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Abstract This paper characterized the wood pellet and torrefied wood pellet fuel as compared to coal for 100 MW co-firing power generation plant. There were five experiments to characterise the chemical and physical properties of coal, wood pellet and torrefied wood pellet namely moisture analysis, Thermo gravimetric Analyser (TGA), Bomb Calorimeter, Organic Elemental Analyser and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The moisture analysis result from moisture analyser and TGA shows that the moisture content of torrefied wood pellet is lower than wood pellet at 6.760% and 3.629%. Moreover, the volatile matter, hydrogen and nitrogen content of torrefied wood pellet is lower than wood pellet at 65.20%, 5.993% and 0.4078% correspondingly. The calorific value, fixed carbon content, ash and sulphur also increase in torrefied wood pellet at 20.68 MJ/kg, 28.85%, 2.321% and 0.1656% respectively. In general, torrefaction improve the fuel properties of wood pellet similar to coal. The 100 MW direct co-firing power plant provides less capital investment, operation and maintenance cost for low rate co-firing ratio. However, there is economic challenges for high rate co-firing substation of torrefied wood pellets.

AbstractThe hydrothermal treatment (HT) has demonstrated the ability to improve fuel characteristics of biomass. On the other hand, the liquid by-product, which potentially contains solubilized nutrient, is being poorly utilized. This paper presents an investigation on HT of empty fruit bunch (EFB) on both solid and liquid product characteristics. In this work, the effects of HT on EFB were investigated at the HT temperatures of 100, 150, 180 and 220°C with the holding time of 30minutes. The results showed that HT can increase the carbon content, remove up to 55% of ash content from EFB, lowering the potassium and chlorine contents down to 0.84% and 0.18%, respectively. Moreover, maximum of 37% of nitrogen, 65% of potassium and less than 10% of phosphorus in EFB were dissolved into the liquid product which positively correlated with the HT temperature. These results demonstrate the possibility of employing HT for producing solid fuel as well as nutrient recovery from EFB.

Abstract As a representation of smart and green city development, bike-sharing system is one of the hottest topic in the fields of transportation, public health, urban planning, and so on. With the development of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), emerging technologies such as mobile data mining give some new solutions for optimizing bike-sharing system and predicting the emission reduction. Here, we propose a bike-sharing layout optimization and emission reduction potential analysis structure under the concept of MaaS. A human travel mode detection method and a geometry-based probability model are proposed to support the particle swarm optimization process. We implement a comparison study to analyze the computational efficiency. Taking Setagaya ward, Tokyo as the study case with about 3 million GPS trajectories, the result shows that with the increase of station number from 30 to 90, the adoption of bike-sharing system can reduce about 3.1-3.8 thousand tonnes of CO2 emission.

AbstractThis study evaluates the potential environmental impacts of deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for pulverized coal power plants in Japan by using LCA, focusing on selected environmental impact categories including global warming. The LIME (Life-cycle impact assessment method based on endpoint modeling) method is used to assess and compare the environmental impacts between three cases, a typical ultra-supercritical pulverized coal-fired power generation system (case 1) and two CCS systems, one comprised of CO2 capture with monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent, compression, seafloor pipeline transportation and below seafloor storage (case 2) and the other case was the same as case 2 except that CO2 transportation by ship was used (case 3). The life cycle GHG emissions for case 1 were 0.89 kg-CO2 (eq.)/kWh. GHG emissions for case 2 and case 3 were 20% and 29%, respectively, of emissions for case 1. However non-GHG emissions increased for case 2 and case 3, especially emissions of NH3 from the CO2 capture process and ethylene oxide from the MEA production process. The results for the 3 cases at the endpoint level, which estimated the damage on four safeguard subjects (human health, social asset, biodiversity and primary production), showed that for case 2 and 3, damage to biodiversity and primary productivity increase by 40% respectively caused by increased feed coal to meet energy consumption on CO2 capture process while the damage to human health decreased by approximately 60% due to the large reduction in CO2 emissions. The increased damage to social assets caused by NH3 emission and increased energy consumption due to CCS is similar with the reduction in damage due to reduction of CO2 emissions.

