Publications

Journal article

Leonzio G, Fennell PS, Shah N, 2022,

Modelling and analysis of direct air capture systems in different locations

, Chemical Engineering Transactions, Vol: 96, Pages: 1-6, ISSN: 1974-9791

Direct air capture is an important negative emission technology with the aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere and to face the current environmental problems such as global warming and climate change. This emerging technology can be based on an adsorption system affected by the used sorbent (physisorbents or chemisorbents). Efficiencies can be measured through the use of key performance indicators that allow a comparison among different processes. An independent analysis was conducted in our previous research to evaluate key performance indicators (total cost, energy consumption, environmental impact and capture capacity) for a direct air capture system based on adsorption using different sorbents (three metal organic frameworks and two amine functionalized sorbents). In this research, the same analysis was extended to several Countries around the world, changing the ambient air temperature according to the yearly average value of the location. Results show that by increasing the air temperature, the adsorption capacity decreases, in a more significant way for metal organic frameworks compared to amine functionalized sorbents. An opposite effect is for energy consumption. Moreover, by increasing the ambient air temperature, a higher environmental impact (in terms of climate change) is present. A trend with the air temperature was not found for total costs. Overall, locations with lower ambient air temperatures are preferred due to a lower environmental impact and energy consumption.

Journal article

Acha Izquierdo S, vieira G, Bird M, Shah Net al., 2022,

Modelling UK electricity regional costs for commercial buildings

, Energy and Buildings, Vol: 271, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 0378-7788

Motivated by rising electricity prices UK non-domestic consumers are being required to develop smart energy management practices. However, most of these consumers lack awareness of the spatial-temporal dynamics of electricity prices and their tariff components. To help overcome these barriers and contribute to energy prices digitalisation, this paper presents a Modelling UK Electricity Regional Costs (MUKERC) framework. A bottom-up methodology that defines all the tariff components and then aggregates them to quantify the cost of a kWh across each half-hour of the day. The framework not only facilitates understanding which tariffs components have a higher impact during different time periods but also depicts how they vary spatially across regions. This model was used to estimate and analyse the evolution of electricity costs from 2017 to 2024. Case studies from buildings in the education sector are showcased depicting their energy costs derived from their load profiles. Results show that the London area has the lowest average prices, while the Northern Wales & Merseyside is the most expensive. From the case studies conducted, peak period charges account for 17% of annual electricity costs (occurring between 4 to 7 p.m.). Winter period charges represented about 53% of the charges. The MUKERC framework showcases the valuable insights data-driven costing models offer as it allows to understand the dynamics of electricity charges and identifies “when” and “where” the cost of electricity is more expensive; thus, supporting the development of bespoke cost-effective energy measures that improve resource efficiency and smart energy management initiatives.

Journal article

High M, Patzschke C, Zheng L, Zeng D, Xiao R, Fennell P, Song Qet al., 2022,

Hydrotalcite-derived copper-based oxygen carrier materials for efficient chemical-looping combustion of solid fuels with CO2 capture

, Energy and Fuels, Vol: 36, Pages: 11062-11076, ISSN: 0887-0624

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a promising technology that utilizes metal oxides as oxygen carriers for the combustion of fossil fuels to CO2 and H2O, with CO2 readily sequestrated after the condensation of steam. Thermally stable and reactive metal oxides are desirable as oxygen carrier materials for the CLC processes. Here, we report the performance of Cu-based mixed oxides derived from hydrotalcite (also known as layered double hydroxides) precursors as oxygen carriers for the combustion of solid fuels. Two types of CLC processes were demonstrated, including chemical looping oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) and in situ gasification (iG-CLC) in the presence of steam. The Cu-based oxygen carriers showed high performance for the combustion of two solid fuels (a lignite and a bituminous coal), maintaining high thermal stability, fast reaction kinetics, and reversible oxygen release and storage over multiple redox cycles. Slight deactivation and sintering of the oxygen carrier occurred after redox cycles at an very high operation temperature of 985 °C. We expect that our material design strategy will inspire the development of better oxygen carrier materials for a variety of chemical looping processes for the clean conversion of fossil fuels with efficient CO2 capture.

