Rini Abdullah pmraa@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest:Catalytic Conversion of Bio-Waste
Supervisor: Robert Fowell

Bio-waste, also known as biomass is the best alternative energy conversion because it is abundant and protects environment from global warming by converting waste to energy. In this study, the application of catalyst in biomass gasification to enhance the production of gaseous fuel especially hydrogen is investigated. The catalyst is synthesized and tested in a fixed bed reactor with various operating conditions.

Omar Aljumaiah efy3oa@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Air Starved Compartment Fire: Toxic Hazard and Modelling
Supervisor: Gordon Andrews, Roth Phylaktou

Toxic emissions form enclosure fires cause the majority of fire deaths. Incomplete combustion products in air starved fires are very toxic. Additionally, the CFD modelling of compartment fires is a developing area that depends heavily on experimental results from open fires. Hence, CFD fire codes such as FDS lack the correct toxic yields for low ventilation compartment fires. This work examines the products of combustion in under ventilated compartment fires. And includes; toxicity analysis using FTIR, toxic yields, soot yields, and compartment fire CFD modelling for a range of fuels.

Mohamed Altaher pmaa@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Combustion Modelling in Gas Turbine
Supervisor: Prof. Gordon Andrews. Prof .Mohamed Pourkashanian

The most important gaseous emission in burners at present is that of NOx and CO, with soot or particulates an additional problem with liquid fuels. NOx emissions have a key impact on photochemical smog - particularly ozone formation. NOx also contributes to acid rain. Because of these environmental impacts there are stringent regulations controlling their emissions. NOx can be reduced through the design by improving the mixing. A combined experimental and CFD modeling will be carried out for gas and liquid fuels.   

Shokri Amzin pmsam@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Modelling the Combustion Characteristics of Biofuels of Relevance to Automotive applications
Supervisor: Alison Tomlin

Konstantinos Anastasakis pm06ka@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: An Assessment of Marine Biomass for Energy, Fuels and Chemicals
Supervisor: Jenny Jones

Biomass is a great alternative source of energy as it poses the advantages of being used for providing heat and power as well as for production of liquid fuels and chemicals (after the necessary conversions). However, the available biomass resources are quite limited. Hence a relatively new concept is to utilise marine biomass together with the traditional terrestrial biomass. The aim of this work is to characterise macro-algae commonly found in British shores as fuels (ultimate analysis, proximate analysis, metal analysis etc.) and to convert them into liquid fuels or chemicals by hydrothermal liquefaction and pyrolysis.

Xiaomian Baxter pre1xc@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Influence of Inorganic Constituents in Biomass Combustion
Supervisor: Jenny Jones

The co-firing of biomass with coal in the UK represents a major market due to its short development time, low risk and low cost (compared with other renewable options). Two energy crops, Short Rotating Willow (SRW) and Miscanthus, are selected in UK to supplement coal in power generation. However biomass has different properties than coal. Combustion related problems like slagging and fouling behavior in boiler ash deposition are the most challenging tasks for researchers. Ash deposit formation not only depends on the boiler design and operation, but also depends on properties of fuels. This study is aimed at understanding the effect of different amounts of N, K fertilizer on the fuel properties by quantifying the N, K, Cl, S and ash content in the crops and their impact on combustion related problems (fouling and slagging). 

Liam Bermingham pre3lb@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Environmental Impact of Blasting
Supervisor: Bill Birch

Patrick Biller pre5pb@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Investigation of Micro-algae for Bio-diesel
Supervisor: Andrew Ross

Bill Birch w.j.birch@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: The Prediction of Peak Particle Velocity Vibration Levels in Underground Structures Which Arise from Surface Blasting
Supervisor: Robert Fowell

Faeiza Buyong pmfb@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Optimisation of a Process to Obtain High Value Fuels from Malaysian Municipal Solid Waste
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Catalytic pyrolysis technology has been regarded as one of the productive methods to convert waste into hydrocarbon that can be used as either fuels or chemicals. This study investigates the efficiency of pyrolysis technology in disposing Malaysian municipal solid waste as an alternative method to produce biofuel. Three types of pyrolysis reactors - fluidised bed reactor, horizontal fixed bed reactor and vertical fixed bed reactor are used in this study in order to compare the most effective reactor produce biofuel. Eight types of waste samples are pyrolysed at different temperature and the yielded products are analysed. Moreover, experiments are focusing on optimizing the products to produce high grade fuel by using zeolite catalysts.

Peter Caine fuepjc@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Ignition of Bulk Solid Materials by Localised Hot Spots
Supervisor: Andrew McIntosh

The evaluation of fire and explosion hazards associated with product manufacture, transport and storage is a field that is well developed within a number of chemical processing companies.  However, by furthering detailed understanding within certain areas, these companies can optimise economic operation whilst maintaining and improving safety.

The area of thermal ignition / decomposition of bulk solids by localised hot-spots needs further investigation in order to define the limits of susceptibility, and produce robust screening criteria.  Researchers in ERRI have developed mathematical models for this behaviour.  These need validation and testing against real world materials as used in industry. Small scale screening tests will reduce the experimental load, resulting in time and cost savings.  Sample requirements may also be reduced, meaning that tests may be performed earlier in the project lifecycle before large quantities of material are generated, aiding the design process. The work will also give more insight into the general area of thermal stability.

