Progress 04/18/16 to 02/28/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences that will be benefited from this project include: timber industry, wood wastes,poultry wastes, crop residues, dedicated energy farmers, bioplastics industry, aquaculture, wastewater treament industry, microalgal industry, bioenergy sector, oil & gas industry, landfill methane producers, pharmaceutical and health food industry. Changes/Problems:The biggest setback was encountered on algal cell recycling project. Lack of funding for dedicated graduate students was one of the reason for the setback. However, the project tasks were attempted withmultiple undergraduate students.The plannedexperiments had to be terminated the first year due to repeated leakage of culture water from the 8 ft tall tanks. In the summer of 2019, the 2200-gallon algal culture tanks were lined with fiberglass coating. Due to budget limitations, fiberglassing of the culture tanks was done in-house by a transient worker, who worked on weekends and after hours. Although the tanks were made ready for testing in the Summer of 2020, no students were hired to undertake the work due to Covid-19 related closures. Due to the intensity of work, large funding needs, and Covid-19 related closures, outdoor algal experiments aimed at increasing aerial algal productivity will be reattempted after new funding is procured from state or federal agencies. As mentioned earlier, it is important to note that the preliminary work provided the foundation for the design and permitted fabrication of a field-scale prototype of the outdoor cell circulatory system. Having a fully functional, field-scale prototype is anticipated to give the PI an unprecedented leverage for securing grant funding in the near future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Hatch project gave opportunities for several LSUstudents to undertake research in several areas, including: bioomass gasification, syngas enrichment and supplementation, algal cell harvesting and algal culture densification. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from the project has been published in peer reviewed journals and presented at conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The accomplishments for the five-year project period are summarized below. Syngas produced from biomass gasification offers limited benefits to the transportation industry as the energy-containing gases in syngas (of CO and H2) cannot be supplied to a moving vehicle nor can they be easily liquefied cost effectively. Another energy resource that is highly underutilized by the transportation sector is natural gas. Due to new gas discoveries and advancements in extraction technologies (gas from shale and sand formations, fracking, etc.), the North American Natural Gas resources have increased by 72% since 2000. The low environmental impacts of natural gas, coupled with its low prices and abundant supplies, make the production of liquid fuels from natural gas both a logical and cost-effective alternative. However, production of liquid fuels from natural gas using direct compression is energy intensive and impractical. Presently, CO2 reforming of CH4 is of great interest due to natural abundance of CH4, relatively inexpensive price of methane, and significant mitigation in CO2 emissions. Numerous researchers have attempted reformation of methane to syngas (CO + H2) via multiple routes. Dry reformation of methane (or Methane CO2 reformation) is one well established reformation process, represented by: CH4 + CO2 <----> 2CO + 2H2 ; Delta H298K = 247 KJ/mol ............(1) However, the process has several limitations, including: 1) need for large quantities of CO2 (1: 1 molar ratio or 2.75 kg CO2/kg CH4), 2) high heat requirement due to extremely endothermic processes, and 3) catalyst coking/fouling at high temperatures. During the first two years, a detailed experimental study that integrates biomass gasification with dry reformation was completed at BAE, LSU. Conceptually, the gasifier provided the heat and CO2 that is needed for the dry reformation of methane. Unlike a traditional biomass gasifier, the patented LSU AgCenter gasifier (US Patent #7,942,943; Inventor: Chandra Theegala) has unique reheating features that offer an ideal location for placement of the reformation catalyst and injection of methane along with various gases such as CO2 (dry reformation), steam (steam reformation), and oxygen (partial oxidation). The initial work involved thermodynamic simulation with AspenPlus for desired reactions. Subsequently, catalyst characterization and lab-scale experiments were carried out for five catalysts: Ni/gamma-alumina, Ni-Co/gamma-alumina, Ni/alpha-alumina, Ni-Co/alpha alumina and commercially available HiFuel R110 (Alfa Aesar). Catalysts were characterized using SEM/EDS and temperature programmed reduction. Thermodynamic simulation indicates that syngas from biomass gasification can be enhanced to a H2:CO ratio of approximately 1.8 (from 1.0) with an energy content (HHV) 92% greater than original syngas from the biomass gasifier. Experimentally, HiFuel was the most successful catalyst, increasing the H2:CO ratio to approximately 1.5 and HHV to 8.7 MJ/Nm3, 71% greater than original