DSRC – NEW PRINCIPLES AND IMPLEMENTATIONS IN ITS ROMANIA

Cities around the world are suffering from severe traffic congestion resulting in economic losses via delayed time, fuel consumption, traffic accidents, air pollution and traffic noise. An efficient wireless technology used in the road-to-vehicle radio communication can help reducing this negative effects and improve traffic parameters. Active DSRC is one of the most reliable road-to-vehicle communication methods available in the market today, since it has wide communication area and high-speed communication and is the most suitable for non-stop toll collection system, especially for multi-lane free-flow toll collection system, where vehicles can pass the toll gantry without reducing speed. The Active DSRC also supports other ITS applications related to road-to-vehicle communication applications that need high speed communication, and can improve public transportation, help to reduce air pollution, NOx and CO2, and road noise via a decline in traffic.ITS

A microfluidic biochip for the nanoporation of living cells

International audienceThis paper deals with the development of a microfluidic biochip for the exposure of living cells to nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF). When exposed to ultra short electric pulses (typical duration of 3-10ns), disturbances on the plasma membrane and on the intra cellular components occur, modifying the behavioral response of cells exposed to drugs or transgene vectors. This phenomenon permits to envision promising therapies. The presented biochip is composed of thick gold electrodes that are designed to deliver a maximum of energy to the biological medium containing cells. The temporal and spectral distributions of the nsPEF are considered for the design of the chip. In order to validate the fabricated biochip ability to orient the pulse towards the cells flowing within the exposition channels, a frequency analysis is provided. High voltage measurements in the time domain are performed to characterize the amplitude and the shape of the nsPEF within the exposition channels and compared to numerical simulations achieved with a 3D Finite-Difference Time-Domain code. We demonstrate that the biochip is adapted for 3 ns and 10 ns pulses and that the nsPEF are homogenously applied to the biological cells regardless their position along the microfluidic channel. Furthermore, biological tests performed on the developed microfluidic biochip permit to prove its capability to permeabilize living cells with nanopulses. To the best of our knowledge, we report here the first successful use of a microfluidic device optimized for the achievement and real time observation of the nanoporation of living cells

Innovative energy conversion systems by chemical looping : conceptual design, modeling and simulation, thermal integration and performance evaluation

Development of efficient and environmental friendly technologies for fossil fuels conversion is of great importance in the modern society. Along this line, the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies are important for transition to a low carbon economy. Chemical looping methods attracted much attention in the last decade as a promising energy conversion system able to deliver high energy efficiency coupled with inherent CO2 capture. This paper evaluates the power generation as well as energy vectors poly-generation systems based on chemical looping systems with almost total decarbonisation (carbon capture rate higher than 95%) of the used fuel. As illustrative example, an iron-based chemical looping system was assessed in various configurations using both gaseous and solid fuels. To illustrate the poly-generation systems, hydrogen & power and Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) & power co-generation cases were considered as examples. The evaluated chemical looping-based systems generate about 400 - 500 MW net power with a flexible hydrogen output in the range of 0 to 200 MWth (lower heating value - LHV). The SNG and power co-generation case evaluated an 800 MWth SNG thermal output (LHV) with a limited power output.Papers presented to the 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Costa de Sol, Spain on 11-13 July 2016

Comparative assessment of gasification based coal power plants with various CO2 capture technologies producing electricity and hydrogen

Seven different types of gasification-based coal conversion processes for producing mainly electricity and in some cases hydrogen (H2), with and without carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, were compared on a consistent basis through simulation studies. The flowsheet for each process was developed in a chemical process simulation tool “Aspen Plus”. The pressure swing adsorption (PSA), physical absorption (Selexol), and chemical looping combustion (CLC) technologies were separately analyzed for processes with CO2 capture. The performances of the above three capture technologies were compared with respect to energetic and exergetic efficiencies, and the level of CO2 emission. The effect of air separation unit (ASU) and gas turbine (GT) integration on the power output of all the CO2 capture cases is assessed. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for the CLC process (electricity-only case) to examine the effect of temperature and water-cooling of the air reactor on the overall efficiency of the process. The results show that, when only electricity production in considered, the case using CLC technology has an electrical efficiency 1.3% and 2.3% higher than the PSA and Selexol based cases, respectively. The CLC based process achieves an overall CO2 capture efficiency of 99.9% in contrast to 89.9% for PSA and 93.5% for Selexol based processes. The overall efficiency of the CLC case for combined electricity and H2 production is marginally higher (by 0.3%) than Selexol and lower (by 0.6%) than PSA cases. The integration between the ASU and GT units benefits all three technologies in terms of electrical efficiency. Furthermore, our results suggest that it is favorable to operate the air reactor of the CLC process at higher temperatures with excess air supply in order to achieve higher power efficiency

Cost Effective CO2 Reduction in the Iron & Steel Industry by Means of the SEWGS Technology: STEPWISE Project

