01 Solid fuels (sources, winning, properties)

volume of the internal swelling coefficient makes a leading role of the

01 SOLID FUELS effective volumetric strain in permeability evolution, and a large
volume of the internal swelling coefficient leads to a domination role of
the adsorption swelling strain increment in permeability evolution of
deep coal.

Sources, winning, properties 21/00659 Evolution patterns of coal micro-structure in

environments with different temperatures and oxygen
conditions
21/00656 Analysis of gas diffusivity in coal using Pan, R.-k. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116425.
micro-computed tomography Before mining, a deep coal seam exists in a state with a high formation
Lu, X. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116384. temperature and high stress. After mining, the coal body is exposed to
As coalbed methane (CBM) becomes an increasingly important oxygen, and the oxidation reaction results in significant changes in the
resource in the global natural gas market, gas transport in CBM micro-structure of the oxidized coal body. To understand the change
reservoirs remains a crucial research topic that has not been fully process, in this paper, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared
understood. Gas migration in coal matrix is identified as a diffusion spectroscopy are employed to test a coal body subjected to flow of hot
process which is quantified by effective diffusivity. This paper aims to gas. The evolution patterns of the coal oxidation micro-structure under
explore the diffusion process in coal and measure the effective different temperatures and oxygen conditions are compared and
diffusivity using X-ray microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) ima- analysed. The results show that in an environment with oxygen, as
ging. Visualizing the krypton gas migration process using micro-CT the temperature increases, the stacking height of the coal macromol-
imaging simulates the gas transport and provides a better understand ecular lattice follows an overall increasing trend and has a self-repair
of the diffusion mechanism of adsorptive gas in coal. The effective capability. During oxidation, the spatial arrangement of the evolution
diffusivity of krypton obtained in the coal matrix is estimated to be of the coal molecular structure is reversible. In an environment without
3.4  1011 m2/s which falls in the mid-range of reported value in the oxygen, the hydroxyl (–OH) peak height and peak area exceed those of
literature. This paper develops a method based on using micro-CT an environment with oxygen, which suggests that the –OH group
imaging and high X-ray attenuated gas to visualize gas transport and facilitates coal oxidation. Coal functional groups under high-tempera-
quantitatively analyse diffusion process in porous media. The exper- ture fracture polymerize constantly, and oxidation produces new
iment can be conducted at in situ pressure conditions to mimic CBM functional groups.
storage and production process. This method is ought to provide more
insights into the gas diffusion mechanism in coal while preserving the 21/00660 Experimental investigation on the permeability,
original rock structure. acoustic emission and energy dissipation of coal under
tiered cyclic unloading
21/00657 Development of a roof-to-floor convergence index Duan, M. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020,
for longwall face using combined finite element modelling 73, 103054.
and statistical approach Because of periodic disturbance during coal seam excavation and
Islavath, S. R. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and support, the surrounding rock is subjected to cyclic unloading-
Mining Sciences, 2020, 127, 104221. reloading. To study the effect of pressure-relief on coal fields during
Longwall mining is probably the only method available for exploiting gas drainage and mining, the permeability, acoustic emission (AE) and
deep coal seam deposits in a safe manner. However, the immediate energy dissipation properties of coal under tiered cyclic unloading were
roof of a longwall panel in India is composed of mostly low-quality coal experimentally investigated. Permeability enhancement rate (PER),
and shale. As a result, several roof-fall incidents have occurred in AE signal change rate and a damage variable were defined to describe
between the canopy tip and the longwall face resulting in production this process. Hysteresis, memory and Felicity effects are revealed.
delays. The mine has several longwall panels and it is expected that These results show that, the step-wise increase of strains and
similar conditions may prevail in all the panels. Roof-to-floor permeability display a hysteresis effect under tiered cyclic unloading.
convergence (RFC) at the face, shield leg pressure and abutment load The axial residual strain increases exponentially, while the radial
in chain pillar were monitored to evaluate the stability of the longwall residual strain increases as a quadratic function, and the PER
face in terms of displacement as well as stresses. In view of that, a study increases. The AE signals show Kaiser effect when the unloading
was conducted to understand the deformation behaviour of RFC and capacity is small. Conversely, the Felicity effect is displayed when the
development of pressure in hydraulic legs after the web cut considering unloading capacity is large. The cumulative AE signal and the axial
different combinations of main roof thickness, its overhung length strain exhibit good synchronization and memory characteristics. The
behind the shield, and material type and setting load. This paper dissipated energy increases as a quadratic function, and the developed
describes a methodology for estimation of roof-to-floor convergence damage variable also increases, the critical damage variable of coal
using 3D finite element models before and after web cut. A statistical failure is estimated to be Dc  0.8.
procedure is also enumerated for development of a unique roof-to-
floor convergence index combining input parameters. For this purpose, 21/00661 Force chains in top coal caving mining
a total of 216 3D finite element models were analysed considering Wang, J.-a. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Drucker–Prager material non-linearity and having two legged powered Sciences, 2020, 127, 104218.
support of 2  1152 tonne capacity surrounded by coal, rock mass and During the top coal caving mining, rock mass becomes fractured, and
goaf. This study also compares the roof-to-floor convergence measured the physical status of top coal and overlying strata in the vicinity of the
in the field to those estimated using the proposed convergence index. working face changes from continuous to discontinuous medium. It is
considerably difficult to explain in theory the transition and action of
21/00658 Effects of matrix-fracture interaction and creep mining-induced pressure in discrete top coal and fractured overlying
deformation on permeability evolution of deep coal strata. Force chain is a proper modality to describe loading transition
Zhou, H. W. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining in discontinuous and discrete media. By creating the photoelastic
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104236. experiment apparatus of granular materials, trajectories of force chains
A new model considering effects of matrix–fracture interaction and in discrete top coal and overlying strata were observable by means of
creep deformation on permeability of deep coal is established under digital image processing technology. The characteristics and evolution
the condition of triaxial stress state. An internal swelling coefficient is of force chain network were elaborated on the basis of the theory of
defined to characterize the degree of matrix–fracture interaction. The topology. Three configurations of force chains in overlying strata and
internal swelling coefficient, reflecting contribution of matrix swelling top-coal were identified, namely, force chain, force loop and coupled
deformation by gas adsorption to the change of bulk volume and force chain-loop, which were described in terms of Betti numbers of
fracture volume, is introduced to a classical stress-strain constitutive topological geometry. The study shows that there was a complicated
equation. Moreover, the proposed permeability model is validated by force chain network composed by initial force in fractured strata. Top
experimental data-based permeability estimated by the fractional coal caving mining destroyed the equilibrium of the initial force chain
derivative transient pulse method and the non-linear least square network. Force chains developed and grew in the overlying strata in an
method is used to determine the model parameters. It is indicated that arch-like form over the mining area, which transmitted the overlying
the permeability decreases gradually in the primary and secondary loads to the front of the coal seam with advancing the working face.
creep stage, consistent with the physical process in which the initial After mining the intensity of force chain dropped promptly inside of
fracture and pores are gradually compacted during the creep process. the goaf instead. According to the intensity of force, force chains were
In addition, it is found that with the decrease of pore pressure, the graded into strong, sub-strong and weak force chains. The strong force
proposed permeability model appears to be better than the existed chains determined the load bearing capacity of the network, while the
various classical models in term of description of the evolution trend of stability of the force chain network relied on the existence of weak
permeability. The effects of creep deformation and internal swelling force chains. The loading mechanism of top coal on the supports
coefficient on the permeability model are discussed, indicating that clarifies that low-pressure phenomena in top caving mining face were
under the condition of constant effective volumetric strain, a small caused by the loss of laterally developed weak force chains, resulting in

118 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 01 Solid fuels (sources, winning, properties)

the reduction of strong force chains. Besides, the statistical features, combination of two-dimensional SEM and three-dimensional AFM
such as force chain intensity, the force chain azimuth and contact force results is effective in detection of surface properties, and is of
in the top coal and overlying strata, were manifested during the mining significance in revealing the pore structure and mechanical properties
process. The study will help understanding of the mechanism of force at nanoscale.
chain formation and evolution in the fractured overlying strata and
cracked top coal due to top coal caving mining.
21/00665 Permeability evolution of deep coal samples
subjected to energy-based damage variable
21/00662 Hydrocarbon generation potential of Paleogene Zhou, H. W. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering,
coals and organic rich mudstones in Xihu sag, East China 2020, 73, 103070.
Sea Shelf basin, offshore eastern China A better understanding of mining-induced permeability evolution of
Zhu, X. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184, coals is of an importance for underground coal extraction and coalbed
106450. methane exploitation. In this paper, a laboratory study of coal
Paleogene coals and organic rich mudstones in Xihu sag, East China permeability evolution is carried out by simulation of in situ mining-
Sea Shelf basin in offshore eastern China were analysed to evaluate the induced stress state of coals in a deep coal seam. The permeability of
hydrocarbon generation potential based on organic petrographic and coals is estimated by the fractional derivative transient pulse method.
organic geochemical methods. The results reveal that the source rocks And the whole deformation and failure process of coals is studied on
are dominated by Type III-II2 kerogens deposited in sub-oxic to oxic the basis of the energy evolution, after which a modified damage
environments as coal-bearing source rocks. The total organic carbon variable is defined based on accumulative dissipated energy. Moreover,
(TOC) content values for the samples range from 0.31 to 75.68 wt%, the evolution of permeability is characterized with damage variable,
suggesting fair to excellent hydrocarbon generation potential, which is indicating that the dissipated energy density and the damage variable
also consistent with the hydrogen index and extractable organic matter increase in the post-yield stage. The permeability reduces in the
(EOM) content results. Thermal maturity of organic matter in Western process of stress-induced compaction and starts to increase after the
Depression Group (WDG) area are mainly in early thermal maturity onset of dilatancy. It is found that the permeability appears to be a
stage (Rr ranges from 0.57% to 0.76%), while Central Uplift Group negative power correlation with damage variable in compaction stage
(CUG) area samples have relatively higher thermal maturity (Rr while a positive power relationship is observed after dilation.
ranges from 0.72% to 1.41%). The characteristics of Paleogene coal Furthermore, a correlation formula of permeability and energy-based
and organic rich mudstones reveal that the potential source rocks in damage variable is suggested to consider the effects of mining depth on
both WDG and CUG area have fair to excellent hydrocarbon permeability of coal.
generative potential, but vary in hydrocarbon phase. WDG source
rocks are expected to generate both commercial liquid hydrocarbons
21/00666 Relationships between hydrocarbon evolution
and gaseous hydrocarbons, which is also implied by the presence of
and the geochemistry of solid bitumen in the Guanwushan
significant liptinite and exsudatinite macerals. On the other hand,
Formation, NW Sichuan Basin
source rocks for CUG area exhibit a dominant gaseous hydrocarbon
Li, Y. et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2020, 111, 116–134.
generation and some oil hydrocarbon generation potential. The data
Recently, the Devonian Guanwushan Formation in the north-western
exhibited in this study illustrate source rock characteristics and provide
Sichuan Basin gained industrial attention when solid bitumen was
evidence for hydrocarbon generation potential of Paleogene coal and
discovered in reservoirs and outcrops. This discovery initiated the
organic rich mudstones in Xihu sag, in offshore eastern China.
exploration and development of the Devonian natural gas. Devonian in
the north-western Sichuan Basin is a new stratum for the exploration
21/00663 Image and ultrasonic analysis-based and development of Paleozoic marine natural gas in Sichuan Basin.
investigation of coal core fracturing by microwave energy However, the unclear recognition on the genesis, the sources and the
Hong, Y.-d. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining hydrocarbon evolution history of solid bitumen and natural gas
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104232. seriously restricted further exploration and development. Based on
Formation microwave heating treatment is a potential method for the solid bitumen reflectance, carbon isotopes, saturated hydrocarbon
degassing coalbed methane. Camera pictures and ultrasonic method chromatography, and solvent extract bitumen biomarkers combined
were used to evaluate the crack propagation on the surface and in the with the component and carbon isotopes of natural gas, comprehensive
interior of the coal cores, respectively. The results suggest that the analyses have been performed on the origin of the solid bitumen and
fracture induced by microwave energy would remarkably increase with the accumulation and evolution of the natural gases. The results
increased heating time. New fractures and pore sizes produced by showed that the outcrop solid bitumen is derived from biodegraded oil
microwave energy decreased P- and S-wave velocity in coal cores. The from the Lower Cambrian source rocks, and is characterized by low
amplitude of the frequency spectrum of coal cores decreased after bitumen reflectance, low saturated/aromatic hydrocarbon ratios,
microwave energy treatment. The frequency distribution domain in the seriously damaged normal-alkanes, and severe migration of the gas
frequency spectrum of coal cores was also affected by microwave chromatographic baseline. The reservoir bitumen formed through
energy treatment. The density, bulk modulus and shear modulus of thermal cracking of oil from Lower Cambrian and Lower Permian
coal decreased with microwave energy treatment. Specifically, the source rocks, and is characterized by high bitumen reflectance, high
slopes of declines in the bulk modulus and shear modulus were larger saturated/aromatic hydrocarbons, and complete normal-alkanes. The
than that in the coal density. The increasing fracture network could differences of tectonic evolution take control of the two different-
improve the permeability of coal for degassing coal seams. In a word, genesis bitumen. The Longmen Mountain strata in the north-western
the microwave energy has potential for assisting coalbed gas drainage. Sichuan Basin were uplifted sharply after the Jurassic and the early
generated crude oil was biodegraded during uplifting and formed the
outcrop bitumen. However, strata in Well Shuangtan-3 continued to
21/00664 Nanoscale pore structure and mechanical
subside and the paleo reservoir thermal-cracked during deep burial
property analysis of coal: an insight combining AFM and
into dry gas and heavy components gathered to form reservoir bitumen.
SEM images
Revealing the Devonian hydrocarbon evolution in Sichuan Basin is of
Li, Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116352.
highly significance and is meaningful to guide further researches on the
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope
gas–source correlation of natural from paleo-strata. It is of great
(AFM), two easily acquired and widely applied image acquisition and
significance to reveal the Devonian hydrocarbon evolution in Sichuan
analysis methods, have rarely been combined to study the pore
Basin and to guide further researches on the gas–source correlation of
structure for unconventional natural gas reservoir rocks. This work
natural gas from paleo-strata.
presents an investigation of nanoscale detection of the pore distri-
bution and mechanical properties of coals using SEM and AFM
observations, and conducts quantitative analyses on pore structure 21/00667 Structure characteristics and evolution
distribution, surface roughness and mechanical properties. The mechanism of nanopore in transitional coal-bearing shale
morphological characteristics of the coal surface can be revealed by Yu, K. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
both SEM and AFM methods, and the mechanical parameters of the 106545.
selected position were obtained under the peakforce quantitative nano- Nanopore plays a crucial role in shale gas adsorption, and its
mechanics (PF-QNM) AFM mode, including the Young’s modulus, characteristics and evolution are significant for the evaluation of shale
peak force error, deformation, and adhesion forces. By fusing 800 high- reservoirs with strong heterogeneity. In this study, transitional coal-
resolution SEM images into one single image (named as MAPS), the bearing shale samples from the south margin of North China were
pores morphology and distribution of different scales were acquired. selected for investigation of pore structure characteristics and
And the studied coal shows different types of cellular pores and gas evolution mechanism. Results indicated that nanopores of the studied
pores with multiresolution. The mechanical property difference shales are fractal with strong heterogeneity. The higher fractal
between the matrix and minerals of coal are clearly observed, with dimension leads to larger surface area and micropore volume of shale
the Young’s modulus of organic component around 2 GPa, and that of samples. The abundant terrigenous material and limited hydrocarbon
the minerals generally higher than 10 GPa. The maximum adhesion generation and expulsion are favourable for the development of intraP
force values range between 20 and 50 nN. The high values occurred pores in clay, so that the organic matter (OM) pores are poorly
where pores are developed. This work demonstrated that the developed and are partially filled with clay minerals and pyrite

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 119

01 Solid fuels (preparation)

framboids. Shale samples having higher levels of clay content and lower Research on coal desulfurization is very important for economic, social,
levels of quartz content tend to develop more heterogeneous and environmentally sustainable development. In this study, three
micropores, producing a more complex pore structure in shale. The batches of shake flask experiments were conducted for coal bio-
evolution of nanopore in studied shales is simultaneously determined desulfurization using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to explore the
by the coupling relationship between clay content and the thermal relationship between microbial nutrients (iron-free M9 K medium)
maturation of OM. In the early oil and low clay content stage, the low supply and coal bio-desulfurization efficiency. The results showed that
degree of the thermal evolution of OM leads to generation of less the removal rates of pyritic sulfur and total sulfur from coal effectively
acidic fluid during the decarboxylation of kerogen, resulting in a weak increased following reintroduction of coal into the filtrate from
physical combination and chemical corrosion between OM and clay previous batch. The removal rates of pyritic sulfur and total sulfur
minerals, with the macropores taking the main place in the pore were 55.6% and 10.0%, 77.1% and 16.1%, and 86.5% and 28.2%,
structure. In the main to late oil and medium clay content stage, respectively, in the three batch experiments without iron-free M9 K
hydrocarbon generation of OM leads to the development of pores in medium addition. In contrast, the removal rates of pyritic sulfur and
kerogen and the gradual generation of more acidic fluids that dissolve total sulfur reached 87.5% and 28.2%, 89.1% and 31.6%, and 92.0%
clay minerals, so that the mesopores are dominant. In the wet gas and and 29.1%, respectively, in the three batch experiments with 6.7% iron-
high clay content stage, increases in hydrocarbon generation intensity free M9 K medium addition. However, addition of excessive iron-free
and clay mineral content cause development of more complexes of OM M9 K medium was detrimental to coal bio-desulfurization because of
and clay, with a large number of micropores produced in shale the synthesis of jarosite (MFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, M = K+, NH+ 4 ) and
reservoirs. gypsum (CaSO42H2O), which further declined the pyritic sulfur bio-
oxidation efficiency and total sulfur removal efficiency.
21/00668 Study on the pyrolysis kinetics of low-medium
rank coals with distributed activation energy model
Yan, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116359. 21/00671 Effects of demineralization on the surface
A deep understanding of coal pyrolysis behaviours is essential for the morphology, microcrystalline and thermal transformation
clean and efficient coal utilization. Detailed structural characterization characteristics of coal
and kinetic analysis could provide valuable information about coal Song, Q. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145,
pyrolysis. This work deals with structural analysis and pyrolysis kinetics 104716.
of four low–medium rank coals with the distributed activation energy In this study, experiments were conducted to systematically determine
model (DAEM). The carbon structures, pyrolysis characteristic and how the surface morphology, microcrystalline and thermal transform-
kinetic parameters were correlated to gain some updated insights into ation characteristics of coal change during acid treatment. HCl–HF
coal pyrolysis. The results show that aliphatic carbons gradually convert acid washing was applied to pretreat the raw coal. The effects of the
into aromatic ones, and the aromatic clusters grow in both size and demineralization treatment on the carbonaceous structure and func-
weight with the rise of coal rank. The side-chains of aromatic clusters tional groups were first tested using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman
are shortened and eliminated thus aromaticity is increased. Charac- spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The
teristic temperatures of pyrolysis are closely related to coal properties results show that the demineralization treatment significantly removes
and carbon types. Both initial and peak temperatures increase with the peaks of inherent mineral matter (based on XRD), enhances the
FCar and Cdaf while decrease with VMar and H/C. Meanwhile, the disorder in the structure of the coal (based on Raman spectroscopy),
initial temperature is related to the aliphatic carbon ( fal) and aliphatic and changes the structure of C–O, the aromatic structure and the
carbon bonded oxygen ( falo) due to their low bonding energies, while the aliphatic side chains (based on FTIR). The surface morphologies of the
peak temperature is linked to the aromatic carbon ( fa) and aromatic raw coal and demineralized coal were then studied by scanning
bridgehead carbon ( faB) because of their higher bonding energy. DAEM electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The results show
model is reliable for analysing pyrolysis kinetics of bituminous coals. that the demineralized coal has a greater surface roughness than the
The range of activation energy gradually narrows down with the raw coal. The surface morphology of the macerals show that the
increase of coal rank, corresponding to the concentrating distribution demineralization treatment transforms the vitrinite peaks to valleys
of different carbon types. Moreover, DAEM could accurately predict and increases the depths of the valleys; furthermore, the demineraliza-
the pyrolysis behaviour of bituminous coals at very high heating rates, tion treatment cause the peaks and valleys of the surface roughness to
but the effectiveness of DAEM in modelling and predicting pyrolysis of interchange. Finally, pyrolysis experiments of the raw coal and
lignite is less satisfying. demineralized coal were conducted with thermogravimetric analysis
and a fixed-bed reactor, and the subsequent gas and tar compositions
were characterized by gas chromatography and gas chromatography–
mass spectrometry. The results show that the pyrolysis reactivity of coal
is decreased by demineralization treatment. The pyrolysis experiments
Preparation in the fixed-bed reactor indicate that the pyrolysis conversion rate
increases with the base-acid ratio of the inherent mineral matter. The
pyrolysis products show that the amounts of H2 and CH4 increases due
to the presence of the inherent mineral matter. The inherent mineral
21/00669 Effect of decomposition of oxygen-containing matter can also promote the cracking of aliphatic hydrocarbons,
structures on the conversion of lignite in the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and oxygen-containing compounds in
hydrogen donor solvent the pyrolysis tar.
Zhao, R. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145,
104743.
In this paper the pyrolysis behaviour of oxygen-containing structures of 21/00672 Increased permeability and coal and gas outburst
Xilinhaote (XLHT) lignite in hydrogen donor solvent (HDS) was prevention using hydraulic flushing technology with cross-
investigated to reveal the effect of HDS on the pyrolysis sequence seam borehole
characteristics of XLHT and the difference of the pyrolysis behaviour Chen, D. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020,
of oxygen-containing structures in the presence or absence of HDS. 73, 103067.
Results showed that coal conversion was closely associated to the Gas and coal outbursts seriously threaten the safe and effective
decomposition of oxygen-containing structures of lignite, and HDS production of coal mines with low-permeability and high-gas coal
could promote the cleavage of oxygen-containing groups and inhibit seams. To solve this problem, a hydraulic flushing technology with
the resolidification of decomposed products, while its effect on the cross-seam boreholes was carried out. Based on the strain-softening
pyrolysis sequence of different structures of lignite was tiny. Thermal constitution and Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion related to the gas
cleavage of weak aryl–alkyl ether bonds and carbonyl groups of lignite pressure and second principal stress, a multi-physical coupling model
at relatively low temperatures of 280–380  C contributed to the was built. The failure range and permeability evolution after hydraulic
depolymerization of XLHT lignite to form preashphaltene (PA) with flushing were studied, and the mechanism was presented. Furthermore,
coal conversion and PA yield increasing from 12.85% and 1.98% to the optimal spacing of hydraulic flushing boreholes (HFB) was
64.58% and 13.08%, respectively. As the temperature rose to 430  C, determined to provide the basis for field testing. Field tests were then
coal conversion was up to 84.13%, and HDS could promote the carried out to verify the feasibility of the numerical model. The results
cleavage of relatively stable oxygen-containing groups, aryl–aryl ethers, indicate that hydraulic flushing can greatly improve the permeability of
and methylene structures, which was the major contributor to increase a coal seam; the failure range around the HFB increases with the gas
coal conversion at relatively high temperatures during liquefaction. drainage days; and the optimal radius and spacing of the HFB are 0.6
Besides, C–O and C=O moieties retained on the surface of the and 5.5 m, respectively.
liquefaction residue at 430  C, which netted 12.54% and 3.52% of
carbon single bond forms, respectively.
21/00673 Oily collector pre-dispersion for enhanced
21/00670 Effect of microbial nutrients supply on coal surface adsorption during fine low-rank coal flotation
bio-desulfurization Xia, Y. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, 82,
Liu, F. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 384, 121324. 303–308.

120 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 01 Solid fuels (derived solid fuels)

The prior adsorption of water molecules on low-rank coal surface 21/00676 ‘Coal-to-electricity’ project is ongoing in north
suppresses the adsorption of collectors and decreases the surface China
hydrophobicity during flotation. To improve the adsorption of oil Xu, S. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116525.
molecules, this study proposed an innovative flotation flowsheet, i.e. In this paper, the status of the ‘coal-to-electricity’ project implemented
oily collector pre-dispersion. Oily collector pre-dispersion enhances the on a large scale in north China was reviewed, including its background
flotation recovery by 5–10% compared with the traditional flowsheet. of events, history, scale and the models mainly adopted, along with
The underlying oil/water-coal interaction mechanisms were investi- their circulation principles. The methods used for project implemen-
gated by combining experiment and simulation. The results indicated tation and the problems encountered were also summarized. It was
that oil droplets adsorbed quickly on the low-rank coal surface in an air found that ‘coal-to-electricity’ can effectively reduce the burning of
environment and, notably, the contact angle was smaller than that of a loose coal, increase the utilization of coal by power generation,
water droplet. However, in a water environment, the contact angle of improve the efficiency of coal utilization, and reduce pollutant
the oil droplet on the low-rank coal surface was large and stable. emissions as 1 ton of loose coal combustion emissions are equivalent
Molecular dynamics simulations of coal/oil/water adsorption configur- to 5–10 tons of power plants burning coal pollutants. By 2022, about
ations revealed that oil molecules self-aggregated into spheres when 8% of the heat in Beijing will be supplied by heat pumps, therefore, on
water molecules surrounded the low-rank coal surface. In contrast, average, the annual energy consumption of fossil fuels such as coal and
water molecules were largely repelled when the oil molecules were gas will be reduced to about 1 million tons of standard coal and
preadsorbed on the low-rank coal surface. Adsorption capacity 2.4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This ‘coal-to-electricity’
measurements directly confirmed that the adsorption capacities of oily project could improve the lives of their residents and make a
collectors improved with collector pre-dispersion. Thus, water/coal contribution to life quality and happiness index of rural residents,
adsorption can be controlled by realizing full contact between oil and with high environmental and social benefits. At the same time, the high
low-rank coal. This finding suggests a technical modification that can level of energy efficiency and service life of the new heating equipment
be adopted to enhance low-rank coal flotation. used are uncertain and take a long time to test. The paper goes on to
describe some of the drawbacks of the chosen method.
21/00674 Pressurized entrained-flow pyrolysis of lignite for
enhanced production of hydrogen-rich gas and chemical
raw materials
Tahmasebi, A. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
145, 104741. Derived solid fuels
This paper reports the enhanced production of H2 and polyaromatics
during lignite pyrolysis under pressurized entrained-flow conditions.
The pyrolysis temperature and pressure ranged between 600–900  C
and 0.1–4.0 MPa, respectively, and were found to greatly influence the 21/00677 Assessment of quality test methods for solid
yield and composition of pyrolysis products. The results showed that recovered fuel in South Korea
the concentration of H2 in the light gas fraction increased drastically Yang, W.-S. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 240–250.
with pyrolysis temperature and pressure, reaching 91.69 vol% at 900  C Management of solid recovered fuel (SRF) in South Korea is unique
and 4.0 MPa, which corresponded to H2 generation of 0.27 m3/kg coal. from most other countries in that it is based on a single standard. All
The yield of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as SRFs are distributed at the same price irrespective of their
naphthalene, biphenylene, fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluor- performance, resulting in utilization problems and a low degree of
anthene was also promoted at elevated pyrolysis temperatures and acceptance among consumers. Moreover, the difficulty of temperature
pressures. The highest PAHs concentration of 90.4 area% in the maintenance during transportation, excessive ash content, and the use
pyrolysis oil was obtained at 900  C and 4.0 MPa. It was also found that of inappropriate microwave acid digestion methods pose challenges to
the changes in the hydrogen distribution under pressurized entrained- SRF reliability. To address these issues, the relevant management
flow conditions mainly took place during the secondary pyrolysis statuses in South Korea were compared with those of the international
reactions. It was postulated that hydrogen was formed via aromatiza- community and reviewed the effects of the transportation temperature,
tion, condensation, aromatic ring growth mechanism, and direct ash content, and microwave acid digestion technique. The moisture,
cleavage reactions. The findings of this study showed that lignite could ash, sulfur, and chlorine contents as well as the lower heating values
be efficiently converted to H2-rich gas, PAHs as chemical raw (LHVs) of all the samples from South Korea were found to be below
materials, and energy-dense lignite char via a novel poly-generation the standard (international) thresholds, and they were barely influ-
system based on pressurized entrained-flow pyrolysis. enced by the transportation temperature. In addition, 5 g samples were
found to be more appropriate for ash content analysis than the 20 g
samples used in South Korea, with the former producing smaller
standard deviations. The optimal microwave acid digestion conditions
were also determined to be a reaction time with nitric acid of >10 min,
temperature of 180  C, and microwave power of 600 W. The results of
this study highlight the need for revising the SRF test methods used in
South Korea, to boost the market and enhance quality reliability.
Economics, business, marketing, policy
21/00678 Charcoal production from waste pequi seeds for
heat and power generation
21/00675 An optimized low-carbon production planning Miranda, M. R. d. S. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 177–186.
model for power industry in coal-dependent regions – a case Many specialized technologies are available to convert waste biomass
study of Shandong, China into secondary products that have a higher value and are more
Wu, C. B. et al. Energy, 2020, 192, 116636. convenient to process than the original feedstock. This study evaluated
Due to the coal-dominated power generation structure, Shandong is the potential of waste pequi seeds to produce high-quality charcoal for
facing severe power source structural contradiction and tremendous subsequent gasification into low-tar producer gas for heat engine
pressure to reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, considering the applications. Here, the authors focused on the characterization of
elimination of coal power overcapacity and introduction of carbon pequi seeds, the derived charcoal, and the collected bio-oil from slow
capture and storage technology, this study established an optimization pyrolysis conversion of the feedstock. Thermodynamic equilibrium
model to identify the low-carbon production pathways for Shandong’s calculations were conducted to assess gasification performance of the
power industry. The results indicated that nuclear power, wind power parent biomass and its charcoal. The thermal degradation kinetics of
and complementary energy power would be the overriding clean energy pequi seeds was also investigated through non-isothermal thermo-
power generation technologies. As to coal power, less than 300 MW- gravimetric analysis. Finally, a two-step energy-extraction analysis was
level generating units would be eliminated totally at the end of 2021, performed for the carbonization of the parent biomass and further
then followed by 300 MW-level generating units. And no doubt, utilization of its charcoal in an integrated gasification gas-engine cycle.
1000 MW-level generating units would become the primary coal-fired Slow pyrolysis of pequi seeds (2  C min1, 430  C) produced up to 40%
power generation technology gradually. Moreover, in 2021, clean of high-grade charcoal with 60% fixed carbon, 43% of bio-oil, and 16%
energy power would account for about 52.33% of the total installed of light gases. The overall energy extraction efficiency was estimated as
capacity, surpassing coal power for the first time and undertaking the 61%, based on the higher heating value of wet pequi seeds. The
main task of power generation. Hence, while striving to develop clean investigation confirmed that waste pequi seeds could be considered a
energy, those acquired achievements refer to elimination of coal power promising renewable energy source for combined heat and power
overcapacity should be further consolidated. Furthermore, when generation for the Brazilian agro-food industry.
promoting carbon capture and storage technology, governments should
not only make a trade-off analysis between its cost and environmental 21/00679 Development of CaO-based adsorbents loaded on
benefit, but also take the provincial actual situation and economic charcoal for CO2 capture at high temperature
affordability into account. Gao, N. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116411.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 121

01 Solid fuels (derived solid fuels)

CaO-based adsorbents have the potential to be used for CO2 capture at 21/00682 Preparation of activated carbon decorated with
high temperature. However, CaO-based adsorbents exhibit a sharp carbon dots and its electrochemical performance
decay in CO2 uptake capacity over multiple cycles, owing to the Jang, S.-J. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020,
sintering of CaO particles. In this paper, charcoal-supported CaO- 82, 383–389.
based adsorbents were developed to improve the CO2 capture Activated carbon decorated with carbon dots (ACD) was synthesized
performance of CaO using three different methods: physical mixing, using an alkali activation process, in which metallic potassium expands
wet impregnation and sol-gel. The influences on CO2 capture of CaO the layer stacks and scissored turbostratic-structured carbon surface
loading and carbonation temperature were also included. The into nanosized particles. In addition, a capacitive effect was demon-
morphology and structural properties of the adsorbent were investi- strated in supercapacitors based on ACD, which has a high electrical
gated by means of electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and XRD. conductivity because of the electronic pathway between the surface
It was found that the novel sorbent with an optimal mass ratio of CaO defects on activated carbon. The cyclic voltammogram curve was less
to charcoal of 4 : 1 prepared by the sol–gel method exhibits an initial distorted when the scan rate was increased to 100 mV s1. Improved
capture capacity of 15.1 mmol g1 and maintains a capacity of additional volumetric capacitance of up to 123.2 F cc1 was achieved
8.0 mmol g1 after 15 cycles of carbonation (600  C) and calcination because the carbon dots provided additional capacitance resulting from
(650  C), around 60% higher than that of sol–gel CaO. The CaC-4 intercalation into the graphitic carbon structure. The results obtained
possesses a porous stucture with a high surface area of 63.6 m2g1 and herein pave new ways for application of nanocarbons in energy storage.
a pore volume of 0.166 cm3g1, making CO2 diffusion easier. The
XRD analysis displays that crystalline size (26 nm) of the CaO phase in
21/00683 Pyrolysis of dairy cattle manure: evolution of char
CaC-4 is much smaller than that of the reference bulk CaO (96 nm),
characteristics
reflecting that charcoal can effectively inhibit the growth of CaO
Atienza-Martı́nez, M. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis,
crystalline. Furthermore, the introduction of charcoal derived from
2020, 145, 104724.
biomass pyrolysis will improve the economic viability of the CO2
Livestock manure management constitutes a major challenge at this
capture process.
time. Traditionally, this waste has been used as fertilizer. Excessive
application of this residual organic matter on agricultural soils can
cause soil quality degradation due to heavy metals accumulation,
21/00680 Multi-objective optimization of the preparation migration of pathogens to water sources and food, and generation of
parameters of the powdered activated coke for SO2 greenhouse gases. As a promising alternative to land application,
adsorption using response surface methodology pyrolysis of livestock manure allows to obtain biochar, bio-oil and
Zhou, B. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146, syngas. The goal of this work is to study slow pyrolysis of digested dairy
104776. cattle manure (DM) both through one-step and multi-step pyrolysis at
Production cost can be reduced in preparation of powdered activated increasing temperature in the range of 250–600  C. The non-
coke (PAC) by achieving higher SO2 adsorption capacity and lower condensable gases composition was continuously analysed by gas
burn-off. In this study, for the rapid preparation of PAC from chromatography. Char properties were characterized by ultimate
pulverized coal, response surface methodology based on a central analysis, heavy metals content, ash content, higher heating value, pH,
composite design was used to develop the second order quadratic electrical conductivity, water holding capacity, cation exchange
models of SO2 adsorption capacity and burn-off. Analysis of variance capacity, textural properties (specific surface area, pore volume and
was used to determine the effective parameters of the two models, and average pore width) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The
to explain the accuracy and fitness of them. In addition, the 3D experimental results showed that both the product distribution and the
response surface plots illustrated the influencing rules of the variables properties of char depended on pyrolysis temperature. Char obtained
and their interactions. Further, multi-objective optimization was after the last step of multi-step pyrolysis had similar properties to that
performed to maximize SO2 adsorption capacity and minimize burn- obtained in one-step pyrolysis. Thus, the cooling and re-heating of the
off using the desirability function. Optimal process parameters solid between steps did not have a significant effect on the pyrolysis
obtained were: reaction temperature, 923.97  C; oxygen concentration, pathway. Pyrolysis at 400–550  C allowed a compromise between char
5.89% and vapour concentration, 20.04%; and the corresponding pH and electrical conductivity for its potential use as soil amendment.
prediction results were: SO2 adsorption capacity, 110.31 mg/g; burn-off,
47.45%. Confirmation experiment at the optimal condition was carried 21/00684 Pyrolysis profile of a rectangular kiln –
out, and the experimental results were consistent with the model natural scientific investigation of a traditional charcoal
prediction results, further verifying the accuracy and fitness of the production process
models. The optimization results would provide guidance for the Tintner, J. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146,
design and operation adjustment of large-scale industrial applications 104757.
in the future. Rectangular kilns are a traditional technique in charcoal production in
the second half of Modern Period in Middle Europe. Only in Austria
there is still an active tradition that is of broader interest in an
archaeological context. One of these kilns in Rohr im Gebirge, Austria,
21/00681 Performance of biochar as a catalyst for tar steam
was equipped with thermocouples to record pyrolysis temperature
reforming: effect of the porous structure
during the whole process. The removal of ready charcoal was paralleled
Buentello-Montoya, D. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114176.
by sampling, in total 103 charcoal samples were collected. Based on the
The application of gasification to thermally treat biomass as carbon-
infrared (FTIR) spectral pattern the pyrolysis temperature was
neutral resources has been constrained by the technical challenges
predicted. It is the first reconstruction of the temperature profile of
associated with tar formations, which cause operational problems in
the whole kiln. Elemental analyses were performed and prediction
downstream equipment for syngas processing. Catalysts, such as
models for carbon (R2 = 0.93), hydrogen (R2 = 0.96) and oxygen
transition metals, calcined rocks and char, can be used to catalyse tar
(R2 = 0.98.) content based on FTIR spectra established. Therefore,
reforming. Biochars, which are naturally produced during biomass
FTIR spectroscopy rolls the degree of pyrolysis and elemental analyses
gasification, are particularly attractive as an alternative catalyst due to
into one single analytics. Further analyses by means of NMR
their catalytic functions, low cost and long endurance. Despite these
spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and He-pycnometry complete the
promising characteristics, adequate knowledge on the relationship
picture.
between the porous structure of biochar and its deactivation by coking
during the steam reforming of tars is not available. In this work, the
influence of the porous structure of biochar on its performance across 21/00685 Study on carbon nanotubes and activated carbon
time for reforming tar was investigated in a fixed-bed reactor, over a hybrids by pyrolysis of coal
temperature range from 650 to 850  C. Regular biochar and physically Lv, X. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146,
activated biochar from the same precursor biomass were employed as 104717.
bed material. The tar samples were the composed mixture of benzene, Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and activated carbon hybrids were obtained
toluene and naphthalene. Both fresh and spent catalysts were analysed by co-pyrolysis of potassium hydroxide and bituminous coal. Scanning
with Brunauer–Emmet–Teller, t-plot, Fourier transform infrared and electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy,
scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy. Results X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption measurements were used to
showed that, while at moderate temperatures of 650 and 750  C, the investigate the characteristics of the samples and the effects of the final
activated biochar offered a higher tar conversion but more severe pyrolysis temperature and time on the structure of the carbon
deactivation than that of the regular biochar. At the high temperature materials. The results indicated that the optimal range for the pyrolysis
of 850  C, the difference in the catalytic performance between the two temperature and time for CNT growth were 900–950  C and 45–90 min,
chars was negligible, and over 90% of the initial tar species were respectively. The diameters of the as-prepared CNTs were in the range
removed throughout the 3-h long experiments. At 850  C, the coke of 50–250 nm and their lengths were 15 mm. During the pyrolysis
deposited in the meso- and macro-pores of both chars was gasified, process, potassium hydroxide not only acted as the catalytic precursor
leading to a stable catalytic performance of both chars. The results to catalyse the CNT growth but also reacted with carbon to produce
indicated that meso- and macro-porous biochars are resilient and abundant micropores. Furthermore, the content of CNTs in the
active enough to become a viable option for tar steam reforming. product after demineralization was significantly reduced. It was further

122 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (sources, properties, recovery)

confirmed by Inductively coupled plasma analysis that the content of This work aims to evaluate the biodegradation potential of petroleum
Fe, Co and Ni decreased after demineralization, indicating that by hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria isolated from Soummam wadi sedi-
minerals in coal play an important role in the growth of coal-based ments. The chemical-biological properties of their biosurfactants
CNTs. products were also determined. Percentage of petroleum degraded by
Rhodococcus ruber, Alcaligenes faecalis and Cellulosimicrobium sp.
reached the maximum of 56.5  1.2%, 52.7  1.1% and 49.7  1.2%,
respectively. Chemical profile study of the biosurfactants confirms their
lipopeptide nature. The antifungal activity of these biosurfactants has
given diameters of the zones of inhibition varying between 11.66  0.57
and 18.33  0.57 mm. The antioxidant activity showed a low activity for
the antiradical power using the DPPH* and the molybdate test. The
02 LIQUID FUELS biosorption capacity of lead showed maximum biosorption of
74.91  2.1 mg/g of R. ruber biosurfactants. These bacterial isolates
may find applications in bioremediation of petroleum spills. Thus their
biosurfactants can furnish a choice to the current chemical compounds
and they may find applications in biotechnologies.
Sources, properties, recovery
21/00689 Characteristics of low temperature co-current
oxidizing pyrolysis of Huadian oil shale
21/00686 Analytical modeling and probabilistic evaluation Guo, W. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146,
of gas production from a hydraulically fractured shale 104759.
reservoir using a quad-linear flow model The co-current oxidizing pyrolysis behaviour of Huadian oil shale with
Ren, W. and Lau, H. C. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, pure oxygen at low temperature was demonstrated in this study for the
2020, 184, 106516. first time. The characteristics of semi-coke and shale oil obtained under
During hydraulic fracturing, secondary fractures are created around various pyrolysis parameters have been investigated to further clarify
hydraulic fractures and serve as important channels connecting the the mechanism of co-current oxidizing pyrolysis of oil shale. The results
shale matrix and the hydraulic fractures. Here, the authors developed show that high oil recovery of 16.76% (about 90% compared to Fischer
an analytical model to simulate shale gas production from a multi-stage assay result of 18.31%) can be achieved at 370  C in oxidizing
fractured horizontal well. The analytical model is based on the trilinear atmosphere. The amount of residual carbon in semi-coke was decrea-
flow model, but it is free from the assumption that the length of sed by weight of 4.34%, 6.84% and 6.95% at 300, 350 and 370  C,
secondary fractures is equal to the half-distance between hydraulic respectively, compared with that obtained at 520  C in an inert
fractures. This analytical model captures the fundamental character- atmosphere, which indicates the majority of residual carbon, rather
istics of a hydraulically fractured shale reservoir by incorporating than shale oil and shale gas, was involved in the oxidation reaction. The
transient gas flow in the matrix, secondary fractures, and hydraulic differential scanning calorimetry results were an additional indication
fractures. Because this model describes four linear flow systems of the importance of the oxidizing exothermic reaction of residual
(unstimulated reservoir volume, matrix in the stimulated reservoir carbon in semi-coke, which promoted organic matter conversion at low
volume, secondary fracture, and hydraulic fracture), it is called the temperatures and indicated the possibility of low energy consumption
quad-linear flow model. Production data from two shale gas wells were and therefore sustainable conversion of oil shale. Furthermore, the
used to validate the model. Moreover, using the variance-based method light fraction in the shale oil obtained in oxidizing conditions is higher
and quasi-Monte Carlo simulation, a stochastic framework was than that in an inert atmosphere, which indicates oxidizing pyrolysis of
developed to perform a probabilistic assessment of shale gas oil shale can improve the quality of shale oil for further application. It
production. The authors also conducted a global sensitivity study with is suggested that the low temperature co-current oxidizing pyrolysis
nine uncertainty parameters to identify important parameters and their could shed light on the development of a highly effective in situ
interactions that affect well productivity. The results indicate that the extraction strategy of oil shale.
existence of dense secondary fractures (the distance between secondary
fractures is small) results in higher initial production rate and ultimate 21/00690 Compositional simulation of three-phase flow in
recovery, but a sharper decline in production rate. Increasing the mixed-wet shale oil reservoir
length of the secondary fractures can more effectively enhance gas Huang, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116361.
production in the presence of dense secondary fractures. Moreover, the Three-phase flow is often involved during the production of shale oil
benefits of dense secondary fractures are mostly limited to a high reservoir. Relative permeability, which is often used to characterize
porosity shale reservoir. multiphase flow, is a strong function of wettability. Meanwhile, the
mixed wettability in shale reservoir has been well characterized and
21/00687 Application of specific energy for lithology may have impacts on fluid flow. In this work, to describe the mix-wet
identification condition in shale, the matrix is divided into an organic and an
Oloruntobi, O. and Butt, S. Journal of Petroleum Science and inorganic matrix which are hydrophobic and hydrophilic respectively.
Engineering, 2020, 184, 106402. Relative permeabilities under different condition of wettability are
The previous applications of specific energy to drilling operations have applied in each kind of matrix. To construct permeability for three-
focused mainly on drilling optimization and identification of inefficient phase flow, water–oil and oil–gas systems are evaluated separately with
drilling conditions. Recent advances in specific energy extend its the assumption that water–gas permeabilities are only functions of
applications to overpressure detection and pore pressure prediction. In their own saturations. Specifically, water–oil relative permeability is
this paper, an attempt is made to further extend the application of obtained by simulating multiphase flow directly on a digital rock
specific energy to real-time identification of subsurface lithology. The sample using the lattice Boltzmann method. Oil–gas relative per-
concept is based on the principle that the total energy required to meability is calculated from capillary pressure obtained from confined
break and remove a unit volume of rock is a function of lithology. The vapour liquid equilibria coupled with Young–Laplace equation.
proposed methodology is tested using a recently drilled exploratory gas Compositional simulation shows that the rich hydrocarbon in the
well in the tertiary deltaic system of the Niger Delta basin. In general, organic matrix is difficult to produce due to the relatively lower
an excellent agreement is observed in trend between the traditional permeability and poorer oil mobility under oil-wet conditions. Since
lithology identifiers (gamma-ray and sonic velocity ratio) and the total organic matter is a dispersed phase inside inorganic matter, fluids in
energy consumed in breaking and removing the penetrated rocks. the organic matrix must flow through the inorganic matrix before
Unlike the logging-while-drilling technique commonly employed in the reaching the fractures. The dispersed nature of organic matter makes
industry (including the application of near bit sensors placed few feet the relative permeability in the inorganic matrix a dominant factor that
behind the bit), the proposed methodology can provide a reliable controls the overall production in shale oil reservoirs. The effect of
means of picking formation tops and identifying subsurface lithology at relative permeability in the organic matrix however has limited effect.
the bit with no extra cost since drilling parameters are routinely
recorded at the wellsite during the drilling of a well. The proposed 21/00691 Directional drilling positioning calculations
methodology will assist the drilling engineers and geologists in Eren, T. and Suicmez, V. S. Journal of Natural Gas Science and
determining the casing setting depths and coring points without having Engineering, 2020, 73, 103081.
to drill too deep into the formation of interest. Using modern technology, wells are generally directionally drilled,
therefore accuracy of the directional trajectories has become extremely
21/00688 Biodegradation potential of crude petroleum by important. In this study the key calculation methodologies for
hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria isolated from Soummam wadi directional drilling trajectory calculations were considered and it was
sediment and chemical-biological proprieties of their observed that there is no single method that accurately calculates all of
biosurfactants the directional geometries precisely: while a conventional calculation
Yalaoui-Guellal, D. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, methodology may be best at calculating one particular type of
2020, 184, 106554. trajectory with a high degree of accuracy, it would not calculate

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 123

02 Liquid fuels (sources, properties, recovery)

another type of a trajectory as well. The findings indicate that not only Combined with the local structural configuration, this suggests that
vertical depths but also the displacements can also be different from sediments were derived from the Qixi High through a relay ramp
one another when calculated with the existing trajectory calculation located about 10 km south of the island. Rare earth and major
methodologies. Therefore a new directional drilling trajectory calcu- elements, detrital zircon ages, sandstone petrography and garnet
lation methodology was proposed and shown to be working accurately. composition, suggest a dominantly Ordovician – Silurian aged felsic
The results from this novel method, named the Improved Tangential and metasedimentary hinterland. The limited sediment supply from the
Method Prediction, revealed that it calculates the directional trajec- small hinterland allowed tectonic subsidence to keep pace with graben
tories to achieve accurate results irrespective of the type of the well infill. This promoted the establishment of a long-lived, deep lake
trajectory. In a future study, rather than selecting 2-D well profiles for favourable for source rock generation. In addition, heavy mineral and
the geometrical well profiles for the difference calculation scenarios, 3- geochemical data document an unusually high content of detrital
D well profiles can be selected, and the difference in measurements can phosphate minerals in the investigated section indicative of a
be used for comparisons of the outputs. phosphate-rich hinterland. Tropical leaching resulted in an extraordi-
nary high phosphorus input into the lake that catalysed a high organic
productivity and promoted the generation of highly prolific, oil-prone
21/00692 Evaluating the potential for oil recovery by
source rocks. The study documents that hinterland size and compo-
imbibition and time-delay effect in tight reservoirs during
sition play a primary role in lacustrine source rock deposition.
shut-in
Comparable petroleum source rocks are likely to exist in other ancient
Zhang, Y. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020,
rift basins surrounded by small, phosphate-rich hinterlands sheltered
184, 106557.
from significant sediment input.
When stimulated only by natural energy, tight oil reservoirs have low
production efficiency. Improving the potential for oil recovery by
imbibition is essential to enhancing oil production. Shut-in is an 21/00695 How to find high-quality petroleum source rocks
effective way to make good use of the potential for oil recovery by in saline lacustrine basins: a case study from the Cenozoic
imbibition. In this study, imbibition experiments and nuclear magnetic Qaidam Basin, NW China
resonance testing were combined to reveal the characteristics of Guo, P. et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2020, 111, 603–623.
spontaneous imbibition and the T2 value of the oil recovery potential Despite having made significant contributions to global hydrocarbon
by imbibition in tight oil reservoirs. The main factors affecting the occurrences, source rocks in saline lacustrine basins show great
potential for oil recovery by imbibition were studied. The authors also mineralogical and organic geochemical heterogeneity and the control-
considered the relationship between clay minerals and the potential for ling mechanism is weakly studied. Here, the Cenozoic Qaidam Basin
oil recovery by imbibition, especially the time-delay effect of imbibition was used as an example to compare the organic and inorganic
displacement. A modified model based on the static balance time for parameters of fine-grained sediments in different lacustrine facies
spontaneous imbibition was proposed to calculate the field shut-in and to figure out the characterization and distribution of effective
time. The results show that the static spontaneous imbibition balance petroleum source rocks in saline lacustrine systems. Organic–inorganic
time of tight oil reservoirs are significantly different in various zones. database of six selected boreholes show that in the bench-margin (high-
The oil recovery by imbibition has an obvious time-delay effect and it gradient) lacustrine system, fine-grained sediments in sublittoral
could put the oil in non-movable pores under natural conditions to use. brackish-mesosaline zones containing low chlorides (<2000 ppm) and
Internal conditions like microscopic pore structure and the type of clay high carbonates (25–50%) show low total organic carbon (TOC)
minerals affect the oil recovery by imbibition on small pores contents (0.4–1.0%) and high chloroform extracts (0.05–0.2%);
(T2 < 100 ms). External conditions like reservoir temperature, pressure, centripetally sediments in penesaline profundal zones averagely have
and bedding affect oil recovery by imbibition in small and large pores. higher chlorides (2000–15,000 ppm), lower carbonates (15–35%),
The clay minerals expand after the interaction between fracturing fluids higher TOC contents (0.6–1.2%), and higher extracts (0.05–0.3%).
and rock. Meanwhile, oil is discharged with compression of those pore These two facies can both develop valid petroleum source rocks. In the
space. To optimize the shut-in time of a tight reservoir, these effects of ramp-margin (low-gradient) lacustrine system, dark fine-grained
clay behaviour can suggest good practices in hydraulic fracturing. sediments in penesaline centres with low carbonate (15–25%) and
high chloride contents (2000–15,000 ppm) show high TOC contents
21/00693 Experimental constraints on the evolution of (0.8–2.0%) but extremely low hydrogen indexes (<100 mg HC/g TOC)
organic matter in oil shales during heating: implications for (little extracts), only developing as valid gas/or biogas source rocks.
enhanced in situ oil recovery from oil shales Supersaline fine-grained sediments in both lacustrine systems develop
Yu, F. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116412. invalid source rocks. Lateral superimposition maps show that
In situ oil shale conversion experiments have revealed that to efficiently fine-grained sediments with high hydrocarbon generation potential
obtain shale oil, factors such as heating temperature, products and generally contain averagely 25–50% carbonates. Therefore, brackish-
matter thermal evolution of organic matter during heating need to be penesaline water salinity and bench-type basement are two necessary
optimized. In this study, oil shales from China were subjected to conditions to develop high-quality petroleum source rocks in saline
retorting experiments involving eight heating steps. During steps I–II lacustrine systems and average carbonate content can be a general
(4300  C), the expelled product is mainly water, the hydrocarbon good mineralogical indicator.
generation potential (PP) of the samples was extremely high, and the
organic matter was in the immature to low-mature stage. The oil shale
21/00696 Impacts of sedimentology and diagenesis on pore
produced a large amount of oil in steps III–VI (300–475  C), and the
structure and reservoir quality in tight oil sandstone
total organic carbon contents and S2 of the shale showed the greatest
reservoirs: implications for macroscopic and microscopic
decreases during these steps. The analysis data suggest that the organic
heterogeneities
matter entered the mature stage during these steps. After heating to
Qiao, J. et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2020, 111, 279–300.
400  C and expelling a large amount of oil and gas, the PP decreased
Integrated analysis of reservoir quality, pore structure, depositional
gradually. From 475 to 520  C (steps VII–VIII), only a small amount of
and petrologic characteristics, and types and degree of diagenetic
gas was produced and the organic matter had almost no PP in the high-
alterations was done in this study by employing petrophysical
and over-mature stages. Based on the experimental results, in situ
evaluation, thin section observation, stable isotope analysis, scanning
conversion of oil shale the final heating temperature should be
electron microscopy combined with EDS, X-ray computed tomography,
440  C. These constraints require further field testing to be properly
and high-pressure mercury intrusion. The purpose was to investigate
optimized.
the macroscopic and microscopic heterogeneities, and the effects of
depositional factors and diagenetic alterations responsible for them.
21/00694 Hinterland setting and composition of an The results indicate that the Chang 8 tight oil sandstone of the
Oligocene deep rift-lake sequence, Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam: Longdong area in the Ordos Basin can be divided into three categories,
implications for petroleum source rock deposition namely the Type I reservoir, with porosity >10% and permeability
Rizzi, M. et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2020, 111, 496–509. >1.0 mD, having sparse lenticular distributions in the mouth bar of the
Most South-east Asian oil accumulations are sourced from Paleogene braided delta front, the Type II reservoir, with porosity of 6–10% and
lacustrine mudstones. Even so, the mechanisms controlling formation permeability of 0.1–1.0 mD, mainly distributing in the distributary
of these source rocks are not fully understood. Bach Long Vi Island, channel, and the Type III reservoir, with porosity <6% and
located in the north-western South China Sea, offers a unique permeability <0.1 mD, having a reticular distribution in the distribu-
opportunity to study these mechanisms. A continuous, 800 m thick, tary bay. The Type I reservoir has an intergranular pore (Inter-P)
organic rich and highly oil-prone, lacustrine section was investigated in dominant pore system with a greater pore–throat radius (1–10 mm), a
outcrop and in a continuously cored section. The Oligocene deep-lake larger pore volume and better connectivity. The Type II reservoir has a
succession formed in the Bach Long Vi Graben that connects the mixed system consisting of intragranular pores (Intra-P) and Inter-P
Beibuwan Basin with the Yinggehai–Song Hong Basin. Petrography, with a pore–throat radius of 0.1–1 mm, smaller pore volume, and worse
detrital zircon U–Th–Pb geochronology and heavy mineral assemblages connectivity. The Type III reservoir is characterized by an Intra-P
of sandstone intervals document a locally derived sediment source dominated system with a radius between 10 and 500 nm, smallest pore
isolated from the Red River. Orientations of ripple cross lamination in volume and worst connectivity. The wide range of porosity, per-
gravity flow sands indicate axial sediment transport along the graben. meability, and pore structure parameters can be attributed to the

124 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (sources, properties, recovery)

frequent variations in depositional facies and diagenetic alterations. lowest values, reflecting the effect of the creep on mechanical
Larger grain size, higher content of quartz and feldspar, and moderate behaviour. Contact creep compliance and cut-off time decreased with
grain-coating chlorite content (<8%) are favourable for the preser- increasing loading rate. In contrast, an increase in reduced modulus,
vation of intergranular pores and dominate the formation of the Type I hardness, displacement variation and contact creep compliance
reservoir. The mesogenetic calcite and ferrocalcite cementation and variation during the holding time was noticed. In addition, the
pore-filling kaolinite precipitation obstruct the intergranular space and measurements were converted into viscoelastic parameters by the
are the predominant factors tightening the reservoirs in the distributary three-element Voigt, Burgers, and two-dashpot Kelvin models. All of
channel and distributary bay, leading to multi-scale heterogeneities. these three rheological models were able to produce good fits to actual
Secondary porosity from dissolution plays a much more important role nanoindentation measurements. The two-dashpot Kelvin model pro-
in contributing to the porosity and permeability of the Types II and III vides the results with the highest accuracy, but the standard deviation is
reservoirs than of the Type I reservoir. The study provide a the highest, indicating more fitting parameters can induce model
comprehensive understanding for the multi-scale heterogeneities and instability. The elastic time fitting parameters decrease with increased
can be used to predict the potential high-quality zones in tight oil holding, while the viscous fitting parameters increase with increasing
sandstone reservoirs. time, indicating that the viscosity increases with increasing time. By
using this model, the data from laboratory tests can be extrapolated to
predict shale’s long-term creep behaviour. Comparing to other two
21/00697 Kinetics of oil generation from
models, the regression parameter of two-dashpot Kelvin model is
brackish-lacustrine source rocks in the southern
relatively lower. The fitting time constants and the regression
Bohai Sea, East China
parameters calculated by the same models for clay-rich sample is
Liang, H. et al. Organic Geochemistry, 2020, 139, 103945.
relatively lower than that of quartz-rich sample, which is all mainly
Oil generation (C14+ hydrocarbons) of three Type II kerogen samples
related to the soft clay and kerogen contents. Thus, the utilization of
isolated from brackish-lacustrine mudstones from Palaeogene strata
existing creep experimental data for predicting viscous parameters of
(Ed3, Es1, Es3) in the southern Bohai Sea was simulated by closed-
clay-rich shale with two-dashpot Kelvin model should be careful.
system gold tube experiments. In addition, a series of complementary
analyses (Rock-Eval pyrolysis, total organic carbon, vitrinite reflec-
tance, trace element, X-ray diffraction and flash pyrolysis–gas 21/00700 Optimization of enhanced oil recovery operations
chromatography–mass spectrometry) were also performed to identify in unconventional reservoirs
the bulk geochemistry, palaeo-environment and chemical composition Calderón, A. J. and Pekney, N. J. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114072.
of the kerogen. The aim of this study was to achieve a better The US Department of Energy is promoting the development of
understanding of the kinetics of oil generation from lacustrine source technologies that tackle gas flaring activity in oil production. Among
rocks in the southern Bohai Sea. The results show that the three these technologies, injection of flare gas into the reservoir to stimulate
samples are Type II source rocks deposited in similar palaeo- production of oil and capture the injected gas has received attention.
environments (hot and arid climates, anoxic conditions, and brackish Accordingly, this study contributes to understanding the economic and
water in shallow to semi-deep lakes) with consequent similarity in the environmental implications of implementing enhanced oil recovery
chemical compositions of their kerogens. The organic matter inputs are (EOR) in shale oil development to reduce gas flaring. A systematic
predominantly composed of lacustrine microalgae, with a relatively optimization-based methodology is proposed to fully integrate the
small contribution from land plants. The activation energies of oil development of a shale oil field along with EOR projects. The
generation from these samples show a range of 44–52 kcal/mol, with a framework optimizes decisions such as drilling schemes, workover of
frequency factor varying from 1.116  1014 to 1.274  1014 s1. Due to depleted production wells, pipeline and processing infrastructure,
the similar palaeo-environments and chemical composition, samples in location of injection sites, injection rates, and duration of EOR
this study exhibit strong consistencies in kinetic parameters. Trans- operations. The pertinence of implementing EOR in the Bakken area
formation ratio (TR) evolution curves of oil generation from the three is addressed through a typical production unit with 18 wellpads, which
samples, calculated under a linear heating rate (3 K/Ma), exhibit a is further extended to four production units (72 wellpads). Results
slight difference, which varies within 4  C at a given TR. Due to the reveal consistent values across different development scales for
great similarities of the three kinetic models, an average kinetic model operational variables such as percentage of wellpads undergoing
for the Type II brackish-lacustrine source rocks in the southern Bohai EOR, incremental produced oil, percentage of total gas production
Sea was established. This model integrates the characteristics of the used for injection, and average gas flaring. Conversion of depleted
three kinetic models and is still dominated by activation energy of wellpads is preferred over installation of new injection wells. A global
52 kcal/mol. The geological temperature of the oil generation phase for sensitivity analysis revealed the dominant role of EOR efficiency over
the average model in the southern Bohai Sea is from 92 to 137  C. Capex, Opex, and gas–oil ratio. EOR greatly favours the economics
and the reduction of gas flaring but it is insufficient to comply with
21/00698 Low salinity effect on the recovery of oil trapped local flaring targets. Nonetheless, the implementation of EOR in
by nanopores: a molecular dynamics study combination with taxation tariffs is an adequate mechanism to reduce
Fang, C. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116443. gas flaring and comply with regulatory targets.
Low salinity waterflooding (LSW) is an effective method for enhancing
the oil recovery from many reservoirs, and its success has been traced
21/00701 Origin of deep oil accumulations in carbonate
to a host of low salinity effects. This work carried out molecular
reservoirs within the north Tarim Basin: insights from
dynamics simulations to study the feasibility of recovering oil trapped
molecular and isotopic compositions
by nanopores by lowering the reservoir salinity. The oil is initially
Cheng, B. et al. Organic Geochemistry, 2020, 139, 103931.
trapped by a slit nanopore, with a portion of the oil protruding from
Large amounts of light oil have been produced from carbonate
the pore entrance. After the reservoir salinity is lowered, the thin brine
reservoirs at depths below 7 km in the recently discovered Shunbei
films that separate the oil and pore walls become thicker to drive some
and Yuecan oil fields within the north Tarim Basin. Eighteen samples
of the trapped oil out of the pore. The authors quantify the free energy
were investigated for molecular and isotopic compositions to help
profile of this process and clarify the underlying molecular mechan-
understand the origin of these deep oil accumulations. Several ratios
isms. Interestingly, the brine film growth is dominated by the water
based on C6 and C7 hydrocarbons suggest that they were not affected
transport from the brine reservoir into the pore rather than by the
by evaporative fractionation. Linear relationships between the carbon
depletion of ions from the brine film. These results provide molecular
number and log of the mole fraction of n-alkanes support no
evidence that low salinity brines benefit the recovery of the oil trapped
fractionation alteration. The correlation between concentrations of
by nanopores. They highlight that when ion depletion from thin brine
methyldiamantanes and stigmastane indicates that these oils were not
films is suppressed, the osmosis of water can play a fundamental role in
severely cracked and probably at the beginning or an early stage of
the expansion of the brine films; thus, the enhanced oil recovery. The
intense oil cracking. C29 sterane isomerization ratios 20S/(20S + 20R)
slow osmosis of water through thin brine films and thus the slow
and /( + ) have reached their equilibrium points while a good
displacement of oil from the pore may help explain the anomalously
linear relationship between the concentrations of terpanes and steranes
slow oil recovery reported in micro-modelling experiments of LSW.
suggests variations in maturity. Calculated vitrinite reflectance of
source rocks based on phenanthrene and diamondoid hydrocarbons
21/00699 Modeling the viscoelasticity of shale by shows different ranges, which may reflect multiple oil charges to these
nanoindentation creep tests deep oil accumulations. A narrow range of 13C values of whole oil and
Shi, X. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining oil fractions suggest a genetic correlation of these oils. Triangular plots
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104210. based on C6 and C7 hydrocarbons and diamantanes also indicate a very
To investigate the viscoelastic behaviour of shale, clay-rich and quartz- similar source. In addition, several ratios based on n-alkanes,
rich shale samples were examined by nanoindentation creep tests. isoprenoids, tricyclic, tetracyclic and pentacyclic saturated hydrocar-
Moreover, the effects of different holding times (0, 15, 60, 120 and bons support a common source. However, oil SB7 seems to differ from
220 s) on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the shales were the others in terms of source rock depositional environment, indicated
compared. The experimental results show that the shale sample with by its much higher pristane/phytane ratio and lower dibenzothiophene/
the shortest holding time has the highest rock hardness and Young’s phenanthrene ratio as well as a much lower dibenzothiophenes
modulus values, and the sample with the longest holding time has the concentration.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 125

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

21/00702 Synthesis and characterization of a energy source. Variations in viscosity, colour, molecular weight, and
graft-modified copolymer for enhanced oil recovery functional groups of the LMFD were examined before and after
Wang, R. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, irradiation to illuminate the LMFD reaction mechanism. The viscosity
184, 106473. increased from 43.17 cP for LMFD to 3978 cP after 3 h of MW
A graft-modified copolymer (cWL-g-A) was synthesized using Welan irradiation (MW3h) and to 1136 cP after 1000 kGy EB irradiation
gum (WLG), acrylamide, acrylic acid and O-20 via free-radical (EB1000). The reddish-brown colour of the LMFD changed to black
copolymerization to be well applied for enhanced oil recovery. The for the MW3h sample, whereas the EB1000 sample changed to a dark
chemical structure of the copolymer was characterized by Fourier brown. As evaluated by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization
transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spec- time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the molecular weights of the MW-
troscopy, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy. The irradiated samples increased more than those of the EB samples. The
long-term stability, rheology, adsorption, temperature and salt resist- results can be related to the activation energies for radical formation
ance of the copolymer were investigated. The cWL-g-A solution and recombination. MW irradiation is considered to have an effective
showed superior temperature and salt resistance in comparison with energy source for both radical formation and recombination, whereas
partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM), due to the hydrophobic EB irradiation exhibits an energy too high for radical recombination.
association of main polymer chain. Particularly in high salinity
(230,000 mg/L) solutions, cWL-g-A showed a better anti-ageing
performance at three different temperatures (25, 50 and 65  C). Oil 21/00706 Fluid-structure interaction analysis of offshore
recovery yielded by cWL-g-A was 14.18% higher than that yielded by structures based on separation of transferred responses
HPAM, as known from polymer flooding tests. These results elucidated Tian, Z. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106598.
that cWL-g-A synthesized herein was superior to HPAM in high- A new partitioned fluid–structure interaction (FSI) method is
salinity and medium-high temperature oil reservoirs. proposed for dynamic analysis of offshore structures. The main idea
of the developed approach is to provide the separation of different
21/00703 Synthesis of sulfonate of alkylated extract of FCC components caused by different contributions (such as transferred
slurry for enhancing oil recovery conditions and updated loadings). One theoretical development is that
Lin, Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116299. separated Laplace-domain responses can be obtained from the
To extend the application of the extracted oil from fluid catalytic previous responses. The other is that the structural responses in time
cracking (FCC) slurry, the alkylated extract of FCC slurry was domain can be easily calculated by inverse Laplace transform. Once
sulfonated by concentrated sulfuric acid to prepare petroleum solutions to the structural responses at the time of interest are
sulfonate for oil displacement. The sulfonation processing parameters obtained, the fluid loadings can be updated to consider the impacts of
were optimized and the effects of the sulfonate products on enhancing the responses on the geometry of the fluid domain. More importantly,
oil recovery were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the the proposed method is able to improve the estimation accuracy of the
produced petroleum sulfonate (PS) had lower critical micelle concen- structure responses, and hence, may provide better updating results of
tration (CMC) value (0.2 wt%) and higher surface activity (the surface fluid loadings when the FSI mechanism is considered. To demonstrate
tension was 31.53 mNm1) than the commercialized surfactants. the correctness and accuracy of the approach, three numerical
Furthermore, the petroleum sulfonate was mixed with additive, whose examples are used in this paper. The first example is a single degree-
interfacial tension could be decreased to 0.0038 mNm1 (0.2 wt% of-freedom (DOF) system subject to an irregular dynamic loading. The
PS + 0.1 wt% Na2CO3). The mixture solution also had good oil computation results show that the system responses at previous time
displacement effect, which could enhance the recovery by 25.1%. steps can be successfully separated into typical components that
Therefore, this sulfonate protocol could effectively extend the correspond to different contributions such as transferred conditions
environmental friendly applications of extract of FCC slurry with good and updated loadings. The system responses at current time, obtained
market application prospects. by combining previous responses, are in a good agreement with
analytical results and those obtained by the Newmark- method. Then,
the second example of a four-DOF lumped system is explored to
indicate the superiority of the proposed method over the Newmark-
method in terms of accuracy. Finally, in the third example of an elastic
Transport, refining, quality, storage upright cantilever beam in water, results show that the developed
method has the ability to calculate dynamic responses with high preci-
sion when solving FSI problems, which implies a potential application
in ocean engineering.
21/00704 Assessment of the impacts of process-level
energy efficiency improvement on greenhouse gas
mitigation potential in the petroleum refining sector 21/00707 Investigation into atomization spray blending
Talaei, A. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116243. property in heavy crude oil extraction under laboratory
Process-level energy efficiency improvement is regarded as an effective conditions
technique for emissions reduction from the petroleum refining Niu, J. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
industry. Assessing the systems-level impacts of these energy efficiency 106494.
improvements is crucial for effective long-term climate change policy- In this study, the atomization blending property for heavy crude oil
and decision-making. This study developed a framework that integrates extraction was systematically investigated both numerically and
process simulation with integrated resource planning and techno- experimentally. In the experiment conducted, the blending behaviour
economic assessment techniques to evaluate long-term greenhouse gas was simulated using hydraulic oil and spray with 1 : 10 light phase-gas
(GHG) mitigation potential in the refining sector. Detailed process atomize volume flow rate ratio in an equipment sharing the same scale
simulations were done for eleven energy efficiency improvement as the on-site production. A Malvern Insitec droplet size analyser was
measures in the refining sector. A case study was conducted for applied for the droplet size measurement, and a quick closing valve
Alberta’s (a province in western Canada) refining sector to assess GHG method was applied for the phase fraction measurement. A numerical
emissions reduction potential and their implications for long-term simulation combined with a population balance model and the RNG k–
climate change policy-making. The GHG mitigation scenarios con- " model was performed under both the corresponding operating
sidered time horizons to the years 2030 and 2050. The results show that conditions and a high-pressure drop environment to further investigate
compared to the reference scenario, integrating the energy efficiency the blending procedure. The results show that the atomization spray
options in the refining sector will result in cumulative emissions blending performs better than the equivalent pure gas lifting method
reduction of 5%. About 60% of the anticipated emissions reductions with more crude oil carried at the exit. Under 0.6 m3/h light phase inlet
are economically attractive. The proposed framework is an effective conditions, spray blending brings 8% more heavy crude than gas lifting,
tool for the evaluation of long-term refining sector GHG mitigation and the improvement rises as inlet flow rate increases. Both a droplet
potential and can be used for decision-making and policy formulation and liquid film are present in the casing space before blending for the
at various levels. spray liquid phase. In addition, the light phase droplet diameter
decreases with an increase in the inlet flow rates in the lifting pipe after
21/00705 Effects of electromagnetic irradiation on blending. Moreover, the blending behaviour differs under various light
low-molecular-weight fraction of fluidized catalytic phase inlet flow rates, while the mixture viscosity is reduced by 50% for
cracking decant oil for synthesis of pitch precursor the atomization spray method. Each of these factors was shown to be
Kim, D.-W. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, beneficial for refining the blending used in a heavy crude oil extraction
82, 205–210. technique.
This study examined the effects of different energies of electromag-
netic irradiation on the molecular size increase in the low-molecular-
weight fraction of fluidized catalytic cracking decant oil (LMFD), 21/00708 Mechanism of an asphaltene inhibitor in different
which was fractionated from the original fluidized catalytic cracking depositing environments: influence of colloid stability
decant oil. Microwave (MW) radiation was employed as a relatively Campen, S. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020,
low-energy source, and an electron beam (EB) was employed as a high- 184, 106502.

126 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

Additives are used to reduce unwanted carbonaceous deposits of 21/00711 Steady state analysis of heat transfer in a fully
asphaltenes on surfaces during petroleum production from natural oil buried crude oil pipeline
and gas reservoirs. The working mechanism of formulated additive Otomi, O. K. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
packages can be multifaceted. Additives may be effective in the bulk 2020, 146, 118893.
fluid by preventing asphaltenes aggregation, as well as at the surface by Heat loss in a buried pipeline is controlled by the pipeline thermal
preventing asphaltenes adhesion. In this study investigated the resistance. Heat loss results in crude oil temperature drop which leads
numerous different mechanisms by which an asphaltene inhibitor can to wax formation and deposition and eventual blocking of the pipe-
interfere with the formation of carbonaceous deposits using a line. This work developed a model of heat transfer in the buried pipe-
combination of techniques including dynamic light scattering to line and obtained closed solution of the thermal resistance of the
determine particle size distribution, quartz crystal microbalance with pipeline with constant heat flux boundary condition. The result showed
dissipation monitoring to examine deposition behaviour and atomic that the resistance for the constant heat flux boundary condition is
force microscopy to probe deposit morphology. The tested inhibitor equal to the constant temperature resistance plus an additional resis-
prevents deposition of asphaltenes in toluene, where asphaltenes exist tance. The result also showed that if the pipe is buried deeper than five
as a stable colloidal dispersion of nanoaggregates, by forming barrier- times pipe radius, the difference between the two resistances is <1%.
type films that inhibit asphaltenes adhesion and displacing adsorbed By using data of a real buried pipeline, it was shown that the thermal
thin films of asphaltenes. However, inhibitor performance in heptane- resistance increases with depth of burial and burial depth of 0.6–2.5 m
toluene, where asphaltenes are destabilized, depends on the degree of is most effective to conserve heat in buried pipelines.
destabilization. At low heptane volume fraction, inhibitor slows the
rate of deposition and deposition rate decreases with increasing 21/00712 Thermal and catalytic cracking of whole crude
inhibitor concentration. However, at high heptane volume fraction, oils at high severity
inhibitor can increase the deposition rate, particularly when used in Al-Absi, A. A. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
high concentration. At high heptane volume fraction, inhibitor addition 145, 104705.
alters the morphology of the deposit from that consisting of large The catalytic and thermal cracking of three types of whole crude oils,
flocculent aggregates to that consisting of smaller, submicrometre having API gravity at 34 (AL), 39 (AXL) and 51 (ASL), were
aggregates. This is consistent with the finding that inhibitor acts as an investigated via a fixed-bed micro-activity test (MAT) unit at high
anti-agglomerant and prevents the formation of large aggregates in the temperature between 600 and 650  C. Equilibrium FCC catalyst (E-
bulk liquid. This paper shows that the impact of inhibitor addition Cat)/ZSM-5 additive was used for catalytic cracking tests at 30 s and
depends on the environmental conditions encountered and the degree catalyst/oil (C/O) ratio of 2.0–6.0. For both thermal and catalytic
of destabilization of the asphaltenes. Where inhibitor addition alters cracking of all crude oils, the increase in reaction temperature resulted
the nature of depositing species from large flocculent aggregates to in higher conversion and enhanced yields of C2-C4 light olefins, LPG,
smaller submicrometre aggregates, an increase in deposition rate may coke, and dry gas at the expense of naphtha, heavy cycle oil (HCO),
be observed. and light cycle oil (LCO). In thermal cracking, the yields of C2-C4
olefins at 650  C were as follows: AL (22.8 wt%) > AXL (19.0 wt%)
> ASL (18.8 wt%) associated with naphtha yields of 34.4, 38.1 and
21/00709 Recent advances in ionic liquids as alternative to 48.0 wt%, respectively. Compared with thermal, catalytic cracking over
surfactants/chemicals for application in upstream oil E-Cat/ZSM-5 enhanced conversion, doubled the yields of light olefins
industry and showed an increase in aromatics content of naphtha fraction.
Bera, A. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, Contrary to thermal cracking, the yields of C2–C4 olefins in catalytic
82, 17–30. cracking were as follows: ASL (42.9 wt%) > AXL (41 wt%) > AL
The oil industry is in search of the stable chemicals that can be applied (39.1 wt%) associated with naphtha yields of 31.7, 27.5, and 23.0 wt%,
in drilling, stimulation, enhanced oil recovery at high temperature and respectively.
high salinity reservoirs, unconventional heavy oil recovery by solvent
extraction method, and flow assurance. This quest has opened a new 21/00713 Thermophoresis of nanoparticles in liquids
category of research on ionic liquids. In this review, an attempt is made Ramachandran, S. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass
to explore the ongoing research and development on the application of Transfer, 2020, 147, 118925.
ionic liquids in the domain of upstream oil industry. The review Thermophoresis is the movement of particles in a fluid subjected to a
provides a deep insight into the progress and status of current research, steady temperature gradient, where the fluid molecules at the hotter
challenges and utilization of ionic liquids for drilling, stimulation, region possessing higher kinetic energy drive the particles towards the
enhanced oil recovery, unconventional oil recovery, and flow assur- colder region. This paper presents a molecular dynamics simulation to
ance. It is found from the literature that ionic liquids can be used to obtain the effects of the particle shape, size and orientation on
prevent shale inhibition, improve clay stabilization and drilling fluid thermophoresis in nanofluids. Two allotropes of carbon, namely carbon
properties, compose fracturing fluids, control wax and asphaltenes nanotubes (CNT) and fullerene, and copper nanoparticles have been
deposition, prevent gas hydrate formation, increase additional oil studied, with liquid argon and water as the base fluids. It was found
recovery, and improve unconventional oil recovery. It is also expected that the thermophoretic force in fullerene particles of comparable size
that the current review will open new avenues for the budding is more than that in CNT. It was also seen that the particle orientation
researchers and engineers to utilize ionic liquids in upstream oil and and size have an effect on the thermophoretic force, and that the force
gas industry and to acquire profound ideas for its way forward. decreases with an increase in the particle size. The effect of the base
fluids, namely liquid argon and water, on the thermophoretic force was
also studied, and a comparison was performed using the thermo-
phoretic coefficient. The simulation results show that the thermo-
21/00710 Signal denoising method for modal analysis of an phoretic force is proportional to the kinematic viscosity of the fluid and
offshore platform the imposed temperature gradient, and the increase is found to be
Bao, X. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2020, linear. The results also indicate that the thermophoretic force depends
63, 104000. on the particle orientation, and the analysis provides a starting point
The modal analysis of offshore structures is a key element of structural for further studies to explain the functional dependence of the particle
health monitoring based on vibration. A difficulty encountered by orientation on the thermophoretic force.
practitioners and researchers is that an accurate modal analysis is
challenging in noisy environments. The objective of this work was to
develop and implement a signal denoising method based on solving the
inverse singular value problem of a measured (noisy) data matrix with
prescribed entries to reconstruct a filtered data matrix. The measured Economics, business, marketing, policy
(noisy) impulse response function (IRF) was used to build a square or
nearly square Hankel matrix. The normalized rank determination
indicator (RDI) of the Hankel matrix was introduced to determine the
number of prescribed non-zero singular values in the prescribed entries 21/00714 A multi-scale method for forecasting oil price with
inverse singular value problem (PEISVP). The reconstructed (filtered) multi-factor search engine data
matrix must maintain the original Hankel structure, and preserve the Tang, L. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114033.
number of non-zero singular values. Once the filtered IRF has been A promising idea for using search engine data has emerged and
obtained, the complex exponential (CE) method was applied for the improved international oil price prediction; a hot topic in the fields of
modal analysis. To validate the proposed method, hereafter referred to energy system modelling and analysis. Since different search engine
as PEISVP-CE, the authors undertook the numerical simulation of a data drive the oil price in different ways at different timescales, a multi-
five-storey shear building. Once successfully validated, the PEISVP-CE scale forecasting methodology is proposed that carefully explores the
method was applied to an offshore field experiment of a jacket multi-scale relationship between the oil price and multi-factor search
platform under the step relaxation. It was found that the PEISVP-CE engine data. In the proposed methodology, three major steps are
method is effective at eliminating noise and, therefore, appropriate for involved: (1) a multi-factor data process, to collect informative search
the modal analysis of offshore structures. engine data, reduce dimensionality, and test the predictive power via

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

statistical analyses; (2) multi-scale analysis, to extract matched common called comparative assessment. The comparative assessment guideline
modes at similar timescales from the oil price and multi-factor search for decommissioning programs has been used as a basis for multiple
engine data via multivariate empirical mode decomposition and (3) oil approaches. It is generally similar to the simple additive weighting
price prediction, including individual prediction at each timescale and method, and is based on the opinions of stakeholders. The method is
ensemble prediction across timescales via a typical forecasting intuitive, with simple calculations, and can be performed without
technique. With the Brent oil price as a sample, the empirical results complex software. However, it is a simplified technique, which allows
show that the novel methodology significantly outperforms its original compensation between the criteria, and may fail to integrate multiple
form (without multi-factor search engine data and multi-scale analysis), preferences. It is expected that the forthcoming work will improve
semi-improved versions (with either multi-factor search engine data or decommissioning decision-making techniques.
multi-scale analysis), and similar counterparts (with other multi-scale
analysis), in both the level and directional predictions. 21/00717 An analysis of the global oil market using
SVARMA models
21/00715 A review of hydrocarbon allocation methods in Raghavan, M. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104633.
the upstream oil and gas industry This study analyses the importance of supply versus demand shocks on
Kanshio, S. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184, the global oil market from 1974 to 2017, using a parsimonious
106590. structural vector autoregressive moving average (SVARMA) model.
Commingling of hydrocarbon from different sources into common The superior out-of-sample forecasting performance of the reduced
process facility, storage or pipeline is a common practice in the oil and form VARMA compared to VAR alternatives advocates the suitability
gas industry because of the cost-saving advantages with regards to of this framework. The study specifically accounts for the changes in
process, storage and pipeline infrastructures. Allocation methods are the oil market over three distinctive sub-periods – pre-moderation,
the mathematical techniques used in apportioning the commingled great moderation and post-moderation periods, to provide a means of
hydrocarbon back to the various contributing sources. Hydrocarbon identifying the changing nature of shock transmission mechanism
allocation could result in a dispute between parties involved when the across times. The findings shed some light on the effects of supply
methodology adopted is not fair and transparent to the other parties. versus demand related oil shocks under different economic environ-
Hydrocarbon allocation is more straightforward when the commingled ment. Oil supply shocks explain large fraction of the movements in the
streams belong to only one operator, but more complicated when more global oil market in the pre- and post-moderation periods. The
than one operator or ownership is involved. This paper classified importance of global activity shock on oil price movements is obvious
allocation types into field and fiscal allocation. For field allocation, the during the 2003–2008 boom period. The oil specific shock has an
contributing sources which are wells and production zones are usually interesting transmission path on the global economic activity, where
from a single owner. Field allocation has less stringent uncertainty the global activity responded positively during the global economic
requirement given that it does not involve a financial transaction. In expansion and negatively during economic contraction, emphasizing
the case of fiscal allocation, the contributing sources are oil and gas the speculative nature of the oil shock.
fields, and the contributing sources may be owned by different
operators. Fiscal allocation is stricter on the uncertainty levels of the 21/00718 Application of machine learning to accidents
allocation measurement. Though the accuracy of the proportional detection at directional drilling
allocation method is low, it is most straightforward allocation method Gurina, E. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020,
used in the oil industry. By-difference allocation method gives an 184, 106519.
unfair penalty to the unmetered stream by under allocating to that This paper presents a data-driven algorithm and mathematical model
stream, hence not appropriate for fiscal allocation. Though the for anomaly alarming at directional drilling. The algorithm is based on
uncertainty based allocation method is complicated, industry experts machine learning. It compares the real-time drilling telemetry with one
consider it as the most accurate and fairer method of allocating corresponding to past accidents and analyses the level of similarity. The
production to the contributing streams. This is because the UBA model performs a time-series comparison using aggregated statistics
method takes cognizant of the variation in measurement uncertainty and gradient boosting classification. It is trained on historical data
levels of the allocation meters. The drawback of the UBA is that it is containing the drilling telemetry of 80 wells drilled within 19 oilfields.
challenging to apply it in a multi-tiered allocation structure. The model can detect an anomaly and identify its type by comparing
the real-time measurements while drilling with the ones from the
database of past accidents. Validation tests show that this algorithm
21/00716 A review of the multicriteria decision analysis identifies half of the anomalies with about 0.53 false alarms per day on
applied to oil and gas decommissioning problems average. The model performance ensures sufficient time and cost
Martins, I. D. et al. Ocean & Coastal Management, 2020, 184, 105000. savings as it enables partial prevention of the failures and accidents at
The end of life of oil and gas exploration structures has become a the well construction.
worldwide concern, and the focus of many discussions involving
regulators, companies and government entities. The objective is to
generate sound guidelines regarding the selection and adoption of 21/00719 Geopolitical risk uncertainty and oil future
decommissioning strategies. This review analyses decommissioning in volatility: evidence from MIDAS models
multiple economic sectors, with a focus on oil and gas. It summarizes Mei, D. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104624.
the methods that have been used for decommissioning decision- Using a textual analysis based geopolitical risk (GPR) index, this paper
making, as well as the criteria that have been selected to guide the exploits the effects of geopolitical risk uncertainty on oil futures price
decision process within the oil and gas sector. It is generally agreed volatility within a mixed data sampling (MIDAS) modelling framework.
upon that the selected criteria should cover economic, environmental, With a variety of MIDAS specifications, the in-sample estimation
technical, social and safety concerns. Regarding the subcriteria, it is results suggest that the short-term (e.g. one-day-ahead) oil realized
important to highlight that each problem has its peculiarities. As a volatility is positively associated with GPR uncertainty, and the out-of-
result, it should be clear that subcriteria are not necessarily the same sample forecasting exercise indicates that the GPR index is useful for
for different localities. In order to properly account for local factors, improving short-term oil futures volatility prediction. In addition, it
one should consult with the stakeholders and conduct a thorough was found that the categorical GPR index: GPR action related index,
literature review. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods are contributes more to the long-term oil volatility forecasting, compared
confirmed in the literature as powerful tools to address complex with GPR threat related index.
decision-making problems. Although other methods, such as cost-
benefit and decision trees, can also be applied to decommissioning 21/00720 Improving representativeness in a scenario
problems, MCDA is widely applied to support decommissioning reduction process to aid decision making in petroleum fields
decisions, as it has the advantage of aggregating views from different Meira, L. A. A. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering,
stakeholders. In view of the diversity of decommissioning options and 2020, 184, 106398.
the potentially large number of alternatives associated with each one, This paper presents an extension of the RMFinder technique,
developing a model and adjusting its parameters is essential to previously proposed for scenario reduction within the decision-making
attaining better results and to promoting transparency. Such a model process in oil fields. As there are several uncertainties associated with
may demand multiple techniques and tools in order to address the this process, a large number of scenarios should be analysed so that
complexity of the problem. The review emphasized that the analytic high-quality production strategies can be defined. Such broad analysis
hierarchy process is one of the most-used methods for decommission- is very time-consuming so techniques to automatically identify
ing decisions in many areas. It is a simple technique that generates representative models (RMs) are particularly relevant. In this context,
global scores for each alternative, and it is generally used as a traditional approaches are often based on the selection of three
secondary tool for weight attribution. There is also frequent appli- representative models: pessimistic, optimistic and most likely, accord-
cation of outranking methods, such as the Preference Ranking ing only to the most relevant variable of the problem. Here, the RMs
Organization Method (PROMETHEE), which are used to translate are selected to (i) guarantee representativeness in tens of variables of
the preference relations established by decision-makers. In addition, the problem simultaneously; (ii) maintain the original distribution of
technical reports tend to use their own methodology to select an the uncertain variables; (iii) preserve a good distribution in the
appropriate alternative for decommissioning offshore installations, scatterplots (cross-plots) of the main output variables of the problem;

128 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 02 Liquid fuels (derived liquid fuels)

and (iv) allow a specialist to adjust the relative importance among the and international crude oil prices using error correction models
considered variables. Therefore, such a scenario reduction problem (ECM), time-series models. Detailed comparison among asymmetric
was modelled as a multi-criteria optimization problem assisted by an ECM, threshold ECM, and threshold asymmetric ECM are provided.
expert. The authors applied the proposed methodology to the By adopting the ECMs, the study projects the retailed gasoline prices
OLYMPUS benchmark model and to two reservoir models based on from 2019 to 2050 based on the international crude oil prices from the
real-world Brazilian fields: (i) UNISIM-I-D, a benchmark case based Annual Energy Outlook provided by the US Energy Information
on the sandstone Namorado field and (ii) UNISIM-II-D, a benchmark Administration. The results show that the asymmetric responsiveness
case based on a highly fractured pre-salt carbonate reservoir. In each and the threshold effect exist under current Chinese oil pricing policy
experiment, the number of RMs varied from 1 to 25. The authors with a lag of one month or even shorter in gasoline price adjustment.
verified that the larger the number of RMs, the smaller the bias will be Moreover, the analysis informs one that, in the short-run, the retailed
with respect to the risk curves. The obtained sets of RMs were analysed gasoline prices in China are more sensitive to international crude oil
by petroleum engineers and considered appropriate for the problems price increases; while in the long-run, the retailed gasoline prices are
studied, and they were adopted as the standard models in the following more sensitive to international crude oil price decreases. Compared
steps of the decision-making process to define the production with the national average gasoline price in China of 6.04 CNY/L in
strategies under uncertainties. 2017, the national average gasoline price in China is projected to be
about 7.64 CNY/L by 2050.
21/00721 Multiobjective economic and environmental
optimization of global crude oil purchase and sale planning
with noncooperative stakeholders
Nicoletti, J. and You, F. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114222.
The petrochemical supply chain is a worldwide undertaking, where
final products will often travel thousands of miles from oil well to gas Derived liquid fuels
station pump. Within the crude oil supply chain, various entities
compete and attempt to maximize their profits by exploiting the
demands and needs of the other companies within the supply chain.
Each company or player in the crude oil industry has its own objective, 21/00724 Catalytic conversion of CO2 to biofuel (methanol)
and it will compete against other players trying to pursue their and downstream separation in membrane-integrated
respective objectives. Due to the non-cooperative structure of the photoreactor system under suitable conditions
crude oil supply chain, the decisions that maximize profit often do not Chakrabortty, S. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020,
coincide with decisions that minimize environmental impact, as a 45, (1), 675–690.
reduction in environmental impact usually correlates with a reduction This study focuses on high-productive methanol synthesis from anthro-
in profit. In this work, the crude oil supply chain from oil well to pogenic CO2 employing hydrogen-explosion graphene loaded photo-
refinery is modelled as a mixed-integer bilevel linear program that catalysts. Such a novel catalyst is proved to possess a high surface area
accounts for conflicting objectives and interactions between different from respective characterization studies. Development of an integrated
stakeholders. The composition, pricing, transportation distances, and technology coupled with cross-flow membrane system can enable
environmental impacts of the different crude oils are taken into recycle and regeneration stages of spent photocatalysts. Incorporation
consideration in the model. In the bilevel problem, the crude oil of optimization and economic evaluation in this perspective can
producers aim to maximize their own profits from the sale of their enhance scale-up confidence paving the pathway towards sustainable
crude oil, while the crude oil refiner has the dual objectives of both industrialization. The developed membrane-integrated scheme for the
maximizing the profit made from the sale of distilled products to the synthesis of methanol from CO2, using a new generation graphene
market and minimizing the life cycle environmental impact of the (hydrogen exfoliation graphene)-based nanocomposite material simul-
refinery products, which is determined by the type of crude oil taneous catalyst recycling using the flat-sheet cross-flow membrane
purchased by the refinery. The resulting model is then applied to two integrated system, is offers high-yield methanol production with a
case studies, both based on a US refinery purchasing oil from various maximum productivity. Hydrogen exfoliation graphene not only
crude oil-producing countries. Both case studies produce a set of enhanced the photocatalytic activity as well as increased the ability of
pareto-optimal decisions for the refiner that display the inherent trade- adsorption of feed substrate through its high surface area. Proper
offs between minimizing ‘cradle-to-gate’ environmental impact and choice of cross-flow microfiltration membranes in flat-sheet modules
maximizing profit. At the trade-off point in the first case, a 4.4% enable catalyst recycle and first-stage product purification. Due to such
decrease in profit leads to a 3.0% decrease in the kilograms of CO2 per suitable logical sequence of process design confirms high yield of
megajoule of energy produced. Meanwhile, the trade-off point selected product (methanol) synthesis and purification to a high degree.
in the second case displays a 7.5% reduction in the total environmental Employing response surface methodology, reasonably high yield
impact while decreasing total profit by only 5.9%. Furthermore, the (40 mg per gram of catalyst) of methanol from CO2 was confirmed
refiner’s profit at the trade-off point in the second case is using the developed graphene loaded photocatalyst under a set of
$2.148 million, which is situated between the worst-case deterministic optimum conditions consisting of a catalyst dose of 10 g/L, process
profit of $1.558 million and the best-case deterministic profit of temperature of 50  C, pH of 3 and CO2 cross-flow rate of 3 L/m.
$2.652 million.
21/00725 Catalytic cracking of polypropylene by using
21/00722 The asymmetric impact of oil prices, interest rates Fe-SBA-15 synthesized in an acid-free medium for
and oil price uncertainty on unemployment in the US production of light hydrocarbon oils
Kocaarslan, B. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104625. Zhao, Y. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146,
This study investigates the presence of asymmetric interactions 104755.
between oil prices, oil price uncertainty, interest rates, and unemploy- Catalytic cracking recovery of polyolefins is a research hotspot at
ment in a cointegration framework. Utilizing the non-linear auto- present. The addition of catalyst also increases the operation cost. So,
regressive distributed lag approach, the authors show the asymmetric the product selectivity and stability of catalysts are very important. In
responses of unemployment to changes in oil prices, oil price this paper, the synthesis and properties of ordered mesoporous Fe-
uncertainty and interest rates in the long-run. More specifically, the SBA-15 and their applications in polypropylene (PP) catalytic cracking
results of this analyses suggest that an increase in oil price results in have been studied. The ordered mesoporous Fe-SBA-15 has been
increased unemployment while there is no significant impact of successfully synthesized by the acidity of Fe ion hydrolysis. The specific
reduced oil prices. On the one hand, reduced oil price uncertainty surface area of synthesized Fe-SBA-15 was between 890 and 750 m 2/g,
leads to a decrease in unemployment whereas an increase in oil price and the average pore size was 8–10 nm. With the increase of Fe/Si ratio,
uncertainty does not have an impact. The authors also observed the acid content of the strong acid sites of Fe-SBA-15 also increases,
increased unemployment in response to a decrease in interest rates as and the acid content of weak acid sites increases first and then
the impact of increased interest rates was not significant. Last but not decreases. Fe-SBA-15 has strong catalytic cracking properties and good
least, it was found that option-implied oil price volatility, as a measure cyclic performance. Compared with thermal cracking, the catalytic
of oil price uncertainty, outperforms the conditional volatility of crude cracking of PP can shorten the heating time, decrease the solid and gas
oil prices in predicting unemployment. This study provides valuable product. With the increase of Fe/Si ratio, the catalytic activity also
implications for policymakers to design sound economic policies. increases. Moreover, the cyclic performance test of the catalyst is
carried out by Fe-SBA-15 with Fe/Si ratio of 0.15 and the results
indicate that it has strong cycle stability.
21/00723 The retailed gasoline price in China: time-series
analysis and future trend projection
Ou, S. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116544. 21/00726 Conversion of poly-isoprene based rubber to
This study introduces a method to systematically project retailed value-added chemicals and liquid fuel via ethanolysis:
gasoline prices in China and provides projection results. Based on oil effect of operating parameters on product quality and
taxation and pricing mechanisms in China, this study establishes the quantity
statistical relationship between the retailed gasoline prices in China Ahmad, N. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116543.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 129

