{"id":62,"date":"2016-02-29T01:22:31","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T01:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/template\/?page_id=62"},"modified":"2016-03-02T01:31:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T01:31:00","slug":"projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/energy-research-laboratory\/projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Energy Research Lab<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Lab Members<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Projects<\/a>\"EnergyResearchLabLogo\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Current and Past Research Projects:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Liquid Biofuel Fischer Tropsch Synthesis<\/strong> from CO and H2 \u00a0– Steve Wirya, Gustavo Mancini, Brian Noland, Steven Wong, \u00a0Aneesh Rege<\/p>\n

For many years the laboratory has investigated hydrogen production via\u00a0reformation of liquid fuels. We have discovered and developed advanced methods of heat and mass transfer enhancement for these applications. \u00a0We are currently broadening our expertise in reformation to bear on fuel synthesis methods, such as in\u00a0Fischer-Tropsch fuel synthesis,\u00a0\u00a0that are similarly\u00a0limited by heat and mass transfer. \u00a0The successful implementation of \u00a0heat and mass transfer enhancement potentially allows realistic biofuels to be used as gasoline and diesel replacement fuels. We are currently seeking funding to support our work in understanding how Fischer-Tropsch fuel synthesis can be changed by use of our heat and mass transfer enhancement methods. A very simplified\u00a0\u00a0top level view of the \"BTL+renewableH2processes is shown below for creating synthetic diesel using a biomass feedstock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thermochemical Recuperation of Exhaust Heat<\/strong> – Isaac Silva,<\/p>\n

Low NOx Engines can be enabled by\u00a0harvesting exhaust heat from the engine to upgrade a hydrocarbon fuel to a \"IMG_2405[1]\"hydrogen -rich mixture subsequently allowing simultaneous\u00a0efficiency increase and emissions decrease in the engine. We have operated small engines in open-loop with a hydrogen mixture (see past work by Eddie Jordan, Jason Greenwood, \u00a0Ryan Gemlich and Fethia Amrouche) and creation of a hydrogen mixture from simulated exhaust and fuel (see past work by David Vernon and others). These past projects culminated in Isaac Silva’s work operating a small engine from methane while harvesting a portion of the exhaust to enable hydrogen injection into the intake\u00a0in a closed loop fashion. \u00a0Significant exhaust heat is captured in this process and changes to the engine operation by utilizing the hydrogen created can occur in a stable manner. \u00a0These results indicate that thermochemical recuperation\u00a0of exhaust heat can be practically used to \u00a0increase efficiency and reduce emissions in the spark ignition engine.<\/p>\n

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Stratified Reformation<\/strong> – Nadia Richards, Edgar Necoechea<\/p>\n

In hydrogen\u00a0steam-reformation systems, mass flow throughputs are relatively small which typically requires multiple tubular reactors in parallel to obtain high\u00a0flow rates. \u00a0In autothermal reformation the mass flow rates are relatively high but gas quality is typically much lower\u00a0than steam reformation methods. \u00a0In many\u00a0applications volume must be minimized and\u00a0maximum flow rate and high gas quality is desired. In order to increase mass flow in a reactor \"nadiawhile maintaining high gas quality\u00a0we are investigating\u00a0the idea of short catalyst contact time. \u00a0We introduce the fuel\/reactant mixture on a specifically designed catalyst to break apart reactants\u00a0with an exothermic step then immediately reassemble the desired molecule on a highly-selective endothermic catalyst in a single tube. \u00a0This two step process is what we are terming stratified reformation where two catalysts are used in series to maximize flow rate and simultaneously increase output gas quality. \u00a0Preliminary results indicate that this technique yields the benefits of autothermal reformation in \u00a0mass flow rate with outgas purities approaching\u00a0that of steam reformation. \u00a0Previous thought was that low temperature WGS catalysts could not be used in this manner and our studies indicate that longer chain fuels may be able to be processed to high quality hydrogen in a similar manner. Studies are continuing with various fuels being investigated.<\/p>\n

Endothermic Fuels and Hydrogen Bifueling for Gas-Turbines<\/strong> – Justin Hwang, Steven Wong<\/p>\n

