4 research outputs found
Hydrogen production from polymeric organic solids via atmospheric pressure nonthermal Plasma
The potential of using hydrogen as a sustainable energy carrier is attributed
to its high energy density and its utilization without CO emissions.
Existing technologies mainly produce hydrogen thermochemically via natural gas
reforming or electrochemically through water splitting. Organic solid
feedstocks rich in hydrogen, such as biomass and plastic waste, are
under-utilized for this purpose. Approaches based on low-temperature
atmospheric pressure plasma powered by renewable electricity could lead to the
production of green hydrogen more viably than current approaches, leading to
sustainable alternatives for upcycling plastic and biomass waste. This doctoral
research dissertation focuses on the production of hydrogen from solids via
atmospheric nonthermal plasma. First, two low-temperature atmospheric pressure
plasma reactors, based on transferred arc (transarc) and gliding arc (glidarc)
discharges and depicting complementary operational characteristics, are
designed, built, and characterized to produce hydrogen from low-density
polyethylene (LDPE) as a model plastic waste. Experimental results show that
hydrogen production rate and efficiency increase monotonically with increasing
voltage level in both reactors. Despite the reactors' markedly different modes
of operation, their hydrogen production performance metrics are comparable.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2210.1136
Thermal Performance of Selected Oils in Uganda for Indirect Solar Domestic Cooking Applications
This study experimentally evaluated the thermal performance of selected oils in Uganda for indirect solar domestic cooking applications. The oil samples used were refined sunflower oil, refined palm oil and thermia B. These oils are locally available in Uganda. Thermal stratification, energy and exergy analysis were performed for each oil to determine their suitability for Thermal Energy Storage (TES) using a thermosiphon principle. The results showed that thermal stratification of refined sunflower oil was higher as compared to refined palm oil and thermia B during the first one hour. The stored energy and exergy for refined sunflower oil was generally higher than that of refined palm oil and thermia B. The thermal performance of refined sunflower oil was comparable to that of refined palm oil which was better than that of thermia B.Keywords: Thermosiphon; thermal stratification; energy; exergy; oi
Nonthermal Atmospheric Plasma Reactors for Hydrogen Production from Low-Density Polyethylene
Hydrogen is largely produced via natural gas reforming or electrochemical
water-splitting, leaving organic solid feedstocks under-utilized. Plasma
technology powered by renewable electricity can lead to the sustainable
upcycling of plastic waste and production of green hydrogen. In this work,
low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma reactors based on transferred arc
(transarc) and gliding arc (glidarc) discharges are designed, built, and
characterized to produce hydrogen from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as a
model plastic waste. Experimental results show that hydrogen production rate
and efficiency increase monotonically with increasing voltage level in both
reactors, with the maximum hydrogen production of 0.33 and 0.42 mmol/g LDPE for
transarc and glidarc reactors, respectively. For the transarc reactor, smaller
electrode-feedstock spacing favors greater hydrogen production, whereas, for
the glidarc reactor, greater hydrogen production is obtained at intermediate
flow rates. The hydrogen production from LDPE is comparable despite the
markedly different modes of operation between the two reactors
Hydrogen from Cellulose and Low-density Polyethylene via Atmospheric Pressure Nonthermal Plasma
The valorization of waste, by creating economic value while limiting
environmental impact, can have an essential role in sustainable development.
Particularly, polymeric waste such as biomass and plastics can be used for the
production of green hydrogen as a carbon-free energy carrier through the use of
nonthermal plasma powered by renewable, potentially surplus, electricity. In
this study, a Streamer Dielectric-Barrier Discharge (SDBD) reactor is designed
and built to extract hydrogen and carbon co-products from cellulose and
low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as model feedstocks of biomass and plastic
waste, respectively. Spectroscopic and electrical diagnostics, together with
modeling, are used to estimate representative plasma properties, namely
electron and excitation temperatures, number density, and power consumption.
Cellulose and LDPE are plasma-treated for different treatment times to
characterize the evolution of the hydrogen production process. Gas products are
analyzed using gas chromatography to determine the mean hydrogen production
rate, production efficiency, hydrogen yield, selectivity, and energy cost. The
results show that the maximum hydrogen production efficiency for cellulose is
0.8 mol/kWh, which is approximately double that for LDPE. Furthermore, the
energy cost of hydrogen production from cellulose is 600 kWh/kg of H2, half
that of LDPE. Solid products are examined via scanning electron microscopy,
revealing the distinct morphological structure of the two feedstocks treated,
as well as by elemental composition analysis. The results demonstrate that SDBD
plasma is effective at producing hydrogen from cellulose and LDPE at near
atmospheric pressure and relatively low-temperature conditions in
rapid-response and compact processes