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Publication Conversion of Wood Waste Biomass into Biochar and Green Hydrogen – a Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Technology(2023-05-25) Cheon, Sae Joon; Cochrane, Jenesis; Ekobeni, Ericka; Sclafani, DanielleBiochar is the solid product resulting from the heating of biomass at high temperatures in an oxygen-deprived environment. Biochar serves as a soil amendment product, and its widespread implementation may improve agricultural yields in areas with high forest wastes and high carbon emissions due to its carbon sequestration properties. This project uses slow pyrolysis at 800 ̊C to convert 100,000 dry metric tons of southern pine wood waste annually into biochar. Because this plant yields green hydrogen as a side product, this plant is located near the Gulf Coast Hydrogen pipeline in Southern Louisiana, an area with 6.35 million metric tons of wood waste. Following a number of separation techniques, the annual production rates for this project are 19,200 metric tons of biochar 3906 metric and H2 . The economic analysis for this project predicted a -$143,845,300 net present value (NPV), a -15.18% return of investment (ROI), and a negative internal rate of return (IRR). Although the project is currently not financially sustainable, there are a number of suggestions in this report for deriving additional economic value, such as designing a singular pyrolysis unit large enough for our feed requirement, rather than using six parallel units.Publication Post-Consumer Polyurethane Foam Depolymerization into Toluene Diamine and Polyether Triol for Circular Regeneration of Polyurethane(2023-05-25) Deresh Larin, Sean; Wan Lee, Jae; Reisner, JakePolyurethane (PU) foam is integral to our everyday lives, as it is a versatile and ubiquitous material used in construction, automotive, furniture, and packaging applications. However, the widespread use of PU foam has also raised environmental concerns, particularly its contribution to landfill waste and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions. Approaching such global waste issues to mitigate existing climate, health, and economic impacts creates new opportunities for scientific and engineering development. To address this problem, this report proposes a chemical plant using patented information from Evonik to depolymerize 100,000 metric tons of post-consumer PU foam annually into toluene diamine (TDA) and polyether triol (PPO-3OH) to be established in the U.S. Gulf Coast and operate 24 hours per day for 330 days per year. The process uses 4 batch reactors, each operating 4 times per day at a temperature of 130°C and pressure of 3.03atm for 5 hours per operation. The design includes two continuous separation processes to produce pure TDA and PPO-3OH streams. Preprocessing equipment is also included in the design to compress and pelletize the PU foam feedstock before it enters the reactors. This project’s internal rate of return (IRR) is 17.74%, and the return on investment (ROI) is 16.94%. Considering the profitability of this procedure, this depolymerization plant is proposed as an autonomous operation from an economic perspective. While this procedure emits greenhouse gases in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), a system that allows the plant to be situated with carbon capture companies to curb these emissions. This process promotes the circularity of the PU foam recycling sector and produces high-quality items sustainably and innovatively.Publication Green Hydrogen Liquefaction by Large- Scale Reverse Brayton Refrigeration(2023-05-25) Bean, Evan; Kumashi, Akash; Ribeiro-Vecino, GuillermoOver the next decade, global electricity demand is forecast to rise by nearly two-thirds of current demand. Simultaneously, global Carbon Dioxide emissions are projected to increase by up to 9% annually. Green liquid Hydrogen, sourced by splitting water into Hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity, and condensed in a deep cryogenic refrigerator at 20 to 25 K, is a promising alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Yet, liquid Hydrogen as a fuel is prohibitively expensive. Between water electrolysis and liquefaction costs, current producers of green liquid Hydrogen must sell their product Hydrogen at a price of at least $9.20/kg to break even. Breakthroughs in electrolyzer efficiency and electrolyzer capital cost are likely to remedy these unfavorable economics. However, there remain many unknowns in Hydrogen liquefaction process design. We propose a green Hydrogen liquefaction plant that produces 45 metric tons per day (MTD) of liquid Hydrogen. Vapor feed Hydrogen to the liquefaction process will be sourced upstream by electrolytically splitting water into Hydrogen and oxygen. The electricity to split water and to operate the plant will come from a