01 Solid fuels (sources, winning, properties)

leaded to the gas yield reduction of CO but rising of CO2. Kinetics

01 SOLID FUELS studies of the reactions around the maximum mass loss rate were
carried out ultimately. One-dimensional diffusion mechanism model
showed best correlation coefficients with the reactions at slow,
moderate and sub-fast heating rates and the apparent activation
energies slightly decreased from 84.45 and 66.18 to 62.28 kJ/mol. The
Sources, winning, properties fitting curve of reactions at fast heating rate was two-stage-style and
correlated best to the three-dimensional diffusion mechanism model
based on Jander equation with activation energies of 33.74 and
11.54 kJ/mol.
21/00001 Characterization of superhigh-organic-sulfur
Raša coal, Istria, Croatia, and its environmental implication
Medunić, G. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 21/00004 Identification of coal structures using
103344. geophysical logging data in Qinshui Basin, China:
The Paleocene high volatile B bituminous Raša coal, mined on the investigation by kernel Fisher discriminant analysis
Istrian Peninsula, Croatia, for nearly 400 years up to 1999, is notable in Shi, J. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103314.
having a superhigh organic sulfur (SHOS) content, exceeding 11% in Coal structure is closely related to the porosity and permeability of coal
some cases. The latter feature contributed to interest in the coal, far reservoirs, which not only affects the enrichment of coalbed methane
outweighing its status as a locally-used coal. Investigation by organic (CBM), but also influences the hydraulic fracturing and efficient
petrology, X-ray diffraction mineralogy, X-ray fluorescence and ICP- development of CBM. The accurate identification of the coal structure
MS chemistry, SEM-EDS and TEM-EDS-SAED, micro-FTIR spectro- would be a critical issue in CBM exploration and development, and is
scopy, and Raman spectroscopy showed that the Raša coal is domin- always a challenge. Compared with traditional methods for identifying
ated by vitrinite-group macerals, CaO and SO3, carbonate minerals coal structure base on borehole cores or mining seam observation,
with contributions by Sr- and Ba-sulfates at the sub-micron scale, and geophysical logging has become the most economic and efficient
the contribution of sulfur to the organic structure. Compared to technique. Several linear correlations have been established to describe
Chinese SHOS coals and world ash, a majority of analysed trace the relationships between the coal structures and well logs. However,
elements in Raša coal and ash, respectively, were depleted (up to 0.8 those correlations cannot accurately reflect non-linear relations
times), with the exception of V, Se, Sr and Ba, which were increased 1.7 between them. Therefore, a reliable and efficient method to identify
to 26 times. This fact, supported by elevated trace element concen- coal structure is needed. As a powerful non-linear classifier, the kernel
trations in dripstone, are evidence for weathering of Raša coal by Fisher discriminant analysis (KFD) method has been widely used due
underground water, which is contaminating the local environment with to its strong generalization ability. In this paper, a new quantitative
trace elements, selenium in particular. Results of this study warrant coal structure identification model was developed based on the KFD
further research. method by using geophysical logging data. The model was trained,
tested and optimized using 178 logging data sets from 15 CBM wells in
Qinshui Basin, China. The approach accounted for all the available
21/00002 Coal petrological and xylotomical well logging attributes, and the training data sizes and kernel
characterization of Miocene lignites and in-situ fossil tree parameters were analysed to get the most appropriate model in
stumps and trunks from Lusatia region, Germany: practice. In addition, the built model was validated individually by
palaeoenvironment and taphonomy assessment employing logging data of a new CBM well. The results indicate that
Kus, J. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103283. the KFD based identification model has high prediction accuracy,
This paper investigates rank and composition of coal as well as which can be used as a reliable method for coal structure identification.
depositional and hydrogeological settings persisting during the stage of The KFD method exhibits strong capability during the modelling and
peat accumulation and evaluates taphonomy and conditions for the in generalization in the determination of non-linear relationships, which
situ preservation of outstanding fossilized stump and trunks, using coal provides an efficient way for the coal structure prediction in basic
petrological and xylotomical analyses. The obtained results are further research of coal reservoirs.
interpreted and compared with existing literature records. Lignite
samples and fossil wood specimens were collected from the second
Miocene Seam Horizon or its equivalent present at Meuro, Piskowitz, 21/00005 Investigation on the influence of sulfur and
and Welzow-Süd open-cast mines located in Lusatia, Germany. The chlorine on the initial deposition/fouling characteristics of a
examined lignite samples indicate low rank coals at lignite or high-alkali coal
subbituminous rank stage and are characterized by slight dominance Yu, S. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106234.
of attrinite over textinite, ulminite, suberinite, cutinite porigelinite, Sodium, calcium, sulfur and chlorine in the flue gas of coal-fired boilers
resinite and corpohuminite macerals. Waterlogged conditions prevail- are the main cause of ash deposition/fouling in heat exchangers.
ing in the mire are associated with peat accumulation under anoxic However, there are still many debates on the mechanism of ash
conditions accompanied by low decomposition rates. The determined deposition/fouling due to the lack of direct micro evidence. This paper
facies indicators suggest a moderate to high as well as low gelification aims to clarify the initial deposition/fouling characteristics of a high-
of the organic matter for the Meuro and Piskowitz open-cast mines, alkali coal by computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy. The
respectively. In Meuro open-cast mine, the prevalence of herbaceous results demonstrate that temperature has an influence on the dep-
plant in a mire or a bacterial/fungal degradation of woody plant tissues osition/fouling compounds. The crystalline compounds in the samples
can be envisaged, whereas in the Piskowitz open-cast mine, it is at 900  C were mainly CaSO4 and Ca2Al2SiO7, while the compounds in
suggested that peat formed in a wet forest mire environment with a the samples at 500  C were mainly NaCl. Sulfur had a significant
limited oxygen supply and a relatively low bacterial/fungal degradation. adsorption effect on sodium and calcium at 900  C, while chlorine had
The studied fossil wood specimens revealed the presence of Quasi- a significant adsorption effect on sodium at 500  C. A three-layer
sequoioxylon piskowitzense preserved as an in situ fossilized stump, as microstructure of deposition/fouling was found after the samples were
well as Taxodioxylon cryptomerioides and Sciadopityoxylon wettsteinii stripped by molecular force. Additionally, deposition/fouling could be
species preserved as fossilized trunks. The examined species belong to divided into three stages: the formation of sodium salt precursors, the
the families of Sciadopityaceae and Cupressaceae Li sensu lato. The growth of loose structural aluminosilicates and the adhesion of
taphonomy of the in situ fossilized stump and trunks can be explained particulates on the surface. Sulfates, especially Na2SO4 and CaSO4
by nutrient- and oxygen-poor oligotrophic mires distinguished as raised formed a precursor for the initial deposition/fouling of high-alkali coal.
bogs and suggesting generally anoxic conditions during Middle to late
Miocene Climate transition. 21/00006 Microseismicity observed in an underground
mine: source mechanisms and possible causes
21/00003 Combustion behavior of large size coal over a Barthwal, H. and van der Baan, M. Geomechanics for Energy and the
wide range of heating rates in a concentrating photothermal Environment, 2020, 22, 100167.
reactor Microseismicity is observed during an underground mining develop-
Li, H. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106187. ment in Saskatchewan, Canada. The events are located near the main
Combustion behaviours of large coal pellets were studied in a novel working level at 480 m depth and show some temporal correlation with
room temperature chamber-type concentrating photothermal appar- the daily rate of rock removal. Here, the focal mechanisms of six
atus. Four heating rates of 4.0, 15.1, 52.4 and 69.4  C/s were realized by microseismic events are computed using the P-wave first arrival polar-
adjusting the voltage-up rates of the heating lamps. The temperature, ities and the S/P amplitude ratios. The focal mechanisms of events
image, gas emission and mass loss were synchronously detected and the classified based on waveform similarity are similar to each other
reliabilities of data were strictly verified. Coal pellets presented showing oblique faulting with dominant reverse slip components. The
‘heterogeneous’ ignition mechanism at slow (4.0  C/s) heating rate, best-fitting plane obtained from high-resolution event locations is
‘joint homo-heterogeneous’ at moderate (15.1  C/s) heating rate and consistent with the calculated fault plane solutions. It is, therefore,
‘homogeneous’ at sub-fast (52.4  C/s) and fast (69.4  C/s) heating rates. suggested that the events occur due to reactivation of unmapped faults.
High concentrations of CO and CH4 were evident at all heating rates. The microseismic event cloud is separated from the actual construction
The increase of heating rate accelerated all gas generation rates and sites by a lateral distance of at least 100 m. Therefore, the recorded

2 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 01 Solid fuels (sources, winning, properties)

microseismicity cannot be triggered by the highly localized stress the intact coal, as these properties are important for gas drainage. It
concentrations near the newly excavated cavities at the time of data was found that tectonic coal in general shows larger total pore volume
recording. The likelihood was investigated of fault reactivation due to and specific surface area than intact coal for larger pores due to
stress changes that might be related to a subsidence-like mechanism tectonism, however, no significant difference is observed in smaller
caused by the extensive horizontal tunnel network. Results show that pores due to the combined opposing effects of metamorphism and
such stress changes are insufficient to cause shear slippage, yet they can tectonism. Diffusion coefficient of tectonic coal is generally higher than
create a static stress state where the favourably oriented faults move that of intact coal, and tectonic coal typical has higher adsorption
closer to failure. An additional stress perturbation is required for capacity than intact coal. Compressive strength and elasticity modulus
triggering microseismicity due to fault reactivation. The peak dynamic are smaller for tectonic coal than intact coal. Field permeability of
stresses due to the vibrations caused by blasting are insufficient to tectonic coal is obviously lower than that of intact coal, which is on the
cause the frictional failure of fault. However, the vibrations due to a contrary to the experimental results from laboratory. It was found that
large rock crusher placed in the 480 m level may generate sufficient using reconstituted samples for tectonic coal in the laboratory is the
peak dynamic stress to trigger microseismicity. Thus, a joint interpret- main cause for this discrepancy between field and laboratory
ation of the source mechanisms and a suitable failure criterion observations. It is suggested that more work is required on tectonic
incorporating the static and dynamic stress modelling can produce coal and a few research areas are proposed for future research.
pertinent insights into the likelihood of anthropogenic processes to
yield induced seismicity.
21/00010 Shore hardness measurements of
sub-bituminous coal microlithotypes
21/00007 Organic associations of non-mineral elements in Barbosa, K. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217,
coal: a review 103341.
Dai, S. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 218, 103347. This paper presents the results of the surface hardness of coal, esti-
Coal, one of the most complex geological materials, consists of organic mated with the shore scleroscope rebound hardness tester. The shore
and mineral matter, the latter including crystalline minerals, non- hardness can be related to fracture toughness and tensile strength,
crystalline mineraloids, and elements with non-mineral associations. which are important input parameters for fracture stimulation design
Overall, the modes of occurrence of elements in coal are classified into of coal seam gas reservoirs. The shore hardness experiments were
organic, mineral, and intimate organic associations, the latter including performed on low rank coal specimens from an open cut mine from the
those adsorbed on to the surface of organics, dissolved in pore waters, Surat–Clarence–Moreton Basin, and a borehole from the Surat Basin,
and hosted in very fine-grained minerals (sub-micro-minerals or nano- Australia. All measurements were conducted on polished coal surface
minerals) encased in or shielded by the organic matter of coal. Mineral confined within epoxy blocks following similar preparation required for
associations, defined as elements associated with minerals are straight- coal petrographic analyses. The resulting indentations and microlitho-
forward; however, confusion about organic and intimate organic types were analysed under the microscope, then associated to the shore
associations of elements usually arise in the literature. Understanding hardness number. Three common microlithotypes were identified for
organic, mineral, and intimate organic associations of elements is the sub-bituminous specimens tested: vitrite, clarite and carbominerite.
important not only because non-mineral elements and, to a lesser Results indicate the hardest microlithotype is clarite, followed by
extent, elements associated with fine-grained minerals, play a signifi- vitrite, and then carbominerite. Quantification of the micromechanical
cant role in affecting the utilization of coal, but also such modes of properties is possible using simple shore hardness tests, and opportu-
occurrence of elements provide useful geochemical information on coal nities to improve fracture propagation may be further explored from
formation and coal-bearing basin evolution. With a few exceptions this work.
(such as Cd, Nb, Ta, Zr and Hf), most elements determined in coal,
particularly in low-rank coal, have varying-degrees of organic associ-
21/00011 Thermal properties of coal during low
ation. This paper reviews the definition of associations of non-mineral
temperature oxidation using a grey correlation method
elements in coal, as well as their methods of determination, and then
Ren, S.-J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116287.
review the associations of selected elements including environmentally
The low-temperature oxidation of coal is a contradictory and unified
sensitive (e.g. S, As, U and Hg) and critical elements, the latter of
dynamic process of coexisting mass and heat transfer. The thermo-
which drive some of the significant advancements in technology and
physical properties are crucial during coal spontaneous combustion. In
energy efficiency in the world today (e.g. rare earth elements and Y, Ge
the current paper, the variations of moisture, ash, volatiles, fixed
and U), and some major elements (e.g. Ca, Mg, Fe, Al and Ti) that
carbon and thermophysical properties (thermal diffusivity, specific heat
largely occur in non-mineral forms in low-rank coals.
and thermal conductivity) of three coal samples from 30 to 300  C were
studied, and their grey correlation was analysed. The results indicated
21/00008 Real-time analysis of the changing trends of that with the increase of temperature, the free moisture of coals A and
functional groups and corresponding gas generated law B decreased first but then increased, while the free moisture of coal C
during coal spontaneous combustion kept decreasing without a later increase. The variation of surface
Zheng, Y. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106237. moisture was consistent with that of free moisture. The trend of
In the process of spontaneous combustion, coal samples undergo volatiles and fixed carbon was completely the opposite, showing a
oxidation and pyrolysis reactions, and various gases are produced when significant negative correlation. Ash was less affected by temperature.
functional groups transform with each other. This paper conducted in Along with the rise of temperature, the thermal diffusivity of three coal
situ FTIR and high-temperature oxidation experiments on raw coal samples decreased first but later increased, and the specific heat was
samples to investigate the changing trends of functional groups and always in a state of increasing. The change in thermal conductivity was
corresponding gas generated law. Experimental results show that at the mainly affected by specific heat. By calculating the grey correlation
early stage of low-temperature oxidation (before 90  C), CO pro- degree, the major factors affecting the thermophysical properties were
duction is the result of oxidation and decomposition reactions, and obtained.
water evaporation leads to significant changes in =OH. At the late
stage of low-temperature oxidation (100–200  C), CO increased expon-
21/00012 Variations in elemental and mineralogical
entially with the increase of oxygen consumption. After 200  C, the
compositions of Late Oligocene, Early and Middle Miocene
activity of each functional group increased significantly and the O2
coal seams in the Kale-Tavas Molasse sub-basin, SW Turkey
supplied were completely consumed. Meanwhile, the thermal de-
Karayigit, A. I. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 218,
composition of aromatic hydrocarbons C=C in coal produced large
103366.
amounts of CH4. When the oxygen–nitrogen ratio reaches 40.15, the
The Kale-Tavas sub-basin, which is the south-western part of the
nitrogen injection has a significant inhibitory effect on the late stage of
Lycian Molasse Basin, south-western Turkey, hosts several coal seams
the low-temperature oxidation process. However, the higher the
of Late Oligocene, Early and Middle Miocene age within, respectively,
temperature, the less obvious the inhibition effect of nitrogen on the
the Mortuma, Yenidere and Sekköy Formations. This study aims to
activity of functional groups. The results are applicable to the study on
determine coal rank, mineralogical, and geochemical features of the
the thermodynamic disaster warning, prevention and control.
coal seams, and to ascertain factors controlling the mineralogical
distribution and elemental enrichment. The distinct differences among
21/00009 Reservoir properties of Chinese tectonic coal: the studied coal seams refer to mean random huminite/vitrinite
a review reflectance (Rr). The highest Rr values (0.63–0.69%) are measured
Cheng, Y. and Pan, Z. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116350. on the Late Oligocene Tavas coal, whereas the lowest Rr values (0.26–
Tectonic coal, formed after the intact coal being subjected to long-term 0.27%) were recorded in the Middle Miocene Narli coal. Similar
intense squeezing, shearing and deformation, is characterized by brittle mineralogical assemblages were found in all the studied coal seams;
or ductile damaged coal body, with the characteristics of low cohesion, however, aluminosilicate minerals are dominant to abundant phases in
low strength and low permeability. Most of the outburst accidents in the coal from the Mortuma and Yenidere Formations, while carbonate
China occurred in tectonic coal seams due to the difficulties in gas minerals are the dominant phases in the coal from the Sekköy
drainage. In this review, reservoir properties, including pore structure, Formation. Accordingly, aluminosilicate-related elements (e.g. Al, K,
adsorption, diffusion, permeability and geomechanical properties of Ti and Li) display relatively higher concentrations in the studied coal
the tectonic coal are considered in detail and compared with those of seams from the Mortuma and Yenidere Formations, whereas relatively

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 3

01 Solid fuels (economics, business, marketing, policy)

high-Ca concentrations and depletion of aluminosilicate-affiliated The purification of high-ash fine coal is limited by the fine particle size.
elements were recorded in the coal of the Sekköy Formation. On one hand, fine pure coal particles are difficult to be captured by
Furthermore, Ni, Mo, and U are relatively enriched in all the studied bubbles due to the lower collision probability between them; on the
seams, while relative B-enrichment is identified in the coal seams of the other hand, fine clay particles are often recovered by entrainment due
Mortuma and Yenidere Formations, and these seem to be related to to their lower mass, which result in the pollution of the clean coal. This
possible marine influence of the palaeomires during Late Oligocene paper proposed a novel method to separate high-ash fine coal by the
and Early Miocene and/or the occurrence of specific B-bearing synergistic effects of nanobubbles and polyaluminium chloride.
aluminosilicate minerals. Also, U and Mo enrichments in the Narli Equipped with a range of techniques including settling efficiency
coal may be related with the development of anoxic conditions within analysis, rheology behaviour measurements and flotation test, it was
the palaeomires during the Middle Miocene. Other indicators for found that apparent size distribution of fine coal particles increased in
anoxic conditions are framboidal pyrite grains and accessory Ni- the presence of nanobubbles and thus increased the final combustible
bearing iron sulfides in all the studied samples. Although coal-bearing recovery. The recovery of clay particles, however, is also enhanced by
formations in the Kale-Tavas sub-basin deposited under different entrainment and/or entrapment in the presence of nanobubbles, which
sedimentary environment, as the source areas for sediment supply of was alleviated with the aid of polyaluminium chloride by increasing
the coal seams remained the same during the Late Oligocene to Early their size distribution. The experimental results are expected to provide
Miocene, the mineralogical composition and elemental enrichment of a valuable reference to industrial application in separating similar
the coal were mainly controlled by clastic inputs and redox conditions wastes by flotation.
within the palaeomires; to a lesser extent a possible marine influence
might have contributed to elemental enrichment. 21/00016 Low temperature heating and oxidation to prevent
spontaneous combustion using Powder River Basin coal
Wang, Y. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106221.
Powder River Basin coal, a sub-bituminous coal, was studied for its
low-temperature oxidation tendency after a simple surface oxidation
treatment. The influence of the heating temperature on the coal
Preparation properties was studied. The tendency of this dried coal to oxidize at low
temperatures was successfully eliminated by lightly oxidizing the coal in
the air at 100–200  C. The surface reactions during the process were
also studied. It was found that the passivation treatment appears to
21/00013 Comparison of acid-resistant ceramic and consume the functional groups that are prone to low temperature
polymeric nanofiltration membranes for acid mine waters oxidation, such as aliphatics. The passivation effect was weakened
treatment when the oxidation temperature went >200  C, as decomposition
López, J. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122786. happens. The oxidation reactions are monitored through two different
Acid-resistant ceramic and polymeric nanofiltration (NF) membranes methods: analysing the CO2 and water produced using quadrupole
have been identified as relevant materials for sustainable management mass spectrometry and analysing the heat release at oxidation using the
of acidic streams. NF properties such as a high passage of single- differential scanning calorimetry. Gas chromatography–mass spec-
charged ions and high rejection of multi-charged ions make NF trometry was used to analyse the coal tar material produced from
membranes suitable for acid recovery and metal concentration. In this low-temperature heating. Scanning electron microscopy, surface area
work, the performance of two acid-resistant membranes: TiO2 ceramic measurements and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are used
and MPF–34 (proprietary layer) was tested with solutions mimicking for surface characterization of the solids.
acidic mine waters. Model solutions were composed by Al(III), Fe(III),
Ca(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and rare earth elements [REEs(III)] such as
La(III), Dy(III), Sm(III), Nd(III), Pr(III) and Yb(III). The effect of
acidity (from pH 1.5 to 1.0), Al(III) (from 0.6 to 1.8 g/L) and Fe(III)
(from 0.5 to 2.1 g/L) concentrations was studied. Both membranes Economics, business, marketing, policy
allowed the transport of H+ (negative rejections were obtained), but
exhibited differences related to the metallic ions transport. While
MPF–34 presented metal rejections around 80% and independent on
the concentration of the major components [Al(III) and Fe(III)], the 21/00017 A comparison of the regional investment benefits
TiO2 membrane provided a sequence of rejection values from 5% to of CCS retrofitting of coal-fired power plants and renewable
30%, with highest values for trivalent transition metals. These power generation projects in China
differences in the sequence of rejections suggested that the chemical Fan, J.-L. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2020,
properties of the TiO2 layer played a relevant role, and that they could 92, 102858.
only be explained by dielectric effects. From the observed rejections, it Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) technology and
was estimated that MPF–34 provided concentration factors for metals renewable power are indispensable in China’s power sector to limit
up to 4.2 and <1 for the H2SO4. global warming to 2  C. Because the two technologies have their own
merits and weaknesses, it is important to understand their investment
benefits and choose a cost-effective portfolio. Therefore, the authors
21/00014 Effect of microemulsion on low-rank coal conducted an investment evaluation of CCS retrofitting of coal-fired
flotation by mixing DTAB and diesel oil power plants (CFPP) with hypothetical subsidies and renewable power
Zhang, R. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116321. generation projects (RPP) by using a real option trinomial tree pricing
It is difficult to recover low-rank coal using traditional oily collectors model and compared their economic benefits in different provinces in
because a large number of oxygen-containing functional groups and China. The results showed that when subsidies for the desulfurization
pores exist on its surface. In this study, a microemulsion was prepared price or the feed-in tariff of wind power were adopted, the CCS
by mixing dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and diesel retrofitting of CFPP did not achieve the optimal investment value, even
oil; its effect on low-rank coal flotation was studied via water contact in 2027. If the decarbonized electricity price increases to 0.75 CNY/
angle and wrap angle measurements. The results show that the clean kWh, equal to the feed-in tariff of solar photovoltaic and biomass
coal could not be effectively recovered using a single reagent of DTAB power, the CCS retrofitting of CFPP would be commercially viable, and
or diesel oil. However, the microemulsion can improve the clean coal their investment value would exceed that of wind power generation
recovery with a small amount of diesel oil. The recovery of clean coal projects. In this situation, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Gansu Provinces
was greatest when the mass ratio of DTAB and diesel was 1 : 2. The would be most suitable for the development of CCS retrofitting pilot
addition of DTAB could act as a dispersant in the oily collector, and projects; the advantages of the CCS retrofitting of CFPP were not
thus increased the contact area between coal and reagent. More significant, whereas RPP was a better investment choice in many
importantly, DTAB and diesel oil could be adsorbed on the low-rank provinces. This paper provides a perspective on feed-in tariffs for
coal surface because of their synergistic effect. On the one hand, policy makers to use in formulating a subsidy system to support the
DTAB can improve the dispersion of diesel oil. On the other hand, the development of CCS in China, with policy implications for other
combination of diesel and DTAB promoted the spread of diesel on the countries.
particle surface. The microemulsion could improve the hydrophobicity
and floatability of coal particles and enhance the stability of particle-
bubble adhesion. The relationship between wrap angle and time could
21/00018 Characterization of coal particles in the soil of a
be well fitted by the first-order kinetic equation and the results show
former rail yard and urban brownfield: Liberty State Park,
that the attachment rate gradually increased and reached its maximum
Jersey City (NJ), USA
Hagmann, D. F. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217,
when the mass ratio of DTAB and diesel was 1 : 2.
103328.
From the 1850s until the 1960s the central railroad of New Jersey was
21/00015 Efficient separation of high-ash fine coal by the among several major railways shipping anthracite and bituminous coal
collaboration of nanobubbles and polyaluminum chloride to the New York City area, transferring coal from railcar to barge at its
Li, C. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116325. extensive rail yard and port facility in Jersey City. The 490 ha Liberty

4 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 01 Solid fuels (derived solid fuels)

State Park was developed on the site after the rail yard closed, but a Different industries use energy with different levels of efficiency, even
c. 100 ha brownfield zone within the park remains off limits to visitors within the same industry. The biggest contributes of this study to the
pending future remediation. As part of an environmental forensic and prior literature is that measured the energy efficiency by using coal
industrial archaeological investigation of this zone, the study charac- consumption instead of energy consumption and explore the driving
terizes anthracite and bituminous coal particles present in abundance factors behind the variations in efficiency of different coal-intensive
in the soil by scanning electron microscopy and pyrolysis-gas industries. The study selected 14 major Chinese coal-intensive
chromatography–mass spectrometry. A simple pretreatment procedure industries and applied the super-efficiency model of data envelopment
employing density separation improved the analytical results. This analysis to measure the total-factor energy efficiency of coal consump-
detailed information about the nature of contaminants at the site will tion (TFEEC) from 2006 to 2015. And the study used the Malmquist
help to inform the remediation effort in the public interest. index to decompose the TFEEC and to analysis the variation situations
of the TFEEC. The main results are as follows. (1) The TFEEC overall
showed a trend of growth from 2006 to 2015, which showed that the
21/00019 Contention strikes back? The discursive, energy saving and emission reduction policies should be further
instrumental and institutional tactics implemented by coal implemented, especially in developing innovative ways and policies to
sector incumbents in Colombia manage waste emissions. (2) In general, the factors causing the change
Strambo, C. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101280. of the TFEEC were mainly from technological progress, the govern-
Over the past decade, large-scale coal production and exportation has ment should encourage the enterprises to carry out energy technology
become an important activity for Colombia’s economy. However, this innovation activities from both the energy-demand side and the supply
sector is now facing a range of domestic and international social and side. However, the efficiency of different industries had different
economic pressures. This paper seeks to fill what appears to be a driving factor, the government should adopt different policies and
shared gap in the energy transition and natural resource governance measures to improve the TFEEC for different industries. (3) Half of
research fields: the ways through which incumbent actors of the fossil the coal-intensive industries were still failing to efficiently utilize all of
fuel regime respond to socio-economic pressures and actively resist their resources, which showed that China still has a large space to
change. Based on a case study on large-scale coal production in improve the TFEEC for different coal-intensive industries.
Colombia, the authors analyse incumbent actors’ discursive, instru-
mental and institutional political strategies to maintain the status quo
21/00023 Where are the women? A review and conceptual
and shed light on their preliminary intended and unexpected results. It
was found that although instrumental strategies continue to be
framework for addressing gender equity in charcoal value
important, discursive ones aiming at influencing public narratives have
chains in Sub-Saharan Africa
Ihalainen, M. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, 1–12.
gained increased ground within companies and government’s officials.
The importance of the charcoal sector is growing rapidly in Sub-
Yet, new contention strategies do not seem to guarantee incumbents
Saharan Africa. In addition to providing an affordable energy source
structural power and paradoxically could hinder their already eroded
for residents in the continent’s growing urban centres, the charcoal
legitimacy.
value chain offers a critical income source for millions of people.
Despite recent studies suggesting that women are taking on an
21/00020 Fighting coal – effectiveness of coal-replacement increasing role in charcoal value chains, data and analysis on the role
programs for residential heating in China: empirical findings of women and the influence of gendered power relations in the often
from a household survey male-coded charcoal value chain have remained limited. This literature
Wu, S. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, 170–180. review interrogates the gender dynamics of participation and benefits
Household fuel substitution has been a crucial step for controlling air across charcoal value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. Significant support
pollution in China, but the performance evaluation of household fuel was found for women’s participation throughout value chains, thereby
substitution policies is overlooked. This study capitalized on the contrasting conventional views of charcoal as a male activity. However,
opportunity to use data collected during the household coal-replace- while dynamics change between different contexts, women’s partici-
ment program in north China to evaluate the effect of a mandatory pation tends to be significantly higher in retail, while women tend to
policy on fuel substitution at the micro-level. The results indicate that constitute a minority in other parts of the value chain – often joining
there is a significant effect of the coal-replacement program on fuel the sector in the absence of alternative livelihood opportunities. The
substitution, as expected. The coal-to-electricity policy is effective in review also finds that gender differences exist across various nodes in
achieving the goal of a clean winter but not a warm winter due to the terms of the scope, nature and outcomes of participation. While
decline of delivered energy, while the high-quality coal replacement significant regional differences exist, the study found that participation
policy results in better performance in delivered energy but no and outcomes tend to generally be influenced by gender differences
improvement in indoor air quality. It is recommended to prioritize and inequalities in: (1) access to and control over productive resources
supporting measures on both the supply and demand sides before and income; (2) social and political capital and (3) gender roles and
implementation, along with undertaking differential measures during responsibilities. Importantly, other axes of social differentiation, such
the implementation phase to better address energy inequality. as generation, marital status, wealth and social class, often intersect
with gender relations in influencing outcomes. In addition to
structuring the extent, nature and outcomes of women’s and men’s
21/00021 Moving beyond coal: exploring and explaining participation, it is argued that gender roles and relations may
the Powering Past Coal Alliance significantly influence the efficiency and sustainability of the charcoal
Blondeel, M. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101304. value chain. Based on these findings, the authors call for placing
In 2017, the UK and Canada launched the ‘Powering Past Coal gender at the core – rather than periphery – of charcoal value chain
Alliance’ (PPCA), a coalition of governments, organizations and studies, and propose a conceptual framework for incorporating gender
businesses seeking to establish a phase-out of coal for electricity analysis in future value chain studies in the charcoal sector.
generation by 2050 at the latest. Yet, most of the countries that have
signed the charter do not burn coal in large quantities; some do not
even burn coal at all. This raises an important question: why do
countries join such an alliance? Four hypotheses are advanced that
revolve around material costs, political economy, feedback effects and Derived solid fuels
identity. A study of 38 country cases was also undertaken. Through a
crisp set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) the authors test
which combination of variables explains the outcome of interest (state
membership in the PPCA). The results indicate that countries that 21/00024 Carbon nanotube films spun from a gas phase
have no coal in their electricity mix and that have adopted a phase-out reactor for manufacturing carbon nanotube film/carbon fibre
plan are most likely to join the PPCA. There are two combinations of epoxy hybrid composites for electrical applications
conditions almost always lead to the outcome: countries join the PPCA Chen, J. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 282–290.
if they have a phase-out plan and are a climate leader, or they have a Working towards improvement of the electrical performance of carbon
phase-out plan and do not have a strong coal industry. Conversely, the fibre (CF) reinforced polymer composites used in aircraft, the authors
solution for non-membership shows that countries do not join the have developed new routes of production of hybrid carbon nanotube
PPCA if they are not a climate leader and do not have a phase out plan, (CNT)/CF epoxy composites. It was shown that the use of CNT films
or have a strong coal industry. The results further suggest that the produced via one-step chemical vapour deposition based method and
PPCA should focus on different outreach methods, beyond merely in-process control of films morphology combined with standard
expanding its membership, including technical diplomacy and main- vacuum bagging based manufacture of the composites results in very
taining political momentum at high-level political events. good electrical performance of the final material, delivering high
potential for lightning strike related applications including electro-
magnetic interference shielding and static dissipation for the composite
21/00022 Understanding energy efficiency and its drivers: components used in aerospace and transport sector. Simultaneously,
an empirical analysis of China’s 14 coal intensive industries the process is much simpler, inexpensive and easy to upscale than
Qi, X. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116354. previously proposed methods.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 5

01 Solid fuels (derived solid fuels)

21/00025 Carbonaceous aerosols emission reduction by Effects of Fe2O3 addition on the thermoplasticity and structure of
using red mud additive in coal briquette coking coal matrix were performed by blending Fe2O3 with coking coal
Zhang, Y. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106290. matrix during thermoplastic stage of pyrolysis. Thermoplasticity and
Residential coal combustion is a major source of carbonaceous aerosol thermal behaviour of coal matrix were characterized by Gieseler
globally. Clean coal briquettes can be used for pollution emission plastometer and Thermogravimetry analyser. Structure of coal matrix
control. In this study, red mud (RM), a high alkalinity by-product at different pyrolysis temperatures during thermoplastic stage was
generated from the Bayer process, was employed as additive in coal investigated by using X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared
briquettes. Combustion tests of briquettes and raw coal were conducted spectroscopy. Fluid phase collected from the coal matrix by two-stage
to evaluate the emission reduction effects on PM2.5 and carbonaceous extraction was identified by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometer
aerosols. The highest emission reduction rates of PM2.5, organic carbon analysis. The results show that the added Fe2O3 decreased the plastic
(OC), elemental carbon (EC) for bituminous were 37.5%, 13.2%, range, maximum Gieseler fluidity and weight loss rate of coal matrix,
82.6% and for anthracite were 31.2%, 11.1%, 30.0%. Total carbon and inhibited the cleavage of Cal–Cal, Cal–Car, Cal–O, Cal–S and Cal–N
(TC)/PM2.5 remained stable between raw coal and briquettes while EC/ bonds during thermoplastic stage. Further, the inhibiting effect
OC was altered significantly (from 0.32 to 0.08 and 0.08 to 0.03 for resulted from the added Fe2O3 made the decrease of aromaticity and
bituminous and anthracite). Subfractions (in both OC, EC) showed a average stacking height, increase of interlayer spacing of the crystallite,
similar decreasing trend with the increase of RM content, while OC3 and ascending of aliphatic chain length and hydrocarbon-generating
and OC4 reduction was not significantly compared to raw coal potential of coal matrix. Consequently, the formed fluid phase would
emission. Regression model showed that volatile matter and RM be reduced, reflected in the disappearance of ethylbenzene, o-xylene
content are the two most significant (p < 0.01) fuel properties affecting and unbranched alkanes with carbon atoms in 24–26, resulting in coal
the emission of PM2.5 and OC. Moisture and RM content influenced thermoplasticity declining. This contributes to a better understanding
EC emission most significantly (p < 0.01). This study demonstrated of coke strength decrease in producing highly reactive iron coke.
that RM-added coal briquettes can effectively improve regional air
quality.
21/00029 Extraction combined catalytic oxidation
21/00026 Co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge and hydrochar desulfurization of petcoke in ionic liquid under mild
with coals: pyrolytic behaviors and kinetics analysis using conditions
TG-FTIR and a discrete distributed activation energy model Liu, H. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116200.
He, C. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112226. The desulfurization of high-sulfur petcoke under mild condition is a
Dewatered sewage sludge (DS) has been upgraded to hydrochar (HC) great challenge due to the structurally stable aromatic ring skeleton
using hydrothermal conversion because of superior fuel quality and with a large steric hindrance of sulfur compounds. Herein, by using
avoidance of energy-intensive dewatering. In order to further develop polyoxometalate ionic liquid [Bmim]3PW12O40 and H2O2 as catalyst
sustainable energy conversion of HC, co-pyrolysis of DS and HC with and oxidant, respectively, the sulfur content in the petcoke was reduced
three different-rank coals have been comprehensively investigated from 4.46 to 2.85 wt% in green solvent [Bmim]BF4. Moreover, the
using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier transform reaction performed at a mild temperature (80  C), significantly lower
infrared spectrometer and a discrete distributed activation energy than that in the industrial methods (51700  C). It realized the
model. Pyrolytic behaviours, kinetics and gas releasing characteristics conversion of high-sulfur petcoke from waste to resources. The
have been examined. Results suggest that low-rank Coal 2 and experimental results indicated that sulfides in petcoke were oxidized
moderate-rank Coal 3 blended with DS exhibited the highest syner- to sulfate, sulfone and sulfoxide, while SO2 was not produced in the
gistic removal of N and S, respectively. Co-pyrolysis of DS with high- process of desulfurization. The possible oxidative desulfurization
rank Coal 1 favoured C retention and N or S removal, while N was mechanism was proposed based on the series of characterizations.
more likely to be stabilized in co-pyrolysis of HC with lower-rank coals.
A less intensive but lasting devolatilization process in higher
temperature regime (362–487  C) was expected for HC. Higher fixed 21/00030 Multilayer graphene spheres generated from
carbon content in HC and coals led to higher abundance of activation anthracite and semi-coke as anode materials for lithium-ion
energy centralized around 180 kJ/mol for coal/HC blends. At the batteries
maximum decomposition rate temperature of 293.5  C, pyrolysis of HC Zhong, M. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106241.
generated remarkable CH4 and other combustible gases with signifi- Synthetic graphite, similar to the natural one, has been widely used as
cantly reduced CO2. High-rank Coal 1 showed the most remarkable anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, but it is still challenging to
synergistic effect on the yield of light hydrocarbons and elevated find a cost-effective and environmentally friendly procedure to
Coal 1/HC blending ratio favoured CO2 and CH4 release. Overall, co- graphitize abundant coal based carbonaceous materials. Here, the
pyrolysis of coals with HC could be a more sustainable technique for authors describe a scalable graphitization strategy to convert anthracite
sewage sludge management and utilization in terms of stable de- and semi-coke into open-shell hollow multilayer graphene spheres
volatilization and centralized activation energy, higher yield of com- using nickel as catalyst at relatively low temperature. The as-obtained
bustible syngas, and obviously reduced emissions of CO2 and nitrogen- multilayer graphene spheres show impressive electrochemical perform-
containing gases. ances including high reversible capacity of 389.8 and 401.4 mA h g1 at
0.1 A g1 for the graphene spheres generated from anthracite and semi-
coke and superior cycling stability as anode materials for lithium-ion
21/00027 Effects of coal interactions during cokemaking on batteries. The underneath graphitization mechanisms for anthracite
coke properties under simulated blast furnace conditions and semi-coke are proposed. The work provides an efficient route for
Xing, X. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106274. the large-scale production of graphene-based anode materials for
The cokes produced from single coals and blends of these coals were lithium-ion batteries from other carbonaceous materials.
investigated under the simulated blast furnace (BF) conditions.
Comparison of the weighted average values of single coal cokes and
the measured values of cokes from blends revealed the coal
21/00031 New insights into the mechanism of graphene
interactions during carbonization and the effects of these interactions
oxide and radionuclide interaction
on coke properties under the simulated BF conditions. Blending coals
Kuzenkova, A. S. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 291–302.
together resulted in a significant fluidity reduction from the expected
The sorption of U(VI), Am(III)/Eu(III) and Cs(I) radionuclides by
values. The large amount of volatile matter released from the low-rank
graphene oxides (GOs) synthesized by Hummers’s, Brodie’s and Tour’s
coal provided better conditions of crystallites growth for other coal
methods was studied through a combination of batch experiments with
components in the blends, thereby resulting in the pervasively higher
characterization by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques such as
measured graphitization degree. Raman spectroscopy analysis indi-
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier-
cated that the higher measured graphitization degree was mainly
transform infrared spectroscopy, high-energy resolution fluorescence
contributed by the lenticular and ribbon microtextures. Although the
detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy, extended X-ray absorption
caking properties of the blends were remarkably reduced from the
fine structure and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.
expected values, the measured microstrength did not have a significant
Remarkably different sorption capacity and affinity of radionuclides
difference from the calculated values. However, the measured macro-
was found towards GOs synthesized by Hummers’s and Brodie’s
strength were higher than the calculated values. The differences in the
methods reflecting different structure and oxidation state of these
softening and resolidification temperatures of coals restricted the
materials. The mechanism underlying GO–radionuclide interaction is
dilatation but promoted the contraction of the blends, which resulted
determined using variety of experimental techniques. For the first time
in a reduced porosity development from the expected value, thereby
it is shown here that GO–radionuclides interactions take place on the
improving the strength of the produced cokes.
small holes or vacancy defects in the GO sheets. Mechanism of GO’s
interactions with radionuclides were analysed and specific functional
21/00028 Effects of Fe2O3 addition on the thermoplasticity groups responsible for this interaction were identified. Therefore, a
and structure of coking coal matrix during thermoplastic new strategy to produce improved materials with high capacity for
stage of pyrolysis radionuclides suggests the use perforated and highly defected GO with
Qiu, S. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116305. a larger proportion of carboxylic functional groups.

6 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (sources, properties, recovery)

21/00032 On the evolution of pore microstructure during structure and gasification reactivity fitting, the XRD and Raman
coal char activation with steam/CO2 mixtures structural parameters were combined to describe the gasification
Maya, J. C. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 121–130. reactivity. The new method for coal char reactivity under rapid heating
This study develops a novel mathematical model for coal char rate is established. Furthermore, a visually heating stage microscope
activation with CO2, steam, and a CO2/steam mixture. The main was also applied for determining the in situ char reactivity through
assumption is that CO2 and steam react with distinct active sites, image analysing. The gasification process of in situ coal char particles
considered by attributing a unique char structure effect to each fits the shrinking particle pattern at the original and midterm stages.
gasifying agent; the CO2–char reaction increases the pore length, However, the shrinking particle pattern changed into the shrinking core
whereas the steam-char reaction increases the pore radius. Addition- pattern at high carbon conversion. Moreover, the CO inhibition effect
ally, pore overlapping effect was taken into account and the radial pore and inter-particle interaction account for the difference of gasification
growth was computed by means of a population balance equation. reactivity by rapid heating TGA and heating stage microscope.
Model predictions of both the pore size distribution and specific
surface area changes were compared with experimental data, resulting 21/00036 Transformation of primary siderite during coal
in an outstanding fit. This supports the model main assumption, which catalytic pyrolysis and its effects on the growth of carbon
reconciles discrepancies between various authors regarding the overall nanotubes
reaction rate during activation of coal chars with CO2/steam mixtures. Zhang, T. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106235.
Finally, the maximum specific surface area occurs under chemically- Although the synthesis of carbon nanotubes from coal can efficiently
controlled conditions, where all particle zones reach their maximum reduce the cost of preparing these materials, the effect of the primary
surface areas simultaneously, while for activation with diffusional minerals present in coal (e.g. Fe-containing siderite) on the growth of
limitations each particle zone attains its maximum specific surface area these structures has not been studied in depth. This study used a
at a different time. bituminous coal containing siderite and investigated the changes of the
original siderite phase and the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes
21/00033 Regeneration performance of activated coke for during a KOH-catalysed coal pyrolysis process. The results shown that
elemental mercury removal by microwave and thermal the primary Fe minerals played an important role in the formation of
methods carbon nanotubes during coal pyrolysis. During the KOH-catalysed
An, D. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106303. pyrolysis of coal, the Fe present in the raw material migrated from the
The purpose of this study was to recover mercury and reuse active coke bulk to the surface of the coal particles, and enriched in some areas of
in the field of active coke adsorption of Hg0. The powdered active coke the surface of the coal particle. KOH-catalysed coal pyrolysis had a
(AC) with high adsorption performance of Hg0 was prepared by a significant effect on the formation of micropores and the increase of
simple way. The regeneration characteristics of AC as a Hg0 sorbent specific surface area and pore volume in coal. The primary siderite in
were also investigated using microwave (MG-AC) and thermal coal and the catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes, in line with the
methods (TG-AC). Of the two regeneration methods, microwave following mechanism: FeCO3 ! -Fe ! Fe3C + graphite ! carbon
heating exhibited a faster heating rate to achieve complete regener- nanotubes. This study can provide new ideas for the utilization of
ation. Following regeneration, adsorption performance of regenerated low-rank coal resources rich in Fe mineral components.
AC increased due to AC reactivation by microwave. Brunauer–
Emmett–Teller measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and
Laser particle size analyser were used to analyse surface physical and
chemical properties as well as particle size distribution of the samples.
The results indicated that regeneration could greatly influence
properties of AC, such as specific surface area, pore structure, surface
chemical functional groups, and average particle size. Thermal
02 LIQUID FUELS
methods had higher desorption content (CO2, CO and NO) than
microwave methods. Hence, microwave regeneration had a smaller
carbon consumption of 0.12% compared to thermal methods (0.23%).
The Hg0 that desorbed from AC was collected using the deep Sources, properties, recovery
adsorption technique in order to avoid secondary pollution.

21/00034 The controlled synthesis of Fe3C/Co/N-doped 21/00037 A new description method of the position of
hierarchically structured carbon nanotubes for enhanced combustion front in dry linear fire flooding process
electrocatalysis Yuan, S. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass Trans-
Zhang, C.-L. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, fer, 2020, 113, 104530.
118224. The description methods of combustion front are required to be fast
It is critical and challenging to prepare non-precious metal catalysts and accurate for in situ combustion (fire flooding), and the current
with high catalytic performance in fuel cells and metal–air batteries. methods cannot fully conform that requirement. However, the
This work developed an efficient multistep approach to synthesize description method based on conventional data monitoring is a way
metal–organic framework (MOF)@Fe-Phen nanotube-derived compo- to solve this problem. The experimental results of dry combustion
site electrocatalysts (CNCo-n@Fe-x), which consisted of N-enriched indicates that the position of combustion front has a nearly linear
mesoporous carbon nanotubes with high graphitization degree and correlation with the total acid numbers (TAN) of oil produced for in
uniformly distributed active sites (Co, Fe3C, N–C, Fe–Nx and Co–Nx). situ combustion. Meanwhile, the tendency of pressure variation
Experimental results indicated that the bimetallic doping was superior between neighbouring air injection wells can determine the state and
to a single metal. Benefiting from the unique hierarchical structure and the time of combustion chamber connected in linear ISC process.
the synergies among the active sites also the high conductivity, as Therefore, based on the relationship between TAN, injection pressure
expected, the composite nanotubes exhibited excellent electrochemical and combustion front, the acid numbers-pressure (ANP) method is
performance for oxygen reduction reaction in alkalinity electrolyte, established,which is suitable for dry linear fire flooding. Further, this
even better than the commercial Pt/C catalyst. More importantly, when method is applied to the calculation of the position of the combustion
used for constructing the air electrode of the Zn–air battery, CNCo- front in HQ1 ISC pilot area in Xinjiang over the years. Compared with
5@Fe-2 nanotubes also displayed high performance. other methods, the ANP method can rapidly calculate the position of
combustion front and confirm the connectivity of combustion
21/00035 The correlation between coal char structure and chamber. In addition, the combination of the ANP and other method
reactivity at rapid heating condition in TGA and heating is a good solution to confirm the position of combustion front for dry
stage microscope linear in situ combustion process.
Liu, M. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116318.
The coal pyrolysis and char gasification process have been widely 21/00038 Experimental investigation of oil generation,
studied with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at a low heating rate, retention, and expulsion within Type II kerogen-dominated
which is far lower than the heating rate when coal particle enters into marine shales: insights from gold-tube nonhydrous
the boiler and gasifier. In this work, the isothermal CO2 gasification pyrolysis of Barnett and Woodford Shales using miniature
reactivity of in situ coal chars was performed in rapid heating TGA and core plugs
a heating stage microscope. The char structure parameters determined Shao, D. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103337.
by XRD and Raman spectroscopy were combined to describe the char Although oil retention has recently emerged as a key topic of
reactivity at the same temperature. Results showed that maximum unconventional-shale resource assessment, oil-retention and expulsion
weight loss rate of raw coal evidently increased and the corresponding controls in organic-rich shales during thermal maturation remain
maximum rate temperature raised with the increasing of heating rate poorly constrained. This study presents an experimental comparison of
during pyrolysis. Nonetheless, the heating rate had slightly effect on oil generation, retention, and expulsion in two immature, Type II
gasification reactivity of in situ char samples when it exceeded 50 K/ kerogen-dominated marine shales, the Mississippian Barnett Shale and
min. Considering the physical meaning and universality of the coal char the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Woodford Shale, mainly

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 7

02 Liquid fuels (sources, properties, recovery)

with respect to the combined effects of the organic macerals and rock that the vitrinite reflectance of the samples in the Kushiro coal mine is
fabric involved. In both cases, miniature core plugs drilled from the suppressed. Based on the corrected vitrinite reflectance (non-
given samples were isothermally pyrolysed at 130 to 425  C for 72 h suppressed vitrinite reflectance), the maturity of the coal in the
under a confining pressure of 68 MPa during gold-tube non-hydrous Kushiro Basin increases towards the north. The non-suppressed
pyrolysis, corresponding to the thermally immature, early stage of the vitrinite reflectance of the samples from the northernmost part of the
oil window, the main stage of the oil window, the late stage of the oil basin (Hokuyo Area) was approximately 0.8%, which is within the start
window, the main stage of oil cracking to wet gas, and the late stage of of the oil window. The maturity of the coal-bearing strata in the
oil cracking. Yields of generated oil, retained oil, and expelled oil for northern area of the basin could be affected by volcanic activity along
the two studied samples were systematically quantified on the basis of the volcanic front. In the Hokuyo Area, the Urahoro Group overlies a
mass-balance calculation of measured oil and gas yields, as well as sequence of Cretaceous–Eocene marine clastic rocks (Nemuro Group),
Rock-Eval analyses on pyrolysed subsamples. Through the six stages of which are about 3000–4000 m in total thickness, suggesting that the
petroleum formation investigated, the principal difference in oil organic matter in the marine clastic rocks should reach higher maturity
generation was observed in the two studied samples, with approxi- (VRr > 0.8%).
mately 38% to 68% greater yields of generated oil (equivalent to
130 mg oil/g TOCo) for the Woodford Shale when it evolved into the
21/00041 Measurements and NRTL modeling of
main and late stages of the oil window. These elevated yields of
liquid-liquid equilibrium of dimethyl ether/bitumen
generated oil for the Woodford Shale were compensated for by
Sadeghi Yamchi, H. et al. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2020, 512, 112549.
additional oil generation resulting from conversion of abundant Type I
Solvent-aided or solvent-based heavy oil recovery methods have shown
kerogen-like algae such as Tasmanites and Leiosphaeridia, which lag in
to be promising alternatives to the conventional thermal methods.
onset and have a shorter period of petroleum generation upon
Recently, dimethyl ether (DME) has been suggested as a potential
maturation. As a response to the difference in oil generation, oil reten-
candidate for solvent-aided recovery processes. Liquid–liquid equili-
tion was found to be significantly enhanced for the Woodford Shale at
brium (LLE) of the DME/bitumen is essential for the design and
equivalent stages, with 0.2 to 1.7 times more free oil (equivalent to 24–
optimization of the oil recovery. While vapour–liquid equilibrium
105 mg oil/g TOCo) and 0.7 to 3.9 times more sorbed oil (equivalent to
(VLE) data of DME/bitumen have been reported in the literature,
58–76 mg oil/g TOCo) being retained than that of the Barnett Shale,
LLE data and predictive models for DME/bitumen are lacking. In this
although this effect was not pronounced for oil expulsion. In contrast
work, LLE measurements of DME/bitumen mixtures were conducted.
to the Barnett Shale, relatively low expelled oil yields and expulsion
Equilibrium composition of DME, density, and viscosity of the light
efficiencies both indicate highly limited oil expulsion in the Woodford
phase as well as saturation pressures of the mixture were measured.
Shale, implying that the Woodford Shale, whose mineral composition
Compositional analysis of the heavy and light cuts was determined by
and lithofacies are similar to those of the Barnett Shale, may have a
coupling simulated distillation and gel permeation chromatography.
relatively low permeability rock fabric to prevent oil from being
Based on the compositional analysis, bitumen was divided into two
expelled. Furthermore, not only significantly higher oil-saturation
pseudocomponents and LLE K-values of the components in equili-
index (OSI) values but also a wider range of maturity at which the oil
brium were calculated. A non-random two-liquid model (NRTL) was
crossover effect (OSI > 100 mg/g TOC) occurs is expected for the
calibrated to represent the experimental compositional data and K-
Woodford Shale when extrapolation to a geological setting occurs.
values. Absolute average relative deviation of the model predictions
These data suggest that the presence of abundant Type I kerogen-like
was found to be <6.5%. The results presented in this work provide new
algae and relatively low permeability rock fabric in the Woodford Shale
insight into in situ upgrading of bitumen and enable better design and
are critical to significant oil retention during oil generation and
optimization of the solvent-aided oil recovery processes.
expulsion, which jointly raise the possibility of potential commercial
shale oil within Type II kerogen-dominated marine shales.
21/00042 Micro-mechanism analysis of enhanced oil
recovery for positive-negative drive
21/00039 High-temperature and high-pressure Zhang, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116332.
thermophysical property measurements and thermodynamic At present, there appears to be no relevant research on the change of
modelling of an international oil standard: RAVENOL diesel crude oil state, quantitative statistical analysis and stimulation
rail injector calibration fluid mechanism caused by positive and negative displacement in core scale.
Lowe, A. R. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106220. In this research, the core is subjected to positive and negative
Presented here are the thermophysical characterization and thermo- displacement and then imaged by quasi-real-time CT scan. The pore
dynamic modelling of RAVENOL Calibration Fluid 2.5 which is used network model software is used to quantitatively analyse the oil–water
for the calibration and preservation of diesel engine fuel injectors. distribution information at different moments in the core. Further-
Accurate knowledge of the standardized fluid properties is an more, the characteristics of reservoir pores, oil and water occurrence
important component for engineering modelling to deliver the correct characteristics, positive and negative displacement increased mechan-
dose of fuel into the combustion chamber of diesel engines while isms and seepage characteristics are clarified. From the study, it is
reducing the occurrence of cavitation phenomena. The liquid density observed that during the whole water flooding process, the volume
and specific isobaric heat capacity measurements were carried out up fraction of the cluster flow gradually decreases. The cluster flow is
to T = 423 K at ambient pressure. The speed of sound moving through continuously displaced or broken into other discontinuous phase flow
the liquid was measured from T = 300 to 423 K from ambient pressure states; multi-porous, columnar, droplet, membranous as a discontinu-
up to p = 200 MPa. This plays a crucial role in fuel injection timing. ous phase. The volume percentage increases with the progress of the
With the combination of these data with high pressure, it is possible to displacement process, and the increase of multi-porous flow is most
accurately calculate the liquid density, specific isobaric heat capacity, obvious during the reverse drive process. The significant reduction of
coefficient of isobaric thermal expansion and isothermal compressi- cluster flow during the anti-drive process is the main mechanism for
bility at elevated pressures. The data obtained at ambient pressure were anti-drive production.
used to confirm the accuracy of the high-pressure experimental data by
comparing them with the predictions of the fluctuation-theory
equation-of-state. The calibration fluid has become the second 21/00043 Modified PC-SAFT characterization technique for
ISO 4113 fluid to be characterized in this fashion. modeling asphaltenic crude oil phase behavior
Masoudi, M. et al. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2020, 513, 112545.
The perturbed-chain version of Statistical Association Fluid Theory
21/00040 Hydrocarbon generation potential and thermal (PC-SAFT) emerged as a powerful tool to study the phase behaviour of
maturity of coal and coaly mudstones from the Eocene complex fluids such as polymers and asphaltene. In spite of this, it has
Urahoro Group in the Kushiro Coalfield, eastern Hokkaido, not gained widespread acceptance in the industry because of its
Japan sophisticated oil characterization procedure. In fact, the predictive
Takahashi, K. U. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, performance of the current characterization methods is limited and not
103322. all-inclusive as they use a large number of fitting parameters and/or a
This study reveals the hydrocarbon generation potential and thermal non-integrated procedure. In this study, a convenient and easy-to-use
maturity of coal and coaly mudstones from the Eocene Urahoro Group procedure for crude oil characterization is proposed, assuming
in the Kushiro coal basin (Kushiro Basin) of eastern Hokkaido, Japan. asphaltene as a combination of poly-nuclear aromatics, benzene
The coal is classified as subbituminous or high volatile C bituminous, derivatives, and saturates. To achieve the best match between
and characterized by high hydrogen content (6.1  0.4 wt%, 1, dry ash measured and model predictions, a simple and robust Trust-Region
free basis). The hydrogen index (HI = 180–409 mg hydrocarbon/g total based optimization method is used. A set of weighting factors is also
organic carbon) and random mean vitrinite reflectance (VRr = 0.42– used based on uncertainties in experimental data. Additionally, it is
0.56%) indicate that the coal and coaly mudstones in the Urahoro showed that the poor agreement between the measured amounts of
Group are gas- and oil-prone or oil-prone. Based on the HI and VRr precipitated asphaltene (from filtration test) and thermodynamic
values, the effective oil window starts at vitrinite reflectance ranges of model predictions – tuned toward experimental asphaltene onset
0.55 to 0.80%. The vitrinite reflectance of coal samples from the pressure data – is because of the inherent difference between the
Kushiro coal mine is inversely proportional to the HI value, although accuracy of the experimental methods. The performance of the
each coal seam has the identical thermal history. This result suggests proposed method is evaluated against reliable literature data of three

8 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (sources, properties, recovery)

frequently used crude oils which have been previously characterized after asphaltene has been extracted) fractions. The resulting adsorbates
over wide range of temperature, pressure, and compositions, and a are interpreted on the basis of coverage, size, shape, and distribution.
reservoir fluid sample taken from a southwestern Iranian reservoir. Adsorbates from crude oil are equally spaced hemispheroidal droplets
The results are encouraging if compared to the available characteriz- occurring predominantly at [ 441] and [48 1] surface steps with a
ation procedures in the literature. separation of about 550 nm between centres of adjacent adsorbates.
Adsorbates from asphaltenes are irregularly spaced droplets or
continuously cover the steps along the edges of dissolution pits. The
21/00044 Numerical and experimental study of oil transfer
average and standard deviation of diameter and height of 10–16
in laminated shale
representative adsorbates from the selected images highlight the
Zhu, C. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103365.
contrast among samples. Crude oil adsorbates average about
Lamination is ubiquitous in shale oil reservoirs and significantly
240  120 nm in diameter and 60  30 nm in height. Diameters of
influences the oil transfer process. Understanding oil transfer in
isolated adsorbates and lateral dimension of elongated adsorbates of
laminated shale is important for shale oil reservoir development.
asphaltene average 100  20 nm and 150  40 nm, respectively, and
Therefore, a mathematic model is developed to describe the processes
about 30  10 nm in height overall. Isolated non-periodic smaller
involved in vacuum-imbibition tests. In constructing the mathematic
adsorbates (average diameter 20  5 nm and height 7  3 nm) occur
model, viscous flow in inorganic pore, oil adsorption, and absorption in
from the maltene fraction and are mostly restricted to steps
organic matter, and oil diffusion through organic matter surface and
surrounding dissolution pits. Adsorbates from maltenes are most likely
interior are considered. In addition, a crucial link between the model
produced by resins that remain in this fraction after extracting the
and physical characteristics of shale (specific surface area, clay content,
asphaltenes. Adsorption from crude oil involves the greatest surface
and total organic carbon content) is established. The results reveal that
area compared to asphaltenes and maltenes. Based on the sizes and
the saturation capacities of free oil, adsorbed oil, and absorbed oil in
heights of adsorbates reported here, it is inferred that, unlike resins,
shale depend on the porosity, specific surface area and volume of
asphaltenes in crude oils act as anchors for increased oil adsorption
organic matter, respectively. The oil contents in the adsorption and
and help enhance the change of an original water-wet surface to an oil-
absorption phase range from 2.2% to 8.3% and 41.8% to 51.4% of the
wet one. Differences in average height and architecture between
total oil content for the three samples in this study, respectively. When
adsorbates from oil and asphaltenes (i.e. isolated vs continuous) may in
the equilibrium time is used to determine the oil transfer in shale, a
part be associated to increased aggregation in toluene, which will
larger specific surface area, a smaller thickness of lamination, and
intensify colloidal interactions before adsorption. It is argued that
smaller volume fractions of organic–clay matrix to total volume of the
asphaltenes in crude oil help stabilize larger, almost periodically spaced
samples hasten oil transfer. Also, an ideal vacuum-imbibition process
adsorbates all throughout the calcite surface and not only along the
of oil in laminated shale is discussed. The results reveal that oil
deeper steps that border large dissolution pits. The computational
diffusion through the surface of organic matter accelerates the oil
model of a chosen specific asphaltene molecule attached to a calcite
transfer in laminated shale. However, the effect of the effectivity
surface shows strong interactions between hydroxyl groups and Ca2+
diffusion coefficient of oil in the adsorption phase (Ds) on the oil
cations on the calcite surface in addition to weaker interactions of the
transfer is smaller than that of the effectivity diffusion coefficient of oil
negatively charged  orbitals of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
in the absorption phase (Dd).
centre and the surface cations, which is in agreement with the notion of
establishing asphaltene anchors on calcite. Along with basic chemical
21/00045 Salinity, pH, and temperature controls on information, systematic AFM imaging of a variety of crudes may
fracture mechanical properties of three shales and become part of a practical strategy to evaluate surface-active
their implications for fracture growth in chemically compounds in oil and to predict their likely molecular structure and
reactive fluid environments participating functional groups.
Chen, X. et al. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 2020, 21,
100140.
Using the double torsion method, the authors investigated the fracture
mechanical properties of clay-rich Woodford and Mancos Shales, and
carbonate-rich Marcellus Shale under conditions of varying fluid
21/00047 Water and nutrient retention in coarse-textured
salinity, pH, and temperature. Both fracture toughness and subcritical
soil profiles from the Athabasca oil sand region
fracture growth properties for clay-rich Woodford and Mancos Shales
Rees, F. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104526.
are sensitive to fluid salinity but not sensitive to pH. With increasing
Post-mining land reclamation of Athabasca oil sands in Canada
salinity, mean fracture toughness increased up to 34% and 39% for
involves the reconstruction of soil profiles able to support a mosaic
Woodford and Mancos Shale, respectively, and mean subcritical
of boreal forest communities. However, the use of coarse-textured
fracture growth index increased up to 99% for Woodford Shale. In
reclamation materials to recreate forest ecosystems represents a
contrast, fracture toughness for carbonate-rich Marcellus Shale is
challenge in terms of soil water and nutrient availability. This work
unaffected by fluid chemistry, but subcritical fracture growth index
aimed to quantify nutrient leaching in reclaimed coarse-textured soils
increases with increasing pH. Subcritical fracture growth index is
constructed with two cover soils (peat mineral mix and forest floor
reduced by 51% with a decrease in pH from 7 to 1.2. Clay–water
mineral mix) underlain by mineral materials, including a blended B/C
interaction is identified as the mechanism for enhanced subcritical
subsoil reclamation material, lean oil sand overburden substrate, and
fracture growth in clay-rich Woodford and Mancos Shales while
tailing sand. Water retention and conductivity curves were estimated
enhanced calcite dissolution is accountable for the positive correlation
for each material, and their retention capacity for inorganic N and P
between pH and subcritical fracture growth index in carbonate-rich
was measured in sorption isotherm experiments. The redistribution of
Marcellus Shale. Increasing solution temperature from 23 to 63  C
water, inorganic N and P 5 days after an intense rain event was
shifts the K–V curves toward lower stress intensity and amplifies the
evaluated in six different reclaimed soil profiles using a laboratory-
salinity dependence in the shift of the K–V curves for Woodford Shale.
controlled leaching experiment in 1.2-m deep columns. The redistribu-
The increase in subcritical fracture growth rate at elevated temperature
tion of fertilizer nutrients was also measured following the addition of
observed in both clay-rich and carbonate-rich shales is interpreted to 15
N-labelled ammonium and phosphate over the top 10 cm of the
reflect faster diffusion rates of fluid from the propagating fracture into
columns. In addition, a 25-day incubation experiment with the two
the matrix at elevated temperature. The results emphasize the
cover soils enabled us to estimate the timing of N immobilization and
dependence of critical and subcritical fracture behaviour on fluid
nitrification processes. The results show that, depending on the
chemical environment with implications for hydraulic fracture growth
combination of materials used for land reclamation, the soil profiles
in shale reservoirs, and for caprock integrity of wastewater and CO2
may provide equal or higher amounts of inorganic N and P in the
storage reservoirs. In these applications, fluid chemistry can both
rooting zone compared to natural, coarse-textured soils of the region.
strengthen and weaken caprocks depending on caprock lithology and
Following the simulated intense rainfall, the peat–mineral mix was able
induced changes in formation water chemistry.
to retain 44% of its initial inorganic N within the top 20 cm of the
reclaimed soil profiles, while 84% of the inorganic N present in the
21/00046 Surface interaction of crude oil, maltenes, and forest floor mineral mix was leached down. Compared to the movement
asphaltenes with calcite: an atomic force microscopy of water, the leaching of N down the soil profiles was slower and partly
perspective of incipient wettability change restricted by the presence of lean oil sand, and to a lesser degree tailing
Marcano, M. C. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 113, 104501. sand. Most of the introduced fertilizer-N remained in the first 20 cm of
Close examination of surface interactions between calcite and crude oil the soil profiles under the form of nitrate, although the incubation
is relevant to better understand the mechanisms that lead to wettability experiment suggested that nitrification only occurred after the
changes in petroleum reservoirs. Mineral surface wettability is a simulated rainfall event. Based on the experimental data and on
determinant factor in petroleum production and recovery, and the additional simulations of water and nutrient transport, it was
surface-active compounds in crude oil, typically concentrated in its concluded that nutrient leaching in reclaimed soils can be significant
asphaltene fraction, are mainly responsible for these wettability if specific materials such as forest floor mineral material and coarse-
changes. Here, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to examine textured subsoil are combined and when an intense rainfall occurs at
the incipient interactions between calcite {1014} surfaces and the a period coinciding with a high concentration of nitrate-N in the
Kuwait UG8 crude oil, and its asphaltene and maltene (i.e. crude oil topsoil.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 9

02 Liquid fuels (transport, refining, quality, storage)

21/00048 What are in pyrolysis S1 peak and what are 21/00051 Blueprint: a methodology facilitating data
missed? Petroleum compositional characteristics revealed exchanges to enhance the detection of industrial symbiosis
from programed pyrolysis and implications for shale oil opportunities – application to a refinery
mobility and resource potential Cervo, H. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115254.
Li, M. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103321. The EU has put the concept of circularity at the centre of its strategy
This article presents a novel numerical decomposition method based for aiming towards a low-carbon economy. Measures have been taken
on generation kinetics for studying oil composition characteristics from in order to promote industrial symbiosis (IS). However, one of the
S1 peak of single heating rate pyrolysis of source rock samples. main barriers to the dissemination of IS remains the exchange of
Furthermore, phase behaviour and pressure–volume–temperature (sometimes confidential) data between industries. This paper presents
analysis were introduced in the calculation to make a full correction the concept of industrial sector blueprints as a solution in order to
for evaporative loss of gaseous and light hydrocarbon in S1 during overcome the challenge of sharing information. A blueprint is
coring and sample storage. Special programmed pyrolysis results of 28 constituted of a series of profiles providing insights into the key inputs
core samples, along with a routine source rock screening pyrolysis and outputs of a given industry in terms of thermal and electrical
dataset of 68 samples, from a recent shale oil study well of the Eocene energy, materials and services. A methodology, detailing a step-by-step
Qianjiang Formation in Jianghan Basin, China were analysed to approach for building the profiles and the type of data required, is
demonstrate the application of proposed methods. It is shown that presented. To demonstrate the feasibility of the methods, it is applied
(a) by reassembling corresponding activation energies, the original S1 to a typical refinery followed by an example, showing how it can be
curve can be split into groups of similar thermal evaporative property, used in an IS context.
resulting in a composition classification of free hydrocarbons in S1
when it was converted back to temperature domain; (b) a full
correction on the gaseous and light hydrocarbon loss in S1 permits a
more precise estimation of oil composition as well as total resource; 21/00052 Effects of capillary pressures on two-phase flow
(c) the resulting oil composition grouping provides information for of immiscible carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery in
inferring the fraction of extractable hydrocarbon; (d) oil composition fractured media
varies considerably among the samples within a stratigraphic interval of Wang, H. D. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116445.
20 m. Samples from intra salt organic-rich lamina show different Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) in a geological
compositional characteristics with much less abundance in gaseous and formation not only increases oil production but also ensures geological
volatile oil compounds; while samples from inter salt interval contain sequestration of CO2. The capillary pressure is an essential factor
large portion of volatile and light oil, indicating a promising production during the process of immiscible CO2-EOR in fractured media. Two
zone. classical capillary pressure models are adopted to investigate the
effects systematically based on a unified pipe-network method. The
identical capillary pressures in fractures and the rock matrixes have
little effect on the fluid flow and saturation distribution of CO2. This
implies that the capillary pressure can be neglected in this condition.
Transport, refining, quality, storage The effect cannot be ignored when different capillary pressures are
assigned for fractures and rock matrixes. The saturation of CO2
reaches its highest value at the fracture outlet tip if the capillary
pressure in a fracture is smaller than that in the rock matrix. The
21/00049 A comparative reliability study of corroded phenomenon of saturation concentration of CO2 at the fracture tip is
pipelines based on Monte Carlo simulation and Latin caused by the capillary pressure difference. For non-connected
hypercube sampling methods fractures, the saturation concentration causes CO2 to enter the
Abyani, M. and Bahaari, M. R. International Journal of Pressure Vessels adjacent fractures more easily. Thus, the capillary pressure difference
and Piping, 2020, 181, 104079. enlarges the effect of fractures on the CO2 flow, and shorten the
Internal corrosion is categorized as one of the most destructive breakthrough time of CO2. Hence, both the storage amount of CO2
phenomena for pipeline services. This study compares the reliability and the production of oil in geological media are reduced.
analysis of pipelines against internal corrosion based on the Monte
Carlo simulation and the Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) methods.
Three different failure mechanisms (pitting perforation, local burst and
rupture) have been considered for single corrosion defect and only 21/00053 Enhancement of anaerobic degradation of
local burst has been investigated for multiple corrosion defects. petroleum hydrocarbons by electron intermediate:
Furthermore, the effects of correlation between the defect depth and performance and mechanism
defect length for single defects as well as the correlation between the Liu, X. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122305.
neighbouring segments for multiple defects on the failure probability of A quinone-respiring strain capable of degrading multitudinous
the pipelines, have been comprehensively studied. The results show petroleum hydrocarbons was isolated by selective medium and
that LHS method could lead to quite acceptable accuracy with identified as Bacillus sp. (named as C8). A maximum of 76.7% of the
considerably less computational effort. Regarding multiple corrosion total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were degraded by the biosurfac-
defects, the correlation between the defect depth or defect length of tant-mediated C8 with the aid of nitrate and electron intermediate
the neighbouring segments can change the system failure probability (anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate, AQDS). The quantitative real-time
without any monotonic trend. polymerase chain reaction results of several intracellular key functional
genes suggested that AQDS could participate in the transformation of
intermediates and accelerate the electron transfer in the degradation of
21/00050 An optical mechanism for detecting the whole TPH and nitrate, thereby eliminating the accumulation of nitrite and
pyrolysis process of oil shale increasing the degradation efficiency of TPH. A strengthening mech-
Zhan, H. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116343. anism, which promoted electron transport in the anaerobic denitrifica-
Pyrolysis is one of the most widely applied method for oil shale. tion degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons by quinone-respiring
Although an accurate exploration of the pyrolysis mechanism of oil strain with the aid of electron intermediate, was proposed. The
shale is of utmost importance to optimize the pyrolysis parameters and influencing factors were evaluated by using response surface method-
decrease energy cost, the typically used pyrolysis techniques fail to ology, and the TPH removal was positively related to temperature but
provide comprehensive information of entire pyrolysis process. negatively to pH.
Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS), a new optical
method with different sensitivities to oil, water, gas, and minerals,
was used to characterize the physical properties of oil shale’s pyrolysis
products The confirmed collected tendency combined with the obvious 21/00054 Heavy oil cracking in the presence of steam and
turning points indicated the four stages during the pyrolysis of oil nanodispersed catalysts based on different metals
shale, which solves the acknowledgeable difficulty in identifying the Yeletsky, P. M. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106239.
organic decomposition and the mineral reaction. Water and kerogen, Catalytic steam cracking (CSC) of Tatar heavy oil has been studied
which highly absorbed THz waves, were volatized and then decom- using nanodispersed catalysts forming in situ based on K, Fe, Ni, Mo as
posed due to the continuous increasing of THz transmittance with THz well as several Mo-based catalysts promoted by Ni-, Co- and Al-based
signal varying by 27.9% and 18.6% from room temperature (22  C) to additives. The upgrading was carried out at 425  C, catalyst content of
500  C. In particular, the THz signal then decreased by 153%, 2 wt%, water-to-heavy-oil weight ratio of 0.3 : 1, and 1 h of residence
indicating that the more sensitive calcium oxide crystals in THz range time using a batch reactor. The highest upgrading efficacy was found in
were obtained due to the decomposition of calcite. The THz results the case of non-promoted Mo-based catalyst: at a low coke yield the
were validated by the combination of the material analysis techniques, upgraded oil had the lowest S content as well as the highest H : C ratio.
including thermogravimetric analysis, mass spectrometry, scanning The participation of water in the case of Mo- and Ni-dispersed catalysts
electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectrometry. The results was confirmed by comparison with the water-free cracking experiments
proved the ability of this spectroscopic technique to be applied in the at the same conditions. XRD and TEM characterization have shown
key detection of oil shale in the petroleum industry. that the active components were in a form of oxides and/or sulfides.

10 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (economics, business, marketing, policy)

21/00055 Investigating the branching redesign strategy for fraction. The calculated values obtained with the thermodynamic-
surge control in pressurized steel piping systems kinetic model showed good accuracy with respect to experimental data,
Chaker, M. A. and Triki, A. International Journal of Pressure Vessels particularly at high conversion, which is the most important issue in
and Piping, 2020, 180, 104044. commercial hydrocracking units.
Water hammer is a common phenomenon that hydraulic designers and
engineers have to face when dealing with pressurized hydraulic 21/00059 Rheology of waxy crude oils in relation to restart
systems. In fact, this phenomenon may have quite destructive of gelled pipelines
consequences, sometimes exposing the pipe system to detrimental Fakroun, A. and Benkreira, H. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020,
ultra-high or low, and even sub-atmospheric pressure. In this respect, 211, 115212.
several promising design alternatives, based on the use of plastic short- Waxy crude oils are pumped hot but upon power cut, pumping stops,
sections have been put forward to upgrade existing steel piping the oil cools below the wax appearance temperature to precipitation of
systems. Basically, this proposed technique used a ramified short- the wax and the formation of a gel throughout the pipe. In such a
penstock made up of a couple of plastic material types including high- situation, what is the minimum pressure required to restart flow, not to
and low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE). The simulations merely deform the gel or break it? This paper provides a solution to
were performed using the method of characteristics to discretize the this problem using microscopic observations under controlled cooling
one-dimensional unconventional water-hammer model. The proposed conditions and rheological data conducted in constant stress mode
technique could upgrade existing hydraulic utilities, while avoiding under controlled temperature and cooling conditions and restart
extensive system modifications and allowing more flexibility for system experiments in laboratory pipelines replicating the rheometric con-
control operations. ditions and deviations from them to inform large diameter operation in
the field. Three important findings derive from the experimental data
21/00056 Optimization of ultrasonic-assisted oxidative collected: (i) a fragmentation stress  f, rather than the static stress  s
desulfurization of gasoline and crude oil that precedes it, is found to be the more accurate predictor of flow re-
Zhou, C. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process start pressures. (ii) Waxy crude oils gels exhibit true yield stress and
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107789. yielding process but also show flow on application of the slightest stress
As environmental protection standards have improved, the reduction below yielding. (iii) This flow, in the elastic region, is jagged rather
of sulfur contained in crude oil and the realization of energy-efficient than continuous suggesting a consolidation process of the crystals and
gasoline desulfurization have become popular research topics. In this their agglomerates forming the gel. In the broader context of the
study, the optimal conditions for ultrasonic-assisted oxidative desulfur- existence of a yield stress, the data presented here show that there is
ization of gasoline and crude oil were investigated, the effects of such a thing as a yield stress and the concepts of a yield stress and that
ultrasonic and simple oxidative desulfurization were compared, and the everything flows are not mutually exclusive.
mechanism of the ultrasonic effect was verified. The desulfurization
effects were analysed according to the response surface methodology 21/00060 Scheduling of gasoline blending and distribution
under different ultrasonic power levels, irradiation times, and oxidant using graphical genetic algorithm
amounts. The maximal desulfurization rate of gasoline was achieved Bayu, F. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133, 106636.
with an ultrasonic power of 400 W, irradiation time of 7 min, and Scheduling of gasoline blending, and distribution (SGBD) involves
oxidant amount of 8 mL. Meanwhile, the optimal desulfurization effect allocating resources and sequencing the operations to give gasoline a
for crude oil was achieved with an ultrasonic power of 700 W, high economic potential without compromising its quality and the
irradiation time of 10 min, and oxidant amount of 10 mL. The results customers’ demand. The existence of non-linearity and the need for
of the comparison experiments showed that ultrasonic treatment multi-objective optimization makes SGBD complex. In this study, a
enhanced processing and that ultrasonic-assisted oxidative desulfuriza- graphical genetic algorithm (GGA) model involving a discrete-time
tion was more effective for crude oil than for gasoline. The results of representation is developed for both single- and multi-objective SGBD.
this study provide valuable reference information for the application of In the single-objective formulation, the production cost is minimized,
ultrasonic treatment in oil desulfurization. whereas in the multi-objective formulation, the sum of the square of
fluctuation in inter-period blending rate is additionally minimized. The
21/00057 Rapid and accurate evaluation of reserves in efficacy of the proposed model is checked by solving three industrial
different types of shale-gas wells: production-decline problems which involve the production of 20, 35 and 45 orders of
analysis different gasoline grades, respectively over the time-horizon of 8 days.
Wang, K. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 218, The proposed model gives lower production cost compared to MINLP
103359. formulation and the reduction found to be increasing with the increase
The prediction of production levels and estimated ultimate recovery in problem size.
(EUR) with high accuracy is necessary for shale-gas development.
Empirical decline methods are widely applied in the oil and gas 21/00061 Transition simulation of two-phase intermittent
industry owing to their simplicity and effectiveness; however, none of slug flow characteristics in oil and gas pipelines
them can accurately predict the results for typical wells with fluctuating Li, Y. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer,
production or in transient flow (TF). To address the urgent issue, four 2020, 113, 104534.
empirical methods, namely the Arps’ decline method, stretch expo- This is a numerical study of transition simulation of two-phase
nential production-decline (SEPD) method, and two different patterns intermittent slug flow characteristics in oil and gas pipelines using
of rate decline for fracture-dominated reservoirs (the traditional computational fluid dynamics analysis. The two-fluid free pressure
Duong’s method and Wk’s method), are compared in terms of their model is employed to solve problem. Moreover, Riemann algorithm
principles and characteristics. The results show that the traditional has been used to discretize the governing equations. The time history
Duong’s method is the most reliable; therefore, improvements are of slug flow initiation, intermittent slug flow repetition and slug flow
proposed (the improved Duong’s method) to overcome the influence of development have been investigated in this study. The obtained results
production fluctuations and multiple solutions when considering wells revealed that as time goes by the slug regime begins and grows and as
that have achieved boundary-dominated flow. For reasonable pro- the slug flow regime grows, it moves forward. Furthermore, it is
duction and EUR forecasting in wells with a rapid and unstable decline concluded that when the first slug flow regime begins to grow and
in TF production, a hybrid method is proposed using a combination of develop the second slug flow regime has been formed. Ultimately, it is
Yu’s modified method based on SEPD and the improved Duong’s found that as the first slug grows, the second slug is on the verge of
method. The accuracy and universality of the improved Duong’s growth.
method and the rationality and effectiveness of the hybrid method are
evaluated through field examples in the Weiyuan Block of the Sichuan
Basin.
Economics, business, marketing, policy
21/00058 Regular solution model to predict the asphaltenes
flocculation and sediments formation during hydrocracking
of heavy oil
Félix, G. and Ancheyta, J. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116160. 21/00062 Degradation and pollution of lands under the
Experiments of hydrocracking of heavy crude oil were carried out in a influence of oil resources exploitation
1.8 L batch reactor with a mineral dispersed catalyst. The sediment Buzmakov, S. A. and Khotyanovskaya, Y. V. Applied Geochemistry,
content was analysed at different reaction times (2–5 h) and tempera- 2020, 113, 104443.
tures (360–400  C). A regular solution model and a kinetic model were This research considers the degradation and pollution of soils as a
applied to predict the flocculation of asphaltenes to form sediments. It result of oil extraction activities. The object of the research includes the
was observed that as the temperature increases the solubility parameter territories of the exploited oil fields located in the Sarmatic mixed
of the SARA fractions decreased. Enhanced sediments formation was forests in Perm region. A total survey of the Gozhanskoye field was
found when the saturates/asphaltenes ratio increased indicating that carried out, which revealed that the most dangerous processes of
the insolubility of asphaltenes in the crude oil depends on saturates transformation and accumulation of pollutants are concentrated in the

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 11

02 Liquid fuels (economics, business, marketing, policy)

zone of influence of the primary oil treatment units. The other seven spilled oil considering the oil properties, the spilled volumes and boom
areas of the primary oil treatment units were also surveyed. In total, characteristics are proposed using a non-linear global stepwise
303 soil samples were taken as part of the study. The analysis regression method, namely evolutionary polynomial regression tech-
determined such characteristics of oil samples as acidity, the content nique with multi-objective genetic algorithm. In addition, protective
of humus, hydrocarbons, benzo[a]pyrene and chlorides. Measurements measures are proposed to reduce the loss of oil spill.
of oil content in the soil were carried out by the infrared-spectrometry
method. Benzo[a]pyrene was extracted from soil following the standard 21/00066 Global competition dynamics of fossil fuels and
procedure and analysed through gas chromatography testing. The renewable energy under climate policies and peak oil:
physicochemical analysis allowed to find out the concentrations of the a behavioural model
main pollutants, as well as to design maps of land degradation and Zeppini, P. and van den Bergh, J. C. J. M. Energy Policy, 2020, 136,
pollution. Another important finding is that the oil fields exploitation 110907.
has the most essential impact on primary degradation of floodplain and This study developed a stochastic decision model to analyse the global
upland soils as a result of salinization and benzo[a]pyrene pollution. competitive dynamics of fossil fuels and renewable energy. It describes
coal, oil/gas, solar and wind energy. These differ not only in pollution
21/00063 Developing an odour emission factor for an oil intensities but also in profitability and innovation potential. The model
refinery plant using reverse dispersion modeling accounts for the effect of learning curves, path-dependence and climate
Motalebi Damuchali, A. and Guo, H. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, policies. Adoption shares endogenously affect agents’ utility through
222, 117167. increasing returns to adoption, learning, and a ‘peak oil’ capacity
Odour emission factors (OEFs) for oil refineries are useful data for constraint. It was found that peak oil induces a transition to coal rather
estimating odour emission rates (OERs) of different odour emission than renewable energy, which has environmental impacts. By introdu-
sources at oil refineries and developing odour emission inventories cing climate policies – such as a carbon tax, market adoption or R&D
with lower cost and time than direct sampling and measurement subsidies for renewables, and eliminating existing subsidies for fossil
method. The conventional direct source measurement followed by fuels – potential transition patterns to a low-carbon energy system were
olfactometry sometimes faces challenges due to access issues and the identified. Model analysis clarifies two main features of climate
presence of fugitive emissions for which determining emission rates is policies: which ones solve the climate problem, i.e. do not surpass
difficult. To address these issues, applying reverse odour dispersion the critical carbon budget; and how uncertain or variable are final
modelling could be an appropriate alternative method in estimating market shares of energy sources.
OERs of oil refineries and developing OEFs; however, very limited
research has been conducted and the level of their accuracy and 21/00067 Measuring the Brazilian ethanol and gasoline
reliability has not been well investigated. This study obtained OEFs for market efficiency using DFA-Hurst and fractal dimension
different sources of a conventional oil refinery plant in Canada using David, S. A. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104614.
odour reverse dispersion modelling technique with AERMOD, a US Ethanol and petroleum represent important energy commodities.
EPA regulatory dispersion model. The results showed that the main Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers of ethanol and became
odour sources at the oil refinery are tall stacks with the share of 99% of one of the 10 largest global oil explorers in 2018. This paper proposes
odour emissions while passive and fugitive emissions contribute to 1% the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), Hurst exponent (H) and
of the odour emissions of the refinery. Results also demonstrated that fractal dimension (D) to investigate the dynamic behaviour of ethanol
the reverse odour dispersion modelling by AERMOD is an appropriate and gasoline prices in Brazil. Furthermore, a new market efficiency
method of estimating OERs as the results of this study are within the measure, namely the efficiency index (EI), is also proposed. Some on-
ranges reported by previous similar research. Using reverse modelling, going change toward a more efficient market in the follow-up of an
a total OER of 1,527,471 ou/s was found for the entire oil refinery institutional political change is analysed. The data series are obtained
leading to an OEF of 910,162 ou/barrel which can be used by from the National Agency of Petroleum and the Natural Gas and
conventional oil refineries to estimate their odour emission inventories Biofuels (ANP). Weekly spot prices are used for time windows covering
according to their capacity. two periods. The first period (P1) precedes the Brazilian presidential
impeachment occurred in 2016 and includes data from January 2011 to
21/00064 Downstream oil supply security in China: December 2015. The second (P2) addresses the period from July 2016 to
policy implications from quantifying the impact of oil July 2018, covering the post-impeachment scenario, with new govern-
import disruption ment policies in the energy sector. The results indicate a subtle path
Yuan, M. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111077. toward market efficiency for the ethanol and a clear moving toward
Unavoidable disruptions in the international oil supply create heavy better efficiency for the gasoline market after changes in the fuel policy
pressures on the downstream oil market for oil-importing countries, of Brazil. Moreover, the H and D indices prove to be useful tools for
especially China, whose high dependency on imported oil makes its tackling the price dynamics of the fuel market, and to build the new
downstream oil supply security an urgent issue. However, little measure EI.
attention has been paid to the supply security of the downstream oil
industry with respect to dealing with import disruptions. Here, an 21/00068 Offshore oil production planning optimization:
integrated quantitative assessment framework is established to identify an MINLP model considering well operation and flow
the impact of crude oil import disruptions on downstream oil supply assurance
security from the supply chain perspective. The dynamic scheduling Gao, X. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133, 106674.
process of the downstream oil supply chain under 72 import disruption With the increasing energy requirement and decreasing onshore
scenarios is simulated by coupling a mathematical programming model reserves, offshore oil production has attracted increasing attention. A
with Latin hypercube sampling. The improved grey incidence evalu- major challenge in offshore oil production is to minimize both the
ation method is applied for the comprehensive assessment of province- operational costs and risks; one of the major risks is anomalies in the
level and region-level oil product supply security based on the flows. However, optimization methods to simultaneously consider well
simulation results. The case of 31 provincial-level administrative operation and flow assurance in operation planning have not been
regions in China in 2017 and 2020 is analysed as an example to explored. In this paper, an integrated planning problem both
demonstrate the framework. Significant differences were found among considering well operation and flow assurance is reported. In
provinces. The southwest and eastern coastal areas of China are particular, a multi-period mixed integer non-linear programming
vulnerable to potential oil supply disruptions, while the northwest (MINLP) model was proposed to minimize the total operation cost,
China enjoys high supply security. Based on the results of this paper, taking into account of well production state, polymer flooding, energy
policy implications are provided for the Chinese government. The consumption, platform inventory and flow assurance. By solving this
design framework is not case-specific and can be applied for the integrated model, each well’s working state, flow rates and chemicals
quantitative assessment of other countries or regions. injection rates can be optimally determined. The proposed model was
applied to a case originated from a real-world offshore oil site and the
21/00065 Experimental study on containment of moderate- results illustrate the effectiveness.
viscous oil by floating boom subject to waves and currents
Shi, Y. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 94, 102003. 21/00069 Period specific volatility spillover based
It is necessary to comprehensively understand the hydro-dynamic connectedness between oil and other commodity
behaviour of spilled oil contained by the floating oil boom, especially prices and their portfolio implications
for emergency response after an oil spill accident. In the present study, Guhathakurta, K. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104566.
the profile evolution process and principal containment failure This paper analyses the changing impact of oil price shocks on a
mechanism of moderate-viscous oil in wave-current coupling condition bouquet of metal and agricultural prices and their implications for
are experimentally investigated by considering the effects of the oil investment decisions, during different oil price regimes, separated by
viscosity and the spilled volume as well as the boom characteristics of structural breaks. Endogenously identifying the structural breaks, the
material stiffness, skirt length and buoyancy-weight ratio. A series of authors use network analysis to decipher the nature and extent of such
empirical formulae in terms of slick length, peak thickness as well shock transfer across different sub-periods. The findings suggest
vortex scale near the boom, initial failure velocity and loss rate of optimal portfolios based on conditional variance estimates to hedge

12 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (derived liquid fuels)

oil shocks during each period. This study analyses the portfolio cointegration analysis, the paper adopted non-linear autoregressive
decisions during specific oil price regimes and the results are of interest distributed lag (NARDL) technique. The study reveals evidence of
to investors and policy makers. asymmetric effect of per capita consumption of both petroleum and
natural gas consumption on economic growth and carbon emission per
21/00070 Taxing crude oil: a financing alternative to capita in all the selected countries except Algeria. In Nigeria, although
mitigate climate change? positive change in the non-renewable energy consumption retards
Antón, A. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111031. growth, it reduces emission. In the case of Gabon, increase in the
To date, global cooperation has not provided enough funds to counter consumption of these energy products promotes growth and enhances
climate change, as evidenced by the Green Climate Fund experience. environmental quality. Consumption of these energy types has
Based on this fact, this document evaluates the revenue potential of an negligible impact on environmental pollution in Egypt as it enhances
international tax on crude oil to finance programmes to mitigate economic growth. While positive change in the non-renewable energy
climate change. For this purpose, a dynamic, general equilibrium consumption contributes to economic growth in Angola, the effect on
model for the world economy with two regions is proposed. One region carbon emission is mixed across time and energy type. In addition, the
is a net importer of oil, while the other is an exporter. In the model, oil influence of negative change in petroleum and natural gas consumption
exports are subject to a permanent per-barrel tax. Short- and long-run is similar to those observed for positive change in Egypt and Nigeria. It
revenue projections are offered under alternative assumptions. Some is therefore imperative for policymakers in oil producing economies (in
exercises suggest that the resources generated from a $5 per-barrel tax Africa) to explore avenues to invest in, and promote, carbon-reducing
on 25% of world oil exports would amount to $18.4 billion dollars in the technology in production processes in their quest for economic growth
initial year. To implement such policy at the international level, an ‘Oil if they must continue to increase the consumption of their abundant
and Climate Club’ is proposed, where revenues from oil taxation would resources-petroleum and natural gas.
be allocated to funding environmentally friendly programmes. The
paper includes a discussion on how to make the club’s rules consistent
with international trade laws.
Derived liquid fuels
21/00071 The impact of diesel price on upstream and
downstream food prices: evidence from São Paulo
Zingbagba, M. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104531.
The literature on the transmission of oil price shocks to prices along 21/00074 Hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol over Cu/AlCeO
the food supply chain has widely ignored how shocks upstream differ catalyst
from downstream ones. This article examines this issue by modelling Li, S. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 352–361.
upstream and downstream diesel price shocks along the nutritional The hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol is one of the most promising
high-value food supply chain in São Paulo, Brazil. Using a vector error ways to reduce the CO2 emission and mitigate the energy shortage, but
correction approach and monthly data from July 2001 to December it still confronts low CO2 conversion and methanol selectivity. In this
2013, the authors estimate short-run and long-run dynamics in work, the Cu/Al2O3, Cu/AlCeO and Cu/CeO2 catalysts with 60 wt% Cu
producer and retail prices of meat, eggs, dairy and fats & oil due to were prepared by co-precipitation method for the CO2 hydrogenation
changes in the average monthly price of diesel. The results of the to methanol, and the Cu particles were well dispersed on the supports.
Granger causality analysis show that the price of diesel cannot be used It was found that the composite of Al2O3 and CeO2 can inhibit the
to predict the behaviour of producer prices in all the markets under growth of Cu crystallite, and the Cu/AlCeO had the smaller Cu
study, and the price of diesel predicts retail price only in the egg particles, which was beneficial for catalytic activity improvement.
market. This result is in line with the nature of price controls in Brazil. Besides, CeO2 introduced in the catalysts increased the surface basicity
As of January 2002, the prices charged by distributors and retailers and the atom ratio of Cu+ species, which promoted the methanol
have been liberalized, although wholesale prices of the derivatives, selectivity. Kinetic experiments indicated that the Cu/AlCeO catalyst
including that of diesel, continue to be set by the state oil company with had the lowest apparent activation barriers for CO 2 activation and
the objective of controlling inflationary pressures. The results of the methanol synthesis. In the process of reaction, CeO2 in the catalysts
response of food prices to diesel price shocks show a positive response can inhibit the agglomerate of Cu, which improved the stability of
of both upstream and downstream prices of egg and dairy products catalysts. Hence, the Cu/AlCeO catalyst showed the highest space time
both upstream and downstream, while the opposite direction occurs in yield (STYmethanol) for CO2 hydrogenation into methanol. And the
the fat and meat markets albeit the initial positive shock of the STYmethanol was 11.9 mmol h1 g1 at 533 K, V(H2)/V(CO2) = 3/1, gas
producer price of meat. The findings of the study show the important hourly space velocity = 14,400 mL h1 g1 and P = 3 MPa.
role of public policy in determining the nature of price transmission
along the food supply chain. 21/00075 Improving NGL recovery process with
dividing-wall column for offshore applications
21/00072 The impact of oil price shocks on stock Uwitonze, H. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
exchanges in Caspian Basin countries Intensification, 2020, 147, 107747.
Kóse, N. and Ünal, E. Energy, 2020, 190, 116383. Fractionation process within natural gas processing facility is an essen-
In this work the impact of oil price shocks on the stock exchanges of tial step that allows to obtain liquid light hydrocarbons that are often
three countries in the Caspian Basin – Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia – used as feedstocks in petrochemical industries. In this article, a process
was examined through a structural vector autoregression model. For scenario that includes a heat integrated distillation column is proposed
the research, monthly data from the stock exchanges, the oil price, for natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery and assessed through multiscale
inflation, industrial production and exchange rates were collected simulations. Aspen HYSYS software was used to develop steady-state
between March 2005 and June 2018. According to the results of process models whose results were used to estimate capital and utility
variance decomposition, in these three countries, the impact of nega- costs. It was noticed that the proposed process has the highest capital
tive oil price shocks on the stock exchanges was stronger than that of cost and lower operating cost which reduces remarkably the total
positive shocks, and constituted the largest source of changes in the annual cost, this process can also achieve 60% ethane and 97%
three stock exchanges. In addition, according to the results of impulse propane recoveries with no additional of external refrigeration. Heat
response functions, the response of the stock exchanges in the three integration, low TAC, separation efficiencies for ethane and propane
countries to negative oil shocks was highly significant. Consequently, components, self-refrigeration and more importantly a possibility of
these countries should avoid macroeconomic imbalances and falls in operating the process in ethane recovery and ethane rejection modes
their stock exchanges due to the negative impact of the oil price, and are the main highlights of the proposed NGL recovery process.
should instead focus on industrial production that will contribute to
exports. In this way, they can avoid the negative impact of oil price 21/00076 Low-temperature direct conversion of methane to
shocks on their stock exchanges. methanol over carbon materials supported Pd-Au
nanoparticles
21/00073 The role of non-renewable energy consumption in He, Y. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 48–53.
economic growth and carbon emission: evidence from oil Direct conversion of methane to methanol under mild conditions
producing economies in Africa remains a great challenge. Here, the authors report a class of carbon
Awodumi, O. B. and Adewuyi, A. O. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, material catalysts for this direct synthesis. The carbon materials such as
27, 100434. carbon nanotubes (CNTs), activated carbon (AC) and reduced
Non-renewable energy consumption facilitates the production of graphene oxide (rGO) are employed as catalyst support, and the
output but it is also a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, palladium–gold (Pd–Au) nanoparticles are used as active centre. By
leading to a dilemma in policy priority between economic growth and using oxygen/hydrogen as oxidant in the direct synthesis, the catalyst of
pollution reduction. The study therefore investigates the role of non- Pd–Au/CNTs shows outstanding methanol productivity and selectivity.
renewable energy in economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions Compared with the Pd–Au/CNTs, the Pd–Au/CNTs-n with a treatment
among the top oil producing economies in Africa during 1980–2015. of nitric acid for the support enhances the methanol selectivity, but
After accounting for non-linearity and structural break in unit root and decreases the methanol productivity. In addition, the characterization

