Engineering Commons^™

Utilization Of Electrodeionization To Separate And Concentrate Cellobionic And Gluconic Acid, Andie Veeder

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Biofuel production is currently an expensive and inefficient process with many drawbacks. It is water and land intensive, competes with food production, and requires large energy inputs decreasing its relative sustainability. This paper explores the use of electrodeionization (EDI) to improve the biofuel process by separating and concentrating large, organic sugar acids that are important materials for the production of bioethanol. An EDI device was assembled for the purpose of separating and concentrating gluconic, cellobionic and lactobionic acid. Several trials were conducted and samples were analyzed to determine the success of this experiment. The results for the separation and concentration …

Phosphorus-Containing Zeolites For Biofuel Production, Jason Gulbinski

Doctoral Dissertations

Fossil fuel consumption increases 2% a year due to transportation fuels and specialty chemicals for plastics and synthetic fibers such as p-xylene, a monomer of polyethylene terephthalate. p-Xylene demand was over 50 million tons in 2021 and will increase by 5% a year through 2026. Therefore, sustainable p-xylene production is desired. p-Xylene is produced renewably through Diels-Alder cycloaddition of biomassderived 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) with ethylene from bio-ethanol and dehydration over an acid catalyst. Industrial aluminosilicate zeolite catalysts achieve a selectivity of 75%, with loss to side products and coking. A new class of catalysts, phosphoric acid-containing aluminum-free zeolites, P-zeosils, like dealuminated …

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 …

Integrated Processing Of Municipal Solid Waste For Maximizing Waste Reduction, Carbon Recovery And Fuel Production, Kameron J. King

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nationally and internationally, waste generation is increasing and along with it negative environmental impacts. Many people think waste ends at disposal; however, environmental impacts have already begun. Unfortunately, 50% of waste ends up in a landfill which is the third largest source of human related methane emissions and a leading cause of global climate change. This study investigated a novel waste management strategy in hopes of mitigating negative environmental effects caused by conventional waste management practices. The novelty of the study lies in the development of an integrated method of hydrothermal carbonization and an anaerobic digestion (HTC + AD) process …

Techno-Economics And Life Cycle Analysis Of Upgrading Woody Biomass To Diesel Blendstock, Aysan Najd Mazhar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Woody biomass conversion to transportation fuels have been developed as alternatives to fossil fuel production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy security. Fast pyrolysis, a thermochemical technology, has the potential to offer high efficiencies to produce liquid transportation fuels from woody biomass. Fast pyrolysis involves rapid heating of biomass particles in the absence of air at approximately 500°C and results in non-condensable gases, bio-oil (pyrolysis oil), and char as products. The pyrolysis oil can be upgraded via integrated mild hydrogenation and etherification processes to a high energy density fuel that can be blended with diesel for transportation …

The Extraction Of Waxes And Lipids From Sorghum Using Green And Renewable Solvents Followed By Conversion To Biofuels Using Gamma-Valerolactone Pretreatment, Marissa Gallmeyer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Plant matter contains waxes and lipids that can be extracted and used or sold as a value-added product prior to conversion of the remaining plant material to biofuels. Wax and lipid extraction of plant materials is currently performed using volatile, non-renewable hydrocarbons, primarily hexane, which is produced from fossil fuels and can pose a health and safety hazard. The purpose of this study is to compare the amount and characteristics of waxes extracted by hexane with those extracted using organic solvents that are less toxic and can be produced from renewable sources.

