Microvawe pyrolysis of biomass: control of process parameters for high pyrolysis oil yields and enhanced oil quality

The oil yield and quality of pyrolysis oil from microwave heating of biomass was established by studying the behaviour of Larch in microwave processing. This is the first study in biomass pyrolysis to use a microwave processing technique and methodology that is fundamentally scalable, from which the basis of design for a continuous processing system can be derived to maximise oil yield and quality. It is shown systematically that sample size is a vital parameter that has been overlooked by previous work in this field. When sample size is controlled the liquid product yield is comparable to conventional pyrolysis, and can be achieved at an energy input of around 600 kWh/t. The quality of the liquid product is significantly improved compared to conventional pyrolysis processes, which results from the very rapid heating and quenching that can be achieved with microwave processing. The yields of Levoglucosan and phenolic compounds were found to be an order of magnitude higher in microwave pyrolysis when compared with conventional fast pyrolysis. Geometry is a key consideration for the development of a process at scale, and the opportunities and challenges for scale-up are discussed within this paper

A review on microwave-assisted production of biodiesel

Energy is the most important necessity for human existence on the earth. Limited crude petroleum resources and increasing awareness regarding the environmental impacts of fossil fuels are driving the search for new energy sources and alternative fuels. Biodiesel is a fuel which is renewable, biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic in nature and has attracted considerable attention during the past decades. The costs of feedstock and the production process are two major hurdles to large-scale biodiesel production in particular. Various technologies have been developed to reduce the production cost. This paper attempts to extensively review microwave-assisted technology for biodiesel production. Additionally, different types of feedstocks for biodiesel production have been summarized in this paper. It is concluded that the microwave-assisted technique reduces the reaction time significantly in comparison with conventional methods. In addition, a high quality biodiesel can be obtained from microwave-assisted transesterification of different kinds of oils. Finally, the energy payback for 1kg biodiesel produced by microwave-assisted technology is calculated in this paper and it indicated that the system is sustainable. Therefore it can be a suitable method of decreasing the cost of biodiesel and can also help the commercialization of this fuel

Energy savings and cost-benefit analysis of using compression and absorption chillers for air conditioners in Iran

The electricity demand in Iran has increased steadily in recent years. This is mainly due to the rapid growth in the number of high-rise air-conditioned buildings and the rapid use of electrical appliances in residential and commercial sectors. This paper investigates the annual energy required for cooling per unit area and the total energy cost per unit area for each type of air conditioning systems in different climates in Iran. The paper also investigates the effects of changing the coefficient of performance (COP) of absorption chillers on cost saving. This study found that using absorption chillers for cooling will increase the amount of energy usage per unit area; however the energy cost per unit area will decrease. In addition this research indicates that for each 0.1 increment in COP of absorption chillers, there is at least 50 USD/m2 saved cost

Energy savings and cost-benefit analysis of using compression and absorption chillers for air conditioners in Iran

The electricity demand in Iran has increased steadily in recent years. This is mainly due to the rapid growth in the number of high-rise air-conditioned buildings and the rapid use of electrical appliances in residential and commercial sectors. This paper investigates the annual energy required for cooling per unit area and the total energy cost per unit area for each type of air conditioning systems in different climates in Iran. The paper also investigates the effects of changing the coefficient of performance (COP) of absorption chillers on cost saving. This study found that using absorption chillers for cooling will increase the amount of energy usage per unit area; however the energy cost per unit area will decrease. In addition this research indicates that for each 0.1 increment in COP of absorption chillers, there is at least 50 USD/m2 saved cost.Air conditioning Absorption thermal system Performance Cost-benefit analysis

Impact of infrastructural policies to reduce travel time expenditure of car users with significant reductions in energy consumption

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd The increasing number of vehicles and drivers have led to a marked increase in travel time expenditure (TTE), congestion, demand for fossil fuels, and adverse environmental impacts. Improving energy efficiency in the transportation sector, public awareness of the behavior of the people vis-à-vis energy efficiency, implementing policies that encourage other modes of transportation (e.g., public transit, ride-sharing, bicycles, and walking, etc.) that decrease vehicle dependency are some effective approaches that mitigate the aforementioned negative effects, which will lead to significant reductions in the total energy consumption. This article investigates the effect of governmental policies on vehicle dependency reduction and the decrease of TTE by vehicle owners, and propose a novel method to calculate the current and future TTEs by individuals. The effect of demographic variables and the region on vehicle dependency and TTE for students of three of the most populated universities in Malaysia (University of Malaya, University Putra Malaysia, and University Technology Malaysia) were investigated as well. The peoples’ expectations from individual modes of transportation such as cycling and walking were also analyzed. The results showed that all demographic factors, except nationality, affect the levels of vehicle ownership, while income levels and nationality affects TTE by personal vehicles. The results show that the average TTE can be reduced by 89% if the recommended infrastructure (e.g., increase bus routes, train routes, train services, frequencies of buses and train, and facilities for cyclists, etc.) is provided. These outcomes can assist policy makers to efficiently manage transportation budgets, and would also help people decrease vehicle usage, which will subsequently decrease their corresponding TTE and fuel consumption

Energy and exergy utilization efficiencies and emission performance of Canadian transportation sector, 1990-2035

Transportation sector of Canada is the second largest energy consuming sector which accounts for 30% of the total energy consumption of the country in 2009. The purpose of this work was to analyze the energy, exergy, and emission performance for four different modes of transport (road, air, rail, and marine) from the year 1990-2035. For historical period, the estimated overall energy efficiency ranges from 22.41% (1991) to 22.55% (2006) with a mean of 22.48 ± 0.07% and the overall exergy efficiency ranges from 21.61% (2001) to 21.87 (2006) with a mean of 21.74 ± 0.13%. Energy and exergy efficiencies may reach 20.95% and 20.97% in the year 2035 respectively based on the forecasted data. In comparison with other countries, we found that in the year 2000 the overall energy and exergy efficiencies for Canadian transportation sector were higher than Jordan, China, Norway, and Saudi Arabia but lower than Turkey and Malaysia. Between the year 1990-2009, the highest amount of emission produced in each subsector was: road CO2 (80%), NOx (72%), and CO (carbon monoxide) (96%); air SO2 (86%); rail NOx (6%) and marine NOx (7%). The road subsector produced the highest amount of emissions