, J.I.; Kesler, O. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2054-6250 Applied Science Lane, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 (Canada)

2007-05-15

A finite element model has been developed to simulate the steady state and impedance behaviour of a single operating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The model results suggest that electrode delamination can be detected minimally-invasively by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The presence of cathode delamination causes changes in the cell impedance spectrum that are characteristic of this type of degradation mechanism. These changes include the simultaneous increase in both the series and polarization resistances, in proportion to the delaminated area. Parametric studies show the dependence of these changes on the extent of delamination, on the operating point, and on the kinetic characteristics of the fuel cell under study. (author)

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells coupled with a biomass gasification unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skrzypkiewicz Marek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A possibility of fuelling a solid oxide fuel cell stack (SOFC with biomass fuels can be realized by coupling a SOFC system with a self-standing gasification unit. Such a solution enables multi-fuel operation, elasticity of the system as well as the increase of the efficiency of small-scale biomass-to-electricity conversion units. A system of this type, consisting of biomass gasification unit, gas purification unit, SOFC stack, anode off-gas afterburner and peripherals was constructed and operated successfully. During the process, biomass fuel (wood chips was gasified with air as gasification agent. The gasifier was capable of converting up to 30 kW of fuel to syngas with efficiencies up to 75%. Syngas leaving the gasification unit is delivered to a medium temperature adsorber for sulphur compounds removal. Steam is added to the purified fuel to maintain steam to carbon ratio higher than 2. The syngas then is passed to a SOFC stack through a fuel preheater. In such a configuration it was possible to operate a commercial 1.3 kW stack within its working regime. Conducted tests confirmed successful operation of a SOFC stack fuelled by biomass-sourced syngas.

Development of materials for use in solid oxid fuel cells anodes using renewable fuels in direct operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, D.B.P.L. de; Florio, D.Z. de; Bezerra, M.E.O.

2016-01-01

Fuel cells produce electrical current from the electrochemical combustion of a gas or liquid (H2, CH4, C2H5OH, CH3OH, etc.) inserted into the anode cell. An important class of fuel cells is the SOFC (Solid Oxide Cell Fuel). It has a ceramic electrolyte that transports protons (H +) or O-2 ions and operating at high temperatures (500-1000 °C) and mixed conductive electrodes (ionic and electronic) ceramics or cermets. This work aims to develop anodes for fuel cells of solid oxide (SOFC) in order to direct operations with renewable fuels and strategic for the country (such as bioethanol and biogas). In this context, it becomes important to study in relation to the ceramic materials, especially those that must be used in high temperatures. Some types of double perovskites such as Sr2MgMoO6 (or simply SMMO) have been used as anodes in SOFC. In this study were synthesized by the polymeric precursor method, analyzed and characterized different ceramic samples of families SMMO, doped with Nb, this is: Sr2 (MgMo)1-xNbxO6 with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2. The materials produced were characterized by various techniques such as, thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, and electrical properties determined by dc and ac measurements in a wide range of temperature, frequency and partial pressure of oxygen. The results of this work will contribute to a better understanding of advanced ceramic properties with mixed driving (electronic and ionic) and contribute to the advancement of SOFC technology operating directly with renewable fuels. (author)

Mechanical and Combustion Performance of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as an Additive to Paraffin-Based Solid Fuels for Hybrid Rockets

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Daniel B.; Boyer, Eric; Wachs, Trevor; Kuo, Kenneth, K.; Koo, Joseph H.; Story, George

2012-01-01

Paraffin-based solid fuels for hybrid rocket motor applications are recognized as a fastburning alternative to other fuel binders such as HTPB, but efforts to further improve the burning rate and mechanical properties of paraffin are still necessary. One approach that is considered in this study is to use multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) as an additive to paraffin wax. Carbon nanotubes provide increased electrical and thermal conductivity to the solid-fuel grains to which they are added, which can improve the mass burning rate. Furthermore, the addition of ultra-fine aluminum particles to the paraffin/MWNT fuel grains can enhance regression rate of the solid fuel and the density impulse of the hybrid rocket. The multi-walled carbon nanotubes also present the possibility of greatly improving the mechanical properties (e.g., tensile strength) of the paraffin-based solid-fuel grains. For casting these solid-fuel grains, various percentages of MWNT and aluminum particles will be added to the paraffin wax. Previous work has been published about the dispersion and mixing of carbon nanotubes.1 Another manufacturing method has been used for mixing the MWNT with a phenolic resin for ablative applications, and the manufacturing and mixing processes are well-documented in the literature.2 The cost of MWNT is a small fraction of single-walled nanotubes. This is a scale-up advantage as future applications and projects will require low cost additives to maintain cost effectiveness. Testing of the solid-fuel grains will be conducted in several steps. Dog bone samples will be cast and prepared for tensile testing. The fuel samples will also be analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis and a high-resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM will allow for examination of the solid fuel grain for uniformity and consistency. The paraffin-based fuel grains will also be tested using two hybrid rocket test motors located at the Pennsylvania State University s High Pressure

Operation strategy for solid oxide fuel cell systems for small-scale stationary applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liso, Vincenzo; Nielsen, Mads Pagh; Kær, Søren Knudsen

2009-01-01

Solid oxide fuel cell micro cogeneration systems have the potential to reduce domestic energy consumption by providing both heat and power on site without transmission losses. The high grade heat produced during the operation of the power causes high thermal transients during startup/shutdown pha......Solid oxide fuel cell micro cogeneration systems have the potential to reduce domestic energy consumption by providing both heat and power on site without transmission losses. The high grade heat produced during the operation of the power causes high thermal transients during startup....../shutdown phases and degrades the fuel cells. To counteract the degradation, the system has not to be stressed with rapid load variation during the operation. The analysis will consider an average profile for heat and power demand of a family house. Finally data analysis and power system limitations will be used...

Feasibility of solid oxide fuel cell dynamic hydrogen coproduction to meet building demand

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, Brendan; Brouwer, Jacob

2014-02-01

A dynamic internal reforming-solid oxide fuel cell system model is developed and used to simulate the coproduction of electricity and hydrogen while meeting the measured dynamic load of a typical southern California commercial building. The simulated direct internal reforming-solid oxide fuel cell (DIR-SOFC) system is controlled to become an electrical load following device that well follows the measured building load data (3-s resolution). The feasibility of the DIR-SOFC system to meet the dynamic building demand while co-producing hydrogen is demonstrated. The resulting thermal responses of the system to the electrical load dynamics as well as those dynamics associated with the filling of a hydrogen collection tank are investigated. The DIR-SOFC system model also allows for resolution of the fuel cell species and temperature distributions during these dynamics since thermal gradients are a concern for DIR-SOFC.

Technoeconomy of different solid oxide fuel cell based hybrid cycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2014-01-01

Gas turbine, steam turbine and heat engine (Stirling engine) is used as bottoming cycle for a solid oxide fuel cell plant to compare different plants efficiencies, CO2 emissionsand plants cost in terms of $/kW. Each plant is then integrated with biomass gasification and finally six plants...

Adoption of Clean Cookstoves after Improved Solid Fuel Stove Programme Exposure: A Cross-Sectional Study in Three Peruvian Andean Regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Jennyfer; Mäusezahl, Daniel; Verastegui, Hector; Hartinger, Stella M

2017-07-08

This study examined measures of clean cookstove adoption after improved solid fuel stove programmes in three geographically and culturally diverse rural Andean settings and explored factors associated with these measures. A questionnaire was administered to 1200 households on stove use and cooking behaviours including previously defined factors associated with clean cookstove adoption. Logistic multivariable regressions with 16 pre-specified explanatory variables were performed for three outcomes; (1) daily improved solid fuel stove use, (2) use of liquefied petroleum gas stove and (3) traditional stove displacement. Eighty-seven percent of households reported daily improved solid fuel stove use, 51% liquefied petroleum gas stove use and 66% no longer used the traditional cookstove. Variables associated with one or more of the three outcomes are: education, age and civil status of the reporting female, household wealth and size, region, encounters of problems with the improved solid fuel stove, knowledge of somebody able to build an improved solid fuel stove, whether stove parts are obtainable in the community, and subsidy schemes. We conclude that to be successful, improved solid fuel stove programmes need to consider (1) existing household characteristics, (2) the household's need for ready access to maintenance and repair, and (3) improved knowledge at the community level.

Effect of Composting Parameters on the Power Performance of Solid Microbial Fuel Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chin-Tsan Wang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, solid organic waste is of major environmental concern and is reaching critical levels worldwide. Currently, a form of natural decomposition, known as composting technology, is widely used to deal with organic waste. This method is applied to enhance the performance of solid microbial fuel cells (SMFCs in this study. Operational composting parameters (carbon/nitrogen ratio, moisture content and pH value are investigated to explore the optimal power performance of solid microbial fuel cells (SMFCs. Results indicate that the carbon/nitrogen ratio and the moisture content displayed the most significant impact on SMFCs. When the carbon/nitrogen ratio is 31.4 and moisture content is 60%, along with a pH value of 6–8, a better SMFC power performance would be obtained. These findings would provide positive information regarding the application of compost in SMFCs.

Modelling carbonaceous aerosol from residential solid fuel burning with different assumptions for emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Ots

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Evidence is accumulating that emissions of primary particulate matter (PM from residential wood and coal combustion in the UK may be underestimated and/or spatially misclassified. In this study, different assumptions for the spatial distribution and total emission of PM from solid fuel (wood and coal burning in the UK were tested using an atmospheric chemical transport model. Modelled concentrations of the PM components were compared with measurements from aerosol mass spectrometers at four sites in central and Greater London (ClearfLo campaign, 2012, as well as with measurements from the UK black carbon network.The two main alternative emission scenarios modelled were Base4x and combRedist. For Base4x, officially reported PM2.5 from the residential and other non-industrial combustion source sector were increased by a factor of four. For the combRedist experiment, half of the baseline emissions from this same source were redistributed by residential population density to simulate the effect of allocating some emissions to the smoke control areas (that are assumed in the national inventory to have no emissions from this source. The Base4x scenario yielded better daily and hourly correlations with measurements than the combRedist scenario for year-long comparisons of the solid fuel organic aerosol (SFOA component at the two London sites. However, the latter scenario better captured mean measured concentrations across all four sites. A third experiment, Redist – all emissions redistributed linearly to population density, is also presented as an indicator of the maximum concentrations an assumption like this could yield.The modelled elemental carbon (EC concentrations derived from the combRedist experiments also compared well with seasonal average concentrations of black carbon observed across the network of UK sites. Together, the two model scenario simulations of SFOA and EC suggest both that residential solid fuel emissions may be higher than

Modelling carbonaceous aerosol from residential solid fuel burning with different assumptions for emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Ots, Riinu; Heal, Mathew R.; Young, Dominique E.; Williams, Leah R.; Allan, James D.; Nemitz, Eiko; Di Marco, Chiara; Detournay, Anais; Xu, Lu; Ng, Nga L.; Coe, Hugh; Herndon, Scott C.; Mackenzie, Ian A.; Green, David C.; Kuenen, Jeroen J. P.; Reis, Stefan; Vieno, Massimo

2018-04-01

Evidence is accumulating that emissions of primary particulate matter (PM) from residential wood and coal combustion in the UK may be underestimated and/or spatially misclassified. In this study, different assumptions for the spatial distribution and total emission of PM from solid fuel (wood and coal) burning in the UK were tested using an atmospheric chemical transport model. Modelled concentrations of the PM components were compared with measurements from aerosol mass spectrometers at four sites in central and Greater London (ClearfLo campaign, 2012), as well as with measurements from the UK black carbon network.The two main alternative emission scenarios modelled were Base4x and combRedist. For Base4x, officially reported PM2.5 from the residential and other non-industrial combustion source sector were increased by a factor of four. For the combRedist experiment, half of the baseline emissions from this same source were redistributed by residential population density to simulate the effect of allocating some emissions to the smoke control areas (that are assumed in the national inventory to have no emissions from this source). The Base4x scenario yielded better daily and hourly correlations with measurements than the combRedist scenario for year-long comparisons of the solid fuel organic aerosol (SFOA) component at the two London sites. However, the latter scenario better captured mean measured concentrations across all four sites. A third experiment, Redist - all emissions redistributed linearly to population density, is also presented as an indicator of the maximum concentrations an assumption like this could yield.The modelled elemental carbon (EC) concentrations derived from the combRedist experiments also compared well with seasonal average concentrations of black carbon observed across the network of UK sites. Together, the two model scenario simulations of SFOA and EC suggest both that residential solid fuel emissions may be higher than inventory

Effects of accelerated degradation on metal supported thin film-based solid oxide fuel cell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reolon, R. P.; Sanna, S.; Xu, Yu

2018-01-01

A thin film-based solid oxide fuel cell is deposited on a Ni-based metal porous support by pulsed laser deposition with a multi-scale-graded microstructure design. The fuel cell, around 1 μm in thickness, is composed of a stabilized-zirconia/doped-ceria bi-layered dense electrolyte and nanostruct......A thin film-based solid oxide fuel cell is deposited on a Ni-based metal porous support by pulsed laser deposition with a multi-scale-graded microstructure design. The fuel cell, around 1 μm in thickness, is composed of a stabilized-zirconia/doped-ceria bi-layered dense electrolyte......, electrochemical performances are steady, indicating the stability of the cell. Under electrical load, a progressive degradation is activated. Post-test analysis reveals both mechanical and chemical degradation of the cell. Cracks and delamination of the thin films promote a significant nickel diffusion and new...

WHO indoor air quality guidelines on household fuel combustion: Strategy implications of new evidence on interventions and exposure-risk functions

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Nigel; Pope, Dan; Rehfuess, Eva; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Adair-Rohani, Heather; Dora, Carlos

2015-04-01

Background: 2.8 billion people use solid fuels as their primary cooking fuel; the resulting high levels of household air pollution (HAP) were estimated to cause more than 4 million premature deaths in 2012. The people most affected are among the world's poorest, and past experience has shown that securing adoption and sustained use of effective, low-emission stove technologies and fuels in such populations is not easy. Among the questions raised by these challenges are (i) to what levels does HAP exposure need to be reduced in order to ensure that substantial health benefits are achieved, and (ii) what intervention technologies and fuels can achieve the required levels of HAP in practice? New WHO air quality guidelines are being developed to address these issues. Aims: To address the above questions drawing on evidence from new evidence reviews conducted for the WHO guidelines. Methods: Discussion of key findings from reviews covering (i) systematic reviews of health risks from HAP exposure, (ii) newly developed exposure-response functions which combine combustion pollution risk evidence from ambient air pollution, second-hand smoke, HAP and active smoking, and (iii) a systematic review of the impacts of solid fuel and clean fuel interventions on kitchen levels of, and personal exposure to, PM2.5 and carbon monoxide (CO). Findings: Evidence on health risks from HAP suggest that controlling this exposure could reduce the risk of multiple child and adult health outcomes by 20-50%. The new integrated exposure-response functions (IERs) indicate that in order to secure these benefits, HAP levels require to be reduced to the WHO IT-1 annual average level (35 μg/m3 PM2.5), or below. The second review found that, in practice, solid fuel 'improved stoves' led to large percentage and absolute reductions, but post-intervention kitchen levels were still very high, at several hundreds of μg/m3 of PM2.5, although most solid fuel stove types met the WHO 24-hr average guideline

Conversion of sewage sludge to clean solid fuel using hydrothermal carbonization: Hydrochar fuel characteristics and combustion behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Chao; Giannis, Apostolos; Wang, Jing-Yuan

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge process is developed. • Hydrochars are solid fuels with less nitrogen and sulfur contents. • The first order combustion reaction of hydrochars is derived. • Main combustion decomposition of hydrochars is easier and more stable. • Formation pathways of hydrochars during hydrothermal carbonization are proposed. - Abstract: Conventional thermochemical treatment of sewage sludge (SS) is energy-intensive due to its high moisture content. To overcome this drawback, the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process was used to convert SS into clean solid fuel without prior drying. Different carbonization times were applied in order to produce hydrochars possessing better fuel properties. After the carbonization process, fuel characteristics and combustion behaviors of hydrochars were evaluated. Elemental analysis showed that 88% of carbon was recovered while 60% of nitrogen and sulfur was removed. Due to dehydration and decarboxylation reactions, hydrogen/carbon and oxygen/carbon atomic ratios reduced to 1.53 and 0.39, respectively. It was found that the fuel ratio increased to 0.18 by prolonging the carbonization process. Besides, longer carbonization time seemed to decrease oxygen containing functional groups while carbon aromaticity structure increased, thereby rendering hydrochars highly hydrophobic. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the combustion decomposition was altered from a single stage for raw sludge to two stages for hydrochars. The combustion reaction was best fitted to the first order for both raw sludge and hydrochars. The combustion of hydrochars is expected to be easier and more stable than raw sludge because of lower activation energy and pre-exponential factor

Structural analysis of nickel doped cerium oxide catalysts for fuel reforming in solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Cavendish, Rio

As world energy demands increase, research into more efficient energy production methods has become imperative. Heterogeneous catalysis and nanoscience are used to promote chemical transformations important for energy production. These concepts are important in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) which have attracted attention because of their potential to provide an efficient and environmentally favorable power generation system. The SOFC is also fuel-flexible with the ability to run directly on many fuels other than hydrogen. Internal fuel reforming directly in the anode of the SOFC would greatly reduce the cost and complexity of the device. Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon and a main component in natural gas, making it useful when testing catalysts on the laboratory scale. Nickel (Ni) and gadolinium (Gd) doped ceria (CeO 2) catalysts for potential use in the SOFC anode were synthesized with a spray drying method and tested for catalytic performance using partial oxidation of methane and steam reforming. The relationships between catalytic performance and structure were then investigated using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and environmental transmission electron microscopy. The possibility of solid solutions, segregated phases, and surface layers of Ni were explored. Results for a 10 at.% Ni in CeO2 catalyst reveal a poor catalytic behavior while a 20 at.% Ni in CeO2 catalyst is shown to have superior activity. The inclusion of both 10 at.% Gd and 10 at.% Ni in CeO2 enhances the catalytic performance. Analysis of the presence of Ni in all 3 samples reveals Ni heterogeneity and little evidence for extensive solid solution doping. Ni is found in small domains throughout CeO2 particles. In the 20 at.% Ni sample a segregated, catalytically active NiO phase is observed. Overall, it is found that significant interaction between Ni and CeO2 occurs that could affect the synthesis and functionality of the SOFC anode.

Reviews on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Apinan Soottitantawat

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC is one type of high temperature fuel cell that appears to be one of the most promising technology to provide the efficient and clean energy production for wide range of applications (from small units to large scale power plants. This paper reviews the current status and related researches on SOFC technologies. In details, the research trend for the development of SOFC components(i.e. anode, electrolyte, cathode, and interconnect are presented. Later, the current important designs of SOFC (i.e. Seal-less Tubular Design, Segmented Cell in Series Design, Monolithic Design and Flat Plate Design are exampled. In addition, the possible operations of SOFC (i.e. external reforming, indirect internal reforming, and direct internal reforming are discussed. Lastly, the research studies on applications of SOFCs with co-generation (i.e. SOFC with Combined Heat and Power (SOFC-CHP, SOFC with Gas Turbine (SOFC-GT and SOFC with chemical production are given.

Microbial quality of some herbal solid dosage forms

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2010-03-15

Mar 15, 2010 ... Key words: Microbial quality, herbal, contamination, solid dosage form ... The type of dosage form, packaging, manufacturing and expiration dates of subject solid herbal .... According to WHO report (2002), Salmonella food.

Global climate impacts of country-level primary carbonaceous aerosol from solid-fuel cookstove emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacey, Forrest; Henze, Daven

2015-01-01

Cookstove use is globally one of the largest unregulated anthropogenic sources of primary carbonaceous aerosol. While reducing cookstove emissions through national-scale mitigation efforts has clear benefits for improving indoor and ambient air quality, and significant climate benefits from reduced green-house gas emissions, climate impacts associated with reductions to co-emitted black (BC) and organic carbonaceous aerosol are not well characterized. Here we attribute direct, indirect, semi-direct, and snow/ice albedo radiative forcing (RF) and associated global surface temperature changes to national-scale carbonaceous aerosol cookstove emissions. These results are made possible through the use of adjoint sensitivity modeling to relate direct RF and BC deposition to emissions. Semi- and indirect effects are included via global scaling factors, and bounds on these estimates are drawn from current literature ranges for aerosol RF along with a range of solid fuel emissions characterizations. Absolute regional temperature potentials are used to estimate global surface temperature changes. Bounds are placed on these estimates, drawing from current literature ranges for aerosol RF along with a range of solid fuel emissions characterizations. We estimate a range of 0.16 K warming to 0.28 K cooling with a central estimate of 0.06 K cooling from the removal of cookstove aerosol emissions. At the national emissions scale, countries’ impacts on global climate range from net warming (e.g., Mexico and Brazil) to net cooling, although the range of estimated impacts for all countries span zero given uncertainties in RF estimates and fuel characterization. We identify similarities and differences in the sets of countries with the highest emissions and largest cookstove temperature impacts (China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal), those with the largest temperature impact per carbon emitted (Kazakhstan, Estonia, and Mongolia), and those that would provide the

Global climate impacts of country-level primary carbonaceous aerosol from solid-fuel cookstove emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Lacey, Forrest; Henze, Daven

2015-11-01

Cookstove use is globally one of the largest unregulated anthropogenic sources of primary carbonaceous aerosol. While reducing cookstove emissions through national-scale mitigation efforts has clear benefits for improving indoor and ambient air quality, and significant climate benefits from reduced green-house gas emissions, climate impacts associated with reductions to co-emitted black (BC) and organic carbonaceous aerosol are not well characterized. Here we attribute direct, indirect, semi-direct, and snow/ice albedo radiative forcing (RF) and associated global surface temperature changes to national-scale carbonaceous aerosol cookstove emissions. These results are made possible through the use of adjoint sensitivity modeling to relate direct RF and BC deposition to emissions. Semi- and indirect effects are included via global scaling factors, and bounds on these estimates are drawn from current literature ranges for aerosol RF along with a range of solid fuel emissions characterizations. Absolute regional temperature potentials are used to estimate global surface temperature changes. Bounds are placed on these estimates, drawing from current literature ranges for aerosol RF along with a range of solid fuel emissions characterizations. We estimate a range of 0.16 K warming to 0.28 K cooling with a central estimate of 0.06 K cooling from the removal of cookstove aerosol emissions. At the national emissions scale, countries’ impacts on global climate range from net warming (e.g., Mexico and Brazil) to net cooling, although the range of estimated impacts for all countries span zero given uncertainties in RF estimates and fuel characterization. We identify similarities and differences in the sets of countries with the highest emissions and largest cookstove temperature impacts (China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal), those with the largest temperature impact per carbon emitted (Kazakhstan, Estonia, and Mongolia), and those that would provide the

Fuzzy Logic Based Controller for a Grid-Connected Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power Plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatterjee, Kalyan; Shankar, Ravi; Kumar, Amit

2014-10-01

This paper describes a mathematical model of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power plant integrated in a multimachine power system. The utilization factor of a fuel stack maintains steady state by tuning the fuel valve in the fuel processor at a rate proportional to a current drawn from the fuel stack. A suitable fuzzy logic control is used for the overall system, its objective being controlling the current drawn by the power conditioning unit and meet a desirable output power demand. The proposed control scheme is verified through computer simulations.

