Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Investigating Ph And Other Electrical Properties Of Potassium Salt Solutions, Li Shu, Xi Lu, Veeriah Jegatheesan, Leonardo Jegatheesan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A recent study of ours reported that pH of common salts varies with concentration at room temperature. It can either increase in case of basic salts or decrease in case of acidic salts. In this study, pH values of four kind of potassium salts were investigated and their pH values increased with salt concentrations. It was reasoned that the concentration of hydrogen ions equalled the concentration of positive charges/protons in a solution, so a relationship between the activity of hydrogen ions and charge activity was developed. Further, the well-established equations for pH with hydrogen-ion activity and electrostatic/cell potential were extended …

Improving Lignin Recovery From Paper Mill And Biorefinery Waste Streams Via Liquid-Phase Splitting, Carter Fitzgerald

All Dissertations

Lignin is an abundant biopolymer with significant promise due to its aromaticity. It has been targeted as a replacement for a number of petroleum-based products including adhesives, coatings, polyurethane foams, activated carbon, and carbon fibers. However, commercially available bulk lignins are too polydisperse, and contain too many residual metals from the pulping process that are detrimental to the properties of the final product.

The Sequential Liquid-lignin Recovery and Purification (SLRP) process was developed by Michael Lake and John Blackburn, in collaboration with Clemson, with the intention of creating a continuous method for recovering lignin from paper-mill black liquors. Thies and …

Ultra-Thin Zro2 Overcoating On Cuo-Zno-Al2o3 Catalyst By Atomic Layer Deposition For Improved Catalytic Performance Of Co2 Hydrogenation To Dimethyl Ether, Xiao Fan, Baitang Jin, Xiaoqing He, Shiguang Li, Xinhua Liang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An Ultra-Thin overcoating of Zirconium Oxide (ZrO₂) Film on CuO-ZnO-Al₂O₃ (CZA) Catalysts by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Was Proved to Enhance the Catalytic Performance of CZA/HZSM-5 (H Form of Zeolite Socony Mobil-5) Bifunctional Catalysts for Hydrogenation of CO₂ to Dimethyl Ether (DME). under Optimal Reaction Conditions (I.e. 240 °C and 2.8 MPa), the Yield of Product DME Increased from 17.22% for the Bare CZA/HZSM-5 Catalysts, to 18.40% for the CZA Catalyst after 5 Cycles of ZrO₂ ALD with HZSM-5 Catalyst. All the Catalysts Modified by ZrO₂ ALD Displayed Significantly Improved Catalytic Stability …

Saudi Arabian Basalt/Co2/Brine Wettability: Implications For Co2 Geo-Storage, Muhammad Ali, Nurudeen Yekeen, Amer Alanazi, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer, Thomas Finkbeiner, Hussein Hoteit

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The geological sequestration of carbon dioxide, including mineralization in basaltic formations, has been identified as a promising method of attaining a low-carbon economy. However, successful CO₂ storage depends on both the CO₂ wettability of the basaltic rocks and the basalt rock-fluid interfacial interactions. The contact angles of brine/CO^₂ systems for Western Australian (WA) and Iceland basalts have been recently reported in the literature. However, contact angle datasets for evaluating the CO₂ wettability of Saudi Arabian (SA) basalt have not been previously reported. Moreover, there is limited information on the impact of organic acids on the wettability …

Exploring Senior Chemical Engineering Students’ Approach To Process Safety Decision Making, Jeffrey Saunders Stransky

Theses and Dissertations

Despite investments in chemical process safety education, evidence suggests that engineers’ decision making may contribute to process safety incidents. Currently, limited educational endeavors in process safety decision making exist, raising the need for a better understanding of how to prepare chemical engineering students for industry decisions. This dissertation fortifies current process safety education through three studies involving senior chemical engineering students. Study One developed the Engineering Process Safety Research Instrument (EPSRI) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Educators may use the EPSRI to evaluate their students’ moral development. Study Two evaluated a digital process safety game, Contents Under Pressure, on …

Bioremediation Of Heavy Metals With Waste Lignocellulosic Biomass, Gabriel Gonsalves Bertho, Albert Manfredi, Christopher Deeley, Akash Jain

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

This project had the goal of developing a low-cost alternative for removing toxic heavy metals, in particular arsenic, lead, and cadmium, from industrial wastewater. The proposed process involves using a hybrid batch and continuous process mainly consisting of heavy metal removal in a series of 5 adsorption beds packed with coconut coir coated with P. putida biofilm, then combustion of the saturated coconut for the production of steam. The process goal was to treat 1 MGD of wastewater at a lower cost than ion-exchange plants which cost $0.02/lb of wastewater treated. The proposed coconut-based bioremediation was estimated to cost $0.00304/lb …

