Large scale electrification of the chemical industry, including refineries, petrochemicals, has been proposed to reduce the carbon emissions. The underlying assumption is the electricity required to support this electrification drive is sustainable. However, there are a lot of uncertainties about this strategy.
In this project, the student is expected to study this aspect in detail. The project will involve mainly two parts. In part 1, the student is expected to collect data on the electrification plans of major sectors, and estimate the increased power requirement. This will require understanding the efficiencies of some of the electrified equipment and processes. In part 2, the implication of this on the power sector will be studied. Here, the feasibility of providing the additional electricity, and the implication of that on the environmental impacts such as CO2 emissions and water consumption will be quantified.
This work is completely computational in nature, and is interdisciplinary.