Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Metathesis Of Ethylene And 2-Butene For Propylene Production Using Naoh Modified Wo3/Sio2 Catalysts, Surasa Maksasithorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

WO3-based catalyst is one of the most successful catalysts for producing propylene via olefin metathesis. Traditionally, it is prepared by an incipient wetness method. This suffer from severe limitations such as inhomogeneity of the WO3 deposit, alteration of the texture (pore plugging, etc.) and genesis of inactive species (WO3 crystals), resulting in low catalytic performance. The present study exploits innovative preparation methods for more efficient WO3-based catalysts by using two methods of one step preparation including non-hydrolytic sol-gel route and aerosol-assisted sol-gel process. These methods offer good control on the final catalyst composition, provide mixed oxides with excellent textures, feature …

Self-Healing Catalysts: Co3O4 Nanorods For Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, Cun Wen, Darrius D. Dunbar, Xin Zhang, Jochen A. Lauterbach, Jason R. Hattrick-Simpers

Faculty Publications

We combine kinetic and spectroscopic data to demonstrate the concept of a self-healing catalyst, which effectively eliminates the need for catalyst regeneration. The observed self-healing is triggered by controlling the crystallographic orientation at the catalyst surface.

Development Of Cementitious Materials For Adhesion Type Applications Comprising Calcium Sulfoaluminate (Csa) Cement And Latex Polymer, Joshua V. Brien

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The objective of this research was to develop high performing polymer modified calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement materials for use in applications requiring superior adhesion characteristics. Little information is available describing interactions of CSA cement containing minor phase tri-calcium aluminate (C₃A) with commonly used admixtures. Given the scarcity of information, a basic approach for developing cementitious materials was followed. The basic approach consisted of four tasks: cement design, admixture design, polymer design and testing developed materials. The iterative, time consuming process is necessary for understanding the influence of specific constituent components on overall system behavior. Results from the cement …

Quantification Of Factors Governing Drug Release Kinetics From Nanoparticles: A Combined Experimental And Mechanistic Modeling Approach, Kyle Daniel Fugit

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Advancements in nanoparticle drug delivery of anticancer agents require mathematical models capable of predicting in vivo formulation performance from in vitro characterization studies. Such models must identify and incorporate the physicochemical properties of the therapeutic agent and nanoparticle driving in vivo drug release. This work identifies these factors for two nanoparticle formulations of anticancer agents using an approach which develops mechanistic mathematical models in conjunction with experimental studies.

A non-sink ultrafiltration method was developed to monitor liposomal release kinetics of the anticancer agent topotecan. Mathematical modeling allowed simultaneous determination of drug permeability and interfacial binding to the bilayer from release …

Development Of Nickel Oxide And Manganese Oxide Nanostructured Binary Modified Anodes For Methanol Electro-Oxidation, Ghada El-Nowihy

Chemical Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Modified Orthogonal Collocation Method For Reaction Diffusion Problems, Moustafa A. Soliman, Yousef S. Al-Zeghayer, Abdelhamid M. Ajbar

Chemical Engineering

A low-order collocation method is often useful in revealing the main features such as concentration and temperature profiles and the effectiveness factor for porous catalyst particles. Two modifications are introduced in this paper to make the method more efficient. The first modification is to add an extra collocation point at the center of the particle. It is shown that such extra point introduces a single variable non-linear equation to be solved after obtaining the standard collocation method solution. In the second modification, the polynomial solution obtained from the application of the orthogonal collocation method is transformed to a rational function …

Model-Based Energy Analysis Of An Integrated Midrex-Based Iron/Steel Plant, Abdelhamid M. Ajbar, Khalid I. Alhumaizi, Moustafa A. Soliman, Emadadeen Ali

Chemical Engineering

This article presents modeling and simulations of an integrated plant for the production of steel using the direct reduced iron (DRI)=electric arc furnace (EAF) route. In a previous work (Alhumaizi et al., 2012), a comprehensive mathematical model of an iron plant based on MIDREX technology was developed, validated, and simulated. In this article, the model is extended to account for an empirical model of an EAF plant. Numerical simulations were carried out for the effect of different operating parameters of the integrated plant. Useful profiles as well as a summary table were compiled to illustrate the results of the sensitivity …

