Paper Mill Final Lab

Problem: A paper mill in town (Newberg) generates waste and an objectionable odor.

My idea: Use pyrolysis to change the waste into liquid fuel used in an intermediate feedstock for producing gasoline, as well as diesel fuels.

My Plan: My plan for this lab was to test the waste from the paper mill to see how much liquid it could absorb, test the pH, mass, exedra in order to determine how to turn the waste into something useful. After a lot of research, I came across a way to turn it into fuels used in biofuels used all over the world.

Introduction:
       Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to come up with an idea to devise an environmentally friendly way to dispose of the waste, explore a way to make use of the waste, neutralize the odor, mitigate fire danger, or make, create, or improve upon current uses.
       Background:  The waste of the mills is rich in cellulose, calcium carbonate, silicon (clay), and aluminum. They all can be altered into liquid fuels by biochemical approaches, thermochemical approaches, or the combination of biochemical and thermochemical approaches. More than 60% of the paper mill's operating costs are from disposing of the waste. Pyrolysis takes the waste, which consists of organic material, and heats it in the absence of Oxygen at temperatures ranging from
450°C to 600°C. Prices for a machine range from $100 to $220,000 depending on the machine. The produces of pyrolysis include: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor, acetol, furfural, and unsaturated aldehydes (Acrolein).

 Data:

Being measured                                                                           Measurement
pH of the waste                                                                                     8
Absorption                                                                             50ml absorbed out of 100ml
weight of weighing paper                                                                 1.282 g
weight of 40ml of waste                                                                   8.789 g

Calculations:

              Percent Composition for the waste:

       Formula: percent composition = (mass of specific substance / total molar mass)  X 100 

Cellulose + Calcium Carbonate + Silicon + Aluminum = molar mass of waste
          162.01g +  100.06g + 28.09g + 26.99g = 317.15g
Cellulose:     

           (162.01g C6H10O5 /  317.15g waste) X 100 = 51.08% C6H10O5 

Calcium Carbonate:
           (100.06g CaCO3 / 317.15g waste) X 100 = 31.55% CaCO3

Silicon:
           (28.09g Si / 317.15g waste) X 100 = 8.86% Si
 
Aluminum:
           (26.99g Al / 317.15g waste) X 100 = 8.51% Al
 

Percent Composition of the fuel:

Carbon Monoxide + Carbon Dioxide + Water (in vapor form) + Acetol (C9H8O4) + Furfural (OC4H3CHO) + Acrolein (C3H4O) 

28.00g CO + 43.99g CO2 + 17.99g H2O + 180.05g C9H8O4 + 96.03g OC4H3CHO + 56.02g C3H4O = 422.08g fuel







Carbon Monoxide:
            (28.00g CO / 422.08g fuel) X 100 = 6.64% CO

Carbon Dioxide:
            (43.99g CO2g / 422.08g fuel) X 100 = 10.42% CO2

Water Vapor:
            (17.99g H2O / 422.08g fuel) X 100 = 4.26% H2O

Acetol:
            (180.05g C9H8O4 / 422.08g fuel) X 100 = 42.66% C9H8O4

Furfural:
            (96.03g OC4H3CHO / 422.08g fuel) X 100 = 22.75% OC4H3CHO

Acrolein:
            (56.02g C3H4O / 422.08g fuel) X 100 = 13.27% C3H4O


Why this will help: This process will work because the fuels produced will be useful to the companies that dig and refine oil, so the mill can sell the products to many companies around the U.S. and the world. This will attract many people to our small town, and it will increase profits for the mill, helping out hundreds of workers the mill employs.

Potential Problems: A potential problem for this solution is the cost. The cost can be an issue because I am not familiar with the paper mill, so I am not sure how big and efficient the machine will need to be in order to keep up with the pace of the mill. The reason that is a problem is because the bigger and more efficient machines have the higher prices. In the end, the decomposition process will be beneficial in many ways. Another potential problem is the over production of gases like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. To prevent this from happening, it is best to make sure the temperature of the machine is above 450°C. It is proven, if the process of pyrolysis takes place at very high temperatures, the process is done a lot faster, and it releases less gas.   

Efficiency: The pyrolysis decomposition process is very efficient because, as long as the waste is heated in temperatures ranging from 450°C to 600°C, the fuel will be produced in a matter of seconds.

Amount of Time: The amount of time needed to start this process depends on when, how, and long it takes to get the machine. After that, all that would need to be done is the setting up of the machine, and then it takes only a few seconds to turn the waste into fuel.

Why the Mill Should Do This: The Mill should do this because it would create more jobs, help the environment, get rid of the waste more efficiently, and it would increase the Mill's profits by AT LEAST 60%, not including the sale of the fuels to other companies.

Global Impact: If the Mill uses this process, it will not only increase their profits, but it will allow the U.S. to prosper because other countries will want to buy the oil from the Mill. Plus, it could encourage other mills around the country to start using the same processes.

Waste to Energy: Using pyrolysis turns the paper mill waste into energy because the fuel that is produced is put into oil, gasoline, and diesel that are all used in cars.

Friendliness to the Environment: This process is very environmentally friendly because the fuel produced is fuel that people already use in order to refine the oil in the earth to create gasoline.

Potential Risks: One potential risk of this process is the fuel could be flammable, so the workers and handlers of the fuel would need to be very careful.

Recommendations for use: I recommend that the fuels produced are sold to the oil companies. I recommend this because it allows more income for the mill, and the fuel is used for the sole purpose it was designed to be made for.  

