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Direct Carbon Fuel Cell
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Dr Estee Yong Senior Lecturer PhD , CEng , MIChemE
Research expertise : Direct carbon fuel cell , Catalysis , Hollow fiber
E : estee . yong @ monash . edu T : + 603 5514 6241
Malaysia is the world ' s second largest palm oil producer . With approximately 18 million tonnes of palm oil being produced , more than 80 million tonnes of palm wastes were generated in 2013 . The current practice of crude palm oil refineries is direct combustion of palm waste in a burner which subsequently generates superheated steam in a boiler system , delivering the maximum overall system efficiency of only 40 %. Our research team focuses on an efficient waste management approach for transforming palm shell waste into electricity .
This invention utilizes an emerging technology - Direct Carbon Fuel Cell . Electrochemical reaction occurs between carbonaceous fuel and air or oxygen , producing electrons and CO2 . This technology can deliver up to 60-70 % of overall system efficiency and is a simple system which does not require any moving parts . Our projects are funded by FRGS ( MOHE ) and Science Fund ( MOSTI ). A patent ( MY-178411-A ) titled “ A Method and A Fuel Cell for Management of Biomass ” was granted by MyIPO .
Multiphase Flow in Porous Media Pertaining to Chemical Extraction Systems
Dr Saman Ilankoon Senior Lecturer BSc-Eng ( Hons ), PhD , DIC , ProfGradIMM ( IOM3 , London )
Research expertise : Fluid flow in porous media , Packed bed hydrodynamics , Metal extraction from low-grade resources , Non-invasive fluid flow visualisation ( PET , PEPT , ECT , UV fluorescence )
E : saman . ilankoon @ monash . edu T : + 603 5514 9640
The behaviour of unsaturated gravity-driven flow of liquid through packed beds of particles is important to a number of different processes ranging from trickle bed reactors to heap leaching in minerals processing . It is a major driver in mass transport of reagents to the particle surface as well as for the transport of the dissolved species out of the system . This flow is complex as it is unsaturated and occurs through a network of channels between small-sized particles . These flows exhibit channelling / preferential flow brought about by a combination of inhomogeneity in the particle beds and gravity fingering , which reduce recovery efficiencies . My research currently focuses on understanding of channelling flow features in particle bed systems .
Novel methods are employed to minimise these adverse flow features . The particles are porous and hold liquid within channels and fractures with dimensions much smaller than those of the liquid within the inter-particle spaces . Inter-particle flow features need to be separated from intraparticle flow , which are addressed by performing experimental and simulation studies .
Schematic diagram of Direct Carbon Fuel Cell System
Integrated Direct Carbon Fuel Cell Facility
UV fluorescence based inter-particle flow visualisation in gravity dominated packed bed systems
Micro-level flow features between the particles and modelling of those pertaining to packed bed hydrodynamics
R E S E A R C H E R P R O F I L E 2022 / 2023