Sharif Digital Repository

Enzymatic decolorization of reactive blue 221 (RB221) using laccase was investigated in a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). Suspended laccase was used in the cathode chamber in the absence of any mediators in order to decolorize RB221 and also improve oxygen reduction reaction in the cathode. Molasses was utilized as low cost and high strength energy source in the anode chamber. The capability of MFC for simultaneous molasses and dye removal was investigated. A decolorization efficiency of 87% was achieved in the cathode chamber and 84% COD removal for molasses was observed in the anode chamber. Laccase could catalyze the removal of RB221 and had positive effect on MFC performance as... 

In this study, hydrogen generation is maximised by optimising the size and the operating conditions of an electrolyser (EL) directly connected to a photovoltaic (PV) module at different irradiance. Due to the variations of maximum power points of the PV module during a year and the complexity of the system, a nonlinear approach is considered. A mathematical model has been developed to determine the performance of the PV/EL system. The optimisation methodology presented here is based on the particle swarm optimisation algorithm. By this method, for the given number of PV modules, the optimal sizeand operating condition of a PV/EL system areachieved. The approach can be applied for different... 

In this paper a scheduling optimization framework is developed to enhance power plants operational decision making process. The proposed framework optimizes plant schedule including operating conditions and maintenance intervals simultaneously and on an hourly basis. In a long term operation plant performance deteriorates due to components aging. This study employs equivalent operating hour (EOH) approach to describe components aging impact on the plant performance deterioration and consequently plant long term profit. Modeling of components aging increases system simulation accuracy in long term operation and the optimum decision variables would be more reliable and realistic. Validity and... 

Slowing down replacement cycles to reduce resource depletion and prevent waste generation is a promising path toward a circular economy (CE). However, an obligation to longevity only sometimes makes sense. It could sometimes even backfire if one focuses exclusively on material resource efficiency measures of the production phase and neglects implications on the use phase. The (environmental) lifespan of circular products should, therefore, be optimized, not maximized, considering all life cycle phases. In this paper, a generic method for determining the optimal environmental lifespan (OEL) of energy-using products (EuPs) in a CE is developed, allowing the simultaneous inclusion of various... 

Multi-phase flows, particularly two-phase flows, are widely used in the industries, hence in order to predict flow regime, pressure drop, heat transfer, and phase change, two-phase flows should be studied more precisely. In the petroleum industry, separation of phases such as water from petroleum is done using rotational flow and vortices; thus, the evolution of the vortex in two-phase flow should be considered. One method of separation requires the flow to enter a long tube in a free vortex. Investigating this requires sufficient knowledge of free vortex flow in a tube. The present study examined the evolution of tube-constrained two-phase free vortex using computational fluid dynamics. The... 

The present study was aimed at performance and energy analysis of a hybrid wind-hydrogen power system. Such system consists of wind turbines, batteries for the short time energy storage, electrolyzer, fuel cell and hydrogen tank for long time energy storage. The proposed configuration is used to supply energy demand of a region with discrete seasonal wind speed regime. Temporary wind energy profiles restrict using batteries for electricity storage as they lose much electrical stored energy for the long time. Based on direct wind turbine usage, batteries and hydrogen storage, different energy supply strategies are introduced and analyzed to power the household electricity demand. The energy... 

This paper presents an optimisation model for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system based on simultaneous power maximisation and cost minimisation. The results show that, by employing appropriate relation between the objectives, the innovative design could be proposed. Genetic algorithm is applied to solve the optimisation problem. Power maximisation results reveal that at maximum amount of power (1.95 kW), unit cost of energy is $0.64. In contrast, minimisation of cost decreases unit cost of energy to $0.33. In this condition, output power is reduced approximately to 0.93 kW. To consider both optimisation problems concurrently, weighting method and Pareto set are employed. Our... 

Fuel Cell (FC) is one of the promising distributed generation resources which are based on renewable energies. Clean electricity generation, high efficiency and high energy density of the fuel cells make them attractive for lots of engineers. In this paper we discuss about the operational principles of fuel cell generally. Then, a circuit model of them will be introduced. Based on the model, we designed a novel DC/DC converter for supplying the fuel cell's load and simulated the design with using Matlab. The results say that its novel converter could conveniently supply the load and its needed power curve. ©2009 IEEE  

Recovering ventilated air heat in direct expansion (DX) HVAC systems has extensively been researched and many solutions have been introduced until now, such as air-to-air heat recovery ventilator (HRV) units. The ventilated air from building itself or an HRV unit, has heat recovery potentials yet to be exploited, owing to its lower temperature compared with the ambient. On the other hand, the thermal performance of the DX HVAC system's air-cooled condenser deteriorates in hot climates. Therefore, to improve the DX HVAC system and air cooled condenser thermal performance simultaneously, this study proposes and analyzes a novel integrated multistage heat recovery system that first recovers the... 

An experimental study was conducted on a solar hybrid system to transform the waste heat of photovoltaic module (PV module) into a useful heat which could be used in a solar desalination (SD) system in order to produce freshwater (scenario 1). Then, different parameters such as the amount of the produced freshwater by condensed vapor on the glass cover and basin side walls were taken into consideration after the fabrication of the SD system. Furthermore, the effect of water depth in the tray and the effect of the presence of a fan inside the basin (scenario 3) on water yield (kg/m2hr) were evaluated. In addition, the effects of using a mirror to lead the reflected light on the PV module and... 

