| 1. |
- Arslan, Muhammad, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of Varying Load Conditions and Cooling Energy Comparison of a Double-Inlet Pulse Tube Refrigerator
- 2020
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Ingår i: Processes. - : MDPI. - 2227-9717. ; 8:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modeling and optimization of a double-inlet pulse tube refrigerator (DIPTR) is very difficult due to its geometry and nature. The objective of this paper was to optimize-DIPTR through experiments with the cold heat exchanger (CHX) along the comparison of cooling load with experimental data using different boundary conditions. To predict its performance, a detailed two-dimensional DIPTR model was developed. A double-drop pulse pipe cooler was used for solving continuity, dynamic and power calculations. External conditions for applicable boundaries include sinusoidal pressure from an end of the tube from a user-defined function and constant temperature or limitations of thermal flux within the outer walls of exchanger walls under colder conditions. The results of the system's cooling behavior were reported, along with the connection between the mass flow rates, heat distribution along pulse tube and cold-end pressure, the cooler load's wall temp profile and cooler loads with varied boundary conditions i.e. opening of 20% double-inlet and 40-60% orifice valves, respectively. Different loading conditions of 1 and 5W were applied on the CHX. At 150 K temperature of the cold-end heat exchanger, a maximum load of 3.7 W was achieved. The results also reveal a strong correlation between computational fluid dynamics modeling results and experimental results of the DIPTR.
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| 2. |
- Farooq, Muhammad, et al.
(författare)
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Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of Hydrofluoroolefins (HFO) Refrigerants in Commercial Air-Conditioning Systems for Sustainable Environment
- 2020
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Ingår i: Processes. - : MDPI. - 2227-9717. ; 8:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global warming is one of most severe environmental concerns that our planet is facing today. One of its causes is the previous generation of refrigerants that, upon release, remain in the atmosphere for longer periods and contribute towards global warming. This issue could potentially be solved by replacing the previous generation's high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants with environmentally friendly refrigerants. This scenario requires an analysis of new refrigerants for a comparison of the thermodynamic properties of the previously used refrigerants. In the present research, a numerical study was conducted to analyze the thermodynamic performance of specifically low GWP hydrofluoroolefens (HFO) refrigerants for an actual vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC) with a constant degree of 3 K superheat. The output parameters included the refrigeration effect, compressor work input, the coefficient of performance (COP), and the volumetric refrigeration capacity (VRC), all of which were calculated by varying the condenser pressure from 6 to 12 bars and vapor pressure from 0.7 to 1.9 bars. Results showed that R1234ze(Z) clearly possessed the desired thermodynamic performance. The drop in refrigeration effect for R1234ze(Z) was merely 14.6% less than that of R134a at a 12 bar condenser pressure; this was minimum drop among candidate refrigerants. The drop in the COP was the minimum for R1234ze(Z)-5.1% less than that of R134a at a 9 bar condenser pressure and 4.7% less than that of R134a at a 1.9 bar evaporator pressure, whereas the COP values of the other refrigerants dropped more drastically at higher condenser pressures. R1234ze(Z) possessed favorable thermodynamic characteristics, with a GWP of 7, and it can serve as an alternative refrigerant for refrigeration systems for a sustainable environment.
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| 3. |
- Hameed, Zeeshan, et al.
(författare)
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A Comprehensive Review on Thermal Coconversion of Biomass, Sludge, Coal, and Their Blends Using Thermogravimetric Analysis
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemistry. - : Hindawi Publishing Corporation. - 2090-9063 .- 2090-9071. ; 2020
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lignocellulosic biomass is a vital resource for providing clean future energy with a sustainable environment. Besides lignocellulosic residues, nonlignocellulosic residues such as sewage sludge from industrial and municipal wastes are gained much attention due to its large quantities and ability to produce cheap and clean energy to potentially replace fossil fuels. These cheap and abundantly resources can reduce global warming owing to their less polluting nature. The low-quality biomass and high ash content of sewage sludge-based thermal conversion processes face several disadvantages towards its commercialization. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize these residues in combination with coal for improvement in energy conversion processes. As per author information, no concrete study is available to discuss the synergy and decomposition mechanism of residues blending. The objective of this study is to present the state-of-the-art review based on the thermal coconversion of biomass/sewage sludge, coal/biomass, and coal/sewage sludge blends through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to explore the synergistic effects of the composition, thermal conversion, and blending for bioenergy production. This paper will also contribute to detailing the operating conditions (heating rate, temperature, and residence time) of copyrolysis and cocombustion processes, properties, and chemical composition that may affect these processes and will provide a basis to improve the yield of biofuels from biomass/sewage sludge, coal/sewage sludge, and coal/biomass blends in thermal coconversion through thermogravimetric technique. Furthermore, the influencing factors and the possible decomposition mechanism are elaborated and discussed in detail. This study will provide recent development and future prospects for cothermal conversion of biomass, sewage, coal, and their blends.
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| 4. |
- Jamil, Asif, et al.
