Design and experimentation of Additively manufactures structures for the rectification of Methanol-water mixture used for offshore applications

  • place:

    Bachelor/Masterthesis

  • starting date:

    a.s.a.p.

  • contact person:

    Jayavelu, Vignesh

Background:

The project H2Mare focuses on the production of green hydrogen at sea using wind energy rather than using grid lines to connect to an H2 production system on land. Since the output of an offshore wind turbine is generally higher than that of the onshore turbine, the excess energy is used for H2 production. The main idea is to integrate the wind turbine into an electrolyser and therefore produce a huge advantage which led to the idea of producing further downstream products like green methanol and green ammonia.

 

 

Methanol production involves the distillation of the Methanol-water mixture in the later steps. This case is especially complicated because of offshore conditions such as wave motion and the necessity for compact size. Additive Manufacturing is the key to bringing modern solutions to such complications. Former researchers at IMVT have developed a helical distillation column which has a very good separation efficiency. The design is optimized for separating most hydrocarbon mixtures. The institute also has a distillation test rig for experimentally testing the 3D-printed columns.

 

Your task:
1.    Printing of new 3D printed columns using Selective Laser Melting (and post-processing after printing).
2.    Rectification experiments on various 3D printed units using a Methanol-water mixture.
3.    Calibration of Methanol concentration and Analysis of samples using FT-IR spectroscopy.
4.    Optimization of the design of the 3D printed structures based on the separation efficiency.
5.    Modification of the existing distillation column in relation to offshore conditions.
6.    Modification of the Distillation test rig for new experimental procedures.


Requirements:
1.    You have a background in Chemical/Process engineering.
2.    You are expected to do literature research, present your work and make a report as well (Bachelor or Master thesis in this case)
3.    You have experience or understanding of separation techniques, especially Distillation.
4.    You have a basic knowledge of CAD software like Autodesk Inventor.
5.    More interest and experience in Laboratory work.
6.    The work is preferred to be done in English.


Remarks:
This is an open and vast topic so the focus of your work could be selected based on your profile and experience.
Right now, it’s only possible to provide Bachelor/Master thesis opportunities. Hiwi/Internship is not possible at the moment but please do enquire when applying if you need that position.
Please send your CV and Cover letter to vignesh.jayavelu@kit.edu if you are interested in the topic.

 

Start Date: a.s.a.p.
Assigning professor: Prof. Dr Christoph Klahn
Supervisor: M.Sc. Vignesh Jayavelu