Article
Thermodynamics
Eduardo Bautista-Penuesla, Juan Daniel Macias, Heidi I. Villafan-Vidales, Patricio J. Valades-Pelayo, Pedro Arcelus-Arrillaga, Alejandro Ayala-Cortes, Karla Cedano-Villavicencio, Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes, Manuel I. Pena-Cruz
Summary: This paper presents a simulation and techno-economic analysis of a hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) solar plant for bio-oil production. The plant uses a parabolic trough solar collector field and a natural gas boiler to provide the heat required for continuous operation. The thermal performance of the plant is simulated using TRNSYS software, and the biomass's composition and slurry's temperature are considered in calculating the bio-oil yield. An economic model aids in determining the minimum selling price of bio-oil for financial viability. The results suggest that integrating concentrated solar thermal technology for processing forestry residues could be a sustainable option for biofuel production in countries like Mexico.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yuan Jiang, Chirag Mevawala, Shuyun Li, Andrew Schmidt, Justin Billing, Michael Thorson, Lesley Snowden-Swan
Summary: This study presents a comprehensive uncertainty analysis of the entire wet waste-to-fuel blendstock supply chain using the most recent developments in hydrothermal liquefaction and biocrude upgrading technologies. The results show that hydrothermal liquefaction can achieve a biocrude yield from 42.2% to 52.4%, a fuel yield from 34.7% to 42.7%, a minimum fuel selling price from $2.28/gge to $3.45/gge, and a supply chain greenhouse gas emissions reduction from 73.4% to 81.8% relative to petroleum-derived diesel. In addition, an open-source reduced order process model is provided for assessing the technology feasibility of hydrothermal liquefaction with regional data.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shuyun Li, Yuan Jiang, Lesley J. Snowden-Swan, Jalal A. Askander, Andrew J. Schmidt, Justin M. Billing
Summary: This study evaluates the economic feasibility and risks of wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) using stochastic techno-economic analysis. By utilizing a component additivity model and a process reduced-order model, the average minimum biofuel selling price (MBSP) for wet waste HTL is around $3.55/gge ($1.01/L). The economic uncertainty of wet waste HTL process is mainly influenced by feed moisture, HTL reactor model, and capital investment.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jiashun Hu, Xuanying Chen, Xiaoxue Yang, Ruosong Li, Le Wu
Summary: As bio-energy is the only carbon-containing renewable energy source, its development and utilization are crucial to addressing the energy crisis and the greenhouse effect. In order to reduce the production cost of bio-fuels, bio-oil derived from biomass and algae can be co-processed with vacuum gas oil in an existing catalytic cracking unit, resulting in the production of gasoline and diesel products with renewable carbon. Techno-economic analysis revealed that the co-processing scenario involving hydrothermal liquefaction provided a clear economic advantage.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Panneerselvam Ranganathan
Summary: This study investigates the techno-economic evaluation of renewable fuels production from sewage sludge using hydrothermal liquefaction method. The process design includes wastewater treatment, hydrothermal liquefaction, hydroprocessing, and hydrogen production. A steady-state simulation is conducted to predict mass and energy flow rates, and an economic calculation is performed to obtain a minimum selling price (MSP) of the renewable fuels at $4.04/GGE. Sensitivity analysis shows that biocrude yield and operating cost significantly affect the MSP. This study provides feasibility for large-scale production and guides future plant design/optimization, driving research towards a circular economy.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES AND ASSESSMENTS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
James R. Keiser, Michael P. Brady, Jiheon Jun, Dino Sulejmanovic, Michael D. Kass
Summary: The selection of corrosion-resistant and cost-effective structural materials for biomass-derived oil production, upgrading, and storage has been extensively studied in our laboratory. The wide variety of biomass resources and liquefaction techniques result in products with diverse properties. This paper discusses the materials challenges in three distinct areas. Austenitic stainless steels have generally performed well in the production process at temperatures ranging from 350 to 550 degrees C, although issues such as thicker oxide scales and intergranular attack have been observed. For storage and transport of bio-oil products, organic acids present in the raw bio-oils can cause corrosion to carbon and low-alloy steels. Furthermore, certain subsequent processing methods can lead to corrosion of common austenitic stainless steels during exposure to sulfidizing gas at elevated temperatures. The study identifies cost-effective and sufficiently corrosion-resistant materials for each environment.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Judith Gonzalez-Arias, Francisco M. Baena-Moreno, Marta E. Sanchez, Jorge Cara-Jimenez
Summary: This study optimized the hydrothermal carbonization process for converting olive tree pruning into biofuel through a combined experimental and economic assessment. Results showed that none of the alternatives were profitable at the studied sizes, but larger capacities had better outcomes. Government incentives, cost reduction, and revenue improvement are crucial for the project's economic viability.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tonggui Liu, Longsheng Yang, Huiting Jiao, Zeyu Jin, Paul Chen, Songqi Leng, Wenguang Zhou
Summary: This study developed a semi-automatic fractional distillation system for upgrading bio-crude from hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae biomass. The distillation process significantly reduced the contents of N, O, and S, and showed that lighter fractions were mainly composed of N-heterocyclics while heavier fractions were dominated by saturated hydrocarbons and olefins. Additionally, there was a significant reduction in metal contents.
