Engineering Commons^™

Fault Growth And Propagation During Incipient Continental Rifting: Insights From A Combined Aeromagnetic And Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model Investigation Of The Okavango Rift Zone, Northwest Botswana, Baraka D. Kinabo, John Patrick Hogan, Eliot A. Atekwana, Mohamed G. Abdel Salam, Motsoptse P. Modisi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Digital Elevation Models (DEM) extracted from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data and high-resolution aeromagnetic data are used to characterize the growth and propagation of faults associated with the early stages of continental extension in the Okavango Rift Zone (ORZ), northwest Botswana. Significant differences in the height of fault scarps and the throws across the faults in the basement indicate extended fault histories accompanied by sediment accumulation within the rift graben. Faults in the center of the rift either lack topographic expressions or are interpreted to have become inactive, or have large throws and small scarp heights indicating waning …

Effect Of Hydrodynamic Multiplicity On Trickle Bed Reactor Performance, Werner Van Der Merwe, Willie Nicol, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multiple Hydrodynamic States in Trickle Bed Reactors Have Been the Subject of Numerous Hydrodynamic Investigations. the Extent of Variation in the Hydrodynamic Parameters (Like Holdup and Pressure Drop) is Large and This Variation Can Be Expected to Have a Significant Impact on the Conversion in a Reaction System. This Study Presents Reaction Data for Α-Methyl Styrene Hydrogenation in a Trickle Bed Reactor over a Range of Conditions that Include Gas and Liquid Limitations. It is Seen that Liquid Flow Rate Variation Induced Hysteresis Has a Large Impact on the Conversion. for Gas-Limited Reactions, the Upper Branch of the Pressure Drop …

Release And Removal Of Microcystins From Microcystis During Disinfection Treatments, Jie Ding

Masters Theses

"The presence of algal toxins, or cyanotoxins, in surface water has been increasingly reported. These highly hazardous toxins are potential threat to both human health and animals by contaminating drinking water sources over the world. In this research project, inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa cells and release and removal of intracellular microcystins during several oxidative and physical treatments was studied. The results of this study show that chlorine dioxide, sonication, low salinity and quick blending with tissuemiser caused immediate release of microcystin-LR to water after treatment. No significant increase of toxin level was observed after treatment with free chlorine, ozone, permanganate, …

Biohydrogen Production By The Hyperthermophilic Bacterium Thermotoga Neapolitana, Xiaohui Yu

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT Thermotoga neapolitana can use different sources of carbon and nitrogen for growth and produces biological hydrogen. Sources of carbon (glucose, sucrose, xylose, xylan, cellulose, cellobiose, starch, corn starch, beet bulp pellet, and rice flour) and nitrogen (yeast extract, fish meal, cottonseed meal, canola meal, linseed meal, and soybean meal) were compared. In the carbon studies, glucose, sucrose, rice flour, and xylan produced similar levels of hydrogen. In the nitrogen studies, Trypticase combined with alternative nitrogen sources can efficiently increases the yield of hydrogen produced by Thermotoga neapolitana. Yeast extract with trypticase as the dual nitrogen sources produced significantly increased …

Prediction Of The Kolmogorov Entropy Derived From Computed Tomography Data In A Bubble Column Operated Under The Transition Regime And Ambient Pressure, Stoyan Nedeltchev, Ashfaq Shaikh, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Kolmogorov Entropy (KE) Algorithm Was Successfully Applied to Single Source Γ-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) Data Measured by Three Scintillation Detectors in a 0.162 M-ID Bubble Column Equipped with a Perforated Plate Distributor (163 Holes X ∅ 1.32. 10^-3 M). the Aerated Liquid Height Was Set at 1.8 M. Dried Air Was Used as a Gas Phase, While Therminol LT (PL = 886 Kg M^-3, ΜL = 0.88.10^-3 Pa S, Σ = 17.10^-3 N M^-1) Was Used as a Liquid Phase. at Ambient Pressure, the Superficial Gas Velocity, Μ_G, Was Increased …

Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Obtained By Fluidized Bed Pyrolysis Of Virgin Or Recycled Plastics, Umberto Arena, Maria Laura Mastellone

The 12th International Conference on Fluidization - New Horizons in Fluidization Engineering

A new technique for a continuous, mass production of high-quality multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), based on fluidized bed pyrolysis of polymers (virgin or recycled polyolefins and recycled polyethylene terephtalate), is described in detail. The study investigates the role of interactions between the bed material and the polymer particles injected into the reactor as well as that of the reactor temperature. Results are reported in terms of yield and quality of obtained MWCNTs, all characterized by thermogravimetrical analysis and SEM microscopy. The production of MWCNTs, in a relatively large quantity and at a low cost, is demonstrated as technically feasible.

