Membranes

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18 pages, 3600 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Artificial Intelligence Control Strategies for a Peristaltically Pumped Low-Pressure Driven Membrane Process

by José-Luis Díez, Vicente Masip-Moret, Asunción Santafé-Moros and José M. Gozálvez-Zafrilla

Membranes 2022, 12(9), 883; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12090883 - 13 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1848

Abstract

Peristaltic pumping is used in membrane applications where high and sterile sealing is required. However, control is difficult due to the pulsating pump characteristics and the time-varying properties of the system. In this work, three artificial intelligence control strategies (artificial neural networks (ANN), [...] Read more.

Peristaltic pumping is used in membrane applications where high and sterile sealing is required. However, control is difficult due to the pulsating pump characteristics and the time-varying properties of the system. In this work, three artificial intelligence control strategies (artificial neural networks (ANN), fuzzy logic expert systems, and fuzzy-integrated local models) were used to regulate transmembrane pressure and crossflow velocity in a microfiltration system under high fouling conditions. A pilot plant was used to obtain the necessary data to identify the AI models and to test the controllers. Humic acid was employed as a foulant, and cleaning-in-place with NaOH was used to restore the membrane state. Several starting operating points were studied and setpoint changes were performed to study the plant dynamics under different control strategies. The results showed that the control approaches were able to control the membrane system, but significant differences in the dynamics were observed. The ANN control was able to achieve the specifications but showed poor dynamics. Expert control was fast but showed problems in different working areas. Local models required less data than ANN, achieving high accuracy and robustness. Therefore, the technique to be used will depend on the available information and the application dynamics requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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16 pages, 3427 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Model Evaluation of the Microbial Metabolic Processes in a Hydrogen-Based Membrane Biofilm Reactor for Simultaneous Bromate and Nitrate Reduction

by Minmin Jiang, Yuanyuan Zhang, Jie Zhang, Xingru Dai, Haixiang Li, Xuehong Zhang, Zhichao Wu and Junjian Zheng

Membranes 2022, 12(8), 774; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12080774 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1774

Abstract

The H₂-based membrane biofilm reactor (H₂-MBfR) has been acknowledged as a cost-effective microbial reduction technology for oxyanion removal from drinking water sources, but it remains unknown how the evolution of biofilm characteristics responds to the changing critical operating parameters [...] Read more.

The H₂-based membrane biofilm reactor (H₂-MBfR) has been acknowledged as a cost-effective microbial reduction technology for oxyanion removal from drinking water sources, but it remains unknown how the evolution of biofilm characteristics responds to the changing critical operating parameters of the H₂-MBfR for simultaneous bromate (BrO₃⁻) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) elimination. Therefore, an expanded multispecies model, applicable to mechanistically interpret the bromate-reducing bacteria (BRB)- and denitrifying bacteria (DNB)-dominated metabolic processes in the biofilm of the H₂-MBfR, was developed in this study. The model outputs indicate that (1) increased BrO₃⁻ loading facilitated the metabolism of BRB by increasing BRB fraction and BrO₃⁻ gradients in the biofilm, but had a marginal influence on NO₃⁻ reduction; (2) H₂ pressure of 0.04 MPa enabled the minimal loss of H₂ and the extension of the active region of BRB and DNB in the biofilm; (3) once the influent NO₃⁻ concentration was beyond 10 mg N/L, the fraction and activity of BRB significantly declined; (4) BRB was more tolerant than DNB for the acidic aquatic environment incurred by the CO₂ pressure over 0.02 MPa. The results corroborate that the degree of microbial competition for substrates and space in the biofilm was dependent on system operating parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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12 pages, 1887 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kenics Static Mixer Combined with Gas Sparging for the Improvement of Cross-Flow Microfiltration: Modeling and Optimization

by Aleksandar Jokić, Nataša Lukić, Ivana Pajčin, Vanja Vlajkov, Selena Dmitrović and Jovana Grahovac

Membranes 2022, 12(7), 690; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070690 - 4 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1892

Abstract

The use of membrane filtration as a downstream process for microbial biomass harvesting is hampered due to the low permeate flux values achieved during the microfiltration of fermentation broths. Several hydrodynamic methods for increasing permeate flux by creating turbulent flow patterns inside the [...] Read more.

