REACTIVE EXTRUSION OF PET TEXTILE TRIM WITH PET BEVERAGE CONTAINERS WITH VARIOUS AD
The objective of our project is to design a method to reuse PET trim waste back into useable product for Hematite Manufacturing. This will be done by increasing the intrinsic viscosity of PET nonwoven textile trim waste. The options used to achieve this will consist of either the addition of recycled PET beverage containers into the PET trim waste or the addition of chemical additives through reactive extrusion. Upon successful extrusion of the PET, the products will be put through a melt flow index and ultimate tensile strength test to ensure all desired mechanical properties are achieved.
Group members: Arsallan Butt, Cheryl Lau, Christian D’Cruz
6T PAPER MACHINE EFFLUENT TREATMENT
This project in collaboration with Irving Tissue Toronto involves designing a wastewater treatment unit to assist the paper mill with their effluent high TSS content. The paper mill discharges high volumes of effluent containing large amounts of solids including Total Suspended Solids and the organic oil to the City for treatment. As a result of extensive testing and investigations, a Dissolved-Air-Flotation unit was selected as the ideal treatment unit to reduce the TSS content where the solids are collected as sludge and treated wastewater released to the City.
Group members: Shahed Shafazand, Mitchell Quiambao, Lisa Hudson, Opeyemi Ajogbeje
COUPLED CAUSTIC AND CHLORATE PROCESS
The two largest chemicals reagents used by a kraft pulping process are sodium hydroxide and sodium chlorate. Due to rising supplier costs, many pulp mills have expressed interest in producing these two chemicals on site to reduce production costs. Our process uses an electrolytic membrane cell that produces these two chemicals at a significantly reduced energy cost compared to current methods. This is achieved by synthesizing both chemicals with a single cell and state of the art oxygen depolarized cathode (ODC) technology.
Group members: Cameron Bedard, Luma Hamdan, John Melville, Jesse Pang
DESIGN AND SIZING OF AMINE TREATMENT UNIT FOR CCS APPLICATIONS
This project is focused on the redesign of an amine treatment unit for Shell’s Quest CCS system. A black box method was used to model each alternative case and its effectiveness was ranked by comparing its energy consumption as well as capital cost. Redesign options include varying amine composition, heat exchanger layout, and tower internals, among others. Process data for alternative simulations was gathered both from HYSYS simulations as well as a lab-scale pilot unit.
Group members: Allison Chiang, Marco Chan, Itai Arbiv, Seoung-Youn Lee, Nik Knezic
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE COMPARISON FOR REVERSE OSMOSIS DESALINATION PLANT
The purpose of this project is to examine the potential for Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination plants based in Dubai to be driven by the renewable energy sources of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Solar Photovoltaic (PV). The study will involve simulating, sizing and costing a RO plant with a CSP system and PV system to meet the plant’s energy demands. Results of this study will allow for a comparison of using the two energy sources for desalination on a technical and economic basis.
Group members: Andrew Liu, Sophia Jiang, Dhiren Patel
BRUW: DESIGN OF PARALLEL NANOBREWERY SYSTEM
Student teams provide valuable educational opportunities for students to apply skills from the classroom in a practical setting. However, there are very few opportunities targeted for chemical engineering students. Our team is designing a nanobrewery pilot plant that will allow chemical engineering concepts to be taught via a paralleled system that can be manipulated for controlled research and experimentation. The intent for this system is to become a design team that will provide students technical knowledge on an industrial engineering process.
Group members: Yuning (Julie) Zhang, Janna Henzl, Aaron Mok
AUTOMATED HEAT BALANCE PROGRAM FOR CANDU REACTOR
The primary heat transport system of the CANDU reactor at Bruce Power is adjusted by a heat balance conducted twice a day. The automated heat balance (HB) program can increase the net output of the reactor by reducing the difference between true reactor thermal power (RTP) and calculated RTP, remove process inefficiencies, and eliminate human performance error. The HB program incorporates pre-filtering methodology to identify the status of the reactor and determines if it is operating at steady state.
Group members: Minnie Huang, Kevin Le, Lawrence Cheung, and Varun Asokan
HYDROCARBON WASTE STREAM RECOVERY
Our project is to demonstrate the feasibility of separation of hydrocarbons in a waste stream from inert components and then use this separated stream to generate power through combustion. Membrane and cryogenic methods will be discussed in their application to this problem. The designed processes will then be put through an economic analysis to demonstrate at what inlet flow rate the process will be feasible economically. We will make a recommendation of a flow rate our industry partner should pursue recovery of value from this waste stream.
