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Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design
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Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2024) | Viewed by 8695

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Bahaa Saleh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Interests: thermofluids; refrigeration and air conditioning systems; desalination; renewable energy applications; sustainability
Dr. Fadl A. Essa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt
Interests: desalination; water-energy nexus; renewable energy applications; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the most important drivers of our economy is the production, management, conversion, and consumption of energy and energy products. It is fundamentally linked to many other important aspects of society, such as food production, water consumption, manufacturing, resource management, energy sector, new and renewable energy sources, security, and the environment. Now more than ever, process systems engineers are in a position to address some of the most critical issues relating to energy systems and their impacts on the rest of the world. Advances in energy and environmental systems are being made at scales ranging from the international movement and trade of energy; industrial-scale refineries, biorefineries, and chemical plants; integrated energy systems for communities, districts, and neighborhoods; and individual homes and buildings. The technologies involved can vary widely, such as traditional systems involving natural gas, petroleum, and transportation fuels, biofuels and bioproducts, synthetic and alternative fuels such as alcohols and ethers, nuclear energy, fuel cells, renewables such as wind and solar, and energy storage technologies of many varieties. All of these will be an important component of the future of energy systems. Modeling and simulation plays a particularly important role in the development of these systems, since it is one of the most cost-effective tools available for their design and analysis. In many cases, the use of models or simulations is the only way to make sound engineering judgments about new process concepts due to the massive scales involved.

This Special Issue on "Advances in Energy and Environmental Systems" will curate novel advances in research as an important component of the energy sectors, presenting the development of new and better prospects of energy and renewable energy systems and environmental system components. In order to maximize impact, authors contributing to this Special Issue will be invited to deposit their process models and prototypes in the open access repository for the Processes Journal. These may include all contributions related to energy, new and renewable energy, environmental, thermal, artificial systems.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Emerging new technologies in solar thermal systems.
  • Thermal management systems
  • Energy storage technologies
  • Solar desalination technologies
  • Waste heat recovery and related heat transfer applications
  • Practical applications of heat transfer in various processes
  • Optimization of the energy system
  • Modelling, simulation, optimization, and performance assessment of the solar thermal system.
  • Application of Nanofluids, hybrid nanofluids, and fluid additives in solar energy systems

Thanks and I hope you consider participating in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Bahaa Saleh
Dr. Fadl A. Essa
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. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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

  • energy
  • environment
  • artificial
  • renewable energy
  • systems

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 6810 KiB  
Article
Supercritical Direct-Methane-to-Methanol Coupled with Gas-to-Wire for Low-Emission Offshore Processing of CO2-Rich Natural Gas: Techno-Economic and Thermodynamic Analyses
by Alessandra de Carvalho Reis, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo and José Luiz de Medeiros
Processes 2024, 12(2), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12020374 - 13 Feb 2024
Viewed by 608
Abstract
A greater H/C ratio and energy demand are factors that boost natural gas conversion into electricity. The Brazilian offshore pre-salt basin has large reserves of CO2-rich associated gas. Selling this gas requires high-depth long-distance subsea pipelines, making gas-to-pipe costly; in particular, [...] Read more.