Journal article

Ward A, Pini R, 2022,

Efficient Bayesian optimisation of industrial-scale pressure-vacuum swing adsorption processes for CO2 capture

, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol: 61, Pages: 13650-13668, ISSN: 0888-5885

The design of adsorption systems for separation of CO2/N2 in carbon capture applications is notoriously challenging because it requires constrained multiobjective optimization to determine appropriate combinations of a moderately large number of system operating parameters. The status quo in the literature is to use the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) to solve the design problem. This approach requires 1000s of time-consuming process simulations to find the Pareto front of the problem, meaning it can take days of computational time to obtain a solution. As an alternative approach, we have employed a Bayesian optimization algorithm, the Thompson sampling efficient multiobjective optimization (TSEMO). For constrained productivity/energy usage optimization, we find that the TSEMO algorithm is able to find an essentially identical solution to the design problem as that found using NSGA-II, while requiring 14 times less computational time. We have used the TSEMO algorithm to design a postcombustion carbon capture system for a 1000 MW coal fired power plant using two adsorbent materials, zeolite 13X and ZIF-36-FRL. Although ZIF-36-FRL showed promising process-scale performance in previous studies, we find that the industrial-scale performance is inferior to the benchmark zeolite 13X, requiring a 21% greater cost per tonne of CO2 captured. Finally, we have also tested the performance of the Bayesian design framework when coupled with a data-driven machine learning process modeling framework. In this instance, we find that the incumbent NSGA-II offers better computational performance than the Bayesian approach by a factor of 3.

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Journal article

Li K, Acha Izquierdo S, Sunny N, Shah Net al., 2022,

Strategic transport fleet analysis of heavy goods vehicle technology for net-zero targets

, Energy Policy, Vol: 168, ISSN: 0301-4215

This paper addresses the decarbonisation of the heavy-duty transport sector and develops a strategy towards net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in heavy-goods vehicles (HGVs) by 2040. By conducting a literature review and a case study on the vehicle fleet of a large UK food and consumer goods retailer, the feasibilities of four alternative vehicle technologies are evaluated from environmental, economic, and technical perspectives. Socio-political factors and commercial readiness are also examined to capture non-technical criteria that influences decision-makers. Strategic analysis frameworks such as PEST-SWOT models were developed for liquefied natural gas, biomethane, electricity and hydrogen to allow a holistic comparison and identify their long-term deployment potential. Fossil and renewable natural gas are found to be effective transitional solutions. Technology innovation is needed to address range and payload limitations of electric trucks, whereas government and industry support are essential for a material deployment of hydrogen in the 2030s. Given the UK government’s plan to phase out new diesel HGVs by 2040, fleet operators should commence new vehicle trials by 2025 and replace a considerable amount of their lighter diesel trucks with zero-emission vehicles by 2030, and the remaining heavier truck fleet by 2035.

Journal article

Bird M, Daveau C, O'Dwyer E, Acha S, Shah Net al., 2022,

Real-world implementation and cost of a cloud-based MPC retrofit for HVAC control systems in commercial buildings

, Energy and Buildings, Vol: 270, Pages: 1-13, ISSN: 0378-7788

Many businesses are looking for ways to improve the energy and carbon usage of their buildings, particularly through enhanced data collection and control schemes. In this context, this paper presents a case study of a food-retail building in the UK, detailing the design, installation and cost of a generalisable model predictive control (MPC) framework for its Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. The hardware/software solution to collect relevant data, as well as the formulation of the MPC scheme, is presented. By utilising cloud-based microservices, this approach can be applied to all modern building management systems with little upfront capital, and an ongoing monthly cost as low as $6.39/month. The MPC scheme calculates the optimal temperature setpoint required for each Air-Handling Unit (AHU) to minimise its overall cost or carbon usage, while ensuring thermal comfort of occupants. Its performance is then compared to the existing legacy controller using a simulation the building’s thermal behaviour. When simulated across two months the MPC approach performed better, able to achieve the same thermal comfort for a lower overall cost. The economic optimisation resulted in an energy saving of 650 kWh, with an associated cost savings of $240 (1.7% compared to the baseline), while the carbon optimisation gave negligible CO2 savings due to the inability of the building to shift heating to low-carbon periods. Findings from this study indicate the potential for improving building performance via MPC strategies but impact will depend on specific building attributes.

