Application and development of numerical methods for the modelling of innovative gas cooled fission reactors

Innovative gas cooled reactors, such as the pebble bed reactor (PBR) and the gas cooled fast reactor (GFR) offer higher efficiency and new application areas for nuclear energy. Numerical methods were applied and developed to analyse the specific features of these reactor types with fully three dimensional calculation models. In the first part of this thesis, discrete element method (DEM) was used for a physically realistic modelling of the packing of fuel pebbles in PBR geometries and methods were developed for utilising the DEM results in subsequent reactor physics and thermal-hydraulics calculations. In the second part, the flow and heat transfer for a single gas cooled fuel rod of a GFR were investigated with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. An in-house DEM implementation was validated and used for packing simulations, in which the effect of several parameters on the resulting average packing density was investigated. The restitution coefficient was found out to have the most significant effect. The results can be utilised in further work to obtain a pebble bed with a specific packing density. The packing structures of selected pebble beds were also analysed in detail and local variations in the packing density were observed, which should be taken into account especially in the reactor core thermal-hydraulic analyses. Two open source DEM codes were used to produce stochastic pebble bed configurations to add realism and improve the accuracy of criticality calculations performed with the Monte Carlo reactor physics code Serpent. Russian ASTRA criticality experiments were calculated. Pebble beds corresponding to the experimental specifications within measurement uncertainties were produced in DEM simulations and successfully exported into the subsequent reactor physics analysis. With the developed approach, two typical issues in Monte Carlo reactor physics calculations of pebble bed geometries were avoided. A novel method was developed and implemented as a MATLAB code to calculate porosities in the cells of a CFD calculation mesh constructed over a pebble bed obtained from DEM simulations. The code was further developed to distribute power and temperature data accurately between discrete based reactor physics and continuum based thermal-hydraulics models to enable coupled reactor core calculations. The developed method was also found useful for analysing sphere packings in general. CFD calculations were performed to investigate the pressure losses and heat transfer in three dimensional air cooled smooth and rib roughened rod geometries, housed inside a hexagonal flow channel representing a sub-channel of a single fuel rod of a GFR. The CFD geometry represented the test section of the L-STAR experimental facility at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the calculation results were compared to the corresponding experimental results. Knowledge was gained of the adequacy of various turbulence models and of the modelling requirements and issues related to the specific application. The obtained pressure loss results were in a relatively good agreement with the experimental data. Heat transfer in the smooth rod geometry was somewhat under predicted, which can partly be explained by unaccounted heat losses and uncertainties. In the rib roughened geometry heat transfer was severely under predicted by the used realisable k − epsilon turbulence model. An additional calculation with a v2 − f turbulence model showed significant improvement in the heat transfer results, which is most likely due to the better performance of the model in separated flow problems. Further investigations are suggested before using CFD to make conclusions of the heat transfer performance of rib roughened GFR fuel rod geometries. It is suggested that the viewpoints of numerical modelling are included in the planning of experiments to ease the challenging model construction and simulations and to avoid introducing additional sources of uncertainties. To facilitate the use of advanced calculation approaches, multi-physical aspects in experiments should also be considered and documented in a reasonable detail.

Avaliação e modelagem da absorção de H2S do gás natural em coluna de leito estagnado

Natural gas, although basically composed by light hydrocarbons, also presents contaminant gases in its composition, such as CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2S (hydrogen sulfide). The H2S, which commonly occurs in oil and gas exploration and production activities, causes damages in oil and natural gas pipelines. Consequently, the removal of hydrogen sulfide gas will result in an important reduction in operating costs. Also, it is essential to consider the better quality of the oil to be processed in the refinery, thus resulting in benefits in economic, environmental and social areas. All this facts demonstrate the need for the development and improvement in hydrogen sulfide scavengers. Currently, the oil industry uses several processes for hydrogen sulfide removal from natural gas. However, these processes produce amine derivatives which can cause damage in distillation towers, can cause clogging of pipelines by formation of insoluble precipitates, and also produce residues with great environmental impact. Therefore, it is of great importance the obtaining of a stable system, in inorganic or organic reaction media, able to remove hydrogen sulfide without formation of by-products that can affect the quality and cost of natural gas processing, transport, and distribution steps. Seeking the study, evaluation and modeling of mass transfer and kinetics of hydrogen removal, in this study it was used an absorption column packed with Raschig rings, where the natural gas, with H2S as contaminant, passed through an aqueous solution of inorganic compounds as stagnant liquid, being this contaminant gas absorbed by the liquid phase. This absorption column was coupled with a H2S detection system, with interface with a computer. The data and the model equations were solved by the least squares method, modified by Levemberg-Marquardt. In this study, in addition to the water, it were used the following solutions: sodium hydroxide, potassium permanganate, ferric chloride, copper sulfate, zinc chloride, potassium chromate, and manganese sulfate, all at low concentrations (»10 ppm). These solutions were used looking for the evaluation of the interference between absorption physical and chemical parameters, or even to get a better mass transfer coefficient, as in mixing reactors and absorption columns operating in counterflow. In this context, the evaluation of H2S removal arises as a valuable procedure for the treatment of natural gas and destination of process by-products. The study of the obtained absorption curves makes possible to determine the mass transfer predominant stage in the involved processes, the mass transfer volumetric coefficients, and the equilibrium concentrations. It was also performed a kinetic study. The obtained results showed that the H2S removal kinetics is greater for NaOH. Considering that the study was performed at low concentrations of chemical reagents, it was possible to check the effect of secondary reactions in the other chemicals, especially in the case of KMnO4, which shows that your by-product, MnO2, acts in H2S absorption process. In addition, CuSO4 and FeCl3 also demonstrated to have good efficiency in H2S removal

