@misc{KetabchiPastorPerezRamirezReinaetal., author = {Ketabchi, Elham and Pastor-Perez, Laura and Ramirez Reina, Tomas and Arellano-Garc{\´i}a, Harvey}, title = {Catalytic upgrading of acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE): A step ahead for the production of added value chemicals in bio-refineries}, series = {Renewable Energy}, volume = {156}, journal = {Renewable Energy}, issn = {1879-0682}, doi = {10.1016/j.renene.2020.04.152}, pages = {1065 -- 1075}, abstract = {With the aim of moving towards sustainability and renewable energy sources, we have studied the production of long chain hydrocarbons from a renewable source of biomass to reduce negative impacts of greenhouse gas emissions while providing a suitable alternative for fossil fuel-based processes. Herein we report a catalytic strategy for Acetone, Butanol and Ethanol (ABE) upgrading using economically viable catalysts with potential impact in modern bio-refineries. Our catalysts based on transition metals such as Ni, Fe and Cu supported on MgO-Al2O3 have been proven to perform exceptionally with outstanding conversions towards the production of a broad range of added value chemicals from C2 to C15. Although all catalysts displayed meritorious performance, the Fe catalyst has shown the best results in terms conversion (89\%). Interestingly, the Cu catalyst displays the highest selectivity towards long chain hydrocarbons (14\%). Very importantly, our approach suppresses the utilization of solvents and additives resulting directly in upgraded hydrocarbons that are of use in the chemical and/or the transportation industry. Overall, this seminal work opens the possibility to consider ABE upgrading as a viable route in bio-refineries to produce renewably sourced added value products in an economically favorable way. In addition, the described process can be envisaged as a cross-link stream among bio and traditional refineries aiming to reduce fossil fuel sources involved and incorporate "greener" solutions.}, language = {en} } @misc{MerinoCarrascoDorneanuetal., author = {Merino, Manuel and Carrasco, Laura and Dorneanu, Bogdan and Manrique, Jose and Menzhausen, Robert and Arellano-Garc{\´i}a, Harvey}, title = {Control Strategies for a Vapour Compression Refrigeration System Used in Mango Exports: An Alternative to Traditional on-Off Controllers}, series = {AIChE Annual Meeting}, journal = {AIChE Annual Meeting}, isbn = {978-0-8169-1114-1}, abstract = {ropical fruits are important products on the global market. The change to a healthier nutrition, the development of new products and great availability led to a rise in their consumption during the last decade [1-2]. Due to their perishable nature they are stored at lower temperature. To achieve a rapid and efficient decrease in product temperature, refrigeration systems are employed, using vapor compression refrigeration plants. They consist of four main components: the compressor, the condenser, the expansion valve and the evaporator. Within the system a refrigerant is circulating. Though designed to satisfy maximum load, these plants usually work at part-load for much of their life, generally regulated by on/off cycles of the compressor, working at nominal frequency of 50 Hz [3]. The high cost involved in developing cold storage or controlled atmosphere storage is a pressing problem in several developing countries [4]. This contribution presents development and comparison of various strategies for the control of a refrigeration plant used for fruit cooling. The starting point is a model of the plant which is able to simulate both the chamber and the fruit temperature. The model is based on energy balances for each section of the refrigeration system and the fruits.}, language = {en} } @misc{MiahDorneanuMechlerietal., author = {Miah, Sayeef and Dorneanu, Bogdan and Mechleri, Evgenia and Arellano-Garc{\´i}a, Harvey}, title = {Multi-Objective Design Optimisation of a Distributed Energy System through 3E (economic, environmental and exergy) Analysis}, series = {2020 Virtual AIChE Annual Meeting, November 20, 2020}, journal = {2020 Virtual AIChE Annual Meeting, November 20, 2020}, isbn = {978-0-8169-1114-1}, abstract = {To facilitate the commitments of reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require the utilisation of renewable energy resources, as well as shifting away from a centralised generation. Distributed energy systems (DESs) are a promising alternative to conventional centralised layouts. Thus, there is a need for the development of models able to optimally design DES which show savings in cost as well as having a low carbon impact. Current literature focuses on the design optimisation of a DES through economical and environmental cost minimisation [1-4]. However, these two criteria alone do not show the complete picture and do not satisfy the long-term sustainability priorities. The inclusion of exergy analysis allows for the satisfaction of this criteria through the rational use of energy resources. The use of exergy analysis within DESs was first studied by [5], with a multiobjective approach whereby cost and exergy efficiency are considered. The novelty of this paper is twofold. The first is the investigation of exergy DES design optimisation through a multiobjective approach whilst considering the economic and environmental cost, thus making this work the first to simultaneously minimise three objective functions in the context of DES.}, language = {en} } @misc{DorneanuHeshmatMohamedetal., author = {Dorneanu, Bogdan and Heshmat, Mohamed and Mohamed, Abdelrahim and Ruan, Hang and Xiao, Pei and Gao, Yang and Arellano-Garc{\´i}a, Harvey}, title = {Stepping Towards the Industrial Sixth Sense}, series = {AIChE Annual Meeting, November 20, 2020}, journal = {AIChE Annual Meeting, November 20, 2020}, isbn = {978-0-8169-1114-1}, abstract = {Industry 4.0 is transforming chemical processes into complex, smart cyber-physical systems, by the addition of elements such as smart sensors, Internet of Things, big data analytics or cloud computing. Modern engineering systems and manufacturing processes are operating in highly dynamic environments, and exhibiting scale, structure and behaviour complexity. Under these conditions, plant operators find it extremely difficult to manage all the information available, infer the desired conditions of the plant and take timely decisions to handle abnormal operation1. Human beings acquire information from the surroundings through sensory receptors for vision, sound, smell, touch, and taste, the Five Senses. The sensory stimulus is converted to electrical signals as nerve impulse data communicated with the brain. When one or more senses fail, the humans are able to re-establish communication and improve the other senses to protect from incoming dangers. Furthermore, a mechanism of 'reasoning' has been developed during evolution, which enable analysis of present data and generation of a vision of the future, which might be called the Sixth Sense. As industrial processes are already equipped with five senses: 'hearing' from acoustic sensors, 'smelling' from gas and liquid sensors, 'seeing' from camera, 'touching' from vibration sensors and 'tasting' from composition monitors, the Sixth Sense could be achieved by forming a sensing network which is self-adaptive and self-repairing, carrying out deep-thinking analysis with even limited data, and predicting the sequence of events via integrated system modelling. This contribution introduces the development of an intelligent monitoring and control framework for chemical process, integrating the advantages of Industry 4.0 technologies, cooperative control and fault detection via wireless sensor networks.}, language = {en} }