Vasilije Manovic

• Professor
• Chair at Cranfield University

This article explores whether ammonia is a reliable fuel for heat and electricity generation in domestic applications. First, the ammonia combustion characteristics, including adiabatic flame temperature, ignition delay time, and laminar flame speed are analysed and compared with the conventional fuels such as natural gas, dimethyl ether, hydrogen,...

The current challenges of commercial cyclic adsorption processes for biogas upgrading are associated with either high energy consumption or low recovery. To address these challenges, this work evaluates the performance of a range of configurations for biogas separations, including pressure swing adsorption (PSA), pressure vacuum swing adsorption (P...

There has been ongoing interest in research to mitigate climate change through carbon capture (CC) by adsorption. This guideline is meant to introduce computational chemistry techniques in CC by applying them to mesoporous structures and disordered morphologies. The molecular simulation techniques presented here use examples of literature studies o...

In this work, a catalytic combustor for micro electrical mechanical system using renewable syngas was designed and analysed using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) in conjunction with finite rate chemistry. The effect of catalyst (rhodium, palladium, and rhodium), shape and packing of the catalyst and operating conditions (e.g., inlet temperature a...

In this work, a catalytic combustor for micro electrical mechanical system for syngas was designed and analysed using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) in conjunction with finite rate chemistry. The effect of catalyst (platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), palladium oxide (PdO), and rhodium (Rh)), bed type (packed with twelve catalyst shapes and four cata...

The deployment of greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies has been identified as an indispensable option in limiting global warming to 1.5 °C by the end of the century. Despite this, many countries are yet to include and promote this option in their long-term plans owing to factors such as uncertainty in technical potential, deployment feasibilit...

The process of sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) is an emerging technology for the production of low carbon hydrogen. The development of a suitable catalytic material, as well as a CO2 adsorbent with high capture capacity, has slowed the upscaling of this process to date. In this study, to aid the development of a combined sorbent...

Biogas as a renewable energy resource can be broadly recognised as a carbon–neutral fuel which reduces anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, mitigates global warming, and diversifies energy supply. However, the biogas share in the global renewable energy supply chain and technology deployment and maturity are not commensurate with the potential....

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) will play a critical role in future decarbonisation efforts to meet the Paris Agreement targets and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Whilst there are many well developed CCUS technologies there is the potential for improvement that can encourage CCUS deployment. A time and cost-efficient w...

In this study, a comparative literature-based assessment of the impact of operational factors such as climatic condition, vegetation type, availability of land, water, energy and biomass, management practices, cost and soil characteristics was carried out on six greenhouse gas removal (GGR) methods. These methods which include forestation, enhanced...

The reversible CO2 adsorption/desorption by Li4SiO4-based sorbents under high temperature has attracted much attention in recent years due to its potential to capture CO2 with a high capacity and excellent cyclic stability. Implementation of the approach largely depends on the equilibrium between CO2 partial pressure and temperature of the sorbents...

Although considered one of the major energy-intensive industries (EIIs), the pulp and paper industry has also the potential for energy production from an industrial waste, black liquor. This study proposes black liquor gasification (BLG) coupled with calcium looping (CaL) as a CO2 capture route for the pulp and paper industry. BLG with H2 productio...

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions are the main cause of global climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the worst of its kind in the last century with regard to global deaths and, in the absence of any effective treatment, it led to governments worldwide mandating lock-down measures, as well as citizens voluntarily reducing non-es...

This work explored formulation of mesoporous silicas pellets using a range of bentonite and colloidal silica (LUDOX), aiming to optimise the binder composition that minimises any deteriorating effects on adsorption performance, while provides an adequate mechanical integrity. Thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic mec...

Climate change mitigation requires developing low-carbon technologies capable of achieving CO2 emission reductions at the gigatonne scale and affordable cost. Biomass gasification, coupled with carbon capture and storage, offers a direction to atmospheric CO2 removal. To compensate for the issues associate with the high-investment requirement of CO...