Combustion of solid alternative fuels in the cement kiln burner

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørskov, Linda Kaare

In the cement industry there is an increasing environmental and financial motivation for substituting conventional fossil fuels with alternative fuels, being biomass or waste derived fuels. However, the introduction of alternative fuels may influence emissions, cement product quality, process...... stability, and process efficiency. Alternative fuel substitution in the calciner unit has reached close to 100% at many cement plants and to further increase the use of alternative fuels rotary kiln substitution must be enhanced. At present, limited systematic knowledge of the alternative fuel combustion...... properties and the influence on the flame formation is available. In this project a scientific approach to increase the fundamental understanding of alternative fuel conversion in the rotary kiln burner is employed through literature studies, experimental combustion characterisation studies, combustion...

Advanced circulating fluidised bed technology (CFB) for large-scale solid biomass fuel firing power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaentti, Timo; Zabetta, Edgardo Coda; Nuortimo, Kalle [Foster Wheeler Energia Oy, Varkaus (Finland)

2013-04-01

Worldwide the nations are taking initiatives to counteract global warming by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts to increase boiler efficiency and the use of biomass and other solid renewable fuels are well in line with these objectives. Circulating fluidised bed boilers (CFB) are ideal for efficient power generation, capable to fire a broad variety of solid biomass fuels from small CHP plants to large utility power plants. Relevant boiler references in commercial operation are made for Finland and Poland.

Solid Wastes and Water Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

DeWalle, F. B.; Chian, E. S. K.

1978-01-01

Presents a literature review of solid wastes and water quality, covering publications of 1976-77. This review covers areas such as: (1) environmental impacts and health aspects for waste disposal, and (2) processed and hazardous wastes. A list of 80 references is also presented. (HM)

Design of an extrusion screw and solid fuel produced from coconut shell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhiyanon, T

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The objectives were to design an extrusion screw to produce biomass solid fuel in a cold extrusion process, and investigate the effects of molasses used as a selected adhesive on the physical properties of extruded products. The material employed consisted of crushed coconut shell char and coconut fiber char mixed at a ratio of 40:60. The ratios of molasses in the mixture were 10:100, 15:100 and 20:100 (by weight and the extrusion die angles were 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 degrees gradation per experiment. The experimental results showed that the newly designed screw could function properly in the output range 0.75-0.90 kg/min, which is close to the design value. Regarding the molasses's effect on solid fuel properties, increasing the share of molasses was positive for both output and strength of the resulting briquettes, whereas the results of increasing die angle showed decreases in both output and strength. The compressive strength varied between 2.49-2.87 MPa in all circumstances, which was considerably higher than acceptable industrial level. Furthermore, the extruded solid fuel showed excellent resistance to impact force. Regarding energy consumption, the amount of electrical energy used in the extrusion process was insignificant, ranging between 0.040-0.079 kWh/kg.

Foundations for the definition of MOX fuel quality requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bairiot, H.; Deramaix, P.; Vanderborck, Y.

1991-01-01

The quality of uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, as of any nuclear fuel, depends on the design optimization and on the fabrication process stability. The design optimization is essentially based on feed-back from irradiation experience through engineering assessment of the results; the stability of the process is necessary to justify minimal uncertainty margins in the fuel design. Since MOX fuel is quite similar to UO 2 fuel, the lessons learned from UO 2 fuels can complement the MOX experimental data base. MOX is however different from UO 2 fuel in some respects, among others: the industrial fabrication scale is a factor 10 lower than for UO 2 fuel, the fuel enrichment process takes place in the manufacturing plant, the radioactivity of Pu imposes handling constraints, Pu ages quite rapidly, altering its isotopic composition during storage, the incorporation of Pu alters the material physics and neutronic characteristics of the fuel. In this perspective, the paper outlines some quality attributes for which MOX fuel may or even must depart form UO 2 fuel. (orig.)

Annual report and accounts 1980/81. [UK; Solid Fuels Avisory Service; book

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1981-01-01

The work of the Solid Fuel Advisory Service during 1980/81 is described under the headings: sales promotion, market research, service to the public, technical, chimneys and training. The accounts are then presented.

Thermodynamic Analysis of an Integrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cycle with a Rankine Cycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2010-01-01

Hybrid systems consisting of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) on the top of a Steam Turbine (ST) are investigated. The plants are fired by natural gas (NG). A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel while a pre-reformer breaks down the heavier hydrocarbons. The pre-treated fuel......% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional Combined Cycles (CC). Both ASR (Adiabatic Steam Reformer) and CPO (Catalytic Partial Oxidation) fuel pre-reformer reactors are considered in this investigation....

Binder Jetting: A Novel Solid Oxide Fuel-Cell Fabrication Process and Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Manogharan, Guha; Kioko, Meshack; Linkous, Clovis

2015-03-01

With an ever-growing concern to find a more efficient and less polluting means of producing electricity, fuel cells have constantly been of great interest. Fuel cells electrochemically convert chemical energy directly into electricity and heat without resorting to combustion/mechanical cycling. This article studies the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), which is a high-temperature (100°C to 1000°C) ceramic cell made from all solid-state components and can operate under a wide range of fuel sources such as hydrogen, methanol, gasoline, diesel, and gasified coal. Traditionally, SOFCs are fabricated using processes such as tape casting, calendaring, extrusion, and warm pressing for substrate support, followed by screen printing, slurry coating, spray techniques, vapor deposition, and sputter techniques, which have limited control in substrate microstructure. In this article, the feasibility of engineering the porosity and configuration of an SOFC via an additive manufacturing (AM) method known as binder jet printing was explored. The anode, cathode and oxygen ion-conducting electrolyte layers were fabricated through AM sequentially as a complete fuel cell unit. The cell performance was measured in two modes: (I) as an electrolytic oxygen pump and (II) as a galvanic electricity generator using hydrogen gas as the fuel. An analysis on influence of porosity was performed through SEM studies and permeability testing. An additional study on fuel cell material composition was conducted to verify the effects of binder jetting through SEM-EDS. Electrical discharge of the AM fabricated SOFC and nonlinearity of permeability tests show that, with additional work, the porosity of the cell can be modified for optimal performance at operating flow and temperature conditions.

A novel approach to model the transient behavior of solid-oxide fuel cell stacks

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Vikram; Janardhanan, Vinod M.; Tischer, Steffen; Deutschmann, Olaf

2012-09-01

This paper presents a novel approach to model the transient behavior of solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks in two and three dimensions. A hierarchical model is developed by decoupling the temperature of the solid phase from the fluid phase. The solution of the temperature field is considered as an elliptic problem, while each channel within the stack is modeled as a marching problem. This paper presents the numerical model and cluster algorithm for coupling between the solid phase and fluid phase. For demonstration purposes, results are presented for a stack operated on pre-reformed hydrocarbon fuel. Transient response to load changes is studied by introducing step changes in cell potential and current. Furthermore, the effect of boundary conditions and stack materials on response time and internal temperature distribution is investigated.

Solid recovered fuels in the cement industry--semi-automated sample preparation unit as a means for facilitated practical application.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldrian, Alexia; Sarc, Renato; Pomberger, Roland; Lorber, Karl E; Sipple, Ernst-Michael

2016-03-01

One of the challenges for the cement industry is the quality assurance of alternative fuel (e.g., solid recovered fuel, SRF) in co-incineration plants--especially for inhomogeneous alternative fuels with large particle sizes (d95⩾100 mm), which will gain even more importance in the substitution of conventional fuels due to low production costs. Existing standards for sampling and sample preparation do not cover the challenges resulting from these kinds of materials. A possible approach to ensure quality monitoring is shown in the present contribution. For this, a specially manufactured, automated comminution and sample divider device was installed at a cement plant in Rohožnik. In order to prove its practical suitability with methods according to current standards, the sampling and sample preparation process were validated for alternative fuel with a grain size >30 mm (i.e., d95=approximately 100 mm), so-called 'Hotdisc SRF'. Therefore, series of samples were taken and analysed. A comparison of the analysis results with the yearly average values obtained through a reference investigation route showed good accordance. Further investigations during the validation process also showed that segregation or enrichment of material throughout the comminution plant does not occur. The results also demonstrate that compliance with legal standards regarding the minimum sample amount is not sufficient for inhomogeneous and coarse particle size alternative fuels. Instead, higher sample amounts after the first particle size reduction step are strongly recommended in order to gain a representative laboratory sample. © The Author(s) 2016.

Operation of real landfill gas fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using internal dry reforming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langnickel, Hendrik; Hagen, Anke

2017-01-01

Biomass is one renewable energy source, which is independent from solar radiation and wind effect. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC’s) are able to convert landfill gas derived from landfill directly into electricity and heat with a high efficiency. In the present work a planar 16cm2 SOFC cell...... was necessary to prevent poisoning and thereby to decrease the degradation rate....

Direct ethanol solid oxide fuel cell operating in gradual internal reforming

Science.gov (United States)

Nobrega, S. D.; Galesco, M. V.; Girona, K.; de Florio, D. Z.; Steil, M. C.; Georges, S.; Fonseca, F. C.

2012-09-01

An electrolyte supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using standard electrodes, doped-lanthanum manganite cathode and Ni-cermet anode, was operated with direct (anhydrous) ethanol for more than 100 h, delivering essentially the same power output as running on hydrogen. A ceria-based layer provides the catalytic activity for the gradual internal reforming, which uses the steam formed by the electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen for the decomposition of ethanol. Such a concept opens up the way for multi-fuel SOFCs using standard components and a catalytic layer.

Micromachined Dense Palladium Electrodes for Thin-film Solid Acid Fuel Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Unnikrishnan, S.

2009-01-01

This thesis paves the way towards the microfabrication of a solid acid electrolyte based fuel cell (µSAFC), which has a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) consisting of a thin-film of water soluble electrolyte encapsulated between two dense palladium electrode membranes. This project work

The management of the Spend Fuel Pool Water Quality (1996-2007)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Hwan; Lee, Eui Gyu; Choi, Ho Young; Choi, Mun Jo; Kim, Hyung Wook; Lee, Mun; Lee, Choong Sung; Hur, Soon Ock; Ahn, Guk Hun

2008-12-15

The water quality management of spent fuel storage pool water quality in HANARO is important to prevent the corrosion of nuclear fuel and reactor structure material. The condition of the spent fuel storage pool water has been monitored by measuring the electrical conductivity of the spent fuel storage pool purification system and pH periodically. The status of the spent fuel storage pool water quality management was investigated by using the measured data. taken from 1996 to 2007. In general, the electrical conductivity of the spent fuel storage pool water have been managed within 1 {mu}S/cm which is an operation target of HANARO.

Solid oxide fuel cell performance comparison fueled by methane, MeOH, EtOH and gasoline surrogate C_8H_1_8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liso, Vincenzo; Cinti, Giovanni; Nielsen, Mads P.; Desideri, Umberto

2016-01-01

Carbon deposition is a major cause of degradation in solid oxide fuel cell systems. The ability to predict carbon formation in reforming processes is thus absolutely necessary for stable operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems. In the open literature it is found that the steam input is always considered in large excess compared to what required by the reforming process with the purpose of reducing carbon formation and avoiding rapid degradation of the cell performance. This makes it difficult to consistently compare system performance with different fuels. In this work, the molar compositions at equilibrium are calculated for a minimum steam to carbon ratio for each fuel type. We carry out a thermodynamic analysis of fuel/steam system using Gibbs Free Energy minimization method. A mathematical relationship between Lagrange's multipliers and carbon activity in the gas phase was deduced. Minimum steam required for the reforming process for each fuel was related to the heat required for the reforming process and fuel cell open circuit voltage. Furthermore, in an experimental test, steam reforming product compositions were used to evaluate and compare SOFC performance with different hydrocarbons. Comparing the model to the experimental activity, it is revealed that at temperatures exceeding 800 °C the gas composition is dominated by hydrogen and carbon monoxide for any of the fuels considered leading to similar cell polarization curves performance for different fuels. The main effect on the performance is related to OCV values which are dependent on different steam content for each fuel. It was concluded that the magnitude of the heat requested for the fuel reforming process is the major difference in system performance when comparing different fuels. However, reforming kinetic effects can become predominant rather than thermodynamics, especially at lower temperatures.

Effectiveness of interventions to reduce indoor air pollution and/or improve health in homes using solid fuel in lower and middle income countries: protocol for a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Quansah, Reginald; Ochieng, Caroline A; Semple, Sean; Juvekar, Sanjar; Emina, Jacques; Armah, Frederick Ato; Luginaah, Isaac

2015-03-04

Indoor air pollution (IAP) interventions are widely promoted as a means of reducing indoor air pollution/health from solid fuel use; and research addressing impact of these interventions has increased substantially in the past two decades. It is timely and important to understand more about effectiveness of these interventions. We describe the protocol of a systematic review to (i) evaluate effectiveness of IAP interventions to improve indoor air quality and/or health in homes using solid fuel for cooking and/or heating in lower- and middle-income countries, (ii) identify the most effective intervention to improve indoor air quality and/or health, and (iii) identify future research needs. This review will be conducted according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and will be reported following the PRISMA statement. Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, SCOPUS, and PubMed searches were conducted in September 2013 and updated in November 2014 (and include any further search updates in February 2015). Additional references will be located through searching the references cited by identified studies and through the World Health Organization Global database of household air pollution measurements. We will also search our own archives. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment of all included papers will be conducted independently by five reviewers. The study will provide insights into what interventions are most effective in reducing indoor air pollution and/or adverse health outcomes in homes using solid fuel for cooking or heating in lower- or middle-income countries. The findings from this review will be used to inform future IAP interventions and policy on poverty reduction and health improvement in poor communities who rely on biomass and solid fuels for cooking and heating. The review has been registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42014009768 ).

Understanding Our Energy Footprint: Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Investigation of Environmental Impacts of Solid Fossil Fuel Wastes

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Michael; Goldfarb, Jillian L.

2017-01-01

Engaging undergraduates in the environmental consequences of fossil fuel usage primes them to consider their own anthropogenic impact, and the benefits and trade-offs of converting to renewable fuel strategies. This laboratory activity explores the potential contaminants (both inorganic and organic) present in the raw fuel and solid waste…

Bayesian modelling of household solid fuel use: insights towards designing effective interventions to promote fuel switching in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Rehfuess, Eva A; Briggs, David J; Joffe, Mike; Best, Nicky

2010-10-01

Indoor air pollution from solid fuel use is a significant risk factor for acute lower respiratory infections among children in sub-Saharan Africa. Interventions that promote a switch to modern fuels hold a large health promise, but their effective design and implementation require an understanding of the web of upstream and proximal determinants of household fuel use. Using Demographic and Health Survey data for Benin, Kenya and Ethiopia together with Bayesian hierarchical and spatial modelling, this paper quantifies the impact of household-level factors on cooking fuel choice, assesses variation between communities and districts and discusses the likely nature of contextual effects. Household- and area-level characteristics appear to interact as determinants of cooking fuel choice. In all three countries, wealth and the educational attainment of women and men emerge as important; the nature of area-level factors varies between countries. In Benin, a two-level model with spatial community random effects best explains the data, pointing to an environmental explanation. In Ethiopia and Kenya, a three-level model with unstructured community and district random effects is selected, implying relatively autonomous economic and social areas. Area-level heterogeneity, indicated by large median odds ratios, appears to be responsible for a greater share of variation in the data than household-level factors. This may be an indication that fuel choice is to a considerable extent supply-driven rather than demand-driven. Consequently, interventions to promote fuel switching will carefully need to assess supply-side limitations and devise appropriate policy and programmatic approaches to overcome them. To our knowledge, this paper represents the first attempt to model the determinants of solid fuel use, highlighting socio-economic differences between households and, notably, the dramatic influence of contextual effects. It illustrates the potential that multilevel and spatial

Characterisation of solid recovered fuels for direct co-firing in large-scale PF power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunnu, Gregory

2013-04-01

Solid Recovered Fuels are solid fuels prepared from high calorific fractions of non-hazardous waste materials intended to be co-fired in coal power plants and industrial furnaces (CEN/TC 343). They are composed of a variety of materials of which some, although recyclable in theory, may be in a form that makes their recycling an unsound option. The SRF with a typical size range of 3 mm through 25 mm are to be directly co-fired in an existing pulverised coal power plant. In comparison to pulverised coal, the particle size distribution of the SRF is of several magnitudes higher, resulting in a different burnout behaviour. Size reduction of the SRF to a fraction similar to coal is not economically feasible. The aim here is, therefore, the direct co-firing of the solid recovered fuels in the boilers without any further size reduction. This approach, however, bears the risk of incomplete combustion if the injection points of the solid recovered fuels are not optimally selected. Accordingly, the prediction of the burner levels, at which the solid recovered fuels should be injected and whether or not a complete combustion will be achieved under full load condition, is the primary objective of this dissertation. In this research work, laboratory experiments have been conducted to forecast the success of co-firing the SRF in a commercial pulverised coal power plant. It involves the analyses of the fuel and its intermediate chars generated at conditions comparable to boiler conditions to determine some characteristic parameters, namely the burnout time, the aerodynamic lift velocity, the drag coefficient and the apparent densities. The data gathered from the laboratory experiments are transferred to boiler conditions to determine the particle trajectories and the maximum distance likely to travel before they are completely converted in the boiler. Different scenarios are examined and based on the results the best boiler injection points are predicted. Furthermore, an on

Improving the ignition quality of fuels

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani

2017-06-08

Provided herein are compounds and methods of producing compounds for improving ignition quality and combustion efficiency of fuels, for example fossil fuels. In various aspects we generate highly oxygenated compounds from hydrocarbon feedstocks. The feedstock can be a branched alkane or n-alkane having a chain length greater than or equal to 6, a cycloalkane with a 5 or 6 membered ring structure, or a alkylated cycloalkane with 5 or more carbon atoms. The reactant can be fed in the gas- phase to a partial oxidation reactor (with or without a catalyst), and at a fixed temperature, mixture composition, and residence time. The reactant can be converted to a mixture of products including keto hydroperoxides, diketo hydroperoxides, keto dihydroperoxides, hydroperoxyl cyclic ethers, and alkenyl hydroperoxides. The compounds are inherently unstable and can quickly decompose to highly reactive radical species that can be used to improve the ignition quality of a fuel and advance ignition in an engine.

Improving the ignition quality of fuels

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani; Wang, Zhandong; Shankar, Vijai Shankar Bhavani

2017-01-01

Provided herein are compounds and methods of producing compounds for improving ignition quality and combustion efficiency of fuels, for example fossil fuels. In various aspects we generate highly oxygenated compounds from hydrocarbon feedstocks. The feedstock can be a branched alkane or n-alkane having a chain length greater than or equal to 6, a cycloalkane with a 5 or 6 membered ring structure, or a alkylated cycloalkane with 5 or more carbon atoms. The reactant can be fed in the gas- phase to a partial oxidation reactor (with or without a catalyst), and at a fixed temperature, mixture composition, and residence time. The reactant can be converted to a mixture of products including keto hydroperoxides, diketo hydroperoxides, keto dihydroperoxides, hydroperoxyl cyclic ethers, and alkenyl hydroperoxides. The compounds are inherently unstable and can quickly decompose to highly reactive radical species that can be used to improve the ignition quality of a fuel and advance ignition in an engine.

Effect of proton-conduction in electrolyte on electric efficiency of multi-stage solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuzaki, Yoshio; Tachikawa, Yuya; Somekawa, Takaaki; Hatae, Toru; Matsumoto, Hiroshige; Taniguchi, Shunsuke; Sasaki, Kazunari

2015-07-01

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are promising electrochemical devices that enable the highest fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiencies under high operating temperatures. The concept of multi-stage electrochemical oxidation using SOFCs has been proposed and studied over the past several decades for further improving the electrical efficiency. However, the improvement is limited by fuel dilution downstream of the fuel flow. Therefore, evolved technologies are required to achieve considerably higher electrical efficiencies. Here we present an innovative concept for a critically-high fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency of up to 85% based on the lower heating value (LHV), in which a high-temperature multi-stage electrochemical oxidation is combined with a proton-conducting solid electrolyte. Switching a solid electrolyte material from a conventional oxide-ion conducting material to a proton-conducting material under the high-temperature multi-stage electrochemical oxidation mechanism has proven to be highly advantageous for the electrical efficiency. The DC efficiency of 85% (LHV) corresponds to a net AC efficiency of approximately 76% (LHV), where the net AC efficiency refers to the transmission-end AC efficiency. This evolved concept will yield a considerably higher efficiency with a much smaller generation capacity than the state-of-the-art several tens-of-MW-class most advanced combined cycle (MACC).

