CO2 methanation activated by magnetic heating: life cycle assessment and perspectives for successful renewable energy storage

Purpose Technologies with low environmental impacts and promoting renewable energy sources are required to meet the energetic demand while facing the increase of gas emissions associated to the greenhouse effect and the depletion of fossil fuels. CO2 methanation activated by magnetic heating has recently been reported as a highly efficient and innovative power-to-gas technology in a perspective of successful renewable energy storage and carbon dioxide valorisation. In this work, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of this process is performed, in order to highlight the environmental potential of the technology, and its competitivity with in respect to conventional heating technologies. Methods The IMPACT 2002+ was used for this LCA. The process studied integrates methanation, water electrolysis and CO2 capture and separation. This “cradle-to-gate” LCA study does not consider the use of methane, which is the reaction product. The functional unit used is the energy content of the produced CH4. The LCA was carried out using the energy mix data for the years 2020 and 2050 as given by the French Agency for Environment and Energy management (ADEME). Consumption data were either collected from literature or obtained from the LPCNO measurements as discussed by Marbaix (2019). The environmental impact of the CO2 methanation activated by magnetic heating was compared with the environmental impact of a power-to-gas plant using conventional heating (Helmeth) and considering the environmental impact of the natural gas extraction. Results It is shown that the total flow rate of reactants, the source of CO2 and the energy mix play a major role on the environmental impact of sustainable CH4 production, whereas the lifetime of the considered catalyst has no significant influence. As a result of the possible improvements on the above-mentioned parameters, the whole process is expected to reduce by 75% in its environmental impact toward 2050. This illustrates the high environmental potential of the methanation activated by magnetic heating when coupled with industrial exhausts and renewable electricity production. Conclusions The technology is expected to be environmentally competitive compared with existing similar processes using external heating sources with the additional interest of being extremely dynamic in response, in line with the intermittency of renewable energy production

Ultrastable Magnetic Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Carbon for Magnetically Induced Catalysis

[EN] Magnetically induced catalysis using magnetic nanoparticles (MagNPs) as heating agents is a new efficient method to perform reactions at high temperatures. However, the main limitation is the lack of stability of the catalysts operating in such harsh conditions. Normally, above 500 degrees C, significant sintering of MagNPs takes place. Here we present encapsulated magnetic FeCo and Co NPs in carbon (Co@C and FeCo@C) as an ultrastable heating material suitable for high-temperature magnetic catalysis. Indeed, FeCo@C or a mixture of FeCo@C:Co@C (2:1) decorated with Ni or Pt-Sn showed good stability in terms of temperature and catalytic performances. In addition, consistent conversions and selectivities regarding conventional heating were observed for CO2 methanation (Sabatier reaction), propane dehydrogenation (PDH), and propane dry reforming (PDR). Thus, the encapsulation of MagNPs in carbon constitutes a major advance in the development of stable catalysts for high-temperature magnetically induced catalysis.The authors thank the Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica (ITQ), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Universitat Politecnica de València (UPV) for the facilities and Severo Ochoa programe (SEV-2016-0683), "Juan de la Cierva" by MINECO (IJCI-2016-27966), and Primero Proyectos de Investigación PAID-06-18 (SP20180088) for financial support. The authors acknowledge ERC Advanced Grants (MONACAT-2015-694159 and SynCatMatch-2014671093). We also thank the Electron Microscopy Service of the UPV for TEM facilities.Martínez-Prieto, LM.; Marbaix, J.; Asensio, JM.; Cerezo-Navarrete, C.; Fazzini, P.; Soulantica, K.; Chaudret, B.... (2020). Ultrastable Magnetic Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Carbon for Magnetically Induced Catalysis. 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(2007). Raman spectroscopy of graphene and graphite: Disorder, electron–phonon coupling, doping and nonadiabatic effects. Solid State Communications, 143(1-2), 47-57. doi:10.1016/j.ssc.2007.03.052Hadjiev, V. G., Iliev, M. N., & Vergilov, I. V. (1988). The Raman spectra of Co3O4. Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics, 21(7), L199-L201. doi:10.1088/0022-3719/21/7/007Saxena, P., & Varshney, D. (2017). Effect of d-block element substitution on structural and dielectric properties on iron cobaltite. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 705, 320-326. doi:10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.02.120Biesinger, M. C., Payne, B. P., Grosvenor, A. P., Lau, L. W. M., Gerson, A. R., & Smart, R. S. C. (2011). Resolving surface chemical states in XPS analysis of first row transition metals, oxides and hydroxides: Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni. Applied Surface Science, 257(7), 2717-2730. doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.10.051Cullity, B. D., & Graham, C. D. (2008). 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A setup to measure the temperature-dependent heating power of magnetically heated nanoparticles up to high temperature.

