THE EFFECTS OF CERIA ADDITION ON AGING AND SULFATION OF LEAN NOx TRAPS FOR STAND ALONE AND LNT-SCR APPLICATIONS Model powder and fully formulated monolithic lean NOx trap (LNT) catalysts were used to investigate the effect of ceria on desulfation behavior. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) experiments (model catalysts) showed each of the oxide phases present is able to store sulfur and possesses distinct behavior (temperature at which desulfation occurs). La-CeO2 or CeO2-ZrO2-containing samples (monoliths) showed a greater resistance to deactivation during sulfation and required lower temperatures to restore the NOx storage efficiency to its pre-sulfation value. Fully formulated monolithic LNT catalysts containing varying amounts of Pt, Rh and BaO were subjected to accelerated aging to elucidate the effect of washcoat composition on LNT aging. Elemental analysis revealed that residual sulfur, associated with the Ba phase, decreased catalyst NOx storage capacity and that sintering of the precious metals resulted in decreased contact between the Pt and Ba phases. Spatially-resolved inlet capillary mass spectrometry (SpaciMS) was employed to understand the factors influencing the selectivity of NOx reduction in LNT catalysts degreened and thermally aged) containing Pt, Rh, BaO and Al2O3, and contained La-stabilized CeO2. Stretching of the NOx storage and reduction zone (NSR) zone resulted in increased selectivity to NH3 due to the fact that less catalyst was available to consume NH3 by either the NH3-NOx SCR reaction or the NH3-O2 reaction. Additionally, the loss of oxygen storage capacity (OSC) and NOx storage sites, along with the decreased rate of NOx diffusion to Pt/Rh sites, led to an increase in the rate of propagation of the reductant front after aging, in turn, resulting in increased H2:NOx ratios at the Pt/Rh sites and consequently increased selectivity to NH3. Finally, a crystallite scale model was used to predict selectivity to NH3 from the LNT catalysts during rich conditions after a fixed amount of NOx was stored during lean conditions. Both the experimental and model predicted data showed that the production of NH3 is limited by the rate of diffusion from the Ba storage sites to the Pt particles at 200 °C. At 300 °C, the process is limited by the rate at which H2 is fed to the reactor.

The arising environmental concerns make emission reduction from combustion devices one of the greatest challenges of the century. Modern dry low-NOx emission combustion systems often operate under lean premixed turbulent conditions. In order to design and operate these systems efficiently, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of combustion process in these devices. In premixed combustion, flame speed determines the conversion rate of fuel. The flame speed under highly turbulent conditions is defined as turbulent flame speed. Turbulent flame speed depends on laminar flame speed, which is a property of the combustible mixture. The goal of this thesis is to estimate laminar flame speed and NOx emissions under certain conditions for specific industrial gas turbines. For this purpose, an in-house one-dimensional code, GENE-AC, is used. At first, a data validation is performed in order to select an optimized chemical reaction mechanism which can be used safely with the fuels of interest in gas turbines. Results show that GRI-Mech 3.0 performs well in most cases. This mechanism is selected for further simulations. Secondly, laminar flame speed is calculated using GRI-Mech 3.0 at SGT-800 conditions. Results show that at gas turbine conditions, increasing ambient temperature and fuel to air ratio enhances flame speed, mainly due to faster reaction rates. Moreover, laminar flame speed is highly affected by fuel composition. In particular, adding hydrogen to a fuel changes chemical processes significantly, because hydrogen is relatively light and highly diffusive. Calculations are conducted over a range of equivalence ratios and hydrogen fractions in methane at atmospheric as well as gas turbine operating conditions. Results reveal some trends for changes in laminar flame speed, depending on hydrogen content in the mixture. The final part of the thesis involves the development of a reactor network model for the SGT-700 combustor in order to predict NOx emissions. The network model is built in GENE-AC based on results from available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the combustor. The model is developed for full load conditions with variable pilot fuel ratios. The NOx emissions are predicted using GRI-Mech 3.0 mechanism. A parametric study shows the dependency of NOx emissions on equivalence ratio and residence time. For SGT-700 running on natural gas, NOx emissions are fitted to measurement data by tuning equivalence ratio and residence time. The model is then tested for a range of ambient temperatures and fuel compositions. It is found that, although the model can correctly predict the trends of ambient temperature and fuel effects on NOx emissions, these effects are to some extent over-estimated. Using future engine tests and amending calibration can improve the results.