Journal article

Broukos P, Fragkogios A, Shah N, 2022,

A Linearized Mathematical Formulation for Combined Centralized and Distributed Waste Water Treatment Network Design

, Operations Research Forum, Vol: 3

Waste water treatment (WWT) is a very important issue affecting both the environment and public health in the twenty-first century. The increasing earth’s population together with the growing urbanism leads to the need of redesigning effective WWT. In this paper, the problem of optimal Waste Water Treatment Network Design (WWTND) is addressed. To this end, various parameters affecting the problem have been taken into consideration, such as the distance between the residential areas and the treatment plants, estimations for future population of towns and costs of expanding existing network or building a new one. The last parameter of cost has a lot of components (pipeline cost, treatment plant cost, etc.), all of which are non-linear functions depending on the amount of waste water produced and treated within the network. The authors have developed a mathematical model for the solution of WWTND problem and have applied piecewise linearization in order to deal with the non-linear terms. The developed model has been implemented on an area in Luxemburg, for which data were collected. The results prove the model’s validity and usefulness, while its solution is computationally affordable.

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Journal article

Hoseinpoori P, Olympios AV, Markides CN, Woods J, Shah Net al., 2022,

A whole-system approach for quantifying the value of smart electrification for decarbonising heating in buildings

, Energy Conversion and Management, Vol: 268, Pages: 1-24, ISSN: 0196-8904

This paper uses a whole system approach to examine system design and planning strategies that enhance the system value of electrifying heating and identify trade-offs between consumers’ investment and infrastructure requirements for decarbonising heating in buildings. We present a novel integrated model of heat, electricity and gas systems, HEGIT, to investigate different heat electrification strategies using the UK as the case study from two perspectives: (i) a system planning perspective regarding the scope and timing of electrification; and (ii) a demand-side perspective regarding the operational and investment schemes on the consumer side. Our results indicate that complete electrification of heating increases peak electricity demand by 170%, resulting in a 160% increase in the required installed capacity in the electricity grid. However, this effect can be moderated by implementing smart demand-side schemes. Grid integration of heat pumps combined with thermal storage at the consumer-end was shown to unlock significant potential for diurnal load shifting, thereby reducing the electricity grid reinforcement requirements. For example, our results show that a 5 b£ investment in such demand-side flexibility schemes can reduce the total system transition cost by about 22 b£ compared to the case of relying solely on supply-side flexibility. In such a case, it is also possible to reduce consumer investment by lowering the output temperature of heat pumps from 55 °C to 45 °C and sharing the heating duty with electric resistance heaters. Furthermore, our results suggest that, when used at a domestic scale, ground-source heat pumps offer limited system value since their advantages (lower peak demand and reduced variations in electric heating loads) can instead be provided by grid-integration of air-source heat pumps and increased thermal storage capacity at a lower cost to consumers and with additional flexibility benefits for the electricity gr

Journal article

High M, Patzschke C, Zheng L, Zeng D, Gavalda Diaz O, Ding N, Chien KHH, Zhang Z, Wilson G, Berenov A, Skinner S, Campbell K, Xiao R, Fennell PAUL, Song Qet al., 2022,

Precursor engineering of hydrotalcite-derived redox sorbents for reversible and stable thermochemical oxygen storage

, Nature Communications, Vol: 13, ISSN: 2041-1723

Chemical looping processes based on multiple-step reduction and oxidation of metal oxideshold great promise for a variety of energy applications, such as CO2 capture and conversion, gasseparation, energy storage, and redox catalytic processes. Copper-based mixed oxides are one of themost promising candidate materials with a high oxygen storage capacity. However, the structuraldeterioration and sintering at high temperatures is one key scientific challenge. Herein, we report aprecursor engineering approach to prepare durable copper-based redox sorbents for use inthermochemical looping processes for combustion and gas purification. Calcination of the CuMgAlhydrotalcite precursors formed mixed metal oxides consisting of CuO nanoparticles dispersed in the MgAl oxide support which inhibits the formation of copper aluminates during redox cycling. The copperbased redox sorbents demonstrated enhanced reaction rates, stable O2 storage capacity over 500 redoxcycles at 900 °C, and efficient gas purification over a broad temperature range. We expect that ourmaterials design strategy has broad implications on synthesis and engineering of mixed metal oxides fora range of thermochemical processes and redox catalytic applications.

