Center for Environmental Research & Technology

 

Global Climate Change and Energy Systems Workshops for the Riverside Unified School District

A group of lucky high school students of the Riverside Unified School District will get a boost in their science fair projects this year by working with research scientists and engineers at the College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT).

For three consecutive Thursdays in October, students will visited CE-CERT for scientific sessions intended to stimulate the study of Global Climate Change and other key environmental issues. The idea behind the workshop is to create a greater understanding of issues related to Global climate change among Riverside-area high school science teachers, students, and their parents, according to Matthew Barth, CE-CERT Director.

This outreach effort is funded by the Bank of America which also provided funding for science fair equipment, supplies and materials. The results will be part of the Riverside Unified School District Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held on Feb. 16-18, 2010.

Listed first below are presentations by CE-CERT faculty and researchers. After that are science projects proposed by the presenters. RUSD students who find a project of interest should have their teachers contact Kawai Tam at ktam@engr.ucr.edu.

Thursday, October 15

6:00 pm Matthew Barth, Director of CE-CERT "Welcome and Introduction to CE-CERT"

6:15 pm Kawai Tam, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering "Sustainability – An Overview"

• Are we living in a sustainable society?
• What are the effects on global climate change?
• Review of sustainable energy options

6:45 pm Mirvat Ebrik, Sustainable Energy Systems Group at CE-CERT "Biological Conversion of Cellulosic Biomass to Ethanol"

• How transportation totally depends on petroleum.
• What are the options (alternatives) to petroleum?
• How to make cellulosic Ethanol

7:15 pm Matthew Barth, Department of Electrical Engineering "Solar Energy Systems"

• Why do we want to consider solar energy?
• What are the different types of solar energy systems?

7:45 pm Tour of Labs

Thursday, October 22

6:00 pm Matthew Barth, Director of CE-CERT "Welcome and Introduction to CE-CERT"

6:15 pm Matthew Barth, Transportation Systems Research Group at CE-CERT "Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions"

• What is the impact of transportation on greenhouse gas emissions?
• How can we change our transportation systems to have less impact on the environment?

6:45 pm David Cocker, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering "Aerosol Formation in the Atmosphere"

• What are the predominant physical and chemical reactions leading to aerosol formation?
• How does this affect climate change?

7:15 pm Akua Asa-Awuku, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering "Why is it Difficult to Predict Climate?"

"Understanding current scientific challenges"

• • Effects of the hydrological cycle
• • Aerosol-cloud interactions

7:45 pm Tour of Labs

Science Fair Projects for the Riverside Unified School District

Thursday October 29

ALTERNATIVE FUELS/ENERGY

Charlie Wyman / Jian Shi / Mirvat Ebrik (3 projects):

1. Supplementing of various inexpensive protein sources to reduce enzyme cost during biofuel production (this one will need some lab work as well as literature search).
2. Use of ultrasound to improve sugar yield from enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. This will basically test if more sugar can be released by ultrasound (will need lab work).
3. A survey on the potential customers of bioethanol vs. biodiesel or solar/wind energy in California. This survey project will compare and predict future markets of renewable energy in CA.

Yushan Yan / Kurt Jensen (1 project):

            Feasibility of HEM Fuel Cells Today and Tomorrow

           Students will take part in the following tasks:

• Test HEM catalyst using RDE or RRDE.
• See the process for making the polymer.
• Take part in spraying an electrode.
• Make a HEMFC.
• Evaluate its performance.
• Evaluate its economics.

Joe Norbeck / Chan Seung Park (3 projects):

1. Can a small community such as a cruise liner or naval aircraft carrier take all of the multiple waste streams and convert them to transport fuel and electricity? Study would include how much and the types of waste available. Students will perform an analytical study.
2. The hydrogasification process can make diesel fuel. Can one make jet fuel? What is the process to get jet fuel? What is the effect of the syngas on jet fuel quality?
3. Determine the conditions to optimize the generation of product gas from hydrogasification of food waste.

ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

Akua Asa-Awuku (4 projects):

1, Simulate atmospheric conditions on another planet in a small reaction chamber.

• Student will select a planet and research known conditions.
• Student would design biosphere/reaction chamber to mimic these conditions.
• Test the ability of particulates to form under these conditions.
• Derive conclusions and implications.

       2.  The composition of household particles

• Students will make makeshift filter samplers by attaching filters to the hose of a vacuum.
• Students will test their sampling design in a zero-particle air facility (CE-CERT).
• Students will collect particles from different rooms in their house (laundry room, TV room, bedroom, bathroom, garage, kitchen) or in a surrounding area (ambient)
• Send filters for chemical and physical analysis.
• This project may be split into several ideas that pertain to just one room (e.g., what is the air like in your backyard? what type of particles are you exposed to from cooking?).

       3. The absorbance of particles on clothes

• Students will design an experiment to test the affinity of different materials (wool, corduroy, cotton, and fleece) to retain particles.
• Once materials have been exposed to particles (different types, sulfates, dust, BBQ smoke, wood smoke, etc.) students will record how the concentrations very by distance and time from the material.
• Implications for the types of clothes you choose to wear in “smoky” locations and how they may affect your health once you leave.
• Modeling the diffusion of particles may also be an option for advanced candidates

        4. Particles from candles

• When candles burn they emit gasses. These gases may react with oxidants in the air to form particles.
• Students will select outdoor and indoor candles and expose them to common outdoor (O3 and NOx) and indoor (NH3,Cl) oxidants.
• Particle number will be measured.

