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Gasification of Spilled Crude Oil Powering R.O. Desalinator For Immediate Disaster Relief L. Banerjee , H. Blakeley, S. Chandrasekhar, A. Walker, and R. Wydra Rice University, Houston, TX. Motivation
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Gasification of Spilled Crude Oil Powering R.O. Desalinator For Immediate Disaster Relief L. Banerjee, H. Blakeley, S. Chandrasekhar, A. Walker, and R. Wydra Rice University, Houston, TX Motivation In the wake of a natural disaster, people are often left without basic necessities. The goal of this project was to identify disaster debris and transform it into a product that would provide immediate relief. Realizing that oil spills are a major concern after tropical storms, we looked to turn the collected crude oil into a power source for a desalination system. Process Flow Diagram and Description • Background • Gulf Storms have the potential to spill millions of gallons of oil • Hurricanes Katrina and Ike spilled 8 and 0.5 million gallons respectively • Oil is the most common water contaminant after storms • Oil leaked from sunken ships also poses risks • Through the use of modern booms and skimmers oil can be collected • 97% of collected mass is oil • Currently collected oil is disposed of by burning • Key Components • Aim: To produce hydrogen for fuel cell to power seawater desalination • Gasifier • Converts hydrocarbons into syngas • (a mixture of CO and H2) • High temperature reaction • Water-Gas Shift (WGS) Reactors • WGS reactors push equilibrium to the right , producing more H2and minimizing CO • Reactor 1 is run at a higher temperature (415oC) for fast reaction rates • Reactor 2 is run at lower temperature (245oC) for high conversion • Preferential Oxidation (PROX) Reactor • Catalytic reaction: • CO is also a toxic gas not to be vented to atmosphere • Fuel cells can tolerate very little CO concentration • Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) • H2 (g) reacts with O2- ions to produce water and electrons • Electrons pass through load producing useful power • Current depends stoichiometrically on H2converted • Seawater Desalination • R.O. (reverse osmosis) system was preferred because of low energy requirements • Pre-microfiltration system to remove bacteria and sediment Results and Pricing Gasifier WGS Reactors PROX Reactor Future Work The next step is to integrate the unit onto a skimmer to increase the efficiency of the crude oil processing and seawater desalination. Start up and shut down procedures will be outlined. • SOFC • $10,000 Capitol Costs • SWRO (Sea Water Reverse Osmosis) • Pre-microfiltration treatment (pore size = 0.2 micron) • Dow’s Filmtec Membrane SW30HR-320 (Polyamide Thin-Film Composite) • 3300 gallons of fresh water per day produced • 6.71 kW of energy required Acknowledgements Dr. Kenneth Cox, ChBE Professor Dr. RaghuNarayan, Lyondell Dr. Qilin Li, CEVE Professor Dr. Andreas Matzakos, Shell