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Pages:
3 pages/≈825 words
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7 Sources
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Other
Subject:
Engineering
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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MS Word
Date:
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Topic:

Grand Engineering Challenges for the 21st Century (Capturing Carbon dioxide)

Essay Instructions:

Please follow the file named U1 to do the paper. Please give back to me at 9 pm on April 16. Use IEEE citation format.

U1. Formulating Ill-Structured Problems (Individual- 35 points)
Nearly all problems that engineers encounter are ill-structured, which means that they must determine what factors are important as well as develop a proposed solution. They include important social, political, economic, and scientific concerns. They have unclear goals and incomplete information. As an engineer, it is important that you have the ability to unpack these problems in a manner that considers relevant contextual and ethical factors. The National Academy of Engineering has identified a series of “Grand Challenges” that engineers will be addressing in the 21st Century (http://www(dot)engineeringchallenges(dot)org/challenges.aspx); most of these challenges are considered to be ill-structured.  This assignment will push you to think critically and unpack one of those grand engineering challenges that engineers can contribute to solving, and you will produce a final report that draws on a variety of sources. 1. You will select one of the grand challenges on engineering to focus. You should identify and scope a challenge that you are personally interested in solving and then conduct research around it.2. Demonstrate an understanding of what that challenge entails by answering the following questions:a. Why is it a challenge (scope it effectively and consider technical and contextual elements)?b. What additional information do you need before you can develop a solution?c. How have people addressed that challenge to date? d. What is the prognosis for addressing it in the future? What controversy exists around these solutions?e. What groups or stakeholders would you involve in the plan to solve the challenge? How would you incorporate them into the problem-solving process?f. What role might engineers have in solving this challenge? What types of engineers?g. What would success look like if you solve this challenge? What should the goal be?h. What are some constraints to solving this challenge? What are the ethical dilemmas? i. What unintended consequences might a solution to this challenge have?
You should produce one written report (use the template provided) on the next page that encompasses all of the above.  Your report should use the line spacing and font style in the template (Arial, 11 pt, 1.15 line spacing) and be no longer than 3 pages (not including the reference list).   Please remember to back up claims and research with medium and/or high-quality sources (cite these using the IEEE format).  Use at least six sources to justify your claims.  In preparing this deliverable, make sure you demonstrate your ability to consider problems holistically, in a manner that considers relevant contextual and ethical factors.
U1. Formulating Ill-Structured Problems Report
Delete the previous page containing the assignment overview.  Replace all items in blue with your writing.  Keep all bolded section headings. You may change all font color to black before creating your PDF.  Use IEEE in-text citations.
Introduction  Briefly describe what your report will entail.  Clearly state which Grand Challenge your report focuses on.
Why is it a challenge?  Scope the challenge effectively and consider technical and contextual elements.
Additional information needed  What additional information do you need before you can develop a solution?
How challenge has been addressed to date  Describe how people have addressed that challenge so far.
Prognosis for future and controversies  What is the prognosis for addressing it in the future? What controversy exists around these solutions?
Stakeholders  What groups or stakeholders would you involve in the plan to solve the challenge? How would you incorporate them into the problem-solving process?
Role of engineers  What role might engineers have in solving this challenge? What types of engineers?
Definition of success  What would success look like if you solve this challenge? What should the goal be?
Constraints and ethics  What are some constraints to solving this challenge? What are the ethical dilemmas? 
Unintended consequences  What unintended consequences might a solution to this challenge have?
Conclusion  Summarize key points
References (in the IEEE format)[1][2][3][4][5][6]Add more if needed.  Evaluation of Sources is not required but you should use high/medium quality sources.

Essay Sample Content Preview:
Grand Engineering Challenges for the 21st Century (Capturing Carbon dioxide)
Introduction
Fossil fuel is the main source of power as it produces 85% of the world’s energy. Therefore, it is very unlikely that fuel from fossils will be eliminated from earth’s energy source budget. Although this problem is technical in nature, it is also political as it affects almost the economy of every country. However, at its core, it is an engineering problem that requires engineers to develop methods of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequestering it underground.
Why is it a challenge?
Before the industrialization period, there were only 280 molecules of carbon dioxide in one million molecules of air. Currently that amount has increased to more than 380 molecules per million and there is no sign of decreasing [1]. On the other hand, Carbon dioxide is a useful element thus completely eliminating man-made carbon dioxide is not practical. Additionally, it is estimated that the sequestration of carbon dioxide requires reservoirs able to hold uncountable tons of carbon dioxide as the gas is produced every second [2].
Additional information needed
Although excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has severe consequences, the process should only consider capturing the excessive amount and not eliminating the entire gas from our atmosphere. The gas is very important in the growth and survival of plants. It is also important in the formation of rocks such as limestone. According to [4], such factors must be considered through a holistic assessment process to ensure engineers succeed in their quest.
How challenge has been addressed to date
To date, chemical systems for capturing carbon dioxide have been put in place in commercial settings. However, their capacity is very minimal as they only capture little carbon dioxide for dry ice production and soft drinks carbonation. Carbon dioxide sequestration has also taken place in depleted gas and oil fields in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia [3]. Other than just acting as a storage facility, Injecting Carbon dioxide in oil fields enhances the extraction of hard-to-get oil trapped in rocks [2].Three carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) facilities are already in operation in Canada, Algeria, and Norway.
Prognosis for future and
A chemical combination of carbon dioxide and charged calcium ions results into limestone. As a result, engineers consider directing carbon dioxide into areas rich in calcium minerals. With regards to sequestration, sedimentary rocks containing brine but located more than 800 meters deep have been touted as the best alternatives [3]. Consequently, injecting carbon dioxide into rocks found below the ocean floor has been considered. A controversy in this method is that faults in such rocks would cause the carbon dioxide to escape. However, according to [5] biomass CCS plants with higher carbon dioxide needs can be effective options if they are successfully developed. Nevertheless, too much carbon dioxide in plants will make them poisonous to animals.
Stakeholders
The consequences of excessive carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are felt by many. As a result, other than engineers, other important stakeholders in this process must be our gover...
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