WSE 473/573 Syllabus Bioenergy and Environmental Impacts Spring 2016

Transcription

1 WSE 473/573 Syllabus Bioenergy and Environmental Impacts Spring 2016 Meeting time: 12:00 to 1:30 PM, Tuesday and Thursday, PVY 101 Instructor: Z. Glen Li, STAG 158B. Office hours are by appointment. Teaching Assistant: TBD Prerequisite: MTH 111 or higher and CH 122 or higher, or graduate standing. Course Content: The theme of this course is exploration of the role that biomass plays in meeting society s need for energy. The overall course objective is to prepare students to be conversant in the technologies and issues associated with the current use and future potential of biomass to serve as a feedstock for producing energy. This includes developing an understanding of the environmental impacts associated with feedstock procurement and energy conversion, and how they might be mitigated. Our focus is primarily on woody biomass with some inclusion of algae, agricultural and municipal biomass feedstocks. Various technologies for converting biomass into energy, and the environmental impacts associated with doing so, will be studied. These viability factors will be considered within the context of regulatory polices related to emissions, energy, and climate change to speculate on the role of bioenergy going forward. Each lecture session will be divided into three segments: Lecture presentation of new, factual material Student presentations and/or discussion of assigned readings and homework Examples of how the topic of the day is currently employed Measurable Student Learning Outcomes: At the completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Use correct terminology when describing energy, fuel conversion technologies, and issues associated with bioenergy. 2. Demonstrate ability to calculate net energy efficiency of various fuel conversion technologies when applied to biomass fuels. 3. Recall and describe various technologies used or under development to produce heat, power, liquid transportation fuels, and specialty chemicals from biomass feed stocks. WSE 473/ Page 1

2 4. Identify major factors that limit the ability to generate bioenergy, and discuss how public policy programs influence costs, supply, and demand. 5. Discuss the carbon cycle and identify factors that influence the sustainability of biomass utilization. 6. Identify factors critical to the success of bioenergy and explain how State and Federal regulations and policies are influencing bioenergy expansion. Additional Student Learning Outcome for WSE Demonstrate the ability to synthesize factual information about a particular bioenergy technology into a discussion of how the impact of environmental emissions and embodied product energy contribute to its societal benefits and the prospects for wide-spread implementation Lecture Topics Session Date Lecture Topic 1 3/29 Lecture 1: Course introduction and bioenergy overview 2 3/31 Lecture 2: Energy, thermodynamics, and net energy efficiency 3 4/5 Lecture 3: Thermochemical conversion processes 4 4/7 Lecture 4: Sugar platform 5 4/12 Midterm #1 6 4/14 Lecture 5: Modular & small scale technologies 7 4/19 Lecture 6: The integrated biorefinery 8 4/21 Lecture 7: Renewable diesel case study 9 4/26 Lecture 8: Biological conversion processes 10 4/28 Midterm #2 11 5/3 Tour Stahlbush Farms anaerobic digester 12 5/5 Lecture 9: Boilers and gasifiers 13 5/10 Lecture 10: Power generation and CHP, Wood Pellets 14 5/12 Lecture 11: Biomass Feedstocks 15 5/17 Lecture 12: Carbon emissions 16 5/19 Midterm #3 17 5/24 Tour of OSU Energy Center 18 5/26 Lecture 13: Other emissions, regulations, & controls 19 5/31 Lecture 14: LCA for bioenergy. OSU research. 20 6/2 Lecture 15: Bioenergy critical success factors WSE 473/ Page 2

3 Required Reading, Discussion Topics, and Homework Since this is an emerging and rapidly changing field, there is no primary text. Lectures will be supplemented with assigned readings and student input from exploratory study of current periodicals and publications. All course materials will be posted on the Canvas page for WSE 473X. Discussion periods will be held every session to either review technical homework assignments or provide a forum for student-led discussion of relevant topics, as described below: Session Date Discussion Topic, Assignment due dates 1 3/29 Instructor and student introductions, course expectations 2 3/31 HW #1: Heating value comparison and calculations 3 4/5 HW #2: Laws of thermodynamics, exergy 4 4/7 HW #3: Thermochemical conversion 5 4/12 Midterm exam #1, no discussion 6 4/14 Presentation 1 & Report 1 7 4/19 Midterm #1 review, HW #4: Sugar Platform, Presentation 2 & Report 2 8 4/21 Presentation 3 & Report 3 9 4/26 HW #5 Seneca CHP, Presentation 4 & Report /28 Midterm exam #2, Presentation 5 & Report /3 Peer Review 1, Tour Stahlbush Farms 12 5/5 Midterm #2 review, Presentation 6 & Report /10 HW #6 Stahlbush Tour Report Presentation 7 & Report /12 HW#10 Renewable Diesel Outline, Presentation 8 & Report /17 Presentation 9 & Report 9, Peer Review /19 HW#7 Biomass Feedstock Logistics Midterm exam #3, no discussion 17 5/24 HW#8 Carbon Emissions Tour OSU Energy Center Presentation 10 & Report /26 HW#10 Renewable Diesel Presentation Slides HW#10 Renewable Diesel Report Draft Presentation 11 & Report /31 HW #9 OSU Energy Center Tour Report Presentation 12, HW #10 Renewable Diesel 20 6/2 Renewable Diesel presentations. Peer Review 3 WSE 473/ Page 3