(författare)
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Polyetherimide-Montmorillonite Nano-Hybrid Composite Membranes : CO2 Permeance Study via Theoretical Models
- 2020
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Ingår i: Processes. - : MDPI. - 2227-9717. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The incorporation of aminolauric acid modified montmorillonite (f-MMT) in polyetherimide (PEI) has been implemented to develop hollow fibre nano-hybrid composite membranes (NHCMs) with improved gas separation characteristics. The aforementioned characteristics are caused by enhanced f-MMT spatial dispersion and interfacial interactions with PEI matrix. In this study, existing gas permeation models such as, Nielsen, Cussler, Yang-Cussler, Lape-Cussler and Bharadwaj were adopted to estimate the dispersion state of f-MMT and to predict the CO2 permeance in developed NHCMs. It was found out that the average aspect ratio estimated was 53, with 3 numbers of stacks per unit tactoid, which showed that the intercalation f-MMT morphology is the dominating dispersion state of filler in PEI matrix. Moreover, it was observed that Bharadwaj model showed the least average absolute relative error (%AARE) values till 3 wt. % f-MMT loading in the range of +/- 10 for a pressure range of 2 to 10 bar. Hence, Bharadwaj was the best fit model for the experimental data compared to other models, as it considers the platelets orientation.
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| 5. |
- Manzoor, Numair, et al.
(författare)
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RETRACTED: Experimental Study of CO2 Conversion into Methanol by Synthesized Photocatalyst (ZnFe2O4/TiO2) Using Visible Light as an Energy Source
- 2020
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Ingår i: Catalysts. - : MDPI. - 2073-4344. ; 10:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ozone layer depletion is a serious threat due to the extensive release of greenhouse gases. The emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel combustion is a major reason for global warming. Energy demands and climate change are coupled with each other. CO2is a major gas contributing to global warming; hence, the conversion of CO2 into useful products such as methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde, etc., under visible light is an attractive topic. Challenges associated with the current research include synthesizing a photocatalyst that is driven by visible light with a narrow band gap range between 2.5 and 3.0 eV, the separation of a mixed end product, and the two to three times faster recombination rate of an electron–hole pair compared with separation over yield. The purpose of the current research is to convert CO2 into useful fuel i.e., methanol; the current study focuses on the photocatalytic reduction of CO2into a useful product. This research is based on the profound analysis of published work, which allows the selection of appropriate methods and material for this research. In this study, zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) is synthesized via the modified sol–gel method and coupled with titanium dioxide (TiO2). Thereafter, the catalyst is characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), FE-SEM, UV–Vis, and XRD characterization techniques. UV–Vis illustrates that the synthesized catalyst has a low band gap and utilizes a major portion of visible light irradiation. The XRD pattern was confirmed by the formation of the desired catalyst. FE-SEM illustrated that the size of the catalyst ranges from 50 to 500 nm and BET analysis determined the surface area, which was 2.213 and 6.453 m2/g for ZnFe2O4 and ZnFe2O4/TiO2, respectively. The continuous gas flow photoreactor was used to study the activity of the synthesized catalyst, while titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been coupled with zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) under visible light in order to obtain the maximum yield of methanol as a single product and simultaneously avoid the conversion of CO2 into multiple products. The performance of ZnFe2O4/TiO2was mainly assessed through methanol yield with a variable amount of TiO2 over ZnFe2O4 (1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3, and 3:1). The synthesized catalyst recycling ability has been tested up to five cycles. Finally, we concluded that the optimum conditions for maximum yield were found to be a calcination temperature of ZnFe2O4at 900 °C, and optimum yield was at a 1:1 w/w coupling ratio of ZnFe2O4/TiO2. It was observed that due to the enhancement in the electron–hole pair lifetime, the methanol yield at 141.22 μmol/gcat·h over ZnFe2O4/TiO2was found to be 7% higher than the earlier reported data.
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| 6. |
- Usman, Muhammad, et al.
(författare)
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Use of Gasoline, LPG and LPG-HHO Blend in SI Engine : A Comparative Performance for Emission Control and Sustainable Environment
- 2020
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Ingår i: Processes. - : MDPI. - 2227-9717. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The rising global warming concerns and explosive degradation of the environment requires the mainstream utilization of alternative fuels, such as hydroxy gas (HHO) which presents itself as a viable substitute for extracting the benefits of hydrogen. Therefore, an experimental study of the performance and emission characteristics of alternative fuels in contrast to conventional gasoline was undertaken. For experimentation, a spark ignition engine was run on a multitude of fuels comprising of gasoline, Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and hybrid blend of HHO with LPG. The engine was operated at 60% open throttle with engine speed ranging from 1600 rpm to 3400 rpm. Simultaneously, the corresponding performance parameters including brake specific fuel consumption, brake power and brake thermal efficiency were investigated. Emission levels of CO, CO2, HC and NOx were quantified in the specified speed range. To check the suitability of the acquired experimental data, it was subjected to a Weibull distribution fit. Enhanced performance efficiency and reduced emissions were observed with the combustion of the hybrid mixture of LPG with HHO in comparison to LPG: on average, brake power increased by 7% while the brake specific fuel consumption reduced by 15%. On the other hand, emissions relative to LPG decreased by 21%, 9% and 21.8% in cases of CO, CO2, and unburned hydrocarbons respectively. Incorporating alternative fuels would not only imply reduced dependency on conventional fuels but would also contribute to their sustainability for future generations. Simultaneously, the decrease in harmful environmental pollutants would help to mitigate and combat the threats of climate change.
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