Engineering Commons^™

Fast Pyrolysis Of Biomass Under Gasification Conditions: Influence Of Particle Size, Reactor Temperature And Gas Phase Reactions, Li Chen, Capucine Dupont, Sylvain Salvador, Guillaume Boissonnet, Daniel Schweich

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

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Suitability Of Wood Chips From Forestry And Different Biomass Feedstocks For Use In A Semi-Industrial Plant Of Btl Production By Gasification, Capucine Dupont, Sylvie Rouge, Alain Berthelot, Denilson Dasilvaperez, Ambroise Graffin, Françoise Labalette, Céline Laboubee, Jean-Claude Mithouard, Sophie Pitocchi

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

A semi-industrial plant of BtL production by biomass gasification is planned to be operating in 2011 in the Northern-East of France by a French Energy Research Centre, called Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), and several partners. This demonstration plant will be a 50 MW plant, based on an entrained flow reactor, followed by different stages of syngas cleaning and a final stage of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

One study has been launched on the biomass regional resources that may be used as feedstock in the plant. The first task of this study deals with the availability of the resources and their feasibility …

Designing An Sscf Process For Bioethanol Production From Lignocellulosic Substrates By Co-Fermentation Of Xylose And Glucose, Kim Olofsson

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

Different lignocellulosic materials, from e.g. forest industry and agriculture, are potentially interesting feedstocks for ethanol production. To meet desired overall yields during ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials, it is important to use both hexoses and pentoses. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the most commonly used organism for industrial ethanol production, does not naturally ferment pentoses. Currently, genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains are becoming available for xylose fermentation. However, simultaneous fermentation of xylose and glucose in genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires a favorable ratio between these sugars.

In simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of spruce, a potential feedstock in the northern hemisphere, the proportion …

Kinetic Assessment For Selective Production Of Furfural From C5 Sugars Contained In Biomass, Gianluca Marcotullio

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

Furfural is nowadays one of the most important biomass derived chemicals having a market of roughly 300 ktonn/year. It finds application in many chemicals sectors, being used as a solvent itself, or as starting material for almost all the furanic compounds. In a biobased economy furfural could replace or substitute many oil derivatives as platform chemical and be a starting material for liquid fuels production: furanic biofuels have lately been addressed to represent a very interesting option to current biofuels showing advantageous qualities. Moreover, being furfural derived from the C5 sugars contained in biomass, its integration in a modern biorefinery …

Scale-Up Of The Milena Gasification Process For The Production Of Bio-Sng, Christiaan M. Van Der Meijden, Berend Vreugdenhil

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

The production of Substitute Natural Gas from biomass (Bio-SNG) is an attractive option to reduce CO2 emissions and replace declining fossil natural gas reserves. The Energy research Center of the Netherlands (ECN) is working on the development of a technology to convert a wide range of fuels into Bio-SNG. The ECN Bio-SNG technology is based on indirect gasification of biomass. The MILENA indirect gasifier is developed to produce a gas, which can be upgraded into SNG with a high efficiency. Because of the indirect heating of the gasification process no oxygen is required. Char and tar are removed form the …

Biocycle – Sustainable Polymer From Sugar Cane, Sylvio Ortega Filho

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

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Study Of The Behaviour Of A Catalytic Ceramic Candle Filter In A Lab-Scale Unit At High Temperatures, Eleonora Simeone, Manfred Nacken, Steffen Heidenreich, Wiebren De Jong

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

Solid particles and tars are among the non-desirable products of synthesis gas produced during biomass gasification. Removal of fly ashes is necessary in order to comply with emission limits as well as avoid their deposition in downstream units. Condensation of tars, on the other side, can cause clogging. A catalytic hot gas filter can remove both solids and tars, when operating at temperatures as high as 850oC. Catalytic hot gas filter elements are under development in order to solve this issue.

