Environmental Engineering CiEEE 3255

Spring 2014
HW # 3 stationary abatement system
Due in class Wednesday 30 April
15 points
ABET Question # 1 (addresses ABET criteria 8)
Question # 2 (addresses ABET Criteria 6-ethics)
Feel free to work in teams of no more than 3


1. (10 points)
An electrical power company combusts liquid petroleum gas (LPG- assume it is C3H8
(propane) but may contain some poisons) in excess air for power generation. LPG is used
because a petro-chemical plant nearby imports it for converting it to propylene used for
polypropylene production. They order an excess of LPG and sell it to the power company.
New emission regulations have been made law and the power company must be in
compliance with CO and C3H8 emissions in 2 years. The first phase of the regulations only
requires you address the CO and C3H8. Later the NO
x
will have to be addressed.
You apply for a job at the power plant and it is noticed on your CV that you have taken a
course in catalysis for pollution reduction. Consequently they offer you an engineering
position (with a large salary) to assist them in meeting the new emission standards.
You are given the task to design a stationary catalytic abatement system to meet
regulations for CO and C3H8. They give you a budget that will allow you to build a catalytic
reactor in the lab with some analytical equipment to measure the effectiveness of a
Pt/Al2O3//monolith which is known to be effective for these emissions. There is a local
university that will perform characterization tests for you (at a small price) on the fresh and
used catalysts. Prepare a laboratory plan for establishing the operating conditions for this
catalyst.

Address the following questions:

1. What information about the exhaust conditions and regulations must you have before
you start the lab testing?
2. Prepare and describe your equipment for the bench lab tests.
3. How will you measure the performance of fresh and aged catalysts? Show a typical
plot.
4. How will you suggest it be aged in a real life exhaust environment at your plant?
5. How will you use the data generated for designing the operating conditions for the
catalyst after it experiences real exhaust for some set time. Show a plot of the data
before and after real aging tests.
6. Prepare a process flow diagram for the final design of the system. Label the key
process parameters to be controlled.
7. Reactor sizing: Show the procedure you can use to calculate the reactor dimensions
assuming the reaction is first order in the pollutant and zero order in the O2? Is this
the best way to size the reactor?




2. Engineering ethics (1 point each, total 5 points)

Answer the following questions related to engineering and work ethics.
a. You are so proud of your work (question #1) that you decide to discuss some
of the specific details of your design with some of your friends who work for
unrelated.
Comment on this behavior.

b. Your design calls for a 5 year life of the catalytic system but the cost of the
best catalyst is above the budget. You decide to default to another less
expensive catalyst whose performance is satisfactory but not a good as what
you discussed with the customer.
Comment on this decision.

c. You are offered a new job at a different engineering company and you share
your design from the first company with them.
Comment on this

d. You are about to purchase a major piece of equipment. Bids were
requested from several venders. You choose the vendor who gave you
the lowest bid. After careful inspection of the companys management
team you notice that a relative of yours has a high level position in that
company. What should you do?

e. You have developed a new catalyst that is less expensive than the one
specified to a customer. By selling at the stated original price your company will
make 10% more in profit. Comment on this