Engineering Commons^™

Optimizing Membrane Distillation With Solar Thermal Collectors, Andrew Mason, Ben Shulders, Siamak Nejati

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With rising human populations, the demand for freshwater is an ever-growing problem. One emerging technology to combat this problem is membrane distillation (MD). MD has several advantages for water desalination including 100% rejection of solute (salt, heavy metals, etc.) and mergeability with other affordable energy sources (solar heat, electric resistance, etc.) However, at the moment the specific energy consumption (SEC) of MD is very high due to low water production rates and large energy inputs to heat water. In a solar‐assisted design for MD, the high cost of solar collectors (~$200/m2) inhibits the low cost of water production in comparison …

Nanomechanical Characterization Of Fuel Cell Ionomers, Jackson Goddard

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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 …

Fabrication Of Composite Membranes For Solar-Thermal Desalination, Andrew Mason, Mahdi Mohammadighaleni, Siamak Nejati

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With rising human populations, the demand for freshwater is an ever-growing problem. One emerging technology to combat this problem is membrane distillation (MD). MD has several advantages for water desalination such as:

•100% rejection of solute (salt, heavy metals, etc.) •Mergeable with other affordable energy sources (solar heat, electric resistance, etc.)

However, at the moment the specific energy consumption (SEC) of MD is very high due to low water production rates and large energy inputs to heat water. In a solar-assisted design for MD, the high cost of solar collectors (~$200/m2) inhibits low cost of water production in comparison to …

Evaluation Of The Embedded Environmental Impacts Of The Sanitary Sewer System Using Life Cycle Assessment, Kimberly Law

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This study identifies the overall impact that the installation and construction phase of sanitary sewer systems have on the environment. Construction data on sanitary sewer systems from small Nebraska communities was collected and compared to the operating phase of the sanitary sewer. The operating phase is the energy required for the lift station. Analyzing sanitary sewers during their entire life cycle involved the raw materials, infrastructure construction, installation, operation of the system, and maintenance.

Wastewater treatment systems are meant to reduce the negative impact that humans have on the environment. The purpose of the system is to treat and disinfect …

Title: Investigation Of Oxidative Reduction Reactions In Carbon-Based Electrocatalysts Presentation, Andrew Mason, Siamak Nejati, Shayan Kaviani

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The expense of commonly used electrocatalysts such as Platinum and Palladium, make many battery technologies and electrochemical reactions cost-prohibitive. A new group of promising low-cost catalysts is doped carbon complexes. These materials need further development to reach the same activity as traditional catalysts. But by examining the Oxidative Reduction Reactions (ORR) of various carbon complexes, desirable characteristics and geometries can be identified and enhanced. For this comparative analysis, a series of Carbon Nanotube (CNT) and Graphene Complexes were tested.

Sustained Cell Differentiation Of 2d H9 Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Hannah M. Christian

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This experiment consisted of the controlled differentiation of H9 embryonic stem cells to mesenchymal stem cells. Though this experiment was repeated twice and improvement was seen in these repetitions, the cells were only able to be partially differentiated. However, the morphology of the differentiated cells is similar to those of healthy adult mesenchymal stem cells.

The progression of the differentiation can be seen in the microscope slide photos below. Throughout the differentiation, there occurred a decrease in cell survival and reduction of cell growth, but an increase in mesenchymal stem cell morphology. Throughout the last week of the differentiation, very …

Brain Tumor In A Dish: Glioma/Astrocyte Co-Cultures As A Model For In Vitro Studies, Erin Eickman, Christina Wilson, Srivatsan Kidambi

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This study seeks to engineer an in vitro co-culture model to elucidate the role of glioma-astrocyte interactions on molecular changes in the tumor microenvironment. The use of patterned co-cultures created with polyelectrolyte multilayers and micromolding in capillaries will allow tthe investigation of cell-cell communication. This study will lead to better understanding of the role of healthy cells in cancer progression and potential treatment options.

Novel Nitroxyl Radical Synthesis, Max Meier

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The purpose of this research is to synthesize a novel compound, 2,2,6,6-dispirocyclobutylpiperidine- 4-one (P), for use as an oxidation reactant to form the corresponding nitroxyl radical. This is to be conducted using a reliable method for a variety of 2,2,6,6-tetrasubstituted piperidine-4-one compounds as detailed by Sakai et al. [3]. Sakai uses a variety of 6-member cyclic ketones, which are quite stable. It was attempted to use 4-member cyclic ketones to research the effectiveness of 2,6-substitution using a less stable carbonyl compound. Cyclobutanone and 3-oxycetanone were used as candidates for this reaction. Both are delicate, expensive ketones.

Investigation Of A Nanoparticle Delivery System For Micronutrients In Corn, Zully Perez Sierra, Zachary P. Stewart, Hendrik J. Viljoen

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Pheroid Nanoparticle Delivery System1 • Cost effective for plant applications • Safe – multi-lamellar lipid system derived mostly from soybeans • Versatile – payloads delivered range from micronutrients to antibiotics Micronutrient Deficiency • Caused by the immobility of micronutrients through the plant. • Leads to malnutrition children in poor countries2 • As fertilizers deliver nutrients, only small percentage obtained by plant. Purpose of Nanoparticle Delivery System • Increase plant micronutrient content and yield • Reduces the effects of run-of, overuse and pollution Other Nano-Fertilizer Trials • Desert plant results – in a foliar application versus irrigation application, the foliar nano-fertilizer …

Ionic Driven Embedment Of Hyaluronic Acid Coated Liposomes In Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films For Local Therapeutic Delivery, Stephen Lawrence Hayward, David Francis, Matthew J. Sis, Srivatsan Kidambi

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The ability to control the spatial distribution and temporal release of a therapeutic remains a central challenge for biomedical research. Here, we report the development and optimization of a novel substrate mediated therapeutic delivery system comprising of hyaluronic acid covalently functionalized liposomes (HALNPs) embedded into polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) platform via ionic stabilization. The PEM platform was constructed from sequential deposition of Poly-LLysine (PLL) and Poly(Sodium styrene sulfonate) (SPS) “(PLL/SPS)4.5” followed by adsorption of anionic HALNPs. An adsorption affinity assay and saturation curve illustrated the preferential HALNP deposition density for precise therapeutic loading. (PLL/SPS)2.5 capping layer on top of the deposited …