Smart Filtration Technologies: Optimising Flue Gas Filtration Assets in the UK Energy from Waste Sector

Currently, there is an expansion in the UK for the provision of power and heat from waste to energy and biomass combustion plant which assist the UK Government in its goal to reduce CO₂ emissions while solving disposal problems. However, this type of plant generates particulate emissions, particularly PM_2.5, which provides technological challenges in their control due to their size and health hazard potential. Increasingly stringent emissions control legislation means that existing technology will need to be improved while maintaining operational efficiency. This provides challenges to minimise outage caused by filter failures in baghouses where higher performance filter installation can highlight weaknesses in designs related to optimisation of flue gas flow patterns as well as identification of regions of high material stresses by simulation work. 

We are looking for a Mechanical/Chemical Engineering graduate with a good 2.1 or first class degree to join our team. Having industry experience will be an advantage.

Industrial sponsorship

The University of Sheffield in Partnership with industrial sponsorship from Durham Filtration Ltd require an EngD student to start in September 2021 from the Resilient Decarbonisation CDT at Sheffield. We have plans to develop a number of projects related to particulate emissions control from energy from waste and biomass combustion/gasification plant. 

Project activity

The successful candidate will have the opportunity for significant placement with industry and access to facilities jointly developed by the University of Sheffield and Durham Filtration. The facility includes a pilot scale, fluidised bed, biomass/waste combustor and the successful student will join the team running tests on this facility. The student will also have access to new, state of the art filter testing equipment, closely linked to the sponsors activities.

It is recognised that particulate control from biomass gasification processes presents different sets of challenges for plant operators and we will work with customers using this technology to offer improved systems as an outcome from the areas of research proposed below. The successful candidate will be expected to become involved in two or more of the topic areas with the exact project being decided after interview with students to match interests and capabilities.

Topics

 1.      Develop a predictive toolkit for filtration asset owners to give quantitative predicted time-to-failure or optimal regions of operation (economic or environmental optima). Analyse, interpret, and visualise a high volume of data from a filtration specific sensor platform installed in a UK biomass combustion and gasification plant. Integrate with existing plant data collection methods and provide a structured model for plant performance. Develop a reporting package to deliver data visualisations to the end user in a meaningful way, reporting on the benefit of any corrective action predicted by the model.

2.      To run experimental programmes on the new combustion test facility hosted by DF at their Jarrow facility. The project will investigate the generation of particulate material under pilot plant operating conditions from a range of fuel blends that are typical of energy from waste and biomass energy plant. The controlled conditions of the CTF will be used to focus on issues created by particular fuel blends which is not possible by the analysis of industrially harvested samples from full scale plant. The results will be complimentary and combined they will offer insight into design solutions that can be offered by DF to the industry.

 3.      Involvement in the development new marketable products or services to address the common issues found across plants. Provide the mechanical design, simulation, prototyping and validation of any developed equipment and assist in its commercialisation. Initially, a sorbent distribution nozzle is envisaged to address the issue of poor sorbent mixing in the flue gas treatment stream.

4.      Develop new test methods and metrics for quantifying ‘filter health’ with meaningful interpretations for end users. Evolve the current ISO testing standards, based on old textile manufacture methods, to bring about a new, market-specific testing standard and industrial best practice. Using a wealth of industrial samples, build a library of data and assist with model-based predictions of filter performance. 

5.      Develop our understanding of Computational Fluid Dynamics, bringing our market offering up to the state of the art. Simulate filter media at the micro- and macro-scale, and provide approximations at the plant scale. Simulate filtration cleaning systems dynamically, at high spaciotemporal resolution. Develop CFD integrated optimisation frameworks or generative design methods to optimise geometries and develop novel solutions for common plant issues.

To apply, please visit https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying and select Resilient Decarbonised Energy Systems CDT under the Doctoral Training Course. For more details contact Prof Bill Nimmo at [Email Address Removed]