Biomethane, produced by biogas upgrading, is a promising energy source that can play a key role towards net-zero emissions targets. The incorporation of amine functionalities into adsorbents for biogas upgrading can facilitate the selective adsorption of CO2, but their effect has not been comprehensively studied within the context of CH4 mixtures....

Biogas dry reforming is a promising technology for converting biomass into high-value products and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Recent improvements to biogas reforming have mainly focused on the preparation of functional catalysts; however, little attention has been paid to the effects of catalyst configuration in plug flow reactors. In this...

Pulp and paper is considered to be the fourth most energy-intensive industry (EII) worldwide. However, as most of the CO2 emissions are of biomass origin, this sector has the potential to become a carbon-negative industry. This study proposes a new concept for conversion of the pulp and paper industry to carbon negative that relies on the inherent...

Calcium looping combustion (CaLC), which comprises an indirectly-heated calciner, is characterised with lower energy intensity and economic penalties compared to that of mature CO2 capture technologies. As CaLC is a standalone power boiler, integration of advanced power cycles can lead to further improvement in net efficiency and reduction in the c...

Hydrogen is an attractive energy carrier that will play a key role in future global energy transitions. This work investigates the techno-economic performance of six different sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) configurations integrated with an indirect natural gas or biomass-fired calciner, oxy-fuel combustion and chemical-looping...

Carbon dioxide-abated hydrogen can be synthesised via various processes, one of which is sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR), which produces separated streams of high purity H2 and CO2. Properties of hydrogen and the sorbent material hinder the ability to rapidly upscale SE-SMR, therefore the use of artificial intelligence models, is...

Clean and carbon-free hydrogen production is expected to play a vital role in future global energy transitions. In this work, six process arrangements for sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) are proposed for blue H2 production: 1) SE-SMR with an air fired calciner, 2) SE-SMR with a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) unit, 3) SE-SMR ther...

Selective removal of CO2 during biogas upgrading and subsequent sequestration can transform the produced biomethane from a carbon-neutral to carbon-negative energy source. Such technology can be considered as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), i.e., as a negative-emission technology (NET). In this research, porous polymeric beads (P...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is expected to play a key role in meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. In the UK Southern North Sea, the Bunter Sandstone formation (BSF) has been identified as a potential reservoir which can store very large amounts of CO2. The formation has fairly good porosity and permeability and is sealed with b...

Oxy-fuel combustion is regarded as a feasible technology that can contribute towards decarbonisation of the power industry. Although it has been shown that oxy-fuel combustion results in lower carbon dioxide emissions at a lower cost of carbon dioxide captured compared to the mature amine scrubbing process, its implementation still results in high...

Start-up conditions largely dictate the performance longevity for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The SOFC anode is typically deposited as NiO-ceramic that is reduced to Ni-ceramic during start-up. Effective reduction is imperative to ensuring that the anode is electrochemically active and able to produce electronic and ionic current; the bi-polar...

Carbon capture and storage is crucial to decarbonising the power sector, as no other technology can significantly reduce emissions from fossil fuel power generation systems. Yet, the mature CO2 capture technologies result in net efficiency penalties of at least 7% points. Emerging technologies, such as calcium looping combustion, can reduce the net...

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the main driver of climate change. Currently, CO2 utilization is increasingly attracting interest in processes like enhanced oil recovery and coal bed methane and it has the potential to be used in hydraulic fracturing processes, among others. In this review, the la...

Structured packing has been used for gas-liquid reactions in several industrial processes, including amine-based CO2 scrubbing. Accurate prediction of flow behaviour within the columns provides a better understanding for process intensification and optimisation, leading to more efficient systems and reduction in capital cost. In this work, three-di...

Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) is considered as the least cost-intensive option towards achieving the emission reduction target by 2050. One of the important technologies to remove CO 2 from different gas streams is solvent-based CO 2 capture. Modelling and simulation of solvent-based CO 2 capture processes have been attracting a l...

Direct air capture (DAC) is a developing technology for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere or from low-CO2-containing sources. In principle, it could be used to remove sufficient CO2 from the atmosphere to compensate for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as aviation, or even for polishing gas streams containing relatively low CO2 con...

Renewable energy sources and low-carbon power generation systems with carbon capture and storage (CCS) are expected to be key contributors towards the decarbonisation of the energy sector and to ensure sustainable energy supply in the future. However, the variable nature of wind and solar power generation systems may affect the operation of the ele...

Pelletization of biomass increases the bulk energy density and the uniformity in size and shape with minimized mechanical degradation from transport, storage, and handling. A pellet can be burned in industrial circulating fluidized-bed or fixed-bed furnaces. This experimental study examines the combustion behavior of single pine wood and empty frui...

Carbonate looping (CaL) has been shown to be less energy-intensive when compared to mature carbon capture technologies. Further reduction in the efficiency penalties can be achieved by employing a more efficient source of heat for the calcination process, instead of oxy-fuel combustion. In this study, a kW-scale solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)-integra...

Recently, natural gas-fired power generation has attracted more attention as they have lower specific CO2 emissions and higher operational flexibility than coal- and oil-fired power generation. In state-of-the-art gas-fired oxy-combustion cycles, combustion takes place at elevated pressure, which enables high efficiency and competitive economic per...

Polymer networks of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) crosslinked with methacrylamide (MAAM), acrylamide (AAm) and triallylamine (TAAm) were synthesised by free radical bulk copolymerisation and their CO2 capture capacities, selectivities, and environmental impacts were compared. At 273 K and CO2 pressure of 1 bar, poly(EGDMA-co-MAAM) copolyme...

The most viable technology for production of ultra-pure hydrogen (>99.99%), required for fuel cells, is steam methane reforming (SMR) coupled with pressure vacuum swing adsorption (PVSA). A PVSA process with a two-layer bed of activated carbon (AC)/zeolite 5A for ultra-pure hydrogen production from syngas was developed and simulated with the aim of...

Porous polymeric adsorbents for CO2 capture (HCP-MAAMs) were fabricated by co-polymerisation of methacrylamide (MAAM) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) using acetonitrile and azobisisobutyronitrile as a porogen and initiator, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed a high density of amide group...

Oxy-fuel combustion is currently gathering attention as one of the promising options for capturing CO 2 efficiently, when applied to power plants, for subsequent carbon sequestration. However, this option requires a large quantity of high-purity oxygen that is usually produced in an energy-intensive air separation unit (ASU). Chemical looping combu...

Carbonation of lime-based materials at high temperatures has been extensively explored in the processes for decarbonisation of the power and industrial sectors. However, their capability to capture carbon dioxide from air at realistic ambient conditions in direct air capture technologies is less explored. In this work, lime and hydrated lime sample...

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in conventional natural gas-fired oxy-combustion cycles is required to maintain the combustion temperature at an allowable level. However, EGR is not beneficial from the system performance perspective. It is difficult to achieve in oxy-fuel cycles due to the high pressure and increased pressure drop in such systems....

A novel polygeneration concept, which has been proposed recently, comprises a fuel-cell calciner integrated system in order to produce electricity and lime which can be used for direct air capture (DAC) to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere. However, the scalability of the integrated system needs to be further studied. In this work, calcination of lim...

Calcium looping combustion (CaLC) is a new class of lowCO2emission technologies for thermochemical conversion of carbonaceous fuels that can help achieve the emissions reduction targets set out in the Paris Agreement. Compared to mature CO2 capture technologies, which cause net efficiency penalties higher than 7% points, CaLC results in a net effic...

