Vorsana CO2 Scrubber

The project goal of the CO2 Scrubber is to demonstrate mechanical separation of the components of flue gas based on weight with the ability to be applied to an industrial scale.

Background
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in flue gas cause many risks for health and environmental concerns. Manufacturers must pay for costly technology that has a high energy and water usage to reduce their current emissions. An effective and low cost way to separate out these harmful compounds is needed for the manufacturing market. The idea behind the counterflow disk method is the heavier, harmful gases will be separated from the lighter, non harmful phases, allowing for the extraction of the harmful phases

Current Technology

 * Amine Scrubbing which uses liquid solutions to remove CO2 and H2S
 * Mineral and zeolite treatment to reversibly bind CO2
 * Various other chemical treatments

Major Project Goals:

 * Perform fundamental studies on simplified geometry will be conducted to elucidate the minimum g force needed to effectively separate two gases.
 * Run CFD simulations for a model that is similar to Xing JHD 2014.
 * Build and test a simplified model, with variables of disk speed, gap size, temperature, pressure, and type of gas.
 * Test Vorsana's prototype
 * Provide proof of concept

Vorsana's Patented Model

 * The prototype has not arrived, so the team is tasked with designing simpler designs, and other geometry's.
 * Once the prototype has arrived, testing will be done at the University of Idaho Energy Plant.

Simplified Disk Model

 * A simplified disk model similar to the model that the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed on.
 * The simplified disk design is similar to Vorsana's design, but simplified to allow for easier manufacturing.
 * The gas that contains both phases is going to enter through the base, where the gas will hug the bottom disk. Once against the disk, the gas will flow towards the entrance between the counter rotating impellers where the vortexes required for separation will be formed. The outside of the vortex will contain the heavier phases, and will be thrown out from between the impellers to the outside where a port will extract it. the lighter phases will move back in towards the center of the impellers where it will be extracted.

Vortex Tube Model

 * The vortex tube design is going to be used to explore other possible geometry options.
 * The vortex tube has one outside tube, and one inside tube allowing for an increased retention time of the gas.
 * The vortex tube works by having the heavier phases forced to the outer walls of the tube since the heavier phases will have a higher centripetal force than the lighter phases
 * The gas will enter through the top of the tube, continue down to the bottom where the heavier phases will be thrown out, and the lighter phases will return up the center tube to be released to the atmosphere.

Team Members
{| width="100%" border="2" ! Picture !! Bio !! Discipline My name is Travis Soderquist, and I am a senior undergraduate in Biological and Agricultural Engineering with an emphasis in Environmental Engineering. I am currently participating in an internship with the Industrial Assessment Center working in energy engineering. I plan on going into wastewater treatment in the future. My hobbies include fly fishing, skiing, and everything outdoors. I am a senior undergraduate in Agricultural Engineering. My areas of interest include soil and water quality. I currently work for the Water Quality Lab at the University of Idaho and in the future I plan on obtaining a position where I am working to ensure the quality of our resources. My hobbies outside of school include: traveling, snowboarding, hiking and fitness. Garrett Hall Mechanical Engineering Student Hometown: Enumclaw, WA Hobbies/Interest: Professionally I enjoy problem solving and machine design with an emphasis on using solid modeling to aid in design. I have used these strengths outside of academics to design and patent a lead free fishing sinker that my wife and I are starting a business around. Outside of engineering, I coached the University of Idaho water polo team for four years, before handing it off to the next coach and stepping into an advisory role this year. In my spare time when I can get it, I enjoy fishing, inventing and billiards. Plan for the future: Currently I have a maintenance engineering position at The Dalles Dam, lined up for after graduation, with the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a maintenance engineer it is my responsibility to decide when and how components of the dam should be repaired or replaced. However if another position that allowed for me design work were to present itself, I would likely accept it.
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