Chinese Taipei
Hydrogen Embrittlement of a Boiler Water Wall Tube in a District Heating System
Jul 2022
Publication
A district heating system is an eco-friendly power generation facility with high energy efficiency. The boiler water wall tube used in the district heating system is exposed to extremely harsh conditions and unexpected fractures often occur during operation. In this study a corrosion failure analysis of the boiler water wall tube was performed to elucidate the failure mechanisms. The study revealed that overheating by flames was the cause of the failure of the boiler water wall tube. With an increase in temperature in a localized region the microstructure not only changed from ferrite/pearlite to martensite/bainite which made it more susceptible to brittleness but it also developed tensile residual stresses in the water-facing side by generating cavities or microcracks along the grain boundaries inside the tube. High-temperature hydrogen embrittlement combined with stress corrosion cracking initiated many microcracks inside the tube and created an intergranular fracture.
Determinants of Consumers’ Purchasing Intentions for the Hydrogen-Electric Motorcycle
Aug 2017
Publication
In recent years increasing concerns regarding the energy costs and environmental effects of urban motorcycle use have spurred the development of hydrogen-electric motorcycles in Taiwan. Although gasoline-powered motorcycles produce substantial amounts of exhaust and noise pollution hydrogen-electric motorcycles are highly energy-efficient relatively quiet and produce zero emissions features that suggest their great potential to reduce the problems currently associated with the use of motorcycles in city environments. This study identified the significant external variables that affect consumers’ purchase intentions toward using hydrogen-electric motorcycles. A questionnaire method was employed with a total of 300 questionnaires distributed and 233 usable questionnaires returned yielding a 78% overall response rate. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the research hypothesis. The research concluded that (1) product knowledge positively influenced purchase intentions but negatively affected the perceived risk; (2) perceived quality via hydrogen-electric motorcycles positively influenced the perceived value but negatively affected the perceived risk; (3) perceived risk negatively affected the perceived value; and (4) the perceived value positively affected purchase intentions. This study can be used as a reference for motorcycle manufacturers when planning their marketing strategies.
Life Cycle Assessment of Carbon Footprint in Public Transportation - A Case Study of Bus Route NO. 2 in Tainan City, Taiwan
Apr 2019
Publication
Human activities have exacerbated global greenhouse effects resulting in extreme climate changes that have caused disasters and food and water shortages in recent years. Transport activities are the one of the main causes of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore policy makers must develop some strategies to reduce GHG emissions. One of the Taiwan’s transportation policies intended to reduce CO2 emissions is to replace all traditional diesel fuel urban buses with alternative energy buses. This paper uses a case study of bus route NO. 2 in Tainan City and follows the international standard ISO/TS 14067 and PAS2050 to measure the carbon footprints of different energy buses. The purpose is to measure the environmental benefits of alternative energy buses. The results of the bus carbon footprints from high to low were LNG buses 63.14g CO2e/pkm; traditional diesel buses 54.6g CO2e/pkm; liquefied petroleum gas buses 47.4g CO2e/pkm; plug-in electric buses 37.82g CO2e/pkm and hydrogen fuel cell bus es 29.17g CO2e/pkm respectively. It was also found that the use of hydrogen fuel cell buses would potentially reduce CO2e emissions in Tainan City by 1244081 tons which at this time is only city bus No. 2. If all the Taiwan city buses were switched to hydrogen fuel cell buses this would potentially reduce CO2e by 227832.39 tons. The effect of the reduction in carbon emissions from the use of hydrogen fuel cells buses in all Taiwanese urban areas is the equivalent of planting 22.78 million trees. It is thus suggested that the government use hydrogen fuel cell buses as the future of the country’s major alternative energy buses since they are the most environmentally friendly alternative to reducing CO2 emissions.
Thermocatalytic Hydrogen Production Through Decomposition of Methane-A Review
Oct 2021
Publication
Consumption of fossil fuels especially in transport and energy-dependent sectors has led to large greenhouse gas production. Hydrogen is an exciting energy source that can serve our energy purposes and decrease toxic waste production. Decomposition of methane yields hydrogen devoid of COx components thereby aiding as an eco-friendly approach towards large-scale hydrogen production. This review article is focused on hydrogen production through thermocatalytic methane decomposition (TMD) for hydrogen production. The thermodynamics of this approach has been highlighted. Various methods of hydrogen production from fossil fuels and renewable resources were discussed. Methods including steam methane reforming partial oxidation of methane auto thermal reforming direct biomass gasification thermal water splitting methane pyrolysis aqueous reforming and coal gasification have been reported in this article. A detailed overview of the different types of catalysts available the reasons behind their deactivation and their possible regeneration methods were discussed. Finally we presented the challenges and future perspectives for hydrogen production via TMD. This review concluded that among all catalysts nickel ruthenium and platinum-based catalysts show the highest activity and catalytic efficiency and gave carbon-free hydrogen products during the TMD process. However their rapid deactivation at high temperatures still needs the attention of the scientific community.
Alternative Gaseous Fuels for Marine Vessels towards Zero-Carbon Emissions
Nov 2023
Publication
The maritime industry is recognized as a major pollution source to the environment. The use of low- or zero-carbon marine alternative fuel is a promising measure to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants leading to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Hydrogen (H2 ) fuel cells particularly proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and ammonia (NH3 ) are screened out to be the feasible marine gaseous alternative fuels. Green hydrogen can reduce the highest carbon emission which might amount to 100% among those 5 types of hydrogen. The main hurdles to the development of H2 as a marine alternative fuel include its robust and energy-consuming cryogenic storage system highly explosive characteristics economic transportation issues etc. It is anticipated that fossil fuel used for 35% of vehicles such as marine vessels automobiles or airplanes will be replaced with hydrogen fuel in Europe by 2040. Combustible NH3 can be either burned directly or blended with H2 or CH4 to form fuel mixtures. In addition ammonia is an excellent H2 carrier to facilitate its production storage transportation and usage. The replacement of promising alternative fuels can move the marine industry toward decarbonization emissions by 2050.
Development of Electric Power Generator by Using Hydrogen
Nov 2023
Publication
In this research we developed a hydrogen (H2 ) electric generator in an H2 generation system based on chemical reactions. In the experiment we tested the performance of the H2 electric generator and measured the amount of H2 generated. The maximum output was 700 W and the thermal efficiency was 18.2%. The theoretical value and measured value were almost the same and the maximum error was 4%.
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