Energy – Page 2 – ISTC blog

April 1, 2020

ISTC provides technical assistance from a distance

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) at the University of Illinois makes companies and communities more competitive and resilient with sustainable business practices, technologies, and solutions. TAP works at the intersection of industry, science and government to help clients achieve profitable, sustainable results.

In service to the State of Illinois, ISTC provides all Illinois organizations, businesses, manufacturing facilities, institutions and governments the opportunity for one free site visit and sustainability assessment from TAP. However, in light of the Governor’s stay-at-home order and restrictions on non-essential travel for University personnel as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, TAP staff members are currently not conducting in-person site visits.

But this does not mean that we are not still here to serve you. Our staff members are working remotely, and are available to help your business or community with:

Answers to questions related to waste reduction, water and energy efficiency and conservation
Guidance on institutional water treatment, particularly given recent changes to building use patterns
Greening your supply chain
Sustainability visioning, goal setting, planning and communication with stakeholders
Information on alternative technologies and processes to reduce resource consumption, hazardous material use, and emissions
General recommendations for process improvement, which can increase your productivity while reducing your negative environmental footprint

Learn more about TAP services and impacts on the ISTC web site. If you are interested in scheduling a site visit in the future, when travel restrictions have been lifted, fill out our form to request a site visit. Questions can also be directed to istc-info@illinois.edu, to receive immediate assistance.

Subscribe to our monthly e-mail newsletter on sustainability for food and beverage manufacturers at https://groups.webservices.illinois.edu/subscribe/115948.

You can also keep up to date on TAP projects and services, case studies, and guidance by subscribing to the ISTC blog (look for the “subscribe” box for email input on the main blog page) or exploring the blog’s Technical Assistance category. Our web site also provides a list of fact sheets, case studies and other publications which may provide inspiration for your efforts. In the coming months, TAP will also be developing a new web site to more fully describe recent projects, successes, and services; this will be linked to directly from the main ISTC web site. Be on the lookout for it!

Finally, on April 9^th, at 12 PM Central, we invite you to join us for a webinar, Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) Festival Footprint: Going Zero Waste. Learn more and register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4557515682919003659. If it inspires you to pursue zero waste at your facility or in your community, we’d love to discuss opportunities and ideas with you! Reach out to our zero waste team at istc-zerowaste@illinois.edu. If you want to receive notifications of future webinars from ISTC, you can sign up at https://groups.webservices.illinois.edu/subscribe/53516.

Stay safe and know that we are here to support your organization’s sustainability efforts during this difficult time.

January 31, 2020March 4, 2020

ISTC researchers develop greener biofuels process

tall green grass

Kirtika Kohli and BK Sharma have been busy in the lab creating a greener delignification method for biofuels refinery processes. Many see biofuels as a viable alternative to fossil fuels because they are renewable and can reduce carbon emissions through plant growth. However, biomass needs to be processed before it can be converted to biofuels.

Lignin is a substance found in plants that makes them rigid and woody. Lignin helps plants resist rotting, so biomass harvested for biofuels must undergo a pre-treatment process to break down the lignin. Once lignin is removed, the remaining biomass could be easily converted to monomeric sugars, which can be converted biochemically into biofuels and other components in a biorefinery. With some additional refinement, the extracted lignin has the potential to be used in other applications in biofuels, biolubricants, polymers, binders, and biochemicals.

Current delignification processes have limited industrial applications because of their high costs, toxicity, and inability to recycle/reuse the chemicals used in the process. The team’s new method is more efficient, economic, and less toxic than current processes. It should ease operation/maintenance requirements and the need for special equipment as well as increase cost-effectiveness and recyclability. Their process is able to extract 85-88% of the lignin from Birchwood and Miscanthus (the two biomasses tested).

The team also developed a new lignin quantification method. The delignification process developed dissolves lignin into a green solvent that can be directly used for the quantification using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. This new method is easier and more accurate than older lignin quantification methods, which were based on weight of the lignin yields that resulted in rough estimates.

