Browsing by Author "Hogerwaard, Janette"
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Item Comparative study of ammonia-based clean rail transportation systems for Greater Toronto area(2014-04-01) Hogerwaard, Janette; Dincer, IbrahimAmmonia as a transportation fuel offers a carbon-free, hydrogen rich energy source that emits no greenhouse gases in combustion, and has no global warming potential. Furthermore, it may be produced from any renewable energy resource, and is a strong option for long term sustainability. Ammonia also provides a pathway towards a hydrogen economy, which is the long term goal for environmental sustainability. This thesis investigates the feasibility of integrating ammonia as a combustion fuel, hydrogen carrier, heat recovery and working fluid, and for indirect engine cooling, within locomotive propulsion systems for nine novel ammonia-based configurations. Thermodynamic, environmental, and economic analyses are conducted for a typical modern diesel-fueled locomotive and the proposed ammonia configurations. The study comparatively assesses potential long term solutions for sustainable, clean rail transportation. From the modeled results, the proposed systems operating with 50% of required fuel energy replaced by ammonia have a reduction in diesel fuel consumption from 0.211 kg/s to less than 0.10 kg/s. This is associated with a reduction in GHG emissions of more than 8 tonnes CO2eq for a typical daily locomotive duty cycle for commuter operation. Criteria air contaminants are reduced to below upcoming Tier 3 emission levels for NOx and HC emissions, and meet current levels for PM emissions. In total, ten locomotive propulsion systems are investigated including the diesel-fueled locomotive baseline, and the performance gains are considered against economic factors for fuel and equipment costs in a comparative assessment.Item Development and investigation of integrated solar systems for hydrogen and methanol production(2018-04-01) Hogerwaard, Janette; Dincer, Ibrahim; Naterer, GregImplications of climate change, in particular the negative effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, as well as the finite nature of fossil fuels necessitate the implementation of reliable and environmentally benign alternative energy options. This is particularly true for transportation and power generation sectors, which are responsible for the majority of carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that can be produced from renewable energy via electrolysis and direct photonic energy conversion from sunlight, produces no harmful emissions in combustion, and can be converted to electricity via fuel cells with good efficiency. However, it is challenging to store H2 in a cost and energy efficient manner, and it is not widely available to consumers in comparison to traditional liquid fuels for transportation applications. Storage of H2 produced from solar energy in synthetic fuels is a key step in moving towards an eventual hydrogen economy. By conversion to synthetic fuels such as methanol, hydrogen and solar energy may be directly utilised in current infrastructures as liquid fuels for transportation or in power generation applications. This thesis experimentally investigates clean hydrogen production from solar energy and water using a novel photoelectrochemical water-splitting reactor designed, built, and tested at the Clean Energy Research Laboratory in UOIT. Integrating solar concentration and a spectrum-splitting mirror allows simultaneous photovoltaic electricity generation and direct photonic energy conversion to split water via PEM electrolysis and photoelectrochemical water splitting on the custom built photocathode of the reactor. Case studies are presented for system integration with methanol synthesis from solar energy and anthropogenic carbon capture for environmentally benign fuel production.