Performance and Environmental Impact Assessment of Diesel Engine Operating on High Viscous Punnai Oil - Diesel Blends

The increasing demand for energy consumption because of the growing population and environmental concerns has motivated the researchers to ponder about alternative fuel that could replace diesel fuel. A new fuel should be cheaply available, clean, efficient, and environmentally friendly. In this paper, the engine operated with neat punnai oil blends with diesel were investigated at various engine load conditions, keeping neat punnai oil and diesel as base fuels. The performance indicators such as Brake Specific Energy consumption (BSEC), Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and Exhaust gas temperature (EGT); emission indicators such as Carbon monoxide (CO), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), smoke opacity; and combustion parameters like cylinder pressure and heat release rate were examined. The Brake thermal efficiency of diesel is 29.2% whereas, it was lower for neat punnai oil and its blends at peak load conditions. Concerning the environmental aspect, Oxides of Nitrogen emission showed a decreasing trend with higher smoke emissions for Punnai oil blends. Detailed combustion analysis showed that on smaller concentrations of punnai oil in the fuel blend, the duration of combustion has improved significantly. However, for efficiency and emissions, the P20 (20% Punnai oil and 80% Diesel) blend performs similar to that of diesel compared to all other blending combinations. When compared with diesel, the P20 blend shows an improvement in BSEC by 26.37%. It also performs closer in HC emission, a marginal increase in smoke opacity of 4% with reduced NOx and CO2 emission of 7.9% and 4.65% respectively. Power loss was noticed when neat punnai oil and higher blends were used due to the high density and low calorific value of punnai oil blends which leads to injecting more fuel for the same pump stroke.

Energy rationale for the Use of the Thermophilic Mode of Anaerobic Bioconversion of Liquid Organic Waste in the Climatic Conditions of the Russian Federation

The transition of livestock production to industrial processes and the concentration of animals associated with this process on large farms and complexes has caused a sharp increase in the volume of manure that must be disposed of without pollution. One of the ways of processing organic waste (biomass) is its anaerobic digestion in biogas plants through the vital activity of microorganisms (methanogenesis).Biogas obtained using microbiological processing of biomass can be used as a raw material for heat and electric energy. Annually, 0.17% of the total livestock manure produced at Russian agricultural enterprisesis used for biogas production.The main component of a biogas plant is a manure fermentation reactor, the required volume of which is determined by the daily output of manure from the livestock farm, the temperature and the hydraulic retention time of treatment. This research explored thermal energy consumption of biogas plants, using the example of a biogas plant of a modular design that depended on the average annual outdoor temperature. Based on the calculations, the thermophilic mode was found to be more energy-efficient than the mesophilic one; thus, with the thermophilic mode, the specific energy consumption needed for the plant was lower at the average annual outdoor temperatures of all the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the specific biogas yield in the thermophilic regime was 20-50%higher than in the mesophilic regime. Keywords: anaerobic processing, agricultural waste, thermophilicmode, mesophilicmode, energy costs, energy rationale

УПРАВЛІННЯ ЕНЕРГОЕФЕКТИВНІСТЮ ТА ЕНЕРГОЗБЕРЕЖЕННЯМ НА БАЗІ УНІВЕРСИТЕТСЬКОГО ЕНЕРГО-ІННОВАЦІЙНОГО ХАБА ЗНАНЬ

This paper offers an argument for the need to providing further research on improving energy efficiency and searching for modern management methods based on the university energy innovation knowledge hub. The findings have revealed that the specific energy consumption in the Ukrainian economy is unjustifiably higher than that of other European countries and countries with transitive economies. It is noted that economic losses are becoming increasingly apparent in the context of high cost of imported energy resources, low level of energy security, incompetitiveness of industries and significant environmental wastes. The research methodology entails the principle of studying and summarizing factual data on enhancing energy management and quality management systems, as well as the university documentation. To attain the research agenda, the following methods have been employed: the system and structural analysis techniques, management theory, methods of diagnostics and identification, graph theory as well as energy balance methods. The study presents a mechanism of energy efficiency and energy saving management based on the university energy innovation knowledge hub. The findings demonstrate that such a mechanism is able to overcome the rejection by economic actors of innovation technologies in general and energy efficient technologies in particular. The proposed mechanism of energy efficiency and energy saving management based on the university energy innovation hub challenges the implementation of specific economic measures that should include such elements as incentives (motivators) for energy saving, energy market infrastructure and energy efficient technology, energy projects funding sources and tools. The conclusions resume that in modern realia, higher education institutions should promote a shift from a formally declared energy saving policy towards a University energy efficiency economy pattern as an energy autonomy driver, building a strategy for combining indicative and market functions in ensuring energy efficiency.

Effect of process conditions on generation of hydrochloric acid and lithium hydroxide from simulated lithium chloride solution using bipolar membrane electrodialysis

A feasibility study was carried out on generation of hydrochloric acid and lithium hydroxide from the simulated lithium chloride solution using EX3B model bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED). The influence of a series of process parameters, such as feed concentration, initial acid and base concentration in device component, feed solution volume, and current density were investigated. In addition, the maximum achievable concentrations of HCl and LiOH, the average current efficiency, and specific energy consumption were also studied and compared in this paper to the existing literature. Higher LiCl concentrations in the feed solution were found to be beneficial in increasing the final concentrations of HCl and LiOH, as well as improving current efficiency while decreasing specific energy consumption. However, when its concentration was less than 4 g/L, the membrane stack voltage curve of BMED increased rapidly, attributed to the higher solution resistance. Also low initial concentration of acid and base employed in device component can improve the current efficiency. Increasing of the initial concentration of acid and base solution lowered energy consumption. Moreover, a high current density could rapidly increase HCl and LiOH concentration and enhance water movements of BMED process, but reduced the current efficiency. The maximum achievable concentration of HCl and LiOH generated from 130 g/L LiCl solution were close to 3.24 mol/L and 3.57 mol/L, respectively. In summary, the present study confirmed the feasible application for the generation of HCl and LiOH from simulated lithium chloride solution with BMED.

