Author(s): Joelis Velez Diaz
Advisor(s): Heather LeClerc, Michael Timko, Alex Maag
Category: Undergraduate
Abstract: The research domain is chemical engineering, mechanical, and materials engineering, accompanying the focus of guaranteeing everyone inexpensive, trustworthy tenable, and modernized electricity with the use of green waste by converting it to energy creating no contamination. The substantial motivation for this research is the planet earth and all organisms that coexist in it, climate change is a threat to all and now more than ever we must combat using knowledge, research, and STEM to acquire a better future. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to achieve green waste characterization to obtain an affordable and sustainable form of energy promoting environmental justice. Through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), bio-oil can be produced from energy-dense green waste feeds such as yard clippings and agricultural waste. This research aims to convert lignocellulosic wastes for energy production into usable energy by auto-thermal HTL. An aqueous phase with a sizable amount of useable carbon is a byproduct of HTL. Existing studies only quantify total carbon, leaving the chemical identity of the carbon unknown, and a significant gap in our understanding of aqueous analysis. After separation with vacuum filtration and solvent extraction, the resulting oil and aqueous products will be analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), identifying the mechanism at the molecular level. By evaluating various reaction times and percentages of imputed solid waste, a feasible system that maximizes oil production and quality will be created, hence producing clean energy.
UN SDGs: SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
Video Presentation:
Link: https://wpi.instructuremedia.com/embed/3d97c1be-2682-499c-b5bc-529bd080bd73
Poster Presentation: