Automation Engineering of Blue Planet’s CO2 Capture and Mineralization Process

Background

Members of the project team would design, write, and test control software for Blue Planet’s (www.blueplanetsystems.com) Carbon Capture and Mineralization process that captures CO2 from an industrial flue gas source and converts the gas into calcium carbonate aggregates for use in the built environment. The process is currently being constructed at San Francisco Bay Aggregates (SFBA, www.sfbayaggregates.com) Blue Planet’s affiliate site in Pittsburg, CA. The project team will be expected to use Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams to understand where controls are being implemented and then write code for a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for the full process which would then be installed at SFBA. 
 

Goals and Objectives 

The project aims to teach students:
•    The chemical and mechanical principles underlying the Blue Planet process for carbon capture and mineralization.
•    The use of a Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) in the design of an industrial process.
•    How instrumentation and control systems are shown on a P&ID.
•    How PLCs are used industrially to control multiple process loops simultaneously within an operating facility.
•    How a Human Machine Interface (HMI) works as an interface with the PLC.
•    Selection of a PLC/HMI hardware and software.
•    How PLCs can be used to implement safe and environmentally benign operations.
•    The use of cascade control loops.
•    Use of PLCs for start-up and shutdown procedures.

Team Contact:

Chris Collins | cjcollin@uci.edu

Parveen Virdi | pvirdi@uci.edu

Caden Ziegler | cdziegle@uci.edu

Freddy Von Oepen | mvonoepe@uci.edu

Sponsor Contact: 

Pablo Guerrero | pablo@sfbayaggregates.com

Advisor Contact: 

David Copp | dcopp@uci.edu