On April 26, BBE and SSM students presented their senior capstone projects at the St. Paul Student Center.
View all the photos from the day!
BBE Capstone Projects:
Sweet Protein Separation
Team Members: Amanda Son, Govind Makaram, Faisal Naseem, Raghav Garg
Industry Sponsor: HBW Solutions Inc., Brian Weathers, Oobli, Michael Speer
Challenge Summary: There are seven sweet proteins known to occur in nature; Brazzein, Thauma n, Monellin, Curculin, Mabinlin, Miraculin and Pentadin. While these are all naturally found in plants, what if we were able to express these proteins using modern fermenta ons for commercial produc on? HBW and Oobli are partnering to do this exact thing using Pichia pastoris.
This team designed a chromatography system to separate the Brazzein protein from fermenta on broth. The separation system was designed to handle 50,000 L of broth and achieve a 75% protein separation.
Water Reuse
Team Members: Tiana Lien, Aidanne Forcier, Benjamin Schmidt
Industry Sponsor: Liberty Paper, Joel Gray, Joseph Schaller, Thomas Murphy
Challenge Summary: Liberty Paper Incorporated (LPI) fresh water supply comes from three wells located on-site. Approximately 260,000,000 gallons of water per year is treated to use in the papermaking process. The State of MN applies freshwater limits to businesses to control the amount removed from groundwater aquifers. Students designed a 350 gpm ter ary wastewater treatment system to meet water reuse requirements at LPI.
Wetland Restoration
Team Members: Jack Wilson, Hunter Strubhart, Alexis Lipstein, Sydney Zander
Industry Sponsor: ISG Inc., Mark Origer
Challenge Summary: The SWCD has completed Multipurpose Drainage Management (MDM) Plans to identify BMPs for implementation to improve water quality of water entering Green Lake, a high priority area within the Rum River Watershed. One particular area, the Tiger Wetland, was iden fied for a wetland enhancement. This team designed an enhanced wetland system to provide additional storage and water quality treatment, and increase wildlife habitat all with goals of improving water quality to Green Lake.
Isoamyl Separation
Team Members: Abi Chiaokhiao, Anders Maples, JR Danielson
Industry Sponsor: Sasya, Goutham Vemuri
Challenge Summary: Sasya uses an engineered microbe to produce isoamyl alcohol using a fermentation process. While many aspects of the process need to be optimized, the specific focus of this project is to separate isoamyl alcohol from spent fermentation broth.
This team developed an ASPEN model using multiple unit operations that will optimize the purification of the broth into isoamyl alcohol.
Wastewater Treatment
Team Members: Ahmed Bihi, Leah Newbauer, Sam Nguyen, Amy Howarth
Industry Sponsor: Puris Foods, Meagan Pieper, David Pratt
Challenge Summary: PURIS pea protein production facility in Dawson, MN has its own wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to treat all process waste streams. All floor drains go directly to the WWTP which is then discharged to the river. Student engineers redesigned the wastewater plumbing system from the current treatment plant and designed additional treatment steps for optimizing the wastewater treatment system to meet Puris goals.
Tile Drainage
Team Members: Halle Kruchoski, Jane Schaefer, James Hankard, Lucy DeBoer
Industry Sponsor: ISG Inc., Geoff Kramer, Mark Origer
Challenge Summary: Watonwan County Judicial Ditch Number 26 (JD 26) is a 1,193 acre public tile drainage system located near St. James Minnesota. It provides drainage to agricultural lands to remove excess water and to prevent areas from drowning out and causing crop loss. The public tile system is over 80 years old, is undersized for today’s drainage and climate standards, and is nearing the end of its service life. Petitioners have asked to improve the drainage system to accommodate drainage demands for today’s climate. With an outlet directly into St. James Creek, water quality and quantity is a major concern to not decrease downstream water resources.
In this project students designed a drainage system for CD101 that meets today’s drainage and water quality standards while following State Statutes for drainage and water resources.
Cayenne Clogging
Team A Members: Laura Schulz, Shreya Shivkumar, Meili Gong
Industry Sponsor: Ohly, Alberto Lopez
Challenge Summary: Ohly processes a cayenne pepper product in their spray dryers. The spray dryer exhaust air is cleaned using a wet scrubber. This cayenne pepper product plugs and fouls the wet scrubber packing after a certain amount of run time, resulting in downtime, extra cleaning and chemical use including confined space entry (a safety risk to ideally be eliminated) and environmental concerns.
In this project students designed a completely new wet scrubber that won’t clog but still meets environmental regulations and effectively removes particulate matter.
