Research into hydrate production technologies has increased in the past years. While many technologies have been presented, there is no consensus on which reactor design is best for each potential application. A direct experimental comparison of hydrate production technologies has been carried out in between a variety of reactor configurations at similar driving force conditions. Three main reactor types were used: a stirred tank, a fixed bed and a bubble column and compared different phase contacting patterns for the stirred tank and bubble column. In the initial phase of hydrate formation in a stirred tank, formation was mass and heat transfer limited at the lower stirring speed, and heat transfer limited at the higher stirring speed. After more than 10% of the water had been converted to hydrate, formation was mass transfer limited regardless of the other conditions. Neither the use of a gas inducing impeller, nor a 10 wt% particle slurry significantly affected hydrate formation rates; however, the particle slurry did lower the induction time. Due to the poor scale-up of impeller power consumption in a stirred tank, a semi-batch fixed bed was studied since it does not require any power input for mixing. The significantly slower rates of formation observed in the semi-batch fixed bed, as well as the lost reactor capacity to particles, mean that this type of system would require a much larger reactor. Faster volume and power normalized rates of hydrate formation were observed in the bubble column than in a stirred tank at similar mass transfer driving force conditions. Higher conversions of water to hydrate were observed in the bubble column because mixing was accomplished by bubbling gas from the bottom rather than by an impeller. The highest conversions of water and gas were achieved during a later stage of accelerated hydrate formation, indicating an optimal hydrate fraction for continuously operated bubble column reactors. The second stage of hydrate formation occurred more frequently at higher gas flowratess. Therefore, the increased water conversion and single-pass gas conversion justify the increased energy input required by the higher gas flowrate. Balancing the rates of mass transfer and heat removal was also critical for optimal bubble column as insufficient mass transfer would result in a lower rate of formation and insufficient heat transfer would cause previously formed hydrates to dissociate. The addition of 10wt% glass beads to the reactor promoted hydrate formation; however, it did not do so sufficiently to make up for the loss in reactor capacity or the increased energy requirement.

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Next generation nuclear power plants (GEN-IV) will be capable of not only producing energy in a reliable, safe and sustainable way, but they will also be capable of reducing the amount of nuclear waste, which has been accumulated over the lifetime of current-generation nuclear power plants, through transmutation. Due to the use of new and different coolants, existing computational tools need to be tested, further developed and improved in order to thermal-hydraulically design these power plants.This work covers two different non-unity Prandtl number fluids which are considered as coolants in GEN-IV reactors, liquid lead/lead-bismuth-eutectic and supercritical water. The study investigates different turbulence modeling strategies, such as Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) modeling, and their applicability to these proposed coolants. It is shown that RANS turbulence models are partly capable of predicting wall heat transfer in annular flow configurations. However, improvements in these prediction should be possible through the use of advanced turbulence modeling strategies, such as the use of separate thermal turbulence models. A large blind benchmark study of heat transfer in supercritical water showed that the available turbulence modeling strategies are not capable of predicting deteriorated heat transfer in a 7-rod bundle at supercritical pressures. New models which take into account the strong buoyancy forces and the rapid change of the molecular Prandtl number near the wall occurring during the transition of the fluid through the pseudocritical point need to be developed. One of these strategies to take into account near-wall buoyancy forces is the use of advanced wall functions, which cannot only help in modeling these kind of flows, but also decrease computational time by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. Different advanced wall function models were implemented in the open-source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM and their performance for different flows in sub- and supercritical conditions were evaluated. Based on those results, the wall function model UMIST-A by Gerasimov is recommended for further investigation and specific modeling tactics are proposed.Near-wall temperature and velocity behavior is important to and influenced by the wall itself. The thermal inertia of the wall influences the temperature in the fluid. However, a more important issue is how temperature fluctuations at the wall can induce thermal fatigue. With the help of LES thermal mixing in a simplified model of a control rod guide tube was investigated, including the temperature field inside the control rod and guide tube walls. The WALE sub-grid turbulence model made it possible to perform LES computations in this complex geometry, because it automatically adapts to