Belachew Tesfa

Emission Behavior of a CI Engine Running by Biodiesel under Transient Conditions

1. ABSTRACT The emission characteristics of compression ignition (CI) engines running on biodiesel during transient operating conditions, which is the most usual case in urban and extra-urban transportation, have rarely been investigated. In the present study an experimental investigation on emission characteristics of a CI engine has been carried out both under steady state and transient operating conditions. The experimental work has been carried out on CI engine, which is integrated with transient testing facility. This facility is capable of varying the engine speed and load over a given time period. To measure the engine emissions, an emission analyser has been used to measure CO2, CO, THC, and NOx emissions. The fuels used in the analyses are 25% (25B) and 100% (100B) of biodiesel blend and diesel. The series of the transient events studied are speed changes from 900 to 1200rpm, 1200 to 1500rpm and 1500 to 1800rpm over a time period of 4 seconds each. These tests were performed at a constant load of 105Nm, 210Nm, 315Nm and 420Nm. The transient test results have shown that the emissions of CI engine running on biodiesel were reduced by up to 17%, 52% and 38% for CO, CO2 and THC emissions respectively as compared to diesel fuel. However, the NOx emission was seen to be 17% higher for engine running on biodiesel than that on diesel during transient conditions.

An investigation of the acoustic characteristics of a compression ignition engine operating with biodiesel blends

In this paper, an experimental investigation has been carried out on the acoustic characteristics of a compression ignition (CI) engine running with biodiesel blends under steady state operating conditions. The experiment was conducted on a four-cylinder, four-stroke, direct injection and turbocharged diesel engine which runs with biodiesel (B50 and B100) and pure diesel. The signals of acoustic, vibration and in-cylinder pressure were measured during the experiment. To correlate the combustion process and the acoustic characteristics, both phenomena have been investigated. The acoustic analysis resulted in the sound level being increased with increasing of engine loads and speeds as well as the sound characteristics being closely correlated to the combustion process. However, acoustic signals are highly sensitive to the ambient conditions and intrusive background noise. Therefore, the spectral subtraction was employed to minimize the effects of background noise in order to enhance the signal to noise ratio. In addition, the acoustic characteristics of CI engine running with different fuels (biodiesel blends and diesel) was analysed for comparison. The results show that the sound energy level of acoustic signals is slightly higher when the engine fuelled by biodiesel and its blends than that of fuelled by normal diesel. Hence, the acoustic characteristics of the CI engine will have useful information for engine condition monitoring and fuel content estimation.

Acoustic measurements for the combustion diagnosis of diesel engines fuelled with biodiesels

In this paper, an experimental investigation was carried out on the combustion process of a compression ignition (CI) engine running with biodiesel blends under steady state operating conditions. The effects of biodiesel on the combustion process and engine dynamics were analysed for non-intrusive combustion diagnosis based on a four-cylinder, four-stroke, direct injection and turbocharged diesel engine. The signals of vibration, acoustic and in-cylinder pressure were measured simultaneously to find their inter-connection for diagnostic feature extraction. It was found that the sound energy level increases with the increase of engine load and speed, and the sound characteristics are closely correlated with the variation of in-cylinder pressure and combustion process. The continuous wavelet transform (CWT) was employed to analyse the non-stationary nature of engine noise in a higher frequency range. Before the wavelet analysis, time synchronous average (TSA) was used to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the acoustic signal by suppressing the components which are asynchronous. Based on the root mean square (RMS) values of CWT coefficients, the effects of biodiesel fractions and operating conditions (speed and load) on combustion process and engine dynamics were investigated. The result leads to the potential of airborne acoustic measurements and analysis for engine condition monitoring and fuel quality evaluation.

Vehicle Suspension Performance Analysis Based on Full Vehicle Model for Condition Monitoring Development

The objective of this research is to develop a mathematical model using a seven degree-of-freedom full car. The simulation analyses were conducted to predict the response of the vehicle when driven across speed bumps of different shapes and at range of speeds. Three bump sizes were considered in this study including bump 1 (500 mm × 50 mm), bump 2 (500 mm × 70 mm), and bump 3 (500 mm × 100 mm). These were run through the model at speeds of 8, 16, 24 and 32 km/hr. The model was validated using experimental data, which was collected by driving the vehicle across the bump 1 at a speed of 8 km/h. The performance of the suspension in terms of ride comfort, road handling and stability of the vehicle were analysed and presented. The vibration analysis for different speed levels of 8, 16, 24 and 32 km/hr indicated that, the effect of vehicle speeds on the vibration of the vehicle body increases at lower speeds up to a maximum value after which it began to decrease from the optimum point with increasing vehicle speeds. The model has been used for fault detection of under-inflation of vehicle tyre by 35 %, and also to predict possible future suspension faults.

