Engineering Commons^™

Information Architecture For A Chemical Modeling Knowledge Graph, Adam R. Luxon

Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning models for chemical property predictions are high dimension design challenges spanning multiple disciplines. Free and open-source software libraries have streamlined the model implementation process, but the design complexity remains. In order better navigate and understand the machine learning design space, model information needs to be organized and contextualized. In this work, instances of chemical property models and their associated parameters were stored in a Neo4j property graph database. Machine learning model instances were created with permutations of dataset, learning algorithm, molecular featurization, data scaling, data splitting, hyperparameters, and hyperparameter optimization techniques. The resulting graph contains over 83,000 nodes …

Complementary Techniques To Study The Behavior Of Water And The Effect On Diffusion And Degradation In Hydrogels, Paige Rockwell

Master’s Theses

Hydrogels exhibit biocompatibility in a range of biomedical applications, including drug delivery. This thesis aims to develop complementary techniques to measure the diffusion and degradation behaviors within an injectable, hydrolytically degradable hydrogel, formed via the covalent crosslinking of ethoxylated trimethylolpropane tri-3- mercaptopropionate (ETTMP) and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), to determine its suitability as a drug delivery matrix. The characterization of water as either free, within the network openings of the hydrogel, or bound, tightly associated with the polymer chains, was determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The mobility of each type of water within the hydrogels was determined via nuclear …

Kinetics Study Of The Hydrodeoxygenation Of Xylitol Over A ReoX-Pd/Ceo2 Catalyst, Blake Macqueen, Michael Royko, Bradie S. Crandall, Andreas Heyden, Yomaira J. Pagán-Torres, Jochen A. Lauterbach

Faculty Publications

In this study, we elucidate the reaction kinetics for the simultaneous hydrodeoxygenation of xylitol to 1,2-dideoxypentitol and 1,2,5-pentanetriol over a ReOx-Pd/CeO2 (2.0 weight% Re, 0.30 weight% Pd) catalyst. The reaction was determined to be a zero-order reaction with respect to xylitol. The activation energy was elucidated through an Arrhenius relationship as well as non-Arrhenius kinetics. The Arrhenius relationship was investigated at 150–170◦ C and a constant H2 pressure of 10 bar resulting in an activation energy of 48.7 ± 10.5 kJ/mol. The investigation of non-Arrhenius kinetics was conducted at 120–170◦ C and a sub-Arrhenius relation was elucidated with activation energy …

Modeling Of Rare Earth Solvent Extraction Process For Flowsheet Design And Optimization, Vaibhav Kumar Srivastava

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The separation and purification of rare earth elements (REEs) into individual products has been a topic of significant interest for researchers and engineers for many decades. The prime reason for such sustained interest is due to REEs’ demand and application in modern technology, as well as the challenges associated with their separation and purification. The chemical similarity of rare earth group elements is responsible for difficult separability which makes purification of individual elements challenging. Despite associated complications, processes such as solvent extraction (SX) and ion-exchange have been successfully utilized in the separation and production of REEs on pilot and commercial …

Understanding The Behavior Of Ionic Liquids In Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) Through Molecular Dynamics, Alejandro Gallegos Tovar

Honors Theses

Ionogels are polymer networks swollen by ionic liquids (ILs). They are used for electrochemical devices (lithium-ion batteries, thin-film transistors, and fuel cells) and as permeation membranes for gas separation. The interactions and phase behaviors of an ionic liquid (IL) in a polymer are the most important factor when building ionogels. The molecular behavior between poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and 1-butyl-3- methylimidazolium with four different anionic structures has been studied. The behavior between ILs and polymers is governed by a complex mix of factors such as polymer concentration, polymer and IL hydrophobicity, inter and intramolecular forces, and temperature. Molecular simulations of different …

Thermal And Thermophysical Properties Of Anionic Amines And Their Aqueous Solutions For Co2 Capture In Confined Environments, Randi Swanson

Honors Theses

Air revitalization for the International Space Station (ISS) has been identified by NASA as a mission critical need which requires improvement. The current method uses13X zeolite, a solid adsorbent, to adsorb carbon dioxide. While this is effective, the zeolite adsorbent produces dust that is unwelcome on the space station. Furthermore, the adsorbentis too sensitive to humidity in moderate temperature gas streams [1]. Aqueous solutions of ionic amines show promise as a safe and efficient solution, as they do not volatilize and are not water sensitive [2]. Specifically, anionic amines have the most potential because of the amine functional group’s ability …

