Projects



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Project Name: CHEMCAR

Author Name and Contact: Sean Burgess seanburgess247@gmail.com

ABSTARCT: Project Background • Annual American Institute of Chemical Engineers CheME car competition • Unknown distance, between 50-100 ft • Unknown volume of water, between 0-500 mL • Both announced an hour before competition start • Closest to the finish line (over or under) wins

Car Background • Hydrogen generation from aqueous sodium hydroxide and aluminum • Powers a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell • Pressure regulated to fuel cell through pressure regulator • Iodine Clock Reaction (ICR) used as stopping mechanism • Power from fuel cell passed through a circuit • Regulates voltage to the motor • Integrates the ICR stopping mechanism

Project Text, Pictures and Links:

Chemical and Molecular Engineering Car

Circuit

Hydrogen Generation • Reaction vessel is a 1- 1/4" stainless steel pipe • 6.2" high (15.8 cm) • Welded at top and bottom • Rated to 230 PSIG • Powdered aluminum (300 mesh 99.9% )

Hydrogen Generation Results • Overall Reaction: 2Al + 3H2O → Al2O3 + 3H2 • Molecular weight of aluminum: 26.98 g/mol • 0.77g Aluminum (maximum amount of the limiting reagent) = 0.0283 mol of Al • Maximum operating pressure calulation • 40 mL of 1M NaOH is added to 1.2 g Al • To reach completion reaction takes about 20 minutes • 1.2 g Al allows the max pressure to be reached in about 5 minutes • Volume of the system is 0.165 L • Max temperature reached is 373 K • Generation rate of 25 PSI/min

Stopping Mechanism (ICR) The reactions: • Step 1: (Slow) S2O82- + 2I- I2 + 2SO42- • Step 2: (Fast) 2S2O32- + I2 2I- + S4O62- Cyclic reaction continues until all thiosulfate (S2O32-) has been consumed • Iodine remains in the solution • Starch indicator gives solution dark blue color Light passes through clear solution to a photodiode and current passes through the circuit • Solution turns dark, light can no longer pass

Iodine Clock Reaction

Stopping Mechanism Rate Law contd. Rate determined below • [S2O32-] kept constant • Found from literature1 Value for m (slope of Graph A)is 1.5 Value for n (slope of Graph B) is 2.0 [1]. King, Cecil V., and Otto F. Steinbach. "KINETICS OF THE REACTION BETWEEN PERSULFATE AND THIOSULFATE IONS IN DILUTE AQUEOUS SOLUTION." J. Am. Chem. 12th ser. 1930.52 (2002): 4779-795. JSTOR. Web. 9 Apr. 2009. Values m and n extracted from graph • K found using values for m and n and calculated rates • K=0.31±0.04 Rate law in practice • Time determined by distance and speed (shown later) • [S2O32-] kept constant at 0.0465 M • Volume change made up by water • [I-] determined from Time vs. [I-] graph • [S2O82-] determined from equation below

Speed of the Car Trials at different volumes of water • 0 mL, 250 mL and 500 mL • Weight plugged in • Multiplied by distance/100