Journal article

Leonzio G, Shah N, 2022,

Innovative process integrating air source heat pumps and direct air capture processes

, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol: 61, Pages: 13221-13230, ISSN: 0888-5885

Most integrated assessment models indicate a need for technological carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere to achieve climate mitigation targets. Currently, direct air capture (DAC) appears to be one the “backstop” technologies suitable to provide this service. These technologies usually require low-carbon heat as part of their operation cycle. Here, we consider a way of providing this heat when no local heat source is available. Air source heat pump (ASHP) water heaters are a well-known technology that takes heat from the air to supply hot water. Variations on their operating conditions could provide water at 100 °C, when a trans-critical cycle is used. This level of temperature is required by several DAC adsorption processes as the thermal energy for the regeneration stage. For this reason, an innovative process integrating an ASHP and a DAC adsorption system is proposed here. The heat pump provides not only heating but also cooling, while three separate stages (adsorption, cooling, and regeneration) are considered for the DAC. In the integrated process, the air is sent to the adsorbent bed at first and after that to the evaporator of the heat pump and then used for the cooling stage. The hot water supplied by the heat pump is used for the desorption. Different working fluids (CO2, CO2-ethane, CO2-R41), with low ozone depletion and global warming potentials, are investigated. The results show that a high level of efficiency is possible for heat pumps supplying hot water at 100 °C. Moreover, energetic advantages are present with reference to the base case, where heat is provided by a municipal water incinerator and cooling by a cooling tower. Savings in the energy consumption of 55, 60, and 53% for the integrated process using CO2, CO2/R41, and CO2/ethane, respectively, are possible. Economic benefits are present when economic incentives are provided, ensuring lower costs up to 39 $/tonCO2, and the technology benefits from location flexibili

Journal article

Leonzio G, Fennell PS, Shah N, 2022,

Analysis of technologies for carbon dioxide capture from the air

, Applied Sciences-Basel, Vol: 12, ISSN: 2076-3417

Journal article

Zhang Y, Jackson C, Krevor S, 2022,

An estimate of the amount of geological CO2 storage over the period of 1996-2020

, Environmental Science and Technology Letters, Vol: 9, Pages: 693-698, ISSN: 2328-8930

The climate impact of carbon capture and storage depends on how much CO2 is stored underground, yet databases of industrial-scale projects report capture capacity as a measure of project size. We review publicly available sources to estimate the amount of CO2 that has been stored by facilities since 1996. We organize these sources into three categories corresponding to the associated degree of assurance: (1) legal assurance, (2) quality assurance through auditing, and (3) no assurance. Data were found for 20 facilities, with an aggregate capture capacity of 36 Mt of CO2 year–1. Combining data from all categories, we estimate that 29 Mt of CO2 was geologically stored in 2019 and there was cumulative storage of 197 Mt over the period of 1996–2020. These are climate relevant scales commensurate with recent cumulative and ongoing emissions impacts of renewables in some markets, e.g., solar photovoltaics in the United States. The widely used capture capacity is in aggregate 19–30% higher than storage rates and is not a good proxy for estimating storage volumes. However, the discrepancy is project-specific and not always a reflection of project performance. This work provides a snapshot of storage amounts and highlights the need for uniform reporting on capture and storage rates with quality assurance.

