• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1444-1452
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• 2007

An in vitro experiment was conducted to evaluate the differences in microbial activity of five faecal inocula from weaned pigs and one faecal inoculum from unweaned pigs in combination with 6 substrates. The substrates tested were negative control diet, corn, soybean meal, oligofructose (OF), ground chicory roots and a mixture (60% chicory pulp and 40% OF). The inocula used were derived from pigs fed either a corn-soy based diet without antibiotics (NCON), the NCON diet supplemented with oligofructose (OF), a mixture of chicory pulp (40%) and OF (60%) (MIX), ground chicory roots (CHR) or the NCON diet supplemented with antibiotics (PCON). The cumulative gas production measured fermentation kinetics and end products, such as total gas production, ammonia and volatile fatty acids, were also determined. Both the substrate and the inoculum significantly affected the fermentation characteristics. The cumulative gas production curve showed that different substrates caused more differences in traits of fermentation kinetics than the different inocula. Inocula of weaned pigs gave a significantly higher VFA production compared to the inoculum from unweaned animals, whilst the rate of fermentation and the total gas produced did not differ. OF showed the highest fermentation kinetics and the lowest $NH_3$, pH and OM loss compared to other substrates. It was concluded that the microbial activity was significantly affected by substrate and inoculum. Inoculum from weaned pigs had more potential for microbial fermentation of the carbohydrate ingredients and oligofructose than that of unweaned pigs. A combination of high and low polymer inulin may be more beneficial to the gut ecosystem than using high- or low-polymer inulin alone.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to determine the roughage to concentrate (R:C) ratio with rain tree pod meal (RPM) supplementation on in vitro fermentation using gas production technique. The experiment design was a 6${\times}$4 factorial arrangement in a CRD. Factor A was 6 levels of R:C ratio (100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100) and factor B was 4 levels of RPM (0, 4, 8 and 12 mg). It was found that gas kinetic, extent rate (c) was linearly increased (p<0.01) with an increasing level of concentrate while cumulative gas production (96 h) was higher in R:C of 40:60. In addition, interaction of R:C ratio and RPM level affected $NH_3-N$ and IVDMD and were highest in R:C of 0:100 with 0, 4 mg of RPM and 40:60 with 8 mg of RPM, respectively. Moreover, interaction of R:C ratio and RPM level significantly increased total volatile fatty acids and propionate concentration whereas lower acetate, acetate to propionate ratios and $CH_4$ production in R:C of 20:80 with 8 mg of RPM. Moreover, the two factors, R:C ratio and RPM level influenced the protozoal population and the percentage of methanogens in the total bacteria population. In addition, the use of real-time PCR found that a high level of concentrate in the diet remarkably decreased three cellulolytic bacteria numbers (F. succinogenes, R. flavefaciens and R. albus). Based on this study, it is suggested that the ratio of R:C at 40:60 and RPM level at 12 mg could improve ruminal fluid fermentation in terms of reducing fermentation losses, thus improving VFA profiles and ruminal ecology.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.12-25
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• 2007

Numerical simulation of the natural gas steam reforming process for on-site hydrogen production in a $H_2$ fueling station was conducted on the basis of process material and heat balances. The effects of reforming parameters on the process efficiency of hydrogen production were investigated, and set-point values of each of the parameters to minimize the sizes of unit process equipments and to secure a stable operability of the reforming process were suggested. S/C ratio of the reforming reactants was found to be a crucial parameter in the reforming process mostly governing both the hydrogen production efficiency and the stable operability of the process. The operation of the process was regarded to be stable if the feed water(WR) as a reforming reactant could evaporate completely to dry steam through HRSG. The optimum S/C ratio was 3.0 where the process efficiency of hydrogen production was maximized and the stable operability of the process was secured. The optimum feed rates of natural gas(NGR) and WR as reforming reactants and natural gas(NGB) as a burner fuel were also determined for the hydrogen production rate of $27\;Nm^3/h$.

• Bulletin of the Korea Photovoltaic Society
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2018

Natural gas demand for power generation continued to increase until 2013 due to the expansion of large-scale LNG power plants after the black-out of 2011. However, natural gas demand for power generation has decreased sharply due to the increase of nuclear power and coal power generation. But demand for power generation has increased again as energy policies have changed, such as reducing nuclear power and coal power plants, and abnormal high temperatures and cold waves have occurred. If the gas pipeline pressure can be properly maintained by predicting these fluctuations, it can contribute to enhancement of operation efficiency by minimizing the operation time of facilities required for production and supply. In this study, we have developed a regression model with daily power demand and base power generation capacity as explanatory variables considering characteristics by day of week. The model was constructed using data from January 2013 to December 2016, and it was confirmed that the error rate was 4.12% and the error rate in the 90th percentile was below 8.85%.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.110-116
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• 2017

Recently the global warming caused by greenhouse gas has emerged as a global environmental problem. For this reason the continued efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission by international cooperation and each country are in progress. Climate changing has been recognized as the world economy development from fossil fuel use is the culprit. The international maritime organization marine environment protection committee of the global warming reduction emerged restrictions on air pollution have been strengthened. Therefore, the author has investigated the effects of fuel temperature on the characteristics of combustion and performance, using an four-cycle, six cylinders and direct injection diesel engine. The results of cylinder pressure, rate of pressure rise, rate of heat release and specific fuel consumption were increased by changing of fuel temperature.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.864-873
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• 2013

