Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Phase Composition Of Tungsten Carbide On Its Catalytic Activity For Toluene Hydrogenation, Aditya Rane

Masters Theses

Commercially important hydrogenation reactions make use of precious noble metal catalysts which are becoming increasingly scarce, and the search for capable alternative catalysts prevails. Transition metal carbides of group IV-VI metals show similar catalytic behavior to platinum and are $103/kg lower in price than the precious metal catalysts. Tungsten carbide, studied in this work, can form in different stoichiometries and phase compositions depending upon synthesis methods. Synthesis of high surface area tungsten carbide with control over its phase composition remains a challenge currently. In this work, the novel isothermal synthesis method of tungsten carbide (WC, W2C) in a CH4 ...

Synthesis And Research Of Silicon-Containing Phthalocyanine, Dilmurod Shukurov, Hayit Turayev, Abdulakhat Djalilov, Masud Karimov

CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

The aim of this study is to synthesize, and study a new form of dye based on phthalocyanine, a silicon-containing phthalocyanine pigment used as a dye for dye-sensitive solar cells, which are currently third generation solar cells as one of the energy source alternatives. To achieve this goal, a silicon-containing phthalocyanine pigment containing urea, phthalic anhydride and sodium fluorosilicate was synthesized and studied. Based on the results of IR spectroscopy, the reaction of pigment formation is proposed and the data of scanning electron microscopy is presented. Its differential thermal analysis, photodynamic analysis and its relationship with inorganic and organic solvents ...

Study Level Recovery Processes Of Thorium And Several Rare Earth Elements From Monazite Ore, Makayla Hyde, Jaclyn Choate

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Monazite ore is composed of several minerals including several rare earth element (REE) and thorium phosphates. Many past research projects have looked at the extraction of REE from monazite ore but have discarded the thorium phosphate compound as waste. Since thorium could be a possible fuel for state-of-the-art future nuclear reactors, this research focuses on a way to recover thorium from the monazite ore. The overall purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual recovery process that recovers thorium dioxide from monazite ore. In some parts of the world where uranium sources are limited; then, thorium could be used ...

Co2 Derived Carbon Capture Using Microalgae In A Photobiocrec Unit, Maureen D. Cordoba Perez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Microalgae has the potential to contribute to carbon dioxide capture, resulting in the production of alternative fuels and valuable chemical products. To accomplish this, high-efficiency photobioreactors must be conceptualized, designed, and established, in order to achieve high inorganic carbon conversion, superior light utilization, and unique fluid dynamics.

In this PhD Dissertation, experiments with Chlorella vulgaris were carried out, in a 0.175L especially designed PhotoBioCREC unit, under controlled radiation and high mixing conditions. This unique design involves 1 mm-2 mm alumina particles, which keep photoreactor walls always clean, without compromising photon transmittance. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) was supplied as the ...

Experimental Study And Characterization Of Bubble Behaviors In The Orifice-Induced Hydrodynamic Cavitation, Haoxuan Zheng

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Experimental studies were performed to characterize the development process of orifice-induced cavitation and transitional bubble behaviors. The transition from non-cavitation to fully developed cavitation was carefully studied. Cavitation bubble clouds were observed at orifice, indicating the inception of cavitation. The number of bubbles produced were dramatically increased while the averaged sizes of bubble reduced when cavitation was initiated. Both orifice opening ratio and perimeter can affect the cavitation developing process. A long orifice perimeter promotes the production of fine bubbles. The orifice plates with the smallest opening ratio generated a desired gas-liquid interfacial area at the lowest required pressure. An ...

Non-Innocent Role Of The Ceria Support In Pd-Catalyzed Halophenol Hydrodehalogenation, Pranjali J. Naik, Yeongseo An, Sergey L. Sedinkin, Hayley Masching, Daniel Freppon, Emily A. Smith, Vincenzo Venditti, Igor I. Slowing

Chemistry Publications

The hydrodehalogenation (HDH) of halophenols is efficiently catalyzed by palladium supported on high-surface ceria (Pd/CeO2) under mild conditions (35 °C, 1 atm H2). A combination of NMR, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS studies and HDH kinetics of substituted halobenzenes suggests that the reaction proceeds mainly via a sequence of dissociative adsorption of phenolic hydroxyl onto the support, oxidative addition of the C–halogen bond to Pd, and reductive elimination to give phenol and hydrogen halide. The dissociative adsorption of the −OH group onto oxygen vacancies of the ceria support results in an electron-rich intermediate ...

Hydrogen Production Via Photocatalytic Water Splitting Under Near-Uv And Visible Light Using Doped Pd Tio2, Bianca Rusinque

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present PhD thesis reports the modification of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with palladium (Pd), to enhance hydrogen production via water splitting, using 2.0v/v% ethanol as a scavenger. Titanium dioxide was used as photocatalyst, given its ability to absorb photons, producing e^-/h⁺ pairs. Mesoporous TiO₂ was synthesized using a soft template, following the sol-gel method, to modify its morphological properties. Palladium was used as co-catalyst doping TiO₂ agent, narrowing the band gaps down to 2.51 eV, and creating additional active metal sites.

