Steam Iron Research Articles

Combined Chemical Looping: New Possibilities for Energy Storage and Conversion

A novel concept of energy storage and conversion was demonstrated in a laboratory-scale test. The proposed combined chemical looping is able to store and release energy from chemical looping combustion for heat generation and hydrogen production by steam–iron processes integrated in one reactor. The reactor contains two concentric chambers, which are both filled with iron-based material. In a first step, all material is reduced to the metallic form, thus “charging” the reactor. For the second step or “discharging”, steam is fed to the inner chamber and air is fed to the outer chamber. The inner chamber is used for hydrogen production, and the external chamber is used for heat generation. In addition to iron, the external chamber contains a highly pyrophoric Ni-based layer at the air entry point to enable the startup of heat generation at room temperature. This concept of combined chemical looping was successfully tested: heat was generated by metal oxidation in air, and H2 was produced following contact o...

IBM RANCANG BANGUN MESIN PENGERING DAN SETRIKA UAP UNTUK MENINGKATKAN PRODUKTIFITAS KELOMPOK USAHA LAUNDRY

<p>The objective of IbM program is the application prototype of dryer clothes based on gas resources and<br />steam iron as well as low energy, so hopefully with these tools can streamline the production time, minimize<br />complaints due to human error, it is easy to use (ability), service quality is guaranteed (high quality), and can<br />improve the modernization of the laundry business community in general. The method applied to the IbM<br />program is uses the review follow-method approach consisting of several methods for achieving the goal of<br />increasing productivity, effectiveness and quality of production through the application of the prototype. Stages<br />methods applied include: design stage, executing test machinery and equipment, the preparation of instructions<br />on the equipment operation, counseling stage, mentoring stage, as well as monitoring and evaluation stage of<br />products with renewable equipment to determine the extent to which the design can be useful tools to effectively<br />and efficient.<br />IbM superficial is application of appropriate technology in the form of drying machine product “gas<br />dryer convection” and “steam iron”, to solve the problems that complaints by user and business partners of<br />“Auralia Laundry” and “Dolphin Laundry” as laundry business manager.The results of IbMprogram then will<br />be published in the form of scientific papers.<br />Implementation of IbM program output is the application of engineering systems of Gas<br />DryerConvectionand steam irons in the “laundry” business in the field impacted can increase productivity and<br />effectiveness in speeding up the production pace, quantity and quality can be achieved according to customer<br />requirements, production capacity can be increased and rapidly as indicated by high productivity, effective and<br />efficient so that it can increase the needs order. With fulfillment of customer needs as a customer, it can foster a<br />sense of trust and the popularity of the work done more competitive and efficient. In closing, looking forward to<br />more good by continuing to improve the productivity, effectiveness and adequate quality must be supported by<br />the government, private sector and universities . As a follow-up to the next plan will be improving product<br />design to accommodate input and criticism from SMEs partners to output product.</p>

High purity hydrogen from coupled dry reforming and steam iron process with cobalt ferrites as oxygen carrier: Process improvement with the addition of NiAl2O4 catalyst

Cobalt ferrite with additive (alumina) has been proposed as oxygen carrier, to jointly carry out the dry reforming of a synthetic biogas, and the reduction stage of an oxide for producing hydrogen by “steam-iron” process. These reactions, as well as the associated reoxidation stage are performed within the same unit: a fixed bed reactor operating on a cyclic manner (redox) looking for the intensification at once of both, production and purification, of PEMFC quality hydrogen. This procedure is intended to be an alternative to traditional methods for producing hydrogen, which simultaneously consumes renewable raw materials and energy sources like biogas. Since catalytic activity of ferrites decays along cycles, the activity of the solid has been enhanced with the aid of small proportions of nickel aluminate with over-stoichiometric nickel oxide acting as catalyst. The addition of NiO/NiAl2O4 has allowed maintaining the catalytic activity in the reduction steps, increasing the amount of reactive solid in the subsequent oxidation steps, and hence the amount of high purity hydrogen obtained per 100g of solid. In fact, the production of hydrogen for catalytic tests at Treduction=800°C reaches a value around 2.6g H2/100g of ferrite, when the non-catalytic counterpart gives only around 0.5g H2/100g of ferrite.

