Summary
Overview Experimental accomplishments Experimental Obstacles Base case and UNISIM design Final Design Questions
Overview
Use algae to convert CO2 to lipids Convert lipids into biodiesel Scaled to industrial application
Preliminary Experiments
Growth studies on local algae Conducted research on various strains Chlorella vulgaris
Pilot Plant
Algae was initially grown in growth chambers
Transferred to reactor Bacteria was also
introduced Bacteria
outcompeted algae for nutrients
Experimentation was discontinued
Base Case
Developed a process flow diagram Utilized UNISIM process simulator to
model Catalyst design decision Early equipment selection
UNISIM
Developed biomass and triglyceride hypotheticals
Useful for early estimates of equipment sizing
Models liquid operations better than solid
Final Design
Hand calculations to size equipment Develop a piping and instrumentation
diagram Process costing Feasibility analysis