Experimental and Computational Characterization of a Novel In-Situ Reactor

Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master Thesis
Program
Innovative and sustainable chemical engineering (MPISC), MSc
Publicerad
2015
Författare
Gustafson, Pontus
Malmström, Emil
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Sammanfattning
Over the last years, the concern for environmental effects of different industrial applications has gained a great importance. One explanation for contributing to the global warming and air pollution is the release of particulate matter (PM) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the increasing amount of vehicles that are serving our roads. New efficient engines are under constant development to utilize the fuels in a more efficient way. This also includes the exhaust aftertreatment system (EATS) that cleans the gases from the engine exhaust. Reducing the amount of released PM is of great importance to avoid contamination of our cities and avoid health problems such as cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer. This thesis aims to gain knowledge in the soot oxidation process to reduce release of PM to our environment. A unique In-Situ reactor from Chalmers, designed for detailed studies of soot oxidation, has been studied both with experiments and simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). An iterative method has been applied between the experiments and the simulations were the outcome from the result is trying to improve the next setup. Experiments have been performed to study the oxidation process and simulations have been executed to study the behavior of the heat and fluid flow in the reactor to improve the reactor design and the way the reactor is operated. The results gave a good descriptions and understanding of the reactor behavior and its performance. The results include the obtained pressure drop and temperatures needed for reaction at different flow rates. As soot oxidation experiments have been executed, several conclusions have been drawn on the reaction dependencies of different temperature levels and oxidants, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxygen levels (O2). Multiphase simulations have also been performed to study the effect of thermophoresis on the deposition of particles in the reactor. The results show that the particles follow the continuous phase well and that only a small effect of thermophoresis is obtained when the reactor is used with a continuous flow of air as the heat source as in the original design. The small effect of thermophoresis indicates that particle deposit on the glass tube won’t decrease the possibility to use the reactor In-Situ
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Ämne/nyckelord
Produktion , Grundläggande vetenskaper , Hållbar utveckling , Energiteknik , Strömningsmekanik och akustik , Production , Basic Sciences , Sustainable Development , Energy Engineering , Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics
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