The Effect Of Using Different Rock Failure Criteria In Wellbore Stability Analysis, Reza Rahimi

Masters Theses

"Determination of the appropriate drilling fluid density by rock failure analysis is an essential step to control wellbore instability. To determine wellbore failure stresses, the rock strength has to be known, an appropriate constitutive model has to be selected, and finally an accurate rock failure criterion must be chosen. Linear-poro elastic modeling of the mechanical wellbore failure is the most common approach to investigate wellbore instability. Numerous failure criteria have been used for the rock failure analysis but there is not any commonly accepted agreement of which failure criteria to use. Rock failure criteria differ in two main characteristics. First, …

Developing Genetic Tools For Geobacillus, Brittany Artale

Honors Theses and Capstones

Bacillus and Geobacillus are the primary bacterium used in biotechnology industries due to their ability to excrete extracellular materials such as proteins, enzymes and other byproducts. Bacillus subtilis, has a well-characterized competence machinery, giving way to characterized genetic tools. However, a significant problem associated with working with Bacillus is the regulation of endospore formation. An alternative to Bacillus is Geobacillus, a thermophilic bacterium. Thermophiles offer significant advantages over other bacteria as host organisms in biofuel, bioremediation, and biocatalyst processes. However, the genetic tools and competency associated with Geobacillus is still unknown. Through, genetic engineering the ability …

Ultrasound Assisted Hydration Of Navy Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris), N. Misra

Articles

The use of ultrasound to enhance the transport phenomena in food processes has been well recognised in recent times. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sonication on hydration rate and pasting profile of navy beans. The hydration kinetics for control and ultrasound assisted soaking was mathematically described using mechanistic (Fickian diffusion) and empirical (Peleg’s equation, Weibull model and First Order equation) models. Ultrasound enhanced the rate of hydration which was evident from the plot of kinetic data and model parameters. The effective diffusivities for water transport without and with ultrasound application were estimated to be …

Sinking Of Hydrocarbon Mixtures Due To Evaporative And/Or Dissolution Weathering On The Surface And Submerged In Water, Christopher Clayton Stevens

LSU Master's Theses

The appearance of on-bottom oil following surface and deep water spills has been well documented. A very likely, yet sparingly studied, cause of this phenomenon is the evaporation and/or dissolution of the light constituents of the mixture, leaving a heavy residual fraction that may sink. A binary mixture of a light, volatile/soluble and a heavy, nonvolatile/insoluble component was used in numerous laboratory experiments, with binary and multi-component mixtures, to confirm this event is possible. A binary-component model was developed based on the law of conservation of mass for “oil” spilled on the surface to predict sinking time requirements based on …

Design Of A Multi-Agent System For Process Monitoring And Supervision, Onur Dogu

LSU Master's Theses

New process monitoring and control strategies are developing every day together with process automation strategies to satisfy the needs of diverse industries. New automation systems are being developed with more capabilities for safety and reliability issues. Fault detection and diagnosis, and process monitoring and supervision are some of the new and promising growth areas in process control. With the help of the development of powerful computer systems, the extensive amount of process data from all over the plant can be put to use in an efficient manner by storing and manipulation. With this development, data-driven process monitoring approaches had the …

Experimental Assessment Of Cement Integrity Under Thermal Cycle Loading Conditions In Geopressured Geothermal Reservoirs, Kolawole Saheed Bello

LSU Master's Theses

The number of well integrity issues increase as wells are exposed to severe downhole conditions and have longer lifetimes. Techniques for heat extraction from geopressured geothermal reservoirs involve production of hot water and injection of cold water which expose downhole materials to harsh cyclic temperature variations. Heating and cooling make the cement expand and contract as a result of thermal expansion. This volumetric change can influence cement sheaths causing them to fail. Failure of annular cement sheaths can introduce well integrity issues and subsequently lead to sustained casing pressure. This study measures the effect of cyclic thermal loading of cement …

G-Box Model For The Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Soil, Eileen Cranfield

LSU Master's Theses

Pesticides applied to agriculture fields move and react into the soil system. The objective of this research was to develop a model that uses the natural soil processes (diffusion, advection, or reaction type processes in multiple phases) to track pesticides and other emerging contaminants (EMCONs) in the soil over space and time. The model separates the soil into a series of boxes with soil processes passing through and into the boxes. With a system of equations developed from these processes, the model produces a gradient concentration profile, hence the Gradient Box, or G-box Model. The model is first tested against …