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 13

03 Gaseous fuels (sources, properties, recovery, treatment)

results reveal that a weak interaction between Pd-Au nanoparticles and

CNTs support is in favour of methanol productivity and selectivity. In 03 GASEOUS FUELS
contrast, a strong interaction between Pd–Au and AC or rGO catalysts
inhibits the reaction activity. This work offers a simple and effective
strategy to directly synthesize methanol from methane under the mild
conditions.
Sources, properties, recovery, treatment
21/00077 Process simulation of the syngas-to-aromatics
processes: technical economics aspects
Song, W. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 212, 115328.
Direct conversion of syngas-to-aromatics (STA) is an increasing vital 21/00080 Enhanced cryogenic packed bed with optimal
catalytic field that still contains much uncertainty. For the first time, CO2 removal from natural gas; a joint computational and
the process simulation of STA via direct routes and indirect STA experimental approach
(syngas first to produce methanol, then methanol being converted into Babar, M. et al. Cryogenics, 2020, 105, 103010.
aromatics) is reported. The conversion of CO was selected as the Cryogenic separation technologies for CO2 capture have been proven
sensitivity indicator for the evaluation of energy consumption and promising due to a reduced environmental impact, and their
economic aspects. A low conversion of CO resulted in a low yield (and capabilities to handle high CO2 content natural gas. Design and
low partial pressure) of aromatics and an increasing difficulty in operation of a cryogenic CO2 capture process require appropriate
separating them from unreacted syngas and light hydrocarbons. The phase behaviour study of the natural gas components and optimization
associated increased investment and operational costs were analysed due to high cooling duty. In this work, Aspen HYSYS simulator along
quantitatively. Direct STA shows obvious advantages in operational with Peng–Robinson property package was used for the thermodyn-
cost savings and in construction costs when the conversion of CO was amic phase study of the natural gas. A dedicated experimental setup
higher than 66–72% when compared with the indirect STA route. The comprises of a cryogenic packed bed along with an efficient control
simulation results provide new insights into the upper limits of the system was designed and fabricated for the separation study. High CO2
process of developing catalysts. content natural gas with 75 and 90 mol% CO2 was used as a feed gas.
The research work shows three optimum conditions for the mixture
having 75% CO2, i.e. at 4, 10 and 14 bar pressure and at 139.8, 132.6
21/00078 Relation between the nature of the surface facets and 121.3  C temperature, respectively. For the feed with 90% CO2,
and the reactivity of Cu2O nanostructures anchored on the obtained optimized pressure and temperature were 5, 8, and 9 bar,
TiO2NT@PDA electrodes in the photoelectrocatalytic at 121.4, 110.5 and 105.8  C, respectively. Both of the predicted
conversion of CO2 to methanol showed an excellent agreement with the experimental thermodynamic
Torquato, L. D. M. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, data. This research work is promising to overcome the energy crisis by
118221. utilizing the contaminated natural gas reservoirs and can reduce carbon
This paper investigates the influence of morphology of Cu2O footprint by capturing CO2 at the source.
nanoparticles (cubes, NcCu2O; spheres, NsCu2O; octahedrons, No-
Cu2O), deposited on TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2NT) coated with PDA, in
the photoelectrocatalytic conversion of CO2 to methanol. At low bias 21/00081 Identification of gas inflow zones in the COSC-1
(+0.2 V) a production of 10.0, 6.0 and 5.4 mg L1 of methanol was borehole (Jämtland, central Sweden) by drilling mud gas
obtained for TiO2NT@PDA-NsCu2O, TiO2NT@PDA-NoCu2O, and monitoring, downhole geophysical logging and drill core
TiO2NT@PDA-NcCu2O electrodes, with faradaic efficiencies of 27, 39, analysis
and 66%, respectively. The conversion to methanol was 357% higher Wiersberg, T. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104513.
with NcCu2O, compared to the TiO2NT@PDA electrode. The results On-line monitoring of drilling mud gas was for the first time applied
indicated that both the optical properties and the photocatalytic during continuous wireline coring of the COSC-1 borehole (Jämtland,
performance of nanostructures were facet-dependent. The superior central Sweden) to analyse formation gases and to identify inflow gas
catalytic activity of NcCu2O was attributed to the higher concentration zones. Nearly complete gas records were obtained with 3 m depth
of oxygen vacancies on {100} facets, which promotes the activation of resolution from 662 m (installation of the separator for gas extraction)
CO2 with an energy of 1.2 kcal mol1. With a lower concentration of to 1709 m and 6 m resolution from 1709 to 2490 m depth (COSC-1 final
oxygen vacancies, CO2 molecule is only physisorbed on {111} facets depth: 2496 m) for H2, CH4, CO2 and He. Between 662 and 1400 m,
with an energy of 8.8 kcal mol1. both He and CH4 form broad peaks superimposed by several spike-like
features. Zones with gas spikes coincide with high resistivity intervals
from dual laterolog (DLL) geophysical borehole logging and show
21/00079 The role of Al doping in Pd/ZnO catalyst for CO2 fractures in borehole televiewer images, drill core scans, and visual
hydrogenation to methanol core inspection. Therefore, the authors assume gas inflow through
Song, J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118367. open fractures where DLLd/DLLs ratios >1.5 imply the presence of
Conversion of CO2 into methanol is a promising strategy to solve the free gas. The correlation between helium and DLLd/DLLs ratios no
urgent energy and environment problems, but the efficiency of this longer appears at depths greater than 1550 m, probably because the
reaction is still limited due to the difficulty in CO2 activation. Here, the formation gases are dissolved in formation fluids at higher pressure.
authors report a strategic Al doping in Pd/ZnO catalysts for enhancing Below 1550 m depth, the He concentration drops significantly, whereas
methanol synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation. When the loading amount the CH4 concentration remains relatively high and H2 and CO2 reach
of Al is <3.93 wt%, CO2 conversion and CH3OH yield increase as Al maximum values. The high amount of H2 and CH4 at depths below
content increases. The best catalytic performance is observed over Pd/ 1616 m, from where friction between the casing and the drill string was
ZnO catalysts with 3.93 wt% Al, where the CO2 conversion and reported, imply that these gases are most certainly artificially generated
CH3OH yield are increased to 2.5 times and 1.7 times that of Pd/ZnO, at depths below 1616 m and at least partly of artificial origin at
respectively. Combined with a variety of experimental characterizations shallower depths.
and density functional theory calculations, the enhanced performance
is attributed to the Al doping in ZnO which can facilitate the
adsorption and activation of CO2, and thus improving the catalytic 21/00082 Influence of lamprophyre sills on coal
performance of Pd/ZnO catalysts. Further increasing the loading metamorphism, coalbed gas composition and coalbed gas
amount of Al to >3.93 wt.%, the CO2 conversion and CH3OH yield occurrence in the Tongxin Minefield, Datong Coalfield,
decrease, which can be attributed to the formation of ZnAl2O4 spinel China
and amorphous Al2O3 on the surface of ZnO. Chen, Y. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217,
103286.
Magmatic intrusions in coal-bearing strata can significantly change the
physical and chemical properties of the intruded coal. Lamprophyre
intrusions are extensive in coal seams 3–5 and 8 of the Carboniferous–
Permian coal-bearing strata in the southeastern and southwestern
regions of the Tongxin Minefield, Datong Coalfield, China. They
appear primarily as sills of varying magnitudes, with thicknesses
ranging from 0.15 to 23.51 m. In this area, coals can be classified as
unaffected (normal geothermal gradient) and intrusion-affected.
Unaffected coals are of high-volatile bituminous rank, with values of
maximum vitrinite reflectance ranging from 0.7% to 0.9%, whereas
intrusion-affected coals have values of maximum vitrinite reflectance
ranging from 0.9% to 7.2%. A marked decrease in the degree of
coalification can be observed with increasing distance from the
lamprophyre intrusions. Near the intrusion-coal contacts, high-volatile
bituminous coals have been thermally altered to form natural coke. The
carbonate contents in intrusion-affected coals (0.2–46.1%) are signifi-

14 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (sources, properties, recovery, treatment)

cantly higher than those of the unaffected coal (0–2.0%). The coalbed (MICP) analyses were comparatively conducted in both areas in order
gases of coal seams 3–5 and 8 are highly variable in both their to examine shale gas reservoir pore size variations and thus the possible
molecular compositions and overall gas contents. Their CO2 volumes microscopic pore structure controls on shale gas enrichment. The
vary from 0.01 to 6.55 m3/t (daf); higher CO2 values are found in the Lower Cambrian shales in both Deformed Zone (DZ) and Non-
coals affected by intrusions, and roughly decrease with increasing deformed Zone (NDZ) were deposited in the deep-water shelf and
distance from the lamprophyre igneous intrusions toward the central show similar organic matter richness and thermal maturity. The
region of the minefield. These variations in gas compositions are majority of organic matter (OM)-hosted pores in DZ samples are in
mainly related to magmatic activity. The coalbed gas contents in coal nanoscale size range with the dominance of micro-fractures within the
seams 3–5 and 8 range from 1.48 to 16.43 m3/t (on a dry, ash-free basis). OM or at the interface of OM and minerals. In contrast, OM-hosted
The positive correlation observed between gas content and the ratio of mesopores (2–50 nm) to macropores (>50 nm) are the dominant pore
CO2/CH4 + CO2 occurs only in intrusion-affected coals. Lamprophyre types in the NDZ samples. OM-hosted micropores (<2 nm) are
intrusions have negative effects on CH4 content in the study area. Since abundant in both zones. Helium ion microscopy observations further
CO2 has a higher adsorption capacity than CH4, C2H6, and N2, the confirm the presence of OM-hosted micropores in the studied samples.
injection of gaseous CO2 derived from magmatic intrusions can Mineral-hosted pores in carbonate minerals are abundant in both
effectively displace CH4-rich reservoir gas. In addition, there is a zones, while dissolution rims around carbonate minerals are more
positive correlation between ash content and gas content on a dry, ash- abundant in NDZ samples. The Dabashan arc-like fold-thrust belt took
free basis. Ash content is positively correlated with the ratio of CO2/ place by the end of the Late Triassic, while the Lower Cambrian shales
CH4 + CO2 occurring only in intrusion-affected coals. Massive second- have reached thermal maturity peak. OM-hosted mesopores (2–50 nm)
ary carbonates that filled in the cleats act as small-scale impermeable to macropores (>50 nm) in DZ samples are most probably collapsed
seals, which provide a sealing effect both on gas contents and gas during structural deformation related to tectonic compression, while
compositions during uplift. micropores due to their smaller size survived the tectonic stress. The
OM-hosted micropores are the main storage space for adsorbed gas in
the DZ area. The dominance of micro-pores in DZ and lack of
21/00083 Interfacial energies of supercritical CO2 and water
connection between those pores and matrix pores led to higher gas
with 2 : 1 layered silicate surfaces: a density functional
content in DZ samples. On the contrary, the well-connected OM-
theory study
hosted pore network in NDZ allows easier gas flow in the rock matrix
Ajayi, O. A. and Kubicki, J. D. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114,
that eventually led to significant gas leakage during uplift and
104514.
exhumation and lower gas content in this zone. The results of this
Interfacial energies between supercritical CO2 (scCO2) and water with
study suggest that structural deformation can potentially change the
a model clay surface under conditions related to hydraulic fracturing
pore structure of shales and thus shale gas content which has major
have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT) methods.
significance for shale gas exploration and development in south China
Planewave DFT methods in the program VASP were used to perform
where had experienced complex tectonic movements.
molecular dynamics simulations at a temperature of 333.33 K to
calculate these interfacial energies and molecular structures. The
calculated interfacial energies between scCO2 and water with the K+-
bearing model clay surface were 0.022 and 0.0422 J/m 2, respectively. 21/00086 Prediction of supersonic condensation process
The lower interfacial energy between scCO2 and model clay suggests of methane gas considering real gas effects
that scCO2 would create a better fracturing fluid because it can enter Bian, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114508.
the nanopores of clay-dominated shales more readily than water. This To clarify the condensation characteristics of natural gas under a high
entrance into nanopores before fracturing occurs could create a more pressure and obtain accurate nucleation parameters, traditional inter-
complex fracture network. The orientations of the scCO2 molecules nal consistent classical nucleation theory (ICCT) model for single-
with respect to the silicate layer also suggest that scCO2 is not influ- component gas was improved. A mathematical model for the super-
enced by a charged ion surface on the surface of the silicate whereas sonic condensation flow of methane gas was established based on the
the water is. These interfacial structures also provide insight into why improved ICCT model, and the supersonic condensation process was
scCO2 would have a lower interfacial energy with silicate than water. experimentally verified. The field characteristics of condensation flow
and isentropic flow were compared, and the low-temperature liquefac-
21/00084 Multiphase flowback rate-transient analysis of tion characteristics of methane gas in the Laval nozzle were studied.
shale gas reservoirs The results show that the calculation results of improved model
Zhang, F. and Emami-Meybodi, H. International Journal of Coal considering the real gas effect are more accurate than the results of
Geology, 2020, 217, 103315. original ICCT model. When methane gas is condensed, a weak
The multi-fractured horizontal well (MFHW) is commonly used in the condensation shock wave propagates in the nozzle; compared with
development of unconventional reservoirs. Flowback data after the isentropic expansion process, the pressure and temperature at
hydraulic fracturing is of critical importance in the characterization nozzle outlet increase. In a very short distance, the nucleation rate of
of hydraulic fracture, stimulation evaluation, and reservoir simulation. methane gas sharply increased from 0 to a maximum value of 4.834 
This study presents a two-phase diagnostic plot and a semi-analytical 1021 m3 s1 (approximately at x = 0.367 m). The maximum droplet
flowback model for the early-time flowback period when fluid influx radius, droplet number, and liquid mass fraction are 2.112  107 m,
from matrix remains insignificant and production is mainly from the 4.128  1014 kg1 and 5.437%, respectively.
fracture network. The developed model considers the changes of water
saturation in hydraulic fracture (HF) under fracture depletion
mechanism and pressure-dependent permeability and porosity, and is
21/00087 Scaled charges at work: salting out and
able to predict HF attributes, such as fracture half-length, initial
interfacial tension of methane with electrolyte solutions
fracture permeability, and initial pore volume of fracture network. A
from computer simulations
new method of calculating average pressure in the fracture is
Blazquez, S. et al. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2020, 513, 112548.
developed based on the solution of water-phase diffusivity equation
The solubility of methane in water decreases when a small amount of
and is compared with the traditional material balance approach based
salt is present. This is usually denoted as the salting out effect (i.e. the
on the tank model. Three iterative workflows are proposed using the
methane is expelled from the solution when it contains small amounts
successive substitution method to calculate fracture attributes under
of salt). The effect is important, for instance the solubility is reduced by
different production conditions. Validation of the developed flowback
a factor of three in a 4 m (mol/kg) NaCl solution. Some years ago the
model, average pressure calculation method, and the analysis work-
authors showed that the salting out effect of methane in water can be
flow, as well as their application in an MFHW drilled in Horn River
described qualitatively by molecular models using computer simu-
Shale show the applicability of this study to interpret flowback data
lations. However the salting out effect was overestimated. In fact, it was
quickly and estimate HF properties accurately.
found that the solubility of methane was reduced by a factor of eight.
This points to limitations in the force field used. In this work, the
21/00085 Possible pore structure deformation effects on authors have carried out direct coexistence simulations to describe the
the shale gas enrichment: an example from the Lower salting out effect of methane in water using a recently proposed force
Cambrian shales of the Eastern Upper Yangtze Platform, field (denoted as Madrid-2019) based on the use of scaled charges for
south China the ions and the TIP4P/2005 force field for water. For NaCl, the results
Ma, Y. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103349. of the Madrid-2019 force field significantly improve the description of
Shale gas reservoir performance and canister desorption experiments salting out of methane. For other salts the results are quite reasonable.
of the Lower Cambrian organic-rich shales in the eastern Upper Thus the reduction of the charge of the ions also seems to be able to
Yangtze Platform reveal a significant difference in shale gas content improve the description of the salting out effect of methane in water.
between the Dabashan arc-like fold-thrust belt in northeastern Besides this it is shown that the brine–methane interface exhibits an
Chongqing (Deformed Zone) and the slightly folded area in south- increased interfacial tension as compared to that of the water–methane
eastern Chong (Non-deformed Zone). Integrated pore characterization system. It is well known that electrolytes tend to increase the surface
methods including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), low-tempera- tension of liquid water, and this seems also to be the case for the
ture N2 and CO2 adsorption, and mercury injection capillary pressure interface between water and methane.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 15

03 Gaseous fuels (economics, business, marketing, policy)

coal compressive strength. The calibrated model is used to estimate the

Transport, storage strength alterations at relatively large confining stresses (i.e.
Pb  25 MPa) and at incremental pore pressures (i.e. 0.1 MPa <
PCO2 < 24 MPa), in which a sensitivity analysis is carried out to
21/00088 Alternative design of buried pipelines at active evaluate the model’s sensitivity on different influential parameters. The
fault crossings using flexible joints results show that coal compressive strength decreases substantially with
Valsamis, A. I. et al. International Journal of Pressure Vessels and CO2 pore pressure and starts to slightly increase beyond a certain pore
Piping, 2020, 180, 104038. pressure (i.e. PCO2 > 12 MPa) due to the matrix-compression, caused
The use of ‘flexible joints’ in buried high-pressure pipelines is by the elevated pore pressure, and the developed modified-cohesion
examined herein as an effective design technique for the mitigation model is capable of capturing this behaviour. The model is highly
of Permanent ground displacement effects due to fault activation. sensitive to the Biot’s coefficient, as it defines the fraction of pore
Pipeline joints that are available in the industry today are considered in pressure that contributes to the effective stress, and ultimately to both
connection with the needs of high-pressure pipelines in areas of seismic free and adsorbed CO2-induced strength alteration. The sensitivity
faults. The efficiency of this novel technique is examined through a analysis highlights the significance of the Langmuir constants, as they
series of parametric numerical analyses for both strike-slip and normal play a critical role in modelling the fully coupled process, thus should
faults, while its applicability in common engineering problems is be precisely determined for a given coal type, in order to accurately
examined through an economic-technical comparison with more simulate the overall strength alterations.
conventional techniques. It is concluded that the use of flexible joints
provides a cost-efficient design method, that can drastically reduce
pipeline strains for medium to large fault displacements.
Economics, business, marketing, policy
21/00089 Break-out resistance of offshore pipelines buried
in inclined clayey seabed
Kong, D. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 94, 102007.
The application of marine pipelines prevails in offshore developments 21/00092 Biological valorization of natural gas for the
for the transportation of oil and gas products from offshore to onshore, production of lactic acid: techno-economic analysis and life
and some of them are inevitably buried in continental slopes with cycle assessment
moderate inclinations (mostly below 6 ). Regrettably, very limited Fei, Q. et al. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 158, 107500.
attention has been paid to the bearing capacity of these pipelines, Due to the availability of natural gas, shale gas and flared gas, there is
which generates the very motivation of this study. A total number of increased interest in converting methane in these gases into commodity
169,200 separate finite element limit analyses (FELA) were conducted chemicals via cost-effective and sustainable processes. Recently, the
on rigid plane-strain pipe sections in inclined clayey seabed, using a authors demonstrated an efficient process concept converting methane
sound FELA code OxLim. The breakout resistances of the pipe along to lactic acid (LA) by methanotrophic bacteria with high carbon flux,
all possible directions are explored to determine the most vulnerable pivoting potentials for commercialization. Here, a first-of-kind con-
plane where a transverse displacement could most likely take place, ceptual design and a techno-economic analysis (TEA) of a biorefinery
and accordingly the minimum breakout resistance. Before reaching a process with calculated minimum selling prices is presented. This study
full-flow state, this resistance was found to be considerably lower, includes both sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis for key cost
mostly by 15–35%, than the uplift resistance. Design charts that can be drivers and for projecting path forwards in research and development.
immediately used for the modification of existing database are then The analyses reveal that the conversion efficiency, LA product titre,
provided, which promotes the safe design of pipelines regarding LA productivity, and gas flow rate have the most significant impacts on
transverse displacement or buckling. The potential non-conservation of cost. The minimum selling price varies from $5.83 to $2.17/kg of LA
the most recent design approaches is highlighted through comparisons. depending on these key process attributes. Further, a life cycle assess-
ment of this process concept is evaluated and compared to understand
21/00090 Experimental investigation and thermodynamic the sustainable aspects. In this TEA study, the bio-upgrading process
modeling of xenon clathrate hydrate stability conditions from natural gas to LA presents a potentially promising approach in
Rasoolzadeh, A. et al. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2020, 512, 112528. terms of the feedstock versatility, economic viability, and environmen-
In this work, the equilibrium conditions of xenon hydrates have been tal impact.
measured within wide pressure and temperature ranges. Various
experimental equipment have been used for this purpose, namely the 21/00093 Development of a hydrogen refueling station
tensimeter, the Cailletet apparatus, and the high-pressure autoclave. A design tool
number of three-phase equilibrium data points were measured for Riedl, S. M. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
liquid water–hydrate–vapour (Lw–H–V) and the ice–hydrate–vapour 1–9.
(I–H–V). It was concluded that there is a good consistency between the In the last couple of decades, there has been a growing concern in what
experimental data points measured in this work and those obtained by effects fossil fuels are having on the environment, resulting in
the other groups in the literature. A modified van der Waals–Platteeuw governments and governing organizations issuing stringent emission
model was used to predict the xenon hydrate stability conditions. The standards in an effort to curve their environmental damage. To meet
Kihara spherical-core potential function was used to represent the these new standards, the transportation industry has been conducting
intermolecular forces between the water molecules and the xenon research into alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, but one critical
molecules in the cavities. The fugacity of xenon in the vapour/gas phase problem utilizing hydrogen is that there is almost no infrastructure. A
was computed using the Peng–Robinson equation of state. The network of hydrogen refuelling stations similar to modern gasoline
solubility of xenon in the liquid phase was calculated through the stations will be required to be constructed to meet future demand. The
Krichevsky–Kasarnovsky equation. The investigated model had the hydrogen refuelling station model was created to aid in designing
ability to predict the xenon hydrate stability conditions with good hydrogen facilities, thus accelerating their development while reducing
accuracy within wide ranges of pressures and temperatures, resulting in design cost. A model was created using Simulink consisting of an
an average absolute deviation of about 0.61 K for Lw–H–V and 0.42 K electrolyser that generates hydrogen, a compressor, numerous storage
for I–H–V equilibrium temperatures. tanks, a dispensing unit that transfers hydrogen, and a vehicle
component that consumes hydrogen fuel. The model was validated
21/00091 Modelling of free and adsorbed CO2-induced using data from existing hydrogen refuelling stations, and the data
mechanical property alterations in coal obtained from testing the previous version of the hydrogen refuelling
Perera, M. S. A. and Sampath, K. H. S. M. International Journal of Coal station model to determine model accuracy and if the model has
Geology, 2020, 217, 103348. improved. The model has demonstrated that it can produce reasonable
CO2 interaction-induced mechanical alteration in coal is imperative in results for a station’s performance and has improved compared to the
the context of CO2 geo-sequestration, as it governs the project safety, previous version.
in general. Accurate estimations of mechanical characteristics are thus
essential prior to the implementation of field projects. Through this 21/00094 Emissions from gas processing platforms to the
study, the authors numerically model the alterations in coal compres- atmosphere-case studies versus benchmarks
sive strength, caused by CO2 interaction. The combined effect of both Broday, D. et al. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 80,
free and adsorbed CO2 on coal strength is evaluated based on the 106313.
Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, in which a modified-cohesion model This study compares oil and gas industry benchmark non-methane
is derived to define the adjusted-failure envelope, by integrating the volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) emission data with predicted
CO2 adsorption-induced surface energy change. The model is initially and reported emissions from a number of recent case studies.
validated with two experimental studies conducted under confined- and Specifically, the authors contrast predicted emissions from the Tamar
unconfined-stress conditions. The validation results confirm that the and Leviathan processing platforms in the eastern Mediterranean with
model is capable of successfully simulating the effect of confining actual emissions where available, and with a compilation of industry
stress, and the effect of free and adsorbed CO2 on the alterations of benchmarks. This work reveals a series of flaws in the adopted

16 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (economics, business, marketing, policy)

environmental impact assessment (EIA) practices in the case studies sustainable transition towards a zero-emission energy system, tra-
discussed, starting from the emissions model that grossly under- ditional natural gas can be substituted by renewable gasses derived
estimates intermittent NMVOC and benzene emissions relative to from anaerobic digestion or thermal gasification and hydrogen. This
available data from other sites, and the unrealistic assumption of a paper presents a methodology for modelling renewable gas options and
constant and uniform emission profile in contrast to real world limits on biomass resources across sectors in the energy optimization
emission scenarios that are characterized by discrete large emission model, Balmorel. Different scenarios for socio-economic pathways to
events. Furthermore, the dispersion model used in the EIAs as part of emission neutral electricity and district heating systems in Denmark,
the request for a business (emissions) permit has a number of signi- Sweden, Norway and Germany, show that a renewable-based energy
ficant failings, including the use of an unsuitable model, use of over- system benefits from a certain percentage of gas as a supplement to
simplistic meteorological inputs, and lack of consideration of critical other flexibility options like interconnectors. Especially upgraded
dispersion phenomena. This study highlights the need to rethink the biogas from anaerobic digestion serves as a substitute for natural gas
currently used EIA and atmospheric permit request methodologies in in all scenarios. Allocating only 10% of available biomass to the
the oil and gas industry, which rely on unrealistic uniform emission electricity and district heating sector leads to full exploitation of the
models. scarce biomass resource by boosting biogas and syngas with hydrogen.
The need for renewable gasses is highest in Germany and least in
21/00095 Just environmental governance for shale gas? Norway, where hydro-power provides flexibility in terms of storable
Transitioning towards sustainable local regulation of and dispatchable electricity production. The scenarios show that a
fracking in Spain required ‘late sprint’ from fossils to achieve a zero-emission energy
Hull, E. and Evensen, D. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, system in 2050 causes (1) significant higher accumulated emissions and
101307. (2) a system which strongly relies on fuels, also in an emission free
Fracking affects a range of communities in different ways and requires system, instead of stronger integration of the electricity and district
a holistic approach to its policy formation. There are a multitude of heating systems through electrification as well as stronger integration
reactions to fracking, and in this perspective article, it is argued that all of the power systems across countries through interconnectors.
require representation. While Spain, as a state with dominant central
authority, has devolved some responsibilities the local level, these
communities remain powerless in legislative terms. Nevertheless, vari- 21/00099 Rate-of-return regulation to unlock natural gas
ous platforms, NGOs, and autonomous communities have expressed pipeline deployment: insights from a Mozambican project
strong opposition to fracking and as a result have had a certain amount Perrotton, F. and Massol, O. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104537.
of success in halting the development of unconventional gas. Despite In developing countries, the discovery of large gas deposits often
this progress in their activism, it is evident that public opinion requires stimulates the public authorities’ appetite for ambitious development
more robust and complete representation. Labelling these movements strategies requiring the construction of a large national pipeline
as cases of NIMBYism seeks to detract legitimacy from their concerns. system. However, the foreign private investors financing its installation
To achieve a representative and legitimate democratic outcome in usually prefer smaller infrastructure designs that are solely intended to
relation to fracking governance in Spain, distributive and procedural supply a few creditworthy industrial sites. Focusing on the situation in
deficiencies must be addressed. As Spain contemplates its fracking Mozambique, this study examines whether the adoption of rate-of-
future, within its currently precarious political context, it would do well return (RoR) regulation can reconcile these conflicting objectives. As a
to learn from the regulatory and governmental failures in other first step, the authors assess the magnitude of the overcapitalization
jurisdictions and seek to develop a robust framework that solicits and generated ex ante at the planning stage by the application of RoR
accommodates the range of valid and informed perspectives held on regulation (i.e. the Averch–Johnson effect) to the investors. Then,
this topic. There is some indication of movement in this direction; analysing the ex post situation when the enlarged domestic demand
offering some optimism that such approaches could be systematized. materializes, it is proved that the allowable rate of return can be set by
the regulator to obtain ex ante the degree of overcapitalization needed
ex post to serve the enlarged demand in a cost-efficient manner. A final
21/00096 Natural gas system dispatch accounting for discussion considers whether RoR regulation can still protect society
electricity side flexibility from monopoly prices when it is tuned to prompt an optimal degree of
O’Malley, C. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, 106038. building ahead of proven demand.
The increasing use of gas-fired power plants requires a more thorough
consideration of the interdependencies between power and gas
systems. Ideally, these systems should be dispatched in a fully
coordinated manner. However, they are generally operated as separate 21/00100 Residual shape risk on natural gas market with
entities and it may not be possible to share complete information mixed jump diffusion price dynamics
regarding the internal variables and constraints of each network. To Janda, K. and Kourilek, J. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104465.
overcome this limitation, an inter-system flexibility set is proposed as a This paper introduces residual shape risk as a new subclass of energy
proxy to provide information about the power system to the gas commodity risk. Residual shape risk is caused by insufficient liquidity
network, so that actions taken in the gas network, such as load of an energy forward market when the retail energy supplier has to
shedding, retain feasibility in the power system. hedge their short sales by a non-flexible standard baseload product
available on the wholesale market. Because of this inflexibility, the
energy supplier is left with a residual unhedged position which has to
21/00097 Nonlinear unit root and nonlinear causality in be closed at spot market. The residual shape risk is defined as the
natural gas–economic growth nexus: evidence from Nigeria difference between spot and forward prices weighted by residual
Galadima, M. D. and Aminu, A. W. Energy, 2020, 190, 116415. unhedged position whose size depends on the shape of customers’
This paper carries out an econometric examination of non-linear unit portfolio of a given retail energy supplier. Here, the authors evaluated
root and non-linear causality in the natural gas–economic growth nexus the residual shape risk over the years 2014–2018 with a real portfolio of
in Nigeria. The techniques employed include the Kapetanios–Shin– a leading natural gas retail supplier in the Czech Republic. The size of
Shell (KSS) non-linear unit root test, Kruse non-linear unit root test, residual shape risk in this example corresponds approximately to 1
Brock–Dechert–Scheinkman (BDS) non-linearity test, non-linear percent of the profit margin of the natural gas retail supplier.
ordinary least squares (NOLS) model, and, the Hatemi-J asymmetric
causality test. The results revealed that natural gas consumption and
economic growth series follow non-linear trend process as indicated by 21/00101 The role of Azeri natural gas in meeting European
the KSS and Kruse tests, and that the relationship between natural gas Union energy security needs
consumption and economic growth in Nigeria is non-linear as Hasanov, F. J. et al. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 28, 100464.
confirmed by the BDS and NOLS tests, where an increase in natural Meeting the EU’s natural gas demand will require increasing volumes
gas consumption increases economic growth. The asymmetric causality of imports in the foreseeable future. Recognizing the need to ensure
test revealed evidence of bidirectional causality between the positive uninterrupted and secure supplies of natural gas imports at all times,
impact of natural gas consumption and economic growth, and, the EU has actively sought to diversify its sources of supply, including
unidirectional causality running from economic growth to negative obtaining natural gas from Azerbaijan through the Southern Gas
impact of natural gas consumption. For further research, the paper Corridor (SGC). In pursuit of this objective, the EU has provided
suggests extending the discussions on the trend process of energy financial support for parts of the SGC. In this paper, a combination of
consumption to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or cost economics and rational choice institutionalism (RCI) framework
to other regional energy organizations using panel data techniques. has been used to explain the policy choice made by the EU to support
the SGC. It is observed, that the choice of using the SGC as a supply
21/00098 Potential role of renewable gas in the transition of source has been despite the relatively higher cost of delivery of Azeri
electricity and district heating systems natural gas into the EU. The motivation for the EU here is
Jensen, I. G. et al. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 27, 100446. characterized by the strategic importance and part of its efforts to
With the constant increase in variable renewable energy production in diversify sources of supply in the RCI framework. In this context, the
electricity and district heating systems, integration with the gas system EU is delivering energy security services to its member states who in
is a way to provide flexibility to the overall energy system. In the turn have muted their sovereign rights in exchange for a diversity in the

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 17

03 Gaseous fuels (derived gaseous fuels)

source of supply. This is possibly the only study that measures up the 21/00105 High-performance nano-structured Ni based
economic cost against choices made under RCI in natural gas security catalysts for high-temperature CO2–CH4 reforming –
literature. greenhouse gases to syngas
Wang, X. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 344–351.
CO2–CH4 reforming into syngas is an effective approach to the
utilization of these two greenhouse gases. In this study, nano-
structured Ni-based catalysts supported on spinel (MgAl2O4) for
CO2–CH4 reforming were synthesized and evaluated under 750–
Derived gaseous fuels 900  C, it performed with extremely high catalytic reactivity that the
conversions of CO2 and CH4 were 90% and 97% at 900  C, with gas
hourly space velocity (GHSV) as high as 912,000 ml gCat1 h1, which is
76 times higher than the GHSV reported elsewhere. Also, the nano-
21/00102 A La-promoted Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst with superior structured Ni-based catalysts showed excellent durability with nearly
methanation performance for the production of synthetic zero deactivation in 10 h. Interestingly, the Ni-based catalysts did not
natural gas need initial H2 reduction as required with state-of-the-art reforming
Liu, Q. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 127–134. catalyst. The fresh Ni-based catalysts mainly consist of NiO and
Production of synthetic natural gas (SNG) has received increasing MgAl2O4 crystallites, while the spent ones mostly contain Ni0 (about
attention due to the clean nature and unbalanced reserve of natural 10 nm) and MgAl2O4 crystallite.
gas. One of the technical bottlenecks for SNG production is the lack of
feasible catalyst for CO methanation process. Herein, Mg–Al mixed
oxides were prepared as supports by the co-precipitation method and 21/00106 Integration of a turbine expander with a synthesis
La promoter was subsequently introduced by the co-impregnation gas process – using process gas as a working fluid
method for Ni-based methanation catalysts. The initial activity of the Greeff, I. L. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114574.
Ni/Mg–Al catalysts depended on molar ratio of Mg/Al. The Ni/ Synthesis gas production provides an excellent opportunity for
MgAl2O4 catalyst exhibited the best activity among the catalysts with integration of a turbine expander since the heat is available at very
various Mg/Al molar ratios (2/1, 1/1, 1/2, 1/3). Enhanced low- high temperatures (900–1400  C). This case study considers the inte-
temperature activity and improved high-temperature stability were gration of a turbine expander with a synthesis gas production process
realized on the La-promoted Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst. The Ni-La/ that uses auto-thermal reforming for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Auto-
MgAl2O4 catalyst possessed CO conversion of 95.1% at 270  C and thermal reforming technology is a commercialized technology that is
remained stable for 100 h at 550  C under ambient pressure at a WHSV well suited to large scale synthesis gas production processes. A
of 72,000 ml/(h gcat). The effect of La promoter on the catalytic methodology that was previously developed and published by the same
performance of the Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst was elucidated by N2 sorption, author is applied in this case study, resulting in an improved flow sheet
XRD, TEM, H2-TPR, H2 pulse chemisorption, TG/DSC and CO2-TPD with significantly improved power output and thermal efficiency
characterizations. The obtained results demonstrated that the en- improvement. The new flow sheet comprises a unique power pro-
hanced low-temperature activity was related to reduced size of Ni duction system that uses synthesis gas as a working fluid and wherein
nanoparticles and increased reducibility of the catalyst. The improved the sequence of compression and expansion are reversed in position,
high-temperature stability was associated with better sintering- and compared to conventional power production systems. A conventional
coke-resistance properties induced by stronger metal–support inter- steam cycle is also coupled to this synthesis gas power production
actions and increased basic sites respectively. The present work system to render a combined synthesis gas and steam power production
suggests La-promoted Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst as a promising candidate arrangement. Simulation models were created of the conventional and
for efficient SNG production from synthesis gas. new integrated flow sheets and the analysis focused on pressure ratio
variations across the turbine expander. It is shown how such variations
affect other parameters in the system. In one of the cases a 37%
21/00103 Effect of N2 dilution and preheat temperature on improvement in net work was obtained from the new integrated flow
combustion dynamics of syngas in a reverse-flow sheet compared to the conventional flow sheet. The results are also
combustor compared to the results obtained in a recent study on integration of a
Pramanik, S. and Ravikrishna, R. V. Experimental Thermal and Fluid
turbine expander with a steam methane reformer, and further options
Science, 2020, 110, 109926.
to implement the synthesis gas power production system for a steam
The present study investigates the combustion dynamics of low-
methane reformer are explored.
calorific value syngas in the reverse-flow configuration at P = 1 atm
using OH* chemiluminescence (5 kHz), noise (50 kHz), and emissions
(NOx and CO) measurements. The combustion dynamics have been 21/00107 Lab-scale and pilot-scale two-stage gasification
investigated as a function of the global equivalence ratio (0.32–0.89), of biomass using active carbon for production of
percentage O2 in the coflow (7.6–21%), and the oxidizer preheat hydrogen-rich and low-tar producer gas
temperature (400–800 K). The variation of these parameters resulted Jeong, Y.-S. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106240.
in different operating conditions such as conventional, ultra-lean, Laboratory- and pilot-scale two-stage air gasification of various types of
transition, and MILD combustion modes. For all the cases, autoigni- biomass was performed to produce hydrogen-rich and low-tar gas.
tion kernels were observed and appear to be a possible mode of flame Typical tar removal apparatuses, such as scrubbers and electrostatic
stabilization – highlighting the role of H2 in reducing the ignition delay. precipitators, were not employed and the only tar removal agent used
The combustion chamber demonstrated stable operation over the range was coal-based active carbon. The hydrogen content of all producer
of equivalence ratio and percentage O2 investigated, with the conven- gases was remarkably high, whereas the tar content was low (maximum
tional mode displaying the highest SPL and fluctuations in the reaction H2: 29 vol%; minimum tar: 0 mg/Nm3). The producer gases from the
zone (OH*). The most stable operation was obtained for the MILD pilot-scale experiment also exhibited an exceedingly high hydrogen
case where the SPL decreased by 6 dB caused by a suppression of the content and low tar content (maximum H 2: 27 vol%; minimum tar:
high-frequency (>800 Hz) longitudinal modes. However, the operation 3.3 mg/Nm3). The pilot-scale operation continued without any external
of the combustion chamber became unstable as the oxidizer preheat heat supply via autothermal operation. A gas engine was connected to
temperature decreased from 603 to 547 K due to the emergence of very the pilot-scale gasification plant to generate electricity. The generated
high-frequency (9–15 kHz) oscillations. power ranged from 20 to 35 kWe depending on the type of biomass
used. This indicated that the two-stage gasification process could be
applied to decentralized power generation. To summarize, the present
21/00104 Effects of temperature, hydrogen/carbon
study provided positive experimental results of the two-stage gasifica-
monoxide ratio and trace element addition on methane
tion process in terms of tar reduction, hydrogen production, and power
production performance from syngas biomethanation
generation. Furthermore, studies on long-term operation are needed to
Li, Y. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122296.
obtain more reliable results.
Synthesis gas (syngas) biomethanation is an environmentally friendly
technology for fuel calorific value improvement. However, the slow
mass transfer and poor product quality limit its development. In this 21/00108 On process intensification through storage
study, the effects of temperature, hydrogen/carbon monoxide (H2/CO) reactors: a case study on methane steam reforming
ratio and trace element addition on simulated syngas biomethanation Lowd, J. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133, 106601.
were investigated in three batches of experiments. Results showed that In this work, the novel storage reactor (SR) process is introduced. A
(1) the temperature influenced little on the quality of produced biogas; SR consists of two physically distinct domains, designated as the
(2) the methane content in the biogas production were 66.37  4.04%, reactor domain and the storage domain, which are allowed to
70.61  6.06% and 73.35  2.39%, respectively, with the H2/CO ratio of communicate with each other through a semipermeable boundary. It
3 : 1, 4 : 1 and 5 : 1; (3) after the addition of Fe, Co and Ni elements, the is envisioned that the SR is operated in a dynamic (periodic) manner,
biogas quality was significantly improved (methane content was that enables the loading and unloading of the storage domain. In this
79.76  7.35%), but the microbial community structure did not change. introductory work, a 0-D first principle SR model is developed that
This experiment provided a guidance for improving the biogas quantifies SR dynamic behaviour. The resulting governing equations
production performance of syngas biomethanation. are non-dimensionalized, and two dimensionless groups are shown to

18 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

uniquely determine SR performance, which is quantified through the

use of several proposed metrics. An illustrative case study on steam
LNG
methane reforming is then carried out, involving parametric studies on
the two aforementioned dimensionless groups. It is established that the
SR outperforms an equivalent steady-state reactor, in regard to the
21/00112 Exergoeconomic analysis and multi-objective
outlined performance criteria.
optimization of a CCHP system based on LNG cold energy
utilization and flue gas waste heat recovery with CO2 capture
Liu, Y. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116201.
21/00109 Syngas electrosynthesis using self-supplied CO2 A combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) system based on
from photoelectrocatalytic pollutant degradation liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy utilization and flue gas waste
Cui, R. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, 118253. heat recovery with CO2 capture is proposed to efficiently achieve the
Syngas has been synthesized via (photo) electrochemical CO2 cascading use of comprehensive energy. The mathematical models are
reduction. Its amount and yield efficiency are determined the utilizable developed and the system performance under steady-state conditions is
CO2. This study shows syngas electrosynthesis using self-supplied CO2, analysed using the energy and exergy methods. The calculation results
namely in situ generated CO2 from photoelectrocatalytic pollutant show that the cooling, heating and net power outputs of the proposed
oxidation. In a single-chamber based two-electrode system, CO 2 is CCHP system are 29.601, 4.211 and 12.036 MW, respectively, and a
produced continuously during photoelectrocatalytic phenol oxidization CO2 capture rate of 7.9236 t/h can be reached while the exergy
on the anode of TiO2 nanotubes decorated with Pd nanoparticles. Such efficiency is 38.39%. The effects of the LNG pump outlet pressure, the
in situ generated CO2 is then reduced into CO at a Pd–Cu cathode. multistage compressor outlet pressure, the CO2 flow rate in district
With a phenol oxidation efficiency of 87% and a faradaic efficiency of cooling cycle, isentropic efficiencies of turbines and ambient tempera-
75%, the syngas yield is as high as 339.3 mmol. The ratio of carbon-to- ture on the performance of the proposed CCHP system are analysed.
hydrogen in syngas is variable from 0 to 1 : 10 under different current In addition, the exergoeconomic analysis is used to calculate the unit
densities. The reactions for syngas generation are investigated using in cost of the trigeneration, and a multi-objective optimization using
situ electrochemical infrared technique and confirmed to be C6H5OH NSGA-II is conducted to search for the optimal design parameters.
! CO2 ! CO2* ! COOH* ! CO* + H+ ! CO + H2. This study The optimization results indicate that the total energy output, the
thus provides an approach to degrade pollutants and simultaneously exergy efficiency and the cost per unit exergy for the trigeneration are
utilize produced CO2 for the production of value-added chemicals like 90.65 MW, 41.38%, 18.05 $/GJ, respectively.energy
syngas.
21/00113 Non-equilibrium thermodynamic model for
liquefied natural gas storage tanks
21/00110 Synthesis of highly-branched alkanes for Wang, Z. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116412.
renewable gasoline A thermodynamic non-equilibrium model is introduced to evaluate the
Mascal, M. and Dutta, S. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, thermal performance of vertical and horizontal liquefied natural gas
106192. (LNG) storage tanks in refuelling stations. This model incorporates a
The gasoline market in the USA is nearly twice that of diesel and jet resistance-capacitance network to reduce the required computation
fuel combined, and yet, nearly all research efforts to produce synthetic, time to several hours compared with the computational fluid dynamics
biobased fuels centre around these latter products. The reason for this (CFD) method which requires several days or weeks to run under high-
is that a major component of gasoline is highly branched alkanes which, performance computing. The accuracy of the non-equilibrium model is
unlike straight chained products, are not readily derived from either validated with two sets of experimental data, and thermodynamic
fatty acid- or carbohydrate-based feedstocks. This review examines the equilibrium and CFD models, respectively. The results indicate that the
current approaches to renewable gasoline synthesis. Net zero carbon non-equilibrium and equilibrium models have a similar accuracy to
gasoline can be made from biomass pyrolysis gas via Fischer–Tropsch predict the pressure and temperature changes in vertical and
or methanol-to-gasoline processes, as well as the refining of bio-oil, raw horizontal LNG storage tanks under stationary conditions. However,
biomass, or even finished biomass derivatives (such as olefins) using the equilibrium model fails to predict the tank performance under
petrochemical technologies, and these methods may see broader sudden pressure changes such as those produced via vapour return
adoption as the rising cost of crude oil makes them more commercially from heavy-duty trucks during refuelling. In contrast, the non-
attractive. Fermentative approaches hold out some promise, but will equilibrium model accurately predicts the pressure of LNG storage
always have to contend with inferior space–time yields compared to tank under dynamic conditions. The results also indicate that,
purely chemical processes. The phenylpropanoid framework of lignin compared to vertical tanks and under dynamic operating conditions,
may be seen to be a highly promising platform for branched cyclic horizontal storage tanks can hold LNG for longer periods without
hydrocarbon synthesis, particularly if the severe conditions and methane release to the atmosphere.
hydrogen burden of ring saturation and hydrodeoxygenation can be
mitigated. Finally, a wide range chemocatalytic approaches to the total 21/00114 Numerical investigation on thermal-hydraulic
synthesis of alkanes have emerged. For diesel fuel, linear C14–C20 performance of a printed circuit LNG vaporizer
hydrocarbons give the best performance (cetane number), while jet fuel Pan, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114447.
is a lighter fraction (C10–C16) which benefits from the presence of some As a new type of micro-channel heat exchanger, printed circuit heat
branched or cyclic components, and both of these types of hydro- exchanger is widely applied to floating storage and regasification unit
carbons can be renewably sourced in straightforward way from as liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporizer for high efficiency and
cellulosic biomass, where carbohydrate derivatives are connected compactness. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical model of
together and hydrodeoxygenated. The de novo synthesis of gasoline, counter-flow printed circuit LNG vaporizer is established, applying
which depends on a high isoalkane content for its performance (octane supercritical LNG and propane as cold source and heat source
number), requires however the introduction of multiple branch points respectively. The flow and heat transfer characteristics in semicircular
along a short stretch of hydrocarbon chain (no more than 12 carbons in channels, and the effects of channel bending angle on them are studied.
total), presenting a significant challenge. Inventive approaches starting The results indicate that the channel bending causes the accelerating
from levulinic acid, furans, and acetone self-condensation have been core of cold and hot fluids close to the inner wall of the corner,
reported, and as the repertory of biomass-derived platform molecules thinning or even destructing the boundary layer, which is conducive to
is expanded and greater attention is focused on unlocking this major convective heat transfer, although causes greater flow resistance. The
commercial market, a diversity of new synthetic pathways will un- larger the channel bending angle, the better the heat transfer and the
doubtedly be advanced. greater the pressure drop. The criterion  = ((Nu/Nu0/( f/f )0)) is used
to evaluate the thermal-hydraulic performance of the printed circuit
LNG vaporizer, and it shows that the channel bending angle 15 offers
21/00111 The effect of particle polydispersion in a gasifier the best comprehensive performance.
bed dynamics using Eulerian-Eulerian models
Cubero, A. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106216.
The influence of the coal particle size distribution on the performance
of a fluidized bed gasifier is investigated by means of a multiphase
Eulerian–Eulerian model embodied in the OpenFOAM computational Hydrogen generation and storage
fluid dynamics code. To distinguish the effects of combustion from
those of particle segregation, the authors compared the solutions
obtained by modelling of solids as, alternatively, monodispersed or
polydispersed particles; and as reactive or inert ones. Results reveal 21/00115 Catalytic activity of amine functionalized titanium
that the preferential motion of the smaller particles towards the bed dioxide nanoparticles in methanolysis of sodium
top significantly delays char consumption at the bottom layers, favours borohydride for hydrogen generation
volatile oxidation, and results in a more uneven lateral distribution of Demirci, S. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261,
the off-gas. 118242.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 19

03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, Anatase (A-TiO2), Rutile (R- membrane as 11.4 mmol/h, while the highest energy and exergy
TiO2), and Rutile-Anatase (RA-TiO2) mixture were modified chemi- efficiencies are found for the reactor configuration with anion
cally with ethylene-diamine, diethylene-tri-amine, tri-ethylene-tetra- exchange membrane as 82% and 68%, respectively.
amine, and polyethyleneimine (PEI) to functionalize their surface to
catalyse sodium borohydride methanolysis to generate hydrogen. PEI 21/00119 Expansion of effective pore size on hydrogen
modified TiO2 particles catalysed the methanolysis reaction more physisorption of porous carbons at low temperatures with
effectively than amines with lesser number of amine groups for all the high pressures
forms of modified TiO2 catalysts. The hydrogen generation rate (HGR) Park, J.-H. and Park, S.-J. Carbon, 2020, 158, 364–371.
values for A-TiO2, R-TiO2, and RA-TiO2 are 3121, 3525 and Hydrogen (H2) has been considered a promising alternative to fossil
2920 mL H2/(g catalyst  min), respectively and are further increased fuels as a future energy source. To achieve great H2 uptakes through
by 25.6, 30.6 and 36.7%, respectively, when protonated. The proto- physisorption, an accurate understanding of the pore sizes should be
nated catalyst, A-TiO2–PEI+, R-TiO2–PEI+ and RA-TiO2–PEI+, are involved. Related studies have reported that micropores (<2 nm) are
effective at low temperatures, 253–313 K, with activation energies of the most effective pores for high H2 uptakes at 77 K and 1 bar. For
35.2, 36.3 and 36 kJ/mol for methanolysis, respectively. These catalysts clarifying the pore size effects, the relationship between H2 physisorp-
retain over 60% of the original HGR at the end of fifth consecutive tion behaviour and pore sizes was studied. Silica elimination and KOH
reuse. All the forms of the catalysts are completely regenerateable activation were used to prepare porous carbons with various pore sizes,
through hydrochloric acid treatment. especially up to narrow mesopores (<4 nm). The results indicated that
micropores (<2 nm) are important for H2 excess uptakes (QExcess) at
77 K and 1 bar, however, pores with a diameter up to 4 nm are the most
21/00116 Design of a 70 MPa type IV hydrogen storage effective pores for high QExcess at 77 K and 60 bar, suggesting that the
vessel using accurate modeling techniques for dome effective range of pore sizes that contribute to QExcess would be
thickness prediction widened at higher pressures. This is concluded that the optimum pore
Zhang, Q. et al. Composite Structures, 2020, 236, 111915. size ranges for better H2 physisorption behaviour was found to be
The aim of this study is to propose methods for dome thickness closely associated with the storage pressures, providing guidance for
distribution and the charge pressure of the liner for a 70 MPa type IV the preparation of porous materials for efficient H2 physisorption
hydrogen storage vessel. The netting theory was employed to design the under different storage conditions.
lay-up of the cylindrical section. For precise prediction of the dome
thickness, a cubic spline function was utilized. Variable polar radii were
used to reduce the fibre stacking and thickness accumulation near 21/00120 Fabrication of highly active Z-scheme
polar openings. To evaluate the designed lay-up, various failure criteria Ag/g-C3N4-Ag-Ag3PO4 (1 1 0) photocatalyst
were applied so as to predict precisely the failure of composite layers in photocatalyst for visible light photocatalytic degradation
finite element analysis. In order to determine the most appropriate of levofloxacin with simultaneous hydrogen production
range of the internal pressure when filling hydrogen gas during Li, S. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122394.
filament winding process, the compressive pressure applied on the liner The capacity of redox and the separation efficiency of electron-hole
was calculated by taking into account the variety of winding tension, pairs are important indexes for evaluating the performance of
and the buckling and static analysis of the liner were carried out, photocatalyst. Herein, a novel Z-scheme Ag/g-C3N4–Ag–Ag3PO4
respectively. The methods presented in this work provide a valuable (1 1 0) photocatalyst is prepared by photo-assisted isoelectric point
reference for designing the type IV hydrogen storage vessels. way. The prepared samples are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM,
EDS mappings, XPS, UV–vis, PL, TPR and EIS. The Z-scheme Ag/g-
C3N4–Ag–Ag3PO4 (1 1 0) photocatalytic system exposes the Ag3PO4
(1 1 0) crystal plane with strong oxidizing ability and provides a large
21/00117 Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution producing hydrogen reduction surface of g-C3N4 at the same time.
over TiO2/g-C3N4 2D heterojunction coupled with plasmon Therefore, the photocatalytic degradation of levofloxacin (LEV) with
Ag nanoparticles simultaneous hydrogen production can be effectively achieved under
Yang, Y. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5725–5732. visible light irradiation. Besides, the influence factors such as visible
A two-dimensional (2D) heterojunction based on g-C3N4 nanosheets light irradiation time, sacrificial agents, Z-scheme Ag/g-C3N4–Ag–
with other semiconductor nanosheets is a promising way to improve Ag3PO4 (1 1 0) photocatalyst dosage, initial pH and used times are
photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) activity over g-C3N4. How- studied systemically. Based on trapping tests and ESR analyses, the
ever, current 2D heterojunction based on g-C3N4 are unsatisfactory mainly active species are confirmed in the photocatalytic degradation
due to their insufficient absorption of visible light and inefficient of LEV. Finally, the photocatalytic reaction mechanism on degradation
charge separation. In this work, Ag/TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites of organic pollutants with simultaneous production hydrogen caused by
based on 2D heterojunction coupling with Ag surface plasmon Z-scheme Ag/g-C3N4–Ag–Ag3PO4 (1 1 0) photocatalyst is proposed.
resonance (SPR) were synthesized by a method combining facile
wetness impregnation calcination. The PHE activity of Ag/TiO2/g-C3N4
nanocomposites is attributed to the TiO2/g-C3N4 2D heterojunction 21/00121 Fabrication of porous metal by selective laser
and bare g-C3N4 nanosheet under visible light irradiation, indicating a melting as catalyst support for hydrogen production
cooperative effect between Ag and TiO2/g-C3N4 2D heterojunction. As microreactor
a result of SPR effect, the composites strongly absorb visible light. In Liu, J. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
addition, the oscillating hot electrons from Ag can easily transfer to 2D 10–22.
heterojunction. This synergistic effect lead to sufficient visible light To improve the hydrogen production performance of microreactors,
absorption and efficient charge separation of 2D heterojunction, which the selective laser melting method was proposed to fabricate the
improved the PHE activity of g-C3N4. This work indicates that loading porous metals as catalyst supports with different pore structures,
metal nanoparticles on 2D heterojunction as metal SPR-2D hetero- porosities, and materials. The influence of the porous structures on the
junction nanocomposites may be a potential method for harvesting molecule distribution after passing through the porous metals was
visible light for PHE. analysed by molecular dynamics simulation. The developed porous
metals were then used as catalyst supports in a methanol steam
reforming microreactor for hydrogen production. The results show that
21/00118 Evaluation of hydrogen production via the porosity of the porous metal had significantly influence on the
electrolysis with ion exchange membranes catalyst infiltration and the reaction process of hydrogen production. A
Yuzer, B. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116420. lower degree of catalyst infiltration of the porous metal was obtained
In this study, the ion exchange membranes are proposed and tested in with lower porosity. A copper layer-coated stainless-steel porous metal
an electrolysis process for hydrogen production from acidic and with a staggered structure and gradient porosity of 80–60% exhibited
alkaline solutions. The results of the experiments are then compared much larger methanol conversion and H2 flow rate due to its better
to evaluate the effect of ion exchange membranes on the performance heat and mass transfer characteristic. Methanol conversion and H2 flow
of the electrolysis process. This study shows that the ion exchange rates could reach 97% and 0.62 mol/h, respectively. Finally, it was
membranes can improve the performance of the electrolysis reactor found that the experimental results were in good agreement with the
and supply high pH differences between compartments due to the simulation results.
membrane’s feature of low electrical resistance and high resistance to
pH changes. All anion exchange membrane, cation exchange mem- 21/00122 Graphene nanoribbon-TiO2-quantum dots hybrid
brane, and bipolar membrane are used individually as a separator photoanode to boost the performance of
between anode and cathode chamber of electrolysis reactor to evaluate photoelectrochemical for hydrogen generation
the effect of these ion exchange membranes on system efficiency. Also, Akilimali, R. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 340, 161–169.
the comparison of using ion-exchange membranes to generate This paper reports the effect of incorporation of graphene nanoribbons
hydrogen in the acidic-+alkaline electrolysis reactor is studied for (GNR) into a TiO2 mesoporous film sensitized with colloidal CdSe/
the first time in this study. The electrolysis reactor is tested using CdS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) on the efficiency and long-term
various electrochemical techniques and analysed thermodynamically. stability of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell for hydrogen (H2)
The maximum hydrogen production rate is determined with the bipolar generation. The GNR-TiO2 hybrid photoanodes were prepared by

20 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

using simple, low-cost and large-area scalable doctor-blade method. examined conditions, was below the inhibition limit of photosynthetic
The presence of GNR in the hybrid photoanode was confirmed by bacteria. The microbial community analysis revealed the development
ultraviolet-visible absorption measurements, scanning electron mi- of purple non-sulfur bacterial family Rhodospirillaceae at C3. The
croscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that an economic efficiency of DP-CBR was also evaluated by considering the
optimum loading of 0.02 wt% GNR increases the photocurrent density capital cost, annual costs (i.e. lightning, pumping, nutrients and gas
(at 0.8 V vs RHE) of the PEC device up to 5.51 mA/cm2, which is 30% purification), and revenues (i.e. bio-hydrogen energy and removal add-
higher than that of the control device. This improvement in photo- value). Overall, the techno-economic assessment of DP-CBR perform-
current density can be attributed to enhanced electron transport ance emphasizes its feasibility in affordable removal of organics and
(reduced charge transport resistance) in GNR-TiO2 hybrid anodes as bioenergy recovery when dealing with gelatin-rich wastewater.
confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition,
PEC cells based on GNRs-TiO2/QDs hybrid photoanode maintain
65% of the initial photocurrent density after 7200 s of continuous one 21/00126 Inter-plane heterojunctions within 2D/2D
sun illumination, which is 15% higher than PEC cell based on a FeSe2/g-C3N4 nanosheet semiconductors for photocatalytic
standard TiO2/QDs photoanode. The findings offer a simple, large area hydrogen generation
scalable and low-cost approach to fabricate photoanode for high- Jia, J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, 118249.
performance optoelectronic devices, such as improving the perform- Developing and designing a robust hydrogen generation photocatalyst
ance of PEC cells for hydrogen generation. for water splitting remains a huge challenge for realizing highly
effective conversion of solar energy into chemical fuel. Herein, two-
21/00123 High efficient hydrogen evolution over dimensional FeSe2/g-C3N4 inter-plane heterostructures (2D/2D FeSe2/
self-reproducible platinum photocatalyst CNNS) were rationally constructed via the in situ deposition of FeSe2
Cao, B. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 340, 183–187. nanosheets on the g-C3N4 surface. The resulting 15% FeSe2/CNNS 2D/
The current artificial photocatalysts often suffer from photocorrosion- 2D composite exhibited an optimal H2 generation rate of
induced irreversible damage and low efficiency. Here the authors 1655.6 mmolh1 g1 in Na2S/Na2SO3 solution, being nearly 2.65, 1.73
report that under the UV irradiation of aqueous isopropanol solution, and 1.19 times higher than that of pristine g-C3N4, FeSe2 and
which photolyses to produce acetone. Platinum nanoparticles can corresponding 0D/2D FeSe2/CNNS nanocrystals, respectively. Such
coordinate with the acetone on their surfaces to create a unique remarkably improved photocatalytic performance could be ascribed to
photocatalysis system for highly efficient hydrogen evolution. In this efficient charge carrier mobility, acceleration of H2O2 decomposition
system, the inherent close bonding between photoactive surface via a stepwise two-electron/two-step pathway, and the formed 2D
complexes and metallic platinum sites creates an efficient donor– heterojunction interfacial contact between g-C3N4 and FeSe2 nano-
acceptor system for charge transfer, with a hydrogen generation rate of sheets. This work can provide new insight for designing atomic-level
8.01 mmol h1. Furthermore, in the presence of isopropanol, the structural and interfacial 2D nanojunctions to steer charge separation
photoactive acetonyl–platinum complexes are generated reproducibly and transportation in the nanocomposite.
via a continuous isopropanol-to-acetone conversion and thus work
sustainably. This finding indicates the possibility of artificially creating
self-reproducible systems to drive photocatalytic reactions efficiently 21/00127 Methanol steam reforming for hydrogen
and robustly. generation: a comparative modeling study between silica
and Pd-based membrane reactors by CFD method
Ghasemzadeh, K. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106273.
21/00124 Highly enhanced performance of heterojunction Pd-based membranes are the most studied in applications of membrane
Bi2S3/BiVO4 photoanode for photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen reactors in the field of high grade hydrogen production. The main
production under solar light irradiation issues of Pd-membranes such as high cost and relatively low hydrogen
Li, F. and Leung, D. Y. C. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, permeability limit their wide development at larger scale, favouring
115266. other inorganic materials such as silica to be used as membrane for
A heterojunction structure of BiVO4 coupled with a narrow bandgap hydrogen generation/purification. Therefore, this theoretical study
photocatalyst Bi2S3 was fabricated forming a composite material with aims to evaluate the performance of silica (4 mm of thickness and
strong capacity in visible light absorption and enhancement in the 5 cm of active length) and Pd–Ag (50 mm thick and 5 cm of active
separation rate of photogenerated charge carriers owing to their length) membrane reactors exercised at the same operating conditions
suitable band structures. As a result, efficiency of hydrogen production and using the same reaction kinetics to produce hydrogen from
through photoelectrocatalysis is highly enhanced. The morphology and methanol steam reforming reaction. Furthermore, an equivalent
composition of as-prepared sample electrodes are measured through traditional reactor is studied for comparison. A computational fluid
X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution dynamics model was developed, firstly validating the former with
transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectro- experimental literature data. The effects of reaction pressure and
scopy. The performance of the hybrid nanostructure Bi2S3/BiVO4 temperature on the reactors performance in terms of hydrogen yield,
photoelectrode was found to be related to the growing process of Bi2S3 methanol conversion and CO selectivity were hence studied and
nanowire during the hydrothermal preparation process. The compos- discussed. The simulations via a computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
ited Bi2S3/BiVO4 photoanode achieved a photoconversion efficiency of method indicated that the silica membrane reactor results to be the
2.9% which is nearly three-fold that of the bare BiVO4 electrode under best solution over the Pd–Ag membrane reactor and the traditional
visible light irradiation, while the hydrogen production was greatly reactor as well, presenting the best simulation results at 513 K, 10 bar,
enhanced by nearly five-fold in the photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen sweep-factor = 6, GHSV = 6000 h1 and feed molar ratio = 3/1 with
production reaction. CO selectivity equal to 0.04%, methanol conversion and hydrogen
yield >90%.
21/00125 Integrated dark-photo fermentative hydrogen
production from synthetic gelatinaceous wastewater via
cost-effective hybrid reactor at ambient temperature 21/00128 Modeling of hydrogen diffusion in duplex
Meky, N. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112250. stainless steel based on microstructure using finite
The industrial application of anaerobic digestion to treat protein-rich element method
wastewater (e.g. gelatin) is promising; however, inhibitory effects such Tao, P. et al. International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 2020,
as released excess ammonia on methanogens causes limitations. This 180, 104031.
study investigated the potential of sequential dark and photo- Duplex stainless steels (DSS) are subjected to a deleterious effect
fermentation for wastewater treatment and simultaneous bio-hydrogen known as hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC). Revealing the hydrogen
production (as energy source). To this end, a new configuration, diffusion behaviour in DSS is the key to understanding the mechanism
namely dark-photo circular baffled reactor (DP-CBR) was introduced of HAC, since hydrogen diffusivity and solubility are different in ferrite
and operated at ambient temperature (21  10  C). The reactor was and austenite. In this study, finite element analyses on hydrogen
composed of four identical compartments, where fluorescent tubes diffusion behaviour in DSS were performed by considering the
were installed to the last two compartments, i.e. C1–C2 (dark) and C3– combined effect of heterogeneous microstructure and hydrostatic
C4 (photo). The long-term impact of main operational parameters [i.e. stress with the help of finite element program ABAQUS. Two-
hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6, 12 and 24 h at initial pH of 5.5 dimensional dual-phase models with representative volume element
and 6.5] was assessed. Maximum hydrogen yield (HY) of 0.4 L/g COD, were applied based on the obtained microstructure using optical
COD removal of 82%, and organic-N removal of 95% were obtained at microscopy. The constant loading catholic charging experiments were
HRT of 24 h and initial pH of 6.5. Increasing HRT was found to also carried out to provide comparative results for characterization on
maintain the reactor efficiency at ambient temperature. Lowering the susceptibility of DSS to HAC. Results indicate that hydrogen
initial pH to 5.5 deteriorated the dark-treatment at C1 and C2, diffusion in DSS is strongly dependent on the morphological diversity
resulting in lower local HY and ammonification efficiency. Further, the of microstructure. Compared to the coupled analysis with stress effect,
results confirmed that higher HY was achieved in the photo- hydrogen diffusivity and concentration are observed with an increase,
fermentation, as the protein hydrolysis was mainly achieved in the and experimental results show that most of the HAC cracks initiate in
dark-fermentation. The residual free ammonia (<0.36 mg/L), at all the ferrite phase and arrested by austenite.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 21

03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

21/00129 Phosphorous-doped molybdenum disulfide of water dissociation, the key rate-limiting step for the WGS reaction
anchored on silicon as an efficient catalyst for on copper surfaces, suggest that platinum nanotubes stand up as being
photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation probably the most active catalysts for the water gas shift reaction.
Chen, C.-J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, Therefore, a detailed analysis is presented here of the performance of
118259. platinum nanotubes in the catalysis of the WGS reaction, by employing
Herein, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) integrated on Si pyramids was the Pt(5,3) nanotube as catalyst model and periodic density functional
used as a co-catalyst to improve charge separation efficiency. Various theory (DFT) calculations. To do so, several reaction pathways were
quantities of phosphorus (P) heteroatoms were doped into MoS2 considered on the faces of the Pt(5,3) nanotube and then, energetic
materials to boost catalytic performance. Raman and extended X-ray balances for the elementary steps on each pathway were determined.
absorption fine structure spectra showed that the introduction of P This provided the conclusion that the most feasible reaction route for
dopants increased the number of exposed edges and sulfur vacancies the WGS reaction on this nanotube follows an associative mechanism
that acted as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) active sites on MoS2 through the carboxyl intermediary. The results of this study revealed
and enhanced photoelectrochemical activity. Density functional theory also that the Pt(5,3) nanotube is an adequate system for the catalysis of
calculations revealed that the HER inert basal plane of MoS2 became the WGS reaction, apart from avoiding the sintering problem intrinsic
catalytically active after P atoms doping. MoS1.75P0.25/Si pyramids to catalysts based on nanoparticles dispersed on a support.
presented the optimal onset potential of +0.29 V (vs RHE) and current
density 23.8 mA cm2. A titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer was prepared
through atomic layer deposition and served as a passivation layer that
21/00133 Process intensification through the use of
improved photocathode stability. The photocurrent retention of
multifunctional reactors for PEMFC grade hydrogen
MoS1.75P0.25/10 nm TiO2/Si pyramids was 84.0% after 2 h of chron-
production: process design and simulation
oamperometric measurement.
Izurieta, E. M. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107711.
21/00130 Photoelectrochemical water splitting by A highly integrated process aiming electrical and heating power supply
engineered multilayer TiO2/GQDs photoanode with cascade is proposed. Ethanol, water and air at atmospheric conditions are
charge transfer structure considered as feedstocks. Main focus is put in process intensification
Sajjadizadeh, H.-S. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, through the use of parallel-plate and membrane reactors allowing the
2020, 45, (1), 123–134. combination of different process operations within the units. The
By converting sunlight into hydrogen, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) electric power is generated by means of a proton-exchange membrane
water splitting using semiconductor electrodes could provide a unique fuel cell (PEMFC), which is fed with pure hydrogen produced by
strategy for solving the environmental pollution and energy crisis. A ethanol steam reforming with subsequent purification. Appropriate
PEC fuel cell is mainly composed of light-absorbing photoelectrodes thermal integration is achieved both in the parallel-plate units as well
(n-type and/or p-type semiconductor as the photoanode and/or as in the membrane reactor. The high temperature of the streams
photocathode, respectively) and the electrolyte. Since water oxidation exiting the reformer allows preheating the air to the combustion
is the rate-determining step of water splitting, the design of high- sections and the sweep gas to the membrane reactor improving the
efficiency photoanodes for oxygen evolution has attracted widespread process integration and achieving an electrical production of 2.5 kW. In
attention. Here, an efficient photoanode engineered with the cascade addition, a hot water stream is used to produce the cogeneration heat,
structure of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) | c-TiO2 | few graphene increasing the total thermal efficiency up to 56.3%.
layers | TiO2/graphene quantum dots (GQDs) | Ni(OH)2 assembly
[Ni(OH)2 photoanode] is presented. This photoanode exhibited much
lower electron–hole recombination, fast charge transport, higher
21/00134 Reactor conceptual design by optimization for
visible light harvesting, and excellent performance with respect to
hydrogen production through intensified sorption- and
FTO | c-TiO2 | TiO2 assembly (TiO2 photoanode) in the photoelec-
membrane-enhanced water-gas shift reaction
trocatalytic oxygen evolution process. The photocurrent density of
Živković, L. A. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115174.
Ni(OH)2 photoanode is seven times (0.35 mA cm2 at 1.23 V vs RHE)
In this feasibility study, a novel industrial-scale reactor structure for
greater than that of TiO2 photoanode (0.045 mA cm2 at 1.23 V vs
continuous hydrogen production via intensified water–gas shift (WGS)
RHE). The compact TiO2 (c-TiO2) layer in Ni(OH)2 photoanode plays
reaction is proposed. It considers both trickling calcium oxide sorbent
a role of an effective hole-blocking layer. Few-layer graphene layer
for carbon dioxide removal (SOR) and Pd-based membrane for
could speed up the transport of the photogenerated electrons from the
hydrogen separation (MEM). It is shown that WGS, SOR, MEM,
conduction band of the TiO2/GQDs to FTO. Ni(OH)2 layer could
and cooling can be decoupled with a special reactor superstructure
transfer rapidly holes into electrolyte solution.
mathematically represented with the pseudo-homogenous one-dimen-
sional model. The final reactor structure and operating conditions are
21/00131 Plasma-enabled catalyst-free conversion of determined by using rigorous multi-objective optimization. Two
ethanol to hydrogen gas and carbon dots near room objective functions take all main costs into account (total reactor
temperature volume and respective volumetric fractions for the catalyst, sorbent,
Zhou, R. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122745. and membrane) and the main benefit (hydrogen yield). The results
Selective conversion of bio-renewable ethanol under mild conditions show that the best cost-benefit relation can be achieved with the two-
especially at room temperature remains a major challenge for module reactor and combined WGS and SOR processes, with 95%
sustainable production of hydrogen and valuable carbon-based carbon monoxide conversion (64% higher than the equilibrium
materials. In this study, adaptive non-thermal plasma is applied to conversion at the same conditions) and the outlet-stream containing
deliver pulsed energy to rapidly and selectively reform ethanol in the only 0.7% of carbon dioxide.
absence of a catalyst. Importantly, the carbon atoms in ethanol that
would otherwise be released into the environment in the form of CO or
CO2 are effectively captured in the form of carbon dots (CDs). Three
21/00135 Techno-economic analysis of a hybrid power
modes of non-thermal spark plasma discharges, i.e. single spark mode,
system based on the cost-effective hydrogen production
multiple spark mode (MSM) and gliding spark mode, provide
method for rural electrification, a case study in Iran
additional flexibility in ethanol reforming by controlling the processes
Rad, M. A. V. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116421.
of energy transfer and distribution, thereby affecting the flow rate, gas
Rural electrification challenges in Iran are the most important obstacle
content, and energy consumption in H2 production. A favourable
to achieve electricity access for the entire population. The current
combination of low temperature (<40  C), attractive conversion rate
study focuses on finding an optimal renewable energy system to meet
(gas flow rate of 120 mL/min), high hydrogen yield (H2 content
the load of a small village by renewable resources. This village faces
>90%), low energy consumption (0.96 kWh/m3 H2) and the effective
frequent power outages, common in many far-off villages in Iran. A
generation of photoluminescent CDs (which are applicable for
hybrid photovoltaics/wind turbine/biogas generator/fuel cell renewable
bioimaging or biolabelling) in the MSM indicate that the proposed
energy system is proposed and analysed for both stand-alone and on-
strategy may offer a new carbon-negative avenue for comprehensive
grid application. Fuel cells are used alongside a hydrogen tank,
utilization of alcohols and mitigating the increasingly severe energy and
batteries and a reformer or an electrolyser, to act as storage devices
environmental issues.
and backup component. The main goal is to find an optimal
configuration that can meet the electricity demand and be satisfactory
21/00132 Probing the efficiency of platinum nanotubes for from both an economic and environmental point of view. The results
the H2 production by water gas shift reaction: a DFT study indicated that using solar, wind and biogas is the most affordable
Fajı́n, J. L. C. and M. N. D. S. Cordeiro, M. N. Applied Catalysis B: method and that adding fuel cell to this configuration would increase
Environmental, 2020, 263, 118301. costs by 33–37%, but also improve system flexibility. Using a reformer
The water gas shift (WGS) reaction is an important step in many is more efficient and about 6% less costly, but also creates more
industrial processes and has thus stimulated various investigations pollution. The cost of energy for a stand-alone system with reformer
focusing on optimizing its catalysts. Previous studies comparing the was calculated to be 0.164 to 0.233 $/kWh, while the on-grid system cost
reactivity of pure and doped-metallic nanotubes towards the catalysis of energy was 0.096–0.125 $/kWh.

22 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 04 By-products related to fuels

21/00136 Two-phase convection heat transfer correlations collected from different heating surfaces in a 350 MW boiler burning
for liquid hydrogen pipe chilldown 30% Wudong (WD) and 70% Wucaiwan (WCW) coals. Thermodyn-
Darr, S. R. and Hartwig, J. W. Cryogenics, 2020, 105, 102999. amics calculations were applied to study the mineral composition of
Recently, heat transfer correlations based on liquid nitrogen (LN2) and coal ash in the range of 200–1600  C under different coal co-firing
liquid hydrogen (LH2) pipe quenching data were developed to improve ratio. The analytical results of the ash deposits showed that in medium
the predictive accuracy of lumped node codes like SINDA/FLUINT temperature (800–1100  C) flue gas zone (FR and FS), ash deposits
and the generalized fluid system simulation program (GFSSP). After have higher sulfate content. While in high temperature flue gas zone
implementing these correlations into both programs, updated model (WW and PS), ash deposits have higher Si/Al content and lower S
runs showed strong improvement in LN2 pipe chilldown modelling but content. The Na/S contents in FR (1000  C) are much higher than in
only modest improvement in LH2 chilldown modelling. Due to large other deposits. The thermal equilibrium calculation results showed that
differences in thermal and fluid properties between the two fluids, a large amount of liquid Na2SO4 and CaSO4 will be generated when
results indicated a need to develop a separate set of LH2-only burning WCW coal. Co-firing WD and WCW coals can reduce the
correlations to improve the accuracy of the simulations. This paper amount of sulfate (l/slag) formation and the co-firing ratio greatly
presents a new set of two-phase convection heat transfer correlations influence the elimination effect. It can be speculated that not all the
based on LH2 pipe quenching data. A correlation to predict the bulk sulfates in the ash deposits are formed in flue gas. The sulfation of the
vapour temperature was developed after analysis showed that large Na-containing minerals condensed on the heating surfaces will
departures from thermal equilibrium between the liquid and vapour promote the ash deposition.
phases occurred during film boiling of LH2. Implemented in a
numerical model, the new correlations achieve a mean absolute error
21/00140 Effect of water vapor on viscosity behavior of
of 19.5 K in the predicted wall temperature when compared to recent
coal slags with high silicon-aluminum level under
LH2 pipe chilldown data – an improvement of 40% over recent GFSSP
gasification condition
predictions. This set of correlations can be implemented in simulations
Cao, X. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116351.
of the transient LH2 chilldown process. Such simulations are useful for
For the slagging gasifiers, the slag viscosity behaviour is a critical
predicting the chilldown time and boil-off mass of LH2 for applications
parameter for the smooth slag tapping and long-term operation. Water
such as the transfer of LH2 from a ground storage tank to the rocket
vapour is an important component of the syngas in the gasifier,
vehicle propellant tank, or through a rocket engine feedline during
especially for coal water slurry gasification. This paper presents the
engine startup.
results of a study to investigate the effect of water vapour on viscosity
behaviour of coal slags with high silicon-aluminium level. The
21/00137 Weakening the metal-support strong interaction viscosities of three synthetic coal slags with different Si/Al ratios (mass
to enhance catalytic performances of alumina supported ratio of SiO2 and Al2O3) was measured in argon with 10%, 20% and
Ni-based catalysts for producing hydrogen 30% water vapour as a function of temperature. As the water vapour
Lu, J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118177. proportion increased, the viscosity of the slag with high silicon-
Praseodymium (Pr) promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts with multiple Pr6O11 aluminium level at same temperature increased slightly. Besides, the
stabilized Ni0/NiO structure are synthesized by varying amounts of Pr slag with Si/Al of 2.0 transformed from a glassy slag to a crystalline one
and Ni using co-incipient wetness impregnation method and are when the water vapour proportion was increase up to 30%. The
investigated for hydrogen production via methanol steam reforming. oxidation state of iron of the slags was not affected by the increase in
Various technique, such as, XRD, H2-TPR, in situ XPS, HRTEM and water vapour proportion under Ar with water vapour condition.
Raman, are used to characterize those materials. Characterization Analysis of the slag structure demonstrated that water vapour entering
results show that Pr species is presented in the form of Pr oxide after the slag was benefit to the formation of Si–O–Si bridges and [AlO 4]5
reduction, and the geometrical and electronic action of Pr oxide on structure. Meanwhile, activation energy for viscous flow (E) increased
NiO species leads to the formation of multiple Pr6O11 stabilized Ni0/ with the increasing water vapour proportion. Water vapour also
NiO structure, which promotes the low-temperature catalytic perform- promotes crystallization and growth of crystals of the slag with high
ance. Compared with Ni/Al2O3, 10 wt% Pr promoted Ni catalyst silicon-aluminium level during cooling, leading to the increase in the
exhibits the longer-term stability owing to the strong inhibition to the temperature of critical viscosity (TCV).
aggregation of metallic Ni0 particles, originating from the synergistic
effect of Pr oxide on immobilization the metallic Ni0 particle and its
size distribution as well as on the electronic role of Ni0/NiO species. 21/00141 Graphite felt incorporated with MoS2/rGO for
electrochemical detoxification of high-arsenic fly ash
Luo, Y. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122763.
Accumulation of high-arsenic fly ash (HAFA) poses a serious
environmental threat due to the toxicity of As and release of other
heavy metals especially Cr. In this work, a novel graphite felt (GF)
04 BY-PRODUCTS RELATED cathode modified with the nanoscale MoS2/reduced graphene oxide
(rGO) heterojunction is prepared by blending with PTFE emulsion for
TO FUELS efficient synergistic oxidative dissolution of As(III) and Cr(III) in
HAFA. By taking advantage of the p-n junction characteristics of the
heterojunction and appropriate hydrophobicity of the PTFE coating,
21/00138 Application of BP neural network to the the modified GF efficiently utilizes both dissolved O2 and gaseous O2
prediction of coal ash melting characteristic temperature in the 2e oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This theoretical
Liang, W. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116324. assessment indicates that gaseous O2 adsorbs stably on sulfur vacancies
The characteristic temperature of coal ash melting strongly influences and is reduced by electrons transmitted from rGO. Experimentally, the
the blast furnace injection process. The coal ash deformation modified GF shows superior ORR catalytic activity as exemplified by a
temperature is determined by its chemical composition, but relation- high peak current density of 8.41 mA cm2 and onset potential of
ship between the two remains uncertain. In this paper, the traditional
linear regression, FactSage calculation, and back-propagation (BP)
_
0.53 V vs RHE. The OH generated by the Cr- and Fe-triggered
autocatalysis mechanism promotes oxidization of As(III) and Cr(III) in
neural network calculation are used to predict the coal ash deformation detoxification of HAFA resulting in 96.1% As removal as well as
temperature. The results show that the melting characteristic tem- 70.74% Cr removal in 135 min. The modified GF with excellent stability
perature of coal ash has a great relationship with the coal ash and durability has immense industrial prospect in detoxification of
composition. The linear regression can predict the change trend of coal HAFA and treatment of other types of As-containing hazardous
ash deformation temperature, but the prediction results are not very wastes.
satisfactory. The calculation results of FactSage show a great deviation
from the experimental values. The prediction results of the BP neural 21/00142 Highly active monolith catalysts of LaKCoO3
network can achieve good accuracy, and the maximum relative average Perovskite-type complex oxide on alumina-washcoated
error of prediction results is 6.67%. This also illustrates the feasibility diesel particulate filter and the catalytic performances for
of using the BP network prediction model in predicting coal ash the combustion of soot
deformation temperature. Tang, L. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 159–173.
The LaKCoO3/–Al2O3/cordierite and LaCoO3/–Al2O3/cordierite
21/00139 Ash deposition of Zhundong coal in a 350 MW monolithic catalysts were successfully prepared by impregnating the
pulverized coal furnace: influence of sulfation as-pretreated monolith with aqueous solution of metal salts on
Shi, H. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116317. monolithic cordierite substrate with a dip-coating two-step method.
The huge reserve of Zhundong (ZD) coal makes it important for For comparison, one-step method without the alumina sol coating was
energy utilization of China. However, big concerns on fouling and also investigated. The monolithic catalysts were characterized by means
slagging in pulverized coal-firing boilers were risen due to its high of several imaging methods. The characterization results demonstrate
alkali content. It is important to investigate deposition in different the formation of a small amount of CO3O4 when a large amount of K+
heating surfaces of a boiler burning ZD coal. In this paper, XRF, XRD was introduced into LaCoO3 for the substitution of La3+. The coating
and ICP-OES were conducted to analyse the properties of ash deposits of porous hollow aluminium oxide nanoparticles could enhance the

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 23

05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

surface area of monolithic cordierite by about 100 times. The active

components of LaKCoO3/–Al2O3 supported catalysts can disperse on 05 NUCLEAR FUELS
the surface of the catalysts as monolayer and be the uniform
distributions of La, Co and K. The ultrasonic vibration treating results
indicated that the Al2O3 washcoat and catalyst components were
adhered to the substrate strongly, the average weight loss is limited to
about 1.0% of the washcoat weight after 30 min in ultrasonic bath. The Scientific, technical
TG–DSC results show the good thermal stability of the LaKCoO3 and
LaCoO3 coatings on alumina-coated monolithic cordierite. The
LaKCoO3/–Al2O3/cordierite catalyst gave the highest catalytic activity
for soot combustion among the studied catalysts. The T10, T50, T90 over 21/00146 2-D microflow generation on superhydrophilic
the LaKCoO3/–Al2O3/cordierite catalyst were 186.3, 314.6 and nanoporous substrates using epoxy spots for pool boiling
390.0  C, respectively, and Sm
co2 was 99.8%.
enhancement
Najafpour, S. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass
21/00143 Measurement and correlation of adsorption Transfer, 2020, 113, 104553.
equilibria of propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate on This paper describes an experimental investigation on the pool boiling
activated carbon in the presence of supercritical carbon enhancement in deionized water on nanoporous surfaces. The surfaces
dioxide are modified by anodic oxidation, and cavities with 2 mm diameter and
Ushiki, I. et al. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2020, 513, 112556. pitches between 2.5 and 5 mm applied on them using electric
The adsorption equilibria of propylene glycol monomethyl ether discharging machining method filled with a two-part epoxy with low
acetate (PGMEA), a major volatile organic compound (VOC) used thermal conductivity properties. The capillary wicking action of the
in the semiconductor industry, on activated carbon were measured in superhydrophilic nanoporous oxide layer enhances the rewetting and
the presence of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) at temperatures spreading of the liquid to dry-spots during boiling. The epoxy disks
from 313 to 353 K and pressures from 10.0 to 20.0 MPa. The amount of remain wet and prevent merging bubbles during the pool boiling
adsorbed PGMEA considerably depended on the pressure and experiment and a 2-D microflow is induced toward dried regions with
temperature conditions in scCO2, which could be explained by the synergic effects of nanoporous surface absorption, create a consider-
effects of CO2 density and VOC fugacity. The Dubinin–Astakhov (DA) able delay in the formation of a vapour blanket. The results indicate
equation has two fitting parameters, interaction energy between that the anodized surface enhances the critical heat flux (CHF) by 33%
adsorbate and adsorbent (EVOC) and saturated adsorption capacity of and the heat transfer coefficient increases by 48% at the CHF
VOC on adsorbent (W0,VOC), and was used to correlate the measured compared to the non-coated substrate. It has been shown that for
adsorption equilibria. Correlation by the DA equation was useful for anodized samples with 3 and 4 mm epoxy spot pitches the CHF equals
analysing the adsorption equilibria of PGMEA on activated carbon in to 144 and 133 W/cm2, respectively, considerably higher than the
scCO2 by considering the affinity of the adsorbate for the adsorbent coated surface without epoxy parts 125 W/cm2.
and competitive adsorption of CO2.
21/00147 3D tritium transport analysis for WCCB blanket
21/00144 Non-thermal plasma as a promising route for the based on COMSOL
removal of tar from the product gas of biomass gasification Zhao, X. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111405.
– a critical review As one of the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR)
Saleem, F. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122761. candidate blanket schemes, a water-cooled ceramic breeder (WCCB)
Biomass gasification has the potential to be employed as a source of blanket is being designed and developed by the Institute of Plasma
renewable energy, the process produces gaseous fuel named syngas, Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Considering the safe operation
which could be a sustainable alternative to environmentally harming, of blanket, especially the radioactivity of tritium, it is crucial to study
and finite, fossil fuels. However, the feasibility of commercial scale the tritium performance in the blanket, such as inventory, permeation,
application of biomass gasifiers is hindered by the production of tars in tritium taken by purge gas and release, which can likewise provide
the gasification process. Tars incur operating issues such as fouling and information for study and design of tritium extraction system (TES)
clogging of piping, catalyst degradation, and tar polymerization and coolant purification system (CPS). Based on finite element method
(potentially forming soot). Most problematically, the presence of tars (FEM), a more accurate three-dimensional model is set up using the
can render syngas unsuitable for the use in conventional combustion COMSOL Multi-physics code. It was found that in the 3D simulation,
engines, and gas turbines; which utilize the energy from syngas. This the total amount of tritium inventory, tritium permeation, tritium taken
review discusses the available literature about the tar reduction by purge gas was 30.07 mg, 1.58  101g/y and 37.29 g/y, respectively.
techniques from biomass gasification and then novel non-thermal The tritium release out of the blanket is 1.21  104g/y, which can be
plasma treatments of tars are considered in detail. negligible. The sensitivity analysis shows the change of tritium related
quantities with the velocity of purge gas. The tritium partial pressure in
the breeder zone significantly increases with the decrease of velocity of
21/00145 The role of activated carbon size in the catalytic purge gas, which is able to fulfil the requirement of the design of
cracking of naphthalene tritium plant, meanwhile, the increase of tritium permeation into the
Parrillo, F. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116385. coolant should also be concerned from the perspective of reducing the
Activated carbons are efficient catalysts for tar cracking, suitable for tritium losses. The sensitivity analysis for the release ratio of elemental
hot cleaning of the syngas produced during biomass- and waste-to- tritium (HT) and tritium oxide (HTO) shows that the tritium
energy gasification processes. This study investigates the conversion of permeation into the coolant is less sensitive to the release proportion
naphthalene, utilized as reference for tar compounds, when catalysed of HT. The tritium taken by purge gas decreases with the increasing of
by a coal-derived activated carbon. The attention focuses on the release ratio of HT. It is remarkable that the tritium partial pressure in
influence of the operating temperature, in the range 750–900  C, and the first breeder zone shows higher sensitivity to the increasing of
the size of selected activated carbon, which has been used under form release proportion of HT. The tritium partial pressure in the breeder
of pellets, granules and powders. The conversion efficiency improves zone is dramatically increased with the increasing of release ratio of
when the temperature raised from 750 to 900  C (from 79% to 99%, for HT, which is beneficial to meet the requirement of tritium partial
the pellets), and when the catalyst size reduced from pellets to powders pressure limits for tritium extraction system.
(from 79% to 97%, at 750  C). The diffusional resistance in the catalyst
particles has been then quantified in terms of Thiele modulus and
internal effectiveness factor. A gradual reduction of catalyst surface 21/00148 A chitosan-graphene oxide/ZIF foam with
area has been also observed for longer tests, due to the progressive anti-biofouling ability for uranium recovery from seawater
deposition of soot from naphthalene decomposition over and inside the Guo, X. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122850.
porous structure of the activated carbon. The carbon content of these Biofouling is the most affecting factor in the recovery of uranium due
deposits has been quantified, showing larger percentages on the to the presence of large number of marine microorganisms in the
surface of granules and powders. seawater. Herein, a chitosan–graphene oxide (GO)/ZIF (GCZ8A)
foam adsorbent with antifouling properties was prepared via in situ
growth of silver ions doped ZIF-8 on a chitosan–GO foam substrate to
overcome the challenges of traditional powder types for real
applications. The mechanical properties and degradation tests was
investigated to confirm that the GCZ8A adsorbent exhibited high
mechanical properties with nearly 352.41 kPa of compression stress and
low degradation with 3.26% of mass loss in seawater. Moreover, for
Nitzschia, the GCZ8A composites not only displayed growth inhibitory
behaviour (>70% cell death rate), but also inhibited cell adhesion on
its surface. The maximum U -uptake capacity of antibiofouling
adsorbent (361.01 mg g1) was 1.9 times than pure ZIF-8
(189.75 mg g1) at pH 8.0, owing to its large specific surface area

24 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

(200.79 m2/g) and nitrogen/oxygen functional groups. The adsorbent experiments) immersed in the BA-dissolved de-ionized water; metal
displayed an excellent reusability and achieved the 121.7 mg g1 elements dissolves with time. For the non-corrosive test section, critical
adsorption capacity at five cycles. Moreover, GCZ8A adsorbent heat flux (CHF) values increase with the metal oxide particles in the
exhibited high U-uptake capacity (12.24 mg g1) with 66.31% of coolant where particle deposition occurs. In comparison, for the
U(VI)-removal rate in natural seawater (Bohai, China). All of uranium corrosive test section, CHF is strongly affected by boiling times. For
removal rate of GCZ8A was nearly 70% in simulated contaminated relatively short boiling times, the enhancement is much more notice-
seawater, which further affirmed its potential for actual application. able than the longer ones; degradation of CHF values are sometimes
observed for the latter condition.
21/00149 A radiation avoiding algorithm of path
optimization for radiation protection of workers and robots 21/00153 Control system of neutral particle analyzer in
Tan, K. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106968. energy sweeping mode
This paper introduces a local path optimization problem which is Dreval, M. B. and Slavnyj, A. S. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020,
different from the global path optimization problem of radiation 151, 111412.
protection for workers and robots. For the local path optimization The energy sweeping mode was used for measurement of the energy
problem, a radiation-avoiding algorithm of path optimization is distribution of charge exchange neutrals every 3–5 ms via single-
proposed. The beetle antennae search (BAS) mechanism was com- channel electrostatic neutral particle analyser (NPA) in the U-3 M
bined with radiation dosimetry, and a radiation-perceiving motion stellarator. The magnetic mass-separation (MS) part of NPA was
model established with local perceiving and target-attractive functions. omitted during these energy-sweeping measurements. The MS part is
In the research process, the authors improved the motion model and required for some experimental conditions in a case when different
the algorithm to reduce the randomness to form the local perceiving mass ions are present in plasma and for efficient suppression of
and target-attractive radiation-avoiding (LTRA) algorithm, applied parasitic influence of plasma radiation on the NPA measurements (due
them to radiation-avoidance in an environment with single and to geometrical factor). New control system and power electronics of the
multiple point sources. The experimental results show that the LTRA NPA have been developed. This system provides NPA measurement
algorithm can provide very effective results and has a real-time running with MS magnet in the energy range of 0–2 keV every 5 ms in U-3 M.
speed. In addition, the LTRA algorithm also exhibits more flexible The time achieved for one measurement (5 ms) is an order of
working conditions when operating without road network constraints. magnitude less than the L/R time constant of the NPA MS magnet.
The research results contribute to expand the theorical system of path- This fast operation is achieved by application of rather high voltage to
planning algorithms for workers and robots engaging in radiation the MS magnet. The ‘self-defined’ strategy of the MS current shaping
works. was used. The problem of simultaneous variation of the voltage at
electrostatic part and current in MS magnet in accordance with NPA
21/00150 Application of total variation denoising in nuclear calibration is solved in this work. The STM32F100 microprocessor was
power plant signal pre-processing used as a control unit, the IGBT bridge was used as a power unit of MS
Yang, B. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106981. magnet, the digital to analogue convertor unit of STM32F100
Pre-processing of generated signals from sensors installed in nuclear microprocessor was used for the electrostatic voltage formation, and
power plant (NPP) components is a critical step towards enhancing the direct memory access unit of the STM32F100 microprocessor was
signal characteristics and reliability of extracted data used in diagnos- used for synchronized output of two control signals. Square wave 310 V
ing the operational state of components or systems. Denoising is one of pulses of variable duration were used for control of the MS magnet
the essential features of the signal pre-processing tools in the current. Thus, the NPA energy distribution with improved energy
instrument control system of a NPP. A number of denoising methods resolution and mass separation can be measured by single-channel
have been applied in filtering out noisy signals from sensors in NPP. NPA using developed electronics.
This paper presents the study on the applicability of the total variation
(TV) denoising method in NPP signal preprocessing. The majorization- 21/00154 Copper canister shearing in spent nuclear fuel
minimization optimization framework was firstly applied to determine repository using Bodner–Partom model
the optimization function suitable for the TV denoising model. An Khadivipanah, P. et al. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment,
iterative algorithm was subsequently derived to solve the TV denoising 2020, 22, 100171.
model. The model was applied to denoise the water level signal of a This paper describes the implementation of the Bodner–Partom model
NPP pressurizer and a simulation signal of loose parts. The results for the analysis of copper corrosion barrier in canisters containing
showed that the denoising method used can effectively filter out the spent nuclear fuel. The Bonder–Partom constitutive model im-
noise mixed in the signal by selecting appropriate regularization plemented in CODE_BRIGHT finite element code is compared with
parameter that enhances the accuracy of signal feature extraction. The experimental results for validation and with the Stealth finite
results of the study indicate that the TV denoising model is applicable difference code for verification. Deep geological disposal is the most
to NPP components. reliable alternative for the spent nuclear fuel storage. This disposal is
based on the multiple barriers principle. Different barriers will prevent
21/00151 Assessment of swelling and constituent the release of the radionuclides and one of the barriers is the canister
redistribution in uranium-zirconium fuel using phenomena that will contain the spent fuel. The canister will be constructed mainly
identification and ranking tables (PIRT) in cast iron for giving mechanical protection to the spent fuel with a
Williams, W. J. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107016. copper shell for protecting the cast iron against corrosion. Due to the
Metallic alloy U-Zr nuclear fuels remain a candidate for future US fast high strength of metals, the canister components will keep it inside the
reactors. However, with more than 30 years of investigation into the elastic region during the hydration of the buffer, so it has not been
system, U-Zr fuel remains unqualified and lacks predictive modelling necessary to implement more accurate constitutive models for the
capabilities. Phenomenon identification and ranking tables (PIRT) simulation. The canister is considered more as a boundary condition
were developed for U-Zr fuels to prioritize the study of microstructural rather than a component to be analysed when the hydration and
phenomena related to fuel performance and to aid predictive models. swelling processes are assessed but in case of relative displacements
Two areas of emphasis, fuel swelling and constituent redistribution, between the lips of joints intersecting a deposition hole because of an
were identified with PIRT and were evaluated in detail. The analysis earthquake induced by the increase of vertical load due to the
identified influencing parameters that should be considered during accumulation of ice during a glaciation or any other tectonic effect,
future studies including: external mechanical constraint, temperature, not likely in Baltic shield, the stresses in canister could be high enough
composition, crystallographic texture, temperature gradient, fabrica- for reaching plastic conditions and in this case, it is considered
tion constraints, fission density, fission rate, initial porosity, and pre- necessary to use more accurate constitutive models for the simulation
irradiation grain size. The PIRT results support the need for a of the canister–buffer system.
comprehensive study that focus on the decoupling of fission rate,
irradiation temperature, and alloy composition to independently 21/00155 Design of high-power wideband polarizer for
investigate the microstructural evolution in the multiple phases typical electron cyclotron resonance heating systems on CFETR
of advanced reactor conditions. Zhang, F. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 150, 111367.
The desired polarization for electron cyclotron resonance heating
21/00152 Boric acid and boiling time effects on critical heat (ECRH) systems is generated by a pair of polarizers integrated into the
flux for corrosive and non-corrosive materials transmission lines. This paper presents the design of a high-power
Kam, D. H. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 106999. wideband polarizer for 170 and 230 GHz ECRH systems on the
Boric acid (BA)-added coolant used for severe accident mitigation Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). A low-loss, high-
strategies (IVR-ERVC and core catcher) induces dissolution of heated stability and high-efficiency polarizer is required for multifrequency,
surfaces during corrosion process; metal ion or particle concentrations high-power, and long-pulse ECRH systems to realize the arbitrary
inside the coolant increase with the corrosion process. In this study, polarization state at different operating frequencies. Hence, two
various states of BA-added working fluids are considered for both sinusoidal-grooved wideband polarizers with shallow grooves and
corrosive and non-corrosive test sections. Before each experiments, the identical parameters are designed herein. The polarization character-
fluid conditions are made by the corrosion of carbon steels (not for the istics of wideband polarizer are presented for wideband polarizers at

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 25

05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

the frequency of 170 and 230 GHz, in particular for the case using two 21/00160 Hydrogen generation, and its venting from
identical polarizers consecutively. The results indicate that the two nuclear reactors
consecutive identical polarizers can achieve the arbitrary polarization Palacios, A. and Bradley, D. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102968.
state at frequencies of 170 and 230 GHz. Reactor fires and explosions are centred around the use of graphite as
a neutron moderator, and the high temperature generation of
hydrogen in reactions of steam and zirconium. An alternative to
21/00156 Effects of compensating for fuel losses during uncontrolled, excessive, build-up of pressure within the reactor, is the
the melt-refining process for a small CANDLE reactor provision of a buffer vessel, within which there is permeable membrane
Hoang, V. K. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106969. separation of hydrogen from radioactive products. Possible rates of
This paper presents the neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analysis of a production of hydrogen are compared with the rates at which it might
small CANDLE reactor with the melt-refining process. This process is be separated and then flared in lifted jet flames, giving high burn rates.
applied to recycle the metallic fuel elements and maintain the cladding There are few data on the behaviour of H2 flares in air cross flows, and
material integrity up to the radiation damage constraint of 200 dpa. this is synthesized from available data for other flammable gases.
The authors consider the effects of compensating for fuel losses during Destruction of hydrogen lifted jet flames by the cross flow of
the melt-refining process for a small CANDLE reactor via two atmospheric air would seem to be less likely than for hydrocarbon jet
methods: (1) adding uranium into each melt-refining region (MRR) flames. The H2 relationships are different from those of the
during the melt-refining stage; and (2) feeding fresh fuel into the hydrocarbons, due to the higher chemical reactivity of H2, its small
bottom of the core while refabricating the fuel pin. The results showed laminar flame thickness, reduced air requirement, higher acoustic
that it was possible to realize the CANDLE burnup strategy and velocity, and minimal flame lift-off distance. Flaring with micro-tubes
maintain the material integrity in a small CANDLE reactor. For future might be advantageous for integrating flaring with membrane hydrogen
work, an optimization related to the MRRs that combines the two separation, whilst high mass flow rates can be achieved with large
compensation methods should be investigated to improve the economy diameter flares in the lifted flame, supersonic regime.
of fuel reprocessing, reduce the excess reactivity and flatten the axial
power distribution.
21/00161 Impact glass applied as a standard for long-term
performance assessment of Na–Ba borosilicate glass forms
21/00157 Fault analysis and improved design of JET in geological environment
in-vessel Mirnov coils Kumar, A. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104477.
Baruzzo, M. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 150, 110863. High-level nuclear waste is usually immobilized into high silica glass
In-vessel Mirnov coils are an essential diagnostic in present day matrix for long-term and safe disposal in the geological repository.
tokamaks. Their use in ITER and future fusion reactors presents some Performance of glass forms is uncertain for the lack of standardization
disadvantages linked to the high radiation environment. Furthermore against a natural analogue. Thus, alteration studies were performed on
large electromagnetic forces can be experienced by the coil, due to the the impact glass as it is surviving in a natural environment since its
pulsed operation of the tokamak device and disruptions. Since the inception (570 ka). Further, these results were compared to laboratory
operation with the ITER-like wall, the Joint European Torus (JET) has induced alteration in the impact glass and Na and Ba borosilicate glass
experienced severe faults in the high-bandwidth Ti wire coils. During from the literature. Alteration experiments were carried out in the de-
2016–2017, new coils have been designed and installed. These can be ionized water under accelerated conditions at 100  C temperature and
replaced using remote handling, and they use Cu alloy wire. The 17.24 bar pressure in a variable time framework. Owing to rapid
presented work includes the failure analysis and modelling, motivating dissolution of synthetic glass, Al3+, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Na2+ and Si4+
the design differences between old and new coils. The latter will were released into the solution and finally secondary silicates (SS) were
provide valuable information on the long-term effects of electromag- formed in the residue. Comparing to impact glass, a three-fold higher
netic loads during disruptions, as well as chemical degradation alteration rate is noticed in the Na and Ba borosilicate glass forms. X-
processes that will be encountered for ITER high-frequency coils, ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopic–energy dispersive X-
which are characterized by the same materials. ray spectrometric analyses revealed formation of secondary mineral
assemblages (analcime, aragonite, illite, montmorillonite, saponite and
21/00158 Heat transfer performance of downward-facing stilbite) for both naturally and experimentally altered impact glass
carbon and stainless steel surfaces types. Moreover, nontronite phase was formed as a major post-
Kam, D. H. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass alteration product in Na and Ba borosilicate glass forms. The neo-
Transfer, 2020, 113, 104503. formed SS were compared to naturally derived SS from the impact
Heat transfer performance of downward-facing flat heaters is sum- glass in three time domains of (1) 570 to 5.41 ka, (2) 5.41 to 0.53 ka and
marized in this paper. The combined effects of material, orientation, (3) 0.53 to the recent period as determined by high-resolution 14C
dimension and pressure are considered. According to the overall accelerator mass spectroscopy. Naturally altered impact glass presents
trends, the results show complicated tendencies in which the paragenetic order of saponite > calcite > montmorillonite >
parameters are interrelated. With the heat transfer characteristics, montmorillonite/chlorite mixed layer > siderite > chabazite >
some critical heat flux trends that have been observed in previous aragonite > analcime. As compared to the impact glass, synthetic
studies are analysed. Some transitional phenomena occur with glass structure is very weak and friable towards alteration. Former
orientation, and a related analysis is conducted using a dry-spot attended as a more reliable standard glass.
concept. Various environments like pressurized conditions are con-
sidered in this study, including real accidental conditions. For the 21/00162 Performance assessment of the helium cooled
material effect, a real material, carbon steel, used for the severe first wall mock-up in HELOKA facility
accident mitigation strategies is considered. The overall heat transfer Ranjithkumar, S. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 150,
performance at the most critical locations of the severe accident 111319.
strategies can be extracted from the results. The lead–lithium ceramic breeder test blanket module being developed
by India for testing in ITER adopts various well-developed design
engineering and manufacturing technologies. The first wall (FW),
21/00159 Hydraulic characterization of conductor
which is directly exposed to the incident heat flux, is designed for high
prototypes for fusion magnets
pressure helium flow, high operating temperature (up to 100 bar and
Lewandowska, M. et al. Cryogenics, 2020, 105, 103013.
550  C) and considerable thermal stress and electromagnetic disruption
Forced flow high-temperature superconductors (HTS) designed for the
loads. In order to check the thermal performance of the FW and
winding demonstrator (WD) or EU DEMO toroidal field (TF) and
ensure its structural integrity, a mock-up of the FW fabricated in India
central solenoid coils consist of several CroCo or twisted stack
was tested in the HELOKA test facility at the Karlsruhe Institute of
monolithic strands, embedded in a stainless steel jacket. Such
Technology, Germany. Both normal and accidental operating con-
conductors have never been tested for pressure drop. Cable-in-conduit
ditions were investigated under ITER-like surface heat fluxes. Based
conductors for the DEMO TF coils designed by ENEA have two low-
on these results the thermal performance of the FW were validated.
impedance cooling channels, separated from the cable bundle by flat
spirals, with the inner/outer diameter of about 5/7 mm. Experimental
pressure drop data for such small spiral ducts are also unavailable yet. 21/00163 Quantification of conservatism in pressure vessel
To fill this gap, four dedicated short samples, namely dummy design subjected to long-term creep conditions as per ASME
conductors with the layout similar to the DEMO HTS or WD Section VIII division 2
conductors and a small spiral-walled pipe have been prepared and Lee, H.-Y. and Jeong, J.-Y. International Journal of Pressure Vessels
tested for pressure drop using demineralized water at two or three and Piping, 2020, 180, 104039.
different temperatures. The tests using water have been performed ASME Section VIII Division 2 [ASME VIII(2)] is widely used for the
covering the same range of Reynolds number experienced by the design of not only low-temperature but also high-temperature pressure
supercritical He at operating conditions typical for DEMO coils. The boundary components operating at high temperature in creep range. In
experimental data have been used to develop experimental friction the high-temperature design of a pressure boundary component such
factor correlations for the considered ducts, which could be utilized in as a pressure vessel or a heat exchanger according to ASME VIII(2),
future thermal-hydraulic studies of the DEMO coils or WD. creep effects are not considered explicitly, and the design evaluation

