Optimization of CCUS supply chains in the UK: A strategic role for emissions reduction

The UK is the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide in Europe. It aims to take urgent actions to achieve the 2030 target for CO_{2} emissions reduction imposed by EU environmental policies. Three different carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) supply chains are developed giving economic indicators for CO_{2} utilization routes not implying carbon dioxide hydrogenation (i.e. with high TRL). The study presents an innovative proposal to reduce CO_{2} impact in the UK, a country rich in coal, which requires reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from flue gases as the easiest and best performing solution. Bunter Sandstone, Scottish offshore and Ormskirk Sandstone are the storage sites considered, while several attractive potential utilization options are considered. Through minimization of total costs, the CCUS supply chain with Bunter Sandstone as storage site results in the most economically profitable solution due to the highest value of net present value (€ 0.554 trillion) and lowest value of pay back period (2.85 years). Only carbon tax is considered. The total cost is € 1.04 billion/year. Across the supply chain, 6.4 Mton/year of carbon dioxide emissions are avoided, to be either stored or used for calcium carbonate production. Future work should consider uncertainty, dynamics of market demand and social aspects

The development of a musically logical procedure for solving the problems of transcription for guitar performance of J.S. Bach's Suite in E Minor (BWV 996)

The procedure that was developed involves the interrelationship of factors such as Baroque performance practice, Bach's keyboard orientation, Bach's compositional techniques, analysis of musical structure at various hierarchical levels, the delineation of structural units through performance variables, ornamentation, phrasing, articulation, fingering, expressive effect, and necessary compromises of the musical fabric to accommodate instrumental/technical limitations. A foundational premise of the procedure is that the guitarist should develop an idealized conception of the music and determine the manner in which to realize, or to most closely approximate, that conception on the instrument. This approach involves analysis, investigation of the interrelated factors, and extensive experimentation with the instrument to test alternative solutions. The study presents detailed discussions of both the process and results of such analysis, investigation, and experimentation.An integral part of the professional training of the college level guitar performance major is the study and performance of the music of J.S. Bach. Because Bach did not compose any works for the guitar, the guitarist must perform transcriptions. Because of the insufficiency of published transcriptions of Bach's music that are adequate for use in the education of the college level guitar performance major, the study was designed to provide (1) a musically logical procedure for solving the problems of transcription for guitar performance, (2) a transcription of the Suiye in E minor that would be pedagogically adequate, and (3) a thorough basic introduction to ornamentation in Bach's music

A simulation tool for analysis and design of reverse electrodialysis using concentrated brines

Reverse Electrodialysis (SGP-RE or RED) represents a viable technology for the conversion of the Salinity Gradient Power into electric power. A comprehensive model is proposed for the RED process using sea or brackish water and concentrated brine as feed solutions. The goals were (i) reliably describing the physical phenomena involved in the process and (ii) providing information for optimal equipment design. For such purposes, the model has been developed at two different scales of description: a lower scale for the repeating unit of the system (cell pair), and a higher scale for the entire equipment (stack). The model was implemented in a process simulator, validated against original experimental information and then used to investigate the influence of the main operating factors and on power output. Feed solutions of different salinities were also tested. A good matching was found between predictions and experiments for a wide range of inlet concentrations, flow rates and feed temperatures. Optimal feed conditions, for the adopted system geometry and membranes, have been found employing brackish water (0.08-0.1 M NaCl) as dilute and brine (4.5-5 M NaCl) as concentrate to generate the highest power density at 40\ub0C temperature. The model can be used to explore the full potential of the RED technology, especially for any investigation regarding the future scale-up of the process

Water desalination by capacitive electrodialysis: Experiments and modelling

Electrodialysis-related technologies keep spreading in multiple fields, among which water desalination still plays a major role. A new technology that has not yet been thoroughly investigated is capacitive electrodialysis (CED), which couples the standard ED with capacitive electrodes. CED has a number of advantages such as removal of toxic products and system simplification. Little mention is made of this technology in the literature and, to the best of our knowledge, no modelling works have ever been presented. In this work, the CED process has been studied through experiments and modelling. A CED model is presented for the first time. With a simple calibration based on macroscopic membrane properties and the characterisation of electrode behaviour, the model is able to simulate the dynamics of simple as well as more complex layouts. An original experimental characterisation of electrodes is presented, showing how the collected data can be implemented into the model. After a successful validation with experimental data, dynamic simulations of a single pass CED unit have been performed with the aim of assessing the effect of different capacitive electrode properties on process performance. Results show how the impact of these properties is different depending on the number of cell pairs

Investigating the Trade-Off between Design and Operational Flexibility in Continuous Manufacturing of Pharmaceutical Tablets: A Case Study of the Fluid Bed Dryer

