Engineering Commons^™

Transport Phenomena Of Copper Ions Through An Electromembrane, Ren-Fu Cheng

Theses

A separation process based on a new class of membrane ( the electromembrane ) was studied. Experiments were performed using three types of electromembrane to remove copper ions from aqueous solution. A Separation Cell Unit was designed and set up to investigate the transport of copper ions through the electromembranes under the influence of both an electric field and a concentration gradient. Fluxes achieved were much greater than those reported for other membrane processes, and the energy consumption was one half that of electrolytic deposition.

Computer Simulation Of A Batch Distillation Column With A Reflux Divider, Michael Gerard Clarke

Theses

The operation of a batch distillation column with a reflux divider has been mathematically simulated to reproduce operational equipment.

The operation of the column consists of one or more product recoveries. During each product recovery period the column alternates between total reflux and total product withdrawal, with the product withdrawal period being 2 — 5 seconds. Between product recoveries the column operating conditions can be reset.

The basic assumption of this batch distillation simulation is that the column completely equilibrates during the period of total reflux. The determination of the total reflux condition is obtained computationally using the iterative Newton—Raphson …

Vapor Pressures Of Some Coal Oil Fractions, David G. Gaydos

Theses

New data on coal tar oils and data from the literature on pure compounds and oils derived from coal were used for testing the predictions by the correlation of Maxwell—Bonnell. Based on the observation that the discrepancies between the predicted values and the data are systematic, recommendations were deduced on needed modifications to the correlation. A proposal for modification to the Maxwell and Bonnell correlation to improve prediction of vapor pressures of highly aromatic fuel fractions with characterization factors of8 UOPK 10.5 was made.

Experimental data were taken on vapor pressures of fractions of coke oven coal tar oils and …

Preparation And Properties Of Novel Dental Adhesives Based Upon Pentaerythritol, Yuan-Yuan Su

Theses

Urethane methacrylates were synthesized from Pentaerythritol, TDI, HEMA and four phenolic blocking agents or from hydroxypropyl methacrylatel TDI and two phenolic blocking agents. All the products were characterized by melting pointy infrared spectroscopy, NMR spectra, and elemental analysis. The bonding of these materials to dentin slices was also investigated. Such materials are supposed to not only react with the organic constituent of dentin but also polymerized with restorative resin. It was found that bond strength was enhanced by the use of the urethane methacrylates, resulting in best mean bonding strengths of 2400 psi.

Improving The Capabilities Of The Chemical Engineering Simulation System (Chess) Computer Program, Thomas Zvolensky

Theses

Chemical process simulation programs have become an indispensable tool to chemical engineers in the preparation of heat and material balances, and energy conservation studies. Since the 1960's several dozen process simulators have been developed which are in use today within companies and through computer service bureaus. Due to advances in the areas of unit operation analysis and thermodynamic relations, these programs require periodic modification. This thesis describes the programming modifications made to the Chemical Engineering Simulation System (CHESS) version 2.0, computer program. This undertaking was considered warranted since no improvements have been made to CHESS since its release in 1971. …

A Study In Pervaporation Of Ethanol/Water Mixtures And Its Applications To Membrane-Aided Distillation, Mikel E. Goldblatt

All Theses

No abstract provided.

A Continuous Distillation Operation At The University Of Tennessee At Chattanooga, David H. Cummins

Honors Theses

This paper describes the work done on the design, construction, monitoring, and control of a distillation column. This work was done as a Departmental Honors Project in the School of Engineering at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The column has been completed and the various tests performed with the column have produced satisfactory results. The column parameters are monitored and controlled by automatic controllers with manually adjusted set points. In addition to this, micro-computer based control for the column has been designed, however implementation of this control has not yet been achieved.

Industrial Earthquake Preparedness In Shizuoka And The Role Of The Prefectural Government, Guna S. Selvaduray

Faculty Publications

The Shizuoka Prefectural Office in Japan plays an important role in promoting earthquake emergency preparedness among its industries. In addition to implementing regulatory requirements and enacting new regulations as necessary, the Prefectural Office also provides significant guidance to industry. This includes making publications available and periodic surveys of the status of industrial emergency preparedness. A pharmaceutical company in the prefecture has developed an impressive earthquake preparedness program and hazard reduction techniques. This program addresses both primary and secondary effects of earthquakes.

Reactions Of Hydrogen With Chloroform And Trichloroethylene At High Temperatures, Burhan Mahmood

Theses

The reactions of chloroform and trichloroethylene with hydrogen in the temperature range 550 to 1000°C were studied using tubular flow reactors of varying diameters. The residence time range was from 0.05 to 3.0 seconds.Two different concentrations of the chlorinated species were used, each with hydrogen in large excess. Flat temperature profiles (+/- 5°C) were achieved over 80 to 85 per cent of the 45 cm long reaction zone, with inlet gases preheated to about 400°C.