completely renewable power grid. Our plant design has three novel advantages to preexisting green Hydrogen liquefaction plant design. Namely: 1) A successful implementation of Large- scale Reverse Brayton refrigeration cycle, 2) Actualized Heat Exchanger Design, 3) A specific power of 6.24 kilowatt hours per kilogram of liquid Hydrogen, near the state-of-the-art in conceptual liquefiers. Assuming a cost of capital of 15%, a plant lifetime of 15 years, a sales price of $13 per kilogram of LH2, and 100% of vapor feed Hydrogen sourced via water electrolysis, a plant based on the process design detailed herein has an ROI of 16.57%, an IRR of 18.52%, and an NPV of $44,445,500.Publication Production of Bispecific Antibodies by Functional Arm Exchange(2023-05-25) Gore, Amanda; Nightingale, Kofi; Place, Zachary; Rao, MaraBispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are an important class of emerging therapeutics with applications in cancer, hemophilia, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and infectious disease treatment. The presence of two distinct antigen binding sites enables more robust and tailored targeting than is possible with conventional monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), leading to enhanced efficacy and lower dosage requirements. However, the translation and commercialization of bsAbs has been hindered by production challenges, including low yield, chain mispairing, instability, and impaired binding activity. Therefore, this project proposes a manufacturing process to produce 100 kg of bispecific antibodies on an annual basis starting from purified monoclonal antibodies. Controlled functional arm exchange, which has been empirically shown to have excellent yield and selectivity (>90%), is used as the method of production. First, a kinetic model was built in MATLAB to simulate and optimize key parameters for the functional arm exchange reactions. α-Respiratory syncytial virus and α-HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120 antibodies are used to model the parental mAbs, but the design can be easily adapted for other antibody combinations by changing the specific rate constants. Using optimized conditions from the kinetic model, a batch process was developed consisting of reduction of parental mAbs into half-mAbs by cysteamine, followed by removal of the reducing agent through diafiltration and concurrent re-oxidation of the antibodies to form heterodimeric bsAbs. The bsAbs are then purified using protein A chromatography with pH gradient elution to remove unreacted parental mAbs and high molecular weight aggregates, and are finally packaged into 5 L biotainers for storage at -20oC. The process has an overall yield of 82.3% (90.4% for functional arm exchange and 91.1% for purification), and the desired bsAb product reaches 98.1% purity, meeting the required threshold. Several measures were taken to maintain sterility and consistency throughout the design in compliance with cGMP guidelines, including single-use equipment with integrated process control and peristaltic pumps with flexible tubing. The final bsAbs will be sold to a separate manufacturing facility for formulation, packaging, and labeling as an injectable dose format. The process is run in ten batches of 11.1 kg each, which allows the 100 kg annual target to be achieved with an allowance for one contingency batch per year. This equates to approximately 3.3 million bsAb doses, enough to treat 15,000-18,000 patients through a 9-10 month standard treatment course. The batches occur in semiannual 27-day production runs of five batches each, so various economic models were considered for operation: a standalone facility, renting space and equipment from a toll manufacturer, operating as a toll manufacturer, and operating as part of a larger company. The process is highly profitable in all four cases, with ROI values ranging from 92-94% based on bsAb prices of $30 million per kg, which includes a 25% reduction compared to list prices of comparable bsAbs on the market. For the toll manufacturing rental model, which offers the greatest flexibility and eliminates challenges associated with plant construction, there is a 93.51% IRR, 94.86% ROI, and $4.78 billion NPV. However, it should be noted that these values depend strongly on the mAb raw material price, which has a high degree of uncertainty. Overall, in addition to being an economically attractive process, the adaptability of the design offers the potential to facilitate efficient production of a variety of bsAbs for different treatment applications, expanding access to this innovative therapeutic platform to more patients.Publication Drug Product Production for a Highly Variable Supply Chain(2023-05-25) Chaisithikarnkha, Yanapong; Oros, Simon; Spellmeyer, Ethan; Tran, SophiaEfficient mass production of drug products is crucial for