ALGAL RESEARCH-BIOMASS BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Raquel de Souza Deuber, Daniel Santos Fernandes, Jessica Marcon Bressanin, Jamison Watson, Mateus Ferreira Chagas, Antonio Bonomi, Leonardo Vasconcelos Fregolente, Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe
Summary: Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is considered a promising technology in producing liquid biofuels, with Brazil's mature biomass chain and competitive sugarcane industry providing a good potential for large-scale deployment of HTL. Integration with sugarcane industry increases economic feasibility of HTL, with minimum fuel selling prices (MFSP) showing competitiveness with fossil fuels. Selection of liquefaction solvents, such as water, plays a crucial role in the economic viability of HTL technology.
INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Edoardo Tito, Giulia Zoppi, Giuseppe Pipitone, Edoardo Miliotti, Arturo Di Fraia, Andrea Maria Rizzo, Raffaele Pirone, David Chiaramonti, Samir Bensaid
Summary: This study evaluated the techno-economic feasibility of coupling hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) with aqueous phase reforming (APR) to address the challenges of carbon loss and biocrude upgrading in HTL. Through experiment and literature data, mass and energy balances were performed, main equipment was designed, and capital and operating costs were evaluated. The results showed that the minimum selling prices for the biofuel were 1.23 euro/kg (LRS) and 1.27 euro/kg (CS). Heat exchangers accounted for most of the fixed capital investment, while electricity and feedstock had the highest impact on operating costs. The implementation of APR was particularly profitable with CS, as it produced 107% of the required hydrogen for biocrude upgrading, reducing the H2 production cost.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Tejas M. Ukarde, Hitesh S. Pawar, A. M. Joe Cyril Harrish, Vishwanath Haily Dalvi, Aniruddha B. Pandit
Summary: This manuscript elucidates the liquefaction kinetics of a PolyE-IL-catalyzed CTL process for organic biodegradable waste. The results show that the CTL process achieves high conversion (>80%) under specific operating conditions. The effects of reactor parameters such as slurry concentration, temperature, and time were investigated. The study provides insights into the reaction pathways and kinetics of the CTL process.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
A. A. Mana, A. Allouhi, K. Ouazzani, A. Jamil
Summary: Biomass power generation in rural areas of Morocco presents a significant opportunity to achieve rural sustainability and provide stable electricity supply. The financial model of the project shows competitive costs compared to solar and fossil resources. Performance variables depend strongly on flue gas temperature, and the LCOE is highly sensitive to feedstock price and finance rates.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Mingyuan Zhang, Yulin Hu, Haoyu Wang, Haoyang Li, Xue Han, Yimin Zeng, Chunbao Charles Xu
Summary: Fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction are considered promising technologies for liquid bio-fuel production, but the poor quality of crude bio-oils has limited their direct applications. Hydrotreatment such as hydrodeoxygenation is a common upgrading technique, and this review explores the effects of different reaction conditions on the HDO treatment of real bio-oil. The underlying mechanisms for bio-oil HDO, technical challenges, and potential solutions are discussed, along with knowledge gaps and future research directions.