Group members: Tim Droppo, Braedan Dennahower, Alex Holland, Nathan Schmidt
PERFUSION MULTIWELL PLATES FOR SUSPENSION CELL CULTURES
Unlike traditional batch or fed-batch reactors, perfusion bioreactors allow fresh media to flow into a cell culture while waste media flows out of the plate. As a result, the cell culture can grow at higher cell densities and the nutrient levels can be maintained in perfusion bioreactors. The objective of this project is to design and produce a working prototype of a perfusion multiwell culture plate that is relatively easy to use, in a cost effective manner.
Group members: Johnathan Cai, Han Kyul Oh, Tyler Vander Glas, Arjun Dhillon
LOW GRADE WASTE HEAT TO POWER FOR A POLYETHYLENE PRODUCTION PROCESS
The production of polyethylene is an exothermic reaction, which requires the reactor temperature to be controlled to prevent a runaway reaction. As a result, the heat available for recovery is low grade. The goal of our project is to assess different technologies for low grade waste heat recovery and use Aspen HYSYS to design a system for the polyethylene process used by Dow that will convert the waste heat to power.
Group members: Vincent Zhu, Alycia Pang, Marissa Cheah, Gavin Zheng
REDUCING IBU VARIABILITY BY OPTIMIZING BOILING TIME IN BEER BREWING
This design project is focused on the optimization of the hops addition step in the beer brewing process. A model will be created that outputs the boiling time to achieve a desired international bitterness unit (IBU) rating. The input for the model will be online data collected by UV spectroscopy during the boiling process. The model will produce a boil time estimate based on the reaction kinetics for the isomerization of alpha acids to achieve a desired IBU despite variations in hops properties.
Group members: Luke Langman, Nathan Pajunen, Paul Simpson, Adam Szczerba
RECYCLING OF PET INTO 3D PRINTER FILAMENTS
The objective of the project is to upscale a lab-scale process developed by start-up RECYCL3D, for converting waste PET plastics into high quality 3D printer filaments in an economically feasible manner while minimizing environmental, health, and safety risks. The various unit operations of the process will be modelled based on published literature and simulated using MATLAB and Excel software. We will also be conducting a cost-benefit analysis on different equipment to find the most economically viable process equipment.
Group members: Ernest Chan, Young-Min Kim, Nicole Shum
PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF PURIFICATION DESIGN ALTERNATIVES FOR NOVEL HPV VACCINE PRODUCTION IN N. BENTHAMIANA
The production of vaccines in plants is a novel alternative to conventional platforms such as insect and yeast cells. However, standard purification techniques have yet to be established. This report explores the modes of chromatography available for the downstream purification of a Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine produced in N. benthamiana. Initial design recommendations were developed by reviewing methods presented in literature and assessing them against criteria such as energy efficiency, environmental impact, cost, etc. Insight from industrial chromatography vendors was used to corroborate results.
Group members: Ronita Pollowy, Emily Watson, Zhilin Du
DESIGN OF AN ATMOSPHERIC WATER GENERATOR FOR CLEAN DRINKING WATER
Many developing regions of the world do not have access to clean drinking water. Our project looks to alleviate this burden through the design and build of a novel atmospheric water generation unit. Our strategy is to develop technology capable of collecting and purifying moisture from the air. We have identified the potential of combining the Peltier, Venturi and Coanda effects within our design to improve upon conventional condensation via shell-and-tube configurations. The outcome of this project will determine the overall process feasibility.
Group members: Suhail Lakhani, Ryan Jung, Ryan Fahey, Mohammad Ziauddin
UTILIZATION OF WAVE ENERGY CONVERTERS
The primary objective of the project is to develop a model of the initial design for the Offshore Floating Power Plant, which includes a basic layout, major component sizing and sourcing and process costing. A model will be developed using advanced software to aid in sizing of the components, and to investigate design and operation options. This project has potential future success since it will offer a viable alternative to the use of fossil fuels, and reduced environmental impact.
Group members: Majd Tabbara, Pranjal Varashney, Fernando Chial, Mohammed Nassef
LIGHTWEIGHT THERMOPLASTICS
This project aims to maximize cellulose fibers into existing automotive thermoplastic formulations. Our objective is to find the optimal formulation for under the hood and interior automotive application that has similar mechanical properties as industrial thermoplastics. Cellulose fibers will reduce the overall weight of vehicles while also decreasing their energy requirements. Thermal degradation of cellulose fibers at different processing temperatures is first evaluated to account for higher melt temperatures of Polyamides before optimizing the formulation of the individual components.
