Team: 7
School: Sandia Preparatory
Area of Science: Biochemistry
Interim: Problem Definition
Oil is a widely used resource that is only produced by a few major countries. Price changes can affect many industries in good and bad ways. The airfare for an average passenger will only increase every day. Every 10% that gas prices rise, the cost of operating an airline increases by around 3%. Using gas as aviation fuel also is unhealthy for the Earth. According to the US Environmental protection agency, 27% of emissions are transportation based, of which around 90% is petroleum. A large amount of the economy is reliant on fossil fuels, which isn’t guaranteed to be around in the near future. Other options such as solar, wind, and hydropower are still relatively new. There is a need for a more stable, efficient, and less harmful option that humanity can use while researchers discover more about eco-friendly alternatives.
Problem Solution
With gas prices increasing each year, an environmentally friendly and cheaper option is necessary to continue the commercial airline industry. Kerosene is typically made with oil and a mixture of petroleum, however, scientists are developing a method to create Kerosene through solar power. The composition of Kerosene includes hydrocarbons, which can be made through water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide. The components are compressed from a gas into a liquid, creating liquid hydrocarbons, which can be used to make Kerosene more efficiently. The discovery is recent and the chemical process is complicated, which is why Python is necessary to simulate the scientific process. Our team will simulate the Gillespie Algorithm, a stochastic chemical simulation, which completes a series of stoichiometry processes to accurately assess the chemical composition, and efficiency of a chemical reaction.
Progress To Date
So far we have created a simulation of molecules using Pygame. Each of the molecules has a different color assigned to it depending on what molecule it is. Each molecule starts off in a random position along with a random velocity and reactivity value. The molecules move as a simulation of Earth’s laws of physics and gravity. Our next objective is to simulate these molecular reactions by implementing the Gillespie Algorithm for proper stoichiometric solutions. The algorithm will be supported by python libraries directed for basic chemistry and a more involved library specific to the algorithm.
Anticipated Results
Our goal is to find out how much kerosene can be produced within a given time frame. We want to use this data to determine if kerosene could be a viable replacement for conventional fossil fuels. We will determine how much kerosene can be produced, how much it will cost, and other byproducts that could potentially be made. Based on our research, we do not believe that kerosene could completely replace fossil fuels. We believe that our results will be around 5-7 gallons of syngas produced. The eventual goals of the researchers are to produce around 220 gallons of syngas per hour. We estimate that if they succeed then a large kerosene plant could supply most of the world's demand with only the size of 1/10th of New Mexico. However further improvements can be made to this technology.
Citations
“10.2. Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis.†netl.doe.gov. https://www.netl.doe.gov/research/coal/energy-systems/gasification/gasifipedia/ftsynthesis. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
“Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinksâ€. Epa.gov. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
Sasaki, Karin. “Gillespie-Algorithm-Python/build_your_own_gillespie_solutions.Ipynb at Master · Karinsasaki/Gillespie-Algorithm-Python.†GitHub, https://github.com/karinsasaki/gillespie-algorithm-python/blob/master/build_your_own_gillespie_solutions.ipynb.
Ogasa, Nikk. “How to Make Jet Fuel from Sunlight, Air and Water Vapor.†Science News, 26 July 2022. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/jet-fuel-sunlight-air-water-vapor-solar-kerosene. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
Zoller et al. (2022). "A solar tower fuel plant for the thermochemical production of kerosene from H2O and CO2". Joule 6: 1606–1616. doi:10.1016/j.joule.2022.06.012.
Team Members:
Patrick Blewett
Humdan Qureshi
Sponsoring Teacher: Nicholas Aase