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Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

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Catalysis

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Separation Of Organic Acids Through Direct Catalysis From Sugars, Katelyn Robinson May 2023

Separation Of Organic Acids Through Direct Catalysis From Sugars, Katelyn Robinson

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Society relies on plastic products, whether they are single use or durable. A downside of plastic is that the most common type is a product of oil and oil is not only a limited resource but also a climate-damaging resource. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a bio-based, biodegradable plastic. However, the process of converting biomass to polylactic acid polymer has the largest environmental impact of the PLA production process, so alternative methods of conversion are needed (Moretti et al., 2021). The polylactic acid polymer can be made with lactic acid, which can be converted from glucose.


Development Of A Ws2 Catalyst For Hydrogen Evolution And Improvement Via Platinum Nanoparticle Decoration, Alexander O'Brien May 2019

Development Of A Ws2 Catalyst For Hydrogen Evolution And Improvement Via Platinum Nanoparticle Decoration, Alexander O'Brien

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In response to a growing global need to improve utilization of green energy, the concept of renewable energy storage via electrolytic hydrogen production has gained popularity in recent years. However, the prohibitive expense of the bulk platinum catalysts currently used for the hydrogen evolution reaction prevents such a concept from being widely adoptable. This research focuses on a possible alternative catalyst, nanolayer WS2, which is capable of promoting the hydrogen evolution reaction while maintaining economic viability. Bulk WS2 was prepared in semiconducting, nanolayer form through liquid phase exfoliation. Prepared catalyst inks consisting of this material demonstrated successful …