Sorghum samples were extracted separately with hexane, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran …

Development Of Novel Membranes For Nanocarbon Enhanced Separation With Application In Biofuels And Solvent Recover, Oindrila Gupta

Dissertations

Pharmaceutical industries historically have had one of the highest amounts of solvent waste generated per unit of drug manufactured. Energy requirements and carbon footprint of current solvent recycling processes tend to be quite high, and the incineration of the solvents for waste disposal produces toxic air emissions. Also, rapidly increasing demand for energy and strict regulation on engine pollutant emissions have necessitated the use of alcohol as carbon-neutral fuels. Thermal distillation is one of the most common methods for the separation of alcohol-water mixtures. However, its application is limited due to energy requirements and high operating costs, and heating to …

Biofuel Supply Chain Restructuring -- An Economic Viability And Environmental Sustainability Investigation For Enhancing Second Generation Biofuel Adoption, Rajkamal Kesharwani

Doctoral Dissertations

"Biofuel is a promising clean alternative to fossil fuels. Currently, first generation biofuels are commercially produced by using corn grain as biomass feedstock. However, the use of edible matter of crops, may lead to a competition between food and fuel. Therefore, there is a significant push in both industry and academia to commercialize second generation biofuel manufacturing technology, which uses non-edible matter from crops. Most research focuses on individual manufacturing processes for producing second generation biofuel, but the economic and environmental impacts of a large-scale adoption of second generation biofuel manufacturing have been less widely reported.

This work investigates the …

Autohydrolysis Pretreatment Of Mixed Lignocellulosic Biomass, Claudio Lira

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lignocellulosic biomass, such as agricultural and forestry residues, can be transformed into valuable fuels and chemicals. However, the high cost of feedstock handling and the complex nature of cellulosic biomass processing and conversion remain two major challenges in biorefineries. This thesis aims to tackle these challenges by assessing the transformation of multi-feedstock using autohydrolysis pretreatment.

Corn cobs and stover (residues from corn processing), poplar chips (forestry residue), bagasse and wheat straw (agricultural residues) are abundant and often under-utilized cellulosic residues. These feedstocks were used to investigate the effects of biomass characteristics on the composition of the autohydrolysis pretreatment products. Moreover, …

Conversion Of Biomass To Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels Via Anaerobic Digestion: A Feasibility Study, Ahmad Naqi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of biomass as a potential feedstock for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels has been under investigation in the last few decades. This paper discusses a preliminary design and a feasibility study of producing liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass through a combined biochemical and thermochemical route. The process involves anaerobic digestion (AD) of the biodegradable portion of the biomass to produce methane rich gas. The methane rich biogas stream is purified by removing contaminants and upgraded to liquid hydrocarbon fuel in a gas to liquid facility (GTL) via thermochemical conversion route. The biogas conversion involves two major steps: …

Metabolic Modeling And Engineering Of Gas Fermentation In Bubble Column Reactors, Jin Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

Gas fermentation is an attractive route to produce alternative fuels and chemicals from non-food feedstocks, such as waste gas streams from steel mills and synthesis gas (mainly CO and H₂) produced from municipal solid waste through gasification. While commercial development of gas fermentation technology is underway, many research problems must be addressed to further advance the technology towards economic competitiveness. A particularly important challenge is to develop integrated metabolic and transport models that describe gas fermentation in industrially relevant bubble column reactors. I have developed and evaluated a spatiotemporal metabolic model for bubble column reactors with the syngas …

Integrated Life Cycle And Techno-Economic Assessment Of The Conversion Of High Productivity, Low Lipid Algae To Renewable Fuels, Chad R. De Mill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The production of alternative transportation fuels is imperative to meet future energy demands without contributing to global climate change. Advances in alternative processing techniques that have emerged due to interest in microalgae as a feedstock have led to a variety of potential processing pathways for the production of bio-based fuels. A major hurdle in the algal production process is maintaining a fast and stable algae culture. Monocultures, developed for their high lipid content, suffer from low productivity, are susceptible to crashes and require a constant supply of carbon dioxide to maintain productivity. In an effort to circumvent these obstacles, algal …

