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Prof. Thomas Trabold
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Anaerobic Digestion
0 Biochar
0 PEM fuel cells
0 Techno-economic Analysis
0 food waste valorization

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Anaerobic Digestion
PEM fuel cells
Biochar
food waste valorization

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Journal article
Published: 19 November 2020 in Energies
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Biodegradable containers support zero-waste initiatives when alternative end-of-life scenarios are available (e.g., composting, bio digestion). Thermoplastic starch (TPS) has emerged as a readily biodegradable and inexpensive biomaterial that can replace traditional plastics in applications such as food service ware and packaging. This study has two aims. First, demonstrate the thermoformability of starch/polycaprolactone (PCL) as a thermoplastic material with varying starch loadings. Second, incorporate biochar as a sustainable filler that can potentially lower the cost and enhance compostability. Biochar is a stable form of carbon produced by thermochemical conversion of organic biomass, such as food waste, and its incorporation into consumer products could promote a circular economy. Thermoformed samples were successfully made with starch contents from 40 to 60 wt.% without biochar. Increasing the amount of starch increased the viscosity of the material, which in turn affected the compression molding (sheet manufacturing) and thermoforming conditions. PCL content reduced the extent of biodegradation in soil burial experiments and increased the strength and elongation at break of the material. A blend of 50:50 starch:PCL was selected for incorporating biochar. Thermoformed containers were manufactured with 10, 20, and 30 wt.% biochar derived from waste coffee grounds. The addition of biochar decreased the elongation at break but did not significantly affect the modulus of elasticity or tensile strength. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using starch and biochar for the manufacturing of thermoformed containers.

ACS Style

Carlos A. Diaz; Rahul Ketan Shah; Tyler Evans; Thomas A. Trabold; Kathleen Draper. Thermoformed Containers Based on Starch and Starch/Coffee Waste Biochar Composites. Energies 2020, 13, 6034 .

AMA Style

Carlos A. Diaz, Rahul Ketan Shah, Tyler Evans, Thomas A. Trabold, Kathleen Draper. Thermoformed Containers Based on Starch and Starch/Coffee Waste Biochar Composites. Energies. 2020; 13 (22):6034.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carlos A. Diaz; Rahul Ketan Shah; Tyler Evans; Thomas A. Trabold; Kathleen Draper. 2020. "Thermoformed Containers Based on Starch and Starch/Coffee Waste Biochar Composites." Energies 13, no. 22: 6034.

Journal article
Published: 24 July 2020 in Sustainability
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Using a commercially available dehydration unit, this study aimed to valorize various food waste streams from different sources in the Rochester, New York area. Dehydration of the food waste collected for the study helped reduce the weight of the feedstock by 70–90%, as the incoming waste streams were relatively wet. The output was materially characterized against end uses such as cattle feed, fish feed, and compost. The results demonstrated that, other than fertilizer, the remaining five end uses (compost, fish feed, cattle feed, pyrolysis, and pelletized fuel) were potentially compatible with varying waste feedstocks based on the parameters analyzed. Fish feed in particular was found to be the most compatible end use, as a number of attributes, including protein, fell within the optimal range of values. Pelletized fuel was also determined to be a viable application, as six out of eight sources of dehydrated food waste had higher heating values above the minimum U.S. standard level of 18.61 MJ/kg. Ultimately, this analysis showed that the composition of the food waste needs to be matched to an end-use application and sale of the product for dehydration to be a worthwhile valorization strategy.

ACS Style

Jon Schroeder; Ava Labuzetta; Thomas Trabold. Assessment of Dehydration as a Commercial-Scale Food Waste Valorization Strategy. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5959 .

AMA Style

Jon Schroeder, Ava Labuzetta, Thomas Trabold. Assessment of Dehydration as a Commercial-Scale Food Waste Valorization Strategy. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (15):5959.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jon Schroeder; Ava Labuzetta; Thomas Trabold. 2020. "Assessment of Dehydration as a Commercial-Scale Food Waste Valorization Strategy." Sustainability 12, no. 15: 5959.

