Date of Defense

4-14-2020

Date of Graduation

4-2020

Department

Chemical and Paper Engineering

First Advisor

James Springstead

Second Advisor

Qingliu Wu

Abstract

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from 280 ppm in 1850, beginning of the Industrial Revolution, to approximately 411 ppm in 2020. This number is expected to continually increase since future predictions indicate higher demand for energy consumption and the major source for electricity generation comes from burning fossil fuels. In this context, we considered and selected a methodology for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration and determined the economic viability of this system. Utilizing Aspen Plus, we designed a process containing four reactors to capture approximately 95 metric tons of carbon dioxide per hour. This plant is planned to be a geologically sequestered carbon dioxide plant that injects the carbon dioxide captured into deep sub-surfaces of the ground. Our results showed that for a flow of carbon dioxide leaving the process at 114.5 metric tons per hour, the total equipment cost is about 25 million dollars and the cost of electricity and cooling water used per year is estimated to be roughly 215,321 dollars and 316,140 dollars respectively. An analysis of the results obtained indicated that the design is not economically viable. However, a profit is not necessary for this operation since this analysis does not account for governmental agencies or companies who might sponsor this project. From a safety perspective, the execution of this process would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to prevent the rising global temperatures.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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