No chlorinated hydrocarbons, products or reactants were observed at /above 850°C. The major products at these temperatures were C₂H₂, C_{2 …}

Conversion And Kinetics In The Reaction Of Chloroform With Water Vapor At High Temperatures, Chii-Guang Hwang

Theses

This is an experimental study on thermolytic reactions of chloroform with excess water vapor where kinetic parameters are determined and complete product analysis made at atmospheric pressure over a temperature range from 550to 1050°C. In this study, water vapor was introduced as a reactant to convert chlorine in chlorocarbons to stable HCl which is an easily neutralized end-product and thereby completely destroy chloroform. Substantial amounts of thermodynamically stable species: HCl, CO, CO₂, C(s) etc. were observed as products.

The reaction was studied in a 46cm tubular flow reactor mounted in a furnace that had three independently temperature-controlled heating …

A Comparison Of The Biodegradation Of Phenol And O-Chlorophenol Using A Municipal Mixed Liquor And Three Commercial Microbial Preparations, Nigel P. Mcmullen

Theses

The biodegradation of phenol and O-chlorophenol was studied in six-liter batch reactors, using a municipal mixed liquor (from the Livingston, NJ treatment plant) that had not previously been exposed to either of the substrates. In addition, three commercial microbial preparations: BI-CHEM (Sybron), Hydrobac (Polybac), and LLMO (General Environmental Science), were tested alone and in combination with the municipal mixed liquor.

It was found that the municipal mixed liquor performed significantly better than any of the commercial preparations by themselves. When the commercial preparations were mixed with the municipal mixed liquor in a ratio of 1:10 it was found that the …

Unsteady-State Spherical Flow With Storage And Skin., Jeffrey A. Joseph, Leonard Koederitz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents short-time interpretation methods for radial-spherical (or radial-hemispherical) flow in homogeneous and isotropic reservoirs inclusive of wellbore storage, wellbore phase redistribution, and damage skin effects. New dimensionless groups are introduced to facilitate the classic transformation from radial flow in the sphere to linear flow in the rod. Analytical expressions, type curves (in log-log and semi log format), and tabulated solutions are presented, both in terms of pressure and rate, for all flow problems considered. A new empirical equation to estimate the duration of wellbore and near-wellbore effects under spherical flow is also proposed.

Solution To The Piecewise Linear Continuous Random Initial Value Problem For Burgers' Equation, Yin Chin Shih, X. B. Reed, Jr.

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A closed form solution to Burgers' equation on an infinite domain has been obtained for "random sawtooth" continuous initial conditions defined on a finite domain. The "turbulent" solution is then used to compute statistical measures such as skewness and flatness factors, energy decay rates, and the temporal evolution of velocity autocorrelations and energy spectra. © 1985 American Institute of Physics.

An Analysis Of The Lyophilization Process Using A Sorption‐Sublimation Model And Various Operational Policies, M. J. Millman, Athanasios I. Liapis, J. M. Marchello

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The freeze‐drying process is studied under various operational policies through the use of a sorption‐sublimation model. The operational policy that provides the shortest drying times keeps the pressure at its lowest value. The upper and lower heating plates are independently controlled so that the material constraints are encountered and held throughout the free water removal phase. Under certain conditions, and for the case of samples of small thickness, the sorbed water profiles may have segments whose bound water concentrations are higher than those at the start of the free water removal phase. It is shown that the criterion used in …

Using Parameter Estimation Techniques With A Simple Model Of A Diaphragm-Type Electrolyzer To Predict The Electrical Energy Cost For Naoh Production, John Van Zee, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

Predictions of the electrical energy cost for NaOH production are determined as a function of the independent operating variables and diaphragm characterizing properties. The predictions are based on data from a statistically designed experiment, a simple model of a diaphragm-type electrolyzer, a simple model of the cell voltage losses, and parameter estimation techniques. The data were obtained over a sufficiently large range of operating conditions so that the resulting design equation may be industrially useful. The simple model of the diaphragm is based on the mass transport of the hydroxyl ion, a linear potential gradient, and is presented in terms …

Kinetics And Reactor Design In The Pyrolysis Of Tar Sands, Charles Arthur Lechner

Doctoral Dissertations

"Data from the thermal decomposition of bitumen from Utah tar sands was obtained and analysed with both isothermal and non-isothermal chemical reaction models. The use of a power rate law to describe the complex kinetics of pyrolysis gave agreement with the experimental data that was approximate, but adequate for design purposes. The results indicated a reaction rate that was second order in bitumen content, with an activation energy of about 17 to 20 kcal/gmol.