A clamping force measurement system for monitoring the condition of bolted joints on railway track joints and points

Many industrial structures associated with railway infrastructures rely on a large number of bolted joint connections to ensure safe and reliable operation of the track and trackside furniture. Significant sums of money are spent annually to repair the damage caused by bolt failures and to maintain the integrity of bolted structures. In the UK, Network Rail (the organization responsible for rail network maintenance and safety) conducts corrective and preventive maintenance manually on 26,000 sets of points (each having approximately 30 bolted joints per set), in order to ensure operational success and safety for the travelling public. Such manual maintenance is costly, disruptive, unreliable and prone to human error. The aim of this work is to provide a means of automatically measuring the clamping force of each individual bolted joint, by means of an instrumented washer. This paper describes the development of a sensor means to be used in the washer, which satisfies the following criteria. Sense changes in the clamping force of the joint and report this fact. Provide compatibility with the large dynamic range of clamping force. Satisfy the limitations in terms of physical size. Provide the means to electronically interface with the washer. Provide a means of powering the washer in situ. Provide a solution at an acceptable cost. Specifically the paper focuses on requirements 1, 2 and 3 and presents the results that support further development of the proposed design and the realization of a pre-prototype system. In the paper, various options for the force sensing element (strain gage, capacitor, piezo-resistive) have been compared, using design optimization techniques. As a result of the evaluation, piezo-resistive sensors in concert with a proprietary force attenuation method, have been found to offer the best performance and cost trade-off The performance of the novel clamping force sensor has been evaluated experimentally and the results show that a smart washer can be developed to monitor the condition of bolted joints as found on railway track and points.

A Comparative Study of the Monitoring of a Self Aligning Spherical Journal using Surface Vibration, Airborne Sound and Acoustic Emission

A Self aligning spherical journal bearing is a plain bearing which has spherical surface contact that can be applied in high power industrial machinery. This type of bearing can accommodate a misalignment problem. The journal bearing faults degrade machine performance, decrease life time service and cause unexpected failure which are dangerous for safety issues. Non-intrusive measurements such as surface vibration (SV), airborne sound (AS) and acoustic emission (AE) measurement are appropriate monitoring methods for early stage journal bearing fault in low, medium and high frequency. This paper focuses on the performance comparison using SV, AS and AE measurements in monitoring a self aligning spherical journal bearing for normal and faulty (scratch) conditions. It examines the signals in the time domain and frequency domain and identifies the frequency ranges for each measurement in which significant changes are observed. The results of SV, AS and AE experiments indicate that the spectrum can be used to detect the differences between normal and faulty bearing. The statistic parameter shows that RMS value and peak value for faulty bearing is higher than normal bearing.

A study of the suspension system for the diagnosis of dynamic characteristics

Some of the common faults associated with suspension components are damaged or leaking shock absorbers, spring weakness, wearing down of the pivot and bushing and damage to the main support member assembly. To investigate these problems, a seven degree-of-freedom (7-DOF) model has been developed, for a full vehicle, using MATLAB. In the simulation, the suspension faults have been considered via the damage caused to the shock absorbers (dampers) and the faults were seeded by reducing the damper coefficient by 25%, 50% and 80%. This has formed the basis for the characterisation of the ride comfort, road handling and stability of the car. The parameters able to offer a comfortable ride for the passengers were found to be in conflict with the parameters ensuring the stability of the vehicle and the corresponding wheel travel. For a high level of ride comfort, the suspension requires a shock absorber with a low damping coefficient. However, for optimum stability and a minimum level of wheel motion, the suspension requires a shock absorber with a high damping coefficient.

Robust Application of CBE and OBE for Engine Testing System Diagnosis

Tightening emissions regulations are driving increasing focus on both equipment and measurement capabilities in the test cell environment. Customer expectations are therefore rising with respect to data uncertainty. Key critical test cell parameters such as load, fuel rate, air flow and emission measurements are more heavily under scrutiny and require real time methods of verification over and above the traditional test cell calibration in 1065 regulation. The objective of this paper is to develop a system to use a carbon dioxide (CO2) based balance error and an oxygen (O2) based balance error for diagnosing the main measurement system error in the test cell such as fuel rate meter, air flow meter, emission sample line, pressure transducer and thermocouples. The general combustion equation is used to set up the balance equations with assumptions. To validate the air fuel ratio balance model an experimental investigation was carried out for D2 5 mode and C1 8 mode cycle test. Once the test was carried out, the AFR_O2 and the AFR_CO2 were calculated in the developed analysis model with a pass/fail threshold of ±3%. Then the sensitivity response of measurement system such as fuel meter, air flow meter, pipe boost pressure, atmospheric pressure, CO2 analyser and O2 analyser were investigated. Finally a user guide sheet has been developed based on sensitivity analysis.

