Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Controlling The Three-Dimensional Environment Of Catalytic Active Sites For Selective Heterogeneous Catalysis, Bingwen Wang

Wayne State University Dissertations

This thesis focuses on developing high performance heterogeneous catalytic structures for chemical and fuel production processes. This thesis work proposes to achieve enhanced catalytic performance by tuning the 3D environment of catalytically active sites. Two approaches toward development of enhanced catalytic structures are demonstrated.

The first approach involves tuning the 3D environment of active sites via the construction of the “inverted” structures, where metal core NPs are coated with a porous oxide layer. A facile, room-temperature method is utilized to synthesize the probe system, inverted Pd@TiO2 catalyst, with control over the oxide film and NPs structure. The “inverted” structures with …

Lignin Valorizations With Ni Catalysts For Renewable Chemicals And Fuels Productions, Xiao Chen, Weixiang Guan, Chi-Wing Tsang, Haoquan Hu, Changhai Liang

Faculty of Science & Technology (THEi)

Energy and fuels derived from biomass pose lesser impact on the environmental carbon footprint than those derived from fossil fuels. In order for the biomass-to-energy and biomass-to-chemicals processes to play their important role in the loop of the circular economy, highly active, selective, and stable catalysts and the related efficient chemical processes are urgently needed. Lignin is the most thermal stable fraction of biomass and a particularly important resource for the production of chemicals and fuels. This mini review mainly focuses on lignin valorizations for renewable chemicals and fuels production and summarizes the recent interest in the lignin valorization over …

Tuning The Acidity Of Pt/Cnts Catalysts For Hydrodeoxygenation Of Diphenyl Ether, Weixiang Guan, Chuang Li, Xiao Chen, Xiao-Ying Lu, Chi-Wing Tsang, Haoquan Hu, Hongxu Qi, Changhai Liang

Faculty of Science & Technology (THEi)

We herein present a method for the synthesis of HNbWO6, HNbMoO6, HTaWO6 solid acid nanosheet modified Pt/CNTs. By varying the weight of various solid acid nanosheets, a series of Pt/xHMNO6/CNTs with different solid acid compositions (x = 5, 20 wt%; M = Nb, Ta; N = Mo, W) have been prepared by carbon nanotube pretreatment, protonic exchange, solid acid exfoliation, aggregation and finally Pt particles impregnation. The Pt/xHMNO6/CNTs are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and NH3-temperature programmed desorption. The study revealed that HNbWO6 nanosheets were attached on CNTs, with some edges of the nanosheets being …

Nb(Ta)-Based Solid Acid Modified Pt/Cnts Catalysts For Hydrodeoxygenation Of Lignin-Derived Compounds, Weixiang Guan, Xiao Chen, Chuang Li, Jie Zhang, Chi-Wing Tsang, Haoquan Hu, Shaojie Li, Changhai Liang

Faculty of Science & Technology (THEi)

Efficient upgrading of lignin bio-oils into oxygen-free liquid alkane fuels is a challenging task owing to the incompatibility of the phenolic feedstock with conventional fuels and the availability of effective hydrotreating catalysts based on the current refinery infrastructure. In this work, a series of solid acid nanosheets (HNbWO6, HNbMoO6, HTaWO6) modified Pt/CNTs bifunctional catalysts were evaluated in hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived compounds. The effects of types of nanosheets and the synergistic effect between metal sites and acid sites were discussed via HDO of diphenyl ether. Pt/HNbWO6/CNTs catalyst exhibited the most efficient performance for the HDO of diphenyl ether to cyclohexane …

Anchoring Cu 1 Species Over Nanodiamond-Graphene For Semi-Hydrogenation Of Acetylene, Fei Huang, Yuchen Deng, Yunlei Chen, Xiangbin Cai, Mi Peng, Zhimin Jia, Jinglin Xie, Dequan Xiao, Xiaodong Wen, Ning Wang, Zheng Jiang, Hongyang Liu, Ding Ma

