Giulio Santori

The University of Edinburgh | UoE · Institute for Materials and Processes (IMP)

Adsorption chillers are more environmentally sustainable than other types of chillers but the trade-off between price and performance makes it impossible for them to seize a significant market share in cooling. The performance increase of adsorption chillers has been the primary focus so far, neglecting to assess if it would lead to a reduced manuf...

Significant efforts have been done in order to improve adsorption desalination systems by developing advanced adsorbents. Silica-supported ionic liquid (SIL) has been recently proposed as a promising adsorption material for water desalination due to its relatively high adsorption capacity around 1 kgwater.kgSIL⁻¹. Such achieved performance can be c...

A large amount of low grade heat is wasted at temperatures below 100 °C but its quantity remains mostly unknown. Therefore, the identification and quantitation of low grade heat availability enables further assessments on whether or not the recovery of this fraction of heat is convenient. By considering the countries composing the European Union (E...

In this study seven adsorption azeotropes involving binary systems and zeolite-based adsorbents were systematically investigated. Pure component isotherms and mixed-gas adsorption data were taken from published literature except for the benzene–propene system on silicalite, which is newly presented in this work using molecular simulations. Experime...

Adsorption desalinators can be powered by solar energy to provide potable water and to mitigate increasing water stress throughout Europe. In this study, we analyse the feasibility of a solar powered adsorption desalination system design to produce drinking water at two distinct European locations, representing two extremes in terms of solar radiat...

Different applications of hydrochar produced from the sewage and food waste generated by a small town in the UK (Chirnside; 2,250 residents) are assessed. These are: as a solid biofuel for use in domestic biomass boilers (DBB), for use in biomass combined heat and power (BCHP) plant, as a precursor to activated carbon, and as a soil conditioner. Fo...

Steam power plants release more than half of the primary energy input as ultra low temperature heat below 40∘C into the environment causing thermal pollution. The emitted heat has a very low exergy content making it challenging to use as heat input by another process. Adsorption desalination combined with reverse electrodialysis can be powered by t...

Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as novel sorption materials capable to achieve exceptional water vapour uptake that is attractive for their use in heat transformation technologies. Water sorption equilibria on 2-hydroxyethyl-trimethylammonium acetate or choline acetate ([Cho][OAc]) were measured at eight different temperatures: 298.25, 303.25, 308...

50 days free access to the following link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1aUqa1M2A%7EESO9 An algorithm is presented for the estimation of the UNIQUAC interaction parameters for liquid-liquid equilibrium of ternary systems. The algorithm is based on two optimization levels. In the inner level the algorithm performs the minimization of an objective...

Industrial processes emit enormous amounts of waste heat below 40°C into the environment as it is cannot be used in other processes. Adsorption desalination can be driven by low grade heat, but has never been proven at temperatures below 40°C as current adsorption materials require heat sources of 50-150°C. Here, we present the first experimental s...

Adsorption refrigeration has become an attractive technology due to the capability to exploit low-grade thermal energy for cooling power generation and the use of environmentally friendly refrigerants. Traditionally, these systems work with pure fluids such as water, ethanol, methanol, and ammonia. Nevertheless, the operating conditions make their...

This work investigates the application of novel sorption materials to heat-powered desalination systems. Two ionic liquids 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (Emim-Ac) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate (Emim-Oms) ionic liquids were impregnated in two silica supports, namely Syloid AL-1FP and Syloid 72FP. Emim-Ac and Emim-Oms composi...

Download for free: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZT-t15eiewAhD Adsorption desalinators produce potable water from seawater using low-grade heat at 50–90 °C. The technology has been proven using several experimental systems, but their sizes are too large to allow efficient further development by testing novel adsorption materials and components. I...

The worldwide need for improved energy efficiency in end use energy demand technologies catalyses the development of advanced household devices. Efficiency in the end use of energy also embraces the development of advanced household technologies with lower energy demand. Wet appliances are among the most energy intensive domestic devices in the dom...

