Carbon Capture and Utilization – capturing CO2 is not economical, what if you convert it into a more valuable commodity chemical like ethylene
Our latest manuscript on the design and techno-economics of carbonate-to-ethylene electrochemical processes is now online in Nature Chemical Engineering.
In this collaborative effort between Georgia Tech and the Dow Chemical Company, we explored innovative process designs by integrating the electrolyzer with direct air capture unit and advanced membrane-based separation technologies and stream recycling. This approach aims to create a more renewable and sustainable pathway for producing ethylene at large scales (~2 million tons/year).
Key highlights from our study include:
– Near-neutral Scope-1 and Scope-2 CO2 emissions in the optimistic scenario, albeit with a significant energy penalty.
– A roadmap to achieving <1 USD/kg ethylene.
– Sensitivity analysis on key process parameters that can guide experimentalists.
– Comparison of economics between contemporary electrolyzer architectures.
– Detailed sizing and costing for large-scale electrolyzer.
I’m particularly proud of our use of chemical engineering fundamentals – residence time distributions – to characterize electrolyzer mixing patterns, informing the design of large-scale electrolyzers. Dive into the full paper for more insights and detailed findings!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00137-y
Here is a research briefing (TLDR of the paper) –
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00146-x
I was thrilled to have designed the draft for the cover of the November issue of Nature Chemical Engineering! It demonstrates the intricacies of process design and techno-economics.
“Greenhouse gas levels are at an all-time high”
The call for action is now at our doorstep! The need for pollution abatement, sequestration & utilisation of the greenhouse gases in now the need of the hour. If we carry on using the earth’s resources at our current rate of consumption, we’d need 1.7 planets to support the demand on the earth’s ecosystems.
Stopping POLLUTION is the Best SOLUTION
My research primarily focuses on imparting various chemical engineering concepts to alleviate pollution!
Water pollution
Carbon removes pollution!
Dec 2020 to May 2021
The research work successfully demostrated the ability of activated carbon to treat tannery and textile-dyeing industry waste water.
” The study demostrated a novel mechanism to treat wastewater at very low cost of ~3 cents/L, with minimal capital investment!”
Unified, simple and decentralized treatment process for synthetic and real-time dye contaminated wastewaters
Published in Elsevier’s Journal of Hazardous materials
Water pollution
Aloe vera to the rescue!
Dec, 2019 to Oct 2020
The research work aims to overcome the disadvantages faced in the ion-exchange process by the use of Aloe vera (L.) as a conditioner to the feed water.
” The study corroborated the proportionality of intercept term in Weber’s model for Intra particle Diffusion with hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness”
Plastic pollution
Ball pens produces 2.65 million tonnes of CO2e annually
Jan, 2018 to Jun 2020
The 2-year long survey was conducted to estimate the carbon footprint of the lifecycle of ballpoint pens and also to comprehend the pen use pattern among various age groups.
Air pollution
Pigments from soot
Sep, 2019 to Apr, 2020
The research work aims to produce a useful product out of the carbon soot and sequestrated carbon from various novel methodologies.
Inspired from the work by AirInk, we managed to produce pigments at INR 35 ($0.5)/100mL
Preparation of Black Lyophilic Ink Using the Carbon Soot Emitted by Vehicles
Published in Springer-Natures’ Environmental Science and Pollution research (ISSN: 1614-7499)
Awards for the Project
V.N. Srinivasan Memorial Award
The project was identified as the most innovative project of the college in the year 2019, and was approved to be selected for presenation in the most famous symposiums Chemfluence-19 and Schemcon-19
Chemfluence-19
The Chemfluence is the tag name of the symposiums conducted by the Prestigious Alagapa College of Technology, Guindy. The project won the best presentation award in the symposium.
Schemcon-19
In the most prestigious event for chemical engineers in India, the Students’ Chemical Engineers Congress (SCHEMCON-19), the project was bestowed with the “Best Oral Presentation award”.
RACEEE-2020
Finally the paper project was complied into a paper and presented in the International Conference on Recent Advancements in Chemical, Energy & Environmental Engineering at SSN College of Engineering.
Homogeneous Surface Diffusion Model for adsorption of Acetaminophen (Paracetamol), Benzotriazole(Surfactant) and Caffeine with activated carbon.
A model that accurately explains the adsorption flux’s (with an adsorbent molecule) variation with time and radius of penetration into the adsorbent. Using the results from the research work, judicious selection of a suitable adsorbent for multicomponent systems becomes possible under different operating conditions.
During my internship under the esteemed guidance of Dr. Kannan A at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras during which I was expected to develop a mathematical model that explains and approximates the experimental data obtained for the adsorption fluxes at various distances from the center inside an adsorbent molecule.
On plotting the data, I found that the plots were similar to the family of curves obtained for the Plank’s Law at different temperatures. On further examination, the curves were much similar to the logistic function model, due to its S-shaped nature. Taking the logistic model equation as the basis, I varied the equation parameters and modified the power term to accommodate the occurrence of the peaks in the system of experimental data recorded for various times.
After concerted effects, I was able to successfully simulate a Homogeneous Surface Diffusion Model(HSDM) that accurately predicted the adsorption flux variation trend observed at various distances from the center of the adsorbate molecule to its surface. The simulated model had predicted the maximum flux with great acumen and established a mathematical expression relating Fourier’s number for mass transfer to the maximum flux. Also, I was able to develop an analogy for the system with the Wien’s Displacement law, as in the system, which states that
“The extent of penetration corresponding to the maximum flux of adsorption is directly proportional to contact time.”
Currently, the work is under review in the Chemosphere journal, Elsevier, titled: “Quantitative Insights Including Novel Flux Analysis Aiding Selection of Operating
Conditions and Adsorbents for Multicomponent Adsorption”
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