Engineering Commons^™

Carbon Dioxide Gasification Of Biochar: A Study On Utilizing Captured Co2 To Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emission And Improving Carbon Conversion Efficiency, Nnamdi Ofuani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With rapidly growing global economies and world population, fossil fuel continues to play a major role in meeting current energy demands. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies have, hence, been implemented to reduce CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. With the implementation of CCS technologies comes the need to utilize the captured CO₂. This research, therefore, proposes CO₂ gasification of biochar as a viable carbon utilization pathway. With captured CO₂ coming at various concentrations, there is a need to understand how CO₂ concentration affects biochar conversion to useful products. This study, therefore, evaluates the effects …

Use Of Photo Isomers To Enhance The Removal Of Lignin From Woody Biomass Hydrolysate, Dipesh J. Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this investigation we propose a novel method to enable precipitation of desired solutes using photo-isomers in the extraction solvent. This photo-switchable solvent would enable dissolution or precipitation of desired components using alternating UV or visible light to modify the solubility of the compounds of interest. Three photo-isomers namely native azobenzene, diethoxy azobenzene and diethylamino azobenzene were studied in three different organic solvents: medium chain length alcohol, ethanol and acetone. It was found that among the different combinations of solvent and photo-isomer, acetone and the 4,4’-diethoxy azobenzene solution was most efficient at precipitating dissolved lignin in response to UV light …

Investigations Of A Surrogate Fuel Based On Fischer-Tropsch Gtl And Ctl In Cvcc, Idi And Di Compression Ignition Engines, Amanda C. Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the increase in availability, feedstocks, and properties of alternative fuels, compatibility issues emerge between current engine platforms often requiring a limit on the blend percentage of alternative fuel in conventional fuel or alteration to the engine platform. Two key metrics were identified, autoignition quality and lubrication characteristics, as vital for the proper function of a compression ignition engine, and if the blend of alternative fuels matches these two criteria for the diesel standard, then the resulting blend percentage can be considered as a viable alternative for complete replacement of conventional petroleum ULSD. Autoignition quality was matched using blends S-8, …

Catalytic Ring Opening Of Mono- And Bicyclic Compounds For The Production Of Renewable Diesel And Jet Fuel, Matthew J. Kline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Thermal DeOxygenation (TDO) is a process that converts organic acids produced from cellulose hydrolysis and dehydration into a low-oxygen bio-oil containing substituted naphthene compounds. The high aromatic content is desirable for gasoline fractions, but middle distillates such as diesel and jet fuel require upgrading via hydrogenation and ring opening to achieve better combustion characteristics. Previous research has demonstrated that TDO oil could be hydrogenated over high-surface-area nickel catalysts to improve the combustion characteristics, but the cetane number was still below the specifications.

Multiple supported catalysts were synthesized by ion exchange and incipient wetness impregnation, and the catalysts were characterized by …

Hydrogenation Of 2-Methylnaphthalene In A Trickle Bed Reactor Over Bifunctional Nickel Catalysts, Matthew J. Kline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biomass thermal conversion processes, such as pyrolysis, tend to produce mixtures of mono- and poly-aromatic species. While the high aromatic content is desirable in gasoline fractions, middle-distillate cuts, particularly jet fuel and diesel, require upgrading via hydrogenation and ring opening to achieve better combustion characteristics. There have been many proposed methods for producing drop-in fuels from woody biomass, one of them being Thermal DeOxygenation (TDO). The TDO process converts organic acids from cellulose hydrolysis into a low-oxygen bio-oil containing large amounts of substituted naphthalene compounds.

Poly-aromatic molecules, such as those found in TDO oil, have low cetane numbers (CN), particularly …

A Regional Study Of Wilcox Reservoirs In The Deepwater Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Margaret Elizabeth Dice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Deepwater Wilcox trend covers more than 34,000 mi2, extending from the northwestern block, Alaminos Canyon, to Keathley Canyon, and to the north-central block, Walker Ridge. The Wilcox trend is widely studied in the oil and gas industry as it has significant proven hydrocarbons, but has considerable economic challenges due to the reservoir characteristics. The purpose of this study is to provide a regional study of the Wilcox reservoir economics and quality. Great white field is the most successful Wilcox field located in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and Jack and St. Malo are the most successful Wilcox fields located …

Evaluation Of Cotton Valley "D" Sand Production In Stampede Field, Mississippi, U.S.A., Patrick Lawrence Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.