syngas. Stoichiometric bi-reforming at 950 °C for 8 hours (sampled every 15 minutes) was carried out for the HiFuel, Ni/alpha-alumina and Ni-Co/Alpha-alumina catalysts. For HiFuel, the steadystate exit gas composition of H2 was 37.74% ± 0.18% and of CO was 24.86% ± 0.03% with a CH4 conversion of 81.57% ± 0.81% and CO2 conversion of 88.98% ± 0.50%. All results indicate that methane reformation coupled with biomass gasification is an effective strategy for increasing the energy content and quality of produced syngas. However, future research can investigate mass transfer limitations and reactor conditions to further optimize desired syngas characteristics. All the methane-supplemented gasification work was completed and one peer-reviewed journal manuscript was published in 2019. A second manuscript on this work was re-submitted for publication after revisions. A thermodynamic simulation model was also developed with AspenPlus simulation software for reactions involving biomass gasification and methane reformation. On the microalgae area, a new Louisiana Board of Regents (BOR) grant was procured in 2017 (Project Title: Meeting and Exceeding Department of Energy's Microalgal Yield Targets by Optimizing Light Utilization and Cell Circulation). This grant leveraged the prior Hatch-grant support work on a multi-stage algal harvester, which was designed, built and tested during 2011-2015 time period. Two graduate students successfully defended their work on algal harvesting. A Phase-1 SBIR proposal (Title: Multi-Stage Dewatering System for Cost-Effective Harvesting of Unicellular Algae Used for Aquacultural Applications) was also submitted to take the developed technology to a commercial level. However, this SBIR proposal was not funded by the funding agency (USDA-NIFA). The cell-harvesting prototype was also tested at a commercial algal company in Louisiana (Cajun Biological Services, LLC). CBS has been looking for a cost-effective turn-key algal harvester. Based on the company's responses, the LSU AgCenter technology performed significantly better than the currently marketed commercial technology. CBS personnel indicated that they plan to raise additional funds from their investor group before they make a final decision on the cell harvesting technology. As an extension to the cell harvesting work, algal cell density intensification work was initiated. The intensification indirectly lowers the cell harvesting costs as the volume of liquid that needs processing is significantly reduced. Microalgae have been recognized to have immense potential as a biofuel feedstock, theoretically capable of producing 1,000 gallons or more of oil/acre/year (compared to soybean at 60-70 gal/acre/year). Despite these promising estimates, currently, not a single biodiesel plant in the world is utilizing algal oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production. This limitation arises primarily due to the high infrastructure and high overall processing costs associated with algae. To address this limitation, the US Department of Energy (DOE) through its Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield (ABY) Program set an objective to demonstrate an intermediate algal oil yield of 2,500 gallons per acre per year by 2018 and 5,000 gallons per acre per year by 2022. This proposal describes a novel method to improve the aerial oil yields to unprecedented levels (up to 500% current) by increasing the pond depth and optimizing light utilization. Preliminary laboratory-based, indoor experiments at two different scales (2L and 20L) over a 3-year period have indicated that this technology has the potential to meet and exceed DOE's algal yield targets. This new research will focus on validation of the cell cycling concepts in large outdoor photo-bioreactors. The emphasis of this research will be to increase the pond depth from the traditional 1.5 - 2 ft. to 5 -10 ft., without sacrificing cell density. Three large (8 ft deep x 10 ft long x 4 ft wide) algal circulatory system prototypes were custom built in Biological and Agricultural Engineering department. The outdoor experiments originally scheduled for 2018 summer were not completed as planned due lack of dedicated funding to hire a graduate student. It is important to note that the preliminary work provided the foundation for the design and permitted fabrication of a field-scale prototype of the outdoor cell circulatory system. Having a fully functional, field-scale prototype is anticipated to give the PI an unprecedented leverage for securing grant funding in the near future.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
COMBINED GASIFICATION AND CATALYTIC METHANE REFORMATION FOR ENHANCED SYNGAS PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS. Master's Thesis from Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, LSU.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Combined Gasification and Methane Reformation for Enhanced Syngas Production from Biomass.
Abstract and poster published/presented at ASME 2017 Power and Energy Conference.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Combined steam and dry reforming of methane over nickel-based catalysts for upgrading biomass gasification-derived syngas.