An Analysis Of Pressure Fluctuations In A Cfb Of Heavy Minerals, Adam Luckos, Quinn G. Reynolds , Paul Den Hoed

The 12th International Conference on Fluidization - New Horizons in Fluidization Engineering

Pressure fluctuations were measured at high frequencies in a CFB model operated with air at ambient conditions. The model comprises an 80-mm-ID, 5-m-tall riser with a blind-T exit, a cyclone, a 50-mm-ID standpipe, and an L-valve. Tests were conducted with particles of natural rutile (TiO2), a heavy mineral mined from coastal dunes. The particles fall into group B of Geldart’s classification. The solids inventory was kept at 25 kg. The superficial gas velocity ranged from 3 to 6 m/s. The solid circulation flux varied between 10 and 40 kg/m2.s.

Profiles of solid concentrations in the riser are C-shaped. The amplitude …

Presentation Slides: Fluidized Bed Combustion For Clean Energy, Filip Johnsson

The 12th International Conference on Fluidization - New Horizons in Fluidization Engineering

No abstract provided.

Tapered Fluidized Beds And The Role Of Fluidization In Mineral Emplacement, Thomas M. Gernon, Mark A. Gilbertson, R. Stephen J. Sparks, Matthew Field

The 12th International Conference on Fluidization - New Horizons in Fluidization Engineering

One of the most prominent features of fluidized beds is their ability to mix and segregate. This is of great importance for many industrial processes, but takes on a particular significance for mineral extraction where a small amount of valuable matter is mixed with a large amount of waste. In this study we consider the occurrence of diamonds in the volcanic rock called “kimberlite”. These are often emplaced (erupted and deposited) in large volcanic pipes commonly referred to as “diatremes” (length scale of the order of a kilometre) with a vent at the bottom through which the minerals were introduced …

Protection With Recombinant Clostridium Botulinum C1 And D Binding Domain Subunit (Hc) Vaccines Against C And D Neurotoxins, Robert P. Webb, Theresa J. Smith, Patrick M. Wright, Vicki A. Montgomery, Michael M. Meagher, Leonard A. Smith

Michael Meagher Publications

Recombinant botulinum Hc (rBoNT Hc) vaccines for serotypes C1 and D were produced in the yeast Pichia pastoris and used to determine protection against four distinct BoNT C and D toxin subtypes. Mice were vaccinated with rBoNT/C1 Hc, rBoNT/D Hc, or with a combination of both vaccines and challenged with BoNT C1, D, C/D, or D/C toxin. Mice receiving monovalent vaccinations were partially or completely protected against homologous toxin and not protected against heterologous toxin. Bivalent vaccine candidates completely survived challenges from all toxins except D/C toxin. These results indicate the recombinant C1 and D Hc vaccines are not only …

Heat Transfer Coefficients In A High-Pressure Bubble Column, Chengtian Wu, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan, Anand Prakash

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Time-Averaged Local Heat Transfer Coefficients Were Studied in a 0.16 M Inner Diameter High-Pressure Air-Water Bubble Column. the Effects of the Superficial Gas Velocity (Up to 0.30 M/s), Pressure (Up to 10 Bar), Probe Position, and Probe Orientation Were Investigated. the Heat Transfer Coefficients Increased with Superficial Gas Velocity, and the Values in the Center of the Column Were 9-16% Greater Than Those Near the Wall Region under Atmospheric Pressure (1 Bar). with the Increase in Pressure, the Heat Transfer Coefficients Decreased Due to Combined Effects of Bubble Size Decreasing, Gas Holdup Increasing, and Bubble Number Increasing. the Heat Transfer …

Gas-Liquid Mass Transfer In A High Pressure Bubble Column Reactor With Different Sparger Designs, Lu Han, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Gas-Liquid Mass Transfer in a 0.162 M High-Pressure Stainless-Steel Bubble Column Was Investigated using Three Different Gas Sparger Designs. an Oxygen-Enriched-Air Dynamic Method and an Optical Oxygen Probe Technique Were Implemented to Measure K1 a Values in the Bubble Column Reactor. using the Interfacial Area (A) Values Measured by a Four-Point Optical Probe Technique at Similar Conditions (Xue, 2004), the K1 Values Were Estimated. Axial Dispersion Model (ADM) and Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) Model Were Used to Calculate K1 a as a Fitted Parameter with the Measured Data. the ADM Gave Better Fits to the Experimental Data Than …

