Publications

The potential of electron-donating capability in methoxy groups of antioxidant containing protein (ACAP) as organic catalyst is restricted by its low isoelectric point. The goal of this study is to construct endure ACAP based metal-free organic catalyst for hydrogen production from electrolysis of noodle wastewater. The ACAP was coated thermomechanically on PVC sheet and its performance was tested during electrolysis of noodle wastewater. The morphological analysis phase analysis and elemental analysis of coated materials have shown a simultaneous pattern with electrolysis performances. The use of graphite flake to cover turmeric ACAP obstructs the electron to attack directly the positive charge of ACAP so that the electrocatalytic endurance increases while maintaining the hydrogen production rate. The combination of phenolic and enzymatic ACAPs is found to have the slowest reaction rate and lowest hydrogen production. The phenolic compound inhibits the enzymatic reaction.

It has been investigated the Ni-Co alloys (obtained from powder 0.1...0.3 mm under hot gaseous (in argon) isostatic pressure (up to 300 MPa) (Ni60Co15Cr8W8Al2Mo3) (Firth Rixon Metal Ltd Sheffield) and deformed (obtained by vacuum induced remealting) materials (Ni62Cr14Co10Mo5Nb3Al3Ti3) for gaseous turbine discs. Investigation has performed in the range of temperature 25…800°С and hydrogen pressure up to 70 MPa. By the 3D visualization of crack morphology it has been discovered the structure of fatigue crack surface and established the refer points on crack path including the boundary between the matrix and intermetallic particles (400×200 μm) crack opening structural elements distributions on the surface for selection of next local areas for more precision fracture surface and TEM examinations. Hydrogen influence on cyclic crack resistance parameters appears in the decreasing of loading cycles number (with amplitudes 15 MPa) in hydrogenated specimens of both alloys and increase with hydrogen concentration. At the highest hydrogen saturation regimes of Ni60Co15Cr8W8Al2Mo3 alloy (800°С 35 MPa Н2 36 hours С_Н = 32.7 ppm) number of cycles which necessary for crack initiation is 3 times less in comparison with specimen in initial state. At crack initiation step in hydrogenated Ni56Cr14Co15Mo5Al3Ti3 alloy it has been established that before intermetallic inclusion (400×200 μm) local stresses increased after its passing – has decreased. By fracture surface investigation it has been found the micro cracks up to 40 μm. Thin structure of heat resistant superalloys has characterises by disperse phase agglomeration with dimensions from 5 to 30 nm and crack propagation has a jumping character with no less then 50…70 nm steps.

Eliminating CO₂ emissions from industry and transport in line with the 1.5⁰C climate goal

To avoid catastrophic climate change the world needs to reach zero carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in all all sectors of the economy by the 2050s. Effective energy decarbonisation presents a major challenge especially in key industry and transport sectors.



The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has produced a comprehensive study of deep decarbonisation options focused on reaching zero into time to fulfil the Paris Agreement and hold the line on rising global temperatures.



Several sectors stand out as especially hard to decarbonise. Four of the most energy-intensive industries (iron and steel chemicals and petrochemicals cement and lime and aluminium) and three key transport sectors (road freight aviation and shipping) could together account for 38% of energy and process emissions and 43% of final energy use by 2050 without major policy changes now the report finds.



Reaching zero with renewables considers how these sectors could achieve zero emissions by 2060 and assesses the use of renewables and related technologies to achieve this. Decarbonisation options for each sector span efficiency improvements electrification direct heat and fuel production using renewables along with CO₂ removal measures.



Without such measures energy and process emissions could amount to 11.4 gigatonnes from industry and 8.6 gigatonnes from transport at mid-century the report indicates. Along with sector-specific actions cross-cutting actions are needed at higher levels.



The report offers ten broad recommendations for industries and governments:

1. Pursue a renewables-based strategy for end-use sectors with an end goal of zero emissions.

2. Develop a shared vision and strategy and co-develop practical roadmaps involving all major players.

3. Build confidence and knowledge among decision makers.

4. Plan and deploy enabling infrastructure early on.

5. Foster early demand for green products and services.

6. Develop tailored approaches to ensure access to finance.

7. Collaborate across borders.

8. Think globally while utilising national strengths.

9. Establish clear pathways for the evolution of regulations and international standards.

10. Support research development and systemic innovation.



With the right plans and sufficient support the goal of reaching zero is achievable the report shows.

