Autonomous energy supply based on the wind-energy complex and hydrogen energy storage

The paper proposes an alternative scheme of guaranteed electricity and heat supply of an energy-insulated facility with a high potential of wind energy without the use of imported or local fuel. The scheme represents a wind power complex containing the park of wind generators located at the points with high wind potential. The wind generators provide guaranteed power supply even in periods of weak wind. For heat supply of the consumer, all surplus of the electric power goes on thermoelectric heating of water in tanks of accumulators, and also on receiving hydrogen by a method of electrolysis of water. The current heat supply is carried out with the use of hot water storage tanks, and the heat supply during the heat shortage is carried out by burning the stored hydrogen in condensing hydrogen boilers. We have developed the algorithm of calculation and the program "Wind in energy" which allows calculating annual balance of energy and picking up necessary quantity of the equipment for implementation of the scheme proceeding from the annual schedule of thermal and electric loading, and also potential of wind energy in the chosen region. The calculation-substantiation of the scheme proposed in relation to the real energy-insulated object Ust-Kamchatsk (Kamchatka) is carried out. The equipment for the implementation of an alternative energy supply scheme without the use of imported fuel is selected and compared with the traditional energy supply scheme based on a diesel power plant and a boiler house operating on imported fuel. With the introduction of an alternative power supply scheme, the equipment of the traditional scheme that has exhausted its resource can be used for backup power supply. Using climate databases, a number of energy-insulated facilities in the North and East of Russia with high wind energy potential are considered and the conditions for the successful implementation of the energy supply scheme are analyzed. This requires not only a high average annual wind speed, but also a minimum number of days of weak wind. In addition, it is necessary that the profile of the wind speed distribution in the annual section coincides with the profile of the heat load consumption.

Dissipative effect in liquid under exposure to low-frequency sound vibrations

The article describes the formation of dissipative structures in a liquid in a metal bowl when exposed to lowfrequency sound vibrations. The fluctuating volumes in a thick layer of liquid, that is, clusters of molecules, which make an oscillatory motion and with a loss of stability occupying a new position in the liquid, are investigated. An external synchronous effect on a group of molecules can lead to increasing oscillations and loss of stability not only inside the liquid, but these groups of molecules can leave the liquid through the free surface.Friction on the outer surface of a bowl made of a conductive bronze-containing alloy, which initiates the occurrence of sound vibrations, gives rise to the appearance of new structures in the fluid inside the bowl. The thickness of the liquid layer is about 50 mm. The coordinated addition of energy to the oscillating microvolumes of water allows them to release their potential energy and turn it into kinetic. Water droplets ejected vertically indicate the existence of intense vertical movement of individual volumes of fluid which create new structures and cells, like Benard cells, resulting from heating and vertical convection, but smaller sizes. The observed phenomenon is similar to “cold boiling”. Here, probably, the potential energy of the compressed water particles is released under the influence of external sound vibrations. Sound analysis was performed using an audio editor for several experiments of various lengths.In this work, the dissipative effect in a thick layer of liquid when exposed to low-frequency sound vibrations and the appearance of structures identical to Benard cells in limited volumes of water (and not in a thin layer) is first investigated. It should be assumed that the effect of sound vibrations can lead to blood turbulization and a change in the physical state of living organisms, which in terms of physical effect can be similar to the state of blood boiling with a rapid rise from the depth of the sea. The phenomenon can be used for the intensification of heat and mass transfer in heat exchange installations.

Increase of heat utilization coefficient of micro-TPP fuel based on ice with air-cooling due to cogeneration

The market is widely represented by a number of micro HPP (gasoline generators) based on internal combustion engines (ICE) with air cooling. Such setups are used in everyday life, by professional builders, geologists, soldiers and rescuers in the areas of emergencies, and in the regions with lack of infrastructure. Improving the efficiency of such plants will reduce the amount of fuel supplied in the areas of their operation. This paper shows the main provisions of the research technique of the experimental cogeneration heat and power plant on the basis of an air-cooled carburetor combustion engine which is based on the mechanism of energy balances. The working capacity of the technique on various loads of the plant operation is shown. The conditions for determining the effect which consist in bringing the comparable variants to the same energy potential on the output of products are formulated. As comparison variants, it is necessary to consider electric power supply from the gas generator, and heat supply from the heat gun which, in turn, can use gas, liquid fuel or electric power as the primary energy carrier. The basic schemes of realization of cogeneration in the conditions of reduction to the same energy effect are presented. It is shown that the use of cogeneration obtained from heat of air flow cooling the cylinder head for micro HPP based on carbureted ICE with air cooling increases the coefficient of fuel heat utilization () by 1.52 times. The setup with 2.4 kW capacity for 3035 minutes can increase the temperature of the room air in the volume of 150 m3 (for example, in a staff or medical room) by  3C at  = 0.3. It is shown that cogeneration for mini-HPPs on the basis of air-cooled ICE after installation of a special heat exchanger for waste gas heat recovery allows increasing the fuel heat utilization coefficient up to  = 0.5. It is shown that a gasoline generator with cogeneration is more efficient than a gasoline generator in combination with a heat gun and due to fuel cost saving can be renewed every four years.

