A reduced 4-species, 4-step Global Reaction Mechanism (GRM) [1], derived from detailed chemistry using a thermochemical approach, is investigated for three different reactive mixtures. The trade-off between preciseness of Elementary Reaction Mechanisms (ERMs), and low computational overhead requirements of GRMs remains a dilemma in the application of chemical kinetic models to detonation problems. Reducing a reaction mechanism often compromises the chemical details, and reduces the scope of applicability of the derived model. This is largely due to the mixture chemistry having a vital influence on several key aspects of the detonation phenomenon like initiation, quenching, and the dynamics of the wave front and hydrodynamic structure during propagation. For detonation problems in particular, there has been an insufficient replication of the complex reality of the phenomenon through numerical simulations which has lead to a constant demand for more accurate and affordable models. Three separate stoichiometric combustion mixtures are investigated, each involving acetylene, methane, or propane mixed with oxygen. Each mixture exhibits very different global activation energies, heat release, and ignition characteristics.

This paper presents a computational model to study ion and electron transportation and current-voltage characteristics inside a methane-oxygen flame. A commercial software is used to develop the model by splitting the simulation into the combustion and electrochemical transportation parts. A laboratory experiment is used to compare the results from the model. The initial and boundary conditions represented in the model are similar to the experimental conditions in the laboratory experiment. In the combustion part, the general GRI3.0 mechanism plus three additional ionization reactions are applied and results are then used as input into the electrochemical transportation part. A particular inspection line is created to analyze the results of the electrochemical transportation part. Ion, electron number density, and current density are studied along the interval from −40V to 40V electric potential. The ions are heavier and more difficult to move than electrons. The results show that at both torch and work surfaces charged sheaths are formed and cause three different regions of current-voltage relations.

According to executive order 18-01 and 20-01 signed by the Washington State Governor, all newly constructed public buildings and facilities shall be designed to be net-zero energy capable. To respond to the governor’s order, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has asked for the design of a system that can use biowaste that accumulates at their safety rest stop areas to generate electricity to power the facilities. The goal of this project seeks to assist WSDOT by designing, building, and testing the capability of a small-scale methane energy generator that can be scaled to fit the needs of any rest area. There are a small number of methane generators in existence [1.]. However, they are not designed to satisfy the needs of net-zero energy facilities and safety rest areas. In this work, a net-zero methane generation system is presented to show how it can convert biowaste into methane for electricity at rest areas. The model is composed of two tanks to store the biomaterial, a filtration system to remove hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a generator that runs on methane gas, and a photovoltaic system that powers temperature sensing devices. Through testing, it was shown that this system could generate energy through the use of bovine waste. Further improvements are needed to increase methane production and make operation more efficient. Future testing on human waste from a safety rest area will also be necessary before proving that the system can meet energy generation requirements.

Predicting internal combustion (IC) engine variables such as the combustion phasing and duration are essential to zero-dimensional (0D) single-zone engine simulations (e.g., for the Wiebe function combustion model). This paper investigated the use of random forest machine learning models to predict these engine combustion parameters as a modality to reduce expensive engine dynamometer tests. A single-cylinder four-stroke heavy-duty spark-ignition engine fueled with methane was operated at different engine speeds and loads to provide the data for training, validation, and testing the proposed correlated model. Key engine operating variables such as spark timing, mixture equivalence ratio, and engine speed were the model inputs. The performance of the models was validated by comparing the prediction dataset with the experimentally measured results. Results showed that the prediction error of the random forest machine learning algorithm was acceptable, suggesting that it can be used to predict the combustion parameters of interest with acceptable accuracy.

Porous media combustion is a feasible approach to tackle challenges encountered in free flame burners by offering advantages such as lower pollutant emissions, higher flammability limits and better flame stabilization. This study computationally investigated the premixed combustion of a methane/air mixture in a porous medium burner. The porous medium consisted of two sections: The upstream one was called the preheating section; The downstream one was called the combustion section. For methane oxidation, GRI 3 mechanism including 53 species and 325 reactions was used. After a successful validation against the experiments, a baseline study was conducted. Furthermore, a parametric study was performed to illustrate the effects of the structural properties of the combustion section on the burner performance. Increasing the pore density decreased the temperature difference between the gas and the solid phases. Consequently, a burner with higher pore density in the combustion section exhibited less emissions. When the porosity of the combustion section increased, the gas phase temperature also increased but the solid phase temperature remained virtually unchanged for the porosity values studied. As a result, higher pollutant emissions were observed at the burner outlet. Finally, it was noticed that when the combustion section was elongated, both phases gained higher temperatures and while CO emission decreased, NO emission increased.

