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Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2022) | Viewed by 34589

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ján Piteľ

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Guest Editor

Department of Industrial Engineering and Informatics, Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies with a Seat in Presov, Technical University of Kosice, 080 01 Presov, Slovakia
Interests: monitoring and control of machines; mechatronic systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Jan Hrdlička

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Guest Editor

Department of Energy Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 166 07 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: combustion processes of solid fuels in fluidized bed; emission control; carbon capture and storage/utilization

Prof. Dr. Ivan Pavlenko

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Technical Systems and Energy Efficient Technologies, Sumy State University, 40007 Sumy, Ukraine
Interests: numerical simulation and experimental research of hydrodynamic; heat and mass transfer processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The modelling and simulation of combustion processes is still a challenging field. In principle, it requires the integration of heat and mass transfer, flow conditions, and reaction chemistry. Available tools for such modelling are very different, and are usually problem-specific. One special field of interest is fluidized bed combustion of solid fuels, which additionally encounter the fluidized bed hydrodynamics and particle interactions. Recent trends in the field are focusing on more detailed description and understanding of burn-out mechanism of solid fuel particles, which is essential for modelling to have reasonable outputs. From a control point of view, dynamic models of combustion processes are very important, for example, in model-based control algorithms. Due to their complexity, dynamic modelling based on partial differential equations and parameter identification for the corresponding transient models is a topical problem, which can be solved using a comprehensive approach based on experimental data, numerical simulation, regression modeling, and also artificial intelligence methods. One common challenge is validation of the models in real process, which requires in-depth and precise measurements that is typically complicated by limited access into the combustion process zone. This information is important also for control and monitoring of the combustion processes.

This Special Issue on “Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels” aims to curate novel advances in the development and application of computational modelling and advanced control to address longstanding challenges in energy efficiency increase and environmental pollution decrease arising also from renewable fuels combustion. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Description of current problems in combustion processes of renewable fuels and possible solutions;
Up-to-date tools for reaction chemistry modelling and flow, heat and mass transfer simulation during combustion processes
Numerical simulation of transient combustion processes
Parameter identification for models of combustion processes
Advanced control algorithms of combustion processes
Sensors for monitoring and control of combustion processes

Prof. Dr. Ján Piteľ
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jan Hrdlička
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Pavlenko
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

Combustion
Processes
Renewable Fuels
Modelling
Simulation
Control
Monitoring
Sensors

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 208 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Special Issue on Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels

by Ján Pitel’, Jan Hrdlička and Ivan Pavlenko

Processes 2022, 10(12), 2530; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr10122530 - 29 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1175

Abstract

The modeling and simulation of combustion processes is still a challenging field [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

11 pages, 3762 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Performance and Emission Parameters Based on the Redistribution of the Amount of Combustion Air of the Wood Stove

by Michal Holubčík, Nikola Čajová Kantová, Jozef Jandačka and Alexander Čaja

Processes 2022, 10(8), 1570; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr10081570 - 10 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1577

Abstract

Several factors affect how particulate matter and gaseous emissions are formed during the combustion processes of biomass. The amount of combustion air, as well as its redistribution, is one of these factors. This article deals with the performance and emission parameters determined using different distributions of the amount of combustion air of the wood stove with beech wood as a fuel. Eighteen different settings of primary, secondary and tertiary air supplies were realized, while heat output, efficiency, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides were measured or determined. The aim of this article is to identify the optimal air distribution between primary, secondary, and tertiary air supplies focused on the mentioned parameters. Based on the results, two settings (25/50/25 and 0/100/0) could be the optimal variant. However, the concentration of particulate matter reached a higher value during the setting with a ratio of 25/50/25, similar to a ratio of 50/25/25. The measurement during the setting with a ratio of 0/100/0 could be influenced by the existing embers on the grid before the start of the measurement. However, it is important to supply all three types of combustion air with the main emphasis on the secondary air supply due to the completely use of the combustible gases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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15 pages, 2398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biomass Combustion Control in Small and Medium-Scale Boilers Based on Low Cost Sensing the Trend of Carbon Monoxide Emissions

by Jana Mižáková, Ján Piteľ, Alexander Hošovský, Ivan Pavlenko, Marek Ochowiak and Serhii Khovanskyi