The use of membrane filtration as a downstream process for microbial biomass harvesting is hampered due to the low permeate flux values achieved during the microfiltration of fermentation broths. Several hydrodynamic methods for increasing permeate flux by creating turbulent flow patterns inside the membrane module are used to overcome this problem. The main goal of this study was to investigate the combined use of a Kenics static mixer and gas sparging during cross-flow microfiltration of Bacillus velezensis IP22 cultivation broth. Optimization of the microfiltration process was performed by using the response surface methodology. It was found that the combined use of a static mixer and gas sparging leads to a considerable increase in the permeate flux, up to the optimum steady-state permeate flux value of 183.42 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ and specific energy consumption of 0.844 kW·h·m⁻³. The optimum steady-state permeate flux is almost four times higher, whilst, at the same time, the specific energy consumption is almost three times lower compared to the optimum results achieved using gas sparging alone. The combination of Kenics static mixer and gas sparging during cross-flow microfiltration is a promising technique for the enhancement of steady-state permeate flux with simultaneously decreasing specific energy consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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25 pages, 4624 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Structural Optimization of MSF-RO Desalination System

by Lu He, Aipeng Jiang, Qiuyun Huang, Yan Zhao, Chuang Li, Jian Wang and Yudong Xia

Membranes 2022, 12(6), 545; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12060545 - 24 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2419

Abstract

Based on the mathematical modeling and operational optimization studies of reverse osmosis (RO) and multistage flash (MSF) desalination, the structural optimization of the hybrid process was specially studied in this work with the consideration of reducing comprehensive expenses under given operational conditions. Firstly, [...] Read more.

Based on the mathematical modeling and operational optimization studies of reverse osmosis (RO) and multistage flash (MSF) desalination, the structural optimization of the hybrid process was specially studied in this work with the consideration of reducing comprehensive expenses under given operational conditions. Firstly, according to the process mechanism and flowchart of the RO and MSF seawater desalination technologies, seven hybrid structures with different feed conditions were designed, and their connection equations were established for numerical calculation. Then, in order to evaluate the economic performance of the hybrid systems with different structures, the hourly average operational cost equations of RO and MSF processes were established and formulated as the comprehensive evaluation indicators. Next, with a given water production requirement, simulation calculations of the hybrid system with seven different structures were performed. The results show that the hybrid system with the fourth structure has the lowest operational cost of 4.6834 CNY/m³, and at the same time it has the lowest blowdown. However, if we take GOR or production water temperature as the target, the optimal structure of the hybrid system is the fifth or the seventh option. The obtained results are helpful in structural optimization of the hybrid system with aspects of operational cost reduction, maximum GOR, or minimizing the wastewater discharge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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27 pages, 5275 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation and Operational Optimization of RO Based Desalination for Coal-Fired Power Plants’ Wastewater

by Lu He, Yudong Xia, Chuang Li, Aipeng Jiang, Yan Zhao and Fengling Xie

Membranes 2022, 12(5), 478; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12050478 - 29 Apr 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2329

Abstract

Focusing on the problems of opaqueness and high energy consumption in coal-fired power plant wastewater recycling processes, this paper studies the simulation and operational optimization of coal-fired power plant wastewater treatment by taking a coal-fired power plant system in Inner Mongolia as an [...] Read more.