Data for the boiling point distribution of the products was consistent with a change of mechanism from vaporization to pyrolysis as the samples are heated. Higher …

Complex Reactions In Porous Media, Dar-Sen Horng

Masters Theses

"The dusty-gas model is used to describe the molar fluxes of complex irreversible reactions with moles changes in isothermal porous catalysts.

The model presented in this work can be used for any number of independent reactions occurring in porous media as long as the number of independent reactions is equal to or less than the total number of species.

Systems of two parallel reactions involving a ternary mixture is used in this work. Five sets of reaction parameters are used for each reaction system and the overall selectivity and effectiveness factors are calculated for different geometric constants.

Results show that …

Automated Evaluation Of Reservoir Parameters Applying Pressure Transient Theory, Steven Robert Homoky

Masters Theses

"This study presents an investigation to automatically evaluate reservoir parameters using pressure transient theory. Methods will be introduced to numerically fit the well test data in the real (time) domain (specifically the pressure change as a function of test time). The numerical fit and known fluid, rock and well properties will be used to evaluate the dimensionless storage coefficient. The theoretical dimensionless pressure (being a function of skin factor, permeability, and dimensionless storage coefficient) is obtained by Laplace Inversion. The ability to evaluate the dimensionless storage coefficient thus reduces the parameters of the pressure equation by one. Varying the skin …

Oxygen Absorption And Diffusion In Tissue, Bo Henrik Arve

Masters Theses

"A mathematical model which describes the diffusion of oxygen in absorbing tissue is presented. The model accounts for the presence of a moving boundary which marks the deepest penetration of oxygen into the absorbing medium and predicts the steady state and unsteady state distribution of oxygen through the absorbing tissue.

Results are shown for zeroth, half, first, one and a half, and second order rates of absorption as well as when the rate of absorption is described by the Michaelis - Menten equation.

The model predictions show that the total time for the moving boundary to recede to the surface …

Mathematical Simulation Of Proteins Separation In A Packed Bed, Jing James Huang

Dissertations

The generalized adsorption models are developed to simulate the unsteady state mass transfer behavior in a packed column. Based on the nature of adsorbent particles, the adsorption models may be classified into two categories: (1) the surface adsorption model, (2) the pore diffusion model. In the first model, it is assumed that the internal diffusion is negligible, and the adsorption rate is determined by external diffusion and surface adsorption. In the second model, the effect of internal diffusion is considered as significant as that of external diffusion. For both models, the effect of axial dispersion in fluid phase is emphasized. …

Mathematical Modeling Of Carrier Mediated Mass Transfer Through Liquid Membrane Systems, Keng Chao Wang

Dissertations

Dispersed liquid membrane systems are double emulsion drops. Two immiscible phases are separated by a third phase which is immiscible with the other two phases. The liquid membrane systems were classified into three types: (1) carrier mediated mass transfer, (2) mass transfer with reaction in the receiving phase, (3) mass transfer without any reaction involved. Copper extraction, phenol removal and solvent extraction were used as typical examples for each type of the membrane systems in the derivation of their mathematical models. Models with or without the consideration of film resistances were developed and compared. The models developed in this study …

An Experimental Investigation Of The Kinetics And Thermal Properties Of Poly(Ethylene) Terephthalate And Its Related Di-Acid Modified Copolymers, Satish Baliga

Theses

Poly(ethylene) Terephthalate , PET, is synthesized from purified Bis-hydroxyethyl Terephthalate,(BHET), in the presence of antimony oxide catalyst. Rate constant for the polycondensation reaction, based on a second order kinetic model is found to be 152.4/mol/hr.

A new modified polyester Polyethylene Adipic Terephthalate (PEAT) is synthesized from BHET and adipic acid. The effect of adipic acid content in the copolymer,on the rate of polycondensation is studied. Adipic acid is shown to improve the activity of the polymer chain ends thereby increasing the apparent reaction rate constants.

The modified polyesters are observed to melt at a lower temperature than PET. Moreover, the …

The Biodegradation Of Phenol And O-Chlorophenol Using Activated Sludge Bacteria, Jeffery Colish

Theses

The biological degradation of phenol up to 500 ppm and 0-chlorophenol up to 40 ppm was studied in an aerated 4.0 liter hatch reactor using activated sludge bacteria from the Livingston, N.J. wastewater treatment plant. From the concentration versus time data, kinetic rate constants were determined for phenol (@ 100 ppm) and o-chlorophenol (@ 20 ppm and 40 ppm). Air stripping was determined to be an insignificant removal mechanism for the compounds studied.

