Investigation of titanium liquid/gas diffusion layers in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells

In a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell (PEMEC), liquid/gas diffusion layer (LGDL) is expected to transport electrons, heat, and reactants/products to and from the catalyst layer with minimum voltage, current, thermal, interfacial, and fluidic losses. In addition, carbon materials, which are typically used in PEM fuel cells (PEMFCs), are unsuitable in PEMECs due to the high ohmic potential and highly oxidative environment of the oxygen electrode. In this study, a set of titanium gas diffusion layers with different thicknesses and porosities are designed and examined coupled with the development of a robust titanium bipolar plate. It has been found that the performance of electrolyzer improves along with a decrease in thickness or porosity of the anode LGDL of titanium woven meshes. The ohmic resistance of anode LGDL and contact resistance between anode LGDL and the anode catalyst play dominant roles in electrolyzer performance, and better performance can be obtained by reducing ohmic resistance. Thin titanium LGDLs with straight-through pores and optimal pore morphologies are recommended for the future developments of low-cost LGDLs with minimum ohmic/transport losses.     

煤粉炉掺烧干化污泥的污染物排放研究

结合某电厂420 t/h四角煤粉炉掺烧污泥项目的实验室分析测试,了解煤粉掺烧不同含水率不同比例的干化污泥条件下烟气中污染物和灰渣中重金属的排放特性。结果表明,在实验研究配比和燃烧的条件下,大部分重金属元素Pb、Cu、Cr和Ni残留在灰渣中,Zn、Cd部分残留在灰渣中,As、Hg和Se等易挥发元素释放到烟气中,在灰渣中的含量很小。掺烧污泥后,灰渣中的重金属含量较单烧单煤都有了一定幅度的升高,Zn的含量是单煤的2倍,其余重金属是单煤的1.1~1.2倍。3种不同的掺混比例之间的污染气体排放浓度基本相似。烟气中主要污染物及重金属浓度可以满足现行国家标准。与单烧单煤相比,CO、HCl以及其他有机气体排放浓度基本相同;NH3的排放浓度较单煤有所升高;SO2、NOx和CO2排放浓度略有降低;飞灰浓度有所升高。烟气中的重金属,Hg含量升高了30%,Pb含量约为单煤的4.3~4.8倍。以上研究结果可为环保达标和飞灰利用提供基础数据。     

Estimating and comparing greenhouse gas emissions with their uncertainties using different methods: A case study for an energy supply utility

Energy supply utilities release significant amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. It is essential to accurately estimate GHG emissions with their uncertainties, for reducing GHG emissions and mitigating climate change. GHG emissions can be calculated by an activity-based method (i.e., fuel consumption) and continuous emission measurement (CEM). In this study, GHG emissions such as CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O are estimated for a heat generation utility, which uses bituminous coal as fuel, by applying both the activity-based method and CEM. CO₂ emissions by the activity-based method are 12–19% less than that by the CEM, while N₂O and CH₄ emissions by the activity-based method are two orders of magnitude and 60% less than those by the CEM, respectively. Comparing GHG emissions (as CO₂ equivalent) from both methods, total GHG emissions by the activity-based methods are 12–27% lower than that by the CEM, as CO₂ and N₂O emissions are lower than those by the CEM. Results from uncertainty estimation show that uncertainties in the GHG emissions by the activity-based methods range from 3.4% to about 20%, from 67% to 900%, and from about 70% to about 200% for CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄, respectively, while uncertainties in the GHG emissions by the CEM range from 4% to 4.5%. For the activity-based methods, an uncertainty in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default net calorific value (NCV) is the major uncertainty contributor to CO₂ emissions, while an uncertainty in the IPCC default emission factor is the major uncertainty contributor to CH₄ and N₂O emissions. For the CEM, an uncertainty in volumetric flow measurement, especially for the distribution of the volumetric flow rate in a stack, is the major uncertainty contributor to all GHG emissions, while uncertainties in concentration measurements contribute a little to uncertainties in the GHG emissions.