For the membrane and spiral walls of the new USC boilers the advanced T24 material was developed. In 2010 however extensive T24 tube weld cracking during the commissioning phase of several newly built boilers was observed. As the dominant root cause Hydrogen Induced - Stress Corrosion Cracking was reported. An investigation into the interaction of the T24 material with hydrogen was launched in order to compare its hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility with that of the T12 steel commonly used for older boiler evaporators. Both base materials and simulated Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) microstructures were tested. Total and diffusible hydrogen in the materials after electrochemical charging were measured. Thermo Desorption Spectrometry was used to gain insights into the trapping behaviour and the apparent diffusion coefficient at room temperature was determined. Based on the hardness and the diffusible hydrogen pick-up capacity of the materials it was concluded that T12 is less susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement than T24 as base material as well as in the HAZ condition and that the HAZ of T24 is more susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement than the base material both in the as welded and in the Post Weld Heat Treated (PWHT) condition. However based on the results of this investigation it could not be determined if the T24 HAZ is less susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement after PWHT.

Understanding hydrogen embrittlement phenomenon that leads to deterioration of mechanical properties of metallic components is vital for applications involving hydrogen environment. Among these understanding the influence of hydrogen on the fatigue behaviour of metals is of great interest. Total fatigue life of a material can be divided into fatigue crack initiation and fatigue crack growth phase. While fatigue crack initiation can be linked with the propagation of short fatigue cracks the size of which is of the order of grain size (few tens of microns) that are generally not detectable by conventional crack detection techniques applicable for the long fatigue crack growth behaviour using conventional CT specimens. Extensive literature is available on hydrogen effect on long fatigue crack growth behaviour of metals that leads to the change in crack growth rate and the threshold stress intensity factor range (ΔKth). However it is the short fatigue crack growth behaviour that provides the fundamental understanding and correlation of the metallic microstructure with hydrogen embrittlement phenomenon. Short fatigue crack growth behaviour is characteristically different from long crack growth behaviour showing high propagation rate at much lower values than threshold stress intensity factor range as well as a strong dependency on the microstructural features such as grain boundaries phase boundaries and inclusions. To this end a novel experimental framework is developed to investigate the short fatigue crack behaviour of hydrogen charged materials involving in-situ observation of propagating short cracks coupled with image processing to obtain their da/dN vs a curves. Various metallic materials ranging from austenitic stainless steel (AISI 316L) to reactor pressure vessel steel (SA508 Grade 3 Class I low alloy steel) and line pipe steels (API 5L X65 & X80) are studied in this work.

Metastable austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) have excellent ductility but low strength so that their usage as load-bearing components is significantly limited. Rolling is an effective method of increasing strength whereas the effect of rolling temperature on microstructural evolution the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) sensitivity and fracture mechanisms is still unclear. In present study the effect of cold/warm rolling on detailed microstructural characteristics of 304 ASS was quantitatively investigated and the corresponding HE sensitivity was evaluated via slow strain rate test. The results suggest that cold-rolling led to high strength but poor plasticity and deteriorated HE sensitivity while warm-rolled samples provided combination of high strength and ductility and also superior HE resistance. Compared with 18% α′-martensite in cold -rolled steel warm-rolled specimens consisted of complete austenite less twins and lower dislocation density，moreover the favorable {112} ND and {110} ND textures replaced the harmful {001} ND texture. Based on in-situ EBSD observation during SSRT the HE sensitivity was governed by the combined effect of pre-deformation microstructures and the dynamic microstructural evolution. Advanced method of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry was used to observe the distribution of hydrogen and the hydrogen content of specimens was determined by the gas chromatograph thermal desorption analysis method. An exceedingly small amount of hydrogen entered the warm-rolled samples while a large amount of hydrogen was trapped at grain boundaries of cold-rolled sample leading to complete intergranular fracture. Therefore warm rolling is an effective pathway for obtaining high combination of strength and ductility together with excellent HE sensitivity.

