Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons^™

Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Based Preformed Particle Gels For Water Management In Oil And Gas Reservoirs, Ahmed Ben Ali, Ahmed Hamza, Abdulaziz A. Almakimi, Mohammed Saad, Ibnelwaleed A. Hussein, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) based materials have been proposed as preformed particle gels (PPGs) for reducing excessive water production in oil and gas reservoirs. Multi-sized dry particles ranging between 100 and 1180 μm have been synthesized using microwave-assisted grafting copolymerization of CMC and acrylamide (AM)/n,n''-methylene-bisacrylamide (MBA). FTIR and SEM confirmed CMC crosslinked polyacrylamide's chemical structure and morphology (CMC/CPAM). Thermo-gravimetric analysis has demonstrated the thermal stability of dry PPGs up to 309 °C. CMC/CPAM showed slightly high absorbency in brine 2 (TDS = 67.3 g/L) compared to brine 1 (TDS = 33.65 g/L), 1% NaCl, and deionized water, with swelling ratios (SR) …

The Effectiveness Of Certain Biological Additives Considered By-Products Of The Food Industry In Baker’S Yeast Activation, Nataliya E. Kulikova, Antonina G. Chernobrovina, Natalia N. Roeva

CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

One of the ways to increase the efficiency of the activation process of baking yeast is the use of waste and by-products of the food industry as nutrient media. The goal of the study was to develop ways to activate yeast in a nutrient medium with dietary supplements: potato cell sap, whey and quince pomace powder. We demonstrated the effectiveness of the use of biological additives (potato cell juice, quince pomace powder, whey), which are waste or by-products of the food industry to activate yeast. We have established that incubation in a nutrient medium with dietary supplements has a beneficial …

Glycerol-Free Biodiesel Via Catalytic Interesterification: A Pathway To A Netzero Biodiesel Industry, Nessren Farrag, Omar Youssef Youssef, Esraa Khaled, Omar Aboelazayem

Chemical Engineering

Conventional biodiesel manufacturing uses alcohol as an acyl acceptor, resulting in glycerol as a side product. The increased demand for biodiesel has led to the production of a substantial surplus of glycerol, exceeding the market need. Consequently, glycerol is now being regarded as a byproduct, and in some cases, even as waste. The present study aims to suggest an economically viable and ecologically friendly approach for maintaining the viability of the biodiesel sector. This involves generating an alternative byproduct of higher value, rather than glycerol. Triacetin is produced through the interesterification of triglycerides with methyl acetate, and is a beneficial …

Enhancing Ammonium And Bicarbonate Tolerance In Chlorella Sorokiniana Through Ems-Induced Mutagenesis, Wentao Yang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the enhancement of ammonium and bicarbonate tolerance in Chlorella sorokiniana via EMS-induced mutagenesis, aimed at improving the microalgae's resilience and growth under high-stress conditions of elevated NH4+ and HCO3 concentrations. By mutating C. sorokiniana using EMS, we developed mutant strains capable of thriving in conditions that are inhibitory to the wild type strain. The successful adaptation of these strains demonstrates a significant increase in biomass production and tolerance to environmental stressors, highlighting the potential of EMS mutagenesis in industrial algal applications for sustainable biofuel production and environmental remediation.

A New Air-Assisted Flare Tip Design For Managing Gas Flare Emissions (Cfd Analysis), Ahmed A. Maaroof, Joseph D. Smith, Mohammed H.S. Zangana

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recently, flares have been considered as a major source of air pollution from the petroleum refining industry. The United Nations has instigated an international effort related to the management of flare emissions to reduce the global warming impact related to flaring. Eliminating or removing the need for gas flares is difficult because these devices are generally used as safety devices to allow the combustion of flammable gases in a controlled fashion which supports safe operation. However, reducing flaring is generally possible using well-designed, efficiently operated flare equipment. In general, flare performance can be enhanced following the API-521 methodology and using …

Antibiotic-Loaded Dendrimer Hydrogels In Periodontal Bone Regeneration: An In Vitro Release Feasibility Study, Nicholas Yesbeck, Da Huang, Caroline Carrico, Parthasarathy Madurantakam, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The prescription of a course of oral antibiotics following bone grafting procedures is a common practice in clinical periodontics to reduce surgical site infections. The goal of this study is to characterize the release profile of antibiotics via local delivery using dendrimer hydrogels (DH) and to analyze the effect of two different particulate bone allografts on the release of the antibiotics in vitro. DH were synthesized from Poly amidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer G5 and polyethylene glycol diacrylate, and cefazolin was chosen as the antibiotic. The antibiotic-loaded samples were bathed in PBS and incubated at 37 °C; aliquots were taken (1 h, …

