Environmentally Friendly Waste System

Below is the summary of the process of the methane capture system design:

We wanted to create a methane gas capture system in order to harvest the methane gas from the biogas produced from the digestion of the waste feed.




Discussion with Mr. Desmond Lim



Suggested methods to collect the methane gas:

1. Scrubber system

2. Balloon storage system



Scrubber system (also known as the inverted cup system) was recommended by Mr. Desmond Lim



Discussion with Dr Han

We presented our drawing of the modified scrubber system to Dr Han. During the discussion with him, Dr Han has improved the methane capture system design for us.



In order to start constructing the prototype, we were told to calculate the height of the column for this system.




Problems faced:

1. We went to look for lecturers like Dr Lee and Mr. Wong for help as we have no ideas on how to start the calculation for the height of the column.

2. Both lecturers have introduced correlations method to us. We have spent too much time (about 2 weeks) on finding the appropriate correlations for our calculations.





Classification of various causes leading to the main problem on spending too much on the calculations of column height for methane gas capture system is done using the relationship diagram.

Update: Mr. Kon has suggested a more simplified calculation. With the assumption of 1m radius for the base of the tank, we found out that the calculated height is over 5m tall which is not feasible.





Conclusion: Through this, we have learnt about time management and that emphasis should not be placed too much on one side especially since this project involves different aspects. We should have concentrated on the more practical side and focus on making the system workable instead of pinching too much on values. However through this, we have actually gained valuable knowledge on carbon dioxide adsorption which may come useful towards explaining the theoretical aspect of it.