Elena Catalanotti pmec@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Modelling of Biofuels
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

My PhD project is based on the development of a chemical kinetic mechanism for the oxidation of a mixture of kerosene and oxygenated compounds, biofuels. The existing mechanism AFRMv1.2, created for kerosene, will be updated and eventually modified, as the addition of biofuel takes place. The oxygenated compounds considered in this work will be esters obtained from vegetable oil. A different type of fuel can be also taken into account, synthetic kerosene produced through the Fisher-Tropsch process.

Once the mechanisms are complete, simulations will be achieved and compared with experimental results to test the reliability of the models.

Judith Charlesworth scsjrc@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: How Electronic Training (E-training) Contributes to the Management of Change in the Printing Industry
Supervisor: Darron Dixon-Hardy

The research is investigating the development of e-learning into the printing industry. It is using examples of e-learning which have been developed in Leeds. These are courses run by Departments within the University, joint ventures between the University and Leeds College of Technology and courses provided by Leeds College of Technology. The changes the printing industry is facing due to the introduction of information and computing technology is leading to skills shortages. E-learning presents the opportunity to deliver training courses at a time and place of the employer and employees’ choice, rather than having to comply with academic time restraints.

Alex Charlton fbs6ajc@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Urban Particulates and Their Health Impacts
Supervisor: Alison Tomlin

Inhalation of urban particulate matter represents a major hazard to health.
Long term exposure has been linked to carcinogenesis, respiratory distress, and heart failure. Acute exposure has been demonstrated to lead to inflammation, reduced immune system effectiveness, and DNA damage. In my project we are attempting to define which characteristics of particulate matter are responsible for its toxic effects.

Syed Daood pmssd@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Oxygen Enriched Co-combustion of Biomass with Coal
Supervisor: Bernard Gibbs, Bill Nimmo

The current important issue of Global warming linked with CO2 emissions can be positively addressed by the modification of power plant. Enrichment of the combustion air in pulverised coal-boimass combustion for power plant is seen as a possible retrofit measure to improve CO2 scrubbing and capture along with reduction of other noxious emissions like NOx. The other commercial and operational benefits of biomass co-firing in terms of carbon credits and enhancing the amine scrubbing plant efficiencies due to increased CO2 concentration in the flue gas compared to normal air combustion entails added advantages of better carbon burnouts and NOx reduction efficiencies. For minimal investment, a simple retro-fit of combustion air enrichment technology to existing low NOx burner configurations may be possible for boilers that already operate with deep staging for NOx control with the possibility of lower NOx levels being achieved. In a nutshell, the use of agricultural based biomass residues in conjunction with coal under oxygen enriched air atmosphere can also be beneficial for lowering pollutant emissions and improving carbon burnouts compared with other conventional in furmnace emission reduction technologies.

Hugh Datson prehed@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Development of a New Protocol for Directional Dust Monitoring
Supervisor: Bill Birch

My project seeks to validate a passive (i.e. unpowered) directional dust sampler. The DustScan method was first developed at the University of Leeds in the 1990s, essentially as an alternative to the British Standard 1747 Part 5 directional dust gauge.

"Dust" can be categorised in terms of its impacts on public health, workplace health and "nuisance". Definitions and assessment methods for the first two categories are generally accepted. This project relates to the development of a method for assessing nuisance dust at opencast coal sites, quarries and landfill sites.

For the project, a bespoke aerosol test tunnel (ATT) has been developed to test the DustScan sampling method in controlled and monitored environmental conditions. Aerosols are generated by introducing specifically made test dust into the airstream via a vibrating tray and fine-mesh bag. Surrogate sampling materials have been used with the aim of indicating the mass and grading of dust sampled around the cylinder at different wind speeds.

Methods for directional dust characterisation have also been examined and most progress has been with solution methods utilising Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS). In this, a "pseudo-total" digestion in HF and HNO3 has lead to the development of a method to establish the concentrations of a suite of elements in directional dust sampled with the DustScan sampler, enabling directional dust "fingerprinting" and pollution source identification from industrial sources.

Brian Dillon Pre2bd@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Determination of Emissions form the Combustion of Waste Oils
Supervisors: Prof Paul Williams/Dr Bernard Gibbs

I am conducting detailed analysis of emissions from the combustion of waste oils and fuels derived from waste oils; in particular emissions of PAHs, metals. SO2 and NOx. I am also researching fuel blends and emulsions to produce stable fuels with improved qualities related to their pumping, atomisation and combustion performance.

Ibrahim ElBaba ml08ie@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Catalytic Gasification of Waste Tyres for Hydrogen Production
Research Supervisor: Professor Paul T. Williams

The treatment and disposal of waste tyres represent a major environmental concern.  The production of hydrogen from a waste tyres represents a novel treatment solution which has the potential to produce a future fuel, hydrogen, from a waste material.  The process conditions which optimise the production of hydrogen under gasification conditions are being investigated

Bala Fakandu pm07bmf@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Vented Gas and Dust Explosions
Research Supervisor: Prof Gordon Andrews, Dr Roth Phylaktou

The most cost effective explosion protection measure is that of venting, where a part of the vessel wall, the vent area, is designed to fail at a low overpressure and vent the explosion products and protect the vessel from complete failure. However, the design of vents is still based on empirical correlations, although recognised by EU and US standards. There is evidence that these design standards grossly overestimate the vent areas required for methane and propane explosions in small vessels and underestimate the vent areas required for hydrogen. There is evidence that the effect of vessel volume and mixture reactivity is not correctly included in the present design guides. Also the design guides are stated as valid up to vessel L/D of 2 and yet all the data is for central ignition, whereas the worst case is end ignition. This project will address these areas of uncertainty in vent design with the aim of improving current vent design guides.

