Sac State Gasifier

Sac State Gasifier

Apr 28, 2020

CleanWith the push for cleaner fuels, one promising technology has been biomass gasification. Biomass is a renewable energy resource that comprises carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, traces of nitrogen and some minerals. Biomass utilization has an advantage because of its slow dependence on site and climate, as diverse biomasses can grow in varied conditions. Local companies are adapting to this technology and Sacramento State students have ongoing research on Biomass.

The college of engineering and computer science at Sac State has a sustainable technologies optimization research center (STORC) to create a hub for suitability related research across the university. A group of students are trying to solve issues relating to biomass gasification using a downdraft gasifier located at the STORC. Sac State has a biomass gasifier system, which uses wood chips as fuel to produce electricity,

Lasam Baldomero carried out some experiments during his masters thesis to study the effect of walnut chips and wood chips on the performance of the biomass engine. He also analyzed the amount of emission produced from the gasifier.

An P Nguyen and a group of seniors team designed a biomass preparation system to reduce the size of the incoming biomass from the campus facility and dry it before feeding it to the unit. The system is capable of chipping, separating, screening, and drying the biomass material.

Eric Baldauf is currently conducting experiments on the gasifier with redwood to study the effect of the reduction temperature on the efficiency and producer gas.

All these projects have been under the supervision of professor Farshid Zabihian. It is the goal of the department to create a research facility that simulates a zero-carbon-footprint power generation system where biomass feedstock from green campus is converted to electricity which is then fed to a micro-smart-grid. The combined biomass energy project will benefit society because it will help conduct research and collect data to create a cleaner future for the power production industry.

Check out the highlights from CleanStart’s Executive Director, Thomas Hall’s conversation with Baldomero and Balduf below.  Also, Register for the GreenTech Meetup on April 30th.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Osato Evbuomwan is a CSU Sacramento Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student who is the newest associate at CleanStart. Growing up in Nigeria with smog from backup diesel/ gasoline generators inspired Osato to work towards building a sustainable future for the world. 

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Weintraub | Tobin, EY, Stoel Rives, Revrnt, Hacker Lab

BlueTech Valley, Buchalter, Moss Adams, PowerSoft.biz

College of Engineering & Computer Science at Sacramento State

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Happy 50th Earth Day!

Happy 50th Earth Day!

Apr 21, 2020

This week on April 22 is the 50th anniversary of that first Earth Day in 1970.  One of my first blogs here described how that day had a profound effect on my career, changing from medicine to environmental science.  It is also how I ended up at UC Davis. It was one of two schools that actually offered a graduate degree in the area.  The other was Cornell. I was accepted at both. It was an easy choice. UC Davis had a scholarship fund sponsored by the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation and that provided a full ride plus a research assistantship.  Cornell did not. My wife and I packed our bags at Indiana University and started the drive west to go to a school and a town I had never set foot in before. It was a leap of faith.

I remember we arrived in Davis and fell in love with it.  We both had the same reaction, “We’re never leaving this place.”  From that day, I have never been without a home in Davis. I have rented it out several times while working in Texas, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, but always came back.  Here I am still.

It was at Davis that I had another epiphany.  I came there to work on the ecology of lakes and streams.  My undergraduate degree was in microbiology so it seemed a logical extension.  Part of that time as an undergraduate was spent doing research in Yellowstone Park.  My IU professor Tom Brock and one of his graduate students had discovered a strange bacterium called Thermus Aquaticus that grew in boiling water there.  That led to a revolution in DNA analysis, but that’s another story.  If you are curious, read this.

However, in my first year at UC Davis, I took a class from Prof. Ken Watt on emerging environmental issues.  We had to do a term paper. Scientific American had just run an issue focusing on energy as one of the biggest of those issues, so I chose that topic.  Prof. Watt told me if I wanted to focus on energy, I should read an important scientific paper by a chemist working for Royal Dutch Shell by the name of John M. O’Bockris.  It was on the importance of a hydrogen economy and how that might work. But Watt pointed me to one paragraph where O’Bockris wrote that continued burning of fossil fuels was going to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Because of its greenhouse effect that extra carbon dioxide would raise the average global temperature. Watt simply said, “I think that has tremendous implications and you should think out where that would lead.” Actually, since that day I have never stopped thinking about it.  It hit me like a pie in the face. How soon would it happen? How could you figure that out? What could you do about It? What would it take?

Prof. Watt was in the process of writing a book he titled The Titanic Effect.  Its theme was that there were a number of huge environmental challenges ahead of the world like icebergs in the North Atlantic, but that the first reaction would be denial…until you hit one of them.  After the shock of the surprise, the first response would be to rely on technology to solve the problem and avoid any economic consequences. The next step was overconfidence in that solution until attention waned and the next collision would be a whopper with huge economic impacts.  Prophetic book. Most thought it was too radical. It’s out of print. But I got to help on the chapter on energy and earned a small acknowledgment.  