Effect of Coal Contaminants on Solid Oxide Fuel System Performance and Service Life

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gopala Krishnan; P. Jayaweera; J. Bao; J. Perez; K. H. Lau; M. Hornbostel; A. Sanjurjo; J. R. Albritton; R. P. Gupta

2008-09-30

The U.S. Department of Energy's SECA program envisions the development of high-efficiency, low-emission, CO{sub 2} sequestration-ready, and fuel-flexible technology to produce electricity from fossil fuels. One such technology is the integrated gasification-solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that produces electricity from the gas stream of a coal gasifier. SOFCs have high fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency, environmental compatibility (low NO{sub x} production), and modularity. Naturally occurring coal has many impurities and some of these impurities end in the fuel gas stream either as a vapor or in the form of fine particulate matter. Establishing the tolerance limits of SOFCs for contaminants in the coal-derived gas will allow proper design of the fuel feed system that will not catastrophically damage the SOFC or allow long-term cumulative degradation. The anodes of Ni-cermet-based SOFCs are vulnerable to degradation in the presence of contaminants that are expected to be present in a coal-derived fuel gas stream. Whereas the effects of some contaminants such as H{sub 2}S, NH{sub 3} and HCl have been studied, the effects of other contaminants such as As, P, and Hg have not been ascertained. The primary objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity of the performance of solid oxide fuel cells to trace level contaminants present in a coal-derived gas stream in the temperature range 700 to 900 C. The results were used to assess catastrophic damage risk and long-term cumulative effects of the trace contaminants on the lifetime expectancy of SOFC systems fed with coal-derived gas streams.

Solid oxide fuel cell having a monolithic core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ackerman, J.P.; Young, J.E.

1984-01-01

A solid oxide fuel cell for electrochemically combining fuel and oxidant for generating galvanic output, wherein the cell core has an array of electrolyte and interconnect walls that are substantially devoid of any composite inert materials for support. Instead, the core is monolithic, where each electrolyte wall consists of thin layers of cathode and anode materials sandwiching a thin layer of electrolyte material therebetween, and each interconnect wall consists of thin layers of the cathode and anode materials sandwiching a thin layer of interconnect material therebetween. The electrolyte walls are arranged and backfolded between adjacent interconnect walls operable to define a plurality of core passageways alternately arranged where the inside faces thereof have only the anode material or only the cathode material exposed. Means direct the fuel to the anode-exposed core passageways and means direct the oxidant to the cathode-exposed core passageway; and means also direct the galvanic output to an exterior circuit. Each layer of the electrolyte and interconnect materials is of the order of 0.002-0.01 cm thick; and each layer of the cathode and anode materials is of the order of 0.002-0.05 cm thick

Effect of binder burnout on the sealing performance of glass ceramics for solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ertugrul, Tugrul Y.; Celik, Selahattin; Mat, Mahmut D.

2013-11-01

The glass ceramics composite sealants are among few materials suitable for the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) due to their high operating temperatures (600 °C-850 °C). The glass ceramics chemically bond to both the metallic interconnector and the ceramic electrolyte and provide a gas tight connection. A careful and several stages manufacturing procedure is required to obtain a gas tight sealing. In this study, effects of binder burnout process on the sealing performance are investigated employing commercially available glass ceramic powders. The glass ceramic laminates are produced by mixing glass ceramic powders with the organic binders and employing a tape casting method. The laminates are sandwiched between the metallic interconnectors of an SOFC cell. The burnout and subsequent sealing quality are analyzed by measuring leakage rate and final macrostructure of sealing region. The effects of heating rate, dead weight load, solid loading, carrier gas and their flow rates are investigated. It is found that sealing quality is affected from all investigated parameters. While a slower heating rate is required for a better burnout, the mass flow rate of sweep gas must be adequate for removal of the burned gas. The leakage rate is reduced to 0.1 ml min-1 with 2 °C min-1 + 1 °C min-1 heating rate, 86.25% solid loading, 200 N dead weight load and 500 ml min-1 sweep gas flow rate.

Energy recovery from municipal solid waste by refuse derived fuel production in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanaz Saheri; Noorezlin Ahmad Baseri; Masoud Aghajani Mir; Malmasi Saeed

2010-01-01

Energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) is so beneficial both for the energy and for the positive environmental implications. Mainly related to the saving of primary energy derived from fossil fuel. Malaysia as a fast growing population country has the average amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated around 0.5-0.8 kg/person/day and it has been increased to 1.7 kg/person/day in major cities. Regarding characterization exercise, the main parts of the Malaysian MSW were found to be food, paper and plastic, which made up almost 80 % of the waste by weight. Furthermore, the average moisture content of the MSW was about 55 %, making incineration a challenging mission. In addition waste sectors in Malaysia contributes to 1.3 million ton of CH 4 compare to total CH 4 emission which is 2.2 MT. In order to overcome waste problem considering other technical, environmental and economical methods seems to be necessarily. Resource recovery centers recovers the maximum proportion of recyclable and recoverable resources from the mixed municipal solid waste .The resource recovery process itself is one of the step-by-step segregation and elimination of all non-combustibles , and separation of the combustibles in the desired form of fuel for good combustion. Then, a further mechanical separation process converts combustible materials to refuse derived fuel (RDF) with moisture content between 20 and 30 % and an average calorific fuel value of about 3450 kcal/kg. So, the aim of this paper is taking into account resource recovery from waste using refuse derived fuel as a secondary resource with regarding advantages and disadvantages of this kind of energy production in Malaysia as a developing country. (author)

Quality Assessment of solid waste used for obtaining biogas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamayo Cuellar, Ernesto Antonio; Menendez Perez, Manuel German

2011-01-01

The solid residuals are in our days an important factor in the processes of recycling of materials, composting and obtaining of biogas, however, sometimes doesn't keep in mind the quality of these for their productive acting. Therefore the present work has as objective, in the peculiar case of the biogas production, to propose a method to evaluate the quality of the solid residuals used in the biogas process starting from the biodegradable organic fraction contained in these. For the investigative development of the work theoretical methods were used as the hypothetical-deductive method, the systemic one, the structural-functional one and empiric methods as the scientific observation and the mensuration. The results of their application, although discreet still, have been evidenced in the evaluation of the quality of the solid residuals in the plant of recycling -composting of the City of Holguin in the compost production. The main conclusion to which you can arrive with the carried out investigation is that the evaluation of the quality of the solid residuals is important to make studies of feasibility in the design and implementation of new projects of recycling units, composting and biogas. (author)

Quality assurance monitoring during nuclear fuel production in JSC 'TVEL'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filimonov, G.; Tchirkov, V.

2000-01-01

The paper describes Quality Assurance (QA) monitoring during fabrication of nuclear fuel in Russian Federation. Joint Stock Company 'TVEL', natural state monopoly of the type of holding that fabricates and supplies nuclear fuel for the NPPs of Russia, CIS and Europe, incorporates the major enterprises of the nuclear fuel cycle including JSC 'Mashinostroitelny zavod', Electrostal (fabrication of fuel pellets, rods and assemblies for different types of reactors), JSC 'Novosibirsky zavod khimconcentratov', Novosibirsk (fabrication of fuel rods and assemblies for WWER-440 and WWER-1000), JSC 'Tchepetsky mechanitchesky zavod', Tchepetsk (fabrication of Zr tubing). Monitoring of QA is an important element of Quality Management System (QMS) developed and implemented at the above-mentioned enterprises of the JSC 'TVEL' and it is performed on three levels including external and internal audits and author's supervision. Paper also describes short- and long-term policies of the JSC 'TVEL' in nuclear fuel quality field. (author)

Learning curves for solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivera-Tinoco, R.; Schoots, K. [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (Netherlands). Policy Studies; Zwaan, B.C.C. van der [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (Netherlands). Policy Studies; Columbia Univ., New York City, NY (United States). Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy

2010-07-01

We present learning curves for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and combined heat and power (CHP) SOFC systems with an electric capacity between 1 and 250 kW. On the basis of the cost breakdown of production cost data from fuel cell manufacturers, we developed a bottom-up model that allows for determining overall manufacturing costs from their respective cost components, among which material, energy, labor, and capital charges. The results obtained from our model prove to deviate by at most 13% from total cost figures quoted in the literature. For the early pilot stage of development, we find for SOFC manufacturing a learning rate between 14% and 17%, and for total SOFC system fabrication between 16% and 19%. We argue that the corresponding cost reductions result largely from learning-by-searching effects (R and D) rather than learning-by-doing. When considering a longer time frame that includes the early commercial production stage, we find learning rates between 14% and 39%, which represent a mix of phenomena such as learning-by-doing, learning-by-searching, economies-of-scale and automation. (orig.)

Improvements in or relating to process for the production of fuel gas from a carbonaceous solid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1952-12-03

A process was designed for the generation of fuel gas from a solid carbonaceous fuel containing volatilizable constituents, which comprises admixing the solid carbonaceous fuel in particle form with sufficient water to form a fluid suspension, passing the suspension through a heating zone at an elevated temperature such that substantially all of the water is vaporized, thereby forming a dispersion of coal in steam and causing the dispersion to attain a velocity of at least 60 ft. per second to shatter the particles of coal by collision, passing the resulting dispersion into a fluidized bed of solid carbonaceous material in a methanization zone into contact with carbon monoxide and hydrogen at a temperature within the range of from 900/sup 0/ to 1,800/sup 0/F whereby carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted to methane and volatilizable constituents of the solid carbonaceous material are distilled therefrom, withdrawing carbonaceous material from the methanization zone and passing it into contact with oxygen and steam in dilute phase in a gasification zone maintained at a temperature within the range of 2,000/sup 0/ to about 3,000/sup 0/F, passing the resulting gases comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen from the gasification zone into the methanization zone as the source of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and discharging the gaseous products of the methanization zone as the raw-product fuel gas.

FFTF metal fuel pin sodium bond quality verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitner, A.L.; Dittmer, J.O.

1988-12-01

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) Series III driver fuel design consists of U-10Zr fuel slugs contained in a ferritic alloy cladding. A liquid metal, sodium bond between the fuel and cladding is required to prevent unacceptable temperatures during operation. Excessive voiding or porosity in the sodium thermal bond could result in localized fuel melting during irradiation. It is therefore imperative that bond quality be verified during fabrication of these metal fuel pins prior to irradiation. This document discusses this verification

Hydrocarbon fuel processing of micro solid oxide fuel cell systems[Dissertation 17455

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stutz, M. J.

2007-07-01

The scope of this thesis is the numerical and experimental investigation of the fuel processing of a micro solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) running on hydrocarbon fuel. The goal is to enhance the overall system efficiency by optimization of the reforming process in the steady state and the improvement of the start-up process. Micro SOFC are a potential alternative to the currently used batteries in portable devices. Liquid butane in a cartridge could be the energy source. This dissertation is focused on the fuel processing of the system, namely the reforming and post-combusting processes. The reformer converts the hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen rich gas that can be utilized by the SOFC. The post-combustor depletes the toxic and/or explosive gases before leaving the exhaust. Chapter One presents a short introduction to the field of hydrocarbon fuel processing in micro solid oxide fuel cell systems, the next three chapters deal with computational modeling of the transport phenomena inside a micro-reformer, which leads to a better understanding of the chemistry and the physics therein, hence progress in the design and operation parameters. The experimental part (i.e. Chapter Five) of this thesis focuses on the feasibility of a novel hybrid start-up method of a fuel cell system that employs existing components as an additional heat source. In Chapter Two the effect of wall heat conduction on the syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) production of a micro-reformer, representing micro-fabricated channels or monoliths, is investigated. Methane is used as a model hydrocarbon fuel since its heterogeneous reaction path on rhodium is known and validated. The simulations demonstrate that the axial wall conduction strongly influences the performance of the micro-reformer and should not be neglected without a careful a priori investigation of its impact. Methane conversion and hydrogen yield are strongly dependent of the wall inner surface temperature, which is influenced by the

Compact hydrogen production systems for solid polymer fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ledjeff-Hey, K.; Formanski, V.; Kalk, Th.; Roes, J.

Generally there are several ways to produce hydrogen gas from carbonaceous fuels like natural gas, oil or alcohols. Most of these processes are designed for large-scale industrial production and are not suitable for a compact hydrogen production system (CHYPS) in the power range of 1 kW. In order to supply solid polymer fuel cells (SPFC) with hydrogen, a compact fuel processor is required for mobile applications. The produced hydrogen-rich gas has to have a low level of harmful impurities; in particular the carbon monoxide content has to be lower than 20 ppmv. Integrating the reaction step, the gas purification and the heat supply leads to small-scale hydrogen production systems. The steam reforming of methanol is feasible at copper catalysts in a low temperature range of 200-350°C. The combination of a small-scale methanol reformer and a metal membrane as purification step forms a compact system producing high-purity hydrogen. The generation of a SPFC hydrogen fuel gas can also be performed by thermal or catalytic cracking of liquid hydrocarbons such as propane. At a temperature of 900°C the decomposition of propane into carbon and hydrogen takes place. A fuel processor based on this simple concept produces a gas stream with a hydrogen content of more than 90 vol.% and without CO and CO2.

Total quality approach at ABB Atom Nuclear Fuel - winner of the Swedish quality award 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moorlin, K.; Olsson, S.

1995-01-01

ABB Atom Nuclear Fuel Division received the Swedish Quality Award 1994. The company has since many years a reputation for high product quality and a well implemented quality assurance system. Since some years a total quality approach is applied. For ABB Atom, total quality means continuous improvement of all business processes keeping the customer in focus. This paper elaborates on the improvement tools used at the ABB Atom Nuclear Fuel Division and gives some detailed information of the experience. (author) 6 figs

Household air pollution from solid fuel use and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Amegah, Adeladza K; Quansah, Reginald; Jaakkola, Jouni J K

2014-01-01

About 41% of households globally, mainly in developing countries rely on solid fuels for cooking with consequences for fetal growth and development. Previous reviews were limited in scope, assessing only two outcomes (birth weight, stillbirth). With important evidence accumulating, there is a need to improve the previous estimates and assess additional outcomes. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the quality and strength of available evidence on household air pollution (HAP) and the whole range of adverse pregnancy outcomes. PubMed, Ovid Medline, Scopus and CINAHL were searched from their inception to the end of April 2013. All epidemiological study designs were eligible for inclusion in the review. The random-effects model was applied in computing the summary-effect estimates (EE) and their corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Of 1505 studies screened, 19 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria. Household combustion of solid fuels resulted in an 86.43 g (95% CI: 55.49, 117.37) reduction in birth weight, and a 35% (EE = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.48) and 29% (EE = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.41) increased risk of LBW and stillbirth respectively. Combustion of solid fuels at home increases the risk of a wide range of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Access to clean household energy solutions is the surest way to combat HAP and mitigate their adverse effects.

Experiences in the application of quality control and quality assurance programmes in water reactor fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaramamoorthy, K.; Vijayaraghavan, R.; Kulkarni, P.G.; Raghavan, S.V.; Bandyopadhyay, A.K.

1984-01-01

Nuclear fuel for Research Reactors and Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) is being fabricated in India for a period of over two decades. The fuel is produced to conform to stringent quality control specifications. Generally, the performance of the fuel has been very good in the reactors. This is not only due to the high quality workmanship in the various stages of production but also to the meticulous care exercised in the planning and application of quality control and quality assurance procedures. For the nuclear fuel used in Water Reactors, extensive material specifications have been compiled and they are periodically reviewed and revised. The specifications cover various aspects such as metallurgical and mechanical properties, non-destructive testing, dimensional and visual standard requirements. Similarly, detailed manufacturing engineering instructions (MEIs) and quality control instructions (QCIs) have been drawn. For any deviations from the specified requirements, design concession committee considers all deviations and acceptance or rejection criteria are evolved. In this task, the design concession committee is supported by experimentation in various laboratories of the Department of Atomic Energy. The Quality Assurance procedures have been evolved over a long period of time. They generally conform to the latest code and recommended guides of IAEA regarding Quality Assurance in the manufacture of fuel. (orig.)

Medium-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maffei, N.; Kuriakose, A.K. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Materials Technology Lab

2000-07-01

The Materials Technology Laboratory (MTL) of Natural Resources Canada has been conducting research on the development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) for the past decade. Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly into electric energy in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. SOFCs are considered to be good stationary power sources for commercial and residential applications and will likely be commercialized in the near future. The research at MTL has focused on the development of new electrolytes for use in SOFCs. In the course of this research, monolithic planar single cell SOFCs based on doubly doped ceria and lanthanum gallate have been fabricated and tested at 700 degrees C. This paper compared the performance characteristics of both these systems. The data suggested the presence of a significant electronic conductivity in the SOFC incorporating doubly doped ceria, resulting in lower than expected voltage output. The stability of the SOFC, however, did not appear to be negatively affected. The lanthanum gallate based SOFC performed well. It was concluded that reducing the operating temperature of SOFCs would improve their reliability and enhance their operating life. First generation commercial SOFCs will use a zirconium oxide-based electrolytes while second generation units might possibly use ceria-based and/or lanthanum gallate electrolytes. 24 refs., 6 figs.

Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycled plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gug, JeongIn; Cacciola, David; Sobkowicz, Margaret J

2015-01-01

Diversion of waste streams such as plastics, woods, papers and other solid trash from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is to burn the high-energy-content components in standard coal power plant. This research aims to reform wastes into briquettes that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, free of hazardous contaminants, and moisture resistant, while retaining high fuel value. This study aims to investigate the effects of processing conditions and added recyclable plastics on the properties of MSW solid fuels. A well-sorted waste stream high in paper and fiber content was combined with controlled levels of recyclable plastics PE, PP, PET and PS and formed into briquettes using a compression molding technique. The effect of added plastics and moisture content on binding attraction and energy efficiency were investigated. The stability of the briquettes to moisture exposure, the fuel composition by proximate analysis, briquette mechanical strength, and burning efficiency were evaluated. It was found that high processing temperature ensures better properties of the product addition of milled mixed plastic waste leads to better encapsulation as well as to greater calorific value. Also some moisture removal (but not complete) improves the compacting process and results in higher heating value. Analysis of the post-processing water uptake and compressive strength showed a correlation between density and stability to both mechanical stress and humid environment. Proximate analysis indicated heating values comparable to coal. The results showed that mechanical and moisture uptake stability were improved when the moisture and air contents were optimized. Moreover, the briquette

TAPE CALENDERING MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR MULTILAYER THIN-FILM SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen Minh; Kurt Montgomery

2004-10-01

This report summarizes the work performed by Hybrid Power Generation Systems, LLC during the Phases I and II under Contract DE-AC26-00NT40705 for the U. S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) entitled ''Tape Calendering Manufacturing Process For Multilayer Thin-Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cells''. The main objective of this project was to develop the manufacturing process based on tape calendering for multilayer solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC's) using the unitized cell design concept and to demonstrate cell performance under specified operating conditions. Summarized in this report is the development and improvements to multilayer SOFC cells and the unitized cell design. Improvements to the multilayer SOFC cell were made in electrochemical performance, in both the anode and cathode, with cells demonstrating power densities of nearly 0.9 W/cm{sup 2} for 650 C operation and other cell configurations showing greater than 1.0 W/cm{sup 2} at 75% fuel utilization and 800 C. The unitized cell design was matured through design, analysis and development testing to a point that cell operation at greater than 70% fuel utilization was demonstrated at 800 C. The manufacturing process for both the multilayer cell and unitized cell design were assessed and refined, process maps were developed, forming approaches explored, and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques examined.

Clean fuel-magnesia bonded coal briquetting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tosun, Yildirim I. [S. Demirel University Eng., Arch. Faculty Mining Eng. Department, Isparta (Turkey)

2007-10-15

Benefaction from coal fines as solid fuel in Turkey is very much important for economical development. Beneficiation from washed coal fines in the industry using solid fuel at lump size and in the municipal areas as an household solid fuel may be only provided by hot briquetting of the coal fines. The most practical common way of that benefication from coal fines in our country have been hot binding by sulfite liquor-sulfite liquor-melas and lime mixtures. Harmful the flue content of sulfite liquor-melas may only be eliminated by lime, a type of solid additive. However, cold bonded briquettes produced from coal fines are environmentally free. Just ash contents of these briquettes increase at a certain degree and heat content of them decrease at a certain extent. By using magnesia binder showed in this study, Tuncbilek lignite fines have been briquetted by cold and hot briquetting techniques. The qualities of briquettes produced by cold binders were compared with to those produced by other hot binding methods As a result, magnesia binder showed the similar characteristics with those of the briquettes produced by only cold bonded gypsum. Use of magnesite mixture and gypsum just as only cold binder was not suitable for the requirements from the coal briquettes to be used as solid fuels, particularly from household fuels, but just only as cold additive should be used. (author)

Thermal stress analysis of sulfur deactivated solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Shumao; Parbey, Joseph; Yu, Guangsen; Xu, Min; Li, Tingshuai; Andersson, Martin

2018-03-01

Hydrogen sulfide in fuels can deactivate catalyst for solid oxide fuel cells, which has become one of the most critical challenges to stability. The reactions between sulfur and catalyst will cause phase changes, leading to increase in cell polarization and mechanical mismatch. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach based on the finite element method (FEM) is thus used to investigate the polarization, temperature and thermal stress in a sulfur deactivated SOFC by coupling equations for gas-phase species, heat, momentum, ion and electron transport. The results indicate that sulfur in fuels can strongly affect the cell polarization and thermal stresses, which shows a sharp decrease in the vicinity of electrolyte when 10% nickel in the functional layer is poisoned, but they remain almost unchanged even when the poisoned Ni content was increased to 90%. This investigation is helpful to deeply understand the sulfur poisoning effects and also benefit the material design and optimization of electrode structure to enhance cell performance and lifetimes in various hydrocarbon fuels containing impurities.

