Torrefied biomass is a coal-like fuel that can be burned in biomass boilers or co-fired with coal in co-firing furnaces. To make quantitative predictions regarding combustion behavior, devolatilization should be accurately described. In this work, the devolatilization of three torrefied biomasses and their parent material were tested in an isothermal plug flow reactor, which is able to rapidly heat the biomass particles to a maximum temperature of 1400 C at a rate of 104 C/s, similar to the conditions in actual power plant furnaces. During every devolatilization test, the devolatilized biomass particles were collected and analyzed to determine the weight loss based on the ash tracer method. According to the experimental results, it can be concluded that biomass decreases its reactivity after torrefaction, and the deeper of torrefaction conducted, the lower the biomass reactivity. Furthermore, based on a two-competing-step model, the kinetic parameters were determined by minimizing the difference between the modeled and experimental results based on the least-squares objective function, and the predicted weight losses exhibited a good agreement with experimental data from biomass devolatilization, especially at high temperatures. It was also detected that CO and H2 are the primary components of the released volatile matters from the devolatilization of the three torrefied biomasses, in which CO accounts for approximately 45-60%, and H2 accounts for 20-30% of the total volatile species. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
The promising properties of torrefied biomass provide a valid co-firing option for large percentage\ud biomass utilization in existing coal-fired boilers. Torrefied biomass is expected to have a better\ud combustion stability than raw biomass and similar to that of coal. The present work will characterizes\ud the oxidation properties of torrefied biomass char and compare with that of raw biomass char. The\ud studied two chars are produced from raw and torrefied biomass in an Isothermal Plug Flow Reactor (IPFR)\ud at high temperature and high heating rate, a sufficient residence time is applied for the completion of the\ud high temperature devolatilization. Char oxidation tests are carried out in the IPFR by varying temperature,\ud oxygen concentration and residence time. The reactivity of two studied chars are analyzed and compared\ud with referenced biomass char and coal char, and the impact of torrefaction on char reactivity is also\ud discussed in this paper. Finally, the char oxidation kinetic parameters are determined using a parameter\ud optimization method, and the obtained kinetics are examined by comparing the experimental and\ud predicted mass conversions
Urban waste heat recovery, in which low temperature heat from urban sources is recovered for use in a district heat network, has a great deal of potential in helping to achieve 2050 climate goals. For example, heat from data centres, metro systems, public sector buildings and waste water treatment plants could be used to supply ten percent of Europe's heat demand. Despite this, at present, urban waste heat recovery is not widespread and is an immature technology. To help achieve greater uptake, three policy recommendations are made. First, policy raising awareness of waste heat recovery and creating a legal framework is suggested. Second, it is recommended that pilot projects are promoted to help demonstrate technical and economic feasibility. Finally, a pilot credit facility is proposed aimed at bridging the gap between potential investors and heat recovery projects.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer worldwide. A robotic system performing autonomous breast palpation can make a significant impact on the related health sector worldwide. However, robot programming for breast palpating with different geometries is very complex and unsolved. Robot learning from demonstrations (LfD) reduces the programming time and cost. However, the available LfD are lacking the modelling of the manipulation path/trajectory as an explicit function of the visual sensory information. This paper presents a novel approach to manipulation path/trajectory planning called deep Movement Primitives that successfully generates the movements of a manipulator to reach a breast phantom and perform the palpation. We show the effectiveness of our approach by a series of real-robot experiments of reaching and palpating a breast phantom. The experimental results indicate our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art method.
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