Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Electrodialysis Device For In Vivo Power Delivery, Jessica L. Orton

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is estimated that over 3 million cardiac pacemakers have been implanted in patients globally. Current lithium-iodine pacemaker batteries last an average of about 10 years before the entire pacemaker unit must surgically be replaced, increasing the patient’s risk of procedure-related complications. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate means by which to extend the pacemaker battery lifetime. The renal vein and renal artery in the body naturally produce a salinity gradient through the filtering work of the kidneys. This salinity gradient energy potential can be harnessed through reverse electrodialysis (RED). RED is an electrochemical process that harnesses the Gibbs Free …

Quantifying Air Pollution At The Stamford Transportation Center, Brianna Mancuso, Kristina Wagstrom

Honors Scholar Theses

There is a need to analyze particulate matter concentrations at the Stamford Transportation Center according to the Western Connecticut Coalition of Governments. Stamford has recently undergone rapid urbanization and large scale construction resulting in traffic congestion. Congested traffic areas in urban centers are key contributors to poor air quality. Therefore, there is a need to analyze the pollution concentrations at the bus stops near the station. Every day, hundreds of shuttles and cars idle around the Transportation Center. Thousands of passengers wait at nearby bus stops every day and can potentially be exposed to high amounts of vehicle produced pollution …

Solution To Exide Technologies Inbatec Inefficiency, Spencer Christian, Shixuan Hou, Mary Fairley, Reagan Gilker, Covenson Latouche

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The inefficiency of the battery charging time in Inbatec Units 1 and 2 in the Exide Technologies Fort Smith was initially investigated by a student team in Fall 2019, and the investigation was continued into Spring 2020. The Exide Technologies facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas utilizes 13 Inbatec units to charge the lead-acid batteries. The Inbatec systems circulate the sulfuric acid solution through a cooling tower to maintain to optimal charging temperature. Previous analysis of the charging process for Inbatec Units 1 and 2 show the cooling tower have the capacity to quickly remove the excess heat in the sulfuric …

Removal Of Fluoride From Mine Water Via Adsorption For Land-Applied Soil Amendment, Jacqueline Payne, Mary Johnson, Kevin Le, Michelle Dopp, Courtney Golman, Adrian Damian, Ethan Phan

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The process of mining minerals and elements from ores and rocks creates acid rock drainage (ARD). This drainage is water that contains heavy metals and minerals that can be dangerous for human consumption or damaging to the environment. The mining industry has employed various water treatment methods to prevent these metals and minerals from being discharged into water sources such as ponds, lakes, and streams. Currently, the most used treatment process in the mining industry is a cost-effective highdensity sludge (HDS) process. This method reduces the concentration of metals and elements with the use of lime/limestone. However, the concentration of …

Removal Of Fluoride From Mine Water Via Adsorption For Land-Applied Soil Amendment, Ethan Phan, Adrian Damian, Kevin Le, Mary Johnson, Courtney Golman, Michelle Dopp, Jacqueline Payne

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The process of mining minerals and elements from ores and rocks creates acid rock drainage (ARD). This drainage is water that contains heavy metals and minerals that can be dangerous for human consumption or damaging to the environment. The mining industry has employed various water treatment methods to prevent these metals and minerals from being discharged into water sources such as ponds, lakes, and streams. Currently, the most used treatment process in the mining industry is a cost-effective high-density sludge (HDS) process. This method reduces the concentration of metals and elements with the use of lime/limestone. However, the concentration of …

Scale-Up Of Polyaniline Cellulose Membranes, Isaac Bodemann

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Polyaniline coated cellulose membranes show impressive conductive properties that may be used to innovate traditional charged separation techniques, such as electrodeionization. However, these membranes are not sold to consumers, so they cannot be easily integrated into such systems. This research focuses on the scale-up and development of positively charged anion exchange membranes to be used in EDI cells. Novel cellulose membranes were made using lab-specific cellulose. These membranes were then coated using a polyaniline technique adopted from a paper titled, “Flexible Electrically Conductive Nanocomposite Membrane Based on Bacterial Cellulose and Polyaniline." This paper details the methods used to add the …

Solution To Exide Technologies Inbatec Inefficiency, Reagan Gilker, Mary Fairley, Spencer Christain, Shixuan Hou, Covenson Latouche

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The inefficiency of the battery charging time in Inbatec Units 1 and 2 in the Exide Technologies Fort Smith was initially investigated by a student team in Fall 2019, and the investigation was continued into Spring 2020. The Exide Technologies facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas utilizes 13 Inbatec units to charge the lead-acid batteries.

The Inbatec systems circulate the sulfuric acid solution through a cooling tower to maintain to optimal charging temperature. Previous analysis of the charging process for Inbatec Units 1 and 2 show the cooling tower have the capacity to quickly remove the excess heat in the sulfuric …

Improving Pv Module Efficiency Through Cooling, Ashley Cox

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Solarbacks researched and designed a variety of cooling methods that could be used to improve the efficiency of photovoltaics. These cooling methods can be separated into two categories: active and passive methods. The active cooling method of hydraulic cooling and the passive cooling methods of heat sinks (fins), optical coatings, thermosyphons, phase change materials, and thermoelectric generators were all taken into consideration as potential cooling methods. Passive cooling methods were preferred because the use of electricity required for the cooling mechanism would reduce the net electricity and subsequent profit from the panels.

Two variations of hydraulic cooling were researched: …

Removal Of Fluoride From Mine Water Via Adsorption For Land-Applied Soil Amendment, Adrian Damian, Kevin Le, Mary Johnson, Ethan Phan, Courtney Golman, Michelle Dopp, Jacqueline Payne

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The process of mining minerals and elements from ores and rocks creates acid rock drainage (ARD). This drainage is water that contains heavy metals and minerals that can be dangerous for human consumption or damaging to the environment. The mining industry has employed various water treatment methods to prevent these metals and minerals from being discharged into water sources such as ponds, lakes, and streams. Currently, the most used treatment process in the mining industry is a cost-effective highdensity sludge (HDS) process. This method reduces the concentration of metals and elements with the use of lime/limestone. However, the concentration of …

Improving Pv Module Efficiency Through Cooling, Brandon Conrad, Blake Bradley, Ashley Cox, Donhy Mai, Harrison Dawson, Megan Reynolds, George Hill

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Solarbacks researched and designed a variety of cooling methods that could be used to improve the efficiency of photovoltaics. These cooling methods can be separated into two categories: active and passive methods. The active cooling method of hydraulic cooling and the passive cooling methods of heat sinks (fins), optical coatings, thermosyphons, phase change materials, and thermoelectric generators were all taken into consideration as potential cooling methods. Passive cooling methods were preferred because the use of electricity required for the cooling mechanism would reduce the net electricity and subsequent profit from the panels.

Two variations of hydraulic cooling were researched: …

Removal Of Fluoride From Mine Water Via Adsorption For Land-Applied Soil Amendment, Courtney Golman, Kevin Le, Michelle Dopp, Adrian Damian, Mary Johnson, Jacqueline Payne, Ethan Phan

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The process of mining minerals and elements from ores and rocks creates acid rock drainage (ARD). This drainage is water that contains heavy metals and minerals that can be dangerous for human consumption or damaging to the environment. The mining industry has employed various water treatment methods to prevent these metals and minerals from being discharged into water sources such as ponds, lakes, and streams. Currently, the most used treatment process in the mining industry is a cost-effective highdensity sludge (HDS) process. This method reduces the concentration of metals and elements with the use of lime/limestone. However, the concentration of …

Peptoid And Antibody-Based Gfp Sensors, Solomon Isu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we have made and characterized a pair of immunobiosensors for detecting the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in an aqueous matrix. An anti-GFP antibody-based biosensor was assembled to detect GFP, while a novel peptoid (N-substituted oligomers of glycine designated as IOS-1) biosensor was also assembled for GFP detection. A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) gold sensor was used as the supporting substrate for self-assembly of the immunobiosensors. Gravimetric measurements of the QCM gold sensor during immunobiosensor construction and operation were available in real-time using a QCM instrument. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Fluorescence microscopy were used …

Addition Of Fermentation Experiment To Unit Operations Laboratory, Jeremy T. Rone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the growth of the distillery and brewery industries and the potential jobs created for chemical engineers, it is imperative to equip the chemical engineering graduates from the University of Louisville with knowledge of bioreaction kinetics and experience in performing calculations to solve for concentration profiles and reaction rates. To accomplish this, it is recommended to add a fermentation experiment to the Unit Operations Laboratory II course.

Four groups of students from the Spring 2020 Unit Operations Laboratory II course performed the fermentation experiment. They were able to successfully complete all lab requirements as well as analyze the results and …

Labview Improvements And Equipment Redesign Of Unit Operations Distillation Column, Madalyn S Wead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unit Operations labs are important tools to provide hands-on learning with various chemical processes. The distillation lab experiment allows students to connect equations and definitions from textbooks to the physical processes of distillation as they occur. LabVIEW was the software development tool used to create a program to control the distillation column from startup to shutdown. Improvements were made to both the distillation process equipment and the LabVIEW code to create a more interactive lab experience, enhance students’ conceptual understanding of distillation, and prepare students for their future career as chemical engineers.