Designing And Development Of A Photobioreactor For Optimizing The Growth Of Micro Algae And Studying Its Growth Parameters, Sarmila Katuwal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the estimated value of materials required to grow 1g of biomass and the analysis of the light intensity with respect to flow path and flow rate. This thesis aims to design the sparger for a flat plate Photobioreactor, study the flow patterns at different flow rate of air flow and check the performance of flat plate PBR by growing the cyanobacteria. The estimated value to produce 1g of biomass (C_44.6H₇O₂₅N_7.68P_0.9S_0.3) was 0.099g of N, 0.493g of C, 0.160 g of Na, 0.026 g of P, …

Catalytic Hydrotreatment For The Development Of Renewable Transportation Fuels, Lilu Funkenbusch

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Biologically-derived feedstocks are a highly desirable source of renewable transportation fuel. They can be grown renewably and can produce fuels similar in composition to conventional fossil fuels. They are also versatile and wide-ranging. Plant oils can produce renewable diesel and wood-based pyrolysis oils can be made into renewable gasoline. Catalytic hydrotreatment can be used to reduce the oxygen content of the oils and increase their viability as a “drop-in” transportation fuel, since they can then easily be blended with existing petroleum-based fuels. However, product distribution depends strongly on feedstock composition and processing parameters, especially temperature and type of catalyst. Current …

Minimizing Ethanol Concentration In Organosolv Pretreatment For The Saccharification Of Loblolly Pine, Nelson B. Heringer

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Organic solvent pretreatment, commonly known as organosolv, is a method used to prepare biomass for enzymatic hydrolysis for the production of biofuels. This method common uses ethanol as the organic solvent. However, this creates an economic issue with the product stream, as ethanol becomes a product and input. This project sought to explore how decreasing the use of ethanol in organosolv pretreatment affected the recoverability of sugars after enzymatic hydrolysis. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) was pretreated at 170 °C for 60 minutes in 1% dilute sulfuric acid and an ethanol concentration varying from 65% to 35%. Compositional …

Minimizing Environmental Impacts For Hub And Spoke Distribution Network Problems Through The Use Of Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms, Ileana Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

While transportation is crucial to our economy and our personal lives, as a sector it is also a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The AASHTO report states, "America's transportation system has served us well, but now faces the challenges of congestion, energy supply, environmental impacts, climate change, and threatens the economic, social, and environmental future of the nation". With respect to the environment, transportation is the most visible aspect of supply chains. Transportation emissions can be reduced by implementing approaches that contribute to GHG emissions reduction, for example, the use of low-carbon fuels, new and improved vehicle technologies, …

Experimental And Theoretical Investigation Of Sustainable Fast Pyrolysis Biofuels From Woody Biomass, Bethany Jean Klemetsrud

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Biofuels are an important advancement in alternative energy that can provide substantial environmental benefits compared to their conventional fossil fuel counterparts Said benefits are usually measured using life cycle assessments. However, it is not well understood yet how different methodological choices such as system boundaries, biomass feedstocks, conversion pathways, geographical data, etc. affect the conclusions drawn from biofuels LCA. This research shows large variability in life cycle assessment results and limits comparison across different biofuel pathways due to methodological choices set forth by policy and certification schemes. Advanced biofuels have not reached large scale production due to a limited understanding …

Biomass Catalytic Upconversion With A Metallic Catalyst Bed Under Radio Frequency Induction Heating, Mohammad Abu-Laban

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigated the thermal performances of platinum particles when coupled on a steel support, under the application of a radio frequency (RF) field. Platinum nanoparticles were reduced on the surfaces of type-316 stainless steel balls, based on published methods of Pt reduction from chloroplatinic acid. Alternatively, 1wt. % Pt/Al2O3 commercial catalyst pellets were mixed with stainless steel balls and investigated for hydro-deoxygenation of pyrolysis oil from pine sawdust biomass. The catalysts were placed inside an electric insulator tube suspended within a looping copper coil connected to the induction heater, and heated at different power levels. An infrared camera was …

Induction Of Cellulase In High Solids Cultivation Of Trichoderma Reesei For Enhanced Enzymatic Hydrolysis Of Lignocellulose, Danielle Empson

