Objective
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY IS TO DETERMINE IN WHAT AREAS MATHEMATICAL MODELLING COULD BENEFIT THE " ENERGY FROM BIOMASS " R&D PROGRAMME. THIS SHALL BE ACHIEVED BY IDENTIFYING POTENTIALLY USEFUL APPLICATIONS AND RELATING THESE TO THE CURRENT CAPABILITIES OF MODELLING TECHNIQUES. .
I.- A REVIEW OF CURRENT WORK BEING CARRIED OUT UNDER THE R&D PROGRAMME. THIS SHALL TAKE THE FORM OF A REVIEW OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND PROGRAMME AND THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT PROJECTS FOLLOWED BY DISCUSSIONS WITH THE TECHNICAL EXPERTS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAMME, PROFESSOR BEENACKERS AND PROFESSOR VAN SWAAIJ, AND SELECTED CONTRACTORS.
THIS STAGE SHALL HIGHLIGHT THE MAJOR PROBLEM AREAS AND UNCERTAINTIES IN TERMS OF PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY AND PROCESS ENGINEERING, AND SHALL IDENTIFY THE CURRENT STATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE VARIOUS TECHNOLOGIES BEING CONSIDERED UNDER THE PROGRAMME. THESE MIGHT BE CLASSIFIED AS:
- PROJECTS WHICH ARE DEVELOPING FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND NEW IDEAS FOR BIOMASS PROCESSING.
- PROJECTS WHICH HAVE DEVELOPED LABORATORY-SCALE UNITS, POSSIBLY OF A BATCH-PROCESS KIND, AND WHICH HAVE A NEED TO INVESTIGATE LARGER-SCALE AND CONTINUOUS-PROCESS OPERATION.
- PROCESSES FOR WHICH PILOT-PLANTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED, POSSIBLY USING DIFFERENT TECHNICAL APPROACHES, AND WHICH MIGHT HAVE A NEED FOR A DEEPER ASSESSMENT OF THE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF FULL-SCALE OPERATION.
- PROCESSES WHICH ARE THOUGHT NOT TO HAVE REACHED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL AT, SAY, PILOT-PLANT SCALE, AND REQUIRE A CLOSER INVESTIGATION OF PLANT OPERATION TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE FUNDAMENTAL BARRIERS WHICH MIGHT PROHIBIT ECONOMIC OPERATION.
II.- A REVIEW OF MODELLING CAPABILITIES IN THE LIGHT OF TASK (I), AND A DETERMINATION OF WHICH GENERAL AREAS MIGHT NEMEFIT FROM THE USE OF MODELS. REFERRING TO THE ABOVE GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF PROJECTS, THE STUDY SHALL IDENTIFY:
- THE EASE WITH WHICH NEW IDEAS AND FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS COULD BE EXPLORED USING MODELLING TECHNIQUES AND, IN THE POSSIBLE ABSENCE OF VALIDATION INFORMATION, THE DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE WHICH COULD BE PLACED ON " FUNDAMENTAL " MODELS.
- THE POSSIBILITY OF CONSTRUCTING MODELS TO INVESTIGATE CONTINUOUS-OPERATION OF PARTICULAR PROCESSES, WITH VALIDATION DATA BEING OBTAINED FROM BATCH PROCESS EXPERIMENTS, AND HENCE THE ABILITY OF MODELS TO ENABLE OPERATIONAL DIFFICULTIES TO BE FORESEEN, AND AVOIDED.
- THE USE OF MODELS TO PREDICT THE PERFORMANCE OF PILOT-PLANT EXPERIMENTS, TO COMPARE ALTERNATIVE PLANT DESIGNS AND THE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES EMPLOYED IN THEM. HENCE THE DEGREE TO WHICH MODELS CAN BE EXTRAPOLATED TO PREDICT FULL-SCALE OPERATION AND TO DETERMINE COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC DATA FOR REALISTIC OPERATING CONDITIONS.
- THE USE OF MODELLING FOR INVESTIGATING PLANTS WHICH DO NOT PERFORM TO EXPECTATION, AND THE ABILITY TO PREDICT PROBLEM AREAS AND POSSIBLE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE PROCESS.
III.- A FEASIBILITY STUDY DURING WHICH SAY TWO OR THREE PARTICULAR PROCESSES SHALL BE SELECTED AND POSSIBLE MODELLING STRATEGIES AND TIMESCALES IDENTIFIED. IN THE BELIEF THAT THE GENERAL CASE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF MATHEMATICAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES INTO THE R&D PROGRAMME IS DEMONSTRATED, THE THE FEASIBILITY STUDY WILL ALSO GIVE ATTENTION TO THE PRACTICAL PROBLEMS OF INTRODUCING MODELLING INTO EXISTING AND FUTURE PROJECTS.
IV.- THE PREPARATION OF A REPORT WHICH WILL PRESENT THE INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING THE STUDY, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AS NECESSARY.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
SW19 5AU London
United Kingdom