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4 pages, 207 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Clean Coal Technologies as an Effective Way in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation

by Adam Smoliński and Andrzej Bąk

Energies 2022, 15(16), 5868; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15165868 - 12 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1358

Abstract

Energy security is a main challenge in today’s economies [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

Research

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30 pages, 680 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investment Model of Agricultural Biogas Plants for Individual Farms in Poland

by Kamila Klimek, Magdalena Kapłan, Serhiy Syrotyuk, Nikolay Bakach, Nikolay Kapustin, Ryszard Konieczny, Jakub Dobrzyński, Kinga Borek, Dorota Anders, Barbara Dybek, Agnieszka Karwacka and Grzegorz Wałowski

Energies 2021, 14(21), 7375; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217375 - 5 Nov 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2887

Abstract

The main idea of a circular economy (CE) is to separate economic growth from resource consumption and environmental impacts. The characteristic approach of a CE assumes the minimisation of the amount of waste generated at the design level and, as a standard, includes [...] Read more.

The main idea of a circular economy (CE) is to separate economic growth from resource consumption and environmental impacts. The characteristic approach of a CE assumes the minimisation of the amount of waste generated at the design level and, as a standard, includes innovations throughout the value chain. From an agricultural point of view, agricultural biogas plants are particularly important because they enable the management of all waste biomass and its conversion into useful energy and agricultural fertiliser. This paper presents methods for assessing the economic effectiveness of an investment in an agricultural biogas plant. The research goal was to develop a financial model. The authors of this study used available examples of the profitability of commercial ventures. We considered the investment aspects of agricultural biogas plants. Exemplary solutions are discussed, allowing the reader to become acquainted with various methods and proposals for thus far estimated investments. It may seem chaotic, but this is how the biogas market is characterised in the context of the implementation of biogas projects. Guidance is given regarding how to understand investing in this sensitive private farming sector. It is admirable that the renewable energy market has been systematised, and we hypothesise that it is necessary to develop an investment model in Polish conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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18 pages, 1732 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Emission and Neutralization of Methane from a Municipal Landfill-Parametric Analysis

by Józef Ciuła, Violetta Kozik, Agnieszka Generowicz, Krzysztof Gaska, Andrzej Bak, Marlena Paździor and Krzysztof Barbusiński

Energies 2020, 13(23), 6254; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13236254 - 27 Nov 2020

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 2413

Abstract

An attempt was made to estimate the annual production of CH₄ at a municipal waste landfill site in Poland. As a matter of fact, the extent of the unorganized emission of CH₄ from the landfill surface was approached based on the [...] Read more.

An attempt was made to estimate the annual production of CH₄ at a municipal waste landfill site in Poland. As a matter of fact, the extent of the unorganized emission of CH₄ from the landfill surface was approached based on the adopted mathematical model. The Ward agglomeration method for cluster analysis and the Pearson coefficient were employed to evaluate the distance-based similarity measure and to optimize methods for estimating methane emissions from a landfill as well as to verify the input parameters for the model. In order to calculate the content of biodegradable organic parts in the waste, morphological tests of the landfilled waste were performed. Physical quantities, measurements and the actual amount of the landfilled waste as well as the volume of CH₄ neutralized in a collective flare were implemented in the model, respectively. The model-based findings and experimental outcome demonstrated stable gas production in the landfill with a high CH₄ content. On the other hand, a rather low efficiency of the landfill passive degassing installation indicated the necessity to design and develop its active counterpart with the prospective application of the generated biogas for energy production in a cogeneration system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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13 pages, 4572 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CFD Modeling of the Catalyst Oil Slurry Hydrodynamics in a High Pressure and Temperature as Potential for Biomass Liquefaction

by Artur Wodołażski, Jacek Skiba, Katarzyna Zarębska, Jarosław Polański and Adam Smolinski

Energies 2020, 13(21), 5694; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215694 - 30 Oct 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1686

Abstract

The paper presents the simulation of a catalyst-paraffin oil slurry hydrodynamics under high pressure and temperature in a convex bottom reactor with a Rushton turbine which was conducted with an application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. An analysis to obtain a uniform [...] Read more.