A greater H/C ratio and energy demand are factors that boost natural gas conversion into electricity. The Brazilian offshore pre-salt basin has large reserves of CO2-rich associated gas. Selling this gas requires high-depth long-distance subsea pipelines, making gas-to-pipe costly; in particular, gas-to-wire instead of gas-to-pipe is more practical since it is easier to transmit electricity via long subsea distances. This research proposes and investigates an innovative low-emission gas-to-wire alternative consisting of installing supercritical direct-methane-to-methanol upstream to gas-to-wire, which is embedded in an exhaust-gas recycle loop that reduces the subsequent carbon capture costs. The process exports methanol and electricity from remote offshore oil-and-gas fields with available CO2-rich natural gas, while capturing CO2. Techno-economic, thermodynamic and lost work analyses assess the alternative. Supercritical direct-methane-to-methanol is conducted in supercritical water with air. This route is chosen because supercritical water readily dissolves methanol and CO2, helping to preserve methanol via stabilization against further oxidation by gaseous air. Besides being novel, this process has intensification since it implements exhaust-gas recycle for –flue-gas reduction, CO2 abatement via post-combustion capture with aqueous monoethanolamine, CO2 dehydration with triethylene glycol and CO2 densification for enhanced oil recovery. The process is fed with 6.5 MMS m3/d of CO2-rich natural gas (CO2 > 40%mol) exporting methanol (2.2 t/h), electricity (457.1 MW) and dense CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, with an investment of 1544 MMUSD, 452 MMUSD/y in manufacturing costs and 820 MMUSD/y in revenues, reaching 1021 MMUSD net present value (50 years) and a 10 year payback time. The Second Law analysis reveals overall thermodynamic efficiency of 28%. The lost work analysis unveils the gas-combined-cycle sub-system as the major lost work sink (76% lost work share), followed by the post-combustion capture plant (14% lost work share), being the units that prominently require improvements for better economic and environmental performance. This work demonstrates that the newly proposed process is techno-economically feasible, environmentally friendly, thermodynamically efficient and competitive with the gas-to-wire processes in the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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25 pages, 5066 KiB  
Article
An Optimal Switching Sequence Model Predictive Control Scheme for the 3L-NPC Converter with Output LC Filter
by Felipe Herrera, Andrés Mora, Roberto Cárdenas, Matías Díaz, José Rodríguez and Marco Rivera
Processes 2024, 12(2), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12020348 - 06 Feb 2024
Viewed by 678
Abstract
In some applications of microgrids and distributed generation, it is necessary to feed islanded or stand-alone loads with high-quality voltage to provide low total harmonic distortion (THD). To fulfil these demands, an LC filter is usuallyconnected to the output terminals of power [...] Read more.
In some applications of microgrids and distributed generation, it is necessary to feed islanded or stand-alone loads with high-quality voltage to provide low total harmonic distortion (THD). To fulfil these demands, an LC filter is usuallyconnected to the output terminals of power electronics converters. A cascaded voltage and current control loop with pulse-width modulation schemes are used to regulate the voltages and currents in these systems. However, these strategies have some drawbacks, particularly when multiple-input–multiple-output plants (MIMO) are controlled using single-input–single-output (SISO) design methods. This methodology usually produces a sluggish transient response and cross–coupling between different control loops and state variables. In this paper, a model predictive control (MPC) strategy based on the concept of optimal switching sequences (OSS) is designed to control voltage and current in an LC filter connected to a three-level neutral-point clamped converter. The strategy solves an optimisation problem to achieve control of the LC filter variables, i.e., currents and output voltages. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) results are obtained to validate the feasibility of the proposed strategy, using a PLECS–RT HIL platform and a dSPACE Microlab Box controller. In addition to the good dynamic performance of the proposed OSS–MPC, it is demonstrated using HIL results that the control algorithm is capable of obtaining low total harmonic distortion (THD) in the output voltage for different operating conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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14 pages, 22585 KiB  
Article
Experimental Assessment of a Decentralized Control Strategy for a Back-to-Back Modular Multilevel Converter Operating in Low-Frequency AC Transmission
by Efrain Ibaceta, Matias Diaz, Saravanakumar Rajendran, Yeiner Arias, Roberto Cárdenas and Jose Rodriguez
Processes 2024, 12(1), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12010155 - 09 Jan 2024
Viewed by 793
Abstract
The Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) has been widely used in high-power applications owing to its inherent advantages, including scalability, modularity, high-power density, and fault tolerance. MMCs have recently been used in Low-Frequency Alternating Current (LFAC) transmission, particularly in the integration of offshore wind [...] Read more.
The Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) has been widely used in high-power applications owing to its inherent advantages, including scalability, modularity, high-power density, and fault tolerance. MMCs have recently been used in Low-Frequency Alternating Current (LFAC) transmission, particularly in the integration of offshore wind power with onshore grids. However, LFAC applications produce significant voltage oscillations in floating capacitor voltages within the MMC. Early research efforts have successfully established and validated decoupled control strategies for LFAC-based MMC systems. However, validations are usually based on simulations or small-scale prototypes equipped with limited power cells. Consequently, this paper presents a decentralized voltage control strategy based on Nearest Level Control for an MMC-based LFAC system. Experimental results obtained with a 120-cell MMC prototype are presented to validate the effectiveness and operation of the MMC in LFAC applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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30 pages, 2395 KiB  
Article
Exergoeconomic Evaluation of a Cogeneration System Driven by a Natural Gas and Biomass Co-Firing Gas Turbine Combined with a Steam Rankine Cycle, Organic Rankine Cycle, and Absorption Chiller
by Ji Liu, Jie Ren, Yujia Zhang, Weilong Huang, Chen Xu and Lu Liu
Processes 2024, 12(1), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12010082 - 28 Dec 2023
Viewed by 748
Abstract
Considering energy conversion efficiency, pollution emissions, and economic benefits, combining biomass with fossil fuels in power generation facilities is a viable approach to address prevailing energy deficits and environmental challenges. This research aimed to investigate the thermodynamic and exergoeconomic performance of a novel [...] Read more.
Considering energy conversion efficiency, pollution emissions, and economic benefits, combining biomass with fossil fuels in power generation facilities is a viable approach to address prevailing energy deficits and environmental challenges. This research aimed to investigate the thermodynamic and exergoeconomic performance of a novel power and cooling cogeneration system based on a natural gas–biomass dual fuel gas turbine (DFGT). In this system, a steam Rankine cycle (SRC), a single-effect absorption chiller (SEAC), and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) are employed as bottoming cycles for the waste heat cascade utilization of the DFGT. The effects of main operating parameters on the performance criteria are examined, and multi-objective optimization is accomplished with a genetic algorithm using exergy efficiency and the sum unit cost of the product (SUCP) as the objective functions. The results demonstrate the higher energy utilization efficiency of the proposed system with the thermal and exergy efficiencies of 75.69% and 41.76%, respectively, while the SUCP is 13.37 $/GJ. The exergy analysis reveals that the combustion chamber takes the largest proportion of the exergy destruction rate. The parametric analysis shows that the thermal and exergy efficiencies, as well as the SUCP, rise with the increase in the gas turbine inlet temperature or with the decrease in the preheated air temperature. Higher exergy efficiency and lower SUCP could be obtained by increasing the SRC turbine inlet pressure or decreasing the SRC condensation temperature. Finally, optimization results indicate that the system with an optimum solution yields 0.3% higher exergy efficiency and 2.8% lower SUCP compared with the base case. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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13 pages, 8868 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Properties of Buried Gas Pipeline under Traffic Loads
by Jiaxin Zhang, Xiaoting Gu, Yutong Zhou, Yu Wang, Hailun Zhang and Yuan Zhang
Processes 2023, 11(11), 3087; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11113087 - 27 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1115
Abstract
Dynamic loads generated by heavy vehicles are among the loads resisted by pipelines buried under road surfaces. Most recent analyses are based on static assumptions; however, in practice, vehicle loads change dynamically. In this study, the finite element model of the pipe–soil interaction [...] Read more.
Dynamic loads generated by heavy vehicles are among the loads resisted by pipelines buried under road surfaces. Most recent analyses are based on static assumptions; however, in practice, vehicle loads change dynamically. In this study, the finite element model of the pipe–soil interaction of a buried pipeline was established using the ABAQUS 2020 finite element software, and dynamic loads were applied above the model soil to simulate the influence of vehicles above the highway on the buried X80 pipeline. The mechanical responses of different influencing factors to buried pipelines were analyzed. Increasing the pipe diameter and burial depth decreases the effect of vehicle rolling on the buried pipeline. The mass of the vehicle is the most significant factor that influences the stress and strain on the pipeline. The stress increase of the conventional vehicle load on the X80 gas pipeline does not exceed 10 MPa, and the maximum shape variable of the pipeline is within 13 mm. This study provides a data reference and a risk warning regarding the rolling of buried natural gas pipelines under a single vehicle load. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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17 pages, 8785 KiB  
Article
Using Direct Solar Energy Conversion in Distillation via Evacuated Solar Tube with and without Nanomaterials
by Bahaa Saleh, Fadl A. Essa, Zakaria M. Omara, Mohamed H. Ahmed, Mahmoud S. El-Sebaey, Mogaji Taye Stephen, Lingala Syam Sundar, Mohammed A. Qasim, Eskilla Venkata Ramana, Sengottiyan Shanmugan and Ammar H. Elsheikh
Processes 2023, 11(6), 1734; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11061734 - 06 Jun 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1230
Abstract
As is widely known, the issue of freshwater scarcity affects practically all people, and all are looking for innovative and workable ways to attempt to solve this issue. In this work, a novel method of desalination is proposed. The proposed system consists of [...] Read more.
