Design + Innovation Day 2021 Award-winners: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Design + Innovation Day is UBC Engineering's annual showcase for student engineering design projects. Carried out in small groups over the previous academic year, the projects enable students to improve their technical, teamwork and management skills while designing solutions to real-world problems.
The most outstanding projects of the year are recognized with UBC Applied Science Faculty Awards. This week we are highlighting the top teams from the UBC Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, as selected by a panel of judges from industry and UBC.
The teams were scored on the visual and spoken aspects of their presentations and the "overall design and innovation" of their projects.
- Production of Renewable Natural Gas: Methanation of Carbon Dioxide Using Hydrogen Obtained Through Water Electrolysis
- Single Cell Protein Production for Animal Feed
- Treating British Columbia's Acid Mine Drainage
Production of Renewable Natural Gas: Methanation of Carbon Dioxide Using Hydrogen Obtained Through Water Electrolysis
Team members: Hugo Dignoes, Vaishnavi Sivaramakrishnan, Mikhail Antyukhov, Bhushan Appadoo, Nhi Nguyen Le Yen, Andrea Hurtado Fuentes, Farooq Randeo, Abhinav Kaushik
Community partner: Fortis BC
Our project
Carbon sequestration and clean energy have been front and centre in politics for the past decade now, and countries that have historically relied on oil and gas find themselves in the difficult position of reconciling the climate emergency with the needs of their population and economy. Our capstone design addresses this need by converting renewable energy and CO2 into useable and recyclable LNG, capitalizing on existing gas infrastructure and reducing CO2 emissions by up to 60 per cent.
Our inspiration
Our team was lucky to have two members complete their co-op terms at Fortis BC and find a need for our project. We were given the flexibility to take this project in the direction that we liked while being mentored by Joesph Broda from Fortis BC!
Our biggest challenge
There is not much data on this process. In fact, it has yet to see widespread industrial use, with the only notable examples being in Swiss cement plants.
What excited us most
The chance to take something as controversial as gas pipelines and design a solution which is both economically attractive at large scale and environmentally conscious.
The most interesting/surprising thing we learned
We feel like we learned many things just having a course that was formatted in this way. It was different from anything else that we have taken on in our CHBE career and we enjoyed getting to work on a Sabatier reactor!
Our project's future
From high purity oxygen production to cleaner and cheaper residential heating, the possibilities are endless. It is very possible that the Sabatier Process will be a key part of many countries' transition to renewable energy.
Single Cell Protein Production for Animal Feed
Team members: Samuel Hahn, Arjun Venkat, Alicia Cortez Romero, Osbert Yu, Alun Bain, Maddy Rivelis, Meredith Huber, Reid Sutherland
Community partners: Cvictus, Anaconda Waste Management Systems
Our project
This project uses manure digestate from biogas production and spent coffee grounds to create livestock feed. This ability to move from underutilized waste products to a valuable single-cell protein in a circular economy that functions sustainably with dairy farms is what sets this design apart. The only byproducts of the process are biochar and bio-oil, both valuable for sale in their own right, as well as spent bioreactor media, which can be non-industrially composted. Based on the analysis, there is a strong financial case, with return on investment in less than seven years after operation begins, disregarding any tipping fees for taking the feedstocks. It prevents deforestation and overfishing, issues with the two most common livestock feeds, fish meal and soy, and provides a valuable use for waste products. It is best positioned in a community of cattle farms, where it can be used as a central drop-off location for disposal of the digestate waste.
Our inspiration
Our team wanted to design a process that could create real, positive change for society, while also being simple to implement and economically viable. Prior to the commencement of our final year, each team member completed research to inform possible design ideas. Multiple group members expressed interest in designing a process to support food production. In our research, we came to understand the significant impact industrial agriculture has on climate change and the degradation of air, land and water. We were inspired to find ways to meet society's need for quality nourishment, without the negative impacts associated with traditional agricultural practice.
Our biggest challenge
Our solution involved fermentation of methylotrophic bacteria to produce single cell protein appropriate for animal feed. While some research related to the growth behaviour of our chosen species exists, we wanted to conduct our own experiments to better characterize and quantify the microbial growth patterns at the heart of our designed process. With the support of the chemical and biological engineering department, we were able to acquire a sample of the methylotrophic bacteria used in our process and perform experiments as part of our laboratory course. However, the first sample delivered was not productive. The replacement specimen was also very difficult to grow. With time constraints and not being able to be in the lab ourselves (due to the ongoing pandemic), we encountered significant challenges in effectively troubleshooting the issue. Consequently, we ended up using existing research to ensure that our design was informed by accurate information.
