Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Acid Rain: The Effects, Torrey Mortimer

Social Sciences

In a world experiencing increasing population, urbanization, and developing nations looking to compete on a global market with post-industrial nations, the effects of acid precipitation require greater consideration. As the world’s energy demand rises, and with the cheapest and most abundant source of energy being coal, the occurrence of acid precipitation is on the rise.

The goal of my project is to research and report on the effects of acid deposition on humans, animals and the environment that surrounds them. When I have completed my project, I hope to be able to explain the impacts that acid deposition has on …

Case Study: Feasibility Analysis Of Renewable Energy Supply Systems In A Small Grid Connected Resort, Jody Robins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper presents a case study on the feasibility of a small grid connected resort in the marine west coast climate of Canada to implement a renewable energy supply system. The current industry conditions of three renewable energy systems are explored including small and large wind energy conversion systems, solar photovoltaic cell systems, and energy cell systems. Furthermore, these three systems are evaluated using the power load, wind, and solar radiation information from a specific resort. The renewable energy source assessment and optimization software HOMER (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US) is used to evaluate the costs and benefits of each …

Is It Windy Enough For You? The Potential For Wind Energy To Generate Electricity, Income, And Energy Security In Rural East-Central Nebraska, Roy M. Zach

Student Work

Citizens living in the Columbus, Nebraska area once met all of their local electric power needs via the Columbus and Monroe hydropower facilities. Today, this area imports significant quantities of electricity via high voltage power transmission lines, thereby creating dependencies on areas far away. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential for wind power within this area of Nebraska—in order to generate electricity, income, and energy security at a more local level. A thorough analysis of the local wind resource, and its comparison to the local electric power demand, demonstrates the economic feasibility of producing electricity from …

Forecasting Usaf Jp-8 Fuel Needs, Omer Saglam

Theses and Dissertations

Oil is still one of the strategic energy resources for both the U.S. and the USAF today. Accurate oil prediction is important for the U.S. in order to improve the national strategy and the related budget concerns. Today, the U.S. is roughly importing 58% of its petroleum products. Moreover, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 the USAF total energy costs exceeded $6.9 billion. Aviation fuel accounted for approximately 81% of the total AF energy costs. Fluctuations in oil prices have huge impacts on the USAF’s JP-8 budgetary calculations. In order to handle this problem, the need for accurate forecasts arises. In …

An Evaluation Of Solar Air Heating At United States Air Force Installations, David S. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of solar air heating at U.S. Air Force installations. Specifically, this thesis analyzed Unglazed Transpired Collector (UTC) technology, more commonly known as SolarWalls®. This thesis sought to determine if UTC systems are an economically and environmentally viable technology which Air Force energy managers should include in their portfolio of alternative energy options. This research question was answered through the use of case studies and life-cycle cost analysis. Case studies were performed at various U.S. military installations which have already utilized UTC systems to provide a consolidated source of lessons learned. …

Jet Fuel Hedging Strategies For The Department Of Defense Through Use Of Financial Derivatives, William T. Gibson

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this research is to assess the practicality of utilizing some of the financial derivative products available on the market today in an effort to mitigate monetary losses due to the increasing price of jet fuel, thereby increasing stability in the DOD budget. The scope of this research will focus on the use of futures and call option contracts. Domestic jet fuel expenditure data was collected for Fiscal Years 1996 to 2007 and cross-referenced with the contract process of the previously mentioned financial hedging instruments during the same period of time. Results from the ex post facto …

Waste Vegetable Oil As An Alternative Fuel For Diesel Vehicles, Harvey S. Gaber

Theses and Dissertations

Alternative fuels have become a hot topic in the news as the cost of oil remains volatile. Questions of whether acquiring alternative fuels are worth the cost, logistics, and political implications are being asked. A possible solution may be currently thrown away by Wright Patterson Air Force Base’s (WPAFB) dining establishments in the form of Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO). This study researched the benefits and costs of pursuing the installation of a WVO to Straight Vegetable Oil fuel processing center and using the fuel to power some of the base’s diesel vehicles. A pilot program was fielded utilizing the Wright …

A Metagenomic Analysis Of Microbial Contamination In Aviation Fuels, Jerrod P. Mccomb

Theses and Dissertations

Microbial contamination in aviation fuel arises due to the impracticality of keeping fuel tanks sterile and the inevitable presence of water from condensation. Microbial contaminants in aviation fuels are a concern because of their potential to degrade the fuel, accelerate corrosion within the fuel tank, and threaten flight safety. This research aids in mitigating those problems by comprehensively characterizing the microbial communities affecting aviation fuels. Advances in molecular biological techniques have allowed for the identification of microorganisms which were not identified by the traditional culture-based methodologies used in previous studies. This study employed a molecular method known as 16S rDNA …

