There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is broadly recognised as having the potential to play a key role in meeting climate change targets, delivering low carbon heat and power, decarbonising industry and, more recently, its ability to facilitate the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. However, despite this broad consensus and its technical maturity, CCS has not yet been deployed on a scale commensurate with the ambitions articulated a decade ago. Thus, in this paper we review the current state-of-the-art of CO2 capture, transport, utilisation and storage from a multi-scale perspective, moving from the global to molecular scales. In light of the COP21 commitments to limit warming to less than 2 °C, we extend the remit of this study to include the key negative emissions technologies (NETs) of bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), and direct air capture (DAC). Cognisant of the non-technical barriers to deploying CCS, we reflect on recent experience from the UK's CCS commercialisation programme and consider the commercial and political barriers to the large-scale deployment of CCS. In all areas, we focus on identifying and clearly articulating the key research challenges that could usefully be addressed in the coming decade.

/pdf/carbon-capture-and-storage-ccs-the-way-forward-11rgsqyer0.pdf

Carbon capture and storage (CCS): the way forward

The Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction, 4th edn. By C. Chatfield. ISBN 0 412 31820 2. Chapman and Hall, London, 1989. 242 pp. £13.50.

The Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction

Removal of emerging contaminants from the environment by adsorption

An optimisation framework for thermal energy storage integration in a residential heat pump heating system

https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/70387282/2018_Lizana_Friedrich_etal_smart_DSM_preprint.pdf

Energy flexible building through smart demand-side management and latent heat storage

The key challenge in postcombustion capture from gas-fired power plants is related to the low CO2 concentration in the flue gas (4–8% by volume). This means that conventional amine processes will result in a relatively high energy penalty, whereas novel adsorbents and adsorption processes have the potential to improve the efficiency of separation. High-selectivity adsorbents are required to achieve relatively high CO2 uptake at low partial pressures, which means that the separation process should be based on either very strong physisorption or chemisorption with thermal regeneration. From the process point of view, the main challenge is to develop efficient separation processes with rapid thermal cycles. In this report we present a detailed overview of the methodology behind the development of novel materials and processes as part of the “Adsorption Materials and Processes for Gas-fired power plants” (AMPGas) project. Examples from a wide variety of materials tested are presented, and the design of an inn...

Adsorption Materials and Processes for Carbon Capture from Gas-Fired Power Plants- AmpGas

A systematic study of the diffusion mechanism of CO2 in commercial 13X zeolite beads is presented. In order to gain a complete understanding of the diffusion process of CO2, kinetic measurements with a zero length column (ZLC) system and a volumetric apparatus have been carried out. The ZLC experiments were carried out on a single bead of zeolite 13X at 38 °C at a partial pressure of CO2 of 0.1 bar, conditions representative of post-combustion capture. Experiments with different carrier gases clearly show that the diffusion process is controlled by the transport inside the macropores. Volumetric measurements using a Quantachrome Autosorb system were carried out at different concentrations. These experiments are without a carrier gas and the low pressure measurements show clearly Knudsen diffusion control in both the uptake cell and the bead macropores. At increasing CO2 concentrations the transport mechanism shifts from Knudsen diffusion in the macropores to a completely heat limited process. Both sets of experiments are consistent with independent measurements of bead void fraction and tortuosity and confirm that under the range of conditions that are typical of a carbon capture process the system is controlled by macropore diffusion mechanisms.

https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/20079686/2013_Hu_Diffusion_mechanism_of_CO2_in_zeolite_13X_revised_Submitted2.pdf

Diffusion mechanism of CO2 in 13X zeolite beads

https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/76856389/Renaldi_Friedrich_technoeconomic_DLSC_revised.pdf

Daniel Friedrich

Papers

An optimisation framework for thermal energy storage integration in a residential heat pump heating system

Energy flexible building through smart demand-side management and latent heat storage

Adsorption Materials and Processes for Carbon Capture from Gas-Fired Power Plants- AmpGas

Diffusion mechanism of CO2 in 13X zeolite beads

Techno-economic analysis of a solar district heating system with seasonal thermal storage in the UK