02 Liquid fuels (derived liquid fuels)

Liquefaction of poly-isoprene based rubber (PIR) was performed using 21/00729 Experimental study of influence of liquefied
ethanol as a solvent for the production of liquid fuel and chemicals. An petroleum gas addition in hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel on
autoclave batch reactor was used to perform the ethanolysis of PIR at ignition delay, flame lift off length and soot emission under
different temperature ranges (250–375  C), with different ethanol to diesel-like conditions
PIR ratio (0.5 : 1 to 4 : 1), and at different reaction times (15–75 min). Pastor, J. V. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116377.
The experimental results showed that a maximum yield of 86 wt% was The fundamental behaviour on ignition and combustion characteristics
achieved at temperature of 325  C, ethanol to PIR ratio 1/1, and of blends of hydrotreated vegetable oil and liquid petroleum gas was
reaction time of 30 min. This liquid oil yield is about 14% higher than investigated in a constant high pressure, high temperature combustion
the yield obtained from the pyrolysis of PIR at 500  C and about 10% chamber, using a prototype lab-scale injection system adapted from a
higher than the yield obtained from hydrothermal liquefaction of PIR conventional common-rail system to conduct the injection events,
at 375  C. Moreover, the utilization of ethanol in the process was also ensuring that fuel was liquid at any point of the injection system and
incorporated and product yields were redefined. Furthermore, ethanol avoiding the formation of fuel vapour bubbles that could alter the
contributed to enhance the quality of liquid oil, particularly in term of injected fuel behaviour. The ignition delay, flame lift-off length and the
viscosity, acidity, and energy density. Furthermore, the FTIR analysis soot formation were studied by means of high-speed imaging
showed methyl and methylene were most dominating functional groups techniques, for different operating conditions. The aim of the work is
found in the liquid product and GC–MS analysis identified that they to characterize the effect of hydrotreated vegetable oil–liquid
were presented by alkenes, aromatics and alkyls. petroleum gas blend ratios on the previously mentioned parameters.
Experimental results show that the behaviour of the fuel blends follow
the expected trends of conventional diesel type fuels when varying
ambient temperature, density and injection pressure. Hydrotreated
vegetable oil, being the highest reactivity fraction, controls auto
21/00727 Direct Lewis-Brønsted acid ethanolysis of sewage ignition of the blend. However, liquid petroleum gas acts as
sludge for production of liquid fuels combustion inhibitor increasing both ignition delay and lift-off length
di Bitonto, L. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114163. as its ratio in the blend increases. As a consequence, the differences
Ethanolysis carried out under Lewis–Brønsted acid catalysis was observed in terms of flame radiation suggest that increasing liquid
investigated as a possible process to valorize the organic fraction of petroleum gas fraction reduces soot formation as it promotes a higher
urban sewage sludge, with the aim of selectively obtaining liquid air/mixture.
biofuels. In a single reactive step, the conversion of lipids into fatty acid
ethyl esters, of carbohydrates into ethyl levulinate, furanic compounds 21/00730 Extraction and sequential elution of a heavy oil
and ethyl glycosides and of proteins into ethyl ester of amino acids was from direct coal liquefaction
achieved. The optimization of reactive conditions was conducted using Gao, H.-S. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116319.
pure chemicals as model compounds. The effect of the co-presence of Microwave-assisted extraction (MWAE) with CH 3OH and sequential
water was also considered. Then, real samples of sewage sludge (as elution (SE) of a heavy oil (HO) from direct coal liquefaction of
dried and wet centrifuged samples) were reacted in ethanol in the Heishan bituminous coal combined with subsequent analyses were
presence of the appropriate combination of homogeneous Lewis– conducted to understand the molecular composition of the HO and to
Brønsted acid catalysts, namely 1 %wt aluminium chloride hexahydrate explore the possibility of separating pure condensed arenes (CAs) from
and sulfuric acid respect to ethanol. After 6 h at 453 K, 99% of lipids the HO. The yield of extractable portion (EP) from the HO by the
and almost 60% of initial complex sugars were effectively converted MWAE is 94.2% and the main gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer
into the abovementioned target products. Conversions and yields were (GC/MS)-detectable compounds in EP are CAs, especially tricyclic and
quite similar to those obtained by reacting pure compounds singularly, tetracyclic arenes, along with small amount of normal alkanes. By the
confirming the robustness of the process and its applicability to SE, much more other types of compounds, e.g. oxygen-, nitrogen- or
differently composed sludge. At the end of the reaction, products were sulfur-containing organic compounds, were detected with GC/MS, and
easily recovered and purified from the alcoholic phase, whereas only a pyrene and 1-methylpyrene were separated in the purities of 95.2% and
very limited amount of solids remain as inert materials. Final refined 93.4%, respectively.
biofuels have high calorific values (37 and 40 MJ kg1) and actually
represent the 68.5% and 59.2% of the initial energy content of starting
sludge, respectively. This strategy combines valorization of the starting 21/00731 Kinetics of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over
organic fraction of sewage sludge and a considerable reduction of final silica supported intermetallic Ga3Ni5 catalyst in a
solid waste (in a stabilized form) to be disposed of. Finally, through a continuous differential fixed bed reactor
preliminary feasibility study, this acid ethanolysis resulted in a Ahmad, K. and Upadhyayula, S. International Journal of Hydrogen
competitive alternative to the anaerobic digestion of mixed sewage Energy, 2020, 45, (1), 1140–1150.
sludge to obtain biofuels. The methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation is seen as a potential
reaction for alternate fuel production as well as environmental clean-
up. In this study, kinetics of methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogen-
ation has been investigated over Ga3Ni5/SiO2 catalyst. The catalyst was
characterized by XRD, TEM-EDX, SEM, and ICP-MS techniques. The
influence of different reaction variables like H2/CO2 ratio (3–9),
21/00728 Enhanced liquid tar production as fuels/
temperature (423–523 K), and W/FAo (26.54  103 to 79.62  103 kgs/
chemicals from Powder River Basin coal through CaO
kmolCO2) was studied at atmospheric pressure in a differential plug
catalyzed stepwise degradation in eco-friendly supercritical
flow fixed bed reactor. Two Langmuir–Hinshelwood models with
CO2/ethanol
different adsorption terms (competitive and non-competitive) were
Liu, F.-J. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116563.
developed for methanol synthesis and reverse water gas shift reaction
Developing ecofriendly thermal conversion technologies of coals into
using the experimental data. Model discrimination by statistical
fuels/chemicals with minimal environmental impact is highly attractive
analysis combined with physio-chemical constraints revealed that the
and significant for efficient coal utilization. CaO catalysed stepwise
competitive model is the best kinetic model. The model results
degradation at 350–400  C in ecofriendly supercritical CO2/ethanol
revealed that the reactants, reaction intermediates, and products
(scCO2/ethanol) was carried out to produce high-yield liquid tars as
adsorb competitively over the same active sites on Ga3Ni5 surface. It
fuels/chemicals from Powder River Basin (PRB) coal. The total yield of
was also found that the formate hydrogenation is the rate determining
the liquid tars increased from 53.9 wt% for non-catalytic stepwise
step for methanol synthesis with adsorbed atomic H2 and CO2 as the
degradation to 60.1 wt% for CaO catalysed stepwise degradation, with
most abundant reaction intermediates. The kinetic model results were
an increase of 6.2 wt%. The resulting ash-free liquid tars are promising
found consistent with the reported literature.
raw materials as clean liquid fuels for energy production due to their
high H/C ratio (1.16–1.88) and heating values (32.84–35.84 MJ/kg).
Compared with non-catalytic stepwise degradation, the energy recovery 21/00732 Synthesis of higher alcohols by CO
increases from 62.8% to 71.6% by CaO catalysed stepwise degradation. hydrogenation over catalysts derived from LaCo1-xMnxO3
More than 75% of the components in the liquid tars were volatilized perovskites: Effect of the partial substitution of Co by Mn
and/or degraded at temperature <500  C according to thermogravi- Gao, S. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116415.
metric analysis. The distributions of the functional groups and group LaCo1–xMnxO3 perovskites with different substitutions of Co by Mn
components in the liquid tars are similar to each other. Phenols are the were investigated as precursors of catalysts for the CO hydrogenation
most abundant volatile group component in the liquid tars, accounting to produce higher alcohols. Characterization of LaCo1–xMnxO3
for about 43% of the volatile components released at 350 and 375  C by perovskites revealed modifications in their structure with the incor-
CaO catalysed stepwise degradation. The CaO promoted forming poration of Mn into the perovskite lattice affected the structure of the
active H+ and CH3CH2O from ethanol, which readily attacked and catalysts by reduction prior the reaction. The presence of Mn
cleaved weak –C–O– bonds in the PRB coal, leading to producing more facilitated the production of alcohols and suppressed the formation
phenols and arenes. Thermal dissociation of the non-covalent of undesirable products, i.e. methane and methanol. Quantitative
interactions especially hydrogen bonds or the cleavage of weak –C– analysis showed that the catalysts derived from Mn-containing
O– in PRB coal could interpret the generation of phenols. perovskites favoured the formation of CO2C under the reaction

130 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

conditions. Thereby the enhanced alcohol selectivity could be explained 21/00735 Two-stage pyrolysis of polystyrene: pyrolysis oil
by the increment of Co2C/Co0 ratio. The results demonstrate that the as a source of fuels or benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and
catalysts originated from LaCo1–xMnxO3 perovskites are stable and xylenes
effective for the synthesis of alcohols by CO hydrogenation. Park, K.-B. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114240.
The recycling rate of plastic waste needs to be improved worldwide. In
that context, pyrolysis, through which petrochemical feedstock and
alternative fuel can be obtained, has received significant attention. In
21/00733 Techno-economic analysis of coke oven gas and this study, pyrolysis of polystyrene was conducted in a continuous two-
blast furnace gas to methanol process with carbon dioxide stage process that has an auger reactor and a fluidized bed reactor
capture and utilization connected in series. The main objective was to produce oils rich in
Deng, L. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 204, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes instead of typical
112315. polystyrene pyrolysis oils, which contain high amounts of styrene
This paper documents a process for converting coke oven gas (COG) monomers with low thermal-oxidative stability. The effects of different
and blast furnace gas (BFG) from steel refineries into methanol. reaction temperatures (in both reactors) and the type of fluidizing
Specifically, the author propose the use of blast furnace gas (BFG) as medium on the product distribution and composition were investi-
an additional carbon source. The high CO2 and CO content of BFG gated. The maximum yield of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and
make it a good carbon resource. In the proposed process, CO2 is xylenes (26.3 wt%) was obtained at a temperature of 780  C in the
recovered from the BFG and blended with H2O, H2, and CH4-rich fluidized bed reactor. The oil and styrene yields at 780  C were 86 and
COG to reform methane. Optimized amounts of H2O and CO2 are 26 wt%, respectively. To evaluate the fuel properties of the pyrolysis
used to adjust the (H2  CO2)/(CO + CO2) molar ratio in order to oil, its calorific value, API gravity, viscosity, density, ash content, pour
maximize the amount of methanol that is produced. In addition, the point, flash point, and pH were examined. The results indicate that the
desulfurization process was modified to enable the removal of sulfur pyrolysis oil can be both a good source of benzene, toluene,
compounds, especially thiophene, from the COG. The process design ethylbenzene, and xylenes and can potentially be used as a substitute
and simulation results reported herein were then used to determine source to gasoline or diesel fuels when it is mixed with oils with a low
any potential environmental and economic benefits. This research is aromatic content.
based on off-gas conditions provided by ArcelorMittal Dofasco
(AMD), Hamilton, Ontario. In order to determine which conditions
are most desirable for this retrofit strategy, potential greenhouse gas
reduction and economic benefits were analysed. In particular, this
analysis focused on the heating utility chosen for methane reformation
prior to methanol synthesis. To this end, COG, BFG, and natural gas
(NG) were compared. The results showed that using BFG/NG as a
03 GASEOUS FUELS
heating utility can produce greater economic gains, and that
synthesizing COG + BFG to methanol results in greater economic
and environmental gains than solely producing electricity (the status
quo). Compared to current operating procedures, the proposed process Sources, properties, recovery, treatment
could potentially increase net present values by up to $54 million. The
carbon efficiency achieved was up to 72%. An additional 0.73 kg of CO2
from BFG is needed for every 1 kg of MeOH produced. About 52% of
feedstock energy is converted to MeOH, with another 33% recovered 21/00736 Accurate permeability prediction in tight gas
in the form of utilities. The exergy efficiency of the recommended rocks via lattice Boltzmann simulations with an improved
version of the system is about 61%. The business case for converting boundary condition
CO2 into methanol highly depends on the local electricity grid carbon Fan, D. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, 73,
intensity. For Ontario, it can reduce direct CO2 emissions by 103049.
228 ktonne per year, and fix up to 246 ktonne CO2 into methanol per Accurately predicting gas transport in rocks is required for enhancing
year. In addition, analyses of location effects, CO2 taxes, electricity the accuracy of field production models. The mesoscale lattice
prices, electricity carbon intensity, methanol prices, and income taxes Boltzmann (LB) method can be implemented to predict gas per-
indicated that MeOH production is highly recommended for Ontario, meability in porous rocks. However, the published LB results for the
Mexico, the USA, and China applications. For USA, build MeOH Klinkenberg effect are often inconsistent with the widely used Beskok–
plant is recommended for Finland, whether to do this retrofit or not is Karniadakis–Civan’s (BKC’s) correlation. The culprit of the unphysical
inconclusive. For Finland, the results are inconclusive, other strategies effect has been identified in the typically implemented boundary
may be equally suitable. Aspen Plus Simulation files and other source conditions (BCs). An improved BC is proposed herein to reliably
code have been open-sourced and are available to the reader. predict gas permeability. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simu-
lations are conducted to benchmark the proposed approach. The
results show that the presented LB predictions for the Klinkenberg
effect are quantitatively consistent with experimental data and the
21/00734 Techno-economic optimization of BKC’s correlation, indicating that the unphysical effects have been
biomass-to-methanol with solid-oxide electrolyzer minimized. More importantly, a numerical consistency is achieved for
Zhang, H. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114071. describing the Klinkenberg effect at molecular through macroscopic
The purpose of this paper is to assess techno-economically the scales. These observations are relevant for improving the ability to
integration of solid-oxide electrolysis in biomass-to-methanol pro- predict gas production from tight formations.
cesses: (1) the hydrogen produced by electrolysis can be used to adjust
the composition of syngas from gasification to increase the conversion 21/00737 An improved model to predict liquid holdup in
of carbon in biomass, (2) the oxygen as a by-product of electrolysis can vertical gas wells
be used in the gasifier to avoid expensive air separation units and Luo, C. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
(3) the overall process can be thermally integrated. Two integration 106491.
concepts are proposed with different sizing methods of the electrolyser: Accurate prediction of the pressure gradient is crucial for gas-
(1) the case of full conversion of carbon in biomass, in which a large production design and gas well optimization. The most important role
electrolyser is driven by the electricity purchased from the grid, and in modelling the pressure gradient is generally to calculate the liquid
(2) the case of zero power exchange, in which only part of the carbon in holdup accurately. Currently, numerous mechanistic and empirical
biomass is converted reaching self-sufficiency of electricity. The three models have been developed and modified to deal with all kinds of flow
cases including the state-of-the-art biomass-to-methanol process are conditions. Due to the chaotic feature in the churn flow, it is difficult
investigated to identify (1) possible trade-offs between efficiency and for mechanistic models to model this flow pattern accurately.
costs, and (2) under which conditions, these concepts become Simplified assumptions for this pattern may lead to large deviations.
economically viable. With a reference methanol production of For empirical models, the range of experimental parameters limits
100 kton/year, the results show that there is an optimal design for the their application. In this study, a variation of liquid holdup with
state-of-the-art case, which offers an efficiency of 53.3% due to steam superficial gas velocity is analysed in order to simplify the liquid-
cycles and a payback time of 4.8 years. For the integrated concepts, holdup correlation and improve its accuracy. Based on the annular/
there are sharp trade-offs between the system efficiency and methanol churn-flow and bubble/slug-flow transition points, a new empirical
production cost rate. The case of full carbon conversion can reach an model is established using a power-law curve. Since the superficial gas
energy efficiency of 64.5–66.0% but results in a longer payback time of velocity and liquid holdup corresponding to the two transition points
over 11 years. The case of zero-power exchange can achieve a similar are obtained from analytical or semi-analytical models, the proposed
efficiency as the state-of-the-art case with a slightly increased payback model is not subject to the experimental ranges, unlike other empirical
time of over 5.5 years. The payback time of the full carbon conversion models. In addition, it avoids dealing with modelling churn flow. The
case can be shorter than 5 years with a reduction in stack cost and new model has been validated against the laboratory and field data
electricity price, and an increase in stack lifetime. from published studies. For comparison, some widely used models are

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 131

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

also evaluated. The result shows that the proposed model, which is at low effective stress and that of propped fractures at high effective
capable of predicting the pressure gradient at different pipe sizes, stress. Overall, the results highlight the role of unpropped fractures in
liquid velocities, and gas velocities, has better performance compared hydrocarbon recovery from stimulated unconventional reservoirs.
with other models.
21/00742 Exergetic, energetic and life cycle assessments
21/00738 Dispersion characteristics of CO2 enhanced gas of the modified Claus process
recovery over a wide range of temperature and pressure Zarei, S. Energy, 2020, 191, 116584.
Liu, S. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, 73, Acid gases from the processing of crude natural gas in oil and gas
103056. refineries are harmful both to the environments and to human health.
In this study, experimental investigation of gas dispersion in a broader According to literature, sulfur recovery units based on the modified
temperature and pressure range were performed in both horizontal and Claus process have received great attention due to treatment at larger
vertical orientations. Three types of glass sand with different particle capacity of acid gas with higher hydrogen sulfide concentration while
sizes were used in experiments at temperatures 60–150  C and attained sulfur recovery efficiency of 94–98% depending on the process
pressures 10–30 MPa. The effects of temperature, pressure, injection conditions and feed gas composition. The modified Claus process was
flow rate, gravity, and sand particle size on the dispersion under made of two sections named thermal and catalytic stages. In this study,
reservoir conditions were studied in detail. The results indicate that the total modified Claus process was simulated by utilizing a ProMax
dispersion was considerably affected by temperature in the studied simulator. Afterward, the results of the simulation were validated with
range. High injection flow rates also resulted in larger dispersion experimental data at different processing stages of modified Claus
coefficients and early breakthrough behaviour. In supercritical region, process. The analyses showed that the thermal stage has greater
the effects of pressure on dispersion in horizontal and vertical exergetic and energetic efficiencies and lower sulfur recovery, while
orientations were completely opposite in the presence of gravity, with maximum conversion to sulfur occurs in the catalytic stage. The
the horizontal dispersion coefficients being much higher than the environmental impacts showed that the Claus reaction furnace
vertical ones. In addition, dispersion coefficients exhibited weak enhances total emissions to atmosphere while the catalytic stage
dependence on the particle size in the unconsolidated cores at low declines the emissions. The considered operating variables were acid
interstitial velocity. gas temperature and pressure, splitter fraction, by pass flow around
Claus reaction furnace, air flows to reaction furnace and incinerator,
and fuel gas flow. The case studies considered showed that lower acid
21/00739 Effect of multiphase flow on natural gas hydrate gas feed temperature, lower bypass flow around the reaction furnace,
production in marine sediment higher air flow to the reaction furnace, and higher air flow to the
Sun, H. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, 73, incinerator improved efficiencies and reduced emissions from the
103066. process. The final stage, the optimum operating condition of the
Natural gas hydrates (NGHs), regarded as an alternative future energy modified Claus process was investigated by considering the case
source. Currently, tests for hydrate exploitation from marine sediment studies. The optimum results showed that 40.9%, 3.16% and 2.99%
have been performed in the Nankai Trough of Japan and the Shenhu increments in thermal, exergetic and sulfur efficiencies and 25.82%
area of the South China Sea. Hydrate exploitation is influenced by declines in emissions from process in comparison to base condition.
water–gas flow in the sediment, and considering the huge seawater
reserves in hydrate accumulation areas, an experiment of seawater–gas
flow was performed to dissociate hydrate. The effects of seawater–gas 21/00743 Geochemical responses and implications for gas
flow rates and initial hydrate saturation on methane hydrate (MH) hydrate accumulation: case study from site SHC in Shenhu
production were analysed. The results showed that seawater–gas flow Area within northern South China Sea
efficiently promotes hydrate dissociation and inhibits hydrate reforma- Xiong, P. et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2020, 111, 650–661.
tion. Moreover, there was a faster heat and mass transfer with With the aim of discussing the geochemical characteristics and
increasing seawater flow rates and decreasing gas flow rates, which implications for gas hydrate accumulation, this study assesses the
enhanced the average MH dissociation rate. In addition, the variation changes in a series of organic and inorganic geochemical gas hydrate-
time of the flow channel increased with higher initial hydrate bearing sediments within a core section obtained at site SHC in the
saturation. Additionally, seawater–gas flow promotes MH dissociation Shenhu Area of the northern South China Sea that range from the Late
stronger than deionized water–gas flow. Miocene to the present. High S/C ratios (0.53–5.6) and low total
organic carbon (TOC) contents (<0.5%) suggest that strong ancient
anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) occurred in sediments between
21/00740 Effects of phase transitions on nonstationary 96 and 182 mbsf at site SHC. Therefore, the high total inorganic carbon
liquid-gas flow in a well during gas kicks (TIC) content (with a peak value of 47%) in sediments close to the gas
Tikhonov, V. S. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, hydrates-bearing sediment zone (GHBSZ) can be partially attributed
2020, 184, 106526. to the AOM, and this also provides a reasonable explanation for the
The paper presents a model of non-stationary liquid–gas flow in a well high concentrations of captured acid-extraction CH4 (58.38–576.1 ml/g)
considering non-equilibrium phase transitions. The problem is topical in the samples. The relatively lower 13C values (4.10% to 1.69%) in
for managed pressure drilling with lightweight oil-based mud in case of the carbonate indicate that the contribution of dissolve inorganic
a gas kick. The model accounts for the relaxation character of gas carbon is partially from methanogenesis gas within the GHBSZ.
dissolution and separation at phase transitions in the liquid–gas system. However, the relatively higher values of 18O, as well as the inverse
A numerical solution method has been proposed, which is based on the correlation between values of the 18O and the 13C observed in the
kinematic-wave model. The paper provides examples of gassy and GHBSZ, likely suggest a dissociation event of gas hydrates. These
bubbly area evolution and hydrodynamic flow parameters during a gas features are effective for indicating the presence of AOM in ancient
kick. The effect of backpressure on the velocity of gas kick and times and implicate the formation of authigenic carbonates in
bottomhole pressure has been analysed. It has been demonstrated that sediments. The high value of authigenic carbonates by the AOM
consideration of phase transitions considerably affects the gas kick overly the GHBSZ in sediments, which implies the authigenic
process and the bubbly-gassy area rising to the wellhead. carbonate may have played an important role in the accumulation
and sealing of gas hydrates at the SHC site. The relatively high contents
of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (B-GDGTs) and the
21/00741 Estimating compressibility of complex fracture
relatively high values of the BIT index in the GHBSZ at SHC site are
networks in unconventional reservoirs
consistent with an increase in terrestrial source inputs which are
Xu, Y. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
marked by fine sands and silty deposits. These features also coincide
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104186.
with the change trend in the TOC/TN ratio and 13Corg value, which
Previous studies have shown that fracture closure is the primary drive
imply an increase in terrestrial organic mass. Such significant
mechanism for fracture clean-up during the flowback process in
paleoenvironment change is consistent with the results of previous
hydraulically stimulated reservoirs. Estimating fracture compressibility
studies based on sediment cores and seismic reflection data. It is thus
is practically essential to calculate effective fracture volume, evaluate
suggested that those proxies are related to a relative sea level fall
fracture volume change, and forecast ultimate hydrocarbon recovery.
caused by the global ‘Messina carbon shift’ in the South China Sea.
However, limited experimental data are available for evaluating
Such geochemical imprints not only reveal that the ancient AOM
compressibility of fracture networks in unconventional reservoirs.
played an important role in the formation of the reservoir-cap
Here, the authors categorize induced fractures into unpropped and
assemblage, but also suggest that reservoir generation at SHC site is
propped fractures, and estimate their compressibilities from fracture
related to a relative sea level change. The authors propose that the
conductivity measurements and Hertzian contact theory, respectively.
formation of authigenic carbonates and their sealing effect should be
They also investigate the effects of rock and proppant parameters on
considered when studying gas hydrate accumulation mechanisms.
fracture compressibility. The results show that fracture compressibility
depends on how fracture porosity and aperture change with effective
stress. For propped fractures, the rate of porosity change primarily 21/00744 Mercury in natural gas streams: a review of
controls fracture compressibility. In addition, compressibility of materials and processes for abatement and remediation
complex fracture networks approximates that of unpropped fractures Chalkidis, A. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 382, 121036.

132 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

The role of natural gas in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and The efficient and safe exploitation of natural gas hydrates (NGHs) has
advancing renewable energy resource integration is undoubtedly been a worldwide hot topic. Water migration is a fundamental process
critical. With the progress of hydrocarbons exploration and production, during NGHs production due to large amount of water produced from
the target zones become deeper and the possibility of mercury hydrate decomposition and in situ seawater in seabed. Water flow
contamination increases. This impacts on the industry from health erosion, a continuous water flow process to decompose hydrates, is a
and safety risks, due to corrosion and contamination of equipment, to novel production strategy proposed to enhance hydrate decomposition
catalyst poisoning and toxicity through emissions to the environment. by introducing chemical potential difference. In order to understand
Mercury embrittlement, being a significant problem in LNG plants the water–gas flow characteristics in hydrate-bearing sediment and
using aluminium cryogenic heat exchangers, has led to catastrophic evaluate the influence of water flow erosion on hydrate decomposition,
plant incidents worldwide. The conclusions drawn can be summarized the authors employed different fluid flows (single water phase and
as follows. Metal sulfide technology is the industry’s norm for mercury water-gas two-phase flow) and magnetic resonance imaging to visualize
abatement. This type of sorbent can be effective when fitted in mercury the water–gas migration process and methane hydrate decomposition.
removal units located at the front of gas plants. In this way, all Methane hydrate sediment samples were formed with various
downstream equipment is protected and mercury releases to the saturations and the saturation–permeability relation was matched with
environment through typical natural gas treatment operations, are the grain-coating/pore-filling models. The results revealed that samples
minimized or prevented. The efficient utilization of metal sulfides, with lower hydrate saturation could benefit more from water flow
however, requires the tuning of shape and size of active phase’s erosion. The average hydrate decomposition rate for a lower-saturation
particle, as well as the optimization of carrier’s porosity. Metal oxides sample (22.68% saturation) was around four times higher than that of a
offer the advantage of regeneration and recyclability. Additionally, higher-saturation sample (38.27% saturation). The water phase flow in
promising alternative technologies such as supported ionic liquid hydrate-bearing sediment was studied using heavy water (D2O) and
phases have been already commercialized, although they are not free of found to be a continuous dilution process. In addition, the water–gas
shortcomings. The atmospheric mercury emissions from oil and natural two-phase flow showed a two-stage evolution: separated two-phase
gas industry constitute only a very small fraction of the total flow followed by dispersed two-phase flow. Finally, the interaction
anthropogenic emissions. In the absence of MRUs, mercury may be mechanism between gas–water seepage process and hydrate decompo-
released during gas treatment to the environment mainly through the sition was proposed. Overall, the water flow erosion strategy showed a
inlet separation, acid gas removal and dehydration processes. Further great potential to be synergistically combined with typical production
studies are required to identify the potential impact of unconventional methods to enhance methane hydrate decomposition.
natural gas production with respect to mercury contamination of
aquatic ecosystems. Comprehensive speciation studies are required
during appraisal and production phases so as to provide effective 21/00747 Organic geochemical and petrophysical
mitigation treatment. Elemental mercury, which is the predominant characteristics of transitional coal-measure shale gas
species in natural gas, can be removed by conventional methods, reservoirs and their relationships with sedimentary
however, organic mercury compounds require additional treatment. environments: a case study from the Carboniferous-Permian
Reliable detection, sampling and measurement all the way, from the Qinshui Basin, China
hydrocarbon formation through fluid transportation and processing Liang, J. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
facilities, is required. Mercury is not produced at constant concen- 106510.
trations, but rather in the form of plugs and slugs. Regardless of the The Carboniferous-Permian Qinshui Basin has shale gas resource
metallurgy of production, processing and sampling equipment, adsorp- potential. In this study, 18 shale samples from two representative wells
tion always take place. Deep-well injection may be an economically were analysed to investigate the coal-measure shale reservoir charac-
viable and environmentally safe solution for mercury-waste disposal, as teristics and their relationships with the transitional sedimentary
long as no communication with water formations in geologic time is environments. The results show that controlled by sedimentary
ensured. The provision of effective mitigation planning usually depends environments, the tidal flat and barrier-lagoon (TFBL) system is prone
on the prediction of mercury’s presence in produced fluids. Further to developing more organic matter (OM) than the pro-delta and delta
research is required to elucidate the behaviour of mercury compounds front (PDDF) and delta plain and fluvial (DPF) systems. Shale porosity
in a variety of geological formations. is positively correlated with clay mineral content, but shows no obvious
relationship with quartz content. However, biogenic quartz content
exhibits a negative correlation with shale porosity, but has a positive
correlation with shale brittleness in the PDDF system, while no obvious
21/00745 Modeling dew point pressure of gas condensate correlation between detrital quartz and reservoir quality is found in the
reservoirs: comparison of hybrid soft computing TFBL system. In terms of its better preservation of pyrite, which
approaches, correlations, and thermodynamic models improves shale reservoir brittleness, there is more enhancement of the
Haji-Savameri, M. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, shale reservoir quality within the TFBL system than the PDDF system.
2020, 184, 106558. The coal-measure shale samples exhibit a positive logarithmic
Optimal future management of gas condensate reservoirs requires correlation between reservoir porosity and permeability due to the
reliable estimation of the dew point pressure (Pd). Due to the pore size distribution. In terms of micropores (pore size < 2 nm),
limitations of the available Pd determination methods, such as cost interlaminar OM micropores and clay mineral micropores are mainly
and the prohibitive time for experimental approaches, and inaccuracies controlled by hydrodynamic intensity, while columnar OM micropores
and lack of generalization for predictive approaches, it is still necessary are dominated by TOC content. Compared with the PDDF and DPF
to establish more accurate and user friendly Pd paradigms. In this systems, the TFBL system is prone to forming laminar structures of
study, various methodologies based on soft computing (SC) techniques, shale in response to the sedimentary environment changes, which
optimization algorithms, and generalized reduced gradient (GRG) favour pore network development. The results of this study aim to
method were implemented to develop Pd models based on a provide a basis for shale gas exploration in coal-measure intervals in
widespread databank. Two types of artificial neural networks, namely the Qinshui Basin and other similar transitional basins.
radial basis function (RBF) neural networks and multilayer perceptron
(MLP) are the employed SC methods. To improve the prediction
capability of the latter, Levenberg–Marquardt, Bayesian regularization 21/00748 Prediction of flowback ratio and production in
and scaled conjugate gradient algorithms were used in the training Sichuan shale gas reservoirs and their relationships with
phase of MLP, while three nature-inspired algorithms, namely genetic stimulated reservoir volume
algorithm, bat algorithm and salp swarm algorithm were first Lin, B. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
considered in the RBF learning phase. Then, the four best-found 106529.
models were assembled beneath a unified paradigm utilizing a Good flowback management in shale gas reservoirs not only preserves
committee machine intelligent system (CMIS). Also, a correlation the conductivity of the flow paths created by the fracture network but
was developed using GRG. The developed CMIS and GRG correlation also assists the subsequent production by minimizing the damage of the
were compared with four empirical correlations as well as seven fracturing fluid to the fluid-sensitive formation. However, a quantitat-
equations of state (EOSs). Based on the results obtained, the CMIS ive prediction of its behaviour and impact on the productivity of a
model exhibits very satisfactory Pd predictions with an overall average reservoir is not available yet. This study proposed a mathematical
absolute percent relative error of 5.28%, and outperforms largely the approach to predict the flowback behaviour concerning flow back ratio
other existing predictive approaches. Furthermore, the developed (FBR), and the productivity represented by first-month production
correlation provided more accurate results compared to existing (PROD), of the Changning–Weiyuan shale gas reserve in Sichuan
correlations and EOSs. basin, south-west China. First, a back propagation neural network
model was established to filter out the controlling factors given the
actual FBRs and the geological and engineering characteristics of 76
sample wells. Secondly, a correlation was generated between the FBR,
21/00746 New insights on water-gas flow and hydrate the geological index g, and the engineering index e by non-linear fitting.
decomposition behaviors in natural gas hydrates deposits In subsequence, the PROD was predicted based on the field recorded
with various saturations FBR and the comprehensive index c that combines the influences of
Chen, B. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114185. both geological and engineering parameters. Finally, the stimulated

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 133

03 Gaseous fuels (transport, storage)

reservoir volumes (SRVs) of 12 wells were estimated using the K-means The use of total acid number (TAN) to measure the acidity of crude oil
clustering and Delaunay triangulation to assess their impact on the samples is a common practice. Daily practice in petroleum refineries
FBR and PROD data. It was found that the associated FBR and PROD shows that oil with a TAN <0.5 mg KOH g1 can usually have
diagrams can provide accurate predictions for the 16 additional wells. unexpected corrosive behaviour. Although naphthenic corrosion has
Meanwhile, there exists an optimum FBR range of 20–40% for the been studied for many years, its process is not entirely understood.
shale gas region of concern where the productivity of the formation can Therefore, this study investigated the influence of linear, cyclic and
be maximized. It is also observed that the FBR and PROD fail to aromatic naphthenic acids (NAs) molecules, evaluating the effect of
display any specific trend with the value of the SRV magnitude. In their concentrations, molar weight, structural and electronic properties
general, the proposed approach can be used in shale gas reservoirs to on the corrosion rate of AISI 1020 steel samples at 320  C. The type
examine the favourable FBR and guide the engineering designs to and extension of corrosion were determined by surface characterization
enhance production if adequate reservoir data are accessible. of the sample using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy
(AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed
that even when TAN was below the detection limit, the corrosion rate
(CR) value was significant (CR < 0.19 mm year1) and considered high
for the industry. For concentrations of benzoic (BENA) and stearic
Transport, storage (STA) acids >5000 ppm, the corrosion rate varied proportionally with
the TAN. Also, there was an inverse proportional correlation between
molecular weight, the number of aromatic rings and NAs corrosiveness.
In general, NAs standards containing a lower molar volume were found
21/00749 Characterization of bypass pig velocity in gas to cause a higher corrosion rate. SEM micrographs revealed changes in
pipeline: an experimental and analytical study the surface area of all samples exposed to linear, cyclic and aromatic
Chen, J. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, 73, NAs, indicating the formation of a protective layer under the surface of
103059. the carbon steel specimen. AFM imaging showed drastic changes in the
For accurately characterizing bypass pig velocity, the paper firstly topographic profile and phase images characterized by the formation of
conducted a pigging experiment based on a newly developed bypass pig valleys and peaks, as well as variations in the mechanical properties of
prototype in a gas pipeline, and a quasi-steady state bypass pig model the surface of the AISI 1020 steel sample. Results obtained in this
was validated by the experiment. Moreover, an infrared ray-based pig study confirm the influence of the electronic–structural properties of
velocity detection method was proposed. The results show that the the molecules of organic acids on the naphthenic corrosion.
entire average bypass pig velocity linearly changes with the rear driving
gas flow rate and gas-to-pig velocity differences remain constant at the 21/00753 Dynamic pore network modelling of real gas
same bypass fraction. The existence of bypass fraction effectively transport in shale nanopore structure
reduces the pig velocity and alleviates the fluctuation of pig movement. Song, W. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
Calculation results of the established model are in good agreement 106506.
with the experimental data. The newly developed infrared ray-based Gas transport in shale nanopores is controlled by the complex
pig velocity measurement results have the same accuracy as that transport mechanisms and pore structure characteristics. So far much
measured by pressure sensors with deviations below 1%. The study work has been done on the single pore and regular structure based
sheds light on the promising prospect of bypass pigging technology in pore network but little is known on real gas transport behaviour on a
the application of natural gas field to safeguard energy transmission. realistic shale pore structure model. In this work, a dynamic pore
network model is proposed to describe single component methane
21/00750 Component failure recognition and maintenance transport in nanoscale porous media. Gas transport behaviour takes
optimization for offshore heave compensation systems transport mechanisms of slip flow, transition flow, surface diffusion and
based on importance measures adsorption/desorption into account. Real gas effect under high
Zhang, C. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, pressure and temperature is considered when calculating gas proper-
2020, 63, 103996. ties. A three dimensional pore network model is built from a three
Heave compensation systems work to reduce the influence of un- dimensional image that is reconstructed using multi-point statistics
predictable marine environments on offshore operations and are from a small organic-rich area on a two dimensional shale SEM image.
powered by hydraulic systems. As an important approach in the This pore network model is used to analyse dynamic gas transport and
reliability field, importance measure assesses the impact of components pressure drop transmission process. The simulated results reveal that
on a system. This paper considers the importance of hydraulic system there exists a time period that gas permeability on the pore network is
components for system performance. By analysing the working state of influenced by the pressure drop transmission process and pore
each component in the passive compensation and active compensation structure that flows on. When pressure drop reaches outlet, gas
phases, the working principle of the hydraulic system of a semi-active transport turns steady state. At steady state period gas permeability
heave compensation experimental system is explained. According to becomes constant and is influenced by the effective stress, pressure,
the actual design of the experimental system and its working principle, temperature and shale rock property.
eight types of 27 components, whose failures affect the performance,
are extracted. The servo valve and the accumulator are determined to 21/00754 Field demonstration of a microwave black powder
be redundant while the other components are non-redundant. Two detection device in gas transmission pipelines
performance-related importance measures, Griffith importance mea- Taha, W. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020,
sure and integrated importance measure (IIM), are then applied to sort 73, 103058.
the components of the hydraulic system and determine the mainten- Black powder (BP) poses a serious threat to the integrity and operation
ance sequence. Finally, based on the IIM value and the maintenance of natural gas transmission networks worldwide. While BP corrective
cost of each component, optimization strategies are proposed under and preventive remedies have been proposed in the past, real-time
different conditions using total cost and time as independent variables. detection and quantification of BP in natural gas flows using a viable
technology is yet to be addressed. Real-time monitoring of BP is
21/00751 Component joint importance measures for imperative not only to ensure on-spec supply of sales gas, but also to
maintenances in submarine blowout preventer system facilitate maintenance decisions and assess the efficacy of in-line filters.
Dui, H. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2020, In this paper, an industrial-grade BP detection device (BPDD) capable
63, 104003. of measuring the total suspended solids (TSS) in real-time is
In order to improve the performance and maintain the interconnection demonstrated. The proposed device is based on measurements of
components of the subsea pipeline ram blowout preventer system, the microwave signals transmitted through a pipe section as solids traverse
idea of importance analysis can be used to solve this problem. This in the gas flow using a custom-made transceiver and in situ probes. The
paper uses an extended joint integrated importance measure to BPDD is extensively tested on sales gas pipelines in field conditions,
effectively analyse the characteristics of component failures of the whereby high sensitivity is verified. Concentration measurements of the
blowout preventer system. The interaction between two components is BPDD is benchmarked against a TSS analysis conducted as part of
considered to improve system performance while the failed component isokinetic sampling of the gas flow. The reported measurement error
is being repaired. In order to facilitate subsequent maintenance and using the BPDD is <7%. Hence, the proposed device is deemed a
repair work, the effects of changes in different parameters on the valuable asset to flow assurance in the oil and gas industry.
importance value are considered. Finally, the analysis of a numerical
example of the submarine pipeline ram blowout preventer system is 21/00755 Impact of flood water on the technical condition
carried out to verify the proposed method. of natural gas transmission pipeline valves
Laciak, M. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,
21/00752 Corrosion rate studies of AISI 1020 steel using 2020, 63, 103998.
linear, cyclic, and aromatic naphthenic acid standards Maintaining the reliability of a transmission system’s operation is an
Dias, H. P. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, extremely important issue in the context of ensuring the continuity of
184, 106474. gas delivery to customers. Threats to maintaining the reliability of a

134 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (transport, storage)

transmission system’s operation may appear at any stage of trans- Experiments in atmospheric air–water system are used to determine
mission, and the most common reasons for this are corrosion, material the critical flow rates leading to purge-out. Several flow patterns are
defects or accidental damage. The paper presents the impact of flood observed as a function of the up-comer inclination angle, gas flow rate
water on transmission valves in the context of possible threats to and the initial liquid volume. These flow characteristics and the critical
ensuring the technical safety of gas supplies. Hazards are described flow rates are adequately predicted by 2D numerical simulations. A
which relate to the chemical composition of flood water, which may simple scaling rule is suggested for using low-pressure data for
cause corrosion of valve elements and risk of loss of gas pipeline evaluating the critical gas flow-rate at high-pressures typical to natural
stability caused by flooding. In the context of the design of a natural gas gas pipelines. The validity of the scaling-rule predictions is verified by
transmission network, the strength aspects and the phenomenon of the simulation results. The gas flow-rate for the complete purge of
corrosion are described. The results of tests related to a specific liquid is found to be independent of the initial volume of the trapped
example are presented. The finite element method is used to build ball liquid, however, increases with the up-comer inclination.
valve models. Two types of valves are modelled for nominal pipeline
diameters of 50 mm and 200 mm. The results of the presented analysis
show that the leak tightness of the tested valve flange connections was 21/00759 Pore structure characteristics of an ultradeep
mainly influenced by changes in their operating conditions because the carbonate gas reservoir and their effects on gas storage and
occurring additional forces and moments caused significant changes in percolation capacities in the Deng IV member, Gaoshiti-Moxi
the load balance of the flange connections. Area, Sichuan Basin, SW China
Wang, L. et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2020, 111, 44–65.
21/00756 Impact of shale matrix mechanical interactions on Evaluating reservoir storage and percolation capacities, which are
gas transport during production closely associated with pore morphology and connectivity, is significant
Cui, G. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184, for the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas fields. However,
106524. ultradeep carbonate gas reservoirs have extremely high heterogeneity
Shale gas has played an increasingly important role in world energy and complexity compared to other relatively shallow reservoirs.
supply in recent years. The gas transport process in the shale matrix is Therefore, investigations into all aspects of ultradeep carbonate face
particularly important as it affects the long-term production behaviour enormous challenges. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no
of shale gas. The shale matrix consists of inorganic minerals and systematic study on the pore structure characteristics of ultradeep
embedded organic matter with mass transfer influenced by mechanical carbonate gas reservoirs has been conducted to date. In this paper, the
interactions. Here, the authors developed a micro-scale discrete pore structure characteristics and their effects on the gas storage and
coupled model to explicitly account for mass transfer and mechanical percolation capacities of the Deng IV Member gas reservoir were
interactions, and how these interactions affect the gas transport investigated using conventional petrophysical measurements, casting
characteristics of both components. Specifically, the model comprises thin section analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-
organic matter embedded within inorganic minerals. The proposed pressure mercury intrusion (HPMI) tests, and multiscale CT scanning
model is implemented and solved within the framework of COMSOL analysis. The results show that the lithology of the Deng IV Member
Multiphysics. The model is first verified against the results of a reservoir is dominated by algal clotted dolomite, algal stromatolite
desorption-diffusion-seepage coupled experiment and then extended to dolomite and algal doloarenite. The conventional petrophysical
field scale. It is found that the impacts of gas pressure and effective measurements indicate that the average porosity and permeability are
strain are different for the gas seepage in inorganic minerals and gas 3.91% and 1.02 mD, respectively. However, the high porosity (8–4%)
diffusion in organic matter. Gas pressure may enhance the permeability and high permeability (10–10,000 mD) intervals are developed locally.
of the inorganic phase due to the gas slippage effect while compactive The casting thin sections, SEM and two-dimensional CT analyses
effective strain decreases permeability during the gas depletion identify six main types of reservoir spaces in the Deng IV Member:
process. For gas diffusion in the organic matter, surface diffusion interparticle dissolution pores, intercrystal dissolution pores, fenestri-
decreases and effective diffusion coefficient increases with declining form cavities, dissolution cavities, structural fractures and dissolution
gas pressure. While the impacts of effective strain on the effective fractures. Furthermore, three types of throats, that is, necking, tubular
diffusion are dependent on the external boundary conditions, the and lamellar, were also detected. Four types of reservoirs, namely,
effective diffusion coefficient is lower than the initial value under matrix type, pore type, cavity type and fracture-cavity type, were
constant stress conditions and larger than the initial value under classified according to the comprehensive analysis of HPMI data and
constant volume conditions. The proposed model provides a comp- curves. Three-dimensional pore throat network topologies were
lementary method to conventional continuum dual-media approaches reconstructed for four types of representative core samples based on
and provides a clear understanding of the interactions between the two the multiscale CT scanning data and ‘maximum-ball’ method. The
components. Field-observed oscillatory gas production data is readily distribution characteristics of pore throat radii, volumes and coordi-
history-matched and key mechanisms explained with the proposed nation numbers reveal the following: the reservoir space of fracture-
approach presented in this work. cavity type is dominated by cavities and multiscale pore throats with the
best pore-throat connectivity; the reservoir space of cavity type is
primarily controlled by cavities and large-scale pore throats with
21/00757 Justification of CO2 as the working fluid for a moderate connectivity; the reservoir space of pore type comprises
compressed gas energy storage system: a thermodynamic multiscale pore throats with moderate connectivity; and most areas of
and economic study matrix type reservoir are occupied by rock matrix, and the pore-throat
Liu, Z. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101132. connectivity is the worst. In conclusion, the development of fractures
The compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) energy storage (CCES) system and bedding cavities considerably improves the reservoir percolation
has been attracting more and more attentions in recent years. The capacity, and the development of cavities is an important supplement
CCES system leads the way of green solutions to accommodating the to the reservoir storage capacity. The reasonable combination of
intermittency of renewable power generation systems in a large-scale cavities and fractures is the basis for the efficient development of
energy storage pattern. Particularly, the usage of CO2 as the working ultradeep carbonate gas reservoirs.
medium for CCES successfully offers a green solution to massive
carbon capture and storage. This paper aims to further analyse the
applicability and feasibility of a novel CCES system with the merit of
21/00760 Prevention of hydrate plugging by kinetic
efficiently and economically utilizing pressure energy and thermal
inhibitor in subsea flowline considering the system
energy. Thermodynamic and cost evaluation on the energy conversion
availability of offshore gas platform
cycle were carried out. Genetic algorithm was employed to perform
Kim, Y. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, 82,
multi-objective optimization on the novel energy conversion cycle with
349–358.
thermal energy storage towards maximizing exergy efficiency and
This paper presents a new methodology to apply a kinetic hydrate
economic profits. Results reveal that the net output power mono-
inhibitor (KHI) to prevent hydrate plugging considering the system
tonously increases with turbine inlet temperature, but the unit product
availability of the topside system in an offshore gas platform. The
cost monotonously decreases with turbine inlet temperature. The
proposed methodology comprises three steps: the system availability
multi-objective optimization recommends a 60.5% for the overall
analysis by Monte Carlo simulation, subsea multiphase flow simulation
exergy efficiency and 0.23 $/kWh for the unit product cost. Moreover,
to evaluate the risk of hydrate plugging, and application of KHI to
scattered distribution of decision variables suggests always a higher
prevent hydrate plugging. The topside system availability and its
outlet pressure for compressor.
longest downtime were estimated to be 99.3% and 47 h, respectively.
As a result of the multiphase flow simulation, the temperature in the
21/00758 Liquid displacement from lower section of flowline decreases from 40 to 5  C during the system downtime,
hilly-terrain natural gas pipelines creating the condition for hydrate formation. Thus, polyvinylcaprolac-
Hamami Bissor, E. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and tam (PVCap) was used to delay hydrate plugging for a period longer
Engineering, 2020, 73, 103046. than the cooldown time. As a result, the injection rate of 0.75 wt% of
Offshore gas fields are challenged by liquid accumulation at lower PVCap was required 0.6 times per year to prevent hydrate plugging,
sections of the hilly-terrain pipelines. To enhance flow assurance, while 30 wt% of mono ethylene glycol was required under the same
complete purge-out of the liquid by the gas flow is desired. hydrate formation condition. This approach provides the guideline for

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 135

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

KHI injection according to the system downtime and flowing pressure has an influence on the stability of SSTW caverns and low
performance in subsea gas flowline as a risk management strategy to pressure should be limited in terms of duration and magnitude. And
mitigate operation risks in the offshore gas platform. the ratio of long axis to short axis (RLS) has limited influence on the
stability of a SSTW cavern by ways of volume loss rate and roof
settlement. Overall, the SSTW cavern behaves similar stability state
21/00761 Reversible solid oxide cell systems for
with that of a SW cavern. In addition, a flatter roof shape appears
integration with natural gas pipeline and carbon capture
under greater ratio value (RLS) and thus a thicker roof salt rock
infrastructure for grid energy management
thickness is suggested for engineering design. The most different
Reznicek, E. P. and Braun, R. J. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114118.
between them are the waist displacement along short axis, therefore the
Electrical energy storage (EES) is necessary to enable greater
pillar width close to the adjacent cavern should be a certain lengthened
penetration of renewables and as a grid-balancing solution, but current
at this direction.
EES technologies suffer from capacity or geological limitations and
high cost. Reversible solid oxide cells (ReSOCs) are an electrochemical
energy conversion technology that can produce both electricity from
fuel (gas-to-power) and fuel from electricity (power-to-gas), depending
on resource availability and demand. Leveraging in situ C–O–H
chemistry and operating at intermediate temperature (600  C) and
Economics, business, marketing, policy
elevated pressure (10–20 bar) enables these cells to be mildly
exothermic, eliminating the need for external heat input or high
over-potential (low-efficiency) operation during electrolysis mode. This 21/00764 Comprehensive framework for underground
operating strategy also results in higher methane production during pipeline management with reliability and cost factors using
electrolysis, facilitating easier integration with natural gas pipeline Monte Carlo simulation
infrastructure over steam/hydrogen electrolytic processes. This study Park, K. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2020,
proposes a ReSOC system integrated with both natural gas pipeline 63, 104035.
and carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure to render a A reliability model for underground pipeline management that can
flexible, grid energy management resource. In gas-to-power mode, the quantify the trade-off between risk reduction and increased mainten-
system takes natural gas from a pipeline to produce electricity. Un- ance costs in various underground piping management scenarios can be
utilized fuel is combusted with oxygen and expanded through a turbine useful for many pipeline-maintenance decision-makers. This paper
to produce more power. The water in the exhaust is condensed, and the proposes a comprehensive framework for analysing underground
remaining carbon dioxide is compressed for tanker or pipeline pipeline management options. Pipeline reliability is calculated using
transportation to a carbon sequestration site. In power-to-gas mode, time-dependent and independent limit state functions with a probabil-
carbon dioxide and water are co-electrolysed in the stack to produce istic model and a deterministic model about the frequency of a failure
methane and hydrogen, which can be injected directly into a natural occurrence event. The proposed framework includes the target
gas pipeline or further refined into a purer stream of methane. Here, reliability, consequences, and cost model, and has the advantage that
the system design concepts, performance, and cost of a 50 MWe it can be intuitively utilized for piping management decision-making.
ReSOC system were explored. Results indicate that synthetic natural Several case studies were conducted using a Monte Carlo simulation on
gas (92.0% methane) can be produced at $22.7/MMBTU with a lower pipelines in industrial complexes in Korea.
heating value efficiency of 81%. Alternatively, a system that net meters
produced syngas and operates in power producing mode 50% of the
time can generate electricity at a levelized cost of 10.5 ¢/kWh with an 21/00765 Concept risk assessment of a hydrogen driven
efficiency of 69% (LHV), while producing exhaust that is 95.5% carbon high speed passenger ferry
dioxide at 40 bar. If the system operates disproportionally in gas-to- Aarskog, F. G. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020,
power mode the LCOE drops to near 6 ¢/kWh. The economic outlook 45, (2), 1359–1372.
for mature ReSOC systems presented herein are found to be A concept risk assessment of a hydrogen and fuel cell-driven high-
competitive with current energy storage technologies and natural gas speed passenger ferry has been performed. The study focused on
peaker plants. fatality risk related to the hydrogen systems on the vessel, both during
operation and while moored in harbour overnight. The main objective
with the study was to evaluate whether the risk related to the hydrogen
21/00762 Shelter-in-place risk assessment for systems is equivalent to that of conventionally fuelled vessels and can
high-pressure natural gas wells with hydrogen sulphide be considered acceptable according to the requirements of the IGF-
and its application in emergency management code (International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or Other
Gai, W.-m. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Low-flashpoint Fuels). Since hydrogen behaves differently than other
2020, 63, 103993. flammable gases, some adjustments to existing models and vulnerability
This paper provides a risk assessment method of sheltering in-place for criteria have been proposed. The conclusion of the study is that the
high-pressure natural gas wells with hydrogen sulfide. In this paper, the estimated risk related to hydrogen systems is relatively low, and much
shelter-in-place risk is estimated by integrating the health conse- lower than the expected acceptable risk tolerance level of 0.5–1.0
quences of an individual taking one kind of emergency response to the fatalities per 109 passenger kilometres. Furthermore, for the overnight
emergency orders of sheltering in place from the emergency decision mooring in harbour the estimated risks are well within acceptable
makers and the probability of the corresponding emergency response limits. The work presented is part of a maritime case study performed
action. The probability of the corresponding emergency response within MoZEES, a Norwegian research centre for environmentally
action in the proposed method is estimated through the accident friendly technology and zero-emission transport.
probability analysis and the probability analysis of taking a certain
response action. The health consequence estimation is based on air
21/00766 Cost benefits of optimizing hydrogen storage and
exchange rate test of the shelter buildings as well as accident
methanation capacities for power-to-gas plants in dynamic
consequence calculation. The evaluation of shelter-in-place risks based
operation
on ‘as low as reasonably practicable’ guidelines was employed to
Gorre, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113967.
provide suggestions for emergency management under both normal
Power-to-gas technologies offer a promising approach for converting
conditions and off normal conditions. A case study of risk assessment
renewable electricity into a molecular form (fuel) to serve the energy
of sheltering in the local residential houses in Xuanhan, China was
demands of non-electric energy applications in all end-use sectors. The
taken as an example to illustrate the proposed risk assessment process
technologies have been broadly developed and are at the edge of a
of shelter-in-place and its application in the decision-making process
mass roll-out. The barriers that power-to-gas face are no longer
for emergency management.
technical, but are, foremost, regulatory, and economic. This study
focuses on a power-to-gas pathway, where electricity is first converted
21/00763 Stability study and optimization design of in a water electrolyser into hydrogen, which is then synthetized with
small-spacing two-well (SSTW) salt caverns for natural carbon dioxide to produce synthetic natural gas. A key aspect of this
gas storages pathway is that an intermittent electricity supply could be used, which
Chen, J. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101131. could reduce the amount of electricity curtailment from renewable
A small-spacing two-well salt (SSTW) cavern is a relatively new type of energy generation. Interim storages would then be necessary to
cavern. As this type of cavern is less frequently used in underground decouple the synthesized part from hydrogen production, to enable
natural gas storage, studies on its stability are quite limited. To (i) longer continuous operation cycles for the methanation reactor, and
promote the application of this type of cavern and accelerate the (ii) increased annual full-load hours, leading to an overall reduction in
construction of underground salt cavern gas storage, stability analysis gas production costs. This work optimizes a power-to-gas plant
and optimization design of this type of cavern are indispensable to the configuration with respect to the cost benefits using a Monte Carlo-
security of underground natural gas storage. In this paper, numerical based simulation tool. The results indicate potential cost reductions of
calculation and parameters analysis were performed to analyse the up to 17% in synthetic natural gas production by implementing well-
effects of internal gas pressure and ratio of long axis to short axis (RLS) balanced components and interim storages. This study also evaluates
on the stability of SSTW caverns. The results show that internal gas three different power sources which differ greatly in their optimal

136 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

system configuration. Results from time-resolved simulations and model for physical effects evaluation. Comparison with the Viareggio
sensitivity analyses for different plant designs and electricity sources case was also shown in order to support the discussion of the results
are discussed with respect to technical and economic implications, so as obtained. Finally, lessons learned after the incident, policy making
to facilitate a plant design process for decision makers. considerations, and indications for the risk mitigation of hazardous
materials transportation are given.
21/00767 Cost-based fire risk assessment in natural gas
industry by means of fuzzy FTA and ETA 21/00770 Prospective techno-economic and environmental
Hosseini, N. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, assessment of a national hydrogen production mix for road
2020, 63, 104025. transport
Fire is the most prevalent accident in natural gas facilities. In order to Navas-Anguita, Z. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114121.
assess the risk of fire in a gas processing plant, a fault tree analysis Fuel cell electric vehicles arise as an alternative to conventional
(FTA) and event tree analysis (ETA) has been developed in this paper. vehicles in the road transport sector. They could contribute to
By utilizing FTA and ETA, the paths leading to an outcome event decarbonizing the transport system because they have no direct CO2
would be visually demonstrated. The framework was applied to a case emissions during the use phase. In fact, the life-cycle environmental
study of processing plant in South Pars gas complex. All major performance of hydrogen as a transportation fuel focuses on its
underlying causes of fire accident in a gas processing facility production. In this sense, through the case study of Spain, this article
determined through a process hazard analysis. Fuzzy logic has been prospectively assesses the techno-economic and environmental per-
employed to derive likelihood of basic events in FTA from uncertain formance of a national hydrogen production mix by following a
opinion of experts. The outcome events in event tree has been methodological framework based on energy systems modelling en-
simulated by computer model to evaluate their severity. In the riched with endogenous carbon footprint indicators. Taking into
proposed methodology the calculated risk has the unit of cost per account the need for a hydrogen economy based on clean options,
year which allows the decision makers to discern the benefit of their alternative scenarios characterized by carbon footprint restrictions with
investment in safety measures and risk mitigation. respect to a fossil-based scenario dominated by steam methane
reforming are evaluated. In these scenarios, the steam reforming of
natural gas still arises as the key hydrogen production technology in the
21/00768 Economic benefit of methane hydrate reformation
short term, whereas water electrolysis is the main technology in the
management in transport pipeline by reducing
medium and long term. Furthermore, in scenarios with very restrictive
thermodynamic hydrate inhibitor injection
carbon footprint limits, biomass gasification also appears as a key
Kim, H. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
hydrogen production technology in the long term. In the alternative
106498.
scenarios assessed, the functional substitution of hydrogen for
Hydrate reformation is an inherent risk in a methane hydrate
conventional fossil fuels in the road transport sector could lead to
production system because dissociated water and methane flow
high greenhouse gas emission savings, ranging from 36 to 58 Mt CO2 eq
through transport pipelines simultaneously. In this study, comprehen-
in 2050. Overall, these findings and the model structure and
sive experiments using high-pressure autoclaves are performed to
characterization developed for the assessment of hydrogen energy
investigate the effect of reducing the concentration of thermodynamic
scenarios are expected to be relevant not only to the specific case study
hydrate inhibitor on hydrate reformation characteristics. In order to
of Spain but also to analysts and decision-makers in a large number of
simulate the production of methane hydrates, these are formed and
countries facing similar concerns.
dissociated in the preliminary stage; thereafter, the hydrates are
reformed from dissociated water. Although dissociated water and fresh
water are found to have similar formation rates, they have a major 21/00771 Quantifying reputation loss of pipeline operator
difference in relative torque, especially in the early stage of hydrate from various stakeholders’ perspectives – part 1:
formation. The instant rise of the relative torque in the dissociated prioritization
water is observed to be up to 2.5; thereafter, it remains approximately Zardasti, L. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,
3.0 until hydrate conversion reaches 28 vol%. This trend is different 2020, 63, 104034.
from that in fresh water, where a steady increase in relative torque with Quantifying reputation loss (RL) due to pipeline damage is commonly
sudden spikes is observed. These results clearly show the high risk of generalized based on the owner’s definition. This one-way perspective
hydrate blockage in the transport pipelines of a methane hydrate of portraying RL is unfair and unrealistic and consequently miscalcu-
production system; hence, the injection of hydrate inhibitor is lates the impact assessment of pipeline damage; hence, inaccurate risk
necessary. In this study, monoethylene glycol (MEG) is the selected prediction. It is crucial to develop a model to quantify qualitative RL to
thermodynamic hydrate inhibitor; its concentration is maintained avoid unpredicted risk. Thus, this article provides a framework for a
below a specific value to completely avoid hydrate formation. Despite procedure to calculate RL by utilizing the factors identified in a
the occurrence of hydrate reformation, a stable relative torque is previous study. In this paper, the prioritization of factors based on the
observed in a 20 wt% MEG concentration, where the conversion of stakeholders’ perspectives is presented. The factors were grouped into
water to hydrate approximately reaches 40 vol%. For a 10 wt% MEG stakeholder-influenced categories and prioritized by a fuzzy analytic
concentration, a sudden increase in relative torque of up to 2.0 is hierarchy process based on the feedback gained from the stakeholders,
observed in the early stage of hydrate formation; this suggests that the i.e. investors, customers, employees and the public. The result shows
foregoing is less effective in sustaining flowability. Compared to fresh that factor D3, ‘Accident severity’, was ranked highest by all
water, the addition of a 20 wt% MEG to dissociated water results in a stakeholders. The priority vector for each factor obtained was assigned
more stable torque. Once the performance of the MEG concentration as a weight of the factor. The pipeline owner’s reputation loss model
reduction is confirmed, the MEG regeneration process is designed (RLM) is developed by applying the obtained priority vectors in the
accordingly by using both multiphase flow and process simulation subsequent paper (part 2). The developed model was verified by
models. A life cycle cost (LCC) analysis is conducted by estimating the experts as a comprehensive, clear, objective, practical and moderately
capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX) of reliable model. The model was applied to a case study and eventually
the MEG regeneration process. Considering both CAPEX and OPEX, produced a lower risk value when compared with the currently used
the LCC for complete inhibition (35 wt%) is US$90.15 million; model. It is proven that RL factors can be quantitatively measured and
however, for the 20 and 10 wt% MEG concentrations, the LCC values can simultaneously improve pipeline damage impact assessment. Thus,
are reduced to $86.79 millon and $84.58 million, respectively. The a risk-based inspection schedule can be managed comprehensively.
foregoing suggests the potential economic benefit of methane hydrate
reformation management to avoid blockage.
21/00772 Situation awareness of electricity-gas coupled
systems with a multi-port equivalent gas network model
21/00769 HazMat transportation safety assessment: Yang, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114029.
analysis of a ‘Viareggio-like’ incident in the Netherlands Natural gas has become one of the major fuel sources for power
Ovidi, F. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, systems in many parts of the world due to the increasing deployment of
2020, 63, 103985. gas-fired generators. However, under the current operational pro-
Relevant safety issues are associated with hazardous materials cedures, the gas system operator is unable to provide detailed network
transportation, especially when transport routes cross populated areas. data to the power system operator due to information privacy, and
On 6 March 2015, a passenger train collided with the last rail car of a thus, the power system operator has very limited knowledge of the
freight train in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The last car contained 50 t of situation variation in the gas system. To better represent the
liquefied 1,3-butadiene. As a result of the collision, the last car showed interaction between electric and gas systems and increase situation
deformation; a small leakage occurred but fortunately with no relevant awareness, a multi-port equivalent model of gas networks and
consequences. However, extremely severe results could have occurred, electricity-to-gas sensitivity factors is proposed in this paper by
such as in the rail accident in Viareggio, Italy in 2009. In this work, the transplanting the theory of electric analogy and reduced equivalence
case of Tilburg was firstly outlined and explored by qualitative from electric circuit analysis to gas system analysis. The multi-port
methods, in order to identify possible realistic final scenarios that equivalent model enables the gas system operator to provide the
could have happened. Second, the potential consequences of the reduced equivalent boundary information of the gas system without
identified scenarios were estimated through conventional integral revealing detailed network data. Based on this information, electricity-

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 137

03 Gaseous fuels (derived gaseous fuels)

to-gas sensitivity factors are calculated by power system operators. temperature, CCE and CGE of the tapered gasifier diminishes.
These factors indicate ‘where, when and how much’ the status of the Increasing tapered angle results in a decrease of the LHV and HHV
gas system will change as a function of changes in power generation. of the gas products, whereas the CCE of gasification process increases.
Both the equivalent model and sensitivity factors have explicit matrix The CGE of the gasifier increases as the tapered angle goes up from 3
formulations and can contribute to improving power system operators’ to 5 , but it slightly varies with a further increase of the tapered angle
awareness of varying conditions in the gas system. Several numerical from 5 to 11 . The results indicate that as the velocity of gasifying
tests are presented to prove the accuracy and robustness of the agent increases, LHV and HHV of the product gas drop while CCE of
proposed models. the gasifier enhances. It was also found that the concentrations of H2,
CO and CO2 decrease with an increase in the steam-to-air ratio.
21/00773 Societal risk acceptance criteria for gas
distribution pipelines based on incident data from the United 21/00776 Gas switching reforming for syngas production
States with iron-based oxygen carrier – the performance under
Gong, Y. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, pressurized conditions
2020, 63, 104002. Ugwu, A. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (2),
A significant number of pipeline operators use pipeline integrity 1267–1282.
management (PIM) to improve pipeline safety and reliability. Risk A four-stage gas switching reforming for syngas production with
assessment is a critical step in PIM, because it determines the necessity integrated CO2 capture using an iron-based oxygen carrier was
of conducting the following steps in PIM for certain pipelines. Risk investigated in this study. The oxygen carrier was first reduced using
acceptance criteria are required in the process of risk assessment. dry methane, where high methane conversion rate was achieved
Individual risk and societal risk are most frequently adopted as the two producing CO2 and steam. Following the reduction stage is a transition
indicators of the risk acceptance criteria. To the best of the authors’ to syngas production in an intermediate stage that begins with partial
knowledge, quantitative societal risk acceptance criteria, especially for oxidation of methane while methane cracking dominates the rest of the
gas distribution pipelines, do not exit. The aim of this paper is to stage. This results in substantial carbon deposition that gasifies in a
establish the societal risk acceptance criteria for gas distribution subsequent reforming stage by cofeeding steam and methane,
pipelines. Hence, FN curves were established using historical incident contributing to the syngas yield. Some of the deposited carbon that
data from 2002 to 2017 provided by the US Department of could not gasify during the reforming stage slips to the oxidation stage
Transportation. Linear regression and the ALARP principle are used and is combusted by oxygen in the air feed to release CO2, thereby
in evaluating the limits of the negligible line and intolerable line to reducing the CO2 capture efficiency of the process. It is in this
obtain a graphical societal risk acceptance criterion for gas distribution oxidation stage that heat is being generated for the whole cycle given
pipelines. A line having a slope of 1.224, and an anchor point of (1, the high exothermicity nature of this reaction. Methane conversion was
8.413  107) is proposed as the negligible line. Further, the intolerable found to drop substantially in the reforming stage as the pressure
line has a slope of 1.224, and an anchor point of (1, 2.524  106). increases driven by the negative effect of pressure on both carbon
Both the negligible risk and the intolerable risk for the gas distribution gasification by steam and on steam methane reforming. The inter-
pipeline are lower than the current societal risk acceptance criteria for mediate stage (after reduction) was found less sensitive to the pressure
hazardous installations. The reasons for these relatively lower risk in terms of methane conversion, but the mechanism of carbon
acceptance criteria are discussed. deposition tends to change from methane cracking in the partial
oxidation stage to Boudouard reaction in the reforming stage.
21/00774 Techno-economic calculations of small-scale However, methane cracking shows a tendency to reduce substantially
hydrogen supply systems for zero emission transport in at higher pressures. This is could be a promising result indicating that
Norway high-pressure operation would remove the need for the reforming
Ulleberg, Ø. and Hancke, R. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, stage with steam as no carbon would have been deposited in the partial
2020, 45, (2), 1201–1211. oxidation stage.
In Norway, where nearly 100% of the power is hydroelectric, it is
natural to consider water electrolysis (WE) as the main production 21/00777 In-situ decoupling effect of H2O on the whole
method of hydrogen for zero-emissions transport. In a start-up market process of coal gasification in MFBRA and TG-FTIR-MS
with low demand for hydrogen, one may find that small-scale WE- Feng, D. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145,
based hydrogen production is more cost-efficient than large-scale 104744.
production because of the potential to reach a high number of O2/H2O oxyfuel combustion, as one of the most promising combustion
operating hours at rated capacity and high overall system utilization technologies for CO2 reduction, has become a significant research topic
rate. Two case studies addressing the levelized costs of hydrogen in around the world. In oxyfuel combustion, H2O gasification has an
local supply systems have been evaluated in the present work: important effect on the overall reaction process. This paper used
(1) hydrogen production at a small-scale hydroelectric power plant Chinese Shenhua coal as raw material to decouple the effect of H2O on
(with and without on-site refuelling) and (2) small hydrogen refuelling the whole process of raw coal–H2O gasification reaction. At 800  C in
station for trucks (with and without on-site hydrogen production). The 15 vol.% H2O, the changes of gas–liquid–solid phase product concen-
techno-economic calculations of the two case studies show that the tration and the development of char structure in the coal–H2O
levelized hydrogen refuelling cost at the small-scale hydroelectric gasification were investigated. The microfluidized bed reaction
power plant (with a local station) will be NOK141/kg (US$16/kg), while analyser (MFBRA) was used to analyse the rapid coal–H2O gasifica-
a fleet of five fuel-cell trucks will be able to refuel hydrogen at a cost of tion reaction, while the slow-heating-rate gasification of coal was
NOK58/kg at a station with on-site production or NOK71/kg at a analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and mass
station based on delivered hydrogen. The study shows that there is a spectrometry (TG-FTIR-MS). The results show that in the rapid
relatively good business case for local water electrolysis and supply of single-particle reaction at 800  C, H2O promotes the whole devolati-
hydrogen to captive fleets of trucks in Norway, particularly if the size of lization of coal, with a certain inhibitory effect on the secondary gas-
the fleet is sufficiently large to justify the installation of a relatively phase reaction, especially for the H2 release. H2O increases the oxygen-
large water electrolyser system (economies of scale). The ideal concept containing functional groups on the char surface and increases the
would be a large fleet of heavy-duty vehicles (with a high total structural defects in char. H2O would increase the –COO– groups, and
hydrogen demand) and a refuelling station with nearly 100% utilization promotes the consumption of C=C on the surface. H2O has an obvious
of the installed hydrogen production capacity. etching effect on the char surface. For slow-heating-rate gasification of
coal, the reaction has obvious secondary weightlessness, and H2O
promotes initial devolatilization, but has an inhibitory effect on the
secondary one. At >700  C, the H2O gasification is more pronounced
than that of a single-particle rapid reaction. H2O reduces the activation
Derived gaseous fuels energy of the initial stage and increases the reaction activation energy
of the secondary one during devolatilization. H2O can promote the
consumption of aromatic liquid-phase products such as toluene and
phenol during devolatilization of pulverized coal under the slow-
21/00775 CFD modeling of gasification process in tapered
heating condition.
fluidized bed gasifier
Askaripour, H. Energy, 2020, 191, 116515.
This article presents a two-dimensional simulation of the coal 21/00778 Production of syngas via CO2 methane reforming
gasification in tapered fluidized bed gasifier. The effects of tapered process: effect of cerium and calcium promoters on the
angle, gasifier temperature, velocity of gasifying agent, and steam-to- performance of Ni-MSC catalysts
air ratio on the gas compositions, lower heating value (LHV), and Sun, Y. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
higher heating value (HHV) were examined. In order to find the 640–649.
appropriate operating conditions of coal gasification, carbon conver- The dry reforming of methane (DRM) over Ni-mesoporous silica-
sion efficiency (CCE) and cold gas efficiency (CGE) were also carbon(MSC) catalysts promoted by different Ce/Ca ratios was
explored. It was found that with an increase of the gasifier compared. The different Ce/Ca ratios proportions were introduced

138 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (LNG)

by coprecipitation. The catalysts with different content of promoter was conducted in order to unravel their impact on the bed-averaged
were characterized by N2 adsorption, XRD, H2-TPR and TEM. XRD oxygen non-stoichiometry (), syngas yield, methane conversion, and
and TEM results demonstrated that Ni–4Ce1Ca-MSC catalyst modified solar reactor performance. The ceria cycling stability was also
with high Ce/Ca had the best dispersibility and the smallest Ni particle experimentally investigated to demonstrate repeatable syngas pro-
size, resulting in more surface active sites. The synergy between Ce and duction by alternating the flow between CH4 and H2O (or CO2). A
Ca made a great contribution to prohibiting the generation of carbon decrease in sintering temperature of the ceria foam was beneficial for
deposits and the sintering of active metal during DRM procession. In increasing syngas selectivity, methane conversion, and reactor per-
contrast, catalysts modified only with Ca or Ce exhibited poor catalytic formance. Increasing both CH4 concentration and reduction tempera-
performance, resulting in significant deposition of carbon on the ture enhanced  with the maximum value up to 0.41 but concomitantly
surface of the Ni–5Ca-MSC catalyst. In addition, the high Ce favoured CH4 cracking reaction. The ceria reticulated porous foam
concentration greatly increases the oxygen storage capacity, which showed better performance in terms of effective heat transfer, due to
helps to form oxygen vacancies by mutual conversion of Ce4+/Ce3+ and volumetric absorption of concentrated solar radiation and uniform
Ni2+/Ni0. heating with lower solar power consumption, thereby promoting the
solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency that reached up to 5.60%.
The energy upgrade factor achieved during cycle was up to 1.19. Stable
21/00779 Pyrolysis-catalytic hydrogenation of cellulose-
patterns in the  and syngas yield for consecutive cycles with the ceria
hemicellulose-lignin and biomass agricultural wastes for
foam validated material performance stability.
synthetic natural gas production
Jaffar, M. M. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
145, 104753.
The production of methane from the biopolymers cellulose, hemi-
cellulose and lignin, and also four different agricultural waste biomass
samples was investigated using a two-stage pyrolysis–catalytic hydro- LNG
genation reactor. The biomass agricultural waste samples were rice
straw, willow, sugar cane bagasse and ugu plant. Pyrolysis of the
biomass samples was carried out in a first-stage reactor while the
catalytic hydrogenation was carried out in a second-stage reactor using 21/00782 An evaluation of vaporization models for a
a 10 wt% Ni/Al2O3 catalyst maintained at 500  C with heating rate of cryogenic liquid spreading on a solid ground
20  C min1 and a H2 space velocity of 3600 ml h1 g1 Nguyen, L.-D. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
catalyst. The thermal
degradation characteristics of the biomass components, mixtures of the 2020, 146, 118848.
components and the biomass waste samples was also conducted using The spreading and vaporization of a hazardous cryogenic liquid due to
thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA of the mixtures of the its accidental release on solid ground may result in a pool fire, an
biomass components showed interaction, illustrated by a shift in the explosion, or a hazardous vapour cloud. Many mathematical models
thermal degradation temperatures for hemicellulose and lignin. The have been built to predict the spreading and vaporization of a liquid
results from the pyrolysis-catalytic hydrogenation revealed that the pool. To determine the heat flux from the ground to the liquid pool two
methane yield increased in the presence of the catalyst; the methane boundary conditions (BCs) at the ground surface have been commonly
yield obtained from the hemicellulose (7.9 mmoles g1 used: (i) specified heat flux and (ii) specified temperature. The first BC
biomass ) and
cellulose (7.65 mmoles g1 is derived from predictive correlations for boiling heat transfer regimes
biomass ) was significantly higher than that
1
produced from lignin, (3.7 mmoles gbiomass). The pyrolysis–catalytic (BR-BC) that are dependent on the temperature difference between
hydrogenation of the mixtures of the biopolymers showed clear inter- the liquid and the ground surface, while the second is based on an
action, producing higher total gas yield and methane yield compared to assumption of perfect thermal contact (PTC-BC) between the liquid
calculated values. Pyrolysis–catalytic hydrogenation of the agricultural and the ground. However, the influence of the selection of these BCs
biomass wastes suggests that the product methane yield was influenced on the model predictions still needs to be investigated. To this end, the
by the percentage of hemicellulose and cellulose content in the authors implemented both types of BCs in liquid spreading models and
biomass. then compared the results. In addition, experiments were conducted
for liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen to observe pool spreading and
pool regression. The PTC-BC was in better agreement with the
21/00780 Scaling up syngas production with controllable experimental results than the BR-BC. At the initial stage, the BR-BC
H2/CO ratio in a highly efficient, compact, and durable solid underestimated the vaporization velocity and overpredicted the pool
oxide coelectrolysis cell unit-bundle radius because the boiling regime correlations did not account for the
Lee, D.-Y. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114036. effects of the radial flow. The two BCs agreed well at the later stages. It
High-temperature co-electrolysis of H2O and CO2 by using solid oxide is recommended that the PTC-BC should be used for a spreading pool
co-electrolysis cells (SOC) is considered to be among the most efficient while the BR-BC should be used for a non-spreading pool.
processes for CO2 conversion as these SOCs can efficiently utilize both
heat and renewable electrical energy. One of the key components is the
21/00783 Application of risk analysis in the liquefied
development of highly efficient, modular SOC cells and stacks to
natural gas (LNG) sector: an overview
further scale up the CO2 conversion process towards industrial
Animah, I. and Shafiee, M. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process
applications. This study developed highly efficient and durable flat-
Industries, 2020, 63, 103980.
tubular solid oxide co-electrolysis cells (FT-SOCs) and investigated the
In recent years, the global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as
electrochemical performance (I–V, EIS, long-term galvanostatic test)
an energy source is increasing at a very fast rate. In order to meet this
of single cells and a six-cell bundle for CO2–H2O co-electrolysis to
demand, a large number of facilities such as platforms, floating
produce syngas with controllable H2/CO ratios. The FT-SOC with an
production, storage and offloading (FPSO), floating storage and
active area of 40 cm2 reached a maximum current density of 3.2 A/cm2
regasification unit (FRSU) and LNG ships and terminals are required
at 1.6 V at 800  C and an H2O/CO2 ratio of 2. In the six-cell FT-SOC
for the storage, processing and transportation of LNG. Failure of any
bundle, 90% CO2 conversion was achieved by producing high-quality
of these facilities may expose the market, companies, personnel and the
syngas with flexible H2/CO ratios and stable long-term operation for
environment to hazards, hence making the application of risk analysis
continuous 500 h. The results of this study show that by using an FT-
to the LNG sector a very topical issue throughout the world. To assess
SOC bundle, scalable and controllable syngas quality could be
the risk of accidents associated with LNG facilities and carriers, various
produced and integrated with the multitude of downstream processes.
risk analysis approaches have been employed to identify the potential
hazards, calculate the probability of accidents, as well as assessing the
21/00781 Solar chemical looping reforming of methane severity of consequences. Nonetheless, literature on classification of
combined with isothermal H2O/CO2 splitting using ceria the risk analysis models applied to LNG facilities is very limited.
oxygen carrier for syngas production Therefore, to reveal the holistic issues and future perspectives on risk
Chuayboon, S. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 41, 60–72. analysis of LNG facilities, a systematic review of the current state-of-
The chemical looping reforming of methane through the non- the-art research on LNG risk analysis is necessary. The aim of this
stoichiometric ceria redox cycle (CeO2/CeO2) has been experimen- paper is to review and categorize the published literature about the
tally investigated in a directly irradiated solar reactor to convert both problems associated with risk analysis of LNG facilities, so as to
solar energy and methane to syngas in the temperature range 900– improve the understanding of stakeholders (researchers, regulators,
1050  C. Experiments were carried out with different ceria shapes via and practitioners). To achieve this aim, scholarly articles on LNG risk
two-step redox cycling composed of endothermic partial reduction of analysis were identified, reviewed, and then categorized according to
ceria with methane and complete exothermic re-oxidation of reduced risk assessment methods (qualitative, semi-qualitative or quantitative;
ceria with H2O/CO2 at the same operating temperature, thereby deterministic or probabilistic; conventional or dynamic), tools (ETA,
demonstrating the capability to operate the cycle isothermally. A FTA, FMEA/FMECA, Bayesian network), output/strategy (RBI,
parametric study considering different ceria macrostructure variants RBM, RBIM, facility siting, etc.), data sources (OREDA handbook,
(ceria packed powder, ceria packed powder mixed with inert Al2O3 published literature, UK HSE databases, regulatory agencies’ reports,
particles, and ceria reticulated porous foam) and operating parameters industry datasets, and experts’ consultations), applications (LNG
(methane flow-rate, reduction temperature, or sintering temperature) carriers and LNG fuelled ships, LNG terminals and stations, LNG

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 139

03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

offshore floating units, LNG plants), etc. This study will not only be bed reactor was simulated by using a porous media model. The results
useful to researchers engaged in these areas but will also assist showed that, in the entry region of the reaction zone, oxidation
regulators, policy makers, and operators of LNG facilities to find the reaction dominates with significant heat release; whilst after the entry
risk analysis models that fit their specific requirements. region steam reforming reaction dominates with heat absorbing. The
exhaust gas outside the reaction tube played the role of preheating the
21/00784 Ice formation prediction and heat transfer mixture before the reaction zone and heat preservation in the reaction
analysis of LNG in serpentine tube under supercritical zone. Results showed that with the methane addition fixed, there is an
pressure optimum methane-to-oxygen molar ratio (about 2) and steam-addition-
Bai, J. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 149, to-methane molar ratio (about 1.25) for maximum hydrogen pro-
106137. duction. In addition, the surface coverage ratio of coke deposit in the
Here, numerical simulations were performed to explore the heat reaction bed decreases with the increase of EGR ratio and steam
transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in serpentine tubes taking addition.
account of the ice layer formation by using the SST k–! turbulent
model and shell conduction model. The affecting factors on the heat 21/00788 Technical and economic optimization of
transfer and ice layer formation such as pressure and heat flux were expander-based small-scale natural gas liquefaction
analysed and a new semi-empirical heat transfer correlation proposed processes with absorption precooling cycle
taking account of the flow acceleration, thermophysical properties, Zhang, J. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116592.
buoyancy force and geometrical factor on the serpentine tube of The objective of this study is to investigate potential technical and
supercritical LNG. The simulation results reveal the following four key economic performance improvement for expander-based natural gas
findings. (1) The interactive effect of centrifugal force, chaotic mixing liquefaction processes in small-scale applications. Four expander-based
fluid and buoyancy force are implied from the complicated flow processes were optimized and compared in this study, including
structure and thermal performance of LNG in serpentine tube, and the conventional single nitrogen expansion process without and with
centrifugal force dominates on heat transfer in the bend region ammonia absorption precooling, and single methane expansion process
resulting from the strengthening of cross flow and rotational flow. without and with ammonia absorption precooling. A two-phase
(2) The deviation of thermal performance between ice layer formation expander is utilized in the methane expansion process to enable liquid
or not becomes slighter in the bend region than that in the straight generation at the expander outlet. The optimization was done with two
sections due to the interaction of flow acceleration, reverse flow and objective functions: minimization of specific energy consumption and
secondary flow. (3) Pressure and heat flux exhibit significant effects on minimization of production cost. The energy and cost analyses were
thermal performance and ice layer formation. (4) The semi-empirical performed for the four processes by comparing optimization results.
heat transfer correlation proposed in present paper can predict the Lastly, exergy losses in the main equipment were analysed. The results
heat transfer of LNG in serpentine tube under supercritical pressure show that the ammonia precooling cycle reduces energy consumption
accurately. and production cost by 26–35% and 13–17%, respectively. The single
methane process with precooling is the most promising process, which
21/00785 Mutual effects between dynamic leakage behavior has 28–48% lower energy consumption and 13–43% lower production
and the pressure/temperature in a LNG tank with external cost compared to those of the other three processes. Results also
heat fluxes indicate that the best techno-economic performance is obtained with
Xie, Q. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2020, objective of minimizing production cost and not with the commonly
63, 104029. used energy-related objective.
The objective of this work is to investigate and model the mutual
effects between the dynamic pressure/temperature in the liquefied
natural gas (LNG) tank and the leakage behaviour with external heat
fluxes. The results suggest that the pressure and temperature in tank Hydrogen generation and storage
during leakage change with the comparison results between the heat
flux consumed in liquid boil-off and the external heat flux supplied. At
the liquid leakage stage, when the external heat flux is not very high,
the pressure in tank tends to increase significantly, even results in tank 21/00789 Challenges and opportunities for using formate
explosion. It increases more and more heavily with higher and higher to store, transport, and use hydrogen
external heat fluxes. At the vapour leakage stage, large amount of Grubel, K. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 41, 216–224.
vapour spray out, which results in a high generation rate of vapour by In this paper, the synthesis and thermodynamic properties of aqueous
the liquid boil-off. The pressure in tank normally decreases to be low, solutions of formate salts (FS, HCO 2 ) are described in relationship to
which is unfavourable for the LNG tank explosion. Therefore, at this the concept of H2 carriers. The physiochemical properties of solid FS,
vapour leakage stage, blocking the leakage hole as soon as possible is aqueous formate solutions, and aqueous bicarbonate solutions set the
not always a right choice for fire fighters. Finally, it is suggested that limitations for storage capacity, deliverable capacity, and usable H2
reducing the heat flux into the tank, either at the liquid leakage stage capacity of these H2 carriers, respectively. These parameters will help
or in vapour one, is key to the tank safety. in the design of systems that use H2 carriers for storage and transport
of H2 for fuel cell power applications. FS, as well as admixtures with
21/00786 New facility for production of liquefied natural formic acid (FA, H2CO2), have potential to address the goals outlined
gas reference standards in the US Department of Energy’s H2@scale initiative to store a
Walker, J. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, significant quantity of energy (hundreds of megawatts) in chemical
73, 103069. bonds obtained from large-scale renewable resources.
Opportunities exist for improving the methods of liquefied natural gas
(LNG) composition measurement while providing a meaningful 21/00790 Continuous hydrogen production from food
reduction in uncertainty to below 1%. Direct LNG sensors have been waste by anaerobic digestion (AD) coupled single-chamber
introduced as an alternative measurement to the current vaporizer-gas microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) under negative pressure
chromatograph setup because they require less maintenance, can Huang, J. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 61–66.
accommodate multiple optical measurement paths and do not require a Increased generation of food waste (FW) poses significant risks to the
phase transition from liquid to gas prior to composition measurement. social environment, and therefore it is critical that efficient technology
However, the calibration of such direct measuring sensors requires an be developed for effective waste valorization. This study used an
accurate and traceable liquid standard which has been difficult to integrated reactor to combine single-chamber microbial electrolysis cell
realize in the metrological community. For the first time, this work (MEC) treatment and anaerobic digestion (AD) to achieve efficient
demonstrates the production of traceable synthetic reference liquids hydrogen recovery using FW as substrate. Hydrogen production during
with defined metrological uncertainty. continuous AD-MEC operation (511.02 ml H 2 g1 VS) was higher than
that achieved by AD (49.39 ml H2 g1 VS). The hydrogen recovery and
21/00787 Numerical investigation of tubular exhaust electrical energy recovery in AD-MEC were as high as 96% and
reformer with thermochemical recuperation for LNG engine 238.7  5.8%, respectively. To explore the mechanism of hydrogen
Zhang, Z. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, production increase, the main components of FW [lipids, volatile fatty
146, 118743. acids (VFAs), carbohydrates, and protein] were analysed to investigate
A three-dimensional tubular exhaust reformer was investigated to the utilization of organic matter. Compared with AD treatment, the
study the effects of exhaust gas reforming (EGR) ratio and the amount removal rates of carbohydrates and proteins in the soluble phase in
of the steam addition on the methane–EGR process under different AD-MEC were increased by 4 and 2.3 times, respectively. The removal
excess air coefficients. The objective was to maximize hydrogen of VFAs by AD-MEC was increased by 4.7 times, which indicated that
production economically, by regulating the amount of exhaust gas the AD reactor coupled with MEC technology improved the utilization
and the steam addition at the inlet of the reaction tube with the amount of the main organic components and thus increased hydrogen
of methane addition fixed. Coupled with the detailed catalytic reaction production. This study demonstrates the possibilities of reducing FW
mechanism based on Rh-Al2O3 catalyser, the EGR process in a fixed quantities along with the production of bio-hydrogen.

