Education
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (2013)
- B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Tecnologico de Monterrey
The objective of this project is to design and implement a model predictive process control system for a solar thermal reactor, by which the cloud cover and available sunlight can be analyzed and anticipated using a digitalized image of the sky. The system consists of a transport tube that receives concentrated solar irradiation and uses this energy to thermally convert biomass into syngas (H2, CO, and CO2) in the presence of steam. Syngas can then be used to produce liquid fuels through the Fischer-Tropsch process or purified to obtain hydrogen to be used as fuel. This process works really well during daytime, as long as the clouds don’t cover the sun, absorbing the solar irradiation. When this happens the reactor can be completely cooled in about 2 minutes, causing damage to the reactor materials. When the sun is partially covered by clouds, the reactor can still operate at reduced temperature, but will require reduced inlet flow rates to optimize the operation and avoid complications in the downstream separation processes.Ìý In other words, this process needs a robust control system in order to operate in a continuous and more feasible way.