Journal article
Published: 23 July 2020 in Batteries
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The economic value of high-capacity battery systems, being used in a wide variety of automotive and energy storage applications, is strongly affected by the duration of their service lifetime. Because many battery systems now feature a very large number of individual cells, it is necessary to understand how cell-to-cell interactions can affect durability, and how to best replace poorly performing cells to extend the lifetime of the entire battery pack. This paper first examines the baseline results of aging individual cells, then aging of cells in a representative 3S3P battery pack, and compares them to the results of repaired packs. The baseline results indicate nearly the same rate of capacity fade for single cells and those aged in a pack; however, the capacity variation due to a few degrees changes in room temperature (≃±3 ∘ C) is significant (≃±1.5% of capacity of new cell) compared to the percent change of capacity over the battery life cycle in primary applications (≃20–30%). The cell replacement strategies investigation considers two scenarios: early life failure, where one cell in a pack fails prematurely, and building a pack from used cells for less demanding applications. Early life failure replacement found that, despite mismatches in impedance and capacity, a new cell can perform adequately within a pack of moderately aged cells. The second scenario for reuse of lithium ion battery packs examines the problem of assembling a pack for less-demanding applications from a set of aged cells, which exhibit more variation in capacity and impedance than their new counterparts. The cells used in the aging comparison part of the study were deeply discharged, recovered, assembled in a new pack, and cycled. We discuss the criteria for selecting the aged cells for building a secondary pack and compare the performance and coulombic efficiency of the secondary pack to the pack built from new cells and the repaired pack. The pack that employed aged cells performed well, but its efficiency was reduced.

ACS Style

Nenad G. Nenadic; Thomas A. Trabold; Michael G. Thurston. Cell Replacement Strategies for Lithium Ion Battery Packs. Batteries 2020, 6, 39 .

AMA Style

Nenad G. Nenadic, Thomas A. Trabold, Michael G. Thurston. Cell Replacement Strategies for Lithium Ion Battery Packs. Batteries. 2020; 6 (3):39.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nenad G. Nenadic; Thomas A. Trabold; Michael G. Thurston. 2020. "Cell Replacement Strategies for Lithium Ion Battery Packs." Batteries 6, no. 3: 39.

Journal article
Published: 30 July 2019 in IEEE Magnetics Letters
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Sustainable management of food waste has become a global priority because of the significant environmental impacts associated with conventional disposal methods, including landfilling. Thermochemical processing is a food-waste-to-energy conversion technology in which food waste materials are converted to biofuel in a reduced O 2 environment at elevated temperatures. Another conversion technology is anaerobic digestion, in which microorganisms digest biodegradable material, producing biofuel and solid byproducts “digestate.” We measured the physical properties of “biochar” produced by combining these approaches: digestate was used as feedstock for a commercial-scale thermochemical processing system. Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) particles were produced during the food-waste-to-energy conversion process. This was particularly unexpected because none of the input materials were ferromagnetic, and no specific Fe precursors were introduced in the process. The Fe 3 O 4 was identified through a combination of X-ray fluorescence and dc magnetometry. Zero-field cooled magnetization-temperature curves reveal a Verwey transition at ∼125 K across samples prepared under various conditions. Room temperature magnetization-field loops show a Langevin-like curve, technical saturation, and coercive fields of $H_{C}$ = 98–130 Oe across various samples. Clear Verwey transition, room temperature hysteresis, and an irreversibility temperature well above room temperature indicate that particles are multidomain. We attribute the presence of Fe 3 O 4 to the relatively high concentration of Fe naturally present in the solid digestate and the operating parameters of the thermochemical conversion process. High surface area magnetic biochar has a variety of potential applications, including the adsorption of heavy metals, wastewater treatment, supercapacitors, and conductive polymer composites.

ACS Style

Diana Rodriguez Alberto; Kristen Stojak Repa; Swati Hegde; Casey W. Miller; Thomas A. Trabold. Novel Production of Magnetite Particles via Thermochemical Processing of Digestate From Manure and Food Waste. IEEE Magnetics Letters 2019, 10, 1 -5.

AMA Style

Diana Rodriguez Alberto, Kristen Stojak Repa, Swati Hegde, Casey W. Miller, Thomas A. Trabold. Novel Production of Magnetite Particles via Thermochemical Processing of Digestate From Manure and Food Waste. IEEE Magnetics Letters. 2019; 10 ():1-5.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Diana Rodriguez Alberto; Kristen Stojak Repa; Swati Hegde; Casey W. Miller; Thomas A. Trabold. 2019. "Novel Production of Magnetite Particles via Thermochemical Processing of Digestate From Manure and Food Waste." IEEE Magnetics Letters 10, no. : 1-5.