Nickel/Yttria-stabilised zirconia cermet anodes for solid oxide fuel cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Primdahl, Søren

1999-01-01

This thesis deals with the porous Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) cermet anode on a YSZ electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Such anodes are predominantly operated in moist hydrogen at 700°C to 1000°C, and the most important technological parameters are the polarization resistance and

Efficient and Scalable Fabrication of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells via 3D-Printing

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Although solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are a source of both efficient and clean electricity, the brittle ceramic materials which comprise them are difficult to form...

Kinetic Studies on State of the Art Solid Oxide Cells – A Comparison between Hydrogen/Steam and Reformate Fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Njodzefon, Jean-Claude; Graves, Christopher R.; Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg

2015-01-01

Electrochemical reaction kinetics at the electrodes of Solid Oxide Cells (SOCs) were investigated at 700 °C for two cells with different fuel electrode microstructures as well as on a third cell with a reduced active electrode area. Three fuel mixtures were investigated – hydrogen/steam and refor......Electrochemical reaction kinetics at the electrodes of Solid Oxide Cells (SOCs) were investigated at 700 °C for two cells with different fuel electrode microstructures as well as on a third cell with a reduced active electrode area. Three fuel mixtures were investigated – hydrogen....../steam fuel split into two processes with opposing temperature behavior in the reformate fuels. An 87.5% reduction in active electrode area diminishes the gas conversion impedance in the hydrogen/steam fuel at high fuel flow rates. In both reformates, the second and third lowest frequency processes merged...

Composite electrolyte with proton conductivity for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raza, Rizwan, E-mail: razahussaini786@gmail.com [Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore 54000 (Pakistan); Department of Energy Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm 10044 (Sweden); Ahmed, Akhlaq; Akram, Nadeem; Saleem, Muhammad; Niaz Akhtar, Majid; Ajmal Khan, M.; Abbas, Ghazanfar; Alvi, Farah; Yasir Rafique, M. [Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore 54000 (Pakistan); Sherazi, Tauqir A. [Department of Chemistry, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbotabad 22060 (Pakistan); Shakir, Imran [Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET) center, College of Engineering, King Saud University, PO-BOX 800, Riyadh 11421 (Saudi Arabia); Mohsin, Munazza [Department of Physics, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, 54000 (Pakistan); Javed, Muhammad Sufyan [Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore 54000 (Pakistan); Department of Applied Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Zhu, Bin, E-mail: binzhu@kth.se, E-mail: zhubin@hubu.edu.cn [Department of Energy Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm 10044 (Sweden); Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science/Faculty of Computer and Information, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062 (China)

2015-11-02

In the present work, cost-effective nanocomposite electrolyte (Ba-SDC) oxide is developed for efficient low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LTSOFCs). Analysis has shown that dual phase conduction of O{sup −2} (oxygen ions) and H{sup +} (protons) plays a significant role in the development of advanced LTSOFCs. Comparatively high proton ion conductivity (0.19 s/cm) for LTSOFCs was achieved at low temperature (460 °C). In this article, the ionic conduction behaviour of LTSOFCs is explained by carrying out electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Further, the phase and structure analysis are investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Finally, we achieved an ionic transport number of the composite electrolyte for LTSOFCs as high as 0.95 and energy and power density of 90% and 550 mW/cm{sup 2}, respectively, after sintering the composite electrolyte at 800 °C for 4 h, which is promising. Our current effort toward the development of an efficient, green, low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell with the incorporation of high proton conductivity composite electrolyte may open frontiers in the fields of energy and fuel cell technology.

Composite electrolyte with proton conductivity for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Raza, Rizwan; Ahmed, Akhlaq; Akram, Nadeem; Saleem, Muhammad; Niaz Akhtar, Majid; Sherazi, Tauqir A.; Ajmal Khan, M.; Abbas, Ghazanfar; Shakir, Imran; Mohsin, Munazza; Alvi, Farah; Javed, Muhammad Sufyan; Yasir Rafique, M.; Zhu, Bin

2015-11-01

In the present work, cost-effective nanocomposite electrolyte (Ba-SDC) oxide is developed for efficient low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LTSOFCs). Analysis has shown that dual phase conduction of O-2 (oxygen ions) and H+ (protons) plays a significant role in the development of advanced LTSOFCs. Comparatively high proton ion conductivity (0.19 s/cm) for LTSOFCs was achieved at low temperature (460 °C). In this article, the ionic conduction behaviour of LTSOFCs is explained by carrying out electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Further, the phase and structure analysis are investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Finally, we achieved an ionic transport number of the composite electrolyte for LTSOFCs as high as 0.95 and energy and power density of 90% and 550 mW/cm2, respectively, after sintering the composite electrolyte at 800 °C for 4 h, which is promising. Our current effort toward the development of an efficient, green, low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell with the incorporation of high proton conductivity composite electrolyte may open frontiers in the fields of energy and fuel cell technology.

Carbon deposition thresholds on nickel-based solid oxide fuel cell anodes I. Fuel utilization

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, J.; Kesler, O.

2015-03-01

In the first of a two part publication, the effect of fuel utilization (Uf) on carbon deposition rates in solid oxide fuel cell nickel-based anodes was studied. Representative 5-component CH4 reformate compositions (CH4, H2, CO, H2O, & CO2) were selected graphically by plotting the solutions to a system of mass-balance constraint equations. The centroid of the solution space was chosen to represent a typical anode gas mixture for each nominal Uf value. Selected 5-component and 3-component gas mixtures were then delivered to anode-supported cells for 10 h, followed by determination of the resulting deposited carbon mass. The empirical carbon deposition thresholds were affected by atomic carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) fractions of the delivered gas mixtures and temperature. It was also found that CH4-rich gas mixtures caused irreversible damage, whereas atomically equivalent CO-rich compositions did not. The coking threshold predicted by thermodynamic equilibrium calculations employing graphite for the solid carbon phase agreed well with empirical thresholds at 700 °C (Uf ≈ 32%); however, at 600 °C, poor agreement was observed with the empirical threshold of ∼36%. Finally, cell operating temperatures correlated well with the difference in enthalpy between the supplied anode gas mixtures and their resulting thermodynamic equilibrium gas mixtures.

The continuous improvement in quality management for nuclear fuel manufacturing in CNNC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaoling

2004-01-01

The nuclear fuel plant has been keeping good records in quality. Only one pot failure has been found in the fuels loaded in the reactors at more than ten years. The paper describes quality management in nuclear fuel manufacturing and focuses on the continuous improvement on quality system and process by running the quality management system, process by quality control group, and data analyze, the requirements and the improvements for the quality system, the measurement system and the standardization system, the importance of clearance system. It also describes the future plans in quality management

Iowa Central Quality Fuel Testing Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heach, Don; Bidieman, Julaine

2013-09-30

The objective of this project is to finalize the creation of an independent quality fuel testing laboratory on the campus of Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa that shall provide the exploding biofuels industry a timely and cost-effective centrally located laboratory to complete all state and federal fuel and related tests that are required. The recipient shall work with various state regulatory agencies, biofuel companies and state and national industry associations to ensure that training and testing needs of their members and American consumers are met. The recipient shall work with the Iowa Department of Ag and Land Stewardship on the development of an Iowa Biofuel Quality Standard along with the Development of a standard that can be used throughout industry.

Production of gaseous or vaporous fuels from solid carbonaceous materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1951-05-16

A process for the production of gaseous or vaporous fuels from solid carbonaceous materials consists of subjecting the materials in separate zones to at least three successive thermal treatments at least two of which are carried out at different temperature levels. The materials being maintained in zones in the form of beds of finely divided particles fluidized by the passage of gases or vapors upwardly there-through, and recovering product vapors or gases overhead. The total hot gaseous or vaporous effluent and entrained solids from one of the zones is passed directly without separation to another of the zones situated closely adjacent to and vertically above the first named zone in the same vessel, and the heat required in at least one of the thermal treatment zones is supplied at least in part as the sensible heat of residual solids transferred from a thermal treatment zone operated at a higher temperature.

Lanthanum gallate and ceria composite as electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shuai; Li Zhicheng; Bergman, Bill

2010-01-01

The composite of doped lanthanum gallate (La 0.9 Sr 0.1 Ga 0.8 Mg 0.2 O 2.85 , LSGM) and doped ceria (Ce 0.8 Sm 0.2 O 1.9 , CSO) was investigated as an electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The LSGM-CSO composite was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and impedance spectroscopy. It was found that the sintered LSGM-CSO composite contains mainly fluorite CeO 2 phase and a minority impurity phase, Sm 3 Ga 5 O 12 . The LSGM-CSO composite electrolyte shows a small grain boundary response in the impedance spectroscopy as compared to LSGM and CSO pellets. The composite electrolyte exhibits the highest conductivity in the temperature range of 250-600 o C, compared to LSGM and CSO. The LSGM-CSO composite can be expected to be an attractive intermediate temperature electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cells.

Modeling the burnout of solid polydisperse fuel under the conditions of external heat transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Skorik, I. A.; Goldobin, Yu. M.; Tolmachev, E. M.; Gal'perin, L. G.

2013-11-01

A self-similar burnout mode of solid polydisperse fuel is considered taking into consideration heat transfer between fuel particles, gases, and combustion chamber walls. A polydisperse composition of fuel is taken into account by introducing particle distribution functions by radiuses obtained for the kinetic and diffusion combustion modes. Equations for calculating the temperatures of particles and gases are presented, which are written for particles average with respect to their distribution functions by radiuses taking into account the fuel burnout ratio. The proposed equations take into consideration the influence of fuel composition, air excess factor, and gas recirculation ratio. Calculated graphs depicting the variation of particle and gas temperatures, and the fuel burnout ratio are presented for an anthracite-fired boiler.

Robust adaptive control for a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell system

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Steven

2011-12-01

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are electrochemical energy conversion devices. They offer a number of advantages beyond those of most other fuel cells due to their high operating temperature (800-1000°C), such as internal reforming, heat as a byproduct, and faster reaction kinetics without precious metal catalysts. Mitigating fuel starvation and improving load-following capabilities of SOFC systems are conflicting control objectives. However, this can be resolved by the hybridization of the system with an energy storage device, such as an ultra-capacitor. In this thesis, a steady-state property of the SOFC is combined with an input-shaping method in order to address the issue of fuel starvation. Simultaneously, an overall adaptive system control strategy is employed to manage the energy sharing between the elements as well as to maintain the state-of-charge of the energy storage device. The adaptive control method is robust to errors in the fuel cell's fuel supply system and guarantees that the fuel cell current and ultra-capacitor state-of-charge approach their target values and remain uniformly, ultimately bounded about these target values. Parameter saturation is employed to guarantee boundedness of the parameters. The controller is validated through hardware-in-the-loop experiments as well as computer simulations.

Measuring service life and evaluating the quality of solid tires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charoenyut Dechwayukul

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to propose procedures for measuring service life and evaluating the quality of locallymade and used solid tires in Thailand. The solid tires were stressed and rotated until blowout on a drum-like test apparatuswhich is designed, constructed by the authors and equipped with laboratory instrumentation. Solid tires from five differentmanufacturers were selected for testing. We measured service life, length of time to tire failure, at three different loadingamplitudes and three different speeds on the testing drum. The service life of all specimens was studied and compared todetermine the possibility of using service life to evaluate the quality of a solid tire.

Quality and Reliability Aspects in Nuclear Power Reactor Fuel Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

In order to decrease costs and increase competitiveness, nuclear utilities use more challenging operational conditions, longer fuel cycles and higher burnups, which require modifications in fuel designs and materials. Different aspects of quality assurance and control, as well as analysis of fuel performance have been considered in a number of specialized publications. The present publication provides a concise but comprehensive overview of all interconnected quality and reliability issues in fuel fabrication, design and operation. It jointly tackles technical, safety and organizational aspects, and contains examples of state of the art developments and good practices of coordinated work of fuel designers, vendors and reactor operators

Artificial neural networks application for solid fuel slagging intensity predictions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kakietek Sławomir

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Slagging issues present in pulverized steam boilers very often lead to heat transfer problems, corrosion and not planned outages of boilers which increase the cost of energy production and decrease the efficiency of energy production. Slagging especially occurs in regions with reductive atmospheres which nowadays are very common due to very strict limitations in NOx emissions. Moreover alternative fuels like biomass which are also used in combustion systems from two decades in order to decrease CO2 emissions also usually increase the risk of slagging. Thus the prediction of slagging properties of fuels is not the minor issue which can be neglected before purchasing or mixing of fuels. This however is rather difficult to estimate and even commonly known standard laboratory methods like fusion temperature determination or special indexers calculated on the basis of proximate and ultimate analyses, very often have no reasonable correlation to real boiler fuel behaviour. In this paper the method of determination of slagging properties of solid fuels based on laboratory investigation and artificial neural networks were presented. A fuel data base with over 40 fuels was created. Neural networks simulations were carried out in order to predict the beginning temperature and intensity of slagging. Reasonable results were obtained for some of tested neural networks, especially for hybrid feedforward networks with PCA technique. Consequently neural network model will be used in Common Intelligent Boiler Operation Platform (CIBOP being elaborated within CERUBIS research project for two BP-1150 and BB-1150 steam boilers. The model among others enables proper fuel selection in order to minimize slagging risk.

Accumulation of Elements in Salix and Other Species Used in Vegetation Filters with Focus on Wood Fuel Quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adler, Anneli

2007-07-01

Woody or herbaceous perennials used as vegetation filters for treatment of different types of wastes can be suitable for production of solid biofuels when their above ground harvestable biomass yield is sufficiently high and when biomass contains appropriate concentrations of minerals with regard to fuel combustion processes. The concentrations of nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and heavy metals (especially Zn and Cd) in fuel should be low and calcium (Ca) concentrations high to avoid technical problems and environmentally harmful emissions during combustion. Since soil supplementation with essential elements improves biomass yield, a conflict might arise between yield and quality aims. There are various possibilities to influence fuel quality during the growing phase of the life cycle of perennial biomass crops. This study assessed the suitability of two deciduous woody perennials (Salix and Populus) and two summer green herbaceous perennials (Phragmites and Urtica) for phytoremediation in terms of growth and nutrient allocation patterns. Salix and Populus proved suitable as vegetation filters when nutrients were available to plants in near-optimal proportions, but when unbalanced nutrient solutions (wastewater) were applied, stem biomass fraction was strongly reduced. Phragmites was more tolerant to wastewater treatment in terms of plant biomass production and nutrient allocation patterns, so if the N:P ratio of the wastewater is suboptimal, a vegetation filter using Phragmites could be considered. In further studies, a method was developed to determine the proportions of nutrient-rich bark in coppiced Salix, while heavy metal phytoextraction capacity was assessed in two Salix vegetation filters. The relevance of proportion of bark on wood fuel quality and element removal from vegetation filters was also investigated. The concentrations of the elements studied in harvestable Salix shoot biomass were higher, meaning lower wood fuel quality, in plantations where

Combustion characteristics and turbulence modeling of swirling reacting flow in solid fuel ramjet

Science.gov (United States)

Musa, Omer; Xiong, Chen; Changsheng, Zhou

2017-10-01

This paper reviews the historical studies have been done on the solid-fuel ramjet engine and difficulties associated with numerical modeling of swirling flow with combustible gases. A literature survey about works related to numerical and experimental investigations on solid-fuel ramjet as well as using swirling flow and different numerical approaches has been provided. An overview of turbulence modeling of swirling flow and the behavior of turbulence at streamline curvature and system rotation are presented. A new and simple curvature/correction factor is proposed in order to reduce the programming complexity of SST-CC turbulence model. Finally, numerical and experimental investigations on the impact of swirling flow on SFRJ have been carried out. For that regard, a multi-physics coupling code is developed to solve the problems of multi-physics coupling of fluid mechanics, solid pyrolysis, heat transfer, thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics. The connected-pipe test facility is used to carry out the experiments. The results showed a positive impact of swirling flow on SFRJ along with, three correlations are proposed.

Solid oxide fuel cell performance comparison fuelled by methane, MeOH, EtOH and diesel surrogate C8H18

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liso, Vincenzo; Cinti, Giovanni; Nielsen, Mads Pagh

2016-01-01

Carbon deposition is a major cause of degradation in solid oxide fuel cell systems. The ability to predict carbon formation in reforming processes is thus absolutely necessary for stable operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems. In the open literature it is found that thesteam input is always c...

Fuel Cell Power Plant Initiative. Volume 1; Solid Oxide Fuel Cell/Logistics Fuel Processor 27 kWe Power System Demonstration for ARPA

Science.gov (United States)

Veyo, S.E.

1997-01-01

This report describes the successful testing of a 27 kWe Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) generator fueled by natural gas and/or a fuel gas produced by a brassboard logistics fuel preprocessor (LFP). The test period began on May 24, 1995 and ended on February 26, 1996 with the successful completion of all program requirements and objectives. During this time period, this power system produced 118.2 MWh of electric power. No degradation of the generator's performance was measured after 5582 accumulated hours of operation on these fuels: local natural gas - 3261 hours, jet fuel reformate gas - 766 hours, and diesel fuel reformate gas - 1555 hours. This SOFC generator was thermally cycled from full operating temperature to room temperature and back to operating temperature six times, because of failures of support system components and the occasional loss of test site power, without measurable cell degradation. Numerous outages of the LFP did not interrupt the generator's operation because the fuel control system quickly switched to local natural gas when an alarm indicated that the LFP reformate fuel supply had been interrupted. The report presents the measured electrical performance of the generator on all three fuel types and notes the small differences due to fuel type. Operational difficulties due to component failures are well documented even though they did not affect the overall excellent performance of this SOFC power generator. The final two appendices describe in detail the LFP design and the operating history of the tested brassboard LFP.

Ni modified ceramic anodes for direct-methane solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Guoliang; Chen, Fanglin

2016-01-19

In accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for fabricating a solid oxide fuel cell is described. The method includes synthesizing a composition having a perovskite present therein. The method further includes applying the composition on an electrolyte support to form an anode and applying Ni to the composition on the anode.

Quality control in nuclear fuel fabrication on the inspection basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuentes S, A.

1997-01-01

Every plant productive of electric power requires the use of energetics for the transformation to electricity. In the nucleo electric plant the energetic is the uranium, in which it makes ensembles and is used as fuel in the reactor. To assure that the fuel ensembles fulfill the specifications and requirements of design stipulated in the nucleo electric plant is that under a quality control through inspections during the fabrication process. The purpose of this work is to study and verify that the lineaments of the standard 10 CFR 50 appendix B 'Quality assurement for nuclear plants' specially in the criteria 'Inspections' that is used to guarantee the quality of the ensembles. This standard is the one that rules every activity and operation inside the pilot plant and its established in the quality program in the production of nuclear fuel for the Laguna Verde plant. The quality of the assemble is verified through each one of the tests or inspections due to the importance of it in the fabrication of fuel. (Author)

The economic impact of strengthening fuel quality regulation-reducing sulfur content in diesel fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, H.J.; Cho, G.L.; Kim, Y.D.

2006-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of strengthening vehicle emission regulation on economic activities. The government attempts to use three regulation measures to protect air quality from transportation emission. The measures include the aggregate limit (bubbles), the vehicle emission standard, and the fuel quality standard. Especially, we focus on the economic impact of reducing sulfur content in diesel fuel quality standard. Sulfur content in diesel fuel is one of the main factors in worsening local air quality. The emission from diesel vehicle accounts for 51.8% of total vehicle emission in Korea. If sulfur content reduction regulation is implemented, then the petroleum industry should build more facility to produce low sulfur content diesel, leading to additional production costs and increasing prices and decreasing outputs. We use computable general equilibrium model to analyze how the sulfur reduction regulation affects economic activities and trace out local emission reduction cost and GDP loss. And we suggest the tax-recycling mechanism to mitigate the negative economic costs due to the sulfur reduction regulation

Resolution 127/012. It approve the fuel quality 50-S Oil Gas characteristics within the framework of Technical Quality Specifications Rules for liquid fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

This resolution approves the initiative of Ancap fuel quality 50-S Oil Gas characteristics within the framework of Technical Quality Specifications Rules for liquid fuel. This resolution is according to the opinion of the National Energy Regulatory Unit and the Energy and Water Services in relation with the requirements of the current rule.

Indoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide from burning solid fuels for cooking and heating in Yunnan Province, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seow, Wei Jie; Downward, George S; Wei, Hu; Rothman, Nathaniel; Reiss, Boris; Xu, Jun; Bassig, Bryan A; Li, Jihua; He, Jun; Hosgood, H Dean; Wu, Guoping; Chapman, Robert S; Tian, Linwei; Wei, Fusheng; Caporaso, Neil E; Vermeulen, Roel; Lan, Qing

2016-01-01

The Chinese national pollution census has indicated that the domestic burning of solid fuels is an important contributor to nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) emissions in China. To characterize indoor NO2 and SO2 air concentrations in relation to solid fuel use and stove ventilation

Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic analysis of biogas fed solid oxide fuel cell power plants emphasizing on anode and cathode recycling: A comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehr, A.S.; Mahmoudi, S.M.S.; Yari, M.; Chitsaz, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Four biogas-fed solid oxide fuel cell power plants are proposed. • Performance of systems is compared with each other economically. • Efficiency of biogas fed fuel cell with anode–cathode recycling is the highest. • For current density of 6000 A/m"2 the optimum anode recycle ratio is around 0.25. • Unit product cost of biogas fed fuel cell with anode–cathode recycling is 19.07$/GJ. - Abstract: Four different configurations of natural gas and biogas fed solid oxide fuel cell are proposed and analyzed thermoeconomically, focusing on the influence of anode and/or cathode gas recycling. It is observed that the net output power is maximized at an optimum current density the value of which is lowered as the methane concentration in the biogas is decreased. Results indicate that when the current density is low, there is an optimum anode recycling ratio at which the thermal efficiency is maximized. In addition, an increase in the anode recycling ratio increases the unit product cost of the system while an increase in the cathode recycling ratio has a revers effect. For the same working conditions, the solid oxide fuel cell with anode and cathode recycling is superior to the other configurations and its thermal efficiency is calculated as 46.09% being 6.81% higher than that of the simple solid oxide fuel cell fed by natural gas. The unit product cost of the solid oxide fuel cell-anode and cathode recycling system is calculated as 19.07$/GJ which is about 35% lower than the corresponding value for the simple natural gas fed solid oxide fuel cell system.

40 CFR 270.235 - Options for incinerators, cement kilns, lightweight aggregate kilns, solid fuel boilers, liquid...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Options for incinerators, cement kilns... Technology (MACT) Standards § 270.235 Options for incinerators, cement kilns, lightweight aggregate kilns... incinerator, cement kiln, lightweight aggregate kiln, solid fuel boiler, liquid fuel boiler, or hydrochloric...

Production of Solid Fuel by Torrefaction Using Coconut Leaves As Renewable Biomass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lola Domnina Bote Pestaño

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The reserves of non-renewable energy sources such as coal, crude oil and natural gas are not limitless, they gradually get exhausted and their price continually increases. In the last four decades, researchers have been focusing on alternate fuel resources to meet the ever increasing energy demand and to avoid dependence on crude oil. Amongst different sources of renewable energy, biomass residues hold special promise due to their inherent capability to store solar energy and amenability to subsequent conversion to convenient solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. At present, among the coconut farm wastes such as husks, shell, coir dust and coconut leaves, the latter is considered the most grossly under-utilized by in situ burning in the coconut farm as means of disposal. In order to utilize dried coconut leaves and to improve its biomass properties, this research attempts to produce solid fuel by torrefaction using dried coconut leaves for use as alternative source of energy. Torrefaction is a thermal method for the conversion of biomass operating in the low temperature range of 200oC-300oC under atmospheric conditions in absence of oxygen. Dried coconut leaves were torrefied at different feedstock conditions. The key torrefaction products were collected and analyzed. Physical and combustion characteristics of both torrefied and untorrefied biomass were investigated. Torrefaction of dried coconut leaves significantly improved the heating value compared to that of the untreated biomass.  Proximate compositions of the torrefied biomass also improved and were comparable to coal. The distribution of the products of torrefaction depends highly on the process conditions such as torrefaction temperature and residence time. Physical and combustion characteristics of torrefied biomass were superior making it more suitable for fuel applications. Article History: Received June 24th 2016; Received in revised form August 16th 2016; Accepted 27th 2016; Available

The impact of U.S. environmental regulations on fuel quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, K.H.; Dukek, W.G.

1993-01-01

The amendments to the Clean Air Act passed in 1990 focused attention on the emissions from mobile sources, such as automobiles and trucks, as they degrade air quality, particularly in urban areas. In legislating the 1990 amendments, it was recognized that a change in gasoline composition could have as great an effect on improved air quality as design changes in the automobile itself. Without lead available to meet vehicle octane requirements, the refiners increased the use of isoparaffinic and aromatic streams as blending components and began a search for replacement octane enhancers. More reforming units were added in refineries to produce streams of high aromatic content, a step that fortuitously produced more hydrogen gas for treating other products, such as jet fuel and heavier middle distillates, to reduce sulfur content and improve stability. The close relationship between motor gasoline and the quality of other products explains why the advent of reformulated gasoline in the 1990s is viewed with concern by refiners, particularly because the government has now decided to also mandate improvements in diesel fuel quality that will require much of the hydrogen that was counted on to treat jet fuels. As a consequence, the fuel subcommittees of Committee D-2 on Petroleum Products decided that the best forum for highlighting the interrelationships between all major fuels and the impending regulations to improve air quality was a symposium. The symposium began with the latest thinking of the Federal and State governments on air quality regulations and results were then presented from the industry Auto/Oil Air Quality Research Program. The impact of these pending changes on petroleum refining was then discussed. Later, the impact on fuel users for various applications and the effect on ASTM standards was presented. Papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base

Nanostructured Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sholklapper, Tal Zvi [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2007-01-01

The ability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) to directly and efficiently convert the chemical energy in hydrocarbon fuels to electricity places the technology in a unique and exciting position to play a significant role in the clean energy revolution. In order to make SOFC technology cost competitive with existing technologies, the operating temperatures have been decreased to the range where costly ceramic components may be substituted with inexpensive metal components within the cell and stack design. However, a number of issues have arisen due to this decrease in temperature: decreased electrolyte ionic conductivity, cathode reaction rate limitations, and a decrease in anode contaminant tolerance. While the decrease in electrolyte ionic conductivities has been countered by decreasing the electrolyte thickness, the electrode limitations have remained a more difficult problem. Nanostructuring SOFC electrodes addresses the major electrode issues. The infiltration method used in this dissertation to produce nanostructure SOFC electrodes creates a connected network of nanoparticles; since the method allows for the incorporation of the nanoparticles after electrode backbone formation, previously incompatible advanced electrocatalysts can be infiltrated providing electronic conductivity and electrocatalysis within well-formed electrolyte backbones. Furthermore, the method is used to significantly enhance the conventional electrode design by adding secondary electrocatalysts. Performance enhancement and improved anode contamination tolerance are demonstrated in each of the electrodes. Additionally, cell processing and the infiltration method developed in conjunction with this dissertation are reviewed.

Compact reformer for the solid polymer fuel cell policy and best

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goulding, P.S.; Deegan, M.; Gough, A. [Newcastle University (United Kingdom)

1998-07-01

This report summarises the results of a study investigating the feasibility of the Compact Reformer concept, and examining its design and manufacture. The development and testing of a hybrid reformer and thin coat catalyst systems are described, and details of the modeling of the reactor, and the optimisation and costing of the solid polymer fuel cell are given. (UK)

EFFECT SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT OF THE THERMODYNAMICAL FACTORS ON THE SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL OPERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Sednin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Technologies of direct conversion of the fuel energy into electrical power are an upcoming trend in power economy. Over the last decades a number of countries have created industrial prototypes of power plants on fuel elements (cells, while fuel cells themselves became a commercial product on the world energy market. High electrical efficiency of the fuel cells allows predictting their further spread as part of hybrid installations jointly with gas and steam turbines which specifically enables achieving the electrical efficiency greater than 70 %. Nevertheless, investigations in the area of increasing efficiency and reliability of the fuel cells continue. Inter alia, research into the effects of oxidizing reaction thermodynamic parameters, fuel composition and oxidation reaction products on effectiveness of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC is of specific scientific interest. The article presents a concise analysis of the fuel type effects on the SOFC efficiency. Based on the open publications experimental data and the data of numerical model studies, the authors adduce results of the statistical analysis of the SOFC thermodynamic parameters effect on the effectiveness of its functioning as well as of the reciprocative factors of these parameters and gas composition at the inlet and at the outlet of the cell. The presented diagrams reflect dimension of the indicated parameters on the SOFC operation effectiveness. The significance levels of the above listed factors are ascertained. Statistical analysis of the effects of the SOFC functionning process thermodynamical, consumption and concentration parameters demonstrates quintessential influence of the reciprocative factors (temperature – flow-rate and pressure – flow-rate and the nitrogen N2 and oxygen O2 concentrations on the operation efficiency in the researched range of its functioning. These are the parameters to be considered on a first-priority basis while developing mathematical models

Regenerable mixed copper-iron-inert support oxygen carriers for solid fuel chemical looping combustion process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siriwardane, Ranjani V.; Tian, Hanjing

2016-12-20

The disclosure provides an oxygen carrier for a chemical looping cycle, such as the chemical looping combustion of solid carbonaceous fuels, such as coal, coke, coal and biomass char, and the like. The oxygen carrier is comprised of at least 24 weight % (wt %) CuO, at least 10 wt % Fe2O3, and an inert support, and is typically a calcine. The oxygen carrier exhibits a CuO crystalline structure and an absence of iron oxide crystalline structures under XRD crystallography, and provides an improved and sustained combustion reactivity in the temperature range of 600.degree. C.-1000.degree. C. particularly for solid fuels such as carbon and coal.

Impedance Modeling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathodes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Jakob Egeberg; Søgaard, Martin; Jacobsen, Torben

2010-01-01

A 1-dimensional impedance model for a solid oxide fuel cell cathode is formulated and applied to a cathode consisting of 50/50 wt% strontium doped lanthanum cobaltite and gadolinia doped ceria. A total of 42 impedance spectra were recorded in the temperature range: 555-852°C and in the oxygen...... partial pressure range 0.028-1.00 atm. The recorded impedance spectra were successfully analyzed using the developed impedance model in the investigated temperature and oxygen partial pressure range. It is also demonstrated that the model can be used to predict how impedance spectra evolve with different...

Oxy-fuel combustion of solid fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toftegaard, Maja Bøg; Brix, Jacob; Jensen, Peter Arendt

2010-01-01

Oxy-fuel combustion is suggested as one of the possible, promising technologies for capturing CO2 from power plants. The concept of oxy-fuel combustion is removal of nitrogen from the oxidizer to carry out the combustion process in oxygen and, in most concepts, recycled flue gas to lower the flame...... provide additional options for improvement of process economics are however likewise investigated. Of particular interest is the change of the combustion process induced by the exchange of carbon dioxide and water vapor for nitrogen as diluent. This paper reviews the published knowledge on the oxy......-fuel process and focuses particularly on the combustion fundamentals, i.e. flame temperatures and heat transfer, ignition and burnout, emissions, and fly ash characteristics. Knowledge is currently available regarding both an entire oxy-fuel power plant and the combustion fundamentals. However, several...

The manufacture, quality control and performance of KANUPP fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butt, M.I.; Salim, M.; Ahmad, I.

1989-01-01

KANUPP is a 137 MWe CANDU reactor. The fuel material is high-density sintered pellets (95-97% T.D.) of natural UO 2 in Zircaloy 4 sheaths. Reactor-grade UO 2 powder is precompacted, granulated, blended with 0.2% zinc stearate, and compacted into green pellets. The pellets are sintered in a reducing atmosphere, then finished by grinding, culled, and loaded into Zr-4 tubes. The welded elements are assembled into a fuel bundle. Quality control and quality assurance procedures are followed during all stages of manufacturing. The entire core of KANUPP now consists of locally manufactured fuel. Several bundles have already achieved the design burnup (8650 MWD/TU). There have never been any failures of these fuel bundles. (6 refs., 5 figs., 8 tabs.)

Lanthanum gallate and ceria composite as electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Shuai, E-mail: shuail@kth.s [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Royal Institute of Technology, SE 10044 Stockholm (Sweden); Li Zhicheng [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, 410083 Changsha, Hunan (China); Bergman, Bill [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Royal Institute of Technology, SE 10044 Stockholm (Sweden)

2010-03-04

The composite of doped lanthanum gallate (La{sub 0.9}Sr{sub 0.1}Ga{sub 0.8}Mg{sub 0.2}O{sub 2.85}, LSGM) and doped ceria (Ce{sub 0.8}Sm{sub 0.2}O{sub 1.9}, CSO) was investigated as an electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The LSGM-CSO composite was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and impedance spectroscopy. It was found that the sintered LSGM-CSO composite contains mainly fluorite CeO{sub 2} phase and a minority impurity phase, Sm{sub 3}Ga{sub 5}O{sub 12}. The LSGM-CSO composite electrolyte shows a small grain boundary response in the impedance spectroscopy as compared to LSGM and CSO pellets. The composite electrolyte exhibits the highest conductivity in the temperature range of 250-600 {sup o}C, compared to LSGM and CSO. The LSGM-CSO composite can be expected to be an attractive intermediate temperature electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cells.

High temperature solid oxide regenerative fuel cell for solar photovoltaic energy storage

Science.gov (United States)

Bents, David J.

A hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cell energy storage system based on high temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology is discussed which has application to darkside energy storage for solar photovoltaics. The forward and reverse operating cycles are described, and heat flow, mass, and energy balance data are presented to characterize the system's performance and the variation of performance with changing reactant storage pressure. The present system weighs less than nickel hydrogen battery systems after 0.7 darkside operation, and it maintains a specific weight advantage over radioisotope generators for discharge periods up to 72 hours.

High temperature solid oxide regenerative fuel cell for solar photovoltaic energy storage

Science.gov (United States)

Bents, David J.

1987-01-01

A hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cell energy storage system based on high temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology is discussed which has application to darkside energy storage for solar photovoltaics. The forward and reverse operating cycles are described, and heat flow, mass, and energy balance data are presented to characterize the system's performance and the variation of performance with changing reactant storage pressure. The present system weighs less than nickel hydrogen battery systems after 0.7 darkside operation, and it maintains a specific weight advantage over radioisotope generators for discharge periods up to 72 hours.

Anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste: Technical developments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivard, C.J. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1996-01-01

The anaerobic biogasification of organic wastes generates two useful products: a medium-Btu fuel gas and a compost-quality organic residue. Although commercial-scale digestion systems are used to treat municipal sewage wastes, the disposal of solid organic wastes, including municipal solid wastes (MSW), requires a more cost-efficient process. Modern biogasification systems employ high-rate, high-solids fermentation methods to improve process efficiency and reduce capital costs. The design criteria and development stages are discussed. These systems are also compared with conventional low-solids fermentation technology.

Design of Waste Gasification Energy Systems with Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2017-01-01

Energy saving is an open point in most European countries where energy policies are oriented to reduce the use of fossil fuels, greenhouses emissions and energy independence, and to increase the use of renewable energies. In the last several years, new technologies have been developed and some...... of them received subsidies to increase installation and reduce cost. This article presents a new sustainable trigeneration system (power, heat and cool) based on a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system integrated with an absorption chiller for special applications such as hotels, resorts, hospitals, etc....... with a focus on plant design and performance. The proposal system is based on the idea of gasifying the municipal waste, producing syngas serving as fuel for the trigeneration system. Such advanced system when improved is thus self-sustainable without dependency on net grid, district heating and district...

Cost Study for Manufacturing of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weimar, Mark R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Chick, Lawrence A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Gotthold, David W. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Whyatt, Greg A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2013-09-30

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems can be designed to produce electricity from fossil fuels at extremely high net efficiencies, approaching 70%. However, in order to penetrate commercial markets to an extent that significantly impacts world fuel consumption, their cost will need to be competitive with alternative generating systems, such as gas turbines. This report discusses a cost model developed at PNNL to estimate the manufacturing cost of SOFC power systems sized for ground-based distributed generation. The power system design was developed at PNNL in a study on the feasibility of using SOFC power systems on more electric aircraft to replace the main engine-mounted electrical generators [Whyatt and Chick, 2012]. We chose to study that design because the projected efficiency was high (70%) and the generating capacity was suitable for ground-based distributed generation (270 kW).

Feasibility of an energy conversion system in Canada involving large-scale integrated hydrogen production using solid fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gnanapragasam, Nirmal V.; Reddy, Bale V.; Rosen, Marc A.

2010-01-01

A large-scale hydrogen production system is proposed using solid fuels and designed to increase the sustainability of alternative energy forms in Canada, and the technical and economic aspects of the system within the Canadian energy market are examined. The work investigates the feasibility and constraints in implementing such a system within the energy infrastructure of Canada. The proposed multi-conversion and single-function system produces hydrogen in large quantities using energy from solid fuels such as coal, tar sands, biomass, municipal solid waste (MSW) and agricultural/forest/industrial residue. The proposed system involves significant technology integration, with various energy conversion processes (such as gasification, chemical looping combustion, anaerobic digestion, combustion power cycles-electrolysis and solar-thermal converters) interconnected to increase the utilization of solid fuels as much as feasible within cost, environmental and other constraints. The analysis involves quantitative and qualitative assessments based on (i) energy resources availability and demand for hydrogen, (ii) commercial viability of primary energy conversion technologies, (iii) academia, industry and government participation, (iv) sustainability and (v) economics. An illustrative example provides an initial road map for implementing such a system. (author)

Hydrogen and synthetic fuel production using pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Søren Højgaard; Sun, Xiufu; Ebbesen, Sune

2010-01-01

Wind and solar power is troubled by large fluctuations in delivery due to changing weather. The surplus electricity can be used in a Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) to split CO2 + H2O into CO + H2 (+O2). The synthesis gas (CO + H2) can subsequently be catalyzed into various types of synthetic...... fuels using a suitable catalyst. As the catalyst operates at elevated pressure the fuel production system can be simplified by operating the SOEC at elevated pressure. Here we present the results of a cell test with pressures ranging from 0.4 bar to 10 bar. The cell was tested both as an SOEC...

An integrated appraisal of energy recovery options in the United Kingdom using solid recovered fuel derived from municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, A; Smith, R; Hill, D; Longhurst, P J; Pollard, S J T; Simms, N J

2009-08-01

This paper reports an integrated appraisal of options for utilising solid recovered fuels (SRF) (derived from municipal solid waste, MSW) in energy intensive industries within the United Kingdom (UK). Four potential co-combustion scenarios have been identified following discussions with industry stakeholders. These scenarios have been evaluated using (a) an existing energy and mass flow framework model, (b) a semi-quantitative risk analysis, (c) an environmental assessment and (d) a financial assessment. A summary of results from these evaluations for the four different scenarios is presented. For the given ranges of assumptions; SRF co-combustion with coal in cement kilns was found to be the optimal scenario followed by co-combustion of SRF in coal-fired power plants. The biogenic fraction in SRF (ca. 70%) reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly ( approximately 2500 g CO(2) eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired cement kilns and approximately 1500 g CO(2) eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired power plants). Potential reductions in electricity or heat production occurred through using a lower calorific value (CV) fuel. This could be compensated for by savings in fuel costs (from SRF having a gate fee) and grants aimed at reducing GHG emission to encourage the use of fuels with high biomass fractions. Total revenues generated from coal-fired power plants appear to be the highest ( 95 pounds/t SRF) from the four scenarios. However overall, cement kilns appear to be the best option due to the low technological risks, environmental emissions and fuel cost. Additionally, cement kiln operators have good experience of handling waste derived fuels. The scenarios involving co-combustion of SRF with MSW and biomass were less favourable due to higher environmental risks and technical issues.

An integrated appraisal of energy recovery options in the United Kingdom using solid recovered fuel derived from municipal solid waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, A.; Smith, R.; Hill, D.; Longhurst, P.J.; Pollard, S.J.T.; Simms, N.J.

2009-01-01

This paper reports an integrated appraisal of options for utilising solid recovered fuels (SRF) (derived from municipal solid waste, MSW) in energy intensive industries within the United Kingdom (UK). Four potential co-combustion scenarios have been identified following discussions with industry stakeholders. These scenarios have been evaluated using (a) an existing energy and mass flow framework model, (b) a semi-quantitative risk analysis, (c) an environmental assessment and (d) a financial assessment. A summary of results from these evaluations for the four different scenarios is presented. For the given ranges of assumptions; SRF co-combustion with coal in cement kilns was found to be the optimal scenario followed by co-combustion of SRF in coal-fired power plants. The biogenic fraction in SRF (ca. 70%) reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly (∼2500 g CO 2 eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired cement kilns and ∼1500 g CO 2 eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired power plants). Potential reductions in electricity or heat production occurred through using a lower calorific value (CV) fuel. This could be compensated for by savings in fuel costs (from SRF having a gate fee) and grants aimed at reducing GHG emission to encourage the use of fuels with high biomass fractions. Total revenues generated from coal-fired power plants appear to be the highest ( Pounds 95/t SRF) from the four scenarios. However overall, cement kilns appear to be the best option due to the low technological risks, environmental emissions and fuel cost. Additionally, cement kiln operators have good experience of handling waste derived fuels. The scenarios involving co-combustion of SRF with MSW and biomass were less favourable due to higher environmental risks and technical issues.

Emission factors of carbonaceous particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from residential solid fuel combustions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, Guofeng [Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Science, Nanjing (China). Inst. of Atmospheric Sciences

2014-07-01

Emission inventory is basic for the understanding of environmental behaviors and potential effects of compounds, however, current inventories are often associated with relatively high uncertainties. One important reason is the lack of emission factors, especially for the residential solid fuel combustion in developing countries. In the present study, emission factors of a group of pollutants including particulate matter, organic carbon, elemental carbon (sometimes known as black carbon) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured for a variety of residential solid fuels including coal, crop straw, wood, and biomass pellets in rural China. The study provided a large number of emission factors that can be further used in emission estimation. Composition profiles and isomer ratios were investigated and compared so as to be used in source apportionment. In addition, the present study identified and quantified the influence of factors like fuel moisture, volatile matter on emission performance.