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

The design of cheap, non-toxic, and earth-abundant transition metal catalysts for selective hydrogenation of alkynes remains a challenge in both industry and academia. Here, we report a new atomically dispersed copper (Cu) catalyst supported on a defective nanodiamondgraphene (ND@G), which exhibits excellent catalytic performance for the selective conversion of acetylene to ethylene, i.e., with high conversion (95%), high selectivity (98%), and good stability (for more than 60 h). The unique structural feature of the Cu atoms anchored over graphene through Cu-C bonds ensures the effective activation of acetylene and easy desorption of ethylene, which is the key for the outstanding …

A Versatile Route To Fabricate Single Atom Catalysts With High Chemoselectivity, Xiaohui He, Qian He, Yuchen Deng, Mi Peng, Hongyu Chen, Ying Zhang, Siyu Yao, Mengtao Zhang, Dequan Xiao, Ding Ma, Binghui Ge, Hongbing Ji

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

Preparation of single atom catalysts (SACs) is of broad interest to materials scientists and chemists but remains a formidable challenge. Herein, we develop an efficient approach to synthesize SACs via a precursor-dilution strategy, in which metalloporphyrin (MTPP) with target metals are co-polymerized with diluents (tetraphenylporphyrin, TPP), followed by pyrolysis to N-doped porous carbon supported SACs (M₁/N-C). Twenty-four different SACs, including noble metals and non-noble metals, are successfully prepared. In addition, the synthesis of a series of catalysts with different surface atom densities, bi-metallic sites, and metal aggregation states are achieved. This approach shows remarkable adjustability and generality, providing …

Adsorption Induced Solid Phase Transition Of Mil-53(Al), Rushik G. Bandodkar

ETD Archive

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are nano-porous solids with potential applications in a wide range of fields including gas separation and catalysis. A number of metal organic frameworks show structural transformation and exceptional flexibility on changing the temperature, pressure and adsorption of certain guest molecules. On the contrary, most of the porous solids like zeolites and activated carbon used in applications are rigid. The structural flexibility makes MOF materials very interesting to study and show promise in applications such as sensors, actuators, membrane separation and adsorptive separation. In this study, we examine the chemical potential difference (Δμ) of MIL-53 (Al), a …

Catalytic Waste Gasification: Water-Gas Shift & Selectivity Of Oxidation For Polyethylene, Mason J. Lang

ETD Archive

As landfills approach capacity and take up valuable land space, metropolitan areas have realized the need for waste disposal alternatives. Thus, there has been a widespread use of waste incinerators in Europe and the United States [1]; [2]. Although newer technology has made incinerators more efficient, there is an increasing interest in formulating `greener’ alternatives to incinerators. Gasification converts organic and carbonaceous materials into a combination of gaseous products known as “syngas,” or synthetic gas. This process greatly reduces the amount of hazardous emissions. The syngas produced by gasifiers has a wide range of uses, including their conversion into diesel, …

Measurement Of Red Blood Cell Oxygenation State By Magnetophoresis, Nina A. Smith

ETD Archive

Magnetophoresis of red blood cells (RBCs) at varying partial pressures of oxygen (pO2) is hypothesized to rejuvenate stored blood to be utilized beyond the FDA regulated 42-day storage time. Magnetophoresis is a particle or cells motion induced by an applied magnetic field in a viscous media. The average magnetophoretic mobility of an oxygenated RBC is -0.126x10-6 mm3-s/kg, and a deoxygenated RBC is 3.66x10-6 mm3-s/kg, presenting magnetophoresis as a resource for RBC rejuvenation in hopes of storing it longer than 42 days. The main objective of this paper was to determine if controlling the pO2 within an RBC suspension, can singly- …

Force Field Optimization, Advanced Sampling, And Free Energy Methods With Gpu-Optimized Monte Carlo (Gomc) Software, Mohammad Soroush Barhaghi

Wayne State University Dissertations

In this work, to address the sampling problem for systems at high densities and low temperatures, a generalized identity exchange algorithm is developed for grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. The algorithm, referred to as Molecular Exchange Monte Carlo (MEMC), is implemented in the GPU-Optimized Monte Carlo (GOMC) software and may be applied to multicomponent systems of arbitrary molecular topology, and provides significant enhancements in the sampling of phase space over a wide range of compositions and temperatures. Three different approaches are presented for the insertion/deletion of the large molecules, and the pros and cons of each method are discussed. Next, …