Iron oxide ores as carriers for the production of high purity hydrogen from biogas by steam–iron process

Production of high purity hydrogen (<50 ppm CO) by steam–iron process (SIP) from a synthetic sweetened biogas has been investigated making use of a natural iron ore containing up to 81 wt% of hematite (Fe2O3) as oxygen carrier. The presence of a lab-made catalyst (NiAl2O4 with NiO excess above its stoichiometric composition) was required to carry out the significant transformation of mixtures of methane and carbon dioxide in hydrogen and carbon monoxide by methane dry reforming reaction. Three consecutive sub-stages have been identified along the reduction stage that comprise A) the combustion of CH4 by lattice oxygen of NiO and Fe2O3, B) catalyzed methane dry reforming and C) G–G equilibrium described by the Water-Gas-Shift reaction. Oxidation stages were carried out with steam completing the cycle. Oxidation temperature was always kept constant at 500 °C regardless of the temperature used in the previous reduction to minimize the gasification of eventual carbon deposits formed along the previous reduction stage. The presence of other oxides different from hematite in minor proportions (SiO2, Al2O3, CaO and MgO to name the most significant) confers it an increased thermal resistance against sintering respecting pure hematite at the expense of slowing down the reduction and oxidation rates. A “tailor made” hematite with additives (Al2O3 and CeO2) in minor proportions (2 wt%) has been used to stablish comparisons in performance between natural and synthetic iron oxides. It has been investigated the effect of the reduction temperature, the proportion of methane to carbon dioxide in the feed (CH4:CO2 ratio) and the number of repetitive redox cycles.

Chemical Looping for Energy Technology: A Special Issue

Chemical Looping for Energy Technology: A Special Issue

Pressurized hydrogen production by fixed-bed chemical looping

Fuel cell cars powered by hydrogen enable CO2-emission free mobility. A main requirement for the success of this technology is the availability of an area-wide and affordable hydrogen supply. A significant cost factor in the hydrogen supply chain is the multi-stage gas compression to provide the mandatory filling pressure for the pressurized tanks. One way to address this issue is to perform the hydrogen production process at elevated pressure. In this paper the feasibility of compressed hydrogen production without additional gas compression based on the steam iron process is discussed. Experiments were performed in a lab-scale test rig using fixed bed reactor technology. The focus was to evaluate the influence of pressurized hydrogen production on the cycle stability, on the conversion efficiency and on the structural integrity of a Fe2O3–Al2O3 (90+10wt%) oxygen carrier. The oxidations were performed at different pressure levels of 7–22bar (g) at a temperature of 750°C with steam. The steady steam supply was ensured by a HPLC pump which delivered 0.03gmin−1 (at room temperature) of water, which was evaporated in the heated inlet section. The water was introduced for approximately 100min until the oxygen carrier was fully oxidized. The iron oxide was reduced in the subsequent reaction steps at 750°C and ambient pressure with 25Nmlmin−1 H2 as reducing agent. The reduction reactions were analyzed to evaluate possible influences of its prior oxidations. The results revealed no signs of negative repercussions. The oxygen carrier conversion of initially 84% remained at a steady behavior between the 15 performed cycles. Only small losses of 0.8% per cycle caused by thermal sintering of the contact mass were observed, which was independent from the different pressure levels of the prior oxidations. The evaluation of the pressurized oxidations did not reveal any performance decrease as well. The rise of pressure in each oxidation showed a consistent characteristic throughout the complete test series. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the oxygen carrier sample after the experiment revealed some structural changes, which are related to thermal sintering but the structural integrity of the sample stayed intact. The oxidations yielded an average of 18mmolgFe−1 hydrogen with a maximum hydrogen pressure of 22bar (g). The conducted experiments showed that the steam iron process is very suitable for the production of compressed hydrogen and that the process is not negatively influenced by the elevated system pressure.

Selective real-time quantification of hydrogen within mixtures of gases via an electrochemical method

Herein a highly selective real-time hydrogen quantification method based on electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen in a mixture of dry or humid gases is presented. This approach gives more reliable data for any area of research dealing with hydrogen with impurities or in a mixture of various gases especially for dynamic processes. The method itself is tested and verified by employing defined amounts of hydrogen to the electrochemical test cell with a mass flow controller. The limit of quantification is 0.30 ml H2 min−1 and the maximal hydrogen flow investigated in the test cell is 100 ml H2 min−1. The method is applied for two processes with highly dynamic hydrogen evolution reactions: the steam iron process and the catalytic hydrolysis of borohydride as chemical hydrogen storage compound. In comparison to state-of-the-art methods it is possible to detect hydrogen selectively and in real-time.