Journal article

Azzan H, Rajagopalan AK, L'Hermitte A, Pini R, Petit Cet al., 2022,

Simultaneous estimation of gas adsorption equilibria and kinetics of individual shaped adsorbents

, Chemistry of Materials, Vol: 34, Pages: 6671-6686, ISSN: 0897-4756

Shaped adsorbents (e.g., pellets, extrudates) are typically employed in several gas separation and sensing applications. The performance of these adsorbents is dictated by two key factors, their adsorption equilibrium capacity and kinetics. Often, adsorption equilibrium and textural properties are reported for materials. Adsorption kinetics are seldom presented due to the challenges associated with measuring them. The overarching goal of this work is to develop an approach to characterize the adsorption properties of individual shaped adsorbents with less than 100 mg of material. To this aim, we have developed an experimental dynamic sorption setup and complemented it with mathematical models, to describe the mass transport in the system. We embed these models into a derivative-free optimizer to predict model parameters for adsorption equilibrium and kinetics. We evaluate and independently validate the performance of our approach on three adsorbents that exhibit differences in their chemistry, synthesis, formulation, and textural properties. Further, we test the robustness of our mathematical framework using a digital twin. We show that the framework can rapidly (i.e., in a few hours) and quantitatively characterize adsorption properties at a milligram scale, making it suitable for the screening of novel porous materials.

Book

Assael MJ, Maitland GC, Maskow T, Stockar UV, Wakeham WA, Will Set al., 2022,

Commonly Asked Questions in Thermodynamics

, Publisher: CRC Press, ISBN: 9781000598773

... thermodynamics of carbon capture and storage processes for preventing CO2 from fossil fuels entering the atmosphere (as we did in Question 6.3), in this Chapter we will also examine the thermodynamic feasibility of direct air capture ...

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Journal article

Gonzalez-Garay A, Heuberger-Austin C, Fu X, Klokkenburg M, Zhang D, van der Made A, Shah Net al., 2022,

Unravelling the potential of sustainable aviation fuels to decarbonise the aviation sector

, Energy and Environmental Science, Vol: 15, Pages: 3291-3309, ISSN: 1754-5692

The aviation industry is responsible for approximately 2% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With an expected four to six-fold growth by 2050, increased attention has been paid to reduce its carbon footprint. In this study, we analyse the requirements to promote Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) from solar energy to reduce the emissions of the sector. Using a discrete spatio-temporal mathematical description of the region of Spain, we present the key elements required to produce jet fuel via Fischer–Tropsch (FT) and Methanol to fuels (MtF). We have found that solar PV, electricity storage, and alkaline water electrolysis are the key drivers for the performance of solar SAFs while the optimal location of the facilities is driven by the availability of solar radiation, underground H2 storage, and high jet fuel demand. We show that the constant supply of H2 requires an over sizing of technologies, which in turn decreases the utilisation of solar panels and electrolysers. While higher usage rates could be attained by a constant supply of electricity (e.g., via the electricity grid), the use of renewable sources is essential to guarantee a reduction in CO2 emissions compared to fossil-based jet fuel. We found that production costs in 2020 per kgfuel in Spain varied from 3.90 € (MtF) to 4.95 € (FT) using solar radiation as a sole source of energy and a point source of CO2, cutting CO2 life cycle emissions by ∼25% compared to their fossil-based counterpart (2.5–2.7 kgCO2eq per kgfuel). Potential technological improvements could reduce jet fuel production costs to 2.5–3.3 € per kgfuel for CO2 point sources while emissions could reach ∼1.0 kgCO2eq per kgfuel. Ultimately, the impact of these routes in the cost of a flight ticket would result in a minimum increase of 100–150% at present and 40–80% by 2050, accounting for current projections on technologies and carbon prices. This shows that future minimum c

Journal article

Kusumo K, Kuriyan K, Vaidyaraman S, Garcia Munoz S, Shah N, Chachuat Bet al., 2022,

Probabilistic framework for optimal experimental campaigns in the presence of operational constraints

, Reaction Chemistry and Engineering, Vol: 7, Pages: 2359-2374, ISSN: 2058-9883

The predictive capability of any mathematical model is intertwined with the quality of experimentaldata collected for its calibration. Model-based design of experiments helps compute maximallyinformative campaigns for model calibration. But in early stages of model development it is crucial toaccount for model uncertainties to mitigate the risk of uninformative or infeasible experiments. Thisarticle presents a new method to design optimal experimental campaigns subject to hard constraintsunder uncertainty, alongside a tractable computational framework. This computational frameworkinvolves two stages, whereby the feasible experimental space is sampled using a probabilistic approachin the first stage, and a continuous-effort optimal experiment design is determined by searching overthe sampled feasible space in the second stage. The tractability of this methodology is demonstratedon a case study involving the exothermic esterification of priopionic anhydride with significant risk ofthermal runaway during experimentation. An implementation is made freely available based on thePython packages DEUS and Pydex.