Experiments will be carried out on explosion venting for four vessel volumes form 0.0007 to 5 m3 with intermediate volumes of 0.2 and 1 m3. The 1m3 vessel is the ISO standard dust explosion vessel and will also be used for gas and dust explosions. The aim will be to incorporate an additional volume term into the design correlation that takes into account flame self acceleration. The current design codes are based on data obtained in a 10 m3 vessel and experiments at smaller and larger volumes give lower overpressure. Finding an explanation for this is a key part of the research.

Later work will include the influence of turbulence on explosion venting, including explosion induced turbulence using obstacles between the ignition point and the vent in L/D=2 vessels. Also investigated will be initially turbulence mixtures using the dust explosion high pressure air injection technique. The aim will be to produce design data that relates overpressures to the blockage and scale of obstacles.

Modelling of these explosions will be based initially on a physical model, which will be developed using a CFD explosion model that includes the effect of self acceleration of flames and of turbulent flames. A particular feature of the modelling will be to determine the shape and area of the flame at the point of venting of the explosion. Some experimental work will be carried out on a Perspex vessel inside the Leeds large pressure vessel for containment. The aim will be to obtain video information on the vented explosions to compare with CFD predictions.

Gavin Ferguson pmgaf@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Development of a Cave Mining Process for Implementation in a Hard, Seismicity Prone Rock Mass, Subject to High Stress
Supervisor: Robert Fowell

Anna Fic pmaf@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Numerical Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer Processes within an Infant Radiant Warmer
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

An optimal thermal environment is regarded as a priority in neonatology. Survival of each neonate depends on its ability to regulate body temperature. Preterm and small neonates often cannot respond to environmental temperature changes. For this reason maintenance of neonates bodies within a narrow temperature range is essential for their survival and growth.

Mathematical models applied to living organisms can provide a better understanding of the thermal processes occurring inside a human body, together with their interactions with the surrounding environment. Therefore the main goal of this project is to develop a model of a neonate under a radiant warmer that will incorporate heat and mass trnasfer processes in order to provide a better understnading of how a radiative heat source interacts with a neonate.

Emma Fitzpatrick ces4emf@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Biomass Soot and Char Formation Oxidation Mechanisms
Supervisor: Jenny Jones

Biomass soot is more oxygenated than hydrocarbon (HC) soot and this project involves the investigation soot formation from the combustion of biomass with a view to providing evidence that supports the involvement of oxygen in its mechanistic route.  Key to this is finding evidence that supports the stance that the oxygen in biomass is not only adsorbed species (released during combustion) on the surface but also inherent oxygen created by this oxygenated route.

Soots from fires of biomass, biomass model compounds, and HC fuels have been created under various conditions ranging from small to large scale.  These soots along with their parent fuels have been analysed using Pyrolysis-GC-MS and DI-MS.  SEM and XPS have been carried out to acquire structural information and  TCD-MS has been carried out on pyrolysis gas of wood and it’s macrocomponents for the purpose of quantifying it’s lighter gases.  A small amount of computational modelling has been done using Chemkin to provide support for the hypothesised model. 

Work is also being carried out in collaboration with the School of Earth and Environment using AToFMS for online soot analysis.

Maryam Gharebaghi pmmgh@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: CFD Modelling of Oxyfuel Combustion
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

While coal is responsible for about one third of the world primary commercial energy usage, the awareness of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions – mainly by combustion of fossil fuels – has resulted in the development of new technologies with lower emissions. Oxyfuel combustion is a highly interesting option for power generation plants with carbon dioxide capture where the fuel is combusted in pure oxygen rather than air. This technology includes recycling flue gas back into the furnace to control temperature – which is much higher than the occasional coal combustion – and makeup the volume of the missing nitrogen to ensure there is sufficient gas to maintain the temperature and heat flux profiles in the boiler. Scope of the project is to examine a pilot scale test facility of the Oxyfuel technology for carbon dioxide sequestration in a pulverized coal-fired power plant using a commercial CFD code. The experimental case consists of a 1MW coal-fired low NOx burner attached to a rectangular furnace. The burner model study will consist of six major modules; Thermal, Combustion, Kinetic, Turbulence, Pollutants models and Unburnt char/Carbon investigation. The code will be validated with available experimental data and predict the flow properties such as temperature, velocity, species concentrations profiles including carbon dioxide and pollutants.

Francesco Giorgio-Serchi pmfgs@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: CFD Modelling of Sinuous Submarine Channels
Supervisor: Jeff Peakall (Earth & Environment)

Submarine channels and the neighbouring area of the seafloor represent zones of strong deposition. This intense sedimentation is known to be responsible for playing a major role in the fomation of hydrocarbons. The potential exploitation of such reservoirs is one of the reasons for research being carried out so actively in this area.

One of the aims of this project is to numerically simulate the evolution of a submarine channel when the very last hypotheses on the flow regime in such environments are applied. Numerical simulations with sediment laden currents will be conducted in an attempt to test the erosive and depositional patterns of such flows. Once this has been achieved validations of the results will be assessed through comparison with the few pieces of available infomation from seismic data.

Xiang Gou x.gou@leeds.ac.uk

Research Title: Combustion Theory, Low Carbon Technologies, Low NOxTechnologies, Renewable Energy Technologies, and Fire Technologies
Supervisor: Bernard Gibbs

At present what I am doing is to simulate a whole power plant which includes Air Separation Unit, Boiler and Trubine Plant, and Post Combustion Carbon Capture Plant including Amine Plant, Purification Plant, and Compression Plant to design and optimise parameters for minimising energy consumption and capital cost.

