Investigation of waste heat recovery system at supercritical conditions with vehicle drive cycles

Waste heat recovery (WHR) for internal combustion engines in vehicles using Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) has been a promising technology. The operation of the ORC WHR system in supercritical conditions has a potential to generate more power output and thermal efficiency compared with the conventional subcritical conditions. However, in supercritical conditions, the heat transfer process in the evaporator, the key component of the ORC WHR system, becomes unpredictable as the thermo-physical properties of the working fluid change with the temperature. Furthermore, the transient heat source from the vehicle’s exhaust makes the operation of the WHR system difficult. We investigated the performance of the ORC WHR system at supercritical conditions with engine’s exhaust data from real city and highway drive cycles. The effects of operating variables, such as refrigerant flow rates, evaporator and condenser pressure, and evaporator outlet temperature, on the performance indicators of the WHR system in supercritical conditions were examined. Simulation of operating parameters and the boundary of the WHR system are also included in this paper

Mobile and non-mobile catalysts for diesel-particulate combustion: a kinetic study

One of the potential ways to solve the problem of diesel particulate emission from both stationary and mobile sources is the use of traps carrying a suitable catalyst for promoting particulate combustion as soon as it is filtered. A Cu-K-V based catalyst, considered among the most promising in the literature, the KVO3+CsCl and the K0.7Cu0.3VO3+KCl catalysts were prepared and investigated. Their performance was compared to a reference V2O5 catalyst. The superior performance of the Cu-K-V catalyst is based on the grounds of both microreactor (temperature programmed combustion) and catalytic trap tests. Based on experimental data and modelling calculations, this paper elucidates how the mobility of catalyst components is the main reason for such an outcome performance and is a prerequisite to achieve an activity sufficient for trap self-regeneration