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

This project aimed investigated cellulase in-situ production for large-scale on-farm production of lignocellulosic biofuel. Cellulase activity and glucose released by T. reesei with corn stover and wheat bran as co-substrates for solid state cultivation (SSC) were examined. Co-cultivation has previously increased T. reesei cellulase, but corn stover and wheat bran have not been co-cultivated (Dhillon, Oberoi et al. 2011). This work compared cellulase activity and glucose concentration of corn stover co-cultivated with 0-40% wheat bran in high solids. Samples with at least 20% wheat bran exhibited increased cellulase activity. However, the average glucose concentration without wheat bran was 3.29 g/L …

Comparing Nutrient Recovery Via Rapid (Flash Hydrolysis) And Conventional Hydrothermal Liquefaction Processes For Microalgae Cultivation, Caleb Richard Talbot

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Algal biofuels have the potential to provide a scalable source of renewable fuels in the near future. The high nutrient use in algae cultivation and its recovery and recycling is one of the challenges that may limit the scalability and sustainability of algal biofuels. The present study evaluates the use of Hydrolysate obtained after Flash Hydrolysis (FH) of Scenedesmus at 280 C as a nutrient source for microalgae cultivation. FH Hydrolysate nutrient recycling was compared with low temperature batch Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) nutrient recycling. Oocystis and Scenedesmus were cultivated using Hydrolysate as a partial phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N) source. …

The Production Of Biobutanol From Biomass Via A Hybrid Biological/Chemical Process, Thomas Melvin Potts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biobutanol use as a fuel began in the late 19th century. Problems remain in economic viability. A review of the state of the art and need for technical advances is presented.

The technical potential of producing biofuel from a naturally occurring macroalgae was studied. The algae grow in Jamaica Bay, New York City, in contaminated water. The process consisted of mechanical harvesting, drying, grinding, and acid hydrolysis to form an algal sugar solution. Clostridium beijerinckii and C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum were used in an acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) fermentation to make butanol. Fermentation was followed by distillation Butanol concentrations during fermentation reached …

Investigation Of The Potential For Algaenan To Produce Hydrocarbon Based Fuels From Algae By Hydrous Pyrolysis, Wassim Adel Obeid

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

The use of algae as a feedstock for hydrous pyrolysis has a high potential for producing biofuels. The non-food nature of algae in addition to the various advantages associated with the hydrous pyrolysis process makes this combination for the production of biofuels of high interest. However, current results from algae processing have alluded to some challenges: byproducts arising from the thermal transformation of carbohydrates and proteins, which become incorporated in the oil fraction, result in high oxygen and nitrogen contents of the oil. Accordingly, this produces an oil of low quality for refineries. This dissertation investigates use of a pretreatment …

Evaluation Of The Performance Of A Downward Flow Inclined Gravity Settler For Algae Dewatering, Dustin D. Bowden

ETD Archive

With recent concerns over the environmental implications of burning fossil fuels coupled with the depletion of fossil fuel reserves an alternative source of energy isneeded. Algae derived biofuels may be an effective replacement for transportation fuels as they are carbon neutral and have a high area productivity. Algae is superior to terrestrial plants as a biofuel source due to its high oil productivity and efficiency along with the fact that it will not displace food production. Currently the largest obstacle to the implementation of commercial algae to biofuel processes is algae dewatering. The separation of algae from water is difficult …

Study Of High Pressure Steaming On Lipid Recovery From Microalgae, Ana-Maria Aguirre

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sustainable and clean fuels are in demand due to the perceived negative effects on health and environment with current use of fossil fuels. Lipids from microalgae offer a potential approach to obtain sustainable biofuels. In this study a two step process was adopted: investigation of culture conditions to find optimal points for lipid productivity and cellulose content, followed by an investigation of microalgae disruption for lipid recovery.