Yaghoub Hajizadeh preyha@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Control of Organic Micropollutant Emissions in Waste Incinerator Fluegas by Using SO2, NH3 and Waste Derived Activated Carbon
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Among the various environmental factors and their purification techniques, Air Pollution Control Technology seems to be more demanding especially in the industrialized city. The emission of dioxins (PCDD-Poly Chlorinated Dibenzo Dioxins) and furans (PCDF-Poly Chlorinated Dibenzo Furans) from the flue gases during combustion of municipal solid waste and industrial activities is of considerable environmental and public health concern due to their adverse health effects and probably carcinogenic effects in humans. Numerous methods have been applied to inhibit dioxin formation during combustion and/or to clean-up the flue gases after they have formed. In-process suppression of these pollutants seems to be more cost-beneficial and applicable techniques than that of end-of-pipe removal techniques. The main objectives of this study are to review the developing PCDD/F removal and inhibition techniques; to examine the waste derived activated carbon capacity for preventing PCDD/F emissions; to evaluate the suppressive effect of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the formation of PCDD/F; to investigate the inhibitory effects of ammonia (NH3) and to assess the effectiveness of process parameters such as temperature, gases concentration, residence time in dioxin formation.

Philippa Hardy pre4pkh@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Low Carbon Technologies
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Gillian Harrison pmgh@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Low Carbon Technologies
Supervisor: Paul Williams

The IPCC recognised in their 2007 report that anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are very likely to have caused increased global temperatures. It is also generally accepted that a significant rise in global temperatures could cause devastating climate change effects to the world.

My work will take an interdisciplinary approach to developing and enabling innovative low carbon technologies (transport, energy, storage) within an ethical framework, which will contribute to the adaptation and mitigation of global climate change.

Gasser Hassan pregh@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Computational Study of Air Flow and Pollutants Dispersion in Street Canyons
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

High pollution levels are often observed in urban street canyons due to increased traffic emissions and reduced natural ventilation. In recent years, many researches have been conducted to study the influence of buildings and other urban structures on air flow patterns and pollutants dispersion in street canyons. Due to the rapid development of computer technology and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, numerical analysis becomes a valuable tool in studying air flow and pollutants dispersion around buildings.

This study is concerned with studying the air flow and pollutants dispersion in the street canyons. To achieve this goal, one needs an accurate mathematical (or physical) model, an accurate numerical model, an appropriate computer code, and a grid with a sufficient resolution to capture the small gradients.

The numerical model used in the simulations is based on an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The carrier phase "air" is treated by an Eulerian modelling approach, while the dispersed phase "pollutant" is handled by a Lagrangian model.

The study extends to simulate pollutants dispersion in street canyons using the Eulerian model coupled with the Lagrangian model. The results are compared with the corresponding experimental data and previous numerical results to validate the CFD model.

The effects of street canyon configuration on air flow patters and pollutant dispersion within the canyon region are investigated to determine the configuration which has the best natural ventilation for the canyon.

Three-dimensional effects on the flow topology inside and around the canyon are also studied. The results show that the three-dimensionality makes the flow around the buildings more complicated than that of the two-dimensional case.

Nagi Insura pre4ni@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: High Pressure Pyrolysis of Waste Plastic- Municipal Solid Waste for the Production of High Grade Hydrocarbon Fuel
Supervisor: Paul Williams

The first stage of our work consists of liquefaction where waste plastic and refuse derived fuel is converted to liquid product of hydrocarbon fuel under pyrolysis of organic waste using a bench scale pressurized reactor. The second stage is gasification which consists of the generation of hydrogen gas from pyrolysis followed by water steam reforming reactions using high temperature tube reactor.  In pyrolysis, where the organic compounds and polymers decompose down to smaller molecules by the effects of temperature in absence of oxygen, some other parameters used to enhance the decomposition such as increasing the pressure, catalysts usage, water steam and others. The pyrolysis reactions produce oil, gas and solid and the amount of each product controlled by the parameters used like the residence time, temperature and pressure range, presence of catalysts, presence of water steam, hydrogen gas or hydrogen donor compounds. the product is also affected by the reactor system used, heating rate and the composition and particle size of reactants.

Ruzinah Isha pmri@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Catalyte Conversion of Bio-waste to Fuels
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Mohammed Ismail pmmsai@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interests: CFD Modelling of Transport Phenomena in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells have become one of the most important electrical power generating technologies as they are possible sources of energy for a wide range of applications. They could be a power source for cell phones, computers, boats, cars, buses and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems. The PEM fuel cell consists primarily of polymer membrane, catalyst layers, gas diffusion layers, flow channels and bipolar plates. The Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) are considered as a major factor influencing the performance of PEM Fuel Cells. The GDLs act as a reactant diffuser, mechanical support for catalyst layer and membrane, electric current conductor and water remover. The objective of this study is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model that is able to accurately predict the transport of the reacting and non-reacting gases through the porous, anisotropic and inhomogeneous gas diffusion layers in PEM fuel cells.

Hannah James pmhcj@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Low Carbon Technologies
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Interdisciplinary research into low carbon technologies and policies. Emissions abatement methods in the transport and energy sectors, and their effects on UK emissions.

Robert Johnson pmrsj@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Liquid and Gaseous Fuels from Biomass
Supervisor: Jenny Jones

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a method used to produce oils, water soluble hydrocarbons, gases and char from biomass. In the 1970's, during the oil crisis, it was researched heavily to form liquid fuels from coal. The focus has now turned to biomass to help provide transport fuels, chemicals and other products as part of a low carbon future.

