Jacqueline O'Connor
Pennsylvania State University, PA·Engineering
Wood pellets are already a large US fuel market, but they are too weak and low in energy to replace coal in industry. Food-processing waste and fast-growing crops could be turned into stronger, more energy-dense solid fuels.
- Fields
Engineering
Earth & Environmental Science
Chemistry
- Topics
solid biofuels
biomass
hydrothermal carbonization
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Dec 2028
What they work on
- Design drop-in solid biofuel blends by matching carbonization levels of hydrochars from hydrothermal carbonization with torrefied biochars, to reduce fuel separation and raise thermal stability and energy density.
- Determine how secondary char, a tarry material formed during hydrothermal carbonization, changes pellet strength and water resistance, as well as ignition and burning behavior.
- Develop a rapid thermogravimetric analysis method that predicts ignition delay, ignition mode, combustion mode and burning rate, and build a statistical model to choose the best secondary char content and blend ratios.
More about the research
Doing so could create value for rural economies, but these fuels must burn enough like coal to be swapped in directly as "drop-in" replacements.
Why it matters
Turning low-cost regional wastes and crops into solid biofuels that can directly replace coal in industrial settings could support rural economies and energy independence. The project's guidelines on which feedstocks and blend ratios work best could help fuel producers and industrial users design these fuels.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jillian Goldfarb
Cornell University, NY·Engineering·Early-career
Design drop-in solid biofuels that can replace coal by matching carbonization levels between hydrothermal carbonization hydrochars and torrefied biochars, aiming for higher energy density and thermal stability.
Omid Samimi Abianeh
Wayne State University, MI·Engineering
Measure flame propagation speed of ammonia–dimethyl ether blends across a wide range of temperatures, pressures, fuel-to-air ratios and Damköhler numbers using the RCM-FLAME apparatus.
Ruiqing Shen
Oklahoma State University, OK·Engineering
Optimize thermo-responsive hydrogel formulations, gels that hold water and respond to heat, for thermal resistance, surface adhesion and cooling power as water-efficient fire suppressants.
The school
Pennsylvania State University: 60 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 743 research doctorates a year.
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