Category: Alternative Fuels

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Divert and convert: Campus project takes plastic from waste stream for fuel production

Plastic straws

A new Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) pilot project is gearing up to remove 200 pounds of non-recyclable plastics from University of Illinois campus trash daily and convert it to 140 pounds of crude oil to power university vehicles. The project will demonstrate its benefits to the environment and campus and present unique learning opportunities for students.

Behind food waste, plastics are the second largest component of trash that ends up in landfills. From the U. of I. waste stream, an estimated 1.39 tons of non-recyclable plastics head to a landfill each day. In this two-year project, scientists are using continuous catalytic pyrolysis technology capable of producing 80 percent fuels from plastics #4–#6.

“We will be demonstrating the technology for distributed production of the most desirable fuel for use in university trucks and generating data to make a business case for a commercial-scale system capable of using all plastic waste produced on campus,” said ISTC research engineer Sriraam Chandrasekaran, project principal investigator.

The project is funded by the University’s Student Sustainability Committee, which is a group of students committed to building a more sustainable campus. By converting waste to fuel, the project will decrease the amount of trash in landfills and reduce the University’s greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, as well as the campus’ carbon footprint.

A critical element of the project is to involve graduate and undergraduate students in all aspects of the study, particularly those in chemical, mechanical, and environmental engineering. This project is ideal for independent study as part of a senior undergraduate program, Chandrasekaran said.

Students will learn about the technology, identify the parameters of the pyrolysis process for producing high fuel yields, and study the effect of continuous operation on various catalysts. Other tasks will include recording data on system operation and collecting and analyzing liquid samples. The research will also focus on different kinds of contaminants in plastics.

Outreach to the community is particularly important for the project. Chandrasekaran plans to have an open house to showcase the technology’s capabilities.

“The main idea is to show the community how the process works and why plastic recycling is so important,” Chandrasekaran said. “We will emphasize how much we can reduce carbon footprint through this technology, leading to a more sustainable campus. Once the process is underway, non-cyclable plastics can be considered and reclassified as zero waste.”

For more information about waste plastics and other projects, visit the ISTC website.

Media contact: Sriraam Chandrasekaran, 217-300-1477, schandr@illinois.edu
news@prairie.illinois.edu

This story originally appeared on the Prairie Research Institute News blog. Read the original article.

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Sustainability: A Force for Good in our Galaxy

WRITTEN BY: Katherine Gardiner ISTC staff

 

You may have heard that a new Star Wars movie came out last week. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, don’t worry, we won’t spoil it for you. But it got us thinking about sustainability in the Star Wars universe.

 

Yes, it was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But are there lessons, and warnings in the story for us? On one end of the sustainability spectrum there are the Ewoks, who live respectfully off the land and use their resources wisely. On the other end of the spectrum there’s the Death Star, which destroys entire planets just to show off its power. Generally speaking, folks in our world fall somewhere in between.

 

recycling is not just for jawas!The Ewoks’ Forest Moon of Endor sustained them in their happy lifestyle. But what happened on Tatooine, where Anakin and Luke grew up? Environmentally it took a wrong turn at some point, reminding us of droughts and wildfires growing more common in California and across the country.

 

Habitat preservation is important if we want our world to remain habitable for generations to come. On Tatooine, they acknowledged the scarcity of water on their planet and relied heavily on moisture farms. One predicted effect of climate change here on earth is altered weather patterns, leading to a shift in agricultural growing zones. In the Midwest, we love our corn and soybean farms. No one wants to replace this valuable facet of our economy with moisture farms, which use moisture vaporators to pull water from the humidity in the air, just to have access to clean water. If avoiding the effects of climate change means reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, count me in.

 

C-3PO, rebuilt by young Anakin Skywalker from scrap parts, demonstrates the value of reusing resources and recycling. Han Solo and Chewbacca also repaired and refurbished the legendary Millennium Falcon many times rather than scrapping it for a new starship. The electronics and machinery repair in Star Wars is inspiring, as we have so much electronic waste in our society today. To learn how to reuse, recycle, and repair your electronics, visit the Illini Gadget Garage, or check what repair resources are available in your community.

 

You may be wondering what fuel these spaceships used to travel such great distances – let’s hope they didn’t have to deal with inflated gas prices around the holidays! The Millennium Falcon and other standard starships use different sorts of fuels, commonly Rhydonium, mined on the planet Abafar. According to Wookieepedia, the Millennium Falcon used hypermatter to go into hyperdrive and reach lightspeed. While we’re not sure about the sustainability of using hypermatter, we do know about at least one renewable energy source in the Star Wars universe.