Focusing on the problems of opaqueness and high energy consumption in coal-fired power plant wastewater recycling processes, this paper studies the simulation and operational optimization of coal-fired power plant wastewater treatment by taking a coal-fired power plant system in Inner Mongolia as an example. Firstly, based on the solution–diffusion theory, pressure drop, and osmotic concentration polarization, a mechanistic model equation for coal-fired power plant wastewater treatment is developed. Secondly, the equation fitness and equation parameters are calibrated to obtain an accurate model. Thirdly, the system is simulated and analyzed so as to obtain the influence and change trajectories of different feed flowrates, temperatures, pressures, and concentrations on various aspects of the system’s performance, such as water recovery rate, salt rejection rate, and so on. Finally, in order to reduce the operating cost of the system, an optimization analysis is carried out, with the lowest specific energy consumption and average daily operating cost as optimization goals, and the performance changes of the system before and after optimization under three different working conditions are compared. The results show that adopting the given optimal strategy can significantly reduce the system’s operational cost. This research is helpful for the digitization and low-carbon operation of coal-fired power plant wastewater treatment systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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15 pages, 4037 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Case Study of Calcium Carbonate Crystallization during Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination in Presence of Novel Fluorescent-Tagged Antiscalants

by Konstantin Popov, Maxim Oshchepkov, Alexei Pervov, Vladimir Golovesov, Anastasia Ryabova, Maria Trukhina and Sergey Tkachenko

Membranes 2022, 12(2), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12020194 - 6 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3258

Abstract

Calcium carbonate scaling in reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process is studied in the presence of two novel fluorescent-tagged scale inhibitors 1,8-naphthalimide-tagged polyacrylate (PAA-F1) and 1-hydroxy-7-(6-methoxy-1,3-dioxo-1H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2(3H)-yl)heptane-1,1-diyl-bis(phosphonic acid) (HEDP-F) by fluorescent microscopy (FM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both antiscalants diminished [...] Read more.

Calcium carbonate scaling in reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process is studied in the presence of two novel fluorescent-tagged scale inhibitors 1,8-naphthalimide-tagged polyacrylate (PAA-F1) and 1-hydroxy-7-(6-methoxy-1,3-dioxo-1H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2(3H)-yl)heptane-1,1-diyl-bis(phosphonic acid) (HEDP-F) by fluorescent microscopy (FM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both antiscalants diminished the mean size of calcite crystals relative to the blank experiment. The behavior and localization of HEDP-F and PAA-F1 during calcite scale formation on membrane surface was found to be significantly different from the distribution in similar RO experiments with gypsum, reported earlier. In the former case, both antiscalants are concentrated exactly on the surface of calcium carbonate crystals, while in the latter one they form their own phases (Ca-HEDP-F and Ca-PAA-F1) and are not detected on gypsum scale. The difference is interpreted in terms of interplay between background calcium concentration and sparingly soluble calcium salts’ solubility. HEDP-F reveals slightly higher efficiency than PAA-F1 against calcite scale formation, while PAA-F exhibits a higher ability to change calcite morphology. It is demonstrated that there is a lack of correlation between antiscaling efficacy and ability of antiscalant to change calcium carbonate morphology in a particular case study. An application of fluorescent-tagged antiscalants in RO experiments provides a unique possibility to track the scale inhibitor molecules’ localization during calcite scale formation. Fluorescent-tagged antiscalants are presumed to become a very powerful tool in membrane scaling inhibition studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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14 pages, 3279 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Influencing Factors on the Gas Separation Performance of Carbon Molecular Sieve Membrane Using Machine Learning Technique

by Yanqiu Pan, Liu He, Yisu Ren, Wei Wang and Tonghua Wang

Membranes 2022, 12(1), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12010100 - 17 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3189

Abstract

Gas separation performance of the carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane is influenced by multiple factors including the microstructural characteristics of carbon and gas properties. In this work, the support vector regression (SVR) method as a machine learning technique was applied to the correlation [...] Read more.

