Engineering Commons^™

Cellulose Nanofibrils (Cnf) For Textile Applications: Production Of Neat Cnf Filaments And Reinforcement Of Natural Fiber Yarns, Shokoofeh Ghasemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Being the most abundant natural polymer on earth, cellulose materials have been used in many different applications. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are a relatively new group of lignocellulose resource-based nanomaterials and have been the topic of many research efforts in wood products and material science field over the recent years. Using CNF in textile applications is one way to diversify product portfolio of these materials as they contain nanoscale fibrils with high mechanical properties which can fulfil textile industry’s demand for strong natural fibers. Considering that CNF is a wood-based cellulosic material in the form of water suspension, in order to …

Prediction Of Paper Coating Mechanical Behavior Based On Particle-Scale Models, Daniel H. Varney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The mechanical properties of pigmented coatings are important for a number of situations; including coated paper, architectural paints, and structures in flexible lithium ion batteries. Coated paper and board undergo a variety of post coating application processes which have the potential to cause serious quality problems such as cracking, picking, and crack-at-the fold (CAF). Because a large number of parameters are known to influence the results, fundamental models are needed to help describe these processes and link them to the coating formulations and to the defects.

A discrete element method (DEM) computer model was developed to describe the pigment level …

Conversion Of Pretreated Hardwood To Medium-Chain Fatty Acids For Production Of Biolubricants, Koorosh Kashkooli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA, e.g., hexanoic, heptanoic and octanoic acid) are versatile chemical compounds that are suitable precursors for the production of high-carbon-number, value-added chemicals such as bio-based lubricants. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA, e.g., acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric acid) and methane are the natural fermentation products of anaerobic digestion, however, they have a lower value compared to MCFAs. Our current investigation seeks to integrate the production of MCFAs through chain elongation fermentation of pretreated biomass with catalytic conversion of MCFAs to lubricant molecules. By adding reducing agents such as ethanol and lactic acid to the anaerobic digestion, and inhibiting methanogenesis, …

Parameters That Influence The Performance Of Dispersion Barrier Coatings, Randy Raditya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Barrier coating layers are important in many paper grades used in food packaging and have the potential to help reduce our use of plastics in some situations. Barrier layers to produce water proof packaging such as milk or juice cartons or coffee cups are common. Water based dispersion barrier coatings have the potential to be a low-cost alternative to extrusion coated layers. Water borne coatings are reported to be easy to recycle and break down in the environment. However, barrier properties are often less than what is desired and expected for these water borne coatings. The reason for this poor …

Influence Of Mechanical Properties Of Paper Coating On The Crack At The Fold Problem, Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi Najafi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paper coating layers are subject to various stresses and deformations in many converting processes such as calendering, printing, slitting, and folding of the paper. In some cases, products may crack during folding to generate a defect called cracking at the fold (CAF). The parameters that influence these defects are not well understood. The overall goal of this thesis is to better understand the CAF behavior as related to material properties of the coating layer.

A method was developed to produce free-standing pigmented coating layers thick enough to be tested in bending as well as tension. The mechanical properties of these …

Techno-Economic Analysis Of A Seaweed Extraction Process, Zachary Applebee

Honors College

The goal of this thesis was to perform a techno-economic analysis of a seaweed polysaccharide extraction process that could estimate how economically viable it would be to harvest and process seaweed in Maine to produce algal polysaccharides. I pursued two investigations to answer this question:

First, I continued the research I have been doing on an EPSCoR SEANET funded undergraduate research team working on the extraction and fractionation of sugar kelp (Saccharina Latissima) to produce three different separated polysaccharides: alginate, laminarin, and fucoidan. My contributions to this project were primarily to hydrolyze whole pieces of seaweed and extracted …