NOx Emission prediction based on measurement of in-cylinder pressure for CI engine running with diesel and biodiesel

NOx is one of the major toxic emissions that needs to be regulated stringently in both EU and USA emission regulations. The engine designer is keen to get an accurate, reliable and cost effective NOx measurement system. In this paper, the application of the cylinder pressure for predicting the NOx emission of compression ignition (CI) engine fuelled with diesel and biodiesel during steady state operations is carried out. To address the problem, an experimental work was conducted on four-cylinder, turbo-charged, four-stroke and direct-injection CI engine which was fuelled with diesel and biodiesel blends. During the experiment, the main parameters consisting of in-cylinder pressure, fuel flow rate, air flow rate, and the NOx emission, were measured. The temperature within the cylinder was predicted using the cylinder pressure and air flow rate. Using the temperature values, the NOx emission was simulated in the Zeldovich extended mechanism. The simulation result was then compared with the measured one for a range of engine operating conditions. The models were shown to produce consistent results with the measured one for a range of engine working speeds and loads.

Emission Characteristics of CI Engine Running with Biodiesel

The high-cost of materials and efficiency limitations chemical fuel cells currently have is a topic of primary concern. Many industries are currently focusing on PEM fuel cells engineering and design for improved performance and durability, and reduced cost. This situation has led to an urgent need for understanding, predicting, and optimizing the various transport and electrochemical processes that occur in PEM fuel cells, where modeling has played a key role. Bioelectrochemical generation of power by enzymes has also been considered. Enzymatic fuel cells have been reported to have power output and stability limitations; which are restricting the use of this kind of fuel cell to small electronic devices. However, understanding how enzymes carry out oxidation processes could lead to the development of new synthetic bio-inspired chemical catalysts that could impact the use of cheap fuels, such as methanol. Challenges associated to a multi-scale modeling approach to model fuel electro-oxidation in PEM and bio fuel cells are discussed here. A combination of tools involving Density Functional Theory, Transition State Theory, Molecular Mechanics and Kinetic Monte Carlo are combined in order to model fuel electro-oxidation. Information regarding energy barriers and pre-exponential factors needed to determine reaction rates are obtained from DFT and TST respectively. These microscopic reaction rates are then provided as inputs in the kMC program, and the fuel oxidation process is modeled on a 2-D reactive surface representing the catalyst.Blends of polyaryletherketones (PAEK), such as polyetheretherketones (PEEK) and polyetherketoneketones (PEKK), with polybenzimidazole (PBI) are of commercial interest due to their improved hightemperature stability and wear properties. Regarding the PBI component, the origins of the properties that are generally thought to be disadvantageous in thermally or chemically aggressive environments are not well understood. The same accounts for the specifics of the interactions between the PBI and PAEK components in melt or dry blend systems. In this presentation, we focus on the molecular changes of PEEK-PBI and PEKK-PBI blends and their pure components after treating them with liquid water and steam at elevated temperatures and pressures. The pure polymer components and the PAEK-PBI (50 : 50 wt%) blends are steam-treated at 150 °C (302 °F) and 315 °C (599 °F), also with deuterated water (D2O). Furthermore, the uptake of salt into the polymer blends it tested using PEKKPBI and an aqueous LiCl solution. The overall goal is to understand the chemical changes on the molecular scale that might take place upon high-temperature steam-treatment and to examine the extent and reversibility of moisture and salt uptake. Changes of the materials, as well as interactions and reactions of the water with the functional groups of the polymer components have been studied by IR, N and C CP/MAS, H MAS, and H wideline NMR spectroscopy, in combination with using deuterated water.W is an essential resource to sustainable life. Shortage of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people all around the world. Globally, the problem is getting worse as cities and populations grow, and the demands for water increase. Clean water scarcity underscores a crucial need to desalinate and make use of saline and brackish waters. Use of Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) technology systems has significantly increased over the past two decades. Main problem associated with these methods is concentrate stream inasmuch as disposal of saline concentrate water has negative environmental effects. Hence, any attempt to reduce the volume and make beneficial use of concentrate stream could significantly increase the practical deployment of saline and brackish water desalination. An innovative and unique approach aiming to mitigate this problem is to grow microalgae in concentrate stream disposal. Microalgae can consume nutrients available in reject water to grow and finally be converted to biofuel. As a consequence, to investigate the viability of using concentrate stream in order to grow microalgae some sets of full factorial experiment with completely randomized design arrangement have been designed. In