Suggestions for Problem/Idea

CZeroC2019 aspirants,

To be successful in this contest, you should identify a practical problem around the themes of the Carbon Zero Challenge; propose a workable solution and show initial evidence that your solution will positively impact a large segment of an industry or society in general.

Below, we share suggestions on problems you could consider, proposed by industry experts and subject matter experts. We hope these suggestions inspire you to identify a worthy problem on your own and propose a solution. You are also welcome to address one of the problems listed below.

If you can identify a compelling solution to a problem listed below and are selected, you will have an opportunity to be mentored by some of the experts who suggested these problems. To gain better understanding of the problem statements listed below, you could also be connected to the proposers /mentors of this problem statements right away if you wish; please fill the form available on this page or email resources@iwma.in or reach us at + 918754111686; +919498070046 ;+919566092982 ; for necessary assistance.

In case of problems statements, ICTex1, ICTex 2, ICTex3, ICWT1.1, ICWM1, C1.1 to C1.5, the proposers/mentors will be able to provide you some visibility to business case/ business opportunity/possibility of patenting if workable solution found. So, if these problem statements interest you, you are requested to connect to the proposers/mentors through above email/mobile numbers right away and gain insight.

Please fill the form below.

If you wish to select any of these given problem statements for your CZeroC 2019 application.

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Problem Statements sourced directly from Industry

Below is the list of problem statements that have been sourced from Individual Industries as well as Industry Cluster.

From Industrial Cluster: Textile (Tex)

IC.Tex.1 Salt Free Dyeing

Salt is one of the important raw material used in cotton dyeing process to enhance the absorbance of reactive dyes to the fabrics. Simultaneously intensive amount of salt consumed is being discharged along with water used for process, resulting in high TDS levels in dyeing effluent. Hence it is energy intensive for recycling the discharged water and salt. So an alternate method of salt free dyeing or very low salt dyeing of cotton fabrics, by considering energy used for recovery of water as one of the important factor, will be a better solution for textile industry.

IC.Tex.2 CO2 Dyeing

Large volume of water and salts are consumed in dyeing of cotton fabrics, resulting in high TDS dyeing effluent. Large amount of energy (both power and steam) are spent in Zero Liquid Discharge System (ZLDS) treatment system of treating dyeing effluents. Water less dyeing will be one of the potential market for textile industry. Carbon dioxide under pressurized state i.e. super-critical CO2 has a potential to fix dyes to the fabrics without consumption of water. This has potential of eradicating effluents due to dyeing. So generation of super-critical carbon dioxide with low intense energy will be an alternate and better solution for textile industry.

IC.Tex.3 Biological treatment for salt removal from treatment process

Since high amount of salt is utilized for textile processing, equal amount of salt (%) is being released in the effluent water. However existing technologies are available to remove the salt from effluents are reverse osmosis and evaporation. They are highly expensive due to Capex and Opex. If natural / biological treatment (both aerobic and anaerobic methods) is available for degradation of salt from dyeing effluent by considering energy as a key criteria, it will be a greater potential market for textile Industry. The degradation can be narrowly focused on sodium sulphate or sodium chloride or hardness causing salts.

From Industry Cluster: Water Treatment (WT)

IC.WT1.1 Desalination of water at low temperature

Current desalination technique require large amounts of energy or membranes that need to be changed constantly as they blocked. As an alternate solution, solvent (such as decanoic acid) mixed with water and heated at temperatures of 50 degrees has potential to dissolve the water out leaving the salts and impurities behind. Then upon cooling, the mixture separates into two layers by gravity, releasing pure water. The proposed desalination process has the potential for low environment impact. Being a simple, inexpensive process, directional solvent extraction also bears tremendous commercial potential in the desalination of seawater, clean-up of industrial waste water.

From Individual Industry: MIG Wire Manufacturer (WM)

I.WM.1 Utilizing ETP sludge from MIG wire manufacturer for pigment manufacturing

MIG wire manufacturing process involves washing of copper wire, in which wastewater generated as a stream. On treatment of this stream yields iron oxide containing sludge (apprx 60-80 g/Kg at dry conditions). This iron oxide has a potential to be used as a raw material in pigment manufacturing. Current scenario of handling and disposal of the generated sludge is at very high cost. By considering energy as a important factor, alternate solution for utilizing the resource from the generated sludge will be of greater support for industry.

Problem Statements sourced directly from Faculty and Subject Experts

Below is the list of problem statements that have been sourced from Faculty and Subject Experts in Energy and Environment field in India and Abroad.