near-wall behavior close to the wall, without the use of ad-hoc functions. The results for critical values, such as the amplitude and frequency of the temperature fluctuations at the wall, obtained from the LES computations are in good agreement with experimental results.The knowledge gained from the aforementioned investigations is used to optimize the flow path in a small, passively liquid-metal-cooled pool-type GEN IV reactor, which was designed for training and education purposes, with the help of 3D CFD. The computations were carried out on 1/4 of the full geometry, where the small-detail regions of the heat exchangers and the core were modeled using a porous media approach. It was shown that in order to achieve optimal cooling of the core without changing the global geometry a ratio of close to unity of the pressure drop over the core and the heat exchanger needs to be achieved. This is done by designing a bottom plate which channels enough flow through the core without choking the flow in the core. Improved cooling is also achieved by reducing heat losses from the hot leg through the flow shroud to the cold leg by applying thermal barrier coating similar to methods used in gas turbine design. / Nästa generations kärnkraftverk (GEN-IV) kan inte bara producera el på ett pålitligt, säkert och hållbart sätt, utan det kan också reducera mängden kärnavfall, som har producerats under tiden som man använt nuvarande generationen kärnkraftverk, genom att transmutera avfallen. Framtidens kärnkraftverk använder andra kylmedel än nuvarande kraftverk som t.ex. flytande bly, gas eller superkritiskt vatten. Det betyder att många beräkningsverktyg måste testas, utvecklas och förbättras så att man kan genomföra termohydrauliska designberäkningar. Den här avhandlingen omfattar två olika kylmedel, flytande bly och superkritiskt vatten, som har ett Prandtl-tal som skiljer sig från 1 och kommer att användas i GEN-IV reaktorer. Studien undersöker olika strategier för att modellera turbulens som Large Eddy Simulation (LES) och Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) och hur man kan använda dessa strategierna i beräkningar av strömning och värmetransfer i den nya kylvätskan. Undersökningen visar att RANS turbulensmodeller delvis kan förutsäga värmeöverföringen vid en vägg i en ringformad strömningsgeometri. Förbättringar av förutsägelsen ska vara möjlig genom användning av avancerade strategier för turbulensmodellering, t.ex. termiska turbulensmodeller. En stor prestandajämförelse för värmeöverföring i superkritiskt vatten visade att ingen av nuvarande strategier för turbulensmodellering kan förutsäga försämrad värmeöverföring i en 7-stavknippet under superkritiskt tryck. Nya modeller, som omfattar de starka flytkrafterna och den snabba förändringen av den molekulära Prandtl-tal vid väggen som uppstår när vätskan går genom pseudokritiska punkten, måste utvecklas. Avancerade väggfunktioner är en av strategierna som kan ta hänsyn till dessa fenomen. Väggfunktioner kan inte bara hjälpa till att modellera de typer av flöden som behövs utan kan också hjälpa till att sänka beräkningstiden med en eller två tiopotenser. Olika avancerade väggfunktioner i open-source beräkningsverktyget OpenFOAM implementerades och deras prestation i sub- och superkritiska vattenflödar värderades. Baserat på detta rekommenderas Gerasimovs modell för ytterligare utredning. Dessutom läggs olika strategier fram för att utöka modellens validitet till flöde med superkritiskt vatten i sammanband med försämrad och förbättrad värmeöverföring. Kunskap om beteendet av temperatur och hastighet i väggens närhet är viktigt för väggens integritet, detta då väggen även påverkar beteendet. Väggens termiska tröghet påverkar flödets temperatur och hastighet. Dock är ett ännu viktigare problem, som kan uppträda, är att temperaturfluktuationer kan framkalla termisk utmattning i en vägg. Med användning av LES utreds termisk blandning av varmt och kallt vatten i en simplifierad modell av ett styrstavsledrör, inklusive temperaturfältet i styrstaven och ledrörsväggen. Användningen av WALE LES-turbulensmodellen gör det möjligt att utföra beräkningar i den komplexa geometrin, detta eftersom modellen anpassar sig automatiskt till fenomenen nära väggen utan användning av ad-hoc funktioner. LES resultaten för alla värden som är viktiga för att bestämma utmattningsbeteende, som amplitud och frekvens av temperaturfluktuationer i väggens närhet och i väggen själv, är i god överensstämmelse med resultaten från experiment från KTH i samma geometri.Kunskapen som vunnits genom ovannämnda utredningar användes för att optimera den termohydrauliska designen av en liten, pool-typ GEN-IV reaktor som är passivt kyld med flytande bly. Reaktorn är designad som en utbildnings- och träningsreaktor och optimeringen genomfördes med hjälp av 3D CFD. Beräkningarna genomfördes på en fjärdedel av reaktorns hela geometrin. Regioner med små detaljer, som de åtta värmeväxlarna och reaktorns kärna, modellerades genom porösa material. Det visar sig att för att ha en optimal kylning av kärnan, utan att förändra reaktorns globala geometri, måste förhållandet mellan tryckförlust i reaktorkärnan och värmeväxlarna vara nära 1. Detta uppnås genom att designa plattan vid ingången till kärnan så att tillräckligt med bly flödar genom kärnan utan att kväva flödet i denna. Ytterligare en förbättring i reaktorkylningen uppnås genom att reducera värmeförlusten genom väggen som skiljer varm och kall vätska. Detta görs med en strategi som förekommer i gasturbinteknologin, genom att man lägger till ett tunt skikt av termiskt isolerande material på väggen, som reducerar värmeöverföring med ungefär 50%. / <p>QC 20151123</p> / THEMFA / GENIUS / THINS

