• Energy Research

Efficient, low-cost and environmentally friendly storage of thermal energy stands as a main challenge for large scale deployment of solar energy. This work explores the integration into concentrated solar power plants of the calcium looping process based upon the reversible carbonation/calcination of calcium oxide for thermochemical energy storage. An efficient concentrated solar power-calcium looping integration would allow storing energy in the long term by calcination of calcium carbonate thus overcoming the hurdle of variable power generation from solar. After calcination, the stored products of the reaction (calcium oxide and carbon dioxide) are brought together in a carbonator reactor whereby the high temperature exothermic reaction releases the stored energy for efficient power production when needed. This work analyses several power cycle configurations with the main goal of optimizing the performance of the overall system integration. Possible integration schemes are proposed in which power production is carried out directly (using a closed carbon dioxide Brayton power cycle) or indirectly (by means of a steam reheat Rankine cycle or a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle). The results obtained show that the highest plant efficiencies (up to 45–46%) are achievable using a closed carbon dioxide Brayton power cycle. Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad CTQ2014-52763-C2-1-R, CTQ2014- 52763-C2-2-R, MAT2013-41233-R

A methodology for the estimation of the mean temperature of the cylinder inner surface in an air-cooled internal combustion engine is proposed. Knowledge of this temperature is necessary to determine the heat flux from the combustion chamber to the cylinder wall. Along with the heat transfer coefficient this parameter also allows almost 50% of engine heat losses to be determined. The temperature is relatively easy to determine for water-cooled engines but this is not in the case for air-cooled engines. The methodology described here combines numerical and experimental procedures. Simulations were based on FEM models and experiments were based on the use of thermocouples and infrared thermography. The methodology avoids the use of data or correlations developed for other engines, providing more reliable results than extrapolating models from one engine to another. It also prevents from taking measurements from inside the combustion chamber, reducing invasion and experiments complexity. The proposed methodology has been successfully applied to an air-cooled four-stroke direct-injection diesel engine and it allows the cylinder mean inner surface temperature and cylinder-cooling air heat transfer coefficient to be estimated. Ministerio de Eduación y Ciencia CTQ2007-68026-CO2-02/PPQ

This paper presents the results of a preliminary experimental study to assess the performance of biomorphic silicon carbide when used for the abatement of soot particles in the exhaust of Diesel engines. Given its optimal thermal and mechanical properties, silicon carbide is one of the most popular substrates in commercial diesel particulate filters. Biomorphic silicon carbide is known for having, be-sides, a hierarchical porous microstructure and the possibility of tailoring that microstructure through the selection of a suitable wood precursor. An experimental rig was designed and built to be integrated within an engine test bench that allowed to characterizing small lab-scale biomorphic silicon carbide filter samples. A particle counter was used to measure the particles distribution before and after the samples, while a differential pressure sensor was used to measure their pressure drop during the soot loading process. The experimental campaign yielded promising results: for the flow rate conditions that the measuring devices imposed (1 litre per minute; space velocity = 42,000 L/h), the samples showed initial efficiencies above 80%, pressure drops below 20 mbar, and a low increase in the pressure drop with the soot load which allows to reach almost 100% efficiency with an increase in pressure drop lower than 15%, when the soot load is still less than 0.01 g/L. It shows the potential of this material and the interest for advancing in more complex diesel particle filter designs based on the results of this work.

Abstract The most effective strategy to manage and treat solid urban residues, with the least environmental impact as well as lowest economic and energy costs, is a challenge for sustainability in current society, who actually pay for the final management of these residues. This manuscript analyzes the potential of biogas generation in an urban solid residue treatment plant, and the potential use for cogeneration in situ at the landfill. The objective is to identify the energy potential associated with the landfill and its potential use to accelerate the evaporation of leachate through the supply of heat, reducing the risks of exceeding the collection capacity of the leachate ponds. The change in legislation for generation within the special regime in Spain (2014) introduced a sudden change in the direction of energy policies, which affected significantly the profitability of these facilities. This manuscript analyzes the application of both legislations, previous (2007) and current (2014), for the case of a cogeneration system installed in this landfill. The results obtained indicate that even with a much more restrictive legislation in force, acceptable values are obtained for the evaluation of the investment – however, better results were obtained for the previous legislation that favored the special regime. The new regulation constrains the maximum and minimum annual operating hours for landfill cogeneration. It results in relevant periods with limited use of biogas for electricity generation. Biogas storage for delayed future consumption in the same installation and biogas selling for external use in boilers are proposed as options for this biogas in excess. They can reduce greenhouse gases emissions from the non-used biogas and can improve the economic results of the facility.