Journal article
Published: 16 July 2019 in Sustainability
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Anaerobic digestion (AD) is widely considered a more sustainable food waste management method than conventional technologies, such as landfilling and incineration. To improve economic performance while maintaining AD system stability at commercial scale, food waste is often co-digested with animal manure, but there is increasing interest in food waste-only digestion. We investigated the stability of anaerobic digestion with mixed cafeteria food waste (CFW) as the main substrate, combined in a semi-continuous mode with acid whey, waste bread, waste energy drinks, and soiled paper napkins as co-substrates. During digestion of CFW without any co-substrates, the maximum specific methane yield (SMY) was 363 mL gVS−1d−1 at organic loading rate (OLR) of 2.8 gVSL−1d−1, and reactor failure occurred at OLR of 3.5 gVSL−1d−1. Co-substrates of acid whey, waste energy drinks, and waste bread resulted in maximum SMY of 455, 453, and 479 mL gVS−1d−1, respectively, and it was possible to achieve stable digestion at OLR as high as 4.4 gVSL−1d−1. These results offer a potential approach to high organic loading rate digestion of food waste without using animal manure. Process optimization for the use of unconventional co-substrates may help enable deployment of anaerobic digesters for food waste management in urban and institutional applications and enable increased diversion of food waste from landfills in heavily populated regions.

ACS Style

Swati Hegde; Thomas A. Trabold. Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste with Unconventional Co-Substrates for Stable Biogas Production at High Organic Loading Rates. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3875 .

AMA Style

Swati Hegde, Thomas A. Trabold. Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste with Unconventional Co-Substrates for Stable Biogas Production at High Organic Loading Rates. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (14):3875.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Swati Hegde; Thomas A. Trabold. 2019. "Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste with Unconventional Co-Substrates for Stable Biogas Production at High Organic Loading Rates." Sustainability 11, no. 14: 3875.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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ACS Style

Swati Hegde; Jeffery S. Lodge; Thomas Trabold. Characteristics of food processing wastes and their use in sustainable alcohol production. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2018, 81, 510 -523.

AMA Style

Swati Hegde, Jeffery S. Lodge, Thomas Trabold. Characteristics of food processing wastes and their use in sustainable alcohol production. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2018; 81 ():510-523.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Swati Hegde; Jeffery S. Lodge; Thomas Trabold. 2018. "Characteristics of food processing wastes and their use in sustainable alcohol production." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 81, no. : 510-523.

Journal article
Published: 29 November 2017 in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
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The management of liquid water from either internal chemical reactions or externally humidified reactants is an important design consideration for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells because of the effects on both cell performance and durability. To achieve proper water management, significant effort has been devoted to developing new fuel cell materials, hardware designs, and appropriate stack operating conditions. However, water management in the region of the channel-to-manifold interfaces has received limited attention. This region covers the ends of the bipolar plate from where liquid water exits the active area to the entrance of the stack exhaust manifolds where excess reactant flows from individual cells are combined and leave the stack. For practical applications, there is a small driving force to expel liquid water in this region, especially in the anode flow field. Under severe operating conditions such as freezing temperatures, the buildup of water may cause a channel-scale blockage. In this study, hydrophilic and hydrophobic bipolar plate treatments were investigated to identify the effectiveness of water mitigation through ex-situ experiments performed using a dedicated freeze test rig. Water mitigation behavior with various locations of hydrophilic/hydrophobic coatings was characterized using measurements of differential pressure and gas flow rate. It was found that the hydrophilic coatings provide better performance, as water accumulation can be readily mitigated with less potential to cause full channel-scale blockages.

ACS Style

Xuan Liu; Thomas A. Trabold. Non-active area water mitigation in PEM fuel cells via bipolar plate surface energy modification. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2017, 43, 908 -920.

AMA Style

Xuan Liu, Thomas A. Trabold. Non-active area water mitigation in PEM fuel cells via bipolar plate surface energy modification. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2017; 43 (2):908-920.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xuan Liu; Thomas A. Trabold. 2017. "Non-active area water mitigation in PEM fuel cells via bipolar plate surface energy modification." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 43, no. 2: 908-920.

Conference paper
Published: 26 June 2017 in ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability
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Anaerobic digestion (AD) has gained popularity as an effective way to treat organic materials, produce clean energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is a significant number of large-scale AD facilities operating world-wide, largely treating livestock wastes, and used primarily for electricity production in industrialized countries. At the same time, there are millions of small, household-scale ADs deployed in developing countries, mostly to provide biogas resources for heating and cooking. Decentralized low-volume AD systems could provide a local, renewable energy source (for electricity, heating, or both), reduce or eliminate waste disposal costs, and limit discharges of high strength wastes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of deploying low-volume anaerobic digestion (LVAD) systems at institutions generating significant food waste, using Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as a case study. Mass flows and energy balance, net present value (NPV), and discounted payback period (DPP) were used to assess the feasibility of implementing an anaerobic digestion system utilizing the campus organic waste resources. Our study showed that a positive NPV can be achieved if subsidies and incentives were applied to offset the initial capital investment. However, the economics can be improved by driving down equipment cost and accepting food waste from other establishments to generate revenue from tipping fees.

