Systems Design and Technical Study for Converting Wind Power into Hydrogen
Rochester Institute of Technology
Kate Gleason College of Engineering
Team Members: Sarah Braymiller
Patrick Griffin
Michael Miller
Stephen Raymond
Justin Szratter
Project Team Leader: Quoc Khanh Ngo
Project Mentors: Professor Brian Thorn
Professor Andrew Carrano
Project Coordinator: Jacqueline Mozrall
Project Sponsors: United States Environmental Protection Agency
Harbec Plastics
Contact:
(585)-613-1578
http://www.rit.edu/~pkg3318/seniordesign
Table of Contents
1.0 Recognize and Quantify the Need 4
1.1 Customer Background 4
1.2 Energy System Background 4
1.3 Mission Statement: 4
1.4 Product Description and Background 4
1.5 Scope Limitations 5
1.6 Stake Holders 5
1.7 Key Business Goals 6
1.8 Critical Performance Factors 6
1.10 Primary Markets 6
1.11 Secondary Markets 7
1.12 Order Winners 7
1.13 Research Financing 7
1.14 Statement of Work 7
1.15 Project Team: 8
2.0 Project Planning 8
2.1 Work Breakdown Structure 8
2.2 Team Activity Breakdown 8
3.0 Concept Development 9
3.1 Brainstorming 9
3.2 Concept Selection 9
4.1 Weighted Method for Feasibility 10
4.2 Formal Concept Selection 12
5.1 Overview 12
5.1.1 Hydrogen for use 12
5.1.2 Electrolyzer Integration 12
5.1.4 Electric Load and Efficiency 13
5.1.5 Hydrogen Production/Pressure 14
5.3 Fuel Cells 16
5.3.1 Basic Fuel Cell Principle 18
5.3.2 Cogeneration 19
5.3.3 Power Inverters 19
6.0 System Integration 22
6.1 Problem Statement 22
6.2 Summarize Known Information 22
6.3 Summarize Desired Information 22
6.5 Schematic and Given Data 24
6.4 Analysis 27
7.0 Detailed Financial Analysis 27
7.1 Overview 27
7.2 Overall System Costs 28
7.3 Strategies for Payback 28
8.0 People, Prosperity and the Planet 29
8.1 People- Public Health Benefits 29
8.2.1 Prosperity- Economic Development 30
8.3.1 Planet - Environmental Impacts 30
8.3.2 Planet- Comparing Energy Systems 32
Appendix A: Recognize and Quantify Need 36
A-1: Stake Holder Involvement 36
A-2: Critical Performance Factors 36
A-3: Truncated GANNT Chart 37
A-4 Team Work Breakdown 37
Appendix B: Feasibility Assessment 38
B-1: Concept Feasibility 38
References 39
1.0 Recognize and Quantify the Need
1.1 Customer Background
Harbec Plastics is a full service thermal injection mold manufacturer established in 1977. Using CAD/CAM systems in collaboration with modern CNC machining, Harbec offers a quick response in the production of customer orders. Today, Harbec has developed a niche market in the Rochester area by offering highly responsive customer service to customer demand. Harbec currently serves prototype, low, and medium volume customers.
1.2 Energy System Background
Harbec’s commitment to the environment has been a model for the community and manufacturing industry. This commitment to the environment has aided in the introduction of a Wind Turbine system in August 2001 to complement its contingent of low emission natural gas powered microturbines. This allows Harbec to offer a low emissions power system that can operates fully independent from the grid.
Currently, the plant utilizes the energy captured from the wind turbine during five of the seven days of its operation. This accounts for a total of 25% of the power requirements of the facility over a year’s time. The plant operates at minimum capacity over the weekend. During the plant downtime, the energy created by the wind turbine is sent back to the grid at no compensation. The purpose of this project is to economically justify the development a system to capture the wasted energy, convert the energy into hydrogen for use as an alternative energy source.
1.3 Mission Statement:
The purpose of this project is to explore and develop energy system designs that will convert, capture, and store excess energy created by the existing wind turbine at Harbec.
1.4 Product Description and Background
The product will be an energy system that uses hydrogen as the power source. It will be developed using existing market available components. This system will produce hydrogen, store, and utilize the hydrogen created and provide power to support Harbec Plastic’s manufacturing facility. The product will feature hydrogen due to its ability to produce energy and the pollutant free by-products.
Hydrogen is the most abundant resource on the planet. The main source of hydrogen can be found in the form of water. To capture the hydrogen from water there are several techniques. Each technique applies the same principle, 2H2O + energy => 2H2 + O2, water plus energy splits into hydrogen and oxygen. The abundance of hydrogen offers an attractive energy source.
