Recent Progress on the Implementation of Renewable Biodiesel Fuel for Automotive and Power Plants: Raw Materials Perspective

The issue of energy availability and the impact of global warming has become a specific concern for researchers in various countries in the world. This condition opens up space for potential alternative energy sources that are newer and more sustainable. Biodiesel as a sustainable alternative energy can be applied directly to industrial and automotive fields and even as a fuel source for power plants. This study provides a specific overview of the use and development of biodiesel as a fuel source for renewable power generation based on material sources. An essential part of this study discusses the development of various combinations of biodiesel mixtures and their applications in various types of industries. The physical and chemical characteristics of various types of biodiesel have been studied for their use in various parts of the world. The use of biodiesel has a positive effect on reducing emissions and pollutants, but a particular method is needed to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness, both technically and nontechnically. However, the utilization accompanied by optimizing the characteristics and parameters of biodiesel shows that this alternative energy is feasible and can be applied as a renewable fuel source for automotive industry and power generation in the future.

Biodiesel-Alkaline Transesterification Process for Methyl Ester Production

The world needs to increase renewable and alternative fuel sources such as Biomass, Bioethanol, and Biodiesel to compete with fossil fuels. Biodiesel is an important renewable fuel source since it can be used in regular diesel vehicles without requiring engine modifications. Conventional biodiesel production takes around 90 min of reaction time. A longer reaction time is not suitable for commercial production. Furthermore, traditional products such as oil react with biodiesel methoxide to produce a maximum of 90% biodiesel yield. As the catalyst is not involved with the reaction, pure methanol and methoxide (methanol with KOH catalyst) are separately added to the system to enhance the pre-reaction step. By changing the methanol to methoxide ratio, biodiesel is produced, and yield is calculated. The highest yield, which is 95%, is obtained with a 5:15% methanol to methoxide ratio. The total reaction time with the new experimental procedure is only 20 min. That is a significant reduction by saving operating costs such as energy consumption. Produced biodiesel show similar properties to that of standard biodiesel.

Design and Feasibility Study of Biomass-Driven Combined Heat and Power Systems for Rural Communities

Meeting energy demands at crucial times can often be jeopardized by an unreliable power supply from the grid. Local, on-site power generation, such as combined heat and power (CHP) systems, may safeguard against grid fluctuations and outages. CHP systems can provide a more reliable and resilient energy supply to buildings and communities while it can also provide energy-efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable solutions compared to centralized power systems. With a recent increased focus on biomass as an alternative fuel source, biomass-driven CHP systems have been recognized as a potential technology to bring increased efficiency of fuel utilization and environmentally sustainable solutions. Biomass as an energy source is already created through agricultural and forestry by-products and may thus be efficient and convenient to be transported to remote rural communities. This paper presents a design and feasibility analysis of biomass-driven CHP systems for rural communities. The viability of wood pellets as a suitable fuel source is explored by comparing it to a conventional grid-connected system. To measure viability, three performance parameters – operational cost (OC), primary energy consumption (PEC), and carbon dioxide emission (CDE) – are considered in the analysis. The results demonstrate that under the right conditions wood pellet-fueled CHP systems create economic and environmental advantages over traditional systems. The main factors in increasing the viability of bCHP systems are the appropriate sizing and operational strategies of the system and the purchase price of biomass with respect to the price of traditional fuels.

Evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the corn drying process

The pre-processing of agricultural products has great importance in the quality of the product, the most critical process, is the drying of grains, in which thermal energy is demanded. Since biomass burning produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be associated with carcinogenesis The objective of this study was to perform an assessment of the presence of PAHs derived from the maize drying process using Cavaco burning as a fuel source. The experiment was conducted in the municipality of Cascavel-Paraná, in a storage unit located in Colônia Melissa, using a Kepler Weber column dryer model ADS 150, with a capacity of 150 t/h, with an IMTAB chip burner, with capacity of 8,000,000 kcal/h. To assess the presence of PAHs, corn samples were collected at the entry of the product into the storage unit (control) and samples were collected after the drying process with two passes in the dryer, for five days, every hour during eight hours a day, in the period of harvest/2020. All results obtained were below the detectable limit of 0.6 µg/kg. It is concluded with this study that the drying process of corn using chips in burners does not significantly produce PAHs, thus not harming the quality of the grain.

