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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Equivalent Annual Operating Cost Of Reactors In A Discrete Optimized Styrene Process, S Arizona Morgan-Harris May 2019

Equivalent Annual Operating Cost Of Reactors In A Discrete Optimized Styrene Process, S Arizona Morgan-Harris

Honors Theses

Beginning in the fall semester, I was a member of a team that simulated and optimized a styrene production process in Microsoft Excel. After the base case was simulated, parametric and topological optimizations were completed. The optimizations had to be completed in a certain order that starts with the reactor section, then move to the separation section, heat recovery section, heating/cooling utilities section, and ends with the water and effluent treatment section. During this project, the first three sections were explored. Optimizing the base case was completed by making these changes to see how they increased the net present value …


How Moisture Content Levels And Packing Density In Soil Affect Crude Oil Spreads, Shaylin N. Williams May 2019

How Moisture Content Levels And Packing Density In Soil Affect Crude Oil Spreads, Shaylin N. Williams

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

Crude oil spills are one of the most destructive disasters that can occur, and they are extremely difficult to recover from. Many studies focus on what can be done to clean these crude oil spills, but more research should be focused on means of prevention. Currently, very little is known about how the moisture content levels and the packing efficiency of soil can affect an oil spill. These two factors alone can offer a variety of information to environmental agencies, manufacturers, and refineries. Through utilization of a chemical engineering lab, a recording mechanism, and ImagePro software, data was collected and …


Investigation Of Fouling Mechanisms On Ion Exchange Membranes During Electrolytic Separations, Matthew James Edwards Apr 2019

Investigation Of Fouling Mechanisms On Ion Exchange Membranes During Electrolytic Separations, Matthew James Edwards

Honors Theses

The global water crisis is a major problem in our developing world due to the increasing growth of our global population, the depletion of natural water resources, and the continuing contamination of existing water resources as a result of industrialization. Membrane separation is a potential solution for these issues. Electrodialysis (ED) is a separation process which employs membranes to separate inorganic and organic substances. This study investigated how different fouling agents influenced membrane surface characteristic and separation efficiency within an electrodialysis system. While applicable for waste water, this study focuses on model salt water solutions with various fouling agents added …


Urea Functionalization Of Ultrasound-Treated Biochar: A Feasible Strategy For Enhancing Heavy Metal Adsorption Capacity, Baharak Sajjadi, James William Broome, Wei Yin Chen, Daniell L. Mattern, Nosa O. Egiebor, Nathan Hammer, Cameron L. Smith Mar 2019

Urea Functionalization Of Ultrasound-Treated Biochar: A Feasible Strategy For Enhancing Heavy Metal Adsorption Capacity, Baharak Sajjadi, James William Broome, Wei Yin Chen, Daniell L. Mattern, Nosa O. Egiebor, Nathan Hammer, Cameron L. Smith

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. The main objective of a series of our researches is to develop a novel acoustic-based method for activation of biochar. This study investigates the capability of biochar in adsorbing Ni(II) as a hazardous contaminant and aims at enhancing its adsorption capacity by the addition of extra nitrogen and most probably phosphorous and oxygen containing sites using an ultrasono-chemical modification mechanism. To reach this objective, biochar physically modified by low-frequency ultrasound waves (USB) was chemically treated by phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and then functionalized by urea (CO(NH2)2). Cavitation induced by ultrasound waves exfoliates and breaks apart the regular …


Magnetic Amphiphiles And Their Potential Applications For Low Energy Separations Processes, Alexander Fortenberry Jan 2019

Magnetic Amphiphiles And Their Potential Applications For Low Energy Separations Processes, Alexander Fortenberry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Predicting the behavior of magnetic surfactants in magnetic fields is critical for designing magnetically driven processes such as chemical separations or the tuning of surface tensions. Our work supports the hypothesis that the ability of magnetic fields to alter the interfacial properties of magnetic surfactant solutions depends on the strength of association between the magnetic and surfactant moieties of the surfactant molecules. Our research shows that the stability of a magnetic surfactant in an aqueous environment is dependent upon the type of complex that contains the paramagnetic element and these findings provide valuable insight for the design of magnetic surfactants …


Hydrophobization Of Cellulose-Based Fibers For Packaging Applications With Alkyl Ketene Dimers (Akd) And Food-Grade Waxes Via Supercritical Impregnation With Carbon Dioxide – Experimental And Thermodynamic Modeling Approaches, Kolawole Adenekan Jan 2019

Hydrophobization Of Cellulose-Based Fibers For Packaging Applications With Alkyl Ketene Dimers (Akd) And Food-Grade Waxes Via Supercritical Impregnation With Carbon Dioxide – Experimental And Thermodynamic Modeling Approaches, Kolawole Adenekan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This modified material has applications in food packaging, where frequently water-repellant surfaces are required. This method is preferable to traditional coating methods because it sizes across the entire thickness of the substrate rather than just the surface and can be used for non-planar surfaces; uses significantly less material than traditional methods and will be an excellent technique for multilayered and intelligent coating.