To use hydrogen, several systems have been developed ranging from fuel cells, motors, and hybrid gas systems. These systems provide a feasible non-polluting alternative energy solution. The emissions created from hydrogen usage can be seen as the opposite reaction to hydrogen separation. Water and heat are generated, which are non-polluting emissions. However, at an industrial scale this system has not been applied. This allows for opportunity to innovate the industry.
Overall the system will feature the ability to produce electricity from hydrogen, integration into the co-generation system, and ability to capture and utilize excess hydrogen.
1.5 Scope Limitations
The following list presents the scope limitations determined by the USEPA and Harbec Plastics:
· Design considerations will be given primarily to commercially available products
· Designs must provide the conversion to hydrogen
· Design considerations must include a fuel cell system
· Designs should not increase emissions generated by the facility
· Design will be dependant upon the existing wind turbine at Harbec plastics for energy
· Design will be commercially safe
· Designs will produce a payback period of eight to ten years
· The project technical paper will be completed for submission to the USEPA by April 12th 2005
· The final project submission and presentation will be completed in May 2005
1.6 Stake Holders
The stakeholders[1] for the Conversion of Wind Power to Hydrogen project include:
· Harbec Plastics
· United States Environmental Protection Agency
· Rochester Institute of Technology
1.7 Key Business Goals
The development of this system would open the possibilities to procure, integrate, and operate a renewable energy power source industrially. The system will show the technical and financial feasibility of its implementation. Secondly, it will provide a global benefit through the reduction of pollutants created through conventional energy production. Developing a sustainable energy system would increase the visibility and potential industrial applications in using renewable energy systems.
1.8 Critical Performance Factors
The critical performance factors[2] given the business goals for the Conversion of Wind Power to Hydrogen Project include:
· Overall Cost
· Payback Period
· Energy generation
· Scalability (Physical Size)
· Marketability (Market Effect)
· Environmental Effects
· Social Effects
· Sustainability
These will be the factors in which all concepts and designs will be reviewed, analyzed, and chosen for study. The primary performance factors will be based on cost and payback. These will determine the overall scale and performance of the energy conversion system.
1.10 Primary Markets
The primary market for the energy system is Harbec Plastics. Similarly sized industries interested in the implementation and use of renewable energy systems is also considered a primary market. This system would provide these markets another source of energy to power manufacturing operations without variation in costs generally found in grid power. Specific to Harbec, successful implementation may lead to the purchase of a second turbine, and a size increase to the current energy system.
1.11 Secondary Markets
The secondary market for this energy system would be found within surrounding communities and area educational facilities. It would provide a “Green Example” to the students as well as to the community. It will drive interest in studying sustainable/renewable energy systems. Success on an industrial level can advance renewable technology into public use. These systems would decentralize power production and reduce grid dependency. These systems will also displace the amount of pollutants generated through the use conventional energy.
1.12 Order Winners
Order winners are a list of critical performance parameters that are likely to lead the customer to choose to implement the design concepts. Harbec will be influenced by critical parameters such as sustainability of the design, life cycle costs, and the overall environmental impacts of the design.
The critical factors that the EPA will be interested in involve the environmental and social effects as a result of this design. The EPA would like to see a final design that will have positive social, economic and environmental ramifications.
1.13 Research Financing
The United States Environmental Protection Agency will provide $10,000 to research and develop the renewable energy system. Product realization costs however will far exceed the allocated amount given by the EPA. However, The amount provided will allow the purchase of tools for environmental and product life cycle analysis, project research, and project modeling.
1.14 Statement of Work
This project will deliver:
· A renewable energy system that provides:
o Hydrogen conversion system
o Storage system
o Energy production system
o Integration components
· Detailed technical challenges associated with the energy conversion
· Financial and environmental justification for realizing the energy conversion
· A technical roadmap and program schedule for realizing the conversion
· A facilities analysis that demonstrates potential implementation of the system
This project will provide multiple detailed concepts for customer evaluation and approval for implementation. These deliverables will also be provided to the United States Environmental Protective Agency for competition and evaluation.