Rotating Detonation Engines (RDE) offer an alternative combustion strategy to replace conventional constant pressure combustion with a process that could produce a pressure gain without the use of a mechanical compressor. Recent numerical and experimental publications that consider air as the oxidizer have primarily focused on the ability of these annular combustors to sustain a stable continuous detonation wave when fueled by hydrogen. However, for this to be a viable consideration for the land-based power generation it is necessary to explore the ability to detonate natural gas and air within the confines of the annular geometry of an RDE. Previous studies on confined detonations have expressed the importance of permitting detonation cells to fully form within the combustor in order to achieve stability. This poses a challenge for natural gas–air fueled processes as their detonation cell size can be quite large even at moderate pressures. Despite the practical importance, only a few studies are available on natural gas detonations for air-breathing RDE applications. Moreover, the extreme thermodynamic condition (high temperature inside the combustor) allows limited accessibility inside the combustor for detailed experimental instrumentations, providing mostly single-point data. Recent experimental studies at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have reported detonation failure at higher methane concentration in an air-breathing RDE fueled by natural gas-hydrogen fuel blends. This encourages to perform a detailed numerical investigation on the wave characteristics of detonation in a natural gas-air fueled RDE to understand the various aspects of instability associated with the natural gas-air detonation. This study is a numerical consideration of a methane-air fueled RDE with varying operating conditions to ascertain the ability to achieve a stable, continuous detonation wave. The simulations have been performed in a 2D unwrapped RDE geometry using the open-source CFD library “OpenFOAM” employing an unsteady pressure-based compressible reactive flow solver with a k – ε turbulence model in a structured rectangular grid system. Both reduced and detailed chemical kinetic models have been used to assess the effect of the chemistry on the detonation wave characteristics and the underlying flow features. A systematic grid sensitivity study has been conducted with various grid sizes to quantify the weakly stable overdriven detonation on a coarse mesh and oscillating features at fine mesh resolutions. The main focus of the current study is to investigate the effects of operating injection pressure on detonation wave characteristics of an air-breathing Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) fueled with natural gas-hydrogen fuel blends. Wave speeds, peak pressures and temperatures, and dominant frequencies have been computed from the time histories. The flow structures were then visualized using 2D contours of temperature and species concentration.

The knowledge of detailed distribution of heat load on swirl stabilized combustor liner wall is imperative in the development of liner-specific cooling arrangements, aimed towards maintaining uniform liner wall temperatures for reduced thermal stress levels. Heat transfer and fluid flow experiments have been conducted on a swirl stabilized lean premixed combustor to understand the behavior of Methane-, Propane-, and Butane-based flames. These fuels were compared at different equivalence ratios for a matching adiabatic flame temperature of Methane at 0.65 equivalence ratio. Above experiments were carried out a fixed Reynolds number (based on the combustor diameter) of 12000, where the pre-heated air temperature was approximately 373K. Combustor liner in this setup was made from 4 mm thick quartz tube. An infrared camera was used to record the inner and outer temperatures of liner wall, and two-dimensional heat conduction model was used to find the wall heat flux at a quasi-steady state condition. Flow field in the combustor was measured through Particle Image Velocimetry. The variation of peak heat flux on the liner wall, position of peak heat flux and heat transfer, and position of impingement of flame on the liner have been presented in this study. For all three gaseous fuels studied, the major swirl stabilized flame features such as corner recirculation zone, central recirculation zone and shear layers have been observed to be similar. Liner wall and exhaust temperature for Butane was highest among the fuel tested in this study which was expected as the heat released from combustion of Butane is higher than that of Methane and Propane.