Enzyme-Initiated Admicellar Polymerization, Elaheh Shakeri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Admicellar polymerization was developed in the 1980s as an economical method for modifying various surfaces. In admicellar polymerization, a low monomer to initiator (M/I) ratio was traditionally required to overcome this limitation and achieve high polymer conversion when oxygen was present in the headspace and dissolved in the reaction medium. To develop an environmentally friendly, cost-efficient, and feasible deoxygenation and initiation technique, we studied the use of glucose oxidase (GOx) in admicellar polymerization. In this method, GOx acts as the catalyst in the oxidation of ?-D-glucose, while consuming oxygen and generating hydrogen peroxide and D-glucono-?-lactone. There are many advantages of …

Gq-Mediated Ca** Signals In Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells, Hanna Viktoria Bobinger

Honors Theses

Current asthma therapies include corticosteroids, long acting β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) agonists paired with corticosteroids, or short-acting β2-AR agonists used in rescue inhalers. Chronic use of β-agonists results in diminished effectiveness, and use of long-acting β-agonists can even exacerbate asthma symptoms; this is partly because anti-inflammatory therapy does not directly address the exaggerated airway narrowing due to excessive shortening of airway smooth muscle (ASM), which is the hallmark of asthma. These observations led our collaborators to investigate other potential asthma therapies – bitter taste agonists. 2 Bitter taste agonists, such as chloroquine, activate a subset of Gq-coupled receptors known as bitter …

Investigation Of Post-Acid Stimulation Impacts On Well Performance Using Fracture Modeling And Reservoir Simulation In A Jurassic Carbonate Reservoir, Muaath Alansari

Masters Theses

"Well stimulation (well fracturing) became an essential tool in the Oil and Gas industry to unlock the potential of unconventional reservoirs all over the world and especially in the Middle East. In Kuwait, well stimulation is obligatory when dealing with deep Jurassic carbonate reservoirs. Thus, the well fracture designing process plays a very critical role in determining the success of the stimulation job and the improvement of the recovery.

Several wells stimulated with 20% HCL have shown wide variations in both short and long term well production performance. The research aims to investigate and identify the possible reasons causing these …

Power Generation From Waste Heat During Oil Production, Subrahmanya Chandra Bhamidipati

Masters Theses

"The increase in the world population is causing a significant increase in the global demand for energy. This rise in demand is generally met with the use of fossil fuels. But there is considerable pressure to lessen the release of carbon through the combustion of fossil fuels. One way that the oil and gas industry can provide increased energy without carbon combustion is by extracting the latent heat energy contained in produced oil, gas and water from producing reservoirs, and from water which is cycled through depleted, end-of-life or abandoned reservoirs. Extracting this energy and using it to provide direct …

Effect Of Hydrogen Co-Feeding On Ethylene Polymerization With Ziegler-Natta Catalysts With Different Amounts Of Titanium, Santhakamol Kittibanpacha

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Effect of hydrogen on the prepared TiCl4-MgCl2 catalysts having loading amounts of titanium was investigated via ethylene homopolymerization and ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization in slurry polymerization process. First, the catalysts were prepared to obtain different Ti loadings from 4.4 to 6.5 wt%. Then, all catalysts were characterized and tested in ethylene homopolymerization and ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization in the presence and absence of hydrogen during polymerization. It was found that hydrogen enhanced the catalyst activities on the catalyst with high Ti content (6.5 wt%) for 2.6 times and 1.9 times for ethylene homopolymerization and ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization, whereas it decreased the activity of the catalyst …

Pore Microstructure Impacts On Lithium Ion Transport And Rate Capability Of Thick Sintered Electrodes, Ziyang Nie, Rohan Parai, Chen Cai, Charles Michaelis, Jacob M. Lamanna, Daniel S. Hussey, David L. Jacobson, Dipankar Ghosh, Gary M. Koenig Jr.

