USE YOUR BOOZE AS YOUR FUTURE FUEL

Till date, all types of alcoholic drinks, or booze as they are commonly called, are produced only with the intention of drinking for socializing, fun, recreation and to drown one’s sorrows.
However the researchers of Abertay’s School of Contemporary Science have found a different and more beneficial use for alcoholic drinks.

The researchers here have been awarded the prestigious Carnegie Trust Research Grant to help them in the investigation of turning the residues that are found in the production of beer and whisky, into a form of renewable biofuel.

This is anticipated to be a project that takes about a year to find new methods of turning the spent grain of these drinks into an efficient biofuel, bioethanol.

Bioethanol is a much more environmentally friendly alternative to the present fossil fuels you find around you.
The reason it is considered better to using bioethanol, instead of traditional fuels for your fueling purposes is that it is CO2 neutral. It is also produces 65% less greenhouse gas emissions because it burns at temperatures that are at a much better level for fire safety.

With the supply of fuel being predicted to be finite, with half of the world’s oil supply already having been consumed in the passed 200 years, scientists are looking for simple and cost effective means of producing more biofuels from low value and waste products. there is a race going on for finding environmentally friendly alternatives to fuels for the future of the world, and this is why spent grains of alcohol and beer manufacture are considered to be a safe and efficient option for this.

Today Brazil and USA together produce over 70% of global supplies through the creation of bioethanol from sugarcane and maize starch respectively.
Though the US has beaten Brazil in its production, Brazil is still the largest exporter that sends about 3.2 billion liters of bioethanol in the last year alone.

Like all things in life, there are some negative aspects to this method of generating fuels. Both these countries tend to create an increased demand for land to grow the energy crops they require for generating bioethanol. In fact, in countries like Brazil, the safety of tropical forests too is threatened where even the benefits of using biofuel too may be cancelled out.

This is why researchers are considering using the waste products received from the manufacture of alcohol for creating biofuels. This may be a more complicated process of turning waste products into bioethanol. However it is a perfect example of a second generation biofuel.

The products used for the creation of this biofuel is usually disposed of or at the most, used for processing animal feed.

Instead of this, using them to produce fuel would be an attractive means of using this resource. However presently, there are many technical challenges and hindrances that have to be overcome to help in converting waste biomass into fuel.

And the search is still on for a more efficient and cost effective process for producing biofuels from alcoholic wastes.

Design of Screw Conveyor

The size of screw conveyor depends on two factors

1. The capacity of the conveyor

2. The lump size of the material to be conveyed (Maximum dimensions of the particle)

Usually there are three ranges of lump sizes which are considered for selection of screw size. These are:

· A mixture of lumps and fines in which not more than 10% are lumps ranging from maximum size to one half of the maximum, and 90% are lumps smaller than one half of the maximum size.

· A mixture of lump and fines in which not more than 25% are lumps ranging from the maximum size to one half of the maximum, and 75% are lumps smaller than one half of the maximum size.

· A mixture of lump only in which 95% or more are lumps ranging from maximum size to one half of the maximum size and 5% or less are lumps less than one tenth of the maximum size.

The allowable size of a lump in a screw conveyor is a function of the radial clearance between the outside diameter of the central pipe and the radius of the inside of the screw trough, as well as the proportion of the lumps in the mixture.

The lump size of the material affects the selection of screw diameter which should be at least 12 times larger than the lump size of a sized material and four times larger than the largest lumps of an un-sized material.

Example, if screw diameter is 250mm means radial clearance is 105mm, & Maximum lump size is 60mm of 10% lumps.

Capacity of Screw Conveyor:

 

The capacity of a screw conveyor depends on the screw diameter, screw pitch, speed of the screw and the loading efficiency of the cross sectional area of the screw. The capacity of a screw conveyor with a continuous screw:

Q = V. ρ

Q = 60. (π/4).D².S.n.ψ.ρ.C

Where,

Q = capacity of a screw conveyor

V = Volumetric capacity in m³/Hr

ρ = Bulk density of the material, kg/m³

D = Nominal diameter of Screw in m

S = Screw pitch in m

N = RPM of screw

Ψ = Loading efficiency of the screw

C = Factor to take into account the inclination of the conveyor

 

Screw Pitch:

Commonly the screw pitch is taken equal to the diameter of the screw D. However it may range 0.75 – 1.0 times the diameter of the screw.