Group members: Touqeer Haider, Farhan Ahmad, Ian Tivendale, Abdul Raheem, Syed Mukarram
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR THE BRUW TEAM
Temperature plays a crucial role in numerous steps of the brewing process, especially during the mash and fermentation stages. Temperature control is important because it affects which enzymes are activated during the process, and greatly affects the quality of beer produced. The goal of our project is to design a temperature control system for the microbrewery design being done by group 6. This will be accomplished using a Raspberry Pi and Arduino system, which will have significant advantages compared to standard industrial controllers.
Group members: Andres Pinto, Brian Heans, Ben Bernier
DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF A LOCOMOTIVE POWERTRAIN USING HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS
Current locomotives operating on the Toronto Union Pearson Express route are powered by diesel engines. The objective of this project is to design and model a hydrogen fuel cell-battery hybrid locomotive for use on this route. The expected outcome of the model is a balance between functionality and a reduction in emissions. A powertrain model will be developed and tested using MATLAB. Options for hydrogen storage and battery charging will also be considered in order to minimize daily refueling requirements.
Group members: Setareh Astaraki, Kiran Pradeep Keswani, Maranda Mackay
HIGH PRESSURE OXYFUEL COMBUSTION PETCOKE
The goal of this project is to design a high pressure oxyfuel combustion process that uses petroleum coke as fuel for power generation. The approach taken is to create a steady state model on Aspen Plus in order to calculate all relevant information of the oxyfuel combustion process. The design will incorporate important operating parameters along with equipment sizing and cost estimates. Flue gas clean-up will be modelled as well to determine whether petroleum coke fuel for oxyfuel combustion is economically feasible and environmentally friendly.
Group members: Piyush Nanda, Godwin Tung, Nicole Sabater, Cheuk Nam Yeung
PILOT-SCALE BIOFILTRATION UNIT FOR AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
Air pollution is a serious environmental issue today, and biotechnology is a highly effective and versatile method of pollution control. Thus, our group is producing a relatively simple dry biofiltration system, which is inexpensive, robust, and easily maintained. The goal of this project is to remove volatile organic compounds from the air at 80% efficiency. Furthermore, performance will be analyzed and the effects of various process variables explored. During the experimental phase, modelling will also be done to analyze experimental data and optimize the system.
Group members: Saad Qazi, Radhika Arora, Caitlin McLaren. Not pictured: Victor Guiguer
PRODUCTION OF COSMETICS FROM APPLE WASTE
In an attempt to divert food waste from landfills to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this project investigates the feasibility of utilizing apple waste as cheap raw material for the production of cosmetics. The purpose of this project is to pave the way towards recycling and reusing food waste, and in turn change the perception of unusable waste in today's day and age.
Group members: Mahyar Abolhallaj, Eric Park, Noor Al Jalam, Dan Kim
CULTIVATION OF ALGAE USING WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT BY-PRODUCTS
The objective of this project is to design a cost-effective system to cultivate algae using wastewater treatment plant by-products as feed materials. The design is such that it will be on-site of a wastewater treatment plant in a climate consistent with that of southern Ontario. The intention of this design is to reduce environmental impacts of wastewater treatment plants by utilizing carbon dioxide emissions and excess nutrients while creating a valuable product (in this case, algae for biofuel production).
Group members: Katie Healey, Kathryn Kerker, Danyka Byrnes
DESIGN OF A PILOT-SCALE LIQUID SOAP PRODUCTION PLANT
The project goal is to design and assemble a scaled liquid soap plant containing operations that can be incorporated into the Chemical Engineering undergraduate curriculum as model examples. This project was developed out of a need for the department to have a single physical model to refer to for core classes. The expected deliverables for this project are the physical plant, a plant model, and a liquid soap chemical formulation. Initial work has revolved around soap formulation
Group members: Kieran Cassin, Jinyoung (Michael) Shon, Adrian Kong
DESIGN OF A RECYCLING FACILITY FOR LDPE FILM
Recycling of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film is uncommon due to the challenges associated with contamination and material density. The objective of VaneTech is to design a LDPE film recycling facility from post-commercial feedstock, primarily bread bags, from SPB Solutions. The main deliverables include the design of a recycling facility, an overall life cycle analysis, a cost benefit analysis and a study involving testing, verification and optimization of the recycled product. A successful design will encourage investment and development of current waste management technologies.