The nitrification process, the biologically mediated process of ammonia treatment in water resources recovery facilities (WRRF), remains the most common treatment process to mitigate the adverse effects of effluent ammonia discharges in surface water. However, it is well established that the temperature-sensitive process of nitrification remains hindered at low temperatures in conventional suspended growth technologies; specifically, passive treatment systems such as the lagoons, representing over 50% of Canadian treatment facilities in operation. As such, nitrification in lagoon facilities remains unreliable during the cold seasons with no nitrification occurring at 1°C. In contrast to suspended growth systems, attached growth technologies such as the moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) have recently been proven capable of achieving significant nitrification rates at temperatures as low as 1°C and are proposed as suitable upgrade systems to the common lagoon facility to reach year-long ammonia treatment targets. As such, the main objective of this research is to investigate and expand the current knowledge by investigating the key research questions lacking in the current literature on post-carbon, low temperature nitrifying MBBR systems. With this aim, a temperature-controlled study of attached growth nitrification kinetics was conducted to isolate the effects of low temperatures on nitrifying MBBR system performance down to 1°C. A removal rate of 98.44 ± 4.69 gN/m³d is identified as the 1°C intrinsic removal rate and the design removal rate for nitrifying MBBR systems at low temperatures. Considering this intrinsic rate at 1°C, an assessment of reactor efficiency at elevated TAN concentrations typical of non-combined sewer systems indicates that a two reactor in-series MBBR system configuration is recommended for retrofitting lagoon facilities connected to sanitary sewers. The study of the reactor performance to temperatures as low as 1°C demonstrates a non-linear decline in removal efficiency between 10°C and 1°C, with the existence of a kinetic threshold temperature delineated between 4°C and 2°C. As such, this delineated temperature range accounts for a significant decline in the performance of low carbon nitrifying MBBR systems during the onset of the cold seasons. This research identifies new recommended Arrhenius correction coefficient values taking into account this kinetic threshold temperature, with a coefficient of 1.049 being recommended above the kinetic threshold (≥4°C) and 1.149 below the threshold temperature at 1°C. Moreover, since the elapsed time to low temperature was identified as a key factor of attached growth nitrification kinetics, a modified theta model accounting for temperature and time is proposed in this research to accurately model the rate of nitrifying MBBR systems between 4°C and 1°C. Finally, with the severe adverse effects of sudden decreases in temperature, or cold shocks, on nitrification kinetics being previously demonstrated but not well understood, this research compares acclimatized and cold shocked MBBR reactors down to 1°C. The findings indicate 21% lower kinetics in the cold shocked reactor with reactor efficiencies never reaching those of the acclimatized reactor despite extended operation at 1°C. Thus, the research delineates the potentially lasting effects of extreme weather events such as cold air outbreaks and snowmelt periods on nitrifying MBBR system performance. On the other hand, these same findings demonstrate the resiliency of nitrifying MBBR reactors as nitrification was maintained within these systems despite being cold-shocked down from 10°C and 1°C. This study of attached growth kinetics was coupled with an investigation of the nitrifying biofilms, biomass, and microbiome responses to low temperatures and cold shock down to 1°C to provide an understanding of the changes occurring in these systems down to the cellular level. Comparisons of acclimatized and cold shocked nitrifying biofilms responses down to 1°C were characterized by increases in biofilm thickness, increases in biomass viability; and, greater shifts in microbiome communities occurring above 4°C in the acclimatized biofilm. Considering these observations, results also indicated a significant increase in nitrifiers per carrier above 4°C. As such, these findings suggested that the bulk of nitrifying biofilm adaptation to cold temperatures occurs above 4°C, a crucial adaptation phase in acclimatized systems. This adaptation phase is shown to be lacking in cold-shocked systems, with the cold shocked biofilm and microbiome demonstrating significant differences with the acclimatized systems’ biofilm and microbiome. This research was performed to answer the critical research questions relating to the design and operation of the post-carbon, low temperature nitrifying MBBR systems, with the first low temperature MBBR systems being scheduled to begin operation in the fall of 2020. This research expands the current knowledge on low temperature attached growth nitrification kinetics as well as cold shocked attached growth nitrification kinetics in MBBR systems down to 1°C. In addition, this research delineates the effects of low temperatures and cold shocks on the nitrifying MBBR system’s biofilms and their embedded cells.

No / Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is suggested to be a promising process for the conversion of the abundant natural gas into useful chemicals. However, this reaction faces many drawbacks such as low yields for higher hydrocarbons, fast catalyst deactivation, and huge heat effects of the reaction. Only a well-designed fluidized bed reactor is able to overcome effectively those disadvantages and to provide a satisfactory continuous operation. However, design approaches for fluidized bed reactors are still based on models developed during 70s and 80s, which cannot take into account various hydrodynamic effects on the reactor performance. Thus, a reactor designer has usually to rely on extensive experiments in order to improve the classical fluidized bed reactor design. In this work, the relevance of hydrodynamics, reactor geometry, and feeding policy on the performance of a fluidized bed reactor for the OCM is shown. For this purpose, several case studies of fluidized bed reactors are simulated in full 3D geometry under the same reaction conditions, but with different reactor geometries and feeding policy. These studies show the significance of hydrodynamic parameters for the reactor performance, and moreover, how fluidized bed reactor performance can be improved by a careful study of coupled momentum-mass transport-reaction phenomena. Furthermore, it can be demonstrated that a suitable distributed feeding policy of oxygen provides an improved yield while a traditional fluidized bed reactor design results in an inferior performance among all investigated cases.

In this master thesis a small modular sodium-cooled metal-fuelled pool-type fast reactor design, called SPARC - Safe and Passive with Autonomous Reactivity control, has been designed. The long term reactivity changes in the SPARC are managed by implementation of the the Autonomous Reactivity Control (ARC) system, which is the novelty of the design. The overall design is mainly based on the Integral Fast Reactor project (IFR), which experimentally demonstrated the passive safety characteristics of a metal fuelled, sodium-cooled, pool-type reactor system. Whilst mimicking the passive safety features of the IFR, the vision of the SPARC design is a battery type reactor, which can operate with minimum interference from human actors. In this thesis, two reactor examples have been developed which operate using different fuel compositions. One reactor operates on recycled nuclear waste from today's nuclear power plants, and the other reactor operates on enriched uranium. Both reactors have a thermal power of 150 MW, and are meant to operate for 30 years without refuelling. The design was developed using the ADOPT software, and was simulated in Serpent. Using Serpent, criticality analyses were carried out which show that the ARC system is able to control the long term reactivity changes of the reactors.

Le but de ce travail est de concevoir, opérer et caractériser un réacteur photo-catalytique compact qui opère en régime non limité par le transfert de matière et le transfert de la lumière. Plus particulièrement, il s'agit de traiter de l'eau polluée par un principe pharmaceutique, le diclofénac (DCF) dans un pilote à l'échelle du laboratoire et, essentiellement, de fournir les données quantitatives pour le dimensionnement d'un pilote industriel. La fabrication du dépôt du photocatalyseur TiO2, la désactivation, les transferts interne et externe de matière et l'extinction lumineuse dans la couche de TiO2 ont été étudiés expérimentalement. Les paramètres opératoires – débits, concentration initiale de MB et d'oxygène, intensité lumineuse, épaisseur du dépôt – ont été variés. Un modèle de simulation du réacteur a été construit qui incorpore les transferts externe et interne de matière et l'extinction lumineuse dans le cas d'une molécule modèle, le bleu de méthylène (MB). Enfin, à l'aide d'outils de résolution numérique, les paramètres du modèle ont été déterminées. Cette méthodologie a ensuite été appliquée partiellement à la molécule cible, le DCF, en combinant hydrogénation et photocatalyse. Pour le dépôt de catalyseur (TiO2-P25), la méthode de dépôt par gouttes a été sélectionnée car conduisant à une large gamme d'épaisseurs. La densité du catalyseur déposé a été déterminée ce qui a permis de mettre au point une méthode d'évaluation rapide de l'épaisseur du film par simple pesée. Le coefficient d'extinction du rayonnement UV utilisé dans ce travail à travers le film de TiO2 a été déterminé et comparé favorablement avec les données de la bibliographie. Le composé DCF a été dégradé par hydrogénation et par oxydation photocatalytique. L'hydrogénation se révèle être une méthode de choix pour l hydrodéchloration et l'hydrodéaromatisation du DCF dans l'eau en présence d'un catalyseur au ruthénium déposé sur charbon actif (5%Ru, 59.7% H2O, type H 101B Degussa) à 60°C et 25 bars. Les résultats de cette recherche peuvent potentiellement s'appliquer à d'autres secteurs industriels où des systèmes compacts sont nécessaires / In this work, we aim to overcome photon transfer limitations and mass transfer limitations to design, operate and characterize a compact photocatalytic reactor to remove the pharmaceutical