Gas separation performance of the carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane is influenced by multiple factors including the microstructural characteristics of carbon and gas properties. In this work, the support vector regression (SVR) method as a machine learning technique was applied to the correlation between the gas separation performance, the multiple membrane structure, and gas characteristic factors of the self-manufactured CMS membrane. A simple quantitative index based on the Robeson’s upper bound line, which indicated the gas permeability and selectivity simultaneously, was proposed to measure the gas separation performance of CMS membrane. Based on the calculation results, the inferred key factors affecting the gas permeability of CMS membrane were the fractional free volume (FFV) of the precursor, the average interlayer spacing of graphite-like carbon sheet, and the final carbonization temperature. Moreover, the most influential factors for the gas separation performance were supposed to be the two structural factors of precursor influencing the porosity of CMS membrane, the carbon residue and the FFV, and the ratio of the gas kinetic diameters. The results would be helpful to the structural optimization and the separation performance improvement of CMS membrane. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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13 pages, 485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Simulation of Either Co-Current or Countercurrent Operated Reverse-Osmosis-Based Air Water Generator

by Marc Fill and Mirko Kleingries

Membranes 2021, 11(12), 913; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11120913 - 23 Nov 2021

Viewed by 2367

Abstract

Technologies for obtaining drinkable water are becoming more important as global water consumption steadily increases and climate change progresses. One possibility for obtaining water is the extraction of water vapor from ambient air by means of air water generators (AWG). Previous studies in [...] Read more.

Technologies for obtaining drinkable water are becoming more important as global water consumption steadily increases and climate change progresses. One possibility for obtaining water is the extraction of water vapor from ambient air by means of air water generators (AWG). Previous studies in the field of AWG have mainly dealt with the condensation of humidity on cold surfaces with a cooling system or with absorption and thermal desorption. In this paper, another possibility for AWG is investigated, specifically AWG using absorption and reverse osmosis. For this purpose, models have been set up for an absorber operated in countercurrent and reverse osmosis membrane modules operated in co-current and countercurrent. With these models, simulations with different boundary conditions were then carried out using the programming language Python. The simulations have shown that the reverse osmosis membrane modules operated in countercurrent generally have a lower energy demand and require fewer reverse osmosis stages than those operated in co-current. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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22 pages, 7156 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Assessment of Sieverts Law Assumptions and ‘n’ Values in Palladium Membranes: Experimental and Theoretical Analyses

by Abdulrahman Alraeesi and Tracy Gardner

Membranes 2021, 11(10), 778; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11100778 - 12 Oct 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7777

Abstract

Palladium and palladium alloy membranes are superior materials for hydrogen purification, removal, or reaction processes. Sieverts’ Law suggests that the flux of hydrogen through such membranes is proportional to the difference between the feed and permeate side partial pressures, each raised to the [...] Read more.

Palladium and palladium alloy membranes are superior materials for hydrogen purification, removal, or reaction processes. Sieverts’ Law suggests that the flux of hydrogen through such membranes is proportional to the difference between the feed and permeate side partial pressures, each raised to the 0.5 power (n = 0.5). Sieverts’ Law is widely applied in analyzing the steady state hydrogen permeation through Pd-based membranes, even in some cases where the assumptions made in deriving Sieverts’ Law do not apply. Often permeation data are fit to the model allowing the pressure exponent (n) to vary. This study experimentally assessed the validity of Sieverts’ Law as hydrogen was separated from other gases and theoretically modelled the effects of pressure and temperature on the assumptions and hence the accuracy of the 0.5-power law even with pure hydrogen feed. Hydrogen fluxes through Pd and Pd-Ag alloy foils from feed mixtures (5–83% helium in hydrogen; 473–573 K; with and without a sweep gas) were measured to study the effect of concentration polarization (CP) on hydrogen permeance and the applicability of Sieverts’ Law under such conditions. Concentration polarization was found to dominate hydrogen transport under some experimental conditions, particularly when feed concentrations of hydrogen were low. All mixture feed experiments showed deviation from Sieverts’ Law. For example, the hydrogen flux through Pd foil was found to be proportional to the partial pressure difference (n ≈ 1) rather than being proportional to the difference in the square root of the partial pressures (n = 0.5), as suggested by Sieverts’ Law, indicating the high degree of concentration polarization. A theoretical model accounting for Langmuir adsorption with temperature dependent adsorption equilibrium coefficient was made and used to assess the effect of varying feed pressure from 1–136 atm at fixed temperature, and of varying temperature from 298 to 1273 K at fixed pressure. Adsorption effects, which dominate at high pressure and at low temperature, result in pressure exponents (n) values less than 0.5. With better understanding of the transport steps, a qualitative analysis of literature (n) values of 0.5, 0.5 < n < 1, and n > 1, was conducted suggesting the role of each condition or step on the hydrogen transport based on the empirically fit exponent value. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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17 pages, 11847 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Optimization of Gas Sparging-Assisted Bacterial Cultivation Broth Microfiltration by Response Surface Methodology and Genetic Algorithm