one of the experiments, the growth of Chlorella Sorokiniana using concentrate, BBM, and three levels of concentrate and BBM (25%, 50% and 75%) under 16-h of illumination and the 8-h dark period at 25oC was investigated. Based on research findings, the percentage of biomass increase will be maximized in 25% Concentrate medium. Saeid Aghahossein Shirazi et al., J Pet Environ Biotechnol 2013, 4:6 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7463.S1.002T rate of anaerobic acidogenesis is theoretically fast so than it is often operated under low HRTs in the two-stage anaerobic system. However, incomplete acidogenesis often hampers the methanogenesis because VFAs cannot be used for methanogens until they are converted into acetate, H2/CO2, et al, which is depended on acetogenesis, a step involved in acidogenesis. A novel strategy for enhancing anaerobic wastewater treatment via dosing Fe powder reactor is explored. The results showed that the hydrolysis/fermentation was accelerated by Fe dosing. As results, the acidogenic performances in COD removal (45–56%) and VFA production were less affected by shortened HRT from 6 to 2 h. However, COD removal declined to 25% and VFA production decreased to 661 mg/L in a reference reactor without Fe0 dosing (A2). Besides, Fe0 dosing optimized fermentation types to reduce the production of propionate, which was favorable for subsequent acetogenesis and methanogenesis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis indicated that Fe0 dosing increased the abundance of acidogens, especially acetogens. The methanogenic reactor fed with the effluent of A1 had higher COD removal and treatment stability with almost no propionate detected. These results suggested that the enhancement of acidification by Fe0 powder dosing was helpful to accelerate and improve anaerobic acidogenesis to create a favorable feeding condition for the subsequent treatment.We have demonstrated that a color of the perovskite-type LaTiO2N oxynitride could be tuned from orange through yellow and green to pale gray or white by proper adjustment of the O/N ratio. This is because the width of the bandgap is controlled by the extent of overlap of the valence orbitals, O2p and N2p ones. LaTaON2, which contains more nitrogen amount than LaTiO2N, can be expected as the redder pigment. However, the ionic size of La3+ seems to be so small for accommodating the ideal perovskite that the crystal structure may be deformed to be monoclinic system. Distortions to bond angle of Ta-(O,N)-Ta were reported to make the bandgap wider. Such distortions are not preferable to prepare the redder pigments. In this study, we prepared solid solutions of La1-xBaxTa(O,N)3 and the compositional variation of optical properties as well as structural ones were examined. We also studied the effect of addition of NaCl as a flux during nitridation on the particle size and the distributions. LaNbON2, whose nitrogen amount is larger than that of LaTiO2N as well, should be one of the redder pigments. Niobium is one of the candidate substituent for titanium as an electron donor since the stable valence state of niobium would be pentavalent whereas that of titanium is tetravalent. We also examined anion composition and optical properties of solid-solution of LaTi1-yNby(O,N)3 and will discuss difference in ways of variation of optical properties against the substitutions mentioned above.The effect of burial related maturation on the molecular maturity ratios C29ββ/(ββ + αα) and C2920S/(20S+20R) have been studied in the Dongying Sag, a lacustrine rift basin in the Bohai Bay Basin, Eastern China. At depths between 2800 and 4000 m in the Depression, source rocks are present in the Paleogene Shahejie Formation. The source rocks comprise fresh to brackish water mudstones in Member 3 and evaporites deposited in a hypersaline setting in Member 4. Bulk geochemical data define the hydrocarbon generation threshold at a depth of about 2800 m. Molecular maturity parameters in general proceed to equilibrium values with increasing burial depth but may be inverted in hypersaline intervals. Progressive changes in molecular maturity parameters are associated with major changes in related biomarker concentrations. Increases in the ratios C29 ββ/(ββ + αα) and C2920S/(20S +20 R) result from differences in the relative rates of generation and thermal degradation of the isomers involved: The transformation of 20R is faster than that of 20S, including some transformation from 20R to 20S; and αα isomers thermally degrade more rapidly than ββ isomers,including some transformation from αα isomers to ββ isomers. The inversion of molecular maturity parameters indicates that biomarker isomerzation and thermal degradation has been inhibited or retarded in hyper-saline sedimentary environment in which evaporitic rocks deposited. The minerals in evaporites also retarded the conventional thermal indicators including vitrinite reflectance (Ro) and pyrolysis peak temperature Tmax, which also show their another type of inhibition from overpressure. No evidence showed the inhibition due to overpressure on the biomarker thermal indicators C29ββ/(ββ+αα) and C2920S/(20S+20R). This observation will help with the interpretation and application of molecular maturity parameters in similar saline lacustrine basins.Among food industries, the dairy industry produces the greatest volume of pollutants (generating 2.5 litre of effluent per litre of processed milk) largely attributable to the elevated amounts of water consumed. Dairy wastewater does not generally contain inherently toxic chemical substances. It does, however, host