A lab-scale filtration unit has been designed and constructed at Delft University of Technology. The unit contains one ceramic …

Historical And Recent Developments In The Enzymatic Hydrolysis Of Brazilian Feedstocks For Ethanol Production, Elba P.S. Bon

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

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Novel Design Of Multiphase Reactors For Biomass-To-Liquid Synthesis, Ahmed Youssef, Milorad P. Dudukovic Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

Generation of liquid fuels from renewable sources such as biomass has been practiced since early 1900’s. In view of the skyrocketing oil prices and the depleting reserves of natural gas, it has gained further interest. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is one of the main processes considered. It involves the reaction of syngas in presence of a catalyst to produce liquid fuels. Syngas sources are numerous ranging from waste gasification, anaerobic digestion to clean coal. The reactor of choice for gas to liquid conversion is a slurry bubble column. Although, these multiphase reactors offer several advantages including good heat and mass transfer, …

Gas Phase Mixing In Bubble Columns With Internals, Mohamed Hamed, Muthanna Al Dahhan

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

The use of renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly necessary, if we are to achieve the changes required to address the impacts of global warming. Biomass is the most common form of renewable energy, widely used in the third world but until recently, less so in the Western world. Latterly much attention has been focused on the conversion of biomass to liquid fuels; a process which would greatly increases the potential usefulness of biomass as a renewable resource.

Conversion of biomass to liquid is carried out by first gasification of biomass to yield synthetic gas. The synthetic gas can then …

Supply And Properties Of Agricultural Residues Suitable For Bioenergy Applications, Fernando Preto, Irene Coyle

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

Agriculture is one of Canada’s largest industries and the residues left over from farming, milling and the off spec crops that are produced every year are present across the country. The quantity and quality of these residues as potential fuels have been analysed, including a comparison of the financial benefits and costs to selecting agricultural feedstocks for heat and power projects. A variety of fuels have been assessed, including raw and densified biomass, to understand the range in transportation costs, front and back end material handling and boiler selection. These fuels include: corn stover, corn cob, switchgrass pellets, whole canola, …

A Simulation Model Of Combined Biogas, Bioethanol And Protein Fodder Co-Production In Organic Farming, Piotr Oleskowicz-Popiel

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

Anaerobic digestion based on animal manure and energy crops is very effective technology to provide energy and reduce green-house gasses emission, in particular ammonia and methane. Besides, utilisation of biogas contributes to reduction of CO2 emission. On the other hand, production of bioethanol from starchy or lignocellulosic materials can supply farmers with liquid fuel necessary for agriculture machinery. Therefore, there is a need for development an effective biorefinery for sustainable energy production in organic agriculture. Due to large amount of existing technologies and many ways for co-production of feed and fuel, the application of process engineering tools is required. The …

Fuels And Chemicals From Biomass And Waste, Esben Taarning

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

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Biofuel Production From Biomass-Derived Volatile Fatty Acid Platform, Ho Nam Chang, Nakjong Kim, Changmoon Joeng Jongwon Kang, Hyungshik Choi

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

The typical biorefinery platforms are sugar, thermochemical (syngas), carbon-rich chains, and biogas platform. The sugar platform uses hexose and pentose sugars extracted or converted from plant body. The thermochemical (syngas) platform is chemical or biological conversion process using pyrolysis or gasification of plant to produce biofuels. The carbon-rich chains platform is used to produce biodiesel from long-chain fatty acids or glycerides. Those platforms have unique advantages and disadvantages. Our group has concentrated on the biogas platform producing methane gas from municipal solid wastes through anaerobic digestion (AD) processs, which is composed of rapid acidogenesis and slow methanogenesis. This acidogenic and …

Increasing Corn Throughput In Dry Grind Process For Ethanol Process, Vijay Singh, Jameel Shihadeh, Kent D. Rausch, M. E. Tumbleson

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

In a conventional dry grind process, corn is ground and mixed with water to produce slurry. The slurry is cooked; starch in the slurry is liquefied, simultaneously saccharified and fermented to produce ethanol. Typical solids during slurry preparation range from 30 to 34%. Higher solids result in higher ethanol concentration. High final ethanol concentration improves plant profitability by increasing plant capacity and improving plant efficiency. Corn solids higher than 34% are not used in dry grind corn process due to high mash viscosity (after cooking), increase in sugar concentration during fermentation (substrate yeast inhibition) and high final ethanol concentration (product …

Biodiesel – Oxidation, Storage Stability And Materials Compatibility – The Brazilian R&D Experience, Eduardo Cavalcanti

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

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Hybrid Staged Thermolysis To Valorise Biomass, Paul J. De Wild

