Peter Ciesielski, NREL, CO, USA
Pyrolysis is a pre-commercial thermochemical process that converts renewable, plant-based materials such as wood into liquid biofuels. To make pyrolysis a cost-effective method for biofuel conversion, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are using multiphysics simulation to better understand and optimize the process. Thus far, they have used COMSOL Multiphysics® to develop a computational model of the heat and mass transfer processes associated with pyrolysis, featuring the most accurate representation of biomass particle geometry to date. Ongoing development of the process involves adding chemical reactions and phase change to create a complete model of pyrolysis that can be used to improve the performance of large-scale reactors – an essential step in making the mass production of biofuels more efficient.
Suggested Stories
Virtually Optimizing Metasurface Topology with a Genetic Algorithm
To optimize a metasurface topology for an optical antenna design, an engineer from the Air Force Institute of ...
Picking the Pattern for a Stealth Antenna
Stealth airplanes and ships avoid radar detection by optimizing the shape of surfaces to reflect away from the radar ...
Music to Your Ears: New Transducers Meet Electrostatic Headphones
Electrostatic transducers offer enhanced clarity, less distortion, and a wider bandwidth than transducers in ...
Making Predictions in Additive Manufacturing with Simulation Apps
Engineers at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) can predict the performance of laser powder bed ...