a substantial load of dissolved organic compounds such as proteins, lactose, fat, and minerals. Experiments were performed using effluent from Nandini dairy, Manipal, Karnataka, India having high BOD (2450 mg/l), high COD (4250 mg/l) content, and TOC content (2750 mg/l). Due to the presence of high organic matter, pre-treatment was required before solar photo-catalysis. Apart from developments increasing the photocatalytic reaction rate, the most important progress in solar photocatalysis in recent years has been related to its combination with biological treatment and the application of toxicological analytical methods. Biological treatment using activated Sargassum was used as a post-treatment step resulting in 45% reduction in organic content and decolourization. Parabolic trough reactor was designed for efficient solar photocatalytic oxidation. The reactor consists of aluminium sheet as reflecting medium, acrylic sheet as cover to provide maximum UV transitivity and low ion glass tubes are used as reactor. Parameters affecting the photocatalytic oxidation of organics were investigated. Degussa Nano grade P25 TiO2was used as a photo catalyst. Recirculation mode was designed for flow of effluent through tubes (held at parabola focal line for line tracing of radiation). Optimization of pH and catalyst dose was done. Maximum reduction of organic content was observed at the normal pH value of the wastewater (pH = 6.8).Hence the above studies can be used as a treatment in high organic wastewater treatment as it effectively reduces the COD content by 95% and it’s good for efficient solar treatment (secondary treatment) sufficient for in-situ treatment of wastewater and recycling of water for low-grade applications in the industry.The origins of Chemmotology date back to 1964. The separation of Chemmotology into the independent applied science united scientists and practitioners of engineering, oil and chemical industries along with the companies which operate the technologies for Chemmotological problems solving. Over the last years Chemmotology being an applied science, has found its broad scientific and social acceptance. The definition and the main problems of Chemmotology were introduced by K.K. Papok in 1964. He defined the science as “a new science that studies chemical, physical-motor properties of fuels, lubricants and special fluids as well as their service performance, and develops the way for their rational use in technical equipment.” The modern definition of Chemmotology, its subject, methods and goals was proposed in 2005: “a technical applied science about properties, quality and rational use of fuels, lubricants and specific fluids in technological equipment.” Chemmotology is a problem science being at the edge of Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Economics and others, in particular. The role of Chemmotology as an applied science is supported by the importance of the problems it solves: securing energy safety of economy of a country, rational use if traditional and alternative fuels, lubricants and specific fluids during the operation of modern and prospective technologies. The subject of Chemmotology is service performance of fuels, lubricants and special fluids. The main scientific and practical goal is rational use of fuels, lubricants and special fluids during equipment operation. In conditions when modern society tends toward sustainable development, alternative energy sources enter more and more spheres of human activity. During last decade the share of alternative fuels and lubricants has increased in several times. So, keeping up with times we see development of this new research area as inseparable part of Chemmotology science. Economical meaning of Chemmotology is achievement of maximal economy of raw materials, fuels, lubricants and special fluids through optimization of balance and quality of products, their rational and efficient use.Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels which is renewable and environmentally friendly and can be used in diesel engines with little or no modifications. In the present study, experimental investigations were carried out on the effects of biodiesel types and biodiesel fraction on the emission characteristics of a compression ignition (CI) engine. The experimental work was conducted on a four-cylinder, four -stroke, direct injection (DI) and turbocharged diesel engine by using biodiesel of waste oil, rapeseed oil and corn oil and normal diesel. The fuels used in the analyses are B20, B50, B100 and neat diesel. The engine was running for range of engine speeds and loads. Based on the measured parameters, detailed analyses were carried out on major emission such as NOx, CO, CO2, and THC. It has been seen that the biodiesel types (sources) do result in any significant differences in emission. The results also clearly indicate that the engine running with biodiesel and blends have higher NOx emission up to 20%. However, the emissions of CI engine running on biodiesel were reduced up to 15%, 40% and 30% for CO, CO2 and THC emissions respectively as compared to diesel fuel at main operating conditions.Microalgae is a suitable alternative to replace conventional fuel resources for biodiesel production for its renewable and environmental-friendly advantages that could meet the global demand for biodiesel production. To reduce production cost and improve feedstock yields of biodiesel production from microalgae, current research on algal biodiesel in our group mainly focus on selection of oil-rich algae species, optimization of algal culture conditions and amelioration