Development of a regenerated carbon dioxide absorber for human life support systems during long space flights

In the development of life support systems for long-term space missions, the most important tasks are the absorption of carbon dioxide from the air, the production of carbon dioxide with a concentration above 98 %, and the production of oxygen from carbon dioxide by the Bosch – Sabatier process. To solve these problems, a regenerative carbon dioxide absorber adapted to space flight conditions is required. The article proposes a new method for the production of chemosorbents based on hydrated zirconium oxide using polyacrylates as a binder and polymer matrix. The regenerated absorber of carbon dioxide for its application in space flights must meet the regulatory requirements of sanitary-chemical and toxicological safety of materials intended for the equipment of inhabited sealed rooms, be resistant to radiation and to the effects of mold. In the study of the processes of “sorption – desorption” of carbon dioxide, we have established the relationship between the technological parameters of the synthesis of chemosorbents and the kinetic parameters of the processes of mass-sorption of sorbate in the “sorption – regeneration” cycles. It is found that the optimal weight ratio of the “adsorbent – filler/polymer matrix” 89÷94/11÷6 is optimal in terms of the performance characteristics of the developed absorbers. It is shown experimentally that the main operational characteristics of the developed materials do not change under experimental conditions during 2000 “sorption – regeneration” cycles. The resulting chemosorbents are investigated by physicochemical analysis. Employing methods of gas chromatography and chromatomass spectrometry, we have conducted sanitary and chemical studies and toxicological assessment of the quantitative and qualitative composition of the components of gas release of the developed regenerated carbon dioxide absorber and air-gas mixture formed during the regeneration of the regenerated carbon dioxide absorber. Also we have carried out microbiological tests of samples of the regenerated absorber of carbon dioxide for resistance of material to influence of mold mushrooms. The results obtained confirm the possibility of using the developed materials in life support systems of manned spacecraft for deep space exploration.

Low-temperature partial oxidation of ethanol on Ni/ZnO catalyst

The paper investigates the partial oxidation of ethanol process in a quartz microreactor at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range 300–450 °C on a nickel catalyst (20 wt%) deposited on zinc oxide. Rectified ethanol (an azeotropic mixture of 95.6 wt.% ethanol and 4.4 wt.% water) is fed into the reactor at a rate of 0.4–1.3 g / hour by a peristaltic pump, first into the evaporator, and then as a gas phase into the reactor. Air is used as a source of oxygen which is supplied by an air pump to the reactor and its flow is controlled by a rotameter so that the oxygen-ethanol molar ratio varied between 0.45 and 2.0. The nickel catalyst is prepared by impregnating industrial zinc oxide powder with nickel nitrate, followed by calcination and reduction of nickel oxide to metallic nickel. Analysis of gaseous products is performed on a Tsvet-500 gas chromatograph. The detector is a katharometer.A catalyst Ni/ZnO developed earlier is shown to have high efficiency in the partial oxidation of ethanol at low temperatures. The main products of this process are hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide. With an increase in the oxygen-ethanol molar ratio, the hydrogen content in the products of the process decreases (from 60 to 25 vol.%), carbon dioxide, on the contrary, increases (26 to 65 vol.%). The hydrogen yield is 1 mol per 1 mol of ethanol at a temperature of 450 °C.Carbon monoxide is observed with a low ratio of oxygen-ethanol (up to 0.85). With a higher ratio, carbon monoxide is absent in the entire temperature range studied. The conversion of ethanol proceeds intensively and already at a temperature of 450 °C ethanol is converted almost completely. A high methane content (20–30% vol.%) in reforming products indicates that the initial stage of the process is the oxidation of ethanol followed by decomposition of the resulting acetaldehyde into methane and carbon monoxide.The insignificant water content in the supply mixture leads to an almost complete absence of a shift reaction. Carbon monoxide is then oxidized with oxygen to carbon dioxide. The reduced methane content in comparison with the process of water-steam ethanol reforming can be explained by its partial oxidation to carbon dioxide, which explains the high content of the latter in reforming products.

Interaction of H2O, O2 and H2 with Proton Conducting Oxides Based on Lanthanum Scandates

