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Dr. Akira Nishimura
Graduate School of Engineering, MIE University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu City 514-8507, Mie Prefecture, Japan

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 heat and mass transfer processes
0 Smart city utilizing renewable energy
0 Electro-chemical energy processes
0 Renewable energy based electrolytic hydrogen production
0 Fuel cell technologies

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Short Biography

Dr. Akira Nishimura is an associate professor of Division of Mechanical Engineering at Mie University, Japan. He received the B.S. Eng., the M.S. Eng., and Dr. Eng. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Nagoya University, Japan in 1995, 1997, and 2000, respectively. He worked at the Center for Integrated Research in Science and Engineering, Nagoya University as a research associate from 2000 to 2002. He moved to Mie University in 2002 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2014. His current studies are in the clarification of heat and mass transfer mechanisms of polymer electrolyte fuel cells and CO2 reduction by photocatalysts.

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Research article
Published: 27 May 2021 in ACS Omega
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The impact of microporous layer (MPL) on the heat- and mass-transfer characteristics and power generation performance of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell using a thin polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and a thin gas diffusion layer (GDL) is investigated in this paper. The power generation is investigated at the operational temperatures of 90 and 100 °C which are the target temperatures from year 2020 to 2025 according to the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s road map in Japan. The in-plane temperature distributions on the separator back at the anode and the cathode are also measured by a thermograph. As a result, it is found that the voltage drop with the MPL at a high current density is larger compared to that without the MPL irrespective of the initial temperature of the cell and relative humidity conditions. The study also revealed from the anode side observation that the in-plane temperature distribution with the MPL is wider compared to that without the MPL, especially at the initial temperature of 90 °C of the cell . Similarly, from the cathode side observation, the in-plane temperature distributions with the MPL were found to be wider compared to that without the MPL. This study has concluded that the MPL is not effective in obtaining a high performance and even an in-plane temperature distribution for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with the thin PEM and the thin GDL at a high operational temperature range.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Tatsuya Okado; Yuya Kojima; Eric Hu. Impact of Microporous Layer on Heat and Mass Transfer in a Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Using a Thin Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and a Thin Gas Diffusion Layer Operated at a High-Temperature Range. ACS Omega 2021, 6, 14575 -14584.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Tatsuya Okado, Yuya Kojima, Eric Hu. Impact of Microporous Layer on Heat and Mass Transfer in a Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Using a Thin Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and a Thin Gas Diffusion Layer Operated at a High-Temperature Range. ACS Omega. 2021; 6 (22):14575-14584.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Tatsuya Okado; Yuya Kojima; Eric Hu. 2021. "Impact of Microporous Layer on Heat and Mass Transfer in a Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Using a Thin Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and a Thin Gas Diffusion Layer Operated at a High-Temperature Range." ACS Omega 6, no. 22: 14575-14584.

Journal article
Published: 19 May 2021 in Fuels
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Biogas, consisting of CH4 and CO2, is a promising energy source and can be converted into H2 by a dry reforming reaction. In this study, a membrane reactor is adopted to promote the performance of biogas dry reforming. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of pressure of sweep gas on a biogas dry reforming to get H2. The effect of molar ratio of supplied CH4:CO2 and reaction temperature is also investigated. It is observed that the impact of psweep on concentrations of CH4 and CO2 is small irrespective of reaction temperature. The concentrations of H2 and CO increase with an increase in reaction temperature t. The concentration of H2, at the outlet of the reaction chamber, reduces with a decrease in psweep. It is due to an increase in H2 extraction from the reaction chamber to the sweep chamber. The highest concentration of H2 is obtained in the case of the molar ratio of CH4:CO2 = 1:1. The concentration of CO is the highest in the case of the molar ratio of CH4:CO2 = 1.5:1. The highest sweep effect is obtained at reaction temperature of 500 °C and psweep of 0.045 MPa.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Tomohiro Takada; Satoshi Ohata; Mohan Kolhe. Biogas Dry Reforming for Hydrogen through Membrane Reactor Utilizing Negative Pressure. Fuels 2021, 2, 194 -209.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Tomohiro Takada, Satoshi Ohata, Mohan Kolhe. Biogas Dry Reforming for Hydrogen through Membrane Reactor Utilizing Negative Pressure. Fuels. 2021; 2 (2):194-209.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Tomohiro Takada; Satoshi Ohata; Mohan Kolhe. 2021. "Biogas Dry Reforming for Hydrogen through Membrane Reactor Utilizing Negative Pressure." Fuels 2, no. 2: 194-209.