In this work the performance of a valveless pulsejet with two different fuels and several fuel mass flows was numerically estimated. Results for pressures, velocities, traction and pollutant formation are presented. Even though this type of engine has many advantages over the conventional types, it still has many problems for application in civil aviation due to noise levels. Although having a very simple construction, operation is not completely understood, so studies continue to be made in order to have a better knowledge of the physics behind operation. For engine sizing, was performed a calculation procedure based on data of existing engines and equations reported in the literature. The pulsejet operation was then simulated using ANSYS Fluent 16.2. Simulations were 2D transient, three different fuel flows were analysed: 0.04 kg/s, 0.06 kg/s and 0.1 kg/s and two fuels used: propane and methane. For propane an additional case was defined, being the fuel mass flow of 0.12 kg/s. The results obtained are similar for the two fuels, the variables have the same behaviour with the variation of the fuel flow except for the operating frequency.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been considered as a substitute for diesel and heavy-fuel oil in heavy-duty trucks and marine vessels, respectively. However, the widespread adoption of LNG as a fuel is hampered by its uncertain potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in comparison with diesel and heavy-fuel oil from the lifecycle standpoint. Methane is the main component of LNG and a potent GHG. In this study, the design and validation of a high-volume sampling (HVS) system are proposed to accurately measure methane emissions from the LNG fuel infrastructure, including experiment designs for calibration and system validation, and uncertainty analysis. The accuracy of HVS measurements is tested under controlled environment. The results indicate that the HVS system can quantify leak rates between 108 and 3,254 g/h with a maximum uncertainty of 10% as long as the distance between the leak source and the HVS system sampling port is maintained at less than 50 mm. In future work, the HVS system will be used to characterize methane emissions from LNG offloading or bunkering process, and update the GHG inventories in North America to fill the knowledge gap in the complete lifecycle analysis of LNG fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels.

Concentrating solar thermal (CST) systems can be leveraged to provide not only heat for power generation, but also for energy storage and thermochemical fuel production. Such solar thermochemical processes have been studied conceptually, from solar thermochemical hydrogen production (STCH) and thermochemical energy storage (TCES), to gasification, reforming, and fuel upgrading by various means. The solar receiver and reactor are critical components in the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy in the form of “solar fuels’. For effective conversion of solar energy within a coupled solar receiver-reactor, extremely high temperatures are required, thereby demanding a high solar concentration ratio (CR) for efficient operation. This creates a design challenge for the receiver-reactor, as many thermochemical processes involve gas or gas-solid systems that are limited by low heat transfer coefficients. A unique receiver design is proposed that has the potential to incorporate various high-temperature thermochemical processes such as TCES-assisted power generation, methane reforming, or STCH processes. Modeling this receiver and its potential applications requires a full three-dimensional model that accurately captures the interconnected effects of receiver geometry, spatial solar irradiance, complex radiation, reaction kinetics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer. In this paper we analyze a CST system integrated with this unique planar-cavity receiver-reactor design using the developed model. The model presented in this paper showed where improved thermal management was needed to achieve suitable receiver performance when a dry-methane reforming process is implemented.

Partial conversion of the large inventory of diesel engines to natural gas (NG) spark-ignition (SI) will reduce U.S. dependence on imported petroleum and enhance national energy security. This paper describes the methodology used to retrofit such an engine as well as the experimental setup used to investigate and optimize the conversion, including engine modifications, coupled dynamometer, engine control, and data acquisition system. Low-pressure gas injectors placed upstream of the intake valve produced a homogeneous combustible mixture inside the cylinder. The final setup was verified via experiments that changed the equivalence ratio from 0.7 to 1.0 at 900 rpm, using methane as a natural gas surrogate. The results showed that despite the higher compression ratio (which increased in-cylinder pressure and temperature at spark timing compared to conventional SI engines), a high-energy spark plug was necessary to produce robust and repeatable ignition. In addition, the moderate compression ratio of the converted engine (13.3) resulted in knock-free operation at all equivalence ratios. Finally, the reliable and stable operation at the investigated conditions (COV IMEP < 1.5%) and low rate of pressure rise (< 3 bar/deg CA) support this solution for converting diesel engines to NG SI operation, at least for the conditions investigated here. The trend of engine-out emissions agreed well with existing studies, which also validated the design of the test cell for optimizing engine efficiency and sampling emissions.