Abstract and poster presented at the 253rd Americal Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco, California
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sharma, A., E. Terrell, and C. S. Theegala. "BIOMASS GASIFICATION AND PHYSICAL ANALYSIS OF PLANT BIOMASS AND AGRICULTURAL WASTE PRODUCTS IN LOUISIANA." Wood and Fiber Science 49.3 (2017): 1-11.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Terrell, E. and Theegala, C.S., 2019. Thermodynamic simulation of syngas production through combined biomass gasification and methane reformation. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 3(6), pp.1562-1572.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ma, Q., Paudel, K.P., Bhandari, D., Theegala, C. and Cisneros, M., 2019. Implications of poultry litter usage for electricity
production. Waste Management, 95, pp.493-503.
|
Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences that will be benefited from this project include: timber industry, wood wastes,poultry wastes, crop residues, dedicated energy farmers, bioplastics industry, aquaculture, wastewater treament industry, microalgal industry, bioenergy sector, oil & gas industry, landfill methane producers, pharmaceutical and health food industry. Changes/Problems:The biggest problem encountered in 2019 were the leaky outdoor deep algal culture tanks. Due to budget limitations, in-house fiberglassing was undertaken to fix the leaks. The leak problem was finally fixed and the tanks were made ready for outdoor testing in the Summer of 2020. Howeveer, due to the Covid-19 closures, no students were hired to work on this project. The PI is actively seeking new and larger grants to complete the outdoor validations experiments. On a postive note, new research on valorization of agricltural residues was initiated in the reporting project period. A new grant was also procured on blending biomass powder with bioplastics. Both these developments will be set as a cornerstone for a future Hatch Project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided research opportunities for one senior-level student to conduct hands-on experiments on combustion and pyrolysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Algal intensification is a proprietary technology and appropriate technology, disclosure forms have been submitted to the LSU AgCenter's Intellectual Property Office a few years ago. The results from this research will not be disclosed to public until the commercial potential is evaluated in future years. The methane assisted gasification research findings have been disseminated through a master's thesis and two journal publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The methane-assisted gasification project has reached a completion stage. The algal intesification project needs signficant resources to undertake the field testing (like a PhD student and major supplies/resources). The PI plans to seek state and federal grant funding to continue algal intensification research.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Although no new research was done on supplementation of syngas, significant research was completed in a related area. With resources available from the current Hatch Project and as an extension to the value-added products portion of the current HATCH research, a new research was initiated in the Fall of 2019. This project was aimed at assessing fertilizer properties of ash and pyrolysis char derived from bulk agricultural wastes. The two biomaterials that were tested included poultry litter and spent mushroom wastes. Significant research was completed and manuscript-quality data was collected during the project period. In a nutshell, direct combustion decreased the weight of poultry litter by 83.04% and spent mushroom wastes by 85.76%. Pyrolysis decreased the weight of poultry litter by 65.24% and spent mushroom compost by 75.04%. Apart from the benefits associated with nutrient concentration, the weight reduction of bulk agricultural wastes is also viewed very favorably for waste disposal logistics and economics. The outdoor algal experiments conducted in 2019 were terminated due to repeated leakage of culture water from the 8 ft tall tanks. In the summer of 2019, the 2200-gallon algal culture tanks were lined with fiberglass coating. Although the tanks were made ready for testing in the Summer of 2020, no students were hired to undertake the work due to Covid-19 related closures. Increasing aerial algal productivity will be reattempted after new funding is procured from state or federal agencies in future years.
Publications
|
Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences that willbenefitfrom this project include: timber industry, wood wastes,poultry wastes, crop residues, dedicated energy farmers, bioplastics industry, aquaculture, wastewater treament industry, microalgal industry, bioenergy sector, oil & gas industry, landfill methane producers, pharmaceutical and health food industry. Changes/Problems:The biggest problem encountered were the leaky outdoor deep algal culture tanks. The budget limitations on the grant prevented the PI from purchasing expensive metal or fiberglass tanks. Due to budget limitations, in-house fiberglassing was undertaken to fix the leaks. The leak problem was finally fixed . However, the project expired and deadlines could not be extended. The PI is actively seeking new and larger grants to complete the outdoor validations experiments. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided opportunities for one senior-level student and one transient worker to get hands on experience on prototyping and fabrication. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Algal intensification is a proprietary technology and appropriate technology, disclosure forms have been submitted to the LSU AgCenter's Intellectual Property Office. The results from this research will not be disclosed to public until the commercial potential is evaluated in future years. The methane assisted gasification research findings are being disseminated through a master's thesis and two journal publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For both the microalgal and methane-assisted gasification topics, the PI plans to seek state and federal grant funding. The PI also wishes to seek seed funding opportunities that will provide sufficient resources for completing the research on the existing, custom-built fiberglass tanks.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
All the methane-supplemented gasification work was completed and one peer-reviewed journal manuscript was published in 2019. A second manuscript was re-submitted for publication after revisions. The outdoor algal experiments conducted in 2019 were terminated due to repeated leakage of culture water from the 8 ft tall tanks. In the summer of 2019, the 2200-gallon algal culture tanks were lined with fiberglass coating. Due to budget limitations, fiberglassing of the culture tanks was done in-house by a transient worker, who worked on weekends and after hours. Due to the intensity of work, outdoor algal experiments aimed at increasing aerial algal productivity will be reattempted after new funding is procured from state or federal agencies.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Terrell, E. and Theegala, C.S., 2019. Thermodynamic simulation of syngas production through combined biomass gasification and methane reformation. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 3(6), pp.1562-1572.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ma, Q., Paudel, K.P., Bhandari, D., Theegala, C. and Cisneros, M., 2019. Implications of poultry litter usage for electricity production. Waste Management, 95, pp.493-503.