Journal article
Published: 13 May 2021 in Molecules
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The aim of this study is to clarify the effect of doped metal type on CO2 reduction characteristics of TiO2 with NH3 and H2O. Cu and Pd have been selected as dopants for TiO2. In addition, the impact of molar ratio of CO2 to reductants NH3 and H2O has been investigated. A TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by a sol-gel and dip-coating process, and then doped with Cu or Pd fine particles by using the pulse arc plasma gun method. The prepared Cu/TiO2 film and Pd/TiO2 film were characterized by SEM, EPMA, TEM, STEM, EDX, EDS and EELS. This study also has investigated the performance of CO2 reduction under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. As a result, it is revealed that the CO2 reduction performance with Cu/TiO2 under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with UV light is the highest when the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O = 1:1:1 while that without UV light is the highest when the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O = 1:0.5:0.5. It is revealed that the CO2 reduction performance of Pd/TiO2 is the highest for the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O = 1:1:1 no matter the used Xe lamp was with or without UV light. The molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst for Cu/TiO2 produced under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with UV light was 10.2 μmol/g, while that for Pd/TiO2 was 5.5 μmol/g. Meanwhile, the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst for Cu/TiO2 produced under the illumination condition of Xe lamp without UV light was 2.5 μmol/g, while that for Pd/TiO2 was 3.5 μmol/g. This study has concluded that Cu/TiO2 is superior to Pd/TiO2 from the viewpoint of the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst as well as the quantum efficiency.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Ryouga Shimada; Yoshito Sakakibara; Akira Koshio; Eric Hu. Comparison of CO2 Reduction Performance with NH3 and H2O between Cu/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2. Molecules 2021, 26, 2904 .

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Ryouga Shimada, Yoshito Sakakibara, Akira Koshio, Eric Hu. Comparison of CO2 Reduction Performance with NH3 and H2O between Cu/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2. Molecules. 2021; 26 (10):2904.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Ryouga Shimada; Yoshito Sakakibara; Akira Koshio; Eric Hu. 2021. "Comparison of CO2 Reduction Performance with NH3 and H2O between Cu/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2." Molecules 26, no. 10: 2904.

Journal article
Published: 10 May 2021 in Catalysts
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This study has investigated the impact of molar ratio of CO2 to reductants NH3 and H2O as well as that of Cu loading on CO2 reduction characteristics over Cu/TiO2. No study to optimize the reductants’ combination and Cu loading weight in order to enhance CO2 reduction performance of TiO2 has been investigated yet. This study prepared Cu/TiO2 film by loading Cu particles during the pulse arc plasma gun process after coating TiO2 film by the sol-gel and dip-coating process. As to loading weight of Cu, it was regulated by change in the pulse number. This study characterized the prepared Cu/TiO2 film by SEM and EPMA. Additionally, the performance of CO2 reduction has been investigated under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. It is revealed that the molar ratio of CO2/NH3/H2O is optimized according to the pulse number. Since the amount of H+ which is the same as that of electron is needed to produce CO decided following the theoretical CO2 reduction reacting with H2O or NH3, larger H+ is needed with the increase in the pulse number. It is revealed that Cu of 4.57 wt% for the pulse number of 200 is the optimum condition, whereas the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of Cu/TiO2 with and without UV light illumination is 34.1 mol/g and 12.0 mol/g, respectively.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Yoshito Sakakibara; Akira Koshio; Eric Hu. The Impact of Amount of Cu on CO2 Reduction Performance of Cu/TiO2 with NH3 and H2O. Catalysts 2021, 11, 610 .