of algal lipid extraction and transesterification. The effects of ethanol concentration gradients along with varied cultivation times on lipid and fatty acid accumulation and composition of freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella ellipsoidea were studied. Different ethanol concentrations showed different effects on the growth of freshwater microalgae, and proper amount of ethanol could markedly improve algal density, lipid productivity, lipid content and fatty acid content, respectively. Lipid productivity and lipid content were increased correspondingly with the increase of ethanol concentrations. However, ethanol at low concentrations could inhibit total lipid accumulation. Positive effect of ethanol on lipid content of Scenedesmus sp. should above a threshold value of ethanol concentration and algal light deprivation inhibited ethanol positive effects on algal growth and lipid biomass. Besides, with the increase of ethanol concentrations and cultivation times, the cumulative quantity of C16:0 and C18:0 decreased correspondingly, but unsaturated fatty acids were increased and appeared early in algal cells. The results indicated that adding proper amount of ethanol in algal culture medium was beneficial to biodiesel feedstock production and biodiesel properties.Fuel cell systems based on diesel steam reforming and polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) offer a great potential for auxiliary power units (APU) in mobile applications. In a joint research project with partners from industry, OelWaerme-Institut GmbH is developing an integrated fuel cell system for mobile power generation in caravans and yachts. The system is based on a diesel steam reformer and allows the operation of low-temperature (LT-) as well as high-temperature (HT-) PEFC. In preceding investigations of the author’s group, coupled operation of a steam reformer with an LT-PEFC was demonstrated using a sulfur-free surrogate fuel [1, 2]. Furthermore, the results of a fuel processor optimization regarding start-up, system integration, reformer geometry, and reformer catalyst performance have been reported. The focus of this work is the coupled operation of the steam reformer and an LT-PEFC using logistic diesel from a gas station as a fuel. An optimized reformer catalyst was used for these investigations, which has shown excellent performance with regards to fuel conversion for a thermal input of up to 10 kW even at reformer temperatures as low as 700 °C. A single-stage preferential oxidation reactor was included to achieve the CO concentration required by the LT-PEFC. The effect of sulfur and residual hydrocarbons on the PEFC performance was investigated. The system design was optimized for fast system start-up and high system efficiency. Based on the results of the optimization, an autarkic fuel processor with balance of plant components for stand-alone operation is developed. This research and development project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi, FKZ 03ET2052A).Natural gas hydrates represents a substantial possible energy source for the future. Unlike conventional hydrocarbon resources hydrates are widely spread globally in offshore deposits and permafrost regions. Hydrates in porous media are unable to establish thermodynamics equilibrium. The reason for this is that local temperature and pressure are given locally by geothermal gradients and hydrostatics (or fluid mechanics in flowing systems). Gibbs phase rule can never be fulfilled for hydrates in a porous media because there are too many phases compared to the 2 degrees of freedom already fixed by nature since also adsorbed layers (mineral surfaces, hydrate surfaces) have impact for the hydrate phase transitions in the pores and have to be accounted for. Practically this implies that reservoir simulators for modeling of hydrate production needs to consider competing processes of hydrate formation and dissociation under the constraints of massand heat transport. We therefore propose to use a reactive transport simulator as basis for our hydrate model. Every phase transition that involves hydrate is treated as a “pseudo reaction” with corresponding thermodynamics and kinetics. For this purpose we also developed consistent absolute thermodynamics for all phase involved so as to enable free energy minimization. Kinetic models are developed based on a phase field theory with implicit hydrodynamics and heat transport. Simulation results are extracted and systemized into simplified models suitable for reservoir simulators. The approach is illustrated and discussed for pressure reduction and injection of carbon dioxide as two production methods of methane hydrate.I this report we outline the growth in fundamental studies of structure/function in the TMS and suggest where improved understanding is needed. An understanding of the fundamental properties that lead to both the activity of the simple binary sulphides and the mechanism by which two metals (Co + Mo) acted together to enhance activity (promotion) has been developed. Initial efforts focused on supported commercial catalysts with limited success. In the early 1980’s the periodic trends of TMS catalysts on unsupported catalysts were discovered and these results formed the foundation for further basic understanding of the key properties that led to catalytic activity. These results have been extended over the years to include supported catalysts and many petroleum based substrates. Progress has been made by combining synthetic, experimental and theoretical techniques. Theoretical studies support the fact that the d-electrons