Processes 2021, 9(11), 2030; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9112030 - 13 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4028

Abstract

The article deals with the possibility of efficient control of small and medium-scale biomass-fired boilers by implementing low-cost sensors to sense the trend of carbon monoxide emissions into control of the biomass combustion process. Based on the theoretical analysis, a principle block diagram of the process control system was designed for the possibility of providing near-optimal control of the biomass combustion regardless of its quality parameters. A cost-effective hardware solution to obtain the dependence of CO emissions on O₂ concentration in flue gas during combustion and new control algorithms was implemented into the process control and monitoring system of the biomass-fired boilers to test them in the real operation. A description of the designed control system, a data analysis of the monitored values and their impact on combustion process, and some results of the implemented control of the real biomass combustion process are presented in the article. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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15 pages, 604 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Feature Selection and Uncertainty Analysis for Bubbling Fluidized Bed Oxy-Fuel Combustion Data

by Katerina Marzova and Ivo Bukovsky

Processes 2021, 9(10), 1757; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9101757 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1160

Abstract

This paper presents a novel feature extraction and validation technique for data-driven prediction of oxy-fuel combustion emissions in a bubbling fluidized bed experimental facility. The experimental data were analyzed and preprocessed to minimize the size of the data set while preserving patterns and variance and to find an optimal configuration of the feature vector. The Boruta Feature Selection Algorithm (BFSA) finds feature vector’s configuration and the Multiscale False Neighbours Analysis (MSFNA) is newly extended and proposed to validate the BFSA’s design for emission prediction to assure minimal uncertainty in mapping between feature vectors and corresponding outputs. The finding is that the standalone BFSA does not reflect various sampling period setups that appeared significantly influencing the false neighborhood in the design of feature vectors for possible emission prediction, and MSFNA resolves that. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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14 pages, 2061 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

A Comparison of Ethanol, Methanol, and Butanol Blending with Gasoline and Its Effect on Engine Performance and Emissions Using Engine Simulation

by Simeon Iliev

Processes 2021, 9(8), 1322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9081322 - 29 Jul 2021

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 6608

Abstract

Air pollution, especially in large cities around the world, is associated with serious problems both with people’s health and the environment. Over the past few years, there has been a particularly intensive demand for alternatives to fossil fuels, because when they are burned, substances that pollute the environment are released. In addition to the smoke from fuels burned for heating and harmful emissions that industrial installations release, the exhaust emissions of vehicles create a large share of the fossil fuel pollution. Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are derived from resources other than fossil fuels. Because alcoholic fuels have several physical and propellant properties similar to those of gasoline, they can be considered as one of the alternative fuels. Alcoholic fuels or alcohol-blended fuels may be used in gasoline engines to reduce exhaust emissions. This study aimed to develop a gasoline engine model to predict the influence of different types of alcohol-blended fuels on performance and emissions. For the purpose of this study, the AVL Boost software was used to analyse characteristics of the gasoline engine when operating with different mixtures of ethanol, methanol, butanol, and gasoline (by volume). Results obtained from different fuel blends showed that when alcohol blends were used, brake power decreased and the brake specific fuel consumption increased compared to when using gasoline, and CO and HC concentrations decreased as the fuel blends percentage increased. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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14 pages, 3743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling of Technological Processes for a Rectification Plant in Second-Generation Bioethanol Production

by Oleksandr Liaposhchenko, Vitalii Marenok, Maksym Skydanenko, Ivan Pavlenko, Marek Ochowiak, Jana Mižáková, Ján Piteľ, Vitalii Storozhenko, Vasyl Smyrnov and Viacheslav Shmatenko