Fluid dynamics of air in a packed bed: velocity profiles and the continuum model assumption

Air flow through packed beds was analyzed experimentally under conditions ranging from those that reinforce the effect of the wall on the void fraction to those that minimize it. The packing was spherical particles, with a tube-to-particle diameter ratio (D/dp) between 3 and 60. Air flow rates were maintained between 1.3 and 4.44 m3/min, and gas velocity was measured with a Pitot tube positioned above the bed exit. Measurements were made at various radial and angular coordinate values, allowing the distribution of air flow across the bed to be described in detail. Comparison of the experimentally observed radial profiles with those derived from published equations revealed that at high D/dp ratios the measured and calculated velocity profiles behaved similarly. At low ratios, oscillations in the velocity profiles agreed with those in the voidage profiles, signifying that treating the porous medium as a continuum medium is questionable in these cases.

Sugarcane bagasse ozonolysis pretreatment: Effect on enzymatic digestibility and inhibitory compound formation

Sugarcane bagasse was pretreated with ozone to increase lignocellulosic material digestibility. Bagasse was ozonated in a fixed bed reactor at room temperature, and the effect of the two major parameters, ozone concentration and sample moisture, was studied. Acid insoluble and total lignin decreased whereas acid soluble lignin increased in all experiments. Pretreatment barely attacked carbohydrates, with cellulose and xylan recovery rates being >92%. Ozonolysis increased fermentable carbohydrate release considerably during enzymatic hydrolysis. Glucose and xylose yields increased from 6.64% and 2.05%, for raw bagasse, to 41.79% and 52.44% under the best experimental conditions. Only xylitol, lactic, formic and acetic acid degradation compounds were found, with neither furfural nor HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural) being detected. Washing detoxification provided inhibitor removal percentages above 85%, increasing glucose hydrolysis, but decreasing xylose yield by xylan solubilization. SEM analysis showed structural changes after ozonization and washing. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Experimental study of bottom feed updraft gasifier

The updraft biomass gasifiers currently available produce a gas with high tar content. For almost all downstream applications a substantial reduction of the tar concentration is required. The gravimetric tar concentration behavior in producer gas, obtained at a modified updraft fixed bed gasifier, was studied. The feedstock feeding system was modified respect to the traditional updraft gasification design in order to decrease the tar concentration in the producer gas; the material is feeding continuously through a conduit in the base of the reactor over the grate. The caloric power of the syngas obtained was slightly lower than the typical value for this type of reactor and the highest efficiency obtained for the woodchip gasification was 77%. The highest tar concentration obtained during the experiments was 1652.7 mg N m-3 during the first our of experiments, comparable with the smaller value reported for the updraft reactors, this value is reduced significantly after the stabilization of the gasification process in the reactor. The smaller value obtained was 21 mg N m-3. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Comparação da estabilização da manipueira com calcário e hidróxido de sódio na fase acidogênica da biodigestão anaeróbia e uso do biofertilizante

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Desempenho de reatores anaeróbios horizontais com manta de lodo e de leito fixo, em série, tratando águas residuárias do beneficiamento do café por via úmida

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Prediction of the combustion process in fluidized bed based on physical-chemical properties of biomass particles and their hydrodynamic behaviors

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avaliação da influência da agitação no tratamento anaeróbio por leito fixo de manipueira

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Tratamento da manipueira em sistema anaeróbio de leito fixo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Co-digestão anaeróbia de resíduos vegetais e águas residuárias de suinocultura em reatores horizontais de leito fixo e alta taxa

Pós-graduação em Microbiologia Agropecuária - FCAV

Tratamento de águas residuárias de suinocultura em reatores anaeróbios horizontais de alta taxa seguidos de filtro biológico percolador

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Phenol degradation in an anaerobic fluidized bed reactor packed with low density support materials

The objective of this research was to study phenol degradation in anaerobic fluidized bed reactors (AFBR) packed with polymeric particulate supports (polystyrene - PS, polyethylene terephthalate - PET, and polyvinyl chloride - PVC). The reactors were operated with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h. The influent phenol concentration in the AFBR varied from 100 to 400 mg L-1, resulting in phenol removal efficiencies of similar to 100%. The formation of extracellular polymeric substances yielded better results with the PVC particles; however, deformations in these particles proved detrimental to reactor operation. PS was found to be the best support for biomass attachment in an AFBR for phenol removal. The AFBR loaded with PS was operated to analyze the performance and stability for phenol removal at feed concentrations ranging from 50 to 500 mg L-1. The phenol removal efficiency ranged from 90-100%.