 

As part of Jedi training, younglings were sent to the Crystal Caves of Ilum to mine kyber crystals for their lightsabers. Kyber crystals, while rare, are inexhaustible sources of energy as their power does not diminish over time. These crystals are used to power lightsabers as well as the Death Star’s planet-destroying superlaser — I guess both the light- and dark-sides appreciate renewable energy!

 

When we look to our own world we can see renewable energy sources such as wind and solar on the rise. Innovations in these areas include printable solar panels, floating wind turbines, and sustainable lighting that help fight mosquito infestations.

 

Ah, Star Wars…. A fictional story perhaps it may be. But, teach us much about how to keep our light in the galaxy it can.

 

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Symposium to explore solutions to plastic recycling in Illinois

Written by Jim Dexter

multi colored plastic beads

 

Ideas for “Revitalizing Plastics Recycling” will be the topic for a symposium hosted by the Illinois Recycling Association and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at the I Hotel and Conference Center on the University of Illinois campus from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12.

 

Plastic production has risen steeply decade upon decade in the United States, primarily for use in packaging, and as a cheap, tough, lightweight substitute for glass and metal.

 

Ironically glass and metal are far more economical to recycle, so used plastic has come to blight the environment. The U.N. Environmental Program estimates that the U.S. recycled only nine percent of its post-consumer plastic in 2012. The program also reports that up to 43 percent of waste plastic finds its way into landfills. That leaves a lot of plastic unaccounted for.

 

Factors that make plastic easy or hard to recycle depends largely on logistics in the local recycling market, according to B.K. Sharma, senior research scientist at ISTC, a division of the Prairie Research Institute, and one of the presenters at the symposium.

 

Take polyethylene, for instance, which comes in two varieties – high density or low density, according to Sharma. If it is extruded (as in disposable drink bottles) it can usually be economically crushed, handled, and transported. If polyethylene products are molded they are typically too dense and/or brittle for a recycler to profitably manipulate. Expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) is another example of a hard-to-recycle plastic. All volume and no weight, it is expensive to transport and few communities today offer opportunities to recycle it, Sharma explained.

 

Ken Santowski’s Chicago Logistic Service has been working to provide Styrofoam recycling to citizens of the greater Chicago area. He will speak at the symposium of his company’s success in dealing with that necessary evil.

 

The symposium will also deal with another scourge of plastic recycling – agricultural plastics. It wraps bales, covers forage, bags silage, covers silo bunkers, and makes farmers more productive in many ways. But once used it doesn’t all go easily into dumpsters and is too lightweight to make much economic sense to conventional recyclers. Tanner Smith, corporate development analyst for Delta Plastics, will discuss dealing with agricultural plastics at the symposium.

 

Sharma’s lab has approached the problem from a different angle. He has demonstrated how petroleum-derived polymers can be “reverse engineered” right back into gasoline, diesel, and even jet fuel. He has also shown how high-value “fractions” can be recovered from trash that might have ended up in landfills. He will be giving a demonstration at the symposium of the technology which can be used to convert plastics to oil.

 

The symposium will bring together experts on different aspects of the problem and share solutions on how to improve Illinois’ experience and record of plastic recycling. To register, and for more information about the symposium visit the Illinois Recycling Association’s website.

 

Illinois Sustainable Technology Center logo

Illinois Recycling Association logo

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Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award, Illinois R&D Demonstrate Growing Commitment to Sustainable World

carbon capture and utilization research
ISTC Director Kevin O’Brien discusses new research in carbon capture and utilization at the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award event in Chicago Nov. 1.

 

On Friday Nov. 4, the Paris Agreement on climate change became official. The U.S., China, and 53 other nations have ratified the treaty representing half of the world’s carbon emissions.

 

“The politically difficult step was Paris,” said Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard University was quoted today in The Wall Street Journal. “The technically difficult steps now remain.”

 

While a new administration in Washington could scuttle the U.S. commitment to the international pact, undoubtedly innovation will be essential to decarbonize the atmosphere. Action was evident Nov. 1 at the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards event in Chicago. From towns and neighborhoods to major corporations, the 25 winners for 2016 demonstrated significant ownership of the need to reduce our carbon footprint.

 

Also on Nov. 4, Shell, BP, and eight other oil and gas giants announced an industry collaboration creating a $1 billion investment fund to accelerate carbon capture and storage and energy efficiency over the next 10 years.

 

The Prairie Research Institute and its Illinois Sustainable Technology Center are also working to be impactful on a grand scale. PRI’s effort to outfit the power plant at the University of Illinois with next-generation carbon capture represents a collaboration of multinational corporations with state and university partners. Success could be a game-changer for coal- and gas-fired power plants around the world.