In developing countries, biogas energy production is seen as a technology that can provide clean energy in poor regions and reduce pollution caused by animal manure. Laboratories in these countries have little access to advanced gas measuring equipment, which may limit research aimed at improving local adapted biogas production. They may also be unable to produce valid estimates of an international standard that can be used for articles published in international peer-reviewed science journals. This study tested and validated methods for measuring total biogas and methane ($CH_4$) production using batch fermentation and for characterizing the biomass. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) ($CH_4$ NL $kg^{-1}$ VS) of pig manure, cow manure and cellulose determined with the Moller and VDI methods was not significantly different in this test (p>0.05). The biodegradability using a ratio of BMP and theoretical BMP (TBMP) was slightly higher using the Hansen method, but differences were not significant. Degradation rate assessed by methane formation rate showed wide variation within the batch method tested. The first-order kinetics constant k for the cumulative methane production curve was highest when two animal manures were fermented using the VDI 4630 method, indicating that this method was able to reach steady conditions in a shorter time, reducing fermentation duration. In precision tests, the repeatability of the relative standard deviation (RSDr) for all batch methods was very low (4.8 to 8.1%), while the reproducibility of the relative standard deviation (RSDR) varied widely, from 7.3 to 19.8%. In determination of biomethane concentration, the values obtained using the liquid replacement method (LRM) were comparable to those obtained using gas chromatography (GC). This indicates that the LRM method could be used to determine biomethane concentration in biogas in laboratories with limited access to GC.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2009

The steam reformer for hydrogen production from methane is studied by a numerical method. Langmuir- Hinshelwood model is incorporated for catalytic surface reactions, and the pseudo-homogeneous model is used to take into account local equilibrium phenomena between a catalyst and bulk gas. Dominant chemical reactions are Steam Reforming (SR) reaction, Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction, and Direct Steam Reforming (DSR) reaction. The numerical results are validated with experimental results at the same operating conditions. Using the validated code, parametric study has been numerically performed in view of the steam reformer performance. As increasing a wall temperature, the fuel conversion increases due to the high heat transfer rate. When Steam to Carbon Ratio (SCR) increases, the concentration of carbon monoxide decreases since WGS reaction becomes more active. When increasing Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV), the fuel conversion decreases due to the heat transfer limitation and the low residence time. The reactor shape effects are also investigated. The length and radius of cylindrical reactors are changed at the same catalyst volume. The longer steam reformer is, the better steam reformer performs. However, system energy efficiency decreases due to the large pressure drop.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1757-1762
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• 2023

Radiological hazards from external exposure of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) scales residues, generated during the extraction process of oil and gas production in southern Algeria, are evaluated. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured using high-purity gamma-ray spectrometry (GeHP). Mean activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, found in scale samples are 4082 ± 41, 1060 ± 38 and 568 ± 36 Bq kg^-1, respectively. Radiological hazard parameters, such as radium equivalent (Ra_eq), external and internal hazard indices (H_ex, H_in), and gamma index (I_γ) are also evaluated. All hazard parameter values were greater than the permissible and recommended limits and the average annual effective dose value exceeded the dose constraint (0.3 mSv y^-1). However, for occasionally exposed workers, the dose rate of 0.65 ± 0.02 mSv y^-1 is lower than recommended limit of 1 mSv y^-1 for public.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.380-383
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• 2003

The gas dilution technique was used to evaluate the possibility of estimating the volume of gaseous phase in the rumen from its composition in sheep given rice whole crop silage (RWS) or dent corn silage (DCS) at a level of maintenance (M) or 2 M, and in the course of fasting. The rumen gas composition was determined at 2 and 7.5 h after morning feeding. Nitrogen gas was injected by using an airtight syringe into the rumen immediately after collecting the rumen gas sample as a control. Then rumen gas samples were collected at 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min. after injection. Dry-matter intakes were $42g/kg^{0.75}$ and $57g/kg^{0.75}$ for DCS, and $36g/kg^{0.75}$ and $59g/kg^{0.75}$ for RWS, at 1 M and 2 M levels, respectively. Animals ingested both silages about 20% less than expected at 2 M level. The rumen gas composition did not differ significantly between 2 h and 7.5 h after feeding except for $N_2$. Content of $CO_2$ in gas composition was significantly higher at 2 M level than at 1 M (p<0.05) for both RWS and DCS, whereas $CH_4$ showed no significant difference between feeding levels. At both feeding levels, $CO_2$ showed a higher (p<0.05) percentage in DCS than RWS. A dilution technique by using $N_2$ injection is not appropriate for the determination of gas production in vivo, unless the rate of rumen gas turnover is considered. Changes in composition at fasting indicate that the rumen fermentation may reach the lowest level after 72 h fasting for sheep given silage as their sole diet.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1177-1184
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• 2011

Gas-to-Solid (GTS) technology is composed of three stages: hydrate production, transportation, and regasification. For efficient operation of regasification plants, it is crucial to predict the temperature and flow rate of hot water necessary to dissociate the hydrate pellets. Dissociated gas escaping from the pellet surface, when in contact with hot water, will alter the flow field and consequently alter the heat transfer rate. Methane hydrate pellet dissociation characteristics in low- to moderatetemperature water were investigated by taking images of the changes in the hydrate pellets' shapes in a pressurized reactor and measuring the total time required for complete melting of the pellets. The effects of water temperature, hydrate conversion rate, and flow speed on the dissociation completion time were also investigated. Bubbling gas released from the pellet surface induced a secondary flow that enhanced the heat transfer rate and thus decreased the dissociation time. It was also found that a considerable flow rate was needed to significantly decrease the dissociation time.