Production Of Bispecific Antibodies By Functional Arm Exchange, Amanda Gore, Kofi Nightingale, Zachary Place, Mara Rao

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are an important class of emerging therapeutics with applications in cancer, hemophilia, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and infectious disease treatment. The presence of two distinct antigen binding sites enables more robust and tailored targeting than is possible with conventional monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), leading to enhanced efficacy and lower dosage requirements. However, the translation and commercialization of bsAbs has been hindered by production challenges, including low yield, chain mispairing, instability, and impaired binding activity. Therefore, this project proposes a manufacturing process to produce 100 kg of bispecific antibodies on an annual basis starting from purified monoclonal antibodies. Controlled functional arm …

Stranded Natural Gas To Liquid Oligomers, Ayelet Gross, Malana Li, Jamie Wang

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Flaring natural gas is commonly practiced at oil drilling sites to prevent costly removal and overpressurization of equipment; however, this process releases about 28 million tons of carbon emissions per year, which is not environmentally sustainable when looking towards a carbon-neutral future. In an effort to combat this issue, a novel, non-oxidative, coke-resistant Platinum-MXene catalyst was developed by researchers at Iowa State in 2021. This catalyst is used in a coupling reaction to convert methane to ethane and ethylene at 98% selectivity and 6% conversion.

This report describes a facility designed around the Platinum-MXene catalyst, which converts one billion cubic …

Drug Product Production For A Highly Variable Supply Chain, Yanapong Chaisithikarnkha, Simon Oros, Ethan Spellmeyer, Sophia Tran

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Efficient mass production of drug products is crucial for providing innovative treatments for reducing blood pressure. Batch production has traditionally been the preferred method in the pharmaceutical industry, but hybrid manufacturing offers economic advantages. This project presents a comprehensive economic evaluation of batch and hybrid manufacturing of a high-volume small molecule drug product called Albatol. The production facility was designed from the ground up, considering both low and high demands ranging from 160 million to 1.6 billion tablets per year. The production process was evaluated at the unit-operation level, including granulation, drying, milling, blending, compression, and coating. The estimated cost …

Post-Consumer Polyurethane Foam Depolymerization Into Toluene Diamine And Polyether Triol For Circular Regeneration Of Polyurethane, Sean Deresh Larin, Jae Wan Lee, Jake Reisner

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Polyurethane (PU) foam is integral to our everyday lives, as it is a versatile and ubiquitous material used in construction, automotive, furniture, and packaging applications. However, the widespread use of PU foam has also raised environmental concerns, particularly its contribution to landfill waste and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions. Approaching such global waste issues to mitigate existing climate, health, and economic impacts creates new opportunities for scientific and engineering development. To address this problem, this report proposes a chemical plant using patented information from Evonik to depolymerize 100,000 metric tons of post-consumer PU foam annually into toluene diamine (TDA) and …

Renewably Sourced Methane: A Path To Profitability, Mattison Boveri, Caroline Kubicki, Nidhi Ohri

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Power-to-gas technologies, which produce gaseous fuels using electricity, are emerging as a green energy source and for renewable electricity storage and distribution. This project proposes a power-to-methane process using a biologically sourced Ru-pBN catalyst and carbon dioxide emissions from a co-located ethanol plant. The carbon dioxide is reacted with green hydrogen from electrolysis to generate methane at 500 psig to be sold and delivered through the pipeline. This process converts 9,100 kg/hr of CO2 emissions into 3,400 kg/hr of natural gas via the Sabatier reaction using a tubular flow reactor at 400oC and 3.1 bar. Various separation processes were included …

Green Hydrogen Liquefaction By Large- Scale Reverse Brayton Refrigeration, Evan Bean, Akash Kumashi, Guillermo Ribeiro-Vecino

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Over the next decade, global electricity demand is forecast to rise by nearly two-thirds of current demand. Simultaneously, global Carbon Dioxide emissions are projected to increase by up to 9% annually. Green liquid Hydrogen, sourced by splitting water into Hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity, and condensed in a deep cryogenic refrigerator at 20 to 25 K, is a promising alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Yet, liquid Hydrogen as a fuel is prohibitively expensive. Between water electrolysis and liquefaction costs, current producers of green liquid Hydrogen must sell their product Hydrogen at a price of at least $9.20/kg to break …

Production Of Bio-Meg, Monoethylene Glycol, Riley Devito-Hurley, Gigi Lam, Vasundhara Macherla, Rebekah Varghese