ACS Style

Shwe Sin Win; Swati Hegde; Roger B. Chen; Thomas Trabold. Feasibility Assessment of Low-Volume Anaerobic Digestion Systems for Institutional Food Waste Producers. ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability 2017, 1 .

AMA Style

Shwe Sin Win, Swati Hegde, Roger B. Chen, Thomas Trabold. Feasibility Assessment of Low-Volume Anaerobic Digestion Systems for Institutional Food Waste Producers. ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. 2017; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shwe Sin Win; Swati Hegde; Roger B. Chen; Thomas Trabold. 2017. "Feasibility Assessment of Low-Volume Anaerobic Digestion Systems for Institutional Food Waste Producers." ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability , no. : 1.

Conference paper
Published: 26 June 2017 in ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability
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Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a viable method for conversion of food waste and other organic materials into methane-rich biogas. However, when used at high organic loading rates, using only food waste can lead to an unstable process. Process instability is indicated by frequent changes in pH, and increase in ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentration. These uncontrolled changes combined with over-production of organic acids can inhibit biogas production and ultimately lead to digester failure. Therefore, certain co-substrates produced as wastes in the regional food sector were tested as stabilizing agents for food waste digestion with an objective of achieving stable non-manure based digestion. The substrates tested were acid whey, bread, manure, caffeinated drink, paper napkins and apple pomace. The biogas production was increased by 12% in reactors containing bread, by 10% with acid whey, and by 12% when the co-substrate was caffeinated drink. The reactors containing paper and manure showed decreased biogas production by 6% and 12% respectively, but these changes are relatively small and thus not considered inhibitory. Co-digestion with apple pomace was found to be inhibitory and resulted in digester failure. This initial study has demonstrated that the stability of AD systems may be improved by strategically combining available food waste feedstocks.

ACS Style

Swati Hegde; Shwe Sin Win; Thomas A. Trabold. Stabilizing the Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste for Biomethane Production. ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability 2017, 1 .

AMA Style

Swati Hegde, Shwe Sin Win, Thomas A. Trabold. Stabilizing the Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste for Biomethane Production. ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. 2017; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Swati Hegde; Shwe Sin Win; Thomas A. Trabold. 2017. "Stabilizing the Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste for Biomethane Production." ASME 2017 11th International Conference on Energy Sustainability , no. : 1.

Conference paper
Published: 21 November 2016 in 2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
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The Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) building at Rochester Institute of Technology, is equipped with multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules with an annual capacity of 45,241 kilowatts-hour. In this study, yearly power output of the GIS PV system is investigated using a mathematical model and comparing with real data collected from the monitoring system. The model used was developed using Matlab code. The objective is to predict PV modules performance with respect to changes in environmental parameters such as temperature, irradiance and cloud coverage. The results have been compared with the actual PV output data for the year 2014 and show a very good correlation.

ACS Style

Felipe Freire; Ricardo Dias; Thomas Trabold; Santosh K. Kurinec. Performance analysis of a “Green” building photovoltaic system. 2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) 2016, 2657 -2660.

AMA Style

Felipe Freire, Ricardo Dias, Thomas Trabold, Santosh K. Kurinec. Performance analysis of a “Green” building photovoltaic system. 2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC). 2016; ():2657-2660.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Felipe Freire; Ricardo Dias; Thomas Trabold; Santosh K. Kurinec. 2016. "Performance analysis of a “Green” building photovoltaic system." 2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) , no. : 2657-2660.

Proceedings article
Published: 28 October 2016 in 2016 IEEE Systems and Technologies for Remote Sensing Applications Through Unmanned Aerial Systems (STRATUS)
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Recent fuel cell research has focused on systems for passenger vehicles, commercial buildings, and small handheld devices. These applications typically require power outputs that are either greater than 100 kW or less than 20 W, and a gap remains in developing viable fuel cell systems for applications requiring between 100 W and 100 kW. An integrated reformer fuel cell system has been developed for these medium power applications that utilizes a propane catalytic partial oxidation reformer coupled with a polybenzimidazole-based high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell. After investigation into the requirements of military unmanned aerial systems (UASs), a system was designed to produce a net power of 250 W with a total mass of 2.23 kg and potential for 200-hour lifetime. The proposed design offers advantages over current UAS propulsion technologies because it is both quiet and capable of long duration flights, and also has advantages over other fuel cell systems as it is fueled with commonly available propane instead of high purity hydrogen.