Effects Of Drill-Pipe Whirling Motion On Cuttings Transport Performance For Horizontal Drilling, Yasin Demiralp

LSU Master's Theses

Dispersion, deposition, and suspension of particulate materials in the carrier fluid play a significant role in the oil industry. Increasing the cuttings transport performance in deviated wells is difficult due to the rolling/sliding transport, and cuttings settling on the low side of the annulus. Insufficient cuttings transport may lead to some crucial problems such as pipe sticking, increasing in torque and drag, material damage and bed cementing quality. Increasing flow rates and improving mud properties may not be applicable for a proper hole cleaning because of the hydraulic and mechanical limitations. In such cases, additional pressure may be generated, and …

Effect Of Forced Flow Oscillation On Churn And Annular Flow In Vertical Wellbores, Catalina Posada

LSU Master's Theses

Producing oil and gas from marginal hydrocarbon reservoirs and mature fields present particular challenges. One of the challenges for these types of fields is flow instability. Pipeline risers and artificial gas-lift systems experience instabilities, which cause significant reductions in production among others operational drawbacks. Different types of instabilities (static and dynamic) have been identified affecting those systems. However, there is still a lack of systematic investigations associated with the understanding of dynamic instabilities (periodic oscillations) and their impact in production systems. A systematic investigation of the effects of periodic forced oscillations on gas-liquid flows in a 42 m (140-ft) long, …

Plasma Processes And Polymers Special Issue On: Plasma And Cancer, Mounir Laroussi, Michael Keidar

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

During the last two decades, research efforts on the application of low temperature plasmas in biology and medicine have positioned nonequilibrium lowtemperature plasmas as a technology that has the potential of revolutionizing healthcare.[1,2] Low temperature plasmas can be applied in direct contact with living tissues to inactivate bacteria,[3] to disinfect wounds and accelerate wound healing,[4] and to induce damage in some cancer cells.[5–11]

Multiscale Estimation Of Inertial Effects For Frac-Pack Completed Gas Reservoirs, Sultan Anbar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Accurate estimation of production from frac-pack completed gas wells requires reliable estimation of flow properties from reservoir rocks and proppants. This study is composed of three parts: core-scale, pore-scale and reservoir-scale analyses of this problem. In the core-scale analysis, simultaneous estimation of permeability, non-Darcy, and Klinkenberg coefficients of reservoir rock is conducted from steady-state and pulse-decay experiments. Confidence intervals of the estimated parameters are determined from the Bootstrap method. The duration of pulse-decay experiments has a large impact on confidence intervals; therefore, correlations are developed to estimate the experimental duration for both 1-tank and 2-tank set-ups from the core properties …

Poroelastic Inhomogeneities: Applications In Reservoir Geomechanics, Houman Bedayat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The scarce amount of conventional hydrocarbon reservoirs and increase of fuel consumption in the world have made production from unconventional hydrocarbon resources inevitable. Because of the low permeability of unconventional formations, fractures are the main paths for the fluid to flow. Therefore, detailed knowledge of the size, orientation, and permeability of the fracture systems are essential for reservoir engineers. Permeability of the fractures is function of their volume and opening, and stress and fluid pore pressure distribution in the formation. Since reservoir pressure may change over the production life of the reservoir, studying stress redistribution and mechanical behavior of the …

Applications Of Cfd Simulations On Studying The Multiphase Flow In Microfluidic Devices, Yuehao Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microfluidics has been extensively investigated as a unique platform to synthesize nanoparticles with desired properties, e.g., size and morphology. Compared to the conventional batch reactors, wet-chemical synthesis using continuous flow microfluidics provides better control over addition of reagents, heat and mass transfer, and reproducibility. Recently, millifluidics has emerged as an alternative since it offers similar control as microfluidics. With its dimensions scaled up to millimeter size, millifluidics saves fabrication efforts and potentially paves the way for industrial applications. Good designs and manipulations of microfluidic and millifluidic devices rely on solid understanding of fluid dynamics. Fluid flow plays an important role …