Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Chemical/Bimolecular/Process Engineering
Session: 4
Room: Exhibit Hall
Keylin Boyd - College of Science and Engineering, Texas Christian University
Co-Author(s): Edwin A. Rodriguez Gil; Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue UniversityDr. Cornelius M. Masuku
The chemical industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the climate rapidly changing, these emitted GHGs are proving unacceptable when paired with the worldwide movement to reduce all carbon emissions. This work explores various ways of supplying heat to endothermic reactors, such as ethane crackers and steam reformers, in the chemical industry. Most endothermic processes in the chemical industry currently burn fossil fuels to supply the required heat for reactions.There have been various efforts to make these production processes more sustainable, but the most eco-friendly method has proven to be shifting the production process to utilize renewable electricity as its primary source of thermal energy. We initially, explored the use of resistors as a source of energy for chemical reactors. This is feasible, but induction heating may be a more efficient alternative use of electricity. We utilized simulation software and developed various computer-assisted designs for the resistive heating and inductive alternatives to solidify this claim. Our findings further contribute to the ultimate goal of reducing carbon emissions in the chemical industry.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): We have not yet been funded to my knowledge for this specific research endeavor, but I would like to thank everyone who made the CISTAR program possible!
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Cornelius Masuku, cmasuku@purdue.edu
Role: I researched the current applications of Induction Heating, and how it could be adjusted and optimized to meet our needs. I am majoring in electrical engineering, so my knowledge of the properties of electric fields and how they interact with different states of matter and elements greatly benefited our team.