by Aleksandar Jokić, Ivana Pajčin, Nataša Lukić, Vanja Vlajkov, Arpad Kiralj, Selena Dmitrović and Jovana Grahovac

Membranes 2021, 11(9), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090681 - 1 Sep 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2750

Abstract

Production of highly efficient biomass-based microbial biopesticides significantly depends on downstream processing in terms of obtaining as high concentration of viable cells as possible. Microfiltration is one of the recommended operations for microbial biomass separation, but its main limitation is permeate flux decrease [...] Read more.

Production of highly efficient biomass-based microbial biopesticides significantly depends on downstream processing in terms of obtaining as high concentration of viable cells as possible. Microfiltration is one of the recommended operations for microbial biomass separation, but its main limitation is permeate flux decrease due to the membrane fouling. The effect of air sparging as a hydrodynamic technique for improvement of permeate flux during microfiltration of Bacillus velezensis cultivation broth was investigated. Modeling of the microfiltration was performed using the response surface methodology, while desirability function approach and genetic algorithm were applied for optimization, i.e., maximization of permeate flux and minimization of specific energy consumption. The results have revealed antagonistic relationship between the investigated dependent variables. The optimized values of superficial feed velocity and transmembrane pressure were close to the mean values of the investigated value ranges (0.68 bar and 0.96 m/s, respectively), while the optimized value of superficial air velocity had a more narrow distribution around 0.25 m/s. The results of this study have revealed a significant improvement of microfiltration performance by applying air sparging, thus this flux improvement method should be further investigated in downstream processing of different bacterial cultivation broths. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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20 pages, 5022 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Structure-Property Relationship on the Example of Gas Separation Characteristics of Poly(Arylene Ether Ketone)s and Poly(Diphenylene Phtalide)

by Alexandre Alentiev, Sergey Chirkov, Roman Nikiforov, Mikhail Buzin, Oleg Miloserdov, Victoria Ryzhikh, Nikolay Belov, Vera Shaposhnikova and Sergey Salazkin

Membranes 2021, 11(9), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090677 - 31 Aug 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3039

Abstract

Three poly(arylene ether ketone)s (PAEKs) with propylidene (C1, C2) and phtalide (C3) fragments, and one phtalide-containing polyarylene (C4), were synthesized. Their chemical structures were confirmed via ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. The polymers have shown a high [...] Read more.