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Yoshito Sakakibara, Akira Koshio, Eric Hu. The Impact of Amount of Cu on CO2 Reduction Performance of Cu/TiO2 with NH3 and H2O. Catalysts. 2021; 11 (5):610.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Yoshito Sakakibara; Akira Koshio; Eric Hu. 2021. "The Impact of Amount of Cu on CO2 Reduction Performance of Cu/TiO2 with NH3 and H2O." Catalysts 11, no. 5: 610.

Journal article
Published: 06 June 2020 in Energy
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In Japan, it is recommended to operate Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) at temperature around 90 °C for stationary applications during the period from 2020 to 2025. However, the present PEFC is using Nafion polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and operated within the temperature range from 60 °C to 80 °C. It is important to understand the temperature distribution in a cell of PEFC for improving the performance and to realize the long life span. This study focuses on use of micro porous layer (MPL), which can promote the moisture transfer in order to control the temperature distribution. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of MPL on temperature distribution at reaction surface in single cell of PEFC during the variations of flow rates and relative humidity of supply gases. In the operation, relatively higher temperature 90 °C is maintained and analyzed through the heat transfer model. This study also investigates the impact of PEM thickness on the temperature distribution comparing the conditions with and without MPL. As a result, it is proposed that the combination of thinner PEM and MPL can be effective to manage temperature distribution uniformly, and obtain better PEFC performance at relatively higher temperature operation.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Kohei Yamamoto; Tatsuya Okado; Yuya Kojima; Masafumi Hirota; Mohan Lal Kolhe. Impact analysis of MPL and PEM thickness on temperature distribution within PEFC operating at relatively higher temperature. Energy 2020, 205, 117875 .

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Kohei Yamamoto, Tatsuya Okado, Yuya Kojima, Masafumi Hirota, Mohan Lal Kolhe. Impact analysis of MPL and PEM thickness on temperature distribution within PEFC operating at relatively higher temperature. Energy. 2020; 205 ():117875.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Kohei Yamamoto; Tatsuya Okado; Yuya Kojima; Masafumi Hirota; Mohan Lal Kolhe. 2020. "Impact analysis of MPL and PEM thickness on temperature distribution within PEFC operating at relatively higher temperature." Energy 205, no. : 117875.

Journal article
Published: 15 May 2020 in Energies
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The impact of micro porous layer (MPL) with various thicknesses of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) on heat and mass transfer characteristics, as well as power generation performance of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC), is investigated. The in-plane temperature distribution on cathode separator back is also measured by thermocamera. It has been found that the power generation performance is improved by the addition of MPL, especially at higher current density condition irrespective of initial temperature of cell (Tini) and relative humidity condition. However, the improvement is not obvious when the thin PEM (Nafion NRE-211; thickness of 25 μm) is used. The increase in temperature from inlet to outlet without MPL is large compared to that with MPL when using thick PEM, while the difference between without MPL and with MPL is small when using thin PEM. It has been confirmed that the addition of MPL is effective for the improvement of power generation performance of single PEFC operated at higher temperatures than normal. However, the in-plane temperature distribution with MPL is not even.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Tatsuya Okado; Yuya Kojima; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. Impact of MPL on Temperature Distribution in Single Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell with Various Thicknesses of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane. Energies 2020, 13, 2499 .

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Tatsuya Okado, Yuya Kojima, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. Impact of MPL on Temperature Distribution in Single Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell with Various Thicknesses of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane. Energies. 2020; 13 (10):2499.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Tatsuya Okado; Yuya Kojima; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2020. "Impact of MPL on Temperature Distribution in Single Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell with Various Thicknesses of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane." Energies 13, no. 10: 2499.