140 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

21/00791 Crystal structure evolution of complex metal 1.1 vol% N2, respectively. The 2% drop in N2 concentration in the
aluminum hydrides upon hydrogen release syngas feed resulted in decreased energy consumption of the PVSA
Weidenthaler, C. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 133–143. process from 940 to 430 kJ/kg H2, while H2 recovery increased from
Complex aluminium hydrides have been widely studied as potential 47% to 55%. Therefore, the presence of N2 has a very large impact on
hydrogen storage materials but also, for some time now, for recovery and energy intensity of the ultra-pure hydrogen production
electrochemical applications. This review summarizes the crystal process, and development of adsorbents with better N2 removal
structures of alkali and alkaline earth aluminium hydrides and performance is required.
correlates structure properties with physical and chemical properties
of the hydride compounds. The crystal structures of the alkali metal
21/00795 Effect of post-processing annealing treatments
aluminium hydrides change significantly during the stepwise dehydro-
on microstructure development and hydrogen embrittlement
genation. The general pathway follows a transformation of structures
in API 5L X70 pipeline steel
built of isolated [AlH4] tetrahedra to structures built of isolated
Ohaeri, E. et al. Materials Characterization, 2020, 161, 110124.
[AlH6]3 octahedra. The crystal structure relations in the group of
The mechanical properties of steels are strongly influenced by
alkaline earth metal aluminium hydrides are much more complicated
microstructure and texture developed during thermomechanical
than those of the alkali metal aluminium hydrides. The structures of
processing. Here, different annealing treatments have been performed
the alkaline earth metal aluminium hydrides consist of isolated
on pipeline steel at inter-critical temperatures. The aim of this study is
tetrahedra but the intermediate structures exhibit chains of corner-
to relate hydrogen embrittlement behaviour to the microstructural
shared octahedra. The coordination numbers within the alkali metal
characteristics obtained through one-step, and two-step annealing
group increase with cation sizes which goes along with an increase of
treatments. Similar grain orientation distributions were observed after
the decomposition temperatures of the primary hydrides. Alkaline
the initial hot rolling and the two-step annealing procedures. However,
earth metal hydrides have higher coordination numbers but decompose
in the later process a dual-phase (i.e. ferrite-martensite) structure was
at slightly lower temperatures than their alkali metal counterparts. The
formed; unlike in the starting material where only segregated patches
decomposition pathways of alkaline metal aluminium hydrides have not
of martensite were observed within a ferritic microstructure. The one-
been studied in all cases and require future research.
step treated steel was comprised of relatively large and primarily ferrite
grains. As a result, the preliminary processing revealed the highest
21/00792 Development of a high-energy-density portable/ strength, with reduced ductility. The one-step treatment lowered
mobile hydrogen energy storage system incorporating an strength and ductility. Although the two-step treated steel showed
electrolyzer, a metal hydride and a fuel cell the lowest strength, it was the most ductile with improved resistance to
Han, G. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114175. hydrogen embrittlement. The tempering operation introduced in the
A hydrogen energy storage system for portable/mobile applications two-step process created minimal strain and tempered martensite
such as personal power sources and unmanned underwater vehicles is inside the steel. This reduced the tendency for hydrogen damage. A
developed. An application-oriented design and system integration direct relationship was established between high tensile strength and
strategy are newly suggested to maximize energy density while increased embrittlement risks. Lowering the strength and hardness
incorporating conventional technologies for the electrolyser (Ely), the through double heat treatment cycles delayed the onset of cracking
metal hydride (MH), and the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell after pre-hydrogen charging.
(PEMFC). To improve both the energy density and usability, the
systems for charging and discharging are separated. The charging
21/00796 Heat and mass transfer during the storage of
component is composed of a water Ely (0.5 Nm3 h1) and an MH
hydrogen in LaNi5-based metal hydride: 2D simulation
cooling device as one system. The discharging component consists of an
results for a large scale, multi-pipes fixed-bed reactor
MH (900 NL H2), a PEMFC stack (50 W), and a power conditioning
Chibani, A. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
system (PCS) as a single system. The MH material and engineering
2020, 147, 118939.
properties are investigated to find an MH that is suitable for the target
In this work, a two-dimensional mathematical model was developed to
system. The hybrid design and operating strategy of the PEMFC and
study the hydrogen absorption reaction and resulted heat and mass
PCS are developed to maximize energy density. The prototype system
transport phenomena inside a large-scale metal hydride storage
provides a nominal power output of 31.5 W at 12 V for 38 h with one
reactor, i.e. of a multi-pipes fixed-bed form. The model was firstly
recharging. It is significant that the discharging component shows an
validated through comparison with previous literature experimental
energy density of 410 Wh L1, which is twice that of conventional
data and an excellent fit obtained. The sensitively of the bed-
energy storage systems at the 2.9-L level.
temperature and the metal hydrogenation degree to the variation of
the thermal conductivity of the metal (), hydrogen pressure supply,
21/00793 Diatom frustule-graphene based nanomaterial for reaction rate constant and activation energy has been shown. In all
room temperature hydrogen storage cases, the bed temperature increased suddenly up to maxima (after
Samantaray, S. S. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, roughly 100 s of filling) and then decreased exponentially up to
45, (1), 764–773. attaining the ambient temperature. Simultaneously, the absorbed
Development of a room temperature hydrogen storage material is vital concentration of hydrogen showed an initial quick increase at the first
for the realization of a hydrogen economy. Towards achieving this goal, 50 s and then the profile continuous linearly with much lower slope up
this paper presents the use of naturally occurring diatom frustule for to reaching complete hydrogenation of the metal. Increasing  has not
the synthesis of a novel nanomaterial that can achieve a hydrogen impacted the hydrogenation rate and the charging bed-temperature,
storage capacity of 4.83 wt% at 25  C and 20 bar H2 equilibrium but it accelerated the convective cooling of the bed reactor. Operating
pressure. The authors have effectively combined the large surface area at higher hydrogen pressure supply has increased the hydrogenation
of layered graphene (G), the unique physical and chemical properties rate as well as the bed temperature.
of diatom frustules (D) such as chemical inertness and good porosity
and the ability of transition metals and their alloys (Pd3Co) to adsorb
21/00797 Interval multi-objective optimization of hydrogen
large amounts of hydrogen. The resulting nanomaterial (Pd3Co-
storage based intelligent parking lot of electric vehicles
D(100)-G) has a surface area of 163.25 m2/g and pore volume of
under peak demand management
0.84 cm3/g. The observations in this study suggest that increased surface
Marzoghi, A. F. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101123.
area and porosity play a key role in achieving high hydrogen storage
Uncertainty, a familiar concept for power system operators has been
capacity at relatively low H2 equilibrium pressures and room
set to be one of important topics in the industry of electricity systems.
temperature conditions.
This circumstance is mainly caused by uncertain behaviour of some
parameters like price. Since the forecasting techniques are usually
21/00794 Effect of impurities on ultra-pure hydrogen unable to guarantee a fixed and accurate value of such parameters
production by pressure vacuum swing adsorption therefore uncertainty modelling becomes essential. This work has
Golmakani, A. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, applied an interval based optimization model for optimal performances
2020, 82, 278–289. of intelligent parking lot (IPL) of electric vehicles (EVs) within severe
The most viable technology for production of ultra-pure hydrogen uncertainty of upper grid price under demand response program
(>99.99%), required for fuel cells, is steam methane reforming (SMR) (DRP). In fact, DRP is used to enable IPL reduce its daily operation
coupled with pressure vacuum swing adsorption (PVSA). A PVSA cost by shifting some parts of load demand from peak time intervals to
process with a two-layer bed of activated carbon (AC)/zeolite 5A for off-peak time intervals. It should be mentioned that interval approach
ultra-pure hydrogen production from syngas was developed and does not solve single objective problem and instead of that it generates
simulated with the aim of exploring the effect of impurities on energy a multi-objective optimization problem within which average and
intensity of the process. The simulated concentration profiles showed deviation costs are minimized as the bi-objective model. To do this,
that CH4 was removed by the first half of the AC layer, CO 2 and CO weighted sum and fuzzy approached are applied to solve the bi-
were mostly removed by the end of that layer, but zeolite 5A (the objective problem. A sample system containing IPL, local dispatchable
second layer) could not completely remove the remaining N2. Further, generation (LDG) units, non-renewable and renewable generation
the effect of the N2 on performance of the PVSA process was systems is studied under uncertainty of upper grid price through
demonstrated by simulating purification of two feeds with 3.1 and mentioned techniques and the results proving efficiency of employed

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 141

03 Gaseous fuels (hydrogen generation and storage)

techniques are investigated for comparison. According to the com- On-going and emerging renewable energy technologies mainly produce
pared results, under DRP, average cost of IPL is reduced up to 4.37% electric energy and intermittent power. As the energy economy relies
while deviation cost representing uncertainty impact is also decreased on banking energy, there is a rising need for chemically stored energy.
up to 10.93%. Here, heat-driven reverse electrodialysis (RED) technology with
ammonium bicarbonate (AmB) as salt is proposed for producing
21/00798 Introducing Power-to-H3: combining renewable hydrogen. The study provides the authors’ perspective on the
electricity with heat, water and hydrogen production and commercial feasibility of AmB RED for low-grade waste heat (333–
storage in a neighbourhood 413 K) to electricity conversion system. This is believed to be the only
van der Roest, E. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114024. existing study to evaluate levelized cost of energy of a RED system for
In the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, the energy hydrogen production. The economic assessment includes a parametric
system should become clean, while remaining reliable and affordable. study, and a scenario analysis of AmB RED system for hydrogen
Because of the intermittent nature of both renewable energy production. The impact of various parameters including membrane
production and energy demand, an integrated system approach is cost, membrane lifetime, cost of heating, inter-membrane distance and
required that includes energy conversion and storage. This paper residence time are studied. The results from the economic study
proposes a concept for a neighbourhood where locally produced suggests, RED system with membrane cost <e2.86/m2, membrane life
renewable energy is partly converted and stored in the form of heat and more than 7 years and a production rate of 1.19 mol/m 2/h or more are
hydrogen, accompanied by rainwater collection, storage, purification necessary for RED to be economically competitive with the current
and use (Power-to-H3). A model is developed to create an energy renewable technologies for hydrogen production. Further, salt solubi-
balance and perform a techno-economic analysis, including an analysis lity, residence time and inter-membrane distance were found to have
of the avoided costs within the concept. The results show that a solar impact on levelized cost of hydrogen (LCH). In the present state, use
park of 8.7 MWp combined with rainwater collection and solar panels of ammonium bicarbonate in RED system for hydrogen production is
on roofs, can supply 900 houses over the year with heat (20 TJ) via an uneconomical. This may be attributed to high membrane cost, low
underground heat storage system as well as with almost half of their (0.72 mol/m2/h) hydrogen production rate and large (1,281,436 m2)
water demand (36,000 m3) and 540 hydrogen electric vehicles can be membrane area requirements. There are three scenarios presented the
supplied with hydrogen (90 tonnes). The production costs for both present scenario, market scenario and future scenario. From the
hydrogen (e8.7/kg) and heat (e26/GJ) are less than the current end scenario analysis, it is clear that membrane cost and membrane life in
user selling price in the Netherlands (e10/kg and e34/GJ), making the present scenario controls the levelized cost of hydrogen. In the market
system affordable. When taking avoided costs into account, the prices scenario and future scenario, the hydrogen production rate (which
could decrease with 20–26%, while at the same time avoiding depends on membrane properties, inter-membrane distance, etc.), the
3600 tonnes of CO2 a year. These results make clear that it is possible cost of regeneration system and the cost of heating controls the
to provide a neighbourhood with all these different utilities, completely levelized cost of hydrogen. For a thermally driven RED system to be
based on solar power and rainwater in a reliable, affordable and clean economically feasible, the membrane cost 4e20/m2; hydrogen pro-
way. duction rate of 3.7 mol/m2/h or higher and cost of heating 4e0.03/kWh
for low-grade waste heat to hydrogen production.
21/00799 Liquid hydrogen releases show dense gas
behavior
Hansen, O. R. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (2), 21/00802 Preliminary feasibility analysis of a hybrid
1343–1358. pumped-hydro energy storage system using abandoned
The number of maritime initiatives with hydrogen as alternative fuel is coal mine goafs
increasing. While most of the early projects aim at using compressed Fan, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114007.
hydrogen the use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) is more practical and is Following the Paris Agreement on climate change, a consensus has
expected to become more attractive for implementation on larger been made on the urgent need for increasing the use of clean energy
vessels due to more efficient storage, bunkering and handling of the and large-scale energy storage. This paper proposes a hybrid pumped–
fuel. In the industry there seems to be some confusion regarding the hydro energy storage system using goafs of abandoned coal mines. The
behaviour of LH2 releases, in particular whether a release into air will performance of the energy storage system and the suitability potential
behave like a dense gas or a buoyant gas. The understanding of this of coal mine goafs serving as underground reservoirs were analysed.
aspect is critical to optimize design with regard to safety. This article Based on the designed conditions and meteorological data of a typical
will explain the expected behaviour of LH2 releases and discuss area (Inner Mongolia, China), the proposed system could have an
expected hazard distances from LH2 releases relative to gaseous average system efficiency of approx. 82.8% and a regulating-energy
hydrogen releases and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Some other safety density of 1.06 kWh/m3. Potential analysis for goafs serving as
concerns of LH2, like indoor releases, releases from vent masts, reservoirs show that a typical coal mine with a 3  5 km2 dimensions
potential BLEVEs and RPTs are also discussed. The article explains and 6 m coal thickness could have a usable capacity of 1.58  106 m3. To
why a higher safety standard may be required when designing hydrogen ensure the smooth exchange of water in goaf reservoirs, the
fuelled vessels than for existing LNG fuelled vessels. permeability should be above 107 m2, corresponding to the usable
coefficient (50.8) of goaf reservoirs. The minimum horizontal distance
21/00800 MgFe and Mg–Co–Fe mixed oxides derived from between two reservoirs with a typical geology has been set to 245 m so
hydrotalcites: highly efficient catalysts for COx free that the leakage rate could be smaller than 1%. A diameter of 1 m for
hydrogen production from NH3 vertical ventilation shafts is acceptable with respect to the air pressure
Podila, S. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1), loss (211 Pa). Based on the reckoning of the existing coal mine goaf
873–890. space in China, it has been found that developing hybrid pumped–
Mg–Fe layered double hydroxide (LDH) with M2+: M3+ 3 : 1 stoichio- hydro energy storage plants using abandoned coal mine goafs for daily
metric ratio was synthesized and employed as catalyst precursor for regulation is feasible in the short term.
COx-free hydrogen production from ammonia. The resulting catalyst
showed good catalytic activity. A series of Mg/Co–Fe layered double
hydroxides were synthesized by replacing Mg2+ with Co2+ without 21/00803 Preparation of Pd/SAPO-34/PSS composite
disturbing M2+ : M3+ ratio. The influence of nature and extent of membranes for hydrogen separation: effect of crystallization
Co(II) substitution on structure, morphology and surface properties time on the zeolite growth on PSS support
were studied. A systematic study was carried out using these materials Dehghani Kiadehi, A. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering
as catalyst precursors for ammonia decomposition. BET, XRD, TPR, Chemistry, 2020, 81, 206–218.
XPS, CO2-TPD and TEM techniques were used to characterize the In this study, palladium composite membranes were fabricated on
synthesized catalysts. These Fe-based catalysts are highly active, highly porous stainless steel (PSS) supports using silicoaluminophosphate
stable and not promoting any stable surface nitridation during the (SAPO) zeolite (SAPO-34) as a diffusion barrier and substrate
ammonia decomposition reaction. Among all catalysts, the Mg3CO3Fe2 modifier. The vacuum-assisted seeding and secondary growth method
catalyst showed the highest activity, i.e. 100% conversion at 6000 h1 was used to coat the SAPO-34 zeolite layer on the PSS substrates. The
and 60% at 50,000 h1 space velocities at 550  C. The registered morphologies and microstructures of the membranes were analysed by
superior catalytic activity was result of the formed specific catalyst’s AFM, XRD, BET, ICP–AES, FESEM and EDX techniques. The effect
properties like high surface area, high surface Co and Fe atomic of crystallization time (24, 48 and 72 h) on the morphology and quality
concentration and suitable basicity. These Fe-based materials are, cost- of SAPO-34 modified supports was studied. A continuous palladium
effective, easily synthesize and highly stable, thus attractive for large- layer with a thickness of about 9 mm was deposited on the SAPO-34
scale operation. modified PSS support (72 h crystallization time) by electroless plating
route. The hydrogen permeation tests were carried out in the feed
21/00801 Opportunities and challenges for thermally driven pressures range of 2–4 bar and various temperatures (623, 673 and
hydrogen production using reverse electrodialysis system 723 K). The values of the hydrogen permeance and ideal selectivity
Raka, Y. D. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, of H2/N2 for the PSM3 membrane were achieved
(2), 1212–1225. 7.1  107 mol m2 s1 Pa1 and 866, respectively a feed pressure of

142 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 04 By-products related to fuels

2 bar and 723 K. In addition, the PSM3 membrane showed perfect and environmental impacts. The final results of the product cost and
stability during 260 h hydrogen permeation experiment at a feed life cycle CO2 emission of this Cu–Cl cycle are US$2.8/kg H2 and 8.7 kg
pressure of 2 bar and 623 K. CO2/kg H2, respectively. Cu–Cl cycle offers an economically competi-
tive option compared with the steam methane reforming hydrogen
21/00804 Production of fuels via thermal decomposition of production process if taking the benefit of Cl2 into account. The life
copper oleates from CuO cycle CO2 emission of the Cu–Cl cycle is less than other existing
Luciano, V. A. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116456. processes, as the process can consume a considerable amount of HCl
In this work, the thermal decomposition of copper carboxylates formed gas, which is regarded as greenhouse gas as well. The proposed process
from CuO and different proportions of oleic acid and CuO was used to is shown to be a promising alternative to conventional hydrogen
produce liquid and gaseous fuels. These reactions gave rise to solid, production processes.
liquid and gaseous fractions that were studied by different techniques,
such as XRD, TG, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, TEM, NMR and 21/00808 Water gas shift reaction for hydrogen production
GC–MS. The liquid fraction obtained was the largest, made up mainly and carbon dioxide capture: a review
of oleic acid, i.e. the starting reagent was regenerated in the reaction. Chen, W.-H. and Chen, C.-Y. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114078.
The gas fraction was the second largest, consisting mainly of hydrogen The water gas shift reaction is an essential step in many industrial
gas, with selectivity above 80%. The solid fraction was the smallest but operations for hydrogen production and purification. To better
showed the formation of metallic copper, carbon and copper(I) oxide. understand the water gas shift reaction, this paper reviewed the
This work showed that it was possible to produce materials from acid reaction from both the thermodynamics and kinetics aspects for many
oils and metal oxides that, after being thermally decomposed, applications. As a whole, the water gas shift reaction thermodynami-
generated gas fuels of great industrial interest, as well as metal phases, cally favours low temperatures due to its exothermal characterization,
and the regeneration of the acid used as the starting reagent. whereas it kinetically tends toward the high-temperature operation.
The trade-off is that although the low temperature achieves more CO
21/00805 Resource utilization of waste V2O5-based deNOx conversion, it needs a larger volume reactor, thereby increasing cost.
catalysts for hydrogen production from formaldehyde and On the other hand, high temperatures lead to a high reaction rate, yet
water via steam reforming it has poor conversion performance. Catalysts developed recently and
Jin, Q. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120934. used in both the high-temperature region (350–500  C) and low-
The harmless disposal of abandoned and toxic V2O5(WO3)/TiO2 temperature region (150–250  C) were also reviewed. The rate
(VWT) deNOx catalysts has become a worldwide great demand, a expressions for each catalyst tabulated in this study have provided
new resource path for hydrogen production from steam reforming of insightful information for engineers and scientists. This paper
formaldehyde and water using the waste VWT deNOx catalysts as discussed many cases regarding the water gas shift reaction in
catalyst carriers was proposed. The waste V2O5-based catalysts particular circumstances as well. Regardless of the process being
supported NiO (N/VWT) catalysts prepared by impregnation method non-catalytic (supercritical water and plasma) or catalytic (microwave-
were comparatively studied for hydrogen production. The H2 and CO heating, high gravity, heat recirculation, and photocatalytic), each has
selectivity of the optimum N/VWT separately reached 100% and its unique characteristics. Carbon capture and storage and membrane
72.5%, and the formaldehyde conversion of the N/VWT reached systems for hydrogen purification and carbon dioxide enrichment were
86.3% at 400  C and higher than 93.0% at 450–600  C. Analysis also reviewed in this study. According to Le Chatelier’s principle,
showed that the hydroxyl species played the most important role, and hydrogen production can be greatly enhanced and even precede the
its richness determined the catalytic performance directly. The high thermodynamic equilibrium with the assistance of a membrane reactor.
acid sites and excellent redox properties were beneficial to enhance the In summary, all reviewed techniques have advantages and disadvan-
catalytic performance. The in situ DRIFT study verified that the tages. The information illustrated in this study relating to the water gas
hydrogen bonds between formate species and hydroxyl groups reduced shift reaction provides useful insights into the development of
reaction steps, which accelerated the progress of the reaction. The hydrogen production and carbon emissions abatement to act as
adsorbed formaldehyde transformed to formate species firstly, and resources and for environmental sustainability.
then produced H2 and CO2 (or CO) by dehydrogenation. Ultimately,
the resource utilization path not only completely solved the harmless
problems of the waste V2O5-based deNOx catalysts and formaldehyde,
but also contributed to the hydrogen production.

21/00806 The interaction of subunits inside superlattice 04 BY-PRODUCTS RELATED

structure and its impact on the cycling stability of AB4-type
La–Mg–Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys for nickel-metal TO FUELS
hydride batteries
Wang, W. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227273. 21/00809 A quantitative evaluation of uranium
Satisfactory cycling stability is demanded for commercialization of new- mobility and potential environment risk in coal ash with
type anode of La–Mg–Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys for nickel SiO2-Al2O3-Fe2O3-CaO system
metal hydride batteries. The late-model AB4-type alloy is an attractive Yang, Z. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120977.
candidate among various alloys owing to the superior cycling stability Uranium-enriched coal ash (CA) receives a significant attention as a
and preferable rate performance. The admirable properties strongly supplementary nuclear resource also due to its potential environmental
associated with its inherently crystal structure layered by [A2B4], [AB5]- risk. Combining with CA, the changing trend of uranium occurrence in
1 and [AB5]-2 subunits where the relationship is required to be further synthetic coal ash (SCA) was described at CaO–Al2O3–Fe2O3 ternary
studied. Here, the interaction among the subunits which affects the phase diagrams with a fixed SiO2 (30, 50 and 70 wt%) and Na2O (2%)
structural stability of the AB4-type superlattice structure based on a content. This study reveals that the mode of uranium occurrence
ternary La–Mg–Ni system is revealed. It is found the specific [AB5]-2 proposes a three-stage changing process during coal combustion
subunit away from the [A2B4] subunit not only has great flexibility of including uranium oxidation, combination and encapsulation. Further-
expansion/contraction upon hydrogenation/dehydrogenation, but more more, a high frequency of encapsulated uranium resulted from the
importantly it relieves the mismatch between the [A2B4] subunit and its complicated interactions among major components with a medium
adjacent [AB5]-1 subunit, strengthens the structural stability and SiO2 content, whereas the degree was higher at a higher SiO2, resulting
constrains the amorphization of the alloy. As a result of the stable in the decrease of uranium mobility. Uranium was encapsulated by Si–
crystal structure, the AB4-type ternary La–Mg–Ni alloy delivers a high Al matrix and Fe–Si depletion if provided the high Al2O3 and Fe2O3
discharge capacity of 340.0 mAh g1 after 100 cycles with a retention but low CaO contents. However, with the development of calcium
rate of 88.2%. It is expected that this work can encourage novel looping and biomass co-firing process, the change of element mobility
thoughts of developing desirable hydrogen storage alloys with high- should be considered in industry owing to the extra-added alkaline
performance by optimizing the crystal structure of the alloys. metals. As the activation of Ca2+ induces a significant susceptibility of
acid attack, cautions must be paid in CA with a higher Ca/Si ratio to
21/00807 Waste-to-hydrogen: recycling HCl to produce H2 avoid its utilization as constructive materials for the potential
and Cl2 environmental risk.
Zhuang, R. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114184.
Coal-fired power plants are the most common form of power 21/00810 Black carbon as a significant component of
generation in many regions, which continuously produce waste heat aromatic carbon in surface soils and its importance is
and hydrogen chloride (HCl) flue gas. To address this issue, a novel enhanced in volcanic ash soil profiles
Cu–Cl hydrogen production cycle is modelled to recycle industrial Lu, G.-Y. et al. Organic Geochemistry, 2020, 140, 103957.
waste heat and exhaust HCl and to produce hydrogen, realizing the Black carbon (BC) constitutes a refractory carbon (C) pool in soil and
waste-to-hydrogen process. To complement the process analysis, a other environments. Estimating the amount and dynamics of BC in soil
gate-to-gate life cycle emission analysis and gate-to-grave cost-benefit is important in terms of the global C cycle. The goal of this study was to
analysis have been performed to evaluate the commercial feasibility characterize the contribution of BC to total and aromatic C in a variety

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 143

04 By-products related to fuels

of soils using the benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method and atmosphere (CO: CO2 = 3/2, volume ratio). Thermodynamic calcu-
solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. lations were applied to investigate the fusion behaviour. A general rise
Thirteen A-/Ap (ploughed layer)-horizon soils that belong to widely of AFTs with the increasing CaO/Fe2O3 ratio was verified, especially
distributed soil series (Humic Andosols, Dystric Cambisols, Gleyic for the coal ash with low SiO2 + Al2O3 level and SiO2/Al2O3 mass
Cambisols, Eutric Fluvisols and Dystric Planosols) under typical land ratio. Mullite and anorthite are main refractory minerals phase of the
uses (forest, grassland, upland field, and paddy field) in Japan and two ash samples with high SiO2 and Al2O3 levels. The fusion of the ash in
Andosol profiles were analysed. Three humic acid samples including anorthite primary phase is the ‘soft-melting’ mechanism, and liquidus
the green fraction, which contains 4,9-dihydroxyperylene-3,10-quinone temperature was well used to predict flow temperature (FT). However,
(DHPQ) as a chromophore and has mycorrhiza as a possible source the liquidus temperature should not be used to predict FT of the ash in
(referred to as Pg), were also subjected to the BPCA procedure. The mullite primary phase due to the ‘melting–dissolve’ mechanism. A
BC content in the 13 A-/Ap-horizon soils was 0.3–53 gC kg1 or 5.7– Tmullite model was proposed to predict FT for the ashes in mullite
48% of the total soil C (BC%). The BC content correlated positively primary phase. The deviation of predicted and measured FT was within
with the total C content and with aromatic C content, while the the measuring error range (40  C), which was supported by 25 real
relationship between BC% and soil order or land use was not clear. An coal ashes.
analysis of Pg suggested the potential contribution of DHPQ to the
yield of benzenehexacarboxylic acid in the BPCA method. The
21/00814 Mechanism exploration on the aluminum
variations in BC content and C composition of two Andosol profiles
supplementation coupling the electrokinetics-activating
indicated a greater stability of BC than the other types of C, including
geopolymerization that reinforces the solidification of the
monocyclic aromatic C. The contribution of BC to aromatic C in their
municipal solid waste incineration fly ashes
lower layers was estimated to be ca. 55–70% based on a regression
Huang, T. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 361–369.
equation when assuming that 70–90% of the BC was aromatic C.
Traditional cementation technique is insufficient in making municipal
solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ashes meet the permissible
21/00811 Carbon black nano particle loaded lauric acid- leaching threshold. Aluminium supplementation and electrokinetic
based form-stable phase change material with enhanced (EK) activation were combinedly incorporated into the traditional
thermal conductivity and photo-thermal conversion for solidification pathway to enhance the geopolymerization and the
thermal energy storage immobilization of Pb and Cd in MSWI fly ashes in this study. The
Mishra, A. K. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116572. aluminium addition remarkably affected the geopolymer formation.
This study reports significantly high enhancements in thermal The minimum toxicity leaching as well as the maximum compressive
conductivity and photo-thermal conversion for lauric acid-based phase strength were achieved at the combination of the voltage gradient of
change material (PCM), loaded with carbon black nano particles 1.0 V/cm, the proposing time of 48 or 72 h, the mass ratio of alkali
(CBNP). Addition of 25 wt% calcium carbonate powder to the PCM is activator to fly ash of 11.5%, and the modulus of 2.1. Chloride
found to arrest the material leakage during solid-liquid phase reduction in the mortar obtained during the EK process increased the
transition and the form-stable PCM showed superior thermal and negative charge relativity of oligomers. The leaching concentrations of
mechanical properties. Thermal conductivity enhanced by 195% for Pb and Cd from the geopolymer were successfully predicted by a linear
the PCM loaded with 3.5 wt% of CBNP nano-inclusions, which is model based on the compressive strengths at 28 d. Higher reaction
attributed to the development of interconnected percolation networks degree was found in the EK-activated mortar in the geopolymerization
during solidification of the PCM. Superior volume filling capability and kinetics. Aluminium supplementation had induced the production of
compressibility of CBNP nano-inclusions further augmented thermal some amorphous aluminosilicate minerals including Al6Si2O13, CaAl2-
conductivity enhancements in solid state. The micro-scale aggregation Si2O84H2O, Ca2Al3 (Si3O12)OH, Ca2Al(OH)73H2O, and Ca4Al2-
phenomena and the formation of quasi-2D percolation networks is O6Cl210H2O during the EK process. Larger particles observed in the
observed in real time using timed stamped optical phase contrast video- EK-treated specimen directly verified the EK-activated pozzolanic
microscopy. The 134% enhancement in photo-thermal conversion is reactions.
attributed to the augmentation of extinction efficiency of the incident
radiation due to multiple scattering from the micro-sized CBNP
21/00815 Mechanism of micro-explosion of water-in-oil
clusters, within the PCM host matrix. The excellent photo-thermal
emulsified fuel droplet and its effect on soot generation
efficiency, high thermal conductivity, low cost and enhanced form-
Shen, S. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116488.
stability of the CBNP loaded PCMs at elevated temperature make
In this study, the mechanism of micro-explosion of single droplets of
them economically attractive choice for latent heat thermal energy
water-in-oil (W/O) emulsified fuels and its effect on the soot
storage applications.
generation are investigated experimentally using suspended droplets.
Two distinct break-up modes are observed as the droplets are heated,
21/00812 Characterization of PCDD/Fs and heavy metal namely catastrophic micro-explosion after water coalescence at a lower
distribution from municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash surfactant concentration and puffing at a higher surfactant concen-
sintering process tration without water coalescence. To understand the underlying
Peng, Z. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 260–267. physics of such transition, the water/oil interfacial tension is investi-
A recycling and disposal technology for municipal solid waste gated. It is found that the increase of water/oil interfacial tension after
incinerator (MSWI) fly ash using high temperature sintering process the deactivation of surfactant can significantly accelerate the coalesc-
was evaluated in an industrial-scale facility with daily disposal capacity ence of dispersed water, and effectively increase the temperature of
of 100 t/d. The emission, mass balance and distribution characteristics bubble nucleation. The deactivation of surfactant is a prerequisite for
of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) as the occurrence of catastrophic micro-explosion. The reason is found to
well as heavy metals (HMs) were assessed during two test runs. The be that the catastrophic micro-explosion can be induced by the
PCDD/Fs emission from stack varied in range of 0.019 to 0.025 ng I- explosive vaporization of water only if the dispersed water coalesces
TEQ/Nm3, below international standards. The PCDD/Fs in the rapidly into large droplets to explode violently at a high superheat
sintered product was reduced to 0.002–0.008 mg I-TEQ/kg from 2.593 degree. The surfactant concentration in emulsified fuels influences the
to 2.704 mg I- TEQ/kg of the original MSWI fly ash (Mix-FA). However deactivation temperature of surfactant. Therefore, the catastrophic
high concentration of 14.3 mg I-TEQ/kg were found in the secondary fly micro-explosion can be controlled to occur by adjusting the surfactant
ash (Sec-FA). Therefore, a large share of PCDD/Fs just desorbed from concentration in emulsified fuels. In addition, it is also found that the
the ash and the destruction efficiency (DRE) for PCDD/Fs was only micro-explosion of W/O emulsified fuel during the combustion can
8.9%. The distribution characteristics of investigated HMs were effectively decrease the soot generation due to uniform fuel/air mixture
primarily dependent on the evaporative properties. The results of formed after the micro-explosion.
HMs leaching test for the sintered product were considerably below the
Chinese legal limits. The HMs leaching toxicity test for Sec-FA
21/00816 Pitch derived graphene oxides:
indicated which is a hazardous waste presented high risk to the
characterization and effect on pyrolysis and carbonization of
environment. The use of the sintered product as construction material
coal tar pitch
need further assessment on its long-term HMs leaching behaviour.
Liu, S. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145,
104746.
21/00813 Effect of CaO/Fe2O3 ratio on fusibility of coal In this work, coal tar pitch (CTP) is modified by the pitch derived
ashes with high silica and alumina levels and prediction graphene oxide (pGO) prepared from the same CTP using ZnO
Shi, W. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116369. template and in situ KOH activation technique. The results indicate
Ash fusibility which is usually investigated and evaluated by the ash that the prepared pGO has the oxygen-containing functional groups
chemical compositions is widely used to guide the coal selection in with a high specific surface area up to 1937 m2/g. The mass ratio of
boiler and gasifier. Calcium and iron are the main basic oxides in coal ZnO to pitch is crucial to adjust the surface area of pGO. The pGO
ash, which tend to decrease ash fusion temperatures (AFTs). However, modified CTP have more condensed structures of pyrolysis products
the change of AFTs varied with CaO/Fe2O3 mass ratio is not yet with increased structural regularity. This is also paralleled with
revealed. In this work, effect of CaO/Fe2O3 ratio on the fusibility of ash enhanced microstructure development of mesophase spheres and their
with high silica and alumina levels was explored under weak reducing transforming into more orderly lamellar structure, due to the increased

144 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 04 By-products related to fuels

surface area and active role of the pGO additions. Such structure This paper investigates the impact of the oxidizing agent used in the
changes and reduced weight loss in pyrolysis and carbonization are physical activation of pyrolysis chars on activated carbons (AC), and
beneficial for improving coke yield of CTP. The result reported is of their efficiency in tar cracking. The materials are produced from
great significance for exploring potential high value utilization of CTP. buckwheat husk, which is a French local biomass. Slow pyrolysis was
chosen to favour the production of raw chars. Activated chars were
21/00817 Potential CO2 reduction and cost evaluation in then prepared by physical activation under steam or CO2. The
use and transport of coal ash as cement replacement: a case materials produced were physically and chemically characterized
in the Philippines before being implemented in a fixed bed. The efficiency of materials
Jamora, J. B. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 137–145. in removing tar from syngas was studied, and ethylbenzene (EB) was
Coal ash can potentially be utilized as partial replacement for cement chosen as the tar surrogate. The purification efficiency of the chars and
in concrete and mortar formulations. The use of coal ash can lessen the AC was deduced from the EB conversion profiles in comparison with
cost and energy production, and reduce the impact on the environment. thermal cracking. The nature of the oxidizing agent impacted the
At present, the annual coal ash generation amounts to 2.78 Mt and porosity and mineral composition of the AC produced: CO2 activation
may reach to 13.02 Mt by 2035 in the Philippines. If coal ash is produced ACs with more carbon and less ash content. This is because
utilized as clinker replacement in the production of cement at a the reduction of carbon with carbon dioxide presents a kinetic between
clinker-to-cement ratio of 0.7, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can two and five times slower than that conducted in the presence of steam.
potentially be reduced to at least 1.26 Mt CO2eq in 2018 and could CO2 activation also resulted in a higher relative microporosity (89%)
further be reduced by 5.89 Mt CO2eq by 2035 when surplus coal ash than steam activation (61%), which itself gives a higher surface area.
is utilized as partial cement replacement in concrete mixtures in Pyrolysis char did not generate any interest for EB catalytic cracking,
concrete batching plants. As transport of coal ash can also result in whereas ACs demonstrated higher performances. This is due to their
GHG emission owing to fuel combustion, a critical distance is higher level of porosity and higher ash content. BH–H 2O, which
calculated in order to achieve positive net reductions. Critical distance presents higher porosity, produced a better catalytic effect and was
is obtained by comparing the emission on coal ash transportation with more resistant to deactivation.
that of cement production, while taking into consideration the
emissions of the return trip. Thus, transporting the coal ash is limited 21/00821 Recent trends in activated carbon fibers
to a distance of 2841 km. Existing concrete batching plants are production from various precursors and applications –
situated within 2000 km from existing coal-fired power plants, where a comparative review
the transport of coal ash to these plants would not result in additional Hassan, M. F. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
emissions but instead result in annual net reduction of GHG. Further, 145, 104715.
the cost of coal ash per bag varies according to the distance travelled Activated carbon fibres (ACF) are relatively novel and by far one of the
and is much lower than the cost of cement per bag. most important fibrous carbon materials owing to their special
characteristics such as fibrous structure, high porosity, high volumetric
21/00818 Predicting the soot emission tendency of real capacity, excellent packing density, fast adsorption kinetics, good
fuels – a relative assessment based on an empirical formula porous storage capacity and ease of handling. This work aims to
Kathrotia, T. and Riedel, U. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116482. present a detailed overview of ACF synthesis process, influence of the
Significant progress is going on in the development of non-fossil based process variables on the morphology of these ACF and their
alternative fuels which are designed to be sustainable, have potential to applications. A comprehensive study of major precursors (polyacrylo-
substitute (fully or partially) the fossil-based fuels and importantly are nitrile, pitch, phenolic and cellulosic), particularly comparison between
targeted to reduce emissions. Though soot emission characteristics has the characteristics of ACF based on these precursors, has been
not been focus of fuel certification process yet, due to growing provided with an eye for details. Among them, lignocellulosic based
environmental concerns it is important to consider this aspect in the ACF are suitable solutions for industrial scale ACF production
fuel design and understand its emission patterns. It is known that soot implementing cost effective and environment friendly approach. The
formation in combustion is linked to the degree of branching, degree of use of lignocellulosic material for ACF has the potential to reduce
unsaturation or the degree of cyclization of a fuel molecule. This greenhouse gas effects and is a suitable alternative for solid waste
information is used to extract soot emission properties of complex real management of lignocellulosic solid produced annually. Furthermore,
fuel mixtures. To do so, a definition of hydrogen deficiency (HD) was reports on the applications of ACF in CO2 capture, volatile organic
used that gives information on the number of double bonds or cyclic removal, wastewater treatment and energy have also been critically
structures present in a fuel. With the help of one measured emission reviewed. ACF currently hold small market component of specific
property, the same property of different fuels is predicted using HD. high-end uses. Due to their unique characteristics and advantages over
This way, a relative assessment of fuels’ sooting tendency compared to other carbon materials, ACF can be anticipated to dominate a major
other known fuels was obtained. In this work, the soot emission pattern market in the emerging areas of smart fabrics, energy storage, health
of six jet fuels (reference fuels and synthetic fuels) was predicted based care, water and air purification and advanced instrumentation.
on HD and compared with the recent ground-test measurements of
V2527-A5 engine of an Airbus A320. In addition, two more test cases 21/00822 Selective adsorption of Ag(I) from aqueous
were provided: aviation fuels and diesel fuels, to predict sooting solutions using chitosan/polydopamine@C@magnetic fly
tendency using HD to support this concept. The prediction of the ash adsorbent beads
sooting propensity based on HD was found in excellent agreement with Mu, C. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120943.
the measurements. A chitosan/polydopamine@C@magnetic fly ash (CPCMFA) adsorbent
bead was prepared for adsorption of Ag(I) in aqueous solutions and
21/00819 Pseudocapacitance induced candle soot derived exhibited good selectivity for Ag(I) ion. To investigate its adsorption
carbon for high energy density electrochemical behaviour, equilibrium, kinetic and selective studies were conducted
supercapacitors: non-aqueous approach through batch experiments. Additionally, the influence of the pH value
Potphode, D. and Sharma, C. S. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, was also evaluated. In addition, the nature, composition, morphology
101114. and magnetic property of the prepared adsorbent beads were
The commercialization aspect in electric double layer capacitors is characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray
highly dependent on source of carbon, its purity, and the specific diffraction analysis, thermogravimetric-differential scanning calori-
capacitance with unique deliverable for proficient charge storage. metry analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron
Here, the synthesis of interconnected mesoporous spherical carbon by microscopy and vibrating-sample magnetometry. The freeze-dry form
direct flame synthesis is reported using candle wax for symmetric of CPCMFA also exhibited high adsorption capacity and selectivity for
supercapacitors with the non-aqueous approach. The heat treated Ag(I), with a maximum adsorption capacity of 57.02 mg/g at pH 4 and
candle soot (CST) at 450  C results in a high purity carbon with the 30  C. The experimental data were well described by the Langmuir
improved surface area of 608 m2 g1 also the majority of pores in the isotherm and elovich kinetic models. The thermodynamic parameters,
range of 1–10 nm, which is ideal for charge storage in supercapacitors. H = 10.653 kJ/mol, S = 96.63 J/mol K and G < 0, demonstrate
The highest capacitance of 64 and 88.2 F g1 at 0.1 A g1 was obtained that the adsorption of Ag(I) on the freeze-dry form adsorbent is spon-
for 1 M TEABF4 in acetonitrile and EMIM BF4, respectively. A taneous and endothermic. Moreover, regeneration studies showed the
stability up to 82–85% can be achieved for 5000 charge–discharge high recyclability of the adsorbent, which after five cycles of use it was
cycles. CST as a potent electrode material successfully delivered still able to adsorb 95.7% of the amount adsorbed by the fresh
highest specific energy of 14 and 28 Wh kg1 and specific power of 12.5 adsorbent.
and 15 kW kg1 in 1 M TEABF4 in ACN and EMIM BF4 electrolytes,
respectively. 21/00823 Tar elimination from biomass gasification syngas
with bauxite residue derived catalysts and gasification char
21/00820 Pyrolysis chars and physically activated carbons Cheng, L. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114088.
prepared from buckwheat husks for catalytic purification of Efficient elimination of tar is a challenge to the development of
syngas biomass gasification as a viable clean energy technology. Catalytic
Pena, J. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 132, 105435. reforming is effective in reducing biomass-derived tars. However,

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 145

05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

commercial metal-based catalysts are expensive and prone to deactiva-

tion. Developing economically viable and environmentally benign 05 NUCLEAR FUELS
catalysts from renewable materials is therefore very attractive. This
study focuses on the development of an effective tar elimination
process utilizing alternative catalysts derived from bauxite residue, a
solid waste material from the alumina production. In this work, the
catalytic performance of reduced and activated bauxite residue in Scientific, technical
facilitating naphthalene (a model biomass tar compound) decompo-
sition was studied in a fixed-bed reactor under cracking and reforming
environments. Bauxite residue catalyst in reduced form was found to be
active for naphthalene reforming, mainly due to its high metallic iron 21/00826 A study on the effect of oxidation on critical heat
content. However, under wet syngas environments, bauxite residue flux in flow boiling with downward-faced carbon steel
catalyst was easily deactivated by steam. To address the steam Wang, K. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
deactivation of bauxite residue catalyst, biochar as a reducing agent, 147, 118966.
as well as a co-catalyst and adsorptive-support, was proposed to mix To execute in-vessel retention external reactor vessel cooling (IVR-
with bauxite residue. In this study, biochar from biomass gasification EVRC) successfully, critical heat flux (CHF) plays a key role in
has been successfully employed as a reducing agent to reduce iron securing the thermal and structural integrity of the reactor pressure
oxides in bauxite residue to metallic iron in an inert environment. vessel (RPV). In real-world applications, the RPV outer surface is
Results from catalyst activity testing showed that the bauxite residue- exposed and oxidized. In this study, a downward-face flow boiling CHF
biochar mixed catalyst led to highly effective and sustained naphtha- experiment was performed using a carbon steel plate with several
lene conversion in a reforming environment, since the iron content in boiling cycles under water. Because the direction of gravity was inverse
bauxite residue was maintained in its reduced form in the presence of with the normal of the wall, it was difficult to remove bubbles, and in
biochar. the local area, some local burning could repeat several times. After
polishing the surface with sandpaper, the heat was supplied to the
surface by cartridge heaters in a step-by-step manner until CHF was
21/00824 Temperature rise characteristics of coal-KOH reached, after which the surface was cooled down. Using the same
adduct under microwave heating and the properties of surface, without any further surface treatment, this heating cycle was
resultant activated carbon for catalytic methane repeated five times. The CHF value increased with the number of
decomposition cycles. When the experiment was repeated for different mass fluxes, the
Chen, T. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145, CHF value also increased with the number of cycles. It is suggested that
104739. this increasing tendency in CHF is associated with the increasing level
Temperature rise characteristics of subbituminous coal impregnated of surface oxidation. After every repetition of the heating cycle, surface
with KOH in a wide range of KOH/coal ratio (w/w, 0.25–2) under oxidation level increased, fewer bubbles were observed on the surface,
microwave (MW) heating were investigated and the catalytic perform- resulting in higher CHF values. After the experiment, surface rough-
ance in methane decomposition (CMD) over the resultant activated ness increased and contact angle decreased. The liquid-vapor mixture
carbon (AC) was measured. The results showed that with the increase area decreased with increasing heat flux in one experiment, whereas it
of KOH content, the temperature rise ability of the coal–KOH adduct decreased with boiling time, under the same heat flux, which delayed
under MW-field increases gradually, and the maximum temperature CHF. The gradual oxidation process of carbon steel could be beneficial
that can be increased from 170 to 880  C. The increase of aromaticity for real-world applications of IVR-ERVC.
due to the structural rearrangement of the coal aromatic layers during
KOH impregnation and the release of volatiles during MW-heating 21/00827 Alpha dose rate calculations for UO2 based
provides the main driving force for the continuous increase of materials using stopping power models
temperature. When KOH/coal ratio is 1.5, it took 224 s for coal– Hansson, N. L. et al. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2020, 22, 100734.
KOH adduct to rise from room temperature to 800  C, with the Accurate dose rate models for UO2-based materials in contact with
development of specific surface area (SBET) and pore volume to the water are important in the modelling of the radiolytically promoted
maximum of 661.8 m2/g and 0.512 cm3/g, respectively. However, the dissolution of spent fuel. Dose rates of -doped UO2 and un-irradiated
catalytic activity of AC with the largest SBET for CMD is not the MOX fuel were modelled using the ASTAR and SRIM stopping power
highest. At 800  C and higher temperatures, the increase of active site databases. Dose rates were calculated as a function of distance from
number on the surface by the potassium intercalation mechanism the active surface. Comparisons with common dose rate calculation
promotes the catalytic activity of AC. Therefore, the research core of models and the combined Bethe–Bloch and Lindhard–Scharff (LS)
carbon-based catalysts from coal is to increase the number of active equation were performed. It was shown that the ASTAR and SRIM
sites, not the SBET alone. databases could more accurately simulate an -spectrum compared to
the Bethe–Bloch–LS equation. A comparison between the continuous
slowing down approximation (CSDA) and the radial projection
21/00825 The rate-limiting step in the integrated coal tar algorithm in the SRIM program was performed, and it was shown that
decomposition and upgrading – iron ore reduction reaction CSDA overestimates the range of the -particles by a few percent. This
determined by kinetic analysis leads to an overestimation of the -dose rate at distances close to the
Zhao, H. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 147, maximum range of the -particle in water. A relationship between the
104808. average dose rate to specific -activity ratio as a function of -energy
Simultaneously achieving high-quality catalytic cracking of light tar, was obtained from the calculations, which can easily be implemented in
maintaining a large target product yield and improving the reductivity alpha dose rate calculations of a UO2-based materials.
of iron ore, is major step towards enhancing the energy conversion
efficiency of the coal chemical industry and ironmaking applications. 21/00828 Analysis of natural circulation behaviors and flow
To achieve the aforementioned goals, an experiment involving instabilities of passive containment cooling system design
regulation under coal pyrolysis, with iron ore as a catalytic bed, for advanced PWR using MARS-KS code
optimization of carbon deposition in spent samples and integration of Kim, K. M. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
multiple similar reaction factors between the pyrolysis of experimental 2020, 147, 118982.
samples and volatile decomposition–carbon deposition was designed. Several design basis accidents such as loss of coolant accident and main
The mass fraction and yield of the light tar produced when the pyrolysis steam line break of pressurized light water reactor (PWR) could
tar is passed through a goethite bed are 75.1% and 5.34% at the upper threaten the integrity of containment building by increasing contain-
reactor temperature of 550  C, respectively, which are higher than ment temperature and pressure. Although containment spray systems
those of the other two iron ore. Additionally, because the iron ore (CSS) have been installed for the depressurization of containment
contains carbon deposits at the nanometre scale, compared with the against the accidents, iPower nuclear power plant requires additional
original iron ore, the spent sample exhibits a peculiar phenomenon in passive safety system design to provide for malfunction of CSS.
which the reactivity increases. The reduction degree, metallization Therefore, passive containment cooling system (PCCS), which consists
ratio of the iron ore and kinetic characteristics are compared and of passive containment cooling tank (PCCT), heat exchanger modules,
analysed, confirming a response mechanism to enhance the reduction and connection pipelines, is under development. The natural circula-
degree on various fluctuating factors at temperatures exceeding 800  C, tion behaviour of the PCCS is an important hydraulic phenomenon for
and revealing that the reduction reaction occurs consecutively in four the guarantee of decay heat removal capacity, required to satisfy the
consecutive according to the efficiency of the conversion. In absence of safety acceptance criteria. Especially, flow instabilities, which could
sufficient CO2 in the reaction and according to the calculated threaten the structural integrity and enlarge the performance un-
activation energy, the carbon gasification reaction was identified as a certainty of the system, have been reported for multi-channel heat
rate-limiting step in the reduction reaction. The activation energy and exchangers operating with natural circulation like present PCCS design
rate-limiting step provide a pathway featuring pollution reduction, of iPower reactor. In this study, the natural circulation behaviours of
clean energy and energy conservation aimed towards the deployment of iPower PCCS according to various operating conditions and design
integrated technology for tar upgrading and iron ore reduction. parameters (elevation of returning pipeline) were analysed by MARS-

146 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

KS code to observe the flow instability phenomenon inside the system. 21/00832 Determining the porosity and water impregnation
Two types of flow instabilities, flashing-induced instability and density in irradiated graphite
wave oscillation were observed in the PCCS with different heights of Comte, J. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151816.
returning pipeline. Through additional analysis on flow stability map of Impurities in nuclear graphite can become neutron-activated during
PCCS design, effects of mitigation strategies (system pressure and flow operation, generating radionuclides and leading to modifications in the
resistance) on natural circulation behaviour of the system were microstructure of the graphite due to fast neutrons. The long-term
quantified. The analysis results provide physical insight on possible disposal of nuclear graphite waste requires collecting data on the
flow instability and its mitigation strategies, that would be crucial behaviour of long-lived radionuclides in disposal conditions (water-
information on designing natural circulation-driven multi-channel heat saturated). The release of radionuclides in solution depends on a
exchanging system consisting of more than two heat exchanger number of physicochemical processes such as water ingress into the
modules. graphite structure (radionuclides sites), as well as the solubilization
and transport of radionuclides in solution through the graphite pores.
Analysis of the impregnation (impregnation speed, impregnation rate)
of water in the porous graphite environment represents one of the main
21/00829 Comparative analysis of microstructure and
parameters that will greatly influence the physicochemical processes
reactive sites for nuclear graphite IG-110 and graphite
controlling the release of radionuclides in solution. For this reason, the
matrix A3
impregnation of irradiated samples from the G2 and St Laurent A2
Wu, H. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151802.
(SLA2) gas-cooled graphite-moderated reactors was studied, as was
Nuclear graphite and graphite matrix are both high-purity, fine-grain,
the distribution of the porosity. Results show that the geometric density
graphitized materials designed for use in fluoride-salt cooled high
of the samples decreases after irradiation, which is expressed as an
temperature reactors, high temperature gas-cooled reactors and
increase in the total porosity or more precisely in the open porosity
molten salt reactors. Their ability to chemisorb radioisotopes (such
mainly due to CO2 radiolytic corrosion. This means that irradiated
as tritium) and their chemical stability is dependent upon the density of
graphite is mainly a macroporous solid. Nuclear graphite becomes a
reactive carbon sites (RCS), which varies among grades of graphite and
hydrophilic material with its open porosity filled by water in just a few
changes with neutron irradiation. While nuclear graphites have been
days. This is due to the presence of functional groups on the pore
extensively characterized, much less data is available for graphite
surface.
matrix. The current study performs a comparative analysis of IG-110
nuclear graphite and A3 graphite matrix, by X-ray diffraction, Raman
and H2 uptake at 700  C with H2 partial pressure range of 300 Pa and 21/00833 Development and application of a mathematical
22 kPa. At 10 kPa, the RCS occupied by H2 uptake per number of model to design the venting system for corridors in nuclear
carbon atoms at the edge of a crystallite, H/Cedge, is 600(300) appm for power plants
IG-110 and 2300(200) appm for A3. Prior empirical studies for nuclear Du, R. et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356, 110369.
graphite establish a linear relationship between H/C and Cedge/C and When a loss-of-coolant accident takes place in a nuclear power plant
degree of graphitization. This study shows that these correlations no (NPP), the venting system should provide pressure relief and protect
longer hold when extrapolating to graphite matrix; the type of defects civil structure. In current projects, engineers require computational
and the defect density at the crystallite surface are different between fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations to design the venting system.
IG-110 and A3 due to differences in raw materials and manufacturing However, CFD simulation consumes considerable time and computing
method. resources, and much useless work can take place before the
construction drawing design phase. Noting that the corridor is a
compartment that widely exists in NPPs, a one-dimensional mathemat-
ical model was developed to simplify the design of venting systems for
21/00830 Corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior of Alloy
corridors. Then CFD simulations were applied to validate the
52 M in high-temperature water
mathematical model, using the design of the HTR-PM600’s corridor
Wang, J. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151848.
as a typical case. Finally, a step-by-step flow of design was developed.
The corrosion fatigue (CF) crack growth behaviour of Alloy 52M in
From this study, it was found that: (1) the mathematical model can
high temperature water was investigated in various water chemistries
indeed provide a preliminary design of the venting system for corridors,
with dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved hydrogen (DH) or Ar. The
which is a reasonable approximation to that provided by CFD
experimental results indicated that at higher load ratio (R), the CF
simulation; (2) engineers only need to follow four steps to use the
crack growth rates (CGRs) in oxygenated water was slightly higher
mathematical model, much useless work is saved and (3) the
than Ar deaerated water, while under lower R, the relationship was
mathematical model performs well in the design of HTR-PM600’s
reversed. Micro-characterization of the crack paths and fracture
corridor.
surfaces revealed that severe crack branching and localized interden-
dritic cracking occurred in oxygenated water, while relatively straight
transgranular cracking developed in hydrogen and Ar deaerated water. 21/00834 Effect of martensite–austenite constituents on
Minor environmental enhancement of CGRs for Alloy 52M weld metal impact toughness of pre-tempered MnNiMo bainitic steel
was detected in oxygenated water but no environmental enhancement Xie, C. et al. Materials Characterization, 2020, 161, 110139.
of CGRs was detected in hydrogen or Ar deaerated water. The martensite–austenite constituents are known to deteriorate the
impact toughness of alloyed steel. In order to reduce this adverse
effect, the pre-tempering process at low temperatures was introduced
before the tempering of intercritical heat treatment process of a
21/00831 Critical flow leakage of a vapour-liquid mixture
MnNiMo bainitic steel. The effects of pre-tempering temperature on
from sub-cooled water: nucleation boiling study
the decomposition of martensite-austenite constituents and impact
Yin, S. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
toughness properties of the pre-tempered specimens were investigated.
146, 118807.
The results of instrumented Charpy V-notch impact testing show that
Two-phase critical flow has been studied extensively by many
the impact toughness of the materials can be significantly improved by
researchers over the past seven decades, due to its importance in the
the pre-tempering process, especially for the condition of pre-temper-
fields of nuclear engineering and other industries that deal with high
ing at 400  C. After pre-tempering at 400  C, more martensite–
energy storage. The paper aims to develop a mathematical model for
austenite constituents are decomposed into ferrite and small carbides,
the critical flow of a two-phase mixture in a narrow channel,
resulting in the reduction of microcracks nucleation sites. The residual
considering the irreversible non-equilibrium interphase mass transfer
martensite-austenite constituents become mainly the island-like, which
of metastable liquids. Calculations are based on the model to describe
can effectively hinder the propagation of secondary cracks. In addition,
the boiling delay and the non-equilibrium vapour generation process
the pre-tempering at 400  C increases the fraction of high-angle grain
during a rapid depressurization. Moreover, the paper provides an
boundaries and refines the size of blocks, which can effectively prevent
explicit algorithm, using the computational pressure step, to seek
or deflect the propagation of microcracks. All of those microstructure
efficiency and precision as well as the stability of the computation. The
changes are beneficial to the crack propagation energy. The results
possibility of this model to predict the critical mass flux, pressure
suggest that the application of the pre-tempering process is a feasible
profiles, as well as the mass transfer between phases, has been
method to enhance the impact toughness of the studied alloyed steel.
validated, by comparison with three mathematical models with respect
to experimental results of different authors. The developed non-
equilibrium model gives an excellent approach to experimental 21/00835 Effects of helium irradiation on fine grained b-SiC
measures and explains the complex behaviour shown by critical synthesized by spark plasma sintering
blowdowns of pressurized vessels. Calculation results indicate that Gavarini, S. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40,
the boiling delay phenomenon becomes significant, when the upstream (1), 1–11.
pressure is high, owing to the large depressurization rate of the critical Silicon carbide has a high resistance to irradiation making it a material
flow. The heterogeneous nucleation process becomes a deterministic of choice for use in the nuclear reactors. This work focuses on
phenomenon to be predicted by direct analysis of upstream conditions, experiments involving implantation of 30 keV 3He ions at room
physical parameters of liquids, and the channel geometry, of which the temperature (RT) in sintered -SiC. Helium is produced in large
effect of upstream pressure is most pronounced. quantities in fission and fusion reactors, and its accumulation in

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 147

05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

materials can lead to the formation of bubbles. The irradiation induces obtained by means of SPECTRA-PKA code and a visualization map of
structural modifications within the material that can be coupled with radiation damage in the clad is presented as an outcome of the SRIM
changes in composition, especially at high fluence. Three ion fluencies code simulation. Results confirm that value of dpa calculated by
are used here: 5  1015, 1  1017 and 1  1018 at. cm2. Structural MCNPX+arc-dpa is closer to experimental ones as the recombination
damages are studied by electron microscopy and helium profiles are effect in radiation damage is considered in this method.
measured by nuclear reaction analysis. At 1  1018 at. cm2, helium
bubbles are formed in the implanted zone, which also undergoes strong
oxidation. Surface blisters are also observed and helium concentration 21/00838 Fluid-structure interaction of a 7-rods bundle:
threshold for bubble formation is estimated to about 4 at.% by benchmarking numerical simulations with experimental data
correlating the MET observations with the results obtained by ion Bertocchi, F. et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356, 110394.
beam analysis. For the highest fluence, a residual concentration of Fluid flows through rod bundles are observed in many nuclear
3.6  1017 at. cm2 was measured just after implantation (instead of applications, such as in the core of Gen IV liquid metal fast breeder
1  1018 at. cm2), which indicates a significant release of helium by the nuclear reactors. One of the main features of this configuration is the
material during the process. The link between the microstructural appearance of flow fluctuations in the rod gaps due to the velocity
evolution of the material, its progressive oxidation under beam and the difference in the sub-channels between the rods. On one side, these
release of helium is discussed. The very likely role played by the pulsations are beneficial as they enhance the heat exchange between
porosity on the oxidation of the material under irradiation at RT is the rods and the fluid. On the other side, the fluid pulsations might
underlined. Finally, the results obtained here on silicon carbide are induce vibrations of the flexible fuel rods, a mechanism generally
compared with those obtained on another ceramic (TiC) which does referred to as flow induced vibrations. Over time, this might result in
not amorphize in similar conditions. mechanical fatigue of the rods and rod fretting, which eventually can
compromise their structural integrity. This work aimed at benchmark-
ing simulations performed by the Nuclear Research and Consultancy
21/00836 Evaluation of an aerodynamic barrier approach to Group (NRG) in the Netherlands and Ghent University in Belgium
limit the dispersion of fission products in the event of with the experiments carried out at Delft University of Technology.
containment failure The gravity-driven water flow through a seven-rod hexagonal bundle
Ullah, S. and Yim, M.-S. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, was measured with to detect the presence of flow pulsations (i.e.
103120. coherent structures) in the gap between the rods. A section of the
A new accident mitigation approach based on the concept of aero- central rod was made of flexible silicone in order to study flow-induced
dynamic barriers was examined for limiting the spread of radioactive vibrations that were recorded with a high-speed camera. The optical
material in the event of the containment failure at a nuclear power access to the surroundings of the central rod was achieved by using
plant. This approach is based on utilizing airflow movements to confine fluorinated ethylene propylene, which is a refractive index-matching
and capture the radioactive material released outside the containment. material, for part of the rods. A reference mass flow rate was selected
Four representative configurations based on the number of aero- as the case study for the numerical comparison. The numerical codes
dynamic towers, the distance, the angle of discharge and speed, and the used an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations
suction systems were considered to investigate the effectiveness of the approach for the turbulence modelling, and strongly coupled
proposed approach under the postulated conditions of winds and algorithms for the solution of the fluid–structure interaction (FSI)
fission products release. Computational fluid dynamic modelling was problems. As for the flow pulsations, both codes agreed reasonably well
used to model the transport of released fission products and to with the experiments: the computed frequency of the flow pulsations
determine their capture efficiency under the influence of the proposed was 8.6 Hz (NRG) and 10 Hz (University of Ghent), compared to the
system. The results showed using six towers for generating airflows was experimental 7.8 Hz. On the other hand, the results of the FSI
capable of providing the necessary protection and confinement. The calculations deviated from the experiments in that they underpredicted
tower distance from the containment building was found to play a key the amplitude of the flow-induced vibrations and they overpredicted
role in confining the released materials. The inward oriented towers the respective frequency. Nevertheless, the authors believe that the
were shown to generate relatively stronger aerodynamic barrier flow numerical efforts presented here contribute to improving simulations.
around the containment building that improve the confinement and Moreover, the available experimental data can be used for other
capture performance. Increase in tower discharge speed in general numerical validations.
improved the barrier performance. While preliminary in nature, this
study indicates the feasibility of accident mitigation by using
aerodynamic barriers. Future studies are needed to perform detailed 21/00839 Glycine-nitrate solution combustion synthesis of
parametric/sensitivity studies on the key parameters to enable the lithium zirconate: effect of fuel-to oxidant ratio on phase,
implementation of the proposed system through automated operation. microstructure and sintering
Tripathi, B. M. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40,
(1), 136–144.
21/00837 Evaluation of neutron radiation damage in Pure monoclinic lithium zirconate (Li2ZrO3) powder was synthesized
zircaloy fuel clad of nuclear power plants: a study based on by solution combustion route using glycine as fuel and nitrates as
PKA and dpa calculations oxidants. Effect of fuel-to-oxidizer ratio (’ = 0.5–1.25) on synthesis
Noori-kalkhoran, O. and Gei, M. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, condition, phase, powder morphology, sintering and thermodynamic
118, 103079. aspects was systematically investigated. Thermodynamic analysis
During the lifetime of nuclear power plants, irradiation and mechanical reveals; mode of combustion, adiabatic flame temperature, amount of
interactions can cause permanent damage to their structural materials. gases and powder characteristics can be controlled by adjusting ’. The
In nuclear reactors, one of the most important of these materials is fuel crystallite size of Li2ZrO3 powder was in the range of 18–40 nm. The
clad that, in addition to its main role in transferring heat from fuel to powders consist of micrometric soft-agglomerates of irregular flake
coolant, restrains most of the radioactive fission products within its shape particles. The residual Li2O in Li2ZrO3 powder was found to be
volume. In this article, neutron-induced radiation damage based on in the range 155–469 mg/g. The Li2ZrO3 powder synthesized by present
primary knock-on atom (PKA) and displacement per atom (dpa) method shows significantly enhanced sinter-ability as compared to
calculations are evaluated on fuel clad in hot fuel assembly (HFA) in a conventional solid-state method. The Li2ZrO3 pellets were sintered
WWER-1000 reactor core as a case study. New couplings of existing close to 98% of theoretical at 1000  C with grain size 1–2 mm. Increase
nuclear and radiation damage codes and methods are developed for of sintering temperature to 1050  C results abnormal grain growth with
dpa calculations and results are compared together and against large number of closed pores.
experimental results. In the first step, the full reactor core is simulated
with MCNPX code to determine the HFA and its relevant neutron-
energy spectrum. SPECTER, SPECTRA-PKA and PTRAC card of 21/00840 Heat transfer enhancement in cryogenic
MCNPX are then employed to evaluate the PKA spectrum under quenching process
neutron bombardment. Finally, dpa calculated with the binary collision Chung, J. N. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 147,
approximation approach is achieved through the use of SRIM-2013 106117.
code. A MATLAB interchange program is developed to prepare and This paper reports a heat transfer advancement in the cryogenic
transfer the data between the mentioned codes and SRIM. Compre- quenching process. An experiment was performed to evaluate the
hensive comparisons are performed between results in terms of dpa enhancement of quenching heat transfer by the use of metal tubes with
obtained by (i) NRT calculation (NRT-dpa) (SPECTER and SPEC- low thermal conductivity coating layers. Four coating thicknesses with
TRA-PKA results), (ii) arc-dpa calculation (MCNPX+arc-dpa), various coolant mass flow rates of liquid nitrogen were investigated.
(iii) BCA calculation (PTRAC+SRIM) and (iv) coupled calculation The results indicated that the tube inner surface coating greatly
(SPECTRA-PKA+SRIM) (all generations of knock-on atoms and enhanced the quenching efficiency. The quenching efficiency was
clusters are tracked in the last two methods). These comparisons reveal found to increase with increasing number of coating layers, and the
the portions of damage in Zircaloy due to PKAs, secondary knock-on efficiency also increased with decreasing mass flow rates. In general,
atoms and cascade atoms, the effect of position-depended PKA and the the efficiencies cover a range between 40.6% and 80%. Comparing to
fraction of displaced atoms that come back to their lattice positions as a the bare surface case, the percentage increase in the quenching
result of thermal effects and annealing. Effects of elemental PKA are efficiency was the minimum at 4.2% for a single coated layer at the

148 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

highest flow rate and the maximum of 109.1% for four coated layers at In this study, the irradiation damage behaviour of Zr-1 wt% Nb fuel
the lowest flow rate. The coated tubes could save up to 53% in the cladding alloy was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), positron
amount of cryogen consumption. annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) and nano-indentation. The samples were irradiated
at two different fluences of 5  1016 and 1  1018 p/cm2 using proton
21/00841 Investigation of the chance structure of the beam of 3.5 MeV energy at room temperature. SRIM calculation
fission cross section of 238U by neutrons in energy range showed an inhomogeneous damage distribution as a function of proton
from 14 to 18 Mev using the delayed neutrons penetration depth with maximum damage at a depth of 68 mm. XRD
Gremyachkin, D. E. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, analysis revealed variation in the microstructural parameters of
103068. irradiated samples after proton irradiation. PALS showed formation
Here, delayed neutrons were used for the investigation of the chance of open volume defects in the irradiated samples and a clustering
structure of the fission cross-section. For this, time parameters of tendency of the same with irradiation. The formation of hai- and hci-
delayed neutron precursors emitted from the fission of 238U by type dislocation loops and needle-shaped precipitates upon irradiation
neutrons with the energies from 14 to 18 MeV have been measured. was demonstrated by TEM. The depth dependent hardness of the
The T(d,n) reaction was used as a neutron source. The experimental irradiated samples evaluated from nano-indentation technique was
data were processed to account for the effect of degradation of the found to follow the damage distribution predicted by SRIM simulation.
detector counting rate in high intensity neutron flux and the effect of
concomitant neutron source D(d,n) caused by implanted deuterium
ions in neutron target. The data obtained based on the time parameters 21/00845 Microstructure and fission products in the UCO
of delayed neutron precursors were used in the analysis of the chance kernel of an AGR-1 TRISO fuel particle after post irradiation
structure of the fission cross-section of the 238U. safety testing
Fu, Z. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151884.
Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel, as a key fuel
21/00842 Liquid low-level radioactive wastes treatment by concept for the high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and a candidate
using hydrophobized track-etched membranes accident-tolerant fuel, has been investigated under the US-DOE
Zdorovets, M. V. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103128. Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program.
This paper presents the results of liquid low-level radioactive wastes Extensive studies have been conducted to evaluate the fission-product
(LLLRW) treatment by direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) release, diffusion of Ag, Pd and Cd in the SiC layer and the TRISO
using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) track-etched membranes coating system, and safety-test performance. However, to date there
(TeMs). PET TeMs were modified by styrene and triethoxyvinylsilane are limited reported results on the fuel kernels response to irradiation
(TEVS) using UV-induced grafting. Modification led to increase in the with or without post irradiation safety testing. To incrementally fill this
contact angle to 99 of PET TeMs (pore size from 150 to 300 nm). knowledge gap, extensive studies using transmission electron mi-
Hydrophobic PET TeMs were investigated by X-ray photoelectron croscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) were conducted
spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gonio- on a TRISO fuel-particle kernel with a 19.74% 235U enrichment,
metric analysis, gas permeability test, liquid entry presser analysis and irradiated to 18.63% FIMA and subsequently subjected to safety
scanning electron microscope. Prepared membranes were tested in testing at 1600  C for 300 h. Microstructural characterizations, elemen-
treatment of LLLRW by DCMD. The influence of pore size on water tal analysis, and phase identification were conducted using conven-
flux and rejection degree was studied. Rejection degree was evaluated tional TEM and scanning TEM imaging, energy-dispersive X-ray
by conductometry and atomic emission methods. Decontamination spectroscopy, selected-area electron diffraction and APT. The follow-
factors (evaluated by gamma-ray spectroscopy) for 60Co, 137Cs and ing findings were made: (1) significant reconstructions and phase
241
Am were found to be 85, 1900 and 5, respectively. In most cases evolutions occurred in the irradiated and post safety-tested fuel kernel,
degree of rejection of Cs, Mo, Sr, Sb, Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg and Na ions and its microstructure consists of two primary phases, namely a higher-
were more than 90% and close to 100%. The use of TeMs with a Z (atomic mass) UC phase and a lower-Z UO phase, (2) no fission-gas
narrow pores size distribution and without tortuous channels allowed bubbles are identified within the fuel kernel, that can be attributed to
the authors to achieve better purification from radioactive wastes in the high-temperature post safety-testing, (3) fission products Zr, Nb,
comparison with hollow-fibre membranes. Mo, Ru, Tc and Rh were found to segregate preferentially into UC
phase or to form metallic precipitates while the lanthanide fission
products tend to stay in the solution of UO phase and (4) Pd was
21/00843 Material characterization of the VULCANO corium detected in the rod-shaped precipitates.
concrete interaction test with concrete representative of
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants 21/00846 Modelling intra-granular bubble movement and
Brissonneau, L. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151860. fission gas release during post-irradiation annealing of UO2
In the framework of a Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and using a meso-scale and spatialized approach
Commissariat à l Energie Atomique et Energies Alternative, France Verma, L. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151874.
(CEA) collaboration, experimental studies have been conducted for The effective diffusion theory, which is generally used in the modelling
estimating the material characteristics of corium debris representative of base-irradiation of nuclear fuel, cannot predict the intra-granular
of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear damaged plants. A test has been fission gas release during post-irradiation annealing tests. From this
performed in the VULCANO facility in CEA Cadarache to simulate discrepancy between experiments and usual theory, several alternative
the concrete corium interaction (CCI) with prototypic corium (using scenarios emerged. The purpose of this work is to model these
depleted uranium) and concrete of Fukushima Daiichi 1F1 nuclear scenarios, as mechanistically as possible, and to distinguish those that
plants. This paper presents the post-test analyses on nine samples could really explain the observations. The difficulty is that the fission
representative of the CCI during this test: in the corium pool, in the gas bubbles in irradiated UO2 are extremely small and numerous
crusts and at the vertical and horizontal interfaces with the concrete. (mean distance between nano-bubble centres is only of the order of 10–
Analyses have been performed by SEM/EDS, X-ray diffraction, 20 nm) while the grain radius is about 5 mm. A new spatialized
complete dissolution and ICP, micro-hardness measurements of the mesoscale model was developed where individual bubbles are
main phases. The pool is very porous, its composition is homogeneous described, along with the diffusion of vacancies from each bubble to
but metallic blocks have been observed at the interfaces. The major the other, as well as from the free surface. Random movement and
phases encountered are uranium- and zirconium-rich oxides forming coalescence of the bubbles have also been included in the model. Based
nodules from micrometres to millimetres size, chromium–iron-rich on this principal, two scenarios, and the combination of those, could be
precipitates of several micrometres, metallic Fe–Ni droplets and assessed: (a) the movement of bubbles in a vacancy gradient and
chromium–silicon-rich filaments in a matrix, likely vitreous, rich in (b) the Brownian movement of bubbles. It was demonstrated that
concrete elements: Si, Al, Ca, but containing up to 12 cations. The neither of these two scenarios, nor the combination of them, could
matrix is the softer oxide phase, when the Cr-rich precipitates are the explain the large fission gas release obtained during post-irradiation
harder. The analyses are consistent with the estimated macroscopic annealing in the reference experiment. This encourages the consider-
ablation ratio, but do not still explain the important axial ablation ation of additional mechanisms, involving dislocations for instance, that
observed for this specific basaltic concrete. The different phases could explain the high fission gas release.
formation, distribution and solidification path are discussed. First
comparisons are proposed with the former CCI tests with European
concretes. These results give helpful insights for the future dismantling 21/00847 Nano-indentation of ion-irradiated nuclear
of the plant and for a deeper understanding of the CCI process for structural materials: a review
basaltic concrete. Xiao, X. and Yu, L. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2020, 22, 100721.
Ion irradiation offers a promising strategy to emulate the irradiation
damage induced by energetic neutrons. However, the characterization
21/00844 Microstructural investigation of irradiation of the mechanical properties of ion-irradiated materials is not easy
damage behavior of proton irradiated Zr-1 wt.% Nb fuel considering the limited irradiation depth and inhomogeneous distri-
cladding alloy bution of irradiation-induced defects. Over the last decades, nano-
Saini, S. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151894. indentation has been recognized as a valid technique to investigate the

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 149

05 Nuclear fuels (scientific, technical)

localized mechanical responses at micro-scale. Therefore, the combi- Several radionuclides including tritium generated in heavy-water
nation of ion irradiation and nano-indentation has been extensively reactor nuclear power plants are managed through ion-exchange
developed in recent years to study the mechanical behaviours of resins, and these spent resins are then stored in storage tanks. To
nuclear structural materials with irradiation effect. In this review, maintain the capacity of the storage tanks, the waste sludge should be
current developments of experimental observations, numerical simu- treated using appropriate methods. Dose assessments are conducted to
lations and theoretical models are summarized concerning both ensure radiological safety during the treatment and disposal of the
microstructural evolution and macroscopic deformation. Correspond- spent resin. In this study, it is performed that a radiological evaluation
ing analysis and discussion could help obtain a sophisticated of the operation of spent-resin waste treatment facilities and
comprehension of the fundamental deformation mechanisms resulting transportation of the radioactive waste – in a polymer concrete high-
in mechanical degradation of ion-irradiated materials, and further integrity container (PC-HIC) for spent resin disposal – of the
assist the development of next-generation nuclear structural materials. Wolseong nuclear power plant, a heavy-water reactor nuclear power
plant in Korea. Radiation workers using the spent resin treatment
equipment, as well as radiation workers transporting PC-HIC to the
21/00848 Neutronic study of UO2-BeO fuel with various disposal site and public spaces in the transportation route, were
claddings considered in the evaluation. The maximum dose received by radiation
Chen, S. and Yuan, C. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2020, 22, 100728. workers was 11.2 mSv, which is below the annual average dose limit of
The neutronic properties of UO2-BeO fuel with various claddings are 20 mSv/year. Doses were below the limit at all routes, objects, and
investigated through the Monte Carlo method and the linear reactivity sampling locations. For waste truck drivers, the individual dose was
model. A second order polynomial function is suggested to describe the 6.10  103 mSv, which is also below the driver dose limit of 6 mSv. The
relationship between the difference of the reactivity at the end of cycle treatment and disposal of the spent resin operations are performed
and two factors, the uranium enrichment and the volume fraction of while maintaining the individual doses below the dose limits set for the
BeO in the UO2–BeO fuel. The uranium enrichment is determined to practices.
ensure the same cycle length for each BeO fraction with zircaloy,
FeCrAl, and SiC claddings. Similar neutronic properties are observed
between the zircaloy and SiC claddings for a given BeO fraction, 21/00852 Simulated studies on optimization and
including the infinite multiplication factor, the gas release, the power characterization of feed and product of melter for safe
distribution, and the isotopic concentrations. An important feature of disposal of high-level radioactive liquid waste
UO2–BeO fuel is the production of 4He, which is significant compared Selvakumar, J. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103135.
with current UO2 fuel. Lower production rates of xenon and krypton The elemental composition of actual high-level liquid waste (HLW)
are found in the case of the UO2–BeO–FeCrAl fuel-cladding system, received from reprocessing plant was estimated from analysis of several
while those in the UO2–BeO–zircaloy and UO2-BeO–SiC systems are samples by using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spec-
quite similar to the current UO2–zircaloy system. The power trometry (ICP-AES). Based on the composition, the simulated waste
distribution in an assembly and in a fuel pellet is flatter for a higher (20–30 wt % based on oxide content) was prepared and vitrified in
BeO fraction with the same cladding. Higher peak power is found in SiO2Na2OB2O3TiO2Fe2O3 glass system. Simulated vitrified waste
fuel assemblies with FeCrAl compared to the other two claddings, products (SVWPs) were characterized for their structural changes and
while the radial power distribution is quite similar for the three relative thermal properties by using infra-red (IR) spectrometry, X-ray
claddings. diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
techniques. The measure of BO3, BO4, and Si–O–Si functional groups
were found to be decisive in thermal and chemical durability of the
21/00849 On the detection and classification of material products. Leach rate (LRNa) was found to be 105106 g/cm2 day for
defects in crystalline solids after energetic particle impact 426% waste oxide (WO) loaded SVWPs. The relative increase in
simulations surface area by imparting 1 J of energy to the SVWPs was found to be
Domı́nguez-Gutiérrez, F. J. and von Toussaint, U. Journal of Nuclear <1.4. For the optimized feed composition (24% waste oxide), the
Materials, 2020, 528, 151833. required activation energy (Ea) for feed to glass conversion (50–200 kJ/
Here, a fingerprint-like method is presented to analyse material defects mol) was estimated by DSC based advanced isoconversional method.
after energetic particle irradiation by computing a rotation invariant Excellent surface and elemental homogeneity, internationally accep-
descriptor vector for each atom of a given sample. For ordered solids table chemical durability (IAEA 28-day test) based on Na+ leach rate
this new method is easy to use, does not require extreme computational (3.5  106 g/cm2 day), generation of <0.5% respirable fines (<15 mm)
resources, and is largely independent of the sample material and during impact studies, of the SVWP from Joule heated ceramic melter
sample temperature. As an illustration, the method was applied to reveals that the optimized composition and its products are well
molecular dynamics simulations of deuterated and pristine tungsten qualified for safe operation, transit, and disposal.
lattices at 300 K using a primary knock-on atom (PKA) of 1 keV with
different velocity directions to emulate a neutron bombardment 21/00853 Slipcasting of MAX phase tubes for nuclear fuel
process. The number of W atoms, which are affected after the collision cladding applications
cascade, have been quantified with the presented approach. At first Galvin, T. et al. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2020, 22, 100725.
atoms at regular lattice positions as well as common defect types like As a proof of concept, tubes of Ti3SiC2 MAX phase were slipcast in
interstitials and vacancies have been identified using precomputed order to investigate its potential for the fabrication of fuel cladding for
descriptor vectors. A principal component analysis is used to identify nuclear reactors. A slip consisting of 46% dry weight basis (dwb) water,
previously overlooked defect types and to derive the corresponding 4% dwb polyethyleneimine (PEI), 0.5% dwb methylcellulose was used
local atomic structure. A comparison of the irradiation effects for to cast the tubes, which were then sintered for 2 h under vacuum at
deuterated and pristine tungsten samples revealed that deuterated 1450  C. Silicon loss was observed at surface which resulted in the
samples exhibit consistently more defects than pristine ones. formation of TiC. The hoop stress to destruction of the tubes was
measured and achieved a maximum of 9.1  2.2 MPa/mm of tube
thickness. This value is too low to consider using it as a cladding
21/00850 Preparation of ultrafine fibrous uranium dioxide replacement at this juncture, but this work serves as further proof of
by electrospinning concept that slipcasting can produce MAX phase tubes. Improvements
Kundrat, V. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151877. in processing and densification would be expected to yield superior
This study introduces a robust method for the preparation of uranium properties due to the elimination of internal flaws.
oxide nanofibres with extraordinary thin diameters. The authors
considered the preparation of U3O8 and UO2 nanofibres by the
electrospinning method from uranyl acetylacetonate in mixed organic 21/00854 SOHIO process legacy waste treatment:
solvents. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as a supporting uranium recovery using ion exchange
polymer. Besides studying and optimizing the solution systems, the Foster, R. I. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry,
authors also examined the effects of collector material on the 2020, 81, 144–152.
properties of the fibre mat. It was found that calcination of electrospun The feasibility of employing ion-exchange resins for the selective
green composite fibres deposited on aluminium foil produces U3O8 removal of uranium from a complex waste effluent has been
nanofibres with the lowest average diameter of 20  5 nm as their investigated. The source of the effluent is a treatment process to
adhesion prevents fibre shrinking. The authors also studied calcination reduce the volume of a spent uranium containing catalyst prior to its
of fibres on ashless paper and freestanding composite mats. Reduction immobilization and disposal in South Korea. Commercial anion
of U3O8 fibres in H2/N2 atmosphere at various temperatures provided exchange and chelation resins have been screened, along with an in-
uranium dioxide nanofibres with an average diameter of 90 nm. house synthesized polyamine functionalized resin. The Langmuir
isotherm model produced the best fit for UO2+ 2 binding to all resins,
with Purolite MTS957, a mixed sulfonic/phosphonic acid functionalized
21/00851 Radiological assessment on spent resin resin, showing the highest equilibrium adsorption capacity for UO2+ 2 ,
treatment facility and transportation for radioactive waste 96.15 mg g1. The modified dose–response model was found to
disposal adequately represent breakthrough across all flow rates used and for
Choi, W. N. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103125. all resins tested under dynamic testing conditions. The maximum

150 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

uranium loading capacities under dynamic conditions for simulant and 21/00858 Thermal footprint of a geological disposal facility
real wastes were established as 131.52 and 68.62 mg g 1, respectively. containing EURO-GANEX wasteforms
Purolite MTS957 effectively decontaminated the real effluent to Hsieh, Y.-H. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103065.
uranium levels below the Korean release limit of 1 mg L1. Over Synroc-Z is a new wasteform being developed to be specifically suited
99.9% uranium was successfully eluted from the resin bed in <20 bed to waste from the advanced EURO-GANEX reprocessing route. This
volumes with a mixed sodium carbonate/sulfate eluent. type of waste contains nuclides that release significant amounts of heat
during their decay. Here, predictions for radiogenic heat generation
from EURO-GANEX wasteforms based on Synroc-Z ceramic and
21/00855 The dynamic-implicit-additional-source (DIAS) R7T7 glass materials are presented. During reprocessing, any actinides
method for multi-scale coupling of thermal-hydraulic codes present in the waste-stream are removed to leave only fission products.
to enhance the prediction of mass and heat transfer in the Simulation results are given demonstrating that, although initially
nuclear reactor pressure VESSEL classified as high level waste, the effects of decay mean the wasteforms
Zhang, K. and Sanchez-Espinoza, V. H. International Journal of Heat effectively become intermediate level after 140 years of storage.
and Mass Transfer, 2020, 147, 118987. Furthermore, many of the issues arising from alpha decay will be
After introducing the increasingly essential roles of thermal–hydraulic avoided. During the first 600 years, it is shown that the main source of
simulation tools in the nuclear industry and research communities, this self-heating comes from the decay of Cs-137 and Sr-90. These
paper then focuses on the discussion of multi-scale thermal-hydraulic calculations show how the significant radiogenic heating by these
coupling where typical nuclear system-codes, sub-channel codes, and wasteforms must be considered when defining package sizes and waste
computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes are coupled together to loadings. These effects are discussed for both ceramic and glass
better describe the thermal–hydraulic phenomena, e.g. the mass and wasteforms and demonstrate that Synroc-Z provides more flexibility
heat transfer in nuclear power plants. Here, the domain overlapping allowing larger packages even at higher waste loadings than R7T7.
technique was adopted as the most promising and efficient approach
for multi-scale coupling. In order to properly implement the domain
overlapping multi-scale coupling, the dynamic implicit additional
source (DIAS) approach, which uses fine results from sub-channel or
CFD codes to correlate system fields was put forward. This newly Economics, policy, supplies, forecasts
developed method correlates the coolant velocity, pressure, coolant
temperature, and solute concentration in the system-codes’ entire
overlapped domains. The working principles of the DIAS correlations
were carefully explained with the real application to the system-code 21/00859 A fast and robust Bayesian update of components
TRACE. The sub-channel code – SubChanFlow – was applied to verify failure rates in a nuclear power plant
the DIAS correlations to TRACE and the approach was completely Ayoub, A. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103067.
evaluated with a multi-coupling case performed on an academic This paper presents the algorithm and the results of a novel, robust,
problem. The current results are encouraging and prove TRACE fast and accurate Bayesian update methodology that is developed at the
could better predict the mass and heat transfer within the reactor Leibstadt nuclear power plant in Switzerland for components failure
pressure vessel with the DIAS method. Based on this method, the rate calculation as required in the probabilistic safety assessment
domain overlapping multi-scale coupling could be conveniently spread (PSA). In PSA, component failure rates are modelled using probability
to various thermal–hydraulic codes’ pairs. density functions representing the uncertainty range of the failure
rates. International generic failure rates (prior information) need to be
coupled with plant-specific failure statistics (evidence) through a
21/00856 The flow resistance experiments of supercritical Bayesian update process to obtain a best estimate of plant-specific
pressure water in 2 3 2 rod bundle reliability parameters (posterior information). It was noticed, that
Zang, J. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, commonly used numerical integration functions (e.g. MATLAB built-
147, 118873. in integral function) often result in numerical instabilities when applied
The flow resistance experiment of supercritical pressure water in a to the required integral in Bayesian updates. A more robust algorithm
2  2 rod bundle was performed with heated length of 2.5 m. Each rod was developed to resolve these instabilities. This algorithm covers all
was annular tube of 9.5 mm outer diameter, 6.5 mm inner diameter and probability density functions (pdfs) of interest in the nuclear industry.
the centre distance between two adjacent rods was 10.5 mm. The data It uses an optimal discretization scheme to carry out the numerical
were obtained at the pressures above the critical point, mainly focusing integration taking into account some useful characteristics of the still
on 23, 24 and 25 MPa, mass flow within the range from 600 to 1400 kg/ unknown posterior distribution. In some cases, the Bayesian update is
m2s and heat flux up to 943 kW/m2. The data reduction method was performed analytically either by algebraic derivations or using the
introduced in details to account for the fluid property variation in property of conjugation. The novel method is validated on practical
heated channels of supercritical flow. The results showed that the industrial examples and benchmarked against Mathematica to prove its
friction coefficient of supercritical flow had the shape of ‘V’ profile accuracy.
versus Reynolds number. The fluid property differences between the
wall and the bulk fluid should be considered. The heat flux and mass
21/00860 A possible application of catastrophe theory to
flux would affect the friction coefficient through changing the material
boiling water reactor instability
correction factor. Various friction correlations were compared with the
Pázsit, I. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103054.
experimental data and some suggestions were given. The data obtained
It is known that the stability of boiling water reactors (BWRs), when
from this experiment could be applicable for a reference estimation of
quantified with the so-called decay ratio as the stability parameter, may
flow resistance in supercritical water-cooled reactor rod bundles.
show seemingly abrupt changes, despite the smooth variations of the
control parameters (reactor power and core flow). There is also
21/00857 The use of U3Si2/Al dispersion fuel for high power evidence of the fact that the stability properties can exhibit a hysteresis
research reactors effect when moving back and forth on the same path on the power-flow
Keiser, D. D. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151820. map. The most common explanation of the abrupt change is based on
In order to investigate the irradiation performance of U3Si2/Al the co-existence of two different types of instabilities (global and
dispersion fuel at relatively aggressive reactor conditions, compared regional), and their interplay. In this paper, the authors suggest an
to how this fuel is typically used in a research or test reactor, post- alternative phenomenological explanation, which only assumes the
irradiation examination was performed on two fuel plates that were existence of one single mode of instability. The proposed hypothesis is
irradiated at 270 W/cm2 average surface heat flux and to a maximum that that the decay ratio of one single mode of a complex, many-
local burn-up >8  1021 fissions/cm3 in the advanced test reactor as variable non-linear system might obey a cusp catastrophe as a function
part of the RERTR-8 experiment. As part of the non-destructive of the control parameters. Such a phenomenological model can explain
examinations that were performed on both fuel plates, detailed both the discontinuous variation of the decay ratio, as well as the
thickness measurements using a high-fidelity measurement bench were hysteresis effect. Since a cusp-type behaviour implies that the decay
performed on one fuel plate and a segment of the second fuel plate. ratio is many-valued in a certain region of the power-flow map, a
This paper provides the first reported results of such high-resolution mechanism is suggested how a Hopf bifurcation with multiplicative
thickness measurements for U3Si2/Al dispersion fuel plates, containing noise can lead to such a behaviour.
primarily the U3Si2 fuel phase, irradiated at such power levels to high
burn-up. For destructive examination using optical metallography, 21/00861 An accelerating thermal aging model of RAFM
samples were generated from both irradiated plates. Localized regions steel: strategy to save time and cost of thermal aging
of high swelling (characteristic of internal blistering) were observed on experiment
the surface of both fuel plates, suggesting that the performance limits Wang, W. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151839.
had been reached for each plate. Destructive examinations showed that Thermal ageing experiment is an effective method to evaluate the
the fuel particles that are primarily U3Si2, which become amorphous thermostability of structure materials which serve in high temperatures.
during irradiation, in both plates contained relatively large fission gas But it difficult to acquire the ageing data throughout service term,
bubbles with evidence of fission gas bubble interconnection. because it would take a long time. Hence, an accelerating thermal

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 151

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

ageing model of China low activation martensitic (CLAM) steel was for core calculations and the software RAVEN for variable sampling
built in this paper to shorten the time of the thermal ageing and analytical purposes. T-XSEC/NEWT receives an energy group
experiment. The microstructure analysis and Charpy impact tests were configuration from RAVEN to generate microscopic self-shielded
conducted on CLAM steel after thermal ageing with different cross sections in a coarse format. PHISICS provides the core solution
temperatures. The results showed that raising temperature could using the microscopic libraries. The performances of the group
accelerate the grain-coarsening process and the main factor of ductile- structures in the core model are stored to train a reduced order model
to-brittle transition temperature increasing was grain coarsening after (ROM) built on-the-fly. The ROM spares the necessity to survey the
ageing for <8000 h which were analysed by fracture model. Hence, the large input space of all possible energy group structures, or expert
activation energy of grain coarsening with a value of 47.4 kJ/mol could judgements. The solution provided by RAVEN is a limit surface of
be regarded as the activation energy of thermal ageing. Then a model group structures fitting success criteria. The approach was tested on a
of accelerating thermal ageing was built using the Arrhenius formula to two-dimensional high-termperature test reactor (HTTR) model. The
evaluate the properties degradation during thermal ageing. This limit surface search (LSS) succeeded in deriving six group structures
strategy could be used to accelerate thermal ageing process of CLAM that gave better performances than the structures found in the
steel through raising aging temperature and it could save time and cost literature. With a total ofapproximately 700 samples and a seven-
for ageing experiment. nearest-neighbour sampling strategy, the LSS predicted 40 group
structures. The 40 structures were retro-tested in NEWT/PHISICS and
provided satisfying results. This RAVEN/NEWT/PHISICS procedure
21/00862 Conceptual core design study for Indonesian
can be used straightforwardly to find acceptable problem-dependent
space reactor (ISR)
group structures. It can otherwise be used as a preliminary step to
Khandaq, M. F. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103109.
reduce considerably the input space and then choose, based on expert
One of the obstacles to space exploration is the energy source for the
judgements, a group structure amongst the solutions proposed by the
spacecraft. One alternative is using a nuclear reactor as an energy
LSS. The computational performances of the methodology depend on,
source in spacecraft. A conceptual design of Indonesian space reactor
by decreasing order of importance, the lattice type, the number of
(ISR) has been carried out to explore such a possibility. ISR is a liquid
lattices, the number of groups desired, the number of constraints, the
metal NaK-78 cooled space reactor with a fast neutron spectrum. It is
tightness of constraints and the PHISICS core model. The sequence
designed to provide at least 500 kWth power for operating time more
was only tested on an HTTR core. Further testing on full-scale models
than 10 years at full power. The reactor uses 55% high-enriched
need to be implemented. Additional developments may be addressed
uranium nitrate as fuel. The ISR hexagonal core is comprised of 61 fuel
to optimize the running time of the core calculations versus the number
pins and is designed in the form of a hollow cylinder with an individual
of groups, and to append isotope-wise spectral indices in the constraint
cooling channel in each fuel pin. The reactor is also equipped with
list.
spectral shift absorbers (SSA) made of Re and Mo-30Re alloy to
control the reactivity. Neutronic calculations have been performed to
obtain optimum design parameters without compromising safety 21/00865 Modeling the short-term and long-term behaviour
requirements. These design parameters include variation in uranium of the Oklo natural nuclear reactor phenomenon
enrichment, reactor dimension, reflector thickness and control drum Ibekwe, R. T. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103080.
(absorber) design and dimension. The accepted reactor design has an This paper presents a computational investigation of the short- and
excess reactivity of 4023  9 pcm and shutdown margin of 4852  9 pcm long-term behaviour of the Oklo natural nuclear reactors in Gabon,
and the reactor is estimated to have a lifetime of 28 years. The instances in the distant past in which natural uranium deposits
temperature and void reactivity coefficients are all negative, implying developed self-sustaining nuclear chain reactions. For the first time,
inherent safety. Several accident scenarios were also considered in this processes occurring on timescales of seconds (such as changing
work, both during launch failure and normal operation. It is found that temperature, moderator availability and power) are coupled in a single
to keep the reactor subcritical for a submerged reactor following a simulation with processes occurring over timescales of thousands of
launch failure, the reflector segment should be discarded. Meanwhile, years (such as changing enrichment, reactor geometry and isotopic
some portions of fuel pins should be removed from the core during composition). This simulation reproduces key features of the Oklo
operational accidents. reactors found in the literature (the cyclic boiling and flow of water in
and out of the reactor; the characteristic 3-hour cycle time; the total
energy released by the reaction), gives greater insight into their
21/00863 Economic feasibility of flexible energy
development and evolution, and demonstrates a non-cyclic, non-boiling
productions by small modular reactors from the perspective
regime of behaviour in the later stages of reactor operation that has not
of integrated planning
previously been described.
Nian, V. and Zhong, S. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103106.
Nuclear power plants are known as low carbon baseload electricity
generating options, but can they become sufficiently flexible to follow 21/00866 Multilayer perception based reinforcement
the fluctuating demand economically? Small modular reactors, learning supervisory control of energy systems with
conceived to address the issues associated with large sized nuclear application to a nuclear steam supply system
reactors such as safety, costs, and completion timeline, can offer some Dong, Z. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114193.
flexibility through modularity. However, there remain the questions of Energy system optimization is important in strengthening stability,
whether and how these advanced concepts could become commercially reliability and economy, which is usually given by static linear or non-
viable for load-following electricity production. From the perspective linear programming. However, the challenge faced in real-life currently
of integrated long-term energy planning and in a scenario-based is how to give the optimization by taking naturally existed energy
approach, this study is conceived to evaluate the economic feasibility of system dynamics into account. To face this challenge, a multi-layer
flexible energy productions from two first-of-a-kind demonstration perception (MLP) based reinforcement learning control (RLC)
projects; namely a floating nuclear power plant KLT-40S in Russia and method is proposed for the non-linear dissipative system coupled by
a high temperature reactor pebble-bed module or HTR-PM in China. an arbitrary energy system and its local controllers, which can be able
Although both projects are solely designed for electric-application, this to optimize a given performance index dynamically and effectively
study proposes the evaluation of a load-following arrangement through without the accurate knowledge of system dynamics. This MLP-based
the co-production of hydrogen and the integration of grid-connected RLC is composed of a MLP-based state-observer and an approximated
battery energy storage systems. All scenarios are investigated using a optimal controller. The MLP-based state-observer is given for
conservative or a reasonable worst-case approach so as to contribute to identification, which converges to a bounded neighbourhood of the
setting the bottom line for future commercial deployment of small system dynamics asymptotically. The approximated optimal controller
modular reactors. Findings suggest that small modular reactors can is determined by solving an algebraic Riccati equation with parameters
already be commercially deployed in the short- to mid-term, and there given by the MLP-based state-observer. Based on Lyapunov direct
are opportunities for further cost reductions through technological method, it is further proven that the closed-loop is uniformly ultimately
innovation and economies of repeat project implementation. bounded stable. Finally, this newly-built MLP-based RLC is applied to
the supervisory optimization of thermal power response for a nuclear
steam supply system, and simulation results show not only the
21/00864 Energy group search engine based on surrogate
satisfactory performance but also the influences from the controller
models constructed with the RAVEN/NEWT/PHISICS
parameters to closed-loop responses.
sequence
Rouxelin, P. et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356, 110356.
Transient calculations with nodal neutronics codes entail few-group 21/00867 Providing support to operators for monitoring
energy structures. In systems other than light water reactors (LWRs), safety functions using reinforcement learning
significant efforts are devoted to obtain satisfying group structures. The Park, J. K. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103123.
energy cut-offs available in the literature do not always match the Continuous monitoring and diagnosis are important for safe operation
energy boundaries available in lattice codes. This paper demonstrates of nuclear facilities. In an emergency shutdown, the diagnostic tasks
an automated sequence that searches for suitable coarse-group can be challenging for human operators who may be under intense
configurations. The sequence couples the lattice code T-XSEC/NEWT stress and/or lack training. In recent years, studies using artificial-
for cross-section generation and collapsing, the nodal code PHISICS intelligence technologies have been actively conducted to help in

152 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

diagnostic tasks. The current study proposes a data-driven approach as a technical support organization of Rostechnadzor. To design the
that leverages deep reinforcement-learning techniques to intelligently structure and format of the Russian experimental database, the analysis
learn effective strategies for state diagnosis of safety functions. First, a of the best practices of international and national databases were
learning framework and key elements of reinforcement learning are carried out. To provide criteria for assessment of quality of the
designed as basic components. Then, a deep neural-network structure experimental data, regulatory requirements to the verification and
and a deep reinforcement algorithm are presented for diagnosis validation of the computer codes, including the metrological require-
learning. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of deep ments to measurements in the field of atomic energy use, were
reinforcement learning on diagnosing the safety functions of a nuclear analysed. The results of these analysis are presented in the article. It is
facility. shown that assessment of the already existing experimental data will
help to understand, which topical areas have lack of high fidelity and
modelling-oriented experimental data. The development of the
21/00868 Review and categorization of existing studies on
requirements to the experiments with respect to the computer code
the estimation of probabilistic failure metrics for reactor
developers needs could reduce the risk to obtain the poor quality
coolant pressure boundary piping and steam generator
experimental data in future.
tubes in nuclear power plants
Cheng, W.-C. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103105.
This paper presents the first output of the International Atomic Energy 21/00871 Self healing databases for predictive risk
Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP), titled ‘Meth- analytics in safety-critical systems
odology for assessing pipe failure rates in advanced water-cooled Dorsey, LT C. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,
reactors (AWCRs)’, launched in 2018. This IAEA CRP is aimed at 2020, 63, 104014.
developing a good-practices document for estimating the probabilistic Assuring the quality, consistency and accuracy of safety data
failure metrics of piping in AWCRs. The reliability of piping that repositories is essential in safety-critical systems. In many systems,
comprise the reactor coolant pressure boundary (RCPB) is important however, significant effort is required to identify, address, clean and
for maintaining safe and stable operations of nuclear power plants repair data errors and inconsistencies, and to integrate safety data sets
(NPPs) because failure of those piping components could lead to and repositories, particularly for risk analyses. Although some self-
undesirable consequences, such as plant shutdown, costly repair, the healing and self-repairing capabilities leveraging machine learning and
occurrence of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) and, possibly, predictive analyses have been employed to identify anomalies and
subsequent core damage or large release events. Probabilistic failure monitor quality in structured safety-critical data sets, little attention
metrics (e.g. failure rate, failure frequency, or failure probability) of has been focused on addressing shortcomings in heterogeneous –
RCPB components are the key inputs to the probabilistic safety/risk structured and unstructured – safety data sets, the focus of this work.
assessment (PSA/PRA) and risk management of NPPs. The estimation The text mining and classification analysis employed in this research
of probabilistic failure metrics, however, is challenging, especially for indicates that machine learning techniques can be employed to improve
AWCRs, due to the lack of operating experience. Therefore, as the first the accuracy and robustness of large-scale structured and unstructured
step of the IAEA CRP activities, this paper is developed to provide a database repositories, and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency
literature review of the existing studies (from 2000 to April 2019) on of safety data repository maintenance. Hybrid machine learning
the estimation of probabilistic failure metrics for RCPB piping and approaches, leveraging machine learning, text mining and natural
steam generator (SG) tubes of NPPs and to categorize them based on language processing, offer additional promise in future work.
four criteria: (1) explicitness of incorporation of physical failure
mechanisms; (2) types of failure characterization; (3) types of physical
21/00872 Simplified virtual reality training system for
models for degradation and (4) explicitness of consideration of
radiation shielding and measurement in nuclear engineering
maintenance. The existing studies are also analysed from the viewpoint
Hagita, K. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103127.
of the following key aspects: (i) uncertainty analysis, (ii) sensitivity
Here, a virtual reality implementation with a virtual survey meter was
analysis, (iii) validation strategies and (iv) the areas of applications.
developed for training and other purposes so that general scientists can
utilize virtual reality in nuclear engineering. To demonstrate the effi-
21/00869 Risk informed validation framework for external cacy of the implementation, the authors considered a simplified train-
flooding scenario ing scenario that enables beginners and non-experts to experience the
Bodda, S. S. et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356, 110377. environment of radiation sources and radiation shielding walls.
Safety of nuclear plants against external flooding has gained significant Although it is a very simple system compared with operations at an
attention following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power actual facility, it provides a starting point for introductory training in
station. In the USA, the Oyster Creek nuclear plant was safely radiation shielding. With comprehensive radiation training in mind, a
shutdown when high storm surge during Hurricane Sandy caused a commodity virtual-reality device and the software environments HTC
potential flooding threat. Subsequently, the nuclear energy industry VIVE, Unity, and VRTK were used. Previous studies confirmed the
experienced a significant activity in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) validity of the point kernel approximation to estimate the dose rate
for external flooding. Increasingly, methods of computational fluid from barrels of nuclear deposits of radiation sources. This study intro-
dynamics including advanced simulation codes are being considered to duced the use of steel and concrete walls as shields in order to establish
evaluate the sequence of events during different scenarios of flooding the training scenario. The virtual survey meter, walls, and barrels were
at a plant. One of the key limitations in the use of advanced codes for simply created as Unity native objects and could be moved by a hand
external flooding is related to a lack of credibility of such simulations. device through VRTK. Radiation rates were calculated using a short
The motivation of this study is to develop a formal validation approach code based on the point kernel method. The authors verified the r2
that provides a basis to quantify credibility of risk assessments that are rule and sum rule. As a training scenario, this was examined to measure
based on advanced simulation codes. This study illustrates the the change in radiation dose rate from three barrels when moving the
application of an existing performance-based risk-informed validation shielding walls. The training scenario was analysed to show the validity
framework to an external flooding event. However, it was determined and future applications of this virtual-reality implementation.
that a direct application of this approach to flooding was restricted due
to a lack of relevant data to evaluate experimental fragilities for
21/00873 System code evaluation of near-term accident
flooding failures. Therefore, a simple synthetic example was used to
tolerant claddings during boiling water reactor short-term
evaluate the applicability of the proposed framework to validation of
and long-term station blackout accidents
flooding PRA scenario and update the proposed framework as needed.
Wu, X. and Shirvan, K. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356,
110362.
21/00870 Russian experimental database for validation of Near-term accident tolerant fuel (ATF) claddings, such as iron–
computer codes used for safety analysis of nuclear facilities chromium–aluminium (FeCrAl) and chromium (Cr) coating, are being
Zabirov, A. R. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103061. extensively studied as candidates to replace the current zircaloy
As a result of past decades of nuclear industry development there have claddings. They present excellent oxidation resistance in high-tem-
been created hundreds of unique experimental facilities with thousands perature steam environment that has the potential to greatly reduce the
of experimental studies carried out. The results of such studies form hydrogen production and increase coping time in beyond design basis
the scientific legacy of the nuclear power industry. The paper describes accident (BDBA) scenarios. In this work, as unmitigated BDBA
Russian approach for keeping this scientific legacy available for the conditions are investigated, coping time is treated as the delay in the
current and future generations of researches especially for those ones time to cladding melting. Three station blackout (SBO) scenarios for a
who interested in development, verification and validation of computer representative US operating boiling water reactor (BWR) based on the
codes used for safety analysis of nuclear installations. In 2017 Russian Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station are analysed using system
nuclear regulatory authority (Rostechnadzor) and State Atomic Energy thermal-hydraulics code TRACE. They are (1) short-term SBO
Corporation (Rosatom) agreed to combine their efforts on building the without reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) blackstart, (2) short-
modern digital database of experimental facilities and the respective term SBO with RCIC blackstart and (3) long-term SBO. These
experimental data which describes process and phenomena in nuclear scenarios are defined to be very similar to the accidents studied in the
installations. The development of the database is being performed by State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analysis (SOARCA) project.
the Scientific and Engineering Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety TRACE code is also modified to reflect the oxidation kinetics of