Implications:Energy supply utilities contribute a significant portion of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is important to accurately estimate GHG emissions with their uncertainties for reducing GHG emissions and mitigating climate change. GHG emissions can be estimated by an activity-based method and by continuous emission measurement (CEM), yet little study has been done to calculate GHG emissions with uncertainty analysis. This study estimates GHG emissions and their uncertainties, and also identifies major uncertainty contributors for each method.     

添加炭基材料对蔬菜废物好氧堆肥进程和腐熟度的影响

以蔬菜废弃物辣椒秸秆和树叶为堆肥原料(CK),采用密闭式好氧堆肥工艺,研究了添加5%木本泥炭(T1)、5%活性炭(T2)和10%木本泥炭(T3)等炭基材料对堆肥p H、EC、CO2累积量、物料损失率、T值、C/N和发芽率指数的影响。结果显示,T2处理的p H在60 d后维持在8~9之间;EC值随着堆肥进行呈现先下降后升高再下降的趋势,最终CK、T1、T2和T3处理的EC值(m S/cm)分别降低了1.02、0.76、0.33和0.48;T2和T3处理的CO2累积量一直高于其他处理;所有处理的物料损失率均在20%以上;4个处理堆肥产品的T值分别为0.56、0.65、0.68和0.69;堆肥产品的发芽率指数分别为63.2%、69.3%、93.5%和86.1%。T值和发芽率指数显示T2和T3处理达到了腐熟阶段。结果表明,在蔬菜堆肥处理中添加炭基材料可改善堆肥产品的理化性质,加速堆肥物料的分解,有效地缩短堆肥周期和提高堆肥产品的腐熟度。     

A real-time monitoring and assessment method for calculation of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted in subway stations

Subway systems are considered as main public transportation facility in developed countries. Time spent by people in indoors, such as underground spaces, subway stations, and indoor buildings, has gradually increased in the recent past. Especially, operators or old persons who stay in indoor environments more than 15 hr per day usually influenced a greater extent by indoor air pollutants. Hence, regulations on indoor air pollutants are needed to ensure good health of people. Therefore, in this study, a new cumulative calculation method for the estimation of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted inside the subway station is proposed by taking cumulative amounts of indoor air pollutants based on integration concept. Minimum concentration of individual air pollutants which naturally exist in indoor space is referred as base concentration of air pollutants and can be found from the data collected. After subtracting the value of base concentration from data point of each data set of indoor air pollutant, the primary quantity of emitted air pollutant is calculated. After integration is carried out with these values, adding the base concentration to the integration quantity gives the total amount of indoor air pollutant emitted. Moreover, the values of new index for cumulative indoor air quality obtained for 1 day are calculated using the values of cumulative air quality index (CAI). Cumulative comprehensive indoor air quality index (CCIAI) is also proposed to compare the values of cumulative concentrations of indoor air pollutants. From the results, it is clear that the cumulative assessment approach of indoor air quality (IAQ) is useful for monitoring the values of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted, in case of exposure to indoor air pollutants for a long time. Also, the values of CCIAI are influenced more by the values of concentration of NO₂, which is released due to the use of air conditioners and combustion of the fuel. The results obtained in this study confirm that the proposed method can be applied to monitor total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted, inside apartments and hospitals as well.

Implications: Nowadays, subway systems are considered as main public transportation facility in developed countries. Time spent by people in indoors, such as underground spaces, subway stations, and indoor buildings, has gradually increased in the recent past. Especially, operators or old persons who stay in the indoor environments more than 15 hr per day usually influenced a greater extent by indoor air pollutants. Hence, regulations on indoor air pollutants are needed to ensure good health of people. Therefore, this paper presents a new methodology for monitoring and assessing total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted inside underground spaces and subway stations. A new methodology for the calculation of cumulative amounts of indoor air pollutants based on integration concept is proposed. The results suggest that the cumulative assessment approach of IAQ is useful for monitoring the values of total amounts of indoor air pollutants, if indoor air pollutants accumulated for a long time, especially NO₂ pollutants. The results obtained here confirm that the proposed method can be applied to monitor total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted, inside apartments and hospitals as well.     