Ultrafine particles from electric appliances and cooking pans: experiments suggesting desorption/nucleation of sorbed organics as the primary source.

Ultrafine particles are observed when metal surfaces, such as heating elements in electric appliances, or even empty cooking pans, are heated. The source of the particles has not been identified. We present evidence that particles >10nm are not emitted directly from the heating elements or the metal surfaces. Using repeated heating of an electric burner, several types of cooking pans, and a steam iron, the increase in the number of particles (>10nm) can be reduced to 0. After the devices are exposed to indoor air for several hours or days, subsequent heating results in renewed particle production, suggesting that organic matter has sorbed on their surfaces. Also, after a pan has been heated to the point that no increase in particles is observed, washing with detergent results in copious production of particles the next time the pan is heated. These observations suggest that detergent residue and organics sorbed from indoor air are the sources of the particles. We hypothesize that organic compounds are thermally desorbed from the hot surface as gaseous molecules; as they diffuse from the hot air near the pan into cooler air, selected compounds exceed their saturation concentration and nucleation occurs.

Hydrogen from ethanol by steam iron process in fixed bed reactor

This research is devoted to the use of ethanol (i.e. bio-ethanol) in the combined production and purification of hydrogen by redox processes. The process has been studied in a single lab scale fixed bed reactor. Iron oxides, apart from their remarked redox behavior, exert an important catalytic role allowing the complete decomposition of ethanol at temperatures in the range from 625 to 750 °C. The resulting gas stream (mainly H2 and CO) reduces the solid to metallic iron. During a subsequent oxidation with steam, the solid can be regenerated to magnetite producing high purity hydrogen (suitable to be used in PEM fuel cells). Even though small amounts of coke are deposited during the reduction step, this is barely gasified by steam during the oxidation step (detection of COx in concentrations lower than 1 ppm). Influence of parameters like temperature, ethanol partial pressure and alternate cycles' effect has been studied in order to maximize the production of pure hydrogen.

Chemical and physical behavior of CoFe2O4 in steam–iron process with methanol

In this paper we report on the use of CoFe2O4 spinel for the chemical loop processing for hydrogen production from methanol as the reducing species. The process is based on two steps: (i) the reduction of the spinel carried out with an organic fuel, with generation of a stream containing CO, CO2, H2O, and H2, followed by (ii) the recovery of the original material oxidation state by means of a re-oxidation with water, which leads to hydrogen production. Results of characterization carried out by Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction on the material as-synthesized and at different reduction degrees, and results of reactivity experiments during each one of the mentioned steps, are reported and put into perspective. We found that the complete recovery of the initial oxidation state was indeed not possible with only water, and a third step, with the partial re-oxidation of the material with air was needed for a completion of the cycle.

Combined production and purification of hydrogen from methanol using steam iron process in fixed bed reactor

A research work is being conducted to study the combined production and purification of hydrogen by means of redox processes departing from biomass fast pyrolysis oils (bio-oils). To achieve that goal, methanol has been used as featured material because it is the most representative compound of the alcoholic fraction of bio-oils. The study has been carried out in a fixed bed reactor where methanol decomposes in H2 and CO when gets in contact with a reactive solid based in an iron oxide at temperatures above 600 °C. During the first stage of the “steam–iron” process, reactive gases reduce the iron oxide to metallic iron. Afterward, in a following step, the previously reduced iron is reoxidized by steam producing a high purity hydrogen stream. Although coke deposition does exist during the reducing stage, this behaves as inert during the reoxidation process. Coke inert role has been corroborated by GC, SEM and TEM techniques, showing that carbon deposits were constituted by ordered structures (carbon nanotubes). The determination of the hydrogen production along successive cycles allowed the evaluation of the effect of temperature and alternating reactive atmospheres on the stability of the solid, as well as the optimum conditions for such purpose.