Solid recovered fuels in the cement industry with special respect to hazardous waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomanetz, Erwin

2012-04-01

Cements with good technical properties have been produced in Europe since the nineteenth century and are now worldwide standardized high-quality mass products with enormous production numbers. The basic component for cement is the so-called clinker which is produced mainly from raw meal (limestone plus clay plus sands) in a rotary kiln with preheater and progressively with integrated calciner, at temperatures up to 1450 °C. This process requires large amounts of fossil fuels and is CO₂-intensive. But most CO₂ is released by lime decomposition during the burning process. In the 1980s the use of alternative fuels began--firstly in the form of used oil and waste tyres and then increasingly by pre-conditioned materials from commercial waste and from high calorific industrial waste (i.e. solid recovered fuel (SRF))--as well as organic hazardous waste materials such as solvents, pre-conditioned with sawdust. Therefore the cement industry is more and more a competitor in the waste-to-energy market--be it for municipal waste or for hazardous waste, especially concerning waste incineration, but also for other co-incineration plants. There are still no binding EU rules identifying which types of SRF or hazardous waste could be incinerated in cement kilns, but there are some well-made country-specific 'positive lists', for example in Switzerland and Austria. Thus, for proper planning in the cement industry as well as in the waste management field, waste disposal routes should be considered properly, in order to avoid surplus capacities on one side and shortage on the other.

Superheated fuel injection for combustion of liquid-solid slurries

Science.gov (United States)

Robben, F.A.

1984-10-19

A method and device are claimed for obtaining, upon injection, flash evaporation of a liquid in a slurry fuel to aid in ignition and combustion. The device is particularly beneficial for use of coal-water slurry fuels in internal combustion engines such as diesel engines and gas turbines, and in external combustion devices such as boilers and furnaces. The slurry fuel is heated under pressure to near critical temperature in an injector accumulator, where the pressure is sufficiently high to prevent boiling. After injection into a combustion chamber, the water temperature will be well above boiling point at a reduced pressure in the combustion chamber, and flash boiling will preferentially take place at solid-liquid surfaces, resulting in the shattering of water droplets and the subsequent separation of the water from coal particles. This prevents the agglomeration of the coal particles during the subsequent ignition and combustion process, and reduces the energy required to evaporate the water and to heat the coal particles to ignition temperature. The overall effect will be to accelerate the ignition and combustion rates, and to reduce the size of the ash particles formed from the coal. 2 figs., 2 tabs.

Lanthanum Manganate Based Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Mette Juhl

Composite cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells were investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The aim was to study the oxygen reduction process in the electrode in order to minimise the voltage drop in the cathode. The electrodes contained...... five processes were found to affect the impedance of LSM/YSZ composite electrodes. Two high frequency processes were ascribed to transport of oxide ions/oxygen intermediates across LSM/YSZ interfaces and through YSZ in the composite. Several competitive elementary reaction steps, which appear as one...

Mixed fuel strategy for carbon deposition mitigation in solid oxide fuel cells at intermediate temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Chao; Chen, Yubo; Wang, Wei; Ran, Ran; Shao, Zongping; Diniz da Costa, João C; Liu, Shaomin

2014-06-17

In this study, we propose and experimentally verified that methane and formic acid mixed fuel can be employed to sustain solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to deliver high power outputs at intermediate temperatures and simultaneously reduce the coke formation over the anode catalyst. In this SOFC system, methane itself was one part of the fuel, but it also played as the carrier gas to deliver the formic acid to reach the anode chamber. On the other hand, the products from the thermal decomposition of formic acid helped to reduce the carbon deposition from methane cracking. In order to clarify the reaction pathways for carbon formation and elimination occurring in the anode chamber during the SOFC operation, O2-TPO and SEM analysis were carried out together with the theoretical calculation. Electrochemical tests demonstrated that stable and high power output at an intermediate temperature range was well-maintained with a peak power density of 1061 mW cm(-2) at 750 °C. With the synergic functions provided by the mixed fuel, the SOFC was running for 3 days without any sign of cell performance decay. In sharp contrast, fuelled by pure methane and tested at similar conditions, the SOFC immediately failed after running for only 30 min due to significant carbon deposition. This work opens a new way for SOFC to conquer the annoying problem of carbon deposition just by properly selecting the fuel components to realize their synergic effects.

Quality control of coated fuel particles for high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, Mitsunobu

1987-01-01

The quality control of the coated fuel particles for high temperature gas-cooled reactors is characterized by the fact that the size of the target product to be controlled is very small, and the quantity is very large. Accordingly, the sampling plan and the method of evaluating the population through satisfically treating the measured data of the samples are the important subjects to see and evaluate the quality of a batch or a lot. This paper shows the fabrication process and the quality control procedure for the coated fuel particles. The development work of a HTGR was started by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute in 1969, and as for the production technology for coated fuel particles, Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd. has continued the development work. The pilot plan with the capacity of about 40 kg/year was established in 1972. The fuel product fabricated in this plant was put to the irradiation experiment and out-of-pile evaluation test. In 1983, the production capacity was expanded to 200 kg/year, and the fuel compacts for the VHTRC in JAERI were produced for two years. The basic fuel design, the fabrication process, the quality control, the process control and the quality assurance are reported. For the commercial product, the studies from the viewpoint of production and quality control costs are required. (Kako, I.)

Long term performance degradation analysis and optimization of anode supported solid oxide fuel cell stacks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parhizkar, Tarannom; Roshandel, Ramin

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A degradation based optimization framework is developed. • The cost of electricity based on degradation of solid oxide fuel cells is minimized. • The effects of operating conditions on degradation mechanisms are investigated. • Results show 7.12% lower cost of electricity in comparison with base case. • Degradation based optimization is a beneficial concept for long term analysis. - Abstract: The main objective of this work is minimizing the cost of electricity of solid oxide fuel cell stacks by decelerating degradation mechanisms rate in long term operation for stationary power generation applications. The degradation mechanisms in solid oxide fuel cells are caused by microstructural changes, reactions between lanthanum strontium manganite and electrolyte, poisoning by chromium, carburization on nickel particles, formation of nickel sulfide, nickel coarsening, nickel oxidation, loss of conductivity and crack formation in the electrolyte. The rate of degradation mechanisms depends on the cell operating conditions (cell voltage and fuel utilization). In this study, the degradation based optimization framework is developed which determines optimum operating conditions to achieve a minimum cost of electricity. To show the effectiveness of the developed framework, optimization results are compared with the case that system operates at its design point. Results illustrate optimum operating conditions decrease the cost of electricity by 7.12%. The performed study indicates that degradation based optimization is a beneficial concept for long term performance degradation analysis of energy conversion systems.

Learning curves for solid oxide fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivera-Tinoco, Rodrigo; Schoots, Koen; Zwaan, Bob van der

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We present learning curves for fuel cells based on empirical data. ► We disentangle different cost reduction mechanisms for SOFCs. ► We distinguish between learning-by-doing, R and D, economies-of-scale and automation. - Abstract: In this article we present learning curves for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). With data from fuel cell manufacturers we derive a detailed breakdown of their production costs. We develop a bottom-up model that allows for determining overall SOFC manufacturing costs with their respective cost components, among which material, energy, labor and capital charges. The results obtained from our model prove to deviate by at most 13% from total cost figures quoted in the literature. For the R and D stage of development and diffusion, we find local learning rates between 13% and 17% and we demonstrate that the corresponding cost reductions result essentially from learning-by-searching effects. When considering periods in time that focus on the pilot and early commercial production stages, we find regional learning rates of 27% and 1%, respectively, which we assume derive mainly from genuine learning phenomena. These figures turnout significantly higher, approximately 44% and 12% respectively, if also effects of economies-of-scale and automation are included. When combining all production stages we obtain lr = 35%, which represents a mix of cost reduction phenomena. This high learning rate value and the potential to scale up production suggest that continued efforts in the development of SOFC manufacturing processes, as well as deployment and use of SOFCs, may lead to substantial further cost reductions.

Combustion means for solid fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murase, D.

1987-09-23

A combustion device for solid fuel, suitable for coal, coke, charcoal, coal-dust briquettes etc., comprising:- a base stand with an opening therein, an imperforate heat resistant holding board locatable to close said opening; a combustion chamber standing on the base stand with the holding board forming the base of the combustion chamber; a wiper arm pivoted for horizontal wiping movement over the upper surface of the holding board; an inlet means at a lower edge of said chamber above the base stand, and/or in a surrounding wall of said chamber, whereby combustion air may enter as exhaust gases leave the combustion chamber; an exhaust pipe for the exhaust gases; generally tubular gas-flow heat-exchange ducting putting the combustion chamber and exhaust pipe into communication; and means capable of moving the holding board into and out of the opening for removal of ash or other residue. The invention can be used for a heating system in a house or in a greenhouse or for a boiler.

Study of catalysis for solid oxide fuel cells and direct methanol fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xirong

Fuel cells offer the enticing promise of cleaner electricity with lower environmental impact than traditional energy conversion technologies. Driven by the interest in power sources for portable electronics, and distributed generation and automotive propulsion markets, active development efforts in the technologies of both solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) devices have achieved significant progress. However, current catalysts for fuel cells are either of low catalytic activity or extremely expensive, presenting a key barrier toward the widespread commercialization of fuel cell devices. In this thesis work, atomic layer deposition (ALD), a novel thin film deposition technique, was employed to apply catalytic Pt to SOFC, and investigate both Pt skin catalysts and Pt-Ru catalysts for methanol oxidation, a very important reaction for DMFC, to increase the activity and utilization levels of the catalysts while simultaneously reducing the catalyst loading. For SOFCs, we explored the use of ALD for the fabrication of electrode components, including an ultra-thin Pt film for use as the electrocatalyst, and a Pt mesh structure for a current collector for SOFCs, aiming for precise control over the catalyst loading and catalyst geometry, and enhancement in the current collect efficiency. We choose Pt since it has high chemical stability and excellent catalytic activity for the O2 reduction reaction and the H2 oxidation reaction even at low operating temperatures. Working SOFC fuel cells were fabricated with ALD-deposited Pt thin films as an electrode/catalyst layer. The measured fuel cell performance reveals that comparable peak power densities were achieved for ALD-deposited Pt anodes with only one-fifth of the Pt loading relative to a DC-sputtered counterpart. In addition to the continuous electrocatalyst layer, a micro-patterned Pt structure was developed via the technique of area selective ALD. By coating yttria-stabilized zirconia, a

Benchmarking the expected stack manufacturing cost of next generation, intermediate-temperature protonic ceramic fuel cells with solid oxide fuel cell technology

Science.gov (United States)

Dubois, Alexis; Ricote, Sandrine; Braun, Robert J.

2017-11-01

Recent progress in the performance of intermediate temperature (500-600 °C) protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) has demonstrated both fuel flexibility and increasing power density that approach commercial application requirements. These developments may eventually position the technology as a viable alternative to solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs). The PCFCs investigated in this work are based on a BaZr0.8Y0.2O3-δ (BZY20) thin electrolyte supported by BZY20/Ni porous anodes, and a triple conducting cathode material comprised of BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ (BCFZY0.1). These cells are prepared using a low-cost solid-state reactive sintering (SSRS) process, and are capable of power densities of 0.156 W cm-2 at 500 °C operating directly from methane fuel. We develop a manufacturing cost model to estimate the Nth generation production costs of PCFC stack technology using high volume manufacturing processes and compare them to the state-of-the-art in SOFC technology. The low-cost cell manufacturing enabled by the SSRS technique compensates for the lower PCFC power density and the trade-off between operating temperature and efficiency enables the use of lower-cost stainless steel materials. PCFC stack production cost estimates are found to be as much as 27-37% lower at 550 °C than SOFCs operating at 800 °C.

Practical experience in the application of quality control in water-reactor fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vollath, D.

1984-07-01

Highly industrialized countries have gained vast experience in manufacturing water reactor fuel. Manufacturing is followed by a stringent system of quality assurance and quality control. The Seminar on Practical Experience in the Application of Quality Control in Water-Reactor Fuel Fabrication provided a forum for an exchange of information on methods and systems of quality assurance and quality control for reactor fuel. In addition, many developing countries which have started or intend to set up a nuclear fuel industry are interested in the application of quality assurance and quality control. This meeting has been preceded by two different series of conferences: the IAEA meetings 1976 in Oslo, 1978 in Prague and 1979 in Buenos Aires, and the Karlsruhe meetings on Characterization and Quality Control of Nuclear Fuel held in 1978 and 1981. Quality control and quality assurance has many different facets. Unlike the purely technical aspects, covered by the Karlsruhe conference series, the IAEA meetings always relate to a wider field of topics. They include governmental regulations and codes for practical quality assurance. This volume contains the papers presented at the seminar and a record of the discussions. (orig.)

A global equilibrium analysis of co-firing coal and solid recovered fuel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Hao; Glarborg, Peter; Jappe Frandsen, Flemming

Global equilibrium calculations have been performed to study the behavior of ash forming species in cocombustion of a bituminous coal and a solid recovered fuel (SRF). It revealed that co-combustion of coal and 25% SRF (weight basis) could significantly reduce the formation of NaCl (g) and KCl (g...

Guidebook on quality control of water reactor fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

As a result of the increasing contribution of nuclear power to the world's supply of electrical energy, growing emphasis is being placed on the reliability of nuclear fuel performance. The need to produce a reliable product is based not only on economic reasons but also on safety considerations. Fuel assemblies must withstand the operational requirements placed on them while in the reactor; also, in some cases, they have to be stored for long periods in water-filled basins until they are either reprocessed or ultimately subjected to disposal. One of the keys to consistent and reliable fuel production is an adequate Quality Control (QC) programme, operating under a Quality Assurance (QA) system. In connection with various activities sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency it has been suggested for some time that a guidebook should be published, highlighting the role that QC plays in the manufacture of nuclear fuel and stressing the relationship that exists between the QC and QA functions. The aim of this book is to give a summary of the present state of practical experience in the areas of: quality-relevant design requirements; quality control of products and processes. Specific QA requirements are referred to where they are important for an understanding of the co-operation required between the various activities involved in nuclear fuel technology. Examples are also given to illustrate specific needs or specific types of experience in this area. In order to distinguish clearly between the generally required criteria and rules and the details of particular practical experience, the book is divided into two main parts. Part A focuses on the philosophy and principles; Part B supplements Part A with technically detailed descriptions and examples

Behavior of solid fission products in irradiated fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Ung Sup; Jung, Yang Hong; Kim, Hee Moon; Yoo, Byun Gok; Kim, Do Sik; Choo, Yong Sun; Hong, Kwon Pyo

2004-01-01

Many fission products are generated by fission events in UO 2 fuel under irradiation in nuclear reactor. Concentration of each fission product is changed by conditions of neutron energy spectrum, fissile material, critical thermal power, irradiation period and cooling time. Volatile materials such as Cs and I, the fission products, degrade nuclear fuel rod by the decrease of thermal conductivity in pellet and the stress corrosion cracking in cladding. Metal fission products (white inclusion) make pellet be swelled and decrease volume of pellet by densification. It seems that metal fission products are filled in the pore in pellet and placed between UO 2 lattices as interstitial. In addition, metal oxide state may change structural lattice volume. Considering behavior of fission products mentioned above, concentration of them is important. Fission products could be classified as bellows; solid solution in matrix : Sr, Zr, Nb, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm - metal precipitates : Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sb, Te - oxide precipitates : Ba, Zr, Nb, Mo, (Rb, Cs, Te) - volatile and gases : Kr, Xe, Br, I, (Rb, Cs, Te)

Optimal design and operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems for small-scale stationary applications

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, Robert Joseph

The advent of maturing fuel cell technologies presents an opportunity to achieve significant improvements in energy conversion efficiencies at many scales; thereby, simultaneously extending our finite resources and reducing "harmful" energy-related emissions to levels well below that of near-future regulatory standards. However, before realization of the advantages of fuel cells can take place, systems-level design issues regarding their application must be addressed. Using modeling and simulation, the present work offers optimal system design and operation strategies for stationary solid oxide fuel cell systems applied to single-family detached dwellings. A one-dimensional, steady-state finite-difference model of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is generated and verified against other mathematical SOFC models in the literature. Fuel cell system balance-of-plant components and costs are also modeled and used to provide an estimate of system capital and life cycle costs. The models are used to evaluate optimal cell-stack power output, the impact of cell operating and design parameters, fuel type, thermal energy recovery, system process design, and operating strategy on overall system energetic and economic performance. Optimal cell design voltage, fuel utilization, and operating temperature parameters are found using minimization of the life cycle costs. System design evaluations reveal that hydrogen-fueled SOFC systems demonstrate lower system efficiencies than methane-fueled systems. The use of recycled cell exhaust gases in process design in the stack periphery are found to produce the highest system electric and cogeneration efficiencies while achieving the lowest capital costs. Annual simulations reveal that efficiencies of 45% electric (LHV basis), 85% cogenerative, and simple economic paybacks of 5--8 years are feasible for 1--2 kW SOFC systems in residential-scale applications. Design guidelines that offer additional suggestions related to fuel cell

High quality transportation fuels from renewable feedstock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindfors, Lars Peter

2010-09-15

Hydrotreating of vegetable oils is novel process for producing high quality renewable diesel. Hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) are paraffinic hydrocarbons. They are free of aromatics, have high cetane numbers and reduce emissions. HVO can be used as component or as such. HVO processes can also be modified to produce jet fuel. GHG savings by HVO use are significant compared to fossil fuels. HVO is already in commercial production. Neste Oil is producing its NExBTL diesel in two plants. Production of renewable fuels will be limited by availability of sustainable feedstock. Therefore R and D efforts are made to expand feedstock base further.

Thermodynamic analysis of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell cycle with a rankine cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rokni, Masoud

2010-01-01

Hybrid systems consisting of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) on the top of a steam turbine (ST) are investigated. The plants are fired by natural gas (NG). A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel while a pre-reformer breaks down the heavier hydro-carbons. The pre-treated fuel enters then into the anode side of the SOFC. The remaining fuels after the SOFC stacks enter a burner for further burning. The off-gases are then used to produce steam for a Rankine cycle in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). Different system setups are suggested. Cyclic efficiencies up to 67% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional combined cycles (CC). Both adiabatic steam reformer (ASR) and catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) fuel pre-reformer reactors are considered in this investigation.

Theoretical performance of hydrogen-bromine rechargeable SPE fuel cell. [Solid Polymer Electrolyte

Science.gov (United States)

Savinell, R. F.; Fritts, S. D.

1988-01-01

A mathematical model was formulated to describe the performance of a hydrogen-bromine fuel cell. Porous electrode theory was applied to the carbon felt flow-by electrode and was coupled to theory describing the solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) system. Parametric studies using the numerical solution to this model were performed to determine the effect of kinetic, mass transfer, and design parameters on the performance of the fuel cell. The results indicate that the cell performance is most sensitive to the transport properties of the SPE membrane. The model was also shown to be a useful tool for scale-up studies.

Mathematical model for solid fuel combustion in fluidized bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostikj, Zvonimir; Noshpal, Aleksandar

1994-01-01

A mathematical model for computation of the combustion process of solid fuel in fluidized bed is presented in this work. Only the combustor part of the plant (the fluidized bed and the free board) is treated with this model. In that manner, all principal, physical presumption and improvements (upon which this model is based) are given. Finally, the results of the numerical realisation of the mathematical model for combustion of minced straw as well as the results of the experimental investigation of a concrete physical model are presented. (author)

Survey and evaluation of handling and disposing of solid low-level nuclear fuel cycle wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullarkey, T.B.; Jentz, T.L.; Connelly, J.M.; Kane, J.P.

1976-10-01

The report identifies the types and quantities of low-level solid radwaste for each portion of the nuclear fuel cycle, based on operating experiences at existing sites and design information for future installations. These facts are used to evaluate reference 1000 MWe reactor plants in terms of solid radwaste generation. The effect of waste volumes on disposal methods and land usage has also been determined, based on projections of nuclear power growth through the year 2000. The relative advantages of volume reduction alternatives are included. Major conclusions are drawn concerning available land burial space, light water reactors and fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities. Study was conducted under the direction of an industry task force and the National Environmental Studies Project, a technical program of the Atomic Industrial Forum. Data was obtained from questionnaires sent to 8 fuel fabrication facilities, 39 reactor sites and 6 commercial waste disposal sites. Additional data were gathered from interviews with architect engineering firms, site visits, contacts with regulatory agencies and published literature

Plant Characteristics of an Integrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cycle and a Steam Cycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2010-01-01

Plant characteristics of a system containing a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cycle on the top of a Rankine cycle were investigated. Natural gas (NG) was used as the fuel for the plant. A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel, while a pre-reformer broke down the heavier...... recovery steam generator (HRSG). The remaining energy of the off-gases was recycled back to the topping cycle for further utilization. Several parameter studies were carried out to investigate the sensitivity of the suggested plant. It was shown that the operation temperature of the desulfurization unit...