The process has a number of benefits; firstly, the processing of biomass can be carried out "wet", negating the costly step of water removal, required by many other thermochemical techniques. Second, a whole range of lignocellulosic biomass sources can be used, particularly fast growing energy crops, which do not compete for food crops. Third, the range of products produced covers solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, coupled with the production of various chemicals sourced currently from oil.

Phillip King pmptk@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: CFD Modelling of Gas Turbine Combustion Chambers
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

Elizabeth Knight preek@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Optimisation of the Unmixed Steam Reforming of Vegetable Oil for Hydrogen Production
Supervisor: Valerie Dupont

Anna Kononova pmak@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Advanced Computational Intelligence Optimisation Techniques for Engineering Applications
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

Working on the efficient choice of proper computational intelligence techniques for solving various real-world applications, including inverse problem of chemical kinetics.

Tom Lynch pmtol@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Low Carbon Technologies
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Interdisciplinary research into new innovative technologies for a Low Carbon Future, based on the four interlinking themes:

• Low Carbon Enabling Technologies;
• Transport and Energy;
• Carbon Storage; and
• Climate Change and Energy Systems Research.

My work will focus on the Carbon Storage theme, looking at geological storage of CO2 in depleted oil reservoirs and saline aquifers.

Chandra Shekhar Malvi c.s.malvi04@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Solar Energy (1) Hybrid PV/Thermal System (2) Nanostructured Solar Cell
Supervisor: Dr Darron Dixon-Hardy

This study proposes performance analysis of the system in different climates. Materials are selected according to heat conductivity and cost. In the fabrication, a better positioning with conductive adhesive is to be found for all the layers like PV/Thermal/PCM/Insulation as in day-light heat will flow from PV to PCM then to copper tubes and in the night heat will flow PCM to copper tubes.

Massimo Masala menmma@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: A Feasibility Study into the Economics and Engineering Aspects of Combined PV-TED Power Generation
Supervisor: Darron Dixon-Hardy

Joel Millward-Hopkins jhs3jtmh@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Predicting the Wind Resource Available to Roof Mounted Turbines
Supervisors: Alison Tomlin and Lin Ma

The research I will be undertaking involves optimising the sitting of roof top wind turbines in the urban environment and characterising the expected wind conditions based on appropriate reference measurements. In order to achieve this I will use CFD models to look at mean flow and turbulence characteristics above the roofs of buildings embedded in typical urban arrays.

From this I aim to suggest guidelines on the precise roof top placement required for a turbine to access the most abundant wind resource, and secondly, I hope to improve the knowledge of the turbulence conditions that roof top turbines must operate in that is vital to engineers involved in their structural, control and aerodynamic design.

Rattana Muangrat pmrm@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Energy and Materials Recovery from Food Waste
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Food wastes might be a good biomass resource because food industry unavoidably generates large quantities of these wastes each year. Food waste consists of mainly biodegradable waste with very high moisture content. Using food wastes as a renewable biomass resource for hydrogen production via hydrothermal gasification is an attractive method. This study is to investigate model compounds which are representative of real food waste in sub-critical water gasification by different process conditions to determine the yield and concentration of the products gases. In addition, real food waste would be gasified under the same sub-critical water conditions and the result compared with these model compounds.

Shahid Munir pmsm@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Co-combustion of biomass with Coal
Supervisor: Bernard Gibbs, Bill Nimmo

The overall objective of this investigation is to develop a technology employing biomass as a substitute fuel for co-firing in power stations with the benefit of reduced-NOx and SO2 emissions. Fossil fuels in general and coal in particular are major sources of pollutant emissions. A number of techniques and methods have been proposed for reducing gaseous emissions of NOx, SO2 and CO2 from existing coal fired power plants. Probably the fastest, easiest and the most economical way to replace large amounts of fossil fuel based electricity by sustainable electricity is to replace the combusted fossil fuels by biomass through co-firing. Agricultural residues are a form of biomass that is renewable but largely not utilised in the energy recovery schemes. They are non-edible plant parts that are left in the field after harvest and often land-fill is the main disposal route with ramifications including CH4 release having 21 times greater global warming potential per molecule than CO2.

Agricultural residues selected for the study are Sheameal, Cotton Stalk, Sugarcane bagasse and Wood chips. Biomass as a class is very much different from coals. They have high volatile matter, higher hydrogen content, generally low nitrogen content and little or zero sulphur. A greater concentration of CHi radicals from biomass devolatalisation process would enable us to utilise reductive power of the hydrocarbons, under low O2 conditions, as HC are known to react with NOx to produce molecular N2. It is anticipated that co-combustion of agricultural residues with coal may have a positive effect on NOx and SO2 reduction when operated under air and fuel staged conditions.

Mohamad Anas Nahil pm07man@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Pyrolysis of Polymeric Waste To Produce Activated Carbon
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Polymeric materials include a broad range of organic materials that are used in various fields, some of these materials are natural and others are synthetic.
Large amounts of polymeric wastes are generated worldwide, increasing concerns about finding appropriate methods for waste disposal.
Thermochemical recycling technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification are currently used to address this issue.
In pyrolysis processes, the waste materials are thermally decomposed at a moderate temperature in an inert atmosphere. These processes produce three fractions: char, oil and gas. The yields of these fractions depend on parameters such as pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, retention time, flow rate of nitrogen and reactor design.
The objective of this research is to recover high value products from thermochemical treatment of various fibrous polymeric wastes. Cotton waste and textile waste (acrylic fibre/fabric) are to be investigated to produce activated carbon fibres. Carbon fibre composite waste is to be investigated to recover carbon fibres and activated carbon fibres.