Journal article
Published: 14 May 2020 in Journal of Energy and Power Technology
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ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Satoshi Ohata; Kaito Okukura; Eric Hu. The Impact of Operating Conditions on the Performance of a CH4 Dry Reforming Membrane Reactor for H2 Production. Journal of Energy and Power Technology 2020, 2, 1 -19.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Satoshi Ohata, Kaito Okukura, Eric Hu. The Impact of Operating Conditions on the Performance of a CH4 Dry Reforming Membrane Reactor for H2 Production. Journal of Energy and Power Technology. 2020; 2 (2):1-19.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Satoshi Ohata; Kaito Okukura; Eric Hu. 2020. "The Impact of Operating Conditions on the Performance of a CH4 Dry Reforming Membrane Reactor for H2 Production." Journal of Energy and Power Technology 2, no. 2: 1-19.

Journal article
Published: 24 March 2020 in Molecules
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This study investigated the impact of molar ratio of CO2 to reductants H2O and H2, as well as Pd loading weight on CO2 reduction performance with Pd/TiO2 as the photocatalyst. The Pd/TiO2 film photocatalyst is prepared by the sol-gel and dip-coating process to prepare TiO2 film and the pulse arc plasma method is used to dope Pd on TiO2 film. The prepared Pd/TiO2 film was characterized by SEM, EPMA, STEM, EDS, and EELS. This study also investigated the performance of CO2 reduction under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. As a result, it is revealed that when the molar ratio of CO2/H2/H2O is set at 1:0.5:0.5, the best CO2 reduction performance has been obtained under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with and without UV light. In addition, it is found that the optimum Pd loading weight is 3.90 wt%. The maximum molar quantities of CO and CH4 produced per unit weight of photocatalyst are 30.3 μmol/g and 22.1 μmol/g, respectively, for the molar ratio of CO2/H2/H2O = 1:0.5:0.5 under the condition of Xe lamp illumination with UV light. With UV light, C2H4 and C2H6, as well as CO and CH4 are also produced by the Pd/TiO2 film photocatalyst prepared in this study.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Tadaaki Inoue; Yoshito Sakakibara; Masafumi Hirota; Akira Koshio; Eric Hu. Impact of Pd Loading on CO2 Reduction Performance over Pd/TiO2 with H2 and H2O. Molecules 2020, 25, 1468 .

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Tadaaki Inoue, Yoshito Sakakibara, Masafumi Hirota, Akira Koshio, Eric Hu. Impact of Pd Loading on CO2 Reduction Performance over Pd/TiO2 with H2 and H2O. Molecules. 2020; 25 (6):1468.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Tadaaki Inoue; Yoshito Sakakibara; Masafumi Hirota; Akira Koshio; Eric Hu. 2020. "Impact of Pd Loading on CO2 Reduction Performance over Pd/TiO2 with H2 and H2O." Molecules 25, no. 6: 1468.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2019 in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
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ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Satoru Kamiya; Tatsuya Okado; Yusuke Sato; Masafumi Hirota; Mohan Lal Kolhe. Heat and mass transfer analysis in single cell of PEFC using different PEM and GDL at higher temperature. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2019, 44, 29631 -29640.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Satoru Kamiya, Tatsuya Okado, Yusuke Sato, Masafumi Hirota, Mohan Lal Kolhe. Heat and mass transfer analysis in single cell of PEFC using different PEM and GDL at higher temperature. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2019; 44 (56):29631-29640.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Satoru Kamiya; Tatsuya Okado; Yusuke Sato; Masafumi Hirota; Mohan Lal Kolhe. 2019. "Heat and mass transfer analysis in single cell of PEFC using different PEM and GDL at higher temperature." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 44, no. 56: 29631-29640.