This paper presents a mathematical formulation of lithium-ion batteries, including aging and temperature effects. The model is developed by integrating the simplified single particle model (SSPM) and reduced-order model (ROM) to predict solid electrolyte interphase growth (SEI). Results show agreement with the experimental data at 25 °C operating temperature and moderate cycling currents. A maximum error of 3.6% in finding the battery discharged Ah is observed in harsh operating conditions, including 60 °C and approaching the end of life of the battery. Due to the typical operating conditions of stand-alone renewable energy systems, more accurate estimations are expected. Finally, this... 

Hydrogen is a flexible energy carrier and storage medium and can be generated by electrolysis of water. In this research, hydrogen generation is maximized by optimizing the optimal sizing and operating condition of an electrolyzer directly connected to a PV module. The method presented here is based on Particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). The hydrogen, in this study, was produced using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. The required power was supplied by a photovoltaic module rated at 80 watt. In order to optimize Hydrogen generation, the cell number of the electrolyser and its activity must be 9 and 3, respectively. As a result, it is possible to closely match the... 

Greenhouses are complex systems that require considerable amounts of energy. In order to optimize their performance, it is necessary to reduce the amount of energy per unit of crop produced. This requires a combined assessment of greenhouse energy balance and crop growth, as well as their interaction. In this work, more than 30 existing greenhouse models are reviewed and different algorithms are combined to propose an integrated energy-yield model. The physical model of greenhouse energy demand is based on the dynamic energy and mass balance while yield production is based on a physiological crop model. The integrated model is validated with observed energy demand and crop yield datasets... 

The aim of this study is to investigate the most important drivers of environmental impacts and identify the influence of parameters on the uncertainty of the environmental impacts in various climate zones and future climate scenarios. We couple a combined greenhouse energy demand-yield simulation tool with a life cycle assessment to identify the drivers for greenhouse energy, water and CO2 demand as well as yield production. Environmental impacts are evaluated using the methods of IPPC for assessing climate change and available water remaining (AWARE) for water scarcity impacts. Furthermore, we compare the results for all five main climate world regions. With a global sensitivity analysis,... 

In the present study, two novel annular photobioreactors (PBR) were developed to enhance microalgae growth. One of these photobioreactors used mirrors outside the PBR, while the other one utilized phosphorescence materials inside the PBR. The results of the study suggested that the use of mirrors and phosphorescence materials led to 70% and 30% increase, respectively, in the light intensity without any additional energy consumption. Further, the results revealed that when compared with the base case, the biomass concentration increased by 91% and 24% in PBR with mirrors and phosphorescence materials, respectively. In conclusion, an improvement in PBRs resulted in efficient light to biomass... 

The aim of this paper is to develop a simulation framework to minimise the cost associated with commercial greenhouse yields (production cost). Greenhouse energy demand and yield production models are coupled with a cost model to investigate the interaction between energy consumption costs and yield production benefits. The coupled model is defined as an optimisation problem to determine the optimal values of decision variables (e.g. cover material, heating and cooling technology, inside temperature and relative humidity set points, plant density, etc.), which result in minimum production cost as the objective function. The results show that the integrated energy demand-crop yield production... 

This work deals with waste heat recovery from a proposed direct internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (DIR-MCFC), including an integrated pre-reformer. In this regard, some advantages are attainable over exhaust gas recycling. For instance, due to low temperature in the pre-reformer, carbon deposition and coke formation resulting from higher hydrocarbons can be eliminated. In this study, the cathode outlet provides the heat requirement for the pre-reforming process. After partial heat recovery from the cathode outlet, the stream still has a considerable energy and exergy (352.55 °C and 83.687 kW respectively). This study investigates waste heat recovery from the proposed DIR-MCFC,... 

The aim of this study is to couple molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) stack with integrated gasification combined cycle fed by refinery residues, to remove CO2 from gas turbine exhaust gases that have CO2 emission rate of 14,200 ton/year. By applying multi-objective optimisation (MOO) using genetic algorithm, the optimal values of operating load and the corresponding values of objective functions are obtained. The MOO of the MCFC system regarding two scenarios is performed. The first scenario is minimisation of cost of electricity (COE) and CO2 emission rate. Objective functions of the second scenario are the same as in the first scenario while CO2 tax is taken into account. Results show that... 

In this study, hydrogen generation is maximised by optimising the size and the operating conditions of an electrolyser (EL) directly connected to a photovoltaic (PV) module at different irradiance. Due to the variations of maximum power points of the PV module during a year and the complexity of the system, a nonlinear approach is considered. A mathematical model has been developed to determine the performance of the PV/EL system. The optimisation methodology presented here is based on the particle swarm optimisation algorithm. By this method, for the given number of PV modules, the optimal sizeand operating condition of a PV/EL system areachieved. The approach can be applied for different... 

The present study aims to analyze a combined heat and power (CHP) system with an approach towards exergy analysis and employing biomass gasification. The cycle modeling was carried out using Cycle-Tempo and the main purpose was to achieve parametric analysis of the model. The systems function was studied by categorizing alternative biomass fuels, also qualitative and quantitative analyses of the biomass fuel samples were presented and considering the trade-off points, most appropriate biomass fuel with respect to exergy efficiency and delivered power were determined. The results indicated that the bagasse and wood chips had the total exergy efficiency of 54.5 and 57.1% in trade-off point,...