Bioenergy - II: Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources

The need for a renewable ‘green’ chemistry is adamant because of the adverse effects of the increasing use of fossil fuels on our society, like global warming and the depletion of fossil fuel resources. Therefore, the use of ligno-cellulosic (woody) types of biomass as a renewable source for chemicals and energy is increasingly becoming important. Unfortunately, the heterogeneity of biomass presents a major obstacle to chemical utilization. The main constituents hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin are strongly interconnected by a variety of physico-chemical bonds that makes it difficult to extract individual chemicals in high yields. So an efficient and cost-effective fractionation …

Binding Studies Of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Targeted Compounds Using Surface Plasmon Resonance, Spandana Kankanala

Theses and Dissertations

The study of binding kinetics of proteins plays an important role in understanding molecular mechanisms that drive biological processes. The binding rate constants reflect the dynamics of the system and associated biological activity measurements of the association and dissociation rate constants make it possible to compare different interactions in a standardized manner and help elucidate a mechanistic understanding of binding events. In our study, we used Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology (Biacore) to study the binding kinetics of the antibodies EGF, Cetuximab and a candidate drug P-13 with the receptor EGFR. The candidate drug P-13 was synthesized and tested on …

Interfacial Energy Between Carbon Nanotubes And Polymers Measured From Nanoscale Peel Tests In The Atomic Force Microscope, Mark C. Strus, Camilo I. Cano, R. Byron Pipes, Cattien V. Nguyen, Arvind Raman

Other Nanotechnology Publications

The future development of polymer composite materials with nanotubes or nanoscale fibers requires the ability to understand and improve the interfacial bonding at the nanotube-polymer matrix interface. In recent work [Strus MC, Zalamea L, Raman A, Pipes RB, Nguyen CV, Stach EA. Peeling force spectroscopy: exposing the adhesive nanomechanics of one-dimensional nanostructures. Nano Lett 2008;8(2):544–50], it has been shown that a new mode in the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), peeling force spectroscopy, can be used to understand the adhesive mechanics of carbon nanotubes peeled from a surface. In the present work, we demonstrate how AFM peeling force spectroscopy can be …

Near-Optimal Antenna Design For Multiple Antenna Systems, Daniel N. Evans

Theses and Dissertations

Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems use multiple antenna elements at the transmitter and receiver to offer improved spectral efficiency over traditional single antenna systems. In these systems, properties of the transmit and receive antenna arrays play a key role in determining the overall performance of the system. This thesis derives an upper bound on ergodic (average) channel capacity which formally links good antenna diversity performance with good ergodic capacity. As a result of this derivation, antenna arrays with good ergodic capacity performance are designed in this thesis by designing antenna arrays with near-optimal diversity gain. Several approaches are developed to design …

A Hybrid Templated-Based Composite Classification System, Michael A. Turnbaugh

Theses and Dissertations

An automatic target classification system contains a classifier which reads a feature as an input and outputs a class label. Typically, the feature is a vector of real numbers. Other features can be non-numeric, such as a string of symbols or alphabets. One method of improving the performance of an automatic classification system is through combining two or more independent classifiers that are complementary in nature. Complementary classifiers are observed by finding an optimal method for partitioning the problem space. For example, the individual classifiers may operate to identify specific objects. Another method may be to use classifiers that operate …

The Hybrid Counterinsurgency Strategy: System Dynamics Employed To Develop A Behavioral Model Of Joint Strategy, Ferdinand Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations

Since the recent focus on the Global War on Terror, both military and civilian theorists have begun to “relearn” the intricacies of counterinsurgency warfare. We face difficult challenges when confronting non-state actors that tend to attack in the time between conventional battles and the establishment of stable governments. This research compares and contrasts current counterinsurgency strategies (Hearts and Minds and Cost Benefit Theory) by applying System Dynamics to provide insight into the influences and emergent behavior patterns of counterinsurgency systems. The information gained from the development of the models and from their simulation behaviors is used to construct a System …

An Investigation Into The Feasibility Of Using A Modern Gravity Gradient Instrument For Passive Aircraft Navigation And Terrain Avoidance, Marshall M. Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, Gravity Gradient Instruments (GGIs) - devices which measure the spatial derivatives of gravity, have improved remarkably due to development of accelerometer technologies. Specialized GGIs are currently flown on aircraft for geological purposes in the mining industries. As such, gravity gradient data is recorded in flight and detailed gradient maps are created after post mission processing. These maps, if stored in a database onboard an aircraft and combined with a GGI, form the basis for a covert navigation system using a map matching process. This system is completely passive and essentially unjammable. To determine feasibility of this method, a GGI …

