Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Investigations Of A Surrogate Fuel Based On Fischer-Tropsch Gtl And Ctl In Cvcc, Idi And Di Compression Ignition Engines, Amanda C. Weaver

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With the increase in availability, feedstocks, and properties of alternative fuels, compatibility issues emerge between current engine platforms often requiring a limit on the blend percentage of alternative fuel in conventional fuel or alteration to the engine platform. Two key metrics were identified, autoignition quality and lubrication characteristics, as vital for the proper function of a compression ignition engine, and if the blend of alternative fuels matches these two criteria for the diesel standard, then the resulting blend percentage can be considered as a viable alternative for complete replacement of conventional petroleum ULSD. Autoignition quality was matched using blends S-8, …

Investigation Of Additives And Ingredients Of Bio-Resin For Visible Wavelength Laser-Induced Polymerization, Patrick Riggs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Optical 3D printing is a branch of Additive manufacturing (AM) that utilizes low-waste production leading to efficient and rapid prototyping. Currently, this method of AM is associated with mainly petroleum-based resins. Bio-resin polymerization is an emerging research area for finding replacements for petroleum-based resins, but curing the resin with laser energy is not normally a practical use case. Current optical 3D printing uses lasers to cure liquid resins to form solid 3D objects in a layer-by-layer process which is time consuming, defect prone, and a leading limiting factor for high volume production; so, finding a way to incorporate bio-resin into …

Chemical Decomposition Of Flexible Polyurethane Foam To Generate A Media For Microbial Upcycling, Kaushik Baruah

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polyurethane waste is becoming a global concern as a large amount is being disposed of in landfills every year, and only a fraction is being recycled. Several polyurethane recycling techniques exist, of which ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis is the least explored. Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) decomposition can generate amines that can act as a carbon source for the growth of microbial consortia. This study aims to generate a novel media capable of microbial upcycling via ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis of flexible polyurethane foams (FPUFs) using ammonium hydroxide and subsequently determine the reaction conditions for maximum solubilization of polyurethane foam in …

Virus Inactivation By Novel Virucidal Materials, Sneha Singh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The development of virucidal coatings to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses has gained popularity. Antiviral coating of personal protective equipment such as facial coverings can reduce the accumulation of viral load and mitigate transmission of airborne illnesses, which occur primarily through direct contact with respiratory aerosols or droplets carrying infectious viruses. Moreover, modification of PPE to inactivate viruses upon contact improves their reusability and reduces waste. Coating high frequency touch surfaces with similar virucidal coatings can reduce the risk of disease transmission associated with contaminated surfaces. This study explores the development of three novel virucidal materials to control the …

Microscopic And Laboratory Scale Characterization Methods To Evaluate Biomass Deconstruction, Meenaa Chandrasekar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Renewable fuels from lignocellulosic biomass are an appealing option because they can seamlessly integrate into the existing fuel distribution infrastructure. Lignocellulosic biomass constitutes nonedible plant material obtained from plant cell walls. The natural recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass poses a challenge in accessing the cell wall carbohydrates during biochemical conversion. Despite various approaches, enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass remains economically impractical due to incomplete knowledge about biomass recalcitrance and the influence of environmental factors on biomass quality.

The first goal of this dissertation was to construct a microfluidic imaging reactor to better understand the tissue-specific deconstruction of plant materials. Confocal laser …

Treating Contaminated Water: Predicting Reactivities Of Aqueous Organic Contaminants With Hydrated Electrons, And Development Of A Biogarden To Manage Greywater Discharge In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Rose C. Daily

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Advanced reduction processes (ARPs) that generate highly reactive solvated electrons (e^-_aq) are a promising method for the destruction of conventional and emerging aqueous organic contaminants. While there is a large database of contaminant reactivity with e^-_aq in the literature, there is little information on the detailed elementary mechanisms for reduction of multifunctional group compounds and the impact of those functional groups on reactivity. As it is difficult to determine specific mechanisms through experiments and time consuming to measure reactivity, the development of computational approaches to elucidate mechanisms and predict reactivity is becoming increasingly important. In …

Hydro Cyclonic Separation Of Polyester Microfibers From Washing Machine Wastewater, Joe Kulkarni

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Clothing made from synthetic materials shed fibers in washing machines, and these fibers find their way into the effluent water. These fibers can absorb toxic materials in wastewater treatment plants and can then carry these toxins into other aquatic environments.