Abstract(1) It is becoming increasingly evident that the prolonged utilization of fossil fuels for primary energy production, especially coal which is relatively cheap and abundant, is inevitable and that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from this sector thus allowing the continued environmentally sustainable use of this important energy commodity on a global basis.(2) MHI has co-developed the Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process (KM-CDR Process™) and KS-1™ absorbent, which has been deployed in seven CO2 capture plants, now under commercial operation operating at a CO2 capture capacity of 450 metric tons per day (tpd). In addition, a further two commercial plants are now under construction all of which capture CO2 from natural gas fired flue gas boilers and steam reformers. Accordingly this technology is now available for commercial scale CO2 capture for gas boiler and gas turbine application.(3) However before offering commercial CO2 capture plants for coal fired flue gas application, it is necessary to verify the influence of, and develop countermeasures for, related impurities contained in coal fired flue gas. This includes the influence on both the absorbent and the entire system of the CO2 capture plant to achieve high operational reliability and minimize maintenance requirements.(4) Preventing the accumulation of impurities, especially the build up of dust, is very important when treating coal fired flue gas and MHI has undertaken significant work to understand the impact of impurities in order to achieve reliable and stable operating conditions and to efficiently optimize integration between the CO2 capture plant, the coal fired power plant and the flue gas clean up equipment.(5) To achieve this purpose, MHI constructed a 10 tpd CO2 capture demonstration plant at the Matsushima 1000 MW Power Station and confirmed successful, long term demonstration following ∼5000 hours of operation in 2006–07 with 50% financial support by RITE, as a joint program to promote technological development with the private sector, and cooperation from J-POWER.(6) Following successful demonstration testing at Matsushima, additional testing was undertaken in 2008 to examine the impact of entrainment of higher levels of flue gas impurities (primarily SOx and dust by bypassing the existing FGD) and to determine which components of the CO2 recovery process are responsible for the removal of these impurities. Following an additional 1000 demonstration hours, results indicated stable operational performance in relation to the following impurities;(1) SO2: Even at higher SO2 concentrations were almost completely removed from the flue gas before entering the CO2 absorber.(2) Dust: The accumulation of dust in the absorbent was higher, leading to an advanced understanding of the behavior of dust in the CO2 capture plant and the dust removal efficiency of each component within the CO2 recovery system. The data obtained is useful for the design of large-scale units and confirms the operating robustness of the CO2 capture plant accounting for wide fluctuations in impurity concentrations.(7) This important coal fired flue gas testing showed categorically that minimizing the accumulation of large concentrations of impurities, and to suppress dust concentrations below a prescribed level, is important to achieve long-term stable operation and to minimize maintenance work for the CO2 capture plant. To comply with the above requirement, various countermeasures have been developed which include the optimization of the impurity removal technology, flue gas pre treatment and improved optimization with the flue gas desulfurization facility.(8) In case of a commercial scale CO2 capture plant applied for coal fired flue gas, its respective size will be several thousand tpd which represents a considerable scale-up from the 10 tpd demonstration plant. In order to ensure the operational reliability and to accurately confirm the influence and the behavior of the impurities in coal fired flue gas, it is necessary to gain further operational experience with coal fired flue gas at large scale. To this extent, MHI has partnered with Southern Company and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in the United States for a large scale CCS demonstration project using the KM-CDR Process™ and KS-1™ absorbent. MHI’s coal fired CO2 capture experience and know how at 10 tpd scale aided in the design of the 500 tpd CO2 capture demonstration plant to be deployed at Plant Barry Power Station in Alabama. Commissioning of the plant will take place in Q2 2011 and an extensive test program is planned. Following successful demonstration of this plant, in relation to the effect of scale-up concerning the behavior of impurities, it is envisaged that larger-scale commercial CO2 capture plants can be designed and deployed for the coal fired power sector.(9) This paper will summarize the status of the Matsushima plant operational results and the optimization and examination of impurity removal efficiency within the individual plant components. In addition, the current status of the 500 tpd CO2 capture demonstration plant project will be reported.(10) MHI, as a heavy industrial equipment manufacturer, can provide an integrated plant design through the provision of power generation equipment, flue gas clean up, process plants and CO2 compressors. MHI is actively developing solutions to mitigate global warming through the deployment of economically efficient environmental control technologies and advanced optimization of plant equipment. Related activities such as the large scale demonstration of CO2 capture, with our global partners, are important steps leading to the commercialization of this technology for application in the coal fired power generation sector, thus helping to reduce atmospheric industrial emissions of CO2.