Their paper is in-press and available online in Bioresource Technology: Effective Delignification of Lignocellulosic Biomass by Microwave Assisted Deep Eutectic Solvents.

January 8, 2019

New Year’s Reflections and Resolutions

The new year is a good time to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments, as well as make plans for the year ahead. Last year was a successful one for ISTC’s researchers. They were awarded five out of the five grants they submitted to Department of Energy, as well as one from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. They include:

Researchers Nandakishore Rajagopalan and Kevin OBrien’s effort to examine the scalability of Rajagopalan’s patented waste heat coupled forward osmosis (FO)-based water treatment system, Aquapod©, to improve wastewater quality and reduce water usage in a coal-fired +500 megawatt power plant.
A public-private partnership that demonstrates the feasibility of producing animal feed and/or biofuels at a significantly lower cost. The project combines technologies for bio-energy production that have been developed at ISTC in collaboration with HeliosNRG, headquartered in East Amherst, NY.
A large pilot scale test of technology to remove CO2 from power plant flue emissions. ISTC partnered with two multinational companies, Linde and BASF, to develop a new solvent based system to capture CO2 from power plants. They have partnered with Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI) and Affiliated Construction Services (ACS), which have extensive experience with designing and building systems for power plant applications. The team led by ISTC received $850,000 in spring 2018 for Phase I of the pilot testing project, which involves designing a 10 MW capture system that would be retrofitted to a central Illinois power plant. The group plans to compete for subsequent phases, which could lead to the development of a supply chain for captured CO2.
Advancing carbon capture absorption technology from lab to bench scale. ISTC has been assisting with an Illinois State Geological Survey lab-scale project to develop a biphasic CO2 absorption process (BiCAP) with multiple stages of liquid-liquid solvent phase separation, which increases carbon capture capacity. ISGS and ISTC have received an additional $3 million to conduct a three-year bench scale (40 KWe) study of their BiCAP technology.
Validating two innovative technologies that have the potential to significantly reduce flue gas aerosol concentrations from large-scale coal-fired power production. The technologies will be tested at the University of Illinois Abbott Power Plant. The results will be used as a benchmark for comparing their performance and cost to those of existing options.
An expansion of on-going research being conducted by John Scott and his team. Through funding from the Hazardous Waste Research Fund and the Annis Water Resource Institute at Grand Valley State University, they are studying the effects of microplastic type and deployment time in Lake Muskegon sediments and the water column on sorption of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to microplastic particles. The investigation includes legacy contaminants like chlorinated pesticides, polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). New funds from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant will allow the team to broaden their scope to study the role of microplastics as a carrier of PFAS in water and sediment.

Read more about these and other projects in ISTC’s 2018 annual report. If you’re looking for suggestions on making this year more sustainable, check out some of our blog posts from 2018.

November 14, 2018November 15, 2018

PRI Researchers Gather in Australia for Top GHG Control Conference

Nine Prairie Research Institute (PRI) carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) researchers traveled to Melbourne, Australia in October for the Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference 14, the field’s leading biennial scientific gathering, sponsored by the 30-nation Energy Technology Network.

gas separation test facility for CO2 capture — The $100 million CO2CRC gas separation test facility in Otway, Australia is developing new membrane materials for use in capturing purified carbon dioxide at a high- concentration natural gas well. This apparatus demonstrates the ability to test lab scale, flat membrane sheets and single fibers of hollow fiber membranes.

While at the conference, they visited Australia’s major CCS center, the Otway National Research Center. Otway’s CO2CRC gas separation test facility is developing membranes and techniques for CO₂ storage, according to ISTC Director Kevin OBrien.

OBrien added that Dr. Abdul Qader, CO2CRC’s facilities manager, explained new strategies for separating CO₂ from methane. “This would be a major driver for the natural gas industry in the Asia-Pacific region,” OBrien explained.

“They also have the ability to test new sorbents as part of their research into pressure swing absorption,” he said.