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 153

06 Electrical power supply and utilization (scientific, technical)

FeCrAl and Cr-coating. TRACE simulations only estimated marginal air energy storage technologies are mature, cost-effective and reliable
increase of the coping times (1–22 min) with both near-term ATF technologies that are used for large-scale storage with frequent cycling
claddings. However, the hydrogen productions from FeCrAl and Cr- capabilities. However, research is still needed to improve their round-
coating are one to two orders of magnitude less that those from trip efficiencies. In PHES systems, advances in turbine design are
Zircaloy cladding at the time of clad melting. Furthermore, the time to needed to improve performance. Among CAES systems, isothermal
generate significant amount of hydrogen gas (0.5 kg) are delayed by 5– CAES is still an emerging technology, but is ultimately likely to provide
32 min. Finally, at the time of complete cladding oxidation, the a better efficiency than the compressed air technology due to its more
hydrogen generated by Cr-coated cladding is similar to Zircaloy, while efficient compression operation. Storage of heat is accomplished by
those generated by FeCrAl claddings are reduced by 37–48% due to its sensible and to a lesser extent latent thermal energy storage in many
thinner cladding thickness. applications, and less research is available on chemical and thermo-
chemical heat storage. Research on latent heat storage is mostly
21/00874 Two-person game model of long-term safeguards focused on the development and introduction of new storage media
for a final repository for spent nuclear fuel and enhancing thermodynamic properties of existing ones. Thermal
Ju, H. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103058. energy storage using adsorption processes is currently not economically
Spent nuclear fuel in a geological repository could be an easily feasible. Further research on materials to avoid adsorbent instabilities
accessible source of Pu for state and non-state proliferators after the and system optimization (e.g. optimization of temperatures during the
level of radioactivity significantly decreases in the long term. Such charging and discharging processes) is needed to further develop this
concerns have been continuously raised, but little systematic analysis technology. Among the various energy storage system categories,
has been conducted to compare costs and benefits of long-term hydrogen energy storage systems appear to be the one that can result in
safeguards to protect Pu in spent nuclear fuel in a final repository. A large changes to the current energy system. Several technological,
system-thinking model combined with game theory was developed to economic, social and political barriers need to be overcome before
evaluate the costs and benefits of safeguards of the final repository. In hydrogen technologies can be used in large-scale applications.
this analysis, the safeguards system is considered as a strategic game Although renewable energy sources have long been considered
between two competing players – a proliferation player and a important option for sustainable development, their intermittency
safeguards player. Detailed data, such as drilling rates and costs, are and cost appear to be limiting factors preventing their rapid growth in
carefully obtained from real world industrial applications. The costs of some regions. It is expected that use of hydrogen and electricity as
safeguards are predicted from the data of commercial satellite energy carriers in the future will both be improved as more renewable
monitoring. The model is applied to two potential proliferation energy systems are integrated with energy storage systems.
scenarios. One is the construction of a clandestine access tunnel using
a tunnel boring machine. The other one is chemical extraction through
drilling of a vertical deep borehole. The calculated costs of long-term 21/00876 An adaptive droop-based control strategy for fuel
safeguards are mapped for various decisions of the proliferation player cell-battery hybrid energy storage system to support
and the safeguards player to suggest the optimized approach for the primary frequency in stand-alone microgrids
long-term safeguards of the final repository. Marzebali, M. H. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101127.
Frequency fluctuations arising from high penetration of renewable
energy resources in stand-alone microgrids (SAMGs) compromise
their stable operation. To this end, battery energy storages are widely
used to regulate frequency fluctuations in SAMGs. However, the
battery should be charged and discharged constantly to compensate
06 ELECTRICAL POWER power imbalances which dramatically reduce its lifetime. Moreover, to
support primary frequency, the sudden and deep power changes of
SUPPLY AND battery are inevitable which accelerate its lifetime reduction. To
addresses this issue, in this paper a hybrid energy storage system
UTILIZATION including fuel cell (FC) as main and battery as complementary power
source is introduced. In the proposed hybrid energy storage, the
utilization factor concept and the flow rate of hydrogen fuel are
incorporated to enhance dynamic response of the FC. Accordingly, the
FC achieves the ability to compensate fast power transients and
Scientific, technical therefore, coordinates with the battery using a dynamic droop-based
control strategy. The aim of the control strategy is to prioritize power
sharing between FC and battery of the hybrid energy storage such a
way that the primary frequency in the SAMG is effectively supported.
21/00875 A review of energy storage types, applications The performance of the proposed control strategy for the FC-battery
and recent developments hybrid energy storage system is evaluated using digital time domain
Koohi-Fayegh, S. and Rosen, M. A. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, simulation studies in MATLAB/SIMULINK software environment.
27, 101047. The simulation results indicate that the proposed dynamic droop-based
Among the energy storage types, much research is focused on control strategy leads to a proper power sharing between FC and
electrochemical energy storage in terms of introducing new storage battery, forming a complementary hybrid energy storage system which
materials and understanding their applicability to several energy has better primary frequency support than the battery in SAMGs.
storage needs. Batteries are likely to be the cheapest energy storage
option for applications with relatively fewer numbers of cycles. Li
batteries are playing an increasingly important role in portable
electrochemical energy storage technologies. Performance and cost 21/00877 An ensemble system to predict the
are expected to be the limiting factors in their expansion into a variety spatiotemporal distribution of energy security weaknesses
of energy storage applications. Among Li batteries, Li-air batteries in transmission networks
seem to have the potential to achieve high performance and become Sun, C. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114062.
commercially viable, although technical challenges still need to be The security of energy supplies requires the depletion of potential fault
addressed. Na-ion batteries are potential future low-cost options, but events in power transmission networks. To achieve this, sufficient lead
much investigation is needed in the Na-ion field to achieve the time before the happening of a fault event is indispensable for pre-
technical maturity achieved for Li-ion technology. Replacement costs paring countermeasures. With this inspiration, this paper establishes
contribute a considerable part of life cycle cost of batteries and it is the fuzzy inference with rare association rule learning system. This
expected that the number of cycles is an important factor that could ensemble system is designed for the long-term prediction of the
expand the use of batteries. Batteries are often compared to spatiotemporal distribution of such energy security weaknesses, that is,
supercapacitors for various storage applications and it is expected that to predict when and where these events are more expected to appear.
exploiting their features (i.e. frequent energy storage capability without In this system, merely the environmental features rather than the elec-
sacrificing their cycle) by integration could help address future trical features are needed as inputs. All the selected input features are
electrical energy storage challenges. For large-scale electrical energy divided into discrete and continuous features, and are evaluated
storage (e.g. energy from renewable energy sources) using batteries, separately. For the discrete features, the rare association rule learning
flow batteries seem to be the most suitable options, although costs and model is implemented so that the rarely distributed environmental
electrolyte development remain challenges. Other electrical energy elements are extracted and diagnosed specifically. The risk indices of
storage types such as flywheel energy storage, used for very short each element on the overall reliability are worked out as well. For the
storage periods and frequent use, and magnetic energy storage have continuous features, a hierarchical fuzzy inference system along with
received less attention. Key needs for flywheels are reductions in the the rare association rule learning model is deployed to calculate the
mechanical, electrical and power-conversion losses. In addition, corresponding risk indices of all the elements. In the hierarchical fuzzy
research is focused on material science to improve the strength of inference system, the probabilistic fuzzy risks are employed instead of
highly stressed rotors at high speeds. Pumped hydro and compressed the direct fuzzy risks. Then the relative weights of these two sides are

154 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 06 Electrical power supply and utilization (scientific, technical)

optimized. At last, an empirical case based on a practical transmission approach allows a significant reduction of the computational time for
network is conducted, and the flexibility and the robustness of the pro- the management loop of the assets (i.e. optimal power dispatch). The
posed system during real applications can be validated consequently. latter takes into consideration the integration of that management loop
in different architectures for optimal system planning. The main
21/00878 An optimized energy management strategy for contribution of the paper toward filling the gap in the literature is to
fuel cell hybrid power system based on maximum efficiency investigate a wide range of optimization frameworks – with bi-level
range identification optimizations (using both deterministic and evolutionary methods),
Wang, T. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227333. Monte-Carlo simulations as well as a performant ‘all-in-one’ approach
This study proposes an optimized energy management strategy (EMS) in which both sizes and controls are variables of a single mathematical
based on maximum efficiency range (MER) identification for a fuel problem formulation. Finally, a thorough results analysis highlights
cell/battery hybrid sightseeing car. And the aim of this study is to that the best solution tends to be the same whether the objective to
optimize hydrogen consumption of hybrid system and make sure that optimize is the traditional net present value at the end of the system
the power distribution between the fuel cell (FC) system and battery is lifespan or the total yearly cost of ownership.
optimal. FC system has the MER and is also a strongly coupled system.
The MER of FC system will move with the change of operating 21/00882 Energy management of wind-PV-storage-grid
conditions, and consequently, a parameter identification technique is based large electricity consumer using robust optimization
needed to estimate the boundary powers of MER. This goal is achieved technique
in this paper by using a forgetting factor recursive least square Yu, D. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101054.
(FFRLS) online identification approach. Then the sequential quadratic Large electricity consumers (LEC) can purchase energy from various
programming (SQP) algorithm is used to solve the majorization energy resources such as bilateral contracts, pool markets, micro-
problem of equivalent consumption minimum strategy (ECMS) so turbines, battery storage systems, wind turbines and photovoltaic
that the FC system operates as much as possible in the MER, while panels (PV). The uncertainty of market price leads to uncertainty in
ensuring that the battery state of charge (SOC) fluctuates within the the total cost to the LEC. Therefore, here, the robust optimization
limited range. This helps to improve the efficiency, performance, and technique is provided to investigate the uncertainty of the pool market
durability of the FC system and reduce the equivalent hydrogen price in the presented problem. Also, demand response program
consumption of the battery. A reduce-scale test platform is designed to (DRP) is provided to decrease the purchased cost to the LEC as much
verify the feasibility of the proposed optimized ECMS (OECMS). In as possible. According to the obtained results, without considering
addition, the conventional ECMS and rule-based state machine control DRP, purchased cost is approximately $40,253.252 and $42,586.984,
(SMC) strategy are utilized in this paper to highlight the advantages of respectively in the risk-neutral strategy (ideal condition) and robust
the proposed strategy. The experiment results show that the proposed strategy (worst condition). Furthermore, the purchased cost is reduced
OECMS helps to improve FC performance and optimize system nearly $36,945.362 and $39,789.267 in the risk-neutral and robust
hydrogen consumption. strategies with considering DRP. So, it can be concluded that the
purchased cost to the LEC with considering DRP is reduced 8.2% and
21/00879 Application of integrated microgrid for 6.5% in risk-neutral and robust strategies, respectively.
strengthening the station blackout power supply in nuclear
power plant 21/00883 Energy storage and generation through
Khatua, S. and Mukherjee, V. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, desalination using flow-electrodes capacitive deionization
103132. Lim, H. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, 81,
This paper analyses the emergency station blackout (EM-SBO) power 317–322.
supply arrangement of nuclear power plants (NPPs) before and after Flow electrodes-based capacitive deionization (FCDI) is a highly
the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. This event highlighted the energy-efficient desalination process compared to conventional pro-
need for the enhancement of existing safety power supplies to ensure cesses, including reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash distillation.
the safe shutdown of reactors. In line with above, this paper is Furthermore, it provides a continuous desalination flow with high salt-
proposing inclusion of a renewable energy-based microgrid (MG) removal capacity, whereas CDI using fixed electrodes requires
concept into the NPPs. A typical 500 MWe NPP has been considered additional electrode rinsing. In FCDI, salt ions are adsorbed onto
for conceptual analysis of MG by integrating with EM-SBO bus as case flow carbon electrodes and stored in the electrode slurry container,
study. The proposed MG concept has been analysed through load flow which is similar to an electrochemical flow capacitor. Therefore, stored
and transient stability study by using accelerated Gauss–Seidel method ions can generate energy during discharging in FCDI operation. In this
in ETAP software. Based on the analysis reported, rate of change of study, such energy generation was systematically investigated in terms
frequency for the islanded MG is very high. To overcome this issue, of the various discharging rates, feed concentrations, and volume of
relay based logic is suggested to infer that, by introducing integrated flow-electrode slurry. It was found that the results were correlated with
MG concept, the EM-SBO power supply may be strengthened. the changes in the salt concentration of the effluent flow. The
discharging current of 50 mA showed the highest capacity for energy
21/00880 Combustion synthesis of battery-type positive generation out of all the experimental conditions; it recovered around
electrodes for robust aqueous hybrid supercapacitor 25% of the energy consumed during FCDI desalination. Such energy
Bello, A. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101160. recovery can greatly reduce the energy consumption needed for FCDI
Producing materials with suitable features including robust, and high desalination and the recycling of generated energy would make FCDI
electrical conductivity for the realization of excellent electrochemical more attractive than other conventional desalination techniques.
performance for supercapacitor devices remains a great challenge. In
this regard, the authors optimize and used the combustion synthesis 21/00884 Exploration of Ni-X (O, S, Se) for high
technique assisted with urea for the production of a positive electrode performance supercapacitor with long-term stability via
based on battery type lithium manganese oxide (LiMnO) and activated solution phase synthesis
carbon as negative electrode materials for high voltage hybrid devices Venkata Thulasi-Varma, C. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering
in aqueous electrolytes. The samples were analysed with X-ray Chemistry, 2020, 81, 294–302.
diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. This paper reports a simple strategy to grow NiSe architectures
The structural properties of the material were studied and hybrid vertically on nickel foam (NF) via facile solution-based deposition. The
devices fabricated present a specific capacitance of 65 and 78 F g1 at as-synthesized NSE7h core-shell nanoplate structure with a mass
0.5 A g1 in 1 M Li2SO4 and 1 M Na2SO4, respectively, with long-term loading of 6.4 mg/cm2 can be delivered a high specific capacitance of
stability after continuous cycling. These result shows that this strategy 2234.84 Fg1 at 10 mA cm2 and outstanding rate capability compared
can revolutionize the synthesis of materials for high voltage energy to that of NO (708.52 Fg1), NS (968.22 Fg1), NSE1h (1357.43 Fg1),
storage applications. and NSE4h (1675.87 Fg1). The desirable electrochemical performance
was mainly attributed to the component’s synergy assuring rich redox
21/00881 Comparison of optimization frameworks for the reactions, deposition of selenium on the surface of NiO nanotubes,
design of a multi-energy microgrid high conductivity, great specific area and furthermore, rapid ion
Rigo-Mariani, R. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113982. diffusion distance, with effective transport pathway of electrons and
The scope of the paper is to investigate different strategies for the electrolyte ions. The existence of selenium vacancies and versatile
design of a multi-energy system considered as a systemic optimization synthesis of NiSe architectures would open up a wide range of
problem. The objective is to determine the best sizes of the energy applications in energy storage and conversion applications including
assets such as electrochemical and thermal storages, cogeneration supercapacitors, electrocatalysis, and batteries.
units, solar generators and chillers. In these cases, the techno-
economic optimization is a trade-off between the operating costs and 21/00885 Hierarchical NiCo layered double hydroxide on
the capital expenditures in the form of integrated management and reduced graphene oxide-coated commercial conductive
design of the system. The paper addresses the challenges of these textile for flexible high-performance asymmetric
optimization problems in two steps. The former implements generic supercapacitors
piecewise linearization techniques based on non-linear models. That Qi, J. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227342.

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06 Electrical power supply and utilization (scientific, technical)

In this paper, a commercial polyester conductive fibre coated with nanowires grown on carbon nanotube (CNT) fibres were achieved
nickel and copper is used as flexible current collector. Graphene oxide through an in situ two-step hydrothermal reaction method. The as-
is coated on the surface of polyester conductive fibre via simple prepared NiCo2S4@CNT fibre electrode exhibits a high volumetric
physical deposition and reduced by two-step reduction method: capacitance of 2332 F cm3, benefiting from its superior electric
thermal reduction and ascorbic acid-assisted reduction. Then, NiCo conductivity, large surface area, and rich Faradic redox reaction sites.
layered double hydroxide is electrodeposited on the surface of reduced Furthermore, a NiCo2S4@CNT//VN@CNT (vanadium nitride na-
graphene oxide. Polyester conductive fibre/reduced graphene/NiCo nosheets grown on CNT fibres) asymmetric fibre-supercapacitor
layered double hydroxide composite electrode exhibits excellent (AFSC) was successfully fabricated. The device exhibits an operating
electrochemical performance with specific capacitance of 1220.5 F g1 voltage up to 1.6 V and a high volumetric energy density of
at a current density of 1 A g1 and cycling stability of 84.1% capacitance 30.64 mWh cm3. The device also possesses outstanding flexibility as
retention after 5000 cycles at 8 A g1. In addition, all-solid-state flexible evidenced by no obvious performance degradation under various
supercapacitors are assembled with polyester conductive fibre/reduced bending angles and maintaining high capacitance after 5000 bending
graphene/NiCo layered double hydroxide composite and improved cycles. This work promotes the practical application of flexible
Fe2O3/N-doped graphene (282 F g1 at 1 A g1) as positive and wearable energy-storage devices.
negative electrodes, respectively. The asymmetric supercapacitors
deliver very high energy density of 61.1 Wh kg1 at a power density of
856.1 W kg1 and remarkable cycling stability with 90.6% initial
21/00889 Microbially-charged electrochemical fuel for
capacitance retained after 5000 cycles. In order to examine their
energy storage in a redox flow cell
bending life, a new swing device mainly composed of a shakable head
Santos, M. S. S. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227307.
and a fixed end is designed. After 3000 dynamic cycles, the capacitance
A bioelectrochemical system (BES) is used for charging an electro-
retention can reach about 78%.
chemical fuel to be used in a redox flow cell (RFC), demonstrating the
first proof of concept of a microbially-charged electrochemical fuel.
21/00886 High energy storage properties of lead-free Geobacter sulfurreducens, electroactive bacteria, was used to charge
Mn-doped (1-x)AgNbO3-xBi0.5Na0.5TiO3 antiferroelectric anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (2,6-AQDS) producing current den-
ceramics sities of c. 200–500 mA m2 and maximum power densities of
Xu, Y. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40, (1), 56– c. 33 mW m2. The microbially-charged electrochemical fuel and potas-
62. sium ferricyanide, K3[Fe(CN)6] were introduced in a RFC producing a
In this work, 0.2 wt% Mn-doped (1–x)AgNbO3–xBi0.5Na0.5TiO3 potential difference of 0.62 V, with a c. 80% energy conversion effici-
(x = 0–0.04) ceramics were synthesized via a solid-state reaction ency. The use of a BES for charging the posilyte of a RFC is now
method in flowing oxygen. The evolution of microstructure, phase envisioned. The bio-conversion of waste biomass energy into electro-
transition and energy storage properties were investigated to evaluate chemical fuels (microbially-charged electrochemical fuel for negalyte
the potential as high energy storage capacitors. Relaxor ferroelectric and posilyte) for later use in a RFC to produce electricity is a prom-
Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 was introduced to stabilize the antiferroelectric state ising approach of converting biomass into storable and easy to use
through modulating the M1–M2 phase transition. Enhanced energy energy.
storage performance was achieved for the 3 mol% Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3
doped AgNbO3 ceramic with high recoverable energy density of 3.4 J/
cm3 and energy efficiency of 62% under an applied field of 220 kV/cm.
21/00890 Network-constrained thermal unit commitment
The improved energy storage performance can be attributed to the
for hybrid AC/DC transmission grids under wind power
stabilized antiferroelectricity and decreased electrical hysteresis E. In
uncertainty
addition, the ceramics also displayed excellent thermal stability with
Isuru, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114031.
low energy density variation (<6%) over a wide temperature range of
The day-ahead energy and reserve management considering trans-
20–80  C. These results indicate that Mn-doped (1–x)AgNbO3–xBi0.5
mission restrictions and voltage security limits is a challenging task for
Na0.5TiO3 ceramics are highly efficient lead-free antiferroelectric
large-scale power systems in the presence of volatile renewable energy
materials for potential application in high-energy storage capacitors.
sources. In this paper, a two-stage robust optimization model is
proposed for the joint scheduling of energy and reserve for hybrid AC/
21/00887 How and where to use super-capacitors DC transmission grids. The optimal schedule, including the commit-
effectively, an integration of review of past and new ment, power dispatch, and reserve allocations is computed subject to
characterization works on super-capacitors the feasibility of non-linear AC and DC network constraints under a
Satpathy, S. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101044. specified set of scenarios. Furthermore, the proposed decomposition
The electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) or supercapacitors are approach renders the second stage (network security evaluations) into
becoming increasingly popular for their high specific power and for standard optimal power flow problems, which addresses the scalability
integrating that feature with batteries, which have a high specific issues observed with existing methods. A second-order cone relaxation
energy. Here, the authors have attempted to understand how to use is applied to non-linear AC and DC network constraints to improve the
supercapacitors and characterized them, so that both battery and computational tractability. In simulations, the proposed robust
supercapacitors can be used together, or used, in the case of low-power optimization model is illustrated using a recently proposed hybrid
green energy applications like electronics gadgets, as supercapacitors AC/DC transmission grid architecture with a specific topology. The
only. This paper describes the known properties of a supercapacitor results demonstrate the effective utilization of the grid capacity to
relative to a conventional lithium-ion battery. The structural design of accommodate more demand and renewable energy sources. This hybrid
the super-capacitors and also various engineering-based applications, AC/DC transmission grid architecture induces exactness of the convex
related to consumer electronics, transportation, etc. are also described. relaxation, supporting the validity of the optimal day-ahead schedule.
As a supercapacitor’s voltage decays over time as power is drawn from The efficiency and computational performance of the proposed method
it, maintaining the output voltage constant for any DC–DC converter is compared to the existing literature and the robustness is verified
without any battery is difficult. Thus, here a DC–DC converter circuit using an out-of-sample analysis.
was developed without any battery and which has both feed-back and
feed forward control loop in order to maintain constant output voltage.
In addition, the authors developed a mathematical equation related to
21/00891 Optimizing operation of a photovoltaic/diesel
supercapacitors to show that the requirement for having a feed-back
generator hybrid energy system with pumped hydro storage
loop can be eliminated while using supercapacitors which have very low
by a modified crow search algorithm
equivalent series resistance. It was also found that in some super-
Makhdoomi, S. and Askarzadeh, A. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020,
capacitors, the effective parallel resistance reduces when supplying a
27, 101040.
large current and therefore charging these capacitors to a given desire
In a hybrid energy system composed of photovoltaic (PV), diesel
voltage may not be possible. Therefore, in order to enhance the effi-
generator and pumped hydro storage (PHS), system operation should
ciency and to reduce the charging time of supercapacitor, an algorithm
be optimized in order to attain minimum fuel consumption. This paper
having gamma function-based charging methodology for super-
focuses on optimizing a PV/diesel/PHS hybrid energy system by a
capacitors was proposed and developed.
modified crow search algorithm (CSA). For this, fuel consumption
during the considered period is defined as the objective function. At
21/00888 In-situ growth of vertically aligned nickel cobalt deficit conditions (when PV generation is less than load demand),
sulfide nanowires on carbon nanotube fibers for high percent of deficit power which should be supplied by PHS is considered
capacitance all-solid-state asymmetric fiber-supercapacitors as the decision variable. To effectively solve this difficult optimization
Liu, N. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 41, 209–215. problem, CSA with an adaptive chaotic awareness probability (CSA AC-
Fibre-supercapacitors (FSCs) are promising power sources for minia- AP) was proposed. Simulated results reveal that the proposed CSA AC-
ture portable and wearable electronic devices. However, the develop- AP produces more accurate and robust results than other optimization
ment and practical application of these FSCs have been severely algorithms, i.e. genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization and
hindered by their low volumetric capacitance and narrow operating original CSA. Moreover, optimal sharing of deficit power between the
voltage. In this work, vertically aligned nickel cobalt sulfide (NiCo2S4) diesel generator and PHS leads to a minimum operation cost.

156 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

21/00892 Passive anti-frosting cables flexibility from hydropower affect the cost of hydrogen production. The
De Koninck, L. H. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass authors developed a two-stage stochastic model in a rolling horizon
Transfer, 2020, 146, 118808. framework that considers the uncertainty in wind power production,
Build-up of ice and frost on overhead transmission lines compromises energy storage and the structure of the energy market when simulating
their integrity and also poses a danger to surrounding infrastructure power system operation. This model is used for studying hydrogen
and people. This paper presents a passive anti-frosting cable design production from electrolysis in a future scenario of a remote region in
that keeps the majority of the surface free of condensation and frost, Norway with large wind power potential. A constant demand of
effectively preventing a continuous layer of ice from forming. The hydrogen is assumed and flexibility in the electrolysis operation is
design consists of an array of rings, each containing a wicking micro- enabled by hydrogen storage. Different levels of hydropower flexibility
groove, that are evenly spaced across the aluminium cable. Water are considered by following a reservoir guiding curve every hour, 6 h or
preferentially wets the grooves and freezes into ice rings at cold 24 h. Results from the case study show that hydrogen can be produced
temperatures. As ice exhibits a depressed vapour pressure relative to at a cost of e1.89/kg in the future if hydropower production is flexible
liquid water, these ice rings act as overlapping humidity sinks. Two within a period of 24 h, fulfilling industry targets. Flexible hydrogen
supersaturations were tested, an extreme supersaturation of 3 to best production also contributes to significantly reducing wasted energy
measure frost accumulation through video analysis and a super- from spillage from reservoirs or wind power curtailment by up to 56%
saturation of 1.5 more reminiscent of real-life outdoor conditions. for 24 h of flexibility. The results also show that less hydropower
Regions between rings remained dry indefinitely beneath a critical ring flexibility results in increased flexible operation of the electrolysis plant
spacing whose value depended primarily upon the supersaturation and where it delivers 39–46% more regulating power, operates more on
secondarily upon the ring diameter. In contrast, continuous sheets of higher power levels and stores more hydrogen.
frost grew on aluminium cables that were smooth and initially dry, even
when treated with a superhydrophobic coating.

21/00893 Review of wearable thermoelectric energy

harvesting: from body temperature to electronic systems
Nozariasbmarz, A. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114069. Economics, policy, supplies, forecasts
Global demand for battery-free metrics and health monitoring devices
has urged leading research agencies and their subordinate centres to
set human energy harvesting and self-powered wearable technologies
as one of their primary research objectives. After an overview of 21/00896 5G network-based Internet of Things for demand
wearables market trends, different active and passive methods of body response in smart grid: a survey on application potential
energy harvesting for powering low-consumption electronic devices are Hui, H. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113972.
introduced, and challenges of device fabrication are discussed. The Demand response (DR) has been widely regarded as an effective way
discussion continues with the primary emphasis on thermoelectric to provide regulation services for smart grids by controlling demand-
generators for body heat harvesting. The physiological aspects of the side resources via new and improved information and communication
human body involved in heat generation are elaborated. System technologies. Emerging 5G networks and 5G-based Internet of Things
requirements and the influence of different parameters on the (IoTs) can doubtless provide better infrastructure for DR, owing to
performance of thermoelectric generators are studied at the material, 5G’s advantages of fast transfer speed, high reliability, robust security,
device, and system levels. Finally, the advancements in the develop- low power consumption and massive number of connections. However,
ment of rigid and flexible thermoelectric generators for wearable and nearly none of the existing studies have applied 5G technology to DR,
textile integration are presented. which will be the subject surveyed in this paper. First, the concept of
DR and recent practical advances are investigated, especially the
21/00894 Synthesis and characterization of Mn2O3–Mn3O4 application of communication technologies to DR. Then, a compre-
nanoparticles and activated charcoal based nanocomposite hensive review of the cyber security, consumer privacy, and reliability
for supercapacitor electrode application of DR is presented. These topics received little attention in the past,
Yadav, M. S. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101079. but they will be among the most crucial factors in the future. In
In the present article, manganese oxide (Mn2O3–Mn3O4) nanoparticles addition, the essential features and typical application scenarios of 5G
(NPs) have been synthesized at room temperature using co-precipi- communication are investigated. On this basis, the advantages,
tation method for the use as an electrode material by forming a methods, recent advances, and implementation planning of 5G on
composite with activated charcoal (AC) powder for its application in DR are studied. Finally, the future work that must urgently be
electrochemical supercapacitor. The synthesis temperature of 600  C conducted in order to achieve the application of 5G to DR is discussed.
and 2 h of calcination time have been observed to be sufficient for the This paper’s application survey of 5G on DR is carried out before 5G
phase formation. The nanoparticles have been characterized by technology enters the large-scale commercial stage, so as to provide
synchrotron X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and references and guidelines for developing future 5G networks in the
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The Mn2O3–Mn3O4-based smart grid paradigm.
nanocomposite (Mn2O3–Mn3O4-AC) has also been investigated by
synchrotron radiation based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to
21/00897 A comparison of metaheuristics for the
confirm the composite formation and to examine the electronic
optimal capacity planning of an isolated, battery-less,
property of Mn2O3–Mn3O4 on composite formation. Supercapacitor
hydrogen-based micro-grid
cells (symmetrical) have been fabricated by making use of different
Mohseni, S. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114224.
composition of manganese oxide (Mn2O3–Mn3O4) nanoparticles–
There has been growing interest in the development of sustainable
activated carbon. Electrochemical properties of the prepared nano-
energy systems using the potential of renewable energy sources.
composite electrodes and fabricated supercapacitor cells have been
However, due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources,
characterized using a.c. impedance, cyclic voltammetry and charge
they must be accompanied by appropriate storage devices to be
discharge techniques by using 1 M H2SO4 and 6 M KOH as an the
optimally integrated into so-called smart micro-grid systems. The
electrolytes. The optimized composition is 1 : 1 (mass ratio) of Mn2O3–
optimal design problem of sustainable micro-grids is associated with
Mn3O4 and activated charcoal and 600  C for 2 h is an optimized
several non-linearities and non-convexities, and therefore is not
temperature for synthesis of nanoparticles. The specific capacitance of
amenable to exact methods of optimization. Accordingly, this paper
the supercapacitor cells is stable up to 2000 cycles at 100 mV cm2,
proposes a metaheuristic-based approach for optimizing the size and
which show that the device has good electrochemical reversibility and
typology of the components of an off-grid hydrogen-based micro-grid,
cycle life with 1 M H2SO4 and 6 M KOH electrolyte.
backed up with super-capacitors and stationary fuel cell systems, in the
presence of a hydrogen refuelling station. The paper also compares the
21/00895 Value of hydro power flexibility for hydrogen performance of six recent metaheuristics. The simulations are carried
production in constrained transmission grids out for the climatic conditions of the Feilding area, New Zealand using
Bødal, E. F. and Korpås, M. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, MATLAB. Based on the comparative results, the moth-flame
2020, 45, (2), 1255–1266. optimization algorithm is found to result in a significant reduction in
The cost of large-scale hydrogen production from electrolysis is the total net present cost of the system in comparison with other
dominated by the price of electricity, representing 77–89% of the total investigated algorithms. Notably, it outperforms the genetic algorithm
costs. The integration of low-cost renewable energy is thus essential to and the particle swarm optimization in terms of solution quality by
affordable and clean hydrogen production from electrolysis. Flexible 2.1% and 3.2% (equating to cost savings of $123,910 and $188,129
operation of electrolysis and hydropower can facilitate integration of from the target system). The results also demonstrate both the
remote energy resources by providing the flexibility that is needed in technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the proposed stand-alone
systems with large amounts of variable renewable energy. The micro-grid architecture. Particularly, the levelized costs of electricity
flexibility from hydropower is limited by the physical complexities of and hydrogen of the conceptualized system are found to be $0.09/kWh
the river systems and ecological concerns which makes the flexibility and $4.61/kg, respectively, which are well below the current tariffs in
difficult to quantify. This work investigates how different levels of New Zealand.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 157

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

21/00898 A contingency based energy management plug-in electric vehicles in the case of expected cost reduction. Also,
strategy for multi-microgrids considering battery energy the performance of the stochastic model for uncertainty handling is
storage systems and electric vehicles shown by the value of the stochastic solution.
Afrakhte, H. and Bayat, P. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101087.
The emergence of microgrids along with extending the use of new 21/00902 Coordination of electricity transmission and
energy resources, energy storage systems and electric vehicles at generation investments
distribution level has changed traditional distribution systems into Chao, H.-p. and Wilson, R. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104623.
multi-microgrids (MMGs) which are usually more stable and reliable. For over 20 years, electricity market liberalization has advanced short-
For an MMG system, the probability of a fault occurrence at each time term market efficiency in wholesale markets, but little progress has
period makes the system operation process more complex. From this been made on coordinated transmission and generation investments.
point of view, this paper aims at proposing a coordinated energy With fast penetration of renewables, widespread of distributed energy
management strategy for optimal operation of MMG systems using a resources and emergence of smart-grid and energy storage technol-
variable weighted multi-objective function. Based on this method, in ogies, the stake is growing significantly higher for the long-term
the case of occurrence of a contingency problem, multiple operators efficiency of liberalized wholesale markets with an aging transmission
are able to change the weight of functions depending on contingencies infrastructure. This paper presents a methodology based on a general
and are responsible for the proper use of energy storage systems and framework of two-stage stochastic optimization model for analysing
other distributed energy resources. Moreover, an efficient optimization interactions between transmission and generation investments. The
algorithm called targeted search shuffled complex evolution is methodology features economic effects of prices, incentives and
proposed to quickly optimize decision parameters during faulted and welfare impacts under alternative coordination approaches and cost
normal operation modes. Finally, a unified framework is presented to recovery mechanisms. Application to scenarios under efficient coordi-
implement the proposed energy management strategy along with the nation, merchant transmission, and sequential coordination are
reliability study of the intended test system, and the ability of the illustrated using a simple radial transmission network. Interestingly, a
proposed approach is investigated in a modified reliability-based case Boiteux–Ramsey cost sharing rule produces energy prices and social
study by considering different scenarios. welfare impacts that appear essentially indistinguishable from those
obtained under efficient coordination.
21/00899 A new flexible model for generation scheduling in
a smart grid 21/00903 Daily electrical energy consumption:
Alirezazadeh, A. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116438. periodicity, harmonic regression method and forecasting
One of the main challenges and essentials of the power system is the Akdi, Y. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116524.
flexibility of generation scheduling. The flexibility of a system can be This study starts with a brief analysis of the global electricity market
enhanced by using a smart grid comprising demand response, hybrid/ with special reference to the Turkish market. Next, the daily electricity
diesel generation units and energy storage system. In this paper, an consumption amounts in Turkey between 2012 and 2016 are examined
improved flexibility index is defined with the concept of fast reserve by using statistical tools. Furthermore, the periodicity in the data is
supply. The uncertainties of wind/solar power plants and required discovered. The periodicity, which has an impact not only in the
reserve of thermal units are considered using Latin hypercube electricity market but also in other sectors of the economy, is an
sampling. The smart grid supplies a part of load profile of commercial important indicator for planning and policy-making. Periodicity is
consumers and a part of charge profile of plug-in hybrid electric easier to observe depending on seasonal impacts. However, what is
vehicles (PHEVs) through wind and solar virtual power plants, important is to detect hidden periodicity. The main contribution of this
responsive loads, distributed generators and the energy storage system. study is to detect the hidden periodicity with a rather novel approach in
Moreover, the PHEVs considered in this paper provide a system with the electricity industry. The proposed periodicity test based on the
more flexibility. This paper has solved the unit commitment problem in periodogram ordinate has two major advantages. First, the period-
a single-node system that has no transmission constraints. The mixed ograms are invariant to the model selection. Secondly, the distributions
integer linear programming and the mixed integer non-linear program- of the normalized periodograms and therefore critical values do not
ming methods have been used in order to solve the unit commitment depend on the sample size. Moreover, the forecasting performance of
problem and the smart grid scheduling, respectively. The results show the model for Turkish electricity consumption seems to be better
that the presented model can optimize the costs of the system and compared to the standard time series model.
causes the system to become more flexible.
21/00904 Energy-intense production-inventory planning
with participation in sequential energy markets
21/00900 An adaptive hybrid model for short term Bohlayer, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 113954.
electricity price forecasting To support the uprise of demand response, especially in the context of
Zhang, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114087. industrial processes, a new approach was proposed to integrally
With the large-scale renewable energy integration into the power grid, determine the production-inventory plan and the cost-minimizing bids
the features of electricity price has become more complex, which makes to participate in sequential reserve and energy-only markets. In
the existing models hard to obtain a satisfactory results. Hence, more particular, this approach considers time-coupling constraints which
accurate and stable forecasting models need to be developed. In this occur in the context of a production-inventory planning problem. This
paper, a new adaptive hybrid model based on variational mode problem was extended with a comprehensive bidding formulation,
decomposition, self-adaptive particle swarm optimization, seasonal which allows evaluating revenues and potential cost from the market
autoregressive integrated moving average and deep belief network is participation, considering price uncertainties and uncertain activations
proposed for short-term electricity price forecasting. The effectiveness of committed reserve capacity. This results in a multistage stochastic
of the proposed model is verified by using data from Australian, mixed-integer linear program, which explicitly considers the stage-wise
Pennsylvania–New Jersey–Maryland and Spanish electricity markets. revelation of information in this set-up. To illustrate the capabilities of
Empirical results show that the proposed model can significantly this approach, the model was applied to a real-world case study in
improve the forecasting accuracy and stability. which the participation of a cement plant was investigated in the
German energy-only and reserve markets. The results of this case study
indicate significant revenues for flexible industrial processes when
21/00901 Contract-based utilization of plug-in electric participating in German spot and reserve markets.
vehicle batteries for day-ahead optimal operation of a smart
micro-grid 21/00905 Energy-water nexus in electricity trade network:
Salehpour, M. J. and Tafreshi, S. M. M. Journal of Energy Storage, a case study of interprovincial electricity trade in China
2020, 27, 101157. Zhang, Y. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113685.
The development of smart micro-grids makes the use of new and green The large amount of electricity generation is exerting tremendous
technologies like plug-in electric vehicles more suitable. The plug-in pressure on water resources. Moreover, the spatial mismatch between
electric vehicles can play a role in storing energy due to their network water and electricity demand is aggravating national water scarcity
connection capability. The smart micro-grid can use this stored energy through virtual water transfers in electricity trade. To investigate the
to reduce its operating cost. In this paper, a new mechanism based on impact of electricity trade on water resources and further provide
the contractual agreements between the owners of plug-in electric insights into the optimization of national electricity trade pattern from
vehicles and the smart micro-grid is proposed to provide the system’s virtual water strategy perspective, the impact evaluation model for
energy during the operating day. The proposed model enables plug-in interprovincial electricity trade network by evaluating and quantifying
electric vehicles parked in official parking to be integrated into the the ‘positivity’ or ‘negativity’ of electricity trade is constructed. The
operation of smart micro-grid and earn revenue. The operation interprovincial virtual water transfer network is constructed, and the
optimization is formulated as a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer hybrid virtual water content is proposed to represent provincial water
linear problem and is implemented on energy management of a typical consumption factor per unit electricity generation. An impact assess-
smart micro-grid as a case study. The simulation results confirm the ment system is proposed and impact evaluation indicator is defined to
effectiveness of the proposed design for both smart micro-grid and identify and evaluate the ‘positivity’ or ‘negativity’ of each electricity

158 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 07 Steam raising (boiler operation/design)

trade. The results show that total volume of virtual water transfer Sorption thermal energy storage (STES) has the potential to have
embodied in Chinese electricity trade in 2015 is 5638.4 million m3, in higher energy densities and lower thermal losses compared to
which the negative virtual water transfer is 1410.5 million m3, which conventional thermal storage technologies, and it can contribute to
comprises 25.0% of the total volume of virtual water transferred. The increase the energy grid flexibility and the penetration of intermittent
most positive trade pair is Sichuan to Shanghai, while the most negative and distributed energy sources. However, STES is a technology still
trade pair is Sichuan to Chongqing. By assessing the ‘positivity’ or under research, and system-scale investigations are necessary to
‘negativity’ of electricity trade, this study identifies critical trade pairs determine its potential in future energy systems. In this regard, the
that mitigate or aggravate water scarcity risk, and provide insights into objective of this work is to investigate the STES potential in a reference
improvement and optimization of national electricity trade pattern. energy system interacting with different energy markets. The system
consists of a geothermal doublet supplying thermal energy to an
organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and to a district heating network that
21/00906 Nature-inspired metaheuristic ensemble model satisfies the thermal energy demand of a residential neighbourhood. A
for forecasting energy consumption in residential buildings techno-economic optimization of the energy system is carried out using
Tran, D.-H. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116552. mixed integer linear programming. The optimization aims at finding
As the global economy expands, both residential and commercial the optimal STES size and system operational behaviour that
buildings consume an increasing proportion of the total energy that is maximizes the yearly profits from selling the ORC energy to the
used by buildings. Energy simulation and forecasting are important in energy markets. Among the main results, it is found that the STES
setting energy policy and making decisions in pursuit of sustainable integration increased the overall system profits by 41% in the scenario
development. This work develops a new ensemble model, called the where the ORC interacted with the UK day-ahead market (2017 data),
evolutionary neural machine inference model (ENMIM), for estimat- and with two UK balancing services: the capacity market, and the
ing energy consumption in residential buildings based on actual data. short-term operating reserve. In conclusion, this work highlights how a
The ensemble model combines two single supervised learning machines thermal storage technology still under research could become an asset
– least squares support vector regression, and the radial basis function under specific market conditions. Future policy mechanisms can
neural network – and incorporates symbiotic organism search to find benefit from similar analyses and foster the integration of new
automatically its optimal tuning parameters. A set of real data, which technologies into the energy grid.
were obtained from residential buildings in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet
Nam, as well as experimental data from the literature were used to
evaluate the performance of the developed model. Comparison results 21/00910 Tri-objective scheduling of residential smart
reveal that the ENMIM surpasses other benchmark models with electrical distribution grids with optimal joint of responsive
respect to predictive accuracy. This work proves that the developed loads with renewable energy sources
ensemble model is a promising alternative for the planning of energy Chamandoust, H. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101112.
management. Furthermore, the fact that the ENMIM has greater pre- The high penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) and
dictive accuracy than other artificial intelligence techniques suggests electrical energy storage systems in electrical distribution grids has
that the developed self-tuning ensemble model can be used in various changed the energy balance of distribution system operators (DSO).
disciplines. For this purpose, the energy scheduling problem of a residential smart
electrical distribution grid with RESs and demand side management
(DSM) is modelled as a tri-objective model consisting of: (1) minimiz-
21/00907 Optimal generation and transmission ation the operation cost, and emission pollutions in generation side;
development of the North Sea region: impact of grid (2) minimization the loss of load expectation in demand side and
architecture and planning horizon (3) minimization the deviation between the demand curve and output
Gea-Bermúdez, J. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116512. power of RESs. The third objective function is used as a DSM strategy
The EU is pushing to achieve a sustainable, competitive and secure to model the joint scheduling of RESs and the deferrable loads (DLs)
energy supply in Europe. This has translated into significant long-term where the DLs can be shifted regarding the output power of RESs to
renewable energy targets towards 2050, and the ambition to improve improve the load factor. The uncertain behaviour of the RESs are
the European grid. A large share of this development is expected to modelled using the stochastic optimization approach. The proposed
occur in the North Sea. This paper investigates which transmission model is solved using the epsilon-constraint method. Since the
architecture is the most beneficial to integrate large shares of renew- proposed approach has three objective functions; different Pareto
able energy in the North Sea region, and the consequences of the solutions are obtained and the best solution is determined by the
planning horizon when planning such a system towards 2050 are decision-making method. To investigate the effectiveness of the
analysed. This is achieved by performing investment optimization of proposed method, it is applied on the 83-bus distribution grid and its
generation and transmission for different scenarios. It is found that: results are compared for four cases studies.
(1) an integrated offshore grid configuration planned over a long
planning horizon leads to cost minimization; (2) the grid topology is
not likely to influence the penetration of variable renewable energy,
but it will affect the contribution of each variable renewable energy
type and the system costs; and (3) not taking the future into account
when developing the energy system is likely to lead to a more expensive
system. These results remark the importance of long-term planning 07 STEAM RAISING
horizon for energy systems and grid expansion and calls for a political
focus on planning and international cooperation.

21/00908 Overcapacity in European power systems: Boiler operation/design

analysis and robust optimization approach
Moret, S. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 113970.
The planning of national power systems is traditionally based on long-
term forecasts of electricity demand and fuel prices. However, over 21/00911 A quantification of penetration length of steam jet
such long time horizons (20–50 years), these forecasts often prove to be condensation in turbulent water flow in a vertical pipe
inaccurate. As an example, wrong projections of low natural gas prices Xu, Q. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
and high electricity demand in Europe in the early 2000s stimulated 146, 118818.
massive investments in electricity generation, which led to the current An experimental research is performed to investigate the penetration
situation of overcapacity in the European electricity market. This work length of steam jet condensation in turbulent water flow in a vertical
first presents the issue of overcapacity in Europe and discusses its pipe. The penetration length of the condensing jet, with steam mass
causes; in particular, the relationship between overcapacity and errors velocities ranging from subsonic to supersonic, was measured via
in forecasts of electricity demand and fuel prices is highlighted. Then, a utilizing a visualization window and a high-speed camera. At low steam
novel robust optimization framework is applied to a real-world flow rate a steam bubble plume forms, while at relatively high flow rate
strategic energy planning problem, and compared to the standard, the bubbles in the plume coalesce and a steam jet is produced.
deterministic decision-making approach. The results show that the Quantitative analyses of the interface behaviour of the condensing jet
robust investment strategies are up to 58% less likely to require future are performed by exploring the transient and statistical characteristics
modifications leading to overcapacity. Overall, this suggests that of the jet penetration length. The waveforms of the transient jet
considering uncertainties in the long-term planning process can reduce penetration length exhibit that in the bubbling regime the period is
the risk of generating overcapacity in national power systems. approximately constant, while in the jetting regime the period varies a
lot. The statistical analysis of the transient jet penetration length
confirms that significant variations of the power distribution function
21/00909 Techno-economic optimization of an energy and power spectrum density between the bubbling and jetting regimes
system with sorption thermal energy storage in different occur at the transonic condition. The ratio of steam mass flux to critical
energy markets steam mass flux at ambient pressure is found to have good linearity
Scapino, L. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114063. with the mean of the jet penetration length. And a linear correlation is

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 159

07 Steam raising (boiler operation/design)

fitted with a maximum absolute deviation of 5.5% between the 21/00915 Entropy generation study for a supercritical water
measured and predicted values of mean of the jet penetration length. reactor (SCWR)
The relative unsteadiness of jet penetration length, defined as the ratio Valujerdi, M. M. and Talebi, S. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118,
of the standard deviation to mean of transient penetration length, is 103129.
approximately invariable in the bubbling and jetting regime. The There has been a growing interest among industrial processes to
bubbling regime contains more relative unsteadiness, while the jetting minimize systems in order to gain the maximum efficiency. One such a
regime yield less relative unsteadiness. Because absolute instability concept in nuclear industry belongs to the newest reactor generation.
exists in the subsonic region while no absolute instability occurs in the Generation IV of nuclear reactors includes six designs, one of which is
supersonic region, the transition from the bubbling to jetting regime the supercritical water reactor (SCWR). Because of the properties of
occurs in the transonic region. water at supercritical pressure, the SCWR can operate with tempera-
ture and pressure up to 500  C and 28 MPa, respectively. Thus, this
results in higher net thermal efficiency (45%) than current water
21/00912 Constructal design for supercharged boiler reactor (33%). A SCWR plant, due to its simplified plant design,
superheater removes some components such as pressurizer, steam generator,
Feng, H. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116484. coolant recirculation pump and steam separators in comparison with
Constructal design of a supercharged boiler superheater is carried out the conventional light water reactors and ensures low capital
under the prerequisite of fixed total heat exchange area to realize its construction costs. In addition, the SCWR is appropriate for hydrogen
performance improvement. A complex function which consists of the generation with electrolysis in order to develop hydrogen economy.
heat transfer rate and power consumption of the supercharged boiler Supercritical fluids make a significant improvement in nuclear reactor
superheater is considered as the optimization objective, and the tube core heat transfer rate. The results of the study showed that at the
outer diameter (TOD), number of tubes per row (NTPR) and number supercritical point and its vicinity, entropy generation was reduced,
of the tube rows (NTR) are optimized, respectively. The optimal which caused irreversibilities to decrease and consequently, led to
construct and corresponding optimal performance of the supercharged increased thermodynamic performance of the subchannel. Therefore,
boiler superheater are obtained. The influences of the heat preser- using supercritical water appears to be an appropriate option for next
vation coefficient (HPC), excess air coefficient (ECA) and fuel generation reactors. Although an unusual thermal behaviour of fluid in
consumption rate (FCR) on the optimization results are investigated. this region has yet remained as a common issue. In this paper, the
The research results indicate that compared with the initial perform- effects of several parameters such as mass flux, heat flux, Reynolds
ances of the superheater, the complex functions after primary number, pressure, fuel diameter and temperature on entropy gener-
optimizations for the variables of TOD, NTPR and NTR are reduced ation were studied under the operation of the critical region.
by 2.6%, 0.9% and 2.6%, respectively. The complex function can be
further reduced by double and triple optimizations, respectively.
Augmenting the HPC, ECA and FCR can all boost the overall 21/00916 Estimation of time-dependent thermal boundary
performance of the boiler superheater. The weight coefficient has both conditions and online reconstruction of transient
quantitative and qualitative effects on the optimal results. The research temperature field for boiler membrane water wall
results gained from this paper can be of theoretical assistances to the Lv, C. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 147,
structure designs of different supercharged boiler superheaters. 118955.
The thermal boundary conditions of a membrane water wall include
local radiant heat flux on the fire side, fluid temperature inside the
21/00913 Coupled combustion and hydrodynamics tube, and the convective heat transfer coefficient. Obtaining the above
simulation of a 1000 MW double-reheat boiler with different thermal boundary conditions has an important impact on the safe
FGR positions operation of modern power station boilers. When the above thermal
Liu, H. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116427. boundary conditions have time-varying characteristics, the heat
Flue gas recirculation (FGR) has been widely adopted as the steam transfer system shows obvious non-linearity. In view of the fact that
temperature regulation method of choice for double-reheat boilers. In they are difficult to measure directly and accurately, a multiple model
this work, the effect of the FGR position on the hydrodynamic adaptive inverse scheme based on boundary condition transfer (BCT-
characteristics of a double-reheat boiler is studied. Heat flux MMAI) is proposed. In this scheme, the estimation of convective heat
distributions of the water-cooled wall are determined through transfer coefficient in the tube is transferred to the estimation of
combustion simulation, then hydrodynamic characteristics of the boiler adiabatic boundary condition on the back side of water wall, that is, the
are calculated by user-defined program. The hydrodynamic character- local radiative heat flux on the fire side, the fluid temperature in the
istics including working fluid temperature, average tube temperature, tube and the adiabatic boundary condition on the back side are
fin-tip temperature, and temperature deviation between adjacent loops simultaneously estimated. Firstly, according to the given discrete points
under 100% boiler maximum continuous rating (BMCR) and 75% of convective heat transfer coefficient (characteristic variable), the
turbine heat acceptance (THA) loads were numerically analysed. The non-linear heat transfer system is divided into several linear subspaces,
calculation results show that, under 100% BMCR and 75% THA loads, and the temperature prediction sub-model corresponding to each
compared with the case that FGR introduced from the nozzle above linear subspace is established. Secondly, according to the predicted and
the burner, the average tube and fin-tip temperatures at the outlet of measured temperatures at the measurement points, the estimated
water-cooled wall are higher, and the temperature deviation between results of the three variables are obtained by rolling optimization.
adjacent loops is more significant, when the FGR is introduced from Further, the weighting coefficient of each linear sub-model is
the nozzle below the burner. Therefore, it is suggested in this work that constructed based on the accuracy of inversion results of adiabatic
introducing FGR from the nozzle above the burner is safer for water- boundary condition on the back side by each linear sub-model. Finally,
cooled walls of the 1000 MW double-reheat boiler. by weighting the inversion results of each sub-model, the estimation
results of local radiant heat flux on the fire side and the fluid
temperature in the tube are directly obtained. Meanwhile, the discrete
21/00914 Decoupling header steam pressure control values of characteristic quantity are comprehensively weighted, and the
strategy in multi-reactor and multi-load nuclear power plant identification results of time-varying convective heat transfer coeffi-
Nuerlan, A. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103073. cient are indirectly generated.
The study designed valve opening compensators for the header steam
pressure control system of a multi-reactor and multi-load nuclear
power plant (MMNPP) using the feedforward compensation decou- 21/00917 Influence of valve governing mode on solid
pling method. The mathematical model of the MMNPP consisting of particle erosion and efficiency in governing stage of steam
two small modular reactor units, a steam header and three steam turbine
consuming units, (two-to-three MMNPP) was developed, including a Cao, L.-h. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116581.
non-linear point reactor core model with six-group delayed neutron, an Solid particle erosion (SPE) in governing stage is one of the concerns
once-through steam generator (OTSG) model based on the moving for large capacity steam turbine. Based on Euler–Lagrange method and
boundary concept and a lumped parameter header model. Then Finnie erosion model, the influence of valve governing mode on SPE
linearization method was applied to the header model to obtain the and efficiency of governing stage were numerically investigated.
corresponding transfer function model based on which feedforward Results show that the erosion rate density of different circumferential
compensators for header outlet valves were designed and integrated nozzles changes greatly, and the erosion rate density of the most
into the header steam pressure control system. It was demonstrated by serious erosion nozzle is about 4  103 times that of the lightest erosion
numerical simulation results that the developed header steam pressure nozzle. The max erosion rate density of nozzle under sequential valve
control system with valve opening compensators can alleviate the governing mode (SEVGM) is higher than that under single valve
coupling effect among header outlet flowrates, leading to much safer governing mode (SIVGM), in which the particle impact velocity plays a
and more stable operations of the MMNPP than the existing header decisive role. With the increase of roughness, the governing stage
steam pressure control system without valve opening compensators. efficiency decreases under two types of valve governing modes.
The control strategy given in this paper can be extended to more Moreover, the governing stage efficiency under SEVGM decreases
complex MMNPPs. more obviously than that under SIVGM.

160 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 08 Combustion (burners, combustion systems)

21/00918 Local heat transfer coefficient during stratified 21/00921 Validation of the STEG code using PGV
flow in large, flattened-tube steam condensers with experiments on hydrodynamics of horizontal steam
non-uniform heat flux and wall temperature generator
Davies III, W. A. and Hrnjak, P. International Journal of Heat and Le, T. T. et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356, 110380.
Mass Transfer, 2020, 146, 118854. The results of the validation of the 3D thermal-hydraulic code (STEG)
Steam condensation heat transfer coefficient (HTC) in a large, code using the experiments on the PGV test facility are presented. The
flattened tube with non-uniform heat flux and wall temperature, and PGV test facility (Electrogorsk, Russia) is a slice of the upper part of
variable inclination angle is determined experimentally. The condenser the horizontal steam generator for Russian-type VVER (pressurized
tube is that typically used in an air-cooled condenser for power plants. water) reactors. The main aim of the tests was to investigate the
The steel tube has an elongated-slot cross-section with inner dimen- influence of submerged perforated sheets (SPSs) with uniform and
sions of 216 mm  16 mm. Water vapour and liquid flow co-currently non-uniform perforation degrees on the hydrodynamics of two-phase
through a 5.7 m long air-cooled conditioning section, followed by a water–steam flows. The crucial constitutive laws that allow an accurate
0.12 m long water-cooled test section. The long conditioning section simulation of the PGV tests are the correlation for SPS pressure drop
creates conditions in the test section that mimic the conditions in an and the interfacial drag force model. The SPS pressure drop was
operating condenser – allowing for the realistic development of flow calculated with empirical correlation obtained at the PGV experimen-
regime and void fraction. HTC is then determined in the water-cooled tal data. It is demonstrated that three different models of interfacial
section. The water-cooled section is designed as a crossflow heat drag force are necessary in different regions of the test facility (above
exchanger to match the temperature and heat flux conditions of an air- the SPS, below the SPS and zone between the tube bundle and the
cooled condenser. Visualization sections at the tube inlet and outlet SPS). The formulations of the models are presented. All experiments
allow determination of flow regime and void fraction. The flow is found are analysed using the STEG code. The peculiarities of the spatial two-
to be stratified for all conditions. Tube inclination angle is varied from phase flows have been established, and a quantitative comparison with
0 to 38 downwards. Inlet quality in the water-cooled section ranges experimental data (SPS pressure drops and void fractions) was
from 0 to 0.74. HTC is found to increase by more than 400% along the performed. It can be argued that the results generally indicate the
condenser height. In addition, inclination angle, wall-steam tempera- relatively good predictive ability of the STEG code.
ture difference, inlet water-steam temperature difference, water
temperature glide and vapour quality are all found to affect the
condensation HTC.

21/00919 Nucleation and flashing inception in flashing 08 COMBUSTION

flows: a review and model comparison
Yin, S. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
146, 118898.
Flashing flows, accompanied by the nucleation of metastable liquids
and the appearance of flashing inception, typically occur in many Burners, combustion systems
applications or scenarios of chemical and nuclear industries. Owing to
the complexity of flashing flows, the realistic modelling of flashing
flows has not been fully realized to date. The review is concerned with 21/00922 Combustion stability monitoring through flame
the nucleation of metastable liquids, the flashing inception in flashing imaging and stacked sparse autoencoder based deep neural
flows, as well as the comparison of the nucleation models. Two types of network
flashing flows, static flashing and dynamic flashing, are reviewed. Han, Z. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114159.
Special attention has been paid to investigate the heterogeneity factors Combustion instability is a well-known problem in the combustion
in heterogeneous nucleation. Early responses to flashing flows, such as processes and closely linked to lower combustion efficiency and higher
opening the valve and initial leakage, belong to static flashing, and pollutant emissions. Therefore, it is important to monitor combustion
flashing flows in stable states are called dynamic flashing. Under the stability for optimizing efficiency and maintaining furnace safety.
same upstream condition, flashing inception pressures of static flashing However, it is difficult to establish a robust monitoring model with high
are lower than those of dynamic flashing. Results indicate that precision through traditional data-driven methods, where prior knowl-
heterogeneous nucleation may be catalysed by additional factors, as edge of labelled data is required. This study proposes a novel approach
the turbulence fluctuations of liquids, pre-existing gas cavities in walls for combustion stability monitoring through stacked sparse autoenco-
and impurities. The determinations of pressure undershoot (superheat der based deep neural network. The proposed stacked sparse
limit) at flashing inception require knowing both nucleation rates and autoencoder is firstly utilized to extract flame representative features
heterogeneity factors. Previous research of nucleation simplified the from the unlabelled images, and an improved loss function is used to
solution of nucleation rates in several ways. These simplifications seem enhance the training efficiency. The extracted features are then used to
reasonable since nucleation rates will not affect the determinations of identify the classification label and stability index through clustering
heterogeneity factors. When the phase transition occurs in a and statistical analysis. Classification and regression models incorpor-
convergent-divergent nozzle, the flashing inception does not always ating the stacked sparse autoencoder are established for the qualitative
occur near the throat, which relies on the upstream condition of and quantitative characterization of combustion stability. Experiments
liquids. Knowing the flashing inception of liquids is essential to a were carried out on a gas combustor to establish and evaluate the
convergent–divergent nozzle. Among nucleation models, the Alamgir proposed models. It has been found that the classification model
model performs best in predicting pressure undershoot. provides an F1 score of 0.99, whilst the R-squared of 0.98 is achieved
through the regression model. Results obtained from the experiments
demonstrated that the stacked sparse autoencoder model is capable of
21/00920 Research on formation mechanism of typical extracting flame representative features automatically without having
low-temperature fouling layers in coal-fired boilers manual interference. The results also show that the proposed model
Wei, W. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116215. provides a higher prediction accuracy in comparison to the traditional
Comparative field experiments of typical low-temperature fouling data-driven methods and also demonstrates as a promising tool for
layers are carried out in pulverized coal furnace and circulating monitoring the combustion stability accurately.
fluidized bed boiler. The reduction of heat transfer characteristics of
test pipe is determined by the transformation of fouling layer, caused 21/00923 Effect of flame propagation regime on pressure
by the quantity of condensed acid solution exceeding the adsorption evolution of nano and micron PMMA dust explosions
capacity of deposited ash particles. Based on the heat transfer Zhang, X. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,
performance of fouling layer covering the test pipe, as well as the 2020, 63, 104037.
appearance characteristics and degree of adhesion to the heating Experiments using an open space dust explosion apparatus and a
surface, three typical fouling layers are collected, i.e. dry loose ash standard 20 L explosion apparatus on nanometre and micrometre
deposits (85  C), adhering ash deposits (65  C) and viscous ash deposits polymethyl methacrylate dust explosions were conducted to reveal the
(45  C). Scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive differences in flame and pressure evolutions. Then the effect of
X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are used to analyse the combustion and flame propagation regimes on the explosion over-
formation mechanisms of three typical fouling layers. The character- pressure characteristics was discussed. The results showed that the
istic fouling layer is determined by the reaction degree of condensed flame propagation behaviour, flame temperature distribution and ion
acid solution and ash particles deposited on the heating surface. current distribution all demonstrated the different flame structures for
Furthermore, the formation mechanisms of unsaturated acid–ash nanometre and micrometre dust explosions. The combustion and flame
action fouling layer, supersaturated acid–ash action fouling layer and propagation of 100 nm and 30 mm polymethyl methacrylat (PMMA)
mixed acid-ash action fouling layer are proposed, providing useful dust clouds were mainly controlled by the heat transfer efficiency
guidance for the safe and efficient operation of heat exchange between the particles and external heat sources. Compared with the
equipment in coal-fired boilers. cluster diffusion dominant combustion of 30 mm dust flame, the

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 161

08 Combustion (burners, combustion systems)

premixed-gas dominant combustion of 100 nm dust flame determined a in tar, which is cause by the stabilization process of radicals generated
quicker pyrolysis and combustion reaction rate, a faster flame
propagation velocity, a stronger combustion reaction intensity, a _ _
from reforming reactions like H and CHx binding to radicals formed
from coal pyrolysis. It is worth mentioning that propane reforming with
quicker heat release rate and a higher amount of released reaction steam promotes PAHs like anthracene to form. The reaction
heat, which resulted in an earlier pressure rise, a larger maximum mechanism is certified by the isotopic trace method, using C3D8 and
overpressure and a higher explosion hazard class. The complex D2O as isotope reagents.
combustion and propagation regime of agglomerated particles strongly
influenced the nano flame propagation and explosion pressure
evolution characteristics, and limited the maximum overpressure. 21/00927 Mechanical and fracture investigation of
magnesia refractories with acoustic emission-based method
Dai, Y. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40, (1),
21/00924 Flame dynamics analysis of highly 181–191.
hydrogen-enrichment premixed turbulent combustion In this study, the fracture behaviour of magnesia, magnesia chrome and
Zhang, M. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, magnesia spinel (MgAl2O4 and FeAl2O4) refractories under wedge
(1), 1072–1083. splitting test are qualitatively and quantitatively investigated with the
The highly hydrogen blended turbulent natural gas flames were stabi- acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation. First of all, the
lized on a nozzle-type Bunsen burner and measured with laser diag- concepts of characteristic widths are proposed for estimating the
nostic technique. Flame topology characteristics and turbulent burning brittleness of refractory materials according to the shape of load–
velocities for the lean turbulent combustion and uniform laminar flame displacement curve and validated by their good correlation with the
speed of SL  40 cm/s were investigated and compared. Hydrogen effect characteristic length. Besides, the AE data are analysed with AE
of high diffusivity on combustion properties was analysed. The local parameter-based approaches and offer new insight into the fracture
flame structure parameters were obtained and analysed. Results show behaviour of refractory materials, including the classification of the
that finer wrinkled structure is not only induced by increasing turbu- cracking events in grains and in matrix, the distinction between
lence intensity u0 /SL, but also there is a significant enhancement due to the tensile mode and shear mode damage, and the visualization of the
the increasing hydrogen ratio. At large turbulence intensities for lean fracture process zone development. It confirms that the pre-existing
combustion, more elongated flame folds are formed and small scale micro-crack networks in refractories are favourable for the brittleness
structures are generated inducing flame pockets detaching from the reduction, which enhance their non-linear fracture behaviour and
main flame, which may largely due to the strong thermo-diffusive thermal shock resistance.
effect. However, when fixing SL  40 cm/s, the flame front shows cusp
structure with large negative curvature at high hydrogen ratio when u0 /
SL is low, which mainly result from Darrieus–Landau instability in 21/00928 Solidification with crystallization behavior of
influencing the flame-turbulence interaction. Moreover, hydrogen molten blast furnace slag particle during the cooling
addition apparently enhances turbulent burning velocity and the process
enhancement is more evident for higher intensities. ST/SL seems to Gao, J. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
follow the power law relation for lean flames while showing a quadratic 146, 118888.
relation for flame of SL  40 cm/s. The probability density function The centrifugal granulation technique has been considered for the
profile widens encompassing a larger range with increasing hydrogen recovery of waste heat retained in molten blast furnace slag while
ratio, indicating that the scale of wrinkled structure is getting smaller. simultaneously obtaining high value slag particles for cement auxiliary
This can be further verified by the profile of local radius of curvature. materials. During granulation the high wind speed is expected to
Hydrogen has an evident effect in enhancing flame surface density acquire high vitreous slag particles formed by centrifugal force of the
which may connect to turbulent burning velocity. And a slightly atomizer, but result in significant energy consumption and low-grade
decreasing trend is found when the hydrogen ratio is beyond 0.6 at heat of the cooling air. To address this problem, a two-dimensional
high u0 /SL. symmetrical model was established to describe the crystallization
behaviour of blast furnace slag droplets by the enthalpy method via
21/00925 Full-scale 3D-modelling of the radiative heat self-programming. The radiation heat transfer between slag particle
transfer in rotary kilns with a present bed material and the wall was considered as well as non-isothermal solidification,
Gunnarsson, A. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, including a narrow temperature interval of crystallization. The results
2020, 147, 118924. display the evolutions of the local cooling rate and crystal phase
This work discusses the development and use of a detailed 3D radiative content distribution. The effects of the diameter, initial temperature of
heat transfer model of a rotary kiln with a present bed material, used the slag particle, wind initial temperature and wind speed are also
for iron ore pelletizing. A discrete ordinates method is used to solve discussed. Furthermore, two correlations of the average cooling rate
the radiative heat transfer equation with radiative properties calculated and final crystal phase content with dimensionless parameters were
using a weighted-sum-of-grey-gases (WSGG) model for gases and Mie developed respectively, to predict slag quality under various oper-
and Rayleigh theory for particles including fuel, ash and soot. ational conditions.
Measurement data gathered from a pilot-scale test furnace, comprising
temperature, gas composition and particle concentration, is used in
combination with temperature data and operation parameters gathered 21/00929 Study of an innovative three-pole igniter to
from a conventional rotary kiln to model a full-scale rotary kiln with a improve efficiency and stability of gasoline combustion
present bed material. The modelled cases have a thermal input of under charge dilution conditions
about 37 MWth and in addition to radiative heat transfer, conductive Han, X. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113999.
heat transfer within, as well as between, the bed and wall material are A diluted cylinder charge helps in engine fuel efficiency but at the same
included in the model along with convective heat transfer from the gas time presents significant challenges to combustion stability. An
and heat release from exothermic reactions in the bed. The model also innovative three-pole spark igniter is researched to explore multi-spot
considers the rotational wall and includes a simplified mixing model of ignition technology and improve the burning process of high-efficiency
the bed material as well as heat losses from the outside wall of the combustion under diluted conditions. The unique design features three
rotary kiln due to radiation and convection. For two different flames, independent pairs of electrodes in a single spark plug and allows new
one coal and one oil flame, surface temperatures are calculated on the approaches to apply novel ignition strategies. Optical combustion
inside and outside of the rotary kiln and compared to measurements. vessels and high-speed imaging techniques are employed to develop
The model appears to predict the inner wall and bed surface fundamental understandings of the multi-spot ignition process. A large
temperatures well with errors less than 11%. The total heat transfer number of tests are performed on instrumented combustion vessels to
to the present bed material was also studied revealing that more than statistically quantify and demonstrate the effect of the three-pole
80% originated from the radiative heat transfer within the furnace. igniter, in comparison with a conventional spark plug. Finally, the
prototype three-pole igniter is implemented on a production engine to
validate and demonstrate the improvements in engine combustion
21/00926 Integrated coal pyrolysis with steam reforming of under low and high dilution conditions. As shown by test results, the
propane to improve tar yield three-pole igniter offers shorter ignition delay and faster burning,
Jiang, H. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 147, thereby improving combustion phasing and fuel economy. The three-
104805. pole igniter exhibits greater advantages for combustion stability under
An integrated process of coal pyrolysis with steam reforming of high dilution conditions that reduce pumping loss and thus gains fuel
propane (CP-SRP) to improve tar yield was studied using Ni/Al 2O3 as economy.
reforming catalyst. Comparing with coal pyrolysis under N2 atmosphere
(CP-N2), the CP-SRP and the integrated coal pyrolysis with steam
reforming of methane (CP-SRM) or methane with a few propane (CP- 21/00930 Towards understanding the interactions between
SRMP) show higher tar yield. CP-SRP can improve tar yield at mild liquefaction solid product and Hami sub-bituminous
temperature range of 500–700  C and reaches the highest tar yield coal during their co-pyrolysis
17.45% at 600  C, which is 1.17 times that of CP-N2. The integrated Feng, Z. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145,
processes also improve the content of naphthalenes, phenols and PAHs 104742.

162 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 08 Combustion (fire safety)

The co-pyrolysis behaviour of mild liquefaction solid (MLS) with Hami 21/00933 Dynamic hazard evaluation of explosion severity
sub-bituminous coal (HM) was examined by a thermogravimetric for premixed hydrogen–air mixtures in a spherical pressure
analyser coupled with a mass spectrometer and the kinetic character- vessel
istics were interpreted with simplified distributed activation energy Zhang, Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116433.
model, aiming at understanding the co-pyrolysis characteristics and To evaluate dynamic explosion severity levels of premixed hydrogen–
interactions between MLS and coal, and providing some useful air mixtures, pressure sensors were used to test explosion pressure in a
guidance for the efficient utilize of MLS. Two special crucible reactors spherical pressure vessel (inner diameter: 0.34 m). ANSYS Fluent 19.0
with or without a vertical baffle were made to investigate the three-dimensional software was used to simulate the explosion process.
interactions between MLS and HM during co-pyrolysis. Results show The results revealed that when the hydrogen volume fraction was
that the amount of C–H bonds in MLS is more abundant, but the 30 vol%, the explosion pressure and pressure rise rate reached
oxygen-containing functional groups are less compared with HM. The maximum values at 1.0 atm. As the initial pressure increased, the
pyrolysis reactivity of MLS is higher than that of HM, and that of explosion pressure, and pressure rise rate increased gradually. At
blends increases with the MLS dosage increasing. The co-pyrolysis initial pressures of 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 and 2.0 atm, the peak pressure levels
behaviours including weight loss, weight loss rate and the gas emission were 0.85, 0.87, 0.92 and 0.99 MPa and the pressure rise rates were
characteristics of MLS and HM in the two crucibles were compared, approximately 198, 241, 302 and 558 MPa/s, respectively. The initial
and it is found that the different results are related to pyrolysis pressure exerted greater effects on the pressure rise rate than did the
temperature and MLS dosage. The role of promoting release of explosion pressure. The simulation results were consistent with the
volatiles is mainly caused by the hydrogen supply from MLS and the experimental findings. Moreover, the simulation yielded multi-dimen-
opposite effect is mainly ascribed to the heat and mass transfer caused sional transient explosion parameters – such as turbulent kinetic energy
by low softening point and strong cohesiveness of MLS. In addition, the distribution – that are difficult to obtain in experiments. The findings
activation energies of co-pyrolysis of the blends significantly decrease pertaining to the physical experiments, numerous simulations, and
with the increase of MLS dosage. influence of initial pressure on the explosion reaction mechanism of
premixed hydrogen–air mixtures were discussed.

21/00934 Effect of the water on the flame characteristics of

methane hydrate combustion
Fire safety Cui, G. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114205.
An in-depth study of the combustion characteristics and mechanism of
methane hydrate is necessary for its safe storage and transportation
and for providing high efficiency in combustion applications. To
investigate the mechanistic action of water on the combustion
21/00931 An uncertainty analysis method for passenger
characteristics, a combustion experiment with a methane hydrate
travel time under ship fires: a coupling technique of nested
sphere was carried out. The action law of the physical state of water on
sampling and polynomial chaos expansion method
the flame was qualitatively investigated, and the methane to water
Xie, Q. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106604.
vapour mass ratio and the rate of gas release during combustion were
Passenger evacuation under ship fires is very complex and largely
quantitatively determined. In addition, a chemical dynamics simulation
uncertain. For ship design, conducting an uncertainty analysis of
was carried out using a hedging flame model in CHEMKIN software.
passenger travel time requires a large number of evacuation simu-
The influencing mechanism of water vapour on the combustion flame
lations, which is very time-consuming. This work proposed a new
characteristics was analysed. Combustion experiments revealed that the
method to quantify the uncertainty of passenger travel time based on a
methane hydrate sphere exhibits good flame morphological stability
surrogate model, which is constructed by the polynomial chaos
during the fierce combustion phase. The accumulation of a water film
expansion with the nested sampling technique. To illustrate the
promotes methane bubbles and accelerates the evaporation of water
application of the proposed method, a case of a three-storey passenger
during the unstable combustion phase, leading to flame instability. The
ship with different functional zones is presented. The results demon-
self-protection effect significantly influenced the gas release rate,
strated that the proposed method can be employed to quantify
thereby affecting the flame characteristics. The simulation results
passenger travel time uncertainty with the acceptable accuracy.
revealed that, on the one hand, the addition of water vapour
Specifically, travel time approximately follows the normal distribution
significantly changed the reaction process of some elementary
under uniform distributions of input parameters. Safety factor of travel
reactions (chemical effect), which led to a decrease in flame
time cannot be regarded as a deterministic value, while it is
temperature. On the other hand, the concentration of the intermediate
significantly affected by its safety level. The parametric sensitivity
element components was also decreased (physical effect), exhibiting an
analysis results suggested that for restaurant and retail zone the initial
inhibitory effect on the combustion rate.
passenger density plays a leading role in the safety evacuation
compared with other zones, while it is ignorable for bar zone and
general area. This surrogate-based uncertainty analysis method of 21/00935 Evolutions of gas temperature inside fire
travel time can provide a tool to facilitate passenger evacuation design compartment and external facade flame height with a
under ship fires. casement window
Sun, X. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120913.
Gas temperature of a fire compartment and external facade flame
21/00932 Attenuation assessment of blast-induced
height pose serious hazard upon urban environment and safety, where
vibrations derived from an underground mine
the window (ventilation) condition has an essential impact. This paper
Gou, Y. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
investigates their evolutions with a casement window of various
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104220.
opening angles, which has not been quantified previously although is
Attenuation assessment of vibration induced by underground ex-
commonly used practically. Experiments are conducted employing a
plosions is a source of concern due to its associated with damage
model-scale fire compartment under different heat release rates with a
analyses of underground facilities and ground structures. Based on the
casement window of various dimensions and opening angles. It is found
blast events at different levels of ore have different impacts on ground
that the upper-part gas temperature inside the compartment increases,
structures, to understand the attenuation rule of vertical propagation is
while the critical heat release rate for flame ejection as well as the
essential for the safe design of mining blasts. In a new-built
external facade flame height decreases, with increasing of the window
underground mine, eight seismographs were installed with different
opening angle as it is <60 ( < 60 ). Then, all these quantities change
depths to monitor the blast vibrations, and 236 events included 24
little as the window opening angle is further increased ( 5 60 ). New
events on the ground were recorded during mining production over a
non-dimensional models are proposed to describe the evolutions of
period of eight months. Certainly, the blasting design, propagating
these quantities based on the derived new length scale according to
medium and its mechanical parameters were also carefully investi-
window dimensions and opening angle. This paper provides for the first
gated. In the light of the collected data, various prediction equations
time both essential data and new correlations for the gas temperature
are employed to establish a suitable relationship for describing the
inside fire compartment and external facade flame height with a
attenuations of peak particle velocity and frequency. The charge weight
casement window.
effect on the frequency attenuation of the induced ground motion is
also discussed. Moreover, the effect of surface soil overburden has also
been analysed based on a supplementary monitoring work. The results 21/00936 Experimental investigation on explosion flame
indicate that scaled distance with cube root scaling for the explosive propagation of wood dust in a semi-closed tube
quantity can properly perform the far-field vibration. Irrespective of Pang, Z. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,
how much the item of charge weight represents, its simplified form still 2020, 63, 104028.
makes the oldest equation still be widely used. The average frequency In order to explore flame propagation characteristics during wood dust
and its modified frequency equation perform well in the rock mass. The explosions in a semi-closed tube, a high-speed camera, a thermal
soil overburden has a low-impact on the ground motion, while the infrared imaging device and a pressure sensor were used in the study.
influence of charge weight per delay on ground wave frequency has Poplar dusts with different particle size distributions (0–50, 50–96 and
diminished. 96–180 mm) were respectively placed in a Hartmann tube to mimic dust

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 163

08 Combustion (fire safety)

cloud explosions, and flame propagation behaviours such as flame indoor explosions of methane, hydrogen and liquefied petroleum gas
propagation velocity, flame temperature and explosion pressure were with the same condition were compared. The hazard distance of
detected and analysed. According to the changes of flame shapes, hydrogen explosion is the largest, which is 3.11 times as wide as that of
flame propagations in wood dust explosions were divided into three methane.
stages including ignition, vertical propagation and free diffusion. Flame
propagations for the two smaller particles were dominated by
homogeneous combustion, while flame propagation for the largest
21/00940 MXene/chitosan nanocoating for flexible
particles was controlled by heterogeneous combustion, which had been
polyurethane foam towards remarkable fire hazards
confirmed by individual Damköhler number. All flame propagation
reductions
velocities for different groups of wood particles in dust explosions were
Lin, B. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120952.
increased at first and then decreased with the augmentation of mass
MXene/chitosan nanocoating for flexible polyurethane foam (PUF)
concentration. Flame temperatures and explosion pressures were
was prepared via layer-by-layer (LbL) approach. MXene (Ti3C2) ultra-
almost similarly changed. Dust explosions in 50–96 mm wood particles
thin nanosheets were obtained through etching process of Ti3AlC2
were more intense than in the other two particles, of which the most
followed by exfoliation. The deposition of MXene/chitosan nanocoat-
severe explosion appeared at a mass concentration of 750 g/m3.
ing was conducted by alternatingly immersing the PUF into a chitosan
Meanwhile, flame propagation velocity, flame propagation tempera-
solution and a Ti3C2 aqueous dispersion, which resulted in different
ture and explosion pressure reached to the maximum values of 10.45 m/
number of bilayers (BL) ranging from 2, 5 and 8. Owing to the
s, 1373  C and 0.41 MPa. In addition, sensitive concentrations
utilization of ultra-thin Ti3C2 nanosheets, the weight gain was only
corresponding to the three groups of particles from small to large
6.9% for 8 BL coating of PUF, which minimized the unfavourable
were 500, 750 and 1000 g/m3, separately, indicating that sensitive
impact on the intrinsic properties of PUF. The Ti3C2/chitosan coating
concentration in dust explosions of wood particles was elevated with
significantly reduced the flammability and smoke releases of PUF.
the increase of particle size. Taken together, the finding demonstrated
Compared with unmodified PUF, the 8 BL coating reduced the peak
that particle size and mass concentration of wood dusts affected the
heat release rate by 57.2%, alongside with a 65.5% reduction in the
occurrence and severity of dust explosions, which could provide
total heat release. The 8 BL coating also showed outstanding smoke
guidance and reference for the identification, assessment and industrial
suppression ability with total smoke release decreased by 71.1% and
safety management of wood dust explosions.
peak smoke production rate reduced by 60.3%, respectively. The peak
production of CO and CO2 gases also decreased by 70.8% and 68.6%,
21/00937 Experimental study on eliminating fire smokes respectively. Furthermore, an outstanding char formation performance
using acoustic agglomeration technology of 37.2 wt% residue was obtained for 8 BL coated PUF, indicating the
Zhang, G. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 382, 121089. excellent barrier and carbonization property of the hybrid coating.
Acoustic agglomeration is a process in which an intense sound field is
applied to promote relative motion and rapid agglomeration among
aerosol particles. This technology is able to improve significantly and
21/00941 Role of firebrand combustion in large outdoor fire
rapidly the visibility of the smoke in a fire situation, and therefore
spread
assists the quick evacuation of evacuees. In this paper, the elimination
Manzello, S. L. et al. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 2020,
effect of polystyrene smoke using acoustic agglomeration technology is
76, 100801.
experimentally investigated. The results show that the smoke transmit-
Large outdoor fires are an increasing danger to the built environment.
tance will be increased to 0.75 from the initial value of 0.24 in only
Wildfires that spread into communities, labelled as wildland–urban
0.5 min, in a 1.5 kHz acoustic field at a sound pressure level of 141 dB.
interface fires, are an example of large outdoor fires. Other examples
The agglomeration rate is sensitive to acoustic frequency and there is
of large outdoor fires are urban fires including those that may occur
an optimal operation frequency, which indicates that the predominant
after earthquakes as well as in informal settlements. When vegetation
mechanism is orthokinetic interaction. Under the conditions of these
and structures burn in large outdoor fires, pieces of burning material,
experiments, the optimal frequency for eliminating soot particles is
known as firebrands, are generated, become lofted, and may be carried
determined to be 1.5 kHz. As an energy consuming process, the
by the wind. This results in showers of wind-driven firebrands that may
agglomeration efficiency increases proportionally with the acoustic
land ahead of the fire front, igniting vegetation and structures, and
power until the corresponding non-linear acoustic effects become
spreading the fire very fast. Post-fire disaster studies indicate that
significant. Moreover, it is found that the agglomeration rate of thicker
firebrand showers are a significant factor in the fire spread of multiple
smoke is much higher than thin ones at the early stage of the process,
large outdoor fires. This paper provides a comprehensive literature
but the discrepancy tends to vanish at the later stage.
summary on the role of firebrand mechanisms on large outdoor fire
spread. Experiments, models, and simulations related to firebrand
21/00938 Hazard evaluation of R32/R1234ze(E) cloud generation, lofting, burning, transport, deposition, and ignition of
explosion materials are reviewed. Japan, a country that has been greatly
Liu, Q. et al. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2020, 111, 159–167. influenced by ignition induced by firebrands that have resulted in
This paper is aimed at evaluating characteristics of the cloud explosion severe large outdoor fires, is also highlighted here as most of this
of R32/R1234ze(E) refrigerant. The flame morphologies and explosion knowledge remains unavailable in English language literature. The
pressure are obtained experimentally and the laminar burning velocity paper closes with a summary of the key research needs on this globally
is analysed thermally and chemically. The results indicated that with important problem.
the increase of equivalence ratio, the limiting oxygen content of
xE = 10% decreases monotonously, but the limiting oxygen content of
xE=20% decreases firstly and then increases. The destabilization effect
21/00942 Study on the smoke movement and downstream
of hydrodynamic instability continues to reduce with the decrease of
temperature distribution in a sloping tunnel with one closed
oxygen content. For various equivalence ratios and R1234ze(E)
portal
contents, a significant colour difference is observed due to the
Han, J. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 149,
formation of carbon particle and CH radical. As the oxygen content
106165.
decreases, due to the decrease of laminar burning velocity, the
In this paper, downstream temperature distribution and smoke
maximum explosion pressure, maximum rate of pressure rise, positive
movement were investigated in a slopping tunnel with one ended-
pressure impulse and negative pressure impulse continue to decrease.
portal, experimentally and numerically. A series of experimental and
The elementary reactions of greatly affecting laminar burning velocity
simulation tests were conducted in a 1 : 10 small scale model tunnel.
are consisted of R1, R904, R925 and R963.
According to the results, two typical behaviours of smoke movement
were found. (1) The fire plume tended to incline towards the end wall
21/00939 Methods for estimating fragment hazard in gas in the tunnel with or without slope when the fire was located near the
explosion end wall. Moreover, for the tunnel with slope, the inclination was more
Lian, Z. and Zhang, Q. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, severe as slope became larger. (2) When the fire occurs in an inclined
120989. tunnel, the interface of smoke layer downstream the fire is parallel to
Fragmentation is a principal factor for casualties in an indoor fuel gas the horizontal level. During the smoke propagation, a clear stratifica-
explosions. This paper presents a predictive method for the spatial tion could be observed. Results also indicated that the dispersion of
distribution of hazardous fragments and areas. The motion parameters smoke would be more confined when the tunnel slope increased. By
of fragments in indoor explosions were obtained by a combination of conducting a series of simulation cases, an empirical model was used to
fluid and structural dynamic analysis. Then the spatial distribution of predict the downstream temperature distribution beneath tunnel
falling points was obtained by solving the motion equation of ceiling, taking into consideration the sealing condition, tunnel slope
fragments. Indoor obstacle is an important factor affecting the hazard and heat release rate. The prediction model revealed that the
of indoor explosions. In the case of a vented brick room measuring downstream maximum temperature decreased as the distance to fire
4.6 m  4.6 m  3 m, with the ratio of obstacle volume to gas volume source increased. Meanwhile, it followed an exponential decrease to
increasing from 0.24 to 0.36, the maximum launch distance increased 0.694 power of heat release rate and subjected to an exponential
from 6.18 to 18.78 m, expanded to 3.04 times. The fragment hazards in decrease when the tunnel slope increased.

164 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

21/00943 Use of a water mist for smoke confinement and The available gas–solid drag models have almost the same level of
radiation shielding in case of fire during tunnel construction accuracy in the simulation of bubbling fluidized beds. However, in
Mehaddi, R. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 148, modelling turbulent and circulating fluidized beds, only heterogeneous
106156. drag models such as the energy minimization multi-scale model can
The ability of a water curtain to stop smoke and radiation from a fire is give reasonable predictions that accord with the available experimental
investigated in the particular configuration of a tunnel during data. The authors further discuss the segregation modelling of binary
construction work. Experiments are conducted in reduced scale (1/ solids systems. Regarding the gas–solid thermal field, the bed
22nd) in a blind tunnel and simulations are performed in small and real temperature was found to have a positive effect on the gas thermo-
scale configurations. The small-scale experimental model consists of a physical properties and a negative impact on the solid phase overall
6.20 m long polycarbonate circular tunnel with a diameter of 40 cm. It is thermo-physical properties. The gas and the solids phases’ effective
connected to a 1.20 m cubic space, which represents the wellbore of the thermal conductivities are better estimated as functions of the bed
tunnel boring machine. The scenario considers a fire occurring in the voidage and the bulk thermal conductivities. The wider the particle-size
tunnel and the activation of a water mist downstream from the fire, distribution, the higher the gas–solid heat transfer coefficient for the
close to the wellbore, in order to stop smoke and radiation emitted by same mean particle-size sample. The effect of pulsating inlet velocity
the fire. The spraying system consists of 5 injection nozzles, regularly did not improve the wall-to-bed heat transfer coefficient, while the
distributed on the ceiling of the tunnel. The numerical simulations are electric field can improve the overall bed heat transfer coefficient.
carried out using Fire Dynamics Simulator. The results from both small Finally, macroscopic modelling is continually evolving to include
and large scale studies show that the water curtain induces a strong different fuel conversion and mixing sub-models in three-dimensional
mixing of air and smoke due to drag effect, but it does not stop the grids.
smoke flow. Similarly, despite the down drag effect due to the curtain,
fresh air continuously feeds the fire, crossing the mist area and flowing
21/00946 CFD modeling of industrial cold box with plate-fin
in the lowest part of the tunnel as a counter-current flow. Upstream
heat exchanger: focusing on phase change phenomenon
from the water curtain the smoke is filling all the tunnel due to a strong
Zargoushi, A. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
de-stratification, partially diluted with air in the lower counter-current
2020, 147, 118936.
flow. There may be a remaining thermal stratification, but contour
Cold box with plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHE) is extensively used in
plots of soot mass fraction show that soot particles are found even in
liquefied natural gas (LNG) refinery plants. Here, a computational
the lowest part of the tunnel in a layer of smoke cooled by the spray
fluid dynamics (CFD) model in ANSYS FLUENT is developed to give
and diluted with air. Radiation from the fire is attenuated as expected
a better understanding of the transport phenomena, especially the
due to radiation and droplet interactions, with a radiation attenuation
phase change, in a quite complex plate-fin heat exchanger operated in a
up to 90% for the large-scale water flow-rate investigated here
gas refining company. The flow channels, ducts and passes of the cold
(15 m3/h).
box, are considered in the computational geometry. The porous media
technique is introduced in the computational domain due to the
excessive increase in the number of computational grids when the fins
accounted for in the numerical domain. The flash calculations (FC)
technique is coupled with CFD in evaluation of chemical species in the
cold box by a user defined function. This study examines the
09 PROCESS HEATING, importance of local thermal equilibrium between the porous medium
and fluid flow without mass transfer (LTE-non mass), local thermal
POWER AND equilibrium between the porous medium and fluid flow with mass
transfer (LTE), and local thermal non-equilibrium between the porous
INCINERATION medium and fluid flow with mass transfer (LTNE) in simulation of an
industrial cold box. Numerical results are compared with the
corresponding operational data and the best agreement is obtained
by the LTNE approach. The calculated mean relative errors of the
LTNE approach for the outlet vapour fraction of streams A, hot
Energy applications in industry stream, B and C, sided cold streams, are 0.15%, 0.352% and 0.173%,
respectively.

21/00944 Analysis of China’s olefin industry using a 21/00947 Development of an energy efficient extrusion
system optimization model considering technological factory employing a latent heat storage and a high
learning and energy consumption reduction temperature heat pump
Xu, Z. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116462. Zauner, C. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114114.
Recently, China has been increasingly producing olefins from Waste heat recovery and utilization is critical to cut CO2 emissions in
alternative resources, especially coal. Technological learning, energy industry. Extrusion is a generic process used to produce many different
consumption reduction, and environmental policies/regulations will goods from various raw materials. Here, the current state of a polymer
have a great impact on the economic and environmental values of coal- compounding extrusion factory was examined and its energy flows and
to-olefin (CTO) projects. How should China configure its future olefin processes described. Currently, no waste heat recovery and utilization
industry considering these factors? Little work has been performed to is common. Thus, The authors developed a completely new energy
explore this question. This study develops a system optimization model efficient extrusion factory concept based on an insulated hot water
to analyse the optimal configuration of China’s olefin industry under bath, a high temperature heat pump and a latent heat storage enabling
different scenarios of technological learning, energy consumption extensive waste heat recovery and utilization within different hot
reduction, and environmental policies/regulations. The results show processes as well as space heating. Here, the authors outline their
that in all scenarios, the oil-to-olefin process will remain dominant in concept in great detail, describe its main technological components
China’s olefin industry in the next two decades, and with technological including simulations and present experimental results of a real
learning, the CTO process is competitive in China’s olefin industry, demonstration factory at the company Geba Kunststofftechnik in
especially when CO2 emissions are not controlled. To control the CO2 St Veit, Austria. Finally, economical calculations for a fictitious but
emissions of China’s olefin industry, this study indicates that requiring archetypal energy efficient extrusion factory were performed, showing
CTO implementation along with carbon capture and storage (CCS) that the return on investment can be less than three years.
would have both economic and environmental value compared with
imposing a carbon tax (assume $20/t CO2 from the year 2021). 21/00948 Drum-buffer-rope in an engineering-to-order
However, policymakers should be cautioned about the uncertainties system: an analysis of an aerospace manufacturer using
and risks of CCS. This study also provides some insights for those who data envelopment analysis (DEA)
are considering investing in China’s olefin industry. Telles, E. S. et al. International Journal of Production Economics, 2020,
222, 107500.
21/00945 Analytical review of fluid-dynamic and thermal Increased productivity and efficiency in industries with engineering-to-
modeling aspects of fluidized beds for energy conversion order (ETO) production systems have attracted growing interest from
devices academia and business. The application of the drum-buffer-rope
Alagha, M. S. and Szentannai, P. International Journal of Heat and (DBR) from the theory of constraints (TOC) is considered an
Mass Transfer, 2020, 147, 118907. alternative to traditional improvement programs to achieve these ends.
This paper provides an analytical review of the current challenges of Although research on DBR shows benefits to the companies that use it,
modelling gas-solid fluidized beds relevant to the energy industry. The empirical evidence about these benefits is uncommon in the literature,
study includes investigations of the modelling of basic phenomena such especially in ETO production systems. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate
as the hydrodynamic and thermal fields of fluidized bed systems. In the the effects that the implementation of DBR produces to contribute to
case of hydrodynamic fields, gas-solid drag models have received the the improvement of efficiency in an ETO system. This study analyses
lion’s share of research as the most challenging problems until now. the effects of the implementation of DBR on the efficiency of three

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 165

10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

ETO production lines of an aerospace manufacturer. The effects were

evaluated longitudinally through a case study using DEA, the Wilcoxon 10 SPACE HEATING AND
test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that the DBR
implementation resulted in an increase in efficiency up to 19%. The COOLING/HEAT PUMPS
results also establish that the DBR helps prioritization, improves
communication among the productive departments, reduces the lead
time and lists other variables and qualitative aspects that contributed, 21/00952 A new simplified model for the unsteady
positively or not, to the productive efficiency results. response of concrete passive sensible TES systems
Suárez, C. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101042.
21/00949 Energy efficiency optimisation in industrial In this paper a new simplified model of a passive sensible thermal
processes: integral decision support tool energy storage (TES) system is presented, using concrete as storage
Bonilla-Campos, I. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116480. medium and thermal oil as a heat transfer fluid (HTF). The transient
Assessing and improving energy efficiency in manufacturing processes heat transfer problem in a concrete structure embedded with pipes is
is a crucial issue for companies who wish to become competitive. In analysed. Transient results of interest in the TES module such as the
addition, there are high margins of technical energy efficiency concrete average temperature, the amount of heat absorbed/released
improvement for practically each sector and kind of industry. There or the HTF outlet temperature are presented through simple and easy
are many energy efficiency measures (EEMs) and tools in the literature to use closed-form mathematical expressions. The input parameters in
to assess energy efficiency. To fit an EEM to a specific process is a the model are: internal diameter, centre-to-centre distance between
complicated task, due to the different characteristic and restrictions of tubes, HTF velocity and temperature, TES initial temperature, module
each specific manufacturing process. Owing to the complexity of the dimensions, number of tubes and contact resistance in the pipe–
non-continuous processes, each measure has to be deeply analysed. concrete interface. Tests and comparisons of the correlations are made
Consequently, this work presents an integral analysis, process through a successful comparison of the results against experimental
optimization and decision support tool to assess the implementation data found in the literature, with relative errors below 2% in the mean
of EEMs in these processes. This tool allows the analysis of both the temperatures. From the outcome of the investigation it is possible to
possible synergies that may be created among the EEMs and their conclude that accurate estimates of mean temperatures and heat
impact on other parts of the process line. The optimum solution or transfer are obtainable by means of compact closed-form equations
combination of EEMs, and their sizing, are determined to reach the applicable for the entire time domain. The proposed model is suitable
highest levels of energy efficiency. The impact on the overall energy to be used as a TES pre-design tool or as an independent component to
efficiency and the synergies among EEMs is shown. Several packages of be integrated in other modular transient simulation programs of solar
EEMs are analysed, with energy consumption reductions ranging from power plants.
21% to 50%.

