Engineering Commons^™

Oxidation Of Pollutants In A Batch Recirculation Bioreactor With Immobilized Microorganisms, Jongtai Jung

Dissertations

The purpose of this work was to study bio-oxidative destruction of several substrates in an immobilized cell batch bioreactor in recirculation configuration. This system was used in three cases: a series of substrates usually used as monomers, ethylene glycol and its tetramer, and phenol under magnetic irradiation. In addition, kinetic studies were performed and experimental versus predicted results compared.

The substances styrene, methyl methacrylate (MMA), and β-hydroxybutyric acid (HBA), common monomers, were biologically treated using an acclimated mixed microbial community immobilized in calcium alginate gel. A comparison of biodegradation rates (3.3, 9.4, and 15 ppm/hr for styrene, MMA, and HBA, …

Removal Of Vapors From Air By Selective Membrane Processes, Junseok Cha

Dissertations

The behaviors of different membrane modules for the selective removal and recovery of water vapor and some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from N₂ have been studied. For the selective permeation-based removal of water vapor from N₂, a polymeric water-swollen gel membrane in the form of Cuprophan hollow fiber was employed. A thin film composite type rubbery membrane module was studied for the selective removal of VOCs like toluene or methanol from N₂ by permeation. The usefulness of pore-condensation phenomenon-based removal of toluene or xylene from N₂ was explored using a microporous ceramic tubular membrane.

The …

Engineering Analysis Of A Packed-Bed Biofilter For Removal Of Volatile Organic Compound (Voc) Emissions, Zarook M. Shareefdeen

Dissertations

This study dealt with removal of VOC emissions from airstreams using an evolving new technology which is known as biofiltration. The basis of this technology is biodegradation of VOCs in biofilms formed around porous solids which are placed in packed-bed reactors.

A detailed model describing steady state biofiltration of single and mixed VOCs was developed, and experimentally validated. The model takes into account biodegradation kinetics, the effect of oxygen, kinetic interactions among structurally similar compounds, and mass transfer from the gas phase to the biolayer. It was found that oxygen (a factor neglected in all previous studies) plays a very …

Biological Denitrification : Fundamental Kinetic Studies, And Process Analysis For Sequencing Batch Reactor Operation, Jun-Hsien Wang

Dissertations

This study dealt with a detailed investigation of biological denitrification of nitrate and nitrite by a pure culture of Pseudomonas denitrificans (ATCC 13867), under anaerobic conditions.

In the first part of the study, the kinetics of denitrification were studied in serum-bottle experiments. It was found that reduction of both nitrate and nitrite follows inhibitory expressions of the Andrews type. It was also found that when nitrite is present at levels above 15 mg/L, nitrite and nitrate are involved in a cross-inhibitory, non-competitive, interaction pattern. Analysis of the kinetic data has shown that the culture used has severe maintenance requirements, which …

A Study Of The Biofiltration Process Under Shock-Loading Conditions, Helen Androutsopoulou

Theses

Biofiltration is a new technology for treating airstreams contaminated with emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It employs porous particles which are placed in reactors, in packed-bed configurations, after appropriate microorganisms have been immobilized on the solid support.

Biofiltration involves complex processes, and is not yet well understood. In this thesis the response of biofilter units to quantitative and qualitative changes in the inlet airstreams was examined. Steady state data were also analyzed through the use of an existing detailed model.

Experiments were performed with two small-scale biofilters, and with ethanol and butanol as model compounds. Each biofilter was dedicated …

Aqueous Absorption Of Nitrogen Oxides Induced By Oxychlorine Compounds : A Process Development Study For Flue Gas Treatment, Chen-Lu Yang

Dissertations

The use of chlorine (Cl₂), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), and sodium chlorite (NaClO₂) as oxidizing agents to promote the absorption of nitric oxide (NO) from gas streams has been investigated in the Gas Scrubbing Laboratory of New Jersey Institute of Technology since 1988. The first step of this project had been to screen out the best scrubbing medium for nitric oxide removal from flue gases. The most successful oxidizing agent was found to be sodium chlorite in acidic aqueous solution. The screening results have been accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Communications. A sodium chlorite containing aqueous …