Engineering Commons^™

Improved Fermentation Design And Screening Devices For Biobutanol Production, Garret Christopher Munch

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A worldwide increase in demand for renewable fuels has revived interest in fermentatively produced butanol. However, butanol fermentation suffers from low product yields and productivity. The work presented in this thesis addresses part of these research and development needs at three levels: innovative fermentation process design; genetic manipulation for strain enhancement; and the development of a new tool for anaerobic process characterization and optimization.

Product yield could be increased through traditional fermentation engineering. Co-fermentation of butyric acid with glycerol increased the butanol yield from 0.45 mol/mol (mols C in butanol / mol C in substrates) to 0.51 mol/mol. In building …

Maintaining And Controlling An Extrinsic Biofilm For Pathogen Removal In Dental Unit Water Lines, Bilal B. Al-Bataina

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The control of biofilm formation is a major concern for industrial, environmental, and public health. Undesirable biofilms can harbor different disease-causing pathogens and shorten the operational life of different equipment. On the other hand, beneficial biofilms are also used in various applications and managing its growth and activity can be desirable. Killing the biofilm does not usually incorporate the removal of the dead biofilm structure that is adhered to the surface. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to control biofilm formation; to be able to remove, inhibit, and enhance biofilm formation. This thesis investigated the use of norspermidine, D-amino …

Co-Substrate Fermentation Of Jerusalem Artichoke Tubers And Crude Glycerol To Butanol With Integrated Product Recovery, Tahereh Sarchami

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Butanol has long been considered a potential advanced liquid biofuel, in addition to its current application as an industrial solvent. It can be produced biologically; however, the conventional ABE fermentation suffers from many limitations, including low butanol titer, high cost of traditional raw materials, end-product inhibition and high butanol recovery costs. Possible solutions are the use of renewable low-cost feedstocks, genetic manipulations of Clostridia spp. to improve the strains’ butanol titer and tolerance, advanced fermentation techniques, and in-situ product recovery technologies.

In order to overcome some of these limitations, the overall goal of this thesis was to develop a process …

Synthesis, Characterization And Applications Of Lignin-Based Epoxy Resins, Fatemeh Ferdosian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Epoxy resin is one of the most versatile thermosetting polymers with diverse applications. Epoxy resins are mainly produced from the reaction of bisphenol-A (BPA) and epichlorohydrin. The consumption of bisphenol-A is facing growing concerns over its carcinogenic effects and its sustainability. Lignin can be a promising renewable substitute of bisphenol-A in the synthesis of epoxy resins.

In this thesis work, a novel method has been developed for the synthesis of bio-based epoxy resins with reduced side reactions, employing de-polymerized lignin from organosolv lignin (DOL), kraft lignin (DKL) and hydrolysis lignin (DHL) under alkaline condition in the presence of a phase …