The paper presents the simulation of a catalyst-paraffin oil slurry hydrodynamics under high pressure and temperature in a convex bottom reactor with a Rushton turbine which was conducted with an application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. An analysis to obtain a uniform distribution of solid catalyst particles suspended in paraffin oil was carried out as a potential for biomass liquefaction. The effects of the particle diameter, bed density, liquid viscosity, and the initial solid loading on slurry hydrodynamics in high pressure and temperature behavior were investigated using the Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model and the standard k-ε turbulence model. The main objective was to assess the performance in agitating highly concentrated slurries to obtain slurry velocity, concentration, the degree of homogeneity, and to examine their effect on the mixing quality. The results of the analysis are applied to predicting the impact of the most efficient conditions on slurry suspension qualities as potential for biomass liquefaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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14 pages, 8682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water-Induced Corrosion Damage of Carbon Steel in Sulfolane

by Julian Kubisztal, Bożena Łosiewicz, Paulina Dybał, Violetta Kozik and Andrzej Bąk

Energies 2020, 13(17), 4580; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174580 - 3 Sep 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2338

Abstract

Sulfolane in contact with water and oxygen forms acidic (by-) products that are major factors in accelerating the corrosion of carbon/stainless steel. In consequence, water-induced corrosion damage can be a serious problem in industrial systems. Hence, the determination of the corrosion resistance of [...] Read more.

Sulfolane in contact with water and oxygen forms acidic (by-) products that are major factors in accelerating the corrosion of carbon/stainless steel. In consequence, water-induced corrosion damage can be a serious problem in industrial systems. Hence, the determination of the corrosion resistance of AISI 1010 steel immersed in sulfolane containing 0 to 6 vol.% water was the principal objective of the study. Evaluation of the corrosion resistance of steel electrodes was performed using a potentiodynamic technique and scanning Kelvin probe microscopy. It was observed that the corrosion products layer that formed on the surface of AISI 1010 steel partially protects it against corrosion in sulfolane with a water concentration in the range from 1 vol.% to 4 vol.%. Interestingly, amounts of water above 4 vol.% cause a break-down of the corrosion products layer and deteriorate the corrosion resistance of AISI 1010 steel as well. Moreover, the relationship between the fractal dimension, corrosion degree of the steel surface and water concentration in sulfolane was investigated. The fractal dimension was determined using 2D grayscale images of AISI 1010 steel registered through a scanning electron microscope. It was noticed that both the fractal dimension and the corrosion degree rose with the increased water concentration in sulfolane. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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24 pages, 5475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Petrographic Characteristics of Coal Gasification and Combustion by-Products from High Volatile Bituminous Coal

by Barbara Bielowicz

Energies 2020, 13(17), 4374; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174374 - 25 Aug 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2335

Abstract

The coal was gasified in a fluidized bed reactor with CO₂ as a gasifying agent at 889–980 °C. The coal and gasification residue produced during gasification was burned at temperatures up to 900 °C. The petrographic analysis, gasification residues, and fly and [...] Read more.

The coal was gasified in a fluidized bed reactor with CO₂ as a gasifying agent at 889–980 °C. The coal and gasification residue produced during gasification was burned at temperatures up to 900 °C. The petrographic analysis, gasification residues, and fly and bottom ash resulting from the combustion of coal and chars showed the efficiency of the gasification and combustion processes. The gasification residue primarily comprised inertoids and crassinetwork, which accounted for 60% of the sample. The analysis of the petrographic composition of fly ash revealed that the fly ash formed during the combustion of gasification residue had a higher mineral content. The fly ash from the combustion of gasification products contained significantly less unburned coal compared to that from coal. The samples of the bottom ash from coal combustion were composed of approximately 25% organic matter, most of which was chars. The bottom ash formed from the combustion of coal gasification products was composed mainly of mineral matter (95% or higher). The obtained results have significant implications in determining future waste management strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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14 pages, 5455 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of Heat Exchange Processes within the Channels of Disk Pulse Devices

by Valeriy Nikolsky, Ivan Kuzyayev, Roman Dychkovskyi, Oleksandr Alieksandrov, Vadim Yaris, Serhiy Ptitsyn, Ludmila Tikhaya, Natalia Howaniec, Andrzej Bak, Tomasz Siudyga, Bartłomiej Jura, Edgar Cabana, Arkadiusz Szymanek and Adam Smoliński