Analysis/ Conclusion: This final lab was very difficult to work through. The hardest part was either finding enough information to back up my thoughts of what should be done, or trying to figure out how to test the waste. There were not a lot of ways to test the waste in order to collect enough data to support an already-existing process. Once I tested the absorption of the waste, I realized having the waste be mixed with only a couple of other substances probably would not be good enough to have it absorb a substantial amount of a substance. After a lot of research, I finally figured out a way to convert the waste into a product we already use around the world. My only concern about making the waste into an oil refiner is that people are trying to lean away from using so much oil and gasoline, so where would the mill sell the refiner if everyone has converted to other sources of power? Plus, oil has known to become very harmful to our planet. For example, oil gives off much of the world's fossil fuels, and it has killed animals when put in water and other habitats. I am sure there are better alternatives to get rid of the waste due to the fact that oil companies tend to be one of the most heartless fields of companies there are, but, for the most part, the fuel produced is relatively safe to the environment.   



Sources:

• http://www3.aiche.org/Proceedings/Abstract.aspx?PaperID=283042
• http://www3.aiche.org/Proceedings/Abstract.aspx?PaperID=283042 
• http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/tyre-pyrolysis-machine.html
• http://bioweb.sungrant.org/NR/rdonlyres/57BCB4D0-1F59-4BC3-A4DD-4B72E9A3DA30/0/Pyrolysis.pdf

Specific Heat

Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is to determine the specific heat of a metal object and identity the
metal based on its specific heat.

Background:

                          Specific Heats                    J/g*c
                               Water                            4.184
                                   Al                              0.897
                                 Brass                           0.385
                                  Cu                              0.385
                                 Lead                            0.129
                          Stainless Steel                    0.490
                                   Zn                              0.390

In the specific heat lab, you learn how to measure the amount of calories of an unknown metal that were released as the metal is heated in a beaker of water. In order to do this lab, you need to collect the temperatures and masses.

Equation for Specific Heat: Qw = mw*cw*∆Tw
Q is the heat gained. m is the mass. c is the specific heat. ∆T is the change in temperature. For this experiment, we need to plug in the data for both the water and the metal for each trial.

Data:

Trial 1:
Temperature of water:                                                   20.3 C
Temperature of water and metal                                   20.5 C
Temperature of water and metal (boiled)                      99.3 C
Temperature of the metal in Styrofoam                        26.0 C
Temperature of the cold water                                      21.0 C

Mass of beaker                                                             116.84g
Mass of beaker and water                                             257.73g
Mass of beaker, water and metal                                  285.71g
Mass of beaker, water and metal (boiling)                   271.89g
Mass of the Styrofoam                                                 2.00g
Mass of Styrofoam and water                                      96.55g

Trial 2:
Temperature of water:                                                  20.1 C
Temperature of water and metal                                  20.3 C
Temperature of water and metal (boiled)                    99.5 C
Temperature of the metal in Styrofoam                       20.0 C
Temperature of the cold water                                     26.3 C

Mass of beaker                                                            116.85g
Mass of beaker and water                                           231.98g
Mass of beaker, water and metal                                278.10g
Mass of beaker, water and metal (boiling)                 265.50g 
Mass of the Styrofoam                                               2.00g
Mass of Styrofoam and water                                    96.55g

Calculations: Qw = mw*cw*∆Tw

Temperature Water changed:
99.3 C - 21.0 C = 78.3 C

Heat water gained:                         
Q = 94.55 g x 4.184 J/g*C X 78.3 C = 30,975.26                            

                   
specific heat: for metal
   Q      =  c
  m*c           

1974.848 J            = .897 J/g*c
2022.954 g*c

Analysis:
I learned you can never be too careful when taking measurements. Also, I learned it is best to have a good plan of what will need to be measured, how it will be measured, and the most efficient way to measure it.

Conclusion:
The metal we received was Aluminum because the specific heat matched up perfectly: 0.897.

Reaction types

This is the chemical reaction between sodium hydroxide and aluminum. All you have to do is put sodium hydroxide in a beaker, fill it with about 100-150mL of water, and roll up aluminum foil and put it in the beaker. It is a single replacement reaction which means one single metallic  element (aluminum) replaces another element in a compound (sodium). The equations for this reaction are as follows:
•Sodium Hydroxide + Aluminum -> Sodium + Aluminum Hydroxide
•Na(OH)2 + Al -> Na + Al (OH)2
In this reaction, we observed bubbles so violent that the ball of aluminum foil moved around the beaker violently. Sodium gas was released in bubbles, and the beaker became very hot. Many experimental errors occured in this lab. For one thing, our original single replacement reaction did not work. When we started this lab, our first single replacement was going to be Silver Nitrate + Nickel, but we did not realized that silver is more reactive than nickel. Needless to say, they did not react. For any reaction you do, you have to check to make sure the reaction will work before you do the experiment. It saves a lot of time and chemicals. Also, make sure you balance all of your equations!!

How to Remember Acid Names & Formulas

First off, CHECK THE CHARGES!!!!!!! It makes a huge difference! Second, all you have to do is add the number of hydrogen atoms needed depending on the charge. For example, hydrochloric acid had one atom of chlorine and one atom of hydrogen because hydrogen has a charge of +1 and chlorine has a charge of -1 and their net charge needs to be 0.

Chemical Formulas

The way I remember most of my ions is by memorizing all of the chlorine ions then branching off from there. I also remember that ammonium and hydronium end in "ium" and they are the only two polyatomic ions with a +1 charge.

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