Wind Tunnel Analysis And Flight Test Of A Wing Fence On A T-38, Michael D. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

A low-speed wind tunnel study and flight tests were performed to examine the effects of a wing fence on the T-38A. Wind tunnel results were based upon force and moment data collected with a six-component balance and flow visualization at Reynolds numbers up to 0.3 x 10⁶, based on mean aerodynamic chord. The model did not include the last 7.79 feet of the aircraft, and the engine and exhaust were modeled as through-holes. Five fence geometries, placed at wing station 125 (± 0.825 semispan), were compared. The best performer of these designs, based on drag polar, was the …

An Analysis Of Multiple Configurations Of Next-Generation Cathodes In A Low Power Hall Thruster, John E. Rotter

Theses and Dissertations

The research presented here is an effort to integrate an existing hollow cathode design with a low power production Hall thruster in multiple geometries. Both externally- and internally-mounted cathodes were fabricated and operated in conjunction with a Busek BHT-1500 Hall thruster. Three insert materials were evaluated; Cerium Hexaboride (CeB6), Lanthanum Hexaboride (LaB6), and impregnated tungsten. The thruster was operated at a single operating condition for all testing. The operating specifications for the discharge were 300 V and 2.25 A, giving a total power of 675 W. The boride-based cathodes were tested in both geometries while the tungsten-based cathode was only …

Boundary Avoidance Tracking: Consequences (And Uses) Of Imposed Boundaries On Pilot-Aircraft Performance, Ryan D. Blake

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the results of research into the Boundary Avoidance Tracking (BAT) theory, which states that often pilots control an aircraft not in an attempt to maintain some condition, but to avoid some real or perceived boundaries. This pilot modeling concept was studied using over 30 pilots in simulator and flight tests. The pilot-aircraft system was evaluated with 3 different lateral-directional control models. Pilots were given a roll angle tracking task in the presence of shrinking boundaries. Pilots were also given a secondary task in some of the profiles in order to measure workload. Approximately 42 hours of simulation …

Abstracting Gis Layers From Hyperspectral Imagery, Torsten E. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

Modern warfare methods in the urban environment necessitates the use of multiple layers of sensors to manage the battle space. Hyperspectral imagers are one possible sensor modality to provide remotely sensed images that can be converted into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) layers. GIS layers abstract knowledge of roads, buildings, and scene content and contain shape files that outline and highlight scene features. Creating shape files is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. The availability of shape files that reflect the current configuration of an area of interest significantly enhances Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace (IPB). The solution presented in this thesis …

Combat Identification Modeling Using Neural Network Techniques, Changwook Lim

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this research were: (1) validating Kim’s (2007) simulation method by applying analytic methods and (2) comparing the two different Robust Parameter Design methods with three measures of performance (label accuracy for enemy, friendly, and clutter). Considering the features of CID, input variables were defined as two controllable (threshold combination of detector and classifier) and three uncontrollable (map size, number of enemies and friendly). The first set of experiments considers Kim’s method using analytical methods. In order to create response variables, Kim’s method uses Monte Carlo simulation. The output results showed no difference between simulation and the analytic …

Numerical Analysis For Relevant Features In Intrusion Detection (Narfid), Jose Andres Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Identification of cyber attacks and network services is a robust field of study in the machine learning community. Less effort has been focused on understanding the domain space of real network data in identifying important features for cyber attack and network service classification. Motivations for such work allow for anomaly detection systems with less requirements on data “sniffed” off the network, extraction of features from the traffic, reduced learning time of algorithms, and ideally increased classification performance of anomalous behavior. This thesis evaluates the usefulness of a good feature subset for the general classification task of identifying cyber attacks and …

Voice Traffic Over Mobile Ad Hoc Networks: A Performance Analysis Of The Optimized Link State Routing Protocol, Lady Noreen P. Santos

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the performance of the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). Using VoIP over MANETs takes advantage of the mobility and versatility of a MANET environment and the flexibility and interoperability a digital voice format affords. Research shows that VoIP-like traffic can be routed through an ad hoc network using the Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector routing protocol. This research determines the suitability of OLSR as a routing protocol for MANETs running VoIP applications. Representative VoIP traffic is submitted to a MANET and end-to-end delay …