Integrating quantum computers into green energy research /
Orion Biofuels is a biodiesel manufacturer in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. For the past 10 years, it has developed a sophisticated process using plasma arc-pyrolysis (which is explained in detail in the Case) to convert certain types of organic-origin waste into drop-in ready fuels, such as biodiesel...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Los Angeles, CA :
SAGE Publications, Inc.,
2024.
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| Series: | SAGE Business cases.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | Orion Biofuels is a biodiesel manufacturer in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. For the past 10 years, it has developed a sophisticated process using plasma arc-pyrolysis (which is explained in detail in the Case) to convert certain types of organic-origin waste into drop-in ready fuels, such as biodiesel and biokerosene. Orion has worked with computational water molecular and computational hydrocarbon specialists in the past, to conduct computational chemical experiments to upgrade certain aspects of their biodiesel manufacturing process. Recently, the president of Orion, Robert Zendor, heard that quantum computers may become commercially viable for small to medium size enterprises (SMEs). In addition, he has also worked with his R&D team over the past year to try to solve some problems related to the manufacture of biodiesel. But the size of the molecules and the complexity of the process have made it impossible to make further advances using a computational chemistry modeling on supercomputers. Robert wonders whether quantum computers could be used to solve these types of problems. While his company has not used either supercomputers or quantum computers in their R&D, he knows from research journals that both types of computer systems could be useful in solving certain kinds of problems in petrochemical research and development. This case is an exploration of a groundbreaking technology, and the challenges and opportunities faced by small businesses in green energy trying to access and use it. Both supercomputers, and now quantum computers, have generally been incredibly expensive to access and use. While cloud computing systems, such as those offered by Amazon, IBM, and a host of other companies, have driven down the cost of access to this type of computing scale and power in the last few years, using those systems still requires advanced expertise in a niche area that few small businesses have expertise in. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| ISBN: | 9781071939116 1071939114 |