21/00950 Quenching and rewetting of rock in liquid 21/00953 A review of the challenges posed by the use of
nitrogen: characterizing heat transfer and surface effects vacuum panels in external insulation finishing systems
Li, R. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 148, Gonc˛alves, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114028.
106161. The worldwide demand for energy efficiency calls for improvements in
Cryogenic quenching of cylindrical rock rodlets in liquid nitrogen pool the thermal performance of buildings. As a result, there is a growing
was experimentally investigated. The sample was 25.4 mm in diameter interest in the use of high-performance insulation materials such as
and 60 mm in length. Quenching was performed under saturated vacuum insulation panels (VIPs). Due to their low thermal conduc-
condition at the atmospheric pressure. Thermocouple and high-speed tivity, high insulation levels can be achieved with thinner walls than is
camera were employed to attain the transient temperature history and possible with conventional thermal insulation materials. An interesting
the two-phase dynamics during quenching. A numerical simulation solution might be to combine a vacuum insulation panel with the well-
scheme was developed to model the heat transfer process during known external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS). How-
quenching and rewetting. The boiling curves of quenching were ever, in terms of practical application and long-term performance, this
established for different rock surfaces based on the temperature and solution needs to be looked into further. This paper aims to review the
visualization data. The rewetting of cylindrical rock was observed to challenges posed when using VIPs in the external insulation of
initiate at the two ends of sample and merged at the upper two-thirds buildings. First, the main advantages and anomalies of ETICS are
of the sample length. This feature was well captured by the numerical identified, after which the available VIPs solutions intended for
model. It was found that the maximum heat flux during quenching external insulation are explored. Some case studies are presented
exceeds the stationary boiling limits of liquid nitrogen, the same finding and the main conclusions that may be drawn from these are
as in the literature. The effect of surface structures on quenching was highlighted. The difficulties of incorporating VIP products into ETICS
also explored by experiments and the numerical model demonstrated are addressed. These include adapting/introducing covering layers to
its applicability for these structured surfaces as well. allow flatness and facilitate the handling of the products, defining and
assessing a suitable fixation system, and ensuring the connection
21/00951 Working capital management in the Russian between construction elements. The main concerns regarding the
automotive industry supply chain ETICS with a VIPs solution are also discussed, such as edge thermal
Pirttilä, M. et al. International Journal of Production Economics, 2020, bridging, service life performance and installation, and the economic
221, 107474. viability of the solution. Finally, guidelines are proposed for perform-
Companies must successfully finance their supply chains if they are to ing a good evaluation of ETICS solutions that use VIPs.
maintain their competitive advantage. Specifically, asset management
in a supply chain is an essential component of improving one’s financial
stance. This study examines operational working capital management 21/00954 A Stirling type pulse tube cryocooler working at
in the Russian automotive supply chain using the transaction cost liquid hydrogen temperatures with a precooled transmission
theory perspective. It considers working capital management (WCM) tube
models with financial supply chain analysis using cash conversion cycles Huang, C. et al. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2020, 111, 29–
(CCC) and return on assets as measurements. Companies operating 38.
with efficient WCM models are usually the leaders and the most Stirling type pulse tube cryocoolers (SPTCs) usually require multi-
powerful actors in the supply chain. Overall, according to the analysis, stage configuration for working below liquid hydrogen temperatures
long accounts payable payment period are prevalent, inventory levels but their cooling efficiency is still poor at present. One of the main
high and CCCs short. Further, the most profitable firms are those that reasons is that their high-temperature part regenerators consume large
pay their suppliers promptly. The WCM models based on the data of amount of input pV power as isothermal components with large
this study may contribute to deliberate strategies and choices regarding temperature drop. Theoretically, when there is a surplus cold source
the optimal governance structures of supply chains. such as liquid nitrogen (LN2) or liquefied natural gas for precooling,
the high-temperature part regenerator can be replaced by an empty
tube with little pV power drop, which will increase the efficiency of the
SPTC while recovering cold energy. In this paper, the SPTC with a
precooled transmission tube instead of high-temperature part regen-
erator is proposed and studied. The hot end of the transmission tube
was linked to the room-temperature compressor at 300 K, while its
cold end was connecting to the low-temperature part regenerator
precooled to 80 K by LN2. The heat transfer and pV power losses in
the precooled transmission tubes under different sizes were calculated
and analysed. Experiments were carried out to verify the feasibility of
the precooled transmission tube in a SPTC. Results show that the
SPTC can work well with the precooled transmission tube. A no-load
refrigeration temperature of 17.7 K and cooling capacity of 1.74 W at

166 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

25 K are obtained with a total input pV power of about 52.9 W. The hot axial pressure drops showed positive correlations with both the overall
end heat exchanger of the precooled transmission tube is found to be heat transfer coefficient and pumping power demand. Overall, the
necessary for quickly stabilizing the cold end cooling temperature. results of this study confirms that CFD modelling can be promising for
design and optimization of heat exchangers and it allows testing of
numerous design options without fabricating physical prototypes.
21/00955 An experimental study for the enhancement of
stratification in heat-storage tank by equalizer and PCM
module 21/00958 Comparative performance analysis of building
Wang, Z. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101010. foundation ground heat exchanger
The heat storage technology can improve the performance of a solar Kayaci, N. and Demir, H. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101710.
collector system effectively. A novel equalizer was proposed in this This work aims to improve the performance of ground-source heat
paper, in addition, different positions of phase change material (PCM) pumps (GSHPs) by placing the heat exchanger pipes in the soil under
balls and flow rates were investigated. Their influence on the the building foundation and in the building foundation reconstructed
temperature of the heat-storage water tank was measured with respect in Turkey. In this scope, firstly, experimental studies have been
to dimensionless time. The Richardson number, fill efficiency and MIX performed on horizontal parallel pipes buried in soil under the
number were used to extensively analyse the thermal characteristics of foundation of the 2400 m2 central laboratory building, which was newly
heat-storage water tanks with different inlet structure as the variation built at Yildiz Technical University. A comparison between the results
in flow rates. The results indicate that the water inlet structure with the of the experimental and newly developed numerical model is
equalizer can not only enhance the thermal stratification effectively in presented. Then, a full-scale numerical model for a shopping mall is
the heat-storage water tank, but also stabilize the heat output developed based on the pipe location (soil and concrete layer),
characteristics. Based on the same position of the PCM balls and inlet numbers of parallel tube (NPTs) and different condensation tempera-
flow, the Richardson number and the fill efficiency of the heat-storage tures in the heating season. The results show that the COP of GSHP
water tank with equalizer are both bigger than those of the water tank when the pipes are buried in the soil under the building foundation is
with a typical inlet structure; however, the MIX number is smaller in greater than when the pipes are buried in the building foundation.
comparison. The thermal stratification of the heat-storage water tank is Furthermore, considering capital investment and operational costs, a
decreased as the flow rates and the position of the PCM balls reference function is defined as an optimization parameter. The effects
increased. For the heat-storage tank contained PCM with equalizer, of the pipe location, increasing rates in electricity prices and NPTs on
when the inlet flow rate is 9 L/min, the fill efficiency (FE) increases by reference function are investigated. For higher NPT values, locating
1.3% as the position of PCMs dropped from PCM1 to PCM4; and for the pipes in the foundation gives higher values of the reference
PCM4, the FE decreases by 8.6% as the inlet flow rate increasing from function while for lower NPT values it is vice versa.
1 L/min to 9 L/min. The effect on thermal stratification of water tank by
equalizer is stronger than that of the PCM balls, and the equalizer 21/00959 Conjugate solid-liquid phase change heat
could effectively relieve the cold–hot water mixing in the heat-storage transfer in heatsink filled with phase change material-metal
water tanks that caused by the increasing of flow rate and improve the foam
thermal stratification of the heat-storage water tanks. Ghalambaz, M. and Zhang, J. International Journal of Heat and Mass
Transfer, 2020, 146, 118832.
21/00956 Cold thermal energy storage with lauryl alcohol This study addresses the phase change heat transfer of phase change
and cetyl alcohol eutectic mixture: thermophysical studies materials (PCMs) in metal foams subject to a transient heat load.
and experimental investigation Transient phase change heat transfer involves both melting and
Philip, N. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101060. solidification processes, and is critically important for thermal manage-
The surging demand for thermal energy storage (TES) directs ment and energy storage management of systems with variable heat
considerable attention towards the development of phase change loads. The PCM–metal foam was confined between two annuli. A pulse
materials (PCMs). This study has the objective to develop a eutectic heat load was employed at the inner surface of annuli, while the outer
PCM for effective cold thermal energy storage. The work involves surface was subject to convection cooling. The enthalpy-porosity
preparation, thermophysical property analysis and experimental approach modelled the phase change, and the natural convection in
studies of a novel binary eutectic mixture. The technique of differential the porous medium was taken into account using the Darcy–Brinkman
scanning calorimetry is used in determination of thermophysical model. The governing equations were transformed into non-dimen-
properties of the prepared eutectic. Results show that the 80 : 20 sional form and solved by the finite element method. The finite
eutectic composition of lauryl alcohol and cetyl alcohol with melting element method was used to solve the governing equations in the non-
temperature of 20.01  C and latent heat of 191.63 J g1 is fit for use in dimensional form. An automatic grid adaptation technique captured
cold thermal energy storage. The material also proves to have good the phase change interface. The results were compared with theoretical
thermal conductivity. Thermal stability and reliability studies which are and experimental studies available in the literature and found to be in
carried out using accelerated thermal cycling tests and thermogravi- good agreement. The steady-state solution and transient characteristics
metric analysis provide positive reports for the new mixture. An were addressed. The results demonstrated that the heatsink filled with
experimental investigation on the effectiveness of the identified PCM is PCM–metal foam can enhance the heat transfer at the hot surface,
carried out by using it in a cold storage chamber. Experimental studies particularly at low external cooling power (Biot number < 0.2). The
report a solid improvement in cold energy containment of the PCM results reveal that the fusion temperature of a phase change material is
incorporated storage chamber resulting in considerable energy savings. the key parameter on temperature controlling of the hot surface. Using
the phase change heatsink results in a cooling power four times higher
than that of pure external convection during the pulse load.
21/00957 Compact heat exchangers – design and
optimization with CFD
Abeykoon, C. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 21/00960 Detailed numerical simulations of a single stage
146, 118766. of rotatory active magnetic regenerators: influence of the pin
Heat transfer is one of the key aspects of machineries, devices and geometry
industrial processes for maintaining their functionality and also for Mugica, I. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 149,
achieving better product quality. Hence, heat exchangers of different 106198.
types and sizes are used in these applications with the purpose of The following paper examines different configurations of pin geome-
removing the extra process/device heat to maintain the desirable tries for rotatory magnetocaloric regenerators, through detailed
working temperatures. However, the size of a heat exchanger is a major multiphysics simulations. The analysis is first done by characterizing
consideration for any type of process/device as it decides the space the performance of each geometry against the multiple physical
requirements (i.e. the size) of the machine/device or the processing phenomena that intervene in a magnetocaloric regenerator: magnetic,
plant. At first, this study aims to investigate the design procedure of a fluid and thermal fields. Then, full 3D active magnetocaloric
heat exchanger theoretically and then its performance will be analysed regenerator cycles are simulated for a selected group of pin geometries,
and optimized using computational fluid dynamics. For the design and conclusions are drawn between the temperature span of the
purposes, a counter flow heat exchanger was considered and its length regenerators and the separately analysed physical phenomena. The
was theoretically calculated with the logarithmic mean temperature main novelty of this study is the analysis of the tortuosity of the fluid
difference method while the pressure drop and energy consumption flow, a characteristic parameter of porous media. One of the main
were also calculated with the Kern method. Afterwards, a compu- conclusions is that an increased tortuosity might be a valid alternative
tational model of the same heat exchanger was implemented with strategy to increase the power of magnetocaloric regenerators.
ANSYS and then this model was extended to six different models by
altering its key design parameters for the optimization purposes. 21/00961 Dynamic behavior of supercritical organic
Eventually, these models were used to analyse the heat transfer Rankine cycle using zeotropic mixture working fluids
behaviour, mass flow rates, pressures drops, flow velocities and vortices Chen, X. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116576.
of shell and tube flows inside the heat exchanger. Theoretical and As a prominent technology for recovering low-grade waste heat,
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results showed only a 1.05% supercritical organic Rankine cycle (ORC) exhibits a better perform-
difference in terms of the cooling performance of the hot fluid. The ance due to the higher endothermic temperature and better thermal

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 167

10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

match with the heat source. The irreversibility in system can be reduced ties. Additionally, thermal conductivity (0.431  0.010 W/mK) of the
greatly when the zeotropic mixtures are used as working fluid to match composite PCM was measured as about 2.3 times higher than that of
the heat source and sink profiles. Affected by the fluctuations in waste DDA. The heating and cooling periods of the composite PCM were
heat sources, there is a challenge for ORC to recovery waste heat. An reduced by 17.2% and 20.0%, respectively, compared to that of DDA
improved dynamic model of supercritical ORC using zeotropic mixture due to its enhanced thermal conductivity. All results suggested that the
R134a/R32 as working fluid is developed and dynamic behaviours of produced CWT as low-cost and environmental friendly supporting
supercritical ORC are analysed. It is found that an abnormal material can be evaluated for absorbing PCMs used for passive solar
fluctuation may occur in some parameters due to the effects around TES utilization in buildings.
pseudo-critical point and thermal inertia of the heater. A fitting
correlation to predict the response time based on different heat
21/00965 Experimental and numerical analysis of a
transfer coefficients of heater is found. Besides, three dynamic regimes
modified hot water radiator with improved performance
are defined to investigate the effects of heat source frequencies and
Rahmati, A. R. and Gheibi, A. International Journal of Thermal
system thermal inertia on the dynamic response. As the heat source
Sciences, 2020, 149, 106175.
frequency increases or the heat exchange in the heater is enhanced, the
In this study the performance analysis of a common hot water radiator,
fluctuation amplitude of the pressure decreases in the heater.
referred to as original radiator in this paper, was investigated. In order
to enhance output heat from original radiator, a modified radiator with
21/00962 Effective thermal conductivity of high porosity new fins was introduced. The study was conducted numerically and
open-cell metal foams experimentally. The average surface temperature was measured to
Yang, H. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, calculate the output thermal load. From the comparative analysis of
147, 118974. numerical simulation and experimental results, it was concluded that
In this paper, a model for effective thermal conductivity of high computational fluid dynamics analysis is consistent with the actual
porosity open-cell metal foams is developed by assuming the foam heating mechanism in the radiators. So it indicates that this simulation
morphology as 3D tetradecahedron structure. The effective thermal algorithm can be used for the modified radiator to establish how the
conductivity of metal foams is first studied using the numerical radiator output heat has changed with in line with the fin shape. From
simulation method, which the geometrical model (the ratio of the the comparison of numerical simulation results between the original
edge length of node to the radius of ligament) is calibrated with the and modified radiator results, it was concluded that by changing the fin
experimental data. The geometrical model is divided into four shape and thereby increasing the heat transfer surface, the radiator
distinctive layers along the heat transfer direction. The effective output heat increased about 50% which it will result in significant
thermal conductivity of four layers is then determined by fitting the energy saving in the buildings. Results show that according to the
numerical results. Consequently, the model for effective thermal obtained temperature distribution in different sections of the room,
conductivity of metal foams is proposed based on the Fourier law. thermal comfort conditions are well provided.
Several other analytical models and the experimental data are used to
verify the effectiveness of the present model. The results show that the
21/00966 Experimental study on the thermal behavior of
present model can be satisfactorily accurate to calculate the effective
RT-35HC paraffin within copper and iron-nickel open cell
thermal conductivity of metal foam by considering the ratio of the edge
foams: energy storage for thermal management of
length of node to the radius of ligament as a second order polynomial
electronics
function of the porosity. The effective thermal conductivity of each
Rehman, T.-U. and Ali, H. M. International Journal of Heat and Mass
layer is related to the porosity of each layer and overall porosity of
Transfer, 2020, 146, 118852.
metal foam. Compared with the experimental data, the present model
In this paper, experimental investigations are carried out to study the
has high accuracy with relative RMS deviation of <10%. The finding of
thermal performance of metallic foams impregnated with phase change
this study can help guide the thermal design of porous media.
material (PCM) based heat sinks for thermal management of
electronics. Herein, RT-35HC with melting point 34–36  C is chosen
21/00963 Effects of triggering and polyurethane foam on as PCM and copper foam 1 (95% porosity), copper foam 2 (97%
energy absorption of thin-walled circular tubes under the porosity) and iron–nickel foam (97% porosity) are used as thermal
inversion process conductivity enhancer. Various configurations of the heat sink are
Rezvani, M. J. and Souzangarzadeh, H. Journal of Energy Storage, investigated for 5400 s each for charging and discharging processes
2020, 27, 101071. under heat flux 0.8–2.4 kW/m2 for PCM volume fractions 0.0, 0.6, 0.7
In this paper, an attempt has been made to increase energy absorption and 0.8. Results revealed that copper foam-based heat sink showed 5–
and control suddenly applied load in the inversion process of both 6  C less base temperature as compared to that of iron–nickel foam.
empty and foam-filled circular tubes. For this purpose, rigid steel die as While investigating the effect of foam porosity, copper foam with lower
a triggering mechanism is installed on the shock absorber. When the porosity (95%) has shown 11% less base temperature at the end of the
circular tube is subjected to axial compression, it is driven into the charging cycle. It was also noticed that the maximum thermal con-
trigger and the empty tube is expanded or polyurethane foam is ductivity enhancement of PCM was found to be 34 times for 95%
compressed as much as the trigger’s length. In this new innovation porosity copper foam with the latent heat reduction of 37%. Copper
process, the effects of triggering and polyurethane foam are investi- foam 1–PCM composite posed the maximum enhancement in opera-
gated on specific energy absorption, initial peak load and inversion tion time of heat sink 7.9 times more as compared to that of the empty
mechanism. To do so, numerical simulation is carried out to evaluate aluminium heat sink. Copper foam–PCM composite with 95% porosity
the shock absorber performance. To verify the results of numerical of foam with 0.8 vol. fraction of PCM is best recommended con-
simulation, some quasi-static experimental tests are conducted. In the figuration for the present experimental study.
light of the results, employing a trigger at the bottom of the foam-filled
tubes causing an increase in the energy absorption in comparison with
21/00967 Fabrication and characterization of phase change
the empty ones. In addition, the presence of trigger prevents the
material-SiO2 nanocomposite for thermal energy storage in
suddenly applied load to occupants and the main part of structures.
buildings
Therefore, this mechanism could be a palatable alternative as an
Ranjbar, S. G. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101168.
energy absorption system in structural safety design.
Phase change materials (PCMs), which can absorb or release large
latent heat over a defined temperature range while the phase transition
21/00964 Evaluation of carbonized waste tire for occurs, have achieved huge attention due to the environmental con-
development of novel shape stabilized composite phase cerns and energy crisis. In recent years, phase change material
change material for thermal energy storage nanocomposites are extensively used in thermal energy storage and
Sari, A. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 352–360. energy management. Here, a shape-stabilized PCM nanocomposite,
This work is focused on the preparation of an activated charcoal by consisting n-hetadecane as a PCM and SiO2 nanoparticles as a
carbonization of waste tyre rubbers (WTRs) and its evaluation for supportive material was successfully prepared using an impregnation
shape-stabilization of dodecyl alcohol (DDA) as an organic phase method with different mass fraction of PCM. The formation of n-
change material (PCM) used for thermal energy storage (TES). In the heptadecane-SiO2 nanocomposite was approved using X-ray diffrac-
composite, DDA had TES function as carbonized waste tyre (CWT) tion, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM studies. The melting and freezing
acted as supporting and thermal conductive frameworks. CWT latent heats of the nanocomposite reached 123.8 and 120.9 J/g,
prevented leakage of melted DDA during phase change due to its respectively, and the mass loading percentage of n-hetadecane in the
good adsorption ability until the weight ratio of DDA reached 78%. nanocomposite which was estimated using DSC was about 54.6 wt%.
The shape-stabilized composite PCM was characterized by FT-IR, The resulting nanocomposite possessed excellent thermal cycling relia-
XRD, SEM, DSC and TGA techniques. The DSC results revealed that bility and its thermal conductivity was also improved compared to pure
the composite PCM had very appropriate melting point of 21.68  n-heptadecane. Additionally, Gypsum composite board containing n-
0.12  C and considerable high latent heat capacity of 181.6  1.2 J/g for hetadecane-SiO2 nanocomposite showed acceptable temperature con-
thermoregulation of buildings. Compared to DDA, thermal degrad- trol performance compared to ordinary gypsum board and hence, the
ation temperature of the composite PCM was extended as about 50  C. obtained nanocomposite can be suitable for storing thermal energy and
The 500-cycled composite PCM had still showed reliable TES proper- indoor temperature regulation in the buildings.

168 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

21/00968 Heat transfer enhancement, entropy generation modelling is also included. The Carman–Kozeny model is utilized to
and temperature uniformity analyses of shark-skin bionic control the natural convection velocities in solid and liquid regions.
modified microchannel heat sink Fifteen cases are introduced so as to capture the effect of arrangements
Li, P. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 146, and thicknesses of the PCMs. First simulations were targeted to
118846. understand different arrangements effect on melting and transferring
Inspired by the shark-skin bionic concept, four novel flow control heat from the inner tube to the outer wall. Then, different layers’
devices are proposed in this study to further enhance thermal number and thickness of each section were examined. Results are
performance (TP) with low entropy generation (S/S0), as well as to shown in terms of liquid fractions, temperatures, and velocity
improve temperature uniformity. Then, the flow structures and heat streamlines. The results assert that unlike the outer section, the inner
transfer characteristics of water-cooled microchannel heat sink one is more susceptible to the change of hot heat transfer fluid
(MCHS) modified by the proposed devices (Models A–D) are temperature. Moreover, the rate of saved energy within PCMs to the
investigated in laminar flow regime (Re = 50–700). Results show that inlet energy is calculated for all cases. In the case of one-layer of RT65,
the variation trends of TP for different MCHS increase as Re increases, the system can only save 23.28% of inlet energy. While in the specific
and the TP of all cases ranges from 1.1 to 3.1. And, the S/S0 of all thickness and arrangement of three-layer PCM, the amount of saved
MCHS maintain low at small Re, which increases quickly as Re further energy within the PCMs reach to 41.67%.
increases. When Re is small (Re = 50–250), the largest TP is obtained
by Model B with the smallest S/S0. As Re is >500, the TP and S/S0 of
21/00972 Large eddy simulation of thermal mixing with
Model D both become the largest. The varied geometry of flow control
conjugate heat transfer at BWR operating conditions
devices pushes main flow towards to side walls, and the sequential
Bergagio, M. et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2020, 356, 110361.
contraction and expansion area of split passage enhance the fluid
Thermal fatigue occurs in most metals under cyclic heat loads and can
exchange. However, the secondary flow generated by flow control
threaten the structural integrity of metal parts. Detailed knowledge of
device is not intense enough to cool down side walls when Re is small.
these loads is key in preventing such issues. In this study, a large eddy
Therefore, the temperature uniformity of MCHS is improved signifi-
simulation (LES) with wall-adapting local eddy viscosity (WALE)
cantly with the increase of Re. The temperature uniformity of Model D
subgrid model was performed to better understand turbulent thermal
is inferior to that of Model C due to hot spots exist at the narrow split
mixing in an annulus with a pair of opposing cold inlets at a low axial
passage. Furthermore, at large Re, Model C is superior to others,
level (z = 0.15 m) and with a pair of opposing hot inlets at a higher axial
because the significant improvement of TP is achieved here with
level (z = 0.80 m). Each inlet pair was 90 from each other in the
acceptable S/S0.
azimuthal direction. Conjugate heat transfer between fluid and
structure was accounted for. The geometry simplified a control-rod
21/00969 Heat transfer enhancement of wavy fin-and-tube guide tube (CRGT) in a boiling water reactor (BWR). The LES results
heat exchangers via innovative compound designs were compared with measurement data and, for one of the first times
Sadeghianjahromi, A. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, BWR conditions were met in both experiments and LES: pressure
2020, 149, 106211. equals 7.2 MPa, while the temperature difference between hot and cold
The present study examines some novel improvements in association inlets reaches 216 K. LES temperatures at the fluid–structure interface
with the airside performance of wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers. were fairly correlated with their experimental equivalents, with regard
Effects of waffle height, adding slits on wavy fins and vortex generators to mean values, local variances, and dangerous oscillation modes in
on the thermal resistance of wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers are fatigue-prone areas (z = 0.65–0.67 m). An elastic analysis of the
investigated. Increasing waffle height, imposing slits on the wavy fin, or structure was performed to evaluate stress intensities there. From
adding vortex generators can provide 6–10% reduction in thermal them, cumulative fatigue usage factors (CUFs) were estimated and used
resistance subject to constraints of the same pumping power. Yet, the as screening criteria in the subsequent frequency analysis of tempera-
compound design including all these three features together is even ture time series at the fluid–structure interface. The likelihood of
more powerful to achieve a 16% reduction of thermal resistance. initiating a fatigue crack was linked to the maximum CUF, which was
Increasing waffle height will decrease thermal resistance, but the 3.2  105 for a simulation time of 10 s.
accompanied pressure drop is even higher. Hence, it is highly
recommended that the waffle height should be less than the fin pitch
21/00973 Low-cost carbon foam as a practical support for
or at a corrugation angle being less than 15 . Punching slits on the top
organic phase change materials in thermal management
of wavy fin surface can result in 6–7% decrease in thermal resistance.
Maleki, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114108.
Effect of increasing the width of slits on heat transfer characteristics is
In this research work, a low-cost commercial melamine derived porous
negligible. Conversely, increasing the length of slits is much more
carbon foam (CF) was used as a support for three different organic
effective. It can be seen from the results that slits with a length of
phase change materials (PCMs), including polyethylene glycol (PEG),
12 mm and a width of 1 mm yield 8–10% reduction in thermal
paraffin (PA), and palmitic acid (PAA). Structural and thermal
resistance.
properties of the novel PCMs composites were investigated by scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
21/00970 Influence of the arrangement of multiple radiant spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible
ceiling panels on the radiant temperature field diffused reflectance spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA),
Labat, M. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 149, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The obtained CF/
106184. PEG, CF/PA, and CF/PAA composites displayed a considerable latent
The use of radiant systems for cooling purposes in buildings is thermal storage capacity of 145.7, 124 and 198.2 J g1, respectively. The
attracting considerable attention, particularly for suspended radiant prepared CF/PA showed a better cycle ability than other composites
ceiling panels (SRCPs). However, the arrangement of the panels on the after 200 frequent heating/cooling cycles. The CF/PA composite was
ceiling and the influence on radiative heat transfer is rarely discussed in effectively integrated with electrical heaters in the test room and led to
the literature. The objective of this paper is to provide a numerical energy peak load shifting and temperature fluctuation prevention. The
study of the radiative heat transfer at room scale when the size and the black colour of the CF/PA composite caused a significant increase in
number of SRCPs varies. It has been observed that the use of a single light absorbance and thereby the high light-to-thermal energy conver-
large panel would result in a low average temperature, which is sion efficiency (95%). In addition to high light absorbance, the
desirable, but also in poor uniformity of the temperature field. Here, a obtained CF/PA composite could provide domestic hot water for a
genetic algorithm is proposed and tuned to determine the positions of building with an efficiency of 88.1%.
multiple SRCPs that would improve uniformity. It is shown that much
better uniformity can be obtained, with only a moderate increase in the
21/00974 Multilayer quasi-three-dimensional model for the
average temperature, for 10 panels or more. The differences between
heat transfer inside the borehole wall of a vertical ground
the use of a single large panel and multiple panels is noteworthy when
heat exchanger
SRCPs cover from 10% to 70% of the ceiling area.
Liu, Z. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101711.
The borehole wall temperatures of vertical ground heat exchangers in
21/00971 Investigation of using multi-layer PCMs in the layered soil are different due to the stratified thermal properties, which
tubular heat exchanger with periodic heat transfer boundary is very important for energy piles. Some multilayered finite line source
condition models have proposed to predict heat transfer process outside
Sadeghi, H. M. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, borehole, while the analytical model inside borehole is still lacking.
2020, 147, 118970. The existing empirical expression, which predicts the heat transfer rate
Storing and releasing thermal energy at an almost constant tempera- in each layer only by the difference in thermal properties, over-
ture is the benefit of employing phase change materials, which makes estimates the temperature difference of each layer. In this paper, a
them a useful material to reduce energy usage in industrial multilayered model was developed to more accurately predict the wall
applications. In this work, the effect of charging and discharging of heat fluxes for layered soil profiles. This model was expanded from
multi-layers of phase change materials (PCMs) in coaxial cylinders with Diao’s quasi-three-dimensional model, considering both the thermal
a time-periodic boundary condition is numerically investigated. The 2D properties and borehole wall temperatures in each layer. The model
problem is solved with the finite-element method, and convection was validated by comparisons with a multilayered analytical model and

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 169

10 Space heating and cooling/heat pumps

numerical solutions. It was found that the proposed model provided 21/00978 Numerical study of aluminum segregation during
more reasonable thermal response than the empirical expression when electron beam cold hearth melting for large-scale
using with the multilayered analytical models. The presented model Ti-6 wt%Al-4 wt%V alloy slab ingots
can also work with numerical solutions to save the computational cost Gao, L. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
of heat transfer inside borehole, as shown in the application case of the 147, 118976.
multi-borehole thermal response, which indicates that heat transfer To investigate aluminium (Al) segregation in large-scale Ti–6 wt%Al–
processes are asynchronous in each layer and the interactions between 4 wt%V (TC4) slab ingots produced by electron beam cold hearth
boreholes are different depending on the borehole positions. melting (EBCHM), a three-dimensional multiphysics model verified
with experimental data in the literature has been established. The
numerical predictions qualitatively revealed the macrosegregation
21/00975 Multi-mode control method for the existing tendency of Al in the molten and the solidified region at different
domestic hot water storage tanks with district heating casting conditions. It was noticed that Al segregation is slightly
supply influenced by increasing casting speed due to the vertical evolution
Huang, T. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116517. of the pool shape near the inlet. A promising solution for Al
The hot water tank is widely used for domestic hot water (DHW) segregation control is to limit the Al evaporation loss by decreasing
preparation. When supplied by district heating (DH), the operation of the pouring temperature. The results suggest that for EBCHM with a
DHW tanks directly influences the DH return temperature, thereby casting speed of 8 mm/min, as the pouring temperature decreases from
affecting the DH system efficiency, supply capacity and the realization 2273 to 2073 K, the segregation degree l increases from 0.70 to 0.96 in
of the low temperature district heating. However, the conventional the pool. As a consequence, the corresponding segregation degree c
charging method often results in high DH return temperature. This on the solidified cross-section improves (increases from 0.67 to 0.93).
study develops a new charging method aiming at reducing the DH
return temperature without violating the comfort or hygiene require- 21/00979 Optimal configuration of ternary distillation
ments. The concept uses the multi-mode charging method considering columns using heat integration with external heat
the periodical characteristics of the load pattern. Multi scenarios are exchangers
simulated by dynamic models using the practical DHW load profiles Khalili, N. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116479.
from a case study. Moreover, the impacts of the tank configuration, the The subject of energy saving in distillation column sequencing is of
location of the temperature sensor, and the distribution heat loss are critical importance. Heat integration in a multicomponent separation
investigated. The results show that the new control method can reduce can be industrialized by saving considerable energy and cost. In this
the primary return temperature by 5–8  C compared to the conven- work, external heat-integrated distillation column with external heat
tional control method. The distribution heat loss imposes great impact exchanger has been studied and the annual cost function has been
on the DH return temperature. In addition, the tank with the external optimized using genetic algorithm. Introducing the layout and binary
heat exchanger performs better than the tank with the internal heating matrices enabled the investigation of all possible locations for the heat
coil if the circulation heat loss is less than 50% of the DHW demand. exchanger arrangement successfully. Moreover, exchangers heat loads
and compressors pressure, have also been considered as optimization
variables. Benzene, toluene, xylene and n-alkanes, separations have
21/00976 Nonlinear thermal conductivity of periodic been studied as case studies. It has been demonstrated that the
composites proposed optimization method in the alkane separation case decreased
Dai, G. and Huang, J. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, the total annual cost by 22.6% in comparison with the proposed
2020, 147, 118917. thermally coupled distillation sequence columns. The heat integration
Composites have been widely used to realize various functions in of external heat exchangers in an external heat-integrated distillation
thermal metamaterials, thus becoming important to predict heat column configuration and the proposed dived-wall column resulted in
transport properties according to geometric structures and component decreasing the total annual cost by 17% and 39% respectively, in
materials. Based on a first-principles approach, namely, the Rayleigh comparison with conventional distillation columns.
method, the authors developed an analytical way to calculate
temperature-dependent (i.e. non-linear) thermal conductivities of a
composite with circular inclusions arranged in a periodic rectangular 21/00980 Optimization of geothermal interaction of a
array. The focus was on both weak and strong non-linearity. As a result, double U-tube borehole heat exchanger for space heating
it was found that the temperature-dependence (non-linearity) coeffi- and cooling applications using Taguchi method and utility
cient of the whole periodic composite can be larger than that of the concept
non-linear component inside this composite. Simulation results from Kumar, S. and Murugesan, K. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101723.
finite element analysis show that the Rayleigh method can be also more Optimization results for thermal interaction of a double U-tube
accurate than the Maxwell–Garnett or Bruggeman effective medium borehole heat exchanger (BHE) used along with a 5 ton capacity
approximations. As a model application, the authors further tailored ground source heat pump system (GSHP), are discussed in this paper.
the non-linearity to design a thermal diode, for which heat flux along Heat transfer from the BHE is computed using thermal resistance
one direction is much larger than that along the opposite. This work concept for space cooling and heating mode operations. The main
provides a different theory for handling periodic structures with objective of optimization is to achieve maximum heat extraction during
thermally responsive thermal conductivities, and it could be useful for space heating and maximum heat rejection during space cooling
designing thermal metamaterials with diverse properties including operations. For the purpose of optimization, eight control variables
rectification. consisting of geometric parameters, thermo-physical parameters and
mass flow rate are considered at three levels for a series connected
double U-tube BHE of 120 m depth. For Taguchi method L27
orthogonal array has been employed for the computation of heat
21/00977 Numerical investigations of fin efficacy for phase
transfer and S/N ratios for both modes of operations. Results obtained
change material (PCM) based thermal control module
show that optimum values of 9270 and 7210 W heat can be rejected to
Desai, A. N. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
and extracted from the ground. Taguchi results are combined to obtain
2020, 147, 118855.
a single set of optimum levels of control variables using the utility
The solid–liquid phase change process has large isothermal heat
concept. Mass flow rate of water in the BHE is found to be the most
absorption capacity. Hence, phase change materials (PCM) have the
influential variable. For variation in the duration of cooling and
potential to achieve thermal control of electronic devices during pulsed
heating mode operations, the optimum heat that could be rejected and
heat load generation. Usually, PCM have the disadvantage of low
absorbed becomes the same and equal to 6180 W for equal duration. It
thermal conductivity. Hence, fins are used to improve the thermal
is observed that the heat transfer calculated from the utility concept is
conductivity of PCM modules. Numerical investigations were per-
11.11% and 42.86% less than those values calculated by Taguchi
formed to find the most effective fin configuration which would limit
method for cooling and heating mode of operations respectively.
the critical temperature (Tcr) of thermal control modules (TCMs). The
important fin parameters under consideration were size, number,
shape and percentage mass of fins. Six different fin geometries were 21/00981 Performance analysis and shape optimization of a
examined: rectangular, triangular, circular-prisms and rectangular, water-cooled impingement micro-channel heat sink
triangular, circular-frustum pyramids. The numerical model was including manifolds
validated with previously reported experimental results in literature. Hadad, Y. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 148,
The results show that Tcr decreases as number of fins increased from 9 106145.
to 100 and then further reduction in Tcr ceases. For respective Impingement micro-channel heat sinks are in general preferred over
percentage mass of fins, Tcr values for all prism geometries were lower parallel flow micro-channel heat sinks owing to the reduced pressure
than for all frustum geometries. Considering an extended active period drop. Splitting the flow in two branches cuts the flow rate and path in
up to 14 min, the lowest Tcr values were achieved for 20% mass of fins. half, which leads to lower pressure drop through the channels in
It was observed that the thermal performance of a TCM is highly impingement heat sinks compared to a parallel flow heat sink. A
influenced by area enhancement ratio which is highest for triangular numerical model was developed to predict the heat sink performance.
prism geometry leading to lowest Tcr. Because of the significant effect that inlet and outlet manifolds

170 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 11 Engines (power generation and propulsion, electrical vehicles)

(distributor and collector) have on the heat sink hydraulic and thermal thermal conductivity. The GNP can improve thermal conductivity
performance, the numerical model includes them. The model was effectively. Thermal conductivity of CPCM6 reaches 1.227 W/(m K),
validated both for hydraulic and thermal performance using exper- which is increased by 10.67 times compared to that of lauric acid.
imental data. The model was used for shape optimization of the heat
sink in constant chip power, coolant inlet temperature and flow rate as 21/00985 Ultra-thin flattened heat pipe with a novel
well distributor and collector geometry. A parametric study was band-shape spiral woven mesh wick for cooling
performed to estimate the effect of the geometric design parameters smartphones
on the hydraulic and thermal resistances as the response parameters. Zhou, W. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
The chip-base interface temperature profile was very different from 146, 118792.
typical parallel heat sinks. The coefficient of performance as a measure In this work, a novel spiral woven mesh (SWM) wick was developed to
of the heat sink overall performance (hydraulic and thermal) was enhance the thermal performance of ultra-thin flattened heat pipe
measured experimentally. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the heat sink (UTHP) for cooling thin portable electronics. The SWM overall
coefficient of performance to chip power, coolant inlet temperature structure was woven in a band-shape to realize an ultra-thin and tight
and flow rate was estimated using a regression model fitted on the structure. Three different SWM structures were designed to study the
obtained experimental result. effect of the wick on the UTHP thermal performance. The maximum
heat transport capacity data of UTHPs were compared with the
21/00982 Reacting gas-surface interaction and heat calculated capillary and entrainment limits. The effects of the cross-
transfer characteristics for high-enthalpy and hypersonic sectional area ratio of the wick to the UTHP on the heat transfer
dissociated carbon dioxide flow performance were analysed. The heat dissipation performance of the
Yang, X. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, UTHP cooling module at different inclination angles was experimen-
146, 118869. tally investigated. The results indicate that the cross-sectional area
Hypersonic carbon dioxide reacting gas–surface interaction occurs on ratio affected the flow characteristics of the vapour and liquid in the
the heat shield of high-speed Mars entry capsules, which has great UTHP, thereby affecting its heat transfer performance. A further
influences on the heat transfer characteristics. Based on hypersonic increase in the number of SWM wires did not significantly improve the
reacting flow solver with complex surface thermochemistry, the UTHP thermal performance. Gravity had little effect on the heat
hypersonic chemical non-equilibrium flow with oxygen/carbon gas dissipation performance of the UTHP cooling module. Compared with
mixture was numerically simulated, and the interaction between non- a copper sheet cooling module, the maximum heat dissipation power of
equilibrium flow and surface reactions was numerically analysed to the UTHP cooling module increased by 28.57–42.86%, and the weight
reveal the mechanism of aerodynamic heating from surface thermo- reduced by 64.51%.
chemistry. Numerical results of catalytic effects show that the near-wall
thermochemical behaviours are essentially dominated by the near-wall
diffusion and chemical reactions. Various surface reactions alter the
flow structure in the boundary layer, and generate different aero-
dynamic heating patterns. Results from ablating simulations indicate
that the ablating surface can induce additional near-wall diffusion and
injection energy though their influence on the thermal boundary layer 11 ENGINES
structure is negligibly small. The modelling of reacting gas–surface
interaction can be of benefit to promoting the fidelity and precision of
aerodynamic heating with complex surface thermochemistry.
Power generation and propulsion,
21/00983 Supercooling of phase change: a new modeling
formulation using apparent specific heat capacity
electrical vehicles
Davin, T. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 147,
106121.
The thermal behaviour of phase change materials (PCMs) is a major 21/00986 A comparison of alternative vehicle fueling
issue for cooling, heat storage and thermal management of various infrastructure scenarios
systems in general. Unfortunately many PCMs present supercooling Lane, B. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114128.
which is a major drawback regarding the efficiency of cooling systems. The evolution of alternative vehicles is leading to an evolution in fuel,
Various solutions were proposed to model the thermal kinetics, in from electricity to hydrogen, and the associated fuelling infrastructure.
particular using the apparent specific heat Cp(T) technique. But among Using California as an example and a variety of tools (e.g. vehicle and
them only few consider the supercooling effect. The present work electric grid simulation, travel surveys, census data and GIS analyses),
considers this issue by focusing on the representation of the different fuelling supply chain and dispensing scenarios are evaluated and
steps of the supercooling phenomenon. This leads to different form- compared for conventional internal combustion vehicles (ICVs),
ulations of the apparent capacity Cp (T, fsuper). The presented algori- vehicles bridging from conventional to alternative vehicles such as
thm uses the lumped system analysis approach that is widely spread for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
first-order and multi-scale resolutions. The apparent capacity laws are (PHEVs), and alternative vehicles including battery electric vehicles
explicitly presented for the different melting-crystallization steps. In (BEVs), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), and plug-in fuel cell
particular, the punctually negative Cp formulation, a helpful math- electric vehicles (PFCEVs). When assessed for a 2050 timeframe,
ematical artifact, permits to reproduce the thermal dynamics during the PFCEVs require less electric infrastructure compared to BEVs, and
local crystallization. The formulations and the models are discussed. less hydrogen infrastructure compared to FCEVs. In addition, until
Eventually, the temperature evolutions of an experimental system are 100% zero-emission fuel supply chains are achieved, PFCEVs reduce
compared to calculated data and the crystallization rate is compared to GHG and CAP emissions to a greater extent than BEVs and FCEVs.
the literature.
21/00987 Development and experimental study of a
21/00984 Thermal properties improvement of lauric acid/ supercritical CO2 axial turbine applied for engine waste heat
iron foam composites with graphene nanoplates as thermal recovery
energy storage materials Huang, G. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113997.
Zhu, C. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101163. CO2-based transcritical power cycle (CTPC) has been proposed as a
Lauric acid (LA)/iron foam composites with graphene nanoplates suitable engine waste heat recovery (E-WHR) technology with the
(GNP) as composite phase change materials (CPCM) were fabricated advantage of miniaturization and good recovery capacity. Expander, as
by melting infiltration. LA was used as a phase change material and the core power conversion device, is of great importance to the overall
iron foams with different pore density (40, 70 and 90 PPI) were used as cycle performances. The main purpose of this paper is to conduct
skeletons. GNP was used as additives to improve thermal conductivity dynamic tests of the proposed turbine expander, with focus on the
of the CPCM. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray turbine operational characteristics and performance. In this study, a
diffraction were used to verify that LA was physically absorbed into partial admission axial turbine expander coaxial with a high-speed
iron foam. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to demonstrate synchronous generator is designed and manufactured considering the
that the LA and GNP were well immersed into the iron foam. The thermodynamic properties of supercritical CO2. The geometry of the
thermal properties were investigated by differential scanning calori- turbine is 56 mm rotor diameter, 4 mm blade height and 39,000 rpm of
metry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermal conductivity operating speed at the inlet design condition of 10 MPa and 230  C,
meter. Impregnating LA with GNP into the metal foam is a novel way outlet condition of 6 MPa and mass flow rate of 0.18 kg/s. The
to enhance thermal properties of the CPCM. CPCM1 reached a latent performance of the developed turbine expander and CTPC system
heat of 177.82 kJ/kg in the solidifying process. The results of TGA and with respect to the rotational speed and mass flow rate are investigated
differential thermogravimetric analysis confirmed that the CPCM experimentally. Based on the experimental data, the maximum
maintains good stability. The thermal conductivity of the CPCM has rotational speed of the turbine reaches 41,584 rpm and the turbine
an obvious enhancement. The bigger pore density leads to higher expander generated maximum power 2.27 kW at 20,878 rpm. The

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 171

11 Engines (power generation and propulsion, electrical vehicles)

power capacity of the turbine increases to the maximum value first and enabled combustion at considerably lean operating conditions and
then decreases with the increase of rotational speed as well as the achieved the leanest misfire limit. Spark ignition combustion with natural
isentropic efficiency. The power generation of the turbine expander is gas showed better lean combustion capability than gasoline and ethanol.
proportional to pressure ratio as well as mass flow rate. Ethanol offered a wider lean limit than E10 and achieved higher fuel
conversion efficiency than E10 and natural gas. Combustion with E10 was
21/00988 Effects of butanol blending on spray auto-ignition limited by end gas knock at high compression ratio, which necessitated
of gasoline surrogate fuels spark retard and reduced engine efficiency and performance.
Fan, Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116368.
Effects of butanol isomers on spray auto-ignition of two gasoline
surrogate fuels, primary reference fuels (PRF) and toluene primary 21/00992 Investigations on the heat transfer within intake
reference fuels (TPRF), were experimentally studied on a constant and exhaust valves at various engine speeds
volume combustion facility. Combustion pressures, heat release rates, Cerdoun, M. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
ignition delay (ID) and combustion delay (CD) times were compared 2020, 147, 119005.
and discussed in the context of changed fuel compositions and ambient The heat transfers within the intake valve differs than the exhaust
temperatures. Experimental results revealed that butanol addition valves, due to the difference in the boundary condition surrounding
inhibits the spray auto-ignition propensity of PRF80 or TPRF80 each valve. This paper concerns a comparison of the heat transfer
surrogate fuels, which have the same research octane number of 80, coefficient (HTC) at various engine speed and the temperature
and extends both the ID and CD times. The four butanol isomers distribution through exhaust valves and intake valves. The boundary
extend the ID times of gasoline surrogates in an order of i-butanol > condition are assessed using basic concept of heat transfer and
s-butanol  n-butanol > t-butanol, and the shortest ID times of the correlation related to internal combustion engine. To assess perfectly
t-butanol/gasoline surrogate blends are attributed to their earliest first- the real effect of the valves surrounding, an adequate subdivision of the
stage heat release. Generally, the CD extension effects of the four valve is used where the heat transfer coefficient and the adiabatic wall
butanol isomers are ranked as i-butanol > t-butanol  s-butanol > temperature (AWT) for each subdivision are evaluated during one
n-butanol, but the effects of s-butanol and t-butanol are slightly sensitive engine cycle. An average value of these two parameters is calculated
to the gasoline surrogate composition and ambient temperature. and introduced as a boundary condition in a finite element method
model. This procedure is repeated for diverse engine speeds, and
21/00989 Experimental investigation on convective heat therefore, the trend of the real boundary condition in term of HTC and
transfer of hydrocarbon fuel in circular tubes with AWT are given versus engine speed. The comparison in term of HTCs
twisted-tape inserts shows different behaviour of valves surrounding mainly in the seat and
Feng, S. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, stem zones. The obtained model is used to highlight the temperature
146, 118817. map of an exhaust valve and intake valves for the different operating
The convective heat transfer of a kerosene-type hydrocarbon fuel was condition in addition to zones of fort thermal gradient and thus, areas
experimentally investigated in electrically heated horizontal circular of maximum thermal load can be specified, which help automobile
tubes with twisted-tape (TT) inserts, in the fuel bulk temperature range manufactures to avoid valves failures.
of 288.0–873.0 K, at supercritical pressures. The effects of the system
pressure, heat flux, buoyancy, thermal acceleration and twist ratio were
investigated with a wide range of supercritical conditions. The sharp 21/00993 Operational stability of a spark ignition engine
variation in the thermal properties with respect to temperature was the fuelled by low H2 content synthesis gas: thermodynamic
key factor influencing the heat transfer. Normal heat transfer, heat- analysis of combustion and pollutants formation
transfer enhancement and heat-transfer deterioration occurred in the Kravos, A. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116457.
dimensionless position. The difference between the top and bottom The paper focuses on the implementation of a comprehensive and
wall temperatures in plain and TT tubes was investigated. Gr/Re2 was robust optimization procedure for a syngas-fired four-cylinder, spark
calculated and used to predict the buoyancy effects, and Kv was calcu- ignited, 2.2 L industrial engine used in combined heat and power
lated to examine the thermal acceleration effects. The inner wall tem- applications. Innovatively designed workflow is for the first time
perature and heat-transfer coefficients were compared for plain and TT incorporating also a thorough operational stability analysis for
tubes. The circular tube with TT inserts was shown to enhance heat evaluation of the engine operation durability while using off-design
transfer. Finally, a well-predicted empirical correlation of the Nusselt fuels. Design constraints of the engine operational space are set after in
number was proposed for horizontal flow heat transfer in TT tubes. depth investigation of knock phenomena, cycle to cycle variations,
emission formation phenomena and engine performance parameters.
21/00990 Experimental study on an SI engine fueled by These are derived from experimental data, obtained from the engine,
gasoline, ethanol and acetylene at partial loads equipped with newly designed components. Throughout the paper,
Ilhak, M. I. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116148. results obtained with synthesis gas are benchmarked to natural gas.
Oil is one of the main energy sources used in internal combustion With significant emphasis laid on analysis of lean operation conditions,
engines. The high level of environmental pollution, continuous as a measure to reduce environmental footprint of energy generation, a
limitation of emission rates, increasing environmental awareness, and newly proposed optimum operation points reveal a possibility to obtain
uncertainty in oil prices, have been driving the energy world to TA-Luft and EPA emission limits already with stoichiometric mixture.
alternative fuels for the last decades. In this study, ethanol and This allows to achieve a remarkably low power de-rating factor of only
acetylene have been suggested as alternative fuels to gasoline since 16.5% and omission of any aftertreatment system. Therefore, findings
they can be produced from non-petroleum resources and the effects of of this study represent a significant improvement of current control
gasoline, ethanol and acetylene on the emission parameters and engine strategies and enable further increase in specific power and thus
performance of a spark-ignition engine were investigated. The economic attractiveness of distributed power generation techniques at
experiments have been carried out under 25% and 50% constant loads enhanced durability while using low-carbon and renewable fuels.
at 1500 rpm and different excess air ratios. The engine used in the
experiment is a four-cylinder, four-stroke and water-cooled internal
combustion engine. When using ethanol and acetylene, UHC and NO 21/00994 The effect of diesel fuel sulphur and vanadium on
emissions significantly reduced compared to gasoline. As a result of the engine performance and emissions
experiments, it was observed that acetylene have better thermal Chu-Van, T. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116437.
efficiency and emission values than that of gasoline and ethanol in Metallic composition of diesel particulate matter, even though a
high EAR values. relatively small proportion of total mass, can reveal important
information regarding engine conditions, fuel/lubricating oil charac-
21/00991 Exploring the potential of ethanol, CNG, and teristics and for health impacts. In this study, a detailed investigation
syngas as fuels for lean spark-ignition combustion – into the metallic elemental composition at different particle diameter
an experimental study sizes has been undertaken. A bivariate statistical analysis was
Ran, Z. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116520. performed in order to investigate the correlation between the metallic
In this study, experiments were carried out on a single-cylinder co- element, measured engine performance and engine emission variables.
operative fuel research (CFR) engine with different fuel–air equival- Major sources of metallic elements in the emitted particles are
ence ratio () and compression ratio to explore its performance and considered in this study, including the fuel and lubricating oil
emissions using four different fuels, E10, natural gas, ethanol and syn- compositions, engine wear emissions and metal-containing dust in the
gas, at 1200 rev/min and 75 kPa intake pressure. The compression ratio ambient air. Metallic solid ultrafine-particles (<100 nm) are strongly
was varied from 9 to 11 for E10 and syngas, and from 9 to 13 for natural associated with metallic compounds derived from lubricating oil (Ca,
gas and ethanol. The combustion characteristics were analysed on the Zn, Mg and K), while the fuel related metallic compounds and engine
basis of enabling lean flame propagation. It was found that higher wear emissions are represented in the accumulation mode particle
compression ratio resulted in higher engine efficiency and improved fraction (>100 nm). Calculated correlation matrices show a clear effect
lean burn capability for all fuels studied. However, the use of ethanol, of engine load conditions and fuel S contents on particle number and
natural gas, and syngas helped to extend the lean misfire limit. Syngas mass emissions.

172 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 11 Engines (hybrid engine systems)

21/00995 Thermal-structural coupled analysis and Furthermore, the time delay and packet losses in communication are
improvement of the diaphragm compressor cylinder head for also considered. Simulation results show that the proposed method
a hydrogen refueling station significantly outperforms the rule-based method, and the average
Wang, T. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1), improvement could be over 40% in the studied driving cycles.
809–821.
When applied in the hydrogen refuelling station, the diaphragm 21/00998 A hybrid state-of-charge estimation method
compressor with super-high pressure ratio will experience a high based on credible increment for electric vehicle applications
discharge temperature of over 200  C, especially for that with large with large sensor and model errors
capacity and horsepower. Considering the thermal stress, the structural Lai, X. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101106.
strength and deformation of the cylinder head are crucial to the State-of-charge (SOC) estimation is a key issue in electric vehicles,
reliability and efficiency of the diaphragm compressor. In this paper, a which is affected by model and sensor errors. In this paper, a novel
thermal-structural coupled analysis was proposed, based on which the SOC estimation method based on the SOC increment with high
deformation and stress of the diaphragm compressor cylinder head credibility is proposed to deal with the large errors of the model and
under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions were obtained. sensor. Firstly, the characteristics of SOC error increment about the
And the fatigue life of the studs on the cylinder head was also ampere-hour counting (AHC) and extended Kalman filter (EKF)
estimated based on the stress results obtained in the thermal-structural methods are examined and the more credible SOC increment is
coupled analysis. The experimental method was conducted for verifying determined. Secondly, a hybrid SOC estimation method, which utilizes
the numerical results. The results indicated that during the operation the no correlation between the AHC method and the errors of the
of the compressor, the temperature in the discharge holes was the voltage sensor and the equivalent circuit model, in combination with
highest, resulting in not only plastic deformation but also large stress the weak correlation between the EKF method and the errors of the
concentration, and the high thermal stress could reach up to the current sensor and the water tank model, is developed over the whole
strength limit of the material. A structural improvement was therefore SOC range. Finally, the proposed hybrid method is evaluated by two
proposed to decrease the stress in the region of the discharge holes by types of batteries under three dynamical stress tests, and the results
cutting a larger hole and attaching a new separate one for valve demonstrate that the proposed method can greatly suppress the large
installation. Further stress analysis showed that the stress in the same sensor and model errors and achieve high accuracy and robustness.
region of the improved structure was significantly reduced, which
guaranteed the safety of the compressor.
21/00999 A stability-guaranteed and energy-conserving
torque distribution strategy for electric vehicles under
21/00996 Understanding the correlation between extreme conditions
auto-ignition, heat release and knocking characteristics Hu, X. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114162.
through optical engines with high compression ratio For electric vehicles with in-wheel motors, the torque distribution
Chen, L. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116405. strategy is used to manipulate their dynamics to reduce energy
Improving compression ratio is an effective way to meet higher thermal consumption and ensure safety. Under critical conditions, it is difficult
efficiency and lower CO2 emissions for internal combustion engines. to meet the necessary requirements with a simple torque distribution
However, the severe thermodynamic condition under low speed and due to the coupled non-linear characteristics and corresponding safety
high road may promote the possibility of auto-ignition and damage constraints. To address these problems, a stability-guaranteed and
engine body if it is uncontrollable. Therefore, further study on the energy-conserving torque distribution strategy is proposed for the
correlation between auto-ignition and knocking characteristics are vehicles in an innovative master-slave control framework. Considering
necessary for modern engines with high compression ratio. In this the dynamic characteristics of tyres on a low-friction-coefficient road, a
study, combined with high-speed direct photography and simultaneous non-linear controller is designed to regulate the steering angle of the
pressure acquisition, flame images and in-cylinder pressures character- front wheel and an additional yaw moment in the active safety control
izing auto-ignition, heat release rate and knocking combustion were layer. According to the driver’s dynamic demand and actuator
studied based on optical engine experiments. The results show that constraints, a torque distribution controller based on model predictive
auto-ignition occurs in all engine cycles under current critical knocking control theory is designed in the energy-efficiency control layer. The
conditions, and fast spark ignition (SI) flame speed cycles is more likely motor efficiency map is used in the objective function to reduce energy
to facilitate end-gas auto-ignition. However, the auto-ignition flame consumption while improving and balancing motor efficiency. The
speed is comparable to the SI flame and auto-ignition is not a sufficient proposed torque distribution strategy managed to show an increment
condition for knock: for some cycles multipoint auto-ignitions occur of 4.50%, 0.80% with previous in energy saving under double lane
near the SI flame front and result in two peak heat release rate, which change and straight acceleration manoeuvres respectively, while the
is beneficial to engine thermal efficiency. Further analysis shows that power loss does not exceed 0.08%.
there is no obvious pertinence between knock intensity and auto-
ignition onset while knock intensity strongly depends on the peak heat
release rate (HRR) per unit volume. High peak HRR per unit volume 21/01000 An IGDT-based risk-involved optimal bidding
always results in knocking combustion. The current study shall give strategy for hydrogen storage-based intelligent parking lot
insights into utilizing auto-ignition in high compression ratio SI of electric vehicles
engines. Liu, J. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101057.
In a near future, electric vehicles (EVs) will constitute considerable
part of transportation systems due to their important aspects such as
being environment friendly. To manage high number of EVs,
developing hydrogen storage-based intelligent parking lots (IPLs) can
Hybrid engine systems help power system operators to overcome caused problems by high
penetration of EVs. In this work, a new method is applied to get
optimal management of IPLs in an uncertain environment and provide
optimal bidding curves to take part in power market. The main purpose
21/00997 A hierarchical energy management strategy for of this work is to get optimal bidding curves with considering power
hybrid energy storage via vehicle-to-cloud connectivity price uncertainty and optimal operation of IPLs. To model uncertainty
Hou, J. and Song, Z. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113900. of power price in the power market and develop optimal bidding curve,
In order to enhance energy efficiency and improve system perform- the opportunity, deterministic and robustness functions of the
ance, the road mobility system requires more preview information and information gap decision theory (IGDT) technique has been devel-
advanced methods. This paper proposes a novel hierarchical optimal oped. The obtained results were presented in three strategies, namely,
energy management strategy for electric buses with a battery/ risk-taker, risk-neutral and risk-averse, corresponding to opportunity,
ultracapacitor hybrid energy storage system, to optimal split the power deterministic and robustness functions of the IGDT technique, each of
and reduce the battery life degradation. This method is based on which, has been solved in two cases as with and without demand
vehicle-to-cloud connectivity. In the cloud platform, an optimal energy response programmes (DRP) cases. Furthermore, the optimal bidding
management strategy is developed using dynamic programming, where curve and optimal scheduling of different elements of the system is
the battery degradation cost and the electric cost are taken into discussed in the context. Finally, in future work, this robust
consideration. In the vehicle level, a model predictive control is optimization method can be applied to obtain optimal energy manage-
developed to deal with the uncertainties, reduce the energy losses, and ment and optimal bidding curves of IPL in the presence of hydrogen
handle the system constraints. The cost function of the model storage systems and DRPs in an uncertain environment.
predictive control includes the ultracapacitor state of charge planning
and energy losses. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the 21/01001 Assessment of hydrogen-based dual fuel engine
proposed method, a rule-based energy management strategy is on extending knock limiting combustion
developed as the baseline approach. The China bus driving cycle and Karthic, S. V. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116342.
other six real bus driving cycles recorded in China are used to validate The key intention of this study is to effectively utilize the Madhuca
the robustness of the proposed method. To be more realistic, the longifolia oil (ML) in a diesel engine. Dual fuel mode is one of the most
random uncertainties up to 20% are included in all driving cycles. promising research concepts in diesel engine arena that intends to

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11 Engines (hybrid engine systems)

improve the performance and reduce the smoke emission. In this work, In addition, the effect of natural gas injection timing on mixture
hydrogen was injected into intake manifold as primary fuel whereas the uniformity was carried out by simulation and there came similar
ML was injected directly into the cylinder as pilot fuel in the setup that conclusions with previous studies.
had a single cylinder constant speed diesel engine. The performance of
the engine was increased from 25% with neat ML operation to 28.5% 21/01004 Influences of natural gas energy fraction on
with hydrogen-based dual fuel mode. However, the hydrogen combus- combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel pilot
tion resulted in knocking, thus it had a direct impact on brake thermal ignition natural gas engine based on a reduced chemical
efficiency (BTE) as well. The water injection (WI) method was used to kinetic model
extend the knock limit and to increase the hydrogen energy share. The Shu, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116432.
researcher observed 18% and 76% improvements in BTE and smoke In this research, a reduced chemical kinetic mechanism was coupled in
emission from 5% of water using mass fraction along with hydrogen. computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to study the detailed
The hydrogen energy share was increased from 6% to 8.5% with 5% influence mechanism of natural gas (NG) energy fraction on the diesel
WI. A distinctive attempt, i.e. addition of auto-liquefied petroleum gas pilot ignition (DPI) NG engines. Based on the CFD model calibrated
(ALPG) was attempted on behalf of offsetting the knock and by experimental data, the impacts of NG energy fraction on the
increasing the hydrogen energy share. ALPG was inducted along with combustion and emission generation processes in DPI NG engine were
hydrogen in the range of 1, 1.5 and 2 l/m. Interestingly, 24% investigated. The results show that, the start of combustion (SOC) in
improvement in BTE was noted when 1.5 l/m of ALPG was inducted. DPI NG engine is advanced as the NG energy fraction declines and the
In addition to this, 83% smoke emission was reduced remarkably. maximum advance comes up to 4.1 crank angle at 1000 rpm and 100%
Overall performance of the engine was improved by extending the load. The deep analysis reveals that the positive influence of R342 on
knock limit, WI and ALPG induction along with hydrogen. the temperature is the main reason for the shorter ignition delay. The
10–90% combustion duration increases first as the NG energy fraction
changes from 50% to 60%, and then decreases if the NG energy
21/01002 Evaluation of driving performance and energy fraction further increases. Furthermore, the combustion mode is chan-
efficiency for a novel full hybrid system with dual-motor ged from premixed combustion to non-premixed combustion with the
electric drive and integrated input- and output-split e-CVT NG energy fraction decreasing. For the emissions, the NOx emission
Chung, C.-T. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116508. drops with the decline of NG energy fraction, and the maximum
This paper presents a novel full hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) with decrease of NOx emission comes up to 0.96 mg/kJ at 1000 rpm and
power split electronic-continuously variable transmission (e-CVT) 100% load. The CO emission increases first and then decreases as the
capable of providing dual-motor drive at purely electric drive and NG energy fraction rises from 50% to 90%.
operating under either the input-split or output-split mode at hybrid
drive. This powertrain consists of one engine, one motor, and one
generator with a specific mechanical link among two planetary gearsets, 21/01005 Multi-objective techno-economic-environmental
one controllable clutch, and two one-way clutches. The corresponding optimisation of electric vehicle for energy services
kinematic architecture and operating modes are described, and Das, R. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113965.
analysed in view of the characteristics of electric circulation. Then, Electric vehicles and renewable energy sources are collectively being
the driving performance is simulated and compared with that of the developed as a synergetic implementation for smart grids. In this
baseline system with the original specifications of Toyota Prius. The context, smart charging of electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid
results show that, with the significant 18% reduction of total power technologies are seen as a way forward to achieve economic, technical
capacity of the motor and generator, the dual-motor electric drive can and environmental benefits. The implementation of these technologies
still satisfy the requirement of driving performance at low speed. The requires the cooperation of the end-electricity user, the electric vehicle
maximum percentage of improvement of driving performance for owner, the system operator and policy makers. These stakeholders
electric drive, circulation, and boost modes compared with those of the pursue different and sometime conflicting objectives. In this paper, the
baseline system are 24%, 80%, and 48% respectively. Furthermore, the concept of multi-objective–techno-economic–environmental optimiz-
simulation on driving performance as well as energy efficiency shows ation is proposed for scheduling electric vehicle charging/discharging.
that the input-split and output-split modes are preferably operated at End user energy cost, battery degradation, grid interaction and CO2
low and high end of vehicle speed respectively. Therefore, the emissions in the home micro-grid context are modelled and concur-
integrated input- and output-split e-CVT operation can provide rently optimized for the first time while providing frequency regulation.
superior performance covering the entire range of driving speed. As The results from three case studies show that the proposed method
a result, the outstanding feature of the proposed system offers reduces the energy cost, battery degradation, CO2 emissions and grid
promising potential of further development especially for plug-in and utilization by 88.2%, 67%, 34% and 90%, respectively, when compared
sport hybrid application. to uncontrolled electric vehicle charging. Furthermore, with multiple
optimal solutions, in order to achieve a 41.8% improvement in grid
utilization, the system operator needs to compensate the end electricity
21/01003 Impact of natural gas injection strategies on user and the electric vehicle owner for their incurred benefit loss of
combustion and emissions of a dual fuel natural gas engine 27.34% and 9.7% respectively, to stimulate participation in energy
ignited with diesel at low loads services.
You, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116414.
Previous studies have shown that diesel ignited natural gas dual fuel 21/01006 Study of injection pressure couple with EGR on
engine is multi-point ignition, so a more uniform mixture of natural gas combustion performance and emissions of natural
and air is conducive to engine combustion and emissions. To improve gas-diesel dual-fuel engine
engine combustion and emission by improving mixture uniformity, the Chen, Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116409.
effects of natural gas injection timing, direction and position on Natural gas (NG) dual-fuel engines can attain a similar thermal
combustion and emissions were studied experimentally on a six- efficiency as that of diesel engines while achieving lower emissions.
cylinder turbocharged intercooled diesel/natural gas dual fuel heavy- However, the trade-off relationship between CH 4 and NOx emissions
duty engine at low loads. The natural gas injection timing changes from limits the development of dual-fuel (DF) engines. In order to resolve
220 crank angle (CA) before top dead centre (BTDC) to 420 CA this problem, the effects of injection pressure (IP) and exhaust gas
BTDC. Natural gas injection nozzle lengthened by 2 cm (changing recirculation (EGR) ratio on the combustion and emission of diesel/
position) and downward injection (changing direction) were studied. NG dual-fuel engines are investigated in this study. The results show
The experiments kept the total fuel quantity and diesel injection that the diesel/NG dual fuel has a distinct three-stage heat release
strategy unchanged. The results show that advanced natural gas characteristic in the high-temperature combustion process. As the
injection timing can improve mixture uniformity and engine combus- injection pressure increases, the flame propagation speed of methane
tion and emission, but too early injection timing will involve a part of and the indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) increase. However, the
natural gas scavenging and a little part of natural gas is concentrated at methane in the crevice region and cylinder wall cannot be ignited
the bottom of the combustion chamber, making engine combustion and because of low temperature; these are the main sources of methane
emission performance worse. The optimum injection timing of this emissions. When the EGR rate increases, the indicated thermal
engine is about 300 CA BTDC. Pmax (maximum of cylinder pressure) efficiency first increases and there after decreases, and diesel is
has good linear relationship with PHRR2 (the second heat release rate cleaved through the reaction chain, PC4H9 ! C2H4 ! CH4, to produce
peak) under the change of injection timing. Natural gas injection CH4; this becomes one of the reasons for CH4 emissions. When the
nozzle lengthened by 2 cm (B strategy) makes the combustion and EGR rate is small (<10%), CO and CH4 emissions are not sensitive to
emissions worse. Natural gas downward injection (C strategy) can IP; when the EGR rate is large >30%), CO and CH4 emissions can be
improve the combustion and emissions. When  is 1.9 and compared significantly reduced by increasing the IP. Accordingly, when the
with original injection strategy (A strategy), the Pmax of the C strategy injection pressure is 160 MPa and the EGR rate is 20%, the diesel/NG
rises 5.3%, and CO and THC decrease 12.9% and 19.9%, respectively. DF engine can achieve higher ITE and lower emissions.

174 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 11 Engines (transport battery development)

fading less. The effect of lithium density loss is in the middle level. So it
Transport battery development is suggested that incremental capacity analysis and impedance
estimation are used to detect overcharging cycling on-line. Further-
more, the thermal stability of aged batteries are studied using extended
21/01007 A comprehensive investigation on the thermal volume accelerating rate calorimeter. The results show that the stability
and toxic hazards of large format lithium-ion batteries with of aged batteries become worse. The anode plays a key role in the
LiFePO4 cathode thermal stability changes because of lithium plating under over-
Peng, Y. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120916. charging. The cathode dominates the stability after 70% state of health
Toxic gases released from lithium-ion battery (LIB) fires pose a very because of structure damage of cathode.
large threat to human health, yet they are poorly studied, and the
knowledge of LIB fire toxicity is limited. In this paper, the thermal and
toxic hazards resulting from the thermally-induced failure of a 68 Ah 21/01011 CNTs@S composite as cathode for all-solid-state
pouch LIB are systematically investigated by means of the Fourier lithium-sulfur batteries with ultralong cycle life
transform infrared spectroscopy and half ISO full-scale test room. The Zhang, Q. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 151–155.
LIBs with higher state of charge (SOC) are found to have greater fire The main challenges in development of traditional liquid lithium-sulfur
risks in terms of their burning behaviour, normalized heat release rate, batteries are the shuttle effect at the cathode caused by the polysulfide
and fire radiation, as well as the concentration of toxic gases. and the safety concern at the Li metal anode arose from the dendrite
Specifically, the thermal hazards are evaluated by combining the formation. All-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries have been proposed
effects of convective and radiative heat. The major toxic gases detected to solve the shuttle effect and prevent short circuits. However, solid-
from the online analysis are CO, HF, SO2, NO2, NO and HCl. solid contacts between the electrodes and the electrolyte increase the
Furthermore, fractional effective dose and fractional effective concen- interface resistance and stress/strain, which could result in the limited
tration (FEC) models are used to quantitatively assess the overall gas electrochemical performances. In this work, the cathode of all-solid-
toxicity. Results show that the effects of irritant gases are much more state lithium-sulfur batteries is prepared by depositing sulfur on the
significant than those of asphyxiant gases. HF and SO2 have much surface of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs@S) and further mixing with
greater toxicity than the other fire gases. The maximum FEC value is Li10GeP2S12 electrolyte and acetylene black agents. At 60  C, CNTs@S
approaching the critical threshold in such fire scenarios. electrode exhibits superior electrochemical performance, delivering the
reversible discharge capacities of 1193.3, 959.5, 813.1, 569.6 and
21/01008 A metal hydride air-conditioning system for fuel 395.5 mAh g1 at the rate of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 C, respectively.
cell vehicles – functional demonstration Moreover, the CNTs@S is able to demonstrate superior high-rate
Weckerle, C. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114187. capability of 660.3 mAh g1 and cycling stability of 400 cycles at a high
High pressure storage of hydrogen is the established storage rate of 1.0 C. Such uniform distribution of the CNTs, S and
technology for automotive systems. However, around 15% of the lower Li10GeP2S12 electrolyte increase the electronic and ionic conductivity
heating value of hydrogen is spent to compress hydrogen up to the between the cathode and the electrolyte hence improves the rate
pressure of 700 bar. Since this energy is available on board but so far performance and capacity retention.
wasted, an open air-conditioning system based on metal hydrides is
promising to reutilize this compression work. Here the authors present
the experimental demonstration of a first of its kind system. The setup 21/01012 Comparison of semi-active hybrid battery system
consists of two alternately operating plate reactors, each filled with configurations for electric taxis application
around 1.5 kg of Hydralloy C2 (Ti0.98Zr0.02V0.41Fe0.09Cr0.05Mn1.46), Zhuang, W. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114171.
coupled to a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. The demon- This paper proposes two semi-active configurations for hybrid battery
stration at an electrical power of 5 kW shows that the fuel cell system (HBS) in which LiFePO4 (LFP) and Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) batteries
operation is not affected by the alternately H2 desorbing reactors (half- are combined to prolong the life span of LFP batteries used in electric
cycle duration of 150 s). The system’s average cooling power was 662 W vehicles (EVs). To protect the LFP batteries from frequent peak power
for an ambient temperature of 30  C and a cooling temperature of demands, the first configuration (HBS #1) uses diodes and switches,
20  C, reaching of specific cooling power of 227 W kg1
MH . Related to the while the second (HBS #2) adopts a bidirectional DC/DC convertor to
maximum obtainable cooling power of 18.3% of the electrical fuel cell decouple various batteries. To make a fair comparison of the two
power, the cooling efficiency corresponds to 75%. As an innovative configurations, their component sizes are firstly determined using
hydrogen pressure transducer the presented system can be transferred brute-force search considering energy capacity and cost. Then, a
to all applications where an unused hydrogen pressure difference is unified fuzzy-logic energy management strategy was designed and
available. optimized for each configuration to mitigate LFP battery degradation.
Simulated implementation of HBSs #1 and 2 in an electric taxi with
21/01009 Adaptive power allocation using artificial standard daily operation (driving nearly 400 km per day) and charging
potential field with compensator for hybrid energy storage patterns revealed that both have longer LFP lifespans (44.4% and
systems in electric vehicles 45.4% improvement, respectively), lower annual costs (12.49% and
Wu, Y. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113983. 11.52% reduction, respectively) and reduced distance-based costs
This paper proposes an adaptive power allocation strategy using (39.41% and 39.18% reduction, respectively) than a single-LFP battery
artificial potential field with a compensator for hybrid energy storage configuration. Although HBS #2 demonstrated more battery life
systems in electric vehicles. In the power allocation level, a potential improvement, HBS #1 was found to be cheaper in EV application from
field is constructed to guarantee the state-of-charge limitations of the perspectives of total and distance-based cost.
supercapacitors. Virtual forces of this field are mapped as the
allocation ratio of load power. The cut-off frequency is obtained by
cutting the real-time load spectrum with the allocation ratio. In the 21/01013 Design and implementation of battery/SMES
control level, a feed-forward compensator is designed to compensate hybrid energy storage systems used in electric vehicles:
for load variations in advance which can counteract dc-link fluctu- a nonlinear robust fractional-order control approach
ations. Experimental tests under different supercapacitor initial state- Yang, B. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116510.
of-charges and different driving cycles evaluate the superiority of This study attempts to develop a novel non-linear robust fractional-
proposed methods. The artificial potential field strategy provides lower order control (NRFOC) of a battery/superconducting magnetic energy
battery capacity loss with supercapacitors state-of-charge limitations storage (SMES) hybrid energy storage system (BSM-HESS) used in
guaranteed compared with existing real-time power allocation strat- electric vehicles, of which rule-based strategy (RBS) is adopted to
egies, e.g. a >15% reduction of battery capacity loss in the urban optimally assign the power demand. Based on the online perturbation
driving cycle. The feed-forward compensator allows the hybrid energy estimation via a high-gain perturbation observer, NRFOC is devised as
output to meet the load requirements better. the underlying controller which is able to fully compensate non-
linearities and modelling uncertainties of BSM-HESS through a
21/01010 Aging mechanisms and thermal stability of aged fractional-order proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller as
commercial 18650 lithium ion battery induced by slight the additional input. Here, the introduced fractional differentiator and
overcharging cycling fractional integrator can considerably improve the control performance
Liu, J. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227263. while only two states, e.g. the battery current and DC bus voltage, need
Because of the inconsistency in battery pack and failure of charging to be measured, in which no accurate system model is required. Case
device, slight overcharging of lithium ion batteries appears and even studies are undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness and merits of
causes to thermal runaway. The ageing behaviour and mechanisms of NRFOC to other control schemes. Moreover, the control costs of
lithium ion battery under slight overcharging cycling are studied NRFOC required in heavy load condition is just 79.00%, 87.11%, and
qualitatively and quantitatively based on incremental capacity analysis 82.96% to that of PID control, feedback linearization control and
and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in this work. The results sliding-mode control, respectively. At last, its implementation feasi-
show that slight overcharging accelerates battery aging because of the bility is validated by hardware-in-the-loop experiment based on dSpace
loss of active material. While, conductive loss influences capacity platform.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 175

11 Engines (transport battery development)

21/01014 Dual-ion hybrid supercapacitor: integration of charged nanofiltration membrane are discussed in terms of the
Li-ion hybrid supercapacitor and dual-ion battery realized by preparation methods, membrane properties and Li/Mg separation
porous graphitic carbon coefficient. In addition, the effects of several factors on electrodialysis
Zhan, C. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 180–184. for lithium extraction and relevant mechanisms in both simple and
Lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitors (Li-HSCs) and dual-ion batteries actual saline systems are discussed, including applied voltage, VC/VD
(DIBs) are two types of energy storage devices that have attracted and coexisting ions. The applications of electrodialysis with novel
extensive research interest in recent years. Li-HSCs and DIBs have selective membrane involving nanofiltration membrane as well as solid
similarities in device structure, tendency for ion migration, and energy electrolyte membrane and perspectives for further investigation are
storage mechanisms at the negative electrode. However, these devices proposed.
have differences in energy storage mechanisms and working potentials
at the positive electrode. Here, the integration of a Li-HSC and a DIB
21/01018 Naturally cooled heat sinks for battery chargers
was carried out to form a dual-ion hybrid supercapacitor (DIHSC), by
Zhang, Z. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
employing mesocarbon microbead (MCMB)-based porous graphitic
147, 118911.
carbon (PGC) with a partially graphitized structure and porous
The objective of this study is to significantly enhance the heat removal
structure as a positive electrode material. The MCMB-PGC-based
capacity of naturally cooled heat sinks (NCHx) of battery chargers for
DIHSC exhibits a novel dual-ion battery-capacitor hybrid mechanism:
small electric vehicles. To this end, thermal performance of NCHx with
it exhibits excellent electronic double-layer capacitor (EDLC) beha-
various fin geometries and identical footprints, are experimentally and
viour like a Li-HSC in the low-middle wide potential range and anion
numerically studied under multiple orientations, namely: (i) horizontal,
intercalation/de-intercalation behaviour like a DIB in the high-
(ii) vertical and (iii) sideways. The effect of surface anodization is also
potential range. Two types of mechanisms are observed in the electro-
investigated. A number of finned heat sinks are designed and
chemical characterization process, and the energy density of the new
prototyped including (i) inclined fins (benchmark case), (ii) inclined
DIHSC is significantly increased.
interrupted fins, (iii) straight interrupted fins and (iv) pin fins. Studied
NCHx share the same footprint of a commercial battery charger IC650
21/01015 Liquid cooling with phase change materials for from Delta-Q Technologies. The experimental results before the
cylindrical Li-ion batteries: an experimental and numerical surface anodization indicate that the inclined interrupted fins can
study offer the desired thermal improvement under all tested orientations
Cao, J. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116565. compared to the benchmark case, while the straight interrupted fins are
In this study, the authors designed a hybrid thermal management more suitable for applications at vertical orientation and the pin fins
system that combines liquid cooling and phase change materials operate relatively better at horizontal orientation. A notable overall
(PCMs) for a battery pack of 20 Li-ion cylindrical cells. This system enhancement of thermal performance, up to 27%, is achieved after
integrates a cold plate through which water flows into a PCM matrix anodization, depending on the fin geometries and orientations. The
composed of expanded graphite/RT44HC composites. The study aims study also shows that the inclined interrupted fin heat sink is the most
at exploring factors that influence the temperature rise and the versatile to operate under various installation orientations, where it can
temperature uniformity of batteries. Experiments have been conducted improve thermal performance up to 21%, 24% and 22%, at horizontal,
to study the effect of water inlet temperature and flowrate, as well as vertical and sideways orientation, respectively, due to enhancements in
the PCM content in a battery. The results show that the best control both natural convection and thermal radiation.
strategy would be to limit the water temperature to <40  C and as close
to the ambient temperature. The high water flowrate reduces Tmax and
21/01019 On the ease of being green: an investigation of
Tplanar slightly but can significantly increase Taxial and power
the inconvenience of electric vehicle charging
consumption; therefore, a low flowrate is preferred. Composite PCMs
Dixon, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114090.
with a high mass fraction of RT44HC perform better, especially under
This paper presents a quantitative investigation of the inconvenience of
high discharge current up to 2.9 C. A numerical model has also been
electric vehicle (EV) charging relative to internal combustion engine
proposed for the hybrid thermal management system to visualize
vehicle (ICEV) fuelling in terms of the time penalty likely to be
temperature distribution and heat transfer routines and for system
experienced by drivers. A heuristic approach to deriving idealized
optimization.
charging schedules from over 39,000 week-long travel diaries from the
UK National Travel Survey is presented in order to quantify the
21/01016 Lower explosion limit of the vented gases from expected convenience parity – the point at which EV charging and
Li-ion batteries thermal runaway in high temperature ICEV fuelling are of comparable convenience – for combinations of
condition battery capacity, charger power and access to charging at different
Chen, S. et al. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, locations (home, workplace and public destinations). It was found that
2020, 63, 103992. although the majority – up to 95% – of individuals who can charge at
The thermal runaway of lithium-ion battery (LIB) results in scrap of home are expected to be able to reach convenience parity with battery
battery and fire, with the toxic and flammable gases generated. In this sizes currently available in EV models at the ‘affordable’ end of the
work, a self-made device was to collect gases from LIB thermal market, this is significantly less likely for those who rely on workplace
runaway, when the batteries were under different states of charge or public charging – and particularly for those who must rely solely on
(SOC), temperatures of the environment and powers of external en route charging. These individuals are expected to suffer considerable
heating. Three samples of the collected gases were analysed to get the inconvenience associated with EV charging relative to ICEV fuelling,
results of the composition and content by chromatography–mass and although greater battery capacities and charger power ratings are
spectrometry system (GC-MS). The lower explosion limits (LELs) of expected to lessen this inconvenience, there remains a significant gap
the gases was tested by an FRTA explosion limit instrument. And then in the convenience of EV ownership between those who can charge
the LEL of three analysed samples whose composition and content while parked at home and those who cannot. Further analysis is carried
were known by GC-MS were calculated via theoretical formulas. The out to long journeys that cannot be made on a single charge; ‘range
calculated LELs were compared with those of the instrument test. The anxiety’ being a major obstacle to widespread EV adoption. It was
errors of the two results of three samples are 2.1%, 1.9% and 0.4%. found that if drivers are compliant with the UK Highway Code in
The Le Chatelier formula and empirical formula provide a way to taking regular breaks on long journeys, <0.01% of trips are expected to
evaluate the LEL of the battery runaway gas more quickly. be delayed by charging when using battery capacities of 40–60 kWh.

21/01017 Membrane technologies for Li+/Mg2+ separation 21/01020 Porous nanofibers comprised of hollow SnO2
from salt-lake brines and seawater: a comprehensive review nanoplate building blocks for high-performance lithium ion
Zhang, Y. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, battery anode
81, 7–23. Park, J.-S. et al. Materials Characterization, 2020, 161, 110099.
Recent years have seen rapid improvement of technology and large- Hollow nanoplates-aggregated SnO2 nanofibres were fabricated from
scale applications of lithium-ion batteries, which leads to an increasing electrospinning process and two-step heat treatment. Se particles were
market demand for lithium. Since the lithium resources in the ground dissolved in electrospinning solution and played a critical role in the
are diminishing drastically, the sources of lithium extraction have formation of small-sized SnSe nanoplates during the selenization heat
shifted to the large amount of water resources containing salt-lake treatment. During the oxidation heat treatment, due to the well-known
brines and seawater. Among the varieties of aqueous recovery Kirkendall diffusion process, the dense SnSe nanoplates were
approaches, membrane technology seems to have huge development transformed into hollow SnO2 nanoplates. Three other SnO2 nanos-
potential and good prospects. This is because the membrane tructures including SnO2 hollow nanoplates, hollow nanofibre with
technologies exhibit excellent Li/Mg separation selectivity, with low hierarchical SnO2 nanocrystals, and SnO2 hollow nanofibres were
energy consumption and green processes without the addition of prepared as comparison. The capacity of hollow nanoplate-aggregated
chemicals. This work reviews the latest advances in various membrane SnO2 nanofibres after the 700th discharge process was 375 mA h g1
technologies, including nanofiltration membranes, electrodialysis, when cycled at a high current density of 3 A g1, whereas those of the
membrane capacitive deionization approaches, solid electrolyte elec- comparison SnO2 nanostructured electrodes in the order listed were
trolysis-based technology, etc. The recent developments in positively 78, 277 and 262 mA h g1, respectively. The high structural stability of

176 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 11 Engines (transport battery development)

the synthesized hollow nanoplate-aggregated SnO2 nanofibre during tri-butyl phosphate, a satisfying extraction efficiency is obtained for the
repeated lithiation and delithiation processes resulted in lithium-ion lithium ion, together with a sufficient selectivity among the transition
battery anode with longer cycle life. metal ions.

21/01021 Porous silicon–graphene–carbon composite as 21/01024 Supervisory long-term prediction of state of

high performance anode material for lithium ion batteries available power for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles
Huang, Y. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101075. Yang, L. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114006.
The porous silicon–graphene–carbon (SGC) composite is prepared by The battery state of available power (SOAP) is crucial to improve the
freeze-drying and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process with energy management of electric vehicles (EVs) and protect batteries
commercially available nano-silicon, phenolic resin and graphene oxide from damage. This paper proposes a novel supervisory long-term
as raw materials. The self-assembly process makes the nano-silicon into prediction scheme of SOAP for lithium-ion batteries in electric
a porous structure and uniform recombination with the graphene vehicles. The supervisory long-term prediction denotes that the SOAP
oxide, and finally a nano-carbon layer is coated on the surface of the is online predicted under the supervision of the EV’s future long-term
SGC composite by a CVD process. The composition, morphology and driving conditions, instead of the traditional approaches under the
pore properties of SGC composite are characterized by X-ray constant working limitations. Firstly, to accurately capture the battery
diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and pore size analysis. The dynamics, a battery model incorporated with multi-parameters dynamic
nano-carbon layer on the surface of the SGC is examined by open circuit voltage is established, and the least square approach with
transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectrometer. The an adaptive forgetting factor is applied to online identify the battery
contents of C, Si and O in precursor and SGC are analysed by X-ray parameters. A new battery state estimation algorithm based on an
fluorescence, and the electrochemical performances of composite adaptive two step filter is then proposed to improve the accuracy of the
material are analysed by half-cell and full-cell experiments. The results state estimation. A battery’s long-term power demand (LTPD)
show that the SGC composite is porous structure with the average pore prediction model is also established for EVs. Based on the improved
size of 20–30 nm, and the surface of the porous silicon–graphene is battery model and predicted battery states, especially under the
coated by a thickness of 5 nm carbon layers. The reversible capacity and supervision of the predicted LTPD, the novel supervisory long-term
initial coulombic efficiency of the SGC are 2180 mAh g1 and 79.3%. battery SOAP prediction approach is finally put forward to make the
The capacity retention is higher than 70.1% after 100 charge/discharge prediction practical and accurate. The long-term state of charge and
cycles by the half-cell experiment; and the capacity of the composite SOAP of battery are online co-predicted by the derived algorithms.
anode is still as high as 550 m Ah g1 after 820 charge/discharge cycles The robustness of the proposed approach against erroneous initial
by full-cell experiment. Therefore, the structure design strategy of the values, different battery aging levels and ambient temperatures is
composite is beneficial to buffer the volume effect of nano-silicon, systematically evaluated by experiments. The experimental results
prevent iterative growth of the solid electrolyte interphase film and verify the long-term battery SOAP prediction error reduced by 85.9%
boost the electrochemical performances. when compared with that by traditional approaches.