ACS Style

Michael G. Waller; Mark R. Walluk; Thomas A. Trabold. Design of an integrated propane fuel reformer and fuel cell system for unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications. 2016 IEEE Systems and Technologies for Remote Sensing Applications Through Unmanned Aerial Systems (STRATUS) 2016, 1 -4.

AMA Style

Michael G. Waller, Mark R. Walluk, Thomas A. Trabold. Design of an integrated propane fuel reformer and fuel cell system for unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications. 2016 IEEE Systems and Technologies for Remote Sensing Applications Through Unmanned Aerial Systems (STRATUS). 2016; ():1-4.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michael G. Waller; Mark R. Walluk; Thomas A. Trabold. 2016. "Design of an integrated propane fuel reformer and fuel cell system for unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications." 2016 IEEE Systems and Technologies for Remote Sensing Applications Through Unmanned Aerial Systems (STRATUS) , no. : 1-4.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2016 in Waste Management
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Anaerobic digestion of commercial food waste is a promising alternative to landfilling commercial food waste. This study characterized 11 types of commercial food wastes and 12 co-digestion blends. Bio-methane potential, biodegradable fraction, and apparent first-order hydrolysis rate coefficients were reported based upon biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays. Food waste bio-methane potentials ranged from 165 to 496 mL CH4/g VS. Substrates high in lipids or readily degradable carbohydrates showed the highest methane production. Average bio-methane potential observed for co-digested substrates was −5% to +20% that of the bio-methane potential of the individual substrates weighted by VS content. Apparent hydrolysis rate coefficients ranged from 0.19 d−1 to 0.65 d−1. Co-digested substrates showed an accelerated apparent hydrolysis rate relative to the weighted average of individual substrate rates. These results provide a database of key bio-digestion parameters to advance modeling and utilization of commercial food waste in anaerobic digestion.

ACS Style

Jacqueline H. Ebner; Rodrigo A. Labatut; Jeffrey S. Lodge; Anahita A. Williamson; Thomas A. Trabold. Anaerobic co-digestion of commercial food waste and dairy manure: Characterizing biochemical parameters and synergistic effects. Waste Management 2016, 52, 286 -294.

AMA Style

Jacqueline H. Ebner, Rodrigo A. Labatut, Jeffrey S. Lodge, Anahita A. Williamson, Thomas A. Trabold. Anaerobic co-digestion of commercial food waste and dairy manure: Characterizing biochemical parameters and synergistic effects. Waste Management. 2016; 52 ():286-294.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jacqueline H. Ebner; Rodrigo A. Labatut; Jeffrey S. Lodge; Anahita A. Williamson; Thomas A. Trabold. 2016. "Anaerobic co-digestion of commercial food waste and dairy manure: Characterizing biochemical parameters and synergistic effects." Waste Management 52, no. : 286-294.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2016 in Resources, Conservation and Recycling
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Highlights•Landfill with gas capture is 52–92% less profitable than alternative pathways.•Anaerobic digestion is the most profitable path for single-stream and household organic material.•Composting is the optimal pathway for paper waste and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation is optimal for yard waste.•Landfill tipping fees would need to double or AD trucking costs triple for the two to reach profit parity.•Non-landfill pathways do not rely on tipping fees for profitability providing an advantage. AbstractThis article presents a model to determine profit-maximizing processing pathways for urban household organic material. It was applied to a case study system in the city of Rochester, NY to compare the profitability of local material management pathways. Four industrially relevant and locally available pathways were examined: anaerobic digestion (AD), simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), windrow composting, and landfill with gas capture. This research hypothesized that the current status quo of landfill with gas capture is profit-maximizing, and formulated objective functions based on alternate practices of AD, SSF, and windrow composting to test the status quo. Material chemical parameters such as biomethane potential and carbon to nitrogen ratio were experimentally determined and used as inputs. The baseline model showed the status quo of landfill with gas capture is 52–92% less profitable than optimal pathways depending on ranges of input parameters. Optimal pathways were AD for single-stream and food, composting for compostable paper, and SSF for yard trimmings. Composting was the most sensitive pathway to market and chemical variables. AD being the optimal pathway is robust for food waste compared to landfill with gas capture; to reach parity with AD, landfill tipping fees must double or AD trucking costs triple.

