Dr. Hazem Tawfik
Dr. Tawfik obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, from University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in 1980. Since then he has held a number of industrial & academic positions and affiliations with different organizations including Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Stony Brook University (SBU), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Atomic Energy of Canada Inc., Ontario Hydro, NASA Kennedy, NASA Marshall Space Flight Centers, and the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center at Carderock, Md. Dr. Tawfik is the author of more than 50 research papers published in peer reviewed journals and conference symposiums. He holds numerous research awards and shares the rights to four patents in the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells area. Currently, Dr. Tawfik is a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and the Director of the Institute for Research and Technology Transfer (IRTT) at Farmingdale State College of the State University of New York.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) using Hydrogen from Biomass
This project will include the design, testing and evaluation of an integrated biomass gasifier and PEM fuel cell system that is intended to convert agricultural farm waste and forest debris such as woody feedstock and wood chips, as well as other biomass such as corn husk, tall or switch grass, etc. as feedstock in a process to produce H2 for ultimate use in a fuel cell that generates both heat and electrical power. The system will consist of a 10 kW commercial gasifier that will convert the feedstock into synthesis gas, or "syngas", a mixture of primarily H2 and carbon monoxide (CO). The catalyst for two stage water-gas shift (WGS) reactors will be developed and tested to clean up and convert the undesirable CO for the PEM fuel cell system to CO2 and produce more H2. Additionally, a separations device to purify the H2 gas stream entering the fuel cell stack will be designed and developed. The newly patented Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells technology developed at the Institute for Research and Technology Transfer (IRTT) of Farmingdale State College and a commercial fuel cell system will be integrated in this project for baseline performance and optimization of the overall system for CHP output.