Chemical looping technology and its applications in fossil fuel conversion and CO&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; capture

Chemical looping is a reaction scheme to decompose one reaction into multiple subreactions via chemical intermediates. The concept of chemical looping has been applied to the generation of hydrogen through the steam iron reaction, as well as the production of carbon dioxide since the 20th Century. However, there are currently no chemical looping processes in commercial operation. Under the circumstances of growing global warming and energy crisis, chemical looping processes have attracted extensive interests for the unique ability to convert carbonaceous fuel to energy or chemicals with affordable CO2 control. Recent developments in chemical looping technology have overcome some of the earlier shortcomings. New research on direct conversion of solid feedstock, such as coal has also been conducted. Through the current sub-pilot/pilot scale tests and process analysis, it has been demonstrated that chemical looping process can effectively reduce the energy cost for CO2 separation with enhanced energy efficiency. This paper presents the status of existing research activities on chemical looping development for fossil fuel conversion, with emphasis on large scale demonstration of chemical looping combustion (CLC) and chemical looping gasification (CLG). The opportunities as well as the challenges on the way to commercialize chemical looping processes have also been briefly discussed.

Continuous hydrogen production via the steam–iron reaction by chemical looping in a circulating fluidized-bed reactor

The steam–iron reaction was examined in a two-compartment fluidized-bed reactor at 800–900 °C and atmospheric pressure. In the fuel reactor compartment, freeze-granulated oxygen carrier particles consisting of Fe3O4 supported on inert MgAl2O4 were reduced to FeO with carbon monoxide or synthesis gas. The reduced particles were transferred to a steam reactor compartment, where they were oxidized back to Fe3O4 by steam, while at the same time producing H2. The process was operated continuously and the particles were transferred between the reactor compartments in a cyclic manner. In total, 12 h of experiments were conducted of which 9 h involved H2 generation. The reactivity of the oxygen carrier particles with carbon monoxide and synthesis gas was high, providing gas concentrations reasonably close to thermodynamic equilibrium, especially at lower fuel flows. The amount of H2 produced in the steam reactor was found to correspond well with the amount of fuel oxidized in the fuel reactor, which suggests that all FeO that was formed were also re-oxidized. Despite reduction of the oxygen carrier to FeO, defluidization or stops in the solid circulation were not experienced. Used oxygen carrier particles exhibited decreased BET specific surface area, increased bulk density and decreased particle size compared to fresh. This indicates that the particles were subject to densification during operation, likely due to thermal sintering. However, stable operation, low attrition and absence of defluidization were still achieved, which suggest that the overall behaviour of the oxygen carrier particles were satisfactory.

An online affordance evaluation model for product design

This paper aims to establish an online affordance evaluation model for measuring affordance degree to evaluate the usability of a product. By using this model, designers could easily identify the appearance features of a product necessary to be revised and optimized. In addition, an online survey, which replaces the realized operational survey, is also recommended. This model includes three parts: first, identifying the affordance properties and its correlative weights by using multidimensional scaling, K-means clustering and the Analytic Hierarchy Process; second, analyzing the user’s tasks and functional components of the product; third, constructing an evaluation model which provides the affordance degree. Finally, a case study with the steam iron GC2510 is performed to verify the effect of this model.

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) can occur while people are cooking, driving, smoking, operating small appliances such as hair dryers, or eating out in restaurants. These exposures can often be higher than outdoor concentrations. For 3 years, portable monitors were employed in homes, cars, and restaurants. More than 300 measurement periods in several homes were documented, along with 25 h of driving two cars, and 22 visits to restaurants. Cooking on gas or electric stoves and electric toaster ovens was a major source of UFP, with peak personal exposures often exceeding 100,000 particles/cm³ and estimated emission rates in the neighborhood of 10¹² particles/min. Other common sources of high UFP exposures were cigarettes, a vented gas clothes dryer, an air popcorn popper, candles, an electric mixer, a toaster, a hair dryer, a curling iron, and a steam iron. Relatively low indoor UFP emissions were noted for a fireplace, several space heaters, and a laser printer. Driving resulted in moderate exposures averaging about 30,000 particles/cm³ in each of two cars driven on 17 trips on major highways on the East and West Coasts. Most of the restaurants visited maintained consistently high levels of 50,000-200,000 particles/cm³ for the entire length of the meal. The indoor/outdoor ratios of size-resolved UFP were much lower than for PM₂.₅ or PM₁₀, suggesting that outdoor UFP have difficulty in penetrating a home. This in turn implies that outdoor concentrations of UFP have only a moderate effect on personal exposures if indoor sources are present. A time-weighted scenario suggests that for typical suburban nonsmoker lifestyles, indoor sources provide about 47% and outdoor sources about 36% of total daily UFP exposure and in-vehicle exposures add the remainder (17%). However, the effect of one smoker in the home results in an overwhelming increase in the importance of indoor sources (77% of the total).