It’s believed that a hydro cyclone could be scaled down enough to fit into a washing machine and could be used to filter out up to 80% of the microparticles from the effluent water. It’s proposed to investigate if a hydro cyclone can be used for this application. The overall goal was for the hydro cyclone to concentrate the micro …

Experimental Investigation Of The Interface And Wetting Characteristics Of Rock-H2-Brine Systems For H2 Geological Storage, Mirhasan Hosseini

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The projected rise in demand for hydrogen (H2) production is a response to several factors, including greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, depletion of fossil fuel reserves, and their uneven distribution around the earth. Thus, increased requirement for large-scale hydrogen storage solutions is anticipated to overcome imbalance between energy demand and supply. Deep underground formations such as salt caverns and porous reservoir rocks (e.g., depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and deep saline aquifers) are necessary to achieve such volumes in practice. This process is known as underground hydrogen storage (UHS) which is technically very similar to underground natural gas storage. …

An Artificial Neural Network Approach To Predicting Formation Stress In Multi-Stage Fractured Marcellus Shale Horizontal Wells Based On Drilling Operations Data, Moudhi Alawadh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The distribution of the anisotropic minimum horizontal stress, both in horizontal and vertical directions, is necessary for effective hydraulic fracture treatment design in Marcellus Shale horizontal wells. Typically, the minimum horizontal stress can be estimated sonic logs. However, sonic log data is not commonly available for the horizontal Marcellus shale wells due to the complexity and cost. The objective of this research is to predict the anisotropic minimum horizontal stress by utilizing drilling parameters including depth, weight-on-bit (WOB), revolution per minute (RPM), standpipe pressure, torque, pump flow rate, and the rate of penetration (ROP). More specifically, artificial neural network (ANN) …

Increased Liver Stiffness Promotes Hepatitis B Progression By Impairing Innate Immunity In Ccl4-Induced Fibrotic Hbv+ Transgenic Mice, Grace Bybee, Youra Moeun, Weimin Wang, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Larisa Y. Poluektova, Srivatsan Kidambi, Natalia A. Osna, Murali Ganesan

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection develops as an acute or chronic liver disease, which progresses from steatosis, hepatitis, and fibrosis to end-stage liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). An increased stromal stiffness accompanies fibrosis in chronic liver diseases and is considered a strong predictor for disease progression. The goal of this study was to establish the mechanisms by which enhanced liver stiffness regulates HBV infectivity in the fibrotic liver tissue. Methods: For in vitro studies, HBV-transfected HepG2.2.15 cells were cultured on polydimethylsiloxane gels coated by polyelectrolyte multilayer films of 2 kPa (soft) or 24 kPa (stiff) …

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells And Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Have A Strong Synergy In Modulating Inflammation And Its Resolution, Li Han, Xinran Wu, Ou Wang, Xiao Luan, William Velander, Michael Aynardi, E. Scott Halstead, Anthony S. Bonavia, Rong Jin, Guohong Li, Yulong Li, Yong Wang, Cheng Dong, Yuguo Lei

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rationale: Trauma, surgery, and infection can cause severe inflammation. Both dysregulated inflammation intensity and duration can lead to significant tissue injuries, organ dysfunction, mortality, and morbidity. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as steroids and immunosuppressants can dampen inflammation intensity, but they derail inflammation resolution, compromise normal immunity, and have significant adverse effects. The natural inflammation regulator mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have high therapeutic potential because of their unique capabilities to mitigate inflammation intensity, enhance normal immunity, and accelerate inflammation resolution and tissue healing. Furthermore, clinical studies have shown that MSCs are safe and effective. However, they are not potent enough, alone, to …

Measurement Of Volumetric Deformation, Strain Localization, And Shear Band Characterization During Triaxial Testing Using A Photogrammetry-Based Method, Sara Fayek, Xiong Zhang, Xiaolong Xia, Qingqing Fu, Jeffrey D. Cawlfield

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Triaxial Testing Has Been Routinely Used as a Standard Laboratory Test that Allows Correct Determination of Soil Characteristics. Previously the Volumetric Strain of the Triaxial Specimen Was Considered to Be Uniformly Distributed Along with the Specimen during the Isotropic and Deviatoric Loading. Although This Assumption Might Hold True under Isotropic Loading, the Effects of Restrained Ends and Disturbance during the Procedures of Specimen Installation and Testing Can Cause Nonuniform Strains throughout the Whole Specimen. This Paper Investigates the Effects of Specimen Preparation and Misalignment on the Strain Uniformity Along with the Soil Specimen during Triaxial Testing. a Series of Consolidated …

Anti-Freeze Double Network Hydrogels, William Gross

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Three polyethylene glycol (PEG) based crosslinkers with repeat unit nominal weights of 62.1, 200, and 400 g/mol in agar/PAM double network (DN) hydrogels were used to study the effect of different crosslinkers on thermal and mechanical properties. Using the one-pot synthesis method, hydrogels with the PEG crosslinkers or methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBAA) were made via sol-gel transition for formation of agar network, and photopolymerization of the PAM network using Irgacure 2959 as photo initiator. Tensile and compression tests were performed on as prepared, swollen, and swollen & cooled specimens of each hydrogel. Freezing time and thermal imaging were performed in -20 °C …