Energies 2020, 13(13), 3492; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13133492 - 6 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2171

Abstract

The effect of basic parameters of the channels of disk pulse devices on the heat exchange efficiency was studied both analytically and experimentally, especially in terms of pulse acting on the heat carrier. A methodology to determine the main parameters, namely the pressure [...] Read more.

The effect of basic parameters of the channels of disk pulse devices on the heat exchange efficiency was studied both analytically and experimentally, especially in terms of pulse acting on the heat carrier. A methodology to determine the main parameters, namely the pressure and the temperature of the heat carrier as well as the pulse effect on the fluid, was proposed. The mathematical models of the effect of the structural and technological parameters of the channels in the disk pulse device on the heat exchange efficiency were developed. The models’ adequacy was proved based on a series of experimental studies involving devices with one-stage and multistage systems of pulsed heat carrier processing. This enabled the development, testing, and implementation of practical construction designs of pulse disk heat generators for decentralized heating of commercial and domestic buildings with one-stage and multistage systems of pulsed heat carrier processing. Taking into account the results of the mathematical modeling, the developed method of multistage pulse action was proved experimentally and implemented in regard to the structural design of a working chamber of the disk pulse heat generator. An efficient geometry of the working chamber of the disk pulse heat generator was specified for its further integration into the system of decentralized heat supply. One of the developed heat generators with the multistage pulse action on the heat carrier was integrated into the heating system of a greenhouse complex with a 0.86–0.9 efficiency coefficient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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16 pages, 1729 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Eco-Efficiency Assessment of the Application of Large-Scale Rechargeable Batteries in a Coal-Fired Power Plant

by Piotr Krawczyk and Anna Śliwińska

Energies 2020, 13(6), 1384; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13061384 - 16 Mar 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2763

Abstract

This article presents the results of an eco-efficiency assessment of the application of large-scale rechargeable battery technology in electricity generation from coal. The eco-efficiency of electricity production in a 350 MW coal-fired power plant was calculated. Two production variants were compared: with the [...] Read more.

This article presents the results of an eco-efficiency assessment of the application of large-scale rechargeable battery technology in electricity generation from coal. The eco-efficiency of electricity production in a 350 MW coal-fired power plant was calculated. Two production variants were compared: with the use of a lithium-ion battery of a 400 MWh capacity to optimize the operation of power blocks and without using the battery. Hard coal is one of the main fossil fuels used to generate electricity in Poland. Despite the growing share of electricity from renewable sources, this situation will persist for many more years. The main reasons for this are the high costs and long-lasting process of moving away from fossil fuels in the energy sector. Therefore, any technical solutions that can temporarily reduce the negative impact of coal-based power engineering on the environment should be considered. At the same time, the economic aspects of such solutions must be taken into account. That is why the eco-efficiency assessment method was chosen, which integrates economic and environmental aspects. The obtained results of the analyses indicate the occurrence of environmental and economic benefits resulting from the use of the battery in coal-fired power plants. It has been found that battery-based technology is more eco-efficient than technology without such a battery. A sensitivity analysis was carried out, which allowed the impact of individual computational variables on the eco-efficiency assessment result to be assessed. The results indicate that fuel prices (coal and heavy fuel oil—mazout) and CO₂ emission allowances have the greatest impact on the eco-efficiency of the analyzed technology. It was also found that the factors related to the battery, such as its efficiency, life span, decrease of the capacity after 10 years of operation, and construction cost, have a much smaller impact on the results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effectiveness of Clean Coal Technologies in Global Carbon Dioxide Mitigation)

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