Effects Of Moisture On Ignition Behavior Of Moist California Chaparral And Utah Leaves, Thomas H. Fletcher, Brent M. Pickett, Steven G. Smith, Gregory S. Spittle, Megan M. Woodhouse, Elizabeth Haake, David R. Weise

Faculty Publications

Individual cuttings from eight plant species native to California chaparral or Utah were burned in a well-controlled, well-instrumented facility. Gas temperatures above a flat-flame burner were controlled at 987 C and 10 mol% O₂, resulting in a heat flux at the leaf surface varying from 80–140 kW/m². High moisture leaves were observed to burst due to the rapid escape of vapor from the leaf interior. Bubbles in or on the leaf surface were observed for leaves with moderate moisture contents. A large number of leaf temperature measurements were made, along with measurements of the ignition time …

Statistical Methods For Kinetic Modeling Of Fischer Tropsch Synthesis On A Supported Iron Catalyst, Brian L. Critchfield

Theses and Dissertations

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) is a promising technology for the production of ultra-clean fuels and chemical feedstocks from biomass, coal, or natural gas. Iron catalysts are ideal for conversion of coal and biomass. However, precipitated iron catalysts used in slurry-bubble column reactors suffer from high attrition resulting in difficulty separating catalysts from product and increased slurry viscosity. Thus, development of an active and selective-supported iron catalyst to manage attrition is needed. This thesis focuses on the development of a supported iron catalyst and kinetic models of FTS on the catalyst using advanced statistical methods for experimental design and analysis. A high …

Flow Regime Identification In A Bubble Column Based On Both Statistical And Chaotic Parameters Applied To Computed Tomography Data, Stoyan Nedeltchev, Ashfaq Shaikh, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Kolmogorov Entropy (KE) Algorithm Was Applied Successfully to Single Source Γ-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) Data Measured in a 0.162 M ID Bubble Column Equipped with a Perforated Plate Distributor (163 Holes · Ø 1.32 Mm). Dried Air Was Used as the Gas Phase and Therminol LT (ΡL = 886 Kg M-3, ΜL = 0.88 · 10-3 Pa S, Σ = 17 · 10-3 N M-1) Was Used as a Liquid Phase. Three Different Pressures, P, of 0.1, 0.4, and 1.0 MPa Were Examined. at Each Pressure the Superficial Gas Velocity, UG, Was Increased Stepwise by Steps of 0.01 Ms-1 …

A Quantitative Model Of Error Accumulation During Pcr Amplification, Elsje Pienaar, M. Theron, M. Nelson, Hendrik J. Viljoen

Hendrik J. Viljoen Publications

The amplification of target DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) produces copies which may contain errors. Two sources of errors are associated with the PCR process: (1) editing errors that occur during DNA polymerase-catalyzed enzymatic copying and (2) errors due to DNA thermal damage. In this study a quantitative model of error frequencies is proposed and the role of reaction conditions is investigated. The errors which are ascribed to the polymerase depend on the efficiency of its editing function as well as the reaction conditions; specifically the temperature and the dNTP pool composition. Thermally induced errors stem mostly from …

The Bioturbation Transport Of Chemicals In Surface Soils, Maria D. Rodriguez

LSU Master's Theses

Large quantities of chemicals, such as pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial wastes, have been found throughout the environment raising concerns due to their ecological impacts and implications to human health. Soil is the most important repository of many organic chemicals in the environment. The objective of the present study was to determine the importance of the soil solid phase in the transport of chemicals in soils, and yield quantitative information to better describe bioturbation and its role in the movement of soil particles. Vertical movement of chemicals in the soil solid phase occurs by mixing mechanisms, such as bioturbation, cryoturbation, and …

Solids Flow Mapping In A High Pressure Slurry Bubble Column, Novica Rados, Ashfaq Shaikh, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Successful Design and Scale-Up of Slurry Bubble Column Reactors (SBCRs) Require Proper Understanding of How Operating Conditions Affect their Flow Behavior. Presently, there is Little Information on the Flow Dynamics of Solids (E.g., Distribution of Velocities and Turbulent Parameters) in Slurry Systems that Are Operated at Industrially Relevant Conditions of High Pressure, High Superficial Gas Velocities, and High Solids Loading. Computer Automated Radio Particle Tracking (CARPT) is Widely Recognized as One of a Few Techniques that Can Be Reliably Used Even in Highly Turbulent and Opaque Slurry Flows. This Work Utilizes an Improved CARPT Technique to Investigate the Effect of …