providing innovative treatments for reducing blood pressure. Batch production has traditionally been the preferred method in the pharmaceutical industry, but hybrid manufacturing offers economic advantages. This project presents a comprehensive economic evaluation of batch and hybrid manufacturing of a high-volume small molecule drug product called Albatol. The production facility was designed from the ground up, considering both low and high demands ranging from 160 million to 1.6 billion tablets per year. The production process was evaluated at the unit-operation level, including granulation, drying, milling, blending, compression, and coating. The estimated cost of the manufacturing facility, including the net present value (NPV), the return of investment (ROI), and the internal rate of return (IRR) of the plant, was calculated based on free raw materials with a selling price of $0.03 per tablet. The analysis revealed that hybrid manufacturing is more profitable than batch production. For a cost of conversion of three cents per tablet with the low demand of 160 million tablets per year, the hybrid process had an IRR of 8.3% and an ROI of 3.11%, while the batch process had an IRR of 3.93% and an ROI of 0.83%. At a high demand of 1.6 billion tablets per year, the hybrid process had an IRR of 108% and an ROI of 146%, while the batch process had an IRR of 97.0% and an ROI of 127%. The results suggest that hybrid manufacturing is a more profitable and viable option for producing Albatol at a large scale.Publication Renewably Sourced Methane: A Path to Profitability(2023-05-25) Boveri, Mattison; Kubicki, Caroline; Ohri, NidhiPower-to-gas technologies, which produce gaseous fuels using electricity, are emerging as a green energy source and for renewable electricity storage and distribution. This project proposes a power-to-methane process using a biologically sourced Ru-pBN catalyst and carbon dioxide emissions from a co-located ethanol plant. The carbon dioxide is reacted with green hydrogen from electrolysis to generate methane at 500 psig to be sold and delivered through the pipeline. This process converts 9,100 kg/hr of CO2 emissions into 3,400 kg/hr of natural gas via the Sabatier reaction using a tubular flow reactor at 400oC and 3.1 bar. Various separation processes were included in the design to recycle unreacted carbon dioxide in order to minimize emissions as well as produce methane at 97.8 mol% purity, equating to a higher heating value (HHV) of 984 Btu/scf. The production of green hydrogen qualifies this project for the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit §45V at a rate of $3/kg hydrogen produced. The base-case scenario for this project achieves an internal rate of return (IRR) of 17.3% with a net present value (NPV) of $5,177,000 and a return on investment (ROI) of 15.0% in the third year of production. If the project is able to be powered entirely by surplus electricity that would have otherwise not been generated (or curtailed), an IRR of 42.2% is possible. However, if the proposed plant is not powered by any surplus electricity or if it does not qualify for the hydrogen tax credit, this power-to-methane process is not profitable. In the future, the process will likely become economically viable without the reliance on government subsidies as further improvements are made in the cost of producing hydrogen via electrolysis and carbon dioxide sequestration.Publication Production of Bio-MEG, Monoethylene Glycol(2023-05-25) DeVito-Hurley, Riley; Lam, Gigi; Macherla, Vasundhara; Varghese, RebekahMonoethylene glycol (MEG) is a very important raw material largely used in packaging, antifreeze, and the manufacture of polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate plastics, and resins. The traditional method for MEG production relies on petroleum-based feedstocks as ethylene produced by steam cracking of hydrocarbons is the conventional starting material. Since the 1970’s, companies like Shell Oil Corporation and Coca-Cola have been developing technology to produce MEG via bio-based and renewable alternatives. This paper explores an alternative method to the industrial-scale production of MEG from glucose syrup. The proposed process utilizes 92,000 kg/hr of glucose syrup and a bi-catalyst system consisting of a 0.50wt% homogenous tungsten in water catalyst and a heterogeneous ruthenium catalyst on activated carbon. A CSTR and PFR reactor are used in series to produce 406 Kta of 99.8% pure MEG, which is separated by four distillation columns and a mass separating agent. The CSTR is operated at 220°C and 65 bar, while the PFR is operated at 260°C and 55 bar. The massive volume of water necessary for the homogeneous catalyst is removed from the process via a four stage multi-effect evaporator. Based on the current prices of the various feedstocks and products, including the side-products