 

Another major research project at ISTC could turn wastewater treatment in America from a cost sink and carbon producer, into a profit center and a carbon sink.

 

“Our approach is to simultaneously work toward sustainable and renewable energy, while taking responsibility for reducing the problems caused by traditional energy sources,” said Kevin C. O’Brien, ISTC director.

 

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It’s Not Mr. Fusion, But It’s A Whiz at Energy Production

Mr. Sewer image
The multi-stage waste-to-biofuel system can make municipal solid waste and wastewater into a renewable power source.

ISTC NEWS

Pairing of Waste Processing and Algae Farming Offers ‘Clean’ Energy 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — “Mr. Sewer” is a multi-stage waste-to-biofuel production system under development by ISTC which can extract 100 percent of energy from a wide variety of wastes.

 

No, it’s not the fabled perpetual motion machine, it combines hydrothermal liquefaction of wastes with algae farming, which captures additional energy from the sun.

 

The best news is it can use a variety of energy-rich materials that are now landfilled. According to Lance Schideman, research scientist at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, the optimal location for the Mr. Sewer system is close to a sanitary landfill, a wastewater treatment plant, or both. A video on the energy research is available here.

 

Sewage solids, food wastes, even waste paper are all rich in energy content. This system can remove both organics and nutrients in these sources and turn them into renewable energy resources. Processing of wastewaters is combined with algae farming in a way that amplifies the energy production while cleaning the water for potential reuse applications. The nutrients support algal growth and the algae are then harvested for use in biofuels.

 

Amplified by the sun’s energy and multi-cycle nutrient reuse, an optimized system can harvest three to ten times the energy contained in the wastewater.

 

Calculations based on a commercial-scale demonstration plant on the University of Illinois campus indicate the technology is well-suited to generate fuel/revenue from wastes at the scale of a small city, a military installation, or a large animal feeding operation.

 

Theoretically Mr. Sewer, applied to all U.S. wastewater treatment plants and livestock operations, could produce enough bio-energy to replace all current petroleum imports, according to Schideman.

 

Today the commercial-scale plant is being optimized and a mobile version of the system is being developed.

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Sharma Named Fellow of National Engineering Society

B.K. Sharma
BK Sharma will be honored as a fellow of STLE on May 17, 2016.

ISTC NEWS

 

B.K. Sharma, senior research engineer at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, has been elected a fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE).

 

Fellows are selected based on their significant impact on the field. Fellows represent outstanding authorities from industry, academia, and government agencies. Six new fellows were named for 2016 and will be honored at the 71st STLE Annual Meeting and Exhibition May 17 in Las Vegas.

 

Tribology is a multi-disciplinary field concerned with design, friction, wear and lubrication of moving parts. It is a branch of inquiry which spans mechanical engineering, materials science, surface science and others.

 

Sharma, a chemist by education, has published 87 publications in international journals, five U.S. patents, nine book chapters, and 133 presentations in international and national conferences. Among his research interests is the development of bio-based lubricants and additives for industrial applications.

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What ‘Back to the Future Part II’ got wrong (and right)

sharmaHappy Back to the Future Day! ISTC Senior Research Engineer B.K. Sharma is one of the University of Illinois researchers featured in a fun roundup of predictions made for this day by the feature film 26 years ago.

 

The movies predictions about alternative fuels from garbage were somewhat prescient. Sharma hasn’t come up with Mr. Fusion, but he makes gasoline from all types of wastes (grocery bags, prescription medicine bottles, milk cartons, straws, bottle caps, tires, old coffee grounds, algae, sewage sludge, manure and food waste).

 

The Cubs, predicted to win the World Series, on the other hand, are just hanging on.  See the whole article at https://illinois.edu/blog/view/6231/263585.

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Bioenergy Investments Bode Well for Green Economic Growth

There is increasing interest in biofuels not only to lessen dependency on foreign oil but also to promote sustainable fuels and the growth of a greener economy.  ISTC’s researchers currently are exploring greener alternatives for fuels used in the automotive and aviation fields.

 

Progress is being made by them and others in using waste biomass, hard-to-recycle plastics, and other wastes for fuels. The NY Times recently reported that United Airlines is investing $30 million in Fulcrum Bioenergy to produce sustainable aviation biofuels.  The airline says that it will use the biofuel (made from a mixture of farm waste, oils derived from animal fats, and traditional jet fuel) to power some of its regular passenger flights, making it the first domestic airline to do so.  This will be an exciting project to continue to follow as more and more airlines follow suit.

