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Building A Better Gas Turbine
Abu Dabi, UAE (SPX) Apr 02, 2008 Could combustion without flames be used to build industrial gas turbines for power generation that are much more efficient than current models and produce almost no polluting emissions? Researchers in the Middle East provide a possible answer in the current issue of the Inderscience publication, International Journal of the Environment and Pollution. Mohamed Sassi of The Petroleum Institute in Abu Dabi (United Arab Emirates) and colleagues, Mohamed Hamdi and Hamaid Bent�cha, at the National School of Engineers of Monastir (Tunisia), explain that flameless combustion, or more precisely flameless oxidation (FLOX), has become a focus of industrial research. It has, they say, the potential to avoid one of the major noxious pollutants from gas turbines, NOx, or nitrogen oxides. In flameless combustion, the oxidation of fuel occurs with a very limited oxygen supply at very high temperature. Spontaneous ignition occurs and progresses with no visible or audible signs of the flames usually associated with burning. The chemical reaction zone is quite diffuse, explains Sassi, and this leads to almost uniform heat release and a smooth temperature profile. All these factors could result in a much more efficient process as well as reducing emissions. The team has now modeled flameless combustion in a so-called adiabatic combustor, of the kind typically used in gas turbine engines in which methane is burned to drive a turbine for electricity production. They carried out detailed calculations of reaction rates and have analyzed the chemical reactions taking place. "The main objective of our study was to provide a fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical processes that occur during combustion in high-temperature air or exhaust gases with a low content of oxygen," explains Sassi. The results of the team's simulations clearly show that even at high operating temperatures and pressures, NOx emissions are reduced to very low levels, suggesting that flameless combustion could become an effective way of ameliorating pollution in power generation. Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Fuel Cell Vehicles Are The Best Pathway To Environmental And Energy Security
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 01, 2008Fuel cells and hydrogen fuel are the only motor vehicle technology option that will respond effectively to global warming during this century, according to a new analysis by a Washington expert in alternative fuels. "The hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle is the only option that can achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 60% or more below 1990 levels in the transportation sector," concludes Dr. C.E. Thomas in a new study. |
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