Deju Nation pmddn@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Design of Solar Photovoltaic-Thermal System for Renewable Energy Optimization in Distributed Applications
Supervisor: Darron Dixon-Hardy

The electrical efficiency of Solar Photovoltaic Panels degrades with increasing temperature. Research in recent years has been exploring ways to increase electrical efficiency by extracting heat generated in the panel. This generated heat is largely caused by the inability of the average silicon based solar cell to absorb into its band gap, the infrared and ultraviolet photon energy accompanying the visible light spectrum. My research project will target improving overall efficiency of the Solar Photovoltaic-Thermal system through advanced techniques that are also economically viable. A certain amount of instrumentation, power electronics and controls will also be involved in the final system design for applications in distributed power generation.

Kyle Nicol pre5krn@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Variation in Fuel Properties of Forestry and Impact of Soil Contamination in Combustion
Supervisor: Jenny Jones

Forestry provides a large resource for biomass in the UK. Many dedicated Bioenergy power stations are planned in the UK which will utilise both local and imported wood resources. Some of the existing power stations using woody biomass have noted that the supply can contain stem wood, branch wood, foliage, and even roots. Contamination by soil is also an issue. This project will assess factors which might affect variation of forestry as a fuel, which includes@ species variation, maturity, branch wood versus stem wood (bark versus stem wood ratio), and root and foliage. This project is associated with the Supergen Bioenergy Consortium, and links together Forest Research, Rothamsted Research, IBERS, Leeds and Aston. It would involve the characterisation of different forestry species (broad leaf and conifer) from four sites in the UK. It will examine the extent and nature of any variation in fuel properties. In addition, tests will examine the impact of any variation in combustion. Contamination of soil and impact in combustion will also be studied.

Alfred Ochonogor preaeo@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Thermal treatment of plastics
Supervisor: Paul Williams

High impact polystyrene (HIPS) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) are common plastics used in domestic electrical and electronic appliances. To minimize fire risks these electrical and electronic appliances are normally fire retarded with polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyloxides, or tetrabromobisphenol-A. The recycling of brominated high impact polystyrene (HIPS-Br) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS-Br) into halogen free fuel oil will be investigated. The investigation will also focus on the debromination of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) pyrolysis oil.

Lukasz Peronski mat4l2p@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Heat Transfer in Heat Exchangers
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

The aim of my research is an application of CFD simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer to commercial applications. Specifically use of CFD for design of small (10 – 200 kW) central heating gas boilers. I also do some basic static stress simulations in boilers (stress in metal caused by pressure of water). Software used: Fluent and Ansys

Sam Pickard pmscp@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Low Carbon Technologies
Supervisor: Paul Williams

I am a member of the Low Carbon Technology DTC which is an inter-disciplinary group looking into a wide range of aspects pertaining to the UK (and to some extent the World) making the shift towards a lifestyle that exists at a far lower carbon intensity.

Currently project themes are focused on emissions from transport and carbon capture and storage and within these themes the group aims to probe many facets, from the technical engineering solutions to the policy instruments required for wide-scale implementation.

Within low carbon technologies my personal interests include:

• the development and deployment of alternative fuel types, in particular those that are analogous to existing fossil fuels;
• recovery of fuel and energy from waste, wasteful processes or industrial by-products; and
• geoengineering (in particular air capture).

Panagiota Pimenidou che5pp@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Novel Process of Hudrogen Production From Liquid of Biomass Origin
Supervisor: Valerie Dupont

Rachael Porter pmrp@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Performance Prediction Methods for Modern Power Plant Boilers
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian and Alan Williams

The mitigation of greenhouse gas emission is crucial in order to address the issue of climate change. Oxyfuel firing in coal fired power stations is one proposed technology that will facilitate carbon capture and storage (CCS) and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from coal fired power stations. Oxyfuel is a relatively new technology and so far demonstration projects are underway but no full scale plants are operating. Therefore accurate CFD modelling of the technology is important to aide design of new boilers and increase understanding of the underlying physical and chemical processes. Oxyfuel increases the concentration of CO2 by burning coal with oxygen and using recycled flue gases to quench the temperature. Standard CFD models require improvement to account for changes in the chemistry and heat transfer compared to normal combustion.

Heat transfer by radiation is a complex problem to model when coupled with all the interacting process within a furnace. This project focuses on improvements to heat transfer models by modelling more accurately the radiative properties of the medium in oxyfuel combustion and generating better predictions for the heat transfer in CFD. Improvements will also be made to other sub-models relevant to heat transfer. Data from detailed CFD models will be used to develop design models for oxyfuel and provide predictions of full-scale plants. Data from test rigs will be used to validate the models.

Andreas Prongidis pre4ap@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: A Biomimetically Inspired Plasma Jet Igniter for Gas Turbine Engines
Supervisor: Andrew McIntosh

Over the past two decades an increased interest has arisen in extending the lean operation limits of gas turbine engines. This trend for leaner mixtures has been stimulated by the potential for improving engine emission characteristics and efficiency. For land-based gas turbines leaner mixtures are used in order to reduce their fuel consumption. Apart from the difficulty in initiating combustion at fuel:air ratios well below the stoichiometric a problem arises in maintaining the stability of the flame. For aero-engines at high altitudes the need to ignite a combustible mixture with low inlet temperatures and a poor degree of fuel atomisation due to low pressures is critical.