David Cocker (5 projects):

1. Estimate the (g/mile)/ton of emissions from various modes of transport using the federal transportation database and combining with our emission estimates.
2. Improve the emission estimates of any source (jet, ship, truck, etc.) or collection of them by surveying literature and then estimating the impact in Riverside.
3. Use advanced chamber instrumentation to: Evaluate physical characteristics of wood smoke or diesel exhaust (conventional or biodiesel). This could include particle density and/or morphology (shape).
4.  Use advanced chamber instrumentation to: Evaluate chemical characteristics of wood smoke or diesel exhaust (or any other source).  (These last two projects would involve putting emissions into small chamber and analyzing.)
5. Use advanced chamber instrumentation to evaluate fine particle formation.

• Evaluate particle aging by investigating changing volatility (v-TDMA).
• Evaluate particle aging by investigating changing hygroscopicity (water uptake, h-TDMA).
• Evaluate particle aging by investigating changing particle density (APM-SMPS).
• Evaluate particle aging by changing chemical composition (HR-ToF-AMS).
• Evaluate particle growth using scanning mobility particle sizer.
• Evaluate changing cloud condensation nuclei activity (CCNC).
• Evaluate chemical composition using PILS-TOFMS, looking for oligomer formation.

        And many other perturbations of above. These chamber projects would include starting compounds from either agricultural precursors (amines) aromatic precursors (m-xylene, trimethylbenze, ethylbenzene) biogenic (a-pinene, isoprene). Also, measure/report for/on agricultural compounds present in the atmosphere using high resolution mass spectrometry.

SOLAR ENERGY

Matt Barth (6 projects):

1. Using crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) and/or amorphous thin film PV panels, determine the effect of dust or dirt on the efficiency of these PV panels.
2. Using crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) and/or amorphous thin film PV panels, determine the effect of temperature or water cooling systems on the efficiency of these PV panels.
3. Using crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) and amorphous thin film PV panels, determine the effect of the angle of the sun on the efficiency of these PV panels.
4. Theoretically design a PV design for your home. Do a study of the energy needs of your home and determine the area requirements to install a PV system. Based on current efficiencies of PV panels, the location of your home, what energy savings could be achieved?
5. A public domain energy use model called S.A.M. is available at the website https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam. Use this model to determine designs to optimize or reduce the energy use of a house.
6. Using concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems such as Fresnel reflectors and/or Fresnel lens, determine the effect of dust on the efficiency of these CPV systems.

TRANSPORTATION

Kanok Boriboonsomsin / Matt Barth (5 projects):

1. EcoDriving tips are provided at the website for EcoDriving USA. Using data loggers and fuel meters, determine the impact of these tips on the fuel use and fuel efficiency of a family car.
2. EcoDriving tips are provided at the website for EcoDriving USA. Using data loggers and fuel meters, determine the impact of these tips on the fuel use and fuel efficiency of a school bus.
3. EcoDriving tips are provided at the website for EcoDriving USA. Using data loggers and fuel meters, determine the impact of these tips on fuel use and fuel efficiency on a truck or courier vehicle.
4. EcoRouting is the concept of selecting the most fuel-efficient route to help reduce impact on the environment. Using data loggers and fuel meters, determine the fuel use and fuel efficiency on a vehicle based on different routes traversed to the same destination.
5. What is the impact on emissions inventory if a conversion of fleet vehicles to light duty diesel is done? Current vehicles are mostly gasoline spark-ignited powered vehicles.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Richard Arnott (4 projects):

1. Economists have argued that the United States will have little difficulty adjusting to global climate change because the economy is based on markets, whose prices gives agents the appropriate incentives to adapt. They also argue that the costs will be considerably higher in less developed countries because markets there do not function well. Investigate the latter claim with respect to a specific developing country.
2. Atoll (rather than volcanic) islands in the South Pacific are likely to be particularly hard hit by global climate change become they are low lying. Identify a particular atoll island. What will be the effects of global climate change on the island? If you were the island's economic manager, what would you do?
3. Bangladesh is likely to be particularly hard hit by global climate change because a large proportion of the population lives in low-lying areas. If you were the country's economic manager, what would you do?
4. Contrast the views of Lord Nicholas Stern and William Nordhaus, the two best recognized economic experts on global climate change. They have a difference of opinion which stems primarily from disagreement over the social rate of discount. How is the social rate of discount defined? Why is it critical in the debate? What do you think is the appropriate social rate of discount, and why?

John Pisano (1 project):

A good project would be looking at the reduction in CO2 emissions, within the continental USA, by coal-fired power plants, if the coal-fired power plants start using biomass (particularly wood chips which are considered carbon neutral). Comparisons would be needed to look at reduction in boiler efficiency and net megawatt production as compared to reduction in the CO2 emissions; most importantly the use of biomass would offset expensive CO2 reduction technology available. A cost analysis and model would also be part of the project, currently there is a large impetus in the coal-fired power industry to consider using biomass as an alternative to installing CO2 reduction technologies (scrubbers etc). A look at this for the whole industry with a database consisting of different types of boilers, their respective emissions, and how they perform with biomass etc would be a really interesting project.