Group members: Nida Hussain, Vikasitha Samaraweera, Eve Nadeau-Labadie, Ashwin Ramesh
LIQUID ASSETS: DESIGN OF AN IN-HOUSE WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM FOR A LOCAL BREWERY
This project examines a local microbrewery to determine the feasibility and benefits of an in-house water purification system. Currently, the brewery imports distilled water. The objectives of this project are to design an in-house method of purifying water as per the constraints of the brewery and to conduct a cost and feasibility analysis to make recommendations to the brewery. Two purifications options are being considered: a solar still and a reverse osmosis system.
Group members: Daniel Murdoch, Stefanie Bothwell, Victoria Marchand, Fiona Dobrik
DESIGN OF A NANOPARTICLE BASED WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM
A device is being designed to utilize an experimental TiO2 particle for the removal of organic contaminants from drinking water. The objectives of the project are to both design a device that is practical for use in developing nations, and to show that the designed device is a viable alternative to devices currently on the market. Experimental verification is being used to meet both objectives. Preliminary results have verified methods and shown efficient and effective removal of bacterial contaminants.
Group members: Sean Kinney, Eric Ho, Kevin Dang, Harry Oh
ENHANCED DESALINATION FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES
Our project objective is to design a containerized reverse osmosis desalination system featuring a nanocomposite membrane. The membrane will feature a graphene oxide active layer, providing high water flux, while maintaining sufficient salt rejection. Therefore, our system can be constructed with less membrane area or operated using a lower pressure driving force. The performance of our graphene oxide enhanced membrane will be determined through experimental analysis. Our main project deliverables are an experimental membrane prototype, a comprehensive process model, and a containerized system design.
Group members: Max Fondyga, Patrick Chen, James Figueiredo, and Jeffrey Martin
H2 PETRO CONSULTANTS: POWER-TO-GAS IMPLEMENTATION FOR A POLYGENERATION PROCESS UTILIZING CO-GASIFICATION OF PETCOKE AND BIOMASS
This project examines an existing simulation of petcoke/biomass co-gasification and downstream conversion to methanol and Fischer-Tropsch liquids. Electrolysis is implemented in place of steam reforming to reduce CO2 emissions during hydrogen production. Power-to-gas technology is investigated as a means to make electrolysis economically feasible by utilizing Ontario’s excess electricity. Net present value is optimized based on ASPEN simulation results using Particle swarm optimization in MATLAB. Hydrogen production and storage for power-to-gas are sized using GAMS. Finally, Lakes Environmental software is used for environmental analysis.
Group members: Jonathan Ranisau, Nidhi Juthani, Mohammed Barbouti, Aaron Trainor
WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM DESIGN FOR A TORONTO BREWERY
A brewery in the Toronto area has requested the design of a new in-house wastewater treatment system in order to reduce surcharge fees levied by the city. The primary contributor to these fees is a high organic waste content in the wastewater. We are proposing a system containing an anaerobic bioreactor that will both greatly reduce organic waste levels and convert organic waste into methane-rich biogas. The biogas will be redirected to the plant’s boilers to offset energy requirements of the facility.
Group members: Justin Wright, Tom Paradis, Gordon Cameron, Phil Parrott
DESIGN OF A PILOT SCALE SOAP PRODUCTION FACILITY
The objectives of this project are to design and assemble a scaled liquid soap production facility, outline how the plant can be incorporated into the chemical engineering curriculum, and design standard operating procedures for the process. We expect to obtain an operational plant consisting of a reactor and supporting components that can be used in demonstrations in the chemical engineering department. Our approach is to perform lab experiments to characterize the chemistry and operating parameters, and to use this information in an iterative design process.
Group members: Olivia Kwik, Lucas Toth, Christopher White
CATALYST BASED PASSIVE REGENERATION IN A DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER
As stringent emissions standards are introduced to combat the current air pollution crisis, the diesel automotive industry is faced with the challenge of minimizing emissions while maintaining vehicle performance. Our project aims to reduce the effect of the emission control systems on a vehicle through the use of a catalyst based diesel particle filter. The catalyst aids in reducing soot regeneration temperature, which in turn improves fuel economy. The project approach involves material selection, COMSOL simulation modelling, application techniques and economic analysis of catalyst incorporation.
Group members: Sehajpreet Ghumman, Sayantan Sengupta, Syed Muhammad Husainie, Moustafa Salem
IMPROVEMENT OF BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC USING NANOCELLULOSE
The goal of this project is to develop a biodegradable thermoplastic starch copolymer (TPSC) reinforced with cellulose nanofibers (CNF) to be used in the coffee cup and temporary food storage markets. Revival of the forestry industry has resulted in increasing supplies and rapid R&D of nanocellulose, and small amounts as an additive can sufficiently increase the water barrier and mechanical strength properties of polymer composites. Our design feasibility will be measured by its applicability in current manufacturing facilities and its environmental life cycle.