Processes 2021, 9(6), 944; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9060944 - 27 May 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2115

Abstract

The article deals with the recent developments in the fuel industry, considering the permanent increasing requirements for fuel quality and environmental safety. The work aims to study various technological modes at the rectification unit to produce fuel bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass. The main goals are to solve applied scientific problems of rational designing and technological optimization to obtain boundaries of energy consumption to ensure the quality of bioethanol sufficient for a consumer. Recent approaches for numerical simulation of chemical technological processes were applied to study the operating processes and optimize technological parameters. The plant model was designed from various modules that allow us to simulate technological processes efficiently and accurately for all the primary units of the rectification equipment. The methodology based on the activity coefficient UNIFAC model of phase equilibrium was applied. As a result, a mixture with 74% of bioethanol 9% of impurities was obtained in the brew column. In the epuration column, a mixture of 46% bioethanol and 2.2% of impurities was obtained in bottoms. Finally, in the alcohol column, the mass fraction of distillate of 96.9% and impurities of 2.7% were reached. The numerical simulation results can be applied in recent fuel technologies and designing the corresponding biofuel plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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14 pages, 35415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a New Sensor Module for an Enhanced Fuel Flexible Operation of Biomass Boilers

by Martin Meiller, Jürgen Oischinger, Robert Daschner and Andreas Hornung

Processes 2021, 9(4), 661; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9040661 - 09 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1930

Abstract

The heterogeneity of biogenic fuels, and especially biogenic residues with regard to water and ash content, particle size and particle size distribution is challenging for biomass combustion, and limits fuel flexibility. Online fuel characterization as a part of process control could help to optimize combustion processes, increase fuel flexibility and reduce emissions. In this research article, a concept for a new sensor module is presented and first tests are displayed to show its feasibility. The concept is based on the principle of hot air convective drying. The idea is to pass warm air with 90 °C through a bulk of fuel like wood chips and measure different characteristics such as moisture, temperatures and pressure drop over the bulk material as a function over time. These functions are the basis to draw conclusions and estimate relevant fuel properties. To achieve this goal, a test rig with a volume of 0.038 m³ was set up in the laboratory and a series of tests was performed with different fuels (wood chips, saw dust, wood pellets, residues from forestry, corn cobs and biochar). Further tests were carried out with conditioned fuels with defined water and fines contents. The experiments show that characteristic functions arise over time. The central task for the future will be to assign these functions to specific fuel characteristics. Based on the data, the concept for a software for an automated, data-based fuel detection system was designed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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10 pages, 1839 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Isothermal Kinetic Analysis of the Thermal Decomposition of Wood Chips from an Apple Tree

by Ivan Vitázek, Martin Šotnar, Stella Hrehová, Kristína Darnadyová and Jan Mareček

Processes 2021, 9(2), 195; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9020195 - 21 Jan 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1959

Abstract

The thermal decomposition of wood chips from an apple tree is studied in a static air atmosphere under isothermal conditions. Based on the thermogravimetric analysis, the values of the apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor are 34 ± 3 kJ mol⁻¹ and 391 ± 2 min⁻¹, respectively. These results have also shown that this process can be described by the rate of the first-order chemical reaction. This reaction model is valid only for a temperature range of 250–290 °C, mainly due to the lignin decomposition. The obtained results are used for kinetic prediction, which is compared with the measurement. The results show that the reaction is slower at higher values of degree of conversion, which is caused by the influence of the experimental condition. Nevertheless, the obtained kinetic parameters could be used for the optimization of the combustion process of wood chips in small-scale biomass boilers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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18 pages, 7517 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Numerical Study on the Pilot Injection Conditions of a Marine 2-Stroke Lean-Burn Dual Fuel Engine

by Hao Guo, Song Zhou, Jiaxuan Zou and Majed Shreka

Processes 2020, 8(11), 1396; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr8111396 - 02 Nov 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2108