Hydrogeophysical Investigation At Luxor, Southern Egypt, Ahmed Ismail, Neil Lennart Anderson, J. David Rogers

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Over the past 35 years, the exposed stone foundations of the ancient Egyptian monuments at Luxor have deteriorated at an alarmingly accelerated rate. Accelerated deterioration is attributable to three principal factors: 1) excavation and exposure of foundation stone; 2) construction of the Aswan High Dam; and 3) changes in the regional groundwater regime. In an effort to better elucidate the hydrostratigraphy in the Luxor study area that extends from the River Nile to the boundaries of the Nile Valley and covers about 70 km², a geophysical/hydrological investigation was conducted. Forty Schlumberger vertical electrical soundings (VES), two approximately 6 …

Characterization Of Fluoropolymer Powders Made By Supercritical Assisted Mixing With Crystalline Additives, Ntoh Atem-Tambe

Theses and Dissertations

This research project investigates a new technique to efficiently mix crystalline solid additives with polymers by gentle ball milling with steel balls in the presence of carbon dioxide (C02) at 17 to 30°C and 1300 to 2500 psig. As the ball milling system is agitated, the steel balls transfer mechanical energy to the fluoropolymer and additive thereby converting them to powders. C02 is added into the chamber to expand the polymer and make it amenable to impregnation by the additive. At the end of the mixing process, a free flowing powder is produced consisting of the additive coated with fluoropolymer. …

Analysis Of Alternative Well Control Methods For Dual Density Deepwater Drilling, Mikolaj Stanislawek

LSU Master's Theses

The recent push into deepwater is currently limited by high drilling costs resulting from conventional well designs. As a result, dual gradient drilling methods have been proposed. This research investigates riser gas-lift as a potential means to implement a dual gradient system. A primary concern is well control in a system containing so many different density fluids and different flow paths. The specific concerns addressed in this study were kick detection, cessation of formation feed-in, removal of kick fluids, and re-establishing hydrostatic control with a constant bottom hole pressure method. These concerns were studied using a transient, multiphase simulator whose …

Physico-Chemical Characteristics Of European Pulverized Coal Combustion Fly Ashes, N. Moreno, X. Querol, J. M. Andrés, K. Stanton, Mark R. Towler, H. Nugteren, M. Janssen-Jurkovicová, R. Jones

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fly ashes sourced from European pulverized coal burning power plants (from Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and Greece) were characterized in terms of their chemical composition, mineralogy and physical properties. The amount and composition of the glass present in the ashes were also determined. The materials analyzed have very different compositions and were selected with a view to determining their suitability for different applications and for further studies on applications. The results were compared to the literature to determine their similarities to UK coal fly ashes. Chemical analysis has enabled the categorization of the ashes based on their oxide contents. Devitrification …

Geostatistical Integration Of Geophysical, Well Bore And Outcrop Data For Flow Modeling Of A Deltaic Reservoir Analogue, Hong Tang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Significant world oil and gas reserves occur in deltaic reservoirs. Characterization of deltaic reservoirs requires understanding sedimentary and diagenetic heterogeneity at the submeter scale in three dimensions. However, deltaic facies architecture is complex and poorly understood. Moreover, precipitation of extensive calcite cement during diagenesis can modify the depositional permeability of sandstone reservoir and affect fluid flow. Heterogeneity contributes to trapping a significant portion of mobile oil in deltaic reservoirs analogous of Cretaceous Frontier Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming. This dissertation focuses on 3D characterization of an ancient deltaic lobe. The Turonian Wall Creek Member in central Wyoming has been selected …

Long Term Pressure Behavior In Turbidite Reservoirs, Feng Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, we investigated several possible mechanisms that would give rise to the anomalous pressure behavior (early concave-up on Horner plot or upward drift on the derivative curve of the log-log plot and asymmetry between the pressure drawdown and buildup behavior) sometimes encountered in the turbidite reservoirs in GOM primarily using numerical simulation and 2-level experimental designs. We ascertained the most influential parameters to the pressure behavior and identified that multilayer commingled system and the leaky compartment model are the most probable mechanisms to cause the anomalous behavior due to layer or zone property contrast to a certain degree. …