Ohio River Denial As A Transportation Corridor And Its Economic Impacts On The Energy Industry, Caglar Utku Guler

Theses and Dissertations

What if the Ohio River is disrupted or denied partially or completely as a transportation corridor? A disruption may be either a natural or man-made disaster or a planned outage on the river’s lock and dam structures. Recent history is full of water transport disruption events having significant economic effects on the waterside industries. To assess coal-based economic impacts, we developed a network flow model to represent waterside coal-fired power plants situated along the Ohio River, their respective coal supplying mines, and the various transportation modes that connect them. We show that significant transportation-centric insights can be derived by using …

An Experimental Study Of The Hydrodynamics Of Multiphase Flow In Fluidized Beds, Gerardo Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Fluidized bed reactors have been widely used as a gasifier in coal gasification processes to convert coal into other forms of energy. At this stage, full fluidization is required to attain the best thermochemical reaction within the fluid-solid mixture. This can only be achieved if the fluid is maintained between minimum fluidization and terminal velocities. To better understand the hydrodynamics of multiphase flow, a fluidized bed was designed and constructed to carry out the investigation. Compressed air and 1-mm glass beads were used to determine gas minimum fluidization and terminal velocities at three different particle concentrations. The solids were enclosed …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Micro-Hydropower Projects In Nepal, Shradha Upadhayay

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Experimental And Numerical Study Of A Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer For Hydrogen Production, Sachin S. Deshmukh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hydrogen as a fuel source has received attention from researchers globally due to its potential to replace fossil based fuels for energy production. Research is being performed on hydrogen production, storage and utilization methods to make its use economically feasible relative to current energy sources. The PEM electrolyzer is used to produce hydrogen and oxygen using water and electricity. Focus of our study is to provide a benchmark experiment and numerical model of a single cell electrolyzer that can assist in improving the current state of understanding of this system. Parametric analysis of an experimental cell was performed to understand …

Optimization Of Channel Geometry In A Proton Exchange Membrane (Pem) Fuel Cell, Jephanya Kasukurthi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar plates are the important components of the PEM fuel cell. The flow distribution inside the bipolar plate should be uniform. Non-uniform flow distribution inside the bipolar leads to poor performance of the fuel cell and wastage of expensive catalyst. A single channel PEM fuel cell is taken and electrochemical analysis is carried out on it. The results are compared with the available published experimental data obtained by other research group, and they are found to be in good agreement. A baseline design of the bipolar plate is taken and numerical analysis is carried out. The results show that the …

Optimization Of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Design, Krishna C. Pulagam

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) is dependent of a set of complex physical and chemical processes occurring simultaneously. Interconnect for SOFC is important as it provides electrical connection between anode of one individual cell to the cathode of neighboring one. It also acts as a physical barrier to protect the air electrode material from the reducing environment of the fuel on the fuel electrode side, and it equally prevents the fuel electrode material from contacting with oxidizing atmosphere of the oxidant electrode side. A three-dimensional numerical model has been developed to evaluate the SOFC including the current collector, …

Characterization Of Iron Oxide Thin Films For Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production, Kyle Eustace Nelson George

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Solar energy is the most sustainable source of energy available. However, solar applications such as photovoltaic cells represent only a partial solution to weaning our dependence upon fossil fuels. Several methods of storing solar energy are currently being pursued, and chemical storage stands out as a promising option - combining design simplicity with high energy density, with hydrogen being particularly attractive because of its abundance and inherently clean nature. A monolithic Photoelectrochemical (PEC) device that produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water directly from sunlight has the benefit of utilizing "free" solar energy to drive the reaction.

Although α-Fe 2 O 3 …

Two-Tank Indirect Thermal Storage Designs For Solar Parabolic Trough Power Plants, Joseph E. Kopp

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The performance of a solar thermal parabolic trough plant with thermal storage is dependent upon the arrangement of the heat exchangers that ultimately transfer energy from the sun into steam. The steam is utilized in a traditional Rankine cycle power plant. The most commercially accepted thermal storage design is an indirect two-tank molten salt storage system where molten salt interacts with the solar field heat transfer fluid (HTF) through a heat exchanger. The molten salt remains in a closed loop with the HTF and the HTF is the heat source for steam generation. An alternate indirect two tank molten salt …