Effect of Substrate Concentration on Dark Fermentation Hydrogen Production Using an Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactor

The effect of substrate (glucose) concentration on the stability and yield of a continuous fermentative process that produces hydrogen was studied. Four anaerobic fluidized bed reactors (AFBRs) were operated with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 1 to 8 h and an influent glucose concentration from 2 to 25 gL(-1). The reactors were inoculated with thermally pre-treated anaerobic sludge and operated at a temperature of 30 degrees C with an influent pH around 5.5 and an effluent pH of about 3.5. The AFBRs with a HRT of 2 h and a feed strength of 2, 4, and 10 gL(-1) showed satisfactory H-2 production performance, but the reactor fed with 25 gL(-1) of glucose did not. The highest hydrogen yield value was obtained in the reactor with a glucose concentration of 2 gL(-1) when it was operated at a HRT of 2 h. The maximum hydrogen production rate value was achieved in the reactor with a HRT of 1 h and a feed strength of 10 gL(-1). The AFBRs operated with glucose concentrations of 2 and 4 gL(-1) produced greater amounts of acetic and butyric acids, while AFBRs with higher glucose concentrations produced a greater amount of solvents.

Processo biotecnologico a cellule immobilizzate per la produzione di acidi grassi volatili da acque di vegetazione

Le acque di vegetazione (AV) costituiscono un serio problema di carattere ambientale, sia a causa della loro elevata produzione sia per l’ elevato contenuto di COD che oscilla fra 50 e 150 g/l. Le AV sono considerate un refluo a tasso inquinante fra i più elevati nell’ambito dell’industria agroalimentare e la loro tossicità è determinata in massima parte dalla componente fenolica. Il presente lavoro si propone di studiare e ottimizzare un processo non solo di smaltimento di tale refluo ma anche di una sua valorizzazione, utlizzandolo come materia prima per la produzione di acidi grassi e quindi di PHA, polimeri biodegradabili utilizzabili in varie applicazioni. A tale scopo sono stati utilizzati due bioreattori anaerobici a biomassa adesa, di identica configurazione, con cui si sono condotti due esperimenti in continuo a diverse temperature e carichi organici al fine di studiare l’influenza di tali parametri sul processo. Il primo esperimento è stato condotto a 35°C e carico organico pari a 12,39 g/Ld, il secondo a 25°C e carico organico pari a 8,40 g/Ld. Si è scelto di allestire e mettere in opera un processo a cellule immobilizzate in quanto questa tecnologia si è rivelata vantaggiosa nel trattamento continuo di reflui ad alto contenuto di COD e carichi variabili. Inoltre si è scelto di lavorare in continuo poiché tale condizione, per debiti tempi di ritenzione idraulica, consente di minimizzare la metanogenesi, mediata da microrganismi con basse velocità specifiche di crescita. Per costituire il letto fisso dei due reattori si sono utilizzati due diversi tipi di supporto, in modo da poter studiare anche l’influenza di tale parametro, in particolare si è fatto uso di carbone attivo granulare (GAC) e filtri ceramici Vukopor S10 (VS). Confrontando i risultati si è visto che la massima quantità di VFA prodotta nell’ambito del presente studio si ha nel VS mantenuto a 25°C: in tale condizione si arriva infatti ad un valore di VFA prodotti pari a 524,668 mgCOD/L. Inoltre l’effluente in uscita risulta più concentrato in termini di VFA rispetto a quello in entrata: nell’alimentazione la percentuale di materiale organico presente sottoforma di acidi grassi volatili era del 54 % e tale percentuale, in uscita dai reattori, ha raggiunto il 59 %. Il VS25 rappresenta anche la condizione in cui il COD degradato si è trasformato in percentuale minore a metano (2,35 %) e questo a prova del fatto che l’acidogenesi ha prevalso sulla metanogenesi. Anche nella condizione più favorevole alla produzione di VFA però, si è riusciti ad ottenere una loro concentrazione in uscita (3,43 g/L) inferiore rispetto a quella di tentativo (8,5 g/L di VFA) per il processo di produzione di PHA, sviluppato da un gruppo di ricerca dell’università “La Sapienza” di Roma, relativa ad un medium sintetico. Si può constatare che la modesta produzione di VFA non è dovuta all’eccessiva degradazione del COD, essendo questa nel VS25 appena pari al 6,23%, ma piuttosto è dovuta a una scarsa concentrazione di VFA in uscita. Questo è di buon auspicio nell’ottica di ottimizzare il processo migliorandone le prestazioni, poiché è possibile aumentare tale concentrazione aumentando la conversione di COD in VFA che nel VS25 è pari a solo 5,87%. Per aumentare tale valore si può agire su vari parametri, quali la temperatura e il carico organico. Si è visto che il processo di acidogenesi è favorito, per il VS, per basse temperature e alti carichi organici. Per quanto riguarda il reattore impaccato con carbone attivo la produzione di VFA è molto ridotta per tutti i valori di temperatura e carichi organici utilizzati. Si può quindi pensare a un’applicazione diversa di tale tipo di reattore, ad esempio per la produzione di metano e quindi di energia.