Date:
October 16, 2014
Title:
Scaled Fluidized Bed Combustion for BioFuel Research
Request Amount:
$750.00
Project Authors:
Courtney Enright
(907)254-4054
cfenright@alaska.edu
Mechanical Engineering Dept.
Senior
Undergraduate and Graduate standing
Jay Doubt
(907)978-7176
jrdoubt@alaska.edu
Mechanical Engineering Dept.
Senior
Undergraduate Standing
Blake Burley
(907)978-7176
baburley@alaska.edu
Mechanical Engineering Dept.
Senior
Undergraduate Standing
Sustainability themes
● Energy
● Waste Management
● Process and Institution
Project Summary
The Fluidized Bed Combustor (FBC) will be built to allow the Alaska Center for Energy
and Power (ACEP) to conduct research to optimize the biomass to coal ratio for the new
UAF Combined Heat and Power Plant. This project has potenial to reduce UAF’s
emissions footprint since coal contains as much as 230 mg of heavy metals (Arsenic,
Copper, Cadmium, and Mercury) per kg of coal [1] compared to biomass (wood, straw,
olive bagasse) which can contain 169 mg of heavy metals per kg of biomass, as an
extreme [1].
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Project description
The Fluidized Bed Combustor (FBC) can be utilized to burn materials with a low
heating value by suspending the mass on top of an incombustible fluidized material (i.e.
sand). The new UAF Combined Heat and Power Plant will include an FBC component.
At present, heat or power generation is primarily derived from coal, however, with the
FBC, UAF has the potential to integrate biomass into the heating process.
Our team intends to build a small scale fluidized bed combustor that can be
instrumented for lab use. The FBC will allow more exhaustive study for optimizing the
mixture of biomass and coal to maximize heating potential.
This project was developed through a partnership with the US Forest Service and
the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. The overall goal is to produce research
supported recommendations to UAF’s Utilities Division as to the most efficient
combination of biomass and coal to generate heat and power while reducing emissions.
As coal creates greater Na2O, Al2O3, SiO2, and Fe2O3 emissions than biomass [1], such
a step would assist UAF in increasing sustainability and reducing carbon footprint.
The overall cost of this segment of the project is estimated around $750, with
acknowledgement that this project will likely require improvements to the original design
in order to reach the ultimate goal. Any additional elements added to the FBC will
increase the overall cost of the project.
Project value
The UAF Sustainability Fee was passed with the mandate to “promote energy
efficiency programs and renewable energy projects” in an effort to improve UAF’s
overall sustainability. The FBC project is the first step towards provided attainable
research supported solutions to reducing UAF’s consumption of coal and decreasing
UAF’s emissions of heavy metal oxides, such as Na2O, Al2O3, SiO2, and Fe2O3.
Fluidized bed combustion has great potential in the area of waste energy. Due
to the way combustion takes place in an FBC, items with a very low heating value such
as waste paper and plastic can be burned and still produce a significant amount of heat
and power. The efficiency of waste energy generation is further increased by the high
combustion temperatures that are allowed by an FBC.
This project is designed to be fully implemented by UAF students. Furthermore,
this project allows opportunity at various stages for UAF students to be published,
expand their repertoire of knowledge and be champions of excellence.
● Projected long and short term benefits and savings of the proposed project
should be adequately documented with assumptions and details provided.
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Implementation plan
Due Date Total
Time
Responsible
Person
Outcome
15-Oct
2 weeks
Full Team
Project Defined including measurable outcomes
and design specs
29-Oct
2 weeks
Full Team
Pre-Proposal Finalized
5-Nov
1 month
Jay Doubt
Dimensional Analysis - Similitude Calculations
5-Nov
2 weeks
Blake Burley
Materials Analysis
19-Nov
2 weeks
Full Team
Draft Design
3-Dec
2 weeks
Courtney Enright SolidWorks Model
8-Dec
3 days
Courtney Enright SolidWorks Thermal Analysis
10-Dec
2 weeks
Full Team
Proposal Finalized
19-Dec
1.5 weeks
Full Team
Finalize Design
31-Dec
1 day
Blake Burley
Order Materials
31-Jan
1 month
Blake Burley
Welding
28-Feb
1 month
Courtney Enright Cement Mixing, Pouring and Formation
31-Mar
1 month
Jay Doubt
Fully Operational Coolant System
15-Apr
2 weeks
Full Team
Troubleshooting
30-Apr
1 day
Full Team
Final Presentation
● Describe how you are going to get the project done and lay out how the project
goals will be met.
Budget
Estimated
Cost
Source
Supply
Amount
182.6
Alaska Steel Company
Blk Pipe 8" SCH 80 ASTM-A53
4'
Page 3 of 5
158.55
Alaska Steel Company
Blk Pipe 10' SCH 40 ASTM-A53
4'
59.99
Amazon.com
Mini Storm High Velocity MultiPurpose Air Mover Blower Dryer
Fan
1
6.26
Lowes
Sand
1
6.55
Lowes
Concrete
1
250
657.4
Misc. Welding Supplies
Total
Budget justification
The proposed suppliers were chosen based on price, availability and quality. Alaska
Steel Company provides the largest quality and size of pipes. Furthermore, Alaska Steel
Company has agreed to provide student pricing and does not charge for shipping
products to Fairbanks. The Airmair High Velocity Fan does not distribute single items
and thus must be purchased through a third party buyer. Additionally, the specific fan
matches the calculated velocity requirements to circulate materials into the FBC.
Qualification & Experience
● This project will require testing and FBC’s burn materials at 1800 F. Jay Doubt
has served as a Firefighter for 5 years with the University Fire Department
including extensive safety training. Jay Doubt maintains current safety
certifications in: EMT 2 & 3, CEVO, and FADO.
● This project will require design processes. Courtney Enright has extensive
experience with SolidWorks and 1.5 years design experience from her work with
the Alaska Space Grant Program. Blake Burley has completed a short course in
SoilVision, a thermal modeling software.
● This project will include submitting pipe to extreme environments. Blake Burley
has completed the course Corrosion Engineering and has previous experience
working for Alyeska Pipeline where he inspected pipes to determine their
integrity.
● All three students have taken the classes: Thermodynamics, Mechanical
Engineering Thermodynamics and Heat and Mass Transfer. These classes give
the individuals tools to properly account for the heat transfer properties.
● All three students are in their senior year of a mechanical engineering degree.
Throughout the course of their degree they have taken numerous courses on
heat transfer, vibrational impact, design processes, and material properties.
Technical advisors and collaborators
● Daisy Huang, PhD, Alaska Center for Energy and Power
dhuang@alaska.edu
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● Sun Wo Kim, PhD, Mechanical Engineering Department
swkim@alaska.edu
Dr. Huang and Dr. Kim will serve as the technical advisers to assist with design
verification and problem solving as complications arise.
● Submit a letter or email from your listed technical adviser/s verifying their
interest and commitment to your specific project. This documentation may be
simple such as an email explaining their interest, or it could be more extensive if
the adviser will play a large role in realizing the project.
ASME Citation:
[1] Lopes, H. and Gulyurtlu,I. and Abelha, P. and Crujeira, T. and Salema, D. and Freire,
M. and Pereira, R. and Cabrita,I., 2009, “Particulate and PCDD/F emissions from coal cofiring with solid biofuels in a bubbling fluidised bed reactor,” Fuel, 88(12), pp. 23732384.
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