Analysis Of Plastic Pyrolysis Oil Separation Using Chemcad, Brian Berish, Juliana Mcgaffic

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Excessive plastic waste is a massive global issue. Plastic pyrolysis is a process of melting plastic in the absence of oxygen to create an wax-oil type substance called pyrolysis oil. This project will use a ChemCAD simulation to perform a distillation of a predetermined plastic pyrolysis oil into usable products. Heat integration will be used to construct a heat exchanger network and estimate utility usage. Sizing and costing of all equipment will be calculated and an overall cost analysis of the completed simulation will be performed to determine the economic viability of plant construction. Market research for potential products will …

Structural Design And Application Of Polymeric Silicon Elastomers, Jacob Wyant

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to determine how the polymeric structure and mechanical properties of this elastomer are affected by the ratio between the polydimethylsiloxane macromolecular chains and the crosslinkers. These were determined via tensile and compression testing. Then, spiropyran was added to observe how this fluorescence and crosslinking agent affected the elastomer. Also, the elastomer’s fluorescent and icephobic nature were tested. The elastomers with a higher ratio of crosslinker to macromolecular chain could withstand higher tensile and compressive strains but failed at lower stresses than their counterparts with lower concentrations of crosslinkers. The elastomers were also found to …

Distillery, Clare Nicholas, Patrick Hanlon

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal for this project is to make a cost effective still. We will be implementing cost saving parts to create a cheap but effective still. From initial research conducted, we will try to combine a stainless steel still and copper still together so that the cheaper material (stainless steel) and the component that removes sulfur compounds (copper) are both implemented. The ME side of the project will focus on the actual design and construction of the parts that will be implemented into the still. Included in the design process will be calculations of heat transfer for the current and …

Comparing Weathering Effects Of Ultraviolet And Xenon Arc Accelerated Aging On Polyvinyl Chloride, Collin Mcinnes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

As the ubiquitousness of polymers increases and begins seeing use in outdoor settings, the need to fully understand how these materials degrade is also necessary. This study aims to compare two known accelerated aging methods, namely an ultraviolet light chamber and a xenon arc light chamber, to understand what differences, if any, manifest in the mechanical, chemical, and cosmetic deterioration of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) after long-term exposure. The study utilizes Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and colorimetry analysis to determine the extent of degradation and potential discrepancies between the aging methods.

Point Density For Soil Specimen Volume Measurements In Image-Based Methods During Triaxial Testing, Sara Fayek, Xiong Zhang, Javad Galinmoghadam, Jeffrey D. Cawlfield

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Discrete Measurement Targets Were Frequently Utilized in Image-Based Methods on the Specimen's Surface to Monitor the Soil Specimen during Triaxial Testing. However, the Required Density of Measurement Targets that Should Be Used in Triaxial Testing to Achieve Highly Accurate Volume Measurement Has Not Been Investigated. to overcome This Limitation, This Paper Presents a Parametric Study to Determine the Optimum Target/point Densities to Be Utilized on the Triaxial Soil Specimen Surface to Achieve the Desired Level of Volume Measurement Accuracy in Image-Based Methods. LiDAR Scanning Was Applied to Establish the "Ground Truth" Volume of the Specimen. the Effects of Deformation and …

Ptco/Mwcnts Prepared By A Microwave-Assisted Polyol Method For Selective Cinnamaldehyde Hydrogenation, Kaiying Wang, Yuzi Liu, Jee-Ching Wang, Xinhua Liang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using microwave irradiation, PtCo alloy nanoparticles were deposited within a few minutes on COOH-functionalized MWCNT supports. The obtained catalysts were used for selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde, a reaction whose products are widely used in various fields. In the selective cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation to cinnamyl alcohol, microwave-prepared catalysts (generically, Pt_xCo_y-MW) outperformed a catalyst prepared by the conventional method (Pt₁Co₂-con). The highest selective hydrogenation to cinnamyl alcohol, 89%, was obtained using Pt₁Co₂-MW, while Pt₁Co₂-con showed a selectivity of 76%. Characterization results confirmed that the microwave prepared samples …

Kinetic Assessment Of Light Hydrocarbons Separation Over Fe-Doped 13x Composite Sorbents Under Multicomponent Feed Conditions, Khaled Baamran, Jimmy D.L. Moreno, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Current sorbents investigated for light olefin/paraffin separation usually suffer from low selectivity. Besides, multicomponent analysis of this important separation is usually overlooked in the literature. To enhance the separation efficiency of zeolite 13X, we developed a series of Fe₂O₃/13X composite sorbents and assessed their separation performance using binary, ternary, and multicomponent gas mixtures of C₂H₄, C₂H₆, CH₄, and H₂. In these composites, nano- and micro Fe₂O₃ particles (NPs and MPs) with varied loadings were used, while Fe was also ion-exchanged into …