21/01022 Recent advances in chemical adsorption and 21/01025 The role of functional materials to produce high
catalytic conversion materials for Li–S batteries areal capacity lithium sulfur battery
Hong, X. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 144–168. Rana, M. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 195-209.
Owing to their low cost, high energy densities, and superior The lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered as one of the
performance compared with that of Li-ion batteries, Li–S batteries promising next generation energy storage devices due to the high
have been recognized as very promising next-generation batteries. theoretical specific capacity of sulfur (1675 mAh g1), naturally
However, the commercialization of Li–S batteries has been hindered by available, low cost. However, the practical LSBs are impeded by the
the insulation of sulfur, significant volume expansion, shuttling of well-known ‘shuttle effect’ combined with other technical drawbacks.
dissolved lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), and more importantly, sluggish The ‘shuttle effect’ causes rapid capacity decay, severe self-discharging
conversion of polysulfide intermediates. To overcome these problems, and low active material utilization. The polysulfide (PS) which has lone
a state-of-the-art strategy is to use sulfur host materials that feature pair electrons in each sulfur atom is considered as Lewis base and
chemical adsorption and electrocatalytic capabilities for LiPS species. shows strong affinity to various polar, Lewis acid and catenation
This review considers the latest progress on the rational design and interactive materials but very weakly interacts with the non-polar
controllable fabrication of materials with chemical adsorbing and conductive carbons. The ‘shuttle effect’ occurs due to the diffusion of
binding capabilities for LiPSs and electrocatalytic activities that allow high order PS from the cathode to the anode and then low-order PS
them to accelerate the conversion of LiPSs for Li–S batteries. It is back to the cathode. The PS is polar and, due to a lone pair of electrons
concluded that while some Li–S batteries technologies have signifi- associated with the sulfur atom, is considered a Lewis base. As such,
cantly progressed recently, a deeper understanding of the Li–S the PS shows a strong affinity with various polar and Lewis acid
batteries’ chemistry could provide a future research direction on the materials. In addition, a more novel trapping can be performance
chemical anchoring theory and electrocatalytic mechanism. Moreover, through a catenation reaction. For LSBs to compete with the state-of-
the development of advanced electrochemical tests, in situ character- the-art lithium ion batteries (LIBs), the LSB areal capacity need to be
ization techniques, and computational materials science procedures 6 mAh cm2 (which is proportional to sulfur loading). To achieve this
should help overcome the current theory barriers. The selection and target the PS shuttling needs to mitigate, which can be achieved
design of sulfur hosts should be essential for improving the sulfur through using functional materials. This review addresses the afore-
loading and electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries. Some mentioned phenomena by considering the PS phase interacts with the
lightweight, free-standing porous carbon-based materials should be various functional materials and how this impacts areal capacity and
considered as conducting matrix, and could preferentially introduce cycling stability of LSBs.
some polar materials to achieve the combination of physical and
chemical confinement, and electrocatalysis. 21/01026 The state of the art on preheating lithium-ion
batteries in cold weather
21/01023 Separation of lithium, cobalt and nickel from Wu, S. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101059.
spent lithium-ion batteries using TBP and Preheating batteries in electric vehicles under cold weather conditions
imidazolium-based ionic liquids is one of the key measures to improve the performance and lifetime of
Zante, G. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, lithium-ion batteries. In general, preheating can be divided into
82, 269–277. external heating and internal heating, depending on the location of
Solvent extraction of lithium ions from sulfuric acid solutions was the heat source. External heating methods are usually characterized by
investigated using imidazolium-based ionic liquids as diluents and tri-n- low system complexity, long heating time and high energy loss; while
butyl phosphate as specific ligand. Aqueous phases used were internal heating methods can achieve a shorter heating time, a higher
simulating leach liquors of spent lithium-ion batteries, with lithium, heating efficiency and lower impacts on thermal-induced aging but at a
cobalt and nickel ions in acidic solutions. A low acidity and a large higher risk in safety. Through reviewing recent progress in the
amount of extractant can ensure high extraction efficiency. But the development of preheating methods for lithium-ion batteries, this
better selectivity for the lithium ions over the transition metals is paper provides insights on developing new preheating techniques and
obtained using a low amount of extractant and a low pH (pH < 3). The guidance on the selection of preheating methods.
extraction of the lithium ions occurs by cation exchange with the ionic
liquid cations. A sacrificial cation was introduced in the organic phase 21/01027 Variable current strategy for boosting the
to prevent the losses, but the cation exchange is only reduced by 20%. effective energy capacity in vanadium redox flow batteries
The increase of the ionic liquid cation alkyl chain length can Liu, B. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101058.
presumably suppress the cation exchange mechanism, reducing sub- Recognizing the importance of the cost to the wider adoption of redox
stantially the losses. But the addition of a lipophilic counter-anion in flow batteries, it is critical to achieve the higher utilization of
the organic phase is needed to ensure a mechanism of ion pairing with electrolytes and thus reduce the required electrolyte volume. Although
the lithium ion in the organic phase. Using the 1-decyl 3-methylimi- the effects of the applied current on the battery performance were
dazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquid associated to extensively explored in previous studies, few of them investigated how

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 177

12 Refractories/ceramics (properties, production, applications)

to dynamically optimize the applied current with varying state-of- 21/01030 Experimental and simulated performance of hot
charge conditions during the (dis-)charging process. A variable current mirror coatings in a parabolic trough receiver
strategy is proposed in the present study to dynamically vary the Kaluba, V. S. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114020.
applied current density according to the real-time state-of-charge Thermal radiation is the dominant heat loss mechanism for receiver
conditions in a vanadium redox flow battery system. Both simulations units on a parabolic solar collector plant at high temperatures.
and experiments are conducted to confirm the feasibility and Reduction of these losses is traditionally achieved through the use of
practicality of the proposed strategy. The results show that the an optically selective coating on the absorber pipe, which absorbs
concentration overpotentials and ohmic losses can be reduced at visible light well but emits poorly in the IR region. Another possibility
relatively large or low state-of-charge conditions under the proposed is the use of a hot mirror coating on the glass cover of the receiver,
strategy, leading to a more than 10% increment in the effective energy which reflects thermal radiation back onto the absorber pipe for
capacity at the required power density, compared to the constant reabsorption. In this paper, novel experimental results of a receiver
current strategy. In addition, the strategy is further improved by unit operating with a hot mirror coating are presented, and the results
incorporating the variable flowrate, which is shown to further enhance between a developed model and a simulation are compared. It is seen
the performance of the battery system. that the correspondence is encouragingly close (2 test p-values
between 0.995 and 0.80), where the simulation underestimates the
experimental performance. Further, simulations to investigate the
performance of various candidates for hot mirror coating (ITO, Gold,
and Silver) in a solar trough receiver are presented, where it is seen
that the hot mirror coating has access to higher temperature regions
(>700 K). Lastly, optical parameter variation effects were simulated,
related to overall plant efficiency and compared to existing selective
coatings.
12 REFRACTORIES/ 21/01031 High energy-storage density under low electric
CERAMICS fields and improved optical transparency in novel sodium
bismuth titanate-based lead-free ceramics
Zhang, L. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40, (1),
71–77.
A novel (1–x)Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–xBaHfO3 (abbreviated as (1–x)NBT-
Properties, production, applications xBH) transparent ceramic was fabricated by a solid-state reaction
method. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that NBT-based transparent
ceramics exhibit a cubic-like perovskite structure and the solid
solubility of BH in NBT reached to 0.15. The Landau–Devonshire
21/01028 A pozzolanic based methodology to reinforce theory and I–E curves revealed that the transition between the
Portland cement used for CO2 storage sites antiferroelectric like phase and the ferroelectric phase deeply relies on
Abid, K. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, 73, the variation of composition and free energy. One sample (x = 0.15)
103062. was found to show a high dielectric constant (241810%) over the
The carbon dioxide capture and sequestration (CCS) technique is an temperature range 57–400  C. These ceramics also exhibited a high
effective strategy developed in the past decade to reduce the amount of discharge energy density (Wd) of 2.1 J/cm3 and a high maximum
CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Integrity of storage sites plays an polarization Pm of 34 mC/cm2 under relatively low electric fields which
important role in the success of a CCS project once CO2 is injected in a were <175 kV/cm. There was also high transparency in the visible
suitable geological formation such as depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. spectra (>0.5) when the sample thickness was 250 mm.
However, the interactions of supercritical CO2 with the cement in the
presence of brine may degrade the cement in the injection intervals,
causing seepage of CO2 to surface or subsurface resources. In this 21/01032 Insights and utility of cycling-induced thermal
study, efforts are made to show the application of agricultural wastes deformation of calcium-based microporous material as
and nanomaterials as potential pozzolanic additives which can improve post-combustion CO2 sorbents
the performance of the cement once exposed to CO2. Palm oil fuel ash Foo, H. C. Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116354.
(POFA) and rice husk ash (RHA) as agricultural wastes together with On the quest of finding ideal sorbent for post-combustion CO2 capture,
nanosilica (NS) were used in this study. Two series of tests, known as calcium-based sorbent seems to have the potential, but often it cannot
pre-carbonation and post-carbonation, were conducted and compari- sustain its reactivity, especially after repeated cycle of sorption. This
son was made between the agricultural and nanosilica cement work aims to unravel the controlling factors in carbonation reaction
composites. The results obtained indicated that the cement with and thermal-induced deformation of skeleton pore network that limits
5 wt% POFA and 0.5 wt% NS can provide the highest compressive the CO2 absorptivity of calcium-based sorbent. Through precise
strength after 24 h of curing. The viscosity of the cement composites measurement of CO2 absorption activity using TGA/DSC and a series
with NS and RHA also increased with the increase of the replacement of characterization, this study paves the way for the development of
level. A series of carbonation tests was done for 40 days and it was next-generation CaO sorbent that has high CO2 uptake capacity and
found that almost all of the cement samples provide a better thermal stability. Key findings include CaO particles with severe point
performance than the neat cement in the CCS sites, although the best defects contribute to fast CO2 absorption activity. The transformation
result was obtained by the samples with 0.5 wt% NS and 0.75 wt% NS from CaCO3 phase to CaO phase from organic precursor is four times
given the interactions that may take place faster in the nanoscale. higher than the inorganic precursor. Decomposition of calcium formate
is thermally stable regardless of calcination temperature. Citrate-based
structure precursor is able to produce homogeneous nanosized CaO
21/01029 Demulsification of water in oil emulsion by
particle. Shifting of reaction controlling regime from fast carbonation
surface modified SiO2 nanoparticle
reaction to diffusion limited stage happened at Thiele modulus of 1.35.
Javadian, S. and Sadrpoor, S. M. Journal of Petroleum Science and
Lastly, first stage of fast carbonation reaction will take place at CaO
Engineering, 2020, 184, 106547.
sorbent’s surface with proximate zero activation energy and second
Here, SiO2 nanoparticles (NP) were used for dehydration of crude oil.
stage of slow carbonation reaction is controlled by high activation
Also, in order to enhance the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of the
energy of ion diffusion behaviour in CaCO3 ionic crystals at product
nanoparticles, they were functionalized respectively with oleic acid
diffusion layer. Future research direction can focus on reproducing
(OA) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) surfactant.
long periodical citrate-like structural precursor using sol–gel method to
Furthermore, graphene oxide (GO) was employed to synthesis GO-
mimic the behaviour of calcium formate and calcium citrate to form
SiO2 nanocomposite as a superhydrophilic demulsifier. Nanodemulsi-
nano-sized CaO particles with thermally stable crystal structure.
fiers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, field-
emission scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
method, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, 21/01033 Investigation of fine-grained siliciclastic rocks of
thermogravimetric analysis and zeta potential. Additionally, the different clay content using thermal methods
performance of nanodemulsifiers was evaluated with bottle test. The Klaja, J. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 184,
results of bottle test revealed that GO-SiO2 nanocomposite has the best 106531.
performance among all nanodemulsifiers and dehydration of crude oil Thermal methods (simultaneous thermal analysis coupled with quad-
was completed during 90 min (while dehydration of crude oil with SiO2 rupole mass spectrometry STA-QMS and retort) were applied to
nanoparticle was done at 110 min). Moreover, the effects of tempera- characterization of microporous rocks of different clay content. Two
ture and salt were surveyed and the results demonstrated that both series of samples were investigated: highly diagenetic lower Paleozoic
factors influence the stability of water in oil emulsion. The outcomes of mudstones from Polish Lowlands and less altered Miocene and
the interfacial tension (IFT) at the water/crude oil interface displayed Paleocene rocks from the Carpathian Foredeep. The aim of the
GO-SiO2 nanocomposite has interface active property and can presented work was to differentiate between ‘free’ and ‘bound’ water in
decrease IFT from 14.38 to 2.44 mN m1. the pore space, to estimate the amount of fluids obtained by using

178 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 12 Refractories/ceramics (properties, production, applications)

retort method in regard to the distinction between free water, capillary 21/01037 Preparation of high-purity straight silicon
water, clay-bound water and organic matter fluids. In order to evaluate nanowires by molten salt electrolysis
the retort results it was necessary to determine the temperatures at Zhang, J. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 171–179.
which a particular kind of water is released. The interpretation was Silicon nanowires of high purity and regular morphology are of prime
based on the results of STA-QMS investigations together with XRD importance to ensure high specific capacities of lithium-ion batteries
analysis of the mineral content, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and and reproducible electrode assembly process. Using nickel formate as a
organic carbon content (TOC) measurements. In STA investigations metal catalyst precursor, straight silicon nanowires (65–150 nm in
the loss of mass connected with water release from clay minerals was diameter) were directly prepared by electrolysis from the Ni/SiO2
observed in two temperature ranges: from 40 to 150  C (adsorbed porous pellets with 0.8 wt% nickel content in molten CaCl2 at 900  C.
water) and from 440 to 620  C (structural water). When analysing Benefiting from their straight appearance and high purity, the silicon
retort measurements, a considerable upward shift of adsorbed water nanowires therefore offered an initial coulombic efficiency of 90.53%
release temperature can be observed. In case of Miocene and and specific capacity of 3377 mAh/g. In addition, the silicon nanowire/
Paleocene rocks interpretation results of adsorbed water content carbon composite exhibited excellent cycle performance, retaining
indicate the temperature range from 150 to 450  C, and in case of 90.38% of the initial capacity after 100 cycles. Whilst further study on
Lower Paleozoic rocks from 150 to 350  C. Structural water is released the charge storage performance is still ongoing, these preliminary
at temperatures 500–650  C. A condensate connected with organic results demonstrate that nickel formate is an efficient and effective
matter was observed within the temperature range 350–500  C for metal catalyst precursor for catalytic preparation of high purity straight
Lower Paleozoic rock samples of high organic matter content silicon nanowires via the molten salt electrolysis, which is suitable for
(TOC > 2). Taking into account the methodical discrepancies, a large-scale production.
satisfactory compliance of results obtained by both methods in regard
to the volume of clay bound water and condensate connected with
21/01038 Probing the three-dimensional porous and
organic matter was found. The results show that thermal methods can
tortuous nature of absorptive glass mat (AGM) separators
be successfully used for evaluation of saturations necessary for proper
Shukla, S. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101003.
estimation of reservoir properties.
The valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery is a predominant
electrochemical storage system that stores energy in a cheap, reliable
21/01034 Novel aluminum borate foams with controllable and recyclable manner for innumerable applications. The absorptive
structures as exquisite high-temperature thermal insulators glass mat (AGM) separator is a key component, which is pivotal for the
Luo, H. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40, (1), successful functioning of the VRLA battery. Herein, the intricate
173–180. three-dimensional porous structure of AGM separators has been
In this contribution, a manageable foam-casting technique for the unveiled using X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) analysis.
preparation of novel aluminium borate foams (ABFs) as thermal X-ray microCT has quantified a variety of fibre and structural
insulators with highly controllable performances is presented. ABFs parameters including fibre orientation, porosity, tortuosity, pore size
were fabricated from -Al2O3 and 2Al2O3B2O3 with the addition of distribution, pore interconnectivity and pore volume distribution. A
various amounts of foaming agents, thickening agents, and slurry solid predictive model of hydraulic tortuosity has been developed based on
contents. The dispersions and rheological properties of the slurries some of these fibre and structural parameters. Moreover, the pore size
were then examined, followed by exploration of microstructural distribution extracted via X-ray microCT analysis has served as a
evolution and testing of mechanical/thermal properties. It should be benchmark for making a comparison with the existing analytical model
noted that the generated micro-pores generated and interlocking rod- of the pore size distribution of AGM separators. Pore size distributions
like 9Al2O32B2O3 crystals may lead to superior mechanical tolerances obtained via the existing analytical model and through X-ray microCT
and lower thermal conductivities for the ABFs. In general, the as- analysis are in close agreement.
prepared ABFs with porosities ranging from 73.8 to 96.3 vol%,
compressive strengths of 8.20–0.15 MPa, and thermal conductivities 21/01039 Rb+-doped CsPbBr3 quantum dots with
of 0.228–0.046 W/(mK) (200–800  C) could render them suitable for multi-color stabilized in borosilicate glass via crystallization
application as high-temperature thermal insulating materials. Zhang, H. et al. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40, (1),
94–102.
All-inorganic lead halide quantum dots (QDs) have attracted immense
21/01035 Novel Low-E filter for architectural glass pane interest because of their excellent photoelectric properties. By virtue of
Abundiz-Cisneros, N. et al. Energy and Buildings, 2020, 206, 109558. a similar ionic radius and the same valence state, Rb+/Cs+ mixed-
A good low-emissivity (low-E) filter coated on glass reduces the cation have become a novel mechanism to adjust multi-color emission.
amount of heat coming from solar light into the building, thus the However, their poor stability remains a serious problem that has not
expenses in electricity for air conditioning are reduced. Standard low-E been solved satisfactorily. Interestingly, QDs glass shows good
filters contain a silver layer between two dielectric thin films due to its thermostability and moisture susceptibility. Herein, CsPbBr 3: xRb
high reflectance of infrared wavelengths; however, one of the major (x = 0, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) QD glasses which yield tuneable emission spectra
drawbacks of using silver is its chemical and mechanical weakness (475–523 nm) were synthesized successfully via glass crystallization.
which reduces the filter mean lifetime. This paper investigated Most importantly, the as-prepared QDs glasses exhibited ultrastability
alternative materials to be a substitution of silver, and they were under various atmospheric, water and heat conditions. Thus, synthesis
compared with commercial filters. It was found that an aluminium- of a mixed-cation perovskite QDs glass is a new method to achieve
based filter has a good cost-benefit performance with peak transmit- stable multi-colour emission. They are also expected to become a new
tance better than 80% in the visible, while having less than 20% generation of photoelectric materials and can be prospectively applied
transmittance for wavelengths longer than 1500 nm. A simulation of the to light-emitting devices.
filter’s construction was made providing a tolerance of each layer
thickness, so the filter retained its optical performance.
21/01040 Reactive transport modeling of glass alteration in
a fractured vitrified nuclear glass canister: from upscaling to
21/01036 Nucleate pool boiling heat transfer on etched and experimental validation
laser structured silicon surfaces Repina, M. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151869.
Sitar, A. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, Performance assessment of geological nuclear waste repositories
147, 118956. entails modelling of the long-term evolution of the aqueous alterations
Pool boiling experiments were performed using saturated double- of the fractured nuclear glass block, because the time scales under
distilled and degassed water on 10 mm  10 mm silicon samples, which consideration are of several thousands of years and hence beyond the
were (i) untreated; (ii) laser structured or (iii) modified with etched range of any direct experimental perspectives. In this study, the
artificial nucleation cavities. The etched silicon surfaces were fabri- objective is to bridge the gap between the reservoir-scale flow and
cated with differently sized micro nucleation cavities (5–30 mm) and transport simulations and the micron-scale modelling of the glass–
pitches (0.125–2 mm) to allow a comparative analysis of the fabricated water interfacial processes by providing quantitative evaluation of the
surfaces. The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) comparative analysis aqueous alteration of glass at the block scale. In particular, calculations
conducted at the heat flux of 200 kW/m2 exhibits the highest of the equivalent diffusive, hydraulic, and alteration kinetics properties
enhancement of 244% during nucleate boiling on the silicon sample and reactive transport simulations are discussed. Prior to performing
with etched nucleation cavities with a 30 mm diameter and a 0.125 mm reactive transport modelling at the scale of the glass canister, the
pitch. The experimental results consistently show that HTC increases preferred upscaling techniques were first applied to a synthetic fracture
with decreasing the pitch and increasing the size of the nucleation network system with ends to compare the results of the borosilicate
cavities in the range of the experimental conditions. The superheat glass alteration with the discrete fracture modelling and the equivalent
required for the onset of nucleate boiling and the critical heat flux were porous medium approach. The evolution of the altered glass obtained
not substantially affected with the structured surfaces. However, the from reactive transport modelling applied to several realizations of the
boiling phenomena propagates more promptly to the entire available equivalent fracture network tessellation was compared to the exper-
silicon surface, when the sample is laser treated or etched compared to imental data of the aqueous alteration test of a non-radioactive full-
the reference bare silicon sample. scale SON68 glass canister. The proposed model agrees with the

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 179

13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

experimental data and offers, for the first time, an opportunity to parameters are introduced to better predict the effective thermal
better understand the impact of fracturing as the convection due to the conductivity based on partial experimental data at a reference
radioactivity acting as a heating source on the corrosion of nuclear temperature. Experiments were conducted to measure thermal
glass. conductivities of nanoporous aerogel composites within temperature
range of 15–45  C and water uptake range of 0–110 mg/g by the
21/01041 Synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica with transient plane source method. A validation study for both current
various pore structures using high-purity silica extracted samples and the material was carried out where the relative errors
from rice husk between experimental thermal conductivity and theoretical calculations
Chun, J. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, are <7% and 8%, respectively. The prediction accuracy of present
81, 135–143. model for this super insulating material is much higher than that of
Rice husk is a promising abundant bioresource for the production of Bjurström’s model which are widely used to calculate effective thermal
high value-added silica materials because it has the highest SiO2 conductivity for common porous media containing moisture. In
content among all plant-based resources. In this study, ordered addition, the results show that the increase of thermal conductivity
mesoporous silica with various pore structures are synthesized from with water uptake is linear at the same temperature. Lower porosity
rice husk by combining acid leaching, chemical dissolution, and co- would result in a greater sensitivity to moisture content for aerogel
assembly with additional surfactants. Depending upon the type of the material. Comparing to the influence of various additives, the proper-
surfactant used and the co-assembly conditions, various mesoporous ties of silica aerogel matrix is the most dominant factor in determining
silica that have controlled pore structures (mesocellular forms and the effective thermal conductivity under different water content.
hexagonal nanochannel structures), pore sizes (3–60 nm), large surface
areas (297–895 m2 g1), and pore volumes (0.81–1.77 cm3 g1) are 21/01045 Towards high-performance tubular-type protonic
successfully synthesized from a sodium silicate solution, which was ceramic electrolysis cells with all-Ni-based functional
made from high-purity silica (99.8%) extracted from rice husk. The electrodes
synthesis of high value-added silica from an abundant bioresource can Tarutin, A. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 65–74.
open up new avenues for sustainable and environment-friendly Protonic ceramic electrolysis cells (PCECs), which permit high-
industrial development. temperature electrolysis of water, exhibit various advantages over
conventional solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), including cost-
21/01042 Synthesis of phosphate based glass-ceramic effectiveness and the potential to operate at low-/intermediate-
waste forms by a melt-quenching process: the formation temperature ranges with high performance and efficiency. Although
process many efforts have been made in recent years to improve the
Li, L. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151854. electrochemical characteristics of PCECs, certain challenges involved
In this paper, phosphate based glass-ceramic waste forms containing in scaling them up remain unresolved. Here, the authors present a twin
monazite CePO4 as crystalline phase were prepared by a melt- approach of combining the tape-calendering method with all-Ni-based
quenching process using NH4H2PO4, H3BO3, Fe2O3 and CeO2 as the functional electrodes with the aim of fabricating a tubular-designed
feed materials and the formation process was analysed. The results PCEC having an enlarged electrode area (4.6 cm2). This cell, based on
show that, the decomposition of H3BO3 at the heating temperature a 25 mm-thick BaCe0.5Zr0.3Dy0.2O3– proton-conducting electrolyte, a
<150  C and the reaction between Fe2O3 and NH4H2PO4 to form nickel-based cermet and a Pr1.95Ba0.05NiO4+ oxygen electrode,
NH4FeP2O7 occur firstly. Then phosphate phases such as Fe4 (PO4)2O, demonstrates a high hydrogen production rate (19 mL min1 at
Fe(PO3)3, FePO4 and CePO4 form <750  C, and these phosphate 600  C), which surpasses the majority of results reported for traditional
phases are continually dissolved into phosphate glass melts at higher button- or planar-type PCECs. These findings increase the scope for
temperatures. Finally, CePO4 phase is the only crystalline phase at scaling up solid oxide electrochemical cells and maintaining their
higher temperatures such as 1100  C due to its good stability and glass- operability at reducing temperatures.
ceramic waste forms with CePO4 as crystalline phase were obtained by
quenching and annealing. Moreover, the content of CeO2 between 8
and 14 mol% has insignificantly effect on the formation process.

21/01043 TEM investigation of the role of the

polycrystalline-silicon film/substrate interface in high 13 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
quality radio frequency silicon substrates
Ding, L. et al. Materials Characterization, 2020, 161, 110174. SUPPLIES
The microstructural characteristics of two polycrystalline silicon (poly-
Si) films with different electrical properties produced by low-pressure
chemical vapour deposition on top of high resistivity silicon substrates
were investigated by advanced transmission electron microscopy Biofuels and bioconversion energy
(TEM), including high resolution aberration corrected TEM and
automated crystallographic orientation mapping in TEM. The results
reveal that the nature of the poly-Si film/Si substrate interface is the
main factor controlling the electrical resistivity of the poly-Si films. The 21/01046 A study on potential recovery of energy and
high resistivity and high electrical linearity of poly-Si films are strongly value-added chemicals from in-situ pyrolysis of Bambusa
promoted by the 3 twin type character of the poly-Si/Si substrate balcooa over basic metal oxides
interface, leading to the generation of a huge amount of extended Dahal, R. K. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
defects including stacking faults, 3 twin boundaries as well as 9 grain 147, 104801.
boundaries at this interface. Furthermore, a high density of interfacial NiO and CaO catalysts with different weight percentages were used as
dislocations has been observed at numerous common and more exotic catalysts in pyrolysis to investigate the feasibility of producing biofuels
grain boundaries deviating from their standard crystallographic planes. from Bambusa balcooa. Non-catalytic bio-oil was dominated by
In contrast, poly-Si film/Si substrate interfaces with random character aromatic (23.74%), acids (18.07%), and alcohols (20.02%) while
do not favour the formation of such complex patterns of defects, optimized catalysts NiO and CaO increased the rate of ketonization
leading to poor electrical resistivity of the poly-Si film. This finding in pyrolysis of B. balcooa and decreased the mass yield of acids to
opens windows for the development of high resistivity silicon substrates 6.31% and 9.06% respectively. The quality of bio-oil obtained from
for radio frequency integrated circuits applications. catalytic tests was compared to the non-catalytic tests in terms of its
product distribution, gasoline range hydrocarbon, viscosity, pH, flash
21/01044 Theoretical modeling and experimental validation point and fire point. It was observed that 0.5 wt% NiO and 5 wt% CaO
for the effective thermal conductivity of moist silica aerogel contained a high yield of gasoline range hydrocarbon reaching 66.75%
Chen, Y. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, and 73.47%, respectively. In addition to the chemical composition,
147, 118842. lower viscosity of the pyrolytic oil shows 0.5% NiO as a better catalyst
In this paper, the influence of water content on insulating performance in pyrolysis systems to produce enhanced quality bio-oil.
of moist silica aerogel nano-porous composite material is studied
theoretically and experimentally. A new fractal-intersecting sphere with 21/01047 Advanced biofuel production and road to
inhomogeneous water film structural model is proposed. It considers commercialization: an insight into bioconversion potential
the microstructures in aerogel and analysis of condensation process in of Rhodosporidium sp.
moist environment based on surface physics theory. The effective Saini, R. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 132, 105439.
thermal conductivity of composite aerogel material has been also In recent years, Rhodosporidium sp. has received significant interest in
derived using the equivalent circuit method. The nano-scale heat advanced biofuel production due to its ability to accumulate more than
transfer effect and the influence of micron-scale additives such as 60% lipid of their total dry cell weight. Moreover, it can thrive on a
opacifiers and reinforced fibres are involved in the present theoretical wide variety of substrates, has high inhibitor tolerance, and faster
model. The theoretical model is semi-empirical because some growth rate. Despite these advantages and based on current techno-

180 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

logical advancement, the true potential of Rhodosporidium sp. as a Since the first use of anaerobic digestion technology to generate biogas
biofuel producer and its commercialization feasibility is still question- in 1895 to power street lights in Britain and also as a municipal solid
able. Thus, this review aims to illustrate the problems that are waste management technique in the USA in 1939, significant advances
associated with Rhodosporidium sp. in the field of biofuel production. have been developed to optimize the process in a sustainable manner.
Apart from this, information regarding factors affecting lipid accumu- In practice, optimizing anaerobic digesters to increase biogas pro-
lation, and the role of genetic and metabolic engineering is presented. duction dependent on a balanced pH (neutral), tolerable volatile fatty
Additionally, the economic outlook of microbial lipid-derived using acids and alkalinity levels by anaerobic bacteria. Others include
lignocellulosic biomass has also been reviewed. Drop-in oil production maintaining suitable temperature regime, providing suitable organic
and its commercialization needs are discussed to bring Rhodospori- loading rate to prevent noxious conditions, well-balanced carbon to
dium sp. into the limelight and, eventually, to revolutionize the entire nitrogen ratio to limit ammonia build-up and appropriate choice of
biofuel industry. substrates. In terms of biomass, lignocellulose substrates constitute the
most abundant bio-resource. This resource however requires modifi-
21/01048 Aerogel from fruit biowaste produces cation of the chemistry of the structure to improve its biodegradation,
ultracapacitors with high energy density and stability biogas production and effluent quality. There have been attempts by
Lee, K. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101152. most researchers to improve lignocellulose biomass utilization in
Biomass waste from jackfruit and durian were used to produce carbon anaerobic digesters through delignification to prevent non-productive
aerogel electrodes incorporating stable scaffolding of base material and binding of bacteria as well as reduce the crystalline in cellulose with the
natural nitrogen doping. Higher atomic doping of nitrogen in durian aim of making the holocellulose fractions bioavailable. However, none
carbon aerogel (DCA) compared to jackfruit carbon aerogel (JCA) of the techniques so far applied for the purpose of optimizing biogas
indicates preservation of nitrogen-containing functional groups during production has attained the maximum theoretical biogas yield of
the synthesis. The specific surface area and proportion of mesopores is 120,000–650,000 L t1. Techniques frequently applied include among
greater for DCA than for JCA samples. Electrochemical characteriz- others; pre-treatment (chemical, biological, physical or their combi-
ations via cyclic voltammetry, galvanotactic charge discharge and nations), co-digestion, application of inoculum or bio-augmentation,
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy show high specific capaci- and supplementing anaerobic digesters with micronutrients and nano-
tance for both DCA (591 F g1) and JCA (292 F g1) at 1 A g1 current particles. This review thus highlights research findings from authors in
density with two-electrode configuration with excellent cycling stability relation to factors influencing effective degradation of lignin-based
and charge. biomass in other to ascertain the best possible strategies to scale up the
process.
21/01049 Application of response surface methodology in
catalytic co-gasification of palm wastes for bioenergy 21/01052 Biorefineries productive alternatives optimization
conversion using mineral catalysts in the Brazilian sugar and alcohol industry
Inayat, M. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 132, 105418. Furtado Júnior, J. C. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 113092.
Biomass gasification is a promising approach for bioenergy conversion. A technical, economic and environmental analysis of different
Usually, biomass gasification is facing interruption in feedstock supply biorefinery configurations is carried out, considering the integration
due to seasonal availability of biomass. In biomass gasification, of different biomass technologies with sugar and ethanol plants.
formation of tar also affects the gasification efficiency. Therefore, in Biochemical routes for the production of lignocellulosic ethanol and
this study, catalytic air co-gasification of two palm wastes (coconut biobutanol from acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation were con-
shells; CS, oil palm fronds; OPF) was investigated for syngas sidered as alternatives for conversion, also a thermochemical process
(H2 + CO) and methane production in downdraft gasifier using three for the production of syngas. Second-generation ethanol favours better
mineral catalysts such as Portland cement, dolomite, and limestone to land use, and biobutanol is an important input for the chemical
address the issues. The three main process variables were investigated industry, as well as producing acetone and ethanol as co-products.
within the specific range, the temperature of 700–900  C, catalyst Syngas from the thermochemical process is very versatile raw material,
loading of 0–30 wt%, and the biomass blending ratio of 20–80 wt%. which can be used to manufacture various products. Syngas was
Response surface methodology, Box–Behnken design was used for considered for diesel production through Fischer–Tropsch synthesis
process optimization. The results showed that temperature was the process, and also for electricity production. To verify biomass
most influencing parameter for syngas production, followed by catalyst distribution in biorefinery processes, that allows reaching best results
loading and blending ratio. The maximum methane produced from from a techno-economic, and environmental point of view, a
Portland cement catalyst followed by limestone and dolomite. The computational experiment was carried on, using the Kriging method
syngas and methane yield was obtained 38.81 vol% and 19.96 vol%, for plant optimization. Solving problems using mathematical modelling
respectively, at optimized conditions of catalyst loading of 20 wt%, as an alternative to traditional methods of optimization can be
temperature of 900  C, and blending ratio of CS20 : OPF80 using simplified without loss of generality, precision or need of computer
Portland cement as a catalyst. The higher syngas and methane yields over time. Results show that, from an energy point of view,
from catalytic co-gasification as compared to non-catalyst co-gasifica- thermochemical routes perform better, in addition to being able to
tion was due to the catalytic effect of Ca, Fe, Mg, K, P and Al oxides avoid large amounts of CO2eq emissions. From an economic point of
present in catalysts and biomass materials. view, biochemical routes prove to be only feasible when all available
bagasse is destined for these alternatives. Finally, the process of
21/01050 Biodiesel synthesis using natural solid catalyst lignocellulosic ethanol presents a superior performance, having the
derived from biomass waste – a review best combination of analysed indicators, resulting in a more sustainable
Chua, S. Y. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, process. A Brazilian sugar and alcohol factory was taken as a case
81, 41–60. study; its results can be extended to any similar installation that uses
Biodiesel serves as an ideal candidate for alternative fuel as it is made biomass as a raw material.
from renewable source with lower pollutant emission. However,
current biodiesel production has several issues such as unrecoverable 21/01053 Catalytic transfer hydrogenation and
catalyst, expensive separation stage and high wastewater generation characterization of flash hydrolyzed microalgae into
due to the use of homogeneous catalyst. Currently, there are several hydrocarbon fuels production (jet fuel)
pathways to produce biodiesel without the problems stated above such Asiedu, A. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116440.
as supercritical condition transesterification and enzymatic catalyst. Oil-laden biofuel intermediate (BI) from flash-hydrolysed microalgae
However, the economic feasibility for both methods serve as a major was characterized, pyrolysed, and subjected to catalytic transfer
hindrance due to extremely high pressure and pressure, expensive hydrogenation (CTH) to produce both gaseous and liquid hydrocarbon
synthetic cost of enzyme, which lead to higher operation cost. Current- fuels. The BI was characterized by TGA and FTIR that revealed
ly, heterogeneous catalyst is the alternative, especially heterogeneous significant triglyceride, evidenced by C=O bond with insignificant level
catalyst derived from natural resources such as waste biomass are of carbohydrates and proteins. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
currently being extensively researched with promising results. Thus, indicated that the BI could be thermally decomposed at 400  C.
this paper illustrates the comprehensive research of biodiesel synthesis Pyrolysis of the BI engendered mainly gaseous hydrocarbon (alkenes)
and assesses the latest breakthroughs involved in the use of catalysts with high heating value (HHV) of 48.5 kJ/mol at 850  C. Energy of
derived from waste biomass. Furthermore, an amalgam of experimental activation for the pyrolytic process was estimated to be 115–300 kJ/mol.
data obtained from similar literature has been thoroughly reviewed to Optimization of oil extraction from the BI was performed via design of
provide a better framework to produce biodiesel. Apart from that, this experiment. The oil was subjected to CTH over NiOx–CoOx–MoOx–
study aims to alleviate problems associated with heterogeneous catalyst zeolite using 2-propanol as hydrogen donor in a 30 ml batch reactor at
separation and enhance the economic viability of the industry, thus, a temperature range of 390–420  C and autogenic pressure of 24–
sustaining the environment while meeting energy demands. 27 bar, leading to fatty acid conversion of 99–100%. The main liquid
products obtained from the CTH were iso-alkanes (41%), cyclo-alkanes
21/01051 Biogas optimisation processes and effluent (35%), aromatics (5%), n-alkanes (14%) and alkenes (5%). Kinetics of
quality: a review the CTH showed first order with activation energy of 176 kJ/mol. The
Issah, A.-A. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 133, 105449. catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 181

13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

infrared spectroscopy, Brunaeur–Emmett–Teller adsorption and deso- total maximum gas yields were not detectable in most cases. It was
rption, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy assumed that the main effects of the enzyme treatments would be faster
and TGA. The catalyst revealed cubic structure, which was maintained degradability. Furthermore, the test series with hay and different
after 5 h of CTH reaction. Present in both the fresh and the used enzyme dosages showed that a higher dosage does not necessarily
catalysts were oxides of alkali and transition metals. The active sites of result in a higher effect.
the catalyst were dominated by Co3+, Ni2+ and Mo6+.
21/01057 Effects of laboratory biotic aging on the
21/01054 Comparative techno-economic analysis of algal characteristics of biochar and its water-soluble organic
biofuel production via hydrothermal liquefaction: one stage products
versus two stages Quan, G. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 382, 121071.
Gu, X. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114115. Effects of biotic aging on the characteristics of biochar and its water-
Hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising process for conversion of soluble organic products were determined through a one-year
algae to bio-oil that is especially suitable for the high moisture content laboratory incubation study. Biochar had a positive influence on
of algal feedstock. A two-stage sequential hydrothermal liquefaction microbial population size. Without microbial addition, biochars
(SEQHTL) alternative was developed to facilitate production of co- showed little change, except for an obvious increase in oxygen content
products in addition to bio-oil at reduced temperatures and pressures from 3.2% to 6.3% after one year. By contrast, the carbon content of
compared with conventional one-stage direct hydrothermal liquefac- the biologically-aged biochars continually decreased throughout the
tion (DHTL). In this study, Aspen simulation and comprehensive incubation at two humidity levels, suggesting that microbes consumed
techno-economic analysis were conducted for both SEQHTL and biochar C or encouraged organic matter solubilization. Fourier
DHTL processes to assess their performance when used to convert the transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated that all aged biochar
same algal strain (Chlorella sorokiniana) to bio-oil intermediates. The surfaces showed increases in oxygen-containing functional groups and
technical and economic evaluation also included the subsequent TG-DTG analysis showed that biologically-aged biochars were less
upgrading of the bio-crude to biofuels via hydrotreatment. The stable than the corresponding abiotically-aged one. The release of
minimum fuel selling price for SEQHTL and DHTL was $1.61/L and dissolved organic matters from biologically-aged biochar logarithmi-
$2.10/L, respectively. The milder operating conditions of SEQHTL cally increasing with time, corresponded with of the pattern of microbe
process resulted in both reduced capital and operating cost. The total production, suggesting microbial involvement in solubilizing biochar.
installed cost of the facilities for hydrothermal processing 1215 tonnes/ Combined three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix and parallel
day of algae was $89 million for SEQHTL and $112 million for DHTL. factor analyses revealed that fulvic and humic acid-like components
A higher energy returned on energy invested was realized by SEQHTL were the main water-soluble products of biologically-aged biochar, and
(6.73) owing to its greater amount of fuel blendstock produced and less these became increasingly rich in O-containing functional groups, i.e.
energy required for production in comparison with DHTL (5.31). The humified, over time. These results highlight the importance of
sensitivity analysis showed that improving the yield and quality of both microbes in chemically transforming biochar and the dissolved
the bio-oil and co-products, as well as increasing the feed concen- products of biochar during aging.
tration, may lead to a much lower production cost. This study provided
new insights of hydrothermal liquefaction process design with high- 21/01058 Efficient catalytic production of biodiesel using
lighting the potential of recycling of nutrient streams and fractionation nano-sized sugar beet agro-industrial waste
algal biomass at milder operating conditions. Abdelhady, H. H. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116481.
This paper addresses the use of agro-industrial residue as a promising
21/01055 Economic viability and environmental impact heterogeneous catalyst for the efficient production of biodiesel. That is,
investigation for the biofuel supply chain using CaO-rich sugarbeet agro-industrial waste (smashed down to nano-size)
co-fermentation technology shows superb catalytic activity for biodiesel production via transester-
Li, Y. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114235. ification process employing sunflower oil and methanol. Physicochem-
Co-fermentation of cellulosic biomass and grain to produce bioethanol ical properties of the proposed catalyst are probed by TGA–DTG,
has been proposed to integrate first- and second-generation biofuel XRF, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, BET and CO2-TPD techniques. Biodiesel
production technologies. This method can relieve the food versus fuel conversion (%) of ca. 93% is achieved under the optimal conditions
competition due to the use of edible matter of crop in first-generation (catalyst loading of 1 wt%, methanol/oil molar ratio of 4.5 : 1, refluxed
biofuel production. It can also boost the low ethanol concentration and at 75  C for 60 min). The relatively short reaction time indicates the
thus reduce the unit production cost when using cellulosic biomass as enhanced kinetics of the process using the proposed agro-industrial
well as green the energy footprints when pre-processing cellulosic residue which imparts its economic feasibility. Also, the proposed CaO-
biomass in second-generation biofuel production. This paper examines rich residue can be reused twice while retaining its catalytic activity.
the economic performance and environmental footprint of the biofuel The thus-produced biodiesel fuel compiles the ASTM D6751 and
supply chain using co-fermentation production technology. The cost EN-14214 specifications.
and greenhouse gas emissions per unit bioethanol produced are
quantified and compared to the performances of first- and second- 21/01059 Experimental and numerical evaluation of
generation biofuel production technologies. The mathematical models low-temperature combustion of bio-syngas
for the biofuel supply chain using three different biomass types are Pio, G. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1),
proposed. A numerical case study based on the state of Missouri in the 1084–1095.
USA is implemented. The results of the case study show that a co- Environmental regulations have strongly incentivized the development
fermentation based supply chain can effectively address the concern of of alternative technologies and renewable sources for the energy
food versus fuel competition of corn sourced supply chain and the supply, including bio-syngas and low-temperature combustion. How-
issues of low sugar yield, high energy footprints, and high unit cost of ever, accurate estimation methods for low-temperature chemistry of
corn stover sourced supply chain. these mixtures are still missing. Hence, experimental data with the
limited impact of fluid dynamics aspects are strongly required. To this
21/01056 Effects of enzyme addition on biogas and aim, the heat flux burner has been adopted in this work for the
methane yields in the batch anaerobic digestion of measurements of the laminar burning velocity. Data were compared to
agricultural waste (silage, straw, and animal manure) evaluate the accuracy of the kinetic mechanism developed at the
Weide, T. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 132, 105442. University of Bologna (KIBO) and exiting mixing rules. Hirasawa’s
The anaerobic digestion (AD) of the organic fractions of solid wastes correlation has been found as the most reliable empirical correlation.
has been recognized as an economical and highly renewable resource Furthermore, the KIBO model has been validated and compared with
for biogas production. The challenges lie in maximizing the biode- existing models for the investigated conditions. These results have
gradation of lignocellulose-rich biomasses, which requires effective allowed for the evaluation of the effects of fuel composition on the
strategies to prevent the underutilization of feedstocks. Enzymatic preferable reaction paths and on the NOx production rate.
treatments for lignocellulosic degradation have huge potential because
of their highly versatile and selective compounds. Moreover, such 21/01060 Fast pyrolysis with fractional condensation of
treatments mimic natural processes and require low energy inputs. This lignin-rich digested stillage from second-generation
study focuses on the batch AD of a variety of lignocellulosic substrates bioethanol production
typically used in agriculture, such as silage, straw, and the manure of Priharto, N. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
various animals. The effects of five different enzyme mixtures on the 145, 104756.
increase in the gas yields of batch AD were investigated. Biogas and Poplar-derived lignin-rich feedstock (i.e. stillage) obtained from bio-
methane yields were systematically obtained, and then the effects on ethanol production was subjected to fast pyrolysis in a modified
total maximum gas yields and biodegradability were determined on the fluidized bed reactor at 430, 480 and 530  C. The stillage was pre-
basis of organic dry matter. In almost all the assays between test days 5 treated by enzymatic digestion prior to fast pyrolysis. Pyrolysis vapours
and 15, the biodegradability was accelerated, leading to increases of were collected by fractional condensation to separate the heavy organic
0.3%–21.1% in methane yields as appropriate to the substrate. and aqueous phase liquids. The intention of this study was to assess the
However, after 60 days of testing, increases (2.7% to 9.4%) in the potential utilization of lignin-rich digested stillage as a fast pyrolysis

182 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (biofuels and bioconversion energy)

feedstock. Heavy organic and aqueous phase pyrolysis liquids were balance to assess the steady-state flow of mass and energy through the
obtained in yields ranging from 15.1 to 18.1 wt% and from 9.7 to RBCR is presented. The RBCR calculations are quantitatively
13.4 wt%, respectively. The rest of the feedstock material was compared to experimental results from the state of the art considered
converted to char (37.1–44.7 wt%) and non-condensable gases (27.1– to be a lab-scale fluidized-bed reactor (FBR) found in the literature.
31.5 wt%). Detailed liquid analysis indicated that the heavy organic This FBR is chosen for comparison because the RBCR and FBR have
phase fractions contain compounds arising from the degradation of nearly the same size/footprint and, thus, by crude assumption, similar
lignin, residual microbial biomass and remaining polysaccharides. Fast capital costs. Relative to the state of the art, calculations predict that
pyrolysis adds 26.8 wt% to the conversion of this otherwise recalcitrant the RBCR will increase the biomass throughput, decrease the mass-
feedstock material, thereby reducing waste generation and enhancing specific energy requirement to thermochemically convert biomass to
the value of second-generation bioethanol production. bio-oil, bio-char, and bio-gas by fast-pyrolysis. Moreover, calculations
predict that at bench scale, the RBCR process results in a bio-oil
21/01061 Feasibility of membrane processes for the product with a heating value approximately 6.8 times higher than the
recovery and purification of bio-based volatile fatty acids: energy required to drive the cycle (there is a 6.8 times return on energy
a comprehensive review investment).
Aghapour Aktij, S. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering
Chemistry, 2020, 81, 24–40. 21/01065 Pyrolysis behavior of hydrochar from
Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) can be produced from fermentation/anaer- hydrothermal carbonization of pinewood sawdust
obic digestion of wastes and are a valuable substrate for numerous Li, J. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146,
applications, such as those related to the food, tanning, petrochemicals, 104771.
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemicals industry. They are also This work intends to reveal the pyrolysis behaviour of hydrochar from
inexpensive raw materials for developing alternative sources of energy. hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of pinewood sawdust. The elemen-
However, the separation and purification of VFAs produced from tal analysis and pyrolysis test were performed to study the effect of
fermented wastewaters are not straightforward goals, due to the low HTC on hydrochar performance. The elemental analysis indicates that
concentration of these compounds in the fermentation broths and the fuel properties could be highly upgraded by the HTC process.
owing to the complexity of these mixtures. Cost-effective and sustain- Compared with raw biomass (48.10% and 19.12 MJ/kg), the carbon
able technologies must be developed to recover VFAs efficiently and content and heating value was improved to 69.05% and 26.66 MJ/kg for
allow their beneficial use. In this paper, a comprehensive review of HTC-260. The atomic ratios H/C and O/C were decreased from 1.31 to
VFAs recovery/purification methods is provided, with focus on 0.90 and 0.72 to 0.26, respectively, by means of dehydration and
membrane-based processes. First, the VFAs production methods, decarboxylation in the HTC process. The pyrolysis test implies that the
application and conventional processes (distillation, precipitation, thermal stability of hydrochars has been improved by the HTC. The
adsorption, and extraction) for their recovery are briefly reviewed. hydrochars decomposition temperature and the pyrochar yields
Then, the ability of various membrane-based techniques to separate became higher and higher with the HTC temperature. For the HTC-
and purify VFAs are evaluated and discussed in detail. This discussion 260, the pyrochar yield was increased from 24.4–53.02% at a pyrolysis
includes the processes of microfiltration/ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, temperature of 800  C. According to the TGA-FTIR, the main gas
reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, electrodia- products were CO2, CO, CH4, and H2O. Higher HTC temperature
lysis, membrane contractor, and pervaporation. Extensive background promoted more CH4 production due to the devolatilization, decarbox-
and examples of applications are also provided to show the effective- ylation, dehydration and polymerization occurred in the HTC process.
ness of membrane processes. Finally, challenges and future research 240-260  C could be considered as a good option to maximize the
directions are highlighted. energy efficiency when taking the HTC as a pretreatment procedure
over thermal drying or torrefaction. All these results indicate the HTC
21/01062 Fuel characterization and thermal degradation is promising to upgrade high-moist biomass for multi-value-added
kinetics of biomass from phytoremediation plants products.
Tran, K.-Q. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 134, 105469.
Biomass obtained from phytoremediation energy crops Miscanthus  21/01066 Recognizing the challenges of anaerobic
giganteus and Sida hermaphrodita planted on different soils contami- digestion: critical steps toward improving biogas generation
nated with heavy metals was thermogravimetrically studied and Rasapoor, M. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116497.
kinetically analysed, assuming a three-pseudocomponent model. The Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the most promising technologies
results showed that Miscanthus  giganteus was able to uptake more that can break the complex organic substrate into biogas. However,
heavy metals than S. hermaphrodita. Soil influences on the fuel and biogas production from biomass waste and its utilization for energy
thermal properties the crops were observed. The ash content of the applications are still challenging due to the complex physical and
biomass exhibited a negative effect on its reactivity. The extracted chemical properties of organic waste, which affect the metabolic
kinetic data are realistic and within reasonable ranges. The activation pathways and methane content. Consequently, attentions have focused
energies are within 20–103.55 kJ mol1. The reaction orders are within on opportunities for further improvement in biogas yield and quality.
1.01–1.99. This review identified the technical challenges associated with AD and
potential solutions for improving biogas production. The critical steps
21/01063 Methanation potential: suitable catalyst and toward improving biogas generation were identified as balancing the
optimized process conditions for upgrading biogas to reach waste composition; adjusting nutrient content using trace elements;
gas grid requirements and using direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) promoting
Boggula, R. R. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 133, 105447. additives. DIET promoting additives such as activated carbon, biochar
This paper focuses on upgrading biogas to high-quality biofuel to meet and phenazine have shown a considerable effect on biogas production.
German gas grid requirements. The Sabatier process has proven that These additives facilitate the electron transfer via direct interspecies
carbon dioxide present in biogas can be converted to methane (>96 electron transfer and improve digestibility via adsorption potential.
vol%) by adding hydrogen in a stoichiometric ratio. High-quality The last section of the review describes a case study of the potential of
methane yield 98.9%, with CO2 conversion 99.6% is achieved with a using biochar and neutral red (phenazine) additives in one of the
nickel catalyst and with process conditions of temperature (473.15 K), commercial landfills in the North Island of New Zealand. The results of
pressure (1000 kPa), H2/CO2 ratio (6), CH4/CO2 ratio (1.52), a flow this case study indicate that application of ‘neutral red’ in the landfill
rate of 1.11  106 m3 s1 for the reactor dimensions of a diameter of site can significantly improve biogas generation for a period of 70 years.
0.1 m, a catalyst bed height of 0.14 m, a catalyst amount of 0.01 kg and a
reactor volume of 1.099  103 m3. These experimental laboratory 21/01067 Risk-conscious optimization model to support
parameters are beneficial as a reference for upscaling methanation bioenergy investments in the Brazilian sugarcane industry
reactors. Mutran, V. M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 113978.
The past decades have seen a diversification of the sugarcane industry
21/01064 Model and sensitivity analysis of the with the emergence of new technology to produce bioenergy from by-
reciprocating biomass conversion reactor (RBCR) product and waste process streams. Given Brazil’s ambitious goal of
Parziale, N. J. and Adhikari, R. International Journal of Heat and Mass reducing greenhouse gas emissions by >40% below 2005 levels by 2030,
Transfer, 2020, 147, 118988. it is of paramount importance to develop reliable decision-making
In this work, the capabilities of a pilot-scale reciprocating biomass systems in order to stimulate investment in these low-carbon
conversion reactor (RBCR) are assessed by modelling. The RBCR is a technologies. This paper seeks to develop a more accurate optimization
novel means to produce bio-oil by fast-pyrolysis whose core is a re- model to inform risk-conscious investment decisions for bioenergy
purposed four-cycle internal combustion engine. Inert gas and a small generation capacity in sugarcane mills. The main objective is for the
volume-fraction of pulverized biomass are input into the RBCR intake, model to enable a better understanding of how Brazilian government
and the crankshaft is cycled by an external energy source to supply the policies, such as the electricity price in the regulated market, may
process heat. The biomass is converted during the compression stroke, impact these investments, by taking into account the uncertainty in
and then the bio-products are exhausted. The cycle is: intake, sugar, ethanol and spot electricity markets and the interdependency
compression/heating, expansion and exhaust. A control-volume energy between production and investment decisions in terms of saleable

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 183

13 Alternative energy supplies (geothermal energy)

product mix. The proposed methodology combines portfolio optimiz- This paper examined the effect of moisture on the solvent liquefaction
ation theory with superstructure process modelling and it relies on of loblolly pine, cellulose, and lignin in tetralin at 280  C and pressures
simple surrogates derived from a detailed sugarcane plant simulator to ranging from 15 to 70 bar. Solvent liquefaction experiments were
retain computational tractability and enable scenario analysis. The case conducted in a quasi-batch reactor capable of continuous pressure
study of an existing sugarcane plant is used to demonstrate the control and external vapour condensation. Moisture was varied by the
methodology and illustrate how the model can assist decision-makers. controlled addition of de-ionized water. Control over the system
In all of the scenarios assessed, the model recommends investment in pressure subsequently impacted the removal of water vapour from the
extra bioelectricity capacity via the anaerobic digestion of vinasse but reactor. Liquid yield decreased by 25, 21 and 35 wt%, for pine, cellulose
advises against investment in second-generation ethanol production via and lignin, respectively, when moisture content was increased from 1 to
the hydrolysis of surplus bagasse. Furthermore, the decision to upgrade 50 wt% at 42 bar. Humins were observed in the solid residue from
the cogeneration system with a condensation turbine is highly sensitive liquefaction of wet cellulose. Wet lignin yielded a substantial amount of
to the electricity price practiced in the regulated market, capacity solid residue compared to dry lignin with a corresponding decrease in
constraints on the sugar-ethanol mix, and the accepted level of risk. total phenolic monomer production. It was concluded that the ionic
Another key insight drawn from the case study is that recent market dissociation of water was an important factor in loss of liquid yield in
conditions have favoured a production focused on the sugar business, the presence of water. Although water was less than 20 wt% of the
making it challenging for policy-makers to create attractive scenarios solvent loading in these experiments, it strongly influenced the
for biofuels. Long-term electricity contracting appears to be the main liquefaction of biomass and biomass components.
hedging strategy for de-risking other products and investments in the
sugarcane business, provided it is priced adequately.

21/01068 Silver nitrate in situ upgrades pyrolysis biofuels

from brewer’s spent grain via biotemplating
Ashman, C. H. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, Geothermal energy
146, 104729.
Bio-based hydrocarbon fuels made from carbonaceous wastes are a
renewable and potentially carbon neutral alternative to conventional
fossil fuels. Pyrolysis biofuels are limited largely because of a poor 21/01071 A coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical
overall energy balance along with the fuel’s high viscosity and high modeling and evaluation of geothermal extraction in the
oxygen content. This study explores an integrated biorefinery approach enhanced geothermal system based on analytic hierarchy
to manage brewer’s spent grain (BSG) waste that combines in situ process and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation
catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis fuel with production of value-added Guo, T. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 113981.
products to improve process economics. By incorporating silver nitrate In the paper, the thermal–hydraulic–mechanical (THM) coupling
via a wet impregnation method into BSG prior to pyrolysis, non- model is improved by considering more factors, and a comprehensive
condensable gas (particularly hydrogen and ethane) production evaluation method is proposed to optimize the heat extraction way. The
dramatically increases, while the evolution of methane is largely thermal extraction characteristics in the enhanced geothermal system
unchanged. Critically, the peak temperatures at which pyrolysis gases (EGS) and their influence factors were modelled by several research-
evolve are decreased by the incorporation of silver, suggesting that this ers, and various evaluation and optimization methods were established.
process could lower required pyrolysis temperatures. The silver-treated However, by comparing various THM models, it was found that these
pyrolysis bio-oil showed a considerable increase in furfural, an factors of THM models are not considered comprehensively, and
important precursor in many chemical processes. The silver-impreg- current EGS evaluation focuses on the individual index, the multi-
nated biomass also showed a decrease in 2-methyl-propanal and 2- objective evaluation index system of EGS has not been proposed, and a
methyl-butanal yields, and virtually eliminated detectable anthracene comprehensive evaluation system considering multiple indexes has not
and pyrene. In conjunction with the evolved gas results, it is likely that been established yet. In this study, a THM coupling model, considering
molecular rearrangement and dehydrogenation pathways, as opposed matrix, fractures and changes in physical parameters of rock and fluid,
to a complete thermochemical cracking of the bio-oil fraction, are was established for optimizing the EGS. The evaluation index system,
responsible for the catalytic behaviour observed. After pyrolysis, the including the operation life, the thermal breakthrough time, the
biochar can be oxidized to yield bio-templated, green-synthesized silver average heat production rate, the total heat recovery factor and the re-
micromaterials and nanomaterials. The integrated biorefinery ap- injection factor, were presented. And the comprehensive optimization
proach offers a novel path for upgrading pyrolysis biofuels, unifying method based on analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy comprehensive
synthesis of microstructured and nanostructured materials and fuel evaluation of EGS were proposed. The model is verified by two
production. analytical solutions. Moreover, the model was solved by finite element
method to optimize various programs of developing the EGS. In this
paper, the performances of different geothermal extraction methods
21/01069 Slow pyrolysis of coffee husk briquettes: are compared and the different extraction parameters are optimized.
characterization of the solid and liquid fractions The results show that the optimized geothermal mining method has
Setter, C. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116420. better effect than that before optimization. The orthogonal test shows
The objective of this study was to investigate the kinetics of the biomass the optimal case of five fractures, the fracture permeability of 10 D, the
and to determine the influence of temperature on the distribution and well spacing is 400 m and the production pressure draw-down of
quality of the products of slow pyrolysis. Coffee husk briquettes were 20 MPa. The research results provide an accurate and effective method
produced by densification and subsequently subjected to slow pyrolysis to optimize the development mode of geothermal resources, which is
at different final temperatures of 623, 673 and 723 K at a heating rate conductive to improve the geothermal energy efficiency.
of 0.5  C/min. The results of the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
showed that the pyrolysis of coffee husks occurred mainly at
temperatures between 400 and 700 K. The activation energy values 21/01072 A novel POD reduced-order model based on
ranged from 104.90 to 345.2 kJ/mol for the Friedman model and from EDFM for steady-state and transient heat transfer in
70.4 to 288.8 kJ/mol for the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa model. In the fractured geothermal reservoir
composition of the bio-oil, at higher pyrolysis temperatures, there Li, T. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 146,
was a greater production of phenolic compounds and nitrogen 118783.
compounds. Lower temperatures promoted the greater formation of A new proper orthogonal decomposition reduced-order model (POD-
hydrocarbons and acetic acid. The energy content of the biochar did ROM) for fluid flow and heat transfer processes in a fractured
not differ with the increasing temperature, but the fixed carbon was geothermal reservoir is proposed. First, the primary governing
slightly higher at 723 K. It was concluded that the TGA provided equations are established based on the embedded discrete fracture
information on the kinetics of the coffee husk pyrolysis, making it model (EDFM). Second, the POD-ROM is developed by projecting the
possible to improve the conversion process of this waste into products. discrete matrix equations instead of the primary governing equations
Both isoconversional models were effective in estimating the Ea of the onto the low-dimensional space spanned by the pressure and
pyrolysis process with good accuracy. High final pyrolysis temperatures temperature basis functions. Compared with the typical POD model-
improve the quality of bio-oil, producing bio-oil with smaller amounts ling method, the new model reduction technique can easily deal with
of acidic compounds, and this bio-oil is desirable for use as fuels. In mass and energy transfer between the matrix and fractures, thus
addition, the bio-oil contains numerous chemical compounds that can ensuring the mass and energy conservation of the whole system in the
be extracted and used in value-added chemical products. projection process. The new model does not require complex
mathematical deduction and is easy to implement in practical
applications. The accuracy and robustness of the model were carefully
21/01070 The effect of moisture on hydrocarbon-based studied for three complex heat transfer cases. Calculation results
solvent liquefaction of pine, cellulose and lignin indicated that the computational efficiency can be improved by at least
Haverly, M. R. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 10–15 times while high reconstruction and prediction accuracy is
146, 104758. maintained.

184 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (geothermal energy)

21/01073 Deep basin temperature and heat-flow field in 21/01076 Hydrogeochemistry of geothermal waters in
Denmark – new insights from borehole analysis and 3D eastern Turkey: geochemical and isotopic constraints on
geothermal modelling water-rock interaction
Fuchs, S. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101722. Aydin, H. et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2020,
This paper presents a 3D numerical crustal temperature model with 390, 106708.
inverse optimization methodology and analyses the present-day The hydrogeochemistry of geothermal waters from 31 geothermal
conductive thermal field of the Danish onshore subsurface. The model fields in eastern Turkey is investigated with regard to major ion
is based on a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of borehole compositions, stable (18O–2H–34S) and tritium (3H) isotope
and well-log data for thermal and petrophysical rock properties and systematics. Discharge temperature of studied waters varies from 24
their regional variability and spatial distribution across the country. to 65  C. Four different geochemical processes were found to control
New values of terrestrial surface heat flow derived from 21 deep well the major ion concentrations of waters which include dissolution of
locations are 65–76 mW m2 (mean: 72  3) for the Danish Basin, 77– carbonates, fluid-mineral interaction, oxidation of sulfur-bearing
86 (81  5) for the Danish part of the North German Basin, and 61–63 minerals, and chloride enrichment. The northern, central and southern
(62  1) for the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist-Zone/Skagerrak–Kattegat Plat- provinces are represented by different local meteoric water lines
form, respectively. The observed heat flow variations are consistent (LMWL) with deuterium excess of 15.0, 13.9 and 16.5% V-SMOW,
with the position of the Danish area in the transition zone between the respectively. The stable isotope values of the thermal waters are close
old Precambrian Baltic Shield (low heat flow) and central European to LMWLs and indicate a meteoric origin. The enrichment in oxygen
accreted terrains and deep basin systems (significantly higher heat isotope composition (0.6 to 7.7% V-SMOW) in some thermal waters
flow). For the temperature modelling, conductivities and heat flow are resulted from water–rock interaction process and 18O-exchange
constrained and validated (rms: 1.2  C, ame: 0.7  C) by borehole process between CO2 and H2O. The 34S and 18O contents in
temperature data covering a depth range of up to 5 km (137 values dissolved sulfate cover a wide range from 6.2 to 32% V-CDT and from
from 46 wells). Significant modelled temperature variations are caused 2.5 to 14.8% V-SMOW, respectively, indicating that the sulfate
by (i) complex geological structures (thickness variations, salt isotope systematics of the majority of waters is governed by dissolution
structures) and (ii) the variation of rock thermal conductivity between of terrestrial sulfate and marine evaporites. The reservoir temperatures
and within geological formations as well as lateral variation in estimated by chemical and isotopic geothermometers of K–Mg (27–
background heat flow. Modelled temperature for major geothermal 127  C), silica (29–179  C) and 18OSO4-H2O (51–196  C), and by the
reservoirs indicate substantial potential for low enthalpy heating silica-enthalpy mixing model (130–235  C) yielded inconsistent results.
purposes. Reservoir temperatures above 130  C, of interest for the The geological factors (e.g. relatively thick crust, low surface heat flux,
production of electricity, are observed for some local areas, however, absence of ideal cover units) in eastern Turkey have resulted in the
likely, too deep for non-stimulated sufficient reservoir quality. development of low- or moderate-temperature geothermal systems.

21/01077 Impact of groundwater heat pump systems on

21/01074 Experimental investigation of a liquid desiccant subsurface temperature under variable advection,
dehumidification system integrated with shallow geothermal conduction and dispersion
energy Pophillat, W. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101721.
Liang, J.-D. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116452. The number of worldwide installed groundwater heat pump (GWHP)
This study proposes a liquid desiccant dehumidification system systems is approaching a million units. This increase in GWHP systems
combined with shallow geothermal energy. Calcium chloride solution creates an increasing competition for groundwater use. Thus, here, the
is adopted as a desiccant that is sprayed directly on outdoor air for authors have simulated the long-term thermal impacts of such open-
dehumidification purposes. Shallow geothermal energy is a clean loop geothermal systems with numerical heat transport models, by
renewable energy that is located beneath the ground surface approxi- studying the role of flow and heat transport parameters. The focus is
mately 3–50 m deep. In this study, the shallow geothermal energy water set on transient conditions evolving over decades of seasonally im-
is utilized as a substitute for chilled water or cooling water. Shallow balanced heat injections in aquifers with differing ambient flow
geothermal energy water, at about 20–22  C, could precool outdoor air regimes. The results demonstrate the existence of plume length peak-
and cool the desiccant solution. Precooling outdoor air before it enters ing in moderate groundwater flow velocities (0.5–1.0 m d1). The
the dehumidifier can remove a sensible cooling load in advance and longitudinal and transverse dispersivity coefficients have a strong
increase the performance of the dehumidifier. Moreover, the lower influence on the plume extension and on transient development.
temperature solution is beneficial for enhancing sensible, latent, and Reducing the injected temperature difference allows the control of the
total heat transfer rates. Based on the calculated results, under the maximum temperature reached in the plume but implies a considerable
same operating conditions, compared to the condensation system and hydraulic influence. Comparisons with numerical simulations, using an
the traditional liquid desiccant dehumidification system, the proposed average of the thermal load, shows that the flow velocity and dispersity
system saves 86% and 82%, respectively, on power consumption. coefficients strongly condition the relevance of such simplified
Result shows that a liquid desiccant dehumidification system integrated approaches. In addition, if satisfactory results are obtained for seasonal
with shallow geothermal energy is an effective approach to enhance or long-term estimations, those for intermediate lengths of time are
dehumidification performance and cooling capacity. insufficient. This study contributes to improving the overall under-
standing of key elements involved in the thermal impact and the
development of GWHP systems.

21/01075 Geothermal potential of tunnel infrastructures –

development of tools at the city-scale of Basel, Switzerland 21/01078 Local earthquake tomography of the
Epting, J. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101734. Larderello-Travale geothermal field
This work presents preliminary evaluation elements for geothermal Bagagli, M. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101731.
potential assessment and thermal influences of planned tunnel The Larderello-Travale geothermal field (LTFG) in south-west
infrastructures for the urban agglomeration of Basel in Switzerland. Tuscany, Italy, is the oldest and among the most productive geothermal
In dependence of the tunnel type (motorway or railway) as well as its fields in the world. With a gross electricity generation of more than
location related to the geological and hydrogeological settings different 4800 GWh/year, the LTGF accounts for about 10% of the current
solutions for shallow geothermal energy systems (SGE) are investi- global geothermal electric energy production, and it contributes 2% to
gated. ‘Passive’ and ‘active’ SGE have been evaluated, including heat- the Italian electric power needs. A new 3D model of seismic P-wave
exchanging segments installed in tunnel lining structures and thermal velocity (VP) of the upper crust beneath the geothermal field is derived
exploitation of water circulating in culvert systems. First results suggest by inverting a set of highly consistent travel times from local
that thermal activation of a planned railway tunnel is most efficient earthquakes. Results document a marked correlation of VP with
where it is located within groundwater-saturated zones of the previously described, high-reflectivity horizons. The authors also
unconsolidated rock deposits. In summer, thermal power of 3.7 and determined a low-velocity body (VP 5 km s1) culminating at depths
1.4 MW can be exchanged from two 736 and 284 m long tunnel sections, of about 7 km, with estimated volume of 35–40 km3. Such low velocities
respectively. Accordingly, in standard heat pump operating conditions are consistent with a granite at temperatures >700  C, thus in a
a thermal energy of 10.4 and 3.8 GWh can be delivered for ‘cooling’. In partially molten status. The findings from this research contribute to a
winter, thermal power of 1.9 and 0.7 MW can be exchanged, better understanding of the whole geothermal system, and to the
respectively, and a thermal energy of 5.2 and 1.9 GWh can be delivered identification of areas potentially hosting new productive reservoirs.
for ‘heating’. SGE within culverts reveals to be favourable in heating
mode only and for sections where the motorway tunnel runs
perpendicular to the regional groundwater flow field and where 21/01079 Phase segregation, boiling, and reinjection at the
ambient groundwater temperatures are high. Under such conditions Los Azufres geothermal field, Mexico, monitored by water
along a 320 m long tunnel section thermal power of up to 0.4 MW can stable isotopes, chloride, and enthalpy
be provided in summer and 0.8 MW in winter, respectively, and thermal Nuñez-Hernéndez, S. et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal
energy of 1.1 GWh in summer and 2.1 GWh in winter, can be delivered. Research, 2020, 390, 106751.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 185

13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

Monitoring the impact of brine reinjection is crucial to the sustainable hydrogen. The unreacted methanol and hydrogen are efficiently
exploitation of geothermal resources. Reinjection monitoring at the utilized via the gas turbine and PEMFC to generate electricity,
Los Azufres geothermal field in Mexico has historically been carried respectively. For thermodynamic and economic analysis, the effects
out by investigating the temporal and spatial evolution of chloride and of the thermodynamic parameters (geothermal temperature and molar
the stable isotopic composition of water. Here, the authors review the ratio of water to methanol) and economic factors (such as methanol
evolution of the stable isotopic composition of the total fluid discharge price, hydrogen price and service life) on the proposed system
(TD) since the earliest measurements in 1980, integrating new data performance are investigated. The results indicate that the ExUF
obtained in 2014. Based on DTD and 18OTD values measured in 2014, (exergy utilization factor the exergy utilization factor), TPES (trigen-
two groups of fluids were identified. The first group is characterized by eration primary energy saving) and energy efficiency of the novel
DTD and 18OTD similar to those measured in previous survey years, system can be reached at 8.8%, 47.24% and 66.3%, respectively; the
1980–1982, 1983–1986 and 2000. The second group shows a large levelized cost of energy is $0.0422/kWh, and the annual total cost-
positive shift in the hydrogen isotopic composition (DTD of +10%) saving ratio can be reached at 20.9%, compared with the conventional
compared to the first group. The evolution of reinjected brines and system. The novel system achieves thermodynamic and economic
production wells over time between 1980 and 2014 shows 18OTD and potential, and provides an alternative and promising way for efficiently
DTD enrichment until 2000. This is followed, between 2000 and 2014, utilizing abundant geothermal energy and methanol resources.
by a slight decrease in 18OTD values and a net increase in DTD,
explained by extensive phase segregation and boiling, at temperatures
of over 280  C. The observed trend suggests that a steam phase, caused 21/01083 Thermodynamic simulation and mathematical
by boiling, is invading the reservoir, and the phenomenon is observed model for single and double flash cycles of Cerro Prieto
in both production and reinjected fluids. A comparison of the spatially geothermal power plants
kriged 2000 and 2014 18OTD and DTD datasets reveals that reinjected Hernéndez Martı́nez, E. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101713.
brine is spreading progressively to the eastern part of the field, mainly Geothermal power generation technologies are well established and
in the southern production zone, and through E–W corridors delimited there are numerous power plants operating worldwide. The Cerro
by the E–W fault systems, which underlie the secondary permeability of Prieto geothermal field is located in north-western Mexico, approxi-
the reservoir. However, reinjection is still not able to suppress boiling mately 32 km from the US–Mexico border. A single flash and double
in the main production zone. This situation needs to be taken into flash cycle have been selected for power generation. The study is aimed
account in developing future reinjection strategies to counterbalance to thermodynamic simulation and mathematical model development
the substantial fluid extraction from the field. for the single and double flash cycles. Thermodynamic Simulation for
energy flows were developed and implemented in Aspen Hysys
software, while the multiple linear regression analysis was developed
21/01080 Pliocene-Quaternary fault kinematics in the in IBM SPSS software. The single flash cycle thermodynamic
Larderello geothermal area (Italy): insights for the simulation of the proposed design shows the plant’s maximum net
interpretation of the present stress field power output can reach 36.667 MW if the separator and condenser
Liotta, D. and Brogi, A. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101714. pressures are 650 and 11.5 kPa, respectively. In the double flash cycle,
In geothermal areas the evaluation of the active stress field from local the optimum pressure value for high pressure (HP) separation is
earthquakes is generally contradictory, mainly suggesting normal to 1200 kPa, low pressure (LP) separation is 385 kPa and the pressure for
strike-slip tectonic regime. This feature has been investigated in the condenser was determined to be 11.5 kPa, the maximum net power
Larderello geothermal area comparing information from field data and output of the plant is 102.112 MW. The multiple linear regression
focal mechanisms from the area of the Pliocene–Pleistocene Lago shows mathematical model to predict the net power and thermal
Basin, where the most effective exploitation occurs today. The efficiency for single flash and double flash cycles, using the
methodology follows the classical approach of structural geology, independent variables of the well temperature, separator pressure
inversion of kinematic data from slip-fault surfaces and comparison and condenser pressure to obtain a mathematical expression that
with focal mechanisms of local earthquakes. The results indicate strong predicts the behaviour of this cycle. While for the double flash cycles,
similarities in the orientation of the main stress axes as obtained from the well temperature, the pressures in the separators and the
paleo-stress analysis and double couple focal mechanisms solution, condenser pressure are used. The mathematical models to predict
suggesting the same stress field since Pliocene, at least. The analysed the net power and the thermal efficiency of the cycles shows a very
structures are explained as part of the deformation developed within a good approximation to the thermodynamic analysis, the single flash
NE-oriented transfer zone, and the Lago Basin is explained as a pull- cycle shows ANOVA results net power (r = 0.999885, R2 = 0.999769,
apart basin. The transfer zone is characterized by the coeval activity of p < 0.0001) and thermal efficiency (r = 0.999628, R2 = 0.999256,
NE-striking left-lateral oblique- to strike-slip faults and by NW-striking p < 0.0001), while the double flash cycle ANOVA results net power
normal faults, thus indicating a key for the understanding of the (r = 0.999861, R2 = 0.999722, p < 0.0001) and thermal efficiency
different focal mechanisms. Moreover, field data analysis indicates that (r = 0.999806, R2 = 0.999612, p < 0.0001).
both the NE- and NW-striking faults can be reactivated as normal
faults dominantly, as also suggested by the local focal mechanisms. It is
therefore concluded that the vertical movement is active when surface
uplift, reasonably induced by heat flow, is more effective than crustal
extension. Finally, the switch of the local intermediate stress axis from
vertical to horizontal is considered a key-factor to channel deep
geothermal fluids toward lateral structural traps. Solar energy
21/01081 Probability of success studies for geothermal
projects in clastic reservoirs: from subsurface data to 21/01084 A coupled optical-electrical-thermal model of the
geological risk analysis bifacial photovoltaic module
Schumacher, S. et al. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101725.
Gu, W. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114075.
In the realization of a geothermal project, an important step is the
The bifacial photovoltaic (PV) technology has become prevalent in the
quantification of the geological risk of a well not achieving the
global market in recent years as it can simultaneously collect the
economically necessary cut-off values with respect to temperature and
sunlight from both front and rear sides to achieve high power
flowrate/drawdown. This paper presents a new method for calculating
generation, however, there is limited attention from academic circle
this risk via a probability of success study by using all available types of
on this new technology particularly theory study in multiphysics
hydraulic data, including porosity values derived from core samples or
simulation. This paper develops a comprehensive optical–electrical–
borehole logs. This method has been developed for geothermal
thermal model for the bifacial PV module, in which the global
projects in fluvial sandstones of the North German Basin but can be
irradiances of the tilted front and rear surfaces are obtained through
applied to any clastic, not fracture-dominated reservoir worldwide.
the optical model, the cell temperature through the thermal model, and
the power output through the electrical model accordingly. After
21/01082 Thermodynamic and economic assessment of a validation, the coupled model is employed to conduct daily and yearly
PEMFC-based micro-CCHP system integrated with performance estimations, demonstrating 25.58% and 28.21% of the
geothermal-assisted methanol reforming daily bifacial gain for sunny and cloudy days, respectively, and more
Chen, X. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1), than 22% of the yearly bifacial gain for Hong Kong and Shanghai.
958–971. Besides, it is found that the bifacial gain under low irradiance is
A micro-combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system relatively high due to high diffuse fraction, indicating that bifacial
integrated with geothermal-assisted methanol reforming and incorpor- modules have an advantage in adapting to various weather conditions,
ating a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is especially cloudy days. Furthermore, some suggestions are proposed to
presented. The novel CCHP system consists of a geothermal-based optimize the bifacial module by considering the effects of various
methanol steam reforming subsystem, PEMFC, micro gas turbine and installation and weather parameters on the PV generation. A tracking
lithium bromide (LiBr) absorption chiller. Geothermal energy is used bifacial module, installed at an optimum tilt angle with high albedo,
as a heat source to drive methanol steam reforming to produce elevation, irradiance and wind velocity, but low ambient temperature,

186 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

could achieve high energy yield, while a bifacial module facing east with 21/01088 Borehole water level model for photovoltaic water
high albedo, tilt angle, elevation, diffuse fraction, ambient temperature pumping systems
and wind velocity could achieve high bifacial gain. Vezin, T. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114080.
Using photovoltaic (PV) energy to pump water from aquifers is an
interesting solution to circumvent the low electricity grid coverage and
21/01085 A hybrid deep learning model for short-term PV
provide improved domestic water access in off-grid areas in sub-
power forecasting
Saharan Africa. When pumping and during the lifetime of a pumping
Li, P. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114216.
installation, the borehole water level changes, which impacts the
The integration of photovoltaic (PV) power brings great economic and
amount of energy required to extract water from the aquifer. In order
environmental benefits. However, the high penetration of PV power
to address alterations in energy requirements, this article develops a
may challenge the planning and operation of the existing power system
data-driven borehole water level model adapted to PV water pumping
owing to the intermittence and randomicity of PV power generation.
systems (PVWPS). The proposed model is applicable to all types of
Achieving accurate forecasting for PV power generation is important
PVWPS and aquifers. It has been validated against experimental data
for providing high quality electric energy for end-consumers and for
from a pilot PVWPS located in a rural off-grid village in Burkina Faso
enhancing the reliability of power system operation. Motivated by
having achieved more than 97% accuracy. Thanks to this borehole
recent advancements in deep learning methods and their satisfactory
model, the authors have been able to assess the influence of the
performance in the energy sector, a hybrid deep learning model
variability of groundwater resources on both the performance of
combining wavelet packet decomposition (WPD) and long short-term
PVWPS and on their optimal sizing. It is shown that the variation of
memory (LSTM) networks is proposed in this study. The hybrid deep
the static water level can require an increase of the peak power of the
learning model is utilized for 1-hour-ahead PV power forecasting with
PV modules of up to 100%. Nonetheless, the effect of the drawdown
5-min intervals. WPD is first used to decompose the original PV power
due to the pumping is negligible. This study can help companies,
series into sub-series. Next, four independent LSTM networks are
governments and non-governmental organizations to better take into
developed for these sub-series. Finally, the results predicted by each
account the variability and the sustainability of groundwater resources
LSTM network are reconstructed and a linear weighting method is
in the optimal sizing and monitoring of PVWPS.
employed to obtain the final forecasting results. The performance of
the proposed method is demonstrated with a case study using an actual
dataset collected from Alice Springs, Australia. Comparisons with
individual LSTM, recurrent neural network, gated recurrent and multi-
layer perceptron models are also presented. The values of three 21/01089 Energy and economic analysis of a
performance evaluation indicators, mean bias error, mean absolute variable-geometry ejector in solar cooling systems
percentage error and root mean square error, show that the proposed for residential buildings
hybrid deep learning model exhibits superior performance in both Tashtoush, B. and Nayfeh, Y. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27,
forecasting accuracy and stability. 101061.
In the present study, two 1-D ejector mathematical models are used to
predict the performance of a solar ejector cooling system with fixed and
21/01086 A review on technical, applications and economic variable geometry ejectors. These models are implemented using
aspect of packed bed solar thermal energy storage system MATLAB and EES Software. The effect of the mixing efficiencies on
Gautam, A. and Saini, R. P. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, the performance of the system was investigated, and two empirical
101046. correlations were obtained using experimental data for an ejector
The development of renewable energy technologies provides a cooling cycle with R141b as a refrigerant. The results obtained with
significant solution to deal with the energy crisis, along with resolving varying efficiencies were found to be significantly more accurate than
the environment related issues. Solar energy is one of the emerging those obtained with previous models, which assumed a constant
technologies, which has been established as an effective alternative to efficiency. The results showed that the ejector with fixed-geometry
fossil fuels and is an eco-friendly source for the sustainable develop- was very sensitive to the variations of the operational conditions and
ment of society, throughout the globe. However, its rapid growth is could practically be functional only under specific conditions. It was
dealing with many technical barriers like low efficiency, fluctuations in also found that the solar ejector cooling system with a variable area
energy supply and economic hindrances. The intermittent nature of ejector has higher coefficient of performance under a vast range of
solar energy is also one of the major cause of fluctuations in energy operational conditions. The new system could be easily implemented in
supply which can be rectified by installing the storage unit with solar residential building air conditioning systems with solar energy as the
thermal systems. Packed bed storage system is an option for the solar driving source of heat. The refrigerant R134a was found to give the
thermal systems to store the energy during its availability and supply best performance considering operational, safety, and environmental
that stored energy at the time of requirement. This review is about its factors. The economic analysis revealed that the new system is
technical characteristics and economic feasibility of various appli- profoundly better than the conventional systems in terms of payback
cations of solar thermal system for different temperature ranges. period and net present value.
Initially, the description of packed bed storage system along with its
working principle and design aspects are discussed which is followed by
details of its heat transfer fluid and packing element. The various
factors affecting the heat transfer involve within a packed bed are
21/01090 Experimental and numerical study of a solar
described and after that the factors affecting thermal losses and
collector using phase change material as heat storage
pressure drop are also reported. The review also comprises the various
Guerraiche, D. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101133.
applications of the packed bed storage system for various temperature
This paper presents numerical and experimental investigations into the
ranges which is followed its economic aspect.
performance of a small-scale parabolic trough solar concentrator
integrated with thermal energy storage system. A new design of
21/01087 A symmetric benzoselenadiazole based D–A–D receiver which uses the phase change material to store the thermal
small molecule for solution processed bulk-heterojunction energy is built. A parabolic-trough solar concentrator was proposed
organic solar cells and constructed using a concentric absorber tube with phase change
Abdullah, et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, material. The absorber is considered as a temporary thermal heat
81, 309–316. storage component. The heat storage-recovery mechanism will act as a
Benzoselenadiazole as the central acceptor unit with terminal donor thermal compensator that allows the parabolic trough solar concen-
unit of n-hexylbithiophene was chosen to design the symmetric donor- trator to stabilizing energy output during the absence of intense
acceptor-donor (D–A–D) configuration based small organic chromo- radiation or for short time cloudy conditions. The phase change
phore, 4,7-bis(50 -hexyl-[2,20 -bithiophen]-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]selenadia- material (PCM) used was a binary salt composed of a mixture of 60%
zole, RTh-BSe-ThR, for the fabrication of solution-processed bulk- NaNO3 and 40% KNO3, filling the annular space of the absorber tube.
heterojunction organic solar cells (BHJ-OSCs). RTh-BSe-ThR chro- Solar energy is converted to heat, stored in the PCM and is discharged
mophore showed assuring solubility in common organic solvents and to cold water, which is the final heat transfer fluid in the inner pipe of
exhibited wider absorption in the visible region with an optical band the receiver. The simultaneous testing of the receiver with and without
g ) of 1.87 eV. Benzoselenadiazole unit with two n-hexyl-
gap (Eopt PCM is investigated. A commercial computational fluid dynamics
bithiophene units exhibited an excellent electrochemical behaviour with model of the whole system is presented and numerical results are
the highest occupied molecular orbital of 5.38 eV and the lowest compared to experimental results, which were conducted with and
unoccupied molecular orbital of 3.51 eV. The fabricated BHJ-OSCs without PCM in the receiver tube. The maximum outlet water
with RTh-BSe-ThR : PC61BM (1 : 3, w/w) blend thin film displayed a temperature achieved using PCM in the receiver tube is about
power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.46% and a high value of short 16.80% and 14.86% higher than the simple tube for 21 July and
circuit current density (JSC) of 11.20 mA/cm2. The enhancement in 21 October, respectively. The daily thermal efficiency of the parabolic
the photovoltaic parameters might be attributed to the significant trough solar concentrator increases by 6.56% and 8.32, respectively, for
improvements in the interfacial area of bulk heterojunction which a both days using a receiver with a PCM concentric tube. The phase
might enhance the light harvesting property and the shunt resistance of change material showed good heat retention of 2 h to 1 h 40 min for
the blend thin films. water inlet temperature 30 and 40 C, respectively.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 187

13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

21/01091 Experimental investigation and multi objective high-quality Na-doped CZTSSe films and high-performance devices, in
optimization of thermal-hydraulic performance in a solar the meantime, it can also help to further understand the effects of
heat collector sodium in CZTSSe solar cells.
Chauhan, R. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 147,
106130.
The air impinging normally through the jets over the heat transmitting 21/01095 LES study of wind pressure and flow
surface prevents the development of boundary layer in its vicinity to a characteristics of flat-roof-mounted solar arrays
large extent. The variation in system control factors such as diameter of Wang, J. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerody-
jet, streamwising and spanwising pitch have significant effect on the namics, 2020, 198, 104096.
performance defining attributes of a rectangular channel forced Wind loading is a major concern for solar array systems. To clarify the
convection fluid flow. An experimental investigation is performed to relations between flow field and wind pressure distributions on solar
study the results outcome by alteration of the control factors on panels, large eddy simulations (LES) are performed to examine the
performance defining attributes based upon which multi-attribute flow characteristics around solar arrays mounted on a flat roof building
decision-making approach has been proposed for optimal combination for two normal wind directions, 0 and 180 . The mean, standard
of control factors. The performance defining attributes present a deviation and peak value of pressure and force coefficients obtained
desperate trend in view of which it becomes imperative to optimize the from LES and wind tunnel experiment are firstly compared to validate
control factors for maximum utility attribute(s) and minimum regret the accuracy of LES. Then the mean and unsteady flow fields around
value of the undesired attribute(s) with simultaneous consideration of solar arrays are discussed to explain the corresponding wind pressure
all. The hybrid analytical hierarchy process and preference ranking distributions. The local separation at the higher edges of solar panels
organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) located inside of both the separation bubble and the reattached flow
technique have been processed to meet the desired target. It has been are detected. The wind pressures on upper and lower surfaces of solar
observed that the jet diameter ratio = 0.065, streamwising pitch panels resulted by the local flow field are discussed accordingly for
ratio = 0.435, spanwising pitch ratio = 0.869 and Reynolds num- different scenarios. Ensemble-averaged flow fields on the condition of
ber = 16,000 is the best combination of control factors among all the occurrence of peak pressures at the higher edge of solar panels are
others to deliver the highest overall performance with same energy also investigated. It is found that besides the large-scale separating and
input in each case. reattaching flow induced by the building, small-scale local separations
at the higher edges of the solar panels are also responsible for the large
peak of uplift.
21/01092 Heteroatom substitution-induced asymmetric
A–D–A type non-fullerene acceptor for efficient organic
solar cells 21/01096 Low-bandgap polymers with quinoid unit as
Li, C. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 144–150. p bridge for high-performance solar cells
Research on asymmetric A–D–A structured non-fullerene acceptors Shahid, B. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 180–187.
has lagged far behind the development of symmetric counterpart. In To construct efficient low-band gap polymers, increasing the quinone
this contribution, by simply replacing one sulfur atom in indaceno- structure of the polymer backbone could be one desirable strategy. In
dithiophene unit with a selenium atom, an asymmetric building block this work, two D–Q–A–Q polymers P1 and P2 were designed and
SePT and a corresponding asymmetric non-fullerene acceptor SePT-IN synthesized with thiophenopyrrole diketone (TPD) and benzothiadia-
have been developed. Asymmetric SePT-IN achieved a high efficiency zole (BT) unit as the core and ester linked thieno[3,4-b]thiophene (TT)
of 10.20% in organic solar cells when blended with PBT1-C, much segment as -bridging, and the main focus is to make a comparative
higher than that of symmetric TPT-IN counterpart (8.91%). The analysis of different cores in the influence of the optical, electro-
results demonstrated an effective heteroatom substitution strategy to chemical, photochemical and morphological properties. Compared
develop asymmetric A–D–A structured non-fullerene acceptors. with the reported PBDTTEH–TBTTHD–i, P1 exhibited the decreased
HOMO energy level of 5.38 eV and lower bandgap of 1.48 eV.
21/01093 High efficient solar evaporation by airing Furthermore, when replaced with BT core, P2 showed a red-shifted
multifunctional textile absorption profile of polymer but with up-shifted HOMO energy level.
Peng, G. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, When fabricated the photovoltaic devices in conventional structure,
147, 118866. just as expected, the introduction of ester substituent made an obvious
Solar evaporation is important for many applications such as increase of VOC from 0.63 to 0.74 V for P1. Besides, due to the deep
desalination, power generation and industrial drying. Recently, some HOMO energy level, higher hole mobility and excellent phase separa-
studies on evaporation reported obtaining high energy efficiency and tion with PC71BM, a superior photovoltaic performance
evaporation rate, which are based on floating evaporation setup (FES) (PCE = 7.13%) was obtained with a short-circuit current density
with nanomaterials. Here, a new cheap and simple setup is proposed, (JSC) of 14.9 mA/cm2, significantly higher than that of P2
named as airing evaporation setup (AES). Compared to FES, there are (PCE = 2.23%). Generally, this study highlights that the strategy of
four advantages of AES: a better thermal design, a higher energy inserting quinoid moieties into D–A polymers could be optional in
efficiency, a higher material utilization ratio and multi-functional. It LBG-polymers design and presents the importance and comparison of
shows that the energy efficiency of AES reaches up to 87% under 1 kW/ potentially competent core groups.
m2 of solar irradiation, which is 14% higher than that of FES.
Meanwhile, the total evaporation rate of AES is about 20% higher than
that of FES. The theoretical analysis reveals that the main reason for a 21/01097 Measures to reduce solar energy dumped in a
better performance of AES is the increasing evaporation area. More solar aided power generation plant
interestingly, AES could be used for designing portable systems due to Huang, C. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114106.
its simplicity and flexibility. Furthermore, it is shown that AES and the Solar-aided power generation technology has been proved to be one of
corresponding wick material can be used in solar desalination, textile the most efficient ways to integrate solar energy into a coal-fired power
quick-drying and warm-keeping. plant. In a typical plant, the solar field size is normally designed with a
solar multiple greater than one. Therefore, sometimes collected solar
heat becomes surplus when the collected solar heat exceeds the heat
21/01094 Highly efficient solution-processed CZTSSe demand. Other than being dumped, the surplus solar heat could be
solar cells based on a convenient sodium-incorporated either charged into a thermal energy storage system if there is one; or
post-treatment method used to preheat (feedwater) continuously. In this paper, the impacts of
Duan, B. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 196–203. these two measures (being charged and preheating continuously) on
In CZTSSe solar cells, a simple sodium-incorporation post-treatment the technical and economic performances of the integrated plant are
method toward solution-processed Cu2ZnSnS4 precursor films is analysed in detail by undertaking a desktop case study. The results
presented in this work. An ultrathin NaCl film is deposited on show that both measures could reduce the surplus solar heat dumped,
Cu2ZnSnS4 precursor films by spin-coating NaCl solution. In sub- but the economic performances vary. For the measure of preheating
sequent selenization process, the introduction of NaCl is found to be continuously, the maximum solar input is determined by a safety
beneficial for the formation of Cu2xSe, which can further facilitate the assessment to ensure a stable and safe operation. Surplus heat over this
element transportation, leading to dense and smooth CZTSSe films maximum amount has to be dumped. The results also show that for the
with large grains and less impurity Cu2Sn(S,Se)3 phase. SIMS depth plant located in Tibet China, both measures could reduce the levelized
profiles confirm the gradient distribution of the sodium element in Na- cost of energy and enhance the effective solar-to-electricity efficiency,
doped absorbers. Photoluminescence spectra show that the introduc- compared to dumping case; while continuing preheating measure is
tion of appropriate sodium into the absorber can inhibit the band tail superior to being charged technically and economically.
states. As high as 11.18% of power conversion efficiency (PCE) is
achieved for the device treated with 5 mg mL1 NaCl solution, and an
average efficiency of Na-doped devices is 10.71%, 13% higher than that 21/01098 Mixed convection and radiation from an
of the control groups (9.45%). Besides, the depletion width and the isothermal bladed structure
charge recombination lifetime can also have regular variation with Torres, J. F. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,
sodium treatment. This work offers an easy modification method for 2020, 147, 118906.

188 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (solar energy)

The total heat transfer from a finned or ‘bladed’ structure may be 21/01101 Suppression strategy of short-term and long-term
expected to rise from that of a flat geometry due to a larger area environmental disturbances for maritime photovoltaic
exposed to ambient air. However, this is not always the case because a system
trade-off can be found between convection and radiation as the bladed Tang, R. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114183.
geometry and surface temperature are varied. Furthermore, a mixed The maritime photovoltaic (PV) system is easily affected by the special
convection regime adds complexity to the heat exchange between the environmental disturbances from the ship and the sea, e.g. the partial
surrounding air and the heated bladed structure, which is relevant to and dynamic shadings when moved with a ship, the corrosion of PV
various applications such as cooling and solar thermal energy. In this module when continuously worked in high salinity oceanic environ-
study, mixed convection and radiation heat transfer were determined ment. In this study, the optimal configuration of PV array installed on
for a cuboid with isothermal blades protruding from one of its sides. A large ocean-going ship is developed, and a novel offline/online hybrid
steady-state simulation based on a three-dimensional shear–stress maximum power point tracking method is presented to suppress the
transport k–! turbulence model was performed in OpenFOAM to short-term disturbance caused by the partial and dynamic shadings.
estimate the average convection heat transfer coefficient as a function Then, in order to dynamically track the corrosion of the PV module
of structure orientation, convection regime and bladed geometry. A and suppress the long-term disturbance, the dynamic knowledge-base
Monte Carlo ray tracing method was employed to calculate view factors with time-window is developed. Finally, the proposed methodology is
for determining the radiation heat transfer coefficient. Wind tunnel verified by simulation experiments. Experimental results show that in
experiments validated the combined numerical approach. An increas- the proposed configuration, location of the maximum power point is
ing pitch angle (starting from the vertical) gradually increased closely related to the area and degree of the shading, but is irrelevant
convection heat transfer until a maximum value at 45 and then to the distribution. Moreover, according to the experimental results,
significantly decreased it, where both effects were due to a flow the operation data in the nearest 3 months to 1 year can be collected
behaviour in which vortices between the blades formed (<45  ) but then and employed to train the offline model, in order to obtain the best
disappeared (>45 ). The velocity and wall temperature of the mixed control performance. With the proposed configuration and control
convection flow in between the dominantly natural and forced methodology, the environmental disturbances can be efficiently
convection regimes were identified. In comparison to a flat geometry, suppressed, the evaluated system can also obtain efficient and robust
the bladed structure increased the temperature value at which the heat control performance under complex maritime environment.
transfer by convection and radiation equalized, and produced a lower
total heat transfer coefficient than the flat configuration at high surface
21/01102 Thermal performance study of an active solar
temperatures. Furthermore, flow bifurcations were observed between
building fac˛ade with specific PV/T hybrid modules
the blades as their length was increased. In contrast, a large number of
Liang, R. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116532.
blades led to a flow transition where most of the incoming air exited
This paper presents an active solar building fac˛ade system, which can
from the side apertures to a lid-driven-like convection with flow
generate domestic hot water and electric power. The design system
recirculation occurring within the blades, which created a thermal
utilizes the specific photovoltaic/thermal modules as an external skin to
barrier that decreased convection heat transfer. These results support
form an opaque ventilated fac˛ade, and the additional active layer can
the design of bladed or finned structures that enhance or reduce heat
reduce the heat flux transferred into the building envelope and has the
transfer by mixed convection and/or thermal radiation.
potential to preheat fresh air. To investigate the thermal impact of this
solar fac˛ade on the building’s envelope, a number of heat transfer
analysis work is done from the aspect of theoretical analysis and an
21/01099 Near-field radiative thermal rectification assisted experimental platform consisting of the opaque photovoltaic/thermal
by black phosphorus sheets ventilated fac˛ade and a hot water system is set up to evaluate the net
Xu, G. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 149, heat gain combined from the experimental research aspect. The
106179. specific photovoltaic/thermal facade in experimental system is a hybrid
Here, the authors suggest a thermal rectification structure where a module composed of glass lamination, photovoltaic cells, single-sided
semi-infinite InSb plate and a semi-infinite 3C–SiC plate coated by inflatable plate collector, and ethylene-vinyl acetate. The results
black phosphorus (BP) sheets are separated by a nanoscale vacuum indicated that the coefficient of performance of designed system can
gap. To obtain high and tunable thermal rectification efficiency, the reach 3.1 and average photovoltaic conversion efficiency is about 9%.
temperature-dependent dielectric properties of both InSb and 3C–SiC The opaque ventilated PV/T fac˛ade is superior to conventional wall,
were used, and BP sheets with in-plane anisotropy introduced into the which can reduce heat flux through the external envelope by 40%.
structure. Based on fluctuational electrodynamics, the near-field
radiative heat transfer and the rectification efficiency are calculated. 21/01103 Thermohydraulic performance of double pass
It was found that the rectification efficiency varies very sensitively with solar thermal collector with inline, staggered and hybrid fin
the emitter’s temperature, the chemical potential and the number of configurations
BP layers, thus opening up possibilities to control the rectification Singh, S. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101080.
efficiency through these parameters. Higher rectification efficiencies The present experimental and numerical investigations are aimed to
are obtained under some certain conditions, and the origins of the increase the thermal performance of a finned absorber plate solar air
thermal rectification effect are elucidated in some detail. The obtained heater. A commercial computational fluid (CFD) dynamics tool is used
results might be helpful in designing a BP-based high-efficiency to perform the numerical investigation and the obtained results are
thermal diode. validated with the experimental data. The geometrical parameters such
as fin angle (30 4  4 90 ), fin length (0.007 m 4 L1 4 0.028 m), fin
height (0.007 m 4 L2 4 0.014 m), fin arrangements (inline, staggered,
and hybrid), and hydraulic diameter (0.029 m 4 Dh 4 0.057 m) of the
21/01100 Optimum operational strategies for a solar
heater duct are considered to obtain the optimum values using
absorption cooling system in an isolated school of Mexico
numerical simulation, while Reynolds number (3000 4 Re 4 20,000)
Aguilar-Jiménez, J. A. et al. International Journal of Refrigeration,
as a flow parameter is considered. The obtained CFD results revealed
2020, 112, 1–13.
the best thermohydraulic performance for the hybrid staggered fins
This work presents the simulation study of a LiBr–H2O solar thermal
configuration and found to be about 3.5% and 3.8% in comparison to
absorption air conditioning system, installed in an isolated primary
the staggered and inline fins configuration, respectively. Moreover,
school in the community of Puertecitos, Mexico. The collection system
CFD investigation revealed the interesting results about the staggered
consists of 110 m2 of evacuated tube solar collectors that produce the
fins configuration, which is the generation of the wavy motion inside
thermal energy needed to activate the chiller, while four cooling coils
the heater duct that confers the significant heat transfer enhancement.
of 8.75 kW each cool the classrooms of the school with the chilled water
Whereas, the experimental thermohydraulic efficiency of the double
produced. The characteristics of the system’s equipment are used and a
pass solar air heater design is found to be 79% which is about 13%
simulator is developed to determine the optimum operational
higher than that of similar design of single air pass.
strategies, given the conditions to which it will be subjected before
the start-up of the plant. This is intended to ensure the comfort
conditions of the students within the classrooms during the weekly class 21/01104 Thiourea-assisted coating of dispersed copper
periods. The results show that the installed system is capable of electrocatalysts on Si photocathodes for solar hydrogen
satisfying the cooling needs of the school with the simulated strategies, production
but for a stable operation, periods of time must be dedicated for the Wang, P. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 75–80.
recovery of energy inside the thermal storage tank. Some experiences Photoelectrochemical water splitting can convert solar energy into
are mentioned, both of the start-up and economic, related to an clean hydrogen energy for storage. It is desirable to explore non-
installation in an isolated community. The cost of the balance of plant precious electrocatalysts for practical applications of a photoelectrode
was the highest with 36% of the total project, followed by the chiller in a large scale. Here, the authors developed a facile spin-coating and
and the solar field with 25 and 18%, respectively. The preliminary in situ photoelectrochemical reduction method to prepare a dispersed
experimental results obtained during the implementation of the system Cu electrocatalyst on a Si photocathode, which improves the perform-
are presented, where some of the operational strategies resulting from ance remarkably. It was found that thiourea in the precursor solution
the simulation study can be confirmed. for spin-coating plays an important role in obtaining dispersed Cu

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 189

13 Alternative energy supplies (wind energy)

particles on the surface of a Si photoelectrode. With thiourea in the (OWPS). The aim of this study is to provide theoretical and
precursor, the Cu/Si photocathode shows higher performance than the methodological support for the site selection decision-making of
one without thiourea. Moreover, the Cu/Si photocathode also indicates coastal wind power projects and to improve the benefits of integrated
good stability after 16 h illumination. coastal management. Taking six criteria (wind resources, construction,
economic, environment, society, risk) and the related sub-criteria into
21/01105 Time series prediction for output of multi-region consideration, an evaluation system of OWPS site selection is
solar power plants established. The optimal location scheme is determined by the decision
Zheng, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114001. framework in current paper. After a sensitivity analysis and a
Solar energy, as a renewable and clean energy source, has developed comparative analysis, the result shows that decision framework has
rapidly and has attracted considerable attention. The integration of strong robustness and feasibility. Thus, the evaluation criteria and
solar energy into a power grid requires precise prediction of the power methodology in this paper can provide a theoretical reference for the
output of solar plants. Accurate solar power output prediction can development of coastal management and offshore wind power.
promote power dispatch, maintaining the normal operation of power
systems. However, research on multi-region solar power is still rare. In 21/01109 A methodology to develop reduced-order models
this study, long short-term memory and a particle swarm optimization to support the operation and maintenance of offshore wind
algorithm contribute to solar power prediction considering time series. turbines
In order to improve the prediction accuracy, particle swarm optimiz- Lin, Z. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114228.
ation is used to optimize the parameters of the long short-term memory From an operation and maintenance (O&M) point of view, it is
model. In addition, different long short-term memory structures are necessary to model the aero-hydro-servo-elastic (AHSE) dynamics of
illustrated to determine the final prediction model with sensitivity each wind turbine but, on the other side, wind farms generally include
analysis. Experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the hundreds of wind turbines. Simply using and linking several advanced,
proposed method. The mean absolute error and root mean square single wind turbine models of dynamics to represent a wind farm can be
error of the proposed method is the smallest among the prediction computationally prohibitive. To this end, this paper developed a
methods in four cases containing different seasons. In terms of pre- reduced-order model (ROM), able to capture the relevant dynamics of
diction accuracy, results indicate that the proposed prediction model the system for a specific failure, having a lower computational cost and
outperforms basic long short-term memory, artificial neural network, therefore more easily scalable up to a wind farm level. First, a non-
and extreme gradient boosting. linear AHSE model is used to derive the time-domain response of the
wind turbine degrees of freedom (DOFs). The failure mode, its
21/01106 TiO2@C core@shell nanocomposites: a single relevant DOF, and the relevant operational conditions during which
precursor synthesis of photocatalyst for efficient solar water the failure is likely to occur are identified. A linearization of the non-
treatment linear aero-hydro-servo-elastic-drivetrain (AHSE-DT) model is then
Chauhan, A. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120883. carried out. Subsequently, a number of linear ROMs are developed
This study reports the facile synthesis of highly photoactive TiO2@C based on the linear full-order system but excluding high-frequency
core@shell nanocomposites through a single alkoxide precursor. TiO2 states using the modal truncation (MT) method. For the targeted DOF
and carbon-based hybrid nanomaterials are popular photocatalysts (rotor torque signal) and the load cases simulated, the results from the
owing to their abundance, low toxicity, and high stability, making them linear ROMs showed that the blade modes are important to capture
strong candidates for practical solar water-treatment applications. not only the DOF of extreme values, but also the DOF of high-
However, synthesis of such nanomaterials is often a multi-step process frequency responses (>1.5 Hz). The results from non-linear ROMs
and requires careful control of the external carbon source for showed that the ROM eliminating all the tower modes (rigid tower) is
producing the desired morphology. In this regard, this study reports acceptable to capture the DOF of low-frequency response (<0.5 Hz),
the synthesis of well-dispersed TiO2@C nanocomposites without the as it has almost the same spectral responses as the full-order non-linear
need of an external carbon source. The resulting photocatalyst was model.
employed for treatment of various water-borne pollutants including
several dyes, pharmaceuticals, and pathogens. Rapid mineralization of 21/01110 Aerodynamic and aeroelastic characteristics of
pollutants could be achieved even with low amounts of catalyst, with flexible wind turbine blades under periodic unsteady inflows
the performance well exceeding that of pristine TiO2 and P25 Degussa. Li, Z. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics,
Results indicate that incorporation of C increases visible-light 2020, 197, 104057.
absorption and greatly improves the separation of photogenerated The aeroelastic coupling effect is playing an increasingly important role
charge carriers. Given the facile synthesis and the wide scope of in the aerodynamic and aeroelastic characteristics of wind turbine
operation, the proposed catalyst could be a significant step towards blades owing to the increasing size of modern wind turbines.
practical photocatalytic solar water treatment. Concurrently, periodic unsteady inflows, including the wind shear
(WS), tower shadow (TS), and yawed inflow, further amplify the
21/01107 TTA as a potential hole transport layer for impacts of aeroelastic coupling. In this study, an aeroelastic model
application in conventional polymer solar cells based on the geometrically exact beam theory and blade element
Liu, L. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 210–216. momentum method is established. The aeroelastic coupling model is
Hole transport layers (HTLs) play a vital role in organic solar cells verified based on several previous studies. Taking the NREL 5WM
(OSCs). In this work, a derivative of tetrathiafulvalene with four flexible wind turbine blade as an example, the aerodynamic and
carboxyl groups (TTA) was introduced as a novel HTL to fabricate aeroelastic characteristics under periodic unsteady inflows are inves-
OSC with high performance. Displaying a better energy level match tigated. The results show that the WS causes remarkable fluctuations of
between HTL and active layers, the TTA-based devices show a peak the flap deflection and yaw moment. The TS effect introduces dramatic
power conversion efficiency of 9.09%, which is comparable to the changes into the tilt moment, thrust force, and output power when the
devices based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) : poly(styrenesulfo- blade passes by the tower. The yawed inflow leads to a significant
nate) (PEDOT : PSS), the prevailing representative of polymer-based reduction in both the output power and thrust force. Compared with
HTL. The favourable surface morphology recorded via atomic force other unsteady inflows, the gravity effect on the output power and
microscopy, low series loss and charge recombination indicated by thrust force are negligible. The response under the combined effect is a
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, synchronously verify the summation of the results considering each single influencing factor and
potential of TTA for application in OSCs as a valid kind of HTLs. is dominated by the major influencing factors.