Carbon capture and storage is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving the emission reduction targets established by the Paris Agreement. However, the most mature technologies have been shown to reduce the net efficiency of fossil fuel-fired power plants by at least 7% points, increasing the electricity cost. Carbonate looping is a technology t...

In this article, a process for sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming in an adiabatic fixed-bed reactor coupled with a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is evaluated using a 1D numerical reactor model combined with a simplified fuel cell simulation. A novel material comprising CaO/CuO/Al2O3(NiO) pellets is considered. Three operating stages are consi...

Accounting for ~8% of annual global CO2 emissions, the iron and steel industry is expected to undertake the largest contribution to industrial decarbonisation. Despite the launch of several national and regional programmes for low-carbon steelmaking, the techno-economically feasible options are still lacking. Here, based on the carbon capture and s...

This experimental study explores the burning characteristics of single pellets made of wood and coal mixtures for co-firing. Three types of pellets were prepared with different wood to coal ratios (100:0, 80:20% and 50:50%). Experiments were carried out in a laboratory reactor at rapid heating rates and under oxygen concentrations between 10% and 4...

The Bunter Sandstone formation in the UK's southern North Sea has been identified as having the potential to store large volumes of CO 2. Prior to injection, CO 2 is captured with certain amounts of impurities, usually less than 5% vol. The dissolution of these impurities in formation water can cause chemical reactions between CO2 , brine, and rock...

One of the main challenges for commercialising calcium looping (CaL) as a CO 2 capture technology is maintaining a high level of sorbent reactivity during long-term cycling. In order to mitigate the decay in carrying capacity, research has moved towards producing enhanced sorbents. However, this creates potential problems related to ease of scaling...

In oxy‐fuel combustion, fuel is burned using oxygen together with recycled flue gas, which is needed to control the combustion temperature. This leads to higher concentrations of sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide in the recycled gas, which can result in the formation of sulfuric acid and enhanced corrosion. Current experimental data on SO3 formati...

It is widely accepted that emissions of CO2, which is a major greenhouse gas, are the primary cause of climate change. This has led to the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies in which CO2 is captured from large-scale point sources such as power plants. However, retrofits of carbon capture plants result in high efficiency pe...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been shown to be the least cost-intensive option for decarbonisation of the power, heat, and industrial sectors. Importantly, negative-emission technologies, including direct air capture (DAC), may still be required after near-complete decarbonisation of the stationary emission sources. This study evaluates the...

Ca-Cu chemical looping is a novel and promising approach in converting methane into pure H2 following the principle of sorption-enhanced reforming. Its operational efficiency is largely determined by an appropriate coexistence of Cu-based oxygen carriers and Ni-based catalysts. In this work, NiO/CuO composites were synthesized and their catalytic a...

An autothermal sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming in a packed-bed reactor for production of high-purity hydrogen was studied by means of 1D numerical model. The reactor utilises a CaO/CuO/Al2O3(NiO) catalyst. This process is characterised by a number of challenges, such as the choice of the operating conditions to ensure both a production of...

Steam can be fully or partially substituted by CO2 as a gasification agent. This substitution affects producer gas composition, char conversion and in-situ tar reforming. Here, wood chips were gasified in a spouting fluidised bed using silica sand and catalytic dolomitic lime as the bed material at 850 °C. The use of a gasifying agent composed of C...

Direct air capture of CO2 has the potential to help meet the ambitious environmental targets established by the Paris Agreement. This study assessed the techno-economic feasibility of a process for simultaneous power generation and CO2 removal from the air using solid sorbents. The process uses a solid-oxide fuel cell to convert the chemical energy...

Carbon capture and storage is expected to play a key role in decarbonisation of the power and industrial sectors, with calcium looping (CaL) being regarded as a well-developed technology that can reduce energy and economic penalties associated with mature technologies. Nevertheless, retrofits of CaL to coal-fired power plants result in net efficien...