Journal article

Hwang J, Azzan H, Pini R, Petit Cet al., 2022,

H2, N2, CO2, and CH4 unary adsorption isotherm measurements at low and high pressures on zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF-8

, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, Vol: 67, Pages: 1674-1686, ISSN: 0021-9568

Excess adsorption of CO2, CH4, N2, and H2 on ZIF-8 was measured gravimetrically in the pressure range ranging from vacuum to 30 MPa at 298.15, 313.15, 333.15, 353.15, and 394.15 K using a magnetic suspension balance. The textural properties of the adsorbent material─i.e., skeletal density, surface area, pore volume, and pore-size distribution─were estimated by helium gravimetry and N2 (77 K) physisorption. The adsorption isotherms were fitted with the Sips isotherm model and the virial equation, and the values of isosteric heat of adsorption and Henry constants for the gases were determined using the latter.

Journal article

Pini R, Siderius DW, Siepmann JI, 2022,

Preface to Adsorption and Diffusion in Porous Materials Special Issue: Equilibrium Adsorption Data for Energy and Environmental Applications

, JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING DATA, Vol: 67, Pages: 1597-1598, ISSN: 0021-9568

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Citations: 1

Journal article

Baharudin L, Rahmat N, Othman NH, Shah N, Syed-Hassan SSAet al., 2022,

Formation, control, and elimination of carbon on Ni-based catalyst during CO2and CH4conversion via dry reforming process: A review

, Journal of Co2 Utilization, Vol: 61, ISSN: 2212-9820

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) promises to reduce greenhouse gas emission by converting CO2 and CH4 (produced e.g. in anaerobic digestion processes) into syngas with an almost equimolar H2/CO ratio suitable for use in Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis for the production of varieties of high value chemicals and liquid fuels. Ni-based catalyst is the most viable catalyst to catalyse the reaction, but its use faces a great challenge due to its propensity to form and accumulate carbonaceous materials on its active surface. In this article, the mechanisms involved in the deactivation of Ni-based catalyst in DRM reaction by carbon deposition and other carbon-induced deactivation mechanisms, which understanding is vital for the improvement of the process, are reviewed. Based on a thorough assessment of literature, perspectives are given on ways to control and mitigate carbon deposition problems related to the use of Ni-based catalysts in DRM by means of manipulating reaction conditions and process parameters as well as through designing and developing highly active coke-resistant Ni-based catalysts.

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Citations: 125

Journal article

Palmieri E, Kis Z, Ozanne J, Di Benedetto R, Ricchetti B, Massai L, Carducci M, Oldrini D, Gasperini G, Aruta MG, Rossi O, Kontoravdi C, Shah N, Mawas F, Micoli Fet al., 2022,

GMMA as an alternative carrier for a glycoconjugate vaccine against Group A streptococcus

, Vaccines, Vol: 10, Pages: 1-17, ISSN: 2076-393X

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes about 500,000 annual deaths globally, and no vaccines are currently available. The Group A Carbohydrate (GAC), conserved across all GAS serotypes, conjugated to an appropriate carrier protein, represents a promising vaccine candidate. Here, we explored the possibility to use Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens (GMMA) as an alternative carrier system for GAC, exploiting their intrinsic adjuvant properties. Immunogenicity of GAC-GMMA conjugate was evaluated in different animal species in comparison to GAC-CRM197; and the two conjugates were also compared from a techno-economic point of view. GMMA proved to be a good alternative carrier for GAC, resulting in a higher immune response compared to CRM197 in different mice strains, as verified by ELISA and FACS analyses. Differently from CRM197, GMMA induced significant levels of anti-GAC IgG titers in mice also in the absence of Alhydrogel. In rabbits, a difference in the immune response could not be appreciated; however, antibodies from GAC-GMMA-immunized animals showed higher affinity toward purified GAC antigen compared to those elicited by GAC-CRM197. In addition, the GAC-GMMA production process proved to be more cost-effective, making this conjugate particularly attractive for low- and middle-income countries, where this pathogen has a huge burden.

