Date of Award

Summer 8-2-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in General Engineering

Committee Chair

Richard Ladouceur

First Advisor

Jeff Braun

Second Advisor

Brahmananda Pramanik

Abstract

An accepted carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) method to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is via adsorption onto biochar. While the characteristics of the char are important and greatly impact the adsorption of CO2 molecules, the conditions in which the adsorption occurs are equally critical. Factors such as char particle size and quantity, environmental temperature and pressure, as well as outside driving mechanisms such as vibration frequency, driving force, and flow rates play an impactful role on how the char adsorbs CO2 particles. These factors and their effects will be studied in multiphysics simulations performed using methods that work in tandem to solve discrete particle motion simulations and computational fluid dynamics problems in alternating steps to predict the unique pressures experienced by each individual char particle. Data obtained from physical experiments can then be used as a reference for the simulation to use the pressure properties to predict adsorption in the simulation. The results of the calibrated simulation show that pressure changes induced by the motion of particles and gas in the reactor improve adsorption by up to 8.9%.

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