26 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

results do not change depending on hold times at high temperature, 21/00167 The effect of Am241 on UK plutonium recycle
which certainly does matter in the high-temperature design of a options in thorium-plutonium fuelled LWRs – Part II: BWRs
component subjected to long-term creep conditions. Sensitivity Morrison, S. L. and Parks, G. T. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135,
analyses with various hold times at high temperature in design 106974.
evaluations were conducted as per Section III Division 5 Subsection UK plutonium is expected to be managed using uranium–plutonium
HB(ASME-HB) and RCC-MRx that explicitly take creep hold time (U-Pu) mixed oxide (MOX) fuels in light water reactors. However,
into account to investigate the hold-time effects on design evaluations studies have shown that thorium–plutonium (Th-Pu) may be prefer-
for an IHX and reservoir tank in the large-scale sodium test facility of ential. Part I of this study considered the effect of americium (Am) in
the STELLA-2. The conservatism of ASME VIII(2) in the case of long UK Pu in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and found that, while the
hold time has been quantified based on the comparisons in design reactivity response was sensitive to isotopic and spectral variations,
evaluations as per ASME VIII(2) with those of ASME-HB and RCC- trends were predictable. Part II focuses on separation of Am in boiling
MRx. It was shown from the comparisons that ASME VIII(2) results water reactors (BWRs) and compares fuel performance to the
exceed the design limits of ASME-HB and RCC-MRx if hold time uniformly distributed and spatially separated cases outlined in Part I.
exceeds a certain time limit, which means ASME VIII(2) might give Comparable incineration rates are achievable but, while a single PWR
non-conservative results in the case of long-term hold time at high assembly bears a greater mass of Am/Pu than a single BWR assembly,
temperature. the full BWR core may be capable of operating with significantly
greater fissile masses. Transmutation of 241Am to 242Am appears
preferable to fast fission of 241Am as increased incineration rates occur
in lower void, bottom-of-assembly locations.
21/00164 Radial distributions of power and fuel
temperature in annular U3Si2 fuel with FeCrAl cladding
Chen, S. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106943. 21/00168 The effect of irradiation and radiolytic oxidation
The present work performs systematic study on neutronic properties of on the porous space of Gilsocarbon nuclear graphite
annular fuel due to its high efficiency in heat transfer and low peak fuel measured with mercury porosimetry and helium pycnometry
temperature. Recent physical experiment on annular fuel indicates the Jones, K. L. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 256–266.
present neutronic study is urgent and necessary. The present work Gas pycnometry and mercury porosimetry are used to investigate the
concentrates on the investigations on the reactivity and radial porous network of Gilsocarbon nuclear graphite samples that are
distributions of power and fuel temperature for various annular fuels representative of the material present in the cores of UK advanced gas-
with different moderator to fuel ratios and different inner to outer cooled reactors at different stages of the reactors’ operational lifetimes.
coolant ratios. An analytical formula f(x, s) including fuel exposure (s) Irradiation and radiolytic oxidation change the pore volume of nuclear
and relative radial (x) is proposed to describe the radial power graphite and the relative ratios of open (coolant gas accessible) and
distributions. f(x, s) has a second order polynomial dependence on s closed pore volume. Particular focus has been paid to the deformation
with coefficients following a double exponential form versus x. Monte of the Gilsocarbon graphite observed during mercury intrusion at high
Carlo simulations show that the suggested function f(x, s) gives a nice pressure, which has previously marred the use of porosimetry to
description on simulation data with rather small deviations and can characterize this material. The results show clear trends in the
immediately provide radial distribution of power and burnup at any evolution of the Gilsocarbon graphite porous space. Semi-quantitative
fuel exposure and relative radius. The present analytical formula can be deductions are made that will assist the modelling of the evolution of
directly used for determining radial fuel temperature distribution. the pore space in the context of the safe extension of the reactors’
Numerical results based on radial power distributions show that about working lifetimes.
150 K peak fuel temperature is reduced by dual-coolant annular design.
In addition, the radial fuel temperature distributions in annular fuels
21/00169 Thermal assessment of ITER generic equatorial
are quite flatter than that in cylindric fuel rod.
diagnostic first wall
Song, W. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111371.
The generic equatorial diagnostic first wall (GEDFW) as a plasma
21/00165 Status of the cryogenic system of the HL-2M facing component of ITER sustains a heavy thermal load from plasma
tokamak radiation and nuclear load. The cooling circuit of GEDFW has been
Chen, X. et al. Cryogenics, 2020, 105, 103019. proposed and meanwhile cooling performance is assessed through
In the efforts of obtaining a more pronounced plasma shape, the HL- thermal hydraulic analysis. Heat transfer capability is regarded as an
2A tokamak at the Southwestern Institute of Physics, China National important property in GEDFW design and is usually validated by
Nuclear Corporation is currently being upgraded to possess a more numerical analyses. Hydraulic analysis and thermal analysis were
powerful, compact and efficient divertor. The now HL-2M tokamak is performed individually and then solved by thermal coupling. Hydraulic
comprised of a 500 W/4.5 K helium refrigerator for the combined analysis was performed to obtain the heat transfer coefficient and bulk
cooling of cryopumps, superconducting magnets and thermal shields. temperature which were initial conditions in thermal analysis. Thermal
The construction of the helium management system was finished last analysis provided the wall temperature for the next hydraulic analysis
year. The manufacturing and assembling of the refrigerator were iteration and the thermal hydraulic iteration proceeds until the residual
finished in August of 2019, and the refrigerator will be commissioned of surface temperature approached preset tolerance. Temperature map
toward the end of this year. The installation of the cryogenic obtained through thermal hydraulic analysis which has demonstrated
distribution system will be finished in February of 2020. The first the heat transfer capability of GEDFW.
commissioning of the entire system will be soon after five months. This
paper presents the design and the construction states of the HL-2M
21/00170 Water-soluble bitumen degradation products can
cryogenic system.
fuel nitrate reduction from non-radioactive bituminized
waste
Mijnendonckx, K. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104525.
21/00166 Status of the DEMO blanket attachment system An important fraction of the currently stored volume of long-lived
and remaining challenges intermediate level radioactive waste in Belgium is immobilized as
Vizvary, Z. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111357. Eurobitum. This type of waste typically contains large amounts of
The DEMO blanket attachment concept is challenging due to several NaNO3 homogeneously dispersed in a hard bituminous matrix.
factors: the harsh radiation environment, the thermal expansion, the Geological disposal of Eurobitum in a water-saturated sedimentary
electromagnetic loads, the remote maintenance feasibility, and the formation such as Boom Clay will result in the leaching of high
accurate control of the alignment of the breeding blanket first wall concentrations of NaNO3 in the Boom Clay formation. This could
during operation. There are two inboard and three outboard blanket cause a geochemical perturbation of the surrounding clay, possibly
segments per vacuum vessel sector to be installed and extracted by affecting some of the favourable characteristics of the host formation
remotely controlled tools through a single upper vertical port. The such as its hydraulic conductivity, sorption potential or the redox
design of the fixations of the blanket segments to the vacuum vessel conditions. The latter might result in a decrease of its reducing capacity
complies with the strategy to avoid the need for front side access for and an increase in the mobility of redox-sensitive radionuclides.
engagement and release. The attachment system has been designed for Microbial nitrate reduction is a well-known process, which could be
the numerous critical load cases, including normal operation, dwell stimulated by the chemical and radiolytic water-soluble organic
between pulses, plasma disruptions, fast discharge of the magnet coils, bitumen degradation products. The present study carried out different
and accidental conditions such as loss of blanket coolant. At the same series of long-term anoxic batch experiments to investigate the ability
time the attachments must guarantee the stresses in the blanket of the microbial community of Boom Clay borehole water to reduce
segments not to exceed limits. This paper introduces the attachment nitrate, leaching from thermally aged non-radioactive Eurobitum in the
concept and describes the finite element model that has been built to presence or absence of acetate, formate and oxalate, being part of the
assess the blanket attachment system. The model represents one sector most important organic bitumen degradation products. Obtained
of the DEMO machine. The results focus on the reaction forces results indicate that all three organic bitumen degradation products
transmitted at individual attachment locations to define these inter- can be used as electron donor to fuel microbial nitrate reduction, albeit
faces and guide the design of the individual supports. with a different efficiency. The highest nitrate reduction rate was

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 27

05 Nuclear fuels (economics, policy, supplies, forecasts)

observed in the presence of acetate, while oxalate was the least efficient This study examined the possibility of using a pure thorium-fuelled
electron donor for nitrate reduction. Moreover, organic compounds molten salt reactor for radioisotope production. In particular, the
that leached from the Eurobitum during the course of the experiment production of Mo-99 was investigated due to its high demand for many
were used as electron donor for microbial nitrate reduction in all medical purposes. All aspects including the initiating neutron source,
conditions. Furthermore, calcium oxalate crystals were observed, approach to criticality with fertile thorium fuel, and isotope production
indicating that if oxalate is present, it will probably be less bioavailable in steady-state are discussed. This research shows that with source
compared to other organic compounds. neutrons provided by accelerator driven sub-critical system or
preferably a fusion–fission hybrid, criticality (sustained chain reaction)
can be achieved in an infinite medium thorium-fuelled reactor with
careful source strength control over time. Practically, criticality can be
achieved after 115 days after reactor start-up. The maximum multipli-
cation factor was 1.059, the maximum U-233 number density achievable
Economics, policy, supplies, forecasts in core was 6.68  1018 n/cm3, and the steady-state scalar flux level was
1.788  1013 n/cm3. The optimal elution time for extracting Mo-99 from
fission product was 219 h while the reactor operates at steady-state. In
a 5 MWth reactor, the annual Mo-99 production is 1.85 MCi.
21/00171 Application of the FDTD-based simulation code
VSTL REV to the lightning surge analysis of a nuclear power
plant 21/00175 Nuclear accident source term estimation using
Tatematsu, A. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, kernel principal component analysis, particle swarm
106040. optimization, and backpropagation neural networks
The installation of effective lightning protection is necessary to protect Ling, Y. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107031.
power equipment and sensitive electronic devices and guarantee Rapid estimation of the release rate of source items after a nuclear
human safety in nuclear power plants. To evaluate the effectiveness accident is very important for nuclear emergency and decision making.
of countermeasures against lightning, it is necessary to predict A source term estimation method, based on the backpropagation
lightning surge phenomena. Recently, the finite-difference time- neural network (BPNN), was developed. Kernel principal component
domain (FDTD) method, which is one of the full-wave numerical analysis is used to reduce the dimension of the input parameters, which
approaches, has been applied for analysing electromagnetic transient can accelerate the training of the neural network. Particle swarm
phenomena in three-dimensional structures such as lightning protec- optimization is used to optimize weights and thresholds of BPNN, so
tion systems and buildings or grounding structures such grounding that the neural network can better find the global optimal value, avoid
grids. This study models the buildings and grounding structures of a falling into the local minimum. The large amount of data required for
nuclear power plant using the FDTD-based surge simulation code neural network training is generated using InterRAS software, the
VSTL REV, It then considers the effect of soil resistivities on the step model constructed demonstrates the feasibility of this method. The
voltages around the reactor building and the voltages induced on proposed method can estimate the release rate of I-131 after half an
grounding buses drawn into an auxiliary building and the metal sheaths hour of release, which is helpful to the emergency response, or provide
of coaxial cables in the case of a direct lightning strike to the nuclear an initial value or a priori information for other methods.
power plant.
21/00176 Nuclear energy debate in Turkey:
21/00172 Complementing choice experiment with stakeholders, policy alternatives, and governance issues
Aydin, C. I._ Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111041.
contingent valuation data: individual preferences and views
towards IV generation nuclear energy in the UK For the last six decades, Turkish governments have been advocating the
Contu, D. and Mourato, S. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111032. construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) on the grounds that it is
Nuclear energy represents an essential component of the energy mix in necessary for the development of the country, that the country needs
the UK. While most of the existing nuclear plants are scheduled to be nuclear energy for economic growth, and more importantly, that an
decommissioned, new reactors are in the process of being built. NPP would mark a milestone in Turkey’s journey of modernization.
Looking ahead, generation IV nuclear energy technology, which aims However, national and local opposition has also existed from the
to minimize some of the hazards of current technologies, is under beginning on. The first attempts to build an NPP in late 1970s were met
research and development (R&D). This paper investigates social with an immediate reaction from the civil society, concerned about
acceptance of generation IV nuclear energy, examining both will- potential problems such as NPP’s impact on environment and health,
ingness to accept new nuclear power plants and willingness to pay waste management, and risk of nuclear accidents, giving rise to a long-
(WTP) for further research of generation IV technology. Choice standing conflict that is yet to be settled. In order to better understand
experiments were employed to assess WTA, while contingent valuation Turkey’s previous and current motivations to build a nuclear power
was used to unveil WTP. Results revealed the presence of four seg- plant, this study will first recount the country’s history of nuclear power
ments of respondents: moderate supporters, strong opposers, and two followed by a discourse analysis using a multidimensional environ-
groups of moderate opposers of new nuclear power plants. Interest- mental justice framework, which will investigate different stakeholders’
ingly, even amongst strong opposers there are individuals willing to pay views and perceptions, and the alternative policies proposed by them.
for R&D of generation IV technology. Policies aimed at fostering trust The discourse analysis built on the historical narrative is helpful in
– if deserved – towards nuclear energy corporations and authorities, as identifying sources of conflicts between stakeholders, and in presenting
well as showing tangible progress of R&D to raise confidence among these conflicts in a transparent and comprehensible manner.
the public are key to foster acceptance of this nuclear energy
technology. 21/00177 Nuclear safety issues for fusion power plants
Lukacs, M. and Williams, L. G. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020,
21/00173 Experimental investigation of steam-air 150, 111377.
condensation on containment vessel Developing a robust safety case is a key step in the development of a
Chen, R. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107030. fusion power reactor for electricity generation. A review of the key
Steam condensation heat transfer is the primary cooling strategy of the nuclear safety issues associated with fusion power plants has been
passive containment cooling system in some of the third generation performed in this paper. From the evidence gathered, the indications
reactors. In this study, a series of experiments were performed to are that on current knowledge the use of fusion energy for power
investigate the steam condensation on a 1.5  0.6 m2 rotatable in- production does not present significant off-site radiological risks for
organic zinc surface, with surface inclination angle from horizontal to the public. A number of fusion reactor safety issues have been reviewed
60 . The condensate flow on the condensing surface at different inclin- together with their impact on public safety. It has been shown that
ation angles is photographed and analysed. The results show that the despite the significant amount of in-vessel fuel (deuterium/tritium)
effect of inclination angle on condensation heat transfer coefficient energy inventory, the burn fraction of around 2% expected in a fusion
could be influenced by air fraction. Furthermore, considering the power plant ensures that the maximum fuel energy able to be released
existence of air and overpressure, a semi-empirical correlation based under accident conditions will not challenge the integrity of confine-
on Nusselt model is developed to precisely predict the steam conden- ment barriers. However, disruptions that could lead to a release of
sation heat transfer coefficient on the inorganic zinc surface. Since the magnetic energy need to be better understood, in order to gain a better
surface condition of the experimental condensing surface is the same as understanding of the potential risk they pose. This paper also identifies
that of the actual containment vessel, the experimental results would gaps in current knowledge together with areas for future work,
have certain reference values to the containment response analysis of including the establishment of internationally recognized safety
the postulated accidents. standards for fusion power stations.

21/00174 Feasibility study of thorium-fueled molten salt 21/00178 Optimization of software development life cycle
reactor with application in radioisotope production quality for NPP safety software based on a risk-cost model
Zheng, G. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106980. Lee, S. H. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106961.

28 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 06 Electrical power supply and utilization (scientific, technical)

As instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants simulation, a steam injection device is arranged in the pressurizer
(NPPs) are being replaced with digital-based systems, the need for compartment. When the accident occurs, steam is injected into the
cost-effective safety-critical software engineering plans has been pressurizer compartment during the pre-set stages. By comparing the
received increased attention. This paper proposes a framework for hydrogen risks in different situations, it could be found that steam
optimizing software development and verification and validation injection in local space can reduce the hydrogen risk locally. The
(V&V) qualities by incorporating and estimating various risk-cost method combining steam injection device with passive autocatalytic
factors related to software development life cycle (SDLC) processes. recombiners is an effective measure to mitigate the risk of hydrogen.
The model determines the optimal software development or V&V
quality that gives the minimum value of an objective function which 21/00182 The shear strength of Opalinus Clay shale in the
includes three risk-cost factors: (1) software quality control cost; remoulded state
(2) software defect fixing cost; and (3) the costs from a NPP accident Ferrari, A. et al. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 2020,
considering software failure probability. The authors present a case 21, 100142.
study using OPR-1000 plant model. The study results showed The Opalinus Clay shale formation is considered as a potential host
important SDLC phases where the risk-cost factors can be minimized geomaterial for the Swiss deep geological repository for radioactive
by achieving high software quality. The proposed method is expected to waste. It presents different facies and it is characterized by a multi-
be useful to software developers and decision makers for assisting NPP scale heterogeneous composition, by a typical fissile structure with
software project and quantifying risk from software life cycle on NPP well-defined bedding planes and by anisotropic hydro-mechanical
safety. behaviour. This peculiar complexity makes it difficult to assign a
unique set of geomechanical parameters to the material. This paper
21/00179 Real-time sensor fault detection in tokamak using presents an experimental study aimed at characterizing the lowest
different machine learning algorithms values of the shear strength parameters. In this sense, the shear
Mohapatra, D. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111401. behaviour was investigated on remoulded samples where the fabric and
The tokamak is a device that facilitates nuclear fusion between the diagenetic bonds of the intact material were eliminated. The results
deuterium and tritium. Multiple arrays of magnetic sensors are used of a triaxial test campaign belonging to different facies of Opalinus
to detect the plasma position inside a tokamak. This paper presents the Clay shale (‘shaly’ and ‘sandy’ facies) are presented. Furthermore, with
application of different machine learning based fault detection the aim to study the mechanical properties of fault zones in Opalinus
techniques for the identification and classification of faults that happen Clay, the effect of large cumulated shear displacements on shear
in typical magnetic position sensors. The performances of these strength was also investigated. Ring shear tests were performed to
machine learning based fault detection algorithms are evaluated for determine the residual shear strength. The main geotechnical property
two scenarios as follows. Firstly, during the ‘self-test’ mode, i.e. before which discriminates the different facies of Opalinus Clay is the grain-
the start-up of the plasma discharge, with known current waveforms in size distribution; in this sense, well-defined correlations between this
the external coils. Secondly, by using the simulated plasma discharge intrinsic characteristic and shear strength angles of the remoulded
waveforms. Their performances are compared in terms of compu- material are presented.
tational complexities and latency in view of deciding the best fault
detection algorithm. The machine learning techniques are im- 21/00183 The value of the nuclear power plant fleet in the
plemented in real-time on the Xilinx Kintex-7 and Xilinx Zync-7 series German power market under the expansion of fluctuating
FPGA. From the obtained comparison results, it is observed that out of renewables
the six machine learning approaches employed for tokamak sensor Teirilä, J. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111054.
fault detection, the random forest classifier based approach was found Flexibility of a conventional power plant fleet is becoming an
to be the best in terms of speed and accuracy. increasingly valuable quality in several electricity markets due to
growing solar and wind power supply. Nuclear power plants are not
21/00180 Seismic stability reliability assessment of nuclear very flexible in terms of output, but their advantage is their low variable
power plant’s bank revetment considering unreinforced and cost of generating electricity. Using a short-term techno-economic
reinforced situations model which incorporates both the electricity and the balancing
Xu, B. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107025. market, this study examines quantitatively whether costs incurred by
Bank revetments are built near nuclear power plants and are used to nuclear units’ lower flexibility outweigh the low generation costs of
the sites from potential damage due to incoming water, such as from nuclear power in the German power market, and investigate how this
flooding or large waves. However, the uncertainty of earthquake depends on the amount of fluctuating renewables. The authors show
behaviour can make it difficult to adequately design the bank that, due to low negative prices stemming from inflexible baseload
revetments against seismic activity. In earthquake-prone areas, such a plants, balancing costs may increase rapidly with solar and wind power.
situation is dangerous, especially when near bodies of water. Thus, Higher balancing and start-up costs arising from nuclear units in the
when designing the safety of a nuclear power plant near large bodies of fleet are still largely compensated by the nuclear units’ lower
water, the seismic behaviour of the bank revetments should be taken generation costs, and it is not cost-efficient to decommission nuclear
into consideration. This paper discusses the development and units in the near future. The results suggest that it would be
implementation of a probability density evolution method that can be economically beneficial to harness the full flexibility potential of
used to predict the effect of stochastic seismic ground motion on the nuclear plants and curtail excess solar and wind power or include those
dynamic stability and reliability of nuclear power plant bank in the negative balancing reserve.
revetments. The probability density equation of a bank revetment is
derived through performing a set of deterministic, dynamic finite
element analyses and stability analyses. The analyses are supported by
second-order statistical analysis of the safety factor of two levels of
seismic activity: SL-1 (operational safety earthquake) and SL-2
(ultimate safety earthquake). Then, the probability information is 06 ELECTRICAL POWER
obtained at the two levels by solving the probability density evolution
equation. The results demonstrate that the required safety factor can SUPPLY AND
depend on the nature of the seismic excitation. Through the above
procedures, the reliability assessment of bank revetments under SL-1 UTILIZATION
and SL-2 loading can be accomplished. In a comparative case study, the
seismic responses of unreinforced and reinforced bank revetments to
stochastically generated seismic excitation under SL-2 levels correctly
indicates that reinforcement can significantly increase the reliability of
the bank revetment. Scientific, technical
21/00181 The measure on mitigating hydrogen risk during
LOCA accident in nuclear power plant 21/00184 A comprehensive study of non-linear air damping
Meng, X. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107032. and ‘pull-in’ effects on the electrostatic energy harvesters
Since there is a large empty space in pressurized water reactor (PWR) Guo, X. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112264.
containment which has strong pressure bearing capability, it is In this paper a new comprehensive model is presented to optimize the
generally considered that there is no overall risk of hydrogen. However, design of vibration-based electrostatic energy harvester working in
the complex internal structure makes hydrogen easy to accumulate, standard atmosphere. This model considers the non-linear air damping
burn or even explode in local compartment. Therefore, when a large force induced by the movement of proof mass as well as the ‘pull-in’
break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) with gravity injection failure effect from the electrostatic force. Important parameters such as the
happens, there may be a more serious risk of local hydrogen. height of stoppers on the bottom plate, the initial gap between the
GASFLOW, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics code, bottom plate and proof mass and the surface potential of the electret
is used to study the measure on mitigating hydrogen risk. During the layer have been investigated. With the microelectromechanical system

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 29

06 Electrical power supply and utilization (scientific, technical)

technology, a series of energy harvesters have been fabricated with performance of the overlapped heat sinks, it was confirmed that the
various parameters. The measurements of devices show excellent heat transfer coefficient was improved owing to the increase in the
agreement with the simulations. For the first time, the ‘pull-in’ velocity inside the channel, even though the flow rate was decreased. In
phenomenon has been observed during the harvesting test as expected. addition, the fan curves were generalized to be applied in various fan
The model provides a promising optimization route for the electro- environments, and correlations were proposed to predict the pressure
static energy harvester with broad bandwidth, decent power output drop and cooling performance of the overlapped heat sinks. The
while avoiding the ‘pull-in’ effect. correlations reflect the heat sink geometry and fan characteristics of
the system. The cooling performance was improved by a maximum of
21/00185 A review of thermal, microstructural and 35%, and the volume occupied by the system decreased when the fins
constitutive modelling of 9Cr steel for power plant overlapped. This suggests the proposed method can maximize the
applications: towards a through-process model for space efficiency and improve the cooling performance in a given
structural integrity of welded connections environment without changing the geometry of the heat sink.
Ardghail, P. M. et al. International Journal of Pressure Vessels and
Piping, 2020, 180, 104037. 21/00189 Elastic and hierarchical carbon nanofiber
Life prediction for 9Cr steel welded components is an important issue aerogels and their hybrids with carbon nanotubes and
facing power plant as it moves from steady-state, base-load operation cobalt oxide nanoparticles for high-performance asymmetric
to transient, flexible operation. Welding and heat-treatment of 9Cr supercapacitors
components alters the steel microstructure to produce a heat-affected Zhang, M. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 873–884.
zone, which is susceptible to early failure under creep and high- Although lightweight and elastic carbon nanofibre (CNF)-based
temperature cyclic conditions. Optimal welding and heat treatment aerogels are promising in wearable supercapacitors, it is still a serious
processes cannot feasibly be identified experimentally but finite ele- issue to produce CNF-based aerogels with satisfactory integrated
ment simulation is a practical solution to this problem. A review of properties of mechanical strength, compression resilience, conduc-
modelling methodologies for welding, heat treatment and in-service tivity, and electrochemical performances. Herein, elastic aerogel anode
operation in thermal power plant for 9Cr steel is presented here. The materials with welded CNFs are fabricated by electrospining poly-
authors consider that macro-scale, physically-based models are the acrylonitrile nanofibres with polyvinylpyrrolidone as a solder to weld
most promising models currently available since they account for adjacent nanofibres followed by freeze-drying, carbonization, and CO2
changes in material microstructure while still being practical for simu- activation, exhibiting remarkable electrical conductivity, excellent
lations involving component-sized finite element geometries. reversible compressibility, and a high specific capacitance of 300 F g 1
at 0.3 A g1. Furthermore, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are uniformly
21/00186 Binder-free supercapacitor electrodes: grown on the CNF surface of the aerogels with the catalysis of metallic
optimization of monolithic graphitized carbons by reflux Co, while the Co nanoparticles at the CNT tips are oxidized in situ to
acid treatment Co3O4 nanoparticles. The CNF–CNT–Co3O4 hybrid aerogel as a
Gomez-Martin, A. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106279. hierarchical cathode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 2376 F g1
The rational design of electrodes mimicking the cellular structure of at 1 A g1. An assembled asymmetric supercapacitor with the activated
natural bio-resources has been a matter of increasing interest for CNF aerogel as its anode and the hybrid aerogel as its cathode exhibits
applications in energy storage. Due to their anisotropic and hierarch- a considerably high energy density of 48.1 W h kg1 at 780.2 W kg1.
ical porosity, monolithic carbon materials from natural wood pre- This study provides a new strategy for constructing lightweight
cursors are appealing as electrodes for supercapacitor applications due and elastic electrode materials for highly efficient energy-storage
to their interconnected channels, relatively low cost and environmen- applications.
tally friendly synthesis process. In this work, a liquid-phase oxidative
treatment with refluxing nitric acid at 100  C for 8 h was performed to 21/00190 Excellent oxidation resistive MXene aqueous ink
enhance the surface properties of beech-derived graphitized carbons for micro-supercapacitor application
treated with an iron catalyst. Microstructural, textural and surface Wu, C.-W. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 563–571.
investigations revealed that this strategy was successful in removing Uniform and stable interdigitated electrodes are essential for planar
amorphous carbon and in functionalizing their surfaces. The crystal- micro-supercapacitor applications. Two-dimensional (2D) materials,
linity, accessible surface area, micropore volume and surface function- such as transition-metal MXenes have become attractive nanomaterials
ality of beech-derived carbons were increased upon the reflux for micro-supercapacitor applications due to their layered structure
treatment. The resulting porous carbon materials were evaluated as and high electrical conductivity. However, the low stability of MXenes
binderless monolithic electrodes for supercapacitors applications in in aqueous media limits their long-term storage and application. Here,
aqueous KOH electrolyte. A maximum specific capacitance of the authors demonstrate in situ synthesis and capping of Ti3C2Tx
179 Fg1 and a volumetric capacitance of 89 Fcm3 in galvanostatic MXenes with sodium ascorbate (SA) to obtain SA-MXene dispersion
charge/discharge experiments were reached. Monolithic electrodes with high resistance against oxidation even after 80 days of storage at
exhibited good cycling stability, with a capacitance retention over 95% ambient temperature and exposed to air. The in situ synthesis process
after 10,000 cycles. increases the interlayer spacing of SA-MXene sheets, and increases
their energy storage efficiency, without compromising their electrical
21/00187 Bioelectricity production from kitchen conductivity. A printable SA-MXene ink was prepared with Triton X-
wastewater using microbial fuel cell with photosynthetic 100 and propylene glycol as modifiers to print interdigitated micro-
algal cathode supercapacitor electrodes with an inkjet printer. The solid-state micro-
Naina Mohamed, S. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122226. supercapacitor made without current collector exhibits areal and
In this study, the treatment of kitchen wastewater was demonstrated volumetric capacitance of 108.1 mF cm2 and 720.7 F cm3, respect-
using microbial fuel cell (MFC) consisting photosynthetic microorgan- ively. This work highlights the potential application of ligand-capped
ism as cathode catalyst. The power density and biomass generation stable MXenes as a water-based ink in printing devices for the
were investigated using two photosynthetic microorganisms namely fabrication of micro-electronics and supercapacitors.
Synechococcus sp. And Chlorococcum sp., respectively. Cyclic voltam-
mogram analysis was performed to study the exoelectrogenic activity of 21/00191 Hierarchical control of DC micro-grid for
mixed culture microorganisms present in the wastewater. The MFC photovoltaic EV charging station based on flywheel and
experimental results showed that both species influenced the power battery energy storage system
production and COD removal efficiency. The MFC observed the higher Shen, L. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 179, 106079.
power density of 41.5  1.2 mW/m2 with Synechococcus sp. as com- For micro-grid systems dominated by new energy generation, the DC
pared to Chlorococcum sp. (30.2  0.8 mW/m2). The effect of CO2 micro-grid has become a micro-grid technology research with its
supply, light intensity and wastewater COD concentration on MFC advantages. In this paper, the DC micro-grid system of photovoltaic
performance were investigated. This study demonstrated the possibility (PV) power generation electric vehicle (EV) charging station is taken
of bioelectricity generation, CO2 sequestration and biomass production as the research object, proposes the hybrid energy storage technology,
with the algae biocatholyte during the treatment of kitchen wastewater which includes flywheel energy storage and battery energy storage.
in the MFC. Flywheel energy storage is used to stabilize high frequency power
fluctuations and some low frequency power. Lithium iron phosphate
21/00188 Cooling performance and space efficiency (LiFePO4) battery is used for balancing the reference power to
improvement based on heat sink arrangement for power maintain the DC bus voltage balance. Composition of the DC micro-
conversion electronics grid and various operating modes are analysed, a hierarchical
Yoon, Y. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114458. coordinated control based on the power monitoring steps of the five-
A heat sink system was miniaturized, and its cooling performance was layer DC bus voltage is proposed. Finally, simulation analysis is carried
improved by overlapping the heat sinks. To simulate an axial fan out on the MATLAB/Simulink software platform. Under different
condition (typically used in air-cooled forced convection), a fan working states such as PV input power change, AC and DC loads
characteristic curve was applied to consider the relationship between change, EV charging condition change, and battery over-discharge, the
the airflow rate and pressure drop. On investigating the cooling proposed control strategy can make the DC bus voltage at different

30 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 06 Electrical power supply and utilization (scientific, technical)

voltage layers effectively switch, and keep the DC bus voltage balance, With the inclusion of intermittent sources of energy in the grid, these
thus to achieve flexible and reliable operation of the DC micro-grid variable renewable energy sources require energy storage solutions to
system. be integrated smoothly over different time steps. Batteries can provide
short-term storage solutions and pumped-hydro storage can provide
long-term energy storage with large generation capacities. However,
21/00192 High energy storage density and stable fatigue
none of these technologies can provide long-term energy storage in
resistance of Na0.46Bi0.46Ba0.05La0.02Zr0.03Ti0.97-xSnxO3
grids with small demand. This paper proposes a new storage concept
ceramics
called mountain gravity energy storage (MGES) that could fill this gap
Yadav, A. K. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5681–5688.
in storage services. MGES systems move sand or gravel from a lower
Energy density and fatigue resistance properties were investigated for
storage site to an upper elevation. The higher the height difference the
lead-free Na0.46Bi0.46Ba0.05La0.02Zr0.03Ti0.97-xSnxO3 (for 0 4 x 4 0.15)
greater the amount of stored energy in a given installed capacity, as this
ceramics, synthesized via solid-state reaction technique. Perovskite
technology is constrained to the topography of the location. MGES
pseudo-cubic crystal structure was revealed for all ceramics using X-ray
cost varies from 50 to 100 $/MWh of stored energy and 1–2 M$/MW of
diffraction. Polarization and current density versus electric field were
installed capacity. MGES could be a feasible option for micro-grids, for
perceived and suggested the relaxor behaviour with increasing
example, small islands and isolated areas, and power systems where
composition. A high storage energy density 1.58 J/cm3, and conver-
electricity costs are high, demand for energy storage is smaller than
sion efficiency 71.7% at 110 kV/cm applied field was obtained for
20 MW with monthly or seasonal storage requirements.
x = 0.03 composition at room temperature. Energy storage density was
revealed 1.53 J/cm3, and efficiency 88.6% at 110  C with a 100 kV/
cm applied field. In addition, ceramic x = 0.03 was fatigue-free from 1 21/00197 MWCNTs-GONRs/Co3O4 electrode with
to 105 cycles. Hence, the composition x = 0.03 might be applicable for needle-like arrays for outstanding supercapacitors
high energy storage devices. Qiu, H. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8766–8773.
Multiwalled carbon nanotubes–graphene oxide nanoribbons
(MWCNTs–GONRs) exhibit high-specific surface area and good
21/00193 Highly conducting, extremely durable,
electroconductivity because of their unique three-dimensional cross-
phosphorylated cellulose-based ionogels for renewable
linking structure with the properties of both CNTs and GONRs. In this
flexible supercapacitors
study, a hydrothermal method was employed to anchor MWCNTs–
Rana, H. H. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 70–75.
GONRs onto a Ni foam (NF) to obtain a precursor substrate.
A renewable cellulose-based dual network ionogel electrolyte is
Subsequently, Co3O4 arrays were grown on the NF substrate to syn-
synthesized by phosphorylating and dissolving a microcrystalline
thesize a MWCNTs–GONR/Co3O4 electrode. The electrode showed a
cellulose network in a tailor-made 1,3-dimethylimidazolium methyl
capacitance of 846.2 F g1 at 1 A g1 and a capacitance retention of
phosphite [DMIM][MeO(H)PO3] ionic liquid mixture, with subsequent
90.1% after 3000 cycles. Furthermore, MWCNTs–GONRs/Co3O4 and
polymerization of the 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate monomer in the
active carbon were used as the positive and negative electrodes,
presence of a cellulose network. The as-synthesized ionogel electrolytes
respectively, to assemble a supercapacitor, which delivered a maximum
exhibit high ionic conductivity (2.6–22.4 mS cm1) over a wide
energy density of 38.23 W h kg1 and a high-power density of
temperature range (30–120  C), with a maximum toughness of
6.80 kW kg1. In addition, the specific capacitance of the device
1.46 MJ m3 at 30  C. A renewable flexible supercapacitor is fabricated
reached a maximum of 91.5% after 9000 cycles. Thus, the MWCNTs–
by sandwiching the cellulose-based ionogel electrolyte between two
GONRs/Co3O4 electrode showed huge potential for supercapacitor
activated carbon electrodes, delivering high specific capacitance and
applications.
rate capability of 174 F g1 and 88% at 120  C at a cell voltage of 2.5 V.
These remarkable capacitive features at elevated temperature are
associated with fast dynamics, facilitated by thermally activated ion 21/00198 N/S dual-doped graphene with high defect density
transport, as demonstrated by the Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher and for enhanced supercapacitor properties
Nyquist plots. Li, Z. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
112–122.
N/S dual-doped graphene was prepared by one-pot process using
21/00194 In-situ hybridization of graphene sheets onto graphene oxide as raw material and thiourea and urea as reduction-
polyaniline nanofiber arrays grown on the surface of carbon dopants. The field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray
cloth under high electric voltage field for high–performance powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance
flexible supercapacitor spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other means were
Shen, Y. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 711–718.
used to characterize the microstructure and morphology of the
Two kinds of free-standing flexible hybrid electrode materials were
samples. The electrochemical properties of the samples were tested
fabricated through in situ hybridization of graphene oxides (GOs) onto
by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical alternating impedance and
polyaniline (PANI) nanofibre arrays grown on the surface of carbon
constant current charge-discharge techniques, and compared with
cloth under high voltage electric field. The GOs introduced to the
graphene and nitrogen-doped graphene. Results show that the defect
arrays could act as the growth sites or the top layer on the PANI arrays,
density of graphene can be increased more effectively by N/S dual
depending on the spraying order of the GO before and after aniline.
doping than by nitrogen doping, and the contents of doped nitrogen
Great improvement in charge storage ability of PANI nanofibres could
and sulfur have a significant effect on the morphology and performance
be achieved especially by using the GO as the substrate for the growth
of the samples. The specific surface area of the best sample reaches
of the arrays. The PANI/GO/CC electrode showed a maximum areal
275.8 m2 g1, and its conductivity is 477.6 S m1. When the window
capacitance of 1122.8 mF cm2 at the scan rate of 5 mV s1. Assembled
voltage is 1.2 to 0 V, the best sample shows superior specific capa-
with these electrodes, the all solid-state symmetric supercapacitor
citance of 386.5 F g1 and a high energy density of 69.6 Wh kg1 at a
could deliver a maximum energy density of 46.6 mWh cm2 at a power
scan rate of 10 mV s1. At the current density of 10 A g1, after 5000
density of 498.9 mW cm2 with high capacitance retention of 94.1% and
constant current charge/discharge cycles, the specific capacitance
mechanical flexibility. The excellent capacitive performances could be
retention rate is 94.5%, showing excellent cyclic stability.
ascribed to unique structural advantages of PANI nanofibre array
enhanced by synergetic effect between PANI and graphene sheets. Such
in situ hybridization could provide a facile and scalable route for 21/00199 Performance evaluation of a combined heat and
fabricating high-performance freestanding flexible electrode materials compressed air energy storage system integrated with ORC
for foldable and wearable devices. for scaling up storage capacity purpose
Wang, P. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116405.
Integrating compressed air energy storage (CAES) between renewable
21/00195 Ionic liquids as electrolytes for energy storage energy (RE) plants and power grid contributes to mitigate the
applications – a modelling perspective mismatch between energy supply and consumption. However, conven-
Jónsson, E. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 827–835.
tional CAES is greatly restricted by the size of cavern and the system
Ionic liquids as electrolytes for energy storage devices is a promising
power/energy ratings for a specific geological condition are difficult to
field. Here, the various approaches of how ionic liquids can be
boost up. In this paper, a combined heat and compressed air energy
modelled are discussed along with how the modelling connects to
storage (CH-CAES) system integrated with organic Rankine cycle
experimental results. Recent theoretical developments are highlighted
(ORC) is proposed. The system introduces an independent electrical
along with extended discussion of what molecular dynamics simulation
heating unit paralleling to the adiabatic CAES (A-CAES) so as to
options are now available and what key results can be extracted. Ab
enlarge system capacity. The thermodynamic analysis under basic load
initio work is also discussed, this includes some of the spectral prop-
shows that the charge capacity increases by about 21.3% than
erties, both of ionic liquids and their electrolyte formulations.
conventional A-CAES, and the energy generated per unit volume of
storage is 3.23 kWh/m3, 10.2% larger than that of conventional A-
21/00196 Mountain gravity energy storage: a new solution CAES. Additionally, the proposed system has been proved to have
for closing the gap between existing short- and long-term great flexibility to meet different user demands. Off-design perform-
storage technologies ance analysis for compressors, turbines, ORC turbine and pump are
Hunt, J. D. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116419. carried out and link between these components are revealed. Effect of

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 31

06 Electrical power supply and utilization (economics, policy, supplies, forecasts)

partial charging/discharging on system overall performance has been characteristics. However, the Curie temperature of most current
also discussed. In brief, the proposed system is flexible and energy BaTiO3-based PTC materials is much higher than the normal operating
dense. It could give a potential to improve system capacity in a limited temperature range of electronic devices. This work successfully
geographical location. synthesized Ba1–xSrxTiO3 ceramics with a room temperature Curie
point. The crystal structure, surface morphology and temperature
21/00200 Protection of distribution network considering dependence of resistivity are investigated. The Curie temperature where
fault ride through requirements of wind parks the crystal structure of the composition changes from a paraelectric
Yoosefian, D. and Mohammadi Chabanloo, R. Electric Power Systems phase to a ferroelectric phase is adjusted by increasing the doping level
Research, 2020, 178, 106019. (x). In the temperature range 18–120  C, the variation amplitude of
Fault ride through (FRT) requirements are imposed by grid codes in resistivity exceeds 104, and the positive temperature coefficient effect is
order to prevent from the loss of power generation due to the voltage as high as 10.7%/ C. The potential thermal control properties were
drop caused by grid faults. To keep the wind turbine connected to the discussed based on the experimental and theoretical analysis. The
network the protection system should remove the fault, within the time heating power of compositions can be automatically changed by
specified by FRT requirements. This paper proposes a method for varying the operating temperature. At the same initial heating power,
considering the FRT requirement characteristic of wind parks in over the equilibrium temperature of the controlled equipment using the PTC
current relays protection coordination problem. For this purpose, a heating element is lower than that when adopting an ordinary heater.
mathematical relation is presented between the fault current passing Moreover, the effect of thermal control becomes more prominent as the
through the relay and the voltage drop at the point of common resistivity-temperature coefficient increases.
coupling of wind turbine. Then, using this formulation, a new index is
defined to evaluate the time coordination between FRT requirements 21/00204 Walnut shell-derived hierarchical porous carbon
and protection system. Also, a new objective function is proposed to with high performances for electrocatalytic hydrogen
determine the optimal setting of relays and the optimal impedance evolution and symmetry supercapacitors
value of fault current limiter in order to FRT capability enhancement. Fu, H.-h. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
The proposed approaches are tested on the IEEE 30- and 33-bus test 443–451.
systems to verify high performance of them in improving the FRT Walnut shell-derived hierarchical porous carbon has been successfully
capabilities of wind parks. synthesized by the efficient KOH activation process. The hierarchical
porous carbon material activated at 600  C, has the specific micropore
21/00201 Significantly enhanced thermoelectric area of 1037.31 m2 g1 and micropore volume of 0.51 cm3 g1, which
performance in SWCNT films via carrier tuning for high leads to have electrochemical performances of the hydrogen evolution
power generation reaction (HER) and supercapacitors. Specifically, as the hydrogen
Sheng, M. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 802–807. evolution reaction electrocatalyst, the walnut shell-derived carbon
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising flexible thermoelectric material activated at 600  C exhibits a lower onset potential of 6.00 mV,
materials in the field of large-scale low-grade thermal energy a smaller Tafel slope of 69.76 mV dec1 and outstanding stability above
utilization. However, the relatively poor thermoelectric performance long-term cycling. As a supercapacitor electrode material, the sample
of CNTs near ambient temperature is a big issue for their application possesses specific capacitance of 262.74 F g1 at 0.5 A g1, the remark-
as flexible power generator. Here, the authors improved the thermo- able rate capability of 224.60 F g1 at even 10 A g1 and good long-term
electric properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films in stability. A symmetric supercapacitor shows the highly energy density
a wide temperature range from room temperature (RT) to 200  C via of 7.97 Wh kg1 at a power density of 180.80 W kg 1. This novel and
facile thermal annealing process. The effects of heat treatment at low-cost biomass material is very promising for the electrocatalytic
different temperatures and atmospheres on the thermoelectric proper- water splitting and supercapacitors.
ties of SWCNT films were studied. A maximum power factor (PF) of
113.7 mW/mK2 at RT is obtained with average PF 111.7 mW/mK2 in the
RT to 200  C range, which is more than threefold the value of as-
prepared SWCNT film. Flexible and compact power generator based
on annealed p-type SWCNT films and n-type polyethylenimine-doped
SWCNT films with eight couples of p–n legs was assembled. An
outstanding output power of 1.16 mW with power density of 0.48 W/m2 Economics, policy, supplies, forecasts
at temperature difference 49.5 K was achieved. The device showed good
air stability within 1 month and excellent mechanical flexibility. This
study thus provides a feasible and low-cost strategy for high power
energy generation. 21/00205 A lightweight key management protocol for
secure communication in smart grids
21/00202 Surface enhanced 3D rGO hybrids and porous Moghadam, M. F. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178,
rGO nano-networks as high performance supercapacitor 106024.
electrodes for integrated energy storage devices With the introduction of smart grid technology as the next-generation
Kiran, S. K. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 527–535. power grid, monitoring and control of the power systems are facing
Rapid advancements in technology has led to urgent requirement for new challenges. Smart grid technology increases the reliability,
mobile and portable power sources. Achieving self-sustainability using security, and efficiency of electrical grids. However, its strong
renewable energy sources using such devices provide an added dependencies on digital communication technology increase the
advantage. Electrode materials play a critical role in performance of system’s vulnerabilities to different types of cyber-attacks. The existing
these devices, while the surface morphology of the electrode material communication paradigm suffers from security weaknesses in the
play a crucial role in performance of electrodes themselves. Here the IEC 62351 standard, data transfer latency in generic object-oriented
authors report fabrication of a flexible, all-solid state high performance substation event and sample values protocols. This paper proposes a
hybrid supercapacitor using the 3D dendritic cell like nanostructures of secure communication protocol based on hash and private key to
Ni–Co-layered double hydroxide (LDH)@reduced graphene oxide overcome the security weaknesses while facilitating the key agreement
(rGO) as cathode and novel crumpled leaf like rGO nano porous at the right time. IEC 61850 is not safe on its own, even with dedicated
networks as anode. PVA-KOH gel is used as solid-state gel electrolyte. communication. Therefore, for the security of the standard, IEC 62351
The fabricated supercapacitor is incorporated with a solar cell to is used.
demonstrate a self-sustainable power pack The working potential
window obtained is 1.4–1.8 V. The asymmetric and hybrid assembly of 21/00206 A new approach of electrical appliance
the device enables in achieving high energy and power density. The identification in residential buildings
energy and power density of the assembled supercapacitor is 58.4 Wh/ Hamdi, M. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, 106037.
kg and 374 W/kg, respectively, at a current density of 0.5 A/g. The This paper proposes a simple algorithm about non-intrusive appliance
Coulombic efficiency is approximately 100% and suggests superior load monitoring (NIALM) method. The main objective is to analyse
performance of the supercapacitor. These experiments demonstrate the overall power consumption of a given building and to identify the
the potential use of graphene based materials for powering wearable different operating appliances. This approach aims to reduce the
and portable electronic devices in a self-sustainable manner. overall energy expense of maintaining a specified level of comfort. In
this approach, the main signal is replaced by a shorter form in order to
21/00203 Temperature-dependent resistivity performance reduce computing time. This criterion is important to guarantee real-
of Mn/Y-doped Ba1-xSrxTiO3 compositions with potential time operation mode. Furthermore, the operating devices can be
thermal control applications classified through their type and the mean electrical power consumed.
Yu, A. and Li, Q. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8796–8805. Finally, for identification, the template’s waveform matching is used to
Doped BaTiO3 ceramics exhibit an attractive application prospect in identify the individual energy consumption with an optimized manner.
the adaptive thermal control of electronic devices in spacecraft that To validate the proposed algorithm, satisfactory simulation results
originate from its remarkable positive temperature coefficient (PTC) showing the reliability of the proposed NIALM method are found.

32 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 06 Electrical power supply and utilization (economics, policy, supplies, forecasts)

21/00207 An analysis of the interactions between on their outage probabilities. Tent chaos mapping is used to generate
electricity, fossil fuel and carbon market prices in load scenarios and all possible renewable power output scenarios
Guangdong, China within the confidence intervals in non-repetitive and adaptive manner.
Liu, X. and Jin, Z. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, 82– Reserve and penalty costs for incorrect estimation of renewable
94. energies are invoked to design more robust bidding. Moreover, the
Using the available information and a standard econometric approach risk of participation in the competitive energy market is assessed using
analysing the time series dataset, this study identifies the interactions CVaR criteria. The proposed bidding model is optimized using mixed
between electricity, fossil fuel and carbon market prices in Guangdong, integer non-linear programming. ‘Value of stochastic solution’ is used
China. The result confirms a long running co-integration between to investigate the efficiency of the stochastic programming in
carbon market prices and the prices of coal, diesel and liquid natural uncertainty integration into the bidding problem.
gas (LNG). Conversely, fossil fuel prices have no impact on the short-
term dynamics of carbon prices. The price of electricity on the monthly
21/00211 Does bulk electricity storage assist wind and
forward market in Guangdong is significantly and positively associated
solar in replacing dispatchable power production?
with the first difference of the price of coal, but has no significant
Soini, M. C. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104495.
relationship with the first differences of carbon, diesel and LNG prices.
This paper discusses the impact of bulk electric storage on the
This analysis provides certain implications for ongoing power sector
production from dispatchable power plants for rising variable renew-
reform and nationwide carbon market development in China. The
able electricity shares. Two complementary optimization frameworks
liberalization of the power industry should be further advanced to
are used to represent power systems with a varying degree of
create conditions for carbon cost pass-through on to the electricity
complexity. The corresponding models approximate the wholesale
market. Meanwhile, the national emissions trading scheme should
electricity market, combined with the rational retirement of dispatch-
apply simpler and stricter benchmarks to allocate emissions allowances
able capacity. Two different generic storage technologies are intro-
for the power sector. Fewer categories of benchmarks promote
duced exogenously to assess their impact on the system. The analysis
competition among different types of power generators and a shift to
covers two countries: France, where the power supply’s large nuclear
an electricity supply portfolio with lower carbon intensity. Stricter
share allows for the discussion of storage impact on a single generator
benchmarks create more demand for emissions allowances and result
type; and Germany, whose diverse power supply structure enables
in higher carbon market prices. To increase the ratio of emissions
storage interactions with multiple electricity generators. In most
allowances by auctioning is also necessary to put substantial pressure
general cases, additional storage capacity increases dispatchable power
on thermal power plants to pass their carbon costs on to end users.
production (e.g. nuclear, coal) for small wind and solar shares, i.e. it
compensates the replacement induced by renewable energies. For
21/00208 Assessing the impact of renewable energy larger variable renewable electricity volumes, it actively contributes to
sources on the electricity price level and variability – dispatchable power replacement. In a diverse power system, this results
a quantile regression approach in storage-induced sequential mutual replacements of power gener-
Maciejowska, K. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104532. ation from different plant types, as wind and solar capacities are
The literature on renewable energy sources indicates that an increase increased. This mechanism is strongly dependent on the technical
of the intermittent wind and solar generation affects significantly the parameters of the storage assets. As a result, the impact of different
distribution of electricity prices. In this article, the influence of two storage types can have opposite signs under certain circumstances. The
types of renewable energy sources (wind and solar photovoltaic) on the influence of CO2 emission prices, wind and solar profile shapes, and
level and variability of German electricity spot prices is analysed. The power plant ramping costs is discussed.
quantile regression models are built to estimate the merit order effect
for different quantiles of electricity prices. The results indicate that
21/00212 Ensuring statistics have power: guidance for
both types of renewable generations have a similar, negative impact on
designing, reporting and acting on electricity demand
the price level, approximated by the price median. When the price
reduction and behaviour change programs
volatility, measured by the inter-quantile range (IQR), is considered,
Anderson, B. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101260.
the outcomes show that wind and solar influence prices differently.
This paper addresses ongoing confusion over the meaning of statistical
Conditional on the level of the total demand, the wind generation
significance and statistical power in energy efficiency and energy
would either increase (when the demand is low) or decrease (when the
demand reduction intervention studies. Here, the authors discuss the
demand is high) the IQR. Meanwhile, the increase of solar power
role of these concepts in designing studies, in deciding what can be
stabilizes the price variance for moderate demand level. Thus, policy
inferred from the results and thus what course of subsequent action to
supporting the development and integration of renewable energy
take. This is carried out using a worked example of a study of heat
sources should search for a balance between the wind and solar power.
pump demand response in New Zealand to show how to appropriately
size experimental and observational studies, the consequences this has
21/00209 China’s global power: estimating Chinese foreign for subsequent data analysis and the decisions that can then be taken.
direct investment in the electric power sector The paper then provides two sets of recommendations. The first
Li, Z. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111056. focuses on the uncontroversial but seemingly ignorable issue of
This study analyses the spatial and technological distribution of China’s statistical power analysis and sample design, something regularly
overseas electric power investments around the world, and the omitted in the energy studies literature. The second focuses on how
pollution intensity of Chinese coal fired power plants relative to those to report energy demand reduction study or trial results, make
held by non-Chinese entities. It was found that Chinese firms hold inferences and take commercial or policy-oriented decisions in a
approximately US$115 billion in electric power assets globally, with an contextually appropriate way. This paper offers guidance to researchers
average of 73% ownership stake in a total capacity of 81 GW. Chinese tasked with designing and assessing such studies; project managers who
power investments span the globe but are largely found in developing need to understand what can count as evidence, for what purpose and
countries, particularly in Asia and Latin America. The vast majority of in what context and decision makers who need to make defensible
Chinese investment goes to coal (24.5 GW), gas (20.5 GW) and commercial or policy decisions based on that evidence. The paper helps
hydropower (18.1 GW), while the share of wind (7.2 GW) and solar all of these stakeholders to distinguish the search for statistical
(3.1 GW) is relatively small but may be rising. The energy mix of significance from the requirement for actionable evidence and so
Chinese overseas investment is similar to the existing world portfolio. avoid throwing the substantive baby out with the p-value bathwater.
Within the coal sector, between 2011 and 2017, the majority of Chinese
greenfield investment in coal used supercritical technologies (58%)
21/00213 Estimation of households’ and businesses’
while only 34% of non-Chinese coal plants built during this period
willingness to pay for improved reliability of electricity
were supercritical.
supply in Nepal
Niroomand, N. and Jenkins, G. P. Energy for Sustainable Development,
21/00210 Day-ahead optimal bidding strategy of microgrid 2020, 55, 201–209.
with demand response program considering uncertainties For the decade prior to 2016, Nepal suffered from the worst electricity
and outages of renewable energy resources shortages in South Asia. During this period, load shedding occurred for
Das, S. and Basu, M. Energy, 2020, 190, 116441. up to 18 h a day when hydropower generation was low. This research
In restructured electricity markets, microgrids (MGs) are becoming uses parametric and non-parametric models to estimate households’
smarter, more reliable and more economic electricity providers with and businesses’ willingness to pay (WTP) for improved reliability of
respect to the incorporation of advanced smart grid technologies, electricity services in Nepal. A contingent valuation survey was com-
distributed energy resources, efficient energy storage systems, and pleted by 1800 households and 590 businesses. The parametric models
demand response programs (DRPs). Moreover, better bidding strat- are estimated using Logit regressions. The non-parametric estimations
egies, prepared by MG operators, boost the profits of MG market include the median, Turnbull and the Kriström mean estimations that
players. But, highly intermittent nature of renewable energy resources are estimated directly from the survey results. In all estimations of the
and their higher rate of outages make bidding strategies inefficient. To WTP the households and businesses are willing to pay more to get from
solve these issues, this study suggests an optimal bidding strategy a 50% reduction to a complete elimination of outages than they are
considering uncertainty of renewable energy resources and DRP based willing to pay to get from their current situation to a 50% reduction in

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 33

06 Electrical power supply and utilization (economics, policy, supplies, forecasts)

outages. This difference in the estimates of the WTP for these two equipped with a fuel cell system. Therefore, future research will have to
options is even more important in the case of businesses than for focus on the eco-design of fuel cells with to reduce environmental
households. In the cost-benefit analysis that uses these results the impacts of these systems in a life cycle perspective.
annual benefit in 2017 from improving the reliability of the electricity
service would be approximately US$324 million with a present value 21/00216 Impacts of photovoltaic distributed
over 20 years of between $2 billion and $3.8 billion. generation and energy efficiency measures on the
electricity market of three representative Brazilian
21/00214 Forgotten spaces: how reliability, affordability distribution utilities
and engagement shape the outcomes of last-mile Heideier, R. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 54, 60–71.
electrification in Chocó, Colombia This paper evaluates the economic (electric power rates and utilities
Tomei, J. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101302. revenues), environmental [greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions], social
A key global challenge is the provision of access to modern energy (job creation) and political (tax collection) impacts of a wider diffusion
services to all. Indicators such as national electrification rates can mask of photovoltaic distributed generation (PVDG) and energy efficiency
significant inadequacies in supply, while delivering electricity for last- (EE) measures on the markets of electric power distribution utilities in
mile communities involves particular challenges. This paper presents a Brazil. The impacts are calculated for three substantially different
timely and important contribution by employing a novel mixed methods power distribution utilities, which are representative of the types of
approach to understand the process and impacts of electrification in utilities found in the country. Key indicators were selected to reflect
Chocó, a ‘forgotten space’ within Colombia. Chocó is a densely the main interests of the following stakeholders: power distribution
forested, post-conflict region that is characterized by low socio- utilities, the government (federal, state and municipal) and low-voltage
economic indicators. The paper examines the extent to which the consumers. The results show that the most important issues that should
benefits of electricity access have been realized for five villages in the be addressed concerning a large diffusion of EE measures are tax
municipality of Bahia Solano. A longitudinal study including surveys, collection and tariff rises. The simulations show that tariff rises can be
interviews and a classification of households with the World Bank’s hampered by EE actions targeted to specific locations and specific
Multi-Tier Framework provides insights into household energy use, actions. The most important impact of PVDG diffusion is on tariff
expenditure and outcomes of the electrification process. Using these rises, considering the current regulatory framework in the country. On
findings to define future demand scenarios, an energy system the other hand, the net jobs creations of EE measures and, particularly,
optimization model was used to design a renewable micro-grid for PVDG are significant and the cost of job creation in relation to fiscal
the study villages revealing that distributed renewable energy systems waiver by investment on PVDG is cost-effective. The GHG emissions
can provide a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to grid avoided by the higher levels of PVDG and EE in 2040, simulated in this
extension. The research shows that the benefits of electrification study, showed to be significant for both EE measures and PVDG.
cannot be assumed, particularly where programmes have a narrow
focus on energy infrastructure alone. The delivery of electricity access 21/00217 Investment opportunities, uncertainty, and
is not a one-step intervention. It must involve ongoing engagement and renewables in European electricity markets
consider the social, environmental, economic and political contexts in Gugler, K. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104575.
which people live. Only through this more grounded approach will the This study investigated investment decisions in electricity generation
benefits of energy for sustainable development be realized. technologies under uncertainty. The econometric analysis is based on a
vast dataset of electricity generation capacities of virtually all European
power plants, which is combined with disaggregated measures of
21/00215 Grid interaction and environmental impact of a investment opportunities and uncertainty. This approach allows for a
net zero energy building disaggregated analysis at the asset level (i.e. different electricity
Tumminia, G. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, generation technologies) of the firm. Across technologies, it was found
112228. investment to follow market incentives despite sunk and irreversible
The concept of net zero-energy building (NZEB), as a grid-connected capital, confirming the implications of the Tobin’s q-model. Asset-
building that generates as much energy as it uses over a given period, specific uncertainty hinders investment in conventional technologies,
has been developing through policies and research agendas during the especially in peak-load assets, while industry uncertainty even triggers
last decade as a contribution towards the decarbonization of the investment. Given that renewable power replaces peak-load generation
building sector. However, since the most applicable and widely used technologies and that investment incentives decrease over time, these
renewable energy supply options are non-programmable, the large- results indicate that there may be under-investment in the long run.
scale NZEB diffusion into the existing power grids can seriously affect
their stability having a relapse on operation costs and environmental
impacts. In this context, this study aims at performing the design of the 21/00218 Joint voyage scheduling and economic
energy systems to be used in the case-study through a wide numbers of dispatch for all-electric ships with virtual energy
point of views, including the grid interaction, global warming potential, storage systems
and different design alternatives such as using fuel cells and renewable Huang, Y. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116268.
energy generation systems and drawing lessons learned to be saved for As a special mobile microgrid, an all-electric ship (AES) utilizes diesel
similar buildings. A novel approach for developing for NZEBs, generators and energy storage systems to provide electric propulsion
combining load match and grid interaction indicators with an and service loads. Unlike previous studies of the minimization of the
environmental impact indicator, is proposed. The proposed design AES operation using auxiliary energy storage systems, this paper
approach allows for the quantification of the power grid interaction exploits existing shipboard thermal storage and thermal load as a
and environmental impact (in terms of global warming potential) virtual energy storage system to reduce both operating cost and
aiming to find trade-offs between the opposing tendencies of building greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this goal, a joint optimization
energy performances and the need to limit the embodied carbon within model is developed optimally to coordinate the voyage scheduling and
building envelope and systems. The design approach has been used to power generation of the AES under various load conditions. Thermal
investigate the performances of a NZEB prototype with the aim to load and propulsion load optimization are considered in demand-side
explore the effectiveness of the solution sets used in the current design management. The problem is formulated mathematically as a multi-
[only photovoltaic (PV) system] and plan different solutions (batteries objective economic dispatch problem and solved by the particle swarm
and fuel cells system) for the future ones. For the base case, even optimization algorithm combined with non-dominated sorting genetic
though the overall PV energy generation (8069 kWhe) in a year algorithm II (NSGA-II). A typical navigation route is selected for the
surpasses the electricity consumption (5290 kWhe), on a yearly base case studies and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed joint
only the 29% of the PV generation is used on-site. Hence, the assessed optimization method reduces cost and greenhouse gas emissions by
indicators show clearly how installing a PV system merely able to cover 17.4% and 23.6%, respectively, from those achieved using current fixed
the energy uses on a yearly net base (or even slightly oversized) will voyage generation scheduling methods. The environment friendliness
have stress implications on the power grid. On the other hand, the use and energy efficiency are further improved by coordinated penetration
of batteries at the building scale largely decreases the reliance on of the thermal storage dispatch into generation and voyage scheduling.
power grid when not programmable renewable sources are present.
Moreover, if coupled to the right size of the on-site generation systems, 21/00219 Load demand forecasting of residential buildings
the storage system could increases the environmental benefits arising using a deep learning model
from the renewable energy technologies (the greenhouse gas emissions Wen, L. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 179, 106073.
reach a minimum value of 0.92  103 kg CO2eq/year, with a reduction of In smart grid and smart building environment, it is important to
the 50.4% if compared to the base case, for a storage capacity of implement accurate load demand forecasting of residential buildings.
20 kWh and a PV system nominal power of 4.56 kW). Fuel cells This plays an important role in supporting the reliability of the power
guarantee a good load match at high energy efficiency, furthermore, a system, improving integration of the distributed renewable energy
high installed power of fuel cells is not required to obtain high load resources, and developing effective demand response strategies. This
cover factor values. On the other hand, since the specific CO2eq study proposed a deep learning model to forecast the load demand of
emission per unit of energy of the fuel cells are high, the CO2eq residential buildings with a one-hour resolution, while considering its
emissions are always greater than those of the base case if the system is complexity and variability. The proposed model has a good learning

34 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 06 Electrical power supply and utilization (economics, policy, supplies, forecasts)

ability that can accommodate time dependencies to achieve high 21/00223 Performance assessment of recuperated
forecasting accuracy with limited input variables. Hourly-measured rotorcraft powerplants: trade-off between fuel economy and
residential load data in Austin, Texas, USA were used to demonstrate weight penalty for both tubular and primary surface
the effectiveness of the proposed model, and the forecasting error was recuperators
quantitatively evaluated using several metrics. The results showed that Zhang, Z. and Gümmer, V. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164,
the proposed model forecasts the aggregated and disaggregated load 114443.
demand of residential buildings with higher accuracy compared to The implementation of recuperators for gas turbine systems has been
conventional methods. Furthermore, the proposed deep learning proved to be a significant technical route to meet the current
model is also an effective method for filling missing data through challenges of reduced emissions and improved specific fuel consump-
learning from history data. tion, so as to develop highly efficient, environmentally friendly aero-
engines. However, they have not yet found wide acceptance in
rotorcraft power plant applications, and one of the main disadvantages
21/00220 Managing volumetric risk of long-term power is the beneficial fuel saving may not offset the parasitic recuperator
purchase agreements weight. In this paper, a computationally efficient multidisciplinary
Tranberg, B. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104567. simulation framework has been implemented to systematically quantify
A negative dependence between wind power production and electricity the associated performance trade-off between the improved fuel
spot price exists. This is an important fact to consider for risk economy arising from the adoption of recuperator and the correspond-
management of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). This ing weight penalty over a wide range of effectiveness (namely 60–75%
study investigates this dependence by constructing a joint model using for tubular recuperator and 80–90% for primary surface type). The
constant as well as time-varying copulas. A score-driven models was performance of reference rotorcraft power plant, modelled after the
used as marginal model for the spot price of electricity as these are Bo 105 helicopter with twin-engine configuration, has been initially
more robust to extreme events compared to ARMA–GARCH models. assessed under a generic reference mission, and the overall approach
The new model was applied to pricing and risk management of PPAs and proposed methodology is then further extended for four
and benchmarked it against the ARMA–GARCH specification. The representative missions. The obtained results suggest that in spite of
comparison shows that the score-driven model results in a statistically the substantial reduction in mission fuel consumption, the deployment
significant improvement of predicting the value-at-risk (VaR), which is of recuperator may not be favourable and beneficial for certain type of
of high importance for risk management of long-term PPAs. Further, missions involving short duration and/or small flight range, especially
comparing constant and time-varying copulas, it was found that all in terms of highly effective primary surface recuperator with prominent
time-varying copulas are significantly better than their constant increase in weight penalty.
counterparts at predicting the VaR, hence time-varying copulas should
be used in risk management of PPAs.
21/00224 Performance prediction and techno-economic
analysis of solar dish/Stirling system for electricity
21/00221 On the assessment of the impact of a price-maker generation
energy storage unit on the operation of power system: Zayed, M. E. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114427.
the ISO point of view In this study, a new commercial solar dish/Stirling (SDS) system with a
Chabok, H. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116224. rated power of 25 kW is experimentally established and thermodyna-
In this paper, the operation of a price-maker battery energy storage mically modelled. A mathematical model implemented in MATLAB
unit is investigated. The initial problem is a bilevel problem in which it software is developed to simulate the proposed SDS system operation
tries to maximize the battery owner profit while minimizing the in order to analyse its performance, under conditions of Tianjin, China.
dispatch cost of the power grid. Congestion addressing and risk An analysis of the daily, monthly, and annual performances of the
regarding procedure of the proposed strategic market player also investigated SDS system is performed. In addition, a techno-economic
investigated where they illustrate the infeasibility regions, each of the viability for assessing the electricity cost and life cycle cost of the SDS
transmission congestion and risk taking strategy impacts on the battery system is also performed. The results indicated that the proposed SDS
energy storage systems (BESS) performance. Since the mathematical system produces 28.748 MWh annually, with a yearly net overall
programming with equilibrium constraints method is hard to solve and efficiency of 19.55%, and achieves maximum energy of 3.8 MWh with
is a time-consuming method, a stochastic-based method is proposed in a monthly average efficiency of 22.75% in June. From the energy cost
this paper in which the BESS bidding/offering hourly prices will be analysis, the levelized energy cost of the SDS system is estimated to be
selected through the most probable forecasted market prices in the 1.719 CNY/kWh (0.2565 $/kWh). In conclusion, the present study
form of robust scenarios. The proposed stochastic approach reduces identifies the actual commercial and economic situation of the dish
the number of variables needed for the linearization process of the Stirling technology in China, taking into account the China’s feed-in
main bilevel problem and the required time for solving the problem. It tariff of concentrated solar power systems (1.2 CNY/kWh), and it also
also investigates the cost of the independent systems operator against a provides a new theoretical guidance for predicting the annual perform-
strategic producer which may cause the power lines to be congested in ance and evaluating the economic situation of the SDS systems.
order to gain its profit. By utilizing the transmission switching (TS)
method as an effective tool, it is shows that the TS method is able to 21/00225 Ramping ancillary service for cost-based
reduce the congestion of the lines as well as the operation cost of the electricity markets with high penetration of variable
system. Also, it is concluded that the number of variables and time for renewable energy
the linearization process for bidding and offering strategy has been Godoy-González, D. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104556.
reduced significantly. In addition, the risk analysis of the BESS shows System operators and electricity market stakeholders are facing new
that the risk taking procedure would prevent the BESS’ profit to be challenges related to increasing variability in both generation and
plummeted during the congestion occurrence. Furthermore, investi- demand. Rising generation levels of variable renewable energy (VRE)
gating the operation and impact of such participant within the smart sources cause fluctuations in net loads that need to be met in real time
city, impact of plug-in electric vehicles as mobile storage on the overall by the rest of the system resources. While in some bid-based markets
performance of the system and improving the analysis by considering ancillary services have been proposed to procure ramping in an
the reserve constraints can be the scope of future works. economic and efficient way, cost-based markets are struggling to define
products and mechanisms that can accommodate to their rules, so as to
incentivize and properly remunerate their procurement. In this paper,
21/00222 Open data for electricity modeling: legal aspects
the authors conceptualize a ramping ancillary service for cost-based
Hirth, L. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 27, 100433.
electricity markets with high penetration of VRE. The proposed RAS
Power system modelling is data intensive. In Europe, electricity system
scheme is evaluated through simulations of the Chilean electric system.
data is often available from sources such as statistical offices or system
Numerical results show that it can be implemented in cost-based
operators. However, it is often unclear if these data can be legally used
markets with positive technical and economic results, and that it may
for modelling, and in particular if such use infringes intellectual
be a suitable solution to alleviate net load changes caused by high
property rights. This article reviews the legal status of power system
penetration of VRE.
data, both as a guide for data users and for data publishers. It is based
on interpretation of the law, a review of the secondary literature, an
analysis of the licenses used by major data distributors, expert inter- 21/00226 Reduced grid operating costs and renewable
views, and a series of workshops. A core finding is that in many cases energy curtailment with electric vehicle charge management
the legality of current practices is doubtful: in fact, it seems likely that Szinai, J. K. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111051.
modellers infringe intellectual property rights quite regularly. This is Widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and renew-
true for industry analysis but also academic researchers. A straightfor- able energy (RE) can help to jointly decarbonize the transportation
ward solution is open data – the idea that data can be freely used, and electricity sectors. Previous studies indicate strategies to manage
modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose. To be open, it is not PEV charging facilitate integration of RE into electricity grids, but the
sufficient for data to be accessible free of cost, it must also come with value of such strategies at scale is unclear because electricity markets
an open data license, the most common types of which are also and PEV charging have been inadequately represented together. This
reviewed in this paper. analysis focuses on the state of California in 2025, and improves on

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 35

07 Steam raising (boiler operation/design)

prior work by linking high-resolution mobility and grid dispatch models deployment in the country. The deployment of storage technologies,
to quantify the value of managed charging under a 50% RE grid and however, is at a slow pace of growth. This study highlights the need to
PEV adoption scenarios up to California’s 5 million vehicle target. further develop new business models to address the various decen-
Even after accounting for practical charging and grid constraints, 0.95 tralized energy technologies and services that are emerging in the
to 5 million ‘smart’ charging PEVs avoid $120 to $690 million in sector. The current net-metering system is considered a key issue to be
California grid operating costs annually (up to 10% of total costs) and addressed as this regulatory structure may shift the costs from DG to
reduce RE curtailment up to 40% relative to unmanaged PEVs. non-DG users.
Overnight time-of-use (TOU) charging provides similar cost savings
but increases curtailment. Both of these managed strategies defer 21/00230 Towards sustainable development in the MENA
system infrastructure expansion at the 5 million PEV deployment. The region: analysing the feasibility of a 100% renewable
results suggest residential smart charging complemented by TOU electricity system in 2030
tariffs with added daytime periods are policies with most potential to Aghahosseini, A. et al. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 28, 100466.
advance California’s dual PEV and RE goals. This research explores the feasibility of 100% renewable energy (RE)
systems for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for
21/00227 Study on the biomass-based SOFC and ground assumptions of the year 2030. The demand for three sectors are taken
source heat pump coupling cogeneration system into account: power, non-energetic industrial gas and seawater
Li, H. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114527. desalination. Three strategical scenarios are discussed, namely region,
In the process of urbanization in China, it is an important issue to area and integrated, mainly differing in level of regional grid
achieve the effective utilization of agricultural wastes in rural areas and interconnection and sector coupling. Solar photovoltaics (PV) and
meet the different energy needs of rural residents. In this study, a wind energy are found to be the most cost-competitive RE sources with
biomass-based solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system coupled with the highest potential in the region covering more than 90% of the
ground source heat pump was proposed. Agricultural waste biomass generation capacity in all the considered scenarios. The variability of
was gasified to produce bio-gas for generating electricity in SOFC. The RE is solved via energy storage, surplus electricity generation and
exhaust was utilized by a set of new waste heat utilization units to electricity grids. The estimated overall levelized cost of electricity
generate domestic hot water, solving thermal imbalance problem of (LCOE) lies between 40.3 and 52.8 e/MWh, depending on the
soil. The thermodynamic properties of the coupling system were scenarios. The total LCOE decreased by 17% as a result of sector
carried out by Aspen plus. In addition, the effects of some important coupling compared to the interconnected power sector alone. Power-
operating parameters on the performance of the system were also to-gas technology not only functions as a seasonal storage by storing
analysed. The results showed that on the condition of the case, the surplus electricity produced mainly from wind power and partially from
energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of the system is 67.3% and solar PV, but provides also the required gas for the non-energetic
29.2%, respectively. The primary energy saving rate of the coupling industrial gas sector. Battery storage complements solar PV as a
system is 24.9%, and CO2 emission reduction rate is 13.9%. The diurnal storage to meet the electricity demand during the evening and
proposed system can effectively utilize agricultural waste, reducing night time. Seawater reverse osmosis desalination powered by renew-
dependence on fossil energy, and achieving energy saving and emission ables could potentially be a proper solution to overcome the water
reduction. challenges in the MENA region at affordable cost of 1.4 e/m3. A
comparison with a business-as-usual (BAU) strategy shows that a 100%
renewable energy-based power system is 55–69% cheaper than a BAU
21/00228 Thermodynamic and economic analysis of strategy without and with greenhouse gas emissions costs.
different cogeneration and trigeneration systems based on
carbon dioxide vapor compression refrigeration systems
Mohammadi, K. and Powell, K. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020,
164, 114503.
Carbon dioxide vapour compression refrigeration cycles operating at
low evaporator temperatures represent a substantial waste energy
recovery potential to generate useful products using the high- 07 STEAM RAISING
temperature carbon dioxide leaving the compressor. Despite this
remarkable potential, there are limited investigations about waste
energy recovery from these cycles for different applications. Using this
as a motivation, in this work, different novel integrated cogeneration
and trigeneration configurations are proposed based on a carbon
Boiler operation/design
dioxide parallel compression economization-vapour compression re-
frigeration cycle with a 1000 kW capacity and evaporator temperatures
of 35 to 45  C. The major originality of this work is the proposal and 21/00231 A comprehensive investigation of finding the best
detailed techno-economic evaluation of several feasible cogeneration location for hot steam injection into the wet steam turbine
and trigeneration configurations for different practical applications. blade cascade
Different cycles and components are integrated into the carbon dioxide Aliabadi, M. A. F. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116397.
cycle including single and double stages water–lithium bromide In the power plant industry, a major part of energy losses in the
absorption chillers, a single stage ammonia–water absorption refriger- thermodynamic cycle is related to the steam turbines, which are not
ation, a carbon dioxide–water heat exchanger and an organic Rankine made to work with wet steam flow, and the presence of the liquid phase
cycle. The thermo-economic findings demonstrate that recovering the causes efficiency reduction and mechanical damages such as erosion,
available thermal energy of carbon dioxide exiting the compressor which leads to high expenses due to the high cost of steam turbines.
would be very attractive both thermodynamically and economically to This study used the hot steam injection (HSI) to decrease condensation
produce several useful outputs. More than 478 and 147 kW cooling (air loss and erosion rate. Location for HSI effects on the pressure
conditioning) and refrigeration effects can be generated using the distribution, Mach number, and liquid mass fraction of flow at the
cogeneration configurations. Also, between 59.52 and 185.8 kW power suction and pressure surfaces. For this purpose, several locations on
can be generated depending on the configurations and organic fluid suction and pressure sides were considered to select an appropriate
used, improving the coefficient of performance up to 18.0%. Moreover, location for injection. In this study, the EEHIC (entropy generated,
7763–9360 m3/year of domestic hot water can be generated by the erosion rate, HSI ratio, inlet mass flow rate to the blade and
trigeneration configurations, reducing the levelized cost of cooling up condensation loss) method is used to select the most suitable HSI
to 13%. location. Results indicated that injecting on the suction side is more
effective on mentioned parameters than the pressure side. HSI on the
21/00229 Towards a smart grid power system in Brazil: suction side (the lowest temperature in the centre line of blade)
challenges and opportunities decreased the condensation loss and erosion rate ratio by 81% and
Dranka, G. G. and Ferreira, P. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111033. 99%, respectively, compared to the case of no injection.
The prospects for a smart power system have been widely discussed in
the global electricity sector. Decarbonization, digitalization and 21/00232 Comparison of measured and modelled residual
decentralization are considered the main key drivers for this power stresses in a welded P91 steel pipe undergoing post weld
system transition and Brazil is no exception to this universal trend. A heat treatment
search of the literature revealed few studies which attempt to address Yaghi, A. H. et al. International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping,
the main challenges and opportunities towards a smart grid power 2020, 181, 104076.
system in Brazil. This paper provides an up-to-date assessment of the The process of fusion arc welding of steel pipes in power generation
present and potential capabilities of existing and future technologies, plants induces residual stresses which may be detrimental to the
regulations and policies and attempts to identify how these elements integrity and endurance of plant pipelines. P91 is high-grade steel used
are interrelated. The findings add to a growing body of evidence in the construction of pipelines carrying hot steam at high pressure,
suggesting that policies for distributed generation (DG), demand-side conditions which cause creep during service. Welded P91 pipes are
management and new tariff schemes are on a path of accelerated usually subjected to post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) to mitigate the

36 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 08 Combustion (burners, combustion systems)

magnitude of residual stresses and temper the material, hence at maximum nucleation rate have the greatest effect on erosion rate
improving its resistance to creep. In this paper, the finite element and condensation loss. The average droplet radius in the polydispersed
method of modelling residual stresses due to PWHT in a circumfer- model is smaller than the monodispersed model. In the proposed
entially butt-welded P91 pipe is presented. The PWHT hold tempera- method, it is improved 49%.
ture is 760  C. The paper describes the X-ray diffraction and deep-hole
drilling experimental techniques and how they are applied to measure 21/00236 Perspectives for 700 8C ultra-supercritical power
residual stresses in the welded P91 pipe after PWHT. The material generation: thermal safety of high-temperature heating
property data, necessary for the finite element simulation of PWHT, surfaces
has been obtained from stress-relaxation tests on P91 uniaxial tensile Zhang, Z. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116411.
specimens at 760  C. Good agreements have been achieved between the The advanced 700  C ultra-supercritical (A-USC) power generation is
results of the finite element method and the two sets of experimentally- the most important developing direction of power generation due to
measured residual stresses. the highest efficiency and great potential for energy conservation. The
heating surfaces will be more sensitive to metal temperature due to the
21/00233 Heating and hot water with wood chips. Is it narrow safety temperature allowance at higher steam parameter. The
convenient to replace firewood boilers in southern Chile? tube wall temperature is depended on heat transfer characteristics
Niklitschek, M. E. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, between flue gas and working fluid in tube. However, the tube wall
24–31. temperature was usually calculated with decoupled method for
This study estimates the cost of heating and domestic hot water predicting the energy flux between flue gas and working fluid. The
(DHW) with wood chips, under climatic conditions and forest biomass accuracy of tube wall temperature by using this method is sufficient for
availability in Valdivia, a middle size city in central–southern Chile. 600  C USC boiler design based on huge experience data of power
The demand for heating and DHW is established for a typical plants. While for A-USC boiler, the accuracy of that was not sufficient
residential building with different thermal insulation conditions. due to the more sensitive of tube wall temperature on boiler safety
Results of wood chip technology were compared with conventional operating. To address those issues, some perspectives are given: some
firewood, liquefied petrol gas (LPG) and diesel technology. Likewise, it experimental apparatus which combined combustion and heat transfer
is analysed the profitability of replacing firewood boilers in use by surfaces at 700  C level of working fluid is needed to conduct heat
wood chip and LPG boilers. Under almost all scenarios, the higher transfer characteristics; the coupled heat transfer simulation method is
investment costs of the wood chip solution are more than offset by essential for A-USC boiler design and operating; long-term testing
lower fuel costs, resulting in lower heating and DHW costs than LPG verification of candidate surfaces is imperative for commercialization
and diesel. The higher automation and combustion efficiency of the of A-USC technology.
wood chip system also results in a lower heating and DHW cost than a
firewood system, even if this latter system is already in operation. The 21/00237 Two-phase operation of a Terry steam turbine
thermal insulation significantly reduced the investment and fuel supply using air and water mixtures as working fluids
costs, financially justifying its inclusion as part of the project to replace Patil, A. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114567.
the heating and DHW system with wood chips. The alternative with Terry steam turbines are employed in the safety systems of many
LPG appears to be more attractive only for low levels of heating and nuclear boiling water reactors to drive pumps and provide cooling
DHW demand. The connection of four identical buildings (7680 m2) in water to the nuclear reactor core. While the turbine efficiency is low,
a heating network allows to reach the lowest cost of heating and DHW the more important feature is high reliability under off-normal
per dwelling, balancing economies of scale in the boiler investment conditions. An important aspect of reliability is the ability to function
with the cost of expanding the distribution network. with two-phase steam–water injection into the turbine, as most likely
occurred in the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accidents. This study
21/00234 Local effect model development for the steam investigates the characteristics of a Terry turbine during air–water
generator three dimensional thermal hydraulics analysis injection with gas mass fractions ranging from 1 (dry gas) to 0.05 (wet
code gas), to better understand the Terry turbine’s true operational
Wang, X. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107020. capabilities and provide justification for extended Terry turbine use
The thermal-hydraulic characteristics of steam generator secondary for reactor safety. Other parameters investigated are the inlet pressure,
side in a pressurized water reactor has been always a research topic in the exhaust backpressure and the turbine’s rotational speed.
the literature. The detailed three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic
parameter distribution in a steam generator is very important for
reactor safety and economy. A three-dimensional two-phase analysis
program, STAF, for the secondary side of steam generator has been
developed at the Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. The program is
based on porous medium model and four-equation drift flow model. It 08 COMBUSTION
can simulate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of steam
generator. However, due to the limitation of porous medium model,
STAF is not able to obtain the local velocity distribution near the
supporting plate and anti-vibration bars, which are very important for
fouling deposition and flow vibration analysis. In this paper, the local Burners, combustion systems
detailed thermal hydraulic characteristics near steam generator
supporting plate and anti-vibration bars are studied. The local flow
field is obtained and the influence range and degree of local
21/00238 3D flower-like defected MoS2
components on the velocity distribution is analysed. The supporting
magnetron-sputtered on candle soot for
plate and anti-vibration bars analysis model was developed and
enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction
implemented into the STAF code. Results show that the improved
Gao, B. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 117750.
code could predict the local velocity variations compared with the
Exploring highly efficient, cost-effective and stable electrocatalysts for
original code. This work is meaningful for the function promotion of
hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) based on naturally abundant
the STAF steam generator thermal hydraulic code.
elements is of great interest but still a challenge. As is generally known,
molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) represents a promising catalyst to
21/00235 Numerical investigation of effects polydispersed replace the state of the-art platinum (Pt) for HER, but an effective
droplets on the erosion rate and condensation loss in the way of applying it is yet unknown due to a significant resistance
wet steam flow in the turbine blade cascade between basal planes. Herein, for the first time, a novel nanostructure
Aliabadi, M. A. F. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, with three-dimensional (3D) flower-like defected MoS2 nanosheets
114478. grown directly on candle soot by magnetron sputtering with Ni foam as
The condensation phenomenon in the steam turbines creates a a supporter was developed, and it displayed excellent catalytic activity
complex spectrum of droplet size. As known, the droplet size and stability. On the one hand, the bombardment of Ar ions in the
distribution can provide important information for steam turbine deposition system could effectively etch the inert basal plane, leading
designers. In simulations, droplets radius are often modelled in the to the formation of defects and steps to increase the active edge sites.
monodispersed model. One size of droplet radius is reported at each On the other hand, the resistance of MoS2-based electrocatalysts
location in this model. In this study, a new method is presented for decreased due to the unique topographic structure and the existence of
grouping droplets into polydispersed model and comparing with 1T-MoS2 phase, and also the composite was superhydrophilic which is
monodispersed model. The nucleation zone is geographically divided beneficial to the contact of the solid–liquid interface. The as-prepared
into 20 parts. The droplets are produced and create a group from the 3D MoS2/candle soot/Ni foam (NF + CS + MoS2) composite has an
nucleation phenomenon at each part. The results indicate that the overpotential of 56 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm2 and a
droplets that are produced at the beginning of the nucleation zone have small Tafel slope of 49 mV decade1. This present work provides new
the largest size. Also, other droplets that are produced at the end of the insight into the large-scale production of chemically active MoS2-based
nucleation zone have the smallest size. The droplets that are produced catalysts for HER.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 37

08 Combustion (burners, combustion systems)

21/00239 A green route for pyrolysis poly-generation of initial temperatures of 358–418 K, and equivalence ratios of 0.7–1.4.
typical high ash biomass, rice husk: effects on simultaneous Employing the constant volume method (CVM) allows determining
production of carbonic oxide-rich syngas, phenol-abundant laminar burning speeds (Su) of this surrogate at conditions far beyond
bio-oil, high-adsorption porous carbon and amorphous the initial conditions (0.1–0.8 MPa, 358–490 K). Power law fitting
silicon dioxide correlations between Su and pressure were obtained via the constant
Su, Y. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122243. volume method (CVM). Cellularity appears when pressure or tem-
Rice husk is a widespread agriculture waste in rice-farming country. perature is high, and cellular burning speed was calculated by CVM as
High silica content in rice husk prevent its efficient utilization. So in well. Su determined via the constant pressure method (CPM) were
this work, concept of poly-generation was introduced to improve its compared with those from the CVM. Discrepancies between the results
utilization value. This study provided CO-rich syngas, phenol-abundant from the CVM and the CPM are within 15%, except at the conditions
bio-oil, high-adsorption porous carbon and amorphous SiO2 as four where flame cellularity appeared. Additionally, an explicit correlation
end products for first time via combination of acid washing and of Su was obtained from the experimental results.
activated carbon catalyst. Specifically, acid washing effectively de-
creased soluble ash, which altered pyrolysis paths, increased volatiles
21/00243 Effect of dimethyl ether addition on flame stability
release and reduced impurities in bio-char. After catalytic pyrolysis,
of premixed methane/air in a micro-planar quartz combustor
phenol content of 65.56% and CO of 56.09 vol% were detected in bio-
Li, J. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process Intensifica-
oil and syngas from acid-washed rice husks. For solid products, acid
tion, 2020, 147, 107740.
washing benefited both bio-char and silica. A low-cost porous carbon
Blended combustion has a potential to promote flame stability under
with developed pores and rich surface functional groups was prepared
micro-scale condition. For this, the effect of dimethyl ether (DME)
for water absorption. And high purity amorphous SiO2 was recycled
addition on the flame stability of premixed methane/air confined within
from alkali etching solution. Finally, a green process with no waste
a quartz combustor is explored through experimental approach. Seven
emission was proposed.
flame propagation modes are observed for pure methane–air combus-
tion. Experimental results indicate that flame stability could be
21/00240 An electromagnetics-temperature-component remarkably enhanced, especially under fuel-lean conditions, and the
multi-physical coupled model for electric furnace in calcium flame is able to sustain stable combustion for some extreme
carbide smelting process circumstances with DME addition. To further understand the
Zhang, X.-K. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114552. underlying mechanism of enhanced flame stability, detailed analyses
A transient three-dimensional (3D) mathematical model is established regarding flame shape range and flame transition point as a function of
to analyse electromagnetics-temperature-component multi-physical blended ratio are also conducted. The existence range of various flame
field distribution in calcium carbide (CaC2) smelting process in this shapes can be generally broadened to some degree as increasing
paper. The electromagnetic field is solved by Maxwell’s equations using blended ratio, which is due to the increased value of flame transition
the finite element method. The temperature field and phase change are point. Furthermore, it is found that variation frequency of weak flame
modelled by the enthalpy equations. The chemical reaction process is decreases with an increase in blended ratio and inlet velocity. For
built by reaction kinetics equations. The numerical modelling method sufficiently high blended ratio under fuel-lean condition, oscillating
is verified against data from literature. The results show that multi- flame disappears, which indicates that flame is much more stable in this
physical fields are strongly coupling and uneven in electric furnace. case. The reason for enhanced flame stability could be related to the
Therefore, the higher temperature and product are mainly distributed increased flame speed and large extinction strain rate with DME
in the upper layer of centre zone. Large-capacity electric furnace is addition.
qualified with significant advantage in increasing output. When three-
phase alternating current increases from 10,000 to 14,000 A, the
21/00244 Effect of exhaust tube vortex on NOx reduction
volume of CaC2 and molten CaC2 pool increases by 51.6% and
and combustion characteristics in a swirl-stabilized
52.3% at the end of smelting process, respectively. However, it also
pulverized coal flame
increases the temperature in furnace, which has a negative effect on the
Kim, K. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116044.
safe production. The mathematical model established in this paper can
Experimental investigations were conducted on the effect of the
accurately reflect electromagnetics-temperature-component multi-
exhaust tube vortex (ETV) and the synergistic effect of the ETV and
physical field distribution, and can provide guidance for the design
air staging on nitrogen oxide (NO) concentration and carbon monoxide
and development of high-efficiency calcium carbide electric furnace.
(CO) concentration, as well as carbon burnout in a swirl-stabilized
pulverized coal-fired furnace. To elucidate the aforementioned effects,
21/00241 Coal combustion via chemical looping assisted four different swirl combinations were prepared derived from co-swirl
by oxygen uncoupling with a manganese-iron mixed oxide and counter-swirl through five staging air injection positions. The
doped with titanium results show that the ETV contributes to unburned carbon (UBC)
Pérez-Vega, R. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106184. combustion through its hollow-tube structure in the co-swirling flame.
Chemical looping combustion allows the carbon dioxide capture by In addition, the temperature is distinguishable in the case of the 60 –
using an oxygen carrier, which transports the oxygen required for 60 co-swirl combination (Sco,1.37/1.50), and 60 –60 counter-swirl
combustion from the air to the fuel. But complete combustion of a solid combination (Sct,1.37/1.50) because of the shape of the inner recirculation
fuel is not achieved when low cost materials were used as oxygen zone (IRZ) and the occurrence of the ETV. Although the ETV effect
carriers. Manganese–iron mixed oxide doped with titanium has been follows the swirl intensity, the 50 –50 co-swirl combination
identified as a promising oxygen carrier to improve combustion (Sco,0.95/1.03) is the most favourable for the ETV effect under the
efficiency due to its oxygen uncoupling capability. The objective of unstaged condition, considering the behaviour of the burner aero-
this work was to assess the potential of this oxygen carrier when dynamics that contains the IRZ and the flame propagation dependent
burning coal in a chemical looping unit. The coal combustion efficiency on the swirl vane angle. The result without an ETV is reflected in
and carbon dioxide capture were evaluated as a function of the Sct,1.37/1.50, meaning incomplete combustion of the coal during the
operating conditions both in the fuel and air reactor. Carbon dioxide combustion procedure. In terms of the synergistic effect, NO and CO
capture was affected by the solids residence time in the fuel reactor. reduction rates, as well as carbon burnout are needed to evaluate the
Coal combustion efficiency increased as the oxygen uncoupling best overall performance. According to evaluation, Sco,1.37/1.50 at
capability was enhanced by using suitable operating conditions in the staging level 3 (SL3) has the highest synergistic effect because the
air reactor. Almost full coal combustion (99.4%) was achieved by effect of air staging is maximized in SL3 given the longest particle
setting an air reactor temperature of 880  C, an air excess of 1.8, a fuel residence time in the re-burning zone.
reactor temperature of 925  C, and an oxygen carrier to fuel ratio >3.
The oxygen carrier showed magnetic properties, allowing its re-use
21/00245 Electrical characteristics of the oxyfuel flame
after being separated from ash.
while cutting steel
Pond, T. L. and Martin, C. R. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science,
21/00242 Determination of laminar burning characteristics 2020, 112, 109985.
of a surrogate for a pyrolysis fuel using constant volume This paper describes the electrical phenomena in the oxyfuel cutting
method torch flame while cutting a steel work piece. Measurements of the
Xu, C. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116315. voltage–current characteristic between the torch and the work piece
A fast pyrolysis biofuel, mainly consisting to 98% of ethanol, ethyl demonstrate three piecewise-linear regimes in the 10 V range. Flame
acetate, diethyl ether, acetone and 2-butanone with mass ratios of resistance measurements in the ohmic regime are studied using three
9 : 6 : 2 : 1 : 1, was catalytically produced from rice husk. A preliminary candidate excitation signals while varying fuel/oxygen ratio, feed rate
engine test demonstrated this biofuel has the possibility of being a and stand-off distance. Electrical characteristics are also observed
gasoline blending stock. However, its fundamental burning features are during successful and unsuccessful pierce and loss-of-cut events. The
not fully understood. This work presents the experimental investi- flame’s electrical resistance is found to be 2.8 k/mm of length; a factor
gations of the spherical propagating flame of a surrogate fuel of three smaller than the same conditions without cutting oxygen. The
representing the biofuel in a constant volume combustion chamber authors present an argument that the drastic increase in plasma
(CVCC). Tests were conducted at initial pressures of 0.1–0.4 MPa, conductivity is due to an abundance of electrons produced at the work