 

 

 

 

Screw Diameter:

 

Nominal Size D	Trough height from center of screw shaft to upper edge of the trough	Trough width C	Thickness of Tough	Tubular shaft (d1 * Thickness)	Outside diameter of solid shaft	Coupling diameter of shaft
Heavy Duty	Medium Duty	Light Duty
100	63	120	–	2	1.6	33.7*2.5	30	25
125	75	145	–	2	1.6	33.7*2.5	30	25
160	90	180	5	3.15	1.6	42.4*2.5	35	40
200	112	220	5	3.15	2	48.3*3.5	40	40
250	140	270	5	3.15	2	60.3*4	50	50
315	180	335	5	3.15	–	76.1*5	60	50
400	224	420	5	3.15	–	76.1*5	60	75
500	280	530	5	3.15	–	88.9*5	70	75

RPM of Screw:

The usual range of RPM of screw is 10 to 165. It depends on the diameter of screw and the type of material (Max RPM of screw conveyor is 165)

Loading efficiency:

The value of loading efficiency should be taken large for materials which are free flowing and non abrasive, while for materials which are not free flowing and or abrasive in nature, the value should be taken low:

Ψ = 0.12 to 0.15 for abrasive material

= 0.25 to 0.3 for mildly abrasive material

= 0.4 to 0.45 for non abrasive free flowing materials

Inclination Factor:

The inclination factor C is determined by the angle of screw conveyor with the horizontal.

 

Angle of screw with the horizontal	0°	5°	10°	15°	20°
Value of factor C	1	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.65

Types of screw flight:

The screw of the conveyor may be right hand or left hand, the right hand type being the usual design. The threads of the screw may be single, double or triple.

The flight of the screws may be made in either of the two ways:

1. As Helicoids

2. As Sectional flight

Helicoids Flight:

They are formed from a flat bar or strip into a continues helix. The threads are thinner at the outer edge and thicker at the inner edge.

Sectional flights:

Sectional flights are formed from a flat disc and the thickness of the thread is uniform throughout. A continuous helix is made by joining a number of sectional flights together on a piece of pipe and butt welded them. Various styles of screw flights are in use, depending on the service required.

Some of the typical configurations are:

1. Short pitch or continuous flight:

If the conveyor is required to handle dry granular or powdered materials that do not pack, this style of flight may be selected. It is of regular construction and recommended for inclined conveyors having a slope of 20 or more, including vertical conveyors. This style is extensively used as feeder screw.

2. Ribbon flight:

If the conveyor is to handle lumpy, clinging, sticky, gummy or viscous substances, this type flight may be selected. It consists of continuous helical flight formed from steel bar and secured to the pipe by supporting lugs.

3. Cut flight:

In this type of flight screws have notches cut in the periphery of the flight. These notches supplement the conveying with moderate mixing action. They are recommended for conveyors required to handle light, fine, granular or flaky materials.

4. Cut and folded flights:

This type of flight is characterized by notches as in cut flight, together with folded segments. This type of flight creates agitation and aeration resulting in better mixing. This type of flight is used to handle light or medium weight materials having fine, granular or flaky materials.

5. Some screw conveyors have cut flight with paddles mounted at regular intervals. The paddles counteract the flow of material past the flight resulting in greater agitation and mixing.

6. Sometimes screws are made of stainless steel to suit special requirements, like the sanitation requirements for handling food, drugs and other hygienic materials.

Vertical screw conveyors

A vertical screw conveyor conveys material upward in a vertical path. It requires less space than some other types of elevating conveyors. Vertical screw conveyor can handle most of the bulk materials provided there is no large lump. The maximum height is usually limited to 30m.

A vertical screw conveyor consists of a screw rotating in a vertical casing. The top bearing for the screw shaft must be designed to stand against radial and thrust loads. A suitable inlet port at the lower end and a discharge port at the upper end of the casing are provided. Feeding a vertical screw conveyor deserves careful consideration. Most materials are fed to the vertical conveyor by a straight or offset horizontal feeder conveyor. The ideal operation of a vertical screw conveyor is to have a controlled and uniform volume of material feeding.

Uneven feeding and start stop operation may adversely affect the performance of the vertical screw conveyor in terms of speed, capacity and horse power.

