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The reactivity and attrition resistance of Mn–Fe oxygen carriers with addition of Al2O3 as support have been investigated. Spray-dried oxygen-carrier particles with Mn:Fe molar ratios of 80:20 and 33:67 were prepared using different amounts of Al2O3. Each material was calcined for 4 h at 950 °C, 1100 °C or 1200 °C. The oxygen carriers were studied in a batch fluidized bed reactor to investigate their reactivity with wood char, CH4, syngas and also their oxygen release in N2. In order to measure the mechanical stability of the different materials, the attrition resistance was measured in a jet-cup apparatus. Addition of Al2O3 to materials with a Mn:Fe molar ratio of 80:20 was not advantageous. Generally oxidation of these materials was problematic. The Al2O3 supported materials with a Mn:Fe molar ratio of 80:20 calcined at 950 °C and 1100 °C showed poor attrition resistance and were highly fragmented or turned to dust, whereas those calcined at 1200 °C showed high attrition resistance but poor gas conversion.Materials with a Mn:Fe molar ratio of 33:67 supported with Al2O3 generally showed better attrition resistance. Also their oxidation with 5 vol% of oxygen was possible at temperatures higher than 850 °C. Furthermore, some of these materials showed good reactivity with methane, syngas and char. Low attrition, good reactivity and CLOU properties in combination with potentially low raw materials costs, make these materials interesting for CLC.

Combined oxides of iron, manganese and silicon have been used as oxygen carriers for chemical-looping combustion. Three materials with varying composition of iron, manganese and silicon have been evaluated in oxygen release experiments and during continuous operation with syngas and natural gas as fuels. The concentration of oxygen released increased as a function of temperature and the highest concentrations of oxygen were measured with the material with the highest fraction of manganese. It was also this material which gave the best conversion of both syngas and natural gas; essentially full conversion of syngas and above 95% conversion of natural gas above 900° C. The other two materials showed similar performance, albeit with higher syngas conversion for the material with the lowest manganese fraction and the lowest conversion of natural gas for the same material. The materials lasted for 10–14 h of operation with fuel addition before circulation disruption occurred, which was likely caused by particle attrition in all three cases. A phase diagram of the iron–manganese–silicon–oxide system was constructed and the possible relevant phase transitions were identified. This analysis showed that more phase transitions could be expected for the materials with higher manganese content which could explain the superior performance during fuel operation of the material with the highest manganese content. It should however be noted that this material was operated with the highest fuel reactor inventory per thermal power which could also be a contributing factor to the better performance of this material. The study shows that it is possible to achieve very high fuel conversion with combined oxides of iron, manganese and silicon as oxygen carrier. The mechanical stability of the particles was rather poor though and would need to be improved. On the other hand the findings relating to material stability is not necessary valid for natural materials containing a number of additional elements. The results are also of interest as an indication of how natural materials with similar composition, i.e. manganese ores, would perform as oxygen carriers.

Abstract The effects of the operating conditions on the performance of metal hydride hydrogen storage tanks are complicated and need detailed investigations for further optimization. In this study, a mathematical model is developed to understand the effects of the various operating conditions on the hydrogen absorption processes in a LaNi 5 metal hydride tank. The numerical results indicate that the quickest charging process occurs within the first 20 s, and the quickest charging rate and duration are mainly affected by the charging pressure and initial temperature, respectively. The effect of cooling level on this process is insignificant. For both the short-time charging (2 min) and long-time charging, the hydrogen fueling performance is significantly affected by the cooling level (the heat transfer coefficient and surrounding temperature) and charging pressure. In order to ensure sufficiently quick hydrogen charging, the charging pressure needs to be kept enough higher than the equilibrium pressure, and due to the fast heating of the metal hydride, the influence of the initial temperature is less significant than the cooling condition. The general distributions of the absorbed hydrogen fraction and temperature are similar under the different operating conditions.

Abstract The aim of this paper is to describe the methodology developed to link the quantitative outputs of the geosphere risk assessment to the semi-quantitative assessment of risk to the biosphere. It also shows how good practice stakeholder engagement principles can be incorporated into the risk assessment process to achieve transparency in project decision making. The objective of the biosphere risk assessment portion of the Weyburn-Midale Project was to develop a risk assessment methodology that can be applied to a range of CO2 storage projects. Preliminary modelling of potential biosphere impacts associated with the Weyburn-Midale Project was undertaken to enable the risk assessment methodology to be tested and to demonstrate the nature of the biosphere risk assessment outputs, and how the process and outputs can be used to facilitate stakeholder acceptance. The method to assess the biosphere risk at the Weyburn-Midale Project uses the outputs (pathways, likelihoods and CO2 mass) from geosphere risk assessment to identify the general physical and chemical effects on the fundamental biosphere components (groundwater, surface water, soil, air) and the consequential impacts on organisms, habitat, amenity and public safety. The approach applies an existing environmental impact assessment methodology to derive outputs that stakeholders can use to assess the risk and impacts to environmental assets. The outcomes of biosphere risk assessment are used to: develop risk mitigation strategies and future monitoring options; understand whether the project will likely have unacceptable impacts on safety or valued community assets; decide whether the project should proceed; and to assist engagement with regulators and the community.

