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Magnetic resonance thermometry for efficient CO2 capture reactors
Carbon capture and storage is anticipated to play a vital role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. In this Master's project you will design a temperature-controlled model reactor that you will then image using a full-body human magnetic resonance imaging scanner.
Keywords: Sustainability, carbon capture, Magnetic resonance imaging, Construction, Design
The capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CCS) from industrial exhaust gases and its storage in safe deposits underground is anticipated to play a vital role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere and thus in reaching the goals agreed on at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Capturing CO2 from exhaust gas streams is a challenging task that involves different scientific disciplines such as Material Science, Mechanical, Chemical and Process Engineering. Local accumulations of heat in the frequently applied fluidized beds reactors can drastically decrease the efficiency and reliability of the CO2 capture process. Hence, it would be of immense value having an experimental tool at hand that can measure the temperature distribution inside fluidized bed reactors.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a tomographic technique mostly applied in clinical applications, can sense subtle temperature differences within the human body [1]. The temperature differences happening in reactors exceed those in humans by orders of magnitude and thus the expected signal to noise ratio is anticipated to be significantly increased compared to clinical applications. Moreover, the addition of small amounts of MR dopants has shown to further amplify the temperature dependence of the MR signal [2].
The goal of this project is to design an MRI compatible model reactor whose temperature can be controlled. In a second step, you will screen different NMR dopands and quantify their temperature sensitivity using your model reactor on a full-body human MRI scanner. We envisage that this work will contribute significantly to an improved understanding and control of CO2 capture reactors.
You will be supervised by an experienced postdoctoral research fellow and embedded into a lively and collaborative group of other Bachelor and Master students and PhD students at both the Laboratory of Energy Science and Engineering (MAVT) and the Institute for Biomedical Engineering (ITET).
References: [1] V. Rieke and K. B. Pauly, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 27, 376 (2008). [2] C. S. Zuo, A. Mahmood, and A. D. Sherry, Journal of Magnetic Resonance 151, 101 (2001).
The capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CCS) from industrial exhaust gases and its storage in safe deposits underground is anticipated to play a vital role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere and thus in reaching the goals agreed on at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Capturing CO2 from exhaust gas streams is a challenging task that involves different scientific disciplines such as Material Science, Mechanical, Chemical and Process Engineering. Local accumulations of heat in the frequently applied fluidized beds reactors can drastically decrease the efficiency and reliability of the CO2 capture process. Hence, it would be of immense value having an experimental tool at hand that can measure the temperature distribution inside fluidized bed reactors.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a tomographic technique mostly applied in clinical applications, can sense subtle temperature differences within the human body [1]. The temperature differences happening in reactors exceed those in humans by orders of magnitude and thus the expected signal to noise ratio is anticipated to be significantly increased compared to clinical applications. Moreover, the addition of small amounts of MR dopants has shown to further amplify the temperature dependence of the MR signal [2].
The goal of this project is to design an MRI compatible model reactor whose temperature can be controlled. In a second step, you will screen different NMR dopands and quantify their temperature sensitivity using your model reactor on a full-body human MRI scanner. We envisage that this work will contribute significantly to an improved understanding and control of CO2 capture reactors.
You will be supervised by an experienced postdoctoral research fellow and embedded into a lively and collaborative group of other Bachelor and Master students and PhD students at both the Laboratory of Energy Science and Engineering (MAVT) and the Institute for Biomedical Engineering (ITET).
References: [1] V. Rieke and K. B. Pauly, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 27, 376 (2008). [2] C. S. Zuo, A. Mahmood, and A. D. Sherry, Journal of Magnetic Resonance 151, 101 (2001).
• Familiarization with fluidized bed reactors, fundamental principles of MRI and MR thermometry
• Design and fabrication of a temperature controlled model reactor
• Characterization of the temperature sensitivity of various NMR dopants using the built reactor model on a full-body human MRI scanner.
• Analysis and interpretation of data and writing a project report.
• Familiarization with fluidized bed reactors, fundamental principles of MRI and MR thermometry • Design and fabrication of a temperature controlled model reactor • Characterization of the temperature sensitivity of various NMR dopants using the built reactor model on a full-body human MRI scanner. • Analysis and interpretation of data and writing a project report.
Supervisor: Alexander Penn, apenn [at] ethz.ch, ETZ F97, Tel. +41 44 632 7443 (please send an email for further details and application). See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSsZjMQISI for a short general introduction to magnetic resonance imaging of fluidized bed reactors at our labs.
Professor: Christoph R. Müller, D-MAVT or Klaas P. Pruessmann, D-ITET
Supervisor: Alexander Penn, apenn [at] ethz.ch, ETZ F97, Tel. +41 44 632 7443 (please send an email for further details and application). See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSsZjMQISI for a short general introduction to magnetic resonance imaging of fluidized bed reactors at our labs. Professor: Christoph R. Müller, D-MAVT or Klaas P. Pruessmann, D-ITET