Water splitting experiments under near-UV and visible light irradiation were carried out ...

Direct Activation Of Light Alkanes To Value-Added Chemicals Using Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts, Md Ashraful Abedin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One of the most challenging aspects of modern-day catalysis is the conversion of methane. Direct conversion of methane via dehydroaromatization (MDHA) is a well-known process which can produce valuable hydrocarbons. Mo oxide supported on ZSM-5/MCM-22 has been studied extensively in recent years for MDHA. Mo carbides are responsible for activating methane by forming CHx species. These are dimerized into C2Hy and oligomerized on ZSM-5/MCM-22 Brønsted acid sites to form aromatics. Sulfated zirconia (SZ) supported Mo catalyst contains the acid sites necessary to produce benzene in MDHA. Here, sulfated hafnia (SH), a homologous oxide like SZ, has been proposed ...

Development Of Density-Functional Tight-Binding Methods For Chemical Energy Science, Quan Vuong

Doctoral Dissertations

Density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) method is an approximation to the popular first-principles density functional theory (DFT) method. Recently, DFTB has gained considerable visibility due to its inexpensive computational requirements that confer it the capability of sustaining long-timescale reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations while providing an explicit description of electronic structure at all time steps. This capability allows the description of bond formation and breaking processes, as well as charge polarization and charge transfer phenomena, with accuracy and transferability beyond comparable classical reactive force fields. It has thus been employed successfully in the simulation of many complex chemical processes. However, its applications ...

Global Gas-Phase Oxidation Rates Of Select Products From The Fast Pyrolysis Of Lignocellulose, Chad Peterson, Robert C. Brown

Mechanical Engineering Publications

The oxidation kinetics for products of fast pyrolysis at low temperatures (<600 °C) are not well-known. These will be important in an effort to model autothermal pyrolysis, which has been recently developed to intensify the process but which occurs at much lower temperatures than combustion. This study determines global oxidation rates at 400–600 °C for three important products of fast pyrolysis: levoglucosan, xylose, and acetic acid. Experiments were performed in a fluidized bed pyrolyzer with the reactor modeled as a series of continuously stirred reactors and plug flow reactors to determine reaction rates. Oxidation rates at 500 °C for the three model compounds varied by a factor of 10.

Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction On Oxide-Derived Silver With Tunable Selectivity To Nitrite And Ammonia, Hengzhou Liu, Jaeryul Park, Yifu Chen, Yang Qiu, Yan Cheng, Kartik Srivastava, Shuang Gu, Brent H. Shanks, Luke T. Roling, Wenzhen Li

Chemical and Biological Engineering Publications

Removing excess nitrate (NO3–) from waste streams has become a significant environmental and health topic. However, realizing highly selective NO3– conversion toward N2, primarily via electrocatalytic conversions, has proven challenging, largely because of the kinetically uncontrollable NO3–-to-NO2– pathway and unfavorable N–N coupling. Herein, we discovered unique and ultra-high electrocatalytic NO3–-to-NO2–activity on oxide-derived silver (OD-Ag). Up to 98% selectivity and 95% Faradaic efficiency (FE) of NO2– were observed and maintained under a wide potential window. Benefiting from the superior NO3–-to-NO2–activity, further reduction of accumulated NO2– to NH4+ was well regulated by the cathodic potential and ...

Synthesis Of Aromatic Acetylene Alcohols Using Complex Catalytic Systems, Odiljon Ziyadullaev, Guzal Otamukhamedova, Abduvakhab Ikramov, Saida Abdurakhmanova, Otabek Boytemirov

CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Some cyclic ketones (cyclopentanone, cyclohexanone, 2-methylcyclohexanone, menthol, camphor and adamantanone) enantioselective alkynylation reactions with phenylacetylene have been studied in the presence of complex catalytic systems - Zn(OTf)₂/NЕt₃/MeCN, 3,3′-Ph₂BINOL-2Li/TGF and BuLi/KO^tBu/TGF. Synthesis were performed new aromatic acetylene alcohols – 1-(2-phenylathinyl) cyclopentanol (1), 1-(2-phenylethinyl)cyclohexanol (2), 2-methyl-1-(2-phenylethinyl)cyclohexanol (3), 2-isopropyl-5-methyl-1-(2-phenylethinyl)cyclohexanol (4), 1,7,7,-trimethyl-2-(2-phenylethinyl)bicyclo [2.2.1] heptanol-2 (5) and 2-phenylethinyltricyclo [3,3,1.0^3,7]nonanol-2 (6). Synthesis reactions of aromatic acetylene alcohols, activation energies were determined, kinetic of chemical ...