Consistent Intraocular Pressure Reduction By Solid Drug Nanoparticles In Fixed Combinations For Glaucoma Therapy, Da Huang, Pedro Norat, Lin Qi, Anna Chernatynskaya, James D. Cole, Vimalin Jeyalatha Mani, Lei Xu, Xiaorong Liu, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Efficient topical drug delivery remains a significant challenge in glaucoma management. Although nanoparticle formulations offer considerable promise, their complex preparation processes, co-delivery issues, and batch consistency have hindered their potential. A scalable fabrication strategy is developed here for preparing solid drug nanoparticles (SDNs) with enhanced drug delivery efficiency. Utilizing hydrophobic antiglaucoma drugs brimonidine (BM) and betaxolol (BX), uniform fixed combination BM/BX SDNs are fabricated through a continuous process, improving batch-to-batch consistency for combined glaucoma treatment. With trehalose being used as a lyoprotectant, BM/BX SDNs can be stored as dry powder and easily reconstituted in phosphate buffered saline. Importantly, reconstituted BM/BX …

Investigation Of Heavy Metal Composition And Associated Health Risks From Selected Groundwater Wells In Temeke, Dar-Es-Salaam, Justin M. Jeremiah

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Water quality continues to be the challenge to residents in Dar es Salaam due to various anthropogenic activities in the city. This study was conducted to assess groundwater quality by determining concentrations of heavy metals. Both probability and Nonprobability sampling techniques were used to collect samples from 40 groundwater wells in 24 wards of Temeke municipal and analysed using Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (Agilent 4210 MP-AES) at the Geochemistry Laboratory of the University of Dar es Salaam. Results indicated varying heavy metal concentrations ranging from 0.71 ± 0.08 to 6.64 ± 0.21 mg/l for As, 0.02 ± 0.01 to …

Meteorological Data Mining And Synthesis For Supplementing On-Site Data For Regulatory Compliance, Ben Sonpon, Shoaib Usman, Joseph Smith, Sarah Kovaleski, Jason Wibbenmeyer

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many regulatory requirements add significant delay in the licensing of new nuclear power stations. One area of particular interest is the environmental impact of potential atmospheric release. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate effectiveness of meteorological data mining and synthesis from offsite locations to reduce need for onsite data, hence allowing rapid licensing. The automated procedures tested for data mining and extraction of meteorological data from multiple offsite sources and the data analytic tool developed for data fusion are presented here. Three important meteorological parameters from regulatory compliance are considered for this analysis: wind velocity, wind direction, and …

Genetically-Encoded Optical Barcodes For Single-Cell Analysis, Daniel Pritko

All Theses

Cell barcodes are capable of being used to answer many different biological questions. They have been used to track the lineage of cells to identifying the function of a gene. While there are multiple different methods to creating cell barcodes, they are limited in their scalability and application. In a previous publication we propose and computationally prove an optical single-cell barcoding method that bridges fast and scalable readouts with the benefits of genetic encoding. In this approach fluorescent proteins (fps) are combined to form fluorescent barcodes that can then be analyzed using a spectral flow cytometer. Here, we test the …

Fundamental Study Of Nonlinear Electrophoresis, Joseph Armakan Bentor

All Dissertations

Classical electrophoretic theory describes the linear response of particles suspended in Newtonian fluids under weak electric fields. When the electric field exceeds this weak limit, a nonlinear response arises due to non-uniform surface conduction over the curved particles. This nonlinear behavior introduces dependencies on fluid and particle properties not considered in the classical theory, offering potential advantages for microfluidic particle manipulation. While this phenomenon has been extensively studied theoretically and numerically in Newtonian fluids, experimental investigations have been relatively limited.

Fluid rheology can significantly alter particle dynamics under applied electric fields. Rheological properties like shear-thinning and elasticity which are not …

Investigating The Detection And Transport Of Low Molecular Weight Species To Better Understand Their Impact On Disease Pathology And Treatment, Haley Michelle Duncan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the drastic differences in the projects involved, this dissertation will be split into two sections: Alzheimer’s disease and chronic kidney disease. Each chapter will contain an introduction, materials and methods section, results and discussion, conclusions, and works cited section. The Alzheimer’s disease chapter will also have a supplemental figures section containing the polyacrylamide gels that were silver stained and quantified via ImageJ. The presence of elevated levels of amyloid beta oligomeric species in the brain has been related to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. As these oligomeric species are transient in nature, their kinetics pose a challenge to …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Lignin–Pva Hydrogels With Tunable Network Structures, Keturah Bethel

All Dissertations

The ability to directly tune the crosslinked network structure of hydrogels is crucial for their functional applications in various fields, such as water filtration, protein separation, and tissue engineering. By controlling the crosslink density of the hydrogel, one can directly alter the mesh size – i.e., the end-to-end distance between crosslink junctions – and, subsequently, directly alter the hydrogel performance. This work discusses the fabrication and characterization of soft composites containing the biopolymer, lignin, are discussed. Precisely, physically-crosslinked composite lignin–Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were fabricated via the freeze-thaw (F/T) pathway, whereby solutions containing specified amounts of PVA and lignin were …

