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Hydrogen Production by Photoreforming of Organic Compounds - Pages 55-59

Ilenia Rossetti, Elnaz Bahadori, Alberto Villa, Laura Prati and Gianguido Ramis

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-6002.2018.07.07

Published: 29 November 2018

Abstract: H₂ is gaining attention as energy vector, particularly if produced from renewable sources.

It may be produced through photoreforming of organic compounds that act as hole scavengers to improve hydrogen productivity with respect to direct water photosplitting. Methanol is used here as model molecule to investigate the effect of catalyst composition and of substrate concentration on photocatalytic activity. Simple catalysts formulations were selected, in order to propose an easily scalable technology with a poorly expensive material. TiO₂ with different structure (anatase, rutile and a mixture of them) was used as semiconductor, doped with a small amount of Au (0.1 wt%) to improve the lifetime of photogenerated charges.

A new photoreactor was set up, with external irradiation that improves the scale up feasibility and possible future application with solar energy. Methanol conversion and hydrogen productivity increased with increasing methanol concentration up to 15 wt%. Rutile led to the highest conversion, but TiO₂ P25 showed the highest hydrogen productivity.

The best result was achieved by treating a 15 wt% methanol solution with 0.1 wt%Au/TiO₂ P25, which led to 0.276 mol H₂ h^-1 kg_cat^-1.

Keywords: Hydrogen production, Photocatalytic water splitting, Photocatalytic reforming, Titanium dioxide.

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A Power Flow Method for Radial Distribution Feeders with DER Penetration
- Pages 1-12

Panagiotis M. Anagnostopoulos and Stavros A. Papathanassiou

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-6002.2019.08.01

Published: 06 August 2019

Abstract: This paper presents a novel power flow method suitable for radial distribution feeders, which consists a modification of the simplified power flow concept known as the DistFlow method, already available in the literature. The proposed method relies upon a differentiated manipulation of power losses, which are taken into account in voltage calculations, unlike other simplified methods, where losses are totally neglected. As a result, calculation accuracy is greatly improved, in terms of node voltages, losses and overall active & reactive power flows. In addition, the proposed method is non-iterative and entirely linear, being easily implementable and fast in execution. The method is particularly suited for feeders with a high penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), providing results that closely match those of a full non-linear power flow and are considerably more accurate than the traditional linearized distribution power flow methods, without any increase in computational burden. The new method is applied to a variety of case studies in the paper, to demonstrate its accuracy and effectiveness, comparing its performance with the simplified (linearized) DistFlow and a conventional non-linear power flow method.

Keywords: Distribution power flow, voltage calculation, power losses calculation, distributed energy resources, DistFlow, ModDistFlow.

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Can Bioethanol Lead Pakistan Towards Sustainability and Prosperity? A Narrative Review
- Pages 13-20

Abeer Mohsin and Syeda Zehratul Fatima

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-6002.2019.08.02

Published: 20 December 2019

Abstract: Economic recession, power and fuel shortage, waste management and pollution leading to global warming and climate change are few of the major issues faced by Pakistan, a developing country. These issues can be addressed to some extent by implementing policies and programmes by the government that will promote the development of the renewable energy sector in the country. Pakistan being an agricultural country has great potential to produce bioethanol, by using agricultural and municipal waste, and be able to fulfil its fuel requirements. Countries such as Canada, China and Brazil, the top producers of bioethanol in the world, can be followed as examples in terms of making policies for the growth and development of bioethanol industries. The government should make policies to replace traditional petroleum with ethanol-blended fuel to minimize the energy crisis and environmental pollution throughout the country.

Keywords: Renewable energy, pollution, economic growth, sustainable development goals, global warming, waste management.

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Economic Analysis of Utilization of Corn Stover for Bioenergy Production: Towards Diversifying Income Opportunities for Small Farmers
- Pages 21-28

Ibukun D. Alegbeleye and Prabodh Illukpitiya

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-6002.2019.08.03

Published: 30 December 2019

Abstract: Bioenergy production from plant wastes such as corn stover has the potential to improve energy security and mitigate climate change in the United States. However, there is a limited understanding of its utilization and economic potentials for bioenergy production. The overall objective of the study was to estimate the economic profitability of utilizing corn stover for different ventures after harvesting corn, which includes: 1) corn stover production, 2) ethanol production, and 3) electricity generation through on-farm gasifiers. The data for this study was based on secondary data from various sources. The benefit-cost model was applied for the analysis. Investment evaluation criteria include annualized net return from corn stover, ethanol, and electricity generation. Results show that under current conversion rate, the net return from marketing corn stover ranges from $80.61/kg to $394.11/kg, while the net return from ethanol production ranges from $-104.91/ha to $848.96/ha of corn stover under varying price and yield scenarios. Also, under the government subsidy scheme that covers 25% of equipment costs, there is an investment opportunity for on-farm gasifier with an NPV of $4,329.29. The findings of the study show the potential for using corn stover for bioenergy production since it showed a positive net return. Also, the production of ethanol from corn stover is not only economically feasible but also socially acceptable since it does not compete with food production, and serves as a means of income diversification for corn farmers.

Keywords: Corn stover, plant waste, biofuel, ethanol, benefit-cost, gasifier.

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