Physicochemical properties of chars at different treatment temperatures

In this study, the physicochemical properties of the char of Indonesian SM coal following heat treatment at various temperatures were evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and morphological and specific surface area analysis. Based on these analyses, heat treatment of coal was determined to be the most effective in increasing the coal rank. In the XPS analysis, the C-O and C-O-C groups and quaternary-N species were found to be of a lower grade coal when the pretreatment temperature decreased, meanwhile the C-C group and pyridinic species increased. In the FT-IR analysis, the collapse of the C-O and C-O-C group was observed due to the collapse of the ether group. In SEM and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, a decrease in the ether group was shown to be accompanied with the formation of micropores.     

生物倍增工艺同步脱氮除磷强化途径分析

通过对生物倍增工艺处理市政污水的沿程污染物降解规律的考察表明,工艺对有机物的去除效果显著,COD和BOD5出水分别为47.80 mg/L和19.80 mg/L;氨氮去除率可达100%。发现厌氧区提前发生反硝化并一定程度上影响系统除磷效果;通过对各主要影响因素进行分析,认为低碳源的进水条件是影响系统同步脱氮除磷效果的关键因素;提出在进水口直接添加碳源以及分点进水的碳源分配＋辅助化学除磷的方式可强化氮磷去除效果。     

江苏沿海风能资源禀赋与开发利用研究

江苏沿海地区拥有丰富的风能资源,开发前景十分广阔,尤其是中部、南部地区拥有广阔的沿海滩涂和辐射沙洲,建设沿海风电场的条件优越,是打造江苏"海上三峡"新能源基地的希望所在。阐述了江苏沿海风能资源开发的重要意义,分析了沿海风能资源的禀赋与时空分布特点,指出江苏沿海岸区风能资源丰富,且沿海滩涂宽广,是建立大型风力发电场的理想之地,在此基础上提出发展江苏沿海绿色能源基地的构想。     

城市自来水中挥发性有机氯污染物检测及健康风险评价初步研究

水质安全是饮用水安全的重中之重,直接关系到人体健康。采用健康风险评价模式,对某市饮用水进行了分析和评价。研究结果表明,该市通过饮水途径引起的非致癌健康风险中四氯化碳最大,三氯甲烷次之,两者风险水平在10-5～10-6,远低于美国环境保护署推荐的最大可接受风险水平。通过饮水途径所致健康风险中,四氯乙烯所引起的致癌风险最大(1.2×10-8),但远远低于美国环境保护署推荐的通过饮水途径最大可接受风险水平(5×10-5)。根据美国环境保护署的推荐值,初步认为目前该市饮用水中挥发性有机污染物不会对人体产生明显的健康危害。     

北京市城镇生活方式的环境与能源调查分析

我国现在正处在城市建设的高峰期,建筑能耗已经占到我国总的商品能耗的20%-30%,其中住宅能耗甚至约占到总建筑能耗的60%。尽管如此,但是北京市在住宅建筑能耗这方面的数据还比较缺乏。为了全面了解北京市住宅建筑的室内环境和能耗现状,于2009年1月至2009年5月分别对北京市7个区中的23个住宅小区和2个农贸市场进行了问卷调查,共发放问卷3000份,其中有效问卷为1692份。问卷内容主要包括:建筑情况、围护结构、空调情况、生活习性等。在本次调查对象中非节能建筑占14%,铁窗使用率占到9%,住宅建筑围护结构节能有待提高;64%的用户多余1台空调,99%的住户空调器的制冷温度低于北京市提倡的29℃空调温度;调查结果表明,北京市住宅建筑单位面积能耗为64kW.h/(m2.年),高于中国城镇水平,为美国的2/3,此外,一些有效的节能行为并没有引起大家足够的重视,应加强对节能行为的宣传。