Adsorption heat transformers use low-grade heat to produce potable water and provide cooling at the same time. In this study, we present a comprehensive performance analysis for an experimental system featuring the world’s smallest design using silica gel, which is commonly used as benchmarking material. We analyse the system performance in a thoro...

Adsorption desalinators produce potable water from seawater by utilising low-grade heat 50-90 °C. Experimental systems were introduced in a number of studies and proved the feasibility of the concept. However, the proposed experimental systems have large bed sizes of up to 36 kg, which leads to an inflexibility in their operation and the change of...

A novel process is presented to generate electricity from low-grade heat by combining a Reverse Electrodialysis membrane with an Adsorption desalinator in a closed-loop system. A Reverse Electrodialysis membrane generates electricity by controlled mixing of two salt solutions of different concentrations. An Adsorption desalinator restores the initi...

The composite material 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate ionic liquid in Syloid AL-1FP silica shows unprecedented water vapor sorption equilibrium properties. Equilibrium data were recorded at different loads of ionic liquid in the silica support (from 1.8%w to 60%w). At loadings >1.8%w, all the composites show type 3 isotherm, therefore...

Closed-loop Reverse Electrodialysis is a novel technology to directly convert low-grade heat into electricity. It consists of a reverse electrodialysis (RED) unit where electricity is produced exploiting the salinity gradient between two salt-water solutions, coupled with a regeneration unit where waste-heat is used to treat the solutions exiting f...

Domestic appliances consumes at least 30% of the total energy consumption at the UK where wet appliances comes as the second most energy intensive class of household devices. Thanks to the widespread of these technologies, increased energy savings have potential for global emission reduction. In this research, the benefits of using adsorption techn...

Domestic appliances consumes at least 30% of the total energy consumption at the UK where wet appliances comes as the second most energy intensive class of household devices. Thanks to the widespread of these technologies, increased energy savings have potential for global emission reduction. In this research, the benefits of using adsorption techn...

This research presents an experimental investigation of adsorption isotherms of water vapour onto impregnated silica gel in ionic liquid solutions. Adsorption/desorption isotherms silica gel (Syloid)/water vapour without any additions has been measured. Then the adsorption isotherms have been detected for impregnated Syloid with ionic liquid (1-eth...

The current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere demands for development of negative emission solutions such as direct carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere (air capture). Many well-established processes can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but the real technological challenge consists of concentrating and compressing car...

Adsorption equilibria of CO2, N2, and the CO2/N2 binary system on AQSOA FAM Z02 grains were measured over a temperature range of 295 to 348 K and over a wide range in pressure from 0.2 to 20 bar using a gravimetric method. CO2 and N2 single-component experimental equilibrium measurements were regressed using the Toth equation. CO2 adsorption on AQS...

The search for optimal fluid/adsorbent working pairs in adsorption heat transformers is featured by trial and error method. In the last decades this approach has produced relevant progresses especially resulted in new advanced adsorption materials. On the refrigerant fluid side water, ammonia, methanol and ethanol still seem to be the only viable o...

Adsorption compressors are an emerging technology used to compress a gas stream with low grade heat which is of interest for the next long term extra-planetary bases. An analysis of thermodynamics of multicomponent gas/vapour mixtures compression with a thermally-driven adsorption bed is reported. In this unit a multicomponent stream is firstly ads...

The distributed relaxation times (DRT) method has been employed in order to deconvolute the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements carried out on a Ni-YSZ|YSZ|Pr2NiO4+delta-GDC solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). This has enabled to shed light on the diverse physicochemical processes occurring within the aforementioned cell by individu...

This paper presents a systematic synergetic approach between experimental measurements, equivalent circuit modelling (described in Part I) and macro-scale modelling theory which has proved to be instrumental for the estimation of microstructural and electrochemical features of a Ni-YSZ|YSZ|Pr2NiO4+δ – GDC solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The aforement...

The minimisation of the distance function between the Gibbs energy of mixing and its common tangent plane (or line) is applied to adsorbed solutions. A specific algorithm to deal with the associated bilevel programming problem is presented and discussed. This approach is validated with experimental data and ideal adsorbed solution theory calculatio...

The ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) is the most widespread theory for multicomponent adsorption interpretation. It postulates the existence of an adsorbed phase which behaves as a Raoult ideal solution. The theory results in a system of nonlinear algebraic equations which are solved to know the composition of the adsorbed mixture at equilibri...

Being aware of the needs for clean highly efficient micro combined heat and power (μCHP) systems for single and multifamily households, the Italian Ministry of Industry launched in 2009 the EFESO Project aiming to develop and operate four SOFC prototypes. An imperative part of the project foresaw computational modeling to optimize operating conditi...

This paper describes an algorithm for the computation of the UNIQUAC interaction parameters from liquid-liquid experimental data. The algorithm comprises two separate levels. The inner level is devoted to the calculation of the interaction parameters, minimizing an objective function which is function of the activities. The outer level uses the par...

Solar adsorption ice makers are devices which could prove a great help in sustaining the cold chain in third world countries. The use of such devices could be extended also in supporting humanitarian aid actions for vaccines storage. However, further development and optimization of the system design are still required. In this paper a new, versatil...

This paper reports experimental testing of an adsorption dishwasher employing different desiccants, such as 13X zeolite, microporous silica gel and SAPO-34 zeolite. Thermodynamic comparison of the selected adsorbents was carried out on the basis of the experimental measurement of the main thermo-physical parameters, such as specific heat, adsorptio...

This paper focuses on the development of a dynamic multi-level model for simulating of a solar cooling system adopting an adsorption chiller. The model integrates detailed simulation of the adsorption cycle (component level) into the transient simulation of the solar cooling system (system level). The chiller investigated was a standard two bed sil...

One of the most promising renewable fuels proposed as an alternative to fossil diesel is biodiesel. The competitive potential of biodiesel is limited by the price of vegetable oils, which strongly influences the final price of this biofuel. On the other hand, extensive use of vegetable oils may cause other significant problems such as starvation in...

To evaluate the Solid-Liquid Equilibria (SLE) of alternative refrigerants systems, an experimental set-up was employed. The behaviour of the nitrous oxide + fluoromethane (N2O + R41) binary system was measured down to temperatures of 126.5 K. The triple point temperature of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and of seven of the most widely applied alter...

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power generators can now be commercialized as heat and power micro-cogenerator. Few well-documented field tests have been conducted to date on these units’ tubular cell architecture, however, and little has been done to derive general rules for a thorough understanding of these units’ operation. The present work focuses...

This paper presents the thermal-fluid-dynamic analysis of a stack with the Acumentrics architecture by ANSYSFLUENT. The study focused on the cathode side of the stack comprising the down-comer. The energy and moment balances are solved to assess the stack's operation in baseline conditions and the link between air maldistribution and thermal gradie...

A recently built experimental setup was employed for the estimation of the solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) of alternative refrigerant systems. The behavior of two binaries, that is, carbon dioxide + fluoromethane (CO(2) + R41) and nitrous oxide + fluoromethane (N(2)O + R41), was measured down to temperatures of 126.5 K. To confirm the reliability of...

A recently built experimental setup was employed for the estimation of the solid–liquid equilibria of alternative refrigerant systems. In this paper two binaries, i.e., carbon dioxide + trifluoromethane (CO2 + R23) and nitrous oxide + trifluoromethane (N2O + R23), were studied down to temperatures of 117 K. In order to check the reliability of the...

A recently built experimental setup was employed for the estimation of the solid-liquid equilibria of alternative refrigerants systems. The behavior of dimethyl ether (DME) + carbon dioxide was measured down to temperatures of 131.6 K. To confirm the reliability of the apparatus, the triple point of the DME was measured. The triple point data measu...

The P−V−T properties of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (CF3CF═CH2, HFO-1234yf), an environmentally friendly refrigerant, were measured using a constant volume apparatus. Measurements were carried out at temperatures from (243 to 373) K and at pressures from (84 to 3716) kPa. A total of 136 experimental points, taken along 12 isochores, were obtained...

