Analysis of greenhouse gas emission from reactive materials and its thermodynamics

Abstract

The environment is polluted by many gases of which carbon dioxide is one of them and unfortunately during the emission of carbon dioxide, oxygen, which is very important for keeping all species alive, is depleted. Increased industrial activities led to more emission of carbon dioxide and ultimately global warming arose as a result of the greenhouse effect. Global warming has resulted with high temperatures and carbon dioxide production in the atmosphere and it was necessary to come up with mathematical modelling to investigate processes that may try to reduce temperature rise, carbon dioxide emission and oxygen depletion in a stockpile of combustible material. The work done in this thesis considered three differential equations, first for temperature behaviour, second for oxygen depletion and third for carbon dioxide emission. The three equations were solved simultaneously for a reactive slab of combustible material. An exothermic reaction in a stockpile of combustible material results due to the reaction of oxygen with reactive hydrocarbon material and the products are usually heat and carbon dioxide. A detailed discussion on this part is given in chapter 1, and also some definitions of terms applied in this work, together with literature review, statement of problem, aim of the study, objectives of the study and methodology are part of the chapter. In chapter 2, the nonlinear partial differential equations governing the process are derived.