The high altitude relighting ability, an important specification of the manufacturer, limits the operational conditions of current gas turbines. The engine's size and weight parameters which negatively affect the fuel consumption and overall operational performance, increase disproportionally with any improvements achieved in its relighting characteristics. Therefore, one way forward in order to increase the efficiency of gas turbine engines is to research into more effective ignition systems.

This project invesstigates the use of a novel ignition system which can be used in conjunction with the standard power supply of common surface discharge igniters to improve ignition efficiency. Recent experiments in a conventional Rolls Royce Olympus burner have shown very promising results. The experiments indicate a 45% improvement in the lean flammability limits of kerosene jet A1 when using our igniter. In another series of experiments it is planned to test this novel igniter in the same turbine with biodiesel fuel.

Ahmed Qutan pmaiq@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Heat Transfer in Sea Water Desalination
Supervisor: Bernard Gibbs

Heat exchangers are extensively used in the thermal desalination process to transfer heat from steam to seawater circulated through the process.  The most common type of heat exchanger used is shell-and-tube with some modifications for each process type. Because the tubes and the passages are made narrow and long and are in permanent enclosures, such heat exchangers are exposed to fouling from suspended particles, biological growths and mineral scales. Despite all attempts to eliminate these effects, fouling occurs over time and the plants are shut down for frequent maintenance.

The proposal for my research is to develop a new type heat exchanger (Slot-Type heat exchanger) consisting of a fixed frame box with external connections and a replaceable core, giving the opportunity to replace the fouled core during any short stop. Such a design would enable plant operators to perform regular checks and cleaning of all fouled cores.

The use of such easy-clean exchangers would reduce brine pretreatment and relax several constraints governing the design and operation of distillation plants; e.g. it would elevate the top brine temperature and allow higher sea water conversion. Thus, plant efficiency and availability will be increased, resulting in substantial reduction of desalted water cost.

Andrew Rollinson ear3anr@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Hydrogen Production from Renewable Feedstocks
Supervisor: Valerie Dupont

Optimisation of hydrogen production by steam reforming using nitrogenous aqueous solutions with established and novel reactor designs.

Masli Rosli pmmir@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Fuel Cell (PEM)
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

PEM fuel cells are known to be a promising alternative energy converter because of their advantages in power efficiency and low emission. One of the major components in a PEM fuel cell is the gas distributor plate that distributes reactants into the fuel cell and removes water and heat generated from the cell. If not designed properly then it may lead to a low performance of the PEM fuel cell. The objective of this research is to develop a computational fluid dynamics model in order to predict the performances of the PEM fuel cell with a focus on the impacts of the different designs of the gas distributor on the water and heat management.

Dimitrios Savvidis ces8ds@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Road Transport Emissions in the Real World
Supervisor: Gordon Andrews

This research will include work on the statistics of traffic movement in the real world and driver behaviour. The emissions associated with this will be determined from work at Leeds. The project will also involve estimation of traffic emissions on a national and city basis for Greece and will hopefully interface with the national and local city officials who deal with these matters

Ida Shafagh ml06is@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Computational Fluid Dynamics
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

Surjit Singh pressi@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Waste Tyres and Plastics as Potential Reburn Fuels for Reduction of NOx in Large Scale Combustion Systems
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Approximately 1 billion waste tyres are generated worldwide each year, with the US producing 300 million and the EU 260 million tyres, representing an enormous waste management problem. At the same time, increasingly stringent emission control targets are being imposed on electric power generating plants.The development of science and technology for clean coal combustion is crucial for a sustainable environment which is dependent on a mix of energy production systems. Novel work on a process of NOx reduction by tyre reburning which can, in one step, reduce NOx emissions and recover energy from waste tyres efficiently, with the benefit of lower carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, through this process, a problem waste stream is effectively utilised to help solve a major environmental pollution problem.

Tatyana Stanko pmtss@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Modelling a Sound Radiated by a Turbulent Jet
Supervisor: Mike Fairweather

Research Interest: Computational Fluid Dynamics
Computational Aeroacoustics
Applied and Computational Mathematics and Mechanics
Jet Aeroacoustics

Andrew Taylor pre4at@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: The Energy/Crew Resource Management Interface in Aviation
Supervisor: Darron Dixon-Hardy

My research will look into ways of training pilots to not only fly more safely in terms of the human factor restraints imposed on them, but more efficiently. There are major concerns that, with the predicted increase in air travel and despite new fuels and more efficient engines being developed, the commercial aviation industry is not going to meet its 2050 carbon emissions target. We therefore need to look into ways that management of cockpit systems, flight profiles, ground maneuvering, operational procedures and other areas can be modified to be as efficient as possible, but without compromising safety. The research will cover aspects such as Crew Resource Management, pilot training (for both new and current pilots) and flight management. Currently, safety, training and environmental issues are mutually exclusive, so we need to find a way of integrating them without subjecting the airlines or Flight Training Organisation to additional cost or time.

Martin Thomas pmmlrt@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Fuel Cells CFD Modelling and Experiments
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become a valuable tool for the development and analysis of fuel cells. The most commonly used CFD methods are finite volume (FV) or finite element (FE) methods. In the framework of my PhD I develop a subroutine for the commercial finite volume solver Fluent which allows simulating fuel cells. The purpose of this work is to investigate fuel cell designs on a macroscopic level as well as stack designs. The subroutine is capable of handling arbitrary geometries, the only requirement is that for each fuel cell there is one anodic fluid domain and one cathodic fluid domain which are separated by a solid electrolyte domain. The polarisations can be computed in different ways, depending on the user input.