As is widely known, the issue of freshwater scarcity affects practically all people, and all are looking for innovative and workable ways to attempt to solve this issue. In this work, a novel method of desalination is proposed. The proposed system consists of a solar collector (PTSC), evacuated pipe (EP), condenser (CU), and separation unit (SU). The working principle of the system is heating the feed saline water using the PTSC and EP and controlling the water flow rate to control the output conditions of the EP. The produced vapor is therefore separated from salty water using the SU. In addition, the generated steam is condensed into the CU to produce a freshwater distillate. Consequently, the effect of solar radiation on the affecting temperatures was tested. In addition, the effect of using different water flow rates (6, 7.5, 10, 20, 40, and 60 L/h) inside the EP on the system productivity was investigated. The primary findings of this work may be highlighted in relation to the experiments conducted. At midday, when ultraviolet irradiance reached its highest, the EP’s water flow entrance and outflow had the largest temperature differential. In addition, the lower the water flow rate inside the EP, the higher the water temperature, the higher the evaporation rate of the system, and the greater the freshwater productivity of the system. At 6 L/h, the water’s highest temperature was 92 °C. Moreover, the best performance of the system was obtained at 7.5 L/h, where the freshwater production and average daily effectiveness of the distillate process were 44.7 L/daytime and 59.6%, respectively. As well, the productivity of EP was augmented by around 11.86% when using graphite nanoparticles. Additionally, the distilled freshwater from the system operating at the flow rate of 7.5 L/h costs 0.0085 $/L. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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12 pages, 2845 KiB  
Article
Assessing Hyperloop Transport Optimizing Cost with Different Designs of Capsule
by Hamad Almujibah
Processes 2023, 11(3), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11030744 - 02 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2690
Abstract
Hyperloop technology is a transport mode designed to move passengers anywhere in the world, using electric propulsion to carry passengers through a vacuum/near-vacuum tube for a maximum speed of 1200 km/h. Given this, governments, engineers, researchers, and billionaires have been racing over the [...] Read more.
Hyperloop technology is a transport mode designed to move passengers anywhere in the world, using electric propulsion to carry passengers through a vacuum/near-vacuum tube for a maximum speed of 1200 km/h. Given this, governments, engineers, researchers, and billionaires have been racing over the past years to obtain the first operational system in the world off the ground and bring it from concept to reality. The paper aimed to maximize the capacity of the Hyperloop’s capsule and identify a suitable design of Hyperloop technology based on the different capacities and speeds of the capsules as well as the assumptions of the initial annual demand. Additionally, significant attention will be paid to the interior design of the capsules in which people travel to make the journey more comfortable and enjoyable. The design will be conducted in AutoCAD and Autodesk Revit models based on the allocation of different components such as capacity, compressor fan, batteries, compressor motor, etc. The Hyperloop is powered by solar panels located on the top of the tube, which will allow the capsule to generate more energy based on its capacity than it needs to run. The optimizing cost of each design of the Hyperloop’s capsule will be considered using an MS Excel sheet. As a result, the Hyperloop capsule with a lower capacity (28 seats) has the highest value of optimizing cost due to the number of acquired capsules (38) compared to 25 capsules and 16 capsules for medium- and high-capacity capsules, respectively. The total annual cost of the Hyperloop’s capsules with different capacities of 28, 40, and 50 seats is EUR 5.6 million, EUR 5.5 million, and EUR 6.2 million, respectively, which is determined through the sum of the purchasing cost, operating cost and maintenance cost of capsules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Process Systems Simulation, Modeling, Optimization and Design)
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