 

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New book cautions against the use of invasive biomass crops

Bioenergy and Biological Invasions CoverAcross the globe, efforts are being made to find sustainable, renewable, and economically-viable sources of energy. Here in the U.S., Congress passed a mandate in 2007 (the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS) that requires refiners to blend an increasing quantity of biomass-derived ethanol into gasoline. The RFS stipulated that corn-based ethanol would be capped at a certain level, while fuels from so-called “advanced” biomass feedstocks would take up the slack. These feedstocks are desirable because, unlike corn, they do not compete with our national food supply and can be grown with fewer agricultural inputs on degraded land.

 

A number of advanced feedstocks have been trialed in the U.S., and several have been shown to produce extremely large biomass yields. However, it has been pointed out that the traits of an idealized biomass feedstock (e.g., fast growth, large biomass, ability to grow on poor-quality land) are similar to traits of invasive plant species. A new book, co-edited and co-authored by ISTC Technical Editor Lauren Quinn, explores the issue of invasiveness in bioenergy feedstocks.

 

Bioenergy and Biological Invasions provides in-depth coverage of the biology, ecology, and risk assessment of invasive plants, focusing on those that have been identified as potential bioenergy sources: large perennial grasses, algae, short-rotation woody crops, and others. The book also examines federal and state policies pertaining to invasive plants and bioenergy crops, and considers methods to mitigate the risks of invasion by novel feedstocks.

 

One of the mitigation solutions proposed in the book is the sustainable harvest of existing invasive plant populations as a source of biochar or a source of biomass for combustion or conversion to fuel products. The ISTC is a leading force in research and development of biochar as a soil amendment and for carbon sequestration, and our researchers are currently investigating novel feedstocks as sources of biochar.

 

The idea of harvesting existing invasive plant populations for biomass is relevant to a current collaboration between ISTC and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to test the energy applications of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and other plants harvested from roadways. Although it is native to much of the U.S., the jury is still out on the invasion potential of switchgrass. However, ISTC researchers collaborating with IDOT have determined that switchgrass pelletized for combustion is an economical method of maximizing the energy present in this plant. In addition, alternative energy applications of switchgrass are being investigated through ISTC funding. Researchers from Eastern Illinois University, supported by an ISTC grant, performed an exploratory study on the potential for switchgrass pellets to produce syn-gas, reporting that switchgrass pellets were successfully co-gasified with wood chips in a 50/50 mix.

 

Biomass-based bioenergy offers one potentially sustainable way to move beyond fossil fuels, as discussed in the book and as illustrated by the innovative ISTC research highlighted here. However, as the biomass market scales up, it will be increasingly important to avoid introducing invasive species, to avoid replacing one problem with another.

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Events Promote Sustainability Awareness at Home and Far-Far Away

PlasticParadiseDirector, writer and actress Angela Sun will visit the Urbana-Champaign campus at 6 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 21 for a screening of her film “Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

The documentary records the plight of the natural ecosystem of Midway Atoll as it encounters the Great Pacific Gyre, a swirling garbage patch of plastic washed off of surrounding continents.

Named a National Wildlife Refuge in 1988, Midway’s reefs and sand islands form a habitat for millions of seabirds. The film traces Sun’s investigation of the damage produced by humans’ demand for plastic.

The event will be held in Room 149, National Soybean Research Center.

Co-sponsors for this free community/campus event are the Institute for Sustainablity, Energy, and the Environment (iSEE), and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.

Plastics in the environment have increasingly raised concerns from researchers, activists and policy makers. California-based Surfrider Foundation has named October “Rise Above Plastics” month, during which they promote consumer awareness against the tsunami of plastic in the human economy. A phenomenon of the second half of the 20th century, plastic production has supplanted the use of natural materials with the benefits of being light and strong. But those very properties mean they degrade very slowly and have alarmed many scientists for their increasing presence in the marine food chain. ISTC has several projects looking at the reuse and recycling of plastics to keep more of them out of landfills or the environment. Click here for a recent report on plastic to oil research at ISTC.

Sun’s visit is also an appropriate warm-up to “Campus Sustainability Day” recognized on the U of I campus and nationally the next day, Oct. 22. Between 1-4 p.m. in Illini Union Room 314B on Oct. 22, iSEE will sponsor a progress report of the university’s Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP). In 2010, U of I became a leader among U.S. universities by announcing ambitious climate goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050. Register here for the iCAP update.

Working teams developing revisions to the 2010 iCAP will review the campus’ progress on the plan and accept public comment on a proposed 2015 iCAP update.