Title: Systematic design of a seawater sampling system utilising renewable energy sources - industrial petrochemical application

Authors: Sandra R. Ponce; Logan K. Kreutziger; Sean T. Peed; Jeremy Blake Price; Arturo Eduardo Navarro; Milan A. Thomas; Hadear Ibrahim Hassan

Addresses: Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA ' Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA ' Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA ' Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA ' Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA ' Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA ' Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA

Abstract: This manuscript represents the design efforts for a senior design project in a mechanical engineering program sponsored by a major corporation in the engineering, procurement, and construction industry. The students were tasked with designing a petrochemical plant on the west coast of Oregon that utilises seawater to cool down equipment inside the plant. After the seawater is used, it is discharged back into the ocean. They were limited by government regulations that require sampling of the seawater to check for contaminants. The developed seawater sampling system must transfer seawater half a mile from the culverts to the analyser building at a specified temperature and pressure. Additionally, the system must be powered entirely by renewable energy. The designed system consists of six diaphragm pumps and one centrifugal pump to pressure the seawater. An electric immersion heater and parabolic solar troughs are utilised to heat the sample. The entire process is powered by six hydropower turbines and 1,000 solar panels, which provide 1.3 MW of energy.

Keywords: renewable energy; seawater sampling; project-based learning; solar panels; computer simulation; carbon neutral.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPR.2023.134221

International Journal of Student Project Reporting, 2023 Vol.1 No.4, pp.369 - 391

Received: 29 Jun 2022
Accepted: 02 Nov 2022
Published online: 13 Oct 2023 *

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