Determination Of Binary Co2/H2 Adsorption Isotherms And Kinetics Over Porous Organic Cage Cc3 Via Zero-Length Column Technique, Jimmy D.L. Moreno, Kyle Newport, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Understanding the dynamics of mixed-gas adsorption is essential for industrial-scale adsorptive separations. Also, obtaining binary adsorption isotherms is essential to gain a better understanding of adsorbate-adsorbent interactions in multicomponent gas mixtures. Porous organic cages (POCs) are highly porous, crystalline materials, with a small average pore window that make them promising candidates for separation applications. In this work, we utilized zero-length column (ZLC) technique to not only determine the kinetics of CO₂/H₂ separation over CC3 but also obtain the binary adsorption isotherms. The ultra crystalline diffusivities of 1.49 x 10^–4 and 8.31 x 10^–5 cm^{2 …}

Design And Development Of Uio-67-Coated Pim-1-Based Composites And Demonstration Of Their Detoxification Performance, Sukanta K. Mondal, Peter O. Aina, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Polymer-supported MOF composites have emerged as versatile candidates for various separation and catalytic applications. In this study, we demonstrate design and development of UiO-67-coated Ce(OH)₄@PIM-1 composites via dip-coating, drop-casting, solid-phase coating, and supramolecular assembly, and assess their preparation-structure-performance relations. The catalytic performance of the composites was investigated through hydrolysis of dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (DMNP), as a nerve agent simulant. The findings revealed that while dip-coating method was unable to achieve a thick and uniform coverage of the MOF layer on the Ce(OH)₄@PIM-1, the supramolecular assembly gave rise to 16 wt.% MOF loading and the composite prepared …

Examination And Improvement Of The Taguchi-Based Nanofluids Impact On Co2 Absorption Using Al2o3 Nanoparticles, Safa Waleed Shakir, Saif Saleh Hussein, Shaymaa Hasan Khazaal, Hyder Akram Al-Naseri, Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, Rana Najah Hachim, Muthanna Hikmat Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, a batch absorption reactor was used to evaluate the nanofluid of a binary aqueous solution of monoethanolamine and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (MEA/AMP) with nanoparticles of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) as a solvent used to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from simulated flue gas. Furthermore, the application of the Taguchi experiment design method determined the optimal conditions for the absorption process. This research focuses on the CO₂ absorption process and the optimal conditions related to nanoparticle addition. The main effects of using nanofluid were investigated. The concentration of nanoparticles, nanoparticle size, and stirrer speeds were …

Analysis Of The Relationship Between Flow Patterns In The Post-Stenotic Region Of Model Arteries And Stenosis Severity., Michael Laroche

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, contour fields of mean age and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) in the post-stenotic region of model arteries were analyzed to explore their correlation with FFR. While both high and low FFR cases exhibited similarities with an inner low-age region and an outer high-age region, low FFR cases displayed asymmetry in their low-age regions due to eccentric stenosis. Moreover, gradients of age across the artery diameter were more pronounced for low FFR cases. Additionally, low FFR cases demonstrated significantly higher TKE in the post-stenotic blood jet stream compared to high FFR cases that are reflected in low-age boundary …

Constant-Ph Molecular Dynamics At Inorganic Interfaces: Adding A New Dimension To Simulations Of Interfacial Phenomena., Ted Kalbfleisch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the application of novel molecular dynamics simulation methods to better understand complex systems, with a particular focus on silica materials and protein interactions. Silica materials, known for their versatile surface and solution chemistries, play critical roles in catalysis, chromatography, and wastewater treatment. Despite their widespread use, the molecular-level interactions between silica surfaces and their environments remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we employed λ-dynamics enabled constant pH molecular dynamics to dynamically model protonation and deprotonation events on silica surfaces. Traditional experimental techniques such as x-ray crystallography, NMR, and cryo-EM are inadequate for probing structures in …

Dynamic Metabolic Flux Analysis Amidst Data Variability: Sphingolipid Biosynthesis Case Study In Arabidopsis Thaliana Cell Cultures, Abraham Boluwatife Osinuga

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sphingolipids are pivotal for plant development and stress responses. Growing interest has been directed towards fully comprehending the regulatory mechanisms of the sphingolipid pathway. In this study, we explore its de novo biosynthesis and homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures, shedding light on fundamental metabolic mechanisms. Employing ¹⁵N isotope labeling and quantitative dynamic modeling approach, we obtained data with notable variations and developed a regularized and constraint-based Dynamic Metabolic Flux Analysis (r-DMFA) framework to predict metabolic shifts due to enzymatic changes. Our analysis revealed key enzymes such as sphingoid-base hydroxylase (SBH) and long-chain-base kinase …

Emulsion Liquid Membrane (Elm) Enhanced By Nanoparticles And Ionic Liquid For Extracting Vanadium Ions From Wastewater, Qusay Al-Obaidi, Nora Yehia Selem, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) stands out as an extraction process that has drawn much attention due to its promising prospects in industrial wastewater treatment technology. Nevertheless, the pivotal challenge is to reach high membrane stability to overcome the obstacle of applying ELM at the industrial scale. In this study, ELM was boosted by using nanoparticles (superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe₂O₃)) in the stripping phase (W1) and ionic liquid (1-methyl-3-octyl-imidazolium-hexafluorophosphate [OMIM][PF6) in the oil phase (O) for recovering/extracting vanadium from synthetic wastewater to near completion and at the same time enhancing emulsion stability to be appropriate for industrial …