Physical-chemical and thermodynamic analyses of ethanol steam reforming for hydrogen production

Steam reforming is the most usual method of hydrogen production due to its high production efficiency and technological maturity the use of ethanol for this purpose is an interesting option because it is a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel. The objective of this article is to present the physical-chemical, thermodynamic, and exergetic analysis of a steam reformer of ethanol, in order to produce 0.7 Nm(3)/h of hydrogen as feedstock of a 1 kW PEMFC the global reaction of ethanol is considered. Superheated ethanol reacts with steam at high temperatures producing hydrogen and carbon dioxide, depending strongly on the thermodynamic conditions of reforming, as well as on the technical features of the reformer system and catalysts. The thermodynamic analysis shows the feasibility of this reaction in temperatures about 206 degrees C. Below this temperature, the reaction trends to the reactants. The advance degree increases with temperature and decreases with pressure. Optimal temperatures range between 600 and 700 degrees C. However, when the temperature attains 700 degrees C, the reaction stability occurs, that is, the hydrogen production attains the limit. For temperatures above 700 degrees C, the heat use is very high, involving high costs of production due to the higher volume of fuel or electricity used. The optimal pressure is 1 atm., e.g., at atmospheric pressure. The exergetic analysis shows that the lower irreversibility is attained for lower pressures. However the temperature changes do not affect significantly the irreversibilities. This analysis shows that the best thermodynamic conditions for steam reforming of ethanol are the same conditions suggested in the physical-chemical analysis.

Thermodynamic analysis of direct steam reforming of ethanol in molten carbonate fuel cell

Fuel cell as molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) operates at high temperatures. Thus, cogeneration processes may be performed, generating heat for its own process or for other purposes of steam generation in the industry. The use of ethanol is one of the best options because this is a renewable and less environmentally offensive fuel, and is cheaper than oil-derived hydrocarbons, as in the case of Brazil. In that country, because of technical, environmental, and economic advantages, the use of ethanol by steam reforming process has been the most investigated process. The objective of this study is to show a thermodynamic analysis of steam reforming of ethanol, to determine the best thermodynamic conditions where the highest volumes of products are produced, making possible a higher production of energy, that is, a more efficient use of resources. To attain this objective, mass and energy balances were performed. Equilibrium constants and advance degrees were calculated to get the best thermodynamic conditions to attain higher reforming efficiency and, hence, higher electric efficiency, using the Nernst equation. The advance degree (according to Castellan 1986, Fundamentos da Fisica/Quimica, Editora LTC, Rio de Janeiro, p. 529, in Portuguese) is a coefficient that indicates the evolution of a reaction, achieving a maximum value when all the reactants' content is used of reforming increases when the operation temperature also increases and when the operation pressure decreases. However, at atmospheric pressure (1 atm), the advance degree tends to stabilize in temperatures above 700 degrees C; that is, the volume of supplemental production of reforming products is very small with respect to high use of energy resources necessary. The use of unused ethanol is also suggested for heating of reactants before reforming. The results show the behavior of MCFC. The current density, at the same tension, is higher at 700 degrees C than other studied temperatures such as 600 and 650 degrees C. This fact occurs due to smaller use of hydrogen at lower temperatures that varies between 46.8% and 58.9% in temperatures between 600 and 700 degrees C. The higher calculated current density is 280 mA/cm(2). The power density increases when the volume of ethanol to be used also increases due to higher production of hydrogen. The highest produced powers at 190 mA/cm(2) are 99.8, 109.8, and 113.7 mW/cm(2) for 873, 923, and 973 K, respectively. The thermodynamic efficiency has the objective to show the connection among operational conditions and energetic factors, which are some parameters that describe a process of internal steam reforming of ethanol.

Variable parameter and double sampling (X)over-bar charts in the presence of correlation: The Markov chain approach

The general assumption under which the (X) over bar chart is designed is that the process mean has a constant in-control value. However, there are situations in which the process mean wanders. When it wanders according to a first-order autoregressive (AR (1)) model, a complex approach involving Markov chains and integral equation methods is used to evaluate the properties of the (X) over bar chart. In this paper, we propose the use of a pure Markov chain approach to study the performance of the (X) over bar chart. The performance of the chat (X) over bar with variable parameters and the (X) over bar with double sampling are compared. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions for state-derivative feedback control in polytopic linear systems

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Levenberg-Marquardt application to two-phase nonlinear parameter estimation for finned-tube coil evaporators

