Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Manufacturing Engineering

Clean Energy Conversion and Processing
Srikanth Gopalan, Assistant Professor
http://www.bu.edu/mfg/research/researchlabs/green.shtml
sgopalan@bu.edu
Uday B. Pal, Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Manufacturing Engineering
http://people.bu.edu/upal/lab.html
upal@bu.edu

Goals
Achieve sustainable economic growth
Promote ecological and environmental sustainability
Train future leaders with shared vision and values

Projects
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Materials and Manufacturing
The goal is to lower the manufacturing cost of high-performance SOFCs used for the generation of clean electrical energy. The process investigated consists of co-sintering the multi-layer SOFC structure fabricated by employing automated tape-casting and screen printing techniques. New novel electrolyte and electrode materials are also being investigated to improve the performance of the SOFC.

Green Processing of Materials
The research work demonstrates the viability of employing zirconia-based inert anodes for environmentally sound and cost-effective production of energy-intensive metals such as magnesium, tantalum, titanium, and calcium. The process produces metals from oxides with water or oxygen as by-product.

Novel Hydrogen Storage Materials
This work will demonstrate that pumpable magnesium hydride slurry can meet the cost, safety, and energy density targets (4.8 kWh/L and 2 kWh/kg) for on-board hydrogen storage of hydrogen fueled fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen Generation and Separation
We are developing a novel approach to separate and upgrade hydrogen from a mixture of gases containing hydrocarbons using novel mixed-ionic-electronic-composite membranes. This process has tremendous economic and environmental advantages and if successful it will help in enabling the hydrogen economy.

Renewable Energy Conversion
We are working on a novel process that produces hydrogen from waste. The system can be fed with any hydro-carbon wastes, such as saw dust, cornstalks, plastics, and effluent gas. The purity of the hydrogen produced will be suitable for use in all types of fuel cells that generate electricity in an environmentally sound manner.