Turning an Environmental Problem to an Opportunity

Transcription

1 Turning an Environmental Problem to an Opportunity Siamak Elyasi, PhD, PEng Assistant Professor, Lakehead University Lakehead chapter of the Professional Engineers Ontario Technology Conference November, 2016

2 Outlook Who am I? Why is there a problem for the environment? Which opportunities are there? How can we materialize the opportunities? What is the conclusion? 2

3 My Background and Experiences? I love to think, design, and build Bachelor in Chemical Engineering (Iran) Master of science in Biotechnology (Iran) I am an Engineer Master of science in Environmental (Sweden) PhD in Chemical Engineering (Canada) More than 15 years engineering experience Safeguarding Seven years research Public in and Canada Environment Five years teaching (Lakehead University).. 3

4 Environmental Problem(s) WASTE PLASTICS - Not degradable in environment - Converting to small piece after a few years - Potential Migration - Risk for Aquatic Creatures - Landfill problem (thousands of years) - Leachate of harmful chemical - Land is not usable for many years 4

5 Best Permanent Solution Reduce, Reduce, Reduce Replace with biodegradable plastics Reuse/recycle 5

6 Total Solid Waste (Residential/Non-Residential) Canada, Ontario ( ) 30,000,000 25,000,000 Metric Tonne 20,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 Canada Ontario 5,000, Year Total Solid Waste Per Capita (2014) : Canada 706 kg/year Ontario 670 kg/year (Ontario + Quebec 60% of total plastic waste in Canada) 6

7 Composition of Total Solid Waste Canada (2008) Organics 26% 1% 16% Metric Tons/year Total waste Produced = 25,000,000 Newspaper Plastics = 4% Waste Plastics = 1,000,000 Added Value (processing) 10 cent/kg Added Value (processing) 100,000,000 $/year 19% Cardboard 9% Construction 2% 3% 0% 4% Plastic 2% 3% 1% 5% Glass 9% Mixed paper 7

8 Opportunity? Chemical Composition of Plastics Hydrogen + Carbon Hydrocarbons Polyethylene n Cutting (Cracking) Motor Oil Kerosene Gasoline 8

9 How is Plastic Waste Managed? Plastic Waste Recycle/Reuse (Calculated 10-15%) Landfill (65-70%) Incineration (20-25%) Thermal Cracking Catalytic Cracking Opportunity Produce Hydrocarbons Wax, Diesel, Kerosene, Gasoline, Raw Material for Petrochemical Industries, 9

10 Different Processes Thermal vs. Catalytic NOTE: Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polystyrene are the best raw material for this process Thermal Cracking Disadvantageous - Higher temperature - Higher reaction time (larger reactor) - Higher production of gases (Methane, etc.) Advantageous - Simpler technology - Lower operating cost - High tolerance to contamination Catalytic Cracking Disadvantageous - Contamination makes problem - Cost of catalyst/ Higher Operating cost - Regeneration of catalyst - Complex process - High fix capital investment Advantageous - Lower temperature - Low reaction time - High value product (e.g. high octane Gasoline) 10

11 How can we materialize the opportunities? Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility (Available Data) Opportunities Training of Undergraduate Students Feasible? NO Stop YES Gather Data (Experimental Tests) Training of Graduate Students Feasible? YES Bench Scale Test NO Stop Training of Graduate Students Academic/Research Opportunities

12 How can we materialize the opportunities? Bench Scale Test Academic/Research Opportunities Revised Financial and Technical Feasibility (Obtained Data) Feasible? Stop Pilot Test (Design, Procurement, Construction, for Larger Scale) YES Feasible? NO NO Stop Investment Opportunities Move for Full Scale 12

13 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility First step (Opportunity for Undergraduate Students, CAPSTONE PROJECT) Collecting data/literature review Basic design Preliminary design Cost estimation Financial evaluation From left to right are Kayte Sutherland, Christopher Lock, Terry Milton, Ryan Gerlach, and Natasha Bieniek (2015) The capstone projects were send to SNC Lavalin Plant Design Competition and won the first prizes. 13

