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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2023) | Viewed by 8089

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Dr. Zehui Li

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Guest Editor

School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: carbon; functional materials; sensor; electrocatalysis; environmental chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emissions from fossil energy and the corresponding environmental pollution crisis have attracted the public’s attention. It is urgent to develop low-carbon clean energy technologies and improve the ability of environmental pollution supervision and control. This Special Issue aims to provide a platform to discuss the latest progress of functional materials in fields related to low-carbon clean energy, environmental monitoring, and pollutant abatement.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to: catalytic materials, membrane materials, and structural materials in energy converter devices; sensing materials in environmental monitoring; adsorption materials and the recovery of toxic materials in environmental treatment; and engineering research of energy-related or environmentally friendly materials.

Dr. Zehui Li
Guest Editor

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Keywords

energy device
environmental sustainability
catalysis
sensor
functional materials
hazardous materials
greenhouse gas mitigation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Pyrolysis and Torrefaction—Thermal Treatment of Creosote-Impregnated Railroad Ties as a Method of Utilization

and

Materials 2023, 16(7), 2704; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16072704 - 28 Mar 2023

Viewed by 975

Abstract

A fundamental issue of waste management and the rail transport industry is the problem of utilizing used railroad ties. Wooden railroad ties are treated with a preservative, usually creosote. Due to their high toxicity, railroad ties are considered hazardous waste and must be utilized under various directives. It is proposed to utilize the troublesome waste by using the pyrolysis and torrefaction process. The research proves that the thermal method is effective for disposing of this type of waste. Torrefaction up to 250 °C gives high efficiency of impregnation removal, while pyrolysis up to 400 °C completely neutralizes waste. A series of experiments were conducted for various final pyrolysis temperatures to determine a minimum temperature for which the obtained solid products are free from creosote. Extraction with the use of the Soxhlet technique was performed for the raw materials and the obtained solid products—chars. The oil content for liquid fraction was also examined for each sample. As a result of the thermal treatment of the waste, fuel with combustion parameters better than wood was obtained. For a high final temperature of the process, the calorific value of char is close to that of hard coal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy-Related and Environmental Materials)

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Open AccessArticle

Environmental Risk Analysis Based on Characterization of Ground Oily Sludge

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Materials 2022, 15(24), 9054; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15249054 - 18 Dec 2022

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Abstract

Oily sludge is recognized as hazardous waste. To reduce the potential danger and harmful factors of oily sludge, it is very important to analyze its environmental risk. In this paper, the characterization of oily sludge from Shengli Oilfield in China was tested experimentally, including the composition content, particle size, microscopic morphology, heavy metal content, organic composition, inorganic composition, and thermogravimetric analysis, which were used to analyze environmental risks. The results show that the oil content of oily sludge is as high as 10.3%, which will cause serious pollution. It is calculated that China can recover 772.5 million liters of oil and reduce 553.9 million kg of carbon emissions compared with incineration in one year, if the oily sludge can be managed effectively. The content of heavy metals such as Ba, Zn, Cr, As, Ni, Se, Be, and Hg in oily sludge exceeds the standard. It will restrain the self-healing ability of soil, pollute groundwater, and endanger animals and plants. The organic matter of oily sludge is concentrated in C₁₁ to C₂₉. It contains a large amount of benzene series and polycyclic benzene hydrocarbons, which can lead to cancer in the human body. Inorganic substances in oily sludge are mixed with some additives, which can not only reduce the toxicity of heavy metals, but also be used as building materials. The median particle size D₅₀ of oily sludge is 0.91 μm, and it spreads all over the narrow pores. Generally, it needs to be treated under high temperature conditions, which will cause secondary pollution to the environment. The research content of this paper provides a theoretical reference for the management of oily sludge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy-Related and Environmental Materials)

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Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Embodied Energy and CO₂ Emissions of Ready-Mixed Concrete: A Case Study in Cuenca, Ecuador

Karla Vázquez-Calle

Vanessa Guillén-Mena

and

Felipe Quesada-Molina

Materials 2022, 15(14), 4896; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144896 - 14 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1943

