Energy Storage for Chemical Engineers

Objective: Understand the main energy storage technologies (batteries, capacitors, pumped hydro, thermal), their key ratings (capacity, C-rate, cycle life), and evaluate battery or backup power for your course project. Estimated time: 1-2 hours, due two class periods after assignment.

Plants use energy storage for ride-through and backup (UPS on the control system is why the DCS stays alive during a power blip), and batteries are themselves an electrochemical process that chemical engineers design. Study the Energy Storage lesson from Data-Driven Engineering, then complete the activity below.

Learn with AI

"Quiz me with 5 questions, one at a time, about energy storage: what mAh capacity and C-rate mean, why lithium-ion needs protection circuits, when a capacitor beats a battery, why control systems are on UPS while motors are not, and how round-trip efficiency differs between batteries and pumped hydro. Grade my answers and list my misconceptions."
"Act as a tutor and walk me through sizing a battery: my device draws {your project's average current} at {voltage} and must run {hours}. Ask me to compute the required capacity with a 30% margin, pick a battery chemistry, and check the C-rate. Correct each step, then reveal the standard engineering answer."

Apply to Your Project

Evaluate what happens to your project on power loss, and whether battery operation is feasible:

"My project: {controller, sensors, actuator, supplies}. (a) If wall power drops for 5 seconds, what does my system do, and is that acceptable given my actuator's safe state? (b) Size a battery to run everything except the actuator for 30 minutes of data logging. (c) Tell me which parts of your answer I should verify and how."

Verify the average current draw by estimate from datasheets or by measurement - then compare to the AI's assumption.

What to Turn In

Add a section (about 1 page) to your project notebook and submit it as a PDF. Answer these questions:

  1. What does your project do during a 5-second power interruption, and is that consistent with the safe actuator state you chose in the Actuators assignment?
  2. Show the battery sizing calculation (capacity, chemistry, C-rate check) for 30 minutes of controller + sensor operation.
  3. In one paragraph: why do plants put the control system on a UPS but not the main motors? Use the storage ratings vocabulary (power vs energy).
  4. Where did the AI's sizing assumptions differ from your verified current draw, and how much did it change the answer?

Course Information

Assignments

Projects

Exams

Dynamic Modeling

Equipment Design

Control Design

Optimal Control

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