Hydrogen has emerged as a promising candidate for energy storage, offering an alternative to fossil fuels as a primary fuel source. It can be safely stored in a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) and recovered upon demand through the reversible hydrogenation/dehydrogenation of the LOHC. Voyex, a technology-driven startup, is developing a novel LOHC that can be loaded onto ships and dehydrogenated onboard, providing hydrogen for ship propulsion as an alternative to fossil fuels. The successful implementation of this new technology requires a dehydrogenation reactor that may provide the conditions necessary for LOHC dehydrogenation to meet the ship's power demand. This work develops a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate the LOHC dehydrogenation reaction within a cocurrent upward-flow fixed-bed reactor. While lab-scale studies have examined the effect of operating conditions on the dehydrogenation of specific LOHCs, only a few works have studied LOHC dehydrogenation reactors and the inner flow details have yet to be understood. A CFD model will allow for a better understating of the flow, temperature, and species distribution within the reactor, and help gain more insight into the design and operating parameters on the reactor performance as measured by conversion and hydrogen yield. This thesis delves into the distinct phenomena at play within an LOHC dehydrogenation reactor including hydrodynamics, heat transfer, species transport, and reaction kinetics, discussing ways to incorporate them into a numerical model. These effects are brought together in an Eulerian multiphase CFD model, as this approach is found to provide a good balance between modelling accuracy and computational demand. The result of this research is a computationally inexpensive Eulerian multiphase CFD model capable of adapting to various LOHC systems and reactor configurations. Through multiple sensitivity analyses, the impact of design variables including reactor dimensions, temperature, flow rate, and catalyst pellet diameter on reactor performance is explored. These analyses yield valuable insights and design parameters to enhance reactor efficiency. Additionally, these analyses lead to several design improvement proposals such as raising the reactor inlet temperature, using a low inlet LOHC mass flux, incorporating gas-liquid separation methods, adding internal heating mechanisms, and employing internal baffles to disrupt flow and enhance heat transfer. The findings underscore potential for reactor design improvements, thereby proving the CFD model as a research and design tool for packed-bed multiphase reactors.

Particle-laden pipe flows are ubiquitous in industrial applications. Examples are industries like dredging, slurry transport, and the transport of reactants and products in chemical industries. One of the most important factors in these transport processes is the friction coefficient which relates directly to the pumping power which is a significant parameter for industries when viewed from an economic standpoint. The migration of particles in dense suspensions can significantly impact the friction coefficient in pipe flow. The clustering of particles in the core can lead to a reduction in the friction factor compared to a well-mixed particle suspension. This reduction is attributed to the decreased effective viscosity near the pipe wall. While the development lengths of single-phase flows are well known, limited knowledge exists regarding the development of velocity and concentration profiles in suspension flows. The goal of this thesis is to study the development of neutrally buoyant suspension pipe flows. The experimental setup was validated using pressure drop measurements and the entrance length for single-phase pipe flow was obtained. The experiments for suspension flows involved varying the suspension Reynolds number and volume fractions keeping the particle size constant. Ultrasound imaging technique is used to circumvent the opacity of the suspension to study the development of suspension pipe flow. The inlet conditions for concentration were characterized, obtaining a uniform distribution at the inlet. Measurements are conducted at various locations downstream of the pipe and the velocity of the dispersed phase is obtained using ultrasound imaging velocimetry. Additionally, insights into the development of the concentration profile are obtained by checking the convergence towards a fully developed intensity profile, despite the fact that the image intensity doesn’t directly correlate to concentration profiles. The velocity profiles and intensity profiles were analyzed to understand the effect of radial migration on both concentration and velocity profiles. The entrance lengths for concentration and velocity were obtained for volume fractions ranging from 0.17 to 0.25 and suspension Reynolds numbers ranging from 500-2000. The results obtained revealed that the entrance length for concentration was greater than the entrance length for velocity. Scaling of the concentration entrance length with suspension Reynolds number and volume fractions were determined, and suspension Reynolds number scaled with an exponent of -1.62 and volume fraction scaled with an exponent of -2.1. This implies that the entrance length decreases with an increase in suspension Reynolds number and volume fraction. However, no definite trend was observed for the velocity entrance length.

While CO2 is one of the factors increasing the global temperature, it is also utilized in the agriculture to enhance crop yield. In the agriculture, a sustainable solution to CO2 mitigation would potentially lie in the greenhouses. A moisture swing direct air capture system can adsorb CO2 from the air through changes in humidity levels between the adsorption and the desorption stages. During adsorption dry air is required, while during desorption humid air is required. In a greenhouse, where humid air is typically required for the crops and CO2 enhancement is often achieved through fossil-fuel combustion, a moisture swing system could be a sustainable innovation. Insights into the feasibility and potential implementation of a moisture swing column designed to enhance CO2 concentrations within a greenhouse are obtained through an investigation of the key parameters of the sorbent, the effect of global climate conditions on the sorbent, a parameter sensitivity analysis of the performance of the system, and a preliminary techno-economic viability assessment. A one-dimensional numerical model was developed to solve the mass balance of a cylindrical adsorption column. Critical key parameters that affect the CO2 saturation coverage of the sorbent are the gas phase CO2 concentration, the relative humidity, and the temperature. Investigated is how these conditions vary globally, highlighting optimal arid climate regions with a high saturation coverage. It was found that seasonal and diurnal deviations are significantly higher in regions where a lower saturation coverage can be reached. From the sensitivity analysis of the parameters and conditions, it was that a 1.6-meter-long column achieved a system efficiency of 15.0 micromoles of CO2 per kilogram sorbent per second, a water loss of 45.4 moles of water per mole of CO2, and a system productivity of 9.05 moles of CO2 per second. In the short term, the majority of costs are attributed to the capital expenditures, whereas in the long term, operational expenditures become the dominant expense.