Magnetic heating, namely, the use of heat released by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) excited with a high-frequency magnetic field, has so far been mainly used for biological applications. More recently, it has been shown that this heat can be used to catalyze chemical reactions, some of them occurring at temperatures up to 700 °C. The full exploitation of MNP heating properties requires the knowledge of the temperature dependence of their heating power up to high temperatures. Here, a setup to perform such measurements is described based on the use of a pyrometer for high-temperature measurements and on a protocol based on the acquisition of cooling curves, which allows us to take into account calorimeter losses. We demonstrate that the setup permits to perform measurements under a controlled atmosphere on solid state samples up to 550 °C. It should in principle be able to perform measurements up to 900 °C. The method, uncertainties, and possible artifacts are described and analyzed in detail. The influence on losses of putting under vacuum different parts of the calorimeter is measured. To illustrate the setup possibilities, the temperature dependence of heating power is measured on four samples displaying very different behaviors. Their heating power increases or decreases with temperature, displaying temperature sensibilities ranging from -2.5 to +4.4% K-1. This setup is useful to characterize the MNPs for magnetically heated catalysis applications and to produce data that will be used to test models permitting to predict the temperature dependence of MNP heating power

Theory as a driving force to understand reactions on nanoparticles: general discussion

International audienc

Etude multi-échelle de l'activation de réactions catalytiques par chauffage magnétique pour le stockage des énergies renouvelables

The depletion of fossil-based energy together with the increase of greenhouse gases emissions incite us to investigate alternative energy production ways and CO2 valorisation processes. In this context, magnetically induced catalysis enables us to reach these targets in an adaptive and efficient way and offers the possibility to store the excess of intermittent renewable energy production. In this PhD thesis, we study the magnetically induced catalysis through a multi-scale approach. We first focused on the synthesis and characterization of nano-heating materials that allowed operating the process at high temperatures. In a second step, we investigated the composition of the catalytic bed for CO2 methanation toward maximizing the catalytic performances and the energy efficiency of this process while evaluating its environmental impact.La déplétion des énergies fossiles et l’augmentation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre nous incitent à étudier des voies alternatives de production d’énergie mais aussi de valorisation du CO2. L’activation de réactions catalytiques par chauffage magnétique permet, dans ce contexte, de répondre à ces objectifs en offrant la possibilité de stocker de manière dynamique et adaptable les énergies renouvelables intermittentes.Dans ce travail de thèse, nous avons étudié de manière multi-échelle l’activation de réactions catalytiques en travaillant d’abord sur la synthèse et la caractérisation de nano-agents chauffants afin, notamment, d’opérer le procédé à hautes températures. Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié la composition du lit catalytique afin d’optimiser les performances catalytiques du procédé de méthanation du CO2 et de maximiser son efficacité énergétique tout en évaluant son impact environnemental

Multi-scale approach of catalysis activated by magnetic heating for renewable energy storage