ACS Style

Cam Hebda; Gabrielle Gaustad; Anahita Williamson; Thomas Trabold. Determining economically optimal household organic material management pathways. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2016, 108, 88 -96.

AMA Style

Cam Hebda, Gabrielle Gaustad, Anahita Williamson, Thomas Trabold. Determining economically optimal household organic material management pathways. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2016; 108 ():88-96.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cam Hebda; Gabrielle Gaustad; Anahita Williamson; Thomas Trabold. 2016. "Determining economically optimal household organic material management pathways." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 108, no. : 88-96.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2016 in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
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ACS Style

Michael G. Waller; Mark R. Walluk; Thomas Trabold. Performance of high temperature PEM fuel cell materials. Part 1: Effects of temperature, pressure and anode dilution. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2016, 41, 2944 -2954.

AMA Style

Michael G. Waller, Mark R. Walluk, Thomas Trabold. Performance of high temperature PEM fuel cell materials. Part 1: Effects of temperature, pressure and anode dilution. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2016; 41 (4):2944-2954.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michael G. Waller; Mark R. Walluk; Thomas Trabold. 2016. "Performance of high temperature PEM fuel cell materials. Part 1: Effects of temperature, pressure and anode dilution." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 41, no. 4: 2944-2954.

Journal article
Published: 02 July 2015 in Environmental Science & Technology
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Anaerobic codigestion (AcoD) can address food waste disposal and manure management issues while delivering clean, renewable energy. Quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to implementation of AcoD is important to achieve this goal. A lifecycle analysis was performed on the basis of data from an on-farm AcoD in New York, resulting in a 71% reduction in GHG, or net reduction of 37.5 kg CO2e/t influent relative to conventional treatment of manure and food waste. Displacement of grid electricity provided the largest reduction, followed by avoidance of alternative food waste disposal options and reduced impacts associated with storage of digestate vs undigested manure. These reductions offset digester emissions and the net increase in emissions associated with land application in the AcoD case relative to the reference case. Sensitivity analysis showed that using feedstock diverted from high impact disposal pathways, control of digester emissions, and managing digestate storage emissions were opportunities to improve the AcoD GHG benefits. Regional and parametrized emissions factors for the storage emissions and land application phases would reduce uncertainty.

ACS Style

Jacqueline H. Ebner; Rodrigo A. Labatut; Matthew J. Rankin; Jennifer L. Pronto; Curt A. Gooch; Anahita A. Williamson; Thomas Aquinas Trabold. Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Analysis of an Anaerobic Codigestion Facility Processing Dairy Manure and Industrial Food Waste. Environmental Science & Technology 2015, 49, 11199 -11208.

AMA Style

Jacqueline H. Ebner, Rodrigo A. Labatut, Matthew J. Rankin, Jennifer L. Pronto, Curt A. Gooch, Anahita A. Williamson, Thomas Aquinas Trabold. Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Analysis of an Anaerobic Codigestion Facility Processing Dairy Manure and Industrial Food Waste. Environmental Science & Technology. 2015; 49 (18):11199-11208.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jacqueline H. Ebner; Rodrigo A. Labatut; Matthew J. Rankin; Jennifer L. Pronto; Curt A. Gooch; Anahita A. Williamson; Thomas Aquinas Trabold. 2015. "Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Analysis of an Anaerobic Codigestion Facility Processing Dairy Manure and Industrial Food Waste." Environmental Science & Technology 49, no. 18: 11199-11208.

Conference paper
Published: 28 June 2015 in ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology
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Conventional proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems suffer from requiring high purity hydrogen, necessitating a costly on-board hydrogen storage tank to be incorporated into the overall system design. One method to overcome this barrier is to use an on-board reforming system fueled by some sort of hydrocarbon. Unfortunately though, most fuel reforming processes generate significant amounts of impurities, such as CO and CO2, requiring a costly and complex upfront reforming system that is unwieldy for a practical system. High temperature PEM fuel cells based on acid doped polybenzimidazole (PBI), are capable of operating on lower quality reformed hydrogen, allowing for a simplified on-board fuel reforming system design to be envisioned. Advances in high temperature PEM fuel cells have progressed to the point where they are now a commercially viable technology. However, there remains a lack of published literature on the performance of HT-PEMFCs operating on common reformate effluent compositions consisting primarily of H2, CO, CO2, and N2. In this work, the performance of PBI-based HT-PEMFCs are evaluated under simulated reformate compositions.