Group members: Aparna Jain, Marco Migliore, Simon Liu, Olufunbi Makinde
THE DESIGN OF A PROCESS TO UPGRADE RAW BIOGAS TO RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS
The purpose of our project is to design a process that upgrades raw biogas from a dairy farm to renewable natural gas. Raw biogas contains carbon dioxide and methane, and its energy content can be enhanced by converting the carbon dioxide to methane through the process of methanation. The system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions currently produced by dairy farms, by capturing the methane in an anaerobic digester to produce raw biogas. Our project will produce an Aspen Plus simulation and an optimized energy system to support the upgrade process, as well as economic and environmental analyses of the proposed design.
Group members: Ashleigh Papakyriakou, Zhiyun (Ruby) Xie, Avinash Maraj, Grace-Ann Thompson
DENITRIFICATION OF WATER STREAMS BY REACTOR DESIGN
The nature of this fourth year design project is to design a system of bioreactors for the treatment of polluted waterways from fertilizer runoff. The goal is to use denitrifying bacteria to reduce nitrates using a woodchip bioreactor. This will be accomplished by designing and simulating a system of reactors for the process using an engineering approach. The project will be culminated by generating a cost analysis of the system to see if it is economically feasible by comparing it to similar technologies.
Group members: Ryan Zavitz, Simon Guillemette, Neil Grzegorczyk, John Huang
WASTE STEAM RECOVERY
CCC Sulphur Products is a company in Elmira, Ontario that produces sulfuric acid. This process is very exothermic and produces a lot of steam from the cooling water. This project’s goal is to design systems for capturing the energy in that steam and then perform a financial analysis on the alternatives to determine the most financially beneficial option.
Group members: Adelle Vickery, Will Wilmot, Tyler Sennema, Walter Kirkness
OPTIMIZATION AND COST ANALYSIS FOR EXISTING CARBON CAPTURE PILOT PLANT
Our project aims to analyze and optimize the post-combustion carbon capture pilot plant at DWE in the University of Waterloo. This project involves conducting pilot experiments under various operating conditions, modelling them using ASPEN PLUS, and finding the optimum operating conditions. Additionally, an analysis of energy consumption of the reboiler and overall cost analysis will be conducted. The final proposal will also include application of carbon capture technology on an industrial scale.
Group members: Andrew Girgis, JeongHyun Kim, Carlton Lai
SEPARATION OF PARAFFIN/OLEFIN USING PROPRIETARY HYDROGEL MEMBRANE
The aim of this project is to develop a user-friendly, theoretically justified, and experimentally validated model for the facilitated transport of olefins through a silver nitrate hydrogel membrane. This is to be accomplished by improving the accuracy and expanding the scope of the current model used by Imtex Membranes Corporation. This technology has the potential to become competitive with distillation (specifically for olefin/paraffin separation), as it requires lower operating costs. Development of a powerful model can assist in system sizing and design for potential customers.
Group members: Jennifer Cerullo, Michael Hamilton, Jonathan Lee
IMPROVING UREA PRODUCTION PLANT SAFETY THROUGH CARBON DIOXIDE – HYDROGEN SEPARATION
Carbon dioxide, a main component of urea, is obtained from an ammonia production facility and used in an adjacent urea production plant. A problem arises with the carbon dioxide having a high concentration of hydrogen, which poses a safety risk. This project aims at providing an efficient design to separate hydrogen from the carbon dioxide stream to reduce the risks of explosion. The project focuses on performing an Aspen simulation that can achieve at least 90% separation and completing a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis.
Group members: Ning Jing Rong, Oluchi Atumonyogo, Syed Mohammed Murtaza, Rukhshan Khalid
SKELEPRINT: A SPECIALIZED 3D PRINTER FOR THE PRODUCTION OF DIAPHYSEAL BONE GRAFTS
In orthopedic surgery, bone grafts are used to replace portions of bone which have been lost due to trauma or bone cancer. The SkelePrint 3D printer aims to produce a replacement for metal and allograft implants by using an additive lathe-type cylindrical printing process to generate bone grafts that are stronger than conventional Cartesian 3D printed bone grafts. The printer deposits a biomaterial developed by Professor Willett’s lab on campus to produce biocompatible bone grafts that promote bone growth and regeneration.
Group members: Isaac Hunter, Matt Jones, Shubh Jagani, Kyla Gardner, Alex Upenieks, Josh Bradshaw