Committee Chair

Yang, Sungwoo

Committee Member

Sreenivas, Kidambi; Harris, Bradley; Weerasena, Lakmali; Skjellum, Anthony

Department

Dept. of Computational Science

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and sequester remains a critical area of research in chemical engineering. Novel sorbent/substrate structuring and novel sorbent compositing are emerging fields of research for advancing the efficiency of adsorbent-based capture technologies and establishing the viability of next-generation absorbent-based capture technologies. This work details the development and validation of a finite element model which solves for the fabrication of novel adsorbent structures composited with phase change materials (PCM) optimized in selected design applications. The design applications include internally coated hollow fibers, externally coated annular finned tube, and a storage vessel which are presented in reduced computational form. This study reviews the thermofluidic characteristics of selected adsorbents for pairing with phase change materials to be incorporated into sorbent cycling devices, with a discussion of the state of the industry adsorption capture technologies. Extensive description is given to adsorption system characterization and to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model formulation. The study takes into consideration the challenges associated with gas theory in multiphysics and multiscale modeling, particularly as they relate to fluid-structure interactions in micro and nanoporous regions. This research aims to provide a foundation for further advancements in computational methodologies applied to (CO2) capture processes which incorporate learning algorithms that provide optimized material and device designs. Model results generate gas capture values and allow for the examination of domain isotherms and kinetics. Utilizing the L-BFGS optimization method, a distribution of phase change material within an activated carbon adsorbent bed was determined to improve (CO2) uptake across device designs indicating feasibility for next generation designs.

Acknowledgments

Without exception, my time as an undergraduate Chemical Engineering student and as a Graduate student at UTC has been marked by interactions with Faculty and Staff of the highest caliber. In many instances, I have witnessed portraits of brilliance, service, and mercy beyond what would be normally expected. This subject matter has required a grinding effort with repeated reassessment of what is needed to achieve its completion. Dr. Sungwoo Yang has never failed to support the effort, encourage proper direction, and care for me as a person. His humility, energy, and focus allowed me to achieve results that seemed far out of reach. I must recognize the work of my doctoral committee, Dr. Harris, Dr. Sreenivas, Dr. Skjellum, and Dr. Weerasena whose efforts added to the work completed. This work was funded by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chemical Engineering Department and benefited from the high-performance processing clusters at the UTC Research Institute, ensuring data accuracy and computational efficiency.

Degree

Ph. D.; A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Date

12-2023

Subject

Carbon sequestration; Materials--Thermal properties

Keyword

CFD; Adsorption; Carbon Capture; Optimization; PCM; Modeling

Document Type

Doctoral dissertations

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xxi, 145 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Date Available

12-31-2024

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Available for download on Tuesday, December 31, 2024

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