|
Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences, industries and products that will be benefited from this project include: timber industry, wood wastes, poultry wastes, crop residues, dedicated energy farmers, microalgal industry, bioenergy sector, oil & gas industry, landfill methane producers, pharmaceutical and health food industry. Changes/Problems:The biggest problem encountered on the algal project was the loss of two highly trained and capable students (to an exciting, attractive, and well-paying overseas job). As this loss was not anticipated, the PI was not in a position to hire equally-qualifiedstudents in a timely manner and complete the project in the Summer of 2018. However, with the approval of a one-year no-cost extension from the funding agency, the PI is confident of completing the project in the summer months of 2019. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided oppportunities for two senior-level students to get hands on experience with prototype development and fabrication till May of 2018. These students were supposed to join theMaster's program in Summer of 2018. However, they decided to accept an overseas job and left LSU. In the Fall of 2018, a senior-level student and an army veteran with lots of shop experience was hired on the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This is propreitary technology and appropriate technology disclosure forms have been submitted to the LSU AgCenter's Intellectual Property Department. The results from this reseach will not be disclosed to public until the commercial potential is evaluated after the Summer of 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The PI plansto seek grant funding to take this research to a much larger scale (several square meters or even acres). If the results are positive (in Summer of 2019), the PI plans to to approach several commerial algal facilities and discuss the immense potential and commercialization of such algal culturing systems
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The outdoor experiments originally aimedfor 2018Summer were not completed as planned. This was primarily due to the fact two students that were trained for over a year on the algal projectdecided not to pursue their graduate degrees (as theyacceptedoverseas jobs). As outdoor experiments can only be conducted in the peak summer months, findingstudents with similar qualifications in such a short notice was not possible. Furthermore, the three large outdoor algal culture tanks(8 ft deep x 10 ft long x 4 ft wide)developed leaks and had to be brought into the shop for fiberglassing the inside walls. Therefore, a one-year no-cost extension was requested (and subsequently granted) from the funding agency. The outdoor experiments are now being planned forMarch through August of 2019.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Thermodynamic simulation of syngas production through combined biomass gasification and methane reformation. Resubmitted after Journal of Sustainable Energy Technologies lost the submitted journal, very likely due to website changes.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Vondel Reyes, Arranee Chotiko, Alexander Chouljenko, Vashti Campbell, Chen Liu, Chandra Theegala & Subramaniam Sathivel (2018) Influence of wall material on production of spray dried Lactobacillus plantarum NRRL B-4496 and its viability at different storage conditions, Drying Technology, 36:14, 1738-1748, DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2017.1423324
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Purification of FAMEs based on catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) oil using an adsorption process. Kevin Mis Solval-1, Chandra Theegala-2, and Subramaniam Sathivel-23*
1-Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, University of Holy Cross, New Orleans, LA 70131, USA
2-Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA
70803-4300
3-The School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-
4300, phone (225) 578 0614.