While ozone design values have decreased since 2000, the values measured in Denton Airport South (DEN), an exurban region in the northwest tip of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, remains above those measured in Dallas Hinton (DAL) and Fort Worth Northwest (FWNW), two extremely urbanized regions; in addition, all three sites remained in nonattainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) ozone despite reductions in measured NOx and CO concentrations. The region's inability to achieve ozone attainment is tied to its concentration of total non-methane organic compounds (TNMOC). The mean concentration of TNMOC measured at DAL, FWNW, and DEN between 2000 and 2018 were 67.4 ± 1.51 ppb-C, 89.31 ± 2.12 ppb-C, and 220.69 ± 10.36 ppb-C, respectively. Despite being the least urbanized site of the three, the TNMOC concentration measured at DEN was over twice as large as those measured at the other two sites. A factor-based source apportionment analysis using positive matrix factorization technique showed that natural gas was a major contributing source factor to the measured TNMOC concentrations at all three sites and the dominant source factor at DEN. Natural gas accounted for 32%, 40%, and 69% of the measured TNMOC concentration at DAL, FWNW, and DEN, respectively. The Barnett Shale region, an active shale gas region adjacent to DFW, is a massive source of unconventional TNMOC emissions in the region. Also, the ozone formation potential (OFP) of the TNMOC pool in DEN were overwhelmingly dominated by slow-reacting alkanes emitted from natural gas sources. While the air pollutant trends and characteristics of an urban airshed can be determined using long-term ambient air quality measurements, this is difficult in regions with sparse air quality monitoring. To solve the lack in spatial and temporal datasets in non-urban regions, various machine learning (ML) algorithms were used to train a computer cluster to predict air pollutant concentrations. Models built using certain ML algorithms performed significantly better than others in predicting air pollutants. The model built using the random forest (RF) algorithm had the lowest error. The performance of the prediction models was satisfactory when the local emission characteristics at the tested site were like the training site. However, the performance dropped considerably when tested against sites with significantly different emission characteristics or with extremely aggregated data points.

I detta examensarbete har olika metoder för uttorkning inom byggproduktion undersökts, samt hur val av energislag påverkar miljön men även dess kostnader. Till uttorkningsprocessen finns olika alternativ att använda sig av. Oftast används fjärrvärme då detta anses vara den mest miljö- och kostnadseffektiva metoden. När tillgång till fjärrvärme inte finns, måste ett provisoriskt värmesystem med annat energislag upprättas. Denna rapport kommer att behandla de energislag som finns på marknaden idag, gasol, el, diesel, pellets och fjärrvärme.  Resultatet i rapporten är grundat på verklig data för hur många kilowattimmar, som gick åt för endast provisorik uppvärmning och uttorkning under olika tidsintervall på ett redan slutfört bostadsprojekt. Utifrån inhämtad data gjordes en jämförelse av kostnader och koldioxidutsläpp för ett hetluftssystem med pellets, diesel och diesel med inblandning av Triboron som energislag. Jämförelsen resulterade i att diesel med inblandning av Triboron ”Fuel Formula” var det mest kostnadseffektiva alternativet. En inblandning av detta medel i dieselbrännaren sänkte både kostnader och koldioxidutsläpp. Det mest miljövänliga alternativet var pellets, vars koldioxidutsläpp endast stod för 2,2 procent av utsläppen ren diesel hade producerat.  Går pellets ej att nyttja i mån av plats eller kostnad, bör diesel med Triboron användas för att minska växthusutsläpp och kostnader. Grön el är det mest miljövänliga alternativet. Enbart el kan sällan användas för att täcka det effektbehov som krävs för en större uttorkning under vinterhalvåret, men är ett bra komplement. För att företag ska kunna säkerställa att deras el är så kallad grön el, kan man köpa andelar i vindkraftverk och på så sätt veta varifrån elen kommer. / In this thesis, different methods of dehydration have been investigated as well as how the choice of energy source affects the environment combined with its costs. In the dehydration process, there are different options to apply. Usually district heating is used as it’s the most considered method due to its costs and the environmentally aspects. When access to district heating is not available, a provisionally heating system must be established. This thesis will deal with the different energy sources that are available on the market today.  The thesis result is based on actual collected data from a completed construction project and how many kWh they used for provisionally heating system throughout the project. Based from the collected data, a comparison about costs and carbon dioxide emissions was made to compare different dehydration methods. The comparison gave the result that a combination of diesel Triboron “Fuel Formula” is the most profitable option due to its lower costs. The combination of Triboron and diesel showed a reduced indication of both costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The most efficient method from an environmental perspective was pellets. The carbon dioxide emissions accounted only 2,2 percent compared to pure diesel emissions. Whether pellets can be used or not due to logistics or costs, diesel combined with Triboron should be used as a complement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and costs. However, the usage of “Green” electricity is the best option seen from an environmental point of view. A negative aspect with electricity is that it can rarely be used as a main source due to its highpower requirement during the winter season, but it’s a good complement. Companies can also be part of windmill projects to ensure themselves that they are using “green” electricity for their production.

The emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are a serious environmental problem due to its relationship with the formation of smog, acid rain and because they are dangerous for human and animal health. These gases are produced in high quantities in diesel engines used for automotive applications, and different strategies are being used to reduce them, among which are the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems. For its operation, it is necessary a supply of ammonia as NOx reducing agent, but the inefficiency at low temperatures of the systems used nowadays has led to the conception of the solid ammonia storage units (ASS). Unfortunately, the materials currently used, i.e. metal halides, do not meet the ammonia supply requirements at low temperatures and have problems of swelling and agglomeration. In order to find a material with better properties for its application as an ammonia sorbent material, MgCl2 composites with different carbon materials (graphite, graphene, and SWCNTs) were prepared by direct mixing and wet impregnation methods, and characterized in this work. Despite the decrease of total storage capacity, improvements were found in thermal stability and mass retention, as well as in sorption and desorption kinetics, making these materials a first result towards the improvement of the solid ammonia storage units.

Higher atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide and methane has contributed to an increase in Earth's mean surface air temperature and caused climate changes. This largely reflects the increase in global energy consumption, which is heavily dependent on oil, natural gas, and coal. If not controlled, the combustion of these fossil fuels can also produce high levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot emissions, which adversely affect the air quality. New and extremely challenging fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions regulations are driving the development and optimisation of powertrain technologies as well as the use of low carbon fuels to cost-effectively meet stringent requirements and minimise the transport sector's GHG emissions. In this framework, the dual-fuel combustion has been shown as an effective means to maximise the utilisation of renewable liquid fuels such as ethanol in conventional diesel engines while reducing the levels of NOx and soot emissions. This research has developed strategies to optimise the use of ethanol as a substitute for diesel fuel and improve the effectiveness of dual-fuel combustion in terms of emissions, efficiency, and engine operational cost. Experimental investigations were performed on a single cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine equipped with a high pressure common rail injection system, cooled external exhaust gas recirculation, and a variable valve actuation system. A port fuel injection system was designed and installed, enabling dual-fuel operation with ethanol energy fractions up to 0.83. At low engine loads, in-cylinder control strategies such as the use of a higher residual gas fraction via an intake valve re-opening increased the combustion efficiency (from 87.7% to 95.9%) and the exhaust gas temperature (from 468 K to 531 K). A trade-off between operational cost and NOx reduction capability was assessed at medium loads, where the dual-fuel engine performance was less likely to be affected by combustion inefficiencies and in-cylinder pressure limitations. At high load conditions, a Miller cycle strategy via late intake valve closing decreased the in-cylinder gas temperature during the compression stroke, delaying the autoignition of the ethanol fuel and reducing the levels of in-cylinder pressure rise rate. This allowed for the use of high ethanol energy fractions of up to 0.79. Finally, the overall benefits and limitations of optimised ethanol-diesel dual-fuel combustion were compared against those of conventional diesel combustion. Higher net indicated efficiency (by up to 4.4%) combined with reductions in NOx (by up to 90%) and GHG (by up to 57%) emissions can help generate a viable business case of dual-fuel combustion as a technology for future high efficiency and clean heavy-duty engines.