21/01111 Data fusion-based damage identification for a

monopile offshore wind turbine structure using wireless
Wind energy smart sensors
Jeong, S. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106728.
Wind turbines have been constructed in many offshore locations in
response to the recent emphasis on the importance of renewable
21/01108 A decision framework of offshore wind power energy. Even though these wind structures are exposed to harsh
station site selection using a PROMETHEE method under environmental conditions such as strong winds and tides, few previous
intuitionistic fuzzy environment: a case in China studies have focused on this issue. This study proposes a damage-
Wu, Y. et al. Ocean & Coastal Management, 2020, 184, 105016. identification method to detect structural damage occurring near the
Multi-criteria decision-making method has a widely application in bottom of the monopile offshore wind structures using data fusion of
management and energy field. Considering the broad development acceleration and angular velocity responses. Traditional damage-
prospects of offshore wind power and deficiency of integrated coastal detection methods have utilized a single type of measurement such
management, a decision framework combining triangular intuitionistic as acceleration or strain; however, the proposed method is based on the
fuzzy numbers, analytic network process and preference ranking combination of two different types of measurement to significantly
organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) is improve the damage-detection threshold. A damage sensitivity index is
proposed and applied in site selection of offshore wind power station proposed that is a function of the energy ratios between the

190 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (wind energy)

acceleration and angular velocity responses at each natural mode. Both 21/01115 Influence of tip speed ratio on wake features of a
numerical simulations and laboratory-scale experiments are conducted vertical axis wind turbine
to validate the efficacy of the proposed damage-detection method when Posa, A. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics,
applied to a monopile offshore wind structure. 2020, 197, 104076.
Dependence of wake features of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)
on tip speed ratio (TSR) is studied in the present work, using a
computational approach, based on large eddy simulation. The overall
21/01112 Dynamic wake modulation induced by
methodology was validated in an earlier study, via comparison with
utility-scale wind turbine operation
particle image velocimetry wind-tunnel measurements on the same
Abraham, A. and Hong, J. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114003.
turbine. Results are analysed in terms of both ensemble-averaged and
Understanding wind turbine wake mixing and recovery is critical for
phase-averaged statistics. They demonstrate a strong dependence of
improving the power generation and structural stability of downwind
wake properties on TSR. Increasing values of such parameter produce
turbines in a wind farm. In the field, where incoming flow and turbine
a higher momentum deficit in the wake, but also a faster wake recovery,
operation are constantly changing, the rate of wake recovery can be
triggered by the instability of the shear layers at both leeward and
significantly influenced by dynamic wake modulation, which has not yet
windward edges of the wake of the turbine. Both turbulent kinetic
been explored. Here, the authors present the first investigation of
energy and turbulent production display their maxima at the leeward
dynamic wake modulation in the near wake of an operational utility-
and windward sides of the wake, where the largest velocity gradients
scale wind turbine, and quantify its relationship with changing
occur. Turbulent production was found higher at higher TSRs, making
conditions. This experimental investigation is enabled using novel
turbulent kinetic energy few diameters downstream of the turbine an
super-large-scale flow visualization with natural snowfall, providing
increasing function of TSR. The level of coherence of the wake was
unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution to resolve instantaneous
instead usually a decreasing function of TSR, with the largest
changes of the wake envelope in the field. These measurements reveal
cylindrical vortices populating the leeward side of the wake.
the significant influence of dynamic wake modulation, which causes an
increase in flux across the wake boundary of 11% on average, on wake
recovery, providing insights into necessary modifications to traditional 21/01116 Investigating the potential impact of wind farms
wake and farm models. Further, this study uncovers the direct on Lake Erie
connection between dynamic wake modulation and operational Afsharian, S. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial
parameters readily available to the turbine controller such as yaw Aerodynamics, 2020, 198, 104049.
error, blade pitch, and tip speed ratio. These connections pave the way Offshore wind farms are coming to the Great Lakes. This study there-
for more precise wake prediction and control algorithms under field fore investigates the potential impact of wind farms on Lake Erie’s
conditions for wind farm optimization. dynamic and thermal structure using the COHERENS (a Coupled
Hydrodynamical-Ecological model for Regional and Shelf Seas) and
simulates a large wind farm with 432 offshore turbines located in the
shallow southern waters of the central basin. The simulation is run
21/01113 Evaluation of the unsteady aerodynamic forces
twice to compare physical parameters such as temperature and
acting on a vertical-axis turbine by means of numerical
circulation pattern and velocity results in the absence and presence
simulations and open site experiments
of a large wind farm. In the case of no wind farm, model results are
Nguyen, M. T. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial
validated with data from buoys located in Lake Erie, while with the
Aerodynamics, 2020, 198, 104093.
wind farm, the results show that the central basin is impacted by the
An increasing number of vertical-axis wind turbine prototypes have
wind turbines. This occurs because the reduced wind speed and stress
reached the step in which the theoretically predicted performance
leads to less mixing, lower current speeds and higher surface water
needs to be validated in order to move to the next steps of a real
temperature. There is no significant impact, however, in the eastern
commercial project. This step often faces the significant challenges
and western basins. This research examines Lake Erie, since this lake
posed by their airfoil aerodynamics that are more complex than those
has a high potential for offshore wind turbine installation due to its
of conventional horizontal-axis wind turbines, and it has also to deal
proximity to population centres and its shallow depth.
with the lack of fundamental experimental data for robust validation.
In this context, an accurate prediction of the real turbine operation is
important and the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is 21/01117 Mooring system fatigue analysis of a floating
imposing itself as the most suitable tool to characterize the unsteady offshore wind turbine
phenomena that are difficult to detect by means of experimental Barrera, C. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106670.
measurements. In the current work, two-dimensional numerical simu- Mooring systems are under a cyclic loading process caused by the
lations of an H-type three-blade Darrieus turbine have been performed randomness of metocean conditions, which could lead to a fatigue
in a wide range of tip-speed ratios from 1.8 to 5.0. Unsteady CFD failure of the station keeping system. The present paper presents an
simulations were compared with unique experimental data collected in innovative methodology for the assessment of floating offshore wind
the field in terms of normal aerodynamic forces acting on the blades turbine mooring system fatigue considering the full lifetime of the
during the revolution. Generally, nice agreement was found between structure. The method integrates the impact of the life cycle metocean
simulations and experiments, especially at medium–high tip-speed conditions over the dynamic performance of the platform thanks to
ratios. The influence of operating conditions on the performance coupled numerical models, selection and non-linear data interpolation
prediction capability of the numerical model was also discussed. This is techniques and commonly accepted fatigue approaches. One of the
one of the key points of study since the lack of detailed experimental benefits of using this methodology is that there are no uncertainties
data often makes numerical analyses doubtful or scarcely effective. due to the selection of a reduced set of sea states. The methodology is
Finally, the simulation results were exploited in order to analyse the applied to a set of moorings with different properties in the DeepC-
phenomena occurring during the revolution and to correlate them with wind platform to evaluate the solution which offers the best
the experimental findings. compromise between size and fatigue damage. Results show that the
best long-term mooring behaviour is achieved with a weight of
approximately 300 kg/m. A comparison is conducted between the
fatigue damage obtained through the life-cycle method and conven-
21/01114 Improvement of aerodynamic performance of an
tional methods. The mean differences observed between the standard
offshore wind turbine blade by moving surface mechanism
and the new method proposed are between 13% and 49% depending
Salimipour, E. and Yazdani, S. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106710.
on the use of the S–N or T–N curves.
In the present study, the effects of a moving surface on the
aerodynamic characteristics of an offshore wind turbine blade were
numerically examined. The S809 airfoil was considered as the blade 21/01118 Performance enhancement of wind energy
section. A part of the airfoil surface was replaced with a moving surface harvester utilizing wake flow induced by double upstream
as a flow control mechanism. To achieve the highest mechanical flat-plates
performance of the airfoil at each angle of attack, the effects of Liu, F.-R. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114034.
location and speed of the moving surface on the flow characteristics Small-scale wind energy harvesting system is being considered to
were studied. The flow simulation was carried out using a compu- provide green long-term electric power to unattended sensor network
tational fluid dynamics technique. The results of this study indicated nodes which are widely used in urban and natural environments. This
that the use of a moving surface with appropriate speed and location paper proposes that placing a double-plate structure upstream of the
could enhance the airfoil performance. As the angle of attack bluff body in the wind energy harvesting system can significantly
increased, a stronger moving surface was needed. The performance improve the output performance. At a certain wind speed, two wake
improvement for  = 8 , 11 , 14 and 17 was 30%, 62%, 131% and flow zones with low-pressure are formed behind two upstream side-by-
152%, respectively. In addition, the performance of a three-bladed side plates, which induced the bluff body at the downstream
horizontal axis wind turbine was numerically analysed in the range of intermediate position to deviate to both sides. Even at a low wind
tip speed ratio, 4 4 TSR 4 9. It was observed that the moving surface speed, the vibration of bluff body can still occur because the pressure
significantly improved the torque and power generated by the turbine, fluctuation of the wake zone disturb the static equilibrium. Placing the
especially at low TSRs. This improvement was over 90% for TSR < 5. double plates upstream of a wind energy harvester with a cylinder can

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 191

13 Alternative energy supplies (others, including economics)

change the vibration response from vortex-induced vibration to unidirectional rotational motion of the generator input shaft in the
galloping. Moreover, when the ratios of the horizontal and vertical generator module to produce electricity. The super-capacitors in the
distances to the windward width of the cylinder are 1 and 0.5, energy storage module store this electrical energy, which is applied to
respectively, the cut-in wind speed is as low as 1.5 m/s. For the the self-powered sensors. A max efficiency of 57% and an average
galloping-based wind energy harvester with a square prism, after the efficiency of 46.17% can be obtained through MTS bench tests. In field
double plates are placed upstream, the cut-in wind speed decreases tests, the system’s voltage can reach approximately 3 V, given wave
from 3.5 to 1 m/s and the output voltage increases from 1 to 12 V at excitation of 1.2 Hz frequency and 15 mm amplitude, which indicates
1.5 m/s. The increase of voltage caused by the addition of double plates that the proposed WEH is feasible and practical for generating energy
to the upstream of six different bluff bodies indicates the good used for self-powered sensors in sea-crossing bridges.
adaptability of this structure. The higher voltage output capability by
this method at low wind speed significantly expands the application
scope of wind energy harvesters. 21/01122 A review of data centers as prosumers in district
energy systems: renewable energy integration and waste
heat reuse for district heating
21/01119 Wind power forecasting based on singular Huang, P. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114109.
spectrum analysis and a new hybrid Laguerre neural As large energy prosumers in district energy systems, on the one hand,
network data centres consume a large amount of electricity to ensure the
Wang, C. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114139. information technologies (IT) facilities, ancillary power supply and
Given the intermittency and randomness of wind energy, the mass grid cooling systems work properly; on the other hand, data centres produce
connection of wind power poses great challenges in power system and a large quantity of waste heat due to the high heat dissipation rates of
increases the threat in power system balance. Wind power forecasting the IT facilities. To date, a systematic review of data centres from the
can predict the fluctuation of output wind power in wind farms, which perspective of energy prosumers, which considers both integration of
can effectively reduce wind power uncertainty. Improving the accuracy the upstream green energy supply and downstream waste heat reuse, is
of wind power is indispensable for enhancing the efficiency of wind still lacking. As a result, the potentials for improving data centres’
power utilization. To improve the forecasting accuracy, this research performances are limited due to a lack of global optimization of the
proposed a novel wind power forecasting method based on singular upstream renewable energy integration and downstream waste heat
spectrum analysis and a new hybrid Laguerre neural network. First, utilization. This study is intended to fill in this gap and provides such a
singular spectrum analysis was used to analyse the wind power series, review. In this regard, the advancements in different cooling
which decomposes the series into two subsequences, namely, trend and techniques, integration of renewable energy and advanced controls,
harmonic series and noise series. Then, Laguerre neural network and waste heat utilization and connections for district heating, real projects,
new Laguerre neural network were proposed to build the hybrid performance metrics and economic, energy and environmental analyses
forecasting model optimized by the opposition transition state are reviewed. Based on the enormous amount of research on data
transition algorithm. The two decomposed signals were used for centres in district energy systems, it has been found that: (1) global
forecasting the future wind power value by using a forecasting model. controls, which can manage the upstream renewable production, data
Finally, the proposed hybrid forecasting method was investigated with centres’ operation and waste heat generation and downstream waste
respect to the wind farm in Xinjiang, China. Prediction performance heat utilization are still lacking; (2) regional climate studies represent
results demonstrated that the proposed model has higher accuracy than an effective way to find the optimal integration of renewable energy
the Laguerre neural network, hybrid Laguerre neural network, hybrid and waste heat recovery technologies for improving the data centres’
Laguerre neural network with singular spectrum analysis, hybrid energy efficiency; (3) the development of global energy metrics will
Laguerre neural network with opposition transition state transition help to appropriately quantify the data centre performances.
algorithm and singular spectrum analysis, and other popular methods.

21/01123 An effective hybrid wind-photovoltaic system

including battery energy storage with reducing control loops
and omitting PV converter
Others, including economics Najafi-Shad, S. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101088.
In this paper, an effective hybrid wind–photovoltaic (PV) system
including battery energy storage system with an optimal number of
converters has been introduced. The proposed system provides an
21/01120 A comprehensive assessment of turbulence at a economical solution for combining PV and grid by removing the PV
tidal-stream energy site influenced by wind-generated ocean dedicated converter. The proposed configuration uses both the grid
waves side and rotor side converters of the generator to inject PV power into
Thiébaut, M. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116550. the grid. So, it is also able to inject PV power into the network more
Velocity measurements collected by an upward-looking acoustic efficiently compared with the conventional systems. The complemen-
Doppler current profiler were used to provide the first study of tary profiles of solar radiation and wind energy considerably improves
ambient turbulence in Alderney Race in the English channel. Turbu- the converters utilization. Moreover, by means of the embedded energy
lence metrics were estimated at mid-depth during peak flooding and storage, the impact of intermittency of wind and radiation has been
ebbing tidal conditions. The dissipation rate " and the integral length significantly reduced in the proposed system. Additionally, even though
(L) were estimated using two independent methods: the spectral the converter typically dedicated to PV systems has been dispensed
method and the structure function method. The spectral method with, the PV system operates with a maximum power point tracking
provided " and L estimates with standard deviations twice lower than strategy. The simulation results verify the ability and effectiveness of
that obtained from the structure function method. Removal of wave the proposed system in comparison with a previously proposed similar
and Doppler noise-induced bias when estimating the dissipation rate system.
was shown to be a crucial step in turbulence characterization. It
allowed for a significant refining in L estimates derived from the
spectral and structure function methods of 35% and 20%, respectively. 21/01124 Blade design and optimization of a horizontal axis
The integral length was found to be two to three times the local water tidal turbine
depth. It is considered that these findings could be valuable for current Zhu, F.-w. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106652.
turbine designers, helping them optimizing their designs as well as Tidal turbine is a device which converts the kinetic energy of water into
improving loading prediction through the lifetime of the machines. electric energy. The blade element momentum theory is used to design
the blade in this paper. Although tidal power resources are abundant,
the actual operation of hydraulic turbines is not very good due to the
21/01121 A novel oscillating buoy wave energy harvester limitations of turbine conversion efficiency and production cost.
based on a spatial double X-shaped mechanism for Therefore, this paper establishes a neural network model for variables
self-powered sensors in sea-crossing bridges and objective functions, and then applies multi-objective optimization
Xie, Q. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 204, 112286. algorithm to genetic optimization of the power coefficient, the main
With the sharp increase in the number of sea-crossing bridges, various index of hydraulic performance of tidal turbines. The optimized results
sensors have been widely used in bridge monitoring systems in order to are verified by model test and sea trial. The results show that after
ensure safety and prevent accidents during the use of sea-crossing optimizing the blade chord length distribution and pitch angle
bridges. In this paper, an oscillating buoy wave energy harvester distribution, the power coefficient of the turbine increases by 2%,
(WEH) based on a spatial double X-shaped mechanism is proposed for and the optimal tip speed ratio range is also expanded, which is more
self-powered sensors in sea-crossing bridges. Fixed to the side of pillars conducive to the actual tidal turbine power generation, and has certain
in sea-crossing bridges, the proposed WEH can convert wave energy engineering significance.
with high energy density into electricity. The system consists of four
modules: wave energy capture module, transmission module, generator
module, and energy storage module. The wave energy capture module 21/01125 Determinants of renewable energy production in
collects wave energy through a cylindrical buoy. The transmission transition economies: a panel data approach
module converts the up and down motion of the buoy into a Przychodzen, W. and Przychodzen, J. Energy, 2020, 191, 116583.

192 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 13 Alternative energy supplies (others, including economics)

Over the past several years, the analysis of the determinants of shortfalls considering the net power deficiency and state of charge,
renewable energy production has become an increasingly popular topic while pumped hydro storage works as the main storage for high energy
in academic research and governmental policy around the globe. demand. To make sure the functionality of each energy storage, HPBS
However, many questions about these factors, especially in the operating strategy is developed based on the operating range, both in
transition economies in central and eastern Europe and the Caucasus discharging/charging, of reversible pump-turbine machine which is
and central Asia, remain unanswered. To address this gap, this paper defined after several simulation cases. Some indicators including
presents novel empirical evidence on the primary economic and storage overall performance (SOP), energy utilization ratio (EUR)
political factors shaping transitions to a low carbon economy via and storage usage factor (SUF) are taken into account for HPBS
renewable energy generation in post-socialist countries. Using exten- performance analysis. It is observed, that by employing the hydro
sive data from 27 transition economies over the years 1990–2014, it has turbine with operation in range from 20% to 100%, a high SUF for
been found that higher economic growth and rising level of pumped storage can be attained while the SOP of battery is high due to
unemployment and government debt acted as stimulators of renewable a small regular energy flow from it. After a 1-year simulation, the
energy generation. The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol also led overall SOP and SUF of HPBS is calculated as 66.4% and 7.3%,
to the significant increase in renewables utilization. Furthermore, respectively, while EUR of the whole system is 16.5%. Finally, the
increasing CO2 emissions per capita, the implementation of the energy balance of the proposed system is analysed to reveal the
competition policy and deteriorating competitiveness within the energy detailed operational performance of HPBS.
market significantly limited production of energy from renewable
sources. The findings also suggest that since the beginning of the last
21/01129 Hydrodynamic performance of a dual-floater
global financial crisis in 2007 reinforcement of competition within
hybrid system combining a floating breakwater and an
energy market and additional public funding had a much stronger role
oscillating-buoy type wave energy converter
to play as factors stimulating renewables deployment.
Zhang, H. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114212.
The high cost of power generation impedes commercial-scale wave
21/01126 Economic feasibility of ultra-low temperature power operations. The objective of this work is to provide a cost-
district heating systems in newly built areas supplied by sharing solution by combining wave energy extraction and coastal
renewable energy protection. A two-dimensional numerical wave tank was developed
Meesenburg, W. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116496. using Star-CCM+ computational fluid dynamics software to investigate
Future district heating systems are expected to supply lower tempera- the hydrodynamic performance of a dual-floater hybrid system
tures to increase system efficiency and enable exploitation of renewable consisting of a floating breakwater and an oscillating-buoy type wave
heat sources. To answer whether it is beneficial to lower district heating energy converter (WEC), and was compared with published exper-
temperatures below the level where it is still possible to supply imental results. The differences between the hydrodynamic perform-
domestic hot water directly, the economic feasibility of three ultra-low ance of the hybrid system, a single WEC and a single breakwater were
temperature district heating (ULTDH) concepts was compared to low compared. Wave resonance in the WEC–breakwater gap has a
temperature district heating (LTDH). The dependency of the significant impact on system performance, with the hybrid system
economic feasibility on the boundary conditions of the supplied district demonstrating both better wave attenuation and wave energy extrac-
heating area was assessed systematically and feasible boundary tion capabilities at low wave frequencies, i.e. wider effective frequency.
conditions were identified. For this purpose building plot ratio, specific Forces on the breakwater were generally reduced due to the WEC.
heat demand and central heating unit were varied. The different Wave resonance in the narrow gap has an adverse effect on the energy
solutions were compared based on levelized cost of heat, socio- efficiency of the hybrid system with an asymmetric WEC, while a
economic net present value and overall seasonal coefficient of beneficial effect with a symmetric WEC. The wave energy conversion
performance. It was found that in most cases LTDH was economically efficiency of hybrid system can be improved by increasing the draft and
preferred. ULTDH could be feasible if the linear heat demand density width of the WEC and decreasing the distance between the WEC and
(LHDD) was high, if the cost of decentral units could be lowered or if the breakwater. The findings of this paper make wave energy
the investment cost of the central heating unit was significantly lower economically competitive and commercial-scale wave power operations
compared to LTDH. Among the ULTDH solutions, apartment units possible.
were preferable for low LHDD, while units at building level performed
better for larger LHDD.
21/01130 Hydrodynamic performance of a floating
breakwater as an oscillating-buoy type wave energy
21/01127 Global available solar energy under physical and converter
energy return on investment constraints Zhang, H. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113996.
Dupont, E. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113968. Combined floating breakwater and wave energy converter (WEC)
The amount of energy striking the Earth’s surface in an hour is higher systems have the potential to provide a cost-effective solution to
than global annual energy use, yet the fraction of incoming solar offshore power supply and coastal protection. This will make wave
radiation that can be harvested is significantly constrained. A global energy economically competitive and commercial-scale wave power
grid–cell methodology was adopted to assess the available global solar operations possible. This paper investigates the hydrodynamic features
energy potential taking into account four constraints: land-use, solar of WECs that meet the dual objectives of wave energy extraction and
irradiation, solar-to-electric technology and net energy. Net energy is attenuation for such a combined system. A two-dimensional numerical
the amount of energy that is delivered to end-users, after subtraction of model was established using Star-CCM+ commercial software based
the energy inputs needed for capital infrastructure and operation. Both on viscous computational fluid dynamics theory to investigate the
photovoltaic and concentrated solar power technologies are con- hydrodynamic performance of an oscillating buoy WEC-type floating
sidered. The resulting constrained solar potential worldwide was breakwater under regular waves. The model proposed in this paper was
estimated at 1098 exajoules per year, of which 98%, 75% and only verified with published experimental results. The hydrodynamics of
15% can be extracted if the system needs to deliver an energy return on symmetric and asymmetric floaters were investigated to demonstrate
energy invested set at 5, 7.5 and 9, respectively. The resulting global their wave attenuation and energy extraction performance, including
solar potential is substantially lower than most previous estimates. square bottomed, triangular bottomed (with and without a baffle
Depending on how high the energy return needs to be relative to the plate), and the Berkley Wedge. The asymmetric floaters were found to
energy investment needed to maintain a sustainable society, the have higher power conversion efficiency and better wave attenuation
achievable potential will be significantly constrained. The effect is performance, especially the Berkeley Wedge bottom device and the
especially significant in lower solar radiation regions. The European triangular-baffle bottom device. The triangular-baffle bottom device
Union holds only 2% of the global solar net energy potential. with a simpler geometry achieved similar wave attenuation and energy
extraction performance characteristics to that of the Berkeley Wedge
device. The maximum energy conversion efficiency of the triangular-
21/01128 Hybrid pumped hydro and battery storage for
baffle bottom floater reached up to 93%, an impressive WEC device
renewable energy based power supply system
among many designs for wave energy conversion. There may be a great
Javed, M. S. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114026.
potential for this newly proposed triangular-baffle bottom WEC type of
It is very challenging for single energy storage to make an off-grid
floater to be an ideal coastal structure for both coastal protection and
renewable energy (RE) system that is fully capable and reliable, unless
wave energy extraction.
there are an oversized generator and storage capacities which
eventually lead to high dump load, due to high variability and
intermittency of RE resources. In this study, a hybrid pumped and 21/01131 Levelized cost of solar photovoltaics and wind
battery storage (HPBS) system is proposed to make the off-grid RE supported by storage technologies to supply firm electricity
system more reliable and sustainable. Firstly sizing of RE generators Gupta, R. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101027.
and energy storages is accomplished, then a novel operating strategy of Energy storage technologies can assist intermittent solar and wind
the HPBS based RE system is developed, considering the operating power to supply firm electricity by forming flexible hybrid systems.
range of reversible pump–turbine machine, to extract maximum stored However, evaluating these hybrid systems has proved to be a major
energy by operating HPBS at optimum efficiency. In the proposed challenge, since their techno-economic performance depends on a
model, the battery is only used in order to meet very low energy large number of parameters, including the renewable energy gener-

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 193

13 Alternative energy supplies (others, including economics)

ation profile, operational parameters of storage technologies and their central heating is higher in cities, whereas there is more medium-scale
associated costs. This study developed a method to simulate the central heating in rural areas. This results from the different shares of
performance and determine the levelized cost of hybrid systems to single and multi-family houses in the respective regions. To determine
provide firm electricity supply under various supply strategies such as the electrically-covered heat demand, the authors took into account
peak demand and baseload at three different scales (representative heat pumps and resistive heating technologies. All results, as well as
sizes). The methodology is implemented for Switzerland, however, it the developed code, are published under open source licenses and can
can also be replicated for other geographies. The results show that the thus also be used by other researchers for the assessment of power-to-
optimal choice for a hybrid system depends on the scale rather than the heat for renewable energy integration.
supply mode strategy. It was found that solar photovoltaics in
combination with lithium-ion battery at the residential (0.39 to 0.77 e/
kWh) and utility scale (0.17 to 0.36 e/kWh) as well as with pumped 21/01135 State space model of an array of oscillating water
hydro storage at the bulk scale (0.13 to 0.18 e/kWh) offer the lowest column wave energy converters with inter-body
levelized costs. Reducing the cost of both renewable and storage hydrodynamic coupling
technologies as well as the storage size by allowing some level of Gaebele, D. T. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106668.
curtailment or distortion in the firm supply profile improves the cost- This study derived a state-space model restricted to heave motion of a
competitiveness of hybrid systems. full-scale array of floating oscillating-water-column (OWC) wave
energy converters with non-linear power take off dynamics, taking
hydrodynamic interactions between all bodies into account. The
21/01132 Non-isentropic study of a closed-circuit resulting state-space model is intended as a basis for accelerated
oscillating-water-column wave energy converter development of advanced control approaches to maximize power
Benreguig, P. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106700. generation. The kinetic and potential energy transferred to the air
The thermodynamics of the air inside a conventional oscillating water chamber causes a pressure difference, inducing unidirectional motion
column (OWC) is commonly modelled using the isentropic relationship of a novel bi-radial turbine. This can be accurately modelled using
between pressure and density. The innovative Tupperwave device is pressure dependent turbine characteristics, taking into account the
based on the OWC concept but uses non-return valves and two extra non-linearity of the gas compressibility. The analytical model of the
reservoirs to rectify the flow into a smooth unidirectional air flow floating OWC is based on linear hydrodynamic coefficients, obtained
harnessed by a unidirectional turbine. The air, flowing in closed-circuit, using the boundary element solver ANSYS Aqwa of an equilateral
experiences a temperature increase due to viscous losses across the triangle array of axis-symmetric floating OWCs of the Marmok-A-5
valves and turbine along the repetitive cycles of the device’s operation. type. Finally, the system’s model time domain equations are simulated
In order to study this temperature increase which represents a in different wave climates and an ideal active controller is applied to
potential issue for the device operation, a non-isentropic wave-to-wire maximize energy conversion. For the specific implemented separation
model of the Tupperwave device is developed taking into account the distance the resulting cross body interactions are found to be negligible
irreversible thermodynamic processes. The model is based on the First in irregular compared to regular wave scenarios. The turbine rotational
Law of Thermodynamics, and accounts for viscous losses at the valves speed suggests investigations on discontinues non-linear control
and turbine as well as solar radiation and heat transfer across the methods before semi-global approaches are used to optimize power
device walls and inner free-surface. The results reveal that the generation.
temperature increase in the device remains harmless for its operation.
The difference between the power performance of the Tupperwave
device based on the non-isentropic and isentropic models is found to be 21/01136 The development of trade of biomass in Spain:
relatively small. Its performance are also compared to the correspond- a raw material equivalent approach
ing conventional OWC device. Rodrı́guez, M. and Camacho, J. A. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 133,
105450.
21/01133 Performance evaluation of a drag hydro kinetic Biomass is a key element within the Europe’s bioeconomy strategy.
turbine for rivers current energy extraction – a case study This paper aims at contributing to a better knowledge of the evolution
Ramadan, A. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106699. and current state of biomass trade in Spain by adopting a raw material
River current energy is considered as the greenest energy available, as equivalent approach. Instead of measuring trade flows in actual
it has enormous energies stored. It is a promising energy source in physical quantities, this approach expresses international trade flows
renewable energy due to the accessibility and availability. The River in terms of the raw material needed to produce the traded products.
Nile in Egypt has been selected in this work as the case study for this The results obtained show that while raw material input of biomass
kind of energy. The process of hydro-kinetic energy conversion utilizes increased by 3560 thousand tonnes over the period 2008–2016, raw
the contained kinetic energy in the river stream which can be extracted material consumption decreased by 15,086 thousand tonnes. This is
by a submerged vertical axis turbine. The main objective of this work is explained by the different pace of growth registered by raw material
to design and simulate a water current stream energy conversion equivalent of exports and of imports: while raw material equivalent of
system as a stand-alone power station for the electric power generation. exports rose from 49,485 thousand tonnes in 2008 to 68,131 thousand
The generated electric power is intended for rural and domestic tonnes in 2016 recording a double digit growth of 38%, the increase in
applications. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate and raw material equivalent of imports was considerably lower: from 64,560
redesign a drag turbine. The numerical analysis indicates that the S- thousand tonnes to 66,106 thousand tonnes, an increase of 2%. By
shape blade has the maximum power coefficient of 24.6% for a tip categories, biomass from agriculture was the main driver of overall
speed ratio 0.8 and streamflow velocity 3 m/s. The results indicate that trade of biomass. Two groupings deserve special mention: fodder
the maximum power coefficient of the S-shape and the conventional crops, which accounted for one quarter of raw material equivalent of
design are 18% and 12.8%, respectively, at the tip speed ratio 0.8 and exports, and cereals, which represented almost one third of raw
0.5 m/s. The S-shape enhances the turbine performance by 40% material equivalent of imports in 2016.
compared with the conventional design, especially at low velocity.
21/01137 Transitioning remote Arctic settlements to
21/01134 Regionalised heat demand and power-to-heat renewable energy systems – a modelling study of
capacities in Germany – an open dataset for assessing Longyearbyen, Svalbard
renewable energy integration Ringkjøb, H.-K. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114079.
Heitkoetter, W. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114161. As transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources
Higher shares of fluctuating generation from renewable energy sources comes on the agenda for a range of energy systems, energy modelling
in the power system lead to an increase in grid balancing demand. One tools can provide useful insights. If large parts of the energy system
approach for avoiding curtailment of renewable energies is to use turns out to be based on variable renewables, an accurate represen-
excess electricity feed-in for heating applications. To assess in which tation of their short-term variability in such models is crucial. In this
regions power-to-heat technologies can contribute to renewable energy study, a stochastic long-term energy model was developed and applied
integration, detailed data on the spatial distribution of the heat to an isolated Arctic settlement as a challenging and realistic test case.
demand are needed. Here, the authors determine the overall heat load The findings suggest that the stochastic modelling approach is critical
in the residential building sector and the share covered by electric in particular for studies of remote Arctic energy systems. Furthermore,
heating technologies for each administrative district in Germany, with a the results from a case study of the Norwegian settlement of Longyear-
temporal resolution of 15 min. Using a special evaluation of German byen, suggest that transitioning to a system based on renewable energy
census data, 729 building categories were defined and individual heat sources is feasible. It is recommended that a solution based mainly on
demand values assigned. Furthermore, heating types and different renewable power generation, but also including energy storage, import
classes of installed heating capacity were defined. This analysis showed of hydrogen and adequate back-up capacity is taken into consideration
that the share of small-scale single-storey heating and large-scale when planning the future of remote Arctic settlements.

194 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

21/01141 A proposed method for determining in-situ stress

14 FUEL SCIENCE AND from borehole breakout based on borehole stereo-pair
imaging technique
TECHNOLOGY Han, Z. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104215.
Based on the borehole breakout method, this paper proposes a method
for measuring in situ stress by using a borehole stereo-pair imaging
technique. Firstly in theory, the principle of borehole breakout method
and borehole stereo-pair imaging are introduced. The formula for
Fundamental science, analysis, calculating the distance from any point on the borehole wall to the
instrumentation central axis is derived, which lays a foundation for calculating the
three-dimensional shape of the borehole wall. Secondly in technology,
the borehole stereo-pair imaging apparatus with a combined double-
cone mirror as the core component is developed. The hardware and
software components of the measuring system are introduced. The
21/01138 3D porous V2O5 architectures for high-rate lithium calculation of the magnitude and direction of the in-situ stress is
storage carried out in combination with specific examples. Finally, the
Li, Q. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 15–21.
problems that may be encountered in the application of the borehole
The discovery of novel electrode materials promises to unleash a
stereo-pair imaging technique in the borehole breakout method are
number of technological advances in lithium-ion batteries. V2O5 is
discussed. The correction formula of the actual distance between any
recognized as a high-performance cathode that capitalizes on the rich
point on the borehole wall and the central axis of the borehole is given.
redox chemistry of vanadium to store lithium. To unlock the full
The borehole stereo-pair imaging technique breaks through the
potential of V2O5, nanotechnology solution and rational electrode
limitation that the conventional borehole imaging system can only
design are used to imbue V2O5 with high energy and power density by
obtain the two-dimensional borehole wall image and provides a new
addressing some of their intrinsic disadvantages in macroscopic crystal
technical means for the measuring in-situ stress based on borehole
form. Here, the authors demonstrate a facile and environmental-
breakout method.
friendly method to prepare nanorods-constructed 3D porous V2O5
architectures (3D-V2O5) in large-scale. The 3D porous architecture is
found to be responsible for the enhanced charge transfer kinetics and 21/01142 A simple method for the selective quantification
Li-ion diffusion rate of the 3D-V2O5 electrode. As the result, the 3D- of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene plastic
V2O5 surpasses the conventional bulk V2O5 by showing enhanced debris in soil by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass
discharge capacity and rate capability (delivering 154 and 127 mAh g1 spectrometry
at 15 and 20 C, respectively). Steinmetz, Z. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
147, 104803.
21/01139 A novel approach to determine the local burnup The lack of adequate analytical methods for the quantification of
in irradiated fuels using atom probe tomography (APT) plastic debris in soil challenges a better understanding of their
Bachhav, M. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151853. occurrence and fate in the terrestrial environment. This proof-of-
A novel approach is presented to determine the local burnup in principle study developed a simple and fast method for the selective
irradiated fuels using isotopic quantification obtained by atom probe quantification of the three most environmentally relevant polymers,
tomography (APT). Considering the volume of sample used polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), in soil
(<100 mm3) for APT experiments using the lift-out process in a using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS).
scanning electron microscope equipped with a focused ion beam (FIB), In order to facilitate the preparation of calibration series and to better
the presented method determines the local burnup from a nuclear fuel, account for the heterogeneity of soil matrix, polymers were dissolved in
where a minimal amount of waste is produced. In this work, three 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) at 120  C. Thereby, liquid sample
samples were analysed with different burnup conditions: as received aliquots from up to 4 g of solid sample became amenable to pyrolysis
low enriched 19.8% U-235, intermediate burnup (52% U-235 without further preparation. To evaluate the performance of this
fissioned) and high burnup (69% U-235 fissioned) U–Mo fuel. APT approach, three reference soils with 1.73–5.16% organic carbon (Corg)
is used to quantify the isotopes of 235U, 236U, 238U, 239Pu and 237Np for were spiked at 50 and 250 mg g1 of each polymer and extracted with
burnup calculation in the irradiated metallic U–7Mo dispersion fuel. TCB. Prior cleanup steps with methanol, flocculation with KAl(SO4)2,
The equation used to estimate the burnup of fuels is derived by or Fenton digestion were tested for their suitability to reduce
considering that the initial counts of U is equal to the sum of remaining potentially interfering Corg. Calibration curves responded linearly
atoms of U isotopes and all the U reactions undergone during (adj. R2 > 0.996) with instrumental detection limits of 1–86 ng
irradiation. This method provides U enrichment and local burnup corresponding to method detection limits of 1–86 mg g1. The measure-
with an unprecedented high spatial resolution based on quantification ment repeatability was 3.2–7.2% relative standard deviation. Recov-
of isotopic ratios of U. eries of 70–128% were achieved for plastic contents of 250 mg g1
extracted with TCB without prior cleanup from soils with less than
2.5% Corg. A higher Corg particularly interfered with the quantification
21/01140 A numerical toolbox for wave-induced seabed of PE. The addition of non-target polymers (polyethylene terephthal-
response analysis around marine structures in the ate, polyvinyl chloride, poly(methyl methacrylate), and tyre wear
OpenFOAM1 framework particles) did not interfere with the quantification of the analytes
Li, Y. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106678. highlighting the selectivity of the method. Further research is needed to
An open-source numerical toolbox for modelling the porous seabed determine low plastic contents in soils exceeding 2.5% Corg. With 1–3 h
interaction with waves and structures is implemented in the finite- processing time per sample, this method has the potential for routine
volume-method (FVM) based OpenFOAM framework. The toolbox analyses and screening studies of agricultural systems to be comple-
includes a soil consolidation model, a wave–structure–seabed inter- mented with microspectroscopic techniques for additional information
action (WSSI) model, and the liquefaction assessment module. In the on particle shapes and sizes.
present work, one-way coupling algorithm is applied for the WSSI
analysis. The coupling effect between different physical domains is
achieved by time-varying data mapping via the common boundaries. 21/01143 Ablation of polyimide thin-film on carrier glass
The consolidation model is governed by the quasi-static Biot’s using 355 nm and 37 ns laser pulses
equations and is verified against the theoretical solution for the Kim, Y. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
Terzaghi’s classical consolidation test. The anisotropic wave-induced 147, 118896.
porous seabed response model is governed by the Biot’s equations in Ablation of the polyimide (PI) thin-film deposited on glass substrate
the partial-dynamic form, i.e. u  p approximation form, to achieve a was investigated theoretically and experimentally to find out the
good efficiency and accuracy. The FVM-based u  p model is validated important characteristics during the laser-lift off (LLO) process for the
against the existing experimental data of standing wave-induced seabed fabrication of flexible electronics. Instead of using conventional
response near a vertical wall. The integrated WSSI model is validated ablation induced by the front irradiation on the specimen, the LLO
against existing experiment of wave–soil–pile interaction with wave process employs the backside irradiation on the specimen transferred
data and soil response data. Good agreement is obtained. Two case through the glass substrate, assuming that the ablation occurs
studies are performed using the present numerical toolbox. The first volumetrically in the narrow region inside the PI film near the PI
case is an investigation of two-dimensional (2D) non-linear wave– and glass interface. Experimentally the PI film on glass was exposed to
seabed interaction. The second case is a three-dimensional (3D) a pulse laser beam emitted from UV laser of 355 nm in wavelength and
parametric study of wave-induced seabed response analysis around 37 ns in duration. Depths and morphologies of the ablation spots were
gravity-based offshore foundations with various designs. The 3D observed by the surface profiler and the field emission scanning
parametric study follows the sequence of consolidation analysis, WSSI electron microscope. Theoretically the ablation process was estimated
analysis and liquefaction assessment. Two types of liquefaction criteria by the photothermal mechanism, using the one-dimensional heat
are implemented and compared in the present study. conduction equation with volumetric absorption of the laser beam. It

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 195

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

was shown that the experimental ablation could be described through The carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been widely used in
the theoretical analysis based on the surface and the bulk photothermal the aerospace field. During its utilization under the severe environ-
models. While the former assumed that the ablation occurred only on ment, CFRP is prone to defects, including impacts, debonds,
the ablation front surface, the latter assumed the ablation was delaminations and cracks. Optical pulsed thermography non-destruc-
accompanied by the thermal and volumetric bond breakage. In general, tive testing has been used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of
the theoretical calculations agreed well with the experimental such defects. This paper proposes the non-linear transfer model of
observations. In particular, the experimental observations of the peak contrast time analysis to determine defect depth by using OPT
ablation for the backside irradiation case that was the core phenom- technology. The mechanism of the non-linear relationship between
enon in the LLO process was explained appropriately by the features peak contrast time and defect depth is demonstrated and validated by
predicted using the bulk model. experiments. To effectively predict the defect depth, gaussianization
transform is modelled as a non-linear conversion in defects depth
determination. The results of the experiments have indicated that the
21/01144 Advanced converter sludge utilization proposed method has significantly enhanced the accuracy in depth
technologies for the recovery of valuable elements: a review determination.
Wang, Y. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120902.
Due to the high proportion of the steel output produced by oxygen
converter, significant quantities of converter sludge (CS) is generated
annually as waste material. This study aims to review the latest CS 21/01148 Determining diffusion, thermodiffusion and Soret
utilization technologies and illuminate the migration behaviour of
coefficients by the thermogravitational technique in binary
harmful substances as well as valuable elements. The intrinsic mixtures with optical digital interferometry analysis
characteristics, including chemical constitution, size distribution, Šeta, B. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020,
147, 118935.
mineralogical composition, microstructure, and viscosity of the CS
are studied. Migration behaviour of harmful substances is analysed In this study, interferometric unsteady state analysis of the thermo-
gravitational technique is for the first time attempted in a micro-
based on thermodynamic calculation. The results indicated that less
eutectic mineral was found in CS, the iron oxides and other impurities column. In this way, three transport coefficients, diffusion,
like CaO, MgO and ZnFe2O4 mixed in the way of physical accumu- thermodiffusion and Soret coefficients can be obtained in a single
lation. The treatments through oxidation methods, such as iron ore experiment. Two different models – one from the Furry–Jones–
sintering and oxidized pellets, are the most common and effective Onsager theory and the other with the ‘forgotten effect’ included –
have been tested for six different binary mixtures. These mixtures are
methods to recovery Fe in actual production. Due to the diverse
physicochemical properties of CS from different enterprises, it is really the three binary pairs of the benchmark of Fontainebleau –
tetrahydronaphthalene–isobutylbenzene (THN-IBB), tetrahydro-
difficult to choose one universal recovery method. In view of resources
recovery and clean production, the authors believe that the best naphthalene–dodecane (THN-nC12) and isobutylbenzene–dodecane
utilization technology at present is to prepare metallized pellets. It is (IBB-nC12) – toluene–methanol dimethyl sulfoxide–water (DMSO-
H20) and dimethyl sulfoxide–deuterated water (DMSO-D20). The first
regarded that technologies of preparing high value-added products,
such as Li(FeM)PO4 and iron powder are the most prospective three benchmark binary mixtures are used to validate the intefero-
metric technique and also to establish when it is reasonable to treat a
methods in the future.
mixture as ideal, without considering the forgotten effect. After that,
the three remaining mixtures are deeply analysed. In the end, the
21/01145 An efficient and reliable method for determining isotopic effect in the Soret coefficient will be highlighted through the
the angle of repose of biomass by using 3D scan DMSO-H20 and DMSO-D20 mixtures.
Tan, Y. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 132, 105434.
This paper proposed a novel methodology to determine the angle of
repose (AoR) of various biomass materials, which is important to 21/01149 Determining local thermal transport in a
determine storage structures and optimal handling. Because of composite uranium-nitride/silicide nuclear fuel using
irregular shape and varying particle size distribution, slopes of biomass square-pulse transient thermoreflectance technique
materials are uneven frequently and the two traditional measurement Middlemas, S. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151842.
methods of AoR are therefore less applicable and reliable. In general, Laser-based techniques have become an appealing option for deter-
only partial slopes of heap surface are selected to measure AoR, mining the thermal diffusivities (D) and conductivities (k) of nuclear
although a representable slope is barely defined in standard methods. materials that would otherwise prove too hazardous or difficult to
In this case, the subjective selection of slopes may result in significant measure. These techniques have enabled non-destructive and non-
deviations. Hence, an efficient and reliable measurement method of contact thermal transport measurements with micron level spatial
AoR is presented. In addition to the traditional bottomless cylinder resolution. In this study, a new thermoreflectance technique known as
test, the new technology, 3D scan, was used to digitize the generated square-pulse transient thermoreflectance (SPTR) is described and used
bulk heap. Then, two data processing methods were introduced to deal to determine D values of both uranium sesquisilicide (U3Si2) and
with different heap forms: direct calculation based on the linear least- uranium nitride (UN) phases in a composite fuel. An extensive
squares regression with regard to the whole heap surface and the pre- sensitivity analysis was conducted that identified the optimal measure-
selection of planes for excluding outliners caused by particle bridging. ment parameters of standard materials with a range of thermal
For the purpose of simplifying the process, a self-developed graphic transport properties comparable to those of various fuel types. The
user interface was used to analyse four kinds of biomass fuels, namely, standards were measured using both SPTR as well as a spatial-domain
olive stone, almond shells, forest residues and willow chips, and verify thermoreflectance technique. Several U3Si2 and UN phase regions of
the proposed method. Both methods significantly decreased the polished UN/U3Si2 (70/30 vol%) samples were measured using both
deviations of results without increasing operating time and cost. methods, and the resulting calculated D and k values are reported, with
both techniques showing excellent agreement between samples. Finally,
the ability to use the technique for local diffusivity mapping was
21/01146 Computational investigation on damage of demonstrated over a multiphase region, and could be used to determine
reinforced concrete slab subjected to underwater explosion thermal transport properties in precipitates, secondary phases, and
Hai, L. and Ren, X. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106671. irradiation-damaged regions of post-irradiated fuel samples.
While the dynamic response of a variety of structures subjected to
underwater explosion (UNDEX) has been studied for decades,
investigations of the damage and failure of reinforced concrete (RC)
structures are lacking. Here the results of a comprehensive compu- 21/01150 Estimation of heat-flow rate: a precursor to the
tational study of the dynamic response of air-backed RC slabs exposed transient-temperature analysis
to UNDEX are presented. To determine the loading produced by the Al Saedi, A. Q. and Kabir, C. S. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101732.
explosion, a model involving parameters associated with the equations Fluids in a reservoir remain in equilibrium condition before the onset
of state for water and explosive was validated by comparing its of any wellbore operation. This equilibrium pertains to both the fluid
predictions with UNDEX experiments on a steel plate conducted in a pressure and temperature. Inducing any wellbore activity, such as mud
centrifuge. This loading was then used to predict the response of an air- circulation in drilling and fluid production precipitate changes in both
backed RC slab under UNDEX. Damage and failure of the RC slab the pressure and temperature responses. This study offers a new
were simulated using both continuum damage mechanics and peridy- analytical approach for the analysis of temperature behaviour involving
namics. The results of the two methods were consistent with each other both build-up and fall-off tests for estimating the associated heat-flow
and offer promise for assessing the damage experienced by RC slabs rate, leading to the undisturbed formation temperature. The line-
that are subjected to UNDEX. source solution of the temperature–diffusivity equation underpins the
proposed solution approach. A synthetic example verified the solution
approach, and four field examples taken from both geothermal and gas
21/01147 Defect depth retrieval method based on nonlinear reservoirs validated the model. In analogy to the pressure–transient
transformation for pulsed thermographic inspection analysis, it was found that the log–log diagnostic plot of temperature
Wang, M. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020, 149, and its derivative provided vital clues about the data quality and the
106196. transient response, vis-à-vis the fitting window.

196 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

21/01151 Evolved gas analysis-mass spectrometry and level and thus fail to correct for local effects that might influence
isoconversional methods for the estimation of component- different configurations of the vehicle in different ways. In this work,
specific kinetic data in wood pyrolysis the typical open road numerical setup is compared to simulations
Nardella, F. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, where the computational domain is a virtual model of the complete
145, 104725. slotted wall wind tunnel test section geometry. A vehicle of sedan type
The pyrolysis reactions of hardwood and softwood were investigated is simulated in different configurations, and the simulation results are
using evolved gas analysis and mass spectrometry (EGA-MS) and by compared to forces and pressure measurements from physical tests.
treating the experimental data with isoconversional methods to obtain The results show that the absolute drag coefficient can be predicted
kinetic information. Mass spectrometric detection allowed the identi- with very good accuracy by simulating the car inside the wind tunnel if
fication of the pyrolysis products to be performed and component- compared to uncorrected measurement data. However, despite the
specific thermograms were obtained by the extraction of appropriate good agreement for drag, the prediction of lift is not as satisfactory.
m/z values without the need of peak-fitting. Finally, isoconversional
methods, both an integral and a differential method, were used on
21/01155 Incoming flow measurements of a utility-scale
compound-specific thermograms to calculate apparent activation
wind turbine using super-large-scale particle image
energies of the carbohydrate and lignin fractions separately. The
velocimetry
results showed that the two isoconversional methods provide compar-
Li, C. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics,
able results, and that there are significant differences between the
2020, 197, 104074.
activation energies of the holocellulose and lignin fractions. This work
This paper presents the incoming flow characterization of a 2.5 MW
shows that EGA-MS can provide reliable kinetic data for multi-
turbine at high spatio-temporal resolution, using super-large-scale
component samples without the need of chemical pre-treatments or
particle image velocimetry (SLPIV). The datasets have a field of view
signal deconvolution.
of 85 m (vertical)  40 m (streamwise) centred at 0.2 rotor diameter
upstream. The mean field shows the presence of the induction zone
21/01152 Experimental study of wheel-vehicle aerodynamic and a distinct region with enhanced vertical velocity. In comparison to
interactions vortex theory, SLPIV streamwise velocity presents a steeper velocity
Wang, Y. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aero- drop close to the rotor plane and a more confined induction zone.
dynamics, 2020, 198, 104062. Time series of nacelle sonic anemometer and SLPIV measured
This work aims to provide a better understanding of the wheel-vehicle streamwise velocity outside the induction zone show generally matched
aerodynamic interaction, via experimental investigations on a two-fifths trends with time-varying discrepancies due to the induction and nacelle
scale vehicle equipped with two-fifths scale rotating wheels. The effects. The discrepancy, characterized by the sonic-SLPIV velocity
findings demonstrate that the baseline configuration has a well- ratio, is normally distributed and is less than unity 85% of the time.
balanced wake, which means that the distribution of turbulent kinetic Data shows both yaw error and incident angle have direct impacts on
energy in the symmetrical plane of the vehicle wake is symmetric in the this ratio, while the intensity of short-term velocity fluctuation has
upper and lower shear layers. This well-balanced wake can be easily limited effect. Increased yaw error leads to an increase in both the
modified by different wheel states or tyre modifications, especially at mean and the spread of the ratio. The ratio decreases when the
the rear axle. This results from a global effect of the underbody incident angle changes from pointing downward to zero. Further
momentum modifications. On the contrary, when the vehicle mean change from zero to pointing upward causes it to plateau with its
wake develops into a non-balanced topology, it is more robust towards fluctuations augmented.
underbody perturbations. By eliminating front wheels, the underbody
flow momentum is vastly increased; by eliminating the underbody
21/01156 Laboratory investigation of the relationship
diffuser, the underbody flow momentum is significantly reduced. In
between static rock elastic parameters and low field nuclear
these two circumstances, one can observe a robust downwash from the
magnetic resonance data
roof, independent of the wheel states or tyre modifications. Besides,
Ge, X. et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
there is a more local effect of the wheels’ near wakes on the
Sciences, 2020, 127, 104207.
aerodynamic lift and drag of the vehicle. Low pressure regions in the
The static rock elastic parameters are important in the petrophysical
underbody downstream the wheels have an effect on vehicle lift. The
evaluation of unconventional reservoirs since many of them need the
rear wheel wakes interact with vehicle wake, imposing pressure
fracturing technology for development. However, it often fails to
conditions on the vehicle base, therefore influencing the vehicle drag.
establish models of the static rock elastic parameters through
geophysical well logging data. The authors developed a preliminary
21/01153 Green wireless power transfer system for a drone research to explore the relationship between the static elastic
fleet managed by reinforcement learning in smart industry parameters and the low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
Faraci, G. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114204. parameters based on joint measurements of the NMR responses and
The optimal management of a fleet of drones is proposed in this paper rock mechanical properties. The geometric mean, the arithmetic mean
for providing connectivity to sensors and actuators in Industrial of the transversal relaxation time, the cut-off value, as well as the bin
Internet of Things (IIoT) scenarios. The persistent mission without porosities are considered to investigate their relationships with the
any human intervention on the battery charge is obtained by means of static rock elastic parameters. The result revealed that the static
an on-field wind generator supplying a charge station that adopts Young’s modulus is strongly correlated with the NMR parameters,
resonant wireless power transfer. The objective of the fleet manage- whereas the static Poisson’s ratio is slightly influenced by the pore size
ment is to provide the best connectivity over the time considering the properties. This study provides a new perspective in the application of
variability of both the bandwidth request and the wind energy the low field NMR data.
availability. The optimal management is performed by a system
controller adopting reinforcement learning (RL) for deciding the
21/01157 Machine vision for natural gas methane
number of drones to take off and, consequently, the instantaneous
emissions detection using an infrared camera
provided bandwidth. A constant charge time of drone battery
Wang, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113998.
represents a key element of the system because this enables to strongly
It is useful to reduce natural gas methane emissions which can
reduce the complexity of the system controller task. To this purpose, an
potentially offset the environmental benefits of replacing coal with gas.
adaptive current control for the charge station is introduced to
Optical gas imaging (OGI) is a widely-used method to detect methane
compensate charge time variabilities due to the coupling factor changes
leaks, but is labour-intensive and cannot provide leak detection results
caused by misalignments that can occur between a pad and a drone.
without operators’ judgement. This study developed a computer vision
The results have highlighted that the RL provides good performance
approach for OGI-based leak detection using convolutional neural
improvement in case of green generation. An important aspect arose
networks (CNN) trained on methane leak images to enable automatic
from this study is the ability of RL to increase the saved energy even if
detection. First, the authors collected about a million frames of
it is not considered as a target of the controller.
labelled videos of methane leaks from different leaking equipment,
covering a wide range of leak sizes (5.3–2051.6 g of CH4/h) and imaging
21/01154 Inclusion of the physical wind tunnel in vehicle distances (4.6–15.6 m). Second, different background subtraction
CFD simulations for improved prediction quality methods were examined to extract the methane plume in the
Ljungskog, E. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial foreground. Third, three CNN model variants, collectively called
Aerodynamics, 2020, 197, 104055. GasNet, were tested to detect plumes in videos. The authors assessed
When performing numerical simulations of the aerodynamic properties the ability of GasNet to perform leak detection by comparing it to a
of vehicles, the simulation domain used is often a large box with a very baseline method that uses an optical-flow based change detection
low blockage ratio and a fully moving ground plane, replicating open algorithm. The sensitivity of results to the CNN structure was explored,
road conditions. However, the physical measurements to which the with a moderate-complexity variant performing best across distances.
simulation results are usually compared are typically performed in wind The generated detection probability curves show that the detection
tunnels, with deficiencies concerning blockage, ground modelling, and accuracy (fraction of leak and non-leak images correctly identified by
other boundary interference effects. Some of these effects can be the algorithm) can reach as high as 99%, the overall detection accuracy
corrected for, but such corrections are usually performed on a global can >95% across all leak sizes and imaging distances. Binary detection

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 197

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

accuracy >97% for large leaks (710 g of CH4/h) imaged closely (5– methodologies were adequated in predicting the biodiesel fuel proper-
7 m). The GasNet-based computer vision approach could be deployed ties. The figure of merit sum of Wilcoxon test probability presented in
in OGI surveys for automatic vigilance of methane leak detection with this study was necessary for the conclusion of the best model.
high accuracy in the real world.

21/01161 Nanoscale mechanism of ions immobilized by the

21/01158 Measurement of the microlayer characteristics in geopolymer: a molecular dynamics study
the whole range of nucleate boiling for water by laser Hou, D. et al. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 528, 151841.
interferometry Geopolymer with sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (NASH) gel as the
Chen, Z. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, main hydration product exhibits good waster immobilizing ability. To
146, 118856. provide a fundamental understanding of the immobilization mechan-
During nucleate boiling, a thin liquid film (microlayer) is formed ism of geopolymer materials, molecular dynamics approach is used to
beneath a boiling bubble when the bubble undergoes rapid growth/ study the density distribution, dynamics properties and local structures
expansion. The linear distribution of the microlayer has been of Na+, K+ and Cs+ ions in the vicinity of the NASH gel interface.
previously confirmed, and its crest shape has been observed in the Plenty of non-bridging oxygen sites made by the cleaved silicate and
isolated bubble region of nucleate boiling. However, the microlayer aluminate branch structures are exposed forming Hydrogen bonds with
behaviour in larger heat flux regions up to critical heat flux has not yet the water molecules nearby. The water molecules strongly confined in
been elucidated. In this study, to further understand the microlayer the silicate–aluminate channel of hydrophilic NASH surface exhibit
structure in the whole heat flux range of nucleate boiling, microlayer enlargement of dipolar moment because of the strong H-bond
configuration was measured using laser interferometry. Water was restriction. Furthermore, the O atoms in silicate–aluminate network
adopted as the test fluid, and it is confirmed that the microlayer can be can restrict the cations by a strong adsorption. On the other hand, Cl
observed over a whole range of nucleate boiling containing the critical ions exhibited a weak adsorption, repulsed by the negatively charged
heat flux point. It is also confirmed that the deformation of the silicate surface, which is primarily due to the formation of the cation–
microlayer from axisymmetric shape was caused by complicated, anion ionic pair near the interface. The calculation results of density
irregular bubble motions such as bubble coalescence, which was profile and resident-time shows that the adsorption capacities of
observed for relatively higher heat flux. The crest shape of the cations on the NASH surface and the ionic radius are negative related,
microlayer, which appears near the periphery of its maximum diameter with the sequence of Na+ > K+ > Cs+. The Na+ and K+ ion with
under relatively smaller heat flux, was not observed at a relatively smaller hydration shell can adsorbed at the cavity and have oxygen
higher heat flux. Finally, it is confirmed that heat flux does not atoms in silicate skeleton as their nearest neighbours, contributing to
obviously influence the thickness distribution of the initial microlayer. inner sphere adsorption with long resident time on the surface. On the
contrary, the Cs+ ions can only be immobilized by a weak Cs–O bond in
the outer sphere of the NASH surface, which results in frequently
21/01159 Measurement of transient evaporation of an dissociation from the NASH surface and high diffusivity of ions. This
ethanol droplet stream with phase rainbow refractometry study provides a fundamental understanding of immobilization mech-
and high-speed microscopic shadowgraphy anism of geopolymer material at the molecular level.
Li, C. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020, 146,
118843.
Quantifying the evaporation rate of droplets is of great importance in
many applications and this is especially true if the evaporation occurs 21/01162 NeuralCompression: a machine learning
in a rapidly changing environment, such that models describing approach to compress high frequency measurements in
evaporation under steady state conditions are no longer valid. To smart grid
achieve such information from experiments, the phase rainbow Das, L. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113966.
refractometry (PRR) technique has recently be shown to be capable The smart grid features frequent communication of measurements
of simultaneously measuring temperature, size, and size variation at collected at consuming and distributing nodes to other agents in the
the nanometre scale, quantities essential for quantifying transient grid. While this increases grid visibility and improves situation
evaporation rates. The present study examines the use of the PRR awareness, the sheer volume of such data generated from the
technique to characterize the evaporation of monodispersed droplets in geographically vast grid will result in overloading of the communication
a droplet stream injected into ambient air. This is combined with high- infrastructure. In this regard, compressing data at the source and
speed microscopic shadowgraphy, yielding as measured quantities communicating compressed measurements has been explored in the
droplet diameter, diameter change, temperature evolution, velocity and literature. However, such techniques rely on the presence of a structure
computed transient evaporation rate of the droplet stream. The accu- in data that is exploited for compression. Here, the authors propose the
racy and resolution of the measurements are evaluated by comparison use of Autoencoder for data compression that extracts an appropriate
with theoretical values and values measured with alternative means. structure from data that then allows for compression. The proposed
Furthermore, the results are used to investigate how the evaporation approach also incorporates non-linear transformations in the com-
rate is modified by interaction among droplets in the droplet stream pression mechanism which is likely to improve the compression ratio
and how these rates differ from evaporation rates predicted for isolated for the same reconstruction accuracy. The proposed method is applied
droplets, using the well proven Abramzon and Sirignano model. on four publicly available datasets and results show that the
Finally, the evaporation rate, including the influence of droplet Autoencoder has merit over state-of-the-art compressive sensing for
interaction, is shown to be in line with correlations suggested by high compression ratios. Generalization of Autoencoder models to
Virepinte; refinement to this correlation is proposed. datasets from different geographical locations is also studied as a
distinct feature of the proposed method. The generalizability of models
is also improved with transfer learning by adapting pre-trained models
to the idiosyncrasies of target dataset.
21/01160 Multivariate regression models obtained from
near-infrared spectroscopy data for prediction of the
physical properties of biodiesel and its blends
Cunha, C. L. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116344. 21/01163 NMR quantitative investigation on methane
Multivariate calibration based on partial least squares (PLS), random hydrate formation characteristics under different driving
forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) methods combined forces
with variable selections tools were used to model the relation between Ma, S. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116364.
the near-infrared spectroscopy data of biodiesel fuel to its physical– Methane hydrate is an important energy source and a good form of
chemical properties. The cold filter plugging point (CFPP) and a methane storage and transportation. The limit of gas storage capacity
kinematic viscosity at 40  C of the biodiesel samples and its blends were in hydrates is still not clear. This study employed a low-field nuclear
evaluated using spectroscopic data obtained with a near-infrared magnetic resonance to study the gas–water consumption characteristics
reflectance accessory (NIRA/NIR-FT-IR). Therefore, 149 blends were quantitatively at various formation conditions. Nine methane hydrate
prepared using biodiesel from different sources, such as canola, corn, formation experiments of different temperatures pressures were
sunflower and soybean. Furthermore, biodiesel samples purchased conducted in porous media. The consumption of gas and water for
from the south of Brazil were added to the study. One hundred samples hydrate formation displayed as asynchronous trend, due to the change
were used for the calibration set, whereas the remaining samples were in hydrate cage occupancy. The results indicated that higher pressures
used as an external validation set. The results showed that the SVM or lower temperatures improved both the amount of hydrate formation
model with baseline correction + mean centring preprocessing gave and the cage occupancy of hydrate. In addition, the driving forces
the best prediction for the CFPP, with a root-mean-square of error affected the formation of methane hydrate more obviously under a
(RMSEP) equal to 0.9  C. Among the models presented, the best result lower temperature. Ultimately, the hydration number of methane
for predicting the kinematic viscosity at 40  C was obtained by the PLS hydrate under different driving forces were determined. This study is of
regression method using an interval selected by UVE with baseline great significance to the estimation of hydrate and gas capacity in the
correction + derivative preprocessing, with the RMSEP equal to hydrate based technology application in methane storage and
0.0133 mm2s1. The results in this work showed that the proposed transportation.

198 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

21/01164 On the classification and quantification of crystal during the re-entry phase from Earth orbit or from interplanetary
defects after energetic bombardment by machine learned trajectories due to the high heat flux loads produced by the strong
molecular dynamics simulations shock wave during the deceleration phase.
Domı́nguez-Gutiérrez, F. J. et al. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2020,
22, 100724.
21/01167 Storage end effects: an evaluation of common
The analysis of the damage on plasma-facing materials (PFM), due to
storage modelling assumptions
their direct interaction with the plasma environment, is needed to build
Niet, T. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101050.
the next generation of nuclear fusion reactors. After systematic
This study is an investigation into the impact that storage model
analyses of numerous materials over the last decades, tungsten has
structure has on modelled storage operation. The results indicate that
become the most promising candidate for a nuclear fusion reactor. In
no single storage model structure can be relied on to effectively model
this work, the authors performed molecular dynamics (MD) simu-
the long-term optimal operation of storage. Valuing storage appears to
lations using a machine learned interatomic potential, based on the
be better at approximating the operation of storage than short period
Gaussian approximation potential framework, to model better neutron
look ahead windows if the correct value of stored energy is used, but
bombardment mechanisms in pristine W lattices. The MD potential is
this depends strongly on the value assigned to the stored energy, which
trained to reproduce realistic short-range dynamics, the liquid phase,
cannot be determined beforehand. The other advantage of valuing
and the material recrystallization, which are important for collision
stored energy is the reduced computational load, which may be
cascades. The formation of point defects is quantified and classified by
significant depending on the model structure, but this was not investi-
a descriptor vector (DV) based method, which is independent of the
gated directly in this study. One general conclusion can be drawn about
sample temperature and its constituents, requiring only modest
the use of a look-ahead window for modelling storage operation,
computational resources. The locations of vacancies are calculated by
namely that the look-ahead window must be longer than the expected
the k–d tree algorithm. The analysis of the damage in the W samples is
operation of the storage system to eliminate end effects. For models
compared to results obtained by Finnis–Sinclair and Tersoff–Ziegler–
that wish to model seasonal storage, this is impractical so other
Biersack–Littmark potentials, at a sample temperature of 300 K and a
approaches are needed. It is not clear from this work what other
primary knock-on atom (PKA) energy range of 0.5–10 keV, where a
approach would be practical when modelling large-scale storage. The
good agreement with the reported number of Frenkel pair is observed.
reduced computational load and the simplicity of a value of the stored
The results provide information about the advantages and limits of the
energy at the end of the model window makes it attractive for the
machine learned MD simulations with respect to the standard ones.
modelling of larger scale storage that is expected to operate over longer
The formation of dumbbell and crowdion defects as a function of PKA
time frames. As it was found, this works relatively well when the value
energy were identified and distinguished by this DV method.
of storage can be determined, but different values of storage have a
huge impact on the model operation. Intriguingly, the impact of
21/01165 RADCOM: radiation dose computation model – different model structures also impacts the value of the stored energy
a software for radiological impact assessment such that the value for replicating the baseline storage operation is
Rout, S. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103141. different for the different model structures, so this means it is very
Radiological impact assessment codes are used for environmental challenging to determine the best model structure and value to use for
transport and radiological impact of radionuclides releases to the any given situation.
environment. The RADCOM computer code performs the environ-
mental transport of radionuclides and calculations of radiation dose to 21/01168 Ultrasonic technique for tracking oil-water
members of public due to routine releases of radionuclides from emulsion layer in separation vessels
nuclear power plants (NPPs) via atmospheric and aquatic routes. The Alshaafi, E. A. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering,
code is written on Visual Basic platform and follows IAEA, Safety 2020, 184, 106591.
Reports Series No. 19 (SRS 19) and TECDOC 1616 methodologies for Ultrasonic-based techniques have been explored to monitor emulsion
dose evaluation. The code comprises a large data base consisting of 114 layer and separation of oil and water phases from their emulsions.
radionuclides and respective radiological, non-radiological data and Creation of oil and water emulsions is a common occurrence in the
environmental parameters associated to environmental transport of petroleum and gas processing industry and several other commercial
radionuclides. It is designed to automate the computation of operations. This creates a multi-interface level measurement problem
radionuclide concentrations in different environmental compartment due to the presence of an emulsion layer in between oil and aqueous
and their impact in the food chain, as well as the estimation of effective phase layers. The potential of ultrasonic-based methods has been
dose to humans. The validation of software was carried out by several tested by tracking the interphase position between the phases with
QC exercises following alpha and beta testing. The code was used for suitably configured probes. The oil phase consisted of either crude or
calculation of hypothetical scenarios given in the Annex IV of IAEA, mineral oil while deionized water constituted the aqueous phase. The
SRS 19. Statistical significance test such as 2 test was performed and it tests were conducted in a 4-inch diameter and 20-inch tall column
was found that, there is no significant difference between code output mounted with acoustic probes. The measured acoustic parameters
results excels generated results and reported results. included, time of flight and energy content of the travelling wave at a
selected frequency of 3.5 MHz. The ingress of emulsion phase layer at a
sensor location could be easily detected since the probe design
21/01166 Standard thermography vs free emissivity dual
maintained a good signal-to-noise ratio even in highly attenuating
color novel CIRA physics technique in the near-
emulsion phase. The observed attenuation losses in the emulsion phase
mid IR ranges: studies for different emissivity class
are attributable to intrinsic losses and thermal effects. The simul-
materials from low to high temperatures typical of aerospace
taneous changes to acoustic velocity could be attributed to the fraction
re-entry
of water phase in the oil–water emulsions.
Di Carolo, F. et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2020,
147, 106123.
The dual colour infrared thermography is a non-intrusive temperature 21/01169 Uncertainty assessment for the
measurement technique, based on the ratio principle between the extreme hydrodynamic responses of a wind turbine
signals collected at two near wavelengths in local grey body hypotheses semi-submersible platform using different environmental
and applicable when a thermal camera is equipped with a suitable pair contour approaches
of narrow band filters. In this work, the applicability at high Raed, K. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106719.
temperatures has been investigated by using an analytical model based This paper aims to assess the uncertainty on the extreme responses of a
on Planck’s Law integration, convoluted with the real response curves semi-submersible wind turbine using two environmental contour
of sensors, optics, filters and attenuators. The presented model has approaches. The approaches are based on the inverse first order
been validated at high temperature and used to optimize the hardware reliability method and the direct Monte Carlo simulation with different
set up for dual colour measurements both in terms of operative spectral sample sizes. The long-term sea states are described by a three-
band and also for choosing the best pair of filters. Furthermore, parameter Weibull distribution for the significant wave height and a
spectral emissivity trend curves for different materials, available in conditional log-normal distribution for the zero-up crossing period.
literature, and at different temperatures have been used in the Two extreme sea states are extracted from each environmental contour,
theoretical model in order to simulate and replicate experimental which are associated with the maximum significant wave height and
results. The experimental simulations obtained with dual colour maximum zero-up-crossing period. A 3-h time domain simulation for
technique have been compared with those obtained through classical each sea state is conducted by adopting a validated numerical model.
techniques based on the a priori knowledge and setting of the emissivity The root mean square for all the response spectra are estimated and
average values. The aim is to establish in which conditions and for compared to each other. It is observed that despite the small deviation
which class of thermal protection system (TPS) materials used to between the significant wave heights resulting from adopting different
protect the inner cold structure of hypersonic space vehicles made of environmental contour approaches, the deviation between the resulting
aluminium or metallic alloys, the dual colour technique can be used for responses is much more significant. The Gumbel and the generalized
a more accurate and precise temperature measurement compared to extreme value distributions are fitted to the maximum extreme
the classical techniques. The applicability study was carried out up to response values for each sea state and unified fitted parameter are
high temperature (2000  C) which are reached by the TPS surfaces obtained.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 199

14 Fuel science and technology (fuel cell technology)

21/01170 Zoning additive manufacturing process histories Metal chalcogenides-based electrocatalysts have received considerable
using unsupervised machine learning attention in recent years. Herein, a layer-type ternary chalcogenide
Donegan, S. P. et al. Materials Characterization, 2020, 161, 110123. compound, palladium phosphosulfide (PdPS) is proposed as an
Metal additive manufacturing is currently a highly active area of efficient oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalyst in alkaline medium.
research within the materials processing and manufacturing commu- PdPS is semiconducting that crystallizes in orthorhombic symmetry.
nity, owing to the promises of lower lead time, increased design Improvement in conductivity of PdPS using reduced graphene oxide
flexibility, and location-specific process control. These benefits are results in excellent electrocatalytic activity. The kinetics is followed by
balanced by a typically complex processing space, resulting in rotating (ring) disk electrode measurements and the composite
difficulties when attempting to generalize process-structure relation- electrocatalyst is found to be stable, efficient and methanol tolerant.
ships across different component geometries. Here, the authors The catalyst is further used as cathode in anion exchange membrane
developed a procedure to zone process history using unsupervised fuel cell and is shown to deliver power density comparable to Pt/C
learning. The results allow for comparing process regimes both within catalyst. In addition, this catalyst is also capable of water oxidation
single components and across different components. Since the from alkaline solution with favourable electrochemical parameters.
featurization procedure is tied directly to aspects of the thermal
history, the resulting zonings are explainable in terms of materials
21/01174 Enhancing fuel transport in air-breathing
processing, which is beneficial when assessing interpretability. The
microfluidic fuel cells by immersed fuel micro-jet
featurization approach is also highly flexible: although thermal history
Zhou, Y. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227326.
has been used as a representation of processing, in principle any other
Air-breathing microfluidic fuel cells with flow-over planar anodes can
sequenced data may be used as input, such as cooling rates and thermal
facilitate system integration but suffer from the fuel concentration
gradients derived from the temperature history, or even measurements
boundary layer over the anode, which significantly hinders the fuel
from in situ monitoring sensors. Additionally, other subword lengths
transport and limit cell performance. A novel approach is proposed to
may be chosen to consider longer correlation effects. Finally, the
actively replenish the fuel concentration boundary layer by immersed
method is simple to implement and fast to evaluate.
fuel micro-jet, where part of the fresh fuel is jetted perpendicular to
the anode, enabling targeted fuel transfer enhancement. The immersed
fuel micro-jet is visualized by fluorescence microscopy, and the micro-
jet can reach and flow along the anode at optimal condition. The same
cell architecture is tested in both the flow-over and micro-jet modes.
The electrochemical measurement and preliminary modelling results
Fuel cell technology indicate that the fuel transfer limitation can be largely mitigated by fuel
micro-jet, and the cell performance is enhanced accordingly. The
micro-jet located at the middle of flow channel can balance the trade-
off between replenishment and benefitted anode area. The effect of
21/01171 A cost-effective and chemically stable electrode total fuel flow rate and micro-jet/lateral flow rate ratio on the fuel
binder for alkaline-acid direct ethylene glycol fuel cells transport and cell performance are also discussed in detail. As
Pan, Z. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114060. compared with the flow-over mode, the maximum performance
In preparing direct liquid fuel cell electrodes, an ionomer is necessary, improvement of 40.9% is achieved by the immersed fuel micro-jet,
whose functions are not only to bind the discrete catalyst nanoparticles and the optimal power density reaches 119.3 mW cm3.
onto the substrate materials to build the porous catalyst layer, but also
to construct the triple phase boundaries to provide continuous
pathways for reactant delivery. In this work, a cost-effective and 21/01175 Gas electrodes with nickel based current
chemically stable poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) collectors for molten carbonate electrolyte thermo-
electrode binder is adopted and compared with the conventional electrochemical cells
Nafion and polytetrafluoroethylene in terms of the electrode mor- Kandhasamy, S. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 41, 34–42.
phology and the fuel cell performance. It is found that the fuel cell Thermo-electrochemical cells with inexpensive molten carbonate
using the poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)-based elec- electrolyte and (CO2 | O2) gas electrodes allow the possible conversion
trode exhibits the best performance in terms of an open-circuit voltage of high temperature waste heat from industrial processes into
of 1.47 V, a maximum current density of 300 mA cm2, and a peak electricity. The cell containing eutectic (Li,Na)2CO3 electrolyte with
power density of 120.0 mW cm2. Comparing to the fuel cell perform- solid MgO dispersion delivers a large Seebeck coefficient of 1.7 mV/
ances fabricated with the conventional Nafion and polytetrafluoroethy- K. At present, the (CO2 | O2) gas electrodes use metallic gold as
lene as electrode binder, the peak power density achieved by using the current collectors in order to avoid the formation of interfering oxide
new type of electrode binder shows an improvement of 13.7% and layers during operation. For further reduction in energy generation
58.1%, respectively. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) cost, the gold current collectors should be replaced with an inexpensive
shows the lowest cost of $0.18 kW 1, while polytetrafluoroethylene and and stable alternative. In this study, the suitability of the molten
Nafion possess the higher cost of $0.80 kW1 and $145.59 kW1, res- carbonate fuel cell’s nickel-based cathodes to operate the molten-
pectively. The impressive improvement is attributed to the fact that the carbonate thermo-electrochemical cell, was investigated. Ni current
poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)-based electrode has collectors were examined in two different states, as NiO and as
a higher electrochemical surface area due to its intrinsic porous lithiated NiO (LixNi1xO). The NiO phase shows higher stability than
property, enhancing the anodic reaction kinetics. It is found that the the LixNi1xO while the Seebeck coefficient remains above 1.2 mV/K.
best cell performance is achieved with 1.0 M EG and 5.0 M KOH in the
anolyte and 1.0 M H2O2 and 4.0 M H2SO4 in the catholyte at 60  C. 21/01176 Implementation of sensor based on neural
networks technique to predict the PEM fuel cell hydration
21/01172 A new insight into the stability of nanofiber state
Arama, F. Z. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101051.
electrodes used in proton exchange membrane fuel cells
Proton exchange hydrogen fuel cells (PEMFC) have the potential to
Gao, Y. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 126–132.
produce clean and environmentally friendly energy. However, this
The nanofibre electrodes have been considered as promising candi-
technique should be adapted to technical challenges, such as
dates for commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cells due to their
performance and durability prior to its marketing. These challenges
high catalyst utilization and enhanced mass transport efficiency.
are closely related to water management. In this research, a polymer
However, this research determined that the nanofibre electrodes were
electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell simulation model was designed
restricted by the poor chemical stability of the polymer carriers. To
for water management. This model consisted of a voltage evolution
gain further insight into the durability of nanofibre electrodes, both
model based on electrochemical and dynamics gases. It also comprised
cyclic voltammetry aging tests and Fenton’s tests were conducted.
a model of water activity to estimate the relative humidity. Meanwhile,
Similar to previous reports, this research demonstrated that nanofibre
in identifying the PEMFC hydration state, impedance was estimated by
electrodes showed remarkable stability in the cyclic voltammetry aging
the humidity sensor model, which was based on neural network
process. However, Fenton’s tests indicated that nanofibres in the
technology for diagnosis. This model predicted the changes of
electrodes would decompose easily while being attacked by reactive
_ _
behaviour in the step response of load demand and the rate of water
oxygen species such as HO or HOO , which greatly limits their
which flowed into the fuel cell. In the case of flooding or drying, the
practicability and reliability. The different performances under the two
proposed neural network sensor model was executed through the
tests also demonstrated that the cyclic voltammetry aging protocols,
estimation of internal resistance and biasing resistance values at high
which have been applied extensively, cannot well mirror the real
and low frequencies. These frequencies corresponded to the model of
operating conditions of fuel cells.
PEMFC electrical performance. As a result, it was found that the
efficacy of this new neural network sensor model led to improved
21/01173 Efficient oxygen reduction activity on layered PEMFC hydration and a controlled humid airflow in the fuel cell.
palladium phosphosulphide and its application in alkaline Overall, it was indicated that the proposed model can be used in the
fuel cells control system to improve water management by adjusting the relative
Sarkar, S. et al. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 445, 227280. humidity of supplied air.

200 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 14 Fuel science and technology (fuel cell technology)

21/01177 Improvement of power generation of enzyme fuel is designed to enhance the system flexibility. Simulations of the
cell by novel GO/Co/chitosan electrodeposition proposed power system are performed to demonstrate the amount of
Kim, D. S. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, power that can supply to the loads during normal and peak modes of
81, 108–114. operation under steady-state conditions. The pressure ratios of the GT
An enzyme fuel cell (EFC) using composite graphite oxide/cobalt/ and AA-CAES and the additional air feed are used to design the
chitosan (GO/Co/chitosan) mediator is prepared to convert chemical system and analyse the system performance. The results show that a
energy into electrical energy. The degree of chitosan deacetylation small additional air feed to the GT is certainly required for the hybrid
affects physicochemical and electrochemical properties of the EFC. system. The GT pressure ratio of 2 provides a maximum benefit. The
The soluble molecular weight of chitosan polymer influences the AA-CAES pressure ratio of 5 is recommended to spare some air in the
viscosity of chitosan solution. Also, the solubility of chitosan influences storage and minimize storage volume. Moreover, implementation of
the electrochemical properties of the EFC assembled by electrodeposi- the GT and AA-CAES into the integrated fuel cell system allows the
tion of GO/Co/chitosan mediator particles on electrodes. EFC system to cope with the variations in power demand.
performance could be improved by addition of acetic acid during
deacetylation. Acetic acid [5% (v/v)] showed an efficient electron
transfer between the mediator and electrolyte in the EFC. The EFC 21/01181 Planar membrane humidifier for fuel cell
produced a potential voltage of 0.548 V vs Ag/AgCl with power application: numerical and experimental case study
density of 1198.09 mW/cm2. The power generation was the highest at Kord Firouzjaei, V. et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass
slightly acidic condition and without addition of cofactor. This study Transfer, 2020, 147, 118872.
shows the efficient participation of chitosan on electron transfer in One of the basic requirements for proper functioning and managing
EFC application. the water content of the fuel cell is the humidity of the reactant gas. In
this paper, a model is developed for investigating the humidification of
21/01178 Interline fuel cell (I-FC) system with reactant gas using a water-to-gas planar membrane humidifier. All the
dual-functional control capability governing equations of the model in one-dimensional mode (along the
Inci, M. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (1), 891– channel length) are solved using an in-house developed code. Then, to
903. validate the model, a humidification single cell is fabricated and the
In this paper, a new system concept is presented for the grid connection performance of membrane humidifier is investigated both experimen-
of fuel cells. In conventional grid-connected systems, fuel cells ensure tally and numerically. Simulation results show that developed model
the generated power into a single electrical feeder and control the predicts well the experimental results with an error of <7%. The
electrical-line through interfacing elements. In the proposed system, results show that by increasing the length of the channel, the gas
the interline fuel cell (I-FC) system shares a common dc–dc converter temperature increases up to the temperature of heating water,
tied fuel cell at the base of inverters and eliminates the additional fuel moreover, the relative humidity of the gas would also increase. At
cell & dc–dc converter in a multi-feeder system. For this purpose, a high flow rates, the amount of consumed water increases, however, the
fuel cell system is connected to multi-feeders through separate relative humidity of the gas flow will decrease by about 40% because of
inverters, thereby sharing electrical power into the feeders and the decreased residence time. Finally, the pivotal roles of membrane
attenuating the harmonics at grid-side currents. In this direction, the humidifier in the fuel cell stack is clarified based on the results of
proposed system presents an economical way for the mitigation of applying this system for a 10 kW fuel cell stack.
electrical problems for multi-feeders. In order to achieve the functional
capabilities of I-FC system, dual-functional control is separately
applied in the grid inverters. In the testing stage of I-FC, non-linear 21/01182 The influence of graphitization on the thermal
loads in feeder I & feeder II create 31.29% and 27.61% total harmonic conductivity of catalyst layers and temperature gradients in
distortion (THD) at grid-side currents, respectively. With I-FC, the proton exchange membrane fuel cells
THD values are reduced to approximately 3% values in both feeders Bock, R. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, (2),
after the harmonic elimination capability. Also, I-FC allocates the 1335–1342.
active power to both feeders, and reduces the electrical power demand As the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has improved its
from the utility-grids. The evaluation results verify that I-FC system performance and power density, the efficiency has remained un-
accomplishes the good performance to control power-sharing and changed. With around half the reaction enthalpy released as heat,
attenuate the current harmonics at grid-side. thermal gradients grow. To improve the understanding of such
gradients, PEMFC component thermal conductivity has been increas-
ingly investigated over the last 10 years, and the catalyst layer (CL) is
21/01179 Microstructured membranes for improving one of the components where thermal conductivity values are still
transport resistances in proton exchange membrane fuel scarce. CLs in PEMFC are where the electrochemical reactions occur
cells and most of the heat is released. The thermal conductivity in this
Paul, M. T. Y. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, region affects the heat distribution significantly within a PEMFC.
45, (2), 1304–1312. Thermal conductivities for a graphitized and a non-graphitized CL
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been identified were measured for compaction pressures in the range of 3 and 23 bar.
as one of the most promising renewable energy system for use in The graphitized CL has a thermal conductivity of 0.12 
automotive applications. However, due to the wide range of weather 0.05 W K1 m1, whilst the non-graphitized CL conductivity is 0.061 
conditions around the world, the PEMFCs must be stable for operating 0.006 W K1 m1, both at 10 bar compaction pressure. These results
under these variable conditions. One of the inefficiencies of PEMFCs suggest that the graphitization of the catalyst material causes a doubl-
in automotive applications is during vehicle warm-up, where the low ing of the thermal conductivity of the CL. This important finding
hydration level within the PEMFC can lead to a low performance of the bridges the very few existing studies. Additionally, a 2D thermal model
fuel cell. In this study, a proton exchange membrane (PEM) was was constructed to represent the impact of the results on the
prepared with regular, microstructured features tuned over a range of temperature distribution inside a fuel cell.
aspect ratios. These microstructured membranes were incorporated
into membrane electrode assemblies and analysed for their membrane,
proton, and oxygen transport resistances. These fuel cells were tested
21/01183 Thermodynamic analysis and fuel processing
under different conditions to simulate vehicle start-up, normal
strategies for propane-fueled solid oxide fuel cell
operating conditions, and hot operating conditions. It was determined
Su, X. et al. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 204, 112279.
that microstructured PEMs improved performance over planar PEMs
Propane is a particularly attractive fuel for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
under both the start-up and hot conditions. Despite the improved
because it is cheap, widely available and easily stored with high energy
performance of the microstructured PEMs, a high hydrogen cross-over
density, while carbon deposition may be a serious problem in direct
and short-circuit current were also observed for these samples.
propane-fuelled SOFC, thus efficient propane processing strategy is
Adjusting the preparation techniques and tuning the dimensions of
favoured by SOFC. The fuel compositions, efficiency and stability of
the microstructures may provide avenues for further optimization of
SOFC may be affected by propane processing strategies apparently. In
PEMFC performance.
this paper, the fuel compositions and cell efficiency are investigated for
different propane pre-treating techniques. For steam reforming, CO2
21/01180 Performance assessment of a hybrid solid oxide reforming and anode off-gas reforming of propane, the decreasing
and molten carbonate fuel cell system with compressed air rates of real fuel utilization and cell efficiency are apparently different
energy storage under different power demands with the change of equivalent fuel utilization. At high equivalent fuel
Jienkulsawad, P. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, utilization, the real fuel utilization and cell efficiency decrease slowly
45, (1), 835–848. with the increase of oxygen to carbon (O/C) ratio. While at low
As electricity demand can vary considerably and unpredictably, it is equivalent fuel utilization, the real fuel utilization and cell efficiency
necessary to integrate energy storage with power generation systems. decrease rapidly with the increase of O/C ratio. For catalytic partial
This study investigates a solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cell oxidation of propane, the real fuel utilization and cell efficiency
system integrated with a gas turbine (GT) for power generation. The decrease rapidly and the decreasing rate is same at different equivalent
advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) system fuel utilization with the increase of O/C ratio. Suitable proportions of

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 201

15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

steam, carbon dioxide and/or oxygen in the feed and efficient propane even carbon n-alkanes, assumed to derive from non-photosynthetic
processing strategy can depress the carbon deposition and improve the bacteria, were especially prevalent in FX-1, reaching 158.3–284.4 mg/g
cell efficiency. TOC, which might be a result of high levels of bacterial productivity in
the deep (average 89.6 m) water column of Lake Fuxian. The
21/01184 Three-layered electrolyte membranes with acid contribution of bacterial production diminished in the other four
reservoir for prolonged lifetime of high-temperature polymer lakes, with <C20n-alkanes declining to between 21.4 and 60.5 mg/g
electrolyte membrane fuel cells TOC on average in the studied cores. In the two shallow lakes,
Kannan, A. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, abundances of short-chain (<C20) odd carbon n-alkanes were greatly
(1), 1008–1017. elevated in sediments corresponding to the eutrophic phase; for
High-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with example, with maximum values of 136.3 mg/g TOC recorded in TB-1.
phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) are made with This nutrient-driven effect was less apparent in deep lakes. The >C21n-
three-layered membranes. The central membrane layer is meant as alkane profiles of different cores varied significantly. Abundances of
an acid reservoir made from direct cast PBI with a higher acid content long-chain n-alkanes (C29, C31 and C33) in HH-1 were approximately
than the outermost layers, which are post doped membranes acting as three to seven times greater than in other cores. Coupled with the
barrier layers to limit the acid transport out of the central layer. Cells lowest Paq (average 0.29) values recorded in the study, this indicates a
with three-layered membranes and others with normal single layered predominantly terrestrial plant origin for the >C 21n-alkanes, most
membranes are tested at 170 and 180  C. At both temperatures, the likely the dense alpine meadow which surrounds the lake. In other
cells with three-layered membranes show significantly lower voltage cores, however, aquatic macrophytes appear to be more important
decay rates than the corresponding cells with single-layered mem- contributors of the n-alkanes, a result that corresponds with the
branes. Post-doped PBI membranes based on linear or thermally relatively low density of terrestrial plants in those catchments.
crosslinked PBI are used for the barrier layers of the three-layered
membranes and for the single-layered membranes in the test series at 21/01187 Can multi-use of the sea be safe? A framework for
180  C. The acid loss rates assessed by acid collection at the fuel cell risk assessment of multi-use at sea
exhaust, are rather comparable. At 180  C, the cells are tested for up to van Hoof, L. et al. Ocean & Coastal Management, 2020, 184, 105030.
10,000 h and voltage decay rates of 2.3 and 4.1 mV h1 are measured for By 2050, the world population is expected to reach 10 billion people.
the cells with three-layered membranes and 14 and 11 mV h1 for cells This population will require food, water and energy. Increasingly,
with single-layered membranes. opportunities are sought out at sea to accommodate these needs. As
there is already competition for space, especially in the near-shore,
21/01185 Treatment of ethanolamine and electricity opportunities for multi-use, including the combination of, for example,
generation using a scaled-up single-chamber microbial fuel food and energy production in a single location, are sought. One issue
cell that needs to be addressed to allow for multi-use at sea is safety.
An, B.-M. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, Existing frameworks for (marine) risk assessment tend to be rather
81, 1–6. sector specific and, although existing models and frameworks for risk
Scaling-up of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) operated in a continuous analysis provide useful elements for an integrated analysis, none of the
mode requires technology transfer from the laboratory into the field. approaches fully caters for the need of having a framework based on a
The effect of scale-up on the MFC performance was evaluated by cyclical process of stakeholder input in all steps of the process of risk
comparing the maximum power density and removal efficiency of identification, risk management and risk evaluation and communi-
ethanolamine using two MFC reactors with different working volumes. cation, identifying actions to be taken and providing tools useful in
Experiments using a scaled-up MFC with different organic loading each of the steps, while integrating the three perspectives of maritime
rates (OLRs) in continuous mode were conducted to obtain sustainable safety, food (and feed) safety, and environmental impact assessment
electricity production and enhanced treatment capacity with a fixed and the different perspectives of the actors involved. This study
hydraulic retention time of 6.2 h. In comparative experiments to developed a common framework for the risk assessment of multi-use at
investigate scale-up effects, the maximum power density significantly sea, consisting of six steps (exploring, understanding, appraising,
decreased from 0.24 to 0.085 W m2 due to the increased surface area deciding, implementing and evaluating & communication). The frame-
on the electrode from 25 to 180 cm2. However, satisfactory removal work encompasses and integrates an analysis of food and feed safety
efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia were aspects, the safety of people and equipment, and environmental safety
obtained in the scale-up MFC experiments in the fed-batch mode with aspects. For each step, actions are defined, tools that can be of help to
different concentrations of ethanolamine (i.e. 100 and 250 mg L1). In stakeholders are presented, and stakeholder participation measures are
addition, removal efficiencies of COD and ammonia were significantly described. The framework is iterative and dynamic in its nature; with
influenced by experimental conditions in the continuous mode with constant communication and evaluation of progress, decisions can be
different OLRs (0.27, 0.66 and 1.33 g COD L1 day1). These results taken to either take a step forward or back. The framework is
demonstrate the importance of ensuring optimal OLRs as a critical developed to assist operators and producers, policymakers, and other
factor for scaling-up an MFC in continuous mode. stakeholders in assessing and managing risks of multi-use at sea.