of propylene glycol and butylene glycol, an economic analysis predicted a negative IRR over 15 years, an ROI of -30.1% in year 3, and a NPV of -$527K. The economics are reflective of a 15% green premium added to the current industry price of MEG. Although this project does not meet the design constraints, which leads to the conclusion that with additional modifications and improvements in the design and an increase in the green premium, the project could be profitable in the future.Publication Bioremediation of Heavy Metals with Waste Lignocellulosic Biomass(2023-05-25) Gonsalves Bertho, Gabriel; Manfredi, Albert; Deeley, Christopher; Jain, AkashThis project had the goal of developing a low-cost alternative for removing toxic heavy metals, in particular arsenic, lead, and cadmium, from industrial wastewater. The proposed process involves using a hybrid batch and continuous process mainly consisting of heavy metal removal in a series of 5 adsorption beds packed with coconut coir coated with P. putida biofilm, then combustion of the saturated coconut for the production of steam. The process goal was to treat 1 MGD of wastewater at a lower cost than ion-exchange plants which cost $0.02/lb of wastewater treated. The proposed coconut-based bioremediation was estimated to cost $0.00304/lb of wastewater treated, 15.2% of the cost of ion exchange, being economically advantageous. In addition, the energy generation in the biomass boiler led it to have a net-negative GHG emissions footprint of -4864 kg CO2e per day. Profitability analysis with clean water being sold at the pricepoint of ion exchange indicates an ROI of 102.5% and IRR of 96%, over the 17-year project in the base case scenario, resulting in an NPV of $146M. Our results suggest that the use of lignocellulosic biomass, especially coconut coir for large-scale wastewater treatment processes for heavy metal removal is a viable alternative to existing treatment mechanisms, being environmentally friendly and economically advantageous.Publication Stranded Natural Gas to Liquid Oligomers(2023-05-25) Gross, Ayelet; Li, Malana; Wang, JamieFlaring natural gas is commonly practiced at oil drilling sites to prevent costly removal and overpressurization of equipment; however, this process releases about 28 million tons of carbon emissions per year, which is not environmentally sustainable when looking towards a carbon-neutral future. In an effort to combat this issue, a novel, non-oxidative, coke-resistant Platinum-MXene catalyst was developed by researchers at Iowa State in 2021. This catalyst is used in a coupling reaction to convert methane to ethane and ethylene at 98% selectivity and 6% conversion. This report describes a facility designed around the Platinum-MXene catalyst, which converts one billion cubic feet per year of natural gas into gasoline and jet-fuel liquid oligomers. These oligomers would be sold at $0.50 per pound to oil refineries to undergo hydrotreating. However, due to the low conversion rate of the catalyst, a difficult and costly separation and nitrogen refrigeration is needed to recycle the unreacted methane. The ethane and ethylene are isolated and sent to the downstream process, specifically dehydrogenation and oligomerization reactors. Selling the fuel was not found to be profitable considering the costs of a platinum catalyst and utilities of an extensive nitrogen refrigeration cycle. This process yielded a negative 15.9% return on investment and negative $105 million net present value. Significant improvements to the catalyst to increase conversion would greatly increase the efficiency of the process and reduce the major contributors to the process costs. While this process is currently not economically feasible, this could change in the upcoming years when the government sets more regulations on greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change.Publication Oxy Fuel for Clean Energy Generation(2018-04-20) Hally, Patrick J; Muqeem, Najib M; Richter, Colin B; Schanstra, Timothy RThis process explores several concentrations of oxygen-enriched air streams (oxy fuel) in combination with natural gas to generate steam for a steam turbine power plant with 30 MW capacity. The proposed location for this plant is the gulf coast of the United States. The oxy fuel concentrations tested were 36 mol. %, 53 mol. %, and 95 mol. %. Nitrogen removed from air would be sold as well as the 30 MW of electricity. The three oxygen purities were not profitable for the most realistic prices of electricity, nitrogen, and natural gas. However, the scenarios were all profitable with prices of nitrogen above $0.015/lb. Additionally, the profitability could be improved with higher electricity prices or better thermal efficiency. A key takeaway is that the level of oxygen purity did not have a major effect on profitability for a given nitrogen price.