Project number
26033
Organization
PeakView Environmental Solutions
Offering
ENGR498-F2025-S2026
The management of plastic and other hydrocarbon waste is one of the most pressing issues of our civilization. As these often harmful materials break down, they pollute our air, water, and soil. Unsuspecting wildlife often succumbs to this waste due to suffocation, blockage, or entanglement. To alleviate these issues, PeakView Environmental Solutions aims to develop a mobile pyrolysis and oil refining plant that can be shipped to small, underdeveloped islands and areas that have recently been hit by natural disasters and are struggling with the supply of clean drinking water, electricity, and fuel. By utilizing the often abundant organic waste, such as plastic, tires, and plant debris, locals can produce their own biofuel and run power generators for water pumps, filters, and other emergency equipment.
The goal of this project is to improve the existing pyrolysis reactor design in terms of durability, portability, safety, temperature consistency, and user friendliness. The existing system takes plastic and other organics as input and produces a flammable hydrocarbon liquid as output. The first-year team was able to design and build a functional prototype which can now be taken as a proof of concept and iterated to the next level. This year’s goal is to use the resulting design to manufacture a first batch of units that can be shipped to communities in need. The project will require mechanical engineering for the durability and portability improvements, biosystems engineering for the safety requirements, electrical engineering for the control mechanisms that will enable the temperature consistencies, and industrial engineering for the user friendliness.
Scope: (1) Research the pyrolysis process for plastic and determine how best to improve the metrics of durability, portability, safety, temperature consistency, and user friendliness. (2) Confirm your understanding with the relevant university support staff. (3) Design new components for the system as needed. Consider off-the-shelf technology first and find customized solutions as needed. (4) Redesign existing components for optimal usage in the field. (5) Create the Job Safety Analysis (JSA) document required for component and system testing. (6) Provide mechanical, environmental, and electrical diagrams of the system’s working components and processes. (7) Test the system for performance, safety, and ease of use and iterate on previous steps until an optimal design is found. (8) Present results in a video conference and PowerPoint presentation.
The goal of this project is to improve the existing pyrolysis reactor design in terms of durability, portability, safety, temperature consistency, and user friendliness. The existing system takes plastic and other organics as input and produces a flammable hydrocarbon liquid as output. The first-year team was able to design and build a functional prototype which can now be taken as a proof of concept and iterated to the next level. This year’s goal is to use the resulting design to manufacture a first batch of units that can be shipped to communities in need. The project will require mechanical engineering for the durability and portability improvements, biosystems engineering for the safety requirements, electrical engineering for the control mechanisms that will enable the temperature consistencies, and industrial engineering for the user friendliness.
Scope: (1) Research the pyrolysis process for plastic and determine how best to improve the metrics of durability, portability, safety, temperature consistency, and user friendliness. (2) Confirm your understanding with the relevant university support staff. (3) Design new components for the system as needed. Consider off-the-shelf technology first and find customized solutions as needed. (4) Redesign existing components for optimal usage in the field. (5) Create the Job Safety Analysis (JSA) document required for component and system testing. (6) Provide mechanical, environmental, and electrical diagrams of the system’s working components and processes. (7) Test the system for performance, safety, and ease of use and iterate on previous steps until an optimal design is found. (8) Present results in a video conference and PowerPoint presentation.