I can’t say my career has been a straight line from then to now.  It’s actually been a lot more random. But that early warning about global climate change is always something I remember.

How different things are 50 years later, but how predictable.  O’Bockris gave the world the gift of a huge heads-up with enough time to do something about it.  Of course, the reaction to that 1962 article was denial and of course that just made things worse.  Prof. Watt was not so radical after all, just ahead of his time. And now we are in the midst of another “unexpected” collision with an iceberg called COVID-19.  It’s a classic pattern. And now I’m thinking about those classes in virology and epidemiology I took at IU. Full circle.  

I am grateful for all the places fate has taken me, but looking back I am particularly grateful for having grown up in a time when science and education were regarded as important.  Turns out, they were.

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Simon is the Chair of CleanStarts Board. A seasoned energy executive and entrepreneur with 45 years of experience in business, government, and non-profits.

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College of Engineering & Computer Science at Sacramento State

Mark Humbert – Todos

Mark Humbert – Todos

Apr 13, 2020

CleanStart To Do’s are a twice-weekly online conversations about what you can add to your To Do list while observing the COVID-19 orders to self-isolate. Join us on Tuesday mornings from 9:00-9:30 a.m. or Thursday afternoons from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. when we interview our featured guests and ask them for their recommendations on how entrepreneurs and innovators can not only cope, but thrive, during this unprecedented time.

Mark Humbert, Assurance and Audit Senior Manager at Moss Adams LLP, shares tools for financial survival during Thursday’s CleanStart To Dos.

Register and we’ll send you the Zoom login information prior to the meeting time.

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College of Engineering & Computer Science

at Sacramento State

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Our New Associate share’s how Sac State Students are Connecting

Our New Associate share’s how Sac State Students are Connecting

Apr 9, 2020

It’s a crazy time right now! The entire world has been turned upside down! Millions of Americans all over have transitioned to an online format for almost every task in their daily life. In fact, millions of students across the United States have moved completely online for all things learning. I am one of those students.

Hi, my name is Srinjay Verma, I am a Computer Engineering student at Sacramento State University and CleanStarts new associate. I love technology and have a strong passion for learning new things. Some of my interests include programming, online media growth, and dancing. I am excited to be working at CleanStart and can’t wait to be sharing more of the best content with all of you. 

Many of my classes were immediately suspended following this outbreak and this was not unlike millions of other students. Educators from elementary to College level had to reevaluate and transform their coursework to an online format. This change was not smooth for both students and educators alike, as I experienced first hand. However, it was made easier by new online tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and the Google Drive Suite. Even though many of these online tools seemed foregn at first, the global pandemic has required every aspect of society to adapt. In fact, for online testing, a new tool called ProctorU provides teachers with a way to prevent students from cheating. The service gives each student a human proctor and requires the student to allow the proctor access to their computer via remote control to prevent any unauthorized access to websites. It also uses the webcam to make sure the room where the student is taking the exam is secure. Tools such as this were scarcely used prior to this outbreak, however now are essential to online learning. In addition, I have had professors of mine have students use project management tools such as Monday.com to keep them organized and on track with their assignments. 

Not only have students had to adapt on the schoolwork front, but we have also had to change the way we interact and meet one another. Yes, the majority of it is through video conferencing tools such as FaceTime, Zoom, Google Duo, and WhatsApp. Although many students have been spending time on staple social media apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, while other students have been gravitating to newer social media apps such as Tik Tok, Byte, Google Shorts, and Caffeine. Tik Tok, Byte and Google Shorts allow users to share short little clips of video with specific sounds attached. Many students have moved over to these platforms as it allows them to share information in a new way that connects them with others of similar interests. Caffeine is especially interesting as it is a live streaming service that allows users to share TV and multiple users at the same time. Users watching can also react with different “reactions”. This has allowed students to present live to the class with immediate feedback and engagement from the class. Thus mimicking a real live environment.

These new technology tools such as these have helped ease the transition to a fully online world. In fact, many of these tools can and have been used by various companies to help bolster productivity in the workplace. Hopefully I shared a new tool that you can benefit from in these weird times!

Glad I got to share this update with all of you! Look forward to sharing more soon!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Srinjay Verma is a Computer Engineering student at Sacramento State University. Who loves technology and has a strong passion for learning new things. He is excited to be working at CleanStart and making a difference in the technology field.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub | Tobin, EY, Stoel Rives, 

BlueTech Valley,  Moss Adams, PowerSoft.biz

College of Engineering & Computer Science at Sacramento State