38 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 08 Combustion (burners, combustion systems)

piece. Preliminary conclusions are drawn here about the potential 21/00249 Investigation on the effect of bluff body ball on
applicability of these measurements for the in-process detection of the combustion characteristics for methane/oxygen in micro
standoff, pierce success, and loss-of-cut events. combustor
Pan, J. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116465.
A micro-combustor inserted with a bluff body ball was developed and
21/00246 Experimental assessment of the lean blow-off in a compared with the conventional combustor. The combustion charac-
fully premixed annular combustor teristics (flammability limits, stable flame propagation and combustion
Ciardiello, R. et al. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2020, 112, efficiency) of methane/oxygen mixture in the micro-combustor with
109994. bluff body ball were experimentally and numerically investigated. The
The behaviour of the flame in an annular combustor with multiple results show that bluff body ball could broaden flammability limits of
bluff-body injectors with swirl was investigated to provide insights into methane/oxygen mixture in the combustor. When inlet velocity was
lean blow-off (LBO) mechanisms when flames interact. Two different 0.7 m/s, the flammability limits in the combustor with 1 mm bluff body
configurations, with 12 and 18 burners, and various bulk velocities and ball had equivalence ratios of 1.2 and 2.05 and that in the combustor
equivalence ratios were tested. Flame shape and main features were with 2 mm bluff body ball had equivalence ratios of 1.5 and 2.68, which
studied by means of 5 kHz OH* chemiluminescence imaging and the are larger than that in conventional combustors. The bluff body ball
stability limits were identified and compiled into stability regime beneficially decreased the propagation velocity of the stable flame
diagrams. As the equivalence ratio of the mixture was reduced the thereby making the gases burn completely. When the inlet velocity was
individual flames would first exhibit a transition from a stable ‘W- 0.5 m/s, the combustion efficiency of the combustor inserted with a
shape’ state to a stable ‘V-shape’ state before becoming unstable close bluff body ball was 82.899% which was 2.7% higher than that of con-
to extinction. In the 18-burner configuration LBO was characterized by ventional combustor. However, the difference in combustion efficiency
random detachment and re-stabilization of the flames over multiple between the combustor with and without a bluff body ball decreases as
burners across the chamber, until complete lift-off. In the 12-burner the inlet velocity increases. When the velocity increased to 1.25 m/s, the
configuration the flame anchors on a few burners in azimuthally difference was 0.75%.
symmetric locations, making the overall flame less prone to global
extinction. Finally, the stability curves were computed using a 21/00250 Microstructural property regulation and
correlation based on the Damkhöler number and compared to single performance in methane combustion reaction of ordered
burner configurations. The beginning of the blow-off transient was mesoporous alumina supported palladium-cobalt bimetallic
found to be similar to the LBO condition for a single burner in the 12- catalysts
burner setup, while the 18-burner configuration was less stable for all Lin, J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118269.
the conditions investigated. However, it was found that correlations Cobalt-doped ordered mesoporous alumina (Co-OMA-y) with intrinsic
based on single burner extinction data do not fully work for the activity for methane combustion were synthesized through a sol-gel
extinction of interacting flames. The results provide insights into the method. Results indicated that for Co-OMA-y and supported Pd/Co-
blow-off of realistic gas turbine engines and can be used for validating OMA-y catalysts, the cobalt doping amount affected the surface
models of such processes. concentration of Co2+ and active oxygen species, caused different
catalytic activity. Pd/Co-OMA-6 presented abundant active oxygen
species, which favoured for stabilizing PdO phase, inducing its lower
21/00247 Experimental investigation on horizontal jet spray activation energy and higher activity. For Pd-Co bimetallic catalysts
flame characteristics with a constant air-fuel ratio in with same composition (6 wt% Co, 0.5 wt% Pd), different introducing
different sub-atmospheric pressures methods of cobalt altered the microstructure, hence affecting the
Xie, K. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114555. synergism of bimetals. For Pd/6CoDEG/OMA, the better reducibility
It is hoped that horizontal liquid fuel spray burners can be better of PdO made the reaction proceed through the Mars–van Krevelen
applied to small heating and heat transfer equipment in high-altitude mechanism, cobalt oxides contributed to the reoxidation of palladium
areas. The morphology and temperature characteristics of diesel species, meanwhile the optimal surface acidity and basicity benefited
horizontal spray flame were investigated in a low-pressure chamber the methane adsorption, therefore invoking the excellent activity, long-
(0.05–0.10 MPa). The results show that when the air–fuel ratio is term and hydrothermal stability. The catalytic performance was greatly
constant, the horizontal projection length of the and uplifted feature of improved after stability test due to the redistribution of active species.
the flame are proportional to the atmospheric pressure, which is
completely contrary to the change rule when only the volume flow of
air is kept constant. When the air–fuel ratio is constant, the flame 21/00251 Multicriterial model for selecting a charcoal kiln
trajectory at different atmospheric pressures can be normalized into Zola, F. C. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116377.
two equations with 0.08 MPa as the dividing line. The dimensionless Finding renewable sources of energy is a burgeoning field of research
flame fluctuation length can reveal the stability of the horizontal and an important political challenge. Charcoal is the foremost
spray flame. An increase of indicates that the diameter of the flame important material to substitute coal. Up until now, not many studies
holder and swirling intensity need to be moderately increased at high have been conducted to assist decision-makers to select the proper kiln
altitudes. That is also confirmed from the perspective of the air to produce charcoal. Herein, a multiple criteria decision-making
entrainment coefficient. In addition, an accurate flame length predic- method is presented to select a proper charcoal kiln by taking into
tion model is established. Dimensionless temperature analysis reveals consideration the industry’s know-how and needs. To solve this
that the air–fuel ratio needs to be closer to the stoichiometric ratio problem with the influence of the decision-maker, the analytic
when compared with normal pressure. hierarchy process (AHP) method was chosen to evaluate the criteria’s
weight. Furthermore, to allow the decision-maker to analyse both,
quantitative and qualitative criteria, the best alternative was chosen by
using the Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal
21/00248 Experimental study of jet fire radiation and a new
Solution (TOPSIS) method. Finally, the proposed method allows the
approach for optimizing the weighted multi-point source
decision maker to play a crucial role in the process. Combined with the
model by inverse methods
AHP, the fuzzy TOPSIS method made it possible to list the most
Quezada, L. A. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102972.
suitable alternative within the considered industry conditions. Con-
The present study brings new experimental data on radiation from
clusively, the method generates different results for each case and each
subsonic jet fires and proposes a new method for employing the inverse
decision maker, showing itself to be a successful tool for the charcoal
analysis technique to optimize the weighting coefficients of the multi-
industry selects the best kiln, thus boosting the production of renew-
point model. First, detailed measurements of radiative heat flux
able energy.
distributions are obtained for different flame powers, injector
diameters and sensor distances. All results fall onto a single curve
with an adequate non-dimensionalization. A new correlation for the 21/00252 Numerical analysis of heat recuperation in
radiative heat transfer rate from these flames was obtained with a micro-combustors using internal recirculation
better performance compared to other options from literature. Then, Fontana, É. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115301.
an inverse method is employed to obtain the coefficients of the Heat recuperation in micro-combustors used as a radiation source for
weighted multi-point model for predicting the radiative heat transfer micro-thermophotovoltaic devices is an important mechanism to
from flames. By using the non-dimensional heat flux distributions, the increase system efficiency and improve flame stability. A novel
inverse method became independent of the flame radiated fraction. A combustor structure is proposed to improve the heat transfer from
new optimization parameter that emerges from the non-dimensional the combustion gases to the combustor outer wall using an internal
model showed the consistency of the inverse method and leads to a recirculation region filled with porous media. Numerical results
correlation for the maximum heat flux as a function of the radial indicate that the temperature difference in the recirculation region
distance from the flame. Finally, the new weighting coefficients and the can be reduced up to 10 times using metal foams as porous media,
radiative heat transfer rate correlation were used to compute the which significantly increase the outer wall temperature. Different
dimensional radiative heat flux distributions. The comparison with the porous media and recirculation positions were investigated and it was
experimental data showed expressive improvements of the model found that the average radiation emission efficiency, for different inlet
prediction. velocities, can be increased up to 24% in comparison with combustors

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 39

08 Combustion (fire safety)

without recirculation and up to 18% in comparison with combustors for decaying or survival of the entropy waves. The current study aims to
with open-channel recirculation (no porous media). The performance find the effects of hydrodynamic and thermal effects on the entropy
improvement is more significant for higher inlet velocities, with waves using numerical simulation. The effects of inlet velocity,
increases up to 40%. equivalence ratio and excitation frequency in both thermally convective
and adiabatic combustor are investigated. The maximum wave change
21/00253 Simulation of hetero/homogeneous combustion is found in the excitation frequency. Further, the cooling convective
characteristics of CH4/air in a half packed-bed catalytic heat transfer on the walls causes more deterioration in the wave. It is
combustor found that the low frequency entropy waves have more chance to
Yang, W. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115247. survive in comparison to high frequency ones. The results clearly show
The catalytic combustion of CH4/air mixtures in a half packed-bed that survival of the entropy waves majorly depends on the combustor
combustor was investigated numerically to acquire the heterogeneous/ thermal and hydrodynamic conditions and this is, therefore, hard to say
homogeneous combustion characteristics. Three combustion modes: any universal conclusion for survival of the entropy waves.
completed heterogeneous combustion, heterogeneous/homogeneous
combustion, and incomplete heterogeneous combustion are discovered 21/00257 The effect of co-firing coal and woody biomass
and investigated, respectively under low (0.05–1.53 m/s), middle (1.53– upon the slagging/deposition tendency in iron-ore
8.7 m/s) and high (8.7–12.4 m/s) inlet velocity. Under middle inlet pelletizing grate-kiln plants
velocity, heterogeneous reaction triggers homogeneous reaction down- Sefidari, H. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106254.
stream. The interface between catalyst and gas-phase zones was Woody biomass is being considered a potential co-firing fuel to reduce
analysed to reveal the effects of the upstream heterogeneous coal consumption in iron-ore pelletizing rotary kilns. An important
combustion on the trigging of downstream homogeneous combustion. consideration is the slagging inside the kiln caused by ash deposition
Three zones in the interface: burned zone, transition zone and that can lead to process disturbances or shutdowns. In terms of ash
unburned zone, were defined and analysed. A parameter of transition chemistry, co-firing woody biomass implies the addition of mainly Ca
zone in the interface,  was defined to evaluate the level of and K to the Si- and Al-dominated coal-ash (characteristic of high-rank
temperature gradient versus inlet velocity. When  < 0.011, homo- coals) and Fe from the iron-ore that are both inherent to the process.
geneous combustion is not trigged due to the relative weak An alkali-laden gaseous atmosphere is also present due to the
heterogeneous combustion which brings downstream gases unfavour- accumulation of alkali via the recirculation of flue gas in the system.
able conditions. The slagging propensity of blending woody biomass with coal in the
grate-kiln process was studied based on the viscosity of the molten
21/00254 Study on oxy-fuel combustion behaviors in a phases predicted by global thermochemical equilibrium modelling.
S-CO2 CFB by 3D CFD simulation This was carried out for variations in temperature, gaseous KOH
Gu, J. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115262. atmosphere, and fuel blending levels. Results were evaluated and
The supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) power cycle circulating fluidized bed compared using a qualitative slagging indicator previously proposed by
(CFB) with oxy-fuel combustion is considered as a perspective carbon the authors where an inverse relationship between deposition tendency
capture technology with high net efficiency. A three-dimensional (3D) and the viscosity of the molten fraction of the ash was established. The
computational fluid dynamics simulation using MP-PIC method was results were also compared with a set of co-firing experiments
developed to predict oxy-fuel combustion in a 12 MWth S-CO2 CFB. performed in a pilot-scale (0.4 MW) experimental combustion furnace.
This model couples the gas–solid flow, the heat transfers with In general, the co-firing of woody biomass would likely increase the
combustion reactions, and takes into account of the particle size slagging tendency via the increased formation of low-viscosity melts.
distribution. The effects of the different thermal wall boundary The fluxing behaviour of biomass-ash potentially reduces the viscosity
conditions and various O2 concentration on the particle motion, of the Fe-rich aluminosilicate melt and intensifies deposition.
combustion characteristics and gaseous pollutant emissions were However, the results also revealed that there are certain conditions
systemically studied in this work. Results show that the combustion where deposition tendency may decrease via the formation of high-
efficiency and the emission of CO, NO and SO2 in the S-CO2 boiler melting-point alkali-containing solid phases (e.g. leucite).
were higher than those in the conventional steam boiler. The increase
in the inlet O2 concentration increased the temperature of gas phase, 21/00258 The role of polar ethanol induction in various
the combustion efficiency and the desulfurization efficiency in the S- iso-octane ethanol fuel blend during single droplet
CO2 boiler. combustion
Waluyo, B. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106275.
21/00255 Synchronization of dual diffusion flame in co-flow This study aims to disclose the role of molecular interactions of iso-
Fujisawa, N. et al. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2020, 110, octane ethanol blend during droplet combustion. The iso-octane
109924. ethanol composition which has the potential to form molecular clusters
In this study, the interaction of two adjacent diffusion flames (dual was analysed using integer interaction modelling with mole ratio.
flame) were experimentally investigated using the direct imaging Comparison of mole-based compositions was converted to a volume
method and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements for varied base to verify empirically using the single droplet burning method. The
distances between the two flames under the influence of the co-flow. molecular interaction analysis gave the composition close to the
The direct imaging method indicates the presence of various molecular cluster composition was 10, 15, 25, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and
synchronization modes, such as merging, in-phase synchronization, 90% v/v. Ethanol fractions of 20% and 30% v/v were also tested using
amplitude death, anti-phase synchronization, and desynchronization, the same method as a mixture that do not form the molecular cluster.
as the distance between the flames was increased. The dual flame This study shows that the total molecular interaction forces on
synchronization was characterized using an image analysis of the time- molecular clusters are inversely proportional to puffing events during
series variation of flame heights summarized by the mean flame height, single droplet combustion. The number of free molecules that do not
root-mean-square of the flame height, Strouhal number, and the cross- form molecular clusters tends to produce micro-explosions at the final
correlation coefficient of flame heights against the burner distance. stage of single droplet combustion. The research also revealed that the
Furthermore, the unsteady velocity fields of the synchronized flames increasing ethanol fractions in molecular clusters tends to reduce the
were measured using PIV combined with the proper orthogonal combustion rate constant exponentially.
decomposition (POD) analysis to extract the flow structure of the dual
flame. The experimental results indicated that the in-phase mode is
characterized by the formation of symmetrical vortices, whereas the
anti-phase mode features the formation of asymmetrical vortices inside Fire safety
and outside of the flame. The POD analysis demonstrated higher
fluctuating energy in the anti-phase mode than in the in-phase mode,
which suggested the formation of a highly organized flame structure in
the anti-phase mode. 21/00259 An experimental study of the effects of topcoat on
aging and fire protection properties of intumescent coatings
21/00256 The dissipation and dispersion of the entropy for steel elements
wave caused by a turbulent lean premixed flame in a Wang, L. L. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102931.
combustor This paper presents the results of an experimental study to investigate
Hajialigol, N. and Mazaheri, K. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, the effects of topcoat on anti-aging and fire protection properties of
165, 112900. intumescent coatings for steel elements. Intumescent coatings with
One of the most important defects in gas turbines during the last three different layers of two types of topcoat were applied to steel plates.
decades is the combustion instabilities due to diluting the mixture of air They were exposed to different cycles of hydrothermal aging before
and fuel. The combustion instability occurs because of mutual effects of being tested in fire. The fire protection property of intumescent
combustion and flow dynamical processes. Currently, entropy wave is coatings was characterized quantitatively by effective constant thermal
one of the challenging reasons to start combustion instability in the conductivity. A series of chemical analysis tests (DSC, FTIR and XPS)
combustors. Nonetheless, there are no adequate or consistent results were also conducted to help understand the effects of topcoat on the

40 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 08 Combustion (fire safety)

degradation mechanisms of intumescent coatings. The chemical performance than simply pass or fail; and that the different layers of a
analysis test results reveal that topcoat can limit migration of facade can have a significant effect, particularly the addition of a cavity.
hydrophilic components of intumescent coatings and therefore improve Rainscreen facades performed the worst (45% failed), whereas none of
anti-aging properties of the coatings. Based on analysis of effective the ETICS or sandwich panels in KRESNIK failed. It was also found
constant thermal conductivity, it was found that the fire protection that the choice of cladding material of these rainscreens is the most
performance of fresh intumescent coatings with three or four layers of important factor in driving their fire performance, but that neither its
type P (thermoplastic) topcoat was maintained throughout different total fuel nor its conductive resistance can predict fire performance.
cycles of aging. For type S topcoat, applying two layers of topcoat could Finally, it was found that repeated tests of identical facades could have
almost ensure that there would be no increase in fire risk to structural major variations in the outputs, but that whether the facade ignited or
safety due to aging of intumescent coatings. not tended to remain consistent across repeats. These results help to
identify critical factors in facade flammability, better informing
engineering decisions, and contributing to the design of safe tall
21/00260 Effects of opening aspect ratio on facade gas
buildings.
temperatures with and without sidewalls for underventilated
conditions
Ohmiya, Y. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102944.
This study focuses on the gas temperature distributions in the emitted 21/00263 Nonexistence of critical fuel moisture content for
flames and the hot flow on fac˛ade walls above openings without and flammability
with sidewalls at the edges of the opening. A wide range of aspect Terrah, S. M. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102928.
ratios of the openings was used for the first time having width over The critical moisture of ignition is still a subject of extensive studies,
height W/H = 0.5–10. These situations are important when considering and an endothermic/exothermic phase transition is expected to occur
fire spread on facades for high-rise buildings especially combined with near the critical region. Ignition tests were realized for live Pinus
measurements and correlations of heat fluxes performed in previous halepensis needles using a cone calorimeter. By definition, phase
publications of the senior author. The authors performed experiments transitions occur when a small variation of an external control para-
using a small compartment with the aim of developing a predictive meter leads to a qualitative modification of the system. In order to
model for maximum gas temperatures in the vicinity of the walls above determine whether the moisture content is the control parameter of the
the openings. Specifically, experiments were performed using gaseous endothermic/exothermic phase transition or not, the authors had to
burners of varying heat release rates in the compartment having verify the existence of a moisture threshold for ignition by analysing the
openings without and with sidewalls on the side edges, of sufficient ignition time dependence on moisture content. The experimental data
depth to prevent entrainment from the lateral sides of the opening. The have shown no critical moisture for the fuel ignition. It was noted that
heat release rate for each opening was chosen to be equal to 1800AH1/2 the observed critical region corresponds to an ignition critical heat flux
(kW) where A (m2) is the area and H (m) is the height of the opening, rather than a critical moisture. Instead of a critical moisture, a
corresponding to actual wood crib burning at under ventilated characteristic moisture content is observed. Above this moisture,
conditions. The results are explained and well correlated based on a ignition time increases exponentially. A further discussion on the
new theory and correlations for facade fire flows using two length existence of a critical moisture for spread is provided.
scales characterize these flows. One length scale represents the lateral
horizontal extent of the flow parallel to the wall and the other length
scale represents the extension of the flow at the opening normal to the
21/00264 Numerical analysis of how ventilation conditions
wall before the flow becomes vertical owing to buoyancy. For high
impact compartment fire suppression by water mist
aspect ratios (W/H 5 3) no significant difference is observed between
Lee, J. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107021.
the temperature distributions in fires without or with sidewalls. By
This study presents a numerical analysis of how changing door size and
contrast, for relatively tall openings (W/H < 3) the temperature
forced ventilation flowrate affect fire suppression in nuclear power
distributions are different because entrainment is not allowed from
plants using water mist. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine
the sides when sidewalls are present.
the optimal grid size for fire dynamics simulator (FDS), and optimal
values of input parameters for CFAST were determined by comparing
21/00261 Effects of particle size on the self-ignition heat release rate (HRR) curves obtained using CFAST with those
behaviour of a coal dust layer on a hot plate using FDS. A newly defined time average HRR was used to
Li, B. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116269. synchronize the time interval of the simulation output data frames
Knowing the sizes of coal particles is vital for understanding the real for FDS and CFAST. The FDS simulation results showed that
ignition behaviour of coal dust deposits on a hot plate. Furthermore, increasing the door aspect ratio for the same opening ratio is a more
such knowledge facilitates model construction for assessing industrial beneficial way of lowering the maximum temperature and suppressing
coal dust explosion risk. Three particle sizes (0.10–0.15, 0.15–0.20 and the fire early. In addition, lower levels of forced ventilation flowrate
0.20–0.30 mm) of coal samples were selected to analyse the influence of delayed the fire suppression more than natural ventilation, whereas
particle size on ignition and smouldering behaviour. Characteristic forced ventilation with an increased flowrate of 2 m3/s suppressed the
parameters, such as the minimum ignition temperature of a dust layer fire more quickly than natural ventilation.
(MITL), highest temperature in a layer (HTL), ignition delay time, and
heating rates were tested and analysed using a dust layer ignition
apparatus. The results revealed that the MITL was 200–210  C and that
21/00265 Study on the explosion characteristics of
the MITL tended to decrease with particle size. The aggregation effect
methane–air with coal dust originating from low-temperature
improved the MITL containing fine particles. The optimal ignition
oxidation of coal
position was 7.2 mm from the hot plate. As the particle size increased,
Ma, D. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116304.
the ignition delay time of the sample became longer. However, the
The aim of this research was to reveal the explosion characteristics of
HTL and the time to reach the maximum temperature reduced
methane–air with the admixtures of low-temperature oxidized coal
accordingly. For corresponding geometrical shapes of a coal dust
dust. For this purpose, the particles (48–75 mm) of raw and oxidized
layer, the results demonstrated that particle size had a limited effect on
coal dust with oxidation temperature of 80, 160 and 240  C were
the void fraction but had a considerable effect on the number of
sampled. The industrial analysis and surface morphology of coal dust
particles. The finer coal dust had a substantial number of particles, thus
after low-temperature oxidation were comparatively investigated. In
producing a larger overall specific surface area in which to oxidize and
addition, the explosion parameters and flame propagation behaviours
devolatilize. Small coal dust particles pose a severe hazard in industrial
of methane–air/coal dust mixtures were monitored and analysed by a
sites, and thus, sites should be cleaned regularly to avoid the possibility
20 L spherical vessel reactor and a high speed camera, respectively. The
of unwanted fires or explosions.
results indicated that coal dust after low-temperature oxidation showed
a significant decrease in the content of moisture and volatiles, and
21/00262 KRESNIK: a top-down, statistical approach to more cracks and pores were formed on their surface. The explosion
understand the fire performance of building facades using experiments revealed that the coal dust after low-temperature
standard test data oxidation of 240  C had prolonged the combustion time of methane–
Bonner, M. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106540. air/coal dust mixtures by 81.69%, and increased the maximum
The facade is one of the most complex parts of a building, performing overpressure from 0.67 to 0.73 MPa as compared to the raw coal dust.
multiple objectives of value to the occupants. The frequency of facade The flame propagation behaviours of methane–air/coal dust mixtures
fires in tall buildings is increasing, therefore it is crucial to understand showed that the coal dust after low-temperature oxidation displayed a
the behaviour of such facades in a fire, but there is currently no theory, lower flame propagation speed in the stage of gas phase combustion
model, or series of experiments that allows this understanding. This reaction, mainly due to the loss of volatile matter. This paper
paper takes a top-down, data-driven approach to understanding facade concluded that the reduction of volatile matter in the coal dust caused
behaviour by analysing a unique database, named KRESNIK, contain- by the low-temperature oxidation inhibited the flame propagation of
ing 252 commercial facade fire tests, the first time such data have been the methane–air/coal dust mixtures, but the cracks and pores formed
analysed. It was found that the outputs from these tests were during the low-temperature oxidation process promoted the combus-
correlated, which could be used to gain more information of facade tion of coke in the coal dust.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 41

09 Process heating, power and incineration (energy applications in industry)

21/00266 The effect of geometries and cutting parameters 21/00269 Analysis of air flow and heat transfer in a winding
of conical pick on the characteristics of dust generation: using porous medium approach
experimental investigation and theoretical exploration Kholghi, S. A. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass
Zhou, W. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106243. Transfer, 2020, 112, 104485.
Understanding the characteristics of dust generation is the basis of The efficient cooling of turbo-generators especially in the end-windings
effective dust control. To reveal the influence of pick geometries and region directly affects the power output rating. Modelling the coolant
cutting parameters on the characteristics of dust generation during flow passing through the stator end-winding of a high-powered
roadheader cutting, this paper conducted an experimental investigation generator, however, remains a challenge due to a large number of
and theoretical exploration on the effects of tip angle, attack angle and parts with irregular geometries as well as the intricacy of cooling flow
cutting speed on the cumulative proportion of small size dust and the paths. This paper focuses on a numerical investigation of flow and heat
mass rate of dust generation. It was found that tip angle and attack transfer in stator end-winding aiming at replacing the geometry of
angle considerably affected dust generation, whereas the effect of winding with a porous medium model. Using computational fluid
cutting speed could be ignored. The positive relationships between tip dynamics analysis to examine the viscous and inertial contributions to
angle and both cumulative proportion and mass rate of dust generation the pressure drop of airflow in the stator end-winding region, a
were observed. A larger attack angle can reduce dust generation. The generalized porous medium model is developed for the real physical
change of the cutting force and the size of the damaged zone are the geometry of winding together with a correlation for interfacial Nusselt
fundamental reasons for the difference of dust generation under number. The results indicate that the inertial effect considerably
varying conditions. In general, the cutting process with a smaller tip prevails over the viscous effect, that is, viscous contribution becomes
angle of pick and a larger attack angle appears beneficial to abate dust small and almost negligible. It is shown that not only the pressure drop
generation. This study would enhance the fundamental understanding characteristics match closely within both real and porous models, but
of coal dust generation, which will provide guidance for selecting also the heat transfer results agree as well which means that the
suitable pick geometries and cutting parameters to ameliorate replaced porous model can amply describe the macroscopic behaviour
environment quality and obtain a cleaner production environment. of the winding.

21/00267 Time-resolved fire heat release rate under a

ceiling based on ceiling layer measurements 21/00270 Analysis of the fast hydrogen release from the
Zhou, X. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102923. metal hydride container applied in automotive industry
Measurement of time-resolved fire heat release rate (HRR) is Brestovič, T. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102841.
important to characterize fire growth and suppression. Under certain This paper discusses the analysis of the hydrogen release consequences
conditions, such as large fire tests conducted under a ceiling with from a metal hydride container. It is focused on the hydrogen flow
sprinkler protection, quantification of a time-resolved HRR is still a behaviour and temperature field change, which participates in the
challenging problem. This work attempts to develop a new method- reduction of hydrogen desorption kinetics. Despite the thermal input
ology of estimating convective and chemical HRRs for a fire under a of Peltier thermopiles used for heating the container, at rapid hydrogen
ceiling. The instantaneous measurements of gas temperature, velocity leakage the metal hydride material cools down and this affects the self-
and species concentration in the ceiling layer are used to calculate the regulation of the volume flow rate. The article describes the
HRRs. To verify the proposed method, two heptane pan fire tests were investigation of the container operating parameters (temperature field,
conducted under a ceiling and the chemical HRR was calculated from pressure, flow rate, thermal input) during a rapid release of hydrogen
the fuel mass loss data. The results demonstrate that the proposed with subsequent analysis of pressure effects on the obstacles located in
method can provide a time-resolved chemical HRR that is comparable the surrounding environment during an undesired hydrogen explosion.
to that obtained from the fuel mass loss rate. The fraction of convective The concluding part of the article explains the mathematical
HRR to chemical HRR also agrees well with the test data obtained relationship between the pressure of the shock wave and the distance
under a calorimeter. The application to rack-storage fires under a between the obstacle and the centre of the explosion.
ceiling with sprinkler suppression shows that the proposed method can
provide the fire growth in the free-burn period and consistent trends
for the fire development with water application. 21/00271 Can carbon emission trading scheme achieve
energy conservation and emission reduction?
Evidence from the industrial sector in China
Hu, Y. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104590.
Whether an emission trading scheme (ETS) can achieve energy
conservation and emissions reduction in developing countries is crucial
for those countries to achieve a sustainable economic and environ-
mental development. This study investigates the energy conservation
and emissions reduction effects of China’s CO2 ETS pilot policy
09 PROCESS HEATING, implemented in 2011. Based on panel data of two-digit industry codes
at a provincial level from 2005 to 2015, the authors adopt the
POWER AND difference-in-differences model to examine the effects of the CO2
ETS on energy conservation and emissions reduction. The results show
INCINERATION that the CO2 ETS decreases the energy consumption of the regulated
industries in pilot areas by 22.8% and the CO2 emissions by 15.5%
compared to those in non-pilot areas. Further analysis indicates that
the policy effects are mainly driven by improving technical efficiency
and adjusting industrial structure. In addition, it was found that the
Energy applications in industry CO2 ETS performs better in areas with high levels of environmental
enforcement and marketization. Overall, these findings suggest that the
CO2 ETS has achieved energy conservation and emissions reduction
effects in developing countries.
21/00268 A decision support tool for cement industry to
select energy efficiency measures
Mokhtar, A. and Nasooti, M. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 28, 21/00272 Characterisation of the interfacial heat transfer
100458. coefficient in hot stamping of titanium alloys
The cement industry is one of the most energy-intensive industrial sub- Liu, X. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer,
sectors. It accounts for almost 15% of the total energy consumed by 2020, 113, 104535.
manufacturing. Numerous energy efficiency initiatives and measures The interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) for titanium alloys is
have been introduced and employed in this industry. To implement the an important parameter in non-isothermal hot stamping processes to
most appropriate solutions for a certain cement plant, both techno- determine the temperature field as well as temperature-dependent
logical and non-technological constraints need to be considered. To material behaviours that consequently affect the post-form properties
date, researchers have focused on outcomes such as energy savings, of the formed components. However, the IHTC for titanium alloys in
investment and emission reduction and therefore, both qualitative hot stamping processes has seldom been studied before. In the present
criteria and current circumstances of the plant have been largely research, the effects of contact pressure, lubricant, surface roughness,
overlooked. In this study, an integrated three-phase model is presented tooling material and initial blank temperature on the IHTC for the
to address these shortcomings and assist the plant managers to select titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V were studied and modelled to characterize the
and invest in the most suitable projects. The proposed tool, which is IHTC values under various hot stamping conditions as well as identify
founded on a multi-criteria decision model, will assist the cement the functional mechanisms affecting the IHTC. Furthermore, the
managers in achieving their energy-saving targets. The tool is tested for results of hot stamping of Ti-6Al4V wing stiffener components were
three cases showing its applicability with real data resulting in the used to verify the simulation results of the temperature field of the
ranked list of opportunities for each of the plants. formed component with an error of <5%.

42 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 09 Process heating, power and incineration (energy applications in industry)

21/00273 Comparison of the exergetic performance and pumps by providing the regions of high-energy losses for further
CO2 emissions of tetrahydrofuran-water separation optimization of the main geometrical parts especially the impeller. This
processes will subsequently help improve the performance and operational
Mangili, P. V. and Maia, M. P. Chemical Engineering and Processing – reliability of side channel pumps and enhance its applications.
Process Intensification, 2020, 147, 107748.
There are different purification technologies aimed at separating
21/00276 Flame front progress in gas assisted iron ore
azeotropic mixtures, among which extractive and pressure-swing
sintering
distillation stand out. While the former is characterized by the use of
Tsioutsios, N. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114554.
a solvent, the latter is employed when the composition of mixtures is
The present paper is focused on the control of heat release and on the
significantly affected by the operating pressure. In this article, said
propagation of the flame front in an iron ore sinter bed. Small scale
separation technologies are applied to a tetrahydrofuran–water mixture
sinter experiments are performed in cylindrical packings of the sinter
and further compared to one another in terms of their exergetic
mix which are ignited at the bed surface and vertically passed by the
performance and CO2 emission rate. Two configurations were used as
suction gas. The heat front propagation is found to be closely linked to
case studies and further improved in order to propose new fully-
the consumption of the fuel mix in the sinter bed. Based on this
integrated designs. The exergy analysis was performed by determining
findings, a dual fuel approach is explored whereas front propagation of
both the total exergy destruction rate and exergetic efficiency, whereas
the solid fuel combustion (coke breeze) is supported by pulsed
the CO2 emissions were evaluated by estimating the indirect releases
injection of a secondary gaseous fuel. A non-stationary, one-dimen-
due to electricity and thermal energy consumption. Although the
sional model is established to analyse the heat wave travelling in the
results showed that the proposed schemes have a higher exergetic
sinter bed. The model setup describes a local thermal non-equilibrium
performance and lower CO2 emission rate than their original designs,
between the sinter bed being defined as porous medium and the
the extractive processes proved to be better than both pressure-swing
permeating gas. The model is based on the balance equations for the
technologies. More specifically, the proposed fully heat-integrated
mass and heat transports caused by the solid and gaseous fuel
extractive configuration was deemed to be the best alternative since it
combustion. Model calculations support the experimental findings
has approximately 7.4% lower exergy destruction rate and 7.2% lower
and demonstrate that satisfying sinter peak temperature levels and
carbon emission rate than the fully heat-integrated pressure-swing
locally focused energy release are ensured by combined solid fuel
scheme.
burnout and high temperature gas combustion. During some lab-scale
sintering tests, coke breeze content was reduced in the sinter feed
21/00274 Energy diagnosis and savings potential in knitted mixture, and secondary fuel gas was supplied in pulsed mode to
fabric based wet processing units compensate the missing energy demand. The flame front speed as well
Kasturi, S. and Ayalur Kannappan, B. Energy for Sustainable as properties related to the sinter quality such as the tumble and
Development, 2020, 54, 85–100. shatter strength were determined, with the later index showing more
Wet processing is the most energy intensive subsector in the textile sensitive results. The investigations demonstrate that pulsed methane
industry. The complex nature of specific energy consumption (SEC) injection can increase the flame front speed compared to the pure coke
warrants a closer look at the independent parameters impacting the case with 5.1 wt% coke, the pulsed gaseous fuel combustion can nearly
SEC. Energy audits were conducted in 12 knit fabric processing plants, compensate the strength loss for a moderately coke reduced raw mix
processing fabric quality of 160–180 g/m2, in South Asian countries to with a coke content of 3.5 wt%.
normalize independent parameters like fabric characteristics, geo-
graphic location and production processes. Energy consumption 21/00277 Investigation of the dynamic evolution of the CO2
profiles, SEC, independent parameters impacting SEC, resource carrying capacity of solids with time in La Pereda 1.7 MWth
conservation measures (RCM) and their predicted impact on SEC calcium looping pilot plant
were evaluated. Also the values for annual baseline greenhouse gas Diego, M. E. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control,
emissions and predicted emission reduction were calculated. The most 2020, 92, 102856.
energy intensive fabric dyeing section consumed an average 32% of Calcium looping (CaL) is a technology that makes use of CaO to
plant’s electrical energy and 69% of the plant’s steam. The baseline capture CO2 from industrial flue gas sources in a carbonator, after
SEC of 39–84 GJ/t was predicted to be reduced to 29–58 GJ/t by which the CO2 is released in a concentrated form in an oxyfired
implementing the RCMs. The baseline SECs had high correlation with calciner. The CO2 carrying capacity of the particles circulating between
values for plant capacity utilization and heat rate for power generation. the carbonator and calciner is a key variable, as it is intimately linked to
Priorities were established on the different areas for resource CO2 capture efficiency in the carbonator reactor. Therefore, the ability
conservation for different plant configurations. The specific emission to predict dynamic changes in the CO2 carrying capacity of the sorbent
was predicted to reduce from 2.1–4.3 to 1.6–2.9 tCO2/t. The present is required to understand the dynamic performance of CaL systems.
work also contributes to the identification of replicable RCMs, which This work investigates the dynamic evolution of the average CO2
should be factored before benchmarking of SEC among similar plants. carrying capacity of the sorbent (Xave) during transient scenarios in a
The effects of the recommended RCM methodology are identified and large CaL pilot plant. Several experimental campaigns with extensive
predicted but validation is not included. However, the predicted values solids sampling and analyses were carried out to analyse the evolution
for energy saving were found in line with previous literature. of Xave with time when the make-up flow fed into the calciner is
modified (between 0–2.7 kmol CaCO3/h). Variations in Xave were
tracked and the observed trends were interpreted using two residence
21/00275 Energy loss evaluation in a side channel pump
time distribution models of different complexity. The main character-
under different wrapping angles using entropy production
istics and limitations of each model are discussed in this study. The
method
choice between the two modelling approaches developed in this work
Zhang, F. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass
depends on the input information available and the degree of accuracy
Transfer, 2020, 113, 104526.
required for each specific application.
Flow losses in common vanned pumps such as centrifugal pumps have
been widely studied, while less research attention has been paid to side
channel pumps that are commonly used in the food processing and 21/00278 Long-term development of the industrial sector –
petrochemical industries. Therefore, this study reveals the exact case study about electrification, fuel switching, and CCS in
regions of high hydraulic losses for side channel pump models using the USA
the entropy loss production method. Numerical calculations based on Luh, S. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133, 106602.
unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the In the quest for solutions to mitigate climate change, industry is one of
shear stress transport k–! turbulence model were used to acquire the the most challenging sectors to decarbonize. In this work, a novel
entropy dissipative components of the flow. The accuracy of the simulation framework is presented to model the investment decisions
numerical method was validated by comparing the experimental in industry, the industrial sector module (ISM) of the modular energy
measurements of pump case 2 with a wrapping angle of 30 . The system simulation environment (MUSE). This work uses the ISM to
results showed that the impeller domain produced higher losses quantify effects of three combined measures for CO2 emissions
compared to the side channel. The impeller generally recorded the reduction in industry, i.e. fuel switching, electrification and adoption
highest loss coefficient of  D0 at 144 while the side channel recorded the of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) and to simulate plausible
lowest at  D0 < 6. The high entropy losses in the impeller domain are scenarios (base scenario and climate ambitious scenario) for curbing
mainly associated with the irregular velocity fields. Furthermore, the emissions in the iron and steel sector in the USA between 2010 and
losses visualized at the inner radius of the impeller are higher than the 2050. Results show that when the climate ambitious scenario is applied,
outer radius in all pump cases. The inner radius of all the impeller the cumulative emissions into the atmosphere (2158 Mt of CO2) are
passage of all pump cases revealed higher loss coefficient ( D0 > 0.2) reduced by 40% in comparison to the base scenario (3608 Mt of CO2).
compared to the outer radius and decreased gently with increasing This decarbonization gap between both scenarios intensifies over time;
flows. Notwithstanding, the high losses produced in all pump cases, in the year 2050, the CO2 intensity in the climate ambitious scenario is
case 1 produced the highest energy losses compared with the other 81% lower in comparison to the base scenario. The study shows that
pump cases even though it had the best hydraulic performance. Thus, major contributions to industry decarbonization can come from the
this study contributes to the fundamental knowledge of side channel further uptake of secondary steel production. Results show also that a

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 43

09 Process heating, power and incineration (energy applications in industry)

carbon tax drives the decarbonization process but is not sufficient on its 21/00282 Performance improvement of hot stamping die for
own. In addition, the uptake of innovative low-carbon breakthrough patchwork blank using mixed cooling channel designs with
technologies is necessary. It is concluded that industrial electrification straight and conformal channels
is counterproductive for climate change mitigation, if electricity is not Yun, S. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114562.
provided by low-carbon sources. Overall, fuel switching, industrial Although the cooling channel is a crucial factor for improving the
electrification, and CCS adoption as single measures have a limited performance of a hot stamping die, only a limited number of studies
decarbonization impact, compared to an integrated approach that have been conducted concerning its design technology for patchwork
implements all the measures together providing a much more attractive blanks. In this study, a mixed cooling channel (MCC) is proposed to
solution for CO2 mitigation. improve the cooling performance of the hot stamping die for patch-
work blanks. The MCC is a combination of the straight cooling channel
(SCC) and conformal cooling channel (CCC). The cooling capacity,
21/00279 Modelling industrial energy demand in Saudi
average temperature, standard deviation, and figure of merit of the
Arabia
SCC, CCC, and MCC are estimated by conducting three-dimensional
Alarenan, S. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104554.
transient thermo-fluid simulations. The optimum mass flow ratio of the
Between 1986 and 2016, industrial energy consumption in Saudi Arabia
MCC is determined to be 10% considering the cooling capacity,
increased by tenfold, making it one of the largest end-use sectors in the
average temperature, and standard deviation. The MCC exhibits
country. Despite its importance, there appear to be no published
superior cooling performance to the SCC and CCC for all performance
econometric studies on aggregate industrial energy demand in Saudi
indicators because it effectively cools both the heat accumulated patch
Arabia. Here, the authors model aggregate industrial energy demand in
and the wide blank. In addition, the daily production of the MCC is
Saudi Arabia using Harvey’s structural time series model, showing that
7.6–9.0% greater than that of the SCC, and 5.8–6.8% greater than that
it is both price and income inelastic, with estimated long-run elasticities
of the CCC.
of 0.34 and 0.60, respectively. The estimated underlying energy
demand trend suggests improvements in energy efficiency starting from
2010. Applying decomposition analysis to the estimated econometric 21/00283 Predicting heat transfer of oscillating heat pipes
equation highlights the prominent roles of the activity effect (the for machining processes based on extreme gradient
growth in industrial value added) and the structure effect (the shift boosting algorithm
towards energy-intensive production) in driving industrial energy Qian, N. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114521.
demand growth. Moreover, the decomposition shows how exogenous When machining difficult-to-cut materials, a massive heat will generate
factors such as energy efficiency helped mitigate some of that growth, and then cause serious thermal damages to both workpiece and cutting
delivering cumulative savings of 6.8 million tonnes of oil equivalent tools. Oscillating heat pipes have the potential to enhance heat transfer
(Mtoe) between 2010 and 2016. Saudi Arabia implemented a broad in machining processes. So as to optimize the design and choose
energy price reform programme in 2016, which raised electricity, fuel, suitable cooling methods of the prototype oscillating heat pipes for
and water prices for households and industry. The decomposition machining processes, a novel heat transfer prediction model was
results reveal that, holding all else constant, higher industrial energy proposed based on the extreme gradient boosting algorithm. Through
prices in 2016 reduced the sector’s energy consumption by 6.9%, a this algorithm, the prediction model can be built based on a small-scale
decrease of around 3.0 Mtoe. Saudi policymakers could therefore build experimental dataset with a good prediction result. Dimensionless
on the current policy of energy price reform and energy efficiency numbers, heat flux, target temperature, and geometric parameters were
standards to mitigate the rate of growth of industrial energy selected as inputs of the model. And the effective heat transfer
consumption, increase economic efficiency, and maintain industrial coefficient was the output. The predicted results showed a great
sector competitiveness. agreement with the experimental data. Within the training set range of
4550–22,750 W/m2, the mean absolute percentage error varies from
0.01% to 13.09%. While, when data are out of the training set range of
21/00280 Modified Scaba 6SRGT impellers for process
27,300–31,850 W/m2, the error is 10.47%, which is acceptable.
intensification: cavern size and energy saving when stirring
Furthermore, the contribution of input parameters was also evaluated
viscoplastic fluids
by the algorithm. The prediction model is expected to provide guidance
Ameur, H. and Vial, C. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
for designing oscillating heat pipes for enhancing heat transfer in
Intensification, 2020, 148, 107795.
machining processes.
Mixing of a viscoplastic fluid using Scaba 6SRGT impellers in a
cylindrical vessel has been studied. Cuts have been introduced in each
blade of the impeller in order to reduce the power requirements. 21/00284 Predicting power consumption in continuous
Effects of the cut-height (h2/D = 0, 0.015, 0.04, 0.065 and 0.09, oscillatory baffled reactors
respectively), cut-length (l/D = 0, 0.06, 0.12 and 0.18, respectively), Avila, M. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 212, 115310.
and of the number of cuts (nb = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) on the hydrodynamics Continuous oscillatory baffled reactors (COBRs) have been proven to
and power consumption were explored. The suggested designs, intensify processes, use less energy and produce fewer wastes
compared to the classical Scaba 6SRGT impeller, display a reduction compared with stirred tanks. Prediction of power consumption in
in power number by about 20%, 19.9% and 66.6% when the cut- these devices has been based on simplistic models developed for pulsed
height, cut-length and number of cuts are changed from h2/D = 0 to columns with single orifice baffles several decades ago and are limited
0.09, l/D = 0 to 0.18 and nb = 1–5, respectively. However, the increased to certain flow conditions. This work explores the validity of existing
surface area of cuts is accompanied by a reduction in the size of radial models to estimate power consumption in a COBR using compu-
jet of fluid, resulting thus in a weakened axial flow and a decrease in tational fluid dynamics simulation to analyse power density as a
cavern size. As a result, the best trade-off between the reduced power function of operating conditions (covering a range of net flow and
consumption and enlarged cavern size correspond to the case nb = 3, l/ oscillatory Reynolds numbers: Renet = 6–27/Reo = 24–96) in a COBR
D = 0.12. The reduction in power number for this case is estimated to with a single orifice baffle geometry. Comparison of computed power
be as about 15%. dissipation with that predicted by the empirical quasi-steady flow
models shows that this model is not able to predict correctly the values
when the flow is not fully turbulent, which is common when operating
21/00281 On the interaction and integration of production
COBRs. It has been demonstrated that dimensionless power density is
planning and (advanced) process control
inversely proportional to the total flow Reynolds number in laminar
Santander, O. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133,
flow and constant in turbulent flow, as is the case for flow in pipes and
106627.
stirred tanks. For the geometry studied here (P/V)* = 330/ReT in
Process operations typically follow a hierarchical decision-making
laminar flow and (P/V)* = 1.92 in turbulent flow.
structure, where the flow of information is predominantly ‘downwards’:
business functions (planning/scheduling) provide targets for the control
layers. Promoting ‘upwards’ information flow has recently received 21/00285 Preliminary design of sustainable industrial
significant consideration, in view of integrating decision-making and process alternatives based on eco-efficiency approaches:
creating feedback mechanisms that improve process economics. This the maleic anhydride case study
work considers the interaction of production planning and process Mangili, P. V. and Prata, D. M. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020,
control, motivated by the practical observation that control decisions 212, 115313.
may have a strong ‘butterfly’ effect on the implementation of a The increasing need for mitigating environmental impacts has led the
production plan, which may induce a significant gap between planned industries to develop more sustainable processes, which may represent
and realized profit. This issue can be traced to the practice of sharing an arduous task since economic, safety, social and environmental
process degrees of freedom as decision variables in both the planning factors must be considered. Hence, this paper demonstrates the
and control problems. A new planning approach is proposed, whereby relevance of using sustainability indicators in developing cleaner
potentially shared degrees of freedom are reserved for process control, industrial processes. Such metrics were used to design a more
and represented as uncertain parameters in the planning problem. The sustainable butane-based maleic anhydride manufacturing technology,
statistical properties of the parameters are learned from historical which was compared to the benzene-based route in terms of economic,
process operating data. An extensive case study is presented to support safety and environmental indicators. The analysis showed that,
the theoretical developments. although the latter consumes approximately 2.8% less water, generates

44 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

about 3.1% less wastewater and is 70 times less hazardous in terms of showing the method to be >98% accurate. This method can be used to
fire/explosion risks, the former is not only 33.8% more profitable but precisely design the flow within the distribution network while
also consumes 28% less energy and, consequently, emits approximately simultaneously calculating the flow rate, and temperature of the
42.9% less CO2. After grouping the fifteen sustainability metrics in a working fluid as well as safety information such as the pipe and
composite evaluation index, the butane-based process proved to be insulation temperature throughout the network. Furthermore, this
about 34% more eco-efficient than the benzene-based technology. calculation method is not only suitable for the high-temperature fluid
transmission and distribution network but also for that of the low-
21/00286 Residue-based TiO2/PET photocatalytic films for temperature fluid transmission and distribution network, making this
the degradation of textile dyes: a step in the development of calculation method become a very important component of the fusion
green monolith reactors reactor thermal hydraulic analysis method.
Ribeiro, L. N. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107792.
A batch process with a dispersed solid photocatalyst requires a large 21/00289 Analyses of operation performance of advanced
reactor and unit process for catalyst recovery, increasing the treatment secondary passive residual heat removal system in PWR
cost. Structured-supported photocatalysts enable the use of continuous Li, L. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106998.
compact reactors that are photoactivated by solar energy and promote The newly designed advanced secondary passive heat removal system
process intensification. In the present work, TiO2-films supported on (ASP) was one of the most important cooling systems to cope with
polyethylene terephthalate (TiO2/PET) in sheets and monolithic station blackout (SBO) accident in the generation II+ 1000 MWe
shapes were prepared from reused PET-bottles. The preparation pressurized water reactors (PWR) nuclear power plant (NPP).
method was based on a washcoating of a TiO2 suspension with different Advanced secondary passive heat removal system test facility (ASPTF)
formulations (additives and loaded photocatalyst) aiming at proper was constructed to obtain the operation performance of ASP under
adherence. The use of polyvinyl alcohol as an additive in the TiO2 SBO conditions. The geometrical scaling ratio of ASPTF is 1/4 in the
dispersion was assessed to obtain a homogeneous coating. The effects height and 1/208 in the volume with respect to the generation II+
of sheets and monolith dimensions, as well as the mass of deposited 1000 MWe PWR. The drag coefficient experiments were conducted to
TiO2 over the PET-substrate, on the dye degradation performance match the prototypical resistance characteristics of ASP in this paper
were studied. The TiO2/PET sheets and monoliths showed homo- firstly. Then, a prolonged SBO accident sequence was experimentally
geneous overlay and good stability after five cycles of use. The TiO2/ investigated in ASPTF. The experimental results reveal that the
PET monolith showed a degradation of approximately 30% and 75% secondary side pressure of steam generator (SG) maintained at the
for the initial dye concentrations of 25 and 15 mg L1, respectively. The set value in the early stage with the reciprocating opening of vapour
monolith-type immobilized systems proved to be a promising technol- discharge to atmosphere valve. After the start-up of ASP, the
ogy due to their low cost and low use of reactants and catalysts. secondary side pressure of SG decreased and heat generated in core
Furthermore, this type of system is more promising for continuous simulator was effectively removed by natural circulation through ASP
processes. within 3 h of the design value. Three hours later, the flow rate of ASP
became unstable with the baring of heat exchanger tube. The stable
natural circulation of ASP was recovered after the injection of water in
the water tank after 4 h. A sensitivity investigation on operation
performance of ASP also was performed based on RELAP5 code. This
study not only helps to improve the understanding of important
thermal hydraulic phenomena in ASP, but also sheds some lights on
10 SPACE HEATING AND operation optimization for the PWRs with ASP.
COOLING/HEAT PUMPS 21/00290 Analysis of peak heat load on the blanket module
for JA DEMO
21/00287 A comparative empirical investigation on the Miyoshi, Y. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111394.
thermal performance of gravity-assisted double-bent, Plasma heat flux in the peripheral plasma reaches the first wall (FW)
double-ended cooling, and single-bent, single-ended along a magnetic field line, and it sometimes causes several MW/m2
cooling heat pipes orders of magnitude high heat flux concentration at narrow region,
Habibnezhad Ledari, B. and Sabzpooshani, M. International Commu- such as the edge of the blanket module. Thus, to assess and to reduce
nications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 112, 104505. the heat load is key issue in the DEMO design activity. In this research,
Using of heat pipes is one of the best practical solutions that are a new heat load analysis code is introduced based on the e-folding
considered for cooling processors and heat sources. A comparative model. In this code, the decay length is changed depending on wall
study on the thermal performance of gravity-assisted double-bent, connection length of magnetic field line (defined as the length of
double ended cooling (DBDC) and single-bent, single-ended cooling magnetic field line from the wall to the wall), and parallel heat flux qk is
(SBSC) heat pipes having sintered copper felt wick was proposed and calculated in each flux tube. This code can calculate the FW heat load
evaluated experimentally. The DBDC and SBSC heat pipes are simulating actual blanket module shapes. The 0.23 MW/m2 peak heat
bendable post fabrication. Cooling blocks were elevated upper than load at inner midplane in the case of the ideal FW (without gaps
the evaporator section of the heat pipes. The effects of heat input, between blanket modules) is increased to 22 MW/m2 at toroidal
bending angle, and using double condenser on the thermal perform- module edge in the case of box shaped module. To shadow the edge
ance were evaluated. The results showed that the minimum evaporator and reduce such peak heat load, toroidal, and poloidal roof shaping is
surface temperature for the DBDC and SBSC heat pipes occurred in applied. Required roof height is analysed from this code calculation.
the 60 and 45 bending angles, respectively. Also the evaporator After shaping, peak heat load is reduced to 1.2 MW/m2. This value is
surface temperature of the DBDC heat pipes was less than SBSC heat under the allowable value 1.5 MW/m2, and in this case, surface
pipes for bending angles lower than 60 while for bending angles more temperature is also less than allowable temperature.
than 60 it was vice versa. The results indicated that the bending angle
had a significant effect on the heat pipe’s thermal performance. The
minimum thermal resistance and maximum Nusselt number witnessed 21/00291 Analysis of whipping effect on high energy pipe
were 0.23857  C/W and 7.51  105, respectively, for DBDC heat pipe at in a nuclear power plant
the 60 bending angle, for the 70 and 80 W heat inputs. Luo, X. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 150, 111359.
The sudden rupture and further whip of high energy pipe is one of the
21/00288 A heat transfer calculation method and primary safety-related problems in nuclear power plants. It has been widely
verification for high-temperature fluid transmission and investigated by a large number of researchers. In this paper, the
distribution network from EAST dynamical behaviour of a whipping high energy pipe under the
Li, Y. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111403. assumption of postulated ruptures is investigated. For this reason, a
High-temperature fluids are widely used in many industrial and three-dimensional finite element model of the piping and U-bolt
scientific fields such as steam power generation, oil extraction and restraint has been created and the theoretical behaviour has been
transportation, chemical heating catalysis, high-temperature pasteur- compared with experiments. Then, the variation tendency of the
ization of pharmaceuticals and food products, high-temperature various mechanical property has been analysed with the time lapse.
printing and dyeing, residential heating, and especially in the nuclear Finally, results were obtained for the root-mean-square displacement
fusion research (baking and power generation). The high-temperature and the maximum of restraint force from the variation of overhang
fluid supply network is a transportation channel that takes the high- length, friction coefficient and initial clearance. The result shows that
temperature working fluid from the heat source to the heated areas or the pipe oscillates with a small amplitude after impacting on the U-bolt
end users. This paper introduces the heat transfer calculation method restraint, the impact velocity increases suddenly to a maximum value
for high-temperature fluid transmission and distribution networks. This and then decreases rapidly to zero, and the restraint force undergoes
calculation method has been verified by the high-temperature nitrogen periodic oscillation. The maximum restraint force and the root-mean-
baking process of the pipe network at the Experimental Advanced square displacement are influenced by the number of U-bolts,
Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). With the experimental results overhang length and initial clearance.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 45

10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

21/00292 Analytical model to study the heat storage of different inlet air temperatures and velocities over the working period
phase change material envelopes in lightweight passive defined on the basis of the cooling requirement. The results show a fast
buildings response with the hot air flow cooled down to the desired temperature
Bai, L. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106531. range of 16–20  C in seconds. The thermal energy storage device
Integrating phase change materials (PCMs) into building envelopes can showed a high thermal and exergy efficiency at 99.8% and 43.3%,
improve the heat storage ability of buildings and prevent overheating respectively. The discharging depth was higher than 97%, indicating
when the outdoor air temperature and solar radiation are high. good heat transfer performance of the device. The phase change
However, simply adding a PCM to a building does not ensure that the material-based device also showed flexibility for adjusting the output
temperature of a room can be controlled; hence, a suitable design cooling capacity, leading to a great potential to resolving frequent
method is necessary. Nevertheless, the heat storage mechanism of fluctuations of cooling loads of transport air conditioning systems.
PCM envelopes is very complicated because it is affected by several
factors, including the climate, building parameters, and the properties
of the PCM employed. This study develops a mathematical model for 21/00296 Effect of heat sink inlet and outlet flow direction
passive buildings, and the factors affecting the heat storage process of on heat transfer performance
PCM envelopes in summer are analysed to determine an efficient Hempijid, T. and Kittichaikarn, C. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020,
method to control the temperature of the room with PCMs. A 164, 114375.
theoretical analysis demonstrates that PCMs reduce the indoor To improve performance of small electronic devices, it requires
temperature, but not the average room temperature. The effectiveness enhancement of heat transfer performance of liquid cooling and heat
of PCMs in buildings is influenced by both climate and building sink. Heat sink performance is known to be affected by a number
parameters. If the average outdoor air temperature is higher than the of factors including: fin shapes, fin dimensions, fin gap space, number
boundary of the humans’ comfort level, overheating will occur even of fins, fin array arrangements, position of heat surfaces and type of
when using PCMs. Before using PCMs, the average room temperature cooling liquid used in heat sink. This study focuses on the simulation of
should be calculated and previewed using the proposed theoretical cooling liquid flow through micro pin fins in heat sink using a
model. If the effectiveness of PCM is limited, the average room commercial computational fluid dynamics program. The effects of flow
temperature is reduced via ventilation. direction at the heat sink inlet and outlet on the pressure drop and
thermal performance were investigated. In this study, fins array in
21/00293 Climatic cycling assessment of red clay/perlite staggered arrangement with the porosity of 0.67 was made 6061
and vermiculite composite PCM for improving thermal aluminium tube of 0.66 mm. diameter. The angle between inlet and
inertia in buildings outlet to heat sink side surface was then varied from 0 to 90 for each
Wi, S. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106464. type of heat sink (V- vs I-type) with pressure drop set to less than
One of the ways to reduce building energy is to actively release or store 3000 Pa. Correlation between pressure drop and thermal performance
the thermal energy through phase change materials (PCMs) to use heat at various operating conditions was also analysed. Based on the results
energy efficiently. PCMs have the major drawback of leaking during obtained, the heat sink with the best heat transfer performance in this
the solid-liquid phase transition. Therefore, PCMs must be applied to study was the V-type at 75 angle with a 2.5 mm. distance between heat
buildings through phase stabilization. Expanded vermiculite (EV) and sink front surface and inlet/outlet centreline. This type gave the highest
expanded perlite (EP) are porous nanoclay materials possessing heat transfer performance which presumably was attributable to the
excellent properties as containers for PCMs. The applied PCM is n- uniformly low temperature distribution at the heat sink base that
octadecane, which belongs to the organic paraffin series, is thermally consequently resulted from the effect caused by the angle or position of
stable, and has high latent heat capacity. Shape-stabilized PCM heat surfaces inducing the formation of large vortices at the heat sink
(SSPCM) is stabilized by the vacuum impregnation method by physical inlet.
bonding only, without chemical reaction. The thermal properties of the
prepared SSPCM are analysed by DSC, TGA, TCi, and enthalpy
calculation. The RC-SSPCMs panel is developed using red clay (RC), 21/00297 Energy and thermal storage in clusters of
an eco-friendly building material. The thermal performance of the grid-independent buildings
manufactured panels is analysed by the climate cycling test, which DeValeria, M. K. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116440.
considers the daily temperature behaviour. In the analysis of the This study examines the hourly, daily, and yearly operation of a cluster
thermal performance, the peak temperature reduced by up to 1.6  C of 100 grid-independent buildings that completely rely on photovoltaics
during the phase transition of RC/EP-SSPCMs (P10), the time-lag for electricity generation, including their air-conditioning needs. The
effect in the phase change transition of RC/EP-SSPCMs (P10) cluster stores energy in hydrogen as the seasonal storage medium and
occurred for up to 1.33 h. chilled water for cooling as the daily storage medium. Thermal storage
of chilled water and the use of efficient air-conditioning (refrigeration)
equipment significantly reduces the needs for the generated electric
21/00294 CPU heat sink cooling by triangular shape energy and stored energy. The utilization of thermal storage in addition
micro-pin-fin: numerical study to chemical storage has three beneficial results: (a) it reduces by about
Alam, M. W. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass 40% the needed solar power installation; (b) it reduces by a factor of
Transfer, 2020, 112, 104455. three the losses associated with energy storage; and (c) it reduces by a
The cooling capability of heat sinks is important for a central factor of four the necessary hydrogen storage capacity. The improved
processing unit (CPU). In this work, simulation has been done to performance of the system is expected to significantly reduce the
study heat transfer in a heat sink mounted on the triangular cylinder overall cost associated with grid independent buildings.
chip of a CPU is studied, to explore the thermofluid behaviour of the
designed micro-pin-fin heat sink. Air cooling methods are used for heat
extraction. This numerical work considers the effects of inlet
21/00298 Enhanced heat transfer and reduced pressure
turbulence intensity and fin diameter of the micro-pin-fin on the
loss with U-pattern of helical wire spacer arrangement for
performance of the heat sink. The turbulent SST model is applied to
liquid metal cooled-fast reactor fuel assembly
capture turbulence regime in the system. The heat transfer and
Jeong, Y. S. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106971.
pressure coefficient were obtained at different Reynolds number (i.e.
This paper proposes the new pattern of wire wrap spacer, called U-
different inlet velocities). As shown in this study, the Nusselt number
pattern to enhance coolant mixing and reduce pressure drop for liquid
increases with increase in air flow velocity which enhance the heat
metal-cooled reactor fuel assembly. It is designed by designating its
extraction from the CPU.
winding direction and pin arrangement without any additional
structures for fuel assembly. To evaluate its thermal-hydraulic perfor-
21/00295 Discharging performance enhancement of a mance, both experimental and numerical approaches are performed;
phase change material based thermal energy storage device flow visualization experiments using a combined particle image
for transport air-conditioning applications velocimetry and matching index-of-refraction technique and compu-
Nie, B. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114582. tational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The visualized flow field in
A compact thermal energy storage device containing a phase change both axial and lateral planes shows that U-pattern wire wrap spacer has
material has been designed and experimentally investigated for a stronger swirl flow in centre subchannel compared to the conven-
smoothing cooling load of transport air conditioning systems. The tional case. To extend the application ranges to the normal liquid
phase change material based device used two different types of fins, metal-cooled fast reactor (LMFR) operation condition, CFD analysis is
serrated fins in the air side and perforated straight fins in the phase conducted using ANSYS-CFX. Simulation results indicate 8.60  C
change material side, for enhancing the device performance. The focus decrease of peak cladding temperature and 5.2% reduced pressure
of the work was on the discharging process of the compact device, drop, respectively. Rod bundle with U-pattern wire spacer has a similar
which is more important for transportation applications. An exper- range of bundle loss coefficient at Re < 8500, and a smaller than the
imental rig was designed and constructed for measuring the discharging conventional one at Re > 10,000. Measurement and calculation results
behaviour of the device. The processing of the measurement data gave for the U-pattern exhibit that flow is redistributed to have flatter
the discharging time, discharging depth, discharging power, accumu- temperature profile and larger flow channel with the removal of the
lated discharging energy, thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency under wire wrap spacer at the centre pin brings a lower flow resistance.

46 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

Therefore, the U-pattern wire wrap spacer for LMFR can enhance the contained parallel arrays of rectangular microchannels with a hydraulic
thermal margin and improve economics by promoting thermal mixing diameter of 750 mm and aspect ratios of 1 and 2, respectively. The third
and reduction in pressure loss. test section had a staggered array of diamond shaped micro-pins with a
hydraulic diameter, based on the minimum flow area, of 525.2 mm. Data
21/00299 Evaluation of capillary wetting performance of were collected for varying inlet temperature (16 4 Tin 4 50  C), mass
micro-nano hybrid structures for open microgrooves heat flux (315 4 G 4 1000 kg m2 s1), and heat flux (20 4 q00 4 50 W cm2)
sink at a fixed reduced pressure (PR) of 1.1. A data analysis method using 2-
Tang, J. and Hu, X. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2020, 112, D and 3-D heat transfer models of the test sections was used to
109948. calculate the average heat transfer coefficients for each experimental
Thermal management for various applications have promoted the condition. Additionally, a pressure drop model was developed to
development and in-depth investigations of open capillary micro- resolve the total measured pressure drop into its components. The
grooves. Micro-nano hybrid grooves heat sink (combined of micro- results of this study indicate that the turbulent convective heat transfer
grooves and Ti nano-coatings) is proposed in this study. The wicking was independent of orientation (top versus bottom heating) for square
performance, which in terms of capillary wetting length, capillary microchannel (aspect ratio = 1) for the conditions investigated.
wetting uniformity and capillary performance parameter determines Increasing the channel aspect ratio from 1 to 2 led to an enhancement
the design and thermal management of the microgrooves heat sink. In in thermal transport. Finally, the heat transfer performance of the
this study, wicking performance from micro-nano hybrid grooves heat staggered pin array flow geometry was superior to the rectangular
sink has been studied experimentally, with theoretical analysis. The channels, but this enhancement in heat transfer was commensurate with
wicking performance of the smooth and fully coated with Ti nano- the increase in pressure drop. Based on these results, this paper
coatings on borosilicate glass surfaces (three different thicknesses), concludes with general design recommendations for those considering
with three different grooves dimensions, has been studied in detail. A the early adoption of supercritical carbon dioxide for thermal
quantitative and automatic optical method using IR imaging is applied management applications.
in this study to identify the capillary wetting length (dryout point)
through the whole width of the microgrooves, even in each groove, 21/00303 Glycerol based binary solvent: thermal properties
based on the pixel differences of an IR image. Results show that the Ti study and its application in nanofluids
nano-structured surfaces significantly improve the capillary wetting Liu, C. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer,
performance, compared with bare surfaces. 2020, 112, 104491.
Nanofluids are of great importance due to the superior performance on
21/00300 Experimental study of heat transfer outside improvement of thermal performance. In this work, glycerol (GL)
C-shaped tube in water tank based binary solvent system, including GL/water, GL/ethylene glycol
Liu, Y. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106939. and GL/dimethyl sulfoxide were studied comprehensively regarding
Experimental system was set up to study the heat transfer performance their melting points, boiling points, thermal conductivities and
outside the C-shaped tube in a water tank. Thermal oil and desalted viscosities. Graphene oxide, prepared through a chemical exfoliation
water were chosen as the heating medium and tank water, respectively, method, was subsequently dispersed into those solvents to make
and a series of experiments were performed. Experimental data show nanofluids. Thermal conductivity and viscosities were studied to
that in the vertical direction tank water temperature stratification evaluate the performance of those nanofluids. It is revealed that a
occurs during the heating process and in the horizontal direction tank maximum 20% thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluid is
water temperatures keep nearly uniform. The changing regularity achieved by just filling 0.6 vol.% of graphene oxide.
between tube outside wall temperature and tank water temperature is
analysed. Bubble movement is also photographed and it plays an 21/00304 Honeycomb carbon fibers strengthened
important role in boiling heat transfer. Nusselt number and heat flux of composite phase change materials for superior thermal
the horizontal and vertical tube units at three representative times are energy storage
calculated and agree well with the results based on the McAdams Sheng, N. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114493.
natural convection correlations, Rohsenow subcooled and saturation Phase change materials (PCMs) have shown promising applications for
boiling correlations, which can provide a basis for the heat transfer thermal energy storage and management. With the purposes of solving
calculation of heat exchangers of this kind. the critical leakage problem and improving the thermal conductive
property of paraffin PCM, composite PCMs as-supported by carbon
21/00301 Experimental study on startup performance of fibre bundles were fabricated by a simple vacuum impregnation. The
high temperature potassium heat pipe at different inclination porous and honeycomb-shaped carbon fibres were prepared by the
angles and input powers for nuclear reactor application direct carbonization of biomass sisal fibres. As beneficial from the
Wang, C. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107051. carbon supporting scaffolds, the composites illustrated great thermal
Due to thermal superconductivity and great isothermality, high conductivity increasement (1.73 W m1 K1) over pure paraffin
temperature alkali metal heat pipes have a wide range of applications (0.25 W m1 K1). The composite PCMs show satisfying latent heat
in aerospace, residual heat removal systems of nuclear reactors, etc. In (192.2 J g1 at a carbon ratio of 12.8%), good shape stability,
order to investigate the effect of inclination angle and input power on favourable thermal reliability and cyclability. Moreover, due to the
the start-up performance of high temperature alkali heat pipes, one-dimensionally arranged carbon fibre bundles, the composites also
systematical experiments were conducted with a high temperature showed anisotropic thermal conductive property. All of those could
wick-type potassium heat pipe heated with constant heat flux. Some reinforce the use of the low-cost sisal-derived carbon fibres as thermal
distinctive experimental phenomena were observed and explained, conductive scaffolds to PCMs, which will promote their practical
based on which, a diagram was given to illustrate the regime category applications for advanced thermal energy storage in collecting solar
and provide a reference range for heat pipe start-up. According to the energy and industrial waste heat.
experimental data and theoretical analysis, it is demonstrated that the
start-up performance of a high temperature wick-type heat pipe under 21/00305 Hydronic configurations of hybrid heat
uniform and constant heat flux is mainly influenced by capillary and production systems in buildings: general design
viscosity heat transfer limit. In terms of start-up performance, hori- methodology and case studies
zontal heat pipes have the highest input power capability. Compara- Van Riet, F. and Verhaert, I. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164,
tively, the input power capability of inclined heat pipes is obviously 114454.
limited by the lack of working fluid backflow caused by over- Hybrid heat production systems, in which sustainable technologies such
evaporation. Additionally, the start-up failure of negative inclined as combined heat and power (CHP) or heat pumps are combined with
heat pipe is due to the negative effects of gravity. This research may auxiliary heaters, have the potential to increase energy efficiency in
provide valid experimental data for modelling heat pipe start-up as well buildings. In order to exploit this potential, a proper hydronic
as references for heat pipe industrial applications. configuration of the production system is of uttermost importance.
Unfortunately, both scientific literature and design guides have focused
21/00302 Geometry and orientation effects in little on this aspect. Therefore, this paper proposes a general
non-uniformly heated microchannel heat exchangers simulation-based design methodology for selecting the hydronic
using supercritical carbon dioxide configuration of a hybrid production system. To illustrate the
Jajja, S. A. et al. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2020, 112, methodology, it is applied on different case studies in which either a
109979. CHP or an electrical ground-coupled heat pump (EHP) is assisted by
There is growing interest to use supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as an auxiliary boiler. The considered apartment building is equipped with
a working fluid in thermal management applications. This study a collective heating system for both space heating and domestic hot
investigates the thermal-hydraulic performance of microchannel heat water (DHW) production, and four different combinations of the
sinks as a function of flow channel geometry and orientation at temperature levels are considered. Results show that if a CHP is
operating conditions representative of electronics cooling applications. considered, the auxiliary boiler should be implemented in parallel and
Three different experimental test sections, subject to non-uniform heat be assisted by a modulating valve: this increases the relative primary
flux boundary conditions, were investigated. Two of the test sections energy savings (RPES) up to 6.2 percentage points. EHPs require a

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 47

10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

separate circuit in the production system for space heating and DHW, The thermal performance of phase change material (PCM)-based
preferably with preheating of the domestic cold water (an increase in compact cascade cooling systems with an integrated heat sink was
RPES of up to 16.1 percentage points was reported). The use of a new experimentally evaluated using heat-transfer measurements under
type of load duration curve to analyse the simulation results proved to constant heat flux. Numerical calculations were also performed to
be a comprehensible measure for decision making at the level of every investigate the fundamental mechanism of the cascade cooling
stakeholder in the design process. In conclusion, the proposed approach using multiple PCMs (i.e. paraffin wax) with different
methodology can assist these stakeholders in their pursuit of high melting points. This structure facilitated cooling via hierarchical heat
performance hybrid heat production systems. exchange without additional energy consumption. The experimental
results of the cascade cooling system demonstrated that the peak
21/00306 Influence of different parameters on the temperature within a fin decreased from 123.4 to 107.2  C in one heat-
tube-to-bed heat transfer coefficient in a gas-solid supply cycle owing to the latent heat adsorption during a phase change
fluidized bed heat exchanger in the PCMs. Particularly, the cascade cooling system reduced the peak
Bisognin, P. C. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process temperature by approximately 13.1% compared with natural convec-
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107693. tion in air. In addition, the time taken to reach the maximum allowed
In this paper a combined use of computation fluid dynamics techniques temperature from the peak temperature was decreased by 45% because
and design of experiments is proposed in order to study the significance of the larger heat capacity and cascading heat exchange of PCMs. This
of different variables on the heat transfer coefficient in a gas–solid implies that the lifetime of a system can be increased and failure can be
fluidized bed heat exchanger. Initially, a computational model was prevented. Improved thermal performance was demonstrated after
developed using Ansys Fluent and validated in order to represent the repetitive heating–cooling cycles. Furthermore, it was numerically
system under study. Then, this model was used to complete the runs of demonstrated that a PCM nanocomposite can reduce the heat
a 251 fractional factorial design, in which the response variable was the accumulation because of the low thermal conductivities of PCMs.
heat transfer coefficient and factors were: particle diameter, particle
thermal conductivity, gas velocity, diameter of the heat transfer tubes
and distance between tubes. The results of 16 simulation were used to 21/00310 Numerical study of tube arrangement and fin
create different models in which the significance of each coefficient was effects on improving the ice formation in ice-on-coil
analysed. Particle diameter proved to be the parameter that influenced thermal storage systems
the most the response variable, while gas velocity and solid thermal Hamzeh, H. A. and Miansari, M. International Communications in Heat
conductivity showed little effect on the heat transfer coefficient. and Mass Transfer, 2020, 113, 104520.
Heat storage systems are used as a method for transferring and
controlling the cold load in hot seasons. In this paper, to analyse the
21/00307 Magnetohydrodynamics forced convection of phase changes of an ice-on-coil thermal storage tank, the process of ice
nanofluid in multi-layered U-shaped vented cavity with a
formation in a cavity with refrigerant carrier tubes is carried out using
porous region considering wall corrugation effects numerical simulation. Moreover, performance of some heat transfer
Selimefendigil, F. and Öztop, H. F. International Communications in
enhancement methods including usage of fins around tubes with
Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 113, 104551.
various dimensions and numbers and various tube number and
Magnetohydrodynamics forced convection of carbon nanotube–water
arrangement, are compared. In this study, the inlet temperature is
nanofluid in a layered U-shaped vented cavity involving a porous
considered to be 275 K, which the temperature decrease up to 10 K due
region is investigated under the impact of wall corrugation. The
to freezing is observed. According to the results, the fin height is a very
numerical study is performed by using the finite volume method.
effective parameter in increasing the freezing rate. Also, upon
Impacts of Reynolds number (between 100 and 1000), Hartmann
increasing the tube number with smaller diameter, ice is formed with
number (between 0 and 50), Darcy number (between 104 and
a higher speed due to their uniform distribution. So, with the tube
5  102), porous layer height (between 0.1H and 0.5H), height
number increasing from 9 to 16 in these systems at the same time
(between 0 and 0.5H) and number of triangular waves (between 1
interval, the fluid temperature drops from about 275 to 269 K, as well
and 16) and curvature (between 0.01H and 0.2H) at the U-turn of the
as the volume fraction of liquid decrease from about 0.4 to 0.22.
vented cavity on the convective heat transfer features are examined.
Finally, by changing the tube arrangement from rectangular to
The flow field and heat transfer are affected by variations in the
triangular, faster rate of ice formation are observed.
Reynolds number, magnetic field strength and permeability of the
porous medium. The average Nusselt number increases significantly
with higher magnetic field strength and at Hartmann number of 50, the
amount of enhancement is 112% while the impact is reverse for highest 21/00311 Operation of a stationary hydrogen energy
value of Darcy number of the porous compound. The corrugation of system using TiFe-based alloy tanks under various weather
the bottom wall which is a triangular wave was found to be used as an conditions
effective tool for fluid flow and heat transfer features. The average heat Endo, N. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
transfer rate reduces with higher number of corrugation waves (68.2% 207–215.
reduction) while it first increases then reduces with higher height of the In recent years, initiatives targeting net zero emission/energy buildings
corrugation. The curvature of the neck in the U-shaped cavity reduced (ZEBs) have been launched to develop buildings with an effective
the heat transfer rate which is 15.5% at the highest value. annual energy consumption of zero when renewable energy (RE) and
energy conservation are taken into account. Methods of storage should
include batteries as well as long-term solutions such as hydrogen
21/00308 Numerical investigation of the fluid flow and heat systems as large energy storage capacities are required for buildings
transfer characteristics of tree-shaped microchannel heat with high energy consumption. In a recent study, the authors reported
sink with variable cross-section that in order to achieve 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
Huang, P. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process (55% from energy conservation and 25% from RE and energy storage),
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107769. the battery capacity and hydrogen storage capacity required for
The bionic fractal microchannel heat sink (MHS), which is character- accommodation buildings with a total floor area of 5650 m2 (power
ized by a uniform velocity distribution and higher heat transfer demand of 90 kW and annual power consumption of 450 MW) are
efficiency, is an ideal heat sink candidate, while the structure of the 30 kW/150 kWh and 500 Nm3, respectively. In the case of stationary
variable cross-section has a great impact on the fluid flow and heat hydrogen systems, the volumetric hydrogen density is more important
transfer performance of the MHS. Considering the coupling effects of than the gravimetric hydrogen density, particularly in urban areas (i.e.
the bionic fractal and variable cross-section, a tree-shaped MHS limited space areas). In these applications, metal hydride hydrogen
(TMHS) with a variable cross-section is firstly proposed. The flow storage is one of the most promising compact storage methods because
characteristics, heat transfer characteristics, pressure drop character- it operates under mild conditions, provides ultra-high purity hydrogen,
istics, and comprehensive performance of TMHSs with cavities and ribs has few moving parts, and is safe and reliable. This paper describes the
were analysed numerically using the commercial software Fluent, and operation of a bench-scale stationary hydrogen energy system
compared with the traditional smooth TMHS. The results indicate that comprising photovoltaic panels, a water electrolyser, metal hydride
the structure of variable cross-section can further enhance heat tanks fabricated using an AB-type TiFe-based alloy (TiFe-based tanks),
transfer performance of the TMHS. The TMHS with ribs (exhibited fuel cells (FC), and batteries under various weather conditions. The FC
the highest heat transfer performance, but also had the highest and TiFe-based tanks are thermally coupled to transfer heat when
pressure drop. Finally, the heat transfer index was put forward to necessary to stabilize the output power, and automatic control is
consider both heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics, and the provided via a building energy management system which plans the
results found that the TMHS with cavities had the highest compre- operating schedule up to 48 h in advance based on the weather forecast
hensive performance at the range of the calculated Reynolds number. and expected demands of the building. Experiments were conducted
for 24-h operation on a fine day, 48-h operations on partly cloudy and
21/00309 Numerical modeling and experimental validation partly cloudy days, and 48-h operations on partly cloudy and rainy days
of a phase change material-based compact cascade cooling in order to verify the system. Each operation was performed as
system for enhanced thermal management planned. The results show that it is possible to operate the hydrogen
Kim, S.-H. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114470. system all year round without external heat sources.

48 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

21/00312 Performance intensification of tubular heat competitive system cost in order to exploit its full advantages over
exchangers using compound twisted-tape and twisted-tube status quo systems from techno-economic perspectives. Environmen-
Khoshvaght-Aliabadi, M. and Feizabadi, A. Chemical Engineering and tally, seawater heat pumps are more attractive than competing techno-
Processing – Process Intensification, 2020, 148, 107799. logies in south cities. Also, northern Chinese cities are geographically
Numerical studies are carried out to explore thermo-fluidic transport more feasible for seawater heat pumps applications compared with
characteristics of laminar flow through tubular heat exchangers using a southern cities.
compound technique, which is formed from the combination of
twisted-tape with twisted-tube. The twisted-tape is installed inside a 21/00315 Study on heating capacity and heat loss of
twisted-tube, which has an elliptical cross-section. Both minor and capillary radiant floor heating systems
major arrangements are examined (TT-TT minor and TT-TT major), Ding, P. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114618.
and the obtained results are compared with those of the straight-tube Radiant floor heating systems with the distinct advantages of low-
(ST) as well as straight-tube equipped with twisted-tape (ST-TT) and temperature water supply, energy saving, uniform room temperature
twisted-tube (TT). The comparison is made for three different levels of and well thermal comfort, are widely used in residential and office
twist-pitch and five Reynolds numbers. The results show that the buildings in China. And those radiant floors embedded with capillary
dependence of transport characteristics on the enhanced models is pipes have been increasing in popularity because of better thermal
strongly affected by both the twist-pitch and the Reynolds number. In performance. In this paper, a new simplified calculation for heating
contrast to the heat transfer performance, it is found that the pressure capacity, heat loss and surface temperature of radiant heating floor
drop of the ST-TT is always more than that of the TT. However, the with high-performance insulation layer was provided and validated by
highest values are recorded for the TT-TT minor and the TT-TT major. measured as well as numerical simulated data. By the simplified
At the range studied, the best overall hydrothermal performance is calculation method, the influence of each layer material on the heat
obtained for the TT-TT minor, while the ST-TT and the TT-TT major transfer of capillary radiant heating floor have been analysed and
have comparable performances. The results display that increasing results show that, (1) the heating capacity will decreased with the
twist-pitch and Reynolds number leads to better overall performance in increasement of pipe spacing and the descending slop is decided by the
all models. The maximum performance index of 3.21 is found for the ratio of pipe spacing to the equivalent distance from pipes to the room
TT-TT minor at the Reynolds number of 1800. The results of the environment; (2) thermal resistance of pipes could be ignored when it
current analysis may be considered as a basis for selection of flow path is twice more than that of filling material, or it will have negative
geometry for design of tubular heat exchangers. influence on heating capacity with the increase of pipe spacing.

21/00313 Performance investigations on a sensible heat 21/00316 The technology of micro heat pipe cooled reactor:
thermal energy storage tank with a solar collector under a review
variable climatic conditions Yan, B. H. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106948.
Alptekin, E. and Ezan, M. A. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, In this work, the development and technologies of micro heat pipe-
114423. cooled reactor are overviewed. The micro heat pipe-cooled reactor,
Due to the intermittent nature of the solar energy and the mismatch mainly consists of a reactor core, energy conversion system, shielding
between the instantaneous demand and supply, solar energy could not and heat removal system, is a new type reactor using heat pipes to cool
be used effectively, or continuously, in solar-assisted applications such the core. It is a potential candidate for supplying electricity in a
as heating of a building. As a common approach, it is possible to store decentralized electricity market. With the adoption of heat pipe,
the available solar energy when it is abundant and use it later to monolithic core and high-efficient energy conversion system, this
operate solar-assisted applications sustainably. Thermal energy storage reactor is greatly simplified by omitting the main pipeline, circulating
(TES) applications provide critical solutions for ensuring the sustain- pump and auxiliary equipment which results in a low-cost and compact
ability of solar energy. A proper TES tank should be designed in such a system. The monolithic reactor design is highly evolved in neutronics
way to possess a high heat transfer rate, energy efficiency, and exergy and thermal hydraulics. Compared with the commercial nuclear power
efficiency during the charging and discharging processes. In the current plant, these micro reactors are factory manufacturable and transport-
work, a sensible heat TES tank that is integrated with a flat plate solar able, thus the launch or transportation accident safety should be
collector is considered. An in-house transient code is developed to guaranteed. Until now, this kind of reactor design of kilowatt level is
evaluate spatial and temporal temperature variations within the storage more mature than that of megawatt level. The difficulties and
tank and the solar collector throughout a day under variable weather challenges need to be overcome in the future are summarized,
conditions. The variation in working fluid temperature along the tank including heat pipe cascading failure, fuel enrichment, structure
height is compared against the experimental and numerical results integrity, machining, monolithic thermal stress, inspection and quali-
from the literature to ensure the validity of the code. The influences of fication, etc.
the mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid, the diameter of the storage
material and height of the TES tank on dimensionless performance 21/00317 Theoretical investigation on the performance of
measures, such as stratification number, energy, and exergy efficien- an ejector enhanced refrigeration cycle using hydrocarbon
cies, are numerically evaluated under real weather data for 4 months as mixture R290/R600a
November, December, January and February. In the proposed system, Chen, Q. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114456.
the storage medium temperatures vary in the range of 40–60  C. The This paper proposes an ejector enhanced vapour compression
stored thermal energy can be used in a building in various aspects such refrigeration cycle (EVRC) using zeotropic hydrocarbon mixture
as supplying warm water, underfloor space heating, or indirect heating R290/R600a for applications in domestic refrigerator/freezers. An
with a heat pump system. internal heat exchanger and a phase separator are utilized in EVRC to
improve the system performance. An ejector is adopted to further
21/00314 Seawater heat pumps in China, a spatial analysis enhance the cycle performance. The energy and exergy analysis of
Su, C. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112240. EVRC are performed to evaluate the system operating characteristics
Fossil-fuelled building space heating and cooling contribute to >10% and compared with the Lorenz–Meutzer vapour compression refriger-
total final energy consumption in China. Consequent carbon dioxide ation cycle (LVRC) and the traditional vapour compression refriger-
and air pollutants emissions bring about atmospheric pressure and ation cycle (TVRC). The results indicate that EVRC can provide the
associated respiratory diseases. Seawater heat pumps as a candidate for uppermost advantages over both TVRC and LVRC under the
sustainable building space heating and cooling solution can alleviate operating conditions. Compared with TVRC, the EVRC can signifi-
such environmental pressure since China has a long coastline and many cantly improve the coefficient of performance, volumetric refrigeration
coastal cities have the possibility for seawater heat pump implemen- capacity and exergy efficiency by 13.5%, 19.3% and 13.4%, respect-
tation. However, stakeholders are still suffering from insufficient ively. The performance characteristics of the proposed cycle demon-
understanding of seawater heat pumps feasibility in different coastal strate its potential advantages for application in domestic refrigerator/
cities of China from techno-economic, environmental and geographical freezers.
perspectives. This paper proposes a systematic method to evaluate
seawater heat pump potential in different locations of China consider- 21/00318 Thermal conductivity enhancement on phase
ing various local spatial parameters in the source and sink side of the change materials for thermal energy storage: a review
energy system. A key performance indicator system is introduced to Wu, S. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 251–295.
quantitatively analyse the relative advantages and disadvantages of Phase change energy storage technology, which can solve the
applying seawater heat pumps compared with status quo systems. contradiction between the supply and demand of thermal energy and
Quantitative evaluation results show that seawater heat pumps have a alleviate the energy crisis, has aroused a lot of interests in recent years.
higher potential in north Chinese coastal cities from techno-economic Due to its high energy density, high temperature and strong stability of
point of view when compared with existing heating and cooling systems. energy output, phase change materials (PCMs) have been widely used
Environmentally, seawater heat pumps have to reach a critical seasonal in thermal energy systems. The aim of this review is to provide an
coefficient of performance value to guarantee its potential in carbon insight into the thermal conduction mechanism of phonons in PCM
emissions saving. In southern Chinese coastal cities, seawater heat and the morphology, preparation method as well as thermal conduc-
pumps have to reach a more satisfactory system efficiency and a more tivity of composite PCMs. Phonon thermal conduction mechanism is

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 49

11 Engines (power generation and propulsion, electrical vehicles)

suggested to cover three forms: phonon-phonon scattering, phonon- increment in PR yields the reversing tendency for both V-WVG types. A
defect scattering and phonon-boundary scattering. Then the micro- new thermal-performance enhancement factor (TEF) has been intro-
cosmic factors affecting the thermal conductivity of composite PCMs duced and it reveals that the V-DW has TEF in a range of 1.82–2.0 or
are analysed. The research progress of adding three-dimensional, two- around 3% above the V-RW where its peak regarded as the optimal
dimensional, one-dimensional and zero-dimensional structure addi- point is at BR = 0.15 and PR = 1.0. Empirical correlations for the
tives to PCM is reviewed. Besides summarizing the preparation method Nusselt number and friction factor to assess the real merits of a heat
and microstructure, the thermal conductivity of the composite PCMs exchanger tube with V-WVGs are determined.
are also analysed from the aspect of phonon thermal conductivity
mechanism. Meanwhile, some novel materials, including metal–organic 21/00322 Thermodynamic analysis of hybrid liquid air
frameworks, titanium dioxide foam, highly graphitized network carbon, energy storage systems based on cascaded storage and
graphene foam and hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles, are effective utilization of compression heat
proposed for the additives of heat storage materials. Ongoing research Zhang, T. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114526.
and development studies indicate that the challenges of the improving As a promising solution for large-scale energy storage, liquid air energy
the thermal conductivity of PCM focus on the aspects of clarifying the storage (LAES) has the unique advantages of high energy storage
phonon scattering mechanism in PCM, increasing the number of density and no geographical constraint. In baseline LAES, the
thermal conductivity chains and broadening the thermal transmission compression heat is surplus because of the low liquefaction ratio,
channels. Booming progress illustrates that the exploration of high which significantly influences its round-trip efficiency (RTE). In this
performance PCM is an extremely valuable and scalable option for paper, hybrid LAES systems based on the cascaded storage and
storing industrial waste heat and solar energy, especially for constant effective utilization of compression heat is proposed and analysed. In
temperature storage and utilization. To bring the phase change heat order to improve the storage temperature, cascaded-storage of
storage solution into a broader market, more intensive studies in fields compression heat is proposed. Meanwhile, the organic Rankine cycle
of phonon thermal conductivity mechanism, development of high (ORC) and Kalina cycle (KC) are considered to utilize the surplus
performance composite PCMs and efficient and compact phase change compression heat to generate additional electricity. Based on the same
heat storage system are still required. conditions, the performances of the subcritical ORC using dry fluids,
supercritical ORC using wet fluids, and KC are calculated and
21/00319 Thermal response of a composite floor system to compared. It is found that the cascaded storage of compression heat
the standard fire exposure can significantly increase the storage temperature and further improve
Banerjee, D. K. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102930. the RTE of the system. Moreover, the RTE of the LAES system is
This paper discusses the development of a finite element model of a increased by 10.9–19.5% owing to the additional power generation. The
full-scale composite floor system and application of this model to subcritical ORC using dry fluids is found to be more suitable in
predict the heating of steel members when exposed to a standard fire utilizing the surplus compression heat for its simple configuration and
during fire resistance experiments. The model is verified by comparing excellent performance.
the predicted heating profile of steel members at several locations
during the tests with measured data. Such a verified model can be used 21/00323 Two-phase MHD energy conversion from
to characterize the uncertainties in the prediction of the thermal buoyancy-driven flows of liquid metal coolant in a fusion
history of structural elements exposed to a damaging fire. The output reactor
of this model can be used in a subsequent structural analysis model to Wood, C. E. and Lawn, C. J. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151,
determine the non-linear behaviour of structural members due to both 111288.
thermal and mechanical loads. Additionally, the thermal effect of The present consensus for generating electrical power from a tokamak
possible concrete spalling events and the resultant fireproofing is to use a well-established energy conversion method: the conversion
dislodgement from steel members were numerically investigated and of heat to electricity through gas or steam turbines. The objective of
compared with measured data to determine the efficacy of the heat this research has been to compare alternative methods of conversion.
transfer model. This has culminated in a proposal that utilizes two-phase liquid metal
magnetohydrodynamic (TPLMMHD) energy conversion in a topping
21/00320 Thermal-hydraulic analysis of the thermoelectric cycle. The resulting power cycle configuration, with the current design
space reactor power system with a potassium heat pipe specifications for a dual-cooled lithium-lead (DCLL) blanket, involves
radiator a high-pressure Brayton cycle that takes helium directly from the
Zhang, W. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107018. blanket, utilizes TPLMMHD topping, and includes three low-pressure
The thermoelectric space reactor power system conceptual design low-temperature Rankine bottoming cycles. Several studies have been
incorporates fast reactor, liquid-lithium primary coolant loops that undertaken, including limited small-scale experimental work, and a
transfer heat to potassium-filled high temperature heat pipes and computer model developed to predict a power output of 22 MWe via
thermoelectric generators. An integrated system analysis model was TPLMMHD with the circulation of Pb-17Li through a DCLL blanket
developed to study the operating characteristics of the space power by buoyancy. This removes the need to pump Pb-17Li and saves an
system, which consisted of reactor thermal-hydraulic model, neutron additional 6.3 MWe. However, far greater gains than this 28 MWe can
kinetics model, thermoelectric energy conversion assembly (ECA) come from an increase in the helium pressure in the gas turbines from
model, heat pipe radiator model etc. One-dimensional thermal- 8 to 34.5 MPa. The net electric power output for a PPCS model-C plant
hydraulic model was applied to model the coolant circuit. Quasi two- including this proposal for higher helium pressures is increased from
dimensional analysis models for heat transfer of fuel element, ECA and 1480 to 1909 MWe, which yields an increase in overall plant efficiency
the heat pipe fin were established. Considering the thermoelectric from 43.4% to 56%. This sensitivity to helium pressures is an important
conversion phenomena, an equivalent electric efficiency model was subsidiary outcome of the study.
inserted in the ECA model. Both finite element method and thermal
resistance network were applied to simulate the potassium heat pipe
system. The normal operation condition and two demonstration
accident scenarios (unprotected inadvertent movement of a sliding
reflector and loss of heat pipes) were calculated to prove the
capabilities of the new system model. 11 ENGINES
21/00321 Thermo-hydraulic performance in heat exchanger
tube with V-shaped winglet vortex generator
Promvonge, P. and Skullong, S. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020,
164, 114424. Power generation and propulsion,
This article presents the influence of V-shaped winglet vortex electrical vehicles
generators (V-WVGs) inserted into a constant heat-fluxed tube on
thermal characteristics. In the present experiment, two V-WVG types:
V-shaped rectangular- and delta-winglets (V-RW and V-DW) were
mounted periodically on both sides of a straight tape before insertion 21/00324 Activating ABO3-type coating by additive for coke
into the tube with four relative winglet pitches (PR = P/D = 0.5, 1.0, inhibition in supercritical thermal cracking of endothermic
1.5 and 2.0) and three winglet blockage ratios (BR = b/D = 0.1, 0.15 hydrocarbon fuel
and 0.2) at a fixed attack angle ( = 45 ). Effects of geometric Wang, H. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106229.
parameters of both V-WVGs on thermal performance enhancement A new in situ anti-coking method using coatings and additives was
were studied using air as tested fluid in a turbulence condition, applied to remove coke during the cracking of the Chinese jet fuel RP-
Reynolds number (Re) ranging between 4130 and 25,900. The measured 3. Water, ethanol and phosphotungstic acid (HPW) were employed as
result has been shown that the V-RW performs higher rate of heat the additive to activate the coatings of CsOH or BaCeO3. The use of
transfer as well as friction loss than the V-DW and the rise in BR results coating or additive alone can effectively reduce the amount of coke,
in higher increase of the heat transfer rate and friction loss while the and combination of them can further inhibit the formation of fibre

50 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 11 Engines (power generation and propulsion, electrical vehicles)

coke. The anti-coking efficiency of water is superior to ethanol, but it is destruction chiefly occurs in combustion process, (b) high exergy
not conducive to the stability of pressure during cracking reaction. destruction rate primarily focuses in richer mixture region and
With the addition of 5 wt% ethanol in the fuel, the cracking of RP-3 on (c) exergy destruction rate is negatively correlated with in-cylinder
the BaCeO3/HPW coating can be finely controlled. A smallest tube local temperature in the same heat release rate region. Finally, root
pressure drop and a maximum of 97% anti-coking rate can be achieved. reasons for the influences of key boundary parameters on exergy
The anti-coking performance is considered to be initiated by the destruction are in-cylinder local equivalent ratio and temperature.
dehydration of ethanol catalysed by HPW for the in situ generation of Adjusting of intake air temperature, coolant temperature and exhaust
water. Then the BaCeO3 coating which is capable of switching between gas recirculation rate reasonably to enhance temperature and promote
the reduced and the oxidized states can effectively combine with oxygen diluted mixing of oil-air appropriately can effectively suppress exergy
from water by oxygen transfer, and finally the coke is removed by destruction and optimize efficiency.
reacting with oxygen. Therefore, they are ideal phases to formulate as
wall coating catalysts for removing pyrolytic coke deposits via catalytic
steam gasification in endothermic fuel systems for high temperature 21/00328 Effects of blending C3-C4 alcohols on motor
aeronautical applications. More efforts should be made investigate to gasoline properties and performance of spark ignition
the intrinsic mechanism of the additive with ABO3-type coating. engines: a review
Shirazi, S. A. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106194.
21/00325 Auto-ignition characteristics of high-reactivity Supplementing petroleum fuels with sustainable and renewable
gasoline fuel using a gasoline multi-hole injector alternatives is a good option for increasing the sustainability of
Du, J. et al. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2020, 112, 109993. transportation fuels. Alcohols are particularly attractive blendstocks
Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engines have proven to be a for spark ignition (SI) engines, mainly due to their desirable fuel
highly efficient engine technology with reduced emissions. The high properties including high octane, evaporative cooling, and reduced
efficiency and reduced emissions of GCI engines heavily rely on the sooting propensity. Although the use of SI engines is widespread
stratification of the fuel being injected directly into the cylinder around the world, predominately for light duty vehicles, concerns about
through multi-hole injectors. Therefore, it is critical to understand the CO2 emissions and other sustainability issues necessitate increased
fuel stratification and auto-ignition behaviours of the fuels used in GCI engine efficiencies, reduced tailpipe pollutants, and lower lifecycle
engines. Thus, in this work, the auto-ignition characteristics of high- carbon emissions. The intelligent blending of C2–C4 alcohols into
reactivity and low carbon gasoline fuel (RON 77) were studied in an motor gasoline is a viable method for achieving these goals. There are a
optically accessible constant volume chamber. A customized high- multitude of ways to produce renewable alcohols such as through
pressure gasoline multi-hole injector was used. Reactive tests were fermentation from first-generation feedstocks (sugar and corn) and
performed at two different ambient pressures (20 and 30 bar), three second-generation feedstocks (lignocellulosic biomass), or by gasifica-
different ambient temperatures (800, 900 and 1000 K), three different tion and mixed alcohol fuel synthesis routes from lignocellulosic
oxygen concentrations (10%, 15% and 21%) and three different biomass. Currently ethanol is extensively used in motor gasoline fuels
injection pressures (100, 300 and 450 bar). The auto-ignition of fuel was worldwide and although many have proposed the use of C3 and C4
achieved with varying ignition delay based on the experimental alcohols in motor gasoline as an improvement over ethanol, the higher
conditions tested. It was found that the operating conditions cost of production and lack of clear definition as to their benefit over
profoundly influences the diffusion and partially-premixed combustion ethanol when blended into motor gasoline have led to slow acceptance
mode. For high ambient pressures, temperatures, oxygen concen- into the market. In this review, special emphasis is placed on the effects
trations, injection pressure, and combinations, diffusion combustion of blending C3 and C4 alcohols into motor gasoline in terms of
mode was observed, and partially premixed combustion mode was physicochemical properties, volatility behaviour, and engine perform-
observed at lower ambient pressures, temperatures, oxygen concen- ance when compared to ethanol blends. Furthermore, the impact of
trations, injection pressures, and their combinations. blending C3 and C4 alcohols with gasoline on emission (particulate
matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and unregu-
lated oxygenates) and combustion (volumetric efficiency, thermal
21/00326 Detailed exergetic analysis of a packed bed efficiency, fuel consumption, and cold performance) characteristics is
thermal energy storage unit in combination with an organic discussed. Although there are some disagreements in the literature
Rankine cycle over the effect of alcohols predominately around the type of SI engine,
König-Haagen, A. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, i.e. port fuel injected versus direct fuel injected and engine operating
114583. mode, generally it is stated that alcohols can potentially reduce soot,
Thermal energy storage systems (TESS) can reduce or overcome the unburned hydrocarbons and CO emissions while increasing thermal
issues that appear when an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is adopted to efficiency when proper engine configuration/calibration is used.
a fluctuating heat source. However, detailed exergetic studies about the Finally, research that must be conducted to find the optimum
optimization potential and the influence of the TESS on the overall combination of alcohol blends and engine configurations is highlighted
system are still missing for this application and TESS in systems in and discussed.
general. Therefore, in this work a detailed exergetic evaluation
considering the influence of physical aspects on the exergetic
efficiencies of components and the overall system is numerically
21/00329 High temperature heat and water recovery in
performed for a packed bed TESS in combination with an ORC. For
steam injected gas turbines using an open absorption heat
the chosen boundary conditions, the overall pressure drop and the heat
pump
resistance from the heat transfer fluid to the particle have the highest
Vandersickel, A. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114663.
influence on the overall exergetic efficiency. By optimizing the
The advantages of reinjecting steam from the heat recovery steam
parameters of the storage unit by means of a downhill-simplex method,
generator (HRSG) in the preceding gas turbine are increased power
the overall exergetic efficiency can be increased from 36% to 43% and
and electrical efficiency at low specific cost and a high operating
the influence of the physical aspects is much lower and more balanced.
flexibility. The discharge of the injected steam to the ambient has
however two major drawbacks: (1) a relevant water consumption and
21/00327 Detailed study of key boundary parameters (2) a large thermal loss related to the latent heat of steam. An open
influence on a turbocharged diesel engine based on absorption heat pump cycle downstream of the HRSG can solve both
thermodynamic analysis problems, as it allows to recover the steam from the flue gas and use its
Liu, C. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114553. condensation heat at elevated temperature. This paper presents for the
In this study, the test platform and computational fluid dynamics first time a concept to efficiently integrate both technologies and
simulation model of a turbocharged diesel engine are employed to assesses the potential and limitations of the absorption system for a
explore energy balance, exergy balance, exergy terms variation, exergy steam-injected gas turbine (STIG). For high network return tempera-
destruction formation causes and spatial distribution in wider adjust- tures (60  C), the high-temperature condensation boiler technology
ment ranges of intake air temperature, coolant temperature and (HT-CBT) performs significantly better than a conventional flue gas
exhaust gas recirculation rate at different working conditions in detail. condenser over the entire STIG operating range, both with respect to
The results indicate that first, adjusting intake air temperature from 30 fuel efficiency and water recovery. For steam injection rates up to
to 70  C, exergy efficiency, exergy destruction and exhaust energy are 1.16 kg/s (60  C) and 0.96 kg/s (40  C) fuel efficiency remains constant
negatively correlated with intake air temperature, while the change at c. 95% (respectively 102%) and power can hence be increased
trends of exhaust exergy and heat transfer terms are opposite. without the associated energetic penalty. Within this range, full water
Secondly, enhancing coolant temperature from 50 to 90  C, heat recovery eliminates the high water usage of the Cheng cycle, making it
transfer terms decreases significantly and effective work increases, a suited technology for flexible cogeneration also in dry areas. For
while exhaust terms and exergy destruction remain basically un- higher steam injection rates, the added benefit of the HT-CBT was
changed. Third, exhaust gas recirculation rate increases from 5% to found to be restricted by the limited availability of desorber heating
30%, heat transfer exergy decreases, while effective work increases first from the HRSG, suggesting the integration of external desorber
and then decreases, in-cylinder exergy destruction decreases first and heating. The possibility to increase the power output for a given heat
then increases. Fourth, there are several characteristics of in-cylinder demand, with limited impact on fuel efficiency, increases the economic
exergy destruction at different key boundary parameters: (a) exergy viability of the technology compared to heating only applications.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 51