This paper focuses on the development of a dynamic model in Matlab/Simulink® for simulating the operation of an adsorption system for solar air conditioning. Solar-assisted adsorption chillers can be thermally driven by low-temperature heat sources, they use safe and non-polluting materials. Adsorption machines for use in air conditioning are curre...

This study presents the experimental results for the dimethyl ether (DME) + propane system obtained using the Burnett method. The apparatus was calibrated using helium. PVTx measurements were taken for four isotherms (344, 354, 364, and 375 K), performing 16 Burnett expansions in pressures ranging from about 3,000 to 70 kPa. The second and third vi...

Export Date: 30 August 2011, Source: Scopus, Art. No.: A16

The vapor pressure data of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (CF3CF═CH2, HFO-1234yf) were measured using a constant-volume apparatus. Measurements were carried out in a wide temperature range, from (224 to 366) K, and at pressures from (39 to 3218) kPa. A total of 35 experimental points were obtained. The measurements were fitted to the Wagner equation...

Export Date: 30 August 2011, Source: Scopus

Dimethyl ether is an important chemical material and it has many engineering applications. It is a clean and economical alternative fuel and an ozone-friendly refrigerant. In this work, its PVT properties have been object of study. In particular, the experimental work was performed both in the two-phase region and in the superheated vapor region ph...

A recently built experimental setup for determination of solid–liquid equilibria was slightly modified. The action taken on the existing system focused on correcting the drawbacks of the cooling system. In this version of the setup, a direct liquid nitrogen supply was preferred. By means of the modified apparatus, solid–liquid equilibria of the CO2...

The homogeneous alkaline-catalyzed transesterification reaction of triacylglycerols with methanol is the chemical conversion option that has met with the greatest favor in industrial biodiesel production plants. Two liquid immiscibility phases coexist at chemical equilibrium. i.e., a biodiesel-rich upper phase and a glycerol-rich lower phase. The a...

Dimethyl ether (DME) is a clean and economical alternative fuel. In addition, it is also an ozone-friendly refrigerant. Burnett measurements were carried out at temperatures from (344 to 393) K and at pressures from (0.055 to 4.015) MPa. A total of 138 experimental points, taken along 15 isotherms and 12 different temperatures, were obtained. The a...

In this paper, a novel composite sorbent “lithium chloride in silica gel pores” is proposed for application in solar-powered adsorptive ice makers. A mathematical model was used in order to calculate the performance of an ice-maker using this material as adsorbent and methanol as adsorbate. The results of the model showed that a maximum solar coeff...

A recently built experimental setup was employed for the estimation of the solid-liquid equilibria of alternative refrigerant systems. The behavior of two binaries, i.e., carbon dioxide + 1,1-tetrafluoroethane (CO2 + R134a) and nitrous oxide + 1,1-tetrafluoroethane (N2O + R134a), was measured down to temperatures of 142 K. The triple points of CO2...

This paper presents a model for dynamic simulation of an adsorptive ice-maker. The model describes the different phases of the thermodynamic cycle of the ice-maker components: solar collector, adsorbent bed, condenser and cold chamber (evaporator and water to be frozen). The adsorbent/adsorbate working pair is active carbon/methanol.The simulations...

In this paper, the simulation results of an adsorptive system driven by solar energy, to be used for freezing and cold storage, are presented. The system, consisting of an activated carbon reactor connected to a solar collector and to an evaporator/cold box, is able to produce and store 5kg of ice/day, in a north Mediterranean climate. The simulati...

Biodiesel (a mixture of fatty acid esters) is normally analyzed using gas chromatography/flame ionization detection, as specified by the ASTM D6584 and EN14105 standards. This paper proposes a binary gradient method for analyzing biodiesel mixtures using non-aqueous reverse phase HPLC with a UV detector capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the ga...

A recently built experimental setup was employed for the estimation of the solid−liquid equilibria of alternative refrigerant systems. The behavior of two binaries, i.e., carbon dioxide + 1,1-difluoroethane (CO2 + R152a) and nitrous oxide + 1,1-difluoroethane (N2O + R152a), was measured down to temperatures of 132 K. The triple points of CO2 and N2...