Self-Delivery Drug Amphiphilies In Chemotherapy And Immunotherapy, Jingchao Xi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Eliminating the need for external delivery systems, self-delivery drug amphiphiles represent a simple yet effective approach designed to overcome the various biological barriers for drug delivery. The ability to program the molecular structures and the physicochemical properties, which control the interactions between the drug amphiphiles and their biological surroundings has attracted significant research interests. In this work, we constructed several amphiphilic drugs including chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic agents. These amphiphiles exhibited interesting interactions with their biological surroundings. Amphiphiles self-assemble into spherical micelle structures in aqueous solution. However, in the presence of complexed biological fluids, they also possess a strong affinity toward …

Synthesis Of Vanadium-Type Mg(Oet)2-Ziegler-Natta Catalystfor Ethylene/1-Hexene Copolymerization, Fah Chaitosa

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is used in broad range applications in either commodity or engineering products. Besides a length of branches contained in the polymer chain, an amount and distribution also play key roles determining polymer properties. Vanadium-type Ziegler Natta catalyst is known that it could give high comonomer incorporation and use in elastomer production. However, only a few studies devoted to vanadium species and their effects on catalyst performances and polymer properties in long α-olefins copolymerization. In this study, reaction temperatures during catalyst preparation were intensively studied. The result in this part showed that the vanadium content was ca. …

New Correlation For Calculating Acentric Factor Of Petroleum 2 Fractions, Samir Khaled

Petroleum Engineering and Gas

A proper description of the physical properties of the petroleum fractions in hydrocarbon mixtures is 12 essential in performing reliable phase behavior calculations and compositional modeling studies. This 13 paper presents a comparison study among five different correlations used to calculate the acentric 14 factor of undefined petroleum fractions. A new correlation was developed for calculating the acentric 15 factor of undefined petroleum fractions, a function of no carbon atoms with an average error of 0.099 16 and a correlation coefficient of 0.998.

The Endocytotic Fate Of A Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle Supported Lipid Bylayer Crispr Delivery Vehicle, Angelea Maestas-Olguin

2019 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Nimoal Catalysts Derived From Heptamolybdate-Intercalated Layered Double Hydroxides For Hydrodeoxygenation Of Anisole, Chuang Li, Xingzhao Zhang, Xiao Chen, Zhijian Peng, Chi-Wing Tsang, Changhai Liang

Faculty of Science & Technology (THEi)

The catalytic performance of NiMoAl catalysts derived from layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors with molybdenum species incorporated into the interlayers was investigated for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of anisole as a model compound of the lignin. The results showed that high dispersion of small Ni nanoparticles with 2–5 nm due to the pinning effect of Mo from Mo7O246− intercalated the LDHs. Due to presence of the oxygen vacancy sites on the molybdenum oxide, the NiMoAl catalysts exhibit higher conversion of anisole than the corresponding NiAl catalyst. The activity for hydrodeoxygenation was enhanced with the increased content of molybdenum species, which can …

Engineering Of Gold Nanoparticles For Drug Delivery, Fangchao Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Due to their ease of synthesis, versatile surface chemistry, ease of imaging, and biocompatibility, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are employed as drug delivery devices in the treatment of respiratory problems associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). We have developed a method for the synthesis of a tripartite nanoconjugate comprised of an AuNP drug carrier chemically conjugated to a transporter protein (wheat germ agglutinin coupled to horseradish peroxidase or WGA-HRP) and to potent SCI drugs. The therapeutic efficacy and biodistribution were studied in a validated animal model. Our results show that a single administration of the nanoconjugate improved diaphragmatic activity at a …