11 Engines (power generation and propulsion, electrical vehicles)

21/00330 Optimization and study of performance compressor pressure ratio value of 19.8788, ambient temperature equal
parameters in an engine fueled with hydrogen to 288 K and relative humidity value of 53.03%. The results of gas
Zareei, J. and Rohani, A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, turbine cycle code response and optimum value obtained from response
2020, 45, (1), 322–336. surface methodology have been observed within error margin of
Engine performance parameters, including fuel conversion efficiency 0.14%(min.)–0.6%(max.) and advocates the adoption of response
(FCE), power, torque and specific fuel consumption (SFC), can be surface methodology optimization technique. Higher rational efficiency
affected by variables such as ignition timing (IGT), injection timing has been obtained at lower ambient temperature (293 K), further
(IT) and hydrogen volume fraction (H2%). In this paper an engine optimum value of rational efficiency (>36.5%) can be obtained at
fuelled with different H2/CNG blend rations from 0 to 50% volume turbine inlet temperature 1470 K.
under ignition and injection timing at different speeds were investi-
gated. For model validation, the engine operating conditions were
21/00333 Simulation analysis on vaporizer/mixer
simulated using the AVL fire software and compared with experimen-
performance of the high-pressure SCR system in a marine
tal results. The statistical comparison showed that there was no
diesel [engine]
significant difference between them. Also, a support vector machine
Zhu, Y. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
(SVM) was used to study the engine’s behaviour according to the
Intensification, 2020, 148, 107819.
variables studied. The SVM model predicted the FCE, power, torque,
As an important part of high-pressure selective catalytic reduction
SFC and CO with error of less than 4%. The genetic algorithm was
(SCR) system in a marine diesel engine, vaporizer/mixer is a vital place
used to find optimal IGT, IT and H2% values to achieve optimum
to improve the spray atomization of urea solution, the formation of
engine performance. Therefore, the results showed that the optimum
reduction agent and the effective mixing of multiple components well.
engine operating conditions depend on the engine speed. Also, the
In this paper, vaporizer/mixer of high-pressure SCR (HP-SCR) system
results showed that independent variables (IT, IGT and H2%)
in a marine diesel engine was selected as the research subject, a three-
maximize the engine performance and minimize SFC and CO
dimensional model of the mixer is devised by computational fluid
emissions. So that the optimum use of hydrogen in this research at
dynamics and simulate the chemical reaction fluid dynamic by Fluent,
different engine speeds was between 20% and 30%.
and then its major design properties of pressure loss, flow velocity and
species concentration uniformity, NH3/NOx deviation as well as
21/00331 Potential of a two-stage variable compression sensitiveness of diesel load were studied. According to characteristics
ratio downsized spark ignition engine for passenger cars of vaporizer/mixer of high-pressure SCR system, working performances
under different driving conditions of vaporizer/mixer installed without and with flow-guiding plates were
López, J. J. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, compared and analysed, and mixing effects of five flow-guiding plates
112251. were also evaluated in the paper. It is found that both the vaporizer/
With the aim of reducing pollutant emissions from internal combustion mixers which are installed with the centralized curved plates and
engines (ICE), the application of stoichiometrically operated spark irregular trapezoidal plates can meet the needs of design requirements
ignition (SI) engines, for light-duty vehicles, has been overcoming the of HP-SCR system, and the vaporizer/mixer installed with the irregular
compression ignition (CI) engines market share throughout the past trapezoidal plates is superior to other structural flow-guiding plates. In
years. The ability of a substantial reduction of the primary harmful addition, compared with vaporizer/mixer without flow-guiding plate,
emissions (HC, CO and NOx) through the use of the simple three-way the maximum pressure loss of the vaporizer/mixer installed with
catalyst (TWC) is the main reason for that. Nonetheless, with irregular trapezoidal plates is only increased by 126 Pa, but its NH3
increasing attention to CO2 emissions, the development of highly concentration uniformity in the outlet is increased by 8.1%, and the
efficient downsized SI engines turn to be of enormous interest. The sensitiveness efficiency of diesel load is decreased to 0.1%, which
synergies of multiple systems such as direct injection, turbocharger, adapts to the various working conditions of high-pressure SCR system
and variable valve actuation are able to lead the SI efficiencies closer to in the low-speed marine diesel engine.
those of CI engines. However, to enable high load operation on such
downsized engines, the compression ratio (CR) must be reduced due to 21/00334 The effect of spray angle on the combustion and
knock limitations, reducing the partial-load operations efficiency. The emission performance of a separated swirl combustion
implementation of two-stage variable compression ratio (VCR) systems system in a diesel engine
enables the extraction of high thermal efficiency with high CR at lower Zhou, H. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116481.
loads and extended knock-free high load operation with low CR. In this To improve air efficiency in the centre and squish areas of the
study, the evaluation of a two-stage VCR system applied to a state-of- combustion chamber, a new separated swirl combustion system (SSCS)
the-art downsized SI engine was made through standard driving cycle was developed. It became necessary to find the optimal spray angle for
simulations. The VCR mechanism is composed of an eccentric element the SSCS. This study aims to bridge this gap. It was found there were
in the small end of the connecting rod, which is rotated to increase/ two peaks in the indicated power of the SSCS that occurred as a result
decrease the effective connecting rod length, achieving the CRs of of changing the spray angles. One peak occurred when the lower spray
12.11 : 1 and 9.56 : 1. The engine was run in an eddy-current angle was 105 of crank angle (CA) and the upper spray angle was 165
dynamometer test bench throughout the essential operating range to CA (herein referred to as spray angle scheme one). The other peak
obtain the brake specific fuel consumption map. The VCR mechanism occurred when the lower spray angle was 75 CA and the upper spray
CR switching delay was also experimentally characterized to derive a angle was 165 CA (herein referred to as spray angle scheme two). To
function of the operating conditions. The measured map was entered find the optimal spray angle, the combustion and emission perform-
into the map-based driving cycle simulation with a sub-model to ance of the two schemes was tested under different speeds, loads and
account for the isolated effects of the transient period encompassing excess air coefficients in a single-cylinder engine. The experiment
the compression ratio switching. The results show that slow CR results show that the SSCS experiences a greater reduction in fuel
transitions lead to fuel consumption penalties, which suggests the need consumption and soot emission under spray angle scheme one: fuel
for optimizing the control strategies of the VCR system. Even though consumption decreased by approximately 1.6–8.3% and soot emission
this penalty, once the gear up-shift speed is optimized for each driving decreased by approximately 16.16–36.64%. Therefore, it can be
cycle, the VCR system still enables fuel consumption reductions up to concluded that the optimal lower spray angle in the SSCS is 105
3% on the WLTC driving cycle, up to 4% on the proposed urban CA, and the optimal upper spray angle is 165 CA. The simulation
driving cycles and up to 3% on highway driving cycles with respect to results show that the lower spray colliding with the first circular ridge
the fixed CR. benefits the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder, such that the equivalence
ratio is smaller under spray angle scheme one. Therefore, spray angle
scheme one creates a more uniform fuel/air mixture, consumes less
21/00332 Response surface methodology based
fuel, improves thermal efficiency and reduces soot emission.
optimization of air-film blade cooled gas turbine
cycle for thermal performance prediction
Mishra, S. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114425. 21/00335 The influence of channel geometry on the
The present study analyses simple gas turbine cycle (SGT) for carrying pressure drop in automotive catalytic converters:
out optimization of input variables for optimum performance evalu- model development and validation
ation. The study uses response surface methodology (RSM) for Cornejo, I. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 212, 115317.
prediction of optimum input variables. The study takes into consider- This paper presents a detailed physics-based model for the pressure
ation turbine inlet temperature, compressor pressure ratio (rp), drop through a honeycomb substrate for several channel shapes and
ambient temperature and ambient relative humidity as input variables void fractions. A computational fluid dynamics-based computational
for prediction of optimum cycle performance parameters. Study reveals model of a single channel is used to study the pressure drop when flow
that maximum gas turbine specific work has been observed at rp ’ 18– is entering, passing through and leaving the substrate. An extensive set
20 while turbine inlet temperature value of 1520 K. Optimum values of 3D computational experiments covering square, hexagonal and
of thermal efficiency, rational efficiency, mass of coolant and gas triangular channel cross-sections, void fractions from 0.39 to 0.84 and
turbine specific work are 39.03%, 36.98%, 0.0665 kg/kg of air and channel Re from 95 to 1284 is used. It is shown that altering the void
363.59 kJ/kg, respectively, with the corresponding gas turbine cycle fraction changes the pressure drop at the inlet and outlet of the
input variables at turbine inlet temperature value of 1476.76 K, substrate, however, its effect on the friction factor inside the substrate

52 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 11 Engines (hybrid engine systems)

is minor. The resulting model can be used either as a semi-empirical carried out to use alternative fuels in order to optimize the energy
lumped model for pressure drop and in 3D full-scale simulations with a requirement. This review presents an in-depth analysis on the impact of
porous medium representing the substrate. A validation for the velocity alternative fuel in compression ignition engine in order to develop
profile in a full-scale monolith with experimental data available in the performance, emission and combustion characteristics. Deterioration
literature is carried out and an excellent agreement is observed. The in the performance parameters such as brake thermal efficiency and
proposed model significantly improves the prediction of the flow exhaust gas temperature has been found between 2% and 22% whereas
distribution across the substrate, which has remained unaddressed a significant increase in brake specific fuel consumption was reported
historically by existing models and is the most important effect required up to 36% by using gaseous fuel as an alternative source of energy in
to make accurate predictions of heat distribution, conversion efficiency dual fuel engine. Further the analysis on combustion indicates increase
and others in full-scale simulations. in peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate up to 23% and 30%,
respectively. Emission analysis shows reduction in nitrogen oxides and
21/00336 Thermal analysis of oil sump and compression smoke emission between 20% and 60%. However the dual fuel engine
unit in a rotary compressor shows a significant increase in hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide
Shi, H. and Wu, J. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114465. emissions up to 30% when compared with normal diesel engine.
Thermal analysis of the oil sump and compression unit in a hermetic
rotary compressor is important for enhancing its performance and 21/00340 Combustion parameters optimization of a
reliability. In this study, the temperature distribution, heat-transfer diesel/natural gas dual fuel engine using genetic
mechanism, and heat balance of the oil sump and compression unit in a algorithm
rotary compressor were analysed using the 3D computational fluid Liu, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116365.
dynamics (CFD) fluid–solid coupled model. Considering the practical The objective of this study is to optimize the diesel injection
characteristics of the rotary compressor, some special treatments are parameters, operating parameters and the combustion system of a
proposed for the simulation model. Instead of using empirical diesel/natural gas fuelled dual fuel engine simultaneously by applying
formulations, heat-transfer coefficients in the upside of the main the genetic algorithm. The indicated specific fuel consumption, NOx
bearing and compressor shell were obtained using the 3D CFD and CH4 emissions are selected as the optimization objectives. It is
simulation model; the dynamic process in the suction chamber and shown that almost all the solutions can meet the Euro 6 emission limit
compression chamber was considered to be static and the oil film in the for soot. However, only partial solutions satisfy the Euro 5 NOx
inner wall of the cylinder, rib effect of the A-frame structure at the emission limit. More open combustion chambers are chosen than the
bottom of the compressor shell, and friction loss in the side of the re-entrant combustion chamber on the Pareto front. A wide range dis-
sliding vane were considered. The simulation results showed good tribution of the combustion bowl radius is found on the Pareto front.
agreement with experimental results. It is expected that these analytical However, the diesel fuel spray angle, swirl ratio, exhaust gas re-
results would be of great use in further understanding the temperature circulation (EGR) rate and compression ratio are gradually concen-
distribution and heat-transfer mechanism of oil sumps and com- trated near several optimal points. The response surfaces of indicated
pression units and also provide guidelines for improving the perform- specific fuel consumption, CH4 and NOx emissions for injection timing
ance and reliability of rotary compressors. vs EGR rate and spray angle vs swirl ratio for all the calculated Pareto
citizens are achieved.
21/00337 Thermoeconomic optimization of organic
Rankine bottoming cycles for micro gas turbines 21/00341 Effects of waste-derived ethylene glycol diacetate
de Campos, G. B. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, as a novel oxygenated additive on performance and
114477. emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with
In an increasingly decentralized energy market, micro gas turbines are diesel/biodiesel blends
seen with great potential due to their low emissions and fuel flexibility, Amid, S. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112245.
which aligns with growing environmental concerns. Although present- This study was devoted to introducing and experimenting a new waste-
ing a relatively low efficiency, these machines could be improved by derived oxygenated additive, i.e. ethylene glycol diacetate on perform-
coupling it with an organic Rankine cycle. This manuscript covers the ance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with diesel/
thermoeconomic design and optimization of such bottoming cycle for a biodiesel blends. Mineral diesel and its blends with 5 and 20 vol%
100 kWe micro gas turbine. The tool employed for such calculations is biodiesel were used in the engine test runs. These fuel blends were
extensively described and was developed using solely open resources. doped with ethylene glycol diacetate at three volumetric levels in the
The results shown that the saturation temperature at ambient pressure range of 1–3%. The engine was run under engine load conditions
was an important variable when the minimum pressure is constrained varying from idle to full load operation at a constant engine speed of
above ambient and that a high degree of superheating was favoured 1500 rpm. Overall, the most appealing results were obtained when
when the recuperated cycle is heated directly by the microturbine flue diesel fuel dosed with 3 vol% ethylene glycol diacetate was combusted
gases. Pentane was flagged as the best working fluid, generating under moderate engine load conditions. This oxygenated fuel blend
14.1 kWe of additional power and increasing the overall electric could result in a significant mitigation in both nitrogen oxides and
efficiency from 30% to 34.2%. The authors show that at the current carbon dioxide emissions but could lead to an unfavourable increase in
state of the art an efficiency of around 35% is the upper practical limit unburned hydrocarbon emissions in comparison with the additive-free
for such microturbine organic Rankine cycle combination. diesel fuel. More specifically, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide
emissions were reduced by 1.9–4.3 and 1.6–3.1 times, respectively,
while unburned hydrocarbon emissions for the selected fuel blend
under moderate engine loads were increased by 1.9–3.6 times. The
Hybrid engine systems carbon monoxide emission for this fuel blend was comparable with that
of neat diesel. Furthermore, the significant reductions in nitrogen
oxides and carbon dioxide emissions were achieved with a trivial drop
in brake thermal efficiency of the engine (5%). As a conclusion, the
21/00338 A mixed analysis of perceptions of electric and developed oxygenated additive could be used for reformulating diesel
hybrid vehicles fuel with the aim of substantially mitigating nitrogen oxides emissions.
Higueras-Castillo, E. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111076.
Electric and hybrid vehicles are a prominent technology in the 21/00342 Emissions reduction from passenger cars with
transport industry for mitigating air pollution. This study aims to find RCCI plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology
the key factors which mediate product adoption by assessing the main Benajes, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114430.
barriers to purchasing, the impact of government financial incentives Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) can be considered as a potential
and other variables such as pro-environmental behaviour and social technology to promote the change from conventional mobility to e-
reputation. Data were collected from 404 potential consumers and mobility. However, the real benefits in terms of CO 2 emissions depend
analysed through two methods. Firstly, this study approaches a on a great extent on their mode of use, vehicle design and electricity
structural equations model. Secondly, neural networks are examined. source. On the other hand, in the last few years, advanced combustion
The obtained results reveal reliability and government financial aids as modes as reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) showed
the most significant motivators. In addition, the three major variables great advantages in terms of NOx and soot emissions reduction. This
negatively impacting perceived reliability are limited range, charging paper has the purpose of assessing, through numerical simulations fed
time and low infrastructure availability. with experimental results, the potential of different hybrid vehicles
(PHEVs) when used together with a low temperature combustion
21/00339 A review on performance of biogas and hydrogen mode. In particular, the dual-fuel mild, full and plug-in hybrid electric
on diesel engine in dual fuel mode vehicles are tested and compared to the original equipment manu-
Deheri, C. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116337. facturer and the conventional dual-fuel powertrain, both no-hybrid
The growing concern of energy demand and environmental pollution vehicles. The powertrains are optimized to meet the current European
using fossil fuel influences the requirement of alternative fuel for a homologation legislation worldwide harmonized light vehicle test
clean and healthy environment. Numerous research works have been procedure. After that, a deep analysis is performed in terms of

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 53

11 Engines (hybrid engine systems)

performance and emissions. Lastly, a life-cycle analysis (LCA) is bench slightly deteriorates compared with that on the synthetic gas test
performed to evaluate the real potential of the different technologies. bench. The performance of methanol-SCR on the active methanol
The results show that the PHEV has the highest benefits in terms of supply mode is superior to that on the passive methanol supply mode.
fuel consumption and engine-out emissions. With this technology, it is The low nitrogen oxides (NOx) conversion with passive methanol
possible to achieve the 50 g/km CO2 target for the PHEVs with a supply mode suggests that the ratio of carbon monoxide to hydro-
medium battery size (15 kWh), while NOx and soot levels are under the carbons (>1) and the ratio of nitrogen dioxide to NOx are the critical
Euro 6 limits. In addition, the RCCI technology shows great benefits to factors on NOx conversion during the catalyst selection. However, the
achieve the Euro 6 soot level for the other hybrid platforms. The LCA passive methanol supply mode has less effect on the fuel consumption.
shows that the PHEVs can achieve 12% reduction of the total CO2 with The catalytic efficiency of methanol-SCR is improved by the increased
respect to the full hybrid electric vehicles, and 30% with respect to the methanol dosing and EGR ratios and the retarded injection timings.
no-hybrid diesel platform. The methanol dosing increases the particulate emissions and the fuel
consumption. Increasing EGR ratios is less bad for the fuel consump-
tion than retarding injection timings. A combination of the DMDF
21/00343 Improved combustion and emission
engine and the methanol-SCR realizes the ultra-low NOx emissions.
characteristics of ethylene glycol/diesel dual-fuel engine by
port injection timing and direct injection timing
Zhang, P. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106289. 21/00346 Self-circulation cooling structure design of
In this study, the performance of a diesel–ethylene glycol (DEG) dual- permanent magnet machines for electric vehicle
fuel engine with four low ethylene glycol (EG) energy ratios (called Kang, M. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114593.
EG0, EG5, EG10 and EG15) is tried to improve by port injection The enclosed permanent magnet synchronous machines have been
timing (PIT) and direct injection timing (DIT). The combustion results developed rapidly in recent years. The cooling of the rotor is a great
show that combustion process is even highly affected by DIT than by obstacle in motor design because of the single way of heat dissipation.
PIT. Peak cylinder pressure, peak heat release rates and pressure rise The wafters can only increase the air flow in end-space, the cooling
rate increase with the augmentation of EG energy ratios and advanced performance for rotor is not satisfied. In this paper, a self-ventilated
DIT. Combustion duration decreases with the increase of EG energy cooling structure is proposed. A novel inclined flow deflector is
ratios and advanced DIT. Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) can be designed in this structure, which can promote the cooling efficiency of
improved 19.45% by raising EG energy ratios and advancing DIT. In rotor. When the rotor rotates, the air pressure difference will be
consideration of emissions, the emissions of NOx, total hydrocarbon produced on both sides of the rotor axis, which makes the air circulate
emissions (THC), CO2 and soot decrease followed by the rise of EG through the vent holes. To satisfy the cooling effect under various
energy ratio at the same time, while CO emission increases. The operating conditions, the highest permanent magnetic temperature rise
emissions are more obviously affected by DIT than PIT. The emissions and air resistance loss are studied by Taguchi method, and the
of soot and THC decrease with advanced DIT, while the emissions of optimization scheme of the novel flow deflectors is determined, at the
CO2 and NOx increase. Advanced DIT can reduce particulate matter operating condition of rated, maximum torque, and maximum speed,
(PM), and EG can decrease the average diameter of PM. Overall, the respectively. In the rated operating condition, the optimization scheme
advanced DIT, suitable EG energy ratio and proper PIT are expected is compared with the motor adopted wafters, the permanent magnets
to achieve optimization on DEG dual-fuel engine in the aspect of temperature is decreased by 7%, the air resistance loss is decreased
performance and emissions. by 52%.

21/00344 Realizing stratified mixtures distribution in a 21/00347 Simple synthesis of graphitic nanotube
hydrogen-enriched gasoline Wankel engine by different incorporated cobalt nanoparticles for potassium ion
compound intake methods batteries
Ji, C. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112230. Rashad, M. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8862–8868.
This work aimed to realize stratified mixtures distribution in a Synthesis of novel electrodes is a critical step toward realizing
hydrogen-enriched compound-intake gasoline Wankel rotary engine rechargeable potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). In present study, the
(WRE) by utilizing the difference of gas velocity from different intake graphitic nanotubes (Co@GTs) implanted with cobalt nanoparticles
ports. A three-dimension computational fluid dynamics WRE model were firstly fabricated by solid-state reaction. The results showed that
was established to investigate the mixture formation and combustion in situ synthesized Co@GTs composite network offered many active
process under five different intake modes, i.e. the way of the binary fuel sites and provided channels for fast potassium ions transportation.
enters the combustion chamber through different intake ports (side Practical feasibility of the synthesized material has been confirmed by
intake port, peripheral intake port or both port). The intake mode S- employing it as a positive electrode in PIBs. The Co@GTs composite
HGP (the mixtures of H2, gasoline and air are in the peripheral intake exhibited a reversible capacity of 200 mAhg1 at the current density of
port and pure air is in the side intake port) realized an optimal 50 mA g1. Furthermore, the Co@GTs composite showed excellent
equivalence ratio distribution, in which condition, the most fuels gather cycle life, which may be attributed to the mesoscopic carbon substrate
near the spark plug and the minority fuel in the rear region of the implanted with highly crystalized cobalt nanoparticles. This work
combustion chamber. Since the unburned mixtures always exist in the highlights the capability of catalytic materials and their possibility to be
rear region of the chamber due to the mainstream in the WRE, the used as a new class of anode materials for rechargeable metal-ion
stratified distribution of S-HGP could consume most of the fuel. batteries.
Because the faster flame propagation release a large amount of heats
near top dead centre, S-HGP possesses the highest average in-cylinder
21/00348 Synergy and co-benefits of reducing CO2 and air
pressure under five intake modes, is about 1.264 times than the worst
pollutant emissions by promoting electric vehicles – a case
intake mode. Moreover, S-HGP has the maximum average in-cylinder
of Shanghai
temperature, the ideal thermal condition and moderate lean combus-
Alimujiang, A. and Jiang, P. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020,
tion get the lowest CO emission, comparing with the intake mode
55, 181–189.
performing the highest CO emissions, the CO emission of S-HGP is
With the growing number of vehicles on the road, the transport sector
decreased by 745% near the exhaust valve opening timing (210  CA
has become the second largest consumer of energy after the industrial
ATDC). However, owing to the higher temperature inside cylinder, S-
sector, and has become the main source of air pollutants and
HGP has slightly high NO emission. In conclusion, the results mean
greenhouse gas emissions. To support low-carbon development, since
that compound intake combined with intake modes control is an
2009, electric vehicles have been used to replace traditional fuel
effective method for fuel distribution optimization besides the fuel
vehicles in China. In 2016, electric vehicles, including buses, taxis and
direct injection.
private vehicles, accounted for 26.41% of the total number of new
vehicles in Shanghai. In this study, the synergy and co-benefits of
21/00345 Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides reducing CO2 and air pollutant emissions by using electric private cars,
with methanol over the (cobalt-molybdenum)/alumina dual taxis and buses in Shanghai are analysed. The co-control coordinate
catalysts under the diesel methanol dual fuel exhaust system and pollutant reduction cross-elasticity (Elsa/b) are used to
conditions identify and evaluate the generated co-benefits. Based on the total
Chen, C. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115320. driving life cost, the unit air pollutant equivalent (Apeq) abatement
The (cobalt–molybdenum)/alumina [(Co–Mo)/Al2O3] dual catalyst has costs of achieving synergy in three types of vehicles are assessed. The
an excellent performance on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of co-benefits generated by using the three types of electric vehicles are
nitric oxide with methanol (methanol-SCR) on the synthetic gas test discussed by combining environmental benefit and cost-effectiveness
bench. The catalytic performance of (Co–Mo)/Al 2O3 needs to be analyses. The results show that electric buses provide the highest co-
studied on the engine test bench due to the complicated emissions of benefits. Thus, replacing traditional fuel vehicles with electric buses
engines. Tests were carried out on the diesel/methanol dual fuel can simultaneously reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions. If subsidies
(DMDF) engine. The effect of methanol supply methods, methanol to electric vehicles provided by the government are considered, there
dosing, injection timings of diesel fuel and exhaust gas recirculation are great environmental and economic benefits of implementing
(EGR) ratios on the performance of methanol-SCR was investigated. electric buses in Shanghai. In addition, private electric cars and taxis
Results show that the performance of methanol-SCR on the engine test also provide the co-benefits of reducing CO, NOx, non-methane

54 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 11 Engines (transport battery development)

hydrocarbons and PM10 emissions. The economic benefits of using 21/00352 Adsorption energy engineering of nickel
electric taxis in Shanghai are more notable, even without considering oxide hybrid nanosheets for high areal capacity flexible
subsidies. lithium-ion batteries
Huang, Y. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 41–51.
21/00349 Thermodynamics and energy usage of electric Enriching electrode materials with definite functions is of great
vehicles influence but highly challenging towards achieving high areal capacity
Michaelides, E. E. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Taking transition metal oxides (TMOs) as
112246. a case study, several attempts have been employed to demonstrate the
The global number of electric vehicles is exponentially rising, due to large variations in lithium storage performance of TMOs, but
strong marketing efforts and governmental incentives that significantly explanation of the adsorption capability is rarely reported. Herein,
lower the price of new vehicles. This shift of consumers from internal the Li-ion storage chemistry of NiO nanosheets is successfully
combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles is actually a shift from enhanced by modulating the position of the p-orbital energy level via
petroleum to the primary sources that generate electricity. This paper engineering with porous N-doped carbon fibre and carbon quantum
undertakes a holistic analysis of electric vehicles, examining their dots (CDs). The as-prepared monolithic NiO hybrid nanosheets
benefits and detriments. Starting with an exergetic assessment for all (denoted CF/ECF/NiO/CD) exhibit high reversible areal capacity of
road vehicles, this paper determines the electricity needed for the 3.97 mA h cm2 at 0.25 mA cm2, excellent cyclic stability with capacity
propulsion of electric vehicles. When the heating and cooling of 2.91 mA h cm2 at 3.0 mA cm2, as well as attractive rate capacity of
requirements of the vehicle’s cabin are included, the range of the 2.61 mA h cm2 at 6.0 mA cm2. In situ Raman analyses, XPS and DFT
vehicles decreases significantly. The electricity requirements of the calculations reveal that performance enhancement is related to the
vehicles are abridged to primary energy sources using the concept of electronic modulations between NiO, porous carbon fibre and CDs
well-to-wheels efficiency. Based on the regional mix of electricity that triggers the shift of the p-band towards accommodating interfacial
generation, the effect of the shift to electric vehicles on greenhouse gas electron transfer that helps in promoting the Li storage activity. In
emissions is determined. Because the charging of the batteries of addition, an all-flexible lithium ion battery based on CF/ECF/NiO/CD
electric vehicles requires significant power, it was concluded that the anode is assembled and a volumetric energy density of 619.9 Wh L1 is
simultaneously charging of a number of vehicles will strain the capacity achieved (equivalent to an energy density of 201.7 Wh kg1). This work
of the electricity grid. The paper also examines the effects of electric opens an achievable approach for high-areal-capacity LIBs and
vehicles on the further utilization of renewable energy sources. provides relevant understanding into designing other LIB electrodes
and beyond.

21/00353 An improved resistance-based thermal model for

a pouch lithium-ion battery considering heat generation of
Transport battery development posts
Xie, Y. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114455.
An improved three-dimensional thermal model for a pouch battery is
established, which seamlessly integrates two thermal sub-models of the
21/00350 A high-performance flexible aqueous Al ion battery body and the current collecting posts, taking the heat generated
rechargeable battery with long cycle life in both the battery and the current collecting posts into account. The
Wang, P. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 426–435. thermal sub-model of the battery body considers the effects of the state
With the increasing development of flexible and wearable electronic of charge, battery temperature, and current rate on heat generation.
devices, exploration of advanced power supplies with excellent The thermal sub-model of the posts is based on the identified post
electrochemical performance, safety and flexibility is highly urgent. resistance and the contact resistance, which is employed to calculate
In light of natural abundance as well as three-electron redox proper- the temperature evolution of the posts. Then, the thermal model is
ties, rechargeable Al ion batteries (AIBs) draw much attention while applied to predict thermal evolutions of the pouch Li-ion battery at
they still face great challenge of limited Al3+ storage material as well as different ambient temperatures and discharge rates. Extensive exper-
poorly ionic conductive electrolyte. In this work, an intercalation MoO3 iments are conducted to prove that the proposed model can accurately
anode and VOPO4 cathode are proposed and mechanically robust capture thermal behaviour under different conditions, with a maximum
gelatin-polyacrylamide hydrogel electrolyte is utilized to fabricate a average error of 1.23 K. In addition, comparative studies show that this
safe and flexible high-performance rechargeable AIB. The as- model significantly outperforms an existing typical counterpart, namely
assembled AIB exhibits high rate capability of 6 A g1, high discharge a model whose heat generation estimation only depends on the state of
capacity of 88 mAh g1 and long cyclic stability of 86.2% capacity charge.
retention even after 2800 cycles. Besides, the AIB possesses high safety
and mechanical flexibility properties, which could serve as reliable
power source when even being bent, punctured or cut. Additionally, 21/00354 Bismuth ion battery – a new member in trivalent
the aqueous AIB could power 1 m long and 100 cm2 electroluminescent battery technology
panels, demonstrating their good Al storage property. Considering Xiong, T. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 100–104.
their favourable electrochemical performance, robustness and safety, To provide alternative battery technologies to lithium ion battery,
the flexible aqueous AIB in this work is believed to open up new multivalent metal ion batteries with their high theoretical capacities
avenue in flexible and wearable energy. and ease of preparation have gradually gained attention from both
academia and industries. This work reports the bismuth ion battery
(BIB) as a promising trivalent metal ion battery, next to the only known
21/00351 A thermal performance management system for
aluminium ion battery. The BIB successfully demonstrates battery
lithium-ion battery packs
behaviour with discharge plateaus at 0.5 and 0.2 V. Gravimetric
Al-Zareer, M. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114378.
capacity of 300 mAh g1 at current density of 0.2 A g1 was obtained
A new refrigerant-based closed cycle battery cooling system for electric
with c. 98% coulombic efficiency. In addition, stable cyclic life was
and hybrid vehicles under test and actual drive cycles is introduced, and
achieved after 100 cycles at 0.3 A g1 which further suggests its
its performance is investigated. The refrigerant-based system offers the
suitability as potential trivalent metal ion battery.
potential to eliminate the need of mechanical refrigeration, increase
the life cycle of the batteries, reduce the charging time, and to reduce
the size of the battery thermal management system. The refrigerant 21/00355 Controlling structure of vertically grown
cooling system has the batteries submerged in a saturated liquid pool of graphene sheets on carbon fibers for hosting Li and Na
refrigerant R134a, which cools the batteries and evaporates. The metals as rechargeable battery anodes
R134a vapour is condensed and returned to the supply pool. Two Ji, X. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 394–405.
battery spacing variation are considered to evaluate the performance of Metallic Li/Na anodes are highly attractive for next-generation
the cooling system. The performances of the proposed system at the batteries due to their high capacity and low anode potential. But
various operating parameters considered are comparatively evaluated dendrite growth and huge volume change during long-term cycling
through three-dimensional modelling and simulation. The compact hinder their practical application. Here, vertical graphene sheets grown
considered design was found to be able to provide performance similar on carbon fibres (VGSs/CFs) prepared by thermal chemical vapour
to the large spaced design, leading to the conclusion that the spacing deposition are used as 3D stable hosts for Li/Na metal anode. The
between the batteries within the considered variations has an effect on results show that the structure of the VGSs has great influence on
the performance of the refrigerant based system that can be neglected. electrochemical performance of the anodes. The tightly interconnected
The present results show that the compact design of the refrigerant VGSs provide numerous active sites for Li/Na adsorption and improve
based thermal management system can maintain the battery maximum electrical conductivity of the anodes, increasing current density
temperature under 35  C for and with a temperature variation within uniformity and decreasing energy barrier for the Li/Na nucleation on
4  C for the case where 80% of the battery is submerged in the pool. the composite electrode during cycling. The symmetrical cell based on
The results from the Artemis realistic motorway cycle showed that the VGSs/CFs composite Li anode (Li/VGSs/CFs) demonstrates a small
proposed system achieved a maximum temperature variations within overpotential of 76 mV for 1200 cycles at 5 mA cm2 in carbonate-
2  C and under a maximum temperature of 31.5  C, respectively. based electrolyte. The symmetrical cell using VGSs/CFs composite Na

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 55

11 Engines (transport battery development)

anode (Na/VGSs/CFs) shows a small overpotential of 98 mV for 2000 enriching multiple active species on the catalytic scaffolds that lead to
cycles at 10 mA cm2. Furthermore, in full-cell configurations against remarkable trifunctional activities of OER with 10 = 245 mV, HER
Li4Ti5O12 or LiFePO4 cathodes, Li/VGSs/CFs anode displays ultrahigh with 10 = 59 mV and ORR comparable to Pt/C. While for overall water
cyclic stability and rate performance. The Li/VGSs/CFs and Na/VGSs/ splitting a cell voltage of only 1.78 V is required to achieve a high
CFs anodes outperform the reported hosts for Li/Na anodes and are of current density of 500 mA cm2, for Zn–air batteries (ZABs) a highly
high promise for practical application. stabilized round-trip efficiency of >58% is achieved for over 360 h
under 10 mA cm2. Ultimately, a highly efficient IES of ZAB-powered
21/00356 Dual-ion batteries: the emerging alternative water splitting employing a single catalyst is demonstrated with a
rechargeable batteries hydrogen evolution rate of 69 mL s1, showcasing a smart material
Sui, Y. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 1–32. design in simultaneously achieving multi-functionality and maximizing
Development of energy storage technologies is thriving because of the the energy efficiency.
increasing demand for renewable and sustainable energy sources.
Although lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are already mature technologies
that play important roles in modern society, the scarcity of cobalt and 21/00360 Honeycomb-like 3D N-, P-codoped porous
lithium sources in the Earth’s crust limits their future deployment at carbon anchored with ultrasmall Fe2P nanocrystals for
the scale required to supplant fossil fuels. Dual-ion batteries (DIBs) efficient Zn-air battery
based on a different combination of chemistries are emerging-energy Chen, L. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 885–892.
storage-systems. Conventional DIBs apply the graphite as both Fabrication of transition metal phosphides/carbon hybrids as electro-
electrodes and a combination of organic solvents and lithium salts as catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has great significance
electrolytes. This configuration is fascinating because of its high for developing clean energy conversion and storage devices based on
working potential (>4.5 V vs Li/Li+), potentially high energy density, earth abundant elements. In this work, the authors prepared 3D N,P-
high safety and low cost. But it also accompanies some negative issues codoped porous carbon supported with ultrasmall Fe2P nanoparticles
like limited capacity of intercalation-type graphite electrodes, cyclic (Fe2P/NPC) as high-efficient ORR catalyst by a simple grinding-
stability endangered by large anions intercalation and solvent co- calcination strategy. As the pore-forming agent, ZnO nanospheres can
intercalation and electrolyte decomposition under high voltage. This be in situ eliminated and generate abundant porous structures which
review aims at pointing out the challenges in the current work on DIBs are beneficial to mass transfer. Meanwhile, the large BET surface area
with subcategories of positive and negative electrodes (cathode and (1288 m2 g1) and pore volume (1.23 cm3 g1) of Fe2P/NPC can provide
anode), and electrolytes and comparing the strategies for improve- more contact active centres for ORR. In alkaline solution, Fe2P/NPC
ments with better fundamental understanding of DIBs. performs excellent ORR activity with the positive onset potential
(0.997 V) and half-wave potential (0.872 V), which are more positive
21/00357 Effects of the structure arrangement and spacing than those of the commercial Pt/C (0.977 and 0.812 V). In addition,
on the thermal characteristics of Li-ion battery pack at Fe2P/NPC can be used as air cathode catalyst in a Zn–air battery whose
various discharge rates open circuit voltage (1.469 V) is larger than that of the commercial Pt/C
Zhang, Y. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114610. (1.332 V) based one. This work provides new strategy to prepare
The structure arrangement and the spacing of cells are key factors transition metal phosphides/carbon hybrids for electrocatalysis and
related to the thermal safety of the Li-ion battery pack. To explore clean energy conversion systems.
their effects on thermal performance of the cell module, a series of
discharge tests on cell packs were carried out, and the temperature
distribution were monitored along cells with various structure
arrangements and cell-to-cell distances. Thereafter, the heat gener- 21/00361 On methods to measure the energetics of a
ation and heat dissipation of the cells were calculated based on the lithium ion battery in thermal runaway
monitored temperature to quantitatively analyse the thermal balance. Quintiere, J. G. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102911.
Results showed that the temperature of cells with ring structure rose Methods are described for measuring the energy released by a Li-ion
faster than the other two cases with line and square respectively, and its battery in thermal runaway. A calorimetry technique is described to
maximum temperature was highest. Its temperature difference was up measure the exothermic energy released during thermal runaway. The
to 8.5  C, and its discharge time was nearly 200 s less than the other two technique uses the battery as a calorimeter with temperature and mass
structures, which indicated its worst thermal performance. Increasing loss measurements to analyse the energetics. Runaway is induced by
of cell-to-cell distance improved the thermal performance, while the heating of the battery. Only one battery is investigated over a range of
improvement was rather slight once the distance is more than 7 mm. In heating power and state of charge. The dynamics of the battery are
addition, the heat transfer under different discharge rates were also investigated including time events, temperature, mass lost and
discussed, which showed that the temperature rise was controlled by energies. The total energy in runaway is manifested by the internal
heat dissipation and generation for 1 and 3 C, respectively, while energy stored in the battery and the enthalpy of the ejected mass.
controlled by their coupling effects at 2 C. Combustion of the ejected gases is described by a technique using the
cone calorimeter. Results are reported. Both of these techniques are
21/00358 FeNi alloys encapsulated in N-doped considered less desirable because of the rapid release of energy
CNTs-tangled porous carbon fibers as highly efficient therefore two new techniques are proposed: the technique of Lyon and
and durable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst for Walters using a standard bomb calorimeter with nitrogen instead of
rechargeable zinc-air battery oxygen to measure the runaway exothermic energy, and measurement
Wang, Z. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118344. of the resulting ejected gas composition to measure the combustion
It remains a great challenge to develop efficient, low-cost and robustly energy.
stable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for rechargeable metal–air
batteries. Here, the authors report promising electrocatalysts for both
oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction 21/00362 Pyridinic nitrogen exclusively doped carbon
(OER). The electrocatalysts are composed of nanostructured FeNi materials as efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalysts for
alloy nanoparticles inlaid on N-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs)- Zn-air batteries
tangled porous carbon fibres (FeNi/N-CPCF). Benefiting from its Lv, Q. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, 118234.
hierarchically porous structures with bamboo-like CNTs grafted, and A rational design of a metal-free catalyst with well-defined structure as
strong synergetic coupling between FeNi alloys and N-doped carbon an alternative to using a noble metal is highly desirable but challenging
species, the as-prepared FeNi/N-CPCF-950 demonstrates a half-wave when catalysing the oxygen reaction for metal–air batteries. In this
potential of 0.867 V for ORR and a low operating potential of 1.585 V paper, nitrogen with a specific configuration is selectively doped into
at 10 mA cm2 for OER in 0.1 M KOH, outperforming commercial Pt/ the carbon skeleton to prepare a graphdiyne-like carbon material, in
C and RuO2. Moreover, such bifunctional catalyst endows the home- which one carbon atom in every benzene ring of graphdiyne (GDY) is
made zinc–air batteries with a high energy efficiency of 61.5%, small substituted by pyridinic N (PyN-GDY). Composed by pyridine ring and
charge-discharge voltage gap of 0.764 V, and outstanding cycling acetylenic linkers, the PyN-GDY is prepared through a bottom-up
performance (640 h, 960 cycles) at 10 mA cm2 under ambient strategy using pentaethynylpyridine as the monomer. The as-syn-
conditions. thesized PyN-GDY with ‘defined’ molecular structure is an ideal model
for addressing the intrinsic activity of active sites at molecular level. It
21/00359 Highly efficient water splitting driven by zinc-air exhibits excellent performance in both alkaline and acidic media as
batteries with a single catalyst incorporating rich active electrochemical catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The
species PyN-GDY-based Zn–air battery is demonstrated more active and
Sun, H. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118139. stable than commercial Pt/C-based battery. Density functional theory
Multifunctional electrocatalysts based on earth-abundant elements are calculations are used to analyse and determine the possible active sites
key for the development of integrated energy systems (IES) such as of PyN-GDY in ORR. The precise construction of specific nitrogen
electrolytic water splitting powered by metal–air batteries. Herein, doped carbon material is an effective method to produce efficient
hierarchical CuCoNC nanowire arrays are constructed on copper foam, catalysts for electrocatalysis.

56 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 11 Engines (transport battery development)

21/00363 Scalable synthesis of lotus-seed-pod-like Si/ reactions via chronopotentiometry up to 5.5 V (vs Li+/Li) in a highly
SiOx@CNF: applications in freestanding electrode and concentrated electrolyte with high oxidation stability. Annealing at
flexible full lithium-ion batteries 1200  C can improve their oxidation stability below 4.8 V by reducing
Zhang, W. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 163–171. the amounts of surface active sites. However, further raising the ann-
Intensive attempts have been devoted to solving the inferior cycling ealing temperature significantly degrades the stability at higher poten-
stability of Si-based electrode induced by the large volume change of tials (>4.8 V) due to the electrochemical anion intercalation induced
Si. However, the complex synthesis procedures make many strategies by progressive graphitization. This work suggests that, for 5 V-class
much low practical significances. Together with the inferior cycling batteries, conductive carbon additives should be optimized to simul-
stability, an easy and scalable fabrication strategy is still a great taneously minimize surface active sites and excessive graphitization.
challenge for implementing Si anode in commercial batteries. This
work uses a simple water steam selective etching method to
simultaneously engineer the pores and the confinement of commercial 21/00367 State of health estimation for Li-ion battery using
Si/SiOx in carbon paper electrodes, leading to a significant improve- incremental capacity analysis and Gaussian process
ment in electrode flexibility and cycle life. The as-prepared free- regression
standing lotus-seed-pod-like steam-etched Si/SiOx@CNF electrode Li, X. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116467.
shows a high capacity retention of 137% after 1000 cycles at 3 A g1. Knowledge of the state of health for a lithium battery is necessary to
It also possesses outstanding electrochemical performance in a flexible ensure the reliability and safety for battery energy storage systems.
lithium-ion full battery with LiCoO2/steam-etched CNF as the cathode, Accurate prediction of the battery’s state of health plays an extremely
even under bended condition. This simple approach may offer a important role in guaranteeing safety and minimizing maintenance
pathway for the application of Si-based anode in commercialization costs. However, the complex physicochemical characteristics of battery
and/or flexible energy storage devices. degradation cannot be obtained directly. Here a novel Gaussian
process regression model based on the partial incremental capacity
21/00364 Short-range ordered graphitized-carbon curve is proposed. First, an advanced Gaussian filter method is applied
nanotubes with large cavity as high-performance to obtain the smoothing incremental capacity curves. The health
lithium-ion battery anodes indexes are then extracted from the partial incremental capacity curves
Wu, S. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 642–650. as the input features of the proposed model. Additionally, the mean
Rational structure design of carbon nanomaterials including modu- and the covariance function of the proposed method are applied to
lation of interlayer spacing and control of order degree, has been predict battery state of health and the model uncertainty, respectively.
adopted to improve their electrochemical properties for high perform- Four aging datasets from the NASA data repository are employed for
ance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, the authors construct three- demonstrating the predictive capability and efficacy of the degradation
dimensional (3D) architectures composed of intercrossed 1D graphi- model using the proposed method. Besides, different initial health
tized-carbon nanotubes (g-CNTs) via a simple template synthesis. The conditions of the tested batteries are used to verify the robustness and
g-CNT with high aspect ratio, can be viewed as a thin graphitized reliability of the proposed method. Results show that the proposed
carbon sheet rolled up into a large hollow nanotube (average diameter method can provide accurate and robust state of health estimation.
of 222 nm). Its thin tube wall (3–4 nm) with multi-layered structure and
relatively large interlayer spacing (3.73 nm) in short range can conduct
fast diffusion of lithium ions (Li+), accommodate increased volume 21/00368 System simulation on refrigerant-based battery
expansion and facilitate reversible Li+ intercalation/extraction. Par- thermal management technology for electric vehicles
ticularly, heteroatoms like N and O are also doped in C patterns and Shen, M. and Gao, Q. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
would provide more active insertion or adsorption sites. Thus, the 112176.
porous architectures are enabled to serve as freestanding anodes for Progress in the higher requirements for battery thermal management
LIBs, exhibiting a high specific capacity of 624 mA h/g at current system (BTMS), a new refrigerant-based BTMS of electric vehicles is
density of 100 mA/g, stable long-term cycle stability, as well as good proposed and analysed, especially designed for high ambient tempera-
rate capability. Due to their larger tube cavity and 3D structures, the g- ture and high speed dynamic conditions. Based on the vehicle system
CNT architectures are further exploited as conductive frameworks to framework, the thermal response, energy efficiency and irreversibility
dual-load MnO2 nanoflowers, and would speed up the development of of the system are discussed hereunder. As indicate by the results, the
next-generation rechargeable LIBs. average temperature of battery module and temperature difference
between cells are effectively controlled. In addition, energy analysis is
performed under different conditions, including energetic coefficient
21/00365 Side reactions and stability of pre-treated carbon of performance (COPen) and exergetic coefficient of performance
felt electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries: a DEMS (COPex). The intensification of driving conditions has a negative
study impact on both COPen and COPex, while the increase of ambient
Eifert, L. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 580–587. temperature reduces COPen and promotes COPex. Further, the effects
The identification and quantification of the side reactions in all- of BTMS on the air conditioning, and their consequences are explored.
vanadium redox flow batteries are crucial to maintain its performance Through a cabin-prioritized control strategy and a series-connected
and to develop optimized materials. The chemical composition and system configuration, this paper aims to improve the system perform-
structure of the carbon felt electrodes was altered by thermal ance and make progresses on the whole vehicle thermal management
treatment, chemical, and electrochemical aging, and also storing system.
thermally treated felts for an extended period, which represent several
stages in its life. The treated felts were evaluated regarding their
affinity to side reactions and electrochemical activity towards both 21/00369 Thermal characteristics of power battery pack
relevant vanadium redox couples (V2+/V3+ and V4+/V5+). Differential with liquid-based thermal management
electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) was utilized to track the Liu, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114421.
potential dependent formation of CO2 and O2 on the positive electrode Thermal management of a battery system is critical for maintaining
side and of H2 on the negative electrode side. Storing thermally treated energy storage capacity, driving range, cell longevity and safety, while
felts for an extended period under ambient conditions results in a lithium-ion battery electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular.
slightly decreased electrochemical performance and an increased CO2 Thermal management studies at battery pack level have a practical
formation due to oxidation by atmospheric oxygen. The V4+/V5+ redox guiding significance for the exploration of appropriate battery thermal
reaction is hampered on electrochemically aged carbon felts, while they management schemes and strategies, which are seldom taken into
show an increased electrochemical activity towards the V2+/V3+ redox account in the study of liquid-based battery thermal management
reaction, thus allowing recycling of aged cathode felts as an anode felt system (BTMS). The effects of heat capacitance, heat source
and therefore extending the overall lifetime of the carbon felt characteristics, ambient temperature and charge-discharge ratio on
electrode. the thermal performance of liquid-based BTMS are experimentally
investigated in this study. The results indicate that active battery
21/00366 Stability of conductive carbon additives in thermal management should be adopted, and self-discharge heating
5 V-class Li-ion batteries might be an appropriate way to warm up power battery pack uniformly.
Ko, S. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 766–771. In the charging and discharging process of the battery, the temperature
A high oxidation stability of electrode components, especially of con- uniformity of the battery at 45  C is better than that at 25  C. What’s
ductive carbon additives, is of importance in order to realize high- more, during charging and near the end of discharging, the cell
voltage (5 V-class) Li-ion batteries with higher energy densities. In this generates a tremendous amount of heat, in which case, cooling
work, the oxidation stability of acetylene blacks is studied by analysing measurement should be enhanced and cooling should be maintained
the capacity (i.e. the quantity of electricity) arising from their oxidation for 5 min at least after the end of charging.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 57

12 Refractories/ceramics (properties, production, applications)

system and procedure can further be combined with energy estimation

12 REFRACTORIES/ algorithms to support the decision-making in retrofitting building
windows.
CERAMICS
21/00373 Capillary microphotoreactor packed with
TiO2-coated glass beads: an efficient tool for
photocatalytic reaction
Zhang, S. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107746.
Properties, production, applications A novel capillary microphotoreactor (MPR) packed with TiO2-coated
glass beads was developed in this work and its photocatalytic
performance was evaluated using degradation of methylene blue as a
model reaction. As compared to conventional wall-coated MPR, the
21/00370 A graphene-modified flexible SiOC ceramic cloth use of glass beads as packing material not only provides a larger surface
for high-performance lithium storage area for catalyst immobilization and shortens the mass transfer route,
Sang, Z. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 876–884. but also introduces flow perturbation. An appropriate size of glass
The rapid development of portable and wearable electronics requires beads should be chosen for packing because there is a trade-off
novel flexible energy storage devices with high energy and power between increased catalysts coating area and decreased light pen-
densities. Nevertheless, the fabrication of high-performance flexible etration. It was found out that nearly 100% degradation efficiency
electrodes for achieving this goal remains challenging. Here, the could be achieved in 80# glass beads packed MPR within short
authors report a large-area and highly-flexible polymer-derived silicon residence time (20 s), which was more than two orders of magnitude
oxycarbide ceramic (SiOC) fibres cloth modified by quasi three- larger than value obtained in wall-coated MPR under the same opera-
dimensional graphene framework (3D-GNS/SiOCf) as a flexible anode tional conditions. Moreover, the packed MPR showed good durability,
for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The SiOC fibres have a hierarchical which declined by about 17% after 6 h of operation and then remained
porous structure and a rough surface to facilitate the insertion/ stable for the next 19.5 h.
extraction of Li+ ions, while the GNS framework provides a conductive
network by bridging the adjacent SiOC fibres and coating the indivi- 21/00374 Comprehensively utilization of spent bleaching
dual SiOC fibres to significantly enhance electron transfer and robust clay for producing high quality bio-fuel via fast pyrolysis
electrochemical Li+ ion storage. Therefore, this 3D-GNS/SiOCf mater- process
ial exhibits a high reversible capacity (924 mAh g1 at 0.1 A g1), good Xu, L. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116371.
rate performance (330 mAh g1 at 2.0 A g1), and excellent cycling High-quality bio-fuel (low oxygen content and acid value, high calorific
stability (686 mAh g1 at 0.5 A g1 after 500 cycles). A prototype flexi- value) was produced by catalytic pyrolysis of clay oil over calcined clay.
ble LIB full cell assembled using this anode with LiFePO4 cathode Both feedstock (clay oil) and catalyst (calcined clay) were obtained
exhibits good performance through a series of bending tests. Conse- from spent bleaching clay (SBC) deriving out of edible oil plants. The
quently, the resultant 3D-GNS/SiOCf anode has great potential for calcined clay was characterized with inductively coupled plasma-atomic
flexible energy storage and sheds light on the design of other flexible emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), N 2 adsorption/desorption analyses,
devices. X-ray diffraction, temperature programmed desorption of ammonia
and carbon dioxide. Catalytic pyrolysis experiments were conducted to
21/00371 Acceleration of glass alteration rates induced by investigate the effects of several parameters on the product distri-
zeolite seeds at controlled pH bution, including pyrolysis temperature, weight hourly space velocity
Neeway, J. J. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 113, 104515. (WHSV) and residence time. The optimal conditions for produce high-
As the glass–water reaction proceeds, certain glass compositions quality bio-fuel were 550  C with WHSV of 2.5 h1 and residence time
undergo a delayed acceleration in the alteration rate – a phenomenon of 1.65 s. The low heating value of bio-oil was increased by 13% to
that is commonly referred to as Stage III behaviour – which generally 46.36 kJ/g, as long as the acid value was decreased by 97% to 1.16 mg/g
coincides with zeolite formation. However, studying Stage III in the KOH. The calcined clay catalyst showed slight deactivation after
laboratory is difficult because the time scale required to observe four cycles. Therefore, fast pyrolysis process is a rapid and efficient
Stage III behaviour can vary from months to several years, and the method of valorizing spent bleaching clay from waste oils for high
solution conditions that initiate this acceleration remain poorly quality bio-fuel.
understood. Consequently, the development of a corrosion test method
capable of quantifying Stage III rates in a timely manner would be of 21/00375 Effect of in situ synthesis of Si2N2O on
great benefit to both the scientific community and policy makers microstructure and the mechanical properties of fused
concerned with nuclear waste disposal. In this work, the authors quartz ceramics
induced and measured the acceleration in the corrosion rate of the Wang, Y. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8725–8729.
AFCI glass by seeding static corrosion tests with zeolite Na–P2 at Si/SiO2 composite billets were prepared using a low-toxicity gel system,
imposed pH90 C values ranging from 9.5 to 11.5. The log10 induced and the resulting billets were sintered at high temperature in nitrogen
Stage III rates increased linearly with increasing pH and were to synthesize Si2N2O in the central position of the fused silica ceramic
measured to be between the forward and residual rates of AFCI. matrix. The influences of in situ synthesized Si2N2O on the micro-
Tests designed to compare induced Stage III rates obtained for structure and mechanical properties of fused silica ceramics were
different seeding times showed that the induced Stage III rates were studied. The results show that Si/SiO2 composite billets can be used to
faster in the absence of an alteration layer. In summary, the use of the synthesize spike-like and fibrous Si2N2O in situ in nitrogen at 1450  C.
seeded test method allows for a quantification of induced Stage III Si2N2O synthesized in situ can improve the mechanical properties and
rates in a relatively short, 1-month time period. microstructure of quartz ceramics. When the Si/SiO2 composite billet is
sintered in nitrogen at 1450  C for 2 h, the volume density and bending
21/00372 Approximation of building window properties strength of the quartz ceramics can reach 2.36 g/cm3 and 114.37 MPa,
using in situ measurements respectively.
Feng, Y. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106590.
From the perspective of homeowners, retrofitting home windows, 21/00376 Evaluation of lithium glass scintillation detector
especially for old houses, would not only facilitate energy savings but responses for tritium production rate measurement in
also may increase thermal comfort. To make decisions of window blanket neutronics experiments using the PHITS code
retrofitting or replacements, measuring and knowing the existing Pu, N. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111418.
windows’ performance level would become an essential step for the Lithium glass scintillation detectors were utilized by the neutron
decision-making process. The study of in situ measurements of the response of a 7Li glass subtracted from the neutron response of a 6Li
thermal and optical performance of the glazing system in residential glass to evaluate the tritium production rate (TPR) in the fusion
buildings has not been examined thoroughly. For this purpose, in this blanket neutronics experiments, which is a so called Li glass method.
project, a portable and easy-to-use in situ measuring system for TPRs in the Li2O blanket and the Li/V-alloy blanket were measured by
building windows using the Arduino platform and low-cost sensors a 6Li2O and a 6Li2CO3 pellet method, and by the Li glass method in the
have been studied, fabricated, and then examined. It is designed benchmark neutronics experiment with D-T neutrons at the fusion
specifically to in situ measure the glazing properties, including centre- neutronics facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute.
of-glass U-factor, solar transmittance ( s), and visible light transmit- TPRs measured by the Li glass method are lower than TPRs measured
tance (VT). The authors devised the measurement system and by the pellet method. The neutron responses of Li glass detectors have
associated sensors based on thermodynamic equations and intended been calculated to study the discrepancies of two different methods by
to simplify the measuring procedures. For general use by homeowners, using the PHITS code. In the blanket, the neutron spectra change to
this device enables a simple, quick, and reliable in situ approximation harder from the backside to the front side of blanket. The reaction rate
of glazing properties, with about 97.2%, 93.3% and 92.1% accuracy of several reactions, such as 6Li(n, n0 )D, 7Li(n, n0 )T, 7Li(n, 2n)6Li,
for VT,  s, and centre-of-glass U-factor, respectively. The developed and the elastic scattering of 6Li and 7Li increase with the neutron

58 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 12 Refractories/ceramics (properties, production, applications)

energy. The low-energy neutron peak was considered only for the methodology was used to prepare 21 coating compositions. Multi-pass
calculation of TPR from Li glass, which loses the information of the beads were applied on the P22 low alloy steel plate. The welding slag
6
Li(n, )T reaction from high-energy neutron range. In addition, the for each weld bead was collected. Experiments on the welding slags
reaction rate of this peak evaluated by the Li glass method is lower have been performed to estimate the weight loss, density, specific heat,
than real TPR of this peak for 6Li glass caused by weakened effect from enthalpy, thermal conductivity and diffusivity. X-ray diffraction and
other reactions. Therefore, the ratios of this peak reaction rate from Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry were performed to
the Li glass method against the total TPR of 6Li glass were evaluated to analyse the different phases present in the slag. Thermogravimetric
be a correction factor to correct Li glass method. After the correction, analysis and hot disc apparatus have been used to characterize the
TPRs measured by Li glass method agree well with TPRs measured by slag’s thermal properties. The regression analysis has been used to
pellet method. study the effect of coating constituents on the slag properties. The
obtained output of properties has been further optimized using multi-
21/00377 Evaluation of thermal stability in deep geological response optimization.
repository and nuclear criticality safety of spent nuclear fuel
vitrified in iron phosphate glass 21/00381 Mechanical properties and microstructure of
Lee, C. W. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107055. Al2O3-SiCw ceramic tool material toughened by Si3N4
Iron phosphate glasses with low melting temperatures of 1300  C particles
were developed to immobilize spent nuclear fuels (SNFs). The glasses Wang, Z. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8845–8852.
have densities of 3.15 g/cm3 and glass transition temperatures of Al2O3–SiCw toughened ceramic tools play vital role in high-speed
540  C that are high enough to endure the temperatures in geological machining of nickel-based superalloys due to their superior mechanical
repositories. The waste loading of CeO2 in the glass was 21.92 wt%, properties. Herein, owing to synergistic toughening mechanism, -
which corresponds to 30.38 wt% of UO2 at the same molar ratio. Si3N4 particles are employed as reinforcement phase into Al2O3–SiCw
Normalized elemental releases from the product consistency test were ceramic composite to optimize mechanical properties of Al2O3–SiCw
well below the regulated limit of 2 g/m2. Effective neutron multipli- ceramic tools. Moreover, the influence of Si3N4 content and sintering
cation factor keff was 0.755, which is below nuclear criticality safety parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al2O3–
regulation (keff = 0.95). Vitrified SNF occupies one-eleventh of the 20 vol%SiCw ceramic tool material is systematically investigated.
repository space compared to direct disposal of the same amount of Results reveal that appropriate amount of Si3N4 particles is required
UO2, excluding left-over low-level wastes. to effectively increase the density of Al2O3–SiCw ceramic composites.
The presence of Si3N4 particles leads to formation of novel -sialon
21/00378 Experimental investigation of heat and moisture phase during hot-press sintering, which effectively enhances fracture
transfer performance of CaCl2/H2O-SiO2 nanofluid in a gas– toughness and flexural strength of Al2O3–SiCw ceramic composites. It
liquid microporous hollow fiber membrane contactor is observed that grain size of newly formed -sialon phase is extremely
Zheng, Y. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass sensitive to hot-pressing sintering conditions. The degree of chemical
Transfer, 2020, 113, 104533. transformation of -Si3N4 into Si6–zAlzOzN8–z ( -sialon) and z-value of
In this study, aqueous solution of CaCl2/SiO2 nanoparticles has been Si6–zAlzOzN8–z are significantly influenced by sintering temperature.
used as a desiccant in a gas–liquid hollow fibre membrane (HFM) air Overall, Al2O3–20 vol%SiCw–15 vol%Si3N4 ceramic tool material, with
dehumidifier contactor system. The heat and mass (H/M) transfer 1.5 vol%Y2O3–0.5 vol%La2O3–0.5 vol%CeO2 sintering additive, ren-
properties HFM energy exchanger with CaCl2/H2O–SiO2 as desiccant dered optimal mechanical properties after sintering at 1600  C under
solution studied experimentally for first time. Effects of different 32 MPa for 30 min. Improved mechanical performance can be ascribed
parameters on H/M transfer characteristics of system, including the to synergistic toughening and strengthening influence of whiskers and
nanoparticle concentration, liquid flow rate and liquid temperature particles.
were examined experimentally. The experiments arranged for desiccant
temperatures of 20 and 26  C, desiccant solutions of 0, 1 and 2 wt% 21/00382 Molecular simulations of competitive adsorption
concentration and flow rates of 1.1, 1.25, 1.4 and 1.7 ml/s. The results behavior between CH4-C2H6 in K-illite clay at supercritical
indicated that the influence of particles on moisture removal rate is the conditions
greatest for the conditions of highest solution temperature and the Zhang, L. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116358.
highest particle. By introducing nanofluid solution as liquid desiccant Methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) are dominating compositions in
in system the enhancing effect of reducing desiccant temperature on natural gas produced from shale, approximately 80–90%. For efficient
moisture removal lessens and declined to zero by increasing the development and utilization of shale gas, the competitive adsorption
solution flow rate with a high descending rate. For 2 wt% nanoparticle behaviour between CH4 and C2H6 is considerable significance to make
concentration by 53% increase of absorbent flow rate, the value of sure the storage and transportation mechanisms in the pore structure
temperature effectiveness reduced by 30%. This justifies adiabatic of shale. The adsorption behaviour of CH 4–C2H6 in K-illite slits is
application of hollow fibre membrane systems with nanofluid desiccant. studied with wide range of aperture (1.5–5.5 nm), pressure (450 MPa)
and temperature (320–380 K) by using Grand Canonical Monte Carlo
21/00379 In-situ generation of graphene network in silicon (GCMC) simulations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The
carbide fibers: role of iodine and carbon monoxide adsorption isotherms, isosteric heats, density distribution and absorbed
Hong, J. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 110–120. site are used to analyse the pure and binary adsorption behaviour
By iodine curing of polycarbosilane fibres followed by sintering under a considering the effects of temperature, pressure and contents. The
controlled atmosphere of carbon monoxide, a unique strategy is results indicate that the pressure has a large influence on the adsor-
developed for the in situ growth of graphene networks inside silicon ption capacity of C2H6 and CH4. At the low pressure, the adsorption
carbide fibres. In the resulting fibres, three-dimensionally intercon- capacity of C2H6 is stronger than that of CH4. With the increasing
nected few-layered graphene sheets are well-dispersed in the nano- pressure, CH4 molecule shows the stronger increasing adsorption
crystalline SiC, allowing for fast electron transport through the behaviour than C2H6. From the results of adsorption isotherms of pure
graphene networks. The roles of iodine and carbon monoxide in gas, excess adsorption amounts of pure CH4 and C2H6 are decreased
fabricating the graphene-network embedded SiC fibres are elucidated. with broader apertures in unit volume of K-illite slits. C2H6 molecule is
The distinct evolution of graphene structure was observed in the easier to full in K-illite slits and alkanes absorb on the site of Al–O–Si
iodine-treated Si(O)C using transmission electron microscopy and bond bridge in K-illite. The adsorption selectivity of C2H6/CH4 is more
Raman spectroscopy. The iodine incorporated in the fibres induces the than unity. The content of CH4 suppresses the first and second
sp2-hybridization of carbon, generating carbon–carbon double bonds adsorption peak of C2H6. This work can give some understandings
and graphene seeds such as reduced graphene oxide, which are about single and binary gas adsorption behaviour in K-illite shales.
supposed to grow into graphene layers at elevated temperatures.
Carbon monoxide is employed as a component of the atmospheric gas 21/00383 Multiphysics modeling of thorium-based fuel
mixture during the decomposition of Si(O)C to suppress the evolution performance with a two-layer SiC cladding in a light water
of SiO and CO gases, thereby restraining coarsening of SiC nano- reactor
crystallites and maintaining the integrity of the graphene network. Liu, R. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107036.
These processes pave the way for designing graphene structures in The performance of thorium-based mixed oxide fuel [(Th,U)O2 fuel
polymer-derived ceramic materials for a broad range of applications. and (Th,Pu)O2 fuel] with a two-layer SiC cladding in a light water
reactor have been investigated by finite element multiphysics modelling
21/00380 Investigation on slags of CaO-CaF2-SiO2-Al2O3 method. The material properties of specific thorium-based
based electrode coatings developed for power plant Th0.923U0.077O2 fuel, Th0.923Pu0.077O2 fuel and SiC cladding were
welds firstly reviewed and implemented into the multiphysics model. Then
Mahajan, S. and Chhibber, R. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), the performance of Th0.923U0.077O2 fuel, Th0.923Pu0.077O2 fuel and UO2
8774–8786. fuel separately combined with Zircaloy cladding and two-layer SiC
In this article, physicochemical and thermo-physical properties of slags cladding have been investigated and compared under PWR normal
obtained from CaO–CaF2–SiO2–Al2O3 based shielded metal arc operation conditions. Finally, the thorium-based fuel with Zircaloy
welding electrodes were investigated. The extreme vertices design cladding was found to decrease the fuel centreline temperature,

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 59

12 Refractories/ceramics (properties, production, applications)

especially for the Th0.923U0.077O2 fuel, but with a much earlier gap 21/00387 Silver diffusion and mechanism of CaO-MgO-SiO2
closure time. And the two-layer SiC cladding was found to effectively glass ceramics in millimeter-wave properties
mitigate the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) but also Feng, K.-C. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5634–5640.
greatly increase the fuel centreline temperature. So the combination of Glass ceramics have demonstrated excellent millimetre-wave dielectric
the thorium-based fuel with two-layer SiC cladding is expected to properties for low-temperature-co-fired-ceramic (LTCC) devices ap-
improve the reactor safety by keeping a moderate fuel centreline plied in the 5G communication. This study highlights silver (Ag)-
temperature and meanwhile greatly delaying the PCMI time. diffusion mechanism and millimetre-wave dielectric properties of
CaO–MgO–SiO2 glass ceramics co-fired with Ag electrode near nuclea-
tion temperatures. Ag diffusion and elemental inter-diffusion occur
during the endothermic–exothermic process near nucleation tempera-
21/00384 Preparation, characterization and catalytic
tures (820  C), where Ag diffused into the glass–ceramic matrix and
application of phyllosilicate: a review
resided around the diopside-phase grain boundaries while other metal
Bian, Z. and Kawi, S. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 3–23.
elements (Zn, Mg and Al) diffused into the Ag layer. Oxygen ions can
Phyllosilicates, or sheet silicates, are an important group of minerals
flee from the glass–ceramic network above glass transition temperature
that include micas, chlorite, serpentine, talc and so on. Many transient
during the endothermic process and react with the Ag ions to form the
metals can be incorporated into phyllosilicate structure like Ni, Co and
Ag–O bonds. The low dielectric dissipation in the millimetre-wave
Cu. Moreover, the high thermal and hydrothermal stability enable
range remains after Ag diffused into the matrix. However, conductivity
them to be applied for either gas reaction at high temperature or liquid
of Ag-electrode layer decreases at a gigahertz frequency due to the
reaction at low temperatures, making it a promising candidate of
inter-diffusion elements with lower electric conductivities.
precursor of supported metal catalysts for certain reactions. Due to the
unique layered structure, phyllosilicate-derived catalysts exhibit ex-
cellent catalytic performance for chemical, environmental and energy- 21/00388 The relation between petrophysical and transport
related catalysis. Here, the authors present a detailed discussion of the properties of the Boom Clay and Eigenbilzen Sands
preparation methods for synthesis of phyllosilicate with various Jacops, E. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104527.
morphologies, common characterization methods and the catalytic Within the framework of safe disposal of high and intermediate level
application based on the species of metal. It could be seen that radioactive waste, it is well known that for both the Boom Clay and
phyllosilicate of various morphologies with high surface area and overlying Eigenbilzen Sands (early Oligocene; Rupelian), the compo-
thermal/hydrothermal stability can be synthesized with different sition varies with depth. Though, a detailed understanding of how these
methods. For the catalytic applications, with different metal involved, intrinsic variations may affect the basic transport properties is still
the advantage of phyllosilicate used as catalysts lies at different aspects: missing. Therefore, a small but comprehensive and unique data set,
Ni phyllosilicate has shown excellent stability for reforming reaction at containing transport parameters (hydraulic conductivity and diffusiv-
high temperature, which could be assigned to the strong interaction ity) and related properties (mineral composition and texture, grain size
between Ni and silica as well as the abundant surficial –OH species. Cu distribution, specific surface area and pore size distribution) of differ-
phyllosilicate has exhibited outstanding catalytic performance for ent samples of the Boom Clay and Eigenbilzen Sands has been gather-
hydrolysis of C=O bond, mainly due to the co-existence of Cu0–Cu1+ ed during recent years. First, the variability in transport parameters
species and Lewis acid sites on the surface. Phyllosilicate can be further and petrophysical properties is discussed and mutual relationships are
modified and improved by introducing a second metal to form an alloy investigated. Second, the performance of predictive modelling is
or with confinement effect to form multicore-shell structure. There- explored. The multivariate analysis clearly illustrates that the data
fore, it is very promising for phyllosilicate-based catalysts to be are mainly explained by two main axes of variation. One corresponds to
extended into other reactions. the logarithmic hydraulic conductivity (log K) and all petrophysical
properties that are very strongly correlated to it. The second axis is
independent of log K, and relates to the size of the diffusing molecules.
Finally, predictive modelling seems promising at this point, but the
21/00385 Producing high-performing silicon anodes by
limited quality of the currently available test cases prohibits being
tailoring ionic liquids as electrolytes
conclusive on the model performance and its generalizability.
Sanchez-Ramirez, N. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 477–
486.
Nanostructured silicon is a promising anode for the next generation of 21/00389 Thermal analysis of methane hydrate formation
high-energy lithium ion batteries. The challenge for implementation of in a high-pressure reactor packed with porous SiC foam
Si anode is the control of the continuous chemical reactivity at the ceramics
electrode/electrolyte interface during lithiation and delithiation. Given Tian, L. and Wu, G. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116307.
their relevant physicochemical properties such as high stability, good The porous SiC foam ceramic (SFC) packings were recently demon-
transport properties and non-volatility, ionic liquids can potentially strated capable of enhancing methane hydrate formation in the
alleviate the instability of the solid electrolyte interface layer due to the hydrate-based separation technologies, while the heat transfer analysis
large volume changes of Si upon cycling. Since the properties of ionic is one of the key requirements for effective implementation of this
liquids are modulated by the anion and cation, or both, a suitable technology. In this study, the evolution of thermal resistance during
selection must be made for each application. Here, the authors report hydrate formation was obtained based on hydration heat and gas
the electrochemical performance of triethyl-n-pentylphosphonium consumption in experiments, while the effects of the packings’
bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide [P2225][FSI] and bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide N- properties (e.g. quantity, porosity, materials, stacking patterns) on
methyl-N-butylpyrrolidinium [BMPYR][FSI] ionic liquids as electro- the overall and local thermal resistances were predicted by the
lyte solvents for silicon/poly(acrylonitrile), Si/PAN, composite elec- conductive heat transfer models. The overall tendency predicted by
trode. After 1000 charge/discharge cycles, these composite anode-ionic the model agreed with the experimental data. Results clearly indicated
liquid systems exhibit a specific delithiation capacity of approximately that the SFC packings could maintain the reaction system at a low
1000 mAhg1 at 1.0 A g1 with a Coulombic efficiency approaching thermal resistance for a longer time under relative low driving force. It
100%. This demonstrates the superior performance of ionic liquids also highlighted the role of the stacking patterns of SFC packings on
compared to classical organic alkyl carbonate solvent-based electro- heat transfer. The overall thermal resistance was reduced by about 39%
lytes and that are also the best among the reported state-of-the art ILs after rotation of the SFC packings. When the SFC packings were
for silicon electrodes. stacked parallel to the reactor bottom, the composites formed by
packings and hydrates was the main resistance for heat transfer which
accounted for 30–50% of the overall thermal resistance. However, the
contribution of this portion was only 13–25% if the SFC packings were
21/00386 Radiation induced absorption of hydrogen-
stacked perpendicular to the reactor bottom. Overall results from this
loaded pure silica optical fibers with carbon coating for
study were beneficial for better understanding where the main heat
ITER diagnostics
transfer resistance was from and how it varied against the packings’
Gusarov, A. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111356.
properties when employing the foam packings for enhancing gas
This study present results of gamma irradiation tests of 200 mm pure
hydrate formation.
silica core optical fibres with a low and high-OH concentration, with
and without hydrogen loading. All the fibres were manufactured by a
candidate supplier of the fibre bundles for optical plasma diagnostics in 21/00390 Thermal and visual comfort, energy use and
ITER. The hydrogen-loaded fibres were stored for a year before the environmental performance of glazing systems with solar
irradiation start. The fibres were exposed at two Co-60 gamma facilities control films
using dose-rates of 15 and 194 mGy/s up to 15 and 70 kGy absorbed Teixeira, H. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106474.
doses, respectively. The optical transmission losses of the fibres were Buildings with large window areas tend to have more heat gains/losses
measured in situ in the spectral range of 450–900 nm. The results are through the glazing systems, which increase the cooling and heating
interpreted on the basis of available data on radiation defects in silica loads. Applying solar control films (SCFs) on glazing systems can
core fibres. It is demonstrated that hydrogen loading provides a reduce the heat gain, annual energy consumption and peak demand
radiation hardness improvement, which allows to satisfy the ITER load. The main objective of the present study is to assess the (thermal
requirements. and visual) comfort, energy and environmental performance of

60 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

different types of SCFs applied on glazing systems. Three adjacent Anaerobic digestion has received significant attention in recent years
office rooms located in a university building in Lisbon were used as due to dual benefits of waste diversion from landfill and bioenergy
case study. A building energy simulation model, calibrated from recovery. Among various temperature regimes, digesters operated
experimental results, was used to simulate the performance of the under thermophilic (50–70  C) conditions have the potential to provide
glazing systems. The most reflective SCF ( vis = 16%; g = 0.15) has the several advantages over mesophilic (30–45  C) and psychrophilic
highest thermal and optical performance due to its low visible (<20  C) conditions, which include faster degradation of organics
transmittance and solar heat gain coefficient, making it possible to and higher energy recovery. However, the operation of thermophilic
achieve temperature and glare comfort during 41% and 43% of digesters requires closer monitoring and control due to an additional
working hours. The spectrally selective film with  vis = 63% and risk of ammonia inhibition and irreversible acidification through the
g = 0.40 has the highest energy performance, enabling to achieve an accumulation of volatile fatty acids. Conventional strategies to alleviate
annual reduction of 38% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. instabilities in thermophilic anaerobic digestion process have been
From a multi-criteria evaluation approach, the best alternative is the focused primarily on the development of robust microbiome and co-
most reflective film when assigning preferred importance to thermal digestion of complementary substrates. On the other hand, emerging
and visual comfort, and the most spectrally selective film when energy strategies include the integration of digesters with microbial electro-
cost saving and CO2 emission reduction are taken as the decision chemical systems and amendment of conductive additives. This review
criteria. provides a critical overview of these strategies and summarizes research
gaps to guide researchers and practitioners in the future research.
21/00391 Thermal performance evaluation of glass window
combining silica aerogels and phase change materials for 21/00394 An efficient multiphase bioprocess for enhancing
cold climate of China the renewable energy production from almond shells
Li, D. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114547. Kaur, M. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112235.
This paper investigates the thermal performance of glass window This study considers ‘waste to energy’ concept, investigating the
composed of glass, silica aerogel and phase change material (PCM), potential of almond crop residues, namely almond shells for biofuel
which concurrently provides storage and restitution of heat, super production though different bioprocesses. Three routes were evaluated
thermal insulation and daylighting to the interior environment. To for maximizing energy recovery: (A1) representing hythane production
assess the glass window thermal behaviour, a numerical model through two-stage anaerobic digestion (TSAD), (A2) representing
describing the heat transfer mechanisms occurring in the PCM layer ethanolic fermentation and (A3) representing coupled ethanol and
in combination with the other transparent wall layers was established hythane production. Results showed that in route A1, an increased H2/
and verified. Then, the influence of factors such as thermal (H2 + CH4) ratio (0.53) resulted in inappropriate hythane composition
conductivity, density, specific heat and thickness of silica aerogel on which was attributed to higher hydrogen yield of 236.6 L/kg chemical
the thermal performance of the glass window was analysed. The results oxygen demand removed (CODr) and lower methane production
show that the most significant controlling parameters are the thermal (203.9 L/kg CODr) in the respective route. In route A2, sole ethanol
conductivity and thickness of silica aerogel, while the impact of density production led to much lower carbon conversion efficiency (25.7%)
and specific heat of silica aerogel on the thermal performance of and energy yield (6173.1 kJ/kg CODr) that questions the feasibility and
glazing unit is marginal. A proper thickness of aerogel that maximizes efficiency of this process. However, in route A3, coupled ethanol and
the exploitation of latent heat of PCM should be identified, which is hythane production led to increased substrate degradation (91.3%) and
between 20 and 30 mm for the studied climatic conditions. It was higher carbon conversion efficiency (75.1%) resulting in enhanced
concluded that integrating silica aerogel insulation into PCM–glass energy recovery (22,156.6 kJ/kg CODr) as compared to A1 route
window system is an effective technology in cold regions, solving the (13,573.6 kJ/kg CODr). The stable H2/(H2 + CH4) ratio of 0.29
problem that PCM cannot effectively exploit latent heat, while obtained in route A3 makes this pathway most suitable for efficient
retaining the advantages of PCM in winter. co-production of both biofuels. Further, linking of a biochemical
conversion process with a thermochemical process, for example
21/00392 Wood-derived ultra-high temperature carbides pyrolysis to produce biochar from almond shell residue, could be seen
and their composites: a review as an effective strategy for waste management and for enhancing the
Yu, M. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5536–5547. economic viability of the process.
Wood gains much attention owing to its unique characters such as
cellular pore structures, low density, etc. Wood-derived carbides have 21/00395 Analysis of intensified sustainable schemes for
great potential applications as the high-temperature filters for gas or biobutanol purification
liquid, catalyst carrier, fluid/gas reservoir devices, biocatalyst supports, Segovia-Hernández, J. G. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing –
etc. This paper reviews recent progress in comprehensively under- Process Intensification, 2020, 147, 107737.
standing the processing techniques, properties and applications of Butanol is an alternative fuel with characteristics competitive to
wood-derived carbides. The key techniques for producing wood- petroleum-based fuels. Compared with ethanol, butanol shows less
derived carbides involves the infiltration techniques which are miscibility, flammability, and corrosion; while potentially replacing
categorized into six parts (slurry infiltration, polymer precursor gasoline in car engines without modifications. However, the production
infiltration, melting infiltration, molten salt infiltration, sol-gel infiltra- cost of butanol from renewables feedstock, i.e. bio-butanol (which also
tion, and chemical or physical vapour infiltration). The advantages and contains acetone and ethanol) through fermentation remains high. This
disadvantages of these techniques are discussed in details, and the is mainly due to the low yield of butanol in fermentation. The
according solutions for solving the problems of each technique are conventional recovery of butanol by distillation is an energy-intensive
further proposed. The infiltration kinetics of processing carbides are operation that has greatly restricted the industrial production of bio-
also discussed in details. The investigated properties of wood-derived butanol. This work studies 10 hybrid and intensified configurations,
carbides are summarized, which includes the mechanical properties based on the liquid–liquid extraction and dividing wall columns, to
and thermal properties. The potential applications of wood-derived purify the butanol to the fuel grade. The study analyses sustainability
carbides are explored, along with an overview of the existing challenges based on green metrics, including the inherent safety and control
and practical limitations. Future perspectives to highlight the future properties using singular value decomposition analysis. The results
directions of research in this growing area are also given. indicate that as long as the process is highly intensified, the
sustainability and the inherent safety are improved and not necessarily
the control properties. This is primarily due to the loss in the degrees
of freedom in intensified processes.

21/00396 Assessment of the self-sustained energy

13 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY generation of an integrated first and second generation
ethanol production from sugarcane through the
SUPPLIES characterization of the hydrolysis process residues
Carvalho, D. J. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
112267.
This paper compares the physico-chemical characterization of bagasse
and sugarcane straw used for second-generation ethanol process and
Biofuels and bioconversion energy the waste produced in a pilot plant. The bagasse was obtained from
conventional ethanol process. The cane straw was pruned in a hammer
mill and also sent to the second-generation process. Analysis of the
bagasse and the residue after hydrolysis indicated that about 64% of
21/00393 A critical review of conventional and emerging the cellulose and 95% of the hemicellulose in the sample was converted
methods for improving process stability in thermophilic to sugars during hydrolysis. Much of the cellulose therefore remains in
anaerobic digestion the final residue together with the lignin. Results for the available
Ryue, J. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 54, 72–84. energy from the waste generated during the production of first- and

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 61

13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

second-generation ethanol indicate considerable potential for thermal Monte Carlo simulations to statistically quantify the variability in the
power generation. For an integrated plant, with conventional ethanol model outputs due to uncertainties in the parameter estimates. To
production, second generation ethanol production and a cogeneration understand which parameters in the model are responsible for the
system burning sugarcane straw and process residues, energy self- output uncertainty, a sensitivity analysis method was used (polynomial
sufficiency is achieved by using only 36% of the cane straw recovery chaos expansions-based Sobol sensitivity indices). The results from the
from the field. In this case, 63 kWh is the surplus electricity generated sensitivity analysis helped to identify what parameters in the model are
per ton of cane processed. influential, giving insight into the robustness and predictive capabilities
of the model which form the basis for any model-based decision making
21/00397 Biochar facilitated bioprocessing and biorefinery for detailed process characterization, design, optimization and oper-
for productions of biofuel and chemicals: a review ation of the hydrolysis of rapeseed oil.
Sun, X. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122252.
Biochar has long being used in soil amendment. However, recent 21/00401 Contribution of encouraging the future use of
advances of biochar applications in anaerobic digestion, microbial biomethane to resolving sustainability and energy security
bioprocessing, and cheap catalysis in biomass refinery and biodiesel challenges: the case of the UK
synthesis have brought new insights for biochar use. These processes Richards, S. J. and Al Zaili, J. Energy for Sustainable Development,
with facilitation of biochar showed improved performance in pro- 2020, 55, 48–55.
ductions of methane, hydrogen, medium-chain carboxylic acids, and The focus of this research is the potential of biomethane in Britain’s
enrichment of functional microbial communities; enhanced biofuel gas grid. It examines its relative ability to address Britain’s sustain-
(ethanol, butanol) production from microbial fermentation of C1 ability and energy security challenges from an economic perspective.
(methane) gases and carbohydrates; efficient catalysis in refining of Such research is important because UK is wedded to gas for heat
syngas and bio-oil during thermochemical processing and synthesis of production and power generation and is increasingly dependent on
biodiesel during esterification and transesterification. Biochar utiliz- imported gas, in line with shrinking domestic production, and
ation could promote low-carbon footprint economy in the future. uncertain future trading relationships. Also, dependency on natural
gas threatens Britain achieving its legally-binding carbon commitments.
21/00398 Biodiesel-mediated biodiesel production: The study includes a thorough literature review, primary research to
a recombinant Fusarium heterosporum lipase-catalyzed uncover the views of key UK market participants plus analytical
transesterification of crude plant oils modelling. The findings reveal that the market is cautiously optimistic,
Quayson, E. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106278. despite reservations regarding feedstock availability and the impending
Production of biodiesel from unrefined plant-derived oils has been cessation of subsidy approvals. Investors are in greater need of long-
considerably investigated but, to date, there appears to be a limit by term certainty, however, and the challenge of decarbonizing heat and
phospholine gums and other contaminants in its conversion to heavy-duty transport warrants this. Retail price premiums are
biodiesel. The presence of such contaminants increases the melting polarized but, in line with wholesale costs, relatively high compared
point of the oils, thereby, making it unfavourable for lipase-catalysed to electricity. The key recommendation is for policymakers to follow
reactions at mild temperatures. Here, to circumvent this limiting effect, precedents in renewable electricity and liquid biofuels, by mandating
the potential of biodiesel as a replacement for conventional organic that energy suppliers, owners of heavy-duty road fleets and occupiers of
solvents in solubilizing gum-formation contaminants in crude palm oil new buildings purchase biomethane. In tandem, feedstock and grid-
(CPO) was explored. A strategy of 1 : 1 CPO/biodiesel molar amount entry restrictions must be tackled creatively.
consolidates degumming and trans/esterification into one-step using
immobilized Aspergillus oryzae expressing Fusarium heterosporum 21/00402 Control schemes for a complex biorefinery plant
lipase. The innocuous biodiesel solvent not only ensured a 98.8 wt% for bioenergy and biobased products
biodiesel yield but also improved the catalytic activity of the whole-cell Petre, E. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122245.
lipase. This allowed repeated use of the recombinant lipase in nine This work proposes innovative feedback control schemes for a complex
consecutive batches. At room temperature, biodiesel as a solvent saves biorefinery plant which contains two continuous bioreactors: an
on post-separation and reduces environmental footprints of the anaerobic digester and a photobioreactor. The anaerobic digester is
biodiesel production process. used to decompose organic matter inside a wastewater treatment
process, the most useful final product being biogas/methane. The
21/00399 Catalytic performance of NaAlO2/g-Al2O3 as photobioreactor is used for a microalgae photosynthetic growth process
heterogeneous nanocatalyst for biodiesel production: where some components with added value are produced, and bio-
optimization using response surface methodology mitigation of the carbon dioxide emissions is achieved. By using
Zhang, Y. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, realistic models of the anaerobic digester and of the photobioreactor,
112263. novel adaptive and robust control schemes are designed. These
This research focused on the novel, low-cost and green NaAlO2/- proposed structures contain linearizing controllers, state observers
Al2O3 heterogeneous nanocatalyst, which exhibited the excellent and parameter estimators for the bioprocess unknown kinetics. The
performance in catalysing transesterification of palm oil with methanol control designs are validated via numerical simulations that consider
for biodiesel production. The physicochemical properties of the several realistic restrictions and disturbances which act on the process:
catalysts were characterized by different methods of the X-ray unavailability of some biological variables, unknown and time-varying
diffraction, N2 adsorption–desorption, attenuated total reflectance– reaction kinetics, uncertain and time-varying influent flow rates, noisy
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Hammett indicators, field measurements.
emission scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometer
and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The 21/00403 Deoiled algal biomass derived renewable sugars
transesterification parameters, such as the methanol-to-oil molar ratio, for bioethanol and biopolymer production in biorefinery
catalyst content and reaction temperature, were optimized using the framework
central composite design based the response surface methodology, Naresh Kumar, A. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 296, 122315.
where the maximum biodiesel yield of 97.65% was achieved at the This study evaluates the potential of deoiled algal biomass (DAB)
methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 20.79 : 1, catalyst content of 10.89 wt% residue as an alternative resource for the production of bioethanol and
and reaction temperature of 64.72  C. The biodiesel yield dropped to biopolymers in a biorefinery approach. Hybrid pretreatment method
52.16% for the third reused cycle due to the leaching of the active sites resulted in higher sugar solubilization (0.590 g/g DAB) than the
into the liquid phase. However, the spent catalyst could be effectively corresponding individual physicochemical (0.481 g/g DAB) and enzy-
regenerated with a small number of active sites and the regenerated matic methods (0.484 g/g DAB). Subsequent utilization of sugars from
catalyst maintained the biodiesel yield of 93.29% for the sixth reused hybrid pretreatment for bioethanol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae
cycle. The properties of the produced biodiesel were in accordance resulted in maximum bioethanol production at pH 5.5 (0.145  0.008 g/
with the ASTM D 6751 standard. Also, the biodiesel production g DAB) followed by pH 5.0 (0.122  0.004 g/g DAB) and pH 6.0
process was environmental friendly based on the green chemistry (0.102  0.002 g/g DAB). The experiments for biopolymer (PHB:
metrics. polyhydroxybutyrate) production resulted in 0.43  0.20 g PHB/g
DCW. Extracted polymer on NMR and FT-IR analysis showed the
21/00400 Comprehensive development, uncertainty and presence of PHB. Exploration of DAB as an alternative renewable
sensitivity analysis of a model for the hydrolysis of rapeseed resource for multiple biobased products supports sustainability and
oil also enables entirety use of DAB by addressing the DAB-residue allied
Forero-Hernandez, H. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, disposal issues.
133, 106631.
A model describing the batch hydrolysis of rapeseed oil including 21/00404 Effects of biochar and activated carbon on biogas
kinetics and mass transfer at subcritical conditions is presented in this generation: a thermogravimetric and chemical analysis
paper. The primary purpose of this model is to interpret experimental approach
data collected from typical batch tests and to estimate model Rasapoor, M. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
parameters. The developed model was further investigated using 112221.

