Zach McCaffrey is a PhD student in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at UC Davis focusing on Energy Systems.  Current interests include: biomass gasification, demand response thermal storage refrigeration, hybrid vehicles, alternative fuels, engine modeling, and "Lighting the Way" Africa lighting project.

EDUCATION

M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Davis, 2006

M.S. Electrical Engineering, Boston University; January 1999

B.S. Computer Engineering, Boston University, January 1997

Research:  BIOMASS GASIFICATION

The goal of the biomass gasification project is to develop an efficient process for producing a clean syngas for two different applications:  electricity generation and production of biofuels via the Fischer-Tropsch process.  In the conversion of biomass to syngas a thermochemical process is used where biomass is combined with steam or air in a gasification reactor.  Syngas consists primarily of CO, H₂, CO₂, and CH_4, plus undesirable tars, particulates, ammonia, and others.  Depending on the application, varying levels of gas cleaning needs to be performed as combustion in an internal combustion engine is significantly more tolerant of contaminants than the Fischer Tropsche process.   Currently the project is involved in design and manufacturing of the gasification reactor, heat exchangers, cyclone, filter, and scrubber components for a laboratory scale gasifier.

Other Project:  LIGHTING THE WAY, Zambia

The goal of the UC Davis’ Program for International Energy Technologies “Lighting the Way” project is to design and distribute an ultra-low cost, modular LED lighting system to reduce fuel-based lighting in Zambia, Africa. World-wide, fuel-based lighting costs $38 billion per year, emits about 190 megatons of CO2, and contributes to respiratory problems when used indoors. Zambia has a population of approximately 10 million and only 20% of the households have a grid connection.  Non-electrified homes and businesses use primarily kerosene lamps and candles for lighting. “Lighting the Way” provides a renewable source lighting alternative so these households will have better light for less money with a lower environmental and public health impact.

PUBLICATIONS

Van Mulders, F., Van Mierlo, J., Van den Bosche, P., Timmermans, J., McCaffrey, Z., Supercapacitor enhanced battery traction systems concept evaluation, EVS-23, Anaheim, California, December 2007.

Van Mulders, F., Timmermans, J., McCaffrey, Z., Van Mierlo, J., and Van den Bosche, P., Preliminary evaluation of the use of supercapacitors in a battery powered electric go-kart, EET-2007 European Ele-Drive Conference, Brussels, Belgium, May 2007.

Burke, A., Miller, M., and McCaffrey, Z., The World-wide Status and Application of Ultracapacitors in Vehicles: Cell and Module Performance and Cost and System Considerations, Proceedings of EVS-22, Yokohama, Japan. October 2006

K. Kornbluth, P. Erickson, Z. McCaffrey, R. Williams, “The Role of Hydrogen in Landfill Gas Utilization”, for California Integrated Waste Management Board, October 2006

Burke, A., McCaffrey, Z., and Miller, M., A 25Wh, 45V Ultracapacitor Module for High Power, Mild Hybrid Vehicle Applications, 5th International Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitor Conference, June 2005.

Burnham, A., Burke, A., Collier, R., Forrest, M., McCaffrey, Z., and Miller, M., Hydrogen Bus Technology Validation Program: Analysis and Update, National Hydrogen Association, June 2004.

Dwyer, H., McCaffrey, Z.,and Miller, M., Analysis and Prediction of in Cylinder NOx Emissions for Lean Burn CNG/H2 Transit Bus Engines, SAE paper # 04SFL-35, April 2003.

McCaffrey, Z., and Avresky, D.R., Deadlock- and Livelock-free Wormhole routing in 2D Toruses, 1998 International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Processing Techniques and Applications.