Raptor Quarantine
Team Members: Grace Wolf, Rachel Runzheimer, Benjamin Rinzel, Ashwin Nambudiripad
Industry Sponsor: Raptor Center, Dana Franzen-Klein, DVM
Challenge Summary: In addition to maintaining birds and space for education, the University of Minnesota Raptor Center rehabilitates injured wild raptors. For each rehabilitation patient, quarantine is necessary to prevent the introduction of avian diseases into the center. The need for quarantine is heightened during periods of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) transmission in the region, as there is shared airspace between the rehabilitation and education areas in the Raptor Center.
Students designed a raptor quarantine wing within the existing hospital facility to house incoming patients and prevent the transmission of pathogens to the other birds in the facility.
Jobsite Soil Loss
Team G Members: Julia Lau, Yamuna Satsangi, Sarah Kinney, Nicole Peterson
Industry Sponsor: MNDOT, Dwayne Stenlund
Challenge Summary: Roads around construction sites can become a hazard because of the soil being dragged onto the road by truck and equipment tires leaving the job site. MNDOT has specified 9 acceptable truck and equipment exit control strategies, but the data to support these strategies is very limited.
Students developed and tested an experimental method to evaluate and compare trackout control technologies. Students also drafted an ASTM procedure that can be used to evaluate variables associated with track out.
SSM Capstone Projects:
Alternative Packaging Options for an International Audio-video Manufacturer
Team Members: Benji Barry, Winston Cartwright, Emilie Hankins, Felix Johnson
Industry Sponsor: Vaddio. Boe Bailey
Challenge Summary: In partnership with Vaddio, students evaluated current packaging volume and identified alternative packaging options to effectively reduce waste in order to improve sustainability efforts and to comply with corporate social responsibility objectives.
Sustainable Medical Waste Options for Senior Citizen Support Program Facilities
Team Members: Parker Grundvig, Alan McCutcheon, Thomas Olenchek
Industry Sponsor: PACE Rhode Island. Alexandra Larson
Challenge Summary: With a non-profit program, students identified landfill alternatives for PACE’s majority sources of waste. Using current waste and economic data, students calculated the environmental and economic costs, and compared options for reducing the program’s contribution to landfill waste.
Assessment of building materials management methods for a University building
Team Members: Anna Alswager, Sierra Hinze, Evan Wacker, Kyle Young
Industry Sponsor: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Melissa Wenzel
Challenge Summary: In partnership with MPCA, students assessed the embodied carbon of an existing University of Minnesota campus building and calculated the environmental and economic costs associated with across multiple hypothetical building material management methods, including renovation, demolition, and rebuilding.
Assessing Passive Cooling Options for Cooling Areas at the Concordia Language Villages
Team Members: Aaron Busch, Adam Haag, Annabella Lau
Industry Sponsor: Concordia Language Villages. Mollie Nelson
Challenge Summary: In partnership with Concordia Language Villages (CLV), students evaluated sustainable options for cool and clean air spaces that incorporate sustainable technologies and passive cooling design. As CLV buildings are part of culturally authentic architecture, students also investigated passive cooling techniques utilized throughout the world.
Assessment of Minnesota Stream Restoration Project Sustainability
Team Members: Chloe Beaudoin, Martin Lynch, Nicole Thompson
Industry Sponsor: Chris Lenhart and Wade Johnson (DNR)
Challenge Summary: Stream restoration projects can vary in terms of scope, magnitude, cost, and efficacy, but they are needed and done frequently. Through exploring publicly available environmental, economic, and geospatial data, students evaluated the costs and benefits of various restoration projects to identify characteristics that are most beneficial and sustainable.
Sustainable Options for Snow Removal for a Proposed Minneapolis Living Building
Team Members: Cole Napierala, Jakob Studtmann, Jennifer Vang, Sigourney Wubben
Industry Sponsor: Gandhi Mahal. Riz Prakasim
Challenge Summary: In partnership with Gandhi Mahal Restaurant, students identified options for sustainable snow management for a future Minneapolis living building. Students calculated and compared the environmental and economic costs of current Minneapolis snow removal options against potential alternative and more sustainable options.
Sustainable Energy Options for Historic Minneapolis Brownstone Retrofit Project
Team Members: Samantha Duran, Alice Lesch, Phoebe McCartan, Autumn Saign
Industry Sponsor: Solar Decathlon. Pat Huelman.
Challenge Summary: In partnership with the Solar Decathlon, students identified potential sustainable energy options for powering a retrofitted historic multi-family dwelling in Minneapolis. Students calculated and compared the environmental and economic impacts of baseline energy usage of this building against their recommended sustainable energy options.