62 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

Applying carbon-based additives can be an ideal strategy to maximize 21/00408 Hybrid energy storage device from binder-free
biogas yield, due to low operating costs and high adaptability to large zinc-cobalt sulfide decorated biomass-derived carbon
scale implementation. Although several studies have revealed the microspheres and pyrolyzed polyaniline nanotube-iron
positive impact of carbon-based additives on biogas generation, the oxide
mechanisms and reasons behind this have not yet been comprehen- Hekmat, F. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 621–635.
sively studied for anaerobic digestion of organic waste. The mechanism High-performance supercapacitors that merit superior power and
of direct interspecies electron transfer has been widely used to describe energy densities, as well as long-term cycle durability are always of
the effect of carbon-based additives on anaerobic processes. However, great significance as a building block of energy storage devices. Herein,
there are other mechanisms which are associated with this process. In an innovative strategy is developed to design hierarchical and unique
this study, activated carbon and biochar were used as additives in porous structures of ternary metal sulfide nano-flake decorated porous
anaerobic digestion (AD) of the organic fraction of municipal solid hydrothermal carbon microspheres. Hierarchical microspheres of
waste. Thermogravimetric, physical and chemical analyses were ternary zinc-cobalt sulfide nanosheet (NS) decorated biomass derived
conducted to investigate the effect of these additives on the degra- hydrothermal carbon spheres (HTCSs) are directly employed as the
dation process. The results showed a direct relationship between the positive supercapacitor electrodes. In addition, composites of pyrolysed
thermogravimetric characteristics and the reaction rate. Using 20 g/L polyaniline nanotubes (PPNTs) and iron oxide, receiving advantages
biochar significantly increased the rate of AD for all types of biochar, from highly porous structure and modification of nitrogen as a
as confirmed by the thermogravimetric results. The physical properties heteroatom are used as the negative electrodes in the fabricated
of the additives, including electrical conductivity and surface area, were asymmetric supercapacitors (ASC). The assembled Zn-Co-S@HTCSs//
found to influence only the rate of AD process and not the biogas Fe2O3@PPNTs asymmetric supercapacitor with a broad potential
production yield. Biochar showed more promising results in terms of window not only delivered superior energy density (85.12 Wh kg1) at
biogas generation compared to activated carbon due to its ability to a reasonable power density of 460 W kg1 but also rendered reasonable
adsorb ammonia nitrogen. Although activated carbon efficiently cycle durability. The advanced asymmetric design together with
increased the organic degradation rate, concentrations >10 g/L drama- encouraging results presented herein makes these supercapacitors
tically increased the ammonia nitrogen concentration, which resulted immensely promising for high-performance electronics.
in hindering the methanogenic bacteria activity due to its inhibitory
effect. As a result, biogas generation yield did not increase using a high
21/00409 Improvement of bark pyrolysis oil and value
concentration of activated carbon.
added chemical recovery by pervaporation
Brueckner, T. M. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106292.
21/00405 Ethanol production from waste pizza by Pyrolysis oil produced from forestry residues is used as a low-grade fuel
enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation in applications such as heating oil. However, the high water and acid
Liu, Y. et al. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 156, 107528. content can lead to fuel instability, phase separation, poor lubrication,
In this work, the feasibility of ethanol production from waste pizza and corrosion. In this work, pervaporation has been studied as a
(WP) by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation was investigated. The process to simultaneously upgrade a pyrolysis oil produced from
effects of enzyme volumes (0.02–0.08 mL/L) and WP mass ratios Canadian softwood bark to meet a boiler fuel standard and extract
(50160 g/L) on the performance of enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol value-added chemicals. Commercial polyacrylonitrile-supported poly-
fermentation were also examined. It was observed that the lowest vinyl alcohol membranes from DeltaMem AG were used at tempera-
enzyme volume (0.02 mL/L) could completely hydrolyse WP with mass tures of 60 and 80  C to separate water and volatile organic
ratio of 50 g/L. The reducing sugar increased obviously with increasing components, including methanol, acetic acid, and acetol. A design of
of WP mass ratio from 50 to 160 g/L when the enzyme volume of experiment study was used to define the range of operating conditions.
0.02 mL/L was applied. The WP hydrolysate was utilized as substrate A temperature of 80  C and a low feed flow rate of 0.1 mL min1
for bio-ethanol production with the highest cumulative ethanol resulted in the highest quality oil. The upgraded pyrolysis oil
production of 27.58 g/L and ethanol yield of 0.292 g/g WP, respectively. (pervaporation retentate) showed an increased heating value from
This is thought to be the first study to report ethanol production from incomplete combustion to 16.07 MJ kg1 and the water content was
WP by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. lowered from 70.2 wt% in the feedstock to 21.4 wt%, demonstrating the
potential for this process on a larger scale.
21/00406 From agriculture residue to upgraded product:
the thermochemical conversion of sugarcane bagasse for 21/00410 Improving fermentative methane production of
fuel and chemical products glycerol trioleate and food waste pretreated with ozone
Schmitt, C. C. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106199. through two-stage dark hydrogen fermentation and
A holistic investigation considering the sugarcane bagasse character- anaerobic digestion
ization, fast pyrolysis and upgrading of bio-oil applying two nickel- Yue, L. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112225.
based catalysts is presented. The bio-oil composition is correlated to In order to alleviate substantial inhibition of anaerobic digestion by
the bagasse building blocks, and the hydrotreatment reaction pathways undegraded lipids that coat microorganisms in food wastes, an
are identified. Despite the high ash content of 6.75 wt%, 60.1 wt% of ozonation pre-treatment was employed to degrade the lipids and
bio-oil was obtained by fast pyrolysis, attributed to low concentration of promote methane production through two-stage dark hydrogen
potassium (0.08 wt%) and low humidity (2.80 wt%) observed in the fermentation and anaerobic digestion. GC–MS analysis showed that
bagasse. Upgraded bio-oil with 60.3% less water and 43.3% less oxygen degradation rate of glycerol trioleate into hexadecanoic acid and
were obtained with Ni/SiO2, resulting in an HHV 63% higher tetradecanoic acid increased to 78.6% when ozone concentration
compared to bagasse. Ni–Cr/SiO2 showed the highest hydrogenation increased to 0.8 g-O3/g-TVS in the pre-treatment. SEM and FTIR
activity and the highest conversion of acids, converting 25.7% of acetic analysis indicated that coating of methanogens by lipids during the
acid and 14.95% of propionic acid while Ni/SiO2 was more active for anaerobic digestion process was substantially relieved after ozonation
conversion of compounds containing aromatic groups. The higher pre-treatment. The methane yield from glycerol trioleate after dark
viscosity of upgraded oils in comparison to the fast pyrolysis bio-oil hydrogen fermentation increased by 81.9% to 946.5 mL/g-TVS after
indicates that the stabilization during the heating ramp can be 0.8 g-O3/g-TVS pre-treatment. When food waste (carbohydrate 45.7%,
improved to suppress polymerization. Hence, sugarcane bagasse is an protein 21.4%, lipid 28.1%) and glycerol trioleate were mixed with a
attractive feedstock with an overall final yield of 30.5 wt% of the total volatile solids (TVS) ratio of 1 : 1, an ozonation pre-treatment of
upgraded product. 0.02 g-O3/g-TVS gave the highest energy conversion efficiency of 78.7%
through two-stage dark hydrogen fermentation and anaerobic diges-
tion. However, excessive ozone (50.05 g-O3/g-TVS) pre-treatment
21/00407 High-pressure rapid hydrogasification of
decreased not only hydrogen yield but also methane yield, because
pinewood for methane production using calcium looping
most small-molecular carbohydrates and a part of proteins were
concept
destroyed by ozone oxidization.
Zhou, X. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112247.
Pressurized hydrogasification of biomass is a direct method for
methane generation from renewable energy sources, and the calcium 21/00411 Investigation of oxygen-enriched biomass
looping gasification concept is usually used in the hydrogen production gasification with TFM-DEM hybrid model
process. In this paper, the calcium looping gasification concept, using a Yin, W. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115293.
high addition amount of coarse calcium oxide as catalyst, is proposed A clear discrepancy of particle size makes it difficult for the simulation
for biomass hydrogasification. Results indicate that the methane yield of multiphase systems with binary mixture. In this work, a two-fluid
increased by 35% while the carbon dioxide fraction decreased from 12 model (TFM)–discrete element method (DEM) hybrid model incor-
to 5 vol% with a mass ratio of calcium oxide to biomass of 2 at 800  C. porating chemical reactions is developed to investigate the oxygen-
Meanwhile, more naphthalene and light aromatics were observed after enriched biomass gasification process in a fluidized bed reactor. The
calcium oxide addition. The deactivation of calcium oxide in multicycle bed material granular flow is described with the TFM, whereas biomass
tests was mainly due to carbon deposition and calcium carbonate fuel particles are tracked with the DEM. The species transport and
formation rather than sintering. The deactivated catalyst could be chemical reactions are further taken into consideration under the
recovered by calcination in air at 800  C. framework of the TFM–DEM hybrid model. By comparing with

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 63

13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

experimental data, the model can give a good prediction. Meanwhile, MoC nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-rich carbon (MoC/CN) were
the particle size distribution (PSD) during the gasification process and prepared, and their activity for the hydrotreatment of oleic acid was
the effect of operating velocity are also analysed. The results compared with that of Mo2C supported on mesoporous carbon (Mo2C/
demonstrate that there exists the discrepancy of PSD for different MC). In the hydrotreatment test, the MoC/CN catalyst exhibited
layers of bed. remarkable activity with 94.3% conversion and 90.3% selectivity at
310  C; these values were much higher than those of the Mo2C/MC
21/00411 Microalgal biomass as a biorefinery platform for catalyst (84.8% and 70.1%, respectively), even at 350  C. The excellent
biobutanol and biodiesel production performance of MoC/CN is ascribed to the sufficient amounts of
Figueroa-Torres, G. M. et al. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2020, pyridinic N and pyrrolic N in nitrogen-rich carbon, which provide
153, 107396. anchoring sites for the molybdenum precursor, leading to the fine
Microalgal biorefineries have recently emerged as a potentially econo- particle sizes of the active sites and a uniform dispersion. The density
mically viable option for the co-production of value-added products functional theory calculations show that MoC/CN can better facilitate
and fuels, such as biodiesel (via the transesterification of lipids) and the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen than Mo2C/MC, which explains
biobutanol (via the fermentation of carbohydrates). Whilst microalgal the high activity of the Mo2C/MC catalyst in the hydrotreatment
biodiesel has been studied extensively, microalgal biobutanol has reaction. The carburization temperature and Mo loading content have
received less attention due to the low product yields of the biochemical a considerable effect on the MoC formation and surface area of the
process from which biobutanol is obtained: the acetone–butanol– MoC/CN catalyst and thus greatly influence the catalytic activity.
ethanol (ABE) fermentation. This work evaluates the potential of a Moreover, the hydrotreatment conditions, including the reaction
microalgae-based biorefinery by: (i) quantifying biobutanol production temperature and hydrogen pressure, were also investigated.
via ABE fermentation of microalgae (raw and hydrolysate form) using
a medium optimized via surface response analysis (SRA) methodology; 21/00416 Off-gassing reduction of stored wood pellets by
and (ii) quantifying biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters, FAMEs) adding acetylsalicylic acid
production via transesterification of microalgae (raw, hydrolysed, and Sedlmayer, I. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106218.
fermented form). Using SRA-optimized medium, butanol fermentation During transportation and storage of wood pellets various gases are
yields of 10.31% (g g1 cdw) and 10.07% (g g1 glucose) were attained formed leading to toxic atmosphere. Various influencing factors and
by microalgae in raw and hydrolysate form, respectively. Meanwhile, measures reducing off-gassing have already been investigated. The
the raw, hydrolysed and fermented microalgae yielded up to 0.92%, present study aims at applying an antioxidant, acetylsalicylic acid
3.82% and 3.29% (g g1 cdw) biodiesel, respectively. Results highlight (ASA), to reduce off-gassing from wood pellets by lowering wood
the importance of pre-treatment methods and further support the extractives oxidation. Therefore, acetylsalicylic acid was applied in
development of microalgal biorefineries for dual biofuel production. industrial and laboratory pelletizing processes. Pine and spruce
sawdust (ratio 1 : 1) were pelletized with adding 0–0.8% (m/m) ASA.
21/00413 Microbial community in in-situ waste sludge Glass flasks measurements confirmed off-gassing reduction by adding
anaerobic digestion with alkalization for enhancement of ASA for all wood pellets investigated. The biggest effect was achieved
nutrient recovery and energy generation by adding 0.8% (m/m) ASA in the industrial pelletizing experiments
Zhou, L. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122277. where the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCtot) was
Here, the microbial community in in situ waste sludge anaerobic reduced by 82% and a reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon
digestion with alkalization for enhancement of nutrient recovery and dioxide (CO2) emissions by 70% and 51%, respectively, could be
energy generation was studied. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacter- achieved. Even an addition of 0.05% (m/m) ASA led to off-gassing
oidetes phylum became the majority in the microbial community, reduction by >10%. A 6-week storage experiment to investigate the
especially Firmicutes showed the predominate role in the community long-term effectivity of ASA addition revealed, that antioxidant
due to its thick cell wall structure, potential ability hydrolysis and addition was effective in reducing CO-, CO2- and VOCtot-release,
hydrogenogenic acidogenesis. Anaerobic digestion with alkalization especially during the first four weeks of the storage experiment, after
caused the obvious microbial diversity decrease, and over 50% of which time the relative reduction effect was significantly decreased.
minority bacteria grew up in quantity from original sludge. Phylum of
Firmicutes developed by themselves having few interactions with other 21/00417 Organics transformation and energy production
bacteria, partly contributing to its rapid growth in anaerobic digestion potential in a high rate A-stage system: a demo-scale study
with alkalization. The decrease of hydrocarbon degradation, and the Cao, S. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122300.
increase of both fermentation and reductive acetogenesis in microbial Current high-rate activated sludge (HRAS) process is an aerobic A-
community, indicating the promotion of short chain fatty acids stage process that would cause significant organic loss resulted from
production, especially acetic acid which is the key intermediate the mineralization. In this study, the feasibility of operating a high rate
products for nutrient recovery and energy generation. A-stage without aeration (HRNS) was carried out in a demo-scale
plant (275 m3/h). The organics transformation and energy production
21/00414 Nano-porous carbon materials derived from potential in A-stage were explored. The developed A-stage process was
different biomasses for high performance supercapacitors demonstrated to be more effective for organics recovery compared to
Yang, H. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5811–5820. that operated with aeration (53.82% versus 40.94%), despite its
Nano-porous carbon materials derived from various natural plants are relatively low total COD removal efficiency (54.3% versus 63.5% with
fabricated by a facile, cost-effective and efficient approach. The aeration). Minor organics (accounted for 1.75% of incoming COD) was
influence of well-dispersed intrinsic elements in different precursors found to be lost in HRNS process. Moreover, sludge generated from
and chemical activation process under different temperatures on the HRNS had higher degradability and higher methane compared to that
morphology, surface chemistry, textural structures and electrochemical from HRAS. Overall, this study documented the feasibility of high rate
performance have been studied and analysed in detail. These as- A-stage without aeration, and acted as a guide in achieving energy
prepared nano-porous carbons possess high accessible surface area neutrality or even energy-positive wastewater treatment.
(685.75–3143.9 m2 g1), well-developed microporosity and high content
of naturally-derived heteroatom functionalities (16.43 wt%). When 21/00418 Structural changes of lignins in natural Populus
applied as electrode materials for supercapacitors in a three-electrode variants during different pretreatments
system with 6 M KOH, the obtained nano-porous carbons derived from Yang, H. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122240.
lotus leaves at 700  C possess a high specific capacitance of 343.1 F g1 In the present study, three leading pre-treatment technologies
at 0.5 A g1 and a capacitance retention of 96.2% after 10,000 cycles at including dilute acid (DA), liquid hot water (LHW) and organosolv
5 A g1. The assembled symmetrical supercapacitor presents a high pre-treatments (OS) were applied on two Populus natural variants with
energy density of 24.4 Wh kg1 at a power density of 224.6 W kg1 in different recalcitrance. The structural features of the isolated lignins
Na2SO4 gel electrolyte. This work provides guiding function for unified were analysed accordingly. All the studied pre-treatments reduced the
and large-scale utilization of agricultural biomass waste. The obtained molecular weights of the lignins. Aliphatic OH was reduced while
sustainable activated carbon products can be used in diverse phenolic OH was increased in all pre-treated lignins. HSQC analysis
applications. revealed that pre-treatment influenced the lignin composition and
relative distribution of inter-unit linkages. The lignin S/G ratio was
21/00415 Nitrogen-rich carbon-supported ultrafine MoC found to increase during DA pre-treatment, while it was decreased
nanoparticles for the hydrotreatment of oleic acid into after LHW and OS pre-treatment. LHW pre-treatment also resulted in
diesel-like hydrocarbons much less cleavage of -O-4 linkage than the other two pre-treatments.
Wang, F. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122464. These results could offer guidelines on appropriate selection of biomass
The hydrotreatment of lipids is regarded as a renewable and promising and pre-treatment technology in the future biorefinery process.
approach to produce green diesel to confront environmental issues.
The molybdenum carbide (MoC) catalyst displays noble metal-like 21/00419 Synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) through the
activity for lipid hydrotreatment; however, the active sites on the fluidized bed thermal treatment of residual biomass assisted
catalyst typically have a large particle size and are unevenly dispersed, by g-alumina
thereby severely limiting its catalytic performance. Herein, ultrafine Brachi, P. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118361.

64 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (geothermal energy)

An innovative route for the synthesis of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) 21/00423 Two-stage anaerobic digestion harnesses more
is presented herein, which relies on the use of the fluidized bed energy from the co-digestion of end-of-life dairy products
technology and commercial -alumina as a catalyst, for the first time. with agro-industrial waste compared to the single-stage
Specifically, sugar beet pulp, which is the solid by-product of sugar beet process
industry, has been successfully tested for the synthesis of self- Sakarika, M. et al. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 153, 107404.
functionalized carbon nanoparticles under mild conditions of tempera- This research aimed at comparing the single-stage and two-stage co-
ture (300  C) and time (30 min). Different techniques including TEM, digestion of end-of-life dairy products (EoL-DPs) with a mixture of
UV–vis, fluorescence, Raman and XPS spectroscopy have been applied agro-industrial waste(water)s. The two systems were operated in
to characterize the as-prepared CQDs. The formation of CQDs on - parallel and operational parameters including hydraulic retention time
alumina is discussed and a possible mechanism is proposed. A solid (HRT) and organic loading rate were tested for their effect on bio-
biofuel is also obtained as a co-product of the process. The innovative hydrogen and bio-methane production. During acidogenic fermenta-
finding that a catalyst can be used to produce CQDs from the volatiles tion of EoL-DPs, HRT of 3 days led to process instability due to lactate
driven off the biomass by heating opens up new possibilities of accumulation, whereas HRT of 6 days resulted in maximum hydrogen
valorization for the off-gas substream coming from other biomass yield of 0.676 mol H2 mol1 carbohydrates consumed. Slaughterhouse
conversion processes (e.g. torrefaction). waste pasteurization did not significantly affect the anaerobic digestion
(AD) process, while the increased EoL-DPs feeding ratio enhanced
methane yield in both systems (34.7–37.6% increase). Interestingly, the
21/00420 Synthesis, properties and effects of a high ammonia concentration (c. 4 g L1) did not inhibit AD. The
multi-functional biodiesel fuel additive energy productivity of the two-stage system was roughly 30% higher,
Lawan, I. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 198, 106228. and therefore is the suggested approach for agro-industrial waste
This study focused on providing a holistic solution to biodiesel (water) valorization.
instability challenges using a fuel additive. Three different samples of
the multi-functional fuel additive (MFA 1, MFA 2 and MFA 3) were
synthesized from abundant lignocellulose-based feedstock. Findings
21/00424 Versatile grinder technology for the production of
from their property evaluation reveal that 29.67  8.08, 44.67  2.31
wood biofuels
Fiorineschi, L. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106217.
and 53.33  8.08% 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical inhi-
The exploitation of wood biomass for thermal energy production often
bition with the MFA 1, MFA 2 and MFA 3, respectively, which shows
represents an effective complementary source to petroleum, especially
an obvious antioxidation property. Also, findings obtained from the
where there is the availability of extended forests. Focusing the
analysis of the additives using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
attention on household plants, the wood pellet currently constitutes a
reveal a reduction in crystallization temperature of biodiesel by 3.96,
widespread biofuel, which however is characterized by non-negligible
8.79 and 14.25  C with the MFA 1, MFA 2 and MFA 3, respectively,
production costs. Wood microchips constitute a recently developed
which signifies a robust anti-freezing property. Furthermore, the
alternative, which compensates its inferior characteristics by an easier
additives exhibited antibacterial and antifungal properties against
production process. To obtain these biofuels, the particle size reduc-
some bacterial and fungal strains that were reported to have negative
tion is crucial, because it sensibly influences the power consumption of
effects on biodiesel (Bacillus pumilus and Paecilomyces variotii,
the drying processes, as well as the raw material supply strategies. In
respectively). For instance, the least zones of inhibition of
this context, this paper presents an innovative grinding technology,
22.33  0.58 and 35.00  5.03 mm were recorded with MFA 1 against
which can be exploited to produce wood particle sizes for both wood
the B. pumilus and P. variotii, respectively using agar well method.
pellets and microchips production. In particular, the prototype of the
Strikingly, biodiesel doped with MFA 2 exhibited improved oxidation
grinder and the experimental plant are shown, which have been used
stability, lower freezing temperature and strong inhibition against the
for performing preliminary biofuel production tests. The main design
microbial strains without taking other important properties of biodiesel
characteristics of the prototype are provided, together with preliminary
out of standard specifications.
experimental results that provide first evidences about the potential-
ities of the proposed wood grinding technology.
21/00421 Tar conversion of biomass syngas in a
downstream char bed
Fuentes-Cano, D. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106271.
The catalytic conversion of biomass-derived tars over char during long
tests (>6 h) is studied. The syngas is generated in a steam-blown Geothermal energy
fluidized-bed gasifier employing wood pellets and conducted to a
second tubular reactor where non-activated char particles are fluidized.
The gasifier operated at 750  C whereas the temperature of the
21/00425 A novel shallow bore ground heat exchanger for
secondary reactor was varied between 750 and 875  C. The evolution of
ground source heat pump applications – model development
the tar conversion, gas composition and internal structure of the used
and validation
catalysts were studied. At 750  C, the initial catalytic activity of the char
Warner, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114460.
was low and deactivation occurs rapidly. However, as the reactor
A novel ground heat exchanger design, the underground thermal
temperature increased, the catalytic activity of the char improved
battery (UTB), was proposed as a low-cost alternative to the
significantly. At 875  C, the initial conversion of tar was above 70% and
conventional vertical bore ground heat exchanger (VBGHE) for the
over 64% after 5 h of operation. Moreover, the conversion of the
application of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs). The UTB is
heaviest tars was above 80% during the entire test. At this temperature,
designed to be installed in a shallow borehole (<6 m deep) and thus
the decrease in tar conversion is attributed to the consumption of the
could cost much less than the conventional VBGHE, which usually is
char by steam gasification since its catalytic activity increased during of
installed in vertical bores 60 m deep. By utilizing natural convection of
the test. In these conditions the char bed with an initial weight of 32 g
water and phase change materials, the UTB tempers its temperature
converted approximately 12 g of tars (benzene not included) after 5 h of
change in response to thermal loads, which helps improve the
operation.
efficiency of GSHPs. A one-dimensional (1D) model of the UTB has
been developed and validated with the measured performance data of a
21/00422 The production of bio-jet fuel from palm oil small-scale UTB, as well as the simulation results of a more detailed
derived alkanes three-dimensional (3D) numerical model, which accounts for both heat
Lin, C.-H. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116345. transfer and fluid dynamics in the UTB. This 1D model is computation-
Bio-jet fuel currently represents one of the solutions for reducing the ally much more efficient than the 3D model and thus can simulate the
emissions from aircraft without engine modifications. This study mainly annual performance of the UTB with acceptable computation time.
focused on producing the jet fuel blendstock from glyceride-based oil The 1D model has been used to evaluate the performance of the UTB
through hydro-processing and hydro-cracking/isomerization. The palm so that it can be compared with the conventional VBGHE.
oil was selected as the glyceride-based feedstock and was first
converted into hydro-processed alkanes within the diesel range through 21/00426 A novel TRNSYS type of a coaxial borehole
hydro-processing, which has been reported in the authors’ previous heat exchanger for both short and mid term simulations:
work. The hydro-processed alkanes, in this paper, were turned into jet B2G model
fuel range products through hydro-cracking/isomerization over the Cazorla-Marı́n, A. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164,
NiAg supported on silico-aluminio-phosphates (SAPO-11) catalyst. 114500.
Catalyst characterizations were first performed through XRD for the A dynamic model of a ground source heat pump system is a very useful
fresh and used catalysts for understanding the performance of the tool in order to optimize its design and operation. In order to fairly
catalyst during the reaction. The effects of the reaction parameters predict the performance of such a system, the dynamic evolution of the
such as temperature, pressure, and liquid hourly space velocity on the fluid entering the heat pump and coming from the borehole heat
carbon distributions, isomer-to-normal alkane ratios and aromatics exchanger (BHE) must be accurately reproduced not only in the long
contents were investigated to find the proper conditions for producing term but also in the short- to mid-term operating conditions, as it
bio-jet fuel over the NiAg/SAPO-11 catalyst. directly affects the coefficient of performance of the heat pump unit. In

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 65

13 Alternative energy supplies (geothermal energy)

this context, the borehole-to-ground (B2G) model was developed to and performance. The model predictions are further compared with
reproduce the short-term dynamic evolution of the fluid temperature the available experimental data for three types of concrete, and a good
inside the BHE. This work presents the new upgraded version of the agreement between them can be found in most of saturation degrees
B2G dynamic model for a coaxial BHE, which includes several new (0.2 < Sr < 0.8).
features to better reproduce not only the short-term but also the mid-
term behaviour of the BHE. For that purpose, the model of the
21/00430 Evaluation of groundwater hydrogeochemical
surrounding ground has been improved: vertical heat conduction in the
characteristics and delineation of geothermal potentialities
grout and ground, heterogenous ground with different layers, and a
using multi criteria decision analysis: case of Tozeur region,
higher number of ground nodes in the thermal network considered in
Tunisia
the model were added, which are automatically located by means of
Brahim, F. B. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 113, 104504.
polynomial correlations for any type of ground, geometry and
The use of geothermal energy in Tunisia is limited to its instant use
operating conditions. This novel approach has been implemented in
because of the low enthalpy resources, especially in the southern part
TRNSYS for accurately modelling the dynamic behaviour of a coaxial
of the country. The Djerid Basin has remarkable geothermal resources
BHE with low computational cost (2.5 s for a 24 h simulation period in
with low to moderate temperatures that have been used only for
a modern computer). The model has been validated against exper-
irrigation of oases and heating greenhouses. In order to evaluate the
imental data from a dual source heat pump installation in Tribano
geothermal potential of groundwater resources of Tozeur region
(Padua, Italy) and has proven capable of accurately reproducing the
located in the Djerid Basin, a synthetic approach including geological,
short-to mid-term (up to 5 days) behaviour of the BHE, with a
geophysical, physicochemical, hydrogeological and geothermometric
deviation <0.12 K.
characteristics of groundwater is indispensable. It aims to determine:
(1) the evolution of the water chemistry, (2) the origin of thermal
21/00427 Advanced exergy and exergoeconomic analysis waters and their reservoir temperature, (3) the mixing mechanism of
for a polygeneration plant operating in geothermal cascade geothermal fluid and (4) the mapping of geothermal potentialities with
Ambriz-Dı́az, V. M. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, multicriteria decision-analysis (MCDA) using GIS platform. The
203, 112227. hydrogeochemical approach revealed that the studied geothermal
This paper presents an advanced exergy and exergoeconomic analysis system is characterized by temperature values ranging between 25
applied to a polygeneration plant operating in a geothermal cascade and 75  C and total dissolved solids values between 0.7 and 5.8 g/l.
arrangement. An organic Rankine cycle (ORC), an absorption chiller Furthermore, the use of silica geothermometers and saturation indices
and a dehydrator are the main components of the plant. The energy for different solid phases gave estimated geothermal reservoir
and exergy analysis of the polygeneration plant were carried out temperature ranging between 92 and 104  C and between 100 and
operating under real, unavoidable and ideal conditions. Considering 125  C, respectively. In addition, the equilibrium processes elucidated
real conditions, the polygeneration plant is able to reach a power that the thermal waters are mostly in the oversaturated condition with
output of 40 kWe, a cooling effect of 175.8 kWf and 30 kWt of useful respect to calcite, aragonite and dolomite, but they are saturated with
heat for dehydration. The conventional exergy analysis shows that the evaporate minerals. According to the obtained results of the MCDA,
component with the highest destruction of exergy of the polygeneration the spatial assessment of the potential geothermal areas using weighted
plant is the main heat exchanger (HX-I) having 44.05 kW, followed by overlay and Boolean logic models are 37% and 5%, respectively. The
the ORC with 38.58 kW. The advanced exergy analysis also indicates findings in this study contribute to a better understanding of
that 10.61 kW and 2.28 kW of exergy destruction in the HX-I and in the groundwater sustainability for supporting geothermal project on
ORC can be avoided by improving design variables of these renewable energy and can be used as a synthetic document for realistic
components. In this same context, the thermally activated refrigeration management of groundwater resources.
can avoid destroying endogenously 7.36 kW while interacting with the
other components of the plant operating under ideal conditions. On
21/00431 Experimental feasibility study of a new attached
the other hand, the conventional exergoeconomic analysis reveals a
hydronic loop design for geothermal heating of bridge decks
cost of electricity production of 8.54 $/h, a cost of cooling production of
Yu, X. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114507.
7.78 $/h and a cost of useful heat production for dehydration of 3.52 $/
Geothermally heating of bridges is a green and sustainable alternative
h. Finally, the advanced exergoeconomic analysis indicates that the
to deicing chemicals, which are energy-intensive, corrosive to the
heat exchanger HX-II is the component of the plant where more
bridges, and dangerous to the environment. Geothermal bridges
opportunity for reducing exergy destruction can be found.
harness shallow earth geothermal energy, a readily available all-year-
round renewable energy source. However, the existing geothermal
21/00428 Energy geostructures: a review of analysis heated bridge technology was developed based on embedded hydronic
approaches, in situ testing and model scale experiments loops, which can be only deployed during the construction of new
Loveridge, F. et al. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, bridges. As there are more existing bridges in the critical need of
2020, 22, 100173. deicing, a new attached hydronic loop design was developed in this
This paper includes a summary and review of some of the most recent study for geothermal heating of existing bridges. The hydronic loops
analysis approaches, in situ testing, full-scale testing and model-scale are attached to the bottom of a bridge deck and are encapsulated inside
experiments with a focus on energy piles and other energy geostruc- an insulation material geofoam. The developed hydronic loop was
tures. The geotechnics literature in these topics has increased rapidly in tested on a lab-scale concrete deck with supplied warm water to
the past 5 years suggesting a surge of interest in this emerging research evaluate its feasibility for field application. This heated deck system
area. Here, complementary lines of research can be distinguished, one was fabricated and instrumented for the heating performance tests in
focusing on thermal analysis and another focusing on thermo- an environmental chamber. It was first tested under various room
geomechanical analysis. Limitations, shortcomings and knowledge gaps temperatures >4.4  C, the lowest temperature permitted by the
are identified and needs for further research and development within environmental chamber. Based on the test results, an empirical
the geotechnical community are highlighted. prediction equation is presented to estimate deck temperature at
given ambient and supplied heating fluid temperatures. The applica-
bility of this equation to freezing temperature was validated in
21/00429 Enhanced fractal capillary bundle model for
localized freezing tests by placing a cooling box on the test deck. All
effective thermal conductivity of composite-porous
test results show that this heated bridge deck allows efficient heat
geomaterials
transfer, approximately 60% of the supplied heat, to the bridge deck
Chu, Z. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer,
surface. The supplied heat flux to the deck surface ranges from 120 to
2020, 113, 104527.
270 W/m2 depending on the ambient and heating fluid temperature,
A good knowledge of the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of
which is comparable to the embedded hydronic system. The new
geomaterials is required to achieve accurate study on heat transfer in a
hydronic loop design is feasible to be implemented on the existing
variety of earth-contact engineering applications. On account of
bridges for deicing and snow removal.
composite-porous characteristic of geomaterials, the thermal conduc-
tivity of each component is the foundation while the porous structure is
the key influence factor. Accordingly, a fractal capillary bundle model 21/00432 Heat transfer in the ground with a horizontal heat
at pore scale is proposed in this paper to predict the ETC of saturated/ exchanger installed – long-term thermal effects
unsaturated composite-porous geomaterials. The combination of Larwa, B. and Kupiec, K. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164,
fractal theory and capillary bundle model hypothesis is used to 114539.
describe the random, disordered and extremely complicated micro- Heating and cooling of buildings using heat pumps coupled with
structure of geomaterials. The analytical solution of the ETC is ground heat exchangers (GHE) causes changes in the ground tempera-
obtained by using the thermal–electrical analogy technique, which ture. Long-term temperature changes, regardless of cyclical changes,
demonstrates that the proposed model is a function of variety of can occur in the ground depending on the relation between the
composition and microstructure parameters. Both the effects of these extracted and supplied heat from/to the ground when a horizontal
two types of parameters on the ETC of geomaterials are analysed GHE coupled with a heat pump is installed in the ground. Determining
theoretically. Compared with other models, the present model the size and direction of these changes is the main objective of this
represents specific physical meaning and shows acceptable accuracy work. A mathematical model of the heat transfer process was

66 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

developed and temporal changes of the ground temperature, tempera- Over the past two decades, a substantial amount of research has
ture profiles in the ground and heat fluxes in various conditions of heat investigated the effects of thermal loads associated with the geothermal
extraction and supplying were determined. It was found, that changes operation of energy piles on their mechanical response. Based on this
in annually averaged temperature of the ground in the initial period of research, consensus about the need for considering the effects of
exchanger operation concern only the subsurface layer. In the following thermal loads on the geotechnical and structural design of energy piles
years, these temperatures in this layer do not change further. The has been achieved. However, the understanding of the influence of
longer the operation time of the exchanger, the annually averaged thermal loads on the mechanical response of energy piles has
temperature changes expand their range to larger ground depths. The prevented the determination of when the effects of these loads should
concept of sol-air-evaporation temperature is used in the model. This be considered in performance-based design, e.g. only when addressing
allowed the description of heat transfer between the ground and the the deformation (at serviceability limit states) or also the failure (at
environment with a simple equation analogous to the heat transfer ultimate limit states) of such foundations. Looking at this challenge,
equation. this paper presents an investigation of the role of thermal loads in the
mechanical response of energy piles to provide a theoretically based
approach for the geotechnical and structural performance-based design
21/00433 Modelling geothermal resource utilization by of such foundations. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this
incorporating resource dynamics, capacity expansion, and study and the discussed ductility-based design approach is that thermal
development costs loads cause negligible effects at ultimate limit states from both a
Spittler, N. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116407. geotechnical and a structural perspective, while they cause significant
If geothermal resources are utilized excessively for electricity pro- effects that should be considered at serviceability limit states.
duction, the reservoir can be temporarily (almost) depleted. Regener-
ation of an overutilized resource can take a long time. This paper
presents a system dynamics model for geothermal power plant
expansion considering the dynamics of geothermal resources on a
system’s level. The model consists of three main modules: resource Solar energy
dynamics, plant construction, and geothermal economics. Thereby, it
captures the following dynamics. (1) The geothermal field stock
decreases due to utilization for electricity production and increases
through natural recharging. (2) Changes in geothermal stock, and thus 21/00436 A critical overview of solar assisted carbon
in well production capacity, lead to additional well requirements to capture systems: is solar always the solution?
maintain electricity production levels. (3) This required expansion Saghafifar, M. and Gabra, S. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas
influences the unit cost of electricity. To show the effect of geothermal Control, 2020, 92, 102852.
resource dynamics on a national system’s level, the model is applied to In this review paper, an extensive overview of solar assisted carbon
Iceland’s geothermal resources. Four main scenarios are simulated and capture systems was presented. In its entirety, solar assisted carbon
compared based on the level of resource utilization, assuming high and capture systems can be categorized into direct and indirect systems.
low demand growth (i.e. 2% and 4.4%), and whether geothermal This classification is applicable to all three possible processes, namely
resource dynamics are incorporated or not. Sensitivity analysis is post-combustion, pre-combustion, and oxyfuel combustion. In prin-
performed with respect to well capital cost and natural recharging rates ciple, indirect integration schemes are carbon capture retrofitted solar-
for geothermal fields. The findings indicate that geothermal resource hybrid power plants. Key factor in designing solar assisted carbon
dynamics significantly increase costs because of the well drilling capture systems is to match the thermal-grade between the collector
activities that are required to maintain production. and gas separation process. It is reasonable to assume that the collector
cost is directly proportional to its operating temperature. Therefore,
the most economical combination can only be realized by setting the
21/00434 On the origin and evolution of geothermal fluids collector temperature to the minimum allowable value, i.e. process heat
in the Patuha geothermal field, Indonesia based on temperature needed for integration. Accordingly, indirect integration
geochemical and stable isotope data schemes provide more flexibility. For most of the gas separation
Rahayudin, Y. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104530. techniques, the high thermal energy demand for the regeneration stage
Volcano-hosted, vapour-dominated geothermal systems have great is typically supplied from the power plant. This typically leads to a
potential for power generation, although to date, such systems deterioration in performance. Solar assisted carbon capture systems
discovered globally remain limited in number. Understanding of the are capable of supplying this additional thermal energy using solar
physical and chemical properties of geothermal fluids (water and gas) thermal collectors. Therefore, these systems can produce more
in vapour-dominated systems is critical for the sustainable development electricity whilst using the same amount of fuel. Bearing in mind the
of geothermal resources. This study aims to clarify the origins, water– extra expenses needed for solar collectors, improvement in the plant
rock interactions, and chemical evolution of geothermal fluids during power output must justify the additional investment needed for the
migration from a reservoir to the surface by selecting the Patuha solar subcomponent. As a result, it may be more justifiable to utilize
geothermal field (PGF) in West Java, Indonesia as a case study. The high-grade solar energy. In addition, it has been shown that solar
PGF is characterized by a vapour-dominated system that originated assisted carbon capture is capable of outperforming solar hybrid
from the subduction of the Indian–Australian plate beneath the systems in most cases.
Eurasian plate. In total, 26 water and 12 gas samples from production
wells with 1424–2004 m depth, and fumaroles were analysed for major
21/00437 A new design concept of thermal storage tank for
anions, cations, trace elements, stable isotopes, and gas components to
adaptive heat charging in solar heating system
interpret phenomena occurring in deep reservoirs. Ternary diagrams of
Li, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114617.
Cl–SO4–HCO3 ionic compositions suggest that the H2S and CO2 gases
A new design of storage tank with multiple outlets for storing solar
are condensed near the surface and changed to sulfate and bicarbonate
thermal energy is proposed and investigated. The storage tank is
by mixing with groundwater. Products of water–wall rock interactions
featured with one fixed inlet port and three outlet ports at different
appeared in the area with acidic water, which has mainly leached
heights. The new design provides an adaptive effective tank volume to
aluminium, accelerated pyrite oxidation, and increased iron concen-
cater for the dynamic solar heat supply. As an alternative of variable-
tration in the water. High fluoride concentration at a fumarole site
volume tank, it helps improve the system performance and build a
(95.9 mg/L) implies HF gas supply from the deep-seated magmatic
more flexible system. Using CFD simulations, the present work
plume that is a geothermal source of the PGF system. Oxygen and
compares the transient temperature contours in the new design against
hydrogen isotopes reveal that meteoric water is the main source of this
those in a conventional tank during a charging process. Energy and
system, and Na–K–Mg diagrams indicate immaturity of the reservoir
exergy analysis are performed to investigate the thermal storing
water. Through evaporation and mixing with the magmatic waters, the
performance of a solar heating system with the new tank. It is found
waters have enriched heavy isotopic values, ascend along major faults
that the new storage tank is particularly useful in shortening the
towards the surface, and partly discharge at hot springs and fumaroles.
thermal response time and generating more useful energy and exergy in
High temperatures of the reservoir and gas-source in the subducted
the cloudy day, by 12.7% and 20%, respectively, over a traditional tank.
Indian–Australian plate are estimated based on the high CO2 and H2S
concentrations and the high N2/Ar ratios, respectively. By integrating
the analysis results of the water and gas samples, the well temperature 21/00438 A novel means to flexibly operate a hybrid
data, and surface geology, the volcanic activity under a crater was concentrated solar power plant and improve operation
estimated as the heat source and to have essential functions with the during non-ideal direct normal irradiation conditions
faults in the formation and fluid system of the vapour-dominated PGF. Ellingwood, K. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
112275.
Hybridization of concentrated solar power (CSP) with other energy
21/00435 The role of thermal loads in the sources can drastically increase how much solar energy is harnessed
performance-based design of energy piles and potentially expand the current geographical deployment of CSP
Rotta Loria, A. F. et al. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, installations. In this study, a novel operation strategy referred to as
2020, 21, 100153. flexible heat integration (FHI), is proposed and applied to a hybrid

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 67

13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

CSP–natural gas power plant. The proposed plant, modelled in 21/00441 Comparative efficiency and environmental impact
Simulink, employs a solar central receiver (SCR) and dual-source gas assessments of a solar-assisted combined cycle with
boiler to drive a steam Rankine power cycle. FHI involves collecting various fuels
and dispatching solar energy at modified temperatures during off- Karapekmez, A. and Dincer, I. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164,
design direct normal irradiance (DNI). During low-grade (<100 W/m2) 114409.
and medium-grade (100–500 W/m2) levels of DNI, molten salt is used Due to resources depletion, fossil fuels are not capable of compensat-
for steam boiling and feedwater preheating, respectively, rather than ing the growing energy needs. However, still most of the power plants
superheating usually seen in SCR steam plants. Hybrid gas-firing driven by fossil based fuels such as coal, natural gas or oil. The
supplies energy to bypassed systems. FHI is applied to a hybrid plant underlying motivation of this study is to reveal what types of biomass
over the course of a day from each season for a plant located in Salt can be a better choice to replace fossil fuels by comparing both
Lake City, Utah, an unconventional location due to off-design DNI environmental impacts and systems performance. In order to achieve
variability. A spring day exhibiting variable DNI is used as the main this target, a solar-assisted combined cycle is modelled thermodyna-
case study to demonstrate the dynamics and robust operation under the mically for seven different fuels. Also, a comparative life cycle
FHI framework. The operation of the plant over the winter day shows assessment is carried out by using CML 2001 method for evaluation
the largest improvement in solar-to-electric (STE) efficiency whereas of the environmental impacts of the considered fuels to produce
the summer day exhibits the smallest improvement. Monthly results electricity through a combined cycle. Although natural gas fired solar-
follow a similar trend with FHI improving STE from 15.3% and 16.3% assisted combined cycle emits the least amount of CO2 to the
to 17.0% and 16.7% in January and July, respectively. Yearly results atmosphere, global warming potential and ozone layer depletion
show FHI improving STE efficiency from 16.1% to 17.1% relative to potential of natural gas are determined as the highest among the
standard hybrid operation. Overall, the proposed concept expands the considered fuels. According to the results, sawdust and wet wood
current understanding of energy management in hybrid SCR–natural would be the rewarding alternatives of natural gas with relatively lower
power plants under non-ideal DNI conditions and locations that have amounts of CO2 emissions (11.37 kg/s for the sawdust and 11.78 kg/s for
lower DNI by applying FHI. the wet wood) as well as having the lowest environmental impacts.

21/00442 Control of PV systems for distribution network

voltage regulation with communication delays
Fu, C. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 179, 106071.
21/00439 An overview of solar photovoltaic panels’ Various approaches including the real power control through photo-
end-of-life material recycling voltaic (PV) inverters have been proposed to address voltage issues due
Chowdhury, M. S. et al. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 27, 100431. to high penetration of PV generators. However, most of the existing
End-of-life (EOL) solar panels may become a source of hazardous methods did not include communication delays in the control loop.
waste although there are enormous benefits globally from the growth in Communication delays, short or long, are inevitable in the PV voltage
solar power generation. Global installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity regulation loop and not only deteriorate the system performance with
reached around 400 GW at the end of 2017 and is expected to rise undesired voltage quality but also cause system instability. In this
further to 4500 GW by 2050. Considering an average panel lifetime of paper, a novel approach is presented to convert the overvoltage control
25 years, the worldwide solar PV waste is anticipated to reach between problem via PV inverters for multiple PVs into a problem of single-
4% and 14% of total generation capacity by 2030 and rise to over 80% input–single-output systems. The method can handle multiple PVs and
(around 78 million tonnes) by 2050. Therefore, the disposal of PV different communication delays. The impact of communication delays
panels will become a pertinent environmental issue in the next decades. is then systematically analysed and the maximum tolerable delay is
Eventually, there will be great scopes to carefully investigate on the rigorously obtained. Different from linear matrix inequality techniques
disposal and recycling of PV panels EOL. The EU has pioneered PV that have been extensively studied in handling systems with communi-
electronic waste regulations including PV-specific collection, recovery cation delays, the proposed method gives the necessary and sufficient
and recycling targets. The EU Waste of Electrical and Electronic condition for obtaining a controller and the design procedure is
Equipment (WEEE) Directive entails all producers supplying PV explicitly and constructively given in the paper. The effectiveness of the
panels to the EU market to finance the costs of collecting and recycling proposed method is verified by simulation studies on a distribution
EOL PV panels in Europe. Lessons can be learned from the feeder and the widely-used 33-bus distribution test system.
involvement of the EU in forming its regulatory framework to assist
other countries develop locally apposite approaches. This review
focused on the current status of solar panel waste recycling, recycling 21/00443 Evolution of the physical parameters of
technology, environmental protection, waste management, recycling photovoltaic generators as a function of temperature and
policies and the economic aspects of recycling. It also provided irradiance: new method of prediction based on the
recommendations for future improvements in technology and policy manufacturer’s datasheet
making. At present, PV recycling management in many countries Yadir, S. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112141.
envisages to extend the duties of the manufacturers of PV materials to The characterization of photovoltaic generators with acceptable
encompass their eventual disposal or reuse. However, further accuracy require the use of suitable experimental devices and
improvements in the economic viability, practicality, high recovery appropriate methods. In this study, the I–V curve tracer that was used
rate and environmental performance of the PV industry with respect to allows one to collect a current–voltage characteristic of a hundred (I,
recycling its products are indispensable. V) points under real operating conditions. Each (I, V) point takes in
1 ms. A new method for extracting physical parameters of solar cell
single diode model is presented. It allows for the prediction of an I–V
characteristic without recourse to any approximation. It is based on
considering the current–voltage values (I, V) at short-circuit point (ISC,
0), maximum power point (Im, Vm) and open circuit point (0, VOC)
21/00440 An overview on performance of PV plants
provided by the manufacturer. In addition, the current and voltage
commissioned at different places in the world
temperature coefficients KIm and KVm respectively at maximum power
Srivastava, R. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 54, 51–
point are estimated independently using two explicit equations
59.
associated with two simplified models. The simulation of I–V curves
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is the most promising renewable
built based on extracted physical parameters depending on temperature
energy technology and is potentially able to fulfil global electricity
allows for making equations that introduce coefficients and allow for
demand after conventional sources are exhausted. However, the
approximate description of their behaviour depending on temperature.
prediction of actual electricity output from PV plants under actual
These coefficients form a new basis for technical datasheets to predict
outdoor conditions is difficult. Performance evaluation of installed PV
the performance of photovoltaic generators according to their opera-
plants is helpful in the design and prediction of the performance of
ting temperatures. The irradiance effect has been taken into account by
other upcoming PV plants more accurately. IEC 61724 gives the
introducing specific terms depending on G in these equations. The
standards by which the performance of a PV plant can be judged. At
accuracy of this developed approach is assessed by comparing the
present, several research works based on performance evaluation of PV
experimental characteristics with those plotted using extracted physical
plants carried out in distinct locations across the world are reported in
parameters values by implemented method and those obtained by other
the literature. It is important to review results from various case studies
extraction methods reported in the literature.
on the basis of the IEC 61724 standard. In this paper, the various cases
are reviewed on the basis of their location, commissioning year,
capacity, the technology used and their performance. This will be 21/00444 Fabrication of large size nanoporous BiVO4
helpful for those designing a PV plant knowing previous commissioned photoanode by a printing-like method for efficient solar
plants performances. From the review, it has been found that PV plants water splitting application
are installed in most of the countries in the world and they are Zhu, X. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 340, 145–151.
demonstrating satisfactory results. It has also been found that PV A large and highly efficient nanoporous BiVO4 photoelectrode was
module material and panel tilt angle are crucial in the design of a PV prepared through a simple printing-like electrochemical synthesis
plant. method. The prepared BiVO4 electrode was applied to split water to

68 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

produce O2 and H2 in a three-electrode system under the irradiation of possible to generate a ranking with the level of competitiveness for PV
simulated solar light. NiOOH as cocatalyst was deposited by photo- installations. With this, one can identify the 20 most competitive urban
electrodeposition method to improve the photoelectrochemical per- sectors for investment in PV installations connected to the grid. The
formance of BiVO4 photoanode. Results reveal that NiOOH can results explain the unequal diffusion patterns in southern Brazil and
enhance the photocurrent density and lower the over potential of water propose actions to disseminate distributed generation.
oxidation reaction. Incident photon to converted electron (IPCE)
measurements were used to evaluate solar energy conversion efficien- 21/00448 Modeling of heat transfer for energy efficiency
cies of BiVO4 photoanode and BiVO4/NiOOH photoanode. These two prediction of solar receivers
kind electrodes showed 17% and 24% IPCE in water splitting reaction. Zhu, J. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116372.
Furthermore, the prepared large size photoanode was proved to have This work presents a heat transfer model for solar receiver with metal
good stability for water splitting. This study raises the feasibility of foam by virtue of thermal computation and value comparison (with the
fabrication of large size photoelectrode with high efficiency for available experimental data). Several heat transfer processes, including
practical application. forced convection, natural convection, heat conduction and radiation,
were analysed. This model can be used for prediction of energy
21/00445 Impact and economic assessment on solar PV efficiency and percentage contribution of each form of heat loss. The
mirroring system – a feasibility report results reveal good agreement between the predicted results and the
Mansoor, O. M. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, experimental data. Further prediction of the performance of the solar
112222. receiver was carried out in the conditions out of the range of the
This paper presents a review of existing photovoltaic (PV) augmented experiments. It is concluded that inlet air temperature increment of the
mirroring schemes along with an enhanced energy extraction scheme solar receiver may result in energy performance degradation and
for an existing solar PV system. Here, an array of plane mirrors is increase of radiant heat loss. Yet non-radiant heat loss accounts for
placed in the inter row spacing of the PV arrays at a suitable angle <1.1% of the total energy loss in all the simulated cases, indicating that
( ms) to enhance the sunlight harvesting on the panel. The theory of the energy efficiency could be further improved in case of radiant loss
solar PV mirroring (SPVm) system is presented considering the reduction.
variation of sun elevation angle ( e) at the solar noon for all day of a
year. The performance of the proposed system is monitored and 21/00449 Modified Ca-looping materials for directly
compared with respect to a conventional SPV system of the same capturing solar energy and high-temperature storage
capacity for a duration of one year from January 2018 to December Teng, L. et al. Energy Storage Materials, 2020, 25, 836–845.
2018 along with the weather conditions at the test site (Tiruchirappalli, The thermochemical energy storage based on calcium looping (CaL)
India, 10.7542 N, 78.7862 E). The condition for optimal mirror angle process shows great potential for the application in the third-
is obtained based on the global irradiation impinged on the surface of generation concentrated solar power (CSP) compared to other high-
the solar PV module at the test site. Detailed statistical performance Temperature heat storage schemes. However, due to the inherent low
analysis on annual energy yield is calculated for the test period. Also, solar absorptance of CaCO3, the surface heating mode is widely
the limitation of the proposed system due to increase in PV cell adopted in the conventional CaL-CSP system, which causes large
temperature is discussed. It is observed from the experimental result thermal resistance and severe radiative heat loss. Here, the authors
that an energy extraction of around 30% higher than the conventional propose achieving direct solar absorption in the CaL-CSP system
SPV system is obtained. Finally, a feasibility analysis on the impact and through enhancing the CaCO3’s ability to capture thermal energy from
economic aspects on an industrial PV plant of 5 MW capacity in the the concentrated solar irradiation. Efforts are devoted to design and
same location is carried out. The system degradation inclusive of PV fabricate a modified CaL material by doping CaCO3 with some
cell temperature and mirror degradation is suitably considered in the materials with high solar absorptance. In order to obtain a highly stable
feasibility study. It is found that an expected IRR for SPV and SPVm CaL, the cyclic performance of the composite material is investigated
system is around 11.99% and 13.45%, respectively. and optimized. The calcium gluconate [(Ca(C6H11O7)2)] was used as
the precursor while fabricating the porous CaCO3, and the Mn–Fe
21/00446 Market diffusion of household PV systems: oxides were doped into CaCO3 through two different doping processes.
insights using the Bass model and solar water heaters The experimental results indicate that the proposed material obtains
market data the solar absorptance of 90%. The heat release efficiency (equal to
Batista da Silva, H. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, carbonation activity) remains over 92% in 60 cycles, which is much
210–220. higher than that of the commercial CaCO3 powder (20% after 60
This paper aims to present insights about distributed photovoltaic (PV) cycles). The proposed calcium-based thermochemical energy storage
generation technology diffusion in the household market. A quanti- material is expected to dramatically improve both the solar utilization
tative approach using the Bass model to project distributed PV systems efficiency and cyclic stability of the integrated CaL-CSP system.
adoption is chosen to base and conduct the analysis. Since distributed
PV in Brazil still presents a very small market penetration, historical 21/00450 Optimal model-free control of solar thermal
data is still insufficient to obtain robust estimates. Therefore, para- membrane distillation system
meters from PV markets of other countries and parameters from the Bendevis, P. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133,
solar water heaters (SWH) market in Brazil are used in the analysis. 106622.
The latter approach is carefully justified. A comparative analysis of Membrane distillation (MD) is a water desalination technology that
distributed PV and SWH market features indicates that SWH diffusion has been attracting interest due to its potential to sustainably de-
parameters lead to a better representation of innovators behaviour for salinate water. MD is a thermally driven separation process, in which
residential PV adoption in Brazil than the parameters borrowed from only water vapour or other volatile molecules are transported through
other countries, which are used by the official projections performed by a micro-porous hydrophobic membrane. As such, it can operate with
the Brazilian regulator of the electricity sector. Moreover, a different low thermal energy input and is easily powered by simple solar
approach is proposed for estimating the final potential market. The collectors or industrial thermal waste. It is shown that the application
authors discuss the limitations of the official projections, since results of a model predictive control strategy to a solar-thermal direct contact
indicate that official projections overestimated the diffusion of MD system leads to a simplified model-free optimal solution. The
residential PV market in the early years. Finally, it is suggested that optimal controller is approximated by a bi-modal bang–bang controller
inaccurate signals could be given to stakeholders. in the daytime, and a greedy controller at night. The performance of
the temperature threshold bang–bang controller outperforms the time
21/00447 Mathematical modeling for the measurement of threshold bang–bang controller due to its direct control on the tank
the competitiveness index of Brazil south urban sectors for temperature. In all cases, production is significantly improved by using
installation of photovoltaic systems control compared to using fixed flow rate set points on the flow rate.
Rosa, C. B. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111048. The temperature threshold bang–bang control is shown to increase
In recent years, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy has become the most production by over 50% in simulations over a full month of real solar
growing form of renewable electricity generation in the world. Due to data, and in the case of scaled-up system dimensions.
its vast tropical territorial area, Brazil is one of the countries with the
most significant potential for PV implementation. However, by the end 21/00451 Partial shading detection for PV arrays in a
of 2018, the distributed generation of Brazil by PV source had only maximum power tracking system using the sine-cosine
2.4 W/inhabitant, while many countries have more than 100 W/inhabi- algorithm
tant. In order to identify opportunities for advancing PV participation Chandrasekaran, K. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020,
in the country, this paper proposes mathematical modelling based on 55, 105–121.
18 performance indicators capable of measuring the level of competi- This paper proposes a novel methodology for the detection of partial
tiveness of municipalities for the PV installation. The methodology shading conditions in photovoltaic (PV) arrays based on the experience
proposes the use of the multicriteria analytic hierarchy process gained in the preliminary step of the detection algorithm. In the first
technique. Through consultation in 100% of the 497 municipalities in stage of the problem, the periodic partial shading detection (PSD)
the state of Brazil with higher penetration of PV per capita, it was problem is solved to detect the periodic partial shading condition

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 69

13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

(PSC) and to determine the optimal number of executing point of the predicted cell temperature at the same backside heat transfer
maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm during PSC. The coefficient. In addition, increasing copper-II substrate area ratios
second stage of the PSD problem solves the MPPT problem to extract significantly reduces the average cell temperature at the same backside
the maximum power from PV array at the executing point. The PSD heat transfer coefficient and CR. At the highest backside heat transfer
problem is solved using the sine cosine algorithm (SCA) and to coefficient, when the copper-II substrate area increased, the cell
determine the global maximum operating point under various partial temperature decreased to a certain limit and subsequently remained
shading conditions, the improved sine cosine algorithm is proposed. constant. Critical values of the highest backside heat transfer
The proposed method is guaranteed to find periodic shade and the coefficient were about 200, 600, 1000 and 1600 W/m2 K at CRs of 50,
global maximum operating point, avoiding the local operating point 500, 1000 and 1500 Suns, respectively. In addition, at the highest
obstacle. Using MATLAB, the algorithm is implemented and tested in backside heat transfer coefficient of 1600 W/m2 K, the critical area ratio
a simulation model. An experimental 2 kW PV system is developed to values were about 2, 3, 4 and 6 at CRs of 50, 500, 1000 and 1500 Suns,
validate the operating point of the PV system under various partial respectively.
shading patterns. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm
outperforms the genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization-
based partial shading detection problem. 21/00455 Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of
gallium nitride thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass
substrate for future photovoltaic application
21/00452 Performance analysis of a novel solar PTC Qiu, P. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5765–5772.
integrated system for multi-generation with hydrogen To serve as an electron transport layer (ETL) or a buffer layer for the
production third-generation solar cells, a compact and uniform gallium nitride
Bamisile, O. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (GaN) thin layer with suitable energy level is needed. Meanwhile, it is
(1), 190–206. also meaningful to explore its low-temperature deposition especially on
In this study, a novel system powered by a solar parabolic trough transparent electrodes. In this work, GaN thin films have been
collector (PTC) for multi-generation (MG) with hydrogen production deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate for the
is presented. The system uses two Rankine cycles, two absorption first time by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD)
cycles, a hot water chamber and a proton exchange membrane electro- technology. A range of 280–300  C is identified as the optimized
lyser to produce electricity, cooling effect, hot water and hydrogen. deposition temperature for forming a compact and uniform n-type
This study focuses more on the energy and exergy performance of the GaN layer on FTO substrate. The 50–200 PEALD cycles of GaN layers
system. It can be concluded from the analysis results that solar PTC- show an amorphous structure, and their bandgap values ranging from
powered microgrid systems have potential in terms of efficiencies. In 3.95 to 3.58 eV have been displayed. Interestingly, as the GaN thickness
addition, microgrid systems powered with solar PTC or renewable increases, Fermi level moves upward obviously along with a reduction
energy sources are more environmentally friendly in comparison to of conduction band minimum value as well as an increase of valence
fossil-fuel-powered combined heat and power systems. band maximum value. The thickness-dependent band structure is
preliminarily explained as the relaxation of compressive stress and
21/00453 Performance analysis of two types of solar increased carrier concentration for a thicker GaN layer. The above
heating systems used in buildings under typical situation enables the energy level of GaN layer to be regulated via
North-African climate (Tunisia) thickness control, and thus accelerates its future application in new
Mehdaoui, F. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114203. generation solar cells.
This study considered using a solar heating system (SHS), for Tunisian
household air-heating needs. The energetic performances of two solar
heating technologies were compared: the SHS with an integrated active 21/00456 Study of cracking of methane for hydrogen
layer in the floor and a SHS with an integrated active layer in the wall. production using concentrated solar energy
The SHS mainly consisted of flat-plate solar collectors, a hot water Nezzari, B. and Gomri, R. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,
cylinder and an active layer integrated inside the heated building. The 2020, 45, (1), 135–148.
investigations of the energetic and thermal performances of the SHS In this study, the cracking phenomenon of the methane into hydrogen
were based on experimental and simulation studies. A complete model and carbon black taking place in a cylindrical cavity of 16 cm in
was formulated by means of the TRNSYS simulation program. To diameter and 40 cm in length under the heat of concentrated solar
validate the TRNSYS model, experimental tests under a typical north radiation without any catalyst is analysed. The effect of temperature,
African climate in Tunisia were performed. The optimization of the methane flow rate and residence time was analysed. From the view
SHP performances was achieved by considering the monthly/annual point of solar energy, two cases were studied: a maximum solar
solar fraction (SF). Then, the long-term performances of the solar radiation of 16 and 5 MW/m2. From the view point of phase numbers,
heating system with an integrated active layer in the floor and a solar three cases were considered: two phases, a mixture of three phases, i.e.
heating system with an integrated active layer in the wall were a carbon powder of two different diameters plus a gas phase, and five
evaluated. The results showed that the optimal sizing of the heating phases, i.e. a carbon powder of four different diameters plus a gas
system that allowed the supply of a maximum rate of the SF consisted phase. The highest cracking rate was given by the mixture of five
of using 6 m2 area of solar collector, a collector’s mass-flow rate of phases, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The
about 120 kg h1, a hot water storage cylinder with a capacity of 450 L use of a concentrator of 5 MW/m2 instead of a concentrator of 16 MW/
and a mass flow-rate inside the active layer about 300 kg h1. The m2 seems preferable even the cracking rate of CH4is less than 90% if
comparison of the long-term performance of the SHS showed that the that the effect of the solar heat at very high solar concentration on the
use of the floor as a heat source presented a great potential with a SF materials used in the cracking reactor are taken into account. The
of about 78%. It was also found that the use of the SHS reduced the quantities of hydrogen obtained reached maximum values for an inlet
relative humidity inside the tested room by about 35%. flow rate between 0.58 and 0.62 L/min and then they decrease with
increasing the flow rate. Any increase in throughput is therefore
unnecessary.
21/00454 Performance, limits, and thermal stress analysis
of high concentrator multijunction solar cell under passive
cooling conditions 21/00457 Thermal properties, permeability and
Abo-Zahhad, E. M. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, compressive strength of highly porous accumulated
114497. ceramsites in the foundation of salt tank for
Concentration of solar radiation onto the surface of triple-junction concentrate[d] solar power plants
solar cells causes high cell temperature and system failure. Recently, Zhou, H. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114451.
several cooling methods were proposed for these systems. However, Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants have a great potential for
quantitative evaluation of the essential heat transfer coefficients to development, the key component of which is thermal energy storage
maintain stable operation of these systems at different meteorological (TES). In this article, thermostability, porous structure, heat conduc-
and operating conditions is not found in the literature. Therefore, in tivity, permeability and pressure resistance of accumulated ceramsites
this study, a comprehensive three-dimensional coupled thermal and were researched. The effective thermal conductivity decreases from
structural model is proposed for the latest triple-junction AZUR 0.129 to 0.098 W/mK with porosity of 71.6–78.9% while the average
SPACE solar cell. The model is used to investigate the performance of simulated values of absolute permeability for four cases have a wide
a high concentrator photovoltaic system under different solar concen- range from 0.754  108 to 5.350  108 m2. The uniaxial compression
tration ratios (CRs), ambient temperature, direct solar irradiance, wind experiment of accumulated ceramsites was carried out for the stress–
speed, backside heat transfer coefficient and copper-II substrate area strain property, whose curve decreases with the increase of porosity of
ratios. In addition, a new structure of the solar cell is proposed by accumulated ceramsites. The ceramsites is a feasible material for the
modifying the typical solar cell assembly by changing the area of the foundation of the molten salt tank in CSP plants with its good thermal
rear copper layer. The results indicate that by increasing the ambient properties, low permeability and sufficient compressive strength, which
temperature, CR and direct solar irradiance significantly increase the are all related to porosity and particle size distribution.

70 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (wind energy)

Wind energy 21/00462 Aerodynamic characteristics of straight-bladed

vertical axis wind turbine with a curved-outline wind
gathering device
Li, Y. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112249.
21/00458 A modified composite fatigue damage model In order to improve the aerodynamic performance of the straight-
considering stiffness evolution for wind turbine blades bladed vertical axis wind turbine (SB-VAWT), a wind gathering device
Liu, H. et al. Composite Structures, 2020, 233, 111736. (WGD) with a curved outline installed at the up and down of the rotor
Proper fatigue life prediction is very essential for the safety of was proposed to obtain more wind energy. The B-spline curve
structural design, operation, and maintenance. This paper presents a construction was applied to the study of suitable curved outline of
modified composite fatigue damage model considering stiffness the WGD. The studied structure parameters of the WGD included the
evolution aimed at simulating the three periods of damage develop- radius ratio of the upper and lower plan, inlet angle and the outlet
ment. The proposed model containing two parameters avoids the angle. Firstly, based on the method of quadratic rotary orthogonal
trouble and complexity of multiparameter. Meanwhile, the stiffness combination design, the static performance effects of these parameters
degradation model and the life prediction model of two-stage loading of WGD on SB-VAWT were researched by three-dimensional
have a good agreement and high fitting accuracy with experiment data numerical simulation. A combination of optimum curve parameters
considering different types of composites. For better assessment, four was obtained. The influence of the WGD with different structure
existing models are also compared, demonstrated that the values parameters on the starting characteristics of SB-VAWTs was also
predicted by the modified model are much closer to the experimental calculated to investigate the fluid field effects of WGD on rotor.
data upon most occasions. Moreover, this model is applied to the Furthermore, the wind tunnel tests were carried out on the rotor with
fatigue test of a full-size wind turbine blade to show its availability and and without WGD included the rotational speed performance and
future prospect on real-time monitoring in service. output power characteristics. The results showed that both the static
and dynamic performance of SB-VAWT was increased in some degree
by adding the WGD with curved-outline. The maximum starting
21/00459 A new developed smart grid protection technique moment of SB-VAWT could be increased by 14.8%. The improvement
with wind farms based on positive sequence impedances is more obvious under the condition of low wind speed. This research
and current angles can be as a useful reference for the performance improving of SB-
Eissa, M. M. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, 106020. VAWT.
The wind farms penetration in power systems has an adverse impact on
transmission lines system protection due to the characteristics of wind
farms that are different from the conventional sources during fault 21/00463 Corrected multi-resolution ensemble model for
occurrence. Different factors such as the distributed generation wind power forecasting with real-time decomposition and
concept, the own behaviour of the wind generator, variation of wind bivariate kernel density estimation
farm impedance during faults inside the farm, and varying wind speed Liu, H. and Duan, Z. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
arise different challenges regarding the behaviour of the relay 112265.
protection. The paper introduces a novel protection technique based The power integration is a challenge for the power system because of
on total positive sequence impedance and positive sequence current the fluctuation of the wind power. Wind power forecasting can estimate
angles through wide area monitoring system. A new protection-setting the future fluctuation of the wind power, and enhance the safety of the
contour with an efficient and capacity to identify the faulted zone power integration. In this study, a corrected multi-resolution forecast-
during different fault conditions is developed. The proposed protection ing model is proposed to improve current wind power forecasting
scheme tripping action has to fulfil the fault ride through capability. performance. The proposed model contains three stages, including
The results showed a simple and robust new protection system for such multi-resolution ensemble, adaptive multiple error corrections and
smart grid configuration system with wind farms. uncertainty estimation. Four real-time wind power data sets are
applied to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. The results
are shown as follows: (a) the proposed model is effective for wind
21/00460 A two-level approach for three-dimensional power forecasting, the one-step index of agreement and coverage
micro-siting optimization of large-scale wind farms width-based criterion with 99% confidence level of the proposed model
Song, M. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116340. on the dataset #1 are 0.9432 and 0.6951, respectively; (b) the proposed
For three-dimensional micro-siting of large-scale wind farms, it is model outperforms the previous models. Through techno-economic
difficult for the traditional once-and-for-all approach to search for analysis, it can be concluded that the proposed model has the potential
optimal solutions when tuning all the turbine locations and heights to be applied to improve the power integration performance.
simultaneously. In this paper, a two-level optimization approach is
presented for three-dimensional micro-siting optimization of large-
scale wind farms. The proposed approach uses a hierarchical structure, 21/00464 Innovation modelling and multi-factor learning in
where the wind farm is considered as a compound that consists of wind energy technology
several blocks with identical sizes. A multi-objective algorithm is used Odam, N. and de Vries, F. P. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104594.
to optimize one block, producing a set of block candidates. Then the Learning curves are frequently cited to justify the subsidization of new
compound-level algorithm optimizes the whole wind farm layout by technologies to facilitate market competitiveness. The main literature
searching among all possible combinations of the block candidates. The has focused on improving the specification of the basic learning curve
proposed approach is tested on 24 cases with different choices and model by augmenting it to control for technological development
combinations of objective, wind scenario and number of turbines. The measured by public R&D expenditures. In addition to employing R&D
results show that the proposed method can significantly reduce the expenditures, the purpose of this paper is to assess the robustness of an
difficulty of searching for the optimal solution, and demonstrates augmented multi-factor learning curve model by estimating learning
noticeable improvements than the traditional one-level approach. rates in a panel framework utilizing patent data on relevant wind power
technologies in Germany, Denmark, Spain and the UK. Results
indicate that both innovation proxies are qualitatively identical and
21/00461 Achieving robust damage mode identification of
generate consistent learning estimates. The paper also aims at
adhesive composite joints for wind turbine blade using
exploring the presence of unit roots in learning curves and alerts to
acoustic emission and machine learning
the possibility of spurious estimations. Renewable energy policy guided
Xu, D. et al. Composite Structures, 2020, 236, 111840.
by learning curve estimates should therefore be implemented with
Interest in damage mode classification of composite structures by
caution.
acoustic emission (AE) inspection technique and clustering analysis by
machine learning has been increasingly growing. Furthermore, hyper-
parameters in clustering analysis promote the need for more robust 21/00465 Torsional subsynchronous oscillations caused
clustering algorithms. This paper presents a clustering method by fast by grid-connected wind farms in a complex multi-machine
search and find of density peaks, where robust identification for power system under the condition of near strong modal
different damage modes can be achieved by means of similarities of AE resonance
signals. Based on the clustering analysis, matrix cracking and shear Du, W. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 179, 106085.
failure of the adhesive layer are demonstrated to be fundamental and Dynamic interactions introduced by grid-connected wind farms are
characteristic damage modes, respectively. Meanwhile, similarities of multivariable. This is why wind farms’ models need to be simplified
AE signals for various damage modes in the subspace of AE features when the impedance-model-based analysis is applied to examine
are explored in detail. The interface debonding (fibre/matrix interface whether negative resistance is supplied by the wind farms to cause
debonding and adhesive failure) and the cracking of polymer (matrix subsynchronous oscillations (SSOs). This paper examines and reveals
cracking and cohesive failure) behave similarly in the subspace of the mechanism of torsional SSOs caused by grid-connected wind farms
selected AE features. As a different damage mode, fibre breakage is from the standpoint of near strong modal resonance (NESMOR). This
shown to be more similar to delamination, in contrast with other considers fully the multivariable dynamic interactions introduced by
damage modes in the subspace. Moreover, effects of the selection of wind farms in a complex multi-machine power system without
cluster number, the metric of spatial similarity and the value of cut-off simplifying the models of wind farms. The analysis was based on the
index on the clustering results are shown to be negligible. multi-input–multi-output (MIMO) closed-loop model with two inter-

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 71

13 Alternative energy supplies (others, including economics)

connected subsystems and indicates that the open-loop modal 21/00469 Capital and policy impacts on Australian
proximity (OLMP) of interconnected subsystems is a special case of small-scale solar installations
NESMOR. When the NESMOR happens, growing torsional SSOs may Best, R. and Trück, S. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111082.
be excited by the grid-connected wind farms. Hence, the analysis This paper investigates whether capital constraints are evident for
unveils the connection between the modal condition of OLMP and uptake of small-scale solar photovoltaic installations, using cross-
NESMOR, shedding a deeper insight into the mechanism of torsional sectional regressions with Australian regional data up to March 2019.
SSOs caused by wind farms. In addition, a method was proposed to There is an inverse U-shaped relationship between a number of
detect the NESMOR. An example multi-machine power system with different measures of capital and small-scale solar installations for both
two grid-connected wind farms is presented to demonstrate the analysis the 0–10 and 10–100 kW capacity categories. The positive relationship
and method. between capital and solar installations at the low end of the capital
distribution suggests that capital constraints may provide an ongoing
challenge for policymakers seeking to encourage the uptake of small-
scale solar installations. There is also a negative association between
average income and small-scale solar installations. Policymakers seek-
Others, including economics ing to increase small-scale solar installations may achieve efficiency
gains by targeting capital constraints rather than income constraints.
An effective capital subsidy for addressing capital constraints, the
small-scale renewable energy scheme, has had a substantial impact on
21/00466 A lumped parameter model to explain the cause solar uptake for systems in both the 0–10 and 10–100 kW capacity
of the hysteresis in OWC-Wells turbine systems for wave categories. In contrast, there is a lack of evidence of a substantial effect
energy conversion of several other policies targeting community organizations.
Ghisu, T. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 94, 101994.
A Wells turbine is an axial-flow turbine consisting of a rotor usually
with symmetric (uncambered) blades staggered at a 90 degree angle 21/00470 Investment in renewable energy considering
relative to the machine’s axis. This turbine is used within oscillating game theory and wind-hydro diversification
water column (OWC) systems: during its normal operation, the blades Garcı́a Mazo, C. M. et al. Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020, 28, 100447.
experience a continuous change in incidence angle, that according to This paper explores the relationship among resource complementarity,
many authors is at the origin of a hysteresis in its force coefficients. diversification and strategic investment in a power market with two
Aerodynamic hysteresis in rapidly moving airfoils is a well-known energy sources: water and wind. A review of diversification studies
phenomenon, but happens only at non-dimensional frequencies shows that the strategic aspects of investment, which arise from the
significantly larger than the ones encountered in Wells turbines. This oligopolistic structure of power markets, are often overlooked.
work presents a re-examination of the two phenomena, that shows the Similarly, studies of strategic investment usually focus on price
unlikeliness of the presence of any aerodynamic hysteresis in Wells formation and do not analyse resource complementarity. This paper
turbines. A simple yet effective lumped parameter analysis is used to proposes an investment game with two players simultaneously
prove how the real cause of the hysteresis is to be found in a different installing new hydro or wind power generation capacity to satisfy
phenomenon. Given its simplicity, accuracy, and short running times, demand in the same market. Individual payoffs depend on resource
the lumped parameter model presented in its work could be an ideal availability, and the equilibrium outcomes are evaluated for different
candidate to be used to estimate the phase delay between conditions in wind–hydro correlations. The high negative correlation between
the OWC chamber and in the turbine duct when implementing control resources increases diversification and investors’ payoffs. The results
strategies aimed at maximizing the energy captured by the OWC suggest that diversification has a strategic value for individuals and for
system, on its own or in combination with similar systems modelling the the security of supply.
behaviour of the water column within the OWC.
21/00471 Modelling strategy and net employment effects of
21/00467 Advanced methodology for wind resource renewable energy and energy efficiency: a meta-regression
assessment near hydroelectric dams in complex Stavropoulos, S. and Burger, M. J. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111047.
mountainous areas By conducting a meta-analysis of the empirical literature on the net
Yang, L. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116487. employment effects of renewable energy, the authors explore the extent
To increase renewable energy generation in some hydroelectric dams, a to which the reported net employment effects are driven by the applied
solution consisting in installing wind turbines close to dams is methodology. It was found that the reported conclusions on net
proposed. Indeed, dam surroundings are prone to benefit from wind employment effects are to a large extent driven by the methodology
speed-up effect, extra wind generation associated with thermal winds, that is applied, where computable general equilibrium and I/O
and existing electrical infrastructure. Identifying the most suitable methods that include induced effects and studies that consider only
locations for turbines, that is, areas of relatively high-speed and low- the near future in their study period (up to 2020) are generally less
turbulence wind, is fundamental to maximize this complementary optimistic about net employment creation in the wake of the energy
power. Easy accessibility to turbines and minimum distance to dam transition. In addition, it was found that policy reports have a greater
electrical infrastructure are also essential to reduce the costs. Thus, a tendency to report a positive net employment effect than academic
methodology is proposed to improve wind resource assessment in studies.
complex mountainous areas. First, potentially interesting dams are
chosen using statistical local wind data. Second, weighted results of 21/00472 Numerical studies and proposal of design
wind speed and turbulence intensity, considering all wind directions are equations on cylindrical oscillating wave surge converters
presented based on computational fluid dynamics simulations. Finally, under regular waves using SPH
wind power density and annual energy production maps are generated, Liu, Z. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112242.
along with accessibility maps, to identify suitable sites. The Camarasa An oscillating wave surge converter extracts energy from sea waves and
dam in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula is chosen as case study converts it into electricity. Its main components are a flap, hinge, base,
to show and test the proposed methodology. Error estimations are and power take-off system. In this paper, an oscillating wave surge
provided, along with validation against wind atlas data and WAsP converter comprising a cylindrical flap, made up of several cylinders, is
simulations. numerically investigated under regular waves using the smoothed
particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. A comparison between
21/00468 Algal biorefinery models with self-sustainable cylindrical and box-type rectangular flaps is performed firstly, in which
closed loop approach: trends and prospective for blue- the former extracts more energy and is more suitable in bearing water
bioeconomy pressures than the latter. Subsequently, the effects of five parameters
Venkata Mohan, S. et al. Bioresource Technology, 2020, 295, 122128. (load conditions, total flap mass, hinge height from the seabed,
Microalgae due to its metabolic versatility have received a focal damping of the power take-off system, and the flap thickness) are
attention in the biorefinery and bioeconomy context. Microalgae systematically examined. To investigate the effects of motion reson-
products have broad and promising application potential in the domain ance, the natural periods of the structures are also studied. Meanwhile,
of renewable fuels/energy, nutraceutical, pharmaceuticals and cos- correlation, partial correlation, and linear regression analysis are
metics. Biorefining of microalgal biomass in a circular loop with an aim conducted to obtain a detailed understanding of the effects of the
to maximize resource recovery is being considered as one of the parameters. The details about how to apply the conclusions to full scale
sustainable option that will have both economic and environmental model or even real sea states are discussed also. Numerical results
viability. The expansive scope of microalgae cultivation with self- show that the heavier and thinner the flap, or the higher the hinge, the
sustainability approach was discussed in this communication in the better the wave-absorption performance will be. As the damping
framework of blue-bioeconomy. Microalgae based primary products, increases, the extracted energy increases initially and then decreases.
cultivation strategies, valorization of microalgae biomass for secondary Wave conditions contribute the most to wave absorption and are the
products and integrated biorefinery models for the production of key parameter in the designs of the converters, followed by hinge
multi-based products were discussed. The need and prospect of self- height, damping, thickness, and mass of the flap. Motion-resonance
sustainable models in closed loop format was also elaborated. also benefits the wave-absorptions. The proposed equations in the

72 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (others, including economics)

linear regression analysis all show high statistical significance level, exploitation phases leading to find out near global optimal solution. To
which can be regarded as reference when designing this kind of study its performance and efficiency, SCA has been applied to solve
converters, accelerating the design process. different cases (i.e. economic load scheduling, economic emission
scheduling, combined economic emission scheduling) of HTS and
21/00473 On the trade-offs of regulating multiple unpriced hydrothermal wind scheduling (HTWS) problems. Furthermore,
externalities with a single instrument: evidence from biofuel optimal power flow based HTWS is studied for a standard nine-bus
policies system. Results offered by some newly surfaced algorithms (such as
Landry, J. R. and Bento, A. M. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104557. teaching learning-based optimization, gravitational search algorithm,
This study develops an analytical and numerical model that integrates real-coded genetic algorithm, etc.) have been compared with those
land, fuel, and food markets to evaluate the welfare implications of the offered by the SCA to establish its effectiveness. Utility of wind energy
US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Each dollar reduction in the in scheduling problem has been proposed in this work.
external costs of oil dependency comes at the expense of additional
environmental external costs of $0.53. Conditional on the categories of 21/00477 Renewable energy contingencies in power
external benefits considered, the RFS fails a benefit–cost test when systems: concept and case study
excluding the change in the trade balance, with net costs totalling Chattopadhyay, M. and Chattopadhyay, D. Energy for Sustainable
$1.4 billion in 2015. Further, policymakers would have to value the Development, 2020, 54, 25–35.
external costs of oil dependency at $1.05 per gallon of gasoline in order This paper introduces the concept of renewable energy contingencies
for the RFS to pass a benefit–cost test, which is nearly five times larger that represent long-term/extended variability of variable renewable
than central estimates of the oil premium. energy (VRE) resources, namely, significant periods (e.g. days/weeks)
of low wind/solar availability. These contingencies have not received
21/00474 Optimized wind and wave energy resource much attention to date but are likely to emerge as a major issue in
assessment and offshore exploitability in the Mediterranean some countries such as India as the share of VRE increases. Using
Sea 38 years of climate model reanalysis data for wind over India, it is
Ferrari, F. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116447. demonstrated that low periods of wind contingency below long-term
A mapping of wind and wave potentials of the whole Mediterranean (Indian) national average of 5 m/s can extend for more than 100 days in
basin, aimed at identifying the areas where wind and wave events are several zones some of which are deploying large wind farms. Even in
not time-correlated, was performed in order to plan offshore coupled some of the best wind resource areas in India with long-term average
wind-wave energy extraction. For this purpose, meteorological and wind speed close to 7 m/s, low wind days (e.g. 5 m/s which is
marine conditions of the whole Mediterranean basin for the period substantially below average) can extend up to 60 days. A four-step
1979–2016 were obtained by means of WRF and WaveWatch III methodology is proposed around a co-optimization-based energy-
simulations. More promising areas where to plan a hybrid installation ancillary services dispatch model to assess the impact of renewable
for the joint exploitation of wind and wave energy resources were thus contingency and implemented it for the state of Tamil Nadu, the most
selected on the basis of a suitable statistical index. Such an index, wind-rich state of India. The annual renewable contingency cost impact
combines information on the availability of wind and waves together of 5 GW additional wind in Tamil Nadu is estimated to be in the range
with the degree of correlation of the occurrence of the two resources. of US$27–76 million a year. Therefore, planning analyses should
The index will efficiently select the most interesting area in the embrace the concept of renewable contingency to recognize these
Mediterranean Sea characterized by non-concomitant-in-time avail- costs and put in place necessary spinning reserve and back-up
ability of wind and wave thus ensuring an optimized time-availability of generation resources.
the combined resources. Finally the power production of an hypothe-
tical hybrid plant composed by different models of wind rotors and 21/00478 Renewable energy investment risk
wave energy converters is evaluated for four test sites. The results of assessment for nations along China’s belt & road
this analysis shows that the described index represents a useful tool for initiative: an ANP-cloud model method
preliminary evaluation of areas where combined wind-wave energy Wu, Y. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116381.
extraction could be more profitable. With the active promotion of the ‘belt & road initiative’, renewable
energy investment shows the market prospect of explosive growth in
21/00475 Phase-based externality analysis for large various countries. However, the overseas renewable energy investment
hydropower projects risks faced by Chinese companies are synthesized, variegated and long
Xia, B. et al. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 80, term, requiring comprehensive assessments and joint responses. To
106332. evaluate the risks in renewable energy investment for nations along belt
The global pressure of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with an & road initiative, this paper established an analytic network process
increasing energy demand has promoted the development of hydro- (ANP)-cloud framework in consideration of the randomness of
power projects. However, these projects are always involved with information. Firstly, 32 risk factors covering technical, political,
controversial issues even when providing great positive externalities. economic, resource, social/environmental risks and Chinese factors
This calls for more comprehensively quantitative analysis of hydro- were identified and 54 nations studied and classified into six groups.
power project externalities. This paper establishes an analysis frame- Then, the ANP method was employed to determine four sets of weights
work for hydropower project externalities based on the life cycle based on grouping, so that mutual influence among factors could be
assessment methodology and the economic valuation of hydropower taken into account. Furthermore, the overall risks were calculated
externalities, and then applies the framework to the assessment of the through the cloud model according to their membership degree. The
Three Gorges Project and the Xiluodu Project as cases. The results results indicated that political risks, economic risks and resource risks
indicate that: (1) hydropower project externalities are multi-com- occupy the main determinant position during the overseas renewable
ponent and dynamic in different phases of project life cycle; (2) the energy investment while Chinese factors have certain effects on
construction of large hydropower projects is beneficial for social investment behaviours. Finally, recommendations are given for
welfare promotion, but the enhancement does not appear immediately investors and decision-makers to help choose a more appropriate
at the start-up but after a delay and (3) along the life cycle of a nation to invest in, strengthen risk prevention and control as well.
hydropower project, negative externalities are prominent in the early
phases while positive ones account for a major proportion in the late 21/00479 Restoring the natural flow regime of a large
phases, calling for special attention to risk management during the hydroelectric complex: costs and considerations
construction and benefit allocation management during project Opgrand, J. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116260.
operation. The results and recommendations of this paper can also Electricity generated from hydropower is considered a clean energy
be applied to other types of public or private projects for better social source because it is both renewable and non-carbon emitting. However,
performance. large hydroelectric complexes can generate a wide range of deleterious
impacts on downstream ecosystems. This paper describes an approach
21/00476 Power flow based hydro-thermal-wind scheduling for estimating the system-wide electricity costs of altering the
of hybrid power system using sine cosine algorithm operation, called reoperation, of a large hydroelectric complex for
Dasgupta, K. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, 106018. the purpose of partially restoring natural downstream ecosystems. The
Different types of optimization techniques are being applied in authors study the effect of reoperating the Akosombo hydroelectricity
hydrothermal scheduling (HTS) problem for optimizing fuel cost, complex in Ghana because the Akosombo plays a critical role in
emissions and combined cost emissions. Using fossil fuels for thermal regional electricity production and the construction of the Akosombo
power generation increases global warming and environmental Dam substantially altered the natural flow of the Volta River. This was
pollution. In this work, environmentally friendly clean energy, such done by comparing the observed operations for a 1-year period
as wind power, has been integrated with the HTS problem to overcome spanning 2004–2005 with reoperation scenarios that have the goal of
the effect of thermal pollution and to reduce generation costs. A novel making the dam outflow pattern closer to the inflow pattern. The
sine cosine algorithm (SCA) has been implemented to minimize impact of these reoperation strategies were quantified on regional
generation cost and fuel emission. The different control parameters of electricity costs using a calibrated model of productivity at the
the SCA have been properly utilized to balance the exploration and the Akosombo Dam and a model of regional electricity generation and

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 73

13 Alternative energy supplies (others, including economics)

trade. It was found that if annual generation stays essentially the same 21/00483 Thermal and kinetic analysis of diverse biomass
with increased wet season generation offsetting decreased dry season fuels under different reaction environment: a way forward to
generation, the increase in annual costs to the West African Power renewable energy sources
Pool is about $20 million. If dam operation is altered to be as close to Sher, F. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112266.
run of river as possible, annual generation decreases due to water This study investigates the thermal and kinetic analysis of six diverse
spillage, and system-wide costs increase $155 million. biomass fuels, in order to provide valuable information for power and
energy generation. Pyrolytic, combustion and kinetic analyses of barley
straw, miscanthus, waste wood, wheat straw, short rotation coppicing
(SRC) willow and wood pellet were examined by non-isothermal
21/00480 Stand-alone renewable energy auctions: the case
thermogravimetry analyser, differential thermogravimetric and differ-
of Peru
ential scanning calorimetry techniques. Biomass fuels were thermally
Lucas, H. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, 151–160.
degraded under N2, air, CO2 and the selected oxy-fuel (30% O2/70%
Electrification policies are crucial to improve the welfare of rural
CO2) reaction environments. The thermal degradation under inert N2
populations worldwide. In this context, auctions for the deployment of
and CO2 atmospheres showed an almost identical rate of weight loss
stand-alone solar home systems (SASHS) are an appropriate alterna-
(R), reactivity (RM  103) and activation energy (Ea) profiles. Similar
tive to facilitate access to electricity in rural areas. The aim of this
profiles for R, RM and Ea were observed for the environments under air
paper is to analyse the design elements and functioning of the SASHS
(21% O2/79% N2) and the oxy-fuel combustion. Results indicated that
auction in Peru in order to derive lessons for the effective and efficient
the thermal decomposition rate for biomass fuels in an oxidizing
design of those auctions. Based on an analytical framework developed
condition was faster than in an inert atmosphere, favourable effect on
elsewhere, this article draws on official documents and data, secondary
thermal degradation of biomass fuels was observed when oxygen
material and interviews with stakeholders. The results show that some
content increased from 21% to 30%. Higher activation energies with
design elements are particularly suitable in this regard. In contrast to
lower reactivity were observed for the biomass fuels that have low
renewable electricity auctions in general, for which the volume
cellulosic contents as compared to the other fuels. Regression analysis
auctioned is usually set as capacity (MW) or generation (MWh), the
confirmed that the reaction order 0.5 modelled fitted well for all
volume of SASHS auctions should be set in terms of the number of
biomass samples. All these findings will provide valuable information
SASHS providing an electricity service. Geographical diversity, with
and promote the advancement of future researches in this field.
different auctions per region, would ensure the adoption of a minimum
amount of SASHS in a given geographical area. Financial solvency, but
not technical reputation, should be required. Otherwise, only the 21/00484 Three-dimensional modelling of turbine wake
incumbents would be able to participate in the auction. The choice of interactions at a tidal stream energy site
technology-specific, price-only, sealed-bid, single-item auctions brings Michelet, N. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 95, 102009.
benefits in terms of economies of scale, lower support or transaction One of the biggest uncertainties in tidal stream energy resource
costs and a greater transparency or simplicity. A correction factor on assessment is how tidal energy conversion, particularly on a large scale,
the remuneration which accounts for the quality of the service, as will interact with the resource. As few turbine arrays are currently
applied in the Peru auction, is suitable for this type of auctions. Finally, operational, data collected from these developments tends to be
provision of technical information, which facilitates the participation in commercially sensitive. Therefore, array interaction with the resource
the auction, and the implementation of a non-disclosed ceiling price is generally assessed using numerical models. A fully three-dimensional
are deemed appropriate. In contrast, given the low presence of local numerical approach based on actuator disk theory was implemented
companies in the Peruvian PV market, the adoption of local content into the regional ocean modelling system to simulate the energy
requirements would lead to higher support costs without significantly extraction by tidal stream turbines. Emphasis was placed on wake
increasing the local development potential. interactions and cumulative effects of individual devices on energy
extraction at array scale. This model was applied at the tidal stream
energy site of the Fromveur Strait (western Brittany, France)
21/00481 Stochastic analysis of nonlinear wave energy considering an array of horizontal-axis turbines of 10-m diameter,
converters via statistical linearization matching the device technology currently operating in the Strait. Two
Silva, L. S. P. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 95, 102023. tidal energy metrics were considered to describe asymmetries in tidal
In the initial stages of wave energy converter development, a wide current magnitude and direction. The area with reduced asymmetry in
range of design parameters should be tested and analysed across all current magnitude was selected to implement the turbine array. A
operational sea states. As a result, it is required to conduct a large nested grid technique was adopted to cascade processes from the
number of time domain simulations that are computationally expens- regional scale to the high-resolution local farm domain. The
ive. The following study presents the application of a fast and high- computation was conducted over the inner-nested array domain
fidelity alternative technique, named statistical linearization (SL), that covering the tidal farm with horizontal and vertical resolutions of
can be used for the stochastic analysis of non-linear wave energy 1 m, matching the 1/10th turbine diameter (D) recommended to resolve
converters. The method consists of an approximate solution that allows velocity and turbulence intensity along device wakes. The array layout
one to quickly estimate the contribution of non-linear terms using a initially followed recommended staggered configurations with longi-
probabilistic model. The application of the statistical linearization is tudinal and lateral spacings of 10D and 5D, respectively. However,
demonstrated using three conceptually different wave energy con- during mean spring tidal conditions, the misalignment of peak flood
verters, a point absorber, an oscillating wave surge converter, and an currents induced significant wake interactions that reduced the array
oscillating water column, with distinct non-linear dynamics. The output by about 15% in comparison to peak ebb. These interactions
performance of SL is assessed against non-linear time-domain were investigated to adapt array layouts, minimize wake interactions,
simulations in terms of spatial response distributions and power and optimize the energy conversion. By reducing the lateral spacing
spectral densities of responses and excitation loads, mean offsets, mean between devices to 3D (measured centre to centre rather than tip to tip),
absorbed power and equivalent linear terms. The results show a good the flood ebb asymmetry in energy extraction was lowered from 15%
agreement between the two types of models for all wave energy to 2%.
converters considered, while showing that SL is approximately three to
four orders of magnitude faster than the time domain model.
21/00485 Wave energy dissipation of a submerged
horizontal flexible porous membrane under oblique wave
interaction
21/00482 The economic and emissions benefits of Guo, Y. C. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 94, 101948.
engineered wood products in a low-carbon future An analytical model associated with oblique wave interaction with a
Winchester, N. and Reilly, J. M. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104596. submerged horizontal flexible porous membrane is presented under the
There has been rapid growth in the use of engineered wood products in assumption of linearized small amplitude and structural response in
the construction sector in recent decades. Here the authors evaluate finite water depth. The expansion formula associated with Green’s
the economy-wide impacts on CO2 emissions from fossil energy use of functions using fundamental source potentials based on reduced wave
replacing carbon-intensive construction inputs, such as steel and equation is derived. Further, a physical problem of oblique wave
cement, with lumber products in the USA under an emissions interaction with a moored finite horizontal submerged flexible porous
constraint. It was found that the ability to substitute lumber-based membrane on wave energy dissipation is illustrated to analyse the
building materials increases production from the lumber and forestry different design parameter based on matched eigenfunction expansion
sectors and decreases production from carbon-intensive sectors such as method. The roots of the complex dispersion relation are obtained by
cement. Under a carbon cap-and-trade policy, the ability to substitute applying a perturbation scheme and the accuracy of the numerical
lumber products lowers the carbon price and the GDP cost of meeting computation is demonstrated by analysing the convergence of reflec-
the carbon cap, with more overall emissions abatement in the tion, transmission, and dissipation coefficients for different spring
construction industry. The paper briefly reviews the broader impact stiffness and porous-effect parameters. Further, the correctness of the
of forest harvest on carbon levels in forests, critical to determining the present solution is checked by validating against analytical, numerical
full life cycle impacts of greater lumber use, but do not add anything boundary element method, and experimental data available in the
new to this literature. literature. The effects of spring stiffness, porous-effect parameter,

74 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 14 Fuel science and technology (fundamental science, analysis, instrumentation)

submergence depth, structural length, angle of incidence, and flow present that SCSO is highly competitive in terms of accuracy,
pattern on reflection, transmission, dissipation coefficients, membrane robustness, convergence and statistics compared with other advanced
deflection, vertical force, and contour plots are analysed. The present algorithms.
analysis on different design parameters will be helpful for better
understanding for engineers to design as an effective breakwater/wave 21/00489 An effective gamma white spots removal method
absorber. for CCD-based neutron images denoising
Zhao, C. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 150, 111375.
In CCD-based neutron radiography and tomography, resulting digital
neutron images are usually degraded by gamma white spots caused by
the interaction between high energy gamma radiation and the charge-
coupled device (CCD) detector. The gamma white spots have a major
14 FUEL SCIENCE AND impact on the accuracy of quantitative data analysis and are difficult to
remove due to their high magnitudes and non-uniform distribution.
TECHNOLOGY This paper proposes a novel iterative filtering method based on a
‘detection-corrosion’ strategy for degraded neutron image denoising. A
collaborative filtering method is adopted via integrating a spatially
adaptive filter and a median filter for gamma white spots detection and
removal. The experimental results show that the proposed method can
Fundamental science, analysis, achieve satisfactory denoising effect with preferable preservation of
image details.
instrumentation
21/00490 Application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
in coalbed methane and shale reservoirs: a review
21/00486 A mid-infrared region (MIR) lumped group Liu, Z. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 218, 103261.
contribution based method for monitoring light gases and Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been applied widely and
gasolines in fluid catalytic cracking successfully in conventional and unconventional reservoirs, and can be
Lopez-Zamora, S. and de Lasa, H. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, used to investigate petrophysical properties and fluid flow character-
212, 115324. istics. This non-destructive, sensitive, and quick technique has been
A lumped group contribution method (GCM) is applied in the 3200– utilized in determination of pore type, porosity, pore size distribution,
2800 cm1 id-infrared region (MIR) to determine lumped fluid permeability prediction, wettability estimation, and fluid type, state and
catalytic cracking (FCC) product fractions. This GCM based on flow behaviour. In this paper, the application of NMR to investigate
molecular functionality, predicts hydrocarbon absorption MIR spectra. coalbed methane and shale reservoirs is reviewed. Most of the reviewed
In this analysis, lumps considered for light gases (LG) are paraffins (n- studies are related to porosity and pore characteristics, which can be
paraffins and iso-paraffins) and olefins. As well, lumps for gasolines determined by analysing the characteristics of the T2 distribution,
include n-paraffins, iso-paraffins, olefins, naphthenes and aromatics allowing for examination of pore type and pore connectivity as well as
(PIONA). To accomplish this, a sampling system, designated as the calculation of total porosity and pore size distribution. Permeability
‘CREC-MIR Hydrocarbons Sampling System’ is considered. The models developed for reservoir rocks and based on porosity deter-
method is validated using earlier data obtained in a CREC riser mined using NMR are well established and have been extended or
simulator and a constrained non-linear multivariable minimization. modified to evaluate the permeability of coal or shale. Reviewed
This leads to minimum deviations of 2.47% of the root mean squared studies also include wettability investigation by comparing the
error of prediction for paraffins and olefins in LG. This also gives subtraction of T2 distribution before and after fluid injection.
minimum deviations in the gasoline of 1.11% for n-paraffins, of 1.34% Reviewed recent advances have further discussed the method of
for iso-paraffins, 5.97% for olefins, 2.12% for naphthenes and 6.92% distinguishing fluid type, fluid state, and simulating fluid behaviour
for aromatics. using one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR methods combined
with changes of T2 distribution. The aim of this review is to provide
21/00487 A non-linear stability monitor for boiling water readers with an overview of the capabilities of NMR and its extension
reactors to scientific research by improving the parameter optimization of the
Olvera-Guerrero, O. A. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, instrument and establishing the calculation method for effective
106983. surface relaxivity for coals or shales.
In this work a novel boiling water reactor (BWR) stability monitor
rooted in the Higuchi fractal dimension is presented. This monitor 21/00491 Characterization of thermal contacts between
detects incipient cyclic unstable oscillations related to density wave heat exchangers and a thermoelectric module by impedance
phenomenon through the analysis of irregularity or roughness of spectroscopy
recorded signals from the local power range monitors using the Beltrán-Pitarch, B. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165,
Higuchi fractal dimension. The main goal of this work is to introduce to 114361.
the BWR scientific community the potentialities of studying the Heat to electricity energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric
roughness of local power range monitors time series through fractal (TE) device is not only influenced by the TE materials properties, but it
analysis to detect core stability instead of relying on conventional also depends on the temperature difference between both sides of the
power spectrum analysis techniques to achieve this important goal for TE legs. Keeping this temperature difference as close as possible to the
this type of nuclear reactors, the detection of instabilities. This monitor temperature difference between the heat sink and the heat source is
is tested with real unstable signals that are provided by the Forsmark crucial to maximize the TE device performance. However, achieving
and Ringhals stability frameworks and with stable signals that stem this is quite difficult, mainly due to the thermal contact resistance at
from a typical BWR. The proposed monitor is capable of classifying the interfaces between the TE module and the heat sink/source. In this
stable states from unstable ones. study, it is analysed the effect of this thermal contact resistance on the
impedance spectroscopy response of a TE module that is thermally
21/00488 A simplified competitive swarm optimizer for contacted by two aluminium blocks, which act as heat exchangers. A
parameter identification of solid oxide fuel cells new theoretical model (equivalent circuit) that takes into account the
Xiong, G. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112204. thermal contact resistance is developed, which includes two new
Identifying reliable and accurate parameters of a solid oxide fuel cell elements that depend on this parameter. The equivalent circuit is
(SOFC) is very important to simulate and analyse its dynamic tested with experimental impedance measurements where the thermal
conversion behaviour. In this paper, a simplified variant of competitive contact is varied. It is demonstrated that using this equivalent circuit
swarm optimizer (SCSO) is proposed to solve the parameter the thermal contact resistivity can be easily determined, which opens
identification problem of SOFC models. The competitive swarm up the possibility of using impedance spectroscopy as a tool to quantify
optimizer performs well especially on unimodal optimization problems. and monitor this crucial property for the TE device performance.
However, it is with the drawbacks of ‘two steps forward, one step back’
and deviating from the promising direction, resulting in low searching 21/00492 Conceptual study on a novel method for detecting
efficiency when solving complex multimodal optimization problems. nuclear material using a neutron source
SCSO adopts two simplified components to conquer the drawbacks: Komeda, M. and Toh, Y. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106993.
(i) a simplified learning equation: the losers just learn from the winners This paper presents a conceptual study of a novel active method for
excluding the mean position of the population; and (ii) a renewed way detecting nuclear material by using a continuous neutron source. When
of random numbers: random numbers are renewed for each loser a container housing nuclear material is irradiated with neutrons, the
rather than for each dimension of each loser. SCSO is applied to a measurement data recorded by neutron detectors includes both
Siemen Energy cylindrical cell and a 5-kW dynamic tubular stack. In neutrons from the neutron source and those from induced fission
addition, the influence of weight parameter and the benefit of reactions. For detecting nuclear material, it is necessary to distinguish
simplified components are also experimentally investigated. Results the fission neutron component from the source neutron component.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 75

14 Fuel science and technology (fundamental science, analysis, instrumentation)

The uniqueness of the new method is that it varies the effective The second law performance of the ecofriendly graphene-based
intensity of a continuous neutron source by moving it rapidly near the nanofluid inside the tubes fitted with novel rotary coaxial cross
container. As a result of the variation on the effective source intensity, double-twisted tape (RCCDTT) is studied. Indeed, this study examines
the delay between the moment the source is geometrically closest to the the effects of using both active and passive heat transfer enhancement
sample and the peaking time of the neutron count rate is detected. This methods simultaneously. Several weight fractions are examined and
delay is caused mainly by the fission neutron component, that is, the effects of the twisted ratio are also considered. The combination of
diffusion time of thermalized neutrons, which induce fission reactions these two techniques results in great decrement in the total entropy
in the container, which enables nuclear material to be detected from generation and exergy destruction, such that at weight fraction of
the measurement data. Because this novel method does not require a 0.025% and twisted ratio of 3.5, the thermal entropy generation
D-T tube, which is considerably more expensive than a continuous decreases up to 80% by rising the angular velocity from 0 to 900 rpm.
neutron source, the new system is expected to be affordable and easy to Increasing the concentration results in the less irreversibility and the
assemble. Moreover, this system can be made so compact that it is maximum decrement in the exergy destruction rate is about 24%.
suitable for use in mobile applications. Moreover, the twisted ratio increment augments the entropy gener-
ation caused by heat transfer. The entropy generation due to the
friction has a minute contribution and increases slightly by rising the
21/00493 Defining the minimum density of a sky luminance angular velocity and weight fraction. The second law efficiency has
grid based on scale model measurements without the sun ascending trend by the weight fraction increase and profoundly
Kobav, M. B. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106562. augments with increasing the angular velocity. The highest second
The aim of this paper is to present a discussion on the complexity law efficiency is attained 0.935 at concentration of 0.1%, angular
behind the implementation of sky luminance distribution models to velocity of 900 rpm, and twisted ratio of 2.5.
correctly predict the illuminance values in indoor premises. In 2003,
the standard CIE S 011/2003 was published, describing 15 CIE sky
types and providing necessary equations to model the luminance 21/00497 Evaluation of gas and particle sensors for
distribution over a sky vault. As a basis, a sky hemisphere is divided detecting spacecraft-relevant fire emissions
into at least 145 quasi-equal, solid angle patches. Today, because Wang, X. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102977.
practically unlimited computational power is available, the hemisphere Fire detection faces challenges of increasing sensitivity, accuracy, and
could be divided into tens of thousands of quasi-equal, solid angle response speed while reducing false alarms. Air quality sensors
patches. However, the question remains whether this is really measure fire emission signatures similar to smoke detectors but are
necessary. In this paper, the results of indoor illuminance simulations often more sensitive. Recent advancement in air quality sensors
using different numbers of elements are shown to describe the sky provides an opportunity to improve fire detection. This study used
luminance distribution and the errors between simulation results and low-cost and research-grade gas and particle sensors to detect and
scale model measurements. The results are somewhat surprising characterize emissions from laboratory smouldering and flaming tests
because the density of the sky grid has very small influence on indoor of three spacecraft-relevant materials. The electrochemical carbon
illuminance calculations if the sun is not taken into account. monoxide (CO) sensor sensitively detected fire emissions in all but a
pyrolysis test, whereas the metal oxide volatile organic compound
(VOC) sensor with cross sensitivity for CO detected fire emissions in
21/00494 Effect of alumina nano-powder on the natural all tested cases. Several low-cost particle sensors, although saturated at
convection of water under the influence of a magnetic field high concentrations, detected smoke at low concentrations. A
in a cavity and optimization using RMS: using empirical combination of CO/VOC and particle sensors would provide sensitive
correlations for the thermal conductivity and a sensitivity fire detection distinct from non-combustion nuisance sources. In
analysis support of the ongoing Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments (Saffire),
Li, Z. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, the DustTrak DRX aerosol monitor was evaluated for smoke
2020, 112, 104497. measurement. It measured particle concentrations over a wide range
In the current research, the free convection and radiation heat transfer and its single particle counting provided additional size distribution
of the alumina/water nanofluid in a two-dimensional square cavity at an data similar to that of an optical particle counter. However, the single
angle of 45 with the horizontal has been studied numerically. With the particle counting accuracy degraded at high concentrations due to
aid of the Plackett–Burman method, the orders of the parameters are coincidence errors.
determined based on the Nusselt number, entropy generation and
irreversibility. After selecting the most important parameters, the
relationship between the inputs and outputs is established via central 21/00498 Feasibility and improvement of fault detection
composite design. Hence, the magnetic field, the radiation parameter, and diagnosis based on factory-installed sensors for chillers
the pipes aspect ratio, and the Rayleigh number have the most effect Fan, Y. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114506.
on the flow and heat transfer. With an increase in the Hartmann As noted in this investigation, there are only eight sensors commonly
number, the heat transfer reduces by 30%, and the entropy generation installed in factory chillers. However, the fault detection and diagnosis
decreases by 25% in the absence of radiation and by 29% in the (FDD) models of chillers are now mostly based on laboratory data. In
presence of it. With an increase in radiation, the rate of heat transfer the laboratory, the unit is equipped with more sensors than commercial
and the generated entropy increase by 98% and 1%, respectively. machines are. The FDD results obtained by this method does not
Adding 6% volume fraction of alumina nanoparticles to water can match the data from the factory chillers and cannot be applied in
increase the rate of heat transfer by 3.7%. Sensitivity analysis shows practice. Based on the ASHRAE RP-1043 data, this paper extracts
that the heat transfer and the generated entropy are most sensitive to information from three of the factory-installed (FI) sensors, along with
the Rayleigh number and the pipe aspect ratio. Finally, the optimal information from all eight of the FI sensors, in order to establish the
condition has been presented. support vector machine (SVM)-3 and SVM-8 diagnostic models based
on grid search and cross validation parameter optimization for the
seven typical faults. These models are compared to the SVM-64 model,
21/00495 Enhancing active wave absorption in RANS which is based on the 64 parameters from the ASHRAE data. The
models overall accuracy of SVM-8 model is 97.68%, which meets the needs of
Higuera, P. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 94, 102000. field operation diagnosis. In addition, based on the eight factory-
This work reviews the most common methods for absorbing waves in installed sensors, if the pressure of oil feed and temperature of oil feed
Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models. The limitations of sensors are added together to diagnose the fault, the normal detection
active wave absorption, originating from its initial assumption of linear rate and the diagnostic performance for condenser fouling and excess
wave theory in shallow waters are overcome and the range of oil faults improve, and the overall fault diagnosis is more effective.
applicability is extended to any relative water depth conditions by re-
deriving the formulation. The new extended range active wave
absorption (ER-AWA) overperforms the traditional implementation 21/00499 Fibre Bragg grating sensors for fusion
in all the tests performed, which comprise solitary waves, regular waves diagnostics: temperature monitoring of a tungsten
and irregular sea states from shallow to deep waters. Moreover, the mono-block mock-up under high heat flux
combined use of a relaxation zone and ER-AWA is tested to further Wang, X. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 150, 111378.
reduce wave reflections. This is most often achieved for a given set of The optimum functioning of the divertor is very important for the
parameters, although some case by case tuning of the relaxation zone realization of the long-pulse H-mode discharge of a tokamak device.
parameters would be needed to obtain the best overall performance. This necessitates the development of a component monitoring system
for its operation status including temperature and strain. This study
introduces a promising technique for monitoring temperature and
21/00496 Entropy generation and exergy destruction for strain sensor systems based on the fibre Bragg grating (FBG). It was
flow of a biologically functionalized graphene nanoplatelets used to monitor the temperature of a W/Cu mono-block mock-up
nanofluid within tube enhanced with a novel rotary coaxial during a high heat flux (HHF) test for the first time, demonstrating its
cross double-twisted tape suitability as a temperature monitoring system for the tungsten
Bahiraei, M. et al. International Communications in Heat and Mass divertor. Temperatures up to 1000  C were measured under HHF
Transfer, 2020, 113, 104546. using 5 fs FBG sensors inscribed in an optic fibre encapsulated in a