Journal article

Hennequin LM, Kim S, Monroe EA, Eckles TP, Beck N, Mays WD, Fennell PS, Hallett JP, George A, Davis RWet al., 2022,

Reclamation of nutrients, carbon, and metals from compromised surface waters fated to the Salton Sea: Biomass production and ecosystem services using an attached periphytic algae flow-way

, ALGAL RESEARCH-BIOMASS BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS, Vol: 66, ISSN: 2211-9264

Journal article

Ghaedi H, Kalhor P, Zhao M, Clough PT, Anthony EJ, Fennell PSet al., 2022,

Potassium carbonate-based ternary transition temperature mixture (deep eutectic analogues) for CO<sub>2</sub> absorption: Characterizations and DFT analysis

, FRONTIERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, Vol: 16, ISSN: 2095-2201

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Citations: 10

Journal article

Spurin C, Rucker M, Moura M, Bultreys T, Garfi G, Berg S, Blunt MJ, Krevor Set al., 2022,

Red Noise in Steady-State Multiphase Flow in Porous Media

, WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, Vol: 58, ISSN: 0043-1397

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Citations: 11

Journal article

Fan D, Chapman E, Khan A, Iacoviello F, Mikutis G, Pini R, Striolo Aet al., 2022,

Anomalous transport of colloids in heterogeneous porous media: a multi-scale statistical theory

, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol: 617, Pages: 94-105, ISSN: 0021-9797

HypothesisTransport of suspended colloids in heterogeneous porous media is a multi-scale process that exhibits anomalous behavior and cannot be described by the Fickian dispersion theory. Although many studies have documented colloids’ transport at different length scales, a theoretical basis that links pore- to core-scale observations remains lacking. It is hypothesized that a recently proposed pore-scale statistical kinetic theory is able to capture the results observed experimentally.ExperimentsWe implement a multi-scale approach via conducting core-flooding experiments of colloidal particles in a sandstone sample, simulating particles flowing through a sub-volume of the rock’s digital twin, and developing a core-scale statistical theory for particles’ residence times via upscaling the pore-scale kinetic theory. Experimental and computational results for solute transport are used as benchmark.FindingsBased on good agreement across the scales achieved in our investigation, we show that the macroscopically observed anomalous transport is particle-type dependent and stems from particles’ microscopic dispersion and deposition in heterogeneous flow fields. In particular, we reveal that residence-time distributions (i.e., breakthrough curve) obey a closed-form function that encompasses particles’ microscopic dynamics, which allows investigations of a whole transition from pre-asymptotic to asymptotic behavior. The physical insights attained could be useful for interpreting experimental data and designing colloidal tracers.

Journal article

Aunedi M, Yliruka M, Dehghan S, Pantaleo AM, Shah N, Strbac Get al., 2022,

Multi-model assessment of heat decarbonisation options in the UK using electricity and hydrogen

, Renewable Energy, Vol: 194, Pages: 1261-1276, ISSN: 0960-1481

Delivering low-carbon heat will require the substitution of natural gas with low-carbon alternatives such as electricity and hydrogen. The objective of this paper is to develop a method to soft-link two advanced, investment-optimising energy system models, RTN (Resource-Technology Network) and WeSIM (Whole-electricity System Investment Model), in order to assess cost-efficient heat decarbonisation pathways for the UK while utilising the respective strengths of the two models. The linking procedure included passing on hourly electricity prices from WeSIM as input to RTN, and returning capacities and locations of hydrogen generation and shares of electricity and hydrogen in heat supply from RTN to WeSIM. The outputs demonstrate that soft-linking can improve the quality of the solution, while providing useful insights into the cost-efficient pathways for zero-carbon heating. Quantitative results point to the cost-effectiveness of using a mix of electricity and hydrogen technologies for delivering zero-carbon heat, also demonstrating a high level of interaction between electricity and hydrogen infrastructure in a zero-carbon system. Hydrogen from gas reforming with carbon capture and storage can play a significant role in the medium term, while remaining a cost-efficient option for supplying peak heat demand in the longer term, with the bulk of heat demand being supplied by electric heat pumps.