Subject Expert & International Mentor (C1)

C.1.1Small scale production of liquid oxygen

With the increase use of energy, efficient small and distributable energy generation systems are needed to meet these demands. The oxy-combustion process is a proven technology for obtaining high combustion temperatures and results in an increased power generation efficiency from a given fossil fuel source and decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. About 65% of an oxy-combustion plant net efficiency loss is due to electric power requirements by an air separation unit (ASU) . Currently the generation of O2 is economically viable only for larger electricity generation systems which need about 3,000 tons/day of O2. For the smaller generation process, where the requirements are of the order of 10 tons/day of O2, a cost effective method to generate O2 does not exist. Currently O2 is separated from air using the traditional cryogenic separation process, cryogenic distillation-based air separation is costly and energy-intensive to operate. This process is energy intensive and consumes over 200 kWh of electricity per ton of O2 produced for plants in the range of 3,000 tpd of O2 produced. According to a large manufacturer of industrial gases, almost as much as 1,000 kWh is needed for a 10 tpd plant. In summary, the energy consumption of current cryogenic technologies is four to five times the theoretical minimum energy required for the process. The elimination of the energy consumption gap between theoretical and practical for small plants would decrease the O2 production costs and enable oxy-combustion as a viable option in small power generation systems.

C.1.2 Design of isothermal compressors

An isothermal process is a change of a system, in which the temperature remains constant: ΔT = 0. This typically occurs when a system is in contact with an outside thermal reservoir (heat bath), and the change will occur slowly enough to allow the system to continually adjust to the temperature of the reservoir through heat exchange. In contrast, an adiabatic process is where a system exchanges no heat with its surroundings (Q = 0). In other words, in an isothermal process, the value ΔT = 0 and therefore ΔU = 0 (only for an ideal gas) but Q ≠ 0, while in an adiabatic process, ΔT ≠ 0 but Q = 0. In reality, an isothermal compressor is an old dream of the engineer, but successful implementation could improve the efficiency of various industrial and power generation plants significantly, and it can save power in many compression jobs in process plants, especially in cases of high pressure ratio. The ideal isothermal compressor has not yet been built, with one historic exception. But approximations with adiabatic compressor stages alternating with intercoolers are widely used. The intermediate pressure level for the intercooling steps has to be chosen such that the adiabatic discharge temperatures in each compression step are all equal for the given pressure ratio. Typically, one intercooling step provides more than half the power saving ideally attainable. It is also useful to look at power saving as a function of the number of intercooling steps. A novel design is needed to reduce the power consumption of compressors throughout the industry and result in significant benefits to the society.

C.1.3 Air-cooled heat exchangers for sCO2 Brayton Cycle

Development of a High Pressure Linear expander/generator for sCO2 Brayton Cycle. The increasing electricity demand and cost, in addition to the increasing global energy demands, are the main motivations in seeking for sustainable new technologies in the ﬁeld of energy conversion and utilization. Various thermodynamic cycles, such as organic Rankine cycle (ORC), supercritical Rankine cycle, supercritical Brayton cycle, have been proposed to convert heat sources into electricity. There has been a significant research in sCO2 Brayton throughout the world including India. The application for sCO2 Brayton cycle to generate electricity from a wide variety of heat sources include natural gas, solar energy, geothermal energy, and waste heat from a variety of industrial processes and internal combustion engine. For large systems (> 10 MW), typically axial turbine expanders are the preferred design. However there is a significant need for systems less than 1 MW. Given the high power density of sCO2, rotary expanders are not practical due to its high speed resulting in low efficiencies and high capital costs. A linear expander can address this need. The development of a cost effective positive displacement expander that is not only efficient but also inexpensive is critical for the success of small scale sCO2 electricity generation systems.

C.1.4 Conversion of high pressure pure CO2 into higher value chemicals

Power production from combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and contributes to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) levels in the atmosphere. Technologies capable of cost-effective CO2 capture and reuse would help stabilize atmospheric GHG levels and provide an opportunity to turn CO2 into a feedstock for valuable products, such as chemicals and fuels. From producing carbon monoxide (synthetic gas), to plastics, to algae, etc are some of the potential applications of converting high pressure CO2 into valuable higher value chemicals. Successful development of technology could potentially create an entirely new industry where waste CO2–rather than oil–is used to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and industrial chemicals. Other benefits include reduce petroleum imports, reduce economic impact on the country due to spikes in petroleum prices, and stabilize atmospheric GHG levels.

C.1.5 Development of a positive displacement expanders for electricity generation

The increasing electricity demand and cost, in addition to the increasing global energy demands, are the main motivations in seeking for sustainable new technologies in the ﬁeld of energy conversion and utilization. Various thermodynamic cycles, such as organic Rankine cycle (ORC), supercritical Rankine cycle, supercritical Brayton cycle, Kalina cycle and trilateral ﬂash cycle, have been proposed to convert the low-grade heat sources into electricity. ORC is extremely popular for generating electricity from a wide variety of heat sources, such as industrial waste heat, solar energy, geothermal energy, waste heat from internal combustion engine, etc. For large systems (> 5 MW), typically axial turbine expanders are the preferred design. However successful implementation of any of these cycles requires availability of systems less than 5 MW scale and definitely at less than 1 MW. The critical component in these small scale system is a positive displacement expander. Examples of positive displacement expanders are linear piston expanders, rotary wankel engine type expanders, etc. The development of a cost effective positive displacement expander that is not only efficient but also inexpensive is critical for the success of small scale electricity generation systems.