Research article
Published: 09 August 2017 in International Journal of Photoenergy
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Fe-doped TiO2 (Fe/TiO2) film photocatalyst was prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating process and pulse arc plasma method. The effect of pulse number on the CO2 reduction performance with the Fe/TiO2 was investigated in this study. In addition, the effect of reductants such as H2O, H2, and NH3/H2O on the CO2 reduction performance with the Fe/TiO2 photocatalyst was also investigated. The characteristics of the prepared Fe/TiO2 film coated on a netlike glass fiber which is a base material were analyzed by SEM, EPMA, EDX, and EPMA. Furthermore, the CO2 reduction performance of the Fe/TiO2 film was tested under a Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. The results show that the CO2 reduction performance with the pulse number of 100 is the best with H2O and/or H2 as reductant under UV light illumination, while that with the pulse number of 500 is the best when NH3/H2O is used as reductant. On the other hand, the CO2 reduction performance with the pulse number of 500 is the best under every reductant condition without UV light illumination. The highest CO2 reduction performance with the Fe/TiO2 is obtained under H2 + H2O/CO2 condition, and the best moral ratio of total reductants to CO2 is 1.5 : 1.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Noriaki Ishida; Daichi Tatematsu; Masafumi Hirota; Akira Koshio; Fumio Kokai; Eric Hu. Effect of Fe Loading Condition and Reductants on CO2 Reduction Performance with Fe/TiO2 Photocatalyst. International Journal of Photoenergy 2017, 2017, 1 -11.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Noriaki Ishida, Daichi Tatematsu, Masafumi Hirota, Akira Koshio, Fumio Kokai, Eric Hu. Effect of Fe Loading Condition and Reductants on CO2 Reduction Performance with Fe/TiO2 Photocatalyst. International Journal of Photoenergy. 2017; 2017 ():1-11.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Noriaki Ishida; Daichi Tatematsu; Masafumi Hirota; Akira Koshio; Fumio Kokai; Eric Hu. 2017. "Effect of Fe Loading Condition and Reductants on CO2 Reduction Performance with Fe/TiO2 Photocatalyst." International Journal of Photoenergy 2017, no. : 1-11.

Research article
Published: 23 June 2016 in International Journal of Photoenergy
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Fe-doped TiO2(Fe/TiO2) film photocatalyst was prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating process to extend its photoresponsivity to the visible spectrum. To promote the CO2reduction performance with the photocatalyst, some types of base materials used for coating Fe/TiO2, which were netlike glass fiber and Cu disc, were investigated. The characterization of prepared Fe/TiO2film coated on netlike glass fiber and Cu disc was analyzed by SEM and EPMA. In addition, the CO2reduction performance of Fe/TiO2film coated on netlike glass disc, Cu disc, and their overlap was tested under a Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light, respectively. The results show that the concentration of produced CO increases by Fe doping irrespective of base material used under the illumination condition with UV light as well as that without UV light. Since the electron transfer between two overlapped photocatalysts is promoted, the peak concentration of CO for the Fe/TiO2double overlapping is approximately 1.5 times as large as the Fe/TiO2single overlapping under the illumination condition with UV light, while the promotion ratio is approximately 1.1 times under that without UV light.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Xuyan Zhao; Takuya Hayakawa; Noriaki Ishida; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. Impact of Overlapping Fe/TiO2Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process on CO2Reduction. International Journal of Photoenergy 2016, 2016, 1 -12.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Xuyan Zhao, Takuya Hayakawa, Noriaki Ishida, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. Impact of Overlapping Fe/TiO2Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process on CO2Reduction. International Journal of Photoenergy. 2016; 2016 ():1-12.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Xuyan Zhao; Takuya Hayakawa; Noriaki Ishida; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2016. "Impact of Overlapping Fe/TiO2Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process on CO2Reduction." International Journal of Photoenergy 2016, no. : 1-12.