การประเมินพารามิเตอร์ทางจลนศาสตร์ของการออกซิไดซ์โทลูอีนบนตัวเร่งปฏิกิริยา Wo3/Tio2 ที่ออกแบบมาสำหรับปฏิกิริยาการรีดิวซ์แบบเลือกเกิด, จีรภา ตรัยการมั่นมติ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้ทำการศึกษาเพื่อประมาณค่าพารามิเตอร์ทางจลนศาสตร์ของปฏิกิริยาการออกซิไดซ์โทลูอีน โดยตัวเร่งปฏิกิริยาทังสเตนออกไซด์บนตัวรองรับไทเทเนีย (WO3/TiO2) ตัวรองรับไทเทเนียได้รับการปรับสภาพด้วยสารละลายกรดกำมะถันที่มีความเข้มข้น 0.2 และ 0.5 โมล/ลิตร ทำการวิเคราะห์คุณลักษณะด้วยเทคนิคต่าง ๆ ได้แก่ SEM-EDX, BET, XRD และNH3-TPD ทำการทดสอบความสามารถในปฏิกิริยาการออกซิไดซ์โทลูอีนที่ความเข้มข้นของโทลูอีน 300-400 ppm และความเข้มข้นของออกซิเจน 3, 12 และ 21%vol ในช่วงอุณหภูมิ 150-450°C จากการศึกษาพบว่าที่ความเข้มข้นของออกซิเจนเท่ากัน ให้ Toluene conversion ที่ทัดเทียมกัน แต่ตรวจพบ CO2 ในปริมาณที่ต่ำ บ่งบอกว่าผลิตภัณฑ์ที่ได้จากการออกซิไดซ์น่าจะเป็นสารอินทรีย์ที่จุดเดือดสูง พลังงานกระตุ้นที่ปรากฏของปฏิกิริยาการออกซิไดซ์โทลูอีน สำหรับตัวเร่งปฏิกิริยาที่ไม่ได้รับและได้รับการปรับสภาพด้วยสารละลายกรดกำมะถัน 0.2 โมล/ลิตร พบว่าพลังงานกระตุ้นอยู่ในช่วง 36-45 kJ/mol แต่สำหรับตัวเร่งปฏิกิริยาที่ได้รับการปรับสภาพด้วยสารละลายกรดกำมะถัน 0.5 โมล/ลิตร พลังงานกระตุ้นอยู่ในช่วง 30-36 kJ/mol ซึ่งต่ำกว่าและเมื่อเปรียบเทียบผลการทดลองในสภาวะผู้ที่ทำก่อนหน้า ในสภาวะที่มี NO ร่วมนั้น มีการตรวจพบ CO2 อย่างมีนัยสำคัญ บ่งบอกว่าการเกิด CO2 นั้น น่าจะเป็นผลจากผลิตภัณฑ์ที่เกิดจากการออกซิไดซ์โทลูอีน โดยวัดปฏิกิริยาที่มี NO ร่วม มีปฏิกิริยาเกิดขึ้น 2 ปฏิกิริยาอย่างเด่นชัด คือ ช่วงอุณหภูมิ 150-250°C มีพลังงานกระตุ้นที่ต่ำและช่วงอุณหภูมิ 250°C ขึ้นไป ที่มีพลังงานกระตุ้น 56-72 kJ/mol

Enhancement Of Macrophage Uptake Via Phosphatidylserine-Coated Acetalated Dextran Nanoparticles, Nishan K. Shah, Sweta K. Gupta, Zimeng Wang, Samantha A. Meenach

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Although vital to the immune system, macrophages can act as reservoirs for pathogens such as tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus. Limitations in the treatment of such diseases include targeting therapeutics directly to macrophages and the large systemic dosages needed. The objective of this study is to develop a nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery system that can provide targeted delivery into macrophages. Acetalated dextran (Ac-Dex) NP loaded with the lipophilic model compound curcumin (CUR) were synthesized and coated in 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (DPPS), a phospholipid that induces phagocytosis in macrophages. DPPS-CUR NP were found to release 67.8% of encapsulated CUR within 24 …

Beating Clusters Created With Cardiac Extracellular Matrix From Decellularized Pig Hearts And Repopulated With Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes, Isaac Myres, Bryce Allen, Silvia Moncada, Sebastian Valencia, Beverly L. Roeder, Alonzo D. Cook

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2019

Due to the high prevalence of heart disease, scarcity of donors, and high risk of transplant rejection, we aim to engineer patient specific beating cardiac patches and whole hearts for transplant.

Understanding Effects Of Engineering Outreach On Elementary Students, Thomas Cobb

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Currently, there is a desire to increase engineering understanding held by elementary students. As such, there needs to be a way to stimulate not only engineering, but other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics in a young student’s lifestyle. One way to emphasize the importance of STEM while also showing how fun it can be is through different hands on activities led by individuals partaking in undergraduate studies or the industry. While having the students participate in the activities, it is important to understand what the students are learning and how the activity overall is viewed. With the help …