|
Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences, industries and products that will benefit from this project include: timber industry, wood wastes, poultry wastes, crop residues, dedicated energy farmers, microalgal industry, bioenergy sector, oil & gas industry, landfill methane producers, pharmaceutical and health food industry. Changes/Problems:One of the biggest change affecting the current project is the significant drop in the level of interest in bioenergy areas for the funding agencies. This directly affects funding opportunities in the areas of gasification and algal biofuels. Report What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided oppportunities for two senior-level students to get hands on experience with prototype development and fabrication. The students plan to pursue their Master's degree after they graduate in May of 2018. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This is proprietary technology and appropriate technology disclosure forms have been submitted to the LSU AgCenter's Intellectual Property Department. The results from this research will not be disclosed to public until the commercial potential is evaluated after the Summer of 2018. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I plan to seek grant funding to take this research to a much larger scale (several square meters or even acres). If the results are positive, I plan to approach several commercial algal facilities and discuss the immense potential and commercialization of such algal culturing systems.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A new Board of Regents grant was procured in 2017. Microalgae have been recognized to have immense potential as a biofuel feedstock, theoretically capable of producing 1,000 gallons or more of oil/acre/year (compared to soybean at 60-70 gal/acre/year). Despite these promising estimates, currently, not a single biodiesel plant in the world is utilizing algal oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production. This limitation arises primarily due to the high infrastructure and high overall processing costs associated with algae. To address this limitation, the US Department of Energy (DOE) through its Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield (ABY) Program set an objective to demonstrate an intermediate algal oil yield of 2,500 gallons per acre per year by 2018 and 5,000 gallons per acre per year by 2022. This proposal describes a novel method to improve the aerial oil yields to unprecedented levels (up to 500% current) by increasing the pond depth and optimizing light utilization. Preliminary laboratory-based, indoor experiments at two different scales (2L and 20L) over a 3-year period have indicated that this technology has the potential to meet and exceed DOE's algal yield targets. This new research will focus on validation of the cell cycling concepts in large outdoor photobioreactors. The emphasis of this research will be to increase the pond depth from the traditional 1.5 - 2 ft. to 5 -10 ft., without sacrificing cell density. Three large (8 ft deep x 10 ft long x 4 ft wide) algal circulatory system prototypes were custom built in Biological and Agricultural Engineering department. Outdoor algal experiments will be conducted between March and July of 2018.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sharma, A., E. Terrell, and C. S. Theegala. "BIOMASS GASIFICATION AND PHYSICAL ANALYSIS OF PLANT BIOMASS AND AGRICULTURAL WASTE PRODUCTS IN LOUISIANA." Wood and Fiber Science 49.3 (2017): 1-11.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Evan Terrell and Chandra S Theegala. Thermodynamic simulation of syngas production through combined biomass gasification and methane reformation. Journal of Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments (Elsevier)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Purification of FAMEs based on catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) oil using an adsorption process. Submitted to Journal of American Oil Chemists Society.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Influence of wall material on production of spray dried Lactobacillus plantarum NRRL B-4496 and its viability at different storage conditions
Vondel Reyes a, Arranee Chotiko c, Alexander Chouljenko a, Vashti Campbell b, Chen Liu a, Chandra Theegala b, and Subramaniam Sathivela,b,*
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Poster Presented at 253rd ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA. April 2-6, 2017. Title: Combined Steam and Dry Reforming of Methane Over Nickel Based Catalysts for Upgrading Biomass Gasification-Derived Syngas.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Poster Presented at ASME Conference, Power Energy, Charlotte, NC. JHune 27, 2917. Title: Combined Gasification and Methane Reformation for Enhanced Syngas Production from Biomass.