Modeling Of Cane Sugar Colorant Removal In Packed-Bed Ion Exchange Columns And An Investigation Into Pretreatment Methods, Bruce Malcolm Ellis

LSU Master's Theses

Cane sugar colorants have been extensively researched but still little is known about their exact compositions. Rather than distinct compounds, they are a mixture of many compounds. Some it is assumed can be classified into the pseudo components that have been defined using gel permeation chromatography, based on molecular weight. The defining of these components has allowed the colorants to be modeled independently, instead of as one lumped color parameter. The measured colored components were modeled using a linear driving force adsorption model, which could be applied in the design process for optimizing the decolorizing capacity of the resins. The …

Development And Integration Of New Processes Consuming Carbon Dioxide In Multi-Plant Chemical Production Complexes, Sudheer Indala

LSU Master's Theses

New, energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable, catalytic processes have been identified that can use excess high purity CO₂ as a raw material from the sources available in a chemical production complex. The chemical complex in the lower Mississippi River Corridor has been used to show how these new plants can be integrated into this existing infrastructure using the Chemical Complex and Cogeneration Analysis System. Eighty six published articles of laboratory and pilot plant experiments were reviewed that describe new methods and catalysts to use CO₂ for producing commercially important products. Reactions have been categorized as hydrogenation reactions; hydrocarbon synthesis …

Online Heat Transfer Measurement And Analysis For Sugar Mill Evaporators, David Timothy Solberg

LSU Master's Theses

Fouling and scaling in evaporators has been an area of great interest to raw sugar mills for a number of years and many of the mechanisms causing the scale and the rates of scaling are unknown. In an attempt to quantify the scaling rates and measure the scaling, an online model has been developed to model a system of evaporators. Monitoring the heat transfer coefficient as a function of time enabled measurement of the scaling rate by monitoring the heat transfer coefficient as it decreased with time. It is assumed that the scaling on the juice side of the evaporators …

Chemical Production Complex Optimization, Pollution Reduction And Sustainable Development, Aimin Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this research is to propose, develop and demonstrate chemical production complex optimization to determine the optimal configuration of chemical plants in a superstructure of possible plants. The Chemical Complex Analysis System is a new methodology that has been developed to determine the best configuration of plants in a chemical production complex based on the AIChE Total Cost Assessment (TCA) for economic, energy, environmental and sustainable costs. All new, energy-efficient, and environmentally acceptable plants using greenhouse gases that can produce potentially commercial products designed with HYSYS were integrated into the chemical complex using the System. The optimum configuration …

Progress In The Development Of A Recombinant Vaccine For Human Hookworm Disease: The Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative, Peter J. Hotez, Bin Zhan, Jeffrey M. Bethony, Alex Loukas, Angela Williamson, Gaddam Narsa Goud, John M. Hawdon, Azra Dobardzic, Reshad Dobardzic, Kashinath Ghosh, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Susana Mendez, Bernard Zook, Yan Wang, Sen Liu, Idong Essiet-Gibson, Sophia Chung-Debose, Shuhua Xiao, David Knox, Michael Meagher, Mehmet Inan, Rodrigo Correa-Oliviera, Paul Vilk, Herman R. Shepherd, Walter Brandt, Philip K. Russell

Michael Meagher Publications

Hookworm infection is one of the most important parasitic infections of humans, possibly outranked only by malaria as a cause of misery and suffering. An estimated 1.2 billion people are infected with hookworm in areas of rural poverty in the tropics and subtropics. Epidemiological data collected in China, Southeast Asia, and Brazil indicate that, unlike other soil-transmitted helminth infections, the highest hookworm burdens typically occur in adult populations, including the elderly. Emerging data on the host cellular immune responses of chronically infected populations suggest that hookworms induce a state of host anergy and immune hyporesponsiveness. These features account for the …

Effective Thermal Conductivity Estimates Of Particulate Mixtures, Christiaan Richter, Hendrik J. Viljoen, N.F.J Van Rensburg

Papers in Reaction Kinetics

Several theories have been advanced to estimate effective thermal conductivities of particulate mixtures, but most theories have focused on the dilute case. A method is proposed to estimate the effective thermal con-ductivity coefficient of mixtures of arbitrary concentration. Earlier the authors developed a theory to deter-mine the expected contact area between different species. This theory is employed to determine the Kapitza resistance of the heterogeneous mixture and forms part of an overall theory to estimate the effective thermal conductivity. Results are compared with other theoretical estimates and with experiments.