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Increasing electrode thickness is one route to improve the energy density of lithium-ion battery cells. However, restricted Li⁺ transport in the electrolyte phase through the porous microstructure of thick electrodes limits the ability to achieve high current densities and rates of charge/discharge with these high energy cells. In this work, processing routes to mitigate transport restrictions were pursued. The electrodes used were comprised of only active material sintered together into a porous pellet. For one of the electrodes, comparisons were done between using ice-templating to provide directional porosity and using sacrificial particles during processing to match the geometric density …

A Geometric Description Of The Set Of Stabilizing Pid Controllers, Keqin Gu, Qian Ma, Huiqing Zhou, Mahzoon Salma, Xingzi Yang

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This article developed a new method to described the set of stabilizing PID control. The method is based on D-parameterization with natural description of the set. It was found that the stability crossing surface is a ruled surface that is completely determined by a curve known as discriminant. The discriminant is divided into sectors at the cusps. Corresponding to the sectors, the stability crossing surface is divided into positive and negative patches. A systematic study is conducted to identify the regions with a fixed number of right half-plane characteristic roots. The crossing directions of characteristic roots for positive patches and …

Applied Machine Learning In Extrusion-Based Bioprinting, Shuyu Tian

Theses and Dissertations

Optimization of extrusion-based bioprinting (EBB) parameters have been systematically conducted through experimentation. However, the process is time and resource-intensive and not easily translatable across different laboratories. A machine learning (ML) approach to EBB parameter optimization can accelerate this process for laboratories across the field through training using data collected from published literature. In this work, regression-based and classification-based ML models were investigated for their abilities to predict printing outcomes of cell viability and filament diameter for cell-containing alginate and gelatin composite hydrogels. Regression-based models were investigated for their ability to predict suitable extrusion pressure given desired cell viability when keeping …

Equilibrium And Kinetic Study On The Biosorption Of Trypan Blue From Aqueous Solutions Using Avocado Seed Powder, Tamer T. El-Idreesy, Omar Khoshala, Amin Firouzi, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This research aims to investigate the removal of trypan blue dye from aqueous solutions by employing ground avocado seeds powder, a low-cost biowaste adsorbent (biosorbent), under various experimental conditions. The effect of contact time, initial dye concentration, and adsorbent dose on dye removal were studied. The experimental kinetic data were fitted to pseudo-first order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Results imply that adsorption of trypan blue on the avocado seed adsorbent nicely followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Equilibrium isotherms were analyzed by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, where Langmuir isotherm described the isotherm data with a high-correlation coefficient (R2=0.9948) closer to unity, …

Electrospun Fiber Scaffolds For Engineering Glial Cell Behavior To Promote Neural Regeneration, Devan L. Puhl, Jessica L. Funnell, Derek W. Nelson, Manoj K. Gottipati, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electrospinning is a fabrication technique used to produce nano-or micro-diameter fibers to generate biocompatible, biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Electro spun fiber scaffolds are advantageous for neural regeneration because they mimic the structure of the nervous system extracellular matrix and provide contact guidance for regenerating axons. Glia are non-neuronal regulatory cells that maintain homeostasis in the healthy nervous system and regulate regeneration in the injured nervous system. Electro spun fiber scaffolds offer a wide range of characteristics, such as fiber alignment, diameter, surface nano topography, and surface chemistry that can be engineered to achieve a desired glial cell response …

Understanding Absorption, Supersaturation, And Drug Activity In Solution: Working Towards Developing A More Biorelevant Media, Freddy Arce

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

With the looming dominance of poorly water-soluble chemical entities within the pharmaceutical pipeline, the pharmaceutical industry has leaned on the use of supersaturating drug delivery systems (SDDSs) to achieve efficacious concentrations within the gastrointestinal fluids. SDDSs aim to achieve concentrations in solutions greater than the solubility of the lowest energy crystalline form. However, the generation of supersaturated solutions of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) creates a strong crystallization potential, which is undesirable.

