Publication Date

5-2022

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

11-11-2021

Type of Culminating Activity

Dissertation

Degree Title

Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Major Advisor

Elisa H. Barney Smith, Ph.D

Advisor

William A. Smith

Advisor

Joshua J. Kane, Ph.D

Advisor

Jennifer Smith, Ph.D

Advisor

Nader Rafla, Ph.D

Advisor

Bryon Donohoe, Ph.D.

Abstract

Increasing demand, limited supply, and the impact on the environment raise significant concerns about the consumption of fossil fuels. Because of this, global economies are facing two significant energy challenges: i) securing the supply of reliable and affordable energy and ii) achieving the transformation to a low-carbon, high-efficiency, and sustainable energy system. Recently, there has been growing interest in developing portable transportation fuels from biomass in order to reduce the petroleum consumption in the transportation sector - a major contributor to greenhouse gas emission. A cost-effective conversion process to produce biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass material relies not just on the material quality, but also on the biorefinery’s ability to measure the quality of the source biomass. The quality of the feedstock is crucial for a commercially viable conversion platform. This research mainly focuses on developing sensing techniques using 3D X-ray imaging to study quality factors like material composition, ash content and moisture content which affect the conversion efficiency, equipment wear, and product yield in the bioethanol production in a real-time or near real-time basis.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18122/td.1935.boisestate

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