PRI is also a major player in technology development for CCUS. At ISTC, research focuses on the development of a large-scale U.S. carbon capture pilot at a working coal-fired power plant. Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) researchers have developed expertise in sequestration of carbon dioxide in deep rock formations.

Because global demand for fossil fuels is not likely to decline soon, technologies must be developed to reduce carbon emissions by capturing, storing, and finding beneficial ways to use the waste gas, OBrien said. Capture requires a lot of energy and work at PRI and CO2CRC both search for better capture efficiency to lower its cost.

Work is underway worldwide to perfect a wide variety approaches. Successful commercialization of any of these technologies could be a game changer for climate change efforts because most of the world’s economies will continue using coal and other fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, said OBrien.

team of researchers at Australia conference — PRI CCUS researchers (left to right) Chris Korose, Randy Locke, Kevin OBrien, Sallie Greenberg, Scott Frailey, Vinod Patel, Nick Malkewicz (of Projeo Corporation), and Lance Schideman. Steve Whittaker and Keri Canaday (not pictured) also attended meeting.

July 16, 2018November 29, 2022

The Interesting World of Solar Panels

WRITTEN BY: John Mulunda, ISTC intern

Can you guess which energy source has had an average annual growth of 59% in the past decade? If you guessed solar energy then you’re right. Solar energy’s sustained annual growth is due to advances in module technology creating competitiveness with other energy technologies, as well as the decline in soft costs for residential and small commercial installations.

About Solar Panels

Simply put, solar panels are devices that turn the sun’s light into electricity. Each solar panel is made up of multiple cells connected/wired together to create the necessary electrical power needed for the application. Most solar panels on the market today are made from silicon, a semiconducting material. Each cell contains a semiconductor wafer that forms an electric current that is positive on one side and negative on the other. When light energy hits the solar panel, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. If electrical conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides, they form an electrical circuit for electricity to flow to an electrical load such as a light or computer.

Issues

With the large increase in expected solar installations in Illinois and beyond over the next several years, what happens to these panels if they are damaged or when they reach the end of their design-life? While some of them are being repurposed or recycled, many are ending up in landfills. However, landfill disposal may not be the best use of human and natural resources. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that by 2050, there will be 60 to 78 million cumulative metric tons of solar panel waste globally. Careful deconstruction of this waste is essential to recover component toxics (cadmium, lead) and valuable metals (silver, iridium, gallium) that otherwise would be landfilled, which prevents possible contamination of water and air systems through leaching and open burning, respectively.

In addition, recyling solar panels allows the opportunity to recover metals, such as silver, aluminum, silicon, and gallium, that would otherwise have to be extracted. In fact, it takes a lot of work to extract gallium because it is not found as a free element in nature. It exists only in trace amounts of various compounds such as zinc or aluminum ores.

Law & Policy – Planning for the Future

There is a bright side to all of this: the value of the recovered materials from solar panel recycling and reuse could be over $15 billion by 2050. Furthermore, many countries have thought about what to do with damaged and or end-of-life solar panels.Some governments have already created laws, while others are in the process of doing so. The European Union (EU) passed a law that requires all producers who sell solar panels in the EU to pay the costs of collecting and recycling panels.

In the U.S., there are no federal laws for solar panel disposal, but the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is working to establish a national network of certified solar recyclers. Additionally, the State of Washington requires solar manufacturers that sell in Washington to finance the upfront costs of collecting and recycling the panels. The state of New York is in the process of writing a law that will allow the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to work with manufacturers to create a program to help with the collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal of used solar panels. This program would be funded by the manufacturers.

As of 2018, Illinois does not have solar panel recycling regulations. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center is working with the Illinois EPA, Illinois Solar Energy Association, SEIA, and recycling companies to create a solar panel recycling network. On July 18, 2018, ISTC staff, Nancy Holm and Jennifer Martin, will be at a SWANA Illinois meeting presenting a joint talk about how to make the emerging solar panel market in Illinois more sustainable through recycling.