Abstract The dissolution of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in deep saline aquifer water is recognized as one of the fundamental mechanisms in the subsurface for storing significant quantities of CO 2 . One fundamental physical effect of CO 2 dissolution is the slight increase in water density in the layer in contact with the buoyant free-phase CO 2 plume. Under specific conditions, this may lead to gravitational instability and the onset of free convection, significantly accelerating the dissolution of the free-phase CO 2 by bringing CO 2 in contact with a larger volume of aquifer water. It is also feasible to enhance CO 2 dissolution using engineering methodologies such as injecting water on top of the plume of CO 2 . The objective of this review is to provide a perspective on the progress in modeling and experimental observations of physical aspects of CO 2 dissolution in deep saline aquifers. We review the published research efforts concerning the physical effects of CO 2 dissolution in formation water, the conditions under which process can be accelerated either naturally, such as by free convection, or by use of engineering methodologies, and the effects of CO 2 dissolution on CO 2 storage. Finally, we discuss areas in need of further research.

Abstract Absorption of CO 2 with aqueous amines in post-combustion capture is characterized as a heat and mass transfer processes with chemical reaction, which is sensitively affected by the thermo-physical properties of fluids. In order to optimize the design of the absorber of CO 2 capture process, in this paper, the impacts of thermo-physical properties on the column design were investigated. Furthermore, the property impacts on the capital cost of the absorber unit were also identified and analyzed. Results show that the gas phase density has the most significant effect on the column diameter. Underestimation of the gas phase density of 10% may result in an increase of about 6% of the column diameter. For the packing height, the liquid phase density has the most significant effect. 10% underestimation of the liquid phase density may result in an increase of 8% of the packing height. Moreover, the effect from the liquid phase viscosity is also significant. For the annual capital cost, the liquid phase density also shows the most significant effect. Underestimation of the liquid phase density of 10% leads to the cost overestimation of $1.4 million for the absorption column for a 400 MW coal-fired power plant. Therefore, the development of the flue gas density model and liquid phase density and viscosity models of the aqueous amine solution with CO 2 loading should be prioritized.

Abstract Xylose is a by-product of lignocellulosic biomass processing for production of second-generation biofuels and could be suitable for bioproduct manufacturing. This paper describes an innovative approach that enables the system to achieve high yielding for hydrogen production. The study compared 4 physicochemical pre-treatments performed in an anaerobic mixed culture (acidic, thermal, acidic-thermal and thermal acidic) to achieve an inoculum with a high-efficiency xylose to hydrogen conversion under mesophilic conditions (30 °C). The acidic pre-treatment was the most efficient to select microorganisms able to produce hydrogen and volatile acid from xylose. Kinetics has shown that acidic pre-treatment had a hydrogen/xylose molar yielding factor of 1.57 (molar base) and a hydrogen maximum production rate of 253 mL H2 h−1. Mass balance considered all possible metabolic pathways using xylose as a substrate. Anaerobic degradation of ethanol was the most active pathway for hydrogen production in all experiments, except for the control. Each pre-treatment performed for the original inoculum resulted in different microbiological profiles, but the genus Clostridium was the most abundant in all assays. Acidic pre-treatment stimulated the growth of organisms from the genera Peptostreptococcaceae, Truepera and Kurthia, which could be related to the better results in hydrogen production found in this condition.

Abstract This study conducts a literature survey on the chemical steam additives tested in both lab and field settings from 1982 to present (2020). We summarize the major recovery mechanisms of both steam-based recovery process and steam-chemical-based recovery process. Next, we review the previous lab-scale/field-scale studies examining the applications of surfactants, alkali, and novel chemicals in the steam-based oil recovery process. Among the different surfactants studied, alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) and linear toluene sulfonate (LTS) are the recommended chemicals for their foam control/detergency effect. In particular, AOS was observed to perform especially well in residual oil saturation (ROS) reduction and sweep efficiency improvement when being co-injected with alkali. Application of organic alkali (alone or with a co-surfactant) has also drawn wide attention recently, but its efficacy in the field requires further investigation and the consumption of alkali by sands/clay is often an inevitable issue and, therefore, how to control the alkali loss requires further investigation. Novel chemical additives tested in the past five years include fatty acids (such as tail oil acid, TOA-Na+), Biodiesel (o/w emulsion), along with other types of chemical additives including switchable hydrophilicity tertiary amines (SHTA), chelating agents, Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES), graphite and SiO2 particles, ionic liquids and urea. High thermal stability of some of the novel chemicals and their potential in increasing displacement efficiency and ROS reduction efficiency in the lab studies require further investigation for their optimized application in the field settings to minimize the use of steam while improving the recovery effectively. This review reveals that when being properly applied, chemical additives can improve oil recovery via steam foam control, detergency effect (IFT reduction and wettability control), and viscosity reduction. In certain cases, microemulsion generation could be observed (o/w or w/o) with the addition of chemical additives at steam condition (which leads to recovery improvement), but the microemulsion effect on the conformance control (separate from the foamy effect), is lacking detailed investigation.

Theoretical mean wave resistance and regional division of the energy of single-layer flow over topography is studied at the near-resonant region in the weakly nonlinear, long wave limit. The theoretical mean wave resistance is determined in terms of the 1st and 2nd conservation laws of the fKdV equation. It is proved by the asymptotic mean method that the theoretical mean wave resistance depends only on the intensity and moving velocity of the topography. The theoretical results of this paper are in good agreement with numerical calculations. Comparisons between the theoretical and numerical results showed that the theory of the present paper holds for any small compact topography.