There has been recently a growing interest in the use of methane as a strong candidate for both interplanetary and descent/ascent propulsion solutions. The higher boiling point and higher density of methane compared with hydrogen, makes its storage tank lighter, cheaper and smaller to launch. Methane is abundant in the outer solar system and can be harvested on Mars, Titan, Jupiter, and many other planets and therefore, it can be used in reusable rocket engines. However, there are still some technological challenges in methane engines development path. Among those challenges, ignition reliability and flame stability are of great importance. These challenges can be addressed by integrating low-temperature plasma (LTP) through repetitive nanosecond pulsed (RNP) discharge to the injector design. This research work focuses on Air/CH 4 jet flames in a single-element coaxial shear injector coupled with RNP plasma discharge to study the influence of LTP on ignition characteristics and flame stability using advanced diagnostic techniques. The experiments have been performed for different fuel composition, jet velocities, discharge voltages and frequencies at atmospheric conditions. The transient flame behavior including flame oscillation is studied using direct photography by CMOS high-speed camera. The effect of plasma discharge location on flame stability is also investigated. To demonstrate the effectiveness of RNP discharge on liftoff and blowout/blowoff velocities, the jet velocity at the critical conditions is measured in terms of discharge frequencies and the enhancement of flame stability is then evaluated. The collected experimental data have shown that the RNP discharge can significantly extend the flame stability by reducing the liftoff height and increasing the velocity at which blowout/blowoff occurs.

Recent research into methane emissions from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain has revealed uncertainty in the overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction associated with the use of LNG in heavy-duty vehicles. Methane is the main component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas. This study investigates the impact of five methods used to offload LNG from a tanker truck to an LNG refueling station and estimate the amount of fugitive methane emissions. The LNG offloading process time, and the final pressures of the tanker truck and refueling station are considered to evaluate the performance of the LNG offloading methods. The modeling results show that the LNG transfer by using a pressure buildup unit has a limited operating range and can increase methane emissions by 10.4% of LNG offloaded from the tanker truck. The results indicate that the LNG transfer by using a pump and an auxiliary pressure buildup unit without vapor return provides the shortest fuel offloading time with the lowest risk of venting methane to the atmosphere.

Across the U.S., electricity production from coal-fired generation is declining while use of renewables and natural gas is increasing. This trend is expected to continue in the future. In the Rocky Mountain region, this shift is expected to reduce emissions from electricity production while increasing emissions from the production and processing of oil and gas, with significant implications for the level, location, and timing of the air pollution emissions that are associated with these activities. In turn, these emissions changes will affect air quality in the region, with impacts on ground-level ozone of particular concern. This study aims to evaluate the tradeoffs in emissions from both power plants and oil and gas basins resulting from contrasting scenarios for shifts in electricity and oil and gas production through the year 2030. The study also incorporates federal and state-level regulations for CH 4 , NO x , and VOC emissions sources. These regulations are expected to produce significant emissions reductions relative to baseline projections, especially in the oil and gas production sector. Annual emissions from electricity production are estimated to decrease in all scenarios, due to a combination of using more natural gas power plants, renewables, emissions regulations, and retiring old inefficient coal power plants. However, reductions are larger in fall, winter, and spring than in summer, when ozone pollution is of greatest concern. Emissions from oil and gas production are estimated to either increase or decrease depending on the location, scenario, and the number of sources affected by regulations. The net change in emissions thus depends on pollutant, location, and time of year.

Biomass gasification is the devolatilization and incomplete combustion of biomass resulting in the production of a combustible gas mixture including carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H 2 ) methane (CH 4 ), and traces of other hydrocarbons (C n H m ), and referred to as producer gas. Producer gas can be cleaned and then used in various engines or can be converted to various biofuels. This paper presents an experimental and simulation-based evaluation of producer gas quality resulting from corn kernel gasification in a two-stage downdraft gasifier. Test conditions were selected, based on the results of previous studies, to yield high conversion efficiency and low tar production. Experimental tests were performed with an air flow of 25 Nm 3 /h and with 80% of the air supplied to the first gasification stage. Simulations based on a chemical and thermal equilibrium model were carried out to examine the effect of equivalence ratio (ER) changes. Both the experimental and modelling results show that using a two-stage air supply leads to a significant reduction in the tar content of the producer gas, while maintaining a high gasification efficiency.