April 23, 2018August 27, 2021

Advancing carbon capture technology

Research is progressing on a novel biphasic solvent absorption method that holds promise as an innovative, cost-saving alternative to the conventional CO₂ capture process in power plants. ISTC researchers have been assisting the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) on a lab-scale (10KWe) project developing a biphasic CO2 absorption process (BiCAP) with multiple stages of liquid-liquid solvent phase separation, which improves CO2 absorption kinetics and increases the carbon capture capacity.

“And, more importantly,” explained Wei Zheng, senior research chemist at ISTC who is working on the project, “this new technology can also significantly reduce both the energy use and equipment cost for CO2 capture compared to the conventional amine-based process.”

The lab-scale research is being led by ISGS, supported by a grant from U.S Department of Energy (DOE).

Currently, the team has evaluated the corrosive properties of solvents on carbon and stainless steel, which are main materials used for CO2 absorbers and strippers. “Corrosion is not a concern,” said ISTC senior research engineer Brajendra Sharma. “We’re moving forward with the project and are on track with all our milestones.”

Now the research efforts are ready for the next step. Recently U.S. DOE announced $3M of additional funding for ISGS and ISTC to conduct a three-year bench-scale (40KWe) study of their BiCAP technology.

The primary goal of this new project is to leverage the BiCAP process and validate its technical advantages through a fully-integrated bench-scale testing in a relevant flue gas environment. The proposed technology is aimed at achieving a CO2 capture cost of $30/tonne and >95% CO2 purity to meet DOE’s Transformational CO2 Capture goals.

December 12, 2017May 22, 2018

Mr. Grinch says ‘demand fast, free shipping at all times’

What a wonderful world when we can shop online and get free two-day shipping.

What could be better?

From a climate perspective, perhaps slower is better.

More than thirty years of engineering have made passenger cars highly efficient and clean burning. That trip to the local store might have a smaller footprint than that uber-delivery to your door. Diesel trucks are lightly regulated and impact air quality more.

Experts at the University of California say today’s competition to get it to you fastest is eroding the logistical progress they had made in consolidating their shipments.
Grist explains some of the complexities of shipping that determine the carbon-intensively of your shipping choice. All of those individual shipping boxes have also been implicated for their impacts.

MIT’s 2013 analysis concludes that you’ll impact the planet least if you shop completely online, without going to the store to field test your purchase.

But now there is the added variable of free two-day shipping? Just because it is free you don’t have to choose it, according to Miguel Jaller, of the Institute for Transportation Studies at the University of California Davis. Consolidate your own purchases and choose a slower delivery option — that gives shippers the best chance of consolidating their shipments. Happy Holidays!

May 25, 2017May 29, 2018

Jobs and growth can help halt greenhouse gas

Experts worldwide are meeting this week in Calabria, Italy to focus on ways to deploy carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies.

Today Kevin OBrien, who leads both the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and the Illinois State Water Survey, spoke about the opportunities to treat “CCUS as a Regional Economic Development Tool.”

The presentation was made at the CO₂ Summit III: Pathways to Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Deployment conference.

Reducing CO2 emissions while also maintaining economic growth requires balancing many complex technological, political, and social aspects, according to OBrien.

Deployment will bring significant implications for regional energy, water, and transportation, he said. By focusing on job growth and community resilience, OBrien said, CCUS can draw on, and build on, regional alliances for education, business, and community development.

The Prairie Research Institute, through its Illinois State Geological Survey and ISTC, have become leaders in the development and implementation of carbon capture and storage. ISTC is also developing a Center for Carbon Utilization on the University of Illinois campus.

“The goal is to not only evaluate technologies, but also demonstrate how communities may be able to monetize captured CO₂,” said Kevin OBrien. The effort provides a unique opportunity to create jobs and build new markets, he said.

conference participants — *CCUS experts from around the world gathered in Calabria, Italy this week to explore ways to speed the implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage.*

May 3, 2017May 22, 2018

Army to pilot ISTC innovation to improve installation resilience, energy security

waste water treatment plant energy recovery — The U.S. Army will pilot a U of I waste to energy system that converts wastewater biosolids to biocrude oil. The design benefits include removal of many bioactive pollutants and a high efficiency of energy extraction.

