feasibility study of a chp plant with steam turbine and biomass gasification for tissue paper production

Abstract In remote areas, such as India, Africa and Southeast Asia, typically not connected to the natural gas distribution network, tissue paper production is currently carried out using a Yankee cylinder and two hot air hoods heated with saturated steam produced in conventional boilers. In this way the drying air is heated at medium temperature, around 160-180 °C, with consequent low levels of dried paper production. In this context, the present study intends to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of using a wood biomass fixed bed downdraft gasification plant for the production of syngas to be used as fuel in gas hoods, in order to reach high drying temperatures (around 500 °C), comparable with those of the current modern hoods powered with natural gas. Using previously developed calculation codes, an evaluation of energy performance of the paper drying system and of the gasification plant has been performed. The present study also evaluates the possibility of applying a CHP plant, powered by biomass, for the production of steam and electric, this last obtained adopting a steam turbine, thus covering all the electrical and thermal needs of the paper mill. Results show that, for a paper mill with a production of about 80 t/day of paper, two gasification reactors with a thermal output of about 1.95 MWt, and a consumption of dry biomass of 0.86 t/h, are required. For the steam system, the net electric power needed to meet the needs of the paper mill is about 3100 kW with a consumption of 4.72 t/h of moist biomass and a net efficiency of 23.9 %

Validation tests of the CMS TIB/TID structures

Tracker Inner Barrel half-cylinders and Tracker Inner Disks of the CMS tracker have been integrated in three INFN sites. Integrated structures are submitted to an extensive set of tests whose main aim is to validate the functioning of the structures in CMS-like conditions. The tests have furthermore proven to be a great opportunity to study several aspects of the performance in detail. In this note the tests are described in some detail and an overview of the results is presented

Tracker Operation and Performance at the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge

During summer 2006 a fraction of the CMS silicon strip tracker was operated in a comprehensive slice test called the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge (MTCC). At the MTCC, cosmic rays detected in the muon chambers were used to trigger the readout of all CMS sub-detectors in the general data acquisition system and in the presence of the 4 T magnetic field produced by the CMS superconducting solenoid. This document describes the operation of the Tracker hardware and software prior, during and after data taking. The performance of the detector as resulting from the MTCC data analysis is also presented

Energy and Economic Comparison between natural gas fired and biomass fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants for tissue paper production in remote areas

In remote areas, such as India, Africa and Southeast Asia, typically not connected to the natural gas distribution grid, tissue paper drying process is currently carried out using a Yankee cylinder, heated with saturated steam, and hot air hoods warmed with saturated steam or diathermic oil. In this way the drying impingement air is heated, at maximum, at around 250 °C, with consequent low levels of dried paper production in comparison to modern hoods heated with natural gas. In this context, the present study intends to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of using a CHP plant fully powered by biomass, for the production of steam and electricity in order to satisfy all the electrical needs of the paper mill and the steam for the Yankee cylinder, while a wood biomass fixed bed downdraft gasification plant is utilised for the production of syngas to be used as fuel in the gas hoods, in order to reach high drying temperatures (around 500 °C), comparable with those of the current natural gas powered hoods. Using previously developed calculation codes, an evaluation of the overall energy performances of the paper drying system and of the gasification plant has been performed. Results show that, for a paper mill with a production of about 80 t/day of paper, two gasification reactors with a thermal output of about 1.95 MWt, and a consumption of dry biomass of 0.86 t/h, are required. For the steam system, the net electric power needed to meet the needs of the paper mill is about 3100 kW with a consumption of 4.72 t/h of moist biomass and a net efficiency of 23.9 %. The performances of this innovative biomass fueled CHP plant are finally compared with those of a traditional natural gas fueled CHP plant

Primary omental torsion: A case report

A patient presented with an acute abdomen at the Emergency Department. The patient, a 69-year-old man, was admitted and underwent surgery with a provisional diagnosis of acute appendicitis. During surgery, omental torsion was diagnosed and the involved omentum was removed. The patient had no previous surgical history. Omental torsion is a rare cause of acute abdomen in children and adults who may present with various signs and symptoms; a preoperative diagnosis may therefore be difficult and can usually only be established during surgery

Bio-Based Electrospun Fibers for Wound Healing

Being designated to protect other tissues, skin is the first and largest human body organ to be injured and for this reason, it is accredited with a high capacity for self-repairing. However, in the case of profound lesions or large surface loss, the natural wound healing process may be ineffective or insufficient, leading to detrimental and painful conditions that require repair adjuvants and tissue substitutes. In addition to the conventional wound care options, biodegradable polymers, both synthetic and biologic origin, are gaining increased importance for their high biocompatibility, biodegradation, and bioactive properties, such as antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, cell proliferative, and angiogenic. To create a microenvironment suitable for the healing process, a key property is the ability of a polymer to be spun into submicrometric fibers (e.g., via electrospinning), since they mimic the fibrous extracellular matrix and can support neo- tissue growth. A number of biodegradable polymers used in the biomedical sector comply with the definition of bio-based polymers (known also as biopolymers), which are recently being used in other industrial sectors for reducing the material and energy impact on the environment, as they are derived from renewable biological resources. In this review, after a description of the fundamental concepts of wound healing, with emphasis on advanced wound dressings, the recent developments of bio-based natural and synthetic electrospun structures for efficient wound healing applications are highlighted and discussed. This review aims to improve awareness on the use of bio-based polymers in medical devices