In product development, supersaturating products often fail in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials due to poor oral bioavailability and a lack of in vivo efficacy. Pre-clinical testing …

Extraction Of Micro- And Nano-Plastic Particles From Water Using Hydrophobic Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents, Jameson R. Hunter

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The production of plastic and the amount of waste plastic that enters the environment increases every year. Synthetic polymers will gradually break down into particles on the micro- and nano-scale. The micro- and nano-plastics pose a significant ecological harm by transporting toxic chemicals and causing inflammation and cellular damage when ingested. Two common plastics are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polystyrene (PS), and a newer bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA) that has become a popular alternative. Deep eutectic solvents are a recently discovered solvent composed of a hydrogen bond donor and hydrogen bond acceptor and have been proposed as a cheaper alternative …

New Horizons For Processing And Utilizing Red Mud, M. Archambo

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Red mud is an industrial slurry waste that is produced as a byproduct of the Bayer process for alumina. The waste is generated in large quantities, up to a ratio of 2:1 against the valued product alumina. Red mud exhibits many chemical and physical properties that categorize it as a hazardous material. Due to the addition of sodium hydroxide in processing, the pH is typically at values close to 13. Small particle size discourages separation from water for disposal, so drying red mud happens over many years.

The pH of red mud can be reduced with inexpensive reagents. Carbon dioxide …

Anaerobic Reductive Bioleaching Of Manganese Ores, Neha Sharma

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The increasing demand of manganese in the industries and various hindrances in its production from low grade ores by conventional method has made it imperative for researchers around the world to develop a method of manganese extraction from low grade ores that is both environment friendly and economical. Bioleaching has shown significant potential in manganese extraction and efficiencies of extraction have been found to be 70-98% with the help of various bacteria and fungi.

This study focuses on extraction of manganese with the help of mixed bacterial strains that have been collected from their natural anaerobic environment. The extraction of …

Carbon Capture And Utilization, Sriram Valluri

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As the world moves towards clean energy initiative, carbon capture and utilization technologies are key to achieving net zero emissions. CO2 capture with amines has many disadvantages and cannot be applied to commercial power plants. The current manuscript will address this issue as well as a solution that involves the use of low-cost alkali absorbent CO₂ capture solutions, combined with an electrochemical regeneration method that uses the least amount of energy available for capture and regeneration. This research will also further address the issue of how to deal with the captured CO2. Several viable storage and utilization methods have …

The Extraction Of Waxes And Lipids From Sorghum Using Green And Renewable Solvents Followed By Conversion To Biofuels Using Gamma-Valerolactone Pretreatment, Marissa Gallmeyer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Plant matter contains waxes and lipids that can be extracted and used or sold as a value-added product prior to conversion of the remaining plant material to biofuels. Wax and lipid extraction of plant materials is currently performed using volatile, non-renewable hydrocarbons, primarily hexane, which is produced from fossil fuels and can pose a health and safety hazard. The purpose of this study is to compare the amount and characteristics of waxes extracted by hexane with those extracted using organic solvents that are less toxic and can be produced from renewable sources.

Sorghum samples were extracted separately with hexane, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran …

Effects Of Microporous Structure On The Enzymatic Conversion Of Biomass Using A Multiscale Model, Saketh Merugu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The generation of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass involves innovative process technology that is being investigated worldwide. Enzymatic hydrolysis is a major step in the contemporary process of the generation of biofuels. Guided by pore size distribution measured using NMR cryoporometry, we developed pore-enzyme diffusion and adsorption models at the particle level coupled with a kinetic model for cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose production at flask level. By simulating these models in MATLAB, COMSOL, and Polymath software packages, we investigate the effects of various biomass particle-related parameters (particle dimensions, porosity, enzyme accessibility) on the characteristic time of enzyme diffusion and adsorption and …

Specifically Adsorbed Ions In Hematite Flotation, Natalia Parra Alvarez

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Specifically adsorbed ions, such as calcium and magnesium in iron ore flotation, are ions that can chemically bind with the mineral surfaces and alter the surface properties. Calcium and magnesium are unavoidable in process water and their concentrations are increasing due to water recirculation and reagent additions. These ions are detrimental to the flotation process. Calcium has always been the main focus in research, yet we found that magnesium is more detrimental in flotation due to its smaller atomic size. Starch adsorption in iron ore flotation is key for the effective depression of hematite. It has been determined by flotation, …

Heavy Metals Found In Juul's Electronic Cigarettes, Joshua F. Gesselberty

Honors Theses

Electronic cigarettes better known as e-cigarettes have been consistently rising in popularity with new products entering the market daily. E-cigarettes function by vaporizing a liquid composed of propylene glycol, glycerin, benzoic acid, nicotine, and flavor additives with the use of a metallic heating element. This vapor produced is then inhaled by the user. The composition of this liquid is critical to discovering the possible health effects.