Abstract

Concrete is the most commonly construction material used worldwide. In contrast to other countries, Ecuador lacks studies that determine the environmental impact of the production of construction materials. This research presents a quantification of embodied energy and CO₂ emissions associated with the concrete production, using as a case study a ready-mixed concrete plant in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. The study was based on the Life Cycle Assessment methodology established by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, and the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel of Experts on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The production of ready-mixed concrete was considered for one year, with a “gate to gate” approach including the “transport of raw material” to the concrete plant and the subsequent “transport of final product” to the construction site. The results revealed that to produce 1 m³ of ready-mixed concrete, its production required 568.69 MJ of energy, accompanied by 42.83 kg CO₂. Indirect transport generates the greatest environmental impact, especially the “transport of raw materials”, which represents approximately 80% of the embodied energy and 79% of CO₂ emission. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy-Related and Environmental Materials)

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Open AccessArticle

Computational and Experimental Studies of Selected Types of Biomass Combustion in a Domestic Boiler

Agnieszka Bala-Litwiniak

and

Dorota Musiał

Materials 2022, 15(14), 4826; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144826 - 11 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 884

Abstract

The paper analyzes the suitability of four types of biomass pellets as a fuel for heating purposes. Three types of waste biomass (sunflower husks, rapeseed cake, and corn straw) and one type of biomass grown for energy purposes (willow) were selected. After appropriate preparation, the selected starting materials were subjected to the pelletization process. Selected physical and chemical properties of the studied biomass pellets were determined. All four types of the analyzed pellets met the EN-ISO-17225-2:2014 standard in terms of bulk density, dimensions, as well as nitrogen and moisture content. The highest calorific value was pellets made of sunflower husk (17.27 MJ/m³) and willow (16.81 MJ/m³), while the calorific value of pellets made of corn straw and rapeseed cake did not exceed 16.5 MJ/m³ and did not meet the standard. In addition, the ash content for these two types of pellets was well above the standard. A 10 kW domestic biomass boiler was employed for burning the tested pellets. The consumption of analyzed fuels during boiler operation was determined. The concentration of CO, CO₂, and NO_x in exhaust gases was also examined. The obtained experimental results were compared with the numerical calculations with the use of ANSYS Chemkin-Pro using two mechanisms. The highest concentrations of CO₂ and CO were observed during the combustion of sunflower and willow husk pellets, which probably resulted from the highest carbon content and, thus, the highest calorific value when compared to cake and straw pellets. For all analyzed pellets, the value of NO and NO₂ concentration was similar and did not exceed 368 ppm and 18 ppm, respectively. The results closest to the experiment were obtained for calculations using the mechanism developed by Glarborg et al. The research carried out in the article shows that out of the four analyzed types of pellets, only sunflower and willow husk pellets can be burned in a domestic boiler adapted to burning wood pellets, which is a cheap alternative to wood pellets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy-Related and Environmental Materials)

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Adsorption and Degradation of Volatile Organic Compounds by Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs): A Review

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Materials 2022, 15(21), 7727; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217727 - 02 Nov 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2313

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a major threat to human life and health. The technologies currently used to remove VOCs mainly include adsorption and photocatalysis. Adsorption is the most straightforward strategy, but it cannot ultimately eliminate VOCs. Due to the limited binding surface, the formaldehyde adsorption on conventional photocatalysts is limited, and the photocatalytic degradation efficiency is not high enough. By developing novel metal–organic framework (MOF) materials that can catalytically degrade VOCs at room temperature, the organic combination of new MOF materials and traditional purification equipment can be achieved to optimize adsorption and degradation performance. In the present review, based on the research on the adsorption and removal of VOCs by MOF materials in the past 10 years, starting from the structure and characteristics of MOFs, the classification of which was described in detail, the influencing factors and mechanisms in the process of adsorption and removal of VOCs were summarized. In addition, the research progress of MOF materials was summarized, and its future development in this field was prospected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy-Related and Environmental Materials)

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