In automotive industry there is a growing need for predicting the failure of a component, to achieve the cost saving and customer satisfaction. As failure in a component leads to the work breakdown for the customer. This paper describes an effort in making a prediction failure monitoring model for NOx sensor in trucks. It is a component that used to measure the level of nitrogen oxide emission from the truck. The NOx sensor has chosen because its failure leads to the slowdown of engine efficiency and it is fragile and costly to replace. The data from a good and contaminated NOx sensor which is collated from the test rigs is used the input to the model. This work in this paper shows approach of complementing the Deep Learning models with Machine Learning algorithm to achieve the results. In this work LSTMs are used to detect the gain in NOx sensor and Encoder-Decoder LSTM is used to predict the variables. On top of it Multiple Linear Regression model is used to achieve the end results. The performance of the monitoring model is promising. The approach described in this paper is a general model and not specific to this component, but also can be used for other sensors too as it has a universal kind of approach.

This study explores the reactions and related species of NOx pollutants in methane flames in order to understand their production and consumption during the combustion process. To do this, several analytical simulations were run to explore the behavior of nitrogen species in the pre-flame, post- flame, and reaction layer regions. The results were then analyzed in order to identify all "steady-state" species in the flame as well as the determine all the unnecessary reactions and species that are not required to meet a defined accuracy. The reductions were then applied and proven to be viable.

L'incinération des boues en lit fluidisé est un processus très complexe, produisant des polluants gazeux (monoxyde de carbone (CO) et oxydes d'azote (NOx)). Les normes de rejet doivent être respectées malgré les variations en quantité et en composition des boues à traiter. Une régulation de l'oxygène du four assure la maîtrise du CO mais pas des NOx. Leur formation, due à de nombreuses réactions chimiques à partir de l'azote des boues, est mal connue. Un modèle prédisant les émissions de NOx a été établi. L'étude bibliographique a conduit à négliger les réactifs solides dans le four, et donc à simplifier fortement l'hydrodynamique et le nombre de réactions chimiques. Le modèle a été validé avec des mesures industrielles. Les résultats de simulation valident les hypothèses de simplification, mais nécessitent un recalage de la composition des boues. La stratégie de commande établie ensuite garantit le respect des normes des émissions de NOx.

Récemment, les constructeurs automobiles se sont intéressés au développement des catalyseurs appelés quatre voies, destinés à diminuer simultanément les émissions polluantes des moteurs diesels par l'intermédiaire d'un seul monolithe catalytique. Dans cet objectif, plusieurs études ont montré que la capacité de stockage des NOx de ces catalyseurs est inhibée par la présence de suies. Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit s'inscrivent dans la compréhension des phénomènes en cause. Les résultats obtenus montrent que la présence de noir de carbone entraîne une diminution de la stabilité des nitrates adsorbés par les systèmes catalytiques étudiés et, ainsi, de leur capacité de stockage des NOx. Ce phénomène a été attribué à une réduction des espèces nitrates adsorbées à la surface des matériaux par les particules de carbone adjacentes. La présence d'une particule Pt à proximité d'un site de carbone favorise la formation de complexes oxygénés de surface, limitant l'effet réducteur du carbone envers les nitrates adsorbés. La perte de capacité d'adsorption des NOx des catalyseurs étudiés, observée lors de leur mise en contact avec du noir de carbone, s'est révélée irréversible à l'issue de l'oxydation du carbone. La caractérisation des matériaux par microscopie à transmission (MET) a révélé une modification importante de la structure des matériaux. Un frittage des particules de platine et une modification de la structure des particules de Ba entraînent en effet la perte irréversible de l'activité des matériaux vis-à-vis de l'adsorption des NOx.