14 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility (Undergraduate Capstone project) 14

15 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility REFREGERATED PHASE SEPARATION FUEL GAS PLASTIC FEED STYRENE SHREDDER STORAGE REACTOR PHASE SEPARATION GASOLINE DISTILLATION PRIMARY ETHYLBENZENE DISTILLATION STYRENE DISTILLATION SECONDARY ETHYLBENZENE DISTILLATION KEROSENE SECONDARY TERTIARY ETHYLBENZENE DISTILLATION ETHYL- BENZENE GASOLINE 15

16 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility Plastic 25 tonnes/h HDPE 2.8 tonnes/h PS - HDPE+PS - Free of Charge - No Contamination Catalyst (2%) 570 kg/h ZSM-5-40$/kg - No Regeneration is Required - Safe to Put it into Landfill Energy Process - No Market (Zero Value) Products 9.8 tonnes/h Styrene 3.6 tonnes/h Ethylbenzene (EB) 2.5 tonnes/h Gasoline 3.3 tonnes/h Kerosene 6.4 tonnes/h Fuel Gas - Market Value (2015) Solid 2.2 tonnes/h Coke 570 kg/h ZSM-5 - Landfill at no Cost 16

17 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility FFFFF CCCCCCC IIIIIIIIII = $111 mmmmmmm 17

18 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility 18

19 Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility Analysis Method Target Our Process Return on Investment (ROI) ROI 32% 56% Pay Back Period (PBP) PBP 2.3 years 1.8 years Net Present Worth (NPW) NPW $0 $110 million DCFR* i 32% 162% Net Return (NR) NR $0.7 billion $3.7 billion * DCFR = Discounted Cash Flow Rate of Return It is too good to be true! 19

20 How can we materialize the opportunities? Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility (Available Data) Feasible? YES Gather Data (Experimental Tests) Our extensive (PhD student) study (micro scale) on thermal and catalytic cracking proves that: - It is technically feasible to produce hydrocarbon - Rate of production can be controlled from 5 to 60 minutes - Conversion rate of plastic (HDPE) is almost +95% 20

21 How can we materialize the opportunities? Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility (Available Data) Feasible? YES Gather Data (Experimental Tests) Feasible? YES Bench Scale Test 21

22 Bench Scale Test (Experimental Tests, Research) Plastic and Catalyst Reactor Condenser Diesel Collector CW Gas Collector Chiller 60 cm (2 ft) 91 cm (3 ft) Local Control Panel Electrical Heater (Controlled by PC) Kerosene Collector Gasoline Collector Portable Designed and Built by S. Elyasi and S. Khderi (PhD Student) 22

23 Bench Scale Test (Experimental Tests, Research) Preliminary Feasibility Study - 2% of catalyst is required - Catalyst is not regenerated No thought about Regeneration - Reaction time 30 minutes - Conventional reactor is employed - Conversion of plastic is 90% Our Finding - 20% of catalyst is required - Catalyst should be regenerated 40 times Regeneration is crucial - Reaction time 10 minutes Smaller reactor is needed - More complicated reactor is needed More focus should be on Reactor design - +95% conversion is achievable - Aromatic material are the main products - Contamination does not have effect - Mix plastic can be used - No answer yet - No answer yet - No answer yet 23

24 - Catalyst should be regenerated in-situ One PhD student works on this subject - Design of Reactor should be main priority Another PhD student works on this subject - Effect of contamination on performance of reaction is unknown No plan yet - Performance of the reactor using mixed plastics is unknown No plan yet Bench Scale Test (Experimental Tests, Research) Needs to be Addressed 24

25 How can we materialize the opportunities? Preliminary Financial and Technical Feasibility (Available Data) Feasible? NO Stop YES Gather Data (Experimental Tests) Feasible? YES Bench Scale Test NO? NOT Enough Information 25

26 Conclusion There is a good potential for converting waste plastic to hydrocarbons Till commercialization, several important issues should be addressed More research is needed sssssssssssssssss. cc Tel:

27 27