Journal article
Published: 29 February 2012 in Applied Energy
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The purpose of this study is to understand the dominant factor and mechanism in coupled phenomena of heat and mass transfer and power generation in a single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell. Through the observation window, the in-plane temperature distribution at backside of gas channel of separator on cathode side, when it generated power, was measured by thermograph. The impact of gas supply conditions, i.e., flow rate, relative humidity of supply gas and gas channel pitch of separator on in-plane temperature distribution was investigated. The voltage to the load current, temperature, relative humidity and flow rate of supply and exhaust gas were measured. As a result, it was found the consumed gas flow rate and total voltage were almost unchanged if the gas was supplied over the stoichiometric ratio of 1.0, irrespective of relative humidity of supply gas. The range of in-plane temperature distribution was reduced with increasing excess gas supply due to the convection heat transfer by unconsumed gas flow. The power generation performance was promoted and the in-plane temperature was reduced with decreasing gas channel pitch irrespective of relative humidity of supply gas.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Kenichi Shibuya; Atsushi Morimoto; Shigeki Tanaka; Masafumi Hirota; Yoshihiro Nakamura; Masashi Kojima; Masahiko Narita; Eric Hu. Dominant factor and mechanism of coupling phenomena in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell. Applied Energy 2012, 90, 73 -79.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Kenichi Shibuya, Atsushi Morimoto, Shigeki Tanaka, Masafumi Hirota, Yoshihiro Nakamura, Masashi Kojima, Masahiko Narita, Eric Hu. Dominant factor and mechanism of coupling phenomena in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell. Applied Energy. 2012; 90 (1):73-79.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Kenichi Shibuya; Atsushi Morimoto; Shigeki Tanaka; Masafumi Hirota; Yoshihiro Nakamura; Masashi Kojima; Masahiko Narita; Eric Hu. 2012. "Dominant factor and mechanism of coupling phenomena in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell." Applied Energy 90, no. 1: 73-79.

Research article
Published: 11 October 2011 in International Journal of Photoenergy
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A Cr- or Ag-doped TiO2film was prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating process and used as the photocatalyst for CO2reforming under the visible light. The ratio of amount of Cr or Ag added to amount of Ti in TiO2sol solution (R) varied from 0 to 100 wt% or 0 to 50 wt%, respectively. The total layer number of Cr- or Ag-doped TiO2film (N) coated was changed. The CO2reforming performance with the Cr- or Ag-doped TiO2film was tested under a Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. As a result, whenNequals to 1, the concentration of CO which was a product from CO2reforming was maximized in Cr doping case forR= 70 wt% and in Ag doping case forR= 1 wt%, respectively. The best result of concentration of CO = 8306 ppmV, concentration of CH4= 1367 ppmV, concentration of C2H6= 1712 ppmV is obtained when with Cr doping in this study.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Go Mitsui; Katsuya Nakamura; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. Reforming Characteristics under Visible Light Response of Cr- or Ag-Doped Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process. International Journal of Photoenergy 2011, 2012, 1 -12.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Go Mitsui, Katsuya Nakamura, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. Reforming Characteristics under Visible Light Response of Cr- or Ag-Doped Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process. International Journal of Photoenergy. 2011; 2012 ():1-12.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Go Mitsui; Katsuya Nakamura; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2011. "Reforming Characteristics under Visible Light Response of Cr- or Ag-Doped Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process." International Journal of Photoenergy 2012, no. : 1-12.