Dumitru Trucu predt@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Bio-heat and Mass Transfer: Direct and Inverse Problems
Supervisor: Dr D Lesnic (Applied Maths)

In this work we investigate both direct and inverse problems associated with the Bio-Heat Transient Flow equation. Provided the physical importance of the perfusion coefficient, we focus our attention towards the inverse problem that enables us to accurately recover this information from raw measurements considered in terms of mass, flux, or temperature, sampled over the specific regions of the media under investigation.
We are using analytical and numerical techniques to investigate the existance and uniqueness of the solution for this inverse coefficient identification problem. Our approach covers the 1,2&3-dimensional cases, in both homegenoeous and heterogeneous media. The case of random heterogeneous media is also considered.

Gareth Uglow pmgwu@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Development of Urban Wind Turbines
Supervisor: Dr Lin Ma, Prof A Tomlin, Prof M Pourkashanian

The development and understanding of large scale wind turbines has been well researched and documented in recent years as demand for energy from renewable source increases. However, the placement of wind turbines in urban environments as opposed to rural sites presents a new set of operating conditions and challenges which must be met in order to optimise their efficiency and output. The Darrieus Turbine is widely accepted to be well suited to the rapidly varying wind velocities typically found in urban landscapes. This EPSRC/Yorkshire Forward PhD will focus on the further optimisation of an urban Darrieus-type device, using a combination of wind tunnel tests, field data and Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling.

Ilona Uryga- Bugajska pmiu@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Combustion Modelling of Alternative Fuels in Aero Engines
Supervisor: Prof. M. Pourkashanian, Dr D. Borman, Dr L. Ma, Prof. C.W. Wilson (external supervisor)

Recent concern over energy security and environmental considerations have highlighted the importance of finding alternative aviation fuels. Alternative fuels have been studied widely for automotive combustion, but now attention is focusing on the aircraft industry.

The research is focused on the CFD modelling of alternative fuels combustion in aircraft engine. The combustion process is investigated using a commercial CFD solver Fluent. With recent developments in processor speeds and solver improvements, CFD has been successfully validated and used as a tool for optimizing combustor technology.

During research different turbulence and combustion models are studied for accuracy of combustion phenomena predictions, with special consideration to Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model.

Yasemin Vural pmyv@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interests: CFD Modelling of Solid-Oxide Fuel cells
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

CFD Modelling is an important tool for optimization purposes of fuel cell design. Basic questions such as the optimum amount of air and mass flow rate required to prevent excessive pressures and temperatures can be answered by means of CFD modelling.

Shemaiah Weekes pm08smw@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Low Carbon Technologies
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Meeting the UK Government's target of an 80% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, compared to the base year of 1990, will require a radical shift in the way we use and generate energy. My research is within a multidisciplinary team stretching across science, technology, economics, business and policy, working on the design and implementation of low carbon technologies.

Bogdan Wojtowicz pmbww@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Genetic Algorithms
Supervisor: Mohamed Pourkashanian

The ultimate objective of my research is to develop and examine a maximally universal, efficient and reliable optimisation tool which can be used for identification or decision making purposes or to include as a module to the software package for Thermo-Analysis (TEA) and Exergy Life-Cycle Analysis (ELCA). The complexity of today's optimisation problems is so high that a hybrid version of the evolutionary approach and an efficient deterministic local search algorithm is required. Global search methods such as genetic algorithms, evolution strategies or other methods such as simulated annealing which avoid the problems associated with the local optima, lack of continuity or impossibility to use gradients of the goal function are the base of further development.

Chunfei Wu pmcw@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Hydrogen Production From Gasification of Waste Plastics
Supervisor: Paul Williams

Hydrogen is the key fuel for energy systems of the future since the direct combustion of hydrogen or the utilization of fuel cells is a clean technology, which generates zero carbon emissions. Furthermore, the demand for hydrogen is increasing gradually due to the environmental pressure from carbon emissions.
In order to cover the increasing demand of hydrogen and solve the problems resulting from the use of fossil fuels, we propose a further development of waste plastic recycling to produce hydrogen in high yield with a two stage pyrolysis-gasification process. Thus, the hydrogen produced from waste plastics can be used in the future hydrogen economy.

Zhihua Xie pmzx@leeds.ac.uk

Research Title: Numerical Simulation of the Turbulent Wind-wave Interaction
Supervisor: Dr X Wen (Earth Science)

In reviewing the current status of our understanding of the mechanisms underlying wind-wave interaction, it is apparent that existing theoretical experimental and numerical studies have not become to be applicable to the turbulent wind-wave interaction mechanism. The movement of both the air and waves is considered in this study using the commercial sofware Ansys CFX and FLUENT which solve the Navier-Stokes equations and uses the Volume of Fluid method to describe the free surface. Finally the computational results will be validated against the experimental data and will present more details of the turbulent wind-wave interaction phenomenon.

Rohaya Md Zin pm08rmz@leeds.ac.uk

Research Interest: Renewable Energy Augmentation of Advanced Steam Reforming Processes
Supervisor: Dr Valerie Dupont

Steam reforming is a process of producing hydrogen by reacting hydrocarbon and steam in a reformer over a metal-based catalyst at elevated temperature, typically above 550°C. This process requires a mixture of hydrocarbon and steam undergoing strongly endothermic reforming reaction in a reformer and then moderately exothermic water-gas shift reation. The proportion of steam fed to the reactor is one of important factors that govern the product from the reformer, besides operating temperature and pressure. Several types of aqueous streams from biomass origin will be studied to replace the steam source in steam reforming processes. Among the potential sources are aqueous phases from the pyrolysis of biomass and the marine feedstock of biodiesel production processes.