In the first phase of the research the effect of culture conditions on Chlorella vulgaris biomass concentration and the ratio of lipid productivity/cellulose content were studied. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize …

Identifying, Monitoring, Quantifying And Converting Algae To Bio-Fuels In Bio-Reactors, Alice C. Jernigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing algae as a source for bio-fuels has become an area of interest due to concerns about global warming and the reliability and ecology of the production of fossil fuels. Dried algae harvested from a pilot water quality improvement technology at the Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Facility in New York were examined as a source of carbohydrates and lipids for the production of bio-fuels in bio-reactors. The length of storage time, storage conditions, sugar and lipid extraction processes, and fuel production were studied. The results show that if the algae is stored dry (0.015 g/g algae even after a year in …

A Multidisciplinary Techno-Economic Decision Support Tool For Validating Long-Term Economic Viability Of Biorefining Processes, Sumesh Sukumara

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Increasing demand for energy and transportation fuel has motivated researchers all around the world to explore alternatives for a long-term sustainable source of energy. Biomass is one such renewable resource that can be converted into various marketable products by the process of biorefining. Currently, research is taking strides in developing conversion techniques for producing biofuels from multiple bio-based feedstocks. However, the greatest concern with emerging processes is the long-term viability as a sustainable source of energy. Hence, a framework is required that can incorporate novel and existing processes to validate their economic, environmental and social potential in satisfying present energy …

Evaluation Of Different Harvesting And Storage Practices: Sweet Sorghum And Energycane, Ana Lucia Amaya Arroyave

LSU Master's Theses

Two attractive potential feed stocks for biofuel production are energycane and sweet sorghum due to the environmental adaptability, sugars concentration and yield. Evaluation and development of harvesting, transportation and storage practices is critical for bringing the production of these crops to industrial levels. This research aims to analyze the supply system of energy crops and evaluate the effect of different harvesting and storage in the yields of the feedstock and the efficiencies of the processes. Harvesting trials were conducted at St. Gabriel, LA for evaluating the feasibility of using energy crops as inputs for ethanol production. The parameters that were …

Flash Hydrolysis Of Microalgae Biomass For Biofuels Intermediates Production, Protein Extraction, And Nutrients Recycle, Jose Luis Garcia Moscoso

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Microalgae have shown much higher growth rates and productivity when compared to conventional agricultural crops, aquatic plants and tree species, requiring much less land area than other biodiesel feedstock. To harness that potential the hydrothermal liquefaction of algae biomass was studied and a new process called "Flash Hydrolysis" was developed to use water under subcritical conditions, this process capitalizes on the difference in reaction kinetics of algae polymeric components and fractionates proteins in liquid phase in seconds of residence time.

The main objectives for this study are: Analyze the effect of temperature in FH process to maximize the extraction of …

Ultrasonic Pretreatment Of Energy Cane Bagasse For Biofuel Production, Niyaz Ahamed Methrath Liyakathali

LSU Master's Theses

High demand for energy and increasingly expensive petroleum prices led to development of new alternative fuels for transportation, such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. Even though a cost reduction in the production of cellulolytic enzymes is occurring, the conversion of plant cellulose into sugars still remains an expensive and slow process. Pretreatment of lignocellulose materials to remove lignin and alter physical/chemical structures significantly improves hydrolysis of cellulose to give high yield of sugars. In this study, ultrasonic pretreatment of energy cane bagasse was used in the presence of ammonia (NH4OH) to enhance the saccharification process by separating lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose …

Systems Metabolic Engineering Of Microbial Cell Factories For The Synthesis Of Value-Added Chemicals, Arul Mozhy Varman

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Microbial cell factories offer us an excellent opportunity for the conversion of many different cheaply available raw materials into valuable chemicals. Systems metabolic engineering aims at developing rational strategies for the engineering of microbial hosts by providing global level information of a cell. This dissertation focuses on metabolic engineering, bioprocess modeling and pathway analysis, to develop robust microbial cell factories for the synthesis of value-added chemicals. The following research tasks were completed in this regard.

First, statistical models were developed for the prediction of product yields in engineered microbial cell factories - Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli: Chapter 2). A …