Engineering Commons^™

Enhanced Pervaporation Using A Novel Pump Configuration, Donough Patrick Shanahan

Theses

The pervaporation process is investigated in this work under the guises of process design improvements and process performance. Several avenues of research were investigated.

The main aim of the project was to investigate the use of liquid ring vacuum pumps for permeate recovery at laboratory and industrial scales. Due to technical and economical issues, these pumps were deemed unsuitable. This analysis then had to be extended further. Previous work investigated the use of dry vacuum pump systems on a lab scale and this work was extended to industrial scale simulations. Results from the lab scale process particularly those relating to …

Enhanced Vacuum Drying Through Improved Solvent Recovery, Reduced Process Cycle Times And Prediction Of Drying Duration, Diana Patricia Mesa Delgado

Theses

Drying of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals is often accomplished under vacuum conditions to enhance energy efficiency and to avoid overheating of thermo sensitive materials. This project aims to study vacuum drying operations to obtain a better understanding of this process so as to optimize drying performance. This project obtained industrial data collected from a range companies in Ireland.

Pharmaceutical companies started assessing processes and making changes to drying processes from 2004 onwards; these initiatives are due to economic pressures, environmental issues and the Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative launched by the FDA in 2004.

Vacuum drying has been used in …

Treatment Of Aqueous Waste Streams At Eli Lilly - Alternatives To Incineration, Barry Hennessy

Theses

The aim of this project was to investigate the potential to treat liquid waste (secondary) from production processes at Eli Lilly with the emphasis on minimising the volume of waste sent for thermal oxidation. In addition, the project aimed to investigate if the chosen technology was diverse and potentially capable of handling waste streams from different processes. Membrane technology was identified as one of the most suitable technologies and trials were carried out on secondary waste from three production processes. The literature review and practical thrials aswell as assessment of trial results ran from October 2003 to June 2005.

All …

Pervaporation Of Water From Solvent Solutions, Richard Manning

Theses

Pervaporation is an emerging membrane technology which has found acceptance as a method for the dehydration of organic solvents.

An existing pervaporation apparatus was modified to accommodate a new type of pervaporation membrane. The instrumentation used with the pervaporation apparatus was upgraded to include a Keithley Data Logger. A HAZOP was carried out on the modified pervaporation apparatus to ensure the apparatus was safe to operate after the modifications were completed.

The pervaporation apparatus was initially tested using screening experiments to verify that changing the operating parameters produced a measurable response which could be recorded. The pervaporation apparatus was successfully …

Closed Material Cycles And Organic Solvent Recovery, Tim De Jong

Theses

A survey was conducted of the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland to establish organic solvent usage, recovery and treatment practices. The eleven companies covered by the survey, which included several of the worlds largest multinational companies, consumed in the region of 122,000 tonnes of organic solvent in 2002. Approximately 53,000 tonnes was recovered on-site while 69,000 tonnes of virgin solvent was brought on-site to replace that which was lost through wastewater treatment, incineration, fugitive emissions and off-site treatment or reuse. The total quantity of virgin solvent consumed by the eleven companies accounted for 75.4 % of organic solvent imports to Ireland. …

Extraction Of A Valuable Compound From A Waste Stream For Adm Ringaskiddy, Colin G. Burkley

Theses

This thesis was originally conceived as a potential Masters Degree research programme by the management of ADM Ringaskiddy as a means of maximizing throughput through the plant’s wastewater treatment facility. This facility is a major producer of citric acid using beet molasses and a fermentation process. It was proposed that removal of a compound, known as betaine, from the citric acid process waste stream would reduce the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) content of the waste requiring treatment before disposal. This would be achieved by using the citric acid process waste as the feedstock for a betaine extraction process. The wastewater …

Environmental Management Of Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (Weee) In Ireland, Simon Wilkinson

Theses

This thesis follows two previous studies by the Author on the calculation of theoretical WEEE arisings, and an assessment of ecodesign practices in Ireland. It has established collection trials in five different locations throughout Ireland in order to characterise and quantify WEEE arisings, and to examine outlets for collected WEEE. Overall, during the twelve months of collection at the project locations, more than 450 tonnes of WEEE was collected from the public and recycled. Within the catchments of each facility, collection rates of between 2.1 and 3.5 kg/person/year were achieved during the twelve-month trial period. With further public awareness raising …

The Treatment Of Vegetable Processing Waste Water Using A Pilot Scale Sequencing Batch Reactor Activated Sludge Process, Peter Hassett

Theses

The SBR process is a discontinuous, unsteady state process and has developed popularity in many countries assisted by reliable control technology for example programmable logic control. A typical SBR installation achieves equalisation, aeration and clarification of batches of wastewater on a timed sequence in one basin. This is in contrast to a volume sequenced process such as the conventional continuous stirred tank reactor where individual treatment objectives are met in separate basins. Advantages include, flexability, minimum energy input, consistent effluent quality and inhibition of filament organism growth by properly controlling substrate concentration and aeration sequences. Nitrification, denitrification and Bio-P removal …