Average capacities and speeds of vertical conveyor

Nominal diameter of screw in mm	Capacities in m3/hr	Speed of screw
150	10	Up to 400 RPM
250	35	300 RPM
300	75	250 RPM
400	170	200 RPM

Vertical screw conveyors or some special design of vertical screw conveyor finds wide application in ship unloading.

Practical experience with these conveyors has shown that the resistance factor for vertical conveyors is higher than those of the horizontal conveyors. Resistance factor λ may be taken as 5.5 to 7.5 for grains. 6.5 to 8.3 for salt.

The driving power of the loaded screw conveyor is given by:

P = P_H + P_N + P_st

Where,

P_H = Power necessary for the progress of the material

P_N = Driving power of the screw conveyor at no load

P_st = Power requirement for the inclination of the conveyor

Power necessary for the progress of the material P_H:

For a length L of the screw conveyor (feeder), the power PH in kilo watts is the product of the mass flow rate of the material by the length L and an artificial friction coefficient λ, also called the progress resistance coefficient.

P_H = I_m.L. λ.g / 3600 (kilowatt)

= I_m.L. λ / 367 (kilowatt)

Where,

I_m = Mass flow rate in t/hr

λ = Progress resistance coefficient

Each material has its own coefficient λ. It is generally of the order of 2 to 4. For materials like rock salt etc, the mean value of λ is 2.5. For gypsum, lumpy or dry fine clay, foundry sand, cement, ash, lime, large grain ordinary sand, the mean value of λ is 4.0.

In this connection it should be noted that the sliding of the material particles against each other gives rise to internal friction. Other resistance due to grading or shape of the output discharge pattern contributes to the resistance factor. That is why the parameter λ is always higher than that due to pure friction.

Drive power of the screw conveyor at no load, P_N:

This power requirement is very low and is proportional to the nominal diameter and length of the screw.

P_N = D.L / 20 (Kilowatt)

Where,

D = Nominal diameter of screw in meter

L = Length of screw conveyor in meter

Power due to inclination: P_st

This power requirement will be the product of the mass flow rate by the height H and the acceleration due to gravity g.

P_st = I_m.H.g / 3600

= I_m.H / 367

H should be taken positive for ascending screws and will be negative for descending screws.

Total power requirement:

The total power requirement is the sum total of the above items

P = (I_m (λ.L + H) / 367) + (D.L /20) (Kilowatt)

POISSON'S RATIO

When an element is stretched in one direction, it tends to get thinner in the other two directions. Hence, the change in longitudinal and lateral strains are opposite in nature (generally). Poisson’s ratio ν, named after Simeon Poisson, is a measure of this tendency. It is defined as the ratio of the contraction strain normal to the applied load divided by the extension strain in the direction of the applied load. Since most common materials become thinner in cross section when stretched, Poisson’s ratio for them is positive.

For a perfectly incompressible material, the Poisson’s ratio would be exactly 0.5. Most practical engineering materials have ν between 0.0 and 0.5. Cork is close to 0.0, most steels are around 0.3, and rubber is almost 0.5. A Poisson’s ratio greater than 0.5 cannot be maintained for large amounts of strain because at a certain strain the material would reach zero volume, and any further strain would give the material negative volume.

Some materials, mostly polymer foams, have a negative Poisson’s ratio; if these auxetic materials are stretched in one direction, they become thicker in perpendicular directions.Foams with negative Poisson’s ratios were produced from conventional low density open-cell polymer foams by causing the ribs of each cell to permanently protrude inward, resulting in a re-entrant structure.

An example of the practical application of a particular value of Poisson’s ratio is the cork of a wine bottle. The cork must be easily inserted and removed, yet it also must withstand the pressure from within the bottle. Rubber, with a Poisson’s ratio of 0.5, could not be used for this purpose because it would expand when compressed into the neck of the bottle and would jam. Cork, by contrast, with a Poisson’s ratio of nearly zero, is ideal in this application.

It is anticipated that re-entrant foams may be used in such applications as sponges, robust shock absorbing material, air filters and fasteners. Negative Poisson’s ratio effects can result from non-affine deformation, from certain chiral microstructures, on an atomic scale, or from structural hierarchy. Negative Poisson’s ratio materials can exhibit slow decay of stress according to Saint-Venant’s principle. Later writers have called such materials anti-rubber, auxetic (auxetics), or dilatational. These materials are an example of extreme materials.