MOLECULAR CATALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Shima Masoumi, Ajay K. Dalai
Summary: The hydrochar obtained from the hydrothermal liquefaction of algal biomass was utilized as a heat source and a catalyst support for the production of algal biofuels through combustion and activation methods. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) were conducted to evaluate the production process, showing a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-based fuels. The study demonstrated the feasibility of producing biofuels from algae with improved economic and environmental benefits.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2021)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Weijin Zhang, Qingyue Chen, Jiefeng Chen, Donghai Xu, Hao Zhan, Haoyi Peng, Jian Pan, Mikhail Vlaskin, Lijian Leng, Hailong Li
Summary: Hydrothermal treatment (HTT) is a promising technology for biomass valorization, and machine learning (ML) has been widely applied to predict and optimize the production from HTT. This review comprehensively analyzed the application of ML for HTT of biomass and summarized ML-aided HTT prediction of yield, compositions, and physicochemical properties of derived products. Future prospects were proposed to enhance predictive performance, mechanistic interpretation, process optimization, data sharing, and model application during ML-aided HTT.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Douglas C. Elliott, Patrick Biller, Andrew B. Ross, Andrew J. Schmidt, Susanne B. Jones
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Anja Oasmaa, Bert van de Beld, Pia Saari, Douglas C. Elliott, Yrjo Solantausta
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
N. Schwaiger, D. C. Elliott, J. Ritzberger, H. Wang, P. Pucher, M. Siebenhofer
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Mariefel V. Olarte, Alan H. Zacher, Asanga B. Padmaperuma, Sarah D. Burton, Heather M. Job, Teresa L. Lemmon, Marie S. Swita, Leslie J. Rotness, Gary N. Neuenschwander, John G. Frye, Douglas C. Elliott
TOPICS IN CATALYSIS
(2016)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Douglas C. Elliott, Huamin Wang
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2015)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Foster A. Agblevor, Douglas C. Elliott, Daniel M. Santosa, Mariefel V. Olarte, Sarah D. Burton, Marie Swita, Sedat H. Beis, Kyle Christian, Brandon Sargent
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Douglas C. Elliott
ALGAL RESEARCH-BIOMASS BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Huamin Wang, Douglas C. Elliott, Richard J. French, Steve Deutch, Kristiina Iisa
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2016)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Douglas C. Elliott, Dietrich Meier, Anja Oasmaa, Bert van de Beld, Anthony V. Bridgwater, Magnus Marklund
Article
Energy & Fuels
Mariefel V. Olarte, Asanga B. Padmaperuma, Jack R. Ferrell, Earl D. Christensen, Richard T. Hallen, Richard B. Lucke, Sarah D. Burton, Teresa L. Lemmon, Marie S. Swita, Gina Fioroni, Douglas C. Elliott, Corinne Drennan
Article
Energy & Fuels
Douglas C. Elliott, Andrew J. Schmidt, Todd R. Hart, Justin M. Billing
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2017)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
P. A. Marrone, D. C. Elliott, J. M. Billing, R. T. Hallen, T. R. Hart, P. Kadota, J. C. Moeller, M. A. Randel, A. J. Schmidt
WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH
(2018)
Editorial Material
Energy & Fuels
Christian Lindfors, Douglas C. Elliott, Wolter Prins, Anja Oasmaa, Juha Lehtonen
Editorial Material
Energy & Fuels
Anja Oasmaa, Douglas C. Elliott, Wolter Prins
Proceedings Paper
Electrochemistry
S. Elangovan, D. Larsen, I. Bay, E. Mitchell, J. Hartvigsen, B. Millett, J. Elwell, D. Santosa, D. C. Elliott
SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS 15 (SOFC-XV)
(2017)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shitong Fang, Houfan Du, Tao Yan, Keyu Chen, Zhiyuan Li, Xiaoqing Ma, Zhihui Lai, Shengxi Zhou
Summary: This paper proposes a new type of nonlinear VIV energy harvester (ANVEH) that compensates for the decrease in peak energy output at low wind speeds by introducing an auxiliary structure. Theoretical and experimental results show that ANVEH performs better than traditional nonlinear VIV energy harvesters under various system parameter variations.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wei Jiang, Shuo Zhang, Teng Wang, Yufei Zhang, Aimin Sha, Jingjing Xiao, Dongdong Yuan
Summary: A standardized method was developed to evaluate the availability of solar energy resources in road areas, which combined the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Geographic Information System (GIS). By analyzing critical factors and using a multi-indicator evaluation method, the method accurately evaluated the utilization of solar energy resources and guided the optimal location selection for road photovoltaic (PV) projects. The results provided guidance for the application of road PV projects and site selection for route corridors worldwide, promoting the integration of transportation and energy.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Chang Liu, Jacob A. Wrubel, Elliot Padgett, Guido Bender
Summary: The study investigates the effects of coating defects on the performance of the anode porous transport layer (PTL) in water electrolyzers. The results show that an increasing fraction of uncoated regions on the PTL leads to decreased cell performance, with continuous uncoated regions having a more severe impact compared to multiple thin uncoated strips.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Marcos Tostado-Veliz, Xiaolong Jin, Rohit Bhakar, Francisco Jurado
Summary: In this paper, a coordinated charging price mechanism for clusters of parking lots is proposed. The research shows that enabling vehicle-to-grid characteristics can bring significant economic benefits for users and the cluster coordinator, and vehicle-to-grid impacts noticeably on the risk-averse character of the uncertainty-aware strategies. The developed pricing mechanism can reduce the cost for users, avoiding to directly translate the energy cost to charging points.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Duan Kang