Heterogeneous Catalytic Conversions Of Acetylene, Abduvakhab Ikramov, Sevara Kholikova, Noryigit Musulmanov

CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

The reactions of interaction of acetylene with water vapor, acetic acid and ammonia in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts have investigated. Depending on the nature of the starting components used, acetaldehyde and acetone, vinyl acetate, pyridine bases and pyrrole synthesized. Heterogeneous catalysts selected for each studied reaction based on some scientific prerequisites for the selection of catalysts. Active catalysts for the investigated reactions were determined, which contain compounds of cadmium, zinc, bismuth, chromium, iron and copper, in general, d-group metals. γ-Al₂O₃, bentonite and kaolin used as a catalyst carrier. Hydrofluoric acid, acetic acid, ammonium fluoride and others ...

Paired Electrolysis Of 5-(Hydroxymethyl)Furfural In Flow Cells With A High-Performance Oxide-Derived Silver Cathode, Hengzhou Liu, Ting-Han Lee, Yifu Chen, Eric W. Cochran, Wenzhen Li

Chemical and Biological Engineering Publications

Electrocatalytic upgrading of biomass-derived feedstocks driven by renewable electricity offers a greener way to reduce the global carbon footprint associated with the production of value-added chemicals. In this respect, a key strategy is the electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) reaction, which is typically paired with the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with sluggish kinetics, producing O2 with little value. Here we prepared an oxide-derived Ag (OD-Ag) electrode with high activity and up to 98.2% selectivity for the ECH of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF), and such efficient conversion was achieved in a three-electrode flow cell. The ...

Design And Analysis Of A Process To Convert Methanol Into Dimethyl Ether, Elisa M. White

Honors Theses

A recent economic downturn led to the loss of a contract for a company that sells methanol. The company has two options to recover some of the profit lost from the contract termination. One option is to sell the excess methanol at the spot market price, and the second option is to implement a process to convert the excess methanol into dimethyl ether. This project investigated the implementation of a process to convert the methanol from the lost contract into dimethyl ether. The process was simulated in AVEVA Process Simulation to estimate the size of equipment needed. A toller provided ...

The Controlled Synthesis Of Hydrogen Electrocatalysts For Alkaline Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell And Electrolysis Applications Via Chemical Vapor Deposition, Stefan Thurston Dubard Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

The development of catalysts for the electrochemical processes of hydrogen systems (e.g., fuel cells and electrolyzer systems) continues to be an attractive area of research for renewable energy technologies. One significant challenge has been developing hydrogen catalysts suitable for alkaline environments, mainly due to the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen reactions. In alkaline environments, the kinetics are decreased by two orders of magnitude when compared to acidic environments. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a conventional method used to synthesize these types of catalysts. This effort discusses extending work being done using a modified CVD process known as “Poor Man’s ...

Economic Feasibility Of A Methanol To Dimethyl Ether Production Process To Avoid Contract Failure Shortfalls From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacob Noll, Robert Wasson, Harrison Mckinnis

Honors Theses

Our team entered the 2021 AVEVA Academic Competition, where teams of undergraduate senior chemical engineering students competed across the country. The competition was composed of two parts: the base case design and the optimization of a chemical process. As part of the competition, our team is acting as the Engineering team for a fictional company that has given us this project. Due to COVID-19, our methanol producing company has lost a contract with a customer, leaving 23,000 tonnes/yr of unclaimed methanol. We have two choices with this methanol: either sell the methanol on the market at the spot ...

Ethylbenzene Production Case Study And Optimization, Brandon Borek

Honors Theses

The objective of this project was to investigate the process of producing ethylbenzene from the liquid-phase reaction of ethylene and benzene and perform parametric and topological optimizations to increase the net present value of the production facility. To do so, the base case conditions of the process were modeled and quantified economically followed by an investigation into the existing process to determine conditions that could be altered to improve the economic viability of the project. After optimizing the parametric conditions and topology of the process, the net present value of the project was increased by 305 million dollars to 191 ...

Design Of An Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment Utilizing A Stirred-Tank, Jacketed Bioreactor, Brennen Middleton

Honors Theses

Bioreactors are utilized in many industries, such as the food, alternative fuel, and pharmaceutical industries, to design and manufacture products. Unlike the similar chemical batch reactors utilized in many chemical processing facilities, bioreactor utilization requires engineers to consider a wider range of operating conditions and parameters. This results in a more complex reaction system and controls network. Due to this, it is imperative for chemical and biomedical engineering students to not only understand the theory surrounding these reactor systems, but also understand how to properly design and perform operating procedures with these systems. Thus, it was determined to create an ...

Investigative Study Of Microalgal And Electrochemical Wastewater Treatment Systems And Modeling Of The Wafer-Enhanced Electrodeionization Using Supervised Learning, Humeyra Betul Ulusoy Erol

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater has a serious impact on environment and public health due to its high concentration of nutrients and toxic contaminants. Without proper treatment, excess nutrients discharged in wastewater can cause a damage to the ecosystem such as undesirable pH shifts, cyanotoxin production, and low dissolved oxygen concentrations.

Main objectives of this dissertation work were to investigate i) the biofuel potential of P. cruentum when grown in swine wastewater, ii) the influence of four most commonly used ion exchange resins on the system efficiency and selectivity for the removal of sodium, calcium, and magnesium ions, and iii) the modeling of wafer-enhanced ...