1.15 Project Team:
Name: / Title: / Date:Quoc – Khanh Ngo / Industrial Engineer, Team Member / 12-17-04
Stephen Raymond / Mechanical Engineer, Team Member / 12-17-04
Sarah Braymiller / Industrial Engineer, Team Member / 12-17-04
Justin Szratter / Mechanical Engineer, Team Member / 12-17-04
Michael Miller / Mechanical Engineer, Team Member / 12-17-04
Patrick Griffin / Mechanical Engineer, Team Member / 12-17-04
Brian K. Thorn / Industrial Engineer, Faculty Mentor / 12-17-04
2.0 Project Planning
2.1 Work Breakdown Structure
The work breakdown structure was developed in conjunction with the project team. The decided methodology to approach this project was to separate and develop activities by concept. Using project management software, a GANTT[3] chart was created and it was determined that three concepts could be developed in detail prior to the EPA customer delivery date of, April 12th 2005. Given the time frame only two concepts could be explored. The scheduled start of the project was on December 12th 2004 and final validation of the project will be completed on April 7th 2004.
2.2 Team Activity Breakdown
The team[4] was divided into activities revolving around the overall main components and main deliverables involved within the system. These areas included the Technical Analysis (Power Systems, Electrolyzers, Storage, Integration, and Facilities), Financial Analysis (Feasibility and Assessment), Environmental Analysis, and Concept Generation.
3.0 Concept Development
3.1 Brainstorming
Ideas were generated outside of the scope requirements and recorded. This was our brainstorming stratagem. The initial ideas generated include:
Kinetic Energy Systems:
· Fly Wheel Energy Storage
Potential Energy Systems:
· Water Reservoir and Turbine
· Heavy Weight Lift
Conventional Energy Systems
· Super-Capacitor Storage
· Battery Storage
· Hybrid Electric and Gas
· Fuel Cells
· Natural Gas and Hydrogen Fuel for Micro Turbines
· Hydrogen Engine (developed in automobiles)
3.2 Concept Selection
Application of scope limitations filtered the list of concepts into three potential systems:
· Hydrogen Fuel Cell
· Hythane Micro-Turbine
· Hydrogen Engine
These three systems were feasible due to their use of Hydrogen. The systems that would be implemented via these three options would not increase the pollution footprint of Harbec. The next stage in concept selection was the development of potential system schematics. This aided in the visualization and realization of the necessary components and systems integration.
3.2.1 Concept Schematics
The following diagrams represent the basic system schematics:
Figure 1: Basic Hythane Schematic
Figure 2: Basic Fuel Cell Schematic
Figure 3: Basic Hydrogen Engine Schematic
The foundational components for each model are primarily the same. Each will require an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen, a water distiller to support the electrolyzer, a storage medium for the hydrogen, and the power production unit that will utilize the hydrogen to produce electricity.
4.0 Concept Feasibility Assessment
4.1 Weighted Method for Feasibility
To assess the feasibility of the concepts, a weighted feasibility chart was developed and used to compare between the systems. This aided in assessing which concept to develop first. The attributes that were used in the development of this assessment were given weights and each concept was rated based on each attribute. Listed below are the attributes[5] given by the weighted feasibility chart:
· Sufficient Technical Background
· Research Material Availability
· Overall Cost Feasibility
· Implementation Costs
· Concept Expectation
· Concept Completion by April
· Existing Technology
· New Technology (Innovation)
· Commercial Availability
· Scalability
The following matrix (Figure 4) features the weighted feasibility chart along with the attributes, concepts, and relative weights involved. The baseline concept used in this evaluation was the fuel cell. It was chosen arbitrarily.
Figure 4: Weighted Feasibility Assessment
The attributes that carried the highest weights were scalability (13%), availability for implementation (18%), customer concept expectation (18%), and the overall cost justification of the project (18%).
4.2 Formal Concept Selection
The fuel cell energy system was selected as the primary concept to explore and develop. It will be followed by the Hythane concept. These will be evaluated in detail based on technical feasibility, economic feasibility, and sustainability. The Hythane concept will be explored in detail during Senior Design II in place of project implementation.
5.0 Feasibility Analysis and Synthesis of System Components
5.1 Overview
The overall fuel cell system will be limited by the power production of the wind turbine. Component selection was a key issue because a balance was required between system capabilities and system costs. Our detailed design criteria will examine and determine the technical challenges as well as solutions to systems integration.
5.1.1 Hydrogen for use
Hydrogen is an attractive fuel because it has the highest energy to weight ratio of any molecule. Systems that use hydrogen for fuel vary from fuel cells, internal combustion engines, and hybrid mixes such as hythane. Hydrogen is currently being created through the use of reformers that convert petroleums, such as methanol, MTBE, and gasoline, into natural gas and hydrogen. This process also produces CO2, a gas responsible for global warming and nitrous oxides (NOx). Creating hydrogen through electrolysis and renewable energy produces zero toxic emissions.