ACS Style

Michael G. Waller; Mark R. Walluk; Thomas Trabold. Performance of a High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC) Operating on Simulated Reformate. ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology 2015, 1 .

AMA Style

Michael G. Waller, Mark R. Walluk, Thomas Trabold. Performance of a High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC) Operating on Simulated Reformate. ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. 2015; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michael G. Waller; Mark R. Walluk; Thomas Trabold. 2015. "Performance of a High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC) Operating on Simulated Reformate." ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology , no. : 1.

Proceedings article
Published: 28 June 2015 in Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies
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Due to ever increasing industrial organic material wastewater regulations, there is growing interest in the food production industry for technologies to mitigate soluble waste discharges. Currently, food manufacturers in NYS with wastewaters that have high concentrations of soluble organic material, indicated by its chemical oxygen demand (COD), are charged substantial premiums by publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to dispose of their high COD wastewaters. As a result, these producers are keen on pursuing more economical and sustainable alternatives. One novel option is a microbial fuel cell (MFC), a recently developed type of bioreactor that greatly reduces soluble COD by harnessing the electrochemical potential found in the chemical bonds of these organic materials through redox reactions under anaerobic conditions facilitated by exoelectrogenic microorganisms. MFC technology treating homogeneous substrates such as acetate at the laboratory scale has advanced to the point where COD removal efficiencies of over 90% are commonly achieved; however, efficiencies at treating less uniform, high COD level industrial scale food manufacturing wastewaters have only been investigated in a handful of studies. Since most real world wastewaters are non-uniform, MFC performance characterization of treating these actual discharges is crucial in determining their efficacy and cost effectiveness in large scale applications. To help fill this gap, this paper gives a relative efficacy comparison of five identical 3 L bench scale single chamber and three dual chamber MFC configurations (SCMFCs and DCMFCs, respectively) to a simulated POTW aeration process treating high COD whey effluent from a tofu manufacturing plant. Standard parametric EPA water quality tests of COD reduction were performed to assess the extent of the MFCs and POTW simulant effectiveness. COD levels in the MFC’s were reduced between 72% and 92%, while the POTW aeration process reduced levels 98%. This corroborates previously published studies showing that POTW systems are effective in reducing COD, but also that MFCs could be a more sustainable option due to their unique ability to directly produce, rather than consume, electric current. While these findings are promising, more studies are required to accurately determine the relative proportion of bioelectrochemical and methanogenic processes in the actual lowering of the COD levels.

ACS Style

Steven T. Barber; Josh M. Dranoff; Thomas A. Trabold. Initial Assessment of Microbial Fuel Cells for the Treatment of Tofu Processing Waste. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies 2015, 1 .

AMA Style

Steven T. Barber, Josh M. Dranoff, Thomas A. Trabold. Initial Assessment of Microbial Fuel Cells for the Treatment of Tofu Processing Waste. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies. 2015; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Steven T. Barber; Josh M. Dranoff; Thomas A. Trabold. 2015. "Initial Assessment of Microbial Fuel Cells for the Treatment of Tofu Processing Waste." Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies , no. : 1.

Conference paper
Published: 28 June 2015 in Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies
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Crude (i.e., unrefined) glycerol is the major by-product of biodiesel production, based on the homogeneous alkaline catalytic transesterification reaction. Currently, global biodiesel production capacity has been rising rapidly due to the overall growth of renewable energy demand. The amount of glycerol is increasing in parallel, and there is presently little market value for crude glycerol. In addition, disposing of this material via conventional methods becomes one of the major environmental issues and a burden for biodiesel manufacturers. Thus, utilization of purified glycerol in value-added applications such as food processing, cosmetics, soap and pharmaceuticals is critical to achieve economic scale of biodiesel production. In this paper, various pathways available to community-based biodiesel producers have been modeled to inform the decision-making process. A case study at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was selected to evaluate the proposed system. Different pathways of utilizing crude glycerol were investigated, and economic feasibility of each pathway was analyzed. Purification of crude glycerol from waste cooking oil-based-biodiesel production was performed at small bench scale. Various recipes with different raw materials and purified glycerol as an ingredient were created for different kinds of saponification processes and applications. The resulting data from this preliminary assessment showed that producing biodiesel and high-quality soap is the most profitable option for RIT.

ACS Style

Shwe Sin Win; Swati Hegde; Thomas Trabold. Techno-Economic Assessment of Different Pathways for Utilizing Glycerol Derived From Waste Cooking Oil-Based Biodiesel. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies 2015, 1 .