Summary: Building an energy superpower is a key strategy for China and a long-term goal for other countries. This study proposes an evaluation system and index for measuring energy superpower, and finds that China has significantly improved its ranking over the past 21 years, surpassing other countries.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Fucheng Deng, Yifei Wang, Xiaosen Li, Gang Li, Yi Wang, Bin Huang
Summary: This study investigated the synergistic blockage mechanism of sand and hydrate in gravel filling layer and the evolution of permeability in the layer. Experimental models and modified permeability models were established to analyze the effects of sand particles and hydrate formation on permeability. The study provided valuable insights for the safe and efficient exploitation of hydrate reservoirs.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hao Wang, Xiwen Chen, Natan Vital, Edward Duffy, Abolfazl Razi
Summary: This study proposes a HVAC energy optimization model based on deep reinforcement learning algorithm. It achieves 37% energy savings and ensures thermal comfort for open office buildings. The model has a low complexity, uses a few controllable factors, and has a short training time with good generalizability.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Moyue Cong, Yongzhuo Gao, Weidong Wang, Long He, Xiwang Mao, Yi Long, Wei Dong
Summary: This study introduces a multi-strategy ultra-wideband energy harvesting device that achieves high power output without the need for external power input. By utilizing asymmetry, stagger array, magnetic coupling, and nonlinearity strategies, the device maintains a stable output voltage and high power density output at non-resonant frequencies. Temperature and humidity monitoring are performed using Bluetooth sensors to adaptively assess the device.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Tianshu Dong, Xiudong Duan, Yuanyuan Huang, Danji Huang, Yingdong Luo, Ziyu Liu, Xiaomeng Ai, Jiakun Fang, Chaolong Song
Summary: Electrochemical water splitting is crucial for hydrogen production, and improving the hydrogen separation rate from the electrode is essential for enhancing water electrolyzer performance. However, issues such as air bubble adhesion to the electrode plate hinder the process. Therefore, a methodology to investigate the two-phase flow within the electrolyzer is in high demand. This study proposes using a microfluidic system as a simulator for the electrolyzer and optimizing the two-phase flow by manipulating the micro-structure of the flow.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shuo Han, Yifan Yuan, Mengjiao He, Ziwen Zhao, Beibei Xu, Diyi Chen, Jakub Jurasz
Summary: Giving full play to the flexibility of hydropower and integrating more variable renewable energy is of great significance for accelerating the transformation of China's power energy system. This study proposes a novel day-ahead scheduling model that considers the flexibility limited by irregular vibration zones (VZs) and the probability of flexibility shortage in a hydropower-variable renewable energy hybrid generation system. The model is applied to a real hydropower station and effectively improves the flexibility supply capacity of hydropower, especially during heavy load demand in flood season.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Zhen Wang, Kangqi Fan, Shizhong Zhao, Shuxin Wu, Xuan Zhang, Kangjia Zhai, Zhiqi Li, Hua He
Summary: This study developed a high-performance rotary energy harvester (AI-REH) inspired by archery, which efficiently accumulates and releases ultralow-frequency vibration energy. By utilizing a magnetic coupling strategy and an accumulator spring, the AI-REH achieves significantly accelerated rotor speeds and enhanced electric outputs.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yi Yang, Qianyi Xing, Kang Wang, Caihong Li, Jianzhou Wang, Xiaojia Huang
Summary: In this study, a novel hybrid Quantile Regression (QR) model is proposed for Probabilistic Load Forecasting (PLF). The model integrates causal dilated convolution, residual connection, and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) for multi-scale feature extraction. In addition, a Combined Probabilistic Load Forecasting System (CPLFS) is proposed to overcome the inherent flaws of relying on a single model. Simulation results show that the hybrid QR outperforms traditional models and CPLFS exceeds the best benchmarks in terms of prediction accuracy and stability.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wen-Jiang Zou, Young-Bae Kim, Seunghun Jung
Summary: This paper proposes a dynamic prediction model for capacity fade in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The model accurately predicts changes in electrolyte volume and capacity fade, enhancing the competitiveness of VRFBs in energy storage applications.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yuechao Ma, Shengtie Wang, Guangchen Liu, Guizhen Tian, Jianwei Zhang, Ruiming Liu
Summary: This paper focuses on the balance of state of charge (SOC) among multiple battery energy storage units (MBESUs) and bus voltage balance in an islanded bipolar DC microgrid. A SOC automatic balancing strategy is proposed considering the energy flow relationship and utilizing the adaptive virtual resistance algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in achieving SOC balancing and decreasing bus voltage unbalance.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Raad Z. Homod, Basil Sh. Munahi, Hayder Ibrahim Mohammed, Musatafa Abbas Abbood Albadr, Aissa Abderrahmane, Jasim M. Mahdi, Mohamed Bechir Ben Hamida, Bilal Naji Alhasnawi, A. S. Albahri, Hussein Togun, Umar F. Alqsair, Zaher Mundher Yaseen
Summary: In this study, the control problem of the multiple-boiler system (MBS) is formulated as a dynamic Markov decision process and a deep clustering reinforcement learning approach is applied to obtain the optimal control policy. The proposed strategy, based on bang-bang action, shows superior response and achieves more than 32% energy saving compared to conventional fixed parameter controllers under dynamic indoor/outdoor actual conditions.