Journal article

Romano MC, Antonini C, Bardow A, Bertsch V, Brandon NP, Brouwer J, Campanari S, Crema L, Dodds PE, Gardarsdottir S, Gazzani M, Kramer GJ, Lund PD, Mac Dowell N, Martelli E, Mastropasqua L, McKenna RC, Monteiro JGM-S, Paltrinieri N, Pollet BG, Reed JG, Schmidt TJ, Vente J, Wiley Det al., 2022,

Comment on "How green is blue hydrogen?"

, ENERGY SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, Vol: 10, Pages: 1944-1954

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Citations: 14

Journal article

Gonzalez-Garay A, Bui M, Freire Ordóñez D, High M, Oxley A, Moustafa N, Sáenz Cavazos PA, Patrizio P, Sunny N, Mac Dowell N, Shah Net al., 2022,

Hydrogen production and its applications to mobility

, Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vol: 13, Pages: 501-528, ISSN: 1947-5438

Hydrogen has been identified as one of the key elements to bolster longer-term climate neutrality and strategic autonomy for several major countries. Multiple road maps emphasize the need to accelerate deployment across its supply chain and utilization. Being one of the major contributors to global CO2 emissions, the transportation sector finds in hydrogen an appealing alternative to reach sustainable development through either its direct use in fuel cells or further transformation to sustainable fuels. This review summarizes the latest developments in hydrogen use across the major energy-consuming transportation sectors. Rooted in a systems engineering perspective, we present an analysis of the entire hydrogen supply chain across its economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Providing an outlook on the sector, we discuss the challenges hydrogen faces in penetrating the different transportation markets.

Journal article

Heldebrant DJ, Kothandaraman J, Mac Dowell N, Brickett Let al., 2022,

Next steps for solvent-based CO<sub>2</sub> capture; integration of capture, conversion, and mineralisation

, CHEMICAL SCIENCE, Vol: 13, Pages: 6445-6456, ISSN: 2041-6520

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Citations: 16

Journal article

Sanchez-Vicente Y, Trusler JPM, 2022,

Measurements and modelling of vapour-liquid equilibrium for (H2O + N-2) and (CO2 + H2O + N-2) systems at temperatures between 323 and 473 K and pressures up to 20 MPa

, Energies, Vol: 15, ISSN: 1996-1073

Understanding the phase behaviour of (CO2 + water + permanent gas) systems is critical for implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) processes, a key technology in reducing CO2 emissions. In this paper, phase behaviour data for (H2O + N2) and (CO2 + H2O + N2) systems are reported at temperatures from 323 to 473 K and pressures up to 20 MPa. In the ternary system, the mole ratio between CO2 and N2 was 1. Experiments were conducted in a newly designed analytical apparatus that includes two syringe pumps for fluid injection, a high-pressure equilibrium vessel, heater aluminium jacket, Rolsi sampling valves and an online gas chromatograph (GC) for composition determination. A high-sensitivity pulsed discharge detector installed in the GC was used to measure the low levels of dissolved nitrogen in the aqueous phase and low water levels in the vapour phase. The experimental data were compared with the calculation based on the γ-φ and SAFT-γ Mie approaches. In the SAFT-γ Mie model, the like parameters for N2 had to be determined. We also obtained the unlike dispersion energy for the (H2O + N2) system and the unlike repulsive exponent and dispersion energy for the (CO2 + N2) system. This was done to improve the prediction of SAFT-γ Mie model. For the (H2O + N2) binary system, the results show that the solubility of nitrogen in the aqueous phase was calculated better by the γ-φ approach rather than the SAFT-γ Mie model, whereas SAFT-γ Mie performed better for the prediction of the vapour phase. For the (CO2 + H2O + N2) ternary systems, both models predicted the experimental data for each phase with good agreement

Conference paper

Wedler C, Aljeshi Y, Trusler J, 2022,

Speed of sound measurements in hydrogen using a new cylindrical resonator at pressures up to 100 MPa

, 27th Thermodynamics Conference

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Precursor engineering of hydrotalcite-derived redox sorbents for reversible and stable thermochemical oxygen storage

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Speed of sound measurements in hydrogen using a new cylindrical resonator at pressures up to 100 MPa