In the STEPWISE project, the Sorption Enhanced Water-Gas Shift (SEWGS) technology for CO2 capture is brought to TRL6 by means of design, construction, operation and modelling a pilot installation in the Iron and Steel industry using Blast Furnace Gas (BFG). This advanced CO2 removal technology makes use of regenerative solid adsorbents. The STEPWISE project represents the essential demonstration step within the research, development and demonstration trajectory of the SEWGS technology. This project will further reduce the risks associated with scaling up the process

ASSESSMENT OF FLEXIBLE CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION OPTIONS APPLIED TO GASIFICATION PLANTS

The aim of this work is to assess the energy vector poly-generation capabilities of gasification plants equipped with carbon capture and utilization (CCU) features. As evaluated energy carriers, various total or partial decarbonized vectors were investigated (e.g., power, hydrogen, synthetic natural gas, methanol, Fischer-Tropsch fuel). As illustrative examples, the gasification concepts with 100 MW net energy output were considered having an overall plant decarbonization rate of 90%. As decarbonization technologies, the gas – liquid absorption based on chemical and physical scrubbing was assessed. A broad range of process system engineering tools were used (e.g., modeling and simulation, process integration, plant flexibility elements, technical and environmental evaluation). As results show, the application of carbon capture and utilization technologies for gasification-based poly-generation has promising results in term of increasing the overall energy efficiency (up to 68%), reducing CO2 emissions (down to 7 kg/MWh) and improving cycling capabilities

Bioglycerol reforming for hydrogen-based power generation : process configuration, thermodynamic simulation, process integration and performance assessments

This paper is evaluating the conceptual design, thermodynamic modeling and simulation and techno-economic assessments of hydrogen-based power generation using bioglycerol reforming at industrial scale with and without carbon capture. The power plant concepts generated about 500 MW net power output. The power plant designs of bioglycerol reforming were thermodynamic modeled and simulated to produce mass and energy balances for quantification of key plant performance indicators (e.g. bioglycerol consumption, energy efficiency, ancillary energy consumption, specific CO2 emissions, capital and operational costs etc.). A particular accent is put on assessment of reforming unit operation conditions, process integration issues of bioglycerol reforming unit and the syngas conditioning line with carbon capture unit, modeling and simulation of whole plant, thermal and power integration of various plant sub-systems by pinch analysis.Papers presented to the 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Costa de Sol, Spain on 11-13 July 2016

ASSESSMENT OF VARIOUS WATER-GAS-SHIFT PROCESS CONFIGURATIONS APPLIED TO PARTIAL OXIDATION ENERGY CONVERSION PROCESSES WITH CARBON CAPTURE

The energy conversion systems based on partial oxidation processes (hydrocarbons catalytic reforming, solid fuel gasification) are very promising for integrating carbon capture technologies due to high CO2 partial pressure in syngas to be treated. In these systems, the water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction has a very important place in concentrating the syngas energy as hydrogen and to convert carbon species as CO2. This paper is evaluating various WGS process configurations to be applied in catalytic reforming and gasification designs ranging from the conventional designs (multiple catalytic shift reactors) to more innovative reactive gas-solid systems (chemical & calcium looping) for simultaneous syngas conversion and CO2 capture. As the evaluations show, the reactive gas-solid systems are more promising in reducing energy penalty for CO2 capture as well as to increase the overall energy efficiency and carbon capture rate. As illustrative examples, the coal gasification for hydrogen and power co-generation with carbon capture were assessed

Model of heat transfer in circulating fluidized beds applied for co2 capture by calcium-looping process

The heat transfer to wall panels in the circulating fluidized beds applied for calcium looping process is investigated by the a mathematical model. The heat transfer between the furnace wall and the bed includes contributions from radiation, particle and gas convection, and gas conduction; these processes are highly coupled and interrelated. The energy and mass balance equations together with the equations that describe the hydrodynamics and heat transfer processes were implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The model gives satisfactory predictions of the gas/particles to wall heat transfer coefficient for several sets of operating parameters. The simulation’s results show that more than 85% of the carbonation/calcination reaction has occurred in the dense region of the fluidized beds.Papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Portoroz, Slovenia on 17-19 July 2017 .International centre for heat and mass transfer.American society of thermal and fluids engineers

Comparison Of Membrane-Based Pre- And Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Options Applied In Energy-Intensive Industrial Applications

Deployment of decarbonization technologies in energy-intensive industrial applications (e.g., heat and power, metallurgy, cement, chemical sectors etc.) is of great importance for reducing CO2 emission and achieving global climate neutrality. Membrane CO2 removal systems gained relevant attention as possible energy and cost-efficient CO2 capture technology. This paper is evaluating membrane-based pre- and post-combustion CO2 capture to be applied in various industrial applications with high fossil CO2 emissions. The evaluation was geared mainly towards quantification of ancillary energy consumptions of membrane systems as well as the specification of captured CO2 in respect to its potential utilization and storage applications. As the assessment show, the membrane-based systems are promising CO2 capture technology for both pre- and post-combustion capture configurations.publishedVersio