Gas Purification with Recovery and Reuse to Achieve More Sustainable and Competitive Manufacturing

1236203(十字架)。有各种各样的制造工艺（例如，化学制造、涂层操作以及包装材料、溶剂、脱脂剂和涂料的生产）使用单道气体使用系统中的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs），然后通过热氧化处理VOCs后将这些气流排放到大气中。这种方法还会产生额外的污染物，如二氧化碳和氮氧化物。本研究将开发一种利用活性炭纤维布(ACFC)-电热摆动吸附（ESA）的系统，该系统将有效地（基于质量、能量和成本）捕获、回收和再利用这些挥发性有机化合物，并允许将产生的清洁载气流再循环到产生气体流的过程中。这项研究将为将制造气体排放到大气中提供一种可持续的替代方案，因为它将：1)为最初使用单道气体使用系统的制造过程提供净化的载气流和浓缩的挥发性有机化合物，这些系统将这些气体流视为废物而不是宝贵的资源；2)节约自然资源，减少生产过程中的能源消耗；3)通过减少制造过程中的排放，提供额外的安全和环境保护；4)提供比目前更有经济竞争力的制造业。这种做法与美国商务部的做法一致吗？可持续制造的定义（USDoC, 2011）。本研究的智力价值在于：1)一种新颖的系统，可以很容易地集成到现有的制造过程中，将制造从单道气体使用系统转变为产生纯化的载气流和高纯度挥发性有机化合物的系统，这些系统在制造过程中重复使用，以节省资源，减少能源消耗，降低成本，使美国制造业更具可持续性和竞争力；2)通过远程电阻/功率测量实时检测和控制吸附和再生循环过程中ACFC内的传质，以提高VOC捕获和回收效率；3)在电热加热和冷却过程中实时检测ACFC内部温度，通过远程电阻测量来控制吸附剂温度，从而更有效地控制再生和冷却循环次数；4)不再需要碳氢化合物传感器和直接接触式温度传感器，从而简化了系统，通过消除相应的传感器故障来延长运行时间，提高了安全性，并降低了购买和维护传感器的成本。本研究的广泛影响是：1)开发和评估一种新型ACFC-ESA系统，该系统改进了传质和温度的检测和控制，传感器较少，可以集成到广泛的制造系统中，使美国制造业可持续发展；2)开发基于项目的模块，这些模块将包含在PI教授的课程中，并用于开发本科生研究项目，这些项目将考虑具有相应社会和经济影响的广泛环境工程问题；3)通过莫里尔工程项目招收本科生，在专业会议上介绍本科生和研究生的项目，并向参加？数学和科学教育的收获？项目通过工程师研究与发展中心-建筑工程研究实验室以及UI？工程开放日。

1236203 (Rood). There is a wide range of manufacturing processes (e.g., chemical manufacturing, coating operations, and production of packaging materials, solvents, degreasers, and coatings) that use volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gas streams with single-pass gas-usage systems and then exhaust these gas streams to the atmosphere after disposal of the VOCs by thermal oxidation. Such approach also generates additional pollutants such as CO2 and nitrogen oxides. This research will develop a system utilizing activated carbon fiber cloth (ACFC)-electrothermal swing adsorption (ESA) that will efficiently (based on mass, energy and cost) capture, recover, and reuse a wide range of these VOCs and allow for recycling of the resulting clean carrier gas stream to the process that generated the gas stream. This research will provide a sustainable alternative to exhausting manufacturing gases into the atmosphere because it will: 1) provide recycling of purified carrier gas streams and concentrated VOCs for manufacturing processes that originally used single-pass gas-usage systems that treated such streams as wastes instead of valuable resources; 2) allow for conservation of natural resources and reduce energy consumption for manufacturing processes; 3) provide additional safety and environmental protection by reducing emissions from manufacturing processes; and 4) provide for more economically competitive manufacturing than currently possible. Such approach is consistent with US Department of Commerce?s definition of sustainable manufacturing (USDoC, 2011). The intellectual merit of this research provides: 1) a novel system that can be readily integrated to existing manufacturing processes that will transform manufacturing from single-pass gas-usage systems to systems that produce purified carrier gas streams and high purity VOCs that are reused in the manufacturing processes to conserve resources, reduce energy consumption, reduce costs, and make US manufacturing more sustainable and more competitive; 2) real-time detection and control of mass transfer within the ACFC during adsorption and regeneration cycles with remote electrical resistance/power measurements to increase VOC capture and recovery efficiency; 3) real-time detection of temperature within the ACFC during electrothermal heating and cooling with remote electrical resistance measurements to control adsorbent temperature and therefore more effectively control regeneration and cooling cycle times; and 4) elimination of the need for hydrocarbon sensors and direct contact temperature sensors, which simplifies the system, improves run-time by eliminating the corresponding sensor failures, increases safety, and reduces the costs to purchase and maintain the sensors. The broader impacts of this research are: 1) development and evaluation of a novel ACFC-ESA system with improved detection and control of mass transfer and temperature with less sensors that can be integrated into a wide range of manufacturing systems to make US manufacturing sustainable; 2) the development of project-based modules that will be included in the classes taught by the PI and used to develop undergraduate research projects that will consider broad environmental engineering issues with corresponding societal and economic impacts; and 3) the recruitment of undergraduate students through the Morrill Engineering Program and presentation of projects conducted by undergraduate and graduate students at professional conferences and to K-12 students who participate in the ?Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Sciences? program through the Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory as well as UI?s Engineering Open House.