Abstract Nowadays, research on biodiesel focuses on enhancing the conversion and production yield to fulfill the demand. Utilization of new feedstocks, development of highly efficient catalysts, determination of effective and economical reaction approaches, and application of process system engineering tools are efforts for the optimization purposes. This paper reviews the technological progress of reactors used for biodiesel production. The first part gives an overview of previous findings available in the literature. Many factors affecting the production yield of biodiesel have been reviewed such as reaction time, agitator rotational speed, temperature, types of catalyst, catalyst concentration, the molar ratio of oil and alcohol, types of solvent, and types of feedstock. However, the review of different types of reactors used for the biodiesel production is still lacking. The appropriate selection of reactor type is necessary to enhance the product yield and the productivity. Thus, the second part of this paper aims at compiling the information on various reactors. The description of key operating conditions and process design, relevant integrated reaction and separation techniques, recent achievement and progress, and challenges for future development are highlighted. This review provides the basis for exploitation and selection of reactor to enhance optimization, scale-up development, and implementation in industrial-scale biodiesel production.

AbstractMitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (KEPCO) has developed a highly efficient chemical absorbent CO2 removal process called KM CDR Process TM. This process, together with the proprietary KS-1TM solvent has been applied to ten (10) commercial CO2 capture plants with a maximum CO2 capture capacity of 450 metric tons per day (tpd). These commercial plants are providing captured CO2 to the chemical and fertilizer industries, predominantly to enhance urea production. One (1) further commercial CDR plant, 500tpd capacity, is currently under construction in Qatar. Performance data and learnings from these commercial plants are used to make further process improvements and catalyse R&D activities.To provide a greenhouse gas mitigation solution for the power industry, MHI has adapted the KM CDR ProcessTM for coal fired power plant application. Beginning in 1999, MHI have performed a number of test programs assessing plant performance and optimization with coal fired flue gas while evaluating the impact of associated impurities at the 1 tpd pilot test facility in Hiroshima R&D Center. In 2006, MHI constructed a 10 tpd CO2 capture demonstration plant at a commercial 500MW coal fired power plant in Matsushima, Japan. Between 2006 and 2008, MHI operated the 10tpd pilot plant in excess of 6,000hours, trouble shooting and developing the technology. The Matsushima plant lead to MHI successfully beginning operation of the world's largest, 500 tpd, carbon capture plant for coal fired flue gas in June, 2011. The 500tpd capture plant, dubbed Southern Company (SoCo) 500, streams the equivalent of 25MW of flue gas from a coal fired boiler at Alabama Power's Plant Barry. The SoCo 500 plant is an integral part of the world's first fully integrated coal fired flue gas CCS project.In recent years, governments and regulators have begun to examine amine emissions, from amine based CO2 capture facilities, and the associated potential impacts to the environment and human health. It is envisaged that in the near future amine emission reduction will be become a critical requirement for all amine based CO2 capture OEMs.To reduce the amine emissions, MHI introduced the first optimized washing system within an absorber column in 1994, and developed a proprietary washing system in 2003. The washing system is currently operating in ten (10) commercial plants of KM CDR ProcessTM, as a result amine emissions from these plants have been lowered to the ppm level. MHI has continued to improve this technology for further reduction of amine emissions and established “advanced amine emission reduction system”. A series of amine emission test programs have been carried out with various flue gases at the 1 tpd pilot test facility in Japan and the 0.2 tpd mobile CO2 capture test unit, which has been installed at Southern Company's plant Yates in the USA, using both KS-1TM and MEA solvents. During these test programs, MHI found that an increasing SO3 content in flue gas caused a significant increase of amine emissions. The phenomenon was also observed at the SoCo 500 plant and a commercial plant. During the several test programs, MHI applied a proprietary washing system in the commercial CO2 capture plant to remove aerosols, including SO3 mist absorbed amine vapor, from the flue gas stream and confirmed that the amine emission were drastically reduced.MHI is also currently researching amine atmospheric chemistry, i.e. behavior of emitted amine compounds in air from CO2 capture plant, to better understand the potential issues with commercialization of this technology for CCS application.

AbstractJapan's basic nuclear policy isto reprocess spent fuel and to effectively use the recovered plutonium and uranium.MOX fuel utilization in LWRsispromotedin 16-18 reactors by FY2015. Commercial operation of Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant is planned to start in 2012. Prototype reactor “Monju” restarted operation in May 2010. From FY 2007, Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development Project (FaCT project) started which focuses more toward the commercialization stage FBR cycle. Basic scenario of Japan's R&D aims for realization of demonstrationFBR by around 2025 and introducing commercial FBRs before 2050. Smooth transition fromLWR fuel cycle to FBR one is an important point.Fornuclear fuel cycle which requires long termR&D, human resources development and keeping isvitally important.