Biogas Refinement Research - Engineering Internship
May 2021 - July 2021
West Biofuels Research and Construction Teams - I am second from the left (credit: West Biofuels)
My Role: Research Assistant (Intern)
Skillsets: Fluid mechanics, experimental design, data collection and analysis, instrument calibration
Objective:
Determine the efficacy of various gas separation techniques as methods of gasification exhaust syngas refinement, in a larger system which produces renewable ethanol.
Results:
Combinations of gases which resulted in effective separation by the tested methods were determined and analyzed for use in industrial energy production processes, and are now in use in those processes.
During the summer of 2021, I worked as an intern at West Biofuels, a biofuels research company that specializes in developing biomass gasification systems for commercial use. On their research team, I worked with a PhD candidate and Master’s student in the design, realization, execution, and analysis of syngas-separation experiments by various methods.
Process:
The design of the experiments was relatively simple conceptually – a known mixture of two gases would enter the system of the tested method of separation, and the gases would separate based on their properties into one of two lines. Lines were constructed with tubing and compression fittings on a test stand. Each line used Coriolis mass flow meters and other volumetric flow meters to measure flow in the system, and we used a Nova gas analyzer to examine the concentrations of gases in the lines. We calibrated and ensured the accuracy of each instrument used in the experiment before conducting the experiment. Because dangerous gases would be used in the experiments, the system was constructed with effective venting capabilities and frequently tested for leaks. We conducted the experiments with many gas combinations and developed a model using mass flows and gas composition data to determine the efficacy of gas separation.
Results & Discussion:
When we first ran the experiment, we noticed several inconsistencies in data that suggested the setup was incorrect – namely large discrepancies in mass entering and exiting the system, when no leaks existed. After testing the instruments and modifying our analysis model, we received good data and made conclusions about which mixtures of gases could be separated by each method. From this experiment, I learned about the nature of experimental design and how engineering concepts (fluid system construction, fluid mechanics, etc) can be applied to research.
The final piece is added to West Biofuels’ first commercial power plant, fueled by rice hulls