The research uses the method of high-temperature thermogravimetric analysis to study the processes of interaction of the gas phase in the temperature range 300–950 °C in the partial pressure ranges of oxygen 8.1–50.7 kPa, water 6.1–24.3 kPa and hydrogen 4.1 kPa with La1–xSrxScO3–α oxides (x = 0; 0.04; 0.09). In the case of an increase in the partial pressure of water vapor at a constant partial pressure of oxygen (or hydrogen) in the gas phase, the apparent level of saturation of protons is shown to increase. An increase in the apparent level of saturation of protons of the sample also occurs with an increase in the partial pressure of oxygen at a constant partial pressure of water vapor in the gas phase. The paper discusses the causes of the observed processes. The research uses the hydrogen isotope exchange method with the equilibration of the isotope composition of the gas phase to study the incorporation of hydrogen into the structure of proton-conducting oxides based on strontium-doped lanthanum scandates. The concentrations of protons and deuterons were determined in the temperature range of 300–800 °C and a hydrogen pressure of 0.2 kPa for La0.91Sr0.09ScO3–α oxide. The paper discusses the role of oxygen vacancies in the process of incorporation of protons and deuterons from the atmosphere of molecular hydrogen into the structure of the proton conducting oxides La1–xSrxScO3–α (x = 0; 0.04; 0.09). The proton magnetic resonance method was used to study the local structure in the temperature range 23–110 °C at a rotation speed of 10 kHz (MAS) for La0.96Sr0.04ScO3–α oxide after thermogravimetric measurements in an atmosphere containing water vapor, and after exposures in molecular hydrogen atmosphere. The existence of proton defects incorporated into the volume of the investigated proton oxide from both the atmosphere containing water and the atmosphere containing molecular hydrogen is unambiguously shown. The paper considers the effect of the contributions of the volume and surface of La0.96Sr0.04ScO3–α oxide on the shape of the proton magnetic resonance spectra.

Evaluation of System Effectiveness of Multifunctional Hydrogen Complex at Nuclear Power Plants

The paper gives the analysis of the problem of the primary current frequency regulation in the power system, as well as the basic requirements for NPP power units under the conditions of involvement in the primary regulation. According to these requirements, the operation of NPPs is associated with unloading and a corresponding decrease in efficiency. In this regard, the combination of nuclear power plants with a hydrogen complex is shown to eliminate the inefficient discharge mode which allows the steam turbine equipment and equipment of the reactor facility to operate in the basic mode at the nominal power level. In addition, conditions are created for the generation and accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen during the day, as well as additionally during the nighttime failure of the electrical load which allows them to be used to generate peak power. The purpose of the article is to assess the systemic economic effect as a result of the participation of nuclear power plants in combination with the hydrogen complex in the primary control of the current frequency in the power sys-tem, taking into account the resource costs of the main equipment. In this regard, the paper gives the justification of cyclic loading of the main equipment of the hydrogen complex: metal storage tanks of hydrogen and oxygen, compressor units, hydrogen-oxygen combustion chamber of vapor-hydrogen overheating of the working fluid in the steam turbine cycle of a nuclear power plant. The methodological foundations for evaluating the working life of equipment under cyclic loading with the participation in the primary frequency control by the criterion of the growth rate of a fatigue crack are described. For the equipment of the hydrogen complex, the highest intensity of loading is shown to occur in the hydrogen-oxygen combustion chamber due to high thermal stresses. The system economic effect is estimated and the effect of wear of the main equipment under cyclic loading is shown. Under the conditions of combining NPP power units with a hydrogen complex, the efficiency of primary reg-ulation is shown to depend significantly on: the cost of equipment subjected to cyclic loading; frequency and intensity of cyclic loading; the ratio of the tariff for peak electricity, and the cost of electricity of nuclear power plants. Based on the developed methodology for assessing the effectiveness of the participation of nuclear power plants with a hydrogen complex in the primary frequency control, taking into account the damage to the equipment, the use of the hydrogen complex is shown to provide a tangible economic effect compared with the option of unloading nuclear power plants with direct participation in frequency control.

Features of Studying Atomic Hydrogen – Metal Systems

All the main areas of energy development suggest or are already implementing the use of metal-hydrogen systems. For nuclear energy, this is associated with the creation of thermostable moderators and special-purpose construction materials, for thermonuclear energy, with the behavior of the so-called first wall of fusion reactors, for hydrogen energy — storage, transportation and extraction of hydrogen. Hydrogen is the most effective moderator of fast and thermal neutrons, especially at high volumetric concentrations of hydrogen atoms in the material, i.e. at a high value of the ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms to the number of metal atoms, taking into account the heat resistance of the hydride. This paper discusses the modern methods of experimental studies of heterogeneous reactions, the topochemistry of metal – hydrogen reactions, the dependence of the interaction rate on pressure and temperature, models of surface processes occurring during the interaction of hydrogen with metal. Methods for determining the probability of adsorption of hydrogen on a metal surface, methods for measuring the activation energy of dissociation of a hydrogen molecule on a surface are also discussed. The paper describes the fea-tures of the preparation of the reactor, experimental samples and the method of their study in the study of atomic hydrogen-metal systems, the method of plasma-chemical thermogravimetry used to study heterogeneous reactions occurring in a hydrogen plasma electrodeless discharge. In order to study the mechanism of interaction of hydrogen with hydride-forming metals, a kinetic method of research is proposed. The essence of the kinetic method is that the elimination of the limiting influence of surface and diffusion processes on the rate of hydride formation using atomic hydrogen and metal foil makes it possible to directly record the formation of the corresponding phases using hydro-gen-metal kinetic curves, and also study the effect of various parameters on the rate of interaction and the formation of hydride phases.