A procedure for calculation of refrigerant mass flow rate is implemented in the distributed numerical model to simulate the flow in finned-tube coil dry-expansion evaporators, usually found in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. Two-phase refrigerant flow inside the tubes is assumed to be one-dimensional, unsteady, and homogeneous. In themodel the effects of refrigerant pressure drop and the moisture condensation from the air flowing over the external surface of the tubes are considered. The results obtained are the distributions of refrigerant velocity, temperature and void fraction, tube-wall temperature, air temperature, and absolute humidity. The finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations. Additionally, given the operation conditions and the geometric parameters, the model allows the calculation of the refrigerant mass flow rate. The value of mass flow rate is computed using the process of parameter estimation with the minimization method of Levenberg-Marquardt minimization. In order to validate the developed model, the obtained results using HFC-134a as a refrigerant are compared with available data from the literature.

Monte Carlo thermodynamic and structural properties of the TIP4P water model: dependence on the computational conditions

Classical Monte Carlo simulations were carried out on the NPT ensemble at 25°C and 1 atm, aiming to investigate the ability of the TIP4P water model [Jorgensen, Chandrasekhar, Madura, Impey and Klein; J. Chem. Phys., 79 (1983) 926] to reproduce the newest structural picture of liquid water. The results were compared with recent neutron diffraction data [Soper; Bruni and Ricci; J. Chem. Phys., 106 (1997) 247]. The influence of the computational conditions on the thermodynamic and structural results obtained with this model was also analyzed. The findings were compared with the original ones from Jorgensen et al [above-cited reference plus Mol. Phys., 56 (1985) 1381]. It is notice that the thermodynamic results are dependent on the boundary conditions used, whereas the usual radial distribution functions g(O/O(r)) and g(O/H(r)) do not depend on them.

Genetic parameter estimates and response to selection for weight and testicular traits in Nelore cattle

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Molecular, kinetic, thermodynamic, and structural analyses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis hisD-encoded metal-dependent dimeric histidinol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.23)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Using a one-dimensional lattice applied to the thermodynamic study of DNA

In this work it is analyzed a one-dimensional lattice which is composed by mass-spring systems with one additional Rosen-Morse potential on site. This kind of lattice is used to study thermodynamic properties of DNA, especially its thermal denaturation. on the context of this work, the Rosen-Morse potential simulates hydrogen bonds between double strands of the molecule. From the graphic of the average stretching of base pairs versus temperature it is possible to observe the thermal denaturation of the system. This result shows that it is possible to obtain phase transition with an asymmetric potential without an infinite barrier.

Thermodynamic analysis of a non linear lattice

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

ON THREE-PARAMETER FAMILIES of FILIPPOV SYSTEMS - THE FOLD-SADDLE SINGULARITY

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Parameter degeneracies in neutrino oscillation measurement of leptonic CP and T violation

The measurement of the mixing angle theta(13), sign of Deltam(13)(2), and the CP or T violating phase delta is fraught with ambiguities in neutrino oscillation. In this paper we give an analytic treatment of the paramater degeneracies associated with measuring the nu(mu)-->nu(e) probability and its CP and/or T conjugates. For CP violation, we give explicit solutions to allow us to obtain the regions where there exist twofold and fourfold degeneracies. We calculate the fractional differences, (Deltatheta/(θ) over bar), between the allowed solutions which may be used to compare with the expected sensitivities of the experiments. For T violation we show that there is always a complete degeneracy between solutions with positive and negative Deltam(13)(2) which arises due to a symmetry and cannot be removed by observing one neutrino oscillation probability and its T conjugate. Thus there is always a fourfold parameter degeneracy apart from exceptional points. Explicit solutions are also given and the fractional differences are computed. The biprobability CP/T trajectory diagrams are extensively used to illuminate the nature of the degeneracies.

Discretizing the deformation parameter in the su(q)(2) quantum algebra

Inspired in recent works of Biedenham [1, 2] on the realization of the q-algebra su(q)(2), We show in this note that the condition [2j + 1](q) = N-q(j) = integer, implies the discretization of the deformation parameter alpha, where q = e(alpha). This discretization replaces the continuum associated to ct by an infinite sequence alpha(1), alpha(2), alpha(3),..., obtained for the values of j, which label the irreps of su(q)(2). The algebraic properties of N-q(j) are discussed in some detail, including its role as a trace, which conducts to the Clebsch-Gordan series for the direct product of irreps. The consequences of this process of discretization are discussed and its possible applications are pointed out. Although not a necessary one, the present prescription is valuable due to its algebraic simplicity especially in the regime of appreciable values of alpha.