There can be observed global interest in waste pyrolysis technology due to low costs and availability of raw materials. At the same time there is a literature gap in forecasting environmental effects of thermal waste treatment installations. In the article was modelled the chemical composition of pyrolysis gas with main focus on the problem in terms of environmental hazards. Not only RDF fuel was analysed but also selected waste fractions included in its composition. This approach provided comprehensive knowledge about the chemical composition of gaseous pyrolysis products which is important from the point of view of the heterogeneity of RDF fuel. The main goal of this article was to focus on the utilitarian aspect of the obtained calculation results. Final results can be the basis for estimating ecological effects both for existing and newly designed installations.

Pyrolysis process was modelled using Ansys Chemkin-Pro software. The investigation of the process were carried out for five different temperatures (700 750 800 850 and 900 °C). As an output the mole fraction of H2 H₂O CH₄ C₂H₂C₂H₄ C₃H₆ C₃H₈ CO CO₂ HCl and H₂S were presented. Additionally the reaction pathways for selected material were presented.

Based on obtained results it was established that the residence time did not influenced on the concentration of products contrary to temperature. The chemical composition of pyrolytic gas is closely related to wastes origin. The application of Chemkin-Pro allowed the calculation of formation for each products at different temperatures and formulation of hypotheses on the reaction pathways involved during pyrolysis process. Further based on the obtained results confirmed the possibilities of using pyrolysis gas from RDF as a substitute for natural gas in energy consumption sectors. Optimization of the process can be conducted with low financial outlays and reliable results by using calculation tools. Moreover it can be predicted negative impact of obtained products on the future installation.

Hydrogen transport and trapping equations are implemented in a FE software using User Subroutines and the obtained tool is applied to get the diffusion fields in a metallic sheet submitted to a U-Bend test. Based on a submodelling process mechanical and diffusion fields have been computed at the polycrystal scale from which statistical evaluation of the risk of failure of the sample has been estimated.

To reduce loss of hydrogen in storage vessels with high energy-to-weight-ratio new materials especially polymers have to be developed as barrier materials. Very established methods for characterization of barrier materials with permeation measurements are the time-lag and flow rate method along with the differential pressure method which resembles the nature of hydrogen vessel systems very well. Long measurement durations are necessary to gain suitable measurement data for these evaluation methods and often restrictive conditions have to be fulfilled. For these reasons common models for hydrogen permeation through single-layer and multi-layer membranes as well as models for hydrogen gas properties were collected and reviewed. Using current computer power together with these models can reduce measurement time for characterization of the barrier properties of materials while additional information about the quality of the measurement results is obtained.

Currently the technology associated with charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) needs to be studied and improved to further encourage its implementation. This paper presents a new energy management system (EMS) based on a Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO) algorithm for a hybrid EV charging station with a configuration that integrates Z-source converters (ZSC) into medium voltage direct current (MVDC) grids. The EMS uses the evolutionary BBO algorithm to optimize a fitness function defining the equivalent hydrogen consumption/generation. The charging station consists of a photovoltaic (PV) system a local grid connection two fast charging units and two energy storage systems (ESS) a battery energy storage (BES) and a complete hydrogen system with fuel cell (FC) electrolyzer (LZ) and hydrogen tank. Through the use of the BBO algorithm the EMS manages the energy flow among the components to keep the power balance in the system reducing the equivalent hydrogen consumption and optimizing the equivalent hydrogen generation. The EMS and the configuration of the charging station based on ZSCs are the main contributions of the paper. The behaviour of the EMS is demonstrated with three EV connected to the charging station under different conditions of sun irradiance. In addition the proposed EMS is compared with a simpler EMS for the optimal management of ESS in hybrid configurations. The simulation results show that the proposed EMS achieves a notable improvement in the equivalent hydrogen consumption/generation with respect to the simpler EMS. Thanks to the proposed configuration the output voltage of the components can be upgraded to MVDC while reducing the number of power converters compared with other configurations without ZSC.