in the frontier orbitals of the catalysts were key in determining catalysis at the surface. The triumph of this approach was that it unified the promoted TMS systems with the binary TMS and provided a common rational for the activity of both. Constant progress since then has been achieved through the application of Density Functional Theory (DFT) narrowing the gap between instinct and a formal description of catalyst structure/function made by combining synthetic, experimental and theoretical techniques. Theoretical studies support the fact that the d-electrons in the frontier orbitals of the catalysts were key in determining catalysis at the surface. The triumph of this approach was that it unified the promoted TMS systems with the binary TMS and provided a common rational for the activity of both. Constant progress since then has been achieved through the application of Density Functional Theory (DFT) narrowing the gap between instinct and a formal description of catalyst structure/function. It is crucial to remember that for real understanding to develop we must study the catalytically stabilized materials and not materials that are changing under catalytic conditions. In the case of the TMS this means that we must study materials like MoS2-xCx and RuS2-xCx. It has been demonstrated that “surface carbides” are the catalytically stabilized state under hydro-treating conditions. The original relation between the d electrons and later DFT calculations all point to the importance of these electrons in the catalytic reaction. However, more work is needed to define the relation between these electrons and the stabilized carbide surfaces before detailed active site structures can be developed with confidence. In addition the presence of Co metal in active hydro-processing catalysts stabilized for four years in a commercial reactor, calls in to question current theories of the structure of promoted catalysts. In addition application of the above has created more active catalyst and these results will be presented (model and real feeds). Russell R. Chianelli, J Pet Environ Biotechnol 2013, 4:6 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7463.S1.002H chromium is known to be carcinogenic and has been identified as a potential threat to human health. Due to the increasing incidence of hexavalent Chromium (Cr-VI) contamination in soil and wastewater, different remediation strategies have been adopted to remediate the Cr (VI) from contaminated matrix. Use of microorganism for the bioremediation of Cr (VI) appears as an inexpensive environmentally friendly method of bioremediation. The microbes and algae are known to be capable of remediating Cr (VI) from soil and wastewater by bio-reduction and bio sorption. Bioremediation studies using Bacillus sphaericus and Chlorella vulgaris are presented. The adaptation of microorganisms to withstand pollutant stress has been topic great interest to environmental chemists and biotechnologists. Such adaptations include induction of cellular enzymes for bio-reduction of Cr (VI) through redox systems and by removing reactive oxygen species (ROS) via superoxide dismutase (SOD) and other free radical scavenging systems. The development of metal resistance by microorganisms adds extra advantage in bioremediation. Bio-adsorption of chromium can also occur via physicochemical interactions of metal with the metal binding polymeric substances in the membranes of microorganisms. Algal availability of numerous charged metal binding sites, capable of bio-adsorption greatly influences the removal of chromium from contaminated water. The algal membranes possess reactive functional groups such as carboxylic, hydroxyl, amino groups with ionic binding characteristics. The presentation reviews and shed light on recent studies on the mechanisms of removal of Cr (VI) by biosorption either by intracellular microbial bioreduction and extracellular phyisico chemical chromium adsorption on the algal membrane structures.The term energy-return-on-energy-invested (EROEI) is self-explanatory, and this topic has been the author’s primary research interest since about 2007. Many publications in journals including ‘Fuel’ (an Elsevier journal) have resulted. All of it will be summarized at the presentation in San Antonio. The first part of the work is concerned with development of an equation for EROEI as a function of well depth, drawing both on basic Newtonian mechanics and on field data from the oil industry. A subsequent part is concerned with particular operations, including injection of steam in enhanced oil recovery, and their effects on EROEI. Perhaps the most potentially important side of the work is a quantitatively reasoned argument that if isothermally generated electricity were used at oilfields instead of thermally generated the EROEI would rise by about a factor of three. This has been published in full in ‘Fuel’. The obvious example of ‘isothermally generated electricity’ is wind farms. If the practice of interfacing wind farms with oilfields could become internationally adopted the consequences for oil production would be far-reaching. The most recent part of the work has so to speak moved downstream, from production to refining. It is shown that once a crude oil is obtained at a particular EROEI, that EROEI is hardly affected if at all by fractionation. The EROEI of gasoline from a pump at a gas station is therefore the same as that for the crude oil from which it is derived. This too is closely reasoned in an article in ‘Fuel’. Biography J.C. Jones holds the ‘blue ribbon’ degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Leeds, from