In aerospace gas turbine engines flame stability is critical to mission safety. \u00a0Previous studies have indicated that hydrogen bifueling (hydrogen burnt in conjunction with another fuel) can stabilize such flames. Benefits of hydrogen bifueling extend to both energy efficiency \u00a0and emissions reductions in the engine. \u00a0Thermal NOx can be significantly decreased\u00a0with hydrogen by allowing stable fuel lean operation. However promising, pure hydrogen \"TVCOpenFoam\"\u00a0has significant energy density penalties\u00a0which make onboard hydrogen storage an unlikely option for mobile applications. Hydrogen for mobile applications will most likely be created\u00a0from higher energy density fuels using reformation techniques \u00a0rather than be stored onboard in gaseous or liquid form. We are investigating\u00a0how the created hydrogen-rich gas \u00a0(called reformate) from high-energy density hydrocarbon fuels might stabilize a flame in a bifueled\u00a0system.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, there are some multi-function fuels which can act as a heat sink \u00a0and could potentially be used as endothermic fuels to cool critical engine components saving weight of auxiliary systems while simultaneously harvesting waste heat which will increase efficiency. \u00a0When being heated most of the\u00a0known\u00a0endothermic fuels are susceptible to coke (solid carbon) formation which potentially blocks critical passages for fuel delivery.\u00a0Typical\u00a0fuel\u00a0additives which inhibit this coke formation in endothermic fuels have also been shown to decrease flame stability. \u00a0Increased flame stability through hydrogen or reformate can potentially counteract the coke inhibiting additives and enable practical use of endothermic fuels. \u00a0We are investigating both endothermic fuel strategies and the flame stability of reformate mixed with endothermic fuels in order to\u00a0potentially allow their use in gas turbine power systems without compromising flame stability and mission safety.<\/p>\n

Acoustic Enhancement of Reacting Flows in Fuel Cell Applications<\/strong> – Siva Gunda<\/p>\n

Parametric studies of \u00a0Low-cost Pico-Hydro Power for rural applications-<\/strong> Kyle Gaiser<\/p>\n

In many parts of the developing world, rural, and off grid applications,\u00a0conversion of hydropower in small scale (pico-hydro\u00a0<5kW) \"Kylesis done suboptimally due to the high capital\u00a0cost of commercially\u00a0designed\u00a0equipment. \u00a0Many pico-hydro applications could be significantly\u00a0benefitted\u00a0by a\u00a0better understanding of the fundamental parameters regarding hydropower conversion and the basic principles involved in the design, manufacture, and operation of simple turbines that could be constructed from readily available materials and construction methods. \u00a0We have investigated the performance of a low-cost turgo-type turbine and have studied the main parameters affecting the power conversion thereof. Our overall goal is to allow a\u00a0significant\u00a0 increase of energy conversion efficiency in low-cost turbines and thus allow better designs in the extraction of power for\u00a0these types of applications.<\/p>\n

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Fuel Cell Cathode Air Filtration<\/strong> – Arjun Tejaswi<\/p>\n

\"Arjuns<\/a><\/p>\n

Aluminum Powered Hydrogen Production for Mobile Applications<\/strong> – Brian Noland and Karthik Ganesh<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Modeling Heat Release in Hydrogen Enrichment<\/strong> – Eddie Jordan<\/p>\n

Hydrogen Enrichment in the Spark-Ignition Internal Combustion Engine<\/strong>– Jason Greenwood<\/p>\n

Retrofit and Testing of Fuel cell Motorcycles<\/strong> -Sanders and Jhaveri<\/p>\n

\"DSC_1861\u00a0 \u00a0<\/a>\"DSC_1868\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thermal Storage Integration with Refrigerators and Renewable energy via PCMs -Kornbluth<\/p>\n

Heat and Mass Transfer Enhancement in Steam Reformation with\u00a0Structured Catalysts<\/strong>– Ian Sit, Kevin Uy, Shalah Mammadova<\/p>\n

\"Structured<\/a><\/p>\n

International Energy Development<\/strong>-Gunda and Kornbluth<\/p>\n

\"DSC07598\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hydrogen from Biofuels-ethanol and mixed alcohols<\/strong> – David Vernon<\/p>\n

Hybrid reformation {ATR with low cost steam reforming catalysts} (theory, modeling, degradation, and transient following capabilities) – Hsu, Kasheveroff, Tang, Richards<\/p>\n

Algorithms for Control of Reformers<\/strong> -Ray Tang<\/p>\n

Catalytic Light off for Reducing Start up emissions<\/strong>-Todd Skinner, Anthony Montevirgen<\/p>\n

Hydrogen Enriched Internal Combustion engines- Compression Ignition Engines<\/strong> -Will \u00a0Marin<\/p>\n

Bus (retro fit to IC Hybrid operation) Controls etc<\/p>\n

\"102_0218\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fuel Cell Bus Acoustics and Noise reductions from Heavy Duty Fuel Cell Vehicle Systems<\/strong>-Zachary Zoller<\/p>\n

Reforming of Mixed Alcohols formed from Gasification Pathways<\/strong>– Matthew Caldwell<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Energy Research Lab\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Lab Members\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Projects Current and Past Research Projects: Liquid Biofuel Fischer Tropsch Synthesis from CO and H2 \u00a0– Steve Wirya, Gustavo Mancini, Brian Noland, Steven Wong, \u00a0Aneesh Rege For many years the laboratory has investigated hydrogen production via\u00a0reformation of liquid fuels. We \u2026 Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":259,"parent":288,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-onecolumn.php","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-62","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62\/revisions\/258"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu\/erickson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}