Equipment addressed included non-linear valves, malfunctioning temperature and …

Determination Of Selenite And Selenate In Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization Process Water Through Ic-Icp-Ms And Hg-Icp-Aes, Samuel Anthony Kelty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During coal-fired electric power production, coal bound elemental selenium is released into the gas phase and oxidized to selenite and selenate in the wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) unit. Selenite and selenate solubilize in the WFGD process water. A process water system at a coal fired power plant contributes to environmental regulation compliance by removing the selenium species from WFGD process water. A selenium speciation method was developed for the purpose of better monitoring the selenium species present in the “treated” process water and to aid the process water system in meeting compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Effluent Limitation …

Green Synthesis Of Reduced Graphene Oxide For Efficient Adsorption-Photocatalysis Studies In Methylene Blue Dye Degradation, Ling Er Valerie Siong

Student Works (2020-2029)

Dyes are one of the major components of industrial effluents. Owing to the complex structures of these toxic organic compounds, the removal of dyes from effluents possesses a great challenge in wastewater treatment. In order to tackle this issue, one of the effective methods is to remove dyes via the combination of adsorption and photocatalysis processes. In the present work, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was fabricated from graphene oxide (GO) by using an environmentally friendly solvothermal approach, whereby ethanol was employed as a non-toxic reductant. In order to investigate the formation of rGO, the reduction of GO was carried out …

Upgrading Cracking Waste To Rubber Precursors Via Oxidative Dehydrogenation, Andrew Mason, Delaney Franck, Firdvas Nasimov, Lindsey Jarema, Gitau Wambugu

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Funded Proposals

To: Dr. Yasar Demirel, Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

As the result of process changes within an ethylene cracking plant, the amount of a C4 byproduct waste stream has significantly increased (Fabiano, Nedwick 1999). A system of extractive distillation and catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation can be used to add value to this C4 waste stream by producing high purity 1,3-Butadiene, an important rubber precursor. 1,3-Butadiene is a critical component of multiple consumer goods, including automobile tires and synthetic rubber and has a steadily increasing demand, reaching 10 million metric tons in 2012 (Biddy, Scarlata, Kinchin, 2016). The simulation assumes a feed flow …

Syntheses And Properties Of Ta5+ Doped Li7La3Zr2O12, Feng-Feng Peng, Shi-You Li, Tong-Tong Geng, Chun-Lei Li, Shuang-Wei Zeng

Journal of Electrochemistry

The tantalum ion (Ta ⁵⁺) doped garnet-type inorganic solid electrolyte Ta-LLZO was prepared by solid state reaction, and the effect of doping amount on the properties of the materials was investigated. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission electron scanning microscopy (FESEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). And the cycle stability was tested by assembly of LiFePO₄//LLZTO//Li all solid lithium battery. The results show that with the increase of Ta ⁵⁺ doping amount, the material appeared to form a single cubic phase structure. When the Ta ⁵⁺ doping content became 14.09wt.%, x=0.3, the …

Nanomechanical Characterization Of Fuel Cell Ionomers, Jackson Goddard

UCARE: Research Products

Energy sustainability can be achieved by improving and adopting clean energy technologies, and a better nanoscale understanding of ionomer-catalyst layers could lead to increased efficiency of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Samples of Nafion ( Perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer) and PFIA (Perfluoroimide acid ionomer) of varying film thickness were prepared and then studied using contact resonance force microscopy. It was determined that storage and loss modulus increase as relative humidity increases and ionomer film thickness goes below 100 nm. Furthermore, in this specific study, the similar storage and loss modulus of Nafion and PFIA could be attributed to similar backbone structure …

Preparation And Characterization Of Cathode Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Xiao-Nan Bao, Guang-Jun Zhang, Shao-Rong Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A site deficient (La_0.8Sr_0.2)_0.95MnO₃ (LSM95) powder was synthesized by solid state reaction as a cathode material. The commercial Zr_0.9Sc_0.1SO_1.95 (SSZ) was selected as an electrolyte material and La_0.8Sr_0.2Cr_0.5Mn_0.5O₃- (LSCrM) was synthesized by sol-gel method as an anode material. Accordingly, single cells of LSCrM-CeO₂|SSZ|3YSZ-LSM95 were prepared by tape casting, sintering and impregnation. The single cell test results for LSCrM-CeO₂|SSZ|3YSZ-LSM95 with 0.11 g·cm ^-2 CeO₂ and using CH₄ as a fuel showed the power …