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is a very important raw material largely used in packaging, antifreeze, and the manufacture of polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate plastics, and resins. The traditional method for MEG production relies on petroleum-based feedstocks as ethylene produced by steam cracking of hydrocarbons is the conventional starting material. Since the 1970’s, companies like Shell Oil Corporation and Coca-Cola have been developing technology to produce MEG via bio-based and renewable alternatives. This paper explores an alternative method to the industrial-scale production of MEG from glucose syrup. The proposed process utilizes 92,000 kg/hr of glucose syrup and a bi-catalyst system consisting of …

Conversion Of Wood Waste Biomass Into Biochar And Green Hydrogen – A Carbon Dioxide Removal (Cdr) Technology, Sae Joon Cheon, Jenesis Cochrane, Ericka Ekobeni, Danielle Sclafani

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Biochar is the solid product resulting from the heating of biomass at high temperatures in an oxygen-deprived environment. Biochar serves as a soil amendment product, and its widespread implementation may improve agricultural yields in areas with high forest wastes and high carbon emissions due to its carbon sequestration properties. This project uses slow pyrolysis at 800 ̊C to convert 100,000 dry metric tons of southern pine wood waste annually into biochar. Because this plant yields green hydrogen as a side product, this plant is located near the Gulf Coast Hydrogen pipeline in Southern Louisiana, an area with 6.35 million metric …

Vitreoscilla Globin Promoter Cloning And Testing In Escherichia Coli, Lauren J. Coffey

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Method Of Evanescently Coupling Whispering Gallery Mode Optical Resonators Using Liquids [U.S. Patent Us11650370b2], Hengky Chandrahalim, Kyle T. Bodily

Faculty Publications

The present invention relates to evanescently coupling whispering gallery mode optical resonators having a liquid coupling as well as methods of making and using same. The aforementioned evanescently coupling whispering gallery mode optical resonators having a liquid couplings provide increased tunability and sensing selectivity over current same. The aforementioned. Applicants’ method of making evanescent-wave coupled optical resonators can be achieved while having coupling gap dimensions that can be fabricated using standard photolithography. Thus economic, rapid, and mass production of coupled WGM resonators-based lasers, sensors, and signal processors for a broad range of applications can be realized.

Enhancing Compatibility And Mechanical Properties Of Natural Rubber Composites, Krisma Yessi Sianturi, Adam Febriyanto Nugraha, Belle Kristaura, Mochamad Chalid

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings (JMEF)

Pure natural rubber (NR) exhibits low mechanical properties, necessitating the incorporation of additives like vulcanizing agents and fillers. Carbon black and silica, conventional fillers, are relatively expensive and not environmentally friendly. This study explores using Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) fiber as an affordable, abundant, and biodegradable alternative filler for NR. However, compatibility issues arise between the nonpolar NR and the polar OPEFB fiber. A latex-starch hybrid coupling agent (CA (NR-St)) was added to the composite formulation to address this. NR, OPEFB fiber, and the coupling agent were mixed using an open roll mill with a 10 phr OPEFB …

Lignin Copolymer Property Prediction Using Machine Learning, Collin Larsen

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lignin, an abundant biopolymer, is a waste byproduct of the paper and pulp industry. Despite its renewable nature and potential applicability in various products, such as plastics and composites, the development of lignin-based materials has been impeded by the cumbersome, Edisonian process of trial and error. This research proposes a novel approach to forecasting the properties of lignin-based copolymers by utilizing a recurrent neural network (RNN) based on the Keras models previously created by Tao et al. Example units of modified lignin were synthesized via esterification and amination functional group modifications. To increase the efficiency and accuracy of the prediction …

Battery Design, Construction, And Characterization For Small Motor Use Focusing On Anodic Zinc For Electron Flow, Amber Veach

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores the construction, characterization, and application of anodic zinc batteries for powering a small electric motor for the ChemE Car competition. Two zinc galvanic cell batteries were studied: zinc-carbon and zinc-air batteries. Prototype batteries were constructed and tested for voltage, amperage, and power production. In the zinc-carbon trials, a 3:1 mixture of manganese dioxide and graphite was determined to be the best cathode for power production. The size which allowed for sufficient power while maintaining the smallest footprint on the car was a zinc can six cm tall and two cm in diameter. Analysis of paper zinc-air battery …

Characterization Of Lignin And Cellulose Biopolymers Structure – Function Relationships, Zachariah Pittman

All Dissertations

Biomass is vital to ongoing efforts to secure a sustainable future. While many of our efforts focus on finding alternative forms of energy, biomass among them, only biomass has the potential to serve as a sustainable materials feedstock. However, biomass is heterogenous, complicating the upgrading processes needed to manufacture commodity and performance products. For example, plant biomass consists largely of cellulose, a crystalline polysaccharide, and lignin, a highly stable polyaromatic. The specific properties of cellulose and lignin depend greatly on the plant, harvesting conditions, and isolation procedures. Thus, accurate and reliable determination of the fundamental properties of biomass is crucial …