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Labs and Equipment

IES labs and equipment are used to help advance energy technologies.

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

  • FEI Quanta 650 FEG SEM
  • Operable in high and low vacuum as well as ESEM modes
  • Incorporates a Bruker QUANTAX 200 detector
  • Able to achieve 1-3 nm resolution.
  • Retractable DBS detector and beam deceleration allow analysis of conductive samples
  • Software allows overlaying data sets as well as tiling and stitching of large image areas
  • Optical camera inside the chamber provides images of samples mounted on specimen stage

X-ray Fluorescent (XRF) Analyzers

  • Bench-top:
    • Rigaku Supermini 200
    • Wavelength dispersive XRF
    • Provides low ppm detection limits for major, minor, and trace elements
    • Equipped with a 12 sample autosampler and can analyze either solids or liquids
    • Software allows rapid analysis of known and unknown samples
  • Handheld:
    • Bruker Tracer IV Geo handheld XRF.
    • Equipped with a large area silicon drift detector as well as a vacuum system for the analysis of lighter elements
    • Portable, can be taken to field sites
    • Can analyze bulk samples (e.g., rock outcroppings, cuttings, steel beams) without any sample preparation.

Gamma Ray Logger

  • OFITE 740 gamma ray logger
  • Collects both total and spectral gamma (uranium, thorium, and potassium) ray logs
  • Takes high resolution gamma ray logs at a scan rate of 5 min/ft
  • Housed in the USGS Core Library

X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Analyzer

  • Rigaku SmartLab
  • Fully automated
  • Utilizes cross-beam optics (CBO) to enable changing of the incident X-rays by substituting selection slits
  • Can operate in either Bragg-Brentano or parallel beam focusing methods
  • Flexible design allows for analysis of samples ranging from loose powder to solid samples
  • Equipped with both a scintillation counter detector and a D/tex detector for fast data acquisition
  • A Ka1 system with a monochromator is also available for high intensity measurements
  • The system is equipped with a CCD camera for imaging of specific areas on a sample
  • Has a variety of stages allowing analysis of a wide array of sample types and applications

Core Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Analyzer

  • Oxford Geospec2 Core NMR
  • Can analyze core samples with diameters of 1 inch, 2 inches, and 4 inches
  • One of first core NMR instruments that can perform q-switched analysis on 4-inch cores
  • Advanced Green Imaging Technologies GIT-CAPTM software allows determinations of the followingpetrophysical parameters:
    • pore size distributions
    • effective porosity
    • capillary pressure
    • FFI
    • BVI
    • CBW
    • hydrogen index permeability
    • 2-D data mapping (fluid typing)

Vitrinite Reflectance

  • Leica microscope with J&M Analytik electronics
  • System is designed for geological samples
  • Well suited for the analysis of kerogen (age and maturity)
  • Acquires data and images with acquisition times of less than 1 second

Other Equipment

  • Hitaachi SEM
  • High-pressure porosimeter
  • Shale sample preparation system
  • Autolab 1500: Multi-purpose triaxial test system

Advanced Circulating Attrition Test System

  • Provides a realistic estimate of the sorbent attrition in entrained fluidization-type systems operating at very high fluidization velocities.
  • Consists of a transport bed, and alternating filters/sorbent recirculation loops.
  • Automated to operate for long periods, independent of supervision.
  • Operates at ambient conditions.
  • Originally designed evaluate attrition of CO2 sorbents.
  • Can be used to evaluate a wide range of materials that would be used in a fast fluidization process.

Advanced High Temperature Attrition Test System

  • Designed to evaluate attrition characteristics of oxygen carriers in coal-based chemical looping systems.
  • Capable of high temperature operation (800-1000°C)
  • Continuously cycles between oxidizing and reducing atmospheres.
  • Completely instrumented to monitor flows, pressures, temperatures and compositions.
  • Reaction cycling matches applications - between oxidizing and reducing atmospheres for chemical looping, capture and reducing conditions for CO2 based sorbents, calcination and sulfation for sulfur sorbents, etc.
  • Applications include any solid materials, such as sorbents for carbon and SO2 capture (e.g. activated carbons and limestone), proppants, etc.

Modes of operation include:

  • Low temperature with inert gas – provides an indication of the mechanical strength;
  • High temperature with inert gas – provides an indication of the mechanical strength at elevated temperatures;
  • High temperature with reaction cycling – continuous cycling gives an indication of the mechanical strength under cyclic reaction conditions

CACHYS CO2/Solid Sorbent Test Platform

  • Designed to demonstrate solid sorbent-based CO2 capture technologies
  • Utilizes ~30-40 acfm of flue gas from the University of North Dakota steam plant’s coal-fired boilers with propane-fired furnace backup.
  • Flue gas conditioning system consists of a fabric filter for particulates and wet packed-bed scrubber for SO2
  • 20-ft tall circulating fluid-bed adsorber includes variable speed forced draft fan, flue gas heat exchanger, and fresh sorbent feed system.
  • Pneumatic transport system to move sorbent between the adsorber and regenerator.
  • Regenerator system including a moving bed heat exchanger, preheater and cooler
  • Instrumented to continuously monitor temperatures, pressures, flow rates, compositions, sorbent levels…etc.
  • Available for evaluation of solid materials for CO2 or SO2 capture and sampling or testing that can be accomplished with the test facility’s slipstream of real coal-fired flue gas.

Other Equipment

  • Atmospheric Test Chamber
  • Down-fired combustor (conventional and oxy-fired; particulate formation; fouling characterization; MATC characterization and control)
  • Fluid bed combustor/gasifier
  • Fixed-bed sorbent test system
  • Underground coal gasification simulator
  • Fast pyrolysis system
  • Diesel, turbine and avgas engines
  • High temperature autoclaves

  • Slag sticking apparatus
  • Syngas cooler simulator
  • High temperature Deltec furnace (sintering and refractory corrosion
  • Fixed-bed sorbent/catalyst reactor
  • Attrition test system
  • Pressurized TGA
  • TGA/DTA/DSC
  • Particle size samplers: Dekati / TEOM / SMPS

  • Process Modeling and System Integration (Aspen Plus , HYSYS and ChemCAD)
  • Heat & Mass Flow (ANSYS Fluent)
  • Oil & Gas (ECLIPSE, PETREL)
  • Mapping (Arc GIS)
  • Well Logging Processing (Tech Log, Petra)
  • 3D Reservoir Characterization (PETRELL)
  • Mechanical Design (AutoCAD, SolidWorks, etc.)
  • Process Instrumentation and Controls (LabView)
  • System Dynamics
  • Statistics & Quality (Minitab, SPSS)
Institute for Energy Studies
Collaborative Energy Complex Room 246
243 Centennial Dr Stop 8153844
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8153
P 701.777.3852
UND.ies@UND.edu

 

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    College of Engineering & Mines

    Upson II Room 165
    243 Centennial Dr Stop 8155
    Grand Forks, ND 58202-8155

    701.777.2180 | UND.ceminfo@UND.edu

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