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Molecules
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Renewable Fuel: Production, Optimization and Reactor Design
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Renewable Fuel: Production, Optimization and Reactor Design

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Cross-Field Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 2660

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Achilleas Constantinou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
Interests: reaction engineering; multiphase reactors; catalysis; CFD; renewable fuels; flow chemistry
Dr. Nikolaos Dimitratos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Chemistry "Toso Montanari", Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Interests: organic chemistry; heterogeneous catalysis; green chemistry; supported nanoparticles; flow chemistry; biomass conversion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing demand for fossil fuels has led to a significant increase in greenhouse gases in the environment, resulting in concerns regarding future energy supply. Fossil fuels are the slowest-growing source of energy, and their supplies are diminishing regularly. The price of fossil fuel resources is also rising due to their heightened demand. The increasing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrocarbons, and volatile hydrocarbons from the burning of fossil fuels lead to a significant amount of air pollution and global warming. In recent years, there has been an interest in developing processes for clean alternative fuels for a more sustainable and greener environment. Renewable fuels such as biofuels, hydrogen (H2), and products from the Fischer–Tropsch process are now offered on a commercial scale to prevent the aforementioned problems.

This Special Issue aims to gather innovative and original research articles on the design and optimization of renewable fuels and different types of multiphase reactors used in production processes. Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Reactions and kinetic studies for multiphase systems;
  • Modeling, flow, and mass transfer simulation during production processes;
  • Exploration of different types of multiphase reactors, such as (a) bubble column reactors, (b) tank reactors, (c) packed bed reactors, (d) fluidized bed reactors.

Dr. Achilleas Constantinou
Dr. Nikolaos Dimitratos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • renewable fuels
  • multiphase reactors
  • hydrogen
  • biofuels
  • catalysis
  • reaction engineering

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2621 KiB  
Article
Computational Studies on Microreactors for the Decomposition of Formic Acid for Hydrogen Production Using Heterogeneous Catalysts
by Eleana Harkou, Panayiota Adamou, Kyproula Georgiou, Sanaa Hafeez, Sultan M. Al-Salem, Alberto Villa, George Manos, Nikolaos Dimitratos and Achilleas Constantinou
Molecules 2023, 28(14), 5399; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28145399 - 14 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1059
Abstract
Sustainable alternatives to conventional fuels have emerged recently, focusing on a hydrogen-based economy. The idea of using hydrogen (H2) as an energy carrier is very promising due to its zero-emission properties. The present study investigates the formic acid (FA) decomposition for [...] Read more.
Sustainable alternatives to conventional fuels have emerged recently, focusing on a hydrogen-based economy. The idea of using hydrogen (H2) as an energy carrier is very promising due to its zero-emission properties. The present study investigates the formic acid (FA) decomposition for H2 generation using a commercial 5 wt.% Pd/C catalyst. Three different 2D microreactor configurations (packed bed, single membrane, and double membrane) were studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Parameters such as temperature, porosity, concentration, and flow rate of reactant were investigated. The packed bed configuration resulted in high conversions, but due to catalyst poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO), the catalytic activity decreased with time. For the single and double membrane microreactors, the same trends were observed, but the double membrane microreactor showed superior performance compared with the other configurations. Conversions higher than 80% were achieved, and even though deactivation decreased the conversion after 1 h of reaction, the selective removal of CO from the system with the use of membranes lead to an increase in the conversion afterwards. These results prove that the incorporation of membranes in the system for the separation of CO is improving the efficiency of the microreactor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renewable Fuel: Production, Optimization and Reactor Design)
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23 pages, 9172 KiB  
Article
Thermochemical Activity of Single- and Dual-Phase Oxide Compounds Based on Ceria, Ferrites, and Perovskites for Two-Step Synthetic Fuel Production
by Alex Le Gal, Anne Julbe and Stéphane Abanades
Molecules 2023, 28(11), 4327; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28114327 - 25 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1115
Abstract
This study focuses on the generation of solar thermochemical fuel (hydrogen, syngas) from CO2 and H2O molecules via two-step thermochemical cycles involving intermediate oxygen-carrier redox materials. Different classes of redox-active compounds based on ferrite, fluorite, and perovskite oxide structures are [...] Read more.
This study focuses on the generation of solar thermochemical fuel (hydrogen, syngas) from CO2 and H2O molecules via two-step thermochemical cycles involving intermediate oxygen-carrier redox materials. Different classes of redox-active compounds based on ferrite, fluorite, and perovskite oxide structures are investigated, including their synthesis and characterization associated with experimental performance assessment in two-step redox cycles. Their redox activity is investigated by focusing on their ability to perform the splitting of CO2 during thermochemical cycles while quantifying fuel yields, production rates, and performance stability. The shaping of materials as reticulated foam structures is then evaluated to highlight the effect of morphology on reactivity. A series of single-phase materials including spinel ferrite, fluorite, and perovskite formulations are first investigated and compared to state-of-the-art materials. NiFe2O4 foam exhibits a CO2-splitting activity similar to its powder analog after reduction at 1400 °C, surpassing the performance of ceria but with much slower oxidation kinetics. On the other hand, although identified as high-performing materials in other studies, Ce0.9Fe0.1O2, Ca0.5Ce0.5MnO3, Ce0.2Sr1.8MnO4, and Sm0.6Ca0.4Mn0.8Al0.2O3 are not found to be attractive candidates in this work (compared with La0.5Sr0.5Mn0.9Mg0.1O3). In the second part, characterizations and performance evaluation of dual-phase materials (ceria/ferrite and ceria/perovskite composites) are performed and compared to single-phase materials to assess a potential synergistic effect on fuel production. The ceria/ferrite composite does not provide any enhanced redox activity. In contrast, ceria/perovskite dual-phase compounds in the form of powders and foams are found to enhance the CO2-splitting performance compared to ceria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renewable Fuel: Production, Optimization and Reactor Design)
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