La déplétion des énergies fossiles et l’augmentation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre nous incitent à étudier des voies alternatives de production d’énergie mais aussi de valorisation du CO2. L’activation de réactions catalytiques par chauffage magnétique permet, dans ce contexte, de répondre à ces objectifs en offrant la possibilité de stocker de manière dynamique et adaptable les énergies renouvelables intermittentes.Dans ce travail de thèse, nous avons étudié de manière multi-échelle l’activation de réactions catalytiques en travaillant d’abord sur la synthèse et la caractérisation de nano-agents chauffants afin, notamment, d’opérer le procédé à hautes températures. Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié la composition du lit catalytique afin d’optimiser les performances catalytiques du procédé de méthanation du CO2 et de maximiser son efficacité énergétique tout en évaluant son impact environnemental.The depletion of fossil-based energy together with the increase of greenhouse gases emissions incite us to investigate alternative energy production ways and CO2 valorisation processes. In this context, magnetically induced catalysis enables us to reach these targets in an adaptive and efficient way and offers the possibility to store the excess of intermittent renewable energy production. In this PhD thesis, we study the magnetically induced catalysis through a multi-scale approach. We first focused on the synthesis and characterization of nano-heating materials that allowed operating the process at high temperatures. In a second step, we investigated the composition of the catalytic bed for CO2 methanation toward maximizing the catalytic performances and the energy efficiency of this process while evaluating its environmental impact

CO2 methanation activated by magnetic heating: life cycle assessment and perspectives for successful renewable energy storage

International audiencePurpose: Technologies with low environmental impacts and promoting renewable energy sources are required to meet the energetic demand while facing the increase of gas emissions associated to the greenhouse effect and the depletion of fossil fuels. CO2 methanation activated by magnetic heating has recently been reported as a highly efficient and innovative power-to-gas technology in a perspective of successful renewable energy storage and carbon dioxide valorisation. In this work, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of this process is performed, in order to highlight the environmental potential of the technology, and its competitivity with in respect to conventional heating technologies.Methods: The IMPACT 2002+ was used for this LCA. The process studied integrates methanation, water electrolysis and CO2 capture and separation. This “cradle-to-gate” LCA study does not consider the use of methane, which is the reaction product. The functional unit used is the energy content of the produced CH4. The LCA was carried out using the energy mix data for the years 2020 and 2050 as given by the French Agency for Environment and Energy management (ADEME). Consumption data were either collected from literature or obtained from the LPCNO measurements as discussed by Marbaix (2019). The environmental impact of the CO2 methanation activated by magnetic heating was compared with the environmental impact of a power-to-gas plant using conventional heating (Helmeth) and considering the environmental impact of the natural gas extraction.Results: It is shown that the total flow rate of reactants, the source of CO2 and the energy mix play a major role on the environmental impact of sustainable CH4 production, whereas the lifetime of the considered catalyst has no significant influence. As a result of the possible improvements on the above-mentioned parameters, the whole process is expected to reduce by 75% in its environmental impact toward 2050. This illustrates the high environmental potential of the methanation activated by magnetic heating when coupled with industrial exhausts and renewable electricity production.Conclusions: The technology is expected to be environmentally competitive compared with existing similar processes using external heating sources with the additional interest of being extremely dynamic in response, in line with the intermittency of renewable energy production

Aviation and the Belgian Climate Policy: Integration Options and Impacts: Phase I

SD/CP/01Ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Video- and Location-based Analysis of Cycling Routes for Safety Measures and Fan Engagement

Video-based analysis of cycling races can provide a lot of information that can be used to keep cycling interesting for the fans and improve cyclists' safety. In this paper, we propose a solution to collect and process the metadata of cycling races. The idea is to use edge computing, by collecting data from a car in front of the race and processing this data using a tailor-made setup. Our solution consists of a camera to record video, and a GPS module to map the corresponding locations. Both data streams are offered to a single board computer. The video frames are used for crowd size classification to roughly estimate the number of spectators present along the race route. Moreover, we use the same footage to recognize cyclists' names on the road's surface to determine the location of fans of specific cyclists to create metadata around fan engagement. The tailor-made system performs the processing of the video frames and the results are sent to a web server using a cellular network connection. A web application was created to visualize the crowd size and the location of cyclists' names on the road's surface