pollutant diclofenac (DCF) in a laboratory pilot reactor, and further to produce metrics for the design of a full scale industrial pilot. Metrics include rate law for pollutant degradation, optimal photocatalytic film thickness, catalyst deactivation law, light distribution, geometry, etc. under process conditions. Catalyst deposition, kinetics, catalyst deactivation; external and internal mass transfer and UV light diffusion in TiO2 film, etc. were studied with a model molecule methylene blue (MB) and operation parameters - flow rate, initial concentration of MB, light intensity, thickness of catalyst film, dissolved oxygen, etc - on MB photocatalytic degradation were investigated. A reactor model was built considering the mass transfer and light extinction issues. Numerical integration was performed to fit the experimental data to determine the intrinsic rate constant and order of light intensity. This methodology was then applied albeit partially to the targeted DCF, combined photocatalysis together with hydrogenation technology. Drop-coating method was chosen mainly for catalyst deposition and a wide range of catalyst (TiO2 P25) film was got with this method. A method to get and use the density of the catalyst film was performed to determine the thickness of deposited catalyst film. The extinction coefficients of the Pyrex glass and TiO2-P25 film were measured experimentally and compatible with literature data. DCF was degraded by photocatalysis and hydrogenation. Hydrogenation was proved to be effective for hydrodechlorination and hydrodearomatisation of DCF in water in the presence of Ru/C catalyst (5% Ru, Type H 101B Degussa) at 60°C and around 25 bars. This research can also be applied to other industrial sectors (off-shore platforms, “inside-thecity” production units, etc.) where such compact process may be required

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L'efficacité globale du procédé de vaporeformage du gaz naturel est affectée par la limitation au transfert thermique au sein du lit catalytique et la génération d'un excès de vapeur d'eau non valorisable. Une des clés possibles pour le rentabiliser davantage consiste à optimiser les transferts thermiques en faisant évoluer le design du réacteur. Un échangeur-réacteur microstructuré a ainsi été retenu. Cet appareil de par la taille submillimétrique de ses canaux permet d'intensifier les transferts de chaleur et de matière. Cependant, la modification de l'architecture traditionnelle oblige à développer de nouveaux catalyseurs (MgAl2O4) déposables dans les microcanaux et permettant d'atteindre conversion élevées (80%, 20 bar, 850°C) à faibles temps de passage (150 ms). La faisabilité du concept et la performance des catalyseurs ont été validées sur un canal dans les conditions industrielles du procédé. Un modèle de réacteur piston hétérogène a été utilisé pour estimer la cinétique de la réaction de reformage. Pour le design de l'échangeur-réacteur, deux approches de modélisation ont été développées en considérant l'équilibre thermodynamique à la surface du catalyseur ou en tenant compte du couplage entre la réaction et les transferts de chaleur et de matière. La simulation de ces modèles a permis de proposer la géométrie des canaux qui correspond au design optimal. Deux méthodologies de design ont été développées ainsi qu'un modèle permettant d'interpréter les résultats expérimentaux en tenant compte de la possibilité du bouchage des canaux. L'échangeur-réacteur fabriqué permet de réduire le coût de production pour une unité fonctionnant sans export de vapeur / Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) of natural gas is characterized by generation of an excess of steam and their low thermal efficiency resulting in a very large device with important heat losses. One of the possible keys to make this process more profitable is to optimize heat transfer by changing the reactor design. A microstructured heat exchanger reactor has been retained. It enables to have fast heat and mass transfers and therefore allow increasing catalytic activity. However, this change in production technology must be accompanied by the development of highly active catalysts (MgAl2O4) that enable to reach high methane conversion (80%, 20 bar, 850°C) at low residence time (150 ms). The concept feasibility and catalysts performance have been validated on one channel in industrial process conditions. Then, a detailed model for acquisition of reaction kinetics has been developed and validated from experimental catalytic tests. For heat exchanger reactor design, two modeling approaches have been developed: by considering that the catalyst is highly active and enables to reach instantaneous equilibrium conversion on the coated catalytic walls of the reactor and by tacking the measured kinetics. Simulation of these models by considering technical constraints on the design enabled to find channel characteristic dimensions, heat power needed and the optimum number of channel which determine the heat exchanger reactor volume. Two fast methods for preliminary design of heat-exchanger reactors have been developed. By using heat exchanger reactor, it is possible to suppress steam excess generation and to reduce syngas production cost