AMA Style

Shwe Sin Win, Swati Hegde, Thomas Trabold. Techno-Economic Assessment of Different Pathways for Utilizing Glycerol Derived From Waste Cooking Oil-Based Biodiesel. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies. 2015; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shwe Sin Win; Swati Hegde; Thomas Trabold. 2015. "Techno-Economic Assessment of Different Pathways for Utilizing Glycerol Derived From Waste Cooking Oil-Based Biodiesel." Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies , no. : 1.

Proceedings article
Published: 28 June 2015 in Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies
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Anaerobic digestion (AD) involves the conversion of organic matter in the absence of oxygen to produce methane (CH4)-rich bio-gas that can be used for heating, vehicle fuel, or for generating electricity. The evolution of AD systems has historically followed two distinct paths: small residential-scale systems in the developing world to provide modest bio-gas resources for heating and cooking, and multi-million dollar facilities in the developed world for grid electricity production. However, there is a strong need to explore the possibility of applying AD technology in the medium-scale range (on the order of 100s of kW to 1 MW), which would be relevant to many farm installations and food processing plants that have significant organic waste resources. In this paper, technical and economic feasibility assessments have been conducted of two specific applications important to New York State: treatment of dairy farm resources in the Upstate region, and treatment of brewery and distillery waste in the New York City region where significant waste disposal barriers exist. In each case, a comprehensive analysis was first conducted of the available waste resources. Then, using data available in the open literature, an estimate of the total amount of renewable bio-gas that can be produced (bio-methane potential, BMP) was developed and used to compute the achievable size of a centralized AD system. For both the farm and brewery applications, it was determined that energy systems based on anaerobic digestion can be economically and environmentally viable, provided that ample organic resources are available, as well as incentives to offset the initial capital investment.

ACS Style

Swati Hegde; Jacqueline H. Ebner; Anahita A. Williamson; Thomas A. Trabold. Feasibility Assessment of Medium-Scale Anaerobic Digesters for Conversion of Brewery and Dairy Farm Waste Streams. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies 2015, 1 .

AMA Style

Swati Hegde, Jacqueline H. Ebner, Anahita A. Williamson, Thomas A. Trabold. Feasibility Assessment of Medium-Scale Anaerobic Digesters for Conversion of Brewery and Dairy Farm Waste Streams. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies. 2015; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Swati Hegde; Jacqueline H. Ebner; Anahita A. Williamson; Thomas A. Trabold. 2015. "Feasibility Assessment of Medium-Scale Anaerobic Digesters for Conversion of Brewery and Dairy Farm Waste Streams." Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies , no. : 1.

Proceedings article
Published: 28 June 2015 in Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies
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Food processors and retailers are under increasing regulatory and market pressure to manage their food waste in an environmentally responsible way. This study analyzes the climate change impacts of several alternatives available for the management of the several food wastes generated in this sector. Four food chain wastes are selected: whey, apple pomace, grease trap waste and bakery waste. Four treatment pathways were analyzed: landfill, anaerobic digestion, land application and animal feed. The results of the analysis showed significant differences among the pathways with climate change impact varying from −621 kgCO2e/t to 1924 kgCO2e/t. Landfilling of food waste resulted in the highest impacts and diversion to feed animals resulted in net benefits. The moisture content of the waste proved to be an important factor while the bio-degradability and nutrient value also had an influence. The combined impacts of diverting food waste from one disposal pathway to an alternative pathway were also considered and data is provided on the optimal pathways for each food waste alternatives.

ACS Style

Jacqueline Ebner; Anahita Williamson; Thomas Trabold. Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Impact of Pathways for Treatment of Secondary Resources Generated in the Food Supply Chain. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies 2015, 1 .

AMA Style

Jacqueline Ebner, Anahita Williamson, Thomas Trabold. Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Impact of Pathways for Treatment of Secondary Resources Generated in the Food Supply Chain. Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies. 2015; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jacqueline Ebner; Anahita Williamson; Thomas Trabold. 2015. "Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Impact of Pathways for Treatment of Secondary Resources Generated in the Food Supply Chain." Volume 2: Photovoltaics; Renewable-Non-Renewable Hybrid Power System; Smart Grid, Micro-Grid Concepts; Energy Storage; Solar Chemistry; Solar Heating and Cooling; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Transportation; Symposium on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems; Thermofluid Analysis of Energy Systems Including Exergy and Thermoeconomics; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies , no. : 1.