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- Creators: Chemical Engineering Program
- Resource Type: Text
This report focuses on the manufacturing of ceria tubes, the construction of a high-temperature radiant heater filament, and the implementation of a pressure measurement device. The manufacturing of ceria tubes includes the extrusion, the drying, and the sintering of the tubes. In addition, heating element filament construction consists of spot-welding certain metals together to create a device similar to that of a light bulb filament. Different methods were considered in each of these areas, and they are described in this report. All of the explorations in this document move towards the final device, a thermochemical reactor for the production of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) from water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The results of this report indicate that there are several important manufacturing steps to create the most desirable results, in terms of tube manufacturing and heating element design. For the correct tube construction, they must be dried in a drying rack, and they must be sintered in V-groove plates. In addition, the results of the heating element manufacturing indicate that the ideal heating element filament needs to be simple in design (easily fixed), cost-effective, require little construction time, attach to the ends of the system easily, provide mechanical flexibility, and prevent the coil from touching the walls of the tube it lies in. Each aspect of the ideal elements, whether they are tubes or heating elements, is explored in this report.
The goal of this research was to identify why the federal government should invest in solar research and development, and which areas of solar improvement should be focused on. Motivation for this can be found in the pressing need to prevent and reverse the effects of climate change, the inevitability of fossil fuel resources eventually running out, and the economic and job creation potential which solar energy holds. Additionally, it is important to note that the best course of action will involve a split of funding between current solar rollout and energy grid updating, and the R&D listed in this research. Upon examination, it can be seen that an energy revolution, led by a federal solar jobs program and a Green New Deal, would be both an ethically and economically beneficial solution. A transition from existing fossil fuel infrastructure to renewable, solar-powered infrastructure would not only be possible but highly beneficial in many aspects, including massive job creation, a more affordable, renewable energy solution to replace coal-fired plants, and no fuel spending or negotiation required.<br/>When examining which areas of solar improvement to focus on for R&D funding, four primary areas were identified, with solutions presented for each. These areas for improvement are EM capture, EM conversion efficiency, energy storage capacity, and the prevention of overheating. For each of these areas of improvement, affordable solutions that would greatly improve the efficiency and viability of solar as a primary energy source were identified. The most notable area that should be examined is solar storage, which would allow solar PV panels to overcome their greatest real and perceived obstacle, which is the inconsistent power generation. Solar storage is easily attainable, and with enough storage capacity, excess solar energy which would otherwise be wasted during the day can be stored and used during the night or cloudy weather as necessary. Furthermore, the implementation of highly innovative solutions, such as agrivoltaics, would allow for a solar revolution to occur.