Forty-one teams of fourth-year chemical engineering students presented the results of their Capstone Design projects at the annual Capstone Design Symposium, which was held March 12th in the atrium of Engineering 6. In the process of sharing their research, they demonstrated the diverse and creative nature of chemical engineering and the promise it holds for future generations.
The Engineering 6 atrium provided a bright backdrop for lively discussion at the CHE Capstone Design Symposium on March 12,2018.
Working under the supervision of CHE faculty, students put the theoretical knowledge learned in class and the hands-on experience gained in their co-op work terms together with innovative ideas to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
A wide variety of exciting projects tackled problems in a variety of sectors, including energy, manufacturing, food and pharmaceuticals. Students’ projects demonstrated the real potential for chemical engineering to create positive change for our world through sustainability, environmental stewardship and creativity.
Award Winners
Special congratulations go to the following award-winning teams for their excellent research and presentations:
Team 21 (aka Green Sorbs): Skylar Bone, Jack Anderson, Olsi Goxhaj and Kien Tran won the CHE Capstone Symposium Innovation Award for their design of a workable sorbent boom prototype made from tire landfill waste to absorb and contain oil spills.
Team 3: Anthea Kong, Sonia Kim, Michael Chen and Adrian Rajasingam won the CHE Capstone Project Award for their design of a methane fugitive release sensor and use of COMSOL modelling to predict the gas leakage path and optimal sensor placement along oil and gas pipeline systems.
Team 12: Thomas Donnelly, Tian Heng (Henry) Chen, Karthik Ramesh, and Shen Dian (Tony) Li won an honourable mention CHE Capstone Project Award for their design of a plant to produce propylene via metathesis of ethylene. Their project included a process flow diagram, environmental analysis, economic evaluation of the process and front end engineering design (FEED) and hazards and operability (HAZOP) studies of the main process reactor.
Team 13: Brandon Lui, Shahriar Kabir, Paul Boyadjian, Thomas Uhlenbruck and Aniket Verma won an honourable mention CHE Capstone Project Award for their design of a device that uses continuous acoustic monitoring to detect steam trap failure and provide alerts to ensure fast corrective action.
The class of 2018 has shown that a chemical engineering degree provides a wealth of specific and transferrable skills that will create lifelong benefits, whether they pursue a specialization through further academic studies, one of a number of career options in industry or the excitement of taking their ideas to market via a startup.