Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC)
Iranian Association of Chemical Engineers (IAChE)Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment2423-55476320190701Immobilizing Phosphotungstic Acid on Al2O3-ZnO Nano Mixed Oxides as Heterogeneous Catalyst for Biodiesel Production by Esterification of Free Fatty Acids-169889010.30501/jree.2019.98890ENTazkieh GilvariDepartment of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Materials and Energy Research Center, MeshkinDasht, Alborz, Iran.Behzad AghabarariDepartment of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Materials and Energy Research Center, MeshkinDasht, Alborz, Iran.0000-0001-6073-1612Mohammad PazoukiِDepartment of Energy, Materials and Energy Research Center, MeshkinDasht, Alborz, Iran.0000-0002-3046-6392Journal Article20190710This study investigated the esterification reaction of different carboxylic acids (Acetic acid, Palmitic acid, and Oleic acid) and ethanol by ZnO, Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-ZnOmixed oxide, and phosphotungestic acid (10 wt %) immobilized on the Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-ZnOmixed oxide. The heterogeneous catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, FE-SEM, and EDX techniques. Optimum yield was achieved by using 10 % HPW/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-ZnOas the best catalyst, and the effects of the amount of catalyst, molar ratio of acid to alcohol, reaction temperature, and time were investigated to ensure the ideal yield of esterification reaction of acetic acid and ethanol. The results showed that the esterification of acetic acid to its ethyl ester was carried out in 3.5 hours, with an alcohol-to-acid-molar ratio of 2 and a temperature of 80 ˚C with yield 98 %. Moreover, the 10 % HPW/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-ZnOcatalystshowed well activity in biodiesel production by the esterification of palmitic and oleic acids and the reaction yield did not decrease with an increase in alkyl chain lengthin acid molecules, remarkably.Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC)
Iranian Association of Chemical Engineers (IAChE)Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment2423-55476320190701Implementation of Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (Anfis) for Performance Prediction of Fuel Cell Parameters-7159898910.30501/jree.2019.98989ENAli MostafaeipourDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran0000-0002-2195-4511Mojtaba QolipourDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranHossein GoudarziSchool of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico, NM, USAMehdi JahangiriDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran0000-0001-6803-8804Amir-Mohammad GolmohammadiDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranMostafa RezaeiDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranAlireza GoliDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranLadan SadeghikhoramiDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IranAli Sadeghi SedehDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranSeyad Rashid Khalifeh SoltaniDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranJournal Article20190627<span>Fuel cells are potential candidates for storing energy in many applications; however, their implementation is limited due to poor efficiency and high initial and operating costs. The purpose of this research is to find the most influential fuel cell parameters by applying the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The ANFIS method is implemented to select highly influential parameters for proton exchange membrane (PEM) element of fuel cells. Seven effective input parameters are considered including four parameters of semi-empirical coefficients, parametric coefficient, equivalent contact resistance, and adjustable parameter. Parameters with higher influence are then identified. An optimal combination of the influential parameters is presented and discussed. The ANFIS models used for predicting the most influential parameters in the performance of fuel cells were performed by the well-known statistical indicators of the root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R<sup>2</sup>). Conventional error statistical indicators, RMSE, r, and R<sup>2</sup>, were calculated. Values of R<sup>2</sup> were calculated as of 1.000, 0.9769, and 0.9652 for three different scenarios, respectively. R<sup>2</sup> values showed that the ANFIS could be properly used for yield prediction in this study</span>Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC)
Iranian Association of Chemical Engineers (IAChE)Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment2423-55476320190701Thermodynamic Based Working Fluid Selection for High-Temperature Waste Heat Recovery of a Turbocharged Diesel Engine Using Organic Rankine Cycle-16239936010.30501/jree.2019.99360ENAmin HabibzadehDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Urmia University, Urmia, IranYoung Researchers Club, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.0000-0002-2109-745XSamad JafarmadarDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Urmia University, Urmia, IranJournal Article20190912A considerable amount of waste heat is produced by internal combustion engines. Bottoming cycle application of Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) is one of the promising technologies that recuperates the waste heat of engines. A lot of engine waste heat is released into the environment. There are a lot of working fluids that can be applied in these cycles. As the engine waste heat temperature is extremely high, finding a suitable working fluid, which operates properly in the combined cycle, is challenging. In this paper, the thermodynamic analysis of ten working fluids including cyclohexane, HFE7000, HFE7100, n-hexane, n-pentane, R11, R123, R134a, R141b, and R245fa is conducted to observe the influence of different parameters on the system performance and introduce the most appropriate working fluid. Results indicated that, in the studied ranges, R134a had the best performances since (a) its thermal and exergy efficiencies were 17.39 % and 17.34 %, respectively; (b) the thermal efficiency of the engine increased by 9 %, and the net power of the system reached 7.5 kW. Furthermore, there was about 9 % reduction in fuel consumption. On the other hand, among the studied working fluids, cyclohexane operates as the least suitable one by possessing the minimum amounts.Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC)