which he also obtained a BSc and a PhD. He worked in Australia for over seventeen years, latterly at the University of New South Wales. He has over 700 publications including fifteen books. He also has extensive broadcasting experience having, for example, recently spoken on Marketplace about the Keystone pipeline. The trip to San Antonio will be his twelfth visit to the USA.OMICS Group Conferences 5716 Corsa Ave., Suite 110, Westlake Los Angeles, CA 91362-7354, USA Phone: +1-650-268-9744, Fax: +1-650-618-1414, Toll free: +1-800-216-6499 Email: petrochemistry2013@omicsonline.net “Organize your Events at OMICS Group Conferences” Proposals are invited for organizing Symposia/Workshops at OMICS Group Conferences or OMICS Group will sponsor small events at your universities in related areas under the title of your own. These proposals can be sent to respective conference mail ids or to symposia@omicsonline.org 159th OMICS Group ConferenceCoal fly ash, which is a by-product of coal-fired power plants generally contains various trace elements. Since some of them has been recognized to be hazardous, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan has been regulated the elution concentration of them. The regulation of elution concentration of boron, arsenic, and selenium, which has been listed as hazardous substances, has been 1, 0.01, and 0.01 mg/L, respectively. In this study, the acid washing process developed was applied to the removal of boron, arsenic, and selenium from coal fly ash in order to avoid an excess elution of them to soil. Laboratoryand bench-scale investigations on the dissolution behavior of boron, arsenic, and selenium from various coal fly ash specimens into dilute H2SO4 solvent were conducted with the aid of inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Boron, arsenic, and selenium in the specimens were dissolved into H2SO4 solvents very rapidly; however, in some cases, the concentrations of arsenic and selenium in the solutions decreased with an increase in the pH of H2SO4 solution. The species of arsenic or selenium in the dilute H2SO4 was estimated as H3AsO4 or H2SeO3, and their anionic species was considered to adsorb with the elevation of pH under the presence of ash particle. The sufficient removal of arsenic was achieved by controlling pH and avoiding the adsorption of arsenic on the surface of ash particles, and the elution of them from coal fly ash sample was successfully below the regulation limit.Three different oils: babassu, coconut and palm kernel have been transesterified with methanol by the homogeneous basic catalysis method obtaining good yields. After the alcoholysis the fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) have been subjected to vacuum fractional distillation, and the low boiling point fractions have been blended with two types of fossil kerosene, a straight-run atmospheric distillation cut (hydrotreated) and a commercial Jet A1. The blends of FAME and Jet A1 at three different proportions: 5, 10 and 20% vol. meet some of the specifications, depending on the FAME content, such as: density, lubricity, smoke point and flash point, although none of them, but the babassu sample, meet the lower calorific value by a very narrow margin, less than 1.0 MJ kg -1 , when blended with 5% FAME. Oxygenated fuels are proved to decrease the emission regarding global warming such as: soot and CO2. On the other hand, these fuels present problems regarding their stability and may damage the elastomer materials that are mainly in the joints. In our work, we show the results of tests ran under stress conditions with 5 different elastomer materials and the one used in the aircraft’s seals. From an industrial perspective we present on this work a simulation ran in Pro 2, which suggest that eight to nine stages are needed for the vacuum distillation of the FAME.Succinic acid (SA, 1,4-butanedioic acid) is a versatile compound capable of producing useful chemicals such as γ butyrolactone, 1,4-butanediol, and tetrahydrofuran [1]. SA has been currently manufactured from 2-butene through maleic anhydride. For the bio-refinery, it can also be produced through fermentation of glucose (a major hexose in hemicellulose). Glucose and xylose (a pentose in hemicellulose) can be converted into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 2-furaldehyde (furfural), respectively, by solidcatalyzed elimination of three water molecules [2]. Recently, we found that biomassderived furans (furfural, HMF, and furoic acid [FuA]) could be converted into SA using Amberlyst-15 as a reusable solid acid catalyst in the presence of 30% H2O2 in water solvent at 348-363 K [3]. The maximum SA yield and H2O2 utilization efficiency of 74 % and 85%, respectively, were achieved for the furfural oxidation. A scale-up reaction using furfural (20 mmol) afforded SA with 68% isolated yield. In the oxidation of HMF, 2-oxoglutaric acid (OGA) was formed as co-product, which is converted into SA. This catalytic oxidation process will provide a viable route for SA synthesis because of its easy handling and simple SA isolation. Biography Kohki Ebitani; Chemist of Heterogeneous Catalyst, graduated from Department of Chemistry, Hokkaido University in 1992. He worked for Tokyo Institute of Technology 1992-1996 and for Osaka University 1996-2006. Since 2006, he became a Professor in Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Now he has published more than 130 papers, 5 text chapters, and 24 reviews. In 2012, the Chemical Society of Japan awarded him for his article (Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn.).