21/01188 Dispersion of ultrafine particles in the wake of car

models: a wind tunnel study
Rodriguez, R. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial
Aerodynamics, 2020, 198, 104109.
15 ENVIRONMENT Worldwide around 7 million annual deaths are due to air pollution.
Among all pollutants, ultrafine particles (UFP) cause strong adverse
effects. In this paper, the dispersion of UFP is studied in the wake of
car models characterized by different rear slant angles (’). Velocities
and UFP concentrations are collected in a wind tunnel. The influence
Pollution, health protection, of the flow topology on the dispersion of these UFP is discussed. The
results indicate that its structure strongly influences their dispersion.
applications Whatever the rear slant angle is, the size of the recirculation region is a
key parameter governing the dispersion of these UFP. For ’ = 0 , the
flow is almost symmetric and concentration levels are higher and
homogeneous in the close wake. The recirculation region is the largest
21/01186 A comparison of n-alkane contents in sediments
one. The dispersion is enhanced in both horizontal and spanwise
of five lakes from contrasting environments
directions. For ’ = 25 , the flow is attached on the rear slant leading to
Zhang, Y. et al. Organic Geochemistry, 2020, 139, 103943.
a strong downwash effect. The volume of the recirculation region is the
In paleolimnology studies, the trajectories of n-alkane abundances and
smallest. Longitudinal vortices develop from the edges of car model
distributions in dated sediments are widely used indicators of changing
entrapping particles. Particle number concentration field is no more
environmental and ecological status in the overlying water over time.
symmetric. For ’ = 35 , results are almost similar to those obtained for
However, the factors contributing to the variable n-alkane profiles of
’ = 0 . Comparisons with previous studies are discussed and possible
lake systems are not yet fully understood. Here, a comparative study
applications are suggested.
was conducted to examine natural and anthropogenic influences on the
sediment n-alkane profiles of five representative lakes in China. Core
samples from the deep oligo- mesotrophic lakes Fuxian and Lugu (FX- 21/01189 EPR system based on a reward and punishment
1 and LG-1 cores), the shallow eutrophic lakes Taibai and Changdang mechanism: producer-led product recycling channels
(TB-1 and CD-1 cores) and the alpine Lake Heihai (HH-1 core) were Zhao, Y. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 198–207.
used. While there were striking differences in n-alkane abundances and The discussion level of green development is constantly and exponen-
distributions between the cores, the results suggested that the n-alkanes tially growing, and the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system
in all five studied lakes were derived mainly from biogenic sources, has become an important choice for the sustainable development of
rather than from petroleum contamination. The short-chain (<C20) enterprises. To effectively manage the recycling of waste goods, this

202 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 15 Environment (pollution, health protection, applications)

study uses the evolutionary game model to analyse the effectiveness of 21/01193 On environmental contours for marine and
the reward and punishment mechanism for the implementation of the coastal design
EPR system and builds a producer-led reverse closed-loop supply chain Ross, E. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106194.
model under effective conditions. The authors then compare and Environmental contours are used in structural reliability analysis of
analyse the channel selection of producers in carrying out the reverse marine and coastal structures as an approximate means to locate the
supply chain under the different mechanisms of rewards and punish- boundary of the distribution of environmental variables, and hence sets
ments. The findings are as follows. (1) The choice of producers of environmental conditions giving rise to extreme structural loads and
regarding the implementation of the EPR system is affected by the responses. Outline guidance concerning the application of environ-
reward and punishment mechanism. (2) Through the comparison of mental contour methods is given in recent design guidelines from many
different models of recycling channels, it is found that producer-led organizations. However there is lack of clarity concerning (a) the
independent recycling channels have the highest efficiency. (3) The differences between approaches to environmental contour estimation
producer will choose either the entrusted distributor recycling channels reported in the literature, and (b) the relationship between the
or entrusted third-party recycling channels, according to the different environmental contour, corresponding to some return period, and
rewards and punishments. the extreme structural response for the same period. Hence there is
uncertainty about precisely when environmental contours should be
used, and how they should be used well. This article seeks to provide
21/01190 Evaluating the importance and impact of user some assistance in understanding the fundamental issues regarding
behavior on public destination charging of electric vehicles environmental contours and their use in structural reliability analysis.
Schmidt, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114061. Approaches to estimating the joint distribution of environmental
With an increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road the variables, and to estimating environmental contours based on that
need for charging stations increases. Some of these stations are placed distribution, are described. Simple freely-available software for
at the destinations of drivers rather than along the route of their trip. estimation of the joint distribution, and hence environmental contours,
The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of user behaviour is illustrated. Extra assumptions required to relate the characteristics of
in the context of public destination charging and to provide an environmental contours to structural failure are outlined. Alternative
extension for existing evaluation methods. The authors identify losses response-based methods not requiring environmental contours are
in demand and potential revenue and show how they are influenced by summarized. The results of an informal survey of the metocean user
user behaviour. Different scenarios are analysed to demonstrate the community regarding environmental contours are presented. Finally,
effect of single parameters and to quantify their impact on revenue. To recommendations about when and how environmental contour
demonstrate the interaction between parameters, this paper presents a methods should be used are made.
case study on supermarkets in a medium-sized German city. The
results show that user behaviour is an important factor for the
economic evaluation of public destination charging stations and 21/01194 Potential of the submerged plant Myriophyllum
therefore needs to be considered in future evaluation methods. In spicatum for treatment of aquatic environments
addition, it shows that charging station operators have the possibility to contaminated with stable or radioactive cobalt and cesium
counteract losses by providing more charging stations or increasing the Saleh, H. M. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103147.
charging power. Modern technological routes of decontamination of polluted environ-
ments are expected to outperform traditional strategies. Such routes
have been perceived as more efficient and/or less expensive, and, most
21/01191 Evaluation of different earthquake scaling of all, as environmentally friendly. In this context, submerged plants
relations on the generation of tsunamis and hazard without any agricultural use are considered new and intriguing
assessment alternatives in the current search for more sustainable remediation of
Li, Z. et al. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 195, 106716. toxic and radioactive wastewater. Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian
For rapid tsunami warning purposes, rupture parameters for a given watermilfoil), a submerged aquatic plant present in fresh water
earthquake magnitude are estimated using empirical scaling relations. streams, is considered a threat for aquatic environment. In present
This study evaluated the effectiveness of several commonly used scaling research, this plant was utilized for decontamination of simulated
relations. It was found that, for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, most wastewater spiked with both radioactive and non-radioactive cobalt and
scaling relations overestimate the rupture area and underestimate the cesium isotopes. Several parameters were evaluated to optimize the
average rupture slip, resulting in predictions of earlier wave arrivals phytoremediation of these elements, such as the pH-value of the
and smaller wave amplitudes in comparison to recordings. The scaling contaminated medium, illumination, contact time, ion competition,
relation that uses ‘asperity size’ instead of actual rupture area, presents concentration of dissolved elements, mass of plant, and content of
a smaller rupture area and a larger average slip, leading to better radioactive material. More than 90% and 60% of stable cobalt and
tsunami predictions. While for the 2014 Iquique and 2015 Illapel cesium, respectively, were eliminated at optimal conditions of contact
tsunamis of relatively smaller earthquake magnitude, different scaling time with higher pH-value, light, and optimum mass of applied
relations lead to comparable tsunami predictions. These scaling biomass. The same elimination values were achieved also in case of
relations were further implemented to study a potential earthquake using radioisotopes of the same elements. The study demonstrates that
in the Manila subduction zone. Results show that different scaling M. spicatum can be used as a promising candidate for phytoremedia-
relations cause significant differences in the tsunami arrival time and tion of cobalt and cesium even if present as radioisotopes from con-
wave amplitude at coastal cities, especially in the along-trench taminated aqueous media, thus being a green alternative for traditional
direction. Thus, to access the tsunami threat from mega-earthquakes remediation technologies.
and build early warning systems, it is necessary to select the
appropriate scaling relations. 21/01195 Recent progress on bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI)
photocatalyst for environmental remediation
Arumugam, M. and Choi, M. Y. Journal of Industrial and Engineering
21/01192 Intertemporal lifestyle changes and carbon
Chemistry, 2020, 81, 237–268.
emissions: evidence from a China household survey
There are huge prospects for environmental remediation using
Zhang, H. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104655.
semiconductor photocatalysts that decompose toxic pollutants under
This paper examines the endogenous evolution of household con-
the illumination of light. This review article offers an outline of the
sumption patterns and household carbon emissions (HCEs) by
applications of a bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) photocatalyst for the
integrating the analysis methods of income distribution with climate
efficient decomposition of pollutants within the aqueous ecosystem. In
change. Based on a large-scale household survey spanning from 2012 to
addition, methods for synthesizing and modifying BiOI are emphasized
2016 in China, the authors estimated the direct and indirect HCEs,
to provide strategies for improving their photocatalytic activity.
observed inverse U-shaped carbon Kuznets curves and significant
Furthermore, recent research progress and future predictions for BiOI
changes in HCEs over the period at the household level. Applying the
photocatalyst are also summarized. This review will offer vision into the
Oaxaca–Blinder method, factors causing the changes in HCEs were
fabrication of novel and highly active BiOI-based photocatalysts in a
broken down and it was found that income and demographic effects
green manner at low operational cost.
contribute only 25.1% to the total increase of HCEs. The other 74.9%
remain unexplained and these were defined as the effect of
intertemporal lifestyle changes. Further analysis from multiple per- 21/01196 Research on radionuclide migration in coastal
spectives illustrates that the lifestyles of households across various waters under nuclear leakage accident
social strata are becoming increasingly higher carbon-intensive over Li, Z. et al. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2020, 118, 103114.
time even though the income remains unchanged. The findings indicate In coastal waters, the phenomenon of migration and diffusion of
that existing modelling and projections of carbon emissions based on radionuclides plays an important role in emergency decision-making
income and household characteristics may underestimate the future and mitigation of accidents in the nuclear power plant. Based on
emissions pressure from the household sector. Hence, it was concluded Lagrangian and Euler methods, radionuclide diffusion models have
that in order to reach more meaningful results, the increasing effect of been established for use in coastal waters of the nuclear power plant,
lifestyles should be taken into account when conducting climate change respectively. The model resolution is 10  10 and the model reliability is
studies and formulating climate policies. verified. The principle of radionuclide migration has been analysed.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 203

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

Studies are made on the influence of tidal currents and decay effect, on significantly improved by KOH activation. The seaweed porous
radionuclide concentration. Lagrangian results show that radionuclides biochars (SCK-800-1 and ECK-800-1) prepared with KOH/biomass
advance by way of rotation due to the influence of semidiurnal tidal weight ratio of 1 : 1 at 800  C exhibit the maximum CO2 capacity
waves. Euler results show that radionuclides concentrate toward the (reaching 1.05 and 0.52 mmol/g at 25  C, respectively). The adsorption
shore during the high tide, and the radionuclide concentration is high. capacity of CO2 decreases with the increase of adsorption temperature,
Radionuclides migrate toward the sea during the ebb tide, and the and increases with the increase of CO2 initial concentration. The flue
radionuclide concentration is low. The concentration of Cs-137 near gas components such as O2 and NO do not affect the adsorption
the source can be reduced by an order of magnitude with one week. capacity of CO2 for SCK-800-1 and ECK-800-1, while SO2 slightly
The radioactivity of I-131 is about 70% lower than that of Cs-137 after inhibits the CO2 adsorption performance. After 10 cycles of adsorp-
two weeks. It can provide theoretical basis for emergency measures. tion–desorption, the adsorption capacities of seaweed porous biochars
only decrease slightly. The pseudo-first-order model better fits the
21/01197 Robust optimization for hurricane preparedness experimental data, which demonstrates that the external mass transfer
Wang, X.J. and Paul, J. A. International Journal of Production plays a dominant role in CO2 adsorption over two kinds of seaweed
Economics, 2020, 221, 107464. porous biochars. The present results may inspire new research interests
This paper applies the concept of social cost (i.e. logistic, deprivation, and provide necessary theoretical guidance for the application and
and fatality costs) to analyse the optimal deployment time, location and research of seaweed biomass-based biochars for CO2 capture, and
capacities of stockpiles for points of distribution (PODs) in hurricane effectively expand the utilization of marine biomass.
preparedness. First a single-stage, adaptive robust model was proposed
to determine the optimal deployment time, given the time-variant 21/01200 Analysis of nitrogen oxide emissions from
characteristics of hurricanes. The model is nested in an optimal modern vehicles using hydrogen or other natural and
stopping-time framework that captures the trade-offs between increas- synthetic fuels in combustion chamber
ing deployment costs and reduced uncertainty as the hurricane Shcheklein, S. E. and Dubinin, A. M. International Journal of Hydrogen
approaches landfall. Once the optimal deployment time was deter- Energy, 2020, 45, (1), 1151–1157.
mined, a less conservative, two-stage robust optimization model was The paper presents a calculated analysis of the equilibrium emission of
proposed with recourse actions to determine the PODs’ location, nitrogen oxides on the exhaust of carburettor and diesel internal
stockpile capacities and flow. Tested on a case study, results show that: combustion engines (ICE). The temperature of fuel oxidation is
(1) a non-adaptive model leads to poor decisions about the optimal assumed to be 1400  C while the pressure for carburettor and diesel
deployment time; (2) improperly modelled deprivation costs pose engines is assumed to be 60 and 80 atm, respectively. The studies have
significant hidden risks to decisionmakers; (3) deprivation costs been carried out for natural and synthetic fuels such as hydrogen,
increase $3–5 for every dollar cut when the available budget is strictly ethanol, methanol, petroleum, diesel fuel and methane at the excess air
binding; and (4) significant savings in social cost result from the wait- coefficient corresponding to the fuel oxidation temperature of 1400  C.
and-see strategy implemented through the two-stage robust model. In this paper, the method for calculating the equilibrium composition
based on the equilibrium constant and mass conservation equations has
21/01198 Ultralow-temperature refrigeration systems: been applied. It is shown that with an increase in pressure from 1 to
configurations and refrigerants to reduce the environmental 60 atm for carburettor engines and up to 80 atm for diesel engines, the
impact reaction of nitrogen dioxide formation may shift towards an increase in
Mota-Babiloni, A. et al. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2020, NO2. The formation of NO may not be affected by the increase in
111, 147–158. pressure by virtue of the fact that the reaction proceeds without
Several environmental protection policies have been enforced restrict- changes in the amount. It has been determined that NO is the major
ing working fluids with high global warming potential (GWP) values atmospheric pollutant. However, it would be advisable to use more
used in many types of refrigeration and heat pump systems. However, extensively the fuels characterized by the lowest output of nitrogen
ultra-low-temperature (ULT) refrigeration has not been included, dioxide (methane and methanol), since nitrogen dioxide (NO2) related
which commonly uses refrigerants with very high GWP values (such as to the second hazard class is appeared to be the most dangerous to
R23 and R508B). Therefore, publicly available research programs humans. It has been revealed that the reduction in oxidation
seeking low GWP alternative refrigerants do not cover this application temperature using hydrogen as a fuel for electrochemical current
and the transition to more environmentally friendly fluids is slowed generators may allow reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by more than
down. This work presents a comprehensive review that summarizes and an order of magnitude as compared to the best results for ICE.
discusses the available studies about ULT refrigeration systems. The
current status of the technology, system architectures and refrigerants 21/01201 Distribution of specific greenhouse gas
are analysed. Moreover, the transition towards low GWP refrigerants is emissions from combined heat-and-power production in
proposed, presenting the most promising low GWP alternatives. The agricultural biogas plants
most commonly used architectures for ULT refrigeration are the two- Siddiqui, S. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2020, 133, 105443.
stage cascade and auto-cascade, in which the use of ejector has recently From model and case studies based on small samples, it is clear that
been considered in research papers. R170 and R1150 are the available specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of energy supply from biogas
natural refrigerants suitable for ULT, but they have not yet been are strongly dependent of system characteristics and scope. Prescriptive
included in many flammability and risk assessment studies. The A2 statistics for the GHG balance of electricity production from
hydrofluoroolefin R1132a has been recently proposed as a blend agricultural biogas systems were derived on the basis of a large audit
component to avoid problems of stability. However, more information data set. System boundaries include upstream processes, the pro-
is still necessary to start with simulation and experimental studies. R41 duction of energy crops (EC), the anaerobic digestion process, the
could be an alternative due to its low GWP and suitable normal boiling storage of digestate, and the utilization of biogas in a combined heat-
point, but it has not been thoroughly investigated yet. Overall, there is and-power-unit (CHPU). For the sample of 593 biogas systems the
a gap in the literature in terms of developing alternative refrigerants calculated specific CO2-equivalent-emissions of electricity fed into the
for ULT refrigeration. This study aims at shedding light on this gap to public grid range from 1730 to 821 g kWh1 (mean value  standard
direct future research in this field towards reliable, environmentally deviation: 307  125 g kWh1; interquartile range: 249–384 g kWh1).
friendly and marketable alternative refrigerants. For the sample as a whole, the mix of input materials on a mass basis
consists of 58% EC and 42% animal manure (AM). With this mix, the
substrate supply chain contributes 56.3% to the total GHG-emissions
of the biogas systems. To fully compensate GHG-emissions from EC
CO2, NOx, SO2 and particulate production by avoided emissions from AM storage, the ratio AM/EC
would need to be increased about fivefold. This result shows that in
emissions order to be sustainable, a biogas system in agriculture needs to be
understood more as a servicing function to farming rather than the
purpose of farming. Other dominant sources of GHG-emissions are the
methane slip from the CHPU, biogas losses and parasitic electricity
21/01199 Adsorption of CO2 from flue gas by novel
demand.
seaweed-based KOH-activated porous biochars
Ding, S. and Liu, Y. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116382.
Recently, environmental problems such as climate change and global 21/01202 Effects analysis on diesel soot continuous
warming caused by the greenhouse effect have become a worldwide regeneration performance of a rotary microwave-assisted
topic of concern. In this paper, two kinds of seaweed porous biochars regeneration diesel particulate filter
were prepared by utilizing widely sourced seaweed (sargassum and E, J. et al. Fuel, 2020, 260, 116353.
enteromorpha) using single step KOH activation. The physical and In order to investigate effects of various factors on continuous
chemical properties of the seaweed porous biochar adsorbents were regeneration performance of a rotary microwave-assisted regeneration
characterized, and CO2 adsorption performance over seaweed porous diesel particulate filter (MRDPF), a regeneration mathematical model
biochars was tested in a fixed-bed adsorption system. The textural and a field synergy model of the rotary MRDPF are developed, and
properties and functional groups of the raw seaweed biochars are turbulent kinetic energy distribution and pressure distribution of the

204 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

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

rotary MRDPF based on three different turbulence models are exposure experiments showed that Pb was mainly distributed in the
analysed. The results indicate that the RNG k–" model is more liver, kidneys, blood and spleen. Based on the kidney model, in vitro
suitable for simulation of the rotary MRDPF and appropriate inhalation bioaccessibility of Pb extracted with optimized Gamble
increment of filter unit number, oxygen content and exhaust gas solution, in which solid to liquid ratio (S/L) was optimized to
temperature can result in the regeneration performance improvement 1 : 1000 g ml1 and DTPA was proved to be the key effective
of the rotary MRDPF. Inlet flow velocity of exhaust gas can change component, showed a strong linear relationship with its in vivo
synergy degree between the velocity field and the temperature field and inhalation bioavailability (y = 1.07x  3.86, R2 = 0.73). Moreover, in
high synergy area is mainly concentrated in the upper and central parts vitro bioaccessible and bioavailable fractions of Pb were mainly from
of the filter unit. Moreover, field synergy degree and regeneration acid exchangeable and reducible fractions of Pb in PM2.5. Altogether,
efficiency of the filter unit are both better when the flow velocity optimized Gamble solution was suggested for the analysis of in vitro
reaches 0.3 m/s during regeneration phase, where regeneration bioaccessibility for risk-based assessments.
optimized area ratio and maximum regeneration efficiency are 0.51
and 91%, respectively. This work provides great reference values for
21/01206 Metal-organic frameworks for electrochemical
optimizing the continuous regeneration performance of the rotary
reduction of carbon dioxide: the role of metal centers
MRDPF.
Shao, P. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 40, 156–170.
This review provides an overview of the progress on different strategies
21/01203 Embodied GHG emissions of buildings – used to prepare metal–organic framework (MOF)-based electrocata-
the hidden challenge for effective climate change mitigation lysts for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. Pristine MOFs materials were
Róck, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114107. often used as the electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction, which exhibited
Buildings are major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and excellent electrocatalytic activity and selectivity due to the tuneable
contributors to the climate crisis. To meet climate-change mitigation metal nodes and organic linkers. Compared with homogeneous
needs, one must go beyond operational energy consumption and molecular catalysts, heterogeneous MOFs not only possess the merits
related GHG emissions of buildings and address their full life cycle. of molecular catalysts and heterogeneous porous catalysts, but also
This study investigates the global trends of GHG emissions arising display the periodic arrangement of organic ligands and metal notes.
across the life cycle of buildings by systematically compiling and This type of molecular heterogeneous catalyst is helpful for under-
analysing more than 650 life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies. The standing the relationship between the structure and properties at the
results, presented for different energy performance classes based on a molecular level. So far, different MOFs have been developed as
final sample of 238 cases, show a clear reduction trend in life cycle electrocatalysts for electrochemical reduction of CO2. However, only a
GHG emissions due to improved operational energy performance. few of MOFs exhibited electrocatalytic reduction of CO2. Furthermore,
However, the analysis reveals an increase in relative and absolute most reports mainly focused on metal–porphyrin MOFs due to their
contributions of so-called ‘embodied’ GHG emissions, i.e. emissions unique square plane coordinated geometry, which favours CO 2
arising from manufacturing and processing of building materials. While adsorption on active sites. On the other hand, owing to the improved
the average share of embodied GHG emissions from buildings electron transfer and mass transport, MOF-derived materials have
following current energy performance regulations is approximately been developed as electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction which exhibited
20–25% of life cycle GHG emissions, this figure escalates to 45–50% unprecedented electrocatalytic activity, selectivity. Various strategies
for highly energy-efficient buildings and surpasses 90% in extreme have been employed to fabricate MOF-derived nanocarbon hybrids for
cases. Furthermore, this study analyses GHG emissions at time of application in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction, but the MOF precursors
occurrence, highlighting the ‘carbon spike’ from building production. reported are mainly imidazolate-containing zeolitic imidazolate frame-
Relating the results to existing benchmarks for buildings’ GHG work materials.
emissions in the Swiss SIA energy efficiency path shows that most
cases exceed the target of 11.0 kg CO2eq/m2a. Considering global GHG
21/01207 Modelling start-up injection of CO2 into
reduction targets, these results emphasize the urgent need to reduce
highly-depleted gas fields
GHG emissions of buildings by optimizing both operational and
Sacconi, A. and Mahgerefteh, H. Energy, 2020, 191, 116530.
embodied impacts. The analysis further confirmed a need for
The development and verification of a homogeneous relaxation model
improving transparency and comparability of LCA studies.
for simulating the highly transient flow phenomena taking place during
the start-up injection of CO2 into deep highly depleted gas fields is
21/01204 Extended environmental multimedia modeling presented. The constituent mass, momentum, and energy conservation
system assessing the risk carried by pollutants in interacted equations, incorporating a relaxation time to account for non-
air-unsaturated-groundwater zones equilibrium effects, are solved numerically for single and two-phase
Yuan, J. and Elektorowicz, M. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, flows along the steel lined injection well leading to the storage
381, 120852. reservoir. Wall friction, gravitational field effects and heat transfer
Simulation of the transport of hazardous pollutants in a variety of between the expanding fluid and the outer well layers are taken into
media is a challenge. In this paper, a novel extended environment account as source terms in the conservation equations. At the well
multimedia modelling and analysis system (EEMMS) for migration of inlet, the opening of the upstream flow regulator valve is modelled as
pollutants from landfill through unsaturated site to groundwater is an isenthalpic expansion process; whilst at the well outlet, a formation-
presented. The developed EEMMS consists of four pathways modules: specific pressure-mass flow rate correlation is adopted to characterize
air, landfill, unsaturated zone and groundwater zone. The finite the storage site injectivity. The testing of the model is based on its
element method in EEMMS framework is used to analyse these four application to CO2 injection into the depleted Golden Eye Reservoir in
pathways and the results are compared to the finite difference model the North Sea for which the required design and operational data are
and analytical model. The effectiveness of EEMMS has been verified publicly available. Three injection scenarios involving a rapid, medium
through a case study of Trail Road Landfill site. The simulation of and slow linear ramping up of the injected CO2 flow rate to the peak
uncertainty was conducted with a quantitative technique of Monte nominal value of 33.5 kg/s are simulated. In each case, the predicted
Carlo Method. The risk quotient (RQ) results show that the low-risk pressure and temperature transients at the top and bottom of the well
area covers 10,000 m2, where the predicted concentrations of benzene are employed to ascertain the risks of well-bore thermal shocking, and
are between 1 and 1.2 mg L1. However, the high-risk area covers interstitial ice or CO2 hydrate formation leading to its blockage due to
almost 200,000 m2. Contrary to the finite element method, the majority the rapid expansion cooling of the CO2. The results demonstrate the
of the finite difference method and analytical predictions were too high efficacy of the proposed model as a tool for the development of optimal
and fell outside the high boundary of the experimental result. The injection strategies and best-practice guidelines for the minimization of
EEMMS is a unique risk assessment tool that can be used for impacts the risks associated with the start-up injection of CO2 into depleted gas
on water resource quality, biodiversity, fate of pollutants in ecosystem, fields.
climate change, etc.
21/01208 Modified biogas residues as an eco-friendly and
21/01205 In vitro inhalation bioaccessibility procedures for easily-recoverable biosorbent for nitrate and phosphate
lead in PM2.5 size fraction of soil assessed and optimized by removals from surface water
in vivo–in vitro correlation Pan, J. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 382, 121073.
Zhong, L. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 121202. Effective managements of organic solid waste and surface water
In order to assess and optimize frequently used in vitro inhalation eutrophication can reuse/reduce solid waste resources, and ensure
bioaccessibility procedures for heavy metals in the inhalation risk surface water safety. Herein, an easily-recoverable amine-functiona-
assessment, in vivo inhalation bioavailability of Pb in simulated lized biosorbent was developed from biogas residue (BR-N) for nitrate
atmosphere fine particles (PM2.5) from aging soils spiked with lead and phosphate removals from surface water. Physicochemical charac-
compounds and field soils in lead–zinc mining areas was investigated teristics revealed that BR-N has a cross-staggered structure with
via intranasally instilled experiments with these PM2.5 suspensions to abundant quaternary-amine groups to enhance the diffusion and
mice and Pb bioaccessibility was extracted by using four frequently electrostatic attraction of nitrate/phosphate. In batch studies, nitrate/
used in vitro procedures (Gamble solution, simulated lung fluid, phosphate could be effectively removed by the BR-N within a wide pH
simulated epithelial lung fluid and artificial lysosomal fluid). Mouse range of 5.0–9.0, and the maximum adsorption capacities of BR-N were

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 205

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

64.12 mg/g for nitrate and 34.40 mg P/g for phosphate. After eight vated carbon and metal sulfides. Snew was proved as the main active
continuous cycles of adsorption–desorption, BR-N still exhibited substance to remove Hg0, which could be continuously generated from
>82% adsorption capacity for nitrate/phosphate removals, implying Nano-sulfur by the reversible reaction under effect of SO2. The gaseous
the high chemical stability and reusability for water treatment. Hg0 was largely transformed to colloidal phase (87.47%) and
Whereafter, BR-N has real application prospect in water treatment, precipitated phase (10.53%) in the HgS form after wet scrubbing.
which could effectively treat 380, 260 and 760 bed volumes of This work offers a new path towards the design of non-ferrous smelting
three actual eutrophic surface water to satisfy the surface water flue gas Hg0 purification method by adding Nano-sulfur dispersion into
standard of China. The cost of BR-N was 2.89 $/kg evaluated by energy- the wet scrubber of existing air pollution control devices, i.e. flue gas
economy assessment, indicating the low-cost production of biogas scrubber and wet flue gas desulfurization.
residue-based adsorbent for treating eutrophic surface water. Overall,
this study provides a new idea for high-value utilization of organic solid
waste and purification of eutrophic water.
21/01212 Study on removal of gaseous hydrogen sulfide
based on macroalgae biochars
21/01209 Review on oxidative desulfurization of fuel by Han, X. et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020, 73,
supported heteropolyacid catalysts 103068.
Li, J. et al. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2020, 82, 1– Two kinds of macroalgae biochars were prepared through pyrolysis of
16. typical macroalgae (enteromorpha and sargassum), and were used to
Desulfurization of fuel has been an important issue in fuel refining adsorb gaseous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from biogas for the first time.
process. Hydrodesulfurization, as a traditional and commercial Effects of several key technological parameters on H2S adsorption over
desulfurization technique for removing sulfur compounds, has been two typical macroalgae (enteromorpha and sargassum) biochars were
widely researched for decades. But as the environmental policy evaluated. The physical and chemical properties of two kinds of
implemented on fuel becoming stricter, it is more difficult to remove macroalgae biochars were analysed using several characterization tools.
organic sulfur compounds by hydrodesulfurization technology. There- The adsorption kinetics of H2S on two kinds of macroalgae biochars
fore, non-hydrodesulfurization technologies developed rapidly in were also studied. The results show that the optimal calcination
recent years. Among all novel desulfurization technologies, oxidative temperatures for two kinds of macroalgae biochars are 800  C. The
desulfurization (ODS) functions best with its mild reaction condition adsorption of H2S is reduced via raising temperature, gas flow rate or
and efficient desulfurization capacity. Heteropolyacid (HPA) has been inlet concentration of H2S. An increase in moisture concentration
intensively investigated because the HPA has discrete ionic structure enhances at first, and then reduces H2S adsorption. Some key oxidative
and high proton mobility, which makes it extremely promising in and alkaline functional groups that were beneficial to H2S removal
catalysis. As a result, HPA has been applied in a variety of synthetically were found. The kinetic model with pseudo-first-order can describe the
selective transformations of organic substances and the ODS is one of adsorbing process of H2S on two kinds of macroalgae biochars well.
them. However, HPA have shortcomings such as their high solubility in Thermodynamic analysis exhibits that the physical adsorption plays a
polar solvents and low specific surface area. To overcome these dominant role in the H2S adsorption process.
problems, many works have been done to combine heteropolyacids
with other materials. The main derivatives of HPA used in ODS are
supported heteropolyacid, phase transfer heteropolyacid catalyst and
21/01213 Sulfur trioxide emissions from coal-fired power
polyoxometalate based ionic liquid. The catalytic activity and reusa-
plants in China and implications on future control
bility of HPA are substantially increased after modification. The works
Ren, Y. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116438.
on heteropolyaicds for ODS from 2010 to 2019 will be summarized in
SO3 is a significant gaseous precursor of secondary particulate matter
this review.
and is also a key for the overall improvement of ambient air quality. In
this study, SO3 emission characteristics for coal-fired power plants
21/01210 Room-temperature gas sensors based on ZnO (CFPPs) from field experiments and existing studies are collected to
nanorod/Au hybrids: visible-light-modulated dual selectivity study the SO3 transformation and removal characteristics and to
to NO2 and NH3 determine the temporal and spatial distribution of SO3 emissions from
Wang, J. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120919. CFPPs. The formation ratio of SO3 in boilers and selective catalyst
Gas sensors play vital roles in air pollution monitoring. Despite reduction system is 0.9  0.5% and 40.52  19.23%, respectively. The
considerable progress in improving the room-temperature gas sensing formed SO3 is then removed by dust collectors and desulfurization
sensitivities and rates of materials, comparably less attention is paid to systems in sequence, approximately 26.52–82.96% and 56.48–96.32%,
the sensor selectivity. Here, ultrathin ZnO nanorods (15 nm) were respectively. Due to the development of air pollution control devices,
synthesized by a nanoseed-assisted wet chemical approach and SO3 emission in 2015 (71.0 kt) is almost equal to the emission in 2000
subsequently functionalized by Au nanoparticles by a photoreduction (70.9 kt) although coal consumption kept increasing. Some areas of the
method. The hybrid material exhibited visible-light-activity owing to North China Plain have the highest distribution density of CFPPs,
the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effects of Au nanoparticles. The which implies more stringent SO3 emission limit may need to be
ZnO/Au hybrids were assembled into a high-performance, optically- considered in these regions for future control. Also, the monitoring
controlled gas sensor operating at room temperature, which was found method and control technologies should be developed simultaneously
to be more selective to NH3 in dark but showed high selectivity to NO2 for better application of the emission limit.
under visible-light illumination ( = 532 nm). Moreover, the sensors
exhibited high response and short response and recovery times as well
as excellent reversibility and selectivity at room temperature. Such
21/01214 Synthesis of mechanically robust porous carbon
visible-light-modulated dual gas selectivity could be mainly attributed
monoliths for CO2 adsorption and separation
to the opposite direction of electron transfer between ZnO and Au
Du, J. et al. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2020, 42, 56–61.
nanoparticles in dark and under visible-light illumination, which led to
Porous carbon materials with developed porosity, high surface area and
the different surface depletion characteristics of the ZnO nanorods. In
good thermal- and chemical-resistance are advantageous for gas
addition, the ultrathin diameters of nanorods also synergistically
adsorption and separation. However, most carbon adsorbents are in
contributed to the light-controlled dual gas selectivity. The presently
powder form which exhibit high pressure drop when deployed in
developed light modulation strategy provides an alternative approach
practical separation bed. While monolithic carbons have largely
to highly-selective and dual-functional gas sensors operating at room
addressed the pulverization problem and preserved kinetics and
temperature.
usually suffer from abrasion during multiple adsorption-desorption
cycles. Here, the authors proposed the designed synthesis of
21/01211 SO2 promoted ultrafine nano-sulfur dispersion for mechanically robust carbon monoliths with hierarchical pores, solid
efficient and stable removal of gaseous elemental mercury nitrogen-containing framework. The synthesis started with the polym-
Liu, H. et al. Fuel, 2020, 261, 116367. erization of resorcinol and formaldehyde under weakly acidic con-
Development of a low-cost, stable and high-efficiency method is a vital ditions generated from cyanuric acid, and then an appropriate amount
challenge for elemental mercury (Hg0) decontamination from non- of hexamethylenetetramine was added as a crosslinker to prompt the
ferrous smelting flue gas. The ultrafine size (<10 nm) and homo- formation of three dimensional frameworks. After carbonization
disperse nanometre sulfur (Nano-sulfur) was synthesized from alkali process, the as-obtained porous carbon monoliths have a high radial
desulfurization solution by using a facile method. The as-synthesized compressive strength of 886 N/cm as well as a BET specific surface area
Nano-sulfur exhibited excellent Hg0 removal performance over the of up to 683 m2/g. At approximately 1 bar, the CO2 equilibrium
bulk sulfur and commercial sublimed sulfur. Sulfur dioxide was capacities of the monoliths are in the range of 3.1–4.0 mmol/g at
surprisingly proved as a promoter for Nano-sulfur to enhance the 273 K and of 2.3–3.0 mmol/g at 298 K, exhibiting high selectivity for the
Hg0 removal in this study. Nano-sulfur dispersion showed higher than capture of CO2 over N2 from a stream which consists of 16.7% (v%)
92% removal efficiency for 119 h under high-concentration SO2 CO2 in N2. Meanwhile, they undergo a facile CO2 release in an argon
atmosphere. The Hg0 adsorption capacity and rate of Nano-sulfur stream at 298 K, indicating a good regeneration capacity. After cycle
reached 242.1 mg/g and 24.6 mg/(gmin) respectively, which were both testing, sieving and regeneration, the adsorbent has no mass loss,
higher than other traditional adsorbents like sulfur-containing acti- compared to that of its fresh counterpart.

206 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 15 Environment (hydrocarbon emissions)

21/01215 Transport properties of saline CO2 storage structure of the microbial community changed on the anode in the
reservoirs with unconnected fractures from brine-CO2 BES. In this study, the degradation regularity of mixed PAHs in BES
flow-through tests was studied and provided theoretical guidance for the effective co-
Muñoz-Ibáñez, A. et al. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, degradation of PAHs in the environment.
2020, 184, 106551.
CO2 storage in fractured reservoirs may lead to fast CO2 flow through
interconnected fracture networks; but the role of isolated fractures on
21/01218 PAH sampling and quantification from woody
brine–CO2 multiphase flow systems remains unclear. This paper
biomass fast pyrolysis in a pyroprobe reactor with a
presents the results of a brine–CO2 flow-through experiment in which
modified tar sampling system
the change in transport properties was assessed of a synthetic
Tsekos, C. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 147,
sandstone plug (a surrogate of a saline siliciclastic CO2 reservoir)
104802.
containing non-connected fractures aligned 45 from its axis. The test
This study focuses on the sampling procedure and quantification of the
was performed at 40 MPa of constant hydrostatic confining pressure
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) yield from the fast pyrolysis of
and 11 MPa of pore pressure, at room temperature (19.5  C), using
waste softwood. In particular, fast pyrolysis experiments were
pure liquid–CO2 and 35 g L1 NaCl salt solution. The injected CO2–
conducted using a CDS Pyroprobe 5200 at temperatures between 500
brine volume fraction was increased from 0 to 1 in 0.2 units-steps
and 1000  C, at a heating rate of 600  C/s for a sample size of 30 mg.
(drainage). Upon achievement of the maximum CO2 saturation
High performance liquid chromatography was used for the determi-
(SCO2  0.6), the plug was flushed-back with the original brine
nation of the PAH compounds present in the liquid sample fraction,
(imbibition). During the test, pore pressure, temperature, axial and
while a micro-GC was employed for the analysis of the main gaseous
radial strains, and bulk electrical resistivity were monitored simul-
products (CO, CO2, CH4 and H2). An alternative tar sampling protocol
taneously. The fractured sample showed lower values of cross- and
was proposed, which employed the use of a cold trap (50  C) and an
end-points in the relative permeability curves to CO2 compared to non-
isopropanol filled impinger bottle for the collection of the condensable
fractured samples, from comparable experiments performed at similar
products. The experiments were compared to heated foil reactor based
pressure and brine salinity conditions, but different temperature. These
pyrolysis tests within the same temperature range and heating rate,
results suggest that a non-connected fracture network affects the
except for a slightly lower sample size (10 mg). The Pyroprobe and
mobility of the individual phases, favouring the trapping of CO2 in the
adapted sampling system proved to be more efficient regarding PAH
porous medium and improving the storage efficiency of the reservoir.
capture and quantification compared to the heated foil reactor.
These evidences show the need of a better understanding of fracture
Naphthalene, acenaphthylene and phenanthrene were the main PAH
connectivity prior to discard fractured reservoirs as unsuitable
compounds detected. The PAH yields increased with pyrolysis
geological formations for CO2 storage.
temperature, up to values corresponding to roughly 0.2 wt% of the
overall yield at 1000  C. From the results it was derived that PAH
evolution is mainly a product of secondary decomposition of primary
tar, since the char yield stabilized for higher temperatures and the
yields of CO, H2 and CH4 increased. Overall mass balance closure
Hydrocarbon emissions values were around 80 wt% on average. Char and gas yields were
determined with high reproducibility, however gravimetric liquid
analysis lacked due to the inability to gravimetrically measure the
yield condensing in the impinger bottle. Future work is aimed on
21/01216 Chlorinated and brominated polycyclic aromatic improving on this particular aspect. Overall, the alternative tar
hydrocarbons: sources, formation mechanisms, and sampling system proposed was successful in the quantification of
occurrence in the environment PAH from biomass fast pyrolysis experiments offering increased
Jin, R. et al. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 2020, 76, flexibility, accuracy and practicality of use.
100803.
Chlorinated and brominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ClPAHs
and BrPAHs; XPAHs) are carcinogenic organic pollutants which are
mainly produced and emitted from combustion processes. In some 21/01219 Production of bio-oil with reduced polycyclic
environmental matrices, XPAHs display similar toxic properties and aromatic hydrocarbons via continuous pyrolysis of
even higher toxic equivalent quantities (TEQs) than dioxins. Under- biobutanol process derived waste lignin
standing the sources and formation mechanisms of XPAHs is import- Lee, H. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 384, 121231.
ant for controlling their emissions and human exposure to these The fast pyrolysis of waste lignin derived from biobutanol production
ubiquitous pollutants. Nevertheless, comprehensive knowledge on the process was performed to determine the optimal pyrolysis conditions
sources, formation mechanisms, and environmental characteristics of and pyrolysis product properties. Four types of pyrolysis reactors, e.g.
XPAHs, which are considered as emerging persistent organic pollu- micro-scale pyrolyser–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, lab and
tants (POPs) is lacking. Here, the authors review and discuss the bench scale fixed bed (FB) reactors, and bench scale rotary kiln (RK)
knowledge on the primary sources (i.e. formation mechanisms, levels, reactor, were employed to compare the pyrolysis reaction conditions
composition pattern, emission factors in combustion and other anthro- and product properties obtained from different reactors. The yields of
pogenic sources), and secondary formation (i.e. formation from char, oil, and gas obtained from lab scale and bench scale reactor were
reactions between emitted PAHs and halogens in environmental com- almost similar compared to FB reactor. RK reactor produced desirable
partments). Congener profiles of XPAHs released from various bio-oil with much reduced yield of poly aromatic hydrocarbons (cancer
anthropogenic sources are evaluated for their possible application as precursor) due to its higher cracking reaction efficiency. In addition,
source tracers of XPAHs. Regarding the chlorination of PAHs, the char agglomeration and foaming of lignin pyrolysis were greatly
authors suggest and discuss two possible mechanisms, which result in restricted by using RK reactor compared to the FB reactor.
the production of different congeners under different processes. Final-
ly, knowledge on environmental exposure to XPAHs is reviewed.
Research needs with regard to formation, emission, analytical methods, 21/01220 Testing a novel biotechnological passive sampler
environmental exposure and environmental risk assessment are outlined. for monitoring atmospheric PAH pollution
Aboal, J. R. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120949.
21/01217 Highly efficient anaerobic co-degradation of This study evaluated a new type of passive air sampler, the ‘mossphere’
complex persistent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a device, filled with a Sphagnum palustre clone. For this purpose, the
bioelectrochemical system atmospheric levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) collected
Zhou, Y. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120945. using this device and those collected in conventional bulk deposition
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that undergo long-distance and particulate matter (PM10) samplers were compared. All three
migration and have strong biological toxicity are a great threat to the types of samplers were exposed at 10 sites affected by different levels of
health of ecosystems. In this study, the biodegradation characteristics pollution and located in two different climate zones. The bulk
and combined effects of mixed PAHs in bioelectrochemical systems deposition/ mossphere comparison yielded a greater number of
(BESs) were studied. The results showed that, compared with a mono- significant regressions with higher coefficients of determination than
carbon source, low-molecular-weight PAHs (LMW PAHs)-naphtha- the PM10/mossphere comparison. No significant regressions were
lene (NAP) served as the co-substrate to promote the degradation of observed for three-ring PAHs in either comparison. The mosspheres
phenanthrene (PHE) and pyrene (PYR). The maximum degradation explain ca. 50% of the variability of the concentrations of four-, five-
rates of PHE and PYR were 89.20% and 51.40% at 0.2500 mg/L in and six-ring PAHs and total PAHs detected in PM10 and ca. 70% of
NAP-PHE and NAP-PYR at the degradation time of 120 h, respect- the corresponding concentrations detected in the bulk deposition. The
ively. Intermediate products were also detected, which indicated that use of the Sphagnum clone enables standardization of the set-up, thus
the appending of relatively LMW PAHs had different effects on the making the mossphere device a good sampling tool for monitoring
metabolism of high-molecular-weight PAHs (HMW PAHs). The four-, five- and six-ring and total PAHs, especially those associated
microbe species under different substrates (NAP-B, PHE-B, PYR-B, with bulk deposition. The findings indicate the potential usefulness of
NAP-PHE, NAP-PYR, PHE-PYR) are highly similar, although the this innovative technology for mapping PAH levels.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 207

15 Environment (life cycle analysis)

are environmentally better for wind utilization. The results suggest that
Life cycle analysis a household-scale PV system integrated within a micro-grid with
community-scale wind turbines and Li-ion batteries is environmentally
the most sustainable configuration.
21/01221 An activity based costing decision model for life
cycle economic assessment in spare parts logistic 21/01224 Dynamic life cycle assessment modelling of a
management NZEB building
Duran, O. and Afonso, P. S. L. P. International Journal of Production Asdrubali, F. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116489.
Economics, 2020, 222, 107499. Most of the developed countries are struggling to reduce carbon
This paper proposes an activity-based costing decision model that emissions into the atmosphere to meet the international agreements.
considers the life cycle of physical assets particularly, the logistics costs One of the strategies to reduce climate change impacts is the
of non-repairable spare parts. The Weibull based failure rate behaviour decarbonization of the electricity production: generation mixes are
along the life cycle is considered to have a more realistic representation more and more based on renewable energy sources that are replacing
of the demand and a more accurate computation of the logistics costs the traditional fossil fuels. The effect of the electricity decarbonization
associated with the different types of spare parts. Thus, through the use production reflects in the life cycle impacts of buildings, particularly if
of this model it is possible to evaluate different inventory policies and they are strongly dependent on the electrical energy as the main energy
their respective parameters in order to define efficient long-term vector. The traditional life cycle assessment (LCA) cannot capture the
inventory policies. Also, it represents a decision-making tool for effect of lowering emission factors for electricity generation since only
assessing the effects of the different failure rates of each critical spare static values are considered. Moreover, also the grid-building inter-
part. Finally, it can be used as an optimization tool for supporting the action should be properly taken into account in the life cycle
design of logistics policies namely, in terms of stock and service levels, assessment of buildings using dynamic calculations. A dynamic life
and costs. The activity-based life-cycle costing (AB-LCC) model cycle analysis is the methodology that can overcome these limitations
proposed here mitigates limitations of both activity-based costing and through the introduction of dynamic parameters within the life cycle
life-cycle costing (LCC) approaches through a novel combination of inventory and in the life cycle impact assessment stages. A dynamic life
these concepts. Theoretical and managerial contributions and several cycle assessment (DLCA) is proposed in order to evaluate the con-
applications and extensions of the AB-LCC model are expected as it is sequences of electricity decarbonization on the LCA of an ‘all-electric’
discussed at the end of the article. Specifically, the model presented nearly zero energy building (NZEB). A comparison with literature
here is a valuable tool for maintainers to manage critical non- results about similar constructions is finally provided.
repairable spare parts inventories.

21/01222 Are rooftop photovoltaic systems a sustainable 21/01225 Life cycle assessment integration into energy
solution for Europe? A life cycle impact assessment and system models: an application for power-to-methane in
cost analysis the EU
Martinopoulos, G. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 114035. Blanco, H. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114160.
Global energy demand is constantly increasing and recent projections As the EU energy system transitions to low carbon dioxide, the
show that this trend is going to continue with an average increase of technology choices should consider a broader set of criteria. The use of
1.2% up to 2040. Since the building sector has emerged as a large life cycle assessment (LCA) prevents burden shift across life cycle
energy consumer, in an effort to combat this trend, governments stages or impact categories, while the use of energy system models
worldwide introduced various policies. The utilization of solar energy (ESM) allows evaluating alternative policies, capacity evolution and
conversion systems are at the forefront of attention as they are covering all the sectors. This study does an ex post LCA analysis of
considered carbon dioxide neutral and can be used in order to cover results from JRC-EU-TIMES and estimates the environmental impact
both electricity and heating load demands. Thus, these systems need to indicators across 18 categories in scenarios that achieve 80–95% CO2
be thoroughly investigated taking into consideration the variations in emission reduction by 2050. Results indicate that indirect CO2
the solar potential and the differences that exist in the electricity mix emissions can be as large as direct ones for an 80% CO2 reduction
throughout Europe both in terms of cost, as well as of emissions, in target and up to three times as large for 95% CO2 reduction. Impact
order to assess their sustainability. In the current work a complete life across most categories decreases by 20–40% as the CO2 emission target
cycle impact assessment is conducted for typical 4 kWp photovoltaic becomes stricter. However, toxicity related impacts can become 35–
systems throughout Europe, and their environmental impact, sustain- 100% higher. The integrated framework was also used to evaluate the
ability, energy return on energy invested and payback period are power-to-methane (PtM) system to relate the electricity mix and
calculated. The results highlight that although residential photovoltaic various CO2 sources to the PtM environmental impact. To be more
systems are considered ‘clean’ and have a relatively low environmental attractive than natural gas, the climate change impact of the electricity
impact throughout their life cycle, depending on the installation used for PtM should be 123–181 gCO2eq/kWh when the CO2 comes
location and local electricity mix this might not be the case in the from air or biogenic sources and 4–62 gCO2eq/kWh if the CO2 is from
coming years. The energy return on energy invested ranges from 1.64 to fossil fuels. PtM can have an impact up to 10 times larger for impact
almost 5 depending on location, while their simple payback period is categories other than climate change. A system without PtM results in
less than 11 years in most cases, and as low as 5, without any subsidy. 4% higher climate change impact and 9% higher fossil depletion,
while having 5–15% lower impact for most of the other categories. This
is based on a scenario where nine parameters favour PtM deployment
21/01223 Design and environmental sustainability and establishes the upper bound of the environmental impact PtM can
assessment of small-scale off-grid energy systems for have. Further studies should work towards integrating LCA feedback
remote rural communities into ESM and standardizing the methodology.
Aberilla, J. M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114004.
Small-scale off-grid renewable energy systems are being increasingly
used for rural electrification, commonly as stand-alone home systems 21/01226 Life cycle cost assessment of a geothermal power
or community micro-grids. With the variety of technologies and assisted hydrogen energy system
configurations available, it is not clear which options are sustainable Yilmaz, C. Geothermics, 2020, 83, 101737.
for remote communities. This study investigates the life cycle In this paper, an integrated geothermal energy powered hydrogen
environmental sustainability of both home and community installa- production and liquefaction storage system is developed that has the
tions, designed as part of this work, which utilize diesel, solar, and wind ability to produce geothermal power of 7856 kW and hydrogen
resources coupled with battery storage. A total of 21 system liquefaction rate of 0.05 kg/s. To simulate the integrated hydrogen
configurations (six home systems and 15 micro-grids) have been energy system during thermodynamic conditions with life cycle cost
designed and optimized for a prototypical rural community in the analysis, the EES and Aspen Plus software is used. In the integrated
Philippines, considering both stand-alone and hybrid systems. Life system, hydrogen production and liquefaction by a geothermal source
cycle assessment considering 18 potential impact categories has been are accomplished. The geothermal power plant supplies the electrical
carried out to compare the environmental impacts associated with power for both the electrolysis unit and the liquefaction cycle. The
electricity production of each option. At the household level, hybrid geothermal work is used for electrolysis to produce hydrogen gas and
solar photovoltaics (PV)–wind systems with storage have 17–40% lower the remaining power is used for the liquefaction of hydrogen gas in the
impacts than the equivalent stand-alone installations per kWh nitrogen precooled Claude cycle. In the electrolysis process, the work
generated. Batteries are a major environmental hotspot, causing up required for the generation of the unit hydrogen was calculated as
to 88% of the life cycle impacts of a home energy system. Among the 43.57 kW h/kg H2 if the work was recalculated when preheating was
community micro-grid options, the PV–wind–lead acid battery hybrid included. The actual work consumption to hydrogen liquefaction was
system has the lowest impacts in many categories, including climate found to be 8.98 kW h/kg LH2. The unit costs of hydrogen and system
change, ozone depletion, and acidification. Comparing equivalent payback period were calculated as $2.154/kg LH 2 and 6.17 years. When
architectures for single-household and community-scale installations, life cycle cost analysis is applied to the system, the net present value
PV systems are environmentally more sustainable if installed indivi- and levelized annual cost (LAC) were calculated as $78,390,000 and
dually in households, while larger turbines in community micro-grids $9,207,000/year, respectively.

208 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 16 Energy (supplies, policy, economics, forecasts)

21/01227 Life cycle energy consumption and GHG 21/01230 Assessing energy efficiency improvements and
emissions of biomass-to-hydrogen process in comparison related energy security and climate benefits in Finland:
with coal-to-hydrogen process an ex post multi-sectoral decomposition analysis
Li, G. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116588. Trotta, G. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104640.
Developing coal-to-hydrogen (CTH) process is a major way to relieve Energy efficiency is widely considered a cost-effective strategy for
the conflict between hydrogen supply and demand. The environmental reducing energy demand, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and
problems caused by the utilization of fossil energy have driven the dependence on foreign energy sources. At the national level in EU
progress of alternative hydrogen production processes. Biomass member states, improvements in energy efficiency are measured
energy, as an attractive renewable hydrogen resource, can solve some against model-based scenarios and ex ante engineering estimates,
environmental problems. In this study, CTH and biomass-to-hydrogen which might provide inaccurate indications of the actual energy savings
(BTH) processes are modelled and studied. Based on the simulation delivered by energy efficiency. Thus, the objectives of this study are to
results, the life cycle analysis energy consumption (EC) and green- provide new insights on: (i) the contribution of energy efficiency
house gas (GHG) emissions of CTH and BTH processes are improvements to reducing energy consumption in Finland over the
performed. The system life cycle boundary includes raw material 2005–2015 period by employing an ex post multi-sectoral decompo-
production (or collection); transportation; synthesis gas generation; sition analysis approach – Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index I and
hydrogen purification; hydrogen transportation and application. The (ii) the energy security and climate benefits associated with energy
results show that the EC of the BTH process is 75.4% lower than the efficiency improvements. The results indicate that from 2005 to 2015,
corresponding value of CTH process. GHG emissions of BTH process efficiency saved 0.58 Mtoe of final energy; without the energy efficiency
are 89.6% lower than corresponding values of CTH process. In improvements that occurred between 2005 and 2015 (ceteris paribus),
addition, sensitivity analysis shows that pipeline transport is the most the final energy consumption in 2015 would have been 2.4% higher.
environmentally friendly transport mode. Gasification temperature is Compared to the energy savings reported by the Finnish government to
in the range of 1400–1500  C, the system achieves the highest energy the European Commission, the savings calculated with the Logarithmic
efficiency and the lowest GHG emissions. Suggestions were proposed Mean Divisia Index I are significantly lower. Energy efficiency
for the policy formulation of the sustainable development of the improvements between 2005 and 2015 reduced Finland’s carbon
hydrogen industry, which is of great significance to reduce GHG dioxide emissions and dependence on energy imports by 3.5% and
emissions and improve energy efficiency. 5% in 2015, respectively. Future energy efficiency policies should be
targeted at residential space heating demand; chemical, mining, food,
21/01228 Techno-economic analysis and life cycle and construction industries; and heavy-duty vehicles as energy
assessment for electrochemical ammonia production using efficiency was not effective in reducing energy consumption.
proton conducting membrane
Gomez, J. R. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45, 21/01231 Can value-added tax incentives of new energy
(1), 721–737. industry increase firm’s profitability? Evidence from
Green ammonia production is facing increasing interest on a global financial data of China’s listed companies
scale as a hydrogen carrier for power generation as well as fertilizer for Sun, C. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104654.
food production. The conventional Haber–Bosch method for ammonia Tax incentives for new energy industry have been adopted at various
synthesis is energy demanding, requires high purity hydrogen, and is stages of an emerging economy. However, there is little evidence on the
based on fossil fuels. A preliminary techno-economic model for effectiveness of tax incentives from the perspective of firm’s profit-
electrochemical ammonia synthesis at near ambient pressure using ability. The authors compared value-added tax (VAT) incentives in
feed rates of 32 tonnes/day for hydrogen and 135 tonnes/day for different kinds of new energy enterprises in China and study the effect
nitrogen is presented in this study. Various pathways using different of VAT incentives on new energy listed companies through the
methods for nitrogen generation and hydrogen production were difference-in-difference (DID) approach empirically. The results show
investigated to gain insight into added energy savings per metric ton that VAT refunds of new energy industry could decrease the return on
of ammonia. Electrochemical synthesis using electrolysis for hydrogen equity of the experiment group, which is lower than the control group
and cryogenic nitrogen was found to be a potentially viable pathway for by 4.7%. This is mainly due to the distorted industrial chain,
green ammonia. The profitability metrics including discounted cash overcapacity and insufficient innovation motivation caused by the tax
flow rate of return, net present value and discounted payback period incentives. It was also found by examining the dynamic effects of VAT
were estimated to be 8%, $40 million, and 4–6 years, respectively, for incentives that the policy impact has a time lag and varies considerably
this pathway. The cost of electricity, conversion rate, and conversion across time. This study provides some new evidence on the efficiency of
efficiency dominate the tonnage cost of ammonia and were used to tax incentives toward new energy industry by firm-level data.
assess the feasibility of the model. A life cycle assessment was also
conducted to assess the environmental impact of a well to product
ammonia process. 21/01232 Evaluating Malaysia’s fuel diversification
strategies 1981–2016
Dharfizi, A. D. H. et al. Energy Policy, 2020, 137, 111083.
Since the introduction of Malaysia’s own Four-Fuel Diversification
Policies 1981, and the updated Five-Fuel Diversification Policies in
2001, no studies have been conducted to measure and evaluate the
success and progress of these policies. This study aims to address this
16 ENERGY issue by quantitatively measuring the extent of fuel diversification in
Malaysia since the conceptualization of these policies in 1981 through
the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index and supported by an analysis through
the Shannon–Weiner Index. Statistical data from the Malaysia Energy
Commission on the Primary Energy Supply and Final Energy Demand
Supplies, policy, economics, forecasts were chosen for this purpose. The findings suggest that whereas
Malaysia has managed to reduce its over-dependency on crude oil/
petroleum as its primary fuel, this dependency has been replaced partly
by a dependency on natural gas, on the supply side. As for the demand
21/01229 A multi-objective approach to the prospective
side, the transportation sector’s continuing dependency on petroleum
development of the European power system by 2050
has also affected the level of fuel diversification. Thus, the level of fuel
Louis, J.-N. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116539.
diversification, while having shown improvement, was less than
This paper reports the recent work carried out to engage both the
expected. Further incorporation of renewable energy in the future
environmental impact and the economic indicators on the prioritization
may hold the key to a genuine and more successful energy diversifica-
of dispatchable technologies in the European energy mix up to 2050.
tion for Malaysia.
Those two contradictory indicators are incorporated in a multi-criteria
optimization leading to iterations of two scenario: business as usual and
2  C climate policy. The results present the evolution of the climate 21/01233 Fuel poverty and subjective wellbeing
change emission versus the operational costs of the power system up to Awaworyi Churchill, S. et al. Energy Economics, 2020, 86, 104650.
2050. The yearly electricity mix evaluations allow assessing the long- In this study, 13 waves of the Household, Income and Labour
term development of the European energy system, where a focus is Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey were used to examine the
done on variable renewable energy production. It is shown that policy- effect of fuel poverty on subjective well-being (SWB) in Australia. It
only solutions, associated with a traditional cost-oriented optimization, was found that being in fuel poverty lowers SWB. When considering
have a limited impact on helping the power sector to reach emission fuel poverty using electricity and gas prices, a standard deviation
levels targets. Integrating the objective of reducing emissions to the increase in fuel poverty was found to be associated with declines of
management of power plants would reduce the absolute and 0.168–0.458 standard deviations in SWB, depending on how fuel
cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. The counterpart is poverty is measured. The general conclusion that fuel poverty lowers
that the system electricity price tends to increase faster thus implying SWB is robust to alternative ways of measuring fuel poverty, a suite of
increased social costs. estimation approaches and other sensitivity checks.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 209

16 Energy (energy conservation)

21/01234 Global water use associated with energy supply, uncertainty of the hourly available wind and solar power and the
demand and international trade of China demand level is considered. The numerical results indicate that an
Liu, Y. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113992. European power system mainly based on solar and onshore wind power
It is anticipated that future expansion of energy industry in China will is possible at a reasonable cost if storage units are also installed. The
inevitably exert enormous pressure on water use both at home and total new generating capacity to be built up to 2050 will be around
abroad, due to the globalized energy supply chains. Therefore, this 881 GW, which leads to an investment cost of at least e1622 billion. The
study aims to systematically evaluate the global water use embodied in possibility of wind, solar and storage units to provide a certain reserve
China’s energy supply chains (i.e. energy supply, demand and capacity allows to reduce the participation of thermal units. Therefore,
international trade) in a unified framework by using a global multi- a 77% reduction in the CO2 emissions respect to 1990 may be achieved
regional input–output analysis. The results reveal that China’s direct in 2050. Finally, unserved demand is found in few countries only in 75 h
water withdrawal by energy sectors (i.e. coal, oil, gas, petroleum and of the year, while the average daily energy prices are stable and
electricity) amounts to 117 billion m3 in 2011, of which foreign demand comparatively low among the countries.
mainly from the USA, the EU and Japan drives one quarter. From
energy demand side, only water roughly equivalent to one fifth of direct 21/01238 Quantifying the impact of policy on the
water withdrawal of energy sectors is embodied in China’s final investment case for residential electricity storage in the UK
demand of energy sectors, indicating that energy sectors transfer large Gardiner, D. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101140.
amounts of water embodied in intermediate use to downstream sectors. Electrical energy storage has a critical role in future energy systems,
Regarding water use embodied in China’s energy trade, China mainly but deployment is constrained by high costs and barriers to ‘stacking’
imports from the former Soviet Union, Russia and Korea, and exports multiple revenue streams. This study analyses the effects of different
to Vietnam, Singapore and other east Asian countries. Although much policy measures and revenue stacking on the economics of residential
of the discussion around China’s energy–water nexus is focused on electricity storage in the UK. Six policy interventions through industry
local perspective, the findings highlight the importance to consider the interviews were identified and their impact quantified using a techno-
impacts of China’s globalized energy supply chains on worldwide water economic model of a 4 kWh battery paired with a 4 kW solar system.
use when formulating policy. Without policy intervention, residential batteries are not currently
financially viable in the UK. Policies that enable access to multiple
21/01235 Impacts of horizontal integration on social revenue streams, rather than just maximizing photovoltaic (PV) self-
welfare under the interaction of carbon tax and green consumption, improve this proposition. Demand load-shifting and peak
subsidies shaving respectively increase the net present value per unit of
Xu, C. et al. International Journal of Production Economics, 2020, 222, investment cost (NPV/Capex) by 30 and 9 percentage points
107506. respectively. Given projected reductions in storage costs, stacking
Both a carbon tax and green subsidies are efficient approaches to limit these services brings forward the break-even date for residential
greenhouse gas emission. However, interactions between these two batteries by 9 years to 2024, and increases the effectiveness of policies
policies remain a critical gap area. This paper considers a channel that reduce upfront costs, suggesting that current policy is correctly
structure originally consisted of two manufacturers and two retailers focused on enabling revenue stacking. However, additional support is
each of whom sells only one manufacturer’s product exclusively. The needed to accelerate deployment in the near term. Combining revenue
products produced by the two manufacturers are substitutable. The stacking with a subsidy of £250/kWh or zero-interest loans could make
government subsidizes consumers who buy low-carbon products but residential storage profitable by 2020.
imposes a carbon tax on the manufacturer producing high-carbon
products. The authors analysed tripartite games among manufacturers,
retailers, and the government when horizontal integration between
manufacturers or retailers is presented. It is a common belief that
horizontal integration reduces competition and thus causes a loss in Energy conservation
social welfare. However, it was fond that, with government interven-
tion, neither type of horizontal integration has an effect on social
welfare. Although horizon integration may change the optimal subsidy
and carbon tax levels, it has no effect on the equilibrium demands for 21/01239 Building thermal storage technology:
both products. It is also shown that the integration of manufacturers compensating renewable energy fluctuations
does not affect retailers’ profits, but the integration of retailers hurts Guerrero Delgado, M. C. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27,
both manufacturers due to the direct head-to-head competition. 101147.
Emerging technologies and new intelligent management systems will be
needed to rise to the energy challenges posed by buildings today.
21/01236 Measuring the effects of energy transition: Thermally activated building systems (TABS) are attracting growing
a structural decomposition analysis of the change in interest on the back of their energy savings potential. The TABS
renewable energy use between 2000 and 2014 studied in this article, a new prefabricated panel designed for
Dietzenbacher, E. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114040. installation in residential building fac˛ades, was characterized by the
This study investigates the growth in global renewable energy use high thermal inertia afforded by the phase change materials in its
between 2000 and 2014. To identify its main contributors and their composition. The design and assessment of the potential savings
geographical distribution, a structural decomposition analysis is derived from TABS require specific characterization methodologies to
applied to global multi-regional input–output tables. A new variant estimate the amount of useful energy available to control the indoor
of this type of analysis is developed that introduces energy transition environment. A two-stage approach was adopted for the TABS studied
(i.e. the substitution of non-renewable energy by renewable energy) as here with ‘ideal’ operating control (the building is assumed to be at a
one of the contributors. Global renewable energy use rose by constant desired temperature). The first stage involved a simplified
22.1 exajoules (EJ), from 57.8 EJ in 2000 to 79.9 in 2014. The method for characterizing system behaviour based on performance
contribution of energy transition at the global level to this 22.1 EJ maps developed from computational fluid dynamics simulations. Such
increase was small and positive (+1.3 EJ). As for the geographical maps can be used to quickly assess changes in system energy
distribution of the effects, positive effects are found for the EU and the performance following on variations in design and operating par-
USA, negative effects for China, India and the rest of the world (which ameters. In the second, the TABS was integrated into a building with a
includes many developing and emerging countries). Trade structure simplified model to assess monthly energy demand to evaluate the
changes also had a small effect on global renewable energy use system potential for energy savings in representative types of Spanish
(+1.1 EJ). The main contributions were the worldwide changes in: single-family housing in different climate zones. The first-stage findings
technology and overall energy efficiency (23.6 EJ); consumption per showed that given the system significant inertia, it discharged for
capita (+32.2 EJ); and population (+11.0 EJ). several days, even when charging occurred only on the first, ensuring a
wide operating range adaptable to renewable resource limitations. The
21/01237 Planning and operating a renewable-dominated analysis of potential, in turn, revealed that savings of over 40% in
European power system under uncertainty heating demand are possible even under the least favourable
Domı́nguez, R. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 113989. circumstances.
This paper studies the European power system for 2050 from both the
expansion and the operation perspectives. First, the generating and 21/01240 Comprehensive measures to enhance electric
storage capacity to be built is decided by solving a multi-stage heater defrosting (EHD) performance for household
investment model taking into account the uncertainty related to the frost-free refrigerators
investment costs and the demand growth. Stochastic programming is Zhao, R. et al. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2020, 111, 1–8.
used to represent this decision-making problem under uncertainty. The frost-free refrigerator typically uses a bottom-placed calrod heater
Second, the daily operation of the resulting European power system is to remove frost on evaporator surface. However, the mismatch between
analysed. A two-stage stochastic-programming problem is proposed to full coverage of frost and bottom-up heat transfer extends defrost
model the day-ahead energy and reserve markets in the first stage, and duration, and warm air intrusion into freezing cabinets (FCs) during
the real-time operation in the second stage. At this level, the defrosting leads to increased FC-temperature rise and overall energy

210 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 16 Energy (energy conservation)

consumption. Therefore, comprehensive measures were applied in this heat transfer and gas blow-by. Tribological and thermal properties of
article to enhance defrost performance of the frost-free refrigerator. A advanced coatings, such as nickel nanocomposite (NNC) and diamond-
special fan cover was adopted which opened during cooling cycles to like carbon (DLC) are compared with an uncoated steel bore surface as
supply cold air into cabinets normally, but closed during defrosting to the base line configuration. Such a comprehensive analysis has not
block warm air intrusion passage. Moreover, an extra heater (60 W) hitherto been reported in open literature, particularly with original
was inserted in the middle height of the evaporator besides the original contributions made through inclusion of salient properties of alterna-
bottom one (180 W) to form better frost-heat match. Results show the tive bore materials for high performance race engines. Power loss and
fan cover and dual heaters altogether reduced defrost duration by friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) are evaluated in a dynamo-
4.5 min and FC-temperature rise by 2.7  C. Lower FC-temperature metric test, representative of the world-wide harmonized light vehicles
after defrost further declined energy consumption for the subsequent test cycle. The NNC coating shows promising tribological improve-
recovery cycle, which compensated for its increase for the defrost cycle ments. The DLC coating is detrimental in terms of frictional power loss
and dominated the 1.2% reduction in overall energy consumption of and FMEP, although it can effectively improve sealing of the
the refrigerator. Both measures proved effective in enhancing defrost combustion chamber. The differences in power loss of nominated bore
performance. However, the middle heater may affect cooling cycle surfaces are represented as fuel mass and CO emissions, using
performance of the refrigerator, necessitating further investigation. theoretical and empirical relations. For the first time the paper shows
that advanced coatings can potentially mitigate the adverse environ-
21/01241 How to allocate energy-saving benefit for mental impacts of spark ignition engines, with significant repercussions
guaranteed savings EPC projects? A case of China when applied to the global gasoline-powered vehicle fleet.
Shang, T. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116499.
From the perspective of stakeholders, this paper uses Shapley value
method to get the initial allocation solution to energy-saving benefit of 21/01244 Spatial-temporal growth model to estimate the
guaranteed savings energy performance contracting (EPC) project, and adoption of new end-use electric technologies encouraged
uses an analytic hierarchy process to determine the risk evaluation by energy-efficiency programs
indicators and the weight of stakeholders. The fuzzy comprehensive Mejia, M. A. et al. Energy, 2020, 191, 116531.
evaluation method is used to determine the risk coefficients of Domestic energy policies destined to foster the use of end-use electric
stakeholders and normalize them. The initial allocation of energy- technologies could cause rapid penetration of new residential loads
saving benefit is corrected by using the normalized risk coefficients to and, consequently, this could cause a significant increase in the demand
get the final allocation solution to the energy-saving benefit. The study for electricity in urban areas. This paper presents a spatial-temporal
shows the following. (1) It is reasonable to use the Shapley value growth model for estimating the adoption of new end-use electric
method for the allocation of energy-saving benefit of stakeholders in technologies encouraged by energy-efficiency policies. The proposed
guaranteed savings EPC projects. (2) In the process of forming a method consists of three modules: temporal, spatial and grouping. The
cooperative alliance among stakeholders of guaranteed savings EPC temporal module calculates by districts or census tracts of a city, the
projects, all parties have synergistic risks. (3) The level of energy-saving percentage of homes in which residents are prospective buyers of a new
benefits of the cooperative alliance has been improved. (4) The end-use electric technology. Then, the spatial module adjusts the
allocation of energy-saving benefit based on risk coefficient is more in calculations made by the temporal module, considering the spatial
line with the actual situation. The research results can provide a more interactions among the inhabitants of the districts. Finally, the
realistic allocation solution to energy-saving benefits of such projects, grouping module discovers the low-voltage transformer where the
and contribute to the smooth implementation of guaranteed savings prospective buyers are connected. The results of the proposed model
EPC projects that occupy the mainstream position in China’s energy- are a spatial database with information related to the percentage of
saving service industry. homes in which residents are prospective buyers of a new end-use
electric technology, as well as the number of prospective buyers
connected to each low-voltage transformer. The results can visualize
21/01242 Inclusion of methyl stearate/diatomite composite through thematic maps to identify the districts where the new
in gypsum board ceiling for building energy conservation technology will have faster adoption. The proposed method was
Abden, M. J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114113. employed to estimate the adoption of induction heating cookers in a
Gypsum board with the advantages of low cost and ease of placement is medium-sized Ecuadorian city. The Ecuadorian government has
widely used in buildings as ceiling and interior wall coverings. The developed a program of economic subsidies to encourage its
interest in phase change material integrated gypsum board has been population to use this electrical appliance. The results from this
growing significantly over the last few years. In the present work, a application are an important tool to estimate the spatial increase in
composite form-stable phase change material (FSPCM) for use in electricity demand, decide important issues related to the planning of
gypsum board was developed based on methyl stearate and diatomite distributed resources, and develop demand-side management pro-
by a direct impregnation method. The material properties and thermal grams. Furthermore, the results can be used to evaluate and manage
behaviour of the methyl stearate/diatomite composite were examined energy policies formulated to achieve environmental and energy goals.
through different characterization techniques to check its suitability for
use in building materials, and particularly in gypsum board. Thermal
cycling tests and thermogravimetric results confirmed that the FSPCM 21/01245 Towards net zero energy building:
exhibited excellent thermal reliability and stability for long-term the application potential and adaptability of
thermal management applications. The FSPCM was then integrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric-battery wall system
into gypsum board for potential use as building false ceiling for energy Luo, Y. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114066.
conservation. A small-scale test chamber with FSPCM-integrated Net zero energy buildings are the future direction of architectures as
gypsum board ceiling was prepared and modelled. The thermal/energy well as the guideline to counter-act with energy issues. This study
performance is evaluated and an economic analysis is performed proposed a new concept of ‘double zero’ for building envelope, in
against the conventional gypsum board without FSPCM in real which the ‘first zero’ means zero heat gain/heat loss through building
environmental conditions. The results show that the use of FSPCM envelopes and the ‘second zero’ means net zero energy consumption to
in gypsum board ceiling is economically feasible with cooling load fulfil the ‘first zero’. By setting the goal of ‘double zero’, a new
savings of 16.2%. compound building envelope system was proposed with integration of
photovoltaic (PV), thermoelectric (TE) modules, and battery system
21/01243 Influence of advanced cylinder coatings on with envelope structure. The ‘first zero’ is realized by TE cooling/
vehicular fuel economy and emissions in piston heating using power from PV or battery to control the inward heat flux.
compression ring conjunction The ‘second zero’ is made by model predictive control of power flow
Dolatabadi, N. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114129. and battery capacity optimization. A system model was established with
Internal combustion engines contribute to global warming through combination of analytical and numerical methods, which was validated
extensive use of fossil fuel energy and emission of combustion by- against experimental data in both summer and winter conditions. The
products. Innovative technologies such as cylinder de-activation study results suggested that the system is highly adaptive to different
(CDA), after-exhaust heat treatment, surface texturing and coatings climate zones for realizing the ‘first zero’ even with non-optimized
are proposed to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions of the configurations. It was found that the system can realize 72–92% energy
vehicle fleet. Therefore, study of coating technology through a saving in cold region, 88–100% in mixed zone, and totally 100% in
comprehensive multi-physics analytical model of engine top com- cooling dominant zone, compared with a massive wall as a reference.
pression ring is important to ascertain ways of promoting energy The net energy consumption maps are produced based on massive
savings. This paper presents a multi-scale, multi-physics model of the simulations and the zero energy line can be identified as an important
compression ring-cylinder bore conjunction, using three alternative guideline for implementing ‘double zero’ in building envelopes under
bore surfaces. The model comprises ring dynamics, contact tribology, different operation years.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 211

17 Energy conversion and recycling

to elucidate the mechanistic roles of CO2. To this end, laboratory scale

17 ENERGY CONVERSION of pyrolysis of ST from N2 and CO2 was conducted in this study. The
gaseous effluents from a pyrolyser showed that enhanced CO evolution
AND RECYCLING only from CO2-cofeeding pyrolysis of ST. Moreover, a substantial
decrease in the formation of benzene derivatives (BDs) including
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was discovered from CO2-
21/01246 A second life for cigarette butts? A review of cofeeding pyrolysis of ST. Those findings offered that CO2 could
recycling solutions improve pyrolysis of ST by modifying the pyrogenic products, and those
Marinello, S. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 384, 121245. enhanced pyrolysis behaviours were ascribed to the homogeneous
Trillions of cigarettes are smoked annually making cigarette butts one interaction between CO2 and pyrolysates from the pyrolysis of ST
of the most common types of litter in the world. Due to the materials (more CO generation). To advance the identified roles of CO2,
and toxic substances that they contain, this waste carries a very harmful catalytic pyrolysis of ST in CO2 was carried out using steel slag (SS) as
risk for the environment and for living organisms (including humans). a catalyst. In the presence of SS, the effectiveness of CO2 on pyrolysis
Only a few – barely sustainable – solutions have tried to tackle this of ST was dramatically enhanced (400% enhancement at 400  C).
waste and alternative solutions to landfilling and incineration are Therefore, this study experimentally justified that the utilization of SS
needed. Identifying the best methodological solutions and technologies could alleviate the environmental burdens by adopting CO2 in pyrolysis
for recycling this kind of waste in terms of results and applicability to of ST. Also, the CO enhancement by CO2 likely leads to the H2
real contexts would reduce the presence of dangerous materials in the enhancement when the water-gas-shift reaction was also conducted. All
environment and ecosystems and would promote the recovery of experimental findings from this study suggested that the use of CO2 in
materials in line with the circular economy and sustainable develop- pyrolysis of ST could be a breakthrough to enhance H2 formation.
ment. The objective of this review was to collect and analyse the
alternative solutions available in the literature for the recovery and
recycling of the materials in cigarette butts, considering them as
possible sources of secondary raw materials applicable to contexts of
common interest. Several papers were selected and the results obtained 21/01250 Characterisation and energy assessment of fats,
by the authors are presented in terms of type of treatment process oils and greases (FOG) waste at catchment level
(physical, chemical or both), product derived (in solid, liquid or Collin, T. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 399–406.
gaseous form) and its possible use in different sectors (e.g. construc- Several of the waste materials that have a negative impact on the sewer
tion, electronics, energy, chemistry and environmental protection). It system are produced by fats, oils and greases (FOG) discharged from
was found that the economic sustainability of the processes, the commercial and domestic kitchens. These materials accumulate at
consumption of energy and/or reagents or other products, as well as the different points in the sewer catchment, from kitchens to pumping
toxicity of the outputs were not dealt with by most of the studies stations, sewers and sewage treatment works (STWs), and comprise
analysed. Also, there is no information on the yields of the processes oily wastewater, floating agglomerates and hard deposits. Despite their
and the possibility of passing from the laboratory scale to the industrial detrimental effects, these waste materials have a high calorific content
scale. These are critical aspects common to most papers. Despite the and are an ideal feedstock for energy recovery processes. So far, the
interesting and promising results presented in the literature, CBs overall volume of each type of waste and their physical-chemical
remain a particularly critical waste due to their characteristics and properties in relation to their collection point are unknown. However,
impact on the environment and on the health of living organisms. from a management point of view, knowledge on each feedstock quality
Therefore, the main challenge of preventing the production and spread and volumes is necessary to develop an economic viable solution for
of this waste remains. their collection and for energy recovery purposes. In this study, FOG
wastes collected from households, food service establishments (FSEs),
21/01247 Catalytic conversion of hard plastics to valuable sewage pumping stations, sewers and STWs, were compared to sewage
carbon nanotubes sludge in terms of organic contents and energy potentials. As expected,
Gou, X. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145, FOG recovered at source (households and FSEs) were ‘cleaner’ and
104748. had a higher energy content. Once mixed with wastewater the materials
The management of waste hard plastics is a significant challenge. changed in composition and lost some of their energy per unit mass.
Conventional pyrolysis and gasification of hard plastics have been The results showed that around 94,730 tonnesyear1 of these materials
extensively reported. However, producing high-value carbon nanotubes could be recovered from the Thames Water Utilities’ catchment, one of
(CNTs) as the main product or by-product from hard plastics has rarely the most populated in the UK. These materials could produce up to
been reported. Here, the authors studied and reported this work by 222 GWhyear1 as biogas, close to double of what is produced with
using pyrolysis of phenolic formaldehyde resin producing high-value sewage sludge digestion and around 19% of the company energy needs.
CNTs to promote the economic competitiveness of the technology. The Finally, even with over 6 million households in the catchment, the
resulting CNTs were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy, results showed that most of the FOG waste was produced by FSEs
transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, Raman (>48,000 premises) with an estimated average of 79,810 tonnesyear1
spectroscopy and temperature programme oxidation. The yield of compared to 14,920 tonnesyear1 from private households. This is an
CNTs using the Ni catalysts is about 24.07% and its purity is 93.13%. important outcome as recovery from FSEs will be cheaper and easier
Compared with the Ni catalysts, the Fe catalysts have higher yield and if companies decide to implement a collection system for energy
purity of CNTs, reaching 34.39 and 97.45%, respectively. Through recovery.
TEM and Raman characterization, it is found that the graphitization
quality of CNTs produced from Fe catalysts is higher than that of the
CNTs produced from Ni catalysts.
21/01251 Characterization of bio-oil and biochar from
21/01248 Catalytic pyrolysis of wasted fishing net over pyrolysis of waste corrugated cardboard
calcined scallop shells: analytical Py-GC/MS study Sotoudehnia, F. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020,
Chaihad, N. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145, 104722.
146, 104750. As the most abundant municipal solid waste, corrugated cardboard
Activity of calcined scallop shell (CSS) for the catalytic pyrolysis of (CCB) is a suitable resource for thermochemical conversion into
wasted fishing net (WFN) to the
-caprolactam monomer was various solid and liquid products. CCB samples were pyrolysed at three
investigated in a micro-furnace type temperature programmable temperatures (350, 400 and 450  C) and their pyrolysis products (bio-
pyrolyser combined with a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry oil and biochar) were characterized and analysed. Thermogravimetric
(Py-GC/MS) analysis system. Evolved gas analysis indicates that the analysis was utilized to study the thermal degradation behaviour of
peak temperature for the decomposition of WFN in the absence of CCB. CCB and biochar samples were subjected to proximate, ultimate,
catalysts was around 420–480  C whereas the temperature decreased lipid and carbohydrates analyses and Py–GCMS to characterize their
down to 380–420  C in the presence of CSS or commercial CaO chemical components. The highest biochar yield was 75% at 350  C,
catalysts. The yield of
-caprolactam reached 66 wt% in a catalytic and the highest bio-oil yield was 47% at 450  C. The biochar physical
depolymerization condition at 410  C for 2 min with a 1 : 5 WFN/CSS and chemical properties were also assessed using calorific values,
weight ratio by using the Py-GC/MS system. Based on these specific surface area, Fourier-transform infrared and Raman spectro-
experimental results, CSS should be an alternative catalyst for the scopies, and X-ray diffraction. Biochar was found to have low ash and
recovery of the
-caprolactam monomer from the WFN. nitrogen contents. The bio-oil was characterized by the combination of
GCMS, high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray
21/01249 Catalytic pyrolytic platform for scrap tires using ionization mass spectrometry. The molar mass distribution and an
CO2 and steel slag estimate of monomer/oligomer ratio were determined from ESI-MS
Cho, S.-H. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 259, 114164. data. The bio-oil contained a complex mixture of pyrans, furans,
This study specifically examined CO2-cofeeding pyrolysis of scrap tyre phenols, and cyclopentenes. Levoglucoson was abundantly found in the
(ST) to enhance H2 generation. Thus, volatile pyrolysates (syngas and bio-oil, suggesting the suitability of cardboard pyrolysis products for
pyrolytic oil) from the thermolysis of ST in N2 and CO2 were compared further processing into fuels.

212 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021

 17 Energy conversion and recycling

21/01252 Combining anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal been a hot study topic as well. Three hundred and eighty-three relevant
liquefaction in the conversion of dairy waste into energy: articles were obtained in Web of Science Core Collection and a
a techno economic model for New York state bibliometrics analysis about the recycling of spent LIBs was conducted
Kassem, N. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 228–239. by Excel, BibExcel and Pajek. According to the analytical results, the
There is increasing global interest and policies being enacted to lower research of LIBs recycling has been growing fast and relevant
greenhouse gas emissions, especially from the agricultural sector. In achievements will continue to increase in the future. China is the most
the USA for example, states with large dairy operations may combine active country in this field. Central South University and Beijing
proven manure valorization technologies, such as anaerobic digestion Institute of Technology in China is the most productive single and
and hydrothermal liquefaction. Sustainable manure treatment would collaborative institution, respectively. The Journal of Power Sources has
increase the recovery of energy and other useful co-products, namely published the most articles compared with other journals. On the basis
biogas, biocrude oil and hydro-char as well as lower the environmental of the statistical data hydrometallurgical process with acid leaching and
impacts. In this study, the economic feasibility of implementing a valuable metals has been the main recycling method and object of
centralized bioenergy system in New York State was investigated. The study. Other routes and components also received attention and have
feasibility of this transformation depends on many factors, including potential to be developed and recycled in the future. Before the
capital costs, discount rates, and other financing arrangements, complete recycling system is established, there would still be much
electricity selling prices, incentives and farm sizes and locations. For detailed work in many respects to be accomplished to tackle the coming
a large-scale implementation in New York State accounting for nearly wave of spent LIBs in the near future. This article has performed a
50% of the state’s dairy farms, this model of a distributed, hybrid quantitative analysis of the development tendency about the recycling
anaerobic/hydrothermal system was shown to treat 590 million litres of methods of spent lithium-ion batteries and will provide experienced
wet manure per day, producing 607 million kWh of electricity, reference for intended researchers interested in this field.
162,000 L of biocrude oil and 117,000 kg of hydro-char per day.
Electricity selling price is a critical factor. Increasing the electricity
21/01256 Integrating food waste sorting system with
selling price from wholesale ($0.06/kWh) to retail ($0.18/kWh)
anaerobic digestion and gasification for hydrogen and
increased the net present value from $395 million to $1.5 billion
methane co-production
(considering a 40-year project lifetime).
Zhang, J. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 257, 113988.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a potential biotechnology to treat food
21/01253 Decontamination and recycling of agrochemical waste for both energy and resource recovery. However, a high level of
plastic packaging waste contamination in food waste limits their direct use as feedstocks.
Picuno, C. et al. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 381, 120965. Therefore, a food waste sorting system followed by anaerobic digestion
Agrochemical containers shall undergo decontamination before being and gasification is proposed in this study to evaluate the potential of
considered for recycling. This study provides an assessment on the food waste for hydrogen and methane co-production through the
feasibility of the triple-rinsing decontamination procedure, while thermal-equilibrium model and experimental study. To achieve the H2-
evaluating the appropriateness of the material’s quality for recycling. rich syngas and methane-rich biogas, the waste sorting system was used
To achieve the objectives of the study, (1) the effectiveness of the to separate the raw waste into pure food waste fraction for AD and
decontamination procedure was investigated; (2) containers’ long discarded waste fraction for gasification. The thermal-equilibrium
storage times and changes on the polymer’s structure were assessed; model is used to predict the content of H2 at different moisture content
and (3) the quality of the recycled material was tested. Results showed and air equivalence ratio (ER). The results show that gasification
that the triple-rinsing procedure was ineffective for the container’s generated the highest hydrogen content at 28.9% with a high moisture
complete decontamination, yet a further washing step – performed content of 55 wt% when the value of ER is 0.35. The highest calorific
during the simulation of the recycling process – allowed for an value of syngas is 5.59 MJ/m3 at the conditions of 60 wt% of moisture
improved degree of decontamination for recycling. Photo-oxidation content and 0.35 of ER. For the mesophilic AD system, the highest
imposed significant changes on the chemical structure of the polymer, specific methane yield of food waste is 557 mL/g VS. Thermophilic AD
where the active ingredient could be detected by FTIR, even after the increased methane yield to 680 mL/g VS while AD of vegetable waste
application of rinsing and extraction. The chemical structure of the had a negligible production of methane gas. The overall energy
bulk material has not changed, indicating that the pesticide mobiliz- performance of the integrated AD and gasification system was assessed
ation was only confined to the surface. The mechanical tests showed in terms of the output of electricity and heat.
material quality appropriateness, where tensile strength values were
within the suggested ranges, providing a possibility for further utili-
21/01257 Investigation of hot char catalytic role in the
zation of this material when appropriate decontamination is applied.
pyrolysis of waste tires in a two-step process
Wang, F. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146,
21/01254 Demonstration of catalytic properties of de-inking 104770.
sludge char as a carbon based sacrificial catalyst This study pursues the valorization of waste tyres by pyrolysis using a
Fivga, A. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 146, different approach for tyre parts, specifically, the tyre tread rubber and
104773. side wall rubber. Tyre tread rubber was used to produce hot char with
De-inking sludge (DIS) is generated as a waste stream from secondary the purpose of using it as a cracking catalyst. Side wall rubber was
fibre paper mills during the de-inking stage of the paper pulping valorized by pyrolysis and online catalytic pyrolysis over tyre tread
process; in order to ensure end of waste to landfill an alternative rubber derived hot char in a fixed bed reactor. This work aims to
valorization route is required for this waste. At the same time, an improve the quality of pyrolysis products using tyre tread rubber
inexpensive sacrificial catalyst is essential to achieve the techno- derived hot char as a catalyst. The thermal decomposition behaviour
economic feasibility of biomass gasification and pyrolysis. This work and products characteristics were tested by means of TG-FTIR, GC,
explores the potential of DIS char as a catalyst using a 2 kg/h thermo- GC-MS, nitrogen adsorption and SEM. Under a catalytic pyrolysis
catalytic reforming system, which involves intermediate pyrolysis temperature of 500–550  C, a high yield of valuable single-ring
combined with a unique integrated catalytic reforming step. Wood aromatics (concentration in the oil of 50%) was obtained. The yield
was used for the TCR catalytic experiments with a DIS char-to-biomass of gas can reach 10.5 wt% after catalytic pyrolysis, or only 3.0 wt%
ratio (wt%) of 0.3 : 1 and 0.65 : 1. Results have shown that hydrogen without catalytic pyrolysis. The yield of undesirable by-products as
relative volumes and syngas yields are positively correlated with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon deposits was also limited.
increase in DIS char-to-wood ratio. Average hydrogen relative volumes This strategy represents a novel and feasible alternative to traditional
of 28.30 vol.% and syngas yields of 47.64 wt.% were achieved. Organic waste tyre catalytic pyrolysis processes using expensive catalysts as
liquid yields were significantly reduced in favour of higher syngas zeolite.
yields, implying the suitability of DIS char as a tar reduction catalyst in
gasification or pyrolysis. The influence of TCR DIS char is less
21/01258 Numerical and experimental analysis on thermal
profound on the chemical distribution in the organic phase of bio-oil; a
energy storage of polyethylene/functionalized graphene
reduction on PAHs from 38.82 to 26.70% though was determined with
composite phase change materials
the use of DIS char, according to the relative abundance peak areas
Chavan, S. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101045.
from the GC–MS chromatograms. The oxygen content of bio-oil was
Attempts have been made to tackle the environmental and energy
significantly reduced due to cracking of higher molecular weight
issues caused by the usage of plastics by converting recycled plastics
organics.
into thermal storage materials (TSM). While unfavourable thermo-
physical properties of plastics make it impractical, these problems can
21/01255 Development tendency and future response be addressed by blending in additives with superior thermophysical
about the recycling methods of spent lithium-ion batteries properties, such as functionalized graphene. Numerical and exper-
based on bibliometrics analysis imental analyses were carried out to assess the thermal performance of
Hu, Y. et al. Journal of Energy Storage, 2020, 27, 101111. TSMs (linear low-density polyethylene – LLDPE, and composite phase
With the rapid development of electric vehicles and portable change materials, such as CPCM-1, CPCM-2 and CPCM-3 for 1, 3 and
electronics, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are increasingly widely used 5 wt% of functionalized graphene nanoparticle concentrations respect-
in daily life. At the same time, how to deal with the spent LIBs has ively) and check the compatibility of the materials. The phase change

Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021 213

17 Energy conversion and recycling

temperature of TSM is 123–125 C and heat of fusion is 71.95–97 kJ/kg. More than 2 billion people live in areas affected by water stress. In
Several thermal characteristics were analysed to assess thermal some coastal regions, freshwater supply has been progressively
performance and the amount of heat energy supplied, rate of heat improved by large-scale desalination systems, which are nowadays
transfer, and heat storage efficiency were also considered. Results show mostly driven by non-renewable energy sources. Here the authors
energy level enhancement of 43.17%, 50.42%, 54% and 50.61% for discuss, and experimentally investigate, the use of small-scale desalina-
LLDPE, CPCM-1, CPCM-2 and CPCM-3, respectively. Among the tion devices for freshwater production powered by waste heat from
TSMs, CPCM-2 shows relatively better storage capability (54% electric power generators. The water purification technology relies on a
enhancement) due to the incorporation of optimum concentration of passive, multi-stage and thermally driven membrane distillation device,
enhancing material. The solidification process took place through recently proposed by some of the authors of this work. The distiller is
convection and radiation mode of heat transfer, at the completion of powered by low-grade (temperature <80  C) waste heat, recovered
solidification process the TSM energy content reduces to 97.5, 96, 96 from the coolant circuit of small diesel engines for electricity
and 96% for LLDPE, CPCM-1, CPCM-2 and CPCM-3, respectively. production. Field experiments show that, for the tested engine, up to
This work concludes that recycled plastics can be blended and can be 1.12 kW m2 can be recovered in standard operating conditions, which
converted into efficient thermal storage material. yield a nearly 2.61 L m2 h1 freshwater production from seawater. A
lumped parameter model, validated by experiments, shows that this
productivity could be eventually enhanced by tuning the number of
21/01259 Recycling of cathode material from spent lithium distillation stages. Utilization with exhaust gases, and thus higher
ion batteries using an ultrasound-assisted DL-malic acid feeding working temperatures, is also discussed. The proposed solution
leaching system may provide a sustainable, simple, inexpensive and efficient means for
Ning, P. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 52–60. freshwater production from recovered waste heat, which would
Here, a novel process involving ultrasound-assisted leaching developed otherwise be wasted to the ambient. Therefore it could be particularly
for recovering Ni, Li, Co, and Mn from spent lithium-ion batteries effective, for instance, for field hospitals in remote or impoverished
(LIBs) is reported. Carbonate coprecipitation was utilized to regener- areas, especially in emergency situations.
ate LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 from the leachate. Spent cathode materials
were leached in DL-malic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The
leaching efficiency was investigated by determining the contents of
metal elements such as Li, Ni, Co, and Mn in the leachate using atomic 21/01261 The adoption of Internet of Things in a circular
absorption spectrometry (AAS). The filter residue and the spent supply chain framework for the recovery of WEEE: the case
cathode materials were examined using Fourier transform infrared of lithium-ion electric vehicle battery packs
(FTIR) and scanning electronic microscopy. The leaching efficiencies Garrido-Hidalgo, C. et al. Waste Management, 2020, 103, 32–44.
were 97.8% for Ni, 97.6% for Co, 97.3% for Mn, and 98% for Li under The rapid growth in the sales of electric and electronic devices over
the optimized conditions (90 W ultrasound power, 1.0 mol/L DL-malic recent decades is generating worldwide concern about the management
acid, 5 g/L pulp density, 80  C, 4 vol% H2O2, and 30 min). The leaching of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). New method-
kinetics of the cathode in DL-malic acid are in accordance with the log ologies to extend the useful life of products have long been sought,
rate law model. The electrochemical analysis indicates that the accelerating the shift from a linear to a circular economy. When
LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 regenerated at pH 8.5 has good electrochemical products reach the end-of-life (EoL) stage, the reverse supply chain is
performance. The specific capacity of the first discharge at 0.1 C is responsible for managing operations, with greater efforts being needed
168.32 mA h g1 at 1 C after 50 cycles with a capacity retention of to improve the associated information infrastructure. In fact, this has
85.0%. A novel closed-loop process to recycle spent cathode materials become increasingly feasible due to the emergence of a new digital
was developed, and it has potential value for practical application and revolution led by the Internet of Things (IoT). To shed light on this
for contributing to resource recycling and environmental protection. matter, the authors propose the circular supply chain (CSC) framework
for EoL management aimed at satisfying the information infrastructure
requirements in a particular scenario for the recovery of electric vehicle
21/01260 Sustainable freshwater production using passive battery packs. Here, the authors present a qualitative evaluation of the
membrane distillation and waste heat recovery from portable CSC information requirements, and the capabilities of IoT to satisfy
generator sets them. As a result, a heterogeneous IoT network deployment is
Morciano, M. et al. Applied Energy, 2020, 258, 114086. proposed in pursuit of a digital CSC information infrastructure.

214 Fuel and Energy Abstracts March 2021