Iranian Association of Chemical Engineers (IAChE)Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment2423-55476320190701Assessment of Environmental Impacts and Energy of Biodiesel Production from Chicken Fat by Life Cycle Assessment Method-243110021410.30501/jree.2019.100214ENMarziyeh ForootanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystem, Shahrekord University, IranBahram Hosseinzadeh SamaniDepartment of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystem, Shahrekord University, Iran0000-0002-8563-7080Amin LotfalianDepartment of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystem, Shahrekord University, IranSajad RostamiDepartment of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystem, Shahrekord University, Iran0000-0002-0375-0558Zahra EsmaeiliDepartment of mechanical engineering of biosystem, Shahrekord University, IranMarziyeh Ansari SamaniDepartment of mechanical engineering of biosystem, Shahrekord University, Iran0000-0002-0854-8340Journal Article20190814To preserve fossil fuel sources and reduce environmental pollution, it is necessary to use higher quality and more efficient fuels that cause lower pollution and are recovered more easily. Therefore, this study will investigate the cycle of biodiesel production from chicken fat by life-cycle assessment (LCA). To achieve this purpose, information on the amount of inputs consumed and produced by some broiler-farming units was collected using questionnaire. The value of net energy in this cycle was assessed to be a large negative number, and the energy ratio lower than one indicates high energy consumption of the production of this fuel. The net yield of biodiesel production was 0.574 liter-biodiesel per kg of waste fat. In the cycle, the greatest impact of pollutants was exerted on the Marine aquatic ecotoxicity intoxication and the least effect on ozone depletion. According to the global warming index, production of 1 liter of biodiesel yielded 1.90 kg CO<sub>2</sub>, and the depletion rate of fossil fuel sources for the production of 1 liter of biodiesel was obtained 21.35 MJ. The production of biodiesel from chicken slaughterhouse waste fat is considered a kind of energy recycling and is an effort to reduce environmental pollution.Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC)
Iranian Association of Chemical Engineers (IAChE)Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment2423-55476320190701Efficiency of Low-Pressure Reverses Osmosis (RO) in Desalination and TOC Removal from Caspian Seawater and Tajan River-323710026210.30501/jree.2019.100262ENLaleh R. KalankeshDepartment of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Health Sciences Research Center, Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.0000-0002-5608-842Mohammad Ali ZazouliDepartment of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.0000-0003-2314-3859Ahmad MansouriDepartment of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.0000-0002-5900-7628Journal Article20191013Water scarcity is a critical issue in Caspian Sea regions of Iran. Thus, people may use polluted water or saline brackish groundwater, estuarine water or seawater. This paper deals with the application of Low-Pressure reverse osmosis (RO) for removing salt and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in synthetic and Caspian Sea waters. The study aims to achieve optimization at different pressures (30, 50, 70, and 90 PSI) with synthetic seawater at initial salt concentrations (5, 25, and 35 g/L TDS) at various retention time intervals (15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes). The results showed that the low-pressure RO system was able to reject 95 %, 57 %, and 46 % of 5, 25, and 35 g/L of TDS from synthetic seawater. In addition, rejection efficiency was achieved at 86 % and 78 % for Caspian seawater and Tajan River, respectively. In addition, optimal conditions (pressure: 70 PSI, time: 120 min) for salt rejection included 16-23 %, 93-94, 52-56 %, 88-90, and 22 % for 35g/L TDS, Tajan River, 5g/L TDS, 25g/L TDS, and Caspian seawater, respectively. Moreover, TOC rejection was achieved at >95 % and >97 % of Tajan River and Caspian seawater, respectively, at an overall 120-minute interval. In the case of growing environmental pollution that is discharged into Caspian sea including industrial and agricultural effluents from rivers, this study proposed the suggested pilot as a simple design that will significantly reduce salt, TOC, and TDS.Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC)
Iranian Association of Chemical Engineers (IAChE)Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment2423-55476320190701A Review Study About Photovoltaic Systems and the Energy Payback Time Calculation for Selected Modules-384910026310.30501/jree.2019.100263ENSeyed Mohammad Emami RazaviDepartment of Renewable Energies and Environment, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.Mohammad Hossein JahangirDepartment of Renewable Energies and Environment, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.0000-0002-0991-7646Soroush MousaviDepartment of Renewable Energies and Environment, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.Journal Article20190810The renewable energy can be utilized to satisfy the energy demand. Moreover, the solar energy as the most abundant energy resource among renewable energies plays a crucial role to provide the energy demand. The BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) systems can be considered to supply the required energy demand from renewable sources. The essential advantage of BIPV systems is that they can be utilized as building component such as roof, window, shading systems and building façade and they can generate electricity simultaneously. Even though the photovoltaic technologies have been improved within past few years, however the utilization of the BIPV systems will be considered expensive. For this reason, the payback period calculation is considered a vital parameter in evaluating the BIPV systems. In this study, the overall energy consumption for producing one m<sup>2</sup> of a mono-crystalline photovoltaic module is calculated 1334 kWh. Additionally, the photovoltaic module data for three companies were investigated and the annual energy productions for one m<sup>2</sup> of each company’s product were obtained. The results showed that the average energy payback time for 270 and 280 watt modules are 5.565 and 5.254 respectively. Moreover, the energy payback time for 290, 325 and 340 watt modules were calculated 4.903, 5.437 and 4.965 respectively.