|
Progress 04/18/16 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences, industries and products that will be benefited from this project include: timber industry, wood wastes, poultry wastes, crop residues, dedicated energy farmers, microalgal industry, bioenergy sector, oil & gas industry, landfill methane producers, pharmaceutical and health food industry. Changes/Problems:One of the biggest changes affecting the current project is the significant drop in the level of interest in bioenergy areas for the funding agencies. This directly affects funding opportunities in the areas of gasification and algal biofuels. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Due to propriertary nature of the two technologies (Objectives 1 and 2), no public disclosures have been made to date. The master's thesis (on methane assisted gasification)has been held back from public release for a period of 2 years. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I plan to seek grant funding and opportunities to commercialize the two technologies (methane assisted gasification and multi-stage algal harvester). I also plan to be vigilant in identifying opportunities in the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) arena.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
OBJECTIVE #1: Syngas produced from biomass gasification offers limited benefits to the transportation industry as the energy-containing gases in syngas (of CO and H2) cannot be supplied to a moving vehicle nor can they be easily liquefied cost effectively. Another energy resource that is highly underutilized by the transportation sector is natural gas. Due to new gas discoveries and advancements in extraction technologies (gas from shale and sand formations, fracking, etc.), the North American Natural Gas resources have increased by 72% since 2000. The low environmental impacts of natural gas, coupled with its low prices and abundant supplies, make the production of liquid fuels from natural gas both a logical and cost-effective alternative. However, production of liquid fuels from natural gas using direct compression is energy intensive and impractical. Presently, CO2 reforming of CH4 is of great interest due to natural abundance of CH4, relatively inexpensive price of methane, and significant mitigation in CO2 emissions. Numerous researchers have attempted reformation of methane to syngas (CO + H2) via multiple routes. Dry reformation of methane (or Methane CO2 reformation) is one well established reformation process, represented by: CH4 + CO2 <----> 2CO + 2H2 ; Delta H298K = 247 KJ/mol ............(1) However, the process has several limitations, including: 1) need for large quantities of CO2 (1: 1 molar ratio or 2.75 kg CO2/kg CH4), 2) high heat requirement due to extremely endothermic processes, and 3) catalyst coking/fouling at high temperatures. A 2 year experimental study that integrates biomass gasification with dry reformation wascompleted at BAE, LSU. Conceptually, the gasifier provides the heat and CO2 that is needed for the dry reformation of methane. Unlike a traditional biomass gasifier, the patented LSU AgCenter gasifier (US Patent #7,942,943; Inventor: Chandra Theegala) has unique reheating features that offer an ideal location for placement of the reformation catalyst and injection of methane along with various gases such as CO2 (dry reformation), steam (steam reformation), and oxygen (partial oxidation). The graduate student who worked on this project successfully defended his MS Thesis and graduated in Summer of 2016. The first phase of the work invoved thermodynamic simulation with AspenPlus for desired reactions. Catalyst characterization and lab-scale experiments were carried out for five catalysts: Ni/gamma-alumina, Ni-Co/gamma-alumina, Ni/alpha-alumina, Ni-Co/alpha alumina and commercially available HiFuel R110 (Alfa Aesar). Catalysts were characterized using SEM/EDS and temperature programmed reduction. Thermodynamic simulation indicates that syngas from biomass gasification can be enhanced to a H2:CO ratio of approximately 1.8 (from 1.0) with an energy content (HHV) 92% greater than original syngas from the biomass gasifier. Experimentally, HiFuel was the most successful catalyst, increasing the H2:CO ratio to approximately 1.5 and HHV to 8.7 MJ/Nm3, 71% greater than original syngas. Stoichiometric bi-reforming at 950 °C for 8 hours (sampled every 15 minutes) was carried out for the HiFuel, Ni/alpha-alumina and Ni-Co/Alpha-alumina catalysts. For HiFuel, the steady state exit gas composition of H2 was 37.74% ± 0.18% and of CO was 24.86% ± 0.03% with a CH4 conversion of 81.57% ± 0.81% and CO2 conversion of 88.98% ± 0.50%. All results indicate that methane reformation coupled with biomass gasification is an effective strategy for increasing the energy content and quality of produced syngas. However, future research can investigate mass transfer limitations and reactor conditions to further optimize desired syngas characteristics. OBJECTIVE #2 A multi-stage algal harvester was designed, built and tested during 2011-2015. Two graduate students successfully defended their work on algal harvesting. A Phase-1 SBIR proposal (Title: Multi-Stage Dewatering System for Cost-Effective Harvesting of Unicellular Algae Used for Aquacultural Applications) was submitted to take the developed technology to a commercial level. However, this proposal was not funded by the funding agency (USDA-NIFA). The prototype was also tested at a commercial algal company in Louisiana (Cajun Biological Services, LLC). CBS has been looking for a cost-effective turn-key algal harvester. In 2015, CBS field tested the only algal harvester that is commercially available in the US market. Based on the company's responses, the LSU AgCenter technology performed significantly better than the currently marketed commercial technology. CBS personnel indicated that they plan to raise additional funds from their investor group before they make a final decision on the cell harvesting technology.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Combined steam and dry reforming of methane over nickel-based catalysts for upgrading biomass gasification-derived syngas. Abstract and poster accepted on 11/29/2016 by the 253rd Americal Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco, California
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
COMBINED GASIFICATION AND CATALYTIC METHANE REFORMATION FOR ENHANCED SYNGAS PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS. Master's Thesis from Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, LSU.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Combined Gasification and Methane Reformation for Enhanced Syngas Production from Biomass.
Abstract and poster accepted by ASME 2017 Power and Energy Conference on October 20, 2016.
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