Market globalisation, shortened patent lifetimes and the ongoing shift towards personalised medicines exert unprecedented pressure on the pharmaceutical industry. In the push for continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing, processes need to be shown to be agile and robust enough to handle variations with respect to product demands and operating conditions. In this paper we examine the use of operational envelopes to study the trade-off between the design and operational flexibility of the fluid bed dryer at the heart of a tablet manufacturing process. The operating flexibility of this unit is key to the flexibility of the full process and its supply chain. The methodology shows that for the fluid bed dryer case study there is significant effect on flexibility of the process at different drying times with the optimal obtained at 700 s. The flexibility is not affected by the change in volumetric flowrate, but only by the change in temperature. Here the method used a black box model to show how it could be done without access to the full model equation set, as this often needs to be the case in commercial settings

Multi-scale modelling of an electrodialysis with bipolar membranes pilot plant and economic evaluation of its potential

Sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid are widely used chemicals in different industrial sectors. To minimize costs and risks associated with transportation, handling and storage, these hazardous chemicals can be produced in situ employing electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM). This work presents a multi-scale model capable of simulating large scale EDBM units with complex stack configuration (i.e., internal staging) that can be used to design and optimize the process. The model was validated in two different process configurations using experimental results obtained from an EDBM pilot plant. Discrepancies between model and experimental results in the range of 2–11 % were obtained. The validated model was used to conduct a techno-economic evaluation adopting the feed and bleed configuration. Results show that current efficiency increases as the current density rises. At 600 A m−2, values of current efficiency between 72 % and 96 % were found for sodium hydroxide concentration in the range of 0.5–1 mol L−1. The levelized cost of sodium hydroxide (LCoNaOH) was evaluated, in the same range of concentrations, demonstrating that values between 280 and 370 € ton−1 can be obtained, fixing the electricity prince (0.1 kWh kg−1) and the triplet specific cost (600 US$m−2). Moreover, assuming a reduced cost of electricity and triplet to 0.05 kWh kg−1 and 300 US$ m−2, respectively, an absolute minimum of 140 € ton−1 was found for the target 0.5 mol L−1. A double stage EDBM configuration was simulated to show the scale-up potentials of the multi-scale model. A reduction in the LcoNaOH of 10 % was obtained for a target concentration of 1 mol L−1. These results prove the attractiveness of the EDBM technology for producing in situ chemicals

Economic Benefits of Waste Pickling Solution Valorization

An integrated hybrid membrane process, composed of a diffusion dialysis (DD), a membrane distillation (MD) and a reactive precipitation unit (CSTR), is proposed as a promising solution for the valorization and onsite recycling of pickling waste streams. An economic analysis was performed aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of the developed process with a NPV of about EUR 40,000 and a DPBP of 4 years. The investment and operating costs, as well as the avoided costs and the benefits for the company operating the plant, were analyzed with an extensive cost tracking exercise and through face-to-face contact with manufacturers and sector leaders. A mathematical model was implemented using the gPROMS modelling platform. It is able to simulate steady state operations and run optimization analysis of the process performance. The impact of key operating and design parameters, such as the set-point bath concentration and the DD and MD membrane areas, respectively, was investigated and the optimal arrangement was identified. Finally, operating variables and design parameters were optimized simultaneously in a nonlinear framework as a tradeoff between profitability and environmental impact. We show how the integration of new technologies into the traditional pickling industry could provide a significant benefit for the issues of process sustainability, which are currently pressing

Actinide Behavior in a Freshwater Pond

Long-term investigations of solution chemistry in an alkaline freshwater pond have revealed that actinide oxidation state behavior, particularly that of plutonium, is complex. The Pu(V,VI) fraction was predominant in solution, but it varied over the entire range reported from other natural aquatic environments, in this case, as a result of intrinsic biological and chemical cycles (redox and pH-dependent phenomena). A strong positive correlation between plutonium (Pu), but not uranium (U), and hydroxyl ion over the observation period, especially when both were known to be in higher oxidation states, was particularly notable. Coupled with other examples of divergent U and Pu behavior, this result suggests that Pu(V), or perhaps a mixture of Pu(V,VI), was the prevalent oxidation state in solution. Observations of trivalent actinide sorption behavior during an algal bloom, coupled with the association with a high-molecular weight (nominally 6000 to 10,000 mol wt) organic fraction in solution, indicate that solution-detritus cycling of organic carbon, in turn, may be the primary mechanism in amercium-curium (Am-Cm) cycling. Sorption by sedimentary materials appears to predominate over other factors controlling effective actinide solubility and may explain, at least partially, the absence of an expected strong positive correlation between carbonate and dissolved U. 49 references, 6 figures, 12 tables

Plugging and Abandonment Plan for Wells and Coreholes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Site environmental characterization and remediation require data obtained from the installation and sampling of wells and coreholes. When these wells and coreholes are no longer needed, are not producing reliable information, or are damaged and can act as conduits for contaminant migration, they should be identified and properly decommissioned. This is most important for wells of sufficient depth to create the potential for exchange of fluids between different hydrologic units. This plan presents the strategy and detailed approach for the well and corehole P A plan for most of the areas for which ORNL has responsibility. Although wells in Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 5 and WAG 10 are not specifically addressed in this plan, these wells will be incorporated into the decommissioning program in FY 1993