Ketone Body Metabolism in the Ischemic Heart

Ketone bodies have been identified as an important, alternative fuel source in heart failure. In addition, the use of ketone bodies as a fuel source has been suggested to be a potential ergogenic aid for endurance exercise performance. These findings have certainly renewed interest in the use of ketogenic diets and exogenous supplementation in an effort to improve overall health and disease. However, given the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarctions, these strategies may not be ideal for individuals with coronary artery disease. Although research studies have clearly defined changes in fatty acid and glucose metabolism during ischemia and reperfusion, the role of ketone body metabolism in the ischemic and reperfused myocardium is less clear. This review will provide an overview of ketone body metabolism, including the induction of ketosis via physiological or nutritional strategies. In addition, the contribution of ketone body metabolism in healthy and diseased states, with a particular emphasis on ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury will be discussed.

Barriers and Challenges Going from Conventional to Cryogenic Superconducting Propulsion for Hybrid and All-Electric Aircrafts

The development of electric aircraft is becoming an important technology for achieving the goals set by the European Commission for the reduction of gases emissions by 2050 in the aeronautical transportation system. However, there is a technology gap between the current values of specific power in commercial electric machines and those required for aeronautical applications. Therefore, the search for alternative materials and non-conventional designs is mandatory. One emergent solution is using superconducting machines and systems to overcome the current limits of conventional electrical machines. This work reviews the new hybrid and all-electric aircraft tendencies, complementing it with recent research on the design and development of high specific power superconducting machines. This includes the main topologies for hybrid and all-electric aircraft, with an overview of the ongoing worldwide projects of these aircraft types, systematizing the main characteristics of their propulsion systems. It also includes the research on superconducting machines to achieve high specific power and consider the impact on the redesign of aircraft systems, the electrical, cooling, and fuel source systems.

Investigating the Potential of Recycling Flare-Source Hydrocarbon Gases in an Industrial Burner

Flare gas is considered a global environmental concern. Flaring contributes to wasting limited material and energy resources, economic loss and greenhouse gas emissions. Utilizing flared gas as fuel feed to industrial cracking furnaces grants advantages in terms of fuel economy and emissions reduction. This work presents the results obtained by ANSYS fluent simulation of a flare hydrocarbon gas utilized in a steam cracking furnace of ethylene process when combusting hydrocarbons flare gas in a low NOx burner. In addition, the study determined the suitability of different hydrocarbon fuel mixtures in satisfying the required adiabatic flame temperature. The flared stream is assumed to be inlet from both primary and secondary staged fuel burners. The simulation results illustrated the detailed temperature profiles along the furnace flue gas side. They also presented the influence of flare stream compositions and Wobbe Index (WI) on the temperature profile. It was found that having an alternative fuel with a heating value or WI similar to that of methane would not result in the same temperature profile of methane, as a current fuel source. In addition, using different excess air percentages has no linear effect on the burner’s temperature profile. However, the results showed that the best replacement of methane, as the main fuel source, is a flare mixture with the same WI of methane as well as a certain H2 content needs to be added to every flare mixture composition to reach the same temperature profile of methane

β-hydroxybutyrate as an Anti-Aging Metabolite

The ketone bodies, especially β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB), derive from fatty acid oxidation and alternatively serve as a fuel source for peripheral tissues including the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle. β-HB is currently considered not solely an energy substrate for maintaining metabolic homeostasis but also acts as a signaling molecule of modulating lipolysis, oxidative stress, and neuroprotection. Besides, it serves as an epigenetic regulator in terms of histone methylation, acetylation, β-hydroxybutyrylation to delay various age-related diseases. In addition, studies support endogenous β-HB administration or exogenous supplementation as effective strategies to induce a metabolic state of nutritional ketosis. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of β-HB metabolism and its relationship and application in age-related diseases. Future studies are needed to reveal whether β-HB has the potential to serve as adjunctive nutritional therapy for aging.