Performance analysis of hybrid solid oxide fuel cell and gas turbine cycle: Application of alternative fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zabihian, Farshid; Fung, Alan S.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Variation of the stream properties in the syngas-fueled hybrid SOFC–GT cycle. • Detailed analysis of the operation of the methane-fueled SOFC–GT cycle. • Investigate effects of inlet fuel type and composition on performance of cycle. • Comparison of system operation when operated with and without anode recirculation. - Abstract: In this paper, the hybrid solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and gas turbine (GT) model was applied to investigate the effects of the inlet fuel type and composition on the performance of the cycle. This type of analysis is vital for the real world utilization of manufactured fuels in the hybrid SOFC–GT system due to the fact that these fuel compositions depends on the type of material that is processed, the fuel production process, and process control parameters. In the first part of this paper, it is shown that the results of a limited number of studies on the utilization of non-conventional fuels have been published in the open literature. However, further studies are required in this area to investigate all aspects of the issue for different configurations and assumptions. Then, the results of the simulation of the syngas-fueled hybrid SOFC–GT cycle are employed to explain the variation of the stream properties throughout the cycle. This analysis can be very helpful in understanding cycle internal working and can provide some interesting insights to the system operation. Then, the detailed information of the operation of the methane-fueled SOFC–GT cycle is presented. For both syngas- and methane-fueled cycles, the operating conditions of the equipment are presented and compared. Moreover, the comparison of the characteristics of the system when it is operated with two different schemes to provide the required steam for the cycle, with anode recirculation and with an external source of water, provides some interesting insights to the system operation. For instance, it was shown that although the physical

Microwave assisted sintering of gadolinium doped barium cerate electrolyte for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Arumugam Senthil, E-mail: senthu.ramp@gmail.com [Department of Physics, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641 004, Tamilnadu (India); Balaji, Ramamoorthy [Department of Physics, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641 004, Tamilnadu (India); Jayakumar, Srinivasalu [Department of Physics, PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research, Coimbatore, 641 062, Tamilnadu (India); Pradeep, Chandran [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 600 036, Tamilnadu (India)

2016-10-01

In Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), electrolyte plays a vital role to increase the energy conversion efficiency. The main hurdle of such electrolyte in fuel cell is its higher operating temperature (1000 °C) which results in design limitation and higher fabrication cost. In order to reduce the operating temperature of SOFC, a suitable electrolyte has been prepared through co-precipitation method followed by microwave sintering of solid ceramic. The calcination temperature for the as-prepared powder was identified using Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The crystal structure of the sample was found to exhibit its orthorhombic perovskite structure. The particle size was determined using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope with uniform in shape and size, match with XRD results and confirmed from structural analysis. Thus, the sample prepared via co-precipitation method and the solid ceramic sintered through microwave can be a promising electrolyte for fuel cells operated at intermediate temperature. - Highlights: • To synthesis the composite electrolyte by chemical method and sinter using microwave. • To reduce the operating temperature of electrolyte for high ionic conductivity in SOFC's. • To study the phase purity and to develop nanocomposite at reduced temperature.

Operating Point Optimization of a Hydrogen Fueled Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Steam Turbine (SOFC-ST Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juanjo Ugartemendia

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a hydrogen powered hybrid solid oxide fuel cell-steam turbine (SOFC-ST system and studies its optimal operating conditions. This type of installation can be very appropriate to complement the intermittent generation of renewable energies, such as wind generation. A dynamic model of an alternative hybrid SOFC-ST configuration that is especially suited to work with hydrogen is developed. The proposed system recuperates the waste heat of the high temperature fuel cell, to feed a bottoming cycle (BC based on a steam turbine (ST. In order to optimize the behavior and performance of the system, a two-level control structure is proposed. Two controllers have been implemented for the stack temperature and fuel utilization factor. An upper supervisor generates optimal set-points in order to reach a maximal hydrogen efficiency. The simulation results obtained show that the proposed system allows one to reach high efficiencies at rated power levels.

quality assurance systems in nuclear fuel procurement and manufacturing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Can, S.

1997-01-01

Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Quality control is activities and techniques used to fulfill the requirements of quality. Quality assurance is a system and its main components are requirements. QA program, organization and responsibilities, design and verification, material and its control, manufacturing and process control, inspections, audits and documents: manuals, specifications, instructions. Quality assurance systems are largely based on ISO 9000 series of the International Standards Organization. ISO 9000 series has been adopted and published by Turkish Standards Institute as TS-ISO 9000. International Atomic Energy Agency also published a guide (50-SG-QA11) ''Quality Assurance in the Procurement, Design and Manufacture of Nuclear Fuel Assemblies'' in the safety guide series. In this study the role of quality control in quality assurance systems, inspection and test plans and acceptance and nonconformance quality levels will be explained in relation to nuclear fuel production. Examples of applications in quality assurance systems based on ISO 9000 will be given

Determination of consumption biogenic solid fuels in the commercial sector, trade, services (tertiary sector). Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viehmann, Cornelia; Westerkamp, Tanja; Schwenker, Andre; Schenker, Marian; Thraen, Daniela; Lenz, Volker; Ebert, Marcel

2012-01-01

The policy has both national and European level ambitious program aimed at expansion of renewable energy and related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In the national action plan for renewable energy of the Federal Republic of Germany these goals are defined by 2020. The share of renewable energy in the provision of heat and cold should therefore rise from 6.6% to 15.5% of gross final energy consumption. According to the increasing importance of solar-thermal, near-surface and geothermal heat, the relative share of biomass is decreasing. However biomass makes with those listed in the national action plan with 79% an essential amount in regenerative heat market [BMU 2010]. For the pursuit of goals and reviews, the support measures and packages of measures which are initiated in this context, a regular and timely reporting on the development of the above objectives is mandatory. The diverse and growing reporting requirements such as in the EU directive on the promotion of renewable energy, require, however well-founded knowledge of the sector-specific energy consumption from renewable sources. While the data available for use of biogenic solid fuels in the sectors household and industry has improved significantly in recent years, for the sector commercial sector, trade, services (tertiary sector) reliable figures are still lacking. Against this background, the objective is to present study, in close cooperation with the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the determination of the final energy consumption biogenic solid fuels in the tertiary sector in Germany for the year 2008. The basis is, in addition to the development of the current knowledge of the energy and heat consumption, the delimitation and characterization of the sector and the development of an extrapolation tools. The demand for this tool is its expandability and update possibility. From the industry-nonspecific and industry-specific input data can be derived, collecting for the extrapolation

Tuneable diode laser gas analyser for methane measurements on a large scale solid oxide fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Lengden, Michael; Cunningham, Robert; Johnstone, Walter

2011-10-01

A new in-line, real time gas analyser is described that uses tuneable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) for the measurement of methane in solid oxide fuel cells. The sensor has been tested on an operating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in order to prove the fast response and accuracy of the technology as compared to a gas chromatograph. The advantages of using a TDLS system for process control in a large-scale, distributed power SOFC unit are described. In future work, the addition of new laser sources and wavelength modulation will allow the simultaneous measurement of methane, water vapour, carbon-dioxide and carbon-monoxide concentrations.

Enablers and Barriers to Large-Scale Uptake of Improved Solid Fuel Stoves: A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Puzzolo, Elisa; Stanistreet, Debbi; Pope, Daniel; Bruce, Nigel G.

2013-01-01

Background: Globally, 2.8 billion people rely on household solid fuels. Reducing the resulting adverse health, environmental, and development consequences will involve transitioning through a mix of clean fuels and improved solid fuel stoves (IS) of demonstrable effectiveness. To date, achieving uptake of IS has presented significant challenges. Objectives: We performed a systematic review of factors that enable or limit large-scale uptake of IS in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: We conducted systematic searches through multidisciplinary databases, specialist websites, and consulting experts. The review drew on qualitative, quantitative, and case studies and used standardized methods for screening, data extraction, critical appraisal, and synthesis. We summarized our findings as “factors” relating to one of seven domains—fuel and technology characteristics; household and setting characteristics; knowledge and perceptions; finance, tax, and subsidy aspects; market development; regulation, legislation, and standards; programmatic and policy mechanisms—and also recorded issues that impacted equity. Results: We identified 31 factors influencing uptake from 57 studies conducted in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. All domains matter. Although factors such as offering technologies that meet household needs and save fuel, user training and support, effective financing, and facilitative government action appear to be critical, none guarantee success: All factors can be influential, depending on context. The nature of available evidence did not permit further prioritization. Conclusions: Achieving adoption and sustained use of IS at a large scale requires that all factors, spanning household/community and program/societal levels, be assessed and supported by policy. We propose a planning tool that would aid this process and suggest further research to incorporate an evaluation of effectiveness. Citation: Rehfuess EA, Puzzolo E, Stanistreet D, Pope D, Bruce

A combined SEM and CV Study of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Steels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kammer Hansen, Kent; Ofoegbu, Stanley; Mikkelsen, Lars

2012-01-01

Scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to investigate the high temperature oxidation behavior of two solid oxide fuel cell interconnect steels. One alloy had a low content of manganese; the other alloy had a high content of manganese. Four reduction and four oxidation peaks...

Solid Fuel in Kitchen and Acute Respiratory Tract Infection Among Under Five Children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Acharya, Pawan; Mishra, Shiva Raj; Berg-Beckhoff, Gabriele

2015-01-01

adjusting for age, sex, birth order, urban/rural residence, ecological zone, development region, economic status, number of family members, mother's smoking status and mother's education, odds of suffering from ARI was 1.79 times higher among the children from the households using solid fuel in comparison...

Fixed bed gasification of solid biomass fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haavisto, I [Condens Oy, Haemeenlinna (Finland)

1997-12-31

Fixed bed biomass gasifiers are feasible in the effect range of 100 kW -10 MW. Co-current gasification is available only up to 1 MW for technical reasons. Counter-current gasifiers have been used in Finland and Sweden for 10 years in gasification heating plants, which are a combination of a gasifier and an oil boiler. The plants have proved to have a wide control range, flexible and uncomplicated unmanned operation and an excellent reliability. Counter-current gasifiers can be applied for new heating plants or for converting existing oil and natural gas boilers into using solid fuels. There is a new process development underway, aiming at motor use of the producer gas. The development work involves a new, more flexible cocurrent gasifier and a cleaning step for the counter-current producer gas. (orig.)

Fixed bed gasification of solid biomass fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haavisto, I. [Condens Oy, Haemeenlinna (Finland)

1996-12-31

Fixed bed biomass gasifiers are feasible in the effect range of 100 kW -10 MW. Co-current gasification is available only up to 1 MW for technical reasons. Counter-current gasifiers have been used in Finland and Sweden for 10 years in gasification heating plants, which are a combination of a gasifier and an oil boiler. The plants have proved to have a wide control range, flexible and uncomplicated unmanned operation and an excellent reliability. Counter-current gasifiers can be applied for new heating plants or for converting existing oil and natural gas boilers into using solid fuels. There is a new process development underway, aiming at motor use of the producer gas. The development work involves a new, more flexible cocurrent gasifier and a cleaning step for the counter-current producer gas. (orig.)

Advanced thermally stable jet fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schobert, H.H.

1999-01-31

The Pennsylvania State University program in advanced thermally stable coal-based jet fuels has five broad objectives: (1) Development of mechanisms of degradation and solids formation; (2) Quantitative measurement of growth of sub-micrometer and micrometer-sized particles suspended in fuels during thermal stressing; (3) Characterization of carbonaceous deposits by various instrumental and microscopic methods; (4) Elucidation of the role of additives in retarding the formation of carbonaceous solids; (5) Assessment of the potential of production of high yields of cycloalkanes by direct liquefaction of coal. Future high-Mach aircraft will place severe thermal demands on jet fuels, requiring the development of novel, hybrid fuel mixtures capable of withstanding temperatures in the range of 400--500 C. In the new aircraft, jet fuel will serve as both an energy source and a heat sink for cooling the airframe, engine, and system components. The ultimate development of such advanced fuels requires a thorough understanding of the thermal decomposition behavior of jet fuels under supercritical conditions. Considering that jet fuels consist of hundreds of compounds, this task must begin with a study of the thermal degradation behavior of select model compounds under supercritical conditions. The research performed by The Pennsylvania State University was focused on five major tasks that reflect the objectives stated above: Task 1: Investigation of the Quantitative Degradation of Fuels; Task 2: Investigation of Incipient Deposition; Task 3: Characterization of Solid Gums, Sediments, and Carbonaceous Deposits; Task 4: Coal-Based Fuel Stabilization Studies; and Task 5: Exploratory Studies on the Direct Conversion of Coal to High Quality Jet Fuels. The major findings of each of these tasks are presented in this executive summary. A description of the sub-tasks performed under each of these tasks and the findings of those studies are provided in the remainder of this volume

Reversible solid oxide fuel cells (R-SOFCs) with chemically stable proton-conducting oxides

KAUST Repository

Bi, Lei

2015-07-01

Proton-conducting oxides offer a promising way of lowering the working temperature of solid oxide cells to the intermediate temperate range (500 to 700. °C) due to their better ionic conductivity. In addition, the application of proton-conducting oxides in both solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and sold oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) provides unique advantages compared with the use of conventional oxygen-ion conducting conductors, including the formation of water at the air electrode site. Since the discovery of proton conduction in some oxides about 30. years ago, the development of proton-conducting oxides in SOFCs and SOECs (the reverse mode of SOFCs) has gained increased attention. This paper briefly summarizes the development in the recent years of R-SOFCs with proton-conducting electrolytes, focusing on discussing the importance of adopting chemically stable materials in both fuel cell and electrolysis modes. The development of electrode materials for proton-conducting R-SOFCs is also discussed. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

Unified approach to the study of solid fuel combustion characteristics at high airflow speeds

Science.gov (United States)

Vnuchkov, D. A.; Lukashevich, S. V.; Nalivaychenko, D. G.; Zvegintsev, V. I.

2017-10-01

The main objective of the research is the development of guidelines for a unified approach to testing the combustion of different solid fuels in gaseous oxidant high-speed flow, so that research outcomes could be presented in a standardized and cohesive form. All the experiments were performed on a special experimental installation designed for quantification of the burning characteristics of different fuels in a wide range of the airflow parameters at the same geometry of the combustion chamber.

DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-COST MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR PLANAR, MULTILAYER SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL ELEMENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott Swartz; Matthew Seabaugh; William Dawson; Harlan Anderson; Tim Armstrong; Michael Cobb; Kirby Meacham; James Stephan; Russell Bennett; Bob Remick; Chuck Sishtla; Scott Barnett; John Lannutti

2004-06-12

This report summarizes the results of a four-year project, entitled, ''Low-Cost Manufacturing Of Multilayer Ceramic Fuel Cells'', jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the State of Ohio, and by project participants. The project was led by NexTech Materials, Ltd., with subcontracting support provided by University of Missouri-Rolla, Michael A. Cobb & Co., Advanced Materials Technologies, Inc., Edison Materials Technology Center, Gas Technology Institute, Northwestern University, and The Ohio State University. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, though not formally a subcontractor on the program, supported the effort with separate DOE funding. The objective of the program was to develop advanced manufacturing technologies for making solid oxide fuel cell components that are more economical and reliable for a variety of applications. The program was carried out in three phases. In the Phase I effort, several manufacturing approaches were considered and subjected to detailed assessments of manufacturability and development risk. Estimated manufacturing costs for 5-kW stacks were in the range of $139/kW to $179/kW. The risk assessment identified a number of technical issues that would need to be considered during development. Phase II development work focused on development of planar solid oxide fuel cell elements, using a number of ceramic manufacturing methods, including tape casting, colloidal-spray deposition, screen printing, spin-coating, and sintering. Several processes were successfully established for fabrication of anode-supported, thin-film electrolyte cells, with performance levels at or near the state-of-the-art. The work in Phase III involved scale-up of cell manufacturing methods, development of non-destructive evaluation methods, and comprehensive electrical and electrochemical testing of solid oxide fuel cell materials and components.

Planar solid oxide fuel cells: the Australian experience and outlook

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Bruce; Föger, Karl; Gillespie, Rohan; Bolden, Roger; Badwal, S. P. S.

Since 1992, Ceramic Fuel Cells (CFCL) has grown to what is now the largest focussed program globally for development of planar ceramic (solid oxide) fuel cell, SOFC, technology. A significant intellectual property position in know-how and patents has been developed, with over 80 people involved in the venture. Over $A60 million in funding for the activities of the company has been raised from private companies, government-owned corporations and government business-support programs, including from energy — particularly electricity — industry shareholders that can facilitate access to local markets for our products. CFCL has established state-of-the-art facilities for planar SOFC R&D, with their expansion and scaling-up to pilot manufacturing capability underway. We expect to achieve commercial introduction of our market-entry products in 2002, with prototype systems expected to be available from early 2001.

Method to fabricate high performance tubular solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fanglin; Yang, Chenghao; Jin, Chao

2013-06-18

In accordance with the present disclosure, a method for fabricating a solid oxide fuel cell is described. The method includes forming an asymmetric porous ceramic tube by using a phase inversion process. The method further includes forming an asymmetric porous ceramic layer on a surface of the asymmetric porous ceramic tube by using a phase inversion process. The tube is co-sintered to form a structure having a first porous layer, a second porous layer, and a dense layer positioned therebetween.

Study of Seal Glass for Solid Oxide Fuel/Electrolyzer Cells

OpenAIRE

Mahapatra, Manoj Kumar

2009-01-01

Seal glass is essential and plays a crucial role in solid oxide fuel/electrolyzer cell performance and durability. A seal glass should have a combination of thermal, chemical, mechanical, and electrical properties in order to seal different cell components and stacks and prevent gas leakage. All the desired properties can simultaneously be obtained in a seal glass by suitable compositional design. In this dissertation, SrO-La₂O₃-A₂O₃-B₂O₃3-SiO₂ based seal glasses have been developed and compo...

Current status of Westinghouse tubular solid oxide fuel cell program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parker, W.G. [Westinghouse Science and Technology Center, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

1996-04-01

In the last ten years the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) development program at Westinghouse has evolved from a focus on basic material science to the engineering of fully integrated electric power systems. Our endurance for this cell is 5 to 10 years. To date we have successfully operated at power for over six years. For power plants it is our goal to have operated before the end of this decade a MW class power plant. Progress toward these goals is described.

Internal steam reforming in solid oxide fuel cells: Status and opportunities of kinetic studies and their impact on modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, David; Grunwaldt, J.-D.; Hendriksen, Peter Vang

2011-01-01

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) systems with internal steam reforming have the potential to become an economically competitive technology for cogeneration power plants, exploiting its significantly higher electrical efficiency compared to existing technologies. Optimal design and operation of such ......Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) systems with internal steam reforming have the potential to become an economically competitive technology for cogeneration power plants, exploiting its significantly higher electrical efficiency compared to existing technologies. Optimal design and operation...

Characterized hydrochar of algal biomass for producing solid fuel through hydrothermal carbonization.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ki Young; Lee, Kwanyong; Kim, Daegi

2018-06-01

The aim of this work was to study the characterized hydrochar of algal biomass to produce solid fuel though hydrothermal carbonization. Hydrothermal carbonization conducted at temperatures ranging from 180 to 270 °C with a 60 min reaction improved the upgrading of the fuel properties and the dewatering of wet-basis biomasses such as algae. The carbon content, carbon recovery, energy recovery, and atomic C/O and C/H ratios in all the hydrochars in this study were improved. These characteristic changes in hydrochar from algal biomass are similar to the coalification reactions due to dehydration and decarboxylation with an increase in the hydrothermal reaction temperature. The results of this study indicate that hydrothermal carbonization can be used as an effective means of generating highly energy-efficient renewable fuel resources using algal biomass. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Change in the electric potential of solid fuels on their combustion and gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fialkov, B.S.; Zakharov, A.G.; Plitsyn, V.T.

1979-01-01

Solid fuels of various degrees of graphitization (graphite, coke, hard coal, lignite) were used to study the changes in electric potential of samples during gasification and combustion in air. The potential shows three peaks during combustion, the third corresponding to ignition. Two peaks occur during the gasification process.

High temperature corrosion of metallic interconnects in solid oxide fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastidas, D. M.

2006-01-01

Research and development has made it possible to use metallic interconnects in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) instead of ceramic materials. The use of metallic interconnects was formerly hindered by the high operating temperature, which made the interconnect degrade too much and too fast to be an efficient alternative. When the operating temperature was lowered, the use of metallic interconnects proved to be favourable since they are easier and cheaper to produce than ceramic interconnects. However, metallic interconnects continue to be degraded despite the lowered temperature, and their corrosion products contribute to electrical degradation in the fuel cell. coatings of nickel, chromium, aluminium, zinc, manganese, yttrium or lanthanum between the interconnect and the electrodes reduce this degradation during operation. (Author) 66 refs

Spectroelectrochemical cell for in situ studies of solid oxide fuel cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hagen, Anke; Traulsen, Marie Lund; Kiebach, Wolff-Ragnar

2012-01-01

to control before the technology can achieve breakthrough. They have been widely studied, predominately by electrochemical testing with subsequent micro-structural analysis. In order to be able to develop better SOFCs, it is important to understand how the measured electrochemical performance depends......Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are able to produce electricity and heat from hydrogen- or carbon-containing fuels with high efficiencies and are considered important cornerstones for future sustainable energy systems. Performance, activation and degradation processes are crucial parameters...... on materials and structural properties, preferably at the atomic level. A characterization of these properties under operation is desired. As SOFCs operate at temperatures around 1073 K, this is a challenge. A spectroelectrochemical cell was designed that is able to study SOFCs at operating temperatures...

Efficiency gain of solid oxide fuel cell systems by using anode offgas recycle - Results for a small scale propane driven unit

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Ralph-Uwe; Oelze, Jana; Lindermeir, Andreas; Spitta, Christian; Steffen, Michael; Küster, Torben; Chen, Shaofei; Schlitzberger, Christian; Leithner, Reinhard

The transfer of high electrical efficiencies of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) into praxis requires appropriate system concepts. One option is the anode-offgas recycling (AOGR) approach, which is based on the integration of waste heat using the principle of a chemical heat pump. The AOGR concept allows a combined steam- and dry-reforming of hydrocarbon fuel using the fuel cell products steam and carbon dioxide. SOFC fuel gas of higher quantity and quality results. In combination with internal reuse of waste heat the system efficiency increases compared to the usual path of partial oxidation (POX). The demonstration of the AOGR concept with a 300 Wel-SOFC stack running on propane required: a combined reformer/burner-reactor operating in POX (start-up) and AOGR modus; a hotgas-injector for anode-offgas recycling to the reformer; a dynamic process model; a multi-variable process controller; full system operation for experimental proof of the efficiency gain. Experimental results proof an efficiency gain of 18 percentage points (η·POX = 23%, η·AOGR = 41%) under idealized lab conditions. Nevertheless, further improvements of injector performance, stack fuel utilization and additional reduction of reformer reformer O/C ratio and system pressure drop are required to bring this approach into self-sustaining operation.

Correlation between UO2 powder and pellet quality in PHWR fuel manufacturing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glodeanu, F.; Spinzi, M.; Balan, V.

