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Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in Industry
Drying (e.g. Pasta drying) is the most energy intensive process step, sometimes taking up more than 50% of the total energy consumption of a plant. Superheated steam drying could present an energy efficient alternative to classical hot-air drying systems used today. This new technology could have a massive impact on the carbon-footprint and sustainability of food-drying; making it a highly future-oriented and potentially impactful innovation.
Keywords: food processing, rapid prototyping, sustainability, energy efficiency, drying technology, thermodynamics, industrial automation, CFD, mechanical design, mechanical engineering, automation, energy flow, process design
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Drying (e.g. Pasta drying) is the most energy intensive process step, sometimes taking up more than 50% of the total energy consumption of a plant. Superheated steam drying could present an energy efficient alternative to classical hot-air drying systems used today. This new technology could have a massive impact on the carbon-footprint and sustainability of food-drying; making it a highly future-oriented and potentially impactful innovation.
In collaboration with an industry partner, we are developing a prototype system to validate the feasibility of superheated steam drying. This presents various challenges:
- Superheated steam is difficult to work with (**hot!**) β Alternative testing substitutes
- Steam-loss and air introduction reduce the energy-efficiency β Sealing mechanisms
- Different approaches to product-feeding β Top-Feeding, Bottom-Feeding
π Drying (e.g. Pasta drying) is the most energy intensive process step, sometimes taking up more than 50% of the total energy consumption of a plant. Superheated steam drying could present an energy efficient alternative to classical hot-air drying systems used today. This new technology could have a massive impact on the carbon-footprint and sustainability of food-drying; making it a highly future-oriented and potentially impactful innovation.
In collaboration with an industry partner, we are developing a prototype system to validate the feasibility of superheated steam drying. This presents various challenges:
- Superheated steam is difficult to work with (**hot!**) β Alternative testing substitutes - Steam-loss and air introduction reduce the energy-efficiency β Sealing mechanisms - Different approaches to product-feeding β Top-Feeding, Bottom-Feeding
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- Familiarize yourself with current standards of Food Drying technology and the previous works.
- Understand the existing prototype and develop the next iteration of a superheated-steam sealing mechanism
- Validate your prototype in a real experiment and/or analytically (CFD)
- Structure your findings in a recommendation for further development
π§
- Familiarize yourself with current standards of Food Drying technology and the previous works.
- Understand the existing prototype and develop the next iteration of a superheated-steam sealing mechanism
- Validate your prototype in a real experiment and/or analytically (CFD)
- Structure your findings in a recommendation for further development
β Experience with Rapid Prototyping, Hands-On Mentality
β Passionate and Driven: Show enthusiasm for pushing boundaries and creating impact through engineering.
β Resourceful Problem Solvers: Demonstrate proactive thinking and innovative problem-solving skills
β Curiosity and Adaptability: Embrace learning opportunities and thrive in dynamic environments.
The experienced product development engineers at the ETH Feasibility Lab (Part of the Pd|Z) supported by ETH engineering students help organisations tackle innovative topics that are too uncertain for large scale projects, by reducing the initial uncertainty through testing of minimal viable prototypes.
The experienced product development engineers at the ETH Feasibility Lab (Part of the Pd|Z) supported by ETH engineering students help organisations tackle innovative topics that are too uncertain for large scale projects, by reducing the initial uncertainty through testing of minimal viable prototypes.
βοΈ - Master Thesis, Semester Thesis (MAVT, RSC, ITET, etc.) - Starting earliest from April 2024 - Option to use facilities at BΓΌhler in Uzwil, SG - Access to prototyping equipment, workshops at ETH - Apply now and include - CV - Grading Sheet from mystudies - Beneficial: Cover Letter (Example: your super-powers, your passion topics, etc.) - Beneficial: Pictures of your former projects
Application Until 30.04.2024
Daniel Gisler (gislerda@ethz.ch) and Dr. Stephan Fox (sfox@ethz.ch)
Daniel Gisler (gislerda@ethz.ch) and Dr. Stephan Fox (sfox@ethz.ch)