The Ca-Looping (CaL) process is considered as a promising technology for CO2 post-combustion capture in power generation plants yielding a minor penalty on plant performance as compared with other capture technologies such as conventional amine-based capture systems. This manuscript presents a new carbonator reactor model based on lab-scale multicyclic CaO conversion results, which take into account realistic CaO regeneration conditions that necessarily involve calcination under high CO2 partial pressure and high temperature. Under these conditions, CaO conversion in the diffusion controlled stage is a relevant contribution to the carbonation degree in the typical residence times. The main novelty of the model proposed in the present work is the consideration of the capture efficiency in the diffusion controlled phase of carbonation. It is demonstrated that increasing the residence time by a few minutes in the carbonator yields a significant improvement of the capture efficiency. Model predictions are shown to agree with experimental results retrieved from pilot-scale tests. The new model allows a more accurate evaluation and prediction of carbonator’s performance over a wider range of residence times. The results obtained may be relevant for the optimization of CaL operation parameters to be integrated in real power plants.

Biomorphic Silicon Carbide (bioSiC) is a novel porous ceramic material with excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Previous studies have demonstrated that it may be a good candidate for its use as particle filter media of exhaust gases at medium or high temperature. In order to determine the filtration efficiency of biomorphic Silicon Carbide, and its adequacy as substrate for diesel particulate filters, different bioSiC-samples have been tested in the flue gases of a diesel boiler. For this purpose, an experimental facility to extract a fraction of the boiler exhaust flow and filter it under controlled conditions has been designed and built. Several filter samples with different microstructures, obtained from different precursors, have been tested in this bench. The experimental campaign was focused on the measurement of the number and size of particles before and after placing the samples. Results show that the initial efficiency of filters made from natural precursors is severely determined by the cutting direction and associated microstructure. In biomorphic Silicon Carbide derived from radially cut wood, the initial efficiency of the filter is higher than 95%. Nevertheless, when the cut of the wood is axial, the efficiency depends on the pore size and the permeability, reaching in some cases values in the range 70-90%. In this case, the presence of macropores in some of the samples reduces their efficiency as particle traps. In continuous operation, the accumulation of particles within the porous media leads to the formation of a soot cake, which improves the efficiency except in the case when extra-large pores exist. For all the samples, after a few operation cycles, capture efficiency was higher than 95%. These experimental results show the potential for developing filters for diesel boilers based on biomorphic Silicon Carbide.

Abstract The Ca-Looping (CaL) process is at the root of a promising 2nd generation technology for post-combustion CO2 capture at coal fired power plants. The process is based on the reversible and quick carbonation/calcination reaction of CaO/CaCO​3 at high temperatures and allows using low cost, widely available and non toxic CaO precursors such as natural limestone. In this work, the efficiency penalty caused by the integration of the Ca-looping technology into a coal fired power plant is analyzed. The results of the simulations based on the proposed integration model show that efficiency penalty varies between 4% and 7% points, which yields lower energy costs than other more mature post-combustion CO2 capture technologies such as the currently commercial amine scrubbing technology. A principal feature of the CaL process at CO2 capture conditions is that it produces a large amount of energy and therefore an optimized integration of the systems energy flows is essential for the feasibility of the integration at the commercial level. As a main novel contribution, CO2 capture efficiency is calculated in our work by considering the important role of the solid-state diffusion controlled carbonation phase, which becomes relevant when CaO regeneration is carried out under high CO2 partial pressure as is the case with the CaL process for CO2 capture. The results obtained based on the new model suggest that integration energy efficiency would be significantly improved as the solids residence time in the carbonator reactor is increased.