Research article
Published: 03 October 2011 in International Journal of Photoenergy
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It was previously reported that CO2could be reduced into CO, CH4, and so forth, which can be used as fuels, by TiO2as the photocatalyst under UV radiation. To increase the concentration of fuel and improve CO2reduction performance on TiO2photocatalyst, a membrane reactor composed of TiO2and gas separation membrane prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating method has been built. Factors such as rising speed (RS) in the dip-coating process and the timing and amount of water injected in the membrane reactor in CO2reduction experiment have been investigated. As a result, the largest amount of TiO2film is obtained for mm/s among various RS conditions investigated in this study. According to CO2reduction experiment by gas circulation type reactor, too much water which cannot be consumed in CO2reduction process would not help improving the CO2reduction performance.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Yuki Okano; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. Effect of Preparation Condition of Ti Film and Experimental Condition on C Reduction Performance of Ti Photocatalyst Membrane Reactor. International Journal of Photoenergy 2011, 2011, 1 -14.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Yuki Okano, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. Effect of Preparation Condition of Ti Film and Experimental Condition on C Reduction Performance of Ti Photocatalyst Membrane Reactor. International Journal of Photoenergy. 2011; 2011 ():1-14.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Yuki Okano; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2011. "Effect of Preparation Condition of Ti Film and Experimental Condition on C Reduction Performance of Ti Photocatalyst Membrane Reactor." International Journal of Photoenergy 2011, no. : 1-14.

Research article
Published: 22 December 2010 in International Journal of Photoenergy
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Hydrogen (H2) is normally used as the fuel to power polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). However, the power generation performance of PEFC is harmed by the carbon monoxide (CO) in the H2that is often produced frommethane (CH4). The purpose of this study is to investigate the experimental conditions in order to improve the CO oxidization performance of mesoporous silica loaded with TiO2. The impact of loading ratio of TiO2and initial concentration ratio of O2to CO on CO oxidization performance is investigated. As a result, the optimum loading ratio of TiO2and initial concentration ratio of O2to CO were 20 wt% and 4 vol%, respectively, under the experimental conditions. Under this optimumexperimental condition, the CO in rich H2in the reactor can be completely eliminated from initial 12000 ppmV after UV light illumination of 72 hours.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Yutaka Yamano; Tomokazu Hisada; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. Characteristics of Carbon Monoxide Oxidization in Rich Hydrogen by Mesoporous Silica with TiO2Photocatalyst. International Journal of Photoenergy 2010, 2010, 1 -9.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Yutaka Yamano, Tomokazu Hisada, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. Characteristics of Carbon Monoxide Oxidization in Rich Hydrogen by Mesoporous Silica with TiO2Photocatalyst. International Journal of Photoenergy. 2010; 2010 ():1-9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Yutaka Yamano; Tomokazu Hisada; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2010. "Characteristics of Carbon Monoxide Oxidization in Rich Hydrogen by Mesoporous Silica with TiO2Photocatalyst." International Journal of Photoenergy 2010, no. : 1-9.

Journal article
Published: 30 September 2010 in Applied Energy
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In this study, the environmental load of photovoltaic power generation system (PV) during its life cycle and energy payback time (EPT) are evaluated by LCA scheme. Two hypothetical case studies in Toyohashi, Japan and Gobi dessert in China have been carried out to investigate the influence of installation location and PV type on environmental load and EPT. The environmental load and EPT of a high-concentration photovoltaic power generation system (hcpV) and a multi-crystalline silicon photovoltaic power generation system (mc-Si PV) are studied. The study shows for a PV of 100 MW size, the total impacts of the hcpV installed in Toyohashi is larger than that of the hcpV installed in Gobi desert by 5% without consideration of recycling stage. The EPT of the hcpV assumed to be installed in Gobi desert is shorter than EPT of the hcpV assumed to be installed in Toyohashi by 0.64 year. From these results, the superiority to install PV in Gobi desert is certificated. Comparing with hcpV and mc-Si PV, the ratio of the total impacts of mc-Si PV to that of hcpV is 0.34 without consideration of recycling stage. The EPT of hcpV is longer than EPT of mc-Si PV by 0.27 year. The amount of global solar radiation contributing to the amount of power generation of mc-Si PV is larger than the amount of direct solar radiation contributing to the amount of power generation of hcpV by about 188 kW h/(m2 year) in Gobi desert. Consequently, it appears that using mc-Si PV in Gobi desert is the best option.