A external methane-steam reformer is applied to fuel delivery of high temperature fuel cell system. When the reformer is equipped for high temperature fuel cell system, the heat supply of the methane steam reformer is critical to improve the system efficiency. Typically, system efficiency is improved as the waste heat is utilized. However, the general performance of steam reformer is designed to provide the rated performance at high temperature. In this study, characteristics of mid-temperature steam reformer are investigated. At mid-temperature operation of steam reformer, it is important to understand the performance of the reformer include inlet flow rate, temperature, and reformer geometry, and so on. Among them, the characteristics of the reforming catalyst are the most fundamental and most important in the performance of the reformer. Also, it is possible to optimize the performance of the reformer by understanding the reforming rate depending on the reformer inlet temperature, the amount of heat source, and the SCR (Steam to Carbon Ratio). Therefore, experimental study was carried out to understand the characteristics of the reforming catalyst. In order to carry out the experiment, the length of the reformer and the number of the heat source tubes were made variously so that the performance characteristics according to the volume of the reforming catalyst layer were confirmed. Through analysis of the experimental results, the characteristics of the reforming catalyst, which is an important factor in the performance of the reformer, can be understood under various conditions.

This paper investigates the combustion performance of a commercial cooktop burner operating on natural gas and renewable biogas. Various blends of carbon dioxide and methane are used to simulate biogas and fed as fuel to the cooktop burners. Combustion operation on standard pipeline natural gas is taken as a reference for comparison with other fuel classes. In this study, different configurations of cooktop burners available in the market were investigated to establish similarities and differences. Based on the current regulations and testing standards, a protocol for testing and evaluating the cooktop burner combustion performance was generated and adopted in this research. Experimental investigation of the flame characteristics, ignition properties, cooking efficiency, and emissions (CO, NO x , UHC) were studied as a function of gas composition. The results indicate that, based on the overall performance of the cooktop burners, up to 5% CO 2 can be added to pipeline natural gas without impacting operation. Different methodologies of analyzing emissions were compared with each other, which can provide insight into future emission regulations on open-air residential or light industrial burners.

A general correlation is presented for predicting maximum heat transfer coefficient for surfaces submerged in gas-fluidized beds. It has been verified with data for horizontal and vertical cylinders and spheres in beds of a wide variety of particles and gases. The gases include air, cryogens, methane, CO 2 , ammonia, and R-12. The range of parameters includes: heat transfer surface diameter 0.05 to 220 mm, particle diameter 31 to 15000 μm, pressure 0.026 to 0.95 MPa, and temperature 13 to 1028 °C. The 363 data points from 53 sources are predicted with a mean absolute deviation of 16.2 %. Several other correlations were also compared to the same data but had much larger deviations.

Autoignition in commercial and residential gas appliances is typically a phenomenon to be avoided. The autoignition temperature for a particular fuel, defined as the minimum temperature at which spontaneous ignition will occur without an external source of energy, is often used to characterize this phenomenon. In the design of combustion systems, it is used to demarcate conditions where autoignition may occur. In an emerging class of residential and commercial heating, cooling, and power generation appliances, preheating air and fuel can provide an effective means of boosting the overall energy efficiency by recuperating residual energy in the exhaust and reinvesting it back into the thermodynamic process. In such applications, the design question to answer is: How much can the air and fuel be preheated without autoignition? The autoignition temperature, often determined experimentally and can vary as much as 100°C for methane, may not be the most useful metric in this context. This work describes the results of a recent experimental investigation into the preheat limits for autoignition of air and natural gas with the aim of recuperating as much heat as possible in a heat pump. The experimental apparatus consisted of an air-fuel mixer supplying preheated mixture to a radiant burner. The air was first heated in excess of 750°C, cool natural gas was injected into and mixed with the hot-air stream, and all while avoiding autoignition. The current capability to predict autoignition in such applications a priori was also assessed using available chemical kinetic models and numerical simulations.

The transport processes in the mixing of either two gases or two miscible liquids in a T-junction are investigated numerically. Both laminar and turbulent flow fields are considered. The 3-D time-dependent flow fields are calculated for the T-junction (of two circular cross-section pipes that meet orthogonally at the junction). For turbulent flow regimes, the large eddy simulation (LES) technique is employed. In the 3-D mathematical model, the transport of species is described by the species conservation equations. The results obtained by the numerical simulations are verified with available experimental data in the literature for methane-air mixing in a T-junction. The effect of variation of the value of turbulent Schmidt number is investigated. Temporal concentration fluctuations are calculated and are compared to the spatial fluctuations. The mixing of two miscible liquids (water and peracetic acid-water mixture) are also investigated for the laminar and turbulent flow fields (using the LES technique). The mixing behavior of two gases and two miscible liquids in a T-junction are compared and contrasted for both laminar and turbulent flows.