What excited us most
Creating a project that would target a social issue while allowing us to implement knowledge learned during our classes. We were excited to have the opportunity to use our knowledge and skills to create a process the team felt passionate about. Thanks to this project, we were able to see the big picture of how different parts work together to create a successful bioprocess — all while learning about the responsibilities of a chemical engineer.
The most interesting/surprising thing we learned
We encountered an old declassified document from the CIA called "The Soviet Hydrocarbon-Based Single Cell Protein" that analyzed how the USSR used SCP to increase their food supply. In the 23-page document, certain sentences were scrubbed and some pages were completely blank. For instance, while amino acid compositions of the SCP were published, information about industrial plants were scrubbed. Even the phrase "Top Secret", which appeared on every page, was crossed out.
Our project's future
We provided our final report to Cvictus with the hope that they will be able to incorporate some of our work into their pilot plant.
As part of our project, we were able to order M. methylotrophus for use in a CHBE 464 Problem-Based Laboratory investigation. Following this effort, one of our group members was hired for a summer work-learn position to explore the possibility of developing this into a lab for future students, which would give them exposure to an evolving application of biotechnology and allow them to conduct a cell culture in a pressurized system.
Treating British Columbia's Acid Mine Drainage
Team members: Pauline Mengote, Jessica Leony, Nana Danso-Dodoo, Seline Choe, Casey Tam, Tanbir Mahatab, Kiana Kamali, Mantaj Aujla
Community partner: N/A
Our project
The mining of precious metals often leads to the production of acid mine drainage (AMD), generated through the oxidation of sulfide-bearing minerals in moist aerobic conditions. The resulting acidic runoff contains elevated levels of heavy metals that pose severe harm to surrounding ecosystems when left untreated. Our team's capstone project proposes a design for a facility, located by the Gibraltar Mine, capable of neutralizing one million litres of AMD per day. In addition to treating the acidic AMD, this novel four-stage treatment process serves to recover valuable minerals like gypsum and limestone. Instead of conventionally used hydrochlorides, the process uses carbon dioxide to generate an effluent stream safe for discharge into the Fraser River. Our design is successful in removing 99.5 per cent of heavy metals from AMD and generates an effluent that is fully compliant with British Columbia's water quality guidelines and discharge standards. With the Canadian mineral industry generating about 950,000 tonnes of tailings per day, our design proposes a workable solution to remediate the adverse impact of mining activities on our ecosystems.
Our inspiration
With knowledge of incidents such as the Mount Polley Mine disaster and their continued devastation of lakes, rivers and aquatic ecosystems, our team was encouraged to design a solution to mitigate the effects of acidic AMD runoff on the environment.
Our biggest challenge
Early on, our team found that information pertaining to the operations of Canadian mines and the characteristics of AMD they generate is mostly held private. This made it difficult for us to perform initial calculations and make sense of how to use the available data to best fit our design. The team took this as an opportunity to use our engineering judgement to make decisions on how best to utilize the information available to us, which later proved to be very rewarding.
What excited us most
Our team was most excited by our design's potential to address issues beyond the impacts of AMD. We were excited about the resource recovery aspect of our project, and the novelty of using the treatment process to extract and valorize a variety of minerals (gypsum, limestone, etc.) that can be processed from the mine waste. There is also a potential to reduce carbon emissions by integrating carbon capture technology, as opposed to purchasing CO2. This is an option we have yet to explore, but are excited at the thought of expanding our design to address multiple environmental issues.
The most interesting/surprising thing we learned
We were surprised by how many mines were left untreated worldwide. In Canada alone, there are more than 10,000 abandoned mines. Untreated mines often have toxic minerals which leach into groundwater or nearby water sources for communities, making the water unsuitable for drinking and polluting ecosystems. The economic potential of mine waste also came as a surprise to us, as we learned that minerals extracted from the treatment process could be salvaged and sold. Prior to the start of the capstone project, many of us thought that mines could not generate revenue from waste.
This project opened us up to the importance of treating mine drainage to not only protect the environment, but also potentially generate revenue from what is traditionally seen as waste.
Our project's future
With a total capital investment of $20 million and the treatment process being unprofitable, the project would be a very large undertaking without increased support from federal and provincial governments. Despite this, our team believes the project can move forward given further research into improved separation techniques for gypsum and iron hydroxides — potential sources of revenue — and identifying additional sources of funding.
Our project centers around sustainability and environmental protection. Not only is the mine drainage waste processed to be safe for the environment, but precious minerals are also recovered for use in other industrial processes, reducing the amount of waste produced by the mining industry. We hope this project encourages a more circular approach to the treatment of industrial waste and encourages people to rethink the concept of "waste", as resources are often hidden within these streams with great potential to be recaptured.
Photo by Amber Kipp on Unsplash