A series of poly[methacrylamide-co-(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate)] (poly(MAAM-co-EGDMA)) porous polymeric particles with high CO2-philicity, referred to as HCP-MAAM, were synthesised for CO2 capture. The polymers with a MAAM-to-EGDMA molar ratio from 0.3 to 0.9 were inherently nitrogen-enriched and exhibited a high affinity towards selective CO2...

Calcium looping (CaL) is a post-combustion CO2 capture technology that is suitable for retrofitting existing power plants. The CaL process uses limestone as a cheap and readily available CO2 sorbent. While the technology has been widely studied, there are a few available options that could be applied to make it more economically viable. One of thes...

Mature CO 2 capture technologies would reduce the net thermal efficiency of the coal-fired power plant by 7-13% points, leading to an electricity cost increase of at least 60%. To minimise the energy-intensity of CO 2 capture, novel technologies and CO 2 capture materials are being developed. This study assessed the techno-economic feasibility of t...

Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) is a promising alternative for H2 production with inherent CO2 capture. This study evaluates the techno-economic performance of SE-SMR in a network of fixed beds and its integration with a solid oxide fuel cell (SE-SMR-SOFC) for power generation. The analysis revealed that both proposed systems are...

Highly selective molecularly imprinted poly[acrylamide-co-(ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate)] polymer particles (MIPs) for CO2 capture were synthesised by suspension polymerisation via oil-in-oil emulsion. Creation of CO2-philic, amide decorated cavities in the polymer matrix led to a high affinity to CO2. The imprinted polymers showed markedly higher...

An emerging calcium looping process has been shown to be a promising alternative to solvent scrubbing, which is regarded as the most mature CO2 capture technology. Its retrofits to coal-fired power plants have the potential to reduce both energy and economic penalties associated with the mature CO2 capture technologies. However, these conclusions h...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been identified as an urgent, strategic and essential approach to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and mitigate the severe consequences of climate change. CO2 storage is the last step in the CCS chain and can be implemented mainly through oceanic and underground geological sequestration, and mineral carbonati...

This study presents the comparative burning behaviours of single solid particles of coal and biomass mixtures for co-firing. In this experimental investigation, a direct observation approach was used to investigate the ignition, flame characteristics and combustion times by means of high-speed photography at 7000 frames per second. Single particles...

In view of the EU’s circular economy strategy, there is a need to develop treatments that may allow to improve the management of industrial residues such as steel manufacturing slag, for example by producing secondary products that may be used for different applications. This work evaluates the performance of a combined carbonation and granulation...

Copper (II) oxide in varying ratios was combined with either an alumina-based cement (Al300), or CaO derived from limestone as support material in a mechanical pelletiser. This production method was used to investigate its influence on possible mechanical and chemical improvements for oxygen carriers in chemical looping processes. These materials w...

The presence of contaminants in the flue gas stream such as O2, CO2, SOX, and NOX can cause solvent degradation in solvent-based CO2 capture processes. In this study, the major degradation products reactions of the AMP-based CO2 capture process has been included in the Aspen Plus® V8.4 simulation software using equilibrium reactions. Assessing the...

Hypothesis: Predicting formation mode of double emulsion drops in microfluidic emulsification is crucial for controlling the drop size and morphology. Experiments and modelling: A three-phase Volume of Fluid-Continuum Surface Force (VOF-CSF) model was developed, validated with analytical solutions, and used to investigate drop formation in diffe...

Transport of carbon dioxide (CO2) via pipeline from the point of capture to a geologically suitable location for either sequestration or enhanced hydrocarbon recovery is a vital aspect of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) chain. This means of CO2 transport has a number of advantages over other means of CO2 transport, such as truck, rail, and shi...

High-temperature solid looping technologies, such as calcium looping and chemical looping combustion are regarded as emerging CO2 capture technologies with potential to reduce the net efficiency penalties associated with CO2 separation. Importantly, high-temperature operation of these technologies allows utilisation of the high-grade heat for power...