76 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 14 Fuel science and technology (fundamental science, analysis, instrumentation)

stainless-steel capillary tube. The FBG sensors exhibit higher sensitivity 21/00503 Investigation of slug flow characteristics in hilly
to temperature variation while maintaining the same measurement terrain pipeline using ultrasonic Doppler method
accuracy relative to the five thermocouples (TCs) in symmetrical Yin, P. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115300.
locations. An ANSYS Fluent simulation based on the finite element An ultrasonic Doppler method is proposed for investigating the two-
method yielded an output consistent with the experimental results. The phase slug flow in a hilly terrain pipeline. To obtain the distribution of
temperature distribution obtained through one channel of optical fibre the velocity and gas–liquid interface, the velocity profile and echo
sensors demonstrates the advantage of FBG sensors as a multipoint profile of the slug flow were measured via ultrasonic Doppler
measurement method. These sensors are preferred to TCs because the velocimetry (UDV) with and without the addition of tracer particles
complex installation process and utilization of a mass of wires are in the liquid phase, respectively. An individual 8 MHz transducer with a
eliminated. In view of the success of this work, the installation of an diameter of 3 mm and an individual 2 MHz transducer with a diameter
FBG-based temperature monitoring system as a novel diagnostic of 5 mm were employed for the liquid film and liquid slug measurement
system is planned on the upgraded lower divertor of the experimental respectively. Using MATLAB programs based on the measured data,
advanced superconducting tokamak device. the investigation of the flow characteristics of the slug flow was divided
into three parts: the liquid film, the front of the liquid slug, and the
centre of the liquid slug. The statistical analysis of the average length of
21/00500 Field measurement study of wind characteristics every part indirectly reflected the formation and development
at different measuring positions in a mountainous valley behaviour of the slug flow. The characteristic parameters of the gas–
Jing, H. et al. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2020, 112, liquid interface, such as the thickness of the liquid film and the bubble
109991. distribution in the liquid slug, were extracted from the echo signals.
The characteristics of wind in mountain valleys are complex; this paper The boundary layer of the liquid film was extracted from the velocity
presents a comprehensive analysis of these characteristics using data profiles. The average value and variation coefficient of the velocity
obtained from two wind masts located at hillside and at the bottom of a profile were calculated for the liquid film and the centre of the liquid
canyon. In view of the limited literature focusing on the effect of the slug. The effects of the superficial velocities and measured positions on
location of measurement on the characteristics of wind in mountain the aforementioned flow parameters were examined. The UDV
valleys, a comparison of these characteristics is presented here. The measurement and relevant data processing offer an effective method
wind characteristics investigated in this study include the mean wind for the non-intrusive investigation of the slug flow in a hilly terrain
speed, mean wind direction, turbulence intensity, gust factor, wind pipeline.
power spectra, and vertical coherence. The results indicate that the
mean wind speed, turbulence intensity, and wind power spectra cannot 21/00504 Jet development and impact load of underwater
be predicted accurately using specifications or standards. The mean explosion bubble on solid wall
wind direction at a high wind speed is always along the canyon. A Tian, Z.-L. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 95, 102013.
modified exponential coherence model can depict the vertical The damage effects of an underwater explosion have always been a
coherence effectively. Furthermore, wind characteristics are to some crucial problem in the ship mechanics. Notably, the bubble evolution
extent affected by the variations in height and locations of measure- and the jet impact load are one of the most difficult parts in the shock-
ment, but still valuable for engineering practice, and a 30-m wind mast resistance design of ship structures due to the discontinuities and
can meet the needs instead of a 50-m one. significant non-linear deformation. In this paper, the Eulerian finite-
element method is introduced to continuously simulate the shock wave
and non-spherical bubble evolution stages near a horizontal solid wall
21/00501 Flow pattern classification in liquid-gas flows with the volume of fluid method and pressure balance technique used
using flow-induced vibration to resolve the multi-medium flow. The numerical model is established
de Castro Teixeira Carvalho, F. et al. Experimental Thermal and Fluid in a cylindrical coordinate system and validated by comparing the
Science, 2020, 112, 109950. results with a spark-generated bubble experiment. After that, based on
The multiphase flow is not only the most common flow in nature but the present model, the shock wave propagation and the bubble
also occurs in various major industrial fields. Furthermore, in many evolution are simulated to study the characteristics of the impact loads
industrial plants, the single and multiphase flows generates vibration of an underwater explosion. Besides, the influences of the wall location
and noise. In the context of two-phase flows, a specific case of multi- (upside or downside) and the stand-off distance from the wall are also
phase flow, the flow pattern determination is crucial to their analysis, analysed. The results show that the features of the jet impact load are
and despite the recent progress and developments in flow-induced much more complicated than those of the shock wave. Nearby a
vibration for two-phase flows, it is still considered an open topic. This downside wall, the buoyancy and Bjerknes force compete to dominate
paper develops a novel algorithm for flow pattern classification using the bubble motion with opposite influences. By contrast, They enhance
the vibration signal from a vertical pipe conveying a liquid-gas two- the effect of each other to develop a liquid jet towards the upside wall.
phase flow to determine the flow pattern. An experimental apparatus The pressure peak, impact range, and duration time non-linearly
and procedure were developed to perform this investigation. The depend on the combination of the case parameters and are not
analysis in the frequency domain showed a distinct frequency band monotonic to a single one. Within a proper range of the parameter
activity for slug and churn flows. The analysis in time domain showed a combination, the jet impact load can reach its maximum and be more
significant amplitude variation for these flow patterns. Finally, by using destructive than the shock wave because of a comparable pressure peak
the RMS and Pearson correlation coefficient, it was possible to classify and a much longer duration.
the studied cases accurately. The results present a non-intrusive
technique to identify the flow pattern in two-phase liquid-gas vertical
flows. 21/00505 Maturity estimation for Type II-S kerogen using
Raman spectroscopy – a case study from the Najmah and
Makhul Formations in Kuwait
Al-Hajeri, M. et al. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217,
21/00502 Investigation of laser ablation features of
103317.
molybdenum bulk for picosecond laser-based techniques in
Raman spectroscopy is used to estimate thermal maturity of shale
fusion devices
samples collected from seven wells in the Najmah Formation in
Zhao, D. et al. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2020, 151, 111379.
Kuwait, encompassing a range of maturities between 0.80 and 1.40%
Laser-based techniques, such as laser-induced ablation spectroscopy
VRE. The Najmah Formation contains kerogen Type II-S (S/C > 0.04)
and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, have successfully demon-
and therefore, maturity correlations for Type II are not applicable due
strated both in situ and post-mortem first wall analysis capabilities for
to differences in organic material structure, kinetics and thermal
fusion applications. In this study, the ablation features of molybdenum
transformation pathways. A new correlation is proposed for the pur-
(Mo) bulk by a 35 ps laser at 355 nm wavelength with laser fluences up
pose of thermal maturity estimation in Type II-S kerogens. The
to 70 J/cm2 were investigated. The ablation depth and morphology of
presented correlation is able to predict the thermal maturity, based on
the ablated craters were determined using confocal microscopy. The
Raman spectra, with good accuracy when compared to the reflectance-
structural features of the craters were characterized by scanning
derived thermal maturity values.
electron microscopy in combination with the focused ion beam tech-
nique. By analyses of the ablation depth and the surface morphology
modification, the ablation threshold, depth resolution, and minimum 21/00506 Modeling transesterification reaction kinetics
damage of Mo bulk were determined. Moreover, three ablation regimes using fluorescence spectroscopy to interpret biodiesel
as a function of laser fluences were identified for both the ablation production
depth per pulse (ablation rate) and the structural features of the craters Izida, T. et al. Chemical Engineering Science, 2020, 211, 115292.
resulting from the ablation process. Ablation rate equations for the In this work, the time dependence of the crude glycerol production was
three identified ablation regimes were proposed and the corresponding obtained experimentally in different reactions by fluorescence spec-
ablation mechanisms discussed. In addition, the implications for the troscopy, and the curves were fitted by a new mathematical model,
application of picosecond laser-based techniques to monitor the first derived from rate equations, in order to elucidate the behaviour of the
wall in current and upcoming fusion devices, such as W7-X, EAST, compounds involved in transesterification reactions, including the
ITER and CFETR, are discussed. speed and ester yield. The values were validated by comparison with

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 77

14 Fuel science and technology (fundamental science, analysis, instrumentation)

the results of analyses performed using gas chromatography with flame knowledge) and uses ML to capture undiscovered information from the
ionization detection. The fitting of the glycerol fluorescence signal as a mismatch between the actual and domain knowledge-predicted target.
function of time by the proposed theoretical model was shown to be A detailed case study was carried out with an extensive DNB-specific
highly suitable for indicating the time at which the reaction should be CHF database to demonstrate: (1) the improved performance of the
stopped, hence minimizing costs and the time required for biodiesel hybrid approach as compared to traditional domain knowledge-based
production. models, and (2) the hybrid model’s superior generalization capabilities
over standalone ML methods across a wide range of flow conditions.
The hybrid framework could also readily extend its applicability
21/00507 New risk control mechanism for innovative
domain and complexity on the fly, showing an elevated level of
deepwater artificial seabed system through online risk
flexibility and robustness. Based on the case study conclusions, the
monitoring system
window-type extrapolation mapping methodology is further proposed
Zhen, X. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 95, 102054.
to better inform high-cost experimental work.
The current offshore field development concepts (dry tree or subsea
tree) have limitations for petroleum production in ultra-deep water
(>1500 m), where the challenges are characterized by the depth of 21/00510 Photophysics of color centers in visible-light-
water, remoteness and harsh environmental conditions. A new active rutile titania. Evidence of the photoformation and
alternative offshore field development solution, termed as deepwater trapping of charge carriers from advanced diffuse
artificial seabed (DAS) system, is proposed. The new DAS system reflectance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry
offers improved technical and commercial performance, higher levels Kuznetsov, V. N. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 340, 58–69.
of safety, reduced interface complexity and improved development This paper reports on the photophysics of colour centres in visible-
flexibility for field development in deep and ultra-deep water. Central light-active (VLA) rutile titania ceramics and titania powder resulting
to the evaluation and application of the new DAS system is the from the photoformation and separation of charge carriers explored by
inherent risk relative to the acceptance level. Hence, barriers in the a diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopic and kinetic study using a
new DAS system are established and maintained to prevent, control or cryostat-type accessory for a Cary 5000 spectrophotometer after
mitigate undesired events or accidents. This paper investigates a new exposure of the titanias to UV radiation and Vis-light illumination.
risk control mechanism for the innovative DAS system in accordance The action spectrum of the photoformation of Ti3+ at 90 K accorded
with the online risk monitoring and decision support principle. Firstly, fully with the absorption spectrum of intrinsic defects in the as-
main characteristics and design principle of the DAS system are synthesized TiO2. The photoinduced absorption spectra consisted of a
presented. On this basis, the main hazards for the DAS system are set of individual absorption bands attributable to several different Ti3+
identified, which includes well incident/loss of well control, mooring centres. Analysis of the dependencies of the photoformation of
system failure, ballast system failure, leak from riser, flexible jumper separate centres on the wavelength of illumination and light exposure
and subsea production facilities, and damage to riser, flexible jumper provided extraction of specific Ti3+ centres putatively attributed to
and subsea production facilities. The risk level of the identified hazards centres with excess negative charge {2Ti3+ + Vo2+} $ {Ti + + Vo2+}
related to offshore petroleum systems already in use is analysed and with 3 > > 2 formed at significantly high concentration upon maximal
presented by the results from the risk assessment for the Norwegian exposure to Vis-light illumination. Thermoprogrammed annealing
continental shelf in the period of 2008–2017. It has been demonstrated (TPA) spectra of Ti3+ colour centres photoinduced in VLA TiO2
that the risk associated with the key sub-systems including the ballast displayed temperature dependencies of the rate of detrapping of the
system, mooring system, well system and external impact protection photoinduced holes observed optically through annihilation of the Ti3+
system is at a level that calls for further risk reduction. This is followed centres. The TPA spectra in the range 90–500 K consisted of a set of
by the barrier management principles as well as a discussion of existing first-order peaks corresponding to the traps, whose depths ranged from
and potential barriers in the DAS system. Improved barrier functions 0.2 eV (peak at 130 K in powder specimen) to 1.06 eV (peak at 455 K
in the key sub-systems are analysed systematically and proposals for in the ceramics). The highest rate of recombination of holes released to
alternative barrier functions are suggested based on the online risk the valence band with Ti3+ centres, an event attributable to the Ti +
modelling and decision support principle. Further, a case study in centres, provided TPA spectra that clearly manifested the existence of
regard to the DAS mooring system failure event is conducted to shallow traps. The authors also report mass spectrometric evidence of
demonstrate how the new risk control mechanism works. The proposed the photoformation of electrons and holes in VLA TiO2 under Vis-
new risk control mechanism could improve the safety of the DAS light illumination through an examination of the photoadsorption of
system and convince the offshore petroleum industry for application molecular oxygen and the photodesorption of photoadsorbed oxygen
significantly. from the surface of powdered VLA titania specimens. Moreover,
kinetics of the photodesorption of O2 under orange light illumination,
after the photoadsorption of O2 stimulated by blue light excitation,
21/00508 Novel method for diagnosing corrosion of
provided experimental proof of the occurrence of an additional specific
grounding electrodes in soil
channel toward the photoactivation of VLA TiO2 via the photoexcita-
Zhang, Z. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, 106049.
tion of photoinduced Ti3+ colour centres.
Tower grounding electrodes buried in the soil are prone to corrosion.
The current dissipation will be affected by corrosion. Accurate eval-
uation for the corrosion status of grounding electrodes is critical for the 21/00511 Predicting the effects of microstructure on matrix
safe and stable operation of power system. At present, grounding res- crack initiation in fiber reinforced ceramic matrix
istance closely related to environmental soil resistivity is an important composites via machine learning
indicator for evaluating grounding performance. To eliminate the Patel, D. K. et al. Composite Structures, 2020, 236, 111702.
influence of soil resistivity, a method for diagnosing corrosion of tower A reduced-order, data-driven, probabilistic predictive model to
grounding electrodes is proposed. The grounding resistance in soil of quantify damage initiation in continuous SiC ceramic fibre SiC ceramic
different resistivity can be equivalent to the grounding resistance in soil matrix composites (CMCs) at pertinent lengths scales using machine
of reference resistivity to diagnose the corrosion degree under the learning tools is proposed and explored. A novel framework is
unified diagnostic criteria. In this study, the corrosion deformation and developed to characterize the influence of key stochastic microstruc-
corrosion products are analysed, and a model of horizontal linear tower ture attributes on matrix crack initiation. The approach is illustrated
grounding electrode with corrosion products layer is established. for the case of transverse crack initiation in the matrix surrounding
Calculation method of the grounding resistance for corroded electrode fibres oriented perpendicular to the loading direction. A variety of
is studied. The relative grounding resistance is proposed as a corrosion stochastic microstructure attributes were considered including fibre
diagnosis criterion and dividing the corrosion degrees based on the spacing, fibre diameter and coating thickness. Statistics of a commer-
criterion. Finally, the error analysis of the diagnosis method are given, cial CMC microstructure were digitally represented and used to
and the measurement and diagnosis system is studied through field instantiate microstructures. In addition, discrete digital instantiations
experiments. Calculation and experiment results validated the accuracy generated over a range of the distributed microstructural attributes
of the proposed method. were considered. The statistics of the distributed microstructure
attributes were quantified using n-point statistics and reduced using
principal component analysis. The elastic responses of the instantiated
21/00509 On the prediction of critical heat flux using a
microstructures were characterized using finite element analysis
physics-informed machine learning-aided framework
(FEA). Results from the FEA were used as the ground truth to
Zhao, X. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114540.
calibrate and validate a data-driven machine learning model. The
The critical heat flux (CHF) corresponding to the departure from
quantified stochastic microstructure attributes were correlated with the
nucleate boiling (DNB) crisis is essential to the design and safety of a
statistics of the simulated damage response. The predictive capabilities
two-phase flow boiling system. Despite the abundance of predictive
of the model for a new microstructure class were demonstrated.
tools available to the thermal engineering community, the path for an
accurate, robust CHF model remains elusive due to lack of consensus
on the DNB triggering mechanism. This work aims to apply a physics- 21/00512 Probing nanopore structure and confined fluid
informed machine learning (ML)-aided hybrid framework to achieve behavior in shale matrix: a review on small-angle neutron
superior predictive capabilities. Such a hybrid approach takes scattering studies
advantage of existing understanding in the field of interest (i.e. domain Xu, H. International Journal of Coal Geology, 2020, 217, 103325.

78 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 14 Fuel science and technology (fundamental science, analysis, instrumentation)

Although continued growth in unconventional oil and gas production is too much purchase quantity (when forecast is favourable) or too much
generally projected, its long-term growth potential and sustainability selling quantity (unfavourable forecast) from all storages. Secondly, it
have significant uncertainties. A critical problem is the low hydro- was found that communication among the storages could fail to achieve
carbon recovery rates from shale and other tight formations using the a coordinated effort to increase market efficiency and the decentralized
horizontal well drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques: <10% for storages will not participate in any information sharing program when
tight oil and 20% for shale gas. Moreover, the production rate for a there are a large number of storages. Thirdly, it was found to be
given well typically declines rapidly within one year. The low recoveries optimal to release additional information to a subset of energy storages
and declining production of shale oil and gas reservoirs are apparently exclusively by targeted information release.
related to the small porosity (a few to a few hundred nanometres) and
low permeability (1016–1020 m2) of shale matrix, which make the 21/00515 The collimator shape design of segmented
enclosed hydrocarbon fluids difficult to access. Hence, to enhance the gamma-ray scanning for radioactive waste
hydrocarbon recovery from shale matrix, it is essential to study its Suxia, H. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106965.
nanopore structure and confined fluid behaviour. Small- and ultra- The proper collimator shape in the segmented gamma-ray scanning
small-angle neutron scattering (SANS and USANS) have emerged as a (SGS) device can improve the system’s detection efficiency and reduce
powerful method for characterizing shale nanopore structure and cross-talk. Monte Carlo method is used to model the collimators with
confined fluid behaviour. Owing to neutrons’ high penetrating ability different shapes and sizes, and the measuring process of the actual SGS
and high sensitivity to hydrogen (and its isotope, deuterium), SANS/ device is simulated. According to the design principles of the
USANS can probe inside shale samples to characterize nanopores from collimator, the characteristics of several SGS collimation shapes are
1 nm to 10 mm in size and be readily combined with sample compared, and the correctness of the calculation is verified through
environmental cells to examine the fluid (hydrocarbon and water– experiments, which provides a reference for the design of the SGS
frack fluid) behaviour at relevant pressure–temperature conditions. In device in the detection system.
this review article, an introduction is first given on the characteristics of
shale matrix and the uniqueness of SANS/USANS compared with
conventional methods. Then current studies on shale nanopore 21/00516 Thermal analysis on alpha magnetic spectrometer
structure and confined fluid properties using SANS/USANS are main radiators under the flight attitude adjustment of
summarized. Finally, an outlook and perspective on future research International Space Station
in this emerging area will be offered. Zheng, C. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114457.
Thermal environments of the spaceborne instruments applied for space
experiments and space explorations are affected by the manoeuvres of
21/00513 Qualitative evaluation of the flow supplied by the carrier itself, those effects should be taken into account for the
personalized ventilation using schlieren imaging and designing, manufacturing and long-term stable operation of the
thermography spaceborne instruments. In this paper, the mathematical model with
Alsaad, H. and Voelker, C. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, three angle variables is established to determine the thermal radiation
106450. processes under various attitudes of the International Space Station
Personalized ventilation (PV) is a mean of delivering conditioned (ISS). The results reveal that only the variations of two angles can
outdoor air into the breathing zone of the occupants. This study aims to affect the radiative heat transfer of the alpha magnetic spectrometer
qualitatively investigate the personalized flows using two methods of main radiators. Based on that, the thermal impacts of the ISS attitude
visualization: (1) schlieren imaging using a large schlieren mirror and adjustments on the main radiators of alpha magnetic spectrometer are
(2) thermography using an infrared camera. While the schlieren numerically investigated in thermal network method, the variation
imaging was used to render the velocity and mass transport of the regularities of the external heat flux and the corresponding tempera-
supplied flow, thermography was implemented to visualize the air ture response are further determined. Results show that the external
temperature distribution induced by the PV. Both studies were heat flux has the largest variation at the extreme angle with the
conducted using a thermal manikin to simulate an occupant facing a maximum difference of 384 W/m2 on RAM radiator of alpha magnetic
PV outlet. As a reference, the flow supplied by an axial fan and a cased spectrometer. After the manoeuvre of the attitude adjustment, a total
axial fan was visualized with the schlieren system as well and compared of 42% cases have the possibility of temperature anomalies with the
to the flow supplied by PV. Schlieren visualization results indicate that occurrence time ranging from 6235 to 73897 s.
the steady, low-turbulence flow supplied by PV was able to penetrate
the thermal convective boundary layer encasing the manikin’s body, 21/00517 Thermally reduced graphene oxide-nylon
providing clean air for inhalation. Contrarily, the axial fan diffused the membrane based epidermal sensor using vacuum filtration
supplied air over a large target area with high turbulence intensity; it for wearable electrophysiological signals and human motion
only disturbed the convective boundary layer rather than destroying it. monitoring
The cased fan supplied a flow with a reduced target area which allowed Das, P. S. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 386–393.
supplying more air into the breathing zone compared to the fan. The Here, the authors fabricated high-performance paper-based epidermal
results of thermography visualization showed that the supplied cool air sensors on biocompatible nylon-membrane without utilizing any
from PV penetrated the corona-shaped thermal boundary layer. harmful chemicals and complicated processes. The proposed epidermal
Furthermore, the supplied air cooled the surface temperature of the sensor was prepared using thermally reduced graphene oxide and a
face, which indicates the large impact of PV on local thermal sensation nylon-membrane (TRGO/NM). The epidermal sensor (TRGO/NM)
and comfort. was developed to reduce the usage of Ag/AgCl (sticky sensor). The
sensor demonstrates high sensitivity (sheet resistance = 40 /sq.),
21/00514 Smart energy storage management via because skin-contact impedance was 20 k at low frequency. It was
information systems design found that the TRGO/NM sensor developed micro-gaps on the surface
He, Q.-C. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104542. of the nylon membrane, which generated resistance changes under
Enabled by smart meters and Internet of Things (IoTs) technologies, it tensile and compressive strain. The TRGO/NM sensor showed a fast
is now possible to harness information systems and automatize the response time (0.5 s), relaxation time (0.5 s), and a highly stable
management of energy storages. Motivated by applications such as with an excellent bending–stretching response. The authors applied the
renewables integration and electrification of transportation, the epidermal sensor for obtaining electrocardiography, electroencephalo-
paradigm shift towards smart-cities naturally inspires information graphy and electromyography as well as monitoring human motions
systems design for energy storages. This paper proposes stylized also. The biocompatibility of the TRGO/NM sensor was confirmed by
models of decentralized energy storage operation under private and performing the cytotoxicity test.
public market forecasting, when energy prices are both uncertain and
variable over time. The authors derive the optimal buying or selling 21/00518 Urban models enrichment for energy
quantities for storages in a competitive environment with strategic applications: challenges in energy simulation using
interactions. Generally, a foresighted storage system will plan to buy different data sources for building age information
energy when its price is low and sell when the price high. The value of a Zirak, M. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116292.
private forecast decreases in the inter-temporal correlation of market 3D city models are increasingly used for heating demand analyses at
price shock. Here, the potentially negative economic value of a private urban scale. Many studies have been done for standardization of
forecast, due to competition effect is demonstrated: when there are a required attribute data for energy analysis of buildings. The U-values
large number of storage systems, the purchase or selling quantity which can be derived from the building age are one of the main
responses are exaggerated and the over-precision in forecasts can lead influencing attributes for heat demand modelling. The question
to even lower payoffs. These fundamental observations are robust when remains how building age can be provided. Often, the information on
the model is generalized to multi-period or heterogeneous storages. the year of construction of each building is not accessible. On the other
The study also examined several information management policies to hand, statistics about building ages are often available on an
coordinate storage system actions and improve their profitability. aggregated level. This paper compares data provided by municipalities
Firstly, the potential negative economic value of a public forecast, due to two statistical data sources: Census 2011 data on municipality level
to congestion effect was demonstrated: a precise public forecast led to and country-wide statistics for Germany. The result shows building age
herding behaviour, and over-reaction to a public forecast led to either distribution presented by the census leads to an acceptable total heat

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 79

14 Fuel science and technology (fuel cell technology)

demand prediction compared with the results based on the data from performance benchmarking and its inherent difficulties due to the
the municipality. Therefore, the decision-making at urban level can rely current lack of standardization were addressed. A critical review of the
on census data if more detailed information is unavailable or performance gain obtained with biomimetic designs revealed that in
inaccessible. Moreover, the role of refurbishment data is discussed in most cases the biomimetic designs present more efficient water
the paper. Finally, it is recommended to standardize census data for management and higher cell voltages with respect to the conventional
different applications. For energy application, distribution of building designs, and therefore a significant potential for bio-inspired designs
age over living area is more demanded than over the number of can be demonstrated. It was observed that fractal designs have been
buildings. preferentially applied to direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) rather
than to hydrogen PEMFCs. Among both DMFCs and hydrogen
PEMFCs, leaf- and lung-based designs are showing the most promising
improvements in terms of performance measured: 0.6 V (representing
nominal conditions) and 0.4 V (representing typical conditions of the
Fuel cell technology mass transport region with higher liquid water content). Within the
works reviewed, designs based on fractals are generally presenting
lower performance gains, although the number of works available are
not enough at all for ensuring that fractal designs should be discarded
21/00519 A novel Gd3+ and Yb3+ co-doped ceria-sulphate in future investigations.
composite electrolyte for intermediate-temperature fuel cells
Wang, H. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8695–8699.
In this study, Yb3+ and Gd3+ co-doped CeO2 and the corresponding
(Li/K)2SO4 composite electrolyte were prepared. The structures and 21/00522 Effect of anisotropy in cathode diffusion layers
morphologies of Ce0.8Yb0.1Gd0.1O2- and Ce0.8Yb0.1Gd0.1O2--Li2SO4– on direct methanol fuel cell
K2SO4 were investigated using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy Sun, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114589.
and scanning electron microscopy. The conductivity of Ce0.8Yb0.1 The diffusion layer in direct methanol fuel cells features strong
Gd0.1O2- (1550  C) as a function of time during humidification in a anisotropic characteristics, which has large effect on complex transport
nitrogen atmosphere at 700  C was investigated. The log(T) vs phenomena and hence the cell performance. In this study, a
1000 T1 plots, log vs log(pO2) curves and fuel cell performances of comprehensive three-dimensional numerical model of direct methanol
Ce0.8Yb0.1Gd0.1O2- (1550  C) and Ce0.8Yb0.1Gd0.1O2--Li2SO4–K2SO4 fuel cell is developed using Eulerian–Eulerian model describing the
(1550  C) were investigated. At 700  C, Ce0.8Yb0.1Gd0.1O2--Li2SO4– multiphase flow. Using this model, the effects of anisotropy properties
K2SO4 (1550  C) showed a power density of 197 mW cm2, which is five in diffusion layer on performance and transport characteristics in direct
times higher than that of Ce0.8Yb0.1Gd0.1O2- (1550  C). methanol fuel cell are investigated in detail. In particular, the
anisotropic electric and thermal conductivities, gas diffusion coeffi-
21/00520 Analysis of effects of meso-scale reactions on cients and permeability are studied. The comparison of polarization
multiphysics transport processes in rSOFC fueled with curves with isotropic and anisotropic diffusion layer shows that cell
syngas performance with isotropic diffusion layer assumption is overestimated
Yang, C. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116379. and the deviation is as much as 48%, especially the electric
A reversible solid oxide fuel cell (rSOFC) is able to work with dual- conductivity. In addition, anisotropic electric conductivity is helpful
functions of electricity generation and energy storage. It can produce to predict accurate current density spatial distribution. The simulation
electricity as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with flexible fuels such as results also reveal that high permeability in all three directions can help
hydrogen, syngas or other hydrocarbon gases. Furthermore, it can also promote water management. The water distribution in in-plane
electrolyse water or a CO2/H2O mixture by the external electricity as direction is largely affected by the in-plane permeability. The lower
solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), to produce hydrogen or CO/H2 the in-plane permeability is, the more water accumulated under the rib.
(syngas), respectively. The syngas can be converted into other fuels
with a further approach such as Fischer–Tropch processes. rSOFC is
appropriated to balance the conflicts between energy supply and
demand in both traditional and new energy systems, with advantages of
21/00523 Effect of secondary metal catalysts on butane
compact, high power density and simple design. The reactions coupled
internal steam reforming operation of thin-film solid oxide
transport processes in the dual-functional electrodes are crucial for the
fuel cells at 500–600 8C
Thieu, C.-A. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263,
reversible performance. It is more complicated when the syngas is
118349.
employed involving methane reforming, water–gas shift (WGS) and
Pd, Ru and Cu secondary catalysts were incorporated into the nickel–
electrochemical reactions simultaneously. In this work, a two-dimen-
yttria-stabilized zirconia nanostructured-anode functional layer (nano-
sional single channel model of an rSOFC was developed. The syngas
AFL) of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) by a combination of pulsed-
with the meso-scale elementary reactions were considered and coupled
laser-deposition and sputtering. The activity of these catalysts for direct
with the multiphysics transport processes. It is revealed that desorption
internal steam reforming (DISR) of n-butane at the SOFC unit cell
and adsorption reactions in the electrode mostly take place near the
level were investigated at low temperatures (500–600  C) by comparing
electrolyte and the channel, respectively; the distribution of the surface
the electrochemical performance among the Ref-cell (the cell without
species depends on the gas diffusion in the porous electrode affected
catalyst at the nano-AFL) and Pd-, Ru- and Cu-cell (the cells with Pd-,
by the thickness and microstructure of the electrode. The electro-
Ru- and Cu- incorporated at the nano-AFL). The steam-to-carbon
chemical reactions are centralized in about 100 mm thick electrode from
ratio and the operating temperature were varied and the effect on
the electrolyte. Nis and COs are the major surface species in both fuel
DISR of n-butane in the Ref-, Pd-, Ru- and Cu-cells were system-
cell (FC) and electrolysis cell (EC) modes. Os is higher in the FC mode,
atically studied. Secondary catalyst incorporation appears to enhance
particularly near the electrolyte due to the desorption and charge
the electrochemical reaction and thermochemical reactions, such as
transfer reactions. The microscopic structure properties, including
steam reforming and water–gas-shift reactions, which results in the cell
average porosity, tortuosity and particle size, are also influential on the
performance improvement at all tested conditions in comparison with
elementary reactions due to the gas diffusion through the tortuous
that of the Ref-cell.
pathways and the active sites on the catalyst surfaces. It is also found
that the performance predicted in the global models is often over-
estimated, because the limitations of the local elementary reactions are
not considered in the global model. 21/00524 Electrochemical performance of multifuel based
nanocomposite for solid oxide fuel cell
21/00521 Biomimetic flow fields for proton exchange Shaheen, K. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (7), 8832–8838.
membrane fuel cells: a review of design trends The efficient performance of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) by utilizing
Iranzo, A. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116435. safe and cost effective hydrocarbon fuels at low temperature is really a
A review of the biomimetic design of bipolar plates for polymer challenging task due to C–H activation and sluggish oxidation/
electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) was carried out. This review reduction kinetics. In this study, a novel [Sr0.4La0.6(Fe0.75Ti0.25)0.6
considered bipolar plate designs based on nature or biological Ni0.4O3– ] (SLFTNO) nanocomposite was synthesized via a solid-state
structures such as fractals, leaves, lungs and other structures nature- reaction route and was evaluated electrochemically in presence of
inspired. It is demonstrated that such biomimetic designs have been multifuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, methane and ethanol. Phase
explored to date with success since the early introduction of such purity and structural analysis was carried out through X-ray diffracto-
concept for bipolar plates in 2003, but it can be concluded that metry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron micro-
biomimetic designs have not yet achieved their full potential. Further scopy and transmission electron microscopy. The average crystallite
work involving state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics modelling size calculated ranged from 60 to 100 nm. The electrical conductivity
considering liquid water formation and transport as well as a more and power density was measured between 89–226 S/cm and 147–
intensive usage of experimental techniques such as electrochemical 318 mW/cm2, respectively, among different fuels. This study indicated
impedance spectroscopy would be required to further exploit the the synthesized SLFTNO nanocomposite as stable and efficient
potential of biomimetic designs. A detailed analysis including multifuels candidate for SOFCs.

80 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 14 Fuel science and technology (fuel cell technology)

21/00525 Enhancement of ethanol electrooxidation in half available and in the substrate supply for the evolution of the biofilm,
cell and single direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) using post- and the contrast between systems governed by MET and DET, arising
treated polyol synthesized Pt-Ru nano electrocatalysts primarily from the difference between the role of the mediator and that
supported on HNO3-functionalized acetylene black carbon of the electrical potential played in the two systems, respectively. Many
Choudhary, A. K. and Pramanik, H. International Journal of Hydrogen observations, including several counter-intuitive occasions, stem from
Energy, 2020, 45, (1), 574–594. the trade-offs between the impacts of the process parameters on
Highly dispersed Pt-Ru nano electrocatalysts supported on functiona- bioelectrochemical kinetics, mass transfer, and electrical resistance.
lized acetylene black carbon (CAB) were synthesized by a modified The simulation results also predict the existence of optimal parameter
polyol reduction route followed by post-treatment under three settings in various cases for the purpose of electricity generation. These
different conditions. The synthesized Pt-Ru/CAB-syn electrocatalysts findings provide potentially useful insights to guide the design and
after post treatment were designated as Pt-Ru/CAB–H2-RT when operation of MFCs or other types of bioelectrochemical devices that
treated under H2 atmosphere at room temperature of 40  C, and Pt- employ multi-species biofilms.
Ru/CAB–H2-160 when treated under H2 atmosphere at 160  C and Pt-
Ru/CAB–Air-160 when treated under air at 160  C, respectively. The
21/00528 Performance enhancement in a proton exchange
post-treatment of synthesized electrocatalyst modified the crystal-
membrane fuel cell with a novel 3D flow field
lographic and morphological structures of the synthesized electro-
Shen, J. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114464.
catalysts which enhanced the electrocatalytic activity for ethanol
Flow field plays a vital role in the design and application of a proton
electrooxidation. The physical characteristics of the post-treated
exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Combined with the enhance-
electrocatalysts were recorded using XRD, SEM-EDX and TEM
ment of the abilities of mass transfer and water removal in the flow
techniques. The XRD and TEM analyses revealed that the synthesized
channel, a new optimized three-dimensional (3D) flow field is
electrocatalysts have particle size in nano range with narrow size
proposed to investigate the water transport and cell operating
distribution. The electrochemical study of synthesized electrocatalysts
characteristics. The 3D flow field was composed of several straight
were evaluated via cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry
flow units arranged in a staggered manner with an inclination at the
revealed that the Pt-Ru/CAB–H2-RT electrocatalyst is the most active
end, and the transition areas and subchannels between the flow units
exhibit towards ethanol electrooxidation in comparison to that of Pt-
were subjected to hydrophilic treatment. The result indicated that the
Ru/CAB–H2-160, Pt-Ru/CAB–Air-160 and commercial Pt-Ru/C electro-
new type of flow field can effectively separate liquid water from the
catalysts. In direct ethanol fuel cell performance test at a temperature
reactant flow and water can be partially removed through the
of 40  C, the obtained power density (9.15 mW/cm2) using the
subchannel. Compared with the conventional flow field, the 3D flow
synthesized Pt-Ru/CAB–H2-RT as anode electrocatalyst was higher
field could enhance the mass transfer ability and improve the PEMFC
than that of Pt-Ru/CAB–Air-160 (5.79 mW/cm2), Pt-Ru/CAB–H2-160
performance, especially at high current densities. Based on the field
(6.84 mW/cm2) and commercial Pt-Ru/C (7.86 mW/cm2) electrocata-
synergy principle, it is proved that the synergic degree between the
lysts with same anode electrocatalyst loading of 1 mg/cm2 and 2 M
velocity vector and concentration gradient agrees with the performance
ethanol fuel. The maximum open circuit voltage of 0.737 V and power
changes under the turbulence of the staggered flow units and the
density of 16.23 mW/cm2 at 0.317 V with a current density of 51.2 mA/
effective mass transfer coefficient in the direction of electrochemical
cm2 were obtained using Pt-Ru/C AB–H2-RT electrocatalyst as anode at
reaction of the 3D flow field is also enhanced.
a cell temperature of 80  C. The enhanced and superior performance of
Pt-Ru/CAB–H2-RT electrocatalyst after post-treatment could be attrib-
uted to well alloyed microstructure and highly dispersed surface 21/00529 Performance evaluation of commercial-size
morphology of metal nanoparticles. proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks considering air
flow distribution in the manifold
Huang, F. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
21/00526 In-situ fabrication of AgI-BiOI nanoflake arrays 112256.
film photoelectrode for efficient wastewater treatment, This study offers an efficient method for commercial-size proton
electricity production and enhanced recovery of copper in exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack performance evaluation
photocatalytic fuel cell to improve designing of fuel cell and maximize power density in
Hu, L. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 339, 379–390. PEMFC stack. The flow distribution in the manifold of the stack is
In this study, a novel hybrid AgI nanoparticles–BiOI nanoflake arrays critical to the energy conversion of the assembled unit cells in series
(AgI-BiOINFs) film electrode was in situ synthesized via a facile and due to the typical short-board effect. Most existing works studying on
controllable approach and proposed as a phonoanode for the the flow distribution focus on small fuel cell stack and does not
photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) for the first time. The structure and establish a clear relationship to performance, which are not able to
optical properties of AgI-BiOINFs film were characterized by means of thoroughly guide commercial-size PEMFC stack design and develop-
X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, UV–vis diffuse ment. In the present study, an effective method combining compu-
reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence while the photoelec- tational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and empirical model is proposed
trochemical activity of AgI-BiOINFs film electrode was characterized to evaluate the performance of commercial-size stack considering air
by the photocurrent–time transient response and electrochemical flow distribution in the manifold. Firstly, the air flow distribution in the
impedance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of AgI-BiOINFs manifold is predicted by a CFD model. A performance evaluation
film was evaluated in the term of the electricity generation efficiency empirical model is developed by a series of experiments to evaluate the
and degradation efficiency of formic acid. The open-circuit voltage effects of flow maldistribution on the performance of PEMFC stack.
(Voc), photocurrent density (Jsc) and the maximum power density of Then, the predicted flow distribution and performance are respectively
AgI-BiOINFs film in PFC were 0.724 V, 90.02 mA cm2 and validated by a novel experimental setup. Finally, the effects of stack
16.25 mW cm2, respectively, exhibiting a much improvement over configuration, cell number, and current density on flow distribution
BiOINFs film. Similarly, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of and performance of PEMFC stacks are discussed. The results show
formic acid by AgI-BiOINFs film was significantly higher than that of that U-type configuration promotes more uniform voltage among unit
BiOINFs film. Furthermore, the AgI-BiOINFs electrode has excellent cells than Z-type. The voltage unevenness of unit cells caused by flow
stability towards formic acid degradation and electricity production maldistribution climbs dramatically as the cell number and current
over four operation cycles. The electricity generated by the PFC was density increase. The methodology developed is beneficial to the
applied on AgI-BiOINFs-Ti photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reactor to energy management and the efficiency improvement of commercial-
enhance the degradation of organic compounds and recovery of size PEMFC stack.
copper. The mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic performance in
PEC system was further explored by reactive species trapping and
electron-spin resonance experiments. 21/00530 Review of perovskite-structure related cathode
materials for solid oxide fuel cells
Kaur, P. and Singh, K. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5521–5535.
21/00527 Modelling the impact of operating mode and In this article, different perovskite-structure related materials are
electron transfer mechanism in microbial fuel cells with reviewed, which could be potential candidates for cathode materials in
two-species anodic biofilm solid oxide fuel cells. Solid oxide fuel cells provide an alternative,
Yang, Z. and Yang, A. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 158, environmentally viable and efficient option to conventional electricity-
107560. producing devices. Different properties are required for the materials
In this study, mathematical models are developed for a microbial fuel to qualify as a cathode for solid oxide fuel cells. Therefore, the analysis
cell (MFC) with a fermenter-electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) and review are done based on the process parameters and their effect
type, two-species biofilm, governed by mediator-based extracellular on the electrical conductivity, electrochemical properties, the coeffi-
electron transfer (MET) or direct conduction-based extracellular cient of thermal expansion and mechanical properties of different
electron transfer (DET) and operating under a batch or continuous cathode materials. Fracture toughness and hardness have been the
mode. Numerical simulations have been carried out to test the impact focus while analysing the mechanical properties. The selection of the
of a range of physical and biochemical parameters on biofilm composi- initial composition, dopants and their valence plays a vital role in
tion and current generation. The results reveal the contrast between deciding the properties mentioned above of cathode materials. The
two operating modes, caused by the difference in the length of time prospective cathode materials classified as cobalt-based and cobalt-free

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 81

15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

are further bifurcated based on the A-site elements of the perovskite excited electrons on conduction band of CFO. Products analyses based
(ABO3) structure. Also given in this article is the summary of the latest on HPLC-MS and Fukui functions suggest that the non-radical
development on the cathode materials. As observed from the proper- degradation pathway could decrease the generation of halide inter-
ties studied, cobalt-based materials tend to have higher conductivity mediates, whereas the radical pathway may not be observed with this
than cobalt-free materials. While cobalt-free compositions are cost- property. Quantitative structure-activity relationships were established
effective and have a comparable coefficient of thermal expansion with between the observed pseudo-first-order rates of various phenolic
other components of solid oxide fuel cells. The last section of the pollutants and the classical descriptors (i.e. Hammett constant, pKa,
article gives the future scope of the research. EHOMO and ELUMO) in the non-radical and radical systems, respect-
ively, to give instructions of pathway choice for different pollutants.
21/00531 Techno-economic review of biogas cleaning Considering the non-radical/radical pathway both have their own
technologies for small scale off-grid solid oxide fuel cell unique strengths (e.g. non-radical pathway has high selectivity to
applications pollutants and high utilization efficiency of oxidant, and radical
Wasajja, H. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106215. pathway has considerable degradation rate and strong mineralization
Biogas is known as a traditional energy source for off-grid population ability), these pathways should be chosen wisely for pollutant
throughout the world. And currently small-scale solid oxide fuel cell degradation according to reality conditions.
(SOFC) systems are being promoted for off-grid energy supply. Also,
electricity demand is increasing at a high rate due to the ever- 21/00534 Air quality in Mexico city during the fuel shortage
increasing population and technological revolution. Therefore, pro- of January 2019
motion of off-grid energy supply needs to be refocused. The small-scale Garcı́a-Franco, J. L. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117131.
biogas–SOFC is an envisaged modern energy system which can meet The closure of pipelines to tackle fuel theft in central Mexico caused an
both the thermal and electrical energy demand for off-grid population unexpected fuel shortage that disrupted transport systems in Mexico
more efficiently (60% at 800  C) than currently available technologies. City in January of 2019. Fuel sales in the metropolitan area and CO
However, it has been observed that cleaning of biogas could increase emissions from re-analysis showed a significant decrease during the
the system capital cost by 6–7% and >40% of the overall annual system fuel shortage of 7% and 6%, respectively. This study analyses the air
operating cost. Cost-effective gas cleaning is therefore important for quality and meteorological conditions during this period to evaluate
economic feasibility of the biogas–SOFC energy system. This review whether these measures indirectly affected air quality in Mexico City.
focuses on technical and economic challenges of current commercial During the shortage, mean-ambient concentrations of nitric oxide
and laboratory-scale biogas cleaning technologies. Special focus is (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were
directed towards cost mitigation strategies for gas cleaning such as significantly lower than normal whereas levels of particulate matter
combined in situ bioreactor upgrading and application of cost-effective (PM) were only modestly lower than usual. Daily-mean NO and CO
sorbents. The results are useful to advance implementation of biogas– had record-low anomalies of 10 ppb and 0.5 ppm from typical days,
SOFC systems in off-grid applications in developing as well as respectively. In contrast, ozone mean-levels were not significantly
developed world. different than average. The percentage of days with PM mean
concentrations above the World Health Organization guidelines (5%
and 19% for particles smaller than 2.5 and 10 mm, respectively) and the
percentage of ozone 8-h rolling means above Mexican law (0.5%) were
record lows. Meteorological factors, such as wind speed or the mixed-
layer height were not significantly different than average. The
15 ENVIRONMENT anomalously low pollution levels were accentuated when each day
was compared to days of similar flow patterns. This episode of better
than usual air quality showcases how strategies addressing transport
emissions could control air quality in Mexico City and highlights that
improving ozone mean levels require comprehensive strategies that
Pollution, health protection, reduce emissions from all sectors.
applications 21/00535 An economic approach to the study of the
relationship between housing hazards and health: the case
of residential fuel poverty in France
21/00532 3D hierarchical ACFs-based micromotors as Kahouli, S. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104592.
efficient photo-Fenton-like catalysts The impact of housing hazards on health outcomes is becoming a major
Cui, X. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 738–748. issue especially given the recent and on-going reviews of energy
Here, this paper first reports a biomass route to synthesize 3D, legislation in many European countries. A large body of epidemiolo-
hierarchical, active carbon fibres (ACF)-based micromotors with gical literature argues that fuel poverty – a frequently debated example
superior photo-Fenton-like catalytic activity. As a biomass with unique of a housing hazard involving low indoor temperatures – is associated
fibre morphology, cotton fibres are abounded and inexpensive, with heightened health risks. By using a large-scale nationally
inspiring us to explore bubble generated ACFs-based micromotors. representative dataset, this paper seeks to delve into this alleged
Mn3O4 nanosheets coated ZnO nanorods are decorated on the surface association and uncover a causal relationship between fuel poverty and
of ACFs, each component of micromotor providing different function- self-assessed health. Coming from an economics standpoint, the author
alities. ACFs can be an electron transfer mediator to facilitate the used a panel approach based on an instrumental fixed-effects model
_
formation of OH radicals, adsorbent to condense organic pollutant on
the surface of micromotor and support for the high dispersion of
which allows causality to be analysed. Both objective and subjective
fuel-poverty indicators were used. The results show that there is a
Mn3O4@ZnO heterojunction, facilitating the light harvesting and significant causal relationship between fuel poverty and self-assessed
providing more active site. Mn3O4 act as Fenton-like catalyst and the health status. The estimated causality is exacerbated when subjective
engine for self-propulsion. The speed of this Pt-free micromotors could fuel-poverty indicators are used. The results also show that the negative
reach 198 mm s1 in a 7% H2O2 solution. It is demonstrated that fluid impact of fuel poverty on health is deferred, meaning that fuel poverty
mixing induced by the autonomous motion significantly increases the takes time to manifest itself in terms of poor health. In policy terms,
chance of contact between reactive oxygen species and pollutant this study adds to the debate on investing in housing energy-efficiency
molecules and thus enhances the degradation rate of pollutant, which schemes to reduce fuel poverty and thereby improve health outcomes.
was 3.5 times than non-propelling counterparts. This novel ACFs- It also lends support to the argument according to which improving
based micromotor provides new insights into the design features of housing conditions to curb fuel poverty is a lever for reducing pubic
micromotors and nanomotors for water treatment. expenditures on health care.

21/00533 A photo-switch for peroxydisulfate non-radical/ 21/00536 Beyond ‘one-size-fits-all’ platforms:

radical activation over layered CuFe oxide: rational applying Campbell’s paradigm to test personalized energy
degradation pathway choice for pollutants advice in the Netherlands
Liu, J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, 118232. Starke, A. D. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101311.
This work presents a novel strategy for peroxydisulfate (PDS) When analysing ways in which people save energy, most researchers
activation under controlled non-radical/radical mechanism, which is and policymakers conceptually differentiate between curtailment (e.g.
based on a photo-switch over layered CuFe oxide (CFO). The non- unplugging chargers) and efficiency measures (e.g. installing photo-
radical mechanism is attained by CFO under dark environment, and voltaics cells). However, such a two-dimensional approach is sub-
the radical mechanism is achieved through the visible light irradiation. optimal from both a conceptual and policy perspective, as it does not
Electron paramagnetic resonance and density functional theory studies consider individual differences that determine energy-saving beha-
demonstrate the non-radical activation mechanism is conducted by the viour. A different, one-dimensional approach is proposed, applying
polarization effect of CFO to PDS molecule. The radical mechanism Campbell’s paradigm through the Rasch model, in which both
could be elucidated by the one-electron reduction of the PDS by curtailment and efficiency measures are intermixed on a single scale

82 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

and ordered according to their behavioural costs. By matching these metabolic activities during the remediation period. Microbial analysis
behavioural costs to individual energy-saving attitudes, the authors showed that the PS activation groups could significantly affect micro-
investigate to what extent attitude-tailored energy-saving advice can bial abundance and structure. In BC-nZVI/PS groups, the microbial
help consumers to save energy. The results of two studies are abundance recovered and TPHs-degradation bacterium increased over
presented. The first study (N = 263) reliably calibrated a one- 60 days. This study gives an innovative technology for the TPHs
dimensional Rasch scale that consists of 79 energy-saving measures, polluted soil remediation which could achieve the goal for soil bio-
suitable for advice. The second study employed this scale to investigate remediation after PS oxidation.
how users (N = 196) evaluate attitude-tailored energy-saving advice in
a web-based energy recommender system. Results indicate that Rasch-
21/00540 Communication framework for hybrid fire testing:
based recommendations can be used to effectively tailor energy-saving
developments and applications in virtual and real
advice and that such attitude-tailored advice is more adequate than a
environments
number of non-personalized approaches.
Sauca, A. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102937.
The response of structural systems to fire loads is typically assessed
21/00537 Boussinesq modeling of wave processes in field through performing ‘standard’ fire tests on individual members under
fringing reef environments constant mechanical boundary conditions. Full-scale tests showed
Yao, Y. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 95, 102025. different behaviour compared to the standard tests, but remain
Boussinesq modelling of wave transformation over coral reefs to date impractical. A promising approach to predict the behaviour of full
focuses mainly on wave dynamics at the laboratory scale using idealized scale tests through testing individual structural members is hybrid fire
fringing reef profiles with relatively smooth surfaces. To better testing technique, where a subset of the structural system (physical
understand the cross-shore wave dynamics associated with coastal substructure, PS), is physically tested, while the remaining structure
wave run-up in field studies of fringing reefs, a numerical study based (numerical substructure, NS), is simultaneously numerically analysed.
on the one-dimensional horizontal weakly dispersive, highly non-linear During the test, the mechanical boundary conditions on the PS and NS
Boussinesq equations is carried out for two realistic fringing reefs with are continuously updated, and the updates are enabled by the
different reef configurations and roughness characteristics in the communication framework. The communication framework is a key
Republic of the Marshall Islands. A series of incident wave events element for a successful hybrid fire test and this paper will present the
are tested and compared to the field observations. The numerical development of such communication in MATLAB. To validate the
simulations demonstrate that the adopted model reproduces the cross- communication framework, first, a single degree of freedom linear
shore sea and swell waves, infragravity (IG) waves and wave-induced system was analysed, followed by a ten-storey steel frame structure
setup over the rough reef flats, which are the components of wave- exposed to design fire. The analysis of the latter underlined the
driven runup and coastal inundation. The model then is applied to importance of considering the effect of the cold surrounding in
investigate the mechanisms of IG wave generation and normal mode assessing the fire behaviour of structures under design fires. Sensitivity
excitation on the reef flat. Finally, the shoreline response of waves to analysis showed the importance of several parameters (time step and
the variations of the surf zone seabed profile and the phase of incident substructures stiffness) in hybrid fire testing.
waves is examined via the numerical simulations. The ability to predict
shoreline runup based on nearshore pressure measurements also is
21/00541 Effects of European emission reductions on air
considered.
quality in the Netherlands and the associated health effects
Velders, G. J. M. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 221, 117109.
21/00538 Carbon capture via accelerated weathering of Policies implemented in Europe since the 1970s to improve the air
limestone: modeling local impacts on the carbonate quality have resulted in decreases in emissions in many countries with
chemistry of the southern North Sea corresponding reductions in concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2),
Kirchner, J. S. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM). The authors
2020, 92, 102855. report here how much the air quality and associated health effects in
Via accelerated weathering of limestone (AWL), CO2 can be captured the Netherlands have improved since 1980 and which countries, sectors
from effluent gas streams and stored in the marine environment and policies are responsible for this. To quantify the effects of emission
primarily in the form of bicarbonate. Here, the authors studied the reduction policies since 1980, the ambient concentrations of air
CO2 storage capacity and how AWL-derived water impacts the pollutants in the Netherlands from 1980 to 2015, we calculated using
carbonate chemistry of the southern North Sea. Therefore, a three- two scenarios. A Baseline scenario with reported emissions in Europe
dimensional hydrodynamic model was coupled with a sub-module to and a World Avoided scenario which assumed that no air quality
model the carbonate chemistry. Three scenarios were studied: policies were adopted from 1980 onwards which would result in the
(1) scrubbing effluent gas streams of a combined heat and power growth in emissions of air pollutants. In the World Avoided scenario,
plant (60 kW), (2) scrubbing 10% and (3) 100% of the flue gas of a the annual average PM2.5 concentration in the Netherlands increases
coal-fired power plant (750 MW). Whereas, impacts on seawater from 59 mg m3 in 1980 to 102 mg m3 in 2015, while in reality (Baseline
carbonate chemistry due to AWL discharge were imperceptible in scenario) concentrations decreased to about 12 mg m3. The avoided
the first scenario, a maximum change in pHT and calcite saturation PM2.5 concentration in 2015 accounts for more than half (56%) of
state of 0.1 and 0.6 was found in scenario 2. In scenario 3, the decrease reductions in emissions in sectors outside the Netherlands. Foreign
in pHT exceeded 1 around the discharge site and the calcite saturation (38%) and domestic (16%) industry is the main contributing sector,
state reached 8 in large parts of the Jade Bay, posing the possibility of followed by agriculture (23%) and transport (15%). In 2015, the
significant impacts on the marine ecosystem. Abiotic precipitation of avoided concentrations of air pollutants correspond to about 700,000
calcite might occur around the discharge site. In all three scenarios, avoided years of life lost in the Netherlands per year, with an
50% of the captured CO2 re-entered the atmosphere after the associated number of avoided attributable deaths of about 66,000 per
simulated time period of one year. This study shows that care is year, and an increase in average life expectancy of about 6 years. The
needed in siting, sizing and operating AWL facilities to maximize corresponding avoided monetary health damage amounts to between
climate and ocean ecosystem benefits while minimizing negative e35 billion and e77 billion per year in 2015.
environmental impacts.
21/00542 Emotional responses to energy projects: a new
21/00539 Combining chemical oxidation and method for modeling and prediction beyond self-reported
bioremediation for petroleum polluted soil remediation by emotion measure
BC-nZVI activated persulfate Buah, E. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116210.
Zhang, B. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 123055. A considerable number of studies report that negative emotions evoked
Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPHs) has been posing a threat to soil by wind energy, nuclear energy and CO2 capture and storage (CCS)
health as its increasing production and application. For the better can lead to cancellation of the energy project or a delay in policy
remediation and reclamation of TPHs polluted soil, the combined decisions for its implementation if not adequately addressed. Earlier
remediation by persulfate (PS) with biochar supported nano iron (BC- studies have attempted to study this problem using self-reported
nZVI) was proposed and verified. In this study, the activators (BC- emotion measurements to identify the emotions the participants felt.
nVZI and nZVI) were synthesized through ferrous reducing by sodium As an alternative, the authors propose the use of an emotional artificial
borohydride under nitrogen with or without BC addition. The optimal intelligence (AI) algorithm for improved modelling and prediction of
concentration of 15% PS (w/w) was selected and applied to treat the the participants’ emotional behaviour to guide decision-making. The
TPHs polluted soil over 60 days. The TPHs degradation underwent two system was validated using emotional responses to a hypothetical CCS
different stages, including chemical degradation (0th–6th day) and project as a case study. Running the simulation on the experimental
biodegradation (6th–60th day). To clarify the degradation process dataset (thus 40% of the 72,105), an average validation accuracy of
during remediation, the carbon chain transformation was tested. 98.81% was obtained. The authors tested the algorithm further with 84
During the whole remediation period (0th–60th day), the long chain test samples (unseen cases), and it predicted 75 feelings correctly when
TPHs constantly degraded and transformed into short chain molecules the stakeholders took a definite position on how they felt. Although
in the BC-nZVI/PS groups. Furthermore, comparing with nZVI/PS there are few limitations to this study, it was found, in a sensitivity
groups, the BC-nZVI/PS groups could increase the soil microbial experiment, that it was challenging for the algorithm to predict

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 83

15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

indecisive feelings. The method is adaptable to study emotional res- control centre that is continuously staffed. The result is an dataset of 78
ponses to other projects, including wind energy, nuclear energy and fire incidents. The period covered by the study is from the opening date
hydrogen technology. of each of the tunnels, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel being the first
opened in August 1992, up to and including June 2016. The work
21/00543 Empowerment through emotional connection and presents a hitherto unavailable dataset demonstrating the fire safety
capacity building: public participation through performance of these tunnels. Of particular interest is data related to
environmental non-governmental organizations the use and performance of fixed fire-fighting systems (deluge) as these
Wang, Y. et al. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 80, systems have been installed in all major road tunnels in Australia since
106319. 1992.
Environmental non-governmental organization (ENGO) plays an
important role in promoting public participation in environmental 21/00547 Four years of sustainability impact assessments
governance. By semi-structural interviews and participant observations, accompanying the implementation of improved cooking
this paper examines a local ENGO in China to explore how the stoves in Tanzania
organization can mobilize and organize the local public to participate Hafner, J. M. et al. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 80,
in environmental governance. The research finds that mobilizing public 106307.
participation in local environmental governance is a continuous process Development projects and innovations are often implemented based on
in which ENGO needs to continuously enable, empower and emo- scientific recommendations and do not incorporate local knowledge
tionally invest in the public. Through emotion construction and and demand for interventions. This paper demonstrates the successful
capacity building, environmental organizations have been empowering engagement of local stakeholders in the implementation and evaluation
the public to participate and play a major role in local environmental process of improved cooking stoves; a technology that improves food
governance. Mobilizing public participation in environmental govern- security in two climatically contrasting regions in Tanzania. The
ance can promote the improvement of local environmental problems, framework for participatory impact assessment tool was used to
but mobilizing and organizing public participation requires sufficient conduct impact assessments on firewood-based improved cooking
political opportunity space, sufficient funds, and a culture of public stoves to evaluate their contribution to food security at local
participation. stakeholder level. Between 2014 and 2017, four annual impact
assessments were conducted with local stakeholders in four villages
21/00544 Evaluating the impact of climate change on in the semi-arid Dodoma and the sub-humid Morogoro regions to
offshore structures design: a practical case study assess the impact of improved cooking stoves on locally defined nine
Mosquera-Mosquera, I. A. et al. Applied Ocean Research, 2020, 94, food security criteria. The framework for participatory impact
101992. assessment was used to (i) ex ante identify the expected impact and
There is a concern about how climate change will influence human (ii) to ex post assess the experienced impact of improved cooking stoves
activity, including offshore engineering. Climate change will alter the on the nine food security criteria. The impact assessments showed that
metocean data used for design purposes. These changes will possibly the perceived contribution of improved cooking stoves towards the
cause some impact on the structural responses of ships and offshore food security criteria was positive throughout all assessments. In
structures, more specifically fatigue damage accumulation and extreme particular, improved cooking stoves addressed relevant food security
responses. These possible impacts will depend on the structure life criteria such as social relations, food availability, and market
span, structure geographic location and climate change scenario participation. The framework for participatory impact assessment tool
assessed, among other aspects. This paper discusses the results of supported continuous knowledge exchange between scientists and local
dynamic stochastic analyses and long-term extreme response estimates stakeholders, thus improving communication and co-learning; while
of a steel catenary riser (SCR) connected to a semi-submersible identifying merits and demerits of the improved cooking stoves that
platform considering future climate change scenarios for two locations: could be addressed during the project lifetime.
south-east Brazilian coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The long-term
response is estimated by the environmental contour method. Climate 21/00548 Gender differences in thermal comfort on
change is assessed by using different climate change scenarios pedestrian streets in cold and transitional seasons in severe
available. The climate change scenarios considered in this work are cold regions in China
the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) RCP 4.5 and Jin, H. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106488.
RCP 8.5 proposed and described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Some non-meteorological elements can affect thermal comfort in
Climate Change. Specifically, this work focuses at the influence of outdoor spaces; among these, gender is a significant factor. Based on a
climate change on the wave parameters, significant wave height and field study conducted during cold and transitional seasons in Harbin,
zero up-crossing period, and their impact on the structural responses of which is in a severe cold region, this study analyses gender differences
a SCR, for both locations aforementioned. The results obtained in thermal comfort by considering three factors: thermal comfort level,
suggest that climate change can affect the structure response in affecting factors, and self-regulation. Regarding thermal comfort level,
different ways, depending on the geographic location. They show an the mean thermal sensation vote (MTSV) under the same universal
increasing trend for the long-term structural response in the Brazilian thermal climate index (UTCI) is lower for females compared to males.
location and a slight decreasing trend for the North Atlantic Ocean In transitional seasons, females’ neutral temperature (23.2  C UTCI)
location. However, these results show high variability due to con- was higher than males’ (19.8  C UTCI). In cold season, the UTCI range
siderable uncertainties in the ocean climate forecasts, related mainly to of males’ acceptable ratio to thermal environment higher than 80% was
shortcomings in global climate models. 15.34 to 8.09  C. This ratio for females was always below 80%, and
only approached 80% (79.24%) at 11.33  C UTCI. Regarding thermal
21/00545 Evaluation of cancer risk after a release from a preference, in the same thermal environment, females were more likely
hypothetical nuclear reactor steam generator tube rupture to prefer higher temperatures, while males were more likely to prefer
accident (SGTR) lower wind speeds. When exposed to the same solar irradiation
Andrade, E. R. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 136, 107023. intensity, a higher proportion of females (than males) expected
This work aims to model a potential consequence after the release of stronger sunshine, regardless of the solar radiation level. Regarding
radioactive material from the inventory of a pressurized water reactor factors affecting thermal comfort, only air temperature influenced
(PWR) nuclear reactor in a case of an event known as steam generator thermal comfort in the cold season. In transitional seasons, air
tube rupture (SGTR). Such a release contains the radioactive materials temperature and solar radiation impacted thermal comfort. Regarding
forming the contamination plume simulated by the software HotSpot. ways to regulate thermal comfort, females wear thicker clothes in the
The event simulation was performed varying the atmospheric stability cold season, while males actively move about. Therefore, males are
state. The radiation dose was then evaluated in its contribution to the more likely to exercise, whereas females are more likely to go indoors
radiological risk through the BEIR V equations. The results were taken or move to sunshine/shade.
in a timely manner offering flexibility for the early stage decision-
making. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the atmospheric 21/00549 Geochemical barriers in oligotrophic peat bog
stability impacts the risk evaluation due to its influence to the radiation (western Siberia)
dose, which in turn is a key parameter for the risk evaluation. At last, it Savichev, O. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 113, 104519.
is expected that the findings from this work encourage further studies Peat bogs play an important role in the functioning of the
aimed to model consequences for a SGTR event. biogeochemical cycles of the chemical elements that are connected to
climatological and environmental changes, at least at the regional level.
21/00546 Fire incident data for Australian road tunnels For several decades, this has made the issue of wetland evolution of
Casey, N. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102909. particular interest among the scientific community worldwide. A
This paper describes a dataset that includes all vehicle fire incidents in number of authors have studied different aspects of wetland
major Australian road tunnels. The major tunnels are defined by geochemistry and evolution: the chemical composition of bog water
physical characteristics (i.e. unidirectional, length >1 km), their high and peat, including nutrient dynamics, bog vegetation, hydrological
traffic volume, urban location, restrictions to dangerous goods vehicles, characteristics, and the mineralogical composition of peat. However,
as well as their being monitored and controlled through a dedicated some issues remained insufficiently studied, including the distribution

84 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

of chemical elements in peat deposits and, particularly, the causes of the analytical and graphical methods in an individualized manner but
the formation of some minerals in the peat deposits. To research these also adjusting the level of lightning protection of the facility before
issues, the authors estimated the geochemical conditions of the determining the value of reduction coefficients of the expected damage
formation of some minerals in the oligotrophic pine–shrub–sphagnum to its properties and resigning from the loss relativization.
bog and adjacent area (part of the Vasyugan Swamp, western Siberia)
in the winter period of 2017 and 2018. It was revealed that there were
no less than two complex geochemical barriers in the peat deposit.
These barriers correspond to changes in advective and diffusion flows 21/00553 Influence of architectural visual access on
and result in the accumulation of Fe and some other chemical elements emergency wayfinding: a cross-cultural study in China,
in the peat deposit. The upper complex geochemical barrier of redox, United Kingdom and United States
sulfide, and sorption type is located approximately at a depth of 0.40– Zhu, R. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102963.
1.25 m. The bottom barrier, which is the combination of complex This study examines the effects of architectural visual access on
geochemical barrier of alkaline and sorption type with mechanical people’s wayfinding behaviour and evacuation performance during
barrier, are located at the bottom layer of the peat deposit, at a depth building emergencies using virtual reality. Fire evacuation experiments
of 2.25–2.50 m. Accumulation of substances in the upper geochemical were conducted in an immersive virtual metro station, which was based
barrier is always less significant than in the bottom barrier. Therefore, on a real metro station in Beijing, China. A total of 226 participants,
the probability of detecting high concentrations of various substances is positioned among evenly or unevenly distributed crowd, were asked to
very high in the bottom part of the peat deposit, the organomineral evacuate the station that was designed with low or high visual access,
sediments, and the upper part of the underlying mineral ground. manipulated through building design features (e.g. changing wall
materials, removing columns in hallways). Crowd was presented in the
virtual metro station by incorporating non-player characters assigned
21/00550 Household fuel mixes in peri-urban and rural to different evacuation routes. To explore the possible influence of
Ecuador: explaining the context of LPG, patterns of cultural background on participants’ wayfinding behaviour, exper-
continued firewood use, and the challenges of induction iments were conducted in London, Beijing, and Los Angeles. The
cooking results showed that improving architectural visual access could improve
Gould, C. F. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111053. participants’ virtual evacuation performance during emergencies; it
Nationwide transitions from cooking with solid fuels to clean fuels could also influence participants’ directional choices during evacua-
promise substantial health, climate, and environmental benefits. For tion, depending on the design strategy used and the spatial
decades, Ecuador has invested heavily in consumption subsidies for characteristics of the building. In addition, participants’ tendency of
liquified petroleum gas (LPG), a leading clean fuel. With the goal of following the crowd was reduced when there was an alternative route
understanding household energy use in a context where LPG is with high architectural visual access.
ubiquitous and cheap, 808 household surveys were administered in
peri-urban and rural communities in coastal and Andean Ecuadorian
provinces. The authors assessed cooking fuel ownership and use
patterns after long-term LPG access and the reach of induction stoves 21/00554 Interactions and comprehensive effect of indoor
promoted through a recent government program. Nearly all partici- environmental quality factors on occupant satisfaction
pants reported using LPG for more than a decade and frequent, Tang, H. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106462.
convenient access to highly subsidized LPG. Nonetheless, half of rural In this study, eight subjects were exposed in a simulated office to 31
households and 20% of peri-urban households rely on firewood for combinations of indoor environmental conditions, assigned by ortho-
cooking and to meet specific household energy needs, like space gonal design and uniform design. Conditions comprised variations of
heating or heating water for bathing. Induction was rare and many predicted mean vote, illuminance, sound pressure and CO2 concen-
induction owners reported zero use because the required equipment tration (independent of a consistent ventilation rate) as indicators of
had never been installed by electricity companies, their stove had thermal, lighting, acoustic and indoor air quality. Participant satisfac-
broken, or due to fears of high electricity costs. This discussion is tion with each of the four factors and with overall environmental
instructive for other countries because of Ecuador’s long-standing conditions were measured with a questionnaire. Multiple interactions
clean fuel policies, robust LPG market and standardized cylinder were detected with a partial correlation analysis and regression
recirculation model, and promotion of induction stoves. analysis. Results showed an adjusted effect of illuminance on perceived
acoustic environment, a significant effect of the thermal environment
21/00551 Housing and household practices: practice-based on indoor air quality satisfaction, and a slight effect of sound pressure
sustainability interventions for low-energy houses in on indoor air quality satisfaction. Linear and geometric mean
Lahore, Pakistan regression models were investigated for predicting overall satisfaction
Khalid, R. and Sunikka-Blank, M. Energy for Sustainable Development, from the factor satisfaction scores. For the linear model, it was
2020, 54, 148–163. determined that multicollinearity among factor satisfaction levels may
This paper focuses on low-energy interventions in the design and use of result in non-significant and biased estimated coefficients. The
houses from a socio-technical perspective. It explores the links between geometric mean regression model provides better prediction accuracy
housing (design) and household (use) practices for sustainability than the linear regression model with fewer coefficients, and accounts
transitions in middle-class housing in Lahore, Pakistan. Using two for the finding that the lowest satisfaction level with any environmental
case-study houses as examples of variation in design, in addition to factor appears to drive overall satisfaction.
semi-structured interviews with housing practitioners, the paper
investigates the transitions needed in housing practices that, through
interventions in house design, can lead to less energy-intensive
21/00555 Is hydrothermal treatment coupled with carbon
household practice-arrangements. It uses a practice-based intervention
capture and storage an energy-producing negative
framework to explore how housing and household practices can be
emissions technology?
recrafted, substituted and changes made to how they interlock for
Cheng, F. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112252.
improved sustainability. ‘Good’ housing practices such as integration of
This paper evaluates the feasibility of hydrothermal treatment (HTT)
more flexible, performance-based byelaws to meet minimum standards,
with carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) as an energy producing
better knowledge and skills of practitioners, good communication
negative emissions technology (NET) and compares such system with a
between stakeholders and the availability of low-carbon material supply
conventional bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration
chains can lead to ‘good’ household practices, such as changed
(BECCS) system. Machine learning models were developed to predict
meanings of comfort, more outdoor-based activities and collective
product yields and characteristics from HTT of various feedstocks. The
practice-arrangements. The paper thus highlights inadequacies of
model results were then integrated into a life cycle assessment (LCA)
existing economically-driven, techno-determinist efficiency models to
model to compute two metrics: energy return on investment (EROI)
meet required levels of housing energy demand. The practice approach
and net global warming potential (GWP). Results showed random
makes the connections between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ housing and house-
forest models had better prediction accuracy than regression tree and
hold practices visible and demonstrates their significance in identifying
multiple linear regression to model HTT of feedstocks (e.g. microalgae,
key areas of sustainability interventions.
crops/forest residues, energy crops, and biodegradable organic wastes)
and predicted the mass yields of multiple products (biocrude,
21/00552 Individual assessment of the lightning hazard of hydrochar, gas and aqueous co-products) as well as the energy and
building objects as a guarantee of their proper protection carbon contents of biocrude and hydrochar. LCA results revealed that
Flisowski, Z. and Sul, P. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 178, the proposed HTT–CCS system constituted a net-energy producing
106043. NET for some combinations of feedstock characteristics and reaction
This paper considers the subtleties in normative provisions that may conditions. Best overall energy and GWP performance was achieved
have a negative impact on the effectiveness of lightning and surge for HTT–CCS of lignocellulosic biomass at low temperature. Com-
protection of buildings and their equipment. The authors of the paper pared with the conventional BECCS system, HTT–CCS generally
have tried to show that realigning the lightning threat assessment of exhibited higher energy return on investment but higher net GWP,
objects requires not only estimating the number of dangerous events by depending on processing conditions and the feedstock types.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 85

15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

21/00556 Lighting for work: a study of the relationships compare the perception of residents and tourists towards wind energy
among discomfort glare, physiological responses and visual production in general and towards Iceland’s first proposed wind farm,
performance to be located at the edge of the country’s uninhabited interior Central
Hamedani, Z. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106478. Highlands. The study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted
Objective measures of visual discomfort have the potential to quantify among residents living adjacent to the proposed wind farm and among
the individual’s sensations under discomfort glare conditions although tourists travelling through the proposed area. The results indicate that
such measures have yet to be circumscribed. The present study aimed residents are more positive than tourists towards wind turbines and
to examine the extent to which visual discomfort sensation can be both consider them less intrusive in the landscape. Hence, the location of
operationalized and measured, utilizing many light-induced physio- Iceland’s first wind farm at the main gateway into the country’s Central
logical measures. These measurements were coupled with visual Highlands is problematic and likely to disturb the experience of tourists
performance evaluations, in combination with conventional measures passing through the area. Despite the wealth of wind in Iceland it might
of photometric measurements and subjective evaluations. The variables be challenging to utilize it for energy production due to the importance
measured were mean pupil diameter, pupillary unrest index, blink rate, of nature-based tourism for the economy. If Iceland becomes a physical
blink amplitude, number of fixational eye movements during reading exporter of renewable energy, it may be expected that more pressure
(fixation rate), and average fixation duration, as well as combined will be set on the construction of wind farms. Thereby nature-based
visual performance. The results of this study indicate that most of these tourism and wind energy would be in direct competition over land use.
parameters show significant differences between high and low lighting
conditions. In particular, participants in high discomfort conditions
exhibited a higher fixation rate, lower blink rate, higher blink 21/00560 Preliminary surface soil area factor for elevated
amplitude and a smaller pupil diameter than those in both low and residual radioactivity of Kori Unit 1 considering adjacent
medium discomfort conditions. In other words, the studied physiologi- Unit 2
cal measures can be used as an index of high levels of glare or visual Byon, J. et al. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2020, 135, 106958.
discomfort. In addition, regarding subjective evaluations, the results of Based on the US standard decommissioning procedure guidance
correlation analysis suggest that visual comfort level ratings may manual, ‘Multi-Agency Radiation Site Survey and Investigation
provide a more reliable indicator of visual discomfort sensation. Manual’, the derived concentration guideline level (DCGL) can be
used to classify contaminated sites and suggests a methodology for
21/00557 Mapping corporate climate change ethics: assessing site deregulation safety as an essential criterion for
responses among three Danish energy firms determining decontamination activities. In this study, area factors for
Toft, K. H. and Rüdiger, M. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, DCGLEMC, which is DCGL applicable in hot spot, were derived by
59, 101286. adjusting the contaminated area at the Kori Unit 1, the first
This paper develops a mapping tool for how corporations can approach commercial nuclear power plant in South Korea. DCGLW and
the ethical aspects of climate change based on a literature survey. DCGLEMC were investigated for Kori Unit 1 according to changes in
Literature on this topic tends to focus on the instrumental drivers for preliminary contaminated baseline area including the area of Unit 2.
businesses, leaving the ethical issues aside. Here, the authors seek to Area factors for surface soil were divided into scenarios, gamma and
compensate for this lacuna by suggesting a spectrum of approaches that beta emitters. Sensitive parameters and exposure pathways were
business corporations adopt in response to climate change, making the identified for each specific contaminated area. Additionally, the trend
ethical orientations explicit. The critical issue of the climate agenda is of DCGLEMC was analysed in the industrial worker scenario due to
whether business communities can sufficiently contribute to absolute baseline area and contaminated area changes.
targets for climate mitigation. In order to avoid charges of green-
washing, business corporations need to be engaged with absolute
targets, such as the 1.5  C target of the Paris Agreement. Moreover, 21/00561 Residential carbon emission embedded in
they need to be politically engaged as corporate citizens in order to China’s inter-provincial population migration
mitigate climate change in partnership with state and civil society Qi, W. and Li, G. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111065.
organizations. To provide a test of the proposed mapping tool, a case Population migration embodies virtual residential energy consumption
study based on interviews and a survey of sustainability reports (2007– and carbon transfer from the origin to the destination. Based on the
2017) conducted at three Danish energy firms is presented. It is differences of the per capita levels between the sending-out origins and
concluded that the case study confirms a wide range of corporate arriving-in destinations, the authors develop a model to estimate the
responses to climate change, spanning instrumental approaches like inter-spatial transfer flows of residential carbon emissions, broken
the natural-resource-based view, to also include more normative down by rural-to-urban, rural-to-rural, urban-to-rural and urban-to-
aspirational approaches such as corporate citizenship and political urban flows. The net value of transfer-in and transfer-out residential
corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, the mapping tool suggests carbon emission contributes to the change of the whole carbon
also including green conservatism and systemic-critical views. Finally, emission. Using the latest census data and energy balance sheet in
the paper discusses how sustainability managers handle the ethical 2010, China’s inter-provincial residential carbon emission flows
dilemmas of responding to climate change, as well as the limits of the embedded in the population migration were calculated and visualized.
research design, and future prospects and issues raised by the study. It was found that China’s non-Hukou migration increased the national
total residential carbon emission. The largest transfer flows were
mainly from central to eastern China. The northern provinces were also
21/00558 Measuring environmental policy stringency: distinct destinations due to the high-carbon energy structure. The
approaches, validity, and impact on environmental regional difference of residential energy consumption structures, the
innovation and energy efficiency unbalanced regional economic development and origin-to-destination
Galeotti, M. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111052. interaction were the main influencing factors. To promote low-carbon
Solid tests of the impact of environmental and energy policy on and environment-friendly urbanization, the energy optimization policy
important economic outcomes, such as innovation, productivity, should be enhanced in the identified regions, especially in the Beijing–
competitiveness and energy and carbon efficiency are impaired by Tianjin area.
the lack of appropriate empirical proxies for the commitment to, and
stringency of, environmental policy. This study contributes to the
literature by: (1) computing different indicators of environmental
21/00562 The factors determining the number of the
policy stringency, (2) testing to what extent they convey similar insights
endangered people in a case of fire in a road tunnel
through a statistical comparison exercise, and (3) showing the impli-
Król, A. and Król, M. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 111, 102942.
cations of using one or the other indicator in two illustrative empirical
A fire outbreak in a road tunnel is the most dangerous threat to the
applications focused on environmental innovation and energy effi-
people who are trapped inside. The main danger is the generation of
ciency. The paper concludes by highlighting the implications of this
large amounts of toxic smoke. Tunnel fires develop in an unpredictable
analysis for empirical research focusing on the evaluation of policy
way, but the conditions get worse very quickly. Therefore the self-
impacts, and highlight fruitful future research avenues.
evacuation involving suitable decisions and proficient actions is of
crucial importance. The work presents a number of scenarios of the
21/00559 Not in my back yard or not on my playground: tunnel fires and the following evacuation. Different tunnel fire
residents and tourists’ attitudes towards wind turbines in detection delays, types of ventilation system, traffic conditions, fire
Icelandic landscapes locations and fire powers were taken into account. The research was
Sæþórsdóttir, A. D. and Ólafsdóttir, R. Energy for Sustainable Dev- conducted by the combined numerical simulation: VISSIM software
elopment, 2020, 54, 127–138. was used to simulate the traffic and the formation of congestion, FDS
To counteract the threat of global warming, many nations have was used to reproduce the fire development and PATHFINDER was
resorted to increasing their use of renewable energy sources, wind used to simulate the evacuation and to estimate injures. To embrace
farms being among the most popular. One obstacle when it comes to the great number of factors influencing the described issue the Taguchi
the acceptance of wind farms is their visual impact. Recently, tourism method of experiment design was applied. It allowed also for
has become Iceland’s largest export sector, the country’s natural determining the relative influence of these factors on the evacuation
landscape being the main attraction for visitors. This paper attempts to process.

86 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

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21/00563 The impact of transboundary haze pollution on evaluate the influence of interaction on the organic and inorganic
household utilities consumption components. The mass-weighted curves are obtained by the super-
Agarwal, S. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104591. position of experimental data of single materials. The results confirm
This paper examines the causal effects of air pollution on the an insignificant effect of interactions between biomass and shallow soil
household consumption of water and electricity in Singapore. Using on pyrolysis and combustion. A kinetic model, consisting of nth-order
the transboundary haze pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia as independent parallel reactions, is applied to simulate the thermal
an exogenous shock, it was found that increases in haze pollutant decomposition of pure and mixed samples.
intensity in the air significantly increase water and electricity
consumption. In particular, the intra-day and inter-day analyses on
21/00567 Unfolding the action mode of light and
hourly household water consumption are consistent with the risk
homogeneous vs. heterogeneous photo-Fenton in bacteria
avoidance and the risk mitigation behaviours during severe haze
disinfection and concurrent elimination of micropollutants
episodes. During the haze periods, households stay indoors and avoid
in urban wastewater, mediated by iron oxides in raceway
outdoor activities to minimize exposure to health risks. When they
pond reactors
need to engage in outdoor activities during the weekdays, they increase
de la Obra Jiménez, I. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020,
efforts in mitigating health risks associated with air pollution. More-
263, 118158.
over, the analysis of social media data shows that the level of public
In this work, iron oxides have been proposed as low-cost hetero-
awareness of air pollution is positively related to energy consumption
geneous photo-Fenton catalysts for the simultaneous disinfection and
by households. In addition, the effects of haze-induced utilities
reduction of microcontaminant load from urban wastewater in raceway
consumption is correlated with the duration of air pollution. While
pond reactors at near-neutral pH. The objective was not finding the
household utilities consumption quickly returns to normal after
best operating conditions but understanding the mechanisms of FeOx
transitory pollution exposure, the effects are stronger and persistent
driven disinfection and the implications presented by the matrix
after a longer period of air pollution; households maintain a higher
constituents, namely organic matter and (bi)carbonates, as well as the
level of utilities consumption for two months after a lengthy haze,
possibility to apply this system after different secondary treatments in
suggesting a substantial spending on additional water and electricity
continuous flow mode. Notable bacterial inactivations were obtained in
usage due to air pollution events.
both batch and continuous flow modes by any iron oxide used, with
total inactivation (5 log reduction) in the case of Hematite. The
21/00564 The psychology of energy efficiency labels: heterogeneous photo-Fenton process was proven to be the driving
trust, involvement, and attitudes towards energy bacterial inactivation force in urban wastewaters. Additionally, moni-
performance certificates in Ireland toring the elimination of 25 emerging contaminants in the secondary
Schuitema, G. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, effluents was performed. The operation mode (batch-continuous) was
101301. assessed, attaining a minimum of 35% micropollutant removal.
Energy performance certificates (EPCs) aim to inform owners,
occupiers, tenants, real estate agents and other relevant groups about
21/00568 Use of multivariate time series techniques to
the energy efficiency of buildings. Although house buyers and renters
estimate the impact of particulate matter on the perceived
often recognize these certificates, they often do not use them. One
annoyance
explanation for this is lack of trust in these certificates. This paper
Machado, M. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117080.
presents the results of an online survey (n = 354), in which the role of
As well known, particulate matter (PM) is an air pollutant that causes
perceived source credibility, trust in the certificate and people’s
damage to the health of humans, other animals, plants, affects the
involvement in energy efficiency was studied on renters’ attitudes
climate and is a potential cause of annoyance through deposition on
towards EPCs in Ireland, so-called BER labels. The results showed that
various surfaces. The perceived annoyance caused by particulate
trust is a key determinant for attitudes to EPCs, i.e. attitudes to EPCs
matter is related mainly to the increase of settled dust in urban and
become more positive when people trust them. However, how trust is
residential environments. PM can originate from many sources, i.e.
used for the formation of attitudes depends on cognitive involvement
paved and unpaved roads, buildings, agricultural operations and wind
(i.e. referring to information processing activities and the achievement
erosion represent the largest contributions beyond the relatively minor
of idealization states) and affective involvement (referring to feelings
vehicular and industrial sources emissions. The aim of this paper is to
and achievements of certain emotional states). These two types of
quantify the relationship between perceived annoyance and particulate
involvement moderate the effect of trust on attitudes to EPCs in
matter concentration and to estimate the relative risk (RR). The data
different ways: high-cognitive involvement amplifies the effect of trust
was collected in the Metropolitan Region of Vitoria, Brazil. For this
on attitudes, whereas high-affective involvement suppresses the effect
purpose, the variables of interest were modelled using vector time
of trust on attitudes. This has important theoretical implications, as
series model (VAR), principal component analysis (PCA) and logistic
both are often measured together. Equally important are the policy
regression (LOG). The combination of these techniques resulted in a
implications: it is concluded that if trust levels are relatively high,
hybrid model denoted as LOG–PCA–VAR which allows to estimate
policies focusing on increasing cognitive involvement are more likely to
RR by handling multipollutant effects. This study shows that there is a
be effective, whereas if trust in EPCs is low, policy strategies should
strong association between the perceived annoyance and different sizes
aim to enhance affective involvement.
of PM. The estimates of RR indicate that an increase in air pollutant
concentrations significantly contributes in increasing the probability of
21/00565 The role of education and attitudes in cooking being annoyed.
fuel choice: evidence from two states in India
Gould, C. F. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 54, 36–50.
21/00569 Water competition through the ‘water-energy’
Widespread adoption of clean cooking fuels is a necessary step toward
nexus: assessing the economic impacts of climate change in
reducing household air pollution and improving population health.
a Mediterranean context
Here large-scale surveys (10,000 households) from two Indian states,
Teotónio, C. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104539.
Kerala and Rajasthan, were used to examine how education and
The impacts of climate change on water resources availability are
attitudes toward cooking associate with the adoption of liquefied
expected to be adverse, especially in drier climate regions such as the
petroleum gas (LPG), India’s most popular clean cooking fuel. Three
Mediterranean. Increased water scarcity will exacerbate competition
main results were reported. First, education is a strong predictor of
for water resources, not only between sectors but also between
LPG adoption. Second, perceptions that LPG is good and affordable
countries sharing transboundary river basins. Due to the mutual
and progressive health-related perceptions are associated with LPG
dependence of the energy sector on water resources and of the water
ownership. Third, and surprisingly, education does not predict positive
services provision sector on energy inputs, the ‘water–energy’ nexus is
attitudes toward clean cooking fuels. These results suggest that
acknowledged as a major challenge for the near future – with
education leads to LPG adoption, but not through attitudinal changes.
hydropower representing one of the most direct links in this nexus.
Further research should examine the mediators of the robust observed
The aim of this paper is to assess the economy-wide impacts of the
education-adoption association.
concurrent effects of climate change-driven impacts on water avail-
ability and the sectoral and regional competition for scarcer water
21/00566 Thermal decomposition of biomass and shallow resources. In order to accomplish that goal, an integrated modelling
soil mixtures approach is developed, where a computable general equilibrium model
Zhu, H. and Liu, N. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102990. including raw water as a production factor is linked to TIMES_PT, a
The thermal decomposition of mixtures of biomass and shallow soil bottom-up model of the energy sector. A case study is provided for the
supports the development of wildland fire. However, the interaction Mediterranean country of Portugal. Results for 2050 show that
between biomass and shallow soil has been scarcely studied. In this macroeconomic impacts are significant, and encompass important
work, the thermal behaviours of pine needle, pine bark, pine branch, inter-sectoral differences that, in turn, depend on the degree of
shallow soil, and their mixtures are investigated by using thermogravi- competition between sectors. Impacts are stronger when water
metric analyses under nitrogen and air atmospheres. A quantitative consumption by Spanish sectors is considered, as this intensifies water
method, based on two parameters that reflect the deviation between scarcity in Portugal. Thus the paper allows to gain insight in the
the experimental and mass-weighted curves of a mixture, is applied to broader ‘water–energy–economy’ nexus and the additional costs that

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 87

15 Environment (CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate emissions)

the dependence on water resources availability in transboundary river son with experimental measurements of CO2 accumulation in a
basins represents to an economy – both aspects being of utmost building placed in the path of a drifting cloud of CO2. The analytical
importance for climate adaptation and energy policy making. and CFD models are shown to make good predictions of the average
change in internal concentration. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that
the effects of shelter should be taken into account when conducting
QRA assessments on CO2 pipelines.
CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate
emissions 21/00573 Assessing the impact of FDI on PM2.5
concentrations: a nonlinear panel data analysis for
emerging economies
Xie, Q. and Sun, Q. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 80,
21/00570 Alkyl-functionalization of 106314.
(3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-grafted zeolite beta for While emerging markets have obtained powerful growth for foreign
carbon dioxide capture in temperature swing adsorption direct investment (FDI) inflows, they are facing severe smog pollution,
Liu, L. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122834. and this contradiction has become increasingly prominent since the
Amine-based solid sorbents are promising candidates for post- financial crisis. Assessing the influence of FDI on pollutant emissions is
combustion CO2 capture owing to their high sorption capacity at of great significance for determining how to attract FDI to promote
operating temperatures. Sorbents are required for stable CO2 mixture environmental sustainability. The present study simultaneously inves-
sorption and regeneration. Here, the authors report a novel alkyl- tigates the direct and indirect effects of FDI on PM2.5 contamination
functionalization method for the stoichiometric conversion of primary for emerging countries spanning the period 2010–2016. Due to the
amines to secondary amines in solid sorbents. (3-Aminopropyl)- features of the non-linear analysis, a generalized panel smooth
triethoxysilane (APTES) and alkyl-functionalized-APTES were grafted transition regression (GPSTR) model was introduced, and cross-
on zeolite beta through a reflux reaction; the alkyl-functionalization sectional dependence, heterogeneity, non-linear unit root, non-linear
was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform cointegration tests and non-parametric kernel density estimation were
infrared analyses. Alkyl-functionalized-APTES zeolite exhibited a applied to achieve this goal. The results reveal that FDI directly
sorption capacity of 1.44 mmol/g (15% CO2 balanced with N2 at contributes to decreasing PM2.5, but indirectly has on increasing PM2.5
90  C), very high sorption rate of t1/2 = 0.69 min (>90% of the total emissions. The total effect of FDI on PM2.5 concentrations is proven to
sorption capacity within 5 min), and long-term stability after 20 cycles be negative, which confirms the pollution halo hypothesis. Moreover,
in a temperature swing adsorption (TSA) operation (>0.9 mmol/g at the connection between FDI inflows and PM2.5 emissions displays a
pure CO2 regeneration). Alkyl-functionalized-APTES zeolite beta threshold and dynamic characteristic and is ‘S-shaped’. At lower levels
showed higher sorption capacity and stability than APTES zeolite of FDI, the inflows of FDI exert a positive effect on reducing PM2.5
and PEI silica in TSA operation at CO2 mixture sorption and CO2 flow concentrations, whereas when FDI exceeds the threshold of 23.2981,
regeneration. such influence is gradually weakened with an increase in its own
accumulation. The study provides new assessments on FDI’s contri-
21/00571 An analytical method for evaluating and bution to pollutant emissions and evidence for environmental sustain-
visualizing embodied carbon emissions of buildings ability in the post-financial crisis era.
Resch, E. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106476.
Greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings constitute a large 21/00574 Burden of ischemic heart disease and stroke
part of global emissions, where building materials and associated attributable to exposure to atmospheric PM2.5 in Hubei
processes make up a significant fraction. These emissions are province, China
complicated to evaluate with current methodologies due to, amongst Yu, W. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 221, 117079.
others, the lack of a link between the material inventory data and the Studies on mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of
aggregated results. This paper presents a method for evaluating and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) attributable to exposure to ambient
visualizing embodied emission (EE) data of building material PM2.5 in China are very limited. This study aims to provide a city-level
production and transport, including replacements, from building life estimation of the PM2.5-related disease burden of two major CVDs,
cycle assessments (LCAs). The method introduces a set of metrics that ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, by age and sex in Hubei
simultaneously serve as a breakdown of the EE results and as an province, China in 2016. PM2.5 mass concentrations (mg/m3) at
aggregation of the building’s inventory data. Furthermore, future different cities were obtained from the Hubei Provincial Environmen-
emission reductions due to technological improvements are modelled tal Quality Supervision and Administration Bureau. The city-level
and captured in technological factors for material production and demographic data in Hubei were obtained from the sixth demographic
material transport. The material inventory is divided into building census of China in 2010. Sex- and age-specific mortality and DALY
subparts for high-resolution analysis of the EE. The metrics and data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD)
technological factors are calculated separately for each subpart, which 2016. The integrated exposure-response (IER) model, developed by
can then be evaluated in relation to the rest of the building and be the GBD, was used to estimate PM2.5-related CVD premature deaths
compared to results from other buildings. Two methods for evaluating and DALYs in Hubei province. It was found that 55,760 deaths and
and visualizing the results are presented to illustrate the method’s 1.11 million DALYs of IHD and stroke could be attributed to exposure
usefulness in the design process. A case study is used to demonstrate to ambient PM2.5 in Hubei. Disease burden of IHD and stroke
the methods. Key driving factors of EE are identified together with attributable to PM2.5 increased with age and were higher in males than
effective mitigation strategies. The inclusion of technological improve- in females. The PM2.5-related disease burden of IHD and stroke was
ments shows a significant reduction in EE (11.5%), reducing the mainly concentrated in the eastern part of Hubei. The highest popu-
importance of replacements. Furthermore, the method lays the lation attributable fraction of IHD and stroke was mainly concentrated
foundation for further applications throughout the project phases by in the western part of Hubei. These findings suggest that China needs
combining case-specific data with statistical data. proper air quality management measures to effectively reduce ambient
PM2.5, especially for cities with heavy disease burden.
21/00572 Analytical and computational indoor shelter
models for infiltration of carbon dioxide into buildings:
comparison with experimental data 21/00575 Carbon dioxide methanation over Ni-Cu/SiO2
Lyons, C. J. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, catalysts
2020, 92, 102849. Dias, Y. R. and Perez-Lopez, O. W. Energy Conversion and Manage-
This paper describes two indoor shelter models – an analytical model ment, 2020, 203, 112214.
and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model – that can be used to CO2 emitted from utilization of fossil fuels has a major contribution to
predict the level of infiltration of carbon dioxide (CO2) into a building greenhouse effect, turning it into a critical environment issue. Its use as
following a release from an onshore CO2 pipeline. The motivation raw material to methanation is gaining much attention, both as a
behind the development of these models was to demonstrate that the renewable energy source and as a chemical precursor. Ni-Cu/SiO2
effects of shelter should be considered as part of a quantitative risk catalysts prepared by wet impregnation were tested for the CO2
assessment (QRA) for CO2 pipeline infrastructure and to provide a methanation in a fixed bed reactor at 1 atm, GHSV of
methodology for considering the impact of a CO2 release on building 60,000 mL.(gcat.h)1, H2/CO2 = 4, in the range of 200–400  C. The
occupants. A key component in the consequence modelling of a release physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by
from a CO2 pipeline is an infiltration model for CO2 into buildings XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption, TGA-DTA, TPO and TPR. It was
which can describe the impact on people inside buildings during a found that higher Ni loadings improved catalyst activity and CH4
release event. This paper describes the development of an analytical selectivity, while Cu promotion dramatically increased CO selectivity,
shelter model and a CFD model which are capable of predicting the which indicates favouring of the RWGS reaction. The best results were
change in internal concentration, temperature and toxic load within a obtained by Ni15 catalyst, with 55% of CO2 conversion and 96% of
single roomed building that is totally engulfed by a transient cloud of CH4 selectivity at 350  C. Cu-promoted samples highly favoured CO
gaseous CO2. Application of the models is demonstrated by compari- selectivity in the order of 70–80%. Furthermore, the presence of Cu