Three poly(arylene ether ketone)s (PAEKs) with propylidene (C1, C2) and phtalide (C3) fragments, and one phtalide-containing polyarylene (C4), were synthesized. Their chemical structures were confirmed via ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. The polymers have shown a high glass transition temperature (>155 °C), excellent film-forming properties, and a high free volume for this polymer type. The influence of various functional groups in the structure of PAEKs was evaluated. Expectedly, due to higher free volume the introduction of hexafluoropropylidene group to PAEK resulted in higher increase of gas permeability in comparison with propylidene group. The substitution of the fluorine-containing group on a rigid phtalide moiety (C3) significantly increases glass transition temperature of the polymer while gas permeation slightly decreases. Finally, the removal of two ether groups from PAEK structure (C4) leads to a rigid polymer chain that is characterized by highest free volume, gas permeability and diffusion coefficients among the PAEKs under investigation. Methods of modified atomic (MAC) and bond (BC) contributions were applied to estimate gas permeation and diffusion. Both techniques showed reasonable predicted parameters for three polymers while a significant underestimation of gas transport parameters was observed for C4. Gas solubility coefficients for PAEKs were forecasted by “Short polymer chain surface based pre-diction” (SPCSBP) method. Results for all three prediction methods were compared with the ex-perimental data obtained in this work. Predicted parameters were in good agreement with ex-perimental data for phtalide-containing polymers (C3 and C4) while for propylidene-containing poly(arylene ether ketone)s they were overestimated due to a possible influence of propylidene fragment on indices of oligomeric chains. MAC and BC methods demonstrated better prediction power than SPCSBP method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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20 pages, 12504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Influence of Geometric Characteristics of Grain Membranes on Permeability Properties in Porous Sandstone

by Run Shi, Huaiguang Xiao, Chengmeng Shao, Mingzheng Huang and Lei He

Membranes 2021, 11(8), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11080587 - 31 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2843

Abstract

Studying the influence of grain characteristics on fluid flow in complex porous rock is one of the most important premises to reveal the permeability mechanism. Previous studies have mainly investigated the fluid flow laws in complex rock structures using an uncontrollable one single [...] Read more.

Studying the influence of grain characteristics on fluid flow in complex porous rock is one of the most important premises to reveal the permeability mechanism. Previous studies have mainly investigated the fluid flow laws in complex rock structures using an uncontrollable one single parameter of natural rock models or oversimplified control group models. In order to solve these problems, this paper proposes a novel method to reconstruct models that can independently control one single parameter of rock grain membranes based on mapping and reverse-mapping ideas. The lattice Boltzmann method is used to analyze the influence of grain parameters (grain radius, space, roundness, orientation, and model resolution) on the permeability characteristics (porosity, connectivity, permeability, flow path, and flow velocity). Results show that the grain radius and space have highly positive and negative correlations with permeability properties. The effect of grain roundness and resolution on permeability properties shows a strong regularity, while grain orientation on permeability properties shows strong randomness. This study is of great significance to reveal the fluid flow laws of natural rock structures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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Review

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28 pages, 2802 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Critical Review of Renewable Hydrogen Production Methods: Factors Affecting Their Scale-Up and Its Role in Future Energy Generation

by Ephraim Bonah Agyekum, Christabel Nutakor, Ahmed M. Agwa and Salah Kamel

Membranes 2022, 12(2), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12020173 - 1 Feb 2022

Cited by 174 | Viewed by 21072

Abstract

An increase in human activities and population growth have significantly increased the world’s energy demands. The major source of energy for the world today is from fossil fuels, which are polluting and degrading the environment due to the emission of greenhouse gases. Hydrogen [...] Read more.

An increase in human activities and population growth have significantly increased the world’s energy demands. The major source of energy for the world today is from fossil fuels, which are polluting and degrading the environment due to the emission of greenhouse gases. Hydrogen is an identified efficient energy carrier and can be obtained through renewable and non-renewable sources. An overview of renewable sources of hydrogen production which focuses on water splitting (electrolysis, thermolysis, and photolysis) and biomass (biological and thermochemical) mechanisms is presented in this study. The limitations associated with these mechanisms are discussed. The study also looks at some critical factors that hinders the scaling up of the hydrogen economy globally. Key among these factors are issues relating to the absence of a value chain for clean hydrogen, storage and transportation of hydrogen, high cost of production, lack of international standards, and risks in investment. The study ends with some future research recommendations for researchers to help enhance the technical efficiencies of some production mechanisms, and policy direction to governments to reduce investment risks in the sector to scale the hydrogen economy up. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling and Simulation of Industrial and Environmental Processes with Membranes)

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