Kinetic study of the redox process for separating and storing hydrogen: Oxidation stage and ageing of solid

The behaviour of an iron oxide sample (Fe 2O 3) during successive reduction–oxidation cycles (steam–iron process) has been investigated by means of a thermobalance system acting as a differential reactor. The Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) model, based on nucleation and growth mechanisms, has been used to describe the individual reoxidation processes as well as to predict the stability of the oxide after a high number of redox cycles. The effect of temperature, steam partial pressure and oxidation length has been discussed. The experimental results, as well as the parameters for the JMAK model, show that there is no significant effect of the temperature and the steam partial pressure used in the oxidation stages on the behaviour of the subsequent cycles (taking apart the first one). This conclusion applies also to the length of the oxidation period, if for such variable a value above a given threshold is used, which could be theoretically foreseen.

Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis (Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis) Caused by Sphingobacterium spiritivorum from the Water Reservoir of a Steam Iron

A case of extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) caused by Sphingobacterium spiritivorum is described. The symptoms were associated with the use of a steam iron. The water reservoir was heavily contaminated with S. spiritivorum (10(6) CFU ml(-1)). This is the first report of S. spiritivorum as a causative agent of EAA.

Hydrogen production via steam–iron reaction using iron oxide modified with very small amounts of palladium and zirconia

We investigated hydrogen production by the steam–iron reaction using iron oxide modified with very small amounts of palladium and/or zirconia at a temperature of 723 K and under atmospheric pressure. Reduction of iron oxide with hydrogen and oxidation of partially reduced iron oxide with steam (Fe 3O 4 + 4H 2 ↔ 3Fe + 4H 2O) were repeated in the range of reduction degree of 30–50 mol%. Changes in the weight of the samples were monitored using a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) to control the degree of reduction. Unmodified iron oxide caused significant deactivation due to sintering with increasing number of redox cycles. The addition of a very small amount (0.23 mol%) of palladium or zirconia onto the surface of the iron oxide enhanced the reduction and/or oxidation of the partially reduced iron oxide, which suppressed sintering. Palladium accelerated both the reduction and oxidation rates of partially reduced iron oxide, while zirconia increased only the oxidation rate. Addition of both palladium and zirconia together to the iron oxide resulted in marked enhancement of both reduction and oxidation.

Thermal and gas analyses of the reaction between iron carbide and steam with hydrogen generation at [formula omitted

The reactive property between steam and the iron carbide, which was industrially produced by the two-step fluidized beds, was investigated at the heating rate of 0.167 K/ s by thermal analysis with a mass spectrometer. The purpose of this short paper, thus, is to rapidly report the hydrogen generation of the active iron carbide with steam at a much lower temperature than thermodynamically expected. It was quite natural that hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide were released over 873 K due to the reaction of Fe 3C+H 2O=CO+H 2+3Fe and following oxidation of the reduced iron (Steam Iron method), as we can expect from the theory of thermodynamics. An even more surprising result was that an unexpected, hydrogen generation was observed from as low as 573 K in temperature, together with exothermic heat. This temperature is as much as 500 K smaller, in comparison to the conventional Steam Iron method. These results revealed the possibility of an innovative cost-effective transportation process of not only steelmaking material but also hydrogen using iron carbide, because hydrogen generation from the iron carbide is possible before the oxidation at high temperature.

Pressing performance of light‐weight wool and wool blend fabrics

The press performance of a range of wool and wool blend fabrics has been investigated with the aid of a temperature adjustable hand steam iron, a domestic ironing board and a thermocouple digital temperature display.It was found that for a press duration of 10 seconds, the fabric crease angle is reduced with the increasing press temperature. The sharpest reduction in crease angle was found in the temperature range of 80°C to 120°C for all fabrics tested.At 100°C iron temperature, the fabric crease angle was reduced with increasing press duration until 20 seconds for wool fabrics and until 30 seconds for wool blend fabrics.The initial regain, or in other words, the relative humidity of the ambient atmosphere used to precondition the samples, has an important influence on the press performance. It was also found that the fabric crease recovery was greater for increasing ambient relative humidity.The fabric regain was greatly reduced during the first 10 seconds pressing time with further very slow reduction in fabric regain until 80 seconds pressing time. The regain in the upper layer of the fabric specimen was always lower than that in the lower layer.