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APSC 262 : technology and society II : project final report

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

Any chemical process, including that of UBC’s Microbrewery, will inevitably release, along with its desired products, unused heat energy that is dissipated into the surrounding environment “waste heat.” This report investigates two powerful strategies, namely that of Heat Integration and Flue Gas Recovery and Separation. These strategies will achieve a three-fold purpose: to recover as much waste heat as possible, hence drastically reducing the economic costs of the brewery, to further minimize the environmental footprint of the brewery, and to show that this practice of sustainability can be extended to other buildings on the UBC campus. Due to the lack of information available about the UBC Microbrewery, results have been analyzed and presented on a per m³ beer produced basis. According to literature findings, 1.09 GJ of energy and $10.15 CAD are required to produce every m³ of beer. Heat integration can recover 25% of this energy, reduce the cost of beer production by $3.31/m³, and remove approximately 25% of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and particulate emissions of the original brewery. Flue gas recovery and separation can recover 26% of the total heat energy, and can reduce the GHG and particulate emissions by another 64%, but will increase the cost of beer slightly by $0.37/m³. The social benefits of the project include the creation of job opportunities for lower-skilled operators and maintenance crews, the relative ease in making the Brewery a showcase for sustainability (due to the Brewery already being a popular place for social activities), and the promotion of similar waste heat recovery concepts in other UBC buildings. In summary, the two strategies presented in this report (Heat Integration and Flue Gas Recovery) will result in substantial energy recoveries as well as dramatic reductions in environmental footprints and economic costs. The implementation of these strategies also shows a large potential in general social awareness of sustainability, due to the innate social nature of the Brewery itself. Although the Brewery itself and the design concepts outlined in this report are in rudimentary stages, it is highly recommended that UBC continue these efforts in order so that the Brewery, once built, will truly be a place for future students to learn and discuss sustainability. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. APSC 262; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108505

Applied Science, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/