1988-01-01

Natural uranium dioxide fuel for heavy water reactors has a series of very tightly controlled quality factors: Chemical purity, density and microstructures. Although the fabrication history may consistently affect the fuel quality, the quality factor mentioned above are function mainly of the quality of the powder used as raw material. As regards the fulfilment of the requirements for very high density of the pellets, it was found that in a definite technology the raw material plays the decisive part. Except for the powder sinterability, one found other important subtile parameters, such as the degree of agglomeration and structural homogeneity. The fuel microstructure, very important for in-serive performances of the fuel, is related to a great extent to some powder characteristics (homogeneity, sinterability). This is why much stress was laid on UO 2 power quality evaluation both by standard methods and non-conventional ones (agglomeration, microscopy, X-rays). Some of the characteristics defined by product specification, such as powder sinterability, should be better defined to guarantee the final product quality. (orig.)

Thermodynamic analysis of solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine systems operating with various biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, H.C.; Woudstra, T.; Aravind, P.V. [Process and Energy Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Section Energy Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 44, 2628 CA Delft (Netherlands)

2012-12-15

Solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine (SOFC-GT) systems provide a thermodynamically high efficiency alternative for power generation from biofuels. In this study biofuels namely methane, ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, and ammonia are evaluated exergetically with respect to their performance at system level and in system components like heat exchangers, fuel cell, gas turbine, combustor, compressor, and the stack. Further, the fuel cell losses are investigated in detail with respect to their dependence on operating parameters such as fuel utilization, Nernst voltage, etc. as well as fuel specific parameters like heat effects. It is found that the heat effects play a major role in setting up the flows in the system and hence, power levels attained in individual components. The per pass fuel utilization dictates the efficiency of the fuel cell itself, but the system efficiency is not entirely dependent on fuel cell efficiency alone, but depends on the split between the fuel cell and gas turbine powers which in turn depends highly on the nature of the fuel and its chemistry. Counter intuitively it is found that with recycle, the fuel cell efficiency of methane is less than that of hydrogen but the system efficiency of methane is higher. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

System modeling of an air-independent solid oxide fuel cell system for unmanned undersea vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, A. Alan; Carreiro, Louis G.

To examine the feasibility of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)-powered unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV), a system level analysis is presented that projects a possible integration of the SOFC stack, fuel steam reformer, fuel/oxidant storage and balance of plant components into a 21-in. diameter UUV platform. Heavy hydrocarbon fuel (dodecane) and liquid oxygen (LOX) are chosen as the preferred reactants. A maximum efficiency of 45% based on the lower heating value of dodecane was calculated for a system that provides 2.5 kW for 40 h. Heat sources and sinks have been coupled to show viable means of thermal management. The critical design issues involve proper recycling of exhaust steam from the fuel cell back into the reformer and effective use of the SOFC stack radiant heat for steam reformation of the hydrocarbon fuel.

Electroplating of Protective Coatings on Interconnects Used for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harthøj, Anders

Solid oxide fuel Cell (SOFC) technology can with a high efficiency produce environmentally clean electricity by converting the chemical energy in a fuel to electrical energy. SOFC systems have a high operation temperature, approx. 600-850 °C. Advantages compared to other types of fuel cells......, are they can utilize a wide range of fuels, e.g. hydrogen, natural gas and methanol, do not contain noble metals and have a high efficiency. A major obstacle to the commercialization of SOFC technology is the high degradation rates and costs of the systems. A significant source of degradation is high...... on the side facing its anode. Two high temperature corrosion issues, which both affect the air side of the interconnect, are especially significant, both of: Formation of thick oxide scales on its surface and evaporation of chromium species from the oxide. The oxide scales increases the electrical resistance...

Utilization as solid fuel and its physicochemical characteristic of hydroponic cultured plants for wastewater treatment; Suiko saibai shokubutsutai no kotai nenryoka to butsurigakuteki tokusei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inoue, M; Hirano, K [Kanagawa Environmental Research Center, Kanagawa (Japan); Inamori, Y [National Inst. for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba (Japan)

1996-10-10

A treatment of the wasted flower plants used for the waste water treatment process by the indoor drying and pressing method was studied for their effective reuse as columnar solid fuel. Three kinds of wasted flower plants were processed for making samples by indoor drying method for about two months. The samples which were chop plants about 10cm long, half powdery ones and powdery ones were made into the columnar solid fuels under 1-5 t{center_dot}cm{sup -2} pressure. According to the drop`s strength test for the solid fuels, it was investigated that they lost their physical strength rapidly in proportion to the elapsed time. The solid fuel made of powdery processed plants particularly lost its strength most rapidly. In the case of solid fuels made of chops, when they were pressed by the method that the trunk and the branches filled into the press`s vessel in the same direction against the press`s one, their physical strength were maintained for a long time. Furthermore, the form of solid fuels processed by this method looked like keeping their original one for a relatively long term. It was found that their combustible efficiency was excellent because the combustible calorie of the wasted plants ranged from 3,600 cal{center_dot}g{sup -1} to 3,800 cal{center_dot}g{sup -1}. 18 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs.

Microwave induced plasma for solid fuels and waste processing: A review on affecting factors and performance criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Guan Sem; Faizal, Hasan Mohd; Ani, Farid Nasir

2017-11-01

High temperature thermal plasma has a major drawback which consumes high energy. Therefore, non-thermal plasma which uses comparatively lower energy, for instance, microwave plasma is more attractive to be applied in gasification process. Microwave-induced plasma gasification also carries the advantages in terms of simplicity, compactness, lightweight, uniform heating and the ability to operate under atmospheric pressure that gains attention from researchers. The present paper synthesizes the current knowledge available for microwave plasma gasification on solid fuels and waste, specifically on affecting parameters and their performance. The review starts with a brief outline on microwave plasma setup in general, and followed by the effect of various operating parameters on resulting output. Operating parameters including fuel characteristics, fuel injection position, microwave power, addition of steam, oxygen/fuel ratio and plasma working gas flow rate are discussed along with several performance criteria such as resulting syngas composition, efficiency, carbon conversion, and hydrogen production rate. Based on the present review, fuel retention time is found to be the key parameter that influences the gasification performance. Therefore, emphasis on retention time is necessary in order to improve the performance of microwave plasma gasification of solid fuels and wastes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copper based anodes for bio-ethanol fueled low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kondakindi, R.R.; Karan, K. [Queen' s Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada)

2003-07-01

Laboratory studies have been conducted to develop a low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) fueled by bio-ethanol. SOFCs are considered to be a potential source for clean and efficient electricity. The use of bio-ethanol to power the SOFC contributes even further to reducing CO{sub 2} emissions. The main barrier towards the development of the proposed SOFC is the identification of a suitable anode catalyst that prevents coking during electro-oxidation of ethanol while yielding good electrical performance. Copper was selected as the catalyst for this study. Composite anodes consisting of copper catalysts and gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) electrolytes were prepared using screen printing of GDC and copper oxide on dense GDC electrolytes and by wet impregnation of copper nitrate in porous GDC electrolytes followed by calcination and sintering. The electrical conductivity of the prepared anodes was characterized to determine the percolation threshold. Temperature-programmed reduction and the Brunner Emmett Teller (BET) methods were used to quantify the catalyst dispersion and surface area. Electrochemical performance of the single-cell SOFC with a hydrogen-air system was used to assess the catalytic activities. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was used to probe the electrode kinetics.

Fuel cells science and engineering. Materials, processes, systems and technology. Vol. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stolten, Detlef; Emonts, Bernd (eds.) [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (DE). Inst. fuer Energieforschung (IEF), Brennstoffzellen (IEF-3)

2012-07-01

The first volume is divided in four parts and 22 chapters. It is structured as follows: PART I: Technology. Chapter 1: Technical Advancement of Fuel-Cell Research and Development (Dr. Bernd Emonts, Ludger Blum, Thomas Grube, Werner Lehnert, Juergen Mergel, Martin Mueller and Ralf Peters); 2: Single-Chamber Fuel Cells (Teko W. Napporn and Melanie Kuhn); 3: Technology and Applications of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (Barbara Bosio, Elisabetta Arato and Paolo Greppi); 4: Alkaline Fuel Cells (Erich Guelzow); 5: Micro Fuel Cells (Ulf Groos and Dietmar Gerteisen); 6: Principles and Technology of Microbial Fuel Cells (Jan B. A. Arends, Joachim Desloover, Sebastia Puig and Willy Verstraete); 7: Micro-Reactors for Fuel Processing (Gunther Kolb); 8: Regenerative Fuel Cells (Martin Mueller). PART II: Materials and Production Processes. Chapter 9: Advances in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Development between 1995 and 2010 at Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Germany (Vincent Haanappel); 10: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrode Fabrication by Infiltration (Evren Gunen); 11: Sealing Technology for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (K. Scott Weil); 12: Phosphoric Acid, an Electrolyte for Fuel Cells - Temperature and Composition Dependence of Vapor Pressure and Proton Conductivity (Carsten Korte); 13: Materials and Coatings for Metallic Bipolar Plates in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (Heli Wang and John A. Turner); 14: Nanostructured Materials for Fuel Cells (John F. Elter); 15: Catalysis in Low-Temperature Fuel Cells - An Overview (Sabine Schimpf and Michael Bron). PART III: Analytics and Diagnostics. Chapter 16: Impedance Spectroscopy for High-Temperature Fuel Cells (Ellen Ivers-Tiffee, Andre Leonide, Helge Schichlein, Volker Sonn and Andre Weber); 17: Post-Test Characterization of Solid Oxide Fuel-Cell Stacks (Norbert H. Menzler and Peter Batfalsky); 18: In Situ Imaging at Large-Scale Facilities (Christian Toetzke, Ingo Manke and Werner Lehnert); 19: Analytics of Physical Properties of Low

Environmental protection and processes for burning solid fuel. Zashchita okruzhayushchey sredy i protsessy goreniya tverdovo topliva

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1981-01-01

The anthology's materials are devoted to studying the mechanism of formation of harmful emissions during burning of solid fuels, methods of suppressing processes of formation of nitrogen oxide in boiler devices, and processes of combustion to create power plants with minimal emissions of NO /SUB x/ and SO /SUB x/ and maximum use of organic and mineral components of the fuel.

Prediction of solid oxide fuel cell cathode activity with first-principles descriptors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Yueh-Lin; Kleis, Jesper; Rossmeisl, Jan

2011-01-01

In this work we demonstrate that the experimentally measured area specific resistance and oxygen surface exchange of solid oxide fuel cell cathode perovskites are strongly correlated with the first-principles calculated oxygen p-band center and vacancy formation energy. These quantities...... are therefore descriptors of catalytic activity that can be used in the first-principles design of new SOFC cathodes....

Mesoporous yttria-zirconia and metal-yttria-zirconia solid solutions for fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mamak, M.; Coombs, N.; Ozin, G. [Toronto Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Chemistry

2000-02-03

A new class of binary mesoporous yttria-zirconia (YZ) and ternary mesoporous metal-YZ materials (M = electroactive Ni/Pt) is presented here that displays the highest surface area of any known form of yttria-stabilized zirconia. These mesoporous materials form as solid solutions and retain their structural integrity to 800 C, which bodes well for their possible utilization in fuel cells. (orig.)

Quality control in the fuel elements production process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katanic-Popovic, J.; Spasic, Z.; Djuricis, Lj.

1977-01-01

Recently great attention has been paid at the international level to the analysis of production processes and quality control of fuel and fuel elements with the aim to speed up activity of proposing and accepting standards and measurement methods. IAEA also devoted great interest to these problems appealing to more active participation of all users and producers fuel elements in a general effort to secure successful work of nuclear plants. For adequate and timely participation in future in the establishment and analysis of general requirements and documentation for the control of purchased or self produced fuel elements in out country it is necessary to be well informed and to follow this activity at the international level. (author)

Electrical Generation for More-Electric Aircraft Using Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whyatt, Greg A.; Chick, Lawrence A.

2012-04-01

This report examines the potential for Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) to provide electrical generation on-board commercial aircraft. Unlike a turbine-based auxiliary power unit (APU) a solid oxide fuel cell power unit (SOFCPU) would be more efficient than using the main engine generators to generate electricity and would operate continuously during flight. The focus of this study is on more-electric aircraft which minimize bleed air extraction from the engines and instead use electrical power obtained from generators driven by the main engines to satisfy all major loads. The increased electrical generation increases the potential fuel savings obtainable through more efficient electrical generation using a SOFCPU. However, the weight added to the aircraft by the SOFCPU impacts the main engine fuel consumption which reduces the potential fuel savings. To investigate these relationships the Boeing 787­8 was used as a case study. The potential performance of the SOFCPU was determined by coupling flowsheet modeling using ChemCAD software with a stack performance algorithm. For a given stack operating condition (cell voltage, anode utilization, stack pressure, target cell exit temperature), ChemCAD software was used to determine the cathode air rate to provide stack thermal balance, the heat exchanger duties, the gross power output for a given fuel rate, the parasitic power for the anode recycle blower and net power obtained from (or required by) the compressor/expander. The SOFC is based on the Gen4 Delphi planar SOFC with assumed modifications to tailor it to this application. The size of the stack needed to satisfy the specified condition was assessed using an empirically-based algorithm. The algorithm predicts stack power density based on the pressure, inlet temperature, cell voltage and anode and cathode inlet flows and compositions. The algorithm was developed by enhancing a model for a well-established material set operating at atmospheric pressure to reflect the

Ignition et oxydation des particules de combustible solide pulvérisé Ignition and Oxidation of Pulverized Solid Fuel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De Soete G. G.

2006-11-01

élais d'ignition ont été déterminés pour un grand nombre de combustibles solides de rang inférieur et supérieur (charbons, cokes, asphaltènes, suies, bois, graphite. L'étude de la vitesse expérimentale de la combustion hétérogène, notamment l'étude de la température apparente d'activation, et sa dépendance par rapport à la taille des particules et à la concentration d'oxygène, montre que, dans les conditions des essais, cette combustion est contrôlée par la désorption du CO et se déroule principalement en régime cinético-diffusionnel mixte. L'étude de la dépendance des délais d'ignition par rapport à la température, la taille des particules et la pression partielle d'oxygène, suggère que, pendant ces délais, les réactions se déroulent en régime cinétique pur et que le produit des réactions de désorption est principalement le CO. The heated-grid method is used to investigate the competition between (1 the devolatilization and subsequent oxidation of pyrolysis products and (2 the ignition of the solid matrix and its rapid combustion. A comparison between the instant of ignition and the start of pyrolysis is used to determine the range in which ignition of a pyrolyzable solid fuel of the whole coal ignitiontype (i. e. when ignition occurs before pyrolysis becomes measurable occurs as a function of temperature, particle size and oxygen concentration. The results suggest that this type of ignition might occur, as a general rule, under conditions involving pulverized solid fuels in industrial flames. In the case of whole coalignition, the rate of combustion of the solid matrix is inhibited during the period following ignition. This inhibition is due partly to the difficulty oxygen has of spreading through the pores during the discharge of pyrolysis products and partly to preferential oxygen consumption during the oxidation of pyrolysis products, mainly when this oxidation develops in the form of flames. t is only when pyrolysis ends that

End plate for e.g. solid oxide fuel cell stack, sets thermal expansion coefficient of material to predetermined value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2011-01-01

.05-0.3 mm. USE - End plate for solid oxide fuel cell stack (claimed). Can also be used in polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack and direct methanol fuel cell stack. ADVANTAGE - The robustness of the end plate is improved. The structure of the end plate is simplified. The risk of delamination of the stack...

Transient deformational properties of high temperature alloys used in solid oxide fuel cell stacks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tadesse Molla, Tesfaye; Kwok, Kawai; Frandsen, Henrik Lund

2017-01-01

Stresses and probability of failure during operation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is affected by the deformational properties of the different components of the SOFC stack. Though the overall stress relaxes with time during steady state operation, large stresses would normally appear through...... to describe the high temperature inelastic deformational behaviors of Crofer 22 APU used for metallic interconnects in SOFC stacks.......Stresses and probability of failure during operation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is affected by the deformational properties of the different components of the SOFC stack. Though the overall stress relaxes with time during steady state operation, large stresses would normally appear through...... transients in operation including temporary shut downs. These stresses are highly affected by the transient creep behavior of metallic components in the SOFC stack. This study investigates whether a variation of the so-called Chaboche's unified power law together with isotropic hardening can represent...

Process integration and optimization of a solid oxide fuel cell – Gas turbine hybrid cycle fueled with hydrothermally gasified waste biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Facchinetti, Emanuele; Gassner, Martin; D’Amelio, Matilde; Marechal, François; Favrat, Daniel

2012-01-01

Due to its suitability for using wet biomass, hydrothermal gasification is a promising process for the valorization of otherwise unused waste biomass to synthesis gas and biofuels. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) based hybrid cycles are considered as the best candidate for a more efficient and clean conversion of (bio) fuels. A significant potential for the integration of the two technologies is expected since hydrothermal gasification requires heat at 673–773 K, whereas SOFC is characterized by heat excess at high temperature due to the limited electrochemical fuel conversion. This work presents a systematic process integration and optimization of a SOFC-gas turbine (GT) hybrid cycle fueled with hydrothermally gasified waste biomass. Several design options are systematically developed and compared through a thermodynamic optimization approach based on First Law and exergy analysis. The work demonstrates the considerable potential of the system that allows for converting wet waste biomass into electricity at a First Law efficiency of up to 63%, while simultaneously enabling the separation of biogenic carbon dioxide for further use or sequestration. -- Highlights: ► Hydrothermal gasification is a promising process for the valorization of waste wet biomass. ► Solid Oxide Fuel Cell – Gas Turbine hybrid cycle emerges as the best candidates for conversion of biofuels. ► A systematic process integration and optimization of a SOFC-GT hybrid cycle fuelled with hydrothermally gasified biomass is presented. ► The system may convert wet waste biomass to electricity at a First Law efficiency of 63% while separating the biogenic carbon dioxide. ► The process integration enables to improve the First Law efficiency of around 4% with respect to a non-integrated system.

Advances in medium and high temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology

CERN Document Server

Salvatore, Aricò

2017-01-01

In this book well-known experts highlight cutting-edge research priorities and discuss the state of the art in the field of solid oxide fuel cells giving an update on specific subjects such as protonic conductors, interconnects, electrocatalytic and catalytic processes and modelling approaches. Fundamentals and advances in this field are illustrated to help young researchers address issues in the characterization of materials and in the analysis of processes, not often tackled in scholarly books.

Thermodynamic analysis of SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) - Stirling hybrid plants using alternative fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2013-01-01

A novel hybrid power system (∼10 kW) for an average family home is proposed. The system investigated contains a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) on top of a Stirling engine. The off-gases produced in the SOFC cycle are fed to a bottoming Stirling engine, at which additional power is generated...... to that of a stand-alone Stirling engine or SOFC plant. For the combined SOFC and Stirling configuration, the overall power production was increased by approximately 10% compared to that of a stand-alone SOFC plant. System efficiencies of approximately 60% are achieved, which is remarkable for such small plant sizes...

Cathode and electrolyte materials for solid oxide fuel cells and ion transport membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Allan J; Wang, Shuangyan; Kim, Gun Tae

2014-01-28

Novel cathode, electrolyte and oxygen separation materials are disclosed that operate at intermediate temperatures for use in solid oxide fuel cells and ion transport membranes based on oxides with perovskite related structures and an ordered arrangement of A site cations. The materials have significantly faster oxygen kinetics than in corresponding disordered perovskites.

Towards High Power Density Metal Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Mobile Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jimmi; Persson, Åsa H.; Muhl, Thuy Thanh

2018-01-01

For use of metal supported solid oxide fuel cell (MS-SOFC) in mobile applications it is important to reduce the thermal mass to enable fast startup, increase stack power density in terms of weight and volume and reduce costs. In the present study, we report on the effect of reducing the Technical...

Advanced control approach for hybrid systems based on solid oxide fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrari, Mario L.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Advanced new control system for SOFC based hybrid plants. • Proportional–Integral approach with feed-forward technology. • Good control of fuel cell temperature. • All critical properties maintained inside safe conditions. - Abstract: This paper shows a new advanced control approach for operations in hybrid systems equipped with solid oxide fuel cell technology. This new tool, which combines feed-forward and standard proportional–integral techniques, controls the system during load changes avoiding failures and stress conditions detrimental to component life. This approach was selected to combine simplicity and good control performance. Moreover, the new approach presented in this paper eliminates the need for mass flow rate meters and other expensive probes, as usually required for a commercial plant. Compared to previous works, better performance is achieved in controlling fuel cell temperature (maximum gradient significantly lower than 3 K/min), reducing the pressure gap between cathode and anode sides (at least a 30% decrease during transient operations), and generating a higher safe margin (at least a 10% increase) for the Steam-to-Carbon Ratio. This new control system was developed and optimized using a hybrid system transient model implemented, validated and tested within previous works. The plant, comprising the coupling of a tubular solid oxide fuel cell stack with a microturbine, is equipped with a bypass valve able to connect the compressor outlet with the turbine inlet duct for rotational speed control. Following model development and tuning activities, several operative conditions were considered to show the new control system increased performance compared to previous tools (the same hybrid system model was used with the new control approach). Special attention was devoted to electrical load steps and ramps considering significant changes in ambient conditions

Quality assurance in nuclear fuel element component supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, B.P.

1987-01-01

The paper describes the application of Quality Assurance to nuclear fuel element component supply. The Quality Assurance programme includes integrated procurement, purchasing, surveillance and receipt inspection functions. Purchasing policy is based on a consistent preference for competitive tendering. Multiple sourcing is used to encourage competitive pricing and increase security of supply. A receipt inspection facility is maintained to ensure the high product quality levels demanded by the nuclear industry. (U.K.)