Abstract

The global demand for clean fuels is increasing in order to meet the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of 0.5% global Sulphur cap and Tier III emission limits. Natural gas has begun to be popularized on liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships because of its low cost and environment friendly. In large-bore marine engines, ignition with pilot fuel in the prechamber is a good way to reduce combustion variability and extend the lean-burn limit. However, the occurrence of knock limits the increase in power. Therefore, this paper investigates the effect of pilot fuel injection conditions on performance and knocking of a marine 2-stroke low-pressure dual-fuel (LP-DF) engine. The engine simulations were performed under different pilot fuel parameters. The results showed that the average in-cylinder temperature, the average in-cylinder pressure, and the NOx emissions gradually decreased with the delay of the pilot injection timing. Furthermore, the combustion situation gradually deteriorated as the pilot injection duration increased. A shorter pilot injection duration was beneficial to reduce NOx pollutant emissions. Moreover, the number of pilot injector orifices affected the ignition of pilot fuel and the flame propagation speed inside the combustion chamber. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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16 pages, 3911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Numerical Investigation on De-NOx Technology and Abnormal Combustion Control for a Hydrogen Engine with EGR System

by Hao Guo, Song Zhou, Jiaxuan Zou and Majed Shreka

Processes 2020, 8(9), 1178; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr8091178 - 17 Sep 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3678

Abstract

The combustion emissions of the hydrogen-fueled engines are very clean, but the problems of abnormal combustion and high NOx emissions limit their applications. Nowadays hydrogen engines use exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology to control the intensity of premixed combustion and reduce the NOx emissions. This study aims at improving the abnormal combustion and decreasing the NOx emissions of the hydrogen engine by applying a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a single-cylinder hydrogen-fueled engine equipped with an EGR system. The results indicated that peak in-cylinder pressure continuously increased with the increase of the ignition advance angle and was closer to the top dead center (TDC). In addition, the mixture was burned violently near the theoretical air–fuel ratio, and the combustion duration was shortened. Moreover, the NOx emissions, the average pressure, and the in-cylinder temperature decreased as the EGR ratio increased. Furthermore, increasing the EGR ratio led to an increase in the combustion duration and a decrease in the peak heat release rate. EGR system could delay the spontaneous combustion reaction of the end-gas and reduce the probability of knocking. The pressure rise rate was controlled and the in-cylinder hot spots were reduced by the EGR system, which could suppress the occurrence of the pre-ignition in the hydrogen engine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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19 pages, 7943 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Investigation of a Portable Incinerator: A Parametric Study

by Mohsen Saffari Pour, Ali Hakkaki-Fard and Bahar Firoozabadi

Processes 2020, 8(8), 923; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr8080923 - 02 Aug 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6412

Abstract

The application of incinerators for the municipal solid waste (MSW) is growing due to the ability of such instruments to produce energy and, more specifically, reduce waste volume. In this paper, a numerical simulation of the combustion process with the help of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) inside a portable (mobile) incinerator has been proposed. Such work is done to investigate the most critical parameters for a reliable design of a domestic portable incinerator, which is suitable for the Iranian food and waste culture. An old design of a simple incinerator has been used to apply the natural gas (NG), one of the available cheap fossil fuels in Iran. After that, the waste height, place of the primary burner, and the flow rate of the cooling air inside the incinerator, as the main parameters of the design, are investigated. A validation is also performed for the mesh quality test and the occurrence of the chemical reactions near the burner of the incinerator. Results proved that the numerical results have less than 5% error compared to the previous experimental and numerical approaches. In addition, results show that by moving the primary burner into the secondary chamber of the incinerator, the temperature and the heating ability of the incinerator could be affected dramatically. Moreover, it has been found that by increasing the flow rate of the cooling air inside the incinerator to some extent, the combustion process is improved and, on the other hand, by introducing more cooling air, the evacuation of the hazardous gases from the exhaust is also improved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Simulation and Control in Combustion Processes of Renewable Fuels)

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