The finalists of the FEFU CASE-IN proposed to extract methanol from carbon dioxide

Students of the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) won first place in the semifinals of the Autumn Cup of the Student League of the International Engineering Championship CASE-IN. They presented a solution to the case that will help the development of "green" energy in the country. Now the GoosePetroleum team, consisting of students from the FEFU Polytechnic Institute Gleb Maksutov, Vladislav Litovchenko, Ivan Karnaukhov and Dmitry Terekhov, will have to resign from the university in the final stage in Moscow on December 16.

123 teams from 76 universities competed in the semi-finals in a distance format. On behalf of ALROSA, the contestants solved the case "Climate projects: development and implementation in permafrost conditions." The Far East was represented by 12 teams that proposed the most effective measures to reduce, capture, recycle and store greenhouse gases. In their decisions, the students took into account the specifics of the geographical location of ALROSA enterprises and Russian legislation.

The FEFU team's solution is based on carbon dioxide capture from flue gases using a dimethylamine composition to produce methanol. Hydrogen is also needed for methanol. After studying a number of methods for its production, the students decided to isolate it from water in electrolysis plants, for which energy is supposed to be taken from wind farms so that hydrogen production is completely "green". Further, methanol is supposed to be transported by water along the Northern Sea Route, as well as by rail for sale in the domestic market of Russia, as well as to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the EU. FEFU students noted that their solution is universal enough for any enterprise in permafrost conditions.

According to the GoosePetroleum team, currently there are no projects in Russia for the production of methanol from carbon dioxide. Due to the transition of countries to "green" and "blue" fuels, the demand for methanol will increase over the next 10 years. There is also an extremely small number of installations for real "green hydrogen". This solution will show that the use of CO2 can be economically beneficial for the industry and will give impetus to the implementation of other similar projects.

"Definitely, we have a very strong job that will continue to be polished. This is the third time we have reached the finals, so we plan to perform very well. There is a high chance of winning a prize, although you should not discount other teams. We sincerely hope that we will defend the honor of the university and attract even more partners to implement joint projects," said Gleb Maksutov, captain of the GoosePetroleum team.

The winners of the Autumn Cup of the Student League will complete internships and internships at leading industry companies with the possibility of further employment, as well as receive benefits for admission to master's and postgraduate studies at 20 partner universities.

A source: FEFU