Digital Commons Network^™

Extraction Of Proteins By Winsor Iii Microemulsion Systems, Javier Alejandro Gomez Del Rio

Doctoral Dissertations

Purification of proteins by microemulsion was improved through use of a 3-phase (“Winsor-III”) microemulsion system instead of the traditionally employed 2-phase (“Winsor-II”) water-in-oil microemulsion system. As a consequence, two of the main problems of the traditional method were improved: the low and slow rate of recovery of proteins encapsulated by the microemulsions and the low protein solubilization capacity of the microemulsions.

Microemulsion systems employed a mixture of surfactants, two pH-degradable “cyclic ketal” alkyl ethoxylates (O-[(2-tridecyl, 2-ethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl) methoxy]–O’- methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)_n , where n, the average degree of polymerization for the ethoxylate group, equaled 3.0 or 5.45, CK3 and CK7, …

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Salt Concentration On Surfactant Adsorption Using A Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Shannon Joanne Ray

Masters Theses

Surfactant adsorption from aqueous electrolyte solutions onto metal surfaces was characterized through the use of a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM). The need for a better understanding of the surfactant adsorption process became apparent in previous studies by Morton et al., who used estimated and extrapolated properties in a thermodynamically-based model of oil removal from metal surfaces. These modeling efforts overlap existing data on surfactant adsorption data and require an estimation of surfactant adsorption phenomena, especially the transition between monolayer adsorption and multi-layer adsorption, which corresponds to the critical micelle concentration (CMC). Thus, the purpose of this study was to gain …

Experimental Studies Of Electron Transfer Between Wild Type And Mutagenic Cyanobacterial Cytochrome C553 And Photosystem I, Mehrsa Raeiszadeh

Masters Theses

A mutant form of the protein complex cytochrome c₅₅₃ (cyt c₅₅₃) has been constructed by site-directed mutagenesis in Thermosynechococcus elongatus (T. elongates) to elucidate the binding and electron transfer properties between cyt c₅₅₃ and photosystem I (PSI). The electron-transfer between wild type T. elongatus cyt c₅₅₃ and a mutant form of cyt c₅₅₃ and T. elongatus and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) PSI, has been studied as a function of cyt c₅₅₃ concentration, ionic strength, pH and the detergents used to stabilize the protein. The effects of each of these …

Energy Production From Poultry Waste: Development And Application Of An Economic Model To Compare Various Concepts, Ricky Everette Dickens

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a profitable way to recover energy from the poultry waste produced by Seaboard Farms in Chattanooga Tennessee. This study dovetails with an earlier study conducted by the SMARTPARK^TMproject, where SMARTPARK^TMengineers determined there could be large energy savings through the placement of heat exchangers, and the sharing of hot and cold utilities between companies in that same industrial park. They suggested construction of a Centrally Managed Energy Recovery Facility (CMERF^TM) which would incorporate the heat exchangers to match heat streams between the two plants, …

Characterizing And Modeling The Hydrodynamics Of Shallow Spouted Beds, Jiandong Zhou

Doctoral Dissertations

The hydrodynamics of shallow, conical spouted beds of heavy particles were experimentally studied to determine how they differ from previous spouted bed reports in the literature. Key experimental measurements included minimum spouting velocity, time-average and time-varying (dynamic) pressure drop, time-average fountain height and time-average gas velocity profile in the bed. New correlations were developed for minimum spouting velocity, time-average pressure drop and fountain height based on the experimental data. The time-average gas velocity profile measurements confirmed that the beds in the present study exhibited gas flow features that were at least qualitatively similar to those previously reported for other experimental …

Value Prior To Processing Of Oriented Strand Board Flakes Through Hot Water Extraction, Clinton T. Sattler

Masters Theses

Research has already shown that the extraction of a valuable hemicellulose-rich stream is a viable option for revenue generation in the pulp and paper industries. Applying the value prior to pulping concept to the composite panel industry is a natural extension. If a hemicellulose extraction is accomplished under the right conditions, a non-trivial amount of fine chemicals can be generated, while leaving the woody substrate structurally intact for production to traditional products, such as oriented strand board (OSB). According to literature, the removal of hemicellulose can increase the dimensional stability while decreasing the degradability of OSB panels. This research studied …

Determination Of Virgin Wood Remaining In A Cask After Maturation And Predictive Modeling For Spirit Specific Compounds, John Powers Wolff

Masters Theses

The stipulations from the government of the United States require whisky distillers to use a new, charred oak barrel for maturation of the spirit. The amount of money spent on new oak accounts for almost 60% of the price for the finished spirit. Determining the amount of virgin wood, wood not affected by the maturation process, which remains in the stave, could reduce the costs for the production of certain spirits.

Thermal treatment to the wood before maturation creates some of the compounds attributing to the flavor and color of the spirit. Utilizing pressure, temperature, and humidity differences from season …