This study investigates the presence and concentrations of heavy metals in the e-liquid before and after vaping. An ICP-MS was used because of its ability to scan several metals rapidly and its high sensitivity. …

Helicopter Shaft Heating Parameters For Polyamide-11 Coating, Selim Kevran Ph.D, Uğur Ati̇ci̇

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

In this study, the heating parameters required for polyamide-11 (P11) coating of the helicopter shaft were investigated. The torsion value created by the force applied to the middle of the helicopter's shaft is measured. Heating before coating affects the torsion value of the shaft. A new heating mechanism has been designed to cover the shaft surface without changing the torsion value of the shaft. Thus, the coating surface is left inside the furnace and the torsion measurement area outside of the furnace. Taguchi method was used to determine heating parameters such as furnace type, initial temperature and heating time. The …

Biomass-Derived Electrode Materials And Sustainable Processes For Supercapacitors, Katelyn M. Shell

Theses and Dissertations

Biomass is one of the most abundant natural resources and has been used as a source of energy for thousands of years. Biomass as a precursor for energy storage materials is still relatively novel and faces several obstacles before becoming commonly used in today’s electrical devices. Currently, energy storage devices, such as batteries, capacitors, and supercapacitors, utilize petroleum-derived graphitic carbons for anodes, generating a need for more sustainable materials. Biomass, as a carbon-rich source for electrode materials, presents a viable and economically feasible alternative due to the prevalent lignocellulosic compounds: lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Preliminary studies on the solid residues …

Design And Perspective Of Amorphous Metal Nanoparticles From Laser Synthesis And Processing, Shun-Xing Liang, Lai-Chang Zhang, Sven Reichenberger, Stephan Barcikowski

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Amorphous metal nanoparticles (A-NPs) have aroused great interest in their structural disordering nature and combined downsizing strategies (e.g. nanoscaling), both of which are beneficial for highly strengthened properties compared to their crystalline counterparts. Conventional synthesis strategies easily induce product contamination and/or size limitations, which largely narrow their applications. In recent years, laser ablation in liquid (LAL) and laser fragmentation in liquid (LFL) as "green"and scalable colloid synthesis methodologies have attracted extensive enthusiasm in the production of ultrapure crystalline NPs, while they also show promising potential for the production of A-NPs. Yet, the amorphization in such methods still lacks sufficient rules …

Influence Of Rock Wettability On Thf Hydrate Saturation And Distribution In Sandstones, Ghazanfer Raza Abbasi, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Abubakar Isah, Alireza Keshavarz, Sefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Natural gas trapped in hydrate deposits is a potentially enormous source of energy which can in principle be extracted from the underground reservoir structures. These reserves can potentially also catastrophically release very large quantities of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. One key parameter which is well known to strongly influence fluid distribution, saturation, and production is rock wettability. However, the effect of wettability on gas hydrate in sediments has not been investigated yet. We thus used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry to measure relaxation times (T₂ and T₁) and the corresponding surface relaxivity of tetrahydrofuran hydrate …

Geochemical Study Of The Early Cretaceous Fahliyan Oil Reservoir In The Northwest Persian Gulf, Abbas Khaksar Manshad, Reza Sedighi Pashaki, Jagar A. Ali, Stefan Iglauer, M. Memariani, Majid Akbari, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Three crude oil samples from the Fahliyan Formation in ‘KG’ and ‘F’ fields in the northwest Persian Gulf, namely KG-031, F9A-3H and F15-3H for the geochemical study. In this study, the physicochemical properties, gas chromatography (GC, GC Mass) and (Detailed Hydrocarbon Analysis) DHA analyses for the collected Fahliyan oils were carried out. The API, Trace Element (Ni, V) and S% parameters indicated that the Fahliyan oil was generated from a source rock which deposited in reducing environment condition with a carbonate-shale compound lithology. Moreover, low pour point, higher S% and low viscosity parameters of “KG” sample confirmed the existence of …