ACS Style

A. Nishimura; Y. Hayashi; K. Tanaka; M. Hirota; S. Kato; M. Ito; Kenji Araki; E.J. Hu. Life cycle assessment and evaluation of energy payback time on high-concentration photovoltaic power generation system. Applied Energy 2010, 87, 2797 -2807.

AMA Style

A. Nishimura, Y. Hayashi, K. Tanaka, M. Hirota, S. Kato, M. Ito, Kenji Araki, E.J. Hu. Life cycle assessment and evaluation of energy payback time on high-concentration photovoltaic power generation system. Applied Energy. 2010; 87 (9):2797-2807.

Chicago/Turabian Style

A. Nishimura; Y. Hayashi; K. Tanaka; M. Hirota; S. Kato; M. Ito; Kenji Araki; E.J. Hu. 2010. "Life cycle assessment and evaluation of energy payback time on high-concentration photovoltaic power generation system." Applied Energy 87, no. 9: 2797-2807.

Research article
Published: 08 August 2010 in International Journal of Chemical Engineering
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A Cr-doped film was prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating method and used as the photocatalyst for reforming under the visible light. The ratio of amount of Cr added to amount of Ti in sol solution (R) varied from 0 to 100 wt%. The total layer number of Cr-doped film (N) coated was up to 7. The reforming performance with the Cr-doped film was evaluated by illuminating under a Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. The concentration of CO which was a product from reforming was maximized for wt% whenNequals to 1. The visible light responsibility was also maximized for wt%. The amount of Cr within film coated on copper disc was increased with the increase inRup to 70 wt% and started to decrease whenRis over 70 wt%. The reforming performance of film with one layer Cr-doped was found better than that of film with multi Cr-doped layers under illuminating of UV light. Under the visible light, the performance was maximized at wt% and with one layer Cr-doped.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Go Mitsui; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. Reforming Performance and Visible Light Responsibility of Cr-Doped Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Method. International Journal of Chemical Engineering 2010, 2010, 1 -9.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Go Mitsui, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. Reforming Performance and Visible Light Responsibility of Cr-Doped Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Method. International Journal of Chemical Engineering. 2010; 2010 ():1-9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Go Mitsui; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2010. "Reforming Performance and Visible Light Responsibility of Cr-Doped Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Method." International Journal of Chemical Engineering 2010, no. : 1-9.

Journal article
Published: 30 November 2009 in Catalysis Today
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It was previously reported that CO2 could be reformed into CO, CH4, etc., which can be used as fuels, by TiO2 as the photocatalyst and under UV radiation. If this technique could be applied practically, a carbon circulation system would then be able to be constructed by reforming CO2 from combustion, using solar energy, to fuel, which would solve the problem of global warming and fossil fuels depletion all together. However, the technology is not yet practicable as the fuel concentration of products is too low. To increase the concentration and improve CO2 reforming performance on TiO2, a membrane reactor composed of TiO2 and gas separation membrane prepared by sol–gel and dip-coating method has been built. Study on the factors influencing membrane performance, e.g. rising speed in the dip-coating process, has been carried out with the reactor. The results of the study are reported in this paper.

ACS Style

Akira Nishimura; Nobuyuki Komatsu; Go Mitsui; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. CO2 reforming into fuel using TiO2 photocatalyst and gas separation membrane. Catalysis Today 2009, 148, 341 -349.

AMA Style

Akira Nishimura, Nobuyuki Komatsu, Go Mitsui, Masafumi Hirota, Eric Hu. CO2 reforming into fuel using TiO2 photocatalyst and gas separation membrane. Catalysis Today. 2009; 148 (3-4):341-349.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akira Nishimura; Nobuyuki Komatsu; Go Mitsui; Masafumi Hirota; Eric Hu. 2009. "CO2 reforming into fuel using TiO2 photocatalyst and gas separation membrane." Catalysis Today 148, no. 3-4: 341-349.