Feasibility study and design of an ocean wave power generation station integrated with a decommissioned offshore oil platform in UK waters

Wave energy exploits the movement of the wind across the surface of the sea to provide an inexhaustible, carbon-free energy source for electricity generation. This can potentially provide a significant contribution to electricity generation supply in the UK, meeting up to 20% of the UK’s electricity demand. This represents 30-50 MW capacity of electrical energy by 2020, and potentially 27 GW by 2050 as technology within the industry develops and matures. Studies show that developing marine energy resources in the UK can save 60 metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2025 and aid in the UK meeting 20-20-20 renewable energy objectives. In this paper the design of a wave power station integrated with a decommissioned offshore oil platform is proposed. This approach provides ideal conditions for the exploitation of wave energy for electricity generation. It not only saves the cost of decommissioning but also provides the offshore oil platform with new life, generating electrical energy from an inexhaustible source. The objective of this work was to conduct an extensive feasibility study to develop a proof of concept design for wave energy generation integrated with an offshore oil platform

Analysis and Multi-Parametric Optimisation of the Performance and Exhaust Gas Emissions of a Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Operating on Miller Cycle

A major issue nowadays that concerns the pollution of the environment is the emissions emerging from heavy-duty internal combustion engines. Such concern is dictated by the fact that the electrification of heavy-duty transport still remains quite challenging due to limitations associated with mileage, charging speed and payload. Further improvements in the performance and emission characteristics of conventional heavy-duty diesel engines are required. One of a few feasible approaches to simultaneously improve the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine is to convert it to operate on Miller cycle. Therefore, this study was divided into two stages, the first stage was the simulation of a heavy-duty turbocharged diesel engine (4-stroke, 6-cylinder and 390 kW) to generate data that will represent the reference model. The second stage was the application of Miller cycle to the conventional diesel engine by changing the degrees of intake valve closure and compressor pressure ratio. Both stages have been implemented through the specialist software which was able to simulate and represent a diesel engine based on performance and emissions data. An objective of this extensive investigation was to develop several models in order to compare their emissions and performances and design a Miller cycle engine with an ultimate goal to optimize diesel engine for improved performance and reduced emissions. This study demonstrates that Miller cycle diesel engines could overtake conventional diesel engines for the reduced exhaust gas emissions at the same or even better level of performance. This study shows that, due to the dependence of engine performance on complex multi-parametric operation, only one model achieved the objectives of the study, more specifically, engine power and torque were increased by 5.5, whilst nitrogen oxides and particulate matter were decreased by 30.2 and 5.5, respectively, with negligible change in specific fuel consumption and CO2, as average values over the whole range of engine operating regimes

Investigation of the Effect of Hydrogen and Methane on Combustion of Multicomponent Syngas Mixtures using a Constructed Reduced Chemical Kinetics Mechanism

This study investigated the effects of H2 and CH4 concentrations on the ignition delay time and laminar flame speed during the combustion of CH4/H2 and multicomponent syngas mixtures using a novel constructed reduced syngas chemical kinetics mechanism. The results were compared with experiments and GRI Mech 3.0 mechanism. It was found that mixture reactivity decreases and increases when higher concentrations of CH4 and H2 were used, respectively. With higher H2 concentration in the mixture, the formation of OH is faster, leading to higher laminar flame speed and shorter ignition delay time. CH4 and H2 concentrations were calculated at different pressures and equivalence ratios, showing that at high pressures CH4 is consumed slower, and, at different equivalence ratios CH4 reacts at different temperatures. In the presence of H2, CH4 was consumed faster. In the conducted two-stage sensitivity analysis, the first analysis showed that H2/CH4/CO mixture combustion is driven by H2-based reactions related to the consumption/formation of OH and CH4 recombination reactions are responsible for CH4 oxidation. The second analysis showed that similar CH4-based and H2 -based reactions were sensitive in both, methane- and hydrogen-rich H2/CH4 mixtures. The difference was observed for reactions CH2O + OH = HCO + H2O and CH4 + HO2 = CH3 + H2O2, which were found to be important for CH4-rich mixtures, while reactions OH + HO2 = H2O + O2 and HO2 + H = OH + OH were found to be important for H2-rich mixtures

Algae biofuel: Current status and future applications

An algal feedstock or biomass may contain a very high oil fraction, and thus could be used for the production of advanced biofuels via different conversion processes. Its major advantage apart from its large oil fraction is the ability to convert almost all the energy from the feedstock into different varieties of useful products. In the research to displace fossil fuels, algae feedstock has emerged as a suitable candidate not only because of its renewable and sustainable features but also for its economic credibility based on the potential to match up with the global demand for transportation fuels. Cultivating this feedstock is very easy and could be developed with little or even no supervision, with the aid of wastewater not suitable for human consumption while absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. The overall potential for algae applications generally shows that this feedstock is still an untapped resource, and it could be of huge commercial benefits to the global economy at large because algae exist in millions compared to terrestrial plants. Algae applications are evident for everyday consumption via foods products, non-foods products, fuel, and energy. Biofuels derived from algae have no impact on the environment and the food supply unlike biofuels produced from crops. However, any cultivation method employed could control the operating cost and the technicalities involved, which will also influence the production rate and strain. The scope of this paper is to review the current status of algae as a potential feedstock with diverse benefit for the resolution of the global energy demand, and environmental pollution control of GHG

Statistical Description in the Turbulent Near Wake of a Rotating Circular Cylinder

Turbulence studies were made in the wake of a rotating circular cylinder in a uniform free stream. The interest was to examine the turbulence properties at the suppression of periodicity in vortex formation process. An experimental study of the turbulent near wake of a rotating circular cylinder was made at a Reynolds number of 9000 for velocity ratios, λ between 0 and 2.7. Hot-wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry results indicate that the rotation of the cylinder causes significant changes in the vortical activities. The turbulence quantities are getting smaller as λ increases due to suppression of coherent vortex structures

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Propulsion Systems for Heavy-Duty Transport Applications

To meet climate change challenges, the UK government is aiming to reach zero emissions by 2050. The heavy-duty transportation sector contributes 17% to the UKs total emissions, so to combat this, alternative power units to traditional fossil fuel-reliant internal combustion engines (ICEs) are being utilized and investigated. Hydrogen fuel cells are a key area of interest to try and reduce these transportation emissions. To gain a true view of the impact that hydrogen fuel cells can have, this study looks at the impact the manufacturing of a fuel cell has upon the environment, from material extraction through to the usage phase. This was done through the use of a lifecycle assessment following ISO 14040 standards, with hydrogen systems being compared to alternative systems. This study has found that whilst fuel cells depend upon energy intensive materials for their construction, it is possible to reduce emissions by 34–87% compared to ICE systems, depending upon the source of hydrogen used. This study shows that hydrogen fuel cells are a viable option for heavy-duty transport that can be utilized to meet the target emissions reduction level by 2050

Quantum cascade laser assisted time-resolved measurements of carbon dioxide absorption during combustion in DME-HCCI engine

We conducted experiments to investigate in-cylinder light absorption by carbon dioxide (CO2) during homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine combustion. The combustion was fuelled with dimethyl ether. An in situ laser infrared absorption method was developed. We used an optical fibre spark plug sensor and the light source was a 4.301 μm quantum cascade laser (QCL). We applied Lambert–Beer’s law in the case of a single absorption line of CO2. We were able to measure the transient CO2 formation during the HCCI combustion inside the engine cylinder. Our experiments showed that the laser light transmissivity level decreased with the intensity of the infrared (IR) signal. We compared the change in the transmissivity to the spatially integrated HCCI flame luminosity level and observed significant correlations between the flame luminosity level, heat release rate and transmissivity. Time-resolved experiments showed that the CO2 absorbance increases when the second peak of the rate of heat release (ROHR) is maximised. After combustion, the CO2 concentration was approximately 4 vol%, which agrees with the amount of CO2 formed during complete combustion

Chemical kinetics and CFD analysis of supercharged micro-pilot ignited dual-fuel engine combustion of syngas

A comprehensive chemical kinetics and computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) analysis were performed to evaluate the combustion of syngas derived from biomass and coke-oven solid feedstock in a micro-pilot ignited supercharged dual-fuel engine under lean conditions. The developed syngas chemical kinetics mechanism was validated by comparing ignition delay, in-cylinder pressure, temperature and laminar flame speed predictions against corresponding experimental and simulated data obtained by using the most commonly used chemical kinetics mechanisms developed by other authors. Sensitivity analysis showed that reactivity of syngas mixtures was found to be governed by H2 and CO chemistry for hydrogen concentrations lower than 50% and mostly by H2 chemistry for hydrogen concentrations higher than 50%. In the mechanism validation, particular emphasis is placed on predicting the combustion under high pressure conditions. For high hydrogen concentration in syngas under high pressure, the reactions HO2 + HO2 = H2O2 + O2 and H2O2 + H = H2 + HO2 were found to play important role in in-cylinder combustion and heat production. The rate constants for H2O2 + H = H2 + HO2 reaction showed strong sensitivity to high-pressure ignition times and has considerable uncertainty. Developed mechanism was used in CFD analysis to predict in-cylinder combustion of syngas and results were compared with experimental data. Crank angle-resolved spatial distribution of in-cylinder spray and combustion temperature was obtained. The constructed mechanism showed the closest prediction of combustion for both biomass and coke-oven syngas in a micro-pilot ignited supercharged dual-fuel engine

Biomass-based fuel blends as an alternative for the future heavy-duty transport: A review

This paper analyses the current trends in application of biomass-based fuels as a valid option for heavy-duty transport and discusses their technology readiness levels, cost and emphasizes on these fuels to be applied as drop-in fuels in heavy-duty engines to minimize potential green-house and toxic gas emissions. Through the extended analysis, this study has identified that ethanol could be the best candidate for application in heavy-duty transport in terms of sustainability, cost, and emission reduction. Ethanol can be used in high concentrations as an additive or blended with the conventional diesel, which still remains a main type of fuel for heavy-duty transport. However, in order to completely adapt ethanol-diesel fuel blends to heavy-duty transport, a few challenges have to be resolved. The first challenge is the phase separation when high-concentration ethanol is blended with neat diesel. This can be fairly resolved by using certain types of surfactants, which will not negatively affect, but on the contrary, result in engine performance improvements as well as emission reductions. The second challenge is the ignition quality of the blends, as the cetane number of an ethanol-diesel blend decreases when high-concentration ethanol is blended with neat diesel. This can be resolved by using certain types of cetane improvers, as highlighted in this paper. The third challenge is the sustainable production and supply of ethanol without competing with food producers and minor impact on the indirect land use. This challenge can be resolved by producing ethanol from different types of organic waste, wastewater and biomass