Characterization of the Composition, Structure, and Mechanical Properties of Endocarp Biomass

HighlightsEndocarps have higher lignin content, cellular and bulk density, and hardness than typical biomass feedstocks.The impacts of lignin content, bulk density, and mechanical properties on energy consumption are discussed.Endocarps can be a potential feedstock for a biorefinery coproducing biofuel and bioproducts.Abstract. Lignin is an abundant biopolymer and a promising source of feedstock for high-value chemicals and materials. This study aims to characterize the lignin-rich endocarp biomass and identify features of this unique feedstock that are relevant to feedstock preprocessing and logistics. The chemical composition and cellular structure of walnut and peach endocarps were characterized using HPLC and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging. Mechanical properties of the endocarps were investigated using nanoindentation. Mechanical tests revealed hardness values of up to 0.48 and 0.40 GPa for walnut and peach endocarps, respectively. With screen sizes of 1 and 2 mm, the specific energy consumption was 9.21 and 1.86 MJ kg-1 for walnut and 12.6 and 2.72 MJ kg-1 for peach, respectively, as determined using a knife mill. Milling energy consumption was correlated to screen size, lignin content, bulk density, and mechanical properties. This study provides critical information on feedstock supply logistics necessary to implement a novel feedstock in biorefineries and evaluate the economic feasibility for coproduction of biofuels and lignin-derived products. Keywords: Biomass feedstock, Lignin, Mechanical properties, Nanoindentation, Size reduction.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycles for Concentrated Solar Power Plants: A Possible Alternative for Solar Desalination

This manuscript investigates the supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle employed in the power block of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants—solar tower—as an alternative for solar desalination, developed with either distillation or reverse osmosis. This concept is investigated as a possible up-scaling of the SOLMIDEFF project, originally based on a hot-air micro gas turbine combined with a solar dish collector. For the upscaled concept, five different sCO2 cycles are considered, chosen amongst the best-performing configurations proposed in the literature for CSP applications, and modelled with Thermoflex software. The influence of ambient conditions is studied, considering two minimum cycle temperatures (35 °C and 50 °C), corresponding to Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Abu Dhabi, respectively. The results show that the low temperatures at the inlet of the heat rejection unit compromise the viability of distillation technologies. On the other hand, the high thermal efficiency achieved by these cycles, especially with the recompression and partial cooling layouts, reduces the specific energy consumption when combined with reverse osmosis (RO), below that of photovoltaic (PV)+RO. Feed-water preheating is explored as a solution to further reduce energy consumption, concluding that its actual interest is not clear and strongly depends on the location considered and the corresponding water quality standards.

Electrodialysis Can Lower the Environmental Impact of Hemodialysis

The hemodialysis technique, used worldwide for patients with chronic kidney disease, is considered as a treatment with a high economic and ecological impact, especially for water consumption. Getting ultrapure water for the preparation of the dialysate to clean patient’s blood from toxins leads to high volumes of salt-enriched water that directly goes to sewage. The aim of this work is to propose operating conditions for electrodialysis to allow the reuse of reverse osmosis (RO) rejects. We first performed a parametric study to evaluate the influence of different parameters, such as flow rates, initial concentration, and applied voltage on the demineralization rate (DR) and specific energy consumption (SPC) with a NaCl model solution. The optimal conditions for desalination (i.e., a potential of 12 V, and flow rate of 20 L·h−1) were then successfully applied to real samples collected from a dialysis center with total dissolved salts concentration of about 1.4 g/L (conductivity of 2.0 mS·cm−1). We demonstrated that the choice of adequate conductivity targets allowed meeting the physico-chemical requirements to obtain water re-usable for either rehabilitation swimming pool, manual or machine washing of instruments before sterilization or irrigation. Saving this water could contribute in the reduction of the environmental impact of hemodialysis.

Improving the unit for melting cheese masses

This paper reports the improved model of the unit for melting cheese masses. The device differs in the technique of heat supply to working tanks through the replacement of a steam jacket with heating by a flexible film resistive electric heater of radiative type (FFREhRT). The heat exchange surface of the working container was increased through heating the mixing device by FFREhRT. In addition, the unit is distinguished by utilizing secondary thermal energy of melting cheese masses (35...95 °C) by converting it with Peltier elements into a low-voltage power supply to autonomous fans (3.5...12 W) in order to cool the control unit. Such a solution would improve the efficiency of the proposed structure, which is explained by reducing the dimensional and weight parameters of the cheese melting unit by replacing the steam heating technique with an electric one. A decrease in the time to enter a stationary mode (85 °C) when melting cheese masses was experimentally confirmed: for the bowl of the examined unit ‒ 575 s, compared to the analog ‒ 725 s. That confirms the reduction in the time to enter a stationary mode by 21 % compared to the base unit B6-OPE-400. The estimation has established a 1.2-time decrease in the main indicator of resource efficiency of the specific energy consumption for heating the volume of a unit of product in the improved plant for melting cheese masses – 3,037.2 kJ/kg, compared to the base B6-OPE-400 – 3,672.5 kJ/kg. The results confirm an increase in resource efficiency that is achieved by the elimination of steam heat networks; the increased heat exchange surface of working bowls by heating the stirrer with the help of FFREhRT. The heat transfer that employs FFREhRT simplifies the operational indicators of the temperature stabilization system in the bowl of the cheese mass melting unit. The results reported here may prove useful when designing thermal equipment with electric heating while using secondary thermal energy.