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Browsing by Subject "Renewable"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Assessing the woody biomass supply chain in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions: Investigating policy as drivers of change
    (2015-08) Kudrna, Jordan
    With the ever-increasing need for clean and accessible energy sources, woody biomass has long been entertained as a potential prospect. As energy markets and business operations are influenced by political decisions, it is essential to know the relationship between policy impacts on business innovation and investment decisions. This study looks at significant changes woody biomass business owners have implemented over the course of their operations, and how state and federal policies have affected those changes. A survey of 175 woody biomass business owners in the upper Midwest Lake States and Pacific Northwest was conducted in 2014 to gain insight into the bioenergy investment decisions of logging and transport businesses, utility companies, pellet and densified fuel producers, and institutional heat users. Failing to understand policy influence on business innovation risks investment in ineffective strategies and business uncertainty. The results of this study will help arm policy makers and energy professionals with knowledge about how current renewable energy policies are influencing business investment decisions along the wood-energy supply chain in hopes of more effective policy planning and implementation.
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    Developing a Decision Support Tool for Visualizing Renewable Natural Gas Production in Minnesota via ArcGIS Technology
    (2022) Chaffee, Wyatte R.L.
    This video presentation is about the first ever interactive map for visualizing Minnesota's renewable natural gas (RNG) potential! RNG is biogas (methane, carbon dioxide and other trace gasses) that has been cleansed to match the methane purity of natural gas. This renewable and sustainable alternative can be used as a replacement for natural gas in Minnesota's current infrastructure. This map displays all active feedlots from 2018 and over 50 wastewater treatment plants. Each of these locations have had calculations completed to determine their theoretical RNG production. More information on these calculations can be found at the bottom of the website's details, when observing a specific location. Use this link to view the map: https://arcg.is/qWjzi0 Credits: Wyatte Chaffee, Dr. Lingkan Ding , and Dr. Bo Hu This research was funded by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities' Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).
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    The Feasibility and Sustainability of Architectural Biomaterials
    (2016-04) Becker, Patrick J; Brownell, Blaine E
    This research was centered on the development of a materials database as a resource for architects, designers,contractors,scientists, and consumers. A primary focus of the research is the feasibility and sustainability of materials with a metabolic or distinctly biological. Application of biomaterials and recycled materials can significantly reduce the impact of construction and the waste it generates. However,this application depends directly on the influence of architects in the design process, specifically material selection. The usage of the Transmaterial series, as a resource, can provide designers, architects, contractors, and end-users with access to cutting-edge materials that are changing the built environment.
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    Renewable Aliphatic Polyester Block Polymer Thermoplastic Elastomers
    (2014-04) Martello, Mark
    The performance of thermoplastic elastomers is predicated on their ability to form mechanically tough physically crosslinked elastomeric networks at low temperatures and be able to flow at elevated temperatures. This dissertation focuses on renewable aliphatic polyester block polymers with amorphous polylactide (PLA) and their performance as TPEs. The goal of this work was to enhance the mechanical toughness of PLA containing TPEs; fundamental properties ranging from chemical composition and phase behavior, molecular architecture and melt processability, to melt polymerization strategies were investigated. ABA triblock polymers with PLA end-blocks and rubbery mid-blocks from substituted lactones comprised of poly(6-methyl-ε-caprolactone)(PMCL), poly(δ-decalactone), and poly(ε-decalactone)(PDL) were produced by sequential ring-opening polymerizations in the bulk. The bulk microstructure of symmetric PLA-PMCL-PLA and PLA-PDL-PLA triblock polymers formed long-range ordered morphologies and the interaction parameter of the repeat units was determined. High molar mass triblocks exhibited elastomeric behavior with good tensile strengths and high elongations. Small triblocks were coupled to produced (PLA-PDL-PLA)n multiblock polymers with high molar mass and accessible order-disorder transitions allowing for melt processing via injection molding. The mechanical toughness of the multiblocks was comparable to the high molar mass triblocks. The controlled polymerization of renewable δ-decalactone was accomplished with an organocatalyst at low temperatures in the bulk to maximize the equilibrium conversion of the monomer.
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    Tunable Synthesis and Characterization of Oleo-Furan Sulfonate Surfactants from Renewable Furan and Fatty Acids
    (2018-05) Joseph, Kristeen Esther
    An important advance in fluid surface control was the amphiphilic surfactant composed of coupled molecular structures (i.e., hydrophilic and hydrophobic) to reduce surface tension between two distinct fluid phases. Surfactants are widely used in household detergents, cleaners, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and personal care products. Anionic surfactants constitute 50% of the $30 billion global surfactant industry and are widely used in household detergents, and personal care products. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) are widely used due to their low cost and high detergency. Current LAS production methods rely on toxic catalysts and petrochemical-based constituents, such as benzene and long chain hydrocarbons. The reaction has low selectivity to the prescribed linear structure thereby rendering minimal control over the desired composition and properties. Additionally, implementation of simple surfactants such as LAS has been hindered by the broad range of applications in water containing alkaline earth metals (i.e., hard water), which disrupt surfactant function and require extensive use of undesirable and expensive chelating additives. Despite years of technology development, most large-volume surfactants are made from petrochemical sources, while efforts to make renewable surfactants are focused on making existing surfactant structures from renewable sources. In this work, we demonstrate a new surfactant based on the natural structure and chemistry of plant-based oils and sugars with superior function and suitability as a replacement to petrochemicals. Furans obtained from lignocellulosic biomass can be acylated with triglyceride-derived fatty acids and anhydrides in the presence of a heterogenous zeolite catalyst. The results obtained for the reaction of lauric anhydride with furan show that different pore sizes, structures and acidity of zeolites result in varying acylation activity. Preliminary kinetic studies of the indirect acylation using anhydrides provide insight into reaction orders and product inhibition resulting in lowering of catalytic activity. Following acylation, the molecule can be upgraded via several independent and sequential chemistries such as etherification, hydrogenation and aldol condensation and finally subjected to sulfonation to yield surfactant molecules termed as oleo-furan sulfonates (OFS) in high yield. Evaluation of surfactant performance of OFS revealed hundredfold better detergency and stability in hard water conditions in comparison with petroleum-derived counterparts. The synthesis of OFS molecules is, highly tunable and selective where the number of carbon atoms in the linear or branched chain can be easily varied without compromising on reaction yields to achieve desired surfactant properties.