Engineering Commons^™

Quantification Of Flows Emerging From Small Pores In Plane Walls, Matia Peter Edwards

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Current membrane separation processes are limited in high production and high purity settings due to a trade-off between selectivity and permeance. Methods of creating nanoscale geometries in 2D materials are emerging and present an opportunity for fast, size selective mass transport that can be tailored to a wide array of applications. This thesis develops a method for quantifying flow through small pores in plane walls based on the behaviour of a solute dispersed in a downstream reservoir. This method is validated for a range of micropore diameters, for which flow rates can be calculated with confidence, and is shown to …

Production Of Cellulose-Based Superabsorbent Polymers For Soil Water Retention, Rosa Maria Arredondo Ramirez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) have attracted tremendous attention, with researchers noting that their high water absorption capacity (AC) is valuable for various applications, especially in agricultural contexts. Two types of materials can be used to produce SAPs: fossil-based (which are harmful to the environment) and bio-based (which are significantly more environmentally friendly, given their biodegradability and minimal toxic side effects). Although bio-based SAPs (Bio-SAPs) are preferable due to their environmental merits, their preparation tends to be time consuming and labour intensive, and their AC is still far below expectations. To address these problems, a novel, eco-friendly, cellulose-based superabsorbent polymer (Cellulo-SAP) was …

Identification And Distribution Analysis Of The Mid-Phase In A Low-Velocity Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed, Zhenan Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The intermediate phase in low-velocity gas-solid fluidized beds generally presents excellent gas-solid contact in the systems. However, no comprehensive understanding of this vital phase is available in the literature. Therefore, this study proposed a statistical method to identify this intermediate phase, named ‘mid-phase’ in this thesis, to interpret the system performance based on the analysis of solids holdup in a low-velocity gas-solid fluidized bed.

The distributions of the mid-phase are investigated along both radial and axial directions in consideration of different flow regimes. The result shows that the turbulent regime contains a higher amount of mid-phase and the spatial mid-phase …

Development Of A Cold Model Fuild Coker Pilot Plant, Jessica A. Godin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fluid Coking^TM is an upgrading process used to produce higher-value products from heavy hydrocarbons through thermal cracking. A Hot Pilot Plant is being designed for potential use to optimize commercial Fluid Cokers.

A Cold Model Fluid Coker was operated in this thesis to identify design limitations restricting operation at the required conditions. Design changes were implemented, and their impact on the system fluid dynamics were characterized. Successful operation of at required conditions was demonstrated.

Pressure measurements provided rapid feedback on potential issues. Models for bed expansion and entrainment flux were developed, which can be used to extrapolate to the …

Development Of Photocatalytic Reactor System For Dye Degradation From Lab To Pilot Scale, Waleed Jadaa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The overall goal of the research is to develop a novel photocatalytic reactor system, namely, a bubble column photoreactor for the degradation of resistant pollutants, with a particular emphasis on azo dyes. To achieve the objective, different sub-objectives were performed employing lab and pilot-scale reactors with the application of simulated wastewater. Direct Blue (DB15) was used as a model compound for the azo dyes class for this study. Firstly, the influence of various variables such as pH, dye concentration, and catalyst loading to determine optimal combinations of DB15 removal. The experiments were conducted in a swirl flow photoreactor under the …

Novel Fed-Batch Process With In-Situ Product Recovery For Glycerol Fermentation To Butanol Using Clostridium Pasteurianum, Ammi Jani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Butanol, a next-generation biofuel, can be produced by fermenting glycerol using Clostridium pasteurianum. To address product inhibition, an integrated system that combined a fed-batch process with pervaporation was assessed against conventional batch and fed-batch fermentations. This study showed that with the novel process configuration, the productive fermentation time could be extended, translating to a 2.4-fold and 1.9-fold increase in butanol production relative to baseline fed-batch and batch operation, respectively. Further, it was demonstrated that butanol concentrations were able to be maintained below inhibitory levels throughout the fermentation. Despite this outcome, metabolic oscillations were revealed, indicating instability in the process. The …

Co-Gasification Of Biomass And Plastic Waste In A Bubbling Fluidized Bed Reactor, Islam Elghamrawy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Plastics are versatile, durable, and can be manipulated to match different needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of reducing plastic waste and is believed to be responsible for increasing the generation of plastic waste by 54,000 tons/day which was reported in 2020. Another widely available waste is biomass waste. Agriculture and agroforestry, forest and wood processing, municipal waste, and the food industry are all considered major producers of biowaste. Co-gasification is considered one of the most promising methods of chemical recycling that targets the production of syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) and light hydrocarbon gases. In this study, …

The Electrical, Thermal, And Morphological Properties Of Microinjection-Molded Polypropylene Nanocomposites, Renze Jiang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Microinjection molding (µIM) exhibits significantly higher shear rates and faster cooling rates, as compared to conventional injection molding, which affect the characteristics of its final products. The effect of carbon black (CB), carbon nanotubes (CNT), and graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) fillers on the electrical conductivity properties of microinjection-molded polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites was systematically studied. Results showed the electrical conductivity properties of PP/CNT and PP/CB microparts were significantly influenced by mold geometry. PP/CNT/CB hybrid filler microparts demonstrated synergistic increases in electrical conductivity and crystallization temperature with higher CNT loading. Morphological observations indicated significant CB and CNT phase separation. Powder-PP/GNP composites exhibited higher …

Sol-Gel Derived Bioceramic Poly(Diethyl Fumarate – Co – Triethoxyvinylsilane) Composite, Aref Sleiman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Synthetic bone graft materials have become an increasingly popular choice for bone augmentation. Ceramic-based and polymer-based bone graft materials constitute the two main classes of synthetic bone graft materials. This study investigated the synthesis of novel bioactive composites for their potential use as bone graft biomaterials. Poly(diethyl fumarate-co-triethoxyvinylsilane)/bioceramic class II organic/inorganic hybrid biomaterials were synthesized via a sol gel process. These biomaterials were then reacted with an ammonium phosphate solution to prepare their respective composites. For the first time, we successfully synthesized sol-gel derived bioceramic poly(diethyl fumarate-co-triethoxyvinylsilane) composites. In vitro bioactivity evaluation of poly(diethyl fumarate-co-triethoxyvinylsilane)/bioceramic composites in simulated body fluid …