It was noted that the acclimation times decreased with repeated exposure to a particular concentration of phenol or o-chlorophenol, and that the activated sludge bacteria first had …

Homogenous Reaction Kinetics Of Reduction Of Sulfur Dioxide, Satyanarayana Manthani

Theses

Homogeneous reduction of sulfur dioxide by carbon monoxide was investigated in the temperature range between 700 and 1000°C, initial sulfur dioxide concentration of about 3000 ppm, typical of a flue gas from coal fired power plants, and excess carbon monoxide concentration, in a 12 mm O.D. quartz tubular reactor. Over ninty percent reduction of sulfur dioxide was obtained at temperatures above 900°C and space times of the order of about 3.5 seconds. Substantial carbonyl sulfide was also produced.

Stability Of Bicomponet Polymeric Liquids In Poiseuille Flow, Chin-Chang Jeng

Theses

Polymer processing, involving two or more components, has become more popular recently in industrial plants. However, product Quality is affected very much by the fluid stability. Some theoretical and experimental results concerning Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow in rectangular coordinates, have been published, and the fluid-fluid interfaces were observed to be unstable by some researchers.

In this paper, the linear stability of bicomponent non-Newtonian fluids flowing in a cylindrical tube was investigated by using the Ellis model. Only the very long wave and the axisymmetric disturbances were considered. The Ellis zero-shear-rate viscosity ratio, m( = η02 / η01 )destabilizing. The half-zero-shear-rate-viscosity …

A Comparison Of The Biodegradation Of Nitrobenzene, 1-Butanol, And 2,4-Dichlorphenoxyacetic Acid Using A Municipal Mixed Liquor And Three Commercial Bacterial Preparations, Salvatore P. Salerno

Theses

The biological degradation of nitrobenzene, 1-butanol, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was studied in aerated 6 liter batch reactors using activated sludge from the Livingston, NJ wastewater treatment plant-- by itself and in a 10:1 by volume mixture with each of three commercial bacterial preparations: Hydrobac, BI-CHEM DC-1006/7, and Liquid Live Microorganisms (LLMO). Air stripping and adsorption were determined to be insignificant removal mechanisms for the three compounds studied. None of the bacterial mixtures were able to degrade 10 ppm nitrobenzene to any significant extent. A small but noticeable improvement in degradation rates occurred when the Livingston sludge was mixed with …

X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopic Analysis Of Coal Ash, George Patrick Watson

Theses

Several coal ashes and prepared mixtures were analyzed by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Various techniques were studied to determine the most reliable procedure for quantitatively estimating, from fluorescent peak intensities, the concentrations of seven major oxides typically present in the ash. These ashes were analyzed with only minimal sample preparation. In order to determine the self-consistency of the procedure, several mixtures of known composition were prepared containing the major elements present in an ash.

Because of inter-element absorption and enhancement effects, several computational techniques were used to calculate composition from spectrum peak intensities. The method that yielded the most accurate estimates …

Mixing Effect On Chemical Reaction In Liquid Phase, Ming-Teh Hsu

Dissertations

Mathematical models for the mixing phenomenon are proposed in this study. First model deals Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid without chemical reaction. The new terminology " degree of mixing " is define in this model for the time-dependency of mixing toward its completeness. The velocity profile and boundary conditions are given, then the degree of mixing can be calculated by the mathematical model. The degree of mixing is influenced by fluid motion and it is function of time.

Second model deals with first-order reaction effected by mixing. A mean fractional conversion is defined to investigate the rate of bhemical reaction. Results …

Simulation Of Particle Size Distribution In Continuous Emulsion Polymerization Through A Modified Population Balance Approach, Ying-Yuh Lu

Theses

A detailed mathematical model for particle size distribution in continuous emulsion polymerization of styrene and vinyl acetate is proposed on the basis of the population balance in the presence of several kinetic and mass transfer processes. This study is limited to the Smith-Ewart case II, which assumes instantaneous free radical termination within polymer particles. Radical desorption mechanism from polymer particles is included in the model and the desorption rate is formulated from the diffusion theory which suggests that the rate coefficient should be inversely proportional to the surface area of polymer particles.

Mathematical Modeling Of Unsteady State Photo-Polymerization, Rong-Fa Liang

Dissertations

Mathematical modeling of unsteady state photopolymerization in an isothermal batch reactor has been investigated. An analytical solution of the distribution of active polymers as a function of reaction time has been determined. It is verified that the quasi-stationary state approximation is valid in the photopolymerization process.

The free radical polymerization of styrene is forced periodically by on-off UV light regulation to the reactor. The effect of operating condition, the ratio of light-off period to light on/off period, on the polydispersity and molecular weight distribution are theoretically and numerically investigated. Significant broadening on molecular weight distribution can be obtained during the …