The U.S. Army has funded a project to demonstrate technology developed on the University of Illinois’ South Farm that disposes of wastewater biosolids by turning them into energy.

The Army has embraced a range of innovations in its Net Zero program, which strives for zero waste and clean, on-site, renewable energy sources. Two areas where the Army still pays for landfill disposal are food waste and wastewater biosolids.

The U of I system will be demonstrated over a two-month period at Fort Detrick, in Frederick, Maryland, where Net Zero team members will document the effectiveness of this approach to improve the environmental footprint and enhance resiliency at Army installations. Fort Detrick has been designated to be an Army pilot installation for Net Zero energy and waste initiatives.

The pilot-scale reactor developed by university personnel from Agricultural and Biological Engineering and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), a division of the Prairie Research Institute, converts these organic materials into biofuels through a hydrothermal process.

Instead of expending energy to sterilize and break down organic wastes for landfilling, the one ton per day reactor can produce 3 million BTUs of heat energy, which corresponds to 300 kilowatt-hours of electricity each day. In addition, instead of expending energy to dry the feedstocks, as in most biofuel processes, wet feedstocks are essential to the reaction.

“In a hostile theatre, it is dangerous to supply fuel by truck to run electric generators,” said Lance Schideman, the researcher who has led the development efforts at ISTC. “The ability to supply renewable energy on-post promotes readiness and minimizes its environmental impact,” he added.

“The system’s small size and portability also make the approach appealing for deployment at military installations here and abroad,” said Stephen Cosper, an engineer with the Army’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory who has spent a sabbatical year collaborating with researchers at ISTC.

February 23, 2017May 22, 2018

Challenges of Carbon Utilization Have Regional Solutions

istc director kevin o'brien speaks at technology summit in San Antonio Texas — *Advances in carbon utilization technology holds diverse options for job and economic development, according to ISTC Director Kevin O’Brien.*

Emerging technologies for carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization present significant opportunities for job creation and economic growth, said Kevin O’Brien, director of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in a presentation to the Eighth Carbon Dioxide Utilization Summit Feb. 22 in San Antonio, Texas.

But success in deriving those benefits from carbon utilization depends on the assets (economic and human) of each particular region, O’Brien emphasized to energy, chemical, plastics, and construction industry leaders at the conference.

Mature regional partnerships for workforce development, higher education, economic development, government support, and responsive research and development capabilities are some of the factors that contribute to development of a sustainable CO2 value chain.

O’Brien pointed to reasons why Illinois, where coal underlies nearly the entire state and remains a $2.5 billion annual industry, is seizing on every advantage it has to align with the potential of carbon utilization innovations.

Illinois research universities have leading programs in engineering, engineering geology, carbon capture, and other scientific innovation. One example is the use of CO2 as a fertilizer substitute at the University of Illinois. In a major agricultural state with nutrient loss problems and where the climate is expected to reduce carbon retention in soil, synergies abound.
College curricula, community colleges, economic development professionals, political leaders, and employers are already connected to existing supply chains.
The University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute, ISTC’s parent organization, has assembled decades-long reservoirs of valuable data on Illinois weather, regional climate, soil, groundwater, stream flow, and other factors that is relevant to an economic pivot toward carbon utilization.

On the research front, a Midwest Regional Approach to Carbon Utilization workshop is being planned for June 28 by co-organizers ISTC, the Gas Technology Institute, and the Advanced Coal and Energy Research Center of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

Other regions will have different assets and opportunities. For instance, carbon utilization will necessitate pipelines or another cost-effective transportation method for captured CO2. Markets with a track record for facilitating transportation will be ahead of the game, O’Brien said.