88 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 15 Environment (CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate emissions)

increased slightly the resistance of catalyst to sintering and decreased 21/00579 Flower-shaped ZnO nanomaterials for
the CO2 conversion. All catalysts showed high stability during 300 min low-temperature operations in NOX gas sensors
in the reaction at 400  C. Nundy, S. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5706–5714.
This study synthesized nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) by using
various concentrations (0–0.05 M) of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide
(CTAB) as a surfactant to optimize its morphology for gas sensor
21/00576 Chemical nature of zinc in size fractionated
applications. The optimization process was used to elucidate the
particulate matter from residual oil combustion –
morphology effects (rod-shaped and flower-shaped morphologies). The
a comparative study
morphologies were investigated through scanning electron microscopy,
Pattanaik, S. and Huggins, F. E. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 221,
in which the assembly of nanorods leading to a spherical microstruc-
117099.
ture with a CTAB concentration of 0.005 M was observed. Brunauer–
Although zinc is ubiquitous in ambient particulate matter (PM),
Emmett–Teller isotherm measurements revealed a surface area of
exposure to size fractionated residual oil fly ash (ROFA) PM is of
7.928 g/m2 for the flower-like morphology, which was relatively higher
particular concern due to several studies implicating particle zinc in
than those of other CTAB-assisted morphologies. Such morphological
mortality, adverse respiratory and cardiac effects. The lack of zinc
features were expected to contribute toward high-performance gas-
speciation data is an impediment to the understanding of the biological
sensing. The effect of morphology variation on the resistance of ZnO
mechanism of Zn-induced toxicity. ROFA PM2.5+ samples (i.e. particle
microstructures was used for gas measurements. Among the varied
with aerodynamic diameter >2.5 mm) are prepared in a small 732 kW
morphologies, a sample with a spherical flower-shaped morphology
practical fire tube boiler by combusting one No. 5 and three No. 6
exhibited a very high response at low temperatures (29 at 25  C)
residual oil(s) of varying sulfur and ash contents. The combined X-ray
toward NOx gas (0.75 ppm) and a high selectivity toward NOx among
absorption spectroscopy and selective extraction method is used to
ammonia (NH3), toluene (C6H5CH3), carbon monoxide (CO), acetone
determine the Zn speciation in PM2.5+ samples. The Zn speciation in
(CH3COCH3) and ethanol (C2H5OH). Raman and photoluminescence
ROFA PM2.5 (i.e. particle with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 mm)
spectroscopy analyses unravelled the presence of a high density of
samples, reported earlier, is included here for comparison purposes.
oxygen vacancies in the sample, thereby suggesting a close link between
The data show that zinc sulfate is predominant in both fractions. In
the defective nature of the sample and the high response of the flower-
addition, an appreciable amount of zinc phosphate was detected in the
like ZnO at low temperatures.
PM2.5 fraction. The insoluble zinc forms in both the fractions are
identified as Zn-sorbed-ferrihydrite and zinc sulfide. The variation of
Zn speciation across different size fractions has implication on the
bioavailability and toxicity of Zn. Such source specific speciation data 21/00580 Flue gas treatment with ozone oxidation:
are needed for developing source inventories, and for amending an overview on NOx, organic pollutants, and mercury
existing regulations/framing new regulations for different size fractions. Lin, F. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 123030.
Traditional flue gas pollutants treatment technologies are installed
with their individual function. Industries usually make simple combi-
nation and increase operation load of equipment to face with the
21/00577 Direct conversion of CO2 and CH4 into liquid increasing stringent environmental stress and emission standard.
chemicals by plasma-catalysis Especially, these technique routes are not available to industrial
Li, D. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 261, 118228. boilers and furnaces because of specific conditions, such as unsuitable
A plasma-catalytic reactor consisting in a vertical coaxial dielectric temperature window, complicated components in flue gas, and flexible
barrier discharge reactor filled with solid catalysts was developed to operation. Simultaneous removal of multi-pollutants within one or two
directly synthesize liquid chemicals (alcohols, acids, hydrocarbons) and devices is a prospective direction that can save space occupation and
syngas from CO2 and CH4 at atmospheric conditions. Co and Fe cost. Interestingly, the solubility of NOx and mercury increases with its
catalysts prepared via incipient wetness impregnation method were valance state, and organic pollutants can be degraded into non-toxic
loaded on a SiO2 aerogel support synthesized by ambient drying small molecules by oxidation. Ozone is a strong gas phase oxidant that
method after surface modification. Discharges were generated in dif- can achieve pre-oxidation at low temperature, following by post-
ferent ratios of CO2/CH4 mixtures at ambient conditions and the absorption to completely remove oxidized products. This review
performance of the catalysts was evaluated. In this study, the total focuses on research progress involved in homogeneous and hetero-
liquid selectivity was approximately 40% after introducing the catalysts, geneous catalytic oxidation of NOx, organic pollutants, and mercury by
where main liquid products were methanol and acetic acid. By varying ozone, as well as NOx absorption regarding of its full path removal.
the CH4 and CO2 ratio, a small number of long-chain hydrocarbons The reaction mechanism, kinetics, operation parameters, conversion
and alcohols were also detected with these catalysts. The synergy of efficiency and ozone residual are all summarized in detail. This paper
plasma-catalysis in this process demonstrates great potential for the also systematically reviews various approaches in catalytic ozonation
direct synthesis of value-added liquid chemicals and fuels from CO2 towards improving catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability, as well as
and CH4. lowering temperature, such as active metals, metal loading contents,
supports, precursors, and other modification. Finally, the overall
technique route of simultaneous removal of multi-pollutants by ozone
21/00578 Effects of air cleaners and school characteristics is analysed. In conclusion, the ozone oxidation technology is advan-
on classroom concentrations of particulate matter in 34 taged in flue gas pollutants treatment, including low temperature, no
elementary schools in Korea massive adjustment in operation and original devices, saving space, no
Park, J.-H. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106437. secondary pollution, N/S sources recovery, and potential to ultra-low
Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in school environments has been emission.
associated with respiratory illnesses among children. Although using
air cleaners was reported to reduce PM exposure and improve
residents’ health in homes, their effects in classrooms are not well 21/00581 Haze emissions from smouldering peat: the roles
understood. The authors examined how the use of air cleaners in of inorganic content and bulk density
classrooms and school/classroom characteristics affect the levels of Hu, Y. et al. Fire Safety Journal, 2020, 113, 102940.
indoor PM. This environmental study included 102 classrooms from 34 Smouldering peat fires are reported across continents and their
elementary schools located on the mainland peninsula and an island in emissions result in regional haze crisis (large-scale accumulation of
Korea. Indoor and outdoor PM were monitored simultaneously with smoke at low altitudes) and large carbon footprints. Inorganic content
portable aerosol spectrometers, and indoor gravimetric PM levels were (IC) and bulk density vary naturally in peatlands and are among the
measured with low volume, size-selective samplers during the class important parameters governing peat fires. However, their roles in fire
hours. Correlations among PM measurements were computed and final emissions remain unknown. In this work, bench-scale burning of
multiple regression models for indoor PM were constructed with a sphagnum peat conditioned to different values of IC and bulk densities
model building procedure. Correlation between indoor and outdoor were conducted in the laboratory environment. Mass loss rate, spread
PM2.5 (PM < 2.5 mm in aerodynamic diameter) was higher (r = 0.78, rate and transient emissions of 20 gas species and particles (PM10,
p < 0.01) than that of PM10 (PM < 10 mm) (r = 0.49, p < 0.01). School PM2.5 and PM1) were simultaneously investigated. It was found that
location, classroom occupant density, and ambient PM levels signifi- peat with 50% moisture content can self-sustain smouldering propa-
cantly (p-values <0.05) affected classroom PM concentrations. The gation if IC < 40%, or its bulk density is <287.5 kg m3. Increasing IC
adjusted PM levels in classrooms using air cleaners were significantly or bulk density decreases peat mass loss rate and spread rate. High IC
(p-values <0.01) lower by approximately 35% than in classrooms not peat releases lower gas fluxes (especially for CH4 and NH3) throughout
using them. However, air cleaners appeared to remove PM2.5 more the experiment. In the ignition stage, increasing IC leads to an increase
effectively than PM10, perhaps because coarse particles settle more in particles with diameter between 1 and 2.5 mm; in the fire spread
rapidly than fine particles on surfaces, or their resuspension and stage, IC has no influence on the particle fluxes. In contrast, increasing
generation rate by occupants exceeds the removal rate by air cleaners. bulk density delays both gas and particle emission fluxes without
The study suggests that routine cleaning to remove surface dust along altering the smoke composition significantly. The fundamental under-
with the use of air cleaners might be required to effectively reduce standing of how soil properties affect peat wildfires facilitates the
occupants’ exposure in classrooms. development of mitigation technologies against haze.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 89

15 Environment (CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate emissions)

21/00582 High-temperature CO2 capture by Li4SiO4 Nitrogen oxide emissions from the cement industry have greatly
adsorbents: effects of pyroligneous acid (PA) modification promoted the formation of haze weather. Current denitration
and existence of CO2 at desorption stage technologies can hardly meet the increasingly stringent emission
Li, H. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106186. requirements. Here, the authors proposed an innovative method called
Li4SiO4 has been demonstrated as a promising adsorbent for CO2 ‘rear independent reduction’ (RIR) to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions
capture. However, Li4SiO4 adsorbents from the conventional solid- from the cement kiln. A pilot-scale experimental setup was put in place
state method usually exhibit dense microstructures and, thus, poor CO2 to verify its feasibility. Reduction efficiencies of 61.2% and 48.6% were
capture performance. Treating Li4SiO4 with organic acids has been obtained in the absence and presence of cement raw meal, respectively.
proved effective to improve the microstructures. The commonly used The effects of amount of reduction pulverized coal, flue gas
acids such as acetic acid, citric acid and gluconic acid are too expensive, temperature, the addition of cement raw meal, and oxygen content in
restricting the application of this modification technique. In addition, flue gas on the NOx reduction efficiency were comprehensively
in the typical Li4SiO4-based CO2 capture looping system, CO2 usually investigated. Increasing the amount of reduction pulverized coal
exists in the desorption reactor. However, the effect of the existence of cannot only enhance the reduction efficiency, but also promote the
CO2 at the desorption stage on adsorption performance has been rarely rise of flue gas temperature. The ideal flue gas temperature is around
studied. Focusing on these two issues, this work employed pyroligneous 900  C. Oxygen content in flue gas determines the impact of cement
acid (PA), a low-cost by-product of the fast pyrolysis of biomass, to raw meal on the reduction efficiency, and the optimal value is below
modify the microstructures of Li4SiO4. It was found that modification 1.0%. The significant reduction of NO x in flue gas should be attributed
by PA successfully improved the microstructures and enhanced the to the reaction between reductants and nitrogen oxides. This work
surface area of Li4SiO4 adsorbent. As a result, the obviously improved provides a new way to address the problem of NOx emissions in the
CO2 adsorption performance was achieved. In addition, the test results cement industry.
under CO2-containing desorption atmospheres indicated that the
existence of CO2 at the desorption stage decreased the adsorption
21/00586 Mathematical modeling of CO2 membrane
performance due to the severe sintering caused by the existence of CO2
absorption system using ionic liquid solutions
at the desorption stage.
Darabi, M. and Pahlavanzadeh, H. Chemical Engineering and Proces-
sing – Process Intensification, 2020, 147, 107743.
This research presents a 2D mathematical modelling based on finite
21/00583 Higher tolerance to sulfur poisoning in CO2 difference method for absorption of CO2 into aqueous solution of ionic
methanation by the presence of CeO2 liquids ([bmim][BF4] and [bmim][PF6]) by means of hydrophobic
Alarcón, A. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, polypropylene hollow fibre membrane contactor. Governing equations
118346. with their corresponding boundary conditions were solved and the
This study investigates the deactivation mechanism of CeO2-promoted results were validated against reported experimental data and excellent
catalyst for the CO2 methanation reaction. The catalytic performance agreement was found. This study has provided an opportunity to
was evaluated at high temperature (T = 500  C, P = 5 barg) and under investigate the effects of various ionic liquids with different concen-
the presence of unfavourable H2S impurities (1–5 ppm). The thermal trations as well as liquid and gas flow rate on CO2 absorption system in
stability of the CeO2-promoted catalyst was excellent, while the non- membrane contactors. The results demonstrated that molar flux of
promoted sample suffered from nickel sintering. In contrast, the carbon dioxide for 25 wt% and 50 wt% solution of [bmim][PF6] is 1.29
presence of H2S was detrimental for both catalysts. The tolerance to and 1.98 times that of pure water, respectively. Also [bmim][BF4] has a
H2S of CeO2-promoted sample was higher; keeping one third of the weaker performance than [bmim][PF6] due to lower carbon dioxide
initial catalytic activity under continuous addition of H2S. The solubility, and the addition of 50 wt% of it to the pure water has
identification of crystallographic planes associated with Ce2O2S phase increased the absorption rate by 32%. Overall and liquid phase mass
evidenced that the addition of CeO2 to nickel catalyst minimized the transfer coefficient has decreased in ionic liquid solutions. Reynolds
formation of non-active NiS sites. This finding was further confirmed number in tubes has been decreased by increasing of ionic liquid mass
through DRIFT spectroscopy since for the Ni-CeO2/-Al2O3, methane fraction and also a sharp decrease in the Reynolds number can be
formation derived from formate dissociation was followed by hydro- observed in the ionic liquids mass fractions >60 wt%.
genation of the adsorbed CO on the remaining available active sites.
21/00587 MEA/SG capture CO2 in thermal electrochemical
21/00584 In situ continuous observation of hourly elements co-drive system
in PM2.5 in urban Beijing, China: occurrence levels, temporal Ding, W. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
variation, potential source regions and health risks Intensification, 2020, 147, 107775.
Cui, Y. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117164. The thermal electrochemical co-drive system (TECS) has the advan-
Elements in fine particles (PM2.5) have adverse impacts on ecosystems tages of high desorption rate and low energy consumption. However,
and human health. Using an online multi-heavy metal analyser, 1-year the fluid flow and capture performance is still unknown in TECS. Thus,
continuous hourly measurements were performed for 13 elements, a comprehensive experiment and simulation work on TECS is
namely, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ba, Hg and Pb, from performed to demonstrate the fluid flow and capture performance in
1 June 2016 to 31 May 2017 in urban Beijing. The total concentrations a pilot-scale TECS. The reaction kinetics of the electrolysed mono-
of 13 elements were in the range of 114–136,574 ng/m3, with a mean ethanolamine (MEA)/sodium glycinate (SG) solution is discussed. A
concentration of 2534  5563 ng/m3. The four dominated elements were pilot-scale TECS is set up and gas-liquid two-phase flow model is
K (900  3554 ng/m3), Fe (738  1485 ng/m3), Ca (493  1473 ng/m3) developed for the TECS. According to the numerical computation and
and Zn (174  189 ng/m3). The annual mean concentrations of Cr and experiment, the gas–liquid two-phase flow field was analysed under the
As exceeded the guideline values of the World Health Organization thermal electrochemical co-drive conditions. The mechanism of CO2
and the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard. In the capture was clearly understood. The synergy of thermal desorption and
absence of firework-burning episodes and heavy dust storms, K, Cr, electrochemical desorption was quantified numerically. The results
Mn, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Hg and Pb showed higher concentrations in showed that the temperature of TECS was reduced <333 K and the
autumn and winter, whereas lower concentrations were observed in energy consumption amount was determined as 1.3–2.1 GJ/t, which is
spring and summer. The higher concentrations of Ca, Fe, and Ba much lower than the conventional process. Liquefied natural gas cold
observed in spring were associated with the frequent occurrence of energy reduced the desorption energy consumption.
dust. All elements showed higher concentrations on weekends than on
weekdays. The diel patterns of Fe, Ba, Ca, Cu, Zn, Ni and Mn showed 21/00588 Metal-organic frameworks for photocatalytic CO2
higher concentrations during peak traffic periods, whereas those of As, reduction under visible radiation: a review of strategies and
Cr, Hg, K, Pb and Se showed lower concentrations in the daytime but applications
higher ones in the night-time. The potential source function identified Alkhatib, I. I. et al. Catalysis Today, 2020, 340, 209–224.
that neighbouring provinces were the major source regions for most Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged over the last
elements, whereas Ni mainly came from Shandong and the eastern decades as an interesting class of materials for a plethora of
ocean in spring and summer. Health risks of PM2.5 elements (Cr, Mn, applications due to their flexible tunability in composition, structure
Ni, As, Ba and Pb) via the inhalation pathway were estimated. Mn (As) and functional properties. In particular, the urgent need to convert
and As posed the highest non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to CO2 into useful chemical substances have led to growing attention
human health, respectively. Overall, this work can provide more towards these catalysts as promising candidates for CO2 capture and
detailed information on the characteristics of elements for the science storage with the ultimate aim of promoting sustainable pathways to
community and be used in other receptor modelling and health risk address energy and environmental problems. This review provides an
assessment studies. overview of the fundamental factors and recent studies of MOFs for
CO2 photoreduction, pointing out the main strategies adopted in the
design and testing of innovative MOFs-based catalysts, where MOFs
21/00585 Innovative NOx reduction from cement kiln and serve either directly as the only photoactive materials for CO2
pilot-scale experimental verification transformation into chemical fuels or as units of hybrid catalytic
Cai, J. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106306. arrangements to enhance CO2 conversion. The functionalization of

90 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 15 Environment (CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate emissions)

MOFs is a promising approach to improve their photocatalytic activity. 21/00591 Selective removal of SO2 from coal-fired flue gas
Their absorption of visible light can be enhanced either by modification by alkaline solvents using a membrane contactor
of MOFs structure or by adjusting the organic ligands to contain Joo, S. H. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
reactive functional groups, through the inclusion of metal nodes with Intensification, 2020, 147, 107772.
higher reduction potential, or even through a combination of both The presence of SO2 in coal-fired flue gas has adverse effects on the
strategies. MOFs can also be used as co-catalysts along with other amine solutions used for CO2 capture. In addition, SO2 emissions in
photocatalytic entities, resulting in MOF-based composites with the atmosphere are also a primary source of pollution. In this study, the
enhanced CO2 photoreduction. The performance of MOFs-based SO2 removal efficiency of three aqueous alkaline absorbents NaOH,
photocatalysts is analysed in this review, with a view to emphasizing Na2SO3 and CaO was studied using a membrane contactor. The
not only the advantages but also the limitations, over the more morphology of the used membrane was examined using SEM and
traditional semiconductors photocatalysts. At the current stage, the contact angle characterization techniques. Gas removal efficiency was
main challenges of these MOFs-based photocatalysts relate to the studied within a feed gas flow rate of 0.5–5 m3/h, absorbent flow rate of
economic feasibility of industrial-scale processes and to the poor 5–100 mL/min, and absorbent concentration of 0–0.01 mol/L. The
stability of these materials, which is often lost after some runs. It is gathered results showed that aqueous CaO has superior gas removal
hoped that this review will help the design of increasingly efficient performance. It achieved a SO2 removal efficiency of 99.99% at a
MOF-based materials for CO2 reduction and create the needed concentration of 0.0025 mol/L, while the aqueous NaOH and Na2SO3
awareness that more work is still needed in order to be able to absorbents achieved 99.99% removal efficiency at concentrations of
actualize and explore the potentials of MOFs in addressing the key 0.001 mol/L. Through comprehensive experimental work, the optimum
issues of environmental sustainability. operating parameters needed to achieve maximum SO2 removal
efficiency were also determined. Furthermore, the durability of the
membrane was tested in a 4-week continuous gas removal test and
21/00589 Numerical analysis of the methods for reducing SEM images were recorded weekly to observe module morphology.
the energy use of air-conditioning systems in non-uniform The obtained results indicated that the membrane was quite durable
indoor environments and did not deteriorate noticeably.
Liang, C. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106442.
Previous studies have shown that using efficient airflow distributions
21/00592 Size-resolved physico-chemical characterization
for a non-uniform indoor environment can reduce the space cooling
load significantly. However, the system cooling load (SCL) of air-
of diesel exhaust particles and efficiency of exhaust
conditioning is decreased only a little when the fresh-air ratio is small,
aftertreatment
Zeraati-Rezaei, S. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117021.
causing the limited decrease in the air-conditioning system energy use
Knowledge of physico-chemical characteristics of particle emissions
(SEU). To fully exploit the energy-saving potentials of efficient airflow
from combustion engines is essential for various modelling purposes
distributions to reduce the SEU, the SCL in a large-space building with
and environmental analysis. It is of particular interest to obtain
different airflow distributions was simulated, and the SEU was
emission factors of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOC)
compared between using a single cooling source and the multiple
and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) which have not been
low-grade cooling sources to handle the air. The results show that
comprehensively reported in the literature due to the limitations of
(1) efficient airflow distributions actually provide the potentials of
characterization methods. In the current study, a multi-stage Nano
using the multiple low-grade cooling sources to handle the air; in
impactor and the two-dimensional gas chromatography mass spec-
contrast, using a single cooling source will abandon the potentials and
trometry technique were used to comprehensively characterize size
result in little energy saving; (2) using multiple low-grade cooling
fractionated particle phase emissions from a light-duty diesel engine
sources for cooling the supply air, return air, and fresh air can make the
based on the particle size, compound groups and carbon number. The
potentials available, and the energy-saving rate could be 13.9–27.5% in
number size distributions of particles between 1.2 and 1000 nm were
the numerical cases with a displacement ventilation; (3) although the
also investigated. Exhaust gas samples were taken before a diesel
increase in the SCL for inefficient airflow distributions is little when
oxidation catalyst (DOC), after the DOC and after the DOC combined
the fresh-air ratio is small, the grade of cooling source is increased
with a catalysed diesel particulate filter (DPF). In samples taken before
significantly so that 22.9% more energy is needed in the numerical case
the DOC (engine-out), the total particulate IVOC + SVOC
with a short-circuit ventilation. This study will be beneficial for the
(I + SVOC) emission factor was approximately 105 milligrams per
design of air-conditioning systems in non-uniform indoor environments
kilogram of fuel consumed (which was 49% of the total particle mass)
with higher energy-saving capacity.
and the peak concentration of different classes of I + SVOC was found
in the particle size bins close to 100 nm where most of the total particle
mass was found. Alkanes, with maximum abundance at C24, were the
21/00590 Particle number (PN) emissions from gasoline, most dominant class of I + SVOC in samples taken before and after the
diesel, LPG, CNG and hybrid-electric light-duty vehicles aftertreatment devices. Total particulate I + SVOC emissions were
under real-world driving conditions removed with 75% efficiency using the DOC and by 92% using the
Kontses, A. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117126. DOC + DPF. Alkanes, cycloalkanes, bicyclics and monoaromatics were
This study presents solid (non-volatile) particle number emissions with all removed by >90% using the DOC + DPF; however, oxygenates
a size cut-off at 23 nm (SPN23, referred to as PN hereinafter) under were removed by only 76% presumably due to the oxidation of
real-world driving conditions for eight passenger cars powered by different species within the aftertreatment system and reappearance as
diesel, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural oxygenates. A high concentration of particles was measured in the
gas (CNG) and hybrid-electric powertrains. The objective was to <2.5 nm range. These particles were efficiently removed by the
identify the highest emitters and assess whether PN focus should be DOC + DPF due to both the loss of I + SVOC and physical filtration.
extended to engine and fuel types other than diesel and gasoline direct
injection (GDI). Results (under the cold-start RDE-compliant route)
show that a Euro 6b gasoline vehicle equipped with port fuel injection 21/00593 Source apportionment of airborne
(PFI) engine, comprised the highest PN emitter (4.5 times higher than particulate matters over the Athabasca oil sands region:
the Euro 6 limit of 6  1011 p/km), while similar emission levels (up to inter-comparison between PMF modeling and
3.7 times higher than this limit) were detected in the older-technology ground-based remote sensing
(Euro 3 and 4) gasoline and (retrofitted) LPG PFI vehicles. This limit Xing, Z. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 221, 117103.
was also exceeded (by 1.7 times) by one GDI Euro 6b non-GPF vehicle. The airborne particulate matter (PM) emissions associated with oil
PN emissions from the hybrid-electric vehicle (equipped with gasoline sands mining and processing operations in Athabasca oil sands regions
PFI engine) were lower than the other Euro 6b PFI vehicle, but still (AOSR) in Canada could impact ambient air quality. But to what scales
high compared to typical PFI engines found in literature. The lowest the effects could geographically reach remains unclear. The study was
emissions were detected in diesel and CNG engines (as low as 7.8  109 conducted to investigate the geographical influence of PM emissions
and 2.4  1010 p/km respectively). The Euro 6b LPG vehicle was found within the AOSR at three sampling sites. The first site is sandwiched by
to be a low emitter (3.3 times lower than the 6  1011 p/km limit), while oil sands mining and processing facilities. The second site is an urban
similar emission levels were detected in the other Euro 6b non-GPF site and close to the oil sands mining and processing areas. The third
GDI vehicle. Among the different driving sections (urban, rural, site is a remote rural site. Over the 2-year period (2015 and 2016), the
motorway), urban and especially the cold phase had the highest observed geometric mean PM2.5 concentrations at Fort McKay (in
contribution in most cases. Finally, a significant PN reduction potential AOSR), Fort McMurray (near AOSR) and Anzac (far away from
was observed with LPG and CNG over gasoline (up to 93% and 90% AOSR) were 4.81, 5.89 and 3.30 mg/m3, respectively. The temporal
respectively), although the opposite trend was detected in an old- variations of PM2.5 showed more elevated concentrations in spring and
technology retrofitted LPG vehicle. These results indicate that close summer than winter and fall, which was consistent with the aerosol
attention should be focused on other engine and fuel types, apart from optical depth (AOD) observation. The positive matrix factorization
diesel and GDI. Regulatory initiatives towards air pollution reduction (PMF) modelling results at the above three sites suggest that
should include measures for the reduction of high-emission old- anthropogenic sources were the dominant contributors of ambient
technology gasoline and LPG vehicles, while modern gasoline PFI aerosol concentrations within AOSR. According to the depleted
engines should also be further scrutinized. vanadium (V) content in the surface dust factor from near AOSR site

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 91

15 Environment (CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate emissions)

to remote site, the influence of petroleum coke dust as the primary track climate solution measures, mainly those related to transportation.
source on aerosol emissions is geographically limited. The result also The compilation of a city-scale GHG inventory requires a standardized
revealed the considerably long lasting influence of bitumen spill on the method and up-to-date activity data. This systematic review critically
local aerosol source contributions. From the ground-based remote examines 40 articles over the past 20 years to (1) identify city-scale
sensing observations of aerosol optical properties, petroleum coke GHG inventory methods being applied worldwide, (2) evaluate how
could influence the atmospheric aerosol levels over AOSR with highly these methods are evolving, (3) elaborate how emissions from transport
light-absorbing coarse-mode aerosols under warm and dry weather sector are being estimated and (4) determine what data types and
conditions. sources of transport-related data are being used. The review was
limited to articles that addressed the process of compilation of a GHG
21/00594 Sources and historical sedimentary record: inventory. The results demonstrate that city-scale GHG inventory
temporal variability of n-alkane and PAHs from the Yellow methods evolved from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
River estuary, China (IPCC) Guidelines to a variety of GHG accounting methods that offer
Wang, C. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 114, 104475. levels of complexity to estimate city-scale emissions. Although GHG
The composition and distribution of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic inventory methods for city-scale have advanced over the years, almost
hydrocarbons (PAHs) in suspended particulate matter (SPM) from the one third of the articles reviewed were focused on the proposal of a
Yellow River and a sedimentary core from the Yellow River estuary, GHG inventory framework, adjusting current methods to each city’s
China, were measured in order to determine environmental changes in reality or proposing new ones. The majority of the cities analysed lack
the Yellow River estuary on a regional scale. The concentration of n- local transport-related data to measure GHG emissions based on the
alkane in SPM increased along the upper–middle–lower reaches of the bottom-up approach. Yet, more than 40% of the articles managed to
Yellow River. The total concentrations of n-alkanes and PAHs in the deliver the bottom-up inventory using a diversity of data types and
core ranged from 0.04 to 0.86 mg g1 (average of 0.21 mg g1), and from sources. This review shows that there is still a path to achieve a globally
0.04 to 0.29 mg g1 (average of 0.15 mg g1) on a dry weight basis, compatible method. This would require a joint effort between
respectively. Understanding the temporal evolution of n-alkanes researchers and city authorities to make international protocols more
provide information on terrigenous versus aquatic productivity, oil compliant to each city’s data availability along with the improvement of
exploration at the Shengli oil field, and channel diversion in the Yellow cities data collection.
River. n-Alkanes in SPM were mainly derived from mixed sources, with
terrigenous inputs dominating. PAHs in the sediment core were
predominantly derived from coal and biomass combustion. The 21/00598 The shadow prices of CO2 and SO2 for Chinese
variation in PAHs levels throughout the core determines changes in coal-fired power plants: a partial frontier approach
energy use and socio-economic development. The temporal variability Wei, X. and Zhang, N. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104576.
in n-alkane and PAHs and their molecular diagnostic ratios revealed a Shadow prices are widely employed in guiding environmental policies.
trend of regional environmental change and the role of anthropogenic This paper develops a novel partial frontier approach for estimating
activity in that environmental change. shadow prices. The proposed method is advanced in handling outliers,
and provides a precise estimation of the marginal rate of substitution
along the production frontier. To cope with the different disposability
21/00595 Technical and environmental viability of a characteristics of undesirable emissions, SO2 is treated as an environ-
European CO2 EOR system mental input that is strongly disposable. Because most different
Thorne, R. J. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control,
undesirable outputs are jointly reduced, this study is the first to use
2020, 92, 102857.
directional derivatives instead of partial derivatives and proposes a new
Captured CO2 from large industrial emitters may be used for enhanced
separation method that separates individual directional shadow price
oil recovery (EOR), but as of yet there are no European large-scale
from the cost of joint reduction of multiple undesirable outputs. The
EOR systems. Recent implementation decisions for a Norwegian
proposed method was applied to a sample of 93 coal-fired power plants
carbon capture and storage demonstration will result in the establish-
covering 6 years. The estimated average shadow prices of CO2 and SO2
ment of a central CO2 hub on the west-coast of Norway and storage on
were 69 and 2525 $/tonne under the newly developed partial frontiers.
the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This development may continue
When assuming some undesirable output to be strongly disposable,
towards a large-scale operation involving European CO2 and CO2
both shadow prices fell (20.32 and 1018.23 $/tonne). It is suggested that
EOR operation. To this end, a conceptual EOR system was developed
the estimated shadow prices would be much different across different
here based on an oxyfuel power plant located in Poland that acted as a
levels of disposability. The cost of joint reduction was calculated as
source for CO2, coupled to a promising oil field located on the
91.05 $/unit given the current production level, which leads to a
Norwegian Continental Shelf. Lifecycle assessment was subsequently
directional shadow price for the two undesirable outputs of 91.32 and
used to estimate environmental emissions indicators. When averaged
1250.06 $/tonne. The estimated shadow prices for both undesirable
over the operational lifetime, results show greenhouse gas (GHG)
outputs dispersed widely under the partial frontiers. Spatial distri-
emissions of 0.4 kg CO2-eq per kg oil (and n kWh associated electricity)
bution of estimated shadow prices showed that coastal provinces and
produced, of which 64% derived from the oxyfuel power plant. This
municipalities have higher CO2 shadow prices but lower SO2 shadow
represents a 71% emission reduction when compared to the same
prices, whereas the northeast provinces are the opposite. The CO2
amount of oil and electricity production using conventional technology.
shadow price is comparatively stable over the study period while the
Other environmental impact indicators were increased, showing that
SO2 shadow price fluctuates. Policy implications are discussed.
this type of CO2 EOR system may help reach GHG reduction targets,
but care should be taken to avoid problem shifting.
21/00599 Wellbore cement alteration during decades of
21/00596 Ternary hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents for abandonment and following CO2 attack – a geochemical
carbon dioxide absorption modelling study in the area of potential CO2 reservoirs in the
Haider, M. B. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Pannonian Basin
2020, 92, 102839. Szabó-Krausz, Z. et al. Applied Geochemistry, 2020, 113, 104516.
Ternary hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (H-DESs) were syn- In east-central Europe, the sedimentary rocks and saline reservoirs of
thesized using the binary mixture of fatty acids and tetrabutyl the Pannonian Basin provide the greatest potential for geological
ammonium bromide. The formation of H-DES was confirmed by the sequestration of CO2. However, there is no knowledge about the
phase diagram, FTIR and H NMR analyses. The critical properties of integrity of cement casing and plugs in abandoned wellbores drilled in
H-DESs were then determined using the modified Lydersen–Joback– the last century, which surround the potential CO2 geological storage
Reid method. The viscosity and conductivity of H-DESs were sites. Thermodynamic and kinetic batch, and 1D kinetic reactive
experimentally calculated and modelled using the Arrhenius equation. transport models have been built up in PHREEQC to estimate the
Further, the hydrophobic nature of H-DESs was confirmed by the present composition of hydrated cement in different depths (106, 1478,
extractive dye removal from an aqueous solution. Finally, CO 2 uptake 2136 and 2718 m) of these abandoned wellbores and, to access cement
of H-DESs was experimentally investigated using pressure drop reactivity for the effect of potentially injected CO2. The wellbore
method and the obtained results were correlated with the Peng– cements are all predicted to presently consist of mainly calcium silicate
Robinson equation of state. hydrate (CSH) and portlandite but differences occur due to the
stability of ettringite connected to the temperature of the geological
21/00597 The evolution of city-scale GHG emissions environment. With the depth, the amount of potentially dissolved CO2
inventory methods: a systematic review increases which induces the breakdown of portlandite and CSH in the
Arioli, M. S. et al. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 80, cement, and the major precipitation of calcite and amorphous silica.
106316. The transformation affects the whole width of the cement casing after
The capacity of cities to act on climate change mitigation is essential to about 2–3 years in most of the depths. However, the calculated mass
fulfil the Paris Agreement target. In order to do so, cities should transfer among minerals indicate a 2–6% porosity drop, which raises
establish an effective climate policy which requires, as a first step, a the attention to potential pore clogging. This process significantly
complete greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory. The accurate reduces the risks of abandoned wellbores when implementing CO2
city-scale GHG inventory enables cities to develop, implement and geological storage.

92 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 15 Environment (hydrocarbon emissions)

(17-EPA-PAHs) from low temperature coal combustion were nearly

Hydrocarbon emissions three times higher than those from low temperature wood combustion.
However, with high temperature, PAH emissions from wood combus-
tion increased two-fold and that from coal combustion decreased by
21/00600 A density functional theory study on the two orders. Furthermore, And the proportion of high-molecular-weight
conversion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in PAHs (HPAHs) increased with increasing temperature in wood
hydrogen plasma combustion, but decreased in coal combustion. This indicates that
Chen, L. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1), PAH synthesis was the dominant process during wood combustion,
309–321. while pyrolysis of coal supramolecular structure was the main
Tar is the by-product of fuel in the pyrolysis or gasification process. formation pathway of PAH during coal combustion. In addition, more
Hydrogen plasma could effectively promote the decomposition of tar low-molecular-weight PAHs (LPAHs) were emitted, with 0.006–
into acetylene and hydrogen, but the detailed cracking mechanism is 0.050 mm and 0.223–1 mm particles in the early burning stage, while
difficult to detect. The DMol3 calculations, based on density functional more HPAHs were emitted in the later burning stage, with larger
theory, have been employed to explore the pyrolysis pathways of particles in the size range of 0.050–0.223 mm. This means that the PAH
naphthalene. Naphthalene is chosen as the model compound for formations were different during each burning stage.
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are the main components of
tar. The calculations investigate that the energy barriers required for 21/00604 Dynamics and mechanisms of volatile organic
the reactions are greatly reduced due to the participation of active compound exchanges in a winter wheat field
hydrogen atoms. Naphthalene is easily converted into acetylene, Bachy, A. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 221, 117105.
hydrogen and carbon black through two main routes. This is in good The understanding of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC)
agreement with the experiment results. exchanges has become a key scientific issue because of their high
reactivity and their impact in the atmosphere. However, so far, few
21/00601 A new combined electrolysis and catalytic system studies have focused on BVOCs exchanged by agricultural species, and
for removal of VOCs in particular by winter wheat, despite this species being the leading
Lee, S. M. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 123032. worldwide crop in terms of harvested area. This study for the first time
A new combined electrolysis and catalytic system is proposed to investigated BVOC exchanges from winter wheat during most devel-
remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The catalytic activity and opmental stages of the plant. Fluxes were measured in Belgium at the
reaction properties of a Pt/TiO2 catalyst were investigated for the ecosystem-scale using the disjunct eddy covariance by mass scanning
oxidation of H2 and gas-phase VOCs. The test results of the catalytic technique, and a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer for
activity suggest that H2 oxidation can lead to the generation of heat BVOC ambient mixing ratio measurements. As is usually observed
from an exothermal reaction of the catalyst and plays an important role for crops and grasses, the winter wheat field emitted mainly methanol,
in the oxidation of toluene at low temperatures. To apply a catalyst to a although bi-directional exchanges were observed. The second most
pilot-scale plant, a catalyst coating was applied to a honeycomb-type exchanged compound was acetic acid which was captured during the
structure; in addition, the catalyst system was designed and the crucial entire growing season. Bi-directional exchanges of acetaldehyde and
factors were derived from activity evaluation under various operating acetone were also reported. Terpene exchanges were 22 times smaller
conditions. The flow properties of the combined process system were than oxygenated VOC (OVOC) exchanges. For all compounds, the
confirmed by a computational fluid dynamics simulation and the exchanges were the most pronounced at the end of the growing season,
catalyst performance of the combined pilot-scale system was studied. i.e. under warm, dry and sunny conditions. Senescence-induced
The honeycomb-type catalyst together with the combined VOCs emissions were furthermore observed for methanol and acetaldehyde.
removal system developed in this study provides a practical and safe For all investigated OVOCs, the exchanges very likely originated from
approach for the removal of liquid- and gas-phase VOCs. both the soil and the plants. Despite their mixed origin, the MEGAN
(Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) v2.1 up-
scaling model could adequately reproduce the methanol, acetaldehyde
21/00602 A novel model for predicting the semivolatile and acetone exchanges measured at this site during the mature and
organic compound partition coefficient of multicomponent senescence phases of the plant, when the standard emission factor and
airborne particles the leaf age factor were adapted based on the measurements. In
Zhou, X. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106446. contrast, the model failed to reproduce the measured acetic acid
Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are highly susceptible to exchanges. When the standard emission factor values currently
sorption by particles, so the presence of particles will have a significant assigned in MEGAN were applied, however, the exchanges were
impact on indoor SVOC distribution. The partition coefficient of largely over-estimated for all compounds.
SVOCs between the air and particles was closely related to indoor
environmental parameters, particle composition, and physical struc-
ture. However, owing to the complexity of indoor particle composition 21/00605 Efficient photodegradation of volatile organic
and the variety of SVOCs, theoretical models of the particle partition compounds by iron-based metal-organic frameworks with
coefficient are still not comprehensive in characterizing the SVOC high adsorption capacity
sorption process by different components, and most only consider the Li, P. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118284.
sorption of elemental carbon and organic carbon. Studies have The efficient removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is still
demonstrated that inorganic particles have non-negligible sorption challenging, and suitable strategies and auxiliary materials are lacking.
capacity on SVOCs. In this study, experimental results in the literature Here, the authors propose a highly efficient and stable iron-based
were compared with the theoretical values predicted by the widely used metal–organic framework (Fe-MOF) in which the adsorption removal
equilibrium model of the SVOC particle/gas partition coefficient. It and photodegradation regeneration step alternate to realize repeatable
was found that neglecting the inorganic components in particles led to and efficient removal of VOCs. A group of morphology-controlled Fe-
a low predictive value of the partition coefficient. Therefore, based on MOFs serves as both the adsorbent and photocatalyst under ambient
the two-parameter equilibrium model, a novel model considering the conditions to remove typical VOCs, e.g. toluene by relying on their
sorption of SVOCs on inorganic substances was proposed. This model high porosity and catalytic activity. The optimized Fe-MOF exhibits
could describe the formation mechanism of the particle/air partition 100% adsorption removal efficiency for a toluene concentration of
coefficient more comprehensively, and the experimental data in many 460 ppm, and the Fe-MOF could be regenerated by converting the
relevant studies were used to verify the model. In addition, based on adsorbed toluene into harmless CO2 under 1 SUN (100 mW/cm2) solar
this model, the quantitative relationship between particle property and irradiation. More importantly, the Fe-MOF showed excellent durability
its sorption of SVOCs was calculated and analysed. This study aimed to during repeated adsorption and degradation processes for 100 cycles.
improve the predictive accuracy of indoor SVOC concentrations and
help to make more accurate estimates of the risk of human health 21/00606 Long-term volatile organic compound emission
exposure in further research. rates in a new electric vehicle: influence of temperature and
vehicle age
21/00603 Different formation mechanisms of PAH during Huang, W. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106465.
wood and coal combustion under different temperatures To investigate the long-term emission characteristics of volatile organic
Han, Y. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117084. compounds (VOCs) in vehicles, field measurements of the VOC
Residential solid fuel combustion (RSFC) is a major contributor to emission rates in a new electric vehicle were conducted for 21 months.
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere, which are During the measuring period, the car was privately used for daily
strongly related to negative health impacts. During RSFC, the commuting under a natural environment. Detailed in-cabin VOC
variations of PAH emission factors (EFs) and size-resolved profiles concentrations, temperature, relative humidity, and air exchange rates
are known to be highly affected by fuel type and combustion were obtained monthly while the car was parked and all windows and
temperature. In this study, to investigate the behaviour of emitted doors closed. The influence of in-cabin temperature and car age on the
PAH, combustion experiments were performed using three wood and VOC emission rates was explored. For total VOCs, the emission rate
three coal types under different temperatures (500 and 800  C) in a was positively associated with the in-cabin temperature and decreased
quartz tube furnace. The results show that the average EFs of PAH with an increase in vehicle age. For certain VOC species, such as 2-

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 93

15 Environment (life cycle analysis)

ethyl-1-hexanol, 5-methylundecane and 3,8-dimethyldecane, the emis- 21/00610 Persulfate activation induced by ascorbic acid for
sion rates during the summer were 71–182 times higher than those efficient organic pollutants oxidation
during the winter. The influence of vehicle age on the VOC species Hou, X. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122355.
emission rate depended on the compound properties and emission This study demonstrates that ascorbic acid (AA) exhibits extremely
source characteristics. For aromatics, the decay of the emission rate high activity on persulfate (PS) activation (AA/PS) to produce SO4 
_
over time was relatively significant; for alkanes and alkenes, the decay
of the emission rate over time was relatively minor; and for ketones and _
and OH for the degradation of various organic pollutants, including
atrazine, pentachlorophenol, alachlor, tetracycline and chlorampheni-
aldehydes and esters and alcohols the emission rate was not necessarily col. Taken atrazine as a model natural organic micropollutants, the
negatively associated with vehicle age. These results aid in under- authors surprisingly found that the degradation rate constant of
standing vehicle cabin air quality and its possible influential factors. atrazine during PS activation in presence of AA was about 29 times
larger than that in the absence of AA. The underlying mechanism of
persulfate activation induced by AA was then systematically investi-
21/00607 Optical band gap analysis of soot and organic gated by electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis, theoretical density
carbon in premixed ethylene flames: comparison of in-situ functional theory (DFT) calculations, and kinetic experiments. The
and ex-situ absorption measurements combination of ESR and DFT results confirmed that the persulfate
Russo, C. et al. Carbon, 2020, 158, 89–96. activation induced by ascorbic acid was attributed to the electron
The similarity of in situ and ex situ absorption/extinction properties transfer from AA to PS. In this process, AA undergoes a two-step
was found by comparing data sets obtained in premixed flat ethylene
flames (C/O = 0.77); both ex situ absorption measurements at CNR of _
oxidation by PS to generate SO4  and dehydroascorbic acid with the
formation of an intermediate ascorbate free radical. More interestingly,
Naples and in situ laser extinction/absorption measurements at Lund atrazine in the real aquifer sediment system could be totally oxidized in
University. The optical band gap analysis was performed as a method the presence of PS and AA. These findings offer a new economically
to separate/evaluate the contributions to the UV–visible absorption feasible persulfate activation strategy for the in situ chemical oxidation
from organic carbon and soot by selecting two spectral regions; of organic compounds in contaminated water and sediment systems.
>685 nm where only soot is assumed to absorb radiation and
<685 nm, where both soot and organic carbons absorb. Optical band
gap for soot was analysed separately from organic carbon, obtaining
their individual contribution to the spectral absorption from inception,
throughout the growth region up to soot aggregation. While the optical Life cycle analysis
band gap of soot strongly decreased along the flame from 1 to 0.1 eV,
the band gap for organic carbons remained constant at 1.7–1.8 eV. By
using the relationship of the optical band gap with nanostructural
parameters (layer length and aromatic rings number), the average 21/00611 BIM-based life cycle assessment and life cycle
molecular weight of organic carbon around 400 u resulted rather far costing of an office building in Western Europe
away from the molecular weight of 1000–2000 mass units evaluated for Santos, R. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106568.
incipient soot consistently with the view of polycyclic aromatic The main aim of this research is to enhance the integration of life cycle
hydrocarbon species sticking together for particle inception. assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodologies with
building information modelling (BIM), as existing approaches still have
limitations (e.g. interoperability issues, non-editable databases). For
21/00608 Optimizing graphene-TiO2 interface properties via that purpose, an automatic LCA/LCC analysis within a BIM-based
Fermi level modulation for photocatalytic degradation of environment is proposed. A BIM-based environmental and economic
volatile organic compounds life cycle assessment (BIMEELCA) prototype tool was developed by
Zhou, Z. et al. Ceramics International, 2020, 46, (5), 5887–5893. the authors to improve the integration of BIM with LCA and LCC.
The interfacial interaction between graphene and semiconductors Moreover, a pilot case study located in the Netherlands was used to
significantly affects volatile organic compound (VOC) adsorption and validate the work developed in this research, thus demonstrating the
charge separation. Here, the authors optimize the interaction between usefulness of this approach for the construction industry. This study
TiO2 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by reducing the Fermi level of unveiled the potential of BIM-based simulations for the assessment of
GO with Cu2+. The surface photocurrent (SPC) and surface photo- the environmental and economic impacts of buildings by integrating
voltage (SPV) of the prepared materials were tested under different semantic information in the model. The work presented in this research
atmospheres to study the effect of enhanced interfacial interactions on is expected to contribute to the development of automatic sustainability
charge separation. The results revealed that Cu2+ treatment tended to simulations, creation of tailor-made BIM objects’ libraries, and use of
induce the TiO2 nanoparticles to form a thicker and more uniform historical data contained within data-rich models for predictive
layer on the rGO surface. The composition of TiO2 nanoparticles and analyses (i.e. analyses that identify the most suitable solutions based
rGO generated a 2D arranged porous structure that had both on the data from previous projects).
hydrophobic rGO and hydrophilic TiO2 as the pore walls. The amount
of adsorbed toluene for the optimized TiO2-graphene (t-TiO2/rGO)
21/00612 Comparative whole building LCAs: how far are
was 1.21-fold higher than that for TiO2/rGO. The SPC and SPV results
our expectations from the documented evidence?
showed that the optimized contact between TiO 2 and rGO significantly
Saade, M. R. M. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106449.
enhanced photogenerated electron mobility and toluene-induced hole
Buildings are responsible for a considerable portion of the embodied
utilization. Given the advantages in adsorption and charge separation,
and operational CO2 emitted by human activities. Some building
the photocatalytic reaction rates of t-TiO2/rGO were 1.47- and 1.91-
attributes have taken on the mantle of ‘environmentally preferable’.
fold higher than those of TiO2/rGO and porous TiO2, respectively.
Through a systematic literature review, this paper investigates if the
literature on whole building life cycle assessments (LCA) confirms
21/00609 PAHs in the atmospheric aerosols and seawater some environmental assumptions that are perceived as always truthful,
in the North–West Pacific ocean and sea of Japan e.g. (i) ‘wood is better than concrete and steel’, (ii) ‘renovation is
Neroda, A. S. et al. Atmospheric Environment, 2020, 222, 117117. preferable to demolishing and building anew’ and (iii) ‘operational
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed in samples of loads are more intensive than embodied loads’. The search also allowed
atmospheric aerosols and suspended matter in seawater collected in to trace if advanced methodological modelling in LCA brings new
the Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk and the north-western Pacific in insights into the mentioned perceptions. The assessment of over 250
June–July 2012. The concentrations of (15) PAHs in the suspended case studies pointed that LCAs applied to complex systems, such as a
matter of seawater ranged from 1984.7 to 30,260.3 pg/L. The concen- building, embed crucial issues to be modelled, and rules of thumb lose
tration of (14) PAHs in marine aerosols ranged from 17.09 pg/m3 on veracity. Furthermore, as LCA incorporates deepened mathematical
19–22 June 2012 in the northern part of the Sea of Japan, the La models, outcomes become less predictable, and paradigms should be
Perouse Strait to 142.47 pg/m3 on 25–28 June 2012 near the middle interpreted with care.
Kuril Islands. The results of diagnostic ratios analysis indicate that the
primary sources of PAH are pyrogenic. This paper discusses the main 21/00613 Evaluating the energy consumption and air
anthropogenic (coal-fired power plants and population) and natural emissions of CO2-enhanced oil recovery in China: a partial
sources (wildfires) of PAHs and their effect on the concentration of life cycle assessment of extralow permeability reservoirs
these compounds in the marine air and suspended matter of seawater. Liu, Y. et al. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2020, 92,
Long-range atmospheric transport of PAHs from the continent to the 102850.
ocean is shown using HYSPLIT backward trajectories. Active fire Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) can capture, trans-
products (MODIS and VIIRS) data were used to build a regression port and store CO2 emitted by high energy consumption enterprises.
model. The model as a whole explains 58% and 75% of the  five-ring Therefore, the use of CO2-EOR enhances oil recovery and is also an
PAHs and BaP variations in seawater in June–July 2012, respectively. effective means of reducing CO2 emissions. Currently, energy and
The analysis shows that anthropogenic sources were not a significant environmental assessments of CO2-EOR have been rare in China. In
contribution factor for PAHs in the seawater at the Sea of Japan during this study, partial life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate the
this period. energy consumption and air emissions gate to grave in a CO2-EOR test

94 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 16 Energy (supplies, policy, economics, forecasts)

station for extralow permeability reservoirs in northern China. The than the corresponding process-based GEIs. By applying the hybrid
gate to gate of CO2-EOR defines five stages: transportation, liquefac- GEIs, the assessment of the case study building proves that traditional
tion, injection, oil production and recycling. Through the analysis of VE can potentially provide environmental benefits through the
these stages, the results show that producing 1 tonne of crude oil gate dematerialization of the building. These benefits are small in this
to gate consumes 2472.56 kW hours of electricity and emits 2532.63 kg instance, with a capital cost reduction of 0.72% equating to an
of CO2, 74.18 kg of SO2 and 37.38 kg of NOx. Water flooding that embodied GHG reduction of 0.32%, or a total of 267 t CO2e (i.e.
occurs under similar geological conditions is selected and compared 3 kg CO2e/m2 gross floor area), but if such savings were rolled out
with CO2-EOR for energy consumption and air emissions. In the case across the entirety of new building stock in Australia, the accumulated
of producing 1 tonne of crude oil, CO2-EOR gate to gate consumes GHG emissions reduction would be significant. Concrete, reinforcing
more electricity than water flooding gate to gate and emits more CO2, steel and timber formwork are the hotspots for cost and embodied
SO2 and NOx. Compared with the amount of CO2 injection, the net GHG emissions reduction. Manufacturing and electricity are the
CO2 emissions of CO2-EOR gate to gate to produce 1 tonne of crude oil originating industries that jointly contribute to more than 80% of the
are 1675.15 kg, and the net CO2 emissions of water flooding gate to embodied GHG emissions.
gate to produce 1 tonne of crude oil are 775.83 kg. When considering
energy consumption in the downstream segments of CO2-EOR, the net
CO2 emissions of CO2-EOR gate to grave to produce 1 tonne of crude
oil are 0.53 tonnes. The results of this study provide valuable insights
into the policy implications and sustainable development of CO2-EOR
in China. 16 ENERGY
21/00614 Exergetic life cycle assessment of hydrogen
production from biomass staged-gasification
Li, Q. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116416.
By combination of life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergy analysis, a Supplies, policy, economics, forecasts
modified exergetic life cycle environmental impact model was
proposed. The model can quantitatively assess the environmental
impacts of resources and pollution by using exergy to measure the 21/00617 A sharing economy market system for private EV
deviation degrees of various emissions from the reference environment. parking with consideration of demand side management
Then the comprehensive indicators of resource and environment Xu, F. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116321.
performance were defined and obtained without introducing subjective A sharing economy leads to a series of revolutions in various industries,
weighting factors. Two methods of hydrogen production [biomass which increases the efficiency of assets utilization and reduces
staged-gasification hydrogen (BSGH), and natural gas steam reforming redundant products. Parking space sharing is a typical presentation
process hydrogen (NGSH)] were evaluated to illustrate the application of sharing economy. With the rapid development of electric vehicle
of the proposed model. The comparison of two products shows that (EV), shared parking with EVs brings a large storage resources with
BSGH has significant advantages in both renewability and environ- dynamic entry and exit behaviours for microgrid. This paper proposes a
mental sustainability. The environment-friendly performance of BGSH new market framework for shared parking space with EVs. This
mainly exhibits in environment impacts of global warming potential and framework provides chances for microgrid or aggregator to utilize the
photochemical ozone formation. However, the thermal pollution of EVs’ storages in the demand-side management (DSM). DSM in
BGSH is slightly larger than that of NGSH. And this indicates that the microgrids will optimize their costs by modifying EVs’ charging/
excessive hot flue gas emissions in BSGH process result in more discharging behaviours. The benefits earned from DSM will be shared
thermal pollution, and need to be noticed. Furthermore, the sensitivity to car owners as well. Moreover, the proposed compensational
analysis indicates that the conversion efficiency of tar has a larger matching module will use the shared DSM benefit to compensate the
influence on total cumulative exergy consumption and environmental price gap between cars and car owners, indicating that DSM on sharing
index than the combustion efficiency of biomass in the staged- car space can provide more parking chances. A numerical study on
gasification process. practical data is used to verify the model. Results show that the
proposed framework can not only reduce the power cost of microgrid
21/00615 Life cycle assessment of traditional and and renting fee of cars, but also promote more chances of parking.
alternative bricks: a review
Ramos Huarachi, D. A. et al. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 21/00618 Bad external actors and good nuclear energy:
2020, 80, 106335. media discourse on energy supplies in the Czech Republic
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a solid tool to assess the potential and Slovakia
environmental impacts in construction industry, an important material Kratochvı́l, P. and Mišı́k, M. Energy Policy, 2020, 136, 111058.
in this industry is the brick, along time several traditional and For central and eastern European countries, energy security has been
alternative bricks were developed and assessed environmentally by one of the top political topics ever since the 2009 gas crisis. Although
LCA. The purpose of this article is to review the literature related to these countries have a shared interest in this issue, their preferences –
LCA of bricks, responding important topics to characterize and guide especially those regarding the role of Russia as their main energy
future studies. Out of traditional bricks (TB), there are alternative supplier – are not identical. This paper examines and juxtaposes the
bricks with organic (ABO) and inorganic (ABI) additives, that use discourses on natural gas supply in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
wastes from several industries and differ of TB in the omission of firing Utilizing a broadly constructivist perspective, the article explores the
for a stabilization process, however, to omit firing is hard and media discourses connected to energy supplies in these countries.
stabilization still needs further improvements. The principal system Methodologically, the paper employs critical discourse analysis to
boundaries and tools for LCA were also reviewed. Regarding the most examine this discourse. The paper argues that the media discourses in
present impact categories, they were: climate change, human toxicity both countries underline the overall unreliability of the external
and freshwater ecotoxicity, in every category, production is the stage of environment and stress the necessity to rely on domestic energy
highest impact, and in the productive process, drying and burning sources. In the Czech case, such an environment also includes the EU,
processes have the highest potential impacts. Future searches could which translates into a critical stance towards renewable energy, viewed
continue to study on new materials (wastes) for development of new as being forced on country by the EU. In contrast, the Slovak discourse
ABO and ABI, to quantify the benefits of reusing wastes, and to study, presents the EU as a suitable arena for energy cooperation. Both
either the replacement of firing with stabilizing processes, or the use of countries agree on the support for nuclear energy, which is considered
biomass as fuel source in firing, and to develop studies in different to be a domestic – and therefore most reliable – energy source.
countries to create national datasets that will make future studies more
representative.
21/00619 Circular economy – a challenge and an
opportunity for process systems engineering
21/00616 The impact of value engineering on embodied Avraamidou, S. et al. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2020, 133,
greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment: a hybrid 106629.
life cycle assessment Rising populations put additional demands on natural resources.
Yu, M. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106452. Extraction and depletion of raw materials and waste created through-
While traditional value engineering (VE) is primarily driven by cost out the supply chain of products have environmental and socio-
saving, this study aims to comprehensively and reliably investigating the economic impacts. One way to reduce these impacts is through the
impact of traditional VE on the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) move towards the circular economy (CE). CE aims to solve resource,
emissions in the Australian built environment. An Australian-specific waste and emission challenges confronting society by creating a
hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) is developed and applied to a production-to-consumption total supply chain that is restorative,
mixed-use building complex located in central Sydney, Australia. A list regenerative and environmentally benign. This article highlights
of GHG emissions intensities (GEIs) for 118 construction products is research challenges and identifies process systems engineering (PSE)
derived from hybrid LCA, demonstrating an average increase of 20% research opportunities to assist in the understanding, analysis and

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 95

16 Energy (supplies, policy, economics, forecasts)

optimization of CE supply chains. A motivating example on the supply results provide convincing evidence of the positive impact of energy
chain of coffee is introduced to illustrate the challenges of the uncertainties on basic material, basic resources, financials, oil and gas,
transition towards a CE and to propose PSE research opportunities. and real estate. On the other hand, the authors identify the negative
impact on consumer goods, consumer services, health care, industrials,
21/00620 Controversies of justice, scale, and siting: and technology industries. These findings have implications for
the uneven discourse of renewability in Austrian investment and risk management.
waste-to-energy development
Behrsin, I. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101252.
Many geopolitical jurisdictions, including the EU, demonstrate a 21/00624 Experimental determination of ZIP coefficients for
growing commitment to mitigating climate change through a transition residential appliances and ZIP model based appliance
to renewable energy production. While ambitious targets and the identification: the case of YTU smart home
transformations they inspire should be celebrated, it is nevertheless Bircan, M. et al. Electric Power Systems Research, 2020, 179, 106070.
increasingly important to understand how renewable energy policies This study presents the experimental determination of the ZIP
and discourses are being mobilized in the rollout of controversial (constant impedance (Z), constant current (I ), constant power (P))
energy technologies such as waste incineration. This paper engages coefficients for residential appliances in a smart home at Yildiz
analytical lenses from environmental justice scholarship on discourse, Technical University (the YTU smart home) in Istanbul, Turkey. First,
scale, and waste siting controversies to contribute to the emerging active and reactive power consumptions of house appliances are
literature on the competing ways that actors frame controversial energy measured with respect to the voltage change between 100 and 240 V
technologies. Specifically, drawing on case study research conducted in with a 10 V increment. Then, the least squares algorithm is used to
Austria from 2013 to 2015, it asks in what contexts, and by whom, are calculate ZIP coefficients of household appliances. Using the obtained
discourses of renewability enrolled in relation to waste-to-energy ZIP coefficients and an assumed appliance usage pattern, a daily
planning and management? Findings demonstrate the divergent ways residential active and reactive power demand profiles are obtained.
in which Austrian and EU policy elites and local residents frame waste Data from the ZIP models are compared with actual measurement
incineration vis-à-vis its renewability. Ultimately, the article argues that data. It is shown that the ZIP models are quite accurate within 200–
framing discrepancies between policy elites and local residents are a 220 V voltage range and can be used in generating residential demand
reflection of procedural injustice. profiles for system level analyses. In addition, the ZIP model based
appliance identification algorithm is proposed to identify the plugged
21/00621 Convergence of energy productivity in Australian appliance in the smart home environment for better home energy
states and territories: determinants and forecasts management algorithm implementation.
Bhattacharya, M. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104538.
The Australian government has recently launched a National Energy
Productivity Plan that calls for a 40% increase in energy productivity 21/00625 Rethinking resilience: a cross-epistemic
(economic output divided by energy use) before 2030. Improving resilience framework for interdisciplinary energy research
energy productivity would help boost economic competitiveness, Hamborg, S. et al. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, 101285.
reduce energy costs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Australia. The transformation of critical infrastructure such as energy systems
Understanding energy productivity dynamics at the state level is toward sustainability imposes a multitude of challenges that are social-
essential for the success of this programme. This research analyses the technical in nature and require interdisciplinary collaboration. Resi-
convergence path of energy productivity in Australian states and lience has received growing attention as a concept to bridge different
territories. Club convergence analysis applied to data over the period scientific disciplines in research on energy systems, given their social,
1990–2015 reveals two converging energy productivity clubs. Initial ecological, and technical elements. However, a resilience framework
energy productivity, industry structure, and automobile fuel prices are that is suitable for merging notions of resilience as a measurable pro-
important determinants of higher energy productivity. Based on perty with notions of resilience as a social construction or an
Australian state energy productivity forecasts to 2030, New South observatory scheme is still a desideratum. Against this backdrop, a
Wales and Victoria will be the forerunners in maintaining higher cross-epistemic resilience (CER) framework is presented for inter-
energy productivity in 2030. Australia will not achieve a 40% increase disciplinary research on energy and other social-ecological-technical
in energy productivity before 2030 without significant changes to its systems. In particular, the authors introduce the distinction between
fuel mix and industry structure. positivist first-order and constructivist second-order observations and
identify four modes of inquiry in resilience research. The CER
21/00622 Elecxit: the cost of bilaterally uncoupling framework contributes to interdisciplinary resilience research by
British-EU electricity trade pointing out how assumedly incompatible perspectives are able to
Geske, J. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104599. inform and constructively irritate each other and, hence, enhance the
The UK’s withdrawal from the EU could mean that it leaves the EU’s overall understanding of energy systems. The framework has been
internal energy market for electricity (Elecxit). This paper develops tested in a radically interdisciplinary research project. Electricity
methods to study the longer-term consequences of this electricity systems are used to illustrate the application of these arguments and
market disintegration, especially the end of market coupling. Before concepts.
European electricity markets were coupled, different market closing
times forced traders to commit to cross-border trading volumes based
on anticipated market prices. Interconnector capacity was often under- 21/00626 Social policy or energy policy? Time to
used, and power sometimes flowed from high- to low-price areas. A reconsider energy poverty policies
model of these market frictions is developed, empirically verified on Primc, K. and Slabe-Erker, R. Energy for Sustainable Development,
2009 data (before French and British market coupling) and applied to 2020, 55, 32–36.
estimate the costs of market uncoupling in 2030. A less efficient market Here, the authors draw attention to the discussion on policies for
and the abandonment of some planned interconnectors would raise reducing energy poverty in EU member states. A policy approach is
generation costs by e700 million a year (2%) compared to remaining in needed to support the transition from the current rising levels of
the internal energy market. This result is sensitive to how the British energy poverty to a sustainable community with a greener and healthier
and French electricity systems develop over the coming decades. future. Analysing energy prices, the policy framework and household
Economic losses are four times greater (e2700 million a year) if France income, a preliminary investigation of energy poverty was conducted
retains substantial nuclear capacity due to its low marginal costs. from a macro-level perspective and associated policy interventions in
Conversely, losses are reduced by two-thirds if the UK weakens its the EU. Obtained from a non-classical fuzzy-set qualitative compara-
decarbonization ambitions, as lower carbon prices subsidize British tive analysis, the results clearly show that energy poverty is a product of
fossil fuel generation, allowing electricity prices to converge with those substantial interdependence that may be summarized in two paths:
in France. A hard Elecxit would make British prices rise and French (1) low or median household income and energy-policy focus and
prices fall in three of the four scenarios, with the opposite movements (2) high energy prices and energy-policy focus. Surprisingly, the
in the fourth scenario. findings indicate that an energy-policy focus is found in EU member
states with the highest levels of energy poverty. One step further, the
21/00623 Energy commodity uncertainties and the authors also offer an insight into the absence of energy poverty, where
systematic risk of US industries social policy seems to play the key role. Taken together, it is argued
Naeem, M. A. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104589. that member states facing above-average energy poverty are captured
This study investigates the impact of energy commodity uncertainties in an energy-poverty trap, whereby the existing energy-policy focus
on the systematic risk of 12 industries in the USA. The dynamic betas does not yield the desired results and the social policy is often too
using the dynamic conditional correlation – generalized auto-regressive costly to implement due to the problem’s magnitude. The main concern
conditional heteroscedasticity model, indicate that real estate, finan- is that prioritizing any of the policies may slow down the transition to a
cials, and basic materials are the high-risk industries. Notably, the sustainable energy society. The authors, therefore, call on scientists to
systematic risk of oil and gas sector was significantly affected during the not only further examine the energy-poverty phenomenon but to also
global financial crisis and the shale oil revolution sub-periods. These participate in creating effective policies.

96 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 16 Energy (energy conservation)

21/00627 Sovereignty, trade, and legislation: the evolution current and future research on UBEM, and more importantly, to
of energy law in a changing climate inspire new and important questions from young researchers in the
Abraham-Dukuma, M. Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 59, field.
101305.
Recent debates on climate change have necessitated a new seminal 21/00630 Who shapes China’s carbon intensity and how?
jurisprudence and proposition of constituents and core principles of A demand-side decomposition analysis
energy law in the Anthropocene. The proposed principles depart from Zhou, X. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 85, 104600.
the traditional notion of energy law, which focused on rights and duties As national efforts to decouple carbon emissions from economic
of key industry players for economic growth through optimal resource growth intensify, policymakers need more specific, sub-national
exploitation. Sovereignty over natural resources and sustainability are information about the sources and reduction potentials of carbon
part of the proposed principles. This paper observes potential conflict intensity. This study presents a demand-side decomposition of China’s
with international trade rules at the World Trade Organization (WTO) carbon intensity to its regions, final demand types, and economic
amidst other conceivable debatable issues. It critically examines the sectors, based on a predefined ‘aggregate embodied intensity’ (AEI)
likely coexistence of trade rules, climate change objectives and indicator, i.e. the ratio of embodied emissions to embodied value
sovereignty over natural resources through legislation considering added. It was found that China’s carbon intensity has been largely
emerging climate responsibility by corporate structures in the energy shaped by developed provinces, capital investment demand, and the
industry. Policy insights revolve around reforms to achieve symmetry construction sector. However, less-developed provinces, consumption
between sovereignty, trade and climate objectives. Specifically, these demand, and the services sector have played increasingly important
include climate-conscious reforms in WTO law, incorporating positive roles. Wealthy provinces generally experienced much lower AEIs and
energy industry obligations in climate deals and country-specific higher AEI reductions compared to poor provinces from 2007 to 2012,
legislative reforms for achieving climate objectives. These may not mainly owing to provincial differences in final demand structure and
prove to be easy tasks. The egregious problem of sovereignty needs sectoral structure. Coastal region’s emission reduction efforts at both
delicate attention in construing how it relates with climate change production and demand sides were the main contributor to China’s
measures, environmental policies at the WTO and sustainable decrease in carbon intensity during the period, while interior region’s
development of energy resources. Reform processes at international structural degradation in demand partially offset the decrease. The
and national law would have to be structured systematically to achieve results suggest that allocating national carbon intensity targets based
desired results. The personalities and processes for reforms also need on AEI, and adjusting the final demand structure of central-western
critical consideration. provinces, would greatly benefit for China to achieve its ambitious
carbon intensity target by 2030.
21/00628 Strategic environmental urban planning –
a contextual approach for defining performance goals and
informing decision-making
Nault, E. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106448. Energy conservation
Environmental performance objectives in terms of energy consumption
and carbon emission targets can be found in various building norms
and certifications schemes. These targets are often dependent upon the
building program (e.g. office), but independent from its context; the 21/00631 ‘Carbohydrate-universal’ electrolyzer for
same value is imposed for two buildings of the same program energy-saving hydrogen production with Co3FePx@NF as
regardless of other possibly influential characteristics (e.g. solar bifunctional electrocatalysts
exposure). Such targets serve as references against which a project’s Miao, J. et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 263, 118109.
performance is measured following its description and assessment Hydrogen production via solar-powered water electrolysis allows
using an evaluation tool. In this paper, the authors question the abundant but intermittent energy to be directly converted into clean
suitability of this procedure within the context of urban planning by fuel in a sustainable manner. However, this method is hindered by the
asking: should a district-level performance objective be allocated in a sluggish O2 evolution reaction (OER). The carbohydrate oxidation
‘uniform’ manner or through a ‘contextual’ approach, capable of reaction (COR) can potentially replace the OER for effective H2
capturing specificities throughout the site and allowing compensation production with low-energy consumption due to its more favourable
between areas? To address this question, a novel method is proposed thermodynamics. Herein, Co3FePx@NF is used as a ‘carbohydrate-
to distribute a site-level target differently between lots presenting universal’ catalyst for four representative COR that had a potential of
distinct conditions over the site, through a combined top-down and 1.24 V vs RHE (to 10 mA cm2) which was 20% (310 mV) lower than
bottom-up approach. The method relies on the exploration of commercial electrocatalysts for OER. In addition, the presence of
databases of lot-specific scenarios, generated by varying design carbohydrates had no negative effect on the high performance of
parameters that have not yet been fixed at the planning stage, such Co3FePx@NF for hydrogen evolution at cathode. Motivated by the
as building shape and construction materials. Applied on a case-study above performance improvements, a novel electrolyser was developed
district in Switzerland, the contextual method results in differentiated that integrates H2 production and COR using Co3FePx@NF as a
lot-specific targets that are up to 11% away from the uniform targets. bifunctional electrocatalyst. A cell voltage of only 1.35 V was required
Although apparently small, these shifts can increase the feasibility of to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm2, which was much lower than
reaching the site-level target by up to 30%. Such information can guide commercial water splitting systems (normally 1.8–2.0 V), highlighting
the design team towards defining a coherent environmental strategy that the electrolyser in this paper has great potential for use in energy-
and making informed decisions. saving H2 production. Due to the improved design, the electrolyser can
be easily driven by a single perovskite solar cell delivering a solar-to-
21/00629 Ten questions on urban building energy modeling hydrogen efficiency of 13.3%, which provides a convenient and
Hong, T. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106508. efficient way to achieve overall-sustainable H2 production. This work
Buildings in cities consume up to 70% of all primary energy. To achieve may serve as the foundation for further energy-saving hydrogen
cities’ energy and climate goals, it is necessary to reduce energy use and production technologies and carbohydrate-containing waste treatment
associated greenhouse gas emissions in buildings through energy by the rational design of electrolysers.
conservation and efficiency improvements. Computational tools em-
powered with rich urban datasets can model performance of buildings 21/00632 Comparative study on indoor environmental
at the urban scale to provide quantitative insights for stakeholders and quality of green office buildings with different levels of
inform their decision making on urban energy planning, as well as energy use intensity
building energy retrofits at scale, to achieve efficiency, sustainability, Geng, Y. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 168, 106482.
and resilience of urban buildings. Designing and operating urban Energy use intensity (EUI) and indoor environmental quality (IEQ)
buildings as a group (from a city block to a district to an entire city) are two key features for evaluating the operating performance of green
rather than as single individuals requires simulation and optimization buildings. However, few researchers have investigated the relationship
to account for interactions among buildings and between buildings and between the EUI and IEQ in green buildings. In this study, 20 green
their surrounding urban environment, and for district energy systems office buildings from the hot-summer–cold-winter (HSCW) climate
serving multiple buildings with diverse thermal loads across space and zone in China were chosen to investigate their energy use and conduct
time. When hundreds or more buildings are involved in typical urban long-term environmental measurements and occupant satisfaction
building energy modelling (UBEM) to estimate annual energy demand, surveys. Based on over three million sets of environmental data and
evaluate design or retrofit options, and quantify impacts of extreme 1756 survey samples, IEQ performances (including the thermal
weather events or climate change, it is crucial to integrate urban comfort, air quality and visual environment) of low- and high-EUI
datasets and UBEM tools in a seamless automatic workflow with cloud buildings were compared. The results indicate that high-EUI buildings
or high-performance computing for users including urban planners, exhibited a significantly better thermal environment, compared to low-
designers and researchers. This paper presents ten questions that EUI buildings. Regarding air quality and visual environment, the two
highlight significant UBEM research and applications. The proposed groups did not exhibit huge differences, and their mean levels
answers aim to stimulate discussion and provide insights into the conformed to the local standard. The subjective surveys led to an

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 97

16 Energy (energy conservation)

inconsistent conclusion: the occupants in high-EUI buildings were less commissioning (e.g. delay time, grouping, dimming vs turning off
satisfied with the IEQ than those in low-EUI buildings, except for during vacancy) significantly impact potential energy savings. However,
visual environment. The possible underlying reason can be the selecting LLLC products and settings for maximum energy savings can
different levels of environmental control. Furthermore, the detailed adversely impact occupant satisfaction. Lighting designers and speci-
relationship between energy use and thermal environment was studied. fiers should balance energy targets with the needs of occupants,
While green office buildings consume more energy and thus guarantee including safety, comfort, health, visibility and wellbeing.
minimal requirements for thermal comfort, they also waste more
energy owing to overcooling or overheating. Finally, an indicator – 21/00636 Evaluating the effect of trees on UHI mitigation
environmental energy efficiency – was introduced and applied to and reduction of energy usage in different built up areas in
evaluate the comprehensive performance of the energy consumption Cairo
and IEQ of buildings. Aboelata, A. and Sodoudi, S. Building and Environment, 2020, 168,
106490.
21/00633 Comparison of energy conservation measures Cairo, Egypt, experiences higher temperatures than its neighbouring
considering adaptive thermal comfort and climate change in rural and suburban areas. This is due to the lack of vegetation and the
existing Mediterranean dwellings wide scale use of sealed surfaces. This phenomenon is known as urban
Bienvenido-Huertas, D. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116448. heat island (UHI). This leads to the greater use of air conditioning in
This research studies the energy and economic feasibility of carrying indoor spaces during the summer time and the electricity bills are
out different energy conservation measures (ECMs) of fac˛ades by higher. This study seeks to find the best urban vegetation ratio in order
applying adaptive setpoint temperatures. Energy saving was also to reduce the buildings’ energy demand through mitigating UHI and
studied for future scenarios of climate change (2050 and 2080). The enhancing thermal performance in high- and low-density built-up areas
case study was a building with a deficient energy behaviour and located in hot and arid climate. Two areas in Cairo were chosen (Imbaba – 65%
in the Mediterranean climate region. Both ECMs of fac˛ades and the urban density, and officers residential in Elsalam district – 23% urban
cost payback period were studied. The results showed that the fac˛ade density) with different sky view factor values. The two areas were
improvement was not an effective measure in the Mediterranean compared in terms of the cooling effect of 30% trees, 50% trees and
climate: saving percentages were not high in cooling consumption, and 70% grass scenarios using ENVI-met. Then the meteorological outputs
the amortization period was economically unfeasible. On the other for each scenario were used in DesignBuilder in order to calculate the
hand, the use of adaptive setpoint temperatures was the most efficient energy consumption. This study shows that, while trees can reduce
measure, achieving savings higher than 70% in cooling consumption. daily air temperature by 0.2–0.4 K in very high density built up areas,
Finally, there were limitations in the use of the adaptive comfort model they also increase air temperature by 3 K in low density built up areas
from EN 15251 in future scenarios. due to humidity and evaporation. Therefore, trees are effective at
lowering air temperature and reducing energy usage in very high
density built up areas, but ineffective in low density built up areas.
21/00634 Efficiency improvement of vehicles using Furthermore, trees reduce PET in both densities by 1–3 K.
temperature controlled exhaust thermoelectric generators
Brito, F. P. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203,
112255. 21/00637 Free cooling potential of air economizer in
One of the main obstacles for the use of thermoelectric generators residential houses in Canada
(TEGs) in vehicles is the highly variable thermal loads typical of Li, B. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 167, 106460.
driving cycles. Under these conditions it will be virtually impossible for An air-side economizer uses outside air to reduce building cooling
a conventional heat exchanger to avoid both thermal dilution under low system energy demand. In Canada, air economizers are widely applied
thermal loads and TEG overheating under high thermal loads. The in non-residential building cooling systems but are rarely implemented
authors have been exploring an original heat exchanger concept able to in residential single-family houses. This study investigates the free
address the aforementioned problems. It uses a variable conductance cooling potential of the outside air through a temperature controlled
thermosiphon-based phase-change buffer between the heat source and air-side economizer in a hypothetical single-family house for sixteen
the TEGs so that a nearly constant, optimized temperature is obtained cities across Canada. A series of thermal models with different aspect
regardless of operating conditions. To the best of the authors’ and window-to-wall ratios are developed to simulate the hourly and
knowledge, the thermal control feature of the system is unique among annual building cooling demand for each simulation case. The impacts
existing TEG concepts. The novelty of the present work is the actual of climatic conditions and building geometry on the potential annual
computation of operating pressure and temperature and the corre- usable and maximum available free sensible cooling are investigated.
sponding vaporization and condensation rates inside the thermosiphon Results show that the available free cooling potential ranges from 50%
system during driving cycles along with the assessment of the influence up to 325% of the building cooling needs due to the mild summer
of the volumes and pre-charge pressure on electrical output. The global weather in most areas of Canada; however, a majority of available free
energy and emission savings were also computed for a typical yearly cooling is not able to be utilized. Further studies focused on finding the
driving profile. It was observed that indeed the concept has solutions to maximize the outside air free cooling usage to minimize
unparalleled potential for improving the efficiency of vehicles using the building HVAC system cooling energy use is necessary.
TEGs, with around 6% fuel and CO2 emissions savings using the
system. This seems a breakthrough for such light duty applications 21/00638 Impact factors of the real-world fuel consumption
since the efficiency of conventional (passive) systems is strongly rate of light duty vehicles in China
deprecated by thermal dilution under low thermal loads and the need Wu, T. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116388.
to by-pass high thermal load events to avoid overheating. On the Measuring real-world fuel consumption of light duty vehicles can be
contrary, the present concept allows the control of the hot face challenging due to the limited collection of actual data. This paper uses
temperature of the TEGs even under highly variable thermal load (i.e. big data retrieved from the record of real-world fuel consumptions of
driving cycle) environments. different brands of vehicles in different areas (n = 106,809 samples
from 201 brands of vehicles and 34 cities) in China to build up a real-
21/00635 Energy-saving strategies for luminaire-level world fuel consumption rate (RFCR) model to estimate the fuel
lighting controls consumption given the driving conditions and figure out the main
Snyder, J. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, . factors that affect actual fuel consumption in the real world. It was
Luminaire-level lighting controls (LLLCs), also called luminaire- found that the average deviation of actual fuel consumptions and the
integrated controls, have the potential to reduce energy use, compared fitting results of RFCR model is 4.22%, which does not significantly
with traditional zone controls, when used in an open office setting. differ from zero, and the fuel consumptions calculated by RFCR model
Additionally, LLLCs can be installed without incurring the additional tend to be 1.40 L/100 km (about 25%) higher than the official reported
costs associated with the installation of connected lighting. Due to this data. Furthermore, it was found that annual average temperature and
potential for both cost and energy savings, the Lighting Research altitude factors significantly influence the fuel consumption rate. The
Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute conducted a study to results indicate that there is a real world performance discrepancy
determine how various parameters affect the energy savings of LLLCs. between the theoretical fuel consumption released by authorities and
The investigated parameters were: field of view of the built-in motion that in the real world, and some green behaviours (choose light duty
sensor, delay time between when the last occupancy is detected and vehicles, reduce the use of air conditioning and change to manual
when the luminaire is turned off or dimmed, number of luminaires that transmission type) can reduce energy consumption of vehicles.
turn on and off together in groups, and if the luminaires dim to a low
level or turn off completely when no motion is detected. This study 21/00639 Improvement of magnetic and cryogenic energy
measured the occupancy pattern of an open office and then used that preservation performances in a feeding-power-free
data in a computer simulation to determine energy use. The results superconducting magnet system for maglevs
show that LLLCs have significant energy savings potential in open Dong, F. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116403.
offices with a 43% average energy reduction compared with the This work relates to improvement of magnetic and cryogenic energy
calculated manual-control base case. Results also show that choices preservation performances in an on-board high-temperature super-
made during LLLC selection (e.g. sensor field of view) and conducting magnet system used in linear synchronous motors for ultra-

98 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 17 Energy conversion and recycling

high speed maglevs. Since maglevs remove all the physical contacts to of Iran according to Köppen–Geiger climate classification. The
the ground, the wireless on-board feeding power is rather limited decision variables are shading control strategy and its set-points and
especially for superconducting subassemblies. And it has become one shading location, dimensions, angle, and material. The annual total
of the development bottlenecks. For the magnet system, realization of building energy consumption, the predicted percentage of dissatisfied
on-board feeding-power free is pivotal, which is regarding to two (PPD) and the discomfort glare index (DGI) are also considered as
important energy conversions: electrical to magnetic energy by three objective functions minimized simultaneously. The weighted sum
persistent-current mode of superconductivity, and latent heat to method is used to select the final answer from Pareto solutions.
effective cooling (or cryogenic) energy by – phase transition of According to the results, based on the climate and the window
solid nitrogen (SN2) in the system. Improvements of the two energy orientation, the proposed optimization method leads to 2.8–47.8%
conversions are the main work. Firstly, model and numerical approach decrease in the annual total building energy consumption compared to
of persistent-current mode are proposed, followed by simulation of SN2 the initial design simultaneously with 15.5–69.9%, and 8.5–56.3%
cooling. Then performances of persistent-current mode and cryogenic reduction in DGI and PPD indexes, respectively. The results clearly
energy preservation are reported. Energy conversion efficiency is also show how appropriate selection of the shadings specifications and their
analysed for a strategy to improve cooling performance. The strategy control strategy parameters can significantly not only prevent energy
successfully extends cryogenic energy preservation time to 8.83 h and losses but also provide better occupants’ thermal and visual comfort.
suppresses thermal non-uniformity to <0.1 K. The enhanced cooling
performance is also reflected in a prolonged persistent-current mode 21/00643 Passive building characteristics, and
lasting for 8.17 h. The work demonstrates the applicability of the summertime residential energy use: a spatial analysis of
magnet system. energy efficiency in Gainesville, FL
Douthat, T. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106542.
21/00640 Investigation about energy-saving for the Passive design and landscape variables (e.g. rooftop albedo and
isobutyl acetate synthesis in a reactive divided-wall column shading vegetation) are frequently proposed as important green
via vapor recompression heat pump building techniques. However, there is a paucity of literature
Chen, L. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process demonstrating their large-scale effects with empirically measured
Intensification, 2020, 147, 107783. building stocks and observed residential energy consumption. This
In this work, the design that integrated vapour recompression heat paper uses a spatial Durbin error model approach to test the effects of
pump into reactive divided-wall column (RDWC-HP) is proposed for passive building performance indicators, such as orientation, albedo,
the synthesis of isobutyl acetate. Due to the large differential and normalized difference vegetation index, on city-wide summertime
temperature between the overhead vapour stream and bottom stream household billed energy data in Gainesville, Florida, USA. These
in the reactive distillation column, five different RDWC-HP processes findings suggest that vegetation and albedo reduce energy consump-
are designed, in which the compressed stream provides heat in the tion, but the model did not produce similar significant results for
single side reboiler or double side reboiler or inter-reboiler. The total building orientation and footprint compactness. These results provide
annual cost, energy consumption and CO2 emission are the rules to evidence to suggest high albedo roofing and purposeful shading are
evaluate all processes. Compared with the corresponding reactive important energy conservation strategies for energy-efficient residen-
divided-wall column (RDWC) process, the five RDWC-HP processes tial neighbourhoods.
show better performance as aspect of energy consumption and total
annual cost. The result indicates the RDWC-HP scheme that the 21/00644 The use of barocaloric effect for energy saving in
compressed stream exchanges heat with the bottom reboilers of a domestic refrigerator with ethylene-glycol based
reactive distillation column and separation column saves 26.26% of nanofluids: a numerical analysis and a comparison with a
the energy consumption, 87.05% of the CO2 emissions and 20.68% of vapor compression cooler
the total annual cost with a payback period of 5 years, when compared Aprea, C. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116404.
with the corresponding RDWC process. This paper focuses on barocaloric refrigeration that could represent a
practicable environmentally friendly alternative to vapour compression.
21/00641 Lost in translation: overcoming divergent The energy performances of an active barocaloric refrigerator working
seasonal performance metrics to strengthen air conditioner as a domestic cooler are evaluated by means of a two-dimensional
energy-efficiency policies model, already validated in previous investigations. The energy
Park, W. Y. et al. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2020, 55, 56–68. performances are also compared with experimental data referred to a
With increasing global uptake of variable-speed (inverter-driven) air household vapour compression refrigerator working with HFC134a.
conditioners (ACs), the globally uniform energy-efficiency ratio (EER) The active barocaloric regenerative refrigeration cycle is supposed to
metric has given way to various region-specific part-load and seasonal work as a domestic refrigerator in temperature range of 255–290 K.
performance AC metrics in many markets. As a result, policymakers The heat-transfer fluid is a mixture of 50% ethylene glycol and 50%
around the world lack comparative data that might help them create water, whereas acetoxy silicone rubber is the solid-state refrigerant. In
more effective AC efficiency market-transformation programs. To help order to enhance the energy performances of the solid-state refriger-
fill this gap, this paper explores relationships between the room AC ator the use of Cu-based nanofluids in the anti-freezing mixture was
efficiency performance metrics of different regions – including China, tested. The addition of Cu-nanoparticles to the 50% ethylene glycol
the EU, India, Japan, South Korea and the USA – using performance and 50% water mixture ensures a moderate enhancement of the energy
data for split room AC models. These interregional conversion performances (the maximum temperature span, cooling power and
relationships are used to estimate the performance of >6000 AC coefficient of performance enhancements are +4.0%, +7.3% and
models, including reversible heat pumps, in efficiency metrics used in +6.7%, respectively). The analysis shows that barocaloric refrigeration
the six economies as well as the ISO 16358 standard. The results can be a promising new technology in the field of domestic
suggest a way to identify the potential for improving AC efficiency refrigeration for energy saving because it always overperforms vapour
policies in regional markets. The most efficient models sold in each compression.
region and worldwide typically are more efficient than the most
efficient level recognized by regional energy standards and labelling
programs. This information could help policymakers evaluate and
improve their AC efficiency market-transformation programs to align
with the globally best-available technology.
17 ENERGY CONVERSION
21/00642 Multi-objective simulation-based optimization of
controlled blind specifications to reduce energy AND RECYCLING
consumption, and thermal and visual discomfort:
case studies in Iran 21/00645 A comparative analysis of dynamic evaporator
Naderi, E. et al. Building and Environment, 2020, 169, 106570. models for organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery
This paper aims to present a multi-objective simulation-based systems
optimization of architectural specifications and control parameters of Xu, B. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114576.
a smart shading blind. Using the proposed method, implementation of As the organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery (ORC-WHR) has
control strategies on the window shading device and simultaneous gained research attention in recent years, the evaporator models are
optimization leads to a significant reduction in building energy required in plant modelling and model-based controls. However, model
consumption, and occupants’ thermal and visual discomfort. Simu- comparison and selection works are lacking in ORC-WHR application.
lations are carried out using EnergyPlus, objective functions and Different from the modelling work in literature, this paper aims to first
decision-making parameters are identified by jEPlus, and multi- time present a comparative study of three evaporator models for ORC-
objective optimization is done by jEPlus + EA through NSGA-II. WHR systems using the same set of identification parameters and
Optimization of the controlled blind is implemented in a typical office experimental data. Finite volume model and moving boundary model
room located on a middle floor of a building, and the results are are the most popular modelling methodologies in the field of ORC-
evaluated for four window orientations in six different climatic regions WHR. Meanwhile, 0-D lumped models attract some research attention

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 99

17 Energy conversion and recycling

thanks to their low computational cost and least modelling effort. This deposition on catalyst surface and their catalytic activity after reuse
paper first presents the three models, which are then validated with cycles. The results showed that 9 wt% La promoter is the optimal
experiments data collected in a heavy-duty diesel engine ORC-WHR loading as Ni/9La–Al2O3 catalyst performed best performance with the
system. In the model comparison process, accuracy, computational cost highest H2 yield of 8.03 mol/kg, and H2 mole fraction of 42.46% at
and modelling effort are evaluated. All three models exhibit decent 480  C. La promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts have better anti-carbon
working fluid vapour temperature prediction accuracy with 6.6 K of deposition properties than bare Ni/Al2O3 catalyst, resulting in better
mean error and 1.27% mean error percentage both in steady state and gasification efficiency after reuse cycles. Ni/9La–Al2O3 catalyst showed
transient conditions. 0-D lumped model is found to be accurate enough high catalytic activity in SCWG of food waste and had good stability as
for many application purposes, which is not found in literature. Based it was still active for enhancing H2 production when used in SCWG for
on the comparison results, model selection recommendation is given the third time, which indicated that La promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts are
based on disparate application purposes and different phases of ORC- potential additive to improve the SCWG of food waste.
WHR system development.
21/00649 Evaluation of possible use of the macroporous
21/00646 A comparative analysis of real-time power ion exchanger in the adsorption process of rare earth
optimization for organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery elements and heavy metal ions from spent batteries
systems solutions
Xu, B. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 164, 114442. Kolodyńska, D. et al. Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process
Organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery technology has been Intensification, 2020, 147, 107767.
gaining more and more attention in recent years. Real-time power In this paper, Purolite S957 was used to determine the most effective
optimization is crucial to the system performance. Even though conditions for the separation of La(III) and Ni(II) ions from acidic
individual real-time optimization methods exist, literature rarely solutions. Preliminary studies of the sorption of La(III), Ce(III),
investigate comparison of different real-time power optimization Nd(III), Fe(III), Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) mixture were
methods. This paper first time compares three real-time implemen- carried out. The sorption process efficiency depends on the HNO3
table power optimization methods for an organic Rankine cycle waste concentration, contact time, initial metal concentration and tempera-
heat recovery system. Three optimization methods include pro- ture. Maximum sorption capacities amount to 0.46  0.023 mmol/g for
portional–integral–derivative (PID) rule-based method, non-linear La(III) ions and 0.38  0.019 mmol/g for Ni(II). To study the kinetics
model predictive control and dynamic programming. In the PID rule- and process mechanism, the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second-order
based method, rule-based method defines the optimal working fluid equations, Weber–Morris intraparticle diffusion and Boyd models were
vapour temperature trajectory and the PID controller manipulates the applied. The equilibrium was described using the Langmuir, Freun-
pump speed to follow that trajectory. In the non-linear model dlich and Temkin isotherm models. The desorption studies were also
predictive control method, reference vapour temperature is defined carried out. The morphology of ion exchanger was analysed using
close to the saturation temperature and then the model predictive scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and atomic force
control minimizes the vapour temperature tracking error by controlling microscopy. The interactions of metals with the ion exchanger were
the pump speed. In the dynamic programming method, the net power confirmed by the attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform
produced by the organic Rankine cycle system is defined in the cost infrared spectroscopy, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
function, which is maximized by controlling the pump speed. A random before and after the sorption process. Furthermore, the point of zero
forest machine-learning model is utilized to extract the rules for charge of Purolite S957 was determined. The obtained results can be
dynamic programming and then implemented in real-time. All the used to assess the potential of ion exchanger application for recovery of
three methods are implemented in the same experimentally validated rare earth elements and heavy metals from spent nickel-metal hydride
plant model for the comparison analysis. The comparison results show batteries.
that the dynamic programming random forest method has similar
performance with non-linear model predictive control method and
21/00650 Experimental study on the performance of oil-free
outperforms the PID rule-based method by 9.9% in net power
twin-screw expanders for recovering energy in fuel cell
production. Dynamic programming random forest method can be an
systems
alternative to the non-linear model predictive control for its low
Wang, C. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114613.
computation cost and high net power production.
Fuel cell systems are considered to be one of the best alternative power
sources for automobiles to replace internal combustion engines. For
21/00647 An integration recycling process for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell operated at the high pressure,
cascade utilization of waste engine oil by distillation adding an expander downstream the stack to recover the pressure
and microwave-assisted pyrolysis energy of air exhausted from the stack is an effective way to reduce the
Li, X. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 199, 106245. actual power consumption of the compressor and improve overall
The feasibility of integrated recycling process by vacuum distillation system efficiency. This paper aims to explore operating characteristics
(VD) and microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP) is demonstrated. This of the twin-screw expander under different operating conditions and
study also extends existing findings on the effects of pyrolysis process geometric construction, and thus find out proper design parameters.
conditions (absorbents spatial distribution, final temperature and Hence, a detailed contrast experiment is performed on three expanders
nitrogen flow rate) on the yield and composition of the pyrolysis pro- to investigate the effect of the suction port area and rotor length on the
ducts. Cascade utilization of waste engine oil (WEO) produced a expander performance. Besides, the influences of rotating speed and
72 wt% yield of re-refined engine oil (REO) and a 26 wt% yield of suction pressure on the performance of expanders including mass
pyrolysis products. Almost the whole WEO was converted into valuable flowrate, filling factor and recovered power are analysed. By analysing
products after integrated recycling process, thus enhanced the pro- the experimental results, the relevant influence mechanisms of
duction value as well as avoiding the secondary pollution. The oil operating conditions on the expander performance are explained
product showed significantly high recovery (94.848%) of the energy according to the equations of these performance parameters. Mean-
present in WEO. With the comparison of various traditional methods, while, the reasons why the developed twin-screw expanders have
this integrated process shows a significant enhancement in the aspects unsatisfactory performance are recognized. Finally, the directions for
of environmental and tech-economical performances. The results indi- further improvement and optimization of the oil-free dry twin-screw
cate that the integrated process shows exceptional promise as a means expanders used in fuel cells in the future work are pointed out based on
for recycling and treating WEO. the research results.

21/00648 Catalytic gasification of food waste in 21/00651 Optimization and design of heat recovery system
supercritical water over La promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts for for aviation
enhancing H2 production Xu, Y. et al. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2020, 165, 114581.
Su, H. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1), Heat recovery remains an active topic in energy system research
553–564. because of the potential benefits in energy consumption and energy
Ni/Al2O3 catalyst is the one of promising catalysts for enhancing H2 efficiency. Among the recent advances, the intercooled recuperated
production from supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of biomass. heat recovery concept has provided significant advancements in energy
However, due to carbon deposition, the deactivation of Ni/Al2O3 conversion for gas turbine engines. However, when applying this
catalyst is still a serious issue. In this work, the effects of lanthanum concept to aero engines, the lack of available space in the engine and
(La) as promoter on the properties and catalytic performance of Ni/ the low tolerance for pressure loss are critical challenges in this
Al2O3 in SCWG of food waste were investigated. La promoted Ni/ complicated energy system. Therefore, an improved structure for a
Al2O3 catalysts with different La loading content (3–15 wt%) were complex heat recovery energy system called the intercooled recuper-
prepared via impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized ated turbofan engine is proposed. In addition, a novel systematic
using XRD, SEM, BET techniques. The SCWG experiments were optimization design method based on multidisciplinary theories is
carried out in a Hastelloy batch reactor in the operating temperature introduced. The new heat recovery system design is designed and
range of 420–480  C, and evaluated based on H2 production. The analysed with respect to the installation space and the engine
stability of the catalysts was assessed by the amount of carbon performance. Because the system is very complex and strongly coupled,

100 Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021

 17 Energy conversion and recycling

a sensitivity analysis has been conducted to decouple the parameters of recovering 1 kW heat of LiBr-FOAHP and CaCl2-FOAHP are CNY648
this non-linear problem. By optimization, the structure of the engine is (US$96.40) and CNY562 ($83.60), respectively. In short, FOAHP
modified to adapt the heat recovery system’s demand for space performs better than most of the conventional waste heat recovery
(through a change in air flow). Its energy saving benefits are compared systems in thermodynamics and economics.
to a traditional turbofan engine; the new, optimized design has a lower
fuel consumption. It achieves a high overall efficiency with a lower
overall pressure ratio. This systematic design method is extremely 21/00654 Thermal management of the waste energy of a
important for complicated energy systems: it addresses the necessary stand-alone hybrid PV-wind-battery power system in Hong
compromises between structure and performance, which remains a Kong
critical challenge for energy systems. Yan, J. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 203, 112261.
This paper firstly investigated the thermal management of wasted
energy from a stand-alone hybrid solar–wind–battery power system.
21/00652 Production of jet fuel from cracked fractions of
The total dump load or waste power can be up to 50% of total system
waste polypropylene and polyethylene power yield, and therefore waste energy management is urgent with
Tomasek, S. et al. Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 197, 106197.
high necessity. A new phase change material (PCM: Ba(OH)28H2O)
Increasing consumption and poor environmental impact has led to the
with high storage capacity is introduced for the thermal management of
search for alternatives to fossil-fuel-based kerosene. Plastic waste
hybrid power system. Different renewable energy configurations with
cracking and subsequent co-hydrogenation can be a promising way to
different battery storage capacities are simulated and investigated. For
produce jet fuels. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility
different scenarios, the ratio of the captured thermal energy from waste
of production of standard jet fuel from mixtures of cracked fractions of
energy to total solar/wind power output ranges from 24.45% to 72.48%
polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) and straight-run kerosene on
regarding all system losses. The cases without battery bank are featured
commercial NiMo/Al2O3/P catalyst (10–30% cracked fraction content).
by high thermal energy amount/percentage (waste energy) and high
The effects of process parameters (T = 200–300  C, P = 40 bar, liquid
power supply failure. Typical results show that, the total yearly
hourly space velocity (LHSV) = 1.0–3.0 h1, H2/hydrocarbon ratio
renewable power output is 173,877 kWh with only 51.99% directly for
= 400 Nm3/m3) and the feedstock composition on the hydrodesulfur-
demand load, and 57,672 kWh with 33.17% can be effectively stored in
ization and hydrodearomatization efficiencies and the main product
the thermal storage tank as heat, which can supply about 136 people’
properties were investigated. It was found that, olefins affect the
heat demand per year. Compared with the water tank, the PCM
hydrodesulfurization and the hydrodearomatization reactions until 220
thermal storage tank can save much space and land because of its high
and 240  C, respectively. At the most favourable process parameters
energy density. Appropriate thermal management of stand-alone
(T = 300  C, LHSV = 1.0–3.0 h1) practically sulfur- and olefin-free jet
hybrid solar–wind–battery power systems is necessary and feasible.
products with reduced aromatic contents (7.2–11.2%) were produced.
The freezing points of the jet fuel (60.3 to 56.4  C) produced from
the 10–30% cracked PP fraction containing feedstocks were signifi-
cantly lower than the required 47  C, but in the case of the products 21/00655 Vacuum swing CO2 adsorption cycles in
containing the cracked PE fraction one further step (hydroisomeriza- waste-to-energy plants
tion) is needed before the application. Durán, I. et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 382, 122841.
The performance of vacuum swing adsorption-based processes applied
to CO2 capture in waste-to-energy plants is explored for the first time.
21/00653 Techno-economic study of full-open absorption CO2 capture and storage (CCS) are gaining increasing attention in this
heat pump applied to flue gas total heat recovery sector. The analysis of simple cycle configurations for this particular
Yang, B. et al. Energy, 2020, 190, 116429. application provides a reference scenario to explore the potentiality of
Full-open absorption heat pump (FOAHP) is a new approach to total the adsorption technology. Under these premises, the objective of this
heat recovery of gas boiler flue gas. With the flue gas dehumidified study is to maximize the CO2 separation from the flue gas of a solid
deeply, the latent heat can be recovered efficiently. The prototype waste incineration facility. Three vacuum swing adsorption and one
FOAHP system using LiBr has experimentally achieved the coefficient vacuum and temperature swing adsorption configurations were
of performance of 1.6 and the total heat recovery efficiency of 0.626 in assessed in a fixed-bed laboratory unit and the influence of the cycle
the authors’ previous study. In this paper, CaCl 2-FOAHP is simulated design, the number of columns and the operational conditions were
to compare with LiBr-FOAHP. Due to the synthetic effects of vapour analysed. The adsorbent employed is an activated carbon produced
pressure and specific heat capacity of liquid desiccant, the total heat from pine sawdust, a forestry by-product with great availability in the
recovery performances of the two systems result to be similar. The region. Mathematical modelling developed in Aspen Adsorption
primary energy ratio of natural gas boiler can be improved by 16.3% complemented the experimental study which in turn validated the
and 15.3% by applying LiBr-FOAHP and CaCl 2-FOAHP, respectively. created model. Additional simulations were performed to further
An economic analysis is conducted to compare FOAHP with other evaluate the effect that the different vacuum swing adsorption
waste heat recovery systems. Since the main parts including the configurations have on product purity and recovery. With relatively
generator, condenser and absorber all operate on direct-contact heat simple configurations consisting of a maximum of four beds, CO2
and mass transfer without any heat transfer walls, FOAHP exhibits recoveries >95% were achieved and CO2 purity was increased from 8%
remarkable superiority in economics. The initial investment costs per to approximately 35–40%.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts January 2021 101