4 Evaluation of Student Performance: points: Ten homework assignments designed to supplement and reinforce lecture materials. Nine of the 10 assignment are worth 25 points. The 10 th is a 75 point team project related to renewable diesel with both a written and in-class presentation component. No extra credit. Homework is due at the beginning of class on the day assigned. 5 point deduction for submittals up to 24 hours late. 10 point deduction for 1 to 5 days late points: Class presentation or report. All students will be assigned a date to deliver a presentation to the class or post a written report on Canvas. The topic can be anything current and relevant to advancement of bioenergy, and of personal interest to you. Access will be given to current newsletters reporting on activities and issues in the bioenergy field. These can be used to stimulate ideas for further investigation. Half of the students will prepare and deliver a 20 minute presentation to the class, and the other half will prepare a 3-5 page report and post it on Canvas on an assigned date. Presentation grading scale: Preparedness - 65 points. Presentation quality- 10 points. Discussion moderation/stimulation- 25 points. Report grading scale: Content, flow and references - 65 points. Writing quality and use of visuals- 20 points. Stimulating questions or perspective -15 points. Due dates for report and presentation assignments will be chosen by lot points: Peer Review. Summit detailed reviews on 3 of your classmate s presentations or reports (each review is worth 50 points). Details to follow points. Three non-comprehensive Midterm Exams (100 points each) and one Final Exam (150 points) points. Term project (graduate students WSE573 only). Prepare an educational product on an emerging technology of your choice, for converting a specific feedstock or raw material into usable bioenergy. Your work should discuss the following as appropriate: raw material (feedstock) sources and characteristics, description of the specific conversion technology, its conversion efficiency, its status with respect to commercialization, who the major firms of researchers behind it are, the influence government incentive and subsidy programs have on its economics and sustainability, and a discussion of how the impact of environmental emissions and embodied product energy contribute to its societal benefits. Your conclusions should address its prospects for wide-spread implementation. The desired format is as an interactive PDF e-file with text, pictures, and links to reference documents. An A paper will be internet-ready for posting. Address the subjects in sufficient detail to fill about 10 pages. Cite references. Suggested topics (technology firms in parenthesis): Black Pellets (Zilka Biomass) Community heat and power using biomass gasification and compressed hot air generation (Heat Transfer International) WSE 473/ Page 4

5 Converting waste heat to power using Organic Rankine cycle technology (KGRA, Ormat) Power generation through biomass gasification and internal combustion or jet engines (Nexterra, Nord Energy Systems, Zilka Biomass) Creating high-performance liquid transportation fuels and chemicals from biomass (Gevo, Trillium Biofuels, LS9, Amyris, Zeachem, Range Fuels, Iogen, American Process Inc., Ineos, Terrabon Inc., BlueFire Renewables, Inc., Chemrec AB, many others) Small scale district and institutional heating with wood chips or pellets (Solagen, Bear Mountain, Resource Innovations, Sustainable Northwest, BERC) Improving Fischer-Tropsh through steam reformation (Rentech & Clear Fuels Technology, ThermoChem Recovery Int l, Inc.) Repowering coal power plants with torrefied biomass (HM 3 Energy. Inc., PG&E) Combined heat and biochar through slow pyrolysis (BioEnergy Systems, Thompson Timber, Three Dimensional Timber Lands, Northwest Biochar Working Group) Growing and refining algae into biodiesel (Algenol, Solix, Sapphire Energy) Municipal district heating with biomass (Seattle Steam) Municipal waste to energy recovery processes (Coventa Energy, City of Spokane, Marion County) Schedule: Before April 21 Submit topic for approval (25 points) Before May 12 Submit outline for feedback (25 points) June 2 Submit document for grading (150 points) 6. Grades will be awarded A-F based on percent of total points earned. A C A C B C B D B F <60 Learning Resources No required text. Selected readings supplied by instructor. Student research is expected. Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities "Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact DAS immediately at " WSE 473/ Page 5

6 Link to Statement of Expectations for Student Conduct WSE 473/ Page 6