Cellulose Nanocrystals As 'Green' Emulsifiers Stabilized Crude Oil In Water Emulsions, Omayma Alazzam Jan 2019

Cellulose Nanocrystals As 'Green' Emulsifiers Stabilized Crude Oil In Water Emulsions, Omayma Alazzam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the ability of CNC to stabilize crude o/w Pickering emulsions. The effects of concentration of CNC, ionic strength of the aqueous phase, volume fraction of crude oil to water, and the presence of divalent ions on the stability of crude o/w emulsions were examined. Emulsions stabilized with different concentrations of CNC vary from 0.1 to 1.0wt% were prepared and examined by visual assessment for creaming analysis and microscopic pictures to analyze droplet size and size distribution. Low concentration of CNC as 0.1wt% didn’t help with forming stable emulsions. As the concentration of CNC stabilized the emulsions increased, …


Ionic Liquid-Based Composite Thin-Films For Selective Ion Separations In Electrodialysis, Saloumeh Kolahchyan Jan 2019

Ionic Liquid-Based Composite Thin-Films For Selective Ion Separations In Electrodialysis, Saloumeh Kolahchyan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The onset of climate change and rising global population has caused greater water scarcity, a considerable problem which threatens our world. The demand for fresh water is pushing a fast development of water purification technologies. Among these technologies, membrane-based water desalination processes are playing an interesting role in both academia and industry. Electrodialysis (ED) is an electro-membrane separation process aimed at water treatment through ion removal, which is achieved through the selective control and transport of ionic species. ED is a popular water treatment method; however, it is limited by membrane scaling, lack of ion selectivity, and high energy consumption …


Optimization And Cost Comparison Of Reactor Types In A Styrene Production Process, Claire Lenore Cozadd Jan 2019

Optimization And Cost Comparison Of Reactor Types In A Styrene Production Process, Claire Lenore Cozadd

Honors Theses

The focus of this thesis is to use the equivalent annual operating costs of isothermal, adiabatic, and packed bed reactors in order to determine which reactor is most cost effective in a styrene production process. In order to understand the steps leading up to this comparison, background information is first given regarding chemical engineering design, optimization, and process simulation. This information was necessary for completing the ChE 451 design project, which was to analyze the base case styrene process before optimizing it, in fall 2018. The results of this project are briefly outlined in the second section. The third section …


Discrete Optimization Of A Styrene Production Process, Seth Gray Jan 2019

Discrete Optimization Of A Styrene Production Process, Seth Gray

Honors Theses

This thesis will outline the two phases of my capstone design project for Chemical Engineering. The first goal was to simulate a styrene production process in Excel alongside my group members in ChE 451. During this phase, we looked at startup of the process and the first 12 years of operation. After the base case which included an isothermal reactor, the decision was made to switch to an adiabatic reactor based on net present value evaluations. Discrete optimization took place on the adiabatic reactor and the subsequent process. The second phase of my capstone project was the portion assigned to …


Studies Related To Chemical Changes In Biochar. I. Polyacrylonitrile Internal Standard To Assess Chemical Changes In Graphene Oxide. Ii. Ultrasonic Effects On Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons As Models For Biochar, Kaci B. Crawford Jan 2019

Studies Related To Chemical Changes In Biochar. I. Polyacrylonitrile Internal Standard To Assess Chemical Changes In Graphene Oxide. Ii. Ultrasonic Effects On Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons As Models For Biochar, Kaci B. Crawford

Honors Theses

Biochar has become an increasing area of research due to its reactive edges from stacks of graphene clusters. One particular area of interest in biochar is because it is a potent soil amendment which reduces soil acidity and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from plants. Also, chemically-modified biochar is